#artistic rock hard gel

[joejhang]

aftg music headcanons but i'm right.

nicky listens to chappell roan, troye sivan, ariana grande, harry styles and charli xcx (he loved brat)

neil hates pop music. (this is canon)

aaron listens to taylor swift (courtesy of katelyn) his favourite albums are folklore and ttpd, he is also a phoebe bridgers enjoyer

katelyn loves taylor swift, olivia rodrigo, sabrina carpenter, madison beer, all the pop girlies

andrew listens to heavy metal and hard rock and occasionally a girlypop glitter gel pen song but no one (except maybe neil) will ever know (he'd probably like arctic monkeys, paramore and exclusively get him back! by olivia rodrigo)

kevin fucks heavily with tchaikovsky, shostakovich and vivaldi (he's just like me fr)

jean probably doesn't know a lot of modern music but is getting into some modern sad songs (courtesy of the trojans; some of his favourites are folklore/evermore/ttpd songs, gracie abrams, the grudge and logical by olivia, phoebe bridgers, billie eilish, mitski, lana del rey, laufey and conan gray)

kevin also probably likes mitski and lana if we're talking modern music

i feel like allison would listen to all kinds of music but her top artists are probably charli xcx, ariana grande, sabrina carpenter, maybe a bit of lana?

matt loves pop but also fucks w rnb for working out and stuff (his top artists are probably taylor swift and the weeknd)

neil is forced to listen to modern music with the foxes and the only artists he'll admit to kind of liking are the neighbourhood and some lana

dan would probably like rap and rnb but she wouldn't mind taylor swift kind of pop (she and the girls listen to bad blood canon)

renee would probably enjoy beabadoobee, laufey, clairo and bruno mars (and jazz/indie in general)

jeremy, cat and laila have pretty similar music tastes (fairly mainstream, mostly pop; taylor, ariana, olivia, sabrina, a bit of maisie peters, harry styles, CHAPPELL ROAN, and one direction sue me)

[monstress]

favorite 2023 korean album releases

episode1: love — soyoon

i loved her first solo album and i have been ecstatic by how much love this album has received because her skills as a songwriter just grew exponentially. what a suave, confident and powerful album. 'till the sun goes up' and 'canada' - the duality of a woman...i'm in love.

dipuc — cacophony

if you're not up to cacophony discography, i would highly recommend this album. from the first track, it was like she's immediately tucking you into her coat - crooning you an intimate sonic odyssey. the run from 'Lean Your Body On Me' to 'End' had me screaminggg. for the season, the track 'Christmas' is gorgeous.

notwitzki — beenzino

dammit...he's still good. beenzino's technical prowess has not slipped since his last release and while i was ready to be punched in the gut, this was a surprisingly tranquil listen. truly just an album perfect for a relaxing night drive with the boys, the girls, and the theys. 'Travel Again' and 'Change' are standouts to me.

pat pat — risso

if you don't find one track you can't groove to on this, you may be entitled to legal compensation. a citypop album i can't get enough of during the summer. the disco track 'SPF' and smooth r&b 'daydreamer' should've hit them to the mainstream stratosphere. it's soooo unfair how they don't have a romance kdrama ost under their belt already.

love pt. 2 — colde

starting out with my number one spotify wrapped artist. what else is there to stay...impeccably engineered k-r&b album with solid bops, an underrated featuring track ('heartbreak club' is the best track of the year to me - the reggae influence, the smoothest beat switch of the album, chan hyuk's 2000s flare rap line delivery), and a surprise cover of a korean indie classic.

sichimi — sumin

a chill, downbeat album to wind down after a long day with an ending that makes you wanna go back to the start. listen to this album just for 'Closet' where sumin and uhm jung hwa are just trying to out queen each other. obsessed.

zip — zion.t

it's been 5 years since his last release that i actually yelled when i saw the notification he released a music video because i wasn't expecting it all. as a long time fan, i loved the evolution you can see from 'oo' with the detour at 'zzz' culminating on this album. witty, eccentric and earworms galore, it's so solid. the lil ditty 'stranger' and the sweeping 'the things i love' (kim hae sol, you don't give me both a jazz solo and a choir in a track and expect it not being my immediate favorite) are gorgeous.

machine boy — silica gel

amazingggg rock album - i was blown away by the first track alone. you know they'd go so hard at concerts. also shoutout to 'machineboygong' for being a nine minute masterpiece which i recommend for you to listen at least once. it'd be remissed not to mention their latest album 'power andre 99' is astonishingly excellent as well.

no one can hunt me — joonie

my favorite experimental album of the year. if you're into electronic, this is a great listen. moody, dystopian, warped tracks that only spiral downwards to isolating madness. it's only four tracks and my fave constantly changes.

____

honorable mentions: yukika's "time lapse", ashmute's 'this place no longer exists', suzanne's "new life, new mind", dpr ian's "dear insanity...", epik high's 'screen time', code kunst's 'archive 01', voyeur's 'same dream, huh yunjin's 'blessing in disguise', thmoon's 'dormant'

[jeridandridge]

I Am King

This is a little different.. I hope you all like it. 🩷

King Florence + the machine

Melissa Schemmenti isn’t an impulsive person. Okay well, maybe she is. She did have to go to court for an impulsive punch one time but the guy had it coming. But when it comes to her body, she’s thought about this next step.

Driving to her appointment her heart thuds hard against her ribcage in excitement, the bass of the song she’s listened to on repeat for over a year. The words put a fire under her to do better for herself, not because she needs to be in a relationship, but because she feels ready. Finally.

We argue in the kitchen about whether to have children

And about the world ending, and the scale of my ambition

And how much is art really worth

The very thing you're best at is the thing that hurts the most

When she was younger she had thought about getting a tattoo until Joe talked her out of it, telling her it wasn’t ladylike. It was a petty argument, and one she did not care to have towards the end of her marriage.

But you need your rotten heart

Your dazzling pain like diamond rings

You need to go to war to find material to sing

I am no mother, I am no bride, I am king

Having a man like Joe try to police her body was never good for her mental health, god help anyone that tries to do that now. Pulling up to the tattoo shop she takes a deep breath looking at the sign and the welcoming light blue color on the window.

“Okay, you’re doing this.” She breathes out grabbing her purse getting out of the car. Inside the shop the walls are a welcoming light blue and each artist section is divided into a cubical. With classic rock playing through the speakers Melissa relaxes a bit as a young woman comes to the counter.

“Hey! You must be Melissa.” The stranger smiles at the redhead. “Ava told me what we’re doing today, come on back.”

As Melissa follows the woman back, she makes a mental note to kick Ava’s ass. She left out that the tattoo artist was hot. Incredibly hot. So much so that as Melissa fills out the proper paperwork and the woman sets up the station with all sterile materials, she gets lost looking at the art on the walls, the one that catches her eye the most is a painting of a nude woman, curvy and sat sideways looking out a window.

“That’s one of my older paintings,” the artists smiles, looking up from her station for a moment.

“Yeah? It’s gorgeous, the gold frame is perfect with it.” Melissa smiles admiring the work, curious as to who the model was.

“I’ve been meaning to take it down, reminders of exes, ya know?” The artist chuckles.

This catches Melissa’s attention. She was doing something as a reminder of her ex, but instead of a painful reminder it’ll be a powerful one. She was in control now.

“Alright, Melissa, here are the designs I came up with after your consultation email, all different sizes, we can play around with them as much as you want until it’s exactly how you want it.” She smiles.

Looking over the three simple words Melissa smiles, willing herself to hold the tears back. “This one.” She points.

“Perfect!” The young woman beams.

