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taevolu · 7 months

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Parasocial [Part One: What can go Wrong?] 18+

Brief Summary: she was a streamer that liked to play games for fun and to meet new people. Her fanbase was growing more and more and she loved to interact with her fans as much as possible. However, someone wanted something more than just online interactions. He wanted her, needed her and would do anything just to be with her.

Pairing: Taehyung x Reader

Genre: Smut

Word Count: 2,961

Warnings: yandere tae, taexdom, obsessive/possessive tae, stalker, computer hacking, masturbation, porn, home invasion

Parts: Part One, Part Two

***I do not portray any of the members to act like this in real life as they do in this story, this is all fictional!***

―

“Good evening everyone! I am so stoked to play Sun Haven for you guys!” You say to your viewers on Twitch. You always loved to play games after work and decided to make it your side hustle to get extra money. It was always your dream to become a full-time streamer and based on your growing viewers, it might even happen. Your viewers are all very supportive by showing up and tipping you as much as they can, it was like you had your very own fanbase! There was one viewer in particular that joined everyday, his name was Taehyung. He was always hyping you up, tipping you huge amounts of money, and staying until the end of your stream. You really appreciated him as one of your viewers.

You continued to stream and interact with your viewers, having to scroll through chat to read and reply to every single one. But you stopped at a comment that caught your eye as it was from Taehyung, “You make me so happy, thank you for taking some time off of your day to stream for us!” It warmed your heart when you saw his comment, thanking him in return.

You were about to end the stream but wanted to chat with your viewers before going. A lot of them wanted you to create a discord server, saying that it would be a fun way to keep chatting with you or with others after the stream. You thought that it was a great idea as you wanted to talk and get to know your viewers a bit more too.

After creating your account and announcing the server, you got tons of friend requests from your viewers and without any thinking, you added them all as a friend.

*ding*

You got a notification from your discord’s private messages.

[Messages]

Taehyung [21:03]: hi y/n! im so glad that you finally set up a discord account!

You [21:10]: hi taehyung! Yeahhh it did take a while to finally decide to

Taehyung [21:10]: well im glad i can talk to you everyday now and not through your lives 🙂

You [21:19]: thank you for supporting me!

Taehyung [21:19]: goodnight ❤

You [21:26]: Goodnight 🙂

You got ready for bed, glad that you had another successful stream.

Taehyung chuckles at himself as he hearts your message, happy that he had a platform to finally talk to you privately and not with other people. He loved you so much and wanted you with him forever. He wanted you for only him and no one else, just the thought of you being with someone else angered Taehyung. He planned to hack your computer to receive your IP address to find out where you lived but he wasn’t able to do so until you went back on stream.

“You’ll be mine soon.”

Before work, you went to your usual cafe place to wake yourself up after a long night of gaming. You see your best friend, Mael, behind the counter.

“What’s up y/n! How are you?” He greets you as you walk over to the counter.

You and Mael have been friends since junior high and used to hang out often, unfortunately, since you both graduated, life has been busy. But the both of you always caught up every morning while he got your usual ready.

“I’m doing well!” You reply.

He chuckles, “You seem a bit more cheerful than usual.” He said as he was about to finish up your drink.

“Just had another successful stream last night. A lot of my viewers asked me to open up a discord server and I’ve just been raided with a whole lot of compliments.” You explain.

Mael hands you your order, a warmed croissant with a chai, “Isn’t it a bit risky to do that though? Like creeps messaging you everyday?”

You shrug, “Maybe, but I will be careful, promise!” You say as you grab your things from him, waving him goodbye as you exit the cafe to go to work.

…

*ding*

‘I'm excited to watch your stream tonight 🙂.’ You look at your phone and see that Taehyung has messaged you. You smiled and reacted to his message, no time to message him back as it was almost time to start your stream.

“Good evening everyone! Today’s game will be…” You continued your stream like normal

As you continue to play your game, Taehyung quickly gets to work. It did take him a while and was glad that you decided to play longer today as you didn’t work the next day. He was able to get ahold of your IP address and found your information. He chuckles to himself, he was close to having you.

Taehyung started to look around your area, trying to find a home to be close to you. He wanted to hang out with you like you were friends, he wanted you to like him, and wanted you to finally notice him.

Taehyung shouts with glee as he found a home that was just minutes away from your area. He began to pack up his things, not caring about anything else that he was going to leave behind.

He was on a mission and you were his goal.

It took Taehyung a week to own his home and to get everything ready for him to confront you in person. He was able to locate and observe you to figure out your daily routine, knowing which stores you always visited and where you worked. You weren’t much of an outside person which made this easier for Taehyung.

‘Everything was going as planned.’ Taehyung thought.

You started your morning routine before work, going over to the cafe for your usual. You greet Mael as you enter the store, him already getting your order ready. You sit down on one of the booths, opening up your phone to reply to your fans that commented on your post last night.

You suddenly hear footsteps walking towards you, assuming that it is Mael with your tea. You turn around to grab your things to leave but you were wrong.

“Hey y/n! Fancy seeing you here!” Taehyung says, excitement showing throughout his face, you looked at the man in confusion, not knowing who he was and why he knew your name. The man then realized and introduced himself, “I forgot to introduce myself, I’m Taehyung, I watch you on twitch!”

You froze, you weren’t expecting to ever see any of your viewers in person, especially Taehyung. You had to admit, he was a good looking man. His body was slim, his hair looked messy but styled at the same time, and his face looked godly.

You didn’t realize that you were standing in place while still staring at Taehyung until Mael cleared his throat to get your attention.

“Here’s your order y/n.” He says, then passes Taehyung to walk over to you to hand over your things.

“Thank you, Mael.” You murmured, Mael nodded and began to walk away. Taehyung had his eyes locked onto Mael as he walked away, eyebrows furrowed, but changed his expression once he turned back to you.

“Sorry if I disturbed you, I didn’t mean to.” Taehyung says while fiddling with his jacket.

You shake your head, “It’s okay, I just didn’t expect to ever see any of my viewers in public, that’s all.” You nervously laugh, “But I gotta go to work soon.” You wave Taehyung goodbye as you reach the door but he stops you by grabbing your hand.

“I was wondering if you wanted to hangout sometime?” Taehyung asks.

You turn around to face Taehyung, “Yeah sure! Just message me and I’ll be there.” You reply. You see Mael looking over to you, mouthing ‘don’t do it.’ but you just shrug him off. Taehyung was one of your #1 supporters on twitch and have stuck with you since you started streaming.

What can go wrong?

Taehyung watched your stream that night, chuckling to himself as he finally had you in his hands. The more he looked at you, the more aroused he felt. He ran his hands all over his body, feeling himself and wishing that it was you touching him. He reaches down to his pants to reveal his cock, pumping his cock as he moans your name. He begins to pump faster, groaning as he wished it was your pussy instead.

“Fuck, y/n, I want to feel your warmth so fucking bad.” He moans, gripping his dick harder as he was about to cum. He groans as he shoots his cum all over your face that was displayed on his monitor.

He stands up from his chair, wiping his cum off of his monitor, “Next time, my cum will be on your pretty and soft face, my darling.” But that gave him an idea. Your stream was about to end and as you say your goodbyes, he begins to dress up to head somewhere.

Your home.

He didn’t live too far from you, just 2 minutes away, glad that he was able to find an apartment unit so close to yours. He walked up the stairs to your apartment’s front door and saw all of the lights in your unit were off, noting that you were already asleep. The doors in this apartment complex were easy to get into as they can be unlocked by fingerprint or keycode. Good thing for Taehyung, he got your fingerprint when he grabbed your hand as you were leaving the cafe earlier this morning. He uses the tape that got ahold of the print and unlocked your door in an instant.

Taehyung slowly opens the door, no creaks to be heard, and tiptoes his way into your unit. His layout was the same as yours, making it easy for him to find your room. He sneaks into your room, slowly opening your door to see you without any clothing, masturbating while watching porn. You moan in pleasure as you rub your clit, your wet pussy and the video filling up your room. Taehyung can feel his erected cock suffering in his pants, waiting to be used. He pulls out his cock, pumping it while he watches you rub your clit. Your moans start to build up as you are getting closer to your orgasm, your speed increasing. Taehyung sees that you are getting closer, pumping faster to cum with you. You moan in pleasure as you reach your orgasm, twitching from the sensual sensation. Taehyung notices as he sees your body twitching, feeling the same sensation as he cums into his hands.He pulls his pants back up and begins to watch you get ready to fall asleep, waiting until you fall into a deep sleep.

He stood there, hearing you softly snore, queuing him that it was time. He opens up your door even more, slowly walking in towards your bed. He was glad that you decided to not clothe yourself as it made it easier to touch you. He lightly touches your legs to move them apart. He feels you move under his touch, stopping his action to not wake you. He hears you softly snore again and begins to lean in close to your pussy. He inhales to smell the scent of your pussy, the smell of your cum still lingering. His mouth started to water as he was impatient to taste you. He inches his mouth closer to your opening, his tongue softly touching your pussy while he licks up your juices. He then sticks his tongue into your pussy, motioning his tongue to your clit and down to your entrance, feeling your pussy becoming wet under his touch. He smiles as he hears you moan in your sleep. He continues to lick your clit while he carefully pushes a finger in your entrance, you start to squirm but he didn’t care, he was waiting for this moment. He slowly pumps inside you while he quickened his pace with his tongue, your juices and his saliva piling up on his chin. He feels you tighten around his fingers and quickly pulls away as he doesn't want to wake you from your sleep. He slowly crawls back out of the bed to not wake you up, and stands up to observe your body. He smirks admiring your perfect breasts, staring at your erect nipples. He begins to lean down, kissing both and creeps out of your room slowly while carefully shutting the door behind him. He smiles to himself, satisfied that he finally got a taste of you.

…

You woke up as a cold breeze came into contact with your exposed pussy, realizing that you forgot to clothe yourself back up before getting into bed. You sat up in bed, going over the dream you had last night. You had a dream of someone eating you out but you couldn’t see who it was. You haven’t had someone eat you out in a while, blaming that reason for your dream. You groaned as it made you horny again but you had to get ready for work. You stand up from your bed and get ready.

You finally got to the cafe, walking over to the entrance. When you walk in, you see the same people that go in there daily like you. However, you see someone who you don’t see often and it was Taehyung. You feel different after seeing him sitting with his coffee, the feeling of your pussy gushing underneath your panties. You were wearing a skirt today and the breeze between your legs led a shiver down your spine. You shake your head to compose yourself, scolding yourself for being horny so early in the morning.

You walk up to the counter and thank Mael but he stops you, “Please be careful y/n, I’ve been really worried about you lately.” You roll your eyes at him. Mael has always been protective but you don’t blame him, you were a juvenile teenager and always chose poor choices but you were an adult now and knew better, you didn’t want him to worry about you forever.

“Mael, I am quite sure that I can take care of myself. I do appreciate that you care about me a lot. I will be more cautious with what I do, I am not like the teenager that I was back then.” You hear him sigh.

“I know, I am just worried.” He starts, he then leans in closer to whisper, “Ever since that one day, he has been showing up lately.” He whispers as he looks over to Taehyung. You raised your eyebrows in disbelief.

“Mael, don’t worry about him. He is a kind person. And plus you don’t know him that well to be assuming stuff about him.” You say in a hush tone.

He shakes his head with a sigh, “And you know him?”

“I don’t, but he is harmless, trust me please.” Of course you didn’t know him personally but you didn’t see that in Taehyung, he never showed the intentions to be a ‘creep’ when it came to your lives.

Mael sighs again in defeat, “Okay, fine, but if you come to me for help just know that I told you so.” You smile and nod in response.

You walk over to the door to leave for work, feeling sharp eyes on your back. You turn around to see who it was and it ends up being Taehyung. You gave him a smile and a small wave, he does it back and stands up to walk over to you. While he does, you see Mael’s eyes shift over to you both but you ignore him.

“Hey, y/n! I was wondering if you wanted to hang out tomorrow at the club?” Taehyung asks.

“Yeah, sure! I do want to get my mind off of some things right now so I would love that!” You reply. You see Taehyung’s face lighten up in excitement.

“Great! I’ll meet you at Forum tomorrow, 22:00 okay with you?”

You chuckle. You appreciated that he respected your stream time but you were planning on canceling your stream plans that night, “I’m not streaming tonight so we can go at 21:00!” He nods in response. You say goodbye to Taehyung as you were getting late for work.

Once you got into your car, you get a text from Mael. You sigh after looking at his text message.

[Messages]

Mael [7:47]: Be careful please.

You [7:48]: If you are so worried, why dont you just come with? We are going to the Forum at 21:00 tonight.

Mael [7:48]: Okay, I’ll see you there

You threw your phone into your bag, tired of talking to Mael and started driving over to work.

While you left the cafe, Taehyung sat in his spot, his heart racing as he started to think about the things he wanted to do with you as he had you in his hands. His thoughts suddenly stopped as Mael approached him.

“What intentions do you have with y/n?” Mael asks. Taehyung shifts his gaze over to the man. Taehyung didn’t like Mael as he always talked to you, especially earlier as he heard your conversation with him.

“Nothing. I’m just one of her biggest fans.” Taehyung says nonchalantly.

Mael huffs in annoyance, “Well whatever it is, don’t do anything stupid.” Taehyung nods slowly and begins to make his way out of the cafe.

Mael was going to be a problem between you and Taehyung. And Taehyung had to do something about him. But now wasn’t the right time. He needed to have you first.

―

PLEASE do not copy, translate or post my writing on any other platform without my consent. ― taevolu🤍

Inspired by trivia-yandere and the parasocial game by chillas art

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blazescompendium · 11 months

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Shin Megami Tensei is 31 years old today.

image provided by Vesk Scans. Please follow her archiving work!

Yeah, Shin Megami Tensei for the Super Famicom is now 31 years old. It is surprising for me how a game that came out full 6 years before i even give my first breath on this Earth, would be so important for me and my life. But here we are.

Even after playing the entirety of the mainline franchise, and a lot of spin offs, this game still holds its position very well in my heart because it is such a unique game. First, i always loved mythology and religion, so much so that i pursued it as a career. It started when i was little, with the influence of my father who was a scholar (albeit amateur) of those fields. Religion always played a major role in my life, both for the good and the bad, and although i don't actually align with any religion at the moment, i was studying the bible in a religious school since a very early age.

So, when i found out about Shin Megami Tensei, it clicked really, really well with me. I know that it is just a game, and even if it tries a lot to be faithful, as a researcher and scholar of Mythology and Religion we got to say it not always gets it right. But it tries! And when it tries, it can achieve very good results, and that's why i love it so much.

And that was when i was a teen/young adult. Now i grew up a lot, and even started my career in those fields, and still regard this game very high.

The characters are great for me, because i love how this game can be incredibly inclusive. Your main character is not a destined hero, or magical being. It is just an average guy, going to the groceries when the world start to end. He lives with his mom, have its problematic friends, and lives an average life. He always acts like any other person would act, and even his looks are just average.

Now, the thing is that this game did not aged well, but its absolutely playable and very fun to play. The old SMT titles have this ''survival horror'' energy, where you have to take care of resources while advancing in the game. ''Should you use your complete party in this dungeon, since its dangerous, but risk to deplete your MAG stock?'' Stuff like that got me.

And this brings me to how much i hate Atlus as a capitalist company. They made this effort to show us they care about the anniversary of the franchise that kick-started their business, but did not do anything about it. Just shoved merch to the US audience, that is not available anywhere else. Us, from outside, just did not got anything from this ''anniversary''. And i thought the Persona 25th was bad enough lol. But i guess merch hoarders are happy?

And that was a big fucking lie

I honestly don't want anything out of the ordinary. If they could at least port the SNES titles to the Switch Online at the west, because its already available in Japan, i beleive we would be very grateful already. Playing and presenting this games for a new generation is a pain. And i believe Shin Megami Tensei deserves it as a series, not only for its uniqueness but also for everything this IP did to Atlus.

But hey, i guess we are getting something, right? We have a whole new Persona 5 spin off coming next week! I am so hyped to see the same characters, exactly as they were 7 years ago, in another story about teen rebellion or whatever.

Im sorry, SMT. We failed with you. But your legacy will never be gone. I beleive SMT message keeps relevant to this day, and even more so as the time passes by. The world is a very different place then it was in 199X, but still a very divided and extremist place. SMT was the only game of its time to tackle this issues.

Happy anniversary to Shin Megami Tense, as a great game as one of my favorite games of all time. I wish more people could play it at least once!

And yeah, to celebrate i think i will be beating SMT 2 tonight, after lectures!

#shin megami tensei #anniversary #shin megami tensei anniversary #atlus #megaten #venting #blazescompendium

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whynotsableye · 2 years

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How I would do Kingdom Hearts 4

Okay so we know I love Kingdom Hearts and we know kingdom hearts isn’t exactly the best video game series as far as quality goes(it’s still like my fave tho idc if they’re bad). But I have a way kingdom hearts 4 would be modern, true to the originals, and also just cool as fuck.

Firstly the story would be told Birth By Sleep style letting you choose between Sora, Riku, and Kairi as your player character. Now this would not end up like BBS were they have the same planets and very similar boss fights no no. We have some planets that all of them go to yes but we also have planets exclusive to each character. I imagine something like Encanto could make a cool world for them to meet up in with a shorter story line and a place they could talk to each other and safely make plans.

Next up is the Modernization section where I would bring in a modified version of the command system from BBS and DDD. Then add a second attack button. Light attack and Heavy attack. Combos now exist between them and new ones in the abilities section for new cool finishers and a more controlled less button mashing feel to the combat(of course you can just the light attack or heavy attack sting combos if you like the old feel.

But having the game made for next gen consoles and not the PSP the worlds and story lines could be so much more expansive than the ones in BBS. We could have treasure planet, Moana, Lilo and Stitch and a bunch of other beloved or less represented Disney worlds.

We could also see some of disneys other-non original IPs but I wouldn’t put in more than a few. Big hero 6 and the Pixar worlds in KH3 shows they’re willing to pull works from studio collars at least. I would love to see worlds for some of the classic summons or Links from the other games.

Wreck it Ralph could be a fun video game world to feel like the Tron segments from 2. Another take on Toy Story. Maybe the incredibles?

Maybe even a fell Final Fantasy World? That would be cool

There’s so much untapped and unexplored in the Disney and Pixar media I would hate for KH4 to just be like Frozen 2 and the other sequels they haven’t done yet in KH. I mean I have nothing against the sequel worlds-some of them would be cool- but I want forgotten or very loved titles. Give me black cauldron, Treasure Planet, Atlantis, or sword in the stone. And give me some newer but still well loved and unseen in kingdom hearts movies like Raya and the last dragon or Zootopia (for all the furries)

Anyway. There’s so much potential. I just don’t want to see it fall down

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agent-7-at-your-service · 6 months

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My Ode to Splatoon 1

Nintendo peaked for me during the WiiU.

Gameboy, Gameboy SP, the Gamecube, the DS, the Wii. All those consoles left me as a fan of Nintendo for years. And over the years, I enjoyed the history of how the company got to where it is. My favorites were Super Mario World, Super Smash Bros Melee, Starfox (Up until Assault) Pokemon (Up until Heart Gold and Soul Silver), and Legend of Zelda (Up until Twilight Princess).

Then there's the WiiU...

When the WiiU came out, it was a mixed reaction for me. And my status as a fan waned along with my interest. I couldn't really catch up with anything and I heard of the flaws that the WiiU had. I moved onto Playstation and then PC and indie games (with Undertale being the gateway). I struggled to thrive in Patapon and Homestuck. I was also going through a philosophy stage with the Bioshock games.

