#BLACK SCALE SOUNDCLOUD

[ofgreyskies]

all about greymatter, the pre-debut chapter

greymatter is the username of the youtube and soundcloud accounts created by ash when he was fifteen years old where he would upload his covers and original music. since signing to a label at eighteen, ash has posted occasionally to the greymatter accounts, but they are generally inactive today. his original tracks from 2013 to 2015 were officially released onto streaming sites in 2016 as a part of the remastered compilation album greymatter following his major label debut. the current-day stage name of grey grew out of the username. to this day, he uses greymatter as a producer alias, and his visual directing, editing, and photography work is watermarked with greymatter visuals.

"cigarette" is the earliest original song uploaded to the greymatter soundcloud account that's still available today. the song features collaborators as the primary vocalists and is representative of some of the early work he was posting to the account where he played a more prominent role as producer and songwriter than performer. the upload brought the first real wave attention to him on the platform, as it went small-scale viral around the time of its release. it wasn't the kind of virality that got him any broad name recognition or places on any charts outside of the soundcloud platform, but it earned him a few local gigs and connections. a visual was released for "cigarette" months after the track was uploaded. the visual was directed and edited by ash and a film school friend he had at the time. in fan spaces, "cigarette" has become one of the songs people reference to prove themselves as a "real" fan. since his most popular soundcloud releases were re-released onto streaming sites, "cigarette" has been among the most streamed songs off the compilation.

greed was uploaded onto grey's soundcloud and youtube in august 2014, when he was seventeen and had just begun his final year of high school. it was the first of three mixtapes he released under the greymatter moniker. greed consists of six self-written and self-produced songs. several of the tracks on greed were songs he was performing at open mics around the city and at school showcases and shopping around to music labels. a music video for one of the songs, "comme des garcons" was uploaded to his youtube channel. he directed it along with the same friend with whom he made the "cigarette" visual. it followed the same monochrome look all of his greymatter accounts and content had at the time.

"antiriver" was uploaded a few months after greed and is one of his least known releases despite being his favorite song he'd made at the time it came out. he released a video for this song too, though this time he broke the black and white look established with his previous visuals. at the time, ash thought this would be his big breakthrough masterpiece that would define him as an artist. it wasn't.

not long after turning eighteen, ash released his second mixtape esprit onto his greymatter accounts. reflective of the self-discovery that comes with becoming an adult and preparing for the next chapter in his life (which, at this point, he believed was going off to college in the fall), it maintained a stylistic throughline with greed, but with a clearly matured songwriting style. as he began to sell songs as a producer with more regularity and grew a bigger team with which to work, the main track of the collection, "lustre", also had a bigger video budget than its predecessors.

evergrey is the most well-known of ash's pre-debut works as his own (since "cigarette" is linked back to him less often). a final self-release before beginning his journey as a newly-signed artist under a major label, evergrey is both a conclusion and a transition. it draws from the same soundscape and stylizations as greed and esprit, but also introduces the more sensual sound that would become the early trademark of the artist grey with his official american and korean debuts in the following year. as the only of the early releases he gave an interview for the release of (thanks to the promotional interests of the label he'd sign to), evergrey is the one he's spoken the most about on-record. in addition to his video for "evergrey" / "in the blur of the rain", track visualizers were released for each track for the first time.

[sciencestyled]

When the Universe Decides to Paint: Bob Ross Meets the Big Bang on Canvas

Alright class, settle down—yes, you in the back with the galaxy leggings, we get it, you're cosmically quirky. Welcome to "Astronomical Landscapes: When Artists Play God and the Universe Just Sighs." Today, we're diving into how some clever humans have managed to take the most overwhelming, brain-melting visuals the cosmos has to offer and turned them into what we like to call "art." Spoiler alert: it's like giving a kindergartener a canvas and telling them to paint infinity. The results? Sometimes mind-blowing, sometimes... well, let's just say even the universe has its off days.

Now, don’t get me wrong—I love space art as much as the next wannabe Neil deGrasse Tyson. But the sheer hubris! Imagine staring at a swirling, impossibly vast nebula—basically the universe’s version of a lava lamp on psychedelics—and thinking, “You know, I could totally capture that on a 24x36 canvas, no problem.” It’s almost laughable, but hey, that’s the beauty of human arrogance.

Speaking of which, let’s start with the big thing artists love about space: its overwhelming, soul-crushing vastness. The endless stretches of blackness dotted with stars that look like someone went to town with a glitter gun on a black turtleneck. And yet, for centuries, artists have been like, “Yeah, I got this. Hand me my brush. Let me tackle the incomprehensible scale of the universe.”

The word we're going for here is "sublime," which is an artsy way of saying, “I feel small, insignificant, and slightly terrified, but in a cool, Instagrammable way.” Romantic artists back in the day loved that kind of stuff—think Caspar David Friedrich standing on a mountain, gazing into the fog like he’s just realized his WiFi signal’s gone out. Nowadays, though, artists aren’t just painting foggy cliffs; they're staring at the swirling gases of the Horsehead Nebula like it’s the last drop of pumpkin spice syrup at Starbucks. The universe is no longer just vast; it's emotionally unhinged.

But hold on to your overpriced coffee cups, because it gets better.

Let’s talk about how astronomical phenomena—like nebulae, black holes, and galaxies—are becoming the Kardashians of the art world. They're everywhere. I mean, have you seen a supernova? It’s like the universe decided to stage its own Fourth of July, but instead of fireworks, it used the death of a star to show off. And of course, some artist thought, “You know what this looks like? My feelings.”

Now, these cosmic explosions and stellar light shows aren’t just making their way into paintings. Oh no. They've infiltrated digital art, because apparently paintbrushes are just so last century. Nowadays, artists wield Photoshop like Thor’s hammer, crafting entire galaxies with the click of a mouse. Heck, some digital artists are creating entire space scenes so detailed you'd think NASA was hiring them on the side to render space travel promo posters. And if that’s not a gig I want in on, I don’t know what is.

Imagine an artist, sitting in front of their MacBook Pro, a soy latte to the left, a Pinterest mood board to the right. They click away, creating nebulae that’ll probably end up as some tech bro’s desktop wallpaper, all while mumbling, “This one really captures the essence of a collapsing star. Very deep.” Their digital art is so photorealistic, you'd swear you’re looking at the Hubble telescope’s highlight reel, only to realize it’s actually the cover of their indie sci-fi album on SoundCloud. Because yes, in the realm of astronomical landscapes, even space gets a soundtrack.

And if we’re talking realism, let’s not forget the classic debate that makes art critics' monocles fall into their champagne: realism versus abstraction. Realism in astronomical art is like trying to perfectly recreate the Milky Way galaxy down to the last twinkling star. You know, for all the nerds who love their science videos and need accuracy, because apparently if one star in a painting is in the wrong place, the entire painting becomes invalid. It's a little obsessive, but hey, who am I to question someone who’s memorized star charts like they're binge-watching Stranger Things?

Then there’s the abstract side of things. These artists look at a photo of a galaxy and think, “Sure, I could paint this exactly as it looks... but what if I just made everything blue and threw in some triangles for good measure?” It’s like Picasso dropped acid, stared at a telescope, and said, “You know what? Let’s make space weird.” And thus, abstract space art was born—because apparently the vastness of the universe isn’t already disorienting enough without throwing in geometric shapes and color schemes that look like someone’s Snapchat filter exploded.

But let’s pause for a second and talk about the underlying message here, kids. Yes, even the abstract weirdness has something to say. These artists aren’t just throwing paint (or pixels) at a canvas; they’re interpreting the universe as they see fit. You know, kind of like how The Mandalorian reimagined Star Wars into a spaghetti Western but with baby Yoda, except instead of baby Yoda, it’s supermassive black holes and rogue planets.

And don't even get me started on how these artists think they can "capture" the Big Bang. The sheer audacity. If the Big Bang were a person, it’d be the equivalent of Kanye West walking into a room and demanding everyone acknowledge its genius. Yet here come the artists, with their “interpretations” of what the universe looked like when it was nothing but a molten soup of chaos, throwing a little red here, a splash of white there, and calling it a masterpiece. Sure, Jan.

Now, let’s wrap this cosmic trip up with a peek into the future. What will astronomical landscapes look like in the coming years? Probably even more outlandish and pretentious. I mean, if we’ve learned anything from watching Black Mirror, it's that technology will likely reach a point where you can upload your consciousness into a virtual universe and paint your own galaxies in real time. Because why just observe the universe when you can manipulate it for your latest virtual art show on TikTok?

In the end, though, what all these artistic interpretations of space boil down to is this: the universe, in all its terrifying glory, makes for some really pretty pictures. Artists, whether digital or traditional, realistic or abstract, are essentially just trying to say what we're all thinking when we stare at the night sky—“Man, that’s cool. I wonder if I could make it trend on Instagram.”

And with that, class dismissed. Feel free to grab your lattes on the way out and remember—just because you can paint the universe doesn’t mean the universe cares. But hey, at least it’ll look good on your portfolio.

[mirandamckenni1]

Liked on YouTube: Black Hole Star – The Star That Shouldn't Exist || https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeWyp2vXxqA || Try Rocket Money for free & unlock more features with Premium! https://ift.tt/Fy1QPfv This video was sponsored by Rocket Money! You've waited for a long time. Now it's finally here: our new ✨Limited Edition Pin✨. You can pre-order it for 72 hours and then never again. 🚨https://ift.tt/vFk1s2j Sources & further reading: https://ift.tt/ka2Ts5m Black hole stars may have been the largest stars to ever exist. They burned brighter than galaxies and were Larger than any star today or that could ever exist in the future. But besides their scale, what makes them special and weird is that deep inside, they were occupied by a cosmic parasite, an endlessly hungry black hole. How is that even possible? OUR CHANNELS ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ German: https://ift.tt/kl08tVw Spanish: https://ift.tt/SRjB6dK French: https://ift.tt/L3s8gz2 Portuguese: https://ift.tt/kWgMEG4 Arabic: https://ift.tt/8AhnmBo Hindi: https://ift.tt/8n6Qy7s Japanese: https://ift.tt/SqWlXry Korean: https://ift.tt/YsfDG1P HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT US? ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ This is how we make our living and it would be a pleasure if you support us! Get Prodcuts designed with ❤ https://ift.tt/rvz9bC2 Join the Patreon Bird Army 🐧 https://ift.tt/7lOYoSH DISCUSSIONS & SOCIAL MEDIA ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ TikTok: https://kgs.link/tiktok Reddit: https://kgs.link/reddit Instagram: https://ift.tt/17Bo4LP Twitter: https://ift.tt/Op6HZY5 Facebook: https://ift.tt/U8mx4vp Discord: https://ift.tt/ZKn2fms Newsletter: https://ift.tt/urvhLQ1 OUR VOICE ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ The Kurzgesagt voice is from Steve Taylor: https://ift.tt/Q67hWBr OUR MUSIC ♬♪ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ 700+ minutes of Kurzgesagt Soundtracks by Epic Mountain: Spotify: https://ift.tt/Cp2vhTV Soundcloud: https://ift.tt/JpCNVEe Bandcamp: https://ift.tt/PzJusaj Youtube: https://ift.tt/GEVrmOs Facebook: https://ift.tt/KWxm5z6 The Soundtrack of this video: Soundcloud: https://bit.ly/3yaqWSr Bandcamp: https://bit.ly/2TEHjb9 If you want to help us caption this video, please send subtitles to subtitle@kurzgesagt.org You can find info on what subtitle files work on YouTube here: https://ift.tt/MeKnb7s Thank you! 🐦🐧🐤 PATREON BIRD ARMY 🐤🐧🐦 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Many Thanks to our wonderful Patreons (from http://kgs.link/patreon) who support us every month and made this video possible: Claudio Carusone, Christinisme, BamFred, Dark Bannana, Russell Bruskin, Tomas Mussi, Sitnalta, Ryszard Dyrek, Benjamin Davis, Aaric McMyre, Brendan Gilet, Linus Storhannus, Margaret, Alex, Miniiz, Ryan Gadsby, Bruno Quilling, Jonathan Osborne, AirdRigh, Alexis Witt, Sam McGilvery, Chandler McCown, RagaireFox, Coleman Tolliver, Michael Schwaiger, Thaniel64, Cory Berg, Alyssa, gpoly

[mrscorpio]

[Electronica/Beats] MrScorpio's HOUSE FIRE Podcast #291 - A Dreaming Edition - 27 Jan 2023 Mixcloud: http://bit.ly/Mixcloud291 D/L: http://bit.ly/DL-HF291 Shows: http://bit.ly/ScorpioPodcasts Feat: Name/Artist/Album Day 2001/AtJazz/Labfunk (21st Anniversary Edition) Time to be Real/Byron The Aquarius/Lailah/Black Man Of The Echo Tree 11:30/Duckwrth/Chrome Bull Dareka no Rettoukan wo Nomikomu/Hoshina Anniversary/HakkyouShisou Sweet Dreams (Snecker Remix)/Jorkes/Sweat Dreams (Remixes) No Plans Celestial/Memoryman aka Uovo/Come Together Dreaming/Ollie Rant/Malaika/Dreaming Just Fine/Sam Ruffillo/Brooklyn Tapes EP Dial303/Tom/SNCD02 LB EP Scale (Medlar Remix)/Delone/R.A.T.D. Remixes Ecstasy/Black Eyes/Ecstasy EP Be With U/Fort Romeau/Be With U Ill Minded/Declaime & Madlib/In The Beginning (Vol. 3) Hittin' Blocks/Apollo Brown/Cost of Living Rent Don't Make Home/Von Pea & Æon/Duly Noted 2 Panther & Powder/Skyzoo & The Other Guys/The Mind of A Saint I'm Not Good(Prod.By duMB-o)/Thought Provokah/I'm Good/I'm Good Hotel Oblivion (Ft. Ulysses)/B1 The Architect & Eddy Jones/Underground Soul DESTINED (feat. Cole Pierce/ Dante M'$ & JMAT),Jahndi Anres/Stages of Life Source Code (feat. Deca)/Homeboy Sandman/Still Champion Cathedral/Fashawn & Marc Spano/Fashawn x Marc Spano - FAX (EP) Elevation (Remix) [Explicit]/90culture feat. T. Evin$, Fame Life & WEX! the Master/Higher Consciousness [Explicit] Deer Antlers and Diamond Frogs/Frankie Jax No Mad/Eskimo Snowmobile Guild In My Hand feat. Big K.R.I.T. & Cal Wayne/Bun B & Statik Selektah/TrillStatik 2 Hollandaise/Ab-Soul/Herbert Thoth/AJ Suede/Indica Music Pumpkin Seeds feat. Lupe Fiasco/Aesop Rock x Blockhead/Pumpkin Seeds On & On (feat. Diana Dzhabbar & Ebban Dorsey)/José James/On & On Send me your tracks at Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/mr_scorpio Check out all your tracks on my show THE HOUSE FIRE/ every other Friday @6-8 PM GMT on InvaderFM: http://invader.fm Stream the podcasts at my Mixcloud: bit.ly/MrScorpiosShows Friend me up on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mrscorpio247 Look me up on Tumblr: http://mrscorpio.tumblr.com Shoot me your videos on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/MrScorpio Peace, Scorp

[mauricecherry]

It’s no secret that stories from comic books and graphic novels have dominated the pop culture landscape since the early 2000s. However, the heroes in those stories that you see often don’t represent the true diversity out there in the real world. That’s where Manuel Godoy comes in. As the CEO of Black Sands Entertainment, he is the engine behind one of the most exciting and barrier-braking publishing houses in the nation. And with over 5,000 investors and over 200,000 books sold, it’s easy to see why!

