#one day i will cosplay this armor set

[hirazuki]

Hanging out (ha!) with Maedhros today!

(This is "Maedhros" ⬇️ XD We're shooting in public so figured that an almost completely naked, bloodied elf would probably not be welcome on property lmao; especially since we're going the forgiveness rather than permission route.)

And Eonwe, as my sister graciously agreed to throw on a robe, lend her limbs waist-down to the cause, and step on me. She doesn't cosplay but she's such a good sport ♡

[blujayonthewing]

Hi friend! What are your 3 favourite things you've ever made?

GREAT QUESTION I gotta chew on this one...!

I think number one favorite might be my Red Robe; I wish it had pockets, but it's super comfy and I drafted the entire pattern myself

honestly I REALLY love this spiral earring I made for my Caduceus cosplay; I like to just wear it around, the only reason I don't more often is that it's held together with magnets and I'm afraid I'll lose it

third might beeee the cloak of the manta ray? I drafted this pattern completely from scratch AND designed the gold accents myself where you can't see them in the DMG illustration AND the whole outer layer is waterproofed so it sheds water, I'm really proud of it

[astaroth1357]

Flipping the Script: Leviathan Meet-Cute (Human World AU)

So what if you met the demon boys in the human world instead? You’re not magic. You’re not special. You’re an average little human that came crashing into some demons one day. Good luck!

Contents: Pretty new format for me, second person (you), forgive any wonkiness

Part One (You are here), Part Two, Part Three (Coming Soon...)

~♡♡♡~

You’re a hardcore otaku influencer with a niche in creating and sharing cosplay. You’ve befriended a lot of other enthusiasts pursuing your passions, but there was one guy that you met at a recent convention that stood out from all of the rest.

The Seven Lords was just having yet another milestone anniversary, so several friends in your circle all decided to get together and do a group cosplay for the fans, you all were even offered space for a panel and locations for meet-and-greets! Your whole fanbase was ecstatic, and so were you, but there was just one problem…

The friend that agreed to be your Third Lord backed out at the last minute! His baggage was totally lost on the flight there and suddenly your whole group was without a member to complete the set. Though you knew it wasn’t a huge deal, you hated to disappoint your fans who were looking for a full group photo-op…

But then you saw this guy waiting around your hotel lobby-

“I can't believe Wess had to cancel on us…!” You thought to yourself while tapping your foot furiously against the hotel's linoleum floor. You were waiting for check-in last night when your collaborator sent his text to everyone, and your team still hadn’t found a suitable replacement… How could you guys have a TSL photo event without a Lord of Shadows?? Especially when you're the one dressed as Henry! What self-respecting group TSL cosplay doesn’t have those two together?? They're the closest pair in the show! The Sun and Shadow shippers were going to start a riot…

You were all still double-checking your gear and supplies down in the lobby. Months of work had gone into planning and prepping for this event… Your friends were trying to calm you down as best as they could, but your nerves weren’t on your side… You hated letting down your fans, even if it was entirely out of your control. But without a replacement, what exactly could you do? Just as you were about to throw in the towel and get dressed, a bunch of shouting from the hallway entrance caught your attention.

“Why the hell am I stuck carryin’ all your crap, huh Levi?! Ya got two working hands!”

“Because this outfit is heavy, Mam-er-Malcom! I need help, or else I'll get sweaty and gross!”

“You're already gross, so what's it matter?”

“Shut up, scumbag!!”

'Yeesh, what a loud pair...' You turned to look their way with a visible frown to show your annoyance only for your jaw hit the floor. Two men walked out of the hall and into the lobby, one being a dark-skinned male with the whitest hair you'd ever seen, and the other… Sweet kami-sama above, the other guy…!!

He. Was. Perfect!! The dark, shadowy armor, constructed fron what you could only guess was EVA foam and faux furs, combined with his violet hair made him look like the spitting image of the Third Lord! It was almost like the character himself had climbed off the page!! You had to cover your mouth to contain an audible gasp of shock while glancing at the others in your team. Only a few of your friends had noticed the man's arrival, but those who had all shot you back the same kind of look, “Go get that guy. NOW!” Who were you to refuse?

The god-tier Third Lord cosplayer was still arguing with his companion when you first made your approach, allowing you to sneak up pretty close without getting noticed. By the time you were in speaking distance, you were already marveling at the craftsmanship of his cosplay up close. The foam pieces looked flawlessly metallic and there were no patches of hot glue mishaps, frayed stitching, or painting mistakes. It was truly something else!

“Hey, what'cha gawkin’ at??”

The white-haired male caught you red-handed, leading the cosplayer in his company to turn in your direction. Though, amusingly, the moment your eyes met he seemed just as star struck as you were. You wasted no time thrusting your hand out towards him with your most “camera-winning” smile.

“Hi! Uhm, I’m Y/n L/n and I'm-"

“-the most popular cosplay model on Instagram, three-time champion of the WCS competitions, and the host of the ‘TSL Today’ fan podcast-!”

You froze from surprise as the cosplayer slapped his mouth shut with his own hand in a bid to stop rambling. His cheeks instantly tinged pink as he must have realized that he was spitting your own resume at you in excitement. It was hard not to feel a bit flattered at the sudden eruption of joy, so you smiled back more genuinely.

“That’s right! You've heard of me?”

You waited for his response with a patient, maybe even endeared, gaze. Seeing that you weren’t immediately weirded out by his hyped babbling, he uncovered his mouth to respond shyly.

“Y-yeah, of course I do…! I uh… came here to see your meet-and-greet today…”

He winced, face getting hotter, and looked like he wanted to double over from embarrassment, but honestly, you couldn’t have been happier. A creator of THIS caliber was one of YOUR fans?? Talk about a “diamond in the rough” moment!

“Really? That’s awesome!! Because I couldn’t help but notice that cosplay you're wearing… Did you make it yourself?”

How his face recalibrated from flustered to ecstatic in just a few seconds could have made your heart melt. After he confirmed that his cosplay was his own handiwork you began to gush about the design, asking rapid-fire questions about the materials he bought, what patterns he found, and his different sewing techniques. You both were so caught up in each other's passion that you hardly even registered the other guy standing next to him until he finally cleared his throat insistently.

“Yo Levi… This crap’s gettin’ heavy. Are we going or what?”

The cosplayer, who you guessed was Levi, turned to the man reluctantly, which sent a surge of panic through you as you still hadn’t asked him to stay.

“Wait!!”

Both men flinched a bit at your sudden exclamation, making your cheeks flush with color, but you pressed on regardless,

“Um, Levi right? My team and I could use your help… Our Third Lord just dropped out on us today because of baggage troubles and we really need a replacement for the shoot. Your outfit is fantastic! Do you think that you could step into the role for us? I have early access badges to the vendors room, so we can take a look together if that uh… if that…? Um. Levi...?”

The man in front of you looked like he was moments away from breaking down in tears, but somehow holding them back through sheer force of will… and his closed eyelids making a decent dam.

“H-hold on… I think I need to pinch myself because this can’t be happening. Is this actually happening?”

His voice wobbled while the man next to him, Malcolm(?), rolled his eyes behind his gold-tinted glasses.

“Hey, that doesn’t answer their questions, ya know?” He elbowed Levi while looking at you with a serious expression, “Are ya willin’ to take him AND his stuff with ya?”

“Of course! It’s important to have everything while yo-”

“Great. You can have’em.”

You were taken aback just a bit by the speed of his response, but not as much as Levi because he quickly leapt back into the conscious world in a panic!

“Wha-wh-Whaah?? You can’t just answer for me!!”

Malcolm shrugged his shoulders, letting several bags he had on slide to the ground but cushioning the fall a bit with his foot.

“Why not? It’s clear ya wanna go with them. Unless you wanna leave them hangin'…”

“N-No!! I mean, yes! No-er UGH!”

You watched Levi cover his face in frustration feeling a twinge of sympathy. Does he get tongue-tied like this often? After a few seconds to compose himself, he finally straightened up to give his true response.

“Y-yes, I want to go with you…! Being able to help one of your online idols is like a dream come true for any fan! What can I do to help?”

You could feel your smile grow twice as wide from the combination of relief and gratitude. Maybe the shoot would go alright after all…

“Give me your hand.”

Levi stuttered watching you reach your hand out towards his, using your other one to pull out a black marker that you always kept on your person for fans. His skin was soft, but strangely cold, when he rested his knuckles into your upturned palm. The icy jolt even made you jump a bit. Holy crap, was he cold-blooded or something?? When he flashed you a concerned glance, you quickly recovered uncapped the marker between your fingers. With years of built up practice, you ran the black ink over his pale skin, but instead of a signature, you left one of your burner numbers that you used for interacting with collaborators.

“Here. We still need a bit of time to get ready, but that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying the con. Text me your name and I'll send you back where to meet up once we're ready to go.”

Levi was staring at the black marks on his hand like you'd just handed him a key item in a video game when one of your team shouted back from behind you.

“Y/n! Why aren’t you dressed yet?? We gotta go!”

“Shit, I’m coming!” You turned to head back, but you spared just a second to smile at Levi over your shoulder. “Thank you so much, Levi, you're going to be a huge help! Don't forget to text.”

“I won’t!”

Levi's promise made you grin lift even higher. With a wink and a wave, you made your way back to the others with a brand new pep in your step. Mission, saved!!

Meanwhile…

“… Did ya seriously just score a number in that getup?”

“I swear, I’ll never wash this hand again...!!”

“Fuck's sake, Levi, stop being so gross! At least put it in your phone before your sweaty palms wipe it off!”

“Gah, you're right!!”

[puffyducks]

Rating Odin Eidolon's outfits

(spoiler free)

8/10

Iconic, certified hit. The bright pink kinda throws me off and he gets one point deducted for dressing like the Onceler.

10/10

Fucking GAGGED. There aren't a lot of full body shots of this coat which is really sad (hence the second image being teeny tiny). But he knew what he was doing when he wore this to a film set.

Bonus points for this shot. Dramatic ass

3/10

He had to put on a quick disguise so I guess he threw on a potato sack and called it a day. He's trying to be all ooky spooky here and the only reason it doesn't rank lower is cause I think he looks funny when he has the hood up and he's trying to be mysterious. I also just removed one point while in the middle of writing this because I just noticed he's fucking barefoot? Where did his shoes go??? Like he's still wearing his green suit underneath and he had his shoes on before in this comic so why did he take his fucking shoes off-

7/10

This isn't even an outfit I'm just including this because I think it's a fucking power move for him to call into a meeting as a hologram that's positioned like this. Imagine you facetime your boss and he's just sitting there criss cross applesauce. Is he still barefoot??? I can't tell anymore 😭

2/10

What the fuck is this. He needed another disguise but instead of doing the potato sack again he was like fuck it I'm gonna dress like a banana. He looks like he's doing a shitty cosplay of the kid from Little Nightmares. He only gets points for having a purple belt that snatches his waist.

100/10

this armor is hot

[calmthefuckdownalright]

"I like a man in uniform" HC's Dsmp

I have witnessed so many cosplays of L'manbur and GOOD GOD do some of you look wonderful. My favorite has to be the ones on the railroad tracks. Just the aesthetic is 👏👏👏. But yes I got inspired and this is the result.

