#other than that i am extremely pleased with my costume!

[scottishoctopus]

Throwback to that time in November last year when I cosplayed as Captain Jack for the very first time and had the best time of my life!

[renthony]

On Cosplay, Fast Fashion, & Waste

Fast fashion and disposable outfits in cosplay community spaces give me anxiety. Seeing people openly talk about throwing their "trashed" cosplay away after a single con makes me sad. Some costumes are crafted with such low durability that they fall apart beyond repair if you look at them the wrong way. I've met a ton of other cosplayers whose idea of "cosplay repair" ends with a stapler and some hot glue.

I never ever ever ever want to shame people for not knowing something. Crafting is hard. Making a low-quality costume isn't a sin or a crime. If you're new and still learning and don't really know what you're doing yet, that's fine! No harm, no foul, no bruise.

The cosplayers who do make me grouchy, however, are the ones who are unwilling to try. The ones who are flippant about throwing away a cosplay without trying to mend it, repurpose it, reuse it, or pass it along. The ones who intentionally make a costume just durable enough to last a single day, then toss it in the trash with zero thought.

My sewing and costuming experience started when I joined the ren faire, and I had to make my costumes sturdy enough to survive multiple weeks of heavy use, with the durability and freedom of movement to allow sword fighting on the living chessboard. I was taught how to shop for inexpensive fabrics and materials, but use high-quality, long-lasting techniques so that my costumes didn't disintegrate after a single day of performing. I have made extremely durable, cost-effective costumes out of bedsheets and thrift store fabric, as have many of my friends.

That experience has carried over into my cosplay. I am not happy with a costume unless it can go through three consecutive days of stage combat and high-intensity walking around outside in the heat, go through the washer and dryer, and come out completely unscathed.

Again, I never want to needlessly shit on other people's cosplay. Cosplay gatekeeping sucks and is no fun for anyone. At the same time, fast fashion is just as rampant in cosplay as it is everywhere else, and it sucks to see how wasteful it is.

You can make things durable even with cheap materials. Stop making flimsy costumes that you're just going to toss. Stop making piles and piles of waste. Please stop buying fabric just to slap a costume together with glue and throw it in the trash. If you are going to invest time and money into making something by hand, make it durable and comfy and worth the effort.

Even if you only want to personally wear it once, you can sell it, give it away, trade it, do something other than toss it in the trash. Show some love to your costumes, show some love to the planet, pick one action you can take to make your cosplay a little less wasteful. Being obsessed with the myth of a "personal carbon footprint" isn't helpful, but we as cosplayers should try to at least make things that'll last longer than 24 hours.

I understand that sewing can be incredibly intimidating, but basic stitching really isn't that complicated if you have a guide and the right tools. I personally need assistive devices for sewing thanks to my hand tremors and tendonitis, but those tools do exist, and can make things easier for both disabled and newbie sewists. I use rotary cutters instead of scissors, I keep a supply of needle threaders on hand, I have multiple little gadgets that help me sew in a straight line so my shaking hands don't screw everything up. There are tons of tools available, tons of tutorials online, and if you're interested in learning, there's a whole world out there to explore.

If you don't want to do all the crafting yourself, that's totally fine, but if you are going to hand-make your costume, you should try and make it durable. It's better for the planet and it's way less stressful to go to an event when you know your costume won't fall apart on the con floor.

If you have zero idea where to start, here are some books with crafting techniques I've found very useful, both in cosplay and regular household sewing I do for my family:

Make, Sew and Mend: Traditional Techniques to Sustainably Maintain and Refashion Your Clothes, by Bernadette Banner (who also has an incredible YouTube channel)

Cosplay Fabric FX: Painting, Dyeing & Weathering Costumes Like a Pro, by Julianna Franchini

Creative Cosplay: Selecting & Sewing Costumes Way Beyond Basic, by Amanda Haas

Level Up! Creative Cosplay: Costume Design & Creation, SFX Makeup, LED Basics & More, by Amanda Haas

[bruisedboys]

shy!r x sirius at a halloween party, please? :)

ofc angel!! sorry this took so long, please enjoy my one and only halloween themed blurb hahaha!

sirius black x shy!fem!reader

You’re an odd mixture of nervous and bubbly as you and Sirius make the rounds at James and Lily’s halloween party. You haven’t met all of his friends but some of them, so he’s introducing you to the ones you don’t know. So far you’ve met three people dressed as wizards and you’re starting to think it’s an inside joke.

Sirius, dressed in an incredibly attractive black leather getup, dark makeup and red horns sticking out of his wavy hair to complete the look, leads you into the kitchen where a pretty blonde girl is mixing her drink with a fruit skewer.

“Marl! Hi, doll,” Sirius kisses the cheek of the girl in question. “This is my angel, Y/N.” He gives your hand a squeeze and encourages your forward. “Sweetheart, this is Marlene.”

You feel yourself go hot in the cheeks. He keeps introducing you as his angel, which is probably your fault since you picked the angel costume. A flowy white dress, dewy makeup, white fluffy wings. You thought it was simple and cute and wouldn’t draw too much attention to you. You’re starting to realise how very wrong you were.

“Hi, Marlene,” you manage, embarrassed.

“Wow, you look incredible,” Marlene gushes excitedly, moving in for a friendly hug. You detach yourself from Sirius to hug her back. She looks amazing herself in a lacy black dress and fake blood all down her front. She pulls away and holds you at arms length. “You’re so pretty!”

“Thank you,” you say, more flustered than ever. Sirius is still close but he’s distracted showing off his outfit to Remus in the kitchen doorway. “It’s really good to meet you.”

Marlene beams. “You too, I thought Sirius was hiding you from us!” She laughs, then lowers her voice and leans in close, “He is looking after you, isn’t he?”

“Yes,” you laugh. You can’t help but giggle at her serious tone. It’s not the first time one of his friends have asked you this, mostly as a joke, but you know it’s also because he’s so intimidating and you’re decidedly un-intimidating.

“Yeah, he is,” you tell her. He really is. He’s a sweetheart under all the punk. You suppose the angel-devil thing isn’t helping your case much, but it’s true, and you don’t care if other people think you’re an odd match. Sirius likes you the way you are and you him.

“Good,” Marlene nods, satisfied, and leans back. “Was it just me or did I hear him call you ‘my angel’? That’s awful. He’s such a—“

Sirius appears at your side again. You know he’s there a second before he appears because his warm hand finds a place at the small of your back before he interrupts,

“What are we talking about, girls?” He asks loudly.

Marlene squints at him.

“Speak of the devil,” she says, which is funny, because he’s literally dressed as a devil tonight.

“You were talking about me?” He asks, pleased. He slides his arm around your waist and pulls you into his side. “Hope it was about how devilishly handsome I am.”

You and Marlene make twin faces at each other.

“Sure, Pads,” Marlene deadpans, her nose wrinkled.

Sirius grins. You’d never admit it but he is actually extremely handsome and you could probably talk about it forever.

“I knew it,” he says. “C’mon, babe, I’ll introduce you to Frank and Alice, yeah? I think they’ll love our costumes.”

You let yourself get tugged away by Sirius, happy to follow him wherever he goes. Marlene winks at you when Sirius isn’t looking.

[biscuitsofthesevenseas]

DRAGON LORE ANALYSIS TIME

Warning: kind of long(an)

I think we all know where this story is going. The fact that Longan is normally quite nonchalant but then we get this monstrosity of a facial expression as soon as Pitaya decides to chip off his helmet, is just... like I think this guy has more going on than the game is letting us know. Like why did he just decide to sink into the ocean for a couple thousand years after seeing the vision instead of, you know, eagerly anticipating it? Why do they hate cookies so much, how did they receive more power than the other dragons, and if they do despise cookies with all their might then how did Snakefruit get to the palace alive for the first time? I mean, we do know that their power is flawed (proof of that is Pond Dinos existence) , but considering how much the dragon talks about its raw power, I'm not exactly sure whether they actually know about the flaws (well, except for acknowledging, and having therefore, beef with Pond Dino).

Im also slightly disappointed this update ended on a cliffhanger, especially with all the hype, leaks, and the amount of time the Dragon Saga has been going on for. Its been nearly 5 or 6 years since Pitaya was released, and we still haven't even gotten to the final battle yet.

On that note, I think I might as well say what I think will happen in finale. For a start, I kind of hope there will be a Lychee redemption arc. It sound hilarious, but like, think about it. Rambutan wants her friend back, even if said 'friend' was and is a life-sucking succubus dragon. Lychee herself is probably the least popular of the dragons (used to be ananas but they gained a bunch of new fans, including myself, this update.) She's been completely sidelined in lore, even her own release cutscenes focusing on Rambutan more than her. She appeared a total of two times this entire update, and not much more throughout this megaupdate. Oh and she's the only legendary without a costume since Ananas and Pitaya got theirs this megaupdate, so I think that update will give her one. A redemption arc would be interesting and it would give her the opportunity to not end the saga as longans servant. (I also realised that it would be extremely funny if longan also got redeened and received a costume for it. Like, angelic Longan. Angelic Longan. Think about it.)