This was also during a time that I was developing my Multiverse stories that would become my series, "In the Stargazer's Garden." I needed new content and I didn't expect the WiiU to give me that push.

Aside from Smash sort of saving the WiiU, Splatoon was a new IP that came into my life.

I didn't think much of the game until I kept seeing more art for it.

So, I gave it a try and delved into the story and art; I even went as far as making an RP account even before getting the game.

Then I finally got WiiU and the game that came with it. I got me to love third person shooters as shooting games all over again (Last game was Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and Killzone 3 on the PS3.)

I loved the Squid Sisters, I loved the faint lore of a post apocalyptic Earth, and I loved the storyline of the Great Turf War and it's aftermath.

Here on tumblr, I made new friends and enjoyed the lore of other's Splatoon OCs. I loved the art and stories. (But there were some hiccups and embarrassing moments with some drama along the way. I can only blame my teenage self's childish behavior.)

But it's also here that I've faced a reality that shattered me.

Cancel culture, witchhunts, drama, and social justice forced me to make a lot of difficult decisions. It felt like battle lines were drawn and friendships were shattered. People showed true colors while other broke up over things I just couldn't understand at the time. Today I know better

Splatoon community felt like a wasteland because of all this. But in the end, I just wanted to enjoy what is supposed to be a game. Now that I'm in my late 20s, I can't help but take those things as a learning lesson and thank Splatoon and it's community be more better than wall that happened.

I had stories to tell, art to draw and express, and turf wars to play with friends.

Today, I can't imagine what I can do without Splatoon 1.

Agent 7 and his Splatoon, and the Splatoon that I depicted in my stories (along with the Future Story Arc and the famous Project Titanomachy) wouldn't have existed without this game. And the same can be said with the Splatoon OCs you guys made; they were welcomed into my Splatoon stories and I fit them well like actors in a Hollywood set.

And even though some have cut ties with me for one reason or another, and there are those who I failed to keep in touch, I still consider friend after that.

So, thank you Splatoon, thank you Splatoon Community, and thank you Nintendo for this game.

-Agent 7 Mun.

#Mun #Splatoon 1 #RIP #Thank you

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jakeh2987 · 9 months

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A Look Back at the Things We Loved in 2023

2023, in many ways, was an incredibly challenging year, whether it be because of many things going on the world or just on a personal level, but there were a lot of things that kept us going throughout all of that. There was so much in terms of various entertainment throughout the year, and I wanted to take some time to talk about it all. But, thinking about it, I felt like I couldn’t do it alone. I immediately knew I had to call in my old friend Bradley (go follow him over at @thisaintascenereviews, he posts all kinds of music reviews and will be putting out a companion piece to this soon) ; we had recently reconnected earlier this year, but we used to write about music together a lot, so it was only fitting I ask him to be a part of this. When he and I talked about coming together to write this, we circled around the idea of really wanting to celebrate the things that brought us joy. Before we get to the heart of this with our music lists, we wanted to take a quick look back at the rest of entertainment and share a few of our personal highlights in movies, TV shows, video games, books, or anything that comes to mind, really!

So, Bradley, I wanted to ask, before we get into specifics, is there any sort of recurring theme or vibe or energy that you found yourself gravitating towards this year? I think for me, a lot of the stuff I loved most this year was really resonant because it tackled a lot of trauma and personal struggles and what happens when you try to get to the other side of that. I also found myself falling back on a lot of old favorites, things I knew would be comforting and safe in what was often a chaotic and uncertain year.

First and foremost, thanks for having me here, Jake! When you approached me to collaborate on this, I was immediately on board, especially because last year was the first time I did a proper yearend list in a few years. I had a yearend list for 2021 as well, but I didn’t listen to a lot of new releases that year, as I only really got into new stuff in the last few months of the year. Last year, however, I took my time and really spent my time with a lot of albums and artists, but I digress. I guess what I’m trying to say is that things feel different this year, but in a very good way, so thanks again for bringing me on board. It feels like old times, so I couldn’t be excited to be doing this.

This year has been a challenging one, you can say that again, both in terms of what’s happening in the world at large, or personally, but one thing that’s always been there has been various forms of art and media to keep us entertained and comforted in these uncertain and challenging times. As for what kind of stuff that I’ve loved and gravitated to, I think it was a mix of stuff that resonated with me, whether it was IPs or albums that tackled and commentated on real world politics or dealt with personal struggles, and things that just were having fun. The last few years have been so stressful, dour, and downtrodden, I just wanted to have fun. I did last year, too, as a lot of my favorite albums from last year were things that let loose and had fun, but this year was more so a mix of catchy, fun, and energetic stuff, and poignant and personal, ultimately having something important to say.

I know we’re going into 2023 releases, but before we dive into that, did you find anything that was, for the lack of a better phrase, “new to you”? Over the last couple of years, I ended up going back to a lot of favorites, especially when the pandemic first hit, and I’ve been doing that this year, too, but I also found some new stuff, whether it was games, music, movies, or TV that isn’t new, but I spent a lot of time this year getting really into. A few prime examples were diving into the Mafia game franchise, as well as watching the show Justified for the first time this year, and really getting into artists like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, and that doesn’t even scratch the surface in comparison to other stuff I got into, let alone the new stuff I got into this year, but whenever I had a lull in new releases, I’d revisit some old favorites, especially a few bands on my yearend list, and some stuff that’s related to some of my favorite TV shows and movies, too. What about you? Did you find anything that was “new to you,” that you hadn’t checked out before, regardless of what it was?

I actually have something that I’m in the middle of watching right now that perfectly fits this, that being Law and Order: SVU. That show’s been around since 1999 (and is still airing currently, believe it or not), and I started making my way through it from the very beginning over the last couple years, but 2023 was the year I really went all in on it. There’s something comforting, despite the heavy subject matter, about watching the bad guys get caught, and even if a particular episode isn’t especially interesting, being with the core group of characters is always a good time. I think it comes back around to having that catharsis and certainty that things were gonna be okay by the end of an episode in a year that often wasn’t. Another big one for me this year was the early 2000s teen drama series The O.C. It was four seasons of ridiculous, silly nonsense, but honestly, it was just what I needed. I watched a couple episodes a week in a Discord call with some friends throughout the year, and that was such a fun experience (I’m doing that right now with another show in a similar vein, One Tree Hill, with another friend). You put it really well, while I will always resonate most with stories and music that cuts deep to my personal experiences and is reflective of the world around us, sometimes you just wanna have fun, and The O.C. was perfect for that. When it comes to gaming specifically, I wanted to highlight a few things I really loved that came out this year. This year had so many incredible games come out, and there were a lot of different releases for a lot of different genres, so everyone had something they could resonate with, I feel. For me, I wanted to highlight a few that really hit home for a variety of reasons. For starters, this was a great year for horror games, and we got two really incredible remakes of genre-defining classics in Dead Space and Resident Evil 4. What both of these did really well is take the essence of what worked so well in the original games and bring it up to modern standards, whether it be Dead Space making the entire environment seamlessly explorable versus being restricted by loading screens and cornered-off sections, or RE4 getting a combat overhaul that brought it up to some of the best third-person, action horror combat you’ll ever play. It’s almost as if these games play now the way you always remembered it feeling while still being new experiences. This year also saw the release of two of the most fun but also emotionally resonant action/adventure games I’ve played in a long time, those being Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and Final Fantasy XVI. These two games really hit on that theme of going through something deeply traumatic and the aftermath of that, and they both had really fun gameplay to back it up.

But, my biggest highlight, and my personal favorite game of 2023, is easily Alan Wake 2. This game is one of the most unique pieces of media, period, that I’ve ever experienced. The way the dev team at Remedy was able to seamlessly interweave live-action footage into gameplay and story cutscenes is really cool, and it’s also a game that’s not afraid to commit to its really weird and abstract ideas. It’s also just a damn good survival horror game in its own right. So really, Alan Wake 2 was a perfect blend of unabashed creativity, and I’ll be thinking about it for years to come. I know you’re not as big of a gamer, but you do still play some things! You mentioned Mafia, but is there anything else you played this year that stuck out, from 2023 or otherwise?

Law & Order: SVU, huh? I used to watch that back maybe a decade ago when the USA Network would show reruns (back when those were a thing, anyway) of that and NCIS. Law & Order is a very successful and long running franchise, and the cool thing about a show like that is, since you have 20+ years of episodes to get into, you’ll be on it for awhile (although that could be a bad thing, too, just because there is a lot to get through). I felt the same way when watching Justified, although that show is less about the bad guy of the week and more so about a season long arc, but it was satisfying to watch the main character get the bad guys, and things would be momentarily okay. Sure, that’s not how life works, but like you said, for a year where a lot wasn’t okay, having that catharsis helps.

The OC is a good example of what I meant with having fun this year, although with sinking my teeth into hard hitting and poignant stuff, and in fact, I have something similar — I spent a lot of this year revisiting The Muppets, whether it was most of the movies, the 2015 sho, or the original Muppet Show, and that was a good time, because The Muppets are an American institution at this point that knowingly provide solace, fun, and a good time away from the bad things that are happening. I realized the last couple years, and I’ll talk about this more later, but not everything needs to be super deep, poignant, or meaningful. You can just have fun, escape, and lose yourself for a bit, regardless of what you’re diving into.

Switching gears, however, I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a “gamer,” but I do enjoy playing a lot of stuff. I haven’t really played anything from this year, per se, but I’ve gotten into a lot of stuff. I never played Dead Space, or RE 4, but I have played a good amount of horror games this year, namely the Dark Pictures Anthology, as well as The Quarry. Those games provided some of the best horror stories I’ve seen in awhile, even if the gameplay itself wasn’t always as interactive or interesting as other games.

I wish I had a PS5, so I could play the new Jedi Survivor game, as well as something like Spider-Man 2, but aside from the Dark Picture Anthology that I really got into this year, as well as getting into the first couple of Mafia games, a couple of games that really stuck out were playing God Of War: Ragnarok around this time last year (and the beginning of this year) after getting it for Christmas, and that is the sequel to the last one that I really wanted. It’s one of the best games I’ve ever played; not only was the combat still just as good, and even more interesting this time around, the story was excellent (really going more into the Norse aspect than the first game), and the relationship between Kratos and Atreus was more fleshed out and ultimately very emotional and compelling. That ending, too, really got me excited for another one. Another really cool game I played this year for the first time was The Wolf Among Us, which is a game from about a decade ago made by Telltale Games that adapted an obscure DC series that is kind of a gritty look at the classic fairytale characters and it’s a choose your own adventure game, but that was a really fun experience.

I’ve played a bunch of other stuff, as I’ve downloaded a lot of the monthly games on PlayStation Plus, but those are a handful of games I’ve played this year that really stuck out. I wish I could have gotten more stuff from this year, but I’ve played a lot of stuff that was new to me, and that’s the most important thing, I think. With that said, do you want to talk about our favorite movies and TV shows from this year? I know I’ve got a few, but I’m sure you got a bunch of stuff, too, so I’d love to discuss that before we get into the meat of everything.

There’s one main thing I wanted to highlight when it comes to TV and movies, and that’s The Last of Us on HBO. If you’ve known me for any amount of time since its original release in 2013, you know that The Last of Us is easily my favorite game of all time. So, when I heard there was a TV adaptation being made, I went through the range of emotions I imagine a lot of fans did, from being initially skeptical of an adaptation in the first place, to being more open to the idea whenever we learned who the creative team and cast would be, to being excited once we started seeing footage in trailers. I don’t think I was ready for just how great this show would be, however. Firstly, Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as Joel and Ellie were really wonderful; they took what Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson did in the games and struck a good balance between paying homage to them and also adding their own layers to the characters. I also really love that the creative team was willing to take risks and do different things that played out very differently in the game (episode 3, without spoiling anything, is one of my very favorite things I’ve watched this year, and that doesn’t happen if you’re restricted to just recreating the game 1:1). And with HBO behind it, the team went all out on making all the sets and environments really feel like they were almost ripped right out of some Naughty Dog development concept art. I really couldn’t have been happier with this first season, and I have all the confidence in the world that they'll continue to nail it as they go into adapting The Last of Us Part II in future seasons.

I do also wanna briefly mention Ahsoka, the new Star Wars series from this year. It was essentially a live-action fifth season of the animated show Rebels, but I had a great time with that. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Barbie. I mean, come on, Ryan Gosling as Ken singing Push by Matchbox Twenty as some kind of empowerment anthem, how can you not love that??

How about you, though? What really stood out to you from the world of TV and movies this year?

You know, I never watched that, or haven’t played any of the games, but that’s something I’m going to rectify next year. I know how much you love those games, and that’s cool that we got a show out of it, let alone being so critically acclaimed.

In terms of TV and movies, I had a few things stick out, including Ahsoka. I’m kind of burnt out on Star Wars nowadays, but with Ahsoka, I enjoyed that show quite a lot, although it’s one of those shows that if you haven’t seen Rebels (or Clone Wars, for that matter), you won’t either get it or care, and I do hate that media, especially huge IPs, has become a web of needing to watch shows and movies to understand new stuff, instead of also being its own thing. Ahsoka ended up being a good surprise, though, especially after Obi-Wan being ultimately fine, but very predictable.

Speaking of IPs with a lot of material, Marvel is worth talking about a bit. I watched everything Marvel put out this year, except for The Marvels, and only a couple of things stuck out this year, which were Guardians Of The Galaxy 3, and Loki season 2. The former is ultimately a send off for the titular characters, but without spoiling much, it was a good time that was also rather compelling and emotional. Loki’s second season was a masterclass on how you execute the “multiverse,” and how you make it interesting, since every IP is trying to make their own multiverse now. Kind of a shame that Marvel dropped Jonathan Majors as Kang (although it was for a very understandable reason), because despite his performance in the new Antman film being solid, that movie wasn’t particularly amazing, but he did great as Victor Timely in Loki, so I’m a little bummed that we won’t know what happens to Kang, unless the character is recast. I also wanted to briefly mention a few more shows — The Muppets Mayhem on Disney+, which unfortunately got canceled, but was a great romp that focused on the in-house band for the Muppets making their debut album after 50 years of touring, and the new season / spin-off of Justified that brought the main character back for one more grand story that sent off the show and the character with a lot of grace. The last show I wanted to mention is the Netflix show The Fall Of The House Of Usher from Mike Flanagan, and if you’ve seen any of his other work, it’s very similar, but as a fan of Edgar Allan Poe, he does his work justice.

Barbie is another movie worth mentioning, and it’s one of the most unexpected successes of the year, as no one thought a movie about a doll from 60 years ago would be as great as it was, but Ryan Gosling using Matchbox Twenty to express his feelings was a bunch of fun. I never saw Oppenheimer, but Barbenheimer was probably the biggest media event of the year. I didn’t see too many movies, at least new movies, but Killers Of The Flower Moon is my favorite movie of the year. A three and a half hour epic about the 1920s Osage murders in Oklahoma, it’s a compelling crime drama that showcases a very uncomfortable and awful truth in our nation’s history. I did also see the new Indiana Jones when it came out this year, and despite the movie getting torn apart in its release, something about seeing Indy again in one last romp was a lot of fun.

I guess it’s time to talk about the elephant in the room — our favorite records of the year, but where do we begin? There was so much music this year, but I suppose we can talk about our overall impressions with music this year, so what are your general thoughts and impressions with music this year? Did you gravitate towards one or two genres, or was your radar all over the place?

When I look back on this year in music, one of the main things I see recurring throughout my favorite albums and songs is the idea of coming back home to old favorites. So many bands and artists I love or am nostalgic for put out new material this year after hiatuses, fan-favorite members returning, or maybe not being at their best in recent years. I admittedly didn’t listen to as much that was new to me, but as the year went on, I grew to be okay with that! I’ve spent so many years chasing the next new and exciting thing to listen to, and while that’s great and led to so much music that I love dearly, I spent a lot of this year letting go of that need to discover the next new thing, and instead I just listened to things I knew I would find comfort in. That’s not to say I didn’t make any new discoveries at all, but it felt really nice to just kick back and enjoy the ride, so to speak. How about you, Bradley? In the over ten years that I’ve known you, your taste in music has evolved so much, so I’m really curious to hear what really sticks out to you about this year.

You know, Jake, that’s one thing from this year that I can say was a recurring theme, too — a lot of old favorites, including my two favorite bands period, dropped new albums after years in between albums, and it was nice to have those bands back, especially with some of those bands leaving a sour taste in peoples’ mouths with their last albums. I certainly did listen to some stuff that was relatively new to me, although it wasn’t from this year, and a lot of what came out this year that I love are from artists and bands I already enjoy. Sure, there are some that are first timers on the list, or that I’m just listening to for the first time, but there is a sense of comfort in revisiting your old favorites, or listening to new albums from your favorite artists. I was on the lookout for new stuff, but I wasn’t in a state of mind that I needed to listen to obscure and random stuff, and it was refreshing just to look for stuff, versus feeling like I needed to sink my teeth into everything that was in the zeitgeist.

I had a couple of other recurring themes this year, aside from also revisiting a lot of old favorites, or getting back into artists I haven’t listened to in awhile, and the biggest one for me is that I haven’t really listened to a lot of “heavier” music this year. I’ve been a fan of hardcore and metal for years, almost a decade now, and aside from a few pretty popular acts and a couple of more obscure ones, my list isn’t very heavy, but it’s interesting because it’s not that metal and hardcore have had a bad year. It’s been great, actually, but not a whole lot of it has resonated with me, I guess, and that’s okay. I still enjoy a lot of heavy music, but I’ve really expanded my horizons even more so this year. I’ve also really gotten into a lot of country and folk this year, two genres I’ve had mixed feelings on in the past, but I finally dive headfirst and really found a lot to love. I wouldn’t say my favorite albums are any one specific genre, but there are a few that show up repeatedly on my personal list, and out of my favorite albums of this year, and country is one them, surprisingly. Are there any genres that you found yourself listening to a lot, or any genres in particular from your favorite albums of the year?

Genre-wise, my favorite music this year is pretty all over the place, and I think that speaks to just how varied a lot of what I listened to was. Last year, I definitely found myself leaning towards a bit of a heavier, hard rock/alt metal sound, and the years before that was a lot of pop-punk and adjacent genres. Going back to the idea of letting go of any preconceived notions, I was able to just listen to whatever felt good in the moment, and that led to a lot more variety in what I heard, and that’s really exciting! When you see my list, you’ll of course notice that I do have certain sounds that I might resonate with a little more than others, but overall, I think this is the most variety in one of these lists I’ve maybe ever had. Okay, so I think we’ve done enough buildup to this thing, haven’t we? I say we kick things off with our honorable mentions! I actually only have one entry for this, and that’s alternative pop/folk artist Noah Kahan’s Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever), the deluxe edition of his breakout album that dropped earlier this year. Since this is technically a re-release of an album that came out last year, I didn’t put it on the list proper, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t give it some form of love because of how much of an impact it had on me this year. Huge shoutout to my friend Claire; she was always talking about Noah Kahan and saying I should listen to Stick Season, and one day early this year, I finally did. Very quickly, this album became a source of comfort for me, and I’ve had it in heavy rotation ever since. There’s just something warm and inviting about these songs and how Kahan tells stories through his lyrics. Plus, getting to share that with a friend made it even better, so it just really meant a lot for me to have something like this throughout the year.