Warnings: flirting, very little plot development, and flustered peoples. Very short 🙂

Summary: How some of the DSMP might react to you telling them you like them in uniform.

Contains: Quackity, Wilbur, Schlatt, Dream, and Ranboo (jokingly bc why not?)

<><><><><><><><><><><>

Quackity

(By uniform you meant his suspenders and red ascot/scarf thing. Y'know professional capitalist look ✨)

Honestly Quackity would just minorly panic but quickly throw on the charm

"Eeeeyyy really?! You do? Didn't take you for that kinda chica mamcita!"

Very ego boosting. Definitely a mistake to voice aloud.

Wilbur

(L'manbur in other words)

Finds it very nice and might stutter a little as he tries to avoid the obvious romantic comment

"Oh why thank you. Its ✨hand tailored✨."

Tommy in the background: "yeah his mum made it for him."

"You're wearing the EXACT same uniform!"

A scuffle breaks out between the two and you sit there eating popcorn.

Or

"Y/N I have a child."

Fundy in the background: "I'm twenty Wil-"

"And I love you my little champion ~"

It turns into a corny little minute of Wilbur just coddling Fundy.

OR (for you more romantic folk)

"Really? It's a bitch to get off, perhaps you'd like to help me this evening after dinner?" {insert winky face}

Smooth ass motherfucker right there

Schlatt

You have to grab Schlatt and fix his tie for him before you even say anything.

"Excuse me? What the fuck does that mean?!"

Totally flips out, turns a little red. If he's got a drink in his hand he drops it

Schlatt would grab you by the wrist and demand an explanation to which you'd boop his nose and reveal nothing.

It sets him on edge for the whole rest of the day. Like literally he's checking every reflective surface if his tie and jacket are straight.

Very subtle in the fact he really needed that to come from you of all people.

Dream

Orange jumpsuits really?

"Are you talking about my armor or how I am now?"

If you say his armor-

"Help me out of here and I'll wear it anywhere if you want."

If you say his jumpsuit-

"So you're into bad boys huh? Well lucky for you I'm clearly pretty bad at a lot of things."

Something cheesy that makes you giggle which makes him light up inside.

Ranboo (platonic joke-ish)

Stuttering fumbling mess

Like mans cannot keep themselves together

You start laughing with Tubbo and earn several gifted subs off the bet you wouldn't say it

"Ranboo it was a bet calm down!"

"You're despicable."

<><><><><><><><><><><><><>

[skylermadness]

Welcome to the Rider Side (Iskandar TF)

(Original Date of Upload: July 8, 2023)

Original Description:

I was going to upload this yesterday but forgot to. I know next to nothing about the Fate series, and honestly it seems like it has too many pieces to put together to really be able to get into it safely. Nonetheless, I wrote this while I was bored one set of days and in the mood for Iskandar, who is honestly my only Fate-related mood. What can I say, I like fiery redheads. I tend not to deal with lack of MC in works but I wanted to try something unique and different. Same with the goo trigger here, although I've done quite a few goo triggers so that doesn't really count. Either way, this was a fun story to write and a nice diversion from the usual that I work on! Rated Mature for bulge and implied masturbation.

   Cosplay was an unfamiliar endeavor for Rufus, to say the least. This was both in terms of how it functions and how expensive such a thing can be. But with a convention coming up in his hometown, Rufus had been rather antsy in regards to doing it. It was something new, it was something interesting! He's never tried something like this before, and that only fueled the desire to jump the shark and attempt something like cosplaying. No matter how complicated it may be!

   …then again, that doesn't really bar the fact that he chose what may have been the most complex character possible to try such a thing with, and that was the character Iskandar from the Fate series.

   There were quite a few reasons why such a choice was absurd. First was the fact that he chose a character that was predominantly armored. Second was that he chose a character whose armor pieces were… unique to say the least. So much so that the only way to procure them would be through custom means. And with there being only a month until the convention. But he also really liked the character, so much so that he was willing to do everything in his power to attempt to do this… right?

   Rufus sighed, his foot pressing on the brake of his car as he drove up to an intersection. Eyes lingered for a couple seconds, keeping track of the intersection before his vision drifted to the block ahead. He caught sight of a small building, wooden in material in contrast to the predominantly concrete, stone, and brick of the buildings surrounding it. The sight caused him to perk up a bit.

   He was lucky for a single thing, and that was locating a replica of Iskandar's blade. One that ran for a cheap price. It did have to be procured locally, but that was fine since the store was near his apartment.

   Once past the intersection he drove for a couple more seconds before pulling over to the side in front of the building. Doing all the usual procedures he left his car and locked it before turning to look at the building itself, evidently being a small store judging by the shelves that were noticeably visible through the window. His sight trailed upwards for a moment, catching the store's name that was displayed atop it. 

   Maurice's Exceptional Cosplay Collectibles…

   Although only the name Maurice seemed to be written properly. Everything else after it was rather crude in writing, alongside being written above something that was scribbled out. Peculiar, but not the most worrying thing. Probably a rebrand when this store took over whatever the previous one was.

   Finishing up his gawking, Rufus finally took the plunge and stepped into the store. A small bell rang above him as he stepped through the door, his arrival being signaled throughout the almost shack-like shop. Although the only acknowledgement of his existence after that was from who he presumed to be the manager, a rotund man with a thick beard and a balding head. The store's titular Maurice, Rufus had presumed.

   "'ey. Ruf's, right?" the man said, his voice deep and gravelly. 

   With a nod Rufus responded with an, "Er, yeah."

   He wasn't surprised that the storekeeper was anticipating his arrival. The site where Rufus found the replica sword just happened to have a section for item reservations. 

   Maurice nodded, then bent down to rummage beneath the counter. After a couple seconds he arose with a rather long and thin box in hand and set it upon the counter. "Take a look-see," he said with a smile. "Rather impress'ly designed!"

   Curious, Rufus stepped up to the counter and opened the box. The object within it was wrapped in red cloth, which he undid in order to look at the object itself. His eyes then widened in surprise. "It's made of metal…?"

   "Yup! An authentic sword ya' gettin' 'ere!"

   Authentic felt like an understatement. Rufus was expecting some plastic mock-up, but this appeared to be a legitimate spatha-type sword. Metallic blade, equally metallic handle and pommel. And yet it had all the makings of Iskandar's blade. Golden emblem on the cross-guard, a lion's head at the pommel's end. 

   "Did… did you make this or something…?" he asked, dumbfounded.

   "Eh, ya could say that."

   And all of this for twenty dollars. It felt practically farcical to him. "Is this like some kind of rental thing, or…?"

   "Nah. We jus' get a lot're items than we know what t' do with."

   Rufus opened his mouth to respond, but was unable to think of one.

   "'s a good sword though. Heard it's owner was quite the beaut as well!"

   "I uh, yeah…" he responded, unsure how to take all of this. This experience was getting more surreal by the second. "I'll just make my payment and be on my way then," Rufus said, beginning to fish out his wallet.

   His eyes still lingered on the spatha. There was something that felt off, but he just couldn't pinpoint it yet…

                                        ----------------------------------------------------------

   It's been roughly ten minutes now since Rufus had arrived back to his apartment. He was originally planning on making himself some lunch before resuming his plans to find a suitable way to complete his cosplay, but those plans were thrown out the window rather quickly.

   He sits on the couch, and in front of him is a small table. The sword is splayed atop the table's glass counter, the box it came in disregarding to the side with the cloth it was wrapped in laying beneath it. The man was still awestruck at the realism of the object. He was half convinced that if he poked the tip he'd accidentally cut himself and draw blood. 

   Reaching out a hand he hesitantly grasped the dark blue grip of the blade and picked it up. With both hands he held the blade up to his face as if he were inspecting it. The object was rather lightweight which made picking it up not very challenging. The only real concern was his lack of knowledge when it came to sword etiquette. How do you hold it? Do you have to clean it or something? Where do you even put it once you're finished with it?? 

   "Oh, what will I do with you…" Rufus questioned the blade, not expecting much of an answer. 

   He had slowly come to the realization that there was a small issue now in regards to having such a realistic object. It would likely not work well together with whatever other pieces of the cosplay he'd scope out. He'd have a set of faux armor and whatnot and be wielding some hyperrealistic blade that could probably get him arrested. And it definitely wouldn't fit with the cheaper option of going for a more casual fit.

   He sighed, beginning to mutter to himself. "I did not think this thought much, did I?" There was also a very vocal thought in the forefront of his mind: he really wanted an easier way to complete this cosplay.

   His peripherals then caught onto a glowing below him. Turning his head downwards his gaze caught onto the golden emblem within the middle of the sword's cross-guard. The emblem was looking to be glowing brightly now. "Wha…?"

   He didn't have much time to process it though. He was suddenly startled as a strange fluid-like substance poured down from the emblem and onto his hands, which had then prompted Rufus to panic for a moment and let go of the blade. Luckily, it only fell beside his feet and stabbed into the rug.

   Rufus didn't think much of it though. He was preoccupied, looking down to inspect his hands. Gobs of reddish-brown goo of some kind had found their way onto his hands somehow, flecks of it slowly moving up and towards his arms. "Uhhhh-"

   That wasn't the only weird occurrence either. Rufus felt the fingers of both hands twitching just ever so slightly, this feeling being accompanied by a far stranger sight. A thickness was entering the man's hands, fingers steadily growing larger and denser. His hands were increasing in size as well with both of them appearing to stretch out larger, bulkier. Palms were looking to be swelling and gaining a meatiness to them, and the increase in size to both parts of his body just looked like they had at the very least less than doubled in size.

   The mysterious goo continued to progress its way up and around Rufus' arms. The young man could only watch in a mix of awe and confusion, unable to articulate his feelings. A massive chunk of it was encapsulating his wrists, lengthening further upwards to fully wrap around his forearms. It felt as if the region was being encased in a rubber-like substance, and ementating from that substance was an odd feeling of warmth that coursed through the veins of his lower arms. Much like his hands, the size of both forearms was steadily growing. However, this time it appeared they were accruing muscle mass. The softness that they had originally possessed was being sloughed away and replaced by hard, beefy, and warm muscle. It had even come with a surge of strength that was only progressing further into his body.

   While the rubbery cuffs remained on his forearms, strands and gobs of goo broke from it and trickled up his arms more. This didn't seem to lessen the mass of the arm cuffs, as if all laws of physics did not apply to this substance. As the strands of strange substance inches across his upper arms, the surge of power coursing through himself was moving into the region as well. Thick muscle was packing into the area, arms hardening with it as it formed quickly. Biceps bulged out of them while triceps transformed and matured rapidly. All the softness his arms originally possessed was getting erased, melting away into a firm new form. Heat had filled his arms as they were granted an instant workout, and he could feel the short sleeves of his t-shirt attempt to stretch over his thickening appendages while the goo began moving beneath them and towards his torso. The fabric got filled with creases as his muscles pushed up against them, the thick crevices that divided his newfound musculature  practically etching into the gray cotton. This only got more prominent as his shoulder muscles started to change and his deltoids expanded, the overall region broadening as things were moving up and past his arms.

