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pupyuj · 10 months ago

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→ “special girl.” || naoi rei x reader fic.

— you always make sure that your girlfriend has the most perfect birthdays ever but this year, rei was going to be the one to make her day even more special…

word count: 3.0k

dynamic: dom!vers!naoi rei x sub!vers!reader.

content warnings: birthday sex yippee, sex in a public setting, exhibitionism, car sex, fingering, cunnilingus, mommy kink, praise kink, ‘kitty’ kink (if that is even a thing).

requested ? : nope.

a/n: a bit late in the day but happy birthday to my dearest reibear! this was kinda clumsily put together so apologies if it’s lacking compared to my other full fics but ehe i hope you guys enjoy this 🥺

rei loved special occasions for one reason: you!

even after three years of dating, you still managed to make each and every single one of your gifts so different. with that said, rei’s favorite day would be her birthday. one would think that it was normal for someone to have their very own special day as their birthday but rei’s birthday wasn’t special because it was her birthday—it was special because you make it so. every second of that day would be perfect because of you.

and this year, rei’s birthday wasn’t any different than the last.

“you really didn’t have to rent an entire restaurant just for us, (y/n)-ah. that must’ve been really expensive.” rei says as she snuggles closer to your arm. the cool, gentle breeze blows your hair back as the two of you walk along the marbled paths beside the river. it was a peaceful evening—there wasn’t a lot of people in the park (it was nearly 10 p.m. after all), there weren’t too many cars around so the area wasn’t loud with the sounds of exhausts and engines, and it felt as if it was only you and rei in the world.

and on her special day, it was all she wanted. just you. no gift you give her can ever compare to your existence.

“not exactly. the owner is one of my friends from college! i couldn’t pass up the opportunity. i hope you loved it.” you smiled at her. the path was dim with only warm, decades-old street lamps igniting the way, but your smile managed to shine through. or maybe that was just rei looking at you with rose-colored sunglasses and hearts in her eyes. or you could just be that pretty.

yeah. you really were just that pretty.

“i always think that you couldn’t possibly make me fall for you even more but… i’m always proven wrong.” rei momentarily stops her tracks and tucks a stray strand of hair behind your ear, making you blush. both at her words and how her fingertips brushed across your cheekbone.

“cornball,” you teased, earning a soft chuckle from your girlfriend. “i love you more everyday too, rei.” and it was the truth. whenever rei does anything, it warms your heart. you find that there is always a moment where you look at her and time slows down, giving you the opportunity to cherish just how much of a great girl you fell in love with. you knew that even the most expensive or heartfelt present wouldn’t show rei how much you truly loved her, you just hoped that your heart did.

(it did. and it was more than enough.)

she was only a few centimeters taller than you, but whenever you looked into her eyes with so much warmth, love, and devotion, rei always felt so small. but she was safe. and so she leaned in, eyes fluttering to a close just before your lips touched her own.

it was as sweet as the rest of the kisses you’ve had this day—soft, slow, and tastes like… raspberry? yes, rei made sure to wear your favorite lip balm on her because she knew how much you loved tasting it on her lips. perhaps a little too much. you wrapped a single arm around rei’s waist, pulling her in for a deeper kiss. she had her hands on your cheeks, savoring each and every second your lips moved in sync with hers.

before you knew it, you were feeling rei’s hands snake underneath your blouse, tugging on your bra from behind. the two of you just so happened to stop behind a large tree so this spectacle wasn’t really visible to anyone that might be in the park. and it was perfect considering rei had unbuttoned the three buttons on your blouse to attack your neck with kisses and bites. each time you whimpered, the more rei’s heart raced. neither of you have done anything like this before, it was both scary and exciting.

scary, because the two of you could get caught and that would be the most humiliating thing that would happen to either of you.

exciting, because rei has been gawking over the outfit you decided on for this day. the cute skirt, the blouse that a friend of yours tailored specifically for you, and all the jewelry rei bought for you in the past… it was the perfect outfit to ruin you in. rei had hoped she would tear off your clothes in your shared bedroom under the soft lighting of her favorite lampshade but the moonlight and the street lamp serve as a good enough alternative, she supposes.

“a-are you sure… this is the tim—ahh..!” rei found it adorable how you couldn’t even form proper sentences because of her. she nipped and sucked on your skin, making sure to leave hickies where she likes it most all while unclasping your bra from behind. eventually, your back was pressed up against the tree. you crane your neck just to give rei more space to leave her marks. and when she was done, she lifts your top up along with your bra, revealing your now bare breasts to her.

“i don’t think i tell you enough about how beautiful i find you.” rei licks her lips as you start grinding on the thigh she snuck in between your legs. it comforted her to know that you wanted this as much as she did at this time. rei briefly looks around, confirms that nobody had eyes on either of you, before leaning down to place wet kisses across your chest. her lips close around your nipple, making you clasp your hand over your mouth just to stop yourself from moaning out loud.

rei slides a hand underneath your skirt and feels up your soaked panties, gently rubbing circles around your sensitive clit and smiling at the way you’ve started to ride her thigh faster. poor thing, you were so desperate to be filled and used. but since this was rei’s special day, everything should happen on her terms. her eyes snap open when you let out a whine, staring at you as if she wanted to eat you whole while she swirled her tongue around your bud.

fuck, she was so pretty like this. you love her being sickeningly sweet like she always is but when she’s fucking you… rei was like a different person and you loved it.

your hands find their way in her hair and you pull her up for a kiss. at the same time, she pressed her thigh into your clit, making you whine and tug on her hair in a way that you know she loves. rei moans and gets lost in the taste of your lips, giving you the opportunity to unbutton her shirt and give your own eyes a treat. rei had been wearing the white lacy bra that you always loved to see on her. she knew the night was going to take this specific turn one way or the other, being the smartass that she was.

you were halfway through undoing her bra when she stopped you—gently taking your wrist and putting it back on her shoulder. “not so fast,” rei slips her hand inside your panties, pressing her middle finger down your clit. “you’ve already done so much for me today.” and then she was knuckles deep inside you, making you clutch her shirt and release the most beautiful moan rei’s ever heard.

rei fucks you slowly, ensuring that you feel every inch of her fingers inside your walls. and you didn’t complain—you couldn’t. rei watched silently as you freely whined, whimpered, and moaned in the air, feeling her own core buzzing just at the sight of your pretty face making all sorts of expressions for her. now she didn’t care that your volume increased by the minute. you were only loud because rei was fucking you so good, and there was nothing more that she loved than hearing how much she’s making you feel.

“so good… you always make me the happiest on this day, (y/n). and i don’t thank you enough,” rei presses her thumb down on your clit. you gasp sharply, throwing your head back and giving rei the full view of the work she did on your neck earlier. “tonight i get to return the favor.” rei closes her lips around your nipples again, sucking roughly and quickening her pace at the same time.

okay, now you had to really try and shut the fuck up.

forcing your eyes open, you looked down at rei again. her eyes were closed shut, and she was more focused in fucking you to oblivion than anything. the way she rubbed your clit at the same time she would plunge her fingers deep inside you didn’t help the situation that was building up in your stomach. you were afraid that you were going to end up screaming, but maybe that was what rei was working towards. “mmhng…!! m-mommy…! please…” you pulled rei impossibly closer to your chest, and she hums, quickly understanding what your pleading meant and fucked you faster. just how you liked it.

fuck, did that shuffling from behind the tree came from the leaves blowing with the wind or is it people? ah, who gives a fuck at this point… actually, you did. you threw a quick glance to the side and saw nothing but grass and empty benches. the two of you were completely alone. perfect.

briefly, you spotted rei slipping her one free hand underneath her own skirt, rubbing her cunt through your soaked panties and goodness, the things it did to you. “mommy—ahh..!—let me… let me, please. i need to taste y-you, please… i need you…” gosh, you were pathetic. you were practically riding on her fingers just to get yourself off faster. drooling like a rabid dog at the thought of getting to eat your girlfriend out at a place like this.

“behave, and maybe i’ll consider it.” rei says sternly, clearly put off with how you just disregarded what she said earlier. she was going to reward you for all the things you’ve done for her today. you should be grateful! and you really were. you proved that by nodding, shutting the fuck up, and letting rei do as she pleases.

“good kitty.” jesus christ.

“aww,” rei cooed, a genuine smile making its way onto her face when she saw how flustered you’ve gotten. whimpering and whining still but refusing to make eye contact. “don’t be shy, kitten.” you didn’t even have time to react to your favorite pet name before rei starts ramming her fingers inside you in a much more ruthless pace. you’ve already coated her fingers with so much of your slick, now she needs your cum.

“oh..! oh, s-shit…!” you hid your face in the crook of rei’s neck, shaking your head as she pushed you closer and closer to the edge. it all felt too good. now rei was giving your neck soft kisses, groaning softly as you dug your nails on her skin.

“fuck..! fuck, momm—” rei covers your mouth when she hears a couple of voices from behind the tree. you had to admit… that scary look in her eyes, silently telling you to not make a single sound, and the tight grip she had around your mouth only turned you on mouth. her hand was a bit damp from how she played with herself earlier and you only saw this as an opportunity to open your mouth as best as you could and start licking rei’s own wetness off her fingers.

rei was a bit taken aback by your sudden boldness, but she was really into it—allowing you to suck at her thumb. “mhm.. you’d really do anything for mommy, huh, kitty?” rei asked. and of course you reply with a nod. correct answer, now rei has you clenching your thighs around her wrist because she was that close to making you cum. rei relishes at the sight of your chest heaving up and down faster and faster the closer you get to your climax, how you start holding on to her a bit tighter, and of course… how much you were grinding on her hand just to feel her palm press against your clit.

rei curls her fingers inside you at the same time her palm brushes against your sensitive bud, making that knot inside your stomach finally break. you came with a squeak, thighs shaking and eyes teary. rei bites her lips as she watches you, wanting nothing more than that obedient little mouth of yours on her throbbing pussy. you were slow to come down from your high, given that it had been a good few days since you’ve last had sex with rei due to your busy schedules and the fact that she just fucked you that good, but rei was patient!

she waited until you were breathing properly to slowly pull out, giggling at how you’ve drenched her hand with your cum. “s-sorry. i…” you blushed. even you didn’t expect to cum that much!

“it’s okay, baby. i got it.” rei says. you really, really tried to look unaffected when she started sucking on her fingers to clean up your mess, but she looked too hot. and rei absolutely knew what this did to you! looking directly at you, while she licked the remains of your cum off her fingers, smirking when she feels you clench on her thighs.

“come on now. if i remember correctly, you wanted to do something for me.” rei doesn’t let either of you get straightened out properly, dragging you towards your car in the parking lot with your tits out for the entire world to see. fortunately enough, the world was asleep.

soon enough, rei was settled in your backseat. her back pressed against the other door while she pulls your face towards her now bare cunt with her legs that she’d put on top of your shoulders. god, she was drenched. you had no idea that fucking you made her like this. if you’d known that this happened every time she fucked you, your nights together would’ve been much, much longer.

“be a good kitten, now. make mommy pro—ohh…” rei grabs a fistful of your hair when you cut her off with a single swipe of your tongue up her lips. you couldn’t help it. this was the one time she was going to let you get away with shit like that since she was so in love with that clouded look in your eyes. rei wasn’t even kidding when she says that you look like an animal right now.

you started working your mouth on her cunt, holding her thighs and keeping them apart. you moaned at how good rei tasted—even after having done this about a hundred times before, you still act as if it’s the first and only time you’re going to eat her out. you flicked her clit with your tongue, earning a moan so satisfying to your ears that you had to close your legs just to try and ignore that feeling in your core once again.

“good..! g-good girl… oh, please..!” each time you close your lips around her clit, rei gasps. she’d buck her hips upward just to have some more of you. you quite liked the feeling of her tugging on your hair and digging her nails in your scalp… as much as it hurt and made you hiss occasionally, the slight pain only turned you on. it meant that you were doing very well for your mommy, after all! what’s not to like?

rei never knew how you could keep your eyes completely open every time you ate her out. sometimes it made her feel self-conscious because of all the faces she could be making but you were just so pretty peering up at her with those shining eyes of yours, practically begging for praise or at the very least, head pats.

“you’re d-doing so well, baby… mhmn..! making m-me feel so good like this.. ah! beats every present you’ve ever gotten me… now, more…” rei closes her thighs around your head, locking you in place. you were in no position to refuse—not like you wanted to anyway. you dipped your tongue inside rei’s cunt and she let out a loud moan that turned you on enough to keep going, holding onto her thighs so tightly that you might actually leave nail marks on her skin.

“i’m cumming, love…! c-cumming..! oh my god…” it takes another suck at her clit for her to start tapping out, but rei was already cumming all over your face by then. head thrown all the way back as she made a mess on you, her grip on your hair slowly loosening up as her breathing slowed. you lapped her up like the diligent pet that you were, ensuring that you wouldn’t waste a single drop of her cum.

once you were finished, you rose up. you looked more of a mess than rei was what with your hair sticking to your face because of both sweat and rei’s cum. rei laughs at your funny state and reaches out, fixing your hair and wiping your mouth with tissues. she looks at you with pure adoration as you helped her clean up, wiping her thighs clean and gently applying ointment on the marks you’ve left her.

(yes you had emergency ointments in the car for these kinds of situations! totally normal.)

“thank you, (y/n). for everything.” rei takes your face in her hands, squishing your cheeks lightly before kissing your nose. oh, she has no idea how thankful you were of her just existing. today may be her birthday, but it felt like yours too. after all, what’s a greater gift than having someone so amazing as naoi rei as your sweet lover?

“i love you a lot, rei.” you said with that blinding smile of yours rei always adored.

“i love you more, pretty,” rei kisses your nose again. she feels like she’ll be doing that a lot tonight, or forever, rather. “and when we get home, i’ll show you just how much.”

seriously, which one of you was having the birthday again?

#ive smut #ive x reader #ive imagines #ive x fem reader #naoi rei smut #naoi rei x reader #naoi rei x fem reader #naoi rei imagines #rei smut #rei imagines #rei x reader #rei x fem reader #girl group smut #girl group imagines #girl group x reader #girl group x fem reader

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purifiedclitoris69 · 5 months ago

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A/n: Just something completely random, a little dry, quite ass, but I figured I'd get something small outta my drafts (they are starting to pile up with unfinished ideas sooo idk what to do bout thatl lol). Thank you for all the support on In It Together wasn't expecting that but it is very much appreciated. Love ya! hope you enjoy ;)

Your head rested on Natasha’s thigh arms wrapped around in tow, as you absentmindedly drew shapes on her soft skin, and her hands played in your hair as she read a book aloud. You two were in a more quiet part of the compound, small warm common room that often went looked over. Rain fell gently on the window, as you two took in the presence of one another.

The two most feared on the avengers, so soft for one another. You were a mercenary, you had a vegence that made many deem you a villain, but no one knew the full truth but Nat. You went through, physical and mental torture by both your parents and handlers, it drove you mad, fractured your mind. But the avengers had saved you over 3 years ago, Nat had saved you. Many still feared you, your teammates a little intimidated by your brooding quiet nature and brute strength, but seeing you wrapped around the widow like a koala, you looked at peace.

Unnoticed by the two of you, Bucky, Peter, and Sam stood in the hall absolutely jaw dropped.

“no shot that’s actually them,” Sam whisper shouted to the two.

“shhhh,” Peter said scared the two would see them, “i think it’s cute,” he whispered as Bucky just smiled amused.

“you know with enhanced strength comes enhanced hearing,” Bucky laughed walking away.

“you two mention this to anyone and i’ll hunt you from the shadows until you lose your minds,” you spoke not moving from your position

Sam and Peter’s eyes went wide as Parker mumbled out a “Yes ma’am.”

Sam choking out and, “understood,” pulling Parker away from the both of you.

Nat laughed continuing to play with your hair, “when are you gonna let them know how much of a softie you are.”

“mm never,” you smiled turning your face into her thigh and leaving a soft kiss, “it’s only for you.”

She put her book down enough to look at your face as you blushed looking back at her, “your ridiculous,” she smiled as her face blushed to match yours.

“then why are you blushing,” you laughed crawling up her body as she brought her book back up to cover her face, “can’t hide,” you pulled the book down winking at her all cheesy as you both broke out in laughter.

“you are such a cornball,” she giggled like a school girl, putting the book down and pulling you on top of her instead as you both broke out in to belly laughter.

“disgusting,” Yelena said with Clint shaking his head and smiling standing by her side.

#enhanced!reader #marvel fanfic #natasha romanoff #natasha romanoff x reader #black widow x reader #marvel #natasha fluff #natasha romanov

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whispersafterdusk · 4 years ago

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Lost in Time - ch 18

Getting around in Portia was pretty dang easy, all things considered. It was a peaceful town; no one really expected theft or violence.

If she was an actual thief this would have been a dream playground.

But she wasn't. She was far more than a thief -- even thinking of herself in that manner was insulting. She was here for information...even the smallest detail could be important back home, and she was exceptionally good at picking out the right kind of details. ((Continued below cut))

With the simple locks on all the doors here in town it was ridiculously easy to go poking around for information; she'd always walked with a quiet and careful step and had spent her childhood accidentally "sneaking" up on people, which had drawn the attention of Duvos's allies within Lucien. Between her mother's tips and tricks and some rigorous training within Duvos's armed forces she'd been a talented snoop even before she'd stolen her mother's scouting suit. This Portia job was considerably easier than any assignment she'd been given before and even without the suit on she could read everyone's mail, eavesdrop on whoever she wanted, she'd planted the Uplifter manual in a box in the neighboring clinic to uphold the illusion that it had been misplaced rather than stolen and carefully memorized, and Dr. Xu's desk always had up to date information regarding the upcoming construction effort to expand the clinic into a school and install the All Source AI here.

Everything she could feasibly find pertinent to her mission here was all within easy reach.

Dr. Xu's desk also held something far more interesting than the construction information too: she'd accidentally stumbled on some counseling records on one Elizabeth Summers...the folder that held them was dog-eared and worn -- they'd looked more used than the others there and that had drawn her attention. Reading through those had been... To think that someone could have survived inside a fancy, high-tech tank for three hundred years. It seemed impossible and yet at the same time she had to marvel at what mankind had been capable of creating in ancient times, and she felt a sharp pang of jealousy and loss when she considered just how much they'd lost in the Calamity.

All that knowledge that woman must be carrying...first-hand information regarding the Old World -- advanced medical knowledge AND technical knowledge! That would make Duvos unstoppable if they had that in their grasp, and if only she'd known sooner about Summers then they could have planned to snatch her as well when they made their move for the AI.

Oh well. If not now then in the future -- Duvos was going to eventually win. They had to - their worldwide plans for humanity were too important to let sit unimagined: gathering everyone under ONE banner, ONE leadership, and everyone taken care of so there'd be no more fighting over dwindling Old World resources as mankind dug itself out of the crater the Calamity had left them in (a crater that now seemed leagues deeper after what she'd read in the counseling notes).

Granted, she could readily admit that Duvos's methods of getting everyone under one empire were a bit heavy-handed; it was understandable that the wider world wanted nothing to do with a nation they saw as violent warmongers. But that opinion only made sense if people didn't bother to look beyond the outermost layer of the empire -- no one ever dug deeper to truly understand how Duvos was striving to take care of its citizens. One thing Lily appreciated about Duvos's claim to technology was everything they discovered or learned was immediately turned toward the empire's benefit, and its citizens reaped the rewards with more and higher paying jobs, higher crop yields of ever increasing quality, and the feeling of security knowing that THEY, at least, had nothing to fear from other nations daring to come in and take it all away.

Duvos would get the world back on track to becoming that utopia it had once been in ages past, and that would be so much easier if the city states and neighboring nations would just join together and stand shoulder to shoulder beneath the empire's banner.

It was an inevitable future that she wished the rest of the continent would see the sense in, and if they'd all just pick the easy route...

She'd spotted Evangeline walking down the road toward the harbor a few days ago and while she hadn't seen her since, nor had she seen Marcus, if she was here then he was too and it was good to know they had arrived and would be ready to move when the time came.

There would be more than them, of course; as a security measure Lily didn't know who to expect (Marcus and Evangeline WOULD, though) but knew there'd be at least two more because Xan's original plan had been simple and to the point: once the All Source AI had been moved to the clinic they would break in, disable it, and take it and all its attached computer parts out to the open desert where a plane would be landing to take them all back to Duvos. It had some inherent risk to it (all plans of that nature would) but they'd all been satisfied with it and everyone knew exactly what part they would have to play to make it happen.

NOW, however, with what amounted to a body double of the doctor that ran that clinic, they could step back and go a bit slower at it...carefully take things apart, pack them separately and carry it all out a little bit at a time over the course of a few hours instead of a mad rush with all of it on them at one time. She was certain whoever else was sent along to help wouldn't mind the change in the plan, especially since Xan himself approved of it.

