I was rewatching Teen Wolf and a lot of the characters really reminded me of the Elemasters characters (I am heavily considering making a post paralleling some of the characters cause it hits so hard), and this post immediately came to mind. It's fun and funny, and I hope you enjoy it.
Chris: Where are you getting your juice?
James: What?
Chris: Where. Are. You. Getting. Your. Juice?
James: I mean, my mom does the grocery shopping...
...
Dustin: I'm here to save my brother.
Bailey: I'm here to save my boyfriend.
James: ...I just didn't feel like doing any homework.
...
James, gesturing toward Chloe: Seriously, what is the point of her? Aside from the persistent negativity and the scarf?
...
Chloe: You're gonna find Chris by scent?
Dustin: We both are.
(Dustin hands Chloe Chris's clothing.)
Chloe, mumbling: How come he gets a shirt and I get a shoe?
...
Bailey: I'm not gonna be one of those whining teenage girls who looks at her father and says 'I hate you, I wish you were dead'.
Dustin: But...
Bailey: But... I hate him and I wish he was dead.
…
Mrs. Ying: You are officially grounded! No TV-
Dustin: My TV is broken.
Mrs. Ying: No computer!
Dustin: I need the computer for school.
Mrs. Ying: Well... no... no Bailey!
Bailey: No Bailey?
Mrs. Ying: No Bailey!
…
Chris: Seriously, Hoosiers is not only one of the best basketball movies of all time, but one of the greatest sports movies of our generation-
Chloe, sighing: No.
Chris: It’s an underrated masterpiece-
Chloe: No.
Chris: I am NOT watching The Notebook again.
Chloe: Mmmhhmm.
(A few moments later.)
Chris, walking into the video store: Can someone please help me find The Notebook?
...
Dustin: You didn't steal these, did you?
Bailey: No, I just cloned them. Using an RFID emulator.
Chloe: Is that worse than stealing?
Bailey: It's smarter.
…
Chloe, whispering to Dustin and Chris in class: Hey, left testicle and right testicle!
…
Chloe: And WHAT am I supposed to do about the mobs of people gathering outside?
Bailey: Who throws the best parties in all of Pacific Cove?
Chloe: Me! Obviously.
Bailey: So throw a party!
(Everyone else runs off.)
...
I could easily do a part two of this, it was so much fun and these characters are sooo Elemasters coded.
more elemasters based on old designs that i hadn't been using. I remember I designed the pink haired one (Ladora) when I was like super depressed and was like 'god idk this sucks its not at all like what i imagined' and now im so obsessed w her shes so hot
tho Miren isnt actually an elemaster, shes just an npc but i wanted to include her regardless
This is a special preview of the upcoming urban fantasy novel from Ginstuski - Elemasters. It's about five teenagers who discover their small seaside town is hiding some secrets and they may have some powers that they never thought possible. This is the first of three chapters that will be posted to give you a taste of the novel before it premieres on Amazon for purchase early next year.
Word Count: 2,200 words
Check out the website for the novel here.
...
CHAPTER ONE: IN TOO DEEP
PACIFIC COVE, WASHINGTON, 2006
When Dustin Ying was 7 years old, he learned a fun fact.
“70% of the human body is water,”
It was like the universe suddenly clicked into place for him; like he finally had a way to describe the way he experienced the world. The way his thoughts flowed in ways that weren’t always easy for others to track, how the true depth of his emotions couldn’t always be gleaned from the surface… and the pressure he was constantly living under.
Given his obsession, it was no surprise to his parents when he spent an entire summer at the beach, swimming from sunup to sundown; deeply familiarizing himself with the feeling of waves against his skin, the flow of the currents, and the way salt clung to his hair. It was even less of a surprise when he wanted to try out for the swim team freshman year, and less still when he quickly became their star member.
You’d think that’d be enough to make his mom and dad brag about him at every family gathering, or around the water cooler at work… or whatever the fuck people did in corporate offices.
Yeah, you’d think.
His parents’ lack of acknowledgement never stopped him from getting to school over an hour early, just to practice his dive, or take a few laps in the massive pool to clear his mind. It was a bit colder than he liked and filled with chlorine that made his skin feel weird; but he’d still much rather be there than at home when everyone else woke up.
