#I like blue ponies their colors are so fun to work with

[splashammil]

Night Glider redesign!

I struggled with picking accessories but decided on a scarf and some leg warmers to keep her warm:3

[sharkdoughnutz]

it might've taken me over 3 months, but i've finally finished my own designs for the mane 6

my main thought process for designing them was to use a color from the rainbow! i had to look up colors and their meanings to determine which color should go to which pony

rainbow dash is red because she's the most fierce and bold. sidenote: her mane and tail color is actually white but she finds that boring so she dyes it, not her tail because i didnt like how it looked there

fluttershy is green because of nature and animals, pretty basic i know lol. also her pelt pattern is supposed to look like a deer's

applejack is blue only because i felt orange would fit rarity better, and yellow and purple were going to the other two remaining girls, so apple got stuck with blue but i tried my best to make it work for her. i think blue also means like maturity or smth similar so it works out anyways

pinkie pie is yellow because she's like the embodiment of happiness and joy so it made sense (also i had to use the pink color cuz there is no yellow color for the font)

twilight is staying purple mainly because of her previous life surrounded by royalty and the such, and also because purple is a main color in a twilight sky - orange is secondary so thats why she now has orange too

and finally, rarity is orange because of her creativeness, especially when it comes to fashion design; i think her design is my personal favorite.

i also tried to come up with creative cutie mark designs and i think i passed. though, the only one that isnt super obvious what its trying to represent is probably twilight's. basically i was going for a six pointed star (each point representing each girl) then it comes together in the middle by the white part to symbolize they all need each other or smth like that

i might get around to celestia and luna because i feel like they'll be fun to redesign, and maybe even spike or the cmc

[hyenaa-euphoria]

I hhave three questions, if I may!

Does DogDay in the red giant au like, attack anything that is alive/that moves, or not? Like, if someone where to give him food would he attack them or?? Sorry if this question is dumb lol

This sorta plays into the third question, but do you have any tips on how to draw the smiling critters?

Do you have any tips making a smiling critter oc? I'm really struggling with coming up for a design for my one, she always ends up lookin plain/boring :(

HELLOO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG

1 sort of…..???

He would rather snatch the food from your hand and forget about you than actually try to go after you!! It’s easy food after all!

And even if he did try attacking you, he can’t really so much, he has no strength left!

2 JUST ONE BUT YES

TEAR. BODIES.

thats literally it. tear bodies. that how you can construct their bodies.. Play with that! Make different poses!

3 Of course! Here are some tips!!

NAMES-

Soo, i usually base my ocs on animal idioms, animal expressions, adjectives, etc. Here are some examples with meanings!!

Loan Shark

Moneylender who asks for a lot of money, usually illegally.

CashCow

Someone who makes a lot of money from a company

BusyBee

Someone who keeps themselves busy

KittyCorner

Diagonally opposite from someone or something

Sitting Duck(s)

Someone thats easy to manipulate, cheat or take advantage of

EagerBeaver

Someone who works very hard and enthusiastically

WholeHog

Do something to its fullest extent

GuineaPig

Person used as a subject for an experiment

Wild Goose (Chase)

Foolish chase for something unattainable

BlackSheep

Person who embarrasses a group for being different

One-Trick-Pony

Person with one great talent but doesn’t have much more to offer

Road Hog

Dangerous driver, someone who drives recklessly

TopDog

The most important person in a group

You can also take normal expressions that have certain words that sound like animal species! Take my oc as an example (Sir Bat-An-Eye.)

COLORS-

IF you are basing your little critter on a real animal, you could think, “Man, how do i make this little guy look more Smiling Critter-ish?”

COLORS!!

Take Bubba for example,

He is an elephant! Elephants aren’t a bright blinding blue! Yet in a lot of cartoons they are represented this way because it is way more colorful! Sure to attract kids.

If it is an actual animal, search for some cartoon references of them! Maybe that can help!

Saturate the colors A LOT. Do you think kiddies would like an old, rusty, sad-beige-mom animal in their show??!?! Well- maybe…..🤔

But thats not the point! Make them bright! Make them pop!

Also, don’t always base them off of the animals ACTUAL colors! Give them different colors! If you want to make your alligator oc red because he lives in the depths of an erupting volcano then go ahead! If you want your parrot oc to be THE COLOR OF THE FUCKING RAINBOW then go ahead!! Who says they have to be the normal colors? Not me!

PERSONALITY AND ANIMAL CHOOSING-

Sooo… if you wanna be very picky like me.. then choose animals by how they would act in a society!

A hyena wouldn’t be nice! They would make fun of people, they would be rude!

A gazelle would be shy! They wouldn’t get their kicks from fighting!

That kinda what i mean🤔

If you want an elegant Critter, look for animals that often represent elegance, like peacocks!!

WHAT THEY DO.

What would they do if they were caretakers in PlayCare? A therapist? A janitor? What do they teach? Think about that and maybe that will help you with their necklaces!!

If you need more help, ask away :p!!

[curtis-corner]

STAND BY ME (Darry Curtis) PART 7

Fic masterlist here

Fun fact: the end of this chapter was one of the first ideas I had when coming up with this story. Enjoy and I promise an update next week because I think y'all are going to want one!

Taglist: @lovelylegolas2123 @amnestyliketaz

PART 7

You never used to mind working the later shift on Friday nights, but ever since you had starting dating Darry, you dread the time spent away. Knowing he was at his house and you could be there too made you antsy and you looked at the clock more than usual.

The door jingles and you look up from organizing receipts when you hear someone say your name.

“Sally?!” You exclaim, coming out from around the register to greet your old high school friend. It had been over a year since you last saw her, she got married right out of high school to an army man and moved up to Kentucky.

“I meant to write, I’m back for a week to visit with my folks. Needed to pick up a few things,” she gestures to the aisles. You catch up for a few minutes and help her find what she needs.

You are ringing her up when the door chimes again and you glance up to see Darry walking in. Sally gives you a not so subtle look as he approaches the register, she knew about your old crush on Darry and you know she’s going to go wild when she finds out you are dating.

“Hey baby,” he says when he approaches, leaning against the side of the counter and smiling. He glances over at Sally, whose mouth is wide open as she looks between the two of you.

“Sally, you remember Darry Curtis,” You awkwardly wave between the two of them.

“Hi Sally,” Darry voice is smooth, a clear contrast to yours. Sally closes her mouth, but her wide eyes turn to you.

“Seems I ain’t the only one forgetting to write with important news!” You groan. “Oh don’t you groan at me, missy, I was there when your Curtis crush started-“

“Curtis crush?” Darry raises one eyebrow and now your face is really heating up.

“And it was like pullin’ a tooth to get you to talk about it, but you’d blush even harder than you are now-“

“Alright, here’s your change.” You shove a few coins into her hand. “I’ll ring your parents tomorrow, we’ll catch up this week, I swear it.”

She leaves and you turn to Darry, who is smiling like a cat with a canary, but he opens his arms and you go right into his embrace.

--

It had become a little tradition on Fridays to have a date night in, and you felt spoiled by the effort Darry always put into it. He poured you a glass of wine and went about heating up your portion of baked chicken, potatoes and green beans. Darry always ate with his brothers, but made sure to save enough for you, and you made sure to always share some of your plate with him.

You had been dating Darry a few months now, but you still hadn’t gotten fully used to the feeling of being taken care of.

After dinner, you snuggle into his side on the old couch and lace your fingers through his. Steve and Soda had gone out and Pony was working on his story in his room.

“I think I need to repaint the kitchen.” Darry says, his thumb tracing circles on the spot where it met your hand.

“A nice light blue would be pretty.” You offer and he presses a kiss to the side of your head. You fight the urge to turn and capture his lips – you had already been caught making out once tonight by Ponyboy, you didn’t need to make him blush any harder.

“You wanna help me pick out the color?” Darry murmurs and you nod, snuggling closer.

“I’ve always wanted to paint a room.” You tell him. “My house is all white, nothing pretty going on. When I was little I would ask my parents if we could paint them, but they always said no. Once,” You giggle a little. “Once I took crayons to my bedroom wall and started coloring it.

“How much trouble did you get in?” Darry asks, chuckling.

“None, actually. I moved the vanity so it covered it. It’s still there.” Darry looks down at you and smiles.

“Smart girl.”

“They didn’t come check on me a lot anyway,” You say and Darry presses another kiss to the side of your head. “When I was little, sometimes my mom would have to take me on her jobs. She cleaned houses for some Soc families. I always knew I wouldn’t have a big old mansion on the West Side. But there’s these neighborhoods you pass on the way – like near the high school?” Darry nods.

“More middle-class kind of ones. We do jobs there.”

“I always thought those are nice. Nicer than what’s on the East Side, at least. I would look at them from the bus window and the yards were all kept up and it just seemed…safe.”

“I like those houses too.” Darry says and you sit for another minute, just holding hands. A door creaks open and footsteps come down the short hallway.

“I’m coming in the living room. I better not be scarred for life again.” He announces and Darry rolls his eyes.

“Smartass.” He answers and Pony rounds the corner with a knowing grin.

“Can we watch a tv show? My hand is cramping up,” he lifts his right hand and gives it a shake.

“Sure.” Darry slides over and Pony sits on his other side, leaning in close and Darry tucks his other arm around him.

You knew Darry still worried sometimes about not being able to take you out as often as he would like, or the fact that your time together often included at least one of his brothers, but the truth was you loved it.

You loved how Soda would turn up the radio when he was doing dishes and dance around so much it would take twice as long for him to finish them.  You loved that Ponyboy would sometimes ask you to check over your history homework since he knew it was your favorite subject. Even with everything the Curtis family had gone through, the house was still warm and bursting with love and you considered yourself lucky to be a part of it.

Pony fell asleep not twenty minutes after he sat down, and Soda and Steve came home tracking in so much snow that you though Darry was going to make them sleep outside. You talked with them for a few minutes while Darry walked a half-asleep Ponyboy to bed, and then Darry begrudgingly took you home.

It was freezing, but that never stopped Darry from walking you right up to the door. While you both pushed the line in private, at his core Darry was still a gentleman.

But not too much of a gentleman to give up pushing you against the front of the house and kissing you senseless.

“I hate sayin’ goodnight to you.” He murmurs into your neck and you sigh.

“I know the feeling.” He wraps his strong arms around you one more time before walking you to the door. His brows furrow.

“Doesn’t your dad usually leave a light or two on?”

“Only because he doesn’t remember to turn them off.” You reach into your pocketbook for your house key.

“He’ll be home in what, an hour or two?” Darry is still looking around. He had made it clear many times he does not like dropping you off at an empty house.

“Usually about that.” You hold off on opening the door and instead sneak one last kiss from your boyfriend. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” You two had plans to go to dinner and for a drive after you freshen up from your day shift.