From talking to you about making this piece, I know you have some fun things to mention even in just the honorable mentions, so whatcha got?

I can say the same thing, that this year is pretty all over the place, genre-wise. There’s a lot of great stuff that came out, and not just in any specific genre, but quite a bit. It’s exciting how much great music is out there, and how much came out this year. Of course, we all have sounds and genres that we resonate with and gravitate to more, but there’s nothing wrong with that at all.

Noah Kahan is a really solid artist, and it’s been great seeing his blow-up this year. He’s sorta bringing that 00s indie-folk sound back, although in certain corners, it never quite went away, but it’s great. I’ve listened to Stick Season myself, and it’s a solid little record, especially for that type of sound. As for myself, I got about fifteen honorable mentions (I wanted to keep it between five and ten, but this year was so packed with great albums, it was hard to keep it so short). I was only going to highlight a few here, but I think I’ll briefly list each record, because all of these albums are worth hearing, but let me know if any of these were on your list, or stick out to you, Jake.

I wanted to start off with a few metal albums, because metal did have a good year, but only a few metal albums stuck out to me. Native-American black metal band Blackbraid and their sophomore album, Blackbraid II, was a great surprise, expanding on their idea of taking melodic black metal and combining it with indigenous music and lyricism about nature, and the band Wayfarer, with their new album American Gothic, takes black metal and combines it with country, folk, and Appalachian music and lyrics about the Old West to make for a very unique experience that I’d call “Cowboy metal.” Death metal stalwarts Cannibal Corpse also put out a new album, Chaos Horrific, and I put this here because while it doesn’t really reinvent the wheel, these guys are an institution at this point and they’re always reliable to give you a solid record. The only real surprise I had in terms of metal was the new Thy Art Is Murder record, Godlike; aside from the controversy around this album, which I won’t talk about, the band sounds revitalized and their brand of deathcore isn’t anything special, but it hits hard here.

I did enjoy a few post-hardcore records, too, and a couple of them are records / bands you put me on. Caskets’ Reflections, Wind Walkers’ What If I Break, and Archetypes Collide’s self-titled are bands in the “pop and R&B meets post-hardcore” vein, and they’re nothing special, either, but they execute that sound so well. Spiritbox also dropped a new EP, The Fear Of Fear, and that’s why it’s not on the list proper. I didn’t feel like putting a single EP on the list, but it’s a great record that showcases their strengths. Guitarist Nita Strauss put out a really cool album called The Call Of The Void that brings together a lot of who’s who in hard-rock and metalcore, and it was a fun little romp with some good tunes.

Aside from hard-rock and metal, I had a lot of fun with other styles of music, especially catchier music. This year had a bit of a theme where alternative bands, either bands that have been around for a long time, or just put out a debut album, released an alt-rock album with an 80s sheen. Bands like Honey Revenge and their debut Retrovision, Broadside’s Hotel Bleu, and Boys Like Girls’ comeback album, Sundays At Foxwoods are in that vein, but they’re so fun and catchy. The last few albums I really wanted to highlight are one of their kinds, really, but they really resonated with me — The Muppets Mayhem show also included a soundtrack from The Electric Mayhem, which was really fun. I didn’t listen to a lot of hip-hop this year, but Aesop Rock put out Integrated Tech Solutions, a really fun, catchy, and witty look at how technology affects people and the lack thereof. My last album is a late addition, but the new Spencer Sutherland album, In His Mania, is a really solid and timeless-sounding pop album I found this past week, and I just had to include it, because his voice is so good.

Okay, let’s take a breath and regroup, because that was a lot, but what were your favorite albums this year? Were any of the ones I talked about on your list? I’m real curious to see how our lists overlap, but I’m also excited to see how different they are, too.

I have a pretty definitive number one, and I’ll save that for last, of course, but my top ten can be broken up into a couple different groups with similar sounds and moods, so let’s get started with that! First, I have what I’ll affectionately called the “sadboi hours” albums, and these are albums that hit you hard emotionally. This Wild Life’s Never Fade and City & Colour’s The Love Still Held Me Near have a very chill, almost serene sound, and that allows all the focus to be on the vocals and lyrics, and they both do very well with that sound. It’s nothing necessarily super different than what these artists have done before, but they both do it really well, and it hits me just right if I’m having a rough go of it and just need to be in my feelings . My next category of sorts would be albums that were just super fun listens from start to finish First, Broadside continued to carve out their own lane in the pop-punk scene by leaning into their pop sensibilities on Hotel Bleu, and Olllie Baxter’s voice is just endlessly enjoyable to listen to. Next up, there’s Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness’ Tilt At The World No More, a breezy indie-pop ride that continues McMahon’s signature self-reflective songwriting and piano tunes. In a sort of similar vein, Citizen’s Calling The Dogs, while I admittedly didn’t like it quite as much as their previous album, is a quick burst of indie-rock jams that you can’t help but dance along to. Next up, I wanna shout out Casket’s Reflections and Beartooth’s The Surface, two albums that fall into the hard-rock/alt metal category. Caskets just does this sound really solidly, and they’re anchored by an utterly killer vocalist in Matt Flood. You’ll get a good mix of catchy hooks, emotionally-charged lyrics, and a lot of damn solid music to back it all up. A lot of the same could be said about Beartooth; Caleb Shomo has morphed into one of the best frontmen in the scene, the hooks are incredibly catchy, and the lyrics are hard-hitting and emotional, but I think what sets The Surface apart from the others is Shomo’s focus on self-love and positivity. Shomo’s made it no secret that he didn’t wanna write about super dark things with this album, as he was undergoing a life change and it would be disingenuous to do so just because it was the expected thing for the band. It really shines through, and it makes The Surface easily Beartooth’s best album. Before we get to my final three albums, I wanna turn it back over to you; what are some of the albums in your top ten that especially resonated with you?

I don’t want to spoil my top three, so I can think we can save those for last, but I can say the same about my top ten having some minor themes to it, although there are a handful of outliers, too. I think I’ll dive into those first, because they don’t adhere to a theme, but since you mentioned Broadside and Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness (whose new album was quite good, by the way), another album in the “alt-rock / pop-punk band making catchy, fun, and 80s-influenced stuff” is The Maine’s self-titled. That was a bit of a theme for me this year, but I wanted to include my favorite of that bunch in my top ten, and that’s the one that really worked for me. Citizen’s new album, while not on any of my lists at all, was still a really good album that might have been a slight step down, but still offered something different. The same thing that I said about The Maine’s S/T also goes for the handful of alt-metal and post-hardcore albums with pop sensibility that I talked about. That’s where The Surface by Beartooth comes in; I certainly agree that it’s their best album, and it really takes their catchy sensibilities to the next level. Caskets’ Reflections was great, too, but Beartooth’s latest just hit so hard. Its lyrics and main thesis statement from Caleb Shomo were part of that, too. I really appreciated his optimism this time around, and it made for a very liberating album.

I do have a couple more albums, outside of my top three that resonated with me, and one theme that I’ll touch on with my top three is the idea of some of my all time favorite bands coming back after a lengthy hiatus, or just surprisingly releasing a new album, and Paramore is the one band from the bottom half of my list to do with that This Is Why. While not my favorite Paramore record, the stuff that’s really good on here is just that — a masterclass in post-punk. But another major theme I touched on earlier was country music dominating my list this year. Albums from a lot of lesser artists known in the mainstream but very big in the underground dropped some killer albums, such as Colter Wall’s Little Songs, Tyler Childers’ Rustin’ In The Rain (which is nominated for a couple of Grammy’s), and Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit’s Weathervanes. The latter album is one of the most poignant, emotionally compelling, and best performed albums of the year.

I did have one more album in my top ten that doesn’t fit a theme, and I almost felt as though I was cheating with it, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to include it. This is gonna be a shock to most people, maybe yourself, too, but Seth MacFarlane and Liz Gillies (of both of Family Guy and Victorious fame, respectively) teamed up for a jazz / Christmas album in the form of We Wish You The Merriest. If you enjoy jazz music, and/or Christmas music, this may as well be a new album on the yearly rotation, because it will be for me. Sure, it’s a Christmas record, but there’s something about this album that really resonated with me, whether it was their vocal chemistry or the way they handled these classic (and exclusively secular) Christmas songs. This record is very fun, festive, and catchy, and if you want a good modern Christmas album, it doesn’t get any better than this.

With all of that said, let’s talk about our top three, and I feel like I know what one of ours will be, since it hasn't been mentioned yet (yet people who know either one of us know what one of our favorite bands is), but what are your top three albums of the year? These are the best of the best, even among the top ten, so what do you got?

I feel like I know which album that will be, too, but before I get to that, I wanted to bring up a band you had recommended to me, actually, that being Spanish Love Songs and their album No Joy. I had only vaguely heard of them before, but you had recommended that I check out their album from 2020, Brave Faces Everyone, and I really enjoyed that. I think No Joy came out shortly after, and that album kinda snuck up on me. I really liked it on first listen, but I kept coming back to it more throughout the year, especially as I started thinking about this list. What Spanish Love Songs do really well is write really poignant lyrics that paint a vivid picture in a very direct way, Much like bands such as The Wonder Years, Bayside, or another band who may or may not be on this list, these guys just know how to hit you in the feels, as they say. For number two, this is the one that’s not gonna be remotely surprising to you or anyone reading this if you know either of us, and that’s Fall Out Boy’s So Much (For) Stardust. This band really needs no introduction at this point, but I do think the backstory behind this album is pretty fascinating, as well as my feelings leading up to it and ultimately how the album turned out. We’re both pretty staunch defenders of Fall Out Boy’s post-hiatus material, but their last album, 2018’s Mania, is a bit of a tricky one for me. I respect the hell out of the band for going all out in the way that they did and trying new things, but in chasing all of that innovation and trying to remain fresh, I feel like they bit off more than they could chew, and it results in an album that I don’t enjoy going back to as much. The band themselves have said as much, so when they went back to the studio to make So Much (For) Stardust, they essentially decided to make the album they would have made if they had never gone on hiatus after 2008’s Folie A Deux. In doing so, I think Fall Out Boy made what is easily their best album since Folie, and you can really feel how reinvigorated the band is throughout. It’s a real love letter to everything they’ve done without feeling derivative, and that’s such a tricky balance to strike for a band this long into their career. It was just so gratifying to have a band that’s meant so much to me for so long now really firing on all cylinders.

Finally, my favorite album of 2023 is, without question, The Menzingers Some Of It Was True. This is the album that resonated with me the most this year, and it’s largely due to the recurring themes of being in your early thirties and being stuck in this holding pattern in life, and it really digs into the anxieties and insecurities that come with that. I turned 31 a little over a week ago from writing this, and I struggle a lot with this idea of not having everything figured out and feeling kind of directionless due to any number of factors, whether it be societal pressures or seeing the people around you find their way through all this. The Menzingers have always been really damn good at capturing these emotions (2017’s After The Party is still one of my all-time favorites), but I don’t think I was ready for just how hard this album would hit me. It really gave a voice to a lot of the things I’ve been feeling these last couple years, and I’m super grateful for that. It also just helps that they continue to be damn good alt-punk songwriters who know their way around a catchy hook and some energetic guitars. I’ve always really liked this band, but Some Of It Was True cemented them as one of my all-time favorites. So, Bradley, kicking it back to you, what are the albums that really stood above the rest this year?

Spanish Love Songs, eh? No kidding, that’s cool you really loved their new one! Their new album, No Joy, is a fantastic album. I don’t like it as much as Brave Faces Everyone, as that album really hits home, but No Joy is a great addition to their catalogue. That’s an album I painfully cut from my honorable mentions, and that’s saying something when I had to make a handful of cuts that I wouldn’t have otherwise made in almost any other year.

I’m gonna come out the gate, spoiling part of my list, but my favorite album of this year is Fall Out Boy’s So Much (For) Stardust. I think you said it best, Jake, especially for how we’ve always been defenders of their post-hiatus work (even when in retrospect, some of it hasn’t aged the best, but it’s really damn good), and this new album had a lot riding on it. Their last album, Mania, was a really solid album with overblown production and self-indulgent songwriting that could have used some rewrites, but I really enjoy that album still, warts and all. They still shine through in that record, despite how it goes off the rails sometimes. With Stardust, they could have easily harkened back to 2005 - 2007, because emo nostalgia is huge right now, but they didn’t. They took everything they’ve done since Folie A Deux, and put it all into a blender, as well as adding some new spices and flavors, making for an album that feels both nostalgic but forward thinking. Fall Out Boy is my favorite band, period, and they always have been, so this album represents a lot. In a year that has been rough in many ways, getting this new album from this band that I’ve loved since I was 13-years-old and having it sound the way it does makes me feel like I’m falling in love with them all over again.

Before I talk about my second and third favorites, I did want to go off what you said about The Menzingers, and their latest. I’m glad you loved it as much as you did, but I was kind of disappointed by Some Of It Was True. I really enjoyed it, but I really love Hello Exile from 2019. I listened to that for the first time before this record came out, and I feel as though that album has the same themes but done a bit more interestingly, and a lot of the subject matter is the same as what they’ve always done, but is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. It’s an album that still connected with me for those same reasons.

Anyhow, the two albums that resonated with me, aside from So Much (For) Stardust are Metallica’s 72 Seasons and Zach Bryan’s self-titled. Two very different artists, and they both resonated for different reasons. Metallica is very similar to Fall Out Boy, as they’re my other all time favorite band, and despite not being into a lot of metal this year, hearing this was a breath of fresh air. We haven’t had a Metallica album in seven years, and their last album was fine, but very much trying to appease their older fans. This one does a mix of trying to do that again, but also doing whatever the hell they want. This album has flashes of thrash, traditional heavy metal, doom / stoner metal, alt-metal, and grunge. There’s an interesting variety of sounds here, and while this album gets a little too self-indulgent at times, they pull you back in just when the album starts to lose you. For diehard fans, and even the public at large, this is the best Metallica album we’ve gotten since maybe the Black Album, but I did also listen to 2008’s Death Magnetic for the first time earlier this year and I really enjoy that album.

Zach Bryan had a huge year in 2023, and no one expected that, especially after the awful year that mainstream country’s had. Having songs in the top from Morgan Wallen, Jason Aldean, and Oliver Anthony (who’s the least awful of the bunch, but “Rich Men North Of Richmond” isn’t very good), Zach Bryan took the world by storm with his self-titled album that came out almost out of nowhere. His duet with Kacey Musgraves, “I Remember Everything,” went to number one, and it’s one of my favorite songs of the year, but this record resonated with me because of how personal, introspective, and “real” it sounded. The instrumentation is raw, organic, and stripped back to make room for his vocals and lyrics that are very well-written and understated. This is his most personal album yet, despite how he has been writing more third person / story based songs, but this is just heart wrenching stuff. Out of the country albums that came out this year, and the ones on my list already, this was my favorite.

Whew, this was a long one, but a very good one, nonetheless. This year was also a good one, too, at least for music, anyway. We had too much stuff, especially in comparison when other years haven’t had anything at all. Do you have any final thoughts before we wrap this up and tie a bow on it, Jake?

Ultimately, I’m really glad we decided to do this kind of on a whim. It’s always fun reflecting on the year, but it was even more so getting to tackle it with an old friend and really dig into each other’s perspectives, and even explore some different mediums like gaming and movies/TV a little bit! This was an often challenging year, but it was also a really great year for the things we love most, and I’m excited to see what 2024 has in store for us!

#best of 2023 #music #video games #movies #tv shows

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spooky-z · 4 years

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FACT CHECK

3.6K

Maribat by @ozmav

Of all the investigations Alya had done in the name of journalism, finding out that Chloe Bourgeois and Marinette Dupain-Cheng were dating had been... disheartening.

Lila had told her she noticed the strange behavior of Chloe and Marinette, suspecting that the two were together, but Alya dismissed the idea because Chloe and Marinette dating? This could only be a joke.

But it was when Alya also noticed the behavior of the two girls and decided to investigate, that the truth came out.

Lila was right. She would never doubt her best friend again.

Knowing that the Queen of Hearts and Gremhilde were in a relationship came as a shock to Alya, but knowing the reason for that relationship was indeed sad.

Because fake a relationship to get Adrien's attention? That was beyond pathetic.

Alya knew that Marinette was jealous of Lila for being close to Adrien, and possibly was dating the model in secret - the Italian was being difficult to drop the word, despite the continuous blush being all the confirmation that the journalist needed -, which she feels sorry for the designer.

She also knew that Chloe did not love Adrien, but she was unhappy with the fact that the boy was no longer her private toy and that he had despised her in favor of true friends.

But setting up a crazy plan to get the boy's attention was a new level of insanity for both girls. They needed to understand that no meant no.

It was no surprise to Alya that Chloe acted in retaliation, but Marinette with Chloe? Alya felt sorry for her ex best friend.

Alya hadn't told the class yet because she didn't want to humiliate Marinette in front of everyone, but she told Lila, because she deserved to know the truth.

She was sitting in her place in the classroom, next to Nino and behind Adrien and Lila. Mlle. Bustier had given them free time, as long as they didn't leave their seats and keep the conversation low.

Chloe's snorting laughter echoed through the room from moment to moment, Marinette trying to control the blonde and Sabrina looking like she wanted to fall into a fit of laughter. The three problems of the Mlle. Bustier’s class together.

"It's sad, you know?" Lila sighed at her. She and Adrien facing Alya and Nino's table so they can talk. "They force themselves to act like they're happy just to get attention."

"What do you mean, dudete?" Nino questioned confused.

"It's kind of obvious that they keep doing these things to get their attention." Lila had a sad look in her eyes. "If they weren't so mean to me, I wouldn't mind being friends with them."

Alya felt her heart ache for her best friend. She suffered so much at the hands of the three and yet there she was, wanting to make friends with her bullies.

"You don't have to feel guilty, girl." She squeezed Lila's hand on the table. "They don't deserve your friendship, do they, Adrien?"

The boy had a complicated expression on his face, but he nodded cautiously. "Sure..."

Alya did not understand certain behaviors that Adrien had. Of course, the boy lived for years trapped in the ivory tower that was the Agreste mansion, but she thought that after hanging out with them for so long, he would have come out of his shell, but it looked like she was wrong.

At least, from what Lila said, he was much more open to her when they were alone. She hoped that this would soon change in relation to her friends.

▫▪▪

The next day, she was casually checking her blog, noting the decline in her popularity, before checking OTS-OnTheSpot. The blog that had debuted in the news world, being the rival of Ladyblog.

Alya was increasingly irritated by Ladybug's clear preference for the new blog over Ladyblog. Of course, the person - because nobody knew who it was and Max was unable to track the IP - obviously had better equipment than Alya, who only worked with the phone, but for Ladybug to betray her like that, it had been a slap in the face.

Somehow OTS got the best photos, the best videos, the best interviews, but no one ever got a glimpse of who the journalist was. Not even Chat Noir - she had asked - knew who the person behind the blog was, since he had never been interviewed before.

That was the other problem she had with OTS.

The person clearly focused on all miraculous and non-miraculous heroes, except Chat Noir. In fact, the times the blog touched on the cat hero's name, it was to mock his behavior in the middle of the battle. Not to mention, they were clearly a RoBug shipper - Robin and Ladybug - which, in Alya's opinion, was an insult to the black dots hero.

Everyone knew that LadyNoir was the real couple there. Chat Noir had confirmed in the last interview that Alya got of the hero.

