#shoutout to the “they never cared about the story” video in particular

[rawliverandgoronspice]

Have you watched three of BatGames' rant videos about ToTK? I'm curious what you think about them

I'm sorry I had never replied to this ask!!! My brain was full of worms for my defense (it's a bad defense I know I'm sorry).

I have seen two out of three! But I pretty much agree with what I've seen. I would have liked to see the whole ideological shenanigans touched on, but it's a really *really* niche critique after all (unfortunately), so I, yeah. I think he paints a really good portrait of what did bother me otherwise, and even helped me formulate things I knew bothered me but I hadn't truly addressed in my head yet.

I'm not always super fond of all the theory stuff he does, but we're on the same wavelength when it comes to TotK's shortcomings!

[arcanadreams]

That time you and your demon boyfriend went viral

hi yes hello obey me fandom!! my name is Gabbi and i have never played a single second of the actual game but i have read enough fanon content for the past year to have this idea swimming around in my head and now i am finally letting this accursed thing out of my brain and putting it in yours

also i’m only doing the brothers because any more than that and i’d have an aneurysm probably. oh and shoutout to @obeythebutler and @beels-burger-babe for inspiring me with their works to feel brave enough to write for this fandom

Lucifer:

You and Lucifer go viral on Asmo’s Devilgram story!

You’re in the kitchen helping Asmo with dinner duty and singing along to one of your playlists of human realm music that you like to show him.

Asmo starts filming your cute little dance while you stir the pot on the stove because you are just adorable!

About ten seconds into him filming, Lucifer appears in the doorway with quite the stern look on his face. You know, the one that comes right before a “MAMMOOOOOON” and strikes fear into the heart of all those with functioning eardrums. That one.

He opens his mouth, presumably to tell y’all to shut the fuck up, but then there’s a lull in the music and the eldest can hear your voice ever so slightly above the song’s vocalist and he freezes.

Man stops in his tracks like someone just smacked him in the face with a midair volleyball.

Asmo can be heard stifling a laugh behind his phone.

Lucifer’s face gets so soft and he almost, almost, loosens his metal-rod-through-the-ass posture before you notice him and give a little wave and ask if you and Asmo were being too loud like the considerate darling you are.

Lucifer clears and his throat and says something like, “No, you aren’t. I was just coming to check on how dinner is coming along,” and leaves, after which Asmo immediately presses the post button.

Screenshots of Lucifer’s heart eyes for you go absolutely viral because every demon on Devilgram goes absolutely feral for seeing the eldest demon brother lose his dignified composure. It becomes a meme template. “Get you someone who looks at you like Lucifer looks at MC” and “me at the delivery demon when he shows up with my spicy bat wings” posts become commonplace. (Asmo thinks the memes are totally worth getting strung up with Mammon for laughing at them.)

Mammon:

Much like Lucifer, you and Mammon end up going viral off Asmo’s Devilgram. (Noticing a pattern here?) 

He pulls a silly prank on your asses and honestly I don’t know how you fell for it. But hey, they say “idiots in love” for a reason, so...

You and Asmo are sitting in the common room of the House of Lamentation just chillin. Well, he’s chillin, you’re on the floor studying for an upcoming exam.

The video starts in the middle of a conversation you and the avatar of lust were having.

“No, Asmo,” you say. “Mammon and I don’t use pet names for each other.” Now that’s just a darn lie, and every demon and crow within ten miles of Mammon and you together knows it.

“Really? I find that very hard to believe, MC.~” 

You sigh in response to Asmo’s teasing. “Okay, he has a lot for me but I’m just not much of a pet name person, y’know?” The rest of the exchange goes like this:

“Oh, I totally get it.” *pause* “Hey MC, what do human world bees make again?”

“Honey.”

Cue a sheepish Mammon sticking his head in the doorway at the bluntness of your tone when you answered Asmo.

“Yeah, babe?” he looks like a puppy left on the side of a highway oh my god hUG HIM-

Asmo turns the camera back to his smug ass face and in the background you can be heard tripping on the damn carpet trying to get up and hug your mans. (”MAMMON GET OVER HERE SO I CAN HUG YOU” “W-WHAT? I THOUGHT YA WERE MAD AT ME?!?!?!?!”)

Leviathan:

Streamer Levi? Streamer Levi.

You guys go viral the first time you make an appearance on one of Levi’s weekly (insert cool Devildom streaming service name here) streams. 

It’s completely unintentional. You had been asking him for weeks to play with him on there, but he’s the avatar of envy after all. He doesn’t like sharing his partner, even if it’s with random strangers who have no real access to you.

However, he has his stream on a Thursday instead of a Friday one week, and you come into his room carrying dinner because 1) You didn’t realize he was streaming and 2) No matter what he was doing, the boy needed to eat. It wasn’t unusual for you to bring him dinner, so you had no idea why he was blushing and stammering even more than usual this time in particular. Boy was speaking in beached whale trying to tell you what was wrong.

Then you notice his screen. Oh! “Hi chat!” You wave, setting Levi’s food down on his desk in front of his keyboard. “M-MC!” He full-on whines, slamming a hand over his mouth afterwards when he remembers his viewers could hear that.

Honestly, they’d meme the fuck out of him if it weren’t for the fact that they are FINALLY SEEING HIS HENRY!!! THE MYSTERIOUS MC!!!

Chat is bombarding you with questions while you make Levi eat dinner. And by make him eat dinner, I mean literally feeding this man forkfuls/spoonfuls while he games because you love how flustered he gets when you do that. 

Does it impact his score? Absolutely. Does he care? Not really when you’re pampering him like that.

You start answering chat’s questions about you while he’s chewing so he can’t tell you to stop LMAO-

You’re a natural on stream. The VOD becomes the most popular on Levi’s account in a matter of hours and soon cute highlights compilations of you and him on that stream start making the rounds on Devildom Twitter.

Satan:

There was buildup to Satan going viral, similar to Levi in a way. 

Satan does have a Devilgram, but it’s basically a white woman’s Instagram with added book reviews for variety. Unless you’re a reader his account is pretty boring: candles, books, fireplaces, and cats.

However, after you two started reading together fairly often he began posting pictures of your legs draped over his while you sat together. They’d always be captioned with vague ass pretentious literary criticism. 

This goes on for months, and he gains a lot of (horny) followers after the leg pics start up. He doesn’t really get why but you both joke that it’s because you have some damn nice legs and I mean neither of you are complaining about the new following.

You two go viral when he finally shows your face, entirely by accident.

The post is a video, which is already strange for him and grabs attention. In it, you’re scoffing and reading an excerpt of a book, mocking its understanding of female anatomy.

“I’m quoting here, Satan: ‘her breasts bouncing around like giant pacmen.’ I’M SORRY?? THAT ISN’T HOW BOOBS WORK SIR. WHY ARE MEN ALLOWED TO WRITE?” 

(fun fact that is a very real quote from a very real book I really read last month pls save me)

Originally the camera is focused on your body, with your head out of frame to protect your privacy, but your righteous anger made Satan laugh. Like, a real laugh. The one that makes you and everyone in earshot wonder if he truly was never an angel cause he sure as hell laughs like one but anyway-

When he threw his head back, his DDD angled up just a tad without him noticing, and your face was in view for like .2 seconds. Screenshots of it are making the rounds on Devilgram almost immediately: FINALLY THE LEGS’ OWNER HAS BEEN FOUND.

Satan apologizes profusely but you honestly find it funny and you two opt to just start taking selfies while reading with both of your faces in them from now on. 

Asmodeus:

I’m gonna be real with you: you and Asmo go viral all the time. Pretty much everything Asmo posts can be considered viral because of his social media following and his status as one of the seven avatars of sin.

However, there are some fairly cute highlights to be pointed out among the times you were both featured in a post that blew up.

Your favorite is probably that time Asmo livestreamed on of you guys’ ‘Nail Nites,’ as you call them.

You’re both on the floor, doing your nails and kicking your feet back and forth while talking to chat. A lot of the questions are about your relationship, and there’s a lot of flirting back and forth between the two of you.

A particular clip of the stream does blow the fuck up on Devilgram, though, when someone screen records it and posts it with a bunch of heart emojis edited over it.

“’What colors do you think best describe each other?’ Ooo, that’s a good one, chat!” Asmo claps his hands together excitedly, making sure to be  careful of his nails.

Pretty much everyone expected you to say pink, but you surprised both your boyfriend and your viewers when, after a pensive few moments, you replied with “Hmm...probably yellow or orange.”

“Can I ask why, darling?” Asmo tilts his head in confusion. I mean, yeah, those colors look good on him, but he doesn’t wear them often so he’s wondering about your thought process. 

“Well, in the human world those colors often represent happiness, optimism, and positivity. You’re always the cheerful presence I need in my life when things get hard, so you have the vibe of those colors.”

Asmo proceeds to burst into tears and hug you, messing up both of your nails and prolonging the stream since you both have to start over. But neither of you particularly care. 

Fun fact: Asmo has the clip that demon made of that portion of the stream saved on his DDD and watches it whenever he feels sad.

Beelzebub:

Beel and you probably go the most viral out of everybody. Like this moment is an entire phenomenon across the Devildom internet. 

It’s a video, or well, multiple videos, taken at the end of a Fangol game that Beel’s team had just won. Everyone is cheering and going crazy, yourself included, and you just really wanted to congratulate your boyfriend.

So, like the rational person you are, you elect to climb up onto the railing of the bleachers and wave to get his attention. 

You were absolutely fine up there, and sat all comfortably motioning Beel over to you. He notices, of course, and jogs over, standing right beneath you and looking up. (Back where you were sitting, Mammon is screeching like a hyena in heat and Belphie, who is laying down, has one eye open to glare at him. The youngest knows Beel would never let you hurt yourself; you’re fine.)

A bunch of assorted demons at the game has started filming while you were sat atop the railing since you were rather noticeable. Therefore, there’s a shit ton of different angles of the adorable events that follow:

You slide off the railing, landing right in Beel’s waiting arms bridal style. You’ve got this brilliant smile on your face as you pull his helmet off. None of the DDDs filming can hear it over the crowd noise, but Beel asks you why you just went through all that trouble and you tell him it’s because you wanted to tell him how proud you are.

Soft boy’s chest puffs up and he smiles this big cheesy smile at you reach up to run a hand through his hair. You feel him practically purr at the contact, and with a laugh you pull him in and plant a big ole smooch on him.

The crowd, at least those of them that can see, scream. Everyone is running high on adrenaline and happy emotions; something that cute causes a ruckus!! When you pull away Beel proceeds to put you on his shoulders and you celebrate with him and the rest of his team.

The videos of you two being adorable go completely viral and there are some threads dedicated to stockpiling every single angle taken of the event. Beel is completely oblivious to the attention but you have a lot of them saved on your DDD.

Belphegor:

If you think Belphegor has any sort of social media presence whatsoever then you are sorely mistaken. (Well okay he actually does run some anonymous troll accounts to meme on Lucifer’s posts but that’s neither here nor there-)

Therefore, naturally, you two go viral off of Asmo’s Devilgram. 

Okay so someone in the obey me tag the other say headcanoned that Belphie will go out of his way to nap in ridiculous places and my brain really took that and RAN WITH IT.

So what happens is that Belphie will fall asleep in the fucking weirdest places. I’m talking on top of the fridge, underneath the dinner table, on top of bookshelves...you name it, he has slept there, no matter the effort it takes to get there in the first place. 

And, ever since you two started dating, you would join him. Sometimes it involved putting yourself at risk of great bodily harm, but the little smile he gave when you he saw you fucking scaling the countertop to reach him made it worth it.

So anyway, since Beel adores the both of you to no end, he takes pictures whenever he sees you two napping together, whether or not it is in a crazy place. He sends these to the family group chat because he thinks they’re adorable.

Over a span of weeks to months, Asmo has built up a stock of images of you and Belphie cuddles up in seemingly impossible places. Once he has about ten or so, he posts a compilation of them to his Devilgram with some cheesy ass caption like “The things we do for love <3″.

They become a meme SO QUICKLY. Like UNBELIEVABLY quickly. 

The picture of you and Belphie sleeping on top of a bookshelf, in particular, is a big hit. Memes abound.

“If my girl doesn’t climb up a bookshelf to cuddle my ass, she don’t love me.” “Get yourself a partner who scales bookshelves just to be with your ass.” Etc etc...Belphie doesn’t give a shit but you laugh at a lot of them so he sees that as a good outcome.

[areyougonnabe]

2019 roundup - good omens

the two weeks around memorial day this year were pretty insane: i quit my job, flew home to road trip back across america to LA with my dad & brother & visited a bunch of gorgeous national parks along the way, watched all of good omens when it dropped on amazon, and then started a new job. 

obviously, the most important and life changing event listed above was watching good omens.

if you’ve hung around my weird corner of online since the halcyon days of DW you’ll know i’m a massive neil gaiman fan and in fact we go way back on a personal level. good omens has been my favorite book since i was a wee superwholock in 2010, but i never really was ~fannish about it~ in a shippy/fic way. even when my boy david tennant’s casting was announced i didn’t think much of what was in store for me, other than that i’d probably watch the show, enjoy it, and then move right along.

HA HA HA HA HA. AS FUCKING IF.

anyway, since that fateful binge, i have written a ton of good omens stories that i’m really really proud of. here are the highlights, in no particular order: 

dearly departed - 30k, T Crowley gets inconveniently discorporated, and chaos & comedy ensues. Features a lust demon named Yasti, a very normal girl named Cyn, and Aziraphale experiencing universal lawyerhood. 

blame it on my juice, baby! - 7k, E Aziraphale and Crowley get accidentally dosed with a love potion by Anathema. OR DO THEY?!?

what a way to make a living - 5k, T The one where Crowley becomes an Uber driver.

a day in the life - 10k, gen Historical story about how Aziraphale & Crowley’s story intertwined with that of the Beatles, through Aziraphale’s friendship with their manager Brian Epstein.

greatest hits - 5k, M Aziraphale accidentally discovers Crowley’s secret: he was in a band in the 90s. And he wrote a whole album of love songs… +comes with 4 original songs by me you can listen to

after the disco - 2k, T Crowley and Aziraphale have their first kiss right there at the airbase, as told via Pepper’s POV. 

this strange elastic world - 4k, gen Doctor Who crossover, explaining the connection between Crowley and the Tenth Doctor. 

is this allowed? - 4.6k, M Gabriel and Beelzebub take to ineptly spying on Aziraphale and Crowley to find out if angels and demons can actually have sex with each other without exploding. 

until you say it out loud - 6k, E Differing expectations after Armageddon leads to a misunderstanding, which is resolved summarily with tender sex, despite Crowley getting a bit tongue-tied.

it’s a new craze - 5k, T The one where they start an advice podcast together. +comes with an incredible podfic by @niceandaccuratetheatre​!

shed a sweet light - 7k, T The one where Aziraphale isn’t that into Christmas. Featuring malicious influencers & Hanukkah miracles. 

the difficulty with disposable demons - 6.5k, T An unexpected visit from Hell's messenger boy sends Crowley & Aziraphale's date night down a chaotic path.

on purpose, on purpose (i am going to care about you) - 2.4k, T Aziraphale introduces Crowley very slowly to the concept of physical and emotional gentleness.

the fox in motion - 2.5k, gen Fleabag crossover. Crowley and Fleabag share a moment, in the middle of their stories.

human nature - 10k, T Crowley must turn Aziraphale human in order to hide him from Heaven - fusion with Doctor Who’s Human Nature/Family of Blood arc.

i would be remiss to leave out some faith (the slow show fandom remix), a metafictional outsider POV companion to @mia-ugly​‘s masterpiece slow show that i wrote with @fremulon​ in possibly the most wildly enjoyable writing experience i’ve had to date. shoutout WPH <3 

lastly, i also made this stupid video that got ridiculously popular:

coming up next in 2020, i have two oneshots i’m currently plugging away at: one is a truly silly sickfic, & the other is a more angsty, crowley-POV pining story with a very tender ending. 

also on the docket is my story for @goromcom!!! it’s a Music & Lyrics human AU which i am already SO fucking excited about :D

thank you to EVERYONE who has read & commented & shared & rec’d my stories this year! i’ve met so many wonderful people through this fandom and can’t wait to carry the lovely warm energy of good omens through into this next decade 💖

[technoturian]

So after dipping my toe in the Pedro Pascal stan side of tumblr I decided to give his Netflix movies a try. Yesterday was Prospect which I *loved* and today was Triple Frontier which was... possibly the worst movie I’ve seen in the last couple of years.

