#goth isn’t a trend

[mallgothchloe97]

It’s a real shame that goth has become nothing but mere aesthetic now when there is so much more than aesthetic. Which I am not judging anyone on how they fell in love with the subculture, if the aesthetic is what drew you in, that’s absolutely ok, people’s experience is different and hey times have changed over the years and people probably didn’t have any goth people in their corner to show them the ropes.

But it’s a fucking shame how corporate it’s become almost.

Goth is a music based subculture and this is coming from someone who claims to be a Mall Goth and Vampire Goth.

The goth subculture developed from the creation of gothic rock, an offshoot of the Post-Punk music genre.

What is Post-Punk?

Post-punk is very similar to Punk in regards to ideologies and mentality, but they differ in their musical influences.

Punk is mostly influences by elements of Rock, whereas Post-punk is all about breaking away from Rock cliches and experimenting with different musical styles.

Anarchism: The belief in the dismantling of all forms of authority, unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, i.e. capitalism.

• Non-Conformity: Not conforming or adhering to generally accepted standards or customs.

• Anti-Corporatism: A movement targeted against major international and global corporations, particularly those believed to be using unethical or unsustainable methods to create their products.

• Individual Freedom: The belief in the rights and autonomy of individuals to make decisions Without undue interference from external forces.

Goth is so much more than killstar hauls and thirst traps and makeup. Which don’t get me wrong if you do those things, I ain’t stopping you and it’s fine to do them every once in awhile, but please just keep that in mind.

But yeah.

Like I said there really isn’t any rules to being goth.

Just be you.

Be authentic.

That’s all.

[faeriekit]

New In Town (dp x dc)

ALRIGHT! 👏🏽 A prompt. (Or, well. A premise.) I’m schtealing a lot of worldbuilding from @mediumsizedpidegon‘s post here so bear with me please.

The Bats, however they catch wind of Amity, catch wind of Amity Park. Of course they do. Amity Park has a very distinct presence— Or, well, a lack of a presence. It may have an abundance of documented weirdness online, from folk stories to abandoned livestreams to concerning details in expats’ online blogs.

But there is no online evidence of Amity Park that leaves Amity Park.

So. What is a family of detectives to do when confronted with the need to gather physical evidence? Road Trip, baby!🏄🏽‍♂️🚗🚞🚡

Everyone hops in the car/Batplane and makes their way to Amity Park; they make hotel reservations, ring up the only reasonably rich enough people to even touch their social circle (the Manson family, and Vlad Masters, apparently), make an itinerary for all the documented tourist stops to hit up while in town off the town website, and prepare themselves for whatever dimensional weirdness is causing a complete tech blackout on the town and an inability to be found by satellite.

They get about ten feet into Amity proper when they meet the first local.

His name is Danny. He’s nice! Affable. He looks a lot like any other Wayne sibling, actually, if a little on the younger side. He notices it’s their first time in town. Do they need any help getting around?

Best way to get information is to ingratiate with a local, so...sure, why not? They get a free tour guide, Danny gets to show off his town; they see all the sights, like the local burger joint, the school, the Manson home, the town hall, the city proper. They’re having a clothing swap in the temple parking lot, actually. You should go check it out!

For whatever reason, it’s all...Punk? Goth? There’s a couple of lolita dressed tossed in, and some crocheted things. Everyone has a trunk out their car, eyeliner, and at least two piercings in their face; everyone here seems to know each other on a personal level. Well, small towns are small towns. Whatever.

Danny isn’t deterred by their reactions. If they want, there’s the movie in park tonight! If not, they can catch dinner, though; their hotel restaurant closes at 8pm sharp. (He just...knows this off the top of his head?)

They split up. Some of the family people watch at the restaurant. Everyone is...weirdly courteous to them. A little standoffish. But not at the Wayne name, just at...them being there.

The people at the park find out they’re watching The Night of the Living Dead. This would be much more normal if the park wasn’t also clearly the cemetery, in the middle of July? Which is. Why? It’s not even for any holiday or special time of the year? It’s just...clearly a movie night in the summer? There are little kids here, playing among the gravestones while their parents set out blankets and snacks. Why is this considered a family event??

Well. At least Jason has fun.

Everyone goes to bed and reconvenes in the morning. When they wake up and roll out for the day, Danny manages to find them again, this time with two new friends, bright and chipper in the morning. There’s a farmer’s market today! Everyone’s worked really hard on this week’s harvest; don’t they want to see?

...Sure?

And the longer they’re in Amity Park, the more they begin to realize how convenient it is, that they’re ferried around so easily; that there’s immediately a local who takes a liking to them, that there’s always something else to do; how suspicious it is that no data can get in or out of Amity now that they’re in it, or how they can’t seem to get close to any of the more suspicious parts of town they want to infiltrate. The town is entirely closed to outside influences. The fashion trends are strange and foreign. They only eat things grown in the area, by people they know, and it’s all sort of...green. Everyone knows everyone. Everyone knows where to go. Who to talk to. The superstitions— make no wishes, step on no cracks, wear no large jewelry, cross no shadows of any person (living or dead, apparently), speak to no one without full view of their eyes. 

But nothing seems dangerous— not until a few of them try to investigate Axiom Labs, a subsidiary of the otherwise national Dalvco company, and are met to the face with a blaster that uses tech they’ve never seen, by a red fighter in an ultra-synthetic suit.

Overnight, the extremely polite and welcoming town becomes a hostile entity to fight their way out of.

[girlishguitarist]

I always feel so weird when I see companies making mega expensive “punk” and “goth” clothes. I used to know this other person who kept on wanting to get into the goth scene, and another one of my friends literally was so willing to help her and get her started out with like music recs and clothing tips and she’d constantly tell us. “Oh, but dressing goth isn’t accessible for me. I don’t have the money.”

Which y’know makes sense, not everybody has the money to drop on getting goth clothes. Especially when your priorities are literally keeping a roof over your head and paying bills. We’re all from working class families here. But then we just kind of realised she was referring to the shit you’d find on like… Killstar or Dollskill and everything made a lot more sense. It’s been making me think. Ever since alternative subcultures such as goth, such as punk, even grunge tbf have made their way into mainstream fashion trends on the internet it’s made people believe that the only way you’re able to get clothes to “dress the part” is to fork out shite tonnes of money to these ridiculously overpriced online clothing stores. (You don’t even have to dress goth for example to be goth because it’s a music based subculture but that’s a whole other thing.)

The way trends are today with this whole, “aesthetic” thing along with the consumerist HELL that is fast fashion sparks a wave people just buying swathes of overpriced clothing to hop onto a clothing trend that is actually ripped from a subculture they don’t really understand? Like part of the whole core of these subcultures is that we are anti-consumerist and anti-capitalist. You are a fucking joke.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking negatively about people who truly want to get into these subcultures. There is nothing wrong with that at all, of course there isn’t. I’m talking about people who will see a fashion trend and just hop onto it and really have no idea what they’re doing. (This is part of the reason why I believe it’s unlikely we’ll ever have a new subculture as big as previous ones ever again because of just how everything is a trend now.)

Fashion that has been born from these subcultures has always been DIY. Making your own battle jackets, thrifting pieces of clothing and tweaking them to be how you want. Like… I don’t know about you babes but I don’t think goths in the 80’s were getting their clothes from fucking Hot Topic.

The fact that companies are now and have been making ridiculously priced pieces of clothing to capitalise off of: 1.) People who want to hop on trends because they don’t want to make the clothes they just want the style now, and 2.) People who want to genuinely get into subcultures such as punk and goth but may be misguided as to where to get clothing just makes me so fucking mad because it makes getting into the fashion within these subcultures seem inaccessible and consumerist-ridden when they’re absolutely not meant to be.

[johannestevans]

Finding Your Style, Part I: Shape & Silhouette

A deep dive into deciding on your own personal fashion and tailoring your clothes to fit.

Also on Patreon / / Also on Medium / / Leave a tip.

Introduction

Before I start with the actual meat of this piece, I want to establish what this series of guides is not going to be. These guides are going to be about building and cultivating your wardrobe and accessories for you and your preferences.

I have no interest in and will not be going into how to look good (or revoltingly, how to look “slimmer” or similar), how to be fashionable or trendy, or alternatively, how to look unique or dress differently to everybody you know.

I often get frustrated when pieces about cultivating one’s personal style stumble across my dashboards and they advise the reader to pay attention to the latest trends, to make a moodboard, cultivate a capsule wardrobe, and leave it at that — a moodboard can be helpful if you’re a visual thinker, and there’s nothing wrong with a capsule wardrobe as a tool, however.

I have a particular style of dress, I like to play around with a lot of colours and fabrics, a lot of patterns, and a lot of the people around me tell me I dress well and that they enjoy my style: I have never read a style guide that is envisioning a man who dresses like me, or even a man who dresses even close to the way I dress.

When I think of someone’s personal style, I’m talking about aspects of their appearance and the mode in which they clothe and carry themselves that are distinctive to them.

Firstly, this doesn’t mean that they dress uniquely, and like no other person around them.

I know guys who basically dress themselves to match mannequins in particular stores, and they look good for it — when I see them around, even if I haven’t seen those mannequins and don’t shop in the stores they shop from, what makes them distinctive is particular colour palettes, brands, and also a clean-cut, neat style that works really well on a shop mannequin. What they’re wearing obviously isn’t unique, but it is distinctive, and it is a particular visual I associate with them when I see them.