   With his shoulders bulking out, Rufus could feel his form start to widen out while his skin was stimulated by the rubbery texture of the goo. It was practically phantasmagorical as to how this all felt. Unrealistic, bizarre. He couldn't help but take a moment to snap out his daze and curiously paw at the cuffs encapsulating his forearms. The liquid consistency seemed to have hardened, the marbled reddish-brown having become some kind of long latex-like 'wrist'band that even with his newfound strength he'd be unable to pull off. But then again, this substance was somehow making him muscular…

   He stopped pulling at the cuffs, instead raising an arm up and giving it a good flex. The act as a whole caused the associated sleeve to split across his bicep, unable to contain the now muscled limb. "Woah…" he vocalized in awe. He would be lying if he said he didn't like this feeling of power that was steadily coursing through his entire being.

   Concern was fading into curiosity. He moved his attention downwards, eyes staring at his torso as he felt the transformative substance travel from the left and right sides of his body. It was steadily moving towards the middle of his body, and as it did so it was only inciting more changes. He could feel his very core heat up like some kind of furnace, an almost exponentially enhancing sense of might emanating within his chest.

   Rufus had possessed a rather pudgy build. Soft, fatty, some would even call it a little schlubby. But something, or rather everything about that, was changing. As the goo moved across his chest towards the middle of his body, a firmness was entering the area rather rapidly. The softness of his pecs was hardening, getting packed with powerful muscles. His shirt steadily filled out as his musculature was increased, pectorals pushing forward more and more as they grew and expanded. He was garnering two massive slabs of raw meat on his chest. It was getting so prominent that the newly developing cleavage was indenting into his shirt's fabric. 

   Beneath his shirt the substance that was infusing him with this power continued its coverage of his form. Once it converged beneath the middle of his chest it began to expand outwards again. A portion of it arose, rubber-like goo steadily raising to cup Rufus' thick pecs. A sizable portion in the middle remained visible however, the goo seeming to avoid covering his cleavage. It would eventually rise until it nestled beneath the man's collarbone, which itself still seemed to be widening out. Between the goo and his broadening size, Rufus' t-shirt was just struggling to contain his massive form. And it was evident his form was only going to become even larger.

   The marbled browns and reds of the supposed fluid had also been making its way downwards, the territory it was claiming around his abdominal region being a lot larger than it was on his chest. It has first stretched over his belly, a soft squeezing ensuing as it did so. The fat within his belly was being pressed down into his body, being flattened and molded into a more muscular form instead. Abdominal muscles were being pressed out of his gut, bubbling forward as three rows were being forced to materialize into a six-pack of abs.

   His sides were increasing with heat as his obliques rippled, the lower half of Rufus' torso continuing to get pressurized as the goo started to surround it now. A burning strength being filled in the region, power pushing forward throughout the form as new muscles continued to get molded into him from the mysterious substance. It wasn't long until it went into his back as well, the goo entering the region and closing in on his spinal cord. As it did so, wide portions of goo were beginning to extend from the top of the chest portion of this weird rubbery chest plate of his. It stretched out, snaking over his shoulders and moving onto his upper back. Both segments of substance would meet at the midline, in between his trapeziuses, and then run downwards in a single thick line to converge with the portion of gooey plating that surrounded his lower body. All the while his spine was being massaged by the substance, another soft warmth emanating across his back as inches were now being added to the young man's height.

   The changes in height were getting slightly evident now as Rufus caught onto his shirt riding up his now muscular abdomen. His six-pack was just etched into the gray fabric perfectly, and the shirt's hem was steadily moving towards said six-pack. But he was quickly growing more preoccupied with his chest. His thick pectorals. He couldn't help but slowly bring up a hand and poke a chunky finger into his cleavage. Although the very act of moving a limb seemed to be taboo to the shirt at this point, rips echoing from behind him as his back and shoulder muscles were moved. And somehow this initiated a chain reaction as tears formed down the sides of the tee, and a few finally formed within the front. One especially noticeable rip was right over his pecs, giving Rufus a clear view of the rubber chestplate and the middle of his pecs.

   "Hooh…" he felt warm at that. Everything about this was warming but that very sight moreso. So, so much strength is piled onto him. It was so immense, so powerful. He just couldn't resist going from poking to groping as he cupped a pec with a hand. It was so… stimulating feeling that rubber press up against his flesh, and he could still feel the slight softness that his pectorals possessed. The feeling just made his blood pump faster than before, so much faster.

   He was… enjoying this, wasn't he?

   His thoughts were then broken as he heard another portion of his clothing break, this time with his legwear. Looking down he saw that the button holding his jeans together had snapped open, and in general his jeans were starting to feel tighter. But the tightness in his jeans was the least of his problems as… so much began happening at once.

   The goo had already moved well past the waistline, now beginning to encapsulate Rufus' pelvis and the area beneath that. It was perhaps the most sensual part of the entire change as he could feel the substance squeeze up against his more sensitive areas. He couldn't help but stand up from the couch now, the man feeling a considerable heat erupting in his rear as the region was consumed by the gooey substance. The area was getting so much thicker, becoming round and plump as his glute muscles became even larger. And with his waist already getting wider, this addition to size caused the seat of his pants to just split open, that very sound causing Rufus to moan a bit as his cheeks flushed with red.

   Then he felt his groin stir, and his cheeks flushed even redder.

   A massive hand was moving down to the area as Rufus started to feel an immense, almost erotic emotion well up in him. Sweat was beading on his forehead while he looked down, the zipper of his pants splitting open more and more as he saw his undergarments bulge out more with each passing second. All the while the rubber was stimulating every nerve within his growing groin. Blood was practically shooting down there as he couldn't help but hover his hand above the area for a moment before cupping it. "O-ohhh…" he moaned out again, his voice sounding a bit deeper, but his brain was swimming in erotic ecstasy to care.

   With all this pleasure overtaking Rufus' mind, he was too preoccupied to take full notice of more changes, now continuing to press further down his legs. His thighs were practically burning with heat as they were encapsulated with brownish-red goo, hamstrings and quads being packed with substantial muscle much like his arms were minutes prior. Tears echoed through the air as the stitching on the sides of his jeans was being split open by his thickening legs, and the denim in general was getting creased with his new musculature engraving into it. 

   The goo seemed to end halfway down his thighs however, globs of it instead trickling downwards as it moved past his knees as onto the crus of his legs. Once it reached the mentioned region, it went back to expanding in surface area. Although this time it seemed to be doing so like it did his forearms; circling around his lower legs to form one large rubber bracer. This was especially noticeable with the bottoms of his jeans running up his legs, his height growing yet again with another set of inches being placed into his legs. And while it did so, his calves steadily ballooned, now being grown out into massive bulging muscles that continued to vy for his legwear's attention and rip them up further with each passing moment.

   As Rufus continued rubbing his bulge, he widened his stance a bit. The substance had also finally run beneath his footwear, now having reached the man's feet. The tongue's of his shoes were pressed up as the rubbery material cascaded down the bridge of both feet, the size of his feet seemingly getting stimulated by this and beginning to grow. His footwear was quick in becoming undersized; his heels practically dug into the backs of each shoe while the sides pressed the cloth that was containing them outwards more and more. The toecap of the shoe was beginning to bulge as his toes pressed up against it, the side of the bulging growing even more prominent as his toes got thicker. The overall meatiness of his feet was just increasing rapidly, and it wasn't long until his shoes finally began splitting apart to reveal them. And while his feet grew, the rest of the rubbery goo completed what it set out to do. A small bit of it slipped in between his big toe and the adjacent one before running beneath the soles of his feet. It was at this point that his original footwear finally just burst open.

   Rufus shuddered a bit, hesitantly unclasping his bulge as he let out a rather deep sigh. All of his senses steadily came back to him as the ecstasy slowly wore off. 

   He swallowed a forming lump in his throat, the man feeling his neck thicken in size. "I-I should probably leave that for…"

   His sentence trailed off as he caught note of his voice, realizing the deepness crawling into it with each passing word. It was sounding so commanding, so boisterous! And familiar as well…

   "Woah- I sound exactly like…" his eyes trailed back downwards. The way the rubber had plated his body, especially his torso, was also… "Iskandar…"

   With that very realization, a large grin formed on the man's face. That sword, it was making him a splitting image of its wielder? How was that possible? Why was it possible? Did that weird storekeeper know or-

   "O-ough, itchy…" Rufus' thoughts broke as he felt an itchiness on his face. No doubt a sign of the final physical changes to his body finally ensuing.

   He raised up a hand and casually scratched at the itching, the feeling mainly isolated around his chin. He had already possessed a bit of a beard around the region, but the brown coloration of it was noticeably changing. Starting at the roots, a soft red was steadily expanding across his beard. Alongside that the thickness of it was increasing, the hairs growing thicker and more connected as the visible style of his facial hair looked almost spiky. This look was only exacerbated as a spiky-like stylization was forming from where the hairs met his face. And his beard only moved further to perfection, a well-kempt lustrousness entering into the very hairs. More and more red continued to consume the follicles, dull brown becoming brighter and brighter by the second. The ends of the beard moved up the sides of his jaw to meet his sideburns, and from there the bright red was starting to enter his hair.

   While his beard changed his face was altering at the exact same time. A broadness entered his jawline, chiseled it out more as the softness of his face was getting hardened. His facial structure was being altered, skull shape shifting due to the roundness of it was being lost, becoming a bit more square with the steady widening of it all. The youthful look his young adult face had was also fading, bits of age setting into it with wrinkles etching around his eyes. Although perhaps the most prominent changes occurred within his facial features; his slight mustache sinking into his skin, his eyes getting slightly larger while the irises gained a bright red coloration to them, and his ears pushed out slightly. There was also a change in his nose, it getting larger and the bridge getting wider in size as the broadness of his nose seemed to become an almost defining feature of his face. Lastly were his eyebrows, getting bushier while the bright red coloration formed within them as they did so.

   The final bits of changes came to the rest of his hair. As the flaming red swept across his, the overall style was being altered drastically. While it had originally possessed an almost medium length to it, that length was shortening rather rapidly. This was further proven by his forehead getting more visible as the part of hair flipped over was shrinking into his scalp. After a few seconds it also seemed the way his hair was directed was altering, the centralization of it all being swept back and changed to all of his hair being pushed backwards. A wild, untameness was forming within it as well with bits and pieces spiking out as if the hair were actually lit aflame. Despite it all, with the shortening concluding, his hair had garnered a noticeable denseness to it that it didn't possess in its prior state.

   With that all the strange warmths and newfound power surges started to die down, as if Rufus' body was already getting used to it. A sign that the physical changes seemed to have concluded. Although Rufus felt a bit too preoccupied scratching his beard. Not because it was still itching though, it just felt nice to run his fingers through the dense hairs. "Ooh, that feels good…"

   All of this felt good actually. This thick musculature, this masculine physique. Hearing his deep voice resonate through his ears, just feeling his own strong presence within the room. It was exhilarating! Although his scritching slowly came to a halt as he realized something. His head turned back downwards, eyeing the strange rubbery substance that still clinged to his body. 