And they'd have Harrison on hand to help dispel any suspicion -- Lily didn't believe in any gods or anything like fate but the coincidence of the two men sounding so much alike AND there being a machine that could alter one to look like the other was almost enough to make her consider offering a "thank you" to the cosmos. Harrison wasn't exactly the heroic type either and all he'd have to do is do as he was told to get his family and teacher back safe and sound - she couldn't see him being bold enough to try anything and risk someone getting killed so she didn't feel even the slightest hint of guilt over it!

Speaking of doing what she was supposed to do... Lily shook herself out of her thoughts and glanced behind her at the path she was leaving in the field as she walked. The mud beneath her feet sucked at her boots but it did make it incredibly easy to push in the little colored row markers Sophie had given her; the farm had a multi-bladed plow contraption that was hauled along behind a sturdy draft horse and the old woman liked to have these markers out before the plowing started so not only would the rows be simple to keep evenly spaced but also so it was clear what seed was going where in the fields when planting time came (she'd tried explaining something about crop rotations and whatnot but Lily had honestly tuned her out halfway through her rambling).

White for wheat (there was a LOT of white markers), yellow for cornballs (also quite numerous), various shades of green for peas, leafy greens, peppers, bamboo papaya, bright orange for potato fruit, purple for pumpkins, and bright blue for layered carrots. She'd already marked out a small plot up near the farmhouse for herbs as well...she'd had the passing thought of asking for a plot to plant some flowers just so there'd be something here she'd actually enjoy tending to but there wouldn't be much point in that being as she'd be leaving soon anyway.

Maybe when it was all said and done and Duvos had united everyone Lily could switch careers and get into some manner of horticulture. It would be harder work than spying but it was hard to ignore how much she loved seeing and caring for brightly colored blooms.

It was good to have goals, no matter how far out into the future they seemed.

...maybe they would start construction soon while the ground was soft, and all her goals would shift forward a bit in time.

--------------------------------------

Between training in the mornings, taking on her new patrols and postings in the early afternoon, and training Toby in the late afternoon through early evening, by the time bed time rolled around Eli was only too happy to crawl under the blankets and pass out.

It felt good to be so active. It was like being back in...

Don't-

...no. She couldn't shut this particular thing out. That was too big a part of who she was. She might not be in charge of this "squad" but it was like coming home; maybe it was the only real thing she COULD refer to as "home." It was a topic she'd discussed with Dr. Xu during their sessions and they'd been carefully untangling her feelings regarding the whole thing: survivor's guilt, mourning what she'd lost, and trying not to feel guilty over building a new life that resembled her old one. If she was going to keep moving forward then she had to stop blocking things out.

So. Yes. She could admit to herself it was like being back in her squad. She NEEDED to admit that to herself, and embrace and understand everything that came with it, no matter how painful.

She'd just stepped through the doorway of her room when she heard pounding feet coming up behind her; as she turned Selene - smudged with oil and red in the face - came into view and the woman broke into a wide smile as she spotted Eli standing there.

"Oh good - I caught you before you fell asleep. It's done!"

"...which "it" are we talking about here?" Eli prompted after a pause; her tired brain couldn't recall if Selene had mentioned anything nearing completion recently aside from work on cutting through the door.

"The rifle!" Selene laughed. "Remington managed to find the pieces so I could cast off them and now I've got it all assembled -- I've got some ammo made too."

"Oh. Well, wasn't expecting that." Eli rubbed at her eyes and turned to follow as Selene gestured for her to come along; Selene practically jogged back to her factory while Eli followed at a brisk walking pace.

The factory was still working away at making the components needed for the signal towers so it was as noisy as ever inside the building -- a section of the shelves against the wall that normally held Selene's collection of tools had been cleared away and there were neat rows of pieces and parts all laying together and shining brightly in the overhead lights. A quick count showed that at least four signal towers' worth of parts was there...slowly but surely they'd have them done, assembled, and installed.

Selene led her over to a workbench against the wall to their left; sitting on a makeshift metal stand was a rifle that, while not quite what Eli had been using three hundred years ago, still looked enough like a rifle that she could immediately pick out all the individual elements in the weapon:

The safety was there above the trigger guard, the chamber was left open (it was a bolt action-style rifle), there was a polished set of iron sights installed on the barrel, and it looked like the butt was a decently thick section of rubber that had been repurposed off something else judging by the rubber remnants sitting in a pile next to a bin full of scrap. Sitting in a semicircle beneath the rifle stand were nine bullets; they weren't a caliber she was familiar with (she felt it was safe to assume that they didn't measure bullets in the same way anymore). They were larger than the ones that went into the revolver she was carrying but smaller than the ones she utilized three hundred years ago and she was already debating how she wanted to carry them on her.

"I had Ack help me line the sights up - he may be a cook but his eyes work way better than any human's eyes would," Selene said as she carefully lifted the rifle off the stand and held it out to her. "And, while they weren't exactly thrilled I DID have Merlin and Petra show me some ancient designs. I based this on one of those old guns but had to use what I'm able to make so it has the uh - the little thingy-"

"It's bolt action," Eli interrupted with a chuckle as Selene gestured at the chamber. "I know. Back in my day these were automatic and you just loaded in a magazine that had a lot of rounds in it and they cycled as the trigger was pulled. True bolt actions were usually reserved for marksman competitions."

"Yes, that - the automatic thing I mean" Selene said with a giggle. "I saw how it worked in that design but I just don't have what's needed to craft something like that reliably. Looking at that old stuff was weird though, since some of them had ammo that was like sand...?"

At the builder's question Eli nodded as she turned the rifle over in her hands; it was heavy, sturdy. "I'm surprised you had plans or pictures of those still... They were specialized plasma rifles and they didn't use typical ammo. They were also expensive as hell and broke down rather easily if you didn't keep them immaculately clean. Basically grains of the ammo would fall into the chamber, and in one split instant would be turned to plasma and ejected -- that's the really, really, REALLY simple explanation. I don't know enough of the science behind it to tell you exactly how to make one of those. Heck, I doubt I could tell you enough on how to break down and clean one of them since I've only ever fired one a handful of times on a shooting range."

She picked up a bullet and slotted it into the chamber, then tested how the bolt moved; it was sticking ever so slightly - thinking on it Eli realized Selene probably didn't know how to grease or oil anything like this so before she even thought of test firing she should check the rifle out herself piece by piece.

"Has a bit of a stick to it. Want to learn where all the grease is supposed to go?"

Selene thought a moment, then nodded. "Might as well. I greased and oiled what I thought needed it but I guess I didn't get enough in the right places."

Eli ejected the bullet and placed it back with the others then returned the rifle to the stand. "It's possible, but it's also possible that whatever you're using might not be the right sort of thing for the job. We can go over that tomorrow though - I'm totally wiped for the night."

"Well why didn't you say something?" Selene huffed. "It's not like it's going anywhere."

"It's fine," Eli chuckled. She headed toward the door with Selene following along at her elbow. "I'm always tired in the evenings lately...I swear, eventually I'll be back in top shape."

"And, then you won't be tired?"

"No, I'll be LESS tired," Eli corrected.

Selene stuck her tongue out at her. "But still tired and you should mention that the next time I have something to show you so I don't drag you out of the house again."

"Fine fine," Eli grumbled, but smiled afterward.

They headed back inside the house with Eli headed toward her room again; Selene headed into the kitchen and a moment later stuck her head back through the door.

"Oh, by the way - I got more butter."

"Beat me to it, thanks," Eli called back over a shoulder as she again stepped through the doorway to her room and carefully closed the door behind her, and then leaned against the door as she debated grabbing a snack before bed now that she knew butter was back in the house.

Frequenting Martha's for loaves of that raisin bread was becoming a habit -- partly because she and Selene both went through a loaf in about two days (toasted and with a smear of butter was an amazing treat) and also because Eli wanted to try and help Martha offset any miscellaneous costs that might be cropping up because of her training Toby. She already knew he was going through paper as he made himself reference notes and pictures but when she started in with the physical training aspect there'd be a possible uptick in food costs, and clothes would need replacing if they got torn or stained, boots would wear out quicker...

As she stood there just inside her door she could feel weariness pressing in like a weighted blanket dropped over her head; it was probably too late in the evening for a snack anyway, and if she had a slice of the bread now there wouldn't be enough left for their breakfast.

Pinky was sitting in the middle of her bed again; she rolled the cat over to make enough room to get her legs on the bed and under the covers, then settled in against her pillow. As usual Pinky took her time getting comfortable and Eli winced a bit as the heavy animal briefly stepped across her knees; her legs were sore from all the walking she'd done today but she couldn't be bothered to get up to take an aspirin at the moment, and she mentally reminded herself she needed to pick up another bottle of it from Dr. Xu when she went in for her next therapy session.

They would be starting the construction on the expansion soon...Selene was nearly through that door. She WOULD have been through the door yesterday if she hadn't run out of fuel for her cutting torch; it was quicker to order it from Vega 5 and have it shipped here than it was for her to gather up what was needed and try to refine it herself so during this little waiting period she was focusing fully on getting those signal transmitters finished and assembled.

That was going to be...interesting. Those transmitters were going on top of tall metal towers and it promised to be a heck of a climb to reach the top, and there was the question of how they would haul the transmitter up there with them. They would weigh about forty pounds each which wasn't TOO heavy, technically, but they'd be bulky and someone would be carrying one up a ladder...they should probably rig up a temporary pulley system to make it easier and safer on everyone involved when the time came to install them.

Well, whatever. That was a problem for Future-Eli. Now-Eli just wanted to go to sleep, and for her left calf to stop cramping.

Right as she was dozing off there was a quick knock at her door.

"Hey Eli - sorry to bug you but Asher's wondering if you're still up."

A couple of thoughts immediately raced through her mind: had the spy been caught? Had the spy hurt someone? If this wasn't a case of life or death should she strangle Asher now or wait until morning?

"M'awake," she mumbled. She rolled out of bed (and Pinky immediately reclaimed her spot in the middle of the mattress) and paused long enough to put a bra back on before opening the door and padding barefoot to the living room where Asher was sitting on the sofa.

He was perched on the edge of the cushions, elbows braced on his knees and actually twiddling his thumbs as one heel bounced up and down. When she came through the door his head jerked up to look at her; his expression was grim and she felt a small jolt of worry shoot through her.

"What's up?"

He opened his mouth to reply then paused to look her up and down. "-uh."

"Yes, I'm wearing duck-printed pajamas, it's what I pulled out of the drawer tonight. Why are you here?" Eli asked, trying to keep the hard edge of 'authority' out of her tone -- she was NOT in charge, Asher was NOT her subordinate, and it wasn't fair to be annoyed at him since she doubted he'd be making a social call this late at night.

"It's - well, I was hoping to talk on the way."

"The way where?"

Asher bit his lower lip and then huffed out a sigh. "Graveyard."

Eli's eyes narrowed and she spun on a heel to rush back to her room and get clothes, boots, and her holster on. Asher was standing at the door when she came back and she followed him out into the night; he set a quick pace across the yard and waited until they were beyond the gate before he spoke.

"Remington and I were walking to the Corps building from the Round Table, saw a light in the graveyard -- was pretty low to the ground, Remington was worried someone had left a candle lit out there so we went to have a look. Right as we went through the gate someone took a potshot at us - it was way wide so I'm thinking it was clearly meant to be a warning shot, or a distraction to let whoever it was get away. Remington went for back up and I kept going, looking and listening and using the stones as cover. I combed the place over and didn't see anyone or get any more bullets in my direction, but..."

He trailed off as they came to the graveyard's gate, and pulled out a small flashlight and clicked it on; Eli tensed up and scanned the area, marking every shadow and mentally putting herself on high alert for any sort of movement or sound. Asher seemed cautious but not nearly as cautious as she would have been with an active shooter on the loose; he knew exactly where he was going and about six graves in Eli realized where he was leading her.

Darren's grave was very distinct compared to the ones around it, and in the light of the flashlight she could see a message scorched across the stone:

Neither Portia nor the world needs you

She felt the bite of her nails against her palms as her fists clenched, and there was the roar of her own blood in her ears as an immediate rage hit her.

"Oh you fucking did not, you bastard," Eli snarled before she could stop herself.

"...what?" Asher asked after a moment.

...that had come out in Dubeian. Probably good that it had. "I am not translating that," she replied. She took a deep breath and slowly relaxed her hands; her palms were still stinging. "And you didn't see anyone?"

Asher shook his head and quickly panned the flashlight's beam around the grave - the grass was flattened but none of the tracks were clear. "Nope. And I'm thinking I know why."

She tore her gaze from the gravestone and looked over to him; he was looking at her with a clear expression of concern on his face. "You're thinking the spy's figured out who I am and where I came from."

"Duvos likes their technology-"

"-so they're going to make me a target, got it," Eli interrupted. She reached out and took the flashlight from him and squatted to get a better look at the trampled grass.

As she'd initially determined the tracks weren't clear; they were all muddled together and she couldn't get a feel for the size or type of footwear that had been tramping around here and, for some reason, they simply stopped at the edges of the nearby graves. She stood and had a look at the next grave over and could see grass and mud smeared across the top, and similar smears were on the base of the grave beyond that.

"...almost looks like our perp jumped from tombstone to tombstone to hide their tracks, except for here because they wouldn't have been able to balance on the bottom of Darren's stone AND do their fucking defacing without burning their own face off," she muttered. "So what's their damn aim...try and intimidate me into leaving town and grab me off the road? They picked the wrong bitch to try and scare off, I can tell you that much... Where's everyone else?"

Asher gestured beyond the fence line. "Sam went out that way, Arlo took Remington and went to check the ruins down the hill, and Mali is checking 'round the church and along the walls. I cleared the cafe, commerce guild, and apartments, then got sent to go get you. Adam's on alert out at the facility."

With a sigh that trailed out into a growl Eli ran a hand through her hair to push it back into place; some goddamn-- could she even blame this on the spy? That had been both their immediate suspicions, and if Duvos knew about her she supposed it would make sense for them to try and grab her, but what if it wasn't even related to that? Could be some church crony...Portia got a lot of tourists, ANYONE could slip in pretending to be there for the scenery.

"Have you told Gale yet?"

Asher shook his head. "Not yet - Arlo wanted to clear the area first since we've got undeniable proof that there's an armed whoever out there. Can't really let them have the run of the town. I'm thinking they're long gone though -- no idea where to, but I doubt we're going to find them."

"And if they'd wanted to actually shoot one of you they could have..." Eli said quietly. "You'd have to be a piss poor shot to miss a target that doesn't even know you're there."

"Yep. And they could have followed up in the confusion too - we didn't know where it'd come from at first."

Eli panned the flashlight around slowly, marking out where the mud smears and even a few tufts of grass led; it looked like whoever it was had jumped the fence at the back of the graveyard... She walked over and looked up and down the fenceline and could see where the grass had been disturbed but was quickly recovering from the trampling. With a grunt she vaulted over the fence and headed out, only vaguely aware of Asher calling for her to wait for him; he'd said Sam had gone out this way so maybe she'd found something by now.

This was part of the tree farm so somewhere out here she'd come across the now well-worn footpath that would lead out to the facility; of course, there were also a lot of ruined buildings out this way that, while they'd been stripped down of anything useful, were still decently intact and could house and hide any number of persons who managed to get inside.

Those ruins would both take time to clear and be especially dangerous to do so.

So much for sleeping tonight.

------------------------------------------

"At the very least Lee assures me that he knows of no such Church agent within Portia, and frankly he seemed genuinely disgusted and concerned by the idea that someone would fire on an innocent like that - not even enforcers would dare be so reckless."

Asher was only half-listening to the man; he was somewhat distracted by the burning need to find whoever it was that had shot at them AND defaced the gravestone so he could pound them into a fine paste. Competing with that need was the thought that he couldn't decide if it would be better or worse for this latest development to be unrelated to the spy -- it COULD be someone related to the Church in some way - either a rogue enforcer or some random nobody who heard rumors and came to deal with it themselves: vigilantes weren't common but Asher had run into them enough times to know that if someone got it into their head that only THEIR narrowly defined world view was the right view then they felt justified in doing whatever they felt needed to be done. And, of course, it COULD in fact be their spy trying to distract them and spread their numbers thin. They all knew the facility and Stewart were the spy's target but if Duvos knew about Eli too...

"I feel we've little choice - we need to let the townspeople know at the next town meeting that there's an armed and dangerous person somewhere in the region," Arlo spoke up then. "We can't risk someone getting hurt because they didn't know to be on the lookout."

"But the next meeting isn't for another couple days," Sam said. "Do we want to risk something happening in the meantime? Or risk letting whoever this is walk out of town freely?"

Remington shook his head. "We can't do much about them leaving - we have no idea what this person looks like, and while it's not TOO common we do get folks coming through Portia who carry sidearms on them. Not every traveler with a gun is going to be the person we're looking for."

That was something Asher agreed with. Guns weren't plentiful but they were still around, and while they tended to be small or have limited range they were still quite dangerous. Thankfully a lot of them weren't all that accurate and so he'd spent all night (because who in the world could sleep after knowing someone shot at them?) wavering back and forth between believing it had been just a warning shot meant to distract them or if the person had actually intended to hit them but the weapon or their skill was at fault for the wide shot. He was leaning more toward the warning shot still since, even though he and Remington had ducked for cover immediately, there had been plenty of time for follow up shots that hadn't come...but was he willing to stake lives on that assessment? Even if THIS had been just a warning there might not be a warning the NEXT time.

"I think we need to tell everyone, immediately," Asher spoke up then. "And I agree that not everyone with a gun is our troublemaker but if we see anyone armed we should at least keep an eye on them if we can. Our guy probably came in over the fence from the tree farm, same way they left too - can we close the tree farm to any tourists? Whoever this is might not be deterred by the need to scale the fence versus walking through the gate but at the very least we'd cut down on the traffic in the area since regular folks would be kept away."

Gale nodded. "That's an idea -- better to disappoint people than put them in danger or let our culprit have the run of the farm."

Asher saw Eli stir out of the corner of his eye. "Do many people tour the tree farm?" she asked.

"From early spring to early fall we do get a surprising number of folks wanting to see the apple blossoms and pick the fruit, and Dawa keeps a section of just the fruiting trees for that purpose. Portia's emergency funds can certainly cover any lost wages that'll come from curtailing traffic to the farm."

"For now that seems like a good idea, and in the near future we're going to have all the signal towers up so that'll help us coordinate keeping an eye on things. I told Selene about our newest visitor's antics and she's going to pull double duty to get everything made," Eli went on. "We'll need to borrow some muscle to get them up and installed but then we'll all be in contact with one another no matter where we are in Portia."

Asher watched as she lifted and then waggled the wrist that her Hi-Def was strapped to. "-that would make life a lot easier," he said into the pause that followed. "One of us spots something, we ALL know about it immediately."

"Have we heard anything from anyone else?" Remington asked. He was looking at Mali, and Asher turned his attention to her as well.

"No," Mali replied. "So far as the Alliance's spies and scouts can tell nothing has changed within Duvos's territory -- no increases in labor, material acquisitions, or troop movements. They're still occupying the Orzu Ruins and saber rattling at Ethea but nothing has escalated and we've not heard of any secret plans of theirs in the circles our spies have infiltrated. If this person is working under direct orders from Duvos higher ups they're keeping it very well hidden."

Gale stood up and pressed his hands against his desk, slowly panning his gaze to look at all of them one at a time. "All right then, it seems we have a tentative plan -- I'll spread word, and I hope you all will as well, that we're to have an emergency town meeting tomorrow night. I would aim for tonight but I worry that wouldn't be enough time to make sure everyone knows about it -- we'll be cautious, and keep our eyes peeled for any trouble, and I'll go to Dawa immediately after this to instruct him to close the tree farm to everyone except for those there strictly for business purposes."

There was a lot of nodding at that; Gale inhaled and exhaled slowly and then moved out from around his desk only to pause and look toward Eli as she cleared her throat.

"Not to uh...sour the mood further, but what's your protocol on shooting to kill?"

The room went silent; all eyes, Asher's included, moved to Eli. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised by it (she'd already shot at the spy once) but with the exception of Remington and Mali it seemed everyone else definitely was.

After a moment of no responses Eli shrugged. "Sorry, but it needs to be made clear right now. I'm armed, and I've already tried to put a bullet into our visitor once -- I wasn't wanting to kill and I didn't hit them anyway but I was ready to accept whatever consequences would've followed if I had, because I was essentially a private citizen then. Now I'm part of your law enforcement. I need to know if I'm allowed to use lethal force if it comes to it."

"IF it comes to that," Arlo said; his tone was a bit strained -- Asher wondered if the man had ever really stopped to think about taking a life. None of the Civil Corps here seemed to carry a weapon and he doubted they'd ever been placed in a "them or me" situation with anything other than a rogue monster or robot (he knew Remington had seen action in Lucien so that would explain why the man didn't look so shocked at her question). Cutting down some leftover relic or rampaging beast was a heck of a lot different from having to take down another person.

Eli nodded to him. "Unfortunately I think it might, now that we know they're armed. I'll do whatever I can to not let it get to that point but..."

