#“How can I be edgy in a cutesy way today”

[jaythelay]

"Unalive" and other cutesy disrespectful ways to denigrate the severity of a situation and victim."

[adorethedistance]

A Romantic - Alive!Luke Patterson x Reader Modern!AU

JATP masterlist

Requested: Alive!Luke in highschool is just so hopelessly In love with the reader, she’s like the edgy punk who will let nobody know she’s actually soft on the inside and loves romance, so she plays hard to get, Luke does everything he can to get her to notice him, writes her little notes and puts them in her locker, always tries to do group projects with her, etc. She plays hard to get but eventually she caves and hangs out with him to finish a project one night, she finally lets her hard exterior disappear and she ends up confessing to luke she likes him back, it’s all cutesy, then idk they make out lol ✨

Warnings: Swearing, mild anxiety, heated kisses, n Emily Patterson fluff

Words: 2683

A/n: I know I have a few requests ahead of this one, BUT I wanted to get something out since it has been a fat minute since I put a fic out. Hope y’all enjoy this fluffy goodness and my personal spin on what it means to me to be punk.

“Have you ever actually talked to her?”

“Shhh.” I hear the hushed whispers from the boys of sunset curve as I make my way to the back of the classroom. They always sit in the back in a little tripod of desks. Usually, Alex is the one closest to the board so he can actually pay attention, but lately Luke has taken that spot.

“Hey, Y/n,” he greets as I sling my backpack on the left side of my usual blue plastic chair.

“Hey,” I reply, uninterested in holding any further conversation. This telegraphic-sentence for a one-word response back and forth isn’t new. He’s done it every day this last semester, and truth be told, I don’t mind. I actually somewhat look forward to it. Luke isn’t bad looking by any means, and he’s not annoying or rude either. It’s actually kind of sweet. But the fact that Luke doesn’t seem put off by my cold demeanor is what strikes me as odd. No one’s been undeterred by my lack of interest and emotion since... what? The eighth grade?

“How’s your day?”

“Fine.”

“Do you want a pretzel?” Luke offers me one of the large Costco sourdough pretzel things I haven’t had since childhood. I let my subconsciously permanent scowl relax into an almost smile and accept the offer. As I eat the peace offering, I open my bag to retrieve my Gov notebook and set it on my desk with my favorite pencil. When I sit back up, I flip the cover open to make a tally mark on the inside top right corner, next to the redbubble sticker of my favorite band’s most recent album artwork.

I don’t know if he’s caught on yet, but I’ve been keeping track of every time he’s offered me food. This is day twelve and I knew from day three that he’s trying to Pavlov me. It’s not exactly working. I mean, I do get excited to see him, but not because of the food. Before the food, I’d sort of found myself taking an interest in Luke. I thought I was interested in his budding career since sunset curve has been playing the local scene for a little bit. But sitting next to him in gov made me realize that’s not the case at all.

When I slip back into reality, I realize our teacher has already started today’s lecture and frantically flip to the last page I’d written on. I become so invested in my note-taking, I nearly missed the feeling of luke poking my arm with the eraser of his pencil. My eyes connect with his and he nods forward. I tear my gaze from his to see a folded up piece of scrap paper on the right side of my desk.

Mr. Casey is looking down at his computer to use the laser pointer on slides to show us a chart of government spending; I take the compromised position as a greenlight to unfold Luke’s paper. He’s trying to clarify what the sticker is inside my notebook, correctly guessing the album name from a brief glance.

‘yeah. they’re my favorite band.’ I write down quickly, scratching a heart into the paper above the word ‘favorite’, and then hand him the paper. Once he gets the note back, Luke doesn’t bother me for the rest of class.

I sit back against the seat of my chair and observe the mass of notes I just took. I sigh and shake out my hand before pulling my backpack into my lap and putting my stuff away.

“Okay we have a few minutes left in class, so I want to go over the group project guidelines with the remaining time we have.” My head snaps up at Mr. Casey’s mentioning of a group project. Fuck. “This project is going to be a mock election. You will be working in groups of four, simulating working on a campaign team and assign the roles of candidate, campaign manager, press secretary, and finance director. Decide who your partners will be and then send a group representative up to tell me the names of everyone in your group. The rest of the guidelines are printed on a handout, please grab one from the basket on your way out.”

I don’t have friends in this class. What the fuck am I gonna do? I don’t want to fail the project. The anxiety of the situation shortens my breathing, and I just want to curl up into myself and disappear into a cloud of dust.

“Hey!” I feel something poking my bicep. When I take my head out of my hands, I see Luke’s arm extended to prod me with the eraser of his 99 cent mechanical pencil. “Do you wanna be in our group?” I look at him, bewildered.

“What about Bobby?” Tearing my eyes from Luke’s, I spot Bobby being ambushed by a trio of girls from the soccer team. “Oh. Uh, is that okay with Alex and Reggie?” I ask to make sure, in fear of intruding.

“Boys! Y/n is in our group now.” Reggie smiles brightly and Alex nods an acknowledgment. I guess this is my group. I offer a small, uninterested ‘hey’ in contrast to Luke’s excited smile.

“So, we should probably assign roles. To tell Mr. Casey.” Alex pulls out a sheet of paper and clicks his pen open. He looks between the other three of us, ready to write, but no one puts forth any suggestions. I roll my eyes with a sigh and sit up straighter to lean forward.

“I’m campaign manager. Reggie, you’re doing finance director. Alex, you’re press secretary. And I guess that means, Luke, you’re our candidate. Capisce?”

All three boys nod slowly, seemingly intimidated by my initiative nature. Alex copies down our names and roles and looks to me when he’s finished. I hold out my hand lazily to take the paper and push out of my seat. When I approach Mr. Casey’s desk, the rest of the kids who brought up their papers fall silent. I dismiss the childish judgment and wordlessly give the paper to our teacher.

“We can meet at my place after school,” Luke asserts more so than offers. I nod absentmindedly and retrieve my phone from my backpack to text mom where I’m going after school. Car keys in hand, the four of us wait for the period to end, the three of them chatting away and me silently on my phone.

“Y/n?” I hear Reggie call.

“Yeah?”

“Do you want to just follow me to Luke’s house or I can give you the address or…?”

“Oh, uh-”

“I can direct her!” Luke pipes up from his seat, startling me in mine. “We can meet you guys there and I’ll just direct her.” I feel bad telling him no, so I agree to let him direct me to his house. The final bell rings and the mass of Los Feliz students flood the exits. Alex hangs back for a second and doesn’t think I clocked the way he’d tugged Reggie back by the backpack handle.

“Hey, you guys go ahead, Reg and I need to talk with Bobby for a sec.” I know exactly what Alex is doing, and he’s caught on to the fact that I know. Luke on the other hand is completely oblivious.

“See you guys there,” I say smugly. Before slinging my bag over my right shoulder and exiting the row of individual desks. Each stride I take is carefree and purposeful. The perk of being intimidating and wearing platform boots is everyone clears out of your way in the halls. I nearly forget I’m not going home after school, that is until Luke comes cheerfully bounding down the hallway by my side. Every time I look at his face, he’s smiling like an idiot and it doesn’t falter when we connect eyes. The prospect of a cute boy being so happy around me makes my face heat up, and I drop my gaze to the asphalt beneath my feet.

“Can we listen to that album that you have on the inside of your notebook? I’ve never heard it before.” Luke pipes up once we’re outside my car.

“Sure.”

Despite requesting to listen, Luke doesn’t do much listening. He’s mouthing off about how power chords are overused and sometimes it just ‘sonically doesn’t work’ and you have to ‘ditch the power chords’ and other things. I wonder how long I can go without talking. Each comment is interjected with directions at every intersection we pass until finally, I’m pulling into the driveway of the Patterson residence. Alex and Reggie arrive only a minute later, solidifying the notion that they didn’t need to talk to Bobby about anything.

“How was your talk with Bobby?”

“Very productive.” Alex counters my point question with a knowing smile. He’s lost the motivation to be secretive which makes me beam in triumph.

“Yeah, I bet.”

Reggie, Alex, and I follow Luke into the one-story L.A. home and are immediately greeted with the smell of fresh-baked cookies.

“I’m home!” Luke hollers as he lets the rest of us into the house and closes the door.

“Mitch?” A second voice calls back from a small distance.

“Luke!”

“I don’t know any Luke.” He leads us towards the voice. The house looks like if you were to google the word ‘home’ and I conclude he’s an only child based on the fact that their mantle looks like he just died. The centermost picture is his senior portrait from this year, and the picture to the left is I’m guessing from Kindergarten.

Luke leads us toward the kitchen in an impromptu single file line, unintentionally placing me in the back for looking at the pictures so long. Entering the space, Luke snags a cookie as his mom, I presume, presses an endearing kiss to the top of his head. He then swings himself up to sit on the white tiles of the kitchen counter next to the sink, behind his mom who’s transferring a batch of chocolate chip cookies onto a serving plate.

“Careful boys these are still hot,” she says as she finishes placing the last cookie on the plate. When she looks up she’s wholly unphased by Alex and Reggie’s presence, but seemingly startled once she spots me lingering behind.

“Luke, you didn’t tell me you were bringing a girl home!” she warmly extends her free hand. I smile bashfully before accepting the shake,

“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Patterson. I’m Y/n.” My polite demeanor pleases Emily and somewhat shocks the other boys.

“Oh, please, call me Emily.”

“Why does she get to call you Emily?” Reggie asks, extremely offended and I can’t tell if it’s a bit or not.

“Because I’m sure Y/n is a very refined and poised young lady. You three are hooligans,” she returns her attention to me, specifically the flower painted on the right chest pocket of my denim jacket, “That’s a lovely flower, did you do it yourself?”

“Oh, thank you! I did. It’s my mom’s favorite flower.” The look of adoration painted across her faces causes me to internally fawn over her entire aura. I just hope she doesn’t see the black lettering across the back panel that reads F*CK THE SYST*M’. After her moment of admiration expires, she moves to place the used baking sheet in the sink.

“Did you guys replace Bobby?”

“Bobby has groupies now so we cut him loose to maintain our spotless image.” Luke’s sarcastic comment makes Emily swat his shoulder with the back of her hand. They both laugh gently and share a look of genuine affection. The moment is so endearing. The way Luke smiles at her is precious and I feel myself unintentionally swoon a little bit.

“We needed her for a Gov project after Bobby ditched us.”

“I see. Well, help yourselves to some cookies. I’ve got an entire second batch of dough in the fridge and I need to get rid of them.” Emily allows us to head off to work on the project but not without a plate of cookies for us to share.

The next three hours were spent discussing which hot button issues on the sheet would be at the forefront of our campaign. Luke was playful but overall sincere about spearheading his campaign with a focus on LGBT+ rights and women’s rights. We talked over how he would handle himself in the debate round, and how we would execute an ad reminiscent of the Bush-era filmography style.

By the end of the session, we were in a good place to pick up the work in class tomorrow. Alex was being summoned home for dinner, and Reggie as his ride had to go with him consequently. Luke and I still wanted to brainstorm ideas for the advert, so I decided to stay a little bit longer. As we talked rhetorical strategies, Emily comes in to briefly announce she’s going to the store for more cooking spray, and that ‘Mitch won’t be home ‘til late’; she eyes Luke in a manner that’s anything but inconspicuous.

She leaves the door open as she goes. By now, there’s only one cookie left on the plate, and I’m staring at it, wondering whether or not I’ll eat the whole thing. Luke clocks my indecision and picks up the cookie. He takes a bit out of it before satirically looking up at me,

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did you want some?” He asks before taking another huge bite out of it.

“Are we playing a game? Is this fun for you?”

“Indulge me.” Two more seconds and it’s gone, so I move closer holding out my hand with an expectant look. Luke looks at me in false confusion. He then wickedly places half of the remaining piece between his teeth and sits back with his weight between both hands, flat on the ground. He doesn’t move but merely holds the treat tantalizingly between his lips, gauging my reaction. I bite back the urge to smile. I won’t give him the satisfaction of knowing I’m also having fun.

Leaning forward, I come face to face with Luke, close enough to feel the steady breaths he exhales. We’re caught in a staredown of sorts with all sorts of sexual tension electrifying the atmosphere. My eyes flit down from his own, to the baked good held in his mouth, and back up to his waiting gaze. Challenge accepted.

I don’t give myself the opportunity to chicken out and move to bite off the other half of the cookie. As I allow myself to linger in Luke’s personal bubble, the delicacy breaks and I move the rest of it into my own mouth before I feel Luke gently press his lips to mine. He dawdles in the kiss before pulling away. I sit back on my heels with a small smile of satisfaction, finishing the cookie piece before looking back to Luke.