Secondly, when we think of distinctive qualities, I might associate them with a specific style that isn’t inspired by a high street store or particular fashionable brand — people who dress in vintage clothes and are always kind of ’90s or ’70s, or people who dress in lolita or goth or emo or cottagecore or identify with another subculture that has a particular visual signature.

Apart from fashion subcultures, there might be other aspects — yes, specific high street brands, but there are all kinds of other visual signatures like particular patterns (someone who always wears stripes, for example), other brands or media (e.g. someone who wears a lot of stuff printed with anime characters), particular places or hobbies, et cetera. I’m currently fleshing out my wardrobe and trying to find a lot more pieces that are nautical or sailing themed, so there are a lot of anchors, compasses, helm’s wheels, and ships incorporated into my wardrobe.

And thirdly — this is one thing I want to impress very firmly, because far too many pieces that focus on fashion don’t take this into account at all — one of the most distinctive qualities is how much I might recognise a friend’s specific needs for comfort in their style of dress.

I, for example, have a lot of cardigans, jumpers, woollen vests and waistcoats, etc, and in winter will often appear in multiple layers of wool underneath another layer of leather because I get cold so easily; even in summer, I’m often wearing a t-shirt under a collared shirt, sporting a cardigan, or even wearing three-piece suits. I know other people who basically from spring through to late autumn will only ever be wearing one layer, particularly just a t-shirt or long-sleeved shirt, because they overheat so easily.

This is going to be a series of pieces, and I want to focus on a handful of specific points to focus on in cultivating your wardrobe and accessories:

Part I: Shape and Silhouette

Part II: Fabrics and Materials

Part III: Colours and Patterns

Part IV: Garments and their Construction

Part V: Accessories and Details

Part VI: Eras & Epochs, Subcultures & Alternative Looks

Part VII: Thematic Cohesion

Part VIII: Editing and Adding to your Wardrobe

A lot of style guides are written with people in mind who are trying to look good at work, especially at office jobs, and subsequently they assume a certain level of conformity with business casual or other “acceptable” styles in mind, where standing out to any degree is considered in poor taste, but more importantly, where things like personal comfort aren’t taken into account.

Your personal comfort in the clothes you wear, whether that’s to do with your resting temperature, if you feel most comfortable in any specific fabrics or textures, if you feel comfortable under multiple layers or only one, how many pockets you have and how accessible those pockets are, how exposed or free certain parts of your body are, etc, is far more important than virtually any other aspect in selecting your wardrobe.

There are absolutely garments or styles where you might either enjoy the discomfort or think it’s worth withstanding for the visual effect, but that’s really up to you to decide, and anyone who says that you should be uncomfortable on your day-to-day, or that it’s normal and therefore desirable to feel uncomfortable in your own clothes, is a prick.

As a species, we wear clothes to keep our bodies warm and safe from harm, and while we might enjoy looking good or projecting a particular image, our comfort, safety, and our feeling of security in the clothes we’re wearing is no less vital.

Especially if you’re used to dressing in uncomfortable clothes, it can be hard to figure out what you actually do feel comfortable in, and that’s okay, that’s a process.

A lot of us have basically had it embedded into us, after years of conditioning, that there is only one way to dress, one way to exist, and that this is in-keeping with what’s Appropriate or what’s Pretty or in line with any other expectation, and unlearning that is hard, but it’s a process, and it’s possible to work through it.

Shapes & Silhouette

The first thing we often talk about when it comes to fashion, and the first thing a lot of clothes designers sketch out and visualise, is silhouette — if you find that hard to envisage, imagine yourself in whatever outfit is a favourite of yours, that you’re behind a canvas, and you’re being backlit from behind.

Your silhouette is the shadow cast by the shape of your body and your clothes — when someone first enters into a room, when we take in their outfit, we take in the broad strokes of it and the silhouette it casts, the shape of their body.

You might want to cast an initial impression that emphasises particular bodily qualities you’re proudest of, makes you seem taller or shorter than you are, slimmer or fatter, curvier or squarer, softer or more angular.

The problem with a lot of silhouette discussion is that many clothing designers abhor and loathe clothing anyone who isn’t a white, thin cisgender woman: imagining silhouette becomes about imagining a base body that serves as a mannequin and clothes that are draped on her, rather than about imagining a range of body types and different silhouettes that might go with them, complementing or contrasting the base body on which they’re built.

Subsequently, when people talk about clothing for fat people, particularly for fat women, a great deal of emphasis is placed on a silhouette that attempts to disguise or hide the body’s natural shape, whether that means making them seem nebulously slimmer by increasing their perceived height or by some other method, or increasing or decreasing their curviness.

The problem with that, apart from the fact that it relies on a vociferous hatred of fat people, of fat people’s bodies, of body fat in general, an odious bigotry in itself, is that a lot of the time, it doesn’t fucking work.

It’s instead people writing pages upon pages of advice on how to make yourself appear smaller and lesser, capitalising on people’s taught and conditioned self-loathing, and a lot of it is just clickbait. I’m by no means saying it would be ethical or correct if a lot of this advice did work, but the fact is that it doesn’t.

Someone might take your outfit with lots of layers and rounded shapes to it and assume you’re fatter than you in fact are, because multiple layers make you look larger — it could also be that simply wearing those soft fabrics make people think that you’re rounder, which they associate with fatness. In contrast, someone might take an outfit with lots of angles to mean that you’re bigger than you are because when we drape our body with angular clothes, they often work by sticking out from our body and creating corners where they don’t exist — but, people might associate that angularity with a lack of body fat, either with bones or with muscle, and therefore think you are bigger, but less fat.

We live in a fatphobic society where people make a lot of judgements based on how fat they perceive you as being. Because of the aforementioned fatphobic society, we also live in a society where people might associate you with fatness (or some other physical trait they consider negative) because they dislike you.

If you speak loudly or “a lot”, people might perceive you as being fatter than you are — if you barely speak, they might perceive you as being thinner, because you take up less apparent space, no matter what you wear or what shape you present.

There is no way to win, is my point.

You cannot win against bigotry in a fundamentally bigoted society by trying to change subtle perceptions of angle or size or light or shadow, and the people who say that you can are lying. The point of those lies is firstly to sell newspapers and screentime, but the second of them is to make the reader think that a bigoted society’s attitude toward them is their fault, because they weren’t employing enough tricks to deter the bigotry.

When I talk about the varieties of silhouette you might want to attain or aim for in your clothing choices, or how well-fitting or loose a garment might be for you, it should be in line with your preferences and your desires, whether that’s about aesthetic, comfort, or something else.

Photo by cottonbro studio via Pexels, with guide lines added by me.

When envisioning your silhouette, the key points of your body might be:

your head

your shoulders

your waist and hips

your feet

This depends on your body shape and also on the sorts of outfits you’re wearing — it might change for you depending on the clothes you’re wearing on a given day, or you might cut a drastically different silhouette in boymode versus girlmode, or in summer versus winter, etc. 

Think of these as anchor points on which your clothing or accessories are draped over or mounted from, almost like you might envision armour slots in a videogame. When you envision your silhouette, it’s how your body immediately appears when lit from behind — your legs and arms aren’t irrelevant here, and the shape of sleeves, trousers, and skirts will absolutely contribute to your silhouette, but depending on your body in motion or how you stand, these won’t always be immediately distinctive, whereas your head and torso will be.

As well as being the place where your clothes drape from, these might be the points where your most important accessories might be placed — headbands or hats, shoulder clasps or shawls or collar pins and such, belt buckles or suspender clips, and your shoes or boots. These points become the focus to which the eye is drawn because they’ll be the most static parts of the body, whereas other parts in between might jiggle or flow. 

These points aren’t part of some sort of rule you have to follow — it’s more of a handy shorthand to help train your eye into seeing the particular shapes each part of someone’s body cuts, and what the overall effect is, and how much you like or dislike the effect. 

You might feel that some of these anchor points, when emphasised or de-emphasised, add or take away from your dysphoria or your general self-esteem, make you feel more feminine or masculine, just look really fucking cool or really hot, etc. Think about those when you start sketching out your shapes in your head and what you like best. 

When you really want to imagine a silhouette, do what I did with the first three images — there’s the outfit itself, I’ve drawn the anchors at the top of the head, the top of the shoulders, the waist, and then the feet. Contrast that silhouette with this image:

Photo by Becerra Govea Photo via Pexels, with guidelines added by me.

This person has a different hair style, but see how with the shape of the dress, the waistline is drawn in compared to their shoulders, and would be even if they weren’t posed with their elbows outward? See how their waist appears to be smaller in contrast with the wide sweep of the thickly layered, loose skirts?

A useful exercise when thinking about a silhouette you like is to draw these anchor points and then either draw in lines following the outside of the body’s / clothing’s shape, or you can separate into each section and think about the simplest shape that silhouette can be boiled down to: a circle, a square, a triangle, a straight line.

In the two images I’ve indicated, I’ve focused on the waist as an anchor point because it’s the base of the suit jacket and then where this dress is drawn in — on your body, you might find that somewhere else on your pelvis is better for you to draw the line.

