#lots of 'must smoke my voice out beyond recognition' ladies

[piratefishmama]

Wuthering waves is so embarrassing like heres basically a carbon copy of Genshin Impact but with the literal worst camera lag in the history of camera lag pls spend the same money on us as u do on Genshin teehee

[gryffinpuffthunderbird]

The Girl With The Dragon Dress

The Girl with the Dragon Dress (A Celestial Ball Fic)

[I don’t do fanfiction very often. Its been a while since I just sat down and wrote something.]

Charlie Weasley x FemGryffindor! MC (Edited to add: Its Fluuuuuufff)

MC is determined to have a fun night at the ball, despite knowing her crush won’t be coming. And sure, its good fun. But she gets some unexpected one-on-one time with Charlie anyway.

     The dresses were lovely. Three stood on mannequins, prepared by Andre. He'd really outdone himself. I sighed, as I considered them. I had ended up asking Tulip because we thought it might help the bit of sadness that lingered over not being able to attend with the one person I had any romantic attraction toward. If anyone could cheer me up, it'd be Tulip. Or Tonks. Who I was sure would be spending a lot of time with us. The two were thick as thieves since they met.      I still wished I could have gone to the dance with Charlie.      I had been aware of Charlie Weasley before we truly met. Aside from being friends with his brother, and seeing him play Quidditch, I'd always thought he was kind of cute. Now that we'd spent so much time together, one-on-one, in and out of danger... I was completely done for. I had eyes for nobody else as long as Charlie was still around. I wasn't sure he'd feel the same way about me. Or feel that way towards anyone. It wasn't exactly a priority  for him. Then again, it hadn't been for me either.      And now I reminded myself to put on a smile and to just go have fun. For my friends' sakes, but also my own. Even if a part of my heart had been aching since not long after the ball was announced...

***

     "I can't wait! I have so many ideas if I get to plan the decorations," Penny all but squealed.  Several of my friends and I were studying, sharing a table and occasionally notes. Or we were supposed to be. Instead, we were all discussing the upcoming ball.      "I bet they'll be great, Penny," Andre said, "You've got good taste, so you have my vote."      The Hufflepuff smiled gleefully. I was half paying attention. I was already wondering what I'd wear, wondering if I'd be any good at dancing... and how I was going to go about asking Charlie if he wanted to go with me. I lost track of the conversation while I imagined what it’d be like. Butterflies in my stomach, my excitement started growing. That is, until Andre asked him what his plans were.      "Oh, I'm not gonna be going."      "What?" I snapped out of my fantasy to see everyone had stopped to look at him. Andre continued, "Well why not?"      Charlie shrugged as if to say it wasn't a big deal. "The only dress robes I’ve got aren’t exactly lovely. And before you say anything Andre, mum would have a litter of kneazles if they were altered beyond recognition, which is the only thing that could save them. "      With that he shuttered with disgust, and started gathering his barely touched notes for class before continuing, "Besides, dancing in front of the whole class isn't my idea of fun anyway.”      "What if someone asks you? Even someone you fancied?" Penny inquired.      "I can't really accompany anyone I fancy in those things without embarrassing them, so even if I wanted to go to something so formal..." Again, he shrugged it off. After he left, my friends' chatter just turned to static in my ears as my ballroom fantasy went up in smoke. I tried to study, but I just couldn't focus.       Feeling increasingly ill throughout the rest of the day, I eventually retired to my dorm room, where I'd just cried through dinner. Rowan had tried to get me to come down, but I had no appetite. She tried to cheer me up for an hour when she returned, but it was no use. I'd been an antisocial mess the rest of the evening, and slept restlessly all that night.      I’d mostly gotten it out of my system by breakfast the next day, though some of the unhappiness stubbornly remained.

***

     "Hey, Curse-Breaker," Andre's voice shook me from my thoughts, "You'll need to choose soon, so you can actually get ready! Unless there's something you want to talk about?"      At his suddenly concerned look, I sheepishly turned my attention back to the dresses. I must have let some of my thoughts show on my face. I needed to try to focus on the task at hand. It was my usual escape from troublesome thoughts. Keeping myself busy.      One dress was a dark wine color, with a layered skirt and curvy filigree design. The next had an asymmetrical skirt, branches wrapping around it and cherry blossoms falling to the hem. The last was a deep navy blue, satin in appearance, with stars dotting the surface. On closer inspection, I recognized a constellation outlined across the front of the dress.      It was that of the dragon.      I tried each of them on. Andre showed his approval for all of them, saying each flattered me in a different way. The choice was entirely up to me. I had been hoping his preference could help me to decide. I knew I kept being drawn back to the starry dress.      It matched the Celestial theme, and the blue was extremely flattering to my complexion apparently. And it had the dragon constellation. I wasn't sure if that would be a good thing or not, all things considered. But in the end, I couldn't choose another.      Now if only the one person who would most appreciate the design was the one accompanying me tonight...

***

     I took a deep breath. I was dressed and made up, hair done, and ready to meet Tulip in the Great Hall. Opening the door of my dorm, I descended the stairs to the Common Room. It was fairly quiet, as the rest of my year was at the Ball already, and everyone else had other activities planned. One Gryffindor though, a blond boy who’s name I could never quite remember, looked like he was struggling with putting on his boutonniere before making his own way out of the room. I looked around for anyone else, particularly with ginger hair, but there was no one. As I approached the Fat Lady's portrait, I asked my yearmate if he knew where Charlie had gotten to.      "I'd expected he'd want to see everyone's getup so he could tease us," I laughed.      The boy - what was his name? I always felt as if it had been obliviated from my memory - looked at me startled, as if not even expecting to be noticed. Perhaps we should all work on that. "Oh, he's still at the library getting what he needs to study in here tonight. I think Bill went with him."      I smiled. My own big brother couldn't be there for me, while I still searched for him. But Bill had been a wonderful surrogate brother I'd sorely needed at times. I hoped he really would stop by tonight. His brotherly grin usually put me at ease, and perhaps it would remind me that maybe everything would be fine, and that tonight would be a good night after all. After thanking the struggling boy, I made my way down the Grand Staircase to the Great Hall.      Glancing in, I spotted several of my friends already. I entered, searching for my date and for a moment, it hit me again that I had dreamed of sharing this with one specific person, and never would. But at least I'd be sharing it with most of my friends. Seeing several of them laughing, I took a deep breath and entered the glittering room.