He seems… breathless? Stunned? What is this look?

I don’t have time to figure it out before Luke takes my jaw between his thumb and forefinger to envelop me in a sensational second kiss. He’s not heavily salivating or weirdly dry, and he’s not trying to shove his tongue down my throat, so I’m gonna count this one as a win. As the kiss progresses, I tangle my right hand in the back of his hair, almost gripping the fringe to establish control. We’re doing this at my pace. The sensuality of our synchronized movements is overwhelmingly blissful; I tug the bulk of Luke’s bottom lip between my teeth as I pull away. When we pull apart Luke is smiling a blissed-out version of his usual dopey grin and I exhale a laugh in disbelief.

“I didn’t think you liked me like that, Y/l/n.”

“What, I don’t strike you as a romantic?”

“It’s the jacket.” Luke shrugs as he friskily plays along.

“Nothing says romance quite like anarchy.”

“I beg to differ.”

“Then beg.”

***

Taglist: @caitsymichelle13​ @kaitlyn2907​ @itz-jas​ @crybabyddl​ @kcd15​ @kinda-really-lost​ @calamitykaty​ @morganayennefertyrell​ @n0wornever​ @dream-a-little-bigger-x​ @mrstodorooki @vicesvsvirturesfanfic @curlybrownhairedboys​ @amazinggracy​ @kaitieskidmore1​ @asdfghjkl-fanfics​ @ghostlygreenbean​ @juliefromaustralia @merceret​ @jemimah-b99​ @ifilwtmfc​ @thesweetestsinner​ @imsydneywalker​ @lovesanimals​ @thebloodthirstyvampress​ @bumbleberry-pie​ @losers-club6​ @tefilovesreading​ @dmcfarland1​@joynerxmercer @kexrtiz​ @talk-on-the-street​ @phantompogues​ @konciousdreamer​ @sunsetcurvej​ @warmnesss0ul​

[trickkombowerskru]

Rodrick Dates Rowley’s Older Sister

Request: @nahbrothatsgay​: Hiya! I was wondering if you could do a headcannon or something for Rodrick dating Rowleys older, edgy sister? Fluff and maybe a couple a NSFW comments in there too? ;) I’ve read like ALL the Rodrick fics on this site and I am desperate  thank you️

A/N:Okay first things first thank you for being so damn patient with me my dude. I am so sorry this took this long... tbh I had this one and something else done for a while and have been sitting on it I just wanted to catch up on all in my ask, and school, followed by the amazing convention, and then after that procrastination got in the way of me doing  that and I’m sorry, but alas I am back. I’m almost done with my spring break, but all my classes have been moved online for the rest of the semester I’ll have a ton of time at home on my hands. Once again thanks for being so understanding, especially since this request happened in the midst of the last shipping event 💕

Warnings: Mentions of sex

To say you were the black sheep of your family....

Well that was an understatement

It's not like you were completely unlike them

You did enjoy family time and all

All the corny stuff was kind of endearing to you

But everything else

Nah

A total 180

From music

To how you dressed

It was all different

You also unlike your family had an actual sass bone in your body

But as long as you were nice to your little brother

And got good grades

Your parents really didn't mind your style

You could always hear them trying to convince themselves it was a phase

Which made you just chuckle and roll your eyes

Who know maybe it was

But at the moment it made you happy to dress this way

And that was all that mattered

Despise Rowley and Greg being best friends for years you and Rodrick kind of stayed off each other's radars

Like you knew of his existence

And he knew of yours

But it ended there really

Neither of you had even seen what the other had looked like

Since you didn't share any classes really

Or if you did you zoned out enough after your names were called in attendance to not  pay attention to the other

At least you didn't before

Normally whenever you had to pick up Rowley from the Heffley house

Rodrick was either in his room or his shitty band was practicing in the garage

But today he was front and center leaving the kitchen with a snack in hand

He nearly drops it when he sees you

The sudden noise making you look over in his direction

Your eyes lock and from there cue the mutual pining

"Earth to Y/N," your brother tries to get your attention.

"Are you malfunctioning or something?"

Greg looks between your gaze and quickly picks up on what's going on

"Awwww two freaks in love," Greg mocks

"Shut it fart face!" "Can it worm!"  you and Rodrick yell at the same time

You look at each other again and smile once more keeping the gaze shorter this time

And then you are on your way

From that point making sure you're always the one to pick him up

And Rodrick vice versa

Just to talk to each other

Finding each other in few your shared classes

After a burst of confidence you asking him out

Him being totally flustered but agreeing

Sneaking around from there

At least on your end anyways

Your parents didn't really like Greg

And you couldn't say you blamed them

He was a nice enough kid and all

But some of the things he did were just too far

To be honest you still hadn't forgiven the little shit for breaking your brother's arm

But because they pretty much hated Greg you knew if they found out about you and Rodrick that they would try to end the whole thing almost immediately

And that was the last thing you wanted

Swearing your brother to secrecy

Him feeling bad saying it's lying

And you telling him that it's not lying just not telling them who your dating

Which makes him feel a bit better

Susan thinking it's so sweet that you two are together

Also probably getting caught by your parents early on

Like only 3 months in

When they were supposed to be out and came home early to the sight of you snuggled up on the couch

Fighting hard to keep your relationship

Tbh 100% a "But Daddy I love him" type of deal

Your dad caving and allowing it

But saying you had to be in the living room or have your door open when he was over

You agreeing

But you easily found a way around that rule

By simply going to his place

Or having him come over when you parents were at work

Rodrick being all cute and flustered when your all dolled up for a dance

Going to all of his gigs even if Chris couldn't sing for shit

Going to a bunch of regular concerts together too

Which is always fun watching him be such an adorable fanboy

Him teaching you how to play drums if you want

Being all cutesy in front of Greg and Rowley to make them fake gag

Or if you wanted to pull out the big guns just start making out

Having a new permanent ride to school each day

And rocking out with your cute boyfriend beat taking the bus ANYDAY

Lots of making out in the van

Also being each other's firsts

If you somehow thought Rodrick wasn't a virgin before he met you

Oooof my friend you are EXTREMELY mistaken

Once you get comfortable with each other though lbr...

Van sex is a common occurrence

It's the whole set up too

Whenever he's taking you out somewhere like near the lake or something

He'll set a comforter and blanket back there with some pillows

To make it nice and cozy for you

That's usually some point soon after a gig happens

When all his equipment is temporarily in the house

Being able to knock down the his fake confidence facade in three seconds

As mentioned before that boy just gets all blushy and sweet around you

It's the cutest thing

Babe is like the go to name for both of you

Overall just such a sweet relationship between two punks 

[simptasia]

lost characters based solely on how i portray them in my text post memes

jack: constantly crying and/or screaming. no emotional stability. no social skills. terrible bedside manner. endearingly bland. into powerful women. loves the red sox... a lot. daddy issues. doesn’t believe in himself. has shitty tattoos. being crushed under the weight of everybody’s expectations. more or less hot. he is not cool at all. repressed attraction to guys. chronic hero syndrome. adorably embarrassing as a dad. passionately and violently overreacts to the mere concept of people believing in things. mansplains but in a non malicious way because he is literally that oblivious. gets into fights a lot. dissociates in mirrors. gets injured a lot but doesn’t wanna make a fuss. thinking about caves

kate: desperate need to protect women. bi. is frustrated by jack and sawyer’s personalities but wants to fuck them oh so much. rowdy. feminist. biceps. will call you out. is love with claire and jack and sun and- she has a lot of love to give. she can be ur angel or ur devil. exasperated. doesn’t understand astrology but she’s trying. she’s the slytherin friend every hufflepuff needs. uses guns. doesn’t know how to cook. go to relationship advice is “dump him” or “suck his dick”.  just because you put things in her vagina doesn’t mean you know her. gemini

hurley: sad clown. haha laughter! hiding real pain! has debilitating mental illness. he’s doing his best to stay positive. virgin. genuinely kind soul. overwhelmed by food. awkward around girls he likes. much smarter and wiser than anybody thinks, including himself. a special boy who we all love. says dude a lot. the only valid rich person ever. doesn’t like himself. sees dead people. kinda silly. also he’s fat (but i don’t joke about it in a cruel way)

sawyer: compulsive need to nickname people. from the south. bewildered by charlie’s english slang. covering up vulnerability with jokes and being mean. loves juliet. is an asshole but a loveable asshole (this varies, mostly he’s an asshole). conventionally attractive to the point of boring. got a Thing going on with miles. can’t stand daniel being smart around him. babies freak him out. treats animals poorly

locke: very supportive and new agey type. i’ve made two jokes about him encouraging people to jack off, that wasn’t on purpose but Okay. he doesn’t know what its like to have friends. he says Deep Sounding but odd things. he’s super duper into nature. he suffers. he’s very forgiving of ben to the point of absurdity and he desperately wants ben to love and fuck him. or maybe they are fucking. Who Knows. he loves knifes

sayid: sexy, suffering shannon fucker. he doesn’t respect boone. his life is an endless parade of misery culminating in going on autopilot. respects women

jin: he has no idea what’s going on and his life revolves around sun

sun: beautiful. perfect. very passionate about gardening

claire: bi. frequently ignored. cutesy and sweet. super into astrology and new age stuff. her cheery demeanour can only hold on so long before she loses it. kinda dumb. has baby. vanilla, at least for now. loves charlie but is kinda frustrated by him. goes feral and “kitten thinks of murder all day” sums it up

charlie: that he needs attention and validation to survive would be a gross understatement. bi. trans. punk. stupid. english. really horny and slutty. adores music more than anything. drug addict (again, i refuse to be cruel). severe jealousy issues. inferiority superiority complex. hates himself but will get offended if you hate him. can’t take any form of criticism. is bewildered by sawyer’s american-isms. bit of a madonna whore complex. smol but will go the fuck off like a terrier nipping at ya heels. catholic and riddled with catholic guilt. goofy and obnoxious and he knows it. passive aggressive. terrified of bees. nice ass. mood swings. did i mention he’s short? anyway here’s wonderwall

ben: ugly. just plain terrible. beaten and bruised. seething with rage and pain on the inside. virgin. liar. just causes problems on purpose. resembles a lemur or rat, rodents in general. loves bunnies. doesn’t think sex is real. just a really bad idea for him to be around juliet. has no friends. doesn’t care about other people. says creepy shit just because. he knows he’s a terrible person. killed people. the friend nobody likes and a general nuisance to the other characters

(also my literal first text post meme about ben was a joke about him eating his parents??? 2014 sapphire, i wanna talk...)

juliet: mom friend. seems very calm but she’s screaming on the inside. basically she’s the This Is Fine meme. depressed. has big tits. low-key kinky. feminist in a very gentle way. has no ill will towards kate and will only fight her for fun. concerned for daniel’s well being. has no chemistry with jack. loves sawyer. flat measured calm way of speaking. she’s breaking apart at the seams but will offer you a nice glass of water :)))

michael: has a son..... uh...... enjoys minecraft?