As Melissa’s walked through the process of how it’ll go and the stencil is put on, the words play over and over in her head even as she lifts her shirt up and rests her arm over her head, ready for the tattoo.

Feeling a warm gloved finger put the gel on the stencil, she stays completely still.

“Ready to rock n roll?” She smiles.

“Party on,” Melissa chuckles nervously, licking her lips.

The buzz of the machine sounds and Melissa feels strong fingers stretch the skin on her side just beneath her breast.

“Take a deep breath for me,” the artist instructs.

Melissa closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, letting it out when she feels the sharp scratch of the machine.

“Good girl.”

The redheads eyes snap open at the words used. She knows it probably doesn’t mean anything coming from the woman, but god did it sound nice coming from someone like her.

The tattoo doesn’t hurt much just like Melissa thought, and when it’s done she pulls her arm back slightly to meet the woman’s eyes as she cleans up the tattoo.

“Alright, Melissa, that’s it! Your first tattoo.” She smiles. “Check it out in the mirror, then I’ll bandage you up and walk you through the aftercare instructions.”

Carefully getting up off the chair Melissa gets up looking at her now inked skin, the three words giving her a confidence boost she’ll always be able to feel now. “Thanks, hon. This is amazing.”

The artist smiles, leaning forward to carefully put the clear bandage over the ink. Her fingers are soft and warm, and she smells amazing this close Melissa thinks.

The three words go through her head once more. She’s her own person.

At the front of the shop Melissa pays for her tattoo and tips generously leaning against the counter.

“So, hon, if I have any questions about taking this bandage off or anything like that can I call the shop and ask to talk to you?” She asks with a shrug and pursed lips.

The artist matches her smile quirking a brow. “You could, but if it’s easier for you, just text me or give me a call.” She says grabbing a business card from the counter writing her number on the back of it. “Anything you need, Melissa,” she shrugs, “let me know.”

Melissa takes the card with a smile tucking it safely into her purse to be used later on.

“Thanks again, hon. I’m sure you’ll hear from me soon.” She smiles slinging her bag onto her shoulder.

The artist smiles and sends her a wink. “Looking forward to it.”

Melissa leaves the shop with a pep in her step, even more so when she gets to her car and sees a text from Ava asking how it went with her friend. She laughs, shaking her head with a smile as her music starts to play again.

But a woman is a changeling, always shifting shape

Just when you think you have it figured out

Something new begins to take

What strange claws are these scratching at my skin?

I never knew my killer would be coming from within

I am no mother, I am no bride, I am king

I am no mother, I am no bride,

I am king.

[danielsiegelalonso]

Altering Music Careers: The Benefits and Challenges of Collaborating with Other Musicians | Daniel Siegel Alonso

When two (or more) musicians collide, magic can happen—or occasionally, it's more like a polite, artistic wrestling match. The music industry is rife with iconic collaborations that altered the course of genres and careers, from unexpected partnerships to power-packed duos. But like all things in life, collaboration in music brings both highs and lows. Daniel Siegel Alonso looks at the benefits and challenges of working with other artists with some iconic examples.

The Benefits

Fresh Perspectives

Siegel Alonso points out that when you collaborate with another artist, you invite their creativity and influences into the studio. This injection of new ideas can be what your music needs to evolve. Take Blondie's Debbie Harry and Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic, for example. In 1981, the punk frontwoman teamed up with the duo for her solo debut. The result? A hybrid of genres. KooKoo was one of the earliest fusions of funk, rock, and dance music that would become the trademark of Rodgers and Edwards, and this style would later be evident on albums such as David Bowie's Let's Dance. Harry's punk edge combined with Chic's disco groove created something distinctive—proof that stepping outside your comfort zone can lead to timeless innovation.

Skill Expansion

Sometimes, your collaborators possess technical skills or a level of musicianship that helps you grow. Siegel Alonso says a classic case is musical chameleon David Bowie teaming up with The Donny McCaslin Group on his Blackstar record. Bowie was known for pushing boundaries, and in his final album, he turned to McCaslin's jazz group to elevate his sound. The partnership propelled both parties to explore experimental territory that blurred the lines between art-rock and jazz. Collaborating with seasoned musicians allowed Bowie to embrace an avant-garde sound, while McCaslin's group gained exposure to a new audience. Win-win.

The Power of Reinvention

Collaborating can also help musicians refresh a staid image or explore new genres without fully stepping into the unknown. Enter Dolly Parton's 2023 rock album, Rockstar. At 77, the queen of country shocked the world by teaming up with rock legends like Paul McCartney and Steven Tyler to create an album of hard-hitting covers and originals. Dolly's leap into rock allowed her to break out of country music's constraints while remaining true to her roots as a larger-than-life entertainer. This kind of reinvention keeps musicians relevant and surprising—and Parton's ability to seamlessly navigate a new genre shows just how potent partnerships can be.

The Challenges

1. Creative Control

Siegel Alonso advises that one of the primary challenges in collaboration is the shift from being the sole decision-maker. It's like co-driving a car—you might not always agree on the destination or the path. Collaborations can sour when both parties have assertive, conflicting creative visions. However, managing egos, preferences, and creative direction with respect is critical. It's a delicate balance, but when handled respectfully, these obstacles can lead to a stronger result than either party could achieve alone.

2. Balancing Styles

Sometimes, artists from different genres or styles collide—and it's not always seamless. While Harry and Chic pulled off their genre fusion, not every alliance is seamless. Merging two distinct musical worlds can feel like squeezing square pegs into round holes. If the styles don't gel or someone feels like they're sacrificing too much of their signature sound, the project can feel forced or disjointed.

3. Schedules and Logistics

As ordinary as it sounds, scheduling can be a considerable challenge. Busy musicians often have packed touring and recording schedules, making it difficult to carve out time for collaboration. Even worse, the spontaneity and flow of creative chemistry can get lost when you're working across different time zones or coordinating through emails and Zoom meetings.

Conclusion

Teaming up with other musicians is a fragile balancing act. It can lead to career-defining breakthroughs, as seen in Harry's genre-bending debut with Chic, Bowie's jazz-tinged swan song, or Dolly's genre jump into rock territory. At the same time, it requires compromise, flexibility, and a willingness to renounce one's ego.

While collaboration is not without its challenges, the potential rewards are worth the effort—musicians can explore new sounds, expand their skill sets, and even breathe new life into their careers. So, Daniel Siegel Alonso notes that while it's not always simple, for musicians willing to embrace the unpredictable magic of partnership, the potential upside is nothing short of transformational.

[dustedmagazine]

Bizhiki — Unbound (Jagjaguwar)

Just under 50,000 people or about 1% of Wisconsin’s people are native American, a relatively small percentage compared to Western states like Alaska and South Dakota. However, there’s a vibrant native American culture in the Badger State nonetheless, with tribes celebrating traditional music, dance, food and storytelling at pow wows held throughout the state. Dylan Bizhikiins Jennings of Bizhiki came out of that tradition, as did his adopted brother Rainey (though in the neighboring state of Minnesota). For this project, the two of them have connected with another rural Wisconsin musical tradition, the dreamy, expansive vocal pop of Bon Iver and its offshoots. Justin Vernon guests on one of Unbound’s songs, while his frequent collaborator Sean Carey is a full-fledged member of the group.