She trailed off; Mali was nodding at her and Arlo noticed it. For a long moment Arlo looked between Mali and Eli, then sighed and looked to Gale. "I'd hear your opinion on this."

Gale pressed his lips together. "Well..." he started, drawing the word out. "You all know I've seen action myself. The thought of killing is as abhorrent now as it was then but sometimes, you're not given a choice." He turned to look to Eli. "Being as you were formally trained and were a ranking member of your military I imagine you would know when it's time to use lethal force or not, and I feel I can trust you to use your judgement to avoid any unneeded loss of life."

"I appreciate the trust and I won't let you down," Eli replied. "I'm not about to let this story become a murder mystery."

Arlo, Remington, Sam, and Gale all nodded knowingly; Asher looked to Mali and saw a hint of the same confusion he was feeling at the moment but Gale was ushering them out of his office now so he hurried out ahead of the others.

The sun was just starting to come up - a reminder that they'd all gotten hardly any or, in some cases, no sleep at all. Asher had a running record of three days without sleep and hoped he wasn't going to be breaking that record in the upcoming days; Mali immediately headed out through Portia's gates to head back to the facility while Gale's steps appeared to be leading him back to his house.

"-any orders for the morning, Arlo?" Asher asked after a moment.

"I'd like you and Eli to comb the area over again, then separate out into your patrol patterns. Sam - take on Remington's patrols this morning. Remington - I'll need you with me. I was supposed to be escorting Selene into the ruins to break down that door and get it ready to be hauled out to the facility to be installed but with her needing to focus on getting the signal transmitters done you and I will have to handle it ourselves. She's showed me how to disconnect most of the wiring we'd be encountering so our task is to get it detached from the wall however we can and stacked together to be moved out of there. Mint is taking charge of getting the install site prepped and ready and he'll be leading a team to retrieve the door when they're ready."

Ha, he'd almost forgotten about the plans for that security door; with that installed they wouldn't need constant surveillance for the facility. That would be one less thing to juggle schedules with and maybe then they could focus on turning over every rock and blade of grass, and check every nook and cranny of the Portian countryside to find whoever their little visitor was and get them out of the picture.

They all began to separate out into their assigned duties; Asher walked side by side with Eli up the hill toward the graveyard again. He felt a little jolt of anxiety up his spine as he walked through the gate into the graveyard but there weren't any shots fired at him again, nor did there appear to be anyone here.

"I'll take the northern half, you go south?" he asked.

Eli nodded and headed off without complaint -- which he was glad for as he'd purposely given himself the northern area because that's where Darren's defaced tombstone was and he didn't want her to have to face that again.

As he suspected there wasn't anything out of place or different from when they'd checked the area over earlier; the grass had mostly recovered from being walked on and if not for the mud smears on the gravestones you'd be hard pressed to tell that anyone had been through the graveyard recently.

Still, he and Eli spent a good amount of time examining every stone and the strip of land on either side of the fence; then, with the sun up and his Hi-Def indicating it was going on nine o'clock, they both hopped the fence a final time and headed out into the tree farm.

"So...if we were back in your time, how would you be handling this?" he asked as they walked.

For a few steps she didn't answer. "...well, back then we had AI drones. They could fly and cover a large amount of ground. And, we had people out on foot searching too with specialized equipment."

"Did you have to do many manhunts like this?"

She shook her head. "Usually they were rescue missions but sometimes yeah, we had armed people out making trouble." She paused, then let out a snort. "What I wouldn't give for my armor kit. Weighed an absolute ton but it could withstand being shot by most weapons. Having to do all this, LIKE this...makes me feel pretty damn useless."

"What? How?"

She waved a hand. "Nevermind. Don't really feel like getting into it at the moment."

"Right. Sorry," he said in a rush. Once they got to the rear of the tree farm they would need to split off into their patrol routes. "So, uh..."

"Hmm?"

"We get done - meet up for lunch?"

They continued on in silence for several more steps. "-maybe. Depends on what's happened by then."

He let out a sort of helpless chuckle. "Yeah, true."

Again they walked on in silence and reached the point where their routes went in different directions; Asher walked along his for a few feet then turned around. "Hey, Eli?" She stopped and looked over a shoulder at him. "What was the story comment about?"

"I'll tell you over lunch."

He grinned and started back along his patrol route.

#Lost in Time #lit #Lost in Time - ch 18 #Arlo #Mali #Remington #Sam #Gale #My Time at Portia

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tsipasce · 4 years ago

Text

Same Difference, Ch.10

A/N: FYI, more violence with a spritz of character development~

Chapters: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09

AO3 | Fanfic

A month had passed since Nanami began training with Rappa. Though she regularly checked her eardrums to make sure they hadn’t ruptured from his teaching style, aka yelling 24/7, she was already seeing the benefits. Thanks to his recommendation to add some more proteins and healthy fats to her diet, she noticed her muscles were more toned. And thanks to his “be ready for a fight at all times” attitude, she noticed her reflexes had improved. It was an effective way of teaching as it carried over to her life outside of the gym, much to the disappointment of Dr.Tanaka who was notorious for his practical jokes and jump scares around the hospital.

“It’s no fair, you’re always so ~*cool and reserved *~ now. How am I supposed to get in my midday pick-me-up pranks in now?” Tanaka whined as they sat in the café for their coffee date.

“Oh, so I’m cool now? Besides, if you need a mental break, just lock your office door and hide under your desk like the rest of us functioning adults.” She replied, casually sipping her drink while checking her phone.

“You kids nowadays, always so depressing. What’s got you so zoned into your phone anyways?”

“One, you’re literally only 5 years older than me. And two, you wouldn’t get it, old man.”

Tanaka gasped dramatically clutching at an imaginary dagger in his heart. “You wound me—oh thank you!” he responded as the barista brought his drink over, cutting off what Nanami was sure would have been a Shakespearean performance. “Anyway, so how’re your classes going? You look like you’re getting shredded already.”

“Oh please, it’s only been a month or so. But to answer your question… it’s been awesome! Super tiring, but awesome, nonetheless. I feel… more secure.” The conversation was meant to be light, but the last part came out more sincere and thoughtful than she intended.

From across the table, Tanaka could see a far-off look in her eyes as she gazed out the window for a beat, fiddling with the crow keychain on her phone. He knew there was something more going on that she wasn’t telling him since her fiasco at the construction site but also knew better than to pry. From her residency until now, Nanami proved she could handle herself and he trusted that if she wasn’t saying anything, it was probably for good reason. However, it did little to alleviate his worry.

Looking back across the table, Nanami could see her friend deep in thought. Tanaka was a goofball, but he knew when something was off and when to get serious. Though she was protecting him, Hitomi, and everyone else close to her by lying, the guilt persisted. Now realizing they were staring at each other, they shared a moment of realization and then a snicker, and a laugh. A knowing smile crept across their faces, Nanami patting Tanaka’s hand.

“You’re a real bro, you know that?”

“Always.” He smiled warmly as his beeper went off, “Oop, duty calls. We’re still on for dinner next week though, right?”

“Oh yeah, let me write it down before I forget. I’ll meet you at the restaurant, sound good?”

“You bet, I’ll see you later—be safe getting home, ok?”

“Of course,” She smiled, nodding. Nothing was said directly, but she knew what he meant. He left the café, Nanami now enjoying her mocha and treats at last.

Looking back at her burner phone for what felt like the millionth time today, there were still no further messages. It had been a week and a half since she’d seen Overhaul. It was Sunday night when her phone vibrated, the text simply reading “Out on business. Be back in 2 weeks.” The follow-up text coming a minute later, “Don’t burn the place down.” Looking back at them she found herself almost sad she wouldn’t be seeing him for a bit before slapping herself back to reality. I am not sad, I do not miss him. I am elated to have a break from that moody asshole.

As she cursed into her cup, a crow perched itself on the windowsill by her table. It pecked at the glass, cawing, interrupting what would have been a peaceful break. Nanami leered, irked at the timing. Tch. Still better company. She mused, comparing the two birdbrains. She smiled smugly as an idea popped into her head that she was just bored enough to entertain. Pulling up the camera app, she snapped a picture of the winged nuisance, sending it with the caption “Found your replacement.” After a quick chuckle to herself, a sense of panic came over her as she realized what she’d done. That was definitely too casual. He’s probably carrying out a hit or something and you sent a dumb picture of a bird? Why am I such a cornball? She bemoaned inwardly as she hurriedly locked the phone, laying it face down on the table like the bad decision would go away if she simply ignored it. He probably won’t even reply anyway… He’ll just give me a judgmental look when he gets back and never speak of it again…First order of business is finding a rock to crawl under.

Just before she facepalmed herself into oblivion, the phone vibrated. Her eyes shot wide as she stared at the offending object, knowing she’d have to pick it up at some point. Clearing her throat, she worked up the courage to turn over the phone, the text reading, “Same here.” with an attachment. She opened it up, choking on her drink when she saw a picture of a dumpster.

Yup, I walked right into that one. She thought, shedding a single tear inwardly, having only the strength to send a sad face emoji.

“Busy now. See you Monday.”

Sighing in defeat, Nanami gathered her things, hoping whatever had him so busy would make him forget her blunder.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It was now Thursday evening and Nanami was in her workout gear, walking briskly towards the training room. Hearing Rappa completing his usual sets, she knew it was time to put her game face on. They’d been sparring twice a week after each session, but beforehand, he had her doing a myriad of drills and weightlifting. As she approached the door cautiously, she heard his voice booming, “DON’T JUST SIT OUTSIDE, GET IN HERE AND ON THIS BENCH.”

“Yes sir!” She piped, knowing he was officially in drill sergeant mode.

Dropping her bags and plopping in her earplugs, she headed over to the benches, completing her sets as Rappa counted aloud each repetition while throwing motivational insults in the mix. She knew the words “Get to it you sad sack of bones” and “you wreak of failure” had to be on a Ballmark card somewhere.

Finishing out her final squatting reps with a grunt, she wracked the bar, breathing heavily. Just as she was fantasizing about the water bottle in her bag, she heard him yell “NO BREAKS YET, MAGGOT” as he swung at her. She barely had time to dodge, but a week ago it would have grazed her and two weeks ago it would have had her doubling over as it made full contact. Without a second thought, she had her guard up and she was in the proper stance to launch a counterattack. They traded blows, Nanami landing 5 for every 10 of his. She’d made great strides, but becoming a master fighter in a matter of weeks just wasn’t realistic, quirk or not.

This continued for an hour, Nanami only taking a break to heal her injuries. Though it wasn’t the main goal, she’d cut her healing time in half, but it came at the price of pain. Having to repeat this over and over on small parts of her body, she could see how it would be slightly maddening to perform it on a large scale over the course of a lifetime. Interrupting her thoughts, Rappa landed another punch to her gut before tossing her across the room. Her recovery was better than the first time, but it still hurt like hell. She staggered, rushing to heal and counter him as he charged forward.

She was knocked down again and again, but refused to stay down. Today, she felt he was being particularly hard on her, but she wanted to rise to the occasion striking back every chance she got. Now feeling her stamina running low, she stumbled to her feet again, assuming her stance as she had the first time.

“Why don’t you just use it?”

A bit dazed from the last blow, Nanami asked what he meant.

“Your quirk. Why aren’t you using it to defeat me?”

“What’s with this all the sudden?” She rasped, still out of breath, “I’ve been using it this whole time.” She defended, weakly gesturing to the pillars she’d created to help her maneuver around the arena.

“No. I mean on me. You could have ended this an hour ago… Is this a game to you?” He spoke gravely, sounding a tad annoyed.

“What? No, not at all. I ju—”

“NO EXCUSES. You think your opponent will care about your little hang-ups when it’s life or death?” He cut her off as he charged forward, barely missing her as the punch landed on the floor leaving a small crater. Her eyes widened at the realization that the punch would have split her in half.

“That could’ve killed me!”

“THAT’S THE POINT!”

The adrenaline began rushing through her veins as she felt the air in the room shift. Behind every blow there was killing intent. Confused as to why he was now hellbent on escalating the match, she managed to blurt out “W-why are you doing this?!” as she rolled to dodge another potentially fatal blow.

“YOU’RE MESSING AROUND. TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY AND STOP BEING A FUCKING COWARD!”

Still not understanding his anger, she continued to try and dodge like her life depended on it, because in that moment, it did.

“THERE’S NOTHING MORE DISRESPECTFUL THAN HOLDING BACK WHEN YOUR OPPONENT IS GIVING THEIR ALL. YOU’RE GONNA DIE RIGHT HERE IF YOU DON’T FIGHT ME LIKE YOU MEAN IT!”

She knew what he wanted her to do, but the fear of losing control was still there. In her moment of doubt, he landed a blow that sent her flying into one of her pillars. She heard a sickening snap as her leg bashed into the corner of the structure, undoubtedly shattering her femur. The pain was more than she expected, and she cried out bitterly for a moment before stifling it once again as blood welled up into her mouth from the previous blows. Spitting lazily, she saw him stalking towards her as he continued to speak, “Do you think someone in a real match is going to use restraint and wait for you to have your little breakthrough? Plenty of weaklings would kill to have a quirk like yours, but here you are wasting it. Makes me sick.” He spat, as he bent down to hold her up by the neck and she thrashed in vain to break free. “I dunno who I saw during that trial, but you sure as hell aren’t her. Let me end this pathetic existence for ya,” he said squeezing tighter.

Suddenly, the fear turned into anger and a calm rage came over her as she stopped thrashing and used her right hand to grasp firmly on his wrist. “You don’t know shit about me, but you’re about to fuck around and find out.” Taking as deep a breath as she could while still in his chokehold, Nanami focused on his anatomy, surveying every cell, every blood vessel, and every hair. In the next instant, she dropped to the floor as red coated the arena. Looking up, a moment of pure terror took over her being as the flashbacks to the first time she’d done this took over. Hyperventilating, a million thoughts raced through her mind. Just as she was felt she was drowning, she felt two hands grabbing her shoulders, squeezing firmly giving her a gentle shake before letting go. It may have been part of the episode or her brain trying to regain control, but it was enough to bring her back to earth long enough to calm down.

After a few, centering breaths, she managed to recompose herself, taking stock of the situation. Rappa was now all over the room, literally coating it. No. No more panicking. You have to focus before it’s too late to put him back. Remember the structure. Remember the shape. She repeated to herself like a mantra before gaining a clear picture in her mind of how to assemble him. Pressing her hands to the floor he was now embedded in, the pieces of him came rushing back, snapping back into shape before her eyes.

He took a sharp inhale, staring at his hands in almost disbelief that he was real. She watched him closely, hoping she hadn’t forgotten any pieces of him. He stared in her direction for a beat and she wondered if “he” was still in there or if she’d brought back some empty husk. Her question was soon answered.

“TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH! I THOUGHT I WAS A GONER, BUT YOU DID A BANG-UP JOB!” He boomed.

“I…I almost had a mental break and you’re critiquing me on my timing?? You almost killed me!”

“Yup, but you got me first. Good job today.” He reassured her, now serious.

Still reeling, all she could manage was a weak, “Thanks.”

He closed the distance between them, extending a hand in front of her. They clasped forearms as he pulled her up and she quickly remembered she hadn’t fully healed since the last couple blows. Leaning on him a bit she recovered, hoping to never have to fix injuries like them again, at least on herself. They walked over to the seats lining the walls and sat down, both recovering from the mini trauma session.

“Hey doc,”

“Yeah?”

“What made you wanna train?”

She flinched reflexively, posting up before he reassured her it wasn’t the pretext to another barrage of attacks. “Well… to get stronger, obviously. Why do you ask all the sudden? Never figured you one for deep conversation.” She remarked, taking a swig from her water bottle.

“Just curious. You and the boss got the same quirk. I think man-to-ma—or person-to-person combat is the greatest thing in the world, but you don’t have to go through all this. Most people with quirks as powerful as yours just kinda coast off that.”

She thought for a moment, reflecting to give an honest answer,” I want to be more than this.” She said, studying at her hand, outstretched in front of her. “A lot of people become reliant on their quirks-- and I did the opposite-- but in a way it’s just a different side of the same messed-up coin. I still let it define me. I just want to be capable, quirk or not… Does that answer your question?”

“Yeah, I think it does.” He said giving her a firm pat on the back, “Go get some rest, doc. “

He rose, leaving the room and Nanami alone with her thoughts. Thinking back to what grounded her earlier, she remembered a detail and quickly shook it off. He’s not even here. I really need to go home and sleep this off. And promptly call my therapist…

As she grabbed her things to go, she was so focused, she hadn’t noticed the familiar figure in the room. Clearing his throat to get her attention, she nearly jumped out of her skin. So much for the awareness training...

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

He raised his brow at the obvious question.

“Well, not like that. I mean of course you’d be here; I just mean... like what are you doing here now?” she managed to get out. Why the hell am I nervous?

“I finished my business early, decided to see how you’d progressed.”

“Oh, ok. So… you saw all that, huh?” she cautioned a glance, more than a little embarrassed.

“Most of it.”

“…Any thoughts?”

He paused, before answering,” Rappa was correct. Your hesitation will get you killed. Don’t make the same mistake again, I might not be there the next time.”

She nodded, walking past him towards the door before taking a moment to register what he’d said, “Hey, by the way… when I… disassembled him—I know this is a silly question—but did you… do anything?” she almost immediately regretted even asking.

“Like what?” His expression was blank.

Sighing to herself she decided it had to have been her brain throwing her a bone back there to save her from a mental break, “You know what? Nevermind. I’m just tired, must’ve been imagining things. See you later.”

As he watched her leave, he retrieved a clear bag with his bloodied shoes and gloves, glad he had returned earlier than planned. Replacing his subordinate would be an inconvenience, but replacing a partner would have been infinitely more difficult.

#same difference #overhaul x oc #overhaul fanfiction #mha oc #mha fanfic #chisaki kai #kai chisaki #shie hassaikai #kendo rappa #bnha fanfic #bnha oc #bnha overhaul

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tr4shmouth-tozi3r · 5 years ago

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‘you have no idea how much I’ve missed you’ - richie tozier x reader

requested: yes and you didn’t say whether you wanted an adult!richie or not so I decided a teen!richie reuniting with reader would be super cute, cause he’s just so adorable as a teen🥺

summary: Ever since that fateful summer that you and your friends had spent fighting a sinister demon disguised as a killer clown, you had always felt super uneasy about your hometown. The more time you could spend outside of that place, the more at peace your mind had become. You started spending every summer after that in California, visiting your grandparents. It helped, but god it devastated Richie to see you leave for 2 and a half long months out of the year. It was 2 and a half months he had to spend without you, missing you, wishing you were still there. He always welcomed you back dramatically, as if he hadn’t seen you in years and you loved how adorable your boyfriend was. You had no idea it was actually hurting him to be away from you. It’s been 3 summers since everything happened so it was your 3rd summer at your grandparents, but this summer when you come home, you realize just how much he really missed you while you were gone.

pairing: richie tozier x reader

warnings: fluff, swearing, a bit of angst I guess.

The excitement coursing through your body was something unexplainable. You dreaded coming back to this place at the end of the summer now, but the people you were anxiously waiting to see made it all worth it. You had made a little family outside of your family and you loved them with all your heart, but after the events that took place in the summer of 89’ it slowly took a toll on you. You were pushing 17 and your depression and anxiety had slowly deepened over the passed few years.

You loved your friends; your little family. You loved your real family, too, but Pennywise left a nasty scar and the trauma never quite cleared up. You had already had some issues with depression around the time that you encountered Pennywise, but after what he put you and your friends through, you had gotten worse. The anxiety came after and the rest is pretty self-explanatory.

Only one person out of everyone was the complete and true source of your happiness. Everyone in your life made you happy, but Richie made you happy and made you forget everything when you were with him. He took you away from your own scary thoughts and soothed you like something you hadn’t felt in years.

He was your nepenthe.

Nepenthe—(noun) An ancient greek word defined as a medicine for sorrow. It is a place, person or thing, which can aid in forgetting your pain and suffering.

He made you forget when you were wrapped up in his arms and he was doing his ridiculously corny British accent, spewing cheesy pick-up lines at you and also muttering some very sexual things in your ear, making you blush every time he did. He loved to tease you and get you bothered. You saw nothing but big, brown orbs magnified by the thick-rimmed spectacles on his face and a shit eating grin sprawled across his features. You felt like the piece of you that you lost was somewhere inside of Richie and whenever you were with him he was filling that empty part of you again. You loved him and he definitely loved you, too.

When you started to need your time away, he had protested profusely, telling you there was a better way to cope and to deal with everything, a way that wouldn’t mean leaving him for two and half months. You loved how much he wanted you to stay, but you knew you needed time away from Derry. He hated that you were right and eventually he gave up and accepted that you needed to do what you felt was best. He tried to support you as much as he could and he’d never admit it, but goddamn did it hurt to let you go for that long. He knew you would always come back, but it didn’t hurt any less. He could barely enjoy his summers anymore without you by his side. Now it was him who felt empty.

