#also i feel like if u hate punk music and just like the ideology maybe ur just a leftist 😭

[dreamspring]

question to my punk & goth friends out there - i saw this video saying that punk and goth are not music based subcultures and as someone who isn’t really engaged in either deeply i am so confused

here are some comments ???

#punk #goth #punk music #goth music #like??? i don’t think that’s true?? there is a big diff between liking gothic art and lit etc (like me) and actually being goth #but im not goth so idk #also i feel like if u hate punk music and just like the ideology maybe ur just a leftist 😭 #im confused. #mossy posts #🌿

[thecorvidforest]

Hi!! I saw that ur punk and I had questions if that’s okay!!! Im p sure I heavily align w punk ideology (and have already been cpunk for a while) (I strongly don’t want to conform to society and love all “weirdos”, fuck cops capitalism etc etc,,,) but I don’t listen to punk music or dress punk at all. I know u don’t have to dress any certain way (feel like ppl r gonna call me fake though) but people say u need to listen to punk music and I’m going to try !! but I’m very new and haven’t started yet.. when exactly is it okay to call myself punk? and umm while I do align with ideology I actually am very uneducated on anarchy and maybe similar concepts that I’m very interested in learning about but have no idea where.. can u give me any info on what being punk is really about and where to learn more? some people say there are “posers”’ but what exactly would make someone a poser?

hello! not a problem, i'm happy to tell you what i can :) (also ayy, fellow cpunk)

i would say that you can call yourself a punk when you're educated on the politics and ideology and can say for certain what parts you align with. being punk isn't about the aesthetic, it's about the ideology, so making sure you understand said ideology is the most important step.

that said, while punk ideology is generally left-leaning and anti-establishment, it's a massive umbrella that covers tons of different political beliefs. i personally am an anarchopunk, which is very left-leaning and centered around community instead of authority, but is directly against the beliefs of other subgroups like neo-nazi skinheads or national front which have both co-opted a lot of punk culture for its anti-establishment beliefs. there is no single set of punk beliefs, so it's important to do your research before adopting the label.

some places i would look to in order to learn more: classic punk literature (https://www.popmatters.com/punk-literature-101-recommended-readings is a great list of some places to start), and punk arts such as poetry, music, and zines, and punk history. dcdig.dclibrary.org has some fantastic collections that cover some of the history and politics that have influenced punk culture (i would very much recommend their DC Punk Archive Zine Library). in particular i'd look at the queer and BIPOC historical influences on punk culture, because those tend to get left out and knowing about that history is very important.

as for what makes someone a poser: posers in the punk community are typically people who embrace punk aesthetics but are uneducated on punk politics. they want the social recognition of the label but have nothing to contribute when it comes to their ideology. they tend to flock to places like tiktok where they can get that social recognition without having to talk about their beliefs. they also tend to gatekeep the punk community a lot. posers are not punk.

some red flags that a person might be a poser: they gatekeep the punk community, they don't talk about their beliefs and/or get irritated when people ask them about their beliefs, their punk fits are bought from amazon or other large corporations instead of being handmade or from small/punk owned businesses (it's pretty hard to tell from just looking though), they shame people for not listening to specific music or not "looking punk enough", they happily promote unnecessary violence because it's "edgy", they hate on everyone who doesn't agree with them, etcetera.

and in regard to your follow-up question about whether one can be emo/goth/nerd etc and punk at the same time, you absolutely can! these subcultures tend to overlap pretty often, and there's really no actual rules about what makes or breaks a punk identity other than being educated and honest about the labels you use.

i hope this helps, and good luck! :))

#punk #anarchopunk #anarchism #punk culture #cpunk #disability #education #community #punk community #acab

[mattrusso]

Oh hey! It’s [ MATTHEW “MATT” RUSSO. 29. CISMALE. HE/HIM ]. They’ve lived in Silver Lake for 8 YEARS and are originally from JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY. They are a MUSICIAN/SINGER and in their downtime love VISITING MUSEUMS and SMOKING WEED. They look a lot like PENN BADGLEY and live in SILVERWOOD TERRACE.

