#maybe i should go back to trying to put together a nav post

[mattodore]

whenever someone follows me and i'm like oh they seem cool i always wait a few days before following them back just in case they see me post some more and are like wow. hate that guy actually

[fictional-men-have-my-heart]

Day 27

Hello all! Welcome to day 27! One more day closer to the end of the month. Thank you for all the love on my posts so far even if they're just musings produced from my brainrot of the 141, Los Vaqueros, and Konig. I came across the prompt "Write about a time you were lost (figuratively or literally)." And I wanted to put my own spin on it. So, we look at how the 141, Los Vaqueros, and Konig may handle you getting lost with them when a mission goes awry.

Price:

The mission split your group, and you knew from the check-ins from the others they were safe, but alone.

You had been lucky to find the Captain quickly, stumbling across him in an alley where you nearly shot each other.

When he passed you a map and compass, you bit your lip.

"Sir, I haven't navigated in a while, maybe you ought to lead this."

"You'll be fine." He dismissed. You knew you were screwed.

After an hour of hiking through the backwoods, you broached it again.

"Sir, I think I've gotten us lost..." You all but force the map in his hands.

"Surely not... ah, well I'll be damned. I'll take it from here." He concedes, taking the lead with the map.

Ghost:

You could easily tell your Lt. wasn't happy at having to hike out of a mission gone wrong, let alone with you in tow. You had silently handed him the map at first, and he shoved it back into your hand.

"You nav, I'll keep an eye out for the others."

"Ghost, you really should-"

"Start moving kid, this isn't a discussion." You decide on a path you thought was moderate enough for you two given your mild injuries.

Too bad the map didn't account for damaged roads and washed-out bridges. When you came to a section you'd either have to wade through a knee-high creek or go back the way you'd come he turned to you.

"Where the fuck are we kid?" He growled, holding his hand out for the map. His glare was enough to make you hand it over and then quickly retreat from him.

Silence.

"I see. Look, how about you take over looking for signs of the others, I'll keep this..." He nods, eyes simmering down from the boil they'd been a moment ago.

"Yes sir."

Soap:

He hadn't taken you seriously. You realized this now.

"Soap, I barely passed navigation in basic and haven't tried since, now isn't the time to test it."

"Nonsense rookie, you'll be fine."

You were not. He seemed to recognize this too after an hour of walking.

"Hey, let me see that..."

A few minutes of searching later, he sighs heavily.

"You weren't kidding, were you rookie?"

Gaz:

Gaz seemed okay with the longer route home. He was reassuring you it was fine.

"Look, stop apologizing, alright? I should have listened to you."

"Still, after that horrid experience, I'm sure we'd both rather be at the safe house, not still walking around, I'm sorry."

"Well, I should have taken you seriously. We got into this together eh, let's get out of it together now." He'd smiled. You grinned back, nudging his shoulder as you walked.

"Thanks, Gaz."

"No problem, now let's go."

Alejandro:

The man seemed more concerned with putting distance between you guys and the currently imploding plan you'd been trying to make work.

"Sir, I really can't navigate too well, maybe you should-"

"Let's get out of here first. We can find our way back when we aren't being shot at."

It was about a half hour of briskly dodging any noises before he turned to you again.

"Okay, I think we're good, now... where the hell are we?"

"I don't really know, I tried to warn you, sir." He nods, looking around before digging in his pack for a map.

"We'll be alright, out this way I think we can cut a path through..."

Rudy:

Honestly, he was amused after you were both out of harm's way.

"How about we pretend this didn't happen?" He asked, passing you a canteen as you walked. It had been about 45 minutes since the last check-in, so you knew you two would be the last to arrive.

"Why? I think the massive delay in time will tell them we got lost."

"Nah, we'll tell them it was just a detour..."

"...Alejandro will never let you live it down, will he?" You'd grinned.

"...No, no he won't." He laughed. You shook your head.

"Lead the way home then, 'cause I sure as hell don't know it."

Konig:

The man's silence made you a little hesitant to ask him about the map you currently held. He hadn't raised any questions yet so far.

You two had ended up separated from the main group when an unexpected patrol came by in the midst of a recon op.

The goal was to be at a rendevous point by now, but it was dawning on you you had been walking in a path that was increasingly leading you away from the rendevous at about a 45 degree angle on the map.

"Um, Konig?" You'd murmured, halting where you were. He turned to you, staring.

"We need to alter our course. The rendevous is about a mile east..."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't realize, I'm sorry..."

"Let's just get going, they're likely waiting."

As you walked in your new direction, he spoke again.

"It happens to all of us, at least this is a calm time." You nodded.

The worst time I got lost anywhere was on a group trip to Yellowstone national park. Our group was split between two cars and we got separated after nightfall. At 18, that experience was absolutely terrifying. Almost hitting bison who were just chilling in the middle of the roads only made it worse.

TLDR, I do not recommend staying in Yellowstone past dark, shit gets scary fast.

Edit, posted after midnight, I'm sorry. Formatting is a bear sometimes.

[tomtenadia]

A Little Braver  - 16

So, here we are with part 16. Be prepared for the olympics of fussing. Our bird boy goes all out to fuss and take care of his girl. And Aelin fusses about him too because Rowan is not well either.

CW: light mention of alcoholism, death, hurt/comfort and some light smut.

-----------------------

Rowan’s phone had pinged with a message and like a desperate man he had grabbed it from his pocket and stopped in his tracks and his heart raced.

It was a text from Aelin.

I am sorry.

That’s all she had said. What did she mean by that? Was she okay? Was she sorry because she had left? Or worse done something insane?

His brain was in overload on his way back to his office, all sorts of thoughts rushing all together, including some very dark ones. She could never… she would never do that.

He looked at the time on the message and saw it had just been sent so he tried his luck and phoned her. His heart loosened a notch when the phone rang.

Please… please answer me.

“Hi.”

Gods, she sounded terrible. He could tell just by one word.

“Aelin… are you okay?”

Silence.

“Please, where are you? We are all worried sick.”

She told him an address.

“I will be there soon. I am coming.”

“Ok,” was all she managed and as soon as he closed the call she felt a glimmer of hope. Maybe, maybe with him at her side she would get better.

Rowan called Aedion straight away “I am going to her. I will keep you posted.”

“Wait, I want to come as well.”

“No,” said Rowan quite sternly “It’s best if I go alone. I am not sure she is okay and two people might be too much.”

The man on the other side of the phone sighed “I understand. Just… just look after her, please.”

“Always.” Said Rowan, realising the weight of his words.

On his way out of the office he met Gavriel and explained him what happened and that he had to go and had no idea when he was coming back. He was glad he had met Gavriel instead of Lorcan. The man would have given him so much grief for putting her again in front of his career, but he could not care less. Aelin was not okay and finding her was all he cared about. His job was, again, at the bottom of his priorities in that moment.

“Go, look after her and don’t worry about work.” The man patted Rowan on the shoulder.

“Thank you.”

He walked quickly out of the base, fearing someone else might stop him. Got to his car and drove home. He got changed out of his uniform, packed some clothes, he had no idea how long he would be there, she might not be ready yet to go back home and he was not leaving her alone again. 

Once he was done he got back to the car, entered the location in the sat nav and started driving. She had gone deep in the Staghorms mountains. She had hidden away properly. No one would have thought of that.

The drive had been nerve-racking and the trip seemed endless. The mountains were getting closer but not fast enough and he was already one the verge of the speed limit. He needed to be with her quickly. The voice over the phone was still haunting him. It was lifeless and flat and it had terrified him. 

Please be safe, he kept repeating in his head, please be safe, please.

It was finally two hours later when he spotted the signs for the holiday park she had mentioned. She had told him cottage 21. He followed the signs on the path and eventually spotted it and her car outside. He took a deep breath, parked the car and grabbed his stuff. The few steps to the door felt endless, then he gathered his resolve and knocked at the door. 

A minute passed and finally the door opened and he almost gasped at the image in front of him. She looked like a wreck, dark shadows under her eyes, now devoid of their usual light. She had a blanket wrapped around her and it looked as if she could barely stand. 

How could have he missed how bad she was? He should have pushed to stay at home a little longer and go and see someone as soon as he noticed the first signs of ptsd. He was an idiot.

Aelin looked up at him, then her face broke and burst into tears and leaned against his chest. Rowan’s arms went quickly around her body and held her tight “I am here,” he whispered to her while kissing her head “I got you.” He stepped inside, without ever letting go of her, dumped his bag on the floor and closed the door. Then he lifted her in his arms and walked to the bed and deposited her down.

He toed off his shoes and joined her. Aelin nested in his arms, letting him envelope her fiercely. She grabbed his t-shirt and cried.

“Let it go. Let it all out.”

And she did and he let her, whispering only I love you from time to time.

Eventually she fell asleep in his arms but never said a word. She would talk when she felt like. He was definitely not going to push her. Slowly and carefully he disentangled himself from her and went to his next mission. The cottage had a kitchen and he doubted she had used it. There were a few dishes in the sink that he washed and stowed away. Then he opened the fridge and noticed a couple of ready meals and nothing else. He knew she could not cook. 

Rowan sighed. He really had to teach her. He grabbed his phone and searched for a place where to buy groceries in the area. Once he found it he scribbled down a note to her just in case she woke up and found him gone.

Rowan came back thirty minutes later and found Aelin still asleep. Good.

He went to the kitchen and unpacked all the food he had bought. She needed some sustenance and he was planning to bring her back to her former self and food was the way to start. He knew she had not cooked for herself and probably survived on junk food. 

A sound came from the bedroom and he went to have a look and found her awake and sitting in bed.

She was staring at him in disbelief “You are really here?” Her voice still haunted.

He took a step to her “Yes, I am here,” and sat down beside her, caressing her face gently. She leaned into the gesture “I thought it was a dream.”

A gentle kiss on her lips “I am really here.”

Aelin bowed her head “I am sorry I—” he stopped her.

“Shhhh. It’s okay.” Another caress “I am making lunch. We eat first, then if you feel like, we can talk.”

He stood again and walked to the kitchen and Aelin, still wrapped in her blanket, padded behind him. 

Seeing her that broken hurt him deeply. She walked to his side and hugged him at his waist, leaning her face on his arm. He let her and went back to cooking without moving her. It felt as if she was craving contact with him and he was not going to deny that to her, no matter how awkward it made cooking.

“It smells lovely.”

“Better than those ready made meals.” He gave her a smile and her head went back to his arm.

With his free hand he grabbed a piece of the carrots he was slicing and passed it her.

“It’s a vegetable.” She complained.

“Yes, and you need it. Your body needs it.” He pushed and Aelin finally took it.

“So bossy.”

He stooped down and kissed her and gave her a slice of chicken and she took that as well and more eagerly “Thank you for cooking for me.”

“It’s fine. If I don’t do it you will just keep eating those horrible meals.”

She snuggled closer “but they are easy to make.”

“I know, but now you have me and cooking for you makes me happy.” And he looked down in her blue eyes and sadness hit him again. He could not stand seeing her so broken. 

“Do I?”

“What?”

“Have you?” She asked him, staring in his pine green eyes.

“Yes,” he said softly kissing her lips “To whatever end, remember?”

Aelin nodded and dried her eyes with the back of her hand “Come on grampa, this lady here is starving.” And she gave him a very faint smile. It was a start. She was trying and for now it was enough. It would take time and he’d at her side during her recovery.

Once he was done they sat at the table and ate in silence.

“Is Aedion mad at me?” She asked timidly while eating his amazing meal. She had not realised how hungry she was until she had Rowan’s food in front of her.

“Worried, mostly.”

“I didn’t mean—” but he stopped her again.

“Eat, relax, then we can talk all you want.”

Once they were done, Rowan washed all the dishes and Aelin helped him to dry them and put them away, making small talk.

Dishes all clean and tucked away, Aelin took his hand and guided him to the bed. He sat down with his back against the board and she snuggled against him. She finally abandoned the blanket and let his arms do the job.

“I am sorry I left,” she started “I was…” she took a deep breath. Where to begin? How could she even begin explain to him how she had felt? “I was happy to go to back to work. It felt good, I was ready, but there was, deep down in me, a lingering fear and I ignored it.” He let her talk and she tried to gather her thoughts “Once I was at the station it became too much. The interactions but worst of all, the memories. I had a panic attack before getting to the station. Then I had one in my office and freaked out after the guys left. The look on their faces, the sadness reminded me that I almost died. The bells almost rang for me this time.” His arms tightened “every time I wake up from a nightmare all I can feel are my lungs and skin burning and the feeling of suffocating. And I burn. Every time I burn.” She gently touched her injured arm “when they left for the call the sirens brought me back to that night and in a moment I was in that hangar again. Stuck. Lost. Burning.” Aelin paused but Rowan never interrupted her. “I was not okay. I knew it. You told me over and over again to go and speak to someone but I didn’t want to admit that I needed help.” He felt her shaking “I put up walls as I did when Sam died and I left. I thought that being alone was going to help but it got worse. I felt lonely and lost like the night of the fire when I got trapped.” She felt his lips on her head “I wanted to call you but after the way I left I could not face you. I was terrified you’d be mad at me and leave me because you had realised I was too much bother and I was not worth the trouble.”

“Never.” He finally whispered “I went insane because I had no way to be with you and help you.”

“I hurt everyone.”

His finger lifted her chin “you did not. We all care about you. We were just worried.”

“I can’t go back yet. I just can’t.” Her face again hiding in the crook of his neck.

“It’s okay,” he told her and kissed her nose “we’ll go back when you feel ready.”

“You don’t have to stay.”

“No chance I am leaving here on your own while you are like this. No. My job, everything else can wait and if Lorcan suspends me again, who cares.”

“You are risking to ruin your career to look after me. Lorcan made that quite clear.” She looked up in his eyes and they were full of sadness.

He loosened a breath and leaned his head against the back of the bed “I already neglected one woman because of my job. I didn’t realise how much until I found out the divorce papers. It’s not happening a second time.”

“But—” he shut her up with a kiss.

“I am struggling at work at the moment with Fuzzy’s death and all that is going on I…” he paused “I have my own ghosts and I know how you feel just now.”

Aelin’s mind travelled back to the day she had watched him fly and Lorcan had mentioned about the fact that Rowan needed that day because the student’s death had reminded him of his dark moment “Tell me,” she whispered to him, caressing his face. He had listened to her, now it was her turn. 

“It was my first year as instructor. I had this amazing group of students. They were all very eager to impress. There was one of them “Carrot” who was a bit on the shy side. He was skilled. He was good, but always felt less skilled than the rest of the class. He would never give himself enough credit of how good he was. So I had a chat with him. I told him I believed in him and that I wanted him to believe in his skills a bit more.” He caressed her head in an absent minded motion “I pushed him to dare a bit more. Not much, as long as he was comfortable, but I told him I knew he had skills and I wanted him to be a bit less other people’s shadow for once.” Rowan’s hand tightened on her back “One day during practice I put him in charge of his group. I wanted him to have more confidence. And boy was he good. He was one of those pilots who had a knack for flying. I was proud of him. Then it all happened in front of me in a matter of seconds. He was busy giving orders to his team that he flew through someone else’s wake and lost control of the plane. I tried to help him recover as much as I could but the plane started spinning and soon got into a graveyard spiral. He probably lost consciousness and he crashed on the runaway in a ball of fire.” He finished his tale and was silent for a moment “he reminded me so much of Fuzzy. They were both similar and shy boys with great talent. Carrot’s death destroyed me. I went into my own personal graveyard spiral. I was put on leave and I started drinking heavily. It was a bit before I met Lyria. I was alone and I just hid at home denying my pain and staying away from my squadron mates. I pushed everyone away. Gavriel in the end was the one who helped me to find my way back, after he found me on the floor of my own house verging on alcoholic coma. I know how you feel right now. It took me a while to find the courage to go back, to fly again. I knew it was not my fault but I kept thinking that I was the one who pushed him.”

She turned to him and kissed him “we have in common more than I thought.”

“We can both hide away for a while. I know it’s the coward way but I don’t care just now.”

Rowan nodded “let’s take a week to ourselves.”

Her hand sneaked under his t-shirt and touched skin “I like your plan, captain.”

Rowan shuffled away and got off the bed “let me make a couple of phone calls,” he leaned forward for a kiss.

Rowan returned ten minutes later and found Aelin reading a book. She still looked haunted but the decision of staying at the cottage for another week had removed a bit of the harsh lines in her face. He realised that probably they both needed that break. Lorcan had been strangely quite okay with him taking time off and for a second he thought he heard misheard him. But no, apparently he had his CO’s blessing.

He had also phoned Aedion and given him an update on Aelin. Told him that she was having a hard time but that he was going to help her and that they would stay away for a week. The man had eventually relaxed.

“All okay?” She asked him when he got back from his phone calls.

“All fine. I also called Aedion and told him I got you. He was very relieved.”

She cuddled back into him once he sat back on the bed “he was trying to help so much, but I didn’t want to worry him. He fusses about me just as bad as you do.”

“He cares about you, madly.”

“I know. We grew up together and he always protected me. He has always been at my side and I owe him so much.”

“I can take you out hiking, if you want. I think fresh air and nature will do you good.”

She looked at him in surprise “really?”

He nodded tenderly “I know a few paths around here. Easy stuff since we don’t have the proper gear.”

“Yes,” she said happily and for a brief instant her smile was back and Rowan realised he’d do anything to see that. He’d move the world to see her smiling and happy. He didn’t want to see ever again the shell of a woman he had seen that morning.

“Good, but today you rest. You’ll have another decent meal tonight and hopefully an easy night.”

“As long as we cuddle….”

Rowan snorted “as if I could stop you. You always end up asleep on top of me and I have all your hair in my mouth. Hurricane.” And he flipped her nose and she loved when he did that. It was such a silly gesture but it was the affection behind it.

“What?” He asked her at her curious expression.

“I just…. I just can’t believe sometimes that you are the same guy that could barely laugh at my jokes when we met all these months ago. I mean my bra joke was epic and you ignored it.”

Rowan pulled her closer in for a deep kiss “I did not. They day I went to get you clothes I opened your underwear drawer by mistake and saw a bra. You have no idea of the thoughts that crossed my mind.” He squeezed tenderly “and I had no idea I was capable of falling so quickly and so hard for someone. It was the way you stood up to me the day of the fire. You left me speechless and no woman before managed to do that.”

“Not even Lyria?”

He shook his head “some friends introduced us and played a bit of matchmaking. I liked her, she was nice, but it was a slow burn. She was very quiet and to be honest she was the complete opposite of you. She loved gardening, cooking, baking and absolutely no love for adventure.”

“Sam and I met on a call. When Dorian became chief, Sam got promoted. I saw him other times we had worked on calls together, but there was so much to do that we never interacted. Then one evening we had this horrendous fire, once he made captain, and we worked together with the two squads. Next time we had both a day off he invited me for coffee. We hit it off straight away. He was the sweetest man ever. He was kind and funny. Sometimes when we were on the job he used to make dirty jokes to make me laugh.”

“He sounded like a great guy.”

“I miss him so much.” She confessed quietly “and I think all my problems right now are also bringing back memories of his death.”

Rowan brushed a rebel strand of hair from her face “how did it happen?”

“An explosion in a warehouse. He was near it. He just…” a sob escaped her and she quickly placed a hand on her mouth “he was near it. He burned. His burns were too severe and he did not survive. I didn’t get to see him one last time. When we arrived, Thomas stopped me before I could see his him. But when I saw the body covered by the white sheet I knew it was him. His right hand had come free and I spotted the ring I gave him and that he wore on his thumb.”

Rowan’s arms brushed her back. That could have been her, a part of him kept telling him. But he pushed the anguish away.

Aelin took a deep breath and brushed her tears away “I think it’s enough dark stories for one day.”

He smiled at her “I agree.”

“Fancy watching stupid tv shows and make fun of them?”

He raised an eyebrow in question.

“It’s fun.” She grabbed the remote and started flipping through the channels “look,” she pointed to the tv “it looks like it’s pilots. Wanna see if it’s correct? I like watching shows with firefighters and spot the mistakes.”

“Your idea of fun is weird.”

Rowan sat comfortably against the head of the bed and Aelin took her place between his legs. She pulled her blanket to her and his arms wrapped around her waist.

“The whole point of the game is to be loud when you see mistakes.” She explained him.

“Oh well, what he just did? It breaks so many rules I can’t even start.”

Aelin’s hands went on his on her tummy.

“What an idiot. He just let himself and his wingman completely exposed. If we did that during training we would get sent back to flight school.”

She felt like laughing.

“Go on, buzzard. That’s the spirit.”

“Ok, if you do that in real life you are an idiot. They are clearly flying at high altitudes and you do not remove the mask. No matter how much you want to celebrate winning the dogfight. If for any reason the cockpit loses pressure you don’t have much left.”

“Ro, we are only half an hour in. This movie sucks.”

He shrugged “the planes are quite awesome though. I think they are a mix of different real ones.”

“Ok, the actor is definitely not my type but I must admit that those jump suit of yours make you all so much sexier.”

Rowan roared with laughter then went back watching the movie but not following the plot. His hands had started tracing lines up and down Aelin’s arms, she pushed her back deeper against his chest and his chin went on her shoulder.

He was enjoying this. It felt natural to have her in his arms and cuddle and make fun of stupid movies. She looked a bit better and he also noticed a very faint smile and he called it progress compared to what he saw in the morning. 

“Ok, the love interest has appeared. I bet they are having sex within twenty minutes.”

Rowan pointed at one character “he is going to die. I have a feeling. His callsign is flapjack.”

Aelin patted his hand “what about storm trooper?”

“Oh no, he is the villain. The antagonist. He will be humiliated at the end of the movie but he will not die.”

“It’s because they are the best pilots?”

“Actually they are terrible. Both of them. In real life they would not last five minutes.”

They watched the movie in silence for a while until Aelin felt Rowan tense all of a sudden. Then in the movie the afterburners of one of the pilots stopped working and he lost control.

Rowan stood quickly and left the house.

“Shit.” Apparently she was not the only one suffering. How could she have missed how bad it was for him as well? She had been so centred on herself that she had forgotten about him. Gods she was the worst girlfriend ever. He had been thoughtful and caring all while he was struggling as well.