Spoilers under the tag but honestly... Just don’t watch this movie. If you’re a fan of one of the cute men in it then just search the internet for gifs, I promise you you will get more out of that than you will out of this movie. Ranting below, you’ve been warned.

I have to commend the Pedro fans for their fanon version of his character in this film, as they pretty much were forced to invent him from whole cloth because basically none of that is in the text. And that’s because he doesn’t have a character. None of them have characters! None of them have arcs! The plot doesn’t even have an arc! The movie ended in the biggest shrug I’ve ever seen. They didn’t fail, they didn’t succeed, it was just kind of... well that happened.

Every time I thought, “Okay, I see where this narrative is going...” It just... didn’t. It didn’t go anywhere. The main thrust of the movie was done 30 minutes in and then the rest of the movie was them walking around killing people. Now, it could have been about that, about that they were killing civilians and growing increasingly more cruel and emotionless in their actions, but that was not reflected in the resolution. Nothing that happened in the movie was concluded in a way that made sense. It just was a collection of bad things that happened that then stopped eventually. What about the characters and their families who at the start of the film were stated would be hunted to the ends of the earth by ALL THE CARTELS!! (and other unspecified Bad Criminal People) and at the end just kind of shrug off the fact that they have no money to disappear with? Are Santiago’s fake passports supposed to fix that? Or maybe they deserve that because of the ~horrible things they did~ but then why such a light-hearted, optimistic-ish ending note where they all cheerfully say goodbye? What is the message here?

It was like two producers came together, one said he wanted to make an indie film that was a blunt drama on the horrors of war and dehumanization of the American soldier and a scathing, unflinching indictment of the military industrial complex, and the other one said he wanted to make a shoot-em-up heist movie with big budget actors and lots of explosive action and they were like...

...and mushed them together without any attempt to make a cohesive and narratively satisfying story. It fails at both of these aspects by committing to neither. I saw only the briefest hints of any kind of thematic thread that was so incompetently conveyed that it might as well have never existed. I can’t understand how this movie has such high approval from critics??? What did you like here, was it all of the monologues about how war takes and takes and doesn’t pay well enough? Because if you like that, there was a lot of that. It doesn’t actually go anywhere but it’s there and gee, it’s a thinker, huh, war is bad actually. Groundbreaking.

And this is not an indictment on the actors at all (except for Ben Affl*ck, he can choke). They were honestly working so hard, I could see that, and it made me angrier than if they’d phoned it in. I honestly cannot imagine how they got all of these big actors in this movie and gave them absolutely nothing to work with!

Every one of these characters save Santiago had the same ~arc~, “I don’t like what being a soldier did to me except I’m super loyal so I’m just going to do this one last job oh crap everything is terrible better turn on my murder training...” Which is like... Yeah that happens when you join the military, it’s awful, sure. “War is hell” and all that. But just pointing that out doesn’t make these successful, rounded characters or make this a good movie. I again applaud fans that found any value in these characters, it honestly feels like a case of “I like this actor so much that he deserves a lot better than this, let me invent an alternate reality where he actually had substance”. I can’t feel bad for them too much because I guess, I hope they had fun filming it on location and made a lot of that Netflix money?

As an exercise I tried to think of a single line in this movie that, if shifted from one character to another, would have changed... anything. If it would’ve effected their character at all. If it would’ve felt like it didn’t fit, like, “well HE wouldn’t say THAT”. I couldn’t think of one. They were all completely interchangeable. They all switch from being guilty about killing people to not really caring to straight up going murder-happy depending on the scene, excusing their actions and condemning them. ~Oho, but don’t you see, that’s the duality of the soldier, the hero and the villain~ shut up, it’s bad narrative if you can’t even figure out what a character’s motivations and baseline personality are.

Literally the only person I saw any slight arc from was Santiago, who basically got all of his plot threads neatly tied up by the halfway point and then was just a shell of regret like the other characters. From then on the only person with any sort of arc potential was Tom, because he was the first to get greedy and he was the one to shoot first and I thought “Okay cool, so he’s going to turn on them or something as the money dwindles because he’s going to put his family first and they’re really going to show how far they’ve fallen” and nope he’s dead, of course he’s dead, that’s the end of the only character that seemed like he MIGHT be going anywhere (not that I cared because Ben Affl*ck can choke). Even the romance arc didn’t go anywhere! It literally stops halfway through the movie just like everything else???? This movie feels like they lost the second half of the script days before filming and they were like, “Um, and, um, lots of... climbing the Andes, and, um, this Andes thing is going to be very long and so that’ll pad it out and, um??? War is bad, look what they make you do, look what they make you give etcetera etcetera? Then, uh, action driving scene, uh, yeah. There we go, finished.”

I honestly just can’t believe I sat through a movie with Ben Affl*ck, Charlie Hunn*m’s absolute travesty of an American accent, and 70s-80s dad rock music just because two hot Star Wars boys were in it. Maybe the real message of the movie is the hot boys we looked at along the way.

* And because it didn’t fit anywhere else, just a shoutout to this particular part: William’s character introduction being a recruitment speech that starts with “My PTSD is so bad I have violent blackouts” and somehow with a scene cut manages to circle back around to “So anyway kids stay in the Army it’s the best and you’re all patriots” is the most heinous thing that completely undermines A, his place as the moral center/voice of reason of the film and B, any anti-military message the movie might be vaguely attempting. I just keep remembering that compilation video of young, desperately sad military recruits saying “f*ck you” and “you lied” to their recruiter and thinking, “This guy has given this speech HUNDREDS of times??”

[ayakashibackstreet]

Shoutout to my high school databases professor, who stopped one of our classes to straight up tell us to never work for C//D/PR.

He would often joke about our abilities being like those of a bunch of very confused kindergartners but at that moment he dropped the joke. He told us that we’re good, hardworking kids showing a lot of promise in the field and that while we might be tempted to apply for a job there (since, you know, it’s a video games studio + C//D/PR is considered somewhat of a symbol of national pride here), we really shouldn’t. His friend worked there briefly and so he was very familiar with the horror stories relating to the company.

Hearing all the horrible stuff about C//D//PR doesn’t surprise me but it sure is terrifying how people have known about this shit for literal years and noone really seems to care because tHeY mAdE thE WiT//cHer!! Anyway, fuck the video game industry in general and, as a Polish person in the IT field, fuck CD Pro//jekt R/ed in particular uwu

[thesteadydietofeverything]

Top 10 Games of 2019

This was an extremely good year for games. I don’t know if I played as many that will stick with me as I did last year, but the ones on the bottom half of this list in particular constitute some of my favorite games of the decade, and probably all-time. If I’ve got a gaming-related resolution for next year, it’s to put my playtime into supporting even smaller indie devs. My absolute favorite experiences in games this year came from seemingly out of nowhere games from teams I’ve previously never heard of before. That said, there are some big games coming up in spring I doubt I’ll be able to keep myself away from. Some quick notes/shoutouts before I get started:

-The game I put maybe the most time into this year was Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. I finally made the plunge into neverending FF MMO content, and I’m as happy as I am overwhelmed. This was a big year for the game, between the release of the Shadowbringers expansion and the Nier: Automata raid, and it very well may have made it onto my list if I had managed to actually get to any of it. At the time of this writing, though, I’ve only just finished 2015’s Heavensward, so I’ve got...a long way to go. 

-One quick shoutout to the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy that came out on Switch this year, a remaster of some DS classics I never played. An absolutely delightful visual novel series that I fell in love with throughout this year.

-I originally included a couple games currently in early access that I’ve enjoyed immensely. I removed them not because of arbitrary rules about what technically “came out” this year, but just to make room for some other games I liked, out of the assumption that I’ll still love these games in their 1.0 formats when they’re released next year to include them on my 2020 list. So shoutout to Hades, probably the best rogue-like/lite/whatever I’ve ever played, and Spin Rhythm XD, which reignited my love for rhythm games.

-Disco Elysium isn’t on this list, because I’ve played about an hour of it and haven’t yet been hooked by it. But I’ve heard enough about it to be convinced that it is 1000% a game for me and something I need to get to immediately. They shouted out Marx and Engels at the Game Awards! They look so cool! I want to be their friend! And hopefully, a few weeks from now, I’ll desperately want to redact this list to squeeze this game somewhere in here.

Alright, he’s the actual list:

10. Amid Evil

The 90’s FPS renaissance continues! As opposed to last year’s Dusk, a game I adored, this one takes its cues less from Quake and more from Heretic/Hexen, placing a greater emphasis on melee combat and magic-fuelled projectiles than more traditional weapons. Also, rather than that game’s intentionally ugly aesthetic, this one opts for graphics that at times feel lush, detailed, and pretty, while still probably mostly fitting the description of lo-fi. In fact, they just added RTX to the game, something I’m extremely curious to check out. This game continued to fuel my excitement about the possibilities of embracing out-of-style gameplay mechanics to discover new and fresh possibilities from a genre I’ve never been able to stop yearning for more of.

9. Ape Out

If this were a “coolest games” list, Ape Out would win it, easily. It’s a simple game whose mechanics don’t particularly evolve throughout the course of its handful of hours, but it leaves a hell of an impression with its minimalist cut-out graphics, stylish title cards, and percussive soundtrack. Smashing guards into each other and walls and causing them to shoot each other in a mad-dash for the exit is a fun as hell take on Hotline Miami-esque top down hyper violence, even if it’s a thin enough concept that it starts to feel a bit old before the end of the game.

8. Fire Emblem: Three Houses

I had a lot of problems with this game, probably most stemming from just how damn long it is - I still haven’t finished my first, and likely only, playthrough. This length seems to have motivated the developers to make battles more simple and easy, and to be fair, I would get frustrated if I were getting stuck on individual battles if I couldn’t stop thinking about how much longer I have to go, but as it is, I’ve just found them to be mostly boring. This is particularly problematic for a game that seems to require you to play through it at least...three times to really get the full picture? I couldn’t help but admire everything this game got right, though, and that mostly comes down to building a massive cast of extremely well realized and likable characters whose complex relationships with each other and with the structures they pledge loyalty to fuels harrowing drama once the plot really sets into motion. There’s a reason no other game inspired such a deluge of memes and fan fiction and art into my Twitter feed this year. It’s an impressive feat to convince every player they’ve unquestionably picked the right house and defend their problem children till the bitter end. After the success of this game, I’d love to see what this team can do next with a narrower focus and a bigger budget.

7. Resident Evil 2

It’s been a long time since I played the original Resident Evil 2, but I still consider it to be one of my favorite games of all time. I was highly skeptical of this remake at first, holding my stubborn ground that changing the fixed camera to a RE4-style behind the back perspective would turn this game more into an action game and less of a survival horror game where feeling a lack of control is part of the experience. I was pleasantly surprised to find how much they were able to modernize this game while maintaining its original feel and atmosphere. The fumbly, drifting aim-down sights effectively sell the feeling of being a rookie scared out of your wits. Being chased by Mr. X is wildly anxiety-inducing. But even more surprisingly, perhaps the greatest upgrade this game received was its map, which does you the generous service of actually marking down automatically where puzzles and items are, which rooms you’ve yet to enter, which ones you’ve searched entirely, and which ones still have more to discover. Arguably, this disrupts the feeling of being lost in a labyrinthine space that the original inspired, but in practice, it’s a remarkably satisfying and addicting video game system to engage with.

6. Judgment

No big surprise here - Ryu ga Gotoku put out another Yakuza-style game set in Kamurocho, and once again, it’s sitting somewhere on my top 10. This time, they finally put Kazuma Kiryu’s story to bed and focused on a new protagonist, down on his luck lawyer-turned-detective Takayuki Yagami. The new direction doesn’t always pay off - the added mechanics of following and chasing suspects gets a bit tedious. The game makes up for it, though, by absolutely nailing a fun, engrossing J-Drama of a plot entirely divorced from the Yakuza lore. The narrative takes several head-spinning turns through its several dozen hours, and they all feel earned, with a fresh sense of focus. The side stories in this one do even more to make you feel connected to the community of Kamurocho by befriending people from across the neighborhood. I’d love to see this team take even bigger swings in the future - and from what I’ve seen from Yakuza 7, that seems exactly like what they’re doing - but even if this game shares maybe a bit too much DNA with its predecessors, it’s hard to complain when the writing and acting are this enjoyable.

5. Control

Control feels like the kind of game that almost never gets made anymore. It’s a AAA game that isn’t connected to any larger franchises and doesn’t demand your attention for longer than a dozen hours. It doesn’t shoehorn needless RPG or MMO mechanics into its third-person action game formula to hold your attention. It introduces a wildly clever idea, tells a concise story with it, and then its over. And there’s something so refreshing about all of that. The setting of The Oldest House has a lot to do with it. I think it stands toe-to-toe with Rapture or Black Mesa as an instantly iconic game world. Its aesthetic blend of paranormal horror and banal government bureaucracy gripped my inner X-Files fan instantly, and kept him satisfied not only with its central characters and mystery but with a generous bounty of redacted documents full of worldbuilding both spine-tingling and hilarious. More will undoubtedly come from this game, in the form of DLC and possibly even more, with the way it ties itself into other Remedy universes, and as much as I expect I will love it, the refreshing experience this base game offered me likely can’t be beat.

4. Anodyne 2

I awaited Sean Han Tani and Marina Kittaka’s new game more anxiously than almost any game that came out this year, despite never having played the first one, exclusively on my love for last year’s singular All Our Asias and the promise that this game would greatly expand on that one’s Saturn/PS1-esque early 3D graphics and personal, heartfelt storytelling. Not only was I not disappointed, I was regularly pleasantly surprised by the depth of narrative and themes the game navigates. This game takes the ‘legendary hero’ tropes of a Zelda game and flips them to tell a story about the importance of community and taking care of loved ones over duty to governments or organizations. The dungeons that similarly reflect a Link to the Past-era Zelda game reduce the maps to bite-sized, funny, clever designs that ask you to internalize unique mechanics that result in affecting conclusions. Plus, it’s gorgeously idiosyncratic in its blend of 3D and 2D environments and its pretty but off-kilter score. It’s hard to believe something this full and well realized came from two people. 

3. Eliza

Eliza is a work of dystopian fiction so closely resembling the state of the world in 2019 it’s hard to even want to call it sci-fi. As a proxy for the Eliza app, you speak the words of an AI therapist that offers meager, generic suggestions as a catch-all for desperate people facing any number of the nightmares of our time. The first session you get is a man reckoning with the state the world is in - we’ve only got a few more years left to save ourselves from impending climate crisis, destructive development is rendering cities unlivable for anyone but the super-rich, and the people who hold all the power are just making it all worse. The only thing you offer to him is to use a meditation app and take some medication. It doesn’t take long for you to realize that this whole structure is much less about helping struggling people and more about mining personal data.

There’s much more to this story than the grim state of mental health under late capitalism, though. It’s revealed that Evelyn, the character you play as, has a much closer history with Eliza than initially evident. Throughout the game, she’ll reacquaint herself with old coworkers, including her two former bosses who have recently split and run different companies over their differing frightening visions for the future. The game offers a biting critique of the kind of tech company optimism that brings rich, eccentric men to believe they can solve the world’s problems within the hyper-capitalist structure they’ve thrived under, and how quickly this mindset gives way to techno-fascism. There’s also Evelyn’s former team member, Nora, who has quit the tech world in favor of being a DJ “activist,” and her current lead Rae, a compassionate person who genuinely believes in the power of Eliza to better people’s lives. The writing does an excellent job of justifying everyone’s points of view and highlighting the limits of their ideology without simplifying their sense of morality.

Why this game works so well isn’t just its willingness to stare in the face of uncomfortably relevant subject matter, but its ultimately empathetic message. It offers no simple solutions to the world’s problems, but also avoids falling into utter despair. Instead, it places measured but inspiring faith in the power of making small, meaningful impacts on the people around you, and simply trying to put some good into your world. It’s a game both terrifying and comforting in its frank conclusions.

2. Death Stranding

For a game as willfully dumb as this one often is - that, for example, insists on giving all of its characters with self-explanatory names long monologues about how they got that name - Death Stranding was one of the most thought provoking games I’ve played in a while. Outside of its indulgent, awkwardly paced narrative, the game offers plenty of reflection on the impact the internet has had on our lives. As Sam Porter Bridges, you’re hiking across a post-apocalyptic America, reconnecting isolated cities by delivering supplies, building infrastructure, and, probably most importantly, connecting them to the Chiral Network, an internet of sorts constructed of supernatural material of nebulous origin. Through this structure, the game offers surprisingly insightful commentary about the necessity for communication, cooperation, and genuine love and care within a community.