We started our conversation fresh off of Manuel’s recent Shark Tank appearance, and he talked about how his company stands apart from other indie publishers, and how he’s leveraged social media to build a massive base of supporters and investors. Manuel also spoke about his time in the military, how he’s scaled Black Sands Entertainment over the years, and where he wants to take the company in the future. Hollywood, watch out — Manuel has created a movement that has no signs of stopping!

For extended show notes, including a full transcript of this interview, visit revisionpath.com.

Revision Path is brought to you by Lunch, a multidisciplinary creative studio in Atlanta, GA.

It is produced by Maurice Cherry and engineered and edited by RJ Basilio. Our intro voiceover is by Music Man Dre, with intro and outro music by Yellow Speaker.

SUBSCRIBE, RATE, AND REVIEW! Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | SoundCloud | Spotify

[mczenrath]

aesthetic.

what are your muse’s aesthetics? bold any which apply to your muse! remember to REPOST! feel free to add to the list!

[ COLORS ] ~ burgundy. red. crimson. scarlet. maroon. mahogany. copper. amber. chocolate. brown. tawny. tan. bronze. brass. orange. gold. saffron. yellow. chartreuse. spring green. lime. mint. green. olive. forest. turquoise. teal. cerulean. blue. navy. cobalt. periwinkle. indigo. pewter. plum. purple. magenta. fuchsia. lilac. lavender. pink. coral. peach. ivory. cream. white. silver. grey. smoke. charcoal. ebony. black. pastels. vibrant. matte. metallic. muted. dark. light.

[ BODY ] ~ mutations. claws. fangs. wings. tails. feathers. webs. spikes. scales. fur. stripes. spots. freckles. acne. bruises. scars. scratches. gashes. lashes. wounds. amputations. burns. brands. teeth. gums. tongues. lips. beards. mustaches. cheeks. noses. ears. eyes. eyelashes. eyebrows. hair. heads. neck. shoulders. collar bones. arms. elbows. wrists. hands. fingers. breast. back. ribs. abs. belly. hips. curves. butts. legs. thighs. knees. shins. ankles. feet. toes. nails. sweat. spit. tears. blood. heart. stomach. lungs. liver. veins. guts. bones. spine. muscle. skin. feline. canine. masculine. feminine.

[ WEAPONS ] ~ bites. fists. kicks. sword. dagger. spear. arrow. bow. crossbow. hammer. shield. poison. guns. axes. throwing axes. whips. knives. throwing knives. pepper sprays. tasers. machine guns. slingshots. katanas. maces. staffs. wands. powers. magical items. magic. rocks. mud balls. bombs. missiles. boomerangs. lethal pets. lasers. canons.

[ MATERIALS ] ~ metal. gold. silver. platinum. pewter. titanium. iron. steel. copper. bronze. brass. tin. bismuth. diamonds. pearls. rubies. garnets. sapphires. emeralds. jade. peridots. alexandrite. opal. topaz. jasper. quartz. rose quartz. smoky quartz. amethyst. citrine. fluorite. amber. malachite. turquoise. lapis lazuli. sodalite. pyrite. labradorite. moonstone. petrified wood. wood. paper. parchment. hemp. canvas. burlap. oils skin. muslin. rayon. faux. wool. fur. lace. leather. skins. suede. corduroy. silk. satin. chiffon. velvet. denim. linen. cotton. charcoal. clay. stone. rocks. flint. asphalt. brick. granite. marble. dust. rust. glitter. sand. dirt. mud. smoke. ash. carbonate. rubber. synthetics. nylon. polyester. plastic. glass. porcelain. bone. shells. coral.

[ NATURE ] ~ grass. leaves. trees. bark. flowers. roses. daisies. forget me nots. tulips. lavender. sunflowers. petals. thorns. seeds. hay. roots. ocean. pond. river. stream. waterfall. creek. meadow. forest. desert. tundra. savanna. rain forest. tropical. jungle. marsh. moors. swamp. plains. hills. highlands. caves. underwater. coral reef. beach. waves. space. clouds. mountains. fire. lava. ice. frost. water. air. earth. rain. snow. wind. moon. stars. sun. heat. cold. steam. lightning. sunlight. moonlight. dawn. dusk. twilight. midnight. sunrise. sunset. dewdrops. shadow. tornado. hurricane. water spout. thunder. hail. twisters. humidity. dryness.

[ ANIMALS ] ~ birds. penguins. eagles. owls. falcons. vultures. hawks. swans. parrots. parakeets. doves. pigeons. ducks. robins. cardinals. blue jays. bluebirds. blackbirds. crows. ravens. magpies. mockingbirds. flamingos. ostriches. seagulls. albatross. peacocks. condors. finches. pelicans. chickens. geese. quail. bats. sheep. cows. buffalo. deer. hedgehogs. elephants. horses. giraffes. cats. lions. tigers. pumas. cheetahs. jaguars. foxes. dogs. wolves. coyotes. bunnies. mice. rats. monkeys. apes. bears. pandas. polar bears. snakes. iguanas. chameleons. alligators. crocodiles. turtles. lizards. frogs. toads. whales.dolphins. fish. sharks. stingrays. octopus. lobsters. crabs. bugs. spiders. moths. butterflies. flies. maggots. roaches. ladybugs. beetles. cicadas. dragonflies. fleas. termites. leeches. worms. snails. mosquitoes. werewolves. unicorns. pegasus. dragons. dinosaurs.

[ FOODS/DRINKS ] ~ pepper. salt. sugar. honey. syrup. caramel. candy. bubblegum. mints. candy canes. gumdrops. lollipops. chocolate. vanilla. cinnamon. ice cream. cake. cookies. brownies. biscuits. pie. tarts. lemonade. soda. champagne. wine. brandy. rum. whiskey. vodka. tequila. sake. beer. soju. gin. crema de cacao. cocoa. latte. coffee. tea. spices. herbs. fruit. apples. oranges. lemons. cherries. strawberries. blueberries. raspberries. cranberries. watermelons. cantaloupes. bananas. coconuts. grapes. kiwi. pomegranates. tomatoes. vegetables. potatoes. cucumbers. carrots. turnips. onions. leeks. celery. broccoli. cabbages. lettuces. roots. nuts. white meat. red meat. raw meat. veal. pork. chicken. beef. venison. fish. lobster. oysters. pizza. ambrosia. pasta. sandwiches. soup.

[ HOBBIES ] ~ music. piano. flute. woodwinds. whistles. drums. guitar. cello. synthesizer. violin. lute. harp. fiddle. harmonica. trumpet. brass. singing. composing. folk. classical. bluegrass. blues. jazz. big band. pop. country. rock. punk. metal. electronica. hip hop. reggae. ska. rap. vinyl records. cassettes. cds. soundcloud. itunes. spotify. art. sculpting. pottery. painting. watercolour. drawing. pastels. charcoal. sketching. graffiti. printing. inking. collecting. fighting. martial arts. self-defense. boxing. fencing. sumo. wrestling. jousting. paintball. lazer tag. duelling. hunting. fishing. climbing. weight lifting. training. sports. football. football (usa). rugby. baseball. cricket. lacrosse. volleyball. basketball. tennis. badminton. skating. cycling. sailing. swimming. rowing. hiking. running. gymnastics. dancing. ice skating. hockey. reading. writing. cooking. sewing. acting. photography. video games. horseback riding. gardening. smithing. shopping. traveling. movies. theatre, libraries. books. magazines. playing cards. poker chips. chess. dice. science.

[ STYLE ] ~ nudism. perfume. cologne. piercings. tattoos. henna. body paint. war paint. make up. lipstick. mascara. eyeliner. eye shadow. powder. beauty marks. blush. nail polish. lingerie. fishnet. pantie-hoes. socks. stockings. leggings. long johns. under armor. corsets. sports bras. bustles. camisoles. blouses. button ups. tunics. vests. waistcoats. leather jackets. ponchos. sweaters/jumpers. hoodies. skirts. jeans. kilts. breeches. scarfs. cravats. ascots. belts. sashes. gloves. heels. sandals. platforms. tennis shoes. penny loafers. jordans. slippers. boots. cowboy boots. rain boots. army boots. armor. justaucorps. trench coats. capes. cloaks. burqa. suits. tuxedos. kimonos. saris. sun dresses. gowns. jewelry. earrings. nose rings. lip rings. tongue piercings. belly rings. gauges. eyebrow rings. necklaces. pearl strings. leis. bracelets. bangles. cuffs. watches. friendship bracelets. rings. pendants. lockets. broaches. boutonnieres. pocket watches. cuff links. hats. crowns. circlets. flower crowns. helmets. hijabs. turbans. baseball caps. cowboy hats. brocade. doublet. gorget. bracers. masks. cowls. braces. glasses. sun glasses. eye contacts. pajamas.

[ MISC ] ~ balloons. bubbles. candles. battle. war. diplomacy. peace. money. power. clocks. photos. mirrors. pets. diary. fairy lights. madness. sanity. sadness. happiness. optimism. pessimism. loneliness. family. friends. assistants. co-workers. enemies. loyalty. smoking. drugs. kindness. love. sex. hugs. duality. sin. lust. greed. wrath. envy. sloth. gluttony. pride. virtue. chivalry. honor. piety. charity. diligence. chastity. gentleness. aggression. romance. hatred. grief. pity. success. bitterness. sorrow. joy. fear. anger. good. evil. relativity. vampirism. sapphism. life. birth. time. death. illusion. silence.

Tagged stole from: @ababwa Tagging: @direbcrn @sunsreign & anyone else who wants to do iiit

[srl541]

[Video description: A short lyric video (length: 25 seconds) indicating how vocals fit a pop song snippet; a low-pitch synthesized instrument is the substitute for vocals in the music. In the video, the title, “Ashes,” precedes the artist name, “Zuko Lam.” The lyrics follow, appearing line-by-line, and are underlined according to the timing in the music. The first couple lines of lyrics are: “I shouldn’t have left / you like that; Someday, someday / I hope you can forgive me.” Synchronized with the music, the next line of lyrics, “Rather have a friend than,” pops up with a brown and rounded rectangular background shape, and then the last line, “Nothing at all, you see,” appears in black and quivers on the screen. A frequency-based waveform of the music is displayed in a golden yellow on the bottom of the video. The background is a dark red, and most text is stylized in black outlined with white.]

I really enjoyed working on @bittermoonswrites’s fic for the @atla-bigbang! Here are two pieces, “Ashes” (YouTube embed above) and “Fire” (follow the link, or SoundCloud embed below), that illustrate two scenes in her fic. “Ashes” is a pop snippet (with lyrics in the video from her fic) associated with Zuko’s in-fic music genre, and “Fire” is a jazz-inspired instrumental snippet representing Sokka’s genre.

  I didn’t realize how nice it was to work on a music-related fic, which made it really neat to relate to the scenes. Her fic is fun and excellent -- I felt like the aspects of social media and culture made the writing seem very real. Please check her fic out HERE!

Please also check out @pikachica‘s artwork for the fic, as well as the rest of the creative works from the big bang!

[Image description for SoundCloud cover art: Silhouettes of a clarinet and guitar are crossed (scale not to size). The clarinet and guitar neck are overlaid by the straight edges of a stylized, red-yellow gradient heart. The title "Fire" is set in classy script, and the background is gray with a gold border.]

[gabriel-agreste-has-no-rights]

Rating:  G

Summary:  It comes down to Viperion and a kazoo to save an akumatized XY. Hopefully Bob Roth will be the only one who gets hurt.  A Luka/XY fic

Word Count:  4154

Notes:  Written for @janaikam through the @mlbforblm charity drive!  The donations go directly to Color of Change, an organization for racial justice.  I highly recommend checking them out and reblogging/donating the mlbforblm posts if you’re able!  I have two fic request slots left as of 7/10/2020, and many other talented writers and artists are offering incentives as well!

XXX

“Lyre, I am Hawk—”

“Liar?”  XY scoffed.  His vision had gone all pinky-purple, which was weird.  Wasn’t anger supposed to be red?  Maybe all the tears in his eyes were blurring the color.  “I didn’t lie.  It was Dad who lied and said it was my idea to steal music again.  It wasn’t even my idea the first time!  He knows I never have any ideas!”