(i’m sorry)

desmond: scottish. drinks. easily and constantly confused. magic psychic time powers, like visions and electromagnetic dimensional stuff. easily angered. fucked off by the concept of time and destiny in general. hhhhhhhot

smokey: Hello Fellow Humans I Promise This Is My Own Skin Haha

miles: bi. aro. loves money (trying to fill the hole in his heart with money and things). emo/punk. pretends not to care but he really does care. thinks emotions and romance are dumb but of course is emotional... and kinda wants love. but not that he LIKES you or anything. exasperated. thinks everybody else is weird. kinda slutty or at least trying to be. masochist and into BDSM. mean to daniel for no reason. daddy issues. resting bitch face. jaded, bitter and salty. responds to romantic things dan or char say with vulgar or mocking comments. grew up poor. can hear dead people. trying too hard to be edgy. deadpan snarker. Fuck Off I’m Not Sad Don’t Look At Me [cries only around the audience and his mom]

walt: becoming older than 10 was when things went downhill for him

shannon: seems vapid but is more than that. deeply insecure. feels she can’t do anything right. constantly put down as worthless by other people. yeah she’s sad but she Looks Great. wants sayid to pound her (mood)

(gee, that was dark)

richard: very old and ageless. sees ben as a son figure. really not holding it together. seems smart but he has no fucking idea whats going on. cult mindset. quips curtly back at miles’ vulgar jokes. in love with miles based on very little interaction. misses his dead wife. has a cute giggle. is also hot. overwhelmed and just wants to go into the jungle and scream

frank: doesn’t understand what anybody is talking about. the only normal person here. doesn’t understand these kids today with their weird kinks. just wants to sleep. pilot. bit of a conspiracy theorist

boone: bi. stupid. soaked in blood a lot.  (L I T E R A L L Y all of my boone jokes are about him being dumb and bi and horribly injured and combos of those. i haven’t even made any incest jokes! what the actual fuck)

ana lucia: “[with tears in her eyes] DO U WANNA FIGHT??”. highly volatile. lesbian. bros with jack but will roast him. angery, sad and underloved

daniel: bi, agender, neurodivergent, just, just especially brain weird. The Scientist trope but kind of a shitty scientist. smart. in love with charlotte. in love with desmond. likes rats a lot. talks weird and soft spoken. withdrawn and polite but with bursts of bitterness. his mom won’t let him live the live he wants to live. time travel weirdness. loves music. gifted kid burn out. has a mental and emotional collapse. thinks a hydrogen bomb will solve all his problems. skinny. touches people a lot. he’s not okay. romantic. overwhelmed. memory problems. his lack of life experience and softness is used to contrast miles. takes some statements literally. pretty vanilla (for now) and doesn’t know what certain kinks are. likes that charlotte is Tough & Rowdy. doesn’t swear much. bad hair. was unhinged in college. has radiation poisoning

libby: neurodivergent and in love with hurley

eko: yeah... i’ve legit only used him for jokes where charlie says something EXTREMELY vulgar and eko says “go to church”

charlotte: bi, loud, passionate, beautiful, angery, knows All The Languages, huge nerd, loves daniel and thinks he’s a Snack, outspoken feminist, archaeologist/anthropologist and wants to explore some fucking ruins, The Lost Lenore trope, loves chocolate, exasperated, great smile, subtly insecure, doesn’t get that she could just tell daniel how she feels, has had many indiana jones like adventures (off screen, of course), for example: crashing her dirtbike into all 7 wonders of the world

danielle: french and unhinged, has seen some shit

alex: just a young lady with no chill

jacob: suffers from terminal apathy. has little understand of human behaviour. doesn’t care about people. he just plain sucks. has no endearing qualities. causes many problems. beats the shit outta richard. doesn’t like technology. so removed from humanity that he’s a touch uncanny valley

christian, eloise, charles and anthony jokes each have their own kind of flavours but fuck it, i’ll sum them all up as: contemptuous cunts who deserve to die

aaron: just a baby boy. does baby things. has like 5 parents

vincent: a dog. a good boy. does he know more than he lets on? is he mysterious? no, he is just a dog

[obsidianshadow]

@curiousartemis tagged me in all of the questions to this oc tag meme, so might as well put it in a document that’s easier to edit than an ask lol

What was the first element of your OC that you remember considering (name, appearance, backstory, etc.)?

I’ll start with the Kelus that you know today, because he’s undergone a lot of changes over the years. I originally made him for an rp that never took off, and he was supposed to be this Edgy Straight Guy Protagonist #4234823934. He’s average height for a guy, and he was very heavily inspired by Napoleon, as he was a military leader. idk, this was a very strange rp with wolves who lived during the Holy Roman Empire????

Did you design them with any other characters/OCs from their universe in mind?

Yes and no. I had a pretty solid idea about what he looked like, and I made him into a Nord, at first. But then my brother called me basic, and I wanted to try out the Dunmer (thinking they had disease resistance but I had mistaken them for Argonians during my first playthrough lmao), so Kel’s a Dunmer. The only design concept that translates over from my old rp days is that his werewolf form has reddish-brown fur. How did you choose their name?

I looked up Roman names on this one site, and I haven’t been able to find it again since. It haunts me, in a way, because I don’t remember the meaning of his name. :/

In developing their backstory, what elements of the world they live in played the most influential parts?

(chants) Dwemer ruins Dwemer ruins Dwemer ruins. His father adored exploring them, Kel became interested in them later on in life after his father disappeared into them, and his design eventually incorporates Dwemer technology...

Is there any significance behind their hair color?

I really like a dark reddish brown hair color. It always reminds me of my guitar. Very warm and soft.

Is there any significance behind their eye color?

He’s a Dunmer. They have red eyes. His werewolf/original form in my story has golden eyes though.

Is there any significance behind their height?

Yes, actually! He’s not someone you would pick out of a crowd for being the Protagonist(tm) because he’s not tall. Also, men are expected to be tall, and that’s not necessarily true in real life.

What (if anything) do you relate to within their character/story?

I relate to the fact that he’s quiet until he’s comfortable with someone.

Are they based off of you, in some way?

Yes, he was always based off me, at least partially. In his Skyrim story, he’s a withdrawn, quiet mer who had to learn how to adapt to being put in the spotlight. That’s how I always felt when I was navigating school and social situations in general. Kelus and I both have anxiety, but not in the cutesy way.

If they have an LI, how much of their character is tailored to be compatible to that person?

Kelus and Faendal aren’t much alike at all. Kelus looks like a scary guy, but he’s actually quite soft and introverted. Faendal’s an extrovert, he’s very charming, but he’s also very insecure. Sometimes Kel needs space, and Faendal needs people.

Did you know what the OC’s sexuality would be at the time of their creation?

I made this guy bi from the beginning because if he ended up with a guy in the rp, it wouldn’t be a surprise. I’m not bi myself, but over the course of Kel’s creation, we’ve both realized we aren’t straight lmao

What have you found to be most difficult about creating art for your OC (any form of art: writing, drawing, edits, etc.)?

It’s mostly that I’m laaazy. I don’t draw him often enough. However, I am constantly amazed by people who can do edits/screenshots/playlists. I’m not musically inclined and photography is not my forte.

How far past the canon events that take place in their world have you extended their story, if at all?

Ha, well. This version of Kelus, in Skyrim, will get a happy ending, but he has to work for it. The one in my original story...I’m not sure yet.

If you had to narrow it down to 2 things that you MUST keep in mind while working with your OC, what would those things be?

His father is a source of angst for him. He loves him, but he also realizes as an adult that he wasn’t the greatest man. Kelus is very stoic and most people would write him off as a scary bodyguard type of character, but he’s very insightful.

What is something about your OC can make you laugh?

Kelus’ nickname is Kel. “Kel” is the name for the Elder Scroll in Dovahzul. I named him years before ever playing Skyrim so imagine my surprise when Paarthurnax mentioned the Kel.

What is something about your OC  can make you cry?

He left his best friend Rismer behind because his father took all of their stuff and fled in the middle of the night.

Is there some element you regret adding to your OC or their story?

I originally wrote his Skyrim story, intending for it to be a one-shot. I need to go back and make edits and add more depth to his relationships with others, not necessarily just Faendal.

What is the most recent thing you’ve discovered about your OC?

He’s the sweetest dad. He didn’t think he would ever live long enough to adopt/have his own kids, but he adores his daughter.

What is your favorite fact about your OC?

...not really a Favorite fact of mine, but he was initially supposed to look like Sam Winchester...and he’s a Gemini, get well soon

[oc-rehab-centre]

OC Design Basics #1 - Colour Palettes

Every part of an original character, fandom or non-fandom, humanoid or animalian, is important to the bigger picture. Your original character is like a mosaic or a puzzle, every piece is crucial to having a “good” character: personality, backstory, relationships, etc., you know the deal. But today we’re going to discuss: the importance of OC design, common mistakes and what you can do to fix them. 

Now, this isn’t a post made only to talk about how OC fame/attention is linked to OC design… Which is really isn’t, and I hope that’s clear! This isn’t a tutorial on how to get famous either, but rather a collection of information and tips meant to help you! This is also geared towards a younger audience - so some things are pretty obvious.

Alrighty then, let’s get into this~

Importance of Design

We all know the idiom “don’t judge a book by its cover”: which discourages people to prejudge something’s overall worth from a mere first glance, positive or negative. However, when it comes to characters, you’ll often see the images before you see their biography or information and get to know the nitty-gritty information about them.

It’s pretty superficial, but first impressions can make or break your OC’s popularity and reception, but alas, that is just human nature. If you have a fandom OC; how well your OC’s design blends in with the existing cast, or how much they stand out against them can reel in an intrigued audience. Your OC’s design is just one of many factors which may bring you an audience, or leave you with just a small one - but shove aside that notion and let’s focus on what’s actually important. 

A good OC is congruent, with all the little pieces working together naturally to tell your OC’s story and fit with aspects of their personality in a way that doesn’t feel forced. Their appearance should reflect things about them, and give the audience an idea as to what they are like from a first glance or two. It’s a challenge, but as you grow more experienced, it becomes easier. However, some help along the way is always nice, and that’s why we’re here! 

In this tip & tutorial post, I’m mostly going to cover more natural colours and make your OC look more, well, “original”! Of course as always, these are just opinions, and you are just as entitled to your own as I am to mine! Also, I’ll be talking about more common mistakes I’ve seen several young artists and creators make, so if you’re new to OC creation, here’s some tips from someone whose been doing too much of this kinda thing! 

I will not be covering facial features and shapes here, but perhaps I will in the near future??? This mostly focuses on colours!

For this tutorial, by the way, I used a colouring page found HERE. I’m not entirely sure if this is the original artist, nor is the original artist credited. If you ever find the source and wanna let us here at @oc-rehab-centre know, that’d be just dandy!

Common Mistake #1 - Hair Colours/Styles

If you’ve browsed the undiscovered page of DeviantART, you may find yourself browsing the work of younger creators. It is always wonderful to see young artists working to produce their own characters, but it’s a shame to say that most OC creators can determine or guess your age range and experience from the way you design characters, or perhaps an inability to credit base makers lmao.

What I see a lot on DeviantART when it comes down to hair colour is often… unstimulating. Hair colours like black and oversaturated colours are often used, perhaps due to a lack of understanding the colour wheel of infinite possibilities or how to make colours beyond what they can find in their box of 24 Crayola coloured pencils.

When it comes to OC design, you want to try your best to avoid black and bright, bright colours that are hard on the eyes unless absolutely necessary and essential to your character. 

Black hair can easily be substituted for other dark and natural colours, like shades of brown or red. Heck, there are entire charts of natural hair colours online you can browse. 

Blinding shades of red, green, blue, etc. can all be made easier on the eyes by simply mellowing or darkening the colour. Perhaps you might settle for pastel hues, or a darker and less saturated tone. Both your eyes and the eyes of your viewers will thank you for making something other than pitch-black or a vibrant hot magenta! 

Hopefully this little diagram shows what a difference a bit of playing around with your colour wheel can do! Now time to address another common trope in OC creation when it comes to hair: hair styles. 

A very common hairstyle that you see is the hair over one eye. OCs with their bangs draped down over one eye. TV Tropes discusses this infamous design cliche as a way of symbolizing sexuality, shyness, solidarity or powerful [HERE].. However, most OCs with this hairstyle are not always explained and if it is, it’s done poorly, making it seem as though a) the creator was merely going for a run-of-the-mill edgy look with their character OR b) they just can’t draw the other eye. 

While having an OC who's a bit on the edgy and badass side is cool and all, it is a trope to avoid. I went through a phase of having my hair over one eye in my elementary days but trust me, it’s not a very practical hairstyle, and it’s certainly not very stylish if your bangs are all scraggly too. If you have chosen this hairstyle to avoid drawing the other eye, just take the leap! You’re not going to improve unless you push yourself to experiment with new hairstyles, of which there are many! 

Finding other hairstyles to use for your OC is as simple as browsing the Internet. There are countless of video and written tutorials to watch on how to draw hair styles, all of which are arguably more appealing and interesting than that mock of edgy bangs. If you are striving for an edgy character, there are other ways to show that in their design than simply such an ill-mannered hairstyle! 

Credit: doggerland

Common Mistake #2 - Eyes/Facial Scars 

Much like hair colours, overly-saturated colours can ruin eyes when they seem out of place. You can have an OC with natural coloured hair, a good colour palette and then oh wait - an eye colour that doesn’t really fit. I’ve seen many young creators using eye colours that really don’t exist and look very unnatural, clashing with their character’s design. 

Like with hair, a certain number of natural eye colours exist. Even if you’re bending from natural eye colours, avoid using saturated shades or shades that are just too dark. You can get some nice and more natural colours by playing around with your colour wheel. You can be bold without using such assaulting colours! XD

Another common trope derived from anime and gaming are scars. I know I was mostly going to discuss colours here, but like hairstyles, it’s something worth addressing!Once again, I’m gonna make reference to TV Tropes’ article. The most common scars include:  

A cut over one eye

A claw mark (usually three or four even gashes on the chest or face)

Any of the Standard Bleeding Spots

Any scar shaped like an X.

