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thescrapbookingscientist · 2 years

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Biweekly Media Roundup

- Puss In Boots: The Last Wish (Movie) - Was blown away by how good this movie was. I’ve never even seen the first film but the buzz around this one convinced me to watch it and wow everyone was right. The art direction is fantastic, the whole movie looks stunning, the character designs (Especially the Wolf holy crap) work so well, it’s surprisingly dark in it’s humor, the Forest changing it’s structure based on the person is such a cool concept, and finally the themes of accepting your mortality and living a life well spent by throwing away your pride and letting yourself truly know and be known by others is insanely well done for it’s run time and PG status. There are of course things to nitpick about, for example I liked Goldi and the Bears but wish her wish would have been revealed earlier in the story so we could sit with it a bit, but overall this was way better than it had any right to be and definitely is something I’ll be watching again, possible even later this week.

- Buddy Daddies (Anime) - Buddy Daddies is still solid, recent episode had some great animated hydrangea shots.

- The Vampire Dies In No Time (Anime) - Getting to see some backstory for the leads is fun, baby Drac is cute and Ronaldo’s older brother is pretty funny, I would love to specifically see him and Drac interact in the future given how amused Drac is by his obvious bullshitting. And as always John is best boy.

- Ranking of Kings (Anime) - Love Queen Hilling for subverting the cruel stepmother trope, She’s a certified MILF and objectively the best parent in the show.

- Gintama (Anime) - We haven’t really even scratched the surface yet at anime night but I’m starting to remember just how insane this series gets the farther you get in. Looking forward to hundreds of episodes of incomprehensible nonsense (said affectionately).

- Welcome to Demon School! (Anime) - While there were some moments I liked, I’m glad we are finally done with the Harvest Festival arc, as it was one of my least favorite for the series. But hey, it’s over and we got to spend more time with the teachers which is nice, Balam is super wholesome and Kalego is hilarious, and hey also Kirio is back, he’s always fun in a “jesus christ bro wtf” kind of way.

- Love Is War (Anime) - Wholesome shenanigans starring a cast of lovable morons is clearly my favorite genre, so no surprise that I’m still greatly enjoying this. Miko’s a good addition to the cast, she reminds me of my fave Danganronpa boy Ishimaru and has a fun antagonistic relationship with Ishigami.

- The S Classes That I Raised (Webcomic) - Not much to say, looking forward to see how the government worker S class and Baby dragon man will inevitably be won over by Han Yoojin’s overpowering mom energy.

- Persona 5 Royal (Video Game) - I’m over 100 hours into this game, I think about it constantly, it’s taken over my life. I feel like that ProZD skit where he keeps thinking “I could be playing Pokemon right now” no matter what he does, but with Persona. Help me.

Listening to: Persona 5 OST, Fear & Delight by The Correspondents, EPIC: The Troy Saga OST, Happier Than Ever cover by Loveless, Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish, Anti-Hero and New Romantics by Taylor Swift, Fight for Me by AlicebanD, New Rules by Dua Lipa, Paint it Black by The Rolling Stones, Curses by The Crane Wives, Under My Skin by Jukebox The Ghost, Encanto OST

#weekly roundup #My posts

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curewhimsy · 3 years

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Symphony Saga Resonate chapter 1

I was inspired!

Notes: This fanfic is like, a middle/high school-centric fic so my OCs are all middle/high school aged here (youngest= 12, oldest= 18)

Also everyone is gonna age by 6 years eventually

AO3 link

——————

Can a dream change the world?

Can a song awaken the soul?

Does our universe truly have limits?

Why am I asking all of these questions?

We all each have a story.

We all matter.

If we all join together, how big of a miracle can we create?

The story of Resonate unfolds...

———

Queen Rainbow’s Point of View

In a world where color was scarce... wonder was draining from people’s souls, and warmth was fading from their hearts. The warmth in their smiles were waning... And soon enough, they weren’t able to truly smile any longer.

This world... was called Monochrome.

Being the furthest planet in its solar system from the sun, Monochrome was already quite a lonely place. But everything froze over when Obsidian stepped to the throne.