And so, there he was, standing on the diving board overlooking that sparkling, blue rectangle that always welcomed him when no one else did. There was only one week left until the regional swim meet, and there was no better time to focus than this; before anyone else was around to break his concentration.
He stared down at the still water from the 3-meter diving board and inhaled deeply. He rolled his shoulders back, bounced once on the board… and then launched himself into the air, twirling dramatically on the descent until he sliced through the surface of the water like a precision instrument. In an instant, the world above was gone, leaving him alone with nothing but the sound of his heart beating in his ears and the feeling of currents rippling against his bare skin.
This was the part no one ever saw. People clapped when he got out of the pool, wet and breathless. They looked impressed when his name hit the leaderboard. But none of them understood this; the weightlessness, the silence, the way the world dulled and drifted away like the tide. Down here, time didn’t tick forward, it pulsed. That was the only way Dustin could ever describe it.
He stayed there as long as he could stand it, just floating and letting himself think. Eventually, however, his mortality came knocking; his lungs burning in that eternally familiar way that only served to remind him of his limitations.
He kicked his legs and propelled himself to the surface, and the moment the air came rushing back to him, so did everything else; the bullshit calculus test he had in fourth period, the too-loud hallway he’d inevitably have to step into sooner than later, that weird silence at dinner the night before that stretched until his brother joined them…
Dustin shook his head and glanced at the clock on the far wall.
6:45am
He still had an hour before any of that shit would matter, and he was going to make the most of it.
…
By the time Dustin had showered, dressed, and stuffed his still-damp swim gear into his gym bag, Yuri Kochiyama High School had fully roared to life. The halls were humming with noise; lockers clanging, sneakers squeaking, someone’s Motorola Razr chiming with a song that was catchy a couple of months ago but had been annoying ever since.
Dustin slipped in with the early crowd; hair still wet at the roots, headphones on and plugged into his iPod nano, but no music was playing. That way he could pretend like he couldn’t hear anyone, without actually limiting his spatial awareness.
He moved like a ghost, just another half-asleep senior in a sea of faces. He kept his head down, eyes on his schedule even though school had started months ago and he’d long since memorized it. Anything to avoid eye contact.
That worked fine until Bailey Yu came into view, orbiting the vending machines like a planet made of pink, plastic, and overconfidence.
“Dusty!” she sang, like she hadn’t just blasted through the noise-canceling barrier of his fake music bubble.
He flinched internally… well, mostly internally.
“M-morning Bailey,”
She wore a neon yellow bomber jacket over a tight pink graphic tee that said GOD IS A WOMAN AND SHE HAS LIP GLOSS, paired with a tiered denim skirt and platform boots that made her at least four inches taller than she was the day before. Her makeup was glittery and precise, and her smile was that brand of intense that made it impossible to tell whether she was delighted or deranged.
Some people saw her as an icon, most saw her as a neon nightmare and called her names that Dustin wouldn’t dare repeat. But to him, she was just… Bailey. His best friend who’d always been there for him. There for the late night calls when he was spiraling after yet another awkward dinner. There to smoothly save him when he’d frozen up during the morning announcements and stumbled over his words. There to cover for him with a convenient excuse when he was caught staring at one of the boys in gym for a few seconds too long…
“Big meet coming up, yeah?” she said, popping open her Red Bull with a long, glittery press-on, “you better kick ass or else I will have made a giant sign for nothing,”
“I always do, don’t I?”
“Good. I’ll be damned if I use my glitter-glue for no good reason,” Bailey replied with a wink, taking a big gulp of her energy drink, “so… you’re gonna be at the bonfire tonight, right?”
Ah, right. That.
The bonfire that the senior class had every year to celebrate the last vestiges of fall before winter arrived in earnest. It was a Kochiyama High tradition; even Dustin’s parents had done it back in their heyday. Honestly though, he’d completely forgotten about it.
“I don’t know, doesn’t really seem like my scene,” he shrugged, “I don’t drink, and I only smoke every now and then. Besides, the only friend I’d have there would be you,”
“I’m the only friend you have anywhere,” Bailey quickly corrected him with a giggle, “you should still come though! I bet James Zhang is gonna be there,”
Dustin stiffened, his cheeks flushing red.