You smiled to yourself as the car came to a halt outside of your house. Your friends were all gathered outside on your lawn, holding a sloppily made sign that read ‘Welcome Home, y/n!’. You smiled wider than ever. Being away from the people you loved most for two and a half months did start to get to you. You missed those hot summer days at the quarry listening to the boys bicker about who would jump first while you and Bev laughed at them and their nervousness, pushing them out of the way and interlocking hands as you jumped together. As many times as you’d done it, Richie would always blurt out his usual string of profanities and yap on and on about how there was no way he was letting a couple of badass girls show him up. He always was the third to jump. There was only one summer that all 8 of you had spent together, but you missed it.

With your happy thoughts came the scary and unforgettable thoughts and they always lurked not far behind. You hated that.

“y/n!” Beverly screamed as she engulfed you into a huge hug, twirling around on the sidewalk as you clung to her.

“Bev, I’ve missed you!” She set you down and smiled at you. Your eyes shot up to the rest of your friends who were greeting you eagerly and you noticed Richie sitting up on your porch steps. He stood up as he saw you, a soft and unreadable expression on his face. You let your eyes settle on him as you told your friends you needed a minute to talk to him. They all nodded and let you go.

“Hey, stranger.” You looped your thumbs through the belt loops of your jeans and smiled down at him, but your face fell when he looked up at you, tears welling in his eyes.

“God, I must look like an idiot, fuck..” His hand shot up and underneath his glasses, pressing into the corners of his eyes and trying to let the built up tears pass unnoticed, but you had seen them and he knew. He sniffled and laughed bitter sweetly, “I’m sorry, usually this is how I say goodbye, you know, tears and all that sappy shit. I don’t know what it is,” His eyes danced across your face, “I just.. fuck, I’ve just missed you so much and you’re back and I’m so happy. I’m so happy I’m crying, what in the hell are you doing to me, woman?” He took his glasses off and tucked them over the collar of his shirt. You felt tears sting the corner of your eyes as well and his tears started to fall at the sight of you crying.

“Richie..” You smiled at him, your hand cupping his face and your thumb brushing his tears away, “God you make it so hard to leave and now you make it so hard to stay in a way. Are we gonna cry like this every time I come home? I think my heart might explode from the sweetness if we do.” You giggled and he laughed slightly, trying to stop the tears that were coming, but he couldn’t.

It just felt so unreal to him, every time you left he felt like you were gone for two years, twenty years, an eternity. He felt like he was seeing you for the first time in decades, like you had to travel to him from the other side of the world on foot and he wasn’t sure if he’d ever see you again. But he knew he would and he hated how ridiculous he seemed for feeling how he did, but he couldn’t help it. You can never help it when you’re in love.

“You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.” He spoke through his tears and he leaned into you, sobbing into your chest and looking up at you to kiss you in a frenzy, his hands running along your arms and your back and down to your waist. You were finally back home and finally back in his arms and holy shit did it feel good. He felt his heart soar as he came undone and savored you even though you’d just come home. It all came and went too fast, lately. Before he knew it, you’d be saying your goodbyes again and he dreaded the thought.

He wished so badly that he could keep you wrapped up in his arms forever and never let you go, but nothing was ever that easy.

You felt yourself melt into his touch and your lips moved against his just as quickly. You never knew Richie’s feelings about your summer trips were this intense. You didn’t realize that maybe you were his peace and when you would leave, he didn’t have that peace for a long two and half months out of the year now.

Your tears and his tears mingled together as your faces touched and slid passed you and his lips and the saltiness hit your tongue and you didn’t care. The kiss was sloppy and needy and he was telling you how much he’d missed you, but with his mouth. You felt like you were flying, like no one else was there but you and Richie. You understood and you didn’t care if he could be overdramatic. You finally understood that what you find in California at your grandparents, Richie finds in you.

“I love you, I missed your lips.” You breathed against his mouth after you both had pulled apart for air.

“I love you more and I missed all of you, sweetcheeks.” He let his lips ghost over yours for a moment before pressing them against yours again, but this time it was slow and loving and he wanted you to feel how much he loved you, “Just wait until tonight when I stay over. We aren’t sleeping.” He let his hot breath hit your cheek as he whispered in your ear and squeezed your hips in each of his hands.

You threw your head back and laughed, feeling the heat rise into your cheeks, “You’re lucky there’s still a few days left of summer, wouldn’t want you sending me back to school exhausted, now would we?” You teased back and he smirked at you.

“God must really exist, because there’s no way in hell you didn’t come straight from the heaven gates, I swear. I prayed for someone like you to come along and fuck, I never thought it would work, but look where we are? I got my angel.” He placed kisses along your jawline as he spoke half-jokingly to you.

“Richie Tozier, you are such a cornball.” You laughed loudly as he swooped you up in his arms and started running down your porch steps.

“Yes, but you love it!” He screamed proudly before he suddenly realized he hadn’t put his glasses back on and he was totally running across your lawn with you thrown over his shoulder and no sight.

You felt your butt hit the ground below you and you looked down to see Richie face first in the dirt and you and you friends all laughed in unison.

“Rich, careful, you’re supposed to throw her onto the bed, not the lawn.” Bev joked and Richie’s face went red. He was definitely embarrassed.

It was in this moment, you realized how much Richie Tozier really missed you for the two and half months you’d been gone again. He wrapped his arm around you as he buried his face into your leg and he stayed there sprawled out on the lawn for a second. And it was in this moment that you realized he didn’t just miss you, he needed you. You were his peace.

I don’t know what this was, I feel like I had a specific destination when I started this earlier but it ended up somewhere else and it was sssSUpERRRR SAPPY AND FLUFFY AND UGHHH

It was also a bit short sorry lol I hope you all enjoyed it(:

#finn wolfhard #richie tozier #finnie #personal requests #requests #character x reader #imagines #it imagine #richie tozier x reader #it chp 1 #it chapter one #it chapter one imagine #fluffy richie is so overwhelming i caNT #richie it #richie #richie x reader

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garbagegrimoire · 4 years ago

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puppet master iii

Okay the thing that was impressive about this movie wasn’t the plot, wasn’t the character development, wasn’t the script, or a beautiful set — it was the fact that the puppet scenes were intricate stop motion animation.

I looked into it & David Allen, the animator on this (& Dolls, & Dollman vs. Demonic Toys which are also on this list) also created effects for Honey, I Shrunk the Kids ( I frigging love Rick Moranis, he is a treasure) & Ghostbusters II which were huge parts of my childhood.

The movie itself was a corny Nazi revenge story that sparked when an anti-fascist puppeteer caught the eye of a Lutz from Bruno-looking fash who didn’t like that the skit included a six armed cowboy shooting six six-shooters at the Fuhrer.

Then there is a cornball scene where the puppeteer reveals that he made his wife a special puppet with a creepy-ass likeness to her & declares that he would die without her — which of course means...

The Nazis swept in & shot her, wanting him to cease & desist & give them the secret as to why his green shit animated these puppets (strong Re-Animator feel).

This of course triggered the revenge sequence which dragged the poor viewer along to watch this gross old Nazi turd get washed & fucked (in entirely different scenes) by hot young girls.

The best part of the movie was the part I drew, when the six-armed cowboy scaled the side of the building like gd Spiderman.

There were poetic lines like “Get your asshole ready” & a point where he brings his wife back as a puppet that made me panic a bit — Stef, I swear if he bangs this puppet, I’m peacing out & you are on your own with this one. Luckily, he did not bang the puppet... yet...

Overall, this was really not my thing but I can respect the work that went into the animation for sure.

Podcast notes

We will be discussing Puppet Master III with the rest of the cursed toys week picks on the second episode of the podcast due out by Monday morning, Oct. 19. Subscribe by searching for Sage Cigarettes Presents: A Ghost in the Magazine or by following this link to Spotify.

Cursed toys week ranking

Dolls

Child’s Play

Puppet Master III

Overall ranking

Train to Busan

Interview with the Vampire

Nosferatu

Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Vampire’s Kiss

Re-Animator

Fright Night

Dolls

Child’s Play

John Carpenter’s Vampires

Dracula (2007)

Dead Birds

Puppet Master III

Plan 9 from Outer Space

#sage31days #sage cigarettes magazine #31 days of horror #horror movies #horror review #31daysofhorror #cursed toys #original sketch

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puppy-the-mask · 4 years ago

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OK! Premise time (got a bit carried away tbh)

Vaguely midieval setting, Mc is from a family of hunters and so knows her way all around the forest, befriending crows and ravens via scraps (because that is a dream of mine). Plot kicks off when homegirl’s brothers get snatched by the monster kingdom for trespassing onto their land for what was assumed to be nefarious reasons when really they just got a bit lost and nobody believes them. Back home Mc tells the knights what’s up and is promptly told to sit the fuck down because they have more important things to do. So she goes off on her own instead, armed with a hunting knife, a bow, and a walking stick she plans to sneak in and break her Bros out. Along the way she has to free herself of multiple well crafted traps and once she finally gets to where she’s headed (with some help from her very smart brothers leaving traces) she’s confronted by the Boi himself. With the capture of humans their town has sorta gone crazy, fighting to determine who will take them to the king. For now they’re kinda subdued but peace is flimsy. Mc ends up getting found out and into a pseudo sword fight (aka blocking for her life with a walking stick until an opening to book it) with our favorite skeleton while ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE. Since Edge is distracted the other townsfolk take this as their cue to try and swoop up the prize, this goes splendidly terrible when the building they’re being kept in starts to collapse. Homeboy quickly figured it’s better to have at least 1 alive Human and manages to catch up to MC who is about to book it into a collapsing building like an idiot and pull her back before she gets crushed. I say collapsing but I wasn’t that much, as they could still get down to the holding cell and *surprise* the boys are gone~

Now! For what was happening with the boys. Seeing as how I’m the one daydreaming these are My brothers, the oldest of which is a very social person. So obviously he’s chatting with the only other person there, Red. Meanwhile middle brother is trying to think of a way out. This goes on until things start getting dicey and the house is rumbling. Red gets hurt but the three of them escape (because who are we kidding, of course there’s a secret emergency exit) and so are stuck together for the time being relying on each other.

Back to the duo, upon seeing the empty cell and majorly f-ed foundations they leave the house and end up begrudgingly having to work together because of their shared love of and willingness to do whatever it takes to help their family and find their brothers.

Some scenes that popped up were- Edge being a dick to birds and Mc lecturing him about Corvids and their ability to hold grudges. This may have plot relevance, because yes

Edge getting stuck in something and REFUSING to ask for help. “I’ll help you out, but you a) have to ask and b) have to use my name” he ends up passing out and waking up to her ranting about him being an absolute prideful idiot. This leads to an argument because she wasn’t exactly being nice either. This actually leads to a civil apology because CHARACTERS CAN ADMIT WHEN THEY’RE WRONG AND BEING PETTY. Eventually some themes will become recurring until they’re close enough travel companions to admit their faults/insecurities and why they keep acting how they do so they can better themselves.

Meanwhile with The Bois, so many Hijinks have insued and it’s glorious. I can’t say what but you know they are Best Buds by now and are up to absolutely No Good

When they finally catch up and have their reunion, it’s to the most awkward and hard to explain scene that the duo has just walked in on. Mc is keeled over laughing, barely standing by leaning on Edge, and Edge himself is just sighing resigned like “I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN” because ofcourse his brother was doing dumb shit the whole time he’s been looking for him, what else would he be doing?

But don’t worry, there are emotional reunion moments between the bros, just when less people are around to witness them. Meanwhile Mc’s Bros just rounded the corner and she just fucking busts out crying and hugs her brothers because, unlike certain spiky companions- she isn’t bad with public displays of affection. A little bit of rest and a few tankards of ale later and they’re sharing stories around a campfire.

Oh, and did I not mention? Pre-reunion There was only one sleeping bag MWAHAHAHAHA!!!! I mean, Mc was prepared for a long trek after her Bros, and then gained a party member who was decidedly not. He refused to share until a good ways through their journey of course, cause right off the bat when they still loathe each other’s existence it’d be real weird. So it was moss and bunched up leaves for him.

Imagine, they’re about to go to bed when someone brings up their lack of sufficient sleep equipment. Only 3 for 5 people. Previously the Bros had combined theirs into 1 big pallet but... what about them? Kekeke. The two- having forgotten how most people don’t cuddle adventure buddies since it’d just become the norm? And also how damning nightly snuggles seems to people who Obviously won’t get that they’re TOTALLY FRIENDS WHO JUST DO SO OUT OF NECESITY. (And comfort)

Mc kinda drops the ball- “I don’t know about y’all but I’m a big fan of cuddles” cue a smack upside the head and ‘OOOHHH’s to ring in some heads. A little (sorta) tactful talk from both sets of siblings and our oblivious duo- in trying to defend that it’s totally not a thing- realize they totally have a thing going on and oh Fuck I Like It . they’re both oblivious cornballs who’ve been too focused on sibling retrieval to pay attention to their growing bond with their travel partner and now that they see it they have no idea how to handle it.

Now, you may ask, how can this end? If the kingdoms are separated and such then how shall they live in peace? WOODLAND CABIN BAYBEEEE!!!!!! Who tf goes into the woods? Not just anyone if they don’t wanna get lost. Plus it’s neutral ground. What about the siblings? They can build their own or visit- up to them. And since both town’s are in visit distance, edge can probably just commute/go on buisness trips if he has to go places for guard things. Mc is a hunter so her job is the woods so that’s easy.

Anyways, enemies to lovers is good when done right. Slowly and through comradery

#casual conversation #CAS WHY ARE YOU STILL AWAKE #Ideas #ok i sleep now- NIGHT!!!#long post

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thisguyatthemovies · 5 years ago

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A beautiful day indeed

Title: “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”

Release date: Nov. 22, 2019

Starring: Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Cooper, Maryann Plunkett, Enrico Colantoni, Wendy Makkena, Tammy Blanchard, Noah Harpster, Carmen Cusack, Christine Lahti

Directed by: Marielle Heller

Run time: 1 hour, 48 minutes

Rated: PG

What it’s about: A jaded magazine writer is assigned a profile about children’s television personality Fred Rogers, and the two become friends as Rogers helps him see humanity in a more positive light.

How I saw it: How often these days do you sit quietly and ponder your life? How often do you think about the people who have shaped it? How often do you do that for a minute at a time, uninterrupted? How often do you even go 60 seconds without glancing at your phone?

The turning point and most powerful, poignant moment in director Marielle Heller’s serene, soulful look at the enduring influence of children’s television personality Fred Rogers, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” is one minute of silence. And it plays out in real time. Imagine that -- one minute of sitting there, with no one on the screen making a sound and no action taking place. One minute seems like a long time these days, especially in a movie. It could have been an unnerving test of patience. But here, in a movie already more peaceful than anything else you will see in a theater, it not only works, it leaves an impression. It helps transform a nice enough movie into something special.

“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” is not just the story of TV’s Mister Rogers. It’s neither biopic nor documentary but a narrative film based on a true story that blends fact and fiction. Fred Rogers (played with perfect charm and energy by Tom Hanks) isn’t even on screen for parts of the film, and he is not the lead character. That would be Matthew Rhys as Lloyd Vogel, a magazine writer and fictional character based on real-life journalist Tom Junod, whose 1998 Esquire article “Can You Say … Hero?” is the basis for the screenplay written by Micah Fizerman-Blue and Noah Harpster.

Just as Junod in real life, Rhys’ Lloyd Vogel is an award-winning journalist with a reputation of angering and alienating his subjects and sources. Vogel, a cynical middle-aged man who is coming to grips with being a new father and also dealing with an unhappy past, is given an assignment he thinks is beneath him – a puff piece, 400-word profile of Fred Rogers that will be part of a “heroes” series. Vogel is not happy about the assignment but accepts it and arranges to meet Rogers in-person at the TV studio in Pittsburgh where Rogers’ show is produced.

It doesn’t take long for Vogel to realize he is the interviewee more than the interviewer. Rogers recognizes a tortured soul when he sees one. In the days before meeting Rogers, Vogel is involved in an altercation with his hard-drinking father, Jerry (Chris Cooper), at his sister’s third wedding, and he still is sporting a black eye when he arrives in Pittsburgh. Rogers seems to recognize that Vogel’s story about the injury being the result of a softball incident is a lie. Vogel’s issues stem from his troubled relationship with his father, who left the family while Lloyd’s mother was dying.

Which brings us to the minute of silence. Vogel and Rogers are sitting in a booth at a busy diner. Vogel still is skeptical about Rogers; he thinks the whole “nice guy” thing might be an act. Rogers senses this, and he asks Vogel to sit in silence with him and think about those who “loved us into being.” So, Vogel does. And then everyone else in the diner does. The moment changes something deep in Vogel. The last 20 seconds or so of the scene is a close-up shot of Rogers just sitting there with a slight, warm smile.

From then on, Vogel gets it. He tries to be a better husband to his wife, Andrea (Susan Kelechi Watson), and a better dad. He slowly builds a relationship with his father, who by this time is dying in a hospital bed in his living room. Lloyd Vogel and Rogers become great friends (and that happened in real life with Rogers and Junod). The sudden transformation of Vogel’s attitude because of Rogers’ decency might seem simplistic, and it is. But this is Mister Rogers we are talking about, and that’s just what he did.

Vogel’s journey from selfish and bitter to loving husband/father/son is the stuff of standard-issue redemption drama, and at times that is what “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” threatens to become. But it is lifted by the performance of Hanks, a nice-guy icon playing a nice-guy icon. He seems as comfortable as a zip-up red sweater in the role. Because of how well-known he is and Rogers was, a concern is not being able to lose sight of it being Hanks playing Rogers. But that lasts about five seconds. Only when we are reminded of the real-life Rogers in a clip during the credits do we remember, “Oh, yeah. That was Tom Hanks.” Hanks is perfect in a scene in which Vogel turns the table on him when the two talk about Rogers’ sons. The moment is a reminder that Rogers was human just like the rest of us.

“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” also benefits from moments of surrealness. Part of that is Rogers himself, and his show. The movie is patterned after Rogers’ PBS TV kids’ program, with toy cars, planes and cities indicating travel between scenes. And in the movie’s oddest moment, Vogel imagines himself on the set of the show, at first as his adult self but later as a puppet among show regulars Daniel Striped Tiger, King Friday XIII and Lady Aberlin (Maddie Corman).

Hard as this might be to fathom, some people did not like the real-life Rogers (just as some don’t like Hanks), and they likely won’t see this movie for the same reasons. To hardened souls, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” like Rogers, will seem too fantastical. Too cornball. Too soft. Too lightweight. Too out of touch. Too loving (Rogers and his show were criticized by those who prefer a tough-love approach for teaching children they are special and accepted unconditionally). Those are precisely the kind of people who need to see “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.”

But if they won’t see it, and if they choose to view the world through a cynic’s eyes, Rogers, were he alive today, would undoubtedly offer an understanding smile and say, “And that’s OK.”

My score: 94 out of 100

Should you see it? Yes, you owe it to yourself to be reminded what kindness and empathy are all about.

#movies #movie review #movie recommendation #a beautiful day in the neighborhood #tom hanks #fred rogers #mister rogers #oscars

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numba99 · 6 years ago

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Hate to Love You Part 12

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11

Summary: You and Jimmy have never gotten along. To say you hated each other would be an understatement. But when a night at a party takes an unexpected turn, things between the two of you change forever. Word Count: 2,379 - FINAL PART

Warnings: smut wahooo!! ended like i started - not proof reading LMAO

A/n: at the risk of sounding like a complete cornball, I just wanna thank you all so much for reading! I’ve received so many nice messages about this series and it honestly means so much to me. It was so so cool to hear you all connect and become invested in something I wrote. Honestly made me geek out a little so just know I really appreciated it. Hope you enjoy this last part, thank you as always for reading!

You woke up with a brick in your stomach, knowing you would be facing Kevin soon. Your anxieties were lessened slightly be the boy beside you. Jimmy’s arms were still wrapped tightly around you even as he slept. It was comforting even as you faced something you were really sacred to do.

“Jimmy,” you whispered, causing him to stir. You were attempting to get him to let go so you could start to get ready, but he only held you tighter. You couldn’t help but smile, he looked so peaceful as he slept. If only you could just stay like this. “Jimmy, I gotta get up,” you told him softly.

“No you don’t,” he replied, eyes still closed. It made you laugh, despite how anxious you were.

“I wish I didn’t, but I gotta see Kevin,” you sighed, running your fingers through his hair lightly. That got him up.

“Shit I forgot,” he mumbled rubbing his eyes, “Do you need anything?”

“Just to get it over with,” you said, your hand resting on Jimmy’s cheek. “I’ll be okay.” You didn’t want him worrying about you too much.

“Do you want me to go?” Jimmy asked.

You shook your head, “It will be nice to come home to you. And then we can talk about whatever happens.” You didn’t miss the slight smile that tugged at Jimmy’s lips when you made the comment about coming home to him. It made you happy too.

You got ready quickly, not wanting to keep Kevin waiting. Jimmy stayed in bed, watching you with a hint of a frown on his face. You wondered what he was thinking about. Well you had an idea, but still you wish you could see exactly what was running through his mind.

