#and as usual i think im giving johnny too much credit

[totentnz]

anyway my multishipper ass has finally been defeated and the winner is called johnny silverhand

[nastyburger]

Please say more about the awful Asian designs in Danny Phantom. I'm not Asian but I'd love to have a rundown on the elements that make them offensive so I can avoid and critique those elements in other works. And also you deserve to speak your mind about it

im gonna mostly talk about southeast asian designs since thats what i am and the most familiar with and also what i feel are the show's worst transgression with their casual depictions. tw for racist imagery im gonna link pictures.

there's not much to say about the designs aside from, you know, everything but things to note are the unnatural yellow tone for the skin and closed slanted eyes. veggie burger (fan name for the bg character in the middle) also suffers from the huge nose that sometimes shows up in racist depictions. the straight edge/cut hair as well is somewhat stereotypical. this one isn't as bad but in conjunction with everything else its not ideal. i will give the smallest molecule of credit that at the very least dp never gave any of these bg characters buck teeth.

some depictions are better than others, but theres still missteps happening in one aspect or another. kwan's eyes in a lot of shots/episodes can be too skinny and even too slanted, the girl in the middle is almost perfect but her skin is too yellow (she looks kinda okay on my computer screen but i remember when watching dp on my tv she looked real brightly yellow), and principle ishiyama (who was weirdly forgotten about pretty early on in the show and was replaced by lancer doing most of the school stuff despite not being principle?? which is a whole other issue with how dp treats its poc characters) the same usual notes about the slanted eyes but also the upturned nose is pretty reminiscent of racist japanese art during ww2. again it is not the worst way to draw a nose but combined with everything else in this show's depiction of asian characters its not great, they are on thin ice man.

not to mention, principle ishiyama is the only character here with brown eyes. this is a problem that extends to all poc characters in dp and to my knowledge i think ishiyama might be the only one with them tbh. this is, again, a whole other issue though.

i think the thing that bothers me most about these designs though is that dp is very clearly aware that these depictions are bad. the only difference between the first set of characters and the second is one singular thing: they have a clear speaking role.

suddenly when theyre not stock background characters, dp knows how to act when drawing them. i cannot for the life of me find the image of it, but the last jock guy in the first set gets a speaking role in reign storm (he's cosplaying phantom) and he is drawn with proper open eyes! (theyre also blue but whatever) it just makes me sad that this was a clear choice they made.

the show also went in a different direction in the final product, but early development stuff was really drawing from a lot of japanese/asian influences like danny was originally gonna have a motorcycle (pulling from ghost in the shell) and was even referenced in the show via the akira motorcycle reference (which i once again, for the life of me, cannot find. danny took johnny 13's motorcycle and did the classic akira slide i think it was in million dollar ghost?? idk whichever one where the giw are trying to blow up the ghost zone). danny's name was originally gonna be jackie, named after jackie chan, this i assume was given to jack fenton afterwards. and i think the show having a more martial arts direction with the action was also gonna be a thing? that one could be wrong dont quote me on that, there was an episode where danny and vlad have like a weird ninja fight though im pretty sure.

either way my point here is that they wanted to pull from all these influences and it was prominent enough during development that they sprinkle references to it throughout the show and yet their portrayal and treatment of asian characters in the show is so abysmal it just feels Bad™, you know? i cant really put it more eloquently than that, like its very take and no give with it.

it overall just puts a bad taste in my mouth, and its sad that it still affects people years later. like i mentioned in the tags of the post that started this discussion with that whole old trend of putting yourself into the bg of dp screenshots, i felt alienated by that. and its not the people who participated's fault obviously but most of the people i saw participating were white fans (going off of how they drew themselves) and it made me a bit mad that they were able to enjoy the style of the show in a more carefree manner than i ever could. i didnt want to ruin anyone's fun obviously, but a small part of me wanted to bring to light how i wasnt on equal ground with them in that situation.

[savoies]

blind - trevor zegras.

summary: love at first sight, you get the jist of it.

word count: 1k.

warnings: if you squint hard enough maybe like one sexual innuendo and hints of angst.

a/n: also im not sure if i have to state this but there is a party scene so it's pre pandemic. loosely inspired by blind by rolemodel. i heard the song and it made me think of a fic idea so here we are. enjoy! for @makarsy just because, ily. thank you to my mermaid anon for encouraging me to write it.

Taglist: @hartsyhart @boesxr @mitch-slap @frostythegoalman @kirbysdch  @aria253264 @thelionkingpw @damn-dunner-29 @mtkachuk @kaitieskidmore1 @kiedhara @laurenairay @teenagekook @alxvlasic @hockeyallthetime ​ @barzy-baby @bigboigritty @puckshitbitch @makarsy @mems06 @dunnwithlyfe  @connormcdavo @maattamatthews @tysjostys

tagging a few friends: @allisonxmoynihan @bestestbenn @vinceduhn @folkloreflyers .

(*credit to gif owner*)

The USA boys were having a party. Something small for getting a win earlier in the night. Now a few people were piled into the house as music was filling the small room known as the living room where Trevor stood. Next to him was Alex screaming over the loud noises of the party on how next week he was taking his girlfriend out to a new restaurant in town. Trevor wasn't paying much attention seeing if maybe Jack or Cole could save him from the conversation. Honestly Trevor loved his friend but the last thing he wanted to talk about was relationships.

As Trevor made his way the kitchen with a few excuse me's coming out from his mouth you bumped into him.

You had been trying to find the bathroom but it seemed hopeless with how many people were currently incapacitating the room. 

"Oh im sorry." You said to the mysterious dirty blonde haired boy in front of you.

Trevor's breathe hitched in his throat as he caught sight of you. He wasn't one to believe in love at first sight but you took his breathe away.

You cleared your throat as he had one his hand on your arm and held his stare quite strongly on you. "Excuse me" you said as you stepped aside and kept walking straight ahead of you.

Trevor stayed glued to his spot. Not really sure to follow you and ask for your name or just let you go since he seemed to embarrass himself enough already. He went to the kitchen to where Jack and Cole stood and people watched. More like was looking for you but the guys didn't need to know that. 

You had come out of the bathroom which to get back to the party you had to go through the kitchen. 

Trevor saw you as soon as you walked it. But you didn't see him. "Hey do you know who she is?" He asked Cole since he usually knew most people at parties.

"Oh Y/N yeah, she's in my philosophy class. She keeps pretty much to herself though." 

~~~~

The rest of the night Trevor wanted to at least have you say one word to him. He had never felt this way so the one time he did he wanted to grasp onto it. It seemed as though if he headed one way you headed the other. Until towards the end of the party.

Your friend had disappeared somewhere with one of the guys so you waited for then as they were your ride. So here you were sat on the couch on your phone trying to keep as much attention from yourself as possible.

Trevor who had somewhat skill at talking to people or girls now didn't know how to approach you. So he did what came to mind first. Sat on the couch and said nothing until you finally somewhat acknowledged his presence. You looked up at the cute mysterious boy from earlier and offered him a smile seeming as though he was doing the same thing as you, waiting for a friend.

He didn't know what to say so here he sat next to the girl that made his chest feel all warm and fuzzy.

"Y/N, there you are let's go!" Your friend came out of one of the many bedrooms and you stood up and waved at Trevor before he waved back and smiled. Hey at least she's waving he thought.

Trevor headed to bed and fell down on his bed. Thoughts of your smile and the few encounters he had with you tonight.