hello friends my name is dia, i’m stuck here in the cst tz rip, and i finally just gave in and got disney+ so that’s where my life’s at rn!!! matt is a more or less brand new muse so bear w me while i figure him out a little more but below you’ll find some stats, a brief background/bullet intro & some plot ideas at the bottom

full name: matthew walter russo nickname: matt, russo birthday: april 19, 1991 zodiac: aries hometown: jersey city, nj sexuality: pansexual height: 5′11 career: frontman of indie pop band kafkaesque

the band: called kafkaqesque, created by matt and three of his friends back in high school in new jersey. they’re an alternative/indie pop/rock band with a mix of sounds like penn badgley’s actual band mothxr, broken bells, catfish and the bottlemen, tame impala, the 1975, that kind of vibe. matt’s the vocalist and occasionally plays guitar/keyboard etc. they started gaining fame right out of high school in 2010/2011 thanks to a couple of eps and popular singles, and in 2012 their debut album went viral, topped charts, and they blew up. successive albums released in 2014, 2017, and this past january solidified their place near the front of pop culture. they are nowhere near as famous as people like billie, ariana, taylor, harry, etc etc but as far as actual bands go, most people have heard of them even if they don’t actually know their music (and they probably do know a single or two from the radio).

background

matt was born and raised in newark, new jersey, and his family was a mess. his mom had gone to law school and done relatively well, barely scratched the surface of the profession, and then settled for doing paperwork in a law office once she had matt when she was 29, and then a daughter, matt’s sister, a few years later. his dad did weather on the local news. both were conservative republicans, and neither approved of it when matt’s already rebellious behavior as a child turned into cigarettes and drugs and punk music (and liberal ideologies the horror!!!!!!!!) in his teenage years. to this day it’s never gotten to a point where they don’t talk anymore, but it’s very very tense and ever since matt moved to los angeles 8 years ago, he’s made a point of not seeing them often bc they just try to make him feel guilty for what he’s chosen to do with his life

he’d never enjoyed the whole school thing, so matt really had no problem skipping college altogether to focus on his music, which was already gaining in popularity not six months out of high school. at 20 he and his band, scouted by a label, went to LA to record their first real album, and when it became an instant success they decided to move out there in 2012. aside from touring every other year, he’s been in LA ever since. eight years in and he still hasn’t fully gotten used to the surreality of life in hollywood and he has such a love hate relationship with it

personality etc

matt generally has longer hair and some scruff--the gif i used up top is the mood

he’s a lonely boy. romantically. he’s really close with his band members, they’re his best friends, but relationships are rly hard for him bc being vulnerable is rly hard for him outside of his music

like someone he’s dated for instance is much more likely to hear him finally apologize for something in a song on a new album than in person yfetugdshuja

goes through relationships pretty fast bc of that and is more likely to sleep around but also have more than one fwb situation probably

can usually be found in loose band tees and jeans. he frequently looks unkempt. probably gets dragged for it on the internet

can come across as kind of an arrogant shitbag in interviews and stuff and in his pretentious lyrics but in person he’s actually pretty chill (if chaotic) and makes a point of being really kind to fans, and he generally tries to use his platform to do some good stuff

used to do party drugs a lot more but has cooled down a bit as he’s nearing 30. in his very early 20s (when the band was first taking off) he got a little too into the party drug scene and had a lot of messy relationships and at some point his bandmates got together and were lowkey like yo.....you gotta stop or ur out!!! their 2014 and 2017 albums were probably a little different than the first and this last one bc he was clearly on drugs the whole time but he got a hold of himself and it’s still a thing he struggles with sometimes but he’s generally just smoking a lot of weed now

plot ideas

stans, fans, and people who actively hate him/his band pls thank u !! he can be rly pretentious and superior and annoying lowkey so fr give me ppl who hate him

an ex who broke up with him bc they couldn’t handle the lifestyle, an ex who was just using him for fame, any kind of angsty ex situation revolving around things of that nature

a few rly close friends besides his bandmates

record label ppl, agents, etc etc anyone in that world

a couple cousins or other extended family members would be?? fun?

past hookups/one night stands either on good or bad or awkward terms

people he parties with, people he regularly smokes with, a dealer perhaps 👀

also just any kind of angsty stuff?? fake friends, unrequited feelings either way, exes on rly bad terms, someone who turned him tf down, maybe someone he did dirty once on his way to the spotlight or like someone who has dirt on him?? ANYTHING

#slintro #im at work but ill be around later hopefully for plotting n to start interactions!!! #i have had a DAY #but like this and ill pop up in ur dms at some point

[lettersandinkstains]

🌼💐💠🍁 // & have a bunch of hearts too, bc u deserve 'em!! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

hrjhfjdkhds you are so sweet, Livvy!!

