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posarmeklen · 8 months ago

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Don’t you hate when you turn your back for a minute at your dead-end copy job (sorry, dead-end desktop publishing job), and all of a sudden, one half of your sister’s cool teen quartet along with your horndog conspiracist friend are holding paper products (er, helping with a big job) and flapping their lips about the latter’s fairly new unplanned pregnancy?

It was just a coincidence that Goat swung by to visit Alex at Repro Man’s shortly after Fruity and Matt came in, and even though they had heard through Chaka (who, naturally, knew because of Alex) that the older man was in a “delicate” condition, it was their first time bumping into him in person since.

Hearing Fruity’s compliments, Matt turned around from the poster in his hands. “Oh, hey, Goat,” he greeted him.

“Hey, Matt, what’s up?”

“Probably nothing compared to what’s up with you, right?”

“Yeah, I’ve been busy.” Goat coughed.

“Yeah, you know, my cousin just had a baby a couple months ago,” Matt offered up. “I’m not gonna lie, it wasn’t easy for her, but she said it was totally worth it. You know, yin and yang and all that.”

“Hey, I don’t think this situation calls for the poetry.” Fruity made a disapproving smacking sound with his lips. “Man, can’t you just leave this beautiful thing be?” Goat smirked.

“Chill out, alright?” said Matt, gingerly transferring a large stack of paper from Fruity’s hands to his own and placing it by the copier. “I was just going to ask how he’s taking it.”

“Well,” Goat said emphatically. “Do you want the miracle-of-life Demi Moore Vanity Fair edition, or the cold unabridged truth?” His words conjured an image of himself, au naturel and assuming the pose of the actress, which subsequently splintered and fell away like a broken pane of glass.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less than the second one from you.” Matt smiled.

“Oh, it’s fuckin’ brutal,” he asserted. “Imagine the most head-splitting zombifying hangover, with none of the fun from the night before.”

Fruity raised his eyebrows. “None?”

“Oooh, rough…” Matt mumbled sympathetically.

“My back hurts all time. Everything’s sweaty. Plus, on top of that, I can’t really see my junk. It makes for a challenge when women’s volleyball is on and I wanna –”

“Alright, alright…” Matt’s laugh cut the description of his plight short. “I think we get the picture.”

“Hey, we’re all guys here!” grinned Fruity, giving an open-palmed shrug.

“I will say, it’s not a total loss,” Goat went on. “I seem to have unlocked a brand-new level of savoring life’s pleasures.”

“Oh, because you had trouble with that before, right?” teased Matt.

“Eh, I don’t know, but this baby must love Ring-Dings and Bud Light.”

“Hey, and at least the ladies eat up this stuff,” Fruity said. “You know, feeling the baby kick and comparing its size to a dill pickle and crap. They must be all over you.”

“Uh, yeah, yeah, right on.” Goat looked past him, letting out a sigh. “Is there a bathroom in this place? I gotta take a leak.”

“Yeah, right over by the back wall,” said Matt.

“I won’t keep you,” Fruity added, motioning in the general direction of the door.

So anyway, when it comes to Fruity’s comment re: the “fairer sex” and pregnancy, I would be remiss not to mention the kindred spirit Goat hit it off with, the child’s second parent (seen in my Downtown posts of yesteryear. However, I did change her name for some reason. Friendship ended with “Jackie”, “Kasey” is my best friend now). *clears my throat and shuffles flashcards* There came a point of awareness that despite their similarities, they were at really different life stages (Goat had been doing his own thing for years, but Kasey, a trans woman who was Goat’s age, had been living as herself for a fraction of that and was relishing her freedom) and while Goat initially hadn’t changed his lifestyle a bit to accommodate the pregnancy, she didn’t want to live like him forever and begrudged his seeming lack of trying. Words were exchanged, and the pair went their separate ways. Not to worry – they would soon rekindle, and both put forth effort to be healthier (in Goat’s case, he was mostly propelled by the knowledge of his physical condition; in Kasey’s, she was inspired to show a sort of solidarity with him, plus she would soon be a parent as well, despite not physically being pregnant). But given their respective issues, neither swayed the other in a positive direction, and they soon reached the disappointing yet amicable conclusion that they were perhaps too alike to remain close. And in the midst of that, they just knew neither of them were cut out to raise children (what were we thinking?) – so wish granted for a lucky adoptive parent(s). But I digress… I wonder if some of this diverted him from regaling Fruity and Matt with salacious tales when given the opportunity.

Also, by the way? Even though Fruity was being facetious in my picture and Goat wouldn’t name his offspring after himself, he and the aforementioned second parent did discover at an ultrasound (the first and only; Goat completely forgot about an appointment scheduled earlier in the pregnancy 😑) that the fetus was male. Goat after he and Kasey exchanged an overwhelmed glance and muttered fragmented agreeable noises upon being asked if they were interested in finding out the baby’s sex today: “Rock on! Built-in apprentice and wingman, here I come…” *medical technician politely chuckling intensifies*

#my art #mpreg #fanart

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strangerthingsfanworkrecs · 2 months ago

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Hi! I would love to rec artist alicetallula! When I tell you that they are an absolute machine with how much art they create, how many events they participate in, and not just your typical steddie. SO MANY RARE PAIRS. 😍

Introducing @alicetallula

We're highlighting Tallula for their art! All recs tagged #alicetallula will be for their works.

Tallula answered a few questions about their works below

What's a fandom interaction that made you really happy?

Any time I meet my authors for the different BBs and RBBs, or when I get reblogs with hashtags about the art or comments on my artworks. They make my day for sure 😊💕

What's your favorite character or aspect of Stranger Things to create for?

I love the Stephen King vibes of the show - especially the first two seasons. But also I love a lot of the characters. I just want to draw them all, especially in happy situations because of all the trauma they're going through xD

What's your artistic process like? Any tools you favor?

I usually get hit by an idea, either by seeing something online or my brain just has a stroke of genius suddenly xD I then do some references research for poses, outfits, potential Photoshop brushes if I need any for later in the editing phase. I do traditional art so it's deciding between an A4 or A5 format, 80% of the time nowadays I do A5. Then I do a loose sketch of the poses, no details, just rough shapes, then a rough sketch where I had most of the details. After that I do my linearts with ink pens, gel pens and sometimes acrylic paint pens depending on my 'color palette'. Then it's on to colorblocking with ink pens and alcohol markers, I add some shadows during that process, especially when it's clothing. After that I do watercolors for the skintones and any colors I don't have in my ink pens and alcohol markers sets :3 I add some shadows in the skintones, lips and the corners of the eyes with colored pencils, and lastly I add any details like jewelry by using metallic acrylic paint pens. I then do contours with either my acrylic paint pens, metallic or not and my backgrounds are either done using ink pens, or alcohol markers or watercolors depending on how detailed they are. After all of this it's onto scanning and editing on Photoshop where I color correct things, play around with the exposure and contrast and black and shadows. Editing out blemishes on the paper or mistakes and finally adding effect like lace, or freckles, or anything I want to do with different free brush sets I have (and sometimes different fonts if it's for banners for BBs or RBBs) Roughly an artwork takes at least 5-10hrs - then depending on how much I edit another 1-5hrs of editing (sometimes more depending on how complex I decide to go for - for instance for the banner for Bad Moon Rising, it took me total more than 15hrs on editing on top of the rest of the process because I had something specific in mind) :3

What was it like to work on the corrodedcoffinfest wild animals piece?

For this project I knew from the get-go I wanted to draw all the CC boys despite never having drawn Jeff or Freak. And I knew I wanted to draw them with pets, more or less unconventional. Then it was a matter of deciding on what to give each one of them :3 The raccoon was immediately what I thought of for Eddie, close with an oppossum in second place. For Freak I for sure wanted him to have some type of fur baby in his arms, and looking all giddy and happy about it. For Jeff and Gareth I went back and forth between which animal I wanted to give them but it's during poses references research that I found the perfect one for Jeff, and it was with a tarantula, so that confirmed it. And I wanted a pose where we could see him smile widely. I knew what kind of snake I wanted to give, and it ending up being Gareth's was just perfect in the end. Then I had a lot of references pics for the actors and the animals and went from there. I did a basic black lineart after the loose and rough sketch phases, and then it was onto the color blocking and shadows for everything with the ink pens and alcohol markers. Then adding the details with colored pencils, and acrylic paint pens. Then it was onto scanning and editing :3 I had a lot of fun playing with a fur brush with individual hairs for the tarantula. And a scales one for the gold python. I then edited in the graphics of the differents tees I wanted for the boys. And then it was onto playing around until I found what I wanted for the background. And different layers effects for it :3

What was it like to work on the Sapphic Disney Harringrove Piece?

For this one I immediately knew I wanted to do something based on Disney's Sleeping Beauty. And once I had selected the screenshot I wanted to base myself on, it was a question on deciding what to do. At first I wanted to do canon Steve but in the end I was like : "No, fuck that, I'm in the mood for more lesbians Harringrove." So it was then a matter of tweaking things so Aurora looked more like Billy and to adapt Prince Philip's design to be a woman. I kept most of the shapes round for that, keeping the design of his sleeves in mind mainly. And then I decided on a color pallette that I like for canon Steve, so yellows and greens was what I went with. I've always loved copying styles since I was a kid, so trying to redo Disney's style was really fun for me. It was like going back to my roots :3 I then did the lineart and colored the characters with ink pens, alcohol markers, acrylic paint pens and gel pens. And used watercolors for Billy's hair like I usually do. The background came later, after scanning and editing the drawing. I used a stone wall brush and then added sparkles with another brush, because we need to keep things princessy and fairy taile-y after all u_ù

#alicetallula #artist intro

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tamesg · 1 month ago

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Player One

It started with a sentence.

“What if I’m not scared this time?”

Mario didn’t react at first. He thought Luigi was doing a warm-up bit. Maybe trying out new line reads.

But then he turned.

Peach’s hands had stopped mid-pose. Bowser wasn’t laughing anymore.

And Luigi—Luigi was looking around like he’d just dropped something very fragile and wasn’t sure if it had broken.

Oh. This was real.