Now, Snakefruit. I do not trust that thing one bit, and I am 100% expecting a plot twist on the final DS update where it tries to steal longans dragon form after longan gets inevitably defeated (crob doesn't do killing most of the time, although it would be great if longan just straight up died.) I mean sure, it made a deal with lotus, bla bla blah, but you aren't forgetting that this is the creature that somehow managed to steal all the cookies' life forces in order to become a dragon. And whats the deal with Snakefruit anyways? How did it even grasp the idea of becoming a dragon? I just happened to realise we know almost nothing about it apart from its goals. Devsis, give the snake lore please.

My fingers hurt now I think I'll stop typing-

[taytrashmouth]

I'm so glad other people are having a peeta renaissance and I'm so obsessed with how you write for him !!!!!! Could you do promt #6 with Peeta please ! Maybe with the scene with Johanna in the elevator or maybe something with Katniss during the victor's tour ?? Big love ! ❤️

Omg omg thank you!!!!!!! Ahhhhh! Love this. I hope you enjoy!

Prompt 6: you’re jealous

Jealousy, jealousy.

Peeta Mellark x reader.

A

You entered the lift with Peeta and Haymitch after the parade. Soon after Johanna entered the lift too. She undid her hair and rambled about how boring her costume was and the stupid Capitol.

She then asked Peeta to unzip her.

He glanced at you for a second before obeying. He looked up but you noticed how his eyes wondered.

A bitter feeling spread into your chest. Why couldn’t he seem to keep his eyes off her.

You had the sudden urge to lean onto Peeta and hold onto his arm.

He glanced quickly down at you, and kissed your head. Johanna climbed off the elevator.

“Wow.” Haymitch mouthed.

Peeta’s eyes went wide in an ‘ I know’ sort of way.

You let go of him, no longer liking the thought of holding him. Not right now, not nowthat she was gone.

When you got back to your room you changed out of your dress and climbed into bed.

“So, you love me…right?” You asked as Peeta brushed his teeth. He frowned leaving the brush limp in his foamy mouth and spat out the toothpaste rinsing his palate and toothbrush.

“Of course n/n.” He crawled behind you and held you close in his lap. “You’re everything to me.” He whispered.

You were quiet for a while before speaking up again.

“What did you think about Johanna?” You asked.

“She was alright-“ he shrugged, still holding you.

You scoffed.

“Oh my god! You’re jealous.” Peeta turned you to face him with a smirk.

“I am not!” You denied.

“Oh come on! You’ve been insecure all evening, you had to grab onto me when she was in the elevator, you’ve been asking about her since dinner.” Peeta listed and you sighed.

“It’s just- you looked at her… and you’re supposed to look at me. And I just- I got upset because you don’t act like that when you see me-“ you were cut off by a kiss.

“Peeta!”

“You are so cute when you’re jealous! Did you know that?” He smirked. “I wasn’t looking at her like that n/n. I was looking at the marks on her back, I think the peacekeepers beat her or something. They looked fresh. And I was thinking, she must be crazy, yelling about the Capitol 24/7 and getting undressed in an elevator.” Peeta explained.

You felt a little silly.

“Oh.”

“Even if I was checking her out, which I wasn’t, I wouldn’t ever look at you like that. You are so gorgeous and I respect you so much. I will only ever look at you with love and not like you were some painting I could eye-fuck.”

Tears filled your eyes. “I just get scared because I don’t look like her. I don’t look like the pretty girls in the Capitol.” Insecurities washed over you. “I don’t want you to be disappointed that you were stuck with me.” Tears ran down your cheeks.

Peeta kissed you on your cheek and wiped away the tears. He stroked hair out of your face. “You don’t look like them… you’re right. You’re more beautiful than all of them. I don’t want the over the top girls in the Capitol or the extremely over the top Johanna.”

You watched him with such love. You had just accused him of checking out some other girl and here he was making you feel better. He wasn’t even angry. He was perfect.

“I mean, have you seen Effie? I don’t think I could handle that much glitter. You know?” He rambled and you giggled.

“I want you n/n…I love you. I could never be disappointed about just you.”

You smiled and held each other tighter until you were almost asleep. You felt Peeta’s stomach moving? Was he laughing?

You heard laughed finally erupt and you leaned back, trying to figure out what was so funny.

“What is so funny.” You were smiling just off of his expression.

“I love you so much you know that.” He laughed. “Remember the day we first spoke back in 12. You asked me to go out with you, which I thought was really brave because you were normally so quiet.” He rambled.

“Then you told me that you’d been outside for about an hour contemplating before you came into the bakery. Well, I had no idea you got so jealous over me…it’s flattering.” He laughed again.

“What!?” You sat up in confusion.

“N/n you 100% saw that red head from school go in before you and watched her flirt with me. That’s why you asked me out. I should thank her really.” He smiled and you gasped and then buried your head in his chest, a bright shade of pink.

It was true. You had liked him for ages. She couldn’t steal him from you.

“I should start kissing you whenever you and Finnick talk.” Peeta tickled your sides and you laughed despite your embarrassment. “I mean, he’s a good looking guy, should I be worried.” Peeta smiled at you and you returned the gesture.

“Yeah you should be.” You tried not to laugh.

Peeta fake gasped and pushed you onto your back, the spongy bed bouncing under you.

“I’m sorry, have you seen his abs…” you fanned yourself. “I don’t make the rules babe.” You smiled.

“Is that so?” Peeta held your knees that were the only barrier between him and the rest of your body.

“Have you seen these abs?” He lifted up his t-shirt revealing his abs. You could look at him all day. He was perfect.

He pulled you closer by your feet and straddled you. Moving for a passionate kiss, and moving down your neck finding your sweet spot. When he sat up straight again you were left in a love sick haze.

“Bet Finnick can’t do that.” Peeta was out of breath after the heated kisses, the only reason he stopped was for air.

You shrugged playfully. His eyes widened in surprise.

“Look who’s jealous!” You smiled. You quickly hooked your ankles and flipped him over to be on top.

“I’m-I’m not jealous.” Peeta was right, he looked at you with only love.

You kissed him now, leaving him a love sick mess. Scruffy hair and all.

“Come on bread boy, let’s get some sleep.” You climbed under the covers and he quickly followed letting you use his now bare chest as a pillow.

“You have better abs.” You whispered and you could almost hear him smirk.

Requests are open please send them in

[padawansuggest]

Real take: I like Star Wars. I like the prequels because they have more fleshed out world building than the originals. I like the originals because it has a compelling storyline and character building. I like the cartoons because they do things that live action cannot. I like the children’s show Young Jedi Adventures and I think it’s both cute, extremely full of world building, and it’s designed to bring back the cartoon storyline of learning a lesson every episode that young children can relate to. I like the Mandalorian because it took a species with exactly two known people from it, and added a third, but made them a baby, and they were cute, and it shows the morals of Mandalorian adoption and love for children. I love Ahsoka because it took a favorite cartoon series and not only brought it to life, but also it’s funny and very full of world building for both the New Republic Rebellion scene, as well as more Dathomirian nightsister lore. I love a lot of other Star Wars off-shoots because they gave good storylines, they try to bridge plotholes, and a lot of amazing characters and new places to play with. I adore, fucking love, would give my life for Star Wars Visions; the lore and new concepts alone have captivated me and I can and HAVE made posts about things Visions did that no other SW series has touched and I’m so obsessed with the force and it’s aspects as well as just species and such you have no idea I would sell any of you for SW Visions. In fact, I would sell any of you for Young Jedi Adventures too. The worldbuilding alone for those two series is enough to have me vibrating with excitement with every episode. Sometimes I rewatch episodes of them just for random juicy facts that I can use for fics.

But you know why I don’t tell people I like Star Wars in real life? People always lookin at something they hate, and the most incel take on it is that it’s got too many women now. But irl non-fandom people who just want to ‘enjoy the ambiance of the original trilogy’ and me do not get along because they actually hate Star Wars. They genuinely hate Star Wars.

I can give you 50 plot lines in various sections of canon and legends that boiled my blood (tho not that one time Anakin at 12 literally boiled a man’s blood inside his body, that was hilarious his eyes turned black like a demons I’m so obsessed with him), but I’m not gonna talk about those.

Aren’t you exhausted? Wouldn’t it be nicer to gush about how amazing a certain costume design was? How the implications of a certain species makes you so excited you could burst? Wouldn’t you like to talk about how that one character just doesn’t get enough love and it wasn’t because they were fridged it was just because they didn’t get enough love from the fans for being black or female or disabled or something?

I am going to tell you this now, and you’re gonna hate me for it but I’m right: if you didn’t like Mortis because you think the force Doesn’t Work Like That? You don’t like Star Wars.

I’m tired of interacting with comments on commercials because it’s full of idiots crying about more women, a black character, the fact that ‘oh that wouldn’t happen’ as if the High Republic era didn’t literally have some sort of fucked up midichlorian vampire roaming the outer rim killing anyone force sensitive. Obviously they def would have acolytes set before the prequels shove it up your ass.

Anyways. Stop talking about what you hate. Yes, I get it. We are tired of rote pumped stories, but that doesn’t change the fact that there will ALWAYS be someone who hates the story you love, and loves the story you hate. You cannot please everyone, and I for one have found just about all off-shoot SW series individualized and compelling in some way or another.

You know what I did when I starting hating about 90% of all new Marvel movies? I stopped watching them. If I want back in the fandom I have older ones I can watch or simply only interact with fics.

Because Marvel, as much as they Need To Calm Their Shit, isn’t about me, and it isn’t for me anymore.

