28 November 2013

Advice for Babybats!

After I saw this post by The Mutant Stomp Friends ages ago, it has crossed my mind quite a few times to write a similar post. But as hes was part of a challenge, mine isn't, and I'd taken time to write more than three points.

I wasn't familiar with the term Babybat until I began searching for goth on the internet. In school we called those kids fakers or posers. Since the time I went to highschool being goth wasn't so popular anymore, I remember clearly the huge emo craze when I was in middle school [about 2003]. It's really cute to remember it now, but a bit weird to actually still see emos in the city from time to time, as apparently in Germany they haven't been extinct....

But I'm writing this post not to smother Babybats or to make a laugh. I've thought what it would be like if the advises I'm about to give would have been given to me back when I was experimenting/ failing with outfits and so forth... Or perhaps, what I would want to advice a Babybat that I might have known [already knew a few, no one of them listened].


  • Know everything. I hope the command doesn't alarm you. I think it's quite important to know where the music that you're listening to came from, nevermind the genre. If it's hardcore and the like, know the origins, know when it began, know the roots. Same with metal; know the subgenres, know the dinosaur bands, explore! I think that when a person decides to identify himself with something [meaning this as not a bad thing, as it is not wrong to cling to something and find confidence in it by saying that you're a part of it, be it a musical genre or a style of clothing] he should respectively know what he's getting himself into, and if that person is crazy, let's say, about vampires, it's never harmful to know the key books/ films that have started the genre. That way you could also tell people what you like and share some history about it. Knowledge is only helpful.
    On a side note, if you're into different styles of "stuff" know everything about all of them. I also think it's awesome to know a little about everything, like knowing and appreciating different bands of 3 different genres that have made great influence on the musical style you like!


  • Don't buy a ton of clothes. Especially stuff that is too expensive and look very particular. When you are a teen, you're style changes constantly. I remember how I craved for a corset when I was 15 and was crazy about the Romantigoth style. After a year of wearing ruffled skirts I hanged all my victorian resembling clothes and never wore them again [never threw out them either, but about that later on in this post]. Don't pull cash from your parents to buy this one pair of trip pants that would probably look ridiculous to you in one or two years, maybe even in a few months! I always say- look for the goth clothes where people least expect them to be. I've mentioned here a couple of times that the rarest things I found were t second hand stores or cheapy random shops held by ethnic minorities downtown. Take time for your style to develop. Don't envy other people for having clothes you're dying to have right here right now, like a fancy Lolita dress or huge platform boots. Wait and be patient. It's a shame to waist a lot of money on something that will be of no use, making it very awkward each time your mother would remind you why don't you wear the beautiful velvet renaissance dress.
  • Make your own shit. Experiment, glue stuff to your clothes, put studs on everything, dye things, cut out holes everywhere, wear random junk you find in your closet! Continuing the clothing point, and this maybe is hard to understand when one is in the bloom of his Babybat years, but the commercial "goth" stores that sell everything you've ever dreamed of, are not worth it. When every idiot can buy himself some Demonia boots, a beautiful garment and call himself goth, what's it worth? Will it make him or you more special? Make your own clothes, learn how to sew and diy anything. The feeling of wearing something that says "you" is amazing. Soon, people will start asking where did you buy your cool stuff and will be jealous just like you were, before discovering that making your own things is not only cheaper, but it is what makes you alternative and different, if that's what makes you happy of course. Answering those people that you've made it yourself is like a huge victory with fireworks. Couldn't find a better description.



  • The magic of old clothes. I've discovered it again and again over the years. Finding old things in your wardrobe, modifying them or wearing them again with different outfits has made me cherish the clothes I have. It's such a magical moment, to discover how and item can serve you differently despite the change of style. That's why I haven't thrown our or sold my most favorite victorian items. I'm keeping them, either for the same purpose or in order to come back to them one day and see if I can pull them off differently.
  • When in doubt- copy! This is also something that helped me a lot. When you don't know what kind of makeup will suit your face, when you have no clue how you should dress or what is worn with what, just copy. The internet is full of ideas of talented people. It's not a shame not to find your own style in the beginning, nor after a few good years of exploration. Experimenting in such way can give you a good idea about what makeup style makes you look good or the way you like, what doesn't suit you at all, what kind of clothes you love and how to scramble cool outfits! It's probably the one thing everyone in the subculture has done at least once ;) Also, it's not bad to draw idea from your idols, like Siouxsie makeup!