“S-shut up!” he hissed, though it had no venom, “look, I gotta get to class. I’ll catch you at lunch, alright?”
“Fine, fine. But think about it, k’ Dusty?”
Dustin shot her a thumbs up as he continued making his way to his locker, trying to will away the blush still creeping across his face.
…
Dustin hit his locker, grabbed his AP History textbook and immediately headed to class; the entire time he’d been in the halls, he felt like there was a specter looming over him. An unspoken dread that he knew all too well. There was one particular person he had no energy to see that morning, and, at least so far, he was lucky enough to avoid them altogether…
At least, until he had to cut through the main lobby.
Right next to the giant trophy case, stood a few members of the basketball team; The Kochiyama Orcas. Usually, it would be easy enough for Dustin to ignore them entirely, and they’d likely do the same to him.
But of course, right in the center of the group was someone Dustin couldn’t ignore… no matter how much he wanted to sometimes.
Chris Ying; his dumb ass twin brother, leaning casually against the glass case, running a hand through his freshly bleached hair for no other reason than to flex his arms in his Ed Hardy tank.
Dustin didn’t hate Chris. He couldn’t; not only were they twins, but there was a time when they were incredibly close. Before Dustin had Bailey, Chris was the one he shared everything with, and Chris championed him in return. He was the one standing up for him when the bullying started, the one forcing their parents to notice him when it seems they only had time and attention for one of their sons. And now, even though their social circles had diverged, Chris was always cheering him on… in his own way.
Dustin’s disdain wasn’t rooted in anger toward his brother, it was just… everything. The way he was so effortlessly confident, the way everyone gravitated to him like a human magnet. And most of all, the fact that they had the same face; the same high cheekbones large expressive eyes, and sharp jawline. Hell, the only difference between them was that Chris had a small scar across his upper lip; barely even noticeable, but the only real way to tell the two apart.
But somehow, everyone saw Dustin as soft, thoughtful, maybe even forgettable… but on Chris those same features looked model-esque and downright magnetic.
Dustin stopped for a moment, knowing he didn’t have the bandwidth to deal with any bullshit that morning.
But he still had to walk this way to get to class on time… so, he adjusted his headphones to reestablish the illusion that they were actually playing music, and prepared to walk right past the group like he hadn’t even noticed them.
But unfortunately, one of them noticed him; Spinner, the tallest one on the team, with the lowest IQ (if any of Dustin’s past run-ins with him were to be believed).
“Chris, bro, I cannot believe you’re actually related to that emo freak,”
Dustin’s shoulders tensed; slightly. Imperceptible. He’d heard worse than that a million times, he’d just keep walking and ignore that asshole.
Of course it couldn’t be that simple.
“I can’t believe it either man. Looks like God only had enough swag for one of us,”
Hearing that from Chris, who probably thought his words wouldn’t make it through the headphones, forced Dustin to stop in his tracks. He whipped his head around and shot eye-daggers at his brother, causing Chris’s face to go pale and his expression to drop immediately.
Before Chris could say anything, Dustin had already turned on his heel and started storming down the hallway, hoping to just get into his classroom and forget he’d ever heard anything.
But as always, Chris moved faster.
“Bro, wait! Dustin, it was just a fucking joke dude, chill,” he called out, grabbing Dustin’s shoulder the moment he caught up to him, “don’t take shit so seriously all the time,”
“Just because you’re joking doesn’t mean I have to think it’s funny,” Dustin immediately shot back, shrugging Chris’s hand off him.
“Alright, alright fine. Look, why don’t you come to the bonfire with me tonight? Me and Bailey will make sure you look dope as fuck, and maybe you can finally hook up with that dude on the swim team that’s always staring at your ass. What’s his name, Leon?”
Without hesitation, Dustin flicked Chris’s ear, causing the latter to dramatically recoil in pain.
“Keep your voice down idiot. Unless you’re trying to out me to the entire school,” Dustin hissed, “and his name is Leo! It doesn’t even matter, I’m skipping it anyway,”
“I think the fuck not sir! You already missed Homecoming; your whole life can’t be swim training and jerking off. You only get one senior year… well, unless you’re Bobby Arrington that is,” Chris gestured to the 20-year-old senior with a patchy beard just as he passed by them, “we’ve gotta make it count. Do it for me? Your beloved big bro?”