But I think a lot of you hate so much Star Wars content that you truly need to stop interacting with the series. It’s not for you anymore. And just because you didn’t like it doesn’t mean it’s not real SW. Not sorry, but this ain’t your scene anymore and you need to find a new one.

[yuri-is-online]

Hello, hello! Congrats on making the 500 follower milestone!🥳🎉🎆 For the masquerade event, may I request prompt no. 12 with Leona, Riddle and Azul, please? Thank you!

12. You had a wonderful time dancing and flirting with someone at the ball, only to find out from your friends the next day that was your crush. And you have no idea if they knew it was you they were dancing with.

Hi hi friend!!! I am very happy to see you, in both my inbox and my notifications. I really hope you like what I came up with here, and look forward to any future requests you may have.

notes: they/them used for Yuu, SUGGESTIVE WARNING FOR LEONA (he gives Yuu a hickey) Leona? Self-destructing? It's more likely than you think, Riddle is a fragile Victorian maiden, and Azul is himself, a reference is made to his chat with Jade. This got a bit angsty but everything is ok in the end. The other event requests can be found on my masterlist here.

Leona

Just one night. That's what Leona told himself, one night with you in his arms, all your attention focused on him; your smiles, your laughter, the heat of your breath against his lips as he steals all of your air and pockets the sound of your gasps in the back of your mind right by all those times he got the last word in an argument with Kifaji. You were going to be his for one night and one night only, with a mask, hat, and cape to shield him from all your typical banter and sweep you up in the allure of the Masquerade. And it had worked, like the predictable herbivore you were you let him sweep you off your feet and monopolize all of your time for the entire night.

Your eyes had been drawn away by a particularly loud shout from the lizard's annoying retainer, that pointless concern drawing you away from him once again. He touches just under your chin and moves your head back towards him, trying not to let his smirk grow any further when you melt into his touch and completely ignore the commotion.

"Sorry," you do sound like it "where were we?"

"You were about to stop telling me how nice my costume is and do something more productive." The hears the heart rate increase before he feels it, tastes Yuu before he kisses them, and knows long before he pulls away that this was a mistake. He was supposed to tie off his feelings by proving to himself that attending one of these shitty formal events with you would suck.

And it sort of had, but only because he had to hear your strangled disappointment when he left you alone instead of ditching the soirée to come home with him.

Home. As if either of you would be welcome there. ~~~~ "So you wanted me to be sitting down for this conversation?" You have a feeling you know why Ruggie is here. It has something to do with the extremely inhuman teeth marks that would have been your death warrant if looks could kill.

"You already know you were sucking Leona's face last night right?" You aren't quite sure who Ruggie is trying to be polite to with keeping his descriptions to that already vivid medium.

"Yes," you look off just past Ruggie as if it will save you any embarrassment "I found out when Vil started slapping foundation on my neck and demanding I call my therapist."

"You should still do that." So it's you Ruggie is trying to be polite to, sweet that makes eye contact a little bit easier. "But- no after you do that would you mind talking to Leona? I'd say call him but he's just going to ignore you and I am sick of it."

"Oh come on," you try to lighten the mood with a laugh "it's only been one day right?"

"Try since you met." Ruggie mutters and your mood falls back to the stressful buzz of nonsensical energy that you had been stitched in all day. He probably didn't mean for you to hear that, just like Leona didn't mean for you to see him as vulnerable in anyway at all.

"Did he send you to pick something up?" It's not a question Ruggie jumps to answer, but he doesn't have to. "Mind letting me deliver it?" ~~~~ "You've got some nerve showing your face here." Leona knows it's you, and you wish you could say you're surprised he is able to tell with his eyes closed, you wish you could say the deep breath he takes before he opens his eyes is ugly or terrifying in some way so you have an excuse to run.

But for some ungodly reason you don't want to. Seeing him makes things less embarrassing, in a complete defiance of logic and good sense you feel nothing but confidence as you stride across the room and set the skewers Ruggie made on his room's coffee table. "Figured you wouldn't answer your phone so I just let myself in." You don't move any closer to his bed, not because you are afraid of him, something you know he knows as he makes a show of opening his mouth to taste the air and show off his teeth. No if Leona wants you-

"Here to say you regret it?" He means it as a taunt, but like so many of those it's a bit too truthful for you to really be insulted. "I just wanted a taste, you had to have known a herbivore like you would never be able to keep up with me."

"And you have to know that acting like a coward is unbecoming for anyone," the strength of your voice only surprises him, you know damn well Leona isn't the only one who is capable of being petty "let alone you." He closes the distance between for you, eyes narrow and a growl shaking you to your core but he doesn't dare lay a hand on you.

"You-"

"Are completely right and will not take any criticism." And now you are interrupting him, oooh you can piratically see the fire in his eyes. "Look, if you don't want me that's fine. I'm a big herbivore, not a little cub trying to cling to your warmth. But if you do-" You really wish Leona had a tie, it would make this nicer but he doesn't so you satisfy yourself with yanking him down to you with a fistful of his hair "then I want to hear it. And I won't yield until I do."

For a brief second, you wonder if any of what you've just done is smart. If you should have told Vil, Ace, Trey, anyone other than just Ruggie and Grim where it was you were going so they knew who to blame for your mangled corpse. But that would just complicate the excited flicker in Leona's eyes when he fully understands that you are serious. When he breaks free of your grasp with a simple shake of his head and-

Laughs. Freely and purely in a way you don't think you've ever heard before as he reaches out to that specific spot on your neck and wipes away the makeup with a simple, self satisfied spell.

"Beg."

"Excuse-"

"Oh I want to tell you," Leona is back in all his annoying smug glory, you should have expected this from someone who refused to apologize for overblotting "you have no idea just how much I want to say, but I wanna hear you beg just as bad, so indulge me a little yeah?"

I know you want to.

Riddle

"Hey congrats!" Cater almost knocks you off your couch with how hard he claps you on the back. "I was staring to think you and Riddle would never-"

"Wait, wait, wait, slow down." You make sure to put your mug down on a coaster and out of either of your reach so your precious morning brew didn't get knocked over by anyone's antics. "How did you get into my dorm and what's this about me and Riddle?" Cater gives you his best peeved look and you give him your best infuriated stare. Both of you know the answer to both of those questions; he let himself in, and you are in love with Riddle. But you do fail to see what that last bit has to do with anythi-

"Didn't you kiss him last night?" Cater is really glad you set that mug down because the wheezing cough you hack up would have been truly dangerous if any liquids involved. "He's been totally out of it all day, it's super cute you want to see some pics?"

"NO!" You manage an impressive volume for someone so low on air. "I just- ididntknowitwashimand-"

"You what?" Cater is only half paying attention, already moving to show you some admittedly extremely cute pictures of Riddle sitting in the Heartslabyul lounge with a cup of tea staring out the bay window, an unusual shade of pink decorating his cheeks with a strangely serene look on his face. You want to touch his chubby cheeks but Cater keeps his phone just out of your reach.

"I didn't know it was him." You say, quietly almost to yourself and though Cater does suck in a pretty deep breath he doesn't overwhelm you with his reaction. "I mean it was just on the cheek! I thought..."

Sweet. Your dance partner was so sleepy, and trying so very hard to stay awake. But it was clearly unbelievably far past his bed time, he can't stop yawning.

"I'm sorry, I'm being extremely impolite." He falls onto your shoulder anyway, and you feel compelled to protect him from the crowd, gently guiding him away from the lights and wrapping your cloak around his shoulders.

"It's ok, you shouldn't be sorry for feeling sleepy." He hums happily as you look around for one of the professors to take him back to his dorm. "I had a really fun time dancing with you already, I didn't know anything about formal dances before I came here so it was really nice to have such a helpful partner. You don't need to keep yourself awake for me."

"But I want to." He murmurs. "I want you to see me as reliable." Poor kid, he must really be out of it to be relying on a stranger for validation. Thankfully you finally manage to find Crewel and give your new friend a quick thank you kiss on the cheek before you pass him off.

"You're plenty useful, you don't need my approval." And you are gone before he can shout again about just how badly he wants it.

"I thought he was just some guy." You say. "And it wasn't like a kiss kiss, it was just a peck on the cheek." Something you never would have done if you knew it was Riddle, something he had seethed with jealousy over you giving out to everyone else and conveniently neglected to disclose to Cater as the type of kiss he had gotten. Cater had been under the impression it was a bit more... dramatic but then he supposes as he looks at you and then the picture of a pining Riddle on his phone, that this scenario does make a bit more sense.

Maybe the little teapot had an inappropriate dream where you held hands in the rose garden on the way back to Heartslabyul and gotten that mixed up with reality. A sharp knock at Ramshackle's door snaps you both away from your thoughts as Cater quickly excuses himself though one of the lounge's windows and you move to answer it, little doubt about who it could be. ~~~~ Riddle's entry to Ramshackle is much more formal than Cater's. He says nothing as you walk back to the lounge, you say nothing as you sit down on your couch, and he politely coughs when he settles into a recliner but still offers nothing in the way of an explanation.

"Thank you for letting me in." He does say that, because to do otherwise would be rude.

"You're always welcome over." And you can't exactly help but say that because anything else would be a lie. The silence stretches out as you stare at your poor mug in distress.

"Your tea's cold." Not the line you expected from Riddle, less so the genuine distress. "I'm sorry if I interrupted you."