A scar on the face that happened in a sword duel.

Credit: TV Tropes

Regardless of the universe, fandom or non-fandom, scars may add to your character’s story, but it takes a lot to make a scar on the face seem original. I’m personally not a fan of OCs with scars on their face, since it’s often not acknowledged or even drawn in a way that is realistic. 

For example, getting slashed across the eye with a sword or blade would not leave a clean scar and a pearly, blinded eye, as we often see in anime. It would look nasty and it would look as disabling as it feels, so when people don’t abide to the very nature of how the human body heals, it irks me a little bit. 

My tip here would be to avoid scars that go over the eye unless you’re going to do it right. Research the injuries if you don’t have a weak stomach, and see what injuries like that would really look like. Overall, facial scars are also something you should steer away from. Important scars can go elsewhere, you know! There’s more to your OC’s body than just their face. 

Scars also come in more shapes than just 3-4 animal claw marks, burns from abusive parents or straight-lined sword scars. Scars come in different shapes and sizes. Some are hypertrophic/raised while others are flat and just sort of look like birthmarks upon healing. Are you willing to give up your action-packed duel scene and settle for a more realistic scar for your OC? It’ll help in the long run if you’re aiming for accuracy. 

Common Mistake #3 - Colour Palettes

Oh goodness you guys have probably heard enough about me yammering about colour. But hey - this tip post is mostly about the importance of colour. This here is the last major tip for designing your OC. This will be the last part of this post, and I apologize for this being a bit of a mess! I was trying to keep this one as general as possible! 

ANYWAYS-

Colour palettes are essential to a character! I hope that’s ingrained in your brain at this point because it really is! Their wardrobe should reflect their personality and should be carefully considered as well. Too many times have I seen colour palettes that just do not work at all with the character’s attire nor their apparent personality. 

Using the girl who has been our base for examples in this post, let’s take a look at her attire. A baggy hat, a bandanna around her neck, a sweater, fingerless gloves and a layered skirt. This is rather cutesy attire and while perhaps you could argue that a pink and teal getup or an edgelord black and rainbow outfit could work, there are palettes that might fit this character a little better.

Pastel colours fit better with this style of dressing. It feels more correct to have the four palettes on the right than the two on the left. This is the effect your colour choices have on how pleasing your character looks to the eye. 

And that is all! 

We hope you enjoyed this tip post! Likes, reblogs and follows are always appreciated. Some aspects of OC design were not covered here, especially the important stuff that more experienced creators would’ve wanted to see like how to make face, eye, nose, etc. shapes more unique and clothing design. I’ll try to ensure that gets covered in the future, as I said before, but I hope that those that read this enjoyed it!

[sw4tch]

Just watched this 2+ hour video essay about "why did we like elfen lied?" And like

I felt so seen.

((Be aware of [[Trigger warnings: anything related with Elfen lied and anything that happens in it]] for my upcoming rant because man i really need to talk about this. Also I made this yesterday, but published today bcus only on pc i can add readmores ))

As flawed as it is, elfen lied really resonated with me when i watched it at like 12? 13? and it validated the pain inside my heart back then. The canon of elfen lied is a cruel, relentless world where pain and suffering happens to people that don't deserve it.

So the story of Lucy called to me. Fascinated me! I was like "YES, THE WORLD IS CRUEL... THAT'S HOW IT'LL ALWAYS BE!!!" and lemme tell you, for a traumatized kid that shit is pop rocks for the brain. But the other thing that resonated with me in that moment was that despite all the cruel in the world of elfen lied, Lucy gets to have a heart and humanity.

She's the villain and the protagonist, but she's deserving of love and sympathy despite her crimes. Idk Lucy will always be an anime character i love, because of what she represented for me.

A traumatized bitch, a power fantasy, THE face of my edgy years (alongside another famously violent pink haired girl), and just. Idk. She Was All That, u feel? Maybe even one of my first anime crushes.

And another thing i liked (Or more accurately i just particularly noticed and it left a mark on my brain) was that it was the first story i ever saw in which a victim of c s a was just. Allowed to exist, even after the fact.

It wasn't handled spectacularly, mind you. Hell, i wouldn't even say it was handled well, with good intent, or even tastefully in retrospect.

But up to that point, stories about that were about victims and the horror of that, and that's it. What happens to the victim afterward? Unheard of. They're just another number, aren't you glad it will never happen to you? Aren't you?

But in elfen lied, you see that the girl runs away and then finds a new family. She gets to live and have a role in the story. She goes beyond what happened to her in some way. She gets to still be a person. A character with a role to play other than Victim. (Is she treated with respect by the story? Hell no, but back then it was still revolutionary to me)

Another media that does this in an also questionable way is Wadanohara and the Great Blue Sea.

Wadanohara, the protagonist, is revealed to also be a c s a victim (now that i think about it, im not sure if she was meant to be a child so I'd have to double check that, but i interpreted it that way, especially because the art style is Super Cutesy in an Anime Way). But this is her story, and in the best ending you get to kill her r*pist and move on. But by this point, she isn't only A Victim.

She's the protagonist. She has had agency this whole time. She is more than just What Happened To Her. She is The Hero. That's still mind blowing to me, even if you can certainly argue the author of the game didn't intend for it to be That Deep. But it was still powerful to me!

Bcus stories about that kind of abuse normally just don't have those characters as heroes, as characters, as people that exist beyond That.

Of course there aren't many protagonists that are survivors of that specific kind of abuse. It's shameful, it's horrible, it's inappropriate. Take those stories and hide them under your bed. Where they can be unseen and ignored.

Survivors of that will never be the protagonist of a PG work. Because it's shameful. It's horrible. Kids like that are better unseen and ignored.

So growing up in a world that knows but vehemently refuses to acknowledge your existence is deeply isolating.

But then you finally see something that mirrors your reality, and you go "Ah! You can hear me? Can you see me? I am real, i am real, the pain is real!" And you don't care how exploitative the work itself may be, it's the first time someone has bothered to give a survivor a story beyond That, so you can't help but love it.

Anyway smth smth elfen lied Good actually, if only because it was a comforting horror that back then provided catharsis and a power fantasy I could lean myself into. (I just had a powerful flashback... I used to pretend i had a double personality too like Lucy lmao... oh my dear little young me...)

[felicityb-reviews]

Experimental SHINee - Feature Spotlight

Hello babies, and welcome to the next Feature Spotlight in the SHINee Spotlight series!! My name is Jace (aka Felicity B), and today we're gonna be taking a slow drive through SHINee's more experimental era. This era in SHINee's career actually features my first SHINee comeback (Dream Girl, dahlings), so I am The Most Excited™ for this FSL!! It feels like Dream Girl dropped ten years ago, rather than just five, but I guess that's what K-Pop does to you.

And in case anyone is wondering why I'm going in reverse chronological order, it's because 1of1 and Misconceptions of Me are my favorite SHINee albums.

Era Spotlight

So, I cheated. I really should have featured from DxDxD in this list instead of ones from FIVE, but I don't really like DxDxD!?!??! It's literally my least favorite SHINee album, sis. FIVE, to be frank with you all, fit more in line with the '90s 5HINee era, but it also fits in this experimental era pretty well.

The name of the game here is experimental, folks. SHINee must have gotten a little bored after they decided to go RnB again after LUCIFER. The bulk of the songs on this list were released in 2013, a year that SHINee really pushed the boundaries of who they were as a group, and I almost kind of miss it. Granted, I loved the maturity in sound they came back with on Odd and 1of1 (the former more than the latter, tbh), but this experimental phase was just a fun time to be a SHINee fan. This list includes songs from both Misconceptions albums, the Everybody mini album, and the previously mentioned Japanese album FIVE.

Spoiler (Misconceptions of You ~Dream Girl~)

Gurl... SHINee was not fuckin' around with us with Spoiler.

Spoiler is a song that Jonghyun wrote incorporating all the song titles from the Misconceptions series in the lyrics. And sis, I was like, "This is cute, or whatevahs!!" when he spoiled the tracklisting for Misconceptions of You, but when Misconceptions of Me dropped and we found out he spoiled that too?!?!?! My wig wasn't just lopsided, she was free floating in space.

SHINee really fucking Did That™ with Spoiler, sis.

Spoiler sounds like someone took Sherlock, and turned her into a vampire. Spoiler is Sherlock's darker and more seductive older sister. It's kind of interesting how they kicked off the Misconceptions series with Spoiler, a song that starts out like their previous title track, but with a dark twist. It's almost like they were making a statement, sis. This SHINee is New and Improved™ SHINee. This SHINee is Upgraded™ SHINee. SHINee 2.0, if you will. We snatched you with RnB/Funk, we snatched you with EDM, and now we're gonna snatch you with both. Enjoy!!

Symptoms (Everybody)

I imagine sex feels like what listening to this song feels like.

Symptoms is an eletro-RnB song that sounds like it was snatched right from the Billboard Top 40. Which doesn't surprise me, because it was produced by the Underdogs (who also produced EXO's Overdose, another song that's dripping in that Top 40 sound from the time). Symptoms is a song that starts out loud and proud; it gives you Drama™, and it gives zero fucks about it. She looks at you without a care in the world and says, "My name is Symptoms, what did you expect!?!?! A cutesy pop track?!?!?! Boi, if you don't get!!"

And mind you, that's what I love about ha.

I fucking love a SHINee song that gives us all the bells and whistles, because they really don't have to. Look at Odd Eye - she's as stripped back as it gets for RnB midtempos, but SHINee still Shine Bright Like A Diamond!! But here's the thing - these dramatic ass niggas love songs like these. You can't tell me these SHINee boys don't love a beat with all the bells and whistles; the way they always come correct on songs like these says it all.

Become Undone (FIVE)

Speaking of songs that lack bells and whistles, Become Undone is not one of them. You'd have to be a Fool™ to think a song titled Become Undone on a Japanese record could be a toned down track.

These types of songs are usually the most dramatic.

Become Undone is an angsty song. She's a song I can see playing during a scene where an anime protagonist has to make an extremely hard decision. Like, intentionally stepping into a trap to save your friends, or deciding between saving your loved ones or the world (don't look at me like that, you guys have seen Sailor Moon).

The main star of the show here is the chorus. That's true of most pop songs, but especially so for Become Undone. She features The SHINee Specialty™ (their ridiculous ability to blend their harmonies together like fuckin' buttah), the trap beats presented in the verse kicked up 10,000 for Maximum Drama™, and orchestral stabs that tie everything together. Become Undone has one of the most emotionally satisfying choruses I've heard in a pop song. Sis, I'm literally the INTENSIFIES meme listening to this song, it's just so good.

I'm really glad that groups like SHINee have had the pleasure of working with a Japanese team to release music in Japan, because it allows them to play with their sound in a way that they can't in Korea. And that's not to say that SHINee haven't played with their sound in Korea (this FSL is literally on the era they experimented with their sound the most), but there's certain sounds and textures that are specifically J-Pop in feel, and it's really cool to see a group like SHINee tap into that.

Orgel (Misconceptions of Me ~Why So Serious~)

Okay sis, now we're actually bringing it down a notch. Not for long, but I figured y'all could use a break, even if it's short lived.

Orgel is a song that's quite similar to Odd Eye in the fact that it's SHINee driving the song with their vocal performance, and the beat is going along for the ride. Orgel also features a melody that sounds like a something you'd hear in a music box, and while that motif is quite overused in pop music, it doesn't make Orgel feel played out. It's just a really pretty song from five really pretty boys.

Orgel is a really neat song, because even though SHINee are driving the song with their voice, they're really not doing a whole lot on the beat. Their vocal performance on Orgel is subtle in the same way the beat is (or rather, as subtle as these boys get), but they still stand out. It's an interesting experience, sis.

Queen of New York (Everybody)

Now this is A Song™, sis.

Queen of New York feels very lounge cafe, sis; she's very "let me sip my expensive coffee drink while I read the latest copy of Cosmo or OK! Magazine". Queen of New York is also very much something the drag queens are voguing to at the local gay club. Miss Queen of New York is a woman of many moods, okay?!?!?!

Queen of New York was a very fun surprise, because I don't think anyone was expecting a song quite like this on the Everbody mini album. She's very edgy, but in a way that you don't expect songs described as "edgy" to sound. Queen of New York has a very polished feel to her, but there's a dirtiness to her that you can't tame. She's a proper Upper Middle Side woman, but she's not afraid to take a walk on the wild side. She's not afraid to show you how to get down, and I just love that so much.

