#its gonna be absolutely huge (there are like 9 acts with about three scenes each)

[starrysharks]

refining the artstyle, more details... this is basically the exact artstyle that i plan to use for the game art itself

[roscgcld]

HEADCANONS + GOJO SATORU || onii-chan

note: this was a few ideas given to me by my beloved 🌸Anon - a bunch of new gojotwins!au headcanons c: this one is a little different compared to my other story, so this is a stand alone one. might turn it into a series if it gets enough love, but we’ll see~ you can read the original ask here!

pronouns: she/her

note: mentions of blood and death and spoilers for volume 8 & 9 of the manga. SUPER LONG by the way lol

gojotwins!au masterlist

twins have always been viewed as a bad omen for the parents - there are high chances of both twins developing no Cursed Technique at all, or have a Cursed Technique that is not desirable. So there had been no hope when one of the wives from the main family of the gojo clan was pregnant, and from what they can tell with twins at that

so it was a huge surprise to not only the elders but the entire jujutsu world when not one, but both of the twins were born with the coveted Six Eyes - something that had never happened in the history of the gojo clan. it was a moment to be celebrated!

if only they knew just what was lies ahead

much to the delight of the elders, the older one of the twins was the boy, satoru, while the girl was born 20 minutes after - it wouldn’t have mattered if it was the other way around, but just having the young boy being the one born first was definitely the icing on the cake

both of you were an absolute headache to deal with, causing so much chaos and mayhem that the elders had wondered if they should have celebrated at the idea of having two Six Eyes users under the same house was a good thing

the both of you trained together throughout your younger years, with satoru becoming super overprotective even though you were twins - he understood from a young age that the both of you were starting at different levels of footing because of your gender

yes, you are a girl - but at 7 years old you had exorcise a Grade-Two Curse by yourself with no more than an annoyed click of your tongue and a snap of your fingers, walking away whilst whining about how it got your favourite dress dirty

with that being said though, he loves to tease you are still the younger one between the both of you, and had teased you about how you should refer to him as ‘onii-chan’ instead of his first name

“come on, Y/N~ it’s a sign of respect~”

“i am going to spend you to outer space one of these days.”

the two of you were already known about the jujutsu world way before you even became old enough to enroll in Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College - you two were even allowed to enter without an interview with the then principal of the school

who would want to waste their time interviewing two highly over qualified teenagers anyway?

the first time you met geto and shoko, they were both intimidated by your sheer presence. the both of them have heard talks about the gojo twins entering their year as a pair

so when they had first met you, standing there in your uniform with your bright blue eyes hiding behind a pair of blacked out sunglasses and an indifferent look on your face - they definitely felt a shiver go through their bodies

however, when they saw your twin brother appearing behind you with the biggest grin, hugging you from behind whilst you scowled and tried to push his head away - they were definitely less intimidated now

“now, now, Y/N-chan, stop being so scary~”

“nii-chan, i am giving you three seconds to let go of me.”

the two of you quite the duo, especially when you two are always pinned against one another with more difficult and more challenging missions compared to when you were under the care of the gojo clan 

geto felt less pressure to match up to his friend, since satoru and Y/N are always at each other’s throat - wanting to outmatch the other and one up the other with silly things like Curse head counts and how difficult its level is

with that being said, satoru is very protective of you - if any so much as speaks poorly of you, he would not hesitate to put them in their place

“oya? what makes you think you can speak of my baby sister like that?” satoru had hummed towards the small group of men, who were commenting on how beautiful the young woman was followed by a lot of unsavoury comments. 

satoru still sported his casual smile, yet there was a certain air around him that made them shut their mouths up real fast. “mind repeating that? just want to make sure that i have a good enough reason to put your lazy asses six feet underground..”

after that specific incident by the way, satoru had you and your friends out on a little excursion around tokyo - where they just did a bunch of stupid things together to calm down

you can read him like the back of a book though, so when both of your friends went away to browse through some shelves in a video game store, you just wrapped your arms around your brother with a smile. “you know, nii-chan, you don’t need to go about protect my honour. i’m a big girl now.”

he’d just blink down at you before giving you a soft but genuine smile, petting the top of your head with one of his hand while the other was resting inside of his pocket. “if i don’t protect you, who am i going to protect?”

that statement was proven during your second year - a cursed user had overpowered you and shoko and had taken the both of you hostage. the curse user had practically beaten you into a pulp, knowing that you were the stronger one between the two

shoko had been tied up and beaten as well, but you were definitely taking the brunt of his anger - along with being forced to listen about how he was going to sell you to some low life family that had been trying to get you to marry their sorry excuse of a son. 

you don’t even remember meeting the father of the boy, who had claimed to visit the gojo clan home a few times now

“you gonna be a good girl for me?” the man had gripped as he gripped your hair in his hands, giving you a smirk whilst you scowled over at him in annoyance, blinking the blood out of your eyes from the wound on the top of your head. 

before you can give another snarky answer in reply that will get you another beating, the sound of someone kicking the door in. before either one of you can move, the man suddenly let go of your hair with a pained gasp as someone grabbed his hair and forced his head back, looking up into a pair of glowing blue eyes

“get your filthy hands off my baby sister.”

geto was in charge of taking care of the both of you, leaving the room with a simple reminder to satoru that they needed to bring the man back alive

both of you spending most of your time trying to unlock the many secrets of the Limitless, and how to control it better

during the entire star plasma vessel fiasco, you had stayed by geto’s side. and while you didn’t manage to save rika from being murdered, you had, like gojo, managed to touch the core of cursed energy

toji had ‘killed you’ before he went after geto, yet like satoru, he did not decapitate your head; so you had slowly started to use the reverse curse technique to heal your wounds

so you couldn’t believe satoru’s belief when he found you using reverse cursed technique to heal geto, wrapping you up in his arms while you just smile and hold him as well

the three of you plus shoko had turned to one another for comfort, because along the way you four have grown close to the young girl, and her death really affected all of you

but if there is something bright that came out from this, is that you and your brother had really elevated yourselves to become the strongest duo of the new generation - both pretty much an entire chest above the current active sorcerers

after satoru had calmed down, he had told you about what toji had said to him before his death - about how he has a son that he had planned to sell of to the zen’ins

the two of you went to visit the young boy, discovering that he had an older sister as well; and without hesitation you had taken the both of them under your wing, pulling a few strings behind the scenes while also trying to provide him with as normal as a life as you two could

megumi had viewed you as a mother figure, someone who looked out for him and tsumiki, teaching the two of them life skills like sewing and cooking, making sure they always have warm meals. 

you never miss their birthdays either - always making sure to get them either a cake or a small cupcake with a candle on the top to blow out just for the sake of tradition

sure, satoru loves to spoil them too, but he acted more like their chilled older brother - he definitely relies on you more as a parental figure he had lacked for quite a huge part of his childhood

he had remembered how once, when you had made him his favourite curry and rice after a long week, he just sighed and said, “thanks mum,” before he started to eat his meal 

at first you froze in shock, and  megumi did too - but before the blushing teen can apologise, you had already wrapped him up in your arms as you just cried your heart out

satoru had teasingly asked him if megumi can call him ‘dad’, to which megumi just scowled and sent his divine dogs after your brother

satoru loves to introduce you two as the ‘strongest duo’ by the way - which makes you super awkward and you hate it with a passion. he wasn’t wrong, but it’s still awkward

“we’re the Gojos - the strongest duo out there.”

“please stop calling us that.”

feel like because you’re there, geto might still be on the path to the light lmao - like mans will be a teacher in school and you three will be dub the ‘idiot trinity’ or some bullshit nickname lol - the three biggest troublemakers in the jujutsu world

yet the three most capable ones as well - absolutely drive the higher ups of the jujutsu world insane

with that being said though - the three of you definitely hashed a plan to change the jujutsu world together. even shoko agrees that there should be some change to the old ways of the jujutsu world; so the four of you decided to sign up to work as teachers at Jujutsu High 

the first group of students you took under your wing was the then first years - maki, toge, panda, and eventually yuta when he joined your little class

you are the mother for the students while geto is the responsible dad; satoru is the crazy uncle that is not allowed to supervise the students alone, and shoko is the cool aunt who lets you skip class in her office if you want

all the students have, at one point, just referred to you as ‘mum’ and you had always just accepted that with a soft smile and a pat on the top of their head

even if they are taller than you, they will willingly bend down to your height so you can pet them on the head - even megumi lets you get away with it

when itadori and nobara came into the picture, you had taken them un as your own as well - but you did spend a good 5 minutes laughing with geto at the idea that yuji manages to control sukuna like he is just an annoying imaginary friend in the back of his head that refuses to shut up

you had tried to give them some form of normality and comforts as teenagers, even if many times they were forced into very uncomfortable situations

all in all - it was utter chaos the moment both you and satoru were born. yet it was a miracle nonetheless. many times you prove to the world that your bond is stronger than people think it is, and that you two will go through anything to make sure the other is safe. 

you are the younger one, but the more responsible one too. the motherly figure that everyone turned to, even your friends and brother, who needs comfort and a warm meal. yet if provoked, you can become deadly and kill with no hesitation. it’s because of this, both you and your brother are considered as quite the deadly duo; the strongest ones around. 