Monochrome was a painfully boring place, filled with progressively more boring people. It got to the point where the most boring, bitter person of all would automatically be crowned as royalty.

Her name was Obsidian, and she became the Queen of Misery. She did not believe in fun, happiness, or love. Her heart was made of coal. When she breathed out, thick black smoke would fill the air, despite her never being a smoker.

Queen Obsidian’s very existence would always pollute the air with negativity and gloom that would make people lose hope. She was so boring, that her presence would transform sugary donuts into regular old bagels with nothing on them. She was so boring, that her royal fanfare was played on a single off-key kazoo. She was so utterly dull, that she even sent Planet Monochrome into a thousand-year-long ice age after telling one terrible joke.

But worse than all that combined, the Queen of Misery was a selfish, spiteful, and joyless person.

Nobody exactly knew why, but Queen Obsidian hated music... Possibly because of how positive and fun it could potentially be, not to mention the sheer raw emotion and vibes it could could convey.

One day, Queen Obsidian heard a song. It was awful. She hated it so much, that she ordered it to be sent to the Nowhere Of Permanent Erasure Void, or “NOPE Void” for short, where it would be deleted from our reality.

Queen Obsidian wanted to erase all the universe’s music from existence this way, and for people to never make or listen to it again. Ever.

Knowing that Monochrome barely had any worthwhile tunes to get rid of, Obsidian began to target the music on other worlds.

And what better place to start than the magical, colorful planet known as Whimsica?

Whimsica, a charming, fittingly whimsical world filled with magic... It may ideally be peaceful, yet we’ve been attacked by Monochrome for years just for being so idyllic. Apparently, our bright, rainbow colors that can be seen from space are an eyesore for them.

This is also where I come in.

My name is Queen Rainbow... and I’m the Queen of Whimsica. I’m only 16 years old, which is... actually pretty old for a monarch of Whimsica, believe it or not!

Whimsica’s monarchs are usually children nowadays! That’s because we have a childish kind of “whimsy” in our hearts and an arcane sort of innocence to see the world through rainbow-tinted lenses.

A long time in the past, Whimsica had a very strict older queen who forbid the royals, even the ones in the future, from ever befriending commoners.

That queen used a spell, so if a royal was caught being friends with a commoner, they would fall into a long slumber. The length of how long they would sleep corresponded to how strong the royal‘s bond was to the commoner.

Recently, the spell was broken, however! So now I can befriend and hang out with all the common folk I want. To be honest, being that kind of queen wasn’t so great, it was a little lonely, and I always hated feeling so unapproachable... and responsible!

Well, to tell the truth, the eldest of the three princess sisters actually does most of the work. 18-year-old Celestine is the responsible and proper eldest sister. Lunette, age 16, is the middle sister, and a bit mischievous. The youngest sister is 14-year-old Stelle, and she... well... is a bit of a problem child.

Anyway. I had proposed a new course of action against what Monochrome is trying to do. The princess sisters and I, along with Celestine’s best friend Nikamowin, and even the two royal anthromorph cats, Sparkle and Twinkle, have been using our magical powers the best we could to fight against Monochrome’s Queen and royal force, and the monsters they use against us.

But I still feel we need more help. We need the help of magical musicians.

I’ve been beginning to practice making music so I could harness its positive energy and make my songs into magic that can defeat Monochrome’s negativity. Nikamowin is also a skilled singer and can use songs to help us, but I still feel we need to power of more music.

So I assigned a job to Sparkle and Twinkle. Their job now is to look for passionate musicians with pure hearts, who are interested in joining our force to help save music for the entire universe...

———

Haku Yowane’s Point of View

Location: Earth

I zipped up my backpack to the faint scent of dust around the house, tied my shoes, wiped my long bangs from my eyes, and got ready to step out the door to go to school. Another gray day.

Even though I didn’t live with her, my world felt so empty now. My heart felt so hollow.

It was the little things.

Rain pattering on the roof... once a cozy and quaint sound... now just a gloomy and sad reminder.

An old notebook... once a source of joy and closeness... now just cold and distant.