***

     It had been a fun night. There'd been music, delicious treats, dancing in pairs and groups, and the occasional playful teasing.      Friends had come out of their shells and really shined. Rowan and Ben especially! And as had I. It didn't entirely rid me of wishing Charlie could have joined us, especially after Bill stopped by and danced with Rowan briefly. I also wondered what Jacob’s first dance must have been like, or whether he’d had one. But I’d enjoyed myself nonetheless.      Now, though, some couples were pairing off. Many friends were deep in one conversation or another. Ben and Rowan were still dancing their lives away. Tulip had run off with Tonks to undoubtedly get up to some mischief or another. (Goodness knows the girl tried to behave for most of the night, but she just couldn’t entirely help herself.) My feet were beginning to ache, unaccustomed to the fancy footwear, and I found myself beginning to yawn and yearn for something soft to sit on.      I knew I’d need to come back to reality soon, to prepare for another focused attempt at the cursed vaults. So I made the rounds, said my good-nights, grabbed a plate of treats, and headed back up the stairs to the Gryffindor Common Room. I entered through the portrait in stocking feet, shoes in hand. It appeared empty at first glance. Then I saw Charlie, sitting on the couch, covered by the orange glow from the fireplace. Which only made his hair look more orange-y than before.      He took no notice, apparently engrossed in whatever notes he was taking. I stayed at the entrance a moment, watching him. Deciding to maybe be a little less creepy, I eventually called out to him softly, “Hey, Charlie.”      He started, surprised by the sudden sound of my voice, and I raised my plate in offering as I walked over.       “I’ll share, if you share some of the couch,” I said, smiling.      ���Gladly, he replied, as he scooted over to one side, pulling books and notes toward himself and putting some down on the ground beside him. I placed the plate between us on the couch. After claiming a piece of fudge, he asked, “So, how was it?”       “Not too bad, actually. You should have seen Hagrid and Professor Flitwick dancing.”      “Together?”       “Not exactly,” I laughed, “Just near each other, really.”      “Aw shame,” he said, “And here I thought it was getting interesting.”      “Well if you want interesting, you should have seen Emily’s face when Bill told her off. It was brilliant!” I went on, divulging some of the highlights of the evening. Soon I awkwardly found myself trying to figure out what to talk about next. So I asked him instead, “What have you been working on up here?”      “Looking up information I’ll likely need to learn for our O.W.L.S.,” He said, “Especially in Care of Magical Creatures.”        He talked about what requirements he needed to meet to become a Dragonologist and I could help but smile. No matter where the conversation starts with Charlie, it almost always ends in dragons. Second on his family. Third on Quidditch. Suddenly, he appeared to become self-conscious and he got a little quieter.      “Anyway, you probably get the gist. Dragons. Always with the dragons,” He laughed awkwardly and started to move on to notes from another class.      “What else do you need for it?”      He stopped, “What?”      “You weren’t finished. Actually, I was curious, do you need to learn a certain amount of healing magic, too? I mean, claws, teeth and fire... You can’t always have a Healer on hand every second either, right?” He grinned at me.      “Yeah, you are right about that,” and he told me what he still needed to learn. Having been helping Madam Pomfrey quite a bit, I actually had a few good things to add to the conversation.

     After a little while, we ran out of things to say on the subject, until I remembered my dress and began to stand, “Oh! Speaking of dragons, did you see the constellation I’m wearing? I chose it because it matched the ball’s theme, but I thought this was also really cool”      Charlie looked closely only a moment before recognizing the same constellation that had once caused Professor Sinistra to put a limit on how many essays he was allowed to write on the subject. His eyes widened, “Wicked!”      He stood up, motioning for me to do a spin so he could see the whole dress. I was happy to oblige, and I slowly turned so he could see all the details in the pattern. When I turned back around, he bowed slightly, still smiling. As I looked at him confused for a moment, he straightened and held out a hand, “May I offer you a dance, my lady?”      Butterflies went wild in my stomach, and I place a hand in his. I wasn’t sure if the heat on my face was from the fire, or if I was blushing uncontrollably. We danced in silence for a minute, me unable to meet his eyes lest he see how red my face probably was. I, myself, wasn’t the greatest dancer. His movements were even more awkward. But the knowledge that he’d even made such a gesture despite his own strengths and nature meant the world to me. And with it, I soon began to work up the courage to tell him why I had really picked this dress. I bit my lip and took a deep breath before I spoke.      “You know, I... I actually chose the dress for the dragon more than the stars. So, you were kind of there with us, in spirit. Sort of,” I dared a look up at him, but couldn’t read his expression, “And I sort of wish you could have been there. I almost asked you. To be my date, I mean. Not to just go in general.”      “If anyone could have ever talked me into going, it’d be you,” he replied, “Though be glad you didn’t, because those dress robes really are awful.” We laughed before he went on, “And I would’ve just been embarrassing. I don’t really do ‘fancy’ well. I don’t even understand most things people do to go on dates. I never really... got what the fuss was.”      He looked at me, “But while I still don’t get ‘traditional’ ideas of dating, I get why they might want to. I like spending time with you more than anyone. You’re fun, and smart, and you really listen when I talk too much about dragons...”      I couldn’t keep from smiling at that, and would have told him it doesn’t bother me, but he appeared to still have more to say. I didn’t dare risk stopping the flow of words, though I noticed our dancing had all but slowed to nothing.      “...I may not understand what other people consider ‘romantic’ activities, like fancy meals or flowers or whatnot, but I do think about wanting to be with you. And... maybe even kissing you,“ he mumbled that last part as his face turned redder than I ever knew a face could turn.      “Then I’ll be happy to just spend time with you,” I said. I moved my arms until they were around his neck, my hands toying with his ponytail and continued, “Besides, sneaking into the forest is far more exciting than having tea or whatever.”      We looked at each other for what seemed like forever. I had no doubt that he was aware of how nervous I felt right now, just as I could tell how nervous he was. Then in no time, but somehow also an eternity, his lips were on mine.       Some day he’d go to Romania to be a Dragonologist. And I’d go who-knows-where to do who-knows-what. Maybe we’d work something out. Maybe not. But we had this for now. After Jacob disappeared, I had tried to make a point of enjoying the ‘now’. As I had worked to tonight. As I was at this moment.      I’m not actually sure how much time passed before we pulled apart and looked at each other. We both smiled, and I giggled, resting my head on his shoulder as we slow danced in silence a few minutes more. Not too long after, we settled back on the couch. We sat closer this time, me curled up against his side.      “I do love the dress, by the way,” Charlie said as we got comfortable, “And I hope maybe someday you’ll wear it again. With me. Even if its not to a fancy ball.”      I happily agreed. And with that, we finished studying together.      As well as all the sweets.

