#masking in any way which is kind of nice as even the vibe of Christmas takes a lot oit of me

[steampoweredskeleton]

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Ignore

[foxboyclit]

woe, oc asks be upon ye!

i do not know nearly enough about fae so - 13, 29, 15

iphis my beloved - 31, 47

howl whomst i also do not know nearly enough about yet - 48, 41

all my beloveds in one ask-you spoil me :p

Fae:

13: describe your character's typical wardrobe for a regular day

in two words: bubblegum pink. but seriously, Fae is a sparkly high femme who unfortunately has to keep from dying in sunlight/heat, so a big beach hat is an absolute must, light fabrics to made to catch breeze and keep them cool, and sunglasses so they can actually see (yes even in ye olde forgotten realms, drow would use the shit out of sunglasses on the surface and i'll die on this hill), and they'll swear said shades must pink and heart-shaped. it's just as important.

29: are they an organized person? or more laissez-faire?

Fae has trouble staying organized, they're forgetful, but they try because they know it saves them time they'd spend panicking because they forgot something important. they do not enjoy trying to manage a schedule and keeping a habit of writing things down, but it keeps them sane, even if it's a hastily scrawled to-do list on a scrap piece of paper. when they do have time to themself, they're in a more natural state of "let's do whatever i think of in the moment, no plan, just vibes". sometimes that's spending all day in bed, sometimes they're out all night, so really, a little bit of both, but also neither

15: what's the first thing people notice about them?

their aesthetic, it's not uncommon for a bard but it's the loudest thing about them (literally, their accessories jingle like christmas bells)

Iphis:

31: your character's been invited to a masquerade ball. what mask do they wear?

ohohoho this is the best one for Iphis. a classic eye mask shape, rather than a full-face mask. lacy, crafted to look delicate, but durable. cant have someone breaking it and revealing your identity, after all. maybe there's colored lenses over the eye slits, to obscure eye color (also just because it looks cool). base color appears to be black but in the right light is actually more midnight blue, with black flower details and little jeweled spiders among the petals, because is it really a drow masquerade without spiders?

47: what's your character's reaction when someone does something nice for them?

outwardly, to smile and thank someone, slip in a compliment if appropriate. practiced, polite, full of charm and empty of sentiment. i have to note that Iphis does not smile with his eyes.

now, internally it depends on who's doing the favor. if it's someone he trusts (ie Nydalla) he softens, and he's willing to do whatever they want. rewards are earned by being obedient, after all. however if it's not someone close to him he is combing through the interaction looking for hidden motives, keeping a tally in his head. nobles don't do things out of the kindness of their hearts, any nicety is either a diversion or exchange.

Howl:

48: is it easy to make your character cry? or angry? or annoyed?

nope! even when unlearning to suppress their emotions, Howl's naturally just not very emotional. The best way to describe the way they feel is muted, and a lot of the time they struggle with knowing what they're feeling. Their negative emotions build up slowly, and they linger. So they don't sob, they just can't stop shedding tears, and they don't have outbursts of anger, they seethe.

41: your character has been punched in the face. What's their reaction?

self-defense, and then getting the hell out of there. which either involves jamming their fingers in the person's eyes (extra not fun for them thanks to their long nails) and running, or casting a spell that knocks them back. they don't want a fight, that's their way of saying you don't want one either

oc questions are both enrichment for them and me

[c-c-cherry]

Our local mafia dads meeting their childrens’ parents!!

Okay, I’ve gotten A LOT of asks about Bruno + Abba meeting Dio and I’ve also gotten an ask or two about them meeting the gang’s parents so they all kind of correlate together so I decided to make one post about it!

For the sake of Polnareff’s sanity, I have to keep all the crusaders alive or else things will end up messy hehehe

*someone asked for Diego but like,,,I haven’t read that much of SBR yet so I don’t think I can do it solely because of lack of character knowledge. I'm sorry anon :(*

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I got a shit ton of asks specificically for a post like this so I hope y’all enjoy <3:

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Giorno

Our boy Giogio has a very complicated family tree, but let's just start with the elephant in the room. Or should I say, the literal fucking vampire.

-Dio would be...interesting, for sure. But he wouldn’t exactly look out of place in their household, considering they’re all wearing ridiculous outfits. 

-Depending on how Dio actually acts, Bucciarati would probably invite him in for tea and Abba would sit there silently admiring his green lipstick which he’s 99% sure he saw at Sephora earlier

-You know how fucking extra the man is. The moment he sees Giorno this man literally bursts into dramatic tears with mascara rolling down his face and everything and Giorno is just like “????”

-They would have never guessed that Gio and Dio were related by personality alone. They contradict each other so much its almost funny

-They DO know where our boy got his sense of style from, though,,,and that fucking hair,, :’)

-Even if Dio is absolutely fucking pretty feral, I could see all of them having a pretty civil conversation about everything

-If Giorno wanted to go live with him, he was free to, (but he doesn’t have to)

-Dio learns about Giorno’s previous home life and it takes like 6 people to hold him down for him to not go and march down to his old house to commit vampire crimes

-Dio is scared of shit like tvs and the microwaves and they pay no mind to how weird he is and don’t pick up on the fact that he’s a vampire at all

-Until Polnareff emerges from the turtle, takes one look and him and GOES FUCKING OFF-

-Dio Brando is no longer welcome in the Bucci household

-Though he can see Giorno on weekends if he’s good :3

-Abbacchio can and will sneak out to go shopping with him because Dio always manages to have way too much fucking money and no one knows where it comes from

-Once Bruno finds out, (which he does from the empty Versace and Louis Vuitton bags stashed under his bed) the fun is over >:(

Giorno’s mama and step-dad...yeesh...

-you’ve seen how I made them react to those two if you read The Storm a few months back, and I still stand to the fact that if Giorno didn’t talk about his parents, they would just assume that he just had a weird relationship with them and didn’t want to talk about it

-Once they find everything out, though…*cracks knuckles*

-Bucciarati is the type of person to pick his battles. Would he have tea with Giorno’s mother just to learn her weaknesses and then slowly deteriorate her? Would he civilly promise Giorno’s step-father money only for an assassination team to show up at his door once he gives Bruno his address?

-Yes.

-Abba will go straight for the kill once he’s pissed. Don’t tell me otherwise. Man is ready to throw hands at all times and he’s not afraid to beat the shit out of some shitty middle-aged people

Narancia

Narancia’s mom, like any other sweet mama, would probably sit down to lunch with Bruno and thank him for looking after her son :)

-It would be sweet, very nice and wholesome

-Like literally if the two of them ever met they would probably just sit down together and talk about Narancia and that’s literally it

-Abba claims that he “doesn't pick favourites” (because all the fucking gremlins drive him crazy) but he secretly does favour Nara over any of the other kids

-Knowing everything Nara’s gone through, he would only treat Mela with respect if he ever had the chance to meet her

His dad on the other hand...

-Bruno wants absolutely nothing to do with the man

-He knows that it isn’t entirely his fault for everything that happened with Narancia throughout his childhood, but he wasn’t there when he should have been

-People that simply don’t care to the point of neglect absolutely infuriate Abbacchio because he was like that once too and he’s seen the damage that it does firsthand

-Abba knows if he ever ran into the guy, there’d be hell to pay

-But that’s how he feels about most of his “kids’” parents (considering most of them are absolute assholes)

Trish

-I feel like how they would react to her father is pretty self-explanatory,,,

-but Oh MY GOD Donatella Una and Bucciarati going on shopping sprees together? Being fucking bougie as shit together??? Can I say gucci and mineral water dream team????

-I can bring her back to life if I want to >:(

-She’s the kind of person who’s really great to go out with—like to bars, clubs, restaurants, etc,,,and is willing to do absolutely anything as long as she gets the social rush

-Trish is pretty quiet but her mama’s atmosphere is fucking CONTAGIOUS

-Abba and Dona would do each other’s makeup and she’s the kind of lady that shows up at his door with a pile of DVDs and those fucking cucumber face masks

-Also she collects those expensive-ass collector’s edition barbie dolls and Bruno and Abba always give her the latest holiday barbie for Christmas :)))))

Mista

-Honestly, I kinda see Mista’s parents as pretty ordinary people with nothing really defining their personalities

-They both work a lot and were never really around that much, but once Mista went to jail they pretty much just never reconnected with him and don’t really plan to

-Bruno isn’t particularly angry at Mista’s parents; the kid fucked up pretty bad and even Mista knows that he can’t really blame his family for not wanting to reconnect with a murderer

-It would be pretty mutual if he ever met them; probably a dull greeting over lunch and then they would get back to work

-Abbacchio wouldn’t even bother. He has no tolerance for people that don’t want to interact with them (although if Mista really wanted him to meet them he would suck it up and be decent)

-They seem like the kind of stiff people who would freak out if they were talking to a gang member or someone who lives rougher so their interaction wouldn’t exactly be a long one lol

Fugo

-Fugo doesn’t hate his parents

-In his heart, he still really just wants approval from them even after all they did

-I’m not sure how Bruno and Leone would possibly meet them, but if they did, Bucciarati would probably be pretty civil about it

-They wouldn’t want to talk about their son at all, which would make Bruno pretty irritated and Abbacchio infuriated

-When they do talk about him, they just talk about his anger issues and the fact that he failed their family in both the education department and the social aspect and it takes everything in both of them not to flip the fucking table over

-Because obviously his “parents” never spent any time with him or else they would know how intelligent he is and how much he loves playing piano and helping Bucciarati bake bread and how much he cares about everyone around him

-Surprisingly though, Bruno is the one who holds a grudge about it. If they hadn’t put him in college as young as they did, maybe things would have been different and he wouldn’t be working for the Italian mafia >:( (but he still feels more than blessed to have Fugo in his life) :)

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I have so many posts now that I feel like my headcanons might get lost within my sea of all my other stuff as the time passes,,,I’m thinking of just making a fic/headcanon masterlist and keeping it constantly pinned! (I would link it in my bio but that shit isn’t working no matter how many times I try sjhdkjgfd I hate Tumblr)

If you’ve got an ask, request, or headcanon, hit me up! (I do just enjoy y’alls immaculate vibes, too) <3

[jayankles]

Your Turn

Pairing: No pairing; general Dean fic

Word Count: 2016

Summary: Dean and his wife are woken up by their baby, his wife encourages him that it’s his turn to take care of her.

Written for: @spngenrebingo​ / @goodthingshappenbingo​ / @spndeanbingo​ / @spnaubingo​

Squares Filled: playing pretend / pillow forts / Bobby Singer / single parent au

Also for @sdavid09​ ’s bingo challenge. The square filled is below to avoid spoilers.

A crying baby is what woke them. She snuck her hand around Dean’s waist and pressed a kiss to the back of his neck. “It’s your turn, baby.”

“I know. I got her. Go back to sleep.” He rubbed her hand before bringing it up for a kiss. “Alright, baby girl, daddy’s coming.”

Dean sat up, the palms of his hand digging into his eyeballs, rubbing the sleep from them. He got up, his feet stepping into his comfortable slippers. Grabbing his robe, he tied the belt loosely around his waist, he was ready for action to get his daughter to sleep.

“Come on, Lilah.” Dean leaned over with a small smile on his face, even though Delilah was sobbing her heart out, it didn’t matter. All he saw was a healthy happy baby that just wanted cuddles from her daddy. “You wanna cuddle with Daddy? Before you wake Scarlett because the two of you in the morning is a nightmare. You don’t know how outnumbered I am with you girls.”

Lilah continued to cry but as soon as Dean picked her up from the crib she calmed a little, her cries settling a little after she nestled into his chest. She loved her father so much but Dean loved Delilah a little more, she had him completely wrapped around her tiny little fingers. All she had to do was smile and he was gone.He was all hers. Any of his girls could have him at the blink of an eye, a snap of their fingers, or something as simple as a smile.

When she started to fuss again, Dean started with a hum, he couldn’t figure out which song to sing, about three of them roaming around in his mind. After a few minutes of humming ‘Hey Jude,’ he finally decided on ‘Baby Mine’ from the Disney movie Dumbo. It was the only song that worked with Scarlett when she was younger and it was his wife’s favourite song to sing her too; as he sung the words Dean rocked too and fro. Delilah’s little hands balled into Dean’s shirt but he soon noticed that they had loosened and her breathing had evened out.

After he was sure that Delilah had conked out for a few more hours, he laid her back in her crib, draping the light blanket back over her, softly rubbing her stomach. “Goodnight, Lilah. See you in a few hours, Sweetheart.”

Walking down the hallway, Dean checked on Scarlett. She was adorable, of course, snuggling her stuffed octopus. She was rocking the bedhead vibe as always, something that he would have to fix in the morning. He wouldn’t tell her but he loved brushing Scarlett’s hair and secretly watching the hair tutorials to see which style he could help Scarlett pull off for school.

“Goodnight, Princess.” He whispered, closing the door behind him and heading back to bed. He would need all the sleep he could get.

Sneaking under the covers, he whispered once more. “I love you, mama, goodnight.”

*

“Yay! Grandpa Bobby is here!” Dean said, his eyes finding Scarlett’s before her face lit up like a Christmas tree. It had been a while since the girls had seen their Grandpa. Their favourite one at that.... Or their only Grandpa, but it was nice to be loved.

“Grandpa!” Scarlett dropped her toys and quickly made her way over into Bobby’s arms. “Can we goto the park today? Get some secret ice cream?”

She was a terrible whisperer, he would have to teach her a few tricks of the trade so her father wouldn;t be able to hear her the next time she spoke of any innocent secret. 

“You know I can hear you, right? And if you go for secret ice cream without me , there will be no My Little Pony.” Dean got up from his extra small seat, taking Delilah with him. “I don’t say this enough but thank you for being retired, Bobby Singer.”

“Are you just using me for a free babysitting service, boy?” There was a stern look on his face as usual but it melted away as soon as Scarlett spoke.

“I can pay you with hugs and kisses.”

“Did you put her up to that?”

“Absolutely not. I would never put your own granddaughter against you.” Dean smiled, a devious one like this was a plan that he had concocted but in all honesty, he had nothing to do with it. “I will see you later.”

He waits for Scarlett to jump down before giving Delilah over to Bobby. He plans a soft kiss to the baby’s head. He moves on to his first born, crouching down to the floor and adjusting the toggle on her hoodie that she wears so often. 

“I’ll make you a deal. You be good for Grandpa, he can get you some ice cream as long as you get me some and stick it in the freezer. If you do that, we’ll have a movie night at the weekend.”

“I wanna do that, yes. Lots of sweets and chocolate and popcorn.” She almost dies at the fact that she’s going to have a movie night. Dean has something else planned first and it was something that he had hoped that they would love even more than just a movie.

*

As much as Dean hates it, he has to go, has to leave them and go to work. He had already taken a long break but he knew he had to go back. It was time. Dean couldn’t bear to part with his girls, not even for a minute but he had to. 