A stuffed cat... warm and beloved... now even more well-loved, and irreplaceable.

All these things I saw right before I left my house to go to school reminded me of her.

My grandmother.

She passed away three weeks ago.

Right before I began opening my door, I looked back, and saw Snowbell, the plush cat Grandma gifted me long ago, eyeing me gently from my table.

I decided I couldn’t go to school without Snowbell. I couldn’t leave her alone.

I picked up the well-loved plush and hugged her gently and sadly, and made my way out the door with her.

Snowbell was special to me.

At the age of five, I was quite meek and lonely, with a reddish nose and wobbly knees. I would catch colds often, and constantly be sniffling, which was how I earned the nickname “Sniffles”.

I was a bit odd. I had strange habits such as pretending I were a cat, even lapping milk out of a bowl at snack time. I liked to draw pictures and play make-believe at recess. I didn’t like strangers or crowds.

In school, I was usually scared and overwhelmed. Once during indoor play time, I sat in my own little corner away from everyone and drew on the walls. When my teacher found the drawings I had drawn on the walls, I got scolded. I spent the rest of the day crying and sniffling, not understanding why I was yelled at.

That was when my grandmother decided my imagination was just too big for such a little girl, so she bought me a friend, a stuffed white kitten, to talk to.

My grandma told me that Snowbell was a special friend, and she was always there to listen. So when I was sad, I would hug and talk to Snowbell and felt I wasn’t alone.

Snowbell was there for me through the good days, and the many bad days... She was there when I graduated kindergarten. She was also there shortly after, when I was six years old, when my parents divorced...

Before my parents divorced, my brother Dell and I were very close. He was technically my half-brother. My father, who I was never close with, already divorced a former wife before marrying my mother. Dell was the son of my father and his former wife. His last name was Honne, his father’s last name. My last name is Yowane, my mother’s last name.

Dell and I would always play and sing together. Even though I was clumsy and fail at his games sometimes, he was very patient and would comfort me when I cried. Sometimes my dad would randomly yell at or scold me. When that happened, Dell would always stand up to my dad and protect me. Even when my parents were fighting and yelling so loudly that I got scared, Dell and I would hide together and he would comfort me. He was truly an amazing brother.

However, when my mother and father divorced, my father insisted on taking us with him. My mother refused to let him take us. There was a huge custody battle over us, and eventually, a heartbreaking compromise was made.

Dell was going to go with my father. I was going to stay with my mother.

I just wanted us to stay together. But in the end, we couldn’t.

One morning after sleeping in, I went downstairs to see around half the furniture in the house gone and my father outside in the moving van. My dad was about to leave. He left me without saying goodbye.

But Dell... He waited until I woke up so he could say goodbye before leaving. I cried with such intensity that he turned around. His face right then shocked me. He was seven years old... but had such a grown-up expression on his face... I had never seen such an look on his face before. So much pain... yet so accepting of his fate.

He hugged me one last time without any words, until I stopped crying. Once my tears stopped, he pat my head, and made his way out the door.

I never saw my brother, my best friend, ever again.

Two years passed. I turned eight years old. My mother, now single, talking to her sister, had an idea.

My mother’s sister had a daughter, who would be my cousin. My mom noticed that without Dell, I was very lonely lately. So she proposed to my cousin and I to meet.

My cousin’s name was Miku Hatsune. She was six years old at the time. The same age I was when my parents divorced. The first thing I noticed about Miku was how cheerful she was, and how accepting she was towards me. I quickly became friends with her, and even though she came over only around once a month and I only got to see her those times, we were really close friends.

The day we first met, we played in the backyard. I was still very shy and awkward at the time.

A butterfly landed on a flower nearby, and Miku urged me to try and touch it. I did, and the butterfly flew away.

I instantly burst into tears.

“Why?” I said, through my tears. “Why does everyone leave me? Like Dell? And my dad? Why...?”

“Don’t cry, Haku...” Miku pat my head to try to cheer me up. It reminded me of when Dell pat my head to say goodbye... it kind of calmed me down.

To cheer me up even more, Miku began singing me a song. She taught it to me, and I began to sing it with her.