[coreshorts]

Behind

Three large crates sat outside of her room, all stuffed with her most treasured possessions. Her dolls, two of her four lavender plants, a wealth of books and notebooks, cat toys, blankets, clothes, pictures, and more had been placed lovingly in each wooden crate, ready to make the long trip to Hingashi. On top of one sat her idiot cousin. Fortunately, she thought, the crates were sturdy. She’d kill him if he broke anything, and had told him as much.

They stood outside her door as she reactivated the strange runic markings on her door, causing them to turn a dark black and then fade, as if absorbed into the wood. A scratching brought her attention to the door, followed by a mewl that never failed to make her heart jump into her throat.

Finn hated when she left, and he’d always, she knew, sit at the door and cry for a few minutes. The thought made Hali tear up every time, her heart breaking that she had no way to take the cat everywhere with her.

“We sh’make a stop afore aught else, y’know,” Dail’a mused aloud, picking his teeth with the tip of a dagger to try and make himself look like some kind of hardened rogue. The plump shinobi stared at her miqo’te cousin for a long moment.

“I... um, I’m... not sure w-what you mean.”

“Yer goin’ t’yer new’ome ain’t ye?” he asked, getting a nod in response, “Jus’ seems right te give yer first’un a visit.” She stared. He meant go find the Naras clan and her parents.

“I... I already said g-goodbye,” she muttered, pursing her dark maroon-coloured lips and looking away, “M-more than... ten years ago, now.”

“Ain’t a goodbye, Hals!” he said, “Y’still work’ere, aye? And y’are fair often. Jus’ changin’ things up a bit. Puttin’ yer treasures where yer’eart is. Ain’t nothin’ amiss wivvat. I jus’think, is all, ‘at ye been through a lot - ‘ells, more’n y’even know - an’, well, yer folks miss ye.”

“I’m... I’m h-hardly-”

“Hardly what? A Keeper n’more? Don’t tell me y’aint a Naras. In or out the clan, ye still got Naras blood, no ma’er if ye got fur’r scales. It ain’like when we left, y’know.”

“I know... I... I know. J-just,” she started, her voice soft and timid, “I’m... a-afraid. Do they know?”

“Nope.”

Hali’s heart sank. She’d been born a Keeper of the Moon - a miqo’te, like her cousin - but thanks to the strange events that unfolded after the Iron Chef Eorzea competition, she’d been drugged by a mysterious man and permanently altered, her body that of an Auri woman, her ears and fur gone, replaced by the large, fin-like horns on the sides of her head and cream-coloured scales. She had taken to the changes, even begun to enjoy her new life, but it drove her, she felt, so much further away from the old one and all those in it, the Naras clan included.

“Dail’a, I- I don’t kn-know if I can,” she said, shaking her head.

“Y’can. Y’should. They miss ye,” he replied stoically, “Seein’ow far ye come... it’ll do good fer their’earts. Ye’re their girl, no ma’er what. Wish me own folks were still about fer me to show off te. So don’go pushin’em aside. ‘S’been long enough. An’ if ye don’t, ye’re on yer own for ‘is.” He patted the crate he was sitting on, smiling brightly.

The Raen sank against the door, causing runes to shine softly where her body touched them, as if providing a barrier between her and the door before giving a soft, “Okay.”

Dail’a always knew where the clan had set up camp, and knew how to lead her straight to them. After the better part of an afternoon’s travel, they came upon a clearing in the western Shroud, a short walk beyond Sorrel Haven and the Haukke estate.

Tents were set up in the clearing, made of interwoven skins, furs, and textiles. Before each stood a male Keeper of the Moon, all watching and waiting for signs of trouble, some accompanied by trained coeurls. For the nocturnal clan, it was early, yet, many having only just finished their first meal. One tent in particular caught Hali’s attention: decorated with pink textiles bought through trade and made of well-worked and worn hides, a large tent with a grey and white coeurl sleeping outside of it, her parents’ home, stood out to her, even amongst all the other colours and variations around.

“Dail’a,” one of the men greeted, approaching him and Hali with a bone spear held lazily in one hand, “It’s good to see you, but who’s this?” He, like many others of the Naras clan, had lighter hair, streaked with naturally-occurring silver. Pale green eyes peered at the Raen, dressed in her new shinobi armour for the sake of safety during travel - and because she liked it quite a bit - and frowned, no recognition in his face, his gaze level with the barely-taller Auri girl’s.

“What, y’don’t see? Yer eyes busted?” Dail’a teased the man, who only looked at Hali closer and with more confusion in his eyes.

“...how’s she have hair like that? I thought that was a... thing,” the guard said, gesturing back toward the village. Dail’a grinned.

“Uh... i-it... it is,” Hali said timidly, looking away, “It... um...” The guard stopped, peering at her in disbelief.

“Menphina’s grace... you’re Cina and Edoh’a’s girl,” he said in astonishment, “What the hells happened to you?”

“Aye, aye. Long story, mate, but we came for’er folks, so if ye don’mind,” Dail’a said with a smirk. The guard nodded and returned to his post and the two proceeded into the village.

Miqo’te meandered about, tending to their clan duties, cleaning, cooking, socialising, and more. Some prepared for a hunt, more prepared to make a trading run to Gridania, and yet more simply remained, tending to their duties. Among one such hunting party was an older male miqo’te, light brown hair cut short and, like many others, tinged with silver. His features were somewhat rough, but kind all the same, a well-trimmed goatee ringing his mouth, just below his nose.

“Uncle Edoh’a,” Dail’a called, causing Hali to pull up her hood in anxiety, “Need ye fer a bit! Got summat for ye!” The man looked up from fletching a new arrow and gave the blond male a skeptical look.

“Alright,” he said, setting his tools aside, “But I hope this is quick, Dail’a. We need to go soon.” His tone was calm and kind, though with the already-waning patience one might have with a notorious trouble child. He gave Hali a curious look and a small smile in greeting, which she returned with a silent nod, swallowing the lump in her throat.

Before he could ask, Dail’a grinned and said, “I’ll explain me scaly friend’ere in just a mo’. 'Eadin’ fer Gan’s tent. Need te see Aunt Cina too.” Edoh’a nodded with some hesitation and curiosity, following the two in silence.

“Oy! Gan!” Dail’a called as he entered the large, central tent in the village. It was particularly ornate, decorated with baubles and brightly-coloured silks, both inside and out.