© roscgcld — all rights reserved to me, rose, the author and creator of these works. do not repost/translate/claim my work as yours on any platform

[inkykeiji]

hq boys + slasher film dates!

fukuroudani, nekoma and inarizaki edition

eeeee yay it’s officially october 1st here WHICH MEANS it’s now the first day of halloween!!! so happy first day of halloween everyone 👻

notes: basically, if you had suggested the two of you have a slasher film date night, these are the films i think each boy would pick! ummm i don’t think this needs any warnings??? they’re slashers so, mentions of blood and murder i guess!

part one | part two | part three

       ✰          ✰          ✰          ✰          ✰          ✰          ✰           

fukuroudani

akaashi keiji – psycho ; dir. alfred hitchcock – akaashi’s artistic ass is gonna make you watch the OG slasher, the one that started it all. be prepared for a lot of random production facts and lengthy discussions on the film’s script and music!! (if y’all were just having a regular horror film date night akaashi’s pick totally would’ve been silence of the lambs do NOT fight me on this)

bokuto koutarou – the final girls ; dir. todd strauss-schulson – i headcanon bo as a big huge babie, so he’s gonna make you watch a horror-comedy!! the final girls cleverly plays with the tropes and stereotypes of traditional slasher films, and this humor enables bokuto to watch the film without jumping, so he can act all big and strong for u!

nekoma

kozume kenma – scream ; dir. wes craven – kenma’s making you watch scream (the first one!) because he appreciates the self-reflexivity of it and its innovative mix of satirical humor and actual horror.

kuroo tetsurou – a nightmare on elm street ; dir. wes craven – no, he absolutely did not ask kenma for recommendations and no, kenma absolutely did not suggest every wes craven film known to man. no but in all seriousness, kuroo appreciates the film’s unique concept + the cinematic devices used to subvert audiences, along with its creative death scenes. he’ll most likely want to have an in-depth conversation about all of these elements after the film’s over!!

inarizaki

miya atsumu – my bloody valentine ; dir. george mihalka – not gonna lie, half the reason why he picked this movie is purely due to the fact that he thinks the killer’s mask is sick as heck. but he also loves how gory it is for a 1980s film. and he’s bringing over the extended version, too—expect to receive an earful of complaining about how the full 9 minutes originally cut from the film due to censorship reasons still haven’t been entirely released.

miya osamu – profondo rosso (deep red) ; dir. dario argento – another artistic mf, osamu’s pick for your slasher date night is none other than argento’s giallo masterpiece, profondo rosso. he thinks it is incredibly well written and loves the killer’s leitmotif (in addition to other reoccurring elements that i shall not divulge in for spoiler reasons~).

[blurrypetals]

Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare - blurrypetals review

originally posted dec. 9, 2018 - ★★★★★

A-T. L-A-S-T.

I am so absolutely overwhelmed by everything that I've experienced in the last few days while listening to this. As Cassandra Clare's longest book to date, a whole dang fuckin' lot happens in this book. To sort my way through this review, the following paragraphs are gonna be chock full of a whole dang fuckin' lot of untagged spoilers, so continue at your own risk. I do think you're doing yourself a huge disservice if you do read this review before you've read the book, though. It's also incredibly likely I'll drop a spoiler or two on every Shadowhunters book so, if you're here and you have not, for some reason, read The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, the other two books in The Dark Artifices trilogy, and all of the short stories in The Bane Chronicles, Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy, and Ghosts of the Shadow Market, I implore you to amend that, to go and read those fourteen books and this fifteenth book before reading this review, just in case I ruin anything for you by accident. Okay, now that's out of the way, let's talk about sequels and how to finish a grand, epic fantasy story. It was difficult for me to not compare this book to three other books. The first two are, of course, Cassandra Clare's other finales, City of Heavenly Fire and Clockwork Princess. This handily bowls City of Heavenly Fire straight under the table because, even though City of Heavenly Fire is still a 5-star book, it's the weakest of The Mortal Instruments hexalogy and, other than perhaps The Bane Chronicles, it's also maybe the weakest in The Shadowhunter Chronicles in its current entirety. Clockwork Princess, by contrast, however, is, in my opinion, the best of the entire series. As a finale, Queen of Air and Darkness here sits comfortably as the second best Shadowhunters finale yet. So much happens in this book. It's split into three different parts which could have easily been split into three shorter books with near-perfect three act structures in place for each of them, making this book a nine act book with two "false" climaxes that would have made for quite the cliffhangers if they had been split up for any reason. The first act deals with the aftermath of Livia's death and, because it has a lot of rising action, it's actually a little frustrating in some ways, even if it was frustrating in an incredibly enjoyable way. One of my absolute favorite scenes in the whole book is Julian running to Magnus for help in the middle of the night because it so perfectly mirrors the scene in Clockwork Prince when another blue eyed boy named Will Herondale was at the end of his rope, desperate not to love a girl he was cursed not to be with. I loved the contrast between a Herondale's plea for salvation and a Blackthorn's last hope to avoid damnation, separated by a hundred years yet tied by the same plight and the same warlock's magic. Emotionless-Julian was a really compelling read, even if I was almost as angry and frustrated with him and Magnus as Emma was. I loved to hate how cold and calculating he became without his love and compassion around to guide his moral compass. I hated his betrayal of Emma so fucking much it hurt but I've always loved Julian's ruses, schemes, and plans, and his dealings with the Seelie Queen, the Black Volume, and a skilled calligrapher and wizard called OfficeMax. Damn. So fucking good. Also, speaking of Julian's plans and schemes, his war council and Livia's Watch is one of the most satisfying scenes in The Shadowhunter Chronicles as it currently exists; I'm so proud of my son. He is so great. Hot diggity. Speaking of reminders from past stories, we get the entire cast of The Mortal Instruments during a lot of this book. I was really excited anytime we ran into anyone from The Mortal Instruments, especially the part when Julian and Emma ended up being thrown in the same Unseelie prison as Jace and Clary were and that was Jace and Clary's first appearance in the whole novel. It could have easily gotten overwhelming; I was, in fact, rather worried that Jace and Clary would steal the spotlight for a good spell in the final act of the book, but they didn't, since Emma and Julian were, eh...too big to ignore, and the book even ends with the long-awaited Bane-Lightwood wedding of the centuries, but the story proper closes on Julian and Emma on the beach together. Even though The Wicked Powers is still yet to come, this book felt like a huge culmination of all fourteen of the prior books in a huge way. We had Jem and Tessa from The Infernal Devices, we had Jace, Clary, Simon, Isabelle, Alec, and Magnus from The Mortal Instruments, and we had Emma, the Blackthorns, and all their friends and allies from this series and it felt huge. I also felt the weight of what's to come in a super hardcore manner when it came to Kit and Ty, Dru and Jaime, and, of course, Ash. I genuinely feel as though I can't wait any longer to see how Kit and Ty's stories turn out. I'm especially pleased by the fact that Jem and Tessa decided to adopt Kit and that Kit will have the family he's longed for his whole life and, not only will he have two capable people parenting him through the rest of his adolescence, but he'll also have that younger sibling he's been longing for, someone he can teach and take care of in the way he wasn't when he was small. I really hope at least one of the two forthcoming Ghosts of the Shadow Market stories focuses on Kit and his new life and new home with Jem, Tessa, and hopefully their new precious tiny one. Thoughts of the future of The Shadowhunter Chronicles in Drusilla, Kit, Ty, and, specifically, Ash, bring me back around to the second section of the book, which is the most absolutely bananas thing Cassandra Clare has ever written but is also actually incredibly compelling. I fucking loved the alternate universe stuff, everything to do with the exciting return of not-Jace, the introduction of alterna-Livia, other-Cameron, and living-Raphael (especially the part where he begged Emma and Julian to tell Magnus and Alec to rename Rafael; I was in tears laughing about all of that biz), and the temporary absence of emotionless-Julian and how he and Emma ended up healing so much of their relationship there. I also am so totally down with not-Jace being the main villain of The Wicked Powers, or at least a main villain. I am really impressed with Cassie—which, when am I not, honestly?—in the way that second section of the book was written. It felt like a huge love letter to me as a longtime and dedicated fan of The Shadowhunter Chronicles in general because we got to see these, for lack of a better term, a fanfiction AU turned canon that doesn't read like a fanfiction in the least bit because it remains relevant, interesting, tense, and important the whole way through, even though it's literally a gigantic non-sequitur that some could argue is "pointless." I am not one who would argue that, though, because I loved it so damn much. It gave me what is probably my favorite Emma and Julian scene in all of The Dark Artifices, just after they return to the resistance stronghold. You know the scene. Okay, rapid fire because I could honestly go on forever about this book; I pinned 108 different clips throughout this book, which is the most pins or post-its I've ever put in one single book before. I adored the fact that Simon gave Julian his iron Lord Montgomery figurine before he and Emma left Idris. Michael Wayland's ghost showing up for Robert Lightwood's funeral fucked me up in a super hardcore way and the fact that Kit was the only one who could see him or even sense his presence really got to me and I really teared up because Bitter of Tongue from Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy absolutely wrecked me and this poked at that wound. Everything in regards to Mark, Cristina, and Kieran was incredibly sweet, sex positive, loving, trusting, and healthy and I just...gah they are perfect. A most excellent thruple, one for the ages. A great many of my pins have something to do with Kit growing into his inborn Herondale talent of being a master in snark (think candy gram and "Alas, poor Yorick,"). Everyone in the alternate realm being grossed out by endarkened-Emma's and endarkened-Julian's PDA was hilarious. Julian realizing art requires pain and morality about snapped my sad tiny bird heart clean in half. Feline death on a massive scale. Anytime Jace's more playful, youthful side showed because he's a happy boi now was delightful, especially the parts where he wanted to get to hold the mortal sword and when he declared, "We're the bait!" Magnus hallucinating was great, but my favorite hallucination was when he was flirting with a vase like it was Alec and then very seriously offering to buy it from the Institute. I also loved it when Magnus called Clary "biscuit". It made my heart all soft and nostalgic. Julian's smile at Emma when he got his emotions back tot me emotional, dammit! Caterina meeting Kit for the first time made my heart feel like it was too large for my body. Jace using finger guns, because finger guns are always hilarious. Dru realizing she was looking at the face of a parent when she looked at Julian. Kit responding to being called "Herondale," when Magnus said, "Stay away from my children, Herondale." Emma telling Diana that she showed her the kind of woman she wanted to be. Emma's terrible pun about Manuel being tied up. "Ragnor Lives." An old lady accidentally complimenting Julian on being tall. Emma and Julian deciding to go to the other at the exact same time. Alec would look better on the money. Mark trying (and failing) to make balloon animals and accidentally making them all snakes. That's not even a third of them all. Near the beginning of the review, I said I was having a difficult time avoiding comparing this book to three other books, two of which were past Shadowhunters books. The third book, however, is Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas, which is another very long final book in a series, one that somehow managed to get voted as the best YA fantasy of 2018 and, because of that slap in the face, I couldn't help but wonder how this book, technically the fifteenth in a series, managed to feel fresh, new, fun, and lovable from minute one to hour thirty of the audiobook even though this is the fifteenth time I've experienced a book in The Shadowhunter Chronicles for the first time and I've never come close to feeling the same sort of apathy or anger as I do for Sarah J. Maas and Throne of Glass. This is how you end a series. This is how you end one part of your series. This is how it's done. Take notes, everyone else. Get on Cassie's level.