Bizhiki’s music combines traditional native American chant with an indie electronic palette of sounds. It’s a blend that might easily fail to gel, and yet it works fairly consistently. The best cuts put the Native American elements in the foreground. The least effective slip into generic chillwave territories, a slightly more exotic version of Washed Out. It’s hard to argue with the exultant drumming and trance-inducing vocals of “Rez News,” for instance, but “She’s All We Have,” while earnest in its ecological message, sounds too much like standard-issue electronic pop. “Nashke!” gets the balance best, beginning in whispery indie guitars and vocals and building to an ecstatic, keening climax. A cool Western-style verse — Carey, evidently — blossoms into echoing group chants, and the two sides meet, not seamlessly exactly, but in collaboration.

You can definitely make out Justin Vernon’s unearthly falsetto in “Gigawaabamin (Come Through)” though the liner notes are at pains to credit Native singer Mike Sullivan as “featured artist.” Here, a dance beat thunders, a jazz bass slithers, a indie rock chorus croons in mega-pop style, but the part that hits you hardest is the vibrating, trilling, old-time chant. You could think of Bizhiki as indie pop with a secret sauce, but it’s more than that. The Native American bits are the transcendent ones. They’re a doorway into another tradition, strange, compelling and beautiful.  

Jennifer Kelly

[colorisbyshe]

August's Monthly Music Post

Actually released in August (or late july lol):

"Memory Lane" De De Mouse & Maeshima Soshi. This is a song that belongs on an infinite lofi study playlist.

"Beautiful (2023 Edit)" AG Cook. ADHD-ass song.

"Do The Dance" SiM. JRock does screamo-y, punky ska? It's all English, for the foreign language cowards. You'll find yourself singing along to the WOOOAHHHS if you give it a chance!

"Sorry (Won't Cut It)" Bibio. Need to relax after that song worked you up? This psychedelic slowburn might just be what you need! This song wants to rock you in its arms, hoping you won't leave it behind. If you want something purely instrumental and more mellow, also try out "Sunbursting."

The song came out in June but the MV came out in August so it counts! "On My Mama" Victoria Monet is actually pretty good follow up to Bibio. They're cousins once removed--slick, slower but still hits hard, and just so enticing. Listen to the rest of her album, I really love "Alright," "Cadillac," & "I'm The One."

"Alien Love Call" Turnstile. The reimagined version! The raw edge of the original is sawed off but it's another transcendent slowburn for this month. Love the horn infusion. The ending of this song reminds me a lot of "Strangers" by Raj Ramaaya, from Wolf's Rain. The songs aren't similar beyond that but just had to shout out a beautiful, BEAUTIFUL song.

"Honor of Love" Wagakkiband. This is a band grown from vocaloid origins but instead of leaning into the synthetic roots, they use a lot of traditional Japanese instruments and vocal techniques and add a rockier edge with guitar and drums.

“Picture” Hyo. Generic dance kpop. You know I’m here for it.

“Don’t Wanna Go Back” Jihyo & Heize. Less generic kpop, not mind blowing though. I do think this mini is the best music from Twice is a while. It’s pretty and I love a duet with two women :3

"Nembutsu" Alpacas. More Jrock but there's so little singing in this song, the language shouldn't be a barrier. God, this song feels like driving through the desert and as you open your mouth to scream, dust and sand and ghosts crawl inside and the scream that comes out is older than any living thing around you. If you listen to only one track off this list, let it be this one. I haven't finished listening to the rest of the album, but it's good so far!

"Fall of the Leaves" Club Casualties. Does anyone remember the like... video game culture rave music from the mid-late 2000s? It's that... meets like... the synth indie music of the M-83's midnight city or like... safe and sound by capital cities. Like it's the UNZ UNZ of the former but aspires to the latter. This song isn't necessarily good but it is... intriguing.

Quick list of releases that I enjoyed but are from artists I mention a lot, so I feel like... you probably know what you're getting if you've followed my earlier posts:

"Metali!!" by Babymetal ft Tom Morello, "Needs" by Tinashe, "Rush (Big Freedia Remix)" Troye Sivan, "Elevator Eyes" Tove Lo, "Gold -Mata Au Hi Made- (Taku's Twice Upon a Time Remix)" Utada Hikaru, "Tik Tak Tok" Silica Gel & So!Yoon!, "Lemonade" BB Girls (uesd to be Brave Girls)

Also, I recognize a lack of English music this month... my bad

[eurekavalley]

Still ruminating a little about BCS S6, in that way that you do when something reaches some very high highs artistically, but also has some rough edges that catch you? And untangling which parts of that are intentional (like keeping Lalo and Kim offscreen for such long stretches to whet the audience appetite to see them), and which parts are probably not (for me, probably some of the pacing of the season and how difficult it became to serve various storylines and still have them gel together within the episode structure, and how much they sometimes think they're conveying without words and the success of that).

No one needs a tier ranking, but I do have one! To me, Plan and Execution, Point and Shoot, Hit and Run, and Nippy are nearly perfect episodes. Nippy is cinema. Then there's a middle tier of Saul Gone, Rock and Hard Place, Waterworks, Carrot and Stick, and Wine and Roses - also excellent, but with some pieces that feel less balanced. And my third tier is Fun and Games, Axe and Grind, Breaking Bad, and Black and Blue, where there are still scenes and storylines in each episode that are genius, but the pacing is off, or parts feel less naturally motivated than others, or not the best way to get info across. I'm calling out Kim in court announcing she gave up her license and the acrylic Werner memento montage (which, irrationally, I do not like at all!) in particular.

The other seasons don't make me feel as critical about these kinds of choices* - the ambition pays off, but there are trade offs in it.

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

Title: Paris to Main Street

Author: Ray Johnson

Rating: 3/5 stars

American pop culture in the 1960s and 1970s -- it was cool, and it seems to have come out of nowhere, to have been perfected all at once by a long list of writers, artists, and musicians that nobody had heard of before.

At least, that's how it seems in hindsight. As I write this in 2016, I'm watching Matt Damon in The Martian, which is a solid mainstream hit movie about a guy who survives alone on Mars -- a project that would probably have been impossible to make when, say, the astronauts actually landed on the moon, almost 50 years ago. Meanwhile, I'm just now reading this book, which is an account by a commercial artist about the improbable process by which it came to be easy to sell images of a single alienated young man on the cover of a popular magazine.

The alienated young man, in this case, was a cartoon character named Terry Putt (from the magazine Paris Quarterly), later changed to Terry Follett, and he was also a friend of the author's. In Paris (France), where he worked as an illustrator, Putt had begun to find himself unable to make the kind of simple, witty, satirical cartoons that people wanted. He had become, as the author puts it, "merely an observer, not a reporter."

The author, Ray Johnson, was an American illustrator working in Paris at the same time as Putt. He thinks that, while this lack of confidence is the sort of thing a lot of people have to struggle with at some point in their life, Putt wasn't just struggling, he was dealing with a problem that couldn't be successfully solved by existing artistic methods. Everyone else in France drew cartoons that were either funny but forgettable, or stylish but dull.

And so Johnson, who had always been an observer and not a reporter, tried to come up with an entirely new way to approach the problem. He specifically had Putt pose as an alienated, hopeless young man, someone who was part of an America that was inevitably on its way to annihilation. It was around this time that rock and roll had started being played on French radio, and Johnson went to work imitating rock and roll musicians' most basic stylized tics and putting them into Putt's mouth. But of course, music is hard to express with words, and part of rock and roll is a sense that things are out of control. Putt was a deliberately emotionally-flat character, who wasn't really supposed to express much emotion at all.

Slowly, this initial combination of elements started to gel into something big. The result was a cartoon so painfully genuine and accurate that it made people think he was French. It was a shock to people -- especially the French, who were still used to French-style humor, and didn't know how to treat this Putt character -- but it was also the first evidence of a new possibility, a fusion of disaffected punk attitude with mainstream audience appeal that had previously been unthinkable.

