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daydreamgoddess14 · 1 year ago

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Aspirations pt. 4

Sydcarmy Masterlist

Full Masterlist

Menu planning, avoidant behaviour, protective Richie and jealous Carmy, anyone? Yes, I busted this chapter out very quickly because I couldn't wait to write it 😂 I'm happy with this one, I think. Hope you are too! Our chapter count has gone up - why tf did I think I could do this in 3?! 😅 - I'm pretty sure it's going to be 6 in total.

~~~~~~

“What’s next?” Nat asked later that day from the dining table while Syd moved the previous plate away.

“Oysters.”

“Nooo! Please no.”

“You said we could give it a shot?” Carmy looked hurt,

“I think we’re going to lose too much prep time shucking them and making them presentable.” Syd countered.

“We’ll time it. Nat, stopwatch?”

“On it. I’m kinda leaning with Syd though. Does anyone actually like them?”

“I do.” They both replied, “trust me, I know you’ll like these ones.” Syd continued.

“Show me why you can’t shuck them?” Carmy asked Syd, handing her a knife and an oyster. She looked wary but made sure the crustacean was secure in her hand and positioned the knife, “Ok, you’re going in at the wrong angle, may I?” He came close to her, head bent towards hers. She went to hand him both items but he shoo’d her hands away, “no, you’re gonna do it, Chef.” His hand covered hers, holding the oyster with her and his other hand joined hers on the knife. He changed the position of the blade and guided her to push the point of the knife into the hinge of the oyster. His hands cupped hers as they heard a small pop and the oyster opened up. “See, you did it.”

“I think you did it,” she replied softly, neither of them moving apart. Behind Syd, Nat cleared her throat.

“Aren’t these supposed to be an aphrodisiac?” She asked. Carmy sprang away from Syd.

“Uhh yeah, it’s cos they look like… well. Y’know. Anyway, you’re gonna try this and I promise you’ll like it.” Syd smiled seasoning the opened oyster with a dressing of cilantro, lime and ginger she’d already prepared and finished it off with a drizzle of sriracha. Next to her, Carmy had lined up a couple of others he'd opened up and she seasoned those as well. “Ok… so just like, swallow it whole.” She handed the small plate to Nat who held it up for a better look.

“Swallow it whole? Ok, now you’re just fucking with me cos I mentioned the whole aphrodisiac thing?” Syd shook her head,

“Nope. I swear, you gotta just go for it.” Nat and Carmy both tried theirs at the same time.

“Are you fucking real, Sydney?” He muttered, “that was insane.”

“You’ve converted me.”

“Cool. They’re still not going on the menu.” Syd laughed,

“They have to!” Nat protested.

“How about if we did it with scallops instead?” Carmy suggested, “We can’t not use this dressing, Syd.” She tried the last oyster for herself.

“Yeah… that dressing is the shit. Scallops could work. I’ll get some from the fish guy tomorrow and try it?”

“Heard, Chef.” He replied with a small smile.

“Do I still need to time you?”

“No,” Syd went to speak up as Carmy said,

“Yes, please do.” He turned to Syd, “We have some left, it’s good practice.”

“Yeah, good practice for something I’m never doing again.” She teased.

“We’ll see about that. Race?” Syd’s eyes lit up. She loved it when he was like this, and it was becoming more and more of a regular occurrence since The Bear had opened. He had the same intensity and unwavering gaze, but he was playful and mischievous. She’d finally seen him the way Nat and Richie had known him before. Quick witted - often with an under the radar dirty joke that had her, Richie and Tina sniggering into their prep work while Marcus and Gary looked bemused.

“Fucking fine. I’m going to own you, bitch.” He divided up the remaining oysters between them and handed her the knife back. He found another from the drawer,

“Doubt it, Chef. Nat, you judging? Don’t let her fuckin’ cheat.”

“You’ll pay for that Berzatto, I do not cheat.”

“Alright you two, let’s go before Pete gets back with Mikey,” Nat came to stand on the other side of the counter so she could see them both standing side by side, elbows brushing. “What’s the winner get?”

“Oysters on the fuckin’ menu.” Carmy decided.

“Nuhuh, that’s fine if you win… If I win though, I want you to make the dish I had in New York.” Confusion followed by shock crossed his face,

“Fuckin’ coming back to that after I’ve kicked your ass.”

“Please,” she scoffed, “let’s get this over with so you can cook for me again.” She rolled her eyes.

“You both ready?” Nat interrupted. “Three, two, one - go!” Syd snatched up her first oyster and, using the technique Carmy had just shown her, opened it without delay. She put each one she opened onto the plate between them, watching Carmy from the corner of her eye she guessed that he was maybe half a second ahead of her.

“Best meal I’ve ever had, y’know.” She said, watching his knife falter just briefly before he got it back under control.

“Good to know. Stop tryin’ to distract me.”

“I would never do that,” she grinned down at her oysters, taking advantage of his time slip.

“You’re always a distraction.” This time her hand stuttered. She caught herself just before the knife made contact with the palm of her hand but it was too late, she’d lost time. Carmy threw his last oyster onto the plate and dropped his knife. “Done.” Syd finished the moment he spoke.

“Ding ding! Carmen Berzatto, congratulations.” Natalie faux bowed to him. She picked up her pen, “so, oysters on the menu then?”

“Nah, we’ll do scallops instead.” He turned to Syd, “It’ll still work. We’ll do it like a -”

“Ceviche,” they said in unison.

“Thank you.” Syd acknowledged.

“Fucking weird.” Nat muttered, rolling her eyes. As she spoke, Pete came through the front door with Mikey’s stroller, “Ok, that’s my cue for a nap. See you guys in an hour. Don’t kill each other in my kitchen. Or anything else.” They dressed the oysters and cleared up before sitting down to eat.

“Mmm. Holy shit,” Syd moaned, “I’m putting this dressing on everything from now on.” “It’s fire, Chef.”

“Thank you.” They fell into a comfortable silence until, “check your plum sauce.” She reminded him.

“Fuck, yes. Thanks.” He toyed with the heat and sat back down next to her, looking over the menu. “It looks good.” He noted, nudging her slightly.

“Yeah I think so. Just the right amount of festivity.”

“Exactly. Seasonal.” She could feel his eyes on her as she made some notes for the soon-to-be scallop dish. “When were you in New York?” He asked at last.

“A long time ago. I saved up and blew everything on a few days there. Ate everywhere I wanted to.”

“I didn’t know.”

“I know you didn’t. I wasn’t lying the day I met you when I said I knew of you. That meal changed my fucking life.”

“Mine too, I guess,” he took her wrist gently and pulled her up, “here, try this?” He took her to the stove top and gathered a spoon of the plum sauce. Unable to hand it to her without it spilling, he brought it to her mouth instead. She held his gaze as he placed the spoon in her mouth. There was something in his eyes that she couldn’t quite decipher but she could feel the heat spread from her cheeks down to her toes, could feel her thighs clench together in desperation. She was eternally grateful that she could easily hide a blush, but she was certain he could sense how her breathing changed. His fingers brushed against hers as she took the spoon from him, the taste of plum and winter spices exploding on her tongue.

“Fuck me.” She mumbled in surprise, eyes still on him. He arched an eyebrow, “the sauce. The sauce is really fucking good.” She confirmed quickly, realizing how closely they were standing.

“Doesn’t need anything?” Her eyes flicked down to his lips as she subconsciously bit her own lightly. Her heart threatened to burst out of her chest. She could feel herself leaning in unintentionally, her body automatically seeking him out. From his pocket, his phone rang and she turned on her heel instead and took the spoon to the sink with a shake of her head,

“Doesn’t need anything.” She maintained as he let the phone ring, still watching her. “You gonna get that?”

“It’s Claire.” He said, a little sadly. She nodded,

“You should take it. I’m gonna get some air.” She picked up the nearest outer layer, his sweater from earlier in the morning, and slipped out of the front door as she heard him answer,

“Hey babe,” She closed the door with a quiet click behind her and sat on the front door step with her head in her hands. What the fuck was she doing? What the fucking fuck was she fucking doing? She took deep breaths but all it did was remind her of earlier in the morning, wrapped in his arms with his hand on her back and hers on his heart. The heart he’d all but given to someone else. She needed to get a grip before she did something really fucking stupid. Co-workers did not share beds and spoons and eye fuck each other over a plum fucking sauce. She twisted her braids into a bun and secured it, welcoming the cool air on the back of her neck. She shouldn’t have picked up his damn sweater again, he was invading her senses in every single way and it was all becoming too much. She wasn’t sure how much distance she could keep anymore, he just kept drawing her in. She heard the door click again and he sat next to her. “You good?” He asked. She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Surely he’d felt it too? Was he just as affected, or was she imagining it? She cleared her throat,

“This needs to stop.” She said firmly, not bothering to confirm what this was.

“Yeah,” he agreed.

“Yeah.” She got up, went back inside and tried to keep herself from falling back into his orbit for the rest of the day.

It had been weeks. Syd maintained an appropriate distance at all times. She tried to keep someone between them, took a full step back from her station whenever he came over to taste her dishes, tried to look anywhere except at him. It was fucking hard. Her eyes were drawn to him in every room, every time. She sought him out even when she didn’t mean to. And fuck she missed him. She occasionally wondered if he was finding it just as difficult, but pushed it to the back of her mind. They weren’t doing anything differently, she reasoned. They were still friends, still co-workers, still partners. She took a plate of pasta into Natalie in the office, Nat looked up at her in concern,

“Hey, you ok honey?”

“All good, Chef.”

“You just seem a little… distant recently?”

“Just getting on with work.” At that, Richie burst into the office,

“Syd, if he asks, you gotta say no.” She looked bemused.

“Say no to who?”

“The fish guy. The pot wash at the taco place said he wants to ask you out.”

“The fuck? Why are you getting your information from the pot wash at the taco place?”

“We smoke together, trade intel.”

“About me?”

“About everything, Syd. Jeez, focus! The fish guy wants to ask you out, but you gotta say no - ok?”

“Not ok, Richie - why should she say no?” Nat stepped in,

“Cos he’s a fuckin’ dickbag that’s why!”

“Who’s a dickbag?” Carmy asked, coming in and dropping into a chair.

“The fish guy.”

“Oh fuck yeah, he’s a fuckin’ dickbag. Why do we give a shit though?” He asked, dragging a hand through his hair.

“Cousin, he wants to ask Syd out, I gotta warn her off him.”

“He wants to do what?”

“I know, right? Fuck that. He’ll lose his fuckin’ teeth if he tries.” Said Richie, still affronted that he wasn’t being taken seriously. Nat and Syd exchanged glances.

“Look, if Syd wants to say yes then she can say yes -”

“But -”

“But nothing. You will both just get your heads out of your asses and leave this the fuck alone, do you hear me?” She warned them.

“Syd, he’s a fuckin’ dickbag.” Carmy said, his voice low, something unrecognizable in his tone.

“Surely that’s for me to decide?”

“Woah, what’s happening here?” Claire squeezed into the room which was now at full capacity.

“Ugh,” Nat groaned, “these two are being ridiculous. The fish guy wants to ask Syd out -”

“Well, that’s good?” Claire asked,

“No it’s fucking not.” Richie and Carmy replied in unison.

“He’s a dickbag.” Carmy muttered.

“A total fucking bag of fucking dicks.”

“Can we stop with the phrase dickbag, please?” Nat pleaded.

“Look, I appreciate the concern guys, but I am capable of deciding for myself whether to date someone. I don’t… I don’t get why we have five fucking people in this office getting into my personal life?” Syd held her hands up.

“He’s not after a date,” Richie grumbled. “He’s after a quick fuck. Does it all the time at all the restaurants in town.”

“S’true.” Carmy confirmed, looking at his hands.

“He ‘dates’ these women for a while and then just fuckin’ ditches them. Waitresses, chefs, fuckin’ anyone who’ll say yes.”

“Have you considered that that might suit Syd?” Nat asked. Syd caught her eye and frowned with a small shake of her head, Nat shrugged.

“Syd’s better than that,” Carmy said, “you’re better than that.” He finally looked up at her, still standing by the desk.

“Again, that’s for me to decide.” She pointed out.

“I think you guys are, like, really invested in Sydney’s sex life. Don’t you think that’s a bit weird?” Claire asked.

“No.” Richie and Carmy replied together, again.

“Yes it is, actually.” Syd agreed with Claire. “Neither of you should care who I’m dating or fucking or whatever the fuck I’m doing in my spare time.”

“We’re looking out for you, cuz!” Richie’s voice rose again. She didn’t have time to pause when she noticed Richie call her cousin,

“This is a really weird way of looking out for me, Richie.” She suggests, “all I have to go on is that he’s a dickbag who dates around a lot?” She saw Carmy shoot Richie a look,

“Well, yeah - isn’t that fucking enough?”

“Richie, you sound jealous! Do you want to date Syd?” Claire teased.

“Fuck, no!” Carmy and Richie both shouted. “No offense,” Richie followed up.

“Ok, this is getting really fucking stupid. The guy hasn’t asked me out, I haven’t even seen him for weeks, and I have no idea what I’d say if he did ask me, ok? You,” she pointed at them both, “do not get to tell me who I can date or who I can fuck, understood?” Syd glared.

“Yes, Chef.” Richie mumbled. She looked at Carmy, his face unreadable.

“Carmy?” Claire asked on Syd’s behalf,

“Yeah, of course. Nothing to do with me, right?” He asked with a shrug, anger creeping into his voice.

“Cool, so now that we’ve established that Syd’s free to date whoever she wants, we getting out of here for a couple of hours?” Claire asked Carmy, rolling her eyes with a smile to Syd and Nat.

“Sure, I’ll just get my stuff. Meet you out front?”

“Yeah. Uhh… great catch up, guys. Syd, good luck!”

“Yeah, thanks. See ya, Claire.” They all waited for the sound of the swing door before speaking again.

“This is really fucked up.” Nat muttered, digging into her pasta. “Not this, this is gorgeous. This pair of fuckos.” She pointed with her fork at Carmy and Richie.

“I’m outta here for a bit,” Carmy made his way to the lockers and Syd followed.

“The fuck was that?” She hissed, aware of Richie and Nat in the office.

“Nothin’. Like you said, s’not my place to tell you who you can date.” He shoved his arms into his jacket, “or fuck. Right?” He added, his voice laced with anger.

“Correct. Because you have a girlfriend, remember? A friend who is a girl? So you shouldn’t care what I do.”

“Or who?” She glared at him. She tried to disguise her hurt with anger, but she couldn’t stop the stray tear on her cheek,

“Fuck you, Carmy.” She jabbed his chest. “Fuck. You.” She spat out, full of venom. He stilled, leaned into her hand.

“Yeah. Sure, Syd. Fuck me.” He reached up to brush the tear away with his thumb and slipped past her to Claire. She hesitated before going back to the office, trying to get her emotions under control so she didn’t cry in front of Richie or Nat.

“I’m sorry sweetheart,” Richie started as she walked back in. “Fuck, sorry. Can I call you sweetheart?” She nodded a little.

“S’ok. I know you meant to fucking protect me or some shit, I get it.” He met her forehead with his own,

“Yeah. But I was an asshole and I’m sorry.”

“Thank you, Richie.”

“Please say no if he asks you. I’m too fuckin’ old to be fightin’ toddlers in the fuckin’ street, huh?” She offered a brief smile.

“I’ll bear it in mind.”

“Ok. I gotta fuckin’ burn one. That shit was awkward as hell when Claire came in and Carmy was making fucking goo-goo eyes at you.”

“Fuck off Rich.” He laughed, patted her shoulder sympathetically and made for the back doors. Syd sat heavily in the chair Carmy had sat in, and slumped down while Nat quietly finished her pasta.

“You ok?” She asked.

“Not really.” She rubbed her hands over her face with a big sigh.

“So you guys are just going to… what? Either be ignoring or fighting each other for the foreseeable future?”

“I guess so.” Syd shrugged, anger building again. “He has no right to tell me who I can date.”

“I know.”

“It’s nothing to do with him. Nothing at all to do with him.”

“I agree.”

“Whatever the problem is, it’s his problem to fix. Not mine.”

“I hear you.”

“What do I do, Nat?”

“You live your life, babe. You do whatever the hell you want and he can go to fuck.”

“Yeah. Yes. You’re right. It’s nothing to do with him.” Syd nodded.

~~~~~

#the bear fanfiction #the bear fx #the bear #the bear fanfic #syd adamu #sydney adamu #carmy berzatto #syd x carmy #syd x carmen #carmen x sydney #carmy x syd #carmy x sydney #sydcarmy #sydney and carmy #sydney x carmen #sydney x carmy

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chaithetics · 1 year ago

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i saw sharp stick and it was… awakening 😳😳😳 the plot was kinda not good (it felt like it was trying to be absurdist but not fully committed if you know what i mean, but the performances……..)

and honestly i totally get what you feel, i’m still not over succession that’s kinda why i veered toward a rewatch then exploring something new (it felt safer 😂😂😂)

and the BEAR …. honestly jamie lee curtis was phenomenal, it really triggered my flight of fight instinct, it was eerily accurate and painfully familiar. and yeah Clare is just … a character… that’s the best non mean thing i can say 😅😅😅😅😅.

THE FAMILY CHRISTMAS episode left me unwell , it was so heart wrenching knowing what lied ahead for all the characters (especially Mikey). the fact that it was five years too really just drives home just how much and how long of suffering there was.

I too am a sucker for pain that’s why i’m on the hunt in the Mikey fanfic tags because i need moar!

I AM A NATALIE STAN UNTIL THE DAY I DIE season 2 just made me love Pete more, Natalie really is doing her best to break the cycle.

i’ve heard so many good things about Sharp Objects (i think that’s the one with amy adams, who i love, i think she’s criminally underrated, one of the most versatile actresses ever)

i’m wrapping up Punisher season 1 and wow, i forgot how much of hardcore Kastle stan (frank x karen) i was, their chemistry is actually so crazy and they’ve never even kissed, it’s like ‘in a another life’ type of thing. it was so apparent in season 2 of daredevil but i forgot how much it’s expanded upon in season 1 of punisher and honestly how could i forget. (i’m digging in my ao3 bookmarks for the proof lolllll) i also really love the romance between Elektra and Matt (matt really did Karen dirty it’s okay tho she has frank) it’s also very starcrossed… i also think i’m so romance focused because succession and the bear really gave crumbs and said bon appetite 🤪🤪🤪🤪

anyways i do really love the action sequences, and dialogue it’s very comforting and familiar which is what i need lol

now i’m off too browse Kastle tiktok edits hahahaha

I know what you mean! I think the performances of like the two leads were good but the plot wasn't great. It wasn't the worst film I'd ever seen but it certainly wasn't the best. I also just couldn't get over how kind of unbelievable it felt that the MC (I don't remember her name) was such an innocent Mary Sue I guess? And she had come from a very sex positive and open household but didn't even know what a blow job was etc. I felt like Lena Dunham thought she was saying a lot more than what she really was? Also those last shots with the single pair of hands, it reminded me a little of that scene with Theo from Hill House on Netflix with the hands but that was done so much better and had more meaning. Felt like she just wanted to make an artsy sex comedy but couldn't really commit to it. I don't know what to think about the film honestly.

That makes sense! Rewatches are safe haha!

"Clare is just...a character..." DEAD. But you're not wrong that's it sadly. Yes it was truly painful! You're right, suffering is such a long journey and can be such a buildup it's not an overnight thing. SAME I WILL DEFEND NATALIE FOR LIFE! Yes, Pete is so sweet! I recognised the actor from a show called Love and he seems to do a good job of playing sweet goofy men that are simps. We love a simp here, as a woman I am a simp for women. We should all be simps for women! Yes, Natalie is really doing the best to break the cycle! She's doing that for her family she's starting but also with Carmy as well, she's so supportive with him and we see throughout that she really cared about Mikey and tried her best.

