#everyone's so pastel and cool and summery

[karlydraws]

Do not wander off too far on the beach at night

[liliesandloveatelier]

Essential Tips for Planning the Perfect Summer Wedding: From Invitations to "I Do"

Summer is a season of love, warmth, and endless possibilities. It's no wonder why many couples choose to tie the knot during this enchanting time of the year. With the sun shining bright and nature in full bloom, a summer wedding offers a picturesque backdrop for exchanging vows and creating cherished memories. To ensure your big day is nothing short of extraordinary, we've compiled seven essential tips, with a focus on wedding invitations, to help you plan a dreamy summer celebration that will leave your guests in awe.

Embrace the Outdoors

One of the most significant advantages of a summer wedding is the possibility of an outdoor ceremony or reception. Whether you choose a charming garden, a sandy beach, or a rustic vineyard, an outdoor venue can add a touch of natural beauty and elegance to your celebration. Just be sure to have a backup plan in case of unexpected weather changes, such as providing tents or indoor spaces.

Timing is Everything

Summer days can be quite hot, so plan your wedding ceremony during cooler hours, either in the early morning or late afternoon. Not only will the weather be more pleasant for you and your guests, but you'll also capture the most flattering natural light for photographs. Additionally, consider organizing a shaded area with refreshing drinks to keep everyone cool and comfortable.

Set the Tone with Invitations

Your wedding invitation is the first glimpse your guests will have of your special day. Use this opportunity to set the tone and style of your summer wedding. Opt for designs that reflect the vibrant colors and joyous atmosphere of the season. Incorporate elements such as floral patterns, pastel hues, or beach-inspired motifs to give your invites a summery touch. Don't forget to mention the date, venue, and RSVP details clearly to avoid any confusion.

Dress Comfortably and Stylishly

When it comes to summer weddings, comfort is key. Choose lightweight, breathable fabrics for your wedding attire, such as chiffon or linen, to stay cool throughout the day. For the bride, a flowy, ethereal gown will not only be comfortable but will also complement the season's ambiance. Grooms can opt for light-colored suits that exude sophistication while allowing them to stay comfortable in the warm weather.

Seasonal Decor Delights

Incorporate the beauty of the season into your wedding décor. Fresh blooms, such as peonies, roses, and sunflowers, are readily available during the summer months and can add a burst of color and fragrance to your venue. Consider using mason jars filled with wildflowers as centerpieces, fairy lights to create a magical atmosphere, and candles to set a romantic mood during the evening.

Beat the Heat with Refreshments

Keep your guests refreshed by offering a variety of cold beverages. Create a signature summer cocktail that showcases seasonal fruits or offer a lemonade stand for a nostalgic touch. Consider providing fans, parasols, or even mini handheld misters as thoughtful wedding favors to help guests stay cool and comfortable.

Capture the Magic

Lastly, don't forget to hire a professional photographer and videographer to capture all the magical moments of your summer wedding. With the sun shining bright and nature as your backdrop, you'll want to cherish these memories for a lifetime.

A summer wedding is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate love amidst the warmth of the sun and the beauty of nature. By setting the tone with enchanting invitations, embracing the outdoors, and planning thoughtfully around the season, you can create an unforgettable experience for both you and your guests. Remember, a successful summer wedding lies in the details, and with these seven essential tips, your dream wedding will become a reality. So, get ready to say "I do" under the sun, surrounded by love, laughter, and the promise of a lifetime together.

[sweettodo]

LMFAO- can u headcannon the aot warriors + y/n in a zoom meeting. and y’know y/n a little baddie and wears a revealing outfit 😩😏

i just saw this tiktok of some fanart of them in a zoom meet and it was the cutest thing EVERRRR.

EREN-

• doesn’t even bother to get out of bed, he just rolls over, picks his laptop from the floor and joins the zoom only to fall back asleep.

• levi constantly attempts to get his attention, and eren doesn’t even budge.

• seldom awake, but when he IS, he will usually interrupt to ask a stupid question: ‘hange where did you get that cool plant?’ or ‘jean i smell you through the zoom call, did you shower today?’

• enjoys changing his background to an odd photo of jean or one of his friends.

• hange will be the first to kick eren out of the zoom, and it’s not like mr. jaeger cares or anything.

• not to mention, he leaves his camera on too. so everyone sees shirtless eren passed out under the blankets with not a regard in the world.

• eats while on the call.

• one day, ( he still thanks god he was awake to see this ) you were working out in the morning before realizing you were already 10 minutes late to your meeting.

• jumping on to the meeting, sweaty, in a revealing sports bra and shorts, you’re apologizing profusely to levi and hange for being late.

• ‘lookin’ good y/n’ eren cackles, but what you or your friends realizing was that eren was now breathless, trying not to stare at you with every bit of will-power he could muster up.

• ‘seems that eren’s pretty awake now, heh’ jean taunts, eren quickly turns off his camera, so he could enjoy looking at you, who decided to wear... that

JEAN-

~ also likes to change his background, plays on his xbox with or without connie, headphones on his head and screaming while levi is muting jean to proceed talking.

~ jean has the pc set up and everything with the two monitors and the colorful custom pc.

~ eren makes fun of him because he uses a microphone. like the ones that have the stand and everything.

~ his room is never fully lit. he used leds, ( blue or green tbh ) shades are always closed.

~ ‘jean, turn off the game. now’ hange swears she tells him everyday.

~ ‘hey jean, didn’t you wear that sweatshirt last time? do you have any other clothes?’ eren ridicules, of course interrupting levi, who’s talking.

~ ‘i see the crumbs on your bed, jaeger!’

~ jean finds himself staring at you once you joined the call, wearing a... revealing... tank top with a very generous bra. his mouth growing increasingly dry.

~ he assumes that no one seems to notice, but when his friends see that he’s quite literally frozen in place, mouth slightly open as he’s looking at your chest.

~ ‘jean’

~ no answer.

~ ‘jean!’

~ ‘hu- yeah, yes?’

~ ‘is your internet having issues? you’re frozen’

MIKASA-

: sits at her desk, she has a picture collage of her, eren and armin on her wall.

: pristine white walls, very clean.

: always needs to call eren to wake him up before the meeting so he doesn’t miss it.

: if she forgets to call eren to wake him up, he blames her for missing the meeting.

: mikasa and armin are always firsts to the meeting.

: she always speaks, and fully participates.

: levi and hange usually are apt to call on her first for her opinions.

: she never turns her camera off, she’s wearing a comfortable but appropriate outfit, jeans and a blouse or shorts and a t shirt.

: sends group emails, for literally whatever reason.

: compliments others backgrounds ( their rooms ).

: reminds eren that his room is a pigsty and he needs to get out of bed, ‘eren, it’s 11:30am, get up.’

: ‘jean, you need to make your bed once and awhile’

: she always compliments what you’re wearing too, ‘i love that top y/n, where’d you get it?’

: and will have absolutely no problem with putting the boys in their place when she catches them gawking at you.

: ‘you guys are like dogs’

: she tells levi to kick them from the meet if they keep staring at you.

ARMIN-

∘ always early.

∘ room is neat, warm looking and he sits on the edge of his bed with his laptop in his lap.

∘ most talkative one here besides levi and hange.

∘ also calls eren every morning to ensure he’s awake.

∘ armin has a notebook and pencil next to him, constantly writing down notes.

∘ always has a presentation ready, a powerpoint or a document to show everyone.

∘ usually sticks to casual, t shirt and jeans.

∘ room is well lit, camera and mic are always on.

∘ also reminds the others to pay attention and be quiet, pleading with them, ‘guys, captain levi is trying to talk.’ also always lectures eren to get out of bed once and awhile.

∘ he doesn’t really pay much attention to what the others are wearing, but he can’t help but glance a few times at your outfit for the day.

∘ it makes his heart pound of his chest when you move to stretch or prop for hand under your chin to listen, your chest on display, arms squeezing them together only a little. he was in awe, swallowing hard and trying not to blush.

∘ avoiding you at all costs.

∘ armin won’t admit it, but he’s a hypocrite, so he’s gonna lecture the boys not to objectify you and tells you that he’s sorry for their immaturity.

∘ but yet here he is.

LEVI-

» cup of tea ready.

» sits at his dining room table.

» dreads having to do the zoom meet, so he’s pretty short tempered the whole time.

» wearing a button up per usual.

» well lit, has a plant in the corner of the room, most likely a cat in the windowsill.

» very english teacher-esque.

» swears the whole time at eren.

» kicks eren and jean out almost every zoom meeting.

» relies on armin for detailed information and analysis’

» needed to ask hange in secret how to present his screen, pin / mute people because he was pretty inept at computers for the most part.

» doesn’t use the mouse pad on his laptop, he connects a mouse because he despises that stupid mouse pad.

» the second he sees what you’re wearing, he shakes his head, ‘tch, i can hear these hounds now’

» yells at the boys to stop being perverts.

CONNIE-

‣  similar to jean, he also used led’s most of the time.

‣  has posters on his walls of music artists, shows, games and people

‣  he sits at his desk, which is cluttered, occasionally plays video games ( not as much as jean )

‣  zones out, looking at something random and blocks out a lot of what hange and levi says.

‣  yawns like 80 times in the span of an hour.

‣  drinks soda, or surfs the web.

‣  his bed is made, and he wears sweatshirts and sweats because like eren, he just got out of bed too.

‣  though connies bed is made, he still has clothes littered here and there, has a rack of shoes in the corner of his room ( he’s a sneaker head )

‣  most likely to not turn his camera on because he leaves the room to do god knows what.

‣  plays imessage games during the call.

‣  teases eren constantly.

‣  he won’t be AS dog-ish when he sees what you’re wearing, but he will say to himself, ‘she has some pretty nice tits’ and will probably text jean saying exactly that. but then he just moved on with his day.

‣  presents memes before the meeting to try and get levi to laugh. it doesn’t work.

HANGE-

≈ shes on her couch.

≈ wears casual outfits.

≈ ushers the boys to participate.

≈ very upbeat and happy.

≈ first person to make an interactive slideshow to get everyone to participate.

≈ shes into sending levi cat memes.

≈ has a cup of coffee next to her, plants and pictures of plants on her wall.

≈ likes to unmute people purposely if their mic is muted.

≈ emails back and fourth with armin and levi for plans for the upcoming meetings.

≈ she will not tolerate anyone disrespecting one another. kicking the boys out to stop them from harassing you about what you’re wearing.

HISORIA-

‹ her room is like a oasis, pastel walls, the vines on her walls and everything.

‹ diffuser in the background and incense.

‹ shes drinking coffee, always dressed, makeup on ( if she chooses to wear it ) and she attends these meetings on her laptop, sitting in front of her vanity.

‹ wears pretty blouses, or a summery dress, hair always fixed to perfection.

‹ sometimes her mom comes in, with cut up fruit and ice water, giving it to her and then leaving.

‹ she has framed pictures of her and everyone on her wall.

‹ also has honor roll certificates on her wall.

‹ she makes sure her vanity light is on so she has good lighting.

‹ also takes notes- color coordinating notes.

‹ she does participate, she laughs at the boys when they act up.

‹ also compliments everyone.

‹ when she catches the boys looking at you, she tells levi to make them knock it off, and then shakes her head in disappointment, ‘you all are so weird, leave y/n alone, you’re making her uncomfortable’

YMIR-

≍ shes usually propped up on her side, laying on her bed or the couch.

≍ she doesn’t participate unless she’s chosen to.

≍ keeps quiet, pays good attention.

≍ she sticks to wearing a sweatshirt and shorts or just a t shirt and leggings.

≍ clean room, warm blue sheets and gray walls.

≍ she gets furious when jean and eren go at it.

≍ shes gonna defend you against the boys pertaining to what you’re wearing, saying, ‘take your dirty eyes off of her’

≍ she doesn’t mind what you’re wearing, she thinks you look really good, but you wouldn’t catch her dead making a comment on your body.

≍ won’t admit it but it makes her flustered seeing how your body looks.

SASHA-

⇝ sits at her kitchen table.

⇝ eating full meals while the meeting takes place.

⇝ doesn’t hesitate to talk when her mouth is full so levi keeps her muted.

⇝ house is very home-y, warm and decorated well, her kitchen is seen in the background with her mom or dad occasionally walking past.

⇝ sometimes asking her mom to make her another sandwich, ( after her third one ).

⇝ always laughing with connie and jean.

⇝ sticks to casual outfits, sweatshirt and leggings, hair always up.

⇝ no filter, so if she catches eren or jean looking at you, she’s gonna jump into action.

⇝ ‘i know you’re not looking at her like that!’

⇝ ‘you better stop looking at her before i go over there!’

⇝ ‘captain if you don’t kick these fools out right now i’ll go over there and kick their asses instead!’

[angrylizardjacket]

shouldn’t be anything like me // Penny&Jupiter

Summary: Jupiter’s going on tour.

A/N: 11324 words. this is for @misscharlottelee​ and myself because you probably don’t want to read an 11k article fic abt Lola’s kid on tour in the months after the dirt’s release, but if you care about that, or about world building and fake albums...... please read. please read anyways i love this.

{ run to paradise masterlist }

Born With Stars In Their Eyes: on the road with JUPITER, the artist determined to break out of their parents shadow.

          ORIGINALLY PITCHED as an exposé on the oft-forgotten origins of one of the biggest names in Post-Pop EDM, following JUPITER on their Ancient Sins tour, just months after the release of the Netflix film about their family, this article has turned to so much more since the announcement of their invitation to join the 2019 EST FEST lineup, with known rival Machine Gun Kelly.

JUPITER today is known best by their single-word moniker, for being both a talented musician, vocalist, and spokesperson for The Trevor Project, an organisation focused on aiding the LGBT+ community, and has been very vocal regarding their own identity as a nonbinary, pansexual individual. In the past, they’ve fronted bands under the name Lisa Lotte Lee, most notably Childhood Knife Fight, and it’s a little know fact that they have been a major sponsor for the professional skater ‘Seo’ for over half a decade, but that’s not where their strange and wonderful story begins.

          SITTING OPPOSITE me in a cafe in down-town Miami, JUPITER wears a pastiche of pastel garments, the most notable of which is the mesh, lilac crop-top with a black planet stenciled on the back; it’s a cool, summery look, showing off some of their own branded merchandise, and it compliments their royal purple hair. It’s July, sunny and almost overwhelmingly hot outside of this air-conditioned oasis that they’d picked out for us to meet in.

“What would you like to know?” They’re no nonsense, straight to the point, and at such an open-ended question, I’m at a loss. I want to know everything, I have so many questions but don’t seem to know how to ask any off them as they fix me with a cool, unblinking stare. It’s unnerving. JUPITER orders a hazelnut latte and I finally ask how they got into music.

At this, they already give pause. Our drinks haven’t even arrived yet.

“Well, it’s in my blood,” they say, humorlessly, “everyone and their dog knows my dad is Tommy Lee, the drummer for Motley Crue.” Our drinks are placed in front of us and I must admit to them that I was aware of this. “While I have a background in music, through both of my parents, though you probably wouldn’t be aware of the full story there, I have never used my name or any connections people think I might have, in order to try and,” they pause for a moment, hesitating, “[sic] make myself more famous, I guess.”

I am assured that I’ll get the full story during the tour, however for now, we settle in and I ask about how production has gone on their latest album.

[Image ID: The cover of JUPITER’s latest album, I Remember Your Sins. It is black and white, Jupiter stands to the left, and has dark hair down to their shoulders. Their torso is covered by an image cut out of a woman wearing a black, mesh tank top with her hands in her jean pockets, and Jupiter’s legs and feet are covered by a second cut out image of a man in white short-shorts and ripped fish-net stockings. The background is pale grey, with a dark grey floor, JUPITER’s name sits on the righthand side of the image, with a pale grey line-art planet behind the “I”, and the name of the album is printed in rough typefont, all lowercase, emulating newspaper cut outs. The whole image has a black border that is thicker on the left and right sides. End ID.]

(Editor’s Note: The two images that cover JUPITER’s body are famous stills of their parents, the torso being Lola Sixx from an image taken in 1981 that was published in The Dirt: Confessions of the Most Notorious Rock Band, while the legs are an image of Tommy Lee from a Motley Crue photoshoot from the early 1980s.)

          “I SUPPOSE it’s tied in to my whole family thing; I started work on my album near the start of filming for [The Dirt], and so now that people who are invested in my family know who I am, I’ve gained a strange new following, who sort of expect me to be just like my family, I guess?”

For those at home who aren’t aware, The Dirt is a Netflix original film that was released earlier this year, following the highs and lows of the band Motley Crue. In the film, JUPITER’s father, Tommy Lee [played by Colson Baker] sleeps with the band’s long-time assistant Lola [played by Alicia McIntyre] which ends up destroying his marriage to Heather Locklear [played by Rebekah Graf], mirroring real-life events, or so we were lead to believe.

“God f****** knows that I’m the last person in the world who would ever defend Lola f****** Sixx,” and as I wait for a follow up 'but’, I realise I may just be waiting forever, “so I won’t. My mom was a wild b****, but she was more than just a piece of a** to them, especially to dad. The movie’s kind of a s***show in that aspect,” JUPITER will later tell me, rolling their eyes, speaking both crudely and candidly about their own mother. They will go on to explain, in brief, that their mother had been emotionally involved with the band on a much deeper level than was portrayed in the film, even going as far to say that she and Tommy had been in love when JUPITER had been conceived, despite his marriage to the then-starlet Locklear.

But I digress, back in the present, in the cafe, they explain to me more about the album they’d just released, about the tour we were about to embark on, not that I hadn’t heard the full album, since it was part of my research for this piece, though it’s always fascinating to get an insight into the process.

          I REMEMBER Your Sins is their second full length album under the name JUPITER, consisting of ten songs, including the three singles you probably already know. The first to be released in the wake of the film’s release was a collaboration with one of JUPITER’s long-time professional rivals, Machine Gun Kelly, which came as a surprise to fans of both artists. The pair had been asked to collaborate on a song for the film, with each having a verse in the newly re-edited and re-released single The Dirt (Est. 1981), though their public rivalry goes way back to the release of JUPITER’s first album, Stonehearted, in 2017, around the same time as MGK’s Bloom album was being released. Since the film, however, there has been no public disagreements between the two, and JUPITER and MGK both feature on each other’s 2019 albums.

For MGK’s Hotel Diablo, JUPITER features heavily in Burning Memories with their own verse, surprising fans as Jupiter sings candidly about the toll the their parents’ lifestyle took on their childhood. MGK’s appearance on JUPITER’s I Remember Your Sins, however, on the surprisingly suggestive Anatomic, alludes heavily to the surprisingly sordid personal history the two artists share, while being coy about confirming anything the whole time. We’ll come back to that single later, trust me, there’s more to that story.

Beyond Anatomic, of course the second single is the beat-heavy and haunting Earhart Under Pressure, which still has people speculating about the story behind it, with lyrics that include;

If I could see the mirrors in your eyes / who would we see? / Because they tell me that I look like you / but you look nothing like me. / Smash the mirrors / inhale the glass / could I get as high as you? / High like you still wanna be?

The song is a collaboration between JUPITER and Penelope Dingley-Lee, and I am led to believe it is a poignant reflection on the experiences they shared growing up in the shadow of their parents’ immense legacies. For those of you who are unaware of who Penelope Dingley-Lee is, she is JUPITER’s real life cousin, and is the daughter of the late Charlotte Lee, cousin to Tommy Lee, and one of LA’s most prominent 80s socialites, and Nicholas “Razzle” Dingley, drummer for British rock band Hanoi Rocks who passed in 1984 during a car crash that Vince Neil was responsible for.

While not known for her musical inclinations, it’s clear that Penelope has talent and potential, and the way her voice cracks in the second verse of the song is a moment of raw emotion that I have rarely heard captured in a studio recording.

The third and final single from the album, however, is the the one I’m really intrigued about; bog mummy, the breakout dance hit that seems to not fit in with the rest of their repertoire. It’s the enthusiasm and pace of Bluejuice’s Vitriol meets the heart and strange nostalgia of Ed Sheeran’s Castle on the Hill. You’ve heard it on the radio, in the clubs, in trendy stores all across the country, you know the lyrics without even thinking;

F**k it up / get up, and out there / jump / nothing defines the dead / don’t care if I’m busted up / you’re only gonna cry / if you let yourself down / so f**ck it up / get up, and out there / jump.

When I ask about it, JUPITER actually smiles.

“bog mummy was a collaboration with my siblings, actually, written for - and, well, by - my oldest brother Leo, and produced by my youngest brother Cyrus; Cy’s been wanting to break out into producing and Leo convinced me to give him a shot. It’s not my usual style, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love the track. Leo’s not one for song writing, but he’s sort of a bizarre, chill dude, so every time he says like, some cool line off the top of his head, I’ll jot it down, and a lot of the lyrics came from that. He titled it too.”

This information comes as a surprise to me. While I was aware that JUPITER had two half-brothers, actor Brandon Lee, and musician Dylan Lee, born to Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson in the late 90s, Leo and Cyrus were names I thought I was unfamiliar with, until I realised JUPITER was talking about Lola Sixx’s children with her current husband, Nikki Sixx. They’re a little cagey about that, but admit that they have three half-siblings on their mother’s side; Leo Nicholas, Cyrus Michael, and Cerie Ellen. The conversation is changed quickly after this.

          THE FULL track list for I Remember Your Sins (2019) is as follows:

Good Grief and Alas! (Intro)

Earhart Under Pressure ft. Penelope Dingley-Lee

Deadly Virtues ft. Halsey

Our Ancient Sins

An Incomplete List Of Things My Therapist Doesn’t Want Me To Write Songs About - Interlude

Theirs ft. King Princess

Hollow At The Core

Wheel of Eyes

Resurrect Me In Any Image But Yours - Interlude

If The Soul Is Unwilling

Anatomic ft. Machine Gun Kelly

Heavenly Vices

Support Group For The Children Of Rock Stars - Interlude ft. Penelope Dingley-Lee, Cyrus Sixx, Leo Sixx, & Cerie Sixx

bog mummy

It’s not long until we’re leaving, the promise of more information regarding the album during the trip being given, and I head to my car where I’ve gotten all my clothes packed for the next three months on the road.

          THE TOUR is set to head up and along the East Coast, before waving through the land-locked portion of our great nation, ending after a trip down the West Coast, in JUPITER’s home state of California. There’s talks of extending the tour internationally, but nothing has been officially announced as of yet.

As I wait in the hot sun for the tour bus to come and pick me up, I take the time to reflect on the meeting; the most notable thing about JUPITER is how guarded they are to speak to, not out of years of public relations training, as one might expect, but rather it’s a facet of their personality. Having interviewed their mother, Lola Sixx, on the red carpet for The Dirt several months ago, it’s clearly an inherited trait, though I assume they’d be adverse to that particular insight if I were to bring it up.

Once upon the bus, I am quick to find that in the presence of their band and their manager Penelope, JUPITER is far calmer, less tense. The band is made up of other talented and outspoken member of the LGBT+ community, who all share a similar ‘cool and vaguely unapproachable’ vibe as JUPITER themselves, but once we’ve been on the road for a few hours, the unapproachable wears off.

Penelope Dingley-Lee herself is the spitting image of her mother, though after having heard Earhart Under Pressure, I keep that opinion to myself, as I’m sure she’s heard it countless times before. Blonde, smartly dressed, and outgoing, she is a curious counterpoint to JUPITER’s reserved nature. She shakes my hand, introduces herself to me with a smile, and jokes about how she hopes JUPITER didn’t give me any trouble. This I find baffling, and it must read on my face, because Penelope seems to realise her mistake and is quick to explain that she’s known JUPITER far too long to not ‘pre-empt their shenanigans’. It’s here that I am informed that after her parents’ passing, Penelope was raised by Tommy Lee primarily, alongside Lola Sixx, and in part by Pamela Anderson, as JUPITER’s sibling.

