#am missing my best friend who i lost to the cult something fierce today

[sapphire-weapon]

remember kids if a group of people try to dictate who you are and are not "allowed to" talk to or be friends with, those people are not your friends

they're a cult

[kidofthekat]

The art club and a certain reporter save the day.

               Contrary to popular belief, Marinette, was not, in fact, constantly positive. Sometimes it all got a bit too much and this was one of those days. Her class had grown used to her ‘off days’, having learnt a long time ago not to talk to her during them and just give her some space, which ways easy as these days were few and far between. Or at least they used to be.

               The class were absolutely baffled when Marinette came in for the second time that week, and fifth that month, with her body language screaming ‘leave me alone’ which in itself was unusual as she would normally emanate ‘don’t speak to me’ vibes not those of a frightened animal.

               So when their class president, hunched over and slightly shaking, sat, not in her seat, but right at the back, her eyes glancing around with the air of a paranoid creature, they were more than a little worried. Her behaviour reflected that of a girl on the run, they just had no idea who she was running from.

               “Um, M,” Alya ventured, attempting the hide her hurt from Marinette choosing not to sit together. “Why are you sitting way back there?”

               Jumping slightly when she realised she was being addressed, she avoided eye contact but still answered her friend’s question, “Lila thought it would be good if we switched seats for a bit.” Marinette gave a small and feeble smile before turning her attention to the door, and eyeing it with fierce hope, that faded quickly as Lila sauntered in.

               “Oh Marinette, I’m so glad you agreed to my little idea,” her sickly sweet voice holding an unidentifiable edge, “I hope you don’t mind Alya.”

               Alya wanted to say she did, she wanted to sit next her best friend, she really did, but she only had to glance behind her to see Marinette furiously shaking her head, her eyes pleading with her, for her to agree, determined to get the story later.

               She didn’t. She had posted various friends at each exit for the school, but she still missed the girl at both lunch and after class. Marinette, who had somehow managed to get in and out of school through a route no-one knew, was nowhere to be seen.

               Wondering aimlessly around the school, Alya drooped slightly.

Why had Marinette gone as far as to switch seats with her mortal enemy just to avoid me? Am I the reason she is so terrified?

She slumped against the wall, her head resting on the cool brick. Everything had gone wrong so quickly, and only now was she realising that something was off. More than off. She scrunched her eyes tight, attempting to fight the burning tears, eventually succumbing, and letting them fall, praying to whatever God was listening that Hawkmoth was busy.

Having just been let out, the art club chatted loudly on their way out of the school building, almost missing the saddened reporter.

“Yo, Als, are you okay?” Alya rubbed at her eyes, only succeeding in making them redder, and let out a resigned affirmation.

“Are you sure?” Rose lowered herself to the brunette’s level and gave her a tight hug, refusing to let go.

“I’m just worried about Marinette, you know?” Nathaniel and Marc pulled her to her feat, and Alix led the bewildered girl back to the art room.

“Sit here.” Rose pointed to a stool, and in silence the other’s pulled out stool’s in front of hers so that all four were facing her.

She shivered, remembering Marinette’s cult-like description of the art club, but decided against running. They stayed silent until Alya had taken a seat.

“Marinette missed art club today.” Alix stated observing Alya for a reaction, “She never does that, not even on ‘off days’.”

“Oh.”

“Something is wrong.” Rose narrowed her eyes.

“She is scared.” Nathaniel added.

“Of everything.” Marc’s tone was ominous to say the least.

“We are worried too.” Alix finished.

Ignoring their icy gazes and terrifying synchronisation, Alya nodded in agreement, “What do you think happened.”

Once more Alya found herself deliberately writing off the art-club’s weird actions as they simultaneously lost their creepiness and became their normal selves, not cult members.

They all got up and sat around one of the tables, Alix unrolled a large sheet of paper and gave each of them a marker, writing ‘what happened to Marinette?’ in a big circle and a line off it.

“It has something to do with Lila,” everyone agreed, though Alya was a little begrudging to, as she scribbled ‘Lila’ at the end of her line, “Discuss”.

“She openly hated Lila at first, but then she just stopped,” Nathaniel offered, mainly for Marc’s benefit as he was in a different class than him.

“I thought it was just jealousy and her stopping so suddenly strengthened that for me.” Alya admitted.

Rose nodded, “That does follow her previous actions, it’s logical to think so.”

“Thanks Rose, I mean, she and Kagami are pretty hood friends now and I know the other day Lila came out of the bakery.”

“Really?” Alix added a couple things to the ever increasing spider diagram and looked around for more suggestions.

“Um guys, what if we ask her?” Marc backed down slightly from their collective gaze, but quickly cleared his throat and prepared to say more, “I mean, we are cousins, she might talk to me cause of the whole family thing.”