“Hello, brother,” came a serene, calm voice from the middle of the tent. Upon a mound of pillows and surrounded by plates of slowly smoking incense sat a purple-and-silver-haired woman, pale as the moon itself and with radiant violet eyes that spoke of an endless patience and benevolence. Gandrae, Dail’a’s sister, had, in recent years, become Clan Matriarch after a violent clash with a force of Garleans that left many of the Naras clan dead. She sat in the midst of the pillows and incense, having been roused from her meditation, a few women - her Handmaidens - giving her brother a deadpan stare.

She looked toward Hali, her eyes seeming almost knowing, and she smiled softly before turning her gaze to a blond woman who looked to be no more than thirty years of age, though some small wrinkles and lines showed her to be a bit older than that. Cina Naras, Hali’s mother and one of the appointed Handmaidens to the Matriarch, despite being older than she was, was busying herself with preparing offerings to Menphina at a small altar at the back of the tent.

“Cina,” Gandrae said to the green-eyed woman, who looked up with a silent and questioning stare, “I believe Dail’a is going to need your attention. You may have the evening to yourself.”

“Of... course,” the older woman said with an air of confusion to her voice, expression mirror it, especially when she saw her mate accompanying Dail’a and the odd, hooded Raen with them. She stood from the altar and made her way around the centre of the room to stand by Edoh’a with a questioning glance that he could only mirror in return with a shrug.

“Dail’a,” the Matriarch said as the group departed, leaving only him at the entrance to the tent, her tone cautious and a look of concern in her eyes, “I hope this was the right decision. I cannot say for certain whether it is or not.”

“I’s a’right, Gan,” the blond man replied with a smile, “Trust me, aye?” His sister nodded slowly and patiently.

The walk back to the tent belonging to Hali’s parents was short and silent, but it dragged on in her mind. It was torturous. She wanted to say something, anything, to them but she trusted Dail’a, instead, to start what would probably be a landslide of terrible decisions that day. She could hardly look at her parents. Doing so filled her with so many different emotions that she became very quickly overwhelmed.

“So,” Edoh’a said, sitting around the small fire pit in the centre of their tent after closing the front flap and opening the vent at the top, “Who is this, Dail’a? It’s unusual for an Au Ra to have business with us.”

Cina, meanwhile, sat next to Edoh’a, attempting to peer under Hali’s hood, her face drawn in an expression of concern and curiosity as she added, “I’d like to know, as well. Young lady, why do you avoid my gaze? Must you hide yourself under that hood?”

“Oh, take it off,” Dail’a chided with a smirk, elbowing Hali and causing her to let out a startled squeak that made both of her parents pause, “Uncle, Auntie, I figgered... maybe it’s time ye met sum’un.”

Hali gulped, slowly pulling her hood back, her blonde and silver hair falling free over her scarf and shoulders, and she slowly looked up at Edoh’a and Cina from behind her glasses, deep blue eyes glassy with yet-unshed tears. Before she could say anything, however, Cina had lunged across the floor to embrace her, immediately bursting into tears. Edoh’a looked confused, and Dail’a, though surprised at the quickness, seemed fairly pleased with himself.

“Cina? What’s...?” Edoh’a asked.

Cina pulled back a bit, hands cupping the Raen’s face, fingers tracing the ridges of her scales and running gently over the edges of her horns, asking in a soft, yet choked voice, “My baby... my Hali. What’s happened to you? Is this why you were gone for so long?”

“Wait. What...?!” her father started, looking around to peer at her in utter disbelief.

Hali couldn’t help herself. The sudden influx of emotions that were so far beyond her, the sound and sight of someone else - her mother, no less - crying was all too much for her to manage and she broke down into wracking sobs, teeth grit against them as if to stop the coming flood of tears from ruining her makeup completely. It was no use, however. Black streaked her face from carefully-applied mascara, those tears not caught in it washing away the foundation and concealer that covered up the soft red rashes at her cheeks in wavy lines.

“...Menphina help me,” Edoh’a muttered to himself, eyes wide with shock, “What... happened to her?”

She barely registered as Dail’a retold the events that had happened to her in his Limsan-warped drawl. She simply sat there crying as Cina whispered comfortingly to her. It was as if she were a child again, wrapped in her mother’s arms, the words lost on her but the soothing sound of her voice helping to quell the chaos of emotion and anxiety that had begun to threaten her mind as so many feelings came rushing back from oblivion.

“Bastard,” Edoh’a muttered, “I can’t believe someone would stoop so low to drug her over something like that.”

“But she’s okay,” Cina said with a soft smile, “That’s what matters. It’s... one thing to hear it. But it’s another to have her here. Gods... we missed you, so, so much. How could you think your own mother wouldn’t recognise you? I love you no matter how you look or what you are. Understand?” A hand rose to Hali’s sodden cheek and, quivering as she tried to stop crying, the Raen nodded.

“Ye need a tic?” Dail’a asked, placing a hand on Hali’s shoulder, “I can go’n'arass Gan. Make sure ye say hi to’er, too. She looks out for ye jus’ like yer other dumb-shite cousin.” He winked, standing, then left.

“I-I’m sorry,” Hali choked through her tears, “I’m so... s-so sorry.”

“It’s okay. Shhh,” her mother cooed, “You’re here, now. You’re home.” She looked away. Home was what this wasn’t. She missed her parents, she found, but this could never be her home. Her home was on an island across the sea with her best friend in all the world, in their budding village.

“I... I need t-to... talk... t-to you guys,” she said with a cracking, sob-strained voice, “I’m... I-I’m, um... I’m moving out o-of Eorzea.”

Her mother looked taken aback for a moment, and her father eyed her cautiously, asking, “Where to...?”

“H-hingashi. Across the sea,” Hali muttered in response, “B-but I... I still... work in Thanalan. I’m... I-I’m a chef. A good one. B-but... I’m... I’m more th-than that, now, too. I... I have a p-place I really... feel is a home to me n-now. S-so... that’s... where I’ll be. Wh-when I’m not cooking at the B-bountfiul Chest... anyroad...”

“Home is where your mother is,” joked Cina, dabbing Hali’s cheeks with a handkerchief to dry her tears. Hali had always hated hearing that, mistaking it for a serious sentiment, though, this time, it made her laugh.

“I know,” she said, “J-just... I’ve... I’m... making my way. I’m d-doing... better.”

“Well, you sure look it,” said her father, a small bit of pride colouring his tone, “And I don’t mean the horns. That’s a fancy outfit.”