Mario had been reaching into the prop box for the banana peel—stage banana, foam, comically bruised—but now his hand just… stayed there. In the foam. Like maybe holding fruit was safer than holding eye contact.

“I mean,” Luigi said, “what if, for once, I don’t cower behind you while you save the day? What if I actually do something useful?”

Mario blinked.

His brain was still in rehearsal mode. Blocking. Props. Fruit-based hazard timing.

“But… you’re really good at the scared thing,” he offered, half-smiling. Like it was a compliment.

It wasn’t. He could feel it the second he said it.

Luigi peeled at his coffee cup like it was a sticker he regretted applying. “I’m good at a lot of things, Mario.”

And he was.

The thing was—Mario knew that. He’d just never said it out loud. Or thought he needed to.

Luigi stood. His long, crane-legged frame unfolded like a warning flag. He was always awkward on stage until the scene kicked in. But this wasn’t a scene.

“I’m tired of being the comic relief,” Luigi said. “I’m tired of getting captured by ghost dogs. I’m tired of every idea ending with you being the hero and me hiding in a barrel.”

Mario’s mouth opened, but it was all air. Nothing useful.

Toad tried instead. “Luigi, maybe we should—”

“Should what, Toad?”

The lid popped off the coffee cup. Rolled. Nobody chased it.

Mario watched it spin to a stop beneath a folding chair. He didn’t know how to steer the room back to where it had been.

Luigi wasn’t yelling. That was the worst part. He was just… talking. Like he’d been waiting for someone to ask him a question that never came, so he finally answered it himself.

He even paused at one point. Checked in with the tone.

“That sounded more dramatic than I meant it to.”

Then added, flatly:

“But I stand by it.”

From the hallway: a voice.

“Are we still meeting at—oh.”

Daisy peeked her head in, made a sound like “mmnnkay,” and closed the door.

Peach tried to wade in.

“Luigi, I think what Mario means is—”

“I know what he means.”

Mario winced.

Because he had meant it, kind of. Not cruelly. Just… practically. Luigi was good at being scared. That was the dynamic. That was the shape of things.

But maybe—just maybe—he’d mistaken being “good at something” for wanting to do it forever.

“Hey, bro, like—” he started.

But Luigi was past the point of edits.

“And another thing.”

And off he went.

The party games. The haunted house levels. The cereal.

Mario hadn’t known the cereal was still a thing.

He thought it was a fun tie-in. There were marshmallow power-ups. He’d signed boxes. A child once cried.

Luigi’s tone didn’t change much. But the words kept adding up like a score ticking in the background of a level you didn’t realize you were losing.

Peach raised her hands gently. “Okay. I think we all need to take a step back—”

“Step back?” Luigi let out a laugh with sharp corners. “I’ve been stepping back for fifteen years, Peach. If that is your real name, Princess Toadstool. I’ve stepped back so far I’m practically in the parking lot.”

Wario bumped Waluigi with his elbow. Waluigi bumped him back. They looked like they were enjoying the show, but only because they knew they weren’t the target.

And then Mario, in a desperate attempt to connect, fix, do something, opened his mouth and said:

“Luigi, I had no idea you felt this way about the cereal thing! I can totally talk to marketing about getting you moved up from the back panel. Maybe we do, like, a two-box set? Mario Cereal and Luigi Cereal?”

And then the silence.

The kind of silence you get when the boss music starts and you realize you’ve only got one heart left.

Luigi stared.

“Mario.”

“Yeah?”

“That’s not… that’s not the point.”

“Oh.”

Mario nodded. Like someone trying to nod their way out of a fire.

None of this was the point. He knew that. But when you’re Mario, you fix things. You jump on them, or under them, or you throw a shell at them until they disappear.

Luigi started pacing. Around the room. Around all of it.

He passed the whiteboard. The props. The half-eaten power-up mushroom someone had left on a stool. He talked as he walked.

He didn’t say he was angry. He said he cared. Maybe more than anyone.

And that—that—was the part that hit Mario right in the chest. Because it was true.

Luigi wasn’t second-best. He was first-to-arrive, last-to-leave. Quietly brilliant. Stupidly generous. The one who remembered everyone’s birthday, even the Lakitus.

He said he jumped higher. Mario knew that too. He just never said it out loud.

Luigi paused. Looked at everyone. Looked at him.

“And yes. I know I’m spiraling. I hear myself.”

He smiled. Barely. A glitch of a smile.

“But I’m also nicer than all of you.”

He said it like it was fact. Like something that had been tested in a lab.

And it kind of had.

Luigi sat down again. The chair creaked in sympathy.

Silence returned.

Then:

“…That was actually Mario’s coffee.”

Mario didn’t laugh. But he exhaled. He didn’t even realize he’d been holding his breath.

Across the room, Waluigi cleared his throat. Not a fake cough. Just a weird, pointed little noise.

“You want to hang out after rehearsal?”

Mario turned. Surprised.

Luigi blinked. “Like… socially?”

Waluigi shrugged. “I don’t know. You seem like you need a win.”

Luigi looked at him. At the empty coffee spot. At Mario, who was now gently fiddling with the buckle of his overalls like it might solve all of this.

“…Yeah. I do.”

Beat.

Bowser, from the corner: “Can I come?”

Nobody answered.

But nobody said no.

Mario sat there. Holding the banana peel like it was a support animal. Watching his brother. Trying to remember if he’d ever really seen him before today.

#wrote #super mario #mario #nintendo

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imabee-oralizard · 1 year ago

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This is pt.1 cause of word count.

Palaye concert 4/11/24

Mom and I woke up at 11:30am and started getting ready. Had to do moms hair so it took li her than planned. We left from the apartment at 3pm. Cause of the traffic it took almost 3 hours to drive and we got there at 5:40. Luckily vip hadn’t went yet. Once we all went in we got a signed poster and then waiting to take pictures. Mom got a picture on her phone and I got one on my Sony camera. Palayes friend dude Austin couldn’t figure out how to get to the camera on mom’s phone so I went over to get to the camera. Then he couldn’t figure out how to get my camera on so I turned it on. A lady photographer came over to take the photo on my camera since she knew more. As soon as I went to Palaye Emerson and Remington right away went ‘it’s great to see you’ and Emerson gave me a hug first, then Remington, and Sebastian. But they said that and hugged me like they remembered me. I also gave Remington the letter I’d written. I stuck my hand out and said ‘can I give you this’ while just like staring at him. He took it and said ‘of course’ then slid it into his pocket. It’s the one from the previous concert in September but I added to it and still gave it to him since I wanted to tell him how amazing he is. I stood in between Emerson and Remington for the photo and mom was in between Sebastian and Remington. We also got some of the Fever dream vinyls signed along with the Palaye cd’s and the bastards cd. Then during the concert mom added memory so we didn’t have to worry about photos. I was gonna take some with the Sony but it automatically has a red flash so i didn’t use it. During the concert though I made eye contact with Remington multiple times. He never came over to me to like reach out like he did other people though. But at one point we came over and stood onto the ledge table area that I was standing right next to! He was going to step onto it and I’d moved mom and is hoodies real quick so he had room also since they were black. Had bought them at the concert. They have the picture of Remington with a cigarette in his mouth and the ‘sextape’ over it. Good thing I moved it to because Remington was gonna step right by it and he’d hesitated for a second until I grabbed them. Then he stepped right in front of me! Literally right in front of me. I almost died. Then he went back to the stage after max a minute. Also Sebastian looked at us and the came over to our side of the stage and was posing right in front at the perfect angle so I got some photos of him that I’ll have to edit and they’ll be great. The venue was super small so we were super close to the stage. No hates or anything. Mom and I were in the second row. I couldn’t see Emerson like the whole time cause the angle. I could see him more than mom could but not much. At one point he got up and started playing the guitar but I couldn’t see him aside of the other guitarist being in front of him. I also told the guy to move so I could see Emerson. After that song he went back to the guitar. The last song they played was lonely I think. Got a picture of the set list at the start also. During the concert Remington came out to be there for the pit. He also climbed on top of people. Then he also hung upside down and then sung on the ceiling. I yelled to Emerson but he didn’t look over. He also didn’t answer much during the vip question and answer. Was told by someone that he was sick. They did say that they have a new album coming out in June and will be back over here this fall. After the concert we got some posters off the wall along with two guitar pics from the workers. Then we went outside and I got a picture with Remington and a signature on the sign. Also got the same with Sebastian. I know mom took bad photos. I also asked her to take a photo on my camera and she somehow got that blurry. I have no clue how because it’s hard for me to get it blurry. Sebastian heard her say it was blurry though and he said he’d retake the photo in second. We did but she just took it on her phone instead. Didn’t see Emerson sadly.

#kylie rambles #palaye royale #palaye concert #Palaye concert 4/11/24 #concert

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k00317221 · 4 months ago

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Tantalus pixilation project

Today we split the day into two parts. The first half was to film our pixilation piece and the second half to edit our pieces.

Due to conversations on Thursday after finding our location we cut the piece back to only a few shots. This insured that we'd be able to complete the entirety of the filming that we wanted to complete in the day. When it came to storyboarding on Thursday evening it became easy then as I knew that we only needed three shots to show our story.

We shot the piece this morning using a tripod, a phone and the Stop-Motion app. We used the app instead of a camera app so we could use the onionskin feature, but it was still difficult to see these due to the positioning of the tripod.

I created two different pulley systems for the piece so I could sow the apple jumping across the table and from one table to another. For the other shot of the apple jumping because we had the plate under it we simply hid another person under the table who lifted the plate.

We then individually edited the piece. I went about this by importing every individual frame into premiere pro and changing the length that each frame would last. Lengthening some frames to add emphasis to the poses and making some frames shorter to aid in the speed. I also edited some frames out as the app could sometimes be irrisponsive and not show that I had taken an unneeded duplicate of the picture.

After I had edited the piece together I expeminted with some different colour correction techniques. I tried to create a version where I isolated the colour of the apple to make it stand out against a black and white background. When I applied the effect to the piece I noticed that the effect made it so the colour of Michael's hands were showing and some of the tables were coming out in orangy wood tones instead of greyscale. I decided that I wasn't satisfied with this effect so i added some different colour effects instead.