🌼 Your OCs are delightfully multidimensional. Do you have any tips for writers who’re trying to give their characters more depth?

A few things:

People watch. Like, 100%. This can help you figure out how people naturally talk (since we don’t always talk in a formal type of english, ya know?), and transcribe what the people near you are saying and add in description of how they’re sitting / standing, how they’re holding themself. Etc. You could also write a story about this person -- make up what you think their life is like outside of the brief moment you have with them.

Nothing is black and white. Your characters, even if they’re great heroes of far away lands and beat up bad guys and save the princess, need flaws. Nobody is ever 100% morally pure. Your hero could tell little white lies, or maybe they’re bad at cleanliness. People can also easily be contradictory and be someone else, depending on who they’re with. Hell, they could always be late to meetings or dates. Give them flaws, give them ideologies you may not agree with.

Put them in difficult situations. Sure, you control the characters because you’re the author -- however, you can develop your characters very easily if they’re met with a hard situation. For example, Zephyr kills the queen at the end of So Said the King, this goes against Ayathia’s pacifist beliefs and their own morals -- for Zeph, this affects them throughout the second book, added on keeping it a secret from Sage. This causes them to develop a little bit of a guilt complex, and they have to work through it and work up to telling Sage of what they did. (tl;dr: figure out how your character will develop in the situation).

Going from difficult situations to let your characters experience the consequences of their actions. Nothing says character development and character depth is them learning and suffering from the consequence of their actions. Bojack Horseman, as flawed as the show is, does a super good job of this. Your character lied about something important, okay. Let them eventually get caught. What happens?

Give them interests outside of the plot. My character, Lucija, loves to knit and sew. She’s also involved in LGBT+ rights in her country because they affect her as a person. Zephyr, while a prinxe and is supposed to inherit the throne one day, loves the sea and sailing. When it’s plot relevant or when you can, explore these interests. Let us see what else makes your characters excited (but don’t forget you have a story to write!).

Psychology. Okay, this one might be frustrating or boring or might not apply. When your character faces a traumatic event, they might not come out of it very mentally healthy. They might feel guilty for a long time (especially if this is a story where they’ve killed someone for the first time), they might suffer from depression. Explore their brain, explore how they react to these things. Let it become part of the plot in some way. For example, Aston killed his stepfather pre-story, this is something that follows him throughout, and is one of his driving motives (he needs money to pay for his little sister). He struggles with the guilt that came with killing his stepfather and not being able to protect his mother as a child. Aleks struggles with the fact she was bitten by a vampire.

Let their interests vary from yours.

Uhh. I think that’s it?? I’m sure there’s more, but that’s basically what I do!!

(everything else is under the read more because this got long)

💐 Your works are remarkably different from each other. How do you develop concepts that are so independently unique, especially when you have multiple WIPs?

I...don’t know, to be honest. I listen to a lot of music, which influences my stories. Glass Walls came from a dream and then for it, I tend to listen to a lot of punk bands such as Anti Flag and Rise Against (and also, political science major, which also influences the story lol).

I usually worry they all sound the same hfdjks

💠 Your writing style is easy-to-read and accessible yet intellectually rigorous. How did you teach yourself to strike this balance?

Spite. In all honesty, I hate long winded, giant paragraph stories that detail too much (Tolkien, ily but ugghhhh). Also a lot of practice. While my short stories are always shown at first draft, a lot of my other stuff, I do go in and edit and add or remove information that I feel is too much or too boring.

I also live off of feedback from my friends. It nourishes me.

🍁 Your use of sensory details makes me feel fully immersed in your writing. What wisdom can you give to writers who wish to do the same?

Practice! Play with words! Sometimes think, “How would I feel in this situation?” and describe it. Practice describing what you feel in certain moments, such as intense excitement, sadness, content, etc. And describe your surroundings too.

Like what I see out my window right now:

“The night floods the sky, and the orange lights from buildings casts soft orange glows and long shadows. The bikes are locked up and put away for the night, and dark outlines if people move quickly in the biting cold to get inside. The orange leaves sit on brown grass...”

Don’t be afraid for simplicity, because sometimes, simplicity is better than long windedness. Sometimes, you just feel happy or sad, those are different states of mind than elation and depression. 

But all in all, practice and play around. I think a thesaurus is okay to an extent but remember, English is a funny language where just because a word is in the same family, does not mean it’ll convey what you want it to convey and could very much have a different meaning.

#letters #writeblr positivity week #i got a little excited ngl #ladytauria