She ran outside and found him sitting on the grass in front of the cottage, his head on his knees and his arms at its side. 

“Ro,” she kneeled at his side and brushed his hair “I am sorry. I am so, so, so sorry.” She felt tears sting her eyes.

He pulled her to him “why are you apologising?”

“I was so selfish. I was so wrapped up in my own mess that I forgot that you were going through some tough shit as well. I am the worst girlfriend ever.”

He leaned forward and kissed her “I love that.”

“What?”

“You calling yourself my girlfriend. I really love the sound of it.”

“Ro, are you okay?”

“I will be fine.” He brushed her off and then grabbed her and pulled her on the grass with him pulling her body on top of his.

Aelin stared in his eyes and still saw pain in them. He was not fine. Not even remotely, but he was being tough for her. He was pushing his pain away to be strong for her. They had to be strong for each other. 

She caressed his face and then kissed his nose “you can talk to me too, you know? It’s not just my walls that are bad. Yours too. I am here for you. We can take care of each other. Be a little braver day by day, together.”

“Kiss me.” Was all he said and she did. Avidly and deeply and he opened for her and she teased his lower lip with her teeth and his hands sneaked along her sides. Aelin straddled him properly and felt the bulge under his shorts. She kept kissing him and their tongues met. Her hands fisted in his hair and the moan that left her was a clear direction of where her thoughts had wandered. He rolled her over and pushed her off him. Aelin was about to protest but Rowan lifted her in his arms and ran back into the cottage.

She pulled him on top of her all the while grabbing his t-shirt to get it off him. They undressed each other in a frenzy of need and when Rowan was finally naked as well, Aelin grabbed him and pulled him on top of her. She needed him badly and had no time for foreplay. Not the first time around. 

From the way he positioned himself on top of her she knew he was feeling the same. 

“I need you…” she whispered in his ear and those words were Rowan’s undoing.

It had started to get dark when Aelin and Rowan finally lay exhausted in each other’s arms. The first time had been intense and mostly a way for both of them to forget in each other arms. The second one had lasted a bit longer and it was less a way of escaping and more one to find each other again. The third time had been the complete opposite. It had been long and sweet. Whispering sweet nothings to one another, taking their time to explore their bodies and drag the sweet apex from the other.

Rowan was staring at the ceiling while Aelin was sprawled on his naked chest.

“At least we know that in bed we are pretty epic. I am wiped. I mean, happy, very satisfied but wiped.”

She heard him chuckle gently, his hand travelled down and his fingers twinned with hers. The hand went to his mouth and he kissed it “I am exhausted too, but very, very satisfied.”

Her stomach grumbled and Rowan laughed “and that’s my clue.” He moved from underneath her and got off the bed and walked to the kitchen stark naked.

Aelin turned on her side and pillowed her head on her arm, staring at him wearing the apron but leaving his backside exposed. The scene was ridiculous.

“Sexy.”

He wiggled his backside and Aelin giggled. The man was perfect. His body was muscular and thanks to his strict diet and exercise regime he didn’t have a gram of fat on him.

“How hungry are you? Back to your normal levels?”

“Almost.”

He smiled, that was a great sign. Her appetite was coming back “I’ll make a bit more just in case you are still hungry after the first portion.”

While he cooked she stared at him in her cozy spot in bed under the blankets. She had spent four full days in bed and she had come to hate it, but now that he was with her it was perfect. Also, his scent of pine and snow was everywhere and she felt at home.

“Don’t fall asleep or you will miss dinner.”

“I can’t. If I sleep I will miss the beautiful view in front of me.”

He clenched his butt in response and Aelin laughed. It was a silly thing but it made her feel light hearted.

Once he was done cooking he walked to the bed with two bed trays and gave one to Aelin, then went back to get the food.

“Here we go, milady,” he gave her the food and got back to get his, then got rid of the apron and joined her in bed.

She turned her head to him “thank you for dinner,”

He just kissed her “eat.”

Once finished eating, Aelin stood and cleared all the dishes and loaded the dishwasher, then got back to him. He had the tv back on and was watching a cartoon.

She laughed. She really did not paint him like the type of guy to watch cartoons.

“What?”

“You are watching cartoons.”

He patted her side of the bed inviting her to join him again “they are fun.”

She curled against him and eventually they both fell asleep.

***

As usual Rowan was the first one up.

Aelin was curled at his chest and he was glad she had managed to sleep all through the night without any nightmares. He gently kissed her head and got off the bed. He went to his bag and grabbed a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and got dressed to go out for a run. 

Although it was full on spring, the air in the mountains was much cooler so he wore a hoodie as well. He got out of the cottage and took a moment to breath in the fresh air. The location was super peaceful and he realised he hadn’t done that in a very long time. He hadn’t slow down in what felt like forever. 

Another full breath and he left. He knew Aelin would be asleep still for a while if she had gone back to her standards. He had left her a note just in case. Behind their house there was a path leading into the woods and he took that setting himself up for a challenge. Off track running was far more challenging than on the pavement. But he welcomed it. Welcomed the opportunity to switch off his brain for a while. The path started to rise slightly as he got deeper in the woods. He could hear a river so he followed it. He spotted berries along the path and thought about coming back and pick them and make Aelin a nice cake with them. He continued along the river for a couple of kilometres until the roaring sound of the water increased and he noticed a gigantic waterfall, opening up in a pool at the bottom of it. The water was crystal clear and he was positive Aelin would love that. He could take her along that path. It was easy enough and she should manage it. 

Rowan sat along the path and stared at the scene for a while, then decided to climb down to water level. 

Once down he crouched and took a sip of the water and it was refreshing. He wetted his hair and face and climbed back up and slowly made his way back to the cottage. 

Half an hour later he was back at the cottage. Tired but he felt recharged at the same time. The run had been good.

Back in the house, Aelin was still asleep and he laughed but did not wake her up. She needed it pretty badly. So sneakily he padded to the bathroom and went for a much needed shower letting the warm water soothe the ache in his muscles. He chuckled when he realised that without Aelin to keep him company, his showers reverted back to the military efficiency of a run against time to finish before the hot water ran out. He grabbed a towel from the rack, patted his hair dry and then donned it around his waist. 

Still in a towel he walked to the kitchen and made breakfast and at the smell of food he heard Aelin wake up. 

“I smell food,” she said from the bedroom. A moment later she was behind him, wearing only the t-shirt she used as pyjama. Her arms around his waist “you were not in bed.”

“I went for a run.” He replied while concentrating on cooking “French toast is fine?”

“Aye, aye captain.”

“I found a nice easy path that we can walk along today.”

“Good, but I am mad at you.” She told him while caressing his naked back.

“Why?”

“You took a shower without me.”

Rowan chuckled “you were sleeping.”

“So, so rude.”

“Menace, sit down and grab some coffee.” He ordered her. 

Aelin gave him a mocking salute and filled two cups with coffee and took her place at the table.

“Did you had a nice sleep?” He asked worried. She had been quiet all night and that had been a good sign but she still didn’t look okay.

“I did, actually. I had no bad dreams or anything. I think it was you presence at my side. I felt safe in your arms.”

He gave her a big smile “do you feel up for a walk?”

Aelin nodded eagerly while taking a bite of her food “I need fresh air. I have been cooped up in here for too long.”

“Good, then finish your food.”

An hour later they were outside in front of the cottage.

Aelin had a pair of shorts, a t-shirt and a hoodie. Rowan had convinced to wear something warm. He loved to fuss.

He had the same attire and also a backpack filled with water bottles, lunch he had prepared and packed for both and for some reason unbeknownst to Aelin two towels as well. 

“Do you need all that stuff in you backpack? We are just going for a walk, not a mission on top of the Staghorns.”

“Always,” he said, walking in front of her “you do not go out on a walk in the woods without food, water and basic first aid supplies.”

He slowed down and got to her side and grabbed her hand “we have to do survival training while we are at flight school,” he told her “we had to learn to survive in the wilderness in different types on environments and also in a very cold climate. Also how to survive in an enemy zone and what to do if we get captured.”

She looked at him stunned and a part of her ignored the last words. Captured meant to be in enemy hands and possibly torture. For a brief second she felt sick at the image of him in an enemy cell being beaten up. Quickly she brushed the bad thoughts away. 

“It’s in case we suffer a malfunction and we are forced to land. We need to be prepared for anything and to know how to make it out alive.” He had continued while she zoned out.

“So if we get lost in the woods you would know how to keep us alive?”

He nodded. 

“Damn, you are more useful than I thought.”

Rowan roared with laughter.

Then they reached the area with all the berries and stopped Aelin and he walked to one of the bushes. He grabbed a plastic container from his backpack and started picking berries.

“What are you doing?”

“They are berries, I saw them during my run. I will make a cake.”

Aelin walked to him and he offered her a blueberry “Are you sure they are edible?”

He rolled his eyes “yes, Fireheart.”

He opened his palm to her and offered her a few more. They tasted delicious.

Rowan went deeper into the bushes but Aelin did not follow. She sat on the side of the path and waited for him to come back.

He did so twenty minutes later with an air of satisfaction on his face. In his hands she noticed the container full of different berries and in his other hand a smaller one “this one is for snacking.” And he passed her the smaller container.

Aelin then noticed his legs covered in cuts “your legs.”

“Ah it’s nothing, the bushes have thorns. There’s a river appearing quite soon I’ll wash there.”

The path wound among the trees and they slowly walked enjoying the fresh air and the peace “it smells like you.”

Rowan looked at her with curiosity.

“You smell of pine and snow and right now we are surrounded by pine trees and it just smells like you.”

He gave her a gentle kiss and they kept walking until he heard the sound of the river and he knew the surprise would come soon enough.

“It’s so beautiful out here.” Rowan turned to her and saw her serene face and he relaxed. The walk had been a good idea.

“Come on. We are not there yet.”

She skipped a few steps in front of him and his heart melted. She looked as carefree as when he met her but a part of him was wondering if that was a mask she was putting on for him.

She peeked beyond the trees and saw the river flow down in the valley “can we go down?”

He took her hand again “be patient.”

She huffed a puff and kept walking at his side and Rowan could tell she was getting restless.

“Fine,” he yielded. “There is a majestic waterfall down the road. Race me to it?”

She gave him the most amazing grin “you betcha. See you there, grampa.” And she sprinted, leaving him behind. 

Rowan raced after her and not long after he had caught up to her, most likely thanks to his long legs. He had also a backpack but that did not stop him from taking over and eventually reaching the waterfall before her.

She arrived a couple of seconds later and bent over, hands on her knees “you…” she was breathless “have long legs. Not…” another breath “fair.”

He chuckled and helped her up “look,” he said pointing at the waterfall.

Aelin followed his finger and gasped amazed. The waterfall was tall and fierce. The spray created a beautiful rainbow and at the bottom there was a pool of the most crystal clear water she had ever seen.

“Let’s go down.” She grabbed his hand and pulled.

Carefully they made their way down and as soon as they were at water level, Aelin ran to the pool and went on her knees to play with the water. It was chilli but so gorgeous. She tasted a palmful and it was super refreshing. Rowan joined a minute later and sat beside her “what do you think?”

Aelin stared at the gigantic waterfall “so stunning.” Then she stood and started peeling off her clothes.

“What are you doing?”

“There is no way I am not taking a swim in this paradise. We did it in Doranelle and this is so much better.”

“It was also much warmer.”

“Up to the challenge, captain?” Aelin was now towering over him completely naked, her long blond hair unbound.

Rowan stood in silence and undressed in front of her, meeting her wanton smile.

“Come,” she said to him offering him her hand.

Step by step they entered the water which was not as cold as Rowan expected. The pool was exposed to the sun and quite shallow, allowing the water to warm up a bit.

They walked to the centre and then he sat down on the bed and wiggled a finger to Aelin. She joined him and straddled him “you brought the towels. You knew this would happen.” Her hands brushed his hair and angled his neck so he was looking up at her.

“I saw the pool this morning and I thought at how naughty we could be in it.”

“I like the way your mind works.” She kissed him and pushed her naked body closer to his. She stood on her knees and she felt his hands grab her buttocks. One of his fingers traced lazy circles around her core teasing her. Aelin lowered herself down to him, grinding against his finger.

His free hand went around her neck and pulled her mouth close to his “I need you… to touch you, to kiss you… to be inside you…” his voice rough with desire.

“Then go ahead, captain. Fuck me senseless.”

Rowan stood in a swift motion and lifted her in his arms, her legs wrapped around him. He moved toward the waterfall to one side with less water and walked under the water and behind it and Aelin noticed a small cave.

“Privacy,” he told her once through and moved against the rock wall, pinning her body against it.

“Now, where were we?” His breath tickled her neck and she felt his tongue tracing the length of it. With one arm he held her up whilst the other slithered down along her thigh, between her legs were the proof of her desire was there for him to feel. The tip of a finger found its way inside her and Aelin closed her eyes and once the whole finger eased into her a moan left her lips. His head tipped down and took one of her hardened peaks in his mouth. Aelin’s back arched and her lower abdomen felt the proof of his growing desire. Aelin moved against his hand and he responded by adding a second finger and curling them inside her reaching that hidden spot.

“Fuck.” His thumb brushed her clit and Aelin was glad she was in his arms because she doubted she’d be able to stand. His free hand grabbed her leg “both of them around my waist,” he told her against her mouth.

“Please…” she told him her hands on his back, pulling his body closer.

His fingers left her and for a moment she missed their presence inside her. His hands went to her hips and angled her and she felt his tip nudge at her entrance. A moment later he eased fully into her and stilled for a few seconds letting her enjoy the feeling of him filling her. Gently he pulled out and slammed into her straight away, Aelin’s nails leaving half-moon marks on his back.

“You feel sooo…” another thrust “perfect. So bloody perfect.” She angled her hips sightly and at the next thrust she screamed in pleasure. They kept the rhythm steady until she felt her body ready to tip over the edge. Her muscles tightening around him. He groaned and his lips kissed her hard.

“Aelin—” her orgasm swept over her like a river that had broke its banks, powerful and strong. She felt him pick up his speed prolonging her high until he joined her as well in blissful oblivion and eventually relaxed spent against her.

Aelin turned her head and kissed the corner of his mouth “I scratched your back,” she added apologetically, hiding her face in the crook of his neck.

“For this?” He kissed her, never putting her down “totally worth it.” 

He moved away from the wall and started walking back to the pool and both sat back in the water.

Aelin pulled away from him and swam in the crystal waters while he sat with his back against the edge of the pool and looked at her.

She stood in provocation “seen anything you like, captain?”

“Go back swimming, menace.”

Aelin laughed and splashed him playfully then went back to enjoying the water.

Rowan on the other hand, left and went to the bank and started drying himself up and getting dressed again.

“Spoilsport.” She shouted at him when she saw him leave the pool.

“You should get out too, you don’t want to get too cold. The sun is moving and the pool is going into the shadows, it will get cold soon.” He pulled out her towel and opened up for her “come on,”

She stood and went to him. Rowan enveloped her in the big towel and then used his one to brush her hair dry as much as he could. Once she had clothes on as well he moved them to a patch in the sun and they sat back down “Sit here, it’s sunny and it will help you dry your hair.”

She obeyed him and then saw Rowan open his backpack and pulling out all of his stuff. He had water bottles, a thermos with coffee, the tub with the berries and two tubs with their lunches inside.

She always felt spoiled by the care he showed to her. She had to find a way to repay him.

“Eat.”

It was much later in the afternoon when they finally got back to the cottage. After the pool and the waterfall they had continued along the path and deeper into the woods and they did a super long circular walk that in the end brought them at the entrance of the holiday park.

“I am exhausted,” she complained sitting on the bed. Rowan stopped in front of her and kissed her nose “you have freckles and your face is nice and red, you have some colour on you.”

Not like the shell of a woman he had seen the day before with pale lips and dead eyes.

She extended her arms to him “kiss,” she begged but he walked away grinning without her seeing him.

“Whitethorn,” she barked.

He turned and gave her a chaste peck on the lips but her hands grabbed the back of his head and pulled him closer.

“Thank you.”

“For the kiss?”

She shook her head “for being here. For not giving up on me. For finding me.”

He kissed her softly “I will always find you.”

TAGS:

@rowaelinismyotp​

@jlinez​

@swankii-art-teacher​

@courtofjurdan​

@whimsicallyreading​

@tillyrubes10​

[squidlyskeet]

Joy Ride -.003

Pairing: StreetRacer!Bakugou x Fem!reader

Genre: TokyoDrift!au, Noquirks!au

Status: Ongoing

TW: violence, blood, firearms, eventual nsfw, 18+, mentions of anxiety and OCD disorders, grand theft auto, gang activity.

Summary:

It started with a simple question, “what do you say Y/n? You coming?”

After the sudden death of her mother, Y/n is sent to live with her estranged aunt halfway across the world in Tokyo, Japan. Weary of what this new adventure might hold for her, she decides to let loose the first night she was there, but how was Y/n supposed to know it would lead to a car chase? A car chase in the the passenger seat of a very angry, very hot, street racer’s super car?

A/n: I have not a clue what’s going on with my text seperator, and these are taking for E V E R TO POST. Don’t mind me, this is just a fic dump at this point. Also I just want to point out that BOLD ITALICS are meant to be words spoken in Japanese. I didn’t realize it wasn’t keeping the font when moving the chapters from my word doc’s to here, so I’ll go back through and edit them so they make more sense. ✌🏻-squidlyskeet.

═══☩══♛══☩═══

 “Oi. What the hell is this.” A stern voice gritted out from behind us.

  I didn’t understand a word but I knew it probably couldn’t be good. For some reason I felt like this was the infamous Bakugou.

 “Oi Bakubro, where were you man. The race is about to start.” The red head, Kiri I think, blasted back in Japanese.

  My confusion was spiraling as they continued their conversation. I still hadn’t turned around, and was debating how fast I could turn to leave and walk off without anybody questioning me.

   Ochakos attention was taken when Deku signaled her to come over to help with something he was fiddling with, and now I was stuck between two very heated men as they rambled back and forth in Japanese.

   In a split decision, I turned my heel and attempted to side step the man behind me. Figuring retreat was my best way out of this.

     I made it a few steps before I let myself breathe again but I was halted when I felt a firm grip on my arm and a menacing aura behind me.

 “Who the fuck are you?” The voice said, I still hadn’t looked in his direction, and if it were up to me I never would.

“Dude ease up, she doesn’t speak Japanese.” Kiri spoke, before anyone else could get a word in. I look at him in silent thanks, not understanding but would recognize the defensive tone anywhere.

“Tch. Look at me,” The voice, Bakugou, demanded.

   I gulped fruitlessly trying to wet my dry mouth, and decided to give in and just look at him. If I dwelled too hard on his blatant hatred, I was afraid a flip would switch and I’d be thrown into a debilitating anxiety attack.

    When I finally turned my body around to face him, that same slow motion effect kicked in as I traced his features with my eyes. His full lips were tight and slightly open, showing off his perfectly white teeth clenched underneath. Some of his pale blonde hair fell in his ruby red eyes, which were focused and narrowed on me. He was stunningly handsome, the kind of man you’d do a double take at to make sure he looked as good as the first time you glanced. Only to find out he was better looking.

     His body was lean and muscular, the tight fit of his tank top showing off his biceps and forearms. He was bent down, probably trying to intimidate me, and like the other two massive guys he was towering over me too.

 In conclusion, Bakugou looked like he was made of all hard angles. From his personality to his body, nothing but ice cold stone.

 I didn’t realize I was staring until his gravelly broken English spoke up again.

  “The hell are you staring at. Who are you?” His voice came out just as terrifying as before, but he relaxed his grip when I jumped back at his tone.

 Heat spread through my cheeks, I was ashamed I was showing such weakness in front of him. I wanted to be confident, especially with a man who looked like him.

I tried to sound confident.

 “I’m Y/n L/n, I’m Noel and Mirios niece.” I said, feigning any semblance of a steady voice.

“That’s funny cause last time I checked, Mirio didn’t have a niece.” He deadpanned.

  Damnit, I was hoping maybe throwing around titles would get him to get off my case a little. I just wanted to stand with Ochako and wait for the race to start, maybe have her tell me a little bit more about how all this works.

 “Well technically, no. I’m actually just Noel's niece but Mirio did tell me to call him uncle, so I’d assume he would be okay with me telling you that. Although this is my first race, so I’m not really sure how or what to..,” I trailed off when one of the guys in a lawn chair whipped around and stared directly at me, obviously overhearing my statement about this being my first race. “Oh no, I wasn’t supposed to say that.”

 Bakugou was standing in front of me, brows furrowed in annoyance and confusion. He was looking at me like I had sprouted a second head, and it was making me uncomfortable.

 “What?” I directed at him.

“For someone so damn shy, you ramble like an idiot.” He said flatly. At least he was no longer arguing about my identity.

  He turned his body slowly, completely losing interest in me and walking back to his car I somehow missed noticing at the front of the lined up cars.

“Oi. Who brought this Nav hoe over here? Someone get her away from the cars.” He yelled over his shoulder.

“Kaachan!” My head whipped to Deku, who stood from the ground, “Don’t talk to her like that, what if she’s actually Mirio’s niece? And you heard what she said. This is her first race.” He yelled back, the deep baritone intimidating, but leaving Bakugou unphased as he kept walking.

“Shut up you damn nerd.”

“Thank you Deku, but I can handle this.” I planted my hands on my hips. There were a lot of things I’d take from people, but degradation wasn’t one of them. My mom taught me that at least.

 “You can stomp around having a hissy fit like a child all you’d like Bakugou, but I was invited over here by Ochako and you don’t even know me. So don’t stand there and call me names like you do.” I was huffing in anger when I finished, but quickly calmed down. Immediately embarrassed by my outburst as I noticed every single one of the West side Riders were staring at me, jaws unhinged.

I was a little shaken when I noticed Bakugou had stopped walking midstep, hands clenched tightly at his sides.

Oh my, I think I’m in trouble.