“I-I’ve, um... I’m... I’ve been training. F-for moons, now. Really hard,” she explained, “T-to be something great. A really, r-really good. um, friend has been helping me since w-we met at work... she’s done... j-just so much for me...” Her voice softened as she trailed off, a small smile creeping over her face.

“A girl? Like a girlfriend?” asked her mother, teasing. Hali had always, when she was young, gushed to her mother about the pretty girls in the village. She didn’t know why she liked them, or what business she really had with them, but she just found herself wanting to be around them. None had ever really enjoyed the awkward girl’s presence in return, however.

“N-no... no,” Hali said, the smile remaining, though she looked away in embarrassment, “I-I mean... not for lack of, um... t-trying, at one point, which was stupid, but... just... a really, really g-good friend. My best friend... a-and teacher now, too. Heh.”

“She means a lot to you, though. It’s all over your face,” Cina said, smiling, “Do you love her?”

She sat for a moment. Love was an odd, and, she thought, wholly incorrect, term. She never really understood the concept, and still didn’t. Kel was, however, the single source of stability in her life at that point. Everything she had, she owed to her, and, in kind, she would do anything for her. A relationship, though, was something that she knew was not possible, nor was it something she really wanted, despite her misinterpretation of her own feelings at one time. Kel had told her that people could be important to each other without things such as relationships. She didn’t understand at the time, but she didn’t quite understand anything that had been going on in her head. As time went on, however, she decided that that was fine, though. She was still important in Kel’s life, she found, and though it wouldn’t be expressed in ways she’d seen before, she still knew that she was appreciated and wanted, that she wasn’t a nuisance or burden to her. She had the best friend she could have ever asked for, and that was all she needed. There was no need to look for a concept that she couldn’t place or even understand when what she had was already everything she wanted, anyway.

“...I dunno,” was her muttered reply, though her smile grew softly, cheeks reddening, “That’s... n-never really, um... been my th-thing. Remember? We... we��re just close. Th-that’s all. A-and that’s good. It’s what I want.”

Cina nodded, chuckling and brushing a hand through her hair, “That is good. I’m glad you have friends, now, Hali. Especially ones as good as this girl seems to be to you.”

Hali nodded, smiling, her thoughts turning also to Hanaru and T’rahven, and of those people who had taken on such positive meaning for her also by simply being there for her time and again, and she said, softly, “Yeah. I’m... making a, uh... a f-few. They’re... they’re good people. I... they, um, it’s... weird. They actually... mean something.” 

Another thought occurred to her as her mind settled. Her parents, she felt for years, had lost their meaning, somehow, but it was only time and distance that dulled the feeling. It hadn’t gone away, and she found it resurfacing now. It was oddly comforting, she thought, to have it back, even if the emotions she was feeling were far too much for her to grasp.

She was hugged again, and Cina said, “I’m so happy for you. You have no idea how much I worried about you until Dail’a started visiting again, bringing all these stories about you... I’m so proud of you.” Edoh’a smiled and gave a single nod, sitting next to her and putting an arm around her shoulders.

“We both are, kiddo,” he said, giving her a hug of his own, “And no matter where you go, you’re always welcome back with your folks. Remember that. We still love you, and that won’t change.”

“O-okay,” Hali said, sniffling as tears welled in her eyes again, “I’ll... I’ll try to come... say hi w-when... Dail’a comes, s-sometimes.”

“When you can,” Edoh’a corrected, his tone compassionate and understanding.

“R-right,” she muttered. A bout of raucous laughter from the Matriarch’s tent distracted her for a moment. Dail’a seemed to be having a good time with his sister. They’d always been close. She never had anything like that, not counting her parents, here. Even Dail’a was busy with his own things when they were young.

The rest of the night would be spent with her parents, in their tent. It was an emotional night that left her exhausted as she told her own versions of her stories - both good and bad - since she’d left. There was so much to tell, and so much, she found, that was worthy of pride and praise - the sort of which she so seldom offered herself - from her parents and cousins, the latter two of whom had arrived later into the night. Eventually, she had to retire for the night, and her parents set about to their business, letting her sleep. It was mildly uncomfortable sleeping on a cot on the ground again, but she managed.

She’d never expected to come back, let alone be so warmly welcomed if she ever did. She left the clan feeling like a useless husk of a girl, but came back, after so many trials and tribulations, after victories and successes, and after so much to think over, and she came to a realisation.

No matter where she went, she never really had to truly leave anyone or anything behind.

[forcedapotheosis-blog]

Servant of Fate (Part 4)

Hey, I’ve got something positive to say about this chapter: It’s finally ready to be released, might aswell do it since it’s not getting any better, at least not by my hand. 

Disclaimer 1: One Piece and its characters don’t belong to me.

Disclaimer 2: Time travel is an annoying fuck and can go eat a buffet of dicks.

Time stood still when he finally collected himself, opening the barn’s door. As did his heart.

The same eyes that he had loved for many months, even years, were staring at him in confusion. Looked at from the outside, they were of a rather mundane brown, but there was so much more to them. Depth of character, a flicker of light, curiosity, a curtain made of finest silk that hid a spirit of steel, unwavering even when confronted with appalling odds and adversity.

He was shocked to see that even at this young age, she was no stranger to tears and pain. They seemed to be a necessary companion when it came to developing a character’s resilience.

Even though her sight was blurred by hastily removed tears, her senses were as sharp as he remembered them to be. Only a second or two had passed when she raised a voice that would, in a few years, be the most wonderful sound in existence.

“Have you been smoking in the barn, you idiot?!”, being accused by such a young girl seemed to be somewhat comically serious, but considering the task ahead, he wasn’t able to force himself to smile.

“I .. no, I haven’t, miss ..”, he tried to begin, only to be rather rudely interrupted.

“What’s that smell, then? You think I’m an idiot because I’m young?! I know your kind!”, her perception was impressive. Not even ten seconds of looking at him had passed and she already made an assumption based on his appearance, his finely crafted clothing, the clean-cut hair and the suave air that surrounded him.

“You’re one of the rich folk, thinking that the world belongs to you, right?! Strolling around like you’re gods amongst us mere mortals, thinking that rules are made only for other people?!”, it wasn’t entirely her fault that her conclusion couldn’t have been farther from the truth, to be fair. Sanji remembered the so-called ‘Celestial Dragons’ well enough, as well as his own thrice-damned father. Many people took pride because of the simple matter that they were born into the right family, thinking of it as divine grace.

In moments like these, he thought, it might have been the best to go with the truth, or whatever was closest to it.