Hawksloth sighed in XY’s mind.  Weird.  XY didn’t know that telepathy could include sounds like that.  

“I meant lyre as in the instrument.”

“But it’s a pun on liar.  And that’s Viperion’s weapon, anyway.  It’s probably copyrighted or something.  Which I would know, because I don’t steal music anymore.”  

Luka had offered to collab with him.  And Dad had liked Kitty Section’s music before, so why did he throw such a fit when Luka and XY made something together now?  Dad had told him to go back to his algorithm-generated music, but that didn’t have half the sexy vibes of his new tracks.

“Fine,” Hawkbroth growled.  “Your name can be—”

“Ooh, ooh, let me pick!  I’ve got the perfect one!”

“Somehow I doubt that…”

“Synthpathetic!”

Hawkmoth’s voice went silent.  Was XY’s akuma name so amazing it had intimidated the supervillain?

“You know, because your stupid butterfly flew into my synth?”  He pressed down on the keys, which had gone all purple-black and bubbly, like toxic ooze. Ooh, that might make a good idea for a song…

“I’m beginning to regret this already,” Hawkmoth muttered.

“Hey, no take backs! At least not until I deck my dad.”  This day had already mega sucked, but he was gonna get something good out of it.

“And then you will bring me Ladybug and Chat Noir’s miraculouses.”

“Sure, sure, whatever. Think you’ll need a bit more jewelry than that to make up for your ugly wrestler costume though.” XY has never seen Hawkgoth in person, but the animation in the Larybug movie made him look stupid. Did Hawkflop’s teeth really look like that?  They’d given him nightmares.

“Ugly—! No, let’s just get this over with, and then I can drop this facade.” Hawkroth seemed to be talking to himself, but XY could still hear him. Awkward. “Synthpathetic! I give you the power to expose your enemies as the liars they are. In return I ask for—”

“Yeah, yeah, some tacky jewelry. You sure you don’t want Viperion’s bracelet? That thing’s way cooler and has a better power than, I dunno, making polka dot desk lamps.”

Somehow XY had the image of Hawkfrost’s eye twitching.

“I will show you tacky.”

Then the purple-black swallowed XY up, leaving only Synthpathetic in his place.

XXX

“Synthpathetic.  Hawkmoth must really hate you, huh,” Luka deadpanned while watching the Ladyblog stream on his phone. The screen showed a villain in a short gray coat and tall hair and… Luka pulled his eyes away from those tight golden shorts.  He refocused his attention on the keyboard that seemed to be growing out of the akuma’s forearm.  Wires connected the keyboard to a metal cuff over his bicep.  Was one of those objects where the akuma was hiding?  Or maybe it was in the sharp pink sunglasses.  Heck, it even could’ve been in the hot pink XY-themed boots.

Even if it weren’t for those gaudy pumps, Luka would’ve known it was XY.  No one else could pull off such a ridiculous outfit.

And of course, there was als the fact that Bob Roth had just gone on live television and “announced” that XY’s latest music was stolen.

Luka’s chest felt hollow.  He should’ve been there for XY.  It was Luka who’d told him to stand up to his dad, that XY should be able to express himself through whatever music he wanted.  Clearly, that had backfired.

“Yo, Bob Roth!  Does this sound stolen to you?”  Synthpathetic stared into the camera as he pressed a chord with his left hand, and music burst from the instrument attached to his arm.  The camera shook, and Alya’s hair whipped across the screen as she was blown across the street.

“Okay, so we have confirmation of this akuma’s target,” she announced, breathing heavily.  The camera refocused; she must have stood up.  “That’s weird, I’m feeling kind of—”

Suddenly her voice cut off.  And then she burst out singing.

“Rena Rouge is my hero name, I said it out loud!  Nino is my boyfriend and I love his Soundcloud!” 

That didn’t sound right.  Not that it wasn’t true—but why would Alya say that on her Ladyblog livestream, much less sing it?  Unless—

“Oh no,” Alya whispered.  The camera flipped around to show her face.  “I wish I could say that was a lie, but I’m committed to bringing you only the truth.  It seems like Synthpathetic’s power makes you sing something important to you.  Maybe even something secret.  Ladybug and Chat Noir aren’t yet on the scene—”

Luka clicked off the screen and jumped on his bike.  He just hoped he’d be able to make it downtown in time.

XXX

“Ladybug!”  Luka shouted, leaping off his bike.  It kept going and crashed into the side of the hotel.  He winced.  Hopefully Ladybug’s miracle cure would take care of that.  Not that the state of his bike was important compared to saving XY.

“Luka?”  She gasped before handspringing away from one of Synthpathetic’s musical blasts.  “What are you doing here?  I already told Alya to clear the area!”

Luka had biked past the Ladyblogger to quickly for her to stop him.  No one else had gotten past though, not that they’d want to.  He’d briefly noticed Bob Roth cowering against the side of a building, Nino standing guard over him.

In the street Synthpathetic had already ravaged, it was just him and Ladybug, and Chat Noir and the villain.  Chat was currently distracting him by waving his baton in a ¾ time signature.

“Not cool, man!  That doesn’t match my 4/4 beats at all!”  Sythnpathetic pouted, but Luka couldn’t focus on him yet.

“I need the snake miraculous,” he told Ladybug.

She yanked him around the corner of the hotel as a wave of music notes nearly struck them.

“If he hits you, you’ll be forced to give up your identity, just like Rena Rouge,” he continued quickly.  “You and Chat Noir can’t risk that.”

He didn’t bring up the other reason why he was here.  He wasn’t sure he could’ve put it into words, anyway.  He just… he needed to be here.

If only he could’ve Second Chanced and stopped himself from giving XY that stupid advice in the first place.

“I know.  That’s why I just got back from asking the Guardian for this.”  She pulled the bracelet out of her yo-yo.  “I was planning on giving it to Nino as soon as he took care of Bob Roth, but since you’re here—”

“Great.”  He slipped on the bracelet.  His kwami barely had the chance to materialize before he shouted, “Sass, scales slither!”

Ladybug gasped as the bright turquoise light washed over him.  He barely heard it over the sound of Synthpathetic’s beats.  Was Chat Noir doing okay?  Luka hadn’t heard him sing yet, at least.

“Did anyone see that?”  Ladybug’s brow furrowed beneath her mask.  “I think we’re hidden enough behind this corner, but if anyone saw you transform, you won’t be able to be a hero again.”

That hardly mattered.  Ladybug could always find someone else to wield the snake miraculous.  She’d planned to give it to Nino, anyway.  No, what mattered right now was making sure XY didn’t reveal the real heroes’ identities.

And making sure that XY would be okay when all this was over.

“Do you have your Lucky Charm yet?”  He asked.

She spun her yo-yo in the air, and a polka-dotted kazoo fell into her hands.  What she was going to do with that, Luka had no idea.  But that was why he was Viperion and not Ladybug.  His job was just to stay out of the way and buy the real heroes some time.

“Second Chance,” he whispered, tugging at the snake bracelet’s tongue.  

Five minutes.  Hopefully they wouldn’t need it.

XXX

They needed it.

Hawkmoth must have given XY extra agility on top of his magical music.  Synthpathetic backflipped through the air as he blasted out chord after chord, even some arpeggios and scale for good measure.  The melodies reminded Luka of the time they’d spent writing songs together in Luka’s room, humming back and forth.  XY would make up senseless lyrics that made them both laugh.  Luka would improv a harmony, while XY put each note in careful place.

They made a good team.  It was too bad they were fighting on opposite sides now.

Each time a wave of translucent music hit Ladybug or Chat Noir, Luka was forced to reset before they began to sing. He couldn’t risk learning the heroes’ identities, even if they would never know he knew.

Through it all, Ladybug never seemed to find a use for her kazoo.  She tried playing it, but Synthpathetic couldn’t hear over his own music.  She tried throwing it, but it just got stuck in Synthpathetic’s tall mass of hair.  She even strung it on her yo-yo, which made Chat Noir laugh and get hit with a musical blast.

She’ll come up with something.  She’s Ladybug.

“Why don’t you guys attack Bob Roth instead of me?  I’m way more sympathetic!”  XY whined for the eleventh time.  Sometimes Luka found XY’s nasally voice endearing, but right now it just made him grimace.

“I’m still surprised he knows what that word means,” Luka muttered before scooping up his lyre and scrambling to his feet.  The most recent blast of notes hadn’t hit him directly, but it had taken out of a corner of the hotel and knocked him back.  Dust made it hard to tell if Ladybug or Chat Noir had been hit.  But he’d already reset so many times; he didn’t want to waste any more chances than he had to, especially since every time he had to explain to Ladybug what tactics they’d already tried.

Every time, she insisted that he stay hidden.  He’d be too much of a target for the villain if he was in the open, she said.  And besides, what else could he do?  His weapon was a lyre.  Even a guitar would’ve been easier to attack villains with.

Not that he really wanted to attack XY.  Synthpathetic.  They weren’t the same—he had to remember that.  This blue-skinned villain wasn’t his friend.  Luka had come to help Ladybug knowing that he would have to fight him, so why did the thought of it turn his stomach?

“Don’t worry, XY.  We’ll save you… somehow.”

XXX

“We need a new strategy,” Ladybug said after Luka (for the twelfth time) explained what went wrong.  “The time we defeated Desperada, you used your lyre to distract her.  XY was a musician too, right?  Maybe that will work again.”

Luka swallowed.  “So you want him to know I’m here?”

“We don’t have anything to lose.  He’ll forget once you Second Chance if this doesn’t work.  Do you think you can do it?”

“I… yeah.  I can.”  He tried to sound more confident than he felt.

“Perfect.  Chat and I will hide on two of the hotel balconies, where we can drop on him when he’s not expecting it.  Here.”  She pressed the kazoo into his hand.  “I have a feeling this is supposed to be for you.”

“Um… alright.”  He pulled off one of his lyre’s strings, then used it to string the kazoo around his neck.  

She didn’t give him any more instructions other than “Good luck, Viperion.”  

With that, she swung towards Chat Noir and scooped him up in her arms.  The faint sound of their banter drifted in between Synthpathetic’s blasts.  Then they were gone, disappearing over the railing of a high balcony.

“What the—hey!  Why are you running?  You finally realize how scary I am?”  Synthpathetic shouted up from the street.  

“In that shade of pink and those shorts?  Terrifying,” Luka deadpanned while stepping out from behind the corner.

Synthpathetic’s pointed shades slipped off his nose as he gaped.  Beneath, his blue eyes were practically bulging out of his head.

Guess that’s not the akumatized object, Luka mused as the glasses cracked on the pavement.

“Viperion!”  Synthpathetic ran forward, clapping his hands together like he’d just won tickets to a concert.  “You’re like, my favorite superhero!  Can you sign my forehead?”

Luka’s jaw went slack.  This wasn’t part of his plan.  He was just supposed to distract Synthpathetic while Ladybug and Chat Noir dropped on the villain from above.  

“You know it’ll just wear off once we beat you, right?”

XY—Synthpathetic—pouted.  Geez, it was hard to remember this wasn’t his friend when his eyes looked like that.  “You’re just saying that because you don’t want to do it, aren’t you?  Of course you wouldn’t like me.  I’m still just a villain, even if I’m a sympathetic one.”

He crossed his arms, accidentally pressing a few keys on the synth plugged into his arm.  A soft minor chord blurred the air around his feet.

“Hey, I never said that,” Luka replied, but Synthpathetic just frowned.

“Did you know I always wanted to fight on your side?”

Luka blinked.  “No, I can’t say I did.”

“Yeah.  I never thought I’d meet you like this.”  He chuckled sadly before wincing and digging a finger in his ear.  “Hawksloth is yelling at me again.  He wants me to take your bracelet.  I think it looks better on you than me, though.”

Warmth coursed through Luka at the compliment, even if it shouldn’t have meant anything coming from someone wearing such eye-stabbing colors.  

“You’re still in there, aren’t you?  XY.”

“You—you know his name?”  His eyes sparkled.  “I mean—of course you do, he’s famous.  But no, I’m not him.  I just want to beat up his dad.”

You and me both, he wanted to say.  But siding with an akuma probably wasn’t the best strategy.

Distraction.  That was his only job.  Where were Ladybug and Chat Noir?  He scanned the side of the hotel, but didn’t see either of them.  Better keep Synthpathetic talking, then.

“What did he do to you—I mean, to XY?”

Synthpathetic groaned.  “Man, he was not cash money at all.  He hated XY and Kitty Section’s collab cause it was like, too awesome and gay or something, I don’t even know.  So anyway, he told everyone XY just stole the songs when he wrote them himself and—ngh!” 

Synthpathetic clutched his head.  “Hawkbroth—shut up!  I’m trying to talk to my idol here!”

Luka’s heart felt fuzzy in spite of himself.  He should take a note from Hawkmoth and start fighting too.  There was no telling how long Chat and Ladybug were going to take, and his miraculous only showed two minutes left.

Suddenly Synthpathetic straightened.  “Sorry, bro.  I hope this doesn't hurt.”

Luka twisted his bracelet right before the keyboard bashed into his head.

XXX

“Viperion!  You’re like, my favorite superhero!  Can you sign my forehead?” 

Luka couldn't help laughing.  Even hearing it for the second time, XY was just too cute.

Not XY.  Don’t get distracted this time.

“Sure.  I’ll just need to know where your akuma is in return.”

“Deal!  The dumb butterfly flew into—” He cried out and clutched his head again.  Guess Hawkmoth wouldn’t let Luka win that easy.

“You’re mean,” Synthpathetic said, but Luka wasn’t sure if he was talking to him or Hawkmoth.

Either way, Luka had to act on his distraction.  He lunged forward, crashing his lyre against the keyboard.  The resulting blast of music blew them both towards opposite sides of the street.