“Okay, I’m going,” you announced finally, trying to sound somewhat confident. You leaned over the bed, pressing a kiss to Jimmy’s lips.

“You got this, y/n,” Jimmy said, his hand trailing down your arm, resting on your hand, “I’ll be there with you in spirit.”

“Thanks Jimmy,” you smiled for him, before heading out. On your way over to Kevin’s you began to concoct what you were going to say to him. Nothing felt right, though. It all seemed forced, or rehearsed, or just wrong. God this is gonna be a mess, you thought as you approached his door. Your hand was shaking as you knocked weakly. You wondered if he had even heard it, but a minute later the door opened.

“Hey,” you said softly.

“Hey,” he sighed, stepping aside to let you in. Your heart was racing as he followed you to the couch. You were suddenly getting emotional, thinking of how just a few weeks ago you were on the same couch with him, without a care in the world. You had been happy, he had been happy and now it was all coming to an end on the same piece of furniture.

You bit back tears, knowing that wouldn’t be a good place to start. Fuck, you didn’t even know where to start. Your mind went totally blank with Kevin’s eyes on you, the little bit of a speech you prepared totally disappearing.

“I-okay- there’s a lot I want to say and I don’t really know how to say it,” you began.

“Take your time,” he replied, though his voice was flat and emotionless. You didn’t deserve that, he should be angry, yelling at you. You almost felt guilty that he wasn’t.

“I didn’t plan or this to happen, and I wasn’t using you to get to Jimmy I really just need you to know that,” you told him. It was hard to look him in the eye, but you tried your best to anyway.

“So what was it then?” he questioned, a bit hurt peaking through his voice.

“Jimmy and I-” you paused, searching for the right words, “We just started hooking up, months ago. I didn’t even know if I liked it at first, I don’t know. It was a weird dynamic we hated each other but then we would...” You trailed off, not wanting to get into the gorey details. He knew what you were getting at.

You continued, “Somewhere in there I actually started to like him, but then we got into a big fight. It really hurt, and you were there for me. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that. And I really liked you it’s ju-”

“Just that you like Jimmy more,” he finished the sentence for you. You frowned, unsure of how to reply to that.

“I’m sorry,” was all you could manage at the moment, “I really thought Jimmy and I were done after that fall out. I never expected this to play out how it did. I should have told you right from the start about Jimmy. The two of you were best friends and I slept with you knowing... God I’m so sorry Kevin.” You suddenly broke into tears. Everything you were trying to hold back these past few days just flooding your system.

“I know you didn’t do it on purpose,” Kevin replied, handing you a tissue. You took it gratefully, trying to dry your tear-stained cheeks.

“Please don’t be mad at Jimmy,” you cried, “Just be mad at me okay? Jimmy... he needs you. He needs a friend right now, and you’re the best friend someone could have. Please just don’t ha-”

“Okay slow down, y/n,” Kevin stopped you, “I’m not mad... well I was mad, like really mad, but I’m not anymore.”

“You’re not?” you asked, surprised.

“I’m upset, not mad,” Kevin explained, “As much as it hurts, I realized you and Jimmy didn’t do this to hurt me.”

“Never,” you confirmed, “And I want you to be honest Kevin, if us being together is too much we’ll separate. We don’t want to hurt you anymore, we understand.”

Kevin shook his head, “There is not sense in all of us being unhappy. I’m gonna need space for awhile, but I know you guys like each other a lot. I’m not gonna mess with that.”

“You’re amazing Kevin,” you said,”I mean really, we don’t deserve this kindness but it really means so much.”

“I know you would do the same for me,” Kevin replied.

“Definitely,” you nodded, “You’re gonna find someone you deserve Kev. I truly want that for you, and I know you’re gonna find it. I’m always here for you if you need it and I hope in time we can work on being good friends again.”

Kevin mustered a soft smile, “I would like that. Thank you for coming to talk to me, I really appreciate it.”

“Of course. Thank you for being so understanding. For being you,” you told him. You both went in for a hug and it made you happy. You knew things were far from perfect and that your relationship still needed work, but you were happy. Happy he didn’t hate you, happy he was okay with you and Jimmy, and happy that he was willing to keep a friendship.You seriously didn’t feel worthy of his kindness, but you were incredibly grateful.

After a few more words and an exchange of goodbyes, you headed out. You were quick to get back to your apartment, knowing Jimmy would be waiting anxiously to hear about your meeting.

Jimmy had migrated to the couch in your absence, but jumped up the second he heard the door open. “Hey, how’d it go?” he asked, a nervous edge in his voice.

“Good,” you told.

“Really?” Jimmy asked, about as surprised as you had been when Kevin didn’t just yell at you.

“Yeah, I mean he is upset, but he said he’s not mad,” you explained, “I think he just needs time, you know? It’s a lot to process and he wants some space to do that. But he doesn’t want us break up and he doesn’t hate us.”

“I can’t believe it,” Jimmy replied, sounding relieved.

“I know, Kevin really is a great guy,” you agreed, “He wants to talk to you, he still wants to be good friends.”

“I don’t even deserve his friendship,” Jimmy muttered.

“You do Jimmy,” you replied, squeezing his hand, “We both messed up a little, but that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve a good friend like Kevin. He cares about you a lot, you guys will work it out.”

“Thank you y/n,” Jimmy said, pulling you in for a tight hug. You practically melted into him, the warmth of his body making you feel at home. “And you’re sure he’s okay with us?” Jimmy asked as he pulled away to look at you.

“Yeah, he wants us to be happy,” you confirmed, cupping Jimmy’s face. You brushed your thumb over his cheek as a smile formed on his face.

“So we are free to just...” his voice trailed off as his hand slid up your thigh. It was soft, even if it’s implications weren’t.

“Yes, Jimmy, we’re free,” you replied, with a light laugh. It sounded silly, but it was true. After months of pretending you didn’t care, sneaking around, and denying how you felt, it felt so good to be able to be honest. “I love you, Jimmy,” you said suddenly, your emotions practically overwhelming you.

“I love you too, y/n, so much,” he replied. The next thing you knew, you were on his lap. His hands tangled in your hair as he kissed you, your hands drifting up and down his back. The longer you kissed the more desperate it got, like you couldn’t get enough of each other.

Jimmy pulled your legs around his waist, gripping the back of your thighs as he picked you up off the couch. You continued to kiss him as he walked you both back to your room. He placed you gently on the bed, crawling on top of you. His lips connected to your neck, soft, wet kisses peppering your skin.

Clothes began to fall to the floor, lips replacing what was once covered. Everything was slow and draw out, not to tease, but to savor. It was like that night before you fought all over again, but a million times better. You were learning each others bodies, not just for a single hook up, but for a life time.

Jimmy slipped between your legs, pulling them over his shoulders. “I... love... you... so... much,” his words were punctuated with kisses on your inner thighs.

“I love you to-oh,” you were cut off by a moan as his lips attached to you core. It somehow still surprised you how good he was with his mouth. His tongue moved in all the right ways as he slipped two fingers inside you. Your thighs tightened around him, but he used his free hand to hold them open.my

“Jimmy,” you breathed euphorically. Your fingers twisted through his hair as continued to work at you, no sign of letting up. Moments later, your body tensed before relaxing into a deep bliss. Your back arched, pushing you further onto Jimmy’s face, which he loved.He kept going until you had to pull him off.

“I love you,” you said breathlessly, putting a dopey smirk on his face. You kissed him while pulling at his boxers, the last piece of clothing that separated you two. You wrapped your legs around him, bringing him closer to you. “Need you,” you mumbled into his lips.

Jimmy nodded, the tip of his cock already brushing against your slit. You were about to whine that you didn’t wanna be teased but then he pushed into you. You dug your hands into his back as you felt yourself adjusting to his size. Jimmy’s hips rocked against yours. They were deliciously long and deep strokes, making your head spin. Your hips rolled up to meet his making the angle even sweeter for you.

“Jimmy, I’m gonna-” you choked out. You were so close it was getting hard for you to string together a coherent sentence.

“I got you honey,” he replied, his thumb finding your already sensitive clit. You let out a moan as Jimmy worked you through your second orgasm of the night. It was even better than the first one, nothing could top him being inside you. Jimmy was weak for the sound of his name spilling from your lips, causing him to let go with you.

Jimmy collapsed on top of you when you both finished. You were both giggling softly, pushing hair off of each other’s eyes. His nose brushed against yours, a simple gesture but it made your heart swell. “I love you Jimmy,” you told him, peppering kisses all over his face.

“I love you too y/n,” Jimmy smiled.

“What are you so happy about?” you asked, though you sorta had a feeling you knew why.

“This,” he replied, “I can’t wait to do this with you forever.” Now you were smiling like an idiot. You knew he didn’t just mean the sex - though there would be a lot of that you were sure. He meant everything, the ups and downs, going through it all together, forever. As you held him close to you, you couldn’t imagine a better way, or a better person to spend forever with.

Where are they now??

Brady - he is happy as a CLAM.All he has wanted was for his friends to all get along. He thoroughly enjoys going on a double dates with you and Jimmy. It makes him so so happy to see you two together... even if he does have to wear ear plugs when you sleep over

Kevin - That summer Kevin reconnected with an old high school fling in Boston. They’ve been inseparable ever since and Kevin is very happy. Things between him, y/n and Jimmy have calmed down and everyone can hang out together without it being weird. His and Jimmy’s friendship is as strong as ever.

Jimmy & y/n - things have been great. More than great. You’re both so in love and are actually looking to move in together before the start of the next season. Brady’s gonna miss his roommate... but will enjoy sleeping undisturbed. You couldn’t be happier and you couldn’t believe it all went back to that stupid little bottle.

#j vesey #jimmy vesey smut #jimmy vesey imagine #new york rangers imagine #new york rangers smut #nhl imagines #nhl fanfiction

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onestowatch · 5 years ago

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The Best of 2019 and Beyond | Staff Picks

It’s the end of 2019. The world is on fire. You inhale your mango-flavored juul pod. The most pivotal figure in the world is a 16-year-old Swedish girl. Your Amazon Alexa listens intently in the corner of your bedroom. What I’m trying to say is that it has been an absolutely crazy year and an equally mind-blowing year for music. And what better way to cap the end of a year, an end of a decade than to perform a mandated survey on the entire Ones To Watch staff in the hopes of gathering their thoughts on the music that shaped their 2019, their 2010s, and their predictions for this brave new decade.

Maxamillion Polo

Most Underrated Artist of 2019: An honest toss-up between keshi and Aries. Believe 2020 belongs to them.

Best Breakout Artist of 2019: Lizzo, who is finally getting the recognition she’s deserved for years.

Best Music Video of 2019: BTS - “Boy With Luv”

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Biggest Artist Crush of 2019: Carly Rae Jepsen, this year and every year.

Best Concert You Attended in 2019: Childish Gambino at The Forum. Felt like church.

Favorite 2019 trend: stan and cancel culture. Live by the sword; die by the sword.

What moment of 2019 will you not be forgetting anytime soon?: Naruto-running through Area 51.

Who is poised to be the breakout artist(s) of 2020: Conan Gray is going to be absolutely massive come this time next year.

Favorite Song of 2019: Dominic Fike, Kenny Beats - “Phone Numbers”

Favorite Album of 2019: Tyler, the Creator - IGOR

Favorite Artist of 2019: Lil Nas X, if only for his Twitter presence.

wow thanks u guys pic.twitter.com/CetLFOKP41

— nope (@LilNasX)

December 6, 2019

Favorite Song of the Decade: Grimes - “Oblivion.” Honorable mention goes to Mitski’s “Nobody.”

Favorite Album of the Decade: Kanye West - The Life of Pablo

Favorite Artist of the Decade: Childish Gambino, an unmatched creative.

New Year’s Resolution?: Take more pictures, edit more videos, cook more, and discover more artists.

Green Lee

Most Underrated Artist of 2019: Arin Ray

Best Breakout Artist of 2019: Kenny Beats

Best Music Video of 2019: TOSS UP BETWEEN GINGER ROOT’S “WEATHER” & “B4” BOTH FIRE. HUGE FAN. CAMERON LEW, YOU’RE THE MAN.

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Biggest Artist Crush of 2019: BENEE

Best Concert You Attended in 2019: SLOWTHAI AT THE ECHO WITH DAVID O’ CONNOR. HOW MANY OF YOU CAN SAY THAT YOU’VE MOSHED WITH YOUR BOSS? HUH!?

Favorite 2019 trend: @foosgonewild

What moment of 2019 will you not be forgetting anytime soon?: Game of Thrones’ trash ass ending.

Who is poised to be the breakout artist(s) of 2020: BENEE

Favorite Song of 2019: Monsune - “Outta My Mind”

Favorite Album of 2019: MAGGIE ROGERS – HEARD IT IN A PAST LIFE

Favorite Artist of 2019: Channel Tres

Favorite Song of the Decade: Tyler The Creator ft. Frank Ocean - “She”

Favorite Album of the Decade: SHIT. This is hard. Majid Jordan by Majid Jordan or Whack World by Tierra Whack.

Favorite Artist of the Decade: BROCKHAMPTON.

New Year’s Resolution?: To be a better son and take better care of my body. Your health is your wealth.

Jenna Singer

Most Underrated Artist of 2019: Huron John

Best Breakout Artist of 2019: Johnny Utah

Best Music Video of 2019: Loved ROLE MODEL’s newest lyric video for “that’s just how it goes” – super simple and done very well.

youtube

Biggest Artist Crush of 2019: I don’t typically crush on artists, but seeing Jeremy Zucker perform live was a momementttttt

Best Concert You Attended in 2019: Polo & Pan – they are incredible, such a party

Favorite 2019 trend: Loose jeans lol – may low rise skinny jeans burn in the past forever

What moment of 2019 will you not be forgetting anytime soon?: Diplo playing Stagecoach – still confused, slightly jealous I missed it

Who is poised to be the breakout artist(s) of 2020: Ahhhhh! This is so hard to tell, the ability to make it big has been redefined with the ability to make music in your room. Really digging Gracie Abrams right now!

Favorite Song of 2019: I have the worst memory, but “Hit the Back” by King Princess is a whole jam and has been on repeat

Favorite Album of 2019: Again, worst memory but LOVING Immunity by Clairo right now

Favorite Artist of 2019: Clairo

Favorite Song of the Decade: i. have. the. worst. memory. I’m going to go with “Stolen Dance” by Milky Chance

Favorite Album of the Decade: Sadnecessary by Milky Chance – a go to

Favorite Artist of the Decade: … Justin Bieber. Not for necessarily for his music, he’s withstood well against a lot of pressures from being such a world famous artist

New Year’s Resolution?: MAKE BIG CAREER MOVES – also carve out more time to relax. You are your best when you’re rested and clear-minded!

David O’ Connor

Most Underrated Artist of 2019: Sam Fender. So much more to come from him, can’t wait.

Best Breakout Artist of 2019: Clairo, built her own queendom of timely perception.

Best Music Video of 2019: “CRYABY” by Dijon. Visually tackles an emotion that’s hard not to look at.

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Biggest Artist Crush of 2019: Lauren Sanderson. She may not care but I do enough for the both of us.

Best Concert You Attended in 2019: Wednesday, June 19, 2019. Sir SlowThai @The Echo w/ @fuqgreen.

Favorite 2019 trend: Flood-prepped pants

What moment of 2019 will you not be forgetting anytime soon?: Lizzo memeing and melting the internet at every occasion.

Who is poised to be the breakout artist(s) of 2020: Arlo Parks, Deb Never, Dijon, Arizona Zervas, Audrey Mika, Alaina Castillo, Garçons, Sam Fender.

Favorite Song of 2019: “CHA” by LAUNDRY DAY. I am equally nostalgic and envious to write so honestly about teenage angst.

Favorite Album of 2019: slowthai - Nothing Great about Britain

Favorite Artist of 2019: slowthai

Favorite Song of the Decade: ANHONI - “Drone Bomb Me.” If you know me well, maybe too well, I’ll sing this song happily and loudly.

Favorite Album of the Decade: Intuitively obvious but My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was the decade’s benchmark

Favorite Artist of the Decade: Kanye. Defending him became my protagonist social calendar.

New Year’s Resolution?: Work with more diehards before I die.

Malcolm Gray

Most Underrated Artist of 2019: Sudan Archives

Best Breakout Artist of 2019: Channel Tres

Best Music Video of 2019: Solange - “Almeda”

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Biggest Artist Crush of 2019: Green Leef

Best Concert You Attended in 2019: Channel Tres at The Moroccan Lounge

Favorite 2019 trend: Creatives demanding ownership

What moment of 2019 will you not be forgetting anytime soon?: The last season of Game of Thrones being so mid

Who is poised to be the breakout artist(s) of 2020: Baby Keem

Favorite Song of 2019: Tyler, The Creator - “I Think”

Favorite Album of 2019: Toro y Moi - Outer Peace

Favorite Artist of 2019: Toro y Moi

Favorite Song of the Decade: Darius - “Hot Hands”

Favorite Album of the Decade: Kanye West - Yeezus

Favorite Artist of the Decade: Frank Ocean

New Year’s Resolution?: Listen to more music and make some music

Jimmy Smith

Most Underrated Artist of 2019: Can't Swim

Best Breakout Artist of 2019: Grayscale and Angel Du$t

Best Music Video of 2019: Blink-182 - “Not Another Christmas Song”

youtube

Best Concert You Attended in 2019: Vans Warped Tour 25 Year Anniversary Festival

Favorite 2019 trend: TikTok, all of it.

Who is poised to be the breakout artist(s) of 2020: The Chats

Favorite Song of 2019: Bring Me The Horizon - “Sugar Honey Ice & Tea”

Favorite Album of 2019: Issues - Beautiful Oblivion

Favorite Artist of 2019: Waterparks

Favorite Song of the Decade: Angel Du$t - “Toxic Boombox”

Favorite Album of the Decade: Every Time I Die - Low Teens

Favorite Artist of the Decade: Every Time I Die

New Year’s Resolution?: Meet My Chemical Romance

Alec Wing

Most Underrated Artist of 2019: Little Simz

Best Breakout Artist of 2019: Billie Eilish

Best Music Video of 2019: FKA twigs - “Cellophane”

youtube

Biggest Artist Crush of 2019: UMI

Best Concert You Attended in 2019: James Blake / The Strokes / The Who

Favorite 2019 trend: IGOR Wig

What moment of 2019 will you not be forgetting anytime soon?: Drake Getting Booed off stage at Camp Flog Gnaw

Who is poised to be the breakout artist(s) of 2020: Aldous Harding

Favorite Song of 2019: YBN Cordae ft. Anderson .Paak - “RNP”

Favorite Album of 2019: JPEGMAFIA - All My Heroes Are Cornballs

Favorite Artist of 2019: James Blake

Favorite Song of the Decade: Frank Ocean – “Self Control”

Favorite Album of the Decade: Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly

Favorite Artist of the Decade: Kendrick Lamar

New Year’s Resolution?: To build something and be proud of it.

Precious Kato

Most Underrated Artist of 2019: Monsune

Best Breakout Artist of 2019: BENEE

Best Music Video of 2019: Jungle - "Casio"

youtube

Biggest Artist Crush of 2019: Oscar Jerome

Best Concert You Attended in 2019: The 1975 at The Roxy

Favorite 2019 trend: Wearing your jacket draped over your shoulders. It feels badass!

What moment of 2019 will you not be forgetting anytime soon?: Having not one but two Fyre Festival documentaries.

Who is poised to be the breakout artist(s) of 2020: DVNA

Favorite Song of 2019: Friendly Fires - “Offline"

Favorite Album of 2019: Loyle Carner - Not Waving But Drowning

Favorite Artist of 2019: Hablot Brown

Favorite Song of the Decade: HONNE - “Take You High"

Favorite Album of the Decade: Mac Miller - The Divine Feminine

Favorite Artist of the Decade: Tom Misch

New Year’s Resolution?: Learn how to separate hope and naiveté.

Alexa Schoenfeld

Most Underrated Artist of 2019: Hamzaa, Jean Dawson.

Best Breakout Artist of 2019: Baby Rose, slowthai

Best Music Video of 2019: UMI ft. YEEK – “RUNNIN (EP. 3)”

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Biggest Artist Crush of 2019: FKA Twigs, Pell

Best Concert You Attended in 2019: PVRIS at The El REY

Favorite 2019 trend: Millenial app astrology – have you entered the Co-Star universe?

What cultural moment of 2019 will you not be forgetting anytime soon?: No genre boundaries, no gender boundaries

Who is poised to be the breakout artist(s) of 2020: Remi Wolf, Peach Tree Rascals

Favorite Song of 2019: Jacob Collier ft. Daniel Caesar - “Time Alone With You”

Favorite Album of 2019: The Menzingers - Hello Exile

Favorite Artist of 2019: UMI

Favorite Song of the Decade: The 1975 – “SOMEBODY ELSE”

Favorite Album of the Decade: Childish Gambino – “Awaken, My Love!”