~~~

Days had passed and Trevor had been thinking and talking about you nonstop. Johnny had asked him to come to the library with him to look for a book so that is where they were headed.

"Look man if she makes you feel this way just ask her out or something." Johnny spoke up to his friend.

"I don't know man, I mean is she really gonna say no to a guy she barely knows." They had both arrived at the library and as they headed to where the book was Trevor spotted you with your head buried deep on books and notes.

Johnny said to ask you on a date so that is what he was about to do.

"Trev? Trev?" John looked around and saw him heading your way.

"Hi uhm my name is Trevor we sort of met at the party and uhm you don't have to say yes but i was wondering if you wanted to go out for coffee?" 

You looked up to see the cute boy from the party. Your friend had been telling you to take more risks so this seemed like quite the risk.

"You mean like right now?" You looked up at him.

Trevor seemed surprised. He didn't really think you would talk to him. "Uhm yeah i mean if you want or if you're free."

"Yeah I can do right now." 

~~~~

Laughter was heard throughout the small cafe. Here you here drinking a coffee in front of Trevor. Actually it was more like trying to drink your coffee since he was making you laugh. He had told you that he liked your laugh (which of course made your stomach fill with butterflies) and the whole time he had been trying to get you to laugh more. 

"So I'll call you?" Trevor told you as he left you in front of your door room.

"Yeah." You smiled big as you headed back inside. You usually never went on many dates or even gave your phone numbers to many guys cause that wasn't your thing. But with Trevor it was different. 

~~~~

One week later and your second date was set to take place. Trevor had texted earlier in the day and now here you were about to cancel.