 “Hey hey hey, everyone just calm down now. Y/n was it? Hi sweetie,” The yellow haired man from the lawn chair did an awkward walk run to place himself next to me. “I’m Denki Kaminari, hope this isn’t a bad time or anything, hah, but did hear you say…this is your first race?” He threw his arm over my shoulder, with a wicked smirk on his face.

Shit, I thought we were past that and that no one noticed.

“DAMMIT YOU DUNCE FACE.” Bakugou's loud yell brought me back to reality as the third degree was taken from me and placed on Denki.

    The other guy in the lawn chair let out a loud laugh, assuming this was the Shinsou Ochako was talking about, I pushed down a smirk when I put together that Denki must catch a lot of crap from Bakugou.

“What? Why does that matter?” I asked the man still leaning on me.

“Shut the hell up Denki, I swear to god.” Bakugou said, and Denki’s wicked smirk turned into a shit eating grin.

 Shinsou was full on laughing now, doubled over in fits of laughter at Bakugou’s expense.

“Because little flower, if you are who you say you are, that means you’ll be Bakugou’s Navigator tonight.” Denki’s eyes weren’t on me when he said it, they were on Bakugou. I was happy for it, because while the details didn’t make sense, the statement did. There was no way I wanted to be trapped in the car with an angry porcupine for however long it took to finish a race.

 “No she’s not.” Bakuhou’s gravelly voice strained out through his gritted teeth. He was facing us now, sharp features twisted up in anger and looking like he wanted to hit Denki.

  I looked at the others, Kiri was openly laughing now, Shinsou has been a mess of laughter since before the spat started, and Ochako and Deku had their faces turned away, mouths covered by hands, and chest heaving in silent giggles.

  “Yes she is, you’re the only available squad leader,” Denki stated, before sucking his teeth loudly and checking his nails. His eyes shot back to Bakugou. “That is, unless you want me to get Tenya on the phone and tell him he needs to come fulfill the duty as a squad leader. That’ll do just fine won’t it? Leave this adorable, defenseless flower in the hands of Tenya?”

  I didn’t know what Denki said in the second half of his rant, but it seemed serious enough that everyone, even Shinsou, stopped laughing. All eyes were turned to Bakugou.

   I thought for a second I saw his cold exterior drop and a look of panic flash across his widened eyes. But it was gone so fast I thought I imagined it.

  Everyone stood in tense silence for a second, while I wondered what was going on. It was starting to grate on my nerves how much I was actually left out of simply because I didn’t understand most of their language. It was my own fault, and I’d remember to pester Noel about it until she taught me a few words and phrases.

Bakugou’s shoulders visibly slumped out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look at him, his head still held high but the look of reluctant defeat across painted his features.

 “Fine. She can come,” he paused, pointing a finger at me and holding my eyes. “I want you and your gear ready before this race is even finished. When the winner is announced go back to East wall and stay there until I come get you. I’m going to prep until the second round. Don’t bother me.” With his final annoyed statement, Bakugou opened the door of his sleek orange car, shooting me one last look of disdain, got in and left.

   Bending down to put my hands on my knees I finally let myself breath normally. Relieved I could have a moment away from Bakugou’s heavy personality.

 I felt a hand rub circles on my back before looking up at Ochako.

 “I’m sorry, I really should have warned you before I brought you over here. I didn’t think he’d be happy, but I really didn’t think he’d call you names.” She said, apologizing genuinely.

 “I honestly can’t believe he caved, I guess all you really gotta do is throw around the boss’s name and he backs off that attitude of his.” Denki piped up from behind Ochako, retreating back to his lawn chair.

 “I really wouldn’t push him too far next time Denki. Sure he relents for the boss, but he has limits. You know he doesn’t like having a Navigator.” Kirishima said, injecting himself. His tone sounded scolding and disappointed. I’d be lying if I said it almost made me want to try to cheer him up.

 “That’s enough.” Deku commanded.

 “Hey, it’s not my fault that bitch left him for-.”

 “DENKI. I said that’s enough,” Deku’s firm voice cut over Denki’s antagonizing one. “Kirishima, go check on him and make sure he's okay. Denki shut the hell up from now on.”

  Without a word Kirishima pocketed his phone and in one smooth motion got in his car. Within a second he was gone too, all that was left was Ochako and I, Deku and the two bumble heads in the lawn chair.

   I felt really bad. That could have gone way better than what it did, and now I have to try and Navigate for Bakugou. Jesus, how am I supposed to tell Noel and Mirio.

  “Izu, I’m gonna go help get Y/n ready and then we are going to go watch the start of the race. I have my phone if you need me.” She yelled in Deku’s general direction to which he replied with a flick of his wrist practically dismissing her. I caught the look of surprise on her face, and watched it melt into anger.

Lord have mercy on that man's soul for later.

  “Alright Y/n, lets go get your equipment, and I’ll give you a few pointers.” She smiled back at me, warming my soul and easing some of my anxiety.

 Maybe this wouldn’t be that bad.

—————————————————

  It definitely was that bad.

  Round one just ended and Mirio won, I guess people bet on these things, earning Mirio a lot of money. I remembered leaning over the edge of the hip high wall of the parking deck, looking down over the road trying to spot the obnoxious yellow vehicle through the maze of buildings and sidewalks.

    My breath caught as the previously mentioned car shot around the corner in a wide arc and straightened out only to move so fast I could hardly see them. The next thing I knew a yellow flare was being shot into the sky and Mirio was being announced the winner.

Which lead me to right now.

 Mirio had just backed into his parking spot, and Noel was cheering about how fast he went in the straight shot.

  The thought brought me back to Ochakos mini lesson, ‘A straight shot is a part of the track where there are no turns, not even any curves. Drivers can make up the time they lost trying to drift around curves because they can’t go as fast. Now I’m going to show you a little secret...’.

   I was trying to memorize it in my head when Noel caught my attention.

 “What’s that stuff for honey, we were only racing once tonight. I don’t need another set.” She said, her brow furrowed in confusion.

 “Well you see, I uhh- ImetagirlnamedOchakoandshewantedmetomeethersquadsoIdidandthenImetBakugouandIaccidentlyspilledaboutthisbeingmyfirstraceandnowIhavetoNavigatrforhim.” I was breathing heavy when I was done, and Noel planted her hands on her hips.

    “I can’t fucking believe this, I’m sorry you what?” She demanded.

 “All I’m saying is I see why you wanted me to say this wasn’t my first race. Now I have navigate for the angriest man at this stupid meet. Is there any way out of this?” I said while pleading with my eyes.

 “Mirio.” She shot over her shoulder.

  Said man, turned to look around and abruptly left the conversation he was having next to his car.

 “Yes baby?”

 “Tell him what you just told me.”

“Uhg. I accidentally may have let slip that this is my first race to the west side team. Now I have to Navigate for Bakugou.” I was getting tired of repeating myself, I wanted answers.

 “Well I suppose it could be worse. It could be Teny-.”

“Mirio!” Noel slapped his arm.

He sighed before starting.  “I’m sorry little chick, there isn’t anything I can do. You technically are a part of the East side Riders now as long as Noel and I are together. Even if you don’t race, all family members are a part of it. It’s tradition. New members are initiated by Navigating for a different side's squad leader. It’s meant to be that way so a third person party can tell if the person is worthy of joining.

     This may seem like fun and games, and most of these people are irrelevant. But every person here who is on a squad has to either be ready to drive or navigate at a moment's notice. Usually under more stressful circumstances, but we won’t get into that. The reason you have to ride with Bakugou is because he is the only squad leader available without a permanent Navigator. I have Noel, and Monoma has Kendo. The south side is out of the question.” He shrugged as he finished.

That was a lot to process. Does that mean I’ll be a part of a gang or something? Jesus. What did I get myself into. All I wanted to do was have a few drinks and go fast in a car and now look.

  My god I’m a train wreck, and my stomach was clenching with every passing second.

  The gong sounded, and the announcer's voice sounded off through the speakers again.

 “Gear up, round two starts in ten minutes!” It sounded like he was screaming, but I couldn’t really tell with blood rushing in my ears.

  Noel has the bridge of her nose pinched between her fingers, her foot tapping on the floor. When she finally huffed and looked at me, I made it a point to look at anything that wasn’t directly back into her piercing cat like eyes.

  “Look at me,” I finally relented, and snapped my sight directly back at hers. “If you get hurt in any way, psychically, emotionally, shit even if he hurts your feelings. I’ll kill him.”

 As if on cue, the rumble of a motor popped over the bump in the entrance and maneuvered it’s way around the sea of cars. I didn’t have to look over my shoulder to know it was a burnt orange sports car with a fuming blonde in the drivers seat as the tires came to a screeching halt behind me.

  “Get in.” Bakugou’s deep raspy English left no room for argument.

  Noel nodded after me before reaching out to wrap me in a hug. I returned it thankfully.

  “You’ll do great.” She whispered in my ear before releasing me.

   I counted to ten before turning around taking a few steps to Bakugou’s passenger door. I looked through the windshield at the headrest only to find it bare, and sighed in relief. I was putting things together in my head, and as far as I could tell, some stitching on the headrest indicated a person belongs there. Permanently. And if it’s not your name, it’s not you.

  Man this is the worst walk of shame I’ve ever taken, and it didn’t help that Bakugou kept his eyes on me the entire time.

   I finally pulled open the door, standing back when I remembered the car doors opened up and not out. I slid in, taking in the interior of the car. It was leather, like real leather. It felt warm and nice on the exposed skin of my back between my crop top and jeans. I could feel there was no cushion though, probably just leather stretched over hard plastic meant to keep the bucket seat stable at high speeds. The color scheme was hunter green and orange with neons under his dash, lighting up the floorboards.

   I didn’t know much about cars but I knew enough to know that this car probably cost a lot of money. Whether he built it or bought it I had no idea, but either way it was a fortune. The dash displayed a screen bigger than a computer, and when I looked behind me there was no back seat, just six nondescript silver tanks. All neatly stacked in racks with hoses coming out of the tops and disappearing into the floorboard.

  “Shut the damn door.” Bakugou snapped at me, pulling me out of my inspection.

  I jumped when he spoke but quickly regained composure and reached for the door handle.

  “Tch. Not like that.” He reached across me brushing his arm against my collarbone and pressed a button on the side of the dash. I turned my face to the side to try and hide the glowing red that creeped up my neck while the door started closing automatically. When the door finally closed my blush burned hotter as I got a face full of what the inside of his car smelled like.

Heavenly. A perfect mix of sweet and spicy. Sandalwood, and gasoline. And something sweet. Was that..

Burnt sugar?

   Whatever it was, the smell mixed together in my nose fogging my brain.

     Without moving out of the way for other people in case they needed to get through, he pressed his foot down on the third pedal beneath the dash and shook the shifter in the middle before reaching behind my seat, obviously trying to find something.

   I stifled a giggle unsuccessfully when I caught sight of his shift knob. It was short, sunk down further into the center console compared to Mirio’s which sat higher. I was giggling though, because the shift knob was a grenade.

 “Something funny?” Another short jab.

“No no, I was just admiring the shifter.”

“What, you don’t like it?”  

“No I do, I was just thinking that’s a very Bakugou thing to have.” I replied.

“And what the hell is that supposed to mean? I can’t fucking do this.” He growled out the last part in Japanese, thoroughly confusing me and shutting me up.

     Something for the second time tonight landed in my lap, the familiar straps indicating it was a seatbelt. Or, more accurately, a harness.

  “You have two minutes to attach that to the seat and put it on, after that we are going and you don’t want to be out of a seat belt for the exit.” The last part sounded more like a threat than anything else and it sparked my limbs into moving.

  He didn’t think I could do it, well I’d show him.

 But after a minute I realized the slots were different than the ones Mirio had, and instead of five points there were eight points of attachment. I fumbled to try and get them into the slots when I finally figured out how they went in. It wasn’t the most comfortable sitting arrangement known to man, sitting practically backwards and trying to fanangle the small silver pieces into their designated holes but I refused to ask the hotheaded blonde for help.

   Thinking about him caused my eyes to unconsciously shoot in his direction, he had a look of annoyance on his face and if you squinted hard enough you could almost see amusement.

 A sadist through and through. Gaining amusement out of my struggling.

     Finally I had the damn thing in place, and when I went to sit down back in the seat I heard a thump from the inside of the car on Bakugou’s side.

   Pulling the harness in place, and finally clicking the last buckle together I looked up to find Mirio leaning against the door and looking into Bakugou’s car.

  Bakugou kept his face and eyes straight, almost like he refused to make eye contact.

 “Are you all strapped in little chick?” Mirio had his signature smile while he addressed me with his new nickname. I actually like it, cute but at the same time platonic.

  “Yup.” I replied with a smile of my own, trying to ease his tension and my own with the false pretense.

  “Got all your equipment?” He asked, but this time his face was pointed in Bakugou’s direction. His eyes held a glare, but he kept his voice light as he spoke to me.

 “Yup look!” I reached down to the floor showing Mirio all my stuff. I was pretending at first, but this time around it was genuine.

 “Good. Have fun little chick. Don’t get hurt okay, your aunt will kill me.” He waved, and Bakugou revved his engine clearly ready to go.

  Bakugou was about to take off when just as he was about to put it in first gear to leave Mirio grabbed the steering wheel and leaned down, invading Bakugou’s personal space.

“If anything, and I really mean anything happens to her, I’ll string you to the side of the building and count the seconds till you stop breathing. You hear me?” Mirio’s voice changed when he changed languages, his tone was dark and menacing as he spat the words out.

   Bakugou revved the engine again, visibly clenching the grenade shifter harder.

“Loud and clear.” The Japanese words his only reply before he slammed the car in first gear and took off towards the exit.

—————————————————————

-.003 💥MASTERLIST💥 -.004

Tag list: @thatonegeekchick​  ☺️☺️

Word✌🏼-Squidlyskeet

[postapocalyptic-narnia]

Any Way the Wind Blows

Chapter 5, Part 3 Word count: 1078

time 11:11 His hands still curled loosely around the handlebars when he woke up. He’d slumped against Aravis, the rise and fall of her breathing rocking him like a boat in harbor. It felt so natural that it took a drowsy moment before he realized that he was slumped against Aravis-- his chin over her shoulder, his cheek to her pulse, his heart beating against her shoulder blade, fit together like gears that had been nudged into the right place.

“Are you awake?” she whispered, straightening. He pulled himself upright, face burning. 

“Uh-huh.” He couldn’t name the feeling fluttering in his lungs. Not fear, not exhaustion-- something light and fizzy as seafoam. He didn’t know if he wanted to meet her eyes. He was intensely grateful she didn’t see how his face fell when she scooted forward immediately, cool morning air stealing the scorching heat from the space that opened between them. “How long was I asleep?” Why didn’t you shake me off? Did you notice that we fit together like puzzle pieces? He swallowed every stupid question that begged to be asked. He knew-- they both knew-- this would end the moment they reached safety, whatever this was.

“A few hours,” she said, nodding at the road ahead. The sky was bright, but his sleep-blurred eyes turned everything soft. They banked a curve and she leaned against his arms, and his skin seemed to tingle where they touched. “I suppose you want a turn driving?”

“No,” he said, then made a face. “I mean, if you’re tired--” The bike sputtered and began to slow. Aravis swore.

“Oh dear, it appears that Aravis VERBALLY ADMITTED to being the one driving,” Bree said. Shasta realized guiltily that he had almost forgotten about the AI. “Still not allowed, kids. Switch back.” The bike rolled to a stop and Shasta released the handlebars, his fingers stiff, so Aravis could climb off. She grabbed his shoulder as he slid forward. She had bags under her eyes, lips pursed.

“Are you feeling better?” she asked.

“A lot better.”

time 13:43 The silence between them seemed to stiffen with the heat of day. Shasta drove again, and Aravis tossed him a few questions and told a few stories, but the easy spring of conversation from the night before had dried. He tried to keep his eyes on the road but they kept straying to the peaks rose like the bows of shipwrecks around them, so solid, so massive, that he could hardly believe they were real.

time 17:36 “Is the capital in the mountains?” Shasta asked, through lips dry from a brisk wind. The road was steep and winding, but more even and well-maintained than any other section they’d driven.

“Just past them,” Bree said. “Protected by mountains on one said and the floodplain on the other.”

“Why would they build it next to a floodplain?”

“On a plateau overlooking it,” Aravis corrected. Shasta’s ears pricked at her voice-- distracted, but not irritated. Not that she had any reason to be irritated with him, but-- he shook his head as if he could derail his train of thought. “It’s the most defensible city left on earth. Every road through the mountains could be crawling with speeders at a moment’s notice. And trying to invade from the floodplains is suicide. No gasoline, no outposts, no resupply. And if a storm hits while you’re out in the open? You’re dead.”

On the other hand, maybe focusing on her words wasn’t a smashing good idea either. “So, say, if we’re on these roads when Emeth’s news hits…”

“Current speed has us at the city gates in less than twenty-four hours,” Bree said.

“...we’d be toast.”

“So would we be able to hide? Just exactly how much treason did we commit?”

“I personally vote we go out guns blazing.”

“No,” Bree said firmly.

“Fine, I’ll distract them while you two zoom off. Hopefully my father will have posted a bounty on my head by now. That’ll get their attention.”

“Did you just say you hoped your dad put a bounty on your head?” Shasta demanded.

“You should hope so too, it’ll keep the heat off of you if we’re discovered! Think about it.”

“I’m glad we’ve found a use for you: speeder bait,” he said, cracking a smile. Poking fun at her was one reliable way of drawing her into conversation, like poking someone for attention. As he planned, she bristled in mock indignation.

“Pardon me, that’s not my only use-- I’ve been passing you snacks all morning.”

His spirit lifted at the teasing lilt in her voice. “You’ve been snacking all morning, that’s what you’ve done. I don’t think one in ten crackers you get from cargo has reached me.”

“Well, it’s hard work being the brains of the operation.”

“More like the stomach of the operation,” he said.

Aravis snorted. “Hey, Bree, I bet if we dumped Shasta, we’d burn less fuel.”

“Hey!”

The nav screen, which had brightened at the AI’s name, let out a buzz like a sigh. “Behave, children. And if Aravis is right about speeder presence in these mountains, you could afford to quiet down.”

“Alright--”

“Sorry, Bree.”

“--I guess we can keep him.” Shasta rolled his eyes at Aravis’ words.

“How generous,” Bree said tonelessly. “Keeping the apparent brawn of the operation.”

“Shasta?” Aravis snickered. “He’s not the brawn!”

“Bree said to be nice!”

“I would argue that you mischaracterized yourself as the brain, so--”

“Bree’s doing all the real work here, Bree’s the brawn,” Aravis said decidedly. “Shasta has to be the pretty face.”

Shasta’s mind went blank for a response to that. Did she-- did she just call him pretty? Aravis poked him, a little too hard. “I mean, not that you’re doing-- you could use a hair cut. I just meant-- you have a nice face. Structure. Good bones.” She patted his face. Could she feel how hot his skin was? He would do anything for Bree to say something, save him from the awkwardness of trying to respond to what must be a poorly executed joke. Bree stayed quiet.

“You have good bones too,” he said, the words running into each other.

“You don’t have to cut your hair if you don’t want to,” she said at the same time. Just dump me off the bike already, he thought.

“Just to be clear,” Bree said drily, “neither of you are the brains of the operation.”

Tag list:

@lasaraleen

[breakyrlegs]

The 80 Best Albums of 2018

80. Beware the Book of Eli- Ski Mask the Slump God

For someone who has spent so much time living in the shadow of everyone’s (least) favorite Soundcloud rap quasi-martyr, Ski Mask the Slump God is one of the more audacious technical virtuosos out there. There’s no time to lose on Beware, so every second is a product of Ski anxiously shredding through ways to get your attention. There is no flow he’s afraid to try, no sound he won’t make.

79. 7- Beach House 

Beach House have monopolized a space in the indie-rock sphere for about a decade now. Their dominance is no fluke, but after a few hard-hitters, I was worried that they might make the same album over and over again. However, just a week after the almost too obvious Depression Cherry, they dropped Thank Your Lucky Stars, a more lucid affair. It marked a new chapter. 7 sees them continue to be done with making dream pop for sweet, peaceful dreams...they’re now making music for all dreams, especially the ones that linger into the morning, the ones you have to ask around about to make sure they weren’t real. Corny? Maybe, but it’s nice to see a stubborn band add even more dimension to their seasoned sound.

78. El Hombre- El Alfa

What does it mean to be “el hombre”? There’s no straight answer but if I had to take a crack at it, I’d say it‘s when you spearhead an entire genre so hard that when you venture out of said genre, people complain about it, even though the song features Cardi B. It also could be when you make yourself sound like the most obnoxious cartoon mouse imaginable, yet still manage to spit out a slapper. He may be the king of dembow, but El Alfa can’t be pigeonholed. Whether his voice is a sputtering tour-de-force or a comically nasal squelch, this album is a celebration of the ridiculous. In the end, the best songs are peak dembow, where a cloying sample of El Alfa’s voice works itself into a tornado and thumps for what could be forever.

77. 777- KEY! & Kenny Beats

Kenny was a prodigal son who left hip hop with dollar signs in his eyes and his tongue sticking out, tempted by the call of #REAL #TRAP #SHIT. Key! was an artist who had existed on the periphery of the scene, paying his dues while earning the most visibility when tacked onto the end of a Father song. They are the type of match that would slip under the radar until you realize that not only do they bring out the best in each other, but they also tap into something quite glamorous. The beats bump, the melodies stick, the energy is so high, and Key! treats this like his magnum opus. He’s expressive, dynamic, and Kenny lets him do it without any gimmicks. 

76. Soma 0,5 Mg- Taconafide

Maybe I’m a little biased, but I can’t understate how much this means to me. A Polish rap album that doesn’t draw on trends that fell out of favor eight years ago? One that is building its own lane and not just tangentially existing on the sidelines of the American scene? One that has not only one moderately funny song but a whole pack of well-thought out, extremely catchy bangers? No way. It’s too good to be true. Taco and Quebonafide carry themselves like they know that this is the album of a generation, that millions of Polish kids living their lives peering across the pond finally have something that is distinctly their own, and, more importantly, distinctly Polish. Dawaj dawaj! 