Overall I am very happy with how the piece turned out. I think that the piece turned out quite close to my original storyboards but the improvisations that we made along the way really helped to improve the final piece. I wish that I had time to add sound effects and music I feel that would really make an impact on the comedy of the piece.

#animation year 1 #pixilation #animation

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grogrock · 8 months ago

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8/11/24

Art Garfunkel & Art Garfunkel Jr. - Father and Son (2024)

12 songs; 8 added, 66.67%

when I brought this album's announcement up to my aunt, who is also a fan specifically of Garfunkel, she pointed out the background of the cover for 'Time After Time' was the same as for 'Fate for Breakfast', which I like

the rest of this is going to be on the Me First and the Gimme Gimmes performance, all notes made as it was going; (brackets being edits afterwards, curly brackets being options that i'm not sure which it is, and square brackets being editing notes to myself)

now, i do not look punk, my though of what to wear were my only pair of ripper pants, sneakers and a buttoned shirt. two of them i did go with, but subbed out the buttoned shirt for a Knowledge Demon one.

and before halloween i might have passed, but i shaved and had a severe haircut, from reaching the bottom of my nose cut back to my eyebrows (afterwards; there were multiple guys with thr same haircut, i guess it's an attitude thing)

figured it wouldnt start at 7, that doesn't seem very "punk rock" [editing note; change that to like purple and bold] but it was 9:30. generally that'd be fine, but i don't know how long they'll go, and i have work at 5 the next morning, so i'm nervous

also kinda nervous in general, and about going to a pub by myself middlingly far from home, i try to keep my head down normally, so asking about shit worries me

bought my first drink and stood back a bit from the bar to drink it, and had a couple of people ask if i was in line, one of which was the guitarist of the first band. waited for the ticket checking to start

the first act asked if there were any Mormons there. the song after that was pretty good, but i don't remember the band (St Judes). loved the {bass player, other guitarist}, who did the full ball jump, the one where you bring your knees up as much ad you can, and turned and played at the drummer and stuff. pretty good

the second band, Dwarves, was b much louder and had a guy in a balaclava aNd no shirt in the audience. and the singer went over and posed midsobg for a lady's camera. Salt Lake City was a highlight.

it's occurred to me that i don't know what any of MFatGG' look like, so the people setting up the guitars and cables might be roadies, or might be them

one of the songs while setting g up sounded like a ska or punk cover of 99 Luftballons. i love that song. what i don't love is the English lyrics, which is what they used

i think the lead singer was at the bar next to me filling his water bottle, but i'm not good with faces sometimes

they were roadies, and the water bottle guy i think was a guitarist

the biggest mosh was for fucken On the Road Again

there was a lady in an admiral coat, and a guy sitting at the back with curly hair down to his elbows, and a jacket with patches, and i think he looked great

#art garfunkel #art garfunkel jr #me first and the gimme gimmes

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warmbloodcomic · 2 years ago

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Warm Blood: Girls Mode

Written by Josh Tierney

Photo edit by Caitlin Soliman

Pt. 2

The maids completed the routine, which encompassed all 12-and-a-half minutes of the song. The lights on the stage went out, and the customers and floor maids applauded as the stage maids held their final poses for several seconds. The maids on either side of the flyer girl then hopped off, leaving the flyer girl standing casually onstage as she looked at Penny and Eve with a curious smile.

Penny and Eve had already returned their attention to each other.

“You’d think they’d dance to like an anime theme or something,” Penny said. She looked down at her empty plate, only just now realising she had finished her pancake.

“I kept waiting for them to invite a customer up, like at a theme park,” Eve said, her eyes sparkling at the idea. “I totally would’ve gone up if they tried that!”

Penny opened her mouth to speak, but Eve spoke for her: “I know, there’s no way you would’ve danced.”

Eve took a sip of her coffee, then continued speaking with an encouraging smile: “I still would’ve rooted for you.”

The shadow of a maid who wasn’t their own fell onto their table. Penny paused in the middle of gulping down her orange drink to glance at the shadow’s owner.

The flyer girl was standing there, less like a maid in a themed restaurant, or even like a girl who handed out flyers for one, and more like a girl who had just got off work and was about to enjoy the night.

“How was it?” the flyer girl asked. “Did you like the performance?”

“It was sooo cute!” praised Eve. “When you told us this was a maid café, I was expecting way more sweeping and a lot less dancing. But now that I know what they’re like, I want to come to one everyday.”

“I’m so happy,” the flyer girl said. “I choreographed that dance myself.”

Penny and Eve were blown away – they wouldn’t have expected that from someone so close to their age, especially not from someone they had just seen handing out advertisements on a rainy street.

“You must be a higher rank of maid, then,” Eve said with a huge smile.

“S-tier, for sure,” Penny agreed.

The flyer girl smiled appreciatively at them.

“Not quite,” she said. “I’m more of a freelancer . . . I like to be able to come and go as I please.”

The flyer girl pulled out her phone, looked at it, then looked back at Penny and Eve.

“My name’s Maaya,” she told them.

“I’m Penny,” Penny said. She was secretly happy to be having a full conversation with a local in English.

“I’m Eve,” Eve said. “I know someone named Maya back in Canada.”

“Oh, are you both Canadians?” Maaya asked, genuinely interested.

“Yup! We live near Toronto.”

“The Maple Leafs, right?”

“That’s right!” Eve responded, impressed. “You know a lot.”

Maaya looked to her right. Penny and Eve’s maid had appeared as if from out of thin air. Maaya spoke to the maid in Japanese, and the maid nodded in response before heading towards the front counter.

“Your half-hour is up,” Maaya informed Penny and Eve. “You could stay here, but you’ll be charged for another 30 minutes.”

Penny and Eve looked at each other; the look said “as cool as this place is, we shouldn’t waste our money.” They made use of their napkins and stood, satisfied with the experience.

“Is this your first time in Akiba?” Maaya asked them.

“It’s our first time in Japan,” Penny explained.

“What made you decide to come here?”

“My mom came on a business trip,” Penny said. “We’re just tagging along.”

“We have a YouTube channel called Girls Mode,” Eve added proudly. “We haven’t used it in a while, but we have a thousand subscribers on it. We’d post Let’s Plays, reviews, makeup tutorials, game development tips – pretty much anything that came to mind.

“We want to revive it during our trip, and post some travelogue videos.”

Maaya smiled a knowing smile, like she was eager to share a secret with them.

“I can show you a few places, if you like,” she said. “I know Akiba like the back of my hand.”

Eve looked at the back of Maaya’s hand, and found it slender and pretty. She then looked at Penny, as if leaving the decision to her. Penny looked at Eve and could tell Eve would be glad to spend more time with Maaya. They then looked at Maaya together.

“Sure,” Penny said, slightly weirded out. Despite Maaya being close to them in age, Penny knew she shouldn’t be totally trusting of a stranger they had just met in another country, especially since Eve clearly would. She decided she would keep her guard up for both their sakes.

Yes, let’s follow the strange maid, Penny thought as she and Eve followed Maaya to the front counter. What the heck are we doing?

Eve paid for both of them with her credit card, which had been set up for her by her upper-middle-class parents. To Penny, “upper-middle-class” meant Eve’s family was fabulously rich, but she never commented on this out loud around Eve, since she knew it would make her feel bad.

“You can pay me back at the hotel room,” Eve said with a smile. During the trek from

Narita Airport to their hotel room in Akihabara, Eve had taken notice of Penny’s struggles to figure out which Japanese coins were worth which amounts of money. Covering costs for both of them was simply a way of streamlining their experience.

The counter maids bowed and thanked them, so Penny and Eve bowed and thanked the maids back, with Penny blushing as she bowed clumsily and awkwardly.

Penny felt embarrassed by her attempts at interacting with pretty much everyone, especially in comparison to how effortlessly Eve integrated into a society so unlike her own. She didn’t get it – she was the one who was 1000% into Japanese video games, 80% into manga, and 70% into anime, not Eve.

It was like the shyness she had spent her first year of high school breaking free from had come rushing back, wrapping her up in its quiet comfort.

But, also, it was just the first night. She would keep trying.

“Let’s go,” Maaya said.

The trio exited the maid café, descended the green-lit stairs, and made their way back to the slightly rainy street.

“Where are you staying?” Maaya asked them.

“It’s that really tall hotel close to where you were handing out flyers,” Penny said. “We’re staying there with my mom. I forget what it’s called.”

“Oh, that one?” Maaya said knowingly. “That’s a nice hotel. Western-style beds, modern design . . . One of my aunts stays there when she visits.”

Hearing Maaya casually reference her family made Penny feel more comfortable. The trio stuck close together as they walked, with Maaya slightly in the lead.

“We won’t venture too far from it,” Maaya assured them. “It can be fun to get lost in Akiba, but maybe not on the first night.”

“You speak English so well,” Eve complimented her.

“Thank you,” Maaya said. “I’m paid extra when I send foreigners to cafés, so I’ve been taking advanced courses online.”

She then smiled at Eve. “Would you like to practice your Japanese?”

Maaya, in Japanese, asked Eve what she was most interested in doing in Akihabara. Eve picked up on some of the words, and answered: “Penny is a huge, huge fan of games. I want her to see the coolest game store.”

“That’s easy,” Maaya told them. “It’s Super Potato.”

Eve nearly gasped. The idea of going to a place called Super Potato was all she needed to achieve perfect happiness. It didn’t matter what kind of store it was.

“I’ve heard of it,” Penny said, while Eve silently imagined a potato with magical powers. “It’s a big retro store, right?”

“That’s right. It takes up the top three floors of a building.”

It didn’t take long for the girls to arrive at Super Potato, the three sheltered from the rain by Maaya’s transparent umbrella.

Depicted on a big yellow sign was an anthropomorphic potato with a surprisingly Western design, looking more like the mascot of a Canadian chip brand than something used to promote a videogame store in Akihabara. Maaya asked if they wanted to take a picture in front of it, and used Penny’s cellphone to take a picture of Penny and Eve with the potato visible above them. Penny had managed an awkward smirk for the photo, while Eve had a big, cheesy smile.