Luka gritted his teeth against the song building in his lungs, and he twisted his bracelet. 

XXX

“Viperion!  You’re like, my favorite superhero!  Can you sign my forehead? Wha—hey!” 

This time, Luka ran in swinging.  A lyre wasn’t as useful a weapon as a baton or yo-yo, but it could still hurt if it connected right.

Unfortunately, Luka didn’t know how to make it connect right.  He again wished he could replace his weapon with a guitar.  But as it was, Synthpathetic parried easily and leapt back.

“I wanted to fight with you, not against you!”

“Hawkmoth didn’t give you much of a choice, did he?”

Luka ran in again.  It was a stupid strategy for him—Chat Noir was the only one who could carelessly run into danger and get away with it.

But by now, he was mad.  XY was his friend.  Luka had never seen him get more upset than when Luka had eaten the last slice of pizza.  Bob Roth’s betrayal must have cut deep.  

Really, Luka would rather be fighting that sleazebag than this akuma, but XY wouldn’t come back until Synthpathetic was gone.

So he punched, and kicked, and ignored Synthpathetic’s pleas to leave him alone.

“Give him a left hook! No, a right elbow! Come on kid, who taught you how to fight, some little Tinkerbell?”

Luka glanced over his shoulder, where Bob Roth had shoved past Nino and Alya.

“Sorry, I tried to stop him!” Nino said.

“LIAR!” Synthpathetic shouted, sprinting at full speed towards the older man. 

Nino and Alya dove out of the way just in time for Synthpathetic’s fist to connect with Bob Roth’s jaw.  Luka winced appreciatively at the crack. 

“That was for insulting Viperion’s fighting.” 

Then Synthpathetic kicked Bob in the crotch. 

“And that was for calling XY a thief.”

Bob dropped to the ground with a high-pitched whine.

“You’re not going to play your music on him?” Alya asked. Her phone was out and filming again despite being a mere meter from the akuma. It wasn’t surprising that Ladybug had picked her to be Rena Rouge; she certainly had the guts for it.

“Nah.” Synthpathetic picked at something between his teeth, and the keyboard attached to his arm knocked against his chin.  “Wouldn’t do any good. He’d make up some kinda lie later, like he did to Lu before.”

Synthpathetic had a point there.  More importantly, though, he was still distracted enough for Luka to slice his lyre through the wires connecting the keyboard to his arm.

“Ow!”  Synthpathetic cried out as sparks flew from the wires.  Unfortunately though, no black butterfly flew out with it.  “Look, I really didn’t even want to fight you.  Hawkcrotch doesn’t care about your bracelet that much.  Plus, you’ve got a cute face.  Wouldn’t want to bruise it or anything.”

Luka blushed at that, but shook it off.  He didn’t have much time.  The responsible thing to do would be to Second Chance now, but the selfish part of him didn’t want to undo Bob Roth’s humiliation.

Plus, he finally caught sight of Chat Noir perched on the roof.

“You don’t have to hurt me, you know.”  Luka spread his arms wide.  “You could always just play your music.  If you like me so much, you’d want to know my deep, dark secrets, wouldn’t you?”

Synthpathetic’s grin showed all of his perfect white teeth.  “Great idea!  You’re hot and smart!”

Luka’s bracelet began to beep, but he didn’t flinch.  Ladybug, you better be ready…

Synthpathetic’s fingers flashed across the keys.  The chorus from Mr. Brightside boomed like a shot from a canon.  It took Luka in the chest, but he dug his heels into the concrete and remained standing as he skidded back.

The song built in his chest.  Chat Noir jumped from the roof.

Right before Luka was forced to sing, he shoved the kazoo in his mouth.

“What?  No fair!”  Synthpathetic whined as a rhythmic buzzing was the only sound from Luka.

The only sound out loud, anyway.  In his heart, Luka felt the words that Synthpathetic couldn’t hear.

“Cataclysm!”  Chat Noir shouted.  Synthpathetic barely had time to look up before the hero’s outstretched hand pressed down on the keyboard.

Everything happened at once.  Ladybug’s yo-yo caught Chat Noir by the ankle, stopping him from splatting into the pavement.  The synth disintegrated around XY’s arm, and violet light bubbled around him.  Ladybug lowered Chat to the ground before snapping up the dark butterfly.  Then, finally, she swung herself down the street.

She landed between Luka and XY and held out her hand.  Luka stared at it blankly for a moment before spitting out the kazoo and handing it over.

She grimaced as Chat Noir’s cheeks puffed with laughter.

“Ah, er, thanks… uh, Miraculous Ladybug!”

Pink light exploded in the sky.  Buildings repaired themselves; chunks of rubble disappeared.  Bob Roth was still lying on the ground, but Chat Noir hefted him up and deposited him on the hotel’s front steps.

That taken care of, Luka crouched down beside XY, who was rubbing his head.

“Ngh, what…?  Viperion!”  XY’s whole face lit up like Christmas.  “You’re like, my favorite superhero!  Can you sign my forehead?” 

Luka laughed.  “Of course, XY.  Do you have a pen on you?”

“You know my name!”  He beamed at Ladybug and Chat Noir, who was jogging back already.  He probably didn’t want to be around Bob any longer than he had to.  “Did you hear that?  My favorite superhero knows my name!”

“Seems like he’s got you taken care of then.”  Chat Noir winked at XY.  “What do you say, my Lady?  Should we leave them to it?”

“Don’t forget about your timer,” Ladybug told Luka.  “And meet me around the corner when you’re done.”

“Right.”  He nodded.  One minute left.  He could handle that, even if he wished he had more time.

Particularly now that he knew what truth had been buried so deep in his heart, only the akuma’s magic could release it.

XY giggled as Luka accepted his pink sharpie and signed Viperion in curling script across his forehead.  He left a second signature on his purple headband for good measure.

“I’m never washing my face again,” XY swooned.

“You know, clean faces get more kisses,” Luka replied seriously.

XY’s eyes widened.  “You—wait, would you actually—?”  

Luka smiled and pressed a kiss to XY’s cheek.

“Please don’t forget to wash that, too.”  

Then he saluted and dashed towards where Ladybug had disappeared.  As he ran, the synth-driven song still beat in his heart:

My real name’s Luka, that’s not new.  But did you know I’ve got a crush on you?

XXX

XY replayed the Ladyblog footage of Synthpathetic punching his dad.  Each crack was like music to his ears.  Maybe he could remix that into a new track.  

“I wonder if Ladybug’s magic dust fixed that.”

Luka snorted, strumming his guitar from where he sat on his bed.  It was a relaxing tune, one XY hadn’t heard before.  “I hope not.  He deserved it after he lied about you.”

XY smiled.  It was nice to have a friend on his side, for once.  Luka had been there to pick him up and take him back to the Liberty after Viperion had left.  Dad had tried to stop them from leaving together, but there wasn’t much he could do when XY sat on Luka’s bike handlebars, stuck his tongue out, and let Luka pedal them away.  It wasn’t quite as romantic as being carried by Viperion would’ve been, but it was a close second.

Luka’s quiet music faltered, his hands fumbling on the strings.  “Hey, XY…”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry I gave you that advice.  To stand up to you dad, I mean.  I should’ve known he’d just end up hurting you.”

XY shrugged.  “Honestly, man?  I’d do it all again.  I got to punch him and I got a kiss from Viperion.”  He touched his cheek, sighing dreamily.  That kiss had been after he was brought back to normal, so he could still remember it perfectly.

Of course, having replayed it seventy-eight times on the Ladyblog helped, too.

“I’m glad you’re happy, but… what are you going to do now?  Aren’t you worried about your career?”

“Nah.”  XY leaned his head back against the side of Luka’s bed and closed his eyes.  “I’ve made enough money to break off from Dad, even if I have to get a slummy apartment.  But I bet Viperion’s gonna fly me off into the sunset before I have to worry about that.”

Luka laughed.  “Viperion doesn’t fly, you know—”

“He would for me.”

“—and he doesn’t always have his miraculous.  Maybe he wants to come rescue you, but he can’t.”

XY frowned.  With the power of Second Chance, he doubted there was anything Viperion couldn’t do.

“Doesn’t matter,” XY decided.  “I’ll wait for him.  I know I’ll see him again.”

Luka’s melody picked up again, bringing another smile to XY’s face.  Could Viperion play the guitar that well?  XY daydreamed that he could.

Luka’s whisper blended with the music.

“I know you will, too.”

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 15/05/2021 (Coldplay, J. Cole, Trippie Redd & Playboi Carti)

I’m awful at predicting this chart, I really am, but most of that is probably down to how I only make vague predictions at the end of each episode without even considering most releases that’ll actually chart. Let’s just say I didn’t expect nine new arrivals this week. At the top, however, little has changed as the absolutely huge “Body” by Russ Millions and Tion Wayne with a remix featuring whoever the hell is spending its second week at #1. The rest of the chart, however, gets a bit more interesting. Welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS.

Rundown

The biggest story to effect the chart this week is of course 2021’s BRIT Awards happening this Tuesday, which I’m sure boosted a lot of songs during the mid-week. I also actually covered the awards show on that day if you’re curious, with some of my observations, predictions and opinions. We can very clear see – or hear, for that matter – the impact of the BRIT Awards in this week’s chart, as it did cause a lot of gains and new arrivals that shook up the chart right in the middle of the tracking week. Firstly, we do have some drop-outs from the UK Top 75, which is what I cover, only one of them, “Paradise” by MEDUZA and Dermot Kennedy, being all that important given it was a top five hit but we do have a handful that lasted five or more weeks or peaked in the top 40, like “Medicine” by James Arthur flopping embarrassingly, “Addicted” by Jorja Smith dropping out to prepare for the rebound next week given her album release and “Solid” by Young Stoner Life, Young Thug and Gunna featuring Drake.

Speaking of Drake, he also provides the singular returning entry as “Wants and Needs” featuring Lil Baby is proving to be the actual hit from that three-pack from March, coming back to #65. Scaling down the chart, we also have some notable losses, songs that dropped at least five spots on this week’s chart. Those that fell include “Your Power” by Billie Eilish dropping harshly to #15 off of the debut, as well as “Your Love (9PM)” by ATB, Topic and A7S at #18, “Confetti” by Little Mix to #21 off of the return (with Saweetie, the artist quite literally solely the reason it’s had this second wind, still bizarrely left without a credit by the UK Singles Chart), “My Head & My Heart” by Ava Max at #27, “Titanium” by Dave at #31, “Wellerman” by Nathan Evans and remixed by 220 KID and Billen Ted (yes, THEY’RE credited) at #36, “Patience” by KSI featuring YUNGBLUD and Polo G at #42, “Heartbreak Anniversary” by Giveon at #44, “We’re Good” by Dua Lipa at #47, “Way Too Long” by Nathan Dawe, Anne-Marie and MoStack at #49, “Head & Heart” by Joel Corry and MNEK at #51, “Beautiful Mistakes” by Maroon 5 and Megan Thee Stallion at #55, “Don’t Play” by Anne-Marie, KSI and Digital Farm Animals at #56, “Calling My Phone” by Lil Tjay and 6LACK at #59, “Commitment Issues” by Central Cee at #67, “You” by Regard, Troye Sivan and Tate McRae at #69, “Get Out My Head” by Shane Codd at #70, “Hold On” by Justin Bieber getting ACR’d at #71, “Streets” by Doja Cat at #73 and finally, “6 for 6” by Central Cee at #75.

Filling up the room for those losses, however, are the gains, always a tad more interesting, as the songs that rose at least five spots on this week’s chart – or make their first appearance in the top 40, 20 or 10 – are usually having the BRITs to thank to some capacity. The climbers include “Summer 91 (Looking Back)” giving Noizu his first top 40 hit at #31 (and I’ll admit, the song is growing on me), Griff also getting her first with “Black Hole” at #35 thanks to her win and performance at the BRITs, “WITHOUT YOU” by The Kid LAROI rebounding to #13 thanks to that once-again uncredited remix with Miley Cyrus and finally, entering the top 10 for the first time is “Anywhere Away from Here” by Rag’n’Bone Man and P!nk at #9, getting the boost from a perfect trifecta of gains: Rag’n’Bone Man released his album on Friday then on Tuesday had the closing performance of this song at the BRIT Awards with additional vocals from the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS choir, who are also now appearing on a new release of the song the day after, prompting a whole lot of sales, of which I assume and hope are going to charity. It’s Rag’n’Bone Man’s third top 10 hit, P!nk’s 21st(!) and interestingly enough, the NHS choir’s second top 10 hit as they had the Christmas #1 back in 2015. With all of that out of the way, I suppose it’s time to get to our varied array of new arrivals.

NEW ARRIVALS

#74 – “Dick” – Starboi3 featuring Doja Cat

Produced by Nius and SoFLY

This week is kind of a weird week if that wasn’t immediately obvious as our new arrivals are kind of all over the place, starting with... well, I think I could say less about the song than the title does. Starboi3 is this SoundCloud rapper from New Jersey who made a song with Doja back in 2019 – I assume she was more accessible for features back then –and it didn’t blow up at all, really, giving Starboi3 some additional traction but not until 2020, in which Doja Cat got her #1 hit and TikTok picked up this explicit single as a new sound. Sadly – or thankfully – the song was never released officially onto streaming until very recently, meaning, surely, the hype’s over by now? The answer to that is no, as it’s climbing up charts in both the UK and the Bubbling Under in the US... so there’s got to be something good about this song, right? Well, no. Not at all. Of course, that is subjective, but I do question your sanity if you’re honestly enjoying this unlikeable nobody shout “Dick!” over a basic, no-melody trap instrumental with heavy 808s not too dissimilar to drill, before going into a beyond basic chorus and verse about, well, you can guess, with rhymes sounding either like an awful freestyle or a kid with a rhyming dictionary. “She not with him tonight, she not with Jim tonight”? Of course, that’s in the post-chorus because if there’s one thing this song needs, it’s a freaking post-chorus. I also don’t think Starboi3 realises that making her scream for her parents is quite the opposite of sexy – or even raunchy and mindless, as it’s actually just creepy and terrifying. Speaking of terrifying, Doja Cat is here and not even she can add a less basic flow with a verse that just ends up going in one ear and out the other, even if I do like the seductive backing vocals that at least try to make this not a slow, joyless slog. However, I do NOT like the Pickle Rick reference. To be fair, this was 2019, but also to be fair, never reference that again, I am begging you. This is a disaster on all fronts and probably one of the worst tracks I’ve had to review in this series. Good start!

