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carnymassacre · 3 years

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hi dear :)c um um for the questions

4, 6, 9, 16, 18, 19, 20 (but for drawing), 21, 22, 23, 28, 29 (:]c), 40, 58, 59, 68, 93

i'm so sorry if this is too much but also i wish you much fun !

hi sweetheart mwahmwahmwah i will put this under a cut

4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you?

its hard to remember but i remember one of them calling me impulsive, another one called me smart and a pleasure to have in class or something like that

6. pastel, boho, tomboy, preppy, goth, grunge, formal or sportswear?

you know im just gonna say goth lol also what the hell is boho okay i looked it up and its ugly and i dont like it so who cares

9. favorite smell in the summer?

uhhh idk. im gonna say funnel cake and meat on the grill. this is something i smell more in autumn but i also love the smell of fire

16. most comfortable position to sit in?

flat on my stomach with my chin propped up on a blanket pillow ect i also lay on my side often

18. ideal weather?

storm/heavy rain during the day. where it's not pitch black outside but it's certainly darker than it normally would be during that time of day. absolute bliss

19. sleeping position?

when i was younger i slept in a fetal position but nowadays i mostly end up passing out flat on my back with my limbs splayed out however is most comfortable to me at the moment

20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)?

i always draw digitally on my laptop but very rarely i will break out an old sketchbook and scribble in there there's also a special feeling to drawing on lined notebook paper

21. obsession from childhood?

DINOSAURS AND DRAGONS. my god i devoted my life to dinosaurs i wanted to be a paleontologist i was always looking at the rocks around our area to see if they had fossils in them (i actually did see some fossils twice) i had so many dinosaur books and toys i watched dinosaur movies we went to a place called the science center and looked at their cool ass dinosaur exhibit all the time, and i loved dragons too i had a ton of dragon toys and dragon books i had that dragonology book which was like the literal coolest thing ever to me (its still awesome) and i loved how to train your dragon with all my heart. dragons are some of the first things i remember drawing EVER.

22. role model?

grimharlequin is definitely my biggest inspiration as both an artist and a person. his philosophy of none of his work or interests being "ironic" really speaks to me and his artwork has such a wonderful genuine raw feeling to it. i think hes one of the only artists ive ever seen whos work retains the spirit of artwork drawn in childhood before you have any inhibitions about making your art look "good" or appealing to an audience. its very special to me. i also look up massively to toby fox, sparkleanimal here on tumblr, zun and gerard way

23. strange habits?

i have the ability to put my tongue up and behind my uvula into the flap over your throat and i do that often. why? who fucking knows

28. five songs to describe you?

god okay give me a moment im ogign to try and think about this. 1. love me normally by will wood and the tapeworms 2. lover dearest by marianas trench 3. we will commit wolf murder by of montreal 4. hate me by blue october i dotn fucking know what else im sorry i ithink these are just songs i relate to more than ones that describe me but whatever listen to three cheers for sweet revenge

29. best way to bond with you?

this is a difficult question to answer because its been a long time since any new person was able to form a bond with me but i'd say just, talking about something that we both have an interest in or engaging in it together (for example if theres a certain show we both like then watching it together) games are a good way too actually games are definitely the best way idk why i said any of that other stuff

40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school?

i barely remember anything from school im sorry

58. four talents you’re proud of having?

oh god i have to invent FOUR entire talents i have um. i guess drawing is a given? i can read japanese easily save for most kanji. i can handle doing really tedious boring shit (like shiny hunting lol) and i suppose if im really interested in something i can soak up information on it like a sponge, i remember memorizing hiragana in a day or two

59. if you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be?

HAIL SATAN and i just add it to the end of my sentences at random

68. worst flavor of any food or drink you’ve ever tried?

does medicine count? i had mucinex once and it was genuinely the most vile thing to ever touch my tongue

93. nicknames?

my friends used to call me alexander jackson slugman adn i think danny called me ajax once. its hard to make a nickname out of alex

thank you for the ask sweetie

#ask

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yoi-secret-valentines2017 · 8 years

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a bicycle built for two

for @victoryuriyuri Happy Valentine’s Day! Thanks for getting me into this adorable ship :)

by Edgedancer (@radiantmists)

***

Leo <3: i think im crying Me: me too Leo <3: that was the most beautiful thing ive ever seen Me: i didnt think victor could get better but that was Me: oh my god Leo <3: and just think, youve touched his underwear Me: oh my god Leo <3: i guess yuuri really changed him Me: just as much as he changed Yuuri Me: four continents is going to be amazing Me: i can’t wait Leo <3: yeah! Leo <3: its a shame that its on valentine’s day though… Leo <3: the lasu here has a bunch of really fun-looking events planned! Leo <3: maybe we can do something, though i don’t know how i’d plan anything in korea.

Guang Hong Ji, in that moment, experiences what feels like a divine revelation. He knows with perfect, stunning clarity that February 14th will be the day he confesses to the love of his life.

Me: I’ll take care of everything.

This is not, in fact, the first time he’s experienced such perfect clarity. It’s the third.

The first had been when he was seven. He had turned on the TV, and there it had been: the costumes, the blades, the music and the ice. It is the first truly vivid memory he has of his childhood: sometimes Guang Hong recalls brief glimpses of existence before, but more often he feels as though his life began in that instant.

He had demanded ice skating lessons the next day. His parents had first been innocently obliging, then glad he had found a passion, then dawningly awed at his dedication. Three months later, when he asked for tickets to the national championships for his eighth birthday, they had sat him down and asked him if he wanted private lessons.

Guang Hong had seized the opportunity, had kept working towards the goal that shone in his mind since then. He had entered the junior international circuit at fourteen, and only the sensational talent of Yuri Plisetsky had overshadowed his own. When Guang Hong had been offered a place at off-season camps in Canada and the United States, he’d said yes without a second thought; the path to the vision that had become the center of his life had seemed clearer than ever.

In America, he’d found many things: that many internationally competitive skaters his age couldn’t yet land a triple axel, the glory of SNS, his own sexuality, friends, the mysterious draw of McDonald’s chicken nuggets, and Leo.

The crush had come first; he’d been enthralled with Leo, making his senior debut at seventeen and already being credited for his own choreography. He’d been the coolest thing on ice skates, completely original and true to his own vision.

But the celebrity crush had given way to friendship soon enough, because Leo was also the nicest thing on two legs, helping Guang Hong navigate a new country and effortlessly integrating him into the complex social circle that was the international skating community.

One day, about six months ago, Guang Hong had come upon Leo chewing on a pencil, one earbud in and staring at a notebook filled with choreography notes.

Leo had seen him and smiled, not too wide but warm as the California sun, and offered Guang Hong the other earbud.

“Can’t you just see the program unfolding?” he’d asked. “It’s like everything was already there, inside me, and this song just pulled it out.” He saw Guang Hong’s expression and seemed to shrink slightly. “Is that weird?”