One Minute Back (Everybody)

This is also A Song™, babes.

One Minute Back is grungy, sis. She's not a proper Upper Middle Side woman, she's a punk rock/biker girl with a flair for the dramatic. Ain't nothin' polished here, ladies!! Well, SHINee's vocals are pretty polished, but that's a given. I've never heard a SHINee song where the vocals weren't produced to a T.

But despite that, Ms One Minute Back and Ms Queen of New York are happily married!!

One Minute Back, like Queen of New York, was a song I was pleasantly surprised to hear on Everybody. One Minute back has such grungy verses, but then the chorus and the bridge are so Funky and so SHINee. BUT THE TWO DIFFERENT VIBES BLEND TOGETHER LIKE IT'S NOTHING!! It's such an aurally pleasing experience, you guys!! The reason I compared One Minute Back to Queen of New Year is that they're both marry these two moods to amazing results. I mean, Queen of New York doesn't fully commit to the grunginess, but there's enough of it lying below the surface that it's worth mentioning.

ABOAB (FIVE)

Ms ABOAB is a Bad Bitch™. She's a Boss Bitch™. She has no time for your games, boo. Ms ABOAB is a brazen ElectroFunk number that makes no apologizes.

If SHINee wanted to make a record like Everybody for the Japanese market, ABOAB would have been the title track/lead single. Miss ABOAB is spicy. She's seductive. Miss ABOAB is full on club bounce, and I McFucking L O V E when SHINee do those kinds of songs. There's just something so sexy about them working that club vibe, sis. I lowkey wasn't ready for ABOAB, but she really didn't care. She mesmerizes with the way she flits between emphasizing her Funk and Electro elements.

And that damn drop with the horn line... BITCH!! My wig has been compromised.

Runaway (Misconceptions of You ~Dream Girl~)

Runaway is another ElectroFunk track, but brighter and poppier in a way that contrasts ABOAB quite nicely. It's no less fun and club ready, tho.

Runaway is mainly driven by a punchy synth stab and SHINee's very fun usage of their vocal harmonies. While Miss ABOAB would whip ha weave in ya face if you ever tried to talk to her, Miss Runaway would make silly faces at you and coax you into doing silly dances. I, always and forever, wanna see SHINee in concert, but I especially wanna see Runaway and ABOAB performed live, because they always do these types of club ready tracks Just Right™.

Hitchhiker (Misconceptions of You ~Dream Girl~)

Because God Knows^™ these boys can't not give us a track that channels the very essence of MJ and his weave.

If Spoiler was too gimmicky of a sequel to Sherlock for you, then Hitchhiker is your song. Hitchhiker, to me, sounds like the perfect representation of this era in SHINee's discography - let's take what we already do well and marry it to a whole new palette of song styles/textures, and see what sticks.

And lemme tell you somethin' - Hitchhiker sticks like fucking glue. Remember what I said about SHINee loving the bells and whistles that comes with doing over the top songs?!?!?! That's in full effect here, sis. Hitchhiker is anthemic as all fuck, and these boys ride that beat like they were made for it. And to be completely, I have no doubt in my mind that they were.

Nothing to Lose (FIVE)

So who else was expecting to get something hella grungy like Natalia Kills' Break You Hard or Seventeen's Clap with how hard that guitar was filtered?!?!?! I can't be the only one here.

Nothing to Lose bait and switches us with that dark n grungy guitar riff, because the majority of the song is rather bright n poppy. But I really can't be mad, because I rather liked the way they transitioned the darker sections into the brighter ones. And Nothing to Lose is pure octane fun. It's kind of a hard song to hate, because it gives zero fucks about how cutesy and cheesy it is.

There's also a rather nice helping of Funk thrown into the mix, but I'm gonna pretend that that had nothing to do with much I like this song. Even though it's what makes me like it the most.

Punch Drunk Love (Misconceptions of You ~Dream Girl~)

Punch Drunk Love channels Love Like Oxygen like SHINee's producers were in the studio intentionally trying to produce a sequel to the song. And if you know anything about me, you know that Love Like Oxygen is literal auditory C R A C K for my black ass. Punch Drunk Love also sounds like SHINee's writers held a seance and channeled MJ's spirit when they were writing the song for the boys.

And y'all already K N O W I'm here for that shit.

Punch Drunk Love is the SHINee Five™ on autopilot, sis. SHINee will never not know how to come correct with a Funk song, and it warms my heart. The attitude, the harmonies (THE BUMBACLOT HARMONIES), the overall feel of the song; SHINee gets it right. If you ever needed a pickmeup, then put on SHINee's Punch Drunk Love, and thank me later. This is another song that is unabashedly cheesy, but gives absolutely zero fucks about it.

Isn't it beautiful!?!?!?

Evil (Misconceptions of Me ~Why So Serious~)

Evil can be summed by in two words - Drama and Killer Harmonies.

That's technically three, but you know what the fuck I meant.

Evil is SHINee at their most dramatic. I remember Shawols losing their collective minds at the fancams from the concert performances where they wore blindfolds.

Yes, you read that correctly. These dramatic ass motherfuckers were performing on stage with blindfolds on. They were, more than likely, see through blindfolds, but never doubt SHINee's collective love of the Drama™. They absolutely would dance completely blindfolded.

Evil starts out slow, but I very much doubt that many of us thought the song was gonna stay that way; SHINee were just building the atmosphere (read - creating the perfect environment to torch our weaves). Evil has an almost musical theater vibe to it, except not nearly as cheesy. Evil is honestly a one of a kind experience that we all need in our lives at some point.

Especially because SHINee were on their harmonic A game the day they recorded Evil. When the drums drop out and it's just the orchestral stabs with their voices?!?!? Fuckin' magic, ladies.

Like A Fire (Misconceptions of Me ~Why So Serious~)

We all Know™ Like A Fire, because of that one performance where Jonghyun, Kibum, and Jinki were having a contest to see whom tf could be the most extra (to be honest, I'd say Kibum won, based purely on the fact that I didn't even know he could wail like that). But Like A Fire stands firm on her own by being a wickedly good Funk song.

(Sidenote - I'm about 90% this list has more Funk tracks than my '90s 5HINee FSL, and I want you all know that that was not on purpose. I wont be changing it, but I swear it wasn't done purposefully!!)

Like A Fire, like Punch Drunk Love, is SHINee on autopilot. I don't know what else to say about this song. It's just so Classic SHINee™, sis!! The verses have a more somber, minor tone to them, but the choruses transition (maybe that's a modulation, I'm not Musically Advanced™ enough to make that call) into a killer major groove that is just so beautiful to listen to. I don't know anyone who doesn't like this song. Liking Like A Fire is a requirement for being a Shawol (especially a Shawol of color). If you don't like Like A Fire, you're invalid.

I need to say something about these harmonies and ad libs, tho. Did the producer of Like A Fire tell the SHINee Boys™ to go HAM the day they were laying down tracks for Like A Fire?!?!?! Did they mean for the harmonies and ad libs to get this over the top!?!?! I'm not complaining, I just wanna know. Because the harmonies and ad libs, especially, are so ridiculous!! I love every second of it, but sometimes it K I L L S how extra this song is!!

Diamond Sky (FIVE)

The first time I ever listened to this song, I cackled like a banshee at how extra that intro was, because it's so SHINee. It's so dramatic, and it suits SHINee to a T. I was expecting the verses to be some Final Dragon type shit, or somethin'!!!

Diamond Sky is pretty standard fare for a J-Pop song, imo. It doesn't stop me from loving SHINee's take on it (and it shouldn't stop you), but it's worth mentioning; SHINee + J-Pop = Love. Like I mentioned above, I'm glad that SHINee were able to continue releasing music in Japan, because this is a style of music that suits them well, but would not do well in Korea at all.

Diamond Sky feels like the theme song for a magical girl anime. The twinkly pianos, complemented by the strings and electric guitar give it an air of grandiosity that would have made it a perfect theme or insert song for Sailor Moon. If they had added a modulation at the end for Maximum Drama™, I'd have lost my shit.

Close the Door (Everybody)

Firstly, if you haven't watched the SHINee World IV performance where Jinki tap dances to Close the Door, I'm judging you. Our sweet dubu leader did not bless us with such beauty and grace for you to ignore it!!

Secondly, Close the Door is the cheesiest love song I've ever encountered in K-Pop. It's got the romantic sounding keys, the strings, it's in 6/8 time (perfect for a waltz, babies), the lyrics are so sugary sweet, and the chord progressions utilize mostly major chords. And you know what, I absolutely fucking love it. I'm a cheesy Romantic Gay™, and I fucking love this cheesy ass love song. It's just so aurally pleasing, especially since these SHINee boys all have voices that blend together amazingly when they harmonize. Sue me.

Sleepless Night (Misconceptions of Me ~Why So Serious~)

SHINee ballads are a wonderful, amazing thing, you know?!?!? Especially when they don't give us the typical classical ballad, but go a little left field into something jazzy or RnB. Which is what they do with Sleepless Night.

This week's playlist features a lot of songs that are extremely over the top, sis. And I mean, we've discussed this; these SHINee boys love the drama of it all. But they also love lowkey songs like Sleepless Night. You'd be able to tell if they didn't with a song this stripped back and bare. Sleepless Night is literally the SHINee boys (and their amazing harmonies), a piano, and some strings. And it's fucking amazing. There are quite a few songs from SHINee that I want to experience live, but I think Sleepless Night tops the list. Well, that and Wish Upon A Star, but I'm sure I'd cry my fucking eyes out listening to that. I mean, I might cry my eyes out to Sleepless Night, but there's less of a chance there.

I've accepted that I'm a boring bitch who lives for a good ballad (the amount of ballads I've had to listen to for my RRUs has definitely proven this), but there's nothing quite like a good SHINee ballad, sis. There ain't never been a SHINee ballad that I didn't like.

And that's all for this week's list, loves!! Please tune in next week for the next era in my SHINee Spotlight series, Contemporary SHINee ver.2!! And don't forget to tune in Wednesday for my next Review Roundup, featuring songs released this week!!

Love you, guys!!

[downloadfreenurseryworksheet]

Coolest Gadgets Now a days

Getting your camera out is an unordinary approach to start your sound understanding, however the result is well justified, despite all the trouble with these artistic earphones. The Creative SXFI THEATER remote earphones utilize a flawless innovation called Super X-FI, which models customized film sound from photographs of your head and ears for a head-wobbling involvement with your parlor.

What's more, head-wobbling it is. These earphones are boisterous, bassy and overly incredible, with swooshing lightsabers from all edges when watching Star Wars and blasts shivering your entire body playing a spot of Call of Duty. Also, that is before you even turn Super X-FI on, which takes everything up a score for a significantly more artistic experience.

The headset accompanies a USB remote transmitter for zero-inactivity sound (to the detriment of Bluetooth, yet that is not generally an issue in your parlor/office space), and despite the fact that they're on the stout side, they are bounty agreeable to wear for expanded gaming meetings. - AM

£189.99, uk.creative.com, purchase now from Amazon UK

15

JBL Tuner XL DAB radio

JBL Tuner XL DAB radio (cool contraptions)

Convenient radios, recall them? Before cell phones were actually a thing, handheld radios were strikingly useful on the off chance that you were pottering at the base of the nursery or edgy to know the remainder of the scores while you were at the footy. On the drawback, they oftentimes sounded refuse.

Circumstances are different, the new Tuner XL from sound masters JBL guarantees sound interminably better gratitude to DAB radio and an incredible 10W speaker. Best of all it'll work in the web no man's land close to the petunias or encompassed by 50,000 footy fans sucking up data transmission by transferring the objective of the period to Twitter.

It's waterproof to IPX7 guidelines, so ought to have the option to take a couple of sprinkles, and claims a long, 15-hour battery life. Obviously, if The Today Show simply isn't cutting it for you, you can likewise connect it to Bluetooth and tune in to something undeniably additionally intriguing.

£129.99, purchase now uk.jbl.com

16

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (cool contraptions)

On the off chance that like us you're a major aficionado of science books, you'll presumably be very much familiar with the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (for those that don't have any acquaintance with, it's a waterproof tablet with an underlying light for perusing in obscurity). No issues up until now, however for what reason does it make it onto this regarded rundown of cool devices? All things considered, presently it comes in two delectable new hues, sage and plum… delicious.