"Oh it's ok, I wasn't really making much progress on it anyway." You had just made it when Cater showed up, and you had quite forgotten about it until you needed a distraction. "Did you have a good night's slee-"

"I love you." Riddle doesn't blurt anything ever, the words are as blunt and firm as a deceleration of the Queen's rules. Once again, you are very glad that no liquids are involved in the breath you are required to take. "I love you and would very much like to know if you love me too. It's alright if you don't, I'm content with our friendship, treasure it even, but I need to say something to avoid further miscommunications on my part like last night's." He moves, not quite to his knees, but deferring to you all the same. "Please." Riddle doesn't know what he is asking for, and you barely know how you answer. "What do you have to say?"

"I think." You gently take his hands in yours. "That I would like to make two cups of tea. And I would like you to sit a little closer to me."

Azul

He knew. There was no way in the deep blue sea that conniving, scheming, bastard hadn't known it was you for one second. So what was it that Azul wanted from you so badly that he pretended to be attracted to you for an entire night? You shuffle around under your blankets and flip the pillow you had been sobbing into just a few moments prior trying to convince yourself to go back to sleep, that this revelation (even if it felt more like a train wreck with how loud Ace and Deuce had yelled at you this morning) would be better digested after a night's sleep.

Closed eyes take you back to the dim lights of the ballroom, the perfect way the supposed stranger holds himself, poised yet somehow relaxed. Like he was always meant to be held in your arms, the way he removes his glove before he takes your hand in his and intertwines your fingers as you dance doesn't even strike you as slightly performative.

"Your hands seem cold." He says, plush lips curving into a smile as his thumb runs over your knuckles in time with the shiver his words send through your spine. "May I hold you closer? It might help with that chill you seem to be suffering." And though you say nothing you still move further into his embrace, overwhelmed with the beauty of his affection.

You take a deep, shuddering breath and scream again into your pillow as Grim rolls over next to you mumbling something inaudible to your foggy mind.

This is pure torture. ~~~~ You knew it was him. That was the conclusion Azul had drawn because there was no way, with how deep your affections ran for him, you would have ever allowed someone else to sweep you up into their arms when you had his gift tied so delicately around your throat.

"I was right," he remembers saying that with such loaded intent he almost cringed at the sound of his own voice "it does look quite attractive on you." The spiral conch was a bit out of place in your costume, but you had still thought to wear it. The delicate silver string he had spent so much time agonizing over glittered in the magical lights of the ball. There was no reason in his mind, no reason until approximately 8:45 AM this morning anyway, to consider last night as anything other than a complete success. Now though...

Roses are too Heartslabyul, it's a bit too late to go looking for coral or seashells even if that was something he knew he needed to give to you at some point. Courtship traditions were ingrained in cultures for a reason, and he knew- well until he saw Ace shaking you in Ramshackle's courtyard he thought he had noticed that you were receptive to merfolk ones.

"Looking to make an apology little imp?" He does not startle to Sam's question, though he does make a disgruntled sigh.

"It appears I need to." Because no one on this campus likes to admit they have ever done anything wrong, and Azul does not think he was wrong to approach you but he knows you're mad. He had been waiting for your usual weekend visit to the lounge, anxious but excited, already having worked his way through the misunderstanding in his own mind. To be jealous of himself had never crossed his mind. You had never once asked to leave him as soon as he had asked for your hand, mask or no that was all Azul really wanted, out of that night anyway. But he had been making plans for this one he still wishes to see fulfilled, ones precious enough to swallow a little pride and say the words. And with that in mind... "Do you have peonies? Light pink, almost white." He doesn't really have to ask, the flowers are bought and paid for as almost an afterthought as Azul tries to plan something, even though he knows with each step he takes towards Ramshackle that the instant he sees you it will all fall apart. But he knocks on the door anyway, and tries not to half cry himself when he sees the stressed face that greets him.

"I am told," Azul says carefully, purposefully not forcing himself into your space no matter how much he wants to reacquaint himself with the warmth of your embrace "that this is the way land dwellers apologize for romantic indiscretions." Between partners goes unsaid as you, against the advice of all your friend group and the monster asleep in your bed, let him into your lounge and excuse yourself to find a vase. It's not strange to see him so relaxed, Azul's self confidence was one of the many things that attracted you to him, but it feels strangely homey to see him settled into your couch not even remotely phased by the flowers he holds. And when he looks up to see you, you can watch the breath catch in his chest before his smile shines through. It's almost enough to make you drop the vase, but not even that is enough to shatter his reverie.

"Thank you." The whisper is hoarse from your previous tears, Azul settles the flowers in the vase before pulling the glove free from his hand to allow you to seek reassurance from the coolness of his touch. There are no tears now, but the gentle curl of his hand around your cheek still has a slight tremble.

"I am sorry." He means that, even if he did nothing wrong he can still regret hurting you he decides. "Would you allow me to show you something?" Something he says, like the embrace you share and the kiss he finally gets to savor is a thing he is giving you and not a treasure he has longed to take.

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Josephine Baker (The Siren of the Tropics, ZouZou)— Josephine Baker was an American born actress, singer, and utter icon of the period, creating the 1920s banana skirt look. She was the first black woman to star in a major motion film. She fought in the French resistance in WWII, given a Legion of Honour, as well as refusing to perform in segregated theatres in the US. She was bisexual, a fighter, and overall an absolutely incredible woman as well as being extremely attractive.

Anne Baxter (The Ten Commandments, All About Eve)—her soft, gentle voice in "all about eve", those gentle eyes with something odd behind them, the way she flips from Sweet Innocent to Viper on a dime......there was something Built Different about anne baxter, man, and it makes her so good for playing people who are Built Wrong. also one of my favorite batmen villains (her joint episode w vincent price is a delight) and of course I'm obsessed with her columbo episode where she bosses around edith head and does fabulous movie star things for no good reason. and i would be REMISS if i didn't mention her slink—oh the slink—in the ten commandments...................pardon me i must go think of sinning again

This is round 4 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Josephine Baker:

Black, American-born, French dancer and singer. Phenomenal sensation, took music-halls by storm. Famous in the silent film era.

Let's talk La Revue Negre, Shuffle Along. The iconique banana outfit? But also getting a Croix de Guerre and full military honors at burial in Paris due to working with the Resistance.

She exuded sex, was a beautiful dancer, vivacious, and her silliness and humor added to her attractiveness. She looked just as good in drag too.

So I know she was more famous for other stuff than movies and her movies weren’t Hollywood but my first exposure to her was in her films so I’ve always thought of her as a film actress first and foremost. Also she was the first black woman to star in a major motion picture so I think that warrants an entry

Iconic! Just look up anything about her life. She was a fascinating woman.

Anne Baxter:

The prettiest murderer in that film. Just so beautifully evil as Nefertari.

Anne Baxter was part of my Bisexual Awakening. My family has a tradition that every Palm Sunday we watch The ten commandments on TV together... And starting from a very young age, I essentially developed a crushes on Anne Baxter's Nefertiri & Yul Brynner's Ramses. Dude, the woman was HOT! They both were! My crush definitely wasn't helped by the fact that Anne Baxter's costumes were a bit on the sheer side. She had a way of capturing you with her eyes, and I never understood why Charlton heston's Moses didn't just have a threesome with Nefertiri and Ramses. LOL

Her Nefertiri in The Ten Commandments was FORMATIVE TO ME. If not the hottest old movie lady, then she definitely played the hottest old movie character. if that makes sense.

Look. Listen. I only *just* discovered her on a post from the Have You Seen This Romcom poll blog. Saw she had the same last name as me and went OOH hi hello. Went to her IMdB and saw she was born in Indiana like moi. I am now even more intrigued. Been eagerly telling my partner this, and he was like "maybe you guys are distantly related?" And after 2 hrs of going down the tumblr tag + her imdb photos, I'm In Deep(tm) and I can't stop looking at her like 😍 When I go to my grandma's house, bet your ass I'm gonna check my grandpa's genealogy and see if we're somehow related. Sorry that's not really propaganda I just got real excited, esp when I saw that the submission deadline was extended (bless your soul). Narrowing down the movies where she's hottest in was Hell tyvm. I've only just discovered her, she looks gorgeous to me in every movie still I see of her gdi lol.

[gabriel-the-messenger]

Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon

Please play this game I am begging on my knees

Whats not to like:

1

Big robots fighting with oversized weapons

2

A lovely photo mode for all the screenshots you would ever need

3

Endless mech costumisation

4

Endless LOGO and DECAL constumisation

(This logo took about 3 hours of my day but I regret absolutely nothing)

5

Not one. Not two. But THREE great stories (with NG+ and NG++)

6

"621, the Balam Corporation wants you to burn down this orphenage for a handful of COAM. It's just a job, all of it. Stay focused on the job 621"

7

Handler Walter my beloved🥰

(He's actually just a disembodied voice in the game, credits to u/Count15 on Reddit for the fanart)

Also, shoutout to the lady in my head that calls me Studmuffin (love you Ayre)

8

Coughing baby vs hydrogen bomb (i.e : if you're gonna commit war crimes and/or throw away your humanity, do it in style)

9

(this one is just for you @zealfruity, if you're anyone else you can scroll past this one)

You can make a Transformer!

(This one is by iiiveliii on TikTok. I haven't found any great Starscreams, meaning YOU should be the first!)