Guang Hong had barely been able to shake his head, because his whole mind was caught up in Leo’s excitement, Leo’s vision, Leo. And stunningly clear like a miracle, like it had been inside him all the time and just waiting to come out, he’d thought: I’m going to keep you forever.

That’s really the core of it; Guang Hong, once he knows what he wants, plays for keeps. He doesn’t do anything by halves. Case in point: the confession.

It takes less than ten minutes for his plans to start spilling out of his brain onto paper. He already knows Leo’s flight number; luckily, Guang Hong will be arriving first. Equally lucky, the time zones will work out so that both of them will still be wide awake that night.

Guang Hong plans out every detail, plots a thousand tiny ways to make this the best night Leo has ever had. Though he decides to save some of them for the eventual proposal, by the time he has to get to sleep or risk missing practice, he has envisioned essentially the perfect first date.

The next day, he has to start making that vision a reality.

There are hundreds of restaurants in Gangneung that are rated above four and a half stars on Yelp. There is a flower shop in the airport with mediocre reviews and about thirty in the surrounding area that are much better. Guang Hong finds himself squinting at fuzzy pictures of bicycle rental shops and wondering whether they would have the right color by the time he got there.

At that point, Guang Hong realizes he could probably use some help.

He opens his phone and enlists the greatest ally of all skaters in love.

Me: I’m confessing to Leo at 4C on Valentine’s Day. Phichit: !!! Phichit: Congratulations! Me: do you want to help? Phichit: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Phichit: ofc! Me: so here’s the plan Me: [image sent] Me: [image sent] Me: [image sent] Phichit: O.O Phichit: one second

Guang Hong realizes rather suddenly that this plan is kind of– well, Phichit probably thinks he’s a total weirdo now…

phichu has invited you to a new group chat: V-Day!!!

You joined the chat K-Yuuri joined the chat

K-Yuuri: what is this about, phichit?

v-nikiforov joined the chat

You: oh my god v-nikiforov: not quite! but thank you! K-Yuuri: victor are you even serious You: phichit who did you invite phichu: everyone whose handle i know and whos gonna be at 4C K-Yuuri: jj’s not here You: please tell me you didnt invite him phichu: ok ill rephrase phichu: everyone i trust not to be a complete jerk is here K-Yuuri: neither is seung-gil. i thought you liked him phichu: hes just slow shhhh phichu: anyway heres the deal phichu: as we all know guang hong is adorably in love with leo v-nikiforov: we do???? K-Yuuri: … phichu: … K-Yuuri: i love you but you’re an idiot You: i mean to be fair he spent about 30% of his time with us blackout drunk v-nikiforov: hey! so mean :( You: and you two have known us for years v-nikiforov: oh and i love you too yuuri! phichu: that adorable dorkery aside phichu: despite the fact that everyone also knows leo loves him back phichu: they are not yet together K-Yuuri: still???? phichu: ikr? phichu: but phichu: guang hong has decided to fix this phichu: [image sent] phichu: [image sent] phichu: [image sent] K-Yuuri: O.O phichu: thats what i said v-nikiforov: guang hong You: uh… yes?

Guang Hong squeezes his teddy bear and feels a terrible sense of dread. He’d planned all this out thinking that Leo, Leo with his artist’s soul, deserved something wonderful, but Victor Nikiforov, the most dramatic being on planet Earth, thinks it’s too saccharine…

v-nikiforov: this is the second most beautiful thing ive ever seen v-nikiforov: please let me help You: whats the first? phichu: hes gonna say yuuri v-nikiforov: yuuri v-nikiforov: how do you type so fast K-Yuuri: ANYWAY id like to help too if you need it You: thanks guys K-Yuuri: but we really need someone who knows the city to help K-Yuuri: even just knowing the language for reservations and stuff would be nice phichu: you’re right phichu: thankfully i have an ace up my sleeve

s-g-lee joined the chat

s-g-lee: what is this phichu: how is your timing so perfect phichu: anyway scroll up phichu: you train in gangneung right

***

Guang Hong sat in the cafe and watched Leo eat the last piece of the cake they’d shared with a quiet sense of satisfaction.

He had met Leo at the airport gate, flowers in hand. Phichit had taken Leo’s bags and walked off with his coach, the two of them giggling like schoolgirls.

Leo and Guang Hong had caught up as they wound their way out of the airport to the road. Though they’d been messaging each other all the time they’d been apart, there was something different about walking next to each other, matching their strides and bumping elbows affectionately.

When Guang Hong had begun steering them toward the bike rental, Leo had perked up before looking at the flowers still in his hands in worry. Guang Hong had smiled and told him to wait outside, before returning with a old-style tandem bicycle, complete with front basket.

They’d made their way through the streets, reveling in the cheerful, bustling atmosphere. Leo had pointed out a little cart in one of the market squares, and they had stopped to eat, Guang Hong laughing at Leo’s wide-eyed reaction to biting into a pepper, Leo wiping a crumb from his cheek. It’s incredible how Guang Hong can plan everything and think it’s perfect, and then Leo comes along with his spontaneous grace and somehow makes it a thousand times better.

Eventually, they’d reached the café Seung-gil had recommended. Leo thankfully hadn’t looked too closely at the couple that walked out as they walked in and so had missed Victor’s conspiratory wink before Yuuri had dragged him away.

Leo had squeezed his hand– when had he taken it?– as they entered and were led to a table by the window, their favorite songs beginning to filter softly through the room.

And now here they are, looking at each other over a pink candle and a red rose, and so Guang Hong finally says what’s been hanging in the air this whole time, artless and simple: “I love you.”

On Leo’s face there’s no hint of surprise, and Guang Hong thinks that this is why they were meant for each other: their worlds are made of simple truths: this is how it is, this is how I feel, this is how it will be.

Leo smiles, takes his hand. “I know.”

Then he laughs as Nat King Cole’s light tones rise through the air, but without letting go of Guang Hong’s hand he sings along with the chorus– all for the love of you– and his voice is sweet and perfectly, divinely clear.

#yoi secret valentines #writing #submission

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alexrodriguespage · 5 years

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Our Anasazi Experience Pt. 1: Ivie’s Interview

I have sat down countless times to write this blog post, and it was like my fingers just wouldnt work. I have had so many emails from parents that are worried and families that are in crisis that I know it’s time to share something. Even if we’re still close to it, even though we dont have a 20/20 perspective yet, and even though we are still very much finding our footing and working through stuff.

I know that this is a very public forum. Sharing this is something that we decided as a family. We arent putting our daughter “on blast”. She very bravely opened up about going to Anasazi before we even considered sharing it. I dont know about you but at 16 I was for sure not woke enough to know that sharing the hard thing I’m struggling with could lighten someone else’s burden. As a mother there is nothing in this world that I could be more proud of her for.