The lonely world you’re tasked to explore, and the way you’re given blips of encouragement within the solitude through the structures and “likes” you give and receive through the game’s asynchronous multiplayer system, offers some striking parallels for those of us particularly “online” people who feel simultaneous desperation for human contact and aversion to social pressures. I’ve heard the themes of this game described as “incoherent” due to the way it seems to view the internet both as a powerful tool to connect people and a means by which people become isolated and alienated, but are both of these statements not completely true to reality? The game simplifies some of its conclusions - Kojima seems particularly ignorant of America’s deep structural inequities and abuses that lead to a culture of isolation and alienation. And yet, the questions it asks are provocative enough that they compelled me to keep thinking about them far longer than the answers it offers.

Beyond the surprisingly rich thematic content, this game is mostly just a joy to play. Death Stranding builds kinetic drama out of the typically rote parts of games. Moving from point A to point B has become an increasingly tedious chore in the majority of AAA open world games, but this is a game built almost entirely out of moving from point A to point B, and it makes it thrilling. The simple act of walking down a hill while trying to balance a heavy load on your back and avoiding rocks and other obstacles fulfills the promise of the term ‘walking simulator’ in a far more interesting way than most games given that descriptor. The game consistently doles out new ways to navigate terrain, which peaked for me about two thirds of the way through the game when, after spending hours setting up a network of zip lines, a delivery offered me the opportunity to utilize the entire thing in a wildly satisfying journey from one end of the map to another. It was the gaming moment of the year.

1. Outer Wilds

The first time the sun exploded in my Outer Wilds playthrough, I was probably about to die anyway. I had fallen through a black hole, and had yet to figure out how to recover from that, so I was drifting listlessly through space with diminishing oxygen as the synths started to pick up and I watched the sun fall in on itself and then expand throughout the solar system as my vision went went. The moment gave me chills, not because I wasn’t already doomed anyway, but because I couldn’t help but think about my neighbors that I had left behind to explore space. I hadn’t known that mere minutes after I left the atmosphere the solar system would be obliterated, but I was at least able to watch as it happened. They probably had no idea what happened. Suddenly their lives and their planet and everything they had known were just...gone. And then I woke up, with the campfire burning in front of me, and everyone looking just as I had left it. And I became obsessed with figuring out how to stop that from happening again. 

What surprised me is that every time the sun exploded, it never failed to produce those chills I felt the first time. This game is masterful in its art, sound, and music design that manages to produce feelings so intense from an aesthetic so quaint. Tracking down fellow explorers by following the sound of their harmonica or acoustic guitar. Exploring space in a rickety vessel held together by wood and tape. Translating logs of conversations of an ancient alien race and finding the subject matter of discussion to be about small interpersonal drama as often as it is revelatory secrets of the universe. All of the potentially twee aspects of the game are balanced out by an innate sense of danger and terror that comes from exploring space and strange worlds alone. At times, the game dips into pure horror, making other aspects of the presentation all the more charming by comparison. And then there’s the clockwork machinations of the 22-minute loop you explore within, rewarding exploration and experimentation with reveals that make you feel like a genius for figuring out the puzzle at the same time that you’re stunned by the divulgence of a new piece of information.

The last few hours of the game contained a couple puzzles so obfuscated that I had to consult a guide, which admittedly lessened the impact of those reveals, but it all led to one of the most equally devastating and satisfying endings I’ve experienced in a video game recently. I really can’t say enough good things about this game. It’s not only my favorite game this year, but easily one of my favorite games of the decade, and really, of all-time, when it comes down to it.

[whatcouldgowrong-ohthat]

Hurts to be Human: Chapter Two

You guys are awesome. I love that you’re enjoying the story. :) Shoutout to @songforhema

Here’s: Prologue, Chapter One

Warnings: Fluff, bit of soft Bucky, lotta cussing, but that’s about it

Below: That, but with Miss H.D.

Also! Meet H.D.!

Chapter Two - Can We Pretend?

It had only taken an hour for Y/N to drop her bag off and in her room and get her cat set up. Immediately she made her way to the conference room, her mind not completely in the mood to catch up with the two men- not now at least. No, now was not the time for that or to focus on how much Bucky had changed. The only thought she allowed herself was that he looked good. Better than good actually. He looked fucking hot as hell. Why hadn’t he cut his hair sooner? He looked happy…maybe he’s seeing someone. They’re probably an Enhanced or something, someone he can connect with in a way I couldn’t understand. Or maybe it’s someone from Wakanda. He always loved it there. Knowing Sam, he’s probably tried setting Buck up on more than a few blind dates… Fuck me, I never should’ve stepped on the jet. No, better than that — I should’ve kicked Fury out of my apartment when I had the chance.

“Y/N?”

She looked up, Sharon pulling her out of her thoughts. “Sorry,” she murmured, taking the folder out of the agent’s hands. She dropped it on the table, flipping it open and scanning the pages. Clippings from newspapers and magazines were now littered in front of her as Sharon pulled up videos on the hologram in front of them, making her lean forward in interest. Moments where the boys were playing hero, following instructions, trying to live up to the standard people like Steve and Tony had set in stone. “Jesus,” she murmured, watching as the boys had destroyed a plant. She didn’t know what the mission was, but was sure Sam and Bucky wouldn’t have — Her thoughts were disrupted by the video’s creator appearing, bashing on the heroes. They went on to say that they had risked countless lives and forced workers to lose their jobs. There were heavy implications that they were arrogant, childish, and had no idea what they were doing.

And that was just one video.

“Fuck, Sharon, how did it get to this point?” She glimpsed at the images from the other videos, noticing that, though the stories weren’t the same, the reactions were similar to one another. Everyone was retaliating.

“Did you hear about London?”

Running a hand through her hair, Y/N knew only what Fury had told her. “This is because of that Quentin guy?”

“It’s a domino effect, Y/N. He was supposed to be a new Avenger, somebody to replace Stark.”

“Yeah, he took advantage of Pete’s naivety.”

Sharon sighed, knowing the woman sitting across from her was getting frustrated. Y/N was always one to defend the Avengers, but most protective of her boys. “The thing is, now people are concerned because Peter’s way too young. And then our government thinks we’re trying to replace Steve —“

“Which we aren’t.”

“—Exactly. We know that, but they’re in denial about it. You know how they can get…” The reminder of the Accords hung in the air, but neither of them wanted to remember the gruesome details that came from it. Now, with Thanos having appeared not long after, the Accords were child’s play. What made the memory sting after all this time was the falling out that had happened. If Thanos hadn’t come, the unanswered question was whether the Avengers ever would have come together again. “Then you have people like Wanda and Strange who are just intense and then…well, then there’s Bucky’s history.” She noticed how Y/N tensed, knowing Bucky was still going to be a sensitive subject.

“So the plan?” There was always a plan. Fury gave her the basic ideas, but she needed to know and understand what Sharon’s thoughts were and how she wanted to go about this. Fury might have left the two of them in charge of Sam’s and Bucky’s shenanigans, but in moments like this, Sharon was always the one in charge. Always.

“We need to keep Bucky and Sam on the down low while we make sure there isn’t a repeat of the Accords. The last thing we need is for them to try and step into a field they have no understanding of.” Looking at the videos, she added, “We also need to do damage control. Something that shows Bucky is a changed man. You’d be proud of him, Y/N. He’s come a long way. As for Sam — the government is mostly concerned about his role, but if we can get the people to approve of him, they can’t fight all of it.”

Y/N grimaced, rubbing her temples. Keep Bucky and Sam on the down low while also getting them in a controlled spotlight. She blatantly ignored Fury's constant (it seemed) updates about Bucky. Bucky and Sam. That was why she was here while Sharon handled the hell that was America’s government. Why did she get the feeling that the ‘maintaining the boys’ part of the job wouldn’t be as easy as it could be? “Do they know about any of this?” she asked, gesturing to the media.

“Bits and pieces. Sam likes teasing the trolls, but doesn’t get much farther than that. Bucky? Well, he’s an old man still struggling to fully grasp how far technology and the media has come.”

Hesitating, Y/N wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer as she asked, “Do either of them know about this scheme? About my part in it?”

“Not yet.”

“Sharon!”

“Well —“

“What, were you waiting for me to break the news to them?” She saw the hopeful glint in Sharon’s eyes and groaned. “I just got here, Sharon!”

“Exactly! I have to deal with them all the time! Do you know how many times I’ve had to confiscate Redwing from Sam? Or put the two of them in time out? Come on, Y/N, I need a break.”

Letting out a small huff, strands of her hair flew into the air for a brief moment before falling back to frame her face. “Fine.” She could handle two ridiculous, overgrown children. It was just Sam and Bucky, just two of her old friends. Sam and Bucky. That’s it. It’s just Sam and Bucky. Just her best friend and ex boyfriend.

Fuck, she shouldn’t have gotten on the jet.

Glancing at the papers, she knew in that moment she shouldn’t have even left work.

———

The living room was quiet that afternoon, something that had become more than normal since most of the Avengers decided they wanted to spend their free time pursuing “normal lives”. For Bucky, it was actually a relief. He had gotten better with people and talking, but that didn’t mean he still liked being the life of the party. That was the old Bucky, the guy from the forties that didn’t exist anymore. Pieces of him did, sure, but the rest of him? That was something else. For instance, something Sam had noticed about the man was that Bucky didn’t like sitting anywhere like a normal human being. If he was on a kitchen chair, he sat facing the back, straddling the seat. If he was in something fluffier and more comfortable? Trust Barnes to sit on the arm with his legs outstretched and resting on the other side, the actual seat left cold and forgotten. As for couches? He sprawled out, completely outstretched with one leg usually thrown over the back.

And that’s where he was in this moment.

He held his journal above him, scribbling away thoughts and notes he knew Doc would want to know about Y/N’s appearance. There would be questions regarding whether Bucky was processing it okay, if he was functioning with something so new and yet so personal. That being said, he hoped there would’t be questions about his emotions. He didn’t feel anything for Y/N anymore. That was a long time ago and, with the way things ended, he knew Y/N didn’t feel anything for him either. o

So why was he still thinking about that smile? Or the way her eyes seemed particularly endless when she held his gaze?

“Fuck,” he muttered, running a hand over his face before pinching the corners of his eyes. He had to stop overthinking this. Y/N was back for work. That’s why Fury was the one who brought her in. If she wanted to come back on her own, she would have. She was stubborn and a pain in the ass. There was no one that could talk her out of a bad idea, no matter how bad. Not even herself.

“Meow.”

Bucky jumped when he heard the small noise so painfully close to his face, the couch groaning underneath his weight. He dropped the journal and pen on his chest and opened his eyes, brow furrowing. Sitting on the arm of the couch, staring down at him, was Y/N’s cat. What did she say its name was? “Hello there,” he murmured, voice soft as the small feline blinked slowly, tilting its head.

He had never felt so judged in his life.

Reaching up with his flesh hand, he was careful to let the animal approach him first. The last thing he wanted was for it to decide he was an enemy and make use of those tiny talons. “Aw,” he said, his low voice seeming to calm the cat down. “You aren’t so bad, are you?” Bucky chuckled as the cat eyed his fingers warily before pressing its forehead against his knuckles. “God, I wish I remembered your name.”

The cat jumped, landing on his chest with an almost impossibly delicate pounce. He tried to stay still, laughing when the cat went out of its way to knock off his journal and pen before circling his chest in search of a particular spot. Finicky little thing she was, but she seemed to like how warm he was, purring in content when his laugh turned into a low rumble. His fingers continued to delicately stroke her fur as she started needing the small indent between his pecs. Once she decided it was just right, she curled up to face him, tail wrapping around her face. The black half of her fur was curled into his chest as he gently stroked her ear. Her purring was interrupted by a small meow of appreciation and it felt like his heart melted. The little thing was so tiny, so delicate, and yet didn’t shy away from him. Instead she claimed him as a spot to nap.

“Sorry about her.”

Bucky looked up, surprised when he saw Y/N standing in the doorway of the room. She was leaning against the frame, arms crossed as she stared at the feline. He shook his head and turned his gaze back to the pet, assuring Y/N, “It’s no big deal. She’s adorable.”

“She normally doesn’t warm up to people, but apparently super soldiers and agents are an exception to the rule.”

Bucky laughed, resting his head on the arm of the couch. “What’s her name?” His cheeks warmed and he knew he was blushing. “I didn’t mean to forget, I just —“

“No biggie,” she assured him, walking around the couch. “H.D. Short for Harvey Dent because of that two face thing she has going on.”

“It’s adorable.” Y/N smiled, sitting on the floor next to him.  Her shoulder brushed his metal arm and he was all too aware, noticing that she didn’t flinch.

She didn’t flinch. Y/N had been on the receiving end of multiple moments when Bucky’s nightmares had woken him up and turned him into the man HYDRA had molded. While it hadn’t been something that bothered her initially, insisting she was okay, it took them moving in together and things getting worse for her to start flinching if the arm seemed more a threat than an appendage.

Glancing at her, Bucky couldn’t help the excitement that bubbled in his chest. She had to be doing better if she didn’t mind his arm being so close to her. A part of him wondered what she had been up to. How had her life been different? Did she miss the Avengers? Or the pranks she used to play on Scott and Sam?

Did she miss him?

He looked back at H.D. Yeah, Doc might have reason to ask about old emotions. But until then, he would happily play with H.D. and enjoy Y/N’s presence. There was nothing wrong with that, right? “You met with Sharon earlier?”

“Yeah, she told me what her plan was and how I’m going to be helping.”

Bucky frowned. There was a plan? There was a mission that required bringing Y/N back? Why didn’t he or Sam know? “Well, what is it?”

She paused, the fingers that had joined Bucky’s in providing H.D. with endless affection seemed to twitch. Y/N wasn’t sure if this was the moment to tell him. Shouldn’t she wait until she could tell him and Sam at the same time? Wasn’t that the 'mature leader' thing to do? Jeez, I suck at this. Sharon really did leave her high and dry. “It can wait. I’d rather tell you and Sam at the same time if that’s okay.”

“Come on, you used to tell me all the shit before,” he joked, not looking at her. But his words meant more than skin deep little tease. It was something they had always done, sharing missions and information with each other even if it wasn’t their business to know. It was more often than not that they debriefed each other before anyone else learned anything in the team meetings. And usually those debriefings were Y/N keeping Bucky in the loop only because she didn’t want him worrying about her.

“Buck, don’t.” Her tone was a warning. He didn’t need to bring up their past. Not after all this time. But that was the thing! Seeing her like this, seeing her look so content? It didn’t seem like a long time. It felt like things had merely been on pause while they got their shit together.

Okay, never mind, Doc had plenty reason to ask about old emotions.

“Don’t what?” He feigned innocence, hoping he sounded more the part than he actually looked.

“Don’t bring up old memories.” She glanced at him, allowing herself a small smile. God, all Bucky wanted was to see her beaming again, looking happy and like nothing could hurt her. “I mean, come on, it was a long time ago. There’s no reason to bring up old bullshit when we’re different people now.” Even as she said it, Y/N couldn’t bring herself to fully believe the words coming out of her mouth. A part of her wanted to talk about old memories, the good and the bad. She wanted to ask how he was doing, if he was doing as good as she was, and what the hell made him cut his hair.

But it wasn’t her place. She had no ties to James Buchanan Barnes or any of his choices.

Bucky didn’t know what to think as he stared at H.D., a part of him wanting to pester Y/N about the questions running through his head and the other simply hurt that she was building this wall between them. Sure, they had a past and it didn’t end well. It sucked ass in all honesty, but four years is a lot of time. They could be friends, couldn’t they? At the very least?

“So what is this going to be?” he asked absentmindedly, not even registering that he’d been the one to ask.

“Coworkers?”

He snorted, looking at her. “That sounds extremely formal.”

Quickly, Y/N shifted her gaze back to the cat. Nope, she could not look at the abyss that was Bucky’s impossibly blue eyes. They broke through everything, tore down her progress and brought out a nasty side of her. At least, that was the case four years ago.

Could things between them really change?

“What would you suggest then?”

She wasn’t taking the conversation seriously from the sounds of it. Her tone made her seem disinterested and it cut Bucky down. God, had they really fallen so far from when they first met? When they’d “accidentally” bump into each other in the middle of the night to make coffee and watch Disney movies all while raiding Sam’s and Clint’s chocolate stash? Even being friends, going back to that, would be infinitely better than the idea of coworkers. They knew each other too well to take that many steps back. He’d never pressure her into a relationship, of course he wouldn’t, but at the very least…

Was it too much to ask for his friend back?

“Can try friends?”