Have a look at this TikTok and look at all these bodies in motion, the clothes they’re wearing, how much skin is or isn’t being revealed, how loose or fixed each piece of clothing is, how much contrast is or isn’t present in the different shapes on show. Think about each different silhouette and how different or similar they are to one another.

(A TikTok of an NYFW fashion show in September from Remi Jo on TikTok.)

Look for the motion in these garments and in these people’s bodies — the parts that jiggle, that flow, that have free motion — and contrast them with the bits of their garments or bodies that remain more static. Many of these garments bare skin or flesh, and many of them cover a lot up, depending on the garment’s design — look at shoulder pieces, busts, waists, skirts, hemlines, sleeves. If a garment stands out to you as pleasing, cut it up in your mind and look at each piece of it individually before you consider the whole again, see what stands out most to you.

Generally, for modern men’s tailoring, the focus is often on the lower-slung hips rather than on the higher waist. If you’ve got a squarer body, your waist and hips might be the same or almost the same width, to the point you have no big distinguishing angle between the two points — you might want to think of your anchor point as at the base of your hips, in line with your backside; you might want to think of it as at the absolute high point of your waist if you tend to very high-waisted trousers or skirts. 

If you’re fatter and have a significant overhang to your belly, depending on whether you like to wear your waistband underneath the overhang and have your belly rest on top / over it, or if you wear looser clothes or generally keep your belly within the waistband, for example under your dress or your skirt, this might change how you think about your silhouette too. 

You might still be looking from the tops of your shoulders, but then the end of that “shape” might be in line with your backside or your upper thigh instead because that’s where you can see the lowest part of your belly in your trousers or leggings, or in a maxi dress, it might be a straight (or mostly straight) line from your shoulder down to your feet. Alternatively, rather than focusing on your hips or specifically where your waist is, you might like to make sure your middle point is at the widest point of your belly — if you’re wearing a belt, you might like the belt buckle to rest in the middle point there, or have the waistband of your skirt there so that you have the maximum flow to the skirt. 

And remember, as I said about how the most key points might be different depending on what sort of outfit you’re wearing or what the occasion is, consider how much you’re going to be sitting down or from what angle you’re going to be viewed by others. 

If you’re generally going to be sitting down while wearing a particular outfit, your midpoints at the waist might be less important to you than your shoulders and your feet — and if you’re going to be viewed significantly from above or below (for example, if you’re on stage or performing in a theatre), or from a further distance, this might make a difference to what key points you want to focus on. 

If you use a wheelchair, depending on how big your wheelchair is compared to you in terms of its back and shape, you might like to take its angles and colours in complement to your outfit — if you use a cane or crutches, or if you wear a prosthetic limb for some events but not others, you might want to consider the asymmetry or the squarer shapes cut by your mobility aids. 

Similarly, if you’re in costume and you’re wearing or using a really important prop like a stave or wand, some sort of weapon in the hand or slung on the belt or worn in some sort of other holster, you might want to employ similar complementary or perpendicular angles. 

For example, if you’re wearing something that’s really angular and is going to make one shoulder, side of your head, or side of your waist/belly seem much higher than the other side, you might want to match that angular shift to the side you don’t have a limb or use a cane or have a prop to continue that exaggerated angle — you might want to make it go to the opposite way to offset the imbalance. 

--

I’ve talked a lot above about how to observe and identify shapes and silhouettes in outfits you’re observing, but only a little bit about how to actually construct and cast them. 

For a lot of people, the shadow cast by your head is going to be the same every day depending on your haircut or hairstyle: if you have shorter hair, you’re unlikely to change it much on the day to day in a way that will be noticeable at a glance.

If you do have longer hair or you change your style regularly, you can think about the shape that your head is casting in contrast to your outfit — if you alternate, for example, between having a big ‘fro and braids or twists that are much tighter to the head or are gathered at the back of your neck, those will be pretty dramatic differences to your silhouette; ditto if you go between different ponytails or braids and different up-dos, whether that’s a bun or gathered braid or similar. 

If you wear hats and/or wear headscarves, those will make a big difference too — a beanie casts a very different shadow to a Panama hat, different again to a boater, a baseball cap, or a bandana. 

A more structured hat or other garment for the head — a tiara or crown, for example, or more structured hair styles that come out from the head such as bantu knots or structured wigs and up-dos, will be more static; looser hats, scarves, and loose-worn hair will have more flow and wave when you move, and will stay in motion as you walk or even as you turn your head. 

How visible do you want your neck to be? The lines of your jaw, your chin, your ears (and earrings), your brow, the nape of your neck? Do you enjoy the sensation of fabric or your own longer hair touching the tops of your shoulders, or being a weight on your back? Do you need the shade from your bangs or longer fringe, or that a structured hat will give you?

From your head we can jump to the broader part of your actual outfit or the garment that covers most of your body. 

Your shoulders and your hips / waist / the widest point of your belly are where the garments you wear are going to rest — shirts, jackets, vests, coats, all of these are going to sit on your shoulders and either cling closely to your body or hang over it; loose fitting trousers and any sort of kilt or skirt are going to hang off your hips or the widest point of your middle. 

Depending on your outfit and how your legs are clad, your feet might not actually be particularly noticeable — if you’re wearing shorts or anything with a shorter skirt, more attention is going to be drawn to the feet in contrast to your legs, ditto any sort of skinny trouser, legging, or tights. This goes especially for bigger boots, trainers/sneakers, and various heels.

MSCHF’s newest crowd pleaser, the Big Red Boot, is distinctive because the Big Red Boots are extremely shaped like boots, but not particularly like feet.

And after this point, you might have different points entirely that you construct away from your body — big earrings can be a point of interest; the hem of a shorter skirt, for example, might stop at your mid-thigh or knee, and that might be at an angle with your shoes; if you wear flared trousers like I tend to, you might create another point of contrast at your knee or at the mid calf.

Some points to consider are: 

Which parts of your body or your shape do you enjoy most, want to most emphasise, or want to draw most attention to? Are there any parts of your body or your shape you feel less comfortable showing or emphasising, and would like to draw attention from?

Are there any silhouettes, for any gender, that you feel most drawn to and interested in? For example, do you particularly like the shape cut by certain styles of suits, robes, dresses, or other garments? What points do you like most, are most drawn to? What points are the same from outfit to outfit? 

Think of cartoons and other animated series you like or have enjoyed, which normally have distinct styles and place emphasis on certain body parts or shapes for each characters. Do any particularly appeal to you? Do any characters look especially fun or cool compared to others, because of the style they’re drawn in or what garments or armour they’re drawn in? Cartoons will show an extreme, but they might help you visualise something you’re particularly drawn to because the extremity makes it so visible.

Apart from the shoulders, middle, head, and feet, do you want to create any further points of interest? Draw attention to your elbow or knees, dangling earrings, shift the silhouette of your feet by elevating your heel or sole?

Do you want your garments to hang from your body and be loose, or do you want them to be more tightly tailored? A garment that “hangs” will generally rest on your shoulders or around your middle and then be looser or boxier — a more fitted garment will hug tighter to the lines and curves of your body, and the extent to which will depend on the fabric weight and the construction of the garment. 

How much is your silhouette different in motion, standing, seated, or otherwise? How much does it change with different mobility aids, or in different seats, while doing different activities? 

And that’s it for that piece!

I am going to go through the other parts of this bit by bit — originally I was going to do this as one huge deep dive, but it just became untenable in terms of length. Let me know what you think, which bits are most helpful, and please feel free to mention anything you’d particularly want me to cover in the other pieces as I go through them. 

[mysadcorner]

Can I please request Wally West, Batman, Aqualad and Jason todd dating a grunge/Goth reader pls

DC Characters x Alt!Reader Headcanons

-Credit to the gifs owner - Please be specific about characters wanted in headcanons -

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Wally west

Wally would be very supportive of someone who dressed alternatively or goth, especially as it doesn't bother him in the slightest. He's friendly to everyone as much as he can be and for you, he isn't going to behave any differently, except if you start to make your style your whole personality and start to push it on others.

Wally wouldn't be bothered at all by the way you dress and would even encourage it on days you might not feel very confident. If you wanted him to join in and try dressing in a similar style that you do then he will try it out a little bit but he probably wouldn't go all the way and would stick to being subtle in his style change.

More than anything, he would end up wearing accessories due to your influence, maybe some rings, maybe even some other types of jewellery if you encouraged him enough. He wouldn't wear anything that would get in the way too much, but he's the type of guy who would match items with you once he does start trying them out.

When the two of you go shopping together he will happily follow you around and look at all of the new stores or places you drag him too, and you know for certain that he'll volunteer to carry as many bags as he can while you look around. He doesn't complain about how long you're taking unless he's doing it on purpose to be sarcastic, but this is only if you keep him happy with some food on the way.

Wally will instantly defend you from anyone who has anything negative to say about the style of clothes you wear. You'll never have to worry about him not taking your side, but you may need to calm him down due to him getting a bit too loud at times.

Bruce Wayne

We all know what Bruce's type is, so he definitely isn't going to be put off by the way you dress. He will however, try his best to stay professional, so you won't see a noticeable reaction from him at first when you meet him.