“I can help record videos for your YouTube channel as well,” Maaya offered.

“Really?! That would be amazing!” Eve responded gratefully.

Eve passed her phone to Maaya, as hers was more advanced than Penny’s. After showing Maaya which buttons to press, Maaya began recording the pair as they climbed the steps to the first level of the store. The climb was slow as Penny and Eve kept stopping to admire the retro game posters, featuring everything from Parodius to a roster of Claymation enemies from Super Mario RPG. Penny took the time to explain all the Japan-only games being advertised, mainly for Eve’s sake but also for their modest YouTube audience.

Locals who were used to the posters had to navigate around the girls, apologising as they did so. Eventually they located the entrance to the first level, and Penny’s legs nearly buckled at the sight of all the old games within, this floor focusing on older systems like the Famicom, Super Famicom and Mega Drive. (Penny then explained that the Famicom was the NES, the Super Famicom was the Super Nintendo, and the Mega Drive was the Sega Genesis.)

Penny grabbed Eve’s arm and squeezed it, needing an outlet for the rush of retro game energy coursing through her veins.

“It’s beautiful,” Penny whisper-shouted. For a moment Eve assumed she was referring to the life-size Fox McCloud statue just past the entrance, but, no, Penny clearly meant everything.

The retro posters continued into the store itself, and CRT monitors displayed the attract modes for Final Fantasy VI and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. In addition to all the games – presented either in their original boxes on the shelves or as loose cartridges in tidy bins below – there were rare soundtrack CDs, strategy guides, artbooks and toys, including an entire row of deluxe Puyo Puyo character figures.

Penny took her time in each section, with Eve happily following, Penny pointing out rare and unique games as Maaya recorded the tour. The artwork for many of the games was quite beautiful, with hand-painted manga-style illustrations on nearly all of them. The games’ original cardboard boxes were also packaged well in clear plastic sleeves, preventing fingerprints and other damage from the many browsing customers. Penny truly believed the store should be listed as a museum in official travel guides.

“Oh, Sailor Moon!” Eve exclaimed, finally finding something she not only recognised but actively enjoyed. Apparently, Japan was treated to an entire run of Sailor Moon games that had never made their way to North America, with a tonne of them on the Super Famicom.

The Sailor Moon section gave Eve an opportunity to speak to the Girls Mode viewers, with Eve explaining that she preferred the monster-of-the-week episodes to the high stakes fever dream finales, and how she preferred the slice-of-life scenes to the actual fighting. What she liked most about the fight scenes was the Sailor Scout outfits and transformation sequences.

She then struck Sailor Moon’s iconic pose, and some other customers asked Maaya if they could have their pictures taken with the blonde girl doing the anime poses. Maaya translated for Eve, and Eve accepted despite being slightly uncomfortable – in her mind, this was the price of fame for a YouTuber.

The trio moved up to the second floor, where the rest of the games could be found, everything ranging from the PlayStation era to software for contemporary systems like the Switch 2. Eve was lucky enough to get a Switch 2 for her birthday, while Penny still had the original Switch that had released when she was a toddler. Whenever Eve visited Penny, Penny asked Eve if the Switch 2 was coming with her.

While Penny basked in the glory of the retro sections, soaking in the history that emanated from their stylish jewel cases, Eve checked out the Switch 2 section, looking at the Japanese titles with tremendous curiosity. Maaya stuck with Eve, recording her reactions.

Eve spotted a case that featured Princess Rosalina on the cover, with no one else on it other than Lumas.

“What?!” she exclaimed as she lifted up the case.

“That’s Super Princess Rosalina,” Maaya told her in amusement. “You don’t have it in Canada?”

“What? No! If we had this, then I’d have it!”

Eve stared intensely at the box art, her mouth hanging open. It was what she had always dreamed of: a Mario game with 0% Mario and 100% Rosalina. Her brain was suddenly filled with different voices, some encouraging her to buy it (would such a game even have a language barrier?) and others trying to convince her not to spend so much money on the first day (who knows what else she might find?).

Eve was sweating while frozen in place. It was the most Penny-like she had ever felt. Finally, she put the case back on the shelf.

“Maybe I’ll come back for it,” she said to the camera with a smile.

Maaya stopped recording and handed Eve’s phone back to her.

“You’re getting a low battery,” Maaya said. “But you do have enough for a few more videos, if you find something else interesting.”

“In that case, we should find Penny and see how she’s holding up,” Eve suggested. “She’s either completely energised by all the games, or all the games have sapped her energy and left her enfeebled. I can never guess which it’ll be.”

Eve and Maaya located Penny between two CRT monitors, the left one running the attract mode for the first Ryū ga Gotoku (or Yakuza, as she knew it in Canada) and the right running Phantasy Star Universe’s, both on PlayStation 2. Penny was hypnotised by the left screen, its fictionalised depiction of Kabukicho reminding her that, yes, she really was in real-life Tokyo, something she had always dreamed of but never thought would one day become reality.

“Are you ready for the final level?” Maaya asked her.

“I don’t know if my heart can take it,” Penny said half-jokingly.

Maaya looked at her in concern. “Do you have a medical condition?”

“Penny’s medical condition is that she likes games a little too much,” Eve explained to Maaya with a smile.

“I think you’ll survive it,” Maaya told Penny reassuringly. “The last floor is a small arcade and snack shop.”

Maaya led them to the next set of stairs, which had some old prints of atmospheric Katsuya Terada fantasy artwork on display.

“Do you come here a lot?” Eve asked Maaya from behind as they ascended.

“No, but I try to learn the area in order to be helpful to tourists. Not just foreigners, but people visiting from elsewhere in Japan. The more helpful you are, the more likely it is the person you’re helping will get around to the maid café you told them about.”

“But you must like games if you work in Akihabara, right?”

The girls reached the final floor. Maaya turned to Eve and smiled.

“Of course, I like games. I don’t own any consoles, though – I do all my gaming on my phone.”

Eve and Maaya then turned to the spot Penny had been standing, but she was already gone, having disappeared into the arcade without a word.

“Oh, we need to record a video of her playing at a cabinet!” Eve said. “We missed our chance the last place we went.”

Eve and Maaya entered the small arcade in search of Penny. They were immediately struck by the unexpected jungle theme, with fake trees and plants set up around the game cabinets, including vines hanging down from the ceiling. The theming made more sense when they stumbled upon a life-size statue of Naked Snake from Metal Gear Solid 3, who was holding a broken wooden gun. Maaya figured the statue came first, with the jungle aesthetic thrown together afterwards.

Maaya took a picture of Eve as Eve copied Snake’s pose, her gun fingers pointing to the floor at an angle. Unlike Snake’s stoic look, however, Eve had a cheesy smile. She was thinking about how big a surprise the photo would be when she showed it to Penny. Maaya and Eve then exchanged contact information, so Maaya could take pics and vids with her own phone and send them to Eve at the end of the night.

“You’re like an unofficial member of Girls Mode now,” Eve told Maaya happily.

“You can pay me when you’re famous,” Maaya joked.

Eve thought about it for a moment.

“We should be thanking you for your help,” she said seriously. “If you see something really cool, and it’s not super expensive, I can buy it for you.”

Maaya smiled in amusement.

“No, I was only joking,” she said. “Please don’t. I’m happy to show Akiba to people. It’s a passion of mine, since I love it so much.”

“In that case, if you ever come to Canada, I’ll be the one to show you around!”

Maaya smiled warmly.

“I’d like that.”

Eve smiled back.

“We just have to be careful of the shadow people,” she said matter-of-factly while still smiling.

Maaya looked at Eve in confusion, unsure whether she was joking or not. Maaya and Eve then looked at Penny, who had appeared from the next row of cabinets. Penny looked at Eve with a somewhat haunted expression.

“I think something’s wrong with the arcade games in Japan,” she said.

“What do you mean?” Eve asked.

“I . . . I’ll show you,” Penny said. “Make sure you’re recording.”

Penny led the girls down the next aisle as if in slow motion, flicking glances left and right; it was as if she expected a digitised creature to jump out of one of the screens and attack them. Maaya recorded Penny from behind, following her like a camera in a third-person videogame. Maaya was also looking left and right, wondering what it was that had weirded out this shy girl from Canada.

Kandy by Fever Ray was playing over the PA.

Eventually Penny brought Eve and Maaya to the cabinet that had concerned her. The marquee made it clear it was a Marvel vs. Capcom 2 machine, but the screen was rapidly flickering black and white. Two players were sitting on the stools in front of it, their hands on the sticks and buttons, a look of concentration on the left player and a joyful smile on the right.

But their hands weren’t moving, and neither were their bodies, their expressions frozen unblinking on their faces. Maaya recorded the players, and at this point she was a bit freaked-out as well.

“Don’t look at the screens,” Maaya warned Penny and Eve seriously.

Penny and Eve then looked around them, and noticed that all of the screens were now flickering, and every single one of the players was frozen in place. They then glanced at the exit, having noticed some movement in that direction, and spotted one or two women just as they were leaving. They had only caught a glimpse, but they’d swear the figures were wearing black-and-pink maid outfits.

“Is it some type of seizure?” Eve asked Maaya.

“That seems most likely,” Maaya responded.

Maaya leaned down and spoke to the frozen Marvel vs. Capcom 2 players in Japanese, asking if they were okay. The players failed to respond.

“If it’s a seizure, we shouldn’t risk moving them,” Penny offered shakily.

Maaya nodded and contacted emergency services on her phone, explaining the situation as calmly and clearly as she could.

The girls then headed to the snack counter, hoping to find an unfrozen attendant, but the space past the counter was devoid of life, and they didn’t want to head into the small back room uninvited.

Their next thought was to head back down. They exited the arcade and went into the down-only elevator, where the only options were the emergency button and the button for street-level.

“What do you think they’re seeing?” Eve asked Penny curiously.

“What do you mean?” Penny asked back. “It’s just flickering screens.”

“But . . . what if they’re seeing what we saw in the other arcade?” Eve hypothesised. “It wasn’t normal, right? Maybe we were frozen, too.”