At first glance they do not look alike, so you’ll have to forgive my initial surprise; maybe there's some similarities in their cheek bones, something about their equally slim builds, but they just as easily could have been friends as they could have been family. It only takes hearing them in conversation to confirm Penelope’s words, and to realise they've obviously spent their lives together. The usually somewhat reserved JUPITER all but moons over Penelope, and seems surprised when I admit to initially not knowing much about her.

We're seated in the uncomfortable little booth by the kitchenette in the tour bus, on our way to Jacksonville, a few hours in to the drive. JUPITER and Penelope share one side of the booth, more than comfortable with casual contact in the limited space, side by side, Penelope's arm thrown over the back of the sofa while JUPITER is playing with a loose piece of thread on the older woman's sweater.

"Our family has always sort of kept me out of the spotlight," Penelope admits, and though it appears as though JUPITER wants to make comment, judging by their snicker, Penelope gives them a look that they don't see, and she tells them, "don't."

My confusion, again, must show on my face when JUPITER looks up, because they catch my reaction and simply smirk, looking to Penelope.

"That's because they actually care about you."

"You are such an edgelord; I thought you and Lola were on better terms since [the premiere of The Dirt]," is Penelope's response, accompanied by a roll of the eyes that is almost painfully familiar, and for just a moment, she's the picture of her mother. Despite JUPITER’s documented grievances with their family, they clearly bare no ill will towards Penelope as they give her a helpless shrug, resting their chin on her shoulder. For just a moment, I feel as though I'm watching a memory, a recording of Lola Sixx and Charlotte Dingley as they had often been in the background of Motley Crue footage back in the 80s, amusing themselves.

Later, JUPITER will tell me that yes, they and their mother are working on reconciling their rocky relationship, but they refuse to divulge any further than that.

[ID: Four images.

The top left image is of Charlotte Lee in 1983, a polaroid published in The Dirt: Confessions of the Most Notorious Rock Band. Charlotte is a light skinned woman with fair hair that comes down to her chest, and brown eyes. She is wearing a oversized brown, knitted sweater with flower prints, over a brown button-down, and large, black, circular earrings. She is looking into the camera, and her left hand is raised, with her chin resting lightly on her knuckles. The bottom left image is Penelope Dingley Lee in 2019, taken from her Instagram, @penelopedingley. Penelope is a pale woman with blonde hair pulled into a tight bun, and blue eyes. She is wearing a white sweater with a deep neckline, and her left hand is raised to her cheek, her head tilted slightly to rest against her hand.

The top right image is in black and white, and is of Lola Sixx in 1982, taken from Circus magazine’s online archive, originally published in December, 1982. Lola is a tan woman with dark hair that comes down to her shoulders, wearing an open, collared jacket with nothing underneath. She is looking directly at the camera. The bottom right image is of JUPITER in 2018, taken from their Instagram, @publicenemyinorbit. JUPITER is tan, with dark hair that comes down to their shoulders. They’re wearing a black blazer and their chest is bare apart from the string of a black bra across. They hold a cigarette in their left hand.

End ID.]

             I’M INTRODUCED to the rest of the band quickly; the rhythm section is comprised of Olivier and Archer Roach, a sister and brother on drums and bass respectively. You may recognize them from their stage-wear, which favours Day-Glo green, a surprisingly complimentary color against their dark skin. Olivier keeps her hair buzzed short, while Archer sports a set of the tallest liberty spikes I’ve ever seen, both apparently keeping up a consistent bleach and dye schedule to match their hair to their outfits at all times. A formidable duo, each sporting enough piercings to set off any metal detector, they, like JUPITER, are quite reserved to begin with, but once they warm to you they become almost dangerously funny.

Bernadette Yekanians, whom everyone refers to as Beans, plays lead guitar in pastel pink. It’s her first tour; she’s easily excited, drinks a lot of coffee, and quickly becomes a good friend of mine. She knows everyone’s drink orders by heart, and always brings extra water bottles in her bag to hand out in the dressing rooms before a show, while also being the first to tell me any time a piece of gossip surfaces.

The dark horse of the band, however, is Roan Young, ironically the oldest member of the band, though he still manages to be the closest to JUPITER in age, and he barely speaks a word. Dressed down in subtly-pattered button-ups and crisp, black jeans, he plays keyboard like it’s his calling in life while apparently trying to chain smoke a watermelon vape; he is the only one who doesn’t sing backup vocals, but he has a surprisingly expressive face, and a very calm aura, if you believe in that sort of thing. The moment I extend my hand to him, he gives me a very deliberate look over, not in a leering way, it’s more evaluative than anything else, and thankfully he must see something he likes, because he gives me a nod and shakes my hand.

None of them ever look like they’re going to the same event, yet somehow, together, they all make sense.

             EACH MEMEBER of the band is eager to talk to me about the new album, each with their own favourite songs, and different insights on what went into the track, their own experiences separate from JUPITER’s, and over the first week, the first few stops of the tour, I get to hear them all.

Beans sprains her ankle during bog mummy while playing at Rockingham, North Carolina, and confines in me after the show that while she enjoyed the smash hit, her favourite song to both listen to and play was Deadly Virtues.

“[JUPITER]’s voice is like honey on the studio recording,” she tells me, “like, they always get so intense whenever this one comes up, and-” in her excitement, she’d made the strapping on her ankle too tight, and is, for the barest moment, put out as she rights it, but is quick to recover and finally, she turns back to me, “and it was so lovely to work with Halsey! She’s so talented, you know, and it just- so I came across this playlist on Spotify that opened with Deadly Vices, it was called, Songs to F**k or Murder To, I think, [sic] and I was like, you know, you right!”

             THEY DON’T play the full track list of the album, with the introduction, all three of the interludes, as well as Earhart Under Pressure, Anatomic, and Hollow At The Core, being left off of the setlist, but they supplement those with some of the singles JUPITER has released, both from their last album, and in the time since, the songs people are more familiar with. This includes the 2017 Summer break out hit The Shot That Killed Achilles, as well as the hype anthem that is King of the Castle, the bass drop of which always causes crowds to all but lose their minds.

King of the Castle happens to be Roan’s favourite song to play, he confides in me. We’re sitting in a roadside diner on the border of Texas; he’s changing the coil in his vape pen with a practiced precision, not looking at me. The rest of the band is at the counter, all clustered together and reading the menu, while Penelope and our driver are talking by the tour bus. When I ask Roan to elaborate, ask him what he likes about the song, he says, “the start,” and doesn’t look up from where he’s carefully putting a new coil in with tweezers.

I’m well aware that he’s not particularly talkative, however after this I do observe him closely during the following night’s performance. The studio recording of King of the Castle features a sample of audio from the sitcom Community, Season 3, Episode 21: The First Chang Dynasty, wherein one of the characters plays a fast and messy series of notes on a keytar twice, holding the final note each time, followed by a clip of one of the characters saying ‘you’re still into keytar?’ as the song starts. It’s a song that gets you hyped up, the first two verses, as well as the first chorus, serving a buildup for the bass drop that hides the key-change in the bridge before the second chorus. The song goes hard for it’s full three and a half minutes, and it’s the first viral hit the band had.

On stage, Roan and his keyboard begin the song in a spotlight, the iconic, well known quick notes delivered as an excited hush falls over the crowd; they all know what’s coming, they’ve been waiting for it. Then, the laugh in Beans’ voice, ‘you’re still into keytar?’ is the cue for lights to flood the stage, and the Roach siblings to crash through the beginning of the song, and JUPITER jumps about stage singing for the audience to dance like there’s nobody watching. As the tension and music is building all through the second verse, Roan is in his element, his work reminding me strikingly of the keyboard in Holding Out For A Hero by Bonnie Tyler, right up until the music reaches it’s peak, the band goes dead silent, and JUPITER snarls into the microphone, “The king is dead!” and holds out their microphone to the audience, glowing with the sweat of exertion, breathing heavily as shouts back the lyrics they know all too well;

LONG LIVE THE KING!

The bass drops, and JUPITER collapses onto the stage, breathing heavily and beaming at the feeling of their band still playing around them, the crowd making the venue shake with how enthusiastically their moving, the crowd chanting ‘The King is dead! Long live the King!’

They stay there for the remainder of the song, catching their breath and taking in the moment, letting the crowd go off with the coda of the song, raising the microphone to their lips only for the final words, taking a deep breath and hollering, “Off with my fucking head!” as the audience roars with praise, and finally, they get to their feet. Every time the song ends, I’ve come to realise, they look to Roan, and every time he will give them a single nod, and a rare smile, which always makes JUPITER grin in return. There’s a quiet understanding between them that a lot of people miss, and, when you finally come to behold it the way I have, you appreciate the stability Roan provides, both to the band, and to JUPITER, more than you would realise.

          JUPITER, I’M told by several source, the band and Penelope included, lacked a sense of stability earlier in their life, which was at the time conductive to their creativity, but it was also conductive to the temper they had inherited from both parents. The most well known incident, of course, was the bar fight from 2010, wherein a patron had verbally harassed JUPITER, then fronting Childhood Knife Fight under the stage name Lisa Lotte Lee, about their family, and JUPITER had leapt from the stage and gotten into a fight with the patron. The patron did not press charges.

“We were there,” Olivier tells me, delighted to recount the story, “that’s why we wanted to be in a band with them, [sic] f****** nuts, we loved it.” She’s referring, of course, to herself and her brother, who’s currently restringing his bass several feet away.

“Had to wait, they had a whole dark period after that and we can’t really blame them, but we made friends with Roan after the show. He seemed like the only one who still wanted anything to do with JUPITER after that night, [sic] all the paramedics and s***; the rest of the band left them both there. A******s.”

“Bunch of f****** a******s,” Archer doesn’t look up from his bass to chime in an agreement.

“Who?” Penelope, who had, up until this point, been backstage, joins us with a takeaway coffee in hand.

“Childhood Knife Fight, apart from Roan and JUPITER, of course,” Olivier holds out her hand expectantly to Penelope as she’s speaking, and Penelope doesn’t even seem to hesitates before handing over her drink.

“F****** a*******,” Penelope agrees with them both as Olivier takes a sip of her coffee and wrinkles her nose, handing it back, which devolves into a strangely domestic argument about how Olivier can’t stand how sweet Penelope likes her coffee, and Penelope arguing back that she could have waited five minutes for Beans to come back with everyone else’s drinks instead of stealing hers and complaining about it.

(Editor’s note: Childhood Knife Fight disbanded in 2013, and had not released any original musical content since Roan Young’s departure in 2011 on the basis of ‘creative differences’.)

             WHEN I ask about the siblings’ favourite songs, both to play, and on the album, they're unanimous in that bog mummy is their favourite to play; it’s intense and demanding to play, the final song of the setlist before possible encores, and just as it gets the audiences’ blood pumping, so too does it get the rhythm section of the band, the two who are heralded by the whole band as being the heart of the song’s live performance.

However, when I ask about their favourite songs on the album, their answers surprise me.

“JUPITER and I co-wrote Wheel of Eyes, so that one’s always going to hold a special place in my heart,” Olivier tells me after considering for a moment, “I don’t write a lot, but they came to me with this idea for a song about something that we both feel quite strongly about, which is that neither of us present ourselves in a way that is, for lack of a better phrase, [sic] palatable to those comfortable within the gender binary, nor does Archer, obviously, but he didn’t want anything to do with the lyrics.”

“What I loved about Stonehearted [JUPITER’s first album, 2017] and I Remeber Your Sins, and actually, what I love about JUPITER themselves, is how high-concept they can go while still managing to be relatable; Wheel of Eyes is all about, when you really look at what it’s saying, it’s about not looking like people expect you to, or want you to, but not caring because you like how you look, how you present yourself, and telling the world who doesn’t like you to get f*****,” the only time I think I’ve seen Olivier this passionate or excited was on stage, “and JUPITER took all this, and took the whole biblical-overtones they were going for with this album, and they looked at me and said, ‘okay by what if you could be a flaming wheel of eyes’ and I looked back without even thinking, after hours of working on this concept and this song, and said ‘that’s the dream’. It exactly captures what the song’s about, we want to be able to look however we want, and still be able to f*** up the people who criticize us because they don’t see the appeal in our look. We’re not made for your consumption. So, Wheel of Eyes.”  

When this question is posed to Archer, however, his answer is much simpler.

“Support Group for the Children of Rock Stars,” he tells me without hesitation, completely deadpan, surprisingly claiming the final interlude on the album as his favourite, “Seo Sixx is the funniest motherf***** on this planet and that is a fact.” Apparently, both he and Olivier agree on this, which surprises me, though Olivier teases her brother for having a crush on him, to which I am then let in on the in-joke that everyone on the tour, who isn’t related to him, has a crush on Leo ‘Seo’ Sixx, JUPITER’s half-brother.

Yes, including Roan, who shrugs, but doesn’t deny it.

Yes, including Beans, who has described herself on multiple occasions as ‘too gay to function’ and ‘a whole damn lesbian’.

“Have you ever seen a man so beautiful you started crying?” Beans asks me when I ask her about it. I’m not quite sure what she means, until she pulls out her phone and shows me the lock screen; it’s of a beautiful man with short, dark hair and dark eyes in a beige suit. She tells me it’s Leo Sixx, and that he’s her lock screen because it irks JUPITER; when she calls out to the rest of the band, they each reveal to have the same photo of Leo as their lockscreen, including Penelope, while JUPITER rolls their eyes.

The fascinating part, however, is explained when Penelope joins us at the back of the bus. Leo Sixx, aged 26, six years younger than JUPITER, has only once shown his face publicly since turning 18, and no pictures are publicly available of him before then. The photo that each member of the band has as their lock screen is from that public appearance, from the premiere of The Dirt, and when I question if it’s because he’s a private figure, Penelope actually laughs.

I am ashamed to say that it is only now that I am made aware of the connection between Leo Sixx, and the professional skateboarder Seo, whom JUPITER is a known sponsor of.

[ID: Three images of Leo ‘Seo’ Sixx, in color.

The first is from Leo Sixx’s public Instagram, @fourwheelsixx, and is his most recent post as of this publication. It’s photo of Leo Sixx from the waist up. He is wearing a black hoodie pulled tight around his face, so all that is visible is one eye, and a small section of his cheek. Both his hands are giving peace signs, however his right hand is closer to the camera. There is a fire alarm on the grey wall behind him.

The second is from Leo Sixx’s Instagram story in 2017, archived by tumblr user @boyswhoride. It is a very close, partial shot of Leo Sixx’s face as he is drinking dark liquid from a glass that had two golden decorative bands printed on it, with a fleur de lis pattern near the top. The glass obscures most of his face so that all that can be seen is his eyes looking down at the glass, and his hand holding the glass. He wears a thick, silver ring on his middle finger. He is tan.

The third is a Getty Images photo of Leo Sixx from The Dirt premiere in 2019, reposted first on Cerie Sixx’s public Instagram, @ceriethree, initially posted alongside nine other photos from the premiere. It is an image of Leo Sixx from the chest up. Leo is a pale man with short, dark hair that is slightly mussed. His eyes are dark, and he has a faint moustache and goatee. He wears a pale, beige,, tartan suit jacket, and a button-up shirt with a black and cream honeycomb pattern. His left hand is raised and in his hair.

End ID.]

(Editor’s note: The second image is the only image of Leo Sixx that was publicly available before 2019 where his face was unobscured by his hoodie, glasses, or some other material.)

          IT SURPRISES me to find out that the way to get JUPITER to speak honestly about their family is not by asking about their parents, as this just makes them shut down, obviously sick of being asked about that. Instead, they granted me a surprisingly raw and honest insight into their family history when I asked about their siblings. Something about sitting in a diner in the middle of Boston, Lola Sixx’s hometown, getting dinner with just JUPITER before a show, feels oddly fitting for me to be asking these questions.

“Pam - Pamela Anderson,” JUPITER clarifies, surprising me with how they begin, “was a lovely stepmom for a few years, honestly, she really tried. I know it wasn’t easy on her, but she was actually in my life a lot more than Lola was for the years she and dad were married.” They hesitate for a moment, suddenly uncomfortable with the direction their own recollections have taken, “and it’s not my place to discuss what went down between her and dad, but we’re still on good terms. So when they split up, she took Brandon and Dylan; they were just babies at the time, but I was about ten, I think, and I knew why it was happening, but at the same time, it didn’t really make sense, if that makes sense? Brandon and Dylan are just as much my brothers as Seo and Cyrus, but they always felt more like Pam’s sons, rather than my brothers. Pam ended up getting full custody of them after a few years of joint custody, and dad being an asshole about it and trying to incite his own sons against their mom. It was f*****, they were toddlers,” and even as they say it, JUPITER sounds horrified at recounting what their father had done, “he was never awful to the boys, and it was never overt, but it was insidious, you know? Stuff that Penny and I, when we would hear it, we knew better than to internalize that kind of negativity since we’d known her just as long as dad had, and we knew he was just angry, but we were like - I think I was eleven then? And Penny would have been about fourteen? - but those boys were so impressionable, parroting everything they heard, you know? I’m actually glad she got full custody at the time, honestly.” Letting out a long, suddenly exhausted breath, they sit back in the booth with their arms crossed, looking up at the ceiling; all I can do is keep quiet, hanging on their every word.

“But it was a really rough time, especially since Penny and I were still living with him during the week; [Child Protective Services] had this whole big investigation into our situation, so Penny and I ended up lived with Lola and Nikki for about six months too, since Lola’s, you know, my mom, and she and dad legally adopted Penny when she was six. Losing literally all of his kids essentially at once hit dad like a f****** bus. At least he cleaned up his act after that, actually got some serious therapy; that’s the only thing I can remember me and Lola agreeing on in those six months, is that that’s something dad really needed. But I actually got really close with Seo, even though he was about six at the time, the kid followed me like a little duck, but I couldn’t wait to get out of that house, get away from Lola and Nikki and the twins, who’s just been born.”

“They told me it was different when I was a baby, but Lola and dad were actually together then; for what feels like my whole childhood, I saw Lola at holidays and birthdays, and maybe for a few days every other month. Even when dad wasn’t there, I was in his house; nan and pop raised me and Penny pretty much every time dad went on tour, but I was just so f****** disconnected from Lola, you know? And then Seo was born and suddenly she and Nikki had me and Penny over every weekend, and then we had to live with them because all the CPS stuff, and all I ever saw was Lola coming home from work every day all f****** saccharine and happy smiles, making time to take care of Seo and Cyrus and Cerie, and [sic] I swear to you I have never been as mad in my life as I was for those six months when I was twelve. Seo understands a lot better than either of the twins, I think. He got the mid-range Lola experience; she was still kind of f***** in the latter-half of the nineties.”

“Sorry, I know this isn’t therapy, and thousands of people are probably going to end up reading this,” looking back at me again, it’s as if I’m snapped from my trance, and remember that we’re in the middle of a very public diner, “but, back to your original question; I’m closer with the Sixx-kids than I am with either of my Lee-brothers, because dad and Lola and Nikki, even now, are still weirdly close - not -” they’re quick to clarify with a hint of self deprecation, “- as close as they were in the eighties - but with Pam, after her first split from dad, I don’t know, I just never had the same sense of connection with Dylan and Brandon.”

“I’m just glad Penny’s legally my sister, she’s the only one I actually like,” they end with a joke, and I’m glad to feel the tension leaving the conversation. I know that Penelope Dingley-Lee’s place in the family is a whole other can of worms, so for now I will leave it closed. For tonight, it’s enough for me to muse on.

Later, side of stage as the band is warming up, I do tentatively ask Penelope why JUPITER may have been so forthcoming, and she gives me a look that I can’t quite read, a look which, while it’s a strange look on Penelope, is reminiscent of something I have seen in old interviews of Charlotte Lee, when asked about Motley Crue’s less than polite antics and reputation.

“JUPITER hates Boston,” I’m surprised, I hadn’t picked up on this at all, they’d seemed perfectly at home and calm in the diner earlier, despite our topic of conversation, “we’ve got family out here. You saw [The Dirt], you know what happened between Lola and her mom,” I do, vaguely, as does everyone else.

             FOR ALL that Motley Crue have been open with their various pasts, Lola Sixx had never been particularly outspoken about her childhood before running away to LA with Nikki Sixx at the age of sixteen. Her two chapters in The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band had come in to talk more about Charlotte Lee’s disappearance, and then again later when she and the band had gone into rehab after her self having died twice. The large scars that have covered her back, while a staple part of her look during the late eighties and early nineties, went largely unexplained until the film alluded to her own mother being the cause of them.

“We have an Uncle out here, Milo; for all that Lola hates her own mom, she did actually reconnect with Milo back in, like, 2007? But he’s a nurse, and currently their mom’s live-in carer, so Lola hasn’t spoken to him for almost five years. He’s not that much older than me and JUPITER.”

             IT’S ONLY when I’m laying in my uncomfortable hotel bed after another successful show, now with Beans, my designated roommate, asleep and snoring in the bed next to me, that I find myself ruminating on what JUPITER and Penelope have said, and how, if at all, it relates to JUPITER’s music. While at first glance, Earhart Under Pressure is the most personal song on the album, and while that is certainly true in regards to both JUPITER and Penelope’s relationship with their family and their self image, I’ve always been fascinated with Resurrect Me In Any Image But Yours - Interlude, and just how much it says about JUPITER in words they had not written themselves.

Resurrect Me In Any Image But Yours - Interlude is a strange song that stands out among the track list for I Remember Your Sins, a lofi interlude comprised of different voices reading short prose and poetry, and three separate audio samples from Bojack Horseman.

It’s important to note that each of the samples from Bojack Horseman include Jupiter’s voice layered beneath the original audio, saying the quotes almost in sync with it.

The following pieces comprise Resurrect Me In Any Image But Yours - Interlude:

“Sometimes i feel like i was born with a leak, and any goodness i started with just slowly spilled out of me, and now it's all gone. And I'll never get it back in me. It's too late.” - Bojack Horseman

“I liked the idea of living in a city — any city, especially a strange one — liked the thought of traffic and crowds, of working in a bookstore, waiting tables in a coffee shop, and nobody knowing who I was.“ - The Secret History by Donna Tartt.

“You come by it honestly, the ugliness inside you. You were born broken, that's your birthright. There’s no cure for that.” - Bojack Horseman

“You wear an ancestor’s face. In that mirror, there’s thousands of you, and in the bath, when you look down, they look back, shaking and deforming in the ripples as they lie beneath the surface.” - Unknown

“I come from poison. I have poison inside me, and I destroy everything I touch. That's my legacy. I have nothing to show for the life that I've lived, and I have nobody in my life who's better off for having known me.” - Bojack Horseman

“Tell me how it is, being the sun. You could walk into a room and they’d all be watching you. They’d all get down on their knees. I ask you how it is, and you say, “It hurts. It hurts.” - Sunlit by R. Wright

“You were burned, you were about to burn, you’re still on fire.” - straw house, straw dog by Richard Siken

If you will allow me to editorialize for a moment, I have spent almost a month trying to decipher this piece in my mind, and I believe finally I have come to understand it. This song is Jupiter trying to reconcile their past and their present, and their identity, through their music, and not exactly liking the conclusion that they’ve come to. Listening to it with an understanding JUPITER’s context, it’s it’s own kind of tragic. JUPITER’s fear of repeating their parents mistakes has been an heavily implied theme in more than a few of their songs on this album, most notably in Our Ancient Sins and Heavenly Vices, but never has it been more blatant than it is here. Factoring in the knowledge that JUPITER’s mother herself had a negative childhood, it gives a voice to the fear of this not only being just an inherited trait from Lola’s scandalous young lifestyle, but a generational cycle, as if JUPITER was doomed before they were conceived, as if they’re aware, in part, that Lola was too. Even the title itself plays into this, considering the constant comparison drawn between Lola and JUPITER.