The whole week all you could think about was him. All over one date. You had a saying, don't ever fall too hard. You had learned that falling too hard too fast would just result in you getting hurt so you did what seemed like the best option. Canceled.

~~~~

Throughout the whole week Trevor had been trying to set up dates but every time you had an excuse. It was either you didn't feel good or you were busy. But Trevor didn't give up because he too was falling fast and hard.

[everyhowlmarksthedead]

TEQUILA AND DAIKIRI

Johnny “Coco” Cruz x Reader

Anon asked: can you do an imagine with coco in where you two are best friends and one night you got drunk and go to his house and kiss him and you tell that you love him and he is like in shock and you thing he doesn’t love you back so you run away and you start ignoring him preventing from realreal heartbreak

Word Count: 1.3k

Thanks to my lovely beta reader @chibsytelford 💘

Author comments: I hope you all enjoy. Gif credits to: @angels-reyes

Tag list: @starrynite7114 ​ @chibsytelford ​ @dazzledamazon ​ @mara-mpou ​ @sammskellington ​ @gemini0410 ​ @1-800-imagines ​ @briana-mishell24 ​ @sassymox @whyisgmora @aquamento 💥 (if you wanna be tagged, send me a message!)

“Are you sure...?” Ez asks again whilst you're taking off the helmet with some difficulties, because you drunk too much. More than usual.

You nod very convinced, while he turns his gaze from the building where Coco lives, to you. He shrugs his shoulders, taking the helmet to hang it in the handlebar. Ez turns off the motorbike when you're inside the hall, going upstairs to the flat you know by heart. The mexican and you met like ten years ago, being in inseparable since then but some months ago you started to feel something else, something bigger, for him. You think it's happened in a Mayan party, when you found yourself laying on his lap with both arms around his neck and his wrapping your body, with some fingers traveling over a side of your left thigh so kindly that melted you, your beliefs and your whole soul.

Your knuckles hit the main door, more loudly than you could think being partially deaf because of the music that was playing in the pub. You wait for some seconds till you see some light under the door. Coco opens it, rubbing his eyes kinda sleepy without wearing a shirt. You gawk at the tattoos on his chest, until he slaps your forehead with his fingers.

“Yo! Mami, it's five am, 'foc' is wro—”.

Before you let him to finish the sentence, your lips collides with his placing both arms on his neck. The kiss it's weird and a little uncomfortable, but he tastes like tequila and that's really good. Pulling him away looking at his face you know it wasn't a good idea. He's bewildered staring at you with pursed lips as you kiss them. Raising your right forefinger, trying to say something, you decide to turn over your sneakers to run away downstairs even if he's calling you, telling you to wait for him. You don't look back, down the avenue, while your legs are burning because of the fast steps going to your house.

┅┅ ┅ ┅ ┅┅

You growl squeezing in pain with the sheets tangled in your almost naked body. The sun is on, illuminating your room in a unpleasant way. Hiding your head with the pillow, you snort heavy because of the headache hitting you thanks to the hangover. You know that what happened last night it wasn't a dream, nor a nightmare. Anyway, you confirm that fact when, after palming the bed, you find your phone. There are thirty-six missed calls and seventeen text from Coco. Turning off the wifi to avoid the double blue check, so he can't know you read them, you open the conversation.

(05:03) 💬: (Y/N) ????

(05:06) 💬: where r u ????

(05:06) 💬: pick up ma calls!

(05:11) 💬: you ok ???

(05:15) 💬: d fuc u did ???

(05:16) 💬: r u drunk mami ??

(05:19) 💬: why u kiss meee

(05:31) 💬: where r u ????????

(05:33) 💬: why don u answer

(05:33) 💬: am callin 911

(05:47) 💬: shit

(05:47) 💬: d fuc is wron wth u ??

(06:08) 💬: (Y/N) hello ?????????

(06:15) 💬: r u dead ????

(06:36) 💬: did u fockin mix tequila nd daikiri again ????

(09:43) 💬: yo u r worren me

(09:43) 💬: im comen 2 ur house u little fockin craze bech

The last message makes jump the pillow over your head to the floor. The door is almost closed and you can hear the tv on with some action movie on it. You sob because of the pain lashing your head and the shame is consuming you. Getting out of the bed, praying it's Angel who is there, you grab a shirt wearing it, sticking your head out the frame. You sob again when you find Coco staring at you, closing the door as if he didn't see you. Dragging your back down through it, you sit on the floor with your knees against your chest being surrounded by your arms.

The man pushes the door a little, but you close it again. Hearing him sighing, you shake your head.

“We have to talk”.

“Get outta' ma' house, Coco”. You blub without tears filling your eyes, just making the sound.

“That's all? You come to mine, kiss me and you're not gonna say anythen'?”

No words. You can't answer him. You're regretting what you did 'cause you thought he could feel something too. But, by the way he didn't move, nor kissed you back. The next thing you can hear is the main door being closed loud with a dry hit. You're fucked. You fucked up ten years of relationship in three seconds.

━━━━━━ ﹅ ━━━━━━

Two days passed since he left your house and you wrote Taza to ask him to change your turn at the car scrapping, so you don't have to work with Coco. And even you think that the talk it's something that will not happen, you're very, very, very wrong.

After finish your turn, when the moon is almost on top of the sky, you go out of the office downstairs seeing the mexican sitting on your bike and smoking a cigar with a no-friends-face. He's kinda angry, upset and tired of being running behind you the last days, till he finally get the perfect opportunity. You're wearing your helmet, giving him the silent treatment and checking your pocket looking for your keys.

“I got them”. He says raising his free hand, with them on his palm. “And 'am not gonna give you, if you don' talk to me”.

“There's a beautiful night with a lot of stars”. You play fool, actually talking to him as he wants.

“Why you kissed me, ah?”

“I was drunk”.

“Yea', but I know you drunk and you didn' try before”.

“For god's sake, Coco, forget it. It was just a fuckin' kiss”.

“No, it wasn't”. He says shaking his head and having a smoke. “You told me you love me”.

“I didn'”.

“Yea', when I was helping you to get outta your dress”.

You frown, gasping and trying to say something else. But you're getting so nervous that you can fall down unconscious.

“'Course I love you, you're ma' best friend, idiot”.

“Not in tha' way, shithead”.

“Wha' you wanna hear, uh?” You ask crossing your arms and curling a leg. “Yea', 'am fuckin' in love with you, but who cares? You're not. Easy. I get it. Get outta 'fuck of my bike. I'm tired and I wanna go home to keep rolling in my misery”. Taking away your keys and pushing him, you sit on.

“Who the fuc' said I'm not? 'Cause I didn'”.

Turning your head at him in slow motion, you wrinkle your nose, shaking your head for a second as if you didn't hear what you actually heard.

“'Don' know. Maybe your rude texts? The fuck you did? The fuck is wrong with you? Why you kiss me?”

“I though' you lost a bet with the fuckin' boy scout”.

“What da'... Why I... Are you fuckin' stupid?”

“No, you are! You're the one who's giving me the back!”

You sigh taking off the helmet to put it in the handle bar, as you do with your leather gloves. You're gaze is down, staring at the keys in the lock, unable to look at him. You didn't act as you should and now you don't know what is worse.

“I'm sorre'”. You mutter looking him sideways.

“Yea', you better did, bech'. 'Cause I didn' fuc' anyone for one year waitin' you and you kissed me in a weak moment”.

“Jesus Christ, Johnny!” You start to laugh loudly with your hands on your lap, licking your lips. “Sweet Jesus Christ... You're a fuckin' moron, I swear to god”.

“Move your fuckin' pretty ass to ma' house, mami. Dare to do agai' what you did last night”.

“I accept that bet, Coconut”.

[eventidedaydreamer]

What is everybody's strengths and weaknesses in your Bendy Au?

:) oh >:) okay

Joey Drew: 

Strengths 

he knows a lot of things, 

Intelligence

he can be very charming and can win people over easily, 

he’s the kind of person that you immediately like when you meet him, 

he knows how to leave a good impression.

If you actually get to know him he can be very bubbly and excitable.

Weaknesses 

he can’t read people, 

he’s brain smart but he isn’t emotionally smart, 

he doesn’t get it when someone shows emotions in a way he isn’t familiar with. 

He lashes out when he’s reminded of unpleasant things.

He knows how to turn everyone into ink creatures through sacrifice but he doesn’t stop to think if he should.

His coping mechanisms are not very healthy

Jealousy, clingy, its hard for him to consider that people can have more than one friend

Henry Stein:

Strengths 

He’s very tough (have you seen how much he falls?? and he’s OLD) 

Probably broke some bones when he was a kid so now he has stronger bones. 

He can handle a LOT of pain, 

he’s cool under stress and pressure, 

he’s a hard worker and a very talented artist.

He has a good memory

Weaknesses 

He has trouble expressing himself 

He’s a people pleaser and has a hard time saying no (something he’s worked on and is better about after he met his wife), 