   "Are you gonna melt off or something…?" he muttered. He wasn't sure what it had left to change. But after a couple seconds a change in texture drew his attention to his arm. Why did he feel something furry? Wait…

   His eyes now laying upon it, Rufus found that the rubber cuff that encapsulated his forearm was shifting. The top and bottom ends were fluffing up with a soft, white, and dense furry fringe. Meanwhile the material of the rubber itself was shifting to a cold and hard metal that he could feel graze his skin. The featurelessness was lost as crescent-like and ellipsoid shapes formed within the back of the newly changed metal.

   It wasn't the only part that was changing either. His already filled out shirt seemed to fill out more, tears further splitting it as the rubber that divided the fabric from his skin got bulkier. Metal spread amongst the mysterious substance's entirety, the reddish-brown marbling changing to a pure brown while a soft golden coloration formed to outline where his pectorals and abs were. A bronze chestplate seemed to be what it was becoming. Meanwhile the Y-shaped segment of goo that stretched across his back changed to a separate more flexible material that made it more like a set of straps, those straps held together by a triangular buckle on the middle of his back.

   It was at this point that the remainder of his shirt seemed about ready to tear off, much of it seeming to almost burn itself away. But a portion of it around his shoulders and back remained, shifting into something drastically different. A thick white fur emerged from the collar, growing thicker and thicker by the second, while the back portion of the shirt extended and turned from gray to bright red. The furriness of the collar continued to thicken, and a golden design was arising from the bottom of the lengthening back. It wasn't long until the former shirt was the densely furred caped mantle that sat upon Iskandar's shoulders, held there by a single blue leather strap around his chest.

   At the same time, the rubber that was around his thighs shifted to a deep blue, hardening into some kind of short legged under armor. But his jeans still seemed to fill out, a separate layer of fabric seeming to emerge from under the materializing belt that was beneath the first layer of legwear's waistline. This layer of fabric continued to push itself downwards, reds and golds noticeable through the tears in the denim of his jeans. It wasn't long until his former legwear would follow in what his shirt did by mimicking a fire starting and blazing itself away while segments of it were changing, hardening to a bronze like his chestplate possessed. It seemed his jeans were becoming a set of lengthy tassets that stretched down to the length of his knees. All while a golden buckle appeared in front of them, clasped onto Rufus' waist, and manifested a triad of blue straps that snaked around his waist. A sizable weight formed within one of these straps, a scabbard for the very trigger of his transformation appearing from mere nothing.

   The last portion of rubber was on the crus of his legs and his feet. Like the segment around his forearms, fringes of fur grew from the top and bottom portions of the greaves while the rubberiness was hardened to metal. A layered metallicness was also formed within the substance that has covered the bridge of his foot. Meanwhile the portions that had gone between his toes and under his feet became a more leathery consistency instead, his new pair of footwear seeming to be rather sandal-like. 

   Rufus ran a hand above the flat bronze of his chestplate, a sense of finally dawning on the transformed man. This was real armor that had finally graced the man's skin. Authentic, perfect. He could feel every chunk of metal, every bit of fur, even the fabric of his cape grazing the back of his legs.

   His eyes then laid on the sword, the catalyst to this all, currently stabbed in the rug of his apartment. He effortlessly picked the object up, Rufus reveling in hearing the soft shing of the weapon reverberate through his ears as he placed it into his scabbard. 

   "I guess you did give me the perfect cosplay that'd fit you, huh?" Rufus said while patting the scabbard. He then followed the statement up with a deep laugh, letting himself just swim in the pure boisterousness that this form exuded. It just felt so good.

   Quieting down a bit, his gaze then trailed to his arm. Casually raising it, Rufus gave the arm a good flex! Feeling all that raw strength and power coarse through his veins.

   "I am definitely ready for that convention now!~"

[42wv]

Blaidd Cosplay project I worked on during May 2022

Elden Ring was the hype, I wanted to be a good turtle. I originally wanted to get this cosplay ready by Otakuthon 2022, but I never did finish it. I do want to finish this cosplay one day!

Now let ramble about my progress on it! :readmore:

When it comes to video game cosplay, I take the easier route and rip models from the game, then modify them for cosplay. I 3D modelled a few Kamen Rider suits before and all that was a pain in general. For my sanity's sake, I plan to model as little as possible for future cosplays.

Lucky, the in-game model was well made, so I didn't have to make a lot of modifications. I had to separate some pieces, subdivide and give it some volume.

The head was given a lot of holes, so it would be lighter to wear. I had to separate the teeth and the gums because I will paint them individually.

I let my 3D printer work. Meanwhile....

Eyeballs! Molded with moldable plastic pellets. The iris part of the eye hollows inwards for a bit of that 3D look. The whole thing then got covered in 2-part epoxy to fill the cavity and make the eye shiny.

There's usually a few steps involved when it comes to painting. That is priming and then taking your time to paint something with the medium of your choice. Well, I skipped all that and decided to draw on the eye with sharpie and markers. Results were... satisfactory enough.

Time to work on the gummy teethies! I've been saving up for years on an airbrush set and I got really excited to try them for the first time.

FDM 3D prints don't come out perfect usually, so I brushed some XTC-3D (fancier 2-part epoxy) on them, and let it cure first.

With a bit of filler primer and airbrushing magic...

Teeth! Dentists in the Lands Between will make a KILLING if they ever move there.

Pretty happy with the process! I didn't bother to shade the gums because we won't see a lot of that anyway.

Did I ever tell you sewing is my least favorite part of cosplay? My specialty is more on props and armor. This image should've been flipped upside-down!

I tried to sew gloves using a free-to-use pattern I found on the internet (forgot where I got them). First one was too tight, second on was better, but still feel weird to wear. I will get these right one day!!

I bought some FUR! I shopped for a WHOLE hour at the fabric store for the right faux fur, and none of them felt like a match to Blaidd's fur. His fur was darker (than the fur in the picture, left side), with a hint of blue.

I tried to dye the fur a little bit to darken it, but not too much because I didn't want the white part of the fur to turn too dark. I used a dye for synthetic fibers. Right side of the image the the fur after soaking in hot dye solution for a few minutes (still wet)

Results? I there was only a subtle difference between then non-dyed and dyed furs! I either didn't let it bathe in the solution long enough, or I did not put enough dye in the solution.

ANYWAY I decided to just used the furs as is and airbrush the details at the end.

Now for the cloak? I was planning on tying some crochet threads together, then separate the ends with a fur brush, resulting in some fluffy ends the add on to the cape.

However, after re-examining Blaidd's cloak, I'm considering on scrapping this process because I feel like there's better materials to give out the look I want.

After assembling the mouth parts/eyes/nose, adding the lips with black moldable plastic and adding the hinge (to make the mouth movable), it's off to furring the head!

With the help of masking tape and sharpie, I went to pattern the fur. I then cut the appropriate shapes to sew.

I knew I had to cut the fabrics a bit bigger to make things fit and all, so I did that. My mistake? I realized after finishing the snout part, that I've cut the shapes TOO BIG! It did not fit the print!

So that's another thing I have to redo. Sewing is my passion (sarcasm).

This concludes part 1 of my Blaidd cosplay journal. Will there be a part 2? I don't know. It started snowing a few days ago and Winter is generally not a good time for cosplay-making. I'll have to see about this when Spring/Summer comes!

[thefrogdalorian]

The Best of Both Worlds - Chapter Four

Din Djarin x Female Reader Modern!AU

❁ Series Masterlist ❁ My Masterlist ❁ Read on AO3 ❁

Word Count: 6822 Rating: General Summary: Despite his reservations and against his better instincts, Din heads to a Star Wars convention that he was invited to. Although he fears that his cover will be blown, curiosity gets the best of Din and he can't resist attending a panel. But Din doesn't exactly find the answers he was looking for. Instead, he finds something far more precious. Something that he would never have expected... Content Warnings:  None! Author's Note: This was fun to write. Middle pic is one I took in a panel at SWC last year, just to set the scene. Din was down bad from minute one and honestly it's very cute to see him so flustered 🥺!! Also adorable how similar their experiences/reactions to the convention were! Anyway, hope you enjoyed! I can't wait to post the next chapter, hopefully coming on Sunday :) Thanks again @suresnips for being my beta! I appreciate your help so, so much ♡

4. Curiosity Killed The Cat (Din's POV)

To an observer with no background knowledge of Star Wars or its fandom, it would appear that most of The Mandalorian panel's attendees were merely a little bored. However, someone more familiar with the Star Wars world may have realised that the audience had been expecting something more profound. Maybe they had been hoping for some character analysis of the titular character or to participate in a larger discussion on how the show slotted into the wider Star Wars galaxy during this talk. After all, the panel was entitled: ‘The Man behind the Mandalorian: Exploring the Identity of the Galaxy’s Best Bounty Hunter.’

Instead, anyone who had sought out this panel surely would have found themselves bitterly disappointed, as the host had reduced The Mandalorian to nothing more than its violent action scenes. The host appeared to have a fixation on the fighting which occasionally took place in the show, at the expense of all other elements. 

Perhaps that was the reason why the audience, on the whole, looked so incredibly bored. Even one attendee, wearing an almost unbelievably realistic cosplay, seemed more entertained by the seams of his gloves than anything the panel had to say about the show he was surely such a huge fan of. His helmet was bowed towards the floor as his leg bounced up and down repeatedly, a sure sign of his restlessness and his keenness for this panel to be over so he could continue his day at the convention.

To outside observers – whether they knew everything about Star Wars or nothing at all – the man dressed in full Mandalorian armour was possibly one of the biggest fans of the show. After all, he had replicated Mando's costume in painstaking detail; it must have taken an unbelievable amount of effort and hours, borne out of the intense love for The Mandalorian that he surely had.

But Din Djarin was not a cosplayer… his armour was not a costume.

The suit that he wore had not been crafted due to his undying love for Star Wars, it had been cast in Beskar, according to ancient traditions, at a forge by the golden-haired woman who served as The Armorer for his tribe.

It felt strange to Din for him to sit there and be spoken about as if he was not present. Of course, to everyone else in the room, the notion of Mando being in the room with them seemed as likely to happen as it was for pigs everywhere to spontaneously begin flying. To all other attendees, Din had just cosplayed as his favourite character. Everyone else in the room did not have the faintest idea that they were in fact in the presence of the man behind the character they all loved. While the assembled group enjoyed Mando enough that they had made their way to the far corner of the enormous convention hall for this panel, they didn’t know that sitting amongst them was the man who portrayed the Star Wars character that they loved so much. Nor that the armour that they had seen so many times on their screens was right there, beside them. Close enough to touch, if they wanted to.

The thought of being amongst so many super fans almost dissuaded Din from attending this panel, which had caught his eye. After deciding to attend the convention the previous evening, Din had used his laptop to search through the events for the day as he lounged on the couch in his cottage, Grogu playing on the rug beside him. This particular panel had instantly stuck out to him, above all others that were advertised. Din had always harboured a curiosity about what The Mandalorian meant to people. But it was perhaps a more selfish interest that had motivated him to seek out this panel in particular: Din wanted to know whether the fans had any idea about his identity.