Favorite Artist of the Decade: Kanye West

New Year’s Resolution?: EXHALE DEEPER

Brooke Pohle

Most Underrated Artist of 2019: Briston Maroney

Best Breakout Artist of 2019: Summer Walker

Best Music Video of 2019: Jadu Heart - “Purity”

youtube

Biggest Artist Crush of 2019: I would end it all for A$AP Rocky this year and every year

Best Concert You Attended in 2019: Maggie Rogers at the Greek Theatre

Favorite 2019 trend: Reflective 3M jackets

What moment of 2019 will you not be forgetting anytime soon?: The mess of Area 51

Who is poised to be the breakout artist(s) of 2020: Patrick Martin

Favorite Song of 2019: Maggie Rogers - “Light On”

Favorite Album of 2019: Billie Eilish - When we all fall asleep where do we go?

Favorite Artist of 2019: Briston Maroney

Favorite Song of the Decade: Rihanna - “Stay”

Favorite Album of the Decade: Lorde - Pure Heroine

Favorite Artist of the Decade: Rainbow Kitten Surprise

New Year’s Resolution?: Put my mental health first!!!

Jess Chung

Most Underrated Artist of 2019: Rosemary Fairweather

Best Breakout Artist of 2019: BENEE

Best Music Video of 2019: Crumb - “M.R.”

youtube

Biggest Artist Crush of 2019: Pedro Sampaio

Best Concert You Attended in 2019: Dominic Fike

Favorite 2019 trend: fanny packs !

What moment of 2019 will you not be forgetting anytime soon?: the reappearance of Keanu Reeves on social media / memes / movies / games

Who is poised to be the breakout artist(s) of 2020: Clairo

Favorite Song of 2019: Rex Orange County - “10/10”

Favorite Album of 2019: BROCKHAMPTON - Ginger

Favorite Artist of 2019: BROCKHAMPTON

Favorite Song of the Decade: Dominic Fike - “King of Everything”

Favorite Album of the Decade: Tyler, the Creator - Flower Boy

Favorite Artist of the Decade: Tyler, the Creator

New Year’s Resolution?: Do more hikes !

Jessica Thomas

Most Underrated Artist of 2019: Hope Tala

Best Breakout Artist of 2019: Rosalia

Best Music Video of 2019: Ashnikko - “Hi It’s Me”

youtube

Biggest Artist Crush of 2019: ROSALÍA

Best Concert You Attended in 2019: BANKS at the Palladium

Favorite 2019 trend: Not sure if this counts but this dude is my hero… (editor’s note: totally doesn’t but I’ll accept cause same)

What moment of 2019 will you not be forgetting anytime soon?: Juice WRLD’s tragic passing and the effect it will have on generations of creatives to come.

Who is poised to be the breakout artist(s) of 2020: Boy in Space (!!!)

Favorite Song of 2019: YBN Cordae ft. Anderson. Paak - “RNP“

Favorite Album of 2019: Matthew Chaim - The Mathematics of Nature

Favorite Artist of 2019: Lolo Zouaï

Favorite Song of the Decade: BANKS - "Gemini Feed"

Favorite Album of the Decade: SZA - Ctrl

Joey Legittino

Most Underrated Artist of 2019: BabyJake

Best Breakout Artist of 2019: Aries

Best Music Video of 2019: Supa Bwe ft. Qari - “LOOK”

youtube

Biggest Artist Crush of 2019: Kailee Morgue

Best Concert You Attended in 2019: Beck, Cage the Elephant, and Spoon at FivePoint Ampitheatre

Favorite 2019 trend:Cowboy culture hitting the mainstream. Yee Yee!

What moment of 2019 will you not be forgetting anytime soon?: Eating tide pods

Who is poised to be the breakout artist(s) of 2020: Ant Saunders

Favorite Song of 2019: Augustine - “Guts”

Favorite Album of 2019: Cage the Elephant - “Social Cues”

Favorite Artist of 2019: BabyJake

Favorite Song of the Decade: Mac Miller - “Self Care”

Favorite Album of the Decade: Blink-182 - “Neighborhoods”

Favorite Artist of the Decade: Mac Miller forever

New Year’s Resolution?: To not wait until New Years to make new resolutions for myself.

Chase Nathan

Most Underrated Artist of 2019: EARTHGANG

Best Breakout Artist of 2019: JID

Best Music Video of 2019: DaBaby - “BOP”

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Biggest Artist Crush of 2019: Dominic Fike :)

Best Concert You Attended in 2019: slowthai at Flog Gnaw

Favorite 2019 trend: Baggy Pants - no more of that cuffed pant look

What moment of 2019 will you not be forgetting anytime soon?: Being 10th row at Flog Gnaw for Drake

Who is poised to be the breakout artist(s) of 2020: Bakar, Guapdad 4000, Kent Jamz, Grip, KEY!, Mez

Favorite Song of 2019: Tyler, The Creator - “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?”

Favorite Album of 2019: Dreamville - Revenge Of The Dreamers III

Favorite Artist of 2019: Tyler, The Creator

Favorite Song of the Decade: Mac Miller ft. Anderson .Paak - “Dang!”

Favorite Album of the Decade: Anderson .Paak - “Malibu”

Favorite Artist of the Decade: Tie between Anderson .Paak and Pusha T

What Is Your New Year’s Resolution?: Be more positive!

George Schaefer

Most Underrated Artist of 2019: Pi'erre Bourne

Best Breakout Artist of 2019: Baby Keem

Best Music Video of 2019: Octavian ft. Skepta & Michael Phantom - “Bet”

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Biggest Artist Crush of 2019: Summer Walker, Jhene Aiko

Best Concert You Attended in 2019: Baby Keem at The Roxy

Favorite 2019 trend: Igor Wig

What moment of 2019 will you not be forgetting anytime soon?: Watching Drake get boo'ed off stage

Who is poised to be the breakout artist(s) of 2020: Jean Dawson

Favorite Song of 2019: Pi'erre Bourne - “Guillotine”

Favorite Album of 2019: Baby Keem - DIE FOR MY BITCH

Favorite Artist of 2019: Toro y Moi

Favorite Song of the Decade: Kanye West ft. Pusha T - “Runaway”

Favorite Album of the Decade: Frank Ocean - Channel Orange

Favorite Artist of the Decade: Frank Ocean

New Year’s Resolution?: Get a job.

#staff picks #slowthai #billie eilish #aries #keshi #benee #clairo #tyler the creator #kanye west #maggie rogers #dominic fike #channel tres #umi #2019

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kryptsune · 6 years ago

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fandom edition F G H N O R Z go-go-go

F - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom

G - Do you remember your first OTP, if so who was in it

N - Your favorite fanfiction or fanauthor

O - Choose a song at random, which OTP does it remind you of

R - A pairing you ship that you don’t think anyone else ships

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go

F: 🌼Let’s see here... uh... well. A heck of a long time considering I was into this stuff at an early age. I would probably say something like Pokemon for around 15+ years. I fell in love with that little flame tailed salamander. G: 🌼Probbaly Spike and Buffy. I still very much enjoy the show and watch it all the time. I just... SPIKE IS PRECIOUS. I could go on a long rant about how much I love his character and his growth the development and how much Buffy means to him and just, so good. If you have never watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer and you love shows like Supernatural definitely give it a watch. It’s 90′s cornball but it’s... it is truly one of my favorites and has really inspired my own writing over the years.

N: 🌼Oh stars. I am going to have to go with Overgrowth, I am sorry Sanei I love you please don’t kill me ;~; I know that is kind of a cliche answer coming from me but hear me out. You can’t put a price on a good story and it takes quite a bit for me to be invested. Shipping or not it was well written and tore my heart out. When you cry over words you have done something right. May it rest in peace and for crusts, sake leave the creators alone about it. Their decision their work, respect that please.

O: 🌼The irony. So I got lucky on this one but I ended up getting 1000 Times. This is actually a song I have in my RISK playlist and it is so accurate to them it hurts my soul. If you have never heard it before I recommend it. It is a slow song but I will post a link to the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2nCDq-JQdM

R: 🌼This one is very difficult because I do not ship a lot of things honestly. I have my OTPs and that is really it. Let’s see... I am going to go with Grillby and Muffet? I do like them together especially my versions. I remember we made a joke that their ship name would be Blazed Donuts. XD

Z: 🌼Well.... ok let’s go then. I will just go with Buffy stuff because I talked about it earlier. (you thought I would pick Undertale didn’t you). I Adore this show. I don’t care how old it is or how cheesy it is. It was the Supernatural before Supernatural. There are some characters that are to be desired but for the most part, the cast is fantastic. Angel at first I genuinely loved but then he kind of became a masochist with his whole woe is me stuff. Spike, on the other hand, is the crowning jewel. He is funny, sarcastic, vulnerable, but also strong. He is a DEMON, unlike Angel he does not have a soul to speak of but he loves Buffy so much he is willing to go through painful agonizing trials in order to be with her and gain his soul back. ?! I may be a sucker for the bad boy, good girl idea but come on. ;~; My freaking heart and I know what my friends are going to make a passing comment so I am going to beat them to the punch.

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lyfestile · 3 years ago

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I fucking hated Full House. HATED It - you hear me? I hated DJ; I hated Stephanie; I hated those two fucking twin toddler girls; I hated Uncle Joey, Uncle Jesse, Kimmie fucking Gimmler and most of all, I hated that annoying cornball Danny Tanner. As a kid l, I watched a few episodes just to complain about how cheesy and unfunny it was. At 12 years old, I needed better viewing options than that shitty “TGIF” format. I forget who it was, but someone, it might’ve been Arsenio Hall, said that the guy that played Danny Tanner (Bob Saget) was actually a funny and extremely dirty standup. I was curious but I found that kinda hard to believe. Then it happened, I caught a special. Saget was FILTHY. It was awesome. His material was shocking, edgy, gross, offensive and 1000 more honest and funny than what I��d seen on ABC. I’ve been checking for him ever since. Rest In Peace to an artist that found a way to rake in the dough entertaining millions using his “wholesome” persona while still expressing his unique, uncompromising, downright nasty brand of humor whenever he appeared on stage or on film. Rest well motherfucker. #ripbobsaget #thearistocats #fullhouse #tgif https://www.instagram.com/p/CYiRcXVsl8W/?utm_medium=tumblr

#ripbobsaget #thearistocats #fullhouse #tgif

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rayrayluv93 · 6 years ago

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Gangster- Kehlani Killmonger X Reader Yes this song was in the DC Movie “Suicide Squad” but I fucks with this song heavy plus I love me a gangster ass hood niggah.

“Yo E you see ol girl over there giving you the eye?” Q says to Erick while nudging him, Erick looks up and is not impressed. “She ite” he responds taking a swig from his bottle of Hennessey. It was a Saturday night at 803 lounge the two friends just finished a drop and wanted to get a drink; Erick and Q were well known in the city as the top dope boys, nobody dared to fuck with them and if the person was dumb enough to cross them wrong well may they rest in peace. “Man you buggin baby girl fine, if not gunna get that I am” Q says taking a shot and leaving the V.I.P section.Erick scans the club for something to do tonight, nothing caught his eye; just the same old same old. He sucks his teeth and counties to drink, he lays his head back on the couch with his eyes closed he drifts off where it’s just him even the music becomes muffled. His thoughts are interrupted by a tap on his leg, his eyes pop open only to see that it’s just Q. “Yo E this is Candy and Velvet.” Q says while smirking and raising his eyebrow. “ wassup.” Erick said dryly “is he always likes this?” candy says rolling her eyes, “nah he’s ok once you get to know him.” Q said, the two girls take a seat; Candy sat next to Erick and Velvet next To Q. it seemed like Q and Velvet where getting to know each other while Erick and Candy not so much, he was not interested at all to him she was just another chick that was looking for a come up.While Candy was talking away about God Knows what Erick’ eyes wondered around the club again, and then he stopped on you. He sat up, eyes locked on you I mean could you blame him. You had on a little red bodycon dress, a cropped denim jacket so your butt could show and open toe black heels; hair “ Fux locs” going down your back( I love Fux locs yall that’s my fav hairstyle) you didn’t need makeup just a fill in your brows and lip gloss. Erick has never seen someone like you before, you had his full attention without even knowing it; you walked to the bar with your best friend Indigo (Indigo was my best friend until she passed away so most likely you’ll see her name as the readers best friend). “Girl it packed in here tonight!” indigo says, “Its ite.” You respond, you just broke up with ya lame ass ex Monte and Indigo being the best person suggested going out and having fun.“Excuse me bartender can I have two shots of Hennessey please” She says. “Look (Y/N) I know you was in love and all but life is too short to be worrying about lame ass dudes, so what we bout to do is drink and turn the fuck upppp!” she said holding the two shots. “You right, here’s to a good ass night” you both cheers and take your shots. “CASH MONEY TAKIN OVER THE 99’S & 00S’S”. “Sis it’s our shit!” Indigo shouts, you had two more shots before you knew it you were throwing that fat ass back to the beat. “Aye get that shit!” Indigo cheers you on. Erick was watching you licking his lips and wondering if you could do that on his dick, then you hear from the speakers “SAID LIL BITCH YOU CANT FUCK WITH ME IF YOU WANTED TOO!” “Aye!!” you and Indigo say together dancing and rapping the lyrics you both turn into Cardi B.Erick still watching you, he likes the way you having fun with your friend and just living life. “Ummm excuse me.” His thoughts are interrupted by Candy, “oh my bad.” Erick said with not much sincerity in his voice. Candy sucks her teeth and walks over to her friend who is in Q’s lap making out, “Yo ya mans is a cornball we out!” she says to Q, Erick hears her “Well I can be a corn ball but my skin on my hands matches my face!” he says smirking showing off his gold slug. Candy grabs Velvet by the wrist and the two woman leave. “Damn man I was so close to fuckin tonight!” “Yo fuck all that you see baby girl in the red.” He says leaning forward and licking his lips, “oh yeah she bad, I bet you can’t get that.” Q said laughing. “You on my niggah.” Erick said slapping Q’s hand and taking a big gulp of his bottle. He makes his way over towards you, at this point you turn into Meek Mills; you and Indigo are rapping the beginning of “Dreams and Nightmares”. That just turned Erick on even more a pretty girl that fucks with trap music he was plotting on what to wear to yall wedding.Before he could get to you some skin dark skin dude was in your face and did not look happy, it was Monte “ what are you doing here Yo?” say in disgust Erick stops in his tracks “ look Yo I told you it wasn’t what it looked like” he said. “Oh so I just thought I walked in on you fuckin some hoe in my bed?!” you yell. Indigo takes your hand to go outside walking right pass Erick, Monte follows you outside, “ look Yo I love you and this shouldn’t break us up!” he yells “ negro I don’t know who you think you yelling at!” indigo says standing in front of you. “No one’s talking to you Yo, this between me and my girl!” he shouts at indigo. “I’m not ya girl niggah that bitch you fucking is ya new girl go bother her!” you yell Erick is now standing in the entrance of the club watching, you go to walk away and he grabs your arm; “ Get the fuck off me Monte!” you yell “Yo what the fuck!” Indigo yells. Before you knew Erick was over to you, you look at him then back at Monte.“Can I help you Niggah?” Monte said gridding his crooked ass teeth, “nah you can’t help me but you can help yourself by letting this beautiful young woman go.” Erick said calmly “Niggah fuck you!” Monte said, “Wrong answer.” Erick said smirking before anyone knew it Erick had punched Monte in the face sending him falling to the ground, Monte got up and his boys rushed over then Erick was joined by Q, Q lifted up his shirt showing a gun, “ Do we have an issue gentlemen?” Q asked. Monte’s friends helped him up, “nah we don’t have an issue” Monte says in a low voice, he and his friends walk away.“You didn’t have to do that, but thank you.” You say, “Nah boys like that sometimes need to get they ass beat” Erick says “well thanks again, I’m (Y/N) and this is Indigo.” You say shyly “yooooo my guy I fucks with you heavy!” Indigo yells while dapping Erick’s hand. You all laugh then you hear cop cars, “oh shit! Sis we gotta go!” Indigo says while grabbing you by your wrist “I’m Erick!” he yells after you.“Yo E we gotta dip!” Q yells and you both your separate or do Yo…

#erik killmonger #black panther #fanfic #reader

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sinceileftyoublog · 7 years ago

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Top 60 Albums of 2017

You’ll see the same narrative everywhere: 2017 sucked, so we found solace in incredible music. That narrative is true and vital, but not the one I’m here to wax about today. This year, I made a conscious effort to dig deeper. Instead of listening to more albums, I decided to listen more to the albums I did discover. At SILY, we reviewed well over 100 records that came out in 2017--mostly original LPs, but some EPs, live albums, compilations, and reissues as well. Most importantly, we listened to each record with open ears--even the bad ones--discovering something new upon repeat listens.

With the help of contributors Daniel Palella and Lauren Lederman, here are our top 60 albums of 2017.

60. Katie Ellen - Cowgirl Blues (Lauren Records)

On Katie Ellen's Bandcamp page for Cowgirl Blues, there's a manifesto that follows the track list, reading, in part:

I will be deliberate and unafraid, discerning and kind. I will not live under the umbrella of shame. I will not accept responsibility for your feelings or your bullshit. I will say no and be taken seriously.

Rising from the ashes of a breakup and the disbandment of her previous band Chumped, Anika Pyle crafted a record that’s not just about endings. To categorize it that way, as a breakup album, would be reductive. It’s an unapologetic statement for existing on your own terms, for embracing what you feel even if it’s messy. It’s one of Pyle’s strengths as a songwriter: taking something so personal and making it feel universal.

At just shy of 30 minutes, Cowgirl Blues is compact and efficient, capturing an array of emotion that touches on just about everything from the quiet moments of desire in “Drawing Room”, to the institution of marriage (see “Lucy Stone” and “Proposal”), to accepting the difficulty of moving on. Pyle’s lyrics recognize those feelings and let them exist without belittling them, without apology. It’s an album about independence and navigating a newfound world in exactly the way you want. - Lauren Lederman

59. Spencer Radcliffe & Everyone Else - Enjoy The Great Outdoors (Run For Cover)

Having been long obsessed with Spencer Radcliffe’s Blithe Field project, I had come to know him as a warm figure, one whose careful and gentle approach to sound-making provided a sort of unrivaled comfort. Upon discovering his songwriting project as Spencer Radcliffe, these expectations were met even outside of his electronic tinkering—his deep but assuring voice complements a loose and sarcastic tone to his songs. The breezy world of Enjoy The Great Outdoors, his first release with a full band, takes all of these elements and ups the musicianship while still maintaining the wit and charm of all of his past efforts. Speaking so nonchalantly about the promise of life after death on “Long Con”, about love on “Trust”, there is always a sense of humor underlying his sometimes tragic poetry. With that is a shade of hope and unbridled confidence too, though, a smirk cutting through rough times: “O’er the fields we go / We bring lightning, we melt snow,” he sings on “Wrong Turn”. Fantastic songwriting and a unmistakable bond with his band makes for a unique and special record. - Daniel Palella

58. Felicia Atkinson - HAND IN HAND (Shelter Press)

French experimental artist Felicia Atkinson creates a jarring but cathartic soundscape on HAND IN HAND, a record which keeps its extreme frequencies close and intimate—from crackling buzz to soft-spoken voice. The record’s most calming and disorienting qualities both serve to envelop the listener in a visceral experience, where all of its sounds feel within arm’s reach. ASMR sensibilities and a complex world of layered poetry makes for one of the most interesting experimental records of the year. - DP

57. The World is a Beautiful Place & I am No Longer Afraid to Die - Always Foreign (Epitaph)

The world feels a little upside down these days. It's easy to feel that the outlook is bleak, but it's in those moments where I turn to particular bands for something like a glimmer of hope. The World is a Beautiful Place & I am No Longer Afraid to Die is one of those bands for me, and Always Foreign captures that same positive momentum even at its most biting.

Whether you hear "Faker" about the band's lineup change in the time between albums or as a statement about our current commander-in-chief, when the guitars pick up and vocal shift to, "Are we awake yet?", you're filled with a feeling that villains can be vanquished, that there's got to be a way forward. There's a stream of anger throughout the album, and rightfully so, but it never leaves listeners alone to simply seethe or wallow.

With the release of Always Foreign's first single, the band reminded us that they can write a tight pop song ("Dillon and Her Sons"), but it's "Marine Tigers", the album’s seven-minute epic, that stands out. The sprawling track builds and builds, tackling the xenophobia that vocalist Dave Bello's father experienced as a young man and that truly hasn't disappeared. "We're here / I told you so," a gentle, almost ghostly chorus of voices lulls mid-song before Bello declares, "Please remember as a person / It's the land that's always foreign". Then, the song explodes into a cacophony of horns, creating an almost foreboding moment. It feels like a rallying cry. It's the kind of line that demands to be shouted in a dark venue or in the streets, with your community, and that's something we need right now. - LL

56. Amine - Good For You (CLBN)

It’s been a long year, hasn’t it? January feels like a lifetime ago, and the rollercoaster of this country’s current political state doesn’t seem to be anywhere near stopping. So, take a break and listen to Aminé’s Good For You. The Portland rapper exudes a kind of joy and self-aware silliness that feels refreshing, an antidote to the chaos everywhere else. Whether turning up the flirting with his breakout hit “Caroline” or “Spice Girl” (for which, yes, he did need approval from each of the actual Spice Girls) or poking fun at the way no one can pronounce his name in the introduction to the Girlpool-assisted “Hero”, Aminé’s debut exudes the sunniness of his signature color yellow. But it’s not all sunshine all the time. Aminé digs a little deeper, balancing that light joy with a keen awareness and introspection (“Sundays” and “Beach Boy”).