He underreacts to things and overthinks a lot (overthinking is another thing he got better with after he met Linda)

Wally Franks:

Strengths 

One of the FRIENDLIEST people you will ever meet, 

and hes really really funny

He somehow knows everyone’s name even if he only met them once three years ago, 

It’s like he’s living life at a different speed because it seems like he spent the whole day with you but he also had time to see ten other people the same day?? 

He seems innocent and as if his perfect bubble of the world would pop if you mentioned something upsetting but the reality is he’ll listen to anything you need to get out and then give really good advice followed up with his usual humor.

He trusts that there is good in everyone and gives people second chances

Weaknesses 

He does really stupid things a lot

He’ll connect pipes wrong, resulting in later damage and messes

He’s always getting himself hurt, jumping too many stairs at once, making someone really angry and running for his life (Sammy’s the main one that’ll actually chase him down)

It’s like he has no sense of self-preservation 

(HOW IS HE NOT DEAD?!)

He is really trusting and some people take advantage of that

He opens himself up to everyone and forgives a little too easily

Sammy Lawrence:

Strengths

He knows how to stick up for himself and others

Hardworking

He is damn good at his job and won’t let you forget it

Sarcastic

Honest

Mature

He can hear the music as he’s writing it, feel it in his head when he sees sheet music

Very independent 

If he considers you a friend, he will go to extremes to get back at anyone that hurts you (Just ask Jack, he’s been friends with him the longest!)

It is unknown how many instruments Sammy can play, the band make guesses all the time and Jack is asked on a weekly basis but refuses to comment

its an ongoing discussion 

Determination, he’s the only one that will actually chase Wally til he catches him

Weaknesses

He’s angry almost constantly

The glass is half empty

Doesn’t hold back snide remarks (but if the remark is about music in some way you better listen there’s advice hidden somewhere)

Yelling, but it’s mostly just a very loud “WALLY FRANKS!” followed by running footsteps and Wally’s giddy laughter

I N S O M N I A C

constantly has bags under his eyes

A Perfectionist, Only the best can come from the office of Sammy Lawrence even if he forgets to eat while doing so

yeah thats another thing, he forgets about things like eating, sleeping, ya know, human things

He’s intimidating, the string of constant negativity doesn’t make many friends

Workaholic 

He’s become dependent on the few friends he has to break him out of his  work until its done mode and remind him to eat and sleep (Jack, Wally, Norman and Susie a little.)

because :) it would be a shame :) if one of them :)  went missing :) huh?

Susie Campbell:

Strengths

Hopeful and optimistic

Friendly

She has a really pretty face, shes really pretty in general

she gets a lot of attention because of it

shes tougher than she looks and uses it to her advantage

she is really clever

Flirty and a romantic 

an exciting storyteller, she can make a trip to the refrigerator sound interesting

Weaknesses

Possessive

she wants to hear all the gossip until its about her

is really jealous of the smallest things

she may seem like a little innocent flower but she’s the thorniest rose in the garden and you are growing a little too close to her

Alice Angel means everything to her, its the best way to distract her from anything else :)

the second best way is to mention her star-shaped birthmark/freckle

Norman Polk:

Strengths

Observant 

He’s very good at guessing things correctly

He seems to know something about everything and everyone

A really great listener

He also just has good hearing in general, easily eavesdrops 

Physically strong, he can lift anyone with ease

Wise and careful

he has some pretty sound advice in him if you ask for any

has a very good control on his temper and is calm and cool even in heated arguments or dangerous situations

a good people reader

is very understanding

Weaknesses

He’s scary, just how he likes it

People get the wrong ideas about him (He’s just sitting there! Is he watching me?)

to be fair, he might be

He doesn’t attempt to get to know people unless he sees a reason to

gets into other peoples business 

He’s always lookin’ for trouble

too curious for his own good

doesn’t talk about his feelings

Jack Fain:

Strengths

He’s so good at rhyming that he does it subconsciously on a regular basis

Creative

Empathetic

He’s not afraid to show emotion

Forgiving

Generosity

Gentle and soft

Humble

Patient

Selfless

Weaknesses

He can be really emotional a lot of the time

He spaces out a lot

he can seem like a crybaby

Doesn’t take credit for things he should

Lies about how he really feels to make other people comfortable, he doesn’t want to be a bother

puts himself down to make other people look better

Really shy

doesn’t stick up for himself

too passive

worries a lot

Johnny:

Strengths

He really loves his job

He’s a romantic at heart

very sweet and considerate

Loyal and devoted

Sees the best in people

Weaknesses

He falls in love way too easily

ignores flaws even when they’re concerning

can easily become an emotional mess

fears being rejected more than anything else (bro just love him he’s too sweet)

Shawn Flynn:

Strengths

He’ll tell someone off when they’ve done something wrong

believes in karma and justice

likes sewing while he’s talking/doing something else

really good at multitasking

Luck of the Irish

like he misses getting injured by mere inches

this makes him the perfect Go and Do Something Stupid companion with Wally

He’s really proud of his heritage and his work

Weaknesses

Shouts a lot

He can be too prideful and overconfident

isn’t into mercy or forgiveness 

can and will turn anything into a rivalry if its the last thing he does!!

the downside to being his friend is that its dangerous to hug him because he puts needles through his clothes so he can find them later

he says its built in protection

and Wally says ow

Thomas Connor:

Strengths

He’s been good with anything technical since he was little and only got better at it with age 

Honorable

Hardworking

Mature

Weaknesses

He believes in a one strike and you’re out ideal, leaving him to not trust some genuinely nice people (but he also doesn’t trust some questionable people so he sees it as justifiable)

Reserved, doesn’t attempt to get to know anyone

he can work too hard

Pessimistic

Allison Pendle:

Strengths

Boy can she give an inspirational speech

She’s very generous

Brave 

Levelheaded

She’s a lot stronger than she looks

you should hear her belt out a song

Weaknesses

prefers to fix other peoples problems rather than deal with her own

she’s really competitive 

she gets herself hurt a lot

can be a little too fierce

Grant Cohen:

Strengths

Math, he’s good at math

he was like yeah i can do numbers I’ll be an accountant! (bro im sorry u got Joey as a boss)

He’s a good singer (which seems random unless you know)

Weaknesses

A N X I E T Y

really cannot talk to anyone

his words get all jumbled up

if he had the internet he’d constantly be searching things like, how to explain to your boss that his decisions are putting the company in dept? how do you stand up to your boss?

has bad panic attacks

Bertrum Piedmont:

Strengths

He’s super confidant

Not afraid to get his hands dirty

Even though he almost always is dressed up nice

He makes sure he looks presentable

He acts like a dad to people he likes

Cultured

Very determined 

He can and will do anything out of spite and you can’t stop him because that will only give him more reason to

Weaknesses

Really prideful, gets offended over little things

is pretty arrogant as well

it’s really hard for him to change his mind after he’s made a decision 

refuses to lose, even if it’s really obvious that he has

he can be condescending 

doesn’t like or participate in humor, he’s always deadly serious

He can be over dramatic a lot

Lacie Benton:

Strengths

nothing seems to surprise her

calm and chill

a really good listener, the kind that you know can keep a secret

doesn’t take herself too seriously or anyone, (Bertrum finds her company to be one of his favorites after he figures that out)

shE WEARS WHATEVER SHE WANTS BECAUSE SHE DOESN’T CARE ABOUT YOUR OPINION SHE JUST LIKES WEARING PANTS

Weaknesses

stays quiet about important things, she ain’t no snitch, who cares if she witnessed someone stealing something

Super apathetic about life

kinda isolated (Norman says hi)

Lazy but only because she can do it really fast and well so you can wait for her

Linda Stein:

Strengths

It’s a good thing she’s so confidant else Henry would have just looked at this pretty lady and never introduced himself

shes like really good at gardening, talk about a green thumb!

Affectionate 

knows when to be gentle and when someone needs tough love

and shes good at distributing both

shes so brave

Eager and excited easily

super patient 

Understanding

Weaknesses

she can come off as too forward and a little too fast

can get a little frazzled

Forgetful (Henry helps with that)

she doesn’t want to invade anyone’s boundaries but doesn’t ask what they are so its a tug of war within her

Sorry this took so long, I wanted to really think about it and do it justice! :D

[ohoshi]