His coworkers welcome him back with open arms. It had been a rough few months but he was hanging in there. His best friend, Benny, held him so tight that he was afraid he would lose him; Benny may have also broken a few of Dean’s ribs but he loved it more than he would care to admit.

“Good to see you, brother.” Benny gave him one more squeeze before releasing him.

Dean just nodded, his words caught, he couldn’t say anything with his heart in his throat. He gave Benny a slap on the back before he took a step back and coughed, masking his pain.

By the time lunch rolled around, Dean was a lot more tired than he thought he would be, the long nights that he had with the girl had really taken its toll on him. Maybe he shouldn’t have rushed back to his job.

Reaching into his bag, he pulled out his lunch box and his small bottle of pills. Dean had got accustomed to taking the meds ever since Lilah was born, it was one of the many things that he remembered to do each and every day. Dean knocked down the two daily pills, swallowing them with a drink of water.

Dean had taken a bite of the second slice of his sandwich before he put it back down in the box, his fingers running through his slightly longer hair. Inhaling, he tried to keep calm and keep himself from crying, he had done well so far, and had only thought about the situation twice today. But it still didn’t stop the pain that he was feeling, he just wanted to get back to his family back home. The pills would kick in and bring him back down to the dark reality that he was living.

Benny came in not too long after Dean did, neither man said anything, not for a long time and it was beginning to get awkward. The pair hadn’t seen each other since just before Lilah was born a few months ago, there had been texts and calls, keeping up with each other seeing how Dean was holding up and asking whether or not he needed any help around the house. Dean kindly refused Benny’s help, thanking him for his offer and telling him that he was welcome to come over to the house and see Lilah and Scarlett whenever he wanted, when he returned to work. He just needed that time with the kids before he shared them with anyone else. Benny completely understood, any other time, he would have chewed his ass about spending all his time with his babies but Benny knew that he needed to spend this time with them.

“Sorry, I dipped.” Dean muttered, popping an orange slice into his mouth, Scarlett had helped him make his lunch before he put her to bed last night. The thought alone made him smile a little bit. “I shouldn’t have done that to you, you deserved better.”

Benny gave a lopsided smile, “it’s all good, I know your struggles.”

“It’s still no excuse, man.” “Listen, if you’re still beating yourself up about it... how ‘bout you and your girls come over to my place and we’ll have a barbecue. Andrea can take a load off and help with the kids and you can cook your famous burgers that you know we love and I’ll do my steaks. We got you, brother.” 

Dean was left speechless, he truly couldn’t believe the kindness of his best friend, even though Dean felt as if he had treated Benny like shit, Benny still had his back.

*

Turning the key in the door, Dean stepped into his house, and the house that he had made a home. The house was somewhat quiet and he wasn’t sure whether to take that as a good sign or a bad sign. He threw his bag and coat into the closet, strolling through the house and going in search of his girls. Dean then got to the living room, his heart soaring as he watched Bobby and Scarlett interact. The two of them sing to Delilah, trying to stop her from crying, so far it was working and they got little smiles out of her.

“How are my favourite people in the whole wide world?” 

“Daddy!” “Dada!” Scarlett and Delilah screamed when they saw Dean leaning on the door frame with a soft smile on his face. 

“Now, how about a pillow fort and a movie, yeah?”

Dean quickly got changed into his nightwear, whilst Bobby helped Scarlett into hers. Dean had taken the time to start creating the best pillow fort that he had in awhile. It was difficult at first, Lilah crying when she didn’t get enough of Dean’s attention but he finally strapped her into his chest in one of the carrier contraptions that he so hated to put together, his wife was always better at that stuff, especially the car seat straps.

The couches cushions were first to join the comforter on the floor. Broomsticks and chairs and furniture were moved around so Dean could create a canopy over the television. It would be the perfect, comfortable, little getaway for them. Dean was ready for Scarlett to put in the finishing touches and pick the movie. He couldn’t wait to spend the night with his babies watching Scarlett’s favourite Disney movie for the thousandth time since it came out. It was a surprise when Bobby decided to stay and bring in all the snacks; the popcorn, the gummy bears and the juice boxes even for Dean and himself.

Not even halfway through the movie the four of them had conked out for the night, they all had a busy day and they needed their sleep so that they could do it all over again the next day.

Dean’s wife smiled as she stepped into the living room, watching as her husband and their two baby girls slept. She tucked them all in, even the man she considered a father figure, she wished she could do more but there was only so much that a ghost could do, but she would return to Dean in the morning like she always did. She would do so until Dean got over her but in the end she would be waiting for them. It was always going to be Dean’s turn to be at Delilah’s beck and call.

This fills the ‘character death’ square for Shanna’s bingo.

Forevers: @super100012​ @lupine-princess​ @plaid-lover-bay25​ @atc74​ @growningupgeek​ @sophiebobzz​ @docharleythegeekqueen​ @poukothenerd​ @grace-for-sale​ @mrswhozeewhatsis​ @jesspfly​ @supernaturallymarvellous​ @sammysgirl1997​ @roxyspearing​ @mogaruke​ @be-amaziing​ @deanandsamsbitch​ @frankiea1998​ @hennessy0274-blog​ @spn-dean-and-sam-winchester​ @iwantthedean​ @capsheadquaters​ @emoryhemsworth​ @notmoose45​ @essie1876​ @cassieraider​ @brewsthespirit-blog​ @its-my-perky-nipples​ @riversong-sam​ @jotink78​ @captainradicalpassion​ @jadalecki-jackles​ @spnbaby-67​ @holyfuckloueh​ @gh0stgurl​ @alyssa6marie​ @esoltis280​ @bumber-car-s @alexwinchester23​ @x-waywardaf-x​ @thisismysecrethappyplace​ @randomparanoid​ @kellianz​

Dean: @kenmen02​ @ain-t-bovvered​ @deans-baby-momma​  @ericaprice2008​ @shamelesslydean​ @thing-you-do-with-that-thing​ @wingedcatninja​ @mayasmedberg​ @kurosaki224-new-blog @valerieshubin @milo-winchester-4ever​ @sandlee44​ @ruprecht0420​ @akshi8278​ @smoothdogsgirl​ @dslocum89​ @plaidstiel-wormstache​ @ria132love​ @welldonebeca​ @iamabeautifulperson18​ @starry-chaos @deans-treasure @larajadeschmidt13​ @nyxveracity​ @dean-winchesters-bacon​ @adoptdontshoppets​

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #304

“she’s got a hold on me  /  maybe she is just what they want me to be”

How many foreign friends do you have? Only one that I know of that actually immigrated into America in their life. I think. In which countries do they live? She was born in Asia, either China or Japan. What was your dream birthday party as a kid? I either wanted to go to the skating rink or Chuck E. Cheese. Have you ever come up with your own game? As a kid, definitely. Whose hand did you hold last? Probably my niece's or nephew's if they were taking me somewhere. What was the last thing you planted? Habaneros, I think. Do you have a green thumb or are you all thumbs with plants? I don't really try with plants because I'm not interested in the maintenance. What or who was the last thing you gossiped about? Does telling your therapist about another person and what they do to stress you out count? lol Any books on your night stand? Wings of Fire: The Brightest Night. Would you ever consider going vegetarian? I was briefly one, but I had to introduce meat back into my diet because I just hate too many foods needed to keep me healthy without meat. I would love love LOVE to go vegan, but I just can't. When's the last time you helped a senior citizen somehow? Probably holding open a door for someone in a wheelchair. What's the most selfless act you have done? I don't know... Maybe letting my mother use all my Christmas and birthday money (which was a lot) to take care of bills to keep us from being evicted and losing the car. She was going to pay me back, but then cancer happened. Have you ever intentionally fed a house spider? No. What makes you feel lucky? The fact I have a roof over my head, food on the table, access to water... That kind of stuff. Never take it for granted. How many Lidls are there in your town? One. Last time you went to Ikea, what did you buy? I don't believe we've ever bought anything from there? But I wouldn't really know. How do you like your favorite beverage? Really cold in a can, heeeeell yeah. What's your big family secret? We don't really have one. What did you think you were good at, until you saw someone else do it? I remember thinking I was the "gifted" artist in school until I met my acquaintance Cailin in the 5th grade, lol. She is SO talented. What is something nice going on in your life right now? My partial hospitalization program is going well. I'm getting more comfortable with talking via things like Zoom, it's a good opportunity for me to socialize with like-minded people almost every day, and I ADORE one of the teachers so much so that I want him to be my normal therapist. I have never in the entirety of my life felt less judged and more cared for from any therapist before him, and it's almost supernatural how easily this man reads people. You could twitch a certain way and he picks it up. I'm ready for him to teach more of the sessions. What was the pinnacle of wealth to you as a child? The idea of owning one of those toy crane machines, haha. If I saw one in a store, I would like beeeeg for it. I remember I cried once when I came across one I adored, it was just too expensive, lol. I did eventually get a little one, I think. What's something that you hate, but can't live without? My meds. What skill do you not talk about, because you feel it sounds like bragging? I don't really brag about anything I think I'm good at because I feel bad about it and don't wanna emit a "better than you" vibe. Who's the worst person you've encountered on the Internet? Ahhh, a lovely "friend" nicknamed Shakes. God she hated me. If death wasn't a consequence, what would you try? Probably ride a motorcycle. I'm too scared to risk the possibility of crashing, and those wrecks are nasty. What's the dumbest thing you've heard someone say? There's this one video of a TV show host thinking the moon was a planet and it was just- What is the worst smell you can remember? This smell was forever branded into my memory as if it was fuckin trauma. When my late dog Teddy had a massive, infected cyst near his ~you know~ and also wore diapers because of incontinence with his age (also keep in mind he had a UTI we couldn't afford to fix, and that smells bad enough), changing the diaper he would wear overnight could, swear to God, be enough to make you puke. It literally came to a point that I personally could no longer do it. It sounds so so bad and selfish, and it probably is, but Mom had to do it before she left and came home from work; she's way less fazed by stuff like that than me. Yes, when we had the money, we got the cyst removed. What song gets better the louder it gets? Only like, every song I enjoy. The louder the better until it becomes obnoxious to others. What's the biggest inconvenience that does NOT ruin your day? Having to pee at like an unnatural frequency? haha What's something everybody should know how to do? Cook... which I don't know how to do. What is a great movie no one knows about? I'unno. I don't really know the success level of most movies unless you see stuff about it everywhere. What type of person could the world use less of? Rapists, pedophiles, monsters like that. What makes you tingle? I have this odd reaction to rubbing my hand while someone is holding it???? idk why????? What’s the best Wi-Fi name you’ve seen? Oh MAN, I wish I could remember 'em all. I've seen some goodies. What's easy to learn, but hard to master? God, it's pathetic that my immediate response is related to a video game, haha. Then again it's such a common idea that it's basically a meme in the World of Warcraft community. So, playing hunters in the game. They're argued to be one of the - if not the - easiest classes in the game that requires little to no skill, while as a hunter main, I disagree with the second part firmly. I don't know about the other specializations because I don't play them, but at least in beast mastery, it takes focus and thinking ahead to master your rotation for optimal damage and just to generally be a skilled player of the class. Not to mention you need to watch your pet(s), too. What's something you've changed your opinion on? Wow, LOTS. Tons of political ideas, like my stance on gay rights, transgender folks, etc... If you had a refilling bowl, what would you want it to contain? For some reason my mind immediately jumped to fresh strawberries. I'm picky with the firmness of fruit, so I won't eat them if they're older because ew. If your bedroom had three portals to anywhere, where would they lead? I mean this in the least creepy way possible, but Sara's house so we could actually hang out, Dad's house so I could see him more, and then uhhh South Africa to regularly see meerkitties. You can ask any author one question about their story. What do you ask? Oh, I dunno. I've got some for writers of other media, but I guess by "author," you mean this is for books exclusively. If you have caffeine late in the day, does it cause you to struggle with your sleep? Shit, I wouldn't even know because I essentially always have caffeine in my system. I don't believe it affects me. When you struggle to sleep, what do you do instead? Keep trying to sleep, or more common than not, I do exactly what you shouldn't do and get back on the laptop for a while. Who was the last person you spoke to for the first time? How did you come to speak to this person? My most recent therapist in the PHP. I love love love him. The therapists rotate the days they teach, and he was the last one I met. Are there any TV shows from your childhood that you still watch today? I'm not opposed to it if I actually watched television. Do you enjoy buying gifts for other people, or do you never know what to buy them? If I actually have the money to, omg yes. I honestly do think I create or buy very thoughtful gifts, and I just really enjoy reminding other people that I love and think about them. Who were you with the last time you went out for a meal? My sisters, Mom, and I went to the Cheesecake Factory for my birthday dinner. That place has come to oust Olive Garden as my favorite restaurant, haha. What’s the last thing you watched on TV? Is this a programme you watch regularly? I believe it was this amateur cooking show called Nailed It!, I think it was, with my mom when I sat in the living room with her for dinner one night. Do you have a favorite documentary subject (eg. nature, celebrities, history, crime)? Absolutely animals. Does having to wear a mask stop you from doing anything, just because you dislike them or find them uncomfortable? Do not fucking talk to me if you're anti-mask. If I set foot in public, I'm wearing a mask like a goddamn considerate human being. Do you prefer zip-up or overhead hoodies? Overhead. I really dislike the appearance of zippers on them. If you have a yard or garden, how much time do you spend out there? N/A When was the last time someone bought you flowers? What was the occasion? I think it was the first time Tyler came to my house. This was quite a few years ago. When was the last time you stayed overnight away from home? Was this with friends, family or in a hotel somewhere? What was the occasion? Hell, I'm pretty sure I haven't slept over anywhere since the last time I was visiting Sara, which was like, two years ago. What’s your favorite period to learn about in history? What got you interested in this particular era? The Renaissance; I always found it to be an attractive subject, art being in its "glory days" and all. My Art History course in college really hooked me in. What is the smallest thing you lose your temper over instantly? Homophobic bullshit. What's a job that doesn't get enough respect? As others have said before me, teachers might just top the list. The shit they gotta put up with for so little pay... What did you take for granted until you visited another country? I've never left America, so I wouldn't know. Who is your favorite scientist and why? I don't have a favorite; I don't know nearly enough about any. Do you prefer emoticons or emoji? I'm from the emoticons era, so I'm biased, haha. How did you meet your pet? Roman was the kitten of one of my sister's mother-in-law's females. They have quite a cat problem and wanted to adopt the kittens out, and Mom knew I desperately wanted a cat, so there we go. One day when we were over there, she showed me the kittens, and Roman caught my eye instantly with his beautiful blue eyes. Venus, I "met" via the Morph Market, a reptile hub website for selling, as the name implies, reptiles that are generally morphs of their species. I was clicking through the genes, keeping my price ceiling in mind, and really fell in love with champagnes, and I thought Venus in specific was just absolutely beautiful. I officially met her as a little thing mailed to me, and she was and still is just the sweetest. I wanna point out that when I chose Venus, I hadn't the slightest idea that champagnes harbored "the spider gene," as otherwise I would have avoided adopting her and feeding the market. Regardless, I love her to death and wouldn't trade her out. Did/Do you have any PEZ dispensers? I did as a kiddo, yeah. Do you enjoy erotic stories? If so, do you read them or write them? No; they make me really uncomfortable. When writing RP, some scenes can get sexual, but I have my limits for sure and know when to stop writing and just time-skip. If you had to choose, which one would you rather have: a pet or a baby? Keep the baby away from me. Gimme a plains hognose or tarantula, please. ^Why did you choose the one you chose? I don't want kids at all but would love the mentioned animals as pets. Do you live with your parents or on your own/with a partner? I live with my mother. What's the car of your dreams? I don't have a "dream car." Have you ever witnessed something or someone die? Animals, yes. Has anyone ever told you that you snore or talk in your sleep? I don't snore, but I talk a LOT. Do you have any houseplants? No. Are you more on a laptop or a desktop computer? I only have a laptop, and I prefer them for portability's sake. If you could do absolutely anything, what would you like to do the most? Entirely leave behind my anxiety, probably. Or PTSD. Do you think your parents raised you well? Yeah. Dad didn't really take much part in "raising" us/enforcing rules and stuff, but hey, my sisters and I wound up being good people. Do you have a Facebook? Yeah. Do you know any of your neighbors? Definitely not well. We haven't lived here long at all. Does/did any of your relatives have an interesting, nowadays unusual job? I'm sure somebody does. Have you met your ideal partner yet? I think so. Have you had a serious relationship yet? If so, how many? Yeah, two. Do you enjoy books, magazines or comic books the most? Books. Are your parents old-fashioned or up-to-date about certain things? Dad is more old-fashioned I think, while Mom is pretty up-to-date. Do you or did you at some point keep a diary? I very briefly did on a few occasions. I always had a journal I wrote in during all my hospital stays. Have you ever upcycled trash into useful items? I remember I once followed this craft idea on Animal Planet where you turn a milk jug into a bird house. We never got any birds in it, though. Which color Skittle do you like best? The only right answer is red. What’s your favorite element? Of the classic four, fire. If you had your own radio show, what would it be like? YIKES, I don't want one. Don't make me talk in front of (through a radio or not) people. What has been the biggest surprise you’ve ever gotten? An "impossible" breakup over Facebook Messenger lmaoooo. Is there a holiday you can’t stand at all? There aren't any that I "can't stand," but I do hold at least some degree of dislike of ones bastardized by religion. It's disrespectful as fuck. Who is your favorite person in the whole world? My mom. Has there ever been an activity you became obsessed with? I was definitely obsessed with RPing in my early teens. Like, I ALWAYS wanted to be writing it. What has been the strangest place you ran into someone from your past? I can't think of an occurance. What is something people tend to come to you about? Anything related to English and grammar. If applicable, what's the furthest you've traveled because of a hobby? For purely a hobby, definitely not very far, partially because I can't drive or afford travelling via plane or whatever. Do you have souvenirs from other countries? If so, what and from where? N/A What do you do when someone is talking to you about something you don't care about? Pretend to be interested to avoid being rude. Do you have Photoshop installed on your computer? Yeah. Do you put lotion on after you get out of the shower? No, but I need to. Has anyone ever given you a promise ring? No. Do you have any bruises on you? Yeah, on my shin. When getting in Ash's van the other day, I hit it against the thing that helps you step up into the vehicle. Because of my muscle atrophy, I, and I am not kidding, can barely manage to absolutely yank myself up there. And mind you, her van isn't even very high up at all. My legs are just that damn weak. Any changes in appearance lately? Gaining weight is fucking lovely. Who was the last person to call you babe or baby? Probably a gal friend commenting on a selfie or something on Facebook. Do you hate the person you fell hardest for? Sometimes. Do you actually care about other's problems? Probably too much for my own good. Have you ever gotten a teddy bear from someone? Besides my mom, I don't think so.

