#And I'll find my proper glue :]

[w0ls-den]

theres something so sad and pretty about being lovesick

You love yourself so much you wish to find someone who can love you more - or find someone who can hold your broken pieces together.

But you don't trust anyone to hold those broken pieces of yours.

Can you imagine? A broken vase seeks glue to help it back together, but it won't trust anyone to find r use the right glue. Because the vase is afraid their pieces, for their beauty, will be pocketed and leave them incomplete. Or that fixer will use the incorrect glue that brings the vase only a temporary fix before it's inevitable re-breaking.

Its a bittersweet thing, wanting to find someone who will love you entirely, completely, and fully. But you can't trust yourself to trust them.

[nights-at-crystarium]

While I'm ancient-trio-posting, wanna hear a bit about their dynamic?

Hythlodaeus and Hades are old friends, roommates, even. A genuinely mature, established couple. I haven't really thought too far back in time yet, so maybe childhood friends to lovers because no one else in my story has this trope yet. I leave it open-ended for now. What matters is that they're very chill and stable together.

Azem, not-yet-Azem but a mere apprentice of Venat, has a certain secret, harmless to the world, but potentially ranging from laughable, cringy, personally embarrassing to legally punishable, should it be brought in front of the Convocation, like all lies it's doomed to be revealed in time, he already hangs out with one of the Big People and there are talks about Venat's retirement, our little not-yet-Azem feels like he might get recommended, and must find help with his silly secret before that.

Hythlodaeus, Chief of the Bureau of the Architect, has ever been kind and patient with not-yet-Azem's concept submissions, and generally seems like a reliable and open-minded person, so our guy asks for his advice on the matter. Of course he isn't let down, the nitty gritty of it I'll leave for later. The important part: he and Hyth grow closer, and Hades, already being joined at the hip with Hyth, is in on the secret as well. It's just a vulnerability that I use as a means to win over Hades's heart. Be genuine, beg for his help, rely on him, and he's yours.

Venat retires, the new Azem takes the seat, his secret's safe/resolved (forget about it, it's played its role of the glue for our trio), things are chill for a while, the trio grows into a proper throuple, Hades is recommended for the seat of Emet-Selch by both his lovers, but by Azem most ardently (and selfishly: he feels like a white crow among the Convocation and wants another freak on the team. Hades finds it sweet though).

The status quo moves to the known canon where Azem travels a lot, sometimes summons his buddies to his side, he tends to disappear from Amaurot for weeks and months on end, Hyth and Hades are left to themselves, seemingly things are the same as they've always been, but the joy of reuniting with their wayward lover, and the pining when he's gone, is bigger in Hades than Hyth. Of course they, the two mature people holding hands from the beginning of times, don't discuss this.

Azem may not even realize what he's doing- well, ain't that most azems in a nutshell. He just exists, loves his partners, shines for them with equal warmth like sun. It's not that Hyth doesn't like being sunkissed, no, it's Hades who gets a bit too excited, tries to mask that however he can, perhaps HythHades pretend that nothing's changed, but, yknow, subtle cracks. Hades's heart grows more fond due to the time and distance that separate them so often. Of course he's terrified and he sees what this does to the balance of their poly, it's not welcome, but it won't go away.

Enter Hyth's self-esteem issues, and how neatly that weaves into his following sacrifice to bring forth Zodiark. Even though Azem's nowhere to be seen, it's fine, he'll return, it's just a tantrum, the Convocation will forgive him, Hades will be left in good hands, he and Azem seem to be happier without Hyth anyway. (no, no, no, no-) Of course, the latter's left unsaid, only a smile on display and vague words of affirmation for the shellshocked Hades.

Through the sacrifice Hyth drives up his value. He's forever important to Hades now, forever on his mind, his guiding star. I view Hyth's selfless act as selfish too (just as Raha's but he isn't relevant here), a desperate act of a soul not only loving, but desperate for love. Hyth gets what he wanted. In a fucked up way, he's happier as a part of the moon. He never has to contend with the sun again.

[fab-bladesmith]

A Carolingian Sword and Scabbard, 9th century.

The blade has a 3-layer core of mild steel over high carbon steel, and high carbon steel edges.

Hot-welded in the fullers are the famous "+ULFBERH+T" mark on one side, and "III XX III" on the other, in pattern-welded 1075 and 15N20 steel - this latter thing being, in my educated opinion, no less important than the other side. Many things have been said about such marks, but the most important thing about them is that they exist (otherwise, to paraphrase Sir Terry Pratchett, it wouldn't be a real sword, just a very dangerous bit of sharp metal) and that they are but one aspect of the continuous function of the sword to carry a message/prayer/ritual thing, a thing appearing as early as the Bronze Age and which would continue up to the Renaissance if not after - working in conjunction with the scabbard to utter/read these spells when the sword is drawn or put back in the scabbard.