[tomoawards]

The Tomo Awards 2018

Hi, welcome to The Tomo Awards 2018, baybee. Before I even get started, I just want to say that we are currently in a musical rennaissance, like an absolute golden age, and there are so many albums I wanted to put here but it was just too hard to pick because the current top 18 is just too solid and hard to pick through.

The header title of each album next to their respective number ranking on this list is a hyperlink to the album of Spotify. There will also be some links occasionally throughout the rest of this post for reference’s sake.

This is a link to the official Tomo Awards Spotify playlist of my favorite songs of 2018, in a general favorite to least favorite order. Over 10 hours of music.

Now let's talk about the albums, can we talk about the albums, please guys I've been dying to talk about the albums with you all year:

#18. Denzel Curry - TA13OO

I initially turned my eye to Denzel Curry, not because of his ties to a certain other artist who is finally dead and I won't mention by name, but because he seemed to have been another boring SoundCloud rapper from the outside. The fact of the matter however, is that that label couldn't be further from wrong. Denzel Curry's third and best album to date, TA13OO, is at its core, a commentary of SoundCloud rap culture and all of the vices it carries with it, as well as of life as a black person in America, on top of being a loose concept album, split into three acts: Light, Gray, and Dark, each of which has its own incredible and similar album cover, with the Dark cover often being used as the main one. And while the three sides of the album don't always correlate with the feel of the music itself, it does add a great way to break this already short enough album up into smaller and easier to chew pieces.

While having come up from SoundCloud himself, as well as being a XXL Freshman in 2016, Denzel's sound here is completely different than the scene he came out of, and there isn't a stuttering 808 hihat to be heard until the very last song of the Light side, Sumo, which could easily be a Lil Pump song; and that kind of juxtaposition is exactly the point - it's a caricature of SoundCloud rap, a critical analysis of it, while still finding a way to respect and understand it.

While only sitting at an easy 43 minutes, it's still a three-sided album, so I think it's only fair to give a highlight from each side. The first song and title track TABOO is easily the most essential track on the Light side of the album, while SIRENS featuring JID (who also dropped an incredible album this year) is a huge highlight of the Gray side. VENGEANCE is the biggest highlight of the Dark side, capturing the mood that the Dark concept shows on the album cover perfectly, featuring violently shouted and screamed verses from JPEGMAFIA and ZillaKami, before fading out into a soft and contrasting outro.

Finish 'em, 'Zel.

#17. Behemoth - I Loved You At Your Darkest

Very few bands have a career as enigmatic of a career as Behemoth; the closest comparison I can even think of is The Beach Boys, because it took them both over ten albums to make their magnum opus. When Behemoth released their most acclaimed work in 2014, their tenth album The Satanist, many had declared it to be one of if not the greatest black metal album ever made. The expectations for a true proper followup was almost impossible to hide, and they had even thrown around the idea that they'd never make another album again. So when they finally announced that a follow-up would be coming this year, the pressure was on.

I still don't think it will be possible for them to top The Satanist, but they closest they could do is at the very least match it, and that's just what they've done with I Loved You At Your Darkest. If anything, this album is just as solid as The Satanist was, and if this came first and The Satanist came second, I think the scores would flip, and this one would be the one with all the acclaim; it's hard to truly meet expectations and wow for a second time in a row, but Behemoth really did the absolute most they possibly could to fulfill those expectations. I Loved You At Your Darkest is truly the dark album its title suggest it would be, featuring the same minor guitar riffs that morph into complex harmonic structures with children's choirs and horn sections to back it all up at its highest peaks. This is another album for the history books.

The biggest points of interest on the standard edition of the album itself is the three-song stretch towards the beginning, starting with God=Dog into Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica, and pouring out into Bartzabel. It is, however, an unfortunate fact that the best song on the entire album, O Pentagram Ignis, was left off the full album and instead made a bonus track on the Japanese CD edition of the album.

#16. Asian Kung-Fu Generation - Hometown

Every single time Weezer drops a new album, fans complain, even if it's just by placebo. But whenever a Weezer fan complains, I'm always the first one to point out that Asian Kung-Fu Generation have been making the albums that Weezer fans want for the better part of the last 15 odd years.

Not only have Asian Kung-Fu Generation done that again with Hometown and the accompanying Can't Sleep EP that came out the same day, the album actually features co-writing credits from Rivers Cuomo himself, and it shines through as obvious as ever in songs like Circus and Dancing Girl, both of which respectively sound like the Blue Album and Pinkerton cuts.

Fuck your language barrier. Asian Kung-Fu Generation have made what people wanted The Green Album and every follow-up to be nine times already, and y'all still haven't noticed. All I know is if I hear even one of you jackasses complain when Weezer drops the Black Album early next year, I'm gonna fucking slap you in the face nine times over again with a physical vinyl pressing of every AKFG album from 2003's Kimi Tsunagi 5 M all the way up to this year's Hometown.

The biggest points of interest here are the cuts UCLA which sounds almost like a spiritual followup to the song "E" from their first album, as well as Dancing Girl, which again sounds like it would fit right into Weezer's Pinkerton save for the language difference.

#15. Wednesday Campanella - Galapagos

In the time since My Bloody Valentine, a completely unrelated band outside of this time comparison, have taken to follow-up their 2013 album MBV with even one EP that they've promised to drop the last two years in a row, Wednesday Campanella have had their entire and absolutely colossal career laid out.

Being one of the most artsy, eclectic, and just hard to pin bands in recent music from anywhere in the entire world, it's hard to even figure out what their thought processes is when defining their releases. Their two debut EPs both vary greatly in size - Norway No Mori is a mere 3 songs long, while Crawl To Sakaagari is 9 songs. Comparatively, last year's SUPERMAN, which was labeled an album, was 10 songs long. This year's Galapagos was 8, 9 if you include the cut single Gala as a bonus track like I did, but it's also still technically considered an EP. Meanwhile their 7 song "UMA" project is considered a mini-album. So fuck it, Galapagos counts as an album for this year.

On to it now, Galapagos was a hard record to stomach at first, if not solely by comparison to their previous...I don't know how many records, actually. Every record by them has always been different, sharing only one similarity - the eccentric artsiness that's so well associated with lead singer KOM_I at this point. What differentiates Galapagos the most however, is just how chill it is compared to their previous work, which is what made this a hard listen compared to last year's ball of high electric energy, SUPERMAN.

But what they delivered this year is no less worthy than any of their previous works, still utilizing the best production in the game right now, still being every bit as innovative as Yasutaka Nakata probably still wishes he could be.

The album opener, The Bamboo Princess, is the perfect starter, beginning with a slow and exotic opening melody, exploding into this huge orchestral and electronic hybrid drop. Melos is the other huge high point here, featuring a tight looping drum beat before building up with a watery, hypnotic pre-chorus, and exploding into the biggest hook on the album.