75. Shadow On Everything- BAMBARA

It’s hard to talk dirt on an album that has all its instrumentation down to a tee. Sure, you can’t get by on technical efficiency alone, but when bellowing drums translate into something so menacing and a flurry of guitars create such a haunting ambient presence, you take no detours when you’re propelled into the darkness. These songs are packed with enough action to tell stories but really, they just set scenes. That’s for the better. BAMBARA circumvent all the pitfalls of making post-punk in 2018 by putting passion into everything, ramping up the chaos as much as they can.

74. Doomsday Clarion- Airport

The world of fragile, noisy Soundcloud electronic collages is a pretty funny one, but rarely does the humor feel as sharp as it does on Doomsday Clarion. Miranda Pharis compiles sounds that never cease to keep me amused, intrigued, and, most importantly, spooked. They also find a way to tie them together so that it feels like non-stop commentary. Halfway through this thing, when we are exposed to a tangent about how one of the songs excels at putting an unnamed Youtube commenter’s rabbit to sleep, at first it’s like “LOL random”, but then it starts to feel like a snarky dissection of underground culture performativity...and it makes me wanna keep reaching as hard as I did there. It’s the type of record that wants to make you sound like a fool, yet Pharis doesn’t scoff as much as they embrace and pay homage. These turbulent compositions are all the more essential for it.

73. Nasty- Rico Nasty

There’s a few things you learn on Rico Nasty’s thunderous entrance. Apart from her sixth sense for broke boys and fake bitches, the observation that hits the hardest is that she’s pretty...well...nasty. She’s also not even close to being interested in apologizing for her fame, and anyone who thinks she should because she’s done it by making extremely aggressive (and borderline mean) bangers is full of shit. If Nasty proves anything, it’s that nobody is going quite as hard as this, and even though that would be enough merit to rest on, she’s not going to stop there. The more tender and spacious tracks here are shockingly the ones that bite the hardest. For an album that builds so much tension from brash exclamations, that’s quite a flex.

72. Negro Swan- Blood Orange

For Dev Hynes, the transition from indie’s best networker to its most multifaceted social commentator has been a successful one. However, I feel like that label minimizes him, because his albums are not trying to tell you anything, instead acting as abstractly pointed containers for ideas and chunks of culture that mold together into something triumphant. His albums have always been celebrations that cut deep into the complexity of blackness, queerness, and history. Negro Swan is his most on-the-nose and also his most unapologetically happy. However, it’s not the concise statements that make the album but the gorgeous, subdued melodies that take charge before you can even touch them. It might lack the explosiveness of Freetown Sound, but there’s hardly a moment on this record that isn’t radiant or holds back on any of its charm.

71. In Another Life- Sandro Perri

It doesn’t take long until the title track on this album finds the groove that it will spend the next 24-minutes delicately unraveling. It is a dainty, sweeping groove based on a simple keyboard arpeggio that invites every other sound in the vicinity to flourish with it, like it’s hosting an open picnic. It paces around, disintegrating and advancing with time, but by the end, it’s exactly where it started. That’s the beauty of Perri’s work; to say he can milk an idea is an understatement. He can milk an idea to the point where you can’t even tell an idea’s being milked, silently highlighting the beauty that emerges with prolonged exposure. 

70. Aura- Ozuna

It should come as no surprise that the most stacked summer album came courtesy of reggaeton’s most profitable powerhouse. It’s not even the extent to which these tracks go, but the sheer force with which Ozuna can continuously spin out them out, over and over again, like it’s absolutely nothing to him. For over an hour, it sounds like he’s doing no more than acting on his impulses, tapping into non-stop melodies and rhythms with confidence that it will all stick. Of course all these songs exist in the same vein, but there’s no comparing the twinkling romance of ‘Ibiza’ with the glitzy flexing on ‘Única’ or even the thumping pulse of ‘Sigueme los Pasos’, where he gloriously joins forces with reggaeton’s other king. There are 20 bangers on here, and the album only kinda drags. It can’t be this easy.

69. Famous Cryp- Blueface

It’s actually hilarious watching people get worked up about Blueface. “He can’t even rap on beat! How hard can it be to rap on beat?” Lmao, if you think rapping on beat is a prerequisite to making hip-hop, you’re as bad as the people trying to keep the impressionists out of art galleries just because they weren’t making hyper-realistic Jesus art. Yeah, I said it. Blueface is rap game Renoir. For real, it’s so much easier to rely on conventional technical ability than to tap into something that actually expands on a style of rap that should’ve been out of ideas a long time ago. Most importantly, if Blueface is such a hack, then how come he makes it sound so fucking good? How does he manage to rap like he’s racing the beat to the end of each bar, with his voice cracking every chance it gets, and still churn out songs with so much momentum? Why the fuck would he rap on beat? So he can sound like every wholesale G Perico/YG out there? Smh.

68. ASTROWORLD- Travis Scott

It would almost be irresponsible to leave the most quintessentially 2018 album of 2018 off this list. If you didn’t hear ASTROWORLD within a week of it dropping, you might as well have been watching telemarketing that whole week while 60,000 feet under the ground with no phone service. For all its lyrical gaffes, lack of personality, and unreasonably quiet NAV features, this album is pretty sick. We always knew Travis Scott was something of a curational master, with a taste for crafting rap albums that aren’t about him as much as they are apexes of the mainstream scene. However, when he came off as hollow before, ASTROWORLD has such an abundance of quality that you can’t even deny it. His ambition is easy to poke fun at until you find yourself returning to these songs again and again, marveling at each extravagant beat change or “STRAIGHT UP!” like it was your first time hearing it.

67. SR3MM- Rae Sremmurd

Just a note, I’m not referring to two solo albums that came with this (sorry Swaecation) because for all their charm, those were a bit harder to vouch for. Instead, I’m talking about the nine-track banger platter that got overshadowed by all the noise surrounding the “triple album.” Somehow, SR3MM was stealthily the well-rounded, adventurous album the boys had been promising us this whole time. Perhaps it’s because it is filler-free or because both of them (Swae Lee especially) have become absolute masters of their craft, having made so many seductive, irresistible tracks that at this point they could do it in their sleep. Or maybe it’s because there are so many imitators and it’s nice to have a burst of authenticity. There is hardly a moment on this album that isn’t an integral part of a refined rap song. They have so much more fun together. Sure, Swae is eclipsing, but I really hope they don’t break up.

66. Loma- Loma

When Cross Record established themselves as sublime folk masters on Wabi-Sabi, I didn’t think they needed the not-so-trendy and very, very normal input of Shearwater’s Jonathan Meiburg. I guess I was wrong. Turns out where they were once comfortable soaking in the hushed splendor, they are now compelled to be a bit more ambitious, to venture into louder places with more confidence. Thankfully, the newfound grandiosity does not come at the expense of any beauty; the vocal acrobatics sink into the spectral sheets of instrumentation just as smoothly as they did before.

65. Pastoral- Gazelle Twin

Gazelle Twin is a hard sell. There’s really no reason this uber-spooky electronic project where a woman in a mask chants and roars over industrial beats should be good. The look is cool and all, but this shit can be really off-putting if you’re not willing to have a little fun. Thankfully, the vibe is backed up by the production, which seems custom built to fill these songs with the bloodcurdling energy they project. If she’s not pounding her shrillness into you, she’s catching a sample at its most disorienting and looping it into further oblivion. It’s overwhelming yet so effective.

64. QUARTERTHING- Joey Purp

Now, I'm no purist who lives their life cowering under "DEATH TO MUMBLE RAP" bullshit, but if the status quo of hip-hop today can be critiqued for one thing, it's monotony. In a time where Drake can drop a 25-song album with, like, only ten songs where he actually sounds interested in what he's saying, it's refreshing to hear Joey Purp attack each verse like it's his last, with each hook falling into its groove like he was told at gunpoint to think of something catchy. If Joey Purp makes a song about something, he's going to approach the topic with purpose, almost likes he's aiming to make the definitive song about that thing. Here, he uses this essentiality to flex his versatility. QUARTERTHING is a record of confident experiments, songs that wander into unknown territory with purpose, capturing lightning in a bottle most of the time.

63. Le Kov- Gwenno

Gwenno is the type of vocalist who gets swept up by her songs rather than situating herself at the eye of storm. Her voice is a soft whisper most of the time, but the reverb on the drums accentuates each snare with a room filling quality while every dash of organ lingers and sustains. It’s baroque, it’s timeless, and, most importantly, it’s in Cornish, which I definitely thought was an extinct language. She could rest on that monopoly and still be fine, but she indulges instead. It’s an ideal combination of originality and refinement of an age-old style.

62. Drip Harder- Lil Baby & Gunna

When they’re not together, Lil Baby and Gunna aren’t that good. All of their solo albums at this point have been coated in filler, and when there’s a standout track, they usually both show up. That’s why it’s not surprising that the Young Thug proteges find their niche on Drip Harder, but it’s still shocking just how sharp, cohesive, and vital this sounds. The duo are moulding expressive, abstract melody-driven hip-hop in a way that hasn’t been as notable and of-the-time since Thugger and Rich Homie Quan did it in 2014. That pairing was more unlikely and exciting, but this one is more natural. Every moan, confession, and groove on here is impossible to resist, and the beats are some of the most intoxicating of the year. RHQ and Thugger crashed hard as a duo after they peaked, but I hope these two either stick together or use this as a launchpad for artistic growth. There’s so much room for it to grow, but for now, it’s more than enough to watch them carry each other’s weight.

61. Another Life- Amnesia Scanner

The hyper-saturated industrial dance music of Amnesia Scanner has now turned into hyper-saturated industrial pop music. As bizarre as that is to say about songs that are almost all led by grating synthetic vocals on the brink of becoming a deafening screech, there’s something conventionally attractive about the way these hooks form. Whether it comes in the form of a stuttering refrain or a massive #drop designed to elevate any scrapyard rave into the impending cyber-apocalypse, the pleasures here are simple.

60. Magus- Thou

It’s getting harder and harder for fans across the metal spectrum to agree on a canon. So much metal is being churned out at such a high rate, it’s becoming more of a task to pick out the gold from the clutter. Thou make a name for themselves with unmistakable grandiosity. Their sound isn’t the most challenging; the snarls have a soothing, ASMR-esque texture to them and the riffs are clean-cut, progressing with grace. For a band this prolific, it’s notable when they come out with something this refined. You can hear the effort in every idea, the precision in every new path they take. Magus might be the best entry point for metal’s most consistent stalwarts, a band who are much more interested in perfecting their distinct ambiance than embarking on well-meaning but slightly muddled genre-fusion.

59. abysskiss- Adrianne Lenker

As if Big Thief weren’t intimate enough. Adrianne Lenker takes her band’s prime descriptor (either “intimate” or “delicate,” depends on the day) and sees just how far she can push it before it gets uncomfortable. The staring contest that ensues on abysskiss is what you’d expect from one of the most hushed, intricate vocalists breathing into your ear with no more than a guitar backing her up. She definitely has the talent to get away with a mood piece, but no, abysskiss is home to some of the most devastating songs in her arsenal. At her best Lenker is lulling you into woozy trance, with songs that pack the visceral explosion of secrets. Such a sparse record has no right to be this intoxicating.

58. FM!- Vince Staples

You wouldn’t trust an elegant craftsman like Vince Staples to actually make an album that’s “no concepts, no elaborate schemes, just music.” He’s rap’s smuggest pundit, as well as the brains behind some of its most captivating music. So even though FM! is brief and blunt at its core, it still can’t resist being super clever. For starts, although Vince’s albums are often personal, they are seldom embedded with this much unshakable geography and West Coast inside humor. FM! is designed to sound like it’s playing on FM (get it) radio, and every time he cashes in on the gimmick with a new Tyga or Earl Sweatshirt snippet, his grin becomes more radiant. FM! thrives as a reminder that Vince can hop on any slender beat and ride it with ease, his listenability being the spectacle with the observations fattening it up.

57. Cellar Belly- Wished Bone

Those who know me might be shocked that a lo-fi twee album of any kind made it on this list, but Wished Bone are onto something. Sure, I’m a sucker for those staticy, soothing vocals and the delicate clicks and hisses that adorn them. If you’re going to celebrate the whimsical, you better make a full send. However, the beauty of Cellar Belly is not just the alluring sound but the amount Wished Bone are willing to do with it. There’s a sex jam called ‘Pollinate Me’ where they literally go “I am a flower, you are a bee.” Elsewhere, when ‘Seed’ abruptly turns into an itchy swing jam, I’m floored. Shouts out to delicate phantasmagoria; this is haunting in the cutest way.

56. mouth mouse maus- emamouse x yeongrak

This album is a colossal headache. Of course, anything that picks from the most lo-fi strains of nightcore and 8-bit is likely to make you feel a bit queasy, but mouth mouse maus is actually mesmerizing with the extent to which it sounds like a malfunctioning carousel in clown hell. Sure, this album is difficult to listen to and if you’re tuning in casually it’ll probably sound like erratic sludge. Yet there’s something heinous about just how fun it is. It’s not just fun in the random, unpredictable way but more so because it has you on the edge of your seat. This album tests you but you’re going to want to keep going, just to catch a glimpse at whatever tomfuckery comes next.

55. Elysia Crampton- Elysia Crampton

Although she likes to keep it short, nobody has epitomized the vanguard of electronic music in the past few years as confidently as Elysia Crampton. It’s like her sound is caught in this furious web where everything collides, with snippets of trap tripping over sturdy breakbeats that are embellished with a whiff of punk. It’s like an information overload themed fever dream that creates a world so dense it hurts your brain to think about. But it sounds so good with no frills. It’s a language so tempting to imitate, but even her peers can’t come close to this breathtaking chaos. This time, the grooves are as adventurous and subtle as they have ever been. It’s just as easy to be drawn in and just as hard to look away.

54. Freedom- Amen Dunes

Freedom is one of those rare sonic wonders that seems removed from any modern trends yet pushes the envelope far too much to be shrugged off as revivalism. Sure, Amen Dunes have influences and many of them come from a clearly defined school of rugged, classic Americana. However, Freedom is too musically nuanced and personal to function as any sort of nostalgia trip. It’s the album where a mastermind songwriter fully finds his voice after nearly a decade. Damon McMahon has made great albums before, but none of them have the urgency of Freedom. In that sense, it feels like it came out of nowhere, even though that couldn’t be further from the truth. The loudness with which he projects, this unmistakable need to be heard is what’s new; Freedom is an album that screams self-acceptance, magnifying the affirmative catharsis that comes after years of internalized trauma. You can’t deny the power of that, but even if you do, you have more than enough splendid melodies to gawk at.

53. Chris- Christine and the Queens

I get too close to putting Chris in a box. Impulse has me wanting to write about how this a masterclass in “queer pop,” because it’s so easy to oversimplify queer artists and bunch them together under the same umbrella. Although identity is at the core of her art, Chris is not an embrace of an identity as much as it is a rejection of the need to clearly articulate your identity or to have an identity that pertains to a set of rules. Chris finds eroticism in confusion, and in that sense, it is a stellar non-statement, with each sentiment drilled into your heart via Chris’s enveloping voice and the record’s colorful, addictive production. Vulnerability is rarely this convincing.

52. Now Only- Mount Eerie

On the surface, Now Only feels like six leftovers from the most gut-wrenching musical diary entry about death ever made. That would be fine, but this is so much more. Now Only exhibits a new lens with which Phil Elverum views his devastation. He knows he will never accept it, but allowing himself to grieve helps him approach a semblance of peace. The confessional approach is just as tear-jerking as it was before, but instead of lingering in Genevieve’s ghost, we are hearing someone who has found deeper meaning in this therapy. Musically, Now Only is more vast and ambitious, but the sentiment is just as awe-inspiring. It takes a lot of genuine pain to pull off songwriting like this, and after the mass catharsis that touring A Crow Looked at Me must have been, it’s fascinating to witness the depth and growth of some of the most intense emotions one can ever feel.

51. Only Love- The Armed

Maximalism and enigma is a tricky cocktail to pull off, but if there’s a place for it, it’s definitely in the hyper-saturated world of metalcore. There’s only a few ways in which these types of outbursts can go down, but when you’re doing as much as The Armed, it ends up being pretty spicy. This album is a non-stop catharsis where everyone is putting all the effort they possibly can into whatever noise they’re making. It seems spontaneous and turbulent, but there’s no way something this constantly earth-shattering isn’t carefully orchestrated. I would call this all-over-the-place, but all the action is streamlined and compressed so that, for all its shrieking and pounding, Only Love ends up being a pretty nice listen. That’s only from a sonic perspective though, because as an emotional experience, this is gut-wrenching, borderline hard to sit through. If you give it the attention it demands, Only Love’s childlike expression defies trends and subverts expectations.

50. Rich As In Spirit- Rich Homie Quan

What do you do when you fall off? It happens to pretty much everyone eventually. I don’t judge those who decide to cash in or rely on publicity stunts to get back into the public eye or even those who just stop trying. But Rich Homie Quan made one promise to us, didn’t he? He goes in on every song. He’s still goin in. He will never stop going in. Rich Homie Quan has been eclipsed by most of his former peers, but on Rich As In Spirit, he does exactly what he needed to do; stop worrying and hone his craft. You can hear the effort and emotion on just about every song. Rich Homie knows he’s gifted and doesn’t need to prove it. He’s always had a vastly underappreciated melodic grip and a penchant for churning out the most energy-fueled, heartfelt bangers. Rich As In Spirit magnifies that. Putting in effort doesn’t mean overdoing it. It’s refreshing to hear someone sound so much less jaded than his contemporaries, quietly outshining them in the process.

49. X 100PRE- Bad Bunny

Bad Bunny’s bellowing baritone used to be a couple things, but now it’s everything. As one of the most potent voices in pop music, his debut album was liable to slap, but X 100PRE concisely shows off the versatility that his singles hinted at. To say he stays in his comfort zone would be irrelevant because his comfort zone is so wide. He came up off the Latin trap wave, but now his prowess shines strongest on his ballads; the inspired optimism of ‘Estamos Bien’ or the sensual nocturne on ‘Otra Noche en Miami’. When he links with Diplo on ‘200 MPH’, it is just as mammoth as you’d expect, not because of Diplo but because the refrain is so fucking sticky. Even the songs where he does the most are far from tacky; the seamless switch on ‘Solo de Mi’ and the hilarious entrance of El Alfa on ‘La Romana’ show his curational eye. It’s one thing to have great ideas but it’s another to execute them so tastefully. Bad Bunny is Puerto Rico’s improvement of Travis Scott; his albums have the same sights and sounds, but twice the personality.

48. A Whole Fucking Lifetime of This- American Pleasure Club

You never know what you’re going to get from a Sam Ray project. One of the great gifts to have comes with the passing of time is the bleeding of Ricky Eat Acid’s mesmerizing ambient music into Ray’s lo-fi emo outlet Teen Suicide, which has now rightfully rebranded as American Pleasure Club. The cynicism has shed off with the name; A Whole Fucking Lifetime of This is still despondent and stressed out (I mean what do you expect with that title), but it’s a lot more genuine and the thrills it holds are a lot more heartfelt. It’s hard to think of a way to channel your emotions that Ray won’t try. This album mostly consists of illustrious sad ballads made from ingredients so delicate that it seems like the foundation could collapse at any time. That’s not to imply that it is unsturdy but rather that these sounds are strong enough to break free from the glue holding them together. Elegance has become Ray’s forte, but he makes sure every goosebump is earned.

47. KTSE- Teyana Taylor

The last and least anticipated of Kanye’s Wyoming albums ended up being the easiest one to love. Teyana Taylor had been sitting on a bed of potential for years before this dropped, but her most visible moments came in the form of uncredited features, reality TV, and Kanye music videos. Kanye’s gold mine of minimalist, sample-based production feels most at ease when it’s elevating R&B, and Teyana has the ideal disposition to lead the charge. She’s confident, unashamed, and empowered. These songs articulate pleasure in a way that is proudly hyper-sexual, but even though its lyrics read like erotic literature sometimes, the result is tasteful. Taylor composes herself on this album like a star waiting to burst, her raspy yelp stealing the show every chance it gets. But this album will forever be associated with Kanye, and in fairness, that’s fine. He saved the most sultry, glimmering beats in his arsenal for this, and it pays off on an album that unravels with masterful pace.

46. Kwaidan- Meitei

I haven’t heard anything else like this and I promise I wouldn’t say that if I didn’t mean it. Kwaidan is an anomaly, an album that orchestrates the most befuddling atmosphere without getting lost in its abstraction. Rhythms emerge from dust and the spoken-word croak (you’ll know it when you hear it) rides them with the grip of an MC. The juxtaposition of ancient and futuristic emerged when Meitei moved to Kyoto, a city where he knew nobody, and wandered around until the mood overwhelmed him. The bite of Kwaidan is rooted in this immersion; there’s no way you can make music this precise, creative, and original without fully buying into your surroundings. Many artist have tried (and failed) to capture the oh so fetishizable “Lost Japanese” aesthetic. Kwaidan epitomizes exactly what they were chasing. It’s hard thing to do right, but holy shit, it is rewarding.

45. Nothing 2 Loose- DJ Healer

There are three types of tracks on here. First, there are the more standard ambient ones, where lonely synths tread through densely layered pops and crackles. Then there are the ones which are led by a melting vocal sample (often a vocoder) channeling something disorienting and alien. However, the big guns come out when the record takes an absurd sample, whether it be a melodramatic melody or some ridiculous rambling about how “this is God’s creation...isn’t it beautiful,” and loops it over some equally theatrical breakbeats. This shit can be so funny, and it’s hard to tell if the hyper-spiritual aesthetic is tongue-in-cheek or completely earnest. Either way, it drills itself into the record enough to justify whatever it is trying to be, regardless of whether it’s a punchline or naked sincerity. This is one of the more haunting, incisive ambient techno albums in recent memory, built on ideas that are not only clever but extremely immersive.