10

If you're not @zealfruity, welcome back! So, for my last and final point:

THE MUSIC

If you weren't already enamoured by the visuals of this game, wait t'ill you hear its soundtrack.

These are two examples I cherry-picked from my favorites, but there's nothing more atmospheric than fighting giant robots while having these bangers in the background.

CLOSING REMARKS

AC6: Fires of Rubicon is an amazing game. It takes about 50-60 hours to complete (including NG+ and NG++), but I've sank more than 100+ hours into it as of writing this post. It offers an experience unlike any other, letting you not only build and costumize your massive war machine to your heart's content, experimenting with many different playstyles, but also let's you experience an amazing story with many hidden facades (in true FromSoftware style (did I mention this was a FromSoft game? Dark Souls FromSoft?)) and fight interesting and varied bosses.

Be warned, I have struggled on quite a few bosses, and even the tutorial boss is considered a "filter". However, when you do beat these ennemies, you feel a rush unlike any other.

I've spent all this time writing this and yet I haven't even talked about PvP, and thats because my enjoyment of it varies extremely depending on who I'm fighting. Some people run builds based around the meta (which I personnally find a bit boring, but if that's your vibe then go all out), but I find the truly entertaining matches to be players who aren't afraid to experiment, bringing unconventionnal weapons or builds and trying out interesting strategies. Some also throw all of that out of the window, and I've had quite a few matches end up with me and them simply throwing our weapons out and punching each other to death.

All around, I obviously could not recommend this game more. It's a good 9.5/10 for me, with my only criticism is that I wish there were more long-range and ballistic weapons (I'm a sucker for the sound of bullets ricocheing).

[kuwdora]

Saturday Morning Vid Recs - Animals

@poetikat So I know you like cats.... This post started out as a recs list of cat vids. but then I realized there are a ton of other animal vids that you'll get a kick out of and so here I am, with another batch of goodies for you!

Cats!!

Hug Cats! by @rhea314 and @sandalwoodbox. Multi-source. Like…really multi-source! 😻😻😻😻 Cats cats cats cats cats.

Breaking the Habit by Isagel. My Cat From Hell. This vid will make you crack up, it’s amazing. I don't want to be the one the battles always choose.

Murder (Or a Heart Attack) by sisabet. New Girl. Parenting a cat, lmao. "Introducing the mouse-murderin', the heart burglarin', the king of the kennel, Furguson Michael Jordan Bishop!" --Winston Bishop

Happiness and Home by sternenschnuppendrachenschicksal. The Aristocats. ❤️❤️❤️ Home is where the heart is.

Doggos!

Send Me On My Way by @elipie. Wishbone. Wishbone!! the tv Wishbone! Wishbone in all the costumes and adorableness, this is so much love. We will run, we will crawl.

I'll Be There For You by @eruthros. Pit Bulls and Parolees. Animal rescue and love and hugs. "It's for more than three hundred pitbulls, the world's most misunderstood breed of dog; it's for parolees, the guys I hire because no one else will."

Dreams by eunice. Marley & Me. WARNING: The dog dies. This vid will ruin your soul. It’s full of SO MUCH LOVE. And grief. It’s fucking beautiful and ruinous. Tread with caution.

Puppy Love by cosmic_llin. Multi-source. PUPPIES!!!!! Dolly Parton music and PUPPIES.

They’re Good Dogs Brent by bessyboo, platinumvampyr. We Rate Dogs. This vid is pure joy. h*ckin good dogs.

Times Like These by eunice. All Dogs Go to Heaven. Eunice has a motif of killing dogs but this vid is a little more light. Times like these I learn to live again.

Dinosaurs, Penguins, Horses, Rats, Bears and Duckies, Oh my!

Stay Alive by milly. Land Before Time. Scroll down for the YouTube link on this page. This is another incredible animation throwback and full of so much heart. We'll do whatever just to stay alive.

Every Penguin Dance Now by Mr. Anderson. Happy Feet. Nobody was rocking the vidding dancefloor like Mr. Anderson’s editing back in the day. This vid is a 10000000% must-see.

Heart Alone by sasha_feather. Seabiscuit (2003). Found family! Horses!!!!

The Walker by @rhoboat77. Rataouille (2007). This vid is SO. FUCKING. CUTE. Don't miss this one!

Everything I Do by bironic. Cocaine Bear. Warning for drug use and brief implied bear injury, but this vid is not as graphic as the film. It is, however, extremely hilariously inappropriate laugh out loud funny. I can't help it. There's nothin' I want more.

1234 - A Bear Named Winnie by @kuwdora. A Bear Named Winnie (2004). This is slash vid with a bear at the heart of it all. A live action film based on the bear that inspired Winnie the Pooh. Two men go off to war and parent a bear cub. Oh, you're changing your heart. Scroll down in my vidpost to hear me scream about how this movie was made for me.

Somewhere Only We Know by @kiki-miserychic. Winnie the Pooh. This animated Pooh vid is SO sweet and wonderful! I had to run to the vidder to find a link to share since it's not on YouTube but well worth the download and viewing!

Rubber Duckie by krim. Taskmaster UK. This is so unbearably cute! A Taskmaster celebration of our little yellow friends!

Animals of the Sea

(You Drive Me) Crazy by @CherryIce. Sharknado. I cannot get through this vid without laugh crying. Please please please watch this vid and tell Cherry how much you laughed. Please, do it for me. Baby, I'm so into you.

A-ha by sol-se. Deep Blue Sea. This one makes me CACKLE and howl and slap my knees and also this song is so fucking good and just goddamn amazing. LL Cool J trying to kill a shark with a lighter. The way Solvi uses this song! Brilliant. Scientists experiment on sharks in an isolated ocean lab because that is a good idea. Thomas Jane is a shark wrangler, and LL Cool J is a cook with a parrot. Also, Samuel L. Jackson.

Float On by @such-heights. Finding Meno (2003). ❤️❤️❤️ We all float on, okay.

Selachimorpha by @CherryIce. Aquaman. ….There are not enough words, or any words for this vid. You have to see it for yourself. You will regret me earworming you by reccing this vid but it’s worth it for the hilarious perfection. I promise. Aquaman: Protector of the deep.

More cats!!

Cat Apostle, Conqueror of Asthma, Chosen One Of The Light (Vid) by Rhea. 开端 | Reset (TV 2022) This vid makes me clappyhands with glee. I have six cats.

Three by chaila. The Incredible Dr. Pol. Forever cackling about this adorable cat! Hip-hip-hooray for three!!!! 3 legs, 0 problems.

Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag by AbsoluteDestiny. Maru. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

cats…in Space! by niyalune. Multi-source. This vid will make you grin like a happy kitty lovin’ fool. Also A+++++ song choice. Featuring: pet cats, alien cats, evil cats, sexy cats, internet cats, a couple of lions, two litters of kitties, and one actual, real life space cat.

Previous Saturday Morning Vid Recs:

Space and Robots

Women!

Follow the tags to keep up with recs this summer:

#saturday morning vid recs

#kuwdora vid recs

#kuwdora recs

A help guide I wrote:

How to Leave Feedback on Fanvids

[scribespirare]

If you're still open to flowerfang requests can you give us some more a/b/o with courting? Thanks so much. 🫶

baby i am ALWAYS open for flowerfang requests gimme gimme

So there's this guy.

Well, a villain actually, and he's slippery as hell and keeps wriggling his way out of Miles' grasp (seriously, there's an entire eel theme going on and quite frankly he doesn't really wanna talk about it) every time they meet. And since Miles is dealing with finals right now, he really can't spend that much time trying to chase this dude down. It's just not at the top of his priority list, ya know? Especially since he can usually stop the attempted crimes and send eel guy back to whatever rock he crawled out of. Or...swam. Whatever.

The point is, Miles gets the shock of his damn life when eel guy lands at his feet, trussed up like a present but without the bow one fine weekend afternoon.

Miles, in costume and having previously been enjoying the scenic view of the city from atop one of his many haunts, stares down at eel guy in pure shock.

"You're welcome," Miguel says from somewhere to his right, and Miles whips towards the sound.

"Huh?"

But the Alpha is stepping into a yellow portal, back turned, and Miles can only gape after him. "What the fuck?" he mutters, mostly to himself.

The man on the ground responds anyways. "Man, I have no goddamn clue. He came outta nowhere, said something about Omegas, and then clocked me."

Omegas!? If this is some dumb ass Alpha power flex then Miles is going to skin that man alive. Even if Miguel has at least a foot of height, a decade's worth of experience, and probably a hundred pounds on him. And also there's the fact that he's extremely hot. Like. Wildly fucking hot.

Whatever.

Fucking Alphas. Thinking they're hot shit just because they have chiseled jaws and biceps bigger than his head and amazing scents...

Miles spends the entire time he's taking eel guy to the police station grumbling about them.

Eel guy wisely stays quiet.

oOo

School lets out and the summer is sweltering where it gets trapped in all the concrete and gleaming metal of New York. Miles is given (mostly) free reign to do as he pleases and he does. There's nothing quite like swinging around the city to cool off.

There's just one problem.

Fucking. Miguel.

He keeps swooping in and taking down Miles' bad guys for one, even the tiny pipsqueak ones. And to make matters worse he's leaving shit in Miles' bedroom too. Money, some new Jordans, a spiderman suit that Miles will never admit looks way cooler than his current one and that he stuffed deep into his closet never to be seen again because fuck that guy.