#14. Perfume - Future Pop

Before anything else, I'd like to pose this question: Yasutaka Nakata, what the fuck are you doing? It's a blessing every time we get a new Perfume album, but it's also a blessing that this album even grew on me enough to make it on my list, because it was a very rough first listen and an even rougher rollout - this is a 12 song, 42 minute album, however the amount of actual new music on here equals four songs and roughly 14 minutes. That's actually 2/3s of the album that we have already heard before it even came out. This is of course, not counting the joke of an "intro" song "Start-Up", which, as an instrumental 50 second intro, isn't really a song. But despite being Perfume’s worst album to date, Future Pop is still worth your time and adoration, as Perfume as a band still stands as one of the most incredible achievements in modern music.

So what did Future Pop do right? Well, it’s best to start with some context: the genre of future bass was born and died in 2014; nothing new has been done with it in 2018 that wasn't already done in 2014, not even what Perfume did here with Future Pop. The reason this happened is solely because the genre of future bass has found some mainstream (as far as “mainstream” goes for electronic sub-genres) success in Japan only just this year; despite not having anything new done with it, the genre that’s partially inspired by Japan, has only just found its way into the country itself. Funny how it do be like that sometimes.

But as far as future bass as a genre goes, we've heard it all before. So what makes Future Pop endearing enough to creep onto this list after such an initially awful first impression?

At it's core, it is still very much Perfume. Yasutaka Nakata, although lacking more self-awareness than ever, is still behind the wheel, and his production is still sparkly, hopeful, and clean as anything you've ever heard. Despite the genre changes, his chord choices and a good amount of his songwriting are still reminiscent of even Perfume's best material, aside from the unfortunate few songs which only have instrumental future bass choruses with ad-libs serving as the only vocal parts; what a great hook, am I right fellas?. Future Pop admittedly could fortunately have been so much worse, however. It also could have been much, much better. If anything, Future Pop has officially made JPN no longer considered the band's worst album.

Songs like Chorairin, Tenku, and Tiny Baby hark back to the heyday of classic Yasutaka Nakata production, whereas songs like Let Me Know and Everyday feel just short of being generic, and the presence of FUSION is elusive to my last two brain cells that remain after the rest of them died trying to figure out why the fuck this song even exists on the album in the first place.

Tokyo Girl and Houseki No Ame, the first single and its respective B-side, both already show their age and lack of place in the album’s main genre styling of “future pop”, sounding more like Cosmic Explorer leftovers than future bass bangers. Mugen Mirai and If You Wanna, however, happen to be the two greatest future bass songs ever recorded, with the latter feeling much too short and leaving listeners wanting more, a theme present through the album’s literal 13 minutes of new music in its 44 minute running time. Did I mention that yet? I’m sure I did, but there’s no amount of times I could repeat that to real drive home the fact that Yasutaka Nakata actually thought it was okay to release 13 minutes of new music and have the nerve to call it a “new” album.

The biggest highlights here are Mugen Mirai (無限未来) which despite the future bass goes so unbelievably hard and also Tiny Baby which happens to be one of my favorite songs in their entire catalogue now and I wish every song on this album sounded like it. The titular Future Pop being their second dive into DnB music is a pretty good one at that, with the first DnB song in their catalogue being Point from their 2013 album Level3.

At the end of the day however, this is new Perfume music, and I will always find a way to love new Perfume music no matter what.

“I feel so happy.”

#13. Rosalía - El Mal Querer

Where do I even start with this? Rosalía did something fucking magic here. Combining elements of both flamenco pop as well as a very slight trap influence, Rosalia and co-producer El Guincho are completely next level in every way. Straight out of Spain, Rosalía picked up traction last year with her debut album Los Angeles, and is already back this year following it up with the absolutely brilliant concept album El Mal Querer.

Opening with the moody #1 hit Malamente, brilliantly and minimally produced, the album's tone is set almost immediately. It's both sassy and modest, both maximalist and minimalist. If you're not familiar with the melodic work of Spanish music, the harmonic structure of this album might be jarring and almost entirely new to you. But if you know what you're going to get yourself into, this is going to be one of the most incredible musical experiences you'll hear all year.

The opening track Malamente is of course a huge highlight, but Pienso En Tu Mira is the most standout track here, combining a huge presence of modern R&B-trap in its production and melody with the flamenco stylings of Rosalía’s native Spain.

#12. SOPHIE - Oil Of Every Pearl's Uninsides

Despite losing a lot of its underground steam as well as its cult status in favor of transparency and visibility (which is in no way a bad thing), the PC Music label and associated genre have finally reached their promised potential they showed in the earl 2010s, with records like UMRU's Search Result, last year's POP 2 by Charli XCX, and SOPHIE's "proper" debut album this year. And with Hannah Diamond's debut album Reflections finally releasing early next year, it seems like PC Music's time to truly shine has finally arrived.

Oil Of Every Pearl's Uninsides, which I'll just call "Oil" from here on out, is equal parts breathtaking, uncomfortable, and mysterious. Oil features the kind of absurdist, abstract production SOPHIE came up on, but with a level of polish and palatability that she's never had before. While her original "compilation album”, PRODUCT (which I’m only just now finding out has been relabeled as a “compilation” [Edit: it’s not even officially an album on Spotify, it’s there as an official playlist of the singles that made the album up]), may have sounded like what abstract art looks like, Oil sounds like what a beautiful, colorful, absurdist painting looks like. It’s like Banksy vs. da Vinci, there’s just no comparing.

This is the kind of music that could come to life as a monster. On my first listen, I wouldn't have even flinched if I saw the cones of my stereo bulging as some kind of monster was trying to burst its way out like some kind of scene straight from Stranger Things. This music sounds like that, like something is going to physically break its way out of your speakers. This is the kind of music that I want people who don't believe in the power and capability of electronic music to hear, because it proves something important: those "lifeless" computers, synthesizers, and drum machines can create an absolute hellscape that most guitar players simply aren't capable of or creative enough to make with just a guitar.

The biggest highlights here are Ponyboy, which sounds like the music itself is trying to actually murder you by pounding you against a concrete floor at a rave, and Is It Cold In The Water, which sounds like somebody is trying to murder you by drowning you in a cave.

#11. Daughters - You Won't Get What You Want

What the fuck even is this album. I heard someone say that singer Alexis Marshall sounds like Elvis being forced to sing while being tortured. Musically, Daughters could almost be likened to Nine Inch Nails, but far more raw and more conventional. I really didn't know what to expect when I saw this pop up on Kingdom Leaks weeks before its release, but the artwork looked immediately iconic and it didn't have a pretentious genre tag, so I decided to just give it a go with no expectations.

And that's the best way to go into this. Just know that it's dark, and it might make you feel uncomfortable to the point of anxiety. I'm not even going to say anything else about it. Just go and listen to this, because it is a perfect, beautiful, dark, twisted masterpiece of an album.

Satan In The Wait is the highlight here, for me. It just captures the entire mood of the album. Go get on that.

#10. Band-Maid - WORLD DOMINATION

I'd like to start this off by wholeheartedly apologizing to Band-Maid for how much I've made fun of them and their fans in the past. I'd like to ammend this by saying I do not apologize to their Asian-fetishizing white people fanbase - you're all still creepy, cringey, disgusting little neckbeards.

This really came to me as a surprise. I have ruthlessly made fun of Band-Maid in the past. Like a lot. Despite still enjoying Maid In Japan a lot, which you will get roasted on their subreddit for even saying anything positive about even though it is their second best album next to this one, this one really caught me off guard. And while their first album has a lot of pop centric songwriting, they traded that off on the three records that followed by going super hard and edgy, almost to comedic effect as a way of trying to win over neckbeards who heard a Babymetal and think that you "have to play your own music to be good".

But World Domination does an unbelievable job at combining that hard edge with incredibly catchy pop songwriting, creating a really enjoyable heavy guitar pop experience that I haven't really heard out of Japan since the first BiSH album. Seiko Oomori tried to do similar this year but completely failed at making it stand out to an album like this in the same year, as well as her own past crowning achievements like last year's masterpiece kitixxxgaia.

Anyways, Domination is one of the best songs of the year with a chorus that makes me want to like punch of a fucking window or something, and Anemone is this super emotional pseudo-acoustic banger that will probably make you cry from its chord progression alone.

Band-Maid: I apologize. Band-Maid fans: fuck you  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#9. Kero Kero Bonito - Time n Place

Not unlike Band-Maid at all...how the fuck did Kero Kero Bonito of all bands manage to make an album this good after years of embarrassment? Now I've been into KKB for years, since the original Intro Bonito mixtape dropped. Sarah was a part of the same online weeb community I used to be a part of. Everybody pretended to like KKB because they were about the only other weeb music group besides Slime Girls that showed some potential to break through into the actual music world.

But trading in those sick beats for conventional instruments, while not something I'd ever really endorse because guitars don't automatically make music good, dad, happened to be the best thing they could have done. KKB is a real band here now, and their experimental punk, tweed-pop, noise, J-pop, whatever, songwriting on this album makes it an absolute pleasure to listen to. It also doesn't help that Sarah doesn't sing even a word in her awful native Japanese.

Jolly good show, KKB. The second and third songs Time Today and Only Acting are an immediate attention-holder for the rest of the album and absolute show-stoppers.