Yes, Sharp Objects is with Amy Adams! Same! I love her so much, she is so underrated and precious! I will admit I've made NO progress on Sharp Objects since my reply mentioning it lol...

I LOVE KAREN SO MUCH! I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY SHE GETS SO MUCH HATE FROM THE FANDOM! AND I THINK DEBORAH ANN WOLL DID AN AMAZING JOB PORTRAYING HER! Sorry I just needed to say that! I'm glad that at least most of the fanfic I've read on here writers are kinder to her. They do have great chemistry! I do think she's a great actress and everything I've seen her in she's so talented at having convincing chemistry even if it's subtle. Elektra and Matt makes me sad and anxious. Star-crossed lovers are tragic. Yeah, Succession and The Bear aren't super big in the romance department haha. Makes sense! Comfort is what we need after S4 of Succession and S2 of The Bear. Good luck finding for the Kastle edits!!!!

Thanks for sensing this in Bear Nonnie! Appreciate you! 💗🐻

#succession #the bear #chaitheticsasks #lanasthoughts

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eddycurrents · 5 years ago

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For the week of 11 November 2019

Quick Bits:

Batman & The Outsiders #7 throws some further ramifications of Ra’s al Ghul and his minions meddling with Duke and Sofia. Some particularly disturbing transformations going on with Duke that should be interesting. The level of intrigue that Bryan Hill is keeping in the story is gripping.

| Published by DC Comics

The Batman’s Grave #2 is another excellent issue. A little more packed with action than the first one, allowing Bryan Hitch to cut loose with some of the sequences. Also, I’m loving the humour that Warren Ellis is giving us between Alfred and Bruce. That acerbic wit is something we’ve seen from Alfred a lot and Ellis just nails the voice.

| Published by DC Comics

Battlepug #3 is more fun from Mike Norton, Allen Passalaqua, and Crank! Some really nice stuff here as Bryony cuts loose on Nobody’s Ponies. I absolutely love the mix of traditional sword and sorcery storytelling with rather over-the-top humour that basically lampoons it at the same time.

| Published by Image

Black Cat Annual #1 is a fun tale of a heist on the Maggia by Black Cat and Spider-Man from Jed MacKay, Joey Vazquez, Natacha Bustos, Juan Gedeon, Brian Reber, and Ferran Delgado. It features the usual humour and action that we see in the series and I quite like how the artists are broken up each following one particular aspect of the story. Though it’s all one narrative, it gives a nice differing feel to each part.

| Published by Marvel

Black Hammer / Justice League: Hammer of Justice #5 concludes what has been an excellent series from Jeff Lemire, Michael Walsh, and Nate Piekos. Ultimately, this has reminded me of the old JLA/JSA crossovers of old, and just feels great as an overall story. Plus the possibility of seeing a sequel.

| Published by Dark Horse & DC Comics

Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda #3 begins “God Loves, Moon Kills”, another two-parter for this series, from Jim Zub, Lan Medina, Craig Yeung, Marcio Menyz, Federico Blee, and Joe Sabino. I love this story format, giving us essentially quick-hit missions dealing with a problem and then moving on. It’s yielded some pretty tight storytelling and some fascinating situations.

| Published by Marvel

Black Stars Above #1 is another incredible debut for Vault, with Lonnie Nadler, Jenna Cha, Brad Simpson, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou delivering an incredibly deep and unique horror story. It centres around a young woman in a family of fur traders, as the trade itself begins to die in Canada, and it’s impressive as to how real the characters and their struggle feels. The artwork from Cha and Simpson is exquisite.

| Published by Vault

Buffy + Angel: Hellmouth #2 continues Buffy and Angel’s descent through hell. It’s much more cerebral than you’d expect, with the demons trying to get into Buffy and Angel’s respective heads in order to manipulate and destroy them. Plus, a rather interesting surprise. Jordie Bellaire, Jeremy Lambert, Eleonora Carlini, Cris Peter, and Ed Dukeshire are doing some great work with the core of this event.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Collapser #5 somehow gets even stranger in this penultimate issue as Liam creates a “perfect” world to run away from the problems he’s having in the real world. The real world bleeding through and a revelation of his girlfriend’s true intentions just ratchet up the strangeness further. Mikey Way, Shaun Simon, Ilias Kyriazis, Cris Peter, and Simon Bowland are just doing amazing work here.

| Published by DC Comics / Young Animal

Detective Comics #1015 takes an interesting turn as Nora decides that she likes being a villain. Through this, Peter J. Tomasi is definitely showing an interesting side to Mr. Freeze, emphasizing again that he’s a rather conflicted villain, only doing the various heinous actions to save his wife. Who now doesn’t need him.

| Published by DC Comics

Doctor Mirage #4 features more incredibly beautiful, inventive artwork from Nick Robles and Jordie Bellaire. The visual storytelling as Shan faces the Embalmer is just incredible. Magdalene Visaggio, Robles, Bellaire, and Dave Sharpe continue to deliver magic with this penultimate issue.

| Published by Valiant

Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Terror: Season Two #2 is another entertaining issue. The lead tale from Tom Peyer, Greg Scott, Lee Loughridge, and Rob Steen has traditional EC Comics horror vibes, as a scientist tries to communicate with our worm overlords. In one of the comics back-ups Mark Russell, Peter Snejbjerg, and Steen revisit the world of the breakfast cereal monsters. And there’s the usual prose pieces, poetry, and Hunt Emerson’s Black Cat.

| Published by Ahoy

Event Leviathan #6 concludes this series from Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev, and Josh Reed. How much you enjoy it will hinge on how much you enjoy Maleev’s art and the realization that most of this tale is about moving one person off the board and the reveal of Leviathan to set up further stories. Also, Bendis paints a Batman who is ridiculously terrible at hiding his secret identity.

| Published by DC Comics

Fallen Angels #1 is the final new first issue of this first wave of “Dawn of X” titles and in many ways it’s more personal than the other X-titles, even Excalibur, delving into Psylocke (the former Kwannon, not Betsy Braddock) and her past. Bryan Hill, Szymon Kudranski, Frank D’Armata, and Joe Sabino deliver an interesting story with hooks on the darker side of the X-world, including some ominous bits from Magneto and Sinister, but I question the inclusion of X-23 and Cable. They don’t exactly seem to fit the roles they’ve been put into here.

| Published by Marvel

Family Tree #1 is a phenomenal debut from Jeff Lemire, Phil Hester, Eric Gapstur, Ryan Cody, and Steve Wands. This first issue perfectly captures that insidious nature of family drama mixed with creeping terror and body horror as a bizarre plague begins spreading across America.

| Published by Image

Far Sector #1 is one of the most impressive debuts I’ve read in a long time. NK Jemisin, Jamal Campbell, and Deron Bennett create a rich new world in the City Enduring and a compelling character in the new Green Lantern, Sojourner Mullein. The murder mystery that ties everything together is just the icing on the cake. Incredible world-building here and drop dead gorgeous artwork. Do not miss this.

| Published by DC Comics / Young Animal

The Flash #82 is part one of “Rogues’ Reign” from Joshua Williamson, Rafa Sandoval, Jordi Tarragona, Arif Prianto, and Steve Wands. It features a Central City taken over by the Rogues, transformed into their own personal playgrounds, as the Flash is nowhere to be found. It’s not bad, but the amount you’re going to like it may be relative to how much you’re also enjoying “City of Bane” and the recently concluded similar arc involving the Trickster.

| Published by DC Comics

Folklords #1 is off to a fantastic start from Matt Kindt, Matt Smith, Chris O’Halloran, and Jim Campbell. It starts off with a precocious kid in a fantasy world who’s been having visions of what essentially amounts to our world, whose quest sets out a rather draconian lockdown on their society when the Librarians rein in everyone from illicit action, like finding the Folklords. Highly recommended.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Forgotten Home #2 reveals more about Jannada, its history and society, and how an unjust queen was brought to rule through racial warfare. Love the artwork from Marika Cresta and Matt Emmons.

| Published by Vices Press

Gideon Falls #18 unleashes the Laughing Man on reality in part two of “The Pentoculus”. Jeff Lemire, Andrea Sorrentino, Dave Stewart, and Steve Wands are beautifully unfolding this twisted and horrific flower of a story.

| Published by Image

Gotham City Monsters #3 adds another element of DC lore to the series as Melmoth claims a particular prize. I really quite like how Steve Orlando, Amancay Nahuelpan, Trish Mulvihill, and Tom Napolitano are pulling together disparate bits of Gotham and beyond to craft this story.

| Published by DC Comics

Guardians of the Galaxy #11 is the penultimate issue of this series from Donny Cate, Cory Smith, Victor Olazaba, David Curiel, and Cory Petit. It’s basically a big fight between the remaining Guardians and everyone else. It doesn’t go so well.

| Published by Marvel

Hawkman #18 takes a somewhat different approach to Hawkman’s infection than what we’ve seen of the others so far. Rather than being a dark reflection of Hawkman’s own desires, he’s taken over by an Earth-3 incarnation in Sky Tyrant. Robert Venditti, Pat Olliffe, Tom Palmer, Jeremiah Skipper, and Richard Starkings & Comicraft instead use that to play the spirit of our Hawkman against.

| Published by DC Comics

Hit-Girl: Season Two #10 is part two of “India”. The artwork from Alison Sampson and Tríona Farrell is impressive, given an amazing level of detail to bringing Mumbai to life. Brutal and rich in colour.

| Published by Image

House of Whispers #15 takes a new twist as the Corinthian finds the House of Watchers, takes over, and everything changes. Nalo Hopkinson, Dan Watters, Dominike “Dono” Stanton, Zac Atkinson, and AndWorld Design kick off some new terrors as even Erzulie’s status quo is upended, and we get another guest appearance of John Constantine’s homecoming.

| Published by DC Comics - Black Label / The Sandman Universe

Invaders #11 pushes deeper into Steve and Namor’s history and relationship, as Steve refuses to give up on his old friend. There’s some very heavy, very good character work here as we head into the final issue. Chip Zdarsky, Carlos Magno, Butch Guice, Alex Guimarães, and Travis Lanham continue to astonish at the incredibly high bar they’ve set for this story.

| Published by Marvel

Justice League Odyssey #15 is a fun tale from Dan Abnett, Will Conrad, Rain Beredo, Pete Pantazis, and AndWorld Design. Jessica Cruz leading a rag tag band of villains (and Orion) against Darkseid and the previous JLO turned evil is unfolding as a very entertaining story with some interesting twists. Also, Dex-Starr is awesome.

| Published by DC Comics

Morbius #1 isn’t a bad start from Vita Ayala, Marcelo Ferreira, Roberto Poggi, Dono Sánchez-Almara, and Clayton Cowles. This first issue is largely just action as Morbius sets out on his quest to cure himself, again, but it’s not bad. The art from Ferreira, Poggi, and Sánchez-Almara is very nice.

| Published by Marvel

Oblivion Song #21 continues the slowburn investigation and reconnaissance of the Faceless Men’s base, as Marco tries to map it out and discover where they’re holding all of the people who decided to stay in Oblivion. Gorgeous artwork from Lorenzo De Felici and Annalisa Leoni as we see more of the Faceless Men’s technology.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Psi-Lords #6 does a bit more world-building as we find out more about the Psi-Lords and the Starwatchers, even as the four Earthers are beset by the other Marked in a bizarre farce of a trial. Fred Van Lente, Renato Guedes, and Dave Sharpe are telling a pretty great sci-fi adventure tale here. It largely stands alone in the greater Valiant universe framework and deserves more attention than its getting.

| Published by Valiant

Punisher: Soviet #1 is another welcome return to the Punisher by Garth Ennis, stepping back into Frank’s adventures like he never left. Ennis, Jacen Burrows, Guillermo Ortego, Nolan Woodard, and Rob Steen deliver a brutal and bloody beginning as Frank chases down someone who everyone seems to think is him.

| Published by Marvel / MAX

Reaver #5 is a fairly impressive spotlight for Breaker as he does what he really didn’t want to do again in order to help his “friends”. Justin Jordan, Rebekah Isaacs, Alex Guimarães, and Clayton Cowles present a number of twists and surprises in one of the most brutal issues yet.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Ronin Island #8 sees the remaining islanders largely stand together as they try to both stand up to and flee from the Shogun’s soldiers and madness. With a terrible occurrence that looks like it’s going to cause even more problems for the survivors. Giannis Milonogiannis and Irma Kniivila’s art continues to be everything.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Sea of Stars #5 very nicely puts the pieces together as a disconsolate Gil has been captured and basically given up thinking Kadyn dead is brought to the world where his son is about to be gutted. Jason Aaron, Dennis Hallum, Stephen Green, Rico Renzi, and Jared K. Fletcher are telling an incredible story here and this issue throws even more twists at the reader.

| Published by Image

Seven Days #2 unfolds some of the fallout of people learning that they only have seven days left, as the superhero community is enlisted to try to stop whatever the shiny harbinger things are. Gail Simone, José Luís, Jonas Trinidade, Michelle Madsen, and Saida Temofonte are continuing to build an intriguing story here as we get more and more of the breadth of the Catalyst Prime universe.

| Published by Lion Forge / Catalyst Prime

Superman #17 is kind of a housekeeping issue from Brian Michael Bendis, Kevin Maguire, Paul Mounts, and Dave Sharpe, acting as a prologue to “The Truth”. A bit of reflection on the Unity Saga, Event Leviathan, and Year of the Villain.

| Published by DC Comics

Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Blackest Night #1 might well be the best of these one-shots yet. Tim Seeley, Kyle Hotz, Dexter Vines, Walden Wong, Danny Miki, David Baron, Allen Passalaqua, and Tom Napolitano give us a bleak look at a world where Sinestro chose not to share the power of the White Lantern light and essentially everything fell to Nekron and the Black Lanterns. It’s a very unique take on the zombie apocalypse on its own, made more interesting as a fallen Sinestro, Lobo, and Dove try to save this universe. The art from Hotz, Vines, Wong, Miki, Baron, and Passalaqua is perfect.

| Published by DC Comics

Trees: Three Fates #3 continues to build up the weird atmosphere from last issue, then turns around and focuses on more of the gritty aspects of Oleg, Mik, and Nina. Gorgeous artwork all throughout from Jason Howard and Dee Cunniffe.

| Published by Image

Triage #3 shifts to Commander Marco’s reality as the group flee from the Hunter. I really like what Phillip Sevy and Frank Cvetkovic have been doing with this story. Great high concept, but the interpersonal relationships are where it’s really at.

| Published by Dark Horse

Usagi Yojimbo #6 is a beautiful updating and embellishment of the very first story of Usagi from Albedo by Stan Sakai and Tom Luth. This single issue story really captures the spirit and magic of all of Sakai’s stories, wonderfully portraying his mix of action and folklore.

| Published by IDW

Vampirella/Red Sonja #3 explores more of what the Russians were doing in regards to Drakulon and more. More very nice humour from Jordie Bellaire in the interactions between Vampirella and Sonja.

| Published by Dynamite

Wonder Woman #82 begins “The Wild Hunt” from the new creative team of Steve Orlando, Kieran McKeown, Scott Hanna, Romulo Fajardo Jr., and Pat Brosseau. It very much continues on from the plot threads and elements of the previous run, continuing to build on the current conflict between Wonder Woman and Cheetah.

| Published by DC Comics

X-Men #2 is pretty damn great, going back to the big and wild ideas bringing new elements into the X-universe, all while Cyclops gives some of the strangest parenting. Jonathan Hickman, Leinil Francis Yu, Garry Alanguilan, Sunny Gho, and Clayton Cowles give us a new mystery with the arrival of Arakko and the first of -|A|-’s missing original horsemen.

| Published by Marvel

Other Highlights: Age of Conan: Valeria #4, Agents of Atlas #4, Catwoman #17, Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor Holiday Special #1, The Dollhouse Family #1, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark #10, Firefly: The Sting, Future Foundation #4, Ghosted in LA #5, GI Joe: A Real American Hero #268, Girl on Film, Go Go Power Rangers #25, Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy #3, History of the Marvel Universe #5, Marvel Action: Spider-Man #11, Midnight Vista #3, Moonshine #13, Runaways #27, RWBY (print) #2, RWBY (digital) #6, Savage Sword of Conan #11, Star Wars #74, Star Wars: Jedi - Fallen Order: Dark Temple #4, Star Wars: Target Vader #5, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #50

Recommended Collections: Babyteeth - Volume 3, Dark Red - Volume 1, Fallen World, GLOW - Volume 1: Versus the Star Primas, Justice League - Volume 4: The Sixth Dimension, Savage Avengers - Volume 1: City of Sickles, Star Wars: Age of Resistance - Heroes, Star Wars Adventures - Volume 7: Pomp and Circumstance, Wonder Twins - Volume 1: Activate

d. emerson eddy can hear the scratching at the walls of reality.

#This Week in Comics

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lauracaskey · 7 years ago

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My SNL ‘standby’ experience: 4/14/18

So this weekend I lived out a dream I’ve had for more than 15 years -- I waited in the SNL standby line for tickets.

Back in December, my friend Kristi and I decided we were going to try for SNL standby in the spring season. Since the schedule is not set in stone in advance, to help us choose the date I created a Google Docs spreadsheet (I’m obsessed) with a list of the most common Saturdays to have shows for the last 10 years. We settled on the second weekend of April since (see chart) there has been a show on that Saturday every year. We booked our flights/bus tickets, chose an Airbnb, took days off, and then waited.

About two weeks before we were set to go, NBC announced that John Mulaney would be hosting on April 14 and I literally screamed. (I was in a meeting at work and Kristi texted me, and I let out a small scream. In a meeting.) It felt like fate.

I have been an SNL fan for a good portion of my life and have seen basically every episode since the 2003-2004 season. Along with that, I have always loved John Mulaney, beginning with his Update appearances, his work with Bill Hader ( ❤), and, of course, “New In Town” which has been one of my favorite standup specials for more than five years now. I missed his show in Charleston, SC, earlier this year and figured I would need to wait a few more years for him to go on tour before I’d get a chance to see him.

So, for us to have picked a random date and to have him host on that random date felt perfect (It also helped to heal the burn from the fact that Bill Hader hosted two episodes prior, and I missed planning my trip for that date.)

Being a hardcore SNL fan for the last 15 years, I knew what the standby process entailed. Long waits. Sleeping outside. The possibility that even after all of that waiting we still might not get in. I was prepared.

Kristi and I bought and borrowed all of the camping/backpacking gear necessary and easy to travel with (by plane for me from SC, and by bus for her from MD). We got into NYC on Thursday, and Thursday night I monitored Twitter and the SNL Reddit page for updates on the standby line. We decided to check the line at 9:30 a.m. on Friday and if it was more than 30 people, we’d go ahead and put our stuff down.

For those unfamiliar with the process, the SNL Standby line is on 48th St. between 6th and 5th avenues. It starts approximately beside the Nintendo Store and stretches down 48th toward Times Square, wrapping around Rockefeller Center towards the “Tonight Show” entrance. Depending on the host, people can start lining up as early as the Wednesday before shows. (In this case – since John Mulaney is a pretty big draw for SNL fans – the line began late Thursday night.)

The standby tickets are given in order beginning at 7 a.m. on Saturday. You get the choice of dress rehearsal (which is what we chose) or live show, and the NBC pages give you your number for both before you choose your tickets.