“You are right, young lady. I’ve been smoking within the barn as I wasn’t aware of the dry hay stored within. Please, accept my sincerest apology. I did not think about the consequences of my actions.”, oh, Judge Vinsmoke would have killed him on the spot if he was witness to this scene. Sanji bend one knee to face the young girl at eye level, adopting a sombre, serious tone into his voice. “And I swear by the Winds, the Sea and the All Blue that it is not going to happen again.”

His words took her aback, she might have expected everything, even him becoming aggressive. Everything but an apology.

It was refreshing to see that some of her traits, the ones he learned to love over many weeks and months on the sea, were already with her when she was a child. Nami shook off the momentary confusion and found her voice again.

“If you’re really serious about being sorry, are you willing to pay for that transgression?”, a risky gambit if one thought about it. Of course, she was in no position to threaten him, nevertheless her words made him smile, maybe for the first time since he arrived, though before he could answer anything, he heard the stranger’s chuckle from inside of the barn.

To his utter surprise, so did she.

“Who was that?!”, she took a step back immediately, ready to run away if need be. She certainly wasn’t looking fearful, that he was sure of, it was a mere reflection of the start of her careful nature.

“I’m not entirely sure myself.”, he replied. Did the stranger not say that he was the only one who could see him? Sanji had made the assumption that the same was true to hearing him. Or even smelling him, for that matter.

When the one who called himself a servant finally stepped into Nami’s line of sight, her eyes widened. Not in fear, shock or confusion, but what seemed to be .. recognition. For the first time since her arrival, she was at a loss for words. The stranger simply smiled at her, his hands in his pockets in a casual stance, similar to that of Sanji.

“Alright, what should I make of that?”, the cook wore his confusion on his sleeves, taking turns looking at her and his companion. “You told me that nobody but me would be able to see you. This occasion does seem to make you a liar.”

The stranger simply shrugged and walked to his side, all the time smiling at the young Nami.

“It’s a rather complicated matter, I fear.”

Hearing his voice did seem to turn Nami’s switch back on, as she found her voice again. “I .. are you .. aren’t you a clergyman? I know you!”, she said, all of a sudden being puzzled, pointing at the blonde’s companion.

“See, I have told you that I’ve been watching over the both of you for some time now, haven’t I?”, the stranger didn’t look at him when asking. Nevertheless, Sanji answered simply by nodding his head.

“Let me be a little more precise, Pariah, I haven’t been watching over the two of you as specific individuals, but your varying incarnations inbetween. Well, as the two of you are so prone to desaster, the need for me to take a more active role within this play arose from time to time.”, that didn’t answer the question of why she was able to see, even recognise him.

“It still is a rather rare occurence, I must admit. Much more likely to accompany children, because many of them dream more vividly than adults like you do.”, the lunacy of this situation got comically serious, and it reflected within Sanji’s face.

“Are you trying to tell me that we’ve, too, met before?”

“To put it plainly, yes. But you were an emotional wreckage and a broken man, mostly devoid of your dreams and hopes. So far out of touch with any of your other incarnations that, I guess, the memory of our brief conversation didn’t drip into the collective mind of the being that is you, even throughout many individual forms.”, it wasn’t a good explanation, far less a comprehensible one, but it was something.

“But .. but if there really is something like a shitty collective mind, why isn’t my head flooded with things that never happened to myself?”

Again, the stranger only shrugged. “Probably because that would make any human being barely able to function. It simply doesn’t work with things that are mundane or mostly mundane. Both things are not exactly fit to describe what I am.”, in the meantime, young Nami was able to recollect her boldness.

“What are you two talking about? Have you lost your mind?!”, that assumption might not have been far from the truth, as this situation felt more and more like the trip into a weird nightmare.

“That, and we’re wasting a lot of time here, Pariah. I dearly hope that you’re actually able to work out a plan all amidst these entropic circumstances.” He actually was working on a plan, as simple as humanly possible, but Nami’s appearance could accelerate it’s descent into unimaginable chaos. He had to do something against it, probably fast, as the sands of time were running down mercilessly.

“Nami-san, I hope that you will find it in your heart to forgive me.”, he whispered as he probably made use of the inhuman speed his body had developed for the last time in his entire life. Both his hands reached for her shoulders and she cried out in shock, but it was too late. Again, he whispered.

“I will beg for your forgiveness, even in the afterlife.”, and even though she fought against his grip, she never had a chance. It did not matter that his entire existence had been erased from his time, as long as he was able to remember his friends, his loved ones, his family, there was nothing stopping this ordinary human being from engaging in one last act of duty, love and honour.

He tried not to listen to her protest as he carried Nami inside the barn.

“DON’T TOUCH ME, YOU FREAK!”, she cried out and drove her teeth into his arm, to little effect. Sanji had taken punishment beyond any human measure, the girl’s teeth didn’t even sting. Her fighting spirit was burning, and thus it was not a surprise that simply putting her on the barn’s ground didn’t stop her from trying to engage him, or from trying to run away. Desperate times called for desperate measures, at least that’s what they said.

He turned around again, mimicking his movements from moments ago, and grabbed her by the shoulders. This time though, he went down to his knees, nearly forcing her to look him in the eye.

“Nami-san, please, listen to me. I need you to stay inside at all costs.”, her body tensed up under his palms and he felt terrible for telling her what was about to happen.

“Please, Nami, if I don’t do what I came for, your mother .. she might die.”, unsurprisingly, these words were more than enough to get the kid’s attention. Even though Nami was, only a few minutes ago, full of rage because she hadn’t been born into a wealthy family, no trace of it was left.

“Wh.. you’re a liar! My mother’s strong!”, she cried in a shocked response, but tears were already building up within the corners of her eyes. Sanji shook his head and loosened his grip on her shoulders a little.

“Unfortunately, I’m not. You have told me how it happened. Don’t ask questions, just listen. Time is running low. I came solely to avert her death, but to do that, I need you to stay out of sight. Do you understand that, Nami-san? Stay inside until I’m done and there shall be no harm to your mother or the entire village whatsoever. You .. you just have to trust me. I’d say one more time, Nami-san, just one more time. For you, though, it will be the first time. For me, the last.”, he didn’t know what it was, but .. something in his face or within his voice and words did seem to move her. The tenseness of her body eased away and only a single tear was running down her cheek when she finally nodded, using all of her remaining willpower to press out the last words he was ever supposed to hear from her mouth.

“Please, save her ..”