If you need another example, take his performance of “Caroline” this November on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. With a massive platform before him, decked out in a bright yellow leather jacket, Aminé effortlessly combines his upbeat breakout hit with a brief yet critical verse directed to the current administration. It’s that ability to pivot between those two moments that make Aminé and Good For You stand out so brightly. - LL

55. Joseph Shabason - Aytche (Western Vinyl)

“An album about physical and mental decay and memory loss risks being emotionally manipulative. But Joseph Shabason’s debut album Aytche, a collection of instrumental experimental saxophone-based tracks with a malleable sonic palette, actually puts you in the place of the haze. Shabason, who has contributed his playing to albums by The War on Drugs and, more notably, Destroyer (you have him to thank for that cornball saxophone playing on Kaputt), asserts himself as a player in the saxophone world like Colin Stetson–pushing the instrument not necessarily to its limits but exploring a side of it jazz musicians don’t often explore: Its potential for deep textures.”

Read the rest of our review here and our interview with Shabason here.

54. Protomartyr - Relatives in Descent (Domino)

“On Relatives in Descent, Casey finds a newfound sense of purpose, simultaneously sardonically railing on the evildoers and hypocrites while rising and resisting. Just as notable is the guitar playing of Greg Ahee; on many of these new songs, he finds a way to alternate between gorgeous, higher pitches and pummeling riffing. Drummer Alex Leonard is equally steady and chaotic. In essence, the band has learned how to really lift you up and knock you down.”

Read the rest of our review here.

53. John Moreland - Big Bad Luv (4AD)

“On 2015′s great High on Tulsa Heat and now on Big Bad Luv, Moreland describes suffering from old wounds in old towns and the emotional abysses that follow them. His lyrics hit hard, his voice pure gravel but never sounding too much like his mouth is full of coins. What differentiates the new material from the old is his band. With Aaron Boehler on bass, Paddy Ryan on drums, Jared Tyler on dobro, Tulsa Heat engineer John Calvin Abney on guitars and keyboards, and Lucero’s Rick Steff on keyboards, Moreland has the perfect backers for his tales of neon signs and nooses, relics of what once was and the dire results that come from them.”

Read the rest of our review here.

52. Waxahatchee - Out in the Storm (Merge)

“By the end of the album, Crutchfield has made peace with herself and her situation. On closer “Fade”, she sings, “I feel amazing today / You interrupt, you yell in my face / But you finally hear me say / That I’ll walk, I’m walking away.” A soft acoustic track, despite the lyrics, it’s not an extroverted kiss-off but reflective and ultimately empowering. There are hints of such positiveness sprinkled throughout Out in the Storm, mostly in the form of her familial and musical safety net. Whether it’s her personal or professional relationship with her sister Allison (she sweetly sings “I see myself through my sister’s eyes” on “Sparks Fly”), who plays keyboards and percussion on the album, or relying on a chorus to back her up on “Hear You”, Crutchfield is never really alone. But she is the star of the show, and that she ultimately becomes the director of her own real-life show makes the payoff of the album that much sweeter in the end.”

Read the full review here.

51. Bitchin Bajas - Bajas Fresh (Drag City)

“For their first non-collaborative effort in three years, Chicago experimental trio Bitchin Bajas (Cooper Crain, Rob Frye, Dan Quinlivan) have changed things up a bit. Added to their usual lineup of synthesizer, guitar, saxophone, and flute are, more concretely, percussion and more horns, and, more broadly, a newfound willingness to explore. Bajas Fresh is the band’s best record yet for this very reason: It’s varied enough to stand out, similar enough to form a logical progression from past work.”

Read the rest of our review here.

50. Tinariwen - Elwan (Anti-)

“Of course, the instrumentation on Elwan is top-notch. In general, the album starts out borderline festive and becomes more somber as it goes on. “Sastanàqqàm” is an ode to friends and loved ones, its raw, imperfect riffs and funk strut exemplifying its celebratory nature. Recorded at Joshua Tree and in Morocco, Elwan is in general full of lively percussion and back beats in the background, its production only enhancing the rich layers of the music.”

Read the full review here.

49. Jens Lekman - Life Will See You Now (Secretly Canadian)

“The truth is, after listening to Life Will See You Now, I’m not sure what I’ve heard, either. The album is chock full of songs about paranoia and anxiety that also have a real sense of humor, all backed by confidently cheesy, funky, and tropical appropriations of disco, bossa nova, and jazz–on one song, he literally samples Charles Mingus. On paper, none of it should work, but it does because Lekman is too smart to completely over saturate himself. Plus, who else would name a song “Hotwire The Ferris Wheel”?”

Read the rest of the review here.

48. Drake - More Life (Young Money)

After the grandiose slog of Views From The 6—an album whose scope and breadth of ideas made for a fine but exhausting album—More Life was a great sigh of relief for Drake. Above all else, the supposed playlist shows Drake having fun again. In a year dominated by “Mask Off,” one flute-centric rap song went criminally underplayed: The first time I heard “Portland”, with its infectiously dumb recorder beat that totally understates the raucous interplay about to ensue from Drake, Quavo, and Travis Scott, I absolutely lost it. It’s one of his greatest tracks to date and is just a shining of example of him letting loose. Channeling his usual introspective melodrama with splashes of South African house and grime and some amazing features, More Life is easily one of Drake’s most inspired efforts to date. - DP

47. The National - Sleep Well Beast (4AD)

“The National’s new album Sleep Well Beast is not a reductive study of nature versus nurture. Instead, the very fact that lead singer Matt Berninger is explicitly considering his mortality is new, and we’re there, as usual, for his many internal monologues. Really, for a band notorious for a dour sound, The National’s songs–especially on 2013′s Trouble Will Find Me–found the light in the struggle for upward mobility. Well, The National have made it, and what now? Berninger’s thinking about the day he dies. Donald Trump is president, and it’s all a recipe for disaster.”

Read the rest of the review here.

46. Alex Lahey - I Love You Like A Brother (Dead Oceans)

“Expanding on the upbeat songwriting from her EP B-Grade University, Alex Lahey’s debut album, I Love You Like a Brother, shows a young musician with a masterful grasp of infectious hooks and lyrics that embrace an every-person kind of storytelling you might expect from more veteran songwriters. One of the most exciting aspects of Lahey’s craft is her ability to take those seemingly simple moments in relationships – the elation, the excitement, the awkwardness and anxiety – and fashion them into seemingly effortless rock and roll.”

Read the rest of the review here.

45. The XX - I See You (Young Turks)

“But more impressive on I See You is the singing of Madley Croft and Sim. Whereas before the two seemingly attempted to sound like each other, on I See You, they come into their own. They yearn instead of whisper. Madley Croft attempts a higher vocal register on “Lips”, holding her own against the high-pitched guitar and sample of David Lang’s “Just (After Song of Songs)”. She’s also just as strong as the surf guitar tones, subdued harmonic vocal samples, and militaristic drums on “Brave For You”. And closer “Test Me”, which begins with Madley Croft’s one-syllable-at-a-time delivery, has Sim joining in on the final three syllables, providing the ultimate contrast to the first time you heard the band.”

Read the full review here.

44. Mike Cooper - Raft (Room40)

Mike Cooper’s latest release for the Room40 label pits his laid back lap steel improvisations against a dreamy backdrop of warm synthesizers and sporadic glitched sounds. Similarly to Fennesz’ Endless Summer, Cooper wonderfully weaves the summery analog in with the spastic digital, creating a world all his own. The image of the raft—all at once adventurous, creaky, and impractical—is perfectly captured on these sonic experiments. Though Raft seems difficult and odd on the surface, repeat listens reveal its easy-going nature. Even its harshest glitches and most aimless moments feel like necessary wrong turns in this enthralling exploration. - DP

43. Ex Eye - Ex Eye (Relapse)

“On Ex Eye, every song besides the opener is a journey. Third track “Anaitis Hymnal; The Arkose Disc” starts out with drones and then introduces a deep kick drum, pulsating saxophone, and subtle finger-picked guitars. The blast beats and wilder saxophone again come in later, sounding at first like a battle but retreating to a slow march. The final track, “Form Constant; The Grid”, meanwhile, starts with minor guitar notes and familiar saxophone. Here, though, it’s Ismaily’s gorgeous synth textures that stand out. (They wouldn’t sound out of bounds on a Pink Floyd album.) The beats and guitars start out akin to slowcore and become more sludgy as the song goes on. It’s less ambient than other tracks, everything coming to a head at the end. Ismaily’s upward synth melodies sound like vocals even more than Stetson’s actual vocal intonations into his saxophone. It’s an instrumental masterpiece that ends an album that truly transcends genre, let alone side project novelty.”

Read the full review here.

42. Jake Xerxes Fussell - What In The Natural World (Paradise of Bachelors)

“Jake Xerxes Fussell takes old songs and makes them very much his own. Reading their lyrics alone, they look like the classics or standards they are. But listening to them, you’d think these songs were originals. On his new album What In The Natural World, as with his self-titled debut, with his voice, arrangements, and playing, Fussell sells songs as portraits of modern life even if they go back a hundred years. His voice is wonderfully unforced, bringing the outsider art of the album–from the Roger Brown painting on the cover to the songs themselves–inside your head and heart.”

Read the rest of the review here and our interview with Fussell here.

41. Chicano Batman - Freedom Is Free (ATO)

“On the heels of breaking into the mainstream, L.A.-based Latin soul band Chicano Batman have given us their best offering to date. Immaculately produced by Leon Michels, Freedom is Free is a big album in every sense, from personnel to ideas. Each track is composed and played with care and precision, featuring great work on everything from the guitar to the synthesizer to the organ. Lyrically, it sees lead singer Bardo Martinez at once hopeful and full of despair and existential dread. In other words, it’s life in a nutshell.”

Read the rest of the review here.

40. Bibio - Phantom Brickworks (Warp)

“Haunting” as a word to describe music is already a cliché, and perhaps even more cheap as an attempt to describe Phantom Brickworks, a record built on mysterious reverb and long-form spacial ambience. It’s also an apt word, though—every note on Phantom Brickworks feels like the reverie of a sound from a decaying space. Decay may be the main feeling evoked by this effort. Every piece builds slowly and patiently on ideas, always seeming to plod curiously through a long abandoned space. There are no jarring discoveries or sudden turns. The world of Phantom Brickworks is slow and methodical, at times joyful or dull, but always mystifying and beautiful in its haze. - DP

39. Myrkur - Mareridt (Relapse)

“But the most affecting track on Mareridt is “Crown”, closer to a Lana Del Rey song than black metal, adorned with layered vocals and gorgeous harmonies. There’s one line in particular that seems to address Myrkur’s sexist detractors head on, in which she rhymes “Am I adored?” with “Am I a whore?” Here, she not only stares right into the eyes of the outwardly sexist, but uses “whore” as a synecdoche of all things a woman isn’t supposed to be. In other words, she outlines the limitations put on and expectations of a woman in metal, a woman in music, and a woman in general. The supposed dichotomy–the adored versus the whore–underlies the attitudes of the guy I heard at a Myrkur show surprised she was “not that bad,” as if he couldn’t believe he was hearing such otherworldly and evil screams from a woman. On Mareridt, Myrkur is not trying to prove anything. In battling sexism, and in battling her nightmares, she simply shows she can do it all, and there’s not much more powerful than that.”

Read the full review here.

38. Demen - Nektyr (Kranky)

“But the two best tracks on Nektyr wow you. “Ambur” features bowl-like sounds in front of a drum beat, Orm’s singing guiding you through the lead-out. And then there’s “Morgon”. It’s a nine-minute epic, starting out with beautiful drones and introducing drums a minute and a half in, giving and taking these elements until you can barely hear the hi hats around the noise. Ultimately, again, piano is in the forefront, Orm’s formless yet steady voice providing stability and breathtaking technical mastery. It’s compositions like this that make Nektyr one of the most exciting experimental releases and best debut albums in recent memory.”

Read the full review here.

37. Jefre Cantu-Ledesma - On the Echoing Green (Mexican Summer)

Jefre Cantu-Ledesma’s latest efforts have seen him frequently lumped in with shoegaze, creating massive, screeching walls of beautiful density. On his last EP, In Summer, he even admits to a direct influence from Cocteau Twins. On the Echoing Green takes these dreamy tropes and doubles down. After the gorgeous and curious intro of “In a Copse”, “A Song of Summer” builds upon synthesizers that literally feel like a summer breeze, layering warbling guitars and actual vocals from Argentinian artist Sobrenadar to create his dreamiest composition to date. His less guarded approach to collaboration has allowed him to craft a brilliantly layered and joyous record without betraying his normal sonic signatures—a blend of sounds so brilliantly in the red that they blend together in cacophony and seamlessly, a backbone of drum-machine tempos and splashes of recordings and otherworldly sounds that position Cantu-Ledesma as one of today’s most interesting sound artists. - DP

36. Algiers - The Underside of Power (Matador)

“The essential thesis of The Underside of Power–and of progressive movements throughout history–you can find in the title track. “I’ve seen the underside of power,” Fisher sings. “It’s just a game that can’t go on.” Resistance comes in many forms. Closing track “The Cycle/The Spiral: Time To Go Down Slowly” is a fast jazz piano number with gospel and blues call and response, referencing a musical genres steeped in stunning black optimism despite all odds, and referencing an era when black culture began to flourish in the public eye despite oppression. “I cried out for power,” Fisher sings. “Someday I will find it.” Algiers makes you, too, believe.”

Read the full review here.

35. Bell Witch - Mirror Reaper (Profound Lore)

“While you may be able to pick apart certain segments of Mirror Reaper–for instance, the quiet around the 17-minute mark could be an interlude–it’s clearly meant to be heard as a continuous piece, one that goes by in a blur. The interplay between conflicting elements, like chanting and growling, or uplifting bass and repeated bass notes that test your patience, makes the whole experience blend together. Shreibman’s organ at the end is the most funereal the album gets, really shining with emotive bass and drums laden with distortion. Of course, there are the moments with Guerra’s and Moggridge’s vocals, but the very fact that Mirror Reaper, a doom metal album through and through, ends with singing, shows how boundary pushing it is.”

Read the full review here. (and look out for a profile of Bell Witch in early 2018!)

34. Converge - The Dusk In Us (Epitaph)

“Converge captures it well on “I Can Tell You About Pain” as well, its odd time signatures reflecting the constant hypocrisy of the song itself: Despite the title, the song’s main refrain is “You don’t know what my pain feels like,” rendering the initial act of sharing fruitless, consistent with the old adage that the definition of insanity is doing something over and over and expecting the same result. Indeed, many times throughout The Dusk In Us, Bannon feels crazy. But that, too, he overcomes. His best metaphor is in Vasili Arkhipov, the Soviet Navy officer whose lone vote is credited with preventing a nuclear strike. It’s important, Bannon argues, to abide by morals even in trying times.”

Read the rest of the review here.

33. Allison Crutchfield - Tourist In This Town (Merge)

“Allison Crutchfield’s Tourist In This Town is, in her own words, a record about all types of change. What better way to encapsulate that theme musically than to fully realize a change in sound? With the help of synthesizer master Jeff Zeigler, Crutchfield abandons the raw rock for a more curatorial and experimentally electronic approach. Combined with her always clever lyrics, it makes her proper solo debut a success.”

Read the rest of the review here.

32. Nadia Reid - Preservation (Basin Rock)

“What’s also amazing about Preservation is that the combination of the instrumentation and the production from Ben Edwards makes it one of the best albums of the year. Reid’s layered vocals perfectly complement the fuzzed out guitars on “The Arrow & the Aim”, while “Right On Time” is perhaps the catchiest song she’s ever recorded, its post-punk guitar riff and upbeat drums making it an effective follower to the bare “Hanson St Part 2 (A River)”. And her sub-genre jumping is also impressive. She does straightforward rock (“The Way It Goes”), slow-burning country (“Ain’t Got You”), and even slowcore (“Te Aro”). The album establishes Reid as one of the biggest–and perhaps most underappreciated–singer-songwriter talents in recent memory.”

Read the full review here and our interview with Reid here.

31. Kelela - Take Me Apart (Warp)

Take Me Apart is about the process behind Kelela breaking up with one lover and then going into another relationship. We’ve all been there. Where we haven’t been is where Kelela’s at as an artist. Transitioning from mixtape/EP territory into album territory mirrors her growth as a person detailed over the course of the album. After establishing herself four years ago with Cut 4 Me, she’s finally delivered a truly fully formed statement. Take Me Apart is R&B with somehow tasteful inclusions of some of the least subtle production genres of the past decade--dubstep and trap. That’s due to the constantly burbling dark synth and bass undertone of songs like “Frontline” and “Turn To Dust”, plus the Janet-inspired R&B of “Waitin”. But it’s also a testament to Kelela’s abilities as an honest and personal songwriter and lyricist. The title track, with star production from the likes of Arca and Arield Rechtshaid, is still Kelela’s show, a tale of diving in deep with an ex, rekindling a flame where the sex is good but you know it’s bad for you. She’s empathetic on “Onanon”, singing from both her and her partner’s point of view, and on “Better”, the “Call Your Girlfriend” of 2017, becoming platonic friends with her ex. Most importantly, though, Take Me Apart is about black and female self-love that persists throughout all of Kelela’s trials and tribulations. She demands respect and communication on the sparkling “LMK”, and on closer “Altadena”, she sings, “There’s a place for everyone / Let me remind you.” “Universal” is a word that gets tossed around a lot, but it feels appropriate here. - Jordan Mainzer

30. Charly Bliss - Guppy (Barsuk)

“Overall, despite what it may initially sound like, Charly Bliss’ Guppy is not a light album. What becomes most important on it is that Hendricks, for the most part, writes deceivingly complex lyrics about what she knows, and as it turns out, what a lot of us, independent of background, know, too.”

Read the full review here and our interview with Charly Bliss here.

29. Phoebe Bridgers - Stranger in the Alps (Dead Oceans)

The debut from Phoebe Bridgers, Stranger in the Alps, combines a culturally aware sense of time and place with devastating personal emotional experiences. From the start, she sets the scene: Lemmy and Bowie have died, “How Soon Is Now?” plays as trash is burning. But it’s all background for her story and subsequent empathetic looks at depression and anxiety. “I have emotional motion sickness,” Bridgers sings on one of the album’s standout tracks. It’s an apt description of trauma-related depression, but over an almost upbeat funk strut, it becomes an anthem for the times: We can find solace in each other. “I have a friend I call / When I’ve bored myself to tears / And we talk until we think we might just kill ourselves / But then we laugh until it disappears,” Bridgers sings on “Funeral”. Sure, Stranger in the Alps is not for the faint of heart--at one point, Bridgers compares herself to Jeffrey Dahmer--but it’s also got a sense of humor. The title comes from the censored version of a famous crude line in The Big Lebowski, while another standout track, “Demi Moore”, takes its name from a misheard lyric. Like all of us, Bridgers is fascinated with pop culture and what it says about humanity, but mostly, she takes a look deep into her own soul from the perspective of a humanist and a realist. - JM

28. LCD Soundsystem - American Dream (Columbia)

“To title an album American Dream in 2017 is cultural suicide, especially when you’re a band inexorably linked to Brooklyn elitism. Yet, LCD Soundsystem, having gained wisdom (yes, and notoriety) from breaking up with a bang and reuniting a mere 5 years later, pull it off. Just as the musical and sociopolitical landscape have changed, so, of course, have the people in the band, most notably leader James Murphy, who divorced around the band’s initial breakup and is now a father. The previous ideas, musical and thematic, LCD Soundsystem has explored–experiencing regret, not selling out, staying cool–are present on American Dream. But references to old songs aren’t just a wink and a nudge. They actually manage to contextualize the new and old songs in a linear narrative, an amazing feat for any band, let alone one releasing their comeback album.”

Read the rest of the review here.

27. Jay Som - Everybody Works (Polyvinyl)

The phrase “bedroom pop” always conjures something of a stock photo in my mind: The artist atop an unmade bed in a bedroom that's dark with the shades drawn, surrounded by the tools necessary to craft intimate, emotional songs. Jay Som’s Melina Duterte crafts “bedroom pop” with an admirable DIY ethic, but the care and craft in each song on Everybody Works is what makes this album stand out among a wealth of great albums this year. Writing every lyric, playing each instrument, and producing the album’s 10 eclectic tracks, Duterte is a seemingly unstoppable force.