[curious-minx]

Denis Leary is making an animated vignette series based on Dogs Playing Poker and 10 Other Pieces of Kitsch Art That Should Be Turned Into TV

KITSCH auction house tremors and stampedes.

Dennis Leary basically discovered sex, drugs and rock n’ roll with his 2015 two season FX series Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll. Leary’s always been one of those guys that can’t be beaten down  in spite of how dopey and cynical his edgy working class personal brand is. He’s got an entire deal set up with Fox, the flailing broadcasting company has placed all of their chips on a Denis with only one lousy  “N” in his name. I can’t even with this fake Irish Bostonian droid. Relish in the delicate thought process of Leary and leftover former Daily Show producer, Jim Margolis,  bringing up a Pinterest screen grab of the Dogs Playing Poker by Grand Master of Kitsch Cassius Marcellus Coolidge and money signs popping out of both of their heads. Here is a dramatic retelling of this thought process:

“Yo, get this Big D,” salivates the recently fired from Netflix Jim Margolis to Leary over a Zoom, “Fox got this Bento Box Animation Studio sitting around doing nothing but churning out animated interstitials for the Masked Singer, Paradise PD, The Prince, The Blues Brothers animated series, animated Harold And Kumar, Housebroken, The Great North, and ugh..um..Hoops..”

“I fuckin love Hoops, Jimmy! Why aren’t we pitching this on Netflix again?”

“Because Dogs Playing Poker is going to work so much better as pregame filler for live Sporting Events...on Fox.”

“Oh yeah. All of those rotten good for nothing grease monkey and lunch pail people will probably be giving each other Budweiser flavored Covid at the local saloon with these damn dog pictures hanging up. It’s like when old drunks would stay out late and watch the Flinstones at the bar, did you know that actual human male adults would sit in a town like Boston and waste away in a bar watching Flintsones. Can you believe that Johny?”

“My name is Jimmy, err Jim, but yeah Denis we’ll send you the scripts over. Any idea who we should cast?”

“Get me the hot blonde from Inspector Gadget 2, God dammit I miss Louie..are we sure we can’t get Louie back on air?”

“Afraid after Patton Oswalt dognapped his role from him in Secret Life of Pets, Louie CK has been banned from ever appearing as a talking dog again.”

“So bogus. Bobby Kelly will have to do.” Denis gets a text. “Dammit, Adam is getting all thirsty for this juicy  delicious bone. Gotta throw a  big bone to my dog Ferrera. Who else?”

“Ok. I’ll get one of those sad Daily Show losers. Um picking one at random, Roy Wood Jr. They’ll pretty much jump into anything, because John Oliver was in Love Guru they start thinking they can fail their way up.”

“I said no politics at the table! Paws off the table! This is going to be so fucking lit!”

////

Kitsch Art deserves so much more. George Lucas, retired American filmmaker, robber baron of childhoods and all around  mensch has been heavily invested in the kitsch art of Norman Rockwell. There are a bounty of stories to tell. Too many of them are far too white and basic, but there are rich narratives to be found in his out of date even for his own time romanticism of The Old Masters. Hopelessly out of date could have been a failing of Rockwell, but his politics grew progressive as his career went on and fought against the system. Cassius Marcellus Coolidge is the man that operated the first bank in Antwerp, New York  had the astronaut-like grace to wonder, “what if dogs played poker like people played poker?” A painting that dates back to 1894 used as means to sell cigars. What strikes me most about this painting is that they aren’t wearing clothes, but I bet when you try to imagine the painting you imagine these dogs fully decked out in some sort of work coat. There is a further anthropromized version of the ad called “His Station and Four Aces” that depicts a glimpse at a look at an entire canine furry society. His ideas of putting an animal in clothes remains to this day one of the most novel and surefire commercially friendly means of artistic expression. The original cynical man laughing all the way to the bank, his own bank that he founded to boot.

Seen above: An example of a Comic Foreground that also demonstrates the failings of having too few people in your party to properly partake in the comic foreground experience. 

“Cash” Cassius wasn’t the first man to imagine a domestic pet in people clothes, but he’s probably one of the few to do so with such commercial finesse. The man also at one point filed the patent on the “Comic Foregrounds,” which is the technical name of one of those carnival boards with holes to stick your head in. In post Covid times how many more heads will be salivating and rushing towards those holes to pop their heads in to create a lasting memory, if only for a second. So when I start learning more about this remarkable weirdo Cassius Coolidge, a man according to his official website dogsplayingpoker.com’s Biography: “Trying to chase mischievous boys from an abandoned house, he fell from a window and hurt his knee, leaving him injured for the rest of his life.”

Flash forward back to 2021 and Denis Leary and his career a man with a wikipedia with fun entries about all the accusations of plagiarism and hate speech against autism I start to worry about the legacy of more Kitsch art falling into the hands of other greedy and desperate TV executives. That being said if you are a greedy TV executive who happens to be a maniac that likes reading rando’s tumblr pages do I have a list for you!

TOP TEN PIECES OF KITSCH ART THAT SHOULD BE TURNED INTO SOME KIND OF SOMETHING

“We Are Having a Heavenly Time” Columbian Bike Monkey and Parakeet by, once again, Cassius Coolidge

Coolidge’s anthropomorphic foresight strikes again! This time he effortlessly establishes a captivating duo that could be easily voiced by an endless combination of celebrity voice actors. PAUL RUDD as “Monkey” and ISSA RAE as “Parakeet” present “We Are Having a Heavenly Time” present a travel show. You could basically use whatever leftover footage you have lying around from the many Conan O’Brien segments and plug Monkey and Parakeet and their trusty bicycle anywhere for an irreverent glimpse into the foreign World around us.

2. “Clown and The Girl” by Haddon Sundblom  

Now I know what you’re thinking, that title is miserable! I agree, but with a little  reverse engineering you get The Girl and Clown, which could be a whole new addition to the Girl on a Train, Girl with a Dragon Tattoo, Girl with a Dangly Earpiece, the Girl-Verse! The girl appears to be quite fearless of this clown, which is good because we need someone to be brave for when the clown takes off his mask.

Sundblom is also the original artist for the Coke a cola Santa Claus and how is it that we have gone this many rotations around the sun without a single Coke a cola Santa Claus special is the real reason why Christmas will always be the saddest time of year.

3. “Clean Your Fornasetti” based around the artistic Plate collection of Pierro Fornasetti 

Muk bangs, videos of people eating are a huge cyber traffic boom. People love watching people eat. Why not add the element of surprise by what kind of playful Fornasetti chanteuse is hiding underneath this plate full of gruel? Fornasetti is an artist with over 11,000 items created in his name and over 500 of them are based around a variety of expressions of a single woman. Clean Your Fornasetti is a deep and poetic rumination of the romance between the act of someone cleaning their plate and the reveal that the plate contained a visual feast all its own.

4. “Mickey’s Kinkade Playhouse” by the one and only Thomas Kinkade

The Kinkade Studios features over 63 “narrative panoramas” featuring Disney characters, but largely Mickey and Minnie, simply vibing. It’s time we stop pretending that small children like Mickey Mouse and market him for wistful older audiences that want to radiate in a nice long warm bath of color and sound. I am not sure I am even pitching an actual series but more of a Narrative Panoply. One thing that is missing from Disney Plus, and streaming services in general, is a severe lack of programming frills and flourishing. The iconic Adult Swim bumps are something completely lost to the dustbins of programming history left to remain in youtube compilations. Thomas Kinkade is a lot like Enya. Art critics treated him like a comedic punching bag for so long, but I doubt there’s an artist that grasps the kind of sterile enchantment people want after a long day of opioid benders. We’re all trapped inside doing puzzles why not do the bare minimum of slightly animating a pleasant scene of Mickey and Minnie roasting marshmallows or enjoying a breath of fresh Alpine air?

5. “Dust Lickers” by Odd Nerdrum

Quick! Get me Trash Humpers’ Harmony Korine on the Line Show him Shit Rock! The world of Odd Nerdrum is a harsh and primeval one that would make for an astonishing animated landscape. Odd Nerdrum himself feels like a worthy subject of some kind of documentary based around his imagery and insistence on making his art in the most arcane and old fashioned methods possible. Once again, maybe the visual world of Odd Nerdrum may not make for a full on narrative series, but once again would make for one hell of an animated segment.

6. “Homemade Pasta” by John Currin 

A cozy Queer slice of life cooking drama based around the two charming fellows of John Currin’s Homemade Pasta scene. A series of vignettes based around the completely unfabulous and domestic version of bliss that was denied many people as a result of the AIDS crisis. You can’t tell me you don’t see those two nice guys getting cozy and making pasta together and you aren’t dying to see how they go about rolling out their own focaccia bread.

7. “The Velvet Elvis” by the Collective Conscious 

David Lynch at one point in time was trying to crack into making his own Elvis biopic. I think it’s pretty safe to say that the age of a public wanting a David Lynch directed Elvis biopic has probably passed, but that does not stop Velvet art enthusiasts. TheVelvetStore.com is featuring a remarkable promo that could really bump up what a David Lynch Elvis movie could be like and the horror of having one’s soul trapped inside of a Velvet Elvis rendition painting seems like a pretty fertile place to begin a proper story about Elvis in America. 

8. “Big Eye Bunch” by Margaret Keane 

Yes, it was only a matter of time before Ms. Big Eyes herself, Queen of Kitsch, Margaret Keane would come up on a list like this. Tim Burton tried and sort of kind of captured what it so endearing about Keane’s work, but I think a fully animated dive into an orphanage full of sad Big Eye kids that time travel and meet other Big Eyed children version of historical figures is a Big Idea that could make a whole new generation keen on Keane.

9. “Banality” by Jeff Koons

An animated series based around the artistic sensibilities of Jeff Koons would be a tricky affair, but just the kind of gaudy whimsy that someone like Michel Gondrey could use to proper effect. A series based around someone trying to steal the fifteen million dollar Michael Jackson statue would also be appropriate.

10. “Groovenians reboot” by Kenny Scharf

Scharf is the only artist on this list that actually was a kitsch artist that caught the attention of early aughts adult swim. A tv show that only features the artistic sensibilities of Scharf but also a voice acting cast that consisted of Paul Reubens, Rupaul, Vincent Gallo, and Dennis Hopper. There’s also a theme song performed by the B-52s and musical direction by Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh. One of the only known published reviews of the pilot describe the show as needing mind altering substances to enjoy and that it is essentially like “watching a cartoon reflected off of a funhouse mirror. This is basically a description of the modern tik tok addled twitchy type content that makes a killing on the Internet for millenial and zoomer types. Basically the whole aesthetic of a warped and broken looking cartoon is the exact sort of thing weirdos deep diving at youtube at four in the morning are looking for and seeing that this gets a failed pilot and Denis Leary’s Dog Poker vignettes get greenlit is exactly what’s wrong with the world.

[eldritchsurveys]

978.

Have you been wearing homemade masks or store-bought ones?  >> Store-bought.

What state (or country) do you live in?  >> Michigan.

Do you call yourself stupid a lot?  >> I try not to. Inner Critic is a tough act to beat but I refuse to let him win all the time.