From £119.99, purchase now from Amazon UK

17

WAKEcup self-cleaning water bottle

WAKEcup self-cleaning water bottle (cool contraptions)

How spotless is your water bottle? Who knows, however it presumably could be cleaner given that it is so hard to scour directly into those inaccessible corners at its base. The WAKEcup 550ml water bottle has a bright light in the top that in a short time vows to destroy 99.99 percent of the microorganisms, infections and form that you may have missed.

Also, if that didn't give you a comfortable sentiment of virtue inside, for each item sold during the Covid lockdown, they are giving one WAKEcup to a specialist, medical attendant or care laborer in the NHS as a much obliged.

£45, globalwakecup.com

18

Yoto Player intelligent sound player

Yoto player (cool devices)

Tapes were incredible, weren't they… Ok, the sound was junk, you were unable to skip tracks and they never endured too long they were eaten up by the tape beast (you comprehend what I mean), however as a child I used to adore tuning in to stories on them.

For me there was something profoundly fulfilling about opening the tapes into the player, squeezing play and losing all sense of direction in a tearing yarn, and the Yoto Player is a current proportionate similarly as material and energizing. But it sounds great.

Rather than tapes, this awesome little sound player works by opening in cards, every one of which contains a story to tune in to. There are heaps of exemplary stories to pick from, for example, The Gruffalo and Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, just as different cards with digital broadcasts, radio and exercises on. Rather than a screen it has a cutesy pixelated show, which alongside stout catches for volume and skipping tracks, the entire gadget is totally kid-accommodating (even my two-year-old had the option to get to grasps with it).

Whatever the conditions, keeping kids engaged without turning to a tablet can be a battle, so the Yoto Player is an unquestionably one of the better approaches to keep their little personalities buzzing and creative mind started.

Starting at July, for £12.99 Yoto likewise run a month to month membership bundle which, among different treats, sends both of you new cards to tune in to consistently, a postcard and an ever-developing shading workmanship piece to keep those imaginative energies pumping. – AM

£79.99 for the Yoto Player + cards from £1.99, yotoplay.com

19

Theragun Prime back rub firearm

Theragun Prime back rub firearm (cool contraptions)

As of late you may have seen that web-based media is loaded up with profoundly fulfilling moderate mo recordings of individuals pounded their legs with rub weapons, yet what precisely is going on? Well as opposed to forking out on physiotherapy, rub firearms resemble having a private masseur close by for a brisk post-exercise meeting – the Theragun is the one such device.

It would seem that a hybrid of a weapon and a force instrument (and really when you switch it on you could be pardoned for believing it's both) yet actually, the Theragun Prime is a percussive treatment gadget, intended to knead your muscles by quickly applying strain to your body up to 40 times each second.

It professes to get 60% more profound into your muscles than different massagers, expanding blood stream and decreasing irritation, muscle strain, and turning out to be any bunches that have created.

Peruse more about the study of wellbeing:

HIIT is changing the manner in which we work out, here's the science why it works

5 home exercise applications for your socially-removed exercise

Step by step instructions to pick the best wellness tracker

The three-sided handle makes it simple to hold from any point, permitting you to truly choose trouble spots without bowing at all edges to get at it, and keeping in mind that it's a long way from quiet, it's unquestionably not as boisterous as something beating at 2,400 percussions per minute in your grasp ought to be.

The documentation for how to utilize the Theragun could do with a little work, and the application isn't overly useful either, offering just a couple of schedules and a guide concerning how much weight you're applying. Indeed, it was fourteen days before I found you could turn it on without expecting to experience the application, be that as it may, when I worked out this now evident element, I was utilizing it every day.

It was a disclosure to have the option to get it and work on tied muscles I didn't know existed and knead explicit pieces of my body that were feeling frustrated about themselves in the wake of turning out to be throughout the day (read that as remaining at my work area).

I've generally been utilizing it toward the start of the day to jump-start the system and around evening time before bed, and it unquestionably delivers a portion of the muscle pressure that has developed throughout the day. This being stated, I'm no clinical master, so it merits investigating on the web to discover precisely how to utilize it securely. – AM

[flowers-in-your-dustbin]

All the numbers again (second tag reblog)

1: When you have cereal, do you have more milk than cereal or more cereal than milk? More milk than cereal cause I like to drink it!

2: do you like the feeling of cold air on your cheeks on a wintery day? Yeah, but when I can get into the warmth after that's even better!

3: what random objects do you use to bookmark your books? I try to remember the page number instead so usually end on a multiple of 10 or 5.

4: how do you take your coffee/tea? Tea: Two sugars, milk, hopefully brewed by the gal. Coffee: I don’t!

5: are you self-conscious of your smile? Kinda!

6: do you keep plants? Nope!

7: do you name your plants? None to name!

8: what artistic medium do you use to express your feelings? Oils if I had the money for that so typically watercolours

9: do you like singing/humming to yourself? I am right now.

10: do you sleep on your back, side, or stomach? Typically side, but back is fine. Not stomach really!

11: what's an inner joke you have with your friends? Oh My Gouda.

12: what's your favorite planet? Uranus ;)

13: what's something that made you smile today? My gal surprised me with a beautiful orchid

14: if you were to live with your best friend in an old flat in a big city, what would it look like? Edgy expose brick aesthetic

15: go google a weird space fact and tell us what it is! Uranus’ blue glow is due to an abundance of methane which filters out red light.

16: what's your favorite pasta dish? Spaghetti carbonara probs! Especially cooked by the best.

17: what color do you really want to dye your hair? I don’t! I did want pastel pink in August.

18: tell us about something dumb/funny you did that has since gone down in history between you and your friends and is always brought up. I had a paddy fit in primary school because I used to always sabotage my meals so I didn't eat them but I spilt milk on something I legitimately didn’t mind having... I cried over spilt milk.

19: do you keep a journal? what do you write/draw/ in it? I do! I write the days events and my feelings, I draw key points or little objects. Not all the time tho.

20: what's your favorite eye color? A nice hazel-y to chocolate amber brown woop

21: talk about your favorite bag, the one that's been to hell and back with you and that you love to pieces. A grey Kanken Fjallraven, if Switzerland counts as hell, there you have it.

22: are you a morning person? Yeah! I’m straight too!

23: what's your favorite thing to do on lazy days where you have 0 obligations? Exactly that, nothing. With a side of music.

24: is there someone out there you would trust with every single one of your secrets? Only the one.

25: what's the weirdest place you've ever broken into? An abandoned slaughterhouse. Soz vegans

26: what are the shoes you've had for forever and wear with every single outfit? Black old skool vans hehe original

27: what's your favorite bubblegum flavor? Strawberry!

28: sunrise or sunset? Why not both in a day?

29: what's something really cute that one of your friends does and is totally endearing? I’m not sure!

30: think of it: have you ever been truly scared? I’m not sure, close calls/

31: what is your opinion of socks? do you like wearing weird socks? do you sleep with socks? do you confine yourself to white sock hell? really, just talk about socks. I like socks. Weird socks are fun. So are odd ones. I do not sleep with my socks, nor do I confine myself to white sock hell.

32: tell us a story of something that happened to you after 3AM when you were with friends. We had deep convos for the time, we probs cried, then probs went to sleep.

33: what's your fave pastry? Uh choux just cause I can remember that is one. Hahahaha.

34: tell us about the stuffed animal you kept as a kid. what is it called? what does it look like? do you still keep it? I had one called Baxter Bear which was the best, he was quite obviously a bear with a red scarf and his own passport. I threw up on him in the car and he was never the same again, he disappeared short after. Don’t ask about Scrubs the dog.

35: do you like stationary and pretty pens and so on? do you use them often? I do, I just don't use them often.

36: which band's sound would fit your mood right now? The xx

37: do you like keeping your room messy or clean? A healthy middle.

38: tell us about your pet peeves! Couldn’t possibly. There’s a fair few.

39: what color do you wear the most? Probably black? Emo ik.

40: think of a piece of jewelry you own: what's it's story? does it have any meaning to you? I own a necklace I got for my 16th its very cute and only comes out when I have heterosexual days to masquerade it. It’s nice.

41: what's the last book you remember really, really loving? The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde, it’s my favourite ever. I don’t read as much as I used to, sigh.

42: do you have a favorite coffee shop? describe it! There’s a cute local one. They do unreal Nutella pancakes and its quite central and very aesthetic-y. Yum!

43: who was the last person you gazed at the stars with? My gal, typically on the way to my car where I point out Orion or The Dipper. It’d be nice to do it properly sometime.

44: when was the last time you remember feeling completely serene and at peace with everything? Two days ago.

45: do you trust your instincts a lot? When I need to.

46: tell us the worst pun you can think of. Someone mentions a dog, then I normally incorporate the word ‘ruff’ as a homophone for ‘rough’ and get death stares. But I like it.

47: what food do you think should be banned from the universe? Gherkins.

48: what was your biggest fear as a kid? is it the same today? Abandonment/loneliness hahahah yes it is.

49: do you like buying CDs and records? what was the last one you bought? I do like buying records yeah! I can’t say until April the 23rd but I’ll have bought another by then.

50: what's an odd thing you collect? I don’t think I do have anything odd!

51: think of a person. what song do you associate with them? Uncomfortable by Wallows, as well as Fast Food by D.I.D and many many more.

52: what are your favorite memes of the year so far? The new Patrick one is doing pretty good.

53: have you ever watched the rocky horror picture show? heathers? beetlejuice? pulp fiction? what do you think of them? Nope, nope, nope and nope!

54: who's the last person you saw with a true look of sadness on their face? My dog. I didn't walk him.

55: what's the most dramatic thing you've ever done to prove a point? Hahahah you wouldn’t want to know. 

56: what are some things you find endearing in people? Feeling secure with them, if you get me.

57: go listen to bohemian rhapsody. how did it make you feel? did you dramatically reenact the lyrics? CAN YOU DO THE FANDANGO!?!?!

58: who's the wine mom and who's the vodka aunt in your group of friends? why? K is probs the wine mom bc I'd say A but she’s not as sensible, thus A gets the Aunt role.

59: what's your favorite myth? Bulls hate red, they’re actually colour blind lmao.

60: do you like poetry? what are some of your faves? I don’t mind a bit of poetry! Marking Time by Owen Sheers is noice.

61: what's the stupidest gift you've ever given? the stupidest one you've ever received? Me and mum put a fancy brooch in a pack of digestives for someone. I’ve received stupid spellings of my name on the birthday cards.

62: do you drink juice in the morning? which kind? Nope

63: are you fussy about your books and music? do you keep them meticulously organized or kinda leave them be? Rainbow order woop.

64: what color is the sky where you are right now? Black.

65: is there anyone you haven't seen in a long time who you'd love to hang out with? Yep!

66: what would your ideal flower crown look like? Cutesy and white and blue and stuff idk. But I wouldn't wear one haha.

67: how do gloomy days where the sky is dark and the world is misty make you feel? Serene! Albeit Silent Hill-esque

68: what's winter like where you live? Fun! Cold! Disruptive!

69: what are your favorite board games? The Game of Life/Monopoly/Articulate!

70: have you ever used a ouija board? Nope!

71: what's your favorite kind of tea? English Breakfast, brewed by the girlfriend.

72: are you a person who needs to note everything down or else you'll forget it? I've been known to be.

73: what are some of your worst habits? Overthinking. Nail biting.

74: describe a good friend of yours without using their name or gendered pronouns. Ginger.

75: tell us about your pets! A doggo! A beagle! and a fish...

76: is there anything you should be doing right now but aren't? Revising!

77: pink or yellow lemonade? Yellow

78: are you in the minion hateclub or fanclub? anyone in the fanclub needs natural selection to do its thing.

79: what's one of the cutest things someone has ever done for you? Surprised me at work with flowers.

80: what color are your bedroom walls? did you choose that color? if so, why? White, because I’d like grey but we haven’t got there yet or painted the house since its still pretty new.

81: describe one of your friend's eyes using the most abstract imagery you can think of. I don't have the time for that shit.

82: are/were you good in school? I was! I still think I am! Who knows.

83: what's some of your favorite album art? Smithsmithsmithsmithsmiths

84: are you planning on getting tattoos? which ones? Yeah! Quite a few. All tonal, but above all a Venus sign and more importantly the great wave off Kanazawa by Hokusai

85: do you read comics? what are your faves? I don't fun fact I used to read them start to feel sick.

86: do you like concept albums? which ones? I feel stupid for not knowing what they are.

87: what are some movies you think everyone should watch at least once in their lives? Donnie Darko.

88: are there any artistic movements you particularly enjoy? Not Gothic. Can’t go wrong with a bit of impressionism.

89: are you close to your parents? I think. Depends on the time of day.