Putt's pictures went from being something no one knew what to make of, to making the author famous. When he moved to New York to work for a publishing company, his bosses thought they could make money selling the idea of the "Putt character." They got it backwards. Putt's success was due to his particularity: his alienation wasn't a stand-in for "young people's alienation" or "urban alienation," it was a stand-in for just one specific person. It was only the kind of alienation that a uniquely specific person, Terry Putt, could represent. Removing the Putt character from the cover, or changing him in some way, was like trying to cut the letter "D" from a dictionary or dictionary publisher's logo -- it was the mark of the beast, the logo of the company that had betrayed its core values.

Thus, the Putt character faded into obscurity, while all around him a whole new world of American rock and roll stars was being manufactured, just as he had once been manufactured. The only thing that made this process noteworthy was that the new stars, unlike the Putt character, were just totally ordinary. They didn't appeal to any sort of broad universal human experience, only to a very particular slice of youth experience. They were real, even as they were thoroughly manufactured. While Putt had been an alienated city slicker, they were all . . . well, somehow they were "country" -- country bumpkins, rednecks.

Johnson's book doesn't make any grand pronouncements. The story is good and the details are memorable, but nothing grand or profound is proved by this history. It's just one very good but very ordinary guy's story. If you read it as just that, it's a success.

[iminyourbookshelf]

Tysm for the tag :DD

1. who is/are your comfort character(s)?

C!Techno and Kirby (so consistent ik)

2. lighter or matches?

Matches, makes me feel like I've been lost in the wood for days for funsies

3. do you leave the window open at night?

Nope

4. which cryptyd being do you believe in?

If I had to chose one probably some sort of ghost

5. what color are your eyes?

Brown

6. why did you do that?

Impulse or idk

7. hair-ties or scrunchies?

Scrunchies, hair is too thick for hair-ties

8. how many water bottles are in your room right now?

Zero

9. which do you prefer, hot coffee or cold coffee?

Hot coffee all the way

10. would you slaughter the rich?

Extremely rich probably

11. favorite extracurricular activity?

Not sure what counts for this but I'll say biking

12. what kind of day is it?

A waiting one

13. when was the last time you ate?

3 hours maybe?? Unless chewing gum counts

14. do you love the smell of earth after it rains?

Yep

15. are you a parent? (all answers qualify)

Of my dog

16. can you drive?

Yep

17. are you farsighted or nearsighted?

Farsighted

18. what hair products do you use?

Two curl creams, sometimes a gel if I need it

19. imagine we're at a sleepover, would you paint my nails?

You would probably want to get someone else, my hands are shaky and I'm horrible at painting nails 😭

20. do you say soda or pop?

Both

21. something you've kept since childhood?

A stuffed animal from my parents and a glass dove from my nana

22. what type of person are you?

I try to be caring :]

23. how do you feel about chilly weather?

Good, I can layer clothes

24. if we were together on a rooftop, what would we be doing?

I'm showing you music artist and we're eating snacks

25. perfume/body spray or lotion?

Lotion, I got skin issues ;-;

26. a scenario that you've replayed multiple times?

What I'd do in emergency situations

27. about how many hours of sleep did you get?

5, better than usual actually :D

28. do you wear a mask?

Only if I'm sick

29. how do you like your shower water?

Toasty

30. is there dishes in your room?

No

31. what type of music keeps you grounded?

Indie-pop, indie-rock

32. do you have a favorite towel?

I don't think so

33. the last adventure you've been on?

Going on sand dunes

34. is there a song you know every word to by heart?

Go dumb by the Happy Fits

35. what's your timezone?

Just keeping this private probably

36. how many times have you changed your url?

3 times on this app, first was iminyourwalls1, then iminyourdresser, then finally iminyourbookshelf :>

37. someone in your life, other than a relative, you've known for 10+ years?

A few friends going to be 10+ years soon

38. a soap bar that smells good?

Honey

39. do you use lip balm?

I got dry ass lips, yeah

40. did you have any snacks today?

A bag of chips

41. how do you take your coffee?

Caramel latte, not the question really but I'm the type of person thar 'drinks coffee' with 15 other things in it

42. an app you frequently use besides this godforsaken site?

Pinterest or discord

43. what's your take on spicy foods?

My spice tolerance is horrible but the food taste so goodd

44. you get a free pass to kill anyone, who is it?

A multibillionaire, whichever one is currently the worst for society

45. can you remember what happened yesterday?

Yeah, met up with a friend

46. favorite holiday film?

Die hard (family tradition thing)

47. what was the last message you sent?

"You're real for that"

48. when did you first try an alcohol beverage?

Probably at a christmas party when I was younger 😭

49. can you skip rocks?

Not at all

50. can i tag you in random stuff?

Sure, go ahead :D

No pressure

@wackytheorist @semifontos and anyone else

here’s weirder asks

who is/are your comfort character(s)?

lighter or matches?

do you leave the window open at night?

which cryptyd being do you believe in?

what color are your eyes?

why did you do that?

hair-ties or scrunchies?

how many water bottles are in your room right now?

which do you prefer, hot coffee or cold coffee?

would you slaughter the rich?

favorite extracurricular activity?

what kind of day is it?

when was the last time you ate?

do you love the smell of earth after it rains?

are you a parent? (all answers qualify)

can you drive?

are you farsighted or nearsighted?

what hair products do you use?

imagine we’re at a sleepover, would you paint my nails?

do you say soda or pop?

something you’ve kept since childhood?

what type of person are you?

how do you feel about chilly weather?

if we were together on a rooftop, what would we be doing?

perfume/body spray or lotion?

a scenario that you’ve replayed multiple times?

about how many hours of sleep did you get?

do you wear a mask?

how do you like your shower water?

is there dishes in your room?

what type of music keeps you grounded?

do you have a favorite towel?

the last adventure you’ve been on?

is there a song you know every word to by heart?

what’s your timezone?

how many times have you changed your url?

someone in your life, other than a relative, you’ve known for 10+ years?

a soap bar that smells good?

do you use lip balm?

did you have any snacks today?

how do you take your coffee?

an app you frequently use besides this godforsaken site?

what’s your take on spicy foods?

you get a free pass to kill anyone, who is it?

can you remember what happened yesterday?

favorite holiday film?

what was the last message you sent?

when did you first try an alcohol beverage?

can you skip rocks?

can i tag you in random stuff?

[megamobilestylesposts]

Brow Game Strong - Master the art of feathered brows

How to Achieve Feathered Eyebrows

Let's dive into the magical world of feathered eyebrows-the secret to effortlessly chic and naturally groomed arches.

Grab your beauty brushes and let's flutter into this step-by-step guide that's as breezy as a spring day!

Understanding Feathered Eyebrows

Picture this: Feathered eyebrows are like the soft wings of a butterfly, delicate yet striking. It's all about creating a natural, feathery effect that effortlessly frames your face. Every face shape can rock this look, from heart-shaped to round, bringing out your unique beauty in a fluttering dance.

Celebrities like Lily Collins and Zendaya are flaunting their feathered brows, proving that this trend is not just a style, but a beauty movement. So why not join the feathered brow squad and let your brows take flight?

Ready to get started? Let's flutter to the first step!

Preparation and Tools: Your Feathered Arsenal

Before we get into the magic, let's talk tools! Think of yourself as an artist, and your eyebrows are your canvas. To create the perfect feathery strokes, you'll need a few essentials:

Brow pencil or powder: Choose a shade that matches your natural color.

Blush brush: To blend and soften those strokes.