Penny looked at Eve, wondering if she was right. Then she looked down, not wanting Eve to see just how anxious she was.

The elevator door opened, and the girls stepped into a dark, shadowy hallway with flowers hand-painted on its wallpaper.

#Warm Blood #Girls Mode #web novel

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cepheusgalaxy · 1 year ago

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Ok, so, rn in making research on albinism for my oc Lis, three vastly different thoughts came into my mind and I'll post about the others in a second but,

I don't know about how well y'all are familiar with the Gacha Life community, or how similar the brazilian community and the gringa one are, but there was this...phenomena during like 2018 where a big trend was making "mistreated daughter" Gacha stories.

-> If you don't know, many ppl use Gacha Life (dress-up doll game) to make lil' stories. They use the function of posing the characters you made in backgrounds and adding speech bubbles to them as a means to take screenshots, edit them, and tell a story

I actually think this trend of stories/mini-movies (that's what we call them if i recall well) was before the Gacha Life ver. even came out. It was back when people were primarily using Gacha verse and Gacha Studio (previous versions of the game from the same company, Lunime). There were very defined storylines and character archetypes that went into each trend, and the most popular at the time (i'm talking about the brazilian community only, idk how it was for the gringos) was one called "A Filha Preferida" (the favorite daughter). The story usually went as following:

It always started at the same point, with a mother having most commonly two babies. They were both girls, and from the moment she saw them, she knew she loved one and despised the other.

The twins would grow up, and the favorite one would be spoiled and loved by her mother and father, and the despised one would have a cinderella-like experience and a childhood of abuse. There would be a quick timeskip after stabilishing these keypoints of both girl's childhoods, and we'd go to their teenage years. From there, the story could take two paths:

The spoiled (favorite) daughter, would grow up into an arrogant, Regina George-parody, popular and bully girl that would make the protagonist's life (the abused sister) the most difficult possible, both at school and at home. The protagonist usually had one girl pal, that could or not be as popular as her sister, but was generally very nice. When the story takes place, the protagonist meets a Boy, maybe a new kid, who'd get all of his classmates' attention right away, and maybe at first the protagonist wouldn't pay mind to him or find his Bad Boy (tipically) personality annoying, but they would later grow into each other, and the Favorite Daughter would try to put an end to their relationship, but the Boy would stay loyal to the protagonist, and they'd end up together. This variant usually ended with the protagonist's abusive parents asking for her forgiveness and she'd usually grant it, the Favorite daughter would face the consequences of her actions in some way, and they family would live happily ever after.

Now, the other variant of the story would go like this from the teenage years: The story could go on as above, or maybe showing in different occasions the abuse the protagonist suffered, and in the end, she'd either gain a bug amount of money (maybe by charity, savings or something else, who knows) or be revealed to be the lost princess of the king and queen and then leave her family behind and live in a safe and warm household with everything provided and loving parents.

The mini-movie was generally titled "The favorite daugther", but some common alternatives were "The hated daughter", "The favorite daughter that loved the hated one", or "The hated daughter who became rich". These last two ones had a slightly different plotline.

Now, the thing that my lilttle research reminded be was the character's visuals? Gacha Life (and specially its previous versions that were at peak on this time, Gacha Studio and Gachaverse) is a pretty limited game, with maybe like a little more variation than the average picrew, and the main characters always followed some of these guidelines:

The favorite daughter was blonde and wore pink

The Boy (love interest) had a very specific kind of asymetric bangs and dark hair

The protagonist would be A. a somewhat emo girl with colorful ends on her black hair or B. albino

Which is like very interesting I think, and in these variants where the protagonist was albino, her mother would hate her instantly because of that. In these versions she'd usually wear blue instead of black and purple. The protagonist also generally never had anything regarding her albinism despiste her looks, which is a little bit concerning.

There was also another mini movie trend in which the protagonist was mandatorily albino, but that's a story for other day, I think.

#gacha life #gachaverse #gacha club #rambles #abuse mention #edit: i forgot what the other two things were #completely

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taybatwo2 · 2 years ago

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Spelldon Monster High Custom

Once I saw that G3 Deuce had green skin, I knew I had to try my hand at making Spelldon Cauldronello. I re-haired him and flocked the sides of his head with yarn to imitate dreads. I sewed him a jacket, shirt, joggers, and socks. I made his little potions (out of beads), earrings (also out of beads), necklaces, gloves, pointed ears (I wish I could have gotten them smoother, but they were so delicate that I could not sand them without them breaking), shoes (out of paperboard and papier-mâché), and repainted his face (my first full face repaint and daaang was that difficult to try and make his eyes and eyebrows look related to one another).

He’s not perfect, but he was super fun to pose and creating him was a HUGE learning experience (like to start sealing all of my thread knots with fabric glue).

You’re more than welcome to draw fanart/make your own based on mine, just tag me- I’d love to see them. Feel free to comment what you like/dislike think I should improve on. :)

Edit: thank you for all the sweet comments in the reblogs guys. You’re all making my day. :)

More under the cut

Close ups of his left side (I like how this ear turned out the best).

And his right side. I couldn’t get this side smoothed out to save my life, haha. Hopefully his earrings distract enough from it. Keeping beads from old bracelets come in handy! These were just the right size for him. I repainted the lower earring in black, with a stripe of purple, and added silver Ancient Greek designs on either side.

One more close up of his left ear and earring (I added a purple pentagram in the center of the silver Greek designs and the color shift sparkle paint around the rim). His upper earring is the same as his right lower earring, but has an orange stripe.

His face-up took awhile, but it is very rewarding to finally give him a face. I tried to make it look like the factory g1 monster high face up and took a lot of inspiration from his older sister Casta’s pupils. I gave him darker purple eyes, with the yellow/gold zig-zags. I gave him three moles, instead of just the one that Casta has, to mix it up a little. I did take a little inspiration from G3 for his eyebrows to add some orange and purple streaks in the front and a cut in his left eyebrow (I don’t know if that is still trendy, but I think it looks cool). The eyebrows are still not super symmetrical, but I already sealed it. I went back and forth on what I wanted his lip colors to be (I know I wanted something two toned) but finally decided on a dark purple upper lip, with a green outlined lower lip.

Also G3 heads are SUPER difficult to try and reattach (and remove) and have to be VERY squishy to put back on their bodies (even after I had trimmed down the neck peg).

Okay, onto his wardrobe! I wanted to imitate Casta’s color pallet: black, orange, purple, silver (and sparkles and studs), while bringing in more “witchy” themes (the buckles, stripe socks, and pentagrams), and his scaritage from his mama Circe (hence the potions, boars on his shirt and shoes, the greek vase designs and the boar designs being black on orange -like the Ancient Greek vases). Even on the Greek designs, I put some teeny tiny pentagrams (namely on his jacket sand socks).

His jacket took the longest (his shoes were the second longest). It is fully lined (the sleeves have a white lining to keep staining to a minimum), and working pockets. I liked the sparkly material I found, but does it shed like crazy (I used it for his collar, cuffs, pockets, and the bottom of his jacket in the back, and wrong side-out for his sleeves -they still have silver sparkles showing though and it doesn’t shed…but it will catch on things). I used thin ribbon for the outside of his pockets (next time I will fabric glue the ends shut on all my ribbons and a thicker ribbon for the bottom of his coat), and bent some wire into buckles. I also used ribbon wire and looped black thread over it to make it look like a zipper. I used fabric paint for the pattern down the front and REALLY hope it stays on there.

I really wanted a mesh back to his coat (I love how that part turned out), and then added this purple sparkly ribbon to his sleeves. He was going to have another pentagram in the back but it was too much (but it left a cool shadow of the star after I removed it).

His gloves are made of mesh and ribbon (with glitter fabric glue continuously added on top of each other, and then painted silver, to make the spikes on his knuckles -same thing I did with his choker and shoes). His nails are painted black with the same color flash glaze paint as part of his earrings.

Okay onto his main outfit without the coat (he’s much more fun and easier to pose without his jacket).

“Spelldon, please move your necklace out of the way, so we can see your shirt better, thank you.”

Close up of his wild boar and Greek vase designs on his shirt (done in fabric paint). I REALLY love how the boar turned out as I was SUPER nervous I was going to mess it up. Having a boar/Greek vase design on an orange shirt was also inspired by @spookberry ‘s design of Spelldon. His necklace pendant was another bead I had (and it worked great for attacking thread too).

Side and back of his outfit (you can see some of that stray black glitter).

“‘Scuse me Spelldon, can you lift your shirt so we can see you joggers better? Thank you.” His joggers/capri’s and socks were inspired by @peppapigvevo ‘s Spelldon design. Once again I used ribbon, that sparkly material for his waistband and cuffs, and silver fabric paint for Greek vase design.

I attached a chain to his joggers and added these potion bottles (while Casta looks like she uses more magic spells and incantations through her singing, I like to think Spelldon uses potions -more like his mom). I made these potions out of wire, beads, thread and air-dry clay.

Onto his shoes and socks. I made the shoes out of paperboard and paper-maché. I wanted them to be boar themed while still having pentagrams and studs on them. They turned out a bit wonky (and a tad too long -but it helps him stand up, haha), but I spent too much time on them to redo them, haha. His shoe sole I also painted with that sparkle flash glaze paint too. I also gave him the striped socks, because I love striped socks and tights on witches.

“Thanks for holding still Spelldon, and being patient with me.” I’m going to make another post or two with comparisons with his sister, some of my other customs, and some vampire that claims he knows him or something, heehee.

Oh yeah! My sketches for him:

#spelldon cauldronello #spelldon #monster high doll #monster high dolls #monster high #mh #doll custom #monster high custom doll #monster high custom #spelldon doll #spelldon Custom #customsbyaleta

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judysxnd · 4 years ago

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Pictures you take of Finn on vacation

Beach edition

I had this idea today when I was looking at pictures of Finn. I think that’s a good idea, I might do it for other occasions! I liked the result so yeah, I think I’ll do it again. Hope you will like it too!