We began to sing together, and soon enough, we were surrounded by butterflies. We began smiling and laughing. It was a great memory.

“Miku?” I looked at her fondly. “Promise me you won’t ever leave me, okay?”

“Okay!” Miku answered, smiling.

But one day, around three years later...

My mother called her sister as usual... and every single trace of her, her husband, Miku, and even Miku’s little sister Mizu, had vanished without a trace.

When I heard this, I was devastated. I began to wait a little while... but soon it became apparent that Miku and her family were gone... maybe in a freak accident or disappearance... and weren’t ever coming back.

I remember sitting under a tree, and just crying.

After that, I really only had my grandmother. My mom was always kind of distant and neglected me emotionally.

My grandmother, however, was warm and understanding. She was also very fun and always made me smile. She was the most magical person I ever knew, because she always told me amazing stories. Sometimes I wondered how she even thought of them. I always told her perhaps she should become a writer and make them into books.

I was inspired to become a writer myself because of her. I used many of her stories as inspiration, because I thought she needed a lot of recognition. She also always wanted to be a musician, and so did I, but I was always much too shy. My grandmother couldn’t pursue music because of her health condition and age, sadly.

Now that she’s passed, I think I will try to fulfill my grandmother’s dreams in homage to her.

Thinking of these memories may have left me sad... but I’ll at least always have the precious memories of these people in my heart, even though I may never see them again. In memory of them, may I live my every day to my fullest.

#symphony saga #symphony Saga resonate #symphony Saga: resonate #my writing #utau #vocaloid #whimsica #whimsica saga #oc #ocs #fic #life of pastell #writing

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essford · 5 years

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Together in Fear

On March 30th at approximately 4:21 PM, my father and I were officially checked in to room 149 at Motel 6 in Fife, Washington. Fife is a city of almost 10,000 people on the eastern end of Tacoma, existing as the gateway between King and Pierce Counties. It is the home of Emerald Queen Casino, where my father, Chris Ford, recently purchased tickets to see Blue Oyster Cult, the hard rock band that has gone on to create a profitable, if not ultimately predictable, touring career in the casino circuit over the past two decades. I always wondered what it would be like to wind up in that environment, as in, paying money to see a band with two surviving members play a small collection of hits compacted into an hour and a half set in the back of a crowded casino, where the combined odors of urine, sweat, and booze indebted belches are barely detectable inside the multipurpose showroom, just beyond the rows and rows of slot machines, black jack tables, stuffed shoulder to shoulder with salt of the earth workers, local natives, tourists, the sloshed and slobbering, the dismal and desperate, draining savings, collecting earnings. Everybody burning money together in the name of luck.

This show would mark Chris’s sixth time seeing Blue Oyster Cult, and for him, this was business as usual. BOC was coming to EQC, and it was my mission to join him on this quest. There was no one else I could imagine myself sitting next to as “Don’t Fear The Reaper” was performed with precision to an adoring audience before someone, like surviving members Buck Dharma (age 71, with vocal cords intact) and Eric Bloom, who perhaps feared reapers of their own, so to speak. I couldn’t help but think of young Chris, sitting around at age 16, puffing a joint listening to Agents of Fortune for the first time at my Nana’s house in West Seattle. We had to hit the casino. This was a good time to lose some money very quickly.

Room 149 was furnished with two twin beds that faced a modestly sized LG TV screen, set against the center of the wall. Underneath the screen was a bare desk. Before Chris placed down his bags, as well as his cooler, filled with 1 bottle Crown Royal (with bag intact) and somewhere around 9 (?) Budweiser 12 oz. cans, he picked up the television remote which was placed on a small nightstand between our beds. Less than one minute had passed before he turned on the TV, turning up the volume. I chose the bed closer to the bathroom. Out of some instinct, I pulled back the bedsheets, and noticed three thin, stranded hairs. I am fairly certain that one of them was pubic. For no discernible reason, I then turned on the bathroom light and wondered how many people, upon entering a new motel room, inspect the bathroom out of a similar instinct. It was then I realized I forgot to bring a toothbrush.