Bruce really doesn’t care about lot about different types of fashion, and he won’t really bother knowing much about different types or keeping up to date with trends unless they’re for business or publicity reasons, so don’t expect him to know places that you can get any accessories or clothes himself. He will have plenty of people he can get in contact with though if you are looking to experiment with anything or get deeper into a style.

He naturally leans towards the darker side of things, but outside of being Batman he usually keeps himself pretty simple and clean cut, so you won’t really see him trying anything you usually wear. He may own a few band shirts for his extremely lazy days from when he was younger, but nothing he really keeps up with and is rare you’ll see him wear them.

He isn’t embarrassed to be seen with you, so he’ll have no problem with following you around on shopping trips, and when he’s comfortable with you he can be quite outspoken so he’ll definitely give you his opinion on items if you ask for it. If you don’t want his opinion then he’ll keep his mouth shut and accept anything you like, although you may be able to tell when he seriously hates something by the look in his eyes.

Bruce always knows what to say and how to say it in the heat of the moment, no matter who it is he’s talking to, so he’s always pretty good at defending you before the situation gets out if hand. He always prefers not to use violence, but he can certainly defends you if any idiots try to pull something on you.

Jason Todd

Our sweet boy Jason definitely likes them a little scary or mysterious so having a darker vibe to your outfits or personality will be something he happily accepts just as much as any other style. It may even give him more of a reason to pay attention to you when you first meet him if you don’t immediately express an interest similar to his own, so it’s a good way to get his attention if you don’t have anything to talk about at first.

He understand that you like certain things, but he my really like it when people take too long to get ready or too long to settle down with at the end of the day, so having a long routine while getting ready for the day or getting ready to bed might bother him slightly, although not too much for him to complain a lot about it. He doesn’t really care what you wear in general as long as you like it.

He’ll definitely take an interest in rings when he isn’t out on patrol, and it definitely helps make his already attention drawing hands become more noticeable. He’s only become more inclined to dress the way you do after a long time, but he’ll still keep to his own style mostly, more so taking tiny bits of inspiration from you whenever he feels like changing things up a bit.

Jason doesn’t like long shopping trips, but he does like to spoil you whenever he can, so he’ll go shopping with you but he won’t enjoy it the majority of the time. Not that he would outwardly complain, he’d just sulk behind you and make sarcastic comments until you got the hint that he can’t be bothered to tail around any more stores. Maybe shopping trips in small bursts would be better for Jason to tag along to.

Any comment about you from someone who doesn’t really have a nice thing to say Will get a reaction out of Jason immediately. He isn’t that good at holding him self back when someone says something bad or insults you about how you dress, so he will snap at first. Holding himself back from seriously hurting the person in public will be slightly easier to prevent himself from doing, but that is something he’ll wish he did do for a while afterwards.

Aqualad

He’ll be corps about the way you dress, after all it’s not exactly how the majority of people are seen to dress, so he will look you over and look at the different aspects of your outfit. Overall though he wont give a huge reaction to how you dress, but he’s certainly respectful of it.

Fashion isn’t something he really pays attention to, so you can tell him about as much as you want about the way you dress and different aspects of your style and it’s probably going to be the first time he’s hearing about those things. He will remember everything you say though, and always keeps an eye out for anything you might be interested in just because he knows you like that kind of thing.

He probably would have an interest in dressing like you do, but there’s no problem with that. He’s more than fine with the two of you being completely different people. As long as you’re okay with it too, and don’t try to convince him to change what he wears then there will be absolutely no problem.

If he ends up going shopping with you then he’s going to be looking very closely at all the stuff he sees, usually brace he doesn’t go to the places you buy your clothes so it’s a new experience seeing all the different types of clothes or things related to your style. You may have to drag him away from something after a while if he doesn’t have any intention of going to the next store.

He’s typically a pretty calm person so he won’t be too rowdy if someone makes a negative comment about the way you dress, but he will do his best to defend you and have that person leave you alone before too much trouble can be caused. He may even just lead you away from that person because it isn’t worth the time to deal with meaningless comments from someone you may not even know out in public.

[short-honey-badger]

That's My Husband, That's My Wife

Ya know that tik tok trend where girls are calling their boyfriend their husband and vice versa? I wanted to do that, so I did. I hope you enjoy it!

Gojo, Getou, Nanami, and Sukuna

@goth-mami-writer

Masterlist

Gojo

The two of you are on a rare date, Saturo finally finding the time to escape his duties as a jujitsu sorcerer. You are dressed to the nines, out of your stuffy work clothes, and are having an amazing time swaying to the beat of the music that blasts in the bar. Sato had left to get you a drink, but he was taking an awfully long time.

You breathe a heavy sigh with a fond eye roll. You shouldn’t be surprised. Gojo was easy to distract when something caught his eye. As you move through the crowds to the bar, you look ahead of you and spot your boyfriend and the reason why he’d been taking so long.

There is a woman trying to press into his space, and you can spot the strained smile on his handsome face, your boyfriend is trying to be polite to the drunken woman, but you can see his patience wearing thin. You huff and march over, plucking the drink from his hand and sliding an arm around his slim waist.

The smile you give the other woman is not a nice one.

“My husband isn’t bothering you, is he?”

You feel Gojo freeze beside you, and then both of those long arms are wrapping around your waist, and he hooks his chin over your shoulder, a big cheesy grin stretching his lips.

“Don’t be so jealous, wifey. She was just leaving.”

Getou

The dark-haired man sighs quietly when he notices your put-out expression when another bumbling human comes walking up the steps for his “cure”. He had noticed your less-than-enthused attitude earlier in the morning but had not made mention of it. Suguru knew that you would talk to him when you got over whatever was going on in that pretty head of yours. He just wished that there was something he could do to cheer you up.

Getou hardly listens to the inane drivel that spills from the man in front of him. He can see the curse that wraps around the man like a haze, ghastly in appearance with bulging pustules that look like they may burst at any second. Suguru kills it with little more than a flick of his fingers, the curse nothing of interest to him. No, his focus fell on his despondent girlfriend, who had hardly looked at him at all today.

The man is thanking him, but Getou pays him no mind. Instead, he lopes over to where you lounge in a nearby chair, reaching down to take your hand. He then turns and gives the man a sickening sweet, fake smile, but his tone is meant for you.

“You are welcome. However, if you would excuse me, my dear wife needs my attention.”

Suguru looks back down at you, a soft smile playing on his lips when he spots the pink adorning your cheeks. Your tone is cheeky when you speak up, and Getou thinks this is much better than the melancholy from earlier.

“That she does, husband.”

Nanami

You can’t believe that he is this late. You understand that Kento works a dangerous job, but it wasn’t like him to be late for one of your dates. Your boyfriend was all about getting off work on time so that he could have time for himself and his personal life. You sigh heavily, poke at your cooling appetizer, and then sit back to sip at the bubbly champagne you’d ordered after the first ten minutes passed. Another twenty had passed since.

The waiter gives you a smile full of pity and silently sets down a dessert in front of you, quietly assuring you that it is on the house. You thank him with a nod and take up your spoon. Free dessert should not be wasted.

You are about halfway through when there is a commotion at the front of the restaurant, and you look up to see Nanami striding to your table, an anxious look decorating his sharp features. He slides into the seat across from you, scooting himself forward and ignoring the dirty look that the waiter sends him.

“I’m sorry, darling. Work had me go into overtime.”

You wave off his apology, simply happy that Kento had made it, even if he was late. Food is soon ordered, and more champagne is finished off. You are too busy with your meal to see Kento quietly speaking to the waiter and the sly grin he gives Nanami.

When another glass is delivered, your eyes land on the ring that sits at the bottom of it. You cut your eyes up to Kento, and he gives you a smile so full of love and affection that you feel your heart burst.

“I know it may be in poor form, being late, but would you do me the honor of being my wife?”

You grin and unabashedly dig into the champagne to pull the ring out, drying it off and handing it to Kento so that he can slide it on your ring finger.

“I could get used to calling you husband.”

Sukuna (Club Owner AU)

It isn’t often that Sukuna goes out on the main floor, but for some reason, he felt compelled to do so this evening. Maybe it was because you were on the main stage tonight, and he was greedy enough that he didn’t like missing your shows. There was just something about watching his customers fall all over themselves while his girlfriend danced on stage. You belonged to him, and it amused him to see those beneath him yearn for something they would never have.

Sukuna sits near the back, shadowed in the corner as he sips from his glass of scotch, his red eyes never leaving the way you glide across the stage, the way your body hugs the pole, suggestive and perfect. You happen to look up and catch his eyes, sending your boyfriend a saucy wink before spinning around and dipping, giving him a glorious view of your backside.

The night continues, but with the late night, the more inebriated the customers become. Sukuna hears a shout come from the stage, and he whips around from where he sits at the bar, vision zeroing in on the burly man who has risen from his chair and grabbed you around the ankle.

“Come on, girly. You and me, yeah? How about we get outta this dump? I’ll pay you real good.”

Sukuna sees red, and he is moving before he has a chance to think. It was one thing to drag on his establishment, but no one could ever think that you could be bought. You were more than any regular employee. You were his.

Ryomen grabs the guy by the shoulder, spinning him around and socking him in the face. Blood spurts from his nose, and the man cries out in pain, then turns to glare at Sukuna and snarls.

“Who the hell are you?”