We got there a little before 9:30 a.m. and there were already 28 people waiting in front of us. We decided not to risk it, and set our space up and began the wait. (For anyone familiar with the area, we were directly across from Sean’s Bar. Let’s just say the sight of that giant Guinness became a familiar one over the next 22 hours.)

We couldn’t have asked for better weather to wait in. It was sunny all day and during the afternoon it reached about 75 degrees. We both had on t-shirts and leggings and didn’t have to put on jackets until about 2 a.m. It stayed warm and pleasant for most of the day.

The weather definitely affected the number of people in line. By that afternoon, the line reached the end of the block and had already begun its turn around the building. Later, we heard from the security guards that the line reached the 300 person max they allow and that they began turning people away from waiting at 4 a.m. on Saturday.

The location is also great for waiting. There are plenty of restaurants, you’re not too far from Times Square, and there are two nearby Starbucks where you can use the restroom and charge your phone. We likened it, on that day, to being at the beach. We had sleeping bags, chairs, and an inflatable camping couch, with the great name of Chilbo Baggins, that made the whole experience incredibly enjoyable and comfortable. (I can provide my entire supply list for anyone interested.)

We also had some pretty great line neighbors who we were able to talk to for most of the day. Growing up in rural South Carolina, it was surreal to be surrounded for the first time in my life by people who were just as obsessed with SNL as I am.

The one issue we ran into, and completely didn’t understand, was line sitters. There are several line sitting companies in NYC that allow people to pay them to wait for them in line. For a process that seems to be based on rewarding people with free tickets for taking their time out to wait, it seems incredibly unfair, and I’m not sure why NBC allows it. We had two line-sitters in front of us who were gone for five hours at a time, while the rest of us were basically informed we had to take short, infrequent breaks or we would lose our places in line. Multiple people spoke to the guards and pages about the situation, but they ignored our complaints. On top of never being there, they also held loud business meetings right beside us during the night, and at 4:00 in the morning one of the line sitters from further back came up to the two sitters in front of us blaring an alarm on her phone and yelling about people cutting in line.

It was also angering that we waited 22 hours for tickets, and the people who paid for people to “wait for them” (not really) were able to show up well-rested and perky at 5 a.m., and got in before us. (The couple in front of us even had the nerve to complain about how sore their legs were from waiting those last two hours.)

The worst part of the night is definitely that stretch from about 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. where it starts to get cold and you’re getting tired. Also after 10 million times, it gets really old to have people come by and ask “What are you guys waiting for?” and for them to have absolutely no idea who John Mulaney is. Thankfully, I had a little bit of foresight and made a sign before going that really helped us out.

A little after 7 a.m. on Saturday the pages came out to distribute tickets. When they got to us, we were numbers 10 and 11 for dress rehearsal and 20 and 21 for the live show. I know that usually close to 50-60 people get into both, but since I cared a lot about John Mulaney – and Kristi was super tired and staying up late another night almost seemed out of the picture – we chose dress since with such a low number we were pretty much guaranteed to get in and it’s a longer show.

After grabbing a quick breakfast at Chick-Fil-A (you can take the girl out of South Carolina…), we headed back to our Airbnb in Washington Heights and slept into the afternoon.

We ate an early dinner in the Village and got back to Rockefeller Center around 6:15 p.m. The ticket says ticket holders should report to the NBC Store to check in. I’ve heard they’re usually pretty strict about letting people line up early, but we were able to go ahead and get in our spots in line in the NBC Store when we arrived. They put you in line in groups of 10, so I was at the end of one line and Kristi was at the beginning of the other.

Around 7:15 they began bringing us all upstairs to the second floor and then to the elevators to the eighth floor. Because I was number 10, I was one of the last ones in the elevator, and therefore in the front of the elevator. When we hit the eighth floor, they quickly pulled us out of the elevator, filed us through the halls and then rushed us into the studio, meaning that I was in the first few people to be seated.

I was placed in the front row of the balcony almost in the EXACT center! Because it is a live, working set, there are no “perfect” seats with “perfect” views, but I feel like I got pretty dang close. I was able to see both the cold open and the monologue very clearly, along with a good portion of the sketches.

After going back and watching the live show, I noticed a ton of differences between the live version and dress version we saw.

In addition to the two “cut for time” sketches posted on YouTube, there was another sketch cut with John, Cecily, Kyle, Kate, Alex, and Mikey about 1920s novelists. John was trying to become a new member of the famous Stratford-on-Odeon group of writers and proceeds to insult everyone in the group. Kristi and I both noticed in that sketch (and in others), John was was saying completely different things than those that were written on the cards– kind of doing a reverse Stefon.

There was also a bit from Update cut with Alex as Conor McGregor.

John also had some extra jokes in his monologue and in the “Switcheroo” sketch.

As other accounts have noted, the biggest highlight of that night was the complete disaster that was the dress version of the “Lobster Diner” sketch. At the beginning, they had trouble getting Kenan’s tank through the door and the laughing from Pete, Chris, Kate, and Kenan was even worse. If you watch the YouTube version of the sketch, they actually took some cuts from dress and put it into that version. The part with Pete laughing is from dress, along with the ending number. The audience was dying.

I also really enjoyed the “Wedding Singer” sketch and would have probably chosen that over the “Horns” sketch. I can hear myself laughing in the video they posted on YouTube at the parts where John interjects.

I felt a little emotional throughout the show, just because SNL has always meant so much to me. Just to be there, in that studio. Hearing “Live from New York…it’s Saturday Night!” and the theme music start up while I’m sitting right there; it was overwhelming. When they wheeled the Update desk and background out I was just in shock. I also spent the commercial breaks just taking in the experience of being in Studio 8H. There were lights above me with the old 1960s/1970s NBC logo. I was thinking of all the people I admire who have been in that studio–the original cast, my favorite cast members (like Dana Carvey, Bill Hader, and Jimmy Fallon), my favorite musicians (Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, George Harrison), my comedy heroes (Steve Martin, most of the members of Monty Python). It was crazy. And also to see Lorne Michaels in person, working down on the stage was just surreal.

At the end, they filed us all out back into the hallway where we were able to see the famous photos of former hosts and former sketches. Also, as I’ve heard others note before, the hallway (where I assume the writers are) smelled extremely strong of pot. Michael Che was also in the hall (possibly related? Haha).

We exited through the NBC Store, which was the only place still open in Rockefeller Centre at the time.

In all, this little adventure in NYC was the best trip I’ve ever taken in my life. I talked to some of the “old-timers” around me who have been doing this for years, and one told me that she could tell that I was going to do this again; that I had “caught the bug.” Which is absolutely true. I’ve definitely “caught the bug” and despite all the waiting, the stress, and the just overall exhaustion involved in the SNL standby process, I can see me doing this whole thing again very soon.

Another side note: I also attended Seth’s monologue rehearsal on Thursday, and he is the sweetest with the audience. That was so much fun, and because it was Thursday, SNL was in rehearsal and we got to see Pete Davidson and Kyle Mooney in the hallway. I was also standing beside the SNL stage, waiting to go into Late Night, and through the curtain I was able to see John, Luke, and Heidi rehearsing the “Horns” sketch.

#SNL #John Mulaney #Saturday Night Live #NYC #NBC #mulaney #long reads #seth meyers #bill hader #pete davidson

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bobbystompy · 8 years ago

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My Top 132 Songs Of 2016

Previously: 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

Haven’t started writing this yet, but after peaking at 73 songs in 2013, then dipping to 67 and 71 the last two years, it is unbelievable we hit 132 (blame Spotify’s easy ability to save music and create playlists).

I debated skipping around, but nahhh, let’s get it.

As always, the criteria/info:

This is a list of songs I personally like, not ones I’m saying are the “best” from the year; more subjective than objective

No artist is featured more than once

If it comes down to choosing between two songs for an artist, I try to give more weight to a single or featured track; it’s not the ultimate factor, but it typically makes sharing the music easier

Speaking of... each song on the list is linked in the title if you wanna check out some for yourself

BOBBY VS. THE SONGS, FID

132) Kendrick Lamar - “untitled 07 | levitate”

Yeah, not gonna do the thing everyone else is doing where we pretend Kendrick is making amazing music with 2016′s throwaway release. I had to trudge through so much weird-and-not-fun stuff on “Butterfly” last year; it’s time to be done with it. Kendrick is obviously a top flight MC and could end up as an all-time great, but, like, come on -- this is from an EP of b-sides, it’s (probably) the best song... and it’s still not that memorable. How this record is ended up on so many year end best of lists mystified me.

131) Young Thug - “Drippin'”

Thugger spazzin’ around.

130) 2 Chainz f/ Lil Wayne - “Gotta Lotta”

Eh, this song’s aight; beat good, kinda sticks with you sometimes. Funny it should be listed as “2 Chainz & Lil Wayne” -- peep the very creative album art -- yet ended up as a 2 Chainz solo feature (on technicality alone) due to Weezy’s ongoing label issues. These two play off each other well.

129) Real Friends - “Mokena”

This song is good, but it’s... a little too angst-y at points.

128) Iggy Pop - “American Valhalla”

The best compliment I can give this song is it sounds unlike anything I’ve ever heard. Not a fun listen every time, but if you consciously immerse, it can definitely work.

127) The Avett Brothers - “Ain't No Man”

Good mom song; feels like fun. passed the torch with this one.

126) Paul Simon - “Horace And Pete”

Louis C.K. got Simon to write a theme song for his dramedy “Horace and Pete”, and the diminutive one came through in spades. I sometimes like to shoehorn in the f-word when singing along to help break up some of the seriousness. But yeah, this feels like a ‘60s classic even though it’s essentially brand new.

125) Frank Ocean - “Nikes”

The A.V. Club summed up my opinion of the Frank Ocean record with one swift line: “On first listen, Blonde feels like a Cracker Jack box with no toy in it.”

Amen.

Don’t get it twisted: I love Frank, still believe in Frank, and of course consider “channel ORANGE” to (objectively) be one of the greatest albums of this generation, but “Blonde”? It didn’t connect. Somewhat reluctantly, I picked this song for the list because it was the first one I heard, and it stands as a symbol of the initial hope which faded over a few listens. But when Ocean breaks in after all the high pitched singing, it does feel like a moment.

Also, this line will always stick: “RIP Pimp C / RIP Trayvon, that n**** look just like me”.

124) DJ Khaled f/ Jay-Z & Future - “I Got The Keys”

DJ Khaled is a talentless jackass, annoyingly ad libbing his way into our brains. Unfortunately, my personal favorite artist chooses to make listenable songs with him. Alas, No. 124. Jay slaying with “My wife Beyoncé, I brag different”. Future... being Future.

123) Slim Thug - “King”

The always underrated Slim Thug, hangin’ out and tellin’ you about his life. Also lifting weights. Minus points for using the Pimp C sample Jigga used in “FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt” only three years ago.

122) American Football - “Give Me The Gun”

This band will never hit for me as much as it does with cool/laid back guitar people, but I enjoyed this tune. And I wish my friend Luke were here to listen with me.

121) Craig Finn - “Screenwriters School”

Craig Finn, as slow and chill as you’ll ever hear him.

120) Mikey Erg - “1001 Smashed Motel Rooms”

Solid verses, big chorus, and you can almost, like, tell he’s bald by the voice (not an insult).

119) Cassadee Pope - “Summer”

The former Hey Monday singer goes in on the strongest season.

118) The Cool Kids - “Connect 4″

It’s very difficult to write about The Cool Kids without using the word “cool”, but man, these guys have such a great interplay. It’s not two separate dudes taking turns; it’s a glorious intertwine with true chemistry.

117) Third Eye Blind - “Cop vs. Phone Girl"

This is our first song I’d call an imperative listen. I say this because you need you to hear Stephan Jenkins sing “Why's it so hard to say ‘Black Lives Matter’? / Doesn't mean that you're anti-white / Take it from me, I'm super fucking white”.

He remains bulletproof.

116) Wakrat - “Sober Addiction”

I was positive this song was a jam after one listen, but I’ve listened 3-4 times since, and it’s gotten progressively worse each time. If that’s not enough of a hook, the singer is the Rage Against The Machine bassist.

115) Owl Meet Rabbit - “This Side Of The Nut House”

A Christmas song with a “National Lampoon” reference.

114) YG f/ Drake & Kamaiyah - “Why You Always Hatin?”

Still a little unclear why Drake keeps agreeing to be in YG songs. His verse references sliding into DMs.

113) Yo Gotti f/ Nicki Minaj - “Down In The DM (Remix)”

...and we also have a track titled after it. My biggest memory with this song will be feeling sick in an Uber from Chicago to Forest Park on, like, a weekday morning but still mustering the nerve to laugh at the chorus, which is egregious enough before the “bridge” of “Snapchat me that pussy, if it’s cool”. Seriously. RIP, music.

112) The Dirty Nil - “Zombie Eyed”

This rips.

111) Microwave - “Homebody”

A good song that pulls you in further when the distortion gets bigger in the chorus.

110) AJJ - “Terrifyer”

Some days, you're a member of Queen Other days, you're a Kottonmouth King Some days, you're Emilio Estevez Other days, you're Charlie Sheen

109) Band of Horses - “Casual Party”

These guys are all smooth harmonies.

108) Fitz and the Tantrums - “HandClap”

This song is pretty unoffensive, but it’s catchy enough to work.

107) Nothing - “The Dead Are Dumb”

“The Dead Are Dumb” -or- if the “Twin Peaks” theme actually went somewhere.

106) Car Seat Headrest - “Unforgiving Girl (She's Not An)”

This band kinda reminds me of The Strokes; just a liiiiiitle less New York street and a tad more indie.

105) Vince Staples f/ Kilo Kish - “Loco”

Vince got into the news this year after defending the mom who had an extreme distaste for his lyrics in 2015′s “Norf Norf”. Let’s just say she also would not enjoy this one. His interplay with Kilo is on point.

104) GTA f/ Vince Staples - “Little Bit of This”

‘ey, it’s Vince again, and this one is stronger; somehow topping the high energy of “Loco” with another level of fire-spitting.

103) The Living End - “Monkey”

The Aussies broke a 13 year album hiatus with 2016′s “Shift”, and “Monkey”, one of the lead singles, did not disappoint. There will always be a place for songwriting like this.

102) Vic Mensa - “16 Shots”

This song is so raw and street and real. Sometimes you hear something, and it just cuts like a knife. I’m talking a “Straight Outta Compton” level here. Mensa has thoughts on police brutality in Chicago, and he ain’t holding back. He played this live on Kimmel, and his solemn-yet-wired energy could not be ignored.

101) Boyd & The Stahfools - “Summerly”

Some might say BATS sold out with this very commercial ode to Pollyanna’s raspberry wheat ale, but when you consume as much of it as those boys do, I say it’s legit art.

100) Macklemore & RL f/ J. Woods - “White Privelege II”

This is kinda like the Third Eye Blind message on Black Lives Matter, only the exact opposite. It’s... quite heavy handed, and while I like that from Macklemore, I realize a lot do not. All I can say in his defense is, like, man, it really seems like this dude is trying, and he certainly attempted to involve the right people. If that’s not good enough for you, I get it.

(Plus, he kinda digs on Iggy; throwing y’all a bone, just take it.)

99) Conor Oberst - “A Little Uncanny”

Oberst sounds a ton like Bob Dylan in this one, but he also sounds a ton like Oberst. It’s kinda like two massive folk tidal waves crashing into each other.

98) Cymbals Eat Guitars - “Have A Heart”

CEG -- despite a terrific name -- have always made music that felt obtuse, but this is the first song that felt ready-made to, like, give normal people a window to check out the band.

97) Green Day- “Bang Bang”

Everyone wants to over-analyze Green Day. But if you don’t do that, you’ll enjoy this as a fast and easy pop-punk song. It plays at my gym sometimes, and I always kinda assume people are annoyed by it. To quote Josh from “Heavyweights”, this pleases me.

96) James Vincent McMorrow - “Get Low”

Chill/cool.

95) The Flatliners - “Hang My Head”

This won’t end up in their all-time Top 5, but it’s a good song, and it was nice to hear from this band in 2016.

94) AFI - “Snow Cats”

This would sound right at home as a mid-tempo number on “Sing The Sorrow”.

93) Jay Electronica - “#TBE The Curse Of Mayweather”

Oof, what a shitty title. So, this is Jay Elect’s “blast back” at Kendrick Lamar after K-Dot slaughtered the rap game (and shit, maybe rap itself) in 2013′s “Control”. But here’s the thing... “Control” was “Control”. No one is topping “Control”. No one is successfully going at “Control”. That’s in its own stratosphere. Was it fun to see the enigmatic MC try? Sure. Did it make any type of impact? Eh, no. But I did enjoy the fake Kendrick voice.

92) The Dyes - “Loudmouth”

Out of every song so far, I’ve found this the toughest to write about. My favorite part is probably the way the guitar and bass play off each other, but my second favorite part has to be how sinister and swaggery it sounds.

91) Big Sean - “Get My Shit Together”

Maaaan, I missed Big Sean in 2016 after an extremely fruitful 2015. The few times he did surface -- on other people’s songs -- he stayed in form, so you’ll see more of him as this goes.

It feel like young Ray Allen with the white twins

90) Emeli Sandé f/ Jay Electronica & Áine Zion - “Garden”

Serene, with a fitting Jay Elect verse.

89) Yumi Zouma - “Haji Awali”

Chiller than a Coleman.

88) Jimmy Eat World - “Get Right”

We’ve talked about this before, but JEW typically have sunny day feel good songs, or nighttime darkness-type songs; this one’s the latter.

87) Into It. Over It. - “No EQ”

Sooooo good; melodic and percussive and soulful. It tugs at your heart just the right amount.

86) The Front Bottoms - “Joanie”

This really, really sounds like a Front Bottoms song, which I mostly mean as a compliment but also... am slightly worried about as it pertains to future material.

85) The Lumineers - “Ophelia”

Would I like to steal this song and give it to a girl and say I wrote it to mega impress her? Uh, duh. Piano for dayz.

84) Viola Beach - “Swings & Waterslides”

Kinda a lighter version of the Arctic Monkeys; mostly the singing... but in a big way.

83) The Game - “92 Bars”

It’s sposta be a Meek Mill diss, but it’s basically Game freestyling about a buncha stuff over a workable beat. Some real solid lines, too. My favorites:

- “I can kill you in four bars, that's a Kit Kat”

- “Let me tell you who suck, like banana Now and Laters” (haha)

- “Give me Left Eye back, take Fetty Wap and the Raiders”

- “Gum by them Yeezys, I'm the 6'5" Eazy” (MVP bar?)

- “This the Golden State and my shooters ain't on no hoop shit” (coooold)

82) OMI - “Hula Hoop”

I’mma give the write up here to my girl Alyssa Pawola, via her husband, Jeff Pawola (who watched the video after she was told the song reminded me of him):

She agreed with you!

She says it's because the singer dances similar to me and is a little goofy (compliment?), whereas all the girls around him are really good dancers (thus, her).

81) Joey Purp f/ Chance The Rapper - “Girls @”

If you’re not all-in on this song by the seven or eight second mark, then you can probably pass. HOWEVA, Chance and his 3 hat appear later on, so we call that incentive, young Bucky.

80) Vinnie Caruana - “I Don’t Believe You”

The feels like a last-song-on-the-record kinda track.

/looks up if it was the last song on the record

...8 of 10!

(Close enough.)

79) No Lenox - “Leave”

This song is heart and blood, with a rare use of “fucking” from Chris Trott.