“Oh, I love this show,” My father said, sitting on his bed, Budweiser newly cracked and a healthy slug sat in his cup like a monument. He was wearing olive cargo shorts, nondescript sneakers with Nike socks, a Washington State Cougars shirt, and a hat with a camouflage bill (not intact), emblazoned with a Cougar logo. As his eyes began to glaze, I turned my attention to what he was watching. It was a show called Live P.D. The premise of the show was similar to that of Cops, in which camera crews across America follow police officers in the line of duty, dealing with the day in, day out mayhem that one has expected to come across as a citizen of the United States. It was a livestreamed television show, hosted by a cast of three commentators, all with backgrounds in law enforcement. One of the hosts looked a lot like Paul Ryan. After each corresponding clip of real time crime, the camera would cut back to the three men, nonchalantly giving analysis on what had unfolded. Car thieves in Ohio, domestic disputes in Florida, drunk and disorderly folks flinging themselves through the streets of Baton Rouge are caught, not only by the claws and sharpened talons of the law, but on camera, and after having their rights read by stern and foul mouthed officers, they are detained, and just as if they never existed before that moment in time, the scene CUTS to a slow fade, panning to the next adrenaline fueled saga of American Crime..

In 15 minutes, we made 200 dollars disappear. Each slot machine screamed and beeped, strobing bulbs of hot light reaching out from all angles to flood my visual and aural senses. Beckoning me closer, I indulged. The miniature luxury of smoking a cigarette indoors. A soft drink simply known as “Alert” was an available option at the complimentary soda fountain. Swiveling necks in every direction could observe the multiple chins of the aging average American male. Camo garb draped flabby bodies, scores of tricep meat and missing teeth. 50 hour work weeks. Weak knees and pension checks. God blessed every vet.

My father called me frantically from a Wheel of Fortune machine. “It’s almost time for the show!” He burped into his phone, one eye on the slot, one on his shot. I happened to notice one of his chins from where I was currently losing my money.

To my right was a Hispanic man, winning big at game called WILD WOLF. “Amigo, can I use your lighter?” He asked, staring straight ahead.

His body was almost motionless, eyes unblinking behind wire framed glasses in a frosted stasis. A light Marlboro cigarette barely stuck to the dry surface of his bottom lip. He had just won a “Mega Bonus”, and for a moment his hypnotic trance was broken, but quickly returned by the next spin. I could tell he was very pleased with his current earnings, even through his glazed veneer. Fishing for my lighter in between my own failed attempts at WILD WOLF, I couldn’t help but notice this man’s special ritual. The only bodily movements he was seemingly capable of making was when he pressed down on the SPIN button, which activated his next bet, but more hypnotizing was the moments after, as he pointed and drifted across the machine’s screen with his digits, like a painter casting brush to canvas, drifting in small circles with smooth and fluid strokes, until resting with a period like pressure from his index finger on one of the 20 digitized squares that made up the game. I lit his cigarette for him as the scrolling shapes of 7’s and words like SUNOB and EMAG EERF scrolled over his glasses, slot machines themselves, consuming his vision.

I made my way closer to the Cult, and further from the life of the WILD WOLF. I couldn’t help but think about the Reaper and what he meant to the ticketholders I was standing behind and in front of. Who was he, and who really feared him? Did my father ever truly fear the Reaper, after losing his father and friends? Death and loss are made familiar through experience, yet its aura lingers beyond the confines of each individual life, leading to big questions, grander than casino floors, blander than plug in and play rock bands. In this place, everyone is free to live in fear, together. Fear waits beyond the corner, after last call, and after the last drag. After the last hit. Fear is the in between moments. Between pulls from a heartless machine, between paychecks, between distraction and destiny. The fear that we will never accomplish goals held in our hearts. The fear of not following through on every dream left unrealized. We imagine ourselves in our final moments, cursing time wasted, action untaken. Admittedly, I spend too much time pondering on death. I miss my friends who have passed too soon. I miss people I’ve never met. Watching my dad sigh heavily with impatience in the bar line, which was tended by a hardened middle aged woman, sleep deprived and numb from the crying machines steps away, reminded me of what brought us together tonight. This was life.