The whole world knows of the nasty and hedonistic antics Motley Crue and their associates got up to at the height of their popularity, and now with the release of The Dirt, that image of debauchery has just been reinforced in the public’s eye, it’s no wonder that JUPITER, who is choosing to go down a somewhat similar career path, is afraid of repeating those mistakes, considering they and their cousin Penelope, the person with whole they have often admitted they are closest to, more than almost anyone else have had to bare the consequences of their family’s poor decisions.

             A LOT happens during our next stop, New York, enough that I don’t have time to discuss with Penelope her thoughts and experiences as part of JUPITER’s family. Instead, not only do we get to spend time with another member of JUPITER’s family, but JUPITER releases a music video the afternoon before their first night at Madison Square Garden.

When we arrive in town just after midday, JUPITER’s the one who suggests going out for lunch, advising that both their sister, and, much to my confusion, Machine Gun Kelly [MGK], are in town. The resturant they have chosen is surprisingly upscale, and it’s rather delightful to see the band in contrast to the much more traditional lunchtime diners. At a large table by the window, Cerie Sixx and Machine Gun Kelly are already waiting.

             IN 2017, MGK’s song Bad Things, created in collaboration with Camilla Cabello, had won the Radio Disney Music Award for Best Musical Collaboration, beating, among others, Medusa by JUPITER, which featured Blondie’s front woman Debbie Harry. JUPITER, less than impressed with the result, took to Twitter to praise Cabello’s talents, but lament that they were ‘unfortunately wasted on another average white boy’s song about sex’. Of course, when several celebrity news outlets picked up the story, and MGK’s retweet that comprised of a sarcastic apology about how ‘we can’t all write songs about how our famous parents suck’, the feud became public.

“It was never a private feud; it started on Twitter, sometimes it was mentioned in interviews, we never put it in our music because it wasn’t, like, real beef, but I have never taken back anything I have ever said about him,” JUPITER, sitting next to MGK, leaning against him, tell me as we wait for our food to be delivered, “society has moved past the need for white boys to write songs about heterosexual sex.”

“So if I wrote about you...?” MGK’s tone speaks volumes, which appears to delight JUPITER, and kind of horrify the rest of the band, and their siblings. At least for me, and probably for my future readers, however, this conversation is turning into a series of expectation-shattering confirmations.

“I’d be delighted,” JUPITER responds to him, before addressing me once more, “for the record, before you ask, Anatomic is my song that he’s featuring on; I’m not featuring on some white boy’s song about sex.”

“I’m featuring about their song about sex, and they’re featuring on my song about hating parents,” at least they both seem to be self aware, and find the humor in the irony.

As lunch is wrapping up, however, Penny surprises us all by announcing that their music video is apparently ready for publication.

          I HAVE always wondered, readers, what the moment before a natural disaster occurs feels like, but something about this moment felt pretty darn close; like dogs that can sense an Earthquake, like a surfer watching the tide disappear before a tidal wave, like watching Mount Vesuvius erupt from Pompeii, we were eating overpriced desserts like nothing was wrong while the internet proceeded to explode.

If you were one of the first to watch the music video for Anatomic, there’s a good chance you watched it before either JUPITER or MGK had, neither one having seen the final product, but both admitting to be too nervous to watch it in public. At the table, we all wait too, as some sort of curtesy, and once we’re all finished and heading to the venue, they give us their blessing to watch it as they’re getting into their own car. Everyone else refuses to get in after them, and advises that I keep my distance too; Penelope calls them quite disgusting, and actually snorts when I ask about their so-called feud. It’s not that I was blind to their closeness at lunch, but I’d rather not print unsubstantiated hearsay.

“It’s been over a year since they actually hated each other.”

When I turn my attention to Cerie Sixx, JUPITER’s younger sister, better known as the lifestyle and beauty influencer Cerie Three, to see if I could gain any further insight on their relationship, she, and Penny behind her, make identical faces of displeasure.

“I’m happy for them,” Cerie says, in a tone that says otherwise, “but it’ll always be weird that they hooked up while [The Dirt] was filming -”

“They never expressed interest in him while he was in costume or in character,” Penny’s quick to jump in, “Jup would kill me if I didn’t clarify.”

“Still weird;” Cerie says, “you didn’t see me or Cyrus going after Douglas, did you?” At this, Penny is tellingly silent, “they’ve always respected each other a lot more than either has let one,” Cerie explains, “they’re incredibly similar and work well together, their relationship isn’t a surprise.”

          I SHARE a car with both Penny and Cerie to MSG Stadium, eager to hear Cerie’s opinion on her sibling’s music in the short time that she’ll be spending with us, considering how much of JUPITER’s music is thematically linked to their family.  Between studying full-time in New York, and building her personal brand from her successful YouTube career, she doesn’t get the chance to spend much time with her LA-based family.

“Jup’s music’s always been fascinating to me, even if we’ve never been especially close. I love them dearly, but when I was younger, despite Penny spending weekends [sic] with us and mom, Jupiter, for as long as I can remember, lived with Tommy full time since they had a choice,” Penny, sitting beside Cerie, is looking between us both as the younger woman speaks, as if ready to smash the voice recorder in my hand at a moment’s notice should Cerie say anything damning by accident, though Cerie herself seems lost in thought, “it’s getting better now, I’m getting to know them when I can, which is nice, and for me, part of that is listening to their music.”

“Jup and I had the same mom, but it’s like we knew two completely different people, each of my older siblings is a what-if of me, where the main variable is ‘what if mom was different’, so I’m just trying to understand JUPITER, you know? I’m in my second year of Psychology, so hearing how they process all of their thoughts and feelings through music, it’s so interesting to me on that level too.”

Cerie and JUPITER were born twelve years apart, and though they share a few key similarities, that being the darkness of their hair, their olive complexion, the shape of their eyes, their differences reflect their fathers. JUPITER’s lean and wiry, with sharp cheekbones and hazel eyes, and a chaotic demeanour when the mood struck them, while Cerie is softer, with green eyes like her father, and seems far more down-to-Earth in her youth than JUPITER reportedly was. However, in moments like this, the introspective and analytical way they talk about themselves, about their families, and their understanding of their world, they sound similar, and like their mother did in her later years. 

For all that JUPITER dislikes comparisons being drawn between themself and their mother, they already, and please note that I mean this as a compliment, are something of a reflection of her better years.

But as soon as I have this thought, Cerie is pulling out her phone, eager to watch the new music video. 

             AND THAT afternoon in New York marks a turning point on tour.

I find myself sitting in one of Madison Square Garden’s greenrooms two and a half hours before the band is set to perform, hunched over my phone, watching Anatomic’s music video over and over again. I have been writing for several years now, and not once have I been part of a moment like this, or so captivated by an artist’s music video.

Anatomic’s video, in a word, is haunting.

[ID: A YouTube video embedded into the article. The thumbnail is of JUPITER and Machine Gun Kelly horizontal in frame, laying side by side on their backs, on operating tables, next to, and looking at, each other, only visible from their navels up. JUPITER is a tanned person with dark, shoulder-length hair; they are only wearing a simple, black sports bra, and there is black, dotted-line markings in marker on their torso, like guide lines. Machine Gun Kelly is a pale man with short, bleached-blonde hair. He is covered in tattoos from his neck-down, and his hands are tied to the table with leather cuffs by his sides. The background is a checkered pale blue and black floor. The image is cool-toned, and their expressions are neutral.

JUPITER ft. Machine Gun Kelly - Anatomic [official music video]

Video Description:

The whole video is taken in a single shot, the camera panning back agonizingly slowly the whole time, barely noticeable until you realise how much you can see of them at the end. Both MGK and JUPITER are on their backs, head to head, as the centerpiece for a table piled high with decadent platters of fruits and meats. Arms by their sides, they’re dressed in pale Grecian-style togas, though all that can be seen of either of them is of their chest and head.

The lighting has the shot looking like a Chiaroscuroan painting, the two singers cast in sharp relief by the light, highlighted on the table in their pale garbs while the food around them is saturated with rich, dark colours, and the floor beneath is practically invisible for the shadows. As they sing, hands reach out to messily snatch and grab at the food on the table, at two singers who refuse to react, even as feverish, desperate hands stain their attire, goblets of wine sloshing in their hurry from one set of hands to the next, snatching more food greedily, before being swallowed up by the dark too.

My ribcage like the doors you pry open / to get yourself under my skin. / See your fingerprints, your hands on my cold heart / how you staked your claim right from the start / I want to feel your touch from the outside-in.

I’d break every lens that seen your head / between someone else’s thighs. / ‘cause I’ve watched you fake love and fake laugh / and maybe I should be mad on the worlds’ behalf / since the way you are in my bed screams it’s all lies.

JUPITER has their eyes open, looking directly into camera, shifting from moment to moment as if in discomfort, or simply unable to stay still, hands clenching and unclenching by their sides, twitching when they’re touched, like they’re restraining themselves. The look in their eyes is desperate, and suddenly the movements read as wanton rather than uncomfortable. MGK has his eyes closed, laying still; someone presses a cherry to his lips, and he takes a bite before someone else snatches it away. Some else presses a bottle of dark wine to his lips, and thought he opens his mouth, they keep pouring wine until his mouth is overflowing; he doesn’t flinch. Once the bottle is snatched away, he closes his mouth, and swallows, the leftover dark liquid clinging to his cheeks and jaw in droplets.

But as the chorus comes in, the hands start snatching at the bowls, the plates, the napkins left over, and the table they’re laying on is a dull, silver metal, an operating table. MGK’s eyes open with the chorus too, and his voice joins JUPITER’s, his lyrics low and even, like a call and response, a strange answer to the words they sing.

I think your fingers were made to unthread me / (I need to touch you ‘til I can’t feel a thing) / Grinding me down to my base components / (I’ll tear you apart, baby I’ll make you sing) / Don’t be gentle with me, I’ll be rebuilt / (Repaired cracks with gold, fit for a king) / I see the Sword of Damocles hanging above / (I wonder who will snap and sever the string)

In the moments before the second verse, MGK’s verse, the light shifts dramatically, a white, overhead fluorescent overexposing the scene in a flash of white, revealing the old, checked hospital style floor. Everything is tinted blue and silver and dark grey, low contrast making the floor beneath the table and it’s brightly lit occupant look hazy, while even the faceless doctors’ scrubs and hairnets, the clipboards and diagrams, and the handles of scalpels being passed back and forth on a silver tray, were that same, artificially cool-toned and rather desaturated blue.

While MGK is seemingly distracted by the sudden light, throwing his arm up to shield his eyes, JUPITER is quickly rolled away. His verse starts as a pair of hands wearing blue rubber gloves grab his hand, forcing it back to the table and strapping it down, following suit with his other hand, and his feet, in old-timey brown leather straps, as he tries to look around for JUPITER as his verse starts, and he’s wheeled into the center, into the unflinching light.

Someone grabs his head, holding it in place while they wipe the wine from his face, while someone unties the garment from where it was fixed in place by his shoulder, pulling it from him, leaving what is visible in frame, which his from his navel up, exposed. Various sets of hands, all with blue gloves, pass medical equipment over the top of him, a diagram of a human body on a clipboard, dotted and sectioned like a dissection chart help up by his chest for reference.

Everyone wants to know everything / they wanna know me inside out / but you’re the only one / I’m ever fuckin’ thinkin’ about. / Got me scratched to shit, I’ve been dissected for fun, / motherfuckers who don’t hear me when I'm saying that you might be the one. / Got the exclusive, baby, I’m still dreamin’ ‘bout the way you move your hips, / they can all die jealous since I know the taste of your lips. / Let me let you love you like we’re sacrificial virgins tonight, / like it’s nothing and everything and I think I never want it to stop.

And JUPITER’s wheeled back out beside him for the chorus, their table being pushed beside his so they can share the center. They’re stripped down with only a set of black underwear for modesty, marked like the diagram, black lines as if to say ‘cut here’, but not bound. Neither is looking at the camera for the bridge, now side by side, they’re looking at each other, while faceless doctors untie MGK from the table.

Would I say yes to some peace if it meant I never saw you again? / Giving in to the chaos just to touch you, tryna’ keep myself sane. / Sayin’ yes to the peace, but without you there’s no peace in my brain. / Watch me revel in the chaos if it means you keep on screamin’ my name.

And then, four hands lift the table MGK had been laying on, angling it swiftly so he falls almost onto JUPITER, bracing himself at the last minute with a hand by their head as they’re both shoved into the center along with the table they now shared. We see that he’s wearing black briefs.

The whole scene shifts again, an impressive feat for a shot that still has not been interrupted by any sort of cuts since it started. Curtains drop all around them, and are pulled out of shot, allowing a breeze to faintly ruffle their hair, and flooding them both with the warm, fully saturated golden light of sunset. The flooring is pulled back to reveal lush, green grass, and this new lighting exposes the rough edges of the table they’re on, that they’re on a stone slab, like a sacrificial alter. This time, there’s no-one else around. The sunlight is coming at them from the direction MGK is facing as he sits back and straddle’s JUPITER’s thighs. They both glow golden at every point where the sun touches, arms, chests, faces, while everything behind MGK’s back is cast in shadows.

With his head tipped back to the sky and eyes closed, MGK takes to singing the main lyrics for the chorus, as JUPITER becomes his echo, his response, their fingers appear to be echoing the lines marked on themselves onto his body.

I think your fingers were made to unthread me / (I need to touch you ‘til I can’t feel a thing) / Grinding me down to my base components / (I’ll tear you apart, baby I’ll make you sing) / Don’t be gentle with me, I’ll be rebuilt / (Repaired cracks with gold, fit for a king) / I see the Sword of Damocles hanging above / (I wonder who will snap and sever the string)

I think your fingers were made to unthread me / (I need to touch you ‘til I can’t feel a thing) / Grinding me down to my base components / (I’ll tear you apart, baby I’ll make you sing)

JUPITER reaches up to caress his cheek, and he leans in, leans over them braces himself with one hand by their head, the other on their hip, making sure to lean to the right, to keep from covering JUPITER’s face, his face in profile with their hand on his cheek as JUPITER takes over singing the call, while he goes back to being their response.

I think your fingers were made to unthread me / (I need to touch you ‘til I can’t feel a thing) / Grinding me down to my base components / (I’ll tear you apart, baby I’ll make you sing)

As the song dips into the coda, we see figures begin to surround the pair, and the table, all clad in black robes but with strange, undefinable boxes instead of heads. One from each side holds out an ornate knife, and both reach out in perfect symmetry to taken one. They alternate singing lines here, almost like it’s a conversation, eyes only for each other, both grinning and mischievous even as they harmonize on the final line.

As they sing, MGK brings the knife up to stroke their cheek, dragging it down their throat, and then softly along the lines on their torso, while JUPITER slowly and carefully runs their own knife along his spine.

It’s my one kept promise, baby, I will be the best you’ll ever have. / It’s my worst kept secret, honey, I really love it when you tear me apart. / Is it so bad to wanna hear you to say it out loud? / Don’t want the world to know, I’m far too proud.

Can’t stop them asking questions so I guess it’s for the best; let’s just die young.

The song crashes to a close with the final line and they bring their knives to each other’s throats, and finally the camera begins to move, angling itself down to reveal the heads of each of the robed figures around them is a teleivision, with this exact moment - JUPITER laying on their back, MGK sitting over them, both in their underwear, both grinning from ear to ear and holding a knife to each other’s throats - playing on each and every screen. It’s a perfect sunset, the wind is blowing gently, they’re by a cliff overlook an ocean and we can hear the sound of crashing waves. Every single one of the TV-heads is angled towards the pair on the stone alter, leaning in, like something’s about to happen, while they’re nose to nose in this standoff.

Cut to black.

Since seeing it, I’ve thought about this video clip once per week. Both JUPITER and MGK have gone on to release more music videos, to work on more projects, and in case you hadn’t missed the news, they had also made their relationship public, but something about this video fascinates me.

Twitter user jxpxtr96 summed up my feeling on the situation quite well: I’ve never seen a couple with knives to each other’s necks where they were clearly just going to kill everyone else in the vicinity.

That night’s performance in something special, it’s like everyone was waiting for something to happen, like each song was leading up to something. As The Shot That Killed Achilles is winding down, and JUPITER gestures for the crowd to quiet down, the anticipation pays off. 

“Tonight’s a special night, folks, we’re all here in New York, and I ran into a friend who agreed to help me with the last few songs of the show; what do you say? You wanna give him a warm welcome?” The audience are hollering with excitement, and everyone on stage looks pleased by this reaction; with a nod to Olivier and Archer, Anatomic begins it’s first live performance, and the crowd goes from excited to deafening as MGK joins JUPITER on stage. 

Together, they close out the show, singing Anatomic, King of the Castle, Our Ancient Sins, and bog mummy, with Red String Song from their first album, and the 2016 single Ghost Stories as encore performances. 

As the final song ends, and the crowd shows no signs of quieting down any time soon, MGK wraps JUPITER in a hug and spins them around, setting off another round of cheering from an audience who sees the act as a confirmation of sorts, even as the rest of the band leave their various instruments on stage to congratulate the pair of singers themselves.

          TONIGHT, JUPITER will be invited to join EST FEST 2019. Tonight, JUPITER, Cerie, and Penny, will excuse themselves to video call the rest of their family, and I will later be informed that the call with Lola will leave JUPITER in tears, from the pride Lola expressed to them. Tonight is the night that JUPITER pinpoints to me, months later, where they felt the world finally started to see them for the artist they are, rather than simply their parents’ child.

Tonight there is definitely cause for celebration. 

(Editor’s note: Since this article has been written, Anatomic has won Best Alternative Video and Best Art Direction at the MTV Video Music Awards, 2019.)

[merrybrides]

Fun Spring and Summer Bridal Shower Ideas

Planning a wedding is a ton of work, even a virtual one. Aside from the actual reception and ceremony, there's the dress, the flowers, the cake, the bridesmaids… the list is so long it's stressing us out. That's where your bridesmaids come in. It's their job to plan the bachelorette party and most importantly, the wedding shower. So to help your lovely ladies of honor out, we've rounded up a list of bridal shower inspiration. 

1. Coral: These coral-colored wedding invites set the scene for an elegant soiree in a fresh hue. (via Minted)

2. Paper Tropical: Green doesn’t suit everyone as a color palette, so mix it up using pastels and summery shades. With paper, anything is possible. 

3. Retro Brunch: There’s a reason you’ve been collecting all that kitschy cute dinnerware. Put it to good use for your trendiest friends. 

4.  Lemon Theme is colorful and refreshing 

5. Slumber Party: No boys allowed. Need we say more? Iridescent unicorn streamers, PJs and balloons for all! 

6. Greenery provides the perfect excuse to eat all kinds of healthy snacks. 

7. Outdoor Movie Night: You probably haven’t done this since you were a kid, but a movie night outside is the epitome of summer fun. Don’t forget to rig a wicked sound system, otherwise you’ll all be crowded around your laptop speakers. 

8. Ice cream Social: Dust off your finest ice cream scoop, and start looking for the best waffle cones. A retro vibe is lots of fun, but you could update it to suit your needs. 

9.Moroccan Oasis: Instead of placing floral arrangements in vases, hang them among balloon lights and air plant terrariums for some unexpected drama. Rock the Kasbah! 

10. Roller Disco: Gather the squad for some roller derby action and bust out the jams and disco balls. Bonus points for jumpsuits, big hair, and way too much eyeshadow. Boogie night references are welcome.

11. Waffle Brunch

12. Lilly Pulitzer: Finally, an opportunity to use every single color of tableware you have. Pink cutlery? Do it. Funky florals? You better be using those. Oh, and don’t forget the bold and punchy citrus. Slowly but surely, you’ll be able to pull together a playful party full of pattern-heavy shift dresses.

13. Movie Night In: Not everyone has a yard, or a projector, but everyone has a TV. What’s more? It’s a budget friendly way to catch the latest releases, or the squad’s faves. 

14. Coachella: Tickets are legit expensive, and getting time off work to go is tricky. BUT, you can recreate the Indio Desert in your backyard, complete with rich textiles, a wicked playlist, and a whole lot of tassel fringe. 

15. Chanel: Celebrate in utter luxury, with quilted this, and scented that. With a bigger budget, having everyone create a custom perfume is as classy as it gets. (Inspired By This)

16. Fiesta: Who doesn't love a piñata and tacos? Boring people, that's who. 

17. Martini Masquerade: This one could easily take a 50 Shades vibe if you wanted. But you can keep it sexy and simple with masks and lavender bubbly.

18. The Right Note: Does the Bride to Be love to rock-out? Is her beau a musician? The answer is clear: music themed everything.

19. Beauty & The Beast: Because your BFF Belle, finally found her Prince aka the Beast. 

20. Prickly Cactus: No need to go over the top with the theme. Cactuses and succulents are trendy, simple, and allow you to pull from your extensive collection, and even add to it! 

21. Sustainable & Earthy: How much can you borrow or upcycle for this bash? Impress the eco friendly bride with your environmentally conscious choices. 

23. Spring flowers: These cheery little blooms are hopeful, feminine, and won't clash with anyone's outfit (hopefully). Plus, you can DIY everything you need, so you can use your existing party essentials. 

23. Dessert Bar: Not digging a theme? Cool. Just put out a bunch of desserts, and suggest everyone do their photos before cake stains are a problem. 

24. Spa Night In: Grab some matching bathrobes on Etsy and DIY some spa treatments. This is how you relax and pamper yourselves for cheap. 

[blankdblank]

Next Caller Pt 45

“How about a collage, you like making collages, it could distract you.”

“I have made collages.” Mal replied as you came up to the Acorn tattoo parlor, “I doubt I could find enough collages to distract me.”

“Have you picked your clothes yet?” That snapped her eyes open wider and you said, “I found the major snag didn’t I?”

“I haven’t picked my clothes!”

“Please don’t freak out, just go simple, pants, blouse or a nice sweater. You could wear those heels you’ve been dying to wear with the bows on the top those look pretty professional. Just please don’t freak out.”

“I have that pink blouse and that tie up cardigan, I have some black skinny jeans, all my trousers are torn or missing buttons. My skirts are all a bit too, frisky, I have that pencil one but it’s got that zipper in the back that tends to scoot up and I wouldn’t want to flash anything.”

“You know you could use a safety pin to stop that, or a broach facing in.” She blinked looking at you and you said, “Tip for another time. I agree, not the best choice for now. You will be wonderful.”

When you parked she huffed and said, “I got to go tear through my closet. Thank you for reminding me.”

“Try to sleep too.” You called out as she darted out of the car and into the shop making you shake your head and look to your mirrors for a good time to turn around. Once you did however your mind instantly switched to how Thorin and Dwalin were taking to your gift. “Hope the Cuddle Monster wasn’t too much…” You murmured to yourself turning into the lot where you parked in the spot designated for you glancing out at the slowly breaking storm.

Parked and hurrying inside you barely got damp on your trot inside through the propped open door. Expecting to hear some excitement only to find Dwalin grinning at you like crazy, “Meal and tea is waiting for you.” Gesturing you inside the office lit by lanterns, hurrying off he went to join Balin in spectating as you saw Thorin starting to grin wider on his way to join you.

Stepping inside you brushed your bangs behind your ear setting your bag down to shrug out of your coat that was draped over the back of the chair and turned to realize you were in your matching sweaters. “Show went well, what I heard of it. Faded in and out a bit.”

“Yes, the twins have a hard copy to upload for the show, Mal said it wasn’t as bad as I assume dialog usually is taken. You look happy, good shift?”

Closing the distance once the door was shut he replied, “Very good shift, got your delivery.” Now he was smiling, “I can’t wait for our date on Saturday.” Cupping your cheek his lips planted on your other cheek and he lowered his hand to claim yours smiling brightly again, “Booked a table at Dushin-Mizim for after,”

“I doubt I could have even gotten a job there, let alone a table.”