When was the last time you were sick?  >> I don’t even know.

Are you listening to music right now?  >> No.

What are you severely allergic to, if anything?  >> Nothing.

Is your room a mess?  >> It isn’t. I can’t abide a messy room, it ruins my whole vibe.

What is the book you are reading (or that last book you read) about?  >> The book I’m currently reading is about toxic shame. I’m also reading a fiction book about a boy in not-modern-day Ireland and his dear friendship (which is not strictly platonic) with another boy, but that’s on pause until I finish this other book.

Is there a Kmart in your town?  >> I don’t think so, I think they’ve all closed down.

What is your newest favorite website?  >> ---

Do you have a headache right now?  >> No.

Do you have embarrassing memories of stupid things you've done?  >> Yeah.

What was the last video you watched on youtube?  >> The Take did a video about Dr Yang from Grey’s Anatomy, who is my favourite character. It was lovely.

Does your stomach hurt right now?  >> No.

What was the last thing you cooked on the stove?  >> I don’t know.

Are you wearing socks?  >> No.

What month is your birthday, and what month would u change it to if u could? >> May. I’m fine with that.

Do you think it's ok to call yourself stupid? >> I don’t think that’s okay, no, which is why I’m trying to stop.

What color Christmas tree do you want when you have a house someday? >> I like the frosted ones, that look like they’re dusted with snow. But I don’t know what kind we’ll end up with.

Have you ever had to use an epi pen?  >> No.

Do you have nice neighbors?  >> I don’t know them personally.

Do you know the names of 3 of your neighbors? (list if you can) >> No.

What was the last thing you cooked that you burnt or cooked for too long? >> ---

If you could have a car in any color, which color would you choose?  >> ---

What was the last grocery store you shopped at?  >> Meijer.

What was the last type of milk you drank?  >> I don’t drink milk.

What flavor was the last smoothie you drank?  >> I don’t recall.

Do you have a Magic Bullet?  >> No.

Do memories from your past come back to haunt you ?  >> Of course.

Are you afraid of the dark?  >> No.

Have you ever hallucinated?  >> Sure.

Do you believe in angels and demons? >> I find those concepts fascinating and intriguing, and I’ve known a couple of angels (not exactly direct analogues of the Christian kind, but) on an Inworld basis, and you could call the entity was plaguing King Crimson a “demon” and get the point across... but ultimately, the Christian mythology of angels and demons doesn’t really do it for me except in a kinky way.

Have you ever seen an angel? >> See above.

Have you ever seen a demon? >> See above above.

What color was the last sweatshirt you wore? >> I don’t have any sweatshirts, but the last hoodie I wore (which I am also currently wearing) is black.

Do you plan to vote in the next election? >> Yeah. *sigh*

Who was president when you were born? >> George H.W. Bush, iirc.

[lovemesomesurveys]

5,000 questions survey series–part forty-two

These surveys always take me so long to get through, hence why I took such a long break from them. The questions are just too much at times and some are just plain annoying. But, I’ll try and finish it eventually. A couple of you have been taking it lately, so I figured I’d start up again.

4001. How would you rate your sex drive? It’s been non-existent the past few years, honestly.  4002. You are sitting alone with a stack of videos and a vcr. Of the following which are you most likely to puut on (1 is most, 10 is least) I’m just gonna bold which one I’d likely watch out of all of ‘em...

The good the bad and the ugly, dracula, slc punk, twin peaks fire walk with me, jerry springer too hot for tv, singing in the rain, flash gordon, the matrix, blade runner, the muppet movie 4003. Are you more likley to get or send random instant messages? I receive nice messages more often than I receive random ones. I got a rude one recently; however, about how I’m still a 31 year old virgin. Does it affect their life? No. So, don’t worry about it. *eye roll* I do get a lot of random comments on my surveys from su*ar da**ies, though... super annoying. 4004. If you were writing an ad telling people to come to your town what would you say about it? I wouldn’t write such an ad. My town sucks. 4005. What part of your body can you not stand to get an itch on? One that’s hard to reach.

4006. How many people do you suppose have stolen that System of a Down album called 'steal this album'? I haven’t heard anything about that, I’m not even familiar with that album of theirs. I’m there were people who tried/did.  4007. Name a band you like: Linkin Park. What are/were this band's roots and influences? Zeppelin, Run DMC, Public Enemy, Rage Against the Machine, Depeche Mode. 4008. would you rather have a poster of john lennon or a cute fuzzy black cat? Cute fuzzy black cat. 4009. make a public service announcement: Wear a mask! 4010. What makes you feel the need to escape? Just the need for a change of scenery and to help take my mind off things a bit for a little while. I’m sad I couldn’t go to the beach at all this summer because that’s my one place where I’m able to relax at all and just zone out. 4011. You and your signifigant other, crush, interest etc...who is the ernie and who is the bert? I don’t have any of those. 4012. When was the last time you did something and later asked yourself 'did I do the right thing?'? I hate when I forget if I took my medicine or not. I end up taking it, questioning and hoping that I didn’t already take it. I feel so robotic at times and like I’m just living life on autopilot, so things like that tend to happen. 4013. What do you find it hard to say goodbye to? I have a hard time getting rid of things because of my emotional attachment to them. 4014. What is your fantasy valentine's day like? I’ll admit it, it would be nice to experience a Valentine’s Day with someone and actually do something. It’s always been just another day for me. 4015. If you had to have a color for a name, what color would it be? Jade. 4016. Should preference be given to minority students during the college admission process? I think everyone should have the same opportunity.  4017. Sweet wine, fresh crisp appples, bagles with creme cheese and lox...what is the most incredibly luxurious food? I don’t know about those options, but if I were to think of luxurious foods I’d think of like expensive wine, cheeses, fresh fruits, and seafood like caviar and lobster and whatnot. I’m picky so I personally don’t care for fancy foods. 4018. Is there really anything to fear in communism? I don’t know enough about communism and socialism and all that to speak on it. 4019. Best sesame street character: Uhh, Big Bird. most annoying sesame street character: Elmo can be a little annoying sometimes. 4020. feast or famine? I don’t need to overindulge and have excess, I just would like to be able to have food.  4021. Write a poem right here in five minutes or less: Nah. 4022. Do you stay and help clean up after a party? I usually was one to leave early. 4023. Why was the teddy bear named after teddy roosevelt? His name was Theodore, Teddy for short, and apparently while out on a hunting trip he refused to kill a bear and someone dedicated a bear stuffed animal to him and called it Teddy’s Bear. Then it was just called a teddy bear and the rest was history. 4024. What are you the prince or princess of? Uhhh. 4025. Some people think that Christmas should be taken off of public school calanders because it is politically incorrect. What aould you say to this? I say no. It can still be winter break for those who don’t celebrate. 4026. Would you rather go to an excorcism or a step aerobics class? Uh, I think an aerobics class sounds a lot better than an exorcism. I wouldn’t be able to participate in a step aerobics class, though. I’d have to do something else. 4027. Do you believe in spells and curses? No. 4028. What tv show does your family watch together? There isn’t really one all 4 of us watch, but there’s several that 2 or 3 of us watch together. I guess Family Guy or American Dad could be one all 4 of us could watch, although I don’t really care for either one much. 4029. What's on your calander this year? Nothing. 4030. Is anything ruining your life? It has felt that way with my health issues. 4031. How was life meant to be lived? “We were meant to live for so much moreeee.” 🎶

4032. What is your usual breakfast? I rarely have breakfast, but I like breakfast foods like eggs and hash browns. And country gravy, yum. 4033. If you had kids, would you worry about what they did online? Of course.  4034. Will you be maxin and relaxin this weekend? Sure. If not, what are your weekened plans? 4035. Who has the most interesting story to tell: someone who used to fly to asia as a drug trader the ceo of Nike a nyc homeless person a preacher's wife

^^^They all would. 4036. What do you have a bad feeling about? The future regarding this virus. 4037. Do you have a lot to say? No. 4038. If a smallpox vaccine was offered to you, would you take it? Wasn’t that one of the ones given as a baby or child? I should mention I live in the US. 4039. Would you ever work at a kissing booth? No. how about a dunking booth? No. 4040. There is a woman who paints by stripping naked, rolling around in paint and then pressing her body against the canvas. What do you think of her art? I’ve never seen it, but hey do your thing. 4041. Have you ever bought something you saw on tv? Yeah, I mean that’s what commercials are intended to do. However, I’ve never called the number for a product advertisement to order something that way. Like those as seen on TV products. There have been some of those products sold in actual stores, though, that I’ve got like the Snuggie and that Finishing Touch Flawless Razor. 4042. Name a relative:  that relative dies unexpectedly. On the same day 9/11 happens. You can either bring back your relative or bring back 1/2 the people who dies on 9/11. What do you do? I don’t like these type of questions. 4043. Have you gone mental? I’ve definitely felt like that. 4044. What do you think of jews for jesus? You word this like it’s the name of a group or something. Okay, so I Googled it and see that it’s an organization.  4045. Has anyone ever tried to 'save' you? Yes. 4046. Quick! picture santa clause in your head... ...Okay. Was he black or white when you pictured him? White. That’s just how I’ve often seen him portrayed. 4047. Would you ever buy a black santa clause? Sure. Santa isn’t real, you can make him look any way you want. 4048. or take your kids to vist a black santa clause? Yeah? why or why not? Santa is Santa.  4049. What do you smell like? I just smell my clothes laundry detergent scent. 4050. What kind of soup do you eat? I’m a ramen girl all the way. 4051. What have you heard about the next Harry Potter book? Will you pre-order it? I know this is old, but I haven’t read any of the Harry Potter books. 4052. Would you rather go out or stay in? I’m a hermit crab.  4053. What's your favorite song to hear on halloween? I like the classics like Monster Mash. Oh, and the Halloween movie theme music for spooky vibes. 4054. What song makes you feel all tingly like you want to laugh and scream and cry? Uhh I don’t feel that way about any song. 4055. If you were starting a website that was not about you, what Would it be about? Nah. 4056. Do you ever take the long way just for fun? I don’t drive. 4057. '..and god said let there be ____and there I was.' Fill in the blank, as if if you were talking about yourself. ‘...and God said let there be Stephanie and there I was.’ 4058. What do you think of when you hear the word 'mill'? A million.  4059. What do you think of when you hear the name: weird al? Parodies. bob dylan? Music. michael jackson? Moon dance. henry rollins? billy idol? White wedding. gary numan? will smith? Fresh Prince of Bel Air. paul mcartney? Black Bird. alice cooper? Rock and roll. J Lo? Jenny from the Block. 4060. What is one social disater you have had? It was really embarrassing getting sick in front of everyone at my party 7 years ago aka the last time I drank alcohol. I just threw up on myself in front of everyone and sat there and my friend had to help clean me up. What really messes me up is that I don’t remember drinking that much, so I don’t know how I got so drunk. 4061. Can you moonwalk? No. 4062. If a presidential candidate went on late night tv, picked up a guitar and rocked out on it and could really play, would that influence you to like/respect them more? I’d probably be like wow that’s cool, but no I wouldn’t let that influence my vote. Them being able to play an instrument doesn’t say shit about their policies or whether they’d make a good fit for the job. 4064. If it was possible for people to instantly change from one sex to another, would everyone be straight in the end? Uhh just cause they could switch their gender it doesn’t change their brain/sexual preference.  Would you change your sex? No. 4065. Finish the sentance: nobody broke your heart, if you're alone... I don’t know. 4066. Would you rather have a best friend OR a boyfriend/girlfriend on a Friday night? I’d rather stay at home and do my own thing, ha. 4067. Would a woman rather be complimented about her intelligence OR her looks? Depends on the individual.  4068. Do you tend to think of the right thing to say after the moment is gone? Always. Super annoying. 4069. Would you rather a potential mate have nice hair OR nice legs? Nice hair out of the two. 4070. Okay,…. nice hair OR a nice rack/bulge? I don’t look for a “nice bulge” when I look at guys. 4071. What is one thing you thought you would enjoy, but actually didn’t? Hmm. I’m blanking at the moment. 4072. Be in the spotlight OR in the shadows? In the shadows. 4073. What is your favorite part of the newspaper? I haven’t read a newspaper in several years. When I was a kid I loved the comics, though. 4074. What in your life has been an “acquired taste” for you? Alcohol. I never really cared for it, honestly. I drank because my friends were and felt like that’s what people in their early 20s liked to do. And because it was fun sometimes, though I more often just felt like crap. It’s been 7 years since I last drank and I truly haven’t missed it. 4075. Do you find sunlight makes you happier? No. 4076. If you could conquer one fear, it would be...? I’d take care of some health related things. 4077. What's the dumbest thing you've ever seen someone do or heard anyone has done? There’s been a lot of things. 4078. How do you feel about the fact that J-Lo earns 37 million dollars a year? Is that actually true? This survey is also like a decade or so old. Do you buy anything that contributes to her salary? I haven’t bought any JLO related in several years. Is J Lo the ultimate ideal of what a woman should be? To some people. 4079. What is unforgettable beauty? I don’t know. 4080. Worst fashion mistake EVER: I don’t know or care. 4081. What is your advice to someone on their first date? Ha, I’m definitely not one to ask for dating advice. 4082. Is there a musical performer more ridiculous than Avril Lavigne (I don't think there is)? I didn’t think she was ridiculous.  4083. What is the best: daytime talk show? Dr. Phil. late night talk show? I don’t watch any anymore. 4084. Are you afraid of total freedom? What would that mean? 4085. Do you live in an invisible prison? I feel that way with my mind and health. 4086. Who do you feel distant from, that you used to be close to? I’m not close to anyone anymore outside of my immediate family.  4087. Rate the following song lyrics (1 = you like it the most, 9 = you like it the least). Nah, I really hate the rating questions. Maybe you shouldn't care/throw away those dreams/& dare Eden lets me in/I find the seeds of love/And climb upon the highwire/I kiss and tell all my fears I know the pressure is on/In a race for the life of endless love/If it seems to much/Remember/All these things are endless I see the wind, oh I see the trees/Everything is clear in my heart/I see the clouds, oh I see the sky/Everything is clear in our world Inflatable doll/Lover ungrateful/I blew up your body/But you blew my mind Well I jumped into the river/too many times to make it home/I'm out here on my own/drifting all alone/and if it doesn't show/ give it time/to read between the lines The very thought of you makes/My heart sing/Like an April breeze/On the wings of spring/And you appear in all your splendor/My one and only love now I've had lots of girls/most of them from other worlds/but lookin through the galaxey/the valley girls are the ones for me I'm the dandy highwayman so sick of easy fashion/the clumsy boots, peek-a-boo roots that people think so dashing/so what's the point of robbery when nothing is worth taking?/it's kind of tough to tell a scruff the big mistake he's making 4088. Can you name any of the nine bands/songs above? I didn’t even read any of the lyrics. 4089. What would your reaction be if a total stranger called to say s/he loved you and told you that you were to pass the message on to others in a telephone call you make yourself? Uh, I wouldn’t answer a call from a total stranger first of all and even if I actually did, I would be like wtf and hang up.  4090. Would you like to take a journey to jupiter? No. I have no desire to take any trip to outer space. 4091. Can you crack nuts in your bare hands? I’ve never tried, but I’m going to assume that I couldn’t.  4092. Do you take walks at night? No. Or ever. 4093. Beavis and Butthead or daria? Neither. 4094. Cow or chicken? Chicken. 4095. Do you think you will visit China in this life? I don’t see that happening, but who knows.  4096. Are you having a happy day? No. 4097. When was or will be your 'golden birthday' (when your age is the same as your birthdate, like turning 17 on the 17th)? My golden birthday was 3 years ago. 4098. Enlighten everyone with something profound: Nah. 4099. When has the third time been the charm for you? Hmm. 4100. What is kinda sick, but fun? Uhhh.