This post like all of the posts we share about our story with addiction, is about hope. I mean, what’s the point of going through rough stuff if in the end it doesnt help anyone? Here is our experience. We hope with our whole hearts that it can help one of you!

Our 16 yr old daughter was struggling. Without going into to too much detail (honestly it’s irrelevant now that we’ve experienced Anasazi) we were completely lost with how to help. For years we had tried all of the things that people suggested and it just wasnt helping her. Knowing what I know now, there was no way that she could change without our family changing as well, but that is what we kept trying to do. Change her, fix her. The reality is that our whole family was in crisis. We ALL needed to be changed.

I had some pretty inspired revelation that she needed to go to the Anasazi wilderness program. (You can read more about that here!)

The Anasazi Foundation is a non-profit wilderness therapy program for teens and adults. It is grounded in Native American traditions and outdoor survivalist methods. Anasazi has their own language for stuff, so as I use it I’ll make sure to clarify what it means! The YoungWalkers (as the kids are called) live in the wilds of Arizona for 7-8 weeks and it is one of the most inspired programs I have ever experienced. They are taken out of the world and given tools that help them see themselves differently.

Those that have been following along for a while know that Court and I LOVE the LDS 12 Step program, I love Anasazi just as much. It is inspired and saved our family. In fact we love and believe in it so much that every single one of our kids will be going, whether they are struggling or not.

The incredible thing about Anasazi is that it isnt just sending your kid off to get “fixed”. As parents and family members we are also doing really intense work. Even though we’re not physically walking like they are, we are walking in our hearts right along with them. They have a powerful workshop that you get to attend when you drop your Youngwalker off that changed my whole outlook on life.

Anasazi believes that every child is good; that they have a Seed of Greatness. The Trailwalkers (the staff that lives and hikes with the Youngwalkers) are so positive. They understand the sacred responsibility that we as parents have trusted them with, and they love those kids hard. They magnify every good thing they see in that child in ways that only an outsider full of compassion and a deep desire for connection can. They see and focus on things that we as parents are missing in our every day frustrated interactions. They dont know anything about the Youngwalker’s past or situation, they go in completely open to learning about them and treating them with compassion and love.

Each Youngwalker has a Shadow (Therapist) that they meet with once a week. The Shadow goes out on the trail and has sittings (sessions) with them. Court and I also met with him via phone once a week for a report on Ive and to help us with the things that we were working on. Shadow G is part of our family forever. We love him!!

Life on the Trail

I did a little interview with Ive about what life on the trail was like. I wanted to share it from her perspective. Because TBH if I just listed the facts of what they did and didnt have, and did and didnt do, its intense. But no one has died, so that’s good right?!

After some of her answers I chime in with a little more detail/clarity, these notes will start with an asterisk*.

If someone is sending or thinking about sending their child out on the trail, what do you want them to know about it?

Um, that it sucks at first but it gets easier. Ya, it pretty much just sucks (laughs) but it’s a really good experience and you wont regret going. Send them!

In the beginning, what was the hardest thing about being on the trail?

Not being able to see my family. Not knowing anyone in my band yet.

The band is group of people that you’re stuck with. (laughs) You have to learn to like them and work together. It was hard because you dont want to be stuck in a place where you dont like the people you are around cause that makes you unhappy and its unpleasant.

There are a lot of different personalities in the band. Some people I got along with really easily and some people were harder. I met my best friend when I first walked into the office. Meeting her was the best thing of my whole life. We left on the trail together and came home at the same time. If you are going out there I would try really hard to find a friend, because some people are weird. Parents, you’ll get the stories when they get home. That’s all I’m going to say. There are lots of different reasons that people go out on the trail. Some people didnt really have a huge reason, and some were using it like rehab, most of us were somewhere in the middle.

Being in the band taught me that we have the choice to learn to love people even though you want to punch them in the ass. (laughs)

*A band is what they call the group of kids, they keep boys and girls separate. The bands range in size but aren’t larger than 9 Youngwalkers.

Tell me about the hiking.

It sucks. You hike almost every day for 2 months. But it feels so good when you get to your camp spot and you can take off your 50 pound pack and lay down…on rocks. (laughing) It’s fun when you have a friend. Hiking taught me to push through hard things. Cause when you wanted to give up you couldn’t, or else you wouldn’t get where you needed to go.

Tell me about the pack.

The pack is a pain, emotionally and physically. It’s really heavy and you have to learn to pack it. I’m making this whole experience sound really bad, IT’S GOOD I PROMISE. In my pack I had a sleeping bag, tarp, fire set, food pack, burrito, books, extra clothes, toiletries. It’s heavy as hell.

Ivie’s first week on the trail

*The pack has everything the YW needs for the week, it’s not a traditional hiking backpack like we are used to, they use the things in the pack to actually build it. Everything gets wrapped in the tarp and the straps of the pack are made out of the burrito (the burrito is a canvas cocoon with snaps, they can use it for a million different things!)

Tell me about the food.

It tastes um-not good at first, I’m like why am I eating rice? But by the end you are a gourmet chef. You get really creative with the food pack. I loved Beanie Mac, Ash Cakes with butter and brown sugar, Beans and Rice, Cheesy Beanie Rice and Cold Gold.

*Having experienced Ivie’s cooking at Family Camp I can tell you that she did in fact become a chef. They can make anything out of the food pack ingredients if they put their mind to it! She said that they talked about food a lot on the trail, and she had a list of what she wanted to eat when she came home.

Tell me about making fire.

You make fire with a bow and spindle. Its really hard and frustrating. When you very first make the fire it’s like the coolest feeling in the world. Because you’re like damn I just did that. Once you learn how to you feel like a god! Cause you’re just making fire! And once you make it you dont want to stop.

Tell me about your trail name

A trail name is a name given to you. It represents things that the Trailwalkers see in your personality or things that relate to you. Like an animal, or thing in nature. It speaks to you. I thought it was literally cool, like “Oh wow, you see that in me?” My trail name is Golden Warrior Butterfly. Golden means the I have an essence of light, Warrior means I’m loyal to my friends and family, and Butterfly means that I have the ability to change.

Tell me about the Trailwalkers

The Trailwalkers are really good people. They’re really nice and they treat you like you are their own and they care about you a lot. Some of them are really excited and happy, so you might want to prepare yourself for that. Most of them are really chill. They have different personalities and everyone finds somebody they connect with.

*The trailwalkers walk for a week with the band and then new trailwalkers come in, so the dynamic is always changing but is always full of love. We were able to talk to some of the trailwalkers when they came off after spending the week with Ive. You could feel how much they loved her and it was powerful to hear all of the wonderful things they said about her.

Tell me about your Shadow

Shadow G!! I love that guy. He was my best friend out there. We talked about everything, like, literally you could name anything and I’m positive that we talked about it. I miss him!