“They would have been lucky to have hired you, for now I wanted the best for our first date, and we have a driver so we can just relax and focus on having a great time. What even had you thinking of Clustered Anchors? Have you seen it?”

“Well, I heard you and Dwalin talking about it, that you haven’t seen it. I’ve seen the film, which everyone says is nothing like the play. You really want to go with me? I know you said you wanted Dwalin to take you.”

“No!” he said and your brow inched up, “I want to go with you! I would love to go with you, Dwalin is merely my show buddy. Never liked going to films or anything alone really, part of our clan tradition, always partner up. Since courting Bilbo my partner has been spotty. But this is a fantastic idea for a date I do hope you enjoy it, I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner, it’s a perfect idea.” He wet his lips and said, “Come, eat, warm up storm is pretty bad.”

“It was worse.” You said to his thumb stroking across the back of your hand guiding you to the couch. Releasing your hand he watched you snap a picture of the tea as he unpacked the lunch trays, “I checked in with the greenhouse, Roac and Dot are on another round.”

“How is Darling doing?”

“Good, great really, she gave me permission to come close to her dwelling, let me weigh her. By my math at least four eggs, and she let me check her feet.”

“That’s incredible, glad the bonding is going well.”

“Also found out from Roac it was my place to tell her about his flock sending tokens,”

Thorin nodded as you took a sip of your tea, “Yes, those should be sent over by this weekend,” his hand settling on your leg. The conversation bled into more on what shows you had both seen with his focus shifting to taking hold of both your hands when the food was through to hear about Elven shows you had seen growing up. Cuddled up close he couldn’t take his eyes off you listening to all you could share until you said in your last few minutes, “So, I think I broke Ori and Shari.”

He smirked, humming back, “Compliments?”

You nodded, “Compliments.”

“Yes, they are two of the least susceptible to compliments out of their clans. Should be fine tomorrow. They are getting better with it.”

“I can relate to that.”

Your alarm went off and he said, “I will let you get to work, Dwalin has decided to help me find a suit for the night.” Again he was kissing your cheek and he helped you to your feet and into your jacket, showing you to the door as you shouldered your bag. Releasing your hand only at the back door, “Drive safe. Don’t worry about a thing our date is going to be fantastic.”

After a nod without being able to finding anything else to say you replied, “You drive safe too.” He nodded and you turned to head back to the car at the groaning of the women watching from over the counter who got to asking questions for the little bit of time him and his cousins waited for the next shift to arrive then piled together to go take Thorin suit shopping.

.

With a pair of suits in his hand Thorin said, “She thought I might want to take Dwalin instead.”

The brothers asked, “What?”

Thorin, “She heard us yesterday,”

Dwalin shook his head, “No, I can text her if you like.”

Thorin shook his head, “No, I clarified we go out in partners and that I have been adjusting to you having Bilbo now. I assured that I wanted it to be our date and that we have a driver and a nice table. In fact she made a comment she didn’t even think she could get hired there let alone eat there.”

Balin, “Surely things have changed, quite a reputation on her own already. Any thoughts on what you wanted?”

Thorin sighed, “I have a few suits already but those are more business related and I didn’t just want to pull something off the hanger. Or just another blue suit.”

Balin, “Silver perhaps? Have you stolen a glimpse in her closet? To have a clue of what to wear?”

Thorin replied, “No dresses beyond the one from the festival and a couple summery ones. All pastel, might choose something similar. I would want to match, but not match.”

Dwalin, “Complimentary,”

Thorin, “Yes.”

Balin, “Perhaps charcoal then? Maybe pinstripes?”

Thorin, “Maybe checkered? She likes flannel.”

Dwalin, “Yes, Bilbo likes my checkered suit. They go over well when done subtly.”

Balin turned to another rack, “Aha, a contender,” causing the pair to watch him pull off a suit from the rack they put down their options to come inspect.

 *

On your way in sight of Tili and Vili together with wide grins had you flashing one in return passing the glass conference room they were in matching the one that Dis gave you through another hallway on her way to an office. Turning forward you mentally muttered, ‘Definitely up to something.’ Once changed you got to work and nothing seemed to be amiss until you were exiting your last room hearing the freshly arrived kids being nestled into the bed you had just turned down for them by their parents with Dis on the other side of it. Grinning up at her you said, “Hi.”

Her smile split wider and she replied, “Hello, you are early again.”

“Yes, I tend to do that when I get distracted, somehow.” Making her chuckle and join you back to the workers lift, “Busy day?”

“Your comment a while back on the growling light up lion key chains we actually have found a company able to make them for us for a fair price and I think they are quite adorable.”

“Oh, that’s, cool.”

She chuckled saying, “I know you are fighting not to say we didn’t have to but it really is a great idea we had completely overlooked. We have the spinning logo ones but these are adorable for children especially.”

“I am trying to not say that people don’t have to. I am working on that.”

“You are doing wonderful so far, and,” once the doors closed she added, “I do have to say I cannot wait to read your book. Gorgo says it’s over halfway through printing enough to sell, and we listened to the recording of your show since it was spotty-,”

“I know, usually it’s fine in the storms.”

Dis, “We did hear they were working on lines near the radio towers, irritating but at least it was recorded as well. Ori and Shari shared you are onto dialog already for the commercial?”

“Yes, we don’t have the details to fill in the banner for when it’s to be put out yet, I am waiting on that, but at least we can send that over to play for them showing them a hint of what was playing in my mind for possible promotion. I know books aren’t really hyped up this way but I figure online it could just blow up and reach so many more people.”

“Absolutely, which is something that with a pen name publishing could change everything since there wouldn’t be book tours. And it could be easier as you could have a collection to sign then send out to people instead. We would do what we could to ensure that your privacy would be protected as long as possible. Plus with our clan alone already buzzing about the radio show there will be thousands minimum interested in reading it. Anything with Founding Fathers sells like hot cakes, good or bad, especially with Dwarves and the banter on the show appeals to Hobbits greatly.” She paused a moment asking, “Would you be needing time off if they would want an audio book version of it?”

“Oh, actually, I already recorded it,” the doors opened as her brows lifted up, “Before Mal I didn’t really have friends to do things with, so I stayed at home and worked. The first two are recorded already, I was working on the third, that’s why when the show started I could just jump in. Just been practicing on it my own, building that whole way of sharing it. Because it isn’t from the same point of view, or even voice so it wouldn’t be so obvious who was doing it.”

Dis stepped out with you as you smiled at Tili waiting there who said, “Hello, I see Dis managed to find you first.”

Glancing between the pair you saw Dis say, “I merely shared the news on our key chains and that we listened to the recorded version of the show.”

Tili, “Oh good, then I haven’t missed the fun part.”

“Fun part?” You asked.

And Tili replied, “We were wondering if you had decided on Saturday yet.”

“Oh, I was, you’ve been to the theater before, no doubt you’ve heard from Thorin already about the tickets, but, what do you wear to that. Last time I went to a play I was a child and there is no chance of fitting into that dress.” Making them both chuckle.

The pair looked to one another and Tili said, “Tomorrow is no good,”

Dis nodded, “And we have that conference call Friday,”

Tili, “Saturday is good, morning?”

Dis nodded saying to you in the common tongue again, “Saturday morning we could get the gals together and help you shop.”

“That would be so helpful, because I got nothing. I mean I have one sequin mini, but I don’t think that would, fit the event.”

Tili, “We have been aching to have another get together with you, and it would be so good to help you get ready for the first official outing.”

Dis, “Are you nervous?”

“No, honestly I’m more nervous about tomorrow than anything,” their brows inched up and you said, “I don’t know if the boys told you that Mal has an interview for an internship this summer in Grey Havens and Lindon with a Shark Research Reserve and Rescue that turns out to be one my step dad’s twin brother runs.”

They both said, “Oh,”

And you nodded, “And she gave my address for the interview and I haven’t heard from my family because he likes to keep the process private, but it would be very good to see him again. And I don’t mean I’m not excited for Saturday-,”

They shook their heads and Tili said, “No we understand fully, your clan is so far away for so long. I schooled in the Blue Mountains so when my family came nearby I wasn’t able to keep on my seat for days beforehand, just buzzing.”

Walking with you they shared options of what they had worn to shows before and offering at a glance at your feet Dis said, “And do not worry we will ensure you have some incredible shoes for you.”

“I shouldn’t be trusted picking shoes.” You said parking the cart and facing them you said, “I have a pair from my friends who do my hair, this really nice black pair of glittery heels, worth about five months rent. Plus I have my heels from the festival still.”

Tili, “Well if you choose something not matching those we will find you a lovely pair of heels.”

“Thing is I don’t pick the lovely pair, the ones I usually want are crazy expensive.”

Dis chuckled saying in a side hug she claimed, “Don’t we all.”

Tili, “I know Mili bought a brand new car of a pair when she got cleared to make her own funds. Took her a step back for Adad, Amad however understood and helped her fix things when it turned out to be for her graduation and then loaned them to a cousin for their wedding, and four more after that.”

Making you giggle, “As long as you split it by wearers and their events it’s a fair deal.”

Tili, “Exactly.” Claiming a hug of her own.

Dis grinned saying, “We will let you change and contact the gals and text you the time. I will keep my ears peeled for word on the interview from the boys, that would be so incredible for her.”

“Yes, I think I calmed her down a tad and distracted her by reminding her she needed to pick her clothes for it, apparently like me for my first interview for my Masters degrees planned on going naked. So hopefully she won’t be panicked and end up almost going in a ball gown like me.”

Dis, “Even interviewing here, I almost went in a poofy gown myself.”

Tili asked, “You have Masters degrees?”

You nodded, “Five in engineering, there’s different divisions in Elven territories. But when I moved I chose to switch paths to not have to refer to those in my old name so they couldn’t be traced.”

Tili, “Do you miss it?”

“Um, not really. And it really isn’t unused qualifications because in the shows and stuff like that I actually know how to make things work for flying contraptions or gadgets. And I am very handy at home, even though I do prefer to hire builders just so other people won’t question stability and all that. It does stun people, I mean I work here and at the station but I don’t feel like I am settling or that being a maid is somehow beneath me, please don’t think I think that.”

Dis shook her head patting your arm, “Absolutely not, we were just wondering about it. Because we heard you were an engineer in the service and maybe assumed I guess that you had decided not to continue that after retiring.”

“That is part of it, plus with me this size no company for ships will hire someone my size for the jobs I was given in the service because there was shortages on qualified soldiers for the job. I mean I could work on designing toys or music boxes or something like that but it doesn’t pay very well or offer stability.”

Tili, “I get that, fully, several Durins were engineers and mechanics in the service, and I was a pilot but I doubt I would ever try to go commercial. It just got too heavy for me after I got out. No judgment on that at all, even miss explosives over here is way off her former task.”

You looked at Dis who grinned saying, “I am not at liberty to discuss my role, merely that it involved explosives.”

“Been there.”

Tili chuckled and said, “Let’s not hold you up, no doubt Thorin will be eager to have breakfast and discuss your plans some more.” She claimed Dis’ hand guiding her away and waved, “Goodnight.”

You giggled saying, “Goodnight.”

.

“Let’s go,” the ladies changing behind you all grouped up on their agreed path to get some late night meal at a diner nearby, wishing you well on their way out. With your leg propped up on the bench in front of you your fingers managed to tie your sneakers and up you stood shouldering your bag to head out to the garage.

Some more painting and repairs had you following the pathway mentioned in the afternoon meeting. Halfway lost to your thoughts the body stepping into your path was almost missed and in a step to your right to try and walk behind them had the Dwarf stepping back to block you. The move signaled a manager inside an office abandoning his meeting to try and diffuse the annoying game the man might be trying to play on you.

“Can I help you?” You asked shifting your hand on the strap of your bag.

“I just have a few questions,” in his palm you saw the notepad he read from, “I wanted to ask your show just got picked up by Bombadil Streaming Network, and the biggest question going around is why the hell it was cancelled in the first place. Now I’ve done some digging, and the only answer I can come up with is your family.”

“I have to go,” you said shifting on your feet only for his hand to extend.

“Look, my Lady,”

“I am not your Lady.”

“Listen, some may be fooled with your hair dye, name and career change but it’s there in black and white, not to mention purple. Lady Glawar Vingilótë Moe, daughter of now deceased Lord Luvailin Himring, Son of Mórilanta. Everyone’s read the story on those letters and some news outlets might not be so keen on holding that information to themselves and skip out on a juicy story.” He paused a moment and sighed, “The piece isn’t on them, it’s on the show and the gap between that and the Bunny Show.”

He said glancing at the approaching manager who said, “Sir, you’re going to have to leave.”

The reporter said, “Was your family behind the cancellations, can you tell me that? NDA’s dissolve after the other party is dead. You got the money, the property and ditched the name why not talk now? Tell your side. Do the Durins know at least?”

“I was sent to Ruun because of them. For 800 years since, anytime I had something profitable I would get a call with their clan demanding their 75% share. I would turn them down and the next day or even the next week, red tape galore. Luvailin sent my half brother to kill me, he got executed and I got drug through the press so he could make sure everyone knew my face. Since then one of my apartments was burned to the ground with me in it because of who my father was.” His lips parted, “The names in the tributes on that show are my neighbors hurt or dead from that fire. Yes, the Durins know, so do the Findis, they’ve been kind enough to name me by my Naneth’s clan. Each and every Dwarf company I applied to did a background search that got flagged from it. That name is poison, be careful when digging through my family tree, because I’m not the only bastard whose been attacked because of it.”

The Manager at your side now stepped between you saying, “Out, now,”

The reporter nodded saying to you with a pained look in his eye at your unrealized truth, “Thank you,” and walked with the manger leading him out of the guest entrance while you continued on catching him mouthing your words that surely he would write down making you shake your head once you rounded the corner. The manager however scolded him on bothering employees of the hotel and turned once a pair of guards finished escorting him out allowing the manager to head back to his meeting.

“You okay, Miss Pear?”

Turning around you nodded to another manager, “Ya, he’s just trying to figure out why my show on Bombadil got canceled. Not the best approach for it but it’s just about the show. A lot of people have been asking.”

“We can have security walk you out now if you like?”

You shook your head, “No, it’s okay, might just start up a social page or something for questions. Since this is one of the few places people know I’ll be. Maybe it would help.”

The manager smirks and nods, “I’ll let the people in the lobby know all the same for shift turnovers. Have to keep an eye out for our expecting Dams all the same.” You nodded and he said, “Good night. And we loved the show from this morning.”

Making you giggle and say, “Thank you. Goodnight.” Turning around as he did you walked the rest of the way to the garage hearing echoes of the radio calls from the security team who made another lap in the garage nodding to you passing you by along with the few others who rode the elevator with you.

.

Parked inside your garage you stood outside your car with your bag in hand simply sighing in a stroke of your hand over your forehead trying to think of what to do. You had your Bunny account but you supposed it wouldn’t hurt to have one for just you. Mafioso’s was on a picture app while Bunny’s mainly was for text, easily able to have a second there people could message you at. Inside an awkward squawking froze you in place a moment before you eased in removing your shoes left by the door you locked. Right to the kitchen you found Thorin who had music playing from his phone trying to distract himself from the noise coming from the greenhouse.

“That Roac and Dot?”

Turning around Thorin replied, “Yes. It’s not often, just, twice before bed.”

“Not often at all.”

Thorin wet his lips and said, “Got a message from Vili, about the hotel double checking security, something about a reporter?”

“Ya, it wasn’t bad. Just wanted to know why my show got cancelled.”

“That it?”

Your head tilted to the side, “He knew my old name. Asked if you all knew.” That had Thorin inhaling. “If he prints my name or not-,”

“We aren’t abandoning you. You aren’t them.”

“I know, I told them you gave me a chance by Naneth’s clan, not his. Gave him a good idea that they made it impossible to keep my name, or do anything to draw attention to myself and stay safe.” Moving closer his hand rested on your arm starting to smooth down it making you say, “If the full story gets out it does, if he buries it he buries it. I’m tired of hiding it. I just hope it won’t end badly for your family.”

Trying for a comforting smile he hummed back, “We are family, here to protect you. There are so many Durins and Findis here for you and your clan. And the Elders know, we won’t stand slander, not for you or any of your relatives.”

“I did have a thought, maybe having another social page people can send questions to, might keep people from ambushing me. Thought I’d run it by you if you thought it might work?”

Thorin, “Frerin tried that. It was a bit much, though we can send an email to our uncle, Fundin, Balin and Dwalin’s Adad, he started a web page, fan page really, that way it is more organized.”

You nodded saying, “Sounds better than having my phone blowing up nonstop.”

Thorin nodded, “I’ll message him tomorrow morning and get a list of what we might need for it. Might help with the letters as well, a duffel bag a week is a lot.”

“Oh, that reminds me, I have to put these in envelopes.” You said pulling out a stack of replies for schools, “I don’t think I have enough, I think I have three, maybe…”

He smirked saying, “I will get you more envelopes, and stamps, Gran heard about your letters and she sent a box of stamps. All coated in bunnies if you can believe it.” Making you giggle and join him at the table.

“How big a box we talking?”

“You could probably fit a head in it. I do mean sheets. It is absurdly heavy. I don’t know how much she spent-,”

“It sounds so expensive.”

“But apparently there’s a relative who designs the stamps and has a company and was hoping that if you used the stamps people might use their shop more.”

“Oh, so it’s like an endorsement?”

“In a way. There’s no contract, so far, if you were interested, merely, he had a twenty five pound box of bunny stamps he forwarded to you.” Again you giggled and he said, “But, it helps family.”

“What’s the company?” Thorin smirked seeing you pull out your phone opening your Bunny social page still racking up comments and notices of tags. Hitting the new post icon your notices seemed to freeze as people could see a triple dot icon by your username seeing that you were writing something.

“Gultalut Guises.” Leaning in he peered over your shoulder smirking at the message you drafted up.

‘Thanks to your lovely letters down at the station for me the Company and I, aloud I can admit I have never used this many stamps in my life. And quite eagerly can share I have a Stamp guy, Gultalut Guises, to add to my list of allies to keep you all up to date on the latest. Keep your eyes peeled, surprise, they have bunnies!’

Thorin chuckled as you nipped your lip and hit send starting a ricochet of responses saying they were looking them up now. “That is amazing, how many followers do you have?”

“1.5 million?” tapping the screen you found your info page and you said, “1.2, apparently my message on toast earlier did not go over well.”

“If they weren’t going to offer a contract they would be foolish not to now. One million potential customers.”

“Technically, I have stamps. An absurd amount of stamps I didn’t even ask for. I think we’re even.”

Thorin chuckled lowly saying, “I don’t think they will see it that way.”

“Well if they don’t like it, tough. What they get for sending me 25 pounds of stamps.”

Thorin hummed saying, “Who knows, maybe another relative has an envelope company.”

“You know, I have always wanted one of those wax stamp things. It is highly illogical with having to send out hundreds of letters,”

Thorin aimed a finger on the hand holding his fork, “That we can help with, Gloin’s Ada is a sculptor, he would jump at the chance, always replaces ours when we misplace them.”

“You have one?” You asked with a smirk.

“Yes, for official clan letters. It would also be used for our official engagement statement. In truth you would require one then anyways. We could get him on it early. He has been hinting at the tradition.”

“That would be very nice of him.”

Thorin chuckled, “More than nice, no longer a request but a demand on his part.”

A phone call parted you once dinner was cleared up, off to bed you went and curled up in bed once changed into a pair of shorts, keeping your sweater and socks on. Thorin however still in his sweats, shirtless took the call from Vili confirming you’d made it home and were well fed and off to bed, returning to his own when his freshly home brother in law and sister had hung up glad to be certain you weren’t upset.

@himoverflowers​​, @theincaprincess​​, @aspiringtranslator​​, @sweeticedtea​​, @thegreyberet​​, @patanghill17​​, @jesgisborne​​, @curvestrology​​, @alishlieb​​, @jogregor​​, @armitageadoration​​, @fizzyxcustard​​, @here2have-fun​​, @lilith15000​​, @marvels-ghost​​, @catthefearless​​, @imjusthereforthereads​​, @c-s-stars​​, @otakumultimuse-hiddlewhore​​, @mariannetora​​, @shes-a-killer-kween​, @ggbbhehe4455

Pt 46

x Thorin – @evyiione​, @deepestfirefun​, @queenoferebor​

Next Caller - @avaria-revallier​​

Thanks againt to c-s-stars for letting me use her oc Mal. There is more to come for your precious Malachite :D

[ravenwolfie97]

2019 Art Summary

Once again, it is time for the annual art summary! I can’t believe this is the fifth year in a row I’ve done this, so I’m very proud about continuing to make art throughout the years and getting better at it every day. Anyways, let’s get into the good stuff!

I kicked off the year with a big inspiration from The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys comic series and made up my own original Killjoy just before the new year began. Their name is Violet Crime, and I had created an entire backstory with them being involved with the Ultra V’s, and even proposed running a roleplay blog with them and introducing story events such as meeting a pornodroid, but that never came to pass. Maybe next year I can try getting their story off the ground.

This month, I had suddenly gotten the idea for a TOME (2011) AU where the Forbidden Power slowly corrupted and altered Alpha’s model and mind, and I did a bunch of art of the different stages of corruption and drafted certain scenes that would play out if it happened in the show. I continued exploring this  a little more throughout the year, and I hope to flesh it out even more later on.

This batch has an interesting background - I was taking a Religions class in the winter quarter, and for my final project we had the option of creating our own religion based on principles from those we learned about. So, since I had already made up a religion in Legends: Children of the Dragons, I jumped on that opportunity and started expanding upon it! Because of that, I started thinking about Legends a lot, and got inspired to write and draw a bunch! I worked a lot on figuring out the story’s structure and plot, since for the longest time it’s been very disorganized, so that inspiration boost was really helpful.

I didn’t draw too much this month, but I did want to showcase two more detailed drawings in particular. The first is a climactic scene from my friend Mana’s story Empire Tale: Starlight Speedway, where Argento (the character shown) finds out his friend was in alliance with the heir of his empire’s rival nation. The second was drawn for Adam Tilford, creator of the book and webseries Shattered Heaven, as part of an opportunity to feature fan art of a certain character in part of the show. I did my best to emulate Adam’s art style in both lineart and coloring, but it still definitely looks like mine, which is totally cool. Still super honored to have contributed it!

The TOME fandom is still a huge part of my life, and this month in particular was chock full of RPG content to draw. First was my own idea based on the official fanart contest, where members of my TOME Discord server paired TOMERPG OCs and drew a picture with them interacting, and my OC Circutree was randomly matched with @scribblehooves​ and her OC Valentina! There was also a trend (I forget who started it) where we designed our own versions of the White Hat Hacker, and since my choice was the Animalistic one, I gave it some details that more resembled my personal TOME OC / overall persona. Lastly, I just... really love Phaxal from TVTOME Adventures, and I felt an overwhelming need to make him into a TOMERPG character. He’s obviously a lot different from his aughts’ counterpart, but he’s still got that dark snark goin’ on.

June was actually rather slow in terms of art, with me being more preoccupied with binging TV shows and video games, as well as going on adventures in the outside world. However, I did make a cute piece for Mana with Lux and her girlfriend/wife Nexus from ETSS as part of an art trade. In the middle of the month, I had had a dream with a super cool character in it, and immediately I went to go and draw him, and that’s who the other character is; he doesn’t have a name, but he’s supposed to be a secret agent type of guy. Definitely inspired by Azure Striker Gunvolt, which I got super obsessed with again during that time.

I worked more on developing Legends stuff, so I wrote and drew out some more scene ideas along with various sketches. My big pieces for this month, though, were very summery and all about the TOME RPG and me and my friends’ OCs having a fun time. Not much to say other than it was really weird drawing everyone in swimsuits instead of their normal designs.