Sukuna grins, all sharp teeth and vicious as he leans forward, speaking loud enough that you and the surrounding group hear him.

“Me? I’m her fucking husband. Now get the fuck out of my club.”

[fatkish]

I’m accepting requests from Demon Slayer and JJK, both anonymous and non anonymous as well as requests for the pro hero x inner child series. My rules are pretty simple since I don’t really have many

1.) write the name of the character(s) you want

2.) tell me what you want me to write about

For example: a Bakugou x reader, NSFW blah blah blah

I accept NSFW and SFW

Masterlist:

MHA:

Shoto Todoroki:

Bakugou:

Kirishima:

Shoji:

https://www.tumblr.com/fatkish/747474800400875520/hi-i-wanted-to-request-a-little-scenario-where

Pro Heroes:

Aizawa:

Hawks:

Dabi:

Series:

Pro hero x Inner Child Reader Series:

[xxkatkatastrophexx]

This is kinda an unpopular opinion but I don’t like how HEAVILY people associate scene and emo culture with the early 2000s.

If someone dresses in trad goth people don’t as often tell them: “it’s not the 80s” or for punk/grunge “it’s not the 90s”.

Alternative fashion and music just do not work that way. Alt Subcultures don’t just “go out of style” the way mainstream fads do.

Because it’s not just a style. It’s a whole ass culture we’re talking about. Art, music, literature, fashion, movies, sense of humor, hobbies, etc all go into subcults & People who don’t follow the crowd aren’t going to care what the latest 2023 trends are, if that wasn’t obvious already.

Seriously what alternative person is gonna be like “wait, my style isn’t what everyone is doing this year? Dang well let me find out what everyone IS doing this year so I too can hop on the bandwagon!”

[armythings-love]

I’m gonna cry… I had an entire analysis for this typed out but my wifi is shit so it refused to post😭😭 anyways, this is based off of the @ladybugout-au permanent superhero team. I decided against doing Luka’s Cadmeancio suit because I 1. Didn’t want to draw him in orange and 2. I was already pushing it with making a purple/red Neurofoxin. Only reason I made her purple is because natural coloring obviously doesn’t mean shit to the character designers if Juleka gets to be a purple red tiger. Anyways, here’s my take on their suits!

Hecattack: I wanted to diverge from the furry/bdsm influences Chat’s suit got, so I gave him looser fit pants, a hood and combat boots. His suit was lowkey inspired by Red Hood’s design because, dammit, DC may be super dark, but they know how to design characters well (something MLB could stand to learn from ಠ_ಠ) anyways, along with the hood and paneled top+cargo pants+combat boots, I gave him cat-shaped knee pads, similar to Ivan’s turtle shell knee pads. You will also notice a trend with a lot of my hero suit designs, which is fingerless gloves. Yes, this’ll take away from the cat claw thing Chat had going on, but I’m ok with that. To go with his punk/rock band aesthetic, he got combat boots with the signature cat paw steel toes. His tail is pretty much the same along with the ears. His mask is also different, covering the bottom half of his face. This also takes away from the cat sclera thing the original Chat had, but Luka isn’t a furry so… also, the mask covering his mouth alludes to his calm nature and quiet personality, not feeling the need to play around, especially during a battle,which was where the original Chat erred most often. Luka also has very expressive eyes, so I wanted to push that, like, even if he doesn’t talk much, he’s still a good communicator. Plus, when cats are hunting, they’re quiet! Which the original Chat cannot relate to!

Ladybug: ok, so her suit is still pretty basic, since I wanted to stick with he AU’s canon description of her suit. The main bodice/legs are similar to the season 4 suit after she calls on the lucky charm, but the sleeves are slightly different. I also got rid of the “reverse” polka dots cuz they just look ugly imo. Her gloves are also fingerless, since I feel like that would 1. Lend better to doing yo-yo tricks and 2. They just look better (u_u) anyways, her hair is still the same, as well as her mask. It’s pretty basic but eh…

Neurofoxin: her design is also super simple, but I also wanted to veer away from the gaudy orange normally associated with the fox miraculous. If she can make her tiger suit purple and red, I can make her fox costume reddish purple!! She’s goth, she’s not gonna walk around in *o r a n g e*. And I stand by that. Anyways, like I said her suit is relatively simple, the panels of the suit modeled after Volpina’s actually, because despite how I hate Lila and her stupid sausage link hair, her volpina suit was pretty cute. Instead of giving her a jacket w/coattails or a belt/sash to be her tail, I decided to make it her hair, cuz even in civilian form it’s pretty long. I also decided that instead of a dark grey/black to purple, I’d make the tips the same cream as her “underbelly” panel, as I wanted to incorporate the cream in more than just that singular spot. I also pulled her bang back because even if she’s goth, she still needs to be able to see properly as a superhero. Plus, I like Juleka’s eyes, and I feel like Trixx would like her to show off more. Anyways, besides the morph suit and her hair being a bit longer than normal+a different color, she has a cropped leather jacket,same color as her suit. There’s also paneling on the side/back of her thighs/back that’s a darker red/purple color. Again, to go with her rockstar/alt aesthetic, I gave her combat boots as well, though hers are knee high, plus I forgot to draw the laces, but eh. Fun fact: I headcanon the Couffaine twins as being super tall for their age, but Juleka is taller than her twin for now+her boots are heeled.

Fukiya: for Kagami’s suit, I pulled inspo from someone else’s LBO AU fanart, although I can’t remember who’s it was. Originally, I was gonna go for a suit similar to Kagami’s fencing gear, but decided to go w the suit she has now so it’d be more reminiscent of a bee. I gave her a sleeveless, cropped kimono, the bottom of which has a honeycomb pattern and an ombré going from dark yellow to black. Her obi has two layers, the bottom layer being a bright yellow and the outside layer being black. Her sleeves are similar to Queen Bee’s, but with an added black line. Her legs are completely black with the exception of her knee pads, which are a bright yellow and octogon shaped. I wanted her to look more bee-esque than Queen Bee or Vesperia (her character design is 🤢) so I gave her the yellow torso with black limbs, than made the kimono collar thick to look like a neck ruff or smth. I honestly struggled with her design a bit but it looks ok in the end so I’m happy with it :) also, Kagami is the shortest because I said so!

Heavy Matal: oh, Ivan, you absolute teddy bear of a guy. I adore the Iván of this AU, he’s so sweet, a gentle giant, so I wanted to focus on making him look slightly softer than the rest of the heroes, despite being the turtle holder. I gave him his signature cargoes, although they’re pants instead of shorts when he’s transformed, a sleeveless hoodie, and “turtle”-neck compression-esque undershirt, the sleeves long enough to be, you guessed it, fingerless gloves! The only reason Kagami is the only one with full gloves is because I wanted to giver a more serious/conservative look. Mari’s been ladybug so long she deserves to have cute, fingerless gloves! Anyways, back to Ivan! His hoodie is two toned, like a turtle’s shell, with the front being a light green. It’s patterned to look like a turtle shell underbelly, with a nice big pocket to hold whatever. He wears elbow- and knee-pads, which are shaped like little turtle shells. He wears regular Vans-style tennies, and his mask is similar to Carapace’s, except it cover the majority of the front of his face (think Kid Flash), and is colored/patterned similarly to a box turtle, with red accents along his cheekbones and his little tuft of hair is his usual blond with an ombré to that same red. (Ignore the ear I forgot to color in plz, I don’t feel like editing anymore T-T)

Ok, so that’s it for today’s character designs! I’m working on redesigning pretty much everyone’s civilian and hero costumes. I haven’t mentioned on this blog, but on pretty much every Gabe!Salt fic I’ve read, I will tell you, whoever the hell designed most of the characters in MLB, you deserve to be fired and then arrested. I’m so sorry, but there’s no way ur gonna convince me Fashion Designer™️ Marinette Dupain-Cheng walks out of her house every day, wearing ugly ass ballet flats+”denim” jeggings in that shade of pink. No way. And don’t even get me started on Gabriel’s candy-cane, red pants and duck hair headass, because omg… that man is supposed to be a world renowned Fashion Designer™️, one of the best in Paris. IN. PARIS!! No fucking way. No way. I get, you want ur characters to be simple and easily recognizable, but that doesn’t mean they have to be ugly!! And I get it, Adrien’s supposed to have a model-off-duty look, but wth are those shoes? Plus, why does he never change for his photo shoots? He’s a MODEL! I get it, you can’t even spend money to change the transformation animation to whatever the characters are actually wearing but wtf??? If you were gonna have any kid’s show where we get to see a lot of different clothes/outfits, this would be the show!! Two of the main characters are fashion designers, one of the minor antagonists is the daughter of a fashion magazine owner and your other main character is a model. IN PARIS!! A city known for its fashion and “romance”. And ur telling me you can’t add a few more outfits to the show??? That’s called lazy writing/animation.

Ugh, sorry abt that rant, but the character designs genuinely piss me off. It’s bullshit.

I digress.

I’ll be releasing the main 4 kids’ redesigns probably on the 15th!!

[would-this-pokemon-be-a-friend]

pet mandibuzz? big bird friend? goth birb?

arceus above let the lady be friend

I won’t sugar-coat it: caring for a mandibuzz might not always be easy, and it’s certainly not for everyone. But, for those who are really invested in adopting a goth birb, it can be done.