#8. cacophony - Harmony

Completely out of left field, and off the suggestion of a friend of mine, who I know for a fact that when he speaks highly of something, it's worth that hype. I initially put this suggestion on the backburner until he came back to tell me that this album is on the level of Ringo Sheena's masterpiece Kalk Zamen Kuri No Hana, which still stands in my opinion as one of the top five greatest albums of all time. That's when I cleared my plate and sat down with this.

Cacophony is an artist from South Korea who is still criminally unheard of, especially after an album as personal and breathtaking as this. While I don't think this will ever be the legendary masterpiece that the Ringo Sheena album is, it truly does share a very similar, dark, and personal vibe. Inspired by the unfortunate passing of her mother, Harmony (known as Hwa in Korean) is a dark introspection into Cacophony's grief, and that feeling alone is presented in its gritty but relaxed production as well as her violently powerful vocal delivery.

You don't need to know a word she's saying here; I for sure don't speak Korean or even the occasional French that these songs are in, but the emotions conveyed here transcend any language. It's a dark album, and you genuinely may walk away from this in a bad mood, but it's an album any music lover simply can't miss, so maybe bring your serotonin along with you.

The biggest highlights here are In The End, a strong track with the most emotionally vulnerable and powerful vocal performance of the entire year, and Sick Boy a violent and brooding song that almost feels like it's dragging its own coffin behind it.

#7. Lucie,Too - LUCKY

Lucie,Too shouldn't be as good as they are. By every rule of music theory, absolutely nothing about this should be as fun and investing as it is. Lucie,Too makes the kind of music that every American band like Cayetana and Soccer Mommy wishes they were making. They're making some pretty decent waves, for a relatively tiny band from a town like Utsunomiya, even in the western world.

Lucie,Too is to the point if anything else. Their songs are short and get right to the good stuff. LUCKY, their most-watched song on YouTube, sits at only a minute and a half long; but don't think this is a punk band anything. The song sits at a really easy 93 beats per minute at double-time and just breezes along at its own pace. Most of their songs follow this mellow, flowing tempo, and feature really honest and genuine production - nothing too raw, but not over-polished either. Nothing about Lucie,Too should be as good as it is, but there's just a simplicity and raw honesty to their music that I haven't really heard from much other guitar music recently.

They also dropped a new EP called "exlover" in November that features one of my top three songs of the year, Saigo No Hi, which means The Last Day.

Anyways, the biggest highlight here is probably Siesta and the title track LUCKY, but honestly, the whole thing is short enough to be one highlight in its own right.

#6. KIDS SEE GHOSTS - KIDS SEE GHOSTS

Yeah, Kanye lost his mind, but that's all over the news so you can hear about that somewhere else some other time. Right here and now though, we're here to talk about how mans Kanye still makes some of the most fire music in the game, and this is the worthy successor to every album he's made in the past that Ye just wasn't, despite the fact that I still like Ye a lot more than everyone else seems to, but let's not digress and just get right into it.

Welcome To Heartbreak is my favorite song on 808s, Gorgeous is my favorite song on Dark Fantasy, and Father Stretch My Hands Part 1 is my favorite song on Pablo. So why wasn't I one of the people who was excited for this destined Kanye x Kid Cudi collab album for years and years like everyone else? I guess I just never made the connection, because this is genuinely the exact perfect step forward that Kanye's perfect discography deserves. It's just unbelievable that at such a shaky and tender time for him, he's still capable of making something brilliant.

I admittedly didn't care for this one on my first listen at all. Then I listened a second time and it clicked immediately; this album is as colorful as the Takashi Murakami artwork on the cover, it's as haunting as the ghosts painted on it, it's as psychedelic and moody as you'd expect anything Cudi doing, and it's as brilliantly produced as you'd expect anything Kanye doing.

At only 7 songs and short of 24 minutes, this album is digestible enough to listen to in one quick sitting and easy enough to be one big highlight. But as far as individual songs here, Freeee (Ghost Town Part 2) (best paired with Ghost Town Part 1 from Kanye's 'Ye' album that came out the week prior) is phenomenal, but the biggest highlight to me is Cudi Montage, which features a guitar riff that's immediately obvious as being played by the late Kurt Cobain himself, and eventually evolves into this huge harmonizing climax that's completely unmatched to anything else in the five album Wyoming Sessions that Kanye did this year.

#5. Vince Staples - FM!

Vince Staples is the best rapper alive. There is a tie for first place, but just know he is the one tying for it and the other best rapper alive will be further down this list.

Just right down to it, FM! is hard, and it's short. Continuing along with The Year Of The Short Album, FM! stands at only 26 minutes long, 11 tracks long, 3 of which are small skits; Vince himself actually laughed at the fact that the industry even bothered to call it an album, seeing as the album is just a minute short of being as long as 2016's Prima Donna EP.

There's nothing here as innovative and forward as Big Fish Theory, but that doesn't even matter here. What's special about FM! is that Vince almost seems to be having fun here, at least on the surface. Dive a little deeper into the lyrics, and you'll see that Vince is just as nihilistic and political as ever.

Thematically, the album is presented as a sort of short radio program, featuring DJ skits between songs and previews for other artists like Tyga and Earl Sweatshirt's new music. The beats are hard and pretty standard, but capture the exact amount of discomfort Vince's debut Summertime '06 delivered.

Outside and FUN! are the bangers here to really keep your ears on.

#4. Noname - Room 25

Noname is also the best rapper alive. Y'all have been ignoring her for too long. There, I said it. There is a tie between her and Vince Staples for best rapper alive title. Following up her brilliant 2016 mixtape Telefone, Room 25 is a much darker and more nihilistic approach to the familiar Chicago sound that her and the rest of her hometown borrowed from the old Kanye.

In an industry where Nicki and Cardi B are at the top despite how problematic and lackluster they've proven themselves to be both musically and lyrically, Noname immediately addresses the game's attitude towards women summed up with the simple one liner:

"And y'all still thought a bitch couldn't rap huh?"

Tackling issues like the sexism not only faced by women in the real world, but also within the industry she is a part of, as well as the black experience in America, Noname really comes through on the honest front here delivering bars that artists like Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole probably wish their labels would let them say.

Prayer Song and Self are the real winners here. Just...please go listen.

[ALBUM COVER REDACTED because Noname said she would be having a new album cover created after sexual abuse allegations came after the artist of the original album cover.]

#3. Haru Nemuri - Haru To Shura

I have to live the rest of my life knowing that I am part of the catalyst to Haru Nemuri's western success. It was I who told Anthony Fantano about her. She is now one of the most streamed Japanese artists (IIRC, don’t quote me on that) on Spotify because of his review. If only that melonheaded fuck understood just the level of influence his platform has to give incredible foreign artists the attention they deserve. Ash, my friend and J-music plug, from Arama, shared her with me much earlier this year, and after Haru To Shura came out, I slipped that and LOONA yyxy to Fantano. But enough about melons.

Haru To Shura is a masterpiece. There's no possible way for someone to describe this album to someone who only listens to western music, and that description alone should interest you. To those who have heard music outside of the western hemisphere, this album almost sounds like what Shinsei Kamattechan would sound like if Seiko Oomori were singing instead of Noko. Which is a great comparison, because both Seiko and Noko have been known to collaborate with Haru recently.

This album is raw and abrasive, but it's also strangely beautiful and avant-garde. Haru likes to call herself a "poetry rapper", who raps, hastily monologues to herself, sings, and screams over disgusting and dreamy shoegazey punk music. I like to think of Haru Nemuri as the next in the lineage of out-of-step women in J-pop, the line of which starts with Jun Togawa and follows Ringo Sheena and Seiko Oomori all the way up to Haru.

Sekai wo Torikaeshite Okure is the song that really made me pay attention, and I'd like to hope it'll be that for you too, so go peep that one first if you're remotely interested. And if you're not - have fun living your whole life without this perfect gamechanger of an album

It’s also worth noting she dropped a fucking amazing EP this year called Kick In The World, featuring its title track, an acoustic version, with four asbolutely batshit remixes of the title song sandwiched in-between them. This song was a leftover from the album that she said would have bloated down the tracklist. Finally an artist who has the self-awareness to cut music in favor of the listening experience. Can’t say the same about Drake.

#2. YESEO - Damn Rules

I don't really know where to even start with this one. I've always considered Neon Bunny, Aseul, and YESEO to be the holy trinity of Korean indie electronic music, and while Neon Bunny's Stay Gold might still be one of my favorite albums ever made, Damn Rules proves that the Korea might have a new underground queen.

YESEO came out of nowhere only two odd years ago, and to say she hasn't had a prolific career in that short time would be insulting; in 2016 and 2017 alone she dropped two mini-albums, an EP, a ton of assorted singles, covers, a feature on I.M (of Monsta X fame)'s mixtape, songs for K-drama soundtracks, and a single with SM Entertainment. But all of that was smooth trap and EDM-infused R&B.

What sets Damn Rules apart from not just the competition, but her own past self, is that it's hard; like really fucking hard, and it's dystopian futuristic sounding. Like, this is what the Cyberpunk 2077 soundtrack should sound like, not some 2000s white people-ass Jack White-ass blues rock bullshit.