Brow gel: Clear or tinted, this will help set your feathered creation.

Maintain your brows by trimming any excess hair and plucking any stray hairs. Now you're ready to soar into the artistic world of feathered eyebrows!

Step-by-Step Guide: A Ballet of Brows

Brow Mapping: Mapping Your Brow Trajectory

Start by mapping your brows for symmetry. Think of it as a GPS for your feathery journey! Use your pencil or brow tool to mark the start, arch, and endpoints. Remember, this is your guide to the perfect feathered ascent!

Fill in sparse areas: Adding Feathers to the Nest

Time to fill in the gaps! Choose a brow pencil or powder and gently fill in any sparse areas with short, feathery strokes. Think of it as adding delicate feathers to your brow nest for a soft, natural look.

Create hair-like strokes: Channel your inner brow artist

Now let's unleash your inner artist! Use a fine-tipped brow pencil or brush to create hair-like strokes. Imagine each stroke as a feather gently resting on your brow canvas. This technique mimics the natural growth of eyebrow hair for a feathery and realistic finish.

Set with Brow Gel: Lock in the feathery magic

Seal the deal with brow gel! Whether clear or tinted, this magic potion helps set your feathered creation and keep it in place throughout the day. Brush gently in an upward motion to keep your feathers lifted and fabulous.

Blend and soften: A soft landing for your feathers

Blend and soften these strokes for a seamless finish. Think of it as giving your feathers a soft landing so your brows look natural and perfectly feathered. Use a spoolie brush to gently blend and soften any hard lines.

Troubleshooting Common Issues: A Smooth-Feathered Flight

Are brows not perfectly symmetrical? A little over-plucked? No worries, beauty birds! Here are some quick fixes without starting from scratch:

Uneven brows: Add a few extra strokes to even them out.

Over-plucking: Fill in with a brow pencil or powder for a fuller effect.

Remember, perfection is overrated - embrace the uniqueness of your feathered creation!

Maintenance and Longevity: Keeping your feathers fresh

Your feathered look is complete, but how do you keep those feathers fluttering for the long haul?

Regular grooming: Trim excess hair and pluck stray hairs.

Touch-ups: A quick touch-up with your brow pencil or powder as needed.

Brow Gel Refresher: A midday swipe of brow gel for that extra lift.

Your feathered brows are now ready to soar and embrace the natural beauty of your face.

Celebrating Diversity: Feathered brows for all beauties

Feathered brows are not one-size-fits-all. Embrace your unique beauty and adapt the feathering technique to complement your brow shape. Whether your arches are bold or subtle, there's a feathered style waiting for you.

Ready to unleash your inner brow goddess? Experiment with different feathered looks, share your creations on social media, and celebrate the diversity of beauty!

Bottom line: Flutter into Feathered Fabulousness

There you have it, beauties - a fluttery guide to achieving feathered eyebrows that dance to your unique rhythm. Embrace the feathered trend, let your brows take flight, and remember: beauty is an art, and you're the masterpiece!

Now it's your turn! Download the Mobilestyles app, where beauty meets convenience. Book a feathered brow expert and let the feathered fun begin!

[kaelbermarsch]

new music releases from female vocalists/artists in 2024 (rock, metal, punk, etc.)

(feel free to add or self promote!)

[link to the masterpost]

ALBUMS

Into the Realm - Castle Rat (USA)

doom metal, hard rock, heavy metal

someone on bandcamp described it as "what if black sabbath was fronted by debbie harry?"

female front singer

burnout - VIAL (USA)

alternative/indie punk

all female band

Jetzt schlägt's 13 (live) - The Dead End Kids (Germany)

deutschpunk

live album

female front singer

Codes - Anja Huwe (Germany)

post-punk, goth

was the lead singer of Xmal Deutschland in the 80s!

Little Rope - Sleater-Kinney (USA)

alternative rock

they've been making music since the 90s!

all female band

Verses In Oath - Hulder (Belgium, USA)

black metal, medieval black metal

When The Darkness Comes - Ieschure (Ukraine)

atmospheric black metal

one-woman band

EPs

Conqueress (Extended) - Doro (Germany)

heavy metal, hard rock

she was the lead singer of Warlock!

SINGLES

i hate when GIRLS die - Die Spitz (USA) Little Flame - Die Spitz (USA) My Hot Piss - Die Spitz (USA)

punk, grunge 90s sound

reminds me of Hole except that their sound's a bit heavier

all female band

Business Before Pleasure - The Runnings (Germany)

Misery Loves Company - The Runnings (Germany)

garage rock

female front singer

I'm So Free - Joan Jett & the Blackhearts (USA)

rock

i don't think joan jett needs an introduction but if you didn´t know, she was a founding member of The Runaways as a teen

Mirage - GEL (USA)

hardcore punk

female front singer

[tabbycasto]

🧊🍬Aurora Nails or Ice Nails using Artistic Nail Design Rock Hard Gel🍬🧊

Aurora nails or Glow nails are trending in the UK inspired by the famous 밤별 nails in Korea, I wanted to recreate this look using cruelty free products & it took a few attempts to get the finish I was after.

A note on this trend :

The reason we are not seeing the exact “glowing” effect of this trend recreated in the UK (yet) is that in the UK we have cosmetic safety regulations which mean if something isn’t fit for the use on skin - it does not pass these regulations. In some countries, these regulations do not exist.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CLbTpvGDwgk/?igshid=vuwg8u0zkvuo

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by 미아사거리네일 99번가네일/구구네일 (@99st_nail_salon)

The powder used to create this look in Korea is called Glow Powder or "밤별" Powder. At the moment I haven’t found any of the brands I love and trust producing it. Mermaid chrome powders, iridescent shimmer pigments, rainbow & oil slick nail foils all create a brilliant finish, but don’t beat yourself up if you can’t get the exact look you are seeing online. The powder pigment seems to be the key to get the effect & personally, if I can’t ensure a product is safe for clients - I won’t be purchasing or using them (much like the thermal colour changing gels & cat eye gels) , however I will continue to experiment with fun/safe alternatives to create a similar look using products that I trust.

Just to mention - No disrespect to any non UK brands at all, I am not here to promote we only purchase from UK shops, but I am keen to raise awareness that any nail tech should have access to accurate ingredient lists 💁🏼‍♀️

The look I was finally happy with was created with Artistic Rock Hard Building Gel, mermaid chrome powder & translucent angel paper foil. It’s still got that slightly chonky vibe as I’m not a fan of the angel paper being crinkled & to avoid this the gel has to stay quite built up, but I’ve tried to keep it as thin as possible:

I’ve also discovered some tips in my research when creating this effect

1. When cutting your Angel Paper Foil try not to crinkle it, use tweezers if needs be & sharp scissors to get the best effect

2. Keep the excess pieces for future icyclic nail art inspired looks

3. When adding your second layer of Builder Gel try to mimic the shape of your Angel Paper Foil so it almost nestles into place

4. Try to use only a couple layers of Mermaid Chrome Powder at most or else the look becomes too cloudy

If you are a nail pro you can use my ambassador code TABBY10 for 10% off Artistic Nail Design products I used at louellabelle.co.uk You can also quote my code Tabbycat when messaging @luxeresin_ on Instagram to get 20% off resin nail/makeup palletes.