What was the hardest part about living on the trail?

Not being able to shower, not seeing my family, hiking everyday, sleeping on the ground and peeing my pants. That sucked really bad.

What was the funnest part about being on the trail?

When we had free days. That was the best! You just got to hang out with everyone and not hike. Cause like, when you’re hiking all the time you dont want to talk. Then youre out of breath and dont want to talk because you have to go slower or stop so you dont make it to your spot. When we had off days you could just sit and talk and get to know everyone.

Do you feel like the trail made you a different person?

Ya, I still pretty much act the same, not the bad stuff though. I dont do that anymore. It made me realize that I didnt need all that stuff I was doing before. It also make me realize that there were people I didnt need in my life. So when I got home I cut all of that stuff out. Oh and not depressed anymore!

If someone has a kid that is struggling and they are worried that their kid will be mad if they go on the trail what would you tell them?

That the kid will probably be mad. (laughs) I’m not going to lie, there were a lot of people out there that were pissed at first. But if you can, don’t Goon them (Goon means you have a transport company pick them up without their knowledge and take them) It makes the kids more pissed and you’re stuck in the woods. I felt so bad for all the people that were taken like that. Tell them in advance that they are going so they can emotionally and mentally prepare.

What advice would you have for kids who’s parents are sending them on the trail?

Suck it up because it’s going to be great. It sucks, it sucks so bad. But it’s worth it in the end. Power through!

What did you learn about yourself?

That I’m pretty cool and I’m a lot stronger than I thought I was. You learn a lot about yourself and how strong you are and who you want to become.

Are you glad that you went on the trail?

Yes.

*Teenagers 🙄

How has it been since you’ve been home?

It’s been good. It’s a lot better than it was before. I mean, it is really hard coming home because you cant be around a lot of people, sound or light, I almost had a panic attack when I got home because my entire family was there and it was a lot of people. (laughs) Love you guys missed you, I promise!

How do you feel our family changed after Anasazi?

I feel like we understand each other more. We try to use our tools to get along and I dont know, it just made us all come together.

Isnt she the best?

This video of meeting her on the trail is the most special thing that I own and if it doesnt give you hope then I dont know what will!

View this post on Instagram

WE GOT OUR GIRL BACK! I can’t wait to tell you all about it, but for the moment we’re soaking up all of her light! @iviegubler @anasazifoundation

A post shared by Mandi Gubler | Fearless DIYer (@vintagerevivals) on Nov 1, 2019 at 8:07pm PDT

I thought instead of chiming in with all of my thoughts and making this already long post even longer, that I’d give you guys a change to ask some questions and do a follow up post. So feel free to leave them below!

The post Our Anasazi Experience Pt. 1: Ivie’s Interview appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Our Anasazi Experience Pt. 1: Ivie’s Interview published first on https://vacuumpalguide.tumblr.com/

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swimintothesound · 7 years

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Gateway Indie

On May 20th of 2008, my musical taste changed forever. We (or at least I) tend to discover things in waves. Specifically waves of increasingly-tiered obsession that escalate until I can focus on one thing and one thing only. I’ll find a song I really like, devour the album that it came from, read everything on the band’s Wikipedia page, explore their discography, listen to side projects, see them live, spend exorbitant amounts of money on limited edition vinyl, then (apparently) write about my experience years later.

One of the most important steps in my particular brand of hyper-obsessive fandom is delving deeper into the genre of the band who I’ve recently discovered. Whether it’s simply to contextualize their sound, see if I recognize any of their contemporaries, or just to get a better understanding of the world’s musical history. When one artist’s discography isn’t enough, sometimes the next logical step is to start absorbing everything in their immediate vicinity. It’s a beautiful notion that one album can open the door to a whole new world of music that was previously hidden. It’s how you diversify as a music listener and as a person.

Up until high school, I’d really only explored the genres of classic rock, grunge, and some metal. All pretty standard stuff, especially for a white suburban teen, but it was all music that came out before I was born. In 2008 I discovered a group of albums that opened my eyes to the ever-cool world of indie and, more importantly, paved the way for my interest in both the genre and the contemporary music scene as a whole. As each of these albums near their 10th anniversary I realized that not only have many of them achieved “classic” status within the genre, they were also part of a larger movement for my generation.

Universality

Now that the internet has paved the way for services like iTunes, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Bandcamp, music has become more insular than ever. In 2017 there are entire sects of fans who can be hyper-devoted to one artist or scene that may never intersect with anyone else. Additionally, with the rise of social platforms like forums, Twitter, and reddit fans can live in a bubble… and while it’s great to connect with other fans, it also means the vocal obsessives are more walled-off.

We have fewer “universals” than ever before. Ed Sheeran is one of the best-selling artists in the world right now, but I don’t think I’ve heard a single song of his. Drake is breaking records every week, but if you don’t care about hip-hop, he’s pretty easy to avoid listening to. It’s a byproduct of the ever-splintering media landscape that we’re living in.

So there are positives and negatives, but this splintering is relevant because those “universals” will become fewer and far between as we move forward. Looking beyond music, you have shows like Game of Thrones which is one of the most technically popular and most-talked about shows currently on TV. It consistently shatters its own self-set viewership records, numbers which are worth screaming about in 2017, yet would have gotten a show canceled even 20 years ago. There’s just more to watch, more to do, and more to care about in 2017, so if you don’t want to watch Game of Thrones, you truly don’t have to. This isn’t the 20’s where everyone gathers around the radio for the day’s episode of Little Orphan Annie. I feel like I’m getting off track, but music is this phenomenon multiplied by thousands. Not only are there dozens of alternatives mediums vying for your attention, practically anyone can create music in 2017. There are more alternatives (and therefore fewer commonalities) than ever before.

I feel like we will reach (or perhaps have already hit) a point where there are simply no more universal artists. There’s never going to be another Beatles. Obviously. But looking purely at The Beatles on a scale purely based on audience and cultural impact, there will never be another musical group in the history of the world that reaches the omniscient presence that the Beatles achieved. There were fewer artists to listen to then, fewer ways to create music, and even fewer avenues to discover new music.

As technology has improved, we’ve seen a direct impact on the music industry as an entity. At the same time, we’ve also seen artists effectively harness this power. Groups like Odd Future were pervasive and forward-thinking enough that I (a high school-aged non-hip-hop listener) knew who they were and knew at least a few of their songs. While everyone’s musical journey is a unique story filled with personal discoveries that have influenced their taste, this is really a story about the first universal that I was a part of as it was happening.

I Miss the Old iTunes

Back when iTunes was still relatively new, it was my only source of current music. I would almost instantaneously drain any gift card I was given, using it to cross several songs off my carefully-curated iTunes wish list. I was also fortunate enough to have my Dad’s massive collection of nearly one thousand CD’s at my disposal, but as you could imagine, most of those albums were a decade old at least. That’s why I was a rock fan first: ease of access.