44. Grid of Points- Grouper

Nobody has spent this decade cultivating a more distinct, mesmerizing aesthetic than Liz Harris. Grouper has become one of the most reliable operations in modern music. You know that you’re going to get little more than reverb-soaked piano and breathy vocals, but you also know that the wave of emotions will be overwhelming. Harris records these songs in a room alone, and I don’t think it could be done any other way. It’s astonishing how she is able to consistently do so much with so little, and I know that’s a cliché but fuck it. The warmth and comfort that radiates from these songs is priceless. Grid of Points is not as haunting as past Grouper, but it’s more ethereal and, as a result, more conventionally pretty. This type of allure is a undeniable fit. It shows a new angle of a simple formula that will suck you in with every last breath and smother you with its seclusion.

43. Daytona- Pusha T

Who is the 2018 Clipse? Rae Sremmurd? (lol I like this analogy already) Let’s ride with it. Daytona is like if Swae Lee, 12 years down the line, actually found a more compelling way to sing about going to the Bahamas and dunking a girl in a pool. Obviously, in this case, the Bahamas and pools are replaced by selling coke, but you know what I’m saying. Basically, Pusha T has every right to have peaked already, but instead his coke aficionado character has only grown stronger with age. Like, I can’t believe it took him this long to come up with the line “fuck it, brick for brick, let’s have a blow off.” However, it’s not really Pusha T’s words that form this album’s backbone; as the entry point to Kanye’s prolific (and pretty great) Wyoming Sessions, the real catch is how Pusha T is able to merge with these stuttering, soulful backdrops to turn coke-rap into razor sharp poetry. Pusha’s dedication to developing one thing over the course of his career has made his imagery as potent as ever; but the brevity and minimalism here will not waste a single moment. In a year where he temporarily took down pop rap’s radio Jesus, his true legacy builder was far more modest but much more premeditated. 

42. Golden Hour- Kacey Musgraves

You ever think about, like, how there’s northern lights in our skies, plants that grow and open our minds. It’s kinda crazy that in Tennessee the sun’s going down and in Beijing they’re heading out to work. This is a real thing. Kacey Musgraves writes lyrics like she is a child realizing  everything for the first time and marvelling, jaw agape, at how it makes her feel. All cynicism aside, it’s refreshing to hear someone so enthralled with it. Golden Hour is a collection of earnest meditations on the most simple phenomena, shit we take for granted. And while it’s easy to poke fun at the parts of this album that sound like earnest marijuana-fueled banter, it’s a lot harder to escape when the music is so beautiful and the sentiment is so genuine. There are moments on here where Musgraves underlines things like temporality of our most cherished relationships or how euphoria is always dissolved by the shock that it’s all going to end. This is some of the purest lyricism that exists, an album that frees itself from the alienating shackles of its country aesthetic to become one of 2018’s hardest things to argue with. 

41. Slide- George Clanton

If you openly exploit the “vaporwave” tag for Soundcloud plays while lightly disowning the genre, you must be quite a cunning fucker. You better make sure that the music you’re making is not only post-vaporwave but a capitalization on the aesthetic that resonates with millions but earns the scorn of the critical masses. Slide is just that. It feels grand and important, like it’s the apex of the more cyber-persuaded strain of electro-pop lurking around the memescape. George Clanton is a meme god, an artist whose ambition justifies the more eye-roll inducing, needlessly fetishistic aspects of the subculture. The motifs in this album are not just extremely well thought out but all the more effective when they emerge in the form of blustering, explosive melodies. It’s very hard for them to fall into the background not just because they are beautiful but because you can tell he’s having fun. Slide ensures that there’s a wholesome time hiding behind every cloud of reverb.

40. Momentary Glance- Lisa/Liza

During a phase of grief, any creation is worthy of praise. The lore of Momentary Glance is clear-cut; overwhelmed by tragedy, Liza Victoria persevered through a biting winter to record these six songs. The despondent trance she falls into as she strums and chants is hypnotic, not just because of the prolonged intimacy but because the compositions are presented with all their raw imperfections, embellishments that suck you in instead of taking you out. Victoria’s vocals on this album act as a well of hope in the face of despair. There’s no right way to cope and no glory in suffering, so praising this album’s open wounds seems counterproductive. But when an aspect of your livelihood is snatched from you forever and you can’t bear how much you miss someone, an album that gets it like this is a warm blanket in a freezer, a beacon of empathy in the face of debilitating turmoil.

39. KIDS SEE GHOSTS- KIDS SEE GHOSTS

I’m not sure who needed this most. Was it Kanye, eager to balance out his ugly, legacy-ruining 2018 by making people finally talk about his music again? Or was it Kid Cudi, the tortured autotune godfather whose albums over the past decade had ranged from forgettable to holy shit i don’t even wanna think about it? Either way, KIDS SEE GHOSTS was the apex of the Wyoming sessions. It’s as if all the urgency spun into one concise project, where every segment showcases two genuine masterminds trying to bring out the best in one another. Kid Cudi especially treats this like the album he was destined to make, exhibiting warbles so seductive that you forget they were ever grating. He lends this album its emotional cruciality, with skyrocketing hooks that ache so hard and a tone so spot on it’s like he was saving it all for this.

Kanye takes this as an opportunity to showcase his curational genius. For a seven song album, many of these tracks feel like interludes not because they shrug off responsibility but because they take a form so unconventional that it’s almost distracting. Even the boldest ideas on here leave a great taste in your mouth, but in the end the dearest pleasure is Kanye’s rapping. Every time he opens his mouth he does so with vitality, something we haven’t seen to this degree since Yeezus. 

38. 2012-2017- Against All Logic

Nicolas Jaar is a sonic virtuoso. While he’s proven many times that he can twist and fiddle through his most complex compositions, simplicity bears the most genuine rewards. As you may have guessed from the title, this is a compilation of sorts. It suggests that Jaar has been taking a crack at more conventional house music on the side for most of this decade, and needed an outlet to release it without disrupting the much darker, denser expectations of the Nicolas Jaar brand. It’s no surprise that he pulls it off. It’s hard to think of another producer who has a more nuanced grip on how grooves work and how to find glory in texture. That being said, I did not expect something this casual and accessible to reveal itself as Jaar’s forte. Jaar really is one for the intersection of soul and house. These songs all follow a similar formula where an old-school sample gets worked into a modest yet riveting pulse. However, what he taps into suggests that some of these sounds are much more compelling with the context flipped around. For the scribblings of a mastermind, this is unreasonably presentable.

37. Stadium- Eli Keszler

The moment on Stadium that has me sold iss not one of the ingenious blends of shuffling percussion and jittering plucks that come to define its sound. It’s at the end of a song called ‘We Live in a Pathetic Temporal Urgency’ (lol), where the thuds dissipate and we are left with a natural sound recording of what sounds like pop music playing on the speakers of the mall. It’s like it is beaming from a different planet, simultaneously grounding the album and inverting it into a much stranger endeavor. Keszler has orchestrated a platter of ear candy, sound porn disguised as psycho-jazz. Sure, the odd time-signatures and abundance of texture might grab the headlines, but the real kicker here is the lull that actively rests behind the music. I wish all glitzy technical showcases doubled as ambient mood pieces. 

36. The Recurrence of Infections- bod [包家巷]

There’s an ennui that not enough people make art about. Nicholas Zhu (aka bod) would call it “the quiet hours of laborious coping that fall into the areas between work and sleep,” but I’d probably call it “chill time”. The Recurrence of Infections is a lot of high-strung aesthetically driven gobbledygook, but it’s fucking awesome. I actually buy into it pretty hard. Forget the fact that it’s a masterclass in sound design and think about what “laborious coping” would sound like. You probably can’t think of much, but that’s because you can’t realize your vision as well as Zhu can. Pianos that turn into crashes that turn into distorted growling that turn into robotic warbling...these are not the type of things you remember, but can easily relax with, if you tune out the real pressure. It’s a joy to watch this album unravel. It’s the type of thing you’ll want to tell people about without being able to explain why. But that’s ok. Come hang sometime.

35. The Invisible Comes To Us- Anna & Elizabeth

Anna & Elizabeth make musical period pieces. It doesn’t take long until you realize that this isn’t just a folk throwback; these are actually old folk songs, shit that was popping off in, like, the 40s. While the whole “old songs for new audiences” thing is wholesome, the magic is in where they go with it. The Invisible Comes To Us is exhilaratingly strange to listen to. Adorned by a seemingly ancient aesthetic, you’d think a modernization could get away with slapping some synths and beats on there and calling it a day. However, Anna & Elizabeth are interested in how this music would sound if its spirit was still alive today, if people still had good reason to write lyrics like “tell me jovial sailors, tell me true/does my sweet William sail among your crew?” but had the technology to throw some electronic embellishments on there. Every song sees a comically traditional tune come to a screeching synthetic halt, and even though that combination should wear thin, the execution is passionate enough to be chilling.

34. Whack World- Tierra Whack

The strongest gimmicks are usually the most frustrating. Whack World is a harsh epitome of this; it’s a project that suffocates itself with originality, but would it really ruin the illusion if some of these songs were a couple minutes longer? It doesn’t matter, because this album and the visual spectacle that came with it was enough to fit right into our zeitgeist and run laps around anything less casually ambitious. Of course, part of the appeal was seeing Tierra Whack trimming a poodle, prancing around a cemetary with muppets, and snipping the strings of balloons while snarling in a Southern accent. However, an album’s stellar presentation doesn’t always translate into such addicting songs. Whack World is fifteen great ideas taken at face value so that they never lose momentum. These tracks seem designed to get stuck on repeat, always finding a groove and savagely leaving cravings unfulfilled.

33. Twin Fantasy- Car Seat Headrest

It’s weird to throw this on here because these songs have existed for such a long time. However, newer resources sparked an overhaul we didn’t even know we needed, and boy, did it work out. Twin Fantasy is one of those records that is so painfully personal you feel almost uncomfortable. Immersing yourself in its tales of infatuation and self-awareness to the point where you’re basically watching Will Toledo gut himself and everyone around him shouldn’t be this fun. It doesn’t gain a new audience by straying away from the lo-fi, but rather by accentuating the musical and conceptual turbulence. The best songs on here are eager shapeshifters, growing bigger and bigger until they pop, or in the some cases, they reach the ten minute mark and start gyrating. Eventually, he’ll start doing things like convincing himself that he can’t be evil, not because he’s good, but because “evil” is a phony construct. It’s a drastic leap from fondly recalling Skype calls to declaring that he is incapable of being both human and inhuman. Or is it? Car Seat Headrest has mastered the smug grin that does bad job of holding back the tears, hitting you with enough unhinged emotion to justify its performativity.

32. Sorpresa Familia- Mourn

Mourn have had a lot of burdens to shake in the wake of Sorpresa Familia, and it almost feels like they could only have made this album with something to prove. It makes sense as the product of a fight for financial justice, as it also sees Mourn viciously slithering away from the buzzwords people use to define them and the marquee names writers like me automatically liken them to. However, they don't do this by changing their sound, but by upping the ferocity in their energy, the complexity of their arrangements, and the stickiness of their melodies.

The commitment to quality makes it easy to forget the label drama that birthed this record. However, Sorpresa Familia would not exist in this form without the rage and hunger for justice that marked its creative process. "At 19 years old we're signing our divorce," they growl at one point. Anyone who has gone through it knows divorce often becomes a blissful catharsis for the victim. Sorpresa Familia doesn't merely mark this catharsis; it proves that Mourn needed to loosen the shackles to make the most fully-formed record of their career.

31. Lush- Snail Mail

It’s odd to hear someone younger than me (I’m 20) rock a style that shouldn’t have too many ideas left in the tank. That being said, it’s especially wild when they do so with such grace, sounding like a seasoned vet in their prime. Lush isn’t brimming with new sounds, but somehow it manages to be the most refreshing indie rock record in recent memory. Maybe it’s because the songwriting is simple at heart but captures something so universal and captivating. Lush dissects the ambiguities of young love, both the frustrating rush of being swept away and the strength it takes to realize that the exasperation may not be worth it. It resonates with me, and I can’t imagine these sentiments falling short on anyone, at least when they are delivered by Lindsay Jordan’s absolute powerhouse vocals. The more emotional bits come in like a sustained avalanche, knowing exactly what to emphasize and what not to overdo.

30. Devotion- Tirzah

We’ll talk about Tirzah in a second, but let’s take a minute to gawk at Mica Levi. It takes a seldom-seen skill set to create some the most weirdly accessible pop records of the early decade and then go on to get an Oscar nod for a movie about Jackie Kennedy. Yet now, having produced Devotion, she’s ready to give her tasteful, haunting minimalism the charismatic voice it has always deserved. Mica Levi was never the best frontwoman, so enter Tirzah, with a sultry, conversational voice that can mutter and howl in the same breath. This is a partnership that has been bubbling since early childhood, and you can tell just how well these two understand each other’s creative boundaries. Mica will take a sparse loop and spread it wide enough for Tirzah to spit out vulnerable bars like nobody’s watching, like she’s catching herself in a scary moment of candor and embracing it.

29. Sweetener- Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande’s music had always one-upped her public person. She had been in marquee relationships before, but none as inescapable as this. It’s weird to look back on Sweetener, which was dropped during peak Grandsonmania, as this happy, beam of light sticking out after she witnessed a bonafide tragedy unfurl at her now-infamous Manchester concert. It was the sound of an icon in full control of her narrative, choosing to show resilience and overdose on bliss. Instead of being distracted by her newfound spot at the top of the A-list, she was inspired by the spotlight. That being said, context doesn’t make Sweetener. Ariana Grande has always had a penchant for the most irresistible, immaculate pop masterstrokes, and Sweetner is home to so many of them. Her vocal capacity has become practically superhuman at this point. Whether she is howling on ‘breathin’ or unleashing a phantasmagoric coo on ‘R.E.M.’ it’s hard to imagine a delivery that would suit these songs better. She has perfected the ballad, but she has also perfected the bop, and Sweetener shows that she can effortlessly blend the two.

Of course, tragedy struck again in the death of her ex-boyfriend/best friend Mac Miller. She broke up with Pete and unpacked everything with her biggest song yet. However, Sweetener will always stand out as one of the most crucial and enjoyable bubblegum pop records of our time, one that, for all its lore, continues Ariana’s tradition of putting the music first.

28. New Bodies- Tangents

I’m never one to judge an album primarily by its capacity to make me go “whoa!”, but if I was, New Bodies would probably top this list. Simply put, this is a technical masterstroke. The type of music Tangents make is pretty hard to classify; its sprawling instrumental flexing suggests jazz but the ingredients are electronic. It’s impressive enough to pull off something so unorthodox but to do so in a way that manages to summon emotion while simultaneously dropping jaws...that’s a whole new level. New Bodies rejects the need to find a groove, fidgeting and sputtering to a point where it can either unravel or chase a massive crescendo. More often than not, it chooses both. This album flaunts its pace, but the real calling card is the texture, which is product of rattling percussion that manages to stay so varied and complex while providing a sturdy backbone. It shouldn’t be possible to scatter strings, cymbals, beats, and samples so haphazardly onto each track and come out with seven genuine odysseys. 

27. Galapagos- Wednesday Campanella

Wednesday Campanella aren’t quite subverting stylistic norms. Galapagos is chock full of drops, albeit interesting ones, and the songs rely on tried-and-tested formulas to drill the melodies in. However, skipping experimentation lets Wednesday Campanella to get straight to the point: unadulterated sonic bliss. Also, please don’t get me wrong. Wednesday Campanella don’t really sound like anyone else, even in the far-reaching, dense world of J-Pop. It’s hard to find any band that is so adamant on cramming this many glistening sounds into their music yet so capable of dodging busyness or being busy in the right way. Yet, for a group that does so much, it’s wild that they manage to have each element crafted with precision, whether it be a glittery synth sound shooting out of a vibe that would have never have called for it, or the vocals, which are always so high up in the mix that each breath is magnified. Sure, it’s not the most uncanny, but Wednesday Campanella stay surprising you with their audacious choices.

26. Room 25- Noname

Room 25 is birthed out of an entirely new set of circumstances. While Telefone was a Chicago album through-and-through, Room 25's namesake comes from the geographic ambiguity of two years spent living on the road. She sums it up nicely on "With You" where she raps "shared my life on Telefone, room 25 and 306, and 809 became my home.” Being thrown into the cutthroat touring process for two whole years is a unique and inherently transformative experience, and Room 25 captures this transformation in all its push-pull nuance, without sacrificing Noname's sharp eye for her surroundings. In this sense, Room 25 is excitingly personal. In the past, Noname the character has taken a passenger seat to Noname the narrator. Now she opens things up and focuses on her journey, and there's a lot of growth to be exhibited. It's an album with purpose, a moving snapshot of a coming-of-age worthy of all this great music.

Yet, for all the personality and reflection that comes out on Room 25, Noname's eloquent observations make for some of the stickiest moments on this album. When she ponders the hypocrisy of eating Chick-Fil-A "in the shadows" on ‘Blaxploitation’, she doesn't do so with a stern finger-wag but an onomatopoeic overcoming of sensation -- "mmm, yummy, tasty" -- kickstarting a flow that unwinds with her confronting the "thinkpiece" nature of her music head-on. However, these songs aren't thinkpieces. These are acute contemplations from someone with a lot to chew on. Room 25 sees a brilliant writer finding her outlet, taking in the world around her, and spinning it into her own extraordinary web.

25. Safe in the Hands of Love- Yves Tumor

Yves Tumor never seemed interested in stepping out of his mystery bag approach to making albums, mixing 8-minute long exercises in ambient noise with simple, concise soul jams. However, nothing he ever tries is derivative. Safe in the Hands of Love has too much distorted screaming to be labelled his crossover lunge, but now he seems ready to take his sonic ingenuity and apply it to something less abstract. Maybe that’s what happens when you get picked up by Warp, or maybe that’s just what Yves Tumor was planning this whole time. Either way, it doesn’t sound like any compromises are being made. Even the more anthemic songs like ‘Noid’ or ‘Lifetime’ reek of despair and restlessness, and the orchestral overtones that give the tracks their oomph aren’t exactly inviting either. More electronic tracks like ‘All the Love We Have Now’ and ‘Economy of Freedom’ are nods to past successes, but for all their electrifying grooviness, they embrace the same menacing grandiosity. The notion that nothing is off the table is all these songs abide to. Either way, these are some of his best.  

24. OIL OF EVERY PEARL’S UN-INSIDES- Sophie

Sophie never seemed that interested in feeding into the consumerism celebration/critique/caricature her PC Music contemporaries so loudly owned. For every robotic bubblegum pop hook she crafted there was an avalanche of emotion bubbling underneath. OIL takes that emotion and puts it front and center, revealing the dynamic human behind the once elusive machine. Sophie is no longer milking the hyper-synth + squeaky balloon + pots & pans combo into oblivion, but when it shows up here, it’s stronger than ever. ‘Ponyboy’ and ‘Faceshopping’ make previous career highs feel staticy, and there is now a lot more space and fluidity in Sophie’s barrage of beats. While these tracks will pounce on you, the real glory emerges in the most fully-formed moments of Sophie’s career. ‘It’s Okay to Cry’ will wind you with its earnest sensitivity, ‘Is It Cold in the Water?’ is built off a synthline that is borderline heavenly, and ‘Immaterial’ illustrates her identity with elegance that can only be described as career-defining. Music can be a lot of things, but at its very best it is an outlet to channel your truest self. OIL epitomizes this phenomenon, amping up the excitement as Sophie continues to explore.

23. The Smoke- Lolina

When you first hear the tuneless, off-kilter wobble of The Smoke, it becomes clear pretty fast that this album isn’t that interested in sounding “good.” Inga Copeland sounds detached from the music, her voice approaching a mumbling groan while the plodding keyboards and beats don’t sound especially happy to be there. It’s about nothing, it feels nothing, and it doesn’t want you to feel anything either. But, *surprise*surprise*, it’s fascinating. Unlike her close collaborator Dean Blunt, Copeland doesn’t rely on confusion to make the gag work but uses it to carve out a world for her tracks to awkwardly flourish. The first two songs are basically weed out tracks, testing even those most committed to adventure. Once you’re sucked in, the real drama goes down. The husting, solemn ‘The River’ has such a firm grasp on its momentum it practically feels like a set up. The next two songs are particularly stunning, stepping outside of the pervasive flatness to embrace something far more delicate. It’s hard to find an album that rejects aesthetics so much but transcends being just kinda interesting. In that respect, The Smoke is a rare success.

22. Veteran- JPEGMAFIA

Peggy comes close to wearing out his welcome a few times on Veteran. Instead, he just exasperates you, like a jester who bites and claws before he scampers away. It’s hard to even know where to begin with his music, but the elevator pitch is in the instrumentals. They frequently tease you with stomach-churning samples that seem borderline impossible to turn into a beat until they hit their stride and become obvious. On ‘Real Nega’, it’s a guttural sample of Ol’ Dirty Bastard croaking and on ‘Baby I’m Bleeding’ it’s a echoey computer crash of a stutter that paces around for a whole minute before turning into the banger it is. 

JPEGMAFIA ensures that listening to him is like tripping down an Internet rabbit hole, issuing somewhat agreeable hot takes about how Morrissey/Tom Araya/Varg deserve to die, how Pitchfork supports abusers (until it wasn’t cool), and...well...how he wants a bitch with long hair like Myke C-Town. He toes the line between sheer abrasion and accessibility, and the songs that do this best (‘Thug Tears’, ‘Macaulay Culkin’) seem destined for crossover success, because when he’s not hollering, he can sing about as well as anyone in Brockhampton. However, the most exciting thing is the notion that Peggy is a rapper who reflects music meme culture as much as he is a product of it, erasing the wall between the lurkers on 4chan and the artists they stan. #Edgy? Definitely, but I dare you to turn it off.