Dustin let out another sigh. He really would rather swim a few more laps after school and then head home to relax… but he also knew that Chris would never let him hear the fucking end of it if he didn’t go. The last thing he needed was to spend the rest of their lives being badgered about the time he didn’t go to the senior class bonfire; that was not the kind of story he wanted his future grandkids hearing about.
“Alright, fine. I’ll go, but only because you won’t fucking leave me alone about it,”
Chris broke into a wide grin.
“Why would I ever do that? Cradle to grave baby bro, cradle to grave,”
Dustin had heard that phrase from Chris a million times; it was supposed to be a way of cementing their bond. The fact that they’d known each other since the beginning, and they’d ride or die together until the end…
The unfortunate reality was that Chris usually said it to soften Dustin up before they engaged in truly unhinged behavior.
Hopefully this wouldn’t be one of those times; the last thing Dustin needed was to die at some stupid senior party he didn’t even wanna go to.
Then again, what was the worst that could happen? It wouldn’t be the first time he’d spent his night cleaning up Chris’s puke. Or being forced to serve as the DD because everyone was shitfaced but him.
Annoying? Yes. But ultimately survivable.
He’d just need to do what he always did, and the evening would pass quickly without any problems.
Take a deep breath, and endure.
...
If you're reading this today, then tomorrow there will be another special preview chapter, so keep your eyes peeled for that. For now, you can check out the website if you want to learn more about the characters, or check out the Masters Monday tag on this blog to see more posts I have made on this blog about them.
Definitely follow this blog and stick around for more updates if this has interested you at all <3
Dustin dresses in a very typical emo style. But mostly, he dresses more for function everyday than he does for flash, so he doesn’t always wear a lot of accessories, and he doesn't put a lot of effort into his overall appearance.
He wears mostly black so that his clothes are easy to match to each other, and he wears mostly graphic shirts - he can be seen wearing a shirt with an album cover or artist logo almost every single day, and he wears a lot of band merch from concerts that he has gone to. And because of the types of bands that he listens to, those are mostly black shirts with different logos and graphics on them. He also wears a lot of hoodies (also black), and the occasional denim jacket (again, usually black). He wears skinny jeans, but not super skin tight ones, and sometimes he will wear a studded belt or black jelly bracelets - accessories that he doesn’t have to put much thought into.
His go-to shoes are black converse, and his favourite pair have writing all over them courtesy of his best friend Bailey - when you spend a few too many boring classes sitting with your legs in someone’s lap, you end up with Evanescence lyrics written on the sole of your shoe in black glitter pen.
Dustin likes simplicity in his clothing, and he likes to blend into the background of life, like a stage-hand dressing in all black - someone who can be easily ignored, unlike the people who are meant to take center stage.
Dustin used to dress very differently when he first entered high school, when his life was more about his band Colorful Trauma and promoting them, he dressed a lot more eccentrically and embraced his band persona, inspired by the lead singer of L'Arc-en-Ciel. This meant tight leather pants, glittery combat boots, fishnet tops, cropped tops showing off a belly button piercing that he has since tried to forget about. He wore layered belts, layered necklaces, lots of eyeliner and glittery eyeshadow, and he generally stood out a lot more. But that is a wardrobe he has boxed up and forgotten by now, and one that he definitely won’t ever be getting out again…
There’s no need to shake things up when his current clothes work fine, right?
...
Chris Ying - The Classic Fuckboy Jock
Chris is the type of guy who has three looks, and that’s it.
When he wants to get dressed up, he is the type of guy you would look at and immediately think of as a complete douchebag. He wears Aeropastle, Ed Hardy, bedazzled jeans, and he has his ears pierced and he wears diamond studs in his ears that stick out of his primped, straightened and hair-sprayed platinum blond hair. He puts a lot of effort into his appearance if he’s going to a party, and he is absolutely the kind of guy you would read as a ‘rich pretty boy’, especially by the brands of clothing he wears, and how pristine he keeps his clothing. He likes to look good, and he takes a lot of pride in his appearance. And oddly enough, this does cause people to judge him, just in different ways than they would someone who is dressed very eccentrically.