His voice was soft, wary because he didn’t want to push her. Y/N allowed herself to smile at the idea of that. Friends was a possibility. Right? She sighed to herself, not entirely sure she could keep a platonic relationship with the man beside her. She knew what it was like to kiss him. She knew what his lips tasted like and had seen the shade of blue that burned with undeniable need and lust. She had felt what it was like to feel utterly whole by making love to him. Not only that, but Y/N knew what it was like for him to hold her into the wee hours of the morning. She knew what it was like to not simply fuck, but actually love, James Buchanan Barnes. She knew him. How could she be a friend, and a good one at that, when those details were no longer secrets or ideas she could leave to an overly active imagination?

“I guess,” she hesitated, her brow furrowing.

He noticed. “What is it, Y/N?” It had taken every muscle in his body to not follow the instinct of calling her ‘doll’, but he’d managed, wanting to keep her comfortable. Still, not using the nickname left a bad aftertaste in his mouth.

“Can,” she took a slow breath. “Can we try something? To make being friends easier?”

Bucky raised an eyebrow, not sure if he wanted to hear what her request was, but he knew that this was what was needed to bring Y/N back into his life. He wanted to get to know her again, get to meet this Y/N. He wanted to know her likes and dislikes, what all had changed, and if she was anything like the spunky woman he’d first come to fall for. However, learning all of that meant he had to follow her lead. “What’s that?”

“Can we pretend?” She hesitated. It sounded odd even on her own tongue, but she had to ask. “Can we pretend that our past doesn’t exist? Can we just start over?”

His stomach clenched, his chest rising in a slightly abrupt way that made H.D. wake from her slumber. Instinctively he reached out to pet the feline, regretting waking her. Clearing his throat, he asked, “That’s what you want?” To forget everything? He couldn’t bring himself to ask the full question, simply asking what he knew wouldn’t scare her off.

There was a pause. For a moment Bucky hoped that maybe she was backtracking, second guessing her idea and realizing they couldn’t wipe away all that history. Seriously, she couldn’t possibly think this was a good idea.

“Yes.”

Okay, maybe she could. That didn’t mean he had to agree with her. Even so, this was what she wanted. He had to respect that, whether he liked it or not. But damn, did he hate it. Nodding slowly, he looked at her and offered that famous Bucky grin that showed her everything was perfectly fine. He could work with that. Definitely.

Bucky could ignore the way her eyes sparkled or the way he heard her heartbeat quicken when he looked at her. He could ignore the way he could smell her hair from here and how, if he angled his head right, he could get a glimpse down her shirt. He could forget their rocky yet completely memorable history. This was supposed to be a fresh start. That posed smile turned into one a little more genuine as he thought about that. It was a complete fresh start.

Maybe that really could work.

“You got it. If that’s what you want, we can pretend.”

[miyoron]

Miyo’s Anime of the Decade though Actually Just 2019

***Before I start this list, I would like to continue to send out good vibes and hope to all those affected by the Kyoto Animation arson attacks this past summer. It still hurts and I hope things can get better for everyone affected by it, even though I'm sure some things will take a long time to heal, if they ever will. Just know that you will always have me wishing you the best I can and sending out hope for you to recover at your own pace.***

I like writing these things every year. Whether it lets me know if my tastes are changing or staying the same, or if I'm just sentimental, writing about things I like is fun. Anime is good and I like watching it. I watched a good amount of stuff this year even if some seasons I couldn't find anything I say would fit this list.

For example, I started watching the Symphogear series and it's fun but I wouldn't say I liked it as much as any of these shows. Anima Yell is a very cute show but I didn’t have much to say about it, same for Aggretsuko again. I liked the main characters of JoJo part 5, but I wouldn't say I liked watching that, especially as the villain was revealed more and more. Fire Force was fun for me for like 5 episodes or so but then I bailed so take that as you will.

But I don't want to sound too mean here. No, this is for stuff I liked a lot and I wanted to write about things I enjoyed. This year I actually kept track of shows I liked as opposed to figuring out what I'd go on this list at the last moment. Crazy, I know, but this could be a good idea. Don't worry, I didn't take TOO many notes so this will be pretty off the cuff of my head like normal though I'm sure. As always, I will be using whatever title is easier for me to write/preference.

With this bit of text out of the way, let's la GO!  In no particular order (as always)...

Mob Psycho 100

This entry counts for both season 1 and season 2. I kind of sped through the first one a little so I could catch up in time for the second one. I feel it stuck with me just as much though. Mob Psycho is a solid action series with very silly things going on in the background of it...and foreground honestly). I suspect ONE is very good at making this sort of series. Honestly though, every character in this show is great and there's so many feel good moments. Mob  himself is a wonderful character. The most powerful psychic force in the universe but he just wants to get buff to go out with his crush.

There's a lot to like about this series. The humor is on point and anything with Reigen is going to be hilarious, especially if it takes a while. Animation is consistently top notch, especially in season 2, and I love the psychic effects. They end up looking like an old 90's video filter or trapper keeper or something. However, the most impressive thing this series does is show that maybe fighting isn't the way to do things all the time and that the most important thing you can show isn't just sympathy, but empathy.

Mob is a really good show and both of the OVAs are fun as heck. I dunno why I originally slept on Season 1, but I'm glad I came aboard.

Kaguyasama: Love is War

You probably know this one from that one ending with the pink haired girl dancing, that was going around for a while even though it was only for one episode. This series actually took me a little bit to get into mainly due to being WAY too tired to keep up with it. The set up being that the smartest boy and girl in the most elite high school both want to ask the other out. However, being the one to ask the other out would be to give up all power and admitting defeat. Basically it's a battle of two love struck idiots trying to get the other to ask them out.

As dumb as that sounds, the setups are often hilarious. Seeing the main characters trying to out scheme each other and keep a straight face while watching is a challenge in itself. It's like that 4th dimensional chess but the end result is seeing who will hold the other's hand first. Then throw in the wild card of Chika who seems to both not know what's going on while understanding how easy it is to end up on top in these battles and...look it's very funny ok? Even if sometimes the joke is just "weiner".

Shows that made me tear up count: 1

Kemurikusa

Similar to the Kemono Friends and its big gold star award, I felt like Kemurikusa deserved a shoutout this year. It's still janky like Kemono Friends before it, but after everything that went down with that series, it was definitely telling when this was the better of the two. This is a weird series and only some of that is due to the animation. The studio does a wonderful job of making a world that's both interesting and haunting at the same time. Everything that happens all ties to a big mystery that isn't revealed for quite a while.

The characters are fun enough. From the serious Rin to the caring Ritsu. From the voracious Rinas to the dweeby Wakaba. It's a fun cast going on a road trip throughout the apocalypse as they try to find good water for their big plant friend that drives around their husk of a bus. It can get pretty dark at times even with the neon bright colors the titular kemurikusa shimmering softly in the background. Oh also there's a roomba friend and a girl with sharp teeth so I mean, it's got something for everybody.

Hitoribocchi

This series is a cute little show with a setup which is potentially mean if you think about it. Bocchi's best friend is afraid she won't ever be able to make any other friends since they're going to different middle schools. Because of this, she says they can't be friends again until she befriends everyone in her class. The biggest hurdle to this challenge being Bocchi is horribly shy and socially awkward which just makes things seemingly impossible for her to overcome. Luckily, this is a cute comedy series.

The show is basically about Bocchi trying to make new friends so she can hopefully one day reunite with her bestie from the past. As I said before though, she's kind of bad with knowing how to communicate with people so she has a bad habit of say following friend making tips she read in books or online to a t and not deviating from them. Thankfully she is able to meet with lovable weirdos like blunt Nako, pitiful Aru and ninja girl Sotoka. It's a cute little series that also has a lot of heart, especially if you've ever had to overcome your own social anxieties to interact with others before. It's also funny too so there's a bonus even.

Shows that made me tear up count: 2

Carole and Tuesday

Shhhh. Don't let Netflix know I finished this before they did. Carole and Tuesday is a fun show from the creator of Cowboy Bebop, as evidenced in the fact it takes place on Mars and uses the same currency. It's a fairly simple plot, two girls meet up one day on the streets and start playing music together. One's an orphan who's basically lived alone for most of her life, the other is a rich girl running away from her politician mother (whose politics are a little too close for comfort these days). They just wanna make music man, and with a former big time agent with them, how can they lose!

Carole and Tuesday are fun characters and the show has a fun future sci fi vibe while still being grounded in reality. One of the biggest highlights is definitely the music though with lots of new songs in every episode and a good number of them being certifiable bangers. There's an overarching plot that also hits too close to home at times but the big finale at the end made it all worth it in the end really. This is an easy show to recommend and I am doing so to you right now. Go see these girls trying to make it to the big time!

Shows that made me tear up count: 3

Fruits Basket (2019)

I skipped out on Fruits Basket the first time around. I always told myself I'd go back and check it out but, knowing how I do things, this never actually happened. Part of me is kind of glad I waited to check it out though since I really like the style of the new show compared to the one from the early 00s. What I'm saying is I should have checked this out a lot earlier than I did but I don't feel visually bad for doing so.

Fruits Basket is a show featuring Tohru, the most helpful lovable girl, and a cast of characters who all start to love her because she is the most helpful lovable girl. This might sound like a bad thing but it's not. All of the characters are really fun, save one who I don't know WHY they don't just beat up, and I love seeing all their interactions. I just grew really invested in all of them and keep hoping everything will end up ok for them in the end, while in some cases waiting for a really big shoe to drop and biting my nails in the process.

I dunno if I have a super bunch to say about it other than my favorites are Uo-chan and Hana-chan and I can't wait until part 2 shows up. I am ready to see more of these Zodiac weirdos get hugged by Tohru and become animals and have her solve their problems in that order.

Shows that made me tear up count: 4

....Now, as usual, I will take a break to talk about the Precures I watched this year...

Futari wa Precure

This year, my friend Cheapsteaks and I decided to go after the OG Precure scene by watching the series that started it all. School girls run into fairies being pursued by weird monsters from another dimension/world/whatever and have to become legendary warriors to help them out. It's a story we all know well, just with lots of dropkicks and judo tosses.

As much as I like Honoka and Nagisa, and the opening theme...Futari wa has a lot of growing pains which is to be expected. Being the first one, it feels more like other magical girl series of the time compared to the style of later Pretty Cure series. From the rather uninspired villains, including one named Pissard, to the bland crush of Fuji P-senpai, and especially the obnoxious fairies, this is definitely one of the weaker series in my eyes. Again, it's probably not fair to judge it though since they didn't know what they were doing yet with this series.

That being said, there is a dumb fun to watching the Crunchyroll subs for a nostalgic taste of hard yellow subs and often not great audio. Again, the best parts of this are Honoka and Nagisa and I can see why they still get to be super popular today.

Smile Precure!

The other older series we checked out this year was Smile Precure which is much more my speed. The characters are all really good and they're all super good friends and it just makes me feel good. Like just in general they'rea really good and strong cast and I love all of them. Reika/Cure Beauty is the secret funniest character just by being the straight man on a team of doofuses and it works so well.

Miyuki's desire to make everything around her "Ultra Happy" just makes you feel good seeing a character who just wants others around her to be as happy as she is. All she needs is a smile and that makes me also smile. Akane is fiery and powerful, Yayoi is a big sweetie whose artistic trials and tribulations I SUPER identify with, Nao is a super cool big sister and I already brought up Reika being great. This is really one of my favorite Precures I've watched so far and I'm going to be sad to see it go in a few weeks.

I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention that I love the stupid villain trio. Especially Akaoni. I love you big red oni doofus. (Please see oni times in the link below)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXA5jfSJz_c&feature=youtu.be

Shows that made me tear up count: 5 (ANY NAO EPISODE AAAA)

Star Twinkle Precure

The newest Precure series! One we also dragged fellow anime friend Metalray into and I feel like it was a fun enough one. Cute alien encounters trying to help space zodiac princesses with a fluff unicorn and a tentacalien? Sign me up my dudes. Star Twinkle is a fun series and has a lot of things going for it, while also having weird similarities to Smile sometimes like soccer related attacks from good big sisters and prim and proper arrow girls.

The characters as always really make the show I feel when it comes to Precure and Lala is adorable enough to carry it entirely herself? But the enthusiasm of Hikaru is always fun because it usually just involves her being really into outer space and everything in it. Hey there's even Elena who is Mexican-Japanese and the show even explores a bit of her growing up being different from others so like, that's pretty cool I think? If it helps little kids learn to accept others and be cool through lil hermit crabs and dog space police officers, I think that's a real good thing.

...Now Precure time is over but I'm looking forward to next year's offering and seeing what old ones we go after next. (Spoilers, we will probably do Max Heart and Fresh!)...

How Heavy are the Dumbbells You Lift?

So this series has some problems in that like...wow sometimes during the exercise segments of the show, it just gets way too horny like...I dunno if I needed to see sensei in nothing but a bedsheet to show off how she worked her lats fellas. But I digress.

The main reason this show is on here is because it affected me enough to actually look at myself and start wanting to become healthier? Like the show is just a framing device for jokes and showing off exercise routines but the characters are all really sincere and the translation of the opening is even moreso? Like I feel this show helped me out a lot and I'm gonna let you all know about it cuz maybe it can help you out too if you need it.

I don't have a whole lot more to say but I will leave you with the opening I mentioned. Turn on the captions for this banger and remember that you can do it too!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxi2Y4-NNXY

Wasteful Days of High School Girl

Hey, so can I say something amazing? Much like Asobi Asobase last year, this series was a very weird comedy that I absolutely ended up loving a lot in the end. The cast is full of delightful idiots, one aptly named Baka by her friends being the standout moron of the cast. The title pretty much says it all but you will find all sorts of high school girls here just wasting their youth away in their favorite ways.

You want a girl who draws BL doujin while listening to vocaloid tracks? We gotchu. What about a girl who is more invested in micro organisms in Petri dishes than her friends? Yo, we're set. A dipshit chuuni who climbs on top of absolutely anything tall and regularly needs to be rescued/leap out of trees because of it? Yea, that's here too. The show is not afraid to be weird any chance it gets and there's something I can respect about that. This series also had one of my number one laughs in an anime this year in one of the last episodes too and it still makes me laugh as I recall it right now.

Also like Asobi Asobase, it has the plus of having a lovable witch girl who is as pure as she is into weird occult shit. Majo you're a sweetie. Even if your room is creepy.

The Demon Girl Next Door

This show feels like something that should have come out about 5 years ago in terms of animation style, story set up, characters and even the jokes. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing though because not only is it pleasant and cute, it also knows when to step back from teasing its unfortunate main character. Shamiko, the demon girl formerly known as Yuko by everyone who isn't her family, is a kind of pitiful character and this series could easily just make jokes that punch down and humiliate her way more than it did.

Thankfully, the show actually does it's best to show that she is comic relief but also that she is genuinely a good person. She's not very good at being a demon as she is still learning so maybe she gets easily tricked by resident blase magical girl Momo more than she should. However, she will go out of her way to make sure her rival is eating more than the crappy instant food she frequently microwaves. Like I said, it's ultimately a silly, kind of dated feeling series but the character interactions are nice and it's just genuinely good

hearted to see these girls become friends, even if sometimes it's due to trickier. The show makes sure not to be mean at all times to Shamiko compared to say Satania in Gabriel Dropout's treatment, or the snake girl in that Dropkick show I dropped after one episode. Shamiko is good and hopefully one day she will be able to use her demon powers to rule the world so her family can have a bigger, non cursed, budget to live on.

O Maidens in Your Savage Season

Puberty is hard. Puberty is also maddening, wanting to drive you up the wall with new urges you are not used to. Simple joys like trains are replaced with weird videos you order off websites or somehow get from the back of a video store. Puberty is an inherently frantic time but it's also kind of funny if you think about it enough.

Maidens explores the tales of the Literature Club members as they go through this important stage of life and that's the fun of this series. All of the girls are each trying to find out exactly what it is they want out of a relationship. Is it just friendship? Is it Ess Ee Ecks? There's a lot of fun to be had as the series goes on. Whether it be Kazusa trying to get a bit further with a childhood friend, President Rika questioning her stance on relationships being even proper to have in high school or the writing adventures of HItoha going to sex chatrooms, there is a lot of different things going on in this show.

It's got a very good sense of drama as well; there were more than a few episodes where I found myself worried about what would happen next and hoping things would be ok. Niina's arc is very intense and gave me creeper vibes any time her old mentor appeared. The show is very good in general at just showing emotions and none of it felt like it was shoehorned or phony. The writing is top notch and I love all these girls. Puberty is a weird time but...they got this I'm sure.