21. Joonya Spirit- Jaala

The most notable quotable I have read from Jaala is that the 4/4 time signature can go “fuck a dead donkey.” You’d think such a blatant contrarian might try a bit too hard to hit you with compositional gymnastics, and while there’s definitely some of that on Joonya Spirit, there’s a lot more passion. It’s rare to see something this proggy get caught up in such visceral vulnerability, with songs that confront anguish as the snide beast it is. One song has Cosmia Pay drained, wound up after being pet “like a dog.” Another takes the bare facts of a break-up and transforms them into a swaying hook. But between these outbursts, Jaala try to find the most convoluted way from A to B, constructing a self-imposed obstacle course. The journey bears gifts, to say the very least. While this can be a hard album to track, it’s elevated by an understanding of how to make the most out of its detours, with the complexity becoming a tool rather than a distraction. 

20. Cocoon Crush- Objekt

Electronic music is progressing so that the machine engages in a tug-of-war with the human. Some artists even use their platform to pitch a manifesto where there’s no reason humans should make better music than artificial intelligence. It’s a valid point, but it undervalues a virtuosic understanding of sound as a sensory experience, as if an algorithm can spew out music that is meticulously crafted to make you feel. Texture isn’t all it takes, but when Objekt’s music spreads itself out like the satisfying percussive ASMR it is, I nut. It’s not like his music is milking its benevolence, but it brims with life. The callbacks, the vividness, the rattling fiber...it’s designed to evoke. As an album that fully appreciates the artistic potential of technology, Cocoon Crush rejects techno’s anatomy and builds its own habitat.

19. The Wolf of Grape Street/God Level- 03 Greedo

It’s much easier to think of 03 Greedo’s output as this flurry of spontaneity, surfacing in eagerly explored ideas and a landslide of hard work and charm. Nobody has earned his spot on this list more than 03, an eager poet who packs all the turmoil he’s ever experienced into each nasally, autotuned whine. He’s also shockingly talented. Amidst the nearly 50 songs on these two projects, which are admittedly super bloated, there are really only a few duds, all of which suffer on the basis of being undercooked, not misguided. What makes up for it even more is the notion that the excess is probably the point. Greedo makes bangers that range from the devastated (‘Prayer From My Lost’) to the needy (‘Bacc to Jail’) to the combative (‘Basehead’) to the absolutely savage (‘Run For Your Life’).

It’s all infectious enough to shock you with its productivity, and that’s probably for good reason. Shortly before God Level was released, Greedo was sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in jail. It was technically on gun and drug charges, but it felt like he fell victim of a system that always put him last. Seeing him pour his heart out so urgently can only tug at the heartstrings.

18. Double Negative- Low

Not gonna lie, I would have never put my money on Low to craft an album that sounds so ahead of its time. Maybe I was ignorant...when you spend your whole career being the face of your own niche, especially one as fragile and poignant as slowcore, you can only waltz towards perfection. Double Negative may be just that. It’s ambitious, creating most of its backbones from waves of static. But how the fuck do you sound so relevant after years of sounding so worn down? Where did this need to deeply innovate and challenge come from? Whatever they did, Double Negative discovers a whole new language within its glitches.

Low have completely overhauled their sound, but only emphasized their essence. The vocals cast themselves like heavenly beams of light onto these suffocating drones, the type of clash that is built to overwhelm. Double Negative takes strokes of such vehement abrasion and tweaks them until they sound exquisite. It’s hard to find an album so unique yet so logical, obscurely branching off from an exhausted genre towards a practically euphoric display of textural understanding.

17. Compro- Skee Mask

It’s not easy to penetrate the traditional IDM canon these days, especially now that Aphex Twin is still active, but fuck me if Compro doesn’t try. This doesn’t position itself as one for the purists; instead it’s a confident progression of an age-old form, an album that knows what ingredients make this experimental techno shit work, but has no interest in indulging. A Skee Mask song will set itself up with a gravity-shaking rhythm that bulges with enough texture so that when a groove comes to nest, it is punctured and complex, even if its beauty comes in conventional forms. The twinkle of the melody on ‘Rev8617’ or the icy, distant synth on ‘Soundboy Ext.’ are cast over ripples and breakbeats. It doesn’t feel like he’s creating a juxtaposition as much as he is balancing these sounds out, as if their splendor is highlighted with containment.

16. Cold Devil- Drakeo the Ruler

It shouldn’t surprise you that someone who has been taken to task by law enforcement based on the perceived authenticity of his lyrics prides himself on his intensity. It’s hard to keep up a shtick for this long, rambling about apparently miscellaneous characters like Mr. Mosley and Pippi Longstocking, while never forgetting to underline how you have your dick out like a “pedophile” or how you’ve been strangling snakes and you bathe with the apes. All the while, you end pretty much each track with a minute-long tirade where you take in your surroundings. It’s a lot, but for an album of seemingly low-stakes shit-talking, Cold Devil packs a ton of depth.

Crafted during an 11-month jail stint, Cold Devil projects the charisma, isolation, and precision that can only arise from such introspective circumstances. Yet, while tapped into ultra-realism, the most captivating part of sees Drakeo’s imagination running wild. It’s like he used the time to construct his own emotional lexicon, and while it’s the type of bogged-up conceptualism that you can’t really articulate, he’ll be fucked if he doesn’t try. What comes out is a whirlwind of ideas, each flourishing, albeit concisely, through a swamp of imagery and excellent rapping. Anyone who views this as a confession must be kidding themselves; it’s a vivacious expression that even the most observant couldn’t untangle.

15. You Won’t Get What You Want- Daughters

Anger, despair, dejection...these are all emotions that might sound contrived, especially in a context where they’re almost taken as given (*cough*cough*noise rock*cough). Fortunately, nothing feels fake about Daughters. Spreading their wings after eight years of silence, You Won’t Get What You Want sounds like the pinnacle of a decade of anguish rolled up into a ball and fattened up to sound as big as possible. You’ll notice a few things right off the bat: the drums sounds massive, the vocals are almost always approaching a scream, and every instrument seems to have the color tuned out of it. Daughters play like they are making themselves dizzy, launching into climaxes with brute force. Yet for all its density, it’s a wonder how music this outwardly menacing can transcend the bluntness of its elements to become somewhat inviting. That being said, there is nothing wholesome about the darkness that dominates this record, but Daughters make sure to tweak their pain into the most suffocating beast they can so that it’s almost conventionally beautiful. It’s hard to find a record that executes its niche so perfectly, an ambience that can only be approached after years of marinating in your ache. 

14. Some Rap Songs- Earl Sweatshirt

It makes perfect sense to make music that sounds like what your friends’ make, but when the long-awaited Earl Sweatshirt album came out sounding like a logical follow-up to MIKE’s recently released Renaissance Man more than the sequel to I Don’t Like Shit I Don’t Go Outside, it was a little confusing. However much Earl may drown in his modesty and aggressively try to understate the potency of his music, his brand of cooped-up gloom comes with a midas touch. It’s hard to say whether Earl was hard at work for these past three years, or whether he spun out these 15 vignettes in a stroke of manic genius, but it doesn’t really matter either way. They’re here and it’s captivating as fuck.

Earl the operation is an outlet for Thebe the person, who is still easing himself into stability after an adolescence where he became something of a martyr to millions of kids (#FREE EARL). Of course, this is punctuated by the death of his estranged poet father, a disconnect that Earl has always struggled to grapple with. However, Some Rap Songs is wary of romanticising anything for the sake of a narrative. Instead, it jumps from dusty beat to dusty beat, a flurry of understatements that rarely stay around for longer than two minutes. Earl has always been eager to find his niche after a couple of regrettable teenage choices that risked contaminating his artistry. Even if the inspiration he takes is obvious, his energy can’t be channelled by anyone else.

13. The Whole Thing Is Just There- Young Jesus

For a band who could easily be described as a “philosophy bro jam band,” Young Jesus make it pretty easy for you to like them. This is a controlled exercise in pensive, intellectual emo, an album hellbent on making sure each groove throbs like it’s had its young recently ripped from its arms. The riffs don’t emerge as hooks but rather weave themselves through tunnels, fueling each crescendo. At the apex of it all is a shuddering plea for attention. Young Jesus channel the same catharsis as the emo revivalist except they don’t take the easy way out; their forte is their creativity and their pulse is their sensitivity.

All six songs here manage to fit in both moments of anthemic infection and utter disarray (the glorious kind). The segments that accentuate this album are defined by their space and tenderness, taking poignant philosophical observations and highlighting their consequence with emotional outbursts. It takes a style bent on nostalgia and pushes into an entirely new place, a feat that very few artists can pull off, especially with such volume and precision.

12. Have fun- Smerz

Smerz are like if an artist with talent, charisma, and pop smarts was approaching a fork in the road where they could pursue Top 40 glory or use their resources to lead the vanguard and make challenging, deconstructive electronic music. Guess which one they choose? The melodies that soar over the gritty, distorted beats could have been lifted from the bridge of a #1 R&B hit. Instead, they are spread over a tattered landscape, like a safari where you’re not gawking at animals but taking in an exhibit of quirky synth sounds and samples of speech that sound like they are lifted from a 3 AM drunk voicemail.

Have fun bounces between ethereal dizziness and stark percussive minimalism, but when the two combine, it’s a goosebump-inducing juxtaposition. Floating above the instrumentals-- which honestly could have been released on their own and still have made the lower-end of this list-- is either a deadpan cheerleader chant or a fluttering vocal harmony. Whatever Smerz do, they can’t stop creating music that the words “haunting” and “hypnotic” must’ve been invented to describe. They construct such an exclusive bubble where experimental techno and pop intersect, a fusion that needed to happen, that other artists have tried to do and came-out contrived. It pulsates with mystery, which is funny because most of these songs are about getting fucked up or, as Smerz would put it themselves, “basic bitch problems.” Their ominous gaze turns this charm into a manifesto. And why shouldn’t it? Music this serious yet unpretentious is a rare delight.

11. Honey- Robyn

Everything Robyn does, she does with conviction. She’ll look back on the empty spaces her lover has left behind without fearing her resentment. She’ll invite you to a beach party with casual assurance (“come thru, it’ll be cool”), but boldly winks to suggest that it might be the most transcendental night ever. She’ll demand forgiveness without begging for it, embracing submissiveness while knowing the absurdity of her demands. Is forgiveness even real? Is nostalgia hollow? Is it OK to be heartbroken? These are the types of issues Robyn deals with on Honey, an album that packs eight years of growth into 40 minutes, as if Robyn has been contemplating the scope of her influence and brainstorming the next best step.

Of course, Honey isn’t that calculated. It’s a record of audacious sensitivity, dissecting the simplest phenomena and matching them up with the perfect backdrops. The sex song (‘Between The Lines’) skips with a seductive sway, like a lab-constructed aphrodisiac. The club song (‘Beach 2k10’) is an anomaly, but walks with the confidence of a nightlife staple. However, the best tracks are the most fully-formed, tracks like ‘Honey’ and ‘Human Being’ feel like quintessential Robyn on steroids. It’s astonishing how good she is at this, and even when the record treads new water with suave, captivating disco cuts, Robyn owns whatever space she’s in.

10. Vibras- J Balvin

J Balvin is not the most emotive, distinctive, eccentric reggaeton artist, nor does he have the best voice or the most dominating presence. But he might be the most ambitious, and the most adept at making effortless smash hits, a thing he does on Vibras pretty much every time he tries. In a world where the top tier of Urbano Latino can get billions of views on YouTube and compete internationally with the biggest American superstars, J Balvin is the artist most excited to lead the movement, the most well-versed in its potential.

As the title suggests, Vibras is a record of concrete vibes. J Balvin is aware that a lot of his listeners will not go through the trouble of translating his lyrics, so he makes sure that even people who didn’t take Spanish in high school will grasp what he’s trying to do. All you need to know about ‘Mi Gente’ is found in the now-iconic stuttering vocal sample that starts the song, and the crux of ‘Cuando Tú Quieras’ is a similar sample being flipped into something sultry and seductive, functioning at just as high a level. Vibras seems masterfully curated, even if lots of the songs are anomalies. However, these anomalies don’t just stand out but elevate the power of the straighter, simpler reggaeton songs. ‘En Mí’ is a lovelorn ballad, ‘Brillo’ finds an unlikely pairing with ROSALÍA, who is at the peak of her melodic prowess, and ‘Machika’ ends the album with an almost overly lit EDM crossover. Everything works and it’s wonderful.

9. Bark Your Head Off, Dog- Hop Along

When Frances Quinlan unleashes her raspy, crackling yelp, you know important shit is about to go down. Hop Along have always specialized in a very particular type of drama. They have a penchant for telling stories with a candor that makes it feel like you’re eavesdropping, like you’ve stumbled upon a goldmine of gossip that you shouldn’t be hearing but are far too morbidly curious to plug your ears. The juiciness can come in the form of bureaucratic academia scandals, sexual overtones in the Bible, or the ever-so-relatable struggle of watching Watership Down expecting a kid’s movie, but observing a bloody festival of rabbit slaughter instead. The twists and turns are spot-on and frequently hilarious. If Bark Your Head Off, Dog’s ideas were expanded into prose, it would be a top-tier collection of short stories.

Amidst all the motifs surface nine expertly crafted rock songs that worm around with the utmost purpose, with each chorus/bridge/coda packing enough zest to fuel the whole track. Quinlan’s grip on these melodies is first-rate, as if she’s being swept up by something bigger yet going to painstaking lengths to ensure every tonal phase is spot-on. Bark Your Head Off, Dog is consistent to the point of near-perfection. It doesn’t take long for it to sink in that every song is a highlight, a beacon of emotion that capitalizes on every glimmer of melodic brilliance. Yet somehow, it’s impossible to predict where these songs will go. Often, strings or screams will emerge from out of nowhere, other times are doused in pure, saccharine pop music. Hop Along have mastered spontaneity to the point where nothing feels tacked on. There are so many dimensions to their sounds/stories that you’ll unpack something new with each listen.

8. Nothing Is Still- Leon Vynehall

Leon Vynehall is a practical musician. His last album was, literally, “designed to dance”; a myriad of songs at a streamlined, club-ready BPM that progressed with the pace of a night out. His fascination with multi-dimensionality in house music is abundantly clear. He’s always going to find a new way to be inventive, always ready with a brand new purpose.

Nothing Is Still tests house music’s limits with biography, each song representing a “chapter” or “footnote” in the life of Vynehall’s grandparents, particularly their emigration from England to New York City in the 1960s. Of course, this music is instrumental, so the introspection is all atmospheric, a hard thing to pull off. Thankfully, Vynehall comes up with some sky-scraping, impassioned music, channelling something very vivid. The ambient pieces on this album are textured and passionate. They must be immediate illustrations of the flood of emotion Vynehall experienced in the wake of his grandfather’s death, when he was fully gripped by the narrative, and decided to go down the rabbit hole. It’s oddly tangible, and even without the backstory, the distant grooves on this album could overwhelm you. It’s a bold feat to try and soundtrack something you didn’t directly experience, but the emotional depth packed in this electronic period piece can only be the result of extensive research and nights of curious catharsis. Taking your craft seriously is one thing; creating a record that brims with such sensitivity and personal importance without saying a single word is something else.

7. Harutosyura- Harunemuri

Whatever is being fused on Harutosyura, whether it be pop-punk and rap or hardcore and electronica, yields intense results. It’s not your standard foray into J-pop; Harunemuri are sure to make compact bubbles that writhe and spin before they burst, leaving behind a barrage of glitzy choruses and whines that sound like they’re at the end of an exhausting a potentially lethal chase. It’s chaos, but it’s also rich and entirely unique. Some songs will wear out a stunning riff before collapsing in a fit of aggression; others prefer to reach a screeching halt out of nowhere, only to come back stronger than ever to provide a new angle on their beauty. They will confuse you with the effortless strides they hit, especially because they sound like they are trying to cram every emotion they’ve ever experienced into one note. It’s too dramatic not to be entertaining and too action-packed not to constantly revisit. Even the most animated could only dream of channelling the flux of Harutosyura.

6. A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships- The 1975

It’s been steady growth for The 1975. In their early days, they were a subtly good indie-rock boy band who mostly sang songs designed to get teenage girls a bit too excited. I probably hated them without having heard any of their stuff. Then, they became this overly ambitious 80s glam-rock monster, packing many standard pop bops on their sophomore album, but filling the space between them with tracks that sounded like shoegaze/post-rock/gospel parody (to be clear, I thought it was brilliant). Now, they are one of the most outspoken, monumental bands of our generation, still silly, but absolutely drowning in good ideas. Without hyperbole, I think they are the most exciting thing to happen to the band format in a long time.

Their main thing is that they do the most. Even when the pleasures are simple, Matt Healy is yelling a bit too close to your ear, throwing out commentary that masquerades as ill-fitting until you realize it’s actually super clever and eloquent. The main draw, however, is how every time they turn the page, they land on a song that immediately traps you. Additionally, all these ideas are fresh and essential. The centerpoint is ‘Love It If We Made It’, a tabloid-esque collage of cultural commentary that woos you with its timeliness as Healy throws his entire voice towards a scream of “modernity has failed us!” The rest of the singles range from the best 80s-movie pool party throwback of the year, a rainbow of soothing horns and romantic ennui, a finger-wagging burst of 29-year old wisdom, and a smugly confused radio song. Deeper in the album lie cautionary tales on Internet death told by a robot, Bon Iver-ian swaths of autotuned warbling transformed into high-tier experimental techno, a nocturnal barroom jazz track...I could go on like this for paragraphs lol. The point is, everything they try works and everything that works sticks with you. For an album where a bunch of millenials spend an hour obsessing over the “digital age,” A Brief Inquiry has too much charm.

5. Knock Knock- DJ Koze

If I have to hear someone call DJ Koze some variation of “house music’s biggest prankster” again, I swear to god (haha). I know he can be pretty goofy, and there are many moments on Knock Knock that project this goofiness. Some of the vocal samples (“I need a little light here!”, “I know the future better than you know the past”) are kitsch for sure, but there is no understating this man’s profound talent. He will find a sample, find another sample, and mix the two into something hypnotic. I don’t know if he stumbles upon these grooves or if they are vastly premeditated through some process where he hears an old record, his ears perk up and, poof, a full-fledged house banger surfaces in his mind. He’s always been willing to push the envelope, but on Knock Knock he fully embraces his versatility and distinctiveness. Even the most random sounds he throws into the blender make absolute sense in the sugary, hyper-charged context they’re presented.

Not all of this will sink in quickly, but there are some clear hard-hitters. ‘Pick Up’ floods into the mix like a warm embrace from a long-lost friend, creating a vibe that could and should continue forever. Yet all it does is chop up two 70s soul songs and loop them into oblivion, carrying such a heavy emotional load while staying relatively stagnant. The fat, throbbing bassline on ‘Bonfire’ makes Justin Vernon sound dreamier than he ever has before. ‘Illumination’ is a steady build to an ultimately glorious release, a masterclass in the sly emergence of its drop. It’s all so glistening and nostalgic. There’s sniffs of rap, folk, R&B, techno but none of the paths diverge from the cohesive sonic wonderland. Some prank lol.

4. Aviary- Julia Holter

When do you decide to make your magnum opus? How do you figure out that, after your most accessible album and a whole decade of building your own distinctive take on baroque, your next project would be 90 minutes of the densest, most sonically ambitious music you’ve ever released? Aviary is the type of album you wouldn’t want to put out until you are totally ready. Thankfully, Holter has every reason to be confident in her abilities. She knows when to sustain a wall of noise and when to interject with a mutter or an instrumental collapse. She knows how to pile reverb-drenched choirs onto light orchestration and how to let her voice soar while maintaining the necessary space. To pull off a sprawling, abstract project like this, you need to be some kind of genius. I don’t use that word lightly.

Aviary is meditative. Crammed with songs that linger for as long as they do without hitting a conventional stride, the dynamism is contagious. You genuinely have no idea where each song will go and there is such an abundance of feeling that it’s practically impossible to take it all in. It’s a world that you can untangle, plowing deeper and deeper into it and getting lost in the spectacle. At one moment it’s stressful, and in the next, it’s meditative. The declarations are profound. It’s a rejection of cynicism, and a full-fledged embrace of the simplest, most overpowering emotions, taking pride in the capacity to be swept away. Have you ever fallen in love? Sometimes love can be bitter and toxic, but other times, it is something worthy of a welcome parade, something that will make you loudly weep while you’re clutching onto it. That’s the scope of Aviary, a record that has no qualms about melting into gibberish, as long as it is fully evocative.

3. Be the Cowboy- Mitski

Mitski writes songs with such a penetrating, inhospitable gaze that she practically begs you to feel uncomfortable, even if she radiates warmth and empathy. She’ll come thru with a track about how much she loves her non-existent husband, how for all of eternity it will just be the two of them together, how they are doing better...it goes on until you’re pressed to think it’s a joke, but if it is, then why are you on the verge of tears? Then you sit, ponder, and start considering what it means to “be the cowboy.” Is cowboy swagger one that swoops in on a literal horse, becomes an all-or-nothing imposition of hyper-dominance, and carries itself like it’s the only thing that matters? Or is the one that takes you to a diner after years of silence, Blue Diner to be precise, and suffocates you with a lull while quietly reminding you that it will always keep a part of you? Vulnerability is Mitski’s forte. Whether it’s cloaked in sarcasm, painfully earnest, or deeply internalized, hers is a narrative so potent that you can’t help but unload all your emotional burdens alongside it.

Be the Cowboy is the moment when you’ve revealed so much about yourself to someone that for a second, it’s actually terrifying how quickly and easily they could undermine your whole existence. It’s naked but unconcerned, taking pride in its ability to crumble. Somehow, there’s nothing forced about the painstaking introspection; Mitski is fully committed to baring her soul without simplifying it or suffocating in self-righteousness. It’s equal parts defensive and dejected. You can only be reminded about the impossibility of idealization so much before you start to get confused. But when it’s as outrageous and tortured as this, it stops being a statement and becomes a full-fledged celebration. It painful to to watch, but it hurts even more to turn away.

2. El Mal Querer- Rosalía

Sometimes an album comes along feeling like such a pinnacle of a movement while deifying any categorization. It’s like Rosalía as a concept has been around forever, taking in influence from so many times and places and feelings...but nothing has ever really sounded like this. “Flamenco-pop” is a feeble label for something that so frequently whirls into a trance, belting out unhinged cries of fervor and then, on the next song, lifting a melody from Justin Timberlake. It’s like everything is being re-contextualized on here, and the result is a record that exists in its own time and space, refusing to branch out in favor of planting its own garden.