Mandibuzzes are surprisingly large! At nearly four feet tall, mandibuzzes stand taller than a majority of real-world birds. While the pokédex doesn’t make mention of it, these pokémon must be wicked strong in order to fly while weighing nearly ninety pounds! Caring for a creature this large, especially a flying one, is going to require quite a lot of space, so keep that in mind.

There isn’t a lot of data about whether or not mandibuzzes are friendly with humans, as they have only really been observed being kind to villabies (Ultra Moon, Sword). That being said, there is one sure-fire way to a mandibuzz’s heart: bones! Mandibuzzes use the bones of their prey for many uses, from building nests (Black) to decorating themselves (White). They take pride in the bones that they wear, to the point where fashion trends have been observed forming in groups of this pokémon (Shield). Offering a mandibuzz some choice bones may be a quick way to gain their approval and to show them you care about them. I do recognize, however, that some people may be grossed out by this behavior, and bones in general, which is another reason why a mandibuzz might not be right for everybody.

In the wild, mandibuzzes are predators. Despite their size and strength, this pokémon prefers to hunt weakened and vulnerable prey (Black), which indicates a hesitancy to risk conflict. Humans, given our relative size and strength, are unlikely to be targets for mandibuzzes to eat. Feeding these pokémon may not be super difficult, but it won’t be for the faint of heart and strapped for cash. Wild mandibuzz’s food of choice is cubones (Moon). If you, like myself, would be unwilling to feed your pet cubones, an alternative meat might prove to be expensive over time. Cubones weigh an average of 14 pounds, after all, which means that mandibuzzes routinely eat 14 pounds of meat! While mandibuzzes may prefer to hunt live prey, not all owners would be comfortable with that. Hopefully mandibuzzes aren’t too picky about how their prey is presented.

As alluded to earlier, mandibuzzes aren’t very likely to attack a human. They may be pretty large and strong for bird-like pokémon, but their hunting behavior indicates a strong aversion to risk. Fighting a human, most of the time, won’t seem worth it to them. Looking at their move-set, they don’t present much more of a threat than a real-world bird that size would. You would need to look out for their talons and beak with moves like Pluck, Sky Attack, and Brave Bird in their repertoire. They can attack from a distance if they want to with moves like Air Slash and Dark Pulse, so don’t mistake them for being completely physical. However, like I said, the chances of an attack outside of an accident or tantrum are pretty low.

Mandibuzzes certainly aren’t for everyone. Their large size and macabre lifestyle may be deal breakers for a lot of owners. That being said, I know there are a lot of people, like yourself, who really like this pokémon. To you I say: if you really want to adopt a mandibuzz, it’s certainly doable, if pretty difficult. Godspeed.

[starry-snippets]

jjba (jotaro, kakyoin, avdol, josuke, rohan, giorno, bruno, abbacchio, trish, mista, narancia) + aesthetics you suggest/dress them in

images are from pinterest! 

jotaro - techwear

✩ if you BEG you could get him to wear a techwear outfit that still maintains his love of gold brooches and chains. it’s not even that he doesn’t like the aesthetic it’s just kind of silly to him at first. sure he wears two belts, but two belts and a backpack on his chest and a smaller one on a thigh garter? um no. eventually caves when you show him something he finds really cool and man he has money. bad choice (or is it a great one?) he is fully committing elements of techwear into his every day outfits now. he’s dangerously hotter now too um

kakyoin - goblin/cryptid core (with punk influence!) 

✩ is a very creative guy who has a unique style and he’ll use that to his advantage! this would begin with a date idea of designing shirts or jeans and he has so much fun. now he has several pairs of fun jeans and a patch jacket he’s working on. when he’s dressed up like he’s ready to explore the forest he’s in such a mood to! get ready to spend time in the woods watching hierophant poking bugs with sticks and kakyoin showing you different types of beetles while you look for cryptids with a nearly empty flashlight 

avdol - bohemian/hippie 

✩ kind of related to his current style and that’s what he’s very willing to give it a try. loves the dramatic sleeves and ruffles, truly enjoying how snazzy they make him feel. also appreciates the jewelry! especially if you make it for him or buy it for him because it’ll remind him of you. loves fun patterns so he’ll enjoy combining them in unique ways, also appreciates the whimsical element of the layered fabric and prints 

rohan - avant garde 

✩ craziest dude in the world I swear. will wear anything just about if you make it sound revolutionary. tell him a trash bag is the next-in fashion trend and he’ll disbelief you to no end but will secretly be curious and try it out. helps he has the confidence to rock anything he tries. to be fair, when you dress him up you’re doing it mainly to see if he looks good in everything and you’re sad to see he does, indeed, look good in absolutely anything 

josuke - scene/punk

✩ loves the abrasive elements in punk! loves the colors and being able to make bracelets with you aspect of scenecore. in general he enjoys how he can look tough and intimidating but feels like the colorful accents really soften that depending on how much he accessorizes. doesn’t wear it too often though, really depends on where you two are heading. does let you dress him up fairly often though! 

giorno - cottagecore

✩ isn’t entirely against or for trying it out. is kinda confused as to why you want him to. he’ll eventually say to go for it. depending on what you put him in he will really like the aesthetic and wear it on your dates around town. isn’t a big fan when you ask if he’ll wear a skirt, but when you actually order one he really enjoys the length and the twirl. when you go on a picnic and he wears it, he just feels like he’s safe with you and away from the trivial stresses of his outre life 

bruno - coquette/angelcore

✩ like giorno, he isn’t for or against. leans to okay almost immediately however. he’s curious and very fluid with how he presents, so he’ll agree to just about anything within reason. when you dress him up he feels so ethereal. absolutely loves it? he likes how he’s wearing traditionally feminine garments but doesn’t feel effeminate. he enjoys the outfit and would likely wear it again, especially on a date with you 

abbacchio - goth 

✩ doesn’t want you to for a while despite sharing things with the style already. just feeling a bit prideful. does cave and let you do him up completely, probably because he had a drink. ABSOLUTELY loves the result however. the drama of the sleeves and the flair of his pant’s make him look so long and slender, like a real life dracula. finds the chains excessive but misses the significant effect they had when he was wearing them. definitely enjoyed trad goth makeup more than he’s willing to admit 

narancia - bubblegum b✩tch 

✩ likes it because he feels tall and assertive with the big boots on. will not wear it out of the house unless you’re really good at convincing him. doesn’t have the toughest skin so this does help him build his confidence and self-esteem even outside of his appearance. just feels so adorable, especially with you hyping him out. if he does agree to going out you’ll wear a super feminine outfit too or a suit, confusing traditional mindsets while having a super fun date 

mista - rockstar 

✩ really gets into his role when those skin tight pants are on. if you go out for dinner he’ll act like he’s the most important man ever and it surprisingly works. he will make use of the leather jacket you got him and would ask you to decorate it if that’s something you’re interested in. will wear elements of the outfit separately somewhat often but the entire outfit probably just on certain dates 

trish - indie

✩ loves lots of patterns so she appreciates the wiggle room of indie! she already has an impeccable sense of style but this is her go to when she’s heading out to museums, picnics, etc. trish always adds her unique flair to her outfits, often making edits to her shirts and skirts 

[mallgothchloe97]

Thank You Angela Benedict!👏🥀🖤

[spaceagesparkledust]

Makeups Your Doctor Who (Random Doctor Who Headcanons)

It’s Rose and her drug store mascara against the world. Girl is prepared

Jack and Nine get a kick out of watching Rose do her makeup routine. Every time. I don’t think Nine pays any attention to Rose putting it on until Jack comes around. Sure he always thinks she looks pretty but Jack’s the one who’ll come in Rose’s room while she does her makeup and keep her entertained. (Nine likes to be surprised)

Rose and Jack do each other’s nails. 

They convince Nine to let them paint his nails once. (Black, like his soul. ) Coincidentally, this is their first official TARDIS flying lesson. He can’t fly with wet hands after all. 

Rose eventually does Nine’s mascara, and eyeliner because she needs to know how goth he’s going to look in eyeliner and a leather jacket. The answer is incredibly goth. Nine spends a good ten minutes looking in the mirror, which is a new record considering he never looks in the mirror. 

River isn’t allowed to leave her lipstick lying around because Eleven will pick it up thinking it’s normal and then start having hallucinations.

One doesn’t understand Earth makeup trends. At all. They’re just so different from Galifrey. 

I think he tells Susan that she’s very pretty without it and she’s like “that’s very nice grandfather” while flipping through a magazine. 

She gets all her makeup ideas from watching her classmates. Also advice from barbara! 

One sits in on these Barbara sessions sometimes to learn. They offer to teach him but he prefers watching. 

I think eventually Susan manages to convince him to let her try it on him. It happens once and they never get to again. 

Before really trying to acclimate to school, Susan’s makeup skills were never period or place accurate.

Susan Foreman bringing you the hottest looks from Galifrey and planets 3000 years in the future.

Lets all his surrogate granddaughters use Susan’s old makeup she left on the TARDIS

Six and Peri, like with everything else, fight about makeup 

Six does enjoy makeup but i don’t think he ever puts on anything super elaborate because his coat does all the work for him 

He has a surprisingly good grasp on what colors work together and what clashes 

Buys makeup for his companions and keeps it stashed on the Tardis. Does not tell Peri. He’ll just put it somewhere obvious and make hinting comments until she notices. And then gets upset when she thanks the TARDIS and not him.