But I always found ways to satiate my hunger for new music. From VH1 to renting CDs one by one from the local library, there were only so many ways to hear new music, even in the mid-2000’s. One of the most unexpected avenues that I took advantage of was the (now sadly-defunct) iTunes Single of the Week Program, which offered exposure to countless contemporary acts one song at a time. It may not have been much, but this program turned me onto dozens of artists and sounds that I wouldn’t have heard otherwise. Through this mishmash of mid-2000’s media, I was able to satiate my budding hunger for new music as a penniless 14-year-old.

That brings us back to the first sentence of this post.

Unbeknownst to me, indie folk was blowing up In 2008. Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago was gaining serious traction a year after its release thanks to the album’s breakout hit “Skinny Love” and in May “Skinny Love” was put up as iTunes’ free song. As with most songs in the program, I’d never heard of the artist, nor had any experience with the genre, but I downloaded it anyway because that’s how hungry I was for new music.

I downloaded the track (no doubt on my family’s bulky oversized 2005 laptop) and synced it onto my iPod immediately. I was floored. I’d never heard anything so delicate. It was catchy (especially for a folk song) but it also had a soft warmth and reserved delivery that was a revelation to me at the time. “Skinny Love” evoked a feeling that was unlike any other music I’d ever heard. I had to have more.

Part of the beauty of the Single of the Week program was how random it was. One week it’d be an electropop song, the next it would be something folky like Bon Iver, and then it would be a latin song. I didn’t necessarily like it all (quite the opposite, in fact) but I listened to it all for the sake of discovery. The fact that these songs were free was just the icing on top of the cake. I had nothing to lose.

I had no idea at the time, but indie folk saw a massive explosion in popularity in 2008 with the rise of acts like Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes, who both released stunning debuts around this time. I didn’t realize that this era of indie had been such a widespread phenomenon until I saw people discussing Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago on its tenth anniversary calling it their “Gateway Indie” album. I liked that phrase, but I didn’t think much of it until I heard the ineffable deep_cuts youtube channel cite both For Emma and Fleet Foxes as “dominating adolescent MP3 players the world over” at this time. Maybe it was just his worldly UK accent, but something clicked for me. I realized this was not only a formative album, era, and sound for myself, but for everyone my age.

Beyond Folk

Later that year I met some of the coolest people in my high school. And by that I don’t mean cool in the traditional sense, they were dork-ass nerds like me, but they were dork-ass nerds with impeccable musical taste. At this point, the edgiest thing I had ever listened to was Nine Inch Nails, but these guys opened my mind to the larger world of indie music. Genres I didn’t even know existed. Sounds I could barely conceive of. This was 10th grade and the albums they showed me would go on to become some of my favorite and most formative of all time.

The first song I remember them playing for me was the opening track to Portugal. The Man’s first album Waiter: "You Vultures!" which was titled “How the Leopard Got Its Spots.” I’m going to stop there for a second just to point out this band/album/song combo was (before hearing the first note) already more experimental and out-there than anything else I’d ever heard up to that point.

“How the Leopard Got Its Spots” is a pokey unpredictable song that almost borders on prog. While Portugal. The Man changes up their sound every album, their debut is easily the most experimental of their discography, still retaining many characteristics of the band’s post-hard predecessor Anatomy of a Ghost. But I didn’t know any of that at the time. I just listened to the song, enraptured by the track’s grungy guitars that paired perfectly with Gourley’s shrill high-pitched singing. The lyrics were obtuse in a Relationship of Command-type way and the final glitched-out chorus haunted me for days after the fact, becoming an immovable earworm. I remember at the time Grand Theft Auto IV had just been released (God, take me back) and I’d spend hours tooling around the game’s gray city listening to this song on repeat for hours.

Sometime later, Eric (the one of the group who I was closest to) and I found ourselves sitting next to each other during a weirdly-placed mid-day homeroom period. I asked him what he was listening to and he said “I’ll show you” he handed me his headphones and hit play on his 3rd generation iPod Nano. What I heard were the first shimmering notes of Minus The Bear’s “Pachuca Sunrise.” The song’s carefully-times guitar taps and intensely-technical drumming provide the crunchy background for Jake Snyder’s laid-back sensual lyrics and Cory Murchy’s smooth flowing bassline. It gelled into a transformative experience that made my body feel warm with sunlight and love. There’s a reason it’s still one of the band’s most-played live songs even a decade later. It turns out “Pachuca Sunrise” was many people’s first Minus The Bear song and led countless fans to the group’s second album Menos El Oso.

At this point, I already had enough “material” to go off on my own and endlessly devour these two records from these two very different bands. And I did, but I was also hungry for more. I came back to this group of guys in our shared AV class and begged for more in the coolest way I could without discounting my own cred.

From there Eric, Oliver, and Max threw me into the deep end. They showed me “Death Rides a Horse” by instrumental band Russian Circles. I dug it. Ratcheting up the intensity, they moved onto “Laser Life” by the post-hardcore band Blood Brothers. I dug it. They then threw the hyperchaotic cybergrind “Chapels” by Genghis Tron at me. I didn’t dig it, but I warmed up to it pretty quickly.

While there were dozens of other acts and songs that these guys turned me onto over the course of the next year, this crop stands out in my mind both for its breadth and what they’ve gone on to represent for me personally.

Portugal. The Man would go onto become one of my favorite bands. I’ve often proselytized online that they have one of the best discographies in indie rock. I would also go on to expose this band to my two younger brothers, and for one of them, Portugal. The Man has become their favorite band of all time. They currently sit at my 8th most played band on Last.fm with just over 3,000 plays.

Minus the Bear was my favorite band for years. At 6 concerts they’re also far-and-away the band I’ve seen live the most, and two years ago I saw them play Menos El Oso in full for the album’s 10th-anniversary tour. The album’s closing track “This Ain't a Surfin’ Movie” has been my favorite song of all time since I first heard it. The band is currently my 6th most-listened band on Last.fm, and three of the band's albums are have made it onto my list of all-time favorites.

Russian Circles would eventually lead me to the world of post-rock and instrumental metal. Bands like Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai, and Earth, all of whom have served as my reading and studying music throughout high school and college. Russian Circles also have a nearly-perfect discography, and they currently sit at #15 on my Last.fm.

Meanwhile, Fleet Foxes were always a bit boring to me… until this year. Maybe I have more patience at 24 than I did at 15, but I’ve had their discography on repeat for this entire summer and I’ve been loving it.

Most importantly, Bon Iver served as my gateway to all of this. It’s weird that a slow quiet folk album could pave the way for something as discordant and brutal as Genghis Tron, but I guess it’s a snowball effect type of thing. For Emma, Forever Ago also became somewhat of a soundtrack for my first real relationship, and despite that relationship’s rocky conclusion a year later, I can still listen to the album today and enjoy it as much as I did the first time hearing it.