[abnerpory]

YNTCD & Brave: kaleidoscope heart---of memories ( a novel)

First and foremost as a disclaimer, I am a firm believer in Kaylor/Gaylor. If you are not a believer you best unfollow me right now because we are diving DEEP into the pits of speculation.

Dexter Mayfield was a featured dancer in YNTCD.

This same Dexter Mayfield was a featured dancer in Sara Bareilles’ 2013 video for “Brave”—a song that was written by Sara and Jack Antonoff.

Brave came out April 23, 2013. Sara was inspired from the struggles that a close friend dealt with in regard to coming out as an adult. The lyric video features a bunch of young girls (very 22 vibe) making music and taking POLAROIDS. Who do we know that likes to make music and take polaroids???--NONE OTHER THAN MISS TAYLOR MUTHA FUCKIN SWIFT

The lyrics are really interesting:

You can be amazing

You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug

Taylor creates phrases with her lyrics that are often the constant discussion of debate. Could this also be future potential inspiration for the Don’t Blame Me lyric: My drug is my baby

You can be the outcast

Or be the backlash of somebody’s lack of love

Taylor is constantly facing backlash for her relationships ending badly.

Nothing’s gonna hurt you the way that words do

And they settle ‘neath your skin

The media and the GP mock Taylor and we know that Taylor is known to be sensitive (according to Todrick), which is why she doesn’t google herself.

Kept on the inside and no sunlight

Sometimes a shadow wins

Taylor is too afraid to be her true self with the public, which is why she is constantly surrounding herself with men. Shadows referring to her doubts about coming out. If we want to go REAL EXTRA DEEP and predict the future: daisies need sunlight and remember to “step into the daylight and let it go”

Everybody’s been there, everybody’s been stared down

By the enemy

Fallen for the fear and done some disappearing

I see this as Taylor who in the past ignored the possibility of disappearing, but eventually during Rep came to the realization that disappearing is something she has to do. Everybody who's ever came out has had to do some soul searching. She planned her next step to being BRAVE enough to come out and disappeared before Reputation came out based on this advice from Sara.

Maybe there’s a way out of the cage where you live

Maybe one of these days you can let the light in  

I don’t think this foreshadowing and inspiration needs to be explained further...  

Innocence, your history of silence

Won’t do you any good

Did you think it would?

Let your words be anything but empty

Why don’t you tell them the truth?

Taylor, as we know in her early days, was not vocal about her views and was very much portrayed as “America’s Sweetheart”-- innocent. Eventually she was scrutinized for it. Obviously, keeping her silence is something she can no longer do. Taylor can’t keep the act up...so, now we have this whole Lover Era where she is anything but silent. Let your words be anything but empty is definitely a reference to her songs that are about women that she masks as songs about boys.

Taylor sang Brave with Sara during the Red tour on August 19, 2013 at the Staples Center in LA. The performance is quite awkward. Taylor acts like an adorable fan girl. 

In her May 9, 2019 Entertainment Weekly interview Taylor says:

“This time around I feel more comfortable being brave enough to be vulnerable, because my fans are brave enough to be vulnerable with me. Once people delve into the album, it’ll become pretty clear that that’s more of the fingerprint of this — that it’s much more of a singer-songwriter, personal journey than the last one.”

Umm...yeah, she said BRAVE

Both Sara and Taylor performed at Stonewall Inn on June 14, 2019. Sara sang Brave and Taylor sang Shake it Off.

Stonewall Inn is shown in the YNTCD music video and now we have come full circle. 

After this Brave revelation I started digging deeper into other potential influences by Sara Bareilles on Taylor. 

Taylor’s album RED came out October 22, 2012. Considering that Brave came out April 23, 2013 I think it’s safe to say the empty words Sara was referring to in Brave could be lyrics from RED.

Speaking of RED, did you know that Sara has a song called RED?????

“Red is a chapter about my year abroad living in Italy. I spent my junior year at UCLA abroad… living in Bologna, Italy. It was an incredible year but also a very emotional and isolating year. And it was going through those difficult things for the first time that actually solidified my relationship to music as a songwriter. So it was me discovering Joni Mitchell and discovering my own voice as a songwriter.”

“For me the song Red, as soon as I wrote that, that was the turning point for the record. That was when I realized this could be something different, this could be something unique. This is a song that makes me open up all of my ideas of the possibilities of where this album could go. It’s a song about a relationship that was wrong and difficult and complicated and hard and impossible; but you can’t forget about it, because it was Red... and it was passionate and in a lot of ways. It touched you in a more real way than you had ever experienced before and I think that kind of relationship really inspired a lot of the songs on this record.”

“The Lucky One is a song that I wrote while I was in Australia; and it kind of talks about some of my fears, through telling the story of other people I was inspired by. But, more than their stories being told I’m pretty much singing what I’m scared of in that song...Ending up kinda caught up in this whole thing and lonely and feeling misunderstood and feeling that when people think you’re lucky you’re really not. So, it kind of expresses my greatest fear of having this not end up being fun anymore of having this end up being a scary place. And some people get there. Some people end up there. So, it’s a story song and it’s something I’m really proud of because it kind of goes to a place that I’m terrified of. “

Both Sara and Taylor share feeling of loneliness. Is Taylor lonely and feeling misunderstood as a gay woman in a straight world?? We also need to remember that eventually Taylor did go off the grid so she could see what her life would be like if everything was gone. 

Taylor, like Sara, is a fan of Joni Mitchell:

Even as a child.. (for some reason I can’t insert the video but follow the link to watch Taylor sing River as a child) 

It's coming on Christmas,

They're cutting down trees.

She grew up on a god damn Christmas tree farm!

I'm gonna make a lot of money

Gonna quit this crazy scene.

She’s going to be a successful singer and leave her small (christmas tree farm) town life.

She tried hard to help me,

She put me at ease.

She loved me so naughty,

made me weak in the knees.

I'm so hard to handle,

I'm selfish and I'm sad.

Now I've gone and lost the best baby

That I've ever had.

Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on

The song is about the breakup of a romantic relationship and longing to escape her emotional bonds as they are painful to her. She tried hard to help me, She put me at ease could, for Taylor, refer to her mother... but She loved me so naughty, made me weak in the knees could very well be a first girl crush that broke Taylor’s heart.

Are you still here?? Ok, next you have Joni’s song Blue (losing him was blue like I’d never known)

Songs are like tattoos

You know I've been to sea before

Crown and anchor me

Or let me sail away

I mean, COME ON, she’s going to sea...possibly drowning from her “anchor” and is wearing a BLUE dress.

Ink on a pin

Underneath the skin

An empty space to fill in

As we remember from Brave: Nothing’s gonna hurt you the way that words do, And they settle ‘neath your skin . Also doesn’t an empty space sound like a BLANK SPACE? 

And how many times has Taylor referenced some sort of crown? A LOT!

Now my readers, if you are still with me (I know this is a lot), let’s discuss Sara’s album Kaleidoscope Heart because we all know how much Taylor loves her kaleidoscope references.

Walkin' through a crowd, the village is a glow

Kaleidoscope of loud heartbeats under coats

“I think when it's all over it just comes back in flashes, you know? It's like a kaleidoscope of memories; it just all comes back. But he never does."

Kaleidoscope Heart was released on September 7, 2010--plenty of time for Taylor to become influenced by it for RED, a little over 2 years later, and now ME!.

Sara says,

“I love the imagery of those words, and they’re really representative of how I envision my heart. It's a colorful but fragmented, ever-changing sum of all the bits and pieces that make it up. A kaleidoscope is the tool that helps make sense of the mess. Or at least makes it nice to look at."

Taylor’s mess is of course her relationships. The bits and pieces that she is trying to make sense of and make to look nice are her pubic dating persona (with men) and her private dating life (with women).  

According to this article that got its information from Google: 

A dream of a kaleidoscope "refers to a connection to your childhood". The kaleidoscope symbolizes a "release of blocked creativity and gives you the opportunity to see yourself in the bigger scope of life."

Going back to Taylor’s EW interview she shares her admiration for (very gay) King Princess...

nostalgic adjective

a : longing for or thinking fondly of a past time or condition

b : evocative of a longed-for past time or condition

King Princess sounds like a connection to childhood if you ask me. Taylor’s released block is obviously the fact that she has to write these straight songs when she’d rather be BRAVE and write about her truth.

IN CONCLUSION: 

This is probably just a coincidence but Todrick just announced that he’s going to be in Waitress—a broadway musical composed and lyrics written by SARA BAREILLES

[cartoonlonk-a]

♡ LOVELY OOC MEME ♡

♡ TAGGED BY: @maskslip thank you ♡♡ ♡ TAGGING: If you did all your Christmas shopping today, do this meme

NAME: --- ( Named after a famous singer who sadly died tho ) NICKNAME: Goo / G AGE: 20 FACE CLAIM: Supposed to be Ninten but I also use my other muses bc it just gotta be that way. PRONOUNS: She / her, they / them --- I don't mind he / him HEIGHT: 5′6″ ( really, I'm 5'5.5" ) BIRTHDAY: February 4th

AESTHETIC: Anything cute / pretty. It masks how ugly I am lmao

LAST SONG YOU LISTENED TO:  Million Dreams - The Greatest Showman. It has good Lonk vibes 

FAVORITE MUSE ( S ) YOU’VE WRITTEN: Link, without a doubt. Also Claus. Next in line would have to be Nin.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO TAKE ON YOUR CURRENT MUSE ( THAT YOU ARE POSTING THIS ON ): Link is my sunshine boy as I've stated many times. Being able to express how wonderful of a character he is since 2014 has been nothing but comforting times. It feels like home RPing him and has always stuck with me way before he became a muse. He's always been there for me...funny how emotionally attached you get to a non existent character.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE ASPECTS OF YOUR CURRENT MUSE: HE IS ONE ORIGINAL RECIPE(TM). As I said above, he's a ball of happiness. He really brings out his best to make others feel good about themselves. Despite how broken he is on the inside, the smile comes out before anything else. Link is also very curious, thus whenever he doesn't understand something, he tries to learn it. Sometimes he's even his own cheerleader. No one really helped him besides giving him something as a good job--- like an animal in the circus, he really has to build his own self up, which goes back to him always wanting to cheer for everyone.

WHAT’S YOUR BIGGEST INSPIRATION WHEN IT COMES TO WRITING: You can say a lot of things. I'm not a huge reader but I'll pick up a nice read from time to time. Music is a big one, the rare shows I watch, the biggest one though is my peers. They help me structure him. He's done a big 180 in his lifetime of being my muse ( like no longer being mute to selectively mute and from being male to trans ).

FAVORITE TYPES OF THREADS: Oof--- Any kind, really. I REALLY love development between the muses. It feels more alive. Crack is my go-to pick-me-up tho

BIGGEST STRUGGLE IN REGARDS TO YOUR CURRENT MUSE:  Hmm...it would have to be that I overwork myself with real life duties ( 14 hours of work kills me, man and its from Mon-Fri sobs ). Link has so much energy for me to do things and by the time I get home, he's given up. Such is life.

[betterself]

The ‘100 days of productivity’ challenge can be an overwhelming experience, that’s not a big surprise. 100 days of doing something productive every single day?, it’s not always that easy. Not everybody can manage to finish the challenge when they start it, which is ok, but nothing is impossible either! Here there are some tips to help you on your journey through the most (in)famous challenge among studyblrs:

1. Redefine ‘productivity’. Productivity doesn’t need to mean homework or studying for an exam, but it can go from visiting your grandparents to grocery shopping or even travelling. There are going to be days within the 100 in which you are going to be unable to do study-related things because you’re sick, it’s a big day like Christmas or a birthday, or because you are on vacation away from home. But that’s totally fine! ‘Productive’ is anything that makes your day worth it, that will make you go to bed with satisfaction and the feeling that you made that day count. I’ll for sure consider ‘productive’ a day in which you had an important conversation that you were postponing with your parents, an unexpected date with someone you like, or a visit to Ikea to buy furniture for your new room. But try to do as many ‘studyblr’-related things as possible as well, as that’s the spirit of the challenge!

2. Take pictures ahead if you need to. There are days in which inspiration is not at its peek or you just can’t be bothered to snap a photo of what you’re doing. I usually keep a couple of extra pictures of things that I do almost daily so I can use them other days. The book that you’re currently reading + a coffee, or your laptop + your planner, you know, that sort of things that are representative of most of your study days. I believe it’s totally fine to skip posting a picture some days, or even upload one for two or three different days, but this is a useful trick for those who at least want to try to post photos almost every day of the challenge.

3. Plan properly, divide your tasks evenly among your days so none of them ends up being too bulky and drains your energy. I’ve found out that when I have a week of crazy work I find myself procrastinating more the next one, as I’m too burned from the previous days. I also use this idea of planning for dividing my errands among days, so I have to go outside the house and walk around the city doing stuff ever single day, to achieve my goal of 10k steps per day. Obviously this is not for everybody, it’s just an example depending on your goals, as you could easily do the opposite: run all your errands in one day so you don’t waste a lot of time in the afternoons, for example!

4. Try to follow a strike on something. Use the challenge as a way to track a strike on a thing that you want to incorporate in your habits. Mine is Duolingo, but it could be reading every day, making your bed every morning, or not drinking soda, whatever you want to achieve! I’ll say that if you actually want to do a 100/100 you shouldn’t pick habits that can vary easily, like waking up or going to bed early, as it is very possible that one day you won’t manage to do so because you’ll be on a party, have had a bad night sleep, or any other thing.

5. Think what you want to get from the experience. It’s kind of related with the previous point. ‘100 days of productivity’ doesn’t need to be only a ‘I’ll work for 100 days straight’-thing but it can be the path to achieve a goal. Vision yourself gaining something from it and you’ll be more likely to finish the challenge. It can be something very specific like learning the first steps of a new language or, like in my case, something more broad like achieving better discipline or learning to plan more efficiently.