Here are a couple of other shows I watched that didn't come out this year but enjoyed a lot!

SSSS.Gridman

Thank God Trigger was able to come back from its previous offering to give us Gridman. At first I was afraid that all of its Transformers color scheme easter eggs were just trying to lure me in with a mediocre show. This was not the case because Gridman just rules hard. A sequel/spinoff to the old 90's series, localized here as Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad, this show was a love letter from the creators to the show and other tokusatsu shows in general.

Kaiju appear to devastate the city, shown from low angles that just make it seem even more like you're watching an old toku show. The toyetic nature of Gridman's various powerups and the design of Gridman himself just further pay homage to this. There was one Kaiju for a moment I swear you could see a string operating it (for the record, it was not a string but was in fact part of the Kaiju). It's not just a cheap nostalgic trap though because the animation is superb, the action is top notch and the main theme song just kicks ass. This is a really cool series and if you have any passing interest in toku shows, are a Trigger fan, or like seeing Actionmaster Thundercracker's color scheme, go and check this thing out!

Other highlights include another version of Inferno Cop and Rikka's mom who is always fun and good.

Dirty Pair (TV series)

Dirty Pair is a series I watched a good chunk of before but never actually finished. Thanks to the #DirtyDecempair hashtag though, I finally went and did it and well...Dirty Pair is still really good y'all. It's got space babes who kick ass and are not afraid to go after hunks along the way. Seriously, it's great when you watch a show older than you and it lives up to its hype.

Kei and Yuri are really good characters because they will snipe at each other but in the end, they are still besties and will mess up anything that gets in their way. I appreciate that they always try to get more PTO and pay out of their boss. Even more, I appreciate that the chief will put up with all their shit, whether it be the aforementioned blackmailing for vacation or the sheer amount of destruction they leave in their wake,  and still is 100% behind them. He knows they're the best he has and nothing will get in their way.

So yea, Dirty Pair. Still a good show over 30 years later. You should check it out next December! Or sooner, whatever!

That abut wraps up my list of anime I watched this year, but I'm also gonna throw a little bonus round on you! Some anime movies I watched and liked! Lightning round go!

Promare Good fucking movie, good fucking soundtrack. Good Trigger things this year. It lives up to its hype for sure. Go see this when it is out on DVD and Bluray!

Sound Euphonium - Our Promise: A Brand New Day This was a nice movie that felt like a good third season condensed into about 2ish hours.

Love Live! Sunshine!! The School Idol Movie: Over the Rainbow I actually like the music from this one more than the movie itself but seeing Ruby's arc gaining confidence is good and I love it.

Bonus Saint Snow Track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUNNWxK2Dfs

Redline A movie I kept meaning to see and finally did thanks. Stylish and cool as hell, and the dub is really good too.

Dragon Ball Super: Broly They made Broly a compelling character finally, holy shit. Also some good Frieza comedy.

KonoSuba! Legend of Crimson Imagine a village full of dipshit chuuni wizards. This movie was fun and funny as shit. Warning: It does have one awkward joke related to gender but it thankfully passes by it real quick.

So I think this is my list. I hope you enjoy it. The next time you'll see one from me will be in the distant future of 2020! Hopefully things will be cool by that point to go with the good anime.

[moretinyideas]

Sparkles On The Water [.5] | Do Kyungsoo

[5] Lunar Myths Saga Story Two

genre: wolf!kyungsoo x mermaid!female reader (oc - wang inhui) (ft male oc - wang junhui)

chapter summary: (PART ONE) The events over the past day effects the whole pack, should Euina be allowed to know the truth? hat would happen if she’s not? Kyungsoo has always been more observant than others but then again, he’s always away... visiting you in his dreams.

words: 2055

SO HERE IS THE NEXT INSTALMENT AND IT”S A PART ONE. I decided a long time ago that I would have several stories intertwine into one big one - like a tv show (the reason why it’s called Season One) AND IT’S KYUNGSOO!! I hope it wasn’t too hard to understand, but i’m in one with this y/n (inhui) simply because she’s a mermaid and I love mermaids.

edit: this is a part one, I felt bad for not updating sooner because it was taking me forever to finish so... here? :)

Songs for the chapter? Young by Baekhyun and Loco, Sheep Relift by Yixing and Alan Walker and the entire Daft Punk discography :D edit: and Redbone by Childish Gambino. Also shoutout to the three 45 minute nail art videos I watched at 5am when I got it by inspiration and needed something in the background to sooth my aural mind.

tags; @marshmallow-phd @bri-ne @high-on-food @asslikegilinsky @chanyeolol aand @xingminded is the newest addition to the tag fam :D - let me know if you’d like to be tagged!! although I'm sure Tumblr hates me and never actually sends the motifs to anyone!

[ml] - bc it’s getting a lil confusing I decided to just link the master list | part 2

Hello

KYUNGSOO

It was a strange thing, having an actual child in the house – since Euina was a child and not a hyperactive wolf like Baekhyun or Chanyeol. It had been a few centuries since they themselves were children and, it wasn’t like they didn’t like children, the pack just weren’t particularly used to them anymore. The sisters, Sehun’s mate Yuna and her thirteen-year-old sister Euina, had been at the pack house for a total of four hours. Both girls asleep on one another on one of the couches in the pain room.

Kyungsoo had always been an early riser, even as a young boy he would be awake by eight in the morning at most and had been awake when the members who had gone out, came back. He hadn’t slept yet, but he noticed straight away that Sehun wasn’t with them – also that Baekhyun wasn’t wearing the sweatpants he had left in anymore – and simply assumed something bad had happened.

He was right, as per usual. Although none of them expected it to be another hour before they even heard the sound of a car coming up the driveway. Danbi, especially, had been biting at her nails in worry for their youngest member. When they came through the door, Sehun’s mate entering first – holding two bags of her back and something furry in her hands – while Sehun wandered in not long after her, Kyungsoo’s first thought was: who is he carrying?

And then, is that a cat?

Apparently, the sleeping child Sehun carried on his back was the sister of his mate, whom wouldn’t leave her alone overnight. Kyungsoo admired Yuna’s sense of loyalty, he had to admit, even if the young girl shouldn’t know of the existence of Were’s. Sehun had laid her down of a couch, her small frame unmoving apart from the steady rise and fall of her rhythmic breathing.

“So, you must be Yuna.” Was the first thing Kyungsoo had said to the newest mate. Yuna simply nodded, holding the steel-grey cat to her chest in what Kyungsoo assumed to be a calming tick for her nervousness.

“I don’t know you rules? Or whatever, about telling people about werewolves but we, I, haven’t told her anything yet.” Yuna spoke, before Sehun could open his mouth. “I don’t even know what I’d tell her.”

“Usually it’s only mates, for humans that is.” Junmyeon began, as Yuna took a seat next to her sister.

“Although there are always exceptions.” Sehun chipped in before any other word can be said. Kyungsoo assumed it was to reassure his mate, his wolf having spoken the words for him as a reflex. He watched as Sehun sat next to Yuna; as Euina curled herself into her sister’s side; as Yuna seemed to relax a little when Sehun’s hand landed on her knee. It was what he did. He observed, listened, understood. He had not yet experienced the full pull of the mate bond – for he and his mate had not officially met – but, he understood Sehun’s need to cut their ‘leader’ off.

Junmyeon, unfazed, pulled Danbi closer to his chest and nodded. “Danbi’s mother was an exception, we know that sometimes it’s necessary.” He smiled. “However, she did have to get approved through the voting, and we’ll have to wait until everyone is awake.”

“And when Yixing is back.” Kyungsoo added.

And so, Yuna decided that she would get some sleep, telling Sehun to wake her up later, when more people were awake. Kyungsoo decided to try and sleep as well, departing to his bedroom with a quiet “goodnight.” He faintly heard Junmyeon tell Sehun to sleep as well. That he was injured, and they would wake him up later.

His room wasn’t the biggest, but it also wasn’t the smallest. It was a part of the newest section of the house – one wall had been replaced with a wall of windows. Kyungsoo liked it, he could view the surrounding forest and when the sky was clear he could see the ocean. He had always liked the ocean, the water had always given him a sense of comfort – which had always confused him, given his affinity for earth. When they had moved to the coast line (almost 100 years ago) Kyungsoo designed this room specifically because it faced the ocean. He didn’t give the others a reason. When they had moved, the building they bought (that Junmyeon, Yifan and Minah bought) wasn’t nearly as big as it stood now, with only five bedrooms, a kitchen, two dining rooms and two parlour rooms. So, when they expanded, Kyungsoo and Luhan decided they’d take care of it. Luhan’s gift of telepathy helped the design of each different members room to fit their personalities quicker than it would have been if they asked them – everyone knows that Tao, Sehun and Baekhyun could talk for decades.

Additionally, when they moved Kyungsoo met his mate. Given he thought he was going delirious for a solid year, dreaming of mermaids – or one mermaid in particular. He had never tried to talk to her, or maybe he had and was always woken up, but when she finally turned to look at him – he knew. This mermaid was his mate and he found out during a dream. Only Luhan knows (so consequently so does Minseok and Sehun but they can keep a secret) of his ‘visits’ with her.

He fell asleep quicker than he thought.

He learnt very quickly why he saw you in his dreams. It was the first time the two of you talked. You said “hello”and so did he, and the next sentences were to acknowledge the other as mates and then, you told him one of the secrets of the merfolk.

“Mermaids don’t call them ‘mates’. We call them our ‘fated one’.” You smiled at him, a dimple appearing on your left cheek. In thisdream state you were sat on what looked like a giant jellyfish. Kyungsoo remembered you telling him that while you had control of these dreams, they were normally based on what your actual surroundings were. You told him that you fell asleep on a smack of moon jellies, small translucent and bioluminescent bells that could never sting you (a perk of being a mermaid) but didn’t want to overwhelm him the sheer amount of jellyfish you were around. You told him that Moon Jellies were your favourite, that you loved sleeping on them and that they let you because you were a great conversationalist. That made him smile.

You always made him smile.

“-and mermaids can always visit their fated one during shared dreams.” You explained. “It happens when we’re asleep at the same time. We’ll fall out of it when either of us wakes up.” Kyungsoo believed he could listen to you talk for a millennium and never get jaded.

He was surprised when he saw you, considering it was almost seven in the morning and the two of you usually met in the dreams during the middle of the night. You must not have risen with the change of tides like you normally do. When your form became more visible and Kyungsoo could see your beautiful smile his own face formed a smile too. However, when he took note of your tired eyes and how your smile wasn’t real his expression dropped. The two of you were surrounded by darkness, not having the energy to conjure up a visual.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

“Why are you only just sleeping now?” You asked him back. He noted that you had deflected his question.

“Something happened with the pack when I was about to head to bed. Junmyeon called at around four to say Sehun had been in an altercation. He wanted someone to be awake when they got back, just in case. I was already awake, so I just stayed up.” He explained. You nodded. The two of you fell into a short silence. Looking at you he could tell you were stressing over something. Your tail, long and shimmery fading from a teal blue to a teal green (with pale pink accents in your fins), wasn’t shining as bright as usual and the smaller blue scales that lined your neck were darker than usual.

“Are you okay?” He repeated his earlier question. In this dream state he was able to hold you, to feel you and soon you were in his arms. It was a weird sensation as he never felt like he was submerged in water, but he could quite clearly feel the thinness of your tail fins when they brushed against his legs. He could feel the juxtaposition between the coolness of your tail and the heat you radiated. He hadn’t asked yet, but he often wondered what sensations you felt when wrapped up around him.

You sighed. “Things have…” You paused, laying your head on his shoulder. “Things have become complicated.” There have been many times over the past hundred years where you have explained your situation to Kyungsoo. Your ambition and drive to be a good daughter, your loyalty towards your mother and father always contradicting your own personal wants to get away. You wanted to explore. You wanted to have your legs for more than one day during the Lunar Moon. You wanted to find him, to be with him and love him with your whole being. You told him how it was unheard of to have a fated one be one of the ‘landfolk’(as your father ever-so-lovingly told you) and how you were scared of leaving your family behind and not being accepted back in.

You shared your status as a part of one of the royal lines of your kingdom. How your parents would take over after the current king passed. You told him that while you had no siblings of your own, you thought of JunHui, your mother’s sister’s son, as one. Junhui wasn’t much younger than you and often shared your desire to leave for land.

“My desire to come to you, to land, is higher than ever.” You finally whispered. “My father has betrayed my mother, with her sister.” Your words were slow. “Junhui is my brother. By blood.

“Mother is livid, she and father have been yelling for a day now. Junhui is distraught, it took a few hours to calm him down enough for him to sleep. Our home has been ringing for hours on end – mothers’ affinity for sonar is truly something. She banished my aunt from the castle, told her she wasn’t to set ‘one inch of a fin within the outer boarders of the kelp that lines our plot’ or she’ll curse her. I don’t know how she’d curse her own sister. I’ve never seen my mother so mad.” You finished your small rant. “I’m scared.”

Kyungsoo pulled you closer, your head tucked underneath his. “Then come.” He whispered. Maybe he was being selfish and maybe what you needed to do was stay but, you were scared more than ever before, and it had been one hundred years. He was probably one of, if not the, most patient wolfs of the pack but even his patience could wear thin.

“It’s been on my mind since the news came out. I don’t want to be here anymore.” You mumbled against his collar. “But I can’t leave Junhui, especially not now.”

“Then bring him as well.” Kyungsoo didn’t like how quickly his words spilled from his lips but, he couldn’t come to regret saying them. You pulled away from him slightly, just enough to look into his eyes. A bet of silence surrounded you. You nodded.

“Tell me where on Earth you are. I’ll find you in no time.”

A flare of hope raised in his chest as he told you. Even down to the geological co-ordinates he had memorised for this specific reason. He saw your eyes widen in surprise, mouth drop open to reply but, he was torn away from the dream as he was shaken awake. When he opened his eyes, the face of Jongin stood above him.

“Junmyeon-hyung sent me to wake you.” The younger boy smiled in apology, seeing the glare Kyungsoo had sent his awakener. He wouldn’t know that you were shocked as to how close the two of you really were.

part 2

[truthbeetoldmedia]

The Bold Type 2x09 "Trippin'" Review

Can you believe we’re already nine episodes into the second season of The Bold Type? The only episode that remains is the season finale, perfectly set up by this week's episode. I mentioned before that if this show does anything well, it’s wrapping up the season, and this one is no exception.

In this episode, Jane spends almost the whole thing drunk and/or high, which was super entertaining to watch. (She also does a great rendition of “Torn” while drunk at a bar. Damn, Katie Stevens!)

However, things don’t start out so carefree for Jane — the episode begins with Ben handing her a binder full of information about her possible fertility choices moving forward. Ben is still being weird, I see. Here, have a binder full of terrifying life choices! Brought to you by none other than your boyfriend! I mean, there’s close up photos of cells and people in MRI scans… not the most comforting thing to look at.

I know Ben is only trying to help, but it’s very obvious that this isn’t the kind of help that Jane wants. She already has a doctor she can consult with on these issues, she doesn’t need another one. The purpose of a boyfriend and the purpose of a doctor are two very different things, and Ben seems to only be fulfilling one of those. I’m not  alone in thinking this, either. Later on in the episode Jane calls the binder “fertility preservation for dummies” and laments to Kat and Sutton that he’s acting like he knows what’s best for her without asking her how she feels.

After a rough morning of dealing with this, Jane runs into Pinstripe in the elevator. Jane needs the comfort that a distraction can bring, and she chooses Pinstripe over Ben. They go to a bar for lunch and have a contest about who can fit the most olives in their mouth — super cute, right? And exactly what Jane needs.

We also see a new dilemma beginning for Jane in this episode: what to do about Pinstripe? Last season they were friends with benefits, and Jane broke it off because it was too casual. She wanted more, and she knew that Pinstripe wasn’t that kind of guy. But, in this episode, we see some growth on that front. Pinstripe is taking life (and Jane) more seriously; he can see that something is stressing her out and he asks her about it, something that Season 1 Pinstripe never would have done.

Later on in the episode he tells her that he hopes he can be more than just her “beer o'clock” guy, and credits her for encouraging him to pursue writing his book. I’m sensing a set up for Jane in the finale: Ben, the guy who is basically her doctor that she occasionally has sex with, or Pinstripe, the guy who (in Jane’s words, people) “gets her” more.

Kat has a dilemma of her own this episode, but it’s more professional than personal (although there are some developments there, so stay tuned). Scarlet is launching a new and improved website, and during one of the pre-launch meetings Jacqueline drops a bombshell on Kat and co: the new website will no longer allow people to comment on any articles, videos, etc. Kat disagrees with this venture immediately; when they do get offensive or hostile comments they’re very quickly deleted, and disabling comments will take away the reader discussions that make the site and the magazine so vibrant.