The lead single Bitches Rule still stands as one of if not my favorite song of the year. It's gritty, horny, and sounds like a deep cut from the musical landscape of 3018, and that's a theme that continues throughout every song on the album. Even the instrumental track Mess, despite its future bass-driven hook still manages to impress in a way that future bass hasn't since its peak in 2014.

The fact that Damn Rules doesn't have the streaming numbers that last year's Million Things does should honestly be an intergalactic war crime.

This is gonna be one of those albums that people are gonna look back at years from now and go "yeah, that was really something else", regardless of what she does next.

The biggest highlights here are of course the lead single Bitches Rule, the hypnotic electro-trap song Cigarette Light, and the club banger Honey Don't Kill My Vibe, which sounds nothing like the Kendrick song it gets its name from. 

#1. Travis Scott - ASTROWORLD

2019 kids will never know what it was like to bombard Travis Scott with memes that say something along the lines of "drop Astroworld right now" every time he tweeted. Let me preface all of this by saying I waited for Astroworld longer than you did. I have been listening to La Flame since the Days Before Rodeo days. I pushed Rodeo on all of my friends who liked hip-hop since the day it came out and all y'all ignored me until Astroworld. Y'all still think Birds is bad. Birds is good; it's better than Owl Pharaoh. It's better than Huncho Jack. Granted, anything is. But Astroworld is as good as Rodeo.

Astroworld is the sequel the real ragers have been waiting for. I'll admit, I was worried after Butterfly Effect, Huncho Jack, Watch, and all of his other recent features save for a few quality ones; I was worried that that generic Butterfly Effect flow would predominate Astroworld. But save for a few small hiccups which honestly don't matter in the grand scheme of things, Astroworld completely delivers on all fronts and defies the expectations he set on himself. It is not just a rollercoaster ride, it is a front to back day out at an interstellar theme park.

Sicko Mode actually sounds like you're on a rollercoaster, with the stuttering snare drops before the beat switch taking the place of a rickety chain pulling you up the hill before Drake pushes you off downhill into four loops or something. Astrothunder actually sounds like you're floating through space under a meteor shower. Coffee Bean actually sounds like you're walking back through the park at the end of the day. Thematically, Astroworld is a masterpiece. Musically, it's two levels above anybody and everybody else in the game.

Astroworld is one of the truly rare cases where something so mainstream with such a large mass appeal normally wouldn't be, and that alone makes it so worth the hype. Very rarely do you see an album so innovative and musically brilliant manage to break the top 10, let alone come out as the number one album of the year. Just like when Frank Ocean's Blonde was snubbed for its Grammy despite overwhelming success and critical acclaim, Astroworld too has been snubbed for its well-deserved Grammy over Drake's piss-poor, lukewarmly received Scorpion.

Songs like Skeletons, Astrothunder, and Can't Say shouldn't even be considered rap songs, because hip-hop is only a surface element here. A song like Sicko Mode, with three beat switch-ups, the first of which happens right as the song starts to take off before cutting itself short, with nothing resembling a hook or any traditional pop song structure, shouldn't even be the #1 radio hit that it is, but it just is. This is the rare example of something that in no way should be mainstream but is and 100% deserves to be. It's the kind of genius that can be appreciated on both the surfacelevel as a casual listener, but also for people have a finer knowledge of music to dive deeper in with.

In a world where each of the Migos, Lil Yachty, Drake, Tory Lanez, and RaeSremmurd are dropping 20+ song albums with almost all filler and little to no killer, it's a breath of fresh air to see an album as long as Astroworld filled with nothing but highlights.

[drdanwrites]

Magical Office Episode 2: The Board Meeting

Let me know what you think. You should check out The Office playlist on Spotify. It literally has every song ever sung or mentioned on the show. Absoluetly Bloody Brilliant!

<3 

-Interview with Y/N-

Y/N: So... umm yeah it's my third week working here. It's been quite an adjustment. (beat) Oh no Newt's been great. He isn't as big of a handful as the Minister makes him out to be.

There is a cut away scene to Y/N opening Newt's office door to see the room covered in mooncalves. Newt stands in the middle of the room. A mooncalf sits in his arms. The camera pans back to Y/N who gives Newt a stern look. Newt shrugs.

Newt: Ugh this isn't what it looks like.

The cut away ends and goes back to Y/N being interviewed.

Y/N: The others? Umm yeah I see them now and then, Bridget is very chatty so I interact with her a lot. I'm not sure I've actually seen Claire move yet. Y/N shifts uncomfortably in the chair and leans in as if to tell the camera a secret. I'm-I'm not actually sure if she's still alive.

Another cut away shows Claire at her desk, with the same sun glasses on. In her hair are spit balls. A figure walks by and puts more paperwork on her desk. Random clutter and paperwork cover her desk. Suddenly a spit ball flys across the room. The camera shoots up and follows the shot that came from Rodger. He quickly tries to hide the evidence that he was the one who had shot the spit ball at Claire.

Rodger: What? I'm so bored!

The cut away scene ends and goes back to Y/N sitting in the chair. She looks down at her watch and adjusts her watch.

Y/N: The minister is doing rounds to the different corridors and giving us our annual ministry updates and news. Apparently he does this every once in a while to get feed back from everyone and tell people about what's new in the ministry...

Y/N is cut off by the sound of the interview room door opening. The camera turns to see Newt in the doorway. He looks over at her and quickly notices the camera.

Newt: (startled) Oh so sorry. Forgot the camera would be in here. (To Y/N) Don't know if you saw the time but he's about to start.

Y/N: I did actually. Is Rodger ready? Last time it was easier with three of us.

She gets up from her chair and follows Newt our of the room. The camera follows beind the both of them.

Newt: Yeah I believe he's right behind him.

Suddenly M.C Hammers song "Can't Touch This" can be heard along with loud banging and things shattering or breaking. The camera focuses on the furthest corner. Suddenly a Hammer flies from it into a wall. Biggleswade comes from around the corner carrying a boom box. His other hand is conjuring hammers as they fly around the room. Bridget runs around screaming at Biggleswade to get a grip. Claire is still asleep in her chair. Rodger follows closely behind and tries to save the hammers from destroying more of the corridor. Sometimes he is successful, other times he misses as the hammers go through the drywall. Newt and Y/N instantly start helping.

Biggleswade: (with the music) Stop! Hammer Time!

There is a cut away to Newt, Rodger and Y/N in the interview room. All of them look exhausted and all of them are covered with drywall dust. Y/N flicks dust from her trousers and does the same to Newt jacket sleeve. She turns to Rodger and dusts the top of his hair. Rodger then sneezes and Newt tries to tousle his cost a little to get the dust off. Rodger looks at the camera after his sneeze.

Rodger:Biggleswade discovered a new Muggle recording the other day. He decided he loved it so much he ended up taking it too literally and made 9:30am his "hammer time." Which apparently, according to Muggles, means you throw around Muggle working tools.

Y/N: We still aren't sure Muggles would have a Hammer Time, but we understand why this M.C person is warning people about the time.

Newt: We're hoping he moves out of the Muggle 90's soon before one of us dies.

END OF INTERVIEW

The next scene shows the corridor gathering into the conference room, the same room as where the interviews are held. Biggleswade and Rodger help wheel Claire into the room. Bridget follows behind with Y/N and Newt in toe. Biggleswade and Rodger help fix Claire to be presentable.

Bridget: Don’t you think we should take her to the St. Mungos? I mean it’s been like three weeks. She probably stinks.

Biggleswade carefully gets close to Claire’s head and sniffs her hair.

Biggleswade: I’d say she’s got another week.

Bridget makes a disgusted face. Newt and Y/N look at each with a worrying face. Rodger sits next to Y/N.

Rodger: (To Y/N) Don’t worry she’s been out longer than this once before. She’ll be fine.

The camera zooms in on Newt’s face who looks at the camera with a blank and expression. He slowly begins to shake his head in disbelief.

Suddenly the camera goes to the conference room door where Milton opens the door and enters on his own. He stands next to Newt with his wand and a piece of paper. He uses the Lumos charm and shines it over the front of the room. The camera goes back to Newt’s expression and he slowly puts his head in his hands.

Milton: Witches and Wizards! He runs the ministry, he is the greatest, most charming and sexiest Wizard in the office! He’s your best friend and mine, give it up for MINISTER PARKINSON!!!!!

The Conference room door opens and in jogs Minister Parkinson. He throws his arms into the air and bobs up and down. Milton joins him and both of them jump around with their arms in the air.

-INTERVIEW WITH Y/N

Y/N: This is supposed to be an all day meeting…(The scene cuts to Y/N and Newt looking at each other and smirking as they try to hide their laughter.) ...I don’t know how I’m going to get through this.

-END OF INTERVIEW WITH Y/N-

INTERVIEW WITH BRIDGET

Bridget: Oh My God they have been glued at the hip since she got here! They are always whispering (Cut Scene to Bridget sitting in the break room table. Newt and Y/N are sitting next to each other but are turned to face each other. They are laughing and listening to each other intently. The camera goes back to Bridget who looks bored and annoyed.) The two of them are SO going to hook up. It’s like…

END OF INTERVIEW WITH BRIDGET

The camera cuts back to the board meeting. Minister Parkinson stands at the head of the table and addresses the room.