“I love you,” Darry says, as earnestly as he did the first time. And just like the first time, it still nearly knocks you off your feet.

“I love you too. Drive home safe.”

The wind whips through the house when you open the door and you hear a few papers rustling on the table. You hope your neatly piled bills aren’t scattered all over the floor.

You do your usual bedtime routine – change into pajamas, brush your teeth, use a cold cream and washcloth to take off your makeup. It’s quiet but peaceful, and you are nearly snuggled into bed when you remember you forgot to get a glass of water.

You walk to the kitchen and catch the corner of a paper from under the table. When you pick it up, you see it’s not a bill but a note from your father:

In some trouble. Out of town. Lock the doors.

You read it again before an icy feeling starts to crawl down the back of your neck. You never locked the doors when your dad was out, he usually came home so loaded he couldn’t open them with a key. With the note clutched in your hand, you hurry to the front door and lock it.

You can feel your heart beating a little faster and you go back to your bedroom and try to take deep breaths.

You glance at the clock – nearly one in the morning. You’re having an internal debate on whether to call Darry when you hear glass smashing from the front of the house.

You hear a thunk, and then two male voices arguing, one sounding further than the other. Another smash of glass and the voices are slightly louder.

“You think he skipped town?”

“Better not have, boss will have a cow.  Now find that money.”

There’s movement and shuffling and the terror that has gripped you since the first sound of breaking glass suddenly propels you into action. You grab your pocketbook from the nightstand and shove your feet into slippers before opening your bedroom window as quietly as you can.

You hear more banging, and it’s getting closer. You hoist your leg over the windowsill and climb out. Your back leg hitches on the windowsill and you fall the short distance to the ground, landing on patch of ice and gravel.

You ignore the throbbing in your right arm and without another look back, you run like hell.

[otterloreart]

someone on MLPTP asked for Lil' Litters puppies/kittens so I've been attempting them in the background.

More information about these sculpts (aka down the rabbit hole) after cut

The coloration of the models in my shots were based off the My Little Puppy "Pretty Poodle" family, but models were reused for other sets

For example, Sweet Spaniel family had the "blue poodle" model but a unique sitting spaniel, although it looks like the proportions + ears are the same as the other two

And then the next release had the "Funtime Spaniels" set which had the same poses but was more colorful, and also the puppies with the other "mom dog" sculpts:

The website Toysisters, where I got the above photos, mentioned that the entire second line of My Little Puppies is hard to find so I looked them up and

This was the only My Little Puppy 2nd year release I could find and its a single figure for $75.

Also in the 1980s hasbro purchased the rights to a Barbie competitor (originally made in the UK) called Sindy and reused some of the pet molds in pajama party packs:

And this one also sells for a lot and isn't really available in many places

I don't bring up the prices, btw, as a critique of vintage toy collecting or anything. I don't make these models because I think people should just make new ones all the time. I /like/ that we're preserving old toys.

Rather, I hope my sculpts are used for collectors who have part of a collection and can't find a real vintage one, or people who think it is sweet and want to make a custom one (like they could do their dog or just a fun new thing). It's just for fun and not a replacement

I think what really disappoints me about all the lil'litters characters is they don't have the colorful marks like the ponies. If you didn't know, the original pony marks were made to imitate the marks on an appaloosa horse

And to me, while they aren't the only reason the ponies did well, they're definitely one of the things that makes them unique, like the carebears stomachs or strawberry shortcakes' fruit hat

Like they made a dalmation dog and they didn't even give it like... heart shaped spots. Huge missed opportunity there imo.

Also they did the siamese in reverse dark-light colors and iut looks like a fox. Siamese cats don't work this way, they gotta be darker around the tips for a reason.

Hasbro did release a line called Little Pretty that had a similar conceit, but I find the sculpt of the toys... underwhelming. They look more like Proto-Littlest Pet Shop to me than My Little Ponies:

The one on the left is supposed to be a dog and I only figured that out because she has no ears, just hair...

I much prefer the Lil Litters sculpts, they look more detailed and unique to me, and more similar to the OG MLPs

the My Little Kitty / Lil Litters were actually released concurrently with the Little Pretty line, both around 1990, so the discrepancy in artstyle feels really weird. but also it's just such a weird choice to create two similar looking brands to me? I don't... get it.

This was also year 9 of my little pony so the brand was going wild with the ponies and its interesting to me how plain and early-years the dogs+cats were in comparison

they were giving the ponies neon colors, false eyelashes and built in pockets and decided that their other animal lines would just be... different colors.

anyways my send-off is here are the first releases of lil litters:

[stardust-sunset]

Curtis Parents hcs let’s goooooo

I don’t know why. But Mrs. Curtis was definitely a spring or summer baby.

Her name was Carolina but she went by Lina! Or CC. Me. Curtis called her CC when they got married

I like to think she was kind of a petite woman-she had the thickest hair imaginable. She was seriously beautiful (I mean…look at her kids)

She had this waist length, wavy, golden hair and these bright green eyes. She definitely had a more doe like look.

She used to love eye makeup. Mr Curtis used to call her Bambi because she looked so deer like sometimes with her eyes lol

She loved sundresses and bright colors and often wore a white dress with yellow flower prints on them. That was Pony’s favorite af least.

Mr. Curtis was definitely a load taller than her

He canonically looks like Darry-I’m imagining him to have these grey eyes-or maybe brown! Maybe even heterochromia honestly! One brown eye and one grey eye.

He used to be a shop class teacher at the high school! He had Darry in his class actually. He taught Darry how to start woodworking and the tips and tricks, hence why he roofs homes now. He feels like he’s with his father when we’ve he goes

Anyway

He was definitely bigger in build and looked SO scary but he was the goofiest man ever

Take Soda, put him on steroids and you have Mr. Curtis. He was def a favorite teacher and the school mourned when he died.

The two met on a blind date! Mrs. Curtis wore her yellow dress and that’s how they ended up finding each other

They’re interfaith! Mrs. Curtis was Jewish and Mr. Curtis was Catholic.

Their first date was to a fair and out for dinner. They go to fairs a lot, and they had their first kiss at the top of a ferris wheel I’m calling it

Mr. Curtis had a LOT of pet names for her.

He’d call her Daffodil a lot because she had one in her hair when they first met 😭🙏

Bless his heart

Neither of them had big families-Mrs. Curtis was raised in a modest house-she didn’t have much growing up but it taught her to be a hard worker

Mr Curtis was honestly the same-except he had it a lot worse

He didn’t get to eat often so whenever his family was eating he would say his stomach hurt at dinner all the time and would wait for everyone else to have their fill before saying he would “try to eat” (this was a plot to make sure everyone was fed before him)

Darry learned this from him tbh

Their wedding was suuuuuper fun tho-they both have big extended families and they were able to throw a really big ceremony for them

Mr. Curtis BAWLED when she walked down the aisle

She even had a daffodil in her hair

Nrs. Curtis got pregnant with Darey on their honeymoon. They were pretty young when they had him-they’d canonically be at least in their early 20s

They were so confused when Darry popped out with blue eyes 😭

It was her idea to name him Darrel too. She thought he looked just like him, even as a baby

Aftee him they wanted another baby (Mrs. Curtis got HORRID baby fever) and they had one-but unfortunately that baby didn’t make it.

Soda was a rainbow baby by default-they told him and he thought that meant he was born rainbow

She did NOT wanna name him Sodapop but Mr. Curtis was very persuasive

By the time Ponyboy came along she gave up and let him name him Ponyboy 😭

Mrs. Curtis worked as a kindergarten teacher! The kids called her Miss Sunshine a lot because of her hair and the bright colors she wore

She was super good at music! She used to do club performances when her and Mr. Curtis were dating (just singing and playing piano) and Mr. Curtis immediately fell in love with her

She taught Darry and Pony how to sing and play piano. Soda had n interest lol

She also loved nature! Mr. Curtis did too-he was like a big puppy who just constantly needed attention and to be outside lol

They went brid watching a lot too!

Mrs. Curtis had a super sweet and soft voice and Mr. Curtis had the thickest accent ever 😭

Mr. Curtis was a lot like Bandit from Bluey. That’s the best comparison I can make-he was super goofy and fun loving but he was always putting his kids before anything else

When the Curtis brothers buried their parents they put daffodils on both their graves. They can’t look at daffodils anymore without tearing up or crying

That’s all for now! Should I do a pt. 2?

[its-sunny-somewhere-else]

OMORI PONIES for fun as cope. Ironically the real world ones are more colorful than the dreamworld ones lol

Sunny/Omori

Unicorn. I kind of just thought "whatever go dull" at first but then I thought it'd be interesting if part of the reason his dreams and nightmares are so detailed/fucked up as hell is because of some magic going fucked up, seemed cute in a way.

The cutie mark for Sunny is a sun (NAME) but it's also got a crescent moon shape over it, sort of ominous. One random line from the game that stuck with me was an NPC in the dreamworld or something saying "the moon shines brightly today", as the sky in it always fascinated me with how strange it seemed and how it's Always Nighttime and how that goes thematically with his real name being Sunny but not in this world.

Omori's is the demon because ofc his existence is defined by it. Sometimes it disappears.

Colorwise, Sunny's coat is supposed to be a brighter yellow but is very dull right now..

Mari

Unicorn also to match with her brother, and because one of the first things you notice about her in the dreamworld is her teleporting all the time. Seems magic to me!

The cutiemark is a picnic blanket. If I had more space I'd do the basket. It's very iconic Mari imagery, plus it signals both her ability to cook and her care for others!

She's a light purple in the real world, which is tied to everyone being purple in the dream world sort of like how in the game she wanted to dye her hair purple before she died and because of that everyone in the dream world has purple hair.

Kel

Pegasus because I felt like it fit his "free" personality. He's a blank flank in the dream world! He hadn't gotten his yet the last time Sunny saw him. During the four years Sunny was hiding, Kel got one, so he missed out on that. I haven't exactly thought of what it is, though.

He's blue with orange hair because I associate orange with Kel and the blue just seems to work to me.

Hero

Pegasus to match his brother. Without wings how could he catch up with him to make sure he stays out of trouble! hehe. Also makes him seem COOL

His coat is orange, like Kel's hair to show they're related, and his hair is darker blue! His cutiemark is a hero sandwich XD I THOUGHT IT WAS FUNNY he likes to cook, and it's what he's named after! hehe

Aubrey

Earth pony, because those are associated with having more strength.

She also may have been a blank flank, but I think it's funny to retranslate her dialogue when it comes to tagging where she says "I'm not sure Kel even has a talent" or something along those lines to being about his blank flank lol. The cutiemark she has in the future at least is of her baseball bat. How do horses hold bats? You tell me, they do it in the show. CARTOON WHO CARES

She's blue (or maybe closer to teal, I might do that) because it's a nice vibrant color and matches her headband in the future. It goes well with pink or black hair.