 WILL tell Peri if her makeup clashes or is the wrong shade

Uses his own arm as a tester swatch 

Four does Sarah’s makeup once

She gets poked in the face/eye a lot. He tells her to stop moving. 

It doesn’t look bad. But it also….doesn’t look good. Harry spends five minutes trying to compliment it before Sarah tells him to give it a rest.

Jo is very good at makeup and has given the Doctor a thorough explanation of makeup trends while they’ve been captured. The Doctor knows more than he’s ever wanted to know about makeup. which is good for getting Jo a Christmas present. 

Both Two and Ten try to make their own makeup….to varying results 

Two tries to replicate Victorian style makeup for Victoria but better ™ 

To keep it secret he tests it on himself and Jamie and Jamie is horribly allergic to one of the ingredients 

Victoria is very happy about it

Zoe tries to make improvements on it when she’s around. Mostly so Jamie doesn’t die

Many many many years later Amy finds it and tries it on. And it looks very nice on her but to her and Eleven’s panic the long lasting makeup effects are uh….very long lasting and don't wear off for weeks.

Ten gets dragged to a makeup shop with Donna and is very very very bored 

He insists that he can make something better than anything Donna’s buying. So he tries.

Its not bad honestly. Fairly decent, the colors look great on Donna. Its even eco-friendly.

Donna jokes that they should have their own makeup line which is a business venture they try for 0.2 seconds before it backfires horribly and wind up running from an evil space CEO.

15 and Ruby routinely do nails together as a means of decompressing

15 is Ruby’s hype person while she does her makeup, that jukebox is turned allll the way up

15 really likes period-accurate makeup and will find any excuse bust out a vintage collection of makeups he’s picked up at some point. Really good at it too. (this is definitely a result of Rose-Uncle Doctor bonding time)

They visit Space Sephora so Ruby can pick up things for her mates and her family

Eleven compliments Clara’s makeup quite often. Every time Clara changes her makeup Twelve acts like he’s never seen her before in his life. 

He doesn’t understand why Clara likes eyeliner because her eyes get even bigger somehow. 

Twelve narrates Clara’s makeup routine like a nature documentary. It annoys her at first but then she finds it endearing and alerts him every time she’s about to fix her makeup.

Twelve's not big on makeup himself but he does rock glam makeup.

[hazellevessque]

where trend for tpq characters GO

“He took a picture of your lightning bolt” OR “He avoids you to the point where you think he hates you”

Aru: WHERE

“She’s the reason you die” OR “She knows where you live”

Aiden: WHERE

“He’s a snake”

Mini: WHERE

“She wears black but isn’t goth”

Rudy: WHERE

“He’s in love with your sister”

Kara: WHERE

“She yells at people when their food isn’t good”

Hira: WHERE

“She has the shittiest brother in the world”

Brynne: WHERE

[commiegoth]

Fun writeup on the goth subculture of the 1990s from FringeWare Review #6(66), published in 1995

Full text under cut

Subcultbabble 101: Magdalen on Things Gothic

So who ’zactly are these legendary Goth creatures? As with any subculture, it’s hard to pin ’em down. Let’s start with an image nearly all our dear readers will have seen at some point: kids with flowing black clothes, white faces, and lots of black eyeliner. You have perhaps wondered WTF is up with them, and with people who try to look like vampyres, and pouty twentysomethings in black T-shirts who seem too pointedly haughty to be generic Gen-Xers, and gorgeous fetish babes who sorta look like they’re dressed for the grave rather than for the dungeon.

Writers like yers truly just fuck it all up when they try to explicate subcultures, but somebody’s gotta do it. My own experiences have brought me in contact with the so-called goth scene intermittently over the last decade, though I should warn you that mine is a fundamentally West Coast point of view. YMMV. Like many others who end up returning to goth clubs and music every few years, I seem to have a fixation with Death which finds itself soothed and fulfilled by Things Gothic. Despite my propensity for slovenly attire and no-bullshit communication, I’m also addicted to the sense of ritual and aesthetic which differentiate the goths from most other American cultures.

I Wear Black On The Outside… ’cos black is how i feel on the inside

The two most prominent subcultures I’ve run into are punk and the hippie trip. In them, participants usually adhere to a loose cluster of aesthetic parameters, but everyone involved pretends that exteriors mean little to them. (Let’s bypass the hypocrisy involved, when they like the rest of society typically wear certain signifiers to identify themselves with the group.) Hardcore punks and hippies don’ t necessarily bathe very often, or wear makeup. Punk and its bastardized commercial offspring, the media-titled Grunge movement, aspire to externalize their rejection of conventional society by substituting fucked up, comfortable clothing for the clean, rigid, and perky duds yer stuck-in-the-fifties parents always wanted you to wear. The aesthetic relies upon potentially-violent sloppiness (or a carefully-reconstructed pretense thereof) and the attitude that you honestly don’t give a fuck what people think of you. Mortified though many latter-day punks might be to think of it, a similar motivation lay behind the original hippie anti-aesthetic, where organic materials and shapes sought to externalize the flowing qualities of nature where Cold War man had instituted three-piece suits and all they represented. Pardon the irony, but both mohawks and stringy long hair try to signify the rejection of a shallow society intent on keeping up with the Joneses and little else.

The goths fled in the opposite direction: past conventional fashion, whose crime isn’t its rigidity but its sheer dullness and tendency to follow embarrassing trends, and onward to a hyperstylised self-presentation reminiscent of the Courts of centuries past. Goths are renowned for their vanity and apparent shallowness; I believe the goth aesthetic is actually quite honest, embracing the notion that externalizations such as clothing and gesture form an intricate interpersonal art form, a dance of communication. It’s refreshing compared to the equally intricate games played by those who present a studiedly “casual” facade, hoping their Gap shirts will help them blend in with the wallpaper. Practitioners of theatre understand very well the subconscious semiotic games being played in the guise of supposedly “normal”, casual conversation: how the body moves, what it is draped in, the choice of words, tone of voice or the flick of an eyelash can determine the outcome. In the theatre, these external elements are mastered to create ritual and entertainment.

Walk into a goth club, and you see this same cunning, playful manipulation of details taken from the stage and thrown into what might be a costume ball. Black is everywhere: hair, clothing, eyes, lips. Perfectly blood-crimson lips and hair extensions materialize next, along with deep purple dresses and tresses. Proper white collared shirts glow in the dim light, while the occasional off-white Victorian wedding-gown or ivory ’30s dress will float by as well. The goths, who go out of their way to be a sensual set, get off on the tactile beauty of their gear as much as its visual effect: velvets, satins, leathers, brocades, sheers, laces (though lace has fallen by the wayside since the ’80s) — anything lush and sumptuous. For a group of people rumoured to be exceptionally dictatorial in their tastes, they can be most creative and eclectic. Cheesy classic deathrock bits like torn fishnet sleeves, and Robert Smith hairdos straight out of the early ’80s, nuzzle up against the hippest new fetish gear. Goths manage to dig up gorgeous period pieces, mostly evocative of the ’20s or of Victorian fashion, and many can even wear the things properly, playing the appropriate body language to the hilt.

You should be able to kick around a few Byron quotes here and there, and recount Shelley's death with heartfelt accuracy (didn't he like die on a boat or something?)

As you nervously approach the crowded bar for a dollar-drink special, you’ll notice some other things. Makeup ranging from pale to deathly white on many faces, both male and female, accompanied by exotically-applied eyeliner and severe lipstick. Lots of curious if pretentious objects: fluttering fans, scarves, silver cigarette cases, lunchbox handbags, crucifixes, hats, and miles of silver jewelry. A man bending at the waist to kiss a woman's hand. Angelic, dour boys in long skirts and pointy boots. Expansive, melodramatic dancers flailing and swirling, refusing to acknowledge each other even when they collide. Impeccably-dressed, attractive women sitting all alone yet not being harassed. Frankly, you may find them all ridiculously snotty poseurs, what with their wannabe-regal airs and seemingly unbreakable attitudes. Stay long enough, though, and the drugs and alcohol will kick in thoroughly, revealing kids with fake IDs and eyeliner drooling drunkenly down their cheeks, stoned speedfreaks giggling, drunk speedfreaks dancing and fighting, bedraggled gentlemen hiking up their skirts to take down the lights. Though it may appear otherwise, people have dressed up and come out to have a good time, and to do so in the most decadent of ways.

If you asked them, the majority of these people would not admit to being goths. Most of those who would are the sort of irritating obsessives you find in any cultural group, like the self-proclaimed hippie that buys every new Dead shirt as soon as it hits the market or the poet who wears a beret and turtleneck. These are the folks who desperately needed an identity to cling to, a pre-existing aesthetic to buy and adopt rather than create; they’re invariably the people who uphold and propagate the codes and cliches of a subculture. So what’s the stereotypical goth of this sort like? Where hippies have hyper-friendliness and Luv, these goths have a comical level of snobbery, cattiness, and a calculated air of impenetrable mystery. Where punks often pretend to be less cultured and articulate than they are, yer local cliche-goth will likely present hirself as well-read and emotionally intellectual, with a vocabulary of words and gestures gleaned from faerie tales, Victorian literature, and heroic ballads. The correct political stance is apolitical, and while the proper drags change over the years and according to geography, speed’s the classic drug of choice. The face will be pale and powdered, the eyebrows painted in black points which shadow the inner eyelids in an immaculate line; the clothing will most definitely come in black.