  • There is no such thing as more or less goth. If you love being goth/ alternative, don't think that there is a scale from 1 to 10 on how you're doing it well. It's not a contest, it's not a stupid test, nor the other people who may explore goth like you should be compared to you or you to them. Be who you are, do what makes you feel happy, and don't think that you as you are now is not "goth enough" because *insert reason here*. There is no such thing, and if there were, then we'd all be running from goth like the plague. Remember that each person is a different story, and each person is special in their own way. Know that you yourself are special and there is no one in the world like you. The things you have overcome in your life are no better or worse than the things other people have overcome, hence there's absolutely no point in drilling the thought "I am better/ worse" into your head. If one would constantly think that he's better/ worse, one would never ever be happy, doesn't matter if he's goth or into something else. That's why next time you observe that cool person with the different tattoos and the funky colored hair, don't be jealous. He has a different life, you have yours.
    Also, don't try on purpose to be like someone else. Sure, copying someone's style is one thing, but acting and trying to live a life of another person is something else, and it's always looked down upon. It also won't develop you as a person, to say the least. Don't smoke because your favorite band leader smokes, don't try to impersonate another's personality on yourself.
  • Talk. If you're not feeling secure, if you're parents are everything but supporting- seek help. Talk to people online, watch youtubers, write a blog yourself and share your thoughts! Make friends online and in real life, also friends from different countries! Keeping in touch with people who are more experienced in the subculture can be a huge help and bring confidence. In the end people in the subculture are open minded and nice, despite how maybe the internet can project that. But I have no doubt that elder goths or people who have been a part of the subculture for a good amount of years would be happy to guide you and proved support on certain questions. Forums are also a good platform.

Hope you've enjoyed reading this post. I know there are plenty of different advises out there, but these were the ones I've felt personally important to mention. If you have something to add or if you disagree, please do comment! :)
Have a wonderful grey and cold weekend!


N. Finsternis

21 November 2013

My Favorite Internet Memes

I love the internet. We all do. Internet is where very important things in my life happen, may it sound tragic or not. I socialize there, I laugh there, I study there, I fill there my head with new random knowledge I wouldn't find anywhere else, I express myself there, I orientate myself with it, I listen to music there, I find closure for my childhood trauma of not having my own room as a kid + teenager by creating blogs/ profiles on web communities and therefore let my soul find peace again, there.... and the list is obviously endless.

But there is this thing that we all as a society fear off, is internet making us stupider and lazier, or bringing false values into our lives that we find super important but are actually "fake" because they are not essentially [nor physically] a part of our living world.
One of these things is the presence of internet jokes, like fail videos, games, and memes, that when looked upon arose a ton of emotion, but practically meaningless.
Well guess what? I'm crazy about those kind of things.

I love memes, not because it's a stupid picture/ cartoon that everyone can understand whatever the context it's being brought to or the language we speak, but because they are so meaninglessly hilarious.
Think about it, the pictures that we call memes, that are popping in almost every facebook conversation [and therefore making it two times funnier] won't even exist if the internet had never been invented.
But what I like most about memes if not their catchyness, but how highly creative the people who made them are. Even the simplest mobile photos can easily become popular and "catch up", making other people want to do the "same trick where you don't see whom the heads belong to when a couple is being photographed while embracing each other in a bad perspective".

Here I shall present a few of my favorite memes, some may not only be in English. Hope you'll enjoy! :)

Let's start with the classics:
Me Gusta


Me Gusta is very simple, you don't need to understand much [well, as far as memes could get...]. You can easily relate to any situation Me Gusta is brought in, and the various face adaptations like Robert Smith are hilarious!

Bad Luck Brian



This meme is pretty cruel, considering my well experience with bullying + how it is to awkward. But only by looking at the poor guy you ask yourself if the picture is too good to be true, and then you can't stop laughing. What makes this one so funny is the mere idea behind it that makes it so unfortunate each time! XD


Face Swapping:




There's not a lot to explain here. It's a hilarious idea and it's surreal!

And moving on to newer ones,
Pinterest Fail
 



What I love about this one is that people actually can laugh themselves, and I found a whole website dedicated to Pinterest fails where people not only post their fails but give advice on what they would do differently next time they try to pull the craft off. I find the food fails especially hilarious. 

Wat



There is also a Russian equivalent:


Lol Jesus



In The Way Guy


This is just so clever! The mass humiliation you get for ruining a proposal picture!


Before I introduce you to my favorite meme, I would like to share some Russian ones that maybe a few of my readers are familiar with :)

Безысходность - Despair
This is basically a meme combining cultural figures such as cartoon characters, tv celebrities and what not, black and white + forest paintbrush and you get your somewhat gothic meme, portraying the most naiive characters in a very dark and depressive way. Also the possible usage of dust in products such as cigarettes or chewing gum.

"Help Dora to find the meaning of Life".

"Will not save."





Показалось - Seemed like...
Your typical perspective tricks, but somehow in Russian it looks funnier.


Seemed like... - what did it seem like?



And alas, my favorite meme of all time:
Doge







Well, I had much fun doing this post! ;)
I hope you've enjoyed it, and please do share your favorite memes! You can also do a post about it that can be fun too :)
I know there are quite a lot goth memes out there, but I don't know how they're called so I couldn't find much. Well, maybe next time I'll do an alternative meme post, of punk, goth and metal memes!

Have a great misty weekend!

N. Finsternis