Basil

Earth pony, association with plants and farming. Definitely a good pick for him.

The cutiemark is clearer in the real world version. It's a flower, but the center of it is a camera lens. He's obviously the flower boy, and the camera is INCREDIBLY important to his story both in the dreamworld and real world.

[aphidclan-clangen]

Hello! I wanted to say(If it was okay)

1. Your design and the way you draw is amazing!•^•

2. If it’s okay to ask, what is a sparklecat? Like what makes one a sparklecat specifically? They seem so cool and I love the colors and designs and I’d love to make my own but I don’t really know how to make one and what the design rules are, if there are any

(Also sorry if I’m going this wrong, I’m still pretty new to tumblr and this is my first time asking)

Don’t worry, you’re good! And thank you! ^^

And though I’m really no expert on sparklecats by far, I believe there’s really only one rule with making a sparklecat: THERE ARE NO RULES!! HAVE FUN!! Be creative to your wildest dreams and make whatever you want, however you want, whenever you want!! That is the point of the sparklecat, a creative imagination that knows no bounds, no societal rules, and certainly no laws of physics!

In my eyes, the definition of a “sparklecat” (or “sparkledog” or any other sparklecreature) is a cat (or cat-based) OC with some sort of unnaturally/unrealistically colorful design. Which means, if you want to make a sparklecat that’s like…a pastel blue unicorn angel kitty made out of clouds, go right ahead! If you want to make a rainbow neonfest scenemo cat named Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way, go right ahead!! Or if you simply just want to slap some hot pink stripes on a mackerel tabby cat, that works too!!

They can easily be accessorized as much as you want and may often dip into fantasy elements with additional traits like angel or demon wings, magic wielding, horns, halos, extra long claws or sharp teeth, multiple tails, etc etc

There’s also a more specific kind of sparklecat that’s heavily intertwined with 2000s scenecore culture, with overlap into areas of inspiration like emo and goth fashion, rave fashion & PLUR culture, old internet memes, Lisa Frank, anime, kandi bracelets & kandi trading, Warrior Cats, video games (especially nostalgic games like Minecraft, Club Penguin, Webkinz, old flash games that are now defunct, etc), 2000s cartoons (My Little Pony, Invader Zim, etc), and a few specific music genres. Those kinds of sparklecats are my favorite, they usually represent a lot of + scenecore & emo fashion/culture and the artist’s childhood nostalgia for the 1990s-2010s era. I don’t have nearly enough OCs of the classic kind of sparklecat tbh, I need to make more sometime

But that’s pretty much it! I don’t really know what your creative process is for making characters or character designs, so I don’t know if I can help much further than that. There’s really no “standard of expectation” or a wrong way to make a sparklecat anyway. Just go have fun and make whatever your heart desires! Ty again! ^^

[urlocalnonbinarybastardwrites]

Please do The gang+tim and culry with a s/o who likes to bake/cook!

YO my dad is actually a chef and I know how to cook and bake pretty well if I do say so myself so HELL YEAH i can do this pookie

GN!Baker/Cook s/o x The Gang + Tim n Curly Shepard

Ponyboy Curtis

-he loves it

-he’d never really had anyone besides the gang cook for him

-and tbh their skill is no where near yours

-when he hears you in the kitchen it’s like he’s a dog istg

-there in five seconds

-whenever he helps you cook he’s super precise over measuring

-“Y/n it says EXACTLY 6 cups of water”

-“Pony, it’s water for pasta. Eyeball it.”

Johnny Cade

-he’s not used to eating real good food

-or having people cook for him

-he’s so hungry all the time

-I fell like it suprises people, his appetite vs his size

-but he always says thank you when you cook for him

-sometimes helps you

-gets so flustered when you praise him

-getting a compliment from YOU on something he’s making is

-just honoring

Sodapop Curtis

-lol we already know this man in the kitchen

-you have to ban him because he makes such a mess

-he tried to sneak food coloring in the batter 💀💀

-and then runs away

-“SODAPOP CURTIS WHY IS MY BREAD BLUE?!”

-but you can’t stay mad at his behavior because he has the pretty privilege

-he’s lucky he’s cute tbh

Darry Curtis

-the best to cook/bake with

-forget grateful if you cook dinner so he don’t have to

-after working all day

-you two have a lot of fun in the kitchen

-and you swap turns cleaning vs cooking

Dallas Winston

-he would love eating your food

-but this mf is so impatient

-he sits at the freaking table whining like a kid

-I also think he’s mostly try to tease you

-like he’d come up behind you and wrap his hands around your waist and start kissing on your neck

-while you’re trying to cook something

-because he knows that it gives you butterflies and also distracts you from making something

-so you get annoyed and flustered

-which he loves 

Two Bit Mathews

-flour fights

-if you get him in the kitchen, you guys are not baking or cooking

-He’s goofing around with the ingredients

-Tries to stick his nasty hand in the batter

-“WASH YOUR HANDS TWO BIT!”

-he’s slightly worse than soda

-if you leave him alone with any finished food, especially cupcakes he’s eating it all

-and then tries to deny that he ate them all when it’s so blatantly obvious because he did not clean up 

Steve Randle

-micromanager 💀

-i’m sorry, but he’ll pretend like he doesn’t care

-and then as soon as you get something wrong he’s like

-“It said TWO tbsp Y/n not THREE!”

-You have to tell him to trust the process multiple times

-And he does not trust this “ process” nor you

-I feel like even if you’re the better baker or better cook he would still take over

-or try to take over 

Tim Shepard

-he definitely shows you off to his gang

-he loves the fact that you can cook

-he eats whatever you make in like three seconds

-Like it’s concerningly fast

-he doesn’t really help you out that much in the kitchen

- I don’t think this man can cook

Curly Shepard

-he pretends like he doesn’t care

-but he secretly loves it whenever you cook for him

-he’ll always utter a thank you

-I think that he secretly likes really girly dessert things

-Gotta keep it a secret or that fragile masculinity will shatter

-It’s like two bit whenever you make pink cupcakes

-he tries to eat them all

-You catch him red-handed with a smirk

-Tim Never lets him live it down

[jackroach-does-theories]

Kaycee's sprite

(Copy-pasted from my original Wikia comment)

So! Fun Kaycee fact: By poking around in the files, we can actually guess at something fairly close to her appearance, using both her Deathcard and the Act II alternate player characters.

How Deathcard images work is that the sprite is made of different parts:

We can see that Kaycee's Deathcard is made with Eyes 5, Mouth 2, and the "Wildling" head/hairstyle.

Similarly, the Act II sprites are divided into head and body:

...With char.png being the default sprite, and the monocle being an overlay after picking it up from Magnificus' tower. The gbc_ files are randomly combined to make a new player character when walking into the mirror in the back of Grimora's crypt. (Side note... unsure of what the gbc part means, I was thinking the G stood for Grimora but there are files with it unrelated to her, so I think it's just an Act II signifier in general.)

But anyway, putting together the wildling files, we get this spritesheet:

And upscaled + condensed to be a bit easier to look at:

Kaycee Hobbes in full-color, 8-bit glory!!

This process applies to the other pre-made deathcards! Louis - chief Reginald - settlerman Kaminski - settlerwoman James Cobb - robot Luke Carder - gravedigger

...As well as some other premade Kaycee's Mod deathcards that don't seem to have a ton of significance. The Prospector is also, obviously, the prospector in the files, despite not having a deathcard.

Reginald does look like the Reginald we know, just wearing blue instead of red. Prospector is spot-on. James did get turned into a robot, and Luke is, well, dead. A skeleton. We don't have canon appearances for Louis or Kaminski, so they're pretty much fair game. Meaning these are probably fairly legit, since itl all lines up so well. I guess it's not, like, solid evidence, but circumstantially it all makes a lot of sense. So, there we go! Canon appearance for Kaycee (And Lou Natas and Kaminski??), or at least the closest thing we'll probably ever get, unless Pony Island 2 surprises us with her.

Hope this is interesting to people!

(Unrelated, does Reginald and Kaminski being named settlerman and settlerwoman respectively imply that they're married? That'd be pretty interesting to think about)

[buckysgrace]

17. Forever and Ever, Amen

Gator Tillman x fem!oc

Hugh announces some surprising news to the entire family.

Then

He was thirteen when Nadine stumbled into his life.

He supposed that force was a better way to describe it. She had disrupted the delicate balance that was his home life, even if it wasn’t technically her fault. Still, he enjoyed having her company. It made him feel less lonely in his big house, even though he wasn’t allowed to play with her that much. 

“Who are you?” Daphne peered up at Nadine, her dark eyebrows pulled together inquisitively like she was trying to decide if Nadine was kind or not. Her eyes were narrowed, like she was trying to decide if Nadine was friend or foe. 

Nadine had only been at the ranch for a few days, but Gator’s parents had business with the ranch that had left the two of them swiftly dropped off at the Williams’ house. Ruby had spent some time outside on the porch, speaking to his mom in a hushed whisper. “I told you,” Gator whined, “This is Nadine.” He reminded her again, although he had already told her over the phone the day that Nadine had arrived. Daphne parted her lips in a silent understanding, her big blue eyes locking onto Nadine like she was one of the new animals her father had purchased. 

“Oh,” Daphne drew out slowly, “Where did you come from? How old are you? Do you like dollies? I have a pony, do you want to meet her?” She spit out all at once, nearly toppling over out of her seat from how close she had moved to Nadine. 

Nadine’s eyes widened, clearly taken aback by Daphne’s attitude. Gator flushed, wishing that he would’ve warned Nadine about how Daphne could be. She was eleven now, but still acted a little too naive at times. 

“Let the poor girl speak, Daphne.” Ruby walked around a second later, shaking her head before she waved her hand so that Daphne would sit up straight again. 

“Sorry,” Daphne blushed as she settled back into her seat. It only lasted a second before she wiggled closer again, “We can play dress up too if you like that.” She smiled a little sweeter, looking excited at the aspect. Nadine seemed to relax as she nodded her head in agreement. 

“Dress up sounds fun.” She said softly, her blue eyes locked tightly on the way Daphne’s features broke out into excitement. 

“Cool,” Daphne grinned widely, showing off one of her little gap between her bottom front teeth, “You can wear some of Noelle’s stuff.” She said quickly as she hopped out of her seat. She tugged on Nadine’s hand, nudging her upstairs. 

“Where are you going?” Gator protested, not wanting to be left alone. August wasn’t back yet, which meant that he might have to play nice with Oliver. He didn’t want to do that. 