My favorite piece this month, by far, is my entry into Adam Tilford’s Shattered Heaven fanart contest. I got to draw a mecha, for goodness sake - I NEVER draw stuff like that because it’s so complicated. I’m really proud of the lighting on the piece, too. In addition to that, me and @mew-cake​ did an art trade of our personas! And it was super cool and fun! Friendship! :D

So, the Steven Universe movie came out this month. And that made fall super hard back into the fandom. And now I can actually draw the characters decently, which I think is super cool. Also TOME stuff continues to be a thing, and I continue to try new perspectives and poses and lighting and everything because I need to GROW and LEARN.

I participated in the actual #Inktober prompt challenge this year, and did so for a lot longer than I thought I’d be able to. I made a lot of pieces I’m actually quite proud of, and even though I didn’t complete it, I’m happy I did it as long as I did.

November was a pretty experimental month in terms of art. I tasked myself with drawing in the Pokemon and Hazbin Hotel styles, and I randomly got inspired by a color palette to do a very minimalist digital painting. In addition to all of these personal drawings, I got to work really hard as a member of my university’s fledgling Queer Art Collective (QuAC for short), and our first big project was to decorate a canvas for Trans Day of Remembrance and Resilience, and I contributed five pieces to that: the trans flag with a human silhouette, the NB flag with a heart, the pastel genderfluid butterfly, the construction paper PROUD 2 B TRANS, and the lyrics to “Masquerade” by Tokio Hotel.

As the year closed, it’s been slow, with finals and holiday break and stuff. I can tell that I’m improving in my art, but there are still a lot of things I don’t know and things that I need to continue to improve upon. Hoping I can keep up the work in my last months of college and my transition into full-on adulthood.

See you all in the new year.

[secondscratch17]

weird asks that say a lot

1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans? All of them. I drink tea in coffee mugs and teacups. I love drinking wine. I like that I can recycle soda cans

2. chocolate bars or lollipops? chocolate

3. bubblegum or cotton candy? bubblegum if the flavor lasts long

4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you? the stereotypical quiet, obedient, smart, goody-two-shoes kid

5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups? somehow I like the aesthetic from soda bottles

6. pastel, boho, tomboy, preppy, goth, grunge, formal or sportswear? hONESTLY I can dO ALL OF THE ABOVE in the span of days. Went to work one day wearing beach-y clothes for spirit day. Returned to pick up a friend to go see a metal concert in VERY metal concert attire. I own short, sweet summery floral dresses and gothic dresses, too

7. earbuds or headphones? Earbuds, they allow me to be more mobile

8. movies or tv shows? movies

9. favorite smell in the summer? Fresh cut grass. The smell of the ocean. Churros at the fair

10. game you were best at in p.e.? Soccer, obvs. Somehow would always last until the end of the game in dodgeball tho because I was small and no one could hit me

11. what you have for breakfast on an average day? Cereal

12. name of your favorite playlist? Don’t have one. 

13. lanyard or key ring?  Key ring

14. favorite non-chocolate candy? Smarties!

15. favorite book you read as a school assignment? I remember re-reading Holes over and over just to make my book reports easier since I knew the boo so well. The Kite Runner was phenomenal and unforgettable

16. most comfortable position to sit in? idk?? I really can’t sit still in one position for too long

17. most frequently worn pair of shoes? Currently my hiking/outdoorsy shoes. Also my black Nikes that I play pickup in and wear to the gym

18. ideal weather? Sunny and 65. Maybe one or two clouds. The tiniest of faint breezes to cool me down. 

19. sleeping position? Any I can get into and fall asleep in quickly

20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)? Laptop. I can edit easier.

21. obsession from childhood? Probably any cheesy show on Animal Planet. The Most Extreme, Meerkat Manor, Big Cat Diary, etc

22. role model? I have a lot of different ones. Role models for athletics, role models for career and ambition choices, artistic role models...can’t pick just one

23. strange habits? Spelling words with the tips of my fingers

24. favorite crystal? Aquamarine

25. first song you remember hearing? how in the FUCK am I supposed to remember that. I do remember my parents playing The Beatles for me when I was a toddler

26. favorite activity to do in warm weather? Soccer! (futbol) 

27. favorite activity to do in cold weather? Sledding, making hot chocolate, or playing indoor soccer haha

28. five songs to describe you? Who I am Hates Who I’ve Been by Relient K, Proud by the Icarus Account, Land of the Dead by Voltaire, Always Leaving by Mayday Parade, Wavin’ Flag by K’naan

29. best way to bond with you? Listening to my favorite music with me or watching the US Women’s national soccer team with me

30. places that you find sacred? Belfast, Maine. Gold Camp Road. Newport Beach

31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names? Tight jeans with holes in them, fishnets, and a crop top

32. top five favorite vines? Vines still exist?

33. most used phrase in your phone? “tbh”

34. advertisements you have stuck in your head? O O O O REILLYYYYYY’S autoparts

35. average time you fall asleep? around 9

36. what is the first meme you remember ever seeing? I don’t remember

37. suitcase or duffel bag? suitcase

38. lemonade or tea? Is it warm outside? Lemonade. Is it cold outside? tea

39. lemon cake or lemon meringue pie? PIE!

40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school? Zombie hunting or my professor cutting lab a half an hour short to go look at some Cedar waxwings

41. last person you texted? I think it was Robert

42. jacket pockets or pants pockets? Pants pockets

43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket? Jean jacket

44. favorite scent for soap? Anything fruity

45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero? Fantasy. It depends on how good the sci-fi movie is

46. most comfortable outfit to sleep in? as little as possible lmao

47. favorite type of cheese? Parmesan

48. if you were a fruit, what kind would you be? A raspberry

49. what saying or quote do you live by? A great amount of good is always evened out by a great amount of bad

50. what made you laugh the hardest you ever have? Honestly Daniel knew how to make me laugh better than anyone. There are a couple of memories with him that I don’t remember entirely but I know that I ended up cry-laughing so hard that my head hurt. There was a time during my orientation camping trip when a bunch of us were playing ultimate Frisbee, and Jesse went to catch the frisbee in the most perfectly lateral horizontal position and the expression of focus just frozen on his face had me laughing so hard that I couldn’t see

51. current stresses? Sam. Jobs that I can apply for starting in May of 2020. Sam. STUDENT LOANS. Bills. Car payments. Wondering how fucked up my car has gotten since I’ve lived here on this ranch. Sam. 

52. favorite font? Anything that looks fancy and sarcastic

53. what is the current state of your hands? Need to be washed. 

54. what did you learn from your first job? The world is cruel and bad things happen without warning

55. favorite fairy tale? Uh....the Pied Piper?

56. favorite tradition? when my family visits for Christmas, eating lots of traditional Chinese food with them

57. the three biggest struggles you’ve overcome? Heartbreak. Staggering rejection from the field I majored in. Probably a lot of body image struggles in there as well

58. four talents you’re proud of having? Writing, futbol, adaptability, flexibility. I think the last two are just traits but I don’t have a lot of talents I can invest in

59. if you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be? Let’s make like a baby and head out

60. if you were a character in an anime, what kind of anime would you want it to be? No idea

61. favorite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/etc.? Though we are far apart, our spirits share the same earth and the same sky

62. seven characters you relate to? Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit, Data from The Goonies, Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter, Eliza Thornberry from The Wild Thornberries, Raven from Teen Titans, Isaac from Teen Wolf

63. five songs that would play in your club? ANYTHING by Within Temptation. I wouldn’t be a good club owner. The catchy and pump-up songs from Hamilton.

64. favorite website from your childhood? Wasn’t allowed much computer time. I was allowed to visit educational sites and occasionally the Disney site

65. any permanent scars? some self-harm scars. Probably the one on my right leg that I got from CO parks and wildlife. I stepped on a barbed wire fence that had been plastered to the ground, but the metal sprang up when I stepped on it and ripped through my skin

66. favorite flower(s)? Plumerias

67. good luck charms? I’m not sure if I have any. 

68. worst flavor of any food or drink you’ve ever tried? earthworm flavor from Bertie Bott’s every flavor beans

69. a fun fact that you don’t know how you learned? uh...Something about not being able to spray silly string on Halloween in Hollywood

70. left or right handed? Right handed

71. least favorite pattern? wtf

72. worst subject? anything math related, I really struggled in GIS.

73. favorite weird flavor combo? I...have no idea

74. at what pain level out of ten (1 through 10) do you have to be at before you take an advil or ibuprofen? 2. I’m a baby

75. when did you lose your first tooth? I was 6

76. what’s your favorite potato food (i.e. tater tots, baked potatoes, fries, chips, etc.)? chips and fries

77. best plant to grow on a windowsill? a succulent

78. coffee from a gas station or sushi from a grocery store? sushi from a grocery store, the quality can surprise you

79. which looks better, your school id photo or your driver’s license photo? Both are terrible

80. earth tones or jewel tones? Jewel tones

81. fireflies or lightning bugs? I hate bugs

82. pc or console? PC

83. writing or drawing? Writing, I’m terrible at drawing

84. podcasts or talk radio? Not into either

84. barbie or polly pocket? I had both

85. fairy tales or mythology? God!!!! Like hearing about both but mythology I guess

86. cookies or cupcakes? Cookies

87. your greatest fear? Being forgotten. I also have a terrible, horrible fear of drowning

88. your greatest wish? In the times I’ve struggled I often find myself wishing for peace. Not only for myself, but for others to easily feel peace with everyone else

89. who would you put before everyone else? Sierra

90. luckiest mistake? Mistake? There’s been lucky accidents but I don’t think any of my mistakes have been lucky

91. boxes or bags? It depends on what I’m packing and where I’m going

92. lamps, overhead lights, sunlight or fairy lights? Sunlight

93. nicknames? T, Tear, Tear-tear, T-Dog, Miss T..a few of my recent favorites from soccer: Ronaldinha and Thierry Chun

94. favorite season? Fall! Shit, especially in New England

95. favorite app on your phone? I don’t know

96. desktop background? A picture of a simple dock leading out to sea

97. how many phone numbers do you have memorized? My parents’ and brother’s

98. favorite historical era? Victorian era, for sure

[halfabreath]

We all know there is only One True Prompt, the OTP, the Correct Answer: Ransom drooling over Holster's freckles. Maybe because they're drunk and Holster is also full body blushing in a tank top crop top and Ransom is LIVING

this………ended up being A Lot more than I anticipated. thank you so much for the One True Prompt!! this takes place in the Bittle Birkholtz Brousins AU, just after Part 4

Bittle-Birkholtz-Brousins: Tag, Ao3, Masterpost

It’s not fair. Nothing about this entire situation is fair. It’s just not. Ransom’s ready to write a strongly worded letter but he doesn’t know who to send it to. None of this is fair and Ransom seems to be the only one suffering because of it.

It’s the second to last kegster of the year, his last kegster before he has to kiss the ice (and that, frankly, carries just as much significance as graduation does), and Ransom went all out because he’s the only member of SMH who’s completely finished with exams. Holster has his last test tomorrow afternoon but Ransom’s already turned in his papers and he’s done, he’s free, and that’s a reason for celebration. This is his last kegster as a member of SMH because he’ll be an alum by the next one, and Ransom went over every single detail three times. He instituted a dress code (pastels and florals get in free, anyone in non-summery colors has to pay a cover), made the Facebook event aesthetically pleasing with graphics designed by Lardo, ensured the tub juice would be a soothing shade of green instead of it’s usual toxic waste hue, and spent weeks antagonizing over his outfit.

Here’s the thing: if you insist on a dress code, you have to rock that motherfucking dress code. It’s party hosting 101, and since Ransom is co-hosting with Holster he’s the one with the fashion burden on his shoulders because Holster can’t be expected to represent the dress code properly.

Or so Ransom thought. Holster, as it turns out, also takes dress codes very seriously, which Ransom should have known given how often Holster suggests matching best friend or brousin outfits for parties, but Ransom hadn’t taken that into consideration. So, when he’d walked into the party in his new salmon romper, thinking he was hot shit, Holster somehow, inexplicably, showed him up in his own Haus.

Ransom knows he looks good. The romper accentuates every asset hockey gave him and he chose the color specifically because it goes perfectly with his complexion. He looks good - better than good. Ransom knows he looks great.

But Holster looks incredible.

He’s wearing Ransom’s white snapback (no wonder he couldn’t find it before) and he must have raided Ransom’s drawer because he’s sporting a pair of Ransom’s joggers that show off the cut of his hips and hug his thick thighs perfectly, but Ransom can’t even concentrate on the fit because Holster’s also wearing a floral crop top and nothing could have prepared Ransom for that.

It’s not that Holster’s wearing a crop top, it’s that Holster’s wearing a crop top. Ransom’s always thought Holster is good looking - he’s had a hopeless crush on him for most of their friendship because of it and because of other dumb things like Holster’s smile and Holster’s hugs and how Holster always lets him sleep in his bed when the attic is being weird or how Holster will debate him for hours about things that don’t matter just because it’s fun and how Holster will massage the knots out of his limbs when he’s been curled up to long or how Holster always, always texts him right before he goes into a test - but Holster rarely puts thought into his outfits. He throws something on and hopes it works out and usually it’s fine and sometimes it’s really not and either Ransom or Bitty will fix it for him but today Holster just - he’s - he looks really good, okay?

Ransom plucks a beer from the cooler and downs it in four large gulps, hoping the cold can will cool off the wave of heat that’s just washed over him. It does not. Ransom tosses the can in the vague direction of the trash can and immediately grabs a red solo cup. It’s going to be a long kegster because all Holster’s doing at the moment is standing in front of the grill. His bare stomach is dotted with freckles from all the sunbathing he’s been doing in the Reading Room ever since it got warm enough to study outside and his cheeks are flushed from the heat (Ransom’s not sure exactly when he learned how to differentiate between Holster’s different shades of pink and red but he does know that if Holster was actually blushing from embarrassment or arousal or even excitement the flush wouldn’t be confined to just his cheeks. Holster’s blush stretches from his face down to his hips, sometimes even spreading down to the tops of his thighs and fuck, Ransom has to stop thinking about this.) and Bitty is standing beside him clad in a matching crop top (that explains it, then; Bitty’s the one to blame) but Bitty’s ends just a few centimeters above the waistband of his shorts while most of Holster’s torso is bare.

Then Holster turns around to talk to Bitty, and the next thing Ransom knows he’s crushed his empty cup in his hand because the waistband of Holster’s joggers is resting just above the swell of his ass and Ransom can see honest-to-God dimples resting on either side of his spine. Ransom knows if he reached out he could press his thumbs into the depressions and squeeze Holster’s hips and pull him close and -

Ransom throws the crumpled cup away and grabs another beer. He holds it to his forehead, trying to cool off, and when he lowers it Bitty and Holster are looking over at him. Bitty has his phone out, no doubt taking candids - Ransom’s Instagram thanks him - and Holster’s staring at him, blue eyes wide.

Ransom doesn’t know what that stare means but he’s not inclined towards hope. Holster’s probably just incensed by the fact that he’s wearing not only salmon shorts but salmon everything.

“Turn around! Show us your look!” Bitty calls out, holding out his phone like an overzealous parent. Ransom tears his eyes away from Holster’s face and grins, slipping one hand into his romper pocket before turning around slowly enough for Bitty to take enough pictures.

Everything’s changed when he turns around.

Holster’s face and stomach are lit up in a bright pink blush that spreads from his ears past the waistband of his joggers. His freckles are dappled over his flushed skin, shifting over his muscles and bone when he breathes. The blush tapers at the sharp cut of his hips but it’s still a bright beacon and Ransom can’t tear his eyes away, drawn to it like a moth to a flame.

Then Holster turns back towards the grill and Ransom’s sure he’d imagined it until he sees the red flush creeping along the back of Holster’s neck. Ransom grabs another beer and heads over, pausing to quickly scroll through the pictures Bitty’s just taken to pick out his favorites. Holster jumps when Ransom sets the unopened beer down on the grill tray.

“Hot out,” Ransom says mildly before taking a long sip of his beer. “You should put on more sunscreen; looks like you’re getting some sun.” All Ransom wants is to say and do whatever it takes to keep Holster that same shade of pink for the rest of the kegster, but Ransom knows Holster secretly hates his blush as much as Ransom secretly loves it, and the last thing Ransom wants is for this kegster to be ruined for his best friend.

Today is going to be perfect. Ransom’s going to make sure of it.

“Thanks, I will.” Holster says as he flips a burger with a smooth, practiced motion. He holds out his hand; Ransom pops the tab on his beer and hands it to him. See? They’re perfect.

Five drinks, four pong matches, three hours, two burgers, and one lost frisbee later Ransom is feeling good. He’s pleasantly drunk but not wasted, hovering in the sweet spot between tipsy and nauseous, and most of the party guests are clustered on the makeshift dance floor that’s technically just the part of the backyard with the most speakers. Ransom’s bouncing around, dancing with Nursey and Wicky and Chowder and Lardo and everyone. Everyone, that is, except the one person he actually wants to dance with.

Ransom’s just drunk enough to remedy that.

He pushes through the crowd, bumping into partygoers everywhere he turns until he finally makes his way through. He doesn’t see Holster in the backyard and it doesn’t take him long to search the rest of the Haus since the entire party is in the front and back yards. It’s surprisingly quiet; he can hear the floorboards creaking under his feet when he walks through the living room. He’s about to head up the steps when he hears voices from the kitchen.

“I’m gonna tell him.” Holster’s booming voice carries easily from the kitchen to the steps, his words strung together but not quite slurred. Ransom freezes, unsure if he’s been spotted. Holster hasn’t called out to him so he must not see him yet. Ransom slips back, leaning against the wall just beside the threshold of the kitchen. Some instinct is telling him not to walk in just yet and while Ransom doesn’t understand it, he’s damned well going to listen to it.

“Adam, you’re drunk.” Bitty says and Ransom can picture his disapproving expression from his tone of voice alone. “This isn’t the right time.” The sink turns on; Ransom can just make out the sound of water splashing into a cup.

“No, it’s the perfect time,” Holster counters. The sink turns off and a moment later Ransom hears audible gulping as Holster downs the water. He’s a loud drinker when he’s drunk, it’s hilarious because he sounds like an old-timey cartoon character. Ransom covers his mouth to keep from laughing - he wants to know what they’re talking about before he barges in. Getting all the information, and all that. He doesn’t want to walk in without any inkling of what’s going on. He has to form a hypothesis. That’s just science. He has a degree in it, or something.

Holster speaks again before Ransom can spiral too far. “I’m gonna tell him I love him, and he’ll be like, no, Holtzy, I love you but I also don’t, blah, blah, you made our friendship weird, blerg, blarg, you’ve ruined the second to last kegster, blergity, blargity, I never wanna see you again.” Bitty tries to cut in but Holster just keeps talking, undeterred. “And when he says all that I’ll wanna get drunk because I’ve ruined my whole life but I’m drunk right now so I’ll just get drunker and boom. Streamline the process. I’m halfway to blacking out so I might as well just keep on rollin’.”

Holster stops to take another drink as Ransom’s world tilts on its axis. Holster’s in love with someone. Holster’s in love with a him. Holster has never, not once, mentioned that he might be interested in hims. Ransom turns suddenly and presses his forehead against the wall in a desperate attempt to stop the world from spinning from the alcohol and the fact that the heterosexual best friend he’s not-so-heterosexually in love with just might not be so hetero after all. If Holster’s not straight and Ransom’s not straight then what the fuck is stopping them? For one perfect moment Ransom’s world feels shiny and bright and new because the things he thought were impossible just slipped into the realm of possibility.

For one perfect moment, Holster just might love him back.

And then, of course, the bright, shiny new world turns dull and tired again because Holster’s already in love with someone, and if he’s in love with someone then he’s not in love with Ransom and Ransom can’t imagine anything worse than that. He closes his eyes, leaning against the wall as the world spins around him. Holster doesn’t love him and he’s about to get his heart broken because some idiot doesn’t realize how incredible he is. Ransom might not be able to help with that, but he can make this the best kegster of Holster’s life so he’ll have something good to remember about this week. He pushes off the wall, resolved.

“That’s the stupidest fucking thing I’ve ever heard, and I’ve heard you say some pretty stupid fucking things, Holster.” Bitty says flatly. The sink turns on again as the cup refills. “You’re not allowed to black out tonight because you have a test tomorrow and you’re not going to tell him how you feel when you’re drunk because that’s a conversation that needs to happen sober.” Bitty turns the sink off and water splashes to the floor when he hands the cup back.

“You need to happen sober.” Holster spits back petulantly, but soon enough he’s gulping down the water again and suddenly all Ransom wants is water too because he was drunk and happy but now he’s drunk and sad and that’s a terrible combination when he’s trying to make sure the world’s best bro has the world’s best kegster. He opens and closes the front door, letting it slam shut to warn Holster and Bitty that he’s coming, and when he walks into the kitchen Holster’s mournfully watching Bitty toss a wad of paper towels down on the wet kitchen floor.

“Hey bud, hey Bitty,” He greets, plucking the cup from Holster’s hand to down the remaining water. Bitty’s gaze snaps up from the floor to his face, eyes wide, and Ransom’s not quite sure what to make of that so he just fills the cup up again and downs that, too. He doesn’t feel any less drunk but he feels marginally better. He tries to lean against the counter but ends up leaning against Holster instead. Something deep in his chest twists painfully but Ransom doesn’t give himself time to think about it.

(Tonight is going to be perfect. Ransom’s going to make sure of it.)

“Come on, Holtzy, let’s go dance.” He says, tugging on the hem of Holster’s crop top with a playfulness he doesn’t quite feel but that’s easy enough to fake. Ransom tilts to the side, just a little, and then Holster’s huge hands are wrapped around his hips as the taller man guides him back to an upright position.

“Are you sure you’ll survive it?” Holster chirps, making a show of removing his hands to see if Ransom can stand up straight without help. He doesn’t sound quite right, still stuck somewhere between sad and chirpy.

No, Ransom’s not sure, but he knows drunk Holster better than he knows himself and drunk Holster might not be good at dancing but he loves it anyway and damn it, Ransom’s going to make sure he gets to dance tonight.

Bitty’s watching them carefully, gaze bouncing between Ransom and his cousin. Holster’s staring back at him, having one of their silent conversations. Ransom’s witnessed a million of them over the years but there’s something different tonight, a thick tension coating every minuscule movement. Bitty tilts his head to the side; Holster blinks, raises one eyebrow.

“Yeah, okay.” Holster says, and Bitty frowns but he doesn’t stop them when Ransom takes Holster’s hand and tugs him out of the kitchen and through the Haus. They melt into the crowd of dancers and soon Holster is smiling as he sings along to the music and dances his white dad dance. God, he’s ridiculous.

Then Holster disappears for a brief moment, and just when Ransom’s worried enough to go look for him he reappears with two brimming cups of tub juice. It’s way too much, he’s already drunk and this just might send him over the edge, but when he looks back at Holster his friend is taking a long drink from his own cup. His crop top is riding up, the hem jumping up above Holster’s pecs and fuck, he’s gorgeous. Ransom raises his cup to his lips and takes a long sip. He’s going to need it.

The next few hours pass in a hazy blur. He dances with Holster, bodies pressed close together on the crowded dance floor (later he’ll remember leaning his head back so it rests on Holster’s shoulder as he grinds back against him, Holster’s hands on his hips. He’ll remember holding Holster’s hand whenever he leaves the dance floor to get water or make sure they have enough ice or search for another ping pong ball. He’ll remember leaning against Holster, trusting him to keep him upright as they impart priceless wisdom to Chowder, Dex, and Nursey). They go up to the Reading Room when the party thins out, as is their custom, and it takes them a few tries to get Bitty’s window open but eventually they figure it out and climb through onto the roof.