Din had intended to sneak in and hover at the back and watch the panel from there before exiting as discreetly as he entered. But things had not gone according to that plan at all. Din had never attended an event as enormous as this and had no idea how it worked – he felt out of his depth. It was a feeling he was unused to and uncomfortable with, as Din always liked to be in control and have a plan. 

Ironically, it was the very show which was being discussed that had first put cracks into his careful, considered nature. Relinquishing some of that control in signing up to be The Mandalorian had been difficult for Din, as he was required to be on set for a strict filming schedule in a brand new country. The stability and money that had been offered was something Din had struggled to refuse, especially given the fact he now had an extra mouth to feed.

But as Din sat there in the room where the panel was being held, he knew that coming here had all been one gigantic, terrible mistake. It was a stupid, nonsensical idea. It had been nothing more than a rush of blood to the head, Din just hoped he would be able to leave again having remained undetected. There was an old saying that Din had heard many times: ‘Curiosity killed the cat.’ Now, Din felt as though he finally understood that phrase. 

Din was furious with himself that he had put himself in the position to hear such harsh words about the show after he had tried so hard to keep himself away from all of the attention portraying a lead role in a Star Wars show brought. For a man who was usually so calculating and meticulous in his actions, this had surely been the most foolish decision that Din had made in a long while.

Even worse than Din's decision to attend this panel, he mused, was his decision to attend the convention wearing his armour. Being surrounded by superfans made Din keenly aware that if any one of their gaze were to linger long enough, perhaps they would realise that his armour was not merely a highly impressive cosplay. So in a bid to distract himself and calm his racing heart, he began fiddling with the stitching of the tips of his mustard-coloured gloves. It was a sign of the acute anxiety that he was currently enduring, but to anyone watching, his fidgeting probably indicated sheer boredom. 

Din mentally kicked himself for the ridiculous decision to attend the convention wearing his armour. The choice had made the entire event even more anxiety-inducing than it needed to be. Din lamented the fact that he could have come here with Grogu and simply blended in with the thousands of other families bringing their children to the convention for a fun-filled day. True, it would have still been an overwhelming experience and Grogu may have struggled with the crowds, but at least then, Din wouldn’t have had to constantly fear his identity being exposed when someone realised that his armour was a little too screen-realistic to be a simple cosplay. 

Indeed, it was the skill and dedication of other fans that had initially eased Din’s fears of detection when he had walked into the crowded hall and began moving with the sea of people to an unknown destination up ahead. Even if he wanted to choose his path, there was no way to; Din was lost amongst the endless sea of people. As he travelled down the main hall, his mouth felt dry underneath the helmet and his heart thundered in his chest as he had no idea where he was going. But once he had made it to the side and stopped briefly to orient himself, Din realised just how many fans there were cosplaying as Mando.

Din had been stunned by the many amazing cosplays he had seen. After collecting his nerves, he slowly began to move down the hall and gave a polite nod of the head to any other Mando cosplayers he passed. Most returned the gesture, in shared acknowledgement of each other’s craftsmanship. Progress had been slow, though, as Din was constantly asked for photos. Even worse were those that did not ask, but merely threw themselves at him. Some even touched Din without asking first, a gesture which made him flinch. It annoyed Din, just because he was dressed in cosplay did not mean he gave consent to be touched whenever others pleased.

Despite the host of incredible cosplays he had passed, Din knew that none of them truly lived up to his armour, his was a cut above the rest. There was no way to perfectly replicate real Beskar, no matter the incredible lengths that some of the cosplayers had gone to. He just hoped that no one would question it too deeply.

After a few minutes of walking around the main hall, Din had decided he needed some respite from the endless photo requests and eyes that Din felt watching his every move. Din found a quiet corner of the hall with some near deserted toilets and headed for them. He sealed himself into the stall and removed his helmet, grimacing at the way his hair clung to his forehead thanks to how much he had perspired due to his nerves. The helmet was climate-controlled, so the heat of the building should not have been an issue. It could not legislate for Din's emotions, though.

Each time Din moved to leave, he found that the anxiety he had felt while walking through the hall reared its ugly head. He kept telling himself that he only needed a few more minutes to regain his composure. That was until Din checked his watch and realised it was not long until the panel began.

So Din had unintentionally spent most of the time before the panel hiding away in the toilet stall in an attempt to repair his shattered nerves. At that point, it would have been so easy for Din to leave. But he knew that the curious part of his mind would never forgive him if he did not at least check out the panel. It was perhaps the best opportunity he was going to get to discover what people thought of the show, whether they liked the character and, most importantly, whether they had any theories on who The Mandalorian was.

Yet, now he was actually sitting there in the panel, he cursed not only himself for not leaving earlier, but Din also cursed Peli Motto for giving him such a stupid idea to attend this convention in the first place.

Many times throughout the panel – which was headed by a man called Jeff who wore a backwards baseball cap, despite looking as though he should have grown out of such a fashion choice several decades ago – Din had considered getting up and walking out. He had arrived pretty late as it was, only a minute or two before it began, as he hoped to sneak in and take an unassuming spot at the back. But the seats had all been filled back there, and an overly enthusiastic volunteer had guided him to a spare aisle seat about fifteen rows back from the front. 

Luckily, almost everyone had been too wrapped up in watching Jeff and his cronies fumble around with technology to pay him much mind, except for the people on his row who were in awe of his ‘cosplay.’ It would have been so easy for Din to just up and leave since he was on the end of the aisle. But he was fearful that it would have drawn too much attention to him. Thus far, he had pretty much gone undetected. Jeff had not bothered to look at the audience too clearly to notice the incredibly realistic Mandalorian that was currently in the room with him. Which was unsurprising, given how self-centred the man appeared to be. The panel really ought to have been retitled ‘The Jeff Show.’

Most of the panel had been pretty inoffensive, if a little dull. Din silently objected to the way that Jeff had reduced the show down to only its violent components, rather than engaging with it on a deeper level. At times, Jeff was so close to understanding what the action scenes demonstrated about Mando’s character and the wider politics of the galaxy. But then he would just make another crass comment about how good Mando was at killing and all progress would grind to a halt.

But then Jeff opened up the floor and invited the audience to step forward to the mic so he could hear comments from the fans. Din leaned forward in his seat, excited to finally fulfil the purpose of attending this panel and hear what others thought of the show that he had poured so much of his heart and soul into. But if Din was expecting to hear positive feedback, he was about to be bitterly disappointed.

Frustratingly, most speakers took their opportunity to address the audience to do nothing more than complain about never seeing Mando’s face or knowing his name. It was no surprise to Din that people felt that way, even if he was a little disappointed that people were so fixated on those two elements. Din knew it had been a concern at the beginning of the show, during early production meetings. But thanks to some input from Din himself, the character of Mando now felt more fleshed-out than he had when Din had joined the project.

Plus, Din felt as though viewers could understand enough about the character and his intentions without needing to know his name or see his face. It was a belief that was being challenged by the attitudes of the attendees of this panel. But Din was not too upset. After all, he was more concerned with whether any fans had any viable theories about his identity. Mercifully, none of them appeared to have picked up on any rumours. When the show's creators told him that no one suspected that Din Djarin was The Mandalorian, it appeared they had been telling the truth.

Fortunately, despite the name of the panel, there had been no speculation on Mando's true identity thus far. Despite the panel's title hinting that the man behind the Mandalorian would be discussed, that had so far not transpired. Things appeared to be looking up for Din; not only had there been no speculation as to his identity, but none of the audience had noticed the incredibly realistic cosplay that was sitting amongst them.

That was until a young man with brown hair, dressed in a Mando t-shirt and jeans stood up and moved towards the mic. His comments started positively enough, “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love the show and all,” The man confessed, and Din smiled slightly underneath the helmet. However, he continued: “But I just feel like we don’t know that much about Mando. It’s as if we, as an audience, are being held back from connecting with him fully because of some diva’s selfish demands to keep his identity hidden!” The man exclaimed.

Din felt his blood run cold. He swallowed thickly, feeling bile rise in his throat. He should have known that this was a bad idea, that coming here was a mistake. But the man was not quite finished, yet:

“Seriously, the guy who plays him must be such an asshole. Imagine having to work with that guy!” He ended his tirade, to a smattering of laughter and applause from the room.

The accusations that he had thrown Din’s way, about him being an asshole or a diva – a charge that in particular made no sense, as surely a diva would want their name and face to be plastered everywhere – had been like a punch to the gut. And Din had endured many of them throughout his life to understand exactly how painful they could be.

Far from the kind words he had been expecting, instead, Din had been forced to listen to various people slander both the show and him as a person. Din’s heart ached as he heard the charges being levelled against him; it was one thing to criticise the show but to call his character into question caused a whole other level of pain. If they only knew why he had to keep his identity a secret, they would never throw such cruel accusations his way. 

Din wasn’t naive. He knew that by signing up for a Star Wars show, his life would change forever. It was not a decision that he had taken lightly. Especially given that his way of life was opposed to everything the mega-corporation that now owned Star Wars stood for. But it presented an opportunity to not only secure a consistent income and better life for himself and his son but also to showcase his culture to the world. It was an opportunity that Din really could not turn down. However, just because Din was prepared for his life to change in some ways did not mean that he could ever be prepared to be attacked on such a personal level.

At that moment, Din almost tossed aside his priority to remain hidden and not draw attention to himself as he debated walking out of the panel. After hearing such personal attacks against his character, Din was so close to just upping and leaving that room. He had heard enough. If there was even one more vaguely harsh word tossed Din’s way, it might have tipped him over the edge.

Despite the tough exterior that Din Djarin projected to the rest of the world, he was at his core, a fairly sensitive man. He knew that the things that he had already heard about himself would take him a long time to come to terms with. He couldn’t bear to hear any further unkindness.

Din planted his feet firmly on the floor and began to lean forward, preparing himself to leave. It seemed that in a war between his mind and body, his body had won… his subconscious was going to make him stand up and storm out of that room, against all rational thought.

In all of his anguish, Din had missed the girl who had stormed forward to the microphone, dodging limbs and hurdling bags, to stand before the room.

But then she began speaking and her presence became impossible to ignore any longer; her voice was shaky with nerves but there was absolute conviction and certainty behind every word.

And Din was frozen to the spot, utterly transfixed. Suddenly all thoughts of leaving exited his mind.

“I think tying Mando’s identity to his name and face is a pretty narrow way of viewing how we can understand who someone truly is inside and what exactly motivates them. I mean, I think I’ve connected to his character pretty well without ever seeing his face or knowing his real name. That’s because Mando has proved time and time again what kind of man he is,” The girl argued and Din found himself instantly relaxing and leaning back in his seat. “The way he has risked his life multiple times to rid the galaxy of threats and evil shows that he is committed to securing a brighter future, even if he is not around to see it. This man is willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good. Sure, we don’t know his name or face or a lot about his origins, but I think to us, that should prove that he has nothing but noble intentions. That human side of the man beneath all of the armour allows us to connect to him on a far deeper level than just seeing a face and learning a name ever could,” She finished and Din shut his eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. Unbeknownst to her, the kind words she spoke had soothed Din's soul. She had begun to heal the wounds that were opened by the previous speakers' harsh words.