(REDACTED: Please include any pertinent details readers may find desirable regarding the review portion of the concert)

The next day arriving home, in true 21st century fashion, before setting down my bag or acknowledging my surroundings, I found my laptop and logged onto one of three social media platforms that have succeeded in controlling the minds, moods, and attitudes of our generation. It was around then I learned a former classmate had died the previous night.

Moments such as this, to friends and family alike, anyone with two eyes, aren’t so much moments we experience consistently, but moments absorbed in random blasts, often with explosive impact. A moment of fear in the internet age, bringing individual worlds closer in some small way, every second of the day. A moment of silence, a helping hand, a loving comment, all facing us, but all too far away to try and explain. We are here to remember life itself, which dangles by an ankle, from a cliff called humanity. We can feel it. Somedays, we are engulfed in flames, dragged ashore, blue lips kissing, with two eyes smiling. Shreds of memory flicker, spraying tangerine sparks to the cold concrete of shop class, only shrapnels of memory to bind our souls together. Moments like this, we get used to this.

Together in fear.

We are here

To remember so much, just before the eclipse

Losing oxygen, wasting breath in equal measure

To fear the reaper,

Is to never have had the pleasure,

To face it himself

#206 creativewriting rocknroll blueoystercult newontumblr #shortstory

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jamieclawhorn · 6 years

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Top stocks for 2019

Andy Ross: Diageo

Given 2018 was a tough year for investors in the UK, my top stock for 2019 is a defensive company that managed to increase its share price last year.

Diageo (LSE: DGE) is not reliant on the UK for sales as it’s a global business, operating in over 180 countries with a portfolio of over 200 drink brands. Given Brexit uncertainty is likely to drag on well beyond the March deadline, I think this global reach will be popular with investors this year. I reckon Diageo should stand out in 2019, and so it seems do other investors as the P/E of 23 is quite hefty.

Andy Ross does not own shares of Diageo.

Kevin Godbold: Britvic

We face a lot of uncertainty heading into 2019 and I’m putting my faith in a business with sound quality indicators operating in a defensive industry. My pick for the year is soft drinks provider Britvic (LSE: BVIC), which has a record of steady annual growth in revenue, earnings, operating cash flow and the dividend.

City analysts predict decent rises in the dividend payment for 2019 and 2020, with the payments covered almost twice by earnings. The share price has been consolidating and the valuation is modest. I think conditions are ripe for a share-price advance during the year.

Kevin Godbold owns shares in Britvic.

Rupert Hargreaves: IG Group

If 2019 is going to be anything like 2018, investors are in for a rough ride. With this being the case, I’m picking IG Group (LSE: IGG) as my top stock for 2019.

As one of the world’s largest online trading businesses, IG should thrive in volatile markets. Even though the group is facing headwinds in the form of regulations, which will hit the profitability at the group’s spread betting and contracts for difference business, I reckon IG’s diversification and international footprint will allow it to continue to thrive for many years.

Today the shares are trading at what I would call a bargain valuation of just 11.4 times forward earnings and offer a dividend yield of 6.9%.

Rupert Hargreaves does not own shares in IG Group.

Tezcan Gecgil: GlaxoSmithKline

I expect 2019 to be a memorable year for big pharma and healthcare stocks. Due to its rock-solid dividend and growth potential, my top choice is GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK).

Despite management’s efforts to boost the company’s financial strength, since 2014 the shares have not done much for investors. However, I am now excited about the recent merger announcement between GSK and its US counterpart Pfizer, creating a leader in over-the-counter products. They will spin off their consumer healthcare brands in a new venture of which GSK will own 68% and contribute with its top brands, including Theraflu, Sensodyne and Voltaren. Watch out for this winner.

Tezcan Gecgil does not own shares in GlaxoSmithKline.

Royston Wild: Begbies Traynor Group

Begbies Traynor (LSE: BEG) may not be the flavour of the month right now, its share price diving in response to late December’s half-year trading statement.