6. Use the challenge as a journal. Especially if you don’t own one, it is nice to be able to read what you did on the previous days of the challenge to check how your overall performance is going. Express yourself, tell us about your day in the description of those cute pics you took early on. I don’t like to write a lot nor get too personal, but it’s nice to describe better how you think you did one day or which other things that are not related to the challenge happened to you that day, very briefly. It’s a very nice way to engage with the studyblr community and get to know each other as well!

7. Not all days have to be extremely productive. It’s ok to be tired, sick, or fall a bit out of track! It is enough if in a low day you manage to do something tiny like tidy your room, as I would for sure consider a success to fight tiredness to do at least one thing. Don’t be too hard on yourself, normally it’s not possible to be an excellent student for 100 days in a row.

8. Tips on pictures. Last but not least here I have a compilation of easy and quick tips for those who are a bit lost in the ‘What to post?’ department:

Things you can photograph that might look cute: your notes, your planner or bujo, the book you’re currently reading, your desk, some stationery, your computer, the library, your textbook, the trees you manage to plant in Forest…

Things that you can add to your picture to jazz it up: stationery, beauty products (hand cream, lipstick/lip balm, face mask…), snacks (fruit, cake, pop corn, sweets…), drinks (tea, coffee, hot chocolate, smoothy…), a cozy sweater or blanket, jewelry, your pencil case, your glasses, a plant, your bag, electronics (tablet, headphones, mouse…), your watch, a candle…

Vary your background once in a while. Very optional, but it’s a way to not have very repetitive pictures. Use your desk, your floor, your bed sheets, a piece of paper… depending on which ‘vibe’ you’re feeling that day.

Be true to yourself! You don’t have to go with what’s ‘trendy’ in the community if you don’t like it. If you like pictures au naturel, don’t edit them a lot; if you like greens to pop a lot, add a filter that makes that effect. You do you!

If you can, take the pictures in the morning. It is less likely that you forget to do it if you don’t postpone it, plus most of the people find natural lighting more beautiful than artificial.

You don’t have to post something study-related if you don’t want to. What you did in your break, your work-out session and your meal outside with a friend are also valid, if you consider them part of the productive stuff you made that day.

Don’t overthink it. I just grab a couple of things that I’ve been using and the first things I can think of to ‘decorate’ the picture. I do a quick arrangement and a very simple editing and done! The whole process can take me as much four minutes of my time in days in which I am not very inspired. The challenge is call ‘100 days of productivity’, not ‘100 days of studyblr aesthetic’, so don’t worry a lot about it. Honestly, your favourite pictures may not do as well as you thought, while that one that you didn’t fancy as much might get a lot of feedback, you can never guess it beforehand. The most important thing is to remember that this challenge is to improve yourself, not your studyblr account, and your success in it is measured by your work, not the number of your notes.

All I have to say is good luck to anybody that wants to give this a chance! Enjoy and learn about yourselves (and about a bunch of other things), we’re all cheering for you!

[honeyrose-tea]

some questions: do you have any plans for the holidays? do you have a favorite holiday memory? favorite holiday tradition? what is your current ideal/dream gift? what is your favorite gift you have ever received? what about your favorite gift you have given? who is the best gift giver you know? do you like decorating for the holidays? if so, do you have a favorite decoration? hope you have a merry Christmas! -🌙

buckle in, this is a long one. I enjoyed writing this a lot (maybe too much...)

my plans are just to chill with my family (which for me is just my parents). tonight we did a big dinner and opened our family gifts, tomorrow we'll do our stockings. in lieu of our usual christmas day visit to my mom's side of the family, my aunt had everyone draw a name virtually and send a gift via amazon to that person. tomorrow at 3, the whole family is gonna get on a zoom call together and open our secret santa gifts in front of the family. I'm really excited for it. normally we would see my dad's side at some point, usually the weekend before christmas, but this year we decided to cancel altogether. we did, however, go give gifts yesterday to my aunt, uncle, cousins, and my grandad who is currently living with them- outside and socially distanced with masks on of course. I also met a friend in the park- despite it being way too cold for a park date- and we hung out (masked and spread out) and exchanged our gifts for each other yesterday. the final holiday activity for me is gonna be my post-christmas ordering spree, where I'll use the money and gift cards I got from relatives to buy some of the stuff I didn't get gifted from my christmas list. this year's will be less fun stuff and more boring householdy things (I'm literally planning on buying socks, the most old lady christmas gift ever) but I'm excited nonetheless. after christmas and new year's it'll be time to prep for spring semester!

my favorite memories are kinda tied up in my favorite traditions, so I'll make this answer a two-for-one special! a tradition from childhood was going to christmas eve service at the church I grew up in. I loved getting dressed up and I especially enjoyed the candle-lighting portion at the end. the church we go to now (which was planted by the former associate pastor at my childhood church) is much more modern and we don't have christmas eve service. I don't miss it terribly, but I do look back on it fondly.

I have a lot of memories associated with family, and honestly that will always be the most important thing to me at the holidays. I've never been overly materialistic and to me the presents are just gravy, I could take or leave them. so to that end, most of my special memories involve family. my two living grandparents are my mammaw (mom's mom) and my grandad (dad's dad). they get on well with each other and they usually both join us for christmas eve dinner. my mom sets out our beautiful ivy-patterned dishes and we use our actual silver silverware and we all just have a nice family meal. I especially miss them this year.

not to be all mariah carey "all I want for christmas is you", but my dream gift is also kinda wrapped up in the notion of loving my relationships more than physical presents. I've always wished for some kind of romantic gesture or just a special person to spend christmas with. I've had my flings and such but they all start in spring/summer and never last to christmas. for me, all the good things happen in fall/winter- my birthday, thanksgiving, christmas, new years, etc.- and for as long as I can remember I've loved the idea of a significant other to share the holidays with me and my family. plus nothing gets me in the holiday spirit more than having someone to spoil, and though I love my parents dearly, it's definitely not the same as with an s/o. despite the fact he hates gifts, I made sure not to delete the list of birthday/christmas gifts I made for Eli while we were together over the summer even after the breakup, just in case. I know everyone will think that's stupid and say I should move on, but that's just how I am. I don't give up on people that matter to me. I know how it feels to be given up on, and I promised myself I wouldn't do that to someone else. anyway, back to christmas

my favorite gift from recent years would probably be my record player, which I use the hell out of. honorable mention is my weighted blanket, which I also love and use constantly. both big ticket items, and both given by my parents, who are excellent gift-givers.

as terrible as it sounds, I don't remember much about the gifts I've given. I always enjoy the reactions of my family, especially my parents, but I think after that the gifts just become common household items. I think the real spark is in the moment they're received, and that the memory of someone's joy will always outlive the memory of the gift, or even the material item itself. which is a fancy way of saying I have a very bad memory

my parents are definitely great gift-givers, especially my dad, and I like to think I inherited his talent for it. but my parents have kind of an automatic advantage when buying gifts because they spend a lot of time with me and hear me say exactly what I want, so I'm gonna disqualify them from the gift-giving contest. the best gifters are far and away this sweet couple whose kids I babysit. both the husband and wife are super kind to me and they have a bit of an older sibling role in my life, in that they're wiser than me and give me advice but are also a lot younger (and thus, more relatable) than my parents. I've watched their oldest (Hope) since she was a newborn, and when their second daughter (Elsie, which also happens to be the name of my maternal great-grandmother) was born I watched her too. Elsie just turned three and Hope (who has always reminded my parents of me, even in her infancy) will be eight in april. I love them like my own babies, and much of the reason their parents have always liked me is because I dote on the girls so much. for my birthday this year they bought me a record I'd been wanting, and over the years they've gotten me books, handmade soap, blankets, and more stuff that just generally fits my vibe, without having to ask for a list. they just kinda know. and bonus, they always send a video of the girls singing happy birthday and pictures of them in front of the christmas tree.

I don't usually get to assist in decorating for the holidays because my mom decorates our house before I get back for winter break. I do enjoy helping though, and I did when I lived at home full-time before college. I don't really have a favorite item anymore I suppose. I loved our big family christmas tree that we had when I was a kid, I remember it being as wide as I was tall and just really big and full. my mom is a huge ornament person and she gets one every place we visit- not just special trips, literally everywhere. even with how huge our tree was it was still packed. as soon as the tree was lit the first time it wouldn't get turned off- that's our family policy for whatever reason. so any time you'd get up in the middle of the night or stay up late and walk out into the living room, you'd be greeted by that soft warm golden glow of the lights. I'll always remember how peaceful it was to stare at that lit-up tree on calm quiet nights. the tree eventually got old and would shed too many pine needles to be worth the trouble, so my parents bought a new tree a few years back. I still maintain that the new one is the ugliest, scrappiest, scrawniest tree in the world, but I will admit it gets the job done. before it's decorated you can see straight through the branches to the other side but the ornaments do help fill it out a little. still, I have a special spot in my heart for our big old christmas tree, and that'll probably always be my favorite decoration

thank you for the ask, pen pal. I know I say this a lot but you're so good at coming up with thought-provoking questions. I hope you're having a wonderful holiday too, and I thank you again for all your kindness and your genuine interest in me. it means more than my lackluster grasp of the english language will allow me to convey to you. as always, I would love to hear anything you want to share, holiday-related or otherwise. best holiday wishes from me, I'll talk to you soon❤️

[champagnetravels]

Losar

So this weekend here in Nepal was the start of the Tibetan New Year! So happy new year or Losar tashi delek! This past Friday, the 16th, was the first day of the dog year. Technically, Losar (the holiday) lasts for 15 days but the most important days and the ones with all of the celebration are the first three. So i’m going to share what I did with my family to celebrate! Disclaimer I don’t really know why we did everything.

So I’ve only been in Nepal for about two weeks now and I’ve already had a vacation! Because of Losar we had Friday off from class. On Thursday night my family helped me try on some of their old chupas (the black dress thing that I’m wearing in some of the pictures) and there was only one that was long enough on me. It was really fun trying on different undershirts for them to compare colors and tell me what they thought looked best. Eventually, we settled on white even though I liked some of the more colorful shirts better. We also went to this community center type place for dinner with a bunch of other families from the same part of Tibet. We ate tuk pa for dinner which is a soup noodle dish. I had a lot of tuk pa this weekend. There was also this thing called the scapegoat where you put all of your sins/bad luck from the previous year into and then leave it in the street to start fresh for the new year.

The scapegoat deserves it’s own paragraph because there were a lot of parts. When I got to the community center, my aunt took this ball of dough and brushed it on my shoulders and such and then she took a piece of string from the bottom of my pants and told me to squeeze the ball of dough around it. Then I put the dough into this bowl with a figurine of a man in it. Then we ate tuk pa which was made of 9 ingredients and we had to pour some of it into the bowl 9 times. When dinner was over and everyone had done this, the men took the bowl and the figurine to the street to an intersection of three roads. They left it there and had to walk back without looking back. This was all to get rid of all the bad stuff from the year before and start out fresh. I guess in ancient Tibet the scapegoat used to be an actual person that the people would basically beat up, project all their sins onto, and banish from the city. Now it’s a little bit less medieval. 

 That night at 3 A.M., yes folks I mean 3 in the morning, my ama la knocked on the door and invited me into the prayer room/living room to drink chyang (I knew this was going to happen and told them to really bang on the door so that I would wake up because we all know from experience a.k.a. flushing toilets to try to wake me up for Christmas, that I am not one to get out of bed easily). Chyang is this sweet rice beer and served warm. There are also chunks of (I think) cheese or something in the bottom that I did not eat I was afraid of them. I honestly don’t know how to explain the flavor. It was one of those things that wasn’t bad but I didn’t really want a second serving even though my ama la gave it to me anyway. And compared to some other chyang that I tried this one was pretty good. But yea we all got up and sat together and drank chyang for a little bit and then I went back to bed.

In the morning, we got up, put our chupas on, and walked to a nearby monastery. Here, we did this thing where you grab a pinch of Tsapa flour and tossed it in the air three times then ate a little bit of it. Then we went in and offered kataks, or white silk ritual scarves, to a portrait of the Dalai Lama while a bunch of monks were chanting. It was pretty cool, I have to admit. After this, we went to another monastery and did the same thing. Then there was a huge photo-shoot with every possible combination of people you could imagine. We took so many pictures. And they came out great and are really nice to have it was just kind of funny. When we finished all of the photos and catching up with people, we headed home where a lot of the extended family came over. They set up a tarp on the roof/balcony of my apartment and actually started gambling for approximately 5 hours. I had no money or idea what the game was so I just watched and hung out. Then I took an accidental two hour nap, woke up to eat dinner, and played pizza box with a monk (see previous post).

On Saturday, we went to the community center-type place where my family and some others from the same part of Tibet were all celebrating together. Again, there were lots of card games going on and there were a few other SIT students there with their families so we all hung out for a bit. Then I left with the other Americans to go to the monkey temple for the afternoon and then went back to the community center later to have dinner. 

When we got there that night, everyone was singing and dancing. The older women, most of whom were actually born in Tibet (my sisters were both born here in Nepal) were singing a Tibetan song and doing this dance in a circle. The younger women and some men were watching them and following their steps. My host sister said that they don’t know any of the lyrics or the steps by heart, they just follow along. So they were doing this dance around two men who were playing these long guitar-type instruments in the middle of the circle. The steps looked super easy but the song would get faster and faster and they would add in these spins. I tried to do it but was just messing up the flow so I stepped out. This part of the night reminded me a lot of our family gatherings where we end up singing Irish songs and dancing together in the kitchen. It was a very similar vibe. 

On Sunday, I donned my chupa once again and we went to the Tibetan opera. This was a huge yellow tent set up in a schoolyard where there was a performance going on all day. Like only a break for lunch and happening all. day. My sister told me that the performers had gotten there at 6 in the morning to get ready and we got there at 9 and it had just started. The performance took place in the middle and the audience kind of sat in a circle around the tent. It started with some men in masks doing a dance and then women came out and there was a combination of some singing, dancing, and dialogue. It was really cool to watch even though I had no idea what anyone was saying. The costumes were really beautiful and colorful and it was fun to see everyone dance. Apparently the performers grow up being in the opera and learning everything about performing. My sister was telling me that they go to practice every Saturday, pretty much all day. 

Sunday night there was a party at the place where I have classes basically for all the white people/foreigners in Nepal. It was basically a bunch of old white hippies and another SIT program that goes to a bunch of countries and happened to be in Nepal. It ended up being really fun. There was live music and we all danced and hung out until we had to go home (aka when the band went on a break and our curfew was fast approaching). Shockingly really fun but I guess when you’re surrounded by a bunch of ex-hippie western Buddhists the vibe is pretty chill. 