Din noticed how nervous the girl seemed and the way she fiddled with her hands as she stood at the microphone. He marvelled at the way she had been up like a shot to defend the character, though. Plus, judging by how eloquently she spoke, Din assumed she was used to this. 

Din sat there and listened with a small smile on his face, shaking his head slightly in awe as she launched into a passionate defence of the character. Unlike all previous speakers, the girl understood just as Din did, that seeing someone’s true intentions and the qualities they possessed mattered more than knowing their name or what they looked like.

Suddenly, Din began to feel a lot lighter. People did care, people did love and appreciate the show and they understood Mando as a character. He was pleased by that fact. Din knew he would stay now. Even if the next speakers reverted to being less than complimentary, the girl had bolstered his confidence and soothed his bruised ego enough to stick around.

Din expected that the girl would retreat to her seat after giving her opinion. The awful man who ran the panel certainly seemed to think that was the case as he met her passionate speech with empty platitudes, which Din thought bordered on the patronising. 

However, what she did next caused Din’s jaw to drop beneath his helmet. The girl did not return to her seat. Instead, she spoke up and continued to defend not only the character of Mando but also the man behind him.

Din listened in awe as she started speaking up to defend the man who was, unbeknownst to her, sitting only a few feet away.

“Also, I know no one outside this room will probably ever hear what had been said at this panel, but I think attacking the character of the man who portrays Mando, simply because he wants privacy, is unfair. I think we should always talk about people, online and publicly, as though they can read or hear what we say,” She argued and Din almost snorted at that assertion.. if only she knew that he was right here. “We don’t know why he won’t say who he is, but I trust that he has his reasons. Even then, he doesn’t need to have a good reason. Everyone is entitled to their privacy for the simple fact of wanting to be private,” The girl appealed to her fellow fans. Din felt tears pool in his eyes at her beautiful sentiment. Until she came along, he had been about to leave, with his last memories of the panel, believing that everyone hated him and thought he made the show worse. Now, though, he was listening to a passionate, eloquent defence of his character.

The girl finished off her speech with a comment about the show. She explained how Mando respected everyone that he encountered in the galaxy and left the places he visited better than he found them. She implored her fellow fans to take the same lessons from the show, rather than focus on the violent, action scenes. When she was finished, Din wanted to stand up and applaud her, before rushing up to her and thanking her from the bottom of his heart.

It was clear that she understood exactly what The Mandalorian was truly about. The show was, at its core, about respecting others and learning to peacefully coexist. Mando was fighting for a better galaxy, a kinder galaxy and once people understood that, they would understand how important it was to respect the actor behind the Mandalorian.

Din had an overwhelming urge to make his way over to this stranger, to thank her from the bottom of his heart for standing up for Mando so passionately. He knew, given his cosplay, that he could easily pass as an enthusiastic fan. 

Then Din remembered who he was and settled on the upsetting reality that he couldn’t take such a reckless action.

If he spoke, she might recognise that the voice beneath the helmet was the very same one that she had no doubt seen on screen so many times. It was too great a risk and, much as Din would have loved to thank her, it now seemed as though their paths would diverge without her ever knowing how truly thankful Din was for her words and how much they had done to boost his confidence. Ultimately, although it was sad, Din knew that it was how things had to be. The risk was too great.

Although for the short time remaining that Din would remain in her orbit, Din was determined to commit every inch of her to memory, so that he would never forget the woman who had unknowingly done so much to him. Din was determined to impress her on his memory on the off-chance that their paths would one day cross in a scenario where he might be able to get to know her. After all, Din was a man, and he was not immune to the fact that she was a beautiful woman, perhaps several years younger than him. But her beauty was not just skin-deep; it was to be found in the way she spoke so eloquently. How she addressed the room with such maturity and wisdom. To Din, it appeared as though she had lived several lifetimes.

Now she had sat back in her seat, Din could only appreciate the back of her profile, though he had noticed the cute slope of her nose and her plush lips as she made her way back to her seat. Din focused on her hair. It looked so soft that he wondered how it would feel against his skin as he nuzzled into her scalp and pressed a soft kiss of gratitude there.

The T-visor had its perks, as no one else in the room was any the wiser to how intently Din had affixed his gaze to her, much like Mando did when tracking a bounty. Din found that, even if he had wanted to, he could not look away from her. He watched quietly as her friend whispered excitedly to her. She was only a couple of rows in front of him and was almost close enough to reach out and touch. 

Perhaps that was how Din could make her feel his appreciation in a low-risk way, through a simple touch. He wondered whether he could put his hand on her shoulder on the way out and convey his thanks with a nod of his helmet the way Mando would. But that was another fantasy that would not come to pass, as Din knew that when this panel was reaching its conclusion, he had to make straight for the doors before he got swamped by any of the enthusiastic fans in here. He had seen the way throughout the panel that the number of people who had spotted his incredible ‘costume’ had increased. Din knew he was drawing many eyes.

Despite the overwhelming urge inside him to thank the girl, Din knew that he had to keep moving through the convention centre. Cutting a dedicated path, scything his way through the crowd like the methodic warrior he was.

So, when Jeff started wrapping up the panel, Din sprang straight to his feet and strode towards the doors, before a single soul could say anything. There were a few excited faces and murmured gasps as he strode purposefully towards the exit, but fortunately, no one was quick enough to stand up and thwart his quick exit. 

Bizarrely, even though he was unused to being around so many people and had initially found the experience overwhelming, Din found that after the panel, he felt far more comfortable in the larger, crowded spaces at the convention. In a small room, there was no privacy. Anyone and everyone could look at him, their steely, judgmental eyes burrowing into him. They know… he had been constantly thinking to himself throughout the panel. But of course, no one was any the wiser to his true identity. Even if the panel's attendees thought that the costume was realistic, the idea of the real Mandalorian attending a convention dressed as himself was too far-fetched to be real. Even the most imaginative fanfic writer could not come up with such a ridiculous plot.

So, Din found himself physically relaxing as he made his way back to the main hallway. His shoulders were less tense, his jaw unclenched. After he left the panel, Din had not intended to linger much longer. But as he found himself wandering around, stopping for more and more photos with eager fans who were so blown away by his ‘cosplay,' Din discovered that he began to almost enjoy the attention.

There were so many children here too. Some were not much older than Grogu. Din wished he had brought Grogu with him, but he knew that the convention would not have been a welcome environment for his precious son, especially given his nervous disposition. But Din knew with absolute certainty that Grogu was having a pleasant afternoon, he was being looked after by an elderly man named Kuiil, who was a babysitter that the studio had initially put him in touch with. Kuiil was always dependable and happy to help Din out whenever he needed him to take care of Grogu, no matter how little notice Din gave.

Din was gradually growing in confidence as he strode through the main hall of the convention centre. Now, when fans asked for photos or even launched themselves at him without asking first, Din found that he was less nervous. To every request, Din just nodded. When people thanked him, although they didn’t always – Din occasionally wished he could speak to remind them to mind their manners – Din made the same gesture. A simple nod said so much, without saying anything at all.

Din would never speak while wearing his armour. To most, it perhaps came across as an incredible amount of dedication to cosplaying the character – Mando, after all, was a man of few words. But the reality was that Din knew his voice could blow his cover. 

Ordinarily, Din rarely feared his voice would give him away as The Mandalorian, as his Mando voice was distorted somewhat by the helmet, so the difference was sufficient enough for Din to feel confident that no one would realise he was Mando. But surrounded by superfans at this convention, in the very helmet that would distort his voice to make him unmistakably sound the same as Mando, Din deemed it far too great a risk to take. 

After stopping for photos and fistbumps with enthusiastic fans of all ages, Din was finally ready to make his exit, much later than he believed he would have initially. Ultimately, Din was glad he had attended the panel and not rushed off earlier in the day when he had felt so overwhelmed that he had been driven to hide in the toilet. Although the panel had not been an entirely positive experience, it had been worth it just because of her.

And to think, Din was so hurt after the comments some fans had made about him at the panel that he would have missed out on feeling all the love and appreciation for Mando, had it not been for that girl who took a stand and raised her voice in defence of him. Her words had allowed DIn to feel lighter, freer and as though he wanted to open himself up to the love the fans were prepared to show him. 

The day at the convention had been an amazing, eye-opening experience. One that was far out of Din’s comfort zone, something that he never would have believed he could do for himself. But now he realised that he had also stayed far longer than he had been expecting. Din wanted to get back to his son. Grogu was usually settled and happy for the first few hours, but Din knew that it would soon begin to veer into the territory where a meltdown may be more likely.

Plus, Din had finally had enough for the day. He was accustomed to wearing his armour for long periods – it was like a second skin, after all – but he hadn’t sat down, nor removed his helmet for hours. Despite his increased confidence, the fear of being discovered lingered. The fear that his ‘costume’ would be sussed out set him constantly on edge and was draining him far more than a heavy suit of armour could. 

So Din began making his way to the exit through the expansive main hallway. He almost made it through without stopping, until he noticed a massive banner with a photograph of himself on it. Din stopped for a second, looking up at it as he remembered the day that photo had been taken. It had been a nerve-wracking experience for him, he was certainly not a model, but they had needed some promo shots. So Din found himself there, posing awkwardly in front of a professional photographer who was barking orders at him and wondering when arms and hands had become such awkward, cumbersome things. Din would rather have spent an entire day throwing himself into walls without a single break before repeating the experience and had informed The Mandalorian's creative team as much. So future photoshoots were completed with a body double wearing a copy of Din’s armour. The photo on display was one of the few that was him, though.

Din stood there for a few moments, smiling proudly at it underneath his helmet before a small voice caused Din to stop reminiscing over the gigantic poster and abruptly turn on the spot to face the direction of the voice.

“Excuse me, could we take a photo with you, please?” A timid voice said. In response, Din felt every hair stand on end as he instantly recognised the person who the voice belonged to.

It was the girl from the panel, staring at him with absolute admiration and adoration. He stood open-mouthed and gawked at her for a few seconds, stunned to be in her presence once again. But then her beautiful features changed. She frowned slightly and then Din realised he had been standing there, frozen, as he stared at her in disbelief. She had taken his silence and inaction as a dismissal and almost retreated before Din snapped out of his trance and nodded quickly. He wanted to tell her how wonderful she had been at the panel, how much her words had meant to him. But everything happened so fast.

Din felt his heart rate quicken as the girl moved to stand next to him. Her arms hung by her side somewhat awkwardly, just like Din’s had in the photo on the poster that he had just been admiring. She was too nervous - or perhaps polite - to sling one around his shoulder or waist. Din wouldn’t have minded though, there was something imperceptible about her that made Din want to be drawn into her orbit. She had a magnetic presence.

Din barely remembered to turn and look up at the girl’s friend who was taking the photo, his ordinarily calm and composed mind had been catapulted off its axis by her presence. The girl went to step away, but Din raised a hand just in front of her body to stop her from moving off.