omg first i need to talk about nct at song festival (gayo daechukjae) umm first of all mark and taeyongs rap was so good but ofc we all knew they would kill it. and then in nct U class, teacher taeyong looked so good...the way he bit that pointer stick thing in the beginning was so sexc (and the hair and the glasses ahdsfasjf) 😳 but also sungchans rap in that?? i was not expecting that but why am i even surprised anymore.. and also misfit live?? i loved nct's school uniform concept too for some reason ahahaha

and then xiaojun in resonance!! wow yes go shine xj!!! (also idk why but i found it so funny when it was doyoung's turn after xj, but xj was kinda blocking dy (who was really walking with a PURPOSE) so dy lightly pushed him out of the way) and then omg shotaro!! offstage he is so 😊 but damn in hard carry he was so good!! ahh and then also the thing where all the kpop artists at gayo daechukjae sang that song was so cute (i smiled so hard when nct came up 🥺)

yea for my job situation i think it will be okay, i talked to some people i know/mentors about it too and i think things will work out...they always do in the end right? 😊 now about anime LOL this is making me wanna start/rewatch an anime now hahahah! honestly i kind of have phases where i alternate between kdramas and animes, but i havent rly watched anime much lately besides haikyuu (which i was also surprised was still airing (but it's only season 2 so far?)). kpop (aka NCT) has been consuming my life lmao but im here for it 😂

weightlifting fairy was also my first kdrama!! yes i can totally give u some kdrama recs! besides the ones i mentioned before (which are most of my top ones), i also liked chicago typewriter, marriage not dating (i love the fake relationship trope hahaha), dinner mate, sky castle (it's kinda intense but it's so good and an iconic kdrama), cheer up, another miss oh, kingdom (if you like zombie things)...i heard startup is good and i want to watch it soon too! also i continued watching more of uncanny counter these past few days and i love it (but it's ongoing so no binging)

okay now svt: i watched some of your recs and youre so right all their choreos are so satisfying?! i also actually agree with you about black on black, i liked black on black and it was cool but it only featured like 5 members lmao and in the svt choreos it does feel like all of them are featured in some way in each performance? plus their choreos are just so great to watch!! also i've had left and right stuck in my head since i watched it LOL but i agree it's objectively better than dynamite (not an army though; also pls nobody come at us for this lmaoo)

also super random but can you tell me who is the one in the red/purple plaid shirt in the svt home dance practice?? i am kinda attracted by his dance moves LOL and i havent learned names yet 😭 i will continue watching all ur svt recs though hehehe and update you on the status of my fangirling :))

omg wait also i would never have guessed that you're not an english speaker just from these messages!! how did you know that i was prob a native speaker haha (i guess *technically* cantonese is my first language, but then i learned english in school so now i'm obviously more native in that lol and english is the only language i can read/write in)

OMGGF IKR as a multi stan i really enjoyed the rap collab especially because i really love monsta x's rap line (esp i.m!!! his rapping skill 😍) and of course mark and taeyong!!!! 😭 our boys 😭 our golden rappers 😭 SLAYED IT! omg the nct u got me 😳 taeyong looked so good???? wtf? and also sungchan? damn that boy keeps surprising me! the interesting part to me was when one member(johnny if i remember correctly) bumped into taeyong but it was done on purpose and how he uhhh kinda shook his body and his head but it all looked so cool and he never stopped rapping!!! love how they all 'performed' misfit manifesting wild teenagers in school (as they are tbh) IT WAS SO FUN AND COOL!!!

XIAOJUN!!!!!!!!!!!!! WAS SO!!!!!! GOOD!!!!!!! THE CONFIDENCE??? THE STAGE PRESENCE????? XIAOJUN CENTER???? XIAOJUN BEING RELEVANT????? i live 😭 he was so good he looked so good i was so happy and i'm so proud of him 😭 from here the only way to go is up! i hope he keeps surprising us! and omg i haven't noticed that part when doyoung pushed him bc he blocked him?? and i just rewatched it and it looks funny 🤣 but they held everything professionally 😌  no surprises there 😌

OH MY GOD THE HARD CARRY PERFORMANCE!!!!!!!!! first of all our boy shotaro DAMN 😳 he looked so good you couldn’t say that he just debuted a few months ago!! such a dancing machine! (but honestly i am not surprised because in make a wish he was rly good and he debuted as a dancer i expected from him to be good™ as he is!) and i love the duality od him <3 yk that kind of idol that you want to protect at all cost but the next second they're the one you seek protection from? yeH sign me uP! and don't even get me started on hyunjin, juyeon and moonbin!!!!! but i mean all 3 of them are main dancers of course they would look good™ 😌 (yeah shotaro performed with 3 main dancers of 3 different groups i mean the honor??????)

the end of the festival was so wholesome! It was a serotonin boost and me too i also smiled the whole time! so cute 😭 and ot23 were cutiesssss

yes! everything will work out in the end! don't stress about it!<3 oh haikyuu only has 2 seasons? wtf hsgsjsgs ok then i just watched when it had like 13 episodes, WHEN IT FIRST CAME OUT that's when i watched it lmao

OMG OK I HAVE WRITTEN DOWN ALL OF THESE DRAMAS (and from the previous ask) IN MY NOTES SO FAR im mostly excited about the fake relationship one 👀 i love fake relationship trope, too 🤧 oh no binging?? is that your thing?? usually i love to wait for the show to finish airing and then i binge watch it in a few days (or one day depends how busy i am)

SEVENTEEN!!!!: yeah all of their choreos are so satisfying (pointing this out one more time) they always pay attention to details (for example in home, bc you're familiar with it, they even choreograph the hands and pay attention to them while most of the other kpop choreos very often freestyle the whole arms sjagaj) here's a fun fact abt svt that makes me love them so much agsgsj: they're self produced! they produce their own music and they even come up with their own choreos!! (of course not on their own, woozi is a producer but he's not making songs on his own he coproduces them with [a producer name bc i guess that's irrelevant but if you’re curious: bumzu], they come up with their own choreo (to be precise, hoshi does! he is 1/2 main dancers in group and he is the main choreographer! he doesn't do everything on his own of course, he gets help from the rest of the performance team (which is a svt subunit consisted of their 2 main and 2 lead dancers: hoshi, dino, the8, jun) and of course some other infamous kpop choreography teams) and i think that, by now, all the members were credited at least once for the lyrics

I'M SO GLAD YOU HAVE LEFT AND RIGHT STUCK IN YOUR HEAD HAGSJSSGSG but i mean of course you would it's soo good and soo catchy (yeahhh no worries, this army has already gotten minor hate for having controversial opinions™ and for criticising her faves so idc anymore 💁🏻‍♀️ it's my opinion as a dancer and i stand by it, even can't you see me by txt is better than dynamite so literally 3 dance performance were better!!!! in a way!!!! and neither of the 3 won!!! yes i am salty!!!!!)

the guy in the red/purple shirt (the center guy when they do the 3 dances for the first time right??) IS DINO!!!! he's the maknae and 2/2 main dancers in svt so!!! of course you would be attracted by his moves!!!!!! JSGSJSN i'm curious to see if you end up staning svt and biasing dino hsfsjsgsha

CANTONESE IS YOUR FIRST LANGUAGE? damn i thought you couldn’t get more interesting here's a dumb question: can you understand xiaojun, hendery and lucas without titles??? not that i would know if they ever speak cantonese in front of the camera for i don't know the difference between chinese dialects</3

[andymull]

WWE NXT Takeover: Portland 2020 – Preview & Predictions

Adam Cole (c) vs Tommaso Ciampa: NXT Championship Match

Finally, Ciampa gets the chance to take back Goldie after never being pinned for it due to injury previously, just that standing in his way is Adam Cole who has been on such a great run as a champion since winning the title.

I swear every time Ciampa is in-ring doing something he always seems to get a knock, he was limping the other week I just hope nothings lingering for him and has to keep working through knocks again which could build up.

Cole has been great both in matches as well as bringing the aura of a proper champion to his reign, not a knock on others but him interacting with the Raw and Smackdown rosters around Survivor Series made him seem an equal and not someone on the newer third brand.

Not sure about the outcome here to be honest, my biggest instinct is that Cole wins and goes to feud with Gargano if he beats Balor. The story of Ciampa’s return from injury is a big one that they may go with for the raw emotion of him getting the gold back, but I feel they stay with Cole as champion clinging to his reign as the other members of Undisputed Era drop their belts – COLE

 Rhea Ripley (c) vs Bianca Belair: NXT Championship Match

Bianca gets another chance at the title after winning a battle royal, to begin with this came across as a massive stop gap for whatever plans they had for Rhea and the title at Wrestlemania but thankfully they’ve developed the feud to incorporate Charlotte and add some layers to this whole situation.