Products Used :

Artistic Nail Design pH Nail Prep

Artistic Nail Design Rock Hard Opening Act Non Acid Primer

Artistic Nail Design Rock Hard Pink Groupie Gel

Artistic Nail Design Rock Hard LED Builder Gel

Artistic Nail Design Glossing Gel Topcoat

Artistic Nail Design No7 Square Gel Brush

Artistic Nail Design Led Cure Box

Artistic Nail Design Lint Free Wipes & Nail Surface Cleanser

Mermaid Chrome Powder

Translucent Angel Paper Foil

I thought I’d also share some of my other attempts with you as they also had a nice effect :

Attempt 1

The first attempt I tried ended up looking more Opalescent than Aurora, this was because I used too many layers of mermaid powder below and above the angel paper foil. Still a pretty look, but I wasn’t satisfied :

Attempt 2

The next look was very pretty, but again too cloudy. I used pink & green mermaid chromes & didn’t keep the angel paper as smooth as I should have so the crinkles gave off a different finish

Attempt 3

I was most pleased with my third attempt, where I kept the angel paper smooth, applied less mermaid chrome & build up the Builder Gel enough to allow the angle paper foil to lie really flat

I hope this was helpful to some of my nail techs friends who were keen to try the Aurora look! If you really love these more Opal inspired sets I created you can actually shop my press on nails & nail kits on my Etsy shop here :

https://etsy.me/2ZUEaEz

[shirecorn]

how about 17 and 24? what inspires you and how do you deal with art block?

Long post warning.

Art block...

I don't actually get art block, which is probably a combination of neurodivergence and drawing every day for the last 3 years

I wrote an entire tutorial about how to do that, but didn't feel like illustrating it. Would people want to read it even without visuals?

Maybe... I'll just start rambling.

There's a couple different types of art block, and it's really just a philosophy puzzle to get past them. I'm going to assume that the things I think of slow days, or art mud, is a milder form of art block and work through that.

Art block is a symptom, not a disease. You probably have something deep inside that you don't want to face, or don't know how. Sometimes you need to discover the cause, sometimes just power through.

Method 1: Rest

Let yourself just Exist. The act of consuming art is part of the process. Watching shows and playing games, taking a break and going gardening or focus on school. This is what you need for burnout-induced art block.

Method 2: Action

I always choose action, sometimes it means a tiny 2 min sketch per day. Ugly or super simplified. As long as I don't stop moving.

Toss everything. Start every piece thinking you will throw it away.

The act of drawing moves you forward; pinning it to the fridge does not. Don't work things until they are perfect. Work them until they are there.

Art block causes and solutions:

- No Inspiration

Not sure what to draw, nothing seems appealing. Art won't come out like it used to.

Do studies from life or photos. Sketch, paint, digital, traditional, doesn't matter. Rocks, fruit, figure drawing, landscapes, buildings, anything.

Study and copy professional's work. Old masters are best, like rubens, michalangelo (only his men tho) etc because they will teach you anatomy while you work. If you copy someone with a lot of flaws, you will repeat those flaws.

Trace to learn, not to earn. Trace photography and art from anyone you want. Don't post it unless you have the artist's permission or they are dead, whichever comes first. This is strictly work for yourself, on yourself. It's not about the finished drawing.

Find an artist with a fun style and try converting stuff into their style. Don't make that your new style though and especially don't start selling it. Your style is a chimera of everyone you love, not a clone of one person.

Take blurry photos. You don't need a fancy camera or good skills or beautiful subjects. Doing studies from your own photos can spark life into your workflow.

Make challenges for yourself. Randomly generate things to combine. Try fusing characters! Don't try to make it look good, just be fun.

Doodle patterns, swirls, lines, random stuff. Try looking up art warmups and doing some of those.

- Everything Sucks

You finally see how bad you are. Or somehow you got worse. Every piece is a fight and you spend hours trying to get something right only for it to be stiff and disgusting and STILL wrong.

Why are you trying to draw good? It's enough just to draw.

Accept that your art is bad. Every artist can see flaws in their work. Your problem is that those flaws outweigh anything remotely worthwhile and hurt to look at.

So what? You're in a period of growth, not a period of production. Keep that wonky second eye. Let them have hot dog fingers.

Show everyone! Show no one! No piece of art can ever be a reflection of the artist. Not their worth, not their skill. The only thing your art says about you is "Held and moved a pen for a bit."

Make bad art. It's ok. Most of the time, the pressure to perform and get things Right is what made them wrong in the first place. Relax.

- No Motivation

The #1 killer of artists everywhere. On some level you think you should draw, on every other level you think you should stay in bed.

You are not lazy. You wouldn't have read this far in a post about art block if you were lazy. You wouldn't CALL it art block if you were lazy. Laziness is wishing you didn't have to do anything. A block is wishing you were doing something. If you think you can namecall Yourself into productivity again, you're wrong and You need to unionize so that you don't treat You like that anymore.

Consider Mental Illness. Losing interest in something that brought you joy can be a symptom of depression. I know it seems obvious, but if you're waiting for a sign that it's "bad enough," it's bad enough. Seek care if you have the means. Forgive yourself if you already know this.

Selfcare. Examine yourself for neglect. Nutrition, exercise, enrichment, social need, and sleep are all part of the art process. Eat three meals and sleep 8 hours. That's your gaymer fuel. You deserve it, I promise. Depriving yourself of your needs will make your blocks worse, not kick you into making them better.

Identify potholes. Sketchbook falling apart? Tablet cord frayed? Half your pencils missing? Chair uncomfortable? Desk hard to reach? There's a lot of things that you tell yourself to work around and get over. Just because you CAN workaround something, doesn't mean you SHOULD. A difficult work environment can cause secret dread deep inside that you don't recognize and just think you're lazy. What you think of as "no motivation" might actually be "I don't want to deal with my tablet disconnecting every time I move it wrong and I have to wiggle it for a few seconds to make it work again." These little things are like potholes in the road. Sure you CAN still drive through them, but eventually you're going to look up and realize you haven't voluntarily left the house in weeks.

Repair potholes and roadblocks. You might feel bad about buying a new pencil, headphones, tablet, car, etc because technically the old one works if you hustle. But if you're running into so many potholes you've ground to a halt, it doesn't Actually work anymore, does it? Invest, save up, request, and require working equipment and suitable conditions. This stuff isn't just cushy privilege, it's an investment in yourself and your art. You are worth the effort it takes to clear the way. If you can't afford reliable (reliable! not perfect or luxurious) equipment, then say it. If cardboard is all you can afford, draw on cardboard. But know that you deserve canvas, and one day you might be able to make the jump. Acknowledge that sometimes, if you don't have it in you to smear burned twigs on wet cardboard, the problem isn't motivation, but opportunity.

- Haven't Drawn in So Long

A unique type of art block that self perpetuates. The thought of starting again is so stressful you can't do it. Or maybe you'll do it tomorrow. Yeah. Tomorrow for sure.

Face your fears. Are you ashamed of your lack of drawing? Are you anthropomorphizing your paper and thinking it's going to judge you, like "oh NOW you come back >:/" I internalize voices I hear and project them onto other people, concepts, locations, and inanimate objects. Your paper, computer, WIPs folder.... none of that is judging you.

Reframe your WIPs. Do you feel shame when you see "unfinished" projects? Why? Who says you MUST bring everything you start to Finish? You don't have to. A sketch is a finished art piece; it's called a sketch! If a sketch is a fully realized creation, pages that are half colored, 75% lined, or partially rendered are all fully realized creations too. Unless paid otherwise, art is done when you're done working on it.

Lower the stakes. Draw a chibi or grab some crayons. Get messy and slowly ease yourself back into the flow over the course of a couple days. It's fine.

Get a buddy! Find an art meme, do an art trade, get a study subject, or just wing it. Drawing art alongside someone can help you get past that block.