“Wait, let me… pose properly,” Din choked out, forgetting his vow of silence in a moment of recklessness. He held his breath for a few seconds, but if she recognised his voice, she did not acknowledge it. Din released a shaky breath, trying not to be frustrated with himself. After all, Din had only good intentions. Out of everyone he had taken photos with today, she deserved the best out of them all. 

“Oh, thank you!” The girl laughed and smiled appreciatively as she took her place back by Din’s side.

Din placed one hand on his belt and leaned in towards her, hoping that the picture turned out to her satisfaction. They stood there side by side, almost close enough to touch. At that moment, Din wanted nothing more than to remove his helmet and bare his face to the alluring woman who had publicly spoken so eloquently in his defence and been equally polite in their more private encounter. But even if he had wanted to, they were out of time. Their few seconds together were over. 

“Thank you! Your cosplay is amazing, by the way! It looks so realistic!” She said with a shy smile as she stepped away. “I think there’s a cosplay competition at the Twin Suns stage this afternoon, you should seriously consider entering. I’m sure you’d win!” The girl said encouragingly.

Din nodded stiffly, struck by her manners and how genuinely excited and encouraging towards others she seemed to be. Both traits mattered deeply to Din. But there were also nerves behind his suddenly restricted motions as he once again feared his cover being blown. Din supposed that it would be unsurprising if it was the same girl from the panel who had shown such a passion for the character was finally the one to connect the dots.

Despite the momentary panic caused by her comment about how realistic his costume was, Din was still amazed by how sweet she had been. The way her eyes shone with genuine excitement as she approached him and yet, she managed to maintain that respect for him that other attendees did not. So many people rushed up to Din when he was in this costume, without even stopping to ask his permission for a photo, let alone take a second to look at him or politely thank him. The fact she had thanked him and complimented him and even spoken encouraging words about his cosplay proved to Din that she was one of the politest attendees. 

Din had a few more seconds to appreciate being in the girl’s presence as the friend she was with stepped up to have a picture with him. The girl’s friend seemed more confident than her in the way she posed, she seemed to know exactly what to do. But Din was paying her no mind. Instead, he glanced at the details of her face he could see from behind the phone – complete with Mando case – that she was using to take the photo. Din noticed the spark in her eyes, the way they lit up when she looked at him. She probably didn’t realise just how much Din could see in the helmet and that he was staring directly at her, noticing the look of awe she wore on her face.

“Thank you,” The girl’s friend said with a polite nod and the two walked off.

Din stood for a moment, watching them as they went. They flicked through the photos, jumping up and down excitedly as they looked at one. They were just out of earshot, but Din could tell how excited they both seemed by the pictures they had taken together. He smiled beneath his helmet. Knowing that he could bring such joy to others was a phenomenon he had lived in blissful ignorance of for most of the time since he had been cast as The Mandalorian, the only exception being when he had visited that children’s hospital a few months previously.

Today had opened Din Djarin’s eyes to the impact he was having out there, on so many different people. It was a debt that he owed to her, a debt that he knew he would, regrettably, never be able to repay.

Perhaps, in another reality, Din would have run after her, stopped her and confessed how appreciative he was of her kindness. He would have told her that he wanted to get to know her and asked her on a date if she was single. Maybe she would have been momentarily taken aback, given the bizarre circumstances of him wearing a full suit of armour and running up to her at a convention like that. But hopefully, she would have given him a chance.

They would have gotten to know each other, and gradually fallen in love over the next few months. Perhaps, if things went well, they would have lived a long and happy life together. It felt so real, for one fleeting moment, that Din could almost see their future together.

But that was ridiculous. In this reality, Din watched from behind his helmet as the outline of the girl he felt himself so drawn to grew smaller and smaller before eventually being swallowed up by the crowd.

She disappeared into the distance. Out of view, and out of Din’s life.

Next Chapter

Taglist: @toxic-seduction

[tricerotopicpt2]

Fable SMP Pokemon AU

Ok, so I've had alot of thoughts about a fable smp pokemon au. I definitely have full team ideas for some characters, but I have at least a partner pokemon and reasoning as for why for every character and thought that I'd share them! Some reasonings are definitely alot stronger than others 😅, but there is at least one!

Icarus: • Decidueye It's a bird-shaped (not flying type), ghost type, archer pokemon. It feel pretty fitting

Rae: • Espeon It evolves with high friendship, psychic type, incredibly loyal. These are all traits that feels fitting for rae (also a callback to heyhay's cosplay)

Athena: • Litten I mean it's a fire cat. I feel like that's reason enough.

Caspian: • Lycanrock (mid-day form) Guys its atlas For caspian, I have an idea for a full team, it's just hard to pick a partner pokemon for him, but i decided that since I have lycanrock on his team because of a pet, it felt the most fitting to be the partner pokemon

Fenrir: • Houndoom It felt like the most fitting wolf themed pokemon The rest of his pokemon are definitely more space themed (minior, aurorus, lunatone, ect.)

Ulysses: • Feebas Its known for being incredibly tenacious in tough situations, despite its appearance and being usually ignored. Its moon dex entry also says that its vitality makes it a subject or research. I also like the idea of Ulysses trying to get it to evolve, but just not figuring out how (Its totally because I think they look alike)

Aax: • Sharpedo An extremely powerful water type pokemon, also its dark typing makes it super effective against ghost types.

Jamie: • Dachsbun Its connor the dog. Also Jamie sure is baker and I think bread dog is a fun way to represent that

Momboo: • Meganium Can revive dead plants and grass. Also I just think it fits the vibe

Easton: • Bronzong It's a steel type bell pokemon, which feels fitting. it's also known for bringing rain

Haley: • Corsola I like the idea that something happens that causes it to somehow become a galarian corsola (which is a dead little ghost corsola) Idk how, but yeah.

Seven: • Klinklang It feels a bit obvious, but its fitting so-

Centross: • Ceruledge It's a very powerful pokemon that's exclusive to pokemon violet. "Ceruledge dons an old set of armor steeped in grudges and wields blades made of fire and ghost energy. In battle, these blades transform into great swords to increase Ceruledge’s power. Cuts from these great swords leave wounds from which life energy will flow." Also just look at it.

Ocie: • Basculegion Not only is it a hisui exclusive pokemon (which means its old as hell) and a water type, its dex entry says "Clads itself in the souls of comrades that perished before fulfilling their goals of journeying upstream." Which feels fitting for Ocie.

Ven: • Alolan Vulpix Guys it's a little white fox. It's just like him.

Chaos: • Yanmega It's a dragonfly. And also extremely violent and powerful according to its dex entries

Galahad • Armarouge It's a warrior that's extremely loyal. Also fire type.

Original Arisanna • Togekiss I like the idea of the allays being togepi

Vexed Arisanna • Tinkaton I think it's a reasonable pokemon for arisanna to have already had, but pivoted more towards once she was vexed. Its and extremely intelligent pokemon, but its known for being mercilessly violent and stealing what it pleases.

Addie: • Spinarak It felt like the most fitting spider pokemon

Will: • Meowscarada I mean its got a mask. (Guys please I was so stuck on will if you have better ideas PLEASE give them)

I was too much of a coward to give the world sisters mythical/legendary pokemon, but if I did I think they might have their respective island guardians (tapu bulu and tapu fini) alternatively, ocie having suicune and momboo having virizion. Or Ocie having manaphy/phione and Momboo having shaymin

Anyways! Those are my thoughts on the characters partner pokemon! If you have suggestions PLEASE give them! I definitely want to come up with some pokemon for the npcs and gods aswell!

[robian]

Convention Post

I've only been to one convention in my life, which, to be fair, is one more than most. In the summer of 2022, I was lucky enough to be able to attend Anime Expo in Los Angeles, California with a friend of mine. Honestly, in some ways I regret going to Anime Expo as my first con experience because every other one in the US pales in comparison (except maybe the NY one). However, Anime Expo was an amazing experience that I will never forget.

When I arrived at my hotel, people were already in cosplay. When I woke up, I saw a line for the bus and a ton of people were in cosplay. I actually felt out of place since I wasn't and if I went again I'd definitely try it out. Then when I actually arrived, I felt even more out of place, because so many people were in cosplay. Of course, many weren't, but the people in cosplay were just so noticeable. Maybe it was just luck or maybe it was because we arrived more towards lunch time, but we skipped the notorious hours long line and headed straight in.

Honestly, it was overwhelming, there was just so much to do and see. There were events constantly happening, and sadly I didn't know that many needed pre-bought tickets. I still had a blast just exploring the exhibit halls and Artist Alley. I think I ended up spending like $150, which I found out through other peoples posts, is actually not a lot. Some of these people are dropping over a thousand dollars on merch. Maybe I should start using that as motivation to do well in college and get a well paying job so I too can drop a rack on anime merch.

Honestly, I was super nervous to ask any cosplayers for a photo but next time I'm going to need to just suck it up. I did get one photo though with this dude in an awesome set of armor. I really admire the skill and dedication it takes to make some of these cosplays. I'll do my best, but I have a feeling I'll be buying a premade one in the future.

Anyways, the con was amazing and I'd 100% recommend people to go to it. When I went, the last day was July 4th (this year, July 4th was the first day) and the post con depression hit so hard as I watched Los Angeles’ sky fill with fireworks from my hotel window. It was as if the fireworks were a farewell or an ending. Kinda like how some anime end the season with a firework festival y'know? Post-con depression hits hard though, so be wary.

[practically-an-x-man]

Your OCs decide to go to the Star War experience. Do they dress up? Sith or Jedi, or Something Else? What's their favorite part?

Ooooh fun! Thank you!

I don't actually know much about the Star Wars Experience as an attraction, so I don't know if I can talk about their favorite parts of it, but here's what they'll dress up as (if they dress up)

Rae: Jokes about dressing up as a destroyer droid, with her shields and all, but ends up putting together a Resistance pilot outfit based on the original trilogy

Robin: .... a Rebel vigilante ;) (her faceclaim, Erin Kellyman, played Enfys Nest in Solo. God I love her)

Madison: Doesn't dress up, unless everyone else at the X-Mansion chooses to dress up too, or her sisters beg her to join in

Ophelia: Uses her actuators to put together a General Grievous cosplay - the costume itself is decent, but it's the four actuator arms spinning lightsabers that really sells it

Jasper: Manages to convince Kyle to dress up as C3PO, and Jasper goes as R2D2. It didn't actually take that much convincing... he'll do anything for a joke.

Kestrel: Starts out the day without being dressed up, just to enjoy the experience itself without too much attention, but later finds a quiet corner and shapeshifts into a detail-perfect "cosplay" of one of the characters - so convincing, they get a throng of people asking for autographs because they've been mistaken for one of the actual actors.

Katherine: Dresses up as Jannah - one of the rebel former Stormtroopers that Finn meets in Rise of Skywalker

Quinn: Doesn't dress up, but has a good time at the attraction either way.

Eris: Either goes all-out and spends weeks making an incredibly precise set of Mandalorian armor, or doesn't dress up at all- there is no in between.