78) JANK - “Versace Summer”

JANK is interesting. All of their artwork and motif make them seem like stoners (and maybe they are), but the music itself is so technical and synced. Like, you know they’re trying and very capable. So as weird as seeing “Versace” next to “JANK” might look, maybe it’s this high end brand that truly does fit their sound over, say, Faygo. But yeah, by the time this song is done, even though they’ve played the chorus a handful of times, you probably wouldn’t mind a handful more.

77) White Lung - “Dead Weight”

This band is just the coolest shit. They always go so, so hard, but this time, there’s a guitar playing mega bad ass leads to help even things out. I would believe you if you told me the guitar was also shooting lasers.

76) Descendents - “Without Love”

Like The Living End, the Descendents have also been out of the ‘releasing new records’ game for over a decade. And as jokey of a band as they’ve been in the past, this song has some of the same earnestness and vulnerability we heard on 2004′s “Cool To Be You”.

75) Andrew Bird - “Roma Fade”

For sure a candidate for coolest song title of 2016.

74) LVL UP - “Hidden Driver”

This is too indie for its own good.

73) A$AP Ferg f/ Big Sean - “World Is Mine”

Mostly included for Sean. Sorry, Ferg -- but you did give him the hook and a verse.

72) AM Taxi - “Enough To Feel Like Enough”

Like The Front Bottoms song from earlier, this AM Taxi song is very AM Taxi. But I ain’t ever worried about AM Taxi.

71) Rozwell Kid - “Baby’s First Sideburns”

Not sure I’ve ever heard a weak song by this band.

70) PARTYNEXTDOOR f/ Drake - “Come And See Me”

If you wanted to upset your love interest in 2016, hitting him or her with the “I hear you talkin' 'bout ‘we’ a lot, oh, you speak French now?” line was probably a good place to start.

69) Tancred - “Bed Case”

Kinda ‘90s, right? Nice.

68) Thrice - “Blood On The Sand”

Moderate take alert: I purport the Thrice singer sounds like Dave Grohl in this song, particularly during the chorus. Come at me with your agrees or disagrees.

67) MakeWar - “Ode”

The dude on this band’s album cover always reminds me of Rafa Nadal, which is weird, as I’d argue he looks -20% like Rafa Nadal. This song has a downcast energy. I think I wanna see these dudes live.

66) PKEW PKEW PKEW - “Asshole Pandemic”

Party punk, wooooo. You will not find a more circular 2016 lyric than “Why’s this fuckin’ dick gotta be such a cock?”

65) Adam Friedman f/ Mike Posner - “Lemonade”

blue eyes >>> brown eyes, Adam.

64) Matt and Kim - “Let’s Run Away”

As always-always-always, Matt and Kim are having more fun than we are.

63) Ariana Grande f/ Nicki Minaj - “Side To Side”

As recently as 40 days ago, I was emaling my friends about this track with the very loaded “I’m not sure this song is good at all”.

My buddy Brian’s response will probably jar you like it jarred me:

Gotta say, I have a soft spot for this song. I think the beat is pretty banging and the subject matter is a plus. Like, we do have to acknowledge that she's walking side to side because she's been having sex with dude all night and day and now her vagina is too sore to walk like a regular person. I can dig that.

Well then.

62) With You. f/ Vince Staples - “Ghost”

Weird music video, but definitely my favorite version of Vince that we got in 2016.

61) Fifth Harmony f/ Ty Dolla $ign - “Work From Home”

I was listening to this song with my girlfriend the other day, and I said something like “This song could really use a rap cameo”. Enter: the very forgettable Ty Dolla $ign. Still, a fun, sexty song. Also, I believe this is our first -- and only? -- song to have over one billion YouTube views (!!!).

60) Masked Intruder - “If Only”

This made it over other MI candidates due to the Winnie Cooper reference.

59) Fat Joe, Remy Ma, Jay-Z f/ French Montana & Infared - “All The Way Up (Remix)”

An easy chorus for sports teams to co-opt, as well as a “fuck off me” Jay verse. He bucks “Lemonade”, ups his products for the infinite time, and drops the mic after:

The OG's say, "Hov, how high is high enough?" I said "'till we eye and eye with the higher ups" Until we let 'em know, we ain't those n****s Until our baby's showered in gold, n**** Blue looking like Pac in the tub David LaChapelle levels of not giving a fuck Prince left his masters where they safe and sound We never gonna let the elevator take him down

Man.

Worry not, cockroach French is around to muck things up. It’s salvaged by a real dope Remy Ma verse, though.

58) Al Scorch - “Everybody Out”

The perfect soundtrack for escaping a busted speakeasy.

57) Tegan and Sara - “Dying To Know”

This song makes the list because the “Boyfriend” chorus was lazy as hell; it was like the “Closer” chorus, version 2.0. Conversely, “Dying To Know” has real emotion and a big, legit chorus.

56) Bloc Party - “The Good News”

A song I fear no one will like but me... but hey, my list.

55) New Lenox - “It’s Its Own Thing”

This is a song I wrote (and drummed on) about how winter sucks. It’s also about Chicago, being alone, finding someone, and using Banner Pilot to get through tough, frozen times. Shout out to Dave Rokos for singing the majority of the leads and Chris Trott for producing.

54) Julien Baker - “Photobooth”

I became enamored with the voice and talent of 21-year-old phenom Julien Baker throughout 2016, and though she released her debut album in 2015 (ALL TRACKS DISQUALIFIED, CHICA), she did drop this Death Cab cover for The A.V. Club this year, so I found a way to get her in the door. Now that we’re all here, I’ll give the floor to Deadspin’s Tom Ley:

What I did not expect was to like this version of the song so much that I now become visibly disgusted when I try to go back and listen to the original. Like all the good, thoughtful teens of my era, I spent a lot of time listening to Death Cab in my car, and I used to nod along pleasantly when “Photobooth” came on. But now I’m just angry I ever wasted any time listening to a lesser version of the song. In my opinion, Death Cab should just turn their entire catalog over to Julien Baker and be done with it.

Ironically, I will be seeing Baker open up for Death Cab singer Ben Gibbard later this January.

53) Desiigner - “Panda”

This is a bad song... but it’s incredibly listenable (for about 30 seconds, only it keeps going for a normal amount of time). It got upped on Kanye’s album, which likely sparked public interest in this mumble rap disaster. Literally the best thing you can say is it’s a Future rip off -- and he’s not all that great to begin with.

/sadly looks up YouTube view total

190 million; Fifth Harmony is like “pshhhh”.

Yet, “Panda” somehow endures. It feels fresh, saying “panda” repatedly never seems to tire, and it burned down the dance floor at Brian Pawola’s wedding this summer; old and young alike wanted to be pandas.

Now is also probably a good time to disclose my Halloween costume...

52) Cloud Nothings - “Modern Act”

Me, blogging about my excitement for the new Cloud Nothings album that drops in three weeks.

51) A Tribe Called Quest f/ André 3000 - “Kids” (no link)

Welcome back.

50) Run The Jewels - “Talk To Me”

Haven’t listened to RTJ3, but it’s only been out for, like, 10 days. Still, this song is as reliably dope as they’ve always been. I also felt compelled to include ATCQ and RTJ in these spots to ensure they were not above “Panda”.

Brave men didn't die face down in the Vietnam muck so I could not style on you

49) Kevin Devine - “No History”

My aforementioned buddy Dave Rokos likes this song because of its big chorus, and I’d also like to use it as a selling point.

48) Kings Of Leon - “Reverend”

For as big as Kings Of Leon are, I haven’t really heard this song anywhere.

47) Rae Sremmurd f/ Gucci Mane - “Black Beatles”

I always thought Rae Sremmurd were kinda meh (at best) and Gucci Mane was an idiot’s idiot (at absolute best), but this song’s a banger -- and this conclusion was reached prior to it going viral with the Mannequin Challenges. Speaking of... my 2016 Black Wednesday:

A video posted by Bobby L (@bobbystompy) on Nov 23, 2016 at 7:15pm PST

46) Grimes - “Kill V. Maim”

This song is straight out of a video game or action movie. Like, get ready to fight a boss or something.

45) Dave Hause - “With You”

Heartfelt ballad that feels sprawled out across a few genres.

44) Robin Thicke f/ Nas - “Deep”

What do we get when we combine a dude with no credibility and feature a dude with tons of credibility? A sneaky sizzling collab. And if you still got beef, remember: it ain’t that deep.

43) Against Me! - “Rebecca”

A lot of people have had this AM! song on their year end lists, and I wasn’t seeing it, but after a few extra spins, it became pretty clear this was thee highlight from the album. It’s got this kinetic energy, spinning out of control while somehow maintaining perfect balance.

42) Restorations - “See”

Restorations make spectrum songs; ones you listen to while the world moves in slow motion at an airport reunion, while time stops after a death, or stretches out on an overly contemplative Sunday evening. What I’m saying is, these dudes control the clocks.

41) Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties - “Green Like The G Train, Green Like Sea Foam”

Soupy from The Wonder Years’ solo project keeps -- PUN INTENDED -- chuggin’ along with this one. He’s singing in the same gear he always sings in, but the chorus and always trusty synced rhythms that break it in two definitely get me goin’.

40) Titus Andronicus - “No Future”

Titus Andronicus covering Craig Finn, and they add just the right amount of anguish to the proceedings. There’s such an obvious-yet-still-clever element to the “February’s about as long as it is wide” line.

39) Rihanna - “Needed Me” (NSFW-ish video)

This song is good -- Mustard on the beat, natch -- but RiRi murdering a dude in the back of a strip club in the video might be better.

38) Jeff Rosenstock - “Festival Song”

The former Bomb the Music Industry! singer dipped his toe in a few genres throughout his 2016 album “Worry”, though I’m not sure how to describe this one; it’s kind of spastic punk with some synthy keyboards and a catchy outro, strong enough to throw two capable haymakers as the song enters its final minute.

37) The Steve Adamyk Band f/ Colleen Green - “Carry On”

I hadn’t even heard of this band a month ago, but “Carry On” has quickly become a favorite; toe-tappin' rock.

36) The Naked And Famous - “Higher”

This band seems like they’d have -- there is no better word I’m so sorry -- epic concerts. Also, don’t miss out on the “In The Air Tonight”-sounding fills.

35) Phantogram - “You Don’t Get Me High Anymore”

Brilliant drum samples, drug stuff, and a pop sensibility; you seriously could not ask for more.

34) Child Bite - “Vermin Mentality”

This song is quite harsh, and I imagine if you had individual approval ratings for all 132 of these songs, it would very easily finish in the bottom five. That said, I think it rocks, and it reminds me of the Dead Kennedys’ best scenario.

33) Joyce Manor - “Last You’ve Heard Of Me”

Sure, I reacted like a mom when I saw Barry’s new neck tattoo in the video, but the song was the redeemer. Recommended if you like the Everclear “Santa Monica” intro, marijuana makes you tired, or you’ve found love in the parking lot outside a karaoke bar.

32) Cassino - “Alabama Song”

If you did happen to listen to “Vermin Mentality”, this’ll probably be the song to get that taste out of your mouth. I love its overall laid back vibe, even if what it’s about remains unclear after a good chunk of listens.

31) Direct Hit! - “Was It The Acid?”

This one lost several punk points after the singer revealed he did not use hard drugs. But still.

30) Bayside - “Pretty Vacant”

My buddy Brian Pawola doesn’t like this song because of the teenage-y “I can’t believe this is my life, I’m pretty vacant all the time” chorus, but that’s precisely why I do. Also, apparently the album it’s off of is called “Vacancy”, haha.

29) PUP - “Familiar Patterns”

Feels weird not picking a single, but this one was always my favorite; the same percussive power, shreddy singing, and unrelenting noise we got in their debut a few years ago. Also funny: they named their 2016 album “The Dream Is Over”, which is what the PUP singer’s doctor told him after diagnosing his vocal chord ailment.

28) Tokyo Police Club - “Not My Girl”

Sometimes, I wanna tell non-punk fans TPC is what all punk rock sounds like, because even though the band has more of a pop-indie element, they do seem like the genre’s best case scenario more often than not.

27) The Falcon - “If Dave Did It”

Feels like sacrilege picking a Dave Hause fronted track for my Falcon choice. After all, this is Brendan Kelly’s group, and after an EP and two full lengths, it’s Dave’s first ever time fronting a song in the band. But this song kept standing out. It also has a small drum solo, and even though basically all drum solos are bad, Neil Hennessy’s on the kit -- so you know you’re in good hands.

26) Chance The Rapper f/ 2 Chainz & Lil Wayne - “No Problem”

Chance’s “Coloring Book” was so positive and creative and multi-faceted that it feels a little wrong to pick a song that’s more traditional rap with typical guests, but it really is the best song, you know? For whatever reason, Lil Wayne’s nonchalant verse was my favorite, with his initial bars being the highlight:

I got problems bigger than these boys My deposits, they be on steroids Lord, free the Carter, n****s need the Carter Sacrificin' everything, I feel like Jesus Carter

But sure, we can also highlight funny 2 Chainz things:

- “Inside of the Maybach look like it came out of Ikea / Run shit like diarrhea” (oh my god)

- “Aye, aye, captain / I'm high, captain / I'm so high / Me and God dappin'” (haha)

Also, if you don’t raise-and-drop your arms for the “huh! huh!” part before the beat kicks in at the beginning after “lobby”, you’re a monster.

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25) David Rokos - “Pacific Time”

Falling in lust with a California girl who has the keys to bomb ass hotel room overlooking the ocean? What self-deprecating heterosexual dude isn’t signing up for this?

24) NOFX - “Six Years On Dope”

Thrash punk, with Fat Mike and Eric Melvin divvying up the vocals after arguing to start the song. Here’s the July 2016 description I emailed to the gf:

So, the lead singer has kind of a flat, annoying voice, but then there's this guitarist who mostly does yell parts and not a lot of leads, but in this song, they both basically trade off yelling, and the guitar is blaring, and it just does not relent. They've released a million records at this point, but something about it feels so fresh. Like new blood has been infused into all of them.

You will like... 0% of this.

Her response: “Hahaha. I wouldn't say that I hate this...but it's pretty close.”

23) Beach Slang - “Future Mixtape For The Art Kids”

Of all the artists on this way-too-long list, I had the hardest time picking a Beach Slang song. This is probably because all of their songs sound the same. But as a writer earlier this year said, it’s still a good song. So true. I went with Track 1 from their album “A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings” (this is the actual title) because it has the biggest chorus:

We're not lost, we are dying in style We're not fucked, we are fucking alive I hope I never die

Every Beach Slang song also has to include “die” or “alive” in the lyrics; this one gets both. Minor gripe: that vocal distortion you hear is an effect used on every other song on the 29 minute record.

22) Kid Cudi f/ André 3000 - “By Design” (no link)

When you think too much, you’re removing what’s moving

This song could literally be in a made up language, but the diction, beat, and Caribbean stylings from Cudi and 3 Stacks would still make you wile out. The full version appears to be nowhere on the free Internet, but I highly recommend finding it.

If you’re too lazy, peep Cudi’s “Goodbye” instead. It’s a pump up track that samples 2Pac and Pink Floyd -- what could go wrong?!

21) Anderson .Paak - “Come Down”

My buddy Ceebs used this as the entrance song at his wedding; he and his wife looked so cool.

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20) The Weeknd - “False Alarm”

Listen, I wanted to include “Starboy”. But after shunning “The Hills” for “Can’t Feel My Face” in 2015, I wanted to pick the weird song over the poppier one this time, OK? This music video is so violent. I also really do wonder if this song has borderline punk elements.

19) Carly Rae Jepsen - “Higher”

Just a Carly Rae “Emotion” b-side cracking the Top 20, no big deal. Seeing CRJ in Milwaukee in March was my favorite concert of 2016; so much so that I saw her in Chicago the next day and even exchanged a shirt (...cutoffs) with the merch guy I’d met already.

18) Brian Fallon - “Red Lights”

We have The Gaslight Anthem singer’s solo project here. This could definitely be a TGA song. “I only stop to tell her that I love her at the red lights” = unstoppable swoon.

17) Jay-Z - “Spiritual”

I need a drink, shrink or something I need an angelic voice to sing something

A song that should’ve had a much bigger spotlight in an incredibly tumultuous year. I remember listening to this during the Dallas shootings, my heart absolutely breaking for the country. Here is the statement Hov released with the track:

16) Justin Timberlake - “CAN’T STOP THE FEELING!”

Our Song of the Summer, 2K16.

The one critique you could give is maybe it’s a little too easy, a little too low hanging fruit, but my counter would be: who said pop music has to be terribly difficult? And if you’re still folding arms during the “Can’t stop the fee-laaaaahn” falsetto part, having fun probably isn’t your bag.

15) Get Well Cards - “Is It Worth It?”

I think you’re trying to kill me, when you said you’d lick my wounds

I play drums on this jam, but it’s Dave Rokos’ songwriting that gives me all the feels. It always reminded me of a slightly more restrained “Good Things”. This song is about sleeplessness, deep contemplation, and a deteriorating relationship; you don’t know if you should do everything you can to hold on... or mercifully let it all go (”And they say time is all we have to give / And I think I’ve given you enough”... oof).

14) Resolutions - “Daily Train”

Blindly assumed this band was from Canada, but, upon further research, it looks like Germany. Hmm. The singer sounds like the Rise Against dude to me.

13) Mike Posner f/ Big Sean - “Buried In Detroit (Lucas Lowe Remix)”

Hunger > Strategy

The Mike Posner comeback was one of the more delightful storylines of 2016. Though I liked “Ibiza” quite a bit, I had a softer spot for the one with his fellow Michigander. This is my favorite Big Sean performance of the year, and Posner’s verses and choruses are straight anthemic.

12) blink-182 - “Rabbit Hole”

Though we can all agree “Built This Pool” is the best song of all-time (Travis’ “Is that really it?” = completely perfect), “Rabbit Hole” was a bit more well-rounded -- and it’s Matt Skiba getting in the mix in a blink-182 song (verse two); I can’t believe we’re here.

11) Kanye West f/ Kendrick Lamar - “No More Parties In L.A.”

In honor of its number on our dear list, my Top 11 favorite bars from this banging banger of a song...

11. Kanye: “And as far as ‘Real Friends’, tell all my cousins I love 'em / Even the one that stole the laptop, you dirty motherfucker” (he’s not over it)

10. Kanye: "My psychiatrist got kids that I inspired / First song they played for me was 'bout their friend that just died” (creepy, ominous)

9. Kanye: “Hey baby, you forgot your Ray Bans / And my sheets still orange from your spray tan” (very South Naperville)

8. Kendrick: “She said she came out here to find an A-list rapper / I said baby, spin that 'round and say the alphabet backwards” (the young MC will not be slighted)

7. Kanye: "Thinking back to how I got here in the first place / Second class bitches wouldn't let me on first base" (those days are probably over, Yeezy)

6. Kanye: “Got pussy from beats I did for n****s more famous / When did I become A list? I wasn't even on a list” (those days are also probably over, Yeezy)

5. Kendrick: “Well cutie, I like your bougie booty / Come Erykah Badu me" (that’s just good game)

4. Kanye: “Every agent I know, know I hate agents / I'm too black, I'm too vocal, I'm too flagrant” (empowering)

3. Kanye: “I was uninspired since Lauryn Hill retired / And 3 Stacks, man, you preach it to the choir” (golden)

2. Kanye: "Mulholland Drive, need to put up some god damn barricades / I be paranoid every time, the pressure / The problem ain't I be drivin' / The problem is I be textin'" (we’ve all been there)

1. Kanye: “I be worried 'bout my daughter, I be worried 'bout Kim / But Saint is baby 'Ye, I ain't worried 'bout him” (and we’ll end with my favorite rap lyric of 2016)

10) Daya - “Hide Away”

It took a few listens to realize how sublime this one is. The lyrics are solid, the beat is great, and they display some real patience with how the hi-hat notes are deployed, and it really helps control the flow of urgency (Posner uses this tactic in the “Buried In Detroit [Remix]” as well).