I can’t thank these three dudes (and the creators of these albums) enough. I can safely say that my life would be unequivocally and vastly different without having gone through this period of exploration when I did. I would be a different person with different tastes and interests entirely. Full stop. So for that, I can only say “thank you” and hope that I returned the favor with someone else somewhere down the line. Sometimes discoveries come from the most unexpected places. Sometimes a random song can lead you down a path you never could have blazed yourself. Sometimes a single song can change everything.

#Bon iver #fleet foxes #portugal. the man #waiter you vultures #minus the bear #blood brothers #russian circles #indie #metal #genghis tron #Metalcore #high school #music #high school music

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FEATURE: Crunchyroll Favorites 2016, Part Two: Video Games!

From returning classics to the Wii U breathing its last (well, last-ish) to a multiplayer-only shooter absolutely taking over everyone's lives, 2016 was a wild year for video games. Continuing from yesterday's feature, Part Two features CR's staff and contributing writers sharing their favorite gaming experiences of 2016--let's get started!

NATE MING (@NateMing)

Overwatch- Not only is Overwatch a fast, bright, and fun multiplayer shooter, but it's made people who otherwise wouldn't play shooters into fans on its style alone. Playing out like an action-packed Saturday morning cartoon, Overwatch's wonderfully diverse and larger-than-life cast has inspired people who don't even play the game, making it go beyond its already-considerable reach as "just" a game.

Dark Souls III- For me, Dark Souls is the game series that best represents life itself: nothing is easy, everything can come crashing down with one bad decision, but every victory is absolutely worth all the pain. Dark Souls III was like coming back home, only home wants to tear you apart and leave nothing left. Every gorgeous new area, every fearsome new enemy, every horrifying discovery--Dark Souls III is a hell of a ride.

Street Fighter V- Yeah yeah, no Arcade Mode, I get it. For the people who wanted to step into the arena and see what they were made of (I'm not made of much, by the way), Street Fighter V dialed back the execution-heavy insanity of Street Fighter IV, making the game more accessible to a new audience by making it about matchups and playing the person instead of worrying how tight your quarter-circles were. For all its missteps on the single-player front, SFV made Street Fighter honest again.

DOOM- In the years since Modern Warfare, it felt like shooters had become too clinical--headshot jousting and drop-shotting had taken away the thing that initially drew me to first-person gameplay decades ago: their rough, literally-in-your-face nature. DOOM drops all pretense with its mandate: RIP AND TEAR. Each fight leaves you nowhere to hide and no time to catch your breath, expecting finesse, knowledge of your terrain, using the right tool for the job, and pure killing efficiency.

Titanfall 2- Almost on the other side of the coin, Titanfall 2 demands a sense of fluidity and keeping an almost constant state of three-dimensional movement--you're never fighting on a straight line, and it's not about who makes the first move, but who survives the last. Add in the sheer fun of large-scale Titan clashes and you already have a near-perfect game--the excellent Iron Giant and Big Hero 6-like single-player campaign is just icing on the cake.

Hitman- My favorite stealth series returns to its roots, going episodic and giving you huge playgrounds to stalk. The variety of levels leaves you with plenty of options on how to approach targets, and are already designed so well that Agent 47's base kit is all you really need to take them out. I was worried about the series after Absolution--consider Hitman's sins absolved.

Mother Russia Bleeds- Peter and I played through this whole game on stream, and it was one of the best co-op experiences I've had in a long while. Mother Russia Bleeds is rough, difficult, and downright nasty, and it never, ever lets up on you--this is the kind of gaming experience I live for. A twisted sense of humor and a thumping soundtrack only add to one of the year's coolest, meanest games.

Gears of War 4- I still hold to the belief that Gears of War 3 is a damn-near-perfect shooter, and while the latest game stumbles in some areas, it's still a total blast. A lighter tone, faster gunplay, and some insane setpieces make this feel more like a cover-based Contra, and I couldn't be happier. Even my favorite co-op game type--Horde Mode--gets a major overhaul that really brings teams together.

That Dragon, Cancer- Media doesn't always have to be fun. If there are sad movies, there certainly can be sad games, and going on this interactive journey of a father's loss is one of the most difficult things I've ever had to willingly go through. Watching Joel--just a boy--steadily grow weaker, and feeling the hopelessness and despair of his parents, and finally coming to terms with it all, is a gaming experience unlike any other for me, and it was 100% worth it.

Shantae: Half-Genie Hero- WayForward's adorable hair-whipping, transforming, belly-dancing genie came back with another fast-paced, this time much-more-risque adventure. Probably the most tastefully horny platformer I've yet played, Half-Genie Hero had plenty of laugh-out-loud moments in addition to its high-energy platforming and Metroid-like backtracking.

JOSEPH LUSTER (@Moldilox)

Final Fantasy XV- I can't think of another recent game that had me so skeptical prior to its release, only to have it thoroughly entertain me and kill pretty much all the time I had left. FFXV isn't just a great Final Fantasy game, it's a fantastic role-playing game that really puts an emphasis on the role-playing. From the moment Noctis and his hott boiz put gas in the tank I refused to fast travel, and I couldn't be happier with the results.

7th Dragon III Code: VFD- If you told me I'd be including THIS on my list of top games of 2016 I'd probably have to stop and ask you what the hell 7th Dragon is. The latest installment of Sega's series launched in Japan in 2015, but didn't make its way to the west until summer of 2016. While we covered it on Crunchyroll News quite a bit leading up to its release, I never thought I'd actually bother playing it. Turns out I would have missed out on one of the most low-key enjoyable dungeon-crawlers of the year. Do yourself a favor and fire this one up on your 3DS once you're done clearing that nasty backlog.

The Last Guardian- I don't know what to tell you if you didn't expect a Fumito Ueda game to feature a hard-to-control boy and a stubborn NPC. Time will tell how The Last Guardian measures up against Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, but I was thoroughly moved throughout the 8 to 10 hours I spent with Trico. Sure, the cat-bird beast in question will occasionally have you screaming at the screen, but no one builds worlds and develops molasses-thick atmosphere quite like Ueda and co.

BRITTANY VINCENT (@MolotovCupcake)

Final Fantasy XV- As a lifelong Final Fantasy fan I wasn’t entirely sure I would love this entry, but I came away so appreciative of the new battle system, the “road trip” narrative, and the characters themselves. I greedily lapped up the expansion media like Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV and everything that went with it because I just couldn’t get enough of this world. From Cindy to Noctis to the familiar Final Fantasy mainstays peppered throughout, I lost count of everything that made me smile throughout my journey through Eos. I can’t wait to see what the future of Final Fantasy holds.