Ransom leans back against the Haus, staring out at their neighborhood. Holster sprawls out in a way only Holster can, and wiggles around until he’s resting his head on Ransom’s thigh. Ransom smooths back his hair, dragging his fingertips over Holster’s scalp until he relaxes with a long, drawn out sigh.

Ransom’s not sure how long they sit, content in each other’s company, because he’s not great at time management when he’s sober but he’s even worse at it when he’s drunk. Minutes or hours go by, Holster’s head in his lap, his hand in Holster’s hair.

“I think,” Holster says suddenly, low voice cutting through the quiet. He’s a little raspy from singing and shots. “I have uncovered a paradox.”

“Do tell,” Ransom says, giving Holster’s hair a little tug. “Go on, you can’t say that and then not tell me the paradox.”

“Prep culture is garbage.” Holster declares, waving his hand in a sweeping gesture that suggests finality. “The salmon shorts are the preppiest piece of clothing you own, therefore, they are garbage. Salmon, by extension, is garbage. And yet!” He exclaims, punctuating the cry with a pointed finger. “Your romper, the most egregious example of salmon mine eyes have ever encountered in my almost two and half decades of life, is not garbage. I don’t see how it’s possible, but here we are.”

Ransom looks down at him, letting the words hang in the air for a long moment. “Is that your way of saying you like my outfit?” He asks dryly, and Holster just lifts both shoulders in a little half-shrug.

“Maybe.” He says, settling back down in Ransom’s lap.

“You could just say that, you know.” Ransom tugs on Holster’s short hair, just because he can, and then smoothes his fingertips over his scalp in case he tugged too hard.

Holster tilts his head back, following the motion of Ransom’s hand. “But, drama,” He whines, and he’s somehow equal parts ridiculous and adorable.

“I know, I know.” Ransom sighs in mock resignation. He pats Holster’s head to get his attention. “You look really good tonight, too.” He says. Holster just rolls his eyes, and Ransom can’t have that. “I mean it! Bitty did you a solid with the crop top.”

Blood rushes to Holster’s cheeks. “I picked it out.” He says quietly, as if that information might make Ransom change his mind. It doesn’t.

“You did?” Ransom asks, trying not to sound too incredulous. He gives Holster a hard time about his fashion choices but the last thing he wants is to undermine his confidence if he’s capable of a look like this. “It looks really, really good.” He says warmly, smoothing back Holster’s hair with his palm.

Holster blushes, the red flush spreading to his ears and neck and before Ransom knows it it’s traveled down past the hem of his crop top to his stomach and all Ransom wants to do is kiss him. Tonight is supposed to be perfect and yeah, finally kissing Holster might be the most perfect thing Ransom can think of but it’s not worth the risk. It’s selfish, especially since he now knows Holster’s in love with someone else.

Then Holster smiles up at him, eyes half-lidded and grin lazy and Ransom thinks it might just be okay to be a little selfish. His fingers card through Holster’s hair as his hand slips down to cup his cheek, thumb brushing over the band of delicate pink that’s blooming on Holster’s skin. He curls over, moving before he can change his mind, and presses their lips together in a soft kiss.

Holster gasps beneath him, a sharp inhale, and there’s a long moment of stillness before he suddenly melts, tension draining from his body as his lips move beneath Ransom’s. Holster opens up beneath him with a shaky gasp and it’s probably the most beautiful thing Ransom’s ever heard. He sucks on Holster’s bottom lip just to hear that same sound again but this time Holster surges up beneath him, fingers curling into the collar of Ransom’s romper.

Ransom’s not sure why Holster’s kissing him back, if it’s the alcohol or the party or just because it’s almost the end or the million and one other things that could explain it but it feels so good and so right that Ransom doesn’t even care that Holster’s probably thinking about someone else.

A sudden burst of noise breaks the kiss before either of them can. Ransom jerks up and cool evening air rushing over his bare legs when Holster follows. They both scan the street, searching for the source of the sound, and moments later there’s another loud burst, this time accompanied by small bursts of light.

The Lax Bros have discovered fireworks. Perfect.

Beside him, Holster carefully makes his way to his feet, stretching his arms above his head. Ransom watches as the crop top rides up over his pecs, still too drunk on tub juice and kisses to keep himself from blatantly staring.

“I think those assholes are the only thing I’m not going to miss about this place,” Holster’s standing up straight, hands on his hips, surveying the stretch of campus before him. The fireworks explode again, illuminating him in white light for a brief moment before fading.

“Scantrons,” Ransom says absently, distracted by a wayward freckle on Holster’s hip. A quick motion in the corner of his eye draws his attention; Holster’s holding out a hand to help him up. He reaches up and takes it immediately and lets Holster pull him to his feet.

“Those gross breakfast sausage patties at the dining hall,” Holster adds, hand firmly clasped around Ransom’s.

“The sticky carpet in the library,” Ransom says with a wince when he’s finally on his feet. He swears Holster gives his hand a squeeze before he lets go to clamber back through the window. “The awkward section of the lecture hall that doesn’t get wifi.”

“That one trash can on the quad that’s always full.” Holster half-kneels on Bitty’s bed, offering a hand for Ransom to take when he climbs through the window. Ransom’s successfully made it from Bitty’s room to the Reading Room a million times in every possible stage of intoxication but he takes it anyway, and this time he doesn’t let go.

“Professor Matthison, Dr. Graves, Dr. Mr. Ryton, Dr. Mrs. Ryton.” Ransom lists as Holster carefully rearranges Sr. Bun so he’s resting in the middle of Bitty’s pillow and not precariously close to the edge of the bed.

“Freshmen.” Holster says as they finally exit Bitty’s room. “Sophomores,” He adds after a brief moment. “Juniors,” He says when they reach the second flight of steps. “Most Seniors. The odd grad student who sticks around way longer than they should.”

“Parties at the soccer house that never stand up to the hype.” Ransom kicks their door closed behind him as Holster leads him up the stairs, their hands still joined.

“The people who come back from study abroad all enlightened an’ shit.” Holster says. “Like, we get it, you left America, good for you.” He stops by the desk to collect the water bottles they’d filled before the party and Ransom drops his hand reluctantly to take his. Ransom makes a b-line for the bottom bunk, just barely pulling ahead, and manages to flop down first before Holster can beat him to it. Holster, undeterred, climbs on top of him in retaliation and the next thing Ransom knows his best friend is straddling him, the back of his head resting against the bottom of the top bunk.

Suddenly, Ransom can’t think of a single thing he’s going to miss about Samwell, because Samwell will always be the place he met Holster, the place he played with Holster, the place he co-captained with Holster, the place he kissed Holster.

They’re quiet for a long moment. The Haus settles around them. Ransom can faintly hear more fireworks from the Lax house across the street but he pays it no mind, not when he’d rather be listening to Holster’s breathing, the rustling as he resets his knees on either side of Ransom’s hips, the soft bump when he hits his head against the top bunk.

Slowly, carefully, Ransom settles his hands on Holster’s thighs, just above his knees. Just as slowly and just as carefully, Holster places his hands on Ransom’s chest. Ransom’s gaze settles on Holster’s hands, travelling up his freckled forearms and rounded biceps and broad shoulders and strong jaw until he’s looking him straight in the eye. Holster’s gaze is lowered but his eyes flicker up and once he finds Ransom’s gaze he holds it.

“Hey, Rans?” Holster says, softer than Ransom has ever heard him. His fingertips press into Ransom’s chest.

“Yeah?” Ransom whispers as he presses his fingers into the firm muscles of Holster’s thighs.

Holster tears his gaze away, looking back down at his hands. He looks so unsure, almost frightened, and that’s not how he’s supposed to look after the best kegster. Ransom tries to sit up, hands slipping further up Holster’s legs, but Holster just pushes him back down, this time following him. Holster leans down, removing his hands to plant them on either side of Ransom’s head, and he’s so close Ransom can count each individual eyelash. His eyes are so, so blue, even in the dim light, and Ransom thinks he could lay like this forever.

Then Holster’s kissing him, soft and hesitant and so, so sweet that Ransom almost forgets to kiss him back. Almost.

Holster might love someone else but Ransom loves him and if this is the last kiss he ever gets with Holster he’s damned well going to make the most of it. He slides his hands up Holster’s thighs and when Holster shifts closer Ransom’s hands settle on his ass. Holster groans when Ransom pulls him close, just a quiet wisp of a sound that Ransom feels more than he hears.

When Holster pulls back his face is bright red and when Ransom skims his hands up his bare sides he can feel the warm blush over his stomach. He wants - God, there’s so much Ransom wants to do - but right now he wants to run his hands over every single inch of Holster that he’s been staring at all day, and the most incredible thing about it is that Holster lets him. Ransom’s fingertips trace down his back on either side of his spine until they find the dimples Ransom had stared at earlier and when he presses his fingers into them Holster just dips closer and kisses Ransom again.

It’s perfect. They’re perfect.

Holster pulls away with a soft sigh all too soon, tilting his head to the side to press his forehead against Ransom’s temple. “You’re drunk.” He breathes, and Ransom can feel the curve of his smile against his cheek.

“You’re drunk,” Ransom counters, turning his head to chase Holster’s lips. Their noses bump into each other and when Holster laughs Ransom brushes his smile against Holster’s in a soft press of curved lips. Holster deepens the kiss, curling in towards Ransom again. Ransom slips his fingertips beneath the hem of Holster’s crop top just to hear his sharp inhale. Holster pulls back again with a soft huff of laughter.

“Didn’t say I wasn’t.” Holster says as he sits up. Ransom’s hands slip down his body, gliding over warm skin and shifting muscles.

“That doesn’t make sense.” Ransom mumbles, too drunk and too focused on the incredible sight of his hands wrapped around Holster’s waist to even attempt to make sense of the words. He traces his thumbs down the sharp cut of Holster’s hips, reverent.

“It does, you’re just drunk.” Holster tips to the side, just barely managing to avoid knocking their heads together when he lays down.

“Shut up.” Ransom huffs, annoyed that Holster’s new position means he can’t follow the cut of Holster’s hips all the way down past the waistband of his joggers. Holster shifts, hooking a leg over Ransom’s legs as he burrows his face against Ransom’s neck.

“Mmmkay. Night.” Holster sighs, wiggling just a bit closer before slinging his arm around Ransom’s waist. Now this, Ransom can work with. When he closes his eyes the darkness spins, swirling around like water going down a drain. Ransom focuses on the steady sound of Holster’s breathing, matching his inhales and exhales, until the swirling slows and he’s finally able to drift off.

Ransom wakes up with a dry mouth and a pounding headache. Sunlight is bursting through every window, invading the deep, dark crevasses of his brain with noise and light where there should be quiet and darkness. Ransom groans and rolls over, trying to find Holster to hide beneath the shadow of his giant head but when he reaches for him his hand just hits the wall. Confused, Ransom reaches again, and this time his hand falls directly onto the empty mattress.

Holster’s gone.

Ransom sits up straight, just barely managing to avoid hitting his head on the bottom bunk, and forces his burning eyes open to look for his best friend. There’s no one else in the attic and despite the warmth from the sun’s too-bright rays Ransom goes cold.

Holster is gone. Holster left. Holster left him.

Ransom stumbles out of bed and down the steps, just barely managing to make it to their bathroom before he throws up.

It takes a while for Ransom to make it back up to the attic and sprawl out on the floor with his water bottle. He feels marginally better from washing his face and changing out of his romper but mostly he feels wrung out, exhausted and achy and stupid. What was he thinking, kissing Holster like that, even after he knew Holster was in love with someone else? It was selfish and idiotic and yeah, Holster might have kissed him back but he also left this morning without waking Ransom up and Ransom knows exactly what that means.

It’s goodbye. It’s maybe I made a mistake. It’s I wanted you then but I don’t want you now. It’s everything Ransom can’t survive. Ransom buries his pounding head in his hands. Last night had been one horrible decision after another, fueled by alcohol and good intentions and his hopeless crush on his best friend.

Ransom leans back against Holster’s bed. When he straightens his legs he accidentally kicks Holster’s backpack and his calf is resting on a pile of Holster’s clothes. He tilts his head back and sees the banner he and Holster hung when they first moved into the Haus. He inhales; the entire room smells like Holster.

Ransom is fucked. He has to get out, now.

He pushes himself up and hurries out of the room, leaving every trace of Holster behind him. He’s across the river before he knows it and his body carries him through campus on autopilot. He’s not going anywhere, he’s just going, because the thought of standing still makes him want to crawl out of his skin. He wants to run, jump, sprint, put on all his gear and skate until his lungs burn and his legs won’t hold him up anymore. He just has to keep going because he’s an idiot who gets drunk and kisses his best friend and lets his best friend kiss him when he knows nothing will come of it.

“Ransom!” A familiar voice echoes across the quad just as Ransom reaches the Well. Ransom freezes, suddenly unable to take another step even though every single instinct is tell him to run when Holster jogs across the grass. He’s still wearing the joggers from last night but he’s wearing one of his striped tanks instead of the crop top and his glasses are perched on his nose.

It’s too much. Holster’s like the sunlights streaming through the attic windows, too bright and intense and gorgeous for Ransom’s alcohol-stained brain to process. Fuck, he’s way too hungover for this, for Holster’s bare, freckled shoulders and his broad, beautiful smile.

“I’m done!” Holster says joyously, raising his arms in a double fist pump. Icy fear closes around Ransom’s throat, closing his airway in a chilling fist. Holster’s done with what? With him? With them?

“What?” Ransom manages to say, taking a half step back when Holster enters his space. Holster’s bright smile falters.

“With college. I just finished my last exam.” Holster explains, thick eyebrows drawing together in concern. He says something else that Ransom doesn’t hear, too overwhelmed by the stream of icy relief that cascades down his throat when the anxiety melts away.

Holster left to take his test, not to leave Ransom behind. Holster had a reason to leave. But Holster also didn’t have a reason to stay, because he’s in love with someone and that someone is not Ransom.

Ransom aches from the emotional whiplash. There’s so much he has to say. The words crowd his mouth, pushing and fighting to get out, and Ransom’s not sure what’s going to come out when he opens his mouth so he keeps it firmly shut. Holster’s still speaking, looking increasingly panicked. He’s fidgeting, shifting his weight, hands flying with a nervous energy.

“And I know I fucked up, I shouldn’t have let it get as far as it did. I was so drunk, fuck, Rans, I know that’s not an excuse but I was and I thought it was okay and I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry that I ruined everything. That’s the last thing I wanted and I know you probably don’t want to see me but I’ll do anything, anything to fix us.” Holster’s voice is thick as the words fall from his mouth in a faster and faster stream. Ransom’s never seen him this upset before and he doesn’t know how to help because he’s still trying to piece together what Holster’s talking about because everything he’s saying is backwards.

“I ruined everything.” Ransom says, cutting off Holster’s monologue. “I’m the one who has to fix things because I’m the one who fucked up. I heard you and Bitty talking, I know you’re in love with someone and I kissed you anyway because you looked so good and I couldn’t help myself, I -” Ransom cuts himself off, scrubbing his hands over his face. Holster’s silent and still before him. “I just wanted last night to be perfect and instead I ruined it but Holster, Holtzy, listen to me.” He reaches out, placing both his hands on Holster’s broad shoulders. Holster’s looking down at him with wide, shocked eyes but Ransom presses onward, voice growing louder and more desperate with every word. “If this guy you love doesn’t love you back then he’s a fucking idiot and isn’t worth your time because you’re the best, you’re my favorite person, and I would give anything to get to be the one who -”

“You are the one! You’re the idiot!” Holster roars, twisting out of Ransom’s grasp. “I let you kiss me because I’m in love with you and I have been for years!”

“I’ve been in love with you. That’s why I kissed you first! I’ve loved you since junior year!” Ransom yells, reaching out to jab his finger against Holster’s chest. Holster bats his hand away, eyes narrowed.

“I’ve loved you since junior year!” Holster’s voice echoes around the empty quad, bouncing off the buildings and trees until his words reach Ransom a second time. Even then, it’s impossible for Ransom to process because he’s loved Holster since then, too, and it doesn’t make sense that they’re so in sync with everything in their lives except this.

“Since when?” Ransom demands, just as loud and angry as Holster is.

“Since fucking February 2015!” Holster’s words just send a fresh wave of something - anger, passion, sheer incredulity, whatever it is - coursing through Ransom’s veins because Holster might have loved him for years, but Ransom loved him first.

“I’ve loved you since December 2014 when you came home with me for winter break!” Ransom exclaims, and it feels like a victory when Holster falters for a brief moment. He’s studying Ransom’s face, blue eyes analyzing every detail, and for the first time in their friendship he’s rendered Holster speechless.

“Then why are we yelling?” Holster shouts, throwing his hands in the air in frustration.

“I don’t know!” Ransom cries, and silence falls over the quad. They’re both breathing heavily from the yelling, bursting with energy that doesn’t settle until Ransom reaches out for Holster, grabbing his shirt between his thumb and forefinger. He tugs, lightly, and Holster takes a step forward. They relax into each other, Ransom’s legs pressed against the Well with Holster crowding into his space. “I’m really the idiot?” Ransom asks softly, looking up at Holster through his lashes.

Holster’s lips curl up in a soft, gentle smile. “You’ve always been the idiot.” He says warmly, lifting his hands to cradle Ransom’s face in his big hands.

“In the idiot’s defense, I didn’t know you even liked guys so -” Ransom begins, the words falling from his lips in a quick stream as Holster leans in.

“Shut up,” Holster murmurs fondly before he closes the distance between them to firmly press his lips against Ransom’s. His glasses are cool against Ransom’s skin but his lips are warm.

This time, they’re not pressed together in the dark. They’re not drunk. They’re not holding anything back, not secretly aching with love.

The sun shines bright on the back of Ransom’s neck. He might be an idiot, but at least he’s an idiot who gets to have this, have him.

“Hey,” Ransom breaks the kiss by tilting his head back. Holster just presses his face into Ransom’s neck, lips brushing over his pulse point. “Holtzy, let’s go home.” He sinks his fingers into Holster’s thick hair, tugging him back. Holster goes willingly, glasses askew, and Ransom fixes them before rocking up to press another kiss to Holster’s lips, just because he can, because Holster wants him to, because Holster loves him.

“Okay,” Holster murmurs against his lips, and tangles their fingers together as they walk through campus.

It’s perfect. They’re perfect.

[gothify1]

You might have noticed that we do a lot of stories based on customer reviews. From five-star drugstore dry shampoos  to the best-reviewed items at Urban Outfitters , we do these roundups because it's always helpful to see what shoppers are saying before you take the plunge. However, this time around, I'm taking a different approach. You may know about über-popular items like Levi's skinny jeans with over 11,000 reviews on Amazon or Zella leggings that boast over 6000 Nordstrom reviews. But what are the next cult-favorite items? That's what I'm about to predict. These newer arrivals or trending items don't have thousands of reviews yet, but I predict that these items below will be the next big things. In due time, they will be cult favorites—just watch. Scroll down to shop my predictions about the next cult-favorite pieces at Nordstrom. Tie-dye hoodies and sweatpants are all over Instagram and TikTok right now. Of all the options at Nordstrom, this is mt #1 pick because of its reasonable price and subtle pastel colors. I browsed through every single trench coat on Nordstrom's website, and I believe this one is the ideal combination of style and affordability. I'm in love with the light khaki color and sleek shape. Since we're in the middle of the rainy season, I think this coat will become a customer favorite in no time. Madewell items consistently have outstanding reviews on Nordstrom's website, so it's only a matter of time before everyone catches on to this light jacket that's perfect for transitional weather. Due to the current demand for comfy-yet-cute clothes for staying at home, I predict this adorable embroidered sweater—which our own Allyson Payer owns—will become a cult-favorite in no time. Honeydew Intimates is a top-rated lingerie brand at Nordstrom. This is its newest bra design, and I can tell that it's going to be a best-seller. The fabric is ultra-soft, the straps are comfortable, and the lilac color is very on-trend. When it gets too hot for sweatpants, these pastel $26 shorts are the next best thing. With many people staying home more than ever, the demand for comfy loungewear has certainly increased. This satiny top is as comfortable as your favorite T-shirt, but 10 times chicer. This new thong by Natori is bound to become just as popular as the brand's Natori's Feathers Underwire Contour Bra, which takes the title of Nordstrom's most-reviewed bra and is a consistent best-seller. As the only multi-brand retailer to carry Kim Kardashian West's brand Skims, Nordstrom is at an advantage to attract her many, many fans with the brand's new arrivals. I've tested out this bralette and can confirm that it's ultra-comfortable and barely noticeable after wearing it all day long. Leave it to Kim Kardashian West to convince ladies that we need a pair of boxers. As the weather warms up, these will be the perfect thing to wear to bed and around the house. Gold chain necklaces are a trend that has major staying power, and you can't go wrong with a chic $25 interpretation. These old-school sneakers are seeing quite the resurgence lately, with everyone from Rosie Huntington-Whiteley to fashion editors wearing them nonstop. Fact: Staud knows how to make a mean It bag. This latest addition is sure to become Instagram famous in no time. Ask any fashion girl about her favorite shoe brand, and By FAR is guaranteed to come up repeatedly. The brand's newest design is wearable thanks to the kitten heel, but the snakeskin print and square toe lend the shoes a cool edge. Nike still dominates when it comes to highly anticipated sneaker launches, and I predict these high-tops will be no exception. This satiny dress looks much more expensive than it really is. It's just the kind of fun purchase that makes me excited about warm weather. Ganni has a reputation for selling extremely well, and fashion girls clamor to buy new arrivals every season. I think this pistachio beauty will quickly become an It item because of its statement sleeves and on-trend pastel color. This is another pretty floral dress that looks like it could be by a luxury designer. (Brock Collection, anyone?) ASTR the Label is a highly rated brand at Nordstrom, and this new dress will certainly attract fans. I know a good deal when I see one, and this on-sale Topshop dress is definitely one. It has me dreaming of summer picnics. This already-popular Halogen dress has just been released in this new polka-dot colorway, and I think it will sell like hotcakes because of its easy-to-wear shape and modest silhouette that works for nearly every occasion under the sun. I think this jumpsuit can become a cult-favorite because it's a super-easy one-and-done outfit that's comfortable yet stylish. Plus, it already has Instagram fans like Tamara Mory, as seen above. Wit & Wisdom's jeggings have an impressive 600 reviews on Nordstrom's website, so it's only a matter of time before the brand's newest jeans climb up the rankings as well. Nothing says warm weather like white jeans, right? Madewell is consistently a top-seller at Nordstrom and I have a strong feeling that these denim shorts will be the brand's next hit. Everyone already trusts Madewell's quality and fit, and these white shorts are the perfect canvas for showing off cute summery tops. Next, six affordable brands that don't suck at being green .

[cutiecrates]

Cutie Reviews: Kawaii Box July 19

Here we are guys, the Kawaii Box I’ll be reviewing tonight. I’ve had these pictures ready since Sunday but I blame my birthday and the delivery issues for the Lucky Treat as to why it took me almost a week...

Let’s hope the next one is quicker :D

Word of the month: Ryokou - Trip

“Create the best summer vacation ever with this month’s selection of kawaii goodies!“

Happy Day Pill Organizer & Kawaii Candy Wrapper Hairclips

For a summer holiday it can come in handy to have some little necessities with you, especially if they’re really cute ones. Both items are available in other designs/colors on Blippo.com.

First up is this little pill box, featuring a ball chain you can attach to a bag or purse, or even pants or belt loops for easy access to your vitamins or essential medication. I think you could even pack other tiny items, like a handy place to hold small jewelry, ear/nose plugs, contacts (maybe), little hair accessories, etc.

I’ve gotten a few other pill box containers, but they really do come in handy. Not only can I pack the above items, but I’ve also started taking vitamins these past two years, I also have an antibiotic I’m on right now, and I try to keep ibuprofen and stomach medicines on hand for me or others. Because I have a couple it also saves me room in my bed-side table.