The hilt is inspired by sword FG2187 of the Germanisches National museum, found near Mannheim, and is mild steel overlaid in brass and silver (thanks to Matt Bunker for the close-ups), with silver details.

For the grip I drew inspiration from a sword found in river Shannon in 2012 for the placement of the linen threads under the leather cover, which provide both a decorative function and a nice feeling in hand. The overall shape of the grip was determined by stylistic elements of various swords of other types.

The scabbard is leather over linen over steam-formed wood, and lined with 100% wool cloth, stitched at the throat with pure silk thread. I chose not to give it a chape, the end being reinforced by a thick wrap of folded linen bands, as according to Dr Geibig's works. Decoration was made using thread glued under the leather cover.

Cheese glue was used for all this.

The suspension system of leather and brass is loosely made after the finds from the Isle of Man (Cronk Moar and Balleteare). The main issue I had was the bottom D-ring/strap thing, and here I propose a simple arrangement of a leather strap riveted to the buckle plate, and made to fit tightly the scabbard when wet. Upon drying, the strap would shrink and securely fit between the two risers.

The strap ends are in the Trewhiddle style, and were made using the historical process of drawing out a billet and chiselling in the decoration, accordingly to the PhD by Gabor Thomas. No casting involved there.

The making of this project owes a lot to the labours of Dr Mikko Molainen, to whom I address all my thanks.

This whole thing needed an awful amount of trial and error, and I am well aware that not everything is perfect there. Apart from the issues mentioned above, the main difficulties were the hot-inlaying/welding of the marks, but I do thing that most of them came from using modern steel - old/bloomery iron, especially with the proper content in phosphorous (wink at @gaelfabre) would have made the welding easier I think. I'll have to give it a try some day.

[timtamtomme]

GUESS IM STILL ON THET TF2 GRIND--- Ever since I resketched them all in my new style, I have been thinking about ACTALLY designing my merc ocs!! SO I FINALLY DID!! Plus they all share colors, proper, so they look so nice together!! I kina miss their story, so I'll see about exploring that more too.

Of course, to show off their scars and features, I also made a bare version! This will likely double as dress up dolls for future outfits I may make LMAO

Though a couple share names with cannon TF2 mercenaries, their lore and personalities have long since branched off from their canonical counterparts. If you're interested in some details about them, here's a quick mini-bio for each one!! I'm also open to answering any questions about them, because they have at least 6 years of history behind them, haha!

BLU MEDIC ~ Hannes Augesburt

German ~ He/Him ~ Demiromantic Bisexual Hannes is the closest you can get to the 'villain' of the story without looking beyond the mercenaries themselves. He's an egotistical sadist who wants nothing but complete and utter control of his team. He will do anything to win, even willingly replace his perfectly working arm for a far more powerful alternative.

BLU ENGINEER ~ Dallas "Dell" Conagher

American (Texas) ~ He/Him ~ Homosexual Dallas is a nepobaby for sure, only working for BLU because of his father and fathers father's loyalty to the Administrator. Graduating college for the first time at age 15, Dallas is an incredibly intelligent man, but all of that goes out the door when it comes to Hannes. He is extremely permissive and rarely has the guts to talk back or otherwise disobey the Medic's orders.

BLU SNIPER ~ Bernard {>REDACTED<}

French ~ He/Him ~ Homosexual No one really knows who he is or what he's about. Bernard spends most of his time alone doing god knows what; half the time he isnt even in the BLU Base when they're off work. The closest thing he has to a friend is the pyro, who has done what she can to include him in group activities to get him out of his room. The most personal thing she's discovered that he has a knack for knitting and crochet.

BLU PYRO ~ Ana Maria Garcia-Lopez

Mexican-American (Kansas) ~ She/Her ~ Pansexual Ana is a passionate and confident woman. She does what she can to inspire confidence in her team and lend them a hand whenever she can. The glue who keeps everyone together, she is often the first to rebuttal the Medic's commands if she perceives him going too far, though she's gotten a lot more quiet since the introduction of his new robotic arm. She fears what he's capable of.

RED HEAVY ~ Mikhail "Misha" Medved

Russian ~ He/Him ~ Heterosexual The often quiet muscle of the Red team, Misha spends most of his free time reading in the public spaces of the RED Base. He enjoys listening to others ramble and replies infrequently. However, when he feels like he has something to say, he is a loud and boisterous personality who has no shame or fear in his own opinions and humor.

RED SPY ~ Jourdain "Dain" {>REDACTED<}

French ~ He/Him ~ Bisexual An almost complete recluse, Jourdain takes no joy or comfort in interacting with his team; at least, that's what he lets on. Jourdain is a man who's so deeply fearful of getting hurt, that he refuses to let anyone get close enough to have the opportunity, and thus, he only spends time with his team during work hours. He does his job well and doesn't even slack on it, even though he believes it to be below him compared to his old jobs.