World of Final Fantasy- If Final Fantasy XV was all about delivering the most polished narrative it could with all the fixings, World of Final Fantasy was a massive love letter in the vein of Pokemon that combined the best of both worlds. Hardcore fans could appreciate the nuances and cameos of games prior, and newcomers were able to bask in the hilarious writing and heartfelt story. It’s a world I would happily live in, especially when you get to frolic with so many heart-rendingly-cute characters so much of the time.

Amplitude- The fact that one of my favorite entries in the PlayStation 2’s library was given new life shook me to its core. I’m still annoyed I can’t purchase the banging’ soundtrack, but Harmonix’s updated Amplitude was rebooted with a story, ridiculously awesome new tunes, and graphics that really punched up the synaesthesia factor. It’s like I never stopped playing the original game and just saw the difficulty ramp up a little.

PETER FOBIAN (@PeterFobian)

The Witcher III: Heart of Stone and Blood and Wine- Irrefutably the best game to come out of 2015, The Witcher III is returning to my list to also take the top spot for 2016. CD Projekt RED has released two major story expansions, Heart of Stone and Blood and Wine which over double the length of the game while providing access to huge new locations with all the narrative depth and density of Novigrad. These two expansions are everything that DLC could and should have been, actual enhancements to a game that provide content above and beyond getting what we paid for on the original pricetag.

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End- This game felt like a movie, packed with small moments like novel mishaps and character interactions that were both humorous and organically contributed to the narrative. The action sequences were tremendous, from some immensely dynamic car chases to absolutely insane escapes from crumbling structures. The world is beautiful and composed of diverse environments possessing fine detail and impressive verticality. Then there’s Nadine fights, which felt like a battle simply to survive rather than defeat a boss.

Hitman- Releasing Hitman as an episodic title turned out to be a perfect formula for a title that is composed of a series of sandboxes missions encouraging an individualized approach. Each new area had a strong concept and an orchestrated feeling that really communicated that Square had been able to unhurriedly direct their entire attention toward its development. For the fans this meant either buying a season pass or buying the levels piecemeal. The episodic metaplot and special events like hunting down Gary Busey or the bandits from Home Alone are just icing on the cake.

Dark Souls III- The twisted takes on the environments from the original Dark Souls were a really satisfying return to the series origin (not counting Demon Souls and earlier titles). I don’t know if there is a way to really perfect Dark Souls gameplay, but Dark Souls 3 managed to introduce even more variety while keeping that immensely simple and streamlined feel. The NPC storylines were maybe my favorite part of the title and the best they’ve ever been, the quests with Irina of Carim and Anri of Astora will probably be how I remember the franchise for the rest of my life.

Titanfall 2- The three-dimensional movement is so clean and intuitive it makes me feel like I was born to fly. The inclusion of titans as stand-in for killstreak rewards is one of the best ideas in modern competitive FPS, giving you a powerful tool that can still be defeated with good counterplay. It didn’t need it, but man did they create an awesome single player campaign with some epic environments and boss fights that give the setting some new dimension.

The Last Guardian- I’m a bit torn about this one. I found the emotional narrative of The Last Guardian to be an immensely satisfying experience, elaborating upon the player's relationship with Agro in Shadow of the Colossus while raising the stakes by portraying both partners as adolescents. My only major problem is the game just didn’t feel connected to the rest of the continuity the way SotC did, even if the ending was a nice moment as a standalone. For all that, the game probably got me more involved that many other titles I’ve played this year.

INSIDE- Perfectly walking the line between forcing you to remain intellectually engaged to figure out puzzles without ever feeling lost by their difficulty, each delivering that “aha!” moment without the accompanying frustration. It has a bunch of novel ideas and manages to find a few different ways of using each of them so the game’s mechanics never feel stale. I’m not sure if I’ve ever felt as uncomfortable playing a game as maybe the last 20 minutes of INSIDE and it was great. Still not sure what the hell is going on in that world, but it was definitely an experience.

Mother Russia Bleeds- Using a side-scrolling Streets of Rage style in lieu of Hotline Miami’s top-down perspective, Mother Russia Bleeds has all the dark themes and brutality of its spiritual predecessor. This game is bad acid trip turned multiple homicide with an amazing soundtrack. A highly refined brawler with some boss fights that are memorable both for their difficulty and because of how absolutely gruesome they all are. Also, in keeping with with Hotline Miami traditions, the soundtrack is worthy of its own vinyl.

Hyper Light Drifter- No game has succeeded in making me feel as profoundly alone as I did playing through Hyper Light Drifter. The haunting synth soundtrack, unspeaking protagonist, and unique visuals all work in concert to create this intensely pure emotional experience. The overall world structure and gameplay had the feel and sense of discovery as A Link to the Past, running with a lean number of highly flexible gameplay options.

Furi- This game came out of nowhere for me and I’m happy to have happened upon it. It does what I most love about indies by taking a good component found in many AAA titles and condensing it down into its purest form. Furi is a series of intense duels against the residents of a floating prison that looks and feels like it was created by Moebius. The game taps into multiple genres to accommodate some insane forms of combat and just feels like a pure experience.

KARA DENNISON (@RubyCosmos)

Ace Attorney: Phoenix Wright: Spirit of Justice- I started playing the Ace Attorney series during a long hospital stay many years ago, and I was hooked immediately. I didn't think anything would wow me as much as Dual Destinies did, but Spirit of Justice is really something special, in terms of both plotting and art. The sprites are gorgeous... like sinfully so. And it's getting increasingly cinematic, with the case formats bending to the plot. Also, if you play it and want some serious nostalgia, do yourself a favor and buy the DLC case.

Five Night's at Freddy's: Sister Location- Prior to 2016 I was terrified of anything FNaF because I am a jumpscare loser. But thanks to let's plays, brave friends, and far lower anxiety than previous years, I've been able to engage with the franchise. Considering I'm a sucker for childhood nightmare fuel, the games are already tailor made for me. And this in particular -- a new spin on the old formula -- was fascinating. The lore has my head spinning and I need to know more.

World of Warcraft: Legion- WoW expansions are getting a bit like Star Trek movies, aren't they? Where they alternate good and bad? I was interested enough in Warlords of Draenor, but it didn't quite ping all the buttons I thought it would. Then along comes Legion, with demon hunters and artifact weapons and class halls. The storytelling is becoming progressively more cinematic, the DH's are SO fun for a tank like me, and everything is just looking cooler and cooler. I'm a loner on MMOs, and this got me caring so much about endgame that I did a dungeon with a bunch of strangers just because I was that invested in the plot.