#64 – “Freaks” – Surf Curse

Produced by Surf Curse

This new song is actually even older, being released initially as a deep cut from this Nevada duo’s 2013 album. As you’ll probably tell, this is charting off of people streaming after hearing the song on TikTok and, I mean, at least the song’s actually good this time, careening off of a clearly surf-inspired clean riff surrounded by some basic drumming and a good bassline. It’s not great as it does feel increasingly basic as I said, almost like one of those local bands that don’t get much national attention or traction but do play some gigs and get some love at those places, to the point where it’s kind of big if they play shows outside of their region... which makes sense because that is exactly what they are. This is just some band from Reno but here it is charting on the UK Singles Chart and while it’s here, I should say whilst there’s not much here to discuss given how minimal it is, Nick Rattigan’s vocals are fittingly desperate for the theme of social alienation and particularly rejection as it’s pretty obvious he’s aiming venom at himself for a bad break-up, although given the sound and tone of the song, probably his first, with that double meaning of the mantra in the outro, “I won’t wake up this time”, potentially being a crushing line for someone in similar circumstances. That’s not me, exactly, so this doesn’t hit, but I’m glad that Machine Gun Kelly song from last week got replaced with some actually decent alternative rock on the chart. I hope this does well.

#60 – “One Day” – Lovejoy

Produced by Cameron Nesbitt

“One Day” is the biggest track from new English rock band Lovejoy’s debut EP, Are You Alright?, and whilst I was planning on not mentioning the fact that the band is fronted by Minecraft YouTuber Wilbur Soot, that is the only reason it’s charting – and he’s charted with “Your New Boyfriend” a couple months back, a song that I actually kind of liked. It’s also immediately obvious in the writing that this comes from an Internet personality, with some not-so-well-woven detail and increasingly gratuitous self-awareness that eventually cycles back and ends up as seeming like they have none at all... okay, like most indie bands but that’s beside the point. This happens to be Wilbur’s least favourite song on the release – one that I haven’t listened to because even if I’m not too old for mindless pop music, Minecraft YouTuber alt-rock may be where I draw the line – and I can completely understand the distaste for this given that it starts with the line, “Why’d you have to kill my cat?” I also have some qualms with the song sonically as it may be the most derivative rock single I’ve heard on this series, given how obviously it rips from indie rock bands of the 2000s, with an oddly clean mix that doesn’t exactly fit the obvious stream-of-consciousness lyrics and Wilbur’s erratic delivery. Also, there’s a whole lot of trumpet on this song, which I guess is a surprise, but that doesn’t make up for a drummer who can clearly play very well but has to chaotically play over a song with practically no groove. I do like that second chorus in how it builds up to a somewhat anti-climactic guitar solo but as a full song I do not really get the appeal of this that I don’t get out of other post-punk revival bands from decades back who are still pumping out music. This isn’t bad – I swear, don’t dox me – but I just want something more compelling from this. I will always be glad regardless of the quality that we have more rock on the chart, though, even if this’ll be gone by next week.

#57 – “It’s a sin” – Years & Years and Elton John

Produced by Stuart Price and the Pet Shop Boys

One of my favourite performance from the BRIT Awards this year was Olly Alexander of Years & Years sharing the stage with the iconic Elton John to cover Pet Shop Boys’ “It’s a Sin” which had renewed interest from last year as it was the namesake for a hit TV series about HIV/AIDS, for which this fittingly played a role and has kind of been recontextualised as a gay anthem, which makes complete sense if you look at its lyrics about the Church telling Neil Tennant “how to be”. It’s also one of the Pet Shop Boys’ most camp and theatrical songs, so giving it to Years & Years and Elton John to cover for the BRIT Awards make all too much sense. No, they’re not able to live up to the theatricality of the original, especially if Alexander’s vocals are going to be this clearly manipulated at points, but with Elton John’s piano laying a perfect foundation for the rising intensity of the track, we do get a sense of that original melodrama, with the synth-work and house groove coming in before Elton John’s voice, sounding smokier and wiser with age, and in my opinion, more compelling as a vocalist, especially if they’re both going to sell this song with the most convicted of deliveries. I don’t think a cover could ever live up to that original iconic track but if anyone’s going to get close, it’s Elton John. Expect this to rise next week.

#50 – “Never Left” – Lil Tecca

Produced by ThankYouWill, Taz Taylor and Cxdy

I’ll always be annoyed that Lil Tecca blew up as a rapper instead of a producer, as I don’t think this guy has any likeability or charisma about his flow, cadence or delivery, and that’s only after you get over how dry and whiny his voice can get. However, he can make some great and incredibly infectious beats for other rappers, including a song I see becoming a hit soon in SoFaygo’s “Knock Knock”, which I will bet on at least making the Billboard Hot 100 if not the UK Singles Chart. It’s unbelievably catchy. With that said, Tecca is here in the form of some SoundCloud raps over a boring synth pluck and vaguely tropical Internet Money trap beat, sounding and flowing way too much like Gunna for his own benefit, or Gunna’s benefit, if we’re honest, as this shows how easily he can be replaced. I usually don’t write off this type of rap and will absolutely defend it, but this song isn’t even catchy or unique. I mean, I don’t like “Ransom” either but at least it was kind of fun and I still know the lines in the chorus a couple years later. I’ll forget all about this by next week if it doesn’t stick around. At least he shouts out Chief Keef. God, I hope he charts sometime, that’d be funny.

#45 – “All I Know So Far” – P!nk

Produced by Greg Kurstin

So, P!nk is back but not with a studio album, rather an upcoming live album in which the two new, original songs are about or featuring her daughter. This is the second single from said album and is probably coasting off her appearance at the BRITs in terms of a relatively high chart debut. I’ve never been that big a fan of P!nk but she has her classics, none of which are in the past 15 years but that’s beside the point. This single in particular is an acoustic ballad dedicated to her daughter in which P!nk provides a rapid intensity alongside pretty great-sounding acoustic guitars, pounding drums and strings that sells the content about empowering yourself, with some nice lyrical detail about always being yourself, basically, which would come off as cliché and preachy if it weren’t for some oddly specific lyrics in those verses and the chorus that basically just tell her daughter that despite the fact the world will constantly try to crack down on her and everything she does much like life does to anyone but especially women, she should stand up for herself and what she believes in. However, none of that cuts deep when she’s being raised by a millionaire, huh? There’s little Hell to be put through when you’re born with a silver spoon, huh, Willow? Regardless, this isn’t a bad pop song and its content isn’t as misguided as it is just sang by the wrong singer, although I’d find it hard to get a singer with as much rasp and wisdom in the mainstream to sell this as convincingly as P!nk does – vocally, not lyrically. This is a couple steps above that last single, “Cover Me in Sunshine” at least, which was just insidious. Next.

#32 – “Miss the Rage” – Trippie Redd featuring Playboi Carti

Produced by Loesoe

Okay, so all of our last three new arrivals are in the top 40 and we start with... o-okay, well, it’s 2021, anything can and will chart and I should know this by now, but it’s still surprising to see a song by these two guys debut so high, especially since Whole Lotta Red produced absolutely no charting hits in the UK outside of “@ MEH”, which doesn’t really count. This is Trippie’s highest-charting song ever in the UK that isn’t fronted by KSI, so I guess streaming must have been that good – also, the charts are still weak. For what it’s worth, I do like both Trippie and Carti to their respective extents, and I am aware that this is only as big as it was because of the hype from the leak, which also featured Mario Judah, and that in itself was a big song but it took years for Carti’s feature to be cleared by the label, as is infamously true for much of Carti’s work and even his last official collaboration with Trippie that was actually deleted after release. I’m still hoping on an official release for his verse on Yung Lean’s “Yayo”, but whilst we have this instead, I might as well talk about it and... Well, let me explain to you what I see as the appeal of these two rappers. That appeal is, mostly, that they don’t rap even though they both very much can. Trippie yells, moans, growls, screams and spends most of his work singing in his typical raspy, venomous voice, whilst Playboi Cart spits and coughs his way through substance-less ad-libs to the point where any actual wordplay or lyrical detail gets you excited for that brief moment. In this song, Trippie and Carti don’t eschew the typical role of a rapper and both just... rap normally, which would not be a complaint if they weren’t so bland in that role, which is the whole point of their unique, phlegm-filled deliveries in the first place. As a result, this song just ends up feeling empty, even if this awfully-mixed, bass-boosted beat with some lovely distorted video-game synths and hardly audible trap skitters does go incredibly hard. Don’t get me wrong: this is still catchy and Trippie flows very well over a beat that sounds made for him and Carti. Hell, Carti has grown on me so much recently that my fondness for this might just be me eating anything he releases up. With that said, he’s the worst part of the song as his baby-voice style emphasises how lacking this song is in just anything. I do like the wordplay at the tail-end of the verse as, yes, that happens, perhaps not as iconic as some of his other oddly profound or clever lines on his last record but at least it’s something. At least this is some interesting American trap, unlike...

#25 – “i n t e r l u d e” – J. Cole

Produced by J. Cole, Tommy Parker and T-Minus

The pandemic has affected the music industry to the point where big-name rappers release album interludes as lead singles. Said album has songs shorter than this interlude, with most of its dull filler feeling like additional interludes, quite unbefitting for such a big and hyped-up album from Cole which frankly is just another boring addition to an already consistently dull catalogue. I’m just not interested in what Cole has to say because he’s never been likeable and I feel like there’s better rappers that bridge the gap between old and new like how Cole sees himself as doing, the “MIDDLE CHILD”, perhaps, like, you know, Drake? If we want to go for a more direct comparison from lesser-known rappers, the direct comparison I use for this new record is Aminé’s latest, also made up of a variation of trap bangers featuring massive, charting names versus introspective, conscious lyrics, yet Aminé is an interesting character with quotable lyrics that aren’t embarrassing, knows how to write an actual hook and whilst he also brings on both classic and modern features, he’s never out-done by them, creating an actual bridge rather than just some guy who thinks he can write his own role in the industry and culture without his own music backing his case. Unfortunately for me, it works – every freaking time – largely because of his continually loyal fanbase but also a general public interest in the guy that I do not understand, especially when more than a decade into his career, he’s still pushing out mediocre projects. He cuts his album’s length by a ton and still ends up with a bloated record. I barely need to talk about the track itself, right? Even if it has as much structure and effort put into it as his normal songs do, it’s labelled quite literally as an interlude. Sigh, well, in this interlude, Jermaine raps over a drowned-out soul sample and admittedly, sticks to the topic of reminiscing on where he came from, the violence in Fayetteville, a similar violence of which was what killed Nipsey Hussle, who he compares amongst Pimp C and Jesus as they all died at 33. Cole himself is 36 so I guess for once he doesn’t think he’s Jesus. It took him a while to realise.

#12 – “Higher Power” – Coldplay

Produced by Max Martin, Oscar Holter and Bill Rahko

I assumed this would debut at #3 until the BRIT Awards performance gave it a boost to debut at the top but I guess everyone else had the same opinion of that awful opening performance as I did, because here it is at #12. Well, that doesn’t matter, right? Coldplay’s last album similarly underperformed... but at least that time, they had a genuinely ambitious album for once in their careers with some genuine experimentation and themes I did not expect to come out of Coldplay. It was a better album but not an accessible one, with its only pop single being a bittersweet anti-war anthem which trivialises bombing in the Middle East to onomatopoeia. It’s a great song but it wasn’t going anywhere, so it’s no surprise that their next lead single is a soulless synth-pop track produced by Max Martin. Admittedly, the synth tone in the intro is kind of unique in all its nasal 80s nostalgia, but, man, I thought we moved past just rehashing for a hit, Coldplay. This is pretty obviously just a crap attempt at being “Blinding Lights” which trades in its machine-gun loco-motive drum pattern for one that is a lot more stiff, and its iconic, memorable lyrics for a forgettable set of love-struck laziness. Oh, yeah, and Chris Martin is far from the Weeknd both in the studio and live at the BRIT Awards – seriously, dude sounded half-alive. This isn’t offensive, just a bore that is clearly a desperate label move ready for when they can tour again, and if their last record proved anything it was that Coldplay seemed like they were finally above that.

Conclusion

Well, that’s our week – again, a questionable one at best and kind of a bad one at worst. Either way, this is a strange array of songs and I do like how the UK Singles Chart subverts everything you’d expect of it so often that chaos becomes the trend, even if not all of it is any good. I guess Best of the Week goes to “Freaks” by Surf Curse, with an Honourable Mention to Elton John’s cover of “It’s a sin” with Years & Years. Surprisingly enough, J. Cole actually doesn’t get Worst of the Week as the album gets a lot worse than that interlude, so he gets a Dishonourable Mention alongside Starboi3’s “Dick” being crowned Worst of the Week, and honestly probably Worst of the Year so far, not that I’m keeping track of that. Here’s this week’s top 10:

What’s coming next week? More J. Cole, Olivia Rodrigo’s newest single and probably – and hopefully – some album tracks from Jorja Smith and Nicki Minaj. For now, though, thanks for reading. It’s a big week next week, and I’ll see you then!

[gay-spaceman]

a bunch of requests from my instagram!