So yeah, I’ve been making good use of them. 

-------

Hair care and accessories can also be a necessity, clips provide an easy and quick method of getting hair out of the face. They also look adorable~

These clips are made to resemble wrapped candies or sweets, with a clear resin or plastic on front decorated with various items and a painted back, along with a vibrant semi-translucent clip. The clip quality is nice with little spiked pieces to weave through the hair and securely hold it, and the charm itself isn’t loose or flimsy.

I love their original hair clips (except for those neon nightmare ribbons from a few months ago), and these are very sweet and fun. The candy theme and colorful mix of vibrant and pastels makes them perfect not only for summer, but any occasion!

Aiko Headphone Case

Next up is this adorable Aiko-chan case for... I assume earbuds? It says headphone but I don’t think they would fit in there. Anyway, it features a double-sided image and an attachable pink metal piece so that you can connect this to various items, or you could even loop something else through the strap if you wanted.

The inside is a basic black, with a half-mesh piece on one of the sides. It’s compact but you could definitely fit some decent things in here besides earbuds; like everything I listed above, a hand sanitizier, small makeup items, toothpicks or ear cleaners, mints, candy, a mini notepad or sticky note set, etc.

This is really cute, but I kinda wish the design was more... summery? Like using the one from the booklet cover, which is what they usually do.

Hello Kitty Mermaid Plushie

Now this is what I’m talking about- although... this would have been a better match for the previous months box, with the mermaid items don’t you agree?

This is from a brand or company called Nakajima, and is part of a Sanrio Characters line. It’s officially worth or costs 20 Sanrio points, and I’m pretty sure its based on the much larger Hello Kitty mermaid plushies. I’ve seen a handful of them though so this could just be another catfish in the sea ;3 She has a light pink piece of tulle on her head adorned by a glittery felt star, with the same tulle around the top of the chest, and her tail is light purple with a shimmery, glittery hot pink semi-translucent fin. By the corner of her eye are two stitched stars in matching colors.

The plush is soft in the paws, but the head is more firm, with the tail just slightly softer. She’s well made and she even has a ball chain, so I could attach her to things as well if I wanted and bring her with me~

Icy Pastel Popsicle Pen

As usual we got a fun pen, and these never fail to please when it comes to fun, cuteness, and theme matching. So this month we have a multicolored pastel popsicle-shaped piece attached to the nubbin’ of a pen lid. The pen itself is a plain, thin white tube and there is a fine tip; and as usual it’s available in a few other colors. I love popsicles too, so I made sure to add it to the other pens I enjoy using. 

There isn’t really much to say about the pen quality wise, other than the fact it needs a few minutes to dry. The pen can hold a line for a long time (as in, you don’t need to force flowage) and it can dot and write very easy and smooth.

Tiny Party Sparkly Stickers

As usual we also get adorable stickers, and this month we have a set of adorable, glittery, pastel items perfect for not only a fun party during summer or a get-together with friends, but also add a sweet touch to various items- like letters, notes, photo albums, picture frames, etc.

The stickers are “barely puffy“ to give them a 3D look, and what I think is adorable is on the upper corner, where it lists this:

Calories: ???

Enjoyment: 110%

Happiness: 100%

I really like all of the stickers but I think my most favorite are the candy containers, the unicorn cupcake or ice cream, and the jelly desserts.

Happy Nikukyu Polar Bear Gummies

We’ve gotten gummies like these before from Kawaii Box, and in a few other boxes, but usually they are cat or dog themed. To cool down from the warm summer weather, we’re invited to enjoy these chilling polar bear paw gummies, which as you can see are filled with a creamy gel. The bag is re-sealable and the entire bag is 102 calories- which I don’t really think is too bad. If you ate the whole bag it’d be a nice little snack.

I usually like these gummies, and they’ve never been filled before so this was a fun change. I also love soda flavors, and these are very yummy. The cooling effect lasts for a few minutes and is very soothing, it isn’t harsh or minty at all.

Korean DIY Kawaii Bracelet Set

Fun for a rainy day or just a bout of boredom or some time to yourself, we have this cute and colorful jewelry set. It consists of several colorful charms in various shapes and sizes, and it has a long bundled up stretchy string.

I pulled out the more “random charms“ to show you guys, and there was several that I only had one of, like that heart, the flower, the big, that big rose. I had multiple of the heels, but I thought they were so random and cute I couldn’t help but include them. I also noticed a lot of spare little bits of plastic I can’t do anything with, and there was one or two pieces with extra plastic I’ll need to remove before use.

However... I actually kind of like how they look in the little jar, I’m a bit hesitant about using them. I might just leave them as is. But I’ll probably use a couple pieces.

Korean DIY Kawaii Cupcake Set

I’ve done a couple of kits like this before, they’re a lot of fun and I love to see how different they are between each one. I do wish we could have a little more variety kit wise, but because they differ it’s not that bad. Plus there are color variations so you can have a lot of fun making these, then re-using them for re-ment or dolls, or just cutesy displays later.

So as you can see we have two frostings, along with 3 cupcake liners and 3 glasses, and four bottles of deco bits: Styrofoam balls, glittery green stars, fruits and random other canes, and various glittery bits.

Here are 3 I did, including 1 cupcake and 2 drinks. I’ve gone ahead and did another cupcake sometime after this pic, but I still have 2 pieces left over and a little bit of the “frosting“, which is a lot like glue in terms of consistency and feel. When you finish, it has a smooth and puffy texture, but it hardens over time and loses the squishiness.

I believe there would be enough to finish the last 2 pieces, but I’m unsure. The cupcake isn’t entirely frosting, I used spare bits to fill the bottom, a squirt of blue frosting, then filled it in white.

It’s very fun, but I will warn you, from the experience I’ve had with these types of things you definitely want tweezers to use. It will make the job loads easier and less-messy.

♥ Cutie Ranking ♥

Content - 5 out of 5: The items are well-made and really sweet, I like them all.

Theme - 2.5 out of 5: I felt like this could have been a lot better, I want to say at least half of the box was summery vacation themed

Total Rank: 8 out of 10 Cuties. I liked the items a lot, but I didn’t feel excited or super-thrilled with the box either. It was just good, not great or fantastic though, but you can’t please everyone and I still really liked it. The items are cute and colorful, and fun and practical. I can’t help but wonder what Augusts’ box will be like though, since both this one and the June one are both falling short on summer expectations. We’ll just have to wait to find out!

♥Cutie Scale ♥

1. Polar Bear Paw Gummies - These were delicious, I’d recommend them if you ever see them

2. Kawaii Hairclips - As I said above, I love the unique hair accessories we get from Blippo/Kawaii Box, I especially love these ones inspired by food items :3 I’ve worn them a couple of times and I really, really like them.

3. Popsicle Pen - It’s so cute, I just wish the pens tube wasn’t so plain. It’s a little boring, but I can understand the design choice.

4. Sparkly Stickers - I probably won’t use these because of how much I like them. Unless I just find the perfect place for them that is~

5. Pill Organizer - It’s very fun and I love the use of black as a pop of color to the soft pastels. It’s been easy to use and it came in handy freeing up space.

6. Hello Kitty Mermaid - It’s very cute and I’m obsessed with Hello Kitty, I don’t have a mermaid hello kitty, unless you count the large dress-up hello kitty doll I have, who was mermaid themed when I bought her.

7. DIY Bracelet Kit - Same as below, but I’m less-likely to actually touch it right now. I love looking at all the pieces~

8. DIY Cupcake Set - It’s very cute and fun, and relaxing too. But I’ve been there done that. 

9. Aiko Case - It’s very cute and small, I won’t be using them for earbuds or headphones but I know I can find a use for it in my bed-side table or purse. I still wish they used the design from the front though...

[iosihexa]

petals for your efforts

ao3 link

warnings: none

ship: dan / phil

wordcount: 1757

extra stuff: tiny trace of pastel dan, dreaded 2nd person POV but according to a few people i pull it off In A Manner That Is Readable, soft, high school setting (ish), i recommend reading on ao3

You catch your first glimpse of him – the real him, you think, or at least a part of him that is a little more raw – at the far end of an overground station platform. Granted, you’re perhaps a bit more than distracted given the dismal weather, everything feeling blurry and a little too bright against the glary pale grey of the clouds, but. He’s there. And he looks miserable, clutching what looks like a delicately wired flower crown with sad, wet petals between his fingers.

For a brief moment, you’re highly tempted to wax poetic about his hands, because they’re beautiful, but there are other issues at hand.

“Hey,” you begin, and wince because you absolutely did not think this through. “Dan, right? Doing alright?”

He stares back at you, hair curling slightly from the moisture – he must straighten it every day, you muse – and then promptly looks back down to his shoes. “Hello, Phil.”

The two of you aren’t really in the same friendship circles. You have been vaguely aware of Dan since the beginning of the school year, but it’s a whole new experience to see him out of uniform and wearing – well.

“That colour looks nice on you,” you comment, gesturing vaguely towards the pale pink jumper he’s wearing, and squint, leaning closer to the little design in the centre of the shirt. “Is that an egg?”

He looks at you again, and you’re satisfied to note that he looks happier now, if a little amused. “Yes. Sunny-side up, so the egg’s name has been delegated Sunny. Also, thanks,” he surveys your own attire carefully, “your, uh. Subtle selection of black clothing is pretty neat, I guess.”

A nervous laugh manages to escape you lips as you gesture towards the flower crown still grasped gently between his fingers. “Can I take that? Perhaps it’ll be good to have some colour on me for a little while. I’ll return it on Monday at school?”

He looks surprised, to say the least. You blame the general concept of toxic masculinity and also the fact that he probably thinks you are the strangest, most uncouth person to have ever interacted with him.

Nonetheless, reaches up and places the flowers in your hair, and studies you evenly. “Looking good,” he says, and winks, and you think that you like him a bit.

DAN: look im just saying but you have to get your priorities straight WATCH THE CLASSICS FIRST god I cant believe you havent even watched fmab yet PHIL: Ok, ok, but sometimes I can’t help but go into the weird obscure things my friends recommend me, you know? PHIL: like it’s not like I know any better PHIL: anyways fine!!! I’ll watch your weird animes. But you have to read that novel I recommended to you. DAN: if it’s along the same lines as a john green novel phil i swear to god i’m never trusting your recs again PHIL: hey! John green’s books aren’t that bad. romance isn’t as bad as you make it out to be. PHIL: and it’s a good book, I promise. It’s exactly the kind of hipstery thing you’d like DAN: what on earth are you insinuating DAN: ok one of the protags isn’t straight I can get behind this PHIL: I can’t believe I managed to peg your interests just like that. DAN: hey, now. PHIL: Just read it. Tell me if you cry at the end :D DAN: i wont DAN: we must discuss this book when ive finished reading on saturday

Your mother is probably extremely glad that you’re getting out of the house of your own accord to meet up with friends for once. Or just a friend. Singular. You’re not about to admit it, but you’re very ready to see Dan in soft, colourful, non-school related clothing again.

He’s sitting in the very corner of the café you agreed to meet at, hunched away over what looks like a milkshake, and you take the opportunity to admire the robin’s egg blue of his shirt, and the demeanour of calmness he seems to have cast over himself, still reading the book you lent him. It’s just starting to sprinkle as you make your way into the shop and order.

“Hello,” you say, and he looks up and his smile stretches across his face languidly, dark eyes making contact with yours – he seemed awkward with eye contact the first time you talked to him at the station those few weeks back, but now it’s fine.

You curse the existence of involuntary physical responses as you heart beats a tiny bit faster, because it’s only been a few weeks, but you do like him. You’re not in denial, just frustrated and perhaps wishing that you could have a highschool romance story like any silly romcom film you’ve watched.

“Thought you were going to abandon me, like the terrible person you are,” he says, still grinning as he pats the seat next to him. “Sit down. We have some important themes and subtextual information from within this book we need to discuss.”

He slides the novel over to you, finger tracing a few lines. “Here, see this? And,” he flips a few pages over, “this? They only talk twice in the whole book – yes, I’ve been rereading – and yet everyone is convinced they’re in love. Remind me why, again?”

You smile back, and push his hand off the book. “You’re reading into it wrong,” and from the way his gaze challenges you, you’re willing to bet you’ll have a fun discussion.

Dan leans his head back on your blanket, somehow already at ease. The late afternoon light is filtering in through the windows, casting hazy, shattered beams of sun onto the bed.

“Your room is exactly as nerdy as I thought it would be,” he laughs a bit, and reaches over to examine the cactus you have placed on your desk. “You’re absolutely the type to name your plants, aren’t you? What’s this one’s name?”

You glance over. “Alistaire the Second,” you say. He lets out his soft, quiet laugh, the one that makes you feel a little bit more intimate and as if he trusts you.

“Of course,” he mutters quietly, then stares at you, not for the first time today. “Let’s paint our nails.”

“Our- what?”

He seems almost disappointed. Almost. “My sister let me take her collection of polishes, and I figured since I’m sleeping over, we should do cliche teenager sleepover things. And, since all the stuff boys are probably supposed to do during sleepovers are a lot less interesting than, say, gossiping about dudes and painting nails, we should do this.” He looks nervous for a moment. “Unless you don’t want to. We can put on a movie whilst we do it though, that’d be cool.”

Nodding vigorously, you set up your laptop and he brings out a suspicious number of glass bottles from his bag, looking a little relieved. You examine his array of colours, laughing a little bit. “Fluorescent yellow, a dodgy shade of mauve, this awful olive colour - this is quite a selection.”

He just does his grin again, and holds up a nice, bright, RGB colour wheel-worthy shade of blue. “This one for you. Actually,” he says, pushing another few bottles forwards, “you can have a rainbow.”

You end up playing Mulan in the background (Disney never fails), and he paints each nail on your left hand a different, horribly bright colour. In turn, you paint all his nails a wobbly black, except his pinkies, which he insists are painted a nice, glossy white. He wiggles his hands in front of your face. You have the urge to lick his hand, just because it’d be gross and maybe annoy him a little bit.

“Piano hands, Philly,” he says, and you look down at your own nails, which have very wobbly jobs as well.

“Uh. Vaporwave unicorn hands, Danny,” you reply, and he does his soft laugh again. Your gut clenches, and you decide you have to tell him before you regret staying quiet for months and months.

“Listen, D-”

“Oh yeah, heck,” he interrupts, jumping off the bed. “Look here, I got you a flower crown, I nearly forgot. We don’t talk about my favour for pastel clothing much, but you seemed to like the one I gave you at the train station a few months back, so you can have this.” He’s holding out a different crown, with slightly smaller roses on it, petals stained pink and orange and looping neatly with a few small leaves. “You don’t wear enough warm colours. Look, even your room is just blues, greens, black and white.”

“Thanks, Dan,” you say, almost whisper, and slot the flowers on your head. There’s a wash of fizzling happiness that rushes over you, and then you steel your nerves, pausing the film. “Listen, Dan,” you start again, and he looks ridiculously concerned for you, a tenebrous expression that you want to wipe off his face and replace with warmth again.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, and you shake your head.

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing super terrible. Although I guess it depends on how you take it, but…”

“Oh, come on, Phil, you’re not allowed to keep me in suspense like this,” he jokes, wavering.

Your brain just a one-eighty and you collapse back onto your pillow. The flower crown is dislodged slightly, flipping back and resting against the headboard. “I can’t do this,” you groan, and stretch out your hand. “Here, take it.”

“What?”

“My hand. hold it.”

Silently, he acquiesces. “Um, Phil-”

“Look,” you say, staring at the ceiling fan, watching it spin lazy circles above you, “I kind of fancy you. In, yeah, that kind of way. I don’t know, but I like you a lot, so I guess that’s that. I mean,” you mumble, beginning to ramble, “I know you’re my friend and you probably don’t- ah.” You’re cut off by Dan flopping down next to you, lacing his fingers with yours.

“It’s alright, Phil.” he says, flicking your head. “I think you’re pretty neat too,” and he gives your hand a squeeze. You think about how nice you thought his hands were when you first saw him at the station. Outside, the summery orange tint of sunset has darkened into a shadowy navy, and the sky flashes white and blue with lightning, a thunderstorm carving patterns of rain down the window. “No kissing till the third date, though,” he teases.

You can accept that.

[easynaturalhairstyle]

The 18 most beautiful pastel pink hair color ideas

A pastel pink hair color is a soft and delicate version of pink that is usually combined or worn with other lighter fashion colors like blonde and even purple. It fits any kind of hair and skin tone and is super portable, believe it or not! All you need is the confidence to show it off!

Tips for coloring hair in pastel pink

You should not be afraid to experiment with your hair color, as did the millennial stars Emily Ratajkowski, Gigi Hadid and Jemima Kirke and took the lead! The fantasy color specialist Emma Jean from the Porte Noire Salon in Central Florida also delights with her masterpieces in pastel pink!

Note that blond is the perfect canvas for this color to reach its maximum potential. Therefore, a pre-enlightenment must be considered. To rock this beautiful pale pink hue to the full, you have to give your tresses a little love! Like all unnatural colors, pastels can be washed out quickly, but the regular use of colorfast products guarantees the longevity of your beloved Zuckerwattemähne. There are some hair dyes that are great for a touch of pink at the tips or for some highlights. However, for the best results, the best option is to subject pastel pink hair to a chemical treatment.

Maybe it's time to drop those old, boring sunglasses and experience the trendy pink magic! Make this shimmering look your own by taking inspiration from these popular pastel pink hair color photos for the season!

Light Metallic Rose

Lavender with a touch of silver for the shiny effect. You will shine with this one in a different light!

Smoky pink

How would you describe this look?

This look is the best of both worlds for desired pastel pink. If you can not decide which sounds look better, you can get the best of both! It has the mix of cool tones that gives it the smokiness and warmth to bring in and capture the light. Similar to make-up in the highlight and contouring area, but for hair! Pastel pink hair really shines because the shade really comes out more.

The beauty of this look is the versatility of the color combinations. By incorporating the natural hair color of the client, the client is upgraded, but not by himself, so that his skin tone is not overwhelmed, and it remains low maintenance when it grows out. Even with the balance of warm and cold, it works with any skin tone, regardless of the undertones. Although it fades, it does not fade to a flat blonde, but to a blonde with dimensions.

Any advice for someone who thinks about it?

Research a lot and much. Save all pastel pink hair color photos that attract your attention and show them to your hairdresser. You should notice a pattern and see the sounds you like. Do not wash your hair, do not use dry shampoo or walk as long as possible and wash in cold water.

Keep the heat styling low! I always tell my customers the temperature when I curl their hair and say, "This is the temperature. If you can not curl up faster than I do, do not go higher than me. "High heat can burn the paint or even your hair.

I would ask you to ask a series of questions: What lengths are you willing to go for this hair? This look requires lighting no matter where your natural level begins. You would need up to 3 sessions. This is based on natural, virgin hair.

Now that you know that, the question is, is healthy hair a big deal for you? I'm not saying that your hair is damaged / dry afterwards, but are you open to the possibility? This is before you even reach the pastel pink. Note that anything that is iridescent or pastel is not permanent. It is unfortunate that such a thing only holds up to 5-7 washes. This depends on the hair conditions and you wash it in cooler water. Heat, hot water, salt water, sun and free radicals can cause hair color to fade.

Okay, now everything is fine, the big question: Are you ready to invest? What to invest? Time and money. Each lighting session can take up to 5.5-6 hours. The customer in the photo lasted a total of 18 hours, 3 sessions of 6 hours each. She has done it over time. With 3-4 months between each session so that her hair and wallet could rest.

Cut, light, tone, style up to 6 hours at around $ 500 per session before tipping. Toner – This is for interim sessions if you need them. Hair quality is different for everyone – some keep their color better and others do not. Not everyone is the same.

I recommend Color Enhancing Shampoo Purple, Blue, Pink, etc. (Once a week, 50 USD +). Why once a week? Because it's meant to neutralize / enhance sounds. If you use too much, this would exceed the deposit and affect the color. Less is more. Now you need a normal shampoo. To keep the hair healthy, I suggest something that has a perfect balance between moisture and protein – over protein (dry brittle), over moisture (elastic ky, noodle).

At this point, your hair needs the big guns. They wash about 1-3 times a week. If your hair is weak or thirsty, detoxifying agents / masks bring it to life. What's the point of getting the color you want, but in a bad condition? Use it at least once a week for 5-10 minutes.

Products: Oils / Serums $ 30, Heat Protection $ 25 +, Leave-in Conditioner $ 25 +. Tips: If you are lazy or have a limited store, buy a 10 in 1, as oil is always a must. Things to think about when buying oil for your hair, especially for my blond ladies: it's more than nutritious! Think of it as a sponge / piece of white paper, the color of the oil is important – orange / yellow oil. Your hair will drink it and always put oil in your hair before you blow dry it or air dry it. Your hair needs something to drink as it starts to dry. If you invest all that time and money in pastel pink hair, it is a good idea to keep it alive and radiant.

Pink highlights on blond hair

How would you describe this look?

What I love about this carefree little pastel is that it was a happy replay! I had worked her hair the week before with a beautiful color correction that fixed green stripes with strong roots and funky ends, and I turned them into a perfectly glowing blush (you can see a few posts before on my Instagram)! But she came back a week later to relieve the roots and wanted a more purple tone. So I blushed Malibu-ed's pretty light pulp-riot and gave her an exaggerated Shadow Root with my beautiful Keune Semi 5.11 + 6.1 (dark ashen). Then I blazed their ends with pulp-riot clear + powder + blush to make more of a bright purple tone!

I also sealed it with a soft pink glow from Keune to lighten it. This is a fantastic spring color for blondes who want a little fun change, but I also love that they are nicely hidden and look pretty until they disappear. Adding the loose curls with a 1-inch curling iron increases the softness and makes them look really pretty and polished!

Any advice for someone who thinks about it?

When I think about this look, I want my client to know that the pastel colors in fashion fade within 25 washes, making them light and gentle. Cool the water, add money to your color-safe / sulfate-free shampoo, do not wash daily. Make dry shampoo your friend!

As far as the tone is concerned, he is beautiful in most already bright blondes! It's just fun without too much, and it gets very soft and pretty. The Shade Root also facilitates the management of the outgrowth. It's a perfect pastel tone for spring.

Pastel blue and pink

How would you describe this look?

This pastel blue and pink look is bold yet very feminine and flirting. The best part about it is how it shines in the light and when it moved, it made a dazzling effect.

Any advice for someone who thinks about it?

Pastel colors are becoming increasingly popular and it is common to think that they are easy to access and maintain, but in reality it is more difficult than it seems and doubles for pastel pink hair colors. My best advice is to prepare for several sessions and find a stylist who will bring you to a healthy platinum blonde before you try out pastel colors. Paint deposits such as Oberton and Joico Color Butter become your best friend to refresh the color between appointments.

Pastel Rose Gold

How would you describe this look?

This client does not want a color that needs to be serviced very often. She comes only once a year, so we make balayage highlights for her hair. The best thing about this color is that when the rose gold tones disappear from the hair (and the customer does not want to take care of it anymore), they can stay blond for the rest of the time and not have to worry about growing roots.

This time, I made both Balayage highlights with backcombing technique and classic highlights for the frame of the face. She had very dense hair, so I layered a bit in the back but concentrated mainly to layer the hair around the face to make it feel very soft and light.

Any advice for someone who thinks about it?

Pastel pink hair needs to be cared for frequently, these pastel shades fade very easily. Therefore, this color is not the best if you do not want to waste your time showering, without losing the color or money that you can easily spend on hair care products.

Due to its short life this is good for those who want to try something new but want to return for a more sedate look!

Petal pink

How would you describe this look?