Nikoletta: Dresses up as a generic Sith Lord - she doesn't know enough about Star Wars to pick a specific character, but she has a lot of black clothing

[cute-girls-from-vns-anime-manga]

Who said anything about cosplay I'm just sad I don't have a suit of armour :3 (specifically my hair is longer but a lil darker than hers)

Was just talking out loud about things I know and how I would go about replicating it in a way that would look decent and end up being MUCH lighter than real plate, but I do understand and share your despair over not having a fitted suit of armor.

However her plate being fairly understated and far more practical than your standard fantasy series armoring is my reason for thinking making it wouldn't be too hard. The simplicity of the plate's geometry and that the plates are solid pieces rather than being interlocked together and few plates are layered over top of each other means actually designing and planing out a manufacturing approach would be quite straight forward.

Looking at the image I used in my initial post about her which is official art of her I am counting twenty to twenty-five parts to achieve the full look of the armor along with keeping your range of motion, non of which are incredibly massive and the curves look fairly standard so Id be willing to say the entire plate set could be forged on a standard anvil. Granted I am a machinist and never have done any real forging work though I have done a lot of research on the skill set as I would like to learn the skill one day. Currently the only smithing work i've ever done is cold straightening some steel and aluminum parts without needing to be concerned for how their surface finish came out.

[archives-of-camelot]

Dress Up

Characters: Eli, Evelin (@nimue-hidden-lake)

Series: Evelin Anniversary

Ok so wow, I wasn't able to get yesterday's prompt done in time, so here it is. Today's prompt will be done later.

--------------------------------------------

Eli slowly worked tirelessly to finish the remainder of his secret project. It was something that was in the works for months now, and now the end was finally in sight. He'd always adored outfits and costumes since he was a child, but never did he think he'd make one himself. But things were different now.

Months of slow sure progress, one step every few weeks where possible. All that was left were the finishing touches. His mother's teachings had come full circle with each seam and hem.

It was far from easy, and there were moments he had to redo or restart completely, but the final result would be worth it.

After finishing one final step, he took a step back, and held up his reference...one of Evelin's books. He had made a costume of one of her favorite characters, from one of her favorite books.

The outfit was complete. A bodysuit decorated with shiny stitching to simulate chainmail, with a chestplate and pauldrons made from painted and polished cardboard. He'd bought a pair of leather boots, and covered the tops of the feet with the same cardboard technique, and the leggings also shared this with the knee guards. The armor was painted with silver, and was hardened with a few layers of what appeared to be resin to reinforce it and give it a shiny appearance. And lastly, a long blue scarf, almost long enough to be a sort of cape. The set was complete, even if some of his methods were unconventional for cosplay and costume standards.

All that was left was to actually put it on...which proved much harder than he thought. It was a costume yes, but...he never put much thought into how he'd actually put it on.

Nonetheless he tried. The bodysuit, then the leggings before the boots. Then the chestplate, knee guards, pauldrons, and gauntlets.

He then swung the scarf over and around his neck, and the finishing touch...the cat ears, which he still possessed from the day prior.

"Wow...could be better but...not bad..." he said as he looked himself in the mirror. "I just hope she thinks so too..."

. . . Later . . .

Evelin stepped in the door, returning from a reading session at a café. She was never much for interaction, but it was perfect atmosphere for reading. She had offered Eli to join her, but he declined. Citing he had 'something to do'. She found herself wondering what he was up to. The last few weeks he'd said this off and on.

As she finished that thought she heard a noise come from upstairs.

"What's he doing now?" she asked herself as she went to investigate.

There was no reason to be worried. Even if someone had broken in, she was confident he could handle himself. She'd seen it herself after all. So it had to have been whatever it was he was working on.

She opened the door top his room, and saw her partner struggling with some kind of getup. Reaching behind and around his body, in some attempt to try and take it off it would seem.

He would struggle for a moment or two longer before incidentally turning around, and locking eyes with her.

"U-Um...you weren't supposed to find out like this..." he smirked awkwardly. "Uh...surprise?"

Evelin didn't answer. Her eyes were wide as she came to realize who he was dressed as. The main character from her books. Tales of the Neko Warrior.

He was Aoki.

"I uh...hope it's not too bad for a first time" he laughed nervously.

"Not at all. It's perfect" she said with a nod.

He embodied Aoki so well. In speech, body language, and mannerisms. He was Aoki. As if he arose straight from the pages.

"Now I resemble your favorite person, eh?" he joked.

Evelin seemed confused at this comment and tilted her head.

"Favorite person...?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, you have his merchandise, you buy all his books, and you were even excited when it was announced the books were getting adapted into an anime this coming summer"

She now understood what he meant.

"Ah, no. While I do love the books, and Aoki's character...there's a specific reason for that" she said picking up one of said books from the dresser.

"I...uh...ya lost me..." Eli replied, confused.

"He reminds me of you" she held up a panel from the book, which showed a familiar type of scenario. Then the page after that...and the page after that. All reminiscent of Eli's behaviors and rational.

"I-I...y-you sure?"

She nodded, closing the book.

"Heh...well...I guess I spent all these weeks for nothing huh?" he said with a halfhearted grin.

"I didn't say that. It's very well made" she said with small smile as she hugged him. "But the real thing is better"

Eli felt his heart skip a beat or two as he returned the hug. It was a strange feeling. But...to hear he meant that much...it struck a deep cord with him. He didn't need to be an accomplished warrior, or posses a magical blade blessed by the moon's rays. He was Eli, and that was more than enough.

For awhile they sat there until-

"Not to ruin the moment or anything but...th-this is kinda stuffy...and I...can't take it off..." he smirked awkwardly.

Evelin chuckled as she helped him slowly remove each piece.

"H-Hey, uh...you really meant what you said...?"

"Of course Eli...or should I say...Ao-ki"

Masterlist

[yurikotigerisnotmaiwaifu]

Yuriko Tiger tweet 8/9/2023

(🇬🇧↓) 団長おめでとう！！4周年の配信が見れて良かったです。私服でコスプレしてみたけどいつか鎧のバージョンも作りたいです。

今週コミケですごく忙しいーーですが会いに来てくれますよね！？ 12日友達ブースに手伝いで行きます〜 13日 東ホールQ “ab” ゆりこ帝国

そして9月3日に最後の撮影会をやります！！4日から2週間ぐらいおばあさんに会いに来ますのでイタリアに行って来ます✨ TGSに間に合うために戻って来るから安心してw いつもコメント🤍いいね🤍シェア🤍 ありがとうございます！！！

Happy Birthday to #shiroganenoel 🤍 One of my favorite vtuber from Holo ✨ I hope to make the armor version in the future.

This set will be on my Ko-Fi very soon! Also don’t miss my new Photobook “HoloMania” in my store. ko-fi.com/yurikotiger

Off topic: I will be in italy 2 weeks from 4th of sep. to the 20th of sep. My grandmother is very sick and I really want spend some days with her..!! But don’t worry, I will be at @sassaricosplay and one more event in Puglia 🇮🇹 See you there!

#白銀ノエル #コスプレ #cosplay #hololivecosplay

[boxingcleverrr]

SO 5-DAY BLIZZCON VACATION WAS GREAT.

Con itself was good, everyone agreed they sold too many tickets though lols. Like, understandable for the first in-person con since 2019, and the production value was just *chef's kiss* like goddamn those set pieces in each section, ahhhh. That Microsoft money + ditching the dead pervy weight looks real good.

However yeah, too many people. It's my third sold-out year and I have never been sardined like I was both days in various areas. I think because it was a) relatively last minute and b) the actors are on strike, there weren't as many panels, so almost everything was condensed to one floor, which....seemed unwise. Even people w/portal passes were like, yeah those did almost no good re: lines and waits. So hopefully that's something what gets fixed.

(seriously, Darkmoon shoulda been it's own floor again, buuuh)

BUT OTHERWISE, a very good time had, less bothered by such things as yeah it wasn't my first rodeo, I didn't have that burning NEED to see EACH AND EVERY THING, just zero in on what I knew I wanted to see/do.

We did our cosplay day 1, as we knew day 2 would be full of the real ready-for-community-night looks and indeed, it were. Even still we got lots of photo ops and compliments, and I was definitely bolstered in regards to attacking my own bigger, more impressive armor-heavy builds in the future.

Avatar vestments next year? WE SHALL SEE.

Friendtimes and Husbandtimes were of course good, but keeping mostly for meee. Still, it was so good to become 13 year olds on a long weekend sleepover, basically, except we can all drink and make our Bubba Gump waitress laugh. Made some brand new friends! Connected with ones I've not seen since Japan! Huzzah!

Ang is of course the magic friend who becomes friends with everyone, and as such brought us along to the Lost Codex meetup at the Hilton, which was rad. My creativity needed it, frankly, and spouse was incredibly bolstered by the conversations and connections. We got THINGS we're gonna be doing, STUFF.

Also I got to hug Spanner and Terran and NETWORK?! WTF is that? What do I do with all these business cards?!

(shhh I know what to do with them, but yanno. STUFF)

The rest of the weekend was uuuuuhhh, enjoying being with my spouse, getting high by the pool/in front of Nanalan tiktoks, and a LOT of Cheesecake Factory. Like don't get me wrong, we sought out some Real Mexican Food and Hawaiian Fusion too, but.

Cheesecake Factory. In California.

that Steak Diane, my beloved.

I love airports, flying is the worst. Which is my only other complaint: Why are bodies and why does being in the sky affect them more and more with age. Grr.

But yeah, I am going to recover and watch the Candela finale (I've avoided spoilers!!!!), toast burritos on my woodstove, and be sad I'm not with friends but excited to make things!

And play WoW again, haha.

[illwynd]

tag game, tagged by @gorgeousgalatea. ty bb! :D

favorite colour(s): green, black, marigold

currently reading: Understanding Wood: A craftsman’s guide to wood technology. And also doing a reread of The Hobbit and just got to Beorn’s place.

last song listened to: Tattered Banners and Bloody Flags by Amon Amarth.

last movie watched: conan the barbarian. for some reason.

last series watched: y’know, it’s been so long i’m actually not sure.

currently craving: hmm, well i just got home from a looooooong day of dancing (morris performance followed by trying out contra) and just (at almost midnight) had dinner of tikka masala, and now i have a beer in hand. so craving better knees, more hours in the day, and more days in the weekend.

currently working on: I’m scrambling to finally make three new sets of AoA Loki armor for me and my cosplay group and get them ready by SDCC. And also refinishing my buddy’s guitar but that is almost done, just need one or two more topcoats and then polishing (though, u guize, you have no idea how good it came out I am so happy. it is a Loki guitar if I ever saw one. it looks black in the shade, but there is a metallic green glitter i managed to embed in the topcoat that turns it VIVID SPARKLY GREEN when the light hits it). And making some stuff to throw on the consignment table at this year’s Viking Fest. I have too many hobbies and I refuse to put any back.

tea or coffee?: i require coffee to wake up but once i’m awake, i like a good tea.

tagging: oh, if you wanna do it, just say i tagged you, OK? I am le tired.