But most of the time, on a regular basis, when there’s not some party to attend or some occasion called for, he can be seen sporting one of his other two looks.
He wears a lot of athleisure - he is a jock, and he definitely dresses like one. He plays a lot of sports or spends time working out, so it just makes sense for his life. Again, he is always seen in expensive brands, and a lot of the time he’s seen wearing sports clothing with school logos on it from his various years on school sports teams. It’s rare that he’s not wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt or some form of basketball shorts with very expensive sneakers.
And his third look is: practically naked with some very old, worn, comfortable pajama pants. Anytime he’s at home, he hates clothing, and he wears the same pair of comfortable, worn-in pajama pants until they’re nearly ripping at the seams and begging for mercy, and then repeats the cycle with a new pair. Pants that were probably stolen from Dustin in order to be well-worn before he got to them.
He is very predictable in the things he wears, and his style matches his lifestyle completely. Thanks to his clothing and his outward appearance, not a lot of people bother to look deeper and find the Chris beneath the air-brushed Ed Hardy shirts and the predictable sports gear. Even if they did, what would they see?
...
Chloe Li - The "It" Girl
Chloe is the definition of an ‘it’ girl, and her clothes absolutely speak to that. She wears a lot of trendy clothing - Juicy Couture matching sets, New Religion jeans, Playboy bedazzled shirts. She is everything a popular girl of the time should be: shiny, pink, polished, perfect.
But as the daughter of a fashion designer, she is also ahead of the curve in a lot of ways and she is a trendsetter who is making waves with a lot of new styles. She is not afraid of bold patterns, bright colours, and of course, all her outfits are made with luxurious, expensive fabrics. And if her clothes not made by herself or her mother, they come from other expensive, designer brands. Everyone always watches out to see what she’s wearing and then follows her, and this puts immense pressure on her to be constantly perfect and to wear only the best for even the most average day of school.
She is always sporting a designer handbag on her arm, and she is well known for wearing heels almost everywhere, even if they are a highly impractical shoe - she will take style over function any day, and gorgeous, designer heels always complete her picture perfect outfits.
It’s rare for her not to be absolutely polished and perfect. With her mother’s entire brand resting on her back, she’s not just a girl, not just an average high school student - she is a walking advertisement for an entire company, one that will likely be her legacy someday. So of course, she can be nothing less than perfect at all times. No pressure, right?
Bailey Yu - The Wild Colorful Girl
Bailey has a very unique sense of style. On her journey of self discovery, discovering her true gender identity and getting to truly express it, she realized that other people’s ideas of ‘normal’ and ‘typical’ are absolutely overrated. If she is going to stand out at her high school due to being the only trans person, then she is going to stand out due to be awesomely, wildly dressed as well. People are going to stare, so let them stare for a reason.
Bailey’s style could be described as ‘scene girl’ - that’s probably what a lot of people would call it at first glance, but she is a lot more complex than that, way too complex to fit into any box. She does love the graphic tee shirts and layered, chunky jewelry that a lot of scene girls wear, but she also loves wearing head to toe colorful outfits, platform boots, and she usually prefers different skirts and dresses with wildly colorful and patterned tights instead of on trend skinny jeans. To her, every single day is an excuse to show off her awesome fashion, and she will always be the most over dressed person in the room.
She is also obsessed with accessories, and while Coco Chanel said ‘you should look in the mirror and take one thing off before leaving the house’, Bailey believes in the opposite - you should find one more thing put on in order to make yourself stand out and look totally fabulous. (And Coco Chanel was a Nazi sympathizer, so who the hell wants to take advice from that old cow?).
Bailey is the type of girl who likes to make her own accessories for fun - making her own jewelry, and even going so far as to make cute accessories out of unexpected ‘junk’. She makes buttons out of bottlecaps, has made earrings out of old computer chips, and one time she even made a handbag out of one of her old childhood stuffed animals - which was difficult to explain when Dustin came into her room one day and found her gutting poor Gengar. But hey, anything for fashion.
Bailey is someone who loves openly expressing herself with her style, and spiting society’s expectations while doing it, and that’s not likely to change anytime soon. The world would be pretty boring without anybody to challenge the status quo, right?
...