[everysuperherofighting]

Best Albums of 2016

I think we all know how we feel about 2016, though I will say that on a personal level it was actually pretty good, and involved a lot of positive personal development, though also a fair amount of death, and I’m not talking about all the celebrities right now. My aunt, grandfather, and former band instructor all passed away this year.

As far as music, my tastes feel like they fall on the same continuum they always do, though there seem to be a few more old guy rockers than usual, which I guess means I am no longer aiming for “Noisey” but rather “Rolling Stone.” This is probably also personal: I am not an old guy yet, but I am getting closer and I am also becoming aware that I will probably not accomplish all of my artistic goals within the next 5 to 10 years, and so am becoming increasingly open to artists staying relevant into their middle age and beyond.

RIP all the folks, RIP all the artists and celebrities, RIP all the people in Syria and Yemen and the Philippines, and all the people killed in terrorist attacks in Europe and Africa and the Middle East, and killed in shootings (police, mass, and otherwise) in the United States,  and RIP the short term possibility of having a federal government that is at least potentially responsive to the needs of marginalized people. Here are the best albums of 2016, according to me:

Image via the Hold Up music video

1. Beyonce - Lemonade.

This album was cathartic when it was released at the beginning of the year, but now that we’re at the end we probably need it even more.

Though largely about infidelities within an interpersonal relationship (dammit Jay), with a heavy smattering of race commentary (particularly in the videos) and empowerment feminism, the frustrations and self-empowerment in the face of all adversaries expressed in these songs transcend the specifics. Especially in a year determined to put us in our place, to make us feel worthless or powerless.. Whether a cheating lover, an orange race-baiting huckster masquerading as politician (and ascending to the highest office in the land), the goddamn fucking forces of white supremacy/the patriarchy/global capitalism or our own private struggles with self-doubts and mental illness, this album had something to offer, if nothing else than a reminder to hold our heads up and say “fuck ya’ll.”

I didn’t like every song on this album but look: When I saw a room full of women, middle fingers raised, jamming out to “I’m Not Sorry” like a giant “fuck you” to whatever it was that was fucking their day up, telling them they weren’t valuable or whatever, I realized that it didn’t necessarily need to be for me.

Rubbery dancehall, Nahleans jazz,  futuristic (though I guess present now) R+B, diva voice: Beyonce does that thing where she overdubs like 20 different vocal tracks over one another, but her voice is already so powerful it sounds like a chorus of Amazonians or gods. And of course there’s the image of Beyonce walking around smashing car windows with a baseball bat in the “Hold Up” video, which now seems to be remarkably prescient.

The biggest pop star in the world right now has our back. We could do worse.

Watch “Hold Up”

2. Anderson .Paak - Malibu

Deceptively breezy soul and funk that inherently understands the political power of a block party. Like so many artists before, Anderson .Paak understands that sometimes just getting by is a revolutionary act, and thus this album often seems like a celebration of the awe one feels at their own continued existence. Some pretty good jams for fucking also.

Watch “Come Down”

3. Schoolboy Q - Blank Face

A gangsta rap album that absolutely nails the paranoia and sense of menace that must accompany the lifestyle. The vibe alternates between blazed out soul samples and claustrophobic, almost manic moments of paranoia. Sometimes you’re smoking the Kush and then sometimes there’s a black SUV in your rearview. Schoolboy Q rides over all this with straight-faced hood talk and almost gleeful depictions of acts of depravity, like so many others grasping power in whatever avenue is available to him. Kanye West has a show stealing feature and Vince Staples continues to shine, but I’m all about those Jadakiss and E40 bars.

Watch “John Muir”

4. Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition

Beats that sound like they were compiled from the intro to old VHS tapes and people banging on trashcans.  Little oft-kilter touches mirror the descriptions of substance abuse, the pitch-heightened background voice in “White Lines,” B-Real’s blitzed nursery rhyme delivery of the hook on “Get Hi.” Not that much music can probably still scare your cool boomer parents, but I’d nominate this one.

Watch “When It Rain”

Image via the Nobody’s Baby video

5. Sheer Mag - III

Sheer Mag sounds like the best basement band in the world, grimy rock n roll made by people who got punk but also grew up on Thin Lizzy and Jackson Five. Guitar solos that sound liberating instead of masturbatory and powerhouse vocals from Tina Halladay about love and heartbreak, like someone’s memory of what 70s rock n roll was like, inevitably better than it actually was.

Watch “Nobody’s Baby”

6. The Falcon - Gather Up The Chaps

Technically this is a punk rock supergroup, with members of the Loved Ones and Alkaline Trio, but it feels very much like Brendan Kelly’s vision, a chance to get a little grittier than the Lawrence Arms and indulge in his ever present artistic interest in the guy puking in the alley, then asking you if you know where to score some coke. There’s a song named after the video of David Hasselhoff drunkenly eating a cheeseburger, and though in a different band this may be a gimmicky (and like, really really out of date) reference to internet culture, here it comes across as a recognition - a dark moment is a dark moment no matter how meme worthy it becomes.

Watch “Sergio’s Here”

7. Jeff Rosenstock - Worry

Massive sing alongs, noisy genre hopping (or combining), and huge power-pop hooks that always seem to be just on the verge of descending into chaos. Jeff Rosenstock has often managed to make whatever he’s going through personally seem to speak to larger scale generational woes (I’m pretty sure there were at least two albums about not wanting to get a job, which came out at the same time that I and most of the people I know also didn’t want to get jobs). A reoccurring theme here seems to be the gentrification of places that you love, which is connected to the experience of getting older and feeling like you’re missing out. Jeff has definitely crafted his own “sound” at this point, so when he switches styles to the straight genre homage in the three-song punch of “Bang On the Door,” “Rainbow” and “Planet Luxury” (garage punk, third-wave ska and hardcore) in 3 blistering minutes, it’s a perfect reminder of all the music we (well, me) grew up loving.

Watch “Wave Goodnight To Me”

8. Kamaiyah - A Good Night In the Ghetto

Remember when people used to call beats “slappers?” Probably only if you were into Bay Area hip-hop circa 2007. Anyway, this shit slaps.

Watch “Out the Bottle”

9. YG - Still Brazy

Similar to how A Good Night in The Ghetto feels like an amalgamation of several decades of Bay Area hip hop, this is puuuuuure fucking LA fat bass, eerie keyboard sampling G-funk. Gangsta rap has always been political. Have I written that before? It’s worth saying more than once. Those last three songs though. FDT will obviously have a lot of shelf life, but “Blacks and Browns” and “Police Get Away Wit Murder” are sharp contributions to the tradition of “fuck this shit” also.