Pretend you never stopped. Don't think about the gap, how long it's been, or rustiness. As far as anyone knows, you drew the mona lisa yesterday and didn't break a sweat. Today, you drew a starfish on your hand with a gel pen. Keep up that streak, good job!

Just keep drawing. Make a goal to do one sucky drawing per day on the back of a napkin. Don't make up for missed days, just pretend they didn't happen. Who's going to judge you? The calendar? That's pieces of paper; it doesn't have an opinion. Draw a cat on it. Done. Keeping up the momentum is a great way to prevent art blocks in the future.

TLDR: Draw imperfectly and toss it. Selfcare is king. Draw often and don't judge yourself.

Art is a process, not a product.

[werewolftism]

@glitchydyke OKAY!

I definitely try to listen to a lot of queer or female fronted bands. Heres my list:

Punk:

Violent Femmes

Cerce

The Muslims

Dear Nora

Mommy Long Legs

AJJ

Jack Off Jill

Slutever

Cheap Perfume

GEL

Sleater-Kinney

The Runaways

Joan Jett

THICK

Dead Kennedys

Mannequin Pussy

Mommy Long Legs

Leftöver Crack

Deli Girls

Saucy Yoda

Bikini Kill

Huggy Bear

Destroy Boys

The Cramps

The Distillers

She/Her/Hers

Against Me!

Pinkshift

Chainsaw Girl

Toy bastard

L7

Soakie

Lady Pills

Screaming Females

Dilly Dally

The Oozes

Left At London

Lié (I’ve heard both goths and punks are into this one but i definitely think its more punk)

Extensive Queercore Spreadsheet

Goth:

The Cure

Siouxie And the Banshees

The Birthday Party

Strawberry Switchblades

Alien Sex Fiend

Sisters Of Mercy

Bauhaus

Type O Negative

Kælan Mikla

Minuit Machine

Winter Severity Index

Goth playlists: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Punk playlists: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

& If you download bandcamp and look up keywords (for example Punk, Goth, Trans, Emo, Etc.) and select your state or area you can find local or more obscure bands too ^^

Misc bands:

Lustsickpuppy - SO much fun live and overall just such good high energy to all her music

Black Dresses - I find hard to explain this one but i love them so much. The two members, Ada Rook and Devi McCallion, are lesbian trans girls and the music they produce both on their own and together for Black Dresses is super good. Probably one of my favorite bands

Kittie - All-female Nu metal band. They were pretty popular with mall goths to my knowledge and their shit slaps. I’d recommend watching this interview , its got interactions between the members (aka some cool alt girls in the 90s having a fun time.) and also footage from some of their concerts!

Julie - Listed online as an artistic mix of shoegaze, art rock, and grunge

Your Arms Are My Cocoon - Listed online as bedroom screamo

GRLWOOD; Hesitant to recommend this one because of the SA and rape allegations that came out from the drummer regarding the singer - but their music has been a comfort to me since before the allegations were made public and the music itself is punk. Their music covers sex-positivity and some stuff about being queer, you can pirate their stuff on soundcloud or youtube if you’re interested in listening without legally supporting the singer

Hope this is helpful!

MAX do u have any music recommendations i would like your swag punk expertise <33

HI MJ!!! YESYES i would luv to give u recommendations. do u want explicitly punk stuff or just general recs? ^^

[evdeanwriter]

Canvas | Original Fiction; T

Fictober prompt #1: “I choose you”

-

Trish and Seth were the coolest kids in middle school; so punk rock and not giving a damn. They chose to take Jane under their wing, the new kid, and she memorized the lyrics to all their favorite songs—some of them were like poetry, Jane liked those.

Trish helped her thrift the t-shirts with old British bands so that she could give all her goodie-two-shoes clothes to Goodwill. Seth taught her how to climb out of her window before they all snuck out to her first concert. The venue was stuffy and loud. Jane dripped in sweat and someone else’s beer, but she banged her head just like everyone else. Next time, she brought earplugs, but she never put them in.

The day Jane came back home with a mohawk on her head, mom looked like she was about to get a heart attack. Both about the hair and the stench of smoke. Jane and her best friends had shared a cigarette, while Seth was buzzing the long, mousy strands off the sides of her head. Trish used half a jar of hair gel to turn the chopped up top into thick spikes. Jane shivered when the wind grazed her bare skin.

She got grounded for the rest of the school year and half the summer. By the time August rolled in, Seth and Trish had a bunch of new friends they would be going to high school with.

Michelle was the type of girl who gets crowned the prom queen, not the type of girl who chooses to hang out with someone like Jane. But she needed help with literature classes, and Jane’s essay was loudly praised by the teacher that day. Jane didn’t mind writing two essays instead of one from then on, although making them sound like two different people was kind of tough. Still, she managed to squeeze the task in between shopping with Michelle, getting her hair bleached and nails done with Michelle, and sharing earphones with Michelle when they watched their favorite movies.

They grew inseparable and seen. When they walked down the corridor, the other students parted. Michelle taught Jane how to get perfect pics for Insta and how to flirt with the boys—but never keep them. Even when Jane got grounded for maxing out mom’s credit card, Michelle would sneak into her room through the window and tell her all the gossip from the parties she missed out on.

Until the day the only gossip everyone at school was talking about were all of Jane’s secrets she only revealed to one person, her best friend—her ex-friend—Michelle. At least, there wasn’t much school to suffer through after that, and Michelle moved to LA to become a movie star.

Gregory was like a dream. Law major, handsome, well-spoken, smart as hell. The rich family was a nice bonus, but Jane didn’t care about that. She cared that—somehow—he chose her. On their first date, he took Jane out to a fancy restaurant, the kind with big lobster tanks in the middle. She helped him throw his first charity banquet and the hundredth party on his father’s yacht. For the spring break, he took her to Hawaii, where he surfed and she sunbathed all day, and partied all night. All the girls from her classes were so jealous.

Jane’s mom was, at last, happy with Jane’s choices, because she finally found the right company, a good guy.

And she looked great too, didn’t she? With all the designer clothes and the beauty treatments Greg paid for, with those whitened teeth behind her plump lips. She had to look great; look the part. Not just some eye-candy: she had to act properly and think like a high-class woman would, too. And that’s who she was. In the end, his family grew to love her, too.

By then, Greg loved the free-spirited artist, more, the one he’d been cheating on Jane with for months. She was exciting and spontaneous, she loved poetry, too. She wasn’t proper or high-class. And, most of all, she wasn’t boring—that’s what Greg called Jane when she caught him in flagrante delicto.

Greg made Jane move out of their apartment, into some crappy place she rented with her savings.

It was hard to get used to being all alone, with nothing but Jane as company.

Because Jane is… Who is she, exactly? The heir’s bride (not) to be? The prom queen’s best friend? The punk rocker who doesn’t give a damn? Her mom’s polite, well-mannered daughter?

Looking back, it’s easy to see the string of people coming into her life and overtaking it—all of it—just as she let them. She flocked to others like a bird with no sense of direction; her own North Poles. Once her empty canvas got painted over into exactly what they wanted her to be, they got bored of her and moved on.

Only good for anything when a work in progress—and never hers.

She looks into the mirror. Who is Jane? The mousy roots peeking out from under the golden caramel dye? The puffy eyes from crying, the paling skin, and the lips slowly regaining their old shape and size? She’s shedding the latest layer of herself. Her borrowed self.

Maybe living alone for a while is not such a bad idea? Just with herself, with Jane, whoever she is. Maybe she can discover who she is when she’s not someone else’s chosen girl. She can find out what she likes.