James Zhang - The Thrift King
James is a thrift god.
His love for vintage fashion started in his own basement at home. He already loves everything outdated: movies, shows, music. It might be a tired stereotype, but he thinks that he was born in the wrong era. He definitely relates to ET more than anybody among his peers. So when he found several boxes of his parents vintage clothes from the 70s and 80s in the basement, he fell in love. Old corduroy pants, denim overalls, and lots and lots of vintage t-shirts with cool old logos that are already worn down and comfortable - let’s just say he hasn’t bought new clothing (except for underwear, of course) in a long, long time.
He much prefers bidding people up on E-Bay for vintage denim jackets and spending hours at the hyper-curated thrift store a few towns over scanning the racks for vintage Star Wars t-shirts than to give into whatever the latest trend is. To him, nothing beats the comfort of wearing a pair of vintage jeans that have already been broken in. (And no, he doesn’t want to talk about how nagging and sensitive his skin is and how he would probably prefer not to wear clothes at all.)
He loves it when his clothes have character - when his secondhand Chuck Taylors have scuffs on them, when his jeans might have a rip or two, unintentionally, unlike buying them ‘pre-distressed’.
And just as he does with the different clubs and hobbies that he has tried out, he can be very experimental with his style, too. While his usual signature style is a simple pair of jeans and a graphic t-shirt, he can be known to show up to school wearing a ridiculous fancy hat, a fancy vintage vest and button up shirt, or even cowboy boots if he’s in the mood.
His closet is full of one-time style experiments that he tried on, enjoyed, and then never went back to during his general exploration of life and himself. A bright neon windbreaker from the 80s may not have been true James, but he’s glad that he wore it out, showed it off, and tried. He’s okay with people staring at him when he wears weird clothes because it means that he’s truly living it up. And a lot of the time, even if he doesn’t look good, they’re good conversation starters.
There’s nothing worse than sitting on the sidelines and not being seen at all, right?
...
(A/N: That's all for now! I really had fun exploring this because clothing and style is such a great way to showcase a character, and I had a lot of fun exploring the characters more through this. -Mod Sunny ☀️)
What are the characters from Elemasters listening to?
Masters Monday - Part 1/??
It’s 2006. MySpace is hot, your Juicy Couture Sweats are bedazzled, and Rawr XD is the only way to properly say ‘I love you’ - so of course, we have to ask: what are the characters from the upcoming urban fantasy novel Elemasters listening to?
Note: not every single artist mentioned here was making music in 2006, which is the year that the novel takes place in, but if Stranger Things can be anachronistic by a year or two, then so can Elemasters. It’s more about the all important vibes than anything else. - Mod Sunny ☀️
Dustin is listening to Still Not Getting Any… by Simple Plan
Dusting Ying is a walking stereotype - he wears eyeliner, skinny jeans, and anything that’s not black is absolutely not welcome in his closet. And even though he’s an expert swimmer and the star of the swimteam, he would scoff at being called a ‘jock’ in any sense of the word. So naturally, his CD collection and his messy drawer of graphic t-shirts is filled with Evanescence, Sum41, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday, and Asking Alexandria, as well as some J-Rock artists that suit his vibe, like his all time favourite, L'Arc-en-Ciel. Also solo artists Gackt, Miyavi, and the band The Gazette.
But by far, one of his favourite artists is Simple Plan. Somehow, of all the bands that he likes to listen to, he relates to their music the most. With the themes of social isolation and feeling outcast, he often listens to their music and feels like it was written just for him. But by far his favourite album by them is Still Not Getting Any… from 2004.
His favourite songs from the album are Shut Up! - a song that demonstrates how he truly feels about his entirely complicated relationship with his overly critical parents. ‘It seems like everyday, I make mistakes, I just can’t get it right. It’s like I’m the one you love to hate.’
And Welcome To My Life - which truly shows how alone he feels, standing in a crowd every single day at school or showing up to the rare social event that he goes to and still feeling so damn invisible. ‘To feel hurt, to feel lost, to be left out in the dark. To be kicked when you’re down - to feel like you’ve been pushed around. To be on edge of breaking down, and no one’s there to save you’. Yeah, that’s definitely Dustin’s life.