Minister:Thank you, thank you everybody! No need to stand and applause… (he pauses and when no one does anything he gives them all a stern look. Y/N and Newt look around the room as everyone looks around with confused looks. Newt and Y/N slowly stand and start clapping. Everyone follows except for Claire.) Oh stop, oh stop guys. Go one sit down. (Still confused, everyone sits again) Alright… so to start off Wizard Resources wants me to…

-INTERVIEW WITH MINISTER PARKINSON-

Minister: (His interview takes place in his office.) The board always asks me why I go around to the different offices and do these meeting myself. I mean I could get anyone to do them. I look at them and I tell them because I have a heart and knee caps just like them. I’m nothing special. I just ran for Minister and got appointed. I put my robes on one arm at a time just like anyone. But they don’t get that. When I walk into the room they immediately act like I’m this royal king or something. Doing these meetings, I feel, makes me seem like a normal average working wizard. I look forward to when I can just be average Parkinson instead of Magical Minister of Magic Parkinson.

Director: Does anyone actually call you that?

Minister: Umm no… it’s just something I’ve been trying to make a thing. It sounds more formal I think.

-END OF INTERVIEW WITH MINISTER PARKINSON

The scene cuts back to the board meeting. The minister is continuing to speak.

Minister: Just to reconfirm what I said. If you have any office romances, like you know officially dating. If you know you guys are just hooking up casually, I don’t think WR is gonna want to hear about it. But you know if you guys are talking about moving in together or meeting the family then best to get that locked down with WR.

The camera focuses in on Bridget’s face who sticks a hand in front of her mouth, hiding it from Y/N and Newt. She Mouths ‘A MATTER OF TIME’ and points with her other hand behind her hand at them.

Minister: It’s not that we forbid office romances, (He tries to subtly wink at Bridget. The camera zooms in on Bridget, who freezes and looks back and forth between the minister and the camera.)

INTERVIEW WITH RODGER

Rodger: Everyone knows Bridget has a huge crush on the Minister. Even the Minister knows.

END OF INTERVIEW WITH RODGER

INTERVIEW WITH BRIDGET

This interview takes place in Bridget’s office. There are several ‘Bridget loves Parkinson’ and Minister Parkinson memorabilia around the room.

Bridget: Me? Have a crush on the Minister? No. Absolutely not. I have no idea what you’re talking about.

END OF BRIDGET INTERVIEW

Cuts back to the meeting. The minister looks at his papers.

Minister: I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Y/N for keeping Newt in line and as accident free as possible.

Newt looks annoyed at the Minister.Putting his arms out to the side as if to say what the hell.

Newt: I am right here. I can hear you.

Y/N takes Newt’s hand and moves it down to his lap. Newt looks at Y/N shocked at the physical contact but tries not show emotion. He hides his smirk by bowing his head. The camera blurs its focus on Rodger who stares at the interaction and seems defeated. Y/N lets go of Newt’s hand.

Y/N: Thank you Minister, it’s fine. He hasn’t been any trouble at all.

INTERVIEW WITH Y/N

Y/N: (She looks off as if in a dream.) It’s actually been quite fun.

END OF INTERVIEW WITH Y/N

The camera cuts back to the Minister.

Minister: Well. I guess that’s it if no one else has anything.

Milton quickly raises his hand in urgency. The Minister rolls his eyes.

Minister: Does anyone else have anything? No? (The minister collects his stuff as Milton hovers over him. Everyone starts to get up and talks among themselves. Before the minister leaves the room he turns back to everyone.) And will someone PLEASE pour some water over that woman and wake her up?

The scene cuts over to Claire sitting in the chair still asleep. A voice belonging to Milton uses the Aguamenti charm and water dumps all over her head. She screams and wakes up. She rips off the sunglasses.

Claire: Oh hey thar. How have you all been?

Camera cuts back to everyone packing up to go home for the evening. Rodger stops by Newt’s door to see Y/N walking out.

Rodger: Fun meeting huh?

Y/N: Crazy fun. Waay too much fun for me to handle.

Rodger: Acts bashful So I wanted to see what you were doing tonight?

Y/N: Oh I’m just heading home. Nothing special.

Rodger: Well...maybe you’d like to… go… (Suddenly Newt comes through the door, interrupting them both. )

Newt: Y/N, I-I would you be able to… ugh… stay behind tonight? I have some extra things I will need help with.

Y/N: Oh yeah sure! She turns back to Rodger Sorry Rodger, maybe another night.

Newt and Y/N disappear back into Newt’s office. Rodger shakes his head and begins to walk towards the office door as he turns his head he looks into the camera. He shrugs his bag onto his shoulder more and continues to walk faster out of the office.

INTERVIEW WITH Y/N

Y/N: Office Romances? Oh it’s not for me. It’s not like I am at a point in my life where I’d be ready to have a serious enough relationship.

The camera catches Newt and Y/N talking close together in a semi lit office. He props his case on a chair and opens it. He takes Y/N’s hand and helps guide her down into the case.

Y/N: As for people in the office? If I would date anyone? I mean I don’t know. I don’t think so. I’m not really interested in anyone at the moment… but I guess that could change.

END OF EPISODE TWO

[superbatson]

groundhog day: a review

this got really long and became pretty much organized by song

here we go!

first off, the staging and choreography for this show is fantastic, i knew that right from the opening number. and each of the character's unique looks was very refreshing, especially considering how used to the costuming for jersey boys.

"small town, usa" is definitely a favorite song, has been since i listened to the soundtrack. phil is such an asshole in the beginning and andy does a great job playing him.

also rita dances a little when the ensemble breaks out into the groundhog jingle and it's???? so???? cute???? she is precious, protect her. (though she can probably handle herself, lol)

phil being a dick to the homeless guy was not cool, what an asshole

i can't remember the full line but the shorter cop's joke about the blizzard being a donut was great

i can't remember day two as much, ahh

day three was interesting. i like to title it existential crisis, the musical. it's just phil freaking the fuck out for three minutes. always kind of fun to listen to on the soundtrack, but the reactions were a little less exaggerated in the show, but it works, because you can see it. the soundtrack is, obviously, all sound, so you have to picture everything.

"stuck" has always been another favorite song of mine. honestly, i have so many faves in this show. why didn't tim get the tony for lyrics? ugh! 

anyway, the performance is even better. so, so funny. the enema part had everyone laughing, and i was too. again, choreography: a+

"nobody cares" is such a bop!!!! we had an understudy for ralph, i'll find the name later, but he was great. the choreography with the shot glasses was so clever, and was clearly inspired by THAT pitch perfect song.

(also, the car chase with the toy cars? hilarious. that aspect of the show, using toy cars to mimic driving, was also clever and very funny.)

the initial cop chase was hilarious too, with the guys holding the cars. ugh, i loved this show!!!

(also phil probably has a bondage kink bc tight handcuffs, pass it on)

(oh and a pain kink)

(i don't write smut but this show gave a fair amount of opportunity for kinks, okay?)

philandering was fun. the sex with nancy was... interesting. andy and rebecca were probably just standing there making sex noises, right? i can only imagine how hard it was to keep a straight face the first time they rehearsed that number.

(that was the number with him on the bed basically having a threesome, right? or foursome. there was a dude there. phil connors, bisexual icon.)

oh my god the diner scene. is it possible to be attracted to legs? bc andy has some nice ones. oh wow.

his acl must be doing better, though. it looked like just a compression sock-type thing was on. i'm glad he's feeling better.

(this was the song where he was even more of an asshole, right? bc it was so funny. i laughed the most here in act one, probably bc i didn't know what to expect, for once.)

"one day" is the best song in the show and you can fight me. barrett is amazing. definition of the word queen. where is her damn tony?

so, act two.

"playing nancy" is underrated. i was never a huge fan, but mostly bc i didn't know the character. now that i do, i love the song even more, and rebecca has a beautiful voice.

the next scene literally left me in shock. i knew phil's suicide was coming, but the way it happened - wow. he grabs the gun and goes beserk. he shoots the groundhog and then himself. my jaw was dropped until the spotlight came back on him in bed.

where "one day" is barrett's time to shine, "hope" is andy's. yes, he's the lead, he's been carrying songs the entire time, but this song features his absolute best vocals. i had chills. i think there were bits in this song, maybe when he kept ending up back in bed (what kind of sorcery is that? how do they do it? my mom literally asked me during the song and i was like "i have no idea"), or walked out with the covers, where people were laughing, and i didn't like it. feel what you want during a show, but suicide is not something to be taken lightly. i was close to tears during this song. absolutely amazing.

give andy karl a tony you cowards.

anywho, "everything about you" is beautiful. i loved that rita knew, even if she forgot the next day. i think it was a great development in their relationship. of course she hated him at first, but he kept changing, and i loved the trust they began to have in one another.

"night will come" also hit really hard. seeing the guy die over and over was not easy to watch, and i can only imagine how phil felt. but he kept trying, and i guess he just accepted that fate in the end, right? kinda the whole point of the song. and now knowing who the "her" was in the song also hit really hard. poor ned. such a sweet man, does not deserve that kind of pain and sorrow.

sorry if my comments are becoming repetitive, but "philanthropy" is also fun. very all over the place. i love the choreography. and phil's change in character. the tin man does have a heart after all! (does that count as a wicked reference? bc i would love to make jokes about andy's other roles. there are just... so many...)

gonna skip over punxsutawney rock bc it's kinda forgetful...