I have to agree here — maybe if one particular article is sparking some vitriol then disable the comments on that one, but not the whole site. The whole point of Scarlet is to both start important conversations and have fun ones, and without comments the magazine is simply shouting into the void. Not to mention that people can and will still comment, but they’ll do it via Twitter and social media rather than directly on the website itself, which would take away a significant portion of web traffic.

In a panic, Kat decides to talk to Richard about the issue. Richard and Jacqueline have a great relationship that’s based in mutual respect, so she figures Richard would be the best person to get the point across to Jacqueline. This idea backfires, and Jacqueline instead takes issue with Kat trying to go around her rather than take her answer on the subject.

Now, this is a little uncharacteristically cold for Jacqueline, but it makes sense given the circumstances. On the day of the new website launch there was an article published, accusing Jacqueline of fading from relevance and importance at Scarlet. So, it’s not a surprise that Jacqueline feels the need to defend her judgement.  

Kat’s worries are confirmed later on when the launch results in almost no web traffic increase and the response to the disabled comments was universally lambasted. Jacqueline calls Kat, asking her for advice, which results in Jacqueline enabling comments and publishing a piece about the importance of community discussion and involvement.

While quickly resolved, the issue with the Scarlet website sparked a realization for Kat. During this really stressful and confusing time she only wanted to seek out Adena’s company, not anyone else. In this episode the three girls take a small road trip to Sutton’s hometown in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and while there Kat develops a connection with a local bartender. She’s hesitant to go home with her, though, and Jane is confused: isn’t sex with a hot stranger the perfect thing to distract from the drama going on at work? Well, not for Kat.

In the past few episodes we’ve seen Kat and Adena make their relationship an open one, so Kat can explore her sexuality while still being emotionally attached to Adena. At first it was awkward for Kat, but now her issue isn’t getting past having sex with strangers: she realizes that she wants to be with Adena and only Adena, and that she doesn’t find comfort in their open relationship anymore.

For a relationship that’s been rocky the whole season, this is great news, right? They do end up getting back together, but there’s still some tension: Kat asks Adena to go to breakfast, but she turns her down in order to work on her art some more. It’s obvious this makes Kat uneasy and a little upset.

This is where my issue starts: I am not a fan of how Kat has treated Adena this season. She hasn't been mean or rude to Adena, but she has been a little selfish, and this episode is no exception. Why, you ask? Didn’t Kat just opt out of an open relationship to spend more time with Adena? Yes, but when you look at the season as a whole, there is a clear divide of give and take, with Kat doing almost all of the taking.

Early in the season we saw Kat become jealous of Adena, constantly questioning her relationships with women and being paranoid that they would run into one of Adena’s exes wherever they went. In the very next episode, Kat kisses a strange girl at a club. She tells Adena right away, but she’s obviously upset. Adena offers the option of an open relationship so Kat can explore her sexuality, so Kat starts casually seeing other women. She also tells Adena about this, when Adena specifically told her that they should keep Kat’s adventures separate from their relationship.

Now, in this episode, we see Kat run back to Adena when she needs something from her (in this case, comfort). I don’t think this is malicious or manipulative, but the truth is clear: Kat is doing whatever she wants while Adena just takes it.

This is especially one sided when you think of how much Adena has sacrificed to be with Kat: she’s in a country that doesn’t want her, away from family, struggling to look for work. While Adena CHOSE to stay with Kat, I still can’t help but wonder when Adena’s needs will take precedent.

Now to Sutton, who has finally gotten a great story that doesn’t involve her job or a relationship. As we learned last episode, Sutton is going to Paris (!!!), so naturally, she needs her birth certificate for the passport application. This is where that road trip to Pennsylvania comes in: the only way Sutton can get her original birth certificate fast enough for the application is to pick it up herself.

We finally get to meet the infamous Babs Brady, Sutton’s unstable, hard-drinking mother. Sutton is on edge almost immediately after setting out on the road trip, bracing Kat and Jane for the trainwreck that is her mother. Sutton even tries to go directly to her old home and find the document herself, wanting to avoid seeing her mother at all. Unfortunately for Sutton the spare key is missing, so her and the girls head over to the local dive bar, Dicey Riley’s, to wait for her mother to show up. When Babs does show up, Jane and Kat are confused: she’s put together, clean, and not drunk.

Despite this obvious positive change, Sutton is still pretty hostile and outright rude to her mother. She’s still living in the past, unwilling to listen to her mother talk about her new job at Dicey Riley’s (she even quips that it’s only for the free drinks), her seven months of being sober, and her intention to go to nursing school. Sutton maintains that her mother is a wreck and that she’s still living in a rat infested house, neither of which are true anymore.

This isn’t as simple as Sutton simply being rude and in a hurry to get her birth certificate. Anyone who has an addict in their life, especially a parent, is familiar with what I’ve just outlined. It’s not that Sutton doesn’t care that her mother has been sober and has a job: it’s that she’s heard it before, a million times, and each time she gets her hopes up everything just comes crashing down.

A big shoutout to Meghann Fahy for acting her ass off this episode; it’s rare that we get such a genuine portrayal of the child of an addict coming to terms with a parent’s sobriety. That’s mostly because most people would think that’s a good thing, and it is, but it’s not that simple. Sutton is trying so hard to keep her mother as she was because it’s easier; it’s familiar, and almost safe. She KNOWS her mother is an addict, she KNOWS nothing she says or does will change that, so she cut all ties to her mother and her hometown and committed herself fully to her new life in New York. If her mother is sober, she has to revisit this familiar place again, and brace herself for the very real possibility that it won’t last forever. The happiness of a parent being sober is also accompanied by the 24/7 dread of waiting for them to fall off the wagon once again.

Sutton isn’t easily convinced — what’s to say that this time is different? Kat tells her that they have each other. Sutton has a great support system in Jane and Kat, and she’s no longer alone in dealing with any of her problems. If her mother stays sober, that’s fantastic (and to Jane’s point, at least she has a mother). If she doesn’t, she has two fantastic friends to support her.

So — What’s going to happen in Paris? Who will Jane choose (if anyone)? What will happen to Jacqueline? What about Kat and Adena? Finale episode, bring it on.

The Season 2 finale of The Bold Type airs August 7 at 8/7c on Freeform.

Alyssa’s episode rating: 🐝🐝🐝🐝  

[pidgelings]

Day 4: Pets

Read on Ao3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/12882291/chapters/29520435

Pidge isn’t sure how, but her “trash bugs” somehow escaped her room and now she needed to find them.

Day 4 prompt for Pidgance Month done! Quick shoutout to @myeverlastingship for helping me figure out what I should’ve focused on for this prompt (it was either going to be the trash bugs or the mice) and for helping me figure out the Spanish word for something! I will always suck with Spanish -- Btw, side note: The video that’s linked to the question was just the inspiration for that particular reference, not what actually occurred. XD

Anyways, enjoy !!

Normally, things were pretty calm in between missions for Team Voltron. However, that was “normally.” Today seemed to be an exception for one Paladin in particular.

“Dammit! Where the quiznak could they have gone?!”

And there’s that Paladin in particular.

Currently, Pidge found herself running all throughout the Castleship in search of two little creatures she happened to bring back with her from the trash nebula she landed in when the team got separated all that time ago. Somehow, up to this point, she managed to keep her… pets(?) hidden away from the others, but somehow they’ve managed to escape her room while she was in her hangar.

Sure, they probably weren’t going to cause any trouble as they tended to just watch as people did things, but she was worried about how the team would react to them. She loved the little guys and she didn’t want to get rid of them. This is why she found herself a little scatter minded at the moment.

Of course, a sudden yell from the next hall over made her thoughts focused as she ran to the source. It was Lance who had yelled and when she finally saw him, she also found her two trash bugs, no doubt being the cause for his yelling.

“PIDGE! WHAT THE HELL ARE THESE THINGS?!” Lance’s eyes shot over to Pidge as he tried to back away from the two creatures floating in front of him. The girl in question groaned. Of course, they’d be drawn to the guy that they always hung out on the trash version off.

“Lance, calm down, they’re not going to hurt you…” Her voice was only a mutter as she walked over to the panicking boy and her pets.

“HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?!”

“They’re mine.”

“WHAT?!” Pidge clicked her tongue a couple of times, causing the bugs to turn and look at her. They floated over to her soon enough, allowing Lance to relax.

“See? They won’t hurt you.” Lance shot her a nervous look.

“What are those things…?”

“I can’t say I know for sure, but remember when we all got scattered across the universe?” Lance nodded. “Well, when I was alone on that trash nebula, a bunch of these little guys were my only company. These two in particular actually came with me into my lion and I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of them… So… they’ve been kinda living in my room this whole time.”

“Wait, you’re telling me that Allura and Coran allowed you to keep two… I don’t know-“

“I call them trash bugs.”

“-Trash bugs, and they wouldn’t let me keep a cool-looking alien plant?”

“Okay, first off, that plant was actually quite dangerous to all of us? The smell caused you to practically become as high as the stars.” Lance rolled his eyes.

“I wasn’t high, Pidge.”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll remember that when I think back to your question that you asked while under the plant’s influence…”

“What question was that?”

“‘If your leg gets cut off, does it hurt?’” The silence from Lance only proved her point. “Anyways, secondly, they don’t actually know.”

“Wait, seriously?”

“I’ve kept these little guys a secret from everyone. You’re the first person to see them besides me.”

“Pidgey, I can’t believe you’re such a deceiver!”

“Lance, you thought I was a boy until I told you otherwise. Plus, I hacked into the Garrison how many times?”

“…Point taken, but still! How have you kept them a secret.”

“Well, they don’t usually leave my room so that makes hiding them a bit easier… But, of course, they decided to sneak out today. How they did that, I have no idea…” She hummed with a shrug as she felt one of them land on her head.

“…Y’know, they’re kinda cute when they aren’t scaring the quiznak out of you…” The blue trash bug took Lance’s words as a welcome to float back over to him. The Paladin held out his hand and allowed the little guy to land in his hand before he began to pet it with his other hand. “Do they have names?”

“Uh… I never had time to name them before…”

“What?! We need to fix that then!”

“Um… Can we not do that here though? These guys are still kinda a secret, remember?”

“Oh, right! Welp! Lead the way!”

“Huh?”

“…To your room? You said you keep them in there, right?”

“Oh, right-“ With that, Pidge, along with Lance, quickly headed back to her room.

Of course, during the walk, Pidge had a mini-realization. None of the other Paladins knew about the Trash Paladins she made. Not only that, but she had kept Trash Lance and Trash Hunk when she came back. Oh no…

She stopped in front of her door, hesitating slightly.

“You okay, Pidge?” Lance’s voice came from behind her.

“Uh, yeah! I just kinda remembered you haven’t seen my room before… It’s pretty messy…” Maybe he wouldn’t notice Trash Lance and everything would be fine!

“A messy room won’t bother me for a few minutes, but you should ask me to help you clean it up sometime.” Pidge chuckled.

“Unlikely. The messiness is rather comforting.”

“Suit yourself,” Lance hummed with a shrug as Pidge opened the door. The two headed in and the Cuban realized that she wasn't kidding when she said her room was messy. “Geez, how do you live like this?”

“I could ask you the same with your beauty routine,” Pidge shot back with a roll of her eyes.

“Excuse me, my face masks help make this,” he gestured to his face, “a solid 10 every day!”

“Is that on the PH scale because you’re pretty basic, Lance…” There was nothing better than seeing Lance’s offended face in response to her words.

“You wound me, Pidgey!”

“Serves you right for giving me that stupid nickname…”

“It’s a great nickname!” Pidge was unamused.

“Anyways, you wanted to help me name these little guys, so shoot me some ideas… And, please, don’t make them as bad as ‘Pidgey…’” Lance scoffed at her comment before looking at the two trash bugs. At that moment, the two creatures decided to head over to their favorite resting spot, Trash Lance. Pidge felt her heart stop for a moment as Lance watched them head over to her creation.

“Woah, what the heck is that thing?” Oh great. Is it too late for Pidge to launch herself into the empty void of space?

“Uh, what ‘thing?’” Sure, Pidge. Playing dumb was so going to work here. She watched as Lance walked over to the trash version of himself and gestured to it.

“This ‘thing!’ What is it?” Quick! Should Pidge lie or tell the truth? Uh…

“Okay, so that’s a long story…”

“I have time.”

“Ugh… Okay, so while I was stranded on the trash nebula, I actually started to get… worried… I didn’t realize how close I had become with all you guys so when I was isolated and all by myself, I made statues out of you guys so I wouldn’t feel so alone…” Her eyes were locked on the ground, refusing to meet Lance’s.

“And you kept mine when you came back?”

“…Yours and Hunk’s… He’s right behind you.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lance turn to check before facing her again.

“Why keep ours?”

“I don’t know!” Pidge’s eyes shot up to meet Lance’s. “I’ve known you two the longest and I guess I just…” Her voice trailed off. She knew that she kept Lance’s for a different reason than why she kept Hunk’s, so she couldn’t really bring herself to answer honestly. A chuckle snapped her out of her thoughts.

“Oh my god! That’s so cute!”

“What?”

“I knew you actually cared about us and this just confirms it! You made little trash versions of us just to keep you company!”

“Of course I care about you guys! Why wouldn’t I?” The soft look Lance gave her sent a shockwave through her system. The taller boy walked over to her before pulling her into a hug.

“We care about you too, Pidge… …Or, at least, I do.” Her eyes widened at his words as she hesitantly wrapped her arms around him. Did he even know what he was doing to her?

“…Thanks, Lance.” Her voice was soft as she spoke.

“No problem. I’m just speaking the truth.” The hug ended, much to Pidge’s displeasure. The two stood in silence for a bit, just looking at each other until Lance cleared his throat as a warmth spread across his cheeks. “So- Anyways- How about those names?”

“O-Oh, right-! Uh... Do you have any ideas?”

“We could call the green one ‘Pigeon.’” The playful smile on Lance’s face caused Pidge to groan with mock annoyance.

“Lance, no.”

“And we could call the blue one ‘The Tailor’ or just ‘Tailor’ for short!”

“Lance, are you naming them after us?”

“Maybe~”

“Okay, well, if you’re going to do that, can you at least give them better names?” She chuckled at Lance’s pout.

“Fine… How about… ‘Lluvia’ for the blue one?”

“‘Lluvia?’ Why Lluvia?”

“It means rain in Spanish and I’ve always loved the rain.” Pidge hummed in thought before nodding.

“Lluvia… I like it! Now, what about the green one?” Lance only shrugged.

“I think you should name the green one.”

“Hm…” Pidge hummed as she thought. Considering the close bond between the trash bugs, from what she could see, she felt it was only fitting to name the green one something that could be related to rain. “…How about Fern?”

“Like the plant?”

“Yeah! Lluvia and Fern are pretty close and I was thinking about how plants need water to grow so…” She could tell Lance understood what she meant by the soft chuckle he gave.

“Lluvia and Fern… Cute.” Pidge nodded in agreement. After a moment of silence, Lance spoke up again. “Hey, Pidge?”

“Hm?”

“You said plants need water to grow, right?”

“Um, yeah?”

“Well, I was talking to Allura about the lions a while ago and I found out that each lion was crafted with an element in mind.”

“Oh? That’s pretty cool.”

“Yeah, I thought so too. Anyways, it turns out that the Blue Lion is the Guardian Spirit of Water or something like that.”

“Interesting… What’s the Green Lion?”

“The Guardian Spirit of Nature.” Pidge’s eyes drifted to Lance who was already looking at her.

“Lance, are you suggesting something?” Her tone was playful.

“Well, I was just thinking that maybe you’d grow taller if you spent more time with me~” Pidge choked on her sudden laugh before punching him on the arm.

Yeah, she really did care about this dork.

…So did Lluvia and Fern.

[killushawn]

Song Tag Meme!

I got tagged by @driftingglass. Damn you I never do these, but of course it had to be about music. Who needs to work anyway. It’s not like I’m in sales on the last day of the month or anything.

RULES: If you can, list the top ten songs you have been listening to lately, and tag ten mutuals to do the same!

I don’t even know if I’ll tag anyone in the end, I hate trying to figure out ten people to tag lol 

These are in no particular order! Also please note my most listened to songs change SO OFTEN, so this list will probably be completely different in a week.