RED SCOUT ~ Nora Peterson

French-American (Massachusetts) ~ She/Her (Transfem) ~ Sapphic Bisexual Nora is a loud and proud Bostonian girl who has a love of sports and art. After she dropped out of art college, she needed to make up for the wasted tuition and pay back her mother, so she got a job fast. The first one she could find and paid the most was a mercenary job, though she didn't know what it actually was at the time. Since arriving here, she has settled in well, and soon settled into herself with her transition. Being a mercenary is terrifying at times, but she's felt freer then she has ever felt before.

[chocodile]

Found your work through desperate searches for sylvanian family customisation or recolour resources and WOW your art/characters/worldbuilding are also astoundingly good... gonna be scrolling here a while. Out of curiosity do you do custom/commissioned sylvanian figures or do you have a tutorial/materials list someplace? Thanks for reading!!

Aw gosh, thank you, Anon!

I did one custom commission as an experiment (which I'm sure you've seen if you looked through the tag) and it was pretty fun, but man are these things a time suck! I tried to do too many dolls in too short of a time, got kind of burned out on them, and haven't touched them in months... I'm currently trying to work up motivation to get back into it and finish the projects I have materials for. If I do, I'll take pictures this time and put together a proper tutorial.

Unfortunately I can't take any commissions right now, but I'd be happy to share a materials list! It's under the cut:

The paint used is basic acrylic paint, like the kind you can get from Walmart or craft stores for under two bucks. There's a bit of a trick to painting them without making the fur clumpy, I described the painting process here!

For the hair, you'll want doll hair ("My Little Pony" size is way more than sufficient), a hair rooting tool/kit, and either a heat gun or blow dryer. I wrote some notes on hair rooting Sylvanian Family dolls here.

For the clothes, you can use a number of different fabrics, but you want it to be very, very thin. That super cheap, thin cotton fabric you can find at Joann Fabrics is pretty perfect and comes in a wide variety of colors and patterns, though some stuff like doll-sized flannel you might have to look online for (or DIY--you can use acrylic paint on fabric, it just makes it stiffer). I use ribbon for trim. Other accessories like jewelry, buttons, chains, crystals, and belts can be sourced from craft stores, too... I usually just bring my WIP doll with me in my pocket and hold it up next to anything I'm interested in buying to check if the sizing is right (the lady at the fabric cutting station was incredibly charmed by them, hah). For more specialty items, like tiny hats and replica firearms, you will probably need to look online.

If you can't find a specific accessory, or need to sculpt something like armor, you can try making it out of epoxy clay and painting it with the same acrylic paint you used for the figure. Mod Podge will help seal it and give it a nice glossy finish. (Do not use Mod Podge on Sculpey--it makes it sticky!)

Tails are generally pipe cleaners or occasionally pom poms. Cut the original tail off with wire cutters, digging out as much of it as you can, and super glue the new tail in the hole.

Horns are done with epoxy clay. For big horns on the head, I use wire cutters to cut the pointy part off a pin, embed that in the clay horn, and then stick the end of the pin into the plastic head to more securely anchor it.

Bat and dragon wings are done with leather sheets you can buy from a craft store.

Other essentials: Super glue, sewing kit, Dritz fray check. Super glue is essential for both tails/horns/etc and clothing (it's often better for ultra-fine detail than sewing). Sewing kit is needed for clothing. You will not have much success with clothing without Dritz fray check. It keeps the edges of the fabric from disintegrating, which is a major concern when working on such a tiny scale.

Also this isn't a material so much as a tip: I often use the pointy end of a pin to do fine detail painting. It's also useful for sculpting miniatures.

Hope that helps! Good luck on your customization ventures, and feel free to ask if you have any more questions!

[so-i-grudgingly-joined-this-site]

When you can't afford the Haunted Beauty Mistress of the Manor Barbie (2014) so you make your own... out of a doll you saved from the trash no less!

It was SO difficult to keep this set to just ten pictures, so there will definitely be a details and before-and-after post on the way.

Component parts and the story of this gal's months-long creation under the cut:

Head: 2015 Fairy Godmother Barbie (Helena Bonham Carter face sculpt), with face completely repainted and hair rerooted in extra-long kanekalon

Body: Tennis Player Barbie

Dress: made by modifying a Victorian wedding gown pattern by u/MyMisfits on reddit

Necklace: constructed out of ribbon and a nail charm

Boots: Barbie Fashionista boots repainted black

Book: new custom print made by me, book template by myfroggystuff on YouTube

Keys: key-shaped beads strung on a hair decoration loop

Candelabra: constructed from beads, wire, and q-tip sticks

Funny enough, this gal is the "sister" of my Christmas Tree Angel Barbie. I used the leftover body and head from this project's component parts to make that doll!

I knew I wanted to re-create this doll with my own spin for a long time, but struggled to find a base with the right face shape (the original has a special custom collector face mold that isn't found in regular Barbies...befitting a doll that retails for $800+). Then, one day one of my neighbors had a box of stuff marked "free" that was otherwise going in the trash can, and in it was a VERY worn-out and dirty Fairy Godmother Barbie. The face shape was perfect (after all, doesn't Helena Bonham Carter often play spooky roles like this?) so I cleaned up the doll, rid her of her matted old hair, painted a new face for her, and gave her a new poseable body.