Rosalía lives for melodrama, which could be cloying if she didn’t justify it so well. It’s like her voice is always on the cusp of breaking out into a 30-second howl, which holds even when she coos a top nothing but a faint drum or a car engine noise. It takes a deep appreciation of your culture and history to be able to sound so universal without simply pining for an older vibe. Rosalía is constantly finding a way to go beyond that, subtly slipping autotune into a crevice that traditionalists would leave uncontaminated, developing sticky hooks without basing the whole song around them. When your core is a developed movement like flamenco but your crowd is the Spanish mainstream, you need more than a pinch of experimentation. El Mal Querer goes beyond that, not leaving any strand of its influences unexplored. Rosalía examines the age-old beauty of the form from every angle she can, shaking it up and seeing how it explodes.

1. Die Lit- Playboi Carti

What does it take to be the album of the year? Well...clearly not lyrical substance, or curt editing, or biting social commentary. The prerequisites for quality are getting harder and harder to pin down. All I know is that Die Lit feels like the album that all the over-saturated glut was building up to/the culmination of the ideas set forth by boundary pushers like Future or Young Thug/the logical conclusion to the intersection between lean-soaked hedonism and fine art. Don’t quote me, but we might not do any better than this. At the end of the bloated tunnel, there’s Playboi Carti squawking into oblivion, deconstructing the style that birthed him over beats that could’ve been produced by, like, Oneohtrix Point Never or Ricky Eat Acid or something.

Playboi Carti is a trailblazer. The most common critique of him is that “all he does is ad-libs, he honestly can’t even rap, and what’s good with all that autotune?” Back to my point about this being the logical conclusion of trap; removing the filler between the ad-libs is a fucking genius idea, an assured embrace of what you do best. I mean, imagine if Migos just went “uhh!” and “mama!” and didn’t have Quavo’s uninspired autotune weighing them down...it happens sometimes, and it’s beautiful. Carti’s ad-libs can be as simple as “what?” or “bih!”, and they are usually presented like a highly calculated flick of emotion, like the mechanics for a precise accentuism. Plenty of guests show up on Die Lit, and none of them have any trouble carving a space in Carti’s world. This makes sense when it’s Thugger or Travis Scott, but it is especially potent when it’s Nicki Minaj and Bryson Tiller, people who rarely delve into this type of experimentation on their own. Carti is so infectious that everyone is eager to step in his space and explore how they can dismantle their own form.

All of it is a daring experiment, especially in the moments where Carti tests the limits of his style, seeing how long he can hold the silence before getting swept into a verse, measuring how layered his voice can get before it crumbles and melts. Give Carti credit where credit is due, but Die Lit would be nothing without its producers, especially Pierre Bourne, who constructs a hazy, awe-inspiring fever dream whenever he hops behind the boards. Not only does this steer hip-hop into the direction it needed to go; it takes notes from the masters of ambient techno, blending snippets of overwhelming synths or vocals into beats that any lesser rapper would have no idea how to ride. When you’re on the forefront of the most widely consumed genre, it’s a lot of responsibility. Die Lit is one of the most forward-thinking statements in the hip-hop yet. At this point, Carti and his team are incapable of producing a song that doesn’t test boundaries or warp seasoned assumptions about what works.

[jacktherph]

hi jack! could we get an opinion from you? we're a brand new skeleton rp revolving around twelve friends who are back home five years after graduating high school. despite the group’s long-standing ‘no dating within the circle’ rule, old flames are rekindled, healed wounds are reopened, and each member discovers something new about themselves and the people they call their friends. thank you so much!

hi there @thirteenhqs! i’m happy to give you an opinion. since you didn’t specify private, i will post this on my blog. feel free to ask me to take it down if that was a mistake.

NOTE: all opinions expressed here are mine, jack’s, belonging to jack. i make no claims to knowing what is best for every group – i only offer advice based on my experiences, what i’ve seen in the community, and my personal knowledge. no one person knows what is best for you or any group other than yourself; because you were the one who put all of this together in the first place. so take everything i say as a suggestion, and remember that you have accomplished so much!!

and if you have any questions, want feedback on something specific, or want elaborations on anything said in this opinion, don’t hesitate to message me!!

start: 8.07 | pause: 8.09 - 8.14 | end: 8.20TOTAL: 8 minutes to read all pages (please don’t take this as a measure of anything, I simply time myself and am a speed reader)

So on first impressions – the aesthetic is good. Personally I’m not a big fan of container themes, especially such small ones, for rpgs, but that’s irrelevant because it doesn’t take anything away from potential members so there’s nothing critical about it! The background image and the muted colouring match really well with the rest of the group and I like the overall theme it presents; giving me the impression that maybe there’s a dark secret lurking between this group of people? The concept idea itself: very nice!! I like it a lot, haven’t seen anything like it in my perusing the tags. I like the small-group / limited-membership concept a lot and it definitely works well for a setting like this. One more thing: I don’t know if you can change the title font on the sidebar, but I definitely thought that “2013” was a “2017” until I remembered the title of your rpg.

One thing: your ask page might be a bit off? You might have to take the F.A.Q. off of it because I can’t scroll down enough to get to the “send” part on the askbox. Picture included below:

(I can’t scroll lower than this point, using Google Chrome. This might be an isolated problem however.)

Your plot is excellently written; to-the-point and concise, and still leaves me wondering about the skeletons and the characters within the group outside of what I’m given in the plot page. I also think what you put after, the “About the RP” section, is smart and nifty for a group like this, rather than having a separate page about it. (After all, people are already on your plot page aren’t they?) My one recommendation: you put “this group aims to be a small, inclusive, tight-knit community[…]” I would suggest you remove the “tight-knit” part. The point is made already, plus something about the word choice feels slightly exclusionary in my opinion? People will find out how tight-knit of a community you will become when they join. Simply a word choice recommendation.

Your rules are standard for an rpg of this size and type so there isn’t much to say, but might I suggest adding a banned fc list and tagged triggers list somewhere? Maybe not on your rules page but if you make an extended &/or mobile nav that could help. The reason I say the tagged triggers list is because under your “Characters” section in the rules, I was a little uneasy by the phrasing of your warning for potentially triggering subjects regarding transphobia. I also want to include this for the record: please be open to potential applicants wanting to gloss over that facet of the character or any other characters. While I applaud your endeavour for realism, for trans people like myself and others rp is their escape from that sort of topic.

Regarding your “Are the FCs set?” section in your F.A.Q.: I’m gonna be a little hardball here and say you should be a little more firm in stating that ethnicities aren’t interchangeable for your characters. In representation, there is no trying, only working hard enough to get there, in my opinion. And I think you might find that with other roleplay helpers if you ask for opinions, as well as potential members who care about representation.

Your inspo page is lovely!! Simple and clean, and highlights the graphics presented rather than making a flashy page. The sudden switch from a dark main blog to a bright white inspo blog was slightly jarring – if you are open to changing the colouring of the inspo blog I would definitely consider it.

Your character skeleton section – I like how you differentiate between open and taken with color. It’s done very well with this theme. The skeletons give me a good knowledge of the character while also allowing me room to spread my creative wings and I applaud you for weaving that in so well with the number of muses you have. Are you thinking about posting via the main about their times in high school, so we can learn more about the connections and how they started? That would be interesting! I’m also a fan of suggested connections so that is always a plus on my end.

My FAVORITE THING about your rpg: the background diversity in the characters. Sometimes it can be a struggle to find a way to get everyone to connect, especially in groups where you know their interpersonal reactions will be paramount. But they are definitely each their own unique person while also connected to one another fluidly.

My LEAST FAVORITE THING about your rpg: the theme. Again, I know this is purely personal opinion, but it’s the one thing really pulling me away from the group concept as a whole, since I had to zoom in on my laptop screen to see it. But like I said above, nothing is lessened by the theme so that is my opinion only; nothing harsh against your work.

Overall: I’ve seen a lot of people lately begging for rpgs with a limited-membership deal, and I think this one is what they could be looking for. There’s a lot of room for expansion and character identity for the applicant and I can see a lot of cool ideas going along with this concept. Well done!! I wish you the best of luck going forward!!

Sincerely, Jack

[ta1lulah]

yep. so apparently this is what i’m doing with my quarantine time now.

i am going to rank every travis scott song from his studio albums. there are quite a few instances where i find it impossible to put one song over the other, so the top 1-10 is pretty interchangeable to me. including the deluxe edition songs, there are 47 songs for me to rank in total.

this is in no way me trashing trav’s music (if you don’t know me i literally live so far up his ass that if he sneezed i would come out of his nostrils and have done for many years), it’s just something that i am scarily qualified to write about and should entertain me for a while.

just as a quick pre-cursor to the list: birds is my favourite trav album by far and astroworld had a lot of skips for me, so of course that is reflected. if you don’t agree with that i don’t really care; my mind cannot be changed.

yes i am aware that owl pharaoh and dbr exist.

i’ll explain my choices as best as i can, let’s go

47. wonderful

i fucking HATE this song. ruins the entire vibe of birds and the only song on the entire record that i will ever skip. after having the ends as an intro and apple pie closing off rodeo, i just don’t know what this song is doing. it needs to be deleted

46. nc-17

it’s ok. i just always skip it and it’s very plain to me, i’m not mad at it

45. stop trying to be god

SO overrated. i don’t get it at all. boring fucking song to me

44. rip screw

as above

43. carousel

loved it when i first heard it but it got old super quickly and has little replay value to me. bangs when you haven’t heard it in a while

42. coffee bean

in theory i should like it but i just don’t like the execution. i appreciate it but it’s not for me

41. flying high

i know this song gets trashed on a lot and i dont agree with that completely. it’s a good song but again doesn’t have the heavy replay value that the majority of rodeo has (not to mention it ruins the flow of rodeo, in my opinion)

40. houstonfornication

OVERRATED. when astroworld dropped i saw so so many people putting this in their top 3 off the record and i simply don’t get it at all. it’s a solid song but it’s boring, i never find myself putting this song on voluntarily

39. sicko mode

it was inevitably going to come in low. you may know that i dont trash talk drake, but seriously fuck the second half of this song that drake RUINS. i could happily go about the rest of my life without hearing this song ever again. trav’s first verse is the only reason this is not placed in the 40’s

38. ok alright

from this point on i dont dislike any of these songs and this was pretty painful to place. this song goes, but i am unable to place it any higher. it just feels like a (very good) throwaway track that got slung onto the deluxe edition. also q and trav should sound better than this, i think they could’ve made something better than this track together, i wanted their song to sound like it could’ve been on oxymoron (a wholly flawless record).

37. who? what!

i’m actually really fond of this song and listen to it a lot. to me it just sounds out of place on astroworld and was definitely a huncho jack throwaway

36. stargazing

the beat change aged like old milk. i will admit when i first heard this though, i loved it so much. and the feeling you get when the intro to stargazing starts playing before trav comes out on stage is unmatched, so it has a special place in my heart for that alone. in terms of astroworld as a whole, i think it’s the perfect first song for the album

35. goosebumps

maybe ive heard it way too many times, i’m not sure. but it would feel wrong for me to place this in my top 30, i dont find myself putting it on ever. a classic nevertheless

34. pray 4 love

i used to fuck with this song so much but recently it’s just not doing it for me. something about listening to it now just makes it sound corny to me. “wanna know my dick longer than a pringle box” will live on forever

33. wake up

bangs, but again this song is corny as fuck (maybe it’s just the weeknd as i’m seeing a theme now)

32. 5% tint

solid song, can’t put m y finger on it but it just lacks personality, outro is godly though

31. guidance

i love this song seriously, but i can understand why lots of people don’t. it fits perfectly on birds and it’s placement within the album is stunning, but as a standalone track it’s pretty weak. i would love trav to make more songs in this style

30. wasted

this song is slept on, i love it so much. but if the yung lean version had made it onto rodeo this would be a top 10 track EASY.

29. butterfly effect

we all know this song goes, i listened to this way way way too much when it was first released

28. outside

this was painful. the 21 savage feature is flawless, this song is so interesting to me. beat is gorgeous

27. astrothunder

pretty song, didn’t blow me away but i’m super fond of it. the way tracks 11-15 of astroworld play is perfect and really redeemed the album for me

26. 90210

yep. honestly if this is in your top 3 favourite travis songs i have nothing to say to you. beautiful song, second half is stunning, we all know that, but how is this top 3. LISTEN TO BIRDS IN FULL!!!

25. yosemite

i really like this song but i can’t take it seriously because of nav microphone-gate. (u know)

24. lose

i LOVE this song, but it’s not strong enough to be top 20. it’s a cute song, i dont know

23. piss on your grave

this song has such a special place in my heart. the motherfucking visuals!!!

22. 3500

the future verse. that is all.

21. beibs in the trap

the way this is placed on the album are you kidding me?! perfect. and yes, because it’s nav it missed out on a top 20 spot. it is what it is (the trav verse is absolutely flawless in every way)

20. never catch me

this deserved to actually be on rodeo rather than a deluxe track. the production wooooowwwweeee

19. maria im drunk

i cant even put into words the way i felt hearing thug say “travis scott” on this song for the first time. and the fucking justin bieber verse! godly

18. sweet sweet

such a *sweet* little song, i have an extreme soft spot for it

17. antidote

i dont have to explain this.we all know this song. if you havent seen it live all i can offer you is my deepest condolences

16. through the late night

kid cudi means everything to me and this partnership was always going to create something sensational <3 it is everything i was expecting and more (side note: i am coming back to this a couple of days later after THE SCOTTS has been announced, yes my entire life is made, and when the joint album drops best believe i will be writing a several thousand word post about it)

15. pornography

there couldn’t possibly be a better opening track to rodeo. this shit is like onomatopoeia, i know u know what i mean

14. skeletons

travis and kevin parker working together! of COURSE the song is this beautiful!!! i need an entire joint album plzzzzzzzzz

13. the ends

3 stacks. no more needs to be said (actually i will say that the fact that he was supposed to narrate this album like ti did for rodeo and that it never happened routinely keeps me up at night)

12. apple pie

this was my favourite song off rodeo for a loooooooong time. im a loser and still tear up when i listen to the record in full and hear the last lines

11.  no bystanders

purely for sheck’s “BITCH!”

10. can’t say

it’s true i do transcend every time i hear “gotta take a long drive up the hill”

9. sdp interlude

perfect in every single way. how/where it’s placed on the record is breathtaking. would be in the number 1 spot if it was longer

8. nightcrawler

oh the sosa verse really means everything to me

7. pick up the phone

come on now. all i will say is this: experience this song live, do yourself a favour. i have a fantasic video of trav and thug performing this live at wireless 2019, but unfortunately my manic screaming/crying ruins the whole fucking video. so just take my word for it

6. coordinate

i genuinely cant fathom how perfect this song is. i hate to use the word “vibe” but jeez the *vibe* this song gives off is unlike any other. THIS is my favourite style of trav’s music

5. impossible

legitimately get chills every time i hear “split a pack of the woods down”. yes. the production!

4. way back

everything about this song. the  second half. again, see this song live is a spiritual experience. also, i couldnt love this song any more but then uzi samples this and it just gave me a WHOLE other layer of appreciation for it. what a fucking song (both prices and way back)

3. i can tell

just listen to this again. the “take it up another notcher” part. how is it real?!!!

2. first take

SOOOOO underrated. never in my life would i ever think that the sentence “bryson tiller killed that” would leave my mouth but here we are. the way this transitions into pick up the phone.

1. oh my

we made it!!!! honestly i struggled so fucking much to find a #1 but i think it will have to be this song because it is just so sentimental to me. when i first listened to rodeo this was immediately my favourite song off it and it still remains perfect in every way several years on. quavo in the second half of the song is STUNNING, words just dont do anything about this song justice

if anyone read to the end here we go, if you think my choices were fucked up and idiotic feel free to send me hate via instagram dm (@ta1lulah, plug!)

my actual favourite travis song of all time fucking ever is skyfall, but as i put earlier i was only ranking songs from studio albums.

in conclusion, birds is a criminally misunderstood masterpiece -ta1lulah

[jamieclawhorn]

How becoming an investor is like learning a musical instrument

As we get older, most of us stop learning new things.

I don’t mean those lessons we need to keep relearning – that it’s less hassle to buy a Valentine’s Day card than to argue it’s all commercialised nonsense – but rather the big skills.

You know, like a new language or how to fly a plane or, in my case, learning a musical instrument.

Once more with feeling

Ever since I was a kid I’ve wanted to play the piano.

Like all kids, I was used to having no idea about anything and being routinely terrible at everything. That would have surely made it easier, but I never learned how to play back then.

Being out of your depth is the daily grind of childhood. But few of us live this way as adults. Rather, we get comfortable and stick to what we do well – whether that’s eating with a knife and fork or performing brain surgery. We stay in our lane and feel competent most of the time.

You’re instantly reminded why if you do try to learn something new. It’s straight back on the fast track to that state of childish awkward, hopeless, haplessness.

My piano playing today reminds me not of Chopin or Debussy but of walking past a classroom and hearing someone trying to pick out Mary Had A Little Lamb or Jingle Bells on an out-of-tune school piano.

Worse still, I can’t even play Jingle Bells yet – at least not with both hands together. Rachmaninoff will have to wait for a decade or two.

Learning to be an investor

There is, however, one endeavour I got to grips with as an adult, and that’s the art and craft of investing.

I’ve been studying and practising investing for nearly two decades. But I still remember that early feeling of having absolutely no idea what was going on.

My struggles with the piano have brought those old feelings back. They may be familiar if you’re still finding your way with investing.

1. It’s all gibberish

Harmonic 4ths, time signatures, treble clefs – music is a jumble of words that don’t mean anything at first. Sometimes that’s because they’re not even in English! Fortissimo sounds like something a love-struck Italian would exclaim at a beauty pageant. Demi semi quavering is what I do as I turn over the next page of my musical theory textbook.

It’s the same with investing. Old hands like me throw around P/Es, DCFs, NAVs, and VIXes, but to most people, they sound like the names of Star Wars droids.

2. You can’t do what you want to do

Perhaps you hope to be the next Warren Buffett. Maybe you just want to be sure you’ll have some money in your old age. You know what you want, but to get there you need to get used to this whole new world.

Experienced investors might think it’s easy to just buy an index tracker. They’ve forgotten brand new would-be investors can’t tell an index tracker from a Ponzi scheme.

3. You keep discovering there’s even more to learn

After a few weeks, I could finally read the notes on the treble clef and bass clef – part of the mysterious hieroglyphics of musical notation. For five minutes I felt like I’d achieved something. Clair De Lune here I come! But then I was told about key signatures, which mess with the notes I’d learned in myriad different ways.

The same thing will happen to you many times on your investing journey.

To give one example, after a couple of years I finally knew what all those acronyms meant and fancied myself as a bit of a stock picker.

But a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. I held lots of banks for their high dividend yields ahead of the credit crisis, and when yields started rising I thought they were getting cheaper, so I bought more.

It was only the postings of some veterans on our old discussion boards that made me truly realise (just in time!) that a high yield can be a warning sign as much as an opportunity.

4. Other people seem to find it very easy

If you watch financial TV or even just have a certain type of friend, you’ll hear investing is easy. Cheap, great companies are lying around like winning scratch cards with the numbers revealed, for example. Or perhaps that a crash is obviously just around the corner, so everyone knows you should sell everything right now.

At first, this is very impressive. After a while, you’ll notice that despite the ease with which they claim to pick winners, it’s never their round in the pub – and you’re still waiting for the huge market crash they said was a certainty years ago.

It’s easy to bluff in investing but very difficult to win, at least if you’re trying to beat the market. Most people fail, but don’t expect them to tell you about it. That goes for fund managers, too.

At least with the piano, it’s obvious whether someone can play or not. But you’ll still get frustrated when you see them knocking out notes in perfect harmony.

5. You wonder what the point is

I suppose it’s no wonder most people give up learning a musical instrument, be it the piano or the flugelhorn.

Learning is no fun, especially at the start when it’s bewildering. And even as you get better, it only makes it easier to hear your own inadequacies.

Experienced investors are also more aware of their limitations. Indeed, my top tip when someone is holding forth about investing is to listen to how often they recall their bad calls or losing trades.

If everything is a winner, smile politely and move on to Game of Thrones or some other fantasy story.

But don’t give up! I am fairly sure that if I stick with the piano it will eventually bring me a lot of joy and satisfaction – but I KNOW that’s been true of investing.

Keep learning, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. You’ll get there in the end!

Want To Retire Early?

Do you want to retire early and give up the rat race to enjoy the rest of your life? Of course you do, and to help you accomplish this goal, the Motley Fool has put together this free report titled “The Foolish Guide To Financial Independence”, which is packed full of wealth-creating tips as well as ideas for your money.

The report is entirely free and available for download today, so if you’re interested in exiting the rat race and achieving financial independence, click here to download the report. What have you got to lose?

More reading

The most important action I’d recommend to ride out market volatility

Could the Marks and Spencer share price ever return to 700p?

Purplebricks Group vs 6% yielder BT Group: which do I feel is the better investment destination today?

3 moves I’d make after the FTSE 100’s recent ‘recovery’

Is it wise to hold money in a Marcus savings account right now?

[vidmktg30245]

How to Structure Your Site’s Navigation for SEO and UX

How to Structure Your Site’s Navigation for SEO and UX

It struck me recently that while we <em>frequently</em> advise our clients and partners on the SEO potential held in their site’s global navigation, how to structure site nav for SEO and UX benefit is something a lot of marketers don’t immediately consider. And that’s a problem.

My hope after you read this post is that you’ll understand:

Why descriptive naming in your nav matters

The SEO impact of different navigation structures from simple single-bars to sleek flyout navigation

How to balance design with search engine-friendly layout

As somebody who usually blurts out “video games” when asked about favorite hobbies (yes, it’s true, Portent does hire a bunch of nerds), I spend a lot of my leisure time navigating through menus. Anyone who’s had to wrestle with a game just to achieve a simple setup task knows how negatively a menu can impact overall user experience. “Why do I have to go through a six-button sequence just to get to my potions?!”  If that sounds like your company website, this post is for you.