She was wallowing in self-pity when Lila hurried into the classroom, drawing everyone's attention. All but Chloe who was messing with the phone, Nathaniel who drew on the tablet and Sabrina, who wrote something on a notepad. Marinette as always, late.

"Alya!" Lila ran to her. "You will not believe what I just saw."

The girl rose quickly from her chair, her journalistic senses on alert.

“What was that girl? Is it an akuma?”

With that, both Chloe and Adrien turned to the two.

The Italian shook her head in denial.

"No. It's Marinette.” She takes a deep breath, catching her breath. "Marinette was kissing a very scary guy in front of the school."

"WHAT?!" Alya shouted. "Are you sure it was her?"

Lila nodded frantically. "Absolutely sure. When they walked away, I saw her face and I also heard him call her name.”

Alya sat back in her chair in shock. Incredulous that Marinette would do something so dirty just to get attention.

"I think she realized that the plan with Chloe wouldn't work and tried to get attention in another way." Lila sighed. Only Nino and Adrien being able to hear their conversation.

The DJ frowned in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

Adrien was pale, but he didn't open his mouth to say anything.

"We found that-"

"MARIN!" Chloe squeaked in the background, running into Marinette's arms.

Alya and Lila were suddenly silent, watching the scene unfold. Alya had a sour taste in her mouth, disgusted by the way Marinette managed to act like nothing was happening. As if she weren't dirty.

"Hey, Coco." The brunette said, hugging Chloe. "Sorry for the delay, I had some things to resolve."

Chloe moved away from her; hands clasped together. "No problem." She smiled. It was rare for the class to see such a sincere smile coming from Chloe. "Come. I want to show you something that Timochi and I found earlier.” And he pulled the girl up the stairs, greeting Sabrina and Nathaniel on the way.

For a moment, Alya considered leaving this problem alone.

Sure, Marinette and Chloe deserved to be exposed to their friends, but technically neither was doing anything wrong. None attacked or did anything to harm Adrien, so no damage was done.

But then Alya remembered the smile that Chloe had shown when she saw Marinette.

This was not a fake or staged smile. That was a genuine and affectionate smile. Then Alya came to the conclusion that Chloe did indeed liked Marinette, while Marinette was only using the blonde as a springboard to reach Adrien.

The journalist might as well have ignored this discovery and let Chloe break her heart, as a vengeance for everything Bourgeois had done against them, but she failed. Alya was a fair girl. She couldn't sleep peacefully knowing that Marinette was playing with someone's feelings.

Even if that someone was Chloe Bourgeois.

She got up from the chair, facing the back of the room and Marinette. Lila had long since moved away to her chair beside Adrien.

Alya was furious.

“Marinette, aren't you ashamed of yourself? Act like nothing is wrong. I didn't know you could be that cold and calculating.” She caught everyone's attention again, especially Marinette.

Marinette sighed, her elbow resting on the table, she laid her head on her palm. There was an air of boredom around her. Chloe, Sabrina and Nathaniel with unimpressed looks on their faces.

“What did I do this time, Alya? I knocked Lila down the stairs? I hit Lila with a piece of wood? I stole Lila's ideas again?” The disinterested tone irritated the journalist even more.

"No, although all the statements are real, I am not talking about that." Alya spat. "I'm talking about you being a fake and dirty person, who's using Chloe in your sordid little game."

Everyone in the classroom began to whisper fervently, curious about the newest drama in the class.

"What?!" Chloe said without a voice. The expression on the blonde's face was pure disbelief.

Marinette raised an eyebrow, moving from her relaxed posture to a stiff one.

"What are you accusing me of this time, Alya?"

"I'm talking about you and Chloe dating and you cheating on her with someone in front of the school!" Alya shouted angrily.

Marinette whistled, unimpressed.

"I still don't know what you're talking about."

“I know everything, Marinette Dupain-Cheng! Don't you dare deny it!” The girl sidestepped Nino's hand, who was trying to calm his girlfriend. "I know about your silly plan to pretend to be dating Chloe just to get Adrien's attention and that Chloe likes you!"

Marinette stared at Alya without reaction and Alya celebrated it, believing she had won the argument.

That, of course, until Chloe, Marinette, Sabrina, and Nathaniel fell into a fit of violent laughter. Scaring all the students and leaving Alya surprised.

"What are you laughing at?!" Lila stood up to defend Alya. "It is true! We know everything!”

Sabrina was the first to compose herself, wiping away the tears that had escaped by the force of laughter. "Really? What else do you know?”

"I don't understand what you're laughing at!" Alya snarled, before turning to Chloe. “You should be thanking us for exposing Marinette. Hello, is she cheating on you!?”

"Alya, dear and innocent, Alya." Nathaniel sighed. Some laughter still escaping. "Where did you get that Chloe and Marinette are dating each other?"

Alya snorted indignantly at the mockery. "What are you talking about? Lila-“

“Oh, of course. Lila.” Chloe rolled her eyes. "The most reliable source of news you can find." The acidity in the words did not go unnoticed by anyone.

"Hey!" Coming from offended Lila.

"Sure, you're not wrong to assume that Chloe and I had something, since well, we dated for a while." Marinette started.

“Aha! So, you assume you were in a relationship!” Alya pointed.

Marinette raises an eyebrow. "Everyone here knows that, Alya." She sighed tiredly. "Chloe and I dated for a while at Collège, but we broke up before Lycée."

"What...?!" Alya murmured. "But you hated each other!"

"... They are telling the truth, Alya." Nino looked away, intimidated by Alya's anger. “You and Lila didn't know that because you entered Dupont at the Lycée, but the rest we did. I think Adrien, too, since Chloe and he are childhood friends.”

“Okay, so, you guys dated. But how do you explain this sudden approach now? You obviously hated each other.” Alya insisted.

Chloe snorted impatiently, maybe even a little irritated by Alya's attitude.

“It's called maturing, Alya. Do you know what is this?" The blonde crossed her arms. “Marin and I talked and came to the conclusion that we still like each other enough to become friends. That fighting wasn't getting us anywhere.”

“It still doesn't explain why you are so lovey-dovey. Let's be rational here, this love is at least suspect.” Lila pointed. There was a calculating air around her.

"Friendships are different for everyone, Liela." Marinette replied dryly. “I was never a person to curb my feelings whatever they are. I like to show my friends how much I appreciate them and they do the same for me because that's how friendship is. The support is mutual.”

"But waiting for you to understand this can be too much, since you probably don't know what it is like to have feelings other than pride, envy and dislike." Chloe waved her hand dismissively.

Lila's eyes flashed dangerously, before changing to a painful expression. The crocodile tears running down her cheeks.

“Why are you like that, Chloe? I tried my best to be friends with you, but you seem to hate me!” She sniffed and Alya was next to the girl, trying to comfort her. "If I were that bad, I would have already exposed your plan to get Adrien's attention, since you and Marinette are obsessed with him-" She brought her hands to her mouth, an expression of regret on her face. “I shouldn't have said that. I'm so sorry!" She went back to 'crying'.

Everyone in the room turned to look at Adrien's expression, who seemed lost. Eyes wide, mouth open. He looked in Marinette's direction as if trying to assemble a 500-piece puzzle.

Chloe murmured an 'oh please' tired of all the drama. Marinette didn't seem at all shaken by being exposed in front of the boy she loved. Nathaniel and Sabrina were just enjoying the show, while eating the macaroons that Marinette had brought.

"You don't have to apologize, Lila." Marinette replied calmly, making Lila swallow the fake tears and look at the girl. She realized that her attack had no desired effect. "My feelings for Adrien died the day he asked me to take the high road and let you lie." She looked at the model who looked chastened, before turning back to Lila. "I understood what he meant by that, but the fact that he prioritized your feelings over mine, killed any traces of love I had for him."

Alya gasped in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

Lila's eyes widened in panic. "Is nothing-"

"Oh, that's right." Marinette shook her head condescendingly. “You still believe that everything Lila says is true. Even the most absurd things.”

"Again with that story, Marinette?!" Kim complained angrily. "We know you made this up because you were jealous of Lila."

Nathaniel made a confused sound. "Why would Marinette be jealous of Lila?"

"Because Lila and Adrien are dating!" Alya screamed at the boy's lack of awareness.

“Alya! This was supposed to be a secret!” Lila hid her face with her hands.

"WHAT?!" Adrien got up from the chair surprised by the new information. "We aren’t-"

"... But Marin, haven't you been dating Damian since half of Lycée's first year?" Sabrina asked confused.

Marinette sighed at the whole situation.

"I am. But it seems that people still live in the past.”

"You don't have to lie to us just because you're ashamed, Marinette." Lila said sweetly. "We don't judge anyone here."

Chloe got up from her chair, clapping her hands on the table. "OK, that's it." She picked up the phone and dialed someone, everyone froze thinking she was calling the mayor. “Timo, please come and get us. I'm sick of having to share the same air as a bunch of imbeciles.” The person on the other end seemed to agree, because soon Chloe hung up and picked up her things from the table.

Marinette, Sabrina and Nathaniel soon following the blonde's example.

Sabrina had a thick folder in her hand, where it dropped heavily on Max's table. Chloe, on the other hand, left a pile of paper on Lila's and Nathaniel's on Alya's. Marinette came down the stairs in calm steps. Never failing to face the two girls.

“At Max's desk is a compilation of all Lila's lies. We managed to put this together in less than two hours, as her lies are not really good.” She started. Lila swallowing hard behind Alya. "At Lila's table and yours, orders to cease and desist on behalf of Prince Ali, Jagged, Clara, XY, Bruce Wayne, Style Queen and of course, Ladybug."

"WHAT?!" Lila and Alya shouted together.

Marinette didn't even blink at their reaction.

"I didn't intend to do anything against you, as we are in Lycée's senior year and I would finally be free of your mental games, Lila." She looked at the Italian. “But today you really pissed me off. Because in addition to accusing me of plotting to gain Adrien's attention, you accused me of being unfaithful and that is something I do not admit.”

"Dudete, don't you think you're being a little extreme?" Nino tried to ease the situation with Marinette.

The girl snorted in mockery, going back down the stairs, towards the door. And at the door, there was an unknown and scary-looking boy standing against the wood.

"Think on the bright side Nino: at least this way, your girlfriend will learn to check the facts first, before posting on her failed blog and Lila will learn to keep her lying tongue in her mouth."

Alya snarled in anger.

"And how do we know it is not a trick?"

Marinette stopped beside the boy, her hand resting on his broad chest and turned to Alya.

"Now Alya, just a search on google refutes all the bullshit that Lila has been spitting on you." She raised her eyebrow and the girl soon did as she was told, growing pale with every second she remained looking at the screen. “See how easy it is to check the facts? The internet nowadays, huh. Who knew?” She laughed as if she had told a very funny joke.

Adrien frowned at the girl's behavior, disappointed that she had done that. He thought they were in this together, but apparently, he was alone.

"Marinette-" The blonde tried to speak.

“Oh! I remembered something." She hit her fist against her open palm. "Lila, there are police and immigration agents waiting for you at the school door."

The entire class rose from their seats, still shaken by Marinette's revelations and Markov's confirmation that, yes, Lila was a dirty liar.

"... What?" Lila murmured weakly. It seemed that all the blood had left the Italian's body so pale she was.

"Did you think that willingly helping an emotional terrorist would not have consequences, Lila?" Marinette tilted her head innocently. "Wow. You are really deluded.” She hissed in shock.

The Italian fell without reaction to the floor. She had been defeated at her own game.

"Emotional terrorist...?" Adrien gasped. "Hawkmoth?! Was Lila helping Hawkmoth?”

“Yeap. We have evidence in videos, photos and audios. Not to mention that he admitted earlier today when the heroes invaded his operational base.” Marinette waved excitedly.

Adrien froze at the information. "But, but-"

"How do you know all this?!" Alya demanded.

“Didn't you know, Alya? I am OTS.” Marinette replied cynically, a bad smile on her face. "Ladybug gave an exclusive interview to my blog that must have aired two minutes ago."

Everyone was quick to pick up their tablets or phones to do what Marinette had said.

"You-you-" The journalist stuttered without knowing how to react.

“Now I have to go and let the law enforcement officers do their job. Bye!" She waved as she followed the boy from before, away from the classroom.

It was only when the officers entered the classroom to drag Lila out, that Alya realized what she had done and said.

She was a terrible journalist.

BONUS:

"... Cheers to the miraculous team, Robin, Red Robin, Super Boy and Spoiler!" The group of friends shouted, pounding the crystal glasses against each other.

“Another cheers for Lila Rossi having her ass delivered!” Chloe shouted excitedly, making friends laugh and accompany her.

"Today was a day of victory so let's celebrate as long as we can." Marc said snuggling up to Nathaniel who was almost dozing, despite all the noise.

"You had to see Alya's face when we threw the facts in her face." Sabrina hugged Stephanie, a little drunk on champagne.

"We saw it, Rina." The blonde replied, amused by the girl's behavior. "Timbers installed hidden cameras around the classroom for that purpose."

"What I thank my love for." Chloe told the boy, who was hugging her. "If it weren't for you, we would only relive that moment in memories."

"You're welcome Queenie." Tim kissed the girl's cheek affectionately.

"When are we going to visit Chat Noir, Hime?" Kagami asked Marinette. The two were curled together, with Damian on Marinette's back and Kagami between her legs.

"It would be a good idea for us to do this as soon as possible, so that he doesn't have time to use the ring for something bad." Damian kissed Marinette's head while his arms held Kagami against them. "Who knows what's going on in that boy's head."

Marinette sighed thoughtfully. Half melted between her lovers. "Tonight, we will approach Adrien Agreste."

"I hope he doesn't throw a tantrum." Jon groaned from where he was lying with Luka. "I don't have the patience to deal with him."

"I think he will be too distracted by his mother's return to react negatively." Luka murmured, another who was almost asleep. “Adrien may have a closed mind in some ways, but he is not a bad kid. He just needs someone to guide him on the right path.”

"I hope Emillie is that someone." Nathaniel replied sleepily.

All of them agreeing with the boy.

[tag list]

@saays-bitch @xxmdsxx @nicknnie @iamablinkmarvelarmy @damianette-is-life

#maribat #kagadaminette #ml x dc #chlotim #luka x jon #stephanie x sabrina #ml salt #adrien salt #lila salt #lila bashing #alya salt #nathmarc

2K notes · View notes

yourlmanburg · 4 years

Text

yet another smp sibling // eret + gn!sibling!reader

(hello i genuinely do not know what got blown up in doomsday please let that slide lmao, also i am honestly really sorry about how late this is - i was super tired yesterday and i’ve been busy all day today lulw but even so, i hope you enjoy this even if i didn’t have the energy to edit it whoops)

word count: 1,343

summary: eret reveals they have a younger sibling and shows them around the dream smp

request?: yep! thank you @brianawithonen!!

---

Your brother had been streaming for about half an hour or so now while you were busy doing homework, but if you’d been watching, your heart would’ve melted. Alastair had somehow let it slip that he had a little sibling and his chat was going crazy as they spoke nothing but good about you, singing your praises and making it clear how much you meant to them.

“I can actually go and get Y/n if you guys would like?” She asked her chat, and needless to say, they were delighted with the idea of meeting another SMP sibling. You were sitting at your desk when you heard a knock at your bedroom door, spinning around to look at your brother.

“Aren’t you streaming?” You asked before he could get a word in. He wasn’t supposed to end yet as far as you were aware.

“Yep! Do you want to play on the SMP for a little bit?” They asked kindly, their tone preventing you from feeling too pressured. You couldn’t lie, the thought of showing yourself to tens of thousands of people both scared you and excited you - what if somebody you knew was watching the stream and they didn’t know you were The Eret’s sibling? What if nobody liked you? What if you said something wrong and got cancelled, or even worse, what if you got Alastair cancelled? Despite the negative thoughts crowding your mind, you realised how much joy the Dream SMP had brought to Alastair. You knew how much it’d boosted their career and you know how many lives he’d changed, and you knew about the friends he’d made. Maybe this was a chance for you to have the same as that for a segment of a stream.

“Sure!” You exclaimed with a grin, leaving your work where it was and following your brother into their recording room.

“Here we go, chat!” Alastair said with a smile, passing you a spare headset and pulling out another chair for you. “This is Y/n, my mini me, who is surprisingly good at Minecraft.” They chuckled as you looked at her with fake betrayal.

"Surprisingly, huh?" You chuckled, slipping on the headset and sitting beside your sibling.

“Oh, by the way, I’m on the VC in case anybody wants to join - is that okay with you?” She asked and you nodded, already taking over his game and walking around on the Dream SMP. This was so surreal.

“So what do I do?”

“Well, I can show you around if you’d like?” Alastair looked at you with a small grin, to which you nodded eagerly. You began in (the remains of) L’Manburg and you were shown around the Greater Dream SMP, the Badlands, Manifoldland and even El Rapids, and you couldn’t lie; you were impressed by some of the structures your brother had built. Everything was going better than you’d expected and you really did enjoy spending time with Alastair like this, until you heard the familiar Discord chime and a very distinct voice that you just could not ignore.

“HELLO ERET!” The legendary TommyInnit screamed down your ears, unaware of your presence. Alastair chuckled, letting him know that he was with his younger sibling.

“Why do you have a child with you? Do they know that I am a big man, bigger than them?” oh, somebody sounded confident as ever.

“Wanna bet?” you spoke up, Tommy for once finding himself at a loss for words.

“You suck.” he stated bluntly, causing you to burst into fits of laughter. Alastair was a little more on the unimpressed side, however, asking Tommy to calm down with the somewhat aggressive remarks. Of course, he was only answered with incoherent angry mumbles, followed by another Discord chime.

“TUBBO!” both Alastair and Tommy shouted at the same time, Tubbo greeting them with an equal level of enthusiasm. A little yellow banner across the screen told you that he’d just logged into the game, his avatar appearing not too far away from your brother’s.

“Hey Tubbo, did you know Eret is with a child?” Tommy asked him like it was the biggest deal on Earth. Tubbo let out a confused laugh, asking Alastair if this was true or if Tommy was just spouting bullshit as usual.

“Hi,” you giggled before Alastair had a chance to reply. “I believe I am said child.”

“Oh, hello!” he greeted you happily, running over towards you in Minecraft and crouching in front of your character.

“Tubbo, right? I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Who’s Tubbo? I am Big Law and Big Law only.” you laughed at how serious his tone was, feeling as if you were really, finally seeing why the SMP meant so much to your brother. You barely knew them yet these people were some of the nicest you’d ever met (despite the fact that you’d already known of their existence and tuned into more than enough streams prior to this) and you truly felt as if you belonged - if only you could become a permanent member in the intricate storyline.

You, Tubbo and Tommy played around for a while longer with your brother by your side, every so often speaking up but he was mostly just watching you. Watching the smile on your face and the shine in your eyes; this was clearly where you wanted to be, if he could just…

Alastair pulled out his phone, opening up discord and clicking on his conversation with Dream. Meanwhile, you were very invested in the business you were starting up with the two boys, trying to persuade people like Nihachu and Ranboo to buy from you.

Dream joined the game.

You paused for a second, looking up at Alastair with a grin. You’d always wanted to meet Dream and she’d always said that he was a busy man and you just had to wait for a chance, could this be it? Could you finally be able to speak to the Dreamwastaken?

Even so, you carried on as you were. You tried not to show your excitement in fear of being seen as an overly obsessed fan, when you saw a familiar green skin hopping over to where you, Ranboo and your two new friends stood. Turning to face him, Tommy and a very confused Ranboo began shouting at you to make a deal with him for your business when somebody joined the call.