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Its the morning, around 10am, and you’re in the hotel room. You’re laying in bed, on your phone as Finn is in the bathroom. Music blaring from the speaker (at a reasonable volume), Finn suddenly got out of the bathroom in his robe and starts dancing around. You took the opportunity to take a picture when he makes a pose. You couldn’t stop laughing.

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One afternoon, as it was very sunny but too hot to do anything, you guys decided to rent a boat for the day, and sail around. As Finn knows how to drive a boat, he could show you. After he made you take the wheel for some time, you went back to your sit, and Finn took it back. You found your phone in your pockets, which gave you an idea: take a picture of him.

“What are you doing?” Finn said analyzing what you were doing.

“Enjoying the view” you smiled which made him laugh.

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There was this one and only rainy day during the trip where the temperature dropped really bad. You stayed in bed, enjoying the view, cuddling. You also watched some tv shows, and a movie while eating dinner. After dining, it stopped raining so you decided to go for a walk on the beach and watch the sunset. This time, Finn took his camera, and took pictures of you without you knowing.

“The sunset is really red” you said staring at the sun.

“Yeah it’s beautiful” Finn said coming next to you as you stopped.

“Give me your camera” he did not question it and gave it to you. You took some pictures of the landscape, but you also took some of Finn.

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The first morning after you arrived at the hotel, you were both up really early. You were both getting ready, however you didn’t know what to do. It was kind of cloudy but it was a little hot.

“we could go on for a walk” you suggested, as you were drying your hair.

“Huh, too lazy” you laughed.

“Not even one day on vacation and you’re already playing the lazy card. What are we going to do during this week?” You both laughed.

“We could take our bikes” you were confused.

“That’s literally more exhausting than walking”

“Yeah, but I don’t know, I kind of prefer that” you laughed.

“Well then, okay, I’m good for that”

After you were both ready, you went to take your bikes that were in the car. Finn got on his, so did you. He was arranging something when you put your phone out.

“Finn, smile” he looked up, confused, then laughed. You took the first picture.

“Always taking pictures”

“I’m making memories dumbass” he rolled his eyes.

After a while of riding you arrived on the road next to the beach. You were challenging each other on some races and all, just goofing around. In front of you, there were two women, standing in front of the beach, and taking pictures. After passing them, Finn went a little faster and mimicked them. You bursted into laughter and played the game by taking pictures of him, which gave as a result the second picture.

——————————————————————————

Tonight, you both wanted to eat outside, on the beach. There were tables with benches not far from the hotel. You ordered some pizzas and bought a few beers before going there. It was cute, just the two of you, laughing, talking, drinking a little. You had some cards and games, so you played, fighting because one’s cheating and all.

“It’s been a while we haven’t done that” you added

“Yeah. It was much needed”

“Agreed” you both smiled at each other.

The next morning you found this picture in your camera roll, not really remembering when you took it.

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Obviously it would not be a true beach vacation without surfing. Finn loves to surf, which means that the location of the holidays were based on a good place to surf. Unfortunately you do not know how to surf. After a very long conversation, Finn managed to convince you that he could teach you the basics because “it could be fun if we had something more in common, we could go surf together and all”. You couldn’t resist him, so one afternoon when the waves seemed good, you went to the beach, on a side where there weren’t much people.

When you arrived on the parking lot, Finn was so excited to teach you everything. He got out of the car and started to get out his board. You stood next to the car, nervous, looking around you. You finally looked back at Finn, still taking stuff out of the car. You looked at your phone, hoping for something that could avoid this situation. You looked up to see Finn smiling at you. You quickly went on Snapchat and took this picture of him.

After walking a while, Finn put his board on the sand and showed you the positions and all. You mimicked him, feeling embarrassed.

“This is so humiliating” you said looking down.

“Why?”

“I don’t know” Finn laughed

“Don’t think about the people around us” you stared at him, he knew you too well.

After a while, you both went in the water, staying around the little waves area so you could try to find your balance there first. Let’s just say it was not a success. You ended up staying on the sand, watching Finn surf like a god. You kind of felt dumb, embarrassed, even uncomfortable because you couldn’t do it, and because Finn and the other people around you had to see this.

Finn made sure the rest of the day was way better than this so you would not feel guilty for anything, after all it wasn’t that bad.

——————————————————————————

One classic afternoon on the beach, tanning, playing and swimming together. After swimming for a while, you took a break and joined Finn who stayed on the beach. He was looking at you, phone out, taking pictures. You laughed as you approached him.

“Please tell me you’re not taking pictures”

“So you’re allowed to but not me?”

“Exactly” you laughed as you sat down in front of him. He took one more picture of you, which made you roll your eyes and smile.

“The view is too beautiful”

“So cheesy”

After that, Finn went in the water for some time, and when he came back, you made sure to do exactly the same thing he did with you. As he sat down, you took this picture.

“We’re even now” you said proudly.

“We’re far from even” you both laughed.

——————————————————————————

One morning, you were both wandering around the city, going in some shops, talking, discovering the city when you came across what seemed a garage. Finn was intrigued because there were only old cars parked in the front. You walked closely to a board which explained that this place was actually renting the cars for a day.

“No way! We have to do this!” Finn exclaimed. He was suddenly so excited, like a child. It was hard to say no, and you were also excited about this idea.

The ride was so good, driving around the city, finding new places to go after, enjoying the wind and the sun in this old car. The experience was great. Before taking the car back at the garage, you stopped by the beach.

“Here, take a photo of me in the car” you laughed.

“You love it that much?”

“Come on just do it!” He was so excited. He kept begging you, so you just took the picture. What a child.

#finn cole #cute #i love him #fanfic #finn cole fan fiction #finn cole imagines #finn cole x reader #preferences #finn cole preferences

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feelingofcontent · 4 years ago

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DNP Rewatch: #DAPGOOSE - The Dan and Phil Go Outside On Stage Event

Date video was published: 11/04/2016 (X)

DNP Main Channel Rewatch: 327

This is an outside-the-ordinary video since it’s a recording of an hour long live event. Definitely going to have to just comment on the different segments or moments that really stand out rather than second-by-second, haha.

The event was on November 2, which they had announced back in October. DAPGO itself came out the next day on November 3.

0:01 - lol at the goose noises. Love Dan fully blaming Phil for the ‘DAPGOOSE’ hashtag, including it the description.

0:10-0:37 - this whole intro is very classic DNP. also the screaming...so much screaming.

0:47 - why is Dan carrying a vase of flowers out???

1:04-1:42 - annnnd Phil immediately spills the cup of tea by bumping it with his leg. Love that Dan added tiny explosion effects 😂 They don’t even notice at first. And then Dan’s face is just resigned and I love that he cuts the music just to react to this.

2:08 - Dan really wants everyone to know this one isn’t his fault

3:01 - love Dan having the audience mock his own first video. and Phil with the “nice intro” hahaha

3:34 - okay the flowers have no purpose but aesthetics

4:24-5:20 - “what is DAPGOOSE?” great question. They bring up how long the TABINOF/TATINOF era lasted quite a bit, which was true. That tour was much more spread out than II, so I think they had learned by then what was manageable

5:22 - referencing MONSTER POPS! and lots of screaming for that. Were they really filming that at 3am?! I wouldn’t actually be surprised

6:23 - Dan just wants Phil to say “thicc” on stage 😂

8:00 - I have no memory of hearing about the “enhanced eBook”

8:30 - of course there’s a Phil animal noise...and Dan and Phil react to themselves; I love it

9:41 - “too much DNP” well that’s meta

9:42-10:20 - I do love to hear them talk about the decisions they made in designing or creating things

10:35 - he did edit in the “suspense noise” 😂

11:07 - “a whale that’s been mating for a while” ...very specific

11:43 - the poor parents in the audience

12:21-13:00 - Dan really does pull the same face and pose in every single photo. aw at him needing a coping mechanism for that 🙁 I feel that as an introvert though. Phil’s face is pretty similar in all of them too, to be fair

13:10 - of course adding some elements that involve the audience! Dan posted a couple versions of this selfie on Twitter later (1, 2).

14:09-14:28 - here’s the “1 day until DAPGO” gif Dan posted. of course he included the piñata-in-bed photo...way to hype the book. Dan just laughing at himself before he pulls up the page as if he already knows he’s going to regret this

14:52 - you can definitely tell Dan is thinking about changing his branding as soon as he can

15:50-16:07 - I really would like to know what housekeeping thought. Also I really want to know how that photoshoot went down.

16:23-17:15 - “the food” I mean... they both really do love food. This whole thing really is just roasting Dan. Also curly-haired Dan!

17:21 - oh, they tweeted about the donuts!

18:51-20:45 - the hotel experiences from this tour sound like they were a trip. Also the “weirdness rating” like from the weird kid TATINOF segment!

21:04 - Dan processing that Phil said “what happens next” to that scenario is hilarious 😂

21:25-22:59 - crafts! I love that they included some of the fan-created art. and the “we love your creativity” in the same tone they always say it in

23:09-23:24 - I love this! My roommates at college and I had a wall of sticky notes of weird things said in our apartment

25:21 - holy shit that is a lot of photos

25:48-27:04 - oooo, outtake photos! The first one isn’t even an outtake...oh, but now it makes sense with all the selfie outtakes! I don’t know about borrowing someone’s hat, though I’m sure that person was very excited.

27:10 - awww, sleepy Phil

27:42 - the expression on Dan’s face in this photo 😂

28:22 - super attractive theme park photo there

28:57 - well that one is getting a lot of screams

29:30 - bless the person who made the “Netflix and Phil” t-shirt. I love it

30:40 - aha! we saw him trying to take this emu selfie in DITL Australia but he never showed it in that or tweeted it or anything...but I KNEW we saw it at some point I just didn’t remember where

31:35 - oh my god these koala outttakes! so cute!