The build to a potential Rhea/Charlotte match began WAAAAYYYYYY too early and really didn’t need to, especially as the Smackdown crew haven’t really started their Mania feuds properly building yet I get the need to with Charlotte having won the Rumble but still be creative to wait till next week maybe?

At first I was 100% sure that Ripley would retain and move on but now after they’ve been given mic time and focus im starting to possibly see a Belair title win and this all evolve to a Wrestlemania three way match with Charlotte (I don’t need her in another one, but as long as it helps the other girls than im all for it). If Rhea keeps the belt tonight then forget it as Bianca wont have the smoke needed to be injected into it, plus I think it’s the big surprise they may need for tonight's show with it featuring two women’s matches and both wanting to impress more than the other (more on that later).

Im going to go with Belair to get her first title win in the company, one of my favourite people to see on tv will be ecstatic to get the victory, THEN we can push on with Charlotte coming down to the ring to square off with the new champion while Rhea gets included as her rematch – BELAIR

 The Undisputed Era (c) vs Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne, The BROserweights: NXT Tag Team Championship Match

The winners of this years Dusty Classic take their trophy as well as their championship opportunity tonight and what a fun match this will be.

The current champions have held their titles since August and continue to have great matches with whoever they are in the ring with and this will surely be another classic, but the big question will be can the new team conquer the established duo? For me the comedy segments Dunne and Riddle have done since winning the classic have been great and a welcome change to some of NXT’s usual broadcast, a real fresh feel to them with Riddle’s laid back character and Dunne’s shrugs the perfect combination to get more out of Pete’s character while giving Matt the chance to shine. While the UE have remained a constant highlight with Kyle wayyyy up there for one of my favourites in the whole company (If only him and Strong were a foot or two taller they’d be main eventing PPVs sigh).

For me I think we are about to see a down swing in the UE’s momentum and that sadly entails them dropping the titles to give their group more room to develop which ultimately will be great for them. I don’t think Riddle and Dunne are a long term team but will have tons of fun in whatever length of time they are kept together. But remember, they WILL split when Riddle leaps into the ring one night and accidently kicks his sliders into the back of Dunne’s head on accident, only for Dunne to turn and destroy Riddle for doing so setting up some very tough brawls down the road – RIDDLE/DUNNE

Keith Lee (c) vs Dominik Dijakovic:  NXT North American Championship Match

The rivalry continues!!!

There really isn’t much to say here, we’ve seen them fight in epic battles before and this time on a Takeover they HAVE to raise the bar further, good luck boys – LEE

Tegan Nox vs Dakota Kai: Street Fight

A street fight between two former best friends is what brings us our second women’s match of the evening, and the stipulation is what was required after their brawl recently on NXT tv.

These two are going to go as far as they can with this stipulation and then go a step or two further, expect some worried looking referees around them as well as possible Regal appearing to calm them down after being around Dakota’s turn. Both of the women here know how important this match is not just for this feud but that its both of their times to shine in probably their biggest matches in the company so far, and hopefully they’ve been working each other for years as friends just ready for this occasion.

Predictions wise I can only see Dakota winning after Tegan got the win on tv with Candice’s help, ill predict that Candice appears again but this time Nox declines her help only for someone else to interfere and get Dakota the victory. The word going around is that Raquel Gonzalez is ready for tv and her push after a slight name change so her debuting as Kai’s muscle would be the perfect starting point for her run as well as continuing this feud further – KAI

 Johnny Gargano vs Finn Balor

This is really the most interesting match on the card for me in terms on who gets the win, both massive in terms of development for this brand over the years but as I mentioned earlier I give the slight advantage to Gargano with the idea of him moving to the title scene after.

Now, saying that I don’t think this feud is near from being over and is one that will be placed on the side and hopefully show Balors clever side over the next few weeks. If he loses allow him to maybe even help Gargano win the title eventually from Cole then instantly destroy Johnny again to move into the title picture his-self. Even in defeat Finn knows the game too well and uses others to gain the steps he needs to get back to where he knows. – GARGANO

 As is the norm with Takeovers this will be awesome with great matches and some intriguing angles I predict to keep the tv killing it too.

There may also be another match or two added to the show but possibly just on the kick off show.

Also, I’m VERY happy to see that Jorge Bolly got his NXT debut this weekend on the loop, I cant wait to see how much fun he has rising through the NXT ranks and beyond, trust me

Credit to WWE.com for the images and sadly I dont know who put together the group shot picture but I loved it so thank you.

Bye for now

Andy

[everyonesastar]

Hi, would you do a story centered around Buster and Rosita? Not a ship. Something like Buster's really late getting to the theater and the gangs starting to worry, especially Rosita and like he arrives he's badly injured from like knife wound from the bears or something, but doesn't tell anyone and he tries to go about his day without telling anyone, but he's hurting badly and finally Rosita (who knew something was wrong from the start) confronts him about and the gang tries to help?

Alright! Let’s do this!

I hope you like it!

—

They gang had been waiting a while for Buster to return, usually he was always here before them. Mike had been tapping his foot impatiently.

“When’s the guy gonna be here? I mean its got to have been an hour ever since we all got here!” He said, his voice loud enough to be heard from outside. “Well..actually, it’s only been thirty minutes Mike..” Johnny paused after he looked at his watch “But I think we’re all wondering why he’s not here…”.

“Well I hope he gets here soon…” Meena mumbled while Rosita nodded in agreement.  

More moments had passed, even Eddie had shown up, he was usually known for being the late one. “Hey, Eddie? Have you..by any chance..seen where Buster has been for the past..” Rosita looked towards Johnny for the time “Forty eight minutes..?”.

“No….I thought he was with you guys this morning. He called me saying he was here, maybe he had to go and get something or some costumes?” Eddie replied, confused.

“Well, that would make sense. He probably called all of us here because of a new performance. So if he’s getting costumes…then there’s nothing to worry about” Ash said with a shrug. “But Ash, what if something else happened? I mean there could be something seriously wrong with him right now!” Rosita said.

She was very worried about him, she cared about him as much as she did about everyone who’d came into her life. “Come on ya’ big egg! He’s probably taking his time on gettin’ here!” Mike said while crossing his arms. 

“Ya! Maybe he’s right! He could just be takin’ time ya know..” Gunter said, surprisingly agreeing with Mike. “L-Lets just hope that is it…” Meena whispered.

Ten more minutes passed….

“Alright, thats it! It’s been an hour and i’m not going to stay any longer!” Mike said while stomping off the stage and walking past aisles of seats before the doors had busted open.

“Sorry I’m late gang! But thank you all for staying while I was…” Buster paused to think of an excuse, Rosita took notice of this. “A-At the bank! Yeah, I had to stop by the bank to grab some money just in case we uh…had any malfunctions or…” Buster just continued mumbling and gripping at his side.

“See Rosita! Nothing bad happened to him, all he needed to do was make a stop at the bank” Ash said slightly grinning, happy to know Buster had finally arrived.

Still, Rosita had this feeling that Buster was lying about it. She had been used to her kids trying to lie, but she’d always find out what they were trying to cover up. She also saw how Buster was gripping at his side, something definitely was wrong.

“Yeah yeah, thats great. Now why did you call us here Mr. “I take my time” Moon” Mike said with slight laughter in his voice. “Thank you for asking shortie, and i will explain that in a second.” Buster replied with a grin on his face while looking at a aggravated Mike.

“Anyways, I called you all here because, I’ve already announced to the public about this new theatre and how there will be a party for its grand re-opening! I want you all to perform one of these songs I give you from the list I hand out.” Buster paused while handing out some papers to all of them separately.  