I didn't just re-create the original doll's dress an accessories either; I tried to put my own details into them. That book is fully printed on the inside... I'll show off the text in a future post! I also had to give her my signature elaborate hair compared to the original's prim and proper bun.

This was months of work, including gathering parts, rerooting the hair, learning different sewing techniques, learning new prop construction techniques, and troubleshooting issues like the glue not setting on the candelabra pieces. This is one of my most elaborate customs and I'm very proud of the result.

[tyrantisterror]

Wizard School Mysteries Book 3 Soundtrack

It's that time again! Another book published, another official unofficial soundtrack I made to listen to while working on it and am sharing for your listening pleasure. I know last time I waited until the first two Wizard School Mysteries books were both published to do a combined "Freshmen Year" soundtrack, but I'm not repeating that now for two reasons: first, the only reason I did that in the first place is because I had forgotten to post the book 1 soundtrack and didn't want it to get lost in the shuffle when I went to post book 2's, and secondly, there's a good chance I might work on Maude and Mordi and/or Dark Chivalry before publishing Book 4, and that would make for a very long wait, which would be a shame because after a year and a half of listening to it on and off I can confirm that this WSM soundtrack is a fucking banger.

There's the playlist for your listening pleasure, and after the cut I'll list the tracks and what they correspond to in the book! WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!

Chapter 1: How the Youths spent their Summer Vacation - Vacation by Vitamin C. We start the book with a mostly low-stakes chapter about our young adult heroes returning home (well, for about half of them anyway) after their first semester at college to enjoy summer vacation, and so out songtrack starts out with a peppy, fun song about vacation whose tonal dissonance with the rest of the soundtrack feels very appropriate to me.

Chapter 2: A Haunted Start - Season of the Witch by Lana Del Ray. As we get into the story proper and see things develop, we set the actual tone of the book with an appropriately spooky song about witches.

Chapter 3: Spirit Glue - The Vampire's Ghost by Jimmy Bower. I found this song on a big ol' set of Halloween soundtracks called Kandy Coated Kackles, and it inspired/named the character of May Shade well before Wizard School Mysteries was even a sparkle in my eye, so it felt kind of like a given to tie it to the chapter that introduces us to May proper.

Chapter 4: Resident Assistance - Float On by Modest Mouse. One of the great songs of my teenage years, I felt Float On was a good pick for Ladislava's character theme, being a list of anxieties followed promptly by how each one fizzled out and became manageable with just a short amount of time. Lad's arc in the books is focused on finding a way to relax and take things as they come which, in my experience, is one of the more valuable lessons to learn in your college years.

Chapter 5: Freyasday the 13th - Black by Toby Fox. Ok, I guess... I guess I have to explain a bit of Homestuck to you all now. So, right, Homestuck begins as this goofy adventure where teenagers play a video game that alters their own reality, first by adding monsters, and eventually giant meteors that threaten to destroy the world. Every now and then it cuts to one of those monsters, a living chess piece named Jack Noir, and his frustrations with the leadership of the monster army. Then, in one of the big moments of the story, Jack Noir kills the queen of the army, steals her empowering ring, and becomes a terrifying threat that alters the course of the story so severely that it changes from "goofy comedic adventure" to "adventure with now very real and terrifying stakes for our heroes despite the goofy elements still being present." It's the entrance of what TV Tropes would call a "Knight of Cerberus," a character who raises the stakes so quickly that the tone abruptly shifts to be noticeably darker than before. Or, in short, a perfect theme for when Buddy finally runs into the Meddlesome Youths.

Chapter 6: The False Necromancer - Witchcraft by Frank Sinatra. This is less a theme for chapter 6 specifically and more for the book as a whole - it's where I got the book's title, "Wicked Witchcraft," from after all. But it also provides a nice break in the tension that's been building in the soundtrack, the way this chapter provides a brief break from the drama that's been building since the end of chapter 1. Plus I have to save the Lord Dhenregirr themes for Book 4.

Chapter 7: Finding Acheron - Soldier At War from Anna and the Apocalypse. Surprise, it's a Polybeus theme! This was the first song I chose for him back in the early pre-writing days of WSM, and it became so ingrained in my mind that I ended up planning a setpiece where he fights zombies in tribute to it. It's a fitting song, though - the character of Nick Saint in Anna and the Apocalypse enters the story seeming like a fairly one-dimensional cocky braggart, singing a song about how he's an uber-masculine badass who will save the day. But as the movie goes along, he reveals he's actually got a pretty good head on his shoulders and more heart than he'd admit, to the point where his reprise of the song - which occurs during a genuinely heroic sacrifice - has you hear lyrics that you thought were ironic and realize they were, in fact, genuine. That was all stuff I was planning for Polybeus's arc at the time I was putting together it together, and it stayed in the plan for him as the books so far have shown, so it's a really good fit for him even without the zombie fighting scene.

here's a weird break tumblr forced me to add for some reason

Chapter 8: Slashing Stones - Hellbent by Mystery Skulls. This song is specifically for the Buddy chase at the end of our chapter, as well as the slasher vs. gargoyle fight it explodes into. One of the reasons I assemble these soundtracks is to help me get a flow in mind for writing important action scenes, and I think this sets the tense and chaotic tone of Buddy's invasion of the AAAM really well.