90: talk about your one of you favorite cities. Starts with E, ends in Dinburgh.

91: where do you plan on traveling this year? Nowhere abroad really, just a couple of good cities.

92: are you a person who drowns their pasta in cheese or a person who barely sprinkles a pinch? Barely sprinkles, but I have a drowner with me to compensate.

93: what's the hairstyle you wear the most? Down. Full stop. 

94: who was the last person you know to have a birthday? My girlfriend’s. mum!

95: what are your plans for this weekend? Work, a party, a Harry Potter film, a sad Sunday.

96: do you install your computer updates really quickly or do you procrastinate on them a lot? I leave them for as long as possible

97: myer briggs type, zodiac sign, and hogwarts house? ENFJ/Pisces/Ravenclaw

98: when's the last time you went hiking? did you enjoy it? Hah idk.

99: list some songs that resonate to your soul whenever you hear them. Nude - Radiohead is the one I’m thinking at the mo’ and I can’t think past that.

100: if you were presented with two buttons, one that allows you to go 5 years into the past, the other 5 years into the future, which one would you press? why? Future. Don’t need to lament on the past when I hope I have a good one ahead of me. Then from there I'd click 5 back so I’m right back to where I am, cheers.

[bluezey]

How did we go from Rango to Sausage Party to Emoji Movie?

I’m not a fan of review videos right now cause they’re all taking stabs at Emoji Movie.  For one, I haven’t seen it, so I don’t want my view swayed.  And two, well, you don’t need to see it to know that it’s junk, it’s just pandering junk made for a quick buck.  But, today I was finally happy to watch a review, and it was an old review of Caddicarus spoiler-free reviewing Sausage Party.  Last year, we had Sausage Party, so should we not be that surprised we have Emoji Movie?  Well, even without seeing Emoji Movie, I have to say yes it’s surprising because even Sausage Party surprisingly had a point.  Yes, Sausage Party was meant to be raunchy and offensive and wtf, but then you see the film and not only do they own that end of the spectrum, but they make a plot about religion that’s not only another offense but serves a purpose, it made some points and even had a tacked on message about it.  So, should I not judge Emoji Movie because maybe it has a purpose outside of selling a product?  In my opinion, yes, because even with the “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” Emoji Movie does not look like my cup of tea.  I like animated films, I like cheese, but Emoji Movie does not look like my blend of cheese.

Oh, but Sausage Party is, I hear you ask?  Well, yes.  While I like animated films and even cartoons for kids, I also like adult humor, I like something smart for adults and something that’s plain candy mush for adults.  That’s why I like Rick and Morty, that’s why I like American Dad, that’s why I like Family Guy (to an extent), that’s why I like Moral Orel (to an extent), that’s why I like Squidbillies, that’s why I like Aqua Teen, that’s why I like most episodes of South Park, that’s why I like Ugly Americans.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I have a limit, so whenever I recommend Sausage Party to people, I also stressfully warn them by saying “when it comes to it’s raunchiness, you’re not ready, you may THINK you’re ready, but you’re not.”  I’ll even admit that I own a copy of Sausage Party unironically, but I still look away when it comes to THAT moment in the film (but thanks to tumblr gifsets I technically HAVE seen it, so... yeah.)

But I’m done rambling.  My point is while I have levels of adult taste and adult “lack of taste” I do have a fascination for adult animated films.  Partly because I have a fascination for the taboo, because let’s be honest animated films are still considered more for kids and families, and also because they’re few and far between.  When we weed out the sugary eye candy and the bullshit, there is a long and wide collection of good films for kids, but for adults we have... Felix the Cat... Cool World... that one film with that title I’m afraid to say... South Park... that one film Cinema Snob found about a duck... long story short, not many.

But, here’s an interesting trend, many of the adult rated animated films are made by Ralph Bakshi.  How do I explain Ralph Bakshi.  Well, Nostalgia Critic’s review of Cool World has a better description of the man, but in my words, he is a crazy, fascinating genius.  Clearly a big fan of animation and a big animation influence, but while many were making kids films, he was making something bizarre and different with animation.  Yes, he did kids films, but he did a Lord of the Rings film with rotoscoping and a fantasy film with swearing and Nazi imagery.  Yes, I’m not joking.  So, with that bit of insanity, how were his films he successfully made for adults.  He made Fritz the Cat, the first X rated animated film that’s also a porno.  And that film that I’m afraid to say the name of?  It’s about racial tension and stars Brier Rabbit, Brier Fox and Brier Bear in some kind of mafia underground.  Again, I’m not joking.  He was one of the many that knew animation was an art film, not a kids genre, but he was also one of the few that successfully made examples of it.  Despite some questionable choices he made, even in his kids films, all his cartoons had a level of smartness and a purpose, made the audience think and react.  All except Cool World, but see Nostalgia Critic’s review to get a good grasp on that story.

To almost switch tangents again, let’s briefly talk about another well known director, Gore Verbinksi.  He is known famously for the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, but did you know he is also responsible for an animated film?  Yes, 2011′s Rango was his doing.  Not only wanting to do a western and an animated film, but Gore Verbinski was quoted for saying that he missed films by Ralph Bakshi in the media and wanted to make a film much like it.  Woah, I hear you say, what kind of shit is in Rango if he wanted to make a Bakshi-esque film?  Well, overall Rango does sound like a kids film.  It’s about talking animals in the old west setting, and specifically we’re following a chameleon who goes by the name of Rango, who wants to become a hero, so he tries to save the town of Dirt from a drought, as water is not only a living sustenance but a form of currency to the denizens of the town.  Nothing that surprising yet, until you find out this film also has on screen drinking, drunkeness, smoking, gun violence, mild swearing (if you call damn and hell curse words), possibly two females of the town are dress as prostitutes so that may be their occupation.  And Rango, yes, that may not even be his real name.  He made it up because when we met him in the beginning of the film he is literally a blank slate in an existential crisis of finding his purpose in life.  Yes, I’m not joking.  Not only having some things that would make shelter parents flip like guns and tobacco, but this film has a surprisingly deep plot even for adults to grasp, and this film was meant for kids!  Even the world was not animated in a cutesy kids fashion, as the world was dirty and, despite half of the characters having out of proportion faces so they’d look aesthetically okay to look at, the characters look realistic as possible.  No smoothness, no fluff, just matted hair, scales and thorns.  Compared to other films that came out before and after it in the ten year time frame, this film was pretty gritty.

So, should we thank Rango for giving us Sausage Party?  With a big asterisk, I’d have to say, kind of, in a way we have to thank The Simpsons for giving us Family Guy.  These two films could not be any more opposite of each other.  Rango was smart and for kids and Sausage Party, while smart, was just raunchiness for adults.  But, no joking, I believe if we had an alternate reality in which Rango was not made, we would not have Sausage Party.  Let me try to explain why.  Like all evolution, we can’t just take a running leap, we need to take steps or even half-steps to get there.  And without Rango, the last step was the South Park movie back in 1999.  There was a big plateau in adult films between 1999 and 2016, so Rango in 2011 also had a purpose of being the half-step.  Yes, it was for kids and was technically inoffensive, but was also risky and challenging for having smoking, drinking, swearing and gun violence unapologetically in a kids film, like a Ralph Bakshi kids movie.  And, with Rango technically closing the gap even further by winning the Best Animated Feature Oscar in 2012, it closes the gap even further to four years between them and Sausage Party.  So, think of Rango as Ralph Bakshi’s film Wizards and Sausage Party as Ralph Bakshi’s film Fritz the Cat, and you can see some link between the two.  While Sausage Party is the adult film we love, Rango is the film that got us there by showing the audience that it’s okay to have “edgy” things in animated form on the big screen.  Yes, we have this in a way in kids films, but they’re just blips of adult humor in kid friendly fluff.  Rango had edginess and grit throughout, it tried to not only numb us but show us it’s okay.  Sausage Party was the adult version of this by making a full on controversial film for adults.

But now that we gushed about Rango and Sausage Party, how did we go from Rango, to Sausage Party, to Emoji Movie.  The short answer, because while some filmmakers are taking us forward, some are taking us back.  Like a knock off, anyone can find something popular and make a quick buck on it.  When Rugrats movie came out in the late 90s, studios realized that it’s quick and easy to make a film based on a previous source material because people can easily grasp on the source material.  When Shrek came out in the early 2000s, studios saw modernizing tropes as the next cash grab because we are familiar with the tropes and modernizing them made the film look “smart” and “progressive” without even actually trying to be.  And now, with The Lego Movie, we have studios believing that you can make a quick buck by grabbing onto nostalgia and just bullshit the rest of your way through.  The good news, My Little Pony Movie.  The bad news, Emoji Movie.

So, yeah, compared to 2016 that gave us Finding Dory, Kubo, Sausage Party, Sing and a few sprinkles of Minions and Mr. Peabody, 2017 is the flip side.  While we’re getting Coco, we’re also getting Emoji Movie.  Hell, even I wanted to see Power Rangers out of a nostalgic rush (and because Bill Hader was playing Alpha Five) and Cars 3 because it was NOT Cars 2.  Compared to films in 2016 where there was more good films with effort, 2017 has more okay to WTF is this S films with very little effort.  

Basically, I think this is just the trends of the time, and unfortunately the trends of good to bad films and films with effort and films with no effort are both in their downswing this year.  Think about it, 2015 gave us Inside Out, how did we get to Emoji Movie?  Or close the gap even further and you think how did we get from Sausage Party to Emoji Movie?  Yeah, Sausage Party was sophomoric and not for everyone, but even that film had a purpose.  Even Sing, for being nothing but predictable cheese, at least it was an enjoyable blend of cheese.  How do you make a product out of an emoji?  The silver lining we can take out of this is, with Rango, Inside Out, Sausage Party and the upcoming Coco, there’s at least people still giving a crap out there in animation films.  Hell, we can also see that with little shorts like Pixar’s Piper and even the art project In A Heartbeat.  (How messed up is it that In A Heartbeat is now grouped in with Emoji Movie and Sausage Party?  Seriously, I genuinely want to know.)

While animated films will have its ups and down, and clearly 2017 is the downswing, at least there’s some films showing that effort and progression will not die.  And with people as insanely genius as Ralph Bakshi, Gore Verbinski and, yes, Seth Rogen and pals, giving us Fritz the Cat, Rango and Sausage Party, not only will the challenge against the “norms” and the “quick buck” still be there, but we may end up getting another R rated animated film or two in the next few years, maybe even one that’s less raunchy and more challenging than Sausage Party.  I am not kidding when I say In A Heartbeat could be expanded upon into a pre teen romantic comedy “with a PG edge” as they would star a gay couple and even mention other challenges like coming out as trans, or just plain afraid to come out, or just plain bullying.  And the best part is, without it being R rated or full of sex puns like Sausage Party, an In A Heartbeat film can be seen by everyone (except if you have sheltering parents who still don’t get it).  But, I’m rambling on something good again.  In closing, with next few years giving us Incredibles 2, Wreck-It Ralph 2, Lego Movie 2 and even The Loud House Movie, I can see animated films having an upswing in the near future.  But, with upcoming films such as Gnomeo and Juliet 2, Angry Bird 2 and Boss Baby 2, we may still have to sort through the shit to get to them.

[glassesrink]

COMIX'S SONDHEIM LIST

Nevermind, I’m submitting for length and formatting reasons

- Into the Woods: Probably his most well known/popular? For good reason, it possesses all of his trademarks: quirky characters (including the Kooky Older Lady), somewhat offbeat humour, syncopation, razor sharp wit via motormouth lyrics. Like, just play the prologue of this show to someone and they’ll understand what Sondheim’s style is by the end of those 14 minutes. Disney did a movie in 2014 but there’s also an original cast filmed stage version right here.

Also, “while her withers wither with her” is one of the best lyrics ever??

- A Little Night Music: this is Comix’s ultimate favourite Sondheim ever. It’s so musically complex (always in 3, copious use of counterpoint, crazy ranges) and makes it so…pretty. But it’s also a ridiculous Scandinavian love dodecahedron, so it’s funny as hell. I’m still really disappointed that LMM didn’t notice my contribution to #SondWebParty:

Fredrik: She flutters. Desiree: How charming. Fredrik: She twitters. Desiree: My word. Fredrik: She floats. Desiree: Isn’t that alarming? What is she, a bird?

And there’s a televised Lincoln Centre performance featuring Michael Maguire and Maureen Moore (Sorry the beginning is gone but still mostly there?)