“Now, I want to try something different for you Mike, I want you with Meena. Johnny and Ash will be soloists and Gunter and Rosita will be together again, since they both make a very good team when it comes to amazing an audience!” Buster said with a smile.

“Now, if you have any questions, just come and see me in my office!” He said while walking off before Mike could start complaining, though this time he kept quiet and went off with Meena to practice rehearsing.

“Alright Rosita! Lets go and get some dancing done!” Gunter said while running towards their rehearsal room.

They all had exactly three days to get their vocals and choreography down if needed. 

So far the past two days they had all came early for rehearsing, and somehow Buster had always arrived late. This made Rosita only grow more suspicious of what was going on with him. Every time he had shown up late, he had used some excuse anyone would use to get out of being asked questions. 

It was probably the time to ask what was going on, because what was even more odd was that he had came back with something wrong with him. First, his side, then his neck, and last of all was his leg and how his clothes were ripped near the bottom of his pants.

“Rosita, it’s time to come to the rehearsing room! Aren’t cha’ coming?” Gunter asked “I’ll be there in a minute, I just need to ask Buster something.” Rosita replied. “Ok!” 

Rosita walked the down the hallway that led to Buster’s new office, she hadn’t gotten to used to the new look, but she couldn’t lie, she loved it.

She knocked on his door lightly, “Come on in!” He said while there was shuffling heard in the room. She opened the door slowly, the room wasn’t as big as she thought it would be, but it was very clean.

“So Rosita, whats up?” He asked while sitting in his chair. “N-Nothing, but um-I do have a question” She stammered, she didn’t want to embarrass him if she did ask, but she was concerned for his safety.

“Oh ok..” Buster mumbled while looking at Rosita. “So, me and the gang have been noticing you’re coming in late alot..” “Rosita I’ve already sa-” Buster said being being shushed. “I wasn’t finished. A-Anyways…..Buster I’m not sure if everyone else has noticed this but….why have you been coming in with so many injuries? Or a part of your clothing ripped?” She asked.

He stared off for a moment, “I..have no idea what you’re talking about Rosita! It’s just my usual style thats all!” Buster said with a forced smile. “Buster, I’ve known you for awhile to know you like to dress formal or atleast pleasant, so you wouldn’t ever want to be walking around with your clothing ripped.” Rosita paused while taking a closer look at him and slowly noticed he had a black eye as well.

“And if scars and black eyes are the new things in style then please let me go get ran over! Buster, what’s going on? Who’s hurting you?” She asked while walking towards him. She began to examine his wounds before he had gotten up suddenly.

“No…im fine Rosita just go back to your rehearsal room with Gunter” Buster said while quickly walking out of his office. “Oh no he just didn’t walk off” Rosita whispered while following him.

Rehearsals were almost over, Gunter actually began to fear that Rosita just left for no reason. The theatre gang were standing on the stage and talking, “Man, Mike…Meena! You both sound incredible!” Johnny said with awe in his voice. 

“Well of course we were! Obviously because of me..” Mike paused before looking at Meena “And…” it pained for him to give credit to someone else for this kind of stuff. “And her too” He grumbled while Meena smiled, though she was contemplating on if that was a compliment or just a joke.

They all noticed Buster quickly walking around or possibly away from someone, and that someone was Rosita.

“Buster tell me whats going on!” Rosita yelled with a concerned look. “I-I’m fine! I swear!” Buster yelled back. “Well if you’re ok, then why are you running?” Meena asked. “Buster, if somethings going on…we’re here for ya…” Johnny mumbled.

They heard some shuffling from backstage, probably Eddie. “Ok, got the music tracks and lights set-Buster? You ok?” He asked. “Thats the same thing we’ve been asking” Ash said.

“Someone’s hurting him…” Rosita mumbled which made them all gasp in shock. “Wait what?! Who?” Eddie asked “Thats what I’m trying to get out of him…but he refuses…” Rosita mumbled.

“I-It’s nothing I swear! It’s not even that much of a big deal guys!” Buster protested. “Well, if its not a big deal, then its going to be ok to tell us…” Ash said now walking more close to Buster. “N-No! I don’t want you guys getting hurt by them too-” “Them? You mean there’s more than one person?!” Mike said stomping towards him.

“Yes…” “Well…that means we’ll all be able to handle them…” Johnny said, he looked like he was growing angry by the second. “No…not even you guys could handle them….they’re…huge…and…they have sharp fangs and claws…and” Butser looked terrified by even describing whom the people were.

“Bears…” Mike whispered and saw Buster slowly nod. This reminded Rosita of when he’d ask her if there were any bears on the streets, now she knew why.

“So they got you too Mike?” Rosita asked. “Well no! Or else I wouldn’t even be alive nor would Diana..but why are they hurting you? You’re just some koala!” Mike said.

“Well, remember when they walked in with you, looking for the prize money I didn’t have? Now they’re hunting me down for it still…” Buster mumbled. “Oh my gosh Mr. Moon….I’m so sorry..” Meena whimpered. She looked closed to crying, as so did Ash and Johnny. The had all felt so awful for the pain he had been going through.

“Guys…d-don’t cry please…” Buster whimpered, he felt like crying himself. They all felt as if they were going to cry, even Mike. “You know…..what helps a little when…i’m at rock bottom?” Eddie said while sniffling.

He walked up and gave Buster a hug, then one by one. So did everyone else, and they all stood there for a moment just hugging and calming down. He was right, it kinda did help.

They all slowly let go and whipped away their tears and smiled, even giggled a little. Rosita then looked in her purse and pulled out some supplies she had gotten from one of the first aid kits in her home, and began to stitch up his wounds and gave him some colorful band aids for his remaining scars.

They all had cartoonish designs on them, which in all honesty, looked silly and cute on him. Ash even took a picture of it “Man I’m going to save this forever.” She said while giggling. “You may have to send me on if you can” Eddie said jokingly.

They were all giggling about it, “Were these really the only ones you had?” Buster asked. “Well thats what you get from a mom with 25 kids” Rosita said while shrugging it off.

“A-Anyways….thank you guys so much…”

“No problem” They all said, grinning.

—-

BONUS!

Buster smiled. 

After a few minutes of them saying goodbye-

“Wait-we shouldn’t stand by and watch this happen to our friend. We’re going to look for them.” Rosita said, with a look of determination on her face, no sign of fear whatsoever.

“Yeah, I don’t think it would be right to see my bo-best friend hurt like this, soon enough we’r going to run out of these band-aids and medicine.” Eddie said agreeing. 

The others weren’t so sure about looking for the bears, but they knew that Mike would not participate whatsoever. Eddie and Rosita both set out on the streets while the others had cowardly followed, Buster ran after them to stop them.

“Guys! W-Wait! Maybe we shouldn’t-” Buster yelped loudly once he had been picked up by someone.

A bear.

“Well look at this, our lil’ friend Buster Moon.” One of the bear’s said while smiling widely, showing his fangs. “Buster!” Eddie yelled while tapping Rosita to get her attention. 

“And he’s brought his little friends with him! How more funny can this get lads?” The bear chuckled as so did the others.

“Stop it right now, we’re fully aware of what you’re doing to our friend and we do not like it!” Rosita said while her arms were crossed. “And whatcha going to do about it Mrs. Piggy? Take off your pretty gloves and make someone do the hard work for ya?” The bear snickered.

“No, but I will certainly be pulling up my sleeves and doing this!”

Rosita snapped her fingers, Gunter stepped forward and gave Rosita a boost up,the reach the bear’s height. Then she had slapped him hard and loud, people began to stare. The bear finally loosened his grip on Buster and let him go

“Piggy power!” Gunter said while laughing very hard. 

Rosita walked towards the bear whom she slapped and was now kneeling.

“Now you better leave my friend alone or me and my friends will do something far worse than that.” Rosita said while walking off, leaving the bears and the rest of theatre gang amazed.

—

There you go anon! Enjoy!

[ru-ruu]

Ive been up and Ive been down….Ive had my feet swept off the ground

BYSOMEBODYWHOJUSTPICKEDMEUPANDTHREWMEAWAAAAAAAYYY!!!!

Ms. Alicia Michelle Howard a.k.a Billie (not to be confused with Billie Jean…), a Chicago legend that has given us numerous tracks and moments over her long lasting career. Of course most notably Love Under New Management (written by the wonderful Ms. Annette Harderman and her late husband Gabriel Harderman), Come Share My Love, Baby Be Mine, Ain’t Nobody Like You and other tunes. All her staple hits and everything you want to hear her perform at a live show. But of course at the Factory we don’t focus on just the hits. The B cuts and the album cuts are just as important and lowkey sometimes better than the singles.

Lets slide on back to 1980, yall know Miki was in a R&B group right? Yall heard of Side Effect?