Chapter 9: Remedial Demonology - Paint It Black by Versaemerge. It's a Gretchen theme, to no one's surprise since this is the Gretchen book! Well, perhaps there's a surprise that it took us nine chapters to get to a Gretchen-specific theme given the book's plot, but this is where it fit soundtrack-wise, and I do think this is kind of a crucial chapter for Gretchen's character development. Like Polybeus's theme two chapters up, I picked this song for Gretchen early in the planning stages of the series as a whole, before I even had the specific books figured out. Well, ok, tell a lie - I picked out the Rolling Stones version initially, but it didn't sit right with me to have a song with male vocals being used for a trans woman character, so I spent... a long time looking for covers of the song that 1. had a lady vocalist and 2. kept the elements of "Paint It Black" that I like, namely its almost hypnotic rhythm. There are some songs that feel like whirlpools to me - they sweep you up at the start and spin you faster and faster around as they get more and more intense, until you finally crash into the center at the end of it. "Paint It Black" is one of those songs, and while I listened to many interesting covers of it by lady musicians, this cover by Versaemerge is the only one that kept that whirlpool quality of the Stones's original take. And that's important to Gretchen's arc in this book particularly - she is a person with a pessimistic worldview, one who sees bright colors and can't help but paint them black, and in this story she's slowly sucked down into despair thinking she can never escape thinking that way. Book 3 is about saving Gretchen from that spiral, to get her to finally see the colors all around her.

Chapter 10: The Boy Behind the Mask - Baby Boy by Worthikids. Ironically, despite this chapter being a riff on the song Alex Cooper wrote for Jason Voorhees, I chose a different Friday the 13th inspired song to represent it on the soundtrack. Baby Boy is sung from the perspective of Pamela Voorhees, Jason's mother, and highlights the tragedy at the core of the series that's kind of overlooked by the movies themselves - namely that Jason was a child who drowned because of negligent child care workers, and that all the murders that spiral out of that negligence come from a place of grief and, weirdly, love. Which is, ultimately, what this chapter explores through Buddy - a very similar character to Jason that's being explored in a story that, unlike the Friday the 13th movies, can actually step back and explore the tragedy at the core of him. He's a child who's suffered a great deal of cruelty and neglect, and beneath the horrors he's committed there's grief, love, and trauma that needs to be dealt with.

Chapter 11: All Hallowed Eve - The Guide to Success by Joe Iconis. This song is for the coven and their benefactor, Shax, as the collective antagonist of the book - a song that demands a young worker server all social ties and devote themselves solely to advancing in the workplace by kissing the asses of their superiors and throwing away any notions of compassion and morality. A song about selling your soul on behalf of a company that doesn't give two shits about you, basically, i.e. a perfect summation of the villains' philosophy in this book.

Chapter 12: The Land of the Dead - Land of the Dead by Voltaire. I think it's pretty self explanatory how a song called "Land of the Dead" fits a chapter called "The Land of the Dead" that's about people exploring the land of the dead.

Chapter 13: The Devil and Gretchen Pappenheimer - Famous Last Words by My Chemical Romance. In the early planning phases of this series, I knew I wanted Gretchen to have a Faust arc, and that I wanted it to resolve with a Devil and Daniel Webster style afterlife trial scene, and the rest of this book's plot all kind of fell in place in service of reaching that moment. So it's kind of funny to me that I had trouble finding a song that did the scene justice - one of my first attempts was "The Trial" by Pink Floyd, but it didn't feel quite right. I finally found what I was looking for during a different but related WSM soundtrack task - I was looking at songs from my college and high school years to add to the developing series soundtrack, and revisited the entirety of MCR's The Black Parade. That album was so important to me in college, and the ending of it, "Famous Last Words," is this beautiful finale where the protagonist of the album decides whether or not to keep on living or give in and die. Which, again, is kind of what Gretchen's story about - will she succumb to her own low view of herself, or will she realize there are people who love her and that she has a reason to fight for her right to exist? The increasingly passionate chorus of "I am not afraid to keep on living/I am not afraid to walk this world alone" "Honey if you stay you'll be forgiven" "Nothing you can say can stop me going home" fits this chapter so well, and I like to think of the two verses - nearly identical but different in slight ways - are sort of figurative Shax and Helseng using the same facts about Gretchen to argue different perspectives on her morality, while the build in the second half of the song - "I see you lying next to me/with words I thought I'd never speak/awake and unafraid/asleep or dead" - as the part of the chapter where Stinkbaby and Buddy provide the crucial soul-saving testimony on Gretchen's behalf. Man that's entirely too many thoughts on this, let's move on.