Whether exploding the intimacy of the album’s shimmery opener of “Lipstick Stains”, the funky guitar solo on “One More Time, Please”, or the fact that “Baybee” demands you dance (which the crowd happily did at Jay Som’s Chicago show this past March), the impeccable songwriting of Everybody Works is on full display. “I’ll be right on time,” Duterte repeats on the album’s closer, “For Light”, and her timing couldn’t be more perfect. - LL

26. Young Thug - BEAUTIFUL THUGGER GIRLS (Atlantic)

Prolific releasing, mumbling, embracing gender fluidity: It always seems like Young Thug is ahead of the game, spearheading trends in hip hop. BEAUTIFUL THUGGER GIRLS, his latest “commercial mixtape,” has been hailed as “country trap,” the acoustic guitars on songs like “Family Don’t Matter” and “For Y’all” and the now-infamous Bright Eyes interpolation on “Me Or Us” giving Thug ample opportunity to rise above the beats and instrumentation for a singing album. Was this to be the next trend? Well, while acoustic elements are present on BEAUTIFUL THUGGER GIRLS, framing the entire release in any of the aforementioned ways takes away from its raw honesty. It reads like a relationship in real time, ups and downs with Thug’s (now ex-) fiancee and kids leaking into his life as a star and occasional target. “I’m about to buy you your own ride / I don’t need you involved in homicides,” he sings on “Tomorrow Til Infinity”. (He wants to see his family tomorrow, which means he’ll have to see tomorrow). More blunt, he declares, “I pray my daughter never ever experience no train” (gang rape) on “Daddy’s Birthday”. But apart from his promises and more-than-occasional braggadocio, he’s also confessional. He admits to affairs on “Relationship”, something that would eventually lead to his very public breakup with his ex-fiance. Even in hindsight, however, what would eventually become of Thug’s relationship doesn’t take away from BEAUTIFUL THUGGER GIRLS, a document of a time and a place in his life. - JM

25. Fever Ray - Plunge (Mute)

Karin Dreijer’s second album as Fever Ray is somewhat of a coming out party--as a single woman and as a queer person--but it’s notable for its simultaneous frank sexual politics and banging beats. Like her previous music as both Fever Ray and half of the late, great The Knife, Plunge imagines the dance floor as a place without judgement where the blurry lines of gender and sexuality fade into non-existence. But Plunge is the first Dreijer record to tackle the system head on. “This Country” sees Dreijer present what she wants with both directness and double meanings: “Free abortions and clean water / Destroy nuclear / Destroy boring.” Later, she delivers an instant classic line: “This country makes it hard to fuck.” Ostensibly from the perspective of both policy and rigid social norms, Dreijer knows that declaration is the first step towards the eventual destruction. “You’re not curious / I don’t think you should hang with us,” she sings on opener “Wanna Sip”, a line that out of context seems exclusive but is really more about power dynamics and solidarity with the non-conforming. Sexual power play is perhaps the album’s main theme--“First I take you then you take me,” she offers on “To The Moon And Back”--but it’s the pride and confidence with which Dreijer delivers like “I want to run my fingers up your pussy” (only three lines later) that makes Plunge astoundingly radical. - JM

24. Tyler, The Creator - Flower Boy (Columbia)

The same kid who was once saying vile, homophobic things both in public and in his songs is now rapping about individuality and perhaps even coming out of the closet. So went the hype behind Flower Boy, Tyler, The Creator’s second major-label album. But the reason it’s his best to date isn’t so much the context, or even the usual washy synth-based Neptunes-inspired production. It’s that Tyler has finally learned how to rap about things we all face, like loneliness and depression, without being destructive towards others or himself. That’s what Frank Ocean-featuring standout “911/Mr. Lonely” is about, yes, but he shares it from the get-go on “Foreword”: “I was never into the beaches and all the sands / See, I was in the woods with flowers, rainbows and posies.” He finds his way out through his individuality. “Tell these black kids they could be who they are / Dye your hair blue, shit, I'll do it too,” he says on “Where This Flower Blooms”. His singing has improved to an unrecognizable level, as on sweet love song “See You Again”, purportedly originally written for Zayn. But his level of inclusion shines through most on “November”, a song that uses the month as a metaphor for the best time of ones life, giving time for his peers--Syd, Kilo Kish, Taco, Jasper Dolphin, and even manager Christian Clancy, who he questions throughout the album--to share their “November,” too. The record ends with a funky, soulful, sparkly instrumental, putting Tyler’s amazingly multi-faceted growth on display. - JM

23. Paramore - After Laughter (Atlantic)

If you’ve followed Paramore throughout their career, you’ve seen their constant evolution, whether through their lyrics, their sound, or their lineup changes. But with After Laughter's core group of Hayley Williams, Taylor York, and the return of Zac Farro, the band takes a poppier turn which complements the not-so-sunny lyrics. The opening to “Hard Times” feels like light years away from the pop-punk of the band’s first album. Coated in an 80’s pop sheen with a catchy-as-hell marimba, you might be surprised to hear that the opening lines don’t mirror that same sunniness: “All that I want is to wake up fine.” Williams has been through a lot in the time leading up to After Laughter, grappling with depression and learning how to navigate through it. The juxtaposition of the album's biting song titles ("Fake Happy", "Idle Worship") and that infectious, danceable sound is a perfect depiction of the album's title: that almost lonely moment after a laugh subsides. But it doesn't always have to be so lonely; sometimes, you just need a beat to move to and an anthem to sing, two things Paramore are experts at creating. If this is the band's new direction, it's an exciting indication of what Paramore, and this particular lineup, is capable of. - LL

22. Moses Sumney - Aromanticism (Jagjaguwar)

Aromanticism is one of the best sung, written, and played albums of 2017, from the layered, harmonized vocals of its opener and closer, lovely strumming of “Indulge Me”, finger-picked guitars of “Don’t Bother” and “Lonely World”, and analysis of modern notions of love as oppressively capitalist and heteronormative. Wait, what? Indeed, the debut album from Moses Sumney is the most personal, political, romantic anti-love album you could find, as a result of its honesty. Sumney’s ability to simultaneously paint visceral metaphors--a swollen, hungry belly representing his heart on “Plastic” stands out--while crushing your soul with simple words of worries is mesmerizing. “Am I vital / If my heart is idle? / Am I doomed,” he croons on “Doomed”. For Sumney, researching and making Aromanticism provided not necessarily the answer, but a sense of acceptance - JM

21. Sheer Mag - Need To Feel Your Love (Wilsuns RC)

“With their full-length debut album Need To Feel Your Love, Philadelpha’s Sheer Mag have made their most self-consciously 70′s-inspired music yet. Lead singer Tina Halladay’s Janis Joplin-meets-Joan Jett vocals rise above Thin Lizzy guitar riffs to make songs that both kick your ass and make you want to kick some ass. But Need To Feel Your Love is presented in the context of today’s political climate, where the need for self-care and care of others is just as if not more important than actively participating in inclusive politics. On the record, Halladay sings about good and bad relationships, sexual desire, and comfort just as much as she does rioting in the streets. Still, since every song has the same or similar instrumental base, the most interesting and gutsy tracks juxtapose heavy sounds that are conservative by today’s musical standards, with radical politics.”

Read the rest of the review here.

20. Gas - Narkopop (Kompakt)

Having not released music for nearly two decades under the Gas moniker, there was understandable speculation as to Wolfgang Voigt’s direction. Given Voigt’s distinct trademark formula for this project, it’s always astounding how he manages to keep his compositions within the scope of his specific brand of ambient techno but still cover new ground. Narkopop feels right at home with his previous work, now treading through somewhat darker territory. Though moments of his previous work, namely on Zauberberg, are slightly more sinister in tone, there is a malaise on Narkopop that feels new and enthralling. It’s almost as though the listener is dealing with the post-euphoria of 2000’s dense, lush Pop, all synapses fizzling and recovering. The more grating moments toward the middle of Narkopop--specifically, a slow, down-sampled march on “Narkopop 5″--are its signature, perhaps making it a bit more challenging in the context of Voigt’s discography but still perfectly placing it within his sonic universe almost two decades later. - DP

19. Julien Baker - Turn Out the Lights (Matador)

Turn Out the Lights feels like a massive step forward for Julien Baker, who could have easily put out Sprained Ankle 2.0 and likely satisfied fans. What’s so moving and exciting about Baker’s second album is the steps she’s taken to expand not only her sound but the way she approaches the themes she introduced on her debut. “Over” gently welcomes the listener to the album, signaling something more than the sparse guitar plucking listeners may have come to expect. That familiar guitar sound isn’t far away, though, as the track bleeds into the album’s first single, “Appointments”, which also introduces something new outside of this fuller sound: a glimmer of hope in the lines “Maybe it's all gonna turn out all right / And I know that it's not, but I have to believe that it is”.

Baker has always been open with depicting the struggles of addiction and mental health. She's open about those seemingly endless conversations around faith, too. Here, she takes these themes and pushes them further, expanding her sound with piano, strings, and even horns. Her lyrics continue to bloom, pushing the boundaries of the deeply internal so they reach further, stretch outward. On the album’s closer, “Claws in Your Back”, she reflects on that familiar feeling of hopelessness, but there it is again--that glimmer of hope in her final note sustaining on the final word of the album: “Cause I take it all back, I change my mind / I wanted to stay”. Sometimes hope is all you need. Baker knows it, and on Turn Out the Lights, finds the power in it. - LL

18. Lorde - Melodrama (Republic)

“But her strength as a writer is in her creation of an atmosphere. “Supercut” has a chugging synth line perfect for a highlight reel; as she sings, “In my head, I do everything right,” it puts you in the exact same place, playing your biggest regrets back in your head. She also offers an impassioned defense of her generation, the butt of many an avocado joke, as on “Hard Feelings/Loveless”, the album’s 6-minute emotional centerpiece laden with finger snaps and beautiful blips. The transition from the first half of the song features sampled dialogue from Paul Simon in a recording session because, well, why not? She presents it proudly without care, mirroring the lack of care her generation takes towards old-fashioned notions of love.”

Read the full review here.

17. SZA - CTRL (RCA)

With just a guitar and her stunning voice, the opening track of SZA’s CTRL immediately grabs you, plunging you head-first into the world of the album. It’s a place where every part of desire is laid bare–both the sexiness and the insecurity–and control is often an elusive force. The raw, almost diaristic lyrics are so direct and honest, it’s hard as a listener to not lose yourself in the private world of SZA’s songs. “Let me tell you a secret / I been secretly banging your homeboy,” she sings, and there you are, in the middle of it all with her as she navigates the album’s 14 tracks.

Even before its eventual release, CTRL had an air of mystery around it. Its continuous delays left listeners wondering if it would ever see the light of day. In the end, SZA brought forth an album that explores the electricity, the beauty, the messiness, and the self-consciousness of present-day relationships. It’s a close examination of modern sex and romance that doesn’t hold back, and it was absolutely worth the wait. - LL

16. Milo - Who Told You To Think??!!?!?!?! (Ruby Yacht)

Milo is a rapper for people whose favorite author is Thomas Pynchon--his references and metaphors are so layered and plentiful you almost have to have Genius open to fully understand what he’s saying. He’s the type to sample James Baldwin and reference Fargo on one song and make a computer science joke the next. He quotes Nietzsche even when he doesn’t have to. He’s also a true poet, one who is not afraid to simultaneously speak his mind about the effects of the prison-industrial complex on people of color and appear goofy and bourgeois. But if that makes him sound flashy, he isn’t. Milo frames his use of 10-dollar words on Who Told You To Think??!!?!?!?! as essential and radical. “The vocabulary is so vast, so big,” he says on “Landscaping”, later proclaiming, “My vocabulary pays my rent.” Milo has made a point of making a living off of his art and poetry, and he’s starting by truly believing he’s revolutionary. (“I be to rap what Keynes be to Locke,” he spits on “Paging Mr. Bill Nun”.) The production is appropriately jazzy, funky, and spaced out, the Herbie Hancock-like piano on “Pablum // CELESKINGIII” and harmonic beat of “Take Advantage Of The Naysayer” perfect complements to his unabashed flow. His words not only give him a sense of empowerment but an almost mystical life-saving quality. On final track “Rapper”, he gives the reins to Busdriver: “Spray a homie just with a simple ten bar / Verse or two, I will curse your crew.” It’s a form of non-violence rooted in a genre of music protected by a higher power. - JM

15. The Regrettes - Feel Your Feelings Fool! (Warner Bros)

“What’s perhaps most important about Feel Your Feelings Fool! is that it has the ability to reach a wider audience while promoting ideas of equality and acceptance more relevant today than ever. “A Living Human Girl” celebrates the imperfections of the body and life itself, Night singing, “An ass full of stretch marks and little boobs / A nice full belly that’s filled with food / Sometimes I’m pretty and sometimes I’m not / So let’s take a listen, hit me with your best shot.” “Bronze” is an honest song about female friendship and the dangers of being fake, while “Ladylike/WHATTA BITCH” dispels classic male stereotypes about feminism. And of course, there’s “Til’ Tomorrow”, the quintessential punk song that says you better express what you feel today because you might not be alive tomorrow. It’s a remarkable sense of perspective for a young band’s debut, but The Regrettes know just as well as anyone that, just like our bodies and our rights, love doesn’t last forever.”

Read the full review here.

14. Hurray for the Riff Raff - The Navigator (ATO)

“Lyrically, on The Navigator, Segarra explores being a woman and one of Puerto Rican descent in a complicated world–and all of its contradictions. On “Hungry Ghost”, she sings, “I’ve been a lonely girl / I’m ready for the world,” displaying a simultaneous sense of humble honesty and confidence. On the title track, she sings, “Today I feel weak / but tomorrow I’ll feel a queen / I was raised by the streets / Do you know what that really means?” The message is heard; we don’t know what that means, but what’s important is that she does and deserves to be listened to despite what white society tells or suggests her.”

Read the full review here.

13. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - The Kid (Western Vinyl)

“Let’s get this out of the way: Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith’s The Kid is concept album about four stages of life. It’s not obvious if you listen without that context, and that context is not necessary to enjoy the album. In fact, after listening to the album for the first time, by the end, I forgot the entire concept behind it. That’s because The Kid is another chapter in Smith’s mastering of the Buchla synthesizer, used on The Kidamong a heap of other synths.”

Read the rest of the review here.

12. Julie Byrne - Not Even Happiness (Ba Da Bing)

“Not Even Happiness is a beautiful album that sees singer-songwriter Julie Byrne getting the most out of simple, yet deep elements: her stunning voice, illustrious guitar finger picking, and natural imagery. A woman who spends her time not writing songs studying environmental science and working as a ranger in Central Park, Byrne turns to nature to make memories and associations. “And when I first saw you / The sky, it was such a natural blue,” she sings on “Natural Blue”. She may not remember the shirt she was wearing that day, but she sure as hell remembers the chicory grass.”

Read the rest of the review here.

11. William Basinski - A Shadow In Time (Temporary Residence)

“Like the best tributes, “For David Robert Jones” doesn’t attempt to sound anything like Bowie or even ambient co-pioneer Brian Eno. Instead, it sounds very much like William Basinski, his own personal way of honoring one of his musical heroes. Taken as a whole, A Shadow in Time shows Basinski as someone who, like Bowie, can try seemingly polar opposite styles within the realm of the avant-garde and absolutely succeed.”

Read the full review here.

10. Pile - A Hairshirt of Purpose (Exploding In Sound)

“On the first song of Pile’s incredible new album A Hairshirt of Purpose, lead singer Rick Maguire refers to “worms like you.” Who is he talking about? An ex-girlfriend or friend? Our current leaders? All that matters is that we’ve felt the same way before at some point in our lives. That is, Pile is an every-person’s band. Whether providing us with ballads–there are more of those on Hairshirt than ever before–or noisy rockers, they draw us in, inviting us to explore the absurdity of everyday life along with them.”

Read the rest of the review here and our interview with Pile here.

9. Vagabon - Infinite Worlds (Father/Daughter)

“Laetitia Tamko of Vagabon has reworked early material to make a statement of a debut album that will inspire kids to start bands and become musicians and songwriters. Masterfully self-produced and self-recorded (Tamko plays almost everything on the album), Infinite Words is a bedroom recording that doesn’t sound like one at all, the mix of acoustic and electric guitar, drums, and Tamko’s broken voice all combining to make songs that cut deep and hit hard. While the songs on Infinite Words don’t directly or specifically reference Tamko’s story (the Cameroon-born artist moved to NYC in high school), they’re lyrically honest and easy to relate to.”

Read the rest of the review here.

8. Mount Eerie - A Crow Looked At Me (P.W. Elverum & Sun)

“That death is real is not something all of us truly know, and it’s safe to say that up until a year ago, Phil Elverum did not know it. After his wife Geneviève Castrée was diagnosed with cancer in 2015 and died a year later, Elverum wrote songs about the before, during, and after and recorded them in the same room his wife died, using her instruments. The result is A Crow Looked At Me, an incredible album, an instrumentally minimal affair that’s not so much art as a concrete document of Elverum’s coping process. For those who have gone through something similar to him, it likely has the potential to be a saving grace.”

Read the rest of the review here.

7. Sampha - Process (Young Turks)

“Process in turn plays like an affecting journey from nihilism to selflessness, the compositions as breathtakingly cinematic as they are musically curatorial. He displays the creative courage that collaborators Drake and Kanye West used to boast, using repetitive staccato background vocals, layers of synths, and his soulful voice on almost every song.”

Read the rest of the review here.

6. Arca - Arca (XL)

“Alejandro Ghersi’s new self-titled album as Arca is unique in his discography, and not just because it contains untreated vocals entirely in Spanish. Despite synths, beats, and sound design reminiscent of his past work, it’s a leap in all ways, an effective artist statement and personal statement of identity and sexuality. When he sings, “Quítame la piel de ayer,” or “Take off my skin from yesterday” on opener and first song released from the album “Piel”, he’s presenting a new Arca.”

Read the rest of the review here.

5. (Sandy) Alex G - Rocket (Domino)

“So what differentiates Rocket from past Alex G releases is not that it sounds different. It does sound different, and every song is unique. What matters is that every song is essential. From the whooshing, vocoder-laden “Judge” to the wiry indie rock of “Big Fish”, there’s something for everybody here. But really, everything is for everybody–even closer “Guilty”, with its jazz beat, cheesy saxophone, and disaffected chorus of 20 somethings. “Has the question become darker than the answer?” Alex G probes on that song. Throughout Rocket, he asks questions of possibility, but he lets you provide the answer: He really can do anything.”

Read the full review here.

4. Vince Staples - Big Fish Theory (Def Jam)

“Vince Staples is a ¾ glass empty kind of guy, so it’s no surprise that perhaps his best record to date centers around the different things that limit us. Concentrating on the walls we build around ourselves, Big Fish Theory is a Staples album in that it takes you on a tour through his psyche, but what makes it so bitter is that at one point he’s rising above what holds him back only to be summoned by tragedy once again. His daydreams are nightmares of him murdered by racially motivated violence or alone and heartbroken obsessing over a woman. (It’s actually the latter that seems to haunt him more these days.) Fame and money, meanwhile, may not break his heart, but it won’t fulfill him. There’s a con to every pro.”

Read the rest of the review here.

3. Circuit Des Yeux - Reaching For Indigo (Drag City)

“Circuit Des Yeux’s Reaching For Indigo was inspired by something difficult that happened to Haley Fohr on January 22, 2016. That’s all we really know about its inspirations; yet, the songs themselves are even more shrouded in mystery. Reaching For Indigo is the type of album that doesn’t come around often, where every track is both different and essential. It’s amazingly sung. It’s a masterpiece even if too “experimental” to ever become a widespread classic, save for those who cite Debussy as their favorite composer.”

Read the rest of the review here and our interview with Circuit Des Yeux here.

2. Jlin - Black Origami (Planet Mu)

“I’ve always been skeptical of those labeling Gary, Indiana producer Jerrilynn Patton, best known by her stage moniker Jlin, a footwork producer. True to the title of her remarkable new album Black Origami, she treats every sample like an immaculately constructive crevice coming from the dark depths of her soul, piecing them together requiring the work of a great mathematical mind. Her collaborations with dancers and fashion designers make her music aware of the body. And her compositions have so many peaks and valleys that, unlike so much exhausting, overwhelming, monotonously dissonant and droning maximal electronic music, it lets the tracks–and you–breathe.”

Read the rest of the review here.

1. Kendrick Lamar - DAMN. (Interscope)

“It’s hard to dissect any Kendrick Lamar album and simply ignore the sheer magnitude of his lyricism and rapping: His sense of time and place is impeccable, his flow unrivaled. Even without any ostentatious sampling of Tupac interviews, there’s still a heady concept behind DAMN. just as there is behind all of Lamar’s albums. It’s just not one that’s as immediately thrilling as past artistic statements. It’s a bit tough to swallow. But it’s every bit as necessary. I think of Phil Elverum singing, “Death is real,” and I think of DAMN. But Kendrick Lamar’s disproven the next line–you can make death into art.”

Read the full review here.

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