“Hello?” the new voice greeted, and it was undeniably Dream.

“Hello!” you replied enthusiastically, as did the others.

“Y/n?” Oh my god, he knew your name.

“Yeah?”

“What’s your Minecraft username?”

“Y/u/n, why?” Dream left the game and there was a pause. Nobody else in the call was speaking, what was happening? Had you just fucked things up? You looked up to Alastair for reassurance, and he nodded at you with a warm smile, but you still didn’t understand.

“Okay!” Dream spoke up again, dragging out the “o” and rejoining the server. “Eret should be sending you the IP address now, go and try logging in on your account, you should be whitelisted.

And you were. You’d finally been whitelisted on the Dream SMP.

All because of your brother.

That night, you sat on the sofa beside Alastair, tired from many hours you’d spent on the server, but happy. The happiest you’d been in a while. As much as you were afraid to admit it, ever since they joined you’d longed to have what they had with everyone, you longed to be part of the plot. You finally had that chance.

“So?” She asked you with a smile. “How was today?”

“Fucking incredible!” you replied, making them laugh. You leaned into Alastair’s side, looking up at him with a tired expression. “Thank you, Alastair, seriously. You’ve just made one of my dreams come true - pun intended.”

“I’m glad! I’m so happy to have you there now, I really think you have the potential to become a really crucial character.”

“Really?”

“Really. Now go and do that maths homework you left.”

“I hate you.”

#eret #eret mcyt #reader insert #dream smp fanfiction #mcyt #mcyt fanfiction #platonic x reader #eret dream smp

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ghostgothgeek · 3 years

Text

Chaos.

Another for the Phic Phight! This one kinda combines two prompts and I had so much fun writing it! In this, Danny and Tucker don’t know Sam plays video games yet. 5,063 words.

"What do you mean you don’t feel the same way? We´ve had a mutual crush on each other for years." Sam says angrily after finally confessing her love to him. But Danny´s heart was beating hard for someone else entirely. Prompt by phantomfana.

Danny wants to ask his crush to the upcoming school dance. Prompt by Rikaleeta.

-----

It was another long night of ghost hunting for Danny. Technus took up the first part of the night, trying to take over the park’s new security system. Tucker was fortunately still awake to help him out with that. Then Johnny and Kitty rolled in, but they weren’t looking for trouble, they just wanted a date night and swore they wouldn’t be a problem. Apparently Fridays were their days off for “everything but each other”. Danny was a romantic, but he didn’t know if this was sweet or nauseating. Ember had put up a good fight, though. He was proud he only had one injury to tend to. He had dodged most of her attacks, but she was still a pretty advanced ghost. And, of course, Danny had caught the Box Ghost six, count them, SIX times. How did he always manage to get out?! He wasn’t difficult to take down, he was just a pest.

Danny sighed as he sat down at his computer chair. It was only 12:30 am, and it was a Friday. He could sleep in tomorrow and he deserved at least a couple hours of fun. He logged into his online gaming account and saw Tucker was online. Figures. He pulled up the chat anyway.

Astrohaunt: Hey Tuck. Still up?

Technopedia: You know it. Chaos signed on about a half hour ago and I’m not passing up the opportunity.

Astrohaunt: Dude is so good it’s unreal!

Technopedia: He goes to our school, I tracked one of his IP addresses and he logged in at school a few times.

Astrohaunt: Tucker wtf. That’s creepy!

Technopedia: I just want to make sure Chaos is actually a kid and not Lancer again!

Astrohaunt: I still can’t wrap my mind around Lancer playing Doomed…

Technopedia: Same. But Chaos IP is different from Lancer, so we good. Unless more teachers play Doomed.

Astrohaunt: I hate you for putting that image into my brain.

Technopedia: Sorry dude. But quick come join before someone else gets Chaos.

Danny, Tucker, and Chaos had made a great team. Whenever Chaos was around, they were actually able to progress through the game. They played several rounds until Tucker was caught by his mom and was forced to sign off, but Danny and Chaos kept playing.

TeamChaos: Hey, what’s up?

Astrohaunt: Omg dude you’re so awesome.

TeamChaos: Ha, thanks. Gotta blow off steam somehow.

Astrohaunt: Tell me about it! Between Lancer’s three projects and midterms and...other stuff...this is my only time to actually chill. I’ve been so stressed!

TeamChaos: Same. I did finish one of the projects though. I’m always here if you need to talk, you know.

Astrohaunt: Wow, I may just take you up on that offer. I’ve had a rough night.

TeamChaos: Lay it on me.

And so Danny, sparing the ghost hunting details, stayed up chatting with Chaos until 5 am. He got along really well with the guy, they had a lot of similar interests. This was just the first of many up-all-night conversations they shared. After a few months, Danny felt a special connection with Chaos, and yet, he didn’t even know his name!

Astrohaunt: We’ve been talking all these months and I still don’t know your name. I’m Danny.

TeamChaos: Oh, thought you knew. It’s Sam!

Astrohaunt: Hey! One of my best friends is named Sam!

TeamChaos: You don’t say!!!

The next day at school, Danny pulled Tucker over to him, whispering, “Dude, help. I think I might be gay....”

“What?!” Tucker shouted.

“Quiet, Tuck!”

“Okay, well uh...why?” Tucker sent him a weird look and took a step back.

“No, not you. Chaos. I think I have a crush on Chaos.” Danny ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what to do! I never thought I’d be...you know. Chaos and I just have good conversations and he’s always there to listen to me when I need to vent. I thought maybe I found another best friend but...this is different. Chaos is so cool and I’m crushing and I don’t even know who he is or what he looks like! Or if he feels the same way! Maybe I’m just stupid and-”

“Dude, chill. You’re jumping too far ahead of yourself. Whichever way you, you know, swing...I’m still your best friend.” Tucker pulled out his PDA. “Let me see what I can find out. I know Chaos goes to our school.”

“Thanks, Tuck. As if being half ghost wasn’t hard enough! Oh, and he’s in our class, because he’s talked me through assignments and knows what they are and stuff. He’s almost as good as explaining things as Sam. Crap...Sam. Don’t tell her about this!” Danny started fidgeting.

“Well,” Tucker raised his eyebrows in surprise, “I can tell you with absolute certainty that Chaos is definitely a girl.”

“You found out who Chaos is?!”

“What, like it’s hard?” Tucker chuckled. “I traced the IP addresses she uses. I know who she is. So do you,” Tucker smirked, “It shocked me at first, but it makes total sense! And I can totally see why you like her.”

“Really?” Danny let out a breath in relief. “Okay that makes me feel a lot better...hey, maybe I can ask Chaos to the dance next Saturday!”

Tucker rested a hand on Danny’s shoulder. “Go for it. Ask Sam. I’m almost positive she’ll say yes.”

“Okay, I will...wait, not Sam! Chaos!” Danny clarified. “Well, actually, I think Chaos told me her name was Sam. Ha, small world. I can’t wait to introduce Sam to Sam. I think they would really get along.”

Tucker busted out laughing, “Oh, dude. You go ahead and do that.” He left Danny standing there in the hallway, still laughing all the way to his next class.

Danny, a bit confused by Tucker’s laughter, shook his head and smiled to himself. Okay, good. He’d had enough identity crises to fill a lifetime. Chaos was definitely a girl. Now if he just knew Chaos returned his feelings, things might actually work out for him this time and he could actually have a girlfriend.

Meanwhile, Sam was having an internal debate of her own. Sitting in a class where the teacher couldn’t give two shits about what the students were doing, she had always used this class as her thinking time. Usually her thinking-about-Danny time. She nervously clicked her pen as she thought about recent events.

She and Danny spent so much time chatting online when they weren’t hanging out in person. Danny was a little bit more bold online, probably because he didn’t have to interact face-to-face or risk his pants falling down in public again. Online, they talked about everything. No topic was off limits. Plus, Sam felt like their friendship had only grown even stronger when they could chat online and not have to worry about blushing or getting teased by Tucker. Chatting online took away all the pressure and made it much easier to connect with Danny.

Danny hadn’t said anything yet, of course. He was probably scared. Hell, she was scared. She was already so in love with him, and getting closer online only further solidified that fact. She had never been in love before, and even though she hunts ghosts, this was more terrifying! She was fairly certain he returned her feelings, but both were too chicken to actually make that final step. They’ve been best friends forever. She didn’t want to mess up their already great dynamic or force Tucker to be the third wheel, though he did insist he was more than okay with that and encouraged them to finally get together.

Sam stopped clicking her pen as she suddenly remembered it was senior year. They hadn’t picked colleges yet, but whether they ended up going to the same school or not, things were going to change. Danny was very attractive, and going off to college meant girls may actually approach him when they didn’t know his parents were ghost fighters. The fact had never bothered Sam, but she did kind of like how it kept most girls at school from asking him out or giving him attention. Valerie had been a challenge, especially because she was a ghost hunter herself and probably wanted to get tips from his parents. Sam was glad that relationship ended relatively early. It was too hard on her. Joyous or not, though, she was still mad at Valerie for how she broke his heart.

But that was 2 years ago. They had all moved on and friendships were more or less mended across the board. This made Sam glance at her favorite picture of her and Danny. Tucker had taken the candid picture and it was now her phone’s background. In it, Danny was giving Sam a piggyback ride. Her arms were lightly strung around his neck, legs looped around his waist. Danny had kept going in the opposite direction Sam told him to go, which frustrated her but also made her laugh. She had rested her chin on his shoulder, her face pressed right up against his. Danny was looking at her and Tucker had captured that rare moment when Sam had a huge grin on her face, still laughing. She smiled at the picture. They would be okay no matter what. Their friendship would survive.

Anyway, Sam also realized she had already come close to losing Danny, in more ways than one. Whether it was to other girls or a ghost, there was always that anxiety stirring in her head that she could lose him entirely some day. Life was too short. She needed to take the plunge for both of them and just get them both over this hurdle, and they could finally, finally, actually get together.

Sam made her decision. It was now or never. She was going to tell him. Today. The trio was meeting up at Danny’s house later anyway, and if she got there early enough, she could talk to him before Tucker showed up and teased them about it. Sam firmly nodded her head to herself, a confirmation of her decision. It was finally time.

After school, Danny was pacing in his room, trying to figure out how he wanted to do this. Asking a girl to the dance wasn’t a huge deal, and yet at the same time, it was. He would rather ask in person, but he still didn’t know what Chaos looked like, so asking in person seemed to be off the table. He could look in the yearbook for all the girls named Sam at their school. He could already omit one Sam Manson from that list. How many Sams could possibly attend their school? It would be easier to ask Tucker, though. Tucker already knew who she was. Sam and Tucker were on their way over right now. When Sam wasn’t paying attention, he could ask Tucker for Sam’s full name.

Chaos Sam, not best friend Sam. God, this was so confusing. Why were girls so hard for him? Freshman year, Paulina only liked his ghost half and wouldn’t give his human half the time of day. Sophomore year, Valerie hated his ghost half and that hatred was more important to her than her feelings for his human half. Junior year, he had been denying that he was in love with his best friend. And now that he had finally accepted that he did like his best friend as much more than a friend, a new girl entered the picture and he now found himself trying to choose between two Sams. Because it apparently wasn’t hard enough for him already to make the biggest and most important change he could possibly make in a friendship, let’s add another crush to the mix and give them the same name.

Sam. Best friend Sam - that’s who he was planning on asking originally, even if he chickened out and had to ask her as a friend instead. Plus, he and Sam had somehow gotten closer recently, and he was pretty sure she liked him. Sure, it was only because Tucker told him so, but it was a possibility. The thing was, he didn’t want to ruin things. Especially because he truly didn’t know how Sam, best friend Sam, felt about him. She was a tough and courageous girl, surely she would have said something by now if it were true. So Tucker must be pulling his leg.

But he did have another option - Chaos Sam, who may actually return his feelings. Sure, the feelings weren’t nearly as strong as what he felt for his best friend, but the feelings were still there. Plus, if he got rejected by Chaos, it would be less heartbreaking than being rejected by Sam, someone he had known for years rather than months. He could deal with losing a newer friend, but not one of his best friends. Sam was too important and he knew he needed her in his life.

Danny sighed. This was really hard, but he made a decision. It was easier to go with Chaos than risk ruining things with Sam. Danny had enough drama going on in his life already, he needed an easy win.

He broke from his thoughts when the doorbell rang. He ran downstairs and opened it, only slightly surprised to see Sam there. She was usually early for things. He and Tuck were more prone to being late.

“Hey, Sam. Come on in!” Danny moved so Sam could enter his house. He shut the door and followed her upstairs and back to his room as she returned his greeting. She was pacing the same path he just had, muttering quietly to herself. She looked nervous. “Something on your mind?”

Sam was startled out of her thoughts. “Huh? Oh yeah.” She noticed his disheveled appearance, also noting he was fidgety. Was he going to do what she was about to do? “What about you, you look like you’ve been thinking a little too hard about something.” She smiled softly.

Danny chuckled, “Yeah, but it’ll resolve itself soon. I’ll worry about it after the movies. Tuck should be here any second. Oh, but I’m glad you’re early. Can you help me with something quick?”

“Of course.” Sam followed him to his desk, smiling and rolling her eyes when he pointed to a homework problem. “I should have known.”

Danny gave her a lopsided smile and watched as she showed him how to do the problem in her perfect handwriting. It took no more than a couple of minutes. Now, they were just waiting for Tucker to arrive.

Sam looked at the time. He would be here soon. She needed to do this now. She needed to tell Danny. She couldn’t wait until after the movies for him to tell her. She had already waited long enough and couldn’t bear another second.

“Danny, can I talk to you for a second?” She sat down on his bed and gestured for him to do the same.

Danny could sense the seriousness in her voice, and nodded anxiously. He was scared when Sam was serious about things. It was usually something bad.

“Danny…” She decided to get straight to the point. “I like you. As in like-like you. More than like, and more than a friend. And we’ve been doing this dancing around for at least 4 years now and I’m sick of it. I just want to be with you already. What do you say?” Sam held her breath as she waited for Danny to answer.

He stared at her with wide eyes before nervously rubbing the back of his neck and turning his attention to his shoes, avoiding eye contact with the goth. God, why him?! He had stupidly thought, for once, things would be easier for him this time. He had already sent an offline message to Chaos that he wanted to ask her something, and then Sam had to come along and tell him what he had wanted to hear for some time now. But he couldn’t blow Chaos off when he had already somewhat asked. Of course, his life just had to be complicated every step of the way. He really liked both girls and didn’t want to hurt his best friend. Regardless, he had to be honest. He owed Sam that much. “Well, I mean, yeah, but…”

“But what?” Sam whispered, clearly already upset. Fuck. Fuck fuck FUCK. This was exactly what he didn’t want to happen. He decided to try going with Chaos so he could avoid heartbreak from his best friend. The very thing he had been so afraid of, he was doing to her right now.

Danny sighed again. “But I can’t. I’m so sorry, Sam.” It was hard to choke out, but he said it, and he felt terrible. He pressed his lips together and kept staring at his shoes until Sam lifted his chin up, forcing him to look at her.

“What do you mean you don’t feel the same way? We’ve had mutual crushes on each other for years!” Sam said angrily, feeling her heart break as her best friend and love of her life rejected her confession of love. She was so sure he returned her feelings! Especially after all the great conversations they had shared online these last few months. “Or, at least, I thought we did.” Tears swelled in her eyes. Did he lead her on? “I-I need an explanation, Danny,” she quietly stated after he didn’t continue.

Danny frowned and his heart ached. He didn’t want to hurt his best friend like this. Hell, he really liked her! Of course their crushes were mutual! And if this had happened 6 months ago instead of now, he would have jumped at the chance. But now...now he had Chaos and already forced himself to stick with his decision. It was easy with Chaos; there was no friendship to risk, no denying of being lovebirds or brushing off kisses as fakeout makeouts. Plus, he couldn’t lie to his best friend. She would know if he was lying. And he already told himself she deserved the truth. “There’s...someone else…”

“What?” Sam whispered before turning angry again, “Paulina? Valerie? Star?” she spat out.

Danny shook his head, “Ew, no...it’s someone I met online...I’m so sorry, Sam. I like you a lot, I really do, but I think I’ve already come to the conclusion that I like this girl I met online, Chaos, and I have to try to see that through.”

Many emotions crossed Sam’s face as she pieced together what he just said. At first she was upset, but as he explained himself, she felt disbelief, confusion, anger, and finally, hope. He couldn’t really be that clueless, right? “Show me.”

“Huh? I mean, I don’t actually know what she looks like, but we message every night and she really understands me! I know it sounds ridiculous, but-”

“Show me,” Sam repeated. “Show me her profile.”

“You’re not going to hurt her, are you?” Danny questioned cautiously.

“No, of course not. Just shut up and show me the profile.” Sam was more calm now, and that was kind of scary. Even though Sam said she wouldn’t hurt Chaos, he didn’t want to give her the chance. But he knew how stubborn his friend was, and eventually in whatever way, she would force the information out of him.

Danny sighed and pulled up the profile to show Sam. “I’m sorry, Sam. I’m still your best frien-”

“Shut up.” Sam scrolled through what Danny pulled up for her and pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. Closing her eyes slowly, she took a deep breath. “Didn’t Chaos tell you her name?”

“Uh,” Danny thought, “oh yeah! She said her name was Sam, because I thought she was a boy at first and I had an existential crisis, but then Tucker told me-”

“Danny. I’m Sam.”

“No I know, and sure it’ll be a little weird cause you’re Sam and she’s Sam, it’s confusing, but I-”

Sam interrupted him once again. She could hear Tucker’s footsteps approaching. She was running out of time to not make this a spectacle. “No, Danny. Chaos. Sam. Me. I’m Sam. I am Sam,”

Tucker only heard the tail end of the conversation as he entered the room. Never able to pass up a comedic opportunity, he smirked and added “I am Sam. Sam I am. I do not like green eggs and ham!”

It was suddenly silent in the room as his friends seized conversation and glared at him. Oops.

“Oh, am I interrupting something?” Tucker could see the fire in Sam’s eyes. “Uh, oh wait I forgot my...sock. I’ll be downstairs!” He raced out of the room.

Sam turned her attention back to Danny. “No, you stupid fucking MORON. I am Chaos. You’ve been talking to me the whole time. I thought you knew that!” Danny stared at her blankly until she pulled out her phone and he watched her log into her account, proving it to him. Sure enough, it was Chaos’s profile. He could see all the direct messages between them, including his offline message about wanting to ask her something.

“Wait, you? You’re Sam? I mean, Chaos? I mean Sam?” Danny looked back and forth between the profile and his best friend.

“UGH!” Sam shouted as she threw her hands in the air. “Yes, Danny. That’s me! Did you really not notice that Chaos was the same age as me and a girl who goes to our school? We have the same name and interests! Didn’t you wonder why it was so easy to talk right off the bat? I thought you put that all together and us just pretending to not know each other was a little bit you were trying to do or something!”

Danny stared at her as he continued to piece it all together. He was definitely embarrassed. He felt so stupid. How could he not tell that Chaos was Sam, his best friend since 7th grade? Talk about being totally clueless.

Wait. Clueless? Well, fuck! He got the nickname now!

His eyes flickered back and forth as he thought everything through. Eventually, he started to crack a smile. “Wait, so I’ve had a crush on you and also you? You’re the same person! This is great! Do you know what this means?!”