She was a part of the group for a years, they craned out a funky rendition of Georgy Porgy which is still a part of Miki’s live shows today.

Another popular tune from the group during Miki’s tenure was

I Can’t Play

Ok lets jump to her solo career, the MEAT of it all! Lets share her love for a bit with her first solo album Come Share My Love. We all know about the title track Come Share My Love….

Theres a peak on every mountain…

A shore for every sea….

Its hard to understand were you meant for me…

Theres an answer to a question, but theres no guarantee…

AND I WANNA GIVE IT TO YA GIVE IT TO YA GIVE IT TO YA…..

But have you paid attention to the smooth track titled

Love Will Find A Way

A simple plea for love to find the answer after doing all you can. Nowadays people say love isnt enough in relationships and that love isnt the answer. But without love what do you have? Yeah you need trust and communication and all that but at the center of it all you need love. Thats all we really need anyway…but moving onto the next track that needed more shine and my personal favorite of Miki

Imagination

Before I got into hardcore researching and investigating I thought this was an original song. But nope, its an old Glen Miller tune that was written and composed by Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke.The tune is what one would call a “Standard”, everyone from Ella Fitzgerald to Frank Sinatra has their own rendition. But theres something about Miki’s version that gives the song power! I believe this was the beginning of Miki revealing that she was a bonafide Jazz artist. Her nickname is Billie…after the late and great legendary Mother of us all Billie Holiday. Miki even played Billie in the biopic Malcom X. But we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves.

Lets slide onto 1987 (sidebar Im still not even born yet at this point) I know I was trying to not highlight her singles and hits buuuuuuuut this song right here…..THIS SONG RIGHT HERE!!!! We all know about the Miki Howard and Gerald Levert love affair it was leeeggggeeennddddaaarrrryy!

That’s What Love Is

Their first duet together was something magical. Hence why I included on my Duets post, go check it out if you missed it. Written by both Howard and Levert and included on her Love Confession album.

This song is just that…..a love confession! In the song they compare themselves to Romeo and Juliet and if you think about it…….thats very fitting. They both come from legendary families, Gerald is the son of the legendary Eddie Levert from the group The O’Jays and Miki’s mother, Josephine Howard, sang with The Caravans. They both deeply loved and adored one another but Miki and I quote is a “Woman of The World” and that didn’t fly in the Levert camp. But they always remained close until his passing. He even wrote on another track on the album

Crazy

Love Confession was filled with love letters between the two,

I been looking for a new love….

Didnt know where it was…

All the time there you were…..

I must have been CRAZY….

Gerald aint slick not one bit! See what happens when artists get involved with one another, they start telling secrets through the music. It’s lowkey sweet and almost like a marriage. It sticks with both parties throughout their entire careers and it’ll always make them think back to that moment when the love was the strongest…..or when whatever emotion was the strongest because there are plenty musical couples that sing songs written by the other party that are break up songs and torch songs sooooooo yeah!

Anyway lets jump to 89 (Im finally born woot woot) and visit her album Miki Howard.

There were some good cuts on there and also her first number one hit! Guess what Im going to talk about first yall….

I’ll Be Your Shoulder

Yeeeessss another Howard/Levert duo, written partially by Gerald (he has writing credits on Mister as well). This track may have solidified the two’s feelings for another. Yes they were deeply in love but here they confess….I’m here for ya baby, when you’re down and out you know you can come to me. Simply put, I’ll Be Your Shoulder! Which eventually is what happened between them, Gerald helped Miki kick drugs or at least played a major role. So these lyrics are true to life, cant say that too much about songs that are out nowadays. Come to think about it the Levert clan were all over this album. Listen to some of the tracks and see if you can hear Eddie and the crew jamming in the back. Also sidebar and honorable mention to Miki’s vocals on the tail end of a song that SHE wrote

Who Ever Said It Was Love

Listen to the veeeeerrrrrryyyy end to hear just how high Auntie Miki can go!

Onto to 1992!! Femme Fatale POW!!

A collection of work with her second number one hit Aint Nobody Like You and a myriad of gems. Miki was always had a classic duet on her albums but this time…instead of Gerald…..she had Christopher Williams on the track.

Hope That We Can Be Together Soon

Yall remember Christopher Williams right? The light skin brotha that was on New Jack City? Had the song Dreamin’ from the soundtrack? And Every Little Thing U Do? Ella Fitzgerald’s nephew? Yeah him and Miki did a cover of a Gamble and Huff tune that was first recorded by Sharon Paige and Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes back in ’75. Christopher was a good choice vocally, veeerrrryyy reminiscent of the original.

Femme Fatale also saw Miki’s “Billie” side  come out once more before the big shebang! Her cover of Billie Holiday’s Good Morning Heartache was a perfectly haunting  tribute.

Good Morning Heartache

Again it was another Jazz standard and another Jazz tune perfectly shaped to her voice. Of course as before everybody recorded the tune but again Miki holds the crown with her cover. She was definitely hinting towards her recording future with this one.

Last track I want yall to listen to from the album is

Cigarette Ashes On The Floor

Im not even going to go into it, please please please just listen to the lyrics. We’ve ALL been there and who the hell says things like this? You make me feel like cigarette ashes on the floor?!?!?! It’s the truth but dam!!

A year later Miki said you know what….I need to sing me some Billie. And thats just what she did. In ’93 Miki Howard released Miki Sings Billie: A Tribute To Billie Holiday.

A tribute to her hero and biggest inspiration. Who has the courage to do an album like that? Now personally I think it should be done more often. Chante Moore should do a tribute album to Minnie Riperton, she already recorded a few of her tunes and who else is fitted to cover a Minnie song? Lowkey…come closer yall lemme whisper this in yall ear….I think Monica should do something for Stephanie Mills. Both of their voices are similar….in a way, so why not?!? Back to Miki though, remember I told yall she was in Malcom X portraying Billie? Well that was a year before this was released so in a way it was a major heads up!

There’s Billie Holiday classics on there like Solitude and My Man and What A Little Moonlight Can Do. But MY favorite is

Don’t Explain

Just listen…’Nuff said!

Jumping over some years and some issues and some scandals and whatever to 1997’s Cant Count Me Out.

Two of my favorite Miki tracks are nestled in the bosom of this body of work. The first being a song that has her longtime friend Chaka Khan and Terence Trent D’Arby (yall know Wishing Well! Dont act like you dont!) and a Stevie Wonder cover.

I Love Every Little Thing About You

The next being

Something I Never Had

Peep the backing vocals on that track! Know who it is? Well…..SAY IT!!! Miki wrote the majority of songs on this album besides the covers. She penned this along with Lemel Humes.

Miki had about three more albums after this: Three Wishes (2001), Pillow Talk (2006) and Private Collection (2008) and numerous tour dates and appearances and hey even a movie about her life!!

  Special mention to the tracks

You Made Me Love You

I remember I first heard that song after I got dumped by my first boyfriend. It immediately made me think of one of the first things he told me”…..Im going to make you love me…..” He did and then he broke my heart seven months later….oh well!

Miki loved to do a cover, she has an album full of them (Pillow Talk). She redid one of my favorite songs

Go Away Little Boy

Now I always got the Marlena Shaw version mixed up with Nancy Wilson’s version. Who can blame me though? Their voices and delivery are almost identical to the T! Miki came through and slapped her own funk on it as she usually does.

She also took on the Ann Peebles classic

I Cant Stand The Rain

She stayed true to the “twang” of the tune whereas Tina made it more current for the times. Both lovely version in their own right!

Last song and I’ll let yall go, some of yall overstayed your welcome and its time for yall to go back to ya mammy house.

Panther

Shes a PANTHAAAAH! Miki described a Panther as the black version of a “Cougar”. She said it sounded more sexy and it fits black women better than being called a Cougar. C’est La Vie on that one…..

Look out for Part 2 of Aint Nobody Like Miki Howard! I got lots more to talk about, we aint done yet!!

Aint Nobody Like Miki Howard Part 1. Ive been up and Ive been down....Ive had my feet swept off the ground BYSOMEBODYWHOJUSTPICKEDMEUPANDTHREWMEAWAAAAAAAYYY!!!! Ms. Alicia Michelle Howard a.k.a Billie (not to be confused with Billie Jean...), a Chicago legend that has given us numerous tracks and moments over her long lasting career.