Bailey is listening to Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge by My Chemical Romance
Bailey Yu is a classic scene girl. She’s colorful, bright, spunky, and of course, this reflects in her music taste. She loves to have a good time, but she also feels her emotions incredibly deeply, and her music collection reflects all of this. She loves electronic music like Blood On The Dancefloor, Lady Gaga, and 3OH! 3, but she also loves her emo bands, like Paramore, Green Day, Panic! At The Disco, and Dashboard Confessional.
But her favourite band of all time has to be My Chemical Romance. She loves the power behind their music, how they make music for outcasts to finally feel like they have an upper hand, and though you would probably never consider her to be an angry person if you knew her, she listens to their music and feels all the fire and anger of rebellion and does the hardest possible thing - swallows it down deep and turns it into kindness in her everyday life.
Her favourite album from the band is Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge from 2004. She loves copying the dance from the Helena music video, even if it takes way too long to load on her dial-up internet in order to watch it, but by far her favourite songs from the album are:
Thank You For The Venom - a song that helps her swallow down the vicious bullying she experiences for being trans and recycle it into personal power, remembering that any harsh words people throw at her don’t matter. ‘You’ll never make me leave, I wear this on my sleeve, give me a reason to believe… so give me all your poison, and give me all your pills. And give me all your hopeless hearts, and make me ill. You’re running after something that you’ll never kill.’
And I’m Not Okay (I Promise) - a song reminding herself that as much as she wants to, she doesn’t need to hold it together all the time. She tries to be perfect, but sometimes, she does need to let things go. ‘I’m not okay, I’m not okay, you wear me out.’
Bailey is sweet, fun, and bubbly on the surface, but she is a lot more than she seems.
Chris is listening to Fix Me by Marianas Trench
Chris Ying is somehow the complete opposite of Dustin, even though they’re twin brothers. Even though his original passion in life was hip-hop dancing, he came to be a high school jock, embracing every single aspect of the ‘jock’ label - wearing an athletic windbreaker or a lettermen jacket through the halls of Kochiyama High so that everyone knows he’s the star player of the basketball team, going to all the team’s parties and events, and dedicating game-winning shots to girls in the audience with a wink in order to score dates with the school’s hottest babes. (A trick that works every single time, might he have you know.)
And of course, the collection of CDs that he keeps in the old 1978 Cadillac Seville that he shares with his brother is only music that you would find bumping at high school parties where the most popular kids congregate. Music that he likes to blast through the speakers while driving at top speed, of course. He loves old school hip-hop like 2Pac, The Notorious B.I.G., Ice Cube, and Dr. Dre, and he loves newer hip-hop like Jay-Z, 50 Cent, and Lil-Wayne. He loves the rhythmic thumping through the car’s speakers when he speeds down the desolate roads around Pacific Cove, and he appreciates the clever lyrics, and he does relate to many rapper’s themes about being more than people see you as at first glance.
But occasionally, when he’s all alone, he does dip into listening to more emotional rock music that his jock friends would judge him for listening to - like Coldplay, Nickelback, and even Marianas Trench.
And one of his favourite albums that he deeply connects with on a personal emotional level is Fix Me from 2006.
His favourite songs from the album are Alibis - a song that perfectly captures how he feels in the spotlight, constantly under the social microscope of Kochiyama High and his parents, feeling like he needs to be constantly perfect but at the same time, everyone expects him to mess up and has stunningly low expectations of him outside of his athletic pursuits. ‘This is not the man I hoped to be, and I’m just trying to stop the bleeding. I don’t know how to word it, I just started to deserve it. And all my, all my faces are alibis. And me? I’m half the man I wanted to be.’
And Decided To Break It - which really demonstrates his equally complex relationship with his parents, how they keep him on such a short leash, expecting him to do something wrong, until he finally snaps and falls right into their expectations of him, which is a huge contrast to his seemingly perfect independent brother Dustin. ‘I’m the bad seed - I think I swallowed it whole. You’re the compromise, that never falls through, never left behind. Wanna break down? A thousand promises that never seemed to help me before. A hundred less and I would stumble till I found the back door.’