Sam slapped her forehead and began walking downstairs. “I don’t even know if this is worth it anymore…”

“Wait, how come Tuck and I never knew you played video games! We can enter team tournaments! You’re so good!” Danny chased after her.

Tucker watched as Sam grumbled about Danny caring more about video games than her. An excited Danny was right on her tail.

“Tucker! Sam is Chaos! I’ve been in love with Sam this whole time!” Danny explained.

“Tucker, I need you to refrain me from slapping his stupid clueless face,” Sam started.

“Wait, you didn’t know Sam was Chaos? Dude! I thought I was obvious about that!” Tucker began laughing at Danny.

“I know, so did I.” Sam crossed her arms over her chest.

“Danny, you can calculate levels of rocket fuel and figure out how to get us to Mercury or something,” Tucker started.

“Mars, actually,” Danny corrected.

“But you can’t figure out that your best friend and your crush are the same person? You’re more than Captain Clueless, you’re like….Lieutenant Clueless? That’s like, bigger right?” Tucker continued.

“I don’t think that’s how it works, Tuck,” Sam chimed in.

“Shut up Sam, this isn’t about you,” Tucker immediately stopped his train of thought when he felt Sam glaring daggers at him. “Heh, uh. Except it does. It actually has nothing to do with me. I’m sorry I told you to shut up, please don’t hurt me!” He threw his hands up in front of himself in defense.

“Relax, Tucker. I’m more angry with this fucking dingus,” she pointed her thumb in Danny’s direction.

The halfa was about to protest, then closed his mouth. “That’s fair, I deserve that.”

“I can’t even look at you right now. You scared me! I poured out my emotions to you. I thought you were rejecting me and that I would have to change my name and move to a different country! Wait, are you still rejecting me?” Sam stopped her pacing to look at him.

“Of course not, Sammy!”

“Oh don’t you ‘Sammy’ me! I told you I love you, you stupid fucking idiot!” Sam began throwing pillows at Danny, who expertly dodged them (though as a result, Tucker got hit in the face by one).

“Technically, you didn’t say ‘love’ you said ‘like’”, Danny offered as Tucker shook his head and slashed finger across his neck, signaling Danny to stop talking.

“Oh, I’m sorry! This is all my fault! I’m going to go jump off a cliff now!” Sam growled and Danny let out a small “oomph” as one of the pillows finally got him.

“I’m out. Good luck, bro!” Tucker quickly slipped out the door, leaving Danny and Sam alone.

Sam was about to follow Tucker out when Danny stopped her, “please don’t leave!” She still had angry tears in her eyes. He frowned. This was not how he expected things to go. She watched him for a few seconds before sitting down on the couch, refusing to look at him. “Sam I’m so sorry, this is just a huge misunderstanding.”

“No, Danny. It’s not. You were going to turn me down to go out with someone else.”

“But that someone was still you!”

“Yeah, but you didn’t know that! We’ve been friends for years, and you were more interested in someone you just met a few months ago! I don’t want to be anyone’s second choice, Danny! I’ve been standing by for years as you continuously chose other girls over me. I thought we were done with that, and that you were finally choosing me first, but you won’t and you never will and I’m so stupid.” Sam put her head in her hands as she tried her hardest not to let tears fall.

And that was when he finally figured it out. It wasn’t just the moment of rejection, it was years of rejection, and at her biggest confession, she still thought he was choosing someone over her. Not to mention, Tucker witnessed most of the conversation. Sam rarely showed her emotions. She always had her heart guarded, and he knew this. Tucker knew this. Hell, she didn’t even tell them she was rich until after a few years of friendship. It took them a while to get her to open up to them. She was a pretty private person. She was probably already hurt like this before. And now, she was probably embarrassed.

“You’re definitely not stupid. I’m stupid. I should have known it was you. That was actually what I really liked about Chaos, she reminded me of you.”

Sam forced a small sarcastic laugh, “Yeah, right.”

“No really,” Danny sat on the couch next to her and grabbed her hand, placing it in both of his. “Sam, you’re absolutely incredible. How dumb would I have to be to not notice?” Sam gave him a pointed look. “Okay yeah but it’s not the way you think it is. I liked Chaos because she was a lot like you. She reminded me of you. And it just seemed easier to go with her because she was basically you, but she and I didn’t have a really great friendship that could have gotten ruined if we broke up or something. I could live without her, but I can’t live without you. You’re always my number one. Always have been, always will be. Even if I did just fuck everything up. I’m so sorry, Sam. I’m ready to be with you, if you’ll still have me.”

Sam stayed silent and stared at her lap, processing this new information. Of course she would forgive him; she always did. She just needed a little time.

Danny was getting nervous that he really did fuck this up for good. This was so fucking important! He couldn’t risk fucking this up! Sensing her hesitation, Danny tried one more thing to get her back. One thing he hasn’t done before. One thing he just learned how to perfect.

“Sammy, I’m sorry,” a duplicate popped up next to her on the other side of the couch, startling her.

“Please forgive me?” Another duplicate was floating in front of her, hanging upside down, hair flopping all over the place.

“I know I’m a dummy but,” Sam snapped her head towards a third duplicate.

“I’m only a dummy because I’m in love. With you,” the real Danny finished. Sam looked back and forth between all the Dannys.

“We’re sorry, Sammy,” all the duplicates said at once.

Sam was trying really hard to hold back a smile. “You learned how to duplicate,” she stated simply.

Original Danny grabbed her hands. “Sam. I will make this up to you. I promise.”

She could hear the determination in his voice and sighed. “You better.”

Danny smiled and hugged her. “Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!! I love you so much!”

Sam pushed him off of her. “I love you too, you fucking idiot.”

“But I get to be your idiot!” Sam couldn’t hold her laughter back anymore. “Oh!” Danny shouted, “Will you go to the dance with me? Please?”

Sam pretended to ponder the answer before saying “alright”.

“Yay!” All 4 Dannys cheered. The duplicates on either side of her kissed her cheeks as the real Danny kissed her forehead tenderly. The final duplicate, feeling left out, squeezed his way in to give her a hug.

Sam was now roaring with laughter before kissing the real Danny sweetly. “You know, duplicates won’t always get you out of trouble,” she warned.

“Yeah, but they could come in handy for other things,” he wagged his eyebrows up and down suggestively before passionately kissing her, the duplicates kissing her neck and touching her in near-dangerous places.

Sam bit back a moan, eyes lustful before smirking, “I think you just found a way to make it up to me.” She began dragging the real Danny and one of his duplicates back to his room. Fuck the movies.

#phic phight 2021 #danny phantom #danny fenton #sam manson #tucker foley #amethyst ocean #also yes I took a prompt that was kinda anti-AO and turned it into AO #it's my super power #AO ho 4 life #stephanie writes sometimes

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rabbiteartrans · 3 years

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Only 6 days left for the Four Souls KS!

Time to shill!

If you're a fan of board/card games, especially ones like Munchkin or Magic: The Gathering, you should really really consider supporting Edmund McMillen's "The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls Requiem"!

It's a MASSIVE expansion to the base Four Souls game which came out 2 years ago. It's based on the Binding of Isaac videogame but you really don't need to know anything about that to enjoy this game!!

It's a 1-4+ player game massively inspired by, as I said, Munchkin and M:TG! You battle monsters (and your fellow players), collect coins to buy treasure which gives you different abilities, and use loot, curses, room effects, and a whole bunch of other stuff to create chaos and try to collect four Souls before anyone else and win the game!

You can get the I believe 700+ card Requiem expansion, base game, previous Four Souls+ expansion, AND the previously base game KS-exlusive Gold Box expansion, plus all the unlocked stretch goal extras, all in one beautiful Big Boi Box, for only $110!

But I absolutely recommend you go even higher! The KS also features a massive assortment of merch! All at discounted KS-exclusive prices! Pins, plushies, t-shirts, extra copies of the game, and a previously unbuyable Pink Box edition of Edmund's other card game Tapeworm, and SO! MUCH! MORE!

You can add money to your pledge separately from your tier to buy any of it that you want from backerkit after the campaign ends, or you can pledge $800 and get ALL OF IT at an even BIGGER discount, PLUS all the tasty little extras from the tiera below (plus some $800 exclusives yet to be revealed 👀👀)

And tonight a whole new very limited tier is being dropped! Where you can get uh... well... Edmund McMillen's bath water... People asked for this a lot 😂

But!!! Let's not forget about Stretch Goals! The bread and butter of any good Kickstarter campaign

There are 3 types of stretch goals for this KS!

Financial, Backers, and Social!

The Financial Goals are exactly what you expect! Raise enough money, something unlocks!

And so far the game's raised over $5.1M! We've unlocked the previously mentioned pins, new heart and tear token pieces for the game, massive intricate colouring pages by Tom Bunk and Samuele Gabbanini, and more! And there are currently 2 more really exciting unlocks waiting at ~$5.3M and $6.66M! Help us get there!

The Backer goals are:

For every 1k backers the KS gains, an alt version of an existing card with new incredible Guest Art is unlocked! We've unlocked 40 so far, why not more! And at ~$5.3M, they're all gonna be reworked into their own mechanically unique variants! Basically 20+ whole new cards to play with, so close!

And finally the Social Goals! The most fun part of the Kickstarter:

On Edmund's Twitter (@edmundmcmillen), he's been releasing lists of 5 tasks for fans to complete IRL! And for every list completed, a pack of WARP ZONE cards are unlocked! These are cards that crossover with outside IPs! Adding new characters/monsters/items/etc. in from all your other favourite games/shows/movies/more! It's a fantastic way to get involved and support the Kickstarter if you're a bit too low on funds! :) Head over there now and see what you can do

We've unlocked cards from Spelunky, from Hollow Knight, from Cave Story, even stuff like Salad Fingers, Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, and eceryone's favourite flash game, QWOP!

Truly it's the Super Smash Brothers Ultimate of card games 😂😂

#long post #kickstarter #four souls card game #the binding of isaac #boi #card game #board games #boardgames #board gaming #magic the gathering #mtg #munchkin #game recommendations #tabletop #table top games

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nny11writes · 4 years

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For we will raise you, in safety and peace

Okay, tumblr ate the first attempt at this post, hopefully it doesn’t devour this one as well! Here’s the deal, I can’t seem to figure out a good ending for this fic to save my life and I don’t want it to languish in the pile of unfinished wips. So I’m going to post what I have here on tumblr to at least get it out there somewhere. If anyone has suggestions for an ending I am all ears! HUGE shoutout to @venn364 for helping me figure this fic out to this point and for helping me Horde-ify hush a by baby!

Rating: Teen (for some cursing) Category: F/F/F Relationship(s): Glitradora (Glimmer/Catra/Adora) Characters: Glimmer, Catra, Adora Warnings: None apply, this is a fluff fic Additional Tags: Multiple PoVs, fluff, happy fic, happy ending, crushes, idiots in love, dorks in love, young children, Catra deals with the curse of being cute, Adora is a massive dork but what else is new, Glimmer tries to flex on her crushes by singing, lullaby, hush a by baby, post war, post canon Summary: During the post-war reconstruction of Plumeria, Glimmer volunteers herself and voluntells her crushes to take care of the local children to keep them out from under foot. She just, didn’t expect the Horde to require childcare as part of their regular duties and rotation. Or Three Sapphics watch one another interacting with young children and go, “Well guess I’m somehow more in love, cool cool cool.”

Adora and Catra looked at one another and shrugged. “Yeah okay.”

Glimmer was relieved, don’t get her wrong, but that was…not exactly what she’d expected. “Just like that? That simple?”

It wasn’t like she’d expected them to just hop on board with her, even if she’d wanted this to all pan out.

Catra rolled her eyes, a bit too theatrically thanks, before answering, “Well, I mean, sucks to be doing Cadet chores again, but, whatever. Just a buncha kids.”

“I feel like I’m missing something,” Glimmer grumbled, rubbing a hand at her neck. “You’re not trying to act too cool, and you’re not freaking out enough.”

They shared another confused look before Adora spoke up. “I mean, why would I? We’ve done a bunch of rounds at the Infant Pods, more than our fair share in fact.” That last part she said with a pointed look at her oldest friend.

Catra stretched lazily, “I will not apologize.”

“Point is, we can do this. It’s pretty simple over all, especially with you there as a third!”

Glimmer laughed, “Wait. Hang on, seriously? I’ve never babysat before but you two have?”

“Really? Weird. But, uh, yeah. Everyone in the Horde has some child rearing experience, it’s literally part of your Cadet chores and rotation.”

The galaxy must be on it’s side right now. The Horde, the EVIL Horde, had enforced babysitting chores. “Why?”

Adora shrugged, “Well someone has to make sure they’re clean and fed, doing their homework-”

“Not destroying property or getting in dangerous situations before we could send them to the meat grinder-”

“Keeping them out from underfoot, and getting their energy out too.”

“Also the whole, sometimes babies just die when you don’t, like, hold them enough thing. ...What? Did you think Hordak was at the Pods rocking them to sleep?” Catra laughed.

It certainly was an image. Glimmer giggled as she pictured Hordak overwhelmed by a literal wave of babies. “No, I just never thought about it I guess. You’ll have to teach me.”

They both grinned and Glimmer felt her heart skip a beat. It was, look, don’t judge, it was a really, really good look on them, okay?

It only took a few minutes to arrive at the temporary nursery Perfuma had set up. While Plumeria was still being cleaned up, she’d wanted a safe place for the children to go, and only needed a few extra hands to help as she pulled her subjects to help redesign their homes. Not that she’d put it like that. Something about syncing their harmonies while reconnecting with their innermost roots? The point was that Glimmer had offered to help mostly to help and partially to avoid another extremely long and boring meeting, but one teleporting queen with no childcare experience was not ideal. Perfuma had been the one to suggest Catra and Adora, seeing as the reconstruction really relied more on Perfuma regrowing the homes in this particular space.

So, they were working with what they had. And apparently that meant Horde soldiers. Experienced Horde soldiers who knew what to do with kids. Weird!

When they arrived, it was chaos.

Catra couldn’t help the small grimace she wore, she’d never been fond of IPD. Kids are loud, they don’t have boundaries or respect for other’s boundaries either. She doesn’t know how many times some toddler or Junior Cadet had petted her or pulled her tail and ears with their mysteriously sticky little hands while covered in snot. But she could also say that the one good thing about it was, without fail, some baby was going to think you were the hottest shit ever. And it had done wonders for her low self esteem as a Cadet to know that she’d always collect a gaggle of kids who everyone claimed were impossible to handle doing exactly what she wanted.

It had actually been kind of hilarious out in the Crimson Waste to use some of the tactics she’d learned in the IP against grown gangsters and thugs.

Catra could also say that the very next best thing about it was watching Adora either slowly unravel into a total mess or watching Adora get all the other kids under her thumb. Not that Adora would think of it like that, the goody two shoes, but kids seemed to naturally either love the blonde or desire nothing more than to destroy her.

Especially at the time, Catra could relate.

She was actually kind of interested to do this now just to see Adora go at it again.

And also Glimmer apparently had no experience with kids and Catra would kill to watch that skiff wreck. No, ugh, she had promised to help hadn’t she? Alright, no watching that skiff wreck unless it happened before she could intervene.

She snickered a little as, just like she used to, Adora gave the attention claps that none of these particular kids would know. Embarrassingly, the old rhythm still made Catra’s back straighten a hair just thanks to the amount of times she’d heard it.

Adora’s voice rang loud and clear across the little fenced in area, “Atten-shun!”

The kids mostly stopped, but Catra had a feeling that was due to an adult shouting and not out of their training. Did rebellion kids have training? They had to get some kind of education for sure. Huh. Probably should look into that, like, now that it was post war and all.

“Hello, salutations, and greetings!” Adora started her old spiel as if she’d never stopped, putting on her ‘force captain’ voice which was almost a mockery more than anything else. Not that Adora realized that. “I am Adora, this is Catra, and this is Glimmer. Today we will be watching, caring, sharing, and not botching a wonderful day of enrichment with you. Starting now we will do our very best to educate, captivate, and celebrate without need to castigate! It is time to have fun and run, uh, under the sun! Can I get a hoo-ra?”

The part about their newly acquired sun was a nice touch, Catra mental gave Adora extra points for finally having learned to change it on the fly. Catra weakly lifted a fist to mutter ‘hoo-ra’ with a few confused kids. Oof. Rough, but not unexpected. These ankle biters hadn’t been trained to respond promptly and loudly to Horde commands.

Yet it still had about the same effect. The children were already split down the middle looking at Adora like she was a complete idiot or like she was the best thing ever. Soon more of them would think she was the best thing ever than not, kids loved Adora’s canned speech. It always got a few laughs. Kids were easily entertained by someone clearly putting on a show and rhyming.

Adora put on an over the top look of bewilderment, putting her fists on her hips in some sort of quasi-power pose before asking, “What kind of hoo-ra was that? I want you to shout from deep in your lungs, you won’t sound dumb when it’s all in good fun! Now can I get a HOO-RA?”

Catra gave a slightly more enthusiastic call, and was delighted when Glimmer gamely screamed her head off and then blushed as the kids stared at her, because they had still not shouted. Alright, this had already paid off! Nothing better that watching Glimmer blush like that.

Adora was smiling warmly at the queen, that was always a good look on her. “I SAID HOO-RA!”

This time they managed to get most of the brats on board. A whole army of kids no taller than her waist who were thrilled to scream, a few even did it more than once. It was kind of nostalgic.

“THAT’S what I call a call! I am floored by this horde-” Adora’s eyes widened in panic as she tried to pivot her pre-written speech for a second time. “-o-of wards! Floored! I am floored!”

Aaaand twice was one too many alterations. As much fun as it would be to watch Adora fall apart over it, Catra knew it was mean. And she was trying to, you know, to be less mean.

“Ca-Adora,” wow this was harder than she’d thought. She hadn’t almost called Adora a Cadet in years. “Will be working with any of you who’d like to play a singing and marching game. Line up in front of Adora if you want to join.”

Catra grabbed Glimmer’s hand to pull her forward, which really was only for the benefit of getting to hold Glimmer’s hand. “Anyone who does not want to play a game can join us, we will be taking care of the infants so it’ll be quieter.”

She was not surprised when most of the children flocked to play. There were always a few quiet ones or nervous ones who would hang back, and she was counting on it. Sure enough four kids shuffled their way instead of towards Adora, who was already sorting her little platoon into rank and file, teaching them a quick sound off to learn their names.

Catra motioned between her and Glimmer, “You know our names, what are yours?” The kids shifted awkwardly, looking at one another to start. Catra smirked. “If you don’t want to say I will give you a nickname. For instance, this is now Sparkles.”

Glimmer glared at her, but Catra didn’t stop or let her get a word in edgewise. She pointed at the first kid with glasses, “You can be Specs, short for specification.” A bold faced lie if she’d ever told one. “Stripes, I like your shirt!” Less of a lie. “Flower Power just like Princess Perfuma,” she nodded to the boy with a flower crown. The last kid was nervously shifting hoof to hoof, “And Two Step you got some fancy looking moves.”

“And what do you all think we should call Catra?” Glimmer asked, grinning evilly, as if the kids wouldn’t just suggest kitty or fluffy or whiskers. Maybe tails if someone was feeling creative.

“Kitty!”

Catra chuckled, it was like clockwork. “How about Big Cat? It’s cooler than Kitty!” They nodded gamely to the change. “Cool. Now, does anyone want to help me with the babies? We just need to hold them.”