Seriously, what the fuck is Miguel's problem? He hadn't thought Miles' being an Omega was that big a deal when he'd sicced hundreds of spider-people on him. Hadn't held back when he'd slammed Miles into the side of that train, all barred teeth and rage.

But now, all of sudden, Miles apparently can't wipe his own ass without an Alpha's help.

It's just his luck (which is to say, good) that when he decides he's done with Miguel's shit and is going to rip him a new one, Miguel drops a villain at Miles' feet and actually deigns to stop for a moment and chat.

Somehow the man laying between them is eel guy again. They both ignore him.

"What the actual fuck do you think-" Miles starts, at the exact same second Miguel says, "I wasn't sure if we should talk to your parents-".

Both of them stop, clearly confused by the other. Miles gets over his surprise first, shaking his head. "My parents? What the hell do you want with my parents?"

Miguel blinks down at him, face unreadable. "Well, the next stage of courtship usually involves speaking with the Omegas's-"

"Courtship!?" Miles' voice comes out so high and squeaky he feels like he's hit puberty all over again.

Another blink. This time Miguel's features tighten a little, and if Miles didn't know better he'd think the Alpha looked nervous.

Good thing he knows better.

"I...yes? I've been courting you since the start of summer," Miguel says. "I thought..." he trails off, brow knitting in manly angst that very much is not attractive on him, not at all.

Miles for his part just flaps his jaw in disbelief. Everything clicks together for him then: all the bad guys (fucking gift wrapped!), the shit Miguel kept leaving in his bedroom, the way he'd linger sometimes as if to catch Miles' reaction but ultimately still fucked off back to whatever universe he popped out of. Traditionally Alphas aren't meant to interact much with an Omega until they've declared their intention to the parents or guardian of said Omega. This is preceded by gift giving to see if the Omega is even amenable to being courted at all.

Here's the problem. A: that shit was common like a hundred fucking years ago. Nobody courts like that today unless they're richer than god and have been for generations. Old money are just weird like that.

B. Miles never gave any indication of being amenable.

...did he?

"Fuck you're old," is the first thing that pops out of Miles' mouth, because he'd rather talk shit than think about how he feels about Miguel trying to court him.

Miguel immediately tenses all over and takes a step back. "I'm sorry, I thought the age gap-"

"What?" Miles cuts him off, because he recognizes the look of a man about to run. "No, I meant you're old as hell for trying to court me traditionally."

The age gap is most definitely not a problem the Omega in Miles says. He ignores it.

"Oh," says Miguel, but he doesn't relax.

"Nobody does that shit anymore," Miles continues, "so I didn't recognize what was happening. On top of that, you didn't fucking say anything so how the hell was I supposed to know!?"

"I wrote you letters," Miguel argues back. Then, a little softer like now he's unsure of himself, "Written correspondence is an important part of a courtship."

"Did you leave them in my room, like the other stuff?"

"Yes?"

"Well there's your problem. You've seen my room, do the math. Bits of paper aren't gonna stand out."

Miguel runs a hand through his hair and sighs, shoulders slumping. "So you're telling me that I've been trying to make romantic overtures for over a month now, and not a single clear message has gotten through?"

Miles' heart does something weird and uncomfortable in his chest at the words romantic overtures. But he just nods. "Looks like."

Looking skyward as if for patience, Miguel mutters something under his breath and then huffs, puts his hands on his hips, and makes direct eye contact.

"Dios mio, fine. Clearly my preferred way of doing this isn't working. So let's try this instead. Miles, can I take you on a date?" The words are said so matter of factly and with such little emotion that they take a moment to process. When they do Miles immediately feels his face heat.

"Uh," he says intelligently.

Yes says both his dick and his inner Omega.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," are the words that actually come out of his mouth. Miguel looks pained though and Miles winces. "I mean...I'd love to? I think. I dunno, I'm kind of in shock right now. I have no clue what's happening."

That finally has Miguel relaxing and a ghost of smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. Of course that look is just as stupidly hot on him as all the others. God, who did Miguel have to kill to get cheekbones like that?

Any and all thoughts of Alpha attractiveness scatter from Miles' brain when Miguel steps closer, right up into Miles' personal space. He smells...well, fucking amazing. Wild and sharp, like steel and ozone before a lightning strike. And he's leaning closer, tilting Miles' chin up with one finger.

"What's happening," Miguel says lowly into the space between them, "is that I'm interested in you, Miles. And I'd like the chance to show you exactly how interested."

Miles swallows hard and his knees nearly buckle under him. "Y-yeah, okay," he says, trying to ignore the heat of Miguel's body, how good it feels to be pinned in by his bulk and strength. He's failing.

"Good," Miguel replies, ruining all chances Miles had of trying to keep his cool because the Alpha leans down and kisses him.

It's not Miles' first kiss, but it is his first with someone who actually knows what they're doing. Miguel's mouth is hot and confident, nearly bruising in its intensity as he guides Miles' into parting his lips so that Miguel can sweep his tongue inside. Miles makes a surprised, pleased sound that immediately embarrasses him because it's so incredibly Omegean.

Miguel laughs against him, more felt than heard, and finally pulls away. "I've been wanting to do that for a while, cariño. Sabes tan dulce como te ves."

Miles yanks him back down into another kiss before he can say anything stupid.

"Uh, guys?" says eel guy from somewhere on the ground. "Hello?"

oOo

They don't end up talking to Miles' parents by mutual agreement. Miles isn't even sure why Miguel would want to considering Miles is still fifteen, but over the course of the conversation he starts to realize...

Miguel is a hopeless romantic. That's why he'd gone for traditional courting. Soft, gooey hearted, marshmallow fluff romantic.

Miles laughs until his sides hurt. He only stops when Miguel pins him down and kisses him until Miles can barely breathe.

It's really fucking great.

...Miles still forces Miguel to promise not to fight anymore of his bad guys though.

[unbizzarre]

Byerly Vorrutyer Character Designs

BYERLY VORRUTYER of Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan Saga

Tried to go for a rapidly-aging prettyboy with the gothic heavy lidded eyes (idk how to describe the eyes I’m talking about) and a face that reads as male while having something slightly feminine about it. A face that smiles often but is composed, cool. Slightly wavy black hair that is either shortish, chin length, or slightly shorter than shoulder length (I haven’t decided yet 😅)

Designing faces is not my strong suit so I am working backwards from a few references I like. Will probably simplify artstyle, slightly lengthen hair and mix with a dash of Professor Venom from OK KO (for that little bit of haggard twink energy) to creat the final design.

References:

Wardrobe:

Materials: silk, velvet, ruffles lace, detailed embroidery, military piping, sheer cloth, fur — echoes of beautiful luxurious handmade traditional artisan clothing- but all a little to gaudy and cheaply produced - the barrayaran aristocrat version of fast fashion. Androgynous and galactic styles occasionally thrown in to add to mystique

-SHIRTS: silk shirts // shirts with poofy or frilly sleeves // patterned shirts // sheer shirts // velvet shirts // shirts that are tucked in the pants but so unbuttoned the entire chest exposed

- SUITS: velvet suits that absolutely reek of cologne // sleezy yet sharp barreyaran style black suits you might smoke a cigar or play pool in // pastel suit for daytime garden parties

WARDROBE ACCENTS

- bigass fur coat - maybe even almost a midieval king robe

- several offensively knock off fast fashionmilitary style jackets

- luxuriously patterned bathrobe

- see through shawl / wrap / night robe thing

- some gaudy galactic style outfits

- a few sexy or frilly dresses to piss off the family

- a few a casual / slightly more subdued blend of komarran, barrayaran and practical galactic clothing he only really wears at home (stuff he wears when he’s not preforming for an audience). maybe some sentimental pieces. What’s hidden beneath the camouflage.

- some bling: rings and earrings. A few broaches and cuff links probably not that many necklaces

EDIT: here are some reference collages I put together! Note that these references aren’t the exact items that he would have in his closet but rather there are aspects to each piece that I would want to incorporate into his design. Maybe it’s the cut of a sleeve, the silhouette of a coat, the way a robe drapes, the embroidery pattern on some fabric, or the general partied-too-hard vibes of a particular photo of a model.

Bastardized military jackets:

Neglige options / heavier nightfrobe options:

Bigass fur coat:

Shirts (please ignore the long blue scarf in the central image like wtf is that- the rest of the suit is nice tho):

Party vibes:

A lot of these aspects would then be mixed with my own head cannon for the rules/cuts of barreyaran mens clothing (I went to a library and spent a stupid insane amount of time looking through books with midieval, 1800s and 1900s men’s fashions and France, Russia, and Greece- + additional books of traditional folk clothings and textile patterns + several other books of historic military uniforms…. The process and choices were so long that I had to give up and just stop thinking about any sort of vorkosigan related character design for a couple months cuz my head hurt. - I will probably make another post at some point with more annotated collages and possibly some of my own drawings synthesizing the concepts, but uh not right now because I need a nap just thinking about trying to organize it all.)

If you’d like to see a little more of vorkosigan universe costume imaginings here’s my Pinterest board on it (kinda) https://pin.it/2rOoHsq it’s a extremely disorganized and from early hyperfixation days so none of my fashion history research stuff is there (cuz that was all physical book stuff) but uh, you can look at it if you want.