(long id under the cut)

(id start:

image one: merle and ned are sitting against a olive green background. ned is a fat man with dark skin and a grey beard and hair. he has one gold tooth and his ears are pierced. he also has  many gold rings. he is wearing a white shirt at with a ghost bolotie. merle has brown skin and a big white beard with a white bun tied in the back. he is wearing a hawiian shirt wiht a tan khakis and green flip fops.

image two: lucretia is standing with her white oak staff. she has dark brown skin and short white hair. she is wearing a dark blue pantsuit with a white shirt underneath the jacket. next to her is ren, who has dark blue skin and a white bob. her eyes are dark with light pupils. she is wearing a light purple blouse with blue pants and a white apron. both them are aganist a grey background.

image three: magnus has medium brown skin with broad shoulders and a bulky build. he has brown hair and brown eyes. he's smiling and holding his thumb up. he is wearing a light tan shirt, 3/4 length, with a small button up on the collar. he is also wearing dark brown pants. on his back is railsplitter, a red axe, and a shield.

image four: hurley has brown skin with brown hair, she has her arms wrapped around sloane and is kissing her. she is wearing an eggshell shirt with brown shoes and loafers. sloane has light brown skin with dark brown hair who is holding hurley. she is wearing a light purple shirt with dark leggings. next to them is magic brian, a drow with light purple skin and long white hair. his robes are dark purple with ornaments of spider webs. he is looking affectionally at a small spider, baby bryan (with a y).

image five: avi and carey are high fiving. avi has brown skin with  dark brown hair, he is smiling at carey. he is wearing a short jacket with a white shirt and jeans. he has goggles matching his jacket on his head, blue and yellow. carey is a light blue dragonborne. she has light blue thin scales on her head and neck. she is wearing a light tan body suit tucked into dark brown pants. she is wearing two straps over her chest.

image six: jake coolice is an inuit teen with died blonde hair and his dark roots showing he is lifting up skii goggles that match his brightly colored jacket. his skii jacket has three bright colors of light red, yellow and light blue. he is also wearing bright yellow pants. next to him is indrid cold. indrid has milky white skin and white hair that hangs on the sides of his head. he is wearing bright red glasses, grey tank top and jeans. he is holding a red mug full of nog.

image seven: johann has dark brown skin and medium length navy hair. he is wearing a black shirt with a soundcloud logo on it. he is wearing jeans and holding a violin case. one arm has his b.o.b bracer and the other has a ton of red braclets. next to him is garfield the deals warlock. he is wearing a purple coat and hat with light stars all over it. he is the garfield lasanga cat, but with little fangs on his mouth. he is holding a blue potion.

image eight: angus has dark brown skin with curly black hair. he is wearing a hat that matches with his sweater, a light green. he has circular glasses and is smiling and holidng a book. he also has freckles on his face. next to him is lup and barry, leaning on eachother. lup has meidum brown skin and dark brown hair that is short enough to hang around her chin. she is wearing a black body suit with gold jewlery around her neck, arms, torso and fingers. next to her is barry with an untied bowtie in a white shirt and jeans. he has light skin with light brown hair.

end id)

[astarlightmonbebe]

☪ ⋆ Table For Two ☪ ⋆

When your friends set you up on a blind date, you’re expecting to hate it, but Han Jisung takes you by surprise.

Word Count: 3.7k

Pairing: Han Jisung x fem!reader

Other members: Hwang Hyunjin and Lee Felix

A/n: this is just a thing that came to mind; hope you all find it cute!

“On a scale of one to ten, how opposed would you be to going on a blind date?” Felix asks, sticking his freckled face right up into yours.

“Firstly, get out of my face.” You say with a look of disgust, slamming your locker shut and throwing your equipment bag over your shoulder. “Secondly, I’m so opposed to that idea that a number one through ten wouldn’t be able to rate how much I’m opposed to it.”

Felix sticks out his tongue at you. “Too bad for you. It’s at seven o’clock tonight, at Scoops For Two, with one of Hyunjin’s elementary school friends. He says he’s super nice, super single, and super cute. Sounds perfect, right?”

“No.” You deadpan, starting to walk towards the double doors. Felix trails after you, chattering away about Hyunjin’s great friend. He’s apparently a musician and he has dyed hair and he talks a lot, so he could totally carry the conversation—you held up a hand right in front of Felix’s mouth, stopping him from saying more.

“Felix, I’m not going on a date with someone Hyunjin set me up with.” You say with an annoyed sigh. Felix’s mouth opens and closes in resemblance with a fish.

“But y/n…” He whines, flinging his arms around your neck and dragging his feet. You try to shove him off to no avail; Felix has all the cling-ability of an octopus, even without little suction cups to keep him in place.

“I’ll pay you.” Felix whispers in your ear. You stop and tilt your head back to look at him. You raise one eyebrow, gesturing for him to continue. “I’m a little broke, but twenty bucks?”

“Yeah, right.” You say with a snort, turning back around.

“Thirty!” Felix bargains. “Come on, mate, I promised Hyunjin that you would definitely be coming.”

“Your mistake.” You reply lightly, pushing through the doors and out into the sunshine.

“Fifty.” Felix says with an air of resignation to him. You spin around, smiling.

“Deal.”

—

Scoops For Two is a popular ice cream shop on the edge of a giant strip mall that’s taken up half of your small town, a small cafe style restaurant best inhabited by high school kids much like yourself. At the moment it’s not occupied by that many people, the dinner rush past, especially for a Tuesday.

You enter it cautiously, tugging at the edges of the dress Hyunjin had stuffed you into. As soon as you had caved in for the blind date, Felix had called Hyunjin and the two of them had promptly taken over your bedroom and executed a mass cleaning as they looked through your closet for appropriate clothes, yelling at you when you tried to interfere, because you apparently ‘had less fashion sense than a human hippo would’—the compliment courtesy of Felix, but seconded by Hyunjin.

It’s not hard to find your blind date: there’s only one single guy sitting at a table for two among the couples scattered across the shop. He looks up at the sound of the bells jangling, eyes alighting on you and—oh, wow—he’s more than just super cute. He’s really cute. No, he’s so handsome it’s making your eyes hurt.

You look away, walking over to him and sitting down across from him. “I’m y/n.” You say, crossing your arms and trying to look as disinterested as possible. “Are you Hyunjin’s friend?”

His eyes fixate on you, a beautiful hazel shade that seem to be kaleidoscoping when you focus on them for too long. His hair is indeed dyed, a violet that is fading into his caramel roots, tousled and messy, falling in front of those eyes when he moves. He has that grunge style you’re kind of into, though you’d rather die than have people find out you have a type. Dressed in a pair of black jeans faded with time and torn with it too, red Doc Martens laced up over his feet, a matching red plaid shirt tied around his waist, his shirt an old Rolling Stones one. You’re not sure if he has the shirt just for the aesthetic or if he really likes them—you won’t judge either way.

Still, his casual style makes you feel extremely dressed up, all cutesy in your little knee length white sundress with the straps that keep sliding off your shoulders. At least you have your combat boots on, the metal buckles catching the light. He’s seen them too, and he’s smiling because of that.

“I like your shoes.” He says.

“Thanks.” You reply. “Name, please?” You’re chewing gum, mint, and you blow a bubble deliberately. He watches it pop, the gum disappearing back into your mouth.

“It’s Jisung. Han Jisung.” He tells you. You like his name, even though you won’t tell him that. It sounds nice. Jisung. Han Jisung. It goes together well too.

“Um, did you eat?” He asks. You nod.

“This is an ice cream shop, dude, not a dinner buffet.” You figure that if you’re as mean as possible, it’ll hurt his feelings and he’ll go away soon. Jisung nods.

“Of course.” He says, more to himself than to you. “So...do you want to go up and order something?” He’s clenching his fingers into fists underneath the table and you realize he’s nervous. Huh.

“Yeah, sure.” You say, rising effortlessly and tugging at the bottom of your dress. It’s a little too short for your comfort, but you managed to slip on spandex shorts underneath in case any mishaps happen.

Jisung follows you up, hanging back. You wonder if you’re intimidating him. Hyunjin had given you strict instructions to seem like the best possible version of yourself, and also to smile lots, because you apparently looked ‘scary’ when you weren’t.

The ice cream is arranged colorfully, labelled on the glass by someone with noticeably messy handwriting. Come to think of it, it’s been a while since you’ve actually had ice cream. Sports keep you busy, and you’re not one for social outings.

“One scoop of mint chocolate chip with hot fudge and whipped cream and a cherry.” Jisung orders beside you, smiling down at the ice cream. You look at him with a raised eyebrow. “What?” He asks, expression souring. “Don’t tell me you’re one of those people who hates mint chocolate chip ice cream.”

You laugh. “What? No. I just think it’s funny you know exactly what you’re going to order.” Turning to the other worker, you say; “I’d like a scoop of cookie dough with caramel sauce, sprinkles, whipped cream, and a cherry.”

Jisung laughs. “You say that, but you’re exactly the same way.”

“No, I’m simply fast at making decisions. Time doesn’t wait around.” You say back crossly, leaning against the glass and watching the worker drizzle caramel over your ice cream. Jisung leans across from you, smiling again. He never seems to stop smiling. Usually that bothers you, but you like his smile, so you decide to just let him.

“Uhuh.” He says, the grin broad on his face. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.” You scoff at him, then thank the workers as they hand you your ice cream. “I can pay.” Jisung says, reaching into his pocket.

“I’ll pay for myself, thanks very much.” You reply, lifting your chin. Jisung blinks, then slowly puts his wallet away and nods, motioning for you to go first.

As you’re paying, the worker asks you; “First date?” You stop, so that he has to tug the money out of your hand.

“No.” Jisung answers behind you. “Not yet.” You nod along, wondering why you were so caught off guard by the question. It wasn’t like it was anything deep.

The two of you take your ice cream back to that small round table for two, the chair hard against your back. It seems even more awkward than before, so you eat your ice cream in silence, poking your spoon in the whipped cream and watching how it gets stuck. You can feel Jisung looking at you every time you look down, but you don’t comment on it.

“So, Hyunjin says you play hockey.” Jisung finally starts, sitting back. You look back up at him.

“Yeah. Field and ice.” He nods appreciatively.

“That’s so cool. I’m not good at sports at all.” He chatters on. “I make music instead. Do you like music? Sorry, that’s a stupid question, everyone likes music. Well, not everyone. What artists do you like?”

You set your spoon down and sit back. “Hey, Han Jisung.” He blinks at you again, rapidly. “Do you talk a lot when you’re nervous.”

“Uh, no, I, maybe?” He stutters, and you find yourself smiling against your will.

“Forget it, it’s fine. I like producers like CB97 and r&b. I’ll listen to just about anything, though, because you have to have something to occupy your mind with when you work out. What about you?”

“Um, well, like you I’ll listen to anything. I like rap, but also ballads...yeah, I guess you could say my music taste is pretty varied.” He laughs a little, eyes scrunching up, and gosh, that’s kind of adorable, how they become crescents of happiness. You can feel the awkwardness melting away piece by piece, chipped away at with the start of this conversation.

“Hyunjin did mention you’re a musician. Are you like in a band?”

Jisung laughs, covering his mouth when he does. “Not exactly. Mostly I just mess around with like...Soundcloud...I swear I’m not cringey though! There’s just not really other platforms to post stuff on.”

You’re already pulling out your phone as he talks. “What’s your username?”

His eyes widen in surprise. “What? No! You’ll think it’s so bad.”

You hand the phone over to him and he tentatively accepts it. “Username, Han Jisung. Besides, Hyunjin will just tell me if you don’t.” Jisung sighs, accepting the truth of that statement, and passes the phone back to you.

“J.ONE?” You say aloud, tilting your head. He has a lot of music, you discover, as you scroll through it. Like, a lot. Too many to count. “It looks like you’ve been doing this for a while.” You observe.

Jisung gave you a dry look. “I went through a weird emo middle school phase, so please don’t listen to any of my old songs. I’ve been meaning to delete them, but a lot of people have listened to them...and also made fun of them, but that’s not important.”

You frown. “Okay, I promise I won’t listen to your emo phase music, but the rest of it is up for dibs, right?” You grin, and Jisung’s cheeks redden a fraction. He touches them with the backs of his head, looking even more embarassed.

“Whatever you want, y/n.” He finally responds with a sunny smile. “I expect adequate feedback though. I don’t usually give out my music to pretty girls on first meetings.”

“Well, I’m known to be an exception to that rule.” You proclaim airly.

“Wow, confident much?” He asks, but he’s holding back a laugh as he ducks his head.

“Actually, yes.” You answer as seriously as possible, teasing at this point just to see the expression on his face. “No one matches me when it comes to totally unneeded confidence, so don’t think you’ll be able to even come close.”

“I wasn’t even going to try.” Jisung replies, holding his hands up in an I surrender motion.

“Good.” You say, feeling yourself smiling hard, your cheek muscles aching. It’s been a while since you’ve found yourself smiling for so long. This scruffy looking cute boy has somehow managed to quite possibly win a little bit of your heart. Possibly. Only possibly, of course. It’s too scary to admit that completely to yourself.

“Are you finished?” Jisung asks suddenly, noticing your empty ice cream cup. “Because I have something I want to do. Only if you want to, though.”

You are indeed finished, but you look at him suspiciously all the same. “What sort of thing?”

He smiles cheekily at you. “Can it be a surprise? I pinky promise I’m not going to kidnap you.”

You aren’t concerned about that, which is a surprise given your usual skepticism when meeting new people, especially when you’re alone. “I’ll go along with it just this once.” You say as breezily as possible, feeling a faint pinkness rise in your cheeks. Since when did you blush over boys—albeit very cute ones with really nice smiles and Soundclouds?

He pushes open the door, opening up something on his phone, and turns back to you. “Ready?” He asks, hand outstretched towards you. You stare at it, thinking about what it would feel like to hold his hand, and by the time your mind has returned in order for you to think to grab it, its dropped by his side again.