As The Millennium Turns: the emergence of a NeoGoth scene

What’s interesting about this culture isn’t the surprisingly small group of people who wear full costuming and whiteface 24/7, but the way that its recent resurrection integrate a variety of musical and aesthetic tastes. Odd as it may sound, my theory is that the increased popularity of Things Gothic owes much to the Rave trend at the turn of the decade. As, that pushed repetitive techno music into regular discos and radio formats, people started delving into darker technology-driven music such techno-industrialists Skinny Puppy. Much to chagrin of oldschool industrial types, a new “industrial” movement started gaining momentum, showcasing Ministry’s industrial deathmetal crossover and the Top 40 success of Nine Inch Nails. The explosion of general indie and "alternative" music as a popular phenomenon helped out, too: all these newly-mainstreamed bands had common influences from the days when frat boys would beat you up for having a leather jacket and funny hair, instead of jumpin' into the pit with ya at a Dickies show (Dude!).

People new to these genres of music and the subcultures they spawned started digging up those influences and giving 'em a spin, and pretty soon there was a fresh crop o' youngsters gazing at Blixa's made-up face on old Einsturzende Neubauten videotapes, discovering Bauhaus for the first time, finding Al Jourgenson's cheesy '80s dance tunes, and praying that the entire 4AD catalogue might be released domestically on compact disc. Some small group of goth types had endured through the '80s in most large cities and hipster towns, and found their ranks swelling as the population at large gained exposure to music and fashion previously confined to the underground and to independent music labels. For several years now, the goth capital cities (London, New York, San Francisco) have boomed with golf clubs, local bands, and 'zines. The resounding success of House of Usher, the East (SF) Bay club the proved you really could rejuvenate this tired old scene enough to make serious money off it, owed much to its owners' creation of two separate dancefloors in a single club: one industrial, one gothic.

But wait, there’s more! In addition to marrying the black-leather-wearing New Industrial scene to the extant retro-gothic scene, the neo-goth resurgence has cross-pollinated nicely with the fetish scene, the cyberpunks (yes, I hate that word as much as you do) the exponential growth of the Internet, the underground comic and ’zine network, and a rising interest in the arts of self-decoration (piercing, tattoos, etc.). As always, other marginal groups with proclivities for theatricality — SCA members, RPG fanatics, | drama geeks, Renaissance Faire guildmembers, wiccans, and the terminally suicidal — are still attracted to the goth set. It all makes for quite the tasty brew once it has fermented long enough.

Weeping, Wailing, and the Gnashing of Teeth

Music acts as the cornerstone of most popcults, and can’t possibly be treated thoroughly in this space. If you’re into the idea, get ahold of the fanzines listed under SOURCES. Suffice to say the music wafting out of gothish clubs ranges from historical deathrock (Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division) to second-wave gothic (Fields of the Nephilim, Christian Death, Sisters of Mercy) to new indie-goth hybrids. Some of the most distinctive music associated with Things Gothic can only be described as mood music, whether it’s ethereal, ominous, or sparse. Dead Can Dance and Cocteau Twins have popularized the ethereal sound, usually featuring lush arrangements, swooning female vocals, and often incorporating elements of Irish folk, medieval, classical, and middle eastern music. From the cruncher sounds of My Bloody Valentine and lovesliescrushing, and the symphonic chaos of Cranes or the recent Miranda Sex Garden releases, a whole new generation of post-ethereal bands continues to evolve.

Ominous mood music ranges from the Wagneresque horror of In Slaughter Natives to the soundscapes of Caul; again, subcultural crossbreeding has birthed a wide range of techno-industrial-cybergothic soundtracks. On the sparse end of the scale, the Death In June/Current 93/Sol Invictus formula combines morbid lyrics, hypnotic acoustic guitars, and experimental sounds: for a heightened experience, be sure to keep razorblades poised at your wrists while listening. And you’re bound to find old farts who still keep some guilty pleasures around — ’80s English popsters like early Cure, Smiths, and Tears for Fears, the deathpunk of 45 Grave and pre-glam TSOL, or the moody disco of New Order and Tones On Tail.

Face it, kids, you live in a society whose obsession with Death is matched only by its insistence that one continually maintain a mask of cheerfulness or neutrality. Colonial-style religion, which used to provide a ritual release for feelings of fear and deah has largely been exposed as a patriarchal scam. You will watch Cops, you will run to see Natural Born Killers, but you will still toddle into work and smile after your best friend commits suicide. The hippies tried to make you too uniformly joyful and mellow; your foray into punk let out some anger but did nothing for the lingering melancholia. The poets gave you deep verbiage but they didn’t know how to dress, and the sullen slackers sneered at anything remotely dramatic. And while the Protestant preacher gave you lots of Death, and Mass gave you ritual satisfaction to breathe in like incense, they expected you to believe in GM, fer Chrissakes!

I can’t stomach being around it too much, but sometimes it’s a relief to sip Chartreuse with an entire room full of people who’ve given up and welcomed death. A good goth club or party feels like a Christian funeral smashing into a raucous wake: some are there to mourn, others to celebrate the dead with wine, song, and incoherent rambling. No one is going to stare at the scars on your wrists in such an environment, nor try to stop you from driving 120mph on the bridge after you’ve snorted up a quarter and chased it with a litre of bad red wine. No one’s gonna care whether your sour, aching mood arises out of severe pain or out of the need to make an impression. Nor does it matter whether you've actually punctured human flesh with those ridiculous fangs you had custom-made.

The house, club, or cemetery you’re partying in is likely decked out in Things Gothic. Among all the dead flowers, skulls, and candles, who’s gonna look askance at the crucifix around your neck? The props of Death attract people for different reasons. Some have a heartfelt reaction to religious iconography, often rooted in childhood experiences with the church; others are attracted to the mystery of the post-corporeal life represented in objects which evoke thoughts of mortality. Some just want a solid talisman to grasp while they mourn life itself, while many are drawn to the classical aesthetic often employed in rendering icons. And there will always be those who don’t really care to think about art, Death, or afterlives, but who want to look cool. Regardless of the motive, people who want to play with the props of Death aren’t given much of an opportunity to do so in conventional society.

Except in religious subcultures, of course. Is the goth scene religious? While a fair percentage of its members are ex-Christians or current pagans, goth has nothing to do with religion. The closest thing to a Deity it offers would have to be Peter Murphy or Andrew Eldritch — mere mortals who happen to be the subject of much fawning, rather like Elvis. Laughing at the corniness of Deathprops and quasi-religious elements is probably more common than revering them. Goth appropriates from religion, using its imagery in decadent stylization. It has no interest in either approximating religion or fostering it.

Deadly, theatrical, and a bit over-the-top, Things Gothic definitely hold a selective appeal. I for one will be thoroughly amazed if the goth subculture ever gets adopted by the mainstream, but then again in 8th grade I wouldn't have imagined punk ever crossing over. Times change, and if folks stop dismissing the goths as absurdly pretentious we just may see Rozz on the cover of Rolling Stone in a couple of years. Stranger things have happened.

[courtney-deserved-better]

Hi pj! I love your fanfics, super inspiring!

I had a question, In most or all alenoah fic, when writers talk about Carlos they write him as the older brother who left the family and/or was disowned. Who is also kind and see the family flaws. My question is…..did you start this trend? Or was it always a thing? I’m trying to think to all the fics I read to see if we’re this came from. But I realize that you’re slippery slopes fic kind of had a hand at reshaping the alenoah fic genera…(compliment!!)

this question isn’t a attack on your or your writing! I’m just curious about this little habit I seen in other fics.

thanks, that's an interesting question! i doubt that im the first person to ever headcanon carlos as having distanced himself from the burromuertos and seeing their flaws, but i didn't really have anybody else's headcanons in mind when i wrote his role in slippery slopes.

i really like the idea of alejandro having two sides of his family - the main part, where he and his brothers were raised by their successful parents, which is rife with pressure and high expectations and reaps financial and social success and influence - and the outside part, which involves carlos as a soccer player who cut contact with his parents, his uncle julio the hypnotist, and (delving into oc territory) julio's wife anita, who runs a gender neutral goth clothing line, and alejandro's younger sister luciana, who enjoys making puppets and was raised by julio and anita. this side of the family is a lot less notable and doesn't have the same kind of wealth, power, or good reputation that the main part has, but in turn they are a lot kinder, expressive, honest, and quirky in their interests.

i like to think that despite being raised in the main part of the family, carlos ended up striking out on his own (perhaps he had disagreements with his parents about his career, if they wanted a more businesslike career for their first son and he wanted to be an athlete) and unknowingly set an example for alejandro much later on down the line. i was originally going to have julio, anita, and luci reunite with alejandro in addition to carlos in slippery slopes, but that ended up being too complicated and i stuck with just carlos. but i do think that alejandro and carlos will eventually reconnect with these other burromuerto outsiders and feel like they have a supportive, loving family for the first time