Fun fact about my process for falling in love with a song: My favorite music is something that tells an amazing story, with a beat drop that does a wonderful job of summarizing the story being told. That sounds crazy, but I hope my songs down below shed some light into what I’m trying to say. Anyway, here goes!

1. Made of Gold by Ruchir - Pretty near and dear to my heart right now. I can really, really relate to this song on a deeply emotional level. I’d recommend this song to anyone who’s been hurt in the past, and has finally found a relationship worth working to keep. The video is pretty dope too.

2. Without You (Fareoh Remix) originally by Avicii - I find it kind of funny that I’m mentioning this song right after the last one...but I think it deserves mention that this song can definitely make someone feel a connection to it, even if they’re in a happy relationship. Just because you’re in one now, doesn’t mean you always were. I fucking love this build up, and the beat drop is pretty decent as well. I liked the original, which really helped me to like this version.

3. One More Light (Steve Aoki Remix) originally by Linkin Park - Oh man, I never thought I’d find a beat drop that matched the intensity that this song brings to the table, especially after Chester’s death. I just want to give a shout out to Steve Aoki for taking such a bold and risky task on like remixing a song as emotional as this one, given the circumstances. And to @brookiebrockbrick for showing it to me.

4. Afterlife by Illenium - So, this song will probably always find its way into my top five. It’s just...the perfect song for me. The build up is not only gorgeous, sensual, and euphoric, but the drop is also mind-blowingly emotional. Remember what I said above about a song’s beat drop summarizing the story the words are trying to tell? Yeah, this song is the pinnacle of what that looks like to me. I’m also big on what picture was used to go along with the song, and this one is GORGEOUS. It literally looks like it moves, and while the song is playing, I can paint a story so clearly from the image. I can’t stress enough how amazing this is. If you listen to any song from this list, please let it be this one. I feel like I haven’t said enough on this song, but my god, I’m afraid if I don’t stop now, I’ll fill pages with my love and devotion to this track. 

5. True Feeling (BRNOUT Remix) originally by Galantis - OKAY this song needs some explaining. I’m not usually into these insanely hard beat drops, but FUCK. Anyone who knows my tastes in music knows how much I care about the pure amount of effort required to make a song. And not only does this song have an insanely complex first beat drop that is hard-style, the second beat drop is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT! It’s absolutely insane how much clear effort and work went into making this song.

6. Nobody Compares To You by Gryffin - GOD I WISH THIS SONG HAD A DIFFERENT MESSAGE. I’m all about connecting with music, and it’s impossible to connect with this song and be in a really happy relationship which fucking SUCKS because the tone, the way the words are said, and the pure love in both the voice and the music communicate so much here. It is honestly one of the biggest tragedies in my life right now, which sounds crazy, but this song is just so emotional. If anyone has a first love that they can’t seem to get over, no matter how many relationships they’ve been in, this song is for them. 

7. Go The Distance by Nanobii - OKAY, this song is going to be VERY different, but I had to give a shoutout to my boy Nanobii. Hercules and specifically this song have held a special place in my heart ever since I was a child, and I really, really like what he’s done with this song. The beat is more something I might have listened to back in 2012-2013 but STILL, it’s so nostalgic, and I’d recommend it for anyone who holds this story as near and dear to their heart as I have.

8.  Ready For It by Taylor Swift. If you haven’t watched this video yet, PLEASE DO. IT’S SO FUCKING GOOD. I also love the style change we’ve seen in her over the course of her last two music videos, as well as the clear effort she’s put into rebranding herself. It’s honestly been a pleasure to watch and I can’t wait to see what she comes out with in the future.

9.  Mr. Brightside (Two Friends Remix) originally by The Killers - Okay, this one is another one of those songs that will probably forever make it into at least my top ten. The lovely person who tagged me in this post originally hit the nail on the head when I first showed her this song, by saying how iconic the first four chords are to our generation. A remix that incorporates that so well, and does such a good job of making a beat drop that flows with a song as complex as this one? Thank you, Two Friends.

10. Silence (Illenium Remix) originally by Marshmello - Since I’m basically going on tour with Illenium, (I’m seeing his show so many times, oh my god) I have been listening to all of his music a lot more lately, especially this one and Afterlife. I know he’ll be playing this one on tour, and I can’t wait to hear it. This song’s existence at all is CRAZY. He literally just dropped an album a month ago, and within weeks, released a remix? HE NEVER DOES THAT. He usually goes into seclusion for YEARS. 

I don’t want to tag anyone because 1) I have too many people I’d like to tag, and I’d feel an immense sense of guilt forgetting anyone, and 2) I am spacing on who those people are almost entirely LOL. But PLEASE DO THIS. I LOVE seeing people’s music tastes. If I could make a living out of discovering why people love the music they do, I would.

I’m gonna stop now, oh lord. Well there goes my morning LOL

[tumblunni]

I was gonna (finally) continue playing Dream Daddy, and that just made me think.. does anyone else remember.. I think it was ‘Ahego Academy’? *googles* Okay, Asagao is how its spelled, alright oops.

But like.. the Normal Boots dating sim, whatever it is?? Wasn’t that such a WEIRD THING?

I know that Dream Daddy isn’t really made by the game grumps alone, they just published it and supported it and helped out. And it was obviously never intended to be an actual ‘date the game grumps’, so I dunno why it even reminded me of asagao but like... Still I kinda see it as a success story of what Asagao failed to be. Like.. in an abstract sense, as a game licensed by some famous youtubers.

Cos like.. Asagao was so WEIRD because it.. marketed itself as a normalboots dating sim, was so OVERWHELMINGLY buried in normalboots licensing, yet then didnt really deliver on the normalboots part. All the characters aren’t really the members of normalboots?? Like, they have their names and vaguely similar appearances but then their personalities are just various standard anime tropes with barely any resembelance beyond like.. catch phrase in-jokes and one guy has a robot bird. And without that... like.. its really just... any other generic ‘trying too hard to be fake japanese based on anime alone’ western VN game. Even more generic its a high school one... And its so WEIRD seeing these half-assed high school au versions of everyone! Why do they still have full giant beards?? Actually, why did they even make the decision to have the protagonist be underage and like.. reimagine everyone else underage too? Wouldnt it be simpler to just have the protag be someone in college dating the actual real normalboots members, without the ‘reimagining’ having to go so far that they barely resemble the original?

It honestly feels like some sort of other game that got a weird sponsored makeover at the last second. I don’t know the real history behind it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case? like, did normalboots actually make this game themselves or was it similar to dream daddy? cos thats what I mean about the comparison. Dream Daddy is a project published, supported and even voiceacted by the game grumps, its an official Game Grumps Games (tm) Game, but they weren’t really over the top and restrictive about getting their license on it. Honestly you wouldn’t even know it was published by them if not for the big PUBLISHED BY THEM sticker on the title screen and like.. recognising one voiceactor or one or two little affectionate visual gags to running jokes from the show. Its really just an unrelated game that these youtubers really liked and decided to support. And Asagao feels like it was also one of those, I’d be surprised if it wasn’t! Like, it would be an extra double fail if it was made by the normalboots club themselves and somehow failed to contain very much of them. (Nah, I mean, its not that bad, I don’t HATE it and I dont think it was unsuccessful or anything, it just wasnt what I expected...)

Also like... Dream Daddy just seems so much like the GGs were actually passionate about it? It doesnt seem like a cash grab. It wasn’t excessively plugged on their videos and like.. when people were like ‘oh the game grumps are making a game’, the game grumps themselves tweeted to clarify the actual writers and programmers, and were constantly supporting them through the game’s troublesome release schedule issues. And I dunno, I guess it just raised my opinion of the GGs a lot, and also because this is a really great and inclusive gay dating sim with so much genuine soul in it. I actually initially got scared away from buying it just because it was ‘a Game Grumps Games (tm) Game’, when it was first announced I was worried it would be some sort of joke project. And like.. when it was clarified it was a gay game in particular, i was DOUBLE worried it was gonna have some bigoted jokes n shit, like holy hell! And like even if it wasn’t offensive, it’d probably be a JOKE, right? I mean they do so many jokes about gay flirting and stuff on the show. But like.. they actually went and proved that they’re like The Only People On Goddamn Youtube that GENUINELY are ‘just making jokes’ and do really care about their LGBTQ fans. (Cos seriously who expected this to even have transgender representation too??? I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANOTHER GAY DATING SIM THAT INCLUDES TRANS CHARACTERS, EVER ) its like.. this is why I roll my goddamn eyes at shit like the jontron and pewdiepie controversies. they never do anything to genuinely apologise for what they do, and they CERTAINLY dont do anything to prove that they’re not bigoted! All their apologies are like ‘no stop yelling at me but also let me go back to continuing to act exactly the same every day’. And like.. when have they ever really done anything to aknowledge those parts of their fandom even exist, let alone given a huge shoutout to minority fans LET ALONE supported the release of a WHOLE GAME about gay and trans men AND VOICEACTED IT. I mean obviously they aren’t perfect, and I’m still uncomfortable with those kinds of jokes and I don’t find them funny, but still its reassuring to finally know what these guys actually feel about queer people, yknow? And it doesn’t feel like a shoehorned-in fake effort or anything, they were really involved in making the game and supporting it and like.. either they got the feels about the lines they were voiceacting or they’re just REALLY good actors, yo. I didnt know they could do really serious scenes too?? i didn’t know this was even gonna HAVE serious scenes, i thought it’d be one giant horrible gay joke aimed at the lowest common denominator of their fans, instead of such a genuine project aimed at the fans who feel kinda left out. So like.. yeah. I ended up starting to watch more game grumps again after this game came out. Good job, guys. (Tho seriously still I would prefer less of the lowest common denominator jokes, or at least like try and make more of a statement about like.. the OTHER minorities you joke about, too. The audience legit cannot tell whether you’re joking or you really believe that shit, considering how many other youtubers are doing legit bigoted stuff like every damn week nowadays.)

[fangirlingabout]

Since you are a big fan of cartoons what are your top 10 favorite cartoons of all time? Honorable mentions can be included

Oh! Oh, cool! You seriously don’t know how cool it is that someone would care to ask, thank you!

Also, sorry for the wait. Seriously, that was excessively sucky. Life likes to get busy at inconvenient times, you know?

But dang, that’s such a hard question… 

Only one way to do this right.

Dammit, Anon, This is Hard

I’m not the type of person to decide on ranks (or anything) very easily, so I’ll say this: some choices were easier than others.

I should also mention a lot of these choices are very personal, and if this were a more objective list of the best shows out there, it would be totally different. I also don’t pretend to always have the best taste, these really are just my favourites that I’ve seen. Sometimes I can recognize that one show is probably objectively better than one I like, but that won’t necessarily stop me from liking something. Basically, my list, my bias. 

Still, I’ll do my best to explain my choices for those of you who didn’t have the same experiences with these shows that I did. I assume you don’t live in my brain.

Honourable Mentions

Is it hard to believe that the honourable mentions section was harder to decide than the actual list?

There’s just so many shows I’ve enjoyed and I think deserve to be lauded. If you ask me, “Well, what about ____?! Where the hell was ____?!” it would probably fall in this category.

I’ll try to keep it short, though:

The Fairly Odd Parents - I don’t think you could’ve grown up in the early 2000s without encountering this show in some capacity, but I absolutely loved it growing up; I played FOP video games, I watched it every day after school, I even remember catching all the movies on TV whenever I could. It’s always had such a great sense of humour, combined with the jazzy stylistic choices that gave it that extra punch. More recent seasons aside, this one is a 2000s classic.

Over the Garden Wall - I watch this every October now. It’s absolutely spectacular. I think the only thing holding it back is sadly that it’s a miniseries—and it’s not like I would change that, the story needed to be told the way it was. But it’s become seasonal for me, so it’s a favourite but… only briefly.

Rick and Morty - Damn, I love this show. Just give it one more season and let the plot really start to kick in, it may start to climb this list

There are also plenty of shows that I think could be on here had I gotten to watch more of them, and some of those include:

Batman: The Animated Series

Danny Phantom

Sym-Bionic Titan 

And here are shows I once had a bit of an obsession with that in hindsight… was a bit unwarranted (again, I never claimed to have great taste):

Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi

Yin Yang Yo!

Total Drama Island/Action

With that out of the way, onto the list!

#10. South Park

What can I say about a comedy that’s antagonized censorship on TV 20 seasons? Well, for one, there are moments that genuinely reward you for caring about these characters for so long. For example, there’s a gut-punch of a two-parter, You’re Getting Old/Ass-Burgers that legitimately made fans question if the show was in danger of ending, with just how fatalistic it’s tone is.

They’ve even since made the transition from episodic to serialized season-long stories—to varying degrees of success, admittedly, but I don’t know if a show, especially one this well-established (this happened in season 18) has ever done that.

In a strange way, South Park’s a show that innovates. It quickly surpassed any other show on at the time for most edgy/boundary-pushing—to the point that its offensive humour wouldn’t be acceptable coming from anyone else but South Park (which isn’t to say I don’t understand when/if people have an issue with it, but… more on that in a sec)!

I’d also like to give special shoutout to the South Park Movie, and the recent South Park video games, the Stick of Truth and Fractured, but Whole—all three of which are jam-packed with South Park goodness.

Personal Reasons: When I was growing up this was the pinnacle in shows my mom didn’t want me to watch. And with what little of a rebellious streak I had, I took that to mean it needed my attention. 

I remember watching it late at night (which just made it more scandalous!) with my brother, and separately with my best friend at the time, Daniel. We loved that kind of raunchy, crude humour! And in hindsight, like I said, I know there’s been plenty of times when they’ve made jokes in poor taste, but I don’t know. Sometimes when you make fun of everyone equally, there can be room for some less tasteful jokes. Especially when being a boundry-pusher is a big part of your identity.

As the old saying goes, “It’s South Park: what did you expect?”

#9. Clone High

One of the more obscure choices on this list, but I’ve mentioned it from time to time for sure. Coming from the writing/directing team behind Lego: Batman, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and 21 Jump Street, Clone High was a short-lived 13-episode MTV comedy.

The premise was simple: clones of famous historical figures all go to high school together.

Done, simple as that. 

But what makes it so funny is how it parodies the high school drama genre while still existing as it’s own story with it’s own characters. Like, every episode is always announced as a “very special episode” and even in their short run, they managed to do the Drug episode, the holiday episode, the natural disaster episode, the dramatic Death episode, the class election episode—it just doesn’t let up.

Oh, and I’d like to mention Pan Pzza/Rebel Taxi did a stellar review that goes into the history surrounding the show along with some analysis of its content, so if I piqued you’re interest at all, you can find a more in-depth review over here.

Personal Reasons: This s a show my brother introduced me to. Watching videos or playing video games with my cool older brother was always awesome, so watching a show with him as tons of fun.

#8. Moral Orel

My god… this show is the absolute most brutal show I’ve ever loved. You can tell by my lists that I tend towards shows that deal with darker subjects in soft, even light-hearted ways, but this isn’t that kind of show.

Or, at least, the season that made it my 8th favourite show isn’t.

I should explain. Moral Orel was a show on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim that had a total of 3 seasons (with a prequel special that came out years after the fact), and for most of the first two seasons, it’s a vastly different show than in its third season.

From the second season’s finale onward, Moral Orel becomes one of the most bleak, bitter, heart-wrenchingly real shows on TV. It’s breath-takingly bitter.

The first two seasons largely center around the main character Orel Puppington and his religious adventures in his hometown of Moralton. It started as a parody of Christian cartoons, in particular the stop-motion/claymation Davey and Goliath. 

Basically, Orel would learn a lesson from an authority figure in town and misinterpret it to the extreme. It could make for some funny commentary now and again, but in truth it was nothing special.There were a few early episodes worth watching, like the Lord’s Prayer and The Best Christmas Ever, but if that’s all it had to offer, its charm would wear thin.

This, on the other hand, is no regular series.

The fact that it started out the way it did makes the reveal even more powerful. You see, those more upbeat first two seasons, where the morals are skewed and everything’s just a bit cheerier than it should be come crashing down when Orel’s father’s alcoholism is taken devastatingly seriously during a hunting trip in the two-part season finale “Nature” parts 1&2.

Nature marks a drastic turn in the series tonally. From there, the series shifts focus from just being about Orel to chronicling the lives of several members of the town in the aftermath and the days surrounding that infamous hunting trip. The third season even starts counting down each episode (Numb, for instance is 1 out of 13). 

And the reason for this is that as Orel lost faith in his father in that season finale, we, along with Orel, start to see all the people in his life in a different, sometimes disturbing light.