Also, don’t sleep on its grocery store banger potential with the happier sounding and cutesy “Tell me where the good boys go” bridge.

9) Beyoncé f/ Kendrick Lamar - “Freedom” (note: link is to the live performance)

This is big.

I remember when “Lemonade” dropped, I was txting with my friend Buffalo Grove Tina (she’d heard the album and I hadn’t yet), giving her selective feedback as I was progressing through the tracks. She then sent a message that stuck with me every listen since:

Hooooooly buckets, she nailed it. The Just Blaze beat should be sent to the CDC, Yoncé is breathing fire, and once you start to finally wrap your head around all of that, you get a K-Dot verse as icing on a cake that already had great cake and great icing. It’s run-through-walls time.

8) Drake - “One Dance” (note: link is to the live version)

Drake has been so consistent with his output this decade, turning every year into a "Should I pick the hip-hop song or the pop song?" debate when it comes to list-making. This time, the pop song wins (or dancehall, really).

"One Dance" is a good joint to drink, dance, or sway to. There's a reason it became his most streamed song of all-time.

7) The Hotelier - “Piano Player”

What a beautiful piece of music. The warmness I feel during the “I don’t know if I know love no more” is unmatched. Their album (”Goodness”) is one of the year’s best.

6) Culture Abuse - “Dream On”

This song is automatic pulverization. Like, about 80% of the way through, it tries to end but somehow can't. The chorus isn't ready to be done. Some have compared the singer's style to a robot, but I think it just sounds *cool*.

5) Japandroids - “Near To The Wild Heart Of Life”

She kissed me like a chorus

Skeptics might hate on this song for sounding like a retread of their sound from 2012's legendary album "Celebration Rock", and even non-skeptics may roll their eyes at the "I used to be good, but now I'm bad" line. But I shun these trigger happy notions. Enough time has passed since “CR”, and I was ready for this band to come back; beyond ready. This song gave me everything I was missing during the Japan-void.

/walks out of the room with an unflinchingly straight face

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4) Pusha T f/ Jay-Z - “Drug Dealers Anonymous”

My pick for the best hip-hop track of the year. No choruses, no trade offs; it’s one long Pusha verse, then one long Jay verse -- the best rap verse of 2016, by my count. Pusha’s is galvanizing too, though. He paints pictures, conjures the Flint water crisis*, and sets up a bowling pin for the GOAT to roll one at...

/deep breath

Just, like, fuck, man.

JAY-Z IS SO GOOD AT RAPPING WORDS

Shawn Corey Carter doesn’t walk, he weaves. He doesn’t blast, he shoots silenced. I’d love to use the word “ether” to describe the verse but won’t out of respect. What doesn’t it have? I don’t know. Here’s what it does have: Tomi Lahren she gone, drug dealer stuff, rich guy stuff, historical and pop culture references (I’ll defend the “Damn, Daniel” line to the death), and this piece of divinity: “Y’all think Uber’s the future, our cars been autonomous”.

Sometimes all I can do is put my head down, bite my lip, and bob when this song comes on; lucky to be alive, like always.

(* - Pusha apparently donated water to the city but wanted it nameless, rationalizing it in the song with: “And I can’t even mention what I sent or what I spent / Cause my name in 18 wheelers is evidence”)

3) Modern Baseball - “Apple Cider, I Don’t Mind”

MoBo’s “Holy Ghost” was a little uneven as an album, but I’m just happy to have singer Brendan Lukens here with us after his bout with depression, substance abuse, and suicidal thoughts. By the time he got back to the studio after rehab, he was ready to give us at least a little insight into his psyche -- and it’s desperate, scary, and beautiful. My favorite overall musical moment of 2016 is the pleading “I can’t” he hits at the 1:15 mark of this one.

Clocking in at a tick under two minutes, this song almost feels incomplete in a way that 2014′s “Rock Bottom” (2:14 itself) didn’t. It’s like Lukens wants to sprint so hard he passes out, worrying not as much about finishing the race but instead focusing on giving the audience all of himself while in the booth.

2) Pinegrove - “New Friends”

Hit me, Spin:

Pinegrove are almost radically likable, soft-spoken in a year of grandiose statements, filling a void that only existed in retrospect.

Damn straight. I hadn’t even heard of these guys at the start of the year.

This goes from indie folk to a Weezer-y outro with only a short build up, but the songwriting and lyrics are in a style all their own, really. That’s it.

1) The Menzingers - “Lookers”

When this dropped, my buddy Chris Trott emailed me what he always emails me when a new song piques our interest: “Holy good god damn this is good. This is like 'I believe in music again' good.”

Shortly after, I remember leaving work for lunch and bumping the song for the first time in a parking lot. I wrote him back: “Was staring at this brick wall while listening and the first thought that popped into my head was something like 'It feels like they are taking my soul out of my body and splattering it on that wall' (in the best way, of course).”

Nostalgic verses, massive Jersey chorus, an “On The Road” reference, and the desire to want more of these songs even after you were just given everything in a single installment.

This god damn band.

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twilightpony4 · 7 years ago

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Ola Americano... Turtle?: 4. Two Truths and a Lie

It was not long the family began to bore. Almost an hour ago, they saluted their friends and family before boarding the plane and twenty passed since they’ve taken off. The aircraft was just as big as the one they’ve taken to China. Instead of having someone as incompetent like Vern, Chief Vincent really hooked them up with a fully qualified officer as their pilot. She’s been a seasoned officer now a pilot for overseas and cross country trips and had worked with the turtles before.

Meanwhile she was contented flying the plane, the mutants were not so. Silent, but bored. They anticipated it, but not this quickly into the trip. For sure they haven’t even crossed a few states. Amongst the silence, Michelangelo groaned with a pitch sure to match Tarzan.His decibels surpassed the few with headphones on, causing them to remove them for the sake of alarm. The rest, however, fell victim to the murder of their eardrums and jumped out of their skin.

“AHH WHAT!?” Raphael was one without headphones. Michelangelo was sitting in front of him and found it fitting to use all his might to push the shell out of his seat. Venus, who was sitting in the aisle across from Michelangelo’s seat, brought her knees up to her chest after the quick scare. The orange colored terrapin turned from his seat to allow his eyes to peer over it.

“I’m bored!” he bellowed forcefully. There was a collective sigh and slump.

“And we aren’t?” Venus added, stretching out her legs to their original position.

“I got Suicide Squad on Amazon,” His head popped out very quickly to see Donnie’s content expression present the title of the movie on his tablet. “but we got to wait for it to buffer before we watch it.” He groaned, throwing his arms up in the air while his seat caught his shell when he fell back into it. There was little sympathy after what he'd done earlier as the tips of his fingers drug down his tear ducts from his eyeballs.

“Wanna play a game?”

“What kind?” Venus straightened up more against the wall of the plane. A game would be nice about now. The turtle looked off to the side and shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t know… ya’ll got any?” He asked. Collectively, the group pondered on the thought. Then, there was a gasp from Donatello.

“Oh! Two Truths and a Lie?” He proposed.

“I’m down.” Leo chimed in, bringing himself closer in the aisle.

“Let’s go.” Michelangelo rubbed his dry hands in approval, ready to go.

“Me first!” The suggester raised his hand. All six mutants scooted closer in the aisles to participate and speculate the game. Donnie took a moment to think it over. When he came up with his statement, he shook his head and made eye contact with everyone. “At the junkyard, I have a homeless friend who is a former college professor. I don't need my glasses. I made a serum secretly to make me tall.” A brow and the side of his glasses rose cockily for he'd given them a good run. From their expressions he could tell they were all sampling each scenario.

“He was in-between Leo and I.” Raphael mumbled; chin lying between his fingers.

“I don't know, I want to guess glasses but…” Mona paused, continuing to think it over before she gave her final verdict. “I don't know.”

“I'm gonna go with the homeless professor.” Leo answered.

“I gotta say the growth serum.” Mikey said; Venus and Raphael agreed with him. There was a smile overtaking his face.

“I never made a growth serum. I just grew.” The purple banded turtle revealed. Although he knew it was a good set, he still couldn't believe most of them believed in the lie.

“So, your friend?” Mona asked.

“The professor? He'd rather not give his real name, but he's always talking about theories. Most of them make sense.”

“My turn!” Michelangelo raised his hand. Once all eyes were on him, he began. “I secretly watch Shameless. I’m a Changeling in my PC game ‘Super Quest’. Splinter once told me I had the most potential.”

“Is is wrong to say he has ‘no potential’?” Very unamused and looks of “What’s wrong with you? Don't say that to his face” were all implemented on him. Instead of putting his hands up in surrender, Raphael stood his ground and leaned in closer. “I’m just saying, I think that’s the lie.” He replied truthfully.

“What's Shameless?” Venus asked. Leonardo met her face by turning his head to the right.

“An adult-oriented tv show that he,” Then, his head stared straight on at the turtle across from him. Quickly, his calm, explaining demeanor changed to a mother disciplining her child “shouldn't be watching.” Venus, trying to catch on, looked to why he was looking at his brother so hard and had to ask:

“How do you know that?” His demeanor changed again. He appeared choked up and slightly embarrassed. Leonardo’s frame stiffened and straightened up while crossing his arms over his chest. The turtle girl raised a brow but smiled all the same.

“I’ve stumbled upon Shameless once while flipping the channels.” He stated matter-of-factly. Michelangelo leaned in more to the point that his arm supported him on the seat Leonardo’s legs were occupying.

“And-?” He asked with a knowing smile. Leo tried to find a nice way to put it without embarrassing himself.

“I was scarred.” Was the way he put it.

“Shameless is the lie.” Venus guessed; Mona and Donatello did as well.

“Vote me in for ‘No potential’.” Raphael stood alone on this one. Leonardo refused to answer, most likely because he had his suspicions.

“Ha!” The youngest turtle pointed a hearty finger at his team. “I got ya’ll good! I’m a White Knight in ‘Super Quest’!” Oh, wow. You're really a knight in that online game you play. Wicked, bro.

“Lame lie.” The largest turtle sank back into his seat; the corner of his lip twitched.

“You watch Shameless?!” We all know who exploded on this one. Now resting his elbows on his knees, his clear blue eyes stared into his younger brother in shock. “You’re way too underaged!” Michelangelo leaned back in horror. His fingers gripped in the seat with his legs partially in the air in case Leo wanted to pounce of him.

“I’m into the plotline, not the vulgar stuff!” He tried to explain to keep a full blown smackdown occur on the plane. “Besides, I like Noel Fisher. Bro’s cool!” He added. Truthful, but he also hoped it would calm their leader down and rethink about telling on him.

“Uh, huh.” There was a stiff silence. Although barely lasting seconds, it felt like forever due to Michelangelo’s anxiety and sweat reflex coming from his brow. Suddenly, he jumped out of his seat and pointed to the turtle sitting behind him.

“Raph watches Blue Mountain State!” Like a true tattletale. Immediately, the red clad turtle sat up straight to retaliate.

“Why you putting my business out like that? What's wrong with you?”

“It's a cool show too!” He formed a circle with his thumb and pointer finger, leaving the remaining digit up. You have got to make amends with Raphael quickly; that's the trick of the trade. “Thad Castle, dude. Freaking hilarious! Have you watched Rise of Thadland yet?” True, he was just mentioning his favorite actor to keep him from pummeling him, but it was also true that his character is definitely on the top of his list.

“Nope, been waiting for a time when everybody was out.” His anger turned to joy that somebody else liked Thad just like him. The fanboy within him whispered this notion to his youngest brother, who nodded understandably.

“Excuse me!” Leonardo interrupted explosively. “Are we going to ignore the fact that you're both under aged for watching those programs?!”

“Relax momma turtle.” As of Michelangelo wasn't the one freaking out earlier. Now with Raph on his side, he felt not-alone and untouchable. “You'd like Shameless. Pete Ploszek shows up in a couple episodes.” Another reminder of one’s favorite actor to get on his good side only this time the young turtle wasn't as fond of him. Then, the most slyest smile curled up on Raphael’s lips. Internally, those who noticed began to worry.

“Besides,” he began so humbly. “we know you watched Jackass .” It just got real. The leader’s face face went red so quickly in a blush.

“What?!” He screamed incredulously. A weight settled on the leader’s chest. They all knew very well they weren't allowed to watch adult content (by law) and that Splinter would definitely disapprove. His brother’s knew about it too.

“Didn't think we saw that, hm?” Donnie sang with a cocked eyebrow and leisurely lean on his seat. “Thought we were all somewhere else… Talk about tasteless.” Surely he had to hide when watching that. First, Splinter’s disapproval. Second, for sure they would look at him as less of a serious being if he were to watch Knoxville (a favorite of his) and his crew performing ugly and insane stunts such as teeter tottering with a bull and taking a limo ride with a beehive. That's so unprofessional.

“We won't tell if you don't tell. Up to you, bro.” Michelangelo matched his tallest brother’s stance.

“Blackmail’s a b*****, isn't it?”

“You watched a donkey?” Venus nearly whispered. When she leaned towards the leader’s direction, who was sitting behind her, the leader leaned back into the seat by the window. Michelangelo wanted to feel sympathy and laugh when he saw his brother’s shot up eyes and tense posture completely amped by her curiosity. With no answers coming from the leader, Mona asked the turtle next to her.

“Doing what?” Her tone was deep and inquisitive. The purple clad terrapin raised up his hands and faced forward. When she tried to get answers from Raphael, his grinned while shaking his head and turned away from her.

“Mona's turn!” Mikey exclaimed. Oh, right! They're playing a game.

“I suck at stuff like this.” The lizard lady sighed.

“Try.” Mikey pleaded. Don't you hate it when people try not to participate in a game? Only just to speculate.

“Um…” Attentions were focused on her, much to Leonardo’s relief. “I once had an imaginary therapist that was a running gag amongst my friends…” It felt as if the ending sound of her words were dawned on until she thought of the next idea. “I made my teacher cry because he couldn’t comprehend the complex and thorough physics experiment I conducted. I need just one more. Something outrageous...” They waited on her. Already, they were weighing out their answers. “I don't know!” She exclaimed. “I’ve found someone?” Her ill-sincere tone and the possibilities between all three statements induced a collective:

“Lie.” From all the rest.

“You really do suck at this game. That's way too easy.” Mikey teased.

“Told ya.” She half-laughed, defeated easily but still smiling because it truly was an ill-attempt to fool them.

“And you guys thought my lie sucked.” He sighed from the short fit of laughter. Leaning back on his shell, he wiped his forehead with his forearm. The plane began to quiet again. “You know what I just realized? We’re old.”

“Mikey.” Raph groaned.

“No, think about it.” he sat up. Scrunched up eyebrows, searching eyes on the ground and an outstretched arm pretended to grab some type of ghost-like object, this turtle was getting to the bottom of something. “Humans our age will be expected to move out and pay bills on their own! Sheesh! Mona should be doing that right now!”

“Is this your special way of getting me out of the house?”

“Don’t take it like that.” He waved her off. “Just think about it. What are we going to do when we hit that patch?”

“He’s got a point.” The female turtle crossed her legs. “Are any of you planning on leaving the lair? Leaving sensei and each other to conduct our own separate lives? Or, are we going to stick together for years to come?”

“Never really thought about it. For me,” Donatello began. “ it's been more thinking in the heat of the moment. Never did I think about hitting forty or so.”

“You still thinking about leaving, Raph?” Leo quizzed in a deep tone, eyes kept on his knees.

“What made you think I'd wanna leave?” He replied rather surprised he would say such a thing.

“Because you said and I quote” The youngest terrapin put a finger up and cleared his throat. “‘I'm moving out on my own, first chance that I get.’” He impersonated his brother using his own “batman voice”. The impersonated turtle scoffed.

“That was two years ago.”

“And…?”

“And I said I wasn't.” The terrapin reacted aggressively in voice.

“No, “ Mikey folded his arms up to his chest and put his nose into the air. “you said it was because you thought you weren't enough to stand by us.” He expressed haughtily. With old emotions and insecurities re-emerging, the largest turtle shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Although he knew all eyes were on him, only two caught his attention due to them both being right in front of him. Leonardo looked just as uncomfortable as he is. Collected in but with eyes obviously trying to glance at him, you could tell he wanted to comfort him in some way: find a way to tell him “it’s ok” and that there was no reason to regret saying so. The other had her brown eyes looking sympathetically, hugging her seat and feeling sorry for his discomfort.

“Leave me alone.” He grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. A response towards Michelangelo, it was also directed to keep the lizard and blue banded turtle from being sorry for him. Both cut off their feelings; his brother dropping his gaze and Mona sinking back into her chair.

“You'll stay Venus, right?” Donnie redirected their attentions for his own personal inquiry.

“I always thought I was going to be in my village when I thought about it. Surely, I won't go back.” She smiled. “I just got you guys” a warm smile to Mikey then to Leo. “but if any of you choose to go solo or some other combo, I'm not going to get in the way of that.” In her heart, her loyalties and love would never change if they decided to leave her for their own personal reasons. Venus respected that.

“I can't leave you, V.” Her sister poked her head through the aisle. Donatello moved his outstretched legs some to allow her to. “Can't get rid of this girl.” Mona winked, smiling. The turtle girl returned the same, warm affections with her head poking out.

“I can see you guys up in the mountains by April’s family estate.” The purple clad turtle beamed, imagining their futures. “You could stay with your horses up there.”

“Hmm… didn't come to think about that.” That would indeed be nice. Living the rest of their lives in a place much like how they grew up: isolated in the forest, being together everyday and with their beloved pets. Surely, it would be splendid if they did. “I'd say for all of us, if we were to part, it wouldn't be far.” Mikey followed up Venus’ assertion.

“Nobody said this was a permanent I'm-never-going-to-see-you-again type of deal. Might as well be neighbors or at least an hour drive away.” He paused. “But ‘where’?”

“Leo, would you ever leave?” Mona Lisa questioned. Now, if there weren’t any more of a strict attention span throughout this ride, this one topped them all. The leader jumped some n his seat with the sudden silence on the plane. As he gathered his thought, the drone of the plane nerved him. He cleared his throat.

“My job is to protect all of you. Splinter never mentioned when we'd get older. I won't stay where I'm not needed. It's all up to you guys.” That’s Leonardo for you. Always putting the team before himself (or most of the time). The team would expect that kind of answer coming from him.

“We’ll burn that bridge when we get to it.” The red clad turtle added; his response was like a comfortable yawn because he was stretching his arms when he commented.

“It's ‘cross’, Raph. ‘Cross that bridge’.” Donatello corrected with patience.

“That just takes all the fun out of that now, doesn't it?”

“Ey!” The youngest turtle yelled again, causing another yet slightly less jumpy response from the team. “Whose turn is it?”

“Mona…” Venus’ tongue lingered on the thought. “Leo, you're up.” She sang with her finger flicking up to him.

“Fine.” It didn't sound so fine with him, but whatever (he was one of those spectators we didn’t like earlier). “I reenact Star Wars when I'm alone. Kitchen appliances hate me. When I was a kid, I thought there were leprechauns in every box of Lucky Charms.”

“Reenact Star Wars when you’re alone.” Another collective answer. Leo’s head twitched as they all laughed.