“Uh to my room,” Daphne said incredulously, “Are you coming or what?” She yelled over her shoulder as she walked upstairs. He stumbled out of his seat, not wanting to be left behind as he joined them. 

Daphne had a steady hand as she applied color onto Nadine’s eyelids. He thought the q-tip like brushes were odd, along with the funny looking palettes. He wasn’t sure if it was even real makeup. 

“Daphne can you-,” August stalled as he held the door open, “Whose this?” He paused, his eyebrows cocked wide as he stared at Nadine. He leaned against the doorway, his body relaxing as he watched her. 

“I’m Nadine.” She gave a soft wave, smiling kindly before she looked away again. Gator felt his own eyes narrowing, quickly understanding the look in August’s eye. He’d had a girl problem recently. 

“Go away, August,” Daphne grumbled, “She’s my friend not yours.” She said quickly before she began to dabble a glossy pink color on Nadine’s lips. 

“She probably doesn’t want to play with a bunch of kids.” He challenged as he jerked his chin back towards her. Daphne’s cheeks heated up, looking frustrated at once again from being referred to as a kid. 

“I don’t mind.” Nadine spoke softly, looking as relaxed as ever as she kept her eyes glued to the way Daphne was continuing her work. 

“Ha,” Daphne replied as she stuck her tongue out towards him, “Now go away.” She demanded as she reached for one of the stuffed animals on the floor. She threw it, narrowly missing his head as it bounded down the hallway right before August slammed the door shut. There was a loud shriek of protest, sounding like Oliver had become a victim from the attack. 

Daphne kept them busy as they played from game to game. Sometimes it was a struggle to keep up with her imagination, but Gator enjoyed it. Nadine was a lot quieter, a lot calmer than the two of them. She only seemed to calm down once they were all called in to get cleaned up for dinner. 

“Sorry, the office was busier than usual,” Bruce grumbled as he strolled through the door. He gave Ruby a brief kiss on the lips before he kissed Noelle’s head and then Daphne’s. He ruffled Gator’s hair the same way he did to August and Oliver before he paused, “Uh hon, I don’t remember this child.”

“That’s Nadine!” Daphne replied in excitement, “She’s like Gator’s big sister now. And she likes horses too!” She said happily as she wiggled around in her chair again. Bruce raised an eyebrow as he glanced towards Nadine before he turned to his youngest daughter again. 

“Can she speak for herself?” He challenged, but still looked amused as Ruby began to serve him his dinner. August snorted, looking a little pleased with himself before Ruby gave him a warning tap on his shoulder. 

“Well yes,” Daphne replied back, too excited to listen to Bruce’s grumpy tone, “But I wanted to answer for her because we’re friends. See?” She held up the little beaded bracelet, waving it around wildly. Nadine raised her wrist in response, a shy smile on her lips as she showed off her matching one. 

“She’s staying with the Tillman’s for a while,” Ruby answered softly as she sent Nadine another wave, “They’re picking up some cattle so I said we could watch them.” She finally sat down, looking a little tired as she gave Bruce a squeeze on his shoulder. 

Dinner passed easily after that and Gator didn’t miss the confusion on Nadine’s features. Bruce was similar to Roy, but he was also very different. They didn’t sit in silence at dinner, Bruce made sure to ask them all the same amount of questions and seemed genuinely interested in what they had to say. He was always a little harder on August, but Gator figured that it had to do with him being the oldest. 

`They all helped clean up after dinner. He scraped off the leftovers into a bowl then handed the dirty dishes to Daphne. She washed them, while Noelle dried them. August worked on scrubbing the table down while Oliver silently swept the floor. It was routine, it was nice. No one got yelled at for doing it wrong either. 

“We could play monopoly,”  Daphne suggested as she balanced on one leg that night, “Or Life. Or Twister. Or I could make August give up his Xbox.” She rambled as she listed off everything that came to her mind. They had made their way into the basement. There was more room, with an extra sofa, mattress and TV. 

“What about Mario Kart on the Gamecube?” Gator asked instead, feeling like that sounded a lot more fun. He felt bad that Nadine was still quiet. He hoped that she understood that she did fit in. Daphne seemed to be a big fan of hers.

“That’s fine,” Nadine said in agreement, “I’m alright with whatever you guys usually do.” She agreed with them, looking quite content as Daphne rushed over to set up the Gamecube. She hummed to herself, filling the room with sound as he wondered what thoughts Nadine was hiding behind her stoic features. 

////////////////////////////////

Gator woke up to the sound of the rain.

He rolled over, his feet cold from the lack of blankets. He groaned, trying to tug them back over himself but to no avail. Nadine and Daphne had cocooned themselves together underneath all the blankets. Each time he tried to grab at them, one of them shifted it closer to themselves. 

He drifted upstairs, making plans to head into the spare closet that held all the extra pillows and quilts. He was sure he’d be left with the scratchy ones, but he supposed he couldn’t be a beggar. 

“She could stay here,” Gator heard Ruby pleading with Bruce down the hall, speaking in hushed tones so that no one else could hear them, “Linda and Roy have so much going on right now. We’re already used to a full house, it wouldn’t be that different.” She protested, sounding more desperate than he had ever heard her. 

“It’s none of our business who they take in.” Bruce whispered back in the same manner, but sounded frustrated as if they had been arguing about this for a while. Gator crept closer, doing his best to stay quiet even though he knew he shouldn’t eavesdrop. 

“She could help me out,” Ruby tried again, “And she could share a room with Noelle or Daphne. We could  make it work.” She sounded chipper, like she could somehow convince Bruce. Gator found himself frowning, not wanting to lose the one chance he had at gaining a sibling. 

“She’s the same age as August,” Bruce dismissed her entirely, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He sounded serious this time as he spoke. Ruby sighed deeply, sounding like she was debating on her next choice of words. 

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for her to stay there,” Ruby said at last, “It just doesn’t feel right.” She breathed out harshly. Gator crept a little closer, curious as to what she was going to say. 

“And why’s that?” Bruce sounded more stern this time around. Gator took a step back, not wanting to hear Bruce treat Ruby the same way Roy handled Linda. He winced as the floor creaked, stiffening as he knew that he had been caught. He pulled a sheepish smile to his lips as Ruby turned around the corner. 

“Hey,” Ruby smiled brightly at him, all of the worried lines on her features disappearing as she stepped forward, “I didn’t wake you, did I?” She asked worriedly as she fumbled her fingers through his hair. 

“No,” He lied, “I just couldn’t sleep.” He shrugged his shoulders softly, trying to keep as nonchalant as he could. She nodded her head, looking fine with that answer as Bruce rounded on them. 

“We’ll talk about this later,” Bruce said dismissively as he gave Ruby a warning look, “Try and get some sleep.” He added towards Gator a second later. He gave his shoulder a soft squeeze, then added an even softer smile before he walked away.

“I was about to have a cup of tea, do you want some?” Gator loved his mom, but thought that she sometimes had a hard time loving him. Roy was always telling her that she was doing something wrong, that she was babying him. He never heard Bruce say that to Ruby. She was softer, sweeter. 

When he was here, Roy couldn’t say that. Bruce never seemed to complain about it either. Ruby treated Gator in the same manner she treated her sons. She’d let him curl up against her side, rest his head on her lap and would kiss injuries the same way she did to the rest of her kids. 

“Okay,” He nodded his head. He watched as she worked, thinking about how his mom never drank tea, “Why do you not want Nadine to stay with me?” He asked at last, furrowing his eyebrows together as he tried to come up with his own answer. Had he already done something wrong? 

“Oh, it’s not about you,” She said softly as she pushed a teacup towards him, “It’s just a lot on your mom. And she’s only had a little boy to deal with, plus, I know how to handle girls.” She said with a sly smile, making him nod his head in agreement.

“Right,” Gator replied as he took a soft sip from the warm tea, “I want a sister though.” He told her seriously. He’d always wanted a sibling. He felt like he missed out some, especially when he watched the way Daphne interacted with her siblings. They fought, but they also loved each other a lot. 

“You could still have one,” She nodded her head, “And my kids are like your siblings too.” She told him as she took a sip from her own cup. She looked deep in thought for a moment. He watched her, thinking that Daphne had her same eyes. 

“Not Daphne though?” He asked a second later, unable to help himself as her name just came to his mind. She laughed as he spoke. 

“Not Daphne,” She grinned as she watched him, “I still need grandkids from you two one day. A long time from now.” She winked, teasing him as he curled his nose up in disgust. 

“Ew.” He said, feeling his face flush at the thought. Having kids with Daphne? There was no way. She was just a friend.

Now

How are things?

He texted her the day of her appointment, still slightly worried about what had been wrong with her bloodwork. He hoped it was nothing bad. But then again, he supposed that Hugh could’ve given her some odd disease. 

Good, maybe we can talk later?

Her message made his eyebrows raise. He supposed it was harmless, but there also seemed to be something hidden in there. He quickly answered her.

Is everything alright?

He stared at his open messages, praying and hoping for a quick response from her. 

I hope so.

Her message was odd and did nothing to soothe the jitters in his veins. He paused, about to call her when Roy burst into his room. He looked at him unimpressed before he jerked his head down the hall.

“Get ready.” Was his simple statement, giving Gator no time to question him before he was back out the hallway. Gator stumbled out the door, trying to figure out exactly what he needed to get ready for. He couldn’t tell if this was personal or business. 

“Where are we going?” He breathed out harshly, almost tripping down the ends of the stairs. He paused, taking in the way that Karen was getting the girls adjusted. Personal. This was something personal. 

“We were invited over for dinner,” Roy huffed as he adjusted his hat, “Is there some issue?” He snapped, sounding a little more cranky than usual.

“No,” Gator said, slightly alarmed by his tone, “I was just curious s’all.” He shrugged his shoulders, trying to keep his cool as he quickly slid on a pair of his boots. He was still taken off guard, trying to figure out just where they were heading. He supposed that Ruby must’ve overcooked again. 

“Do we get to throw flowers yet?” Jessica asked as she furrowed her eyebrow and tugged on Gator’s hand. He sighed, unsure of how to explain to her that she probably wouldn’t be one for a while.

“Probably soon,” He nodded his head, feeling a bit bad for lying to her as he helped her out the door. She pouted her lips out, seemingly disappointed before Karen took her and lifted her into the truck, “What did Ruby make?”

“It’s not there,” Roy dismissed him as he clambered into the front seat, “It’s at Daphne’s. Her husband invited us over.” He remarked, trying to make a subtle dig but it didn’t work this time. Gator knew something that he didn’t. 

He stood there for a moment, wondering if he was walking into some sort of trap. He had heard stories of wives confronting their cheating husbands in front of large groups to humiliate them, but never the other way around. He didn’t think that Hugh could do that. Nor did he believe that anyone would really care.