Chapter 14: Doom Defied - Death Is Not the End by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. I view this as a joint theme for both Gretchen and, oddly enough, Helseng, who doesn't appear in this chapter but was crucial for it being as happy as it is. In Gretchen's case, it shows the progress her arc has made since it began in the first book by being an inversion of her first theme, "Paint It Black." While "Paint it Black" is about feeling sorrow and grief even when surrounded by happiness and joy, "Death Is Not the End" is about finding hope and optimism even when facing a worse case scenario. Gretchen is no longer a person who assumes the worst about herself and how others view her, because she's face the worst fate she could imagine, and not only did her friends stick up for her, but Death herself argued that Gretchen deserved another chance. As for Helseng, well, "Death is not the end" is very much the message of the Death Arcana she represents, and the mechanical reality of what death is in the world of this story - and, by proxy, what her role is as a grim reaper. She is not the end of people, but the one who brings them to the next step of their journey, and a guide who loves her charges even as they face dire peril.

[biomecharnotaurus]

Do you have any tips for people who want to get into cosplay? It both sounds and looks really interesting but I’m too nervous to try/start.

First off:

Don't worry about the acting part, it's less stressful than it really seems, and I'm saying this as somebody who suffers from anxiety since his teen ages and had an history of pretty frequent anxiety attacks. I started cosplaying in the year 2014, made my proper first "heavy duty" cosplay in 2016.

But do keep in mind, cosplaying comes with its ups and downs and I won't sugar-coat things, so I'll start with them.

Pros

RP in real life is very fun.

You'll probably be stopped by a lot of people if your cosplay is easily recognizable, so be ready. Pictures. A lot of pictures. Which seems a bit awkward but it's often pretty wholesome.

Interacting with other cosplayers (without bothering busy people) is fun.

Going with a buddy definitely makes the experience a lot better. D&D party irl with weaponized autism

Meet new people! Sometimes.

Do fun activities! You can even swordfight your friends and other random cosplayers in small arenas sometimes. FIGHT THE GENSHIN COSPLAYER WITH A FOAM AXE ANON

You can win a Tekken tournament with a full rotting rabbit animatronic costume on!

There is at least one Dance Dance Revolution machine. I don't need to say more.

Cons

Cosplaying is often expensive. You can cosplay on a budget but it comes with lots of in-place reparations.

Bring water and food with you. Drink. A lot. Especially if you have a full armor or a monster fullsuit. You could literally die from exhaustion and/or from overheating.

People are gonna probably take pictures of you without asking. Yell at them with rage because that's illegal

Awkward interactions do happen. Yours truly had to scold a child and her mother at the age of 16 because I was resting my cosplay head next to me (Springtrap cosplay) and the child was trying to pop the eyes of MY cosplay head while I was talking to my friends.

Bring a reparation kit. A little sewing kit, some strong glue, hot glue gun, a piece of cloth you don't have a problem using to keep things in place with, make-up wipes and the make-up you are using as well, if you have any on. That and an emergency kit with bandages and band-aids. Shit can happen.

You are gonna sweat. A lot. Take breaks.

If you have something like a helmet on you are gonna have blind spots. You are probably not gonna hear nor see people calling you sometimes lol

Conventions are expensive. But that's not a cosplay-only thing, keep that in mind tho.

People often forget you are a person outside of the character you are cosplaying as. Which could be both a pro and a con honestly.

Now, I'm not nor a woman nor feminine presenting, but if you are one of the two...gamers are fucking weird sometimes, so be prepared in case.

The actual making the cosplay part:

Do your research on the kind of cosplay you want to do. A partial armor? A full armor? Clothing/make-up? A full monster/animal suit? YouTube is full of good tutorials. Techniques are universal for any typology of cosplay, so don't worry.

If you need cosplay parts you don't know how to make, just look up for "pepakura template *insert thing*". Download a program called "Pepakura viewer" on your PC and look up for Pepakura tutorials if you need any help, there are plenty. You'll probably find templates for the specific part, maybe for free, but mostly for like 10-20 bucks on Etsy. You can also just straight up buy props. Keep in mind 3D printed props can be very fragile tho.

You don't need to make every single part, buy premade things if needed. Hell, you can even just buy a premade cosplay from a seller, doesn't matter.

Improvising is important to find solutions to cosplay making problems. Any technique is a valid technique if it works for you...but please, for the love of everything that is good, DON'T. USE. CARDBOARD. It's gonna absorb your sweat, get moldy and the fumes from the mold CAN KILL YOU. Not joking.

Important: buy a mask with interchangeable filters and safety glasses when you use paints. Also, wear gloves. Your health comes first.