That was how Catra found herself leaning back against a tree with an infant sleeping on her chest after she’d situated Glimmer and the quartet. All while snickering at some of the concerned looks being shot their way as Adora got the platoon marching and singing. If they weren’t gonna get their asses in gear to manage all the hyper kids, then they could suck it up. Besides, it wasn’t even that intense of a song.

“I think that learning is cool!” The kids echoed after Adora. “Which is why I will stay in school!”

It was schlocky and dorky, if she’d been over there she’d have died of embarrassment already.

Still, Catra couldn’t help but melt a little as Adora exaggerated a high march and then kids behind her did basically whatever they wanted as she marched them around the nursery. It was nice. Even if it made Adora look really dumb, it also made her look happy. Something Catra hadn’t seen a lot of from her in years. Oh no, she was getting mushy about this now?

Disgusting. She needed a distraction stat.

“Anyone have a good story?” Catra asked and after a beat of silence, promptly ignored the kids as they started almost talking over each other to tell something about their day or who knows what. Thankfully Glimmer seemed interested even if a little stiff and awkward. Catra was grateful that her fur hid a sudden blush as she watched Glimmer holding a baby and being enthusiastically engaged in the kids' stories.

Wow.

She gets away from the Horde for less than a year, and now she’s getting sappy over Sparkles.

Gross.

Adora, of course, had a plan. A good one with details and everything!

She was using her patented IPPA (thankfully, things had to be going pretty bad for her to resort to Infant Pod Plan B) and so far things had gone well. She’d taught her platoon to march, even got them to make up some rhymes to sing for it (even if she’d had to backtrack after one of the boys said ‘butts’ and everyone then started to just scream sentences with little sense ending with ‘butts’). After a bit of that she got them doing some basic exercise with her. Jumping jacks and running, she’d then start a game of charge and was already wincing in sympathy pains as some of the kids hurled themselves full speed at the enemy team only to fold in half around their linked arms. Still, the point was to give them free reign here to lose their minds and wear out their bodies a little in preparation for a well earned nap or quiet play time.

After making sure that Catra had eyes on her group, Adora left to hunt down water for everyone, and maybe spent a little time making heart eyes across the field.

Catra, despite what she thought, was pretty good with kids. Especially little infants. Between her fluff, heat, and purrs she was an instant baby soother. Adora would know, she was once the only big baby that Catra would soothe the same way. When they’d been younger, Catra used to lose her temper during IPD, but the older they got the more she’d pull it together. There had always been something heartwarming about watching Catra sit down with a kid who was upset and listen to them intently.

Then there was Glimmer. Gosh, she’d been so nervous going in, but seemed to be quickly becoming a favorite. Because Glimmer always listened to people, no matter their age, and her high energy responses appeared to be winning her fans. The more she integrated with the kids, the more she relaxed too. And there was something absolutely mind blowing about watching her bounce a little baby in her arms, while gasping in genuine delight at something a kid had scribbled into the dirt with a stick.

Adora didn’t even blush, didn’t feel a lick of shame as she quietly got affirmation that yes, girls.

“Ew,” one of the kids snickered after finishing their water, looking right at her before making a face.

She smiled, shrugging and offered her best, worldly advice. “Girls are great.”

“Ew.” They repeated before giggling and skipping away to their friends.

Whether they eventually agreed with her, liked boys instead, like everyone, or even no one, Adora felt very assured in her assessment of wow girls pretty, so she let it slide.

Later, standing at the barrel and handing out gourds of water or helping kids re-apply their protective balms (the sun was nice, but the sun could apparently burn you which was insane), she did another check. Taking note of any particularly worn out kids to send over to Catra’s group, and was very pleased that no one seemed to be really injured. Man, this was way easier than manhandling Recruits who were about to be Junior Cadets. Maybe she could do this more often? Without all the jockeying for power and praise it was actually fun.

After another thirty minutes whizzed by according to her internal clock, Adora decided it was time to start her platoon’s cool down for water and snacks. Maybe a nap after that. It was all smooth sailing!

Adora managed to make eye contact with Catra, flashing a quick few hand signs they’d made up when they were eight and almost lived in the pods between Adora’s clumsiness and Catra’s random bursts of high energy. Catra nodded, both hands occupied as she bottle fed one of the infants, and Adora almost died. First of cuteness, because Catra was looking so cute! But also from laughter because Glimmer’s tongue was sticking out between her teeth in concentration as she carefully fed another infant. And also because she looked super cute doing it!

What a sight! It took her another minute to realize she was just standing there staring at them with a horrifically soft smile on her face. And Catra was staring back with an equally mortifying soft look. And Glimmer was now looking between them with her own embarrassingly tender look.

So this is how I die, public affection.

For some reason this was the thing that set her off. Blushing as red as her jacket, Adora pivoted around to call the platoon to get some snacks and more water. Which, considering most of them were either still singing or making up marching songs, took a little bit to organize.

The snack and water break had been decently timed, they had just finished burping the last of the babies when Adora called all the kids over. Catra waited with Glimmer until everyone else had something to eat, before mingling as best she could. It was more second nature to keep her head on a swivel, making sure no kids were making a jailbreak and no one was beating someone else’s face in. Although that probably wasn’t a concern on the Rebellion side. Maybe she’d have to rescue a kid from suffocating under a bunch of hugs?

She shrugged and got a gourd of water, barely finishing it before Two Step tugged at her hand. They’d only gotten more energetic the longer they’d been helping, so she wasn’t even surprised when they asked, "Can I pet your fluff!?"

Catra sighed heavily. This is what she got for wearing a crop top around children. She turned to look at the Two Step and smiled as best she could while also dying inside. If she didn’t let it happen following her own rules, many kids would simply find a way to make it happen anyways. Better to get it out of the way and without sticky hands. Seriously what do kids even do that makes their hands that sticky? "Sure, but only if I can touch your antlers, they look fuzzy."

They almost stabbed her in the stomach with said nubbly antlers in their excitement, apparently oblivious for at least a moment about how fragile they were. Two Step was still wiggling around the way they had the whole afternoon as they rushed to explain, "They are! They’re new and growing in bigger and my dad says that someday they’ll be HUGE like his!"

She ran a few fingers carefully along the warm velvet and nodded, it was softer than she’d actually expected it to be, and it almost seemed like she could feel the blood pumping in them? Or maybe her brain was messing with her? Either way, weird. "Neat. Your turn kiddo."

Catra did her best to not groan in annoyance when the girl simply leaned forward to rub her face on the fluffiest part of her belly.

"You said pet."

"I am petting!"

"Petting is done with your hands, not your face."

"Says who?"

Well shit, had her there. “...alright, well played.”

She glared as the trademark a high pitched whistling sound of cooing alerted her to Glimmer and Adora looking at her with hearts in their eyes and sparkles around their faces. Not literally, but she could picture it. The traitors. She could see Glimmer mouthing the words so cute and groaned. She was not cute! Ugh!

“Okay, I think that’s enough.”

Two Step grumbled but let go. “Thanks!” And with that they skipped away to hang out with the other kids.

Oh yeah, definitely time to put the kids down for a nap if they could.

It had taken longer that Glimmer expected to calm down the kids. A small handful of them went tearing off around the field cackling like loons as Catra easily loped after them on all fours. Which of course resulted in more kids wanting to get chased for some reason, shrieking in delight each time Catra put on a hair more speed to tap their arms or legs. Eventually even they were exhausted and fell panting into the grass for Adora and her to watch while Catra continued herding. It was adorable and Glimmer was never, ever gonna let her live down her afternoon of being a sheep dog. If only Bow or Entrapta were here to take a picture!

Glimmer reluctantly left her post of watching and jeering at ‘Big Cat’ to help Adora get the youngest ones situated and sleeping rolls or blankets laid out. For the ones who refused to take a nap (whether because they weren’t tired or wanted to pretend they weren’t tired), Glimmer asked around to find a few decks of cards for them to use. She wrangled a promise from each group to be quiet so their friends could sleep, and by the time she’d finished that it was tempting to take her own nap.

Adora was efficiently sorting kids into sleeping spaces, and Glimmer smiled a bit at the way she let pairs and groups just pile up together. Having seen the impossible looking ways Adora and Catra could be found tangled up after a nap, she felt pretty confident that they knew what they were doing.

When Catra finally arrived with the last two kids, both of whom she carried under her arms as they giggled, Glimmer was grateful for the chance to relax a little with her friends. She nudged Adora’s side as they passed and whispered, “Maybe afterwards you can use She-Ra? You know, give them a climbing gym or swing them around.”

Adora blinked rapidly before breaking out in a huge grin and did a little over the top flexing before they made their way over to sit with Catra. And for a few minutes they sat in a peaceful silence, enjoying the sounds of the forest and leaning against one another.

“Pssst,” Stripes rolled over to look at them, making huge puppy dog eyes before asking, “Sing us a lullaby?”

Glimmer’s eyes sparkled as she turned to watch Adora and Catra apparently debate the issue, because hello! Getting to hear them sing lullabies! They rapidly signed back and forth, faces squashing and stretching as they added emphasis to the conversation before they turned and nodded.

“Okay,” Adora said softly, “but you can’t laugh, we only know Horde songs.”

“The Horde had songs?” A little boy asked, popping up from his blanket with a huge smile.

“Yeah we did. To be fair, they’re not uh,” Adora faltered and quickly looked at Catra, which to be fair Glimmer hadn’t considered that the songs they knew might be inappropriate. She quickly decided that she also didn’t really care.

“Adults probably wouldn’t like them here.” Catra supplied with a mischievous grin, apparently knowing that the kids would all be desperate to hear them now.

“Catra!” Adora hissed in what was probably supposed to be a whisper.

“I want to hear!” Glimmer added fuel to the fire and snickered at the look of betrayal on Adora’s face. “What? I do!”

She threw her arms in the air before huffing in her fake annoyed voice, “Fine, I’ll sing a song!”

There was a moment before Adora shakily started to sing both a very familiar tune set to very different lyrics.

Hush-a-bye baby, your crying will cease For we will raise you, in safety and peace If the walls crumble, there’s no need to bawl We’ll burn the villains, princess and all

Glimmer sputtered, accidentally ending it before it even started, not just because the lullaby included a line about burning rebellion citizens to death including princesses. But also because her mother used to sing this to her! “Wait, wait, wait, that’s- that’s not how that song goes!”

“Wha- yes it is!” Adora huffed, arms crossing as she blushed, “I said you couldn’t be mean!”

“First of all, you said I couldn’t laugh and I didn’t! Secondly,” Glimmer cleared her throat to sing her version. She’d always loved singing, even took lessons when she was younger before deciding she’d rather do it for fun. But what was the point of being able to sing flawlessly under pressure if not to flex on your crushes?

Rock-a-bye baby, thy cradle is green; Father's a nobleman, mother's a queen; And Buckley’s a washer, who wears a gold ring; And Tambour’s a drummer, who drums for the king.

Not that she got any further than Adora did before being interrupted as well.

“Ew, it’s all princessy!” Catra jeered playfully getting a few giggles from the kids.

“Uh, yeah, my mom sang it to me when I was a baby!”

“Gross. Ours is better!”

Adora laughed nervously, apparently unsure what to do as their play fight went down in front of a room full of impressionable children. Which, really, was her own fault for not expecting it.

Glimmer puffed up and leaned forward, tapping Catra on the nose just to be a brat before issuing the challenge she knew would get results. “Prove it!”

Ah, the good old stand by of “prove it”, as equally effective as a double dog dare!

So Catra, looking genuinely affronted, took a breath and sang in a wholly and unfairly good voice.

Hush-a-bye baby, your crying will cease For we will raise you, in safety and peace If the walls crumble, there’s no need to bawl We’ll burn the villains, princess and all

Baby is drowsing, valiant and brave With Hordak’s power, disorder we’ll stave Though cadet’s sleeping, her dreams we all share For order and harmony’s, our duty to bear

Hush-a-bye baby, do not you fear Never mind, baby, your squad is right here Strong little fingers, but eyes must shut tight Stay sound asleep now, until morning’s light

“People sang to you as babies about Hordak’s power and burning people?” Glimmer asked, both perplexed at the Horde-ified version and slightly disturbed. No wonder some of their soldiers bought the Evil Horde’s propaganda if this was what they were taught from the cradle!

“Glimmer, I love you, and I say this with as much respect as I can,” Catra said without an ounce of respect in her body or soul, “We grew up in the Fright Zone under the eyes of commanding officers of the Evil Horde. What did you think they sang to us about?”

Well shit, had her there.

#Glimmer #Adora #Catra #Glitradora #SPOP #she ra #fanfiction #fanfic #dorks in love is just *chef kiss*#the Horde sings lullabies to their babies #surprisingly familiar but wildly different lullabies #halp this fic won't let me wrap it up in a satisfying manner so I'm throwing it into the wind to see what falls out #this could absolutely end with them going into a relationship #or it could absolutely end with them just crushing on one another #suggestions are welcome!

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punkrockbuttrfly · 3 years

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So I got tagged by @electrick-indigo to answer some questions about the fanfics I write

How many works do you have on AO3? 68. Most of those are things I write during Fictober challenges, so I’ll need to write something before October this year so I can have it be a nice number for a while

What’s your total AO3 word count? 152,901

What fandoms have you written for? Doctor Who, Classic, New and Big Finish (including Gallifrey and Bernice Summerfield), Kingdom Hearts, Power Rangers (show and comics), Star Wars, Metal Gear, Red Dwarf, The Mechanisms, Among Us, Undertale, and Untitled Goose Game. Most of those fandoms I’ve only written one or two fics for, most of them are Doctor Who related and also that one anonymous fic we don’t talk about but if you’ve read it you Know

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? Somehow Untitled Goose God is my most popular (for Untitled Goose Game, obvs) despite it being probably my shortest piece written in like 20 minutes inspired by a piece of friend art. After that is Revelation of the Laundry (New Who), The Standards of Trust (Star Wars, probably ongoing assuming I ever finish it), Time and Space to Study (New Who) and finally The Sevateem’s New War Cry (Gallifrey).

Do you respond to comments, why or why not? I try to, because I thrive on validation and am desperate for people to prop up my considerable ego. I like it when people tell me what they enjoyed about my story, and also half the time inspire an even better idea that I can write later. I’m really nothing without an audience to crib jokes from.

What is the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? Honestly I can think of a few but the one that I’m going to promote is actually my most recent fic, Who commands, a Toy obeys (Doctor Who, The Mechanisms) where the Twelfth Doctor meets the Mechs’ own Toy Soldier and ends up having yet another emotional crisis, as 12 tends to do a lot.

Do you write crossovers? If so, what’s the craziest one you’ve written? Well I did just talk about my Doctor Who/Mechanisms crossover, but I’ve also written a couple more. I wrote a Gallifrey/Red Dwarf one and a Power Rangers Time Force/Doctor Who one and that’s the extent of my crossovers, though I’m not opposed to writing more.

Have you ever received hate on a fic? Not really. I’ve had a few people comment to say they disliked an integral part of the story and then say nothing else, but I don’t think that qualifies as hate. Though tbh if they did I’d just laugh, like, how do you not have anything better to do? I know my writing isn’t good, that’s why I’m writing fanfic for fun to get better at it so that eventually I might be able to be good at writing.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Not so far, though I’m not opposed to the concept. I just wouldn’t really know where to start.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? No, and I doubt I will, although again if it did happen I’d just laugh. Like, of all the wonderful creators you could be stealing from, you picked me? Surely you must have better taste.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Not yet. I’d like to, mostly because in theory it will get me to stop procrastinating and do a thing, and also I’d love to develop a concept with someone else with a different perspective and ideas. In theory I’m meant to be planning a co-written fic with someone, buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut spoons are in very short supply and it’s sort of not gotten off the ground yet (sorry!)

What’s your all-time favourite ship? I don’t do favourites really, and half of my “favourite” ships are canon anyway and I haven’t written much or anything for that ship. Based on the shipfics I have written probably my most prolific one is either Narvin/Leela or Liv Chenka/Helen Sinclair (which is now definitely not canon as of Stranded).

What’s a WIP you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? Considering that The Standards of Trust (linked above) is supposed to be a series of stories across Ahsoka’s life but I’m taken a huge amount of time to watch The Clone Wars already and also I refuse to watch her solo spinoff series because of bullshit casting decisions, I don’t think I’ll ever “finish” it.

What are your writing strengths? I have absolutely no idea. Why do you people read my writing? This isn’t even self-deprecating, I genuinely want to know what y’all like about my writing because I have no idea.

What are your writing weaknesses? Second verse, same as the first. But also my spoons deficit and tendency to procrastinate hard, but that’s hardly exclusive to me, that’s something most writers struggle with.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? Never done it, probably won’t do it in any substantial capacity. I’ve tried learning languages before and I’m spectacularly bad at it, so I’ll most likely never have the proficiency to do it well enough to confidently publish something like that.

What was the first fandom you wrote for? Doctor Who. Also Gallifrey. The Macqueen Master battled Narvin. The Resurrection of Fear was the first fanfic I ever wrote after not having applied myself to writing fiction for a very long time beyond a couple of drabbles as a teenager, so it’s not very good, but hopefully it can serve as a demonstration of progression.

What’s your favourite fic you’ve written? Beyond the Stars, the followup to the Beyond the Grid arc of the Boom Studios Power Rangers comics that I wanted so much that I decided to write it myself, enough that hopefully soon I’ll get back to actually writing it, but this is one WIP I am determined to finish. By the end it’s going to be novel-length, and while it’s based on a non-original IP, it’s meant to be standalone enough that hopefully anyone can read it without needing context. Besides, do you need more context than “gay superhero found family space opera”?

Tagging @being-of-rain, @alison-is-a-lesbian, and @floptopus

#I needed to start promoting my fanfics on my tumblr anyway so thanks Rae!

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mariposalass · 3 years

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Sora’s Time to Shine

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Summary: Mari is already not putting too much expectations going into watching the Final Smash Presentation when someone close to her besides Kirby and Edelgard’s beloved Professor pops out of nowhere in said Presentation. All hell breaks loose (but in a good way).

Setting: Mari and co.’s house in Daly City, California; October 5, 2021

Notes: I was pretty behind in seeing the reveal since I was pretty tired when it came out and I had to check a friend’s post on Plurk to make sure that it was not all for the jokes before watching it on Gamespot and writing this story down. And yes, the Byleth in my S/I verse is the female version in case anyone is curious. And yes, it took me until around 8 AM to write this up. Featuring Luther Vandross. Here is an ask I made on Sora’ behest during a F/O takeover long before he got confirmed recently. #SakuraiHasReachedtheImpossibleDream #Sora4Smash

Tags: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Super Smash Bros., Swift Keyblader, Smash Reveal, Sakurai has reached the impossible dream!, Sora for Smash, #Sora4Smash

“Hurry Mari, you’re about to miss it!” Kairi is dragging me out onto the sofa to see the final Smash Ultimate Presentation on the living room pretty early before plopping ourselves onto the sofa.

“Look, Kairi, guys. I hate to be a party pooper, but I have no clue about who could it be,” I try to be realistic in my views.

“Well, at this point, my beloved, it could be anybody from the video game world,” my dear Philip chimes in while trying to reassure me, “Besides, as soon as it is done, we shall try to reply back to this non Smash invitation that El had found in the mail today.”

“Huh, is that correct, El dear?” I asked my regal adopted daughter for confirmation.

“Why yes of course, Mother,” she replies as she passes me the invitation, “I believe that a friend of yours has sent us one, but I didn’t want to open it immediately since this is addressed to you.”