There is something else that I think is worth mentioning. So in the late 50s China invaded Tibet and this led to the Dalai Lama fleeing Tibet followed by something like 100,000 Tibetans in the years immediately after the Dalai Lama went into exile. (for those of you who don’t know, the Dalai Lama is the religious, and political, leader of Tibet/Tibetan Buddhism and is said to be the reincarnation of the boddhisatva of compassion). Most of those Tibetans settled in Nepal and India, hence why this program exists and I am living with a Tibetan family. So I guess that while Nepal is pretty tolerant of different ethnic groups and is actually a pretty multi-ethnic place, there are some issues with the Tibetans, especially since the crazy protests that went on in 2008 and brought a lot of media attention to “the Tibet issue.” So how does this relate to Losar? Well apparently after all of these protests and worldwide media attention, China started giving a ton of money to the Nepali government and started gaining soft power over Nepal as kind of a way to control the portrayal of the Tibet issue. This included an agreement that Nepal would stop any anti-China activity (anti-China wasn’t really ever defined). Well, my sister was telling me that she wasn’t sure if they were going to be able to have the celebration at the opera because of this situation and previous experiences in which the Nepali police shut down large gatherings of Tibetans. This year, the opera was allowed to be held under one condition. There was a stage at the front of the tent where people were offering scarves to a statue of the Buddha. Usually, there is a portrait of the Dalai Lama where the statue of the Buddha was but the police said that the opera could only happen if the portrait was taken down. This may seem like a small thing, but my sister was pissed. It was just kind of a subtle reminder of the situation in Tibet and the control China has over so many things that make it really difficult for Tibetans to live comfortably. To me, it felt like a slap in the face. They left Tibet to escape this kind of cultural suppression and instead still face it in subtle ways that are still violent in some ways. So yea, I just thought that was an interesting aspect of the celebration and served as a reminder that while people have made lives for themselves outside of Tibet, they are still in exile and many of them cannot be with their families during this holiday. For example, my ama la has been trying to get a visa to go see her mother in Tibet before she dies and my sisters have never met their grandmother. It was a wonderful weekend because friends and family all got together to celebrate this fresh start but there is kind of an air of sadness thinking about the possible loss of culture, history, and loved ones. 

[jewel-s-blog]

about me + bias list

 hi there, I’m jewel :)

she/her/hers ・ 20 ・ kpop (writing) blog

Yes, Jewel is my real name although my parents admit I was supposed to be named elizabeth but changed their minds last minute after I was born how cute and I’m currently in university. I study political science and japanese for those wondering (because yes, I am japanese and it’s helpful when you live in hawaii to have that degree yk?). If any of this stuff is even mildly interesting and you have any curiosities, pls feel free to ask me!

I try to write some things when I can, so feel free to take a look at my masterlist. I also read A LOT of fics on this site, so also peep my recs if you feel like it. Warning: its mostly fluff and angst and almost always includes smut but there’s some really good stuff worth reading still! 

Feel free to talk to me :) i don’t have any kpop friends irl :( all my friends are locals smh 

I try my hardest to be active as much as possible but it’s taken me over a year to finally get used to tumblr lol marklee and i both struggle with complex technology i guess Of course, there are times when I get busy with college and will probably seem to drop off the face of the planet exam season kills but now that I’ve been in quarantine for a month, I figured now is the best time to start building an active tumblr routine. 

That’s all for now! Keep reading below for my bias list :)

xoxo, jewel <3

Bias List 

Before I begin, I will warn that this is basically a giant NCT shxtpost. With LOTS of hyperlinks for educational purposes and absolute crackhead-ery. I’ll eventually make a separate list for other groups I stan, but this blog is mainly NCT and this is already so long so I’ll leave it as this. Enjoy!

Biases are bolded in the beginning of each unit, so you can skip everything after if you don’t wanna see my ramblings following it.

A/N: After biasing nearly every member in NCT/WayV I’ve settled for now on my biases for each unit. This will most likely rotate fairly regularly as I literally fall in love with a different member every day cited here. solo stan? I don’t know her.

ULT

Jaehyun  *ahem excuse me i mean* 

Johnny Suh, it’s official. Don’t know how to explain, but I love everything about him. In the end, it’s always him. damn i sound like y/n thoughts but istg it’s true From SM Rookies to NCT Life to MV behinds, he’s the one. But I’ve also come to realize that I find myself most relatable to him as a person and I think that’s why no one else can trump him wow narcissist much jewel It’s kind of just my gut feeling. It also helps that hes the fluffiest tall, muscular tight booty hottie on the planet. See this black on black dance practice for further scientific explanation even in this jaehyun trying to wreck me so badddddd

Not gonna lie, I HAD IT BAD FOR MARK LEE still do and yet Johnny overcame that. If mark lee were my first love, johnny is my soulmate.

UPDATE! 

Lee Jeno has officially been added to the ult list. *See the entirety of my april activity on my sns accounts if you would like to see how this happened haha :)

NCT U  

im in love with him bc he literally reminds me of my boyfriend -- i like chill guys ok

Taeil is my little teddy bear who looks great in red hair and has a voice form heaven. Evidence? Here you go. He didn’t stand out to me much in the beginning because I was either deaf or blind but after Chain, the game was OVER. +moon taeil in shorts?? serve them thighs honey. Love you bebe tomato <3

BUT Doyoung is the #1 bias wrecker here because have you seen his cover of beautiful on masked singer?? have you?? if not, let me educate you. Also his collab with Sejeong?? Literally the cutest MV ever, perfect for Christmas, listened to it every year since it’s release.

Listen to Coming Home - NCT U for further scientific evidence that NCT has top vocals in the kpop industry.

NCT 127

THE Jung Jaehyun. For reasons that need no explanation. but ill give it anyway smh

After watching the performance of herin and jaehyun singing a whole new world I knew that was it for me. (I still watch it once a month for my jaehyun-related health and to honor SM’s biggest loss, seo herin and ji hansol but thats for another conversation) back to jaehyun His vocals are unique in NCT and bring a nice color to their songs, the man looks good in literally anything, and I’ll probably say this about every member, but I love his dance style--body rolls for days sis. Definitely my ideal type, which my boyfriend is 100% aware of; no secrets in my relationship ofc which explains the wreckage. Pretty sure 81% of the fandom gets wrecked by him daily, so I think I’ll stop here. 

NCT Dream 

Renjun.  why? i just think he’s neat but no really, it was this performance (ok actually this got me ALL SORTS OF WRECKED) and this fancam that had me falling in love with him but were gonna ignore the fact that I get bias wrecked DAILY by all the other members  GOd-tier vocals, personality for daysssssss, variety KING HUANG RENJUN. Safe to claim that I go into renjun feels about 3x a week. Check my twitter for proof. +dnyl renjun was a blessing and I sometimes cant believe that it actually happened. How do I explain?? He’s literally the best boy, but when he gets all worked up....let’s stop there before I have to go to confession again.

But for fun, lets list why I have biased every dream member at some point shall we? (in no particular order) Dream might just be my ult group, songs always bop, members at star quality 

mark- yes i am including mark bc he was the reason i even started stanning dream dreamies leader since mmc days, mentor, A1 rap skills, ad libs go crazy, unparalleled dancing style, hardest worker, cutest watermelon advocate ever, all around amazing person can you tell he used to be my ult? + he’s a good christian boy and my catholic *ss has to confess my sins for being a simp for him 24/7

chenle- vocal GOD, most steady live vocals in kpop, laugh to die for

jeno- i cannot resist his eye smile i wanna cuddle and onstage charisma-2:54 “let’s goooooo” and i alskfdfjlkdldkfa. 

jaemin- “other than my members, i don’t have any friends” and yet he’s literally the most caring and wonderful little puff in existence fight me pls dont im a pacifist 

heachan- idk why but donghyukie feels like he could be my best friend and also cant stop staring at him in their dance practices his body proportions are unreal and his vocal ad libs?? don’t even get me STARTED on heachans vocals

jisung- he is my son, but also my son’s vocals?? MWAH that voice got me second guessing if he’s really my son 

WayV 

Ten Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul another member where it kinda just....happened? In the end I was like “damn, when did you sneaky bugger get in my heart?” He’s got a similar vibe as Johnny AND DO NOT COME FOR MY THROAT FOR SAYING THAT THATS MY OPINION Like Johnny, I see myself in Ten. There are so many reasons why I love Ten, so I’ll make it simple and provide them to you. 

Reason 1 - Performance/dance  he just hit different, he’s THAT good. Reason 2 - vocals the amount his vocals has improved?? UNMATCHED. Reason 3 - INTELLECTUAL (still trying to find the clip of him talking about different kinds of love) Reason 4 - multi-lingual KING ok so this vid is him struggling in mandarin, but imagine, you speak thai and english and learn korean to debut and all of a sudden your agency says “ok learn chinese now.” MANDARIN IS ONE OF THE HARDEST LANGUAGES TO LEARN. Reason 5 - bad b*tch he just radiates bad bitxh energy in everything he does, and I appreciate a bad bitxh

BUT I love wayv’s chaotic energy and chemistry so much that I literally love them all dreamies watch out 

+special shoutout to xiaojuns vocals in Love Talk

+kun being a dimpled zaddy (jaehyun&kun type CONFIRMED)

+lucas holding binoculars like THAT @ 1:10

+yangx2 doing THIS (prepare to be blown away)

+hendery being a the best teacher 

+winwin BEING WINWIN THE DANCE GOD 

+winwin AGAIN and with Ten here i don’t even think i have to say that i tweeted about this everyday for a month and im still not over it. This specific dance really allowed winwin to shine even though ten is my bias. It really allowed others to see the fruit of his classical training even in modern dance which he never trained in. Not gonna be repetitive and SCREAM  say that he’s underrated, because we all know that already. Just show winwin some love, ok? thank you.

And so finally, we’ve reached the end. Phew, this took me almost 5 hours to put together because I definitely got carried away. For those who made it all the way to the end, thank you, I love you. It’s so messy and I don’t have the mental capacity to do anymore editing but I hope you got something from this massive post <3 Feel free to let me know what you think! xoxo, jewel

[bottomthedonkey]

My Thoughts on the RPDR Season 9 Queens

OH MY GOD YOU GUYS IT’S COMING BACK IT’S LIKE FUCKING CHRISTMAS OVER HERE I’M SO EXCITED!

Honestly, thank God for All Stars 2. From season 8, to All-Stars 2, and NOW SEASON 9 SO SOON, I feel like I’m getting hit with back-to-back-to-back RPDR seasons, and for an addict like me, I NEED MY FIX AND I NEED IT NOW. The only unfortunate thing is unless RuPaul decides to completely kill me and release All-Stars 3 as soon as this fall, I’m going to go through absolute withdrawal in the off-season, and that’s gonna suck cuz this bitch has SPOILED ME this past year.

But anyway, this year 13 (interesting number…) brand new queens are sashaying their way into the workroom, and I could not be more excited because for the first time in like, 4 seasons…

I HAVE NO FUCKING IDEA WHO ANY OF THESE BITCHES ARE.

Let me explain.

Each year, there are at least one or two queens that I at least know of. Season 8 I had heard of Derrick Barry through America’s Got Talent and I knew Robbie Turner thanks to Capitol Hill (an amazing YouTube series that you should all watch). Season 7 there was Miss Fame, who had an episode of Transformations with James St. James. Season 6 was a clusterfuck, with Adore from American Idol, Courtney from Australian Idol, and Laganja who was Tumblr’s Idol (like seriously, before the show premiered no one on this damn site would shut up about her). And Season 5 of course had Alaska.

This season, I’m going in with no preconceived notions about ANY of these queens. I have only their promo looks and Meet the Queens videos to go off of. I haven’t watched any of their Meet the Queens videos yet, so you’ll be getting my first impressions of them in this blog, no other research included. But as for their promo looks, I am already impressed. I don’t know what the theme was for their promo looks, but whatever it is, THANK GOD for it.

Like seriously, last season’s 1950′s (60′s?) hair salon shoot was TRAGIC. I’m sorry, I fucking hated it. Half the queens were in wigs and dresses that they would not be caught dead in, and it all just looked very unflattering. The whole point of these promos is to get us EXCITED for the season, not set the bar so low that literally whatever you do will exceed our expectations.

SO before we begin, these are just thoughts of a super-huge Drag Race fan, not someone who professionally does drag. And that’s what these opinions should be taken as, observations from the peanut gallery.

ANYWAY - LET’S GET TO THE QUEENS, ALPHABETICALLY.

Aja - Hmm… I could be a bit more impressed.

Don’t get me wrong, she looks STUNNING in this promo look. The hair gives me a weird Naomi Smalls vibe, the color scheme is fantastic, her face is beat for the gods, and I typically cannot stand septum piercings (like I’m sorry, but seriously, for me, it’s just a big bright neon sign for your nostrils, which are like the least attractive facial feature) but she makes it WORK FOR HER.

It’s just nothing I haven’t seen before, but there will be plenty of time for her to push the envelope. Let’s watch her video and make some other first impressions…

Okay, after watching the video, I’ll say that look is much more stunning even with minimal movement, and the Naomi Smalls vibe definitely grew a bit. She did kind of come across… oh how can I say this non-offensively… a bit dim? She definitely knows her fashion at least, but I’m worried she’s going to be a young queen who has absolutely no idea about gay pop culture beyond the late 2000s. Hopefully, she proves me wrong. Again, first impressions are what they are.

Alexis Michelle - I’m not a big fan of this look. I hate to go Michelle Visage here, but the fact that it’s all very yellow-green just reminds me of snot. She definitely needed to combine that chartreuse with a secondary color, instead of just hints of emerald and orange that I’m getting. It’s just not working for me. I see potential though, which is always good.

Okay, after watching the video, I’ll say the photo does the look zero justice. I’ll maintain that the neon yellow is still coming across as chartreuse and it’s just not flattering, BUT the details on the shoulders change with the lighting and it’s so much better in motion than captured still in a photo. Her personality seems like a subdued Thorgy Thor, but I like the idea of a sassy, brassy Broadway queen, we haven’t really had one of those since Jinkx, and that wasn’t really her main focal point. Count me interested, Alexis.

Charlie Hides - I’M SO SORRY I HAVE TO START OFF WITH A READ BUT OH MY GOD.

AND NOW SERVING WILDBERRY POP-TART REALNESS, CHARLIE HIDES!!!

Ah, glad I got that out of my system.

BUT SERIOUSLY, THIS IS A GOT DAMN LOOK. I AM OBSESSED. The bright blue hair, the fascinator that masks her eye, the magenta lip, the simple diamond earring, I’M IN LOVE. UGH. BEAUTIFUL. Not to mention, she looks kind of like the drag version of Renee Zellwegger. Anyone else think so?

Kay, let’s watch the video.

And let’s immediately pause the video, number one, BECAUSE SHE HAS A BRITISH ACCENT WHICH MAKES HER INSTANTANEOUSLY MORE CHARMING. And because she didn’t say her age, prompting me to look it up, and…

She’s 52.

I kinda need to repeat that again, she is… fifty… two. Years old. Years of age. Fifty…. fifty-two. I uhm…

WHAT THE FUCK.