If you are making an helmet...buy at least 2 small fans and install them inside vents below or next to the visor inside the helmet. Believe me when I say this. They do sell ones with premade circuits on Etsy, if you are not particularly good with wiring and stuff.

AliExpress is unironically good for supplies, if you don't want to spend too much.

Sewing and using strong glues makes things last for ages, hot glue does not and it sucks, as much as people use it. Use safety equipment while using glues, of course.

Again, YouTube is your friend in this case. Search for anything you'll need help for.

...you should probably look up at reviews if you plan on buying anything from sites like XCoser.

That's it!

[legallybrunettedotcom]

hi!!! i am a big fan of your amvs and want to get into making my own! any advice on how to find the best clips once you have an idea for a video or just any advice you might have for someone starting out in general? all is appreciated and thank you so much!!

hiii!! thank you so much and i'm actually so honored someone would ask my advice on this. about clips, i mostly torrent movies. my go-to site is yts.mx. but you can always google "torrent sites" and you'll find lists with safe sites to use. if you don't know how to torrent you can always search up youtube tutorials or check on reddit. it's super simple though. if i can't find a good file i'll search up a movie on like fmovies or any of those free streaming sites. or like ok.ru has a bunch movies, a lot of them obscure. and i'll just screen record like specific scenes that seem interesting. and also you can always use youtube, sometimes i can't be bothered to look thru the entire movie or maybe i just need one scene, i look it up there, try to find good quality videos, you can always use stuff from trailers etc. like the sleaze vid i made was mostly trailers actually. you know you gotta be savvy lol. i download those thru yt1s.com, that's how i get the music too. as for the actual making, the way i go about it is i just make a list of potential movies, watch what i haven't seen and then just go thru each movie cutting and saving scenes that seem interesting, effective, striking etc. it's all up to your personal creativity and feeling, playing around, like when you were a kid given some paper and glue, the song choice and the kind of dynamic you want to create etc. i personally hate when someone says about an edit/amv oh it's offbeat which just tells me they're annoying and don't get anything. and ykw, as much as amateur video edits on the internet are made because it's just fun and silly, it is your little creation that you put time and effort in, and you can be serious about it as much as you like. you can make your horny fancams, or idk you wanted to create a specific world that exists in your head, but you have no budget to make an actual proper movie, or they can be short visual essays and commentaries, but you know, without the actual words. sorry for blabbering, but you know, it's all about playing around and trying to create a specific feeling and a little story. have fun! <3

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #301

Well, today was the day. I went to therapy and talked to a bunch of things, and then I went to physical therapy and got a new exercise that I think will help, and then I went to the orthodontist to get Invisalign braces put on.

I needed to get attachments put on my teeth, and rubber bands and everything, because, like I showed you before in a previous letter, it's pretty messed up in there.

...And boy howdy, if I was talking like Sean Connery before, when I got my first premolars pulled, I'm really talking like him now-

WAIT. You have no idea who is Sean Connery. One sec...

...He says "s" like "sh". And there's not anything wrong with that. The thing is, lots of people think that Sean Connery is very sexy (I don't really think of other humans in terms like that, so I don't quite understand, but it's okay that others do). I am not very sexy (and that is also okay!), so... I guess I find the juxtaposition a little amusing, haha.

...I'm not going to be singing for a while, I guess. Or at very least, not recording anything. Not like this. With all this stuff in my mouth, it feels like I can barely even talk properly.

So with these kinds of braces, I'm supposed to take them out whenever I eat, and then put them back in when I'm done eating. Before I put them back in, I have to brush, floss, and rinse my teeth, and also brush the braces.

The braces look like this:

...Yeah. It's pretty screwy in there.

They used some kind of goop that hardens in the presence of UV light in order to glue "attachments" to my teeth. These attachments give the braces something to grip onto, I guess, which helps to rotate the teeth and move them around. Some of the attachments are meant to serve as anchors for rubber bands. The rubber bands are supposed to help pull my upper canine teeth back into their proper places. And that's very good, because one of them is particularly confused; it seems to have gotten lost and wandered off way up towards the top of my gums like some kind of derpasaurus rex... I'll pull up an image that someone on Twitter called Derpasaurus Rex drew... I'll use the "link" function to stick it here...

...Boy howdy, this is gonna take some getting used to.

As far as discomfort goes, there's not much, at least for now. I'm not sure if I should expect the discomfort to get better or worse. Apparently, on the third day or so, my teeth will have moved enough for it to be a little easier to pop the braces in and out.

Every 10 days, I'm supposed to change out to a new set of braces. The bag I went home with has 35 sets of braces, and they're in numerical order. Each one designed to scooch my teeth around just a little more than the one that came before it. So this is at least 350 days worth of braces. I heard them say it'll be like 2 years before everything is in its proper place.

...It's nice to think that the inside of my face will be all fixed up by the time I get to see you again. It's nice to think that the smile I'll have in response to seeing you on the screen will finally be healthy.