“What? No!” He tried to calm himself down enough so that when he placed his hand on Leo’s knee, Michelangelo could make a clear delivery.

“Dude, you think you're alone, but you're not.” The turtle being made fun of hid his closest cheek in the palm of his hand to hide his blush. He could feel the warm blood in his palm, which nerved him even more.

“Busted!” Mona replied sassily with a head roll. Donatello snapped with a swinging arm, winked, and spoke with a cartoony demeanor.

“Foiled again!” The reverie slowly brought a smile to the leader’s face.

“I would've gotten away with it if it weren't for you meddling kids!” That came out of nowhere, but the family was sure glad to see him come out of his shell. Suddenly, he stood up from his seat. His stance was ready to pounce, hands up with glances in Michelangelo and Donatello’s direction (they were the ringleaders of the laughter).

“Raggy!” Donnie jumped up. He made it careful to keep his head from hitting the roof of the plane, but when he came down from his jump he was able to stand up straight.

“Zoinks, Scoob!” Michelangelo spoke comically, also rising. “Like, run!” That was the set off to get Leonardo running. Both parties were laughing their shells off as they ran and tackled one another on either sides of the plane. When they came close to a sitting team member, said sitter would shield themselves from their play fight until they went away and wrestled in a different spot. As the playful fighting made its way away from the three, Venus uncurled and leaned in Raphael’s direction.

“What did he watch the donkey do?”

#tmntfanfiction #tmnt2014 #tmnt2016 #olaamericanoturtle

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cyberstabbing · 7 years ago

Text

not frerard

Gen

well. shit. - an asshole!mcr ficlet disguised as a desolation row au….. it’s just an excuse to write the boys as jerks. 0.7k

The Year of Living Safely - Post-sobriety MCR. This is as much about me and my own brother as it is about the Way boys, and Christ was it hard to write; it brought a lot of painful things to the surface. 12k

painful but worth a read. or ten.

also, there’s some background one-sided frerard, but very low-key. and i repeat: one-sided.

Now With More Cowbell - Hermes - trickster god first and foremost, the patron saint of robbers and thieves, of conmen and rockstars. He’ll go to bat for you if you make him laugh or if he likes your style, or if you have an offering that tickles his fancy (he’s fond of stuffed animals, cigarettes, and ugly puppies, just as an FYI).

One of his godly duties is to guide souls to the underworld, lead them into their personal version of the afterlife, though maybe some people he doesn’t like get lost along the way. He’s not too great with messages, either, to be honest. 0.5k

Not a Pretty Girl - 28k

Gen. Always-been-a-girl fic featuring kick ass female drummer, Bob Bryar. The story is a series of shorter fics all about her life before MCR, growing up as a woman in the Chicago scene, touring with The Used, joining MCR and everything that comes with that. It's awesome. + art!

Incredibly painful but worth a read. Or ten. Does have one-sided Frank/Gerard (mentioned).

Away With The Boys In The Band - Behind the Music: My Chemical Romance, in the world where Mikey has always been a girl. 69k

Ship(s): Mikey Way/Otter, Mikey Way/Gabe Saporta, Mikey Way/Pete Wentz, Mikey Way/Alicia Simmons

^ I could not put this down. The writing is so so so spectacular, and the dialog is both interesting and realistic. A lot of angst, but still hilarious at parts. Please read. Putting this under both Gen and Other ships because whilst it doesn’t focus on a specific pairing Mikey’s relationships are brought up, just like all the other parts of her life are.

Update because I need to add some things: Listen! Words can not express how obsessed with this fic I am. I made a mixtape for it. Fanart. Currently working on a ebook version of it so I can print it out. Guys. You do not understand how fucking fantastic this fic is. Don’t scroll away from me, I’m serious! Fucking click the link dammit. Click it. C’mon. I’m waiting–click iiiiit. You back yet? Yeah? What did I tell you! I know, it is amazing! You okay? Got tissues? Good. Okay now go wash your face and eat a snack. No, no, no need to thank me, the pleasure was all mine.

Life on the Fashion Scene - This season of Project Runway becomes infamous for reasons beyond the quirks of the designers, Matt P.'s ousting, Pete's apparently crippling co-dependence on Patrick, and the rumored trysts between Mikey and Pete spawned by their formation of the Sweet Little Dudes Club (and the resulting matching t-shirts). 6k

Oh my god. Oh my. God. See, when I first saw the description I just started laughing hysterically. And then I started reading the first paragraph, just to see how ridiculous it would be. But I couldn’t put it down. So I read the entire thing, got way to invested, and now I’m begging strangers on the internet to read it. ...Please do!!!

Rappelling Down Mount Vesuvius - 1k | Gen

I love reading little snippets of their lives like this. Just the right amount of fluff and backstory for something bittersweet and hopeful.

Other ships

Away With The Boys In The Band - Behind the Music: My Chemical Romance, in the world where Mikey has always been a girl. 69k

Ships: Mikey Way/Otter, Mikey Way/Gabe Saporta, Mikey Way/Pete Wentz, Mikey Way/Alicia Simmons

Thank You For The - Just an alien in New Jersey, looking for a mate. 0.5k

"Have fun," Gerard said, even though he'd just told Mikey he couldn't have fun because he needed to be careful. Mikey wished his venom sacs were fully developed. He would spit on Gerard's shoes.

Ship: Gabe Saporta/Mikey Way

Not Smashing Windows - In the beginning, they were the scene. An origin story. 32k

From Gabe’s POV, and it’s done flawlessly. It somehow emulates the same feeling one gets from stumbling across an overlooked short film at three a.m. on youtube. The one you can’t help but wonder about, how it is that you’ve never heard about it before. Like it is in its own bubble of existence. Feeling afraid to even breathe or look away, afraid that it’ll disappear at any time, that it was too good to be true. Something you shouldn’t be able to hold in your hands. This fic feels incredibly personal to read. Gabe’s longings of intimacy, the hopelessness at parts. I could feel my fondness for the characters grow enormously in this fic.

The wording and conversations and scenes paint a brilliant picture that will stay with you for a long time. I know it will for me at least.

Ship: Gabe Saporta/Mikey Way

Reaching Through The Mirror - The one where Party Poison and Basement!Gerard have sex. 5k

(part one of Time Travel ‘verse)

Ship: Gerard Way/Gerard Way

James Cameron Got It Wrong - In which 2005!Frank and Fun Ghoul get it on. Then Frank accidentally winds up in 2019. 56k

(part two of Time Travel ‘verse)

Ship: Frank Iero/Frank Iero

Put Your Mouth Over The Stupid Things We're Taught We Ought To Say - Gabe wakes up drunk, holding on to the bed for dear life and hoping he's not about to die. He's had nightmares about that, lately. Waking up confused and disoriented and then a few minutes later, dead. Sometimes there's symbolism and shit. 5k

Ship: Gabe Saporta/Mikey Way

00.06 - '4 and 14 adopt a newborn baby together. What do they name it, how do they raise it, etc, etc. Do they eventually get it siblings? Do they ditch it in a dumpster on prom night because its not as fun as they thought?’

THIS IS QUITE LITERALLY THE WEIRDEST THING I HAVE EVER WRITTEN. And yet, I am oddly charmed by it. 2k

oh my god. it was hilarious. Ship: Gerard Way/James Potter

Code Red - In the fall out of a fire fight, Party Poison goes looking for medicine, and finds pretty much the exact opposite of that. 2k

Ship: Korse/Party Poison

Frank/Gabe pr0n - "I need you to go to a party with me tonight." Frank blinked and looked up at Mikey, frowning. "What?" 2k maybe

Ship: Frank/Gabe

Workplace Appropriate Attire - Korse is a creepy boyfriend. 1k

This was fun to read, but some lines made me go OH SHIT, because ...... well if you read this you will know what I’m talking about.

Ship(s): Korse/Party Poison

love on the webways - As a writer, Grant supposes he could have considerably worse habits than trolling his own message boards.

A totally ridiculous AU vaguely inspired by You've Got Mail. 32k

This was so fun to read! It’s a what-if-they-broke-up-after-tbp fic btw.

Ship: Grant/Gerard

We Got Machines - There are questions on the lips of everyone with eyes or money on the arena. Who is this kid? Where’d he come from? Who trained him? BLind’s got no records on him, meaning he’s a Zonebrat returning to the grasp of the city of his own volition. Another anomaly. That a 16 year old nobody could waltz in out of nowhere and turn the system on its head is... concerning to BLind. <1k Part 1 of KJ/Griefers 'verse (3.5k in total)

Ship: Deadmau5/G3rard

xoxoxoxo - Party Poison wakes up somewhere he's never been - but there's plenty that's familiar here. 1k

Ship: Party Poison/Korse

I'll Repair For You (When The Roof Starts To Fall) - When Gerard inherits a house in Scotland from a distant relative, he doesn't expect to have to spend quite so much time at the hardware store. He also doesn't expect to fall in love with the tiny little village or with one of his neighbors...who just happens to be Grant Morrison. 17k

Ship: Grant/Gerard

In Firmer Chains, Our Hearts Confine - Former musical composer and current writer Gerard Way is a sensation of the musical and literary scenes of 1800s London. But after struggling for ages with his new book, he’s close to giving up. Until he receives an offer from Grant Morrison himself; to go to his manor in Scotland and work on his novel in peace. Gerard seizes upon the chance immediately. Grant, however, has a dark secret he’s desperately trying to keep hidden. And Gerard has a few of his own. 37k

Picture me, casually stumbling upon this fic one late night. Historical? Check. An AU but Gerard’s talents are still appreciated and encouraged, and he makes a name for himself? Double check. Grant Morrison? Check. Gerard and Grant’s dark secrets? CHECK CHECK CHECK CHECK CHECK

Me: *already fucking shaking from excitement, now glancing up at the tags* Enter the tag Alternate Universe - Vampire. Queue foaming at the mouth.

This fic was so fucking awesome in so many ways I don’t even know where to begin. The slow and suspenseful unraveling of secrets and mysteries. The numerous parallels drawn between the AU and real life events of the people in it, and that the author made sure that they all worked within the AU without a hitch. All the actions and ambitions of the people in it that somehow managed to balance masterfully on the fine line between what’s canon and what’s realistic for that time period.

Fuck, lurkers guys. I’m not sure if my word-vomiting even gets anyone to read fic on my list, but for the sake of this fic (and my ego sdkjlskldhfklf) I ask anyone reading this to p l e a s e read it. For your own sake. And mine. Because I need to yell about this fic with somebody, STAT.

Ships: Gerard/Grant, and very, I repeat, VERY low-key Frank/Mikey

Looking for Satellites - Galaxy-hopping alien trader Gerard has business on space station Perseus Four. Getting to know station administrator Grant is a nice bonus. 25k

Gerard is a sexy, telepathic and open minded (heh) alien and it’s great.

Ship: Gerard/Grant

Candle on the Drawer - No one thinks your hands being funny colors is weird when you go to art school. Probably about 1-3k

“So, okay. Gerard maybe has a drawer full of candles in every color of the rainbow. It’s kind of weird, yeah, but it’s not like anyone ever goes digging in his drawers so it’s not something he really feels the need to hide. How was he supposed to know that Gabe was going to go digging in drawers for whatever reason? How was he supposed to know Gabe was going to be in his room at all? He’s more Mikey’s friend.”

Gerard is into waxplay!

Ship: Gerard/Gabe

the only hope for me - Korse has never been one to show his emotions. 1k

Ship: Korse/Party Poison

your kicks don't hit, so we remain the same - a battery city ambush goes somewhat wrong. 0.8k

Ship: Korse/Party Poison

Methane Skies - Run, run, bunny, run. 3k

Hot damn this is some creepy and suspenseful stuff.

Ship: (implied) Korse/Party Poison

All the Broken Pieces (Keep Cool, Stay Tough) - Up until that fateful night, Frank’s had a pretty decent life. But everything’s changed and now he’s got to figure out how to be himself again. With the help of some really groovy friends, Peppers, and his never-give-up attitude, Frank gonna get there. He’s sure of it. 39k

There’s this spectacular scene involving an escalator and Frank making a grand entrance that immediately pops into my head when I think of this fic.

Description by babylynz: OH MY FUCKING GOD OKAY, THIS IS A FRIKEY FIC BUT IT’S SO FUCKIGN GOODJDDJDHHHGHG

basically Frank gets in an accident that leaves him unable to walk and it’s a really emotional kinda story (but like .. Idk, it’s lighthearted) about him getting used to everyday life again and he meets Mikey online and they bond over really shitty movies and they meet up and AHH!!! Also Ray is like …. a ,,,, what is it …… He helps Frank get used to having sex again after the accident? He’s one of his therapists idk it’s a really good story, read it.

Ship: Frank Iero/Mikey way

And the Painted Ponies - After years of struggling to be taken seriously as a bodyguard, Frank Iero is finally well established. He loves his boss, Ray, he loves his job, and he prides himself on his professionalism. But then he's assigned to be the personal bodyguard of Mikey Way.

Mikey Way, aka Roboboy, is a successful high fashion model. Loved by designers and the public alike for his trademark lack of emotion, but mocked by the tabloid press for the exact same reason. Mikey is someone that Frank's sure he'll hate. Except it doesn't work out that way.

In fact, it doesn't take long before Frank discovers he really likes Mikey. Maybe too much. 34k

Ship: Frank Iero/Mikey way

mutilate, maim and destroy (just a tad) - For clarification, this fic is about Gerard Way the actual person being tortured by Korse in the Killjoys universe. Like. Hnng, you'll see nevermind.

Ship: Gerard/Korse

Your Dirty Smile Shames the Sun - Pancakes, throat fucking, and a good book. It's kind of Mikey's idea of a perfect day. 6k

Ship: Mikey/Frank

london calling - Gerard feels like his life needs to change, so he moves to London. After years of hard work, he gets a book deal with a press that will finally allow him to write exactly the book he's always wanted to write. When he meets his new editor, Grant Morrison, he's surprised at how much they get along. 28k

Ship: Grant/Gerard

A Room Full Of Suicides - His jaw was clenched and his whole body quivering. He looked right at Korse with those huge, transparent eyes. “Do what you want to me. I don’t give a shit, Korse.” He drew in a breath that shook. “You wouldn’t understand. It’s about standing up for what you believe in.” God, the kid was adorable. Korse couldn’t wait to make him scream. 4

Ship: Korse/Party Poison, Fun Ghoul/Party Poison (implied)

For a Different View - AU. Ray Toro is a girl, Rae, but MCR is still just MCR. 49k

The first time they went over to Mikey’s house, Mikey tossed her a beer and said, "My brother might come up. Maybe not, though. He gets weird in the middle of projects.” She found out what he meant halfway through Dawn of the Dead, when a bundle of black fabric barreled from the basement door to the refrigerator and back down to the basement without saying a word to either of them.

I need to finish this!!! But –gah. Such awesome awesomeness.

Ship: Ray/Mikey

From The Corner to The Block - A bike messenger AU. 4k

The comment I left: Oh my god. An AU I never knew I wanted but one I now cannot live without. That was incredibly cute!!

“What are you watching? Is that Degrassi?”

“No,” Frank says quickly, just as a voiceover blares, “Degrassi: The Next Generation will be right back,” because this is Frank’s life.

^ I’m pretty sure my laughter from that line woke up at least one person from my household. Poor Frank.

Ship: Frank/Mikey

Out Where The Sand's Turning To Gold - "Last call, last song," the singer says, touching a finger to the microphone and making it pop softly at the crowd. "For all you lovers out there." 5k

Ship: Gerard/Gabe

Superheroes (2-part series) - Mikey isn’t a superhero. 3k

Ship: Frank/Mikey

vampires will never hurt you - Contrary to what some people in Strahd might think, Bert’s not a fucking idiot. Contrary to what Gerard and Frank might think, Bert’s not a fucking idiot.

Ever since this whole thing started, ever since Gerard and Frank cornered him at the open mic event at his junior college shortly after he decided to go and open his big damn mouth about that picture he’d found in the History of Strahd book that was collecting dust in the back of the library, the picture in which both Gerard and Frank were clearly present, dressed in typical 19th century garb, giving their best vampire smolder--Yeah. Bert has known ever since then, and ever since they had told him how talented of a poet he was, and that they were interested in having him perform at the parties they host for all the town’s leaders up at their old mansion on the hill, that they have had some type of secret agenda as their endgame.

He just hadn’t really expected it to be this.

[this is what happens when i get tired of bert being the bad guy in mcr fic and decide i have to do EVERYTHING myself] 1k

Ship: Frank Iero/Bert McCracken/Gerard Way

Candy Cane Vodka - "Yeah, Mikey, you accidentally made fucking peppermint Everclear. Congratulations and all, but Jesus Christ."

Mikey gets an idea on the road after finding a bargain bin book on homemade infusions. Experimentation follows, and Yuletide chaos ensues.

ngl... i’m tempted to make that vodka mixture

Ships: Mikey/Ray, Frank/Gerard

drive-by drabble - SO SHORT ALSO LMAO <1k

Ship: Frank/Gabe/Gerard

#fics #not frerard

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njawaidofficial · 7 years ago

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'Saturday Night Live' Season 43 Premiere | Critic's Notebook

http://styleveryday.com/2017/10/02/saturday-night-live-season-43-premiere-critics-notebook/

'Saturday Night Live' Season 43 Premiere | Critic's Notebook

Ryan Gosling only occasionally got funny material and Alec Baldwin’s Donald Trump impression may have run out of juice.

We’re only a couple weeks past NBC’s Saturday Night Live piling up an absurd haul of Emmys for the show’s appropriately hyped, over-praised 42nd season, so that means it’s probably time to hop off the SNL bandwagon with a resounding thud and announce, “Man, remember when this show used to be funny? Four months ago?”

The kindest thing I can say about Saturday night’s 43rd season premiere is that host Ryan Gosling seemed consistently amused. He broke in at least four of his live sketch appearances, a tone that was set early when the night’s first post-monologue sketch was the recurring thing with Kate McKinnon as a raunchy alien abductee. It’s one of several recurring McKinnon characters who exist almost entirely to make the host lose it.

Gosling was practically convulsing after McKinnon pantomimed tossing his salad (or pantomiming the aliens tossing her salad on him, if you want to be technical), and it seemed as if McKinnon had achieved her goal in admirable fashion, but that achievement was lessened when we discovered that basically what Gosling was there for was to read cue cards and giggle. Nice work if you can get it!

The first thing that struck me about the SNL premiere is that Alec Baldwin should have been set free at the end of last season. Not fired, mind you. Set free with high honors. He did a send-off song. He stole an Emmy from several of TV’s finest comedic supporting actors. He made his point.

The show probably needed to start from scratch this season and either find a new impression, bring Darrell Hammond back into the fold or perhaps ignore Donald Trump entirely, since he hasn’t even tweeted about the show for a while. At the start of last season the game was, “Let’s antagonize Trump and get him to tweet irrationally about us because that’s fun,” but after the election and nine months of his presidency, we’ve learned that nearly everything antagonizes Trump and he’s willing to tweet about each and every insult and slight, no matter how petty and no matter how much you’d think being the Leader of the Free World would impose some measure of decorum, professionalism, maturity, restraint or dignity.

But just because it takes absolutely nothing to trigger @RealDonaldTrump doesn’t mean that it’s mandatory to do a Trump sketch even if you don’t have anything funny to bring to the table, and the opening sketch was as perspective-free as anything SNL has done on Trump since back in the glory days when Lorne Michaels got killer ratings for letting Trump host and then just one year later collected piles of Emmys for “taking Trump on.” After you’ve had it both ways, where else is there to go?