P.S.

If you have any feedback or critiques on the design so far, or ideas for how you think By should look, let me know! I love hearing other people’s interpretations 😊.

Photos of faces you think look like By, pictures of outfits that feel Byerly-ish, or direct quotes from the books about his demeanor or appearance are also welcome!

@starfishlikestoread it’s been approximately a thousand years but I’m finally getting around to that Byerly fanart! Hope you enjoy 😅

[haunteddeertimetravel]

CREEPYPASTA HEADCANNONS

Okay so this is going to be just a few characters to start with, but I will definitely make a part two which has more characters!!

(This post includes Jeff the Killer, Ben Drowned, Eyeless Jack, Laughing Jack, Ticci Toby, Homicidal Liu)

(Also don't get mad at me for this post. ITS MY OPINION and you do NOT have to agree with it)

Jeff the Killer

• Okay so Jeff fans are WILD so please don't kill me if I say something you don't agree with☠️

• He is really proud of his new face. (I always see people say he is insecure of it but it's stated in his story that he thinks it's beautiful)

• He re cuts his face everytime it TRIES to re-heal

• His face cuts are VERY infected

• He isn't exactly close with anyone in the mansion but he gets along with Toby the most

• May act like he doesn't but he really does regret what he did to Liu

• Has attachment issues after what happened with Liu (he lost him and he was so close with him

• Definitely listens to old good Charlotte, all time low, and maybe even some never shout never

• Has bad trust issues

• Gets mad very easily

Ben Drowned

• Is pretty childish since he was 12 when he died and never really got the chance to mature

• Is close with sally (even though it took her a while to get used to any male presence and she still hates it) and they prank people together

• He loves Apple juice (idk why I think this😭)

• He does stuff to purposely annoy people such as poking them over and over again

• when he gets mad he side eyes people and tells them to shut up

• You will hear him raging at random times at night because he lost in a video game

• I think he gets more annoyed than he does mad like he will roll his eyes if someone is irritating him

• Sassy 12 year old

• Is OBSESSED with Halloween because he loves the way people in the mansion celebrate (some of them go outside in their normal outfits and trick or treat just to bring home candy for the younger ones of the house. Since they all look like they are in a costume)

• I know this is super stereotypical but he definitely listens to hyperpop since it replicates computer-typeish music and tones

Eyeless Jack

• He doesn't have eyes, but HE CAN SEE

• Sometimes when he is out of kidneys and is hungry but doesn't feel like hunting, he will teleport to hospitals and use his invisibility skills to take kidneys from transplant sections (if that's what they are called)

• He still feels human emotions but just has a hard time expressing them since he wants to forget his past

• Has SEVERE trust issues and it would be shocking if he EVER trusted a human again

• Feels sympathy for Ben (if we are talking about the Benjamin Lawman sacrifice story) since he was also killed/sacrificed by a cult

• Don't get me wrong he loves killing/torturing humans, but sometimes he only wants a kidney and when they wake up he dreads it

• Is VERY quiet and polite (when around other creepypastas obviously) and doesn't really say much

• I feel like he definitely listens to 2014 music that you would hear on road trips (example: Safe and sound - capital cities, am I wrong - Nico and Vinz etc.)

Laughing Jack

• Is TERRIFYINGLY TALL. APPROXIMATELY 8 FEET TALL. Scary

• I weirdly feel like he sounds like tiny tim and pennywise combined

• Definitely thinks everything is funny since he used to be an actual clown and still hasn't forgotten those ways fully

• Listens to old classical music and 1920s-40s music such as tonight you belong to me - patience and prudence, and livin in the sunlight lovin in the moonlight - Tiny Tim

• Ben always try to prank him and he gets mad because he feels like he should be the one pranking

• Extremely scary and quiet most of the time, but he has very frequent mood swings that could have him jumping off the walls (literally) to just sitting on the floor staring

• Doesn't get along with anyone in the mansion except for Candy Pop and Jason the Toymaker

• Doesn't sleep and only eats the organs he pulls out of his victims

• Hates Issac because he basically turned him into this monster

• Has abandonment issues severely

• Is definitely claustrophobic ever since he had to be in that box for that long period of time

• Has a wind up thing on his back and he will play music (since he is a jack in the box and also a stuffed doll)

Ticci Toby

• Does NOT like waffles

• Is NOT an "UwU smol bean"

• hates being treated like he is less just because he is a proxy

• Likes to be alone because it can be a struggle for him to communicate due to his tourettes (not saying they can't communicate just saying it can come as a struggle when talking to someone new because of stress and anxiety which is a trigger for most people)

• Has bad abandonment issues

•Will absolutely REFUSE to kill anyone who resembles his sister in the slightest unless slenderman tells him to (proxies can not refuse slender)

• He loves fall and nature and loves to see the leaves turn green to gold

• Wears a lot of sweaters (this is kind of canon)

• Doesn't really get along with anyone in the mansion except for Jeff since they both like to complain about stuff

• It's harder for him to feel human emotions since proxies kind of have all of that erased

• Is quiet and when people talk to him he kind of just nods and shakes his head in response to what they say instead of talking back

• Listens to old Owl City and All Time Low

• NOT emo😭 (I always see people say he is...)

• Everytime he sees a car he thinks of Lyra and has a mental breakdown. Anything he sees that remind him of her he can't deal with

• LOVES RACCOONS!!!!

• Definitely got bitten by a stray raccoon because he tried to pet it

Homicidal Liu

• He forgives Jeff even though he basically ruined his life

• Is very peaceful and kind of came to terms with all that happened

• Very quiet and laid back

• Doesn't like loud people/places

• Hates conflict since it reminds him of that day the fighting happened

• Has EXTREME trust issues since him and Jeff were so close and he just decided to attempt to murder him while he was sleeping on the couch

• I have a feeling him and bloody painter get along since they share a couple of traits that are needed

• But all of this changes when he turns into Sully it's a WHOLE different story then

• Loves Christmas and winter

Hello guys!! That's all I have today but I will definitely make more parts with more characters! I apologize for how long it took me to make this I have had school and SO much more boring daily life shit☠️ I hope you all have a good day!!! <33

I'm also 100% willing to do marble hornets and every man hybrid head cannons but I WILL include them in the creepypasta section!! I do know that they are not creepypastas I just like the headcannon that they all live in the mansion together 😭

[kitashousewife]

not just for kids

an: happy october! i am gonna make some halloween-ish fics i think. here is the first one!

pairing: timeskip!sakusa x fem!reader

warnings: food mention, candy mention, sakusa being a party pooper, fluff, lowercase intentional

-

"just turn off the lights, this is stupid," sakusa groans, flopping himself onto the living room couch. "there's plenty of other houses in the neighborhood."

"so what omi! come on, it's our first halloween here! i want to be the fun house," you plead, holding the first of many bowls of candy in your arms. "besides, it's only 7:00. they've barely even started!"

with a dramatic groan, sakusa attempts to throw a pillow at you. he isn't going down without a fight.

sakusa hates halloween. he always has. even when he was younger, he didn't care too much for it. he isn't the biggest fan of sweets, staying up later than he needs to, and especially hates costumes of any kind. it isn't just the night itself. oh no, he hates it all. the movies, the pumpkin carving, the endless parties.

he sat through two hours of pumpkin carving last night, carving the most basic jack-o-lantern face possible into his. it took him ten minutes. the rest of the time he watched you use the tiniest, cheapest knife he's ever seen, from the kit you just had to have, making the most intricate design. he only sat through that because he was very entertained at the furrowed brows, extreme concentration, and delicate work you did on the dumb vegetable.

he also just really loves you.

"don't be so lame, kiyoomi!" you shout from your front door. "why do you hate this! you don't even have to say anything,"

he flips through channels on the tv, rolling his eyes at every station. does everyone have to play some stupid halloween movie?

"why would i be excited about handing out candy to kids, let alone candy that we bought. and they're getting it for free."

you huff, stomping over to the living room where your husband is sprawled out, clearly set on not moving any time soon. you grab the remote and shut off the tv.

"babe, i was-"

"please, kiyoomi! just for an hour? after that, i promise you can go sit down," you plead, giving him the best fake pout you can muster up. he rolls his eyes, standing up as slow as he can. you clap your hands together, pulling him by the arm to place a kiss on his cheek. "i owe you, so big. i promise, just an hour,"

"trust me, you're only getting an hour. then i'm going to bed."

shuffling over towards the front door, you flick on the porch light and wait. sakusa fights the grin that comes onto his face. you're so excited, rocking back and forth on your feet. he finds it adorable, but he's really trying to get out of this.

"what's so fun about this, anyway?"

you gasp. "everything! the decorations, everyone is so happy and excited. and the best part is," you grab the candy bowl in preparation. "the costumes!"

"that's the worst part."

"i'm talking about the kids! it's so cute, kiyoomi! i remember being so excited to dress up, i begged my mom every day to let me wear my costume."

he snorts. "whatever makes you happy, sweetheart.”

you peek through the window and squeal when you see your first group of trick or treaters coming up to the door.

"move omi! here they come!"

he steps to the side, wincing as the doorbell rings. that's going to get old.

you open the door, beaming as all the children shout "trick or treat!" you coo at them and reach into the bowl, grabbing the biggest handfuls of candy that you can. sakusa wants to stop you, wants to warn you that this is the first group, but it's no use.