"seeing you" leaves me in tears every time. from andy's soft, sweet vocals to the scenery. gorgeous song, gorgeous performance. i loved it so much.

and for the record, i am phil/rita trash. i am ready to write 10,000 soulmate aus for them. or any au. just give me all the fics. (the show has an ao3 tag now and i am ready to read everything.)

the ending is one of the best parts of the show. i was so happy phil got out of the loop, and i was a little surprised to see that rita spent the night. but i definitely don't think they slept together in /that/ way. i can see them being up late, talking about life and the snow and the town, and rita conks out and phil just smiles and falls asleep next to her. (probably doesn't really touch her much bc he knows she has boundaries.)

(look at me, already writing the fic. i'm shipper trash, boom.)

so, yeah, amazing show overall. i would love to go back, but bronx tale is my next must-see before its leads leave. (richard, most importantly, but i really wanna see bobby too bc he is phenomenal on the soundtrack - but anyway.) but who knows if i'll even get to see another show this year? last year was an unusual circumstance, with jersey boys closing and all.

i gotta talk characters real quick bc i love them all!!! fred and debbie were precious lil beans. ned was nice, and i think i've seen people ship him with phil and now i see why. nancy was sweet and thankfully got a happy ending (with the camera guy!!! aww!!!). the mayor was funny (when he talked to phil the groundhog in the bar, it had the theater laughing every single time). ralph and his drinking pal were fun and lowkey gay. (they're dating shhh.)

also!!!! the waiter guy - billy? - was dancing with the shorter cop guy (i forget his name!!!) during "seeing you" and i almost screamed. not huge representation, but still there and quite cute. (and the fact that billy's accidental coming out was glossed over and not a big deal was v great to see.)

rita is my feminist queen and i love her. 

phil is... a dick. but a redeemable one at that, as he proved in the show. i love him too and am totally adopting him, lol. he needs protection (but rita probably has that covered).

i would totally give the show a 9/10. again, would love to see a second time. such a fun show with a lot of heart. i felt so at home in august wilson, i would go back once a year if i could.

[iwroteinapastlife]

Tearing Through the Pages and the Ink + all questions (1-15)

Omg, I wasn’t expecting that XD Thank you for asking!! 

1. What inspired you to write the fic this way?

Well, when I sat down and decided to write afull blown multi-chapter fic, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing or evenwhere I was going with it. I had this wonderful prompt from @piebsa​ that I knewwould open up endless opportunities for growth both in the charactersthemselves and in their relationship with each other, so I kind of just set outto depict that growth and let it go wherever it led me. It led me to a lot ofChloé angst and a lot of Nath narration and honestly I’m pretty okay with that.

2. What scene did you first put down?

I think it was the second section in the veryfirst chapter in which Nathanaël is in the hallway outside Chloé’sdoor and he doesn’t want to be there. I remember specifically that the line “somethingin Nathanaël snapped,” was one of thefirst things I came up with, because without that line, none of the developmentwould have been possible. Nath would have just let Chloé stomp all over himinstead of standing up for himself and we can’t have that, now can we?

3. What’s your favorite line of narration?

*Spends roughly an hour skimming through everysingle chapter* …I really don’t know. I guess I really like this line from Nath’sdream: “Bright blue eyes glowed in the dark, staring back at him. Wide withwonder, vacant of fear. They shone so bright in the vague, twisting,disoriented world that he could never believe them to be anything less than abeacon of hope, a saving grace, exactly what he needed, wanted, yearned for” (Chapter 15), mostly because I lovewriting kinda surreal color dreaminess like that. I also like any instance of “Art.The reason he was there,” or any of its variants, because Nathanaël’sgonna have to come up with a new reason eventually XD  Also in my top faves is “She may not haveseen colors the way other people did, but she would have had to be completelyblind to not see the way her question had momentarily shattered him” (Chapter 8), because one of my main goalswith this fic is to talk about Chloé’s relationship with her father and I feellike that moment is a pretty good representation of it (in TttPatI at least; see rant below).

4. What’s your favorite line of dialogue?

“Chloé…I think that somewhere on the inside…you’rea really great person” (Chapter 13), because my babies are growing :’)

5. What part was hardest to write?

Definitely Chloé’s healing conversation withSimon in Chapter 14. I wanted them to heal together and I knew I needed to showit rather than just casually mentioning it later or something, but my brain was extremely reluctant to actually writethat scene. I probably completely deleted three Word documents in my process tofinally arrive at what I posted, and even then I was like ‘Aight this isacceptable, I’m just gonna go with it.’

6. What makes this fic special or different fromall your other fics?

It’s the first and only multi-chapter fic I’vedone so far. Every other fic that I write, whether it’s a small drabble for arequest, or even a huge one shot that I’m doing for me, I view as a sort ofside project, whereas TttPatI is MY BABY. It is the fic that I have poured myblood, sweat, and tears into; I sold my soul for this fic.

7. Where did the title come from?

AHHHH MY FAVORITE QUESTION! The title is a linefrom the song Colors by Halsey. Thatsong appears repeatedly in the chapter titles and the lyrics that I put at the beginningof chapters because literally that one song is the main inspiration for thisentire fic. Both in content and imagery, it has had a major influence on thiswork. I knew the second I started that I wanted the title to be from that song,and so I actually spent a day or two listening to that song on repeat and consideringeach and every line until I felt I had found one that really encapsulated thefic as a whole. I ended up choosing the line “tearing through the pages and theink,” because I felt that it aptly conjured the idea of stripping away all thelayers that these two (mostly Chloé) have built up until we get to see theirraw, unhindered, true colors bleedingthrough.

8. Did any real people or events inspire any partof it?

Other than songs, no not really.

9. Were there any alternate versions of this fic?

I don’t think so? Back when my plan wasn’t quiteset I had a lot of different ideas for backstories and possible endings, buthonestly they sucked and I’m glad I came up with new ones.

10. Why did you choose this pairing for this particularstory?

Because I wanted to make them fall in love. WhenI started this fic, we hadn’t heard a thing about Queen Bee yet. No one knewthat Chloé was going to be having any character development coming up, and so,ChloNath really wasn’t a ship. Back then, I could literally say with 100%certainty that I had seen and read every single piece of ChloNath content thatthe fandom contained, because there was so very little of it. But I loved it. It was the strangest thingwhen I first saw any content for it, because I was like ‘I guess??? I neverreally thought about it?????’ and then the more I thought on it the more Iliked it and wanted to see how it worked. I knew that it could never happenwith the way that the characters are right this moment in the show, and so Isought to make the changes and development that would make it happen. TLDR: Iwanted to redeem Chloé enough to justify ChloNath.

11. What do you like best about this fic?

The colors and the music. I really went all outfor the aesthetics of this fic.

12. What do you like least about this fic?

That I’ve somewhat demonized André Bourgeois D:I honestly don’t think he’s cold and distant canonically. If you think I’mwrong, go rewatch Princess Fragrance and pay attention to his face when PrinceAli’s assistant lady is saying he doesn’t have time for fun activities. Do yousee how sad André looks? Right there in that frame I see a man who is saddenedby the fact that this boy in front of him doesn’t have time to enjoy hischildhood. I see a man who has his own daughter who he adores and who he wouldhate to limit in any way. I think he spoils Chloé, not because he’s too busyfor her and wants to buy her with gifts, but because he legitimately wants togive his daughter the whole world. In addition, watch how he acts whenever hegets Chloé back from a dangerous akuma. He’s always so frightened for hersafety and is so freaking relieved when LB and CN save her and he hugs her andit’s so heartwarming.

13. What music did you listen to, if any, to get inthe mood for writing this story? Or if you didn’t listen to anything, what doyou think readers should listen to to accompany us while reading?

Y’all are lucky that a few months ago I actuallyspecifically put together an aesthetic playlist for TttPatI, otherwise the listwould be out of control. Here’s a link.

14. Is there anything you wanted readers to learnfrom reading this fic?

That there are real reasons for why Chloé actsthe way she does in the show. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that thereasons I’ve come up with for TttPatI are canon (they’re probably not; seeabove rant about André Bourgeois), but I just want people to keep their mindsopen for Chloé. I’ve seen so many people just blindly hate her, totallyunwilling to consider what lies beneath the surface with her. There were somany people totally upset by the idea that she would be Queen Bee because theyactually think that she’s just terrible and they refuse to see past the flatcharacter that we’ve seen so far. But please please try to see past that. In a well-crafted show like MiraculousLadybug, no important character is going to be left so shallow withoutdeveloped motives and/or backstories. (I have feels about this with Papillontoo, but that’s a discussion for another time)

15. What did you learn from writing this fic?

…That I love Nathanaël. Not even kidding, before Istarted working on this fic I did not adore our smol tomato son like half thefandom does. I felt as much for him as I did for any of the ML supporting cast.I decided to start working with him because of Chloé and what I thought hecould bring to her, but the more I’ve worked with him both here and in otherfics, the more I’ve come to absolutely love him. I’ve seen him go in a milliondifferent directions (I’ve even taken him in greatly varied directions myself) andevery time I just love him. He’s so much fun.

Thank you so much for asking, this was a lot of fun!