If I’m making it out to sound a bit on the unwatchable side, I understand, you don’t always want to watch something that will bring you down like that. But to sing its praises just a bit more, the reason it struck such a chord with me is because there’s such a humanity to it. There is hope somehow, and goodness in all this messed up stuff. 

Personal Reasons: I used to stay up late watching Adult Swim, or use the TV to fall asleep to. I managed to catch episodes now and again, so it hit me hard the first time I saw some of the darker or more bittersweet episodes. 

#7. Steven Universe

We jump from one of the harshest shows to one of the sweetest! And yeah, I was surprised this wasn’t higher, too

And maybe it could change as the series goes on, but in the meantime, wow is this a fantastic show! We’ve talked about it a number of times on FGA, but I don’t think that’s any reason to not sing it’s praises some more!

Premiering in 2013 on Cartoon Network, Steven Universe, as you probably know (because this is Tumblr), follows the titular Steven and his emotionally-driven life with the Crystal Gems, alien rebels from a far-off Homeworld. 

Properly referred to as “singing and crying,” Steven Universe slowly runs the gambit from gorgeously heartbreaking to sweetly uplifting, all the while feeling like a mellow, safe, and warm place to be.

Like many people have said in many different ways, it’s a show that explores relationships. All kinds of relationships. It’s made massive strides in LGBT+ representation in kids’ shows, presenting it without the pomp and circumstance of a “very special episode.”

The gradually unfolding plot has fans like me hooked, even if the slower pace and hiatus plague can leave us hanging for quite some time.

Personal Reasons: This is yet another show that I’ve gotten watch and talk about with my girlfriend, so I think I’ll always remember it fondly for that. Fangirling.

#6. Avatar: The Last Airbender

It’s what I consider to be the greatest show of all time… and it’s this far down on the list. There really is no justice in Bias Town.

One of the best purely serialized shows out on this list, Avatar is a perfect example of a simple three act story-structure. It tells a complete, satisfying story that needed no more and no less.

And in that time, it managed to find the perfect balance for everything. Rich, interesting world-building reflecting real-life cultures? Check. Fun plots that moved forward the overall story? Check. Likable complex characters that humanize the world so no one side is undeniably in the wrong? Check.

The only thing that took a while to grow on me was Avatar’s humour. Can’t explain why, but once I warmed up to it, there were episodes and moments that made me lose my shit.

It’s such a well-crafted story, and I could probably just go on and on about how well everything was developed, but sufficed to say, it would probably top my list for what’s objectively the best cartoon out there.

Personal Reasons: I’m pretty sure I’ve said this before, but I actually missed out on Avatar’s original run. I vaguely remember being interested by it, but never catching an episode in full.

Years later, I somehow stumbled across it by chance, and oh my god. Oh my god, you guys. I watched most of the second and third season in one weekend. I couldn’t stop.

#5. Spongebob Squarepants

In last year’s Nostalgia Month, I fangirled a little bit about Spongegbob, and if you read any of that, you’ll know I’ve always been a huge fan. It’s one of the cornerstone series of my generation (just take a look at the Ocean Man meme that was a thing for a while—that song is buried in the credits of the Spongebob Movie, so you would have had to sit through the credits to get that reference), along with Pokemon and Fairly Odd Parents, so again, I couldn’t not have some experience with it, but I was pretty much a super fan.

And there’s kind of a reason for that. I can’t say what it’s like now, but in its early seasons, it’s humour was surprisingly intelligent and stupidly funny. There’s definitely a difference between stupid characters and a stupid show, and so long as you can see that, you’ll find a charming undersea comedy that became a household name for a reason (at least initially).

Personal Reasons: God, where to start. For one, I have a fear of fish, but I love swimming and the sea. That fear developed in second grade, ironically around the time I would’ve been the deepest in my Spongebob phase. I think it helped, actually. There’s a reason I have a random anchor as a logo. 

And you know, there’s some shows that you love so much that they come to represent a part of your life. All my elementary school days and even into middle school, Spongebob was something I was an expert in. I had as much merch as I could afford to get, I watched it religiously (even the DVD boxsets), I made my first best friend that way— it just ruled my world for a long while there.

And I wouldn’t have it any other way. The nostalgia goggles are strapped on hard for this choice, but I couldn’t honestly tell you I don’t have a sincere place in my heart for it. And always will.

#4. Gravity Falls

You know how the 2010s starting kicking a lot of ass for animation? I think more than anything—more than even Adventure Time (which I do love)—this is the show that represents that to me. Not because it’s dated, but in fact the opposite: because it’s a modern classic that will forever feel timeless. Something truly spectacular that we’ll always look back on and remember as ours.

Gravity Falls takes influences from all the best stuff, but makes itself unique by being incredibly inventive. Like, it really does remind me of any Matt Groening show because of it’s sense of humour and even a bit of the world-building, but the mystery and heart are so magnificently its own. These things are the backbone that take the the already stellar comedy to a whole other level.

The best word for it is just as I said: magnificent.

From beginning to end, it’s undeniably so. It rewards close-viewings and theory-makers ten-fold, and that detail-orientated approach makes the experience that much richer and more, well, rewarding.

You knew it was coming, but hell, I can’t deny a show that succeeds in doing so many things I love so, so well. 

Personal Reasons: I’ll never forget the experience of watching Not What He Seems for the first few times, or really, a lot of the episodes. Watching the fandom come up with theories about the Stan twins a season in advance, and then seeing those theories made reality in the most spectacular, theatrical episode of the television I’ve ever watched blew me the fuck away.

And getting to talk about it here and with LittleNightwing just made it more of an interactive experience, which is exactly the kind of thing Alex Hirsch wanted.

I know I’ve said this too many times by now, but I even wrote part of an episode for Gravity Falls: Deep Woods (a storyboarded fan-series inspired by the show). When episode three eventually comes out, if they haven’t cut it out for time constraints, my name will be in the credits. And having my name associated with anything related to this show is just an honour.

#3. Futurama

I don’t even know what I can say about Futurama that hasn’t already been said, but whatever, I’m gonna try because I have to include it.

It started airing back in 1999, which was appropriate, because the series starts us out by travelling to the year 2999 on New Years, entering into the new millennium as we enter into this new series. And from there, this lovable portrayal of a future that somehow seems not too far from our present day becomes awesome.

Everything is a little crappy. That’s not a diss on the show, it’s just the reality of the year 3000. It’s not some dystopia, but it’s no utopia, either. It comes with all the problems and foibles of modern day, just with different technology, space travel, and alien races.

And don’t get me started on how inventive it can be. The writers staff behind that show is one of the most educated on television—quite literally, with “three Ph.D.s, seven masters degrees, and cumulatively had more than 50 years at Harvard.”

And they put all that to use to make sure the science behind that sci-fi could work. In fact, they not only created their own alien language for the show, but writer Ken Keeler devised an entirely new math equation to resolve a plot point for the episode “Prisoner of Benda.” In the field, it’s referred to as the Futurama theorem or the Keeler theorem, and has since inspired research.

So when I say next level nerdy, I mean next level nerdy.

Futurama uses this incredible scientific and mathematical power to parody the sci-fi genre with a great sense of humour and a Simpsonian sense of heart. Pretty much all of the main cast has at least one tear-jerker episode, but none so powerful as the infamous Jurrasic Bark, an episode dedicated to telling the story of our main character, Phillip J. Fry, and his dog Seymour. It will tear you apart. 

Personal Reasons: This is yet another series I grew up with, and I think it taught me a lot about storytelling. Episodes like Luck of the Fryrish, The Sting, or the aforementioned Jurrasic Bark end on a incredibly bittersweet note, and to really earn that, the writers build it up expertly.

There’s also episodes like the Emmy-winning Roswell that Ends Well that take these wacky sci-fi concept to insane new levels. Whether or not I can execute on that, it taught me to always push an idea further.

Plus, I followed the series from it’s original run to it’s first cancellation to the four straight-to-DVD movies (that I ADORED renting from Blockbuster) to it’s return and final ending in 2013. It’s been one hell of a ride.

#2. The Simpsons

And at this point, you probably know the whole list. But let’s go through it anyway.

The Simpsons, for me, really is one of the most brilliantly stupid comedies out there. It seems there are a number of comedies on this list that could be written off as just brainless, but I think there’s a charm to that for me. Something that clearly doesn’t take itself too seriously when it doesn’t have to. The Simpsons, in that way, has always been rather inviting to me. 

Despite it’s now nearly 30 year run, it never seems to have an ego about itself, even when some consider it the greatest comedy of all time (me).

There’s an endless amount of hilariously quotable episodes, and like any good comedy, it doesn’t skimp out of the character development or sentimentality. It’s certainly lost it’s touch for the most part, as is the case with a lot of running series, but every now and again, even in the later seasons, it still manages to surprise. 

I couldn’t explain it’s legacy if I tried. It’s currently the longest running animated series, and at this point, seems to have outlived the entire era it was so adept at parodying, but it’s still so legendary I can’t fault it! Even the impossible finally does happen and the show takes its final bow, I know this funny family will keep me laughing for years to come.

Personal Reasons: This started as another show my mom didn’t want me to want, but the reason I got to watch it so much and maybe the reason I love it so much is because my dad loved it.

From that point on, I started collecting the DVD boxsets of every season I could, and enjoying all the early seasons I was too young to watch when they originally aired.

And watching Simpsons reruns in whatever capacity I could became tradition. I still do to this day, even if it’s just online now. It’s become sort of a comfort show, it’s that familiar to me.

Plus, there’s the Movie, and games (The Simpsons Hit and Run is so much better than it has any right to be)—I even wrote an essay on The Simpsons back in high school. 

It’s just been the huge, life-long love for me that will never truly end because of how much it shaped me as a person (as silly as that sounds).

#1. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Shock! Awe! Everyone is stunned! People never would’ve seen this coming if they know me… 

Alright, so I’m predictable (I prefer the term “reliable” but considering how long it took to get this list out…), but it’s strangely so well-suited to everything I love. This entire section is full of personal reasons.

There’s fantastic characters to love (and obsess over); a heart-warming, light-hearted, cute, and ultimately loving tone that’s inexplicably never too saccharine even when it by all means should be; a fascinating fantasy world to dive into; a remarkable at times Disney-esque musical element; an eye-pleasingly soft animation style; an unashamed love of puns—I mean I could actually go on about this for a full year.

I really, really could… over on my main blog (sorry for the self-promo, but it’s relevant).

Year of the Pony, MLP Editorials (which are a big part of YotP)

I’ve dedicated this entire year to talking about My Little Pony in an event I’m calling Year of the Pony. There’s so far been something pretty much every week, themes for every month—I love this show a lot you guys. I really, really do.

That really is the reason I’m doing this event. I’ve been a fan of this show for five, going on six years, and it somehow became my favourite show of all time, even when there are shows out there that I think are objectively better. I’m trying to dissect why that is bit by bit.

For instance, here’s an upcoming two-parter:

These two characters are sisters, and long story short, one was forced to send the other to the moon. This was a story that introduced the series in the first two episodes, and has since been explored by the fandom in every way imaginable. So I have to ask questions that’ll give me a way to talk about how much and why I love this particular story element.

It’s not the greatest tragedy out there, sure, but I’ve seriously gotta figure out why this has struck such a chord with me, you know? 

Obnoxious self-promos aside, I really did fall and fall hard for this series I think because it was still unassuming by the time I got to it. The was a fandom, sure, but I didn’t know what to expect (whether these “bronies” were just using it for memes and liking it ironically or what), and that made it a genuine discovery for me. 

And it’s that very unassuming, unpretentious sweetness that continues to make me love it, even though it’s made a few mistakes along the way. I don’t think it’s a perfect series, but it’s definitely perfect for me. And what more could I ask for in a favourite show?

But that’s just my list. Feel free to tell my some of your favourites or take up the challenge to put out your own list and send it my way! Show me how much better your taste is than mine!

[rientafolowers-blog]

5 Tips About Free Instagram Followers You Can Use Today

can come across your post and you may wind up with a new follower. If you choose to use a broader, trending hashtag, you can get even more exposure. Put your best foot forward and make sure your post is solid before you use hashtags that will get you in on a popular conversation. First impressions are key with getting real followers. If your Instagram presence isn’t quite as robust as you’re hoping, it might be time to learn how to sharpen up your strategies for getting real, free followers on Instagram. The larger your audience grows, the more opportunities you have to engage with users and create unique experiences for them.

 The organic distinction is important: sometimes brands take the easy way out when trying to get more Instagram followers. Pay for likes and follower sites are everywhere, but these shortcuts are never gain instagram followers free worth it, as the Instagram algorithm regularly gets updated to weed out paid, low quality accounts and interactions.

 2. Put time into hashtags

Before you write out a hashtag, stop and think. There are plenty of overused hashtags. Look at your post and what kind of style or attitude your brand embodies. Come up with a creative and memorable hashtag that reflects your creativity.A good hashtag is an opportunity to compliment your post and punctuate with that extra bit that could get you a get instagram followers  follower. Many brands use brand specific hashtags and that is a great way to get in some extra marketing. Strive for standout hashtags that are fun, funny, or memorable.You can also use hashtags in Instagram stories, so make sure to add that to your posting schedule.

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Instagram is a great way to promote your brand. It is not so great, however, when no one is prompted to head to your Instagram page. Take your handle or hashtag and put it on a flier, billboard, or any kind of ad that money can buy. It takes no time for someone to dig into their pocket and look up the hashtag or account they just saw in an ad. You could also shoutout or repost other bloggers, including their quality content and top posts, as part of your Instagram strategy, which will in turn help with your follower growth and brand awareness.

 4. Take your time with captions

Captions are a big part of a post, since you do it on a regular basis. It can take time to figure out your strong suit in writing Instagram captions. They can appeal to the reader and get them more invested in the post. If you look at accounts with many followers, their caption game is usually ironclad. You can use a caption to tell a story, be funny, or strictly provide information. It can show your brand’s personality and allow you to get more Instagram followers.

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Carefully consider where you are sending your prospect followers with your bio link. The obvious choice is to link to your homepage. That is not a bad idea and can be done, but you can mix it up and continually change the link to your most relevant content. It is not something that may come across a lot of people’s minds, but it is well worth while.

 6. Use influencers to your advantage

Each individual niche on Instagram has its own influencers. They are the people killing it in their particular corner of the social media platform. Many people rely on Instagram influencers and the accounts closely related to them to get information. They have tons of followers, get plenty of likes, and all of their posts get a lot of engagement. You can get in on that action with influencer marketing. Pay close attention to the influencers that are a part of your Instagram community. Turn on notifications or look out for new posts. If you interact with their account, you can become visible to many more users. Some influencers also use the assistance of services like free instagram followers no survey , who help grow your Instagram’s engagement and get you more real Instagram likes to your photos. Get on some of your favorite influencers’ good sides and you may get some interaction going. That way, you will appear to their followers and you can win some of them over.Translate that into a higher follower count by following the previous steps in this list.

 7. Show your style

People respond to individuality. As popular as trends are, people really respond well to unique styles on Instagram. Make it so that your posts have a style that is a breath of fresh air. Post video content from time to time to change things up. Curate your content in a style that best represents your brand. Develop a style that will stand out amongst the herd. When people scroll through their Instagram feed, the posts can start to blend together after a while. Make posts that have a distinct visual style to stop Instagram scrollers in their tracks.They will hopefully want to see more of what you have to offer. The only way they can do that is by following you.

 8. Manually add photo tags

Put as much control in your own hands as possible. Go into the settings on your Instagram account. You can easily set it so that tagged photos of you can only be added to your account manually. This gives you the chance to carefully screen anything that could hit your account and turn off followers.

 9. Hide tagged photos you are not proud of

Sometimes, your target audience will tag you with a photo that unbeknownst to them is not very flattering. Even if that is not the case, you may just simply want your Instagram account to only be associated with photos related to your brand or up to your own standards. Not everyone that has it in their mind to tag you in a photo may be thinking about that. That is okay, and you can take care of this without losing a follower. Simply go to the post and select “Remove from Instagram profile”. You won’t have to worry about that picture anymore.

 10. Call to action

One of the best ways to get followers is by using a call to action with your Instagram content. You have probably come across them thousands of times before through all of the social media platforms. An example of a call to action is “like or retweet” or “share this with your friends”. A call to action is essentially when an account takes advantage of their captions to request that the reader does free instagram followers instantly something specific. A good call to action asks the reader to engage further with the post. The numbers show that calls to action work. Do something clever with your call to action. Try to come up with a call to action that you have never seen before or don’t see that often. One way to liven up a call to action is to make it part of a contest. Make your contest easy or fun by saying “like to win” or “share to win”. This gets more eyes on your post and can win you some followers.