Basically the joke of the cold open was that Jeff Sessions is small and Baldwin likes doing the Trump “puckered anus mouth.” The show got a wee bit of bad buzz last year for its initial take on Sarah Huckabee Sanders, so in this season’s opener, Aidy Bryant did next to nothing as Huckabee Sanders. At least Mike Huckabee can’t tweet that SNL was being sexist to his daughter. And in that rare and fortuitous moment in which SNL actually had a Latina actress to play the mayor of San Juan, they didn’t give Melissa Villasenor anything to play.

It’d be better to celebrate Baldwin-as-Trump as a one-year phenomenon and figure something else out for tackling the currently administration. Maybe there’s a different high-profile actor with Saturday evenings free and an appetite for an easy Emmy?

And if SNL couldn’t figure out what it wanted to do with Trump in the season premiere, it was even more stymied by Gosling, who has a skill set diverse enough that the show could have given him a variety of things to do. I seem to remember the actor’s first hosting stint fondly. I don’t know which Gosling bit felt most endless: The “I saved jazz” opening monologue, his “Weekend Update” character with Alex Moffat or the sketch with Bryant as a chicken. And I’m sure there will be plenty of viewers who thought the filmed bit featuring Gosling as a man with an unhealthy obsession with filmmaker James Cameron using Papyrus font for Avatar was the most interminable of all, but I laughed at that one, darnit.

I also laughed at/with Michael Che’s increasing anger about Trump’s reaction to Puerto Rican hurricane relief and NFL players kneeling. Probably unleashing Che entirely is the best chance “Weekend Update” has of regaining relevancy. Colin Jost can just be there to awkwardly interview whichever character McKinnon is playing each week.

The premiere also did not make much use of this season’s new castmembers. Heidi Gardner and Chris Redd both featured prominently in the Levi Wokes parody commercial and as straight-men to Cecily Strong in a sketch about two people who were very offended to be fooled into thinking Pizza Hut’s new pasta came from an imaginary high-end Italian restaurant. Or at least they were visible. Probably Moffat and Mikey Day set an unreasonably high standard for new cast involvement through last season, and Gardner and Redd had a more typical debut. Was Luke Null in the episode at all? Would I recognize him if he had been? Also appearing somewhere between “Never” and “Barely” were Leslie Jones, Pete Davidson, Beck Bennett and Kyle Mooney.

I’m sure I’ll be checking in on Saturday Night Live repeatedly through the season. One bad episode, even a premiere and even coming after a season as revered as last season, probably doesn’t mean much, but this wasn’t a promising return.

Saturday Night Live

#43 #Critics #Live #Night #Notebook #Premiere #Saturday #Season

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contrastbalance · 8 years ago

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i’ll make a mix for u

We didn’t have a PC in or around the house until I think 2003, this coincided with me starting to make friends, who skated constantly and when I was starting to appreciate the music my dad would play, his eclectic (deep-rooted claptrap in all areas) mix would quickly form my own pointy ears into arrows. The early favourites that stuck around were OutKast, the Hives and of course Busted, whose Glasgow stop would afford me the confounding opportunity to see my first memorable nipple.

My introduction to music led me to act in the same way I do now, forcing people to listen to whatever new thing I find and sort-of like while staring at their unabating reaction with a clipboard. The local skatepark was kind of a daycare young delinquency deterrent that didn’t always work – when weather wouldn’t permit us to travel there the indoors would host some of the fascinating acts we’d grown from startled by to adoring in Toy Machine’s Jump Off a Building. It was an early glimpse at future Jackass and Glacier Mafia ragdoll Bam Margera, who’s definitely one of those people you look back upon to say “I used to think he was admirable and innovative, but he’s really just a yapping penis that landed in a tea cosy, lurging sideways like some kind of undead crab inside a car being illegally exported that’s falling into the sea.” That’s the view I currently channel, but at the time it was great to watch him punch his friend in the Scarface suit on the bed and drive through roadsigns. Also the tracklist was an eclectic marvel of the American Pie era, ranging from Gorguts to DJ Krush to Janis Joplin.

If you were to look at lists of skate video titles alongside a list of modern streetwear brand names and mission statements you would see an undeniably morose link. The corner of Melrose and North Fairfax is prime ground for prominent streetwear in the Western world and also the approximate origin of Illegal Civilisation. Now 20, Mikey Alfred started IC as “strictly just a skate crew, it was like me and a bunch of my friends from North Hollywood”, he says in an interview with Ride Channel. His creation transformed into involving more youth from around Southern California and extended to now renowned Nakel Smith, a close confidante of Odd Future whose leader Tyler, The Creator he introduced Mikey to. In 2013 he was given the opportunity to be a reserve videographer for tour vlogs, which led to travelling with the collective’s offset dark horse Frank Ocean, starting just two days after the film-makers high school graduation. Then last March Alfred filmed his first high quality release, a short film with Fader – his stab at Larry Clark/slasher/political territory.

I’m absolutely not saying the skate videos aren’t high quality in their own way. Illegal Civilisation 2 is an hour and fourteen minute compact look at the challenges of skaters even in serene Californian backdrops – including interaction with law enforcement and less than tolerant members of the public, possibly life changing injuries, confrontations with other skaters and seemingly inside jokes that are still hilarious on the surface. All of the youthful indulgence is captured with graininess and features an impossibly eclectic tracklist – Gary Wilson, Patrice Rushen, Lil Herb, The Sylvers, Suicidal Tendencies.

In another collaboration with Fader this time an Everything You Need To Know interview, he declares his love for gangster films and states that he’s seen the Sopranos “maybe 5 times, the entire 6 seasons through. I think I like it so much, because it’s sort of like skating – it’s like this group of friends – they all believe in the same thing. It’s all about respect, the clothes, the music, the aesthetic of it…”

The comparison is due, judging by some of the situations and acts performed do seem to overlap. One guy that’s present throughout a lot of the skate installments and the short film was Escobar Rich. He’s the pro skater, model and incarcerated Blood member that you probably wouldn’t expect someone like Mikey – dressed somehow accordingly as a retirement home golf instructor, placing emphasis on always wearing dress shoes and his propensity to keep his house intricately tidy, accentuating domesticity with jazz – to keep company with. But heavy contrast in all matters including walks of life is something that someone who is a skater and artist in technicolour circumstances thrives off.

He’s spent business time around Kanye and Lil Wayne, also contributed to Frank’s Blonde – contacts, incline and possibly inspiration come from his self professed idol Tyler, The Creator who himself has shown high levels of eclecticism in being a musical and increasingly media revelation. He achieved a ridiculuous amount of attention and scrutiny for his debut Bastard released on Christmas Day on his last year in high school. The lyrics’ explicit nature and the resurgent paradigm of angst religious in California every 20 years drew attention until around 2012, when Okonma’s focus started to aim more at visual output, claiming disillusionment with rapping, the perfect time for he and Alfred to cross paths. Throughout all the turmoil, spectators both in listener and journalist form would make assumptive claims about the young man’s mental health, often making reference to bipolar disorder.

To date his only non-lyrical statement about his, or lack thereof mental health was in an interview on his Golf Media app with Andrew “Noz” Nosnitsky about his late 2014 mental breakdown due to his dismay about his rising star and sometimes loneliness.

Bipolar disorder could probably be diagnosed partly using the sequence of music someone plays. Psychologists have debated since the dawn of ears how sounds have been able to induce such strong feelings in listeners, pre-drink playlists or on the way to work included. Of the cases that are diagnosed, more than half are before the age of 25 impacting last parts of education, entry to the heated pitch rabbithole of employment and character building social circumstances. I’ve had quiet after the storm moments of parental scorn partitioned with the reminiscences “I was the same” and “but now it’s more like” to shine spotlights on raised awareness finding itself into Twitter bios, more importantly becoming far less taboo in casual conversation. The alternate (former) dad quote shows that much of consumption is the same, and there’s hand me down styles and exact same bands that do nothing but fuel your mental car of driving past a dead animal then reversing over it.

With growing awareness, the other age-old link between creating and loss of mental wellbeing is being increasingly pulled open, psychologists from different parts of the world having extremely different opinions and quoting extremely different statistics, but many leaders in their field see consistent results after researching particularly bipolar disorder.

Renowned American clinical psychologist Kay Redfield Jamison has been making contributions to understanding of recurring depression but more heavily of bipolar disorder, which she had diagnosed at 17. She believes there is a clear link between backgrounds of creatives and the likelihood of difficulties in controlling their disposition. In an opinion article for CNN she writes; “Mood, temperament, behavioral and cognitive factors associated with bipolar illness can, in some people, make them more creative by increasing the fluency and the originality of their thinking, as well as by increasing risk-taking, ambition, energy, exuberance and a desire to create meaning from suffering and chaos.”

Also: “In the past five years alone (now seven) there have been four large studies – one that reported on 20,000 individuals and three others, each of which studied more than 700,000 individuals – that found that those with bipolar illness were disproportionately likely to be overrepresented in creative occupations; so too were their first degree relatives.” She states she found the same for those with relatives diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Even Skins indirectly acted as a pre-injunction of the psychological dangers of living like your favourite musician, detrimentally replacing or altering all of the fundamental human needs with variations of awareness, and awareness only hurts in the short-term. Tumblr fave Pete Wentz wants to open up conversation about mental health, he told HuffPost; “I think that the idea there’s a ‘one-size-fits-all’ is one of those myths. Everybody figures themselves out in a different way. And I think there’s no shame in talking about that kind of stuff. It’s not something you should feel scared talking about.”

Sweden is a country that has long placed importance on putting effort to owning a healthy mind, with one in three of the country’s living inhabitants having suffered from mental illness at some point.

Simon Kyaga is a Swedish psychiatrist and researcher whose mind is made up on the matter. In his report (Kyaga S, et al., Mental illness, suicide and creativity: 40-year prospective total population study, Journal of Psychiatric Research – 2012) he concludes; “This Swedish total population study suggests, except for an increase in bipolar disorder, are not more likely than control to suffer from psychiatric disorders in general. Further, the results indicate a familial association with overall creative professions for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anorexia nervosa and possibly autism.” A country like this knows all too well about suicide and how much less romantic that makes instability, and how offensive it is so people that carry these disorders as artists – it ignores greatly varied imagination, technical skill and bravery.

Music therapy ranges from between past-time to something you can get a degree in and win awards for. Of all the institutions using music where prescription drugs can’t quite reach or help at all, none are more influential than Nordoff-Robbins. American composer Paul Nordoff met British special needs educator Clive Robbins at Sunfield Children’s Home in 1954. Both had previously studied and involved themselves in Steiner’s thinking and practice of Anthropology – quickly after meeting they would be instructed by Dr Herbert Geuter to play some music to one of the worst affected patients and observe what happened, both were amazed at the new alternative method of treatment.

The pair would keep in touch after Nordoff left the home, and when he returned in 1959 they had enough field research in place to ingrain the practice they had thought up into the home’s treatment schedule. It required a team effort from a trained musician and likewise therapist to construct formulaic rhythms and sounds to relax the patients with the goal of improving their all-round awareness and discipline. Part of the new method’s possibility was how intricately the pair recorded the results.

This would contribute to the decision of Nordoff to leave the facility the next year, prompting Robbins to tour the world with him for 17 years to showcase the leaders in the therapy field right up until the former passed away in 1977. To this day Nordoff-Robbins is by far the biggest music therapy charity in the UK and debatably the world, even everyone’s most sought after scrotum-to-face surgery donee Andrew Lloyd-Webber set up a foundation with the charity on the grounds of the BRIT School in 2009, placing music therapy in close quarters with the highest ranks in the music industry and bolstering availability.

There is an increasingly different array of expectation of musicians. There’s more attention than ever given to the creators when they step out of the studio or off the stage and sometimes it’s slap bang into an interview. Having done a smidge of musician/industry component interviews myself you start to evaluate yourself personally. I’m a sickening guy really, I love stomach churning moments and sadly I’ve not had any in journalistic correspondence but I have my hopes. Part of the motivation is being a really big fan of someone in some way and trying to be the guy to extract some relatively groundbreaking material – any advice forum you could read say ‘don’t expose yourself as some incoherently blubbering farming fuck of a fan.’

Part of the self evaluation is trying to figure ways of bobbing and weaving past people you couldn’t possibly compose yourself in front of. If someone told me I’d be interviewing Zoe Kravitz I would start speaking in tongues immediately, and when the interview would take place and as she walked in all of my clothes would somehow fall off, I would cry petrol then throw a box of matches at her as hard as I could. Not yet. On a more integrative note, a hero I would’ve preferred to leave unburdened by my presence would’ve been Lou Reed.

There’s cases requiring considerations to make before interacting with an artist, other than them being a short guy from the Lower East Side of New York. Their short-term mental state could be affected by busy touring schedules with lack of downtime and taking them away from personal affairs, but may also provide the opportunity to have the meeting in the first place. Bad moods happen, so do long term mental illnesses.

Brian Wilson is a notoriously difficult interviewee for other reasons. He’s maybe the least confident person to achieve what he has, due largely to the relationship with his father, who would pay for great studios for him and the band, but would maintain overbearing dance mum duties as a form of control freakishness – the only accounts of him being in any way a pleasant domestic presence were with a musical backdrop. Brian’s first documented misplaced foot on the tightrope of stardom would be cutting down touring duties in 1964 following a panic attack, a direct result of the workload his new found success afforded him. After the legendary Pet Sounds, which Wilson almost exclusively composed, arranged and recorded he began noting auditory hallucinations, also after he had maintained a steady relationship with psychedelic drugs.

A daily struggle contending with the derogatory voices in his head would remain untethered until he started to receive treatment 15 years late, when he was finally diagnosed with bipolar schizoaffective disorder. With erratic musical releases for his whole career, the style and content of his public appearances in the form of interviews and private life cohorts are the only way to get a look at his progress in a linear fashion.

The largest clump of interviews take place in the mid-seventies, after his band-mates and team had supposedly helped him curb the right-to-the point pulls of coke and heroin – but much of that hope splattered on passers by, due to Wilson ending many of these interviews with trying to extract narcotics from any of the journalists and officials in the room. His seemingly rising desperation was made all the more ribcage-collapsingly clear by the fact the Beach Boys hadn’t reached the same peak of group of household hits from the previous decade by a long way. If the band were a decade long project then, the 1980s would be the expected time for him to enter into the realm of Real Husbands of Huntington Beach. His public appearances were shadowed by the soon-to-be disgraced Eugene Landy. He was living up to the retirement expectations of indulging in the material gold-ish years, embodied in his rumoured plastic surgery and paying his supposed friend, “master” Landy $35,000 a month. In 1989 he had his therapist license revoked and it was told to the public that he had weaseled his way into being Wilson’s co-writer, producer, manager, business partner and financial beneficiary of all business he was involved in. After Wilson’s 1979 divorce, he would spend 16 years drifting as an unmarried housebound. He married Melinda 9 years after initially meeting, at that time Landy had previously put an end to the casual encounter.

With recent releases taking on varied forms of quality and campaign method, the real miracle is that Wilson is still in a kind of position to make music again, which he resumed in 2002 – after 35 years in a self inflicted wilderness that many took full advantage of and made life threatening.

He is one of many age old examples of boxing (sometimes physically) artists in. You’d find it difficult to find that any prominent modern artist that hasn’t been constantly compared to some mid-to-late twentieth century counterpart. Achieving artistic self-realization then commercial success can also take on political responsibilities when they represent marginalised groups and become viewing fodder based on varying guilt. I feel very lucky to not know what’s next, and advances in understanding mental health like bipolar disorder and anxiety can give space to people to mix things up.

I didn’t take or make any of the pictures. The header image is by Orchid Tapes.

#contrastbalance #eclecticism #mental health #creativity #bipolar disorder #music therapy #skate videos #illegal civilization #mikey alfred #tyler the creator #kay redfield jamison #pete wentz #simon kyaga #nordoff-robbins #brian wilson #music

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eddycurrents · 5 years ago

Photo

For the week of 7 October 2019

Quick Bits:

Batman & The Outsiders #6 concludes “Lesser Gods” from Bryan Hill, Dexter Soy, Veronica Gandini, and Clayton Cowles. We get another “Batman’s doing something naughty” hint as Ishmael and co attempt to turn Cass and Duke to Ra’s al Ghul’s cause. This is less a hard end than a twist to lead into what might be coming next.

| Published by DC Comics

Black Hammer / Justice League: Hammer of Justice #4 gives us an explanation for what the Stranger did to zap the heroes across their respective realities, even as the more hot-headed Justice League members continue to cause problems on DC’s Earth. I’m still loving the eerie darkness that Michael Walsh is bringing to the art. It keeps it more consistent with the feel established by Dean Ormston and Dave Stewart, making it feel more like a Black Hammer story.

| Published by Dark Horse & DC Comics

Blade Runner 2019 #4 concludes the first arc. Michael Green, Mike Johnson, Andres Guinaldo, Marco Lesko, and Jim Campbell have done a great job capturing the overall feel of the Blade Runner franchise and it pays off here with one hell of a harrowing end, with a nice twist for what’s to come.

| Published by Titan

Buffy + Angel: Hellmouth #1 begins the event in earnest, even though you really do need to read the prelude issue of Buffy the Vampire Slayer to get the real first part of this story, from Jordie Bellaire, Jeremy Lambert, Eleonora Carlini, Cris Peter, and Ed Dukeshire. It’s good. As Spike and Dru’s first step in opening the Hellmouth causes havoc through Sunnydale, Buffy and Angel team up to try to stop what’s coming next.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Catwoman #16 has some truly stunning, beautiful artwork from Joëlle Jones and Laura Allred. It might also have a huge change on Selina’s status. Though, how exactly it fits in with “City of Bane” or anything else is anyone’s guess. Still, very nice artwork.

| Published by DC Comics

Coffin Bound #3 is even darker and more disturbing than what we’ve seen in the first two issues, going deep into some of Izzy and Cassandra’s past, while Cassandra’s sister learns how to be a peeler. Dan Watters, Dani, Brad Simpson, and Aditya Bidikar are doing something very different with this series.

| Published by Image

Collapser #4 feels like both a test and a turning point for Liam, one that almost seems like he failed. Liam’s new manager turns out to be a “Star Person”, and it feels like she’s leading him into temptation, as we seemingly can’t trust what we see. Mikey Way, Shaun Simon, Ilias Kyriazis, Cris Peter, and Simon Bowland are continuing to delivering one of the best, strangest trips out there.

| Published by DC Comics / Young Animal

Contagion #2 keeps this largely street-level, only reaching out to the Avengers as more or less support for the moment, as Iron Fist tries to deal with further eruptions of the contagion. Ed Brisson, Stephen Segovia, Veronica Gandini, and Cory Petit certainly make this feel grim as everything continues to go wrong.

| Published by Marvel

Detective Comics #1013 reveals more of what Mister Freeze has been up to, pushing some rather disturbing experiments as he continues to try to find a cure for his wife. Including a rather troubling cliffhanger that looks like it might upend a lot of what we think we know about Freeze’s situation. Very entertaining story here from Peter J. Tomasi, Doug Mahnke, Keith Champagne, Christian Alamy, David Baron, and Rob Leigh.

| Published by DC Comics

Doctor Doom #1 is an offbeat debut from Christopher Cantwell, Salvador Larroca, Guru e-FX, and Cory Petit. While it shows us some of the day to day runnings Doom does for Latveria, it sets up a mystery as his countries missiles and more launch an attack on a moon project designed to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Nice bits of humour in this one.