“Wait.” You say, grabbing it. It’s warm and a rough all at once, old callouses healed over, but that doesn’t bother you. Your own hands hold the remnants of what it’s like to clutch a hockey stick year round. Jisung looks startled but in a pleasant way as he leads you down the road, eyes narrowed at his phone screen.

You walk around the corner and down the road before he stops in front of a bike, scanning a QR code to check it out. “Um…” He glances down at the bike, then back at the two of you. You smirk.

“Get on behind me, lover boy.” You state, swinging your leg over the bike. You’re glad you had the foresight to wear those spandex shorts now.

Jisung sputters at the name. “I swear I’m not a player!” He exclaims, sounding so sincere you can’t help but let out a loud laugh, doubling over the handles as your body shakes.

“Chill, dude, it’s just an expression.” You smile from underneath your veil of hair. “I know you’re not a player, Han Jisung, so don’t take offense.”

Jisung runs his fingers through his hair and has the grace to look embarrassed. “Sorry.” He mumbles, and you motion for him to get on behind you. There’s an awkward moment when he has to squeeze himself to fit, knees almost up to his chest. His arms find their way to your waist, wrapping around it tightly, as if he considers you his only lifeline.

“Where are we off to, Han Jisung?” You ask over your shoulder.

“The boardwalk.” He answers, voice muffled by your shoulder, which he’s leaned his head against without asking, hair tickling the back of your neck. It’s almost...nice, how you can feel how he’s so relaxed against you, as if he trusts you. Who trusts strangers they’ve just met? Only Jisung, apparently.

“What’re we doing there?” You ask jokingly, and you can feel him lift his head to look at the back of his head.

“It’s a secret, of course. Now get pedalling.” You roll your eyes, feeling the burn in your muscles as you set off.

“By the way, you need to swear you won’t sue me if you fall off and get a concussion.” You throw over your shoulder.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Jisung replies, sounding sleepy, even though your pedalling is rough and messy and there are lots of cracks in the sidewalk. “Besides, I thought you had more confidence than anyone else in this world. Aren’t you confident you can keep me safe?” His voice is soft around the edges, wrapping around you and curling through your veins, warm and tingly.

“Don’t worry, I don’t want to ruin that pretty face of yours either.” You respond gently, and he settles back against you as you spend the ride in silence.

The sun is dipping down into golden hour and you tilt your face up to it, enjoying the breeze against you, a relief from the hot summer days you’ve all been suffering from lately as school draws to a close. You like this feeling, you decide: a comforting weight at your back and the wind in your face and the sun making everything prettier, knowing you’re not really that alone.

The boardwalk is old and rickety but surrounded by sand and water, the fair still in session with its glittering lights and larger than life ferris wheel. You park right at the entrance, and Jisung untangles himself from you. It feels empty without him there, after a silent bike ride that lasted for at least a good twenty minutes.

“Golden hour looks good on you.” He acknowledges, and you toss your hair, even though you’re blushing from the compliment.

“Of course it does.” He shakes his head, but he likes your confidence and you both know it.

“What are we going to do here?” You ask, but Jisung just grabs your hand away and leads you in, showing off two tickets he must have stashed in one of those pockets that are scattered throughout his outfit.

“First, we get accessories.” He announces, leading you right to a small shop filled with souvenirs. “To get in a carnival mood.” He declares, and you laugh, looking it over. You pick out a headband with cat ears, sticking it on his head.

“If that’s the case, then I think this is the one for you.” You announce, examining him with a laugh. He does look cute in it, but he pouts at you anyways, finding one with devil horns and jamming it on your head.

“If that’s the case, then I think this one suits your personality.” He says, half laughing at you. You look in the mirror. He’s put it on lopsidedly, of course, so you adjust it with some self consciousness.

“What’s after this?” You ask, looking out across the fair. “Please tell me we’re riding the ferris wheel.” Jisung swallows and looks up at it. “Please?” You add, because if you’re here, then you’re going to have your way for at least one ride.

“I wasn’t planning on rides, but for you, I’d do anything.” He pulls a finger heart out of his jacket and you swat his hand away playfully, even though your heart feels like it’s pumping an electric beat inside of your chest, threatening to break free of your rib cage and jump right into Han Jisung’s hands.

The line for the ferris wheel is short, and soon you find yourself crammed side by side with Jisung on it, only a bar in front of you preventing you from falling. Jisung turns his head to watch the ground disappear, then settles back against the seat. His hands are in his lap, too tightly entwined for you to dare reaching over to grab one of them.

“Truthfully, I’m only on this blind date because Felix said he would pay me fifty dollars.” You tell him suddenly, and it’s so sudden that Jisung starts laughing, leaning out over the bar with his eyes bright.

“So I’m only worth fifty dollars to you?” He asks, poking you in the shoulder. You brush his hand away, nose scrunching up.

“That’s not what I said! You didn’t let me finish.” You pout, and he mouths a silent apology and waves for you to continue on. “I’ve actually had a lot of fun, though, especially considering it’s the first blind date I’ve been on. It’s been nice getting to know you, Jisung.”

Jisung smiles softly at that. “Thanks, y/n.” The ferris wheel creaks upward, then jolts to a sudden halt at the top, sending you both forward. The bar bites into your stomach, and you groan.

“Oh, come on. Isn’t it a little cliche to trap couples at the top?!” You yell down to the worker, who doesn’t seem to hear you as they fiddle with the buttons. You sigh, pinching the bridge of your nose.

“Wow...we’re really high up.” Jisung notes, his voice coming out shaky. You look over at him and see that your date for the night is looking unusually out of sorts.

“What’s wrong?” You ask in concern.

“Since we’re admitting things tonight, it might be a good time to say that I have a very big fear of heights.” Jisung says flatly, craning his neck to look at the frothing ocean only a drop away. “I don’t suppose you have any good distractions for that, do you? Because I can tell you right now just talking to me will not help in the slightest.”

An idea is formulating in your brain, and you smile. “I do, actually. Look me in the eyes.” He does, turning his head, his eyes colorful orbs with the reflection of the ferris wheel lights in them, hair blowing in the wind.

“What are you doing?” He whispers as you stare up at him, concentrating. You hold up one finger to your lips, making him go quiet. He stares down at you and you gaze up at him, everything going quiet except for your breathing.

Slowly, carefully, you reach up. His eyes track your hand as it traces over his shoulder and around to rest against his neck, pulling him down closer. You can tell he has more to ask, but you suck in a breath and pull his face down towards yours, lips connecting.

It’s brief, two pairs of lips brushing against each other, but it makes you feel things you’ve never felt. Han Jisung’s lips are soft and warm, and his mouth parts against yours in a silent exclamation as you deepen the kiss, hand furled into the collar of his shirt.

The ferris wheel jolts back to life, startling the two of you apart. Jisung is staring at you, chest rising and falling, and you smile at him, feeling shy.

“Did that distract you enough?” You ask innocently, and Jisung blinks several times in rapid succession, then nods slowly. He’s tilting his head, looking at you in a different light, and you wait patiently.

“No wonder you have so much confidence.” He finally murmurs. “You’re freaking beautiful.”

And when Han Jisung kisses you for a second time, you think he’s worth more than money could offer. Up among these clouds, surrounded by light, the water washing up against the shore steadily, you think that he’s quite possibly the best person you’ve ever met.

End.

[calebadamo-blog]

Has ‘Gangsta Rap’ Died?

‘Gangsta Rap’ was first popularised in America during the 1980’s by artists such as Ice-T and N.W.A. The genre has been widely criticised for promotion of violence, discrimination and gang crime. Although there will always be individuals who actively seek out violence and aggression as a way of promoting themselves or their image, the reality of the situation is that ‘Gangsta rap’ was born out of a need to be heard. ‘Gangsta Rap’ gave a voice to the people living in communities such as Compton and Oakland, that were being specifically targeted by law enforcement during the 1980’s, resulting in racial discrimination and violence against black people on a nation wide scale. Put simply, ‘Gangsta Rap’ gave birth to the rise of a new form of ‘freedom of speech’. During the rise of the genre, rappers were talking in their music about their everyday experiences and rather than trying to address the issues raised in this genre of music, the law enforcement and leaders of America simply tried to have these rappers shut down and taken out of the public eye. The inherent racism that originally gave birth to ‘Gangsta Rap’ still exists today and so does the genre. Rap as a whole has changed drastically since it first started making waves during the 1970’s, and all the time new sub-genres of Rap or Hip-Hop are constantly being created. Trap music, for instance, is a sub-genre of rap that only began in the early 2000’s with artists like Lil Jon reshaping the structure of rap music from a single mainstream form into multiple diverse sub-genres. However, even with the invention of Trap Rap, artists such as Lil Jon and 2 Chainz were still talking about the ‘Gangster’ lifestyles in their hometowns and cities. Trap music is known for its recurring theme surrounding the consumption and selling, of various narcotics. The word ‘trap’ refers to specific houses or other locations where drugs were illegally sold and distributed. As a result of Trap rap, a new form of rap music, often referred to as ‘Mumble Rap’ or ‘Soundcloud Rap’, was founded during the 2010’s. Artists such as Gucci Mane, Chief Keef and Future are often cited as the originators of the genre and have paved the way for more modern artists such as Lil Pump and 21 Savage. Again, the ‘Mumble Rap’ scene is known for its drug references alongside discussions surrounding gang violence. ‘Gangsta Rap’ did undoubtedly make these various other sub-genres possible, but despite popular opinion, ‘Gangsta Rap’ is in no way dead or gone. The genre has merely adopted various other formats that have altered the production sound or vocal deliveries of the ever-constant underlying messages. The messages that people really do feel forced into gang lifestyles, and as a result of the systematic racism that seems so ever present in modern day society, people are still losing their lives to gang violence today. Rap music has always, and will always, be an art form that allows anyone, regardless of oppression, discrimination or background to speak about their realities and have their voices heard. Although I obviously do not condone violence, and I wish that racism had never existed, the reality of our existence is that society is unbalanced and systematic racism is something that affects millions of people every day. Rap music allows people the ability to create art and poetry whilst honouring their individual realities. So instead of hating a genre of music because of preconceived bigoted opinions or views, lets try listening to people, really listen.      

[runncrup]

aesthetic.

what are your muse’s aesthetics? bold any which apply to your muse! remember to REPOST! feel free to add to the list!

[ COLORS ]  ~  burgundy. red. crimson. scarlet. maroon. mahogany. copper. amber. chocolate. brown. tawny. tan. bronze. brass. orange. gold. saffron. yellow. chartreuse. spring green. lime. mint. green. olive. forest. turquoise. teal. cerulean. blue. navy. cobalt. periwinkle. indigo. pewter. plum. purple. magenta. fuchsia. lilac. lavender. pink. coral. peach. ivory. cream. white. silver. grey. smoke. charcoal. ebony. black. pastels. vibrant. matte. metallic. muted. dark. light.

[ BODY ]  ~  mutations. claws. fangs. wings. tails. feathers. webs. spikes. scales. fur. stripes. spots. freckles. acne. bruises. scars. scratches. gashes. lashes. wounds. amputations. burns. brands. teeth. gums. tongues. lips. beards. mustaches. cheeks. noses. ears. eyes. eyelashes. eyebrows. hair. heads. neck. shoulders. collar bones. arms. elbows. wrists. hands. fingers. breast. back. ribs. abs. belly. hips. curves. butts. legs. thighs. knees. shins. ankles. feet. toes. nails. sweat. spit. tears. blood. heart. stomach. lungs. liver. veins. guts. bones. spine. muscle. skin. feline. canine. masculine. feminine.

[ WEAPONS ]  ~  bites. fists. kicks. sword. dagger. spear. arrow. bow. crossbow. hammer. shield. poison. guns. axes. throwing axes. whips. knives. throwing knives. pepper sprays. tasers. machine guns. slingshots. katanas. maces. staffs. wands. powers. magical items. magic. rocks. mud balls. bombs. missiles. boomerangs. lethal pets. lasers. canons.

[ MATERIALS ]  ~  metal. gold. silver. platinum. pewter. titanium. iron. steel. copper. bronze. brass. tin. bismuth. diamonds. pearls. rubies. garnets. sapphires. emeralds. jade. peridots. alexandrite. opal. topaz. jasper. quartz. rose quartz. smoky quartz. amethyst. citrine. fluorite. amber. malachite. turquoise. lapis lazuli. sodalite. pyrite. labradorite. moonstone. petrified wood. wood. paper. parchment. hemp. canvas. burlap. oils skin. muslin. rayon. faux. wool. fur. lace. leather. skins. suede. corduroy. silk. satin. chiffon. velvet. denim. linen. cotton. charcoal. clay. stone. rocks. flint. asphalt. brick. granite. marble. dust. rust. glitter. sand. dirt. mud. smoke. ash. carbonate. rubber. synthetics. nylon. polyester. plastic. glass. porcelain. bone. shells. coral.

[ NATURE ]  ~  grass. leaves. trees. bark. flowers. roses. daisies. forget me nots. tulips. lavender. sunflowers. petals. thorns. seeds. hay. roots. ocean. pond. river. stream. waterfall. creek. meadow. forest. desert. tundra. savanna. rain forest. tropical. jungle. marsh. moors. swamp. plains. hills. highlands. caves. underwater. coral reef. beach. waves. space. clouds. mountains. fire. lava. ice. frost. water. air. earth. rain. snow. wind. moon. stars. sun. heat. cold. steam. lightning. sunlight. moonlight. dawn. dusk. twilight. midnight. sunrise. sunset. dewdrops. shadow. tornado. hurricane. water spout. thunder. hail. twisters. humidity. dryness.