“Okay then, I will get to read it and reply back once the Presentation is over and see who gets to fight with Kirby and Professor Byleth,” I smiled back at her.

“I couldn’t believe that there was a leak that just came out before this Presentation video and it is about music. Who was that dense enough to do it at a time like this?” Riku mumbles as he gets the video streaming on the Nintendo Direct page in his laptop.

“You know, Riku, sometimes people can act very idiotic at times, so there isn’t much we can do besides ignoring and avoiding that as much as possible,” Harry sighs as he is bottle feeding and gently rocking Serena as she had cried a while ago to be bottle fed.

“Guys, have you guys seen Sora lately?” Issa asks us while carrying Chris in her arms, “I haven’t seen him in the last few days. He didn’t even reply back to either my or Kairi’s texts and calls. Do you think he’s off to visit Jack and Sally in Halloween Town? It’s nearing Halloween soon.”

“That’s really a good question, Issa,” Ahk agrees, “I had given up trying to find him by calling over on the phone since last Thursday. All I have gotten from it were many ‘The subscriber could not be reached’ messages.”

Even Riku and Kairi are in a loss for words as they turn to each other and wonder what is up with our friend lately. Did he just went poof without us knowing? Kirby always informs us through his many Poyos that he would have to head off to Smash whenever a new tourney starts or a newcomer arrives and Edelgard’s class often gets shorter class schedules or early dismissals whenever Professor Blyeth gets to fight in Smash: she is the professor handling the Black Eagles class. Sometimes even El, Petra and Dorothea along with a few others (and yes, that includes the Gatekeeper) would come over to Smash to spectate from the sidelines and support their beloved Professor.

There is a long silence when the Nintendo Switch title card plays in the laptop and Karina directs us all to watch the screen to see many clips featuring many Smashers in the current tournament before it transitions to Sakurai-san in the studio explaining about the video as well as showcasing the Mii Fighter costumes.

“Hey look, Isabelle the Dog’s demon slaying friend from Bethesda is now coming to Smash to rip and tear up the competition!” Moana screams when the Doomguy Mii Gunner costume appears.

“Good for him; I know that many fans really did want him to be in Smash, though the costume is a nice addition,” Issa agrees. “That now makes three Bethesda franchises represented in the costumes.”

“Even the Octolings and Judd the Cat got hats based on them too,” I chime in as well.

“Oh hey, guys! Sakarui’s about to reveal the last fighter for the Second Fighter’s Pass, so keep down it and don’t expect too much,” Karina informs as Sakurai transitions to the main event and we all stay silent and stay glued to our seats.

The screen turns black before the usual Smash logo opening shows up, but instead of the usual zoom in, it then turns into a flaming Smash logo with all the Smashers up until Kazuya Mishima (yeah, the guy who tried to drop Kirby off a cliff) looking at it and covered in the shadows. Did MH decided to get them to show up in there and meet the last fighter in the dark? Probably, I bet that he might be keeping it as a surprise and possibly even conserving electricity at the same time. Then cut to Inkling Girl looking in awe with the Smash logo reflecting onto her pupils as a nice ode to the first reveal trailer for the game/tourney, I honestly love this shot.

Wait a minute, the logo turns into stars and the next scene shows everyone frozen in place as toy-like ambiios?!? How is it even possible? Well, it does certainly confirmed once again that the video game version of the tourney is set in a world of make believe after all. I could swear that a lot of people crying their eyes out as they are watching this. It looks like this is the end of one great video game series about mascots fighting among each other. Or is it? Because the camera is aiming at Mario as if he looks like he’s trying to take a nap while standing up.

Riku then proceeds to mumble some words to me incoherently that something big is coming the moment Mario wakes up to see a glowing light to see the last remaining flame glowing on the floor, which I do agree with him. Suspicious right? Oh God, Mario no! Please don’t touch the fire for everyone’s sanity. Wait, hold on a second: that isn’t not just fire that he just grabbed on and then tossed it into the sky like a boomerang: the mystery object looks like a Keyblade and there’s that Mickey keychain! Yep, that’s a Keyblade alright. Could it be...

I could recognize that beam of light that Keyblades often produce whenever they lock and unlock Keyholes to other worlds, so does everyone in the room. Riku and Kairi hugged onto each other as if we’re about to brace for an emergency (Karina and Moana also did the same), Ahk stares at the screen to see if he’s not imagining things all the sudden, Issa has her mouth drop in shock, Chris and Serena didn’t cry throughout this entire presentation, Harry gasps and nearly drops Serena’s bottle, Philip turns to me for answers while Edelgard begins to sweatdrop in concern.

No words are exchanged as the light grows and shines brighter before it proceeds to shoot itself away from the Keyblade to reveal a Keyhole on another part of the room. It then glows bright within as the camera switches back to the rest of frozen Smashers as the light begins to fill the room and revives Link, Cloud, Incineroar and Mewtwo as they all gawk at it as it reveals something from the World of Light with the orchestral rendition of Simple and Clean playing in the background. And that’s when it hits us right at the gut: the familiar spiky brown hair poking out from that Keyhole.

“What!?!” Kairi shouts as the Keyhole ‘spits’ out Sora from the World of Light.

“H-h-he actually got in, for real?” Riku squeaks up.

“Oh my…” I gasp in pure shock as we watch the whole thing played out.

“Sakarui finally did it?” Issa adds in to the discussion.

“Well, it’s about time that they managed to get his darn behind into the tourney,” Karina seconds in.

Soon enough, Sora finally wakes up from his nappy time and takes notes from Peter Pan and Tinkerbell as he flies around, sprinkling fairy dust all over the other Smashers, before landing on the floor and the Keyblade flying back to his hand.

“Damn it, Sora!” I scream as the splash screen pops in.

“Kai, your boy has finally made it big time!” Moana shakes Kairi in congratulation rather rapidly that it nearly gives my lil sis a dizzying spell.

“Moana, please don’t make Kairi that dizzy,” Harry had to tell her that.

“Whoops! Sorry Kairi,” she apologizes to her which she accepts.

So with that, we switch back to Sakurai going in depth with Sora’s moveset after he discussed about the Kingdom Hearts games and world. And he has gotten 4 costume changes, man Sora, that’s a big wardrobe you’re bringing in, oh wait, he even got the Timeless River costume too. That makes it 5 then.

“Oh gods, Sakurai is making us suffer by watching Sakurai using Sora to beat up everyone,” Ahk tells us as the Sora moveset showcase begins.

“No kidding,” Harry muses as we see Sora beating everyone in Battlefield.

“Whoa, they went for Sealing the Keyhole instead of having Trinity Force with Donald and Goofy? What a bummer,” Karina bemoans in dismay.

“Well, you know modern Disney: too overprotective of their IPs,” Philip reminds her.

“Oh new stage, what could it be?” Riku gleefully chimes in before they reveal Hollow Bastion as the stage, “Whoa, Hollow Bastion. I never thought that you will return again.”

Then the stage changes into Dive to the Heart and it had Riku and Kairi in the stained glass in one, Riku being the main focus of the second one, Roxas in the middle of the third, Xion in the fourth, Terra for the fifth, a sleepy Ven in the sixth, and Aqua’s in the seventh.

“Pretty!” I complimented the look of each stained glass.

“Quite impressive I will admit,” El agrees with me too.

Then Sakurai begins a playthrough with Sora facing Cloud and Sephiroth in Hollow Bastion, for a while, we all thought that he’s going to be a goner with Cloud and Sephiroth beating him up in the Stamina match but then the tides begin to turn in his favor after Sephy lost his full stock and with Sora having to take down Cloud next. When he did, the scene begins to go into a slow white fade out with a Game!

“Alright! Sora did it! He defeated both Cloud and mean old Sephy,” Riku cheers on.

“Woo! Go Sora!” me, Kairi, Moana, and Karina screams aloud.

“That was brilliant!” Harry agrees before he turns to Serena, “Did you hear? Uncle Sora managed to defeat two opponents in a Smash Ultimate playthrough.”

“9 songs is better than nothing at all,” Issa observes, “It would be a licensing nightmare to talk to Disney if they can borrow a couple of songs from them and they straight up refuse to assist, oh well. Oooh, a Dearly Beloved Swing arrangement, nice! I better get that save file on the Switch prompto!”

“And check out that Spirit Board: Aunt Kairi has a Spirit of herself,” Edelgard informs us as the Spirit Board for KH is revealed.

“Oh gee, never thought that it could ever happen, but thanks,” she blushes.

“Hey, I got one as well, same with Axel, Xion, Roxas, Aqua, Terra and Ven,” Riku joins in, “Marina is so going to be happy to see her boyfriend as a Spirit. She will probably try to get him real soon.”

“You bet it right, Riku, you bet it right,” I nod and agree with that last statement.

“Oh hey, he’s going to be ready within a few weeks’ time,” Karina speaks up, “Neat! The roster is now complete.”

“Even Steve and Alex have amiibos of themselves being made, that’s even more wonderful,” Ahk takes note of it, “I’m pretty sure that Sora will have one of his own along with Pyra, Mythra, that jerk who tried to threw Kirby off a cliff, and even Sephiroth soon.”

“WHAT?!? Kingdom Hearts are coming to the Switch too!?!” I am surprised to hear the news as Sakurai reveals this new information, that is so mind-blowing.

When it fades to black then to the Ultimate mural, the camera then goes for the space between Ganondorf and Dark Samus to fill in Sora’s spot before panning back. Man, this Presentation is long and is finally ending, thank God; it must be tiring to sit down and watch a nearly hour long video as Sakurai showcases the screenshots he has made and showed off in Twitter. Man, so many memories and montages. And the achievements, wow, that is a lot of them, it will be a game feat that I don’t think it will be broken for a long time.

Man, I will miss the presentations and Sakurai’s corny jokes for sure. I wish him a nice deserving break from all the game development for sure as he gives thanks to everyone from the devs to the players to the people prompting the game and ends it off with a heartfelt goodbye as it fades to back into the full reveal trailer.

“Oh gee, I’m going to miss the Smash Presentations,” Kairi sighs, “I can’t believe that we’re coming to an end.”

“Man, it’s finally over,” Riku gasps in remark as the full trailer plays out, “I don’t think that there will be a game like Ultimate for a very long time. That’s for certain.”

“I agree, Riku. It’s to going to be a tough act to follow up on,” I add in before I look up at the ceiling and murmur some words, “It’s been a long time coming, Sora. You truly deserve that last spot, you really do. Have fun in the tourney and Smash Mansion, buddy.”

Sora is Finally Here!

The End

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mostlysignssomeportents · 4 years

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All the books I reviewed in 2020

I know it's a little late for Xmas shipping, but I'm FINALLY getting around to publishing a roundup of all the books I reviewed in 2019!

Part 1: FICTION FOR ADULTS

I. AGENCY by William Gibson: A sequel to The Peripheral for the Trump years, about seductive bitterness of imagined alternate timelines, filled with cyberpunk cool and action.

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2020-01-24/agency-william-gibson

II. RIOT BABY by Tochi Onyebuchi: An incandescent Afrofuturist novella that connects the Rodney King uprising with contemporary struggle, pitting supernatural powers against dire politics.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/23/riot-baby/#Tochi-Onyebuchi

III. OR WHAT YOU WILL by Jo Walton: A metafiction about the desperate attempt of a character to pull his writer into a fictional world to save the both from human mortality.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/07/little-bro-with-snowden/#metafiction

IV. A BEAUTIFULLY FOOLISH ENDEAVOR by Hank Green: Sequel to An Absolutely Remarkable Thing - a madcap and sometimes brutal tale of social media influencers, alien invaders, disinformation, and runaway capitalism.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/08/absolutely-remarkable-thing/#carls

V. FAILED STATE by Christopher Brown: A legal eco-thriller that imagines the end of capitalism without imagining the end of the world - cyberpunk meets ecotopianism, with anarchist jurisdictions, show-trials, and rewilding.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/08/12/failed-state/#chris-brown

VI. AFTERLAND by Lauren Beukes: Eerily well-timed road-trip novel set after a prostate-cancer plague wipes out nearly every man on Earth, except for the protagonist's teenaged son, who is now being hunted by the (all-female) US government.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/28/afterland/#XY

VII. BALLISTIC KISS by Richard Kadrey: Sandman Slim confronts the worst demons of all - his own trauma and self-doubt.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/08/25/anxietypunk/#bk

VIII. SQUEEZE ME by Carl Hiaasen: Hiaasen was writing comedic whodunnits about improbable Florida Man types decades before the memes, and his Mar-a-Lago gator plague novel is a hectic and hilarious tale for our times.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/10/05/florida-man/#disappearing-act

VIII. The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson: KSR says it's his last novel and I say it's the book he's been training to write all his life. If you like your climate fiction wrenching but still uplifting enough to move you to tears...

https://pluralistic.net/2020/12/03/ministry-for-the-future/#ksr

IX. SET MY HEART TO FIVE by Simon Stephenson: An absurdist robot-romp in the mold of Kurt Vonnegut about a robot who catches the disease of emotions and tries to treat it by moving to Hollywood to write screenplays about robots.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/01/cant-pay-wont-pay/#robot-rights

Part 2: NONFICTION FOR ADULTS

I. A PUBLIC SERVICE by Tim Schwartz: An incredibly practical, detailed guide for would-be whistleblowers (and journalists who work with them) to staying safe while spilling the beans.

https://memex.craphound.com/2020/01/08/a-public-service-a-comprehensive-comprehensible-guide-to-leaking-documents-to-journalists-and-public-service-groups-without-getting-caught/

II. THE MONSTERS KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING by Keith Ammann: A sourcebook for RPG game-masters explaining how different kinds of monsters can use a variety of combat tactics that add depth, texture (and challenge) to your games.

https://memex.craphound.com/2020/01/10/the-monsters-know-what-theyre-doing-an-rpg-sourcebook-for-dms-who-want-to-imbue-monsters-with-deep-smart-tactics/

III. SNOWDEN'S BOX by Jessica Bruder and Dale Maharidge: The incredible, true tale of how trust among friends allowed Snowden's leaks to safely transit from his home in Hawai'i to the hands of Laura Poitras and the journalists who reported the story.

https://memex.craphound.com/2020/03/31/snowdens-box-the-incredible-illuminating-story-of-the-journey-of-snowdens-hard-drive/

III. ABOLISH SILICON VALLEY by Wendy Liu: A personal journey from a fully bought-in believer in Silicon Valley's meritocracy to a ferocious critic who demands tech to serve humanity, not a human race in service to the tech industry.

https://memex.craphound.com/2020/04/14/abolish-silicon-valley-memoir-of-a-driven-startup-founder-who-became-an-anti-capitalist-activist/

IV. THE CASE FOR A JOB GUARANTEE by Pavlina Tcherneva: A fierce little book setting out an economic program to rescue the nation and the planet from a system that insists we can't even hope for a better world.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/06/22/jobs-guarantee/#job-guarantee

VII. SUBPRIME ATTENTION CRISIS by Tim Hwang: What's worse than having our lies destroyed by surveillance to manipulate us with ads? Having our lives destroyed by surveillance in order to fuel a fraudulent market in ad-based manipulation.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/10/05/florida-man/#wannamakers-ghost

VIII. MONOPOLIES SUCK by Sally Hubbard: There are plenty of *great* books about monopolies and the resurgence in antitrust, but Hubbard's is the most practical, providing the reader with excellent advice for actually *doing something* about monopolism.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/10/27/peads-r-us/#sally-hubbard

IX. BREAK 'EM UP by Zephyr Teachout: The most lucid, readable, infuriating, energizing book on the rise of monopolies. Teachout never loses sight of the systemic nature of the problem, even as she uses individual stories to tell the tale.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/29/break-em-up/#break-em-up

X. BOUNDLESS REALM by Fox Nolte: There has never been a better book about the Haunted Mansion (indeed, this is one of the best books ever written about environmental design in general). Nolte goes *way* beyond trite wisdom about "storytelling."

https://pluralistic.net/2020/11/09/boundless-realm/#fuxxfur

PART 3: GRAPHIC NOVELS

I. YEAR OF THE RABBIT by Tean Viasna: A graphic memoir of Viasna's harrowing boyhood during the rise of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. It's a tale we've rarely seen through the eyes of a child, and brilliantly realized.

https://memex.craphound.com/2020/01/22/year-of-the-rabbit-a-graphic-novel-memoir-of-one-familys-life-under-the-khmer-rouge/

II. FEMALE FURIES by @misscecil: Castellucci uses an obscure and anachronistic all-woman cast of DC Universe b-characters to tell an incredible, smart, pitiless story about #MeToo, comics, solidarity and betrayal.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/06/29/female-furies/#apokolips-now

III. LONELINESS OF THE LONG-DISTANCE CARTOONIST by Adrian Tomine: A memoir of intensely felt impostor syndrome, a forceful reminder that comparison is the thief of joy - and that the traits that keep an artist going at first go toxic over time.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/21/the-thief-of-joy/#tomine

IV. CONSTITUTION ILLUSTRATED by R Sikoryak: The Trump years were an unhappy crash-course in Constitutional law, but Sikoryak's genius adaptation of the Constitution in the style of dozens of cartoonists is a pure delight.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/27/ip/#r-sikoryak

PART 4: KIDS AND YA

I. SEND PICS by Lauren McLaughlin: A YA novel that's a thrilling revenge-play about "revenge porn," a cyber-heist novel that's also a sneaky and forceful book about teen girls' sexuality.

https://memex.craphound.com/2020/04/21/send-pics-ripping-brutal-amazing-novel-about-teens-sextortion-revenge-and-justice/

II. IMPOSSIBLE MUSIC by Sean Williams: A YA novel about a music-obsessed kid who loses his hearing is the frame for a book about ability, adaptation, music theory, family, Deafness and what dreams are really for.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/06/30/deafhood/#impossible-music

III. HARD WIRED by Len Vlahos: A 15 year old discovers the truth behind bizarre dysfunction of the world around him: he's an AI in a sim, and the guy he thinks of as his long-dead father is actually the research scientists who created him.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/08/31/ai-rights-now/#len-vlahos

IV. ADVENTURES OF A DWERGISH GIRL, by Daniel Pinkwater: Like every Pinkwater novel, it defies description, it is brilliant, and it is his best to date. Ghosts, Revolutionary War fleshbots, papaya juice, and supernatural beings from the Catskills!

https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/25/dwergish-girl/#you-are-a-pickle

V. WITCH by Finbar Hawkins: A beautiful debut novel about a pair of 17th century sisters who avenge themselves against the witchfinders that murdered their mother. A superbly told historical.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/10/01/the-years-of-repair/#witch

FINALLY: I published *four* books in 2020!

I. POESY THE MONSTER SLAYER: My debut picture book, about a little girl who turns her toys into weapons and torments her parents by hunting monsters all night, with wonderful art by Matt Rockefeller:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781626723627

II. LITTLE BROTHER/HOMELAND: My multibestselling YA novels were reissued last summer in a gorgeous package with a (fantastic) new introduction by Snowden.

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250774583

III. ATTACK SURFACE: A standalone, adult sequel to Little Brother and Homeland. The New York Times called it "vocal and unflinching" and "ultimately optimistic"; the Washington Post called it a "riveting techno-thriller."

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250757531

IV. HOW TO DESTROY SURVEILLANCE CAPITALISM: A long pamphlet/short book that makes the case that Big Tech manipulates us and spies on us because they have monopolies - not because they've developed devastating, data-driven mind-control.

https://onezero.medium.com/how-to-destroy-surveillance-capitalism-8135e6744d59

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