| Published by Marvel

Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Terror - Season Two #1 is a welcome return of this series, with a fun lead story playing through many of Poe’s luminary tales in “The Tell-Tale Black Cask of Usher” from Dean Motter, Alex Ogle, and Julie Barclay. Really great seeing new work from Motter. This issue is rounded out by the usual poetry, prose pieces, and the return of Hunt Emerson’s Black Cat.

| Published by Ahoy

Event Leviathan #5 works further at the identity of Leviathan, throwing a few more suspects on the fire, along with the possible death of an important character. Also, you’re probably never going to guess who this issue points at being Leviathan. Gorgeous artwork from Alex Maleev as always.

| Published by DC Comics

The Flash #80 continues to dismantle the new forces and characters built up recently as Zoom and the Black Flash separately try to eliminate the force users. Great art here from Scott Kolins and Luis Guerrero. Kolins is the perfect choice to usher in this next stage in Zolomon’s story.

| Published by DC Comics

Gotham City Monsters #2 is even better than the first issue, working through Melmoth’s resurrection and gathering the team with invested purpose to bring about his end. There’s also added depth in that Melmoth may very well be right about part of his plan, just not necessarily in his execution. It could add some modicum of moral quandary depending on which way this goes. Steve Orlando, Amancay Nahuelpan, Trish Mulvihill, and Tom Napolitano are doing some very nice work here.

| Published by DC Comics

Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy #2 continues the confrontation with Woodrue, building on elements from Justice League Dark, even as something is very, very wrong with Poison Ivy. There’s a more refined, controlled humour here than what we see in the Harley Quinn series itself and it seems to fit the more serious tone of the subject matter. I’m really liking the art from Adriano Melo, Mark Morales, and Hi-Fi.

| Published by DC Comics

Hawkman #17 brings Carter’s battle with the Shadow Thief to a close, but he takes a turn for the worse as the title runs deeper into the “Year of the Villain” event and the fallout from The Batman Who Laugh’s infected. It’s interesting how Robert Venditti, Pat Olliffe, Tom Palmer, Jeremiah Skipper, and Richard Starkings & Comicraft deal with these multiple spinning plates. Especially that very nice cliffhanger.

| Published by DC Comics

Ice Cream Man #15 is one of the stranger issues, which is really saying a bit considering that the series itself is regularly very strange. It’s dark, with a protagonist who seems to be suffering a psychotic break. W. Maxwell Prince, Martín Morazzo, Chris O’Halloran, and Good Old Neon continue to work magic with this horror series.

| Published by Image

Invaders #10 continues “Dead in the Water” from Chip Zdarsky, Carlos Magno, Butch Guice, Alex Guimarães, and Travis Lanham. Some interesting complications here as Roxxon is further added to the mix and Roman starts making more problems for Atlantis. A really nice set up for something new from Steve and Namor too.

| Published by Marvel

Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity #1, like Harleen #1 before it, surprised me. There’s a current saturation of Joker and Harley Quinn stories at the moment, spurred on by the movies, and it kind of tempers expectations. Thankfully, though, the start to this story from Kami Garcia, Mico Suayan, Mike Mayhew, and Richard Starkings is really rather good. It sets Harley as a criminal profiler, trying to figure out Joker’s murders, really getting inside this new take on her character and developing a more grounded crime thriller. The art from Mico Suayan is gorgeous, presented in greyscale, in contrast to the full-colour, photo reference of Mike Mayhew for flashbacks. I thought it was an interesting choice to present it that way, bucking convention for the flashbacks taking on a faded appearance. It gives the overall story a grittier feel for the present.

| Published by DC Comics - Black Label

Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - Allegiance #1 is kind of a slow start to this intermediary step between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker from Ethan Sacks, Luke Ross, Lee Loughridge, and Clayton Cowles. There’s an interesting bit of showing just how evil the First Order really is, but a lot of what we get here is a regathering of the team. Gorgeous artwork from Ross and Loughridge.

| Published by Marvel

Justice League Odyssey #14 sees Dan Abnett, Chriscross, Cliff Richards, Le Beau Underwood, Danny Miki, Scott Hanna, Rain Beredo, Pete Pantazis, and AndWorld Design keep building this new team to confront Darkseid and his “new gods”. I really quite like the inversion of what we saw at the beginning, as Jessica Cruz is now working with villains attempting to do something heroic. We also get a reveal of Okkult, who is probably who everyone thought he was in the first place.

| Published by DC Comics

Livewire #11 gets at a point that was seemingly dropped in the wake of Harbinger Wars 2 in what the US government and their arms-length black ops group did in the Massacre, of how problematic rounding up and murdering a group of people are via American laws. I love that Vita Ayala, Tana Ford, Kelly Fitzpatrick, and Saida Temofonte pick it up here and incorporate it into another angle for this political warfare.

| Published by Valiant

Loki #4 concludes “The God Who Fell to Earth” and Loki’s conflict with Nightmare in fairly inventive fashion. Daniel Kibblesmith has been delivering some fairly interesting ideas here while planting more seeds for different permutations.

| Published by Marvel

Oliver #4 was well worth the wait. Gary Whitta, Darick Robertson, Diego Rodriguez, and Simon Bowland pack this confrontation full of action, with some absolutely beautiful artwork from Robertson and Rodriguez. Some very harrowing character moments as the story takes its next turn.

| Published by Image

Outer Darkness #11 is insanely good as John Layman, Afu Chan, and Pat Brosseau give us the first part of the two-part “season finale” to the series. The crew take shore leave as Rigg goes about interviewing what we think are replacement crew and a meeting with his superior, and then...well, you’re really going to have to read this issue. Great stuff.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Pretty Deadly: The Rat #2 is magnificent, delving into more of the existing mythology from the previous volumes, while still continuing on the new narrative for this era that started last issue. The repeated incorporation of visual motifs inspired by the film industry is a very nice touch. Kelly Sue DeConnick, Emma Rios, Jordie Bellaire, and Clayton Cowles are giving us a very compelling mystery here.

| Published by Image

Ronin Island #7 pushes the bandits and the Shogun into confrontation and...none of it goes exactly to Kenichi’s plan. Greg Pak, Giannis Milonogiannis, Irma Kniivila, and Simon Bowland continue to unfold this story in interesting ways, while Hana and Kenichi’s childhood lessons come back to both haunt and empower them.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Shoplifters Will Be Liquidated #1 is an interesting debut from Patrick Kindlon, Stefano Simeone, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. Set within a rather expansive big box store, it presents an extreme look at consumer culture and the lengths that this store’s loss prevention staff goes to in order to get their man. It’s rather cutthroat, literally.

| Published by AfterShock

Sonata #5 unveils a bit more about the planet and the Lumani, revealing an interesting depth to their technology that’s seemingly been abandoned and their method of reproduction. Mixing that in with the action of trying to save members of the two colonizers in conflict keeps the pace moving along. Gorgeous artwork from Brian Haberlin and Geirrod Van Dyke.

| Published by Image / Shadowline

Spawn #301 continues the story and structure of #300, with Todd McFarlane, Greg Capullo, Jason Shawn Alexander, Clayton Crain, Jerome Opeña, Jonathan Glapion, FCO Plascencia, Peter Steigerwald, Matt Hollingsworth, John Rauch, Greg Menzie, Jay Fotos, and Tom Orzechowski breaking it down into numerous chapters, dealing with the various different elements. Some interesting new characters revealed again, even though we only get a bit about them.

| Published by Image

Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order - Dark Temple #3 reveals a few more secrets in the past, even as the Inquisitor searches for them in the present. Gorgeous artwork from Paolo Villanelli and Arif Prianto. It definitely feels like something weird is going on here.

| Published by Marvel

Star Wars Adventures: Return to Vader’s Castle #2 is another great entry into this series, with a central story illustrated this time by Kelley Jones and Michelle Madsen. It’s a wonderful monster story with one of Tarkin’s experiments, showing us what really makes up a monster.

| Published by IDW

Supergirl #35 sees Marc Andreyko, Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira, FCO Plascencia, and Tom Napolitano juggling about as many plates as they are over in Hawkman. There’s “Year of the Villain” stuff and a rather deep tie-in to Event Leviathan as Leviathan makes a pitch for Kara to join him.

| Published by DC Comics

Superman #16 reunites Jon and Damian one last time before Jon heads off to join the Legion in the future, from Brian Michael Bendis, David Lafuente, Paul Mounts, and Dave Sharpe. It’s a fun, heartfelt send-off with some very funny moments, including a renaming of Leviathan that will hopefully stick.

| Published by DC Comics

These Savage Shores #5 brings an end to one of the most beautifully told stories in comics in the past few years. Ram V, Sumit Kumar, Vittorio Astone, and Aditya Bidikar have done an incredible thing with this story, giving new depth and nuance to tragic romance and the vampire story. This conclusion is heartrending as we see how far Bishan will go for love, in an epic confrontation between vampire and raakshas. Everyone owes it to themselves to read this series. Simply phenomenal.

| Published by Vault

Thumbs #5 is the conclusion to what has been a wonderful series from Sean Lewis and Hayden Sherman. There are some really interesting ideas, subverting the ideologies of both factions, showing realizations that maybe there might just be a better way.

| Published by Image

Triage #2 delves deeper into the three multiversal versions of Evie, contemplating how they came about while trying to figure out a way to stop whoever it is that’s hunting them. There’s some sweet and funny character moments with the main “normal” universe’s Evie and Tab. Phillip Sevy is doing a great job of juggling both the ordinary and extraordinary in this story.

| Published by Dark Horse

Vampirella/Red Sonja #2 is more fun from Jordie Bellaire, Drew Moss, Rebecca Nalty, and Becca Carey. The issues between Vampirella and Sonja become greater, even as they get a spell to understand one another. There’s a really nice mix of humour and action here.

| Published by Dynamite

Web of Black Widow #2 is another great issue. What Jody Houser, Stephen Mooney, Tríona Farrell, and Cory Petit are doing here feels perfect for Black Widow, giving us an action-packed story full of intrigue, even as it keeps us off-balance as to what exactly is going on.

| Published by Marvel

Wonder Twins #8 throws in a prison break and a high school reunion into the reasons why you should be reading this series. Mark Russell, Mike Norton, Cris Peter, and Dave Sharpe deliver another humorous chapter to this series, with some rather interesting heartbreak.

| Published by DC Comics / Wonder Comics

Other Highlights: Absolute Carnage: Miles Morales #3, Age of Conan: Valeria #3, Amazing Spider-Man #31, Animosity #24, Batman Universe #4, The Batman’s Grave #1, Battlepug #2, East of West #43, Future Fight Firsts: White Fox #1, Ghosted in LA #4, GI Joe: A Real American Hero #267, Go Go Power Rangers #24, Gwenpool Strikes Back #3, House of Whispers #14, Immortal Hulk: Director’s Cut #5, Joker: Year of the Villain #1, Jughead: The Hunger vs. Vampironica #5, Magnificent Ms. Marvel #8, Marvel Action: Spider-Man #9, Miles Morales: Spider-Man #11, Oblivion Song #20, Postal: Deliverance #4, Power Rangers: The Psycho Path, Powers of X #6, Reaver #4, Redneck #24, RWBY (print) #1, RWBY (digital) #4, Secrets of Sinister House #1, Star Wars: Target Vader #4, Thought Bubble Anthology 2019, TMNT: Urban Legends #17, Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #49, Unearth #4, Usagi Yojimbo #5, Wonder Woman #80

Recommended Collections: A Walk Through Hell - Volume 2, Baltimore Omnibus - Volume 1, Battlestar Galactica Classic: Counterstrike, Battlestar Galactica: Twilight Command, Black Hammer ‘45 - Volume 1, Blossoms 666, Hack/Slash vs. Chaos, The Silencer - Volume 3: Up in Smoke, War of the Realms: Punisher, Wizard Beach

d. emerson eddy is ready for some shashlik.

#This Week in Comics

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cow3survivor · 4 years ago

Text

Episode 1 Pt. 2: “Playing a Game With A Fresh Slate” - Jessica

SAM

https://youtu.be/gmZlNel3IZM

JESSICA

We did it! We won immunity! Shout out to Sammy for making the flag that won us the advantage and Pete for doing so well in luck! Also in 6 hours or however long it has been since my last confessional, I have decided I do like Sam and we will align. So I guess I want to align with everyone except Madison... hopefully if we lose she is out first!

JABARI

So our tribe is heading to tribal and I'm very nervous because anyone can go atp. I need to make sure that isn't me.

JENNET

we flopped that :(( and i think i may be one of the reasons :( trying my best to not let anybody know im upset but as tribal council looms closer im getting worried

(a little later)

im trying not to throw anybody under the bus but i think that im voting out nash :(( they havent been super active and they havent texted me back since i texted them so it just makes sense to boot them :((

(after eating some rice)

voting out another black woman weighing heavy on me :( i hate that its coming to this

PETE

our tribe had a celebratory discord call which only consisted of like 4 or 5 people but i joined later after everyone left anyways i had a long nice chat with Sam in which i found out he hosts an in person survivor with his friends at home and hes nice ANYWAYS he apparently, like me, is cursed to forever be a premerger. So from here on out i solemnly swear to never vote for Sam during the premerge phase fuck yeah

JAKE

https://youtu.be/aVQKOOrapj0

remind me tomorrow to chill out and take a back seat on the vote lmaooo

PENNINO

Going to tribal i feel like i'm pretty much safe. I feel like that 4 minutes was a good time for the easy jigsaw, but Ethan getting 1.5 minutes is almost impossible. Assessment on my tribemates Jabari: Seems like a nice person, has talked more and has been much more active, I think she has gotten herself off of the chopping block. Jake: Still a nice person, but has lost some activity during yesterday. Possible Ally still Jennet: Nice, active enough, not a target Jones: Not very active. A bit of a target. I will most probably to vote her to be say. Lindsay: Very active, we talk to each other a lot, nice person, possible ally Mikey: Nice person, nothing much, not a target Nash: ˆˆˆ Nicole: ˆˆˆ, but not as active Silver: Active, nice person, but he doesn't respond to my dm's that much, but, still, a possible ally. I feel pretty good about this tribal honestly

JONES

https://youtu.be/2UtH-dnv0i4

SAM

https://youtu.be/lzZOK2CxsA4

MIKEY

WELL HELLO LADIES. SO SO SO SO SO! Instead of rambling Ill just get on with it. Starting off, Me and Nash REALLY freaking connected. Like they’re so fun to talk to!! BUT. They’ve been inactive. and so Pennino is now going around spreading their name, and basically everyone is saying sure why not. This SUCKS because Me and Jabari wanted to make an alliance with them and jake, but now we are faced with a problem. We both have basically decided that instead of Nash we are gonna drag in Peppino. I brought that idea up because me and him are both the youngest people in the game, and I really wanna go far with Peppino. My goal this season is to beat a bunch of adults and make them feel angry that a 15 year old outsmarted them. Its so funny! Anyways besides that, Im feeling good about that 4. I wish it wasn't Nash going home, considering the only other name out was Jones, and I woulda much rather did her, but you know that's how the cards fall I guess. A bad bitch is done with tonights confessional. A bad bitch is now gonna press submit. A bad bitch says GOODBYE ASF!

SILVER

https://youtu.be/JLwZRNesRHI

LINDSAY

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YF3mYJfYIq_2Qco8EQYq3JowyMSbin8M/view?usp=sharing

NASH

im crying i have no idea whats going on!!! HKDHEJDHW all i know is talk to mikey and play 8 ball with nicole

(a little later)

ETHAN

Charan's Hot Confessional Questions

<a:dance:777952213808447519> 1. Give us a Trust Rankings of your tribemates! Who are you bonding with the most? Who are you bonding with the least? I trust Shane the most, and right now that’s because he is the only person that is actively strategizing. Besides that, I feel the most amicable with Jessica, lovealis, and Daisy who are wonderful people. Unfortunately both Cloud and Madison have made 0 effort with me and are generally inactive with me. <a:dance:777952213808447519> 2. Have any alliances formed on your tribe? If so, how loyal are you to these alliances? If not, do you think there are alliances out there that don't include you? There are no alliances that I’m in that have been formed, but I suspect there are some out there. Alliances without me are ok, I just need to know about them, and if there are any right now, I don’t know about them, and that’s concerning. <a:dance:777952213808447519> 3. How did your first Safari experience/run go! Did you get any closer to finding an idol? I WILL NEVER FIND ANYTHING IN A LUCK BASED SYSTEM <a:dance:777952213808447519> 4. Explain why Ryan and Charan are hotter than you A fact of life... these two slay.

LOVELIS

So things are going okay on the tribe so far! The first immunity win was rather nice & I like being able to have a bit more time to read people until were thrown into the pressure of a tribal. So far I’m definitely clicking the most with Shane and then probably Jessica but the time zones are getting in the way a little - just glad I have more time to really click with people and try and cement a place for me in this tribe. I think my contributions to the challenges have definitely helped my standing but not everybody is being super social with me so that’s a little bit of a worry - just gonna have to go ham at bothering people in private messages until they respond I suppose! 🤪

MADISON

Hi beautiful humans!!! I wish I had tea for y'all but we've won 2 challenges in a row and I really don't see the grind stopping in the foreseeable future so the tribe is kinda just vibing which gives me a little bit more time to build relationships which is a blessing and a half. I always get extremely paranoid the first week in games so the fact that I know for certain I won't be first boot is amazing!!! Tribe bonding is scheduled for tonight so hopefully by next round I'll have an alliance or 2 (maybe even the idol if I'm feeling really lucky)

JENNET

Last night really lit up a light in me. it sounds like everybody wants to work with me which is good so im now newly excited to play the game

SAMMY

okay okay okay so I would do a full out cast assessment but I literally just can not do that rn...so let's talk about who I vibe with most and who I have made like strong connections with so far! Initially, both Daisy and Jess have declared I am someone they really want to work with which is perfect for me because I want to work with them as well. I know daisy is going to be such a great competitor and I want to be on her side 100% but same with jess...im such a loyal bitch okay!! Me and Kiki really bonded over that logic puzzle so she went up in my rankings (as if she was ever low to begin with) I am not sure how well me/Pete/Nicole(opposite tribe) are gonna mesh...like I really hope me and Nicole can come together this game but I know we are just gonna end up being paranoid of each other but I love her so much. I REALLY WANTED TO BE ON A TRIBE WITH NASH AND JENNET I luv their vibes so much. okay back to my tribe tho, we won reward #mwah! I put so much effort into that because I just knew if we were to go to tribal that's an easy thing under my belt I could use as a "omg u need me for challenges". I noticed I was coming on a little too strong and presenting myself as a leader which I don't think really hurt me I think it made more people realize they should talk to me KHFBHIS. Umm okay so I love lovelis even tho he is not very active but I just know we will have each others backs for a bit. I connected well with Shane and Ethan very early and they just seem so sweet. I think if we would have went to tribal sam/lovelis/Pete could have been in danger. I would have preferred sam cause he isn't that active but he did help out some with the flag work. ANYWAYS this was not my best confessional but I do want to point out I FOUND A VOTE BLOCK SO HOLLLLLLAAAAAA! we are using this as a way to gain peoples trust so I told daisy and jess to strengthen those relationships mhmm

NASH

me pretending to be surprised that ppl wanted to vote me out first because i was kinda inactive.... i thought survivor would be different 💔

JENNET

not me being targeted for being a pretty black girl with a juicy fat ass *sad face emojis*

(a little later)

its tribal council and im shaking and im nervous, this could go horribly wrong or this could go super right

TRIBAL COUNCIL

youtube

SILVER EXIT INTERVIEW

youtube

#cowsurvivor #confessionals

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