“Are you coming?” Roy asked, looking annoyed at the way Gator lingered outside of the truck. He quickly cursed before he made his way inside, trying to sort out if there was some connection between Daphne’s messages and Hugh’s invitation.

The drive there wasn’t long but Gator was left in his nerves the entire way. He kept unlocking his phone, his thumbs brushing over his keyboard as he tried to think of some message to send Daphne. He doubted that she’d answer him. He didn’t like feeling like he was blinded. 

He still thought it was a bit funny that Bruce had kicked them out of the house, so soon after their marriage. He was more than happy to get rid of Hugh, that much was certain. Gator wondered where Hugh would go after. 

Maude and Jessica approached the open door first, bustling inside the already busy room. Karen was quickly after them, trying to keep them away from the walls that were only half painted. Gator lingered about, observing the room and then everyone’s behavior. Everything seemed normal. Except Daphne wasn’t around yet.

He debated on how to ask first, before he went towards Noelle who was sprawled out by herself on the couch. The furniture was all shifted about, still close together as part of the living room had yet to be finished. Despite the candles, everything still smelt like fresh wood. 

“Is Daphne here?” He looked at Noelle in confusion, not seeing her anywhere nearby as he walked towards where Noelle was positioned on the sectional. She sighed deeply, like his presence was irritating. He was used to it by now. She’d been like this his whole life. 

“I haven’t seen her,” Noelle shrugged her shoulders as she continued to inspect her nails, “Hugh told daddy to get pizza and said they had big news.” He furrowed his eyebrows together in confusion, feeling like this was all odd. It didn’t sound like they were celebrating a divorce. 

“Hugh set this up?” He searched for clarity, wondering why he would do such a thing. It wasn’t like he’d received a very warm welcome from any of them. Something was off, he just couldn’t put his finger on it. 

“Yeah,” Noelle narrowed her eyes as she looked at him, “What do you know?” She asked as she leaned forward, like she was trying to read his expression. He remained stoic, not needing another one of her siblings to know of their affair. 

“Nothing,” He responded as he backed away as if he could prove his innocence, “I don’t know anything.” He said at last, crossing his arms as if to make a point. 

“I don’t believe you,” She said at last as she pointed a finger at him, “You’re hiding something too.” She told him seriously as she furrowed her eyebrows tightly together. He scoffed, even though he was hiding something. He wouldn’t tell Noelle. He didn’t trust her.

“What about your secret?” He challenged in response, not liking being so easily called out. Her eyes widened for just a fleeting second before she quickly rolled them and turned in the other direction. It was a bit of a low blow, but it was the truth. 

There wasn’t much time for her to investigate him again before he heard footsteps gliding down the stairs. He walked around the sofa, already recognizing who it was before she stepped into the room. Her eyes widened in surprise, clearly taken aback by everyone in the room. 

“Hugh,” Daphne’s smile was tight, her eyebrows knitted in confusion as she glanced around at everyone, “What’s going on?” Her hair was wrapped up in a bun on top of her head with loose strands in disarray. She looked a little green around the edges and her mascara was smeared around the corners of her eyes as if she’d wiped them for too long. 

“I thought we should celebrate the big news,” He said as he ushered her forward, pushing her smaller body until she was on display. She didn’t look dressed for a celebration either. Her leggings had cat hair on them and her shirt was a few sizes too big, one that he suspected had been one of his old ones. The thought made him smirk. 

“Wait, wait,” She tried to protest, “What are you-, what’s everyone doing here?” She peered around at everyone in surprise, looking a little horrified as she tried to gain control of the situation. He rubbed the back of his neck, a little worried at how stressed she looked. He really hoped that Hugh wasn’t going to spring something on them. 

“To celebrate the baby!” The words tumbled free from Hugh’s tongue, making Gator take a few steps back until he hit the back of the couch. He blinked, almost positive that he had heard Hugh wrong. There was no way. 

“You’re pregnant?” Ruby was the first one to speak, grinning as Daphne planted her feet and continued to look horrified, “Oh congrats. That’s amazing!” She wrapped her arms around Daphne, giving her a little squeeze as her eyes remained wide. 

“It’s great news, isn’t it?” Hugh grinned as he bent low to kiss the corner of Daphne’s mouth. She quickly tugged away, almost as if she had been slapped as she stared up at him. Gator couldn’t find any words of congratulations on his tongue. He felt angry, jealous. He’d been so determined that Daphne was his when she really wasn’t. 

“So great,” Bruce responded dryly, only changing his tone when Ruby nudged him, “I’m so glad I’ll finally be a grandpa.” He tried again, but didn’t have the energy to humor anyone with his fake enthusiasm. Gator felt like the walls were slowly caving in and as if his lungs could no longer work. He hadn’t had an asthma attack in years, but he felt the similar dread forming in the base of his chest. 

“I uh,” Daphne shook her head, looking lost and a little terrified as different forms of congratulations were thrown her way, “I didn’t want to announce it like this.” He turned his attention towards the floor, thinking that the wood looked far too clean as her eyes fell onto him. He didn’t want to look at her. 

“It’s your family,” Hugh reminded her with a sweet tone, “There’s not a better way to do it.” Gator was sure that he was all up on her, parading her around and their unborn baby. He knew it wasn’t right to be so jealous, but he was. It should be him. 

He left without another word, turning on his heel as he was sure no one would notice anyways. It took everything in him to keep from slamming the door behind him. Fuck this. Fuck her. He wouldn’t be used in that way. Not now, not ever. 

He paced on the steps, grumbling curses underneath his breath as he wondered how he could let some girl turn his entire life upside down. Fuck. His hand shook as he brought his vape up to his lips, taking inhale after inhale as the warm setting sun burned the tops of his shoes.

The door opened but he didn’t need to look over to know who it was. He felt stupid as he stared off into the distance, wondering how he had ever thought that they’d had a chance. 

“You’re pregnant.” He spoke bitterly as he stared ahead, his heart hammering as he held back a rush of nasty accusations on the tip of his tongue. He couldn’t look at her right now. 

“Gator,” She breathed out roughly, “I was going to tell you. This was all ambushed on me. I didn’t want anyone else to know this early.” She said frantically, sounding like she was close to tears as she roughly gestured her hands around. 

“Why would it be any of my business?” He snapped at her, feeling bitter as it settled around him. She tilted her head, looking at him in disbelief as she gently shook her head. She scoffed, then laughed to herself like it was funny. The realization washed over him next, like a cold dunk in the crick as he parted his lips in understanding.

Oh.

“So the baby is-?” His tongue rolled around awkwardly in his mouth as he spoke. He straightened up his form as he looked down at her, noticing the softness that formed around her features. 

“Yes,” Daphne said, her skin a little green as she watched him, “What do you think?” She chewed on her bottom lip, cocking an eyebrow as she twisted her fingers together. He fell silent, noticing that she wasn’t wearing her wedding ring either. The anger rushed out of him, disappearing as a breeze hit them. 

“I think that’s amazing,” He spat out truthfully, “Really great. That’s incredible. A baby, wow.” He rambled for a moment, shaking his head as he tried to think of the right thing to say. He was excited, truly. He was just unprepared. His little tantrum earlier had been rash, but he was glad to know he wasn’t being used. 

He was going to be a dad. A father. He didn’t know how to process that as he roughly swallowed the words. He wasn’t upset, but he didn’t know if he’d be a good one either. He hoped so. 

“You’re nervous.” She said simply, her eyes crinkling as an amused smile tugged on her lips. He watched her as he nodded his head in agreement, bringing the vape back to his lips so he could twist out the new nerves that had formed inside of his stomach. 

“Yeah,” He nodded his head, still smiling as he resisted the urge to hold onto her, “How far along are you?” She walked forward until they were out of sight from the window, smiling as she took his hand in hers. He looked down at how tiny her hand seemed to be in comparison as he rubbed his fingertips across her open palm. 

“About five weeks,” She chewed on her bottom lip as she looked at him, “Hugh had my phone. I think that’s how he knew.” She whispered softly, her eyes swimming with worry as he was sure they shared the same thought. He was sure that if Hugh had seen their messages that he would’ve said something. 

“He doesn’t suspect anything then?” He asked her softly as he linked their fingers together, just for confirmation. She shook her head slowly. He almost wished that Hugh had looked. It would’ve made things a lot easier. 

“Apparently not,” She breathed out, “I should’ve just told him. Now everyone thinks the baby is his.” She huffed in frustration as she glanced back towards the house. He didn’t want her to get too stressed out. He was sure her miscarriage must’ve been partially due to stress at the time. It wasn’t a pleasant thought. 

“S’alright,” He mumbled as he rubbed his thumb into her palm gently, “We can work through this together.” He told her truthfully. It was a mess right now, but they’d be able to figure it out. In all honesty, he didn’t care what Hugh thought or said about the situation. He knew it would be easier to just come clean. 

“It’s embarrassing.” She groaned as she leaned forward, fully hiding her face into the crook of his neck. She continued to whine, shuffling on her feet as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He pulled her in for the first real hug they’d shared in years. He soaked in her warmth, pulling her closer as she nuzzled her face deeper against his skin. He pressed his chin against the top of her head, suddenly feeling like everything was alright. 

“On the bright side,” Gator drew out softly, “I don’t think Hugh will want to stick around after this.” He chuckled softly as he rocked them back and forth. She clung to him tightly, sighing deeply as her eyelashes fluttered against his neck. 

“I’m scared.” She breathed out slowly, her voice barely above a whisper as he rubbed his fingertips down her spine. He wanted to pull her closer, then wondering how fast they could make it to his truck without anyone noticing. Perhaps it wouldn’t be bad to leave. 

“It’s going to be alright,” He promised as he kissed her temple, “Things will be easier this time. I’ll take care of you.” He promised her as he peppered a trail of kisses down to her lips. She giggled softly, the sound absorbed by the soft touch of their lips meeting. 

“I know,” She whispered softly once he pulled away, “But what do we do now?” She looked at him worriedly as she flicked her eyes up towards him. He paused for a moment, but really didn’t know how to answer her.

“You need to end it with Hugh first,” He said at last, “Then everything else will fall into place.” He said at last, feeling like it would be better for them to start slowly than to announce it to everyone. He didn’t want to cause a scene, no matter how badly he wanted to be with her. It wasn’t worth doing it in that manner. 

He snuck back in a few minutes after her, taking a bit longer to breathe in what had just happened. He was going to be a dad. He was going to have a baby. He was excited, but it also made him want to vomit. He had no idea how to be a dad. 

The buzz from his excitement was still coursing through his veins as he walked back inside, exhaling one last cloud from his vape before he was forced into such close proximity with everyone. Part of him didn’t even care about keeping it a secret anymore, but he would for her behalf. 