EVAN MINTO (@VamptVo)

Overwatch- I tried the Overwatch demo on a whim, and fell in love pretty quickly. I’m very bad at it (as is the case for most games), but what makes it such a rewarding experience is the wealth of play styles it presents, from a twitchy traditional FPS character to a melee-centric tank to a passive healer. On top of the fun of playing these mechanics against each other in team-based match-ups, Overwatch also has a giddy, cartoonish visual style and a diverse cast of vibrant, memorable characters representing all sorts of countries, body types, and yes, sexual orientations. I’ll be playing this one for years to come, along with the rest of the world.

1979 Revolution: Black Friday- The Iranian Revolution is a relatively recent historical event, but its implications for the Middle East and the world were massive. I’m surprised it took so long to get a video game about it! 1979 Revolution uses the mechanics and even the visual style of Telltale’s critically acclaimed adventure games to tell the story of a photojournalist caught between a brewing revolution and his own loyalist family. The game is full of documents and historical notes to read, but its elegance lies in its ability to showcase political ideologies through moments that feel like urgent personal struggles rather than distant historical details.

Oxenfree- Ever since I first played the Telltale Walking Dead series, I’ve been on the hunt for great story-based adventure games. Oxenfree doesn’t just copy Telltale, though. Instead, it’s a side-scrolling adventure game with some platforming and puzzle elements, centered around a group of teenagers who find themselves trapped on a haunted island. The navigation and puzzle-solving is dead simple, but genuinely funny, likable characters, timed dialogue choices with real impact, and an atmospheric, occasionally psychedelic visual style more than make up for it.

Firewatch- Probably the greatest video game about walking around in a Wyoming national park ever made, Firewatch is a fantastic example of indie games’ potential to create really unique experiences. You play as a fire lookout, communicating via radio with your boss in a far-off tower via timed dialogue choices, but Firewatch isn’t really about changing things via your choices as much as it’s about spending an extended period of time with a character and a location. And boy oh boy, is that location beautiful! The devs at Campo Santo create a world that feels alive, with dying sunlight playing across painterly mountain backdrops and trees that disappear day by day as a wildfire burns across the forest. And then there’s the story itself, which uses the lonely environment to present a sinister mystery. “Walking simulators” ain’t so bad after all.

Fire Emblem: Fates- I absolutely loved Fire Emblem: Awakening, but I still haven’t even finished my first run through Fates (Birthright). Still, it has a lot of the elements I loved about Awakening: a cast of likable warriors, simple RTS mechanics that get more complex with time, and web of statistics and relationships to manage both on and off the battlefield. Birthright’s somewhat boring level design knocked this one a couple places down my list, so maybe one day I’ll finish and move on to Conquest!

SAM WOLFE (@_Samtaro)

A lot of great games hit the scene in 2016. We saw the releases of long awaited games like Final Fantasy XV and The Last Guardian, as well as the release of breakout hits like Overwatch. I, however, didn’t play any of these games because Hearthstone released three expansions this year, and unfortunately for you, Nate has given me a platform to gush about them on.

Whispers of the Old Gods (Hearthstone Expansion)- Whispers of the Old Gods was the first set released in Hearthstone’s “Year of the Kraken,” where the standard format got its foundation. As the mechanized minions of Goblins vs. Gnomes were swept into the wild, corrupted versions of our favorite minions took center stage, and with them, their ancient Old God masters. One of the best promotions for this set was that everyone who logged in received C’thun, an iconic creature from Warcraft lore, for free. This was a great move, as it gave beginners a powerful creature with a fun mechanic right from the start.

One Night in Karazhan (Hearthstone Expansion)- Things took a turn for the funky with the release of One Night in Karazhan, the fourth Hearthstone adventure. Set in a reimagined 70’s version of the magus Medivh’s tower, the set brought balance to the game with several new cards, all served in a stylish disco package, and introduced some very creative creatures (a silverware golem? That’s hilarious!). A special shout out should go to Prince Malchezaar, a card that shuffles 5 random legendary cards into your deck, allowing new players to try out some powerful cards that they wouldn’t otherwise have access to.

The Mean Streets of Gadgetzan (Hearthstone Expansion)- The most recent expansion, The Mean Streets of Gadgetzan, took us to the Goblin city on the coast of the same name, where three factions are fighting for control: the Grimy Goons, The Jade Lotus, and The Kabal. With each faction having a unique mechanic, as well as introducing multi-class cards, the meta was once again turned on its head, and two months out people are still waiting for the dust to settle. While every faction has something to offer, I have to put my lot in with the Kabal; Raza the Chained is one of the craziest cards I’ve seen, and he gets along great with our old friend Reno Jackson.

NICK CREAMER (@B0bduh)

Overwatch- This game loomed large for me this year--in fact, I’m pretty sure I played more hours of Overwatch than all my others put together. I’ve always been a fan of asymmetrical cooperative/competitive games, with Left 4 Dead standing as one of my all-time favorites, and Overwatch’s diverse gallery of heroes has made for an endlessly entertaining experience. From its attractive aesthetic to its competition-ready depth, Overwatch offers a steady curve of delights as you slowly gain familiarity with its intricate working parts. Here’s to finally hitting diamond in season three…

DOOM- I’m honestly not that big of a shooter fan, at least relative to other genres - if I were doing this list last year, I’d be gushing about Undertale. But the shooters were good this year, and so I gotta hand it to DOOM. This year’s rebirth of the franchise embraced and elevated everything that made the originals fun, bringing back not just the monsters and weapons, but the gameplay feel of constant movement, intimate encounters, and steady mastery of each level’s winding maze. DOOM wasn’t beloved just because it got there first, and this year’s remodel demonstrated there’s still a lot to love in the game’s classic formula.

The Witness- After a year as tumultuous as this, it was almost hard to believe that The Witness actually came out this year. But yes, The Witness finally arrived, and yes, it was wonderful. Jonathan Blow characterized his work on The Witness as attempting to capture and iterate on that elusive “a-ha” moment of personal revelation and discovery. While I wouldn’t say every segment of the game succeeded, the overall product was a consistently rewarding and just fundamentally beautiful getaway, a spiritual successor to Myst that tempered its fiendishly difficult puzzles with a consistently inviting atmosphere.

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And that's a wrap for Part Two of our three-part series! Be sure to check out Part One if you missed it, and tune in at the same time tomorrow for PART THREE: EVERYTHING ELSE, featuring movies, music, food, and more! And if you're still in the mood for past CR Favorites, check out the previous years' features here:

Crunchyroll Favorites 2015 Part One Part Two Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2014 Part One Part Two Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2013 Part One Part Two Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2012 Part One Part Two Part Three

Crunchyroll News' Best of 2011 Part One Part Two

What were your favorite video games of 2016? Remember, this is a FAVORITES list, not a BEST OF list, so there's no wrong answers--sound off in the comments and share your favorites with us!

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Nate Ming is the Features and Reviews Editor for Crunchyroll News, creator of the long-running Fanart Friday column, and the Customer Support Lead for Crunchyroll. You can follow him on Twitter at @NateMing.

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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