But as the UK economy struggles in response to the drawn-out Brexit saga, an event that threatens to persist well into the year, I reckon it’s the perfect stock to buy for 2019.

The AIM-listed business recently announced a 40% pre-tax profit drop between May and October, to £0.6m, but this was due to the impact of prior acquisitions. In truth, trading remains strong – revenues were up 8% in the period, with the business reporting “increased activity levels across both operating divisions”. And momentum is likely to remain robust given the economic backcloth which is already driving solvency numbers sky high.

Right now Begbies Traynor trades on a cheap forward P/E ratio of 14.6 times and carries a 4% corresponding dividend yield. This, in my opinion, makes it a brilliant buy.

Royston Wild does not own shares in Begbies Traynor Group.

Edward Sheldon: Unilever

Economic and political uncertainty is elevated right now, and I believe there’s a good chance this uncertainty will persist throughout the year. As such, I’m picking ‘defensive’ stock Unilever (LSE: ULVR) as my top stock for 2019.

Unilever owns a fantastic portfolio of food and drink, homecare and personal care brands, and its products are used by over 2bn people across the world every day. Whether the global economy is expanding or contracting, you can be sure people will still buy Unilever’s products such as Dove deodorant, Domestos cleaner or PG Tips tea.

While Unilever’s price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is higher than the average FTSE 100 P/E, I think it’s worth paying a little more for the stock, as the company has a number of high-quality attributes such as consistent cash flows, a high return on equity and a great dividend growth track record.

Edward Sheldon owns shares in Unilever

Alan Oscroft: Royal Dutch Shell

A fall once again in the Royal Dutch Shell (LSE: RDSB) share price has given us a second bite at my current favourite investment. The FTSE 100’s biggest company is now on well-covered forecast dividend yields in excess of 6%.

Shell kept its payments going throughout the oil price crisis (and you could have secured a yield of more than 8% in early 2016), and it has not once cut its dividend since the end of World War II. I really don’t see that track record coming to an end any time soon.

That makes Shell my top pick for 2019 and well beyond.

Alan Oscroft does not own shares of Royal Dutch Shell at the time of publication.

Roland Head: Mondi

The most profitable investments aren’t always the most glamourous businesses. I believe that’s true of FTSE 100 cardboard packaging group Mondi (LSE: MNDI). The share price of this £8bn firm has doubled over the last five years, but I think there’s more to come.

The recent market sell-off has left the stock trading on just 9.5 times 2019 forecast earnings, with a dividend yield of 4.3%. In my view that’s too cheap for a company with an operating profit margin of nearly 14%, and a track record of growth and innovation.

Mondi is on my short list of shares to buy for 2019.

Roland Head does not own shares in Mondi.

G A Chester: Polymetal International

I tipped mid-cap gold miner Polymetal International (LSE: POLY) this time last year. A weakening gold price for much of the year didn’t help its cause, and while it outperformed the FTSE 250’s 15.6% fall, a decline of 10.7% was hardly cause for celebration. However, I’m sticking with the stock as my top buy for 2019.

Its earnings are forecast to increase 20% this year, giving a P/E of 10 and a PEG ratio of 0.5. This valuation is cheap and suggests great scope for a strong rise in the share price. There’s the added attraction of a prospective 4.8% dividend yield.

G A Chester has no position in Polymetal International.

Paul Summers: Diageo

Reflecting my rather cautious view on the UK economy and stocks in general, my top pick for the year is drinks giant Diageo (LSE: DGE).

Most people tend to continue consuming alcohol in troubled times, regarding it as an affordable luxury. With ‘sticky’ brands including Smirnoff, Guinness and Baileys, the £66bn cap is surely one of the best defensive plays in the FTSE 100.

But growth could also be on the cards. In addition to its potential in emerging markets, there are rumours it could soon enter the lucrative cannabis space by adding marijuana-infused drinks to its portfolio.

Trading for 22 times earnings, Diageo’s share price is unlikely to skyrocket over 2019 but its truly global reach should ensure that any Brexit-related shenanigans have minimal impact on its bottom line.

Paul Summers does not own shares of Diageo.

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