That she likes her hair with no product in it, but a banging winged eyeliner on her face. That she prefers silence to music, and hash browns to caviar. That clothes fit her best when they suit her mood, not her singular identity.

“I choose you,” she says to her reflection in the mirror, feeling only a little awkward. A small smile blooms on her face. “I choose myself.”

[laurenmm62017]

Lights on Yavin 4

This is for the Kalluzeb Reverse Bang! @kalluzebminibang

Art is by the talented @drunkenmantis! Go check out their piece~

Summary: Kallus and Garazeb finally spend some quality time together on Yavin 4 after the Battle of Atollon. Zeb gets called away for multiple missions in a row, and what does Kallus do about it?

Pine like a love-sick teenager, of course.

Kallus knew it wouldn’t be easy, openly joining the Rebellion. He had given more than a decade of his life to the Empire, and just because he was a spy for the Rebellion for a year doesn’t mean people have forgotten his origins.

The higher-ups of the Rebellion had interviewed him for any information they thought was valuable to the cause. Clearance codes, secret bases, anything he could remember. Oh, and did he mention the lie detector that they strapped to his chest? Because that was very efficient and smart of them, honestly. He was impressed, especially by their intelligence director, General Davits Draven. He was the one who strapped the machine to him, the one asking the most questions about his intel, the one pressing him more and more and more until he was ready to pull his hair out.

General Draven was… not cruel, really. Just extremely wary of him.

Which is wonderful for the Rebellion, but couldn’t they at least give him some bacta gel for his leg? They kept him in “debriefing” for a few more hours after that, and by the time he was released, he was utterly exhausted. All he wanted to do was get some bacta on his leg, some food in his stomach, and then pass out for an entire year.

As he walked out of the meeting room, ready to find the medical tent, or room, or whatever, he spotted the most unexpected person waiting for him.

Zeb stood against a stack of crates, obviously pretending to inspect his bo-rifle. As soon as the door opened, he looked up and his eyes immediately landed on him. His heart skipped a beat as Zeb walked over to him.

“Finally freeing you, eh? What do you say we head to medbay and then we can head back to the Ghost?”

“You must have read my mind, because that’s exactly what I was thinking. Lead the way?”

Zeb grabbed his hand gently (no, he is most definitely not blushing, thank you very much), and led him through the winding passages of the enormous temple that the Rebels had made their base. There were so many twists and turns, it was hard to keep track. Strategically sound, in his opinion. If anyone infiltrated the base, they would be hard pressed to find the most vulnerable people on base.

The medic who attended him was kind, but exhausted, since they were still looking over other victims of Atollon. He just asked for some bacta, but the medic brushed him off and began a full medical examination of him.

Zeb stood out of the way, but he was always in the corner of his eye as the medic poked and prodded and slathered in bacta and his leg set in a cast. Then he was told not to put too much pressure on it, come back in a few days to get it removed, and was sent off with Zeb to the Ghost.

He spent his recovery aboard the Ghost, while everyone recovered from the Battle of Atollon. Most of that time was spent in Zeb’s room, the galley, or the cockpit with Hera.

Kallus got to know the remaining members of the Spectres as well as he could in the week that he spent recovering, and in return, allowed the walls around his heart crack just a little bit.

He learned that Hera liked her caf with a splash of milk and a pound of sugar. She found and repaired Chopper herself during the Clone Wars. She liked to hum to herself while doing repairs on the Ghost. She’s not quite forgiven him for his time in the Empire, but he didn’t expect her to.

He learned that Rex, one of the few clones left in the fight against the Empire, was great at teaching. He had spent his time on Atollon running drills and such with new and old members. He was friends with, or at least knew of, everyone who came from Atollon. He spent his spare time talking with those two clones from Seelos on a secure channel.

And Zeb.

During his time as both an ISB agent and Fulcrum in the Empire, he had basically memorized Zeb’s file and could recite it backwards. But here on the Ghost, with Zeb taking care of him, he found he had known nothing about the Lasat.

Sabine may be the artist of the group, but Zeb could make a fair number of trinkets and other items. He had made custom chronometers for everyone. He made most of the silverware and utensils onboard. He had programmed their dejarik table.

Zeb was attentive to him, especially during the first few days of his recovery. He assisted with changing his bandages around his ribs and made sure he never had to walk too far.

Zeb didn’t linger on unimportant things. Sure, the obvious thing was Lasan, but like he had said on Bahryn, it was behind him, and he’s moved on. The next thing was Atollon. Zeb was just glad that Kallus was here now, and that the majority of Atollon’s personnel were now of Yavin 4.

Zeb worried a lot. Not about little things, about things that mattered. Do they have enough supplies, rations, ammo, and the other essentials? What was the Empire’s next move? Were Kanan, Ezra, and Sabine alright? They should have checked in by now.

Zeb was funny. They spent their final rest day in the common room, Kallus plunged himself into any intel that the Rebellion could throw at him before he was assigned an official position. He sat at the dejarik table while Zeb and Rex were neck deep in a game, throwing snippy remarks at each other. Kallus occasionally tuned in and chuckled along with them, causing the two to stare at him the first couple it happened. He stared intensely at his datapad, and tried his best to ignore the reaction of his laugh. But every time it happened after, Zeb grinned fiercely at him.

On Kallus’ last night aboard the Ghost, he and Zeb were in the common room, eating one last meal together before he was assigned to a section within Rebel Intelligence. Everyone else was off doing other things to prepare for their first mission off of Yavin 4, but Hera had given Zeb the night off, but they knew it was so that they could spend time together. Who knows when is the next time their schedules will sync up and they can sit like this again.

“Hey, up for a little hike?” Zeb asked, standing up after finishing up his portion.

Kallus blinked, before shoving the rest of his ration into his mouth and standing up from the table. “Of course, I am. Where to?”

Zeb grinned and motioned for him to follow him off the Ghost. The two of them disembark and Zeb walks straight into the jungle. Kallus hesitates at the edge. “Zeb?”

“What? Scared of the dark?”

Kallus smirked, thinking back to the ice cave. “Of course not. But we don’t know what lives in this jungle. It could be dangerous.”

“Kallus. Do you trust me?” Zeb comes back to the edge of the forest, and holds a hand out to him.

Kallus stares at the extended hand, takes a deep breath, and takes hold. “More than anyone else.”

Zeb leads Kallus into the darkness for a few minutes before they come to the base of a smaller, more hidden temple, similar to the one the Rebel base is now in. The pair follow the base a little bit before Zeb boosts himself up onto a ledge not far from the ground, helping Kallus climb up and together, they scale the side of the temple until they are above the treeline.

“Yer leg alright?” Zeb asked, steadying him on the last step, where it led to a platform covered in leaves and moss. It seemed like it’s been a while since anyone has been up here.

“Yes, it’s fine, I just need to sit for a bit.” Kallus replied, rubbing it a little, following Zeb over to a small rock, and settled there, before turning out to face the night sky.

“Oh wow…” He breathed in awe.

It was a completely clear night. Millions of stars sparkled behind the single ring of Yavin 4, framing a moon off in the distance perfectly. Down below, he could see the lights of the main temple, housing the largest Rebel cell currently active.

Emotion swelled in his chest. “How did you find this place?”

“Went to clear my head that first night we were here. The brass kept ya so long, I was getting antsy. So I just… wandered and found this place. Wanted ta show you before we left tomorrow.”

Kallus felt tears begin to build behind his eyes, but he refused to cry, to show weakness in front of his closest friend. “Thank you, Zeb. This is a gift I couldn’t have hoped for.”

“Any time, Kal. Any time.”

Read the rest on Ao3!