I’m lookin’ at you, Skyrim. (Screenshot courtesy Gamepedia) Why Does Site Navigation Matter so Much for SEO?

A website’s global navigation holds what are arguably the most important links on the site. For user experience, the global nav links tell a visitor or prospect which pages you consider the most important on your site. It gives them an easy way to get to those pages and sets the tone for what they’ll find throughout.

For SEO, the global nav links tell search engine crawlers which pages you consider the most important on your site, and gives them an easy way to get to those pages. If you want a little more background on this, read the longer post about smart internal linking for SEO.

But there are countless ways to structure a site’s global navigation.  So which one is the best?

If you’ve read any blog posts about SEO in the past, you should know better than to ask that pesky “best” question, but we’ll take a look at some common nav choices and discuss their pros and cons. But first…

For the Love of the Internet: Be Descriptive

If you were so inclined, you could stop reading right here, and improve your site right away.

You might have the most beautifully and intuitively designed global navigation that has ever graced the internet, but if your nav items consist of only “Products”, “Solutions”, “Resources”, and “About”, you might as well have built your navigation in Macromedia Flash.

<blockquote>Write your navigation links descriptively if SEO is important to your digital strategy. </blockquote>

If your site is all about building model trains, it’d be much better to have “Model Train Parts” than “Products”. Another example: if I were reading a blog post on an unfamiliar site that I’d found through search, and one of your global nav items is “Enterprise”, would I understand what your website is about?  Or who it’s for beyond just “Enterprises”?

For more about this idea, read this post about The Blank Sheet of Paper Test.

This is first and foremost about helping users find the right content and making their experience on your site as positive and effective as possible. As an added bonus:

<blockquote>Using descriptive anchor text in your global navigation means that every page on your website has keyword-rich links pointing to those pages. </blockquote>

Different Types of Global Site Navigation Single-Bar Navigation

The simplest, while not necessarily most common, global nav design is the single, plain bar. This bar has all navigation links in one row and is usually limited to around 10 links.

Our friends down the street at Moz  use a single-bar nav menu. In this case it’s fine that they use “Products” since they’re a very well-known, well-understood brand. Also, check out that great, descriptive “Free SEO Tools”!

If you’re thinking in purely SEO terms (don’t), this is <em>the</em> ideal navigation. The links are immediately visible to search engine crawlers, there’s no worry of them getting buried in a poorly coded dropdown structure, and there’s a nice, small number of them.

Pros

Links are easily crawled by search engines

Important pages are clearly outlined to users

No risk of diluting link authority  with too many links

Cons

VERY limited in the number of links you can use (realistically only viable for small sites, or sites with a small number of important pages)

Double-Bar Navigation

This is only slightly more complex than the single navigation bar. Instead of one bar, you use two. Some might refer to this as the primary and secondary navigation, but for the purposes of this post, I’ll count them as one global navigation.

Another from a friend in the industry: STAT uses the double-bar navigation with no dropdowns.

I might be partial, but I think the Portent double-bar menu is quite elegant. This is before you scroll down.

And this is after. The second bar disappears and “Services” appears.

This is a pretty good “best of both worlds” solution. Using two global navigation bars gives you twice the space for links or more, depending on how you style the second bar. And, same as the single-bar solution, you don’t have to worry about a lazy developer (just kidding, I love you all, devs) coding a dropdown incorrectly, making it invisible to crawlers.

Let me restate that because it’s important:  

<blockquote>Yes, you can accidentally make your navigation invisible to search engines by coding a navigation dropdown incorrectly. </blockquote>

But back to double-bar navigation.

Pros

Links are easily crawled by search engines

Important pages are clearly outlined to users

Low risk of diluting link authority with too many links

Cons

Design can appear cluttered if done improperly

Lack of dropdowns prevents grouping of topics

Dropdown Navigation

A dropdown menu is designed so that when a user hovers over (or, in some cases, clicks) a nav item, a secondary list of links drops down. Dropdown menus are probably the most common way to structure a site’s main navigation.

Seller Labs, a Portent client, makes good use of the single-bar dropdown menu.

Buddy, another Portent client, pulls off the rare double-bar dropdown.

If you try this on your site, make sure the top dropdowns retract properly to get out of the way.

For a lot of bigger sites, this is the only way you can possibly link to all the important pages without overwhelming a user with choices. However, as I’ve alluded to already, if you go this route, you introduce the risk of hiding all of these great, descriptive, sitewide links from search engines.

For instance, some crawlers (not Googlebot!) may run into issues trying to get to your dropdown links if they’re coded in JavaScript. In other cases, users may not know to expand the dropdown with a hover, or they may simply not be able to if they’re using a tablet or other wide-display touchscreen device.

Pros

Provides room for dozens of links

Related pages can be grouped together

Design is less cluttered when dropdowns are retracted

Cons

Crawlers may have trouble finding links in dropdowns

Poorly done dropdowns make for bad user experience

Hover doesn’t work for touchscreen users

Link authority may be diluted with too many links

Dropdown Navigation with Flyouts

This is the most complex menu structure, and it’s the easiest to mess up. Flyout navigation menus are just like dropdowns, except that a tertiary set of links flies out when you hover over one of the links in the dropdown.

Can you imagine Amazon.com without the flyout menu items?

Flyout menus have many of the same benefits and downsides as do plain dropdowns.

It’s about equally as easy for links to be hidden from crawlers by JavaScript with a flyout vs a dropdown, but it’s even easier for users to run into a frustrating experience. To paint a picture, how many times have <em>you</em> hovered over a flyout and moved your cursor just the wrong way only to watch the entire menu retract?

If your flyout menu feels like a maze game you have to win with pixel-perfect cursor moves, maybe you should rethink either structure or design.

Pros

Provides room for dozens or hundreds of links

Related pages can be grouped together

Design is less cluttered when dropdowns and flyouts are retracted

Cons

Flyouts are difficult to do well and can create terrible user experience

Too many links can overwhelm users and dilute link authority

Crawlers may have trouble finding links in dropdowns and flyouts

Hover doesn’t work for touchscreen users

A Footnote About Footer Menus

If you’ve been reading this post thinking “But wait!” (index finger in the air), “I’ll put those extra links in the footer.”

<em>No, you can’t just stuff links to the other 100 pages you want to link to on every page of your site in the footer.</em> There’s plenty of evidence that Google devalues links in the footer, and your users aren’t going to be looking there unless they’re weirdos who like reading privacy policies. A footer menu (if you choose to use one at all) is where you can link to less important pages or provide easier-to-read links to pages you’ve linked to in your main navigation.

The Best Global Site Navigation Design is Whatever’s Best for User Experience

Maybe I’m erring on the side of oversimplification, but these days the tenet “what’s good for UX is good for SEO” can be applied to a lot of “what’s best” questions. Not to mention it prevents me from having to give a Holy-Grail answer.

Bottom line: craft a great user experience that doesn’t ignore the many technical considerations which can torpedo your SEO.  Your visitors, both human and machine, will thank you.

And since it’s 2018, I’m all-but contractually obligated to provide a TL;DR.

If you have a tight handful of important site destinations, use single-bar navigation.

If you need more room for links than a single bar and don’t need to group pages in multiple categories, use double-bar navigation.

If you need far more room for links, use dropdown navigation.*

If you need room for dozens of links with nested categories (usually an e-commerce site), use dropdown navigation with flyouts.*

*Only if you have a savvy developer who can make it work for users and crawlers, ideally with some professional SEO oversight.

And let me head off the pitchforks and torches before they come out: there are <strong>plenty</em> of variations on these menu styles that we could discuss, as well as many different names for the structures we did cover.

If you vehemently disagree with any of this, let me know in the comments. Oh, and if anybody can get me in touch with Bethesda Game Studios, I’ve got some thoughts on how to make the next Elder Scrolls’ inventory menu better.

http://ift.tt/2u5jv2v

[constructionsworkr3053]

How to Structure Your Site’s Navigation for SEO and UX

How to Structure Your Site’s Navigation for SEO and UX

It struck me recently that while we <em>frequently</em> advise our clients and partners on the SEO potential held in their site’s global navigation, how to structure site nav for SEO and UX benefit is something a lot of marketers don’t immediately consider. And that’s a problem.

My hope after you read this post is that you’ll understand:

Why descriptive naming in your nav matters

The SEO impact of different navigation structures from simple single-bars to sleek flyout navigation

How to balance design with search engine-friendly layout

As somebody who usually blurts out “video games” when asked about favorite hobbies (yes, it’s true, Portent does hire a bunch of nerds), I spend a lot of my leisure time navigating through menus. Anyone who’s had to wrestle with a game just to achieve a simple setup task knows how negatively a menu can impact overall user experience. “Why do I have to go through a six-button sequence just to get to my potions?!”  If that sounds like your company website, this post is for you.

I’m lookin’ at you, Skyrim. (Screenshot courtesy Gamepedia) Why Does Site Navigation Matter so Much for SEO?

A website’s global navigation holds what are arguably the most important links on the site. For user experience, the global nav links tell a visitor or prospect which pages you consider the most important on your site. It gives them an easy way to get to those pages and sets the tone for what they’ll find throughout.

For SEO, the global nav links tell search engine crawlers which pages you consider the most important on your site, and gives them an easy way to get to those pages. If you want a little more background on this, read the longer post about smart internal linking for SEO.

But there are countless ways to structure a site’s global navigation.  So which one is the best?

If you’ve read any blog posts about SEO in the past, you should know better than to ask that pesky “best” question, but we’ll take a look at some common nav choices and discuss their pros and cons. But first…

For the Love of the Internet: Be Descriptive

If you were so inclined, you could stop reading right here, and improve your site right away.

You might have the most beautifully and intuitively designed global navigation that has ever graced the internet, but if your nav items consist of only “Products”, “Solutions”, “Resources”, and “About”, you might as well have built your navigation in Macromedia Flash.

<blockquote>Write your navigation links descriptively if SEO is important to your digital strategy. </blockquote>

If your site is all about building model trains, it’d be much better to have “Model Train Parts” than “Products”. Another example: if I were reading a blog post on an unfamiliar site that I’d found through search, and one of your global nav items is “Enterprise”, would I understand what your website is about?  Or who it’s for beyond just “Enterprises”?

For more about this idea, read this post about The Blank Sheet of Paper Test.

This is first and foremost about helping users find the right content and making their experience on your site as positive and effective as possible. As an added bonus:

<blockquote>Using descriptive anchor text in your global navigation means that every page on your website has keyword-rich links pointing to those pages. </blockquote>

Different Types of Global Site Navigation Single-Bar Navigation

The simplest, while not necessarily most common, global nav design is the single, plain bar. This bar has all navigation links in one row and is usually limited to around 10 links.

Our friends down the street at Moz  use a single-bar nav menu. In this case it’s fine that they use “Products” since they’re a very well-known, well-understood brand. Also, check out that great, descriptive “Free SEO Tools”!

If you’re thinking in purely SEO terms (don’t), this is <em>the</em> ideal navigation. The links are immediately visible to search engine crawlers, there’s no worry of them getting buried in a poorly coded dropdown structure, and there’s a nice, small number of them.

Pros

Links are easily crawled by search engines

Important pages are clearly outlined to users

No risk of diluting link authority  with too many links

Cons

VERY limited in the number of links you can use (realistically only viable for small sites, or sites with a small number of important pages)

Double-Bar Navigation

This is only slightly more complex than the single navigation bar. Instead of one bar, you use two. Some might refer to this as the primary and secondary navigation, but for the purposes of this post, I’ll count them as one global navigation.

Another from a friend in the industry: STAT uses the double-bar navigation with no dropdowns.

I might be partial, but I think the Portent double-bar menu is quite elegant. This is before you scroll down.

And this is after. The second bar disappears and “Services” appears.

This is a pretty good “best of both worlds” solution. Using two global navigation bars gives you twice the space for links or more, depending on how you style the second bar. And, same as the single-bar solution, you don’t have to worry about a lazy developer (just kidding, I love you all, devs) coding a dropdown incorrectly, making it invisible to crawlers.

Let me restate that because it’s important:  

<blockquote>Yes, you can accidentally make your navigation invisible to search engines by coding a navigation dropdown incorrectly. </blockquote>

But back to double-bar navigation.

Pros

Links are easily crawled by search engines

Important pages are clearly outlined to users

Low risk of diluting link authority with too many links

Cons

Design can appear cluttered if done improperly

Lack of dropdowns prevents grouping of topics

Dropdown Navigation

A dropdown menu is designed so that when a user hovers over (or, in some cases, clicks) a nav item, a secondary list of links drops down. Dropdown menus are probably the most common way to structure a site’s main navigation.

Seller Labs, a Portent client, makes good use of the single-bar dropdown menu.

Buddy, another Portent client, pulls off the rare double-bar dropdown.

If you try this on your site, make sure the top dropdowns retract properly to get out of the way.

For a lot of bigger sites, this is the only way you can possibly link to all the important pages without overwhelming a user with choices. However, as I’ve alluded to already, if you go this route, you introduce the risk of hiding all of these great, descriptive, sitewide links from search engines.

For instance, some crawlers (not Googlebot!) may run into issues trying to get to your dropdown links if they’re coded in JavaScript. In other cases, users may not know to expand the dropdown with a hover, or they may simply not be able to if they’re using a tablet or other wide-display touchscreen device.

Pros

Provides room for dozens of links

Related pages can be grouped together

Design is less cluttered when dropdowns are retracted

Cons

Crawlers may have trouble finding links in dropdowns

Poorly done dropdowns make for bad user experience

Hover doesn’t work for touchscreen users

Link authority may be diluted with too many links

Dropdown Navigation with Flyouts

This is the most complex menu structure, and it’s the easiest to mess up. Flyout navigation menus are just like dropdowns, except that a tertiary set of links flies out when you hover over one of the links in the dropdown.

Can you imagine Amazon.com without the flyout menu items?

Flyout menus have many of the same benefits and downsides as do plain dropdowns.

It’s about equally as easy for links to be hidden from crawlers by JavaScript with a flyout vs a dropdown, but it’s even easier for users to run into a frustrating experience. To paint a picture, how many times have <em>you</em> hovered over a flyout and moved your cursor just the wrong way only to watch the entire menu retract?

If your flyout menu feels like a maze game you have to win with pixel-perfect cursor moves, maybe you should rethink either structure or design.

Pros

Provides room for dozens or hundreds of links

Related pages can be grouped together

Design is less cluttered when dropdowns and flyouts are retracted

Cons

Flyouts are difficult to do well and can create terrible user experience

Too many links can overwhelm users and dilute link authority

Crawlers may have trouble finding links in dropdowns and flyouts

Hover doesn’t work for touchscreen users

A Footnote About Footer Menus

If you’ve been reading this post thinking “But wait!” (index finger in the air), “I’ll put those extra links in the footer.”

<em>No, you can’t just stuff links to the other 100 pages you want to link to on every page of your site in the footer.</em> There’s plenty of evidence that Google devalues links in the footer, and your users aren’t going to be looking there unless they’re weirdos who like reading privacy policies. A footer menu (if you choose to use one at all) is where you can link to less important pages or provide easier-to-read links to pages you’ve linked to in your main navigation.

The Best Global Site Navigation Design is Whatever’s Best for User Experience

Maybe I’m erring on the side of oversimplification, but these days the tenet “what’s good for UX is good for SEO” can be applied to a lot of “what’s best” questions. Not to mention it prevents me from having to give a Holy-Grail answer.

Bottom line: craft a great user experience that doesn’t ignore the many technical considerations which can torpedo your SEO.  Your visitors, both human and machine, will thank you.

And since it’s 2018, I’m all-but contractually obligated to provide a TL;DR.

If you have a tight handful of important site destinations, use single-bar navigation.

If you need more room for links than a single bar and don’t need to group pages in multiple categories, use double-bar navigation.

If you need far more room for links, use dropdown navigation.*

If you need room for dozens of links with nested categories (usually an e-commerce site), use dropdown navigation with flyouts.*

*Only if you have a savvy developer who can make it work for users and crawlers, ideally with some professional SEO oversight.

And let me head off the pitchforks and torches before they come out: there are <strong>plenty</em> of variations on these menu styles that we could discuss, as well as many different names for the structures we did cover.

If you vehemently disagree with any of this, let me know in the comments. Oh, and if anybody can get me in touch with Bethesda Game Studios, I’ve got some thoughts on how to make the next Elder Scrolls’ inventory menu better.

http://ift.tt/2u5jv2v

[hotspreadpage]

Stock 2.0: What Savvy Marketers Need to Know About the Changing Rules of Visual Content

SPONSORED BY STORYBLOCKS

Back in 2015, Vince Vaughn, Dave Franco, and Tom Wilkinson were featured in a series of parody stock photos to promote their upcoming movie Unfinished Business. The film has a 10% rating on RottenTomatoes.com, so don’t worry if you never saw it.

The faux stock photos were the best part anyway.

This series of images inserted the three actors’ heads into existing photos, creating a hilarious mockery of the genre.

The movie was terrible, but its promotional tactic was a watershed moment for visual content. Bland, meaningless stock photography had become so ubiquitous – and so universally disliked – that it could be used as a tongue-in-cheek marketing vehicle.

Several years later, marketers fully understand that these kinds of images get about a 10% positive rating from our audiences, but we’re struggling with what to do instead.

Now more media have joined the fray, forcing us to curate high-quality audio and video resources along with standard photography. As both CEO of the stock imagery service Storyblocks and a marketer myself, I spend quite a bit of time trying to find the right balance between time, budget, and quality in visual content.

Those are really the three pillars of a best-in-class visual content strategy, so let’s dive into each one to see how we can build a meaningful and effective system for making our content look good without breaking the bank.

The tyranny of time in visual content

How many of you have found yourself squeaking a blog post in just under the deadline only to realize you’ve forgotten the images? It’s okay, you can raise your hand. I won’t tell anyone.

Or maybe you’ve been meaning to start a podcast, but can’t imagine where you’ll find enticing opening and closing music.

Or maybe there’s ninety percent of an explainer video sitting on your desktop that just needs some solid B-roll footage, but you just can’t find time to film it.

We know we need supporting images in our content, and we don’t need Vince Vaughn’s mocking raised eyebrow to tell us that it has to be professional without being cheesy. But the trouble is we rarely have the time to create those pieces from scratch.

New tools to the rescue

This time crunch has created a big market with a strong need, which has mercifully been filled by a new crop of tools designed to give us a sophisticated look without keeping us at our desks till midnight.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Magisto

Intimidated by the video editing process? Magisto is for you. It lets you quickly and painlessly deliver unique videos with the ease of creating a PowerPoint presentation.

There are even A/B testing options to help optimize your video’s performance after it’s published.

For $10/month you can create videos up to five minutes long and include your own branding. Not a bad way to get in on a format that’s driving over 70% of web traffic right now.

Moovly

Moovly’s claim to fame is animated video, which sounds fancy and complicated but is in fact remarkably simple with this kind of tool.

If you need to switch things up from filmed footage, or if real-world video isn’t quite right for your subject, an animated option may be the way to go.

Moovly plans start at $49/month.

Canva

The Canva mission, “Empowering the world to design,” is one that hits home for me. Marketers are often called on to be designers (or we could be far more effective if we were empowered to act like them), so tools like Canva can unlock a whole new world.

If you’re new to design, Canva will get you started with templates for social media, blog images, presentations, and even infographics.

The basics of Canva are available for free, but to access their templates, stock photos, and magic resizing for all social media channels, you’ll need the $12.95/month Canva for Work option.

We use these tools ourselves at Storyblocks, and we’ve also created an API that works with Magisto and Moovly to allow marketers to combine the tools’ functionality with our massive library of images, audio, and video.

There’s nothing more frustrating than being forced to interrupt your creative flow to jump in and out of a tool, so we make our content available natively in these (and other) content creation tools.

With the right combination of resources and functionality, you can significantly streamline the visual part of your content creation. No more late nights scrolling through Google image searches; now visual content meets you where you’re working.

Be brilliant and on budget

Whether you publish something once per month or once per day, the pace of content marketing is relentless. Even with smart reuse and repurposing strategies, we’re always making something new.

And that, of course, means we always need more images.

We don’t, unfortunately, always have more budget.

Content marketing at any kind of scale makes paying per image extremely expensive; a subscription model is far more cost-effective. An unlimited subscription option makes it less likely that you’ll have to skimp on visuals. If you write a long article that needs six or seven supporting images, for example, you can get what you need without going over your monthly quota for downloads.

Quality doesn’t mean what it used to

No matter what you’re marketing or what kind of content you’re using, you’re trying to speak to an audience of real people. Old-school stock photos were technically high quality – they had top-notch resolution and were often set in expensive-looking surroundings – but they didn’t capture real experiences.

Modern audiences no longer see these kinds of images as high quality, because their expectations have shifted.

Social media now allows them to see everyone, from their teachers to their relatives to their favorite celebrities, in authentic situations, and they expect marketing materials to be similarly realistic.

In this environment, cookie-cutter photos featuring perfectly posed and Photoshopped subjects don’t convey a message of quality. Instead, they say that a brand is out of touch with the changing world of their audience.

Marketers, therefore, need to work hard to understand the visual world that our audiences like to occupy so we can reflect it in our content.

That means social listening isn’t just about reading what people type into their social profiles anymore. It’s also about looking carefully at the images they share.

We have to adjust our perception of quality visual content. It’s not about expensive, airbrushed perfection; quality content understands and mirrors back the things that are important to an audience.

Where do you see visual content going?

Our increasingly diverse, ever more connected world seems poised to keep driving visual content down this more authentic path. While new channels and trends will certainly force us to adapt, it seems safe to say that the days of staged office high fives are coming to an end.

What do you think? Has the time of ultra-cheesy stock photos passed, or should we prepare ourselves for their return?

Special for Content Marketing Institute readers

We’ve put together two cool collections (one for images and one for video) specifically for Content Marketing Institute readers. Check them out, and take advantage of the special CMI deal – where you can sign up for all three libraries right now for just $149 for an entire year.

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