Relived by their smiling faces and agreement, Marc quickly phoned his cousin, putting it on loudspeaker when asked but adding he will turn it off if she says something private.

“Marc?”

“Hey Marinette, uh, you weren’t in art club today, are you okay?”

“Heh, I’m, I’m fine.”

“So, uh, Marc, what’s up with you?”

“The usual.”

“Oh, so doing something with Nathaniel.”

Marc and Nathaniel blushed as Marinette giggled.

“Why are you calling me Marc? You normally just text.”

Sighing, Marc stood up and pinched the bridge of his nose, “Marinette, please tell me the truth, are you okay?” The silence before she chose to reply lasted too long for either of them.

“No, Marc I’m not. Everything is slipping through my fingers, all of it, both lives, it’s all going to hell and I can’t stop it!”

Marc quickly turned his phone off of speaker. Marinette had accidently revealed her second identity when he had asked to use her as Ladybug’s dual identity for his comic and he wasn’t about to let anyone else know. He gave Marinette a few soothing words and promised to be at the bakery in a couple minutes before hanging up and leaving his confused friends behind.

“Both lives?” Alya questioned, still dazed by Marc’s rushed departure.

Alix shook her head in an attempt to clear it, “I have no idea, but evidently Marc knows something, and we aren’t getting anywhere with this now, let’s meet back up here tomorrow lunch.”

They all agreed, leaving in various states of deep thought and bewilderment.

*

Alya stumbled into the classroom seconds before the bell, surprised to see Marinette still at the back. Actually, she was surprised to see her at all. Once again, Marinette had managed to get into the building unnoticed by her, or any of the art club if the looks on their faces as they too reached the classroom late were of any indication.

Unable to question each other or Marinette due to Mme Bustier arriving, they all took their seats, Alya slightly cringing at the sight of Lila in the seat next to hers.

When class finally finished, Alya tailed her best friend through the halls to the locker room, counting herself lucky that she had managed to hide each time Marinette looked behind her.

“Marinette.” Alya hid behind one of the lockers, instantly recognising Lila’s voice.

“Where have you been,” Lila stared Marinette down as she hunched against her locker.

Alya had never heard Marinette so scared as when she answered, “Please Lila, I just want to get my stuff.”

Alya heard a slap. Followed by a punching sound, though there was no scream of shout or cry, just more hitting. She pulled out her phone and rounded the corner.

Recoding the scene in front of her, Alya was close to tears and ready to intervene.

“Please Lila, please.” Marinette begged.

“I’ll stop if you hit me back.”

“I, I don’t want to hurt you.”

Alya stopped in her tracks shocked, Lila simply sneered, “You? Hurt me?” She laughed tauntingly and kneed the designer in her side, “You’re weak, just like the sheeple you call friends.”

They both saw the moment Marinette snapped, her eye’s narrowing and Alya would always swear that her irises became impossibly bluer. She pulled back her fist and punched Lila dead in the nose. Sweeping her legs around while Lila recovered from her surprise, effectively knocking her down.

From her place on the ground Lila held her bleeding nose, and with a nasally voice, threatened to go to the teacher as she now had evidence. Alya saw one shudder travel through her friend and stepped in, unable to take it anymore.

“I filmed it all, I have proof what Marinette did was in self-defence. You hold nothing over her.” Lila scowled and picked herself off the floor. Growling in Marinette’s direction, she stormed off, not before giving the pair one last dirty look.

Marinette glanced at her best friend and collapsed onto her knees in tears.

“Marinette! Why are you crying?”

“She’ll go after you now, you have to apologise to her, please Alya, please!” Marinette begged, clutching at the bottom of Alya’s shirt and sobbing loudly.

Prying Marinette’s hands off her shirt, Alya knelt beside her and pulled her into a hug, whispering assertions to calm the girl down.

“I’m not scared of that liar, Marinette, we can defeat her together.”

Masterpost.

[postrock-instrumental]

Post-rock & Post-metal: The 50 Best Releases of 2018 [THE LARGER SHORTLIST OF ALMOST 300]