32:17-32:58 - love Dan’s grin as he’s forcing Phil to tell an embarrassing story. Phil would tell someone random they look like a wombat...also love that if it had been Dan, that would have been a completely normal thing for them

32:22 - Dan is so proud of his hat toss there

33:43 - they tweeted this the day of the event?! how did they even have time to sort through questions

34:20 - love that the first person is near the front of the audience! yeah, it would have been way too much to just post somewhere

34:46-35:25 - ouch, hahaha. they had already discussed the cover a bit in Dan and Phil React to #DAPGO Memes! Dan asking if he can swear, lol. who would even give permission or not

36:00-37:00 - payback time with Phil forcing Dan to tell an embarrassing story now! I forgot about this story from the mini Hong Kong holiday entirely. I’m with Phil...I just don’t think I’m a spa person; the hair salon already makes me slightly uncomfortable. Phil’s face as people scream about Dan having no clothes on...

37:02 - well he’s not wrong, hahaha

37:06-38:30 - Phil scrunching up his face because he knows what’s coming...I’m just imagining Dan getting back to the hotel and telling Phil this right after it happened 😂

38:58-39:22 - looking at each other deciding who’s going to do this one, haha...couldn’t they have pre-prepared for these? maybe they did

39:42-40:38 - did this person ask this question because they knew? the TATINOF cubes! lol at the photo apology

40:40-41:05 - “a brain fail” oh Dan

41:10-41:25 - the backwards spelling thing...still happening! Dan is always pretty good

41:46-42:06 - still pre-selected questions; not people asking them live. I’m sure that was much more comfortable for them

42:21 - a live instance of Dan giving this specific look to the audience like he usually does to the camera when Phil says something like that

42:35-43:22 - ahahaha, have to justify themselves to the poor parents in this audience. “advice, baking instruction, wholesome activity, and we’re really great influences” ...sure 😂😂😂

43:36-44:22 - great question. They also cut all references to alcohol in DAPGO, including in the “Dan” and “Phil” cocktail recipes (even if there were photos of it), probably because it was published under the “children’s” branch of the publishing company, which I found hilarious

44:35-45:40 - Dan is so ready for this. This is great. I love that the audience knows it and joins in so much. By the end DNP are laughing so hard they can barely keep singing

46:04 - lol at Dan’s wink and thumbs up at them and then the little embarrassed giggle to himself about doing that

46:32 - only Phil has to answer the socks question apparently

46:58-47:32 - ooo, asking them to play favorites with the location. Seattle for Dan and Chicago for Phil. They must have liked Chicago because it got a lot of pages in the book compared to some of the other cities

47:40-48:11 - that is a very specific question about a sofa that does not look that comfortable. DNP think it’s awful and yet they kept it for 5 years as their main sofa...they did not answer the question specifically

48:19 - no wi-fi really is the worst thing for them

48:34 - they are both pulling lots of questions. Dan is putting his papers on the table neatly, while Phil is just dropping them on the floor all around his chair

48:37-50:00 - Dan is excited about this one. I love that Phil knows exactly what incident Dan is thinking of. And it’s not even and incident that happened to Dan! Poor Phil; that would be so awkward but WHY did he get in the lift?!

50:19-51:12 - yeah, they took a lot of them! I doubt they loved having a professional photographer (even if he was a friend of Phil’s) around all the time with how they like to have control

51:15-51:31 - Phil looks shocked and Dan is just thinking “everything” lol...and he said “everything” 😂 very predictable, Dan. Phil’s not answering

51:54-52:25 - Dan’s first reaction is just “awww.” And Phil saying “I miss the breakfast bar” umm 👀

52:38-53:20 - Dan is emotional about these final questions and so fond at Phil’s response

54:02-54:20 - awww, Dan

54:58 - nice wholesome ending message from Dan. with a “try new things” and everything

55:20 - Phil is not pleased that Dan suggested this because now he has no choice hahaha

I honestly don’t think I had seen this video since Dan posted it originally, so this was nice. DAPGO still seems like a weird concept to me, but I suppose if I could get a published memory book and sell it too...yeah. Dan wanting to have a physical object to hold on to and remember things is sweet. It reminds me of him keeping the question paper from PINOF for all of those years. 🥺

This was the last video Dan posted on his channel in 2016 (though he does appear in a couple on Phil’s, and in lots of gaming videos, of course).

#dan and phil #dnp #dnpRewatch #daniel howell #danisnotonfire #amazingphil #dan howell #phil lester #DAPGOOSE - The Dan and Phil Go Outside On Stage Event #cw food

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emwritesstuff · 4 years ago

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as the world caves in | ch. 9 | bucky barnes x reader

synopsis: You are a ghost story. A former Air Force pilot who had her plane shot down by Germany in 1945, but here you were in 2023, alive and frozen in your 25-year-old body.

You haven’t seen Bucky since the 1940’s, before his fall, before you went on a suicide mission only to come back alive. You aren’t sure reliving those memories – and being a living memory of everything the man has lost – is the best for him.

But you and Bucky won’t be apart for long.

This will loosely follow the plot of TFATWS - so spoilers ahead, specially regarding episode six (finale). Thread carefully!

masterlist | AO3

notes: thank you everyone for your patience with this chapter. I'm dropping this lil shortie so we can get the story moving. Let's go! (warnings: lil' fluff, lil' angst) (word count: 3K) nine: records

Bucky knocked on your door a few weeks later.

It was late, and you were snug in your pajamas, winding down after a long day. With your identity no longer a secret, the government was in the midst of transferring you to something more… hands-on, and definitely less diplomatic, you were assuming; so much for retirement, but you figured 30 years of it had been more time than you could’ve anticipated.

You almost didn’t hear the soft rapping on wood over Vera Lynn’s mellow singing.

When you finally opened it, you found him standing there, wearing tired eyes and a dark coat. “I’m sorry, I know it’s late, but I started walking and I—"

“When I said you’re welcome anytime, Bucky Barnes, I meant any time.”

A tiny fraction of a smile was offered your way, and you grasped it tight against your heart at the same time you do his hand, pulling him inside.

His fingers lingered on yours, but before you could start thinking about it he pulled away, taking a seat at the edge of your couch. “I finished it. The book.”

Bucky answered your question before you could ask it. “I just came from there. The last one– the last name.”

“Well. Are you alright?” You sat next to him, your knee knocking against his, and his gaze went from the floor, to the spot where your legs touched, and then to you. He knitted his eyebrows, seeming a little incredulous you were even asking.

“I will be.” His hands intertwined on the space between his knees, and you placed a hand ton his shoulder, getting him to look at you again.

“Yes, you will. Do you want to talk about it?”

One corner of Bucky’s lip raised up, and he shook his head. “Is that Vera Lynn?”

You smiled, turning to look at your record player as if Vera herself was sitting next to it. “It is. Takes me back, I guess.”

“It’s all we’d listen to at the front.”

Nodding, you wondered for a second if Bucky remembered dancing to We’ll Meet Again the night before he was shipped off. Even if you weren’t the only girl he had danced with then, you still asked yourself if that memory was burned on his mind as it was on yours.

We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when. A short-term promise, made back then by hopeful lovers, friends, family members; you had no idea that those lyrics would prove themselves so literal when you and Bucky mouthed them at each other in the middle of a dancefloor.

You let out a breathy chuckle, standing up and beckoning him to where you kept the rest of your vinyl. “Come on. Vera’s starting to feel a little too nostalgic to me.”

Your record collection was pretty extensive, ranging from things of the good ol’ days from the special editions that were still being released nowadays. Bucky joined you on the floor, and together you started to make your way through decades eternized in discs.

“Marvin Gaye.”

You look up from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust, finding Bucky making a face at the album he was holding. “It’s really good. Do you want to—”

“No. No more Marvin Gaye.”

You furrowed your eyebrows. “You don’t like him?”

“I like Marvin Gaye! Jesus. Marvin is good—Marvin’s jus’ fine,” Bucky rubbed his eyes with his thumb and middle finger, and you finally understood.

“Sam’s been preaching you the word of R&B to you too, huh?”

You giggled at the tired look he gave you and silently took Trouble Man out of his hands, stuffing it back with the rest of the 1970’s.

Years ago, Bucky would be delighted to dive headfirst in the new – your trips to countless science fairs and expositions were enough proof of that – but looking at him now, knowing him as you were starting to once again, you figured that just a dip of the toes was more than enough.

You pulled Frank Sinatra from the 1950’s section.

“I know Sinatra.”

“Do you now?”

You put the record on your player, and Vera Lynn’s longing gave way to Sinatra’s swagger and jazz.

“Do you?” Bucky teased, frowning at the most recent items in your collection. As soon as Frank’s voice filled the silence, he nodded. “Yeah, that’s nice.”

“I do know him! Or did. Met ‘im in 1962.” You plopped next to Bucky, who was shaking his head. “What?”

“Show off.”

“No, just been around. Met people on the way. And, you asked.” Your smirk grew into a grin as Bucky mouthed your words back at you. Then his face fell for a second, and your amusement was quickly replaced by worry. “What is it?”

“Nothing, I guess – I guess I just missed a lot.” The same way one of the corners of his lips tug on his cheek again in his attempt of a smile, melancholy tugs at your heartstrings. “I missed out on everything. And I missed out on you.”

Bucky’s head was low as he spoke and you could see the tremble of his hands, even though he clutched one of your records tightly. Nina Simone, 1960’s.

“M’not going anywhere, you know.”

“You still lived an entire lifetime—”

“I did, yes, thank you for constantly reminding me that I’m over 100 years old.” You shook your head at him, sighing softly when he chuckled.

You couldn’t blame him, for clinging to every bit of past he’d missed while he was in HYDRA’s clutches – you knew that was inevitable, but you wished that such sorrow wasn’t so related to you.

“What are you doin’?” He asked as you summoned a small stool from the side of your shelf and stepped on it.

“I want to show you somethin’.” The thing you were looking for was stored at the very top: a heavy, brown leather suitcase that almost made you lose your balance when you pulled it from the spot it had been sitting in for—honestly, years, many of them.

The contents of the suitcase rattled as you climbed down and sat next to Bucky again. Sinatra still playing, telling his lover I've got you under my skin, I've got you, deep in the heart of me;

You almost laughed from the truth and irony of it.

I'd tried so, not to give in

I said to myself this affair never will go so well

You unlocked the suitcase, revealing the gathered memories inside. Pictures, movie tickets, theater playbooks, receipts, trinkets. All souvenirs of the 80 something years of your life Bucky hadn’t been there to see.