He ignored the way Roy’s eyes fell towards him, an accusatory look in his expression that Gator shrugged off. He joined August, listening to whichever bitch he was venting about this time as he tried to keep himself from staring after Daphne. They were going to have a baby. 

“A baby will be so nice,” Ruby gushed out over the cheap pizza place Bruce had ordered from, still looking as if he’d just been stabbed, “The two of you will have a cute baby.” She grinned as she watched them, looking like she was already planning on when she’d be able to hold the baby. Gator shifted in his chair, hoping she’d be just as excited when she found out the truth. 

Daphne nodded deeply as a soft smile fell to Hugh’s lips. The bastard was still clueless. She circled the tip of her pizza in a cup of ranch, fluttering her eyes dramatically as she took a large bite before she began to speak. 

“I hope the baby has Gator’s eyes.” She breathed out dreamily as she took another bite from her slice of pizza. She munched on it, closing her eyes as her statement waved through the air around them. 

He stopped chewing, resisting the urge to spit out the crust of his pizza from how dry it suddenly felt in his mouth. The side conversations stopped as eyes darted back between the two of them. She stayed oblivious as she opened her eyes, a tiny smile on her lips until she realized everyone was staring. He swallowed hard, wincing at how roughly the food traveled down his throat. 

“What?” She looked at them confused with a raised eyebrow, “Is something wrong with the food?” She asked in confusion, peeling her cheese back like there was something hidden underneath it. Gator shifted lower in his chair, completely aware of the look Roy was sending him.

“Daph,” August coughed to cover up his laugh, eyes flickering in mischief, “You just said the wrong name.” He said in amusement, once again wearing that shit eating grin as he turned towards Gator. Gator felt himself grumbling, his eye twitching as he resisted the urge to toss his drink towards him. 

“Name?” She looked at him confused, tilting her head before she glanced towards everyone else. Hugh stared ahead, blinking in confusion like he was hearing it all over for the first time.

“You just said you wanted the baby to have Gator’s eyes.” Oliver said this time, a little more agitated as he turned to fully face Daphne. She froze, her fingers tightening into fists on the table as she refused to look at anyone. 

“Oh,” Daphne paused, her blue eyes widening in shock, “I said that?” She laughed nervously, her face burning like she’d been out in the sun too long as everyone continued to stare at her. Gator avoided the way Karen stuck her nose up, how she sent Roy a knowing look. 

“You did.” 

“Hm,” She stopped again, her face and neck burning as bright as a tomato, “I uh, I had this whole thing rehearsed and -,” She stopped herself quickly, covering her hand over her mouth before she stood and bolted down the hallway. Her chair nearly teetered backwards from how roughly she stood, but Oliver quickly grabbed it to balance it out as Hugh stared in disbelief.

Gator was all too aware as all the attention shifted towards him. He pulled a stiff smile to his lips, his face suddenly feeling hot, “I really like this pizza place.” He said simply, feeling like his insides were slowly curling up and sinking inside of him. His face felt too hot as he was thrown off from her sudden revelation. 

“You bastard,” Oliver said suddenly, “You’re going to ruin her.” He snapped towards Gator, looking like he was second away from flipping the table. August only laughed, making Gator want to bury his face that much deeper into his hole. 

He wished that Oliver was wrong, but the sad truth was that he probably wasn’t. He cared deeply for Daphne, but he had secrets that he couldn’t share with her. To keep her safe, of course. Partially. And because he didn’t want to lose her when she found out the truth. 

“Oliver,” Ruby looked at him surprised, “Not now.” She brushed him off quickly, smiling stiffly as she glanced back towards Hugh, who was stony faced. This wasn’t exactly how he wanted it to go, but maybe there wasn’t anything wrong with ripping the bandaid off. It would all be over with now. And he didn’t really feel bad for Hugh either, he had been shitty towards her. 

“You and her,” Hugh looked up towards him, “You were with her the whole time?” His brown eyes locked in on Gator’s, looking determined as he searched for any cracks in Gator’s demeanor. 

“Uh,” Gator wasn’t sure how to sit, where to place his hands or where to look, “Um, yes.” He said honestly, figuring that there was no other way around it. Everyone was going to find out, one way or another. 

“Wow,” Bruce spoke suddenly, making Gator hide further into his chair, “You know you could’ve done this a few years ago. Or before she was married. Congrats.” He sounded a little amused towards the end, so amused that Gator swore he winked in his direction. He suddenly seemed more chipper than he had a few minutes ago. 

“Bruce!” Ruby shouted in shock, shaking her head like she couldn’t believe what he’d just said. Bruce shrugged his shoulders innocently as Hugh continued to stare towards Gator. “What?” He asked in disbelief, “Everyone congratulated Hugh, I was just being the first one to say it to Gator.” He gestured towards Hugh, then towards Gator as if to make a point.

“Well,” Roy drew out softly, “I sincerely apologize for how my son has acted.” He smiled tightly, but was clearly agitated by the look in his eyes. Suddenly, Gator felt like he was twelve again. Ruby opened her mouth again, looking like she was going to protest before a sound from the doorway tore their attention away. 

“Hugh,” Daphne finally reappeared, looking quite small as she stood in the doorway, “Can we talk?” She nearly whispered, holding her gaze down as she shifted from foot to foot. He winced, wishing there was something he could do to make it easier on her. He suddenly wondered if he should join her, or if that would make it all worse. 

“You’ve already humiliated me,” Hugh spoke raspily, making Gator turn his attention down to his plate to hide away from his glare, “Just say what you have to say.” He sat back in his chair and linked his fingers together, looking quite relaxed as he waited for her to speak. 

“I think you should talk in private,” Ruby said quickly, “We don’t need to hear this.” She shook her head, desperately looking like she was trying to help Daphne take control of the situation. 

“It’s fine,” Hugh said dryly, “Just go ahead. Get it off your chest.” He said plainly, looking rather interested as he held eye contact with her. 

She paused, looking scared as she continued to fiddle with her fingers. Gator shifted in his seat, beginning to join her before Noelle shoved him back down. She shook her head, giving him a look before she reached over and grabbed her sister’s hand. She squeezed hard, looking like she gave Daphne the bit of confidence that she needed. 

“I’m in love with Gator,” She said at last, breathing in shakily as she looked around, “And I think he loves me too. I’m, um, I’m sorry about what I did to you. I shouldn’t have dragged you through this mess and I’m, well, obviously ashamed of my actions but I don’t regret them. But I am sorry.” She glanced at Gator briefly, sending him a look that made his insides warm. She quickly looked away, nodding her head as she laid out the facts plainly. 

“That was something, dear.” Ruby smiled tightly, looking more stressed than what Daphne did at this point. She kept glancing towards Hugh, like she was waiting for him to do something rash. He was quiet, far too quiet before he roughly rose and walked upstairs.

“It’s alright,” Noelle tapped Daphne’s hand softly, “You did good.” She reassured her, smiling softly in reassurance. Daphne nodded her head, looking a little green again as she glanced towards Gator. He took her free hand, engulfing her hand in his as he tugged her closer. Maybe it wasn’t the right time for everyone else, but it felt good to him. 

“I do love you,” He told her softly as he kissed her knuckles, “Very much.” He added gently, unsure if it was the right time to be so public with her. She sighed softly, looking relieved. He could tell that she needed this. Things would be okay. 

“Enough to streak around the farm.” August snorted as he spoke up, making Gator shoot a glare his way. Eyes snapped up once again as another uncomfortable tension filled the room. 

“What?” Bruce looked up horrified, “You know what-, I don’t want to know actually.” He held up his hands and then quickly shook his head, like he had finally absorbed all of the information. Ruby exhaled deeply, patting his shoulder as she looked deep into her own thoughts. 

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” Roy spoke up, rambling for a moment as the air turned tense again. Gator felt a knot forming between his shoulders. 

“Thanks, dad,” Gator replied dryly, “Congrats. You’re going to be a grandfather.” He did his best to pull a smile to his lips, even though he knew that Roy wasn’t happy. Daphne squeezed at his hand softly, dragging his attention away as he glanced up towards her again. 

Everyone was quiet and Gator was fairly certain because they all fit into one of those boxes. August had run through just about every girl in this town, meanwhile Oliver and Noelle both had settled for different tastes than what was expected. Daphne rested against him, wrapping an arm behind his shoulders as he rubbed his fingertips against her skin softly. 

“A baby is still exciting,” Noelle said this time, “I hope you have a girl.” She replied joyfully, leaning over to poke and prod at Daphne’s tummy. It was still flat, hiding any proof away. Gator wondered if she had a developed tummy at all when they lost their first baby girl. 

The rest of the dinner was still a bit awkward, everyone tiptoeing through the obvious tension. Except for Oliver. He threw insults and little jibes whenever he got the chance. Ruby ended up escorting him out before everyone else.

Gator lingered behind after everyone else had left, feigning an excuse so he didn’t have to face Roy. He wasn’t ready for the lecture he was about to receive. He didn’t really need to go back. He really wanted to stay with Daphne, to be there to support her. 

“So,” Daphne teetered awkwardly from foot to foot, “Where should we stay tonight? Hugh is still upstairs.” She peeped her head over the corner before she shuffled back towards him, smiling sheepishly as she wrapped her arms around his waist again. 

“Maybe we should check to make sure he didn’t, you know.” He made a concerned face, shaking his shoulders as he held onto her. He bent down and kissed the top of her head, glad that he had her back. Everything was definitely awkward, but he was happy that they could be together now. 

“Gator,” Daphne laughed quickly, “That’s not funny.” She shoved at his shoulder gently, whispering like she was trying to make sure that Hugh couldn’t hear them. He bent over again, kissing her temple sweetly. 

“It kinda was,” He mumbled, “Do you want me to check?” He asked as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She still looked a little frazzled, but that didn’t matter to him. He gripped her face, squeezing it softly before he pressed his lips against hers. She giggled in response, squealing against his lips before he pulled away. 

“I’ll come with,” She said as wiped his spit away from her mouth as her blue eyes filled with amusement, “Or is that very smart? I really don’t know what to do.” She admitted as she gave his hand a soft squeeze. 

“No need,” Hugh drew their attention away, making their eyes snap up towards the stairs as Gator quickly took a step back, “Can I take the spare room? Just until I get moved somewhere else.” He said stiffly, his eyes still fiery as he looked towards Gator. 

“Sure,” Daphne spit out awkwardly, “Yeah that’s, that’s fine. Do you want to talk or-?” She looked at him briefly, looking like she wasn’t sure what else to say as Hugh pushed past them. He carried his bags on his shoulders and his art supplies in his hands as he ignored her question. 

“I guess we can stay upstairs then?” He teased her softly, speaking only once he was sure Hugh could no longer hear them. She sighed as she leaned against him, hiding her face again as she nodded her head. 