This coming Monday, 17th of December, we’ll publish our selection of the 50 best post-rock and post-metal releases to come out of 2018. There were over 700 releases on our original list, which was later narrowed down to a shortlist of nearly 300. The upcoming “50 Best” list was culled from this shortlist of nearly 300 releases, which you can see below if you want to use it for some purpose. If you don’t want to miss the upcoming “50 Best” list, you can follow the links below: facebook.com/postrock.instrumental twitter.com/postrock_music facebook.com/arcticdrones twitter.com/arcticdrones --- FULL LIST 1099 – Blindpassasjer 42DE – Fall Of The Moon A Film In Color – They March In Endless Circles A Storm Of Light – Anthroscene A World In Grayscale – The Process Of Passing Time Aesthesys – Achromata Aikira – Light Cut All You’ve Seen –  Synopsis XVI Anatomy Of The Bear – Alysu Antarte – Isole Antorchas – Aphelion April Rain – To Whom It May Concern Arcadian Waves – Above The Mountains Archelon – Tribe Of Suns Ares One – Optimist Arhios – Arhios Around The World In 80 Days – Dissonance Astodan – Ameratat Astronauta Marinho – Perspecta A-Sun Amissa – Ceremony In The Stillness Augure – Omina Aurora Borealis – Goodbye Autumn Creatures – Funeral Garden   Autumn Moonlight – Passangers Babel Fish – Follow Me When I Leave Baikonur – Nihil Per Saltum Bear The Mammoth – Years Under Glass Below A Silent Sky – A View From Afar Beyond The Event Horizon – Far Blanket – How To Let Go Bound – No Beyond BRUIT – Monolith Built-In Obsolescence – Instar Cataya – Firn Cats Never Die – Stay At Home Cavern – Eater Celestial Wolves – Call Of The Void CEVEO – Jordsand Charus – Mundus Cereris Ciempies – Intérprete Del Espacio Circadian Eyes – A Future Nostalgic City Of The Lost – Master Martin Rescue Cloud Anthems – Areté Coastlands – The Further Still Cold, Cold Heart – Arch Craters – Laurentian Abyss Crippled Black Phoenix – Great Escape Crno Dete – Neponovljivo Crows In The Rain — Ashes Of The Past Culak – Oblivion Dan Caine – Nocturne   Darius – Clôture Dark Matter – The Sovereign Night Darker Shapes – Kavik Dawnlit – True North DDENT – Toro Deafheaven – Ordinary Corrupt Human Love   Degree Of Arc – Raptures Dep – We Are The Lights That Will Not Go Out Des Astres – Des Plans Sur La Comète Dios Trio – II Distant Dream – Your Own Story Doomina – Orenda Doppälgängär – Melencholia Dûrga – De Lira Ire Earthholder – There Will Be A Future Edelveiss – Skull   Efrim Manuel Menuck – Pissing Stars Eigengrau – Radiant El Ten Eleven – Banker’s Hill El Tubo Elástico – Impala Elephant Gym – Underwater Elhombreanormal – La Unión De Distintos Vientos Elizabeth The Last – Elizabeth The Last   Empathy Forever Empty – All Monsters Are Human Encircling Sea – Hearken Epic45 – Through Broken Summer Feed Me To The Waves –  Before This Wilderness Consumes Us FERE – Montedor Feroces – Josephine First Came The Shadow – Premonition Flares –  Allegorhythms Floating In Space – Dreamland Follows – Nyctophile For Dummies – For Dummies Forest Mountain – Prisma Foxhole – Well Kept Thing   From Oceans To Autumn – Leave Me Here Future Usses – The Existential Haunting Gespenst – Oblivion Gift Of Blindness – Wasteland Giraffes? Giraffes! – Memory Lame Girih – Eigengrau   Glasir – New Dark Age God Is An Astronaut – Epitaph Grand Tétras – Abiogenèse Grito – Endless Grottos – Тетис / Tethys H A : Z E – Passage Hæster – All Anchors No Sails Halocraft – Chains For The Sea Hammock – Far Cry 5 Presents: We Will Rise Again (OST) Hammock – Universalis Hauste – Leavings Have The Moskovik – Papier Vinyle Heklaa – 1491 Hesperian Death Horse – Živ Hold Down The Ocean – The Symmetry Of Odd Numbers Holy Fawn – Death Spells Hope The Flowers/Pleiades – Gates To Universe HUEY – MA Human Factor – Let Nature Take Its Course Hundred Year Old Man – Breaching Hyedra – Hyedra I Am No Hero – Cyberpunk   I Am Wolves – ABCD IAH – II   If Only The Trees – Drop The Air Il Giardino Degli Specchi – Oltremare Illus Teller – The Backup Imploding Stars – Riverine Indignu – Umbra Infinite Third – Listen(Ing) Ingrina – Etter Lys Inspirative – Inertia Pt.1 Isles – Remnants Isola – Isola ISON – Andromeda Skyline Jean Jean – Froidepierre Jeffk – Inadequate Shelter Jet Plane – Falls Feather John Malkovitch! – The Irresistible New Cult Of Selenium JYOCHO – A Parallel Universe EP JYOCHO – The Beautiful Cycle Of Terminal Kalte Sonne – Ekumen Kaschalot – Whale Songs KHARA – Heaven Can Wait Khöbalt – The Sky Is Dead Kiova – An End In Motion Lake Of Licks – Blue Lang –  There Is No Reply But Sweet Wind Blew Lasitud – Lasitud Last Of Us – Swarm Le Temps Du Loup – Cardinal Le_Mol – Heads Heads Heads Leech – For Better Or For Worse Legendary Skies – Navigation Leonov – Wake Lights & Motion – Bloom Lobo Estepario – Los Que Bailan En Las Sombras Locktender – Friedrich Locomotora – Vuodet, Vuoret Long Distance Calling – Boundless Longlake – Beyond The Sun Loud Exit – Loud Exit Lowercase Noises – The Ironic Distance Macondø – Macondø Magdalena Gornik – Dream Sequence Collapse Man Mountain – Infinity Mirror Mass Culture – Primal | Ephemeral Massa – Walls Medussa –  LA PALABRA HA MUERTO Mesozoic – Earth Alone Message In A Cloud – Anassa Milanku – Monument Du Non-Être & Mouvement Du Non-Vivant Minsk / Zatokrev – BIGOD Modsdive – Four Wet Hands Moe’s – Smiles & Scars Mogwai – Kin Montaña – Coordenadas Morrow – The Weight Of These Feathers Mountaineer – Passages Movement Of Static – Naegleria Murmure – Nos Idées Fantômes Musatov Brothers – Existential Crisis Nautilus – The Oceanwalker Ninth Moon Black – Amaranthine Noorvik – Noorvik Northerner – Northerner Ocean Districts – Doomtowns   Of Two Minds – Of Two Minds Ohgod – The Great Silence Ok Seas – Ok Seas Old Faith – Old Faith Old Seas Young Mountains – Seasons Once Upon A Winter – .Existence Orellana – 52 Orphans Of Doom – Strange Worlds/Fierce Gods Osorezan – Osorezan OTHRS – Broken Dialogue Paraphon Tree – Aura Pershagen – Tarfala Pijn – Loss Planisphere – Into The Known Prune Deer – Chemistry 化學 Raedsel – A Simple Act Of Redirection Rammen – The Echo & The System Raum Kingdom – Everything & Nothing Reaching 62 F – Chronicles Of A Dying Sun Red Apollo – The Laurels Of Serenity Reformat – The Singularity Respire – Dénouement Riah – Autumnalia Rilf – Three Stories For Numbers RLYR – Actual Existence Rocket Miner – The Long Goodbye Roots And Ruins – Die Right Rostres – Les Corps Flottants Sagor Som Leder Mot Slutet – II Sairen – Neige Nuit Sejd – Ben & Hjärta Set And Setting – Tabula Rasa Seul Ocean – Je Fais Revivre Shadow Universe – Speaking For Clouds Ships Fly Up – Dream Maker Sinistro – Sangue Cassia Six Months Of Sun – Below The Eternal Sky Sky Flying By – (Re)Routed Sleep Dealer – Memories So Far As I Know –  Fragments: Disclosure Sojus3000 – Wanderers Soldat Hans – Es Taut SOM – The Fall Sonance – To Possess You Entirely Sondrous – Something Like Serenity Sons Of Alpha Centauri – Continuum Spurv – Myra Standish Hall – Standish Hall   Startle The Heavens – Canyons Straya – Sobereyed Subnoir – A Long Way From Home Summer Effect – Reverie Sunstare – Eroded   Taller Than The Trees – Hubris EP Talons – We All Know Tangled Thoughts Of Leaving – No Tether The American Dollar – You're Listening The Clouds Will Clear – Recollection Of What Never Was The Fog Ensemble – Throbs The Man Within – The Man Within   The Ocean – Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic The Sun Burns Bright – Through Dusk, Came The Light There’s A Light – A Long Lost Silence This Will Destroy You – New Others Part One This Will Destroy You – New Others Part Two This World Has Bees – Nearer Those Who Dream By Day – Glad To Be... Tide/Edit – All My Friends Tides Of Man – Every Nothing To Those Who Exist – BAIAME Toe – Our Latest Number Tomorrow We Sail – The Shadows Toundra – Vortex Trees Die Standing – Trees Die Standing Triple Deer – Urban Shepherd Trna – Earthcult Tsima – Koniec Twin Speak – Soulss Umber –  This Earth To Another URO – CABBA! Us, Today – Computant Velns Viņu Zin – Posts Versa – Versa Violet Cold – Sommermorgen Trilogy Vorcha – Liberosis Vy Pole – Like You Say Wang Wen – Invisible City WANHEDA – The Cenozoic Implosion Warm Shelter – Reflections Way Station –  The Way Of Minstrel We Made God – Beyond The Pale We Were Heading North – Lightness Weary Eyes – True North Wess Meets West – A Light Within The Fracture Whale Fall – Sondersongs White Lion Parade – Cloudlines   Widek – Dream Reflection Winter Dust – Sense By Erosion Winterlight – The Longest Sleep Through The Darkest Days World’s End Girlfriend – Meguri Wrekmeister Harmonies – The Alone Rush YNICORNS – Intervals Zommm – Reality Is An Illusion 昴宿 Pleiades – 致未來 For The Future