Pastel pink hair is delicate and sweet. The color gives a summery touch, which is also perfect as pastel pink hair is one of the upcoming trends for this summer. My favorite thing is definitely the pale pink color.

Any advice for someone who thinks about it?

Remember the big change. The hair must be bleached to a whitish color, which can affect the quality of the hair.

This type of pastel pink hair is not durable in the hair over a longer period of time. The customer needs a color shampoo / conditioner to use it at home. Therefore, he must also consider his budget.

When it comes to the skin tone, the light pink will suit most of us. This is because it contains both warm and cold pigments. And as long as the roots are a bit darker, there is no shallow impression.

Praise haircuts are suitable for all types of face shapes textures. For styling, it is a general type of haircut. I find it perfect for clients who want a good change with many options for their daily lives.

Light cotton candy

Combine the delicate color with a strong and chic, straight bob. The contrast makes the look even more enticing and interesting.

Dark to light pink ombre

Steal the perfect balayage look by adding beautiful beach waves midway to the end of your long, delicious locks.

Dusty pink hair color

Pink scattered hair on blond and black striped hair. Full, blunt pony with a medium length cut makes the look more exciting.

Nice pink short hair

Pop star Pink would definitely be proud of this Pixie Pink style!

Light pink color

Pink rose directly from the garden! They look blooming in any weather.

Soft Pink Shade

Imagine yourself in a tinted, pastel-pink hair color. The colorist Lauren did the impossible and created a shimmering pink cut.

Silver and pink balayage

Ashy Pink looks just as sumptuous as any strong hair color. Colorist Lana has the hands of a master with this paint job!

Faded pink curls

If you have a vibrant hair color and want to change it, try fading it to get a different shade of color. Champagne strawberry hair looked especially beautiful on tangled hair.

Pink highlights on brown hair

Did you ever think strawberry brunette would be one thing? Stylist Lauren shows you how to mix and match these very different colors to create a harmonious hair color.

Pink and purple

Do you dare to try this lush shade? Colorist Tara killed this unicorn hair from root to tip.

Pastel pink hair color with dark roots

Get this wild color by using a semi-permanent dye at home or, if you feel pretty brave, have your hair dyed permanently pink by a professional.

Bubblegum Pink

Bubbly and sweet, this lively pastel-pink hair color is a dream for millennial. The right curls hit the sweet spot of cuteness.

The 18 most beautiful pastel pink hair color ideas

[qualitytacolover]

The 18 most beautiful pastel pink hair color ideas

New Post has been published on https://www.easypromhairstyles.com/the-18-most-beautiful-pastel-pink-hair-color-ideas.html

The 18 most beautiful pastel pink hair color ideas

A pastel pink hair color is a soft and delicate version of pink that is usually combined or worn with other lighter fashion colors like blonde and even purple. It fits any kind of hair and skin tone and is super portable, believe it or not! All you need is the confidence to show it off!

Tips for coloring hair in pastel pink

You should not be afraid to experiment with your hair color, as did the millennial stars Emily Ratajkowski, Gigi Hadid and Jemima Kirke and took the lead! The fantasy color specialist Emma Jean from the Porte Noire Salon in Central Florida also delights with her masterpieces in pastel pink!

Note that blond is the perfect canvas for this color to reach its maximum potential. Therefore, a pre-enlightenment must be considered. To rock this beautiful pale pink hue to the full, you have to give your tresses a little love! Like all unnatural colors, pastels can be washed out quickly, but the regular use of colorfast products guarantees the longevity of your beloved Zuckerwattemähne. There are some hair dyes that are great for a touch of pink at the tips or for some highlights. However, for the best results, the best option is to subject pastel pink hair to a chemical treatment.

Maybe it's time to drop those old, boring sunglasses and experience the trendy pink magic! Make this shimmering look your own by taking inspiration from these popular pastel pink hair color photos for the season!

Light Metallic Rose

Lavender with a touch of silver for the shiny effect. You will shine with this one in a different light!

Smoky pink

How would you describe this look?

This look is the best of both worlds for desired pastel pink. If you can not decide which sounds look better, you can get the best of both! It has the mix of cool tones that gives it the smokiness and warmth to bring in and capture the light. Similar to make-up in the highlight and contouring area, but for hair! Pastel pink hair really shines because the shade really comes out more.

The beauty of this look is the versatility of the color combinations. By incorporating the natural hair color of the client, the client is upgraded, but not by himself, so that his skin tone is not overwhelmed, and it remains low maintenance when it grows out. Even with the balance of warm and cold, it works with any skin tone, regardless of the undertones. Although it fades, it does not fade to a flat blonde, but to a blonde with dimensions.

Any advice for someone who thinks about it?

Research a lot and much. Save all pastel pink hair color photos that attract your attention and show them to your hairdresser. You should notice a pattern and see the sounds you like. Do not wash your hair, do not use dry shampoo or walk as long as possible and wash in cold water.

Keep the heat styling low! I always tell my customers the temperature when I curl their hair and say, "This is the temperature. If you can not curl up faster than I do, do not go higher than me. "High heat can burn the paint or even your hair.

I would ask you to ask a series of questions: What lengths are you willing to go for this hair? This look requires lighting no matter where your natural level begins. You would need up to 3 sessions. This is based on natural, virgin hair.

Now that you know that, the question is, is healthy hair a big deal for you? I'm not saying that your hair is damaged / dry afterwards, but are you open to the possibility? This is before you even reach the pastel pink. Note that anything that is iridescent or pastel is not permanent. It is unfortunate that such a thing only holds up to 5-7 washes. This depends on the hair conditions and you wash it in cooler water. Heat, hot water, salt water, sun and free radicals can cause hair color to fade.

Okay, now everything is fine, the big question: Are you ready to invest? What to invest? Time and money. Each lighting session can take up to 5.5-6 hours. The customer in the photo lasted a total of 18 hours, 3 sessions of 6 hours each. She has done it over time. With 3-4 months between each session so that her hair and wallet could rest.

Cut, light, tone, style up to 6 hours at around $ 500 per session before tipping. Toner – This is for interim sessions if you need them. Hair quality is different for everyone – some keep their color better and others do not. Not everyone is the same.

I recommend Color Enhancing Shampoo Purple, Blue, Pink, etc. (Once a week, 50 USD +). Why once a week? Because it's meant to neutralize / enhance sounds. If you use too much, this would exceed the deposit and affect the color. Less is more. Now you need a normal shampoo. To keep the hair healthy, I suggest something that has a perfect balance between moisture and protein – over protein (dry brittle), over moisture (elastic ky, noodle).

At this point, your hair needs the big guns. They wash about 1-3 times a week. If your hair is weak or thirsty, detoxifying agents / masks bring it to life. What's the point of getting the color you want, but in a bad condition? Use it at least once a week for 5-10 minutes.

Products: Oils / Serums $ 30, Heat Protection $ 25 +, Leave-in Conditioner $ 25 +. Tips: If you are lazy or have a limited store, buy a 10 in 1, as oil is always a must. Things to think about when buying oil for your hair, especially for my blond ladies: it's more than nutritious! Think of it as a sponge / piece of white paper, the color of the oil is important – orange / yellow oil. Your hair will drink it and always put oil in your hair before you blow dry it or air dry it. Your hair needs something to drink as it starts to dry. If you invest all that time and money in pastel pink hair, it is a good idea to keep it alive and radiant.

Pink highlights on blond hair

How would you describe this look?

What I love about this carefree little pastel is that it was a happy replay! I had worked her hair the week before with a beautiful color correction that fixed green stripes with strong roots and funky ends, and I turned them into a perfectly glowing blush (you can see a few posts before on my Instagram)! But she came back a week later to relieve the roots and wanted a more purple tone. So I blushed Malibu-ed's pretty light pulp-riot and gave her an exaggerated Shadow Root with my beautiful Keune Semi 5.11 + 6.1 (dark ashen). Then I blazed their ends with pulp-riot clear + powder + blush to make more of a bright purple tone!

I also sealed it with a soft pink glow from Keune to lighten it. This is a fantastic spring color for blondes who want a little fun change, but I also love that they are nicely hidden and look pretty until they disappear. Adding the loose curls with a 1-inch curling iron increases the softness and makes them look really pretty and polished!

Any advice for someone who thinks about it?

When I think about this look, I want my client to know that the pastel colors in fashion fade within 25 washes, making them light and gentle. Cool the water, add money to your color-safe / sulfate-free shampoo, do not wash daily. Make dry shampoo your friend!

As far as the tone is concerned, he is beautiful in most already bright blondes! It's just fun without too much, and it gets very soft and pretty. The Shade Root also facilitates the management of the outgrowth. It's a perfect pastel tone for spring.

Pastel blue and pink

How would you describe this look?

This pastel blue and pink look is bold yet very feminine and flirting. The best part about it is how it shines in the light and when it moved, it made a dazzling effect.

Any advice for someone who thinks about it?

Pastel colors are becoming increasingly popular and it is common to think that they are easy to access and maintain, but in reality it is more difficult than it seems and doubles for pastel pink hair colors. My best advice is to prepare for several sessions and find a stylist who will bring you to a healthy platinum blonde before you try out pastel colors. Paint deposits such as Oberton and Joico Color Butter become your best friend to refresh the color between appointments.

Pastel Rose Gold

How would you describe this look?

This client does not want a color that needs to be serviced very often. She comes only once a year, so we make balayage highlights for her hair. The best thing about this color is that when the rose gold tones disappear from the hair (and the customer does not want to take care of it anymore), they can stay blond for the rest of the time and not have to worry about growing roots.

This time, I made both Balayage highlights with backcombing technique and classic highlights for the frame of the face. She had very dense hair, so I layered a bit in the back but concentrated mainly to layer the hair around the face to make it feel very soft and light.

Any advice for someone who thinks about it?

Pastel pink hair needs to be cared for frequently, these pastel shades fade very easily. Therefore, this color is not the best if you do not want to waste your time showering, without losing the color or money that you can easily spend on hair care products.

Due to its short life this is good for those who want to try something new but want to return for a more sedate look!

Petal pink

How would you describe this look?

Pastel pink hair is delicate and sweet. The color gives a summery touch, which is also perfect as pastel pink hair is one of the upcoming trends for this summer. My favorite thing is definitely the pale pink color.

Any advice for someone who thinks about it?

Remember the big change. The hair must be bleached to a whitish color, which can affect the quality of the hair.

This type of pastel pink hair is not durable in the hair over a longer period of time. The customer needs a color shampoo / conditioner to use it at home. Therefore, he must also consider his budget.

When it comes to the skin tone, the light pink will suit most of us. This is because it contains both warm and cold pigments. And as long as the roots are a bit darker, there is no shallow impression.

Praise haircuts are suitable for all types of face shapes textures. For styling, it is a general type of haircut. I find it perfect for clients who want a good change with many options for their daily lives.

Light cotton candy

Combine the delicate color with a strong and chic, straight bob. The contrast makes the look even more enticing and interesting.

Dark to light pink ombre

Steal the perfect balayage look by adding beautiful beach waves midway to the end of your long, delicious locks.

Dusty pink hair color

Pink scattered hair on blond and black striped hair. Full, blunt pony with a medium length cut makes the look more exciting.

Nice pink short hair

Pop star Pink would definitely be proud of this Pixie Pink style!

Light pink color

Pink rose directly from the garden! They look blooming in any weather.

Soft Pink Shade

Imagine yourself in a tinted, pastel-pink hair color. The colorist Lauren did the impossible and created a shimmering pink cut.

Silver and pink balayage

Ashy Pink looks just as sumptuous as any strong hair color. Colorist Lana has the hands of a master with this paint job!

Faded pink curls

If you have a vibrant hair color and want to change it, try fading it to get a different shade of color. Champagne strawberry hair looked especially beautiful on tangled hair.

Pink highlights on brown hair

Did you ever think strawberry brunette would be one thing? Stylist Lauren shows you how to mix and match these very different colors to create a harmonious hair color.

Pink and purple

Do you dare to try this lush shade? Colorist Tara killed this unicorn hair from root to tip.

Pastel pink hair color with dark roots

Get this wild color by using a semi-permanent dye at home or, if you feel pretty brave, have your hair dyed permanently pink by a professional.

Bubblegum Pink

Bubbly and sweet, this lively pastel-pink hair color is a dream for millennial. The right curls hit the sweet spot of cuteness.

[gethealthy18-blog]

29 Brilliant Galaxy Hair Color Styles

New Post has been published on https://healingawerness.com/getting-healthy/getting-healthy-women/29-brilliant-galaxy-hair-color-styles/

29 Brilliant Galaxy Hair Color Styles

Anjali Sayee Hyderabd040-395603080 June 18, 2019

Make way for women “where no man has gone before!” Going to space is a fantasy of mine that may never happen. But, these hairstyles sure give me a slice of the galaxy! Have you seen pictures of multiple hair colors that look like if you just added stars to them, they would look like a galaxy? That’s the galaxy hair color trend, and it is mesmerizing!

What Is The Galaxy Hair Trend?

Galaxy hair is a blend of colors space-inspired colors like blues, greens, purples, and pinks. It can be a mix of just two colors or as many as six – it’s left to you and your colorist.

Intrigued? Check out these styles to get some inspiration!

29 Brilliant Galaxy Hair Color Styles

1. Blue And Pink

Shutterstock

Pink and blue have always been a stellar combination. If you take a look at the galaxy images on Google, you’d say the universe agrees with us. This galaxy blend is more on the lighter side, which makes it perfect for women with fair skin tones. Add a bit of white to the mix to highlight the pink and blue.

2. Purple Dimensional With A Bit Of Blue

Shutterstock

Purple hair has been turning the world upside down. Whether it is bright purple, amethyst, or lilac, all women want to get on the purple hair train. Give your purple dimension a galaxy twist by adding some blue to it.

3. Spring Galaxy

Shutterstock

This unique galaxy blend reminds me of a meadow. Its combination of green, yellow, and pink is gorgeous, to say the least. This is a brilliant color blend to flaunt during spring, when nature is blooming.

4. Intense Pastel Shades

Shutterstock

Pink and purple make for an evergreen combination. Pink signifies femininity while purple signifies energy. Why not incorporate the growing trend of pastel shades into this blend? It’ll leave you with this stunning muted ice-cream mix!

5. Candied Galaxy

Shutterstock

Have you ever seen a galaxy look so candy-like? While I’ve always seen galaxy images with more deeper shades, I think this blend really brings the fun to the galaxy hair trend.

6. Rainbow Galaxy

Shutterstock

If you love colors, why limit your hair to only a few? Opt for this stunning rainbow galaxy blend to embrace ALL the colors you love. However, speak to a hairstylist first to figure out which shades and colors will suit you best.

7. Forest Galaxy

Shutterstock

Have you seen a green galaxy? If not, I urge you to Google it. It looks super beautiful. You can just feel the calm emanating from this color blend. If you’ve got a forest spirit, this is the perfect galaxy look for you.

8. Colored Bangs

Shutterstock

Red, orange, and blue come together to form this stunning recreation of a beautiful galaxy. All you need are some stars, and you are ready to blast off into space! If you just want a shock of color at the front of your hair, go for this look.

9. Beachy Galaxy

Shutterstock

When I was a kid, I would go up to the terrace and imagine that the clouds were rabbits, ice creams, and what not. Soon, I started thinking about what the Milky Way looks like and, for some reason, imagined it like the beach. Well, now I know what that looks like! If you have blonde hair and love green, this color blend is for you!

10. Striped Galaxy

Shutterstock

If you are unsure about mixing colors in your hair, opt for a striped look. You can work with two or three shades until you are sure about taking the plunge into full-blown galaxy hair colors.

11. Unicorn Galaxy

Shutterstock

Unicorns are out of this world – just like galaxies! It comes as no surprise that someone put them together to create this ethereal and gorgeous combo.

12. Multi-Galaxy

Shutterstock

There are around 2 billion to 2 trillion galaxies that we know of. If you imagine all of them together, this is probably what they’d look like. This hair color blend is super colorful and vibrant. It is sure to infuse new life into dull hair!

13. Summer Galaxy

Shutterstock

This galaxy color blend is perfect for flaunting during the summer. The colors are earthy and bright, so they’ll blend in well with the summery theme. You can also try out this look in autumn as it makes use of orange.

14. Blonde To Purple Ombré

Shutterstock

This ombré combo has many women weak in their knees, and rightfully so. Use the ombré technique to blend blonde, pink, and purple together and create this bright taste of galaxy!

15. Cool Galaxy

Shutterstock

If you have cool-toned skin, this look is for you! Green, purple, blue, and red come together to create this delectable galaxial hair mix. It is a color blend that is truly out of this world!

16. Bright Unicorn

Shutterstock

Do you often feel like a purely happy soul? Are you always trying to see the bright side of things? Do you try to make everyone happy? Then, flaunt your unicorn spirit with this bright galaxy blend. Wear your heart on your sleeve and your inner unicorn on your hair!

17. Galaxial Blend

Shutterstock

If you look up galaxy images, chances are you’ll see a lot of pink and purple galaxies. They look indescribable and may just make you believe in a higher power. So, take that immense feeling and recreate it on your hair. You won’t be disappointed!

18. Muted Galaxy

Shutterstock

If bright colors are not your thing but you’d love to try out galaxy hair, opt for this muted galaxial combo. You don’t need to try as many shades as pictured here, but do try to step a little bit outside your comfort zone.

19. Intense Galaxy

Shutterstock

Intense shades are more dramatic than bright shades. They add a slight smokey feel to your hair. If you like that, this look is your slice of heaven! Go intense this winter with this galaxy color blend, and catch everyone’s eye!

20. Pink And Orange

Shutterstock

If you have ever seen a twilight sky with shooting stars, you are probably reminiscing about it when looking at this picture. Whoever said orange and pink don’t go hand in hand was just not creative!

21. Warm Galaxy

Shutterstock

If you have warm-toned skin, this color blend is for you. The colors here are perfect for summer too. It’s no surprise why this is a trending combo. The colors look super warm and lovely and bring joy to anyone who sees it!

22. Patchy Galaxy

Shutterstock

Along with the striped hair work, you can also see patches of color splashed all over this model’s hair. If you really want to take risks and go all out, this patchy galaxy blend is for you!

23. Phoenix Shades

Shutterstock

Out from the ashes rises another phoenix! The phoenix is a mythological creature that is other-worldly. Combine a phoenix and a galaxy to create this blend, which, quite frankly, looks ethereal.

24. Warm Bright Galaxy

Shutterstock

Only the best for your hair! Green, pink, red, and yellow come together to give us this surreal galaxy blend. Accessorize it with some small beads to channel the energy of stars, and you’ve got yourself a winner. Truly stunning!

25. Oceanic Galaxy

Shutterstock

Have you ever seen the ocean at twilight? Blue, pink, and purple merge with the sunlight to form a blend exactly like this one. It is so serene and beautiful that all you’ll want to do is stare at it. In the midst of all the chaos of the world, take some serenity with you wherever you go with this color blend.

26. Grungy Galaxy

Shutterstock

To all the ladies out there who love rock n’ roll, don’t think I’ve forgotten about you! This galaxial blend is perfect for you. It is bright and punk without looking too over the top. You will need to keep your skin tone and undertone in mind when trying this blend.

27. Fiery Galaxy

Shutterstock

If God is a woman, the galaxies will look something like this! Let your fierceness show with this blend of galaxy colors. Red, orange, and pink come together to give us this womanly blend.

28. Peacock Galaxy

Shutterstock

The peacock is truly a majestic creature. Take that awesomeness to your locks with this blend of colors and floor everyone! The best thing about this color combo is that it works for all seasons!

29. Pure Galaxial Blend

Shutterstock

Blue and red are the most common galaxy colors. They also blend together extremely well, which makes them a natural pairing. Opt for a dimensional blend of these two shades to them look more natural on your hair.

The galaxy hair trend is here to stay, and it’s only getting bigger by the minute. So, get on board and book your hair appointment today! Which one of these galaxy blends do you want to try out? Comment below and let us know!

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Source: https://www.stylecraze.com/articles/galaxy-hair-color-styles/

[spencerthorpe]

National Picnic Week: 12 Fab Finds for Picnic Perfection!

Fans of picnicking rejoice – National Picnic Week takes place across the UK this June. Time to fine tune your sandwich making skills, stock up on bubbly and summery savouries and create a picnic kit to ensure maximum al fresco comfort and enjoyment for you and your guests. No need to sacrifice style. We’ve sourced some great coordinated looks to kick your picnic design game up a notch.

Mixing and matching the freshest colours is always a great way to coordinate a coherent picnic look. Pick a palette – straw/rattan/wicker, pastels, bright tropical prints and solids, a single bold colour such as red (stay away from bulls tho) or all white for a Victorian garden party feel. Or, opt for our easy peasy favourite, crisp navy and white – it’s a classic combo that will never let you down at the beach, on the lawn or in the woods.

Bottoms Up!

Many people prefer to pack plastic for their picnic refreshments (and in fact some parks and reserves prohibit the use of glass dishes). Nonetheless we like to use real wineglasses where possible. It just feels better. And for some of us, full on china, silver and glass stemware are actually part of a picnic ethos. This glassware from Lexington is sturdy enough for outdoor use and can simply be washed up once you’re back home. £16 each

If you are restricted to using plastic, you could do worse than these attractive acrylic glasses from John Lewis. Options include champagne flutes, highballs and basic tumblers as well. £4 – £4.50 each

The Blues

Why use paper plates when unbreakable dishes are so much more beautiful than they used to be. Consider these Royal Doulton melamine dinner plates in shades of white and blue. They’re lightweight, forgiving of drops and travel bumps and gorgeous enough to build a design theme around. £24/four

Wicker

The wicker hamper is synonymous with Edwardian and Victorian era daytrippers – who arguably elevated the act of picnicking to a fine art. This elegant 2-person hamper is equipped with almost everything you and your BFF need for an intimate meal outdoors, including a corkscrew. Just add a bottle of bubbly and nibbles. £125

This well-appointed white-washed wicker hamper has more of a Little Red Riding Hood vibe, but is equally handy (and romantic) for toting paté, cheese and a nice baguette. £57.50

Backpacker’s Delight

If you’re walking to your picnic site, you’ll love this compact 2-person navy and white backpack picnic hamper with padded straps and a handle. It includes basic dishes and utensils (again the corkscrew) and has an insulated section for keeping items cool. £40

Earn Your Stripes

Soft textiles are a great way to add style and comfort to the proceedings. Deck a dubious picnic table with this classic striped tablecloth (or even use it on the ground) for an instant upgrade. Made from 100% cotton, it’s easy to clean when the party’s over. £89

This pretty Joules picnic blanket has a water resistant backing so lunch won’t be ruined by creeping damp. It folds neatly into itself and has a self carry handle. £29.95

Match ground coverings with these blue and white jacquard cotton napkins – a touch of luxury that will surprise and delight picnic guests. £10 each

Lap of Luxury

Effective lounging is more likely when there are pillows to lean on and cozy blankets in case of a cool wind. We love this French-style striped fabric cushion, especially made for outdoor use. £20.58 Pack several alongside a soft all-cotton throw or two in midnight blue. £63.20

Swingtime

You can string up a hammock for relaxing anywhere there are two trees not too far apart. Everyone will want to take a post-prandial turn in this blue and white striped hammock. It’s great for hot weather lethargy as well as, piled with cushions and throws, cuddling up for a nap on cooler days and nights. £98

Pay tribute to one of summertime’s best and most enduring collective pastimes by committing to regular and stylish picnic parties. Good company, delicious food and smartly designed accoutrements; everything is just better outdoors.

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All photos courtesy of respective locations.

The post National Picnic Week: 12 Fab Finds for Picnic Perfection! appeared first on The Idealist.

from The Idealist https://www.theidealist.com/picnic-perfection/ from The Idealist Magazine https://theidealistmagazine.tumblr.com/post/161887353748