"what do we have here? a dinosaur, a princess, and what are you?" you bend down to their level, and the kids smile wide at you. one boy looks at you with a toothy grin, and points to his chest. "i'm superman!"

you laugh. "that is so cool! i love it. enjoy you guys!" you wave at the parents, and as the kids run down the steps, you hear another group approach them.

"now that you gave away half the candy, let's just wait for a bit,"

"shush omi! awh, look at them!"

he sighs and looks at the kids. it looks like siblings, one girl and one boy. the girl looks to be some superhero of some kind, and the boy looks like a lion. he will admit, they're pretty cute.

"wait for your brother!" sakusa looks up and sees what looks like the parents waving at their kids. the boy and girl stop, and wobbling behind them is another little boy, no older than a toddler.

his costume?

a MSBY jersey, number 15. he's wearing little kneepads over his tights, and even has arm sleeves. by the time he reaches his siblings, you have already dropped candy in their buckets. sakusa comes into the doorframe and bends down.

"oh my god omi! look, he's you!"

sakusa can't stop staring. it's the cutest thing he's ever seen. without a second thought, he swipes the bowl out of your hands and dumps it into the toddlers bucket. the boy is a little too young to understand, but his siblings cheer.

"you win for best costume, bud."

giving the smallest thank you he's ever heard, the boy wobbles back down to his family. the parents wave, kneeling down to the boy with excitement. as you shut the door behind you, you can't help but smirk.

"now that you gave away half of the candy," you mock, and his cheeks turn pink.

"oh please. i know how much candy you bought. we have enough for 50 more of those bowls."

you walk over to his spot next to the door and pull him down for a kiss.

"halloween isn't so bad, huh?"

he kisses you again and smirks.

"it's fine. hey, do you think there will be more volleyball costumes?”

[fourseasonsfigs]

Taolin Forest Wen Kexing (Handcrafted)

This beautiful figure showed up on the artist's Xianyu page as an immediately available in-stock piece, and I pounced on it. You can tell by my profile pic how much I like this costume, after all!

The artist works in ultralight clay, which has been a new medium to me, and so far I've been impressed. It is very light (as the name suggests!) and appears to be extremely flexible. I was initially very worried about her figures breaking in transport, as they all have very delicate thin little details, but everything seems surprisingly sturdy. It bends, but doesn't deform, and doesn't seem to break with careful treatment. I do baby my figs, but shipping / customs is always a wild card.

For something like this, I would normally absolutely air column wrap it to protect it from crushing damage. I don't worry about the fig breaking parts off - I worry about it getting squished! If this fig got crushed it would certainly destroy it, given all the thin, flat loops of clay making up most of this figure.

But, I didn't have to, because the artist packed it in a rigid styrofoam cooler box. This is of course deadly on the shipping fees, especially since my warehouse flags the wooden base as air freight only. But, the only thing worse than paying volumetric air freight charges is getting a crushed figure, so what can you do?

I too am deeply disappointed by my lack of quality unboxing photos. Why did I not remove this top layer of bubble wrap? NOBODY KNOWS.

This is an extremely tall figure, by far my largest figure by a wide margin. The full size, including base, is 27 cm, of which 2cm is the base. This makes the figure itself about 10 inches high for us Americans.

The fan is not clay but paper, which was a nice surprise. I would have been fine either way, but I like the paper. I'm also very appreciative that the artist included it in this rigid plastic box so keep it from getting squished inside the protective cooler. Box. Protective box.

Here he is without the fan. He's gorgeous! You can really see the detail on his belt and his long, elegant fingers.

In fact, here's a closeup of those hands and the beautiful detail on the belt. His fingers may look even a bit longer than you might expect, but that's because they need to hold the fan. You can even see the slight indent for the fingernails. This artist is just amazing. She says she puts her whole heart into crafting these figures, and you can tell.

Holding the fan as so. If you don't think I wasn't a little stressed out carefully wedging the fan in between those beautiful fingers, you have somehow (incredibly) missed all the other cases of my fig related anxiety on this blog. I'm not even a high stress person! Normally.

Alright, let's spin this beauty around, shall we?

My camera decided to focus on many things, but Wen Kexing's perfect face was not always one of them. So we'll get some closeups. But first, let's do our bottoms-up and top-down pics:

Please do note the beauty mark on the middle finger of his right hand!

For size comparison, here's Wen Kexing with his OG official fig counterpart:

You can definitely see what I mean by how big this fig is! Maybe I should call it a statue instead of a fig.

Alright, time for our close ups.

Just beautiful. I'll need to commission a matching A-Xu in the Taolin forest costume so I can have them heading off to Siji Manor.

This figure was an incredible price - less than $50 USD. An absolute bargain. I can't even imagine the time that went into this. This was less expensive than other individual figures or pairs of this size, so perhaps I just got lucky with the artist clearing space.

I had really wanted semi-realistic figures like this when Word of Honor was released and I watched it for the first time, so getting this now makes me really happy. The artist also had a snowy mountain set that I picked up around the same time, which should be arriving here relatively shortly. Please look forward to it! I can't wait myself.

Material: Ultra-light clay

Fig Count: 386

Scene Count: 26

Rating: Pure artistry

[link back to Master Fig Index for more posts]

[mileapo]

Mile & Apo from the hit Thai drama “KinnPorsche The Series” appear in the December issue of SPUR!

Interview conducted after the shooting. Apo changed into casual clothes and appeared in front of the screen first. He waved his hand and said, "Hi! How are you? Mile will be here soon, so please wait a little longer," he said with a refreshing smile that was as bright as his vitamin yellow T-shirt. Mile appeared right after that, took a quick look at Apo, and grabbed two nearby cushions. Mile placed one of them gently behind Apo and sat down with a cheerful smile and said, "Sorry to have kept you waiting." I witnessed the deep bond between the two of them, who care for each other on a daily basis.

──The two of you were active as models since you were teenagers before you started working as actors in earnest. Please tell us why you decided to become a model.

Apo: When I was looking for something to devote myself to, I realized that modeling work would be cool. Luckily, I got a chance to be invited by an acquaintance.

Mile: Similarly, I was invited by an acquaintance and signed a contract with a modeling agent. At that time, more than 10 years ago, there was not yet a culture of scouting through SNS. The way I got into this industry was either by chance or through someone I knew.

──At that time, it seems that model work and academic work were parallel, but each of them must have been quite noticeable on the university campus...!

Mile: Well, I was pretty popular (laughs). I was also active in music. Ever since I was a child, my hobby was playing the guitar.

Apo: I was not popular at all! At that time, I looked like a ``simple boy''. Because I was extremely thin, my face was elongated, and people around me often said I looked like Ultraman (laughs). (He makes a cross with his arms and imitates Ultraman's pose)

Mile: (Laughs). I thought that too when we first met! He resembles both the actor who plays Zhan Zhao (*the main character in the Chinese drama ``The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants'') and Ultraman.

──Mile and Apo have appeared in fashion magazines in various countries. I got a sense of the love these two have for fashion as I watched them talk about their particular style of dressing and their favorite items.

Mile: I really like fashion. I am particularly attracted to items that show the craftsmanship of items such as tailor-made items. What I like most are accessories such as watches and rings, and shoes.

──Apo seems to be particular about eyewear. I was surprised at how many items he carried, such as sunglasses and glasses.

Apo: (Laughs) This is a video introducing the contents of my bag. You did your homework! (= you have prepared well.) Even during the day, I change the design depending on the occasion or my mood, or I wear prescription glasses. I'm the type of person who carries a lot of luggage, especially glasses.

──As Apo mentioned earlier, the two of you were appointed as Dior ambassadors this year. In June, you participated in a men's collection in Paris and received cheers from many people there. How did you feel when you got the job as an ambassador?

Apo: [I] was very happy. In fact, we had many discussions before it was decided. It all started in the fall of 2022, when I first worked with Dior. We were on a concert tour around Southeast Asia with the members of KinnPorsche, the Dior team came to see our concert, and they appreciated our work ethic. After discussions, we came to the conclusion that ``I'm sure Dior and us could do a great job,'' and we decided to work with them.

Mile: This is the first time for us to do long-term fashion work. We are deeply grateful to the Dior family for welcoming us warmly and taking care of us.

──In August, the movie “Man Suang” that they both co-starred for the second time was released. Following on from ``KinnPorsche The Series,'' this work, produced by BE ON CLOUD, was also impressive with its gorgeous costumes and beautiful visuals. Mile is performing Thai traditional arts with Taphon (drum) and Apo will be performing Lam (Thai dance). How long did it take to prepare?

Apo: It took four to five months just to prepare for the shoot.

Mile: Including the shooting period, it took almost a year. Thanks to the long time it took, I feel that I was able to fully express the beauty of Thai traditional art.

Apo: Unfortunately, the screening in Japan has not been decided yet. If you are interested, please contact me!

Mile: (smiling and nodding) What Apo is trying to convey is, ``Please let us know if there is a company that will become a distributor of the work.''

Apo: Oh yeah, that's what it is (laughs). Maybe the broadcast will give me a chance to meet the Japanese fans. Thank you very much for your support!

──The fans must be looking forward to the day when they can meet the two of you in Japan.

Mile: We've always wanted to meet them too.

Apo: I will definitely make it happen. (While holding up his ring finger and making a finger-cutting pose) I promise!