Watch “FDT”

10. Run the Jewels - RTJ3

A rush of weird beats, shit talk, and surreal imagery, hip-hop dispatches from a dystopian future, but one that feels weeks rather than years away. El-P and Killer Mike are honestly not that similar stylistically, (El-P is more from the highly conceptual east coast underground school, Killer Mike is more the southern testifying and telling straight truths school) but their mutual love of the game has always made this work and they are both world class shit talkers.

Watch “Talk To Me”

Image via the Chili Town video

11. Hinds - Leave Me Alone

Garage… pop I guess? that feels close to the vein, emotionally. I don’t mean heartbreak, though that’s here too, but also friendship, drinking wine in the sun, with surfy guitar melodies. There’s something that sometimes happens with some lady bands, where people kind of get into some sort of perceived naiveté or innocence or something, so I’m going to assume these women can fuck you up.

Watch “Warts”

12. Pup - The Dream Is Over

The frustration of reaching your mid-20s, realizing that you have not accomplished any of your goals and that you don’t have any prospects. In song form. It would sound like a kiss-off if the singer wasn’t desperately grasping for change.

Watch “DVP”

13. A Tribe Called Quest - We got it from Here… Thank You 4 Your service

Classic Tribe components still here - the swing in the rhythm, the walking bass lines, motherfucking Busta Rhymes(!), but with a foot firmly planted in the present. Did they used to swear this much? I don’t remember. Extended music breaks. Guitar flourishes. Q-Tip is clearly the ringleader, wearing the role more comfortably than ever, but with a kind of quiet humility that comes from age. Yeah, we still here, shit still sucks, but sometimes you find those little moments, you know?

Watch “We The People”

14. Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker

Is there hope for salvation before death? Or just further disappointment and failure? An album to drink wine to in a dark room, alone but for ghosts.

Watch “You Want It Darker”

15. Drive-By Truckers - American Band

Pretty sure the Truckers have always been angry and political, it’s just never lined up with current events quite this overtly - but there’s always been a real siding with the have-nots, the people screwed over by bad economics, and the (not just white) working classes, though sometimes this manifests as concept albums about Lynard Skynard. Still, with a band that clearly flirts with a Red State target audience, at least sonically, and judging from the youtube comments on some of their videos, hanging their hat so clearly on the “blue side” is a risky move and one that should be commended. Here we get stories about the founder of the NRA murdering a Mexican teenager in the 20s, the shooting at Umpqua community college, hypocritical religious folks, and Black Lives fucking Mattering.

Watch “Surrender Under Protest”

16. David Bowie - Blackstar

To be honest, I thought this sounded a little bit too much like Pink Floyd the first time I heard it (plus a sax player) but the sultriness of cuts like “Lazerus,” the keyboard line in “’Tis a Pity She Was a Whore” that sounds like it came out of an 80s fantasy movie, and the weird vocal flourishes and marching rhythm of “Girl Loves Me” won me over. Bowie has left this mortal coil, and either ascended to a tinsel covered 70s movie set or an 80s computer game about going to the moon, but it’s definitely some kind of heaven.

Watch “Lazerus”

17. Death Grips - Bottomless Pit

A soundtrack for glitchy meme art, ordering 2CI off the Silk Road, and those computer generated DeepDream images, while MC Ride bellows avant-garde street poetry. I’ve never been sure if Death Grips are railing against or with the shitposting internet culture that’s embraced them. Some of these tracks are just fucking metal though.

Watch “Eh”

18. clipping - Splendor and Misery

Breakneck raps over the sound of an airshaft opening on a spaceship. This is supposedly a concept album about a slave revolt in outer space. Musically this equates to old spirituals and malfunctioning computers.

Watch “Air Em Out”

19. The Coathangers - Nosebleed Weekend

In the music video for “Nosebleed Weekend” the women in the band crash a party of hipsters to punch everyone in the face, but then the video ends with them probably trying to keep a straight face while they get covered with buckets of fake blood. Tough sounding surf punk, much about heartbreak.

Watch “Nosebleed Weekend”

Image via the Victim of Me video

20. Descendents - Hypercaffium Spazzinate

There’s a lot of older musicians on this list for whatever reason (all the dead guys I guess,) but a few lyrics about dietary changes aside, this band could have stepped wholesale out of their 1994 variation. Fast, hooky, with the most underrated bass lines in punk.

Watch “Victim of Me”

21. Paul Simon - Stranger to Stranger

Alright, this one’s a little NPR but I will say that I think Paul Simon sounds a little more of-kilter, a little moodier than he sometimes does. There are dark things around the edges in this one, whether it’s the ghostly guitars on the title track, or the way his funny song about getting stuck outside a club you’re supposed to play suddenly starts alluding to class uprising, a buildup that feels both surprising and also strangely inevitable.

Watch “Wristband”

22. Mikey Erg - Tentative Decisions

A lot of emotionally earnest music (dare we bring up emo?) gets slammed, essentially for being melodramatic. It’s a difficult balancing act, but I’ve always felt like the Ergs managed to avoid this, and here Mikey Erg continues that streak on his first solo album, with tastefully poppy tunes full of yearning melodies and (more) broken hearts, ala Big Star or an early Beatles album. When I saw this guy live a few years ago, it made my friend get back together with his ex-girlfriend.

Watch “Faulty Metaphor”

23. NOFX - First Ditch Effort

There is no way I’m not putting an album that has a song where Fat Mike sings about being a fetishistic crossdresser in my top 25.

Watch “Six Years On Dope”

24. Ramshackle Glory - One Last Big Job

It’s amazing how many people’s favorite band this is with virtually no mainstream recognition. Like, even Bomb the Music Industry put out stuff with Asian Man, who’ve put out Alkaline Trio records and stuff. And yet this (and Patrick Schneeweis’s other projects) is like Bob Dylan to thousands of kids across the country. I knew something was up when all the kids at the Rainbow Gathering I went to (2011) were playing Johnny Hobo covers. Anyway, this is their last album, and as such is a somewhat slow, contemplative affair. Pat’s always been excellent at espousing anarchist ideals while also representing that problems and hypocrisies that accompany radical lifestyles. Swan song for a true alternative.

Listen to “Face the Void”

25. AJJ - The Bible 2

Very much continuing ideas first developed on Christmas Island, a collection of noisy rock/pop tunes with upbeat melodies and lyrics about losing your shit, dirty middle schoolers who hang out by themselves in construction sites, and the Herculean task of feeling kind of ok with yourself.

Watch “Goodbye, Oh Goodbye”