Not organized in the slightest, the keepsakes of your life were tossed together and out of order just as in your memory: photographs of you in uniform, and sometimes in party dresses; of when you bought your house; of the few times you had pets. Posing next to famous people and other important ones whose names weren’t as well known by the world.

As you and Bucky went through each of them, you added a story or an explanation, sometimes both, to fill him in on the details of your life events. He laughed at some, frowned at a lot, stared at you intently for all of them.

“Is this Berlin?”

You hummed, nodding. “1989. That party was great.”

“Party?” Bucky knitted his eyebrows in surprise.

“The city was unified, the wall was being taken down, and everyone was celebrating. I’ve never seen that many bottles of vodka in one place.” You laughed, taking a good look at yourself in the picture.

The 80’s were definitely not your best decade, looks wise. You had tried a perm the year before, and the poodle look was only then starting to dial down. The beginnings of a bruise were starting to creep on your left eye, from the mission you had completed just a few hours before.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been that drunk.”

Bucky’s surprise intensified, his eyes wide. “We can’t get drunk.”

“Yes we can.”

“No, no we can’t.”

“We can, in fact. It’s all a matter of quantity and, well, speed.” You giggled as Bucky’s mouth gaped more.

“And the hangover?”

“Horrible. Like getting shot on the forehead. Comes quickly, too.”

He grimaced, and with one last look – certainly to register your peculiar appearance on his mind – gently put the picture back inside the suitcase. A stack of papers seemed to call out to him and he picked it up, releasing them from the band that held them together carefully.

Postcards of the places you’ve been: a small note to James Barnes and Steve Rogers on the back of each one.

Bucky’s voice faltered. He let out an anguished little sound, probably something that was supposed to be an Oh, or a What, but had no strength to crawl up his throat.

You brought your knees to your chest as you waited for him.

“You—you wrote to us?”

“I did. You can keep those, they’re addressed to you.”

After all this time, you could barely remember the words you wrote in those postcards; all you knew was that some had longer messages, others a simple Wish you were here.

“After we met in Baltimore, I thought that— that you’d have moved on from us.”

From me.

As if that was possible.

“Well, I stopped writing by 2003, give or take. But really,” You sighed. “It’s hard to forget someone when you’ve always been expecting them to come back to you.”

Bucky flipped the postcard from Rome, read the writing and smiled wistfully at it. “And, I did.”

“You did. And staying away was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but—”

“But you’re annoyingly stubborn.” His jaw tightened, then relaxed when he smirked. “I mean, I get it – If the roles were reversed, I’d leave you rebuild your life without me like a self-sacrificing idiot too.”

Alright. That was fair.

Shaking your head, you watched as he slipped the postcards in his pocket, an amused expression on his face.

“That was… a big mistake. Something a self-sacrificing idiot would do,” You screwed your eyes shut in shame, opening them when Bucky chuckled. “but now, I’m right here. And so are you.”

His stubble scratched the soft skin of your palm when you reached for him, and you continued. “We’re a little out of place in this century, that much is true, but if I’m being honest… I’m getting tired of yearning for the past, Buck.”

Good old times – sometimes really good, sometimes bad, every one of them old – tucked away in your heart like your records were tucked in neatly in their shelf, organized by year. As you went through the decades, your enhanced body eternizing you like marble, your heart seemingly stayed at that army camp overseas. Or maybe Sergeant Bucky Barnes had taken it with him, only for them to be frozen together, leaving you with an empty hole in your chest.

You lived your life longing for that missing piece, the one with blue eyes and the dashing smile and the skilled feet.

The one that in many other stories was the one that got away, the one who now believed he was somebody else, but had brought your heart back with him all the same.

The very heart that nearly leapt out of your chest when Bucky rested his forehead against yours.

You’ve never been this close – there isn’t an ounce of past in the gesture. His eyes being tightly closed kept him from seeing the surprise on your eyes and then how they fell to his lips for a millisecond. Then, those lips brushed against yours in a featherlike touch.

I would sacrifice anything, come what might

For the sake of having you near

He pried himself off you when you exhaled, as if your very breath had electrocuted him.

“M’sorry. I—I didn’t—” He said as you stared at the back of his neck, and the shock gives way to disappointment.

I didn’t mean to. Or maybe: I didn’t want to.

“That’s—it’s okay.” You clapped your hands on your knees, still feeling the prickle of his facial hair on them, and got up to change the music.

There was no doubt Bucky was touch starved, and that he probably craved the closeness that comes with a lover. He sought that for a fleeting second in Sam’s sister, and now in you. No point in dwelling on what it might have meant.

Right?

Looking at Bucky, his expression was overcast, furrowed eyebrows as he watched you from his spot on the floor. You offered him a gentle smile, and the crease on his forehead eased up slightly.

Right.

Don't you know little fool, you never can win

The record player made a scratching sound as you replaced Frank Sinatra with your go-to jazz compilation. Instrumental.

No lyrics.

There was one thing you’ve always been good at, regarding the infatuation with Bucky Barnes that has taken over your heart for almost a century now: locking the feelings away and stepping into the shoes of the best friend.

Besides, you’ve said it yourself: no more yearning for the past. Hopefully you and Bucky would be able to do that soon enough.

At that moment, however, you needed to feel the burn of whiskey down your throat and pretend it’ll heal the calcinating rejection spreading through your chest.

The guilt you found in Bucky’s eyes as he watched you sweep around your hardwood floors made you pour a glass for him.

He took it gratefully, frowning when you bottomed the whole thing up.

“There’s a lot in here.” He tapped the edge of the suitcase, skillfully steering the conversation in the direction of the more palatable, calm territory it was in before.

The sight of your autobiographical collection made you smile.

“An entire lifetime,” You said, fishing your dog tags from the bottom. “I suppose that’s where it started. Or at least, where thisstarted.”

Bucky took them reverentially, running his thumb over the imprint of your name and numbers.

He reached for his neck, producing from under his Henley the same type of metal chain he was holding in his hands. The fact that he still wore his like that sent a sharp blow to your lungs, almost knocking the air out of you.

His face softened, a smile so beautiful spreading across his lips, so much that your chest clenched in protest because it was simply not fair, how he still had you entirely.

He deposited both of your dog tags in your hands, and that’s when you saw it, and remembered it.

“Won’t we get in trouble for this?”

“Do you care?”

“Well…No.” You sighed, already resigned. And a little excited.

Bucky knew you well: it had been too long of being a good little soldier when all you were used to was the rush of being a hellion.

“And that is why, sugar, that I’m doing this with you, and not with Steve.”

The words made your heart soar, but you were sure to recapture it before it could fly away too high, still too attached to the sensation of the take-off to clip its wings.

You liked flying.

“And because Steve hasn’t been successful in his enlisting efforts. Yet.”

Bucky looked at you from behind his eyebrows, a reprimand hiding in his eyes, but he decided to shove his uniform hat on your head instead. You grumbled, calling him a jerk under your breath.

It was the night before Bucky was drafted to England. He looked handsome in his uniform, a shining, polished star, brighter than the sun even under the dim streetlight you two stood under.

After bringing his and Steve’s dates home (yours was lost to another boxing match along the way – not that you were crying about that) Bucky had decided he was going to stay up all night, because, in his words, he could sleep when the war was over. Or, more realistically, in the ship on the way to England.

So there you two were, illuminated by street lamps and moonlight, visiting the façades and front windows of your favorite places in Brooklyn like drifters in the night.

Bucky still concentrated on his task, his shoulder hunched slightly to block your sight.

“Let me see! Bucky!”

“ ’Sposed to be a surprise! I’m almost done.”

You huffed, crossing your arms. “It’s not like I haven’t seen ‘em before.”

“You gotta be more patient. Here.”

He dropped your dog tags on your hand. You displayed the small steel plates on your palm, scanning your eyes over the two. One of them, of course, had your name, number, blood type, next of kin – an aunt you’ve never met – and address.

The other had Bucky’s.

James B Barnes. 32557038.

He slipped his own chain over his head, the plate with your name clinking against his.

You brought the tips of your fingers to your lips, feeling a smile begin to form onto them.

“I forgot we did this. I haven’t looked at these in so long.”

You had stopped wearing your dog tags the day the war had ended – Bucky was gone then, Steve too, and the weight of his dog tags slamming against your chest was too much to bear – your heart was already heavy with its own engraving of their memories.

“Steve had a lecture prepared when he gave mine back.” Bucky chuckled when you looked up at him, incredulous.

You shook your head, half exasperated and half amused. “Good grief, Steve.”

“Y’know how he is. Was,” He trailed, lips twitching as they formed a thin line.

You reached for him, your hand hovering in the space between you for a second before Bucky took it, lacing your fingers. Scooting closer, you let your cheek rest on his shoulder.

“He’d be glad we’re reunited.” You said, raising your head to peek at him and the newfound upwards curl of his lip. “And mortified we’re still bickering.”

Bucky smiled and squeezed your hand. “Old people. Old habits.”

Laughter bubbled out of your chest, and you realized a few things.

In that moment, it didn’t matter – the heartache, the unrequited side of your love. It was just a fact, a fact of life, of your life, that you a lot of the times loved him as more than your best friend. You loved him. And that was the core of it, the most important fact.

And you knew he loved you – you had each other – in this big, ever-changing, modern world, you had Bucky and Bucky had you.

You sat in comfortable, familiar silence until your eyelids grew heavy and you felt yourself drifting in and out of consciousness.

“You dozin’ on me, sugar?”

“It’s been a long day.” You said with your eyes still closed, feeling him chuckle beside you.

“Tell me about it. I can go—”

“You know damn well you should stay.” You patted his arm and hoisted yourself up from the floor. “I’ll get the pull-up ready for you.”

As you sauntered towards the office, ignoring his pleads and protests that he’s got it, he doesn’t need sheets or anything, you put your dog tags back on.

They jingled lightly against your heart.

Maybe you didn’t have to leave all of the past behind to start building something good and new, after all.

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky x y/n #bucky barnes imagine

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