Chloe is listening to Blackout by Britney Spears
Chloe Li is the ‘it’ girl of Kochiyama High, she wouldn’t be caught listening to anything that’s not popular and not on trend. Even though she still enjoys the classical music that her mother had her growing up listening to - always trying to achieve perfection, believing that it would give her a higher IQ to listen to Beethoven and Bach while in preschool, sometimes she still finds herself humming the notes of some numbers from Swan Lake and reminiscing about her middle school dance recitals. These days, Chloe has much more say over her own listening habits, even if her mother hasn’t loosened the reins much and still wants her to be a pillar of perfection that everyone should look up to.
Even if she might like the emo music she hears Dustin blasting, and even if she finds herself singing along to some of Chris’s classic rap, she can’t be caught with anything but the best, trendy pop girl music on her pink i-pod shuffle. Of course, she skews more toward the R&B side of pop because it suits her personal taste more. She loves Beyonce, TLC, and Mariah Carrey, but she also loves some of the more basic pop divas like Christina Aguilera, P!nk, Gwen Stefani, and of course, Britney Spears.
Hearing the album Blackout for the first time in 2007 was an event for Chloe - the album’s themes of social persecution and constantly being the center of unwanted attention and criticism was something she related to so deeply as someone who was always under intense public examination in the small town of Pacific Cove. She is a Britney in her own right, only on a much smaller scale.
So of course, she deeply relates to the songs, including:
Piece Of Me - a song that speaks to how she feels dissected by her peers who constantly judge her by appearance and rush to fit her into stereotypes while never getting to know her on a more personal level. Many people would never have pity for a rich, pretty, popular girl, but when everyone is quick to judge, it can be an incredibly isolating experience. ‘I’m Mrs. Lifestyles of The Rich and Famous. (You want a piece of me?) I’m Mrs. Oh My God, that Britney’s shameless! (You want a piece of me?) I’m Mrs. Extra, Extra, this just in! (You want a piece of me?) I’m Mrs. She’s Too Big, Now She’s Too Thin. (You want a piece of me?)’
And Why Should I Be Sad? - another song about people’s judgments of her, especially reminding her of her mother’s exacting expectations of her, and the fact that she struggles with conventional relationships because she’s asexual, even though she knows that it’s what everyone expects of her. A pretty girl should have a boyfriend, but she can’t seem to get that part ‘right’ in their eyes. ‘Why should I be sad? Heaven knows. From the stupid freaking things that you do. Why should I get mad? Feel sad? Who knows? Just take it all as a sign that we’re through.’
James is listening to Nimrod by Green Day
James Zhang is a little bit of everything - literally. He used to be someone quiet, someone who would blend into the background, but after a particular incident on the night of the Junior Prom last year, he has decided that life is not for wasting and he wants to taste a bit of everything. He dips his toes into everything, joining every club, learning new instruments, and always casting himself as the center of attention with loud jokes and epic entrances wherever he goes. And his music taste is much the same - there’s not much he doesn’t like; from the old jazz albums he found in his dad’s collection to his mom’s favored 80s pop, to whatever is popular on the radio, he finds himself singing along to a bit of everything.
But his particular favourites are 90s rock like Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Foo Fighters, and some more recent ones like Fall Out Boy, Linkin Park, Blink-182, and his all time favourite, Green Day. And his all time favourite album from them, one he deeply relates to, is Nimrod from 1997.
His favourite songs from the album are:
Nice Guys Finish Last - which sums up his feelings about how he appears happy and cheerful on the outside, but drifting from activity to activity often means that he never connects with anyone on a deep personal level, and he feels like he doesn’t have any true, good, close friends. He puts on a smile and appears happy and bright on the outside, but he often fears that he’s not truly likeable in order for anybody to want to seek a deeper connection with him. ‘I’m so fucking happy I could cry, every joke can have its truth, but now the joke’s on you. I never knew you were such a funny guy! Oh, nice guys finish last, when you are the outcast.’
And Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) - a song that he considers a personal anthem, reminding him of how precious his life is after he got into a near deadly car accident and was saved by someone very special. He now chooses to do everything in life instead of sitting back as a wallflower, and this song always reminds him of that. ‘Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road. Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go - so make the best of this test and don’t ask why. It’s not a question, but a lesson learned in time. It’s something unpredictable, but in the end, it’s right. I hope you had the time of your life.’