“Do you really want to do this?” She asked him softly, pulling away to look up at him with her bright eyes. He traced the curve of her cheek, glancing over the freckles that decorated her nose and soft cheeks. He nodded his head softly.

“There’s no one I’d rather do this with,” He told her truthfully, “Baby or not. I want to be with you.” 

[emma-is-swaggy-and-epic]

Felt like expanding my MLP next gen a little lol

All the bases used are made by ElementBases on deviantart and here are the links for them (might not work though since i didn't bother to check if they lead to the right URL)

X / X / X / X / X

SHIPS AND LORE UNDER THE CUT!!! (OR NOT SINCE TUMBLR DECIDED TO BE FUCKING BROKEN AND NOT LET ME FORMAT THIS POST HOW I WANTED!!!)

Left to right

Majesty, serena, royal blue - princess celestia x mirror!sombra (he's from the IDW comics in case you're confused)

These three are triplets, surprisingly! They're the princesses of heart, soul and mind and are named after three ponies from G1. Legends say that if you were to come into contact with one of the sisters and give an offering, they would bless you with their abilities; majesty gives you the ability to sense emotions, serena gives you the ability to understand yourself on a spiritual level and royal blue gives you endless wisdom. They may seem like super elegant princesses but in reality they're just a bunch of dorks who argue while playing monopoly on family game night. Majesty is very kind and often acts as a peacemaker in most situations; serena is the most pompous of the three due to being the only one who's an alicorn and therefore being the most powerful (fun fact: serena's hair is inspired by usagi from sailor moon because she has the same name in the DIC dub of the anime, not to mention serena has sailor moon's tiara!) Lastly royal blue is more or less the quiet one and she spends most her time nose-deep in a book. I imagine her being kinda like shiver from splatoon 3 personality-wise because i can't think of a trio of characters with different personalities without thinking of those 3 mfs from sploon 3

Taffeta and taurus - princess luna x discord

Fun fact: i decided to ship luna x discord and make it part of my next gen because i saw a fancomic on deviantart when i was like, 8 where the two pull pranks on the ponies by giving them weird dreams! Anyways, taurus is the older one. They are the princess of the zodiac and is very stoic and calm, she takes things EXTREMELY seriously and has a hard time letting loose and having fun (also she goes by she/they, just so you know), she also has albinism and their design was inspired by princess tiffany from G1 because i think she's really pretty :3

Taffeta is the younger sister, she is named after a pony from G1 much like the other princesses though i imagine she goes by "taffy" as a nickname. Taffy isn't really the princess of anything yet so she's just vibin as a typical 16 year old girl (a direct character inspiration for her being pearl from spongebob) i imagine that she has acne and likes covering it up with face stickers....also she's pansexual because i accidentally used the pan colors in her design and thought "why not?"

Red rhubarb pie - pinkie pie x minty

Rhubarb is chocomint's older sister, since chocomint is inspired by the song "aoi chan is going to eat chocomint no matter what" by GYARI, and by extension the synthV character aoi kotonoha, rhubarb is inspired by aoi's sister akane. Her name is inspired by a food item in stardew valley and i imagine she often hangs around her aunt maud, her special talent is making CBD candies and she runs a cannabis shop where she often runs into daisy bell.

B.B. buttercup - rainbow dash x applejack

If i'm being honest, i only created this cutie because i wanted to make a pony based on the powerpuff girls! Her full name is "bubbly blossoming buttercup" and she's around 11-12 years old. Much like the ACTUAL powerpuff girls, she's very strong (ESPECIALLY for an earth pony) i imagine her personality being somewhat similar to that one theory about the powerpuff girls being 3 different parts of a girl named brenda or whatever that theory was about lol (fun fact: her name was inspired by the youtuber dollightful's character bibi bubbles ^w^)

[apho-sappho]

HELLO

I'm about to go talk to a friend but need to wait a few more minutes and am bouncing off the walls with internal energy so I am spilling it into your ask box, so sorry about that! :D (also you always seemed to reblog any "you can ask me stuffs" things multiple times so I have decided to take you up on this :))) )

Questions!!! (feel free to answer whichever you want obviously)

is there any little details about Safi and/or Shattered Portals (I think that's what you said it was called right? the Flora, Midna, Shadow, Ravio, and Linkle do stuff au) and/or the mlp lu thingey-magig-y and/or any other thing you're working on that you've not found a way to share yet? They're all very interesting :D

Is there any random head cannon or something else that you mayhaps want to blab about?

Basically this is a slip of paper saying that I've enjoyed all your little rambles and appreciate your existence, ok bye, have a good day! :D

HEHEHEHE I'm so glad you asked

Safi au is being written but unfortunately it's taken a bit of a backburner compared to other AUs I'm writing cough cough four de-aged to cap cough cough

Fun fact, in it, Time spends The Big Bucks to buy all sorts of candies and fruits for fairies who pass by the ranch! Safi immediately takes full advantage of it

Safi also speaks Minish with Four to communicate when they don't want people to understand them

I have 2 pages of Shattered Portals sketched out, but two panels of it properly drawn out. I'll still need to finish the rest and color it, but I'm hoping to upload the first "chapter" so to speak somewhat soon . Hopefully . If I'm lucky

I'm considering writing a lil oneshot for Shattered Portals but idk when I'd do so

I have 6 ponies drawn for my itty bitty mlploz thing, Time, Malon, Legend, Ravio, and Marin in both Legend and Warriors times. I have it all *written down*, but no designs

Some things I haven't talked about yet:

I have a happy ending sequel being written for my revalink fic!!!! It's at 2k words so far. In it, every member of the chain gets little Purah Phones

I also have a fic where Four gets teleported to Wild's world after the events of totk! 2.6k words so far! Both Blue and Vio have been taking anger management classes and Vio is trying So Hard not to snap at the rest for spending all their rupees

I have an au being written abt the Champions coming back to life post totk and having avatars like the sages too. It involves Wild shutting them off and forgetting after he joins the chain and then remembering during a fight and turning them on, only for them to kill all the enemies and immediately yell at him. This one has a grand total of 227 words so far 😭

As for hcs, I might have to reblog and add some later :D They're not coming to mind rn

[oldmemoria]

caught up with cringetober because I literally forgot to do it, individuals and explanations under cut

Day 1: Heterochromia I’ve come to the revaluation that my sona is already cringe as hell considering not only can his entire body change color but he also has differently colored eyes as a staple of his design. They’re usually yellow and blue but this time I color picked the blue from the trans flag and the mint from the Vincian flag for this color palette, it turned out really pretty :)

Day 2: Self Insert Now she isn’t my self insert anymore, but back in the day when I was at “peak cringe” she definitely was. This is my warriors OC Icypelt and I have a post going over part of her story on my profile somewhere. She’s been through a lot and I think her modern design is very pretty :)

Day 3: Unnecessarily complex fit/design Spider scene is kinda infamous in my brain for having wayyy too much detail but I love them and I think this might be my favorite one out of this batch, super cute, the pose is really cute and the colors are nice and fits her really well :D

day 4: Angel x Devil inevitable MCR reference ik, Helena and Revenge, love them dearly. Poor revenge man this one is cute and looks like a sticker!!

Day 6 (I skipped day 5 because I didn’t want to open up ms paint today): neko i kinda hate this one but cat Gerard yay

Day 7: Pinterest base at first I wanted to draw hobie in place of Gwen but I remembered that I haven’t really drawn Mikey with her even though they’re supposed to be friends so I drew her instead. Idk. The height difference is not accurate because of that but Jumping Spider is small because he’s based on a jumping spider and those are tiny who would have thought

Day 8: tumblr sexyman i have never played undertale a day in my life i just know a lot of people wanted to jump sans’ bones

day 9: Crossover ship/rarepair OH BOY THIS ONE GOES KIND OF HARD AND IM EMBARRASSED ABOUT IT BECAUSE THEY KIND OF WORK FOR EACH OTHER UM MIGUEL OHARA X CLOTTED CREAM COOKIE IM INSANE OMG-

day 10: fursona i already have a fursona I already drew and yes I colorpicked from the lesbian flag how could you tell /j

Day 11: Yandere LYLA is technically canonically a yandere because spoiler alert she tried to kill Miguel’s fiancé via overheating her in the shower (essentially literally boiling her like a lobster) because she was “in love” with him (she said if she did have autonomy and had feelings the would be in love with him but she doesn’t but idk who knows I don’t).

day 12: niche interest ik MCR isn’t exactly “niche” but the black parades story in particular has always caught my interest and I have my own interpretation of it and a whole kind of story I’m still developing and character arcs and headcanons and interactions and yeah you get it, death in particular has evolved into god knows an OC on his own I just keep him attached to MCR because… it makes more sense that way, ig-

day 13: creepypasta does this count- whatever grimdark is just the same thing as a creepypasta- I’m not really in the MLP fandom anymore but it was my first ever “fandom” I was actually apart of. My first hyperfixation if you will. I wasn’t in the grimdark part of the fandom because I was too young for it but I was actually watching the izzzyzzz grimdark video and I was like “oh” and drew a rainbow factory Rainbowdash. Honestly I should draw ponies more they’re fun to draw

Day 14: candygore (?) im not good at drawing candygore and since I was rushing this o didn’t do it as well as I thought I can, but it still turned out pretty cool

Day 15: song lyrics aaaa inevitable hesitant alien drawing this one turned out so cute!! The colors and the sparkle eek so cute aaa action cat lyrics I’m breaking down right in front of you I’m sorry

planning on doing the rest of the month now, maybe not exactly on time since I’m still in school but I’ll try to get 31 drawings out by Halloween. Love the idea of cringetober because I just love all things cringe. Ack this is so good

[singlesablog]

The Closet, Part 1.

“Everything She Wants” (1984) Wham! Columbia Records (Written by George Michael) Highest U.S. Billboard Chart Position – No. 1

Not since Warhol painted his silkscreens of Mao Zedong in the early 70s had a project as blatantly propagandistic as Wham!, and their second album, Make it Big, appear on US shores.  It was a record with its intentions splashed across the LP cover in large, unironic text above the image it was selling: the nubile duo of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, hairdos perfectly coiffed, all done up like doe-eyed fashion models in high-end sportswear.  Even the colors of the album were strategic: red, white, and blue.  Wham! was clearly setting their ambitions straight for the Reagan 80s, and toward US domination.

Andy Warhol, "Mao", 1972, Silkscreen.