[ ANIMALS ]  ~ birds. penguins. eagles. owls. falcons. vultures. hawks. swans. parrots. parakeets. doves. pigeons. ducks. robins. cardinals. blue jays. bluebirds. blackbirds. crows. ravens. magpies. mockingbirds. flamingos. ostriches. seagulls. albatross. peacocks. condors. finches. pelicans. chickens. geese. quail. bats. sheep. cows. buffalo. deer. hedgehogs. elephants. horses. giraffes. cats. lions. tigers. pumas. cheetahs. jaguars. foxes. dogs. wolves. coyotes. bunnies. mice. rats. monkeys. apes. bears. pandas. polar bears. snakes. iguanas. chameleons. alligators. crocodiles. turtles. lizards. frogs. toads. whales.dolphins. fish. sharks. stingrays. octopus. lobsters. crabs. bugs. spiders. moths. butterflies. flies. maggots. roaches. ladybugs. beetles. cicadas. dragonflies. fleas. termites. leeches. worms. snails. mosquitoes. werewolves. unicorns. pegasus. dragons. dinosaurs.

[ FOODS/DRINKS ]  ~  pepper. salt. sugar. honey. syrup. caramel. candy. bubblegum. mints. candy canes. gumdrops. lollipops. chocolate. vanilla. cinnamon. ice cream. cake. cookies. brownies. biscuits. pie. tarts. lemonade. soda. champagne. wine. brandy. rum. whiskey. vodka. tequila. sake. beer. soju. gin. crema de cacao. cocoa. latte. coffee. tea. spices. herbs. fruit. apples. oranges. lemons. cherries. strawberries. blueberries. raspberries. cranberries. watermelons. cantaloupes. bananas. coconuts. grapes. kiwi. pomegranates. tomatoes. vegetables. potatoes. cucumbers. carrots. turnips. onions. leeks. celery. broccoli. cabbages. lettuces. roots. nuts. white meat. red meat. raw meat. veal. pork. chicken. beef. venison. fish. lobster. oysters. pizza. ambrosia. pasta. sandwiches. soup.

[ HOBBIES ]  ~ music. piano. flute. woodwinds. whistles. drums. guitar. cello. synthesizer. violin. lute. harp. fiddle. harmonica. trumpet. brass. singing. composing. folk. classical. bluegrass. blues. jazz. big band. pop. country. rock. punk. metal. electronica. hip hop. reggae. ska. rap. vinyl records. cassettes. cds. soundcloud. itunes. spotify. art. sculpting. pottery. painting. watercolour. drawing. pastels. charcoal. sketching. graffiti. printing. inking. collecting. fighting. martial arts. self-defence. boxing. fencing. sumo. wrestling. jousting. paintball. lazer tag. duelling. hunting. fishing. climbing. weight lifting. training. sports. football. football (usa). rugby. baseball. cricket. lacrosse. volleyball. basketball. tennis. badminton. skating. cycling. sailing.  swimming. rowing. hiking. running. gymnastics. dancing. ice skating. hockey. reading. writing. cooking. sewing. acting. photography. video games. horseback riding. gardening. smithing. shopping. traveling. movies. theatre, libraries. books. magazines. playing cards. poker chips. chess. dice. science.

[ STYLE ]  ~ nudism. perfume. cologne. piercings. tattoos. henna. body paint. war paint. make up. lipstick. mascara. eyeliner. eye shadow. powder. beauty marks. blush. nail polish. lingerie. fishnet. pantie-hoes. socks. stockings. leggings. long johns. under armor. corsets. sports bras. bustles. camisoles. blouses. button ups. tunics. vests. waistcoats. leather jackets. ponchos. sweaters/jumpers. hoodies. skirts. jeans. kilts. breeches. scarfs. cravats. ascots. belts. sashes. gloves. heels. sandals. platforms. tennis shoes. penny loafers. jordans. slippers. boots. cowboy boots. rain boots. army boots. armor. justaucorps. trench coats. capes. cloaks. burqa. suits. tuxedos. kimonos. saris. sun dresses. gowns. jewelry. earrings. noes rings. lip rings. tongue piercings. belly rings. gauges. eyebrow rings. necklaces. pearl strings. leis. bracelets. bangles. cuffs. watches. friendship bracelets. rings. pendants. lockets. broaches. boutonnieres. pocket watches. cuff links. hats. crowns. circlets. flower crowns. helmets. hijabs. turbans. baseball caps. cowboy hats. brocade. doublet. gorget. bracers. masks. cowls. braces. glasses. sun glasses. eye contacts. pajamas.

[ MISC ]  ~ balloons. bubbles. candles. battle. war. diplomacy. peace. money. power. clocks. photos. mirrors. pets. diary. fairy lights. madness. sanity. sadness. happiness. optimism. pessimism. loneliness. family. friends. assistants. co-workers. enemies. loyalty. smoking. drugs. kindness. love. sex. hugs. duality. sin. lust. greed. wrath. envy. sloth. gluttony. pride. virtue. chivalry. honor. piety. charity. diligence. chastity. gentleness. aggression. romance. hatred. grief. pity. success. bitterness. sorrow. joy. fear. anger. good. evil. relativity. vampirism. sapphism. life. birth. time. death. illusion. silence.

tagged by: @reverierunner tagging: @gcrminator @glittcrngcld @ofiink @onionskintrio @blatheringblatherskite 

[gcrminatorarchive]

aesthetic.

what are your muse’s aesthetics?

bold any which apply to your muse!

remember to REPOST!

feel free to add to the list!

[ COLORS ] ~ burgundy. red. crimson. scarlet. maroon. mahogany. copper. amber. chocolate. brown. tawny. tan. bronze. brass. orange. gold. saffron. yellow. chartreuse. spring green. lime. mint. green. olive. forest. turquoise. teal. cerulean. blue. navy. cobalt. periwinkle. indigo. pewter. plum. purple. magenta. fuchsia. lilac. lavender. pink. coral. peach. ivory. cream. white. silver. grey. smoke. charcoal. ebony. black. pastels. vibrant. matte. metallic. muted. dark. light.

[ BODY ] ~ mutations. claws. fangs. wings. tails. feathers. webs. spikes. scales. fur. stripes. spots. freckles. acne. bruises. scars. scratches. gashes. lashes. wounds. amputations. burns. brands. teeth. gums. tongues. lips. beards. mustaches. cheeks. noses. ears. eyes. eyelashes. eyebrows. hair. heads. neck. shoulders. collar bones. arms. elbows. wrists. hands. fingers. breast. back. ribs. abs. belly. hips. curves. butts. legs. thighs. knees. shins. ankles. feet. toes. nails. sweat. spit. tears. blood. heart. stomach. lungs. liver. veins. guts. bones. spine. muscle. skin. feline. canine. masculine. feminine.

[ WEAPONS ] ~ bites. fists. kicks. sword. dagger. spear. arrow. bow. crossbow. hammer. shield. poison. guns. axes. throwing axes. whips. knives. throwing knives. pepper sprays. tasers. machine guns. slingshots. katanas. maces. staffs. wands. powers. magical items. magic. rocks. mud balls. bombs. missiles. boomerangs. lethal pets. lasers. canons.

[ MATERIALS ] ~ metal. gold. silver. platinum. pewter. titanium. iron. steel. copper. bronze. brass. tin. bismuth. diamonds. pearls. rubies. garnets. sapphires. emeralds. jade. peridots. alexandrite. opal. topaz. jasper. quartz. rose quartz. smoky quartz. amethyst. citrine. fluorite. amber. malachite. turquoise. lapis lazuli. sodalite. pyrite. labradorite. moonstone. petrified wood. wood. paper. parchment. hemp. canvas. burlap. oils skin. muslin. rayon. faux. wool. fur. lace. leather. skins. suede. corduroy. silk. satin. chiffon. velvet. denim. linen. cotton. charcoal. clay. stone. rocks. flint. asphalt. brick. granite. marble. dust. rust. glitter. sand. dirt. mud. smoke. ash. carbonate. rubber. synthetics. nylon. polyester. plastic. glass. porcelain. bone. shells. coral.

[ NATURE ] ~ grass. leaves. trees. bark. flowers. roses. daisies. forget me nots. tulips. lavender. sunflowers. petals. thorns. seeds. hay. roots. ocean. pond. river. stream. waterfall. creek. meadow. forest. desert. tundra. savanna. rain forest. tropical. jungle. marsh. moors. swamp. plains. hills. highlands. caves. underwater. coral reef. beach. waves. space. clouds. mountains. fire. lava. ice. frost. water. air. earth. rain. snow. wind. moon. stars. sun. heat. cold. steam. lightning. sunlight. moonlight. dawn. dusk. twilight. midnight. sunrise. sunset. dewdrops. shadow. tornado. hurricane. water spout. thunder. hail. twisters. humidity. dryness.

[ ANIMALS ] ~ birds. penguins. eagles. owls. falcons. vultures. hawks. swans. parrots. parakeets. doves. pigeons. ducks. robins. cardinals. blue jays. bluebirds. blackbirds. crows. ravens. magpies. mockingbirds. flamingos. ostriches. seagulls. albatross. peacocks. condors. finches. pelicans. chickens. geese. quail. bats. sheep. cows. buffalo. deer. hedgehogs. elephants. horses. giraffes. cats. lions. tigers. pumas. cheetahs. jaguars. foxes. dogs. wolves. coyotes. bunnies. mice. rats. monkeys. apes. bears. pandas. polar bears. snakes. iguanas. chameleons. alligators. crocodiles. turtles. lizards. frogs. toads. whales.dolphins. fish. sharks. stingrays. octopus. lobsters. crabs. bugs. spiders. moths. butterflies. flies. maggots. roaches. ladybugs. beetles. cicadas. dragonflies. fleas. termites. leeches. worms. snails. mosquitoes. werewolves. unicorns. pegasus. dragons. dinosaurs.

[ FOODS/DRINKS ] ~ pepper. salt. sugar. honey. syrup. caramel. candy. bubblegum. mints. candy canes. gumdrops. lollipops. chocolate. vanilla. cinnamon. ice cream. cake. cookies. brownies. biscuits. pie. tarts. lemonade. soda. champagne. wine. brandy. rum. whiskey. vodka. tequila. sake. beer. soju. gin. crema de cacao. cocoa. latte. coffee. tea. spices. herbs. fruit. apples. oranges. lemons. cherries. strawberries. blueberries. raspberries. cranberries. watermelons. cantaloupes. bananas. coconuts. grapes. kiwi. pomegranates. tomatoes. vegetables. potatoes. cucumbers. carrots. turnips. onions. leeks. celery. broccoli. cabbages. lettuces. roots. nuts. white meat. red meat. raw meat. veal. pork. chicken. beef. venison. fish. lobster. oysters. pizza. ambrosia. pasta. sandwiches. soup.

[ HOBBIES ] ~ music. piano. flute. woodwinds. whistles. drums. guitar. cello. synthesizer. violin. lute. harp. fiddle. harmonica. trumpet. brass. singing. composing. folk. classical. bluegrass. blues. jazz. big band. pop. country. rock. punk. metal. electronica. hip hop. reggae. ska. rap. vinyl records. cassettes. cds. soundcloud. itunes. spotify. art. sculpting. pottery. painting. watercolour. drawing. pastels. charcoal. sketching. graffiti. printing. inking. collecting. fighting. martial arts. self-defense. boxing. fencing. sumo. wrestling. jousting. paintball. lazer tag. duelling. hunting. fishing. climbing. weight lifting. training. sports. football. football (usa). rugby. baseball. cricket. lacrosse. volleyball. basketball. tennis. badminton. skating. cycling. sailing. swimming. rowing. hiking. running. gymnastics. dancing. ice skating. hockey. reading. writing. cooking. sewing. acting. photography. video games. horseback riding. gardening. smithing. shopping. traveling. movies. theatre, libraries. books. magazines. playing cards. poker chips. chess. dice. science.

[ STYLE ] ~ nudism. perfume. cologne. piercings. tattoos. henna. body paint. war paint. make up. lipstick. mascara. eyeliner. eye shadow. powder. beauty marks. blush. nail polish. lingerie. fishnet. pantie-hoes. socks. stockings. leggings. long johns. under armor. corsets. sports bras. bustles. camisoles. blouses. button ups. tunics. vests. waistcoats. leather jackets. ponchos. sweaters/jumpers. hoodies. skirts. jeans. kilts. breeches. scarfs. cravats. ascots. belts. sashes. gloves. heels. sandals. platforms. tennis shoes. penny loafers. jordans. slippers. boots. cowboy boots. rain boots. army boots. armor. justaucorps. trench coats. capes. cloaks. burqa. suits. tuxedos. kimonos. saris. sun dresses. gowns. jewelry. earrings. nose rings. lip rings. tongue piercings. belly rings. gauges. eyebrow rings. necklaces. pearl strings. leis. bracelets. bangles. cuffs. watches. friendship bracelets. rings. pendants. lockets. broaches. boutonnieres. pocket watches. cuff links. hats. crowns. circlets. flower crowns. helmets. hijabs. turbans. baseball caps. cowboy hats. brocade. doublet. gorget. bracers. masks. cowls. braces. glasses. sun glasses. eye contacts. pajamas.

[ MISC ] ~ balloons. bubbles. candles. battle. war. diplomacy. peace. money. power. clocks. photos. mirrors. pets. diary. fairy lights. madness. sanity. sadness. happiness. optimism. pessimism. loneliness. family. friends. assistants. co-workers. enemies. loyalty. smoking. drugs. kindness. love. sex. hugs. duality. sin. lust. greed. wrath. envy. sloth. gluttony. pride. virtue. chivalry. honor. piety. charity. diligence. chastity. gentleness. aggression. romance. hatred. grief. pity. success. bitterness. sorrow. joy. fear. anger. good. evil. relativity. vampirism. sapphism. life. birth. time. death. illusion. silence.

Tagged by: @runncrup ( <3 )

Tagging: @ababwa @fosterskeeper @mostghcst @murroyilodel @muerte-rojo @everythingisspooky (For Drix!) Anyone reading this.