- Company: I gained the approval and praise of my musical director in undergrad because I let her rip my 1970 original cast recording. This is like…upper middle class slice of life musical?? There’s not much to say about the plot because there really isn’t one, just a serial dating single protagonists and all his married friends. This show has the BEST patter songs, from the cutesy “Another Hundred People” to “Getting Married Today” which, modern fans, rivals Hamilton’s “Guns and Ships” in speed and is HARDER because Amy doesn’t get any breaks and Lafayette has plenty.

- Assassins: I auditioned for this show with an obscure Sondheim (“What More Do I Need” from Saturday Night) and was applauded for it but didn’t get in :/ But it was fun to watch it. Want edgy? How about everyone who tried to kill a US president singing songs to convince you to understand their side of the story. Doesn’t mean you’ll actually be on their side, but they tried. Silver star for effort. Neil Patrick Harris was in the original Broadway Cast. He also did Company once. Be like NPH and do more Sondheim, everyone.

- Sweeney Todd: WANT MOAR EDGY?? Have this vengeful serial killer with a Tragic Backstory and the Kooky Older Lady who eagerly assists him. This show is so effing goth, Tim Burton did the movie. It’s not bad, honestly, but it’s also really Tim Burton who I’m not particularly crazy for. But regardless…Sweeney Todd. How do I even begin to explain Sweeney Todd? Sweeney Todd is impressive. It has two leads and a Greek chorus. You hear at least 20 leitmotifs throughout the show. Its music is borderline opera…but not. One time, NPH (How many Sondheims has he done??) played Tobias in concert…and he did it again a few years later. One time, they had a revival where the cast played instruments in addition to singing. It was awesome.

- West Side Story/Gypsy: Okay these I put together because it’s only Sondheim lyrics (Leonard Bernstein for WWS and Jule Styne for Gypsy) but they’re still great. I love the WWS movie tbh. A classic for a reason. And for Gypsy, all I’m going to say is: “If Momma was married we’d live in a house, as private as private can be. Just Momma, three ducks, five canaries, a mouse, two monkeys, one father, six turtles and me.”

I know there’s other Sondheim beloveds like A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Sunday in the Park with George but quite frankly I’m not well versed in them so I don’t feel comfortable saying stuff about ‘em but that just goes to show everyone needs more Sondheim in their lives

[gethealthy18-blog]

20 Hime Cut Styles Making The World Go Gaga!

New Post has been published on http://healingawerness.com/getting-healthy/getting-healthy-women/20-hime-cut-styles-making-the-world-go-gaga/

20 Hime Cut Styles Making The World Go Gaga!

Anjali Sayee March 15, 2019

The hime cut (also known as the hime katto) is a princess cut that originated in the Japanese imperial court during the Heian period. Royals would grow out their hair but keep their bangs eyebrow-length, while their sidelocks were cut at cheek-length. This hairstyle is seen predominantly in anime today. Still confused? Let me break it down for you in the next section.

What Is The Hime Cut?

The hime cut is a combination of the Amasogi and Binsogi hairstyles. The Amasogi is a blunt shoulder-length cut that was popular back in the imperial times. The Binsogi cut involves cutting the hair near the ears at ear-length. This was done during a ceremony called Binsogi when a woman turned 20, which is how the hairstyle gets its name.

The hime cut is most often seen in “gothic Lolita” culture. It is popular in South Korea now, with many K-Pop stars sporting the look.

Since your hair is cut at different lengths in this hairstyle, it requires a fair bit of maintenance. Check out the next section to find out what you need to do to maintain it.

juhvva / Instagram

How To Maintain The Hime Cut

If you have long, straight hair, you will just need to trim it regularly to keep it looking fresh and on point.

For wavy or curly hair, this cut is high maintenance and will require regular straightening, trimming, and touch-ups.

Now that you know everything about hime cuts, let’s deep dive into all the ways that you can style it!

20 Stunning Hime Cut Styles

1. Cheek Length Hime Cut

mmhiw  / Instagram

While the traditional hime cut has the sidelocks cut at cheek-length with bangs, you don’t always need to sport bangs. Go fringeless this season and slay with this stunning hime cut.

2. Chin-Length Hime Cut

sarangdmd  / Instagram

The traditional hime cut is cut a little below the cheeks, but you can take it up a notch by taking it all the way down to your chin. This helps frame your face by accentuating your jawline.

3. Thick Hime Cut

mark_chi / Instagram

Do you have thick hair? Then, one of your biggest issues is finding the right hairstyle to show off its volume. The hime cut is perfect for this purpose. Your thick tresses will look flawless when cut in its three separate layers.

4. Long Hime Cut

zurakogaming / Instagram

Long side bangs can make any hairstyle look dapper. So, why not pair long side bangs with your hime cut? This is a great way to minimize the regular trims required to make your hime cut look fresh.

5. Double Sidelocks Hime Cut

ushi_tnk  / Instagram

Double scoops of ice-cream, second servings of cake: all good things come in doubles. Just like this double sidelocks hime cut. While the first sidelock is cut at cheek-length, the second one is cut a little lower. Also, notice how the first sidelock is more prominent than the second one. This helps in adding depth to your hair.

6. Tapered Hime Cut

qian.iris / Instagram

The hime cut most certainly looks stunning on thick hair, but it also looks elegant on thin hair. It adds a certain soft touch to your hair and helps in adding dimension to your face.

7. Dissociated Hime Cut

alicornia_cosplay / Instagram

Notice how the bangs, side bangs, and sidelocks are all clearly separated? This is why it’s called the dissociated hime cut. The levels are clearly demarcated from each other and don’t blend together. This adds an edgy touch to the look.

8. Curved-In Hime Cut

kimcheehana / Instagram

The classic hime cut is usually styled super straight. Most hime cuts nowadays follow that style still. But, what if you want your hime cut to stand out? Well, opt for this curved hime cut where the sidelocks are curved at the end. It might not look like much of a difference, but it helps draw attention to your facial features.

9. Thin Bangs Hime Cut

elata.666  / Instagram

Women with thick hair know that having thick bangs is not easy. You have to trim them constantly, and your forehead is sweaty most of the time. You can solve these issues by keeping your bangs thin but your sidelocks thick. This will add some great dimension to your hime cut.

10. Modern Hime Cut

mollyacevode / Instagram

Most face shapes don’t work with all types of bangs (unless you have an oval face). So, try this modern hime cut that merges sidelocks with long side bangs. The middle parting can make your face look longer, which is perfect for anyone with wide cheeks.

11. The Cosplay Hime Cut

matthiu.hope / Instagram

Cosplay is a big deal! Whether its at Comic Con or just to dress up like your favorite character for those likes, cosplays have gotten bigger and bigger over the years. Since the hime cut is often seen in animes, it is regularly sported by cosplayers.

12. Sleek Hime Cut

aleebystore / Instagram

Blunt bangs and blunt sidelocks make for a sleek hime cut. Simply apply some hair gel to your bangs and sidelocks before combing them down. Use very little gel as you don’t want the cut to look oily and weighed down.

13. Hime Cut Pigtails

uminisizumu / Instagram

Most female anime characters sport the hime cut. This is because the hime cut is very versatile. When you tie your hair in pigtails, you can see how the sidelocks and bangs stand out and help in framing your face.

14. Hime Cut Bob

jsakorea / Instagram

While in imperial times the hime cut was done on long, straight hair, the hime cut looks great even when done with a bob. With many K-Pop stars sporting this androgynous look, it’s only natural that many will follow suit.

15. Hime Cut Lob

msyyc_kyu / Instagram

The stylish long bob is one of the most sought-after hairstyles. So, why not pair it with the hime katto? Trust me when I say it looks absolutely brilliant. It adds a lovely twist to a classic style.

16. Contemporary Hime Cut

koba_maiko_hairstylist / Instagram

I love how the bangs in this style taper into the sidelocks while the sidelocks are dissociated from the rest of your hair. It jazzes up a regular bob cut. If you love short hairstyles, give this one a try.

17. Cute Hime Cut

xxminhrxx / Instagram

The hime cut looks very cute. That’s why many teens and young adults love sporting it. Add a subtle curve at the end to give your hime cut that cutesy girl-next-door vibe.

18. Flapper Hime Cut

pio_chan23 / Instagram

I love this vintage take on the hime cut that has been done in a flapper style. It looks straight out of a manga, doesn’t it? The short locks and layers draw attention to your eyes, nose, cheeks, and jawline.

19. Anime Hime Cut

smolcactus.cosplay / Instagram

The minute I saw this cut, I had a flashback to the many the anime series I used to watch as a kid, especially Jigoku Shoujo. While Ai Enma’s cut is more of a traditional hime katto, this modern take on the cut is pretty rad too.

20. High Fashion Hime Cut

errolkaradag / Instagram

When you have a hime cut this edgy, you need to flaunt it on Instagram. Look at the well-defined layers, bangs, sidelocks, and the perfect tuck behind the ear. So flawless!

If you want to go for an edgy and badass look, you need to get the hime cut. Which of your favorite anime characters sport the hime cut? And which of these styles would you personally love to sport? Comment below and let us know! Arigato!

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Anjali Sayee

Source: https://www.stylecraze.com/articles/hime-cut-styles/

[a-rat-and-a-blob]

Blog Birthday - Character Insight: Twitch

//Well.. today’s a big day. For those of you who don’t know, today is the day this blog was created. It is essentially this blog’s birthday and the day when my interpretations of these 2 characters were born. After 1 year, I have seen Twitch and ZAC go many peculiar adventures and seen them change and develop. Some as a result of events in drabble archs and some as a result of just writing their character more and more. So for this special occasion, I would just explain how the my interpretations developed, and first let’s start with the most famous of the 2, Twitch.

Built on the Corpses of Other Rpers

In order to find answers for the questions made from Twitch’s lackluster lore, I would loved to go out on tumblr to find Twitch rp blogs. I wanted to see how other people viewed Twitch and how they saw him. Sadly, the results didn’t really satisfy me because most Twitches I saw at the time, which most of them are dead, didn’t match with the general details of the character at all. Even though we can say every interpretation is great, it weird when you see Twitch being relatively stable. While some contained details I liked, I felt they usually missed the big points of the character. Twitch is supposed to be paranoid and unpleasant judging from his quotes but more blogs at the time conveyed him as a cutesy criminal with a kind soul or just a bland criminal, and I kinda used those criticisms I had to create my Twitch. I wanted him to be paranoid. I wanted him to go all the way with his unpleasantness while still keeping his zaniness. I wanted him to be the crazy comic relief character that we see in the game, and I do believe I did a good job of doing that.

The Old Lore

Not only did I want Twitch to be a great comic relief character, but a comic relief character with some depth, and most of it is seen in the backstory I gave him in the about page for Twitch. Most of it was heavily inspired by his old lore page and how it emphasized the fact that Twitch was the only one of his kind and his desperation to recreate his sentience is the main reason why he became a tool for the humans. I always thought that was a great idea for a lore and I wanted to keep those aspects in my interpretation. There was only 1 thing I never liked about it and that was the fact that he went to humans for help which was very questionable for a character like Twitch. So because of that, I still wanted to keep his goal of wanting to make more Plague Rats and the desperation as seen with his countless failed attempts at sentience potions. He constantly makes these potions and enters a great loop of failure which could contribute to his insanity. 

“The Only One Of His Kind”

Additionally, I also wanted to emphasize that he was the only Plague Rat in existence. I feel like being in that position really alters your mentality. You could say that they’re all after all because you’re the only one left or you won’t be able to sympathize because you keep saying that it’s a human problem not a Plague Rat problem. Additionally, you have to consider the first impressions that Twitch got out of humans which was not good at all and first impressions can leave a big impact on a person.This heavily influenced my Twitch. It helps explains why he can’t trust anyone, why he’s so paranoid of everything, and partially why he wants to make more plague rats in a way because maybe he can make someone he can trust which was what he thought what happened with ZAC when they first met, he thought he made his precious Goopy One.

All Hail The Sewer King!

This was obviously inspired by Twitch’s taunt “I hear you’re trash, bow before your king!”. He was obviously paranoid to think he was a king and I didn’t want to make Twitch dreary or edgy since he wasn’t originally meant to be that way. I saw this line as a way to combine both comedic Twitch and the backstory I had in mind with him. He believes that he’s the ruler, that everything belongs to him which could lead to hilarious laughs, but he’s a ruler of an imaginary kingdom of roaches. He tries to truly create his kingdom but fails everytime. not only did I see this as a way to fit Twitch’s character, but as a way to truly show both sides of Twitch: his comedic face value and the tragedy of being the only plague rat in existence.