THIS BITCH HAS NO GODDAMN BUSINESS LOOKING THIS DAMN GOOD AT FIFTY-FUCKING-TWO. SHE COMES IN HERE LOOKING LIKE A FUTURISTIC RENEE FUCKING ZELLWEGGER AND MEANWHILE I’M TWENTY FUCKING THREE AND I LOOK LIKE EVERYONE’S HOMELESS GAY UNCLE LIKE SERIOUSLY WHAT THE GODDAMN SHIT THIS IS SO UNFAIR I’M IRRATIONALLY UPSET I NEED A DRINK.

Okay, now that I have a beer, let’s continue…

FAVORITE QUEEN SO FAR.

Made me laugh out loud with the ceiling fan comment, she seems so sweet and nice (I already have her pegged for Miss Congeniality), and I have a gut feeling she’s going to go deep into the competition. She just has to make it past that first round, which for some reason is like a curse among “the oldest competitor of season blah blah blah” (see Porkchop and Tempest for details). But if this look is any indication, I doubt she’ll have a problem. She even said she was a crafty queen! And so was BenDeLaCreme! SO THERE! (Then again, Tempest teaches costume design if I remember correctly, so I could be totally wrong but I’m not going to think about that right now, because this bitch is my new favorite and fuck you if you disagree.)

Eureka - Uhm okay. I like this look, but… she’s kind of makes me think what would have happened if Ginger Minj and Penny Tration kai-kai’d and had a love-child… and that love child happened to inherit Penny’s make-up skills… and hair…

Ugh, like I’m sorry, I really like this look, IT’S INTERESTING, but the last time I saw something similar, it was on Penny, and we all know how that went.

Okay, so after her video, I’m definitely more on board. Her make-up is much more flattering when it’s not heavily edited, and NOW I’m getting more Ginger vibes rather than Penny vibes which is a huge relief. I’m excited to see her dance, because she hyped that up quite a bit, and I’m excited to see what she pulls out in terms of fashion, because I feel like she’s going to push the boundaries quite a bit. I’ll agree with her, a big girl is WAY OVERDUE to win this thing. But is it her? I’m not quite convinced, but we’ll see how that first episode goes…

Farrah Moan - UHM OKAY I MEAN WE ALL JOKED ABOUT HOW COURTNEY ACT WAS FISHY BUT I HAD NO IDEA SHE WAS AN ACTUAL WOMAN!

I MEAN, AT LEAST, SHE MUST BE, BECAUSE I’M STARING AT HER GODDAMN KID.

SERIOUSLY, TELL ME THESE TWO LOOK NOTHING ALIKE I’LL WAIT.

Anyway, the look’s a little plain. (LIKE SERIOUSLY, IT LOOKS LIKE COURTNEY ACT’S PRETTY IN PINK LOOK REIMAGINED FOR TODDLERS IN TIARAS.) BUT, she is VERY PRETTY, and like… goddamn that facial symmetry is just uncalled for. I need another drink, this is just unfair. I already have a drink. I need another. I DON’T CARE.

Okay, so VIDEO. I have no fucking clue how to feel about this queen. She’s now kind of giving me Violet Chachki meets Derrick Barry vibes, which meh, okay, villain potential but whatever. It’s interesting that she says she has a fetishy side to her fashion, because I really don’t think this look showed that besides it being made from latex, but whatever, her name is Farrah Moan, I’m sure there’ll be plenty of time for that later on in the season.

Jaymes Mansfield - I… do… not… like this look. Like… at all.

Seriously, sweetie, did you get lost on your way to the season 8 promo shoot? Cuz that’s where this look belongs. 1950′s hair salon. It all seems very dated. And plain. And did she paint her eyebrows like that? I’m just a little bit thrown off. Whatever, maybe her video will help out.

Well… it didn’t. I don’t know, something about her just kind of annoys me. I feel like she’s putting on a character, and not in a BenDeLaCreme fully-finished this-has-been-in-development-for-a-long-ass-time kind of way, I mean in a Laganja way where she thinks this is how she should act because there are cameras in front of her. It’s very off-putting. I don’t want to make any assumptions on who should be the first to go home because I’m usually wrong… but it wouldn’t surprise me if it was her… #sorryboutit…

Kimora Blac - Holy shit did Pussycat Dolls Present come back for another season? Oh wait, nope, new drag queen. Holy shit, this is a look. It really gives me a strange Pussycat Dolls kind of vibe though. I don’t know why exactly. I especially love the color scheme, the pink and black and gold, it all really comes together quite nicely.

Video thoughts: Oh no, SHE’S going to be the villain of the season. Lots of cocky remarks, she’s going to get on a lot of queens’ nerves very quickly, I can tell. I have no problems with cocky queens, but like, you better have the shit to back that up. I don’t think she’ll end up arguing with anyone, she seems more like Willam, completely unbothered by anyone who tries to come for her. But again, I’ll repeat, if you’re gonna be cocky, you better back that shit up.

Nina Bo’Nina Brown - I AM COMPLETELY OBSESSED WITH THIS LOOK.

Ugh, it’s like Acid Betty meets Phi Phi’s futuristic runway and I am FLOORED AND SHOOK AND FOAMING AT THE MOUTH. THIS IS GORGEOUS. Everything about this from the make up to the hair to he dress to the earrings I JUST CAN’T. SHOOK. FLABBERGASTED. BLESSED.

Video thoughts: Her personality, I feel like, is what would happen if Dax Exclamationpoint and Bob the Drag Queen fused together Crystal Gem-style, like seriously, it’s like the second stage in a Dax evolution. I’m completely obsessed. I’m really hoping she sticks around for a long time, because I think she’s gonna be a lot of fun to watch; interacting with the other queens, giving witty confessionals, I think she’ll be a big hit with the fans.

Peppermint - I feel like I’m overusing the two queens combine to create trope in this write-up, but fuck it, this is my thing, not yours, and she reminds me of Ginger Minj and Chi Chi DeVayne with this look. Specifically Ginger Minj’s look in the finale when she took us to church with that “Pray and Slay” song. Werq. I feel like I’ve already seen this before though, but whatevs, she looks great.

Ooh, I like her. I think she’s going to make it deep. She didn’t EXCITE me per se, but she definitely intrigued me. She comes across to me as very experienced, but also continually evolving with the times. I could see her making the finale for sure. ALSO, I believe she will be the first openly transgender competitor since Monica Beverly Hillz. Yeah, I know there have been queens in later seasons that have come out as trans after their season aired, but we’re talking openly competing on the show as trans women, and if that’s the case, Peppermint would be the second. Count me excited for this one!

Sasha Velour - I’m definitely interested by this look. Love a bald queen, and if that’s her schtick, I’m hoping that she’s a bald queen that can rock a wig. (Love you Ongina, but we only saw one wigged look from you on the show.) The eyebrow detail in the middle is kind of throwing me, like for me, if you’re going to do something weird like a unibrow, fucking go for it and own it, but this just seems at worst, unnecessary and at best, half-assed.

Video thoughts: If I’m being perfectly honest, I felt a bit bored by her personality BUT what she was talking about did intrigue me. I’m thinking she’ll go deep into this competition as well, but I’m worried she won’t stand out from the rest in acting challenges, or some weird “sell your own product” commercial challenge. Hopefully, she proves me wrong.

Shea Coulee - OH MY GOD FUCK ME ALL THE WAY UP WITH THIS AFRICAN GODDESS REALNESS. I haven’t seen an African-inspired look this on point since Bebe Zahara Benet in season fucking ONE. I haven’t seen her video yet, but I’m hoping that this is her aesthetic and she continues to turn out looks like this one because I am FLOORED.

Video thoughts: Got a little bored halfway through, BUT she seems very talented, and it doesn’t come across as cocky or conceited, it comes across as sure of herself, and that’s gonna come in handy when establishing a fanbase. I can see her going deep into the competition, don’t know if she’s finale-worthy, but I didn’t think Naomi was going to the finale either, so we’ll have to wait and see.

Trinity Taylor - Fuck me up with the cobalt realness, I mean YAS. Queens who can pull off strange hair colors and make it look very natural get an A+ in my book. I will say that it seems just a HAIR much. I could have done with a little less jewelry, or maybe the sequined sleeve could have just been plain latex. I don’t know. Otherwise, it’s FANTASTIC.

Hmm… after the video… now that I can see more of the look, it definitely needed to be edited. It’s not just a hair much, it’s a LOT much. Like one or two or five things needed to go. I feel a little concerned for her. I don’t get that same gut feeling that she’ll make it far in the competition as I am with a lot of the other queens this season. But again, first impressions are just that, and time will tell, et cetera et cetera…

Valentina - You know, it’s funny, this one I can’t really compare to another queen. I’m trying to think of someone she could remind me of but I’m drawing a blank. This is very original, from the mint green to the hair, to the unique way her eyebrows are drawn on, the earrings, it’s fabulous! I’m wondering how she’ll come across in the video…

Hmmm… after the video… it’s weird. I love this look, but again, I’m not getting that gut feeling that she’ll make it that far in the competition. Something is just throwing me off here. She’s probably one of the best, if not the best looking Latina queens they’ve cast for the show, but nothing about that video screamed talent in any other area other than fashion. Again, hoping she’ll prove me wrong because she does interest me…

So based on first impressions alone, here’s how I’m ranking these queens:

Charlie Hides

Nina Bo’Nina Brown

Peppermint

Shea Coulee

Eureka

Farrah Moan

Kimora Blac

Alexis Michelle

Sasha Velour

Valentina

Aja

Trinity Taylor

Jaymes Mansfield

This was actually really difficult. The only one I really could not stand was Jaymes, and the rest of the queens, it came down to look + video = ?. And I’m probably going to be dreadfully wrong on these rankings, I’m thinking all of these rankings are all going to be swapped around drastically over the course of the season.

So, I’m hoping to be back with recaps for the season. I know I quit last season after episode 2, but life happens, and depression happens, and therapy happens and blah blah blah whatever.

[lovemesomesurveys]

If you lived in Bikini Bottom, would you befriend Spongebob or Plankton? Spongebob would be way too upbeat and energetic for me haha. He’d quickly get on my nerves. I don’t want to be friends with Plankton either, though. Can I be friends with Squidward instead? I feel like we’d vibe perfectly. Do you have any bananas in your house right now? Nope. I’d like to get some soon cause I want to ask my mom to make banana bread.

Which overrated tattoo are you sick of seeing? Eh, I don’t really care. 

Is it easy to distract you? Not usually. 

Do you prefer to drink from glasses or mugs? Mugs.

What was the last thing you taught a younger kid? I don’t recall. I haven’t been around any kids in a long time.

Are the clocks in your house mostly digital or analog? Mostly digital, but we do have a few analog clocks.

How long have you had your television(s)? The one in my room isn’t even a year old, yet. 

Do you like watching movies made with CGI or do you prefer hand-drawn ones? Whichever.

Where did your parents buy their car(s)? The dealership.

Do you know why your grandparents chose your mother’s name? No.

What is your favourite kind of soup? I’m just a ramen kind of gal. 

Have you ever made your own musical instrument? I feel like I have before for like an elementary art project or something. 

What do you think of Leighton Meester’s singing voice? I forgot she even sang until I heard “Good Girls Go Bad” again recently.

Do you think you’d do well at teaching the English language to a foreigner? I don’t feel like I’d make a very good teacher.

How long have your neighbours lived there? A few years.

Is it weird to hear your name in movies or TV shows? It can be kinda funny sometimes if the person with my name did or said something funny. I’ll be like, “ew no I didn’t” or “I didn’t say that.” 

Why do so many people seem to hate the Jonas Brothers? I didn’t know a lot of people hated them. It seems like they’ve been doing pretty well since their comeback, actually.

If you attend school, what time do you usually get home after? I’ve been done with school since 2015. 

When was the last time you really needed to just let loose? I could use some of that now. For me that would consist of something like a nice day at the beach. That’s where I’m able to actually relax. 

Have you ever been blackmailed? No.

Do you suffer from Restless Leg Syndrome? No.

Would you rather have novels based on your life or a series of comic books? I don’t want any kind of book based on my life.

Have you written a resume before, either for yourself or someone else? Yeah, both.

Did you know that they plan on releasing a movie based on The Smurfs? There’s been 2. Correction, I just Googled it and there’s been 3.

Do you ever wonder what it would be like to live underwater? Noooo. 

Have you ever worked in a bakery? If not, would you like to? Nope.

What is your favourite thing about snow? I think it’s beautiful. I wish it snowed where I live. I’d love to experience Christmas with snow.

Is there a big personality difference between you and your sibling(s)? Well, my younger brother is social, outgoing, mature, responsible, intelligent, hardworking, ambitious... things I’m not. 

Do you enjoy decorating things with stickers? I have a hard time deciding where to place them.

Did you lose anything recently? Did you end up finding it? “Where is my mind?”

What colour oven mitts do you have? They’re blue.

Why do you/don’t you watch award shows? I like to watch the music awards.

What do you think of Ellen DeGeneres as the new judge on American Idol? This is super old. I actually forgot that she was a judge at one point.

Do you ever do the exercises featured in some magazines? I don’t exercise. 

Have you ever watched What The Buck? What do you think of it? Nope.

When was the last time you partnered up with someone to complete something? Uhhh back when I was still in school.

Do you consider Lady GaGa’s appearance artistic, or just plain weird? She doesn’t dress as eccentric as she used to anymore. 

What do you usually do when you have trouble sleeping? Every night I scroll through Tumblr, do surveys, watch YouTube and listen to ASMR, and watch TV until I fall asleep. Sometimes I scroll through Pinterest or read as well.

What was the last thing you used scissors for? I don’t recall.

Have you ever used some kind of food as a facial mask? Uh, no.

How many USB cords do you have lying around? I have 2 plugged into my laptop right now.

Are you satisfied with your social life (or lack thereof)? I don’t have one and I’m honestly fine with it. And it’s not because of the quarantine, this has been going on the past few years. :X

Do you know anybody whose initials spell something? Probably. I don’t feel like thinking about it right now, though.

What is your favourite flavour of Kool-Aid? I haven’t had Kool-Aid since I was a kid, but I think I like most of the flavors. 

Is there a specific food you think NEEDS to be at Christmas dinner? Our main staples for Christmas dinner are: ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and rolls with gravy. The past couple years my brother made homemade mac and cheese with the baked breadcrumbs on top, which is really good. We also usually have some appetizers.

Would you be able to re-string a guitar? Nope.

What TV show do you just assume you wouldn’t like? I’m not into today’s sitcoms. 

Do your friends have more money than you? I don’t have any friends.

Do you have more bread or cheese in your house? Cheese.

What was the last movie trailer you saw? I haven’t seen any in awhile since all this stuff has been going on. 

Did you purchase any meat product when you were at the store last? I haven’t been to the store in over a month, but yeah I asked my mom to get bologna the last time she went.

Have you ever been told that you have chubby cheeks? No.

Do you know how to properly use a saw? I’ve used one before. I took wood shop as an elective in middle school. 

Isn’t it a shame that what Kanye West did at the VMA’s overshadowed what was supposed to be a night dedicated to Michael Jackson? Was that the same night he ruined Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech? If not, I don’t recall what else he did.