Like the Reagan 80s, the ideas behind the first single, “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”, were as fun, retro and catchy as his signature jelly beans.  I wasn’t terribly impressed with the song (first heard over the piped-in radio at the Chick-Fil-A I worked in at in the mall) until I saw the video.  There he was: George Michael, costumed in short shorts, wearing a white sweatshirt that screamed Choose Life, hugging himself as he ponied and swam about in a sea of neon colors.  It was then that the song really took off for me: George, Andrew, Pepsi and Shirlie, all having a romp, signaling that the New wave was over, and that something much bigger was ahead of us: pure, unadulterated fun.  Of course I zeroed in on George, his Greek curls laboriously blown out into a perfectly feathered mane and dyed into the colors of artificial sunshine, and in the pivotal video moment, hugging himself tightly with fingerless cotton gloves, two gold-hooped earrings glittering for the camera.  I am telling you, those earrings on George Michael were the gayest thing I had ever seen (not the straight “one” earring, but two), and thereby an annunciation: looking at him, right there on regular TV, I felt reborn.

Make it Big would spawn five top ten singles in the United States (if you count “Last Christmas”, a one-off that would appear as a double A side with “Everything She Wants” in England) and included three US number ones.  “Everything She Wants”, which followed “Wake Me”, “Careless Whisper”, and “Freedom”, would be the last to be released from the album, and it was unique in that it did not seem to be cut from the same cloth as the other singles, which were in essence modeled after Motown.  It was a song that also did not depend on a video to sell itself (not that they didn’t make one).  I was in the bathroom blow-drying a crest into my swing bang when I first heard it on the radio, and I know I must have frozen mid-bang.  Something was very different with this track.  First and most importantly it was entirely built on a synthesizer, from the Linn drum bongos that open it (George’s rough demo sample was kept for the final product) to the beautiful synth notes; in fact, like “Last Christmas”, the entire song was written and performed on one instrument, a Roland Juno-60, and both songs would be performed solely by George without any other musicians to sweeten it. He wrote and arranged it overnight, with no thought of it being a single until everyone responded to it so well. According to engineer Chris Porter: 

"I think this was when George started to realize that if he wanted to, he could do everything himself. He could [just] cut out all these other people and their ideas."

Back in my bathroom, frozen in place, I wouldn’t have perceived any of this.  What I was perceiving was something even gayer than George hugging himself in “Wake Me Up”: this new George had a voice speaking directly to me.  “Everything She Wants” is a song about a man in an unhappy marriage, an unhappy 80s marriage, to be precise, because the female in question is fixated upon perfection through consumerism.  George in the song is projecting the role of the long-suffering woman, and in an act of pure subversion instead plays the hard-working husband who has to pretend that he is fulfilled by having a wife.  He is, in essence, bitching about having to play it straight, and in my mother’s bathroom I understood completely that a song dripping in sarcasm about being in a marriage was the queerest (and possibly most liberating) thing I had ever heard in my life up until that moment, the peak, the essence, being when he sings the lines: And now you tell me that you're having my baby I'll tell you that I'm happy if you want me to But one step further and my back will break If my best isn't good enough, then how can it be good enough for two?

Not only were these priceless, hilariously bitchy lyrics (the song is punctuated with his backing vocals screeching “work!”, “work!”) it directly expresses the reality of a gay man suffering miserably in the closet, and delivers a pungent commentary about the reality of living in the shadows of straight conformity.  The most delicious thing about it was the era it was tucked into (with its new rush of bubblegum pop)—if the song had a real message, it was sure to be lost in all of the neon fun.  The import was not, however, lost on me. 

Looking gay, as Wham! did, does not make you gay.  Making fizzy, lush pop songs, in and of itself, of course does not make you gay.  Being a male pop duo does not make you gay.  After taking over the world, hit after hit, the final No.1 for Wham! in “Everything She Wants” definitely, definitely made me gayer.  In sound and vision, it would mark the beginning of George Michael as a real solo act, on the precipice of joining the ranks of the biggest pop stars in the world.  Soon, George would have all the fame he could ever desire; sadly, it would prove to be the biggest closet of them all.

Last Christmas, 1984

Written in 1983, recorded in August of 1984, Wham’s “Last Christmas” would of course be announced as a December release (George had performed the song alone in a studio fully decorated for Christmas with engineer Chris Porter to set the mood).

In the UK there is a long history and competitive spirit surrounding a Christmas No. 1 , which meant the hit should be the last to chart for the year.  Famous examples of a Christmas No. 1 in the UK would include The Beatles’ “I want To Hold Your Hand” (1963), The Human League's “Don’t You Want Me” (1981) and Pet Shop Boys’ “Always on My Mind” (1987).  In 1984, during the filming of Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas”, which was produced for famine relief in Ethiopia by Bob Geldof, one can see George Michael lamenting that the song they were recording would surely keep the Wham! track from going to No.1, and he was right.  “Do They Know It’s Christmas” won the year, with “Last Christmas” coming in as No.2.  He had smiled shyly when he said it, but one could tell he was over it.  If George Michael was anything in the 80s, it was ambitious.

In 2006, Michael released a Greatest Hits, Twenty-Five, featuring four new songs, one of which, “Understand”, would serve as a sort of apologia to “Everything She Wants”, imagining the couple 30 years later, and seeing the relationship more from the woman’s point of view.

George always insisted that “Everything She Wants” was his all-time favorite Wham! song, and he performed it regularly in concert.

[kittyyycakes]

🎀 Agere Story Game! 🎀

Original by lilstorygames on IG! (I think anyways; their page is private so if I’m wrong let me know and I’ll update the credit!) (Blank at bottom of post)

*This is a long one so bear with me lol

Key (in case you have a hard time seeing the image):

🩷 - Yes!

🧡 - Sometimes/maybe!

🩵 - Want to!

❤️ - No thanks!

🩷 Use pacifiers: For sure! I know real 5-8 year olds don’t typically use pacis, but they’re comforting & help me get into little space (plus they’re super cute)!

🩷 Color/draw: I love drawing both in and out of little space so this is a must for me! Coloring also reminds me of my childhood <3 (Fun fact: my favorite Crayola color is Robin’s Egg Blue!)

🧡 Use a sippy cup: Kinda?? I tried a baby bottle once before and I didn’t like how hard I had to work to drink out of the nipple :0 Might just stick with straw cups

❤️ Wear a bib: I can be a bit of a messy eater sometimes (not just in little space haha), but I don’t really feel the need to wear one

🩵 Wear a onesie: I have a few bodysuits in my closet I could try & would definitely be open to trying a onesie with a cute pattern if I could find my size!

🩷 Cuddle with your stuffies: Of course! Having a soft friend to snuggle with is always nice, especially at bedtime (I also love to snuggle with my kitty cat when he sleeps with me <3)!!

🩵 Wear oversized clothes: I would looove to get some cute oversized shirts to wear! It’s a little tricky to find oversized clothing as a fat person though, especially ones with cutesy patterns

*I don’t consider fat a bad word btw!! I self ID as fat/chubby a lot & consider it a neutral descriptor. I really hate that it’s thought of as such a negative term, but you’re still valid if you’re not comfy using it!! I will probably use it here and there in my posts when talking about myself, so keep that in mind if you follow me & if it’s too triggering for you feel free to unfollow/block if you need <3

🩵 Play dress up: 100 percent! I haven’t tried dressing up in little space yet but I love trying on & imagining cute outfit combos so this would probably be fun! The only possible downside is that sometimes when I’m little (esp if I’m feeling anxious) it makes me uncomfortable to see my grown-up body in the mirror. Anyone else experience this?

🩷 Chew on teething toys: Yeah! I don’t have any actual baby/toddler teething toys but I love my chew necklace!

🩵 Play make believe: Haven’t tried it! I don’t know that I’d do much talking (so far I’ve been a pretty quiet little- some of this is because I live with other people) but I think it could be fun to pretend to be a chef or make potions or something like that! Might be more fun with another little though…

🩵 Play with toys: Another one I haven’t tried! When I was a kid I played with toys a lot though (Littlest Pet Shop, Zoobles, My Little Pony G3, early Monster High, etc. [I wish I had kept my MLP dolls 😭]) and it could be really fulfilling to play again! (Once again this might be more fun with another little)

🩵 Cuddle with your S/O: I’m not in a relationship right now but when I am I’m hugeeeee on cuddling (Perhaps even cuddling’s #1 fan hehe)!!

🩷 Watch cartoons/movies: Absolutely! I’ve always really loved cartoons & watching lighthearted shows/movies (esp from my childhood) are sooo comforting :3 (I watched Bluey for the first time yesterday and really liked it!)

❤️ Wear a diaper: I don’t think wearing one would be physically comfortable for me- I’d rather just use the restroom (If you use diapers you’re valid though!! You’re not dirty or f*tishizing children for needing/wanting them, just remember to practice good hygiene afterward or ask your CG for help if they’re comfortable with it!)

🩷 Go on Tumblr: Yes! I definitely wanna make sure my little space experience isn’t reliant on the Internet (esp since it can be a scary/triggering place for littles) but I love looking at all the fun mood & stimboards and reading about other little’s experiences!

🩵 Have tea parties with stuffies: Never tried it! I think it might feel a little awkward or embarrassing at first since I’m not used to it (same with toys and playing pretend) but it’d be worth a shot!

🩷 Nom baby foods/snacks: Definitely! I haven’t tried baby snacks before but I love to put together little snack plates (It’s extra fun when I use kid plates- I have a bunch of fun plates from my childhood! [My fave is my pink bug plate])! I feel like it’s also encouraged me to eat more fruits and veggies since stuff like carrot sticks and strawberries work so well as finger foods :3

🩷 Have nap time/sleepy time: Yep! I think being little/having a kid-like bedtime routine has helped me fall asleep faster & relieve nighttime anxiety!

❤️ Suck your thumb: Personally I prefer my paci or chew necklace. I imagine it wouldn’t taste very good + you’ll have to deal with a wet wrinkly thumb afterwards >.< (Once again, you’re valid if you do!! Just make sure to wash your hands really good first so you don’t get sick <3)

🩵 Have a caregiver: I would really like to try and find a CG! In practice I could see myself being too embarrassed to fully lean into little space around someone (at least at first). I don’t think I would be super comfortable having an online only CG so I would have to meet someone irl (it sounds scary to be that open about agere/agedre tho!!). I also think I would have to be dating my CG for me to be fully comfortable (mostly because I don’t like to cuddle in platonic-only relationships)!

🩵 Take bubble baths: I haven’t taken a bubble bath in little space yet but I love taking them as big me! Usually I’ll light a candle, drop in some epsom salts and a bath bomb and listen to music! I also have some bubble bath mix to try out soon & may try and find a few bath friends to join me (this is another activity where seeing/being in my adult body might be a little uncomfortable though)

What are your favorites from this list?

Thanks for reading & I hope you have a great day!!

- Clover ☘️

^Robin’s Egg Blue my beloved

^Blank template! Once again credit to lilstorygames on IG