(...Please just make sure you end up okay in the end, all right? I want to still have reasons to smile by the end of the third part of your story. Promise me, okay...?)

Most importantly, it will be nice to finally be able to chew things properly. It'll be nice to be able to move my jaw in a way that doesn't destroy the joints holding it together. Won't that be neat?

...I think I'm gonna get sushi. It's been a bit, and I want some. I've endured all this discomfort for the sake of my future, and I've decided that it's time to get a little treat.

...Want some...?

So I've discovered two things...

For one, the braces are A LOT harder to take out than they are to put in. Holy cow, that sucked!!

For another... the attachments are SHARP. The inside of my lips and cheeks are pretty scraped up now.

...This is DEFINITELY going to take some getting used to. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm doing this for my health. I'm doing this so that my bite can be fixed and so my jaw doesn't get weirder than it already is. It's important.

I am choosing this discomfort now for a better outcome later. It is the good thing to do, even if it sucks for now.

Well. I don't have a whole lot more to write about today, so I guess I'll end today's letter here. It's just as well in any case; a friend of mine from this space wants to watch a movie! I'm not sure which one it's gonna be, but I'm sure I'll have lots to tell you about it tomorrow!

I love you. I hope in the near future, you'll be able to sit down and watch a fun movie with someone you care about. Please stay safe out there so maybe you can do that someday.

I'll write again tomorrow.

Your friend, Lumine

[nancypullen]

Well, Hey There!

Gosh, I let the last few days get away from me and this poor ol' blog paid the price. I don't even have anything exciting to report, I've just been puttering - a bit in the yard, a bit in the house, even did a little Xmas shopping, but mostly a whole lot of nothing.

A decision was made that we would not be joining the Y, so I'm trying to discipline myself into at least a 30 minute dance workout every day. Let's just say I'm not very disciplined. There's a treadmill in the garage that works perfectly fine and I really don't mind turning on some music or a podcast and killing 30 minutes on it. Unfortunately I can always find something else that I want to do more - like reading, painting, watching a murder show, writing limericks, picking fuzz out of my navel, watching clouds, naming birds at the birdfeeder...see? Busy, busy. Speaking of that treadmill, until recently it was blocked by that desk/hutch combo that I bought at an auction for 7 dollars.

I finally painted it and got it moved into my craft room!

I'm still organizing it and will probably switch the items on the shelves until I'm satisfied. I'll move that basket out from under the desk too. I suppose it's the lighting, but the handles and knobs really do match. Know what my favorite bit is?

The bottles.

Those are just old Starbucks bottles. I painted the lids with the same paint I used on the desk and then sorted my buttons into them. I need a couple more for black and brown, so I have to keep drinking.

I'm tickled with the extra storage (the drawers are so tidy!) and I love it when organization can be pretty.

The drawers have glues, scissors, blank cards & envelopes, cardstock for printing my dead people, etc. The shelves hold everything else I use for my silly cards.

My paper is sorted in those clear bins on the right - I only bought four, so it's sorted into florals, patterns, holidays, and "special" stuff like maps, sheet music, and that sort of thing. I didn't have to buy anything else, the baskets and stuff were hanging around the house waiting for a job to do. The wooden crate holding markers, colored pencils, and paint pens was gifted to me from Tyler & Jamie's wedding.

Remember that Goodwill print that I was turning into a witchy picture? I finally stopped dabbling with it and put it back in the frame. First I painted the frame black, and because I ruined the original mat (oops) I had to fish around and find one that would work. Nothing I had on hand fit the print and I wasn't about to buy a new mat, so I edged the print with gingham and lace (my answer for everything) and slapped it in the frame.

Poor photography skills, but you get the idea. What was once a prim and proper street scene is now giving Halloween vibes. now it can go into the back of a closet with the rest of them. Why do I do this?? I should take them all and donate them back to Goodwill and let them find homes. I'm home alone. For the last two days Mickey has been out day and night snapping photos of Summerfest, Denton's big bash marking the end of summer. I hope Mother Nature sees it and turns the heat down. It's been drizzling on and off today, so I'm sure everything is steamy. No, thank you. Hard pass. There will be a handful of vendors selling stuff I don't need, no decent food or food trucks, a decent selection of bands playing at different times and on different stages, a great area for kids with slides and bouncy houses, and at the end of the night, fireworks. I may go sit on the front porch later and take a peek at the fireworks. I was spoiled by attending the Wilson County Fair every August , that was always the official goodbye to summer for us, even though the weather didn't break until a month later. Annnd speaking of weather, I saw that The Old Farmers' Almanac issued their winter forecast. I was disappointed.

We're up there under "Mild,Wet". Every year I cross my fingers for "Cold, Above Average Snowfall" and it never happens. Thanks to Climate Change I think it's going to become rare if not extinct.

Oh well, I need to tidy up a bit and then choose a movie to watch with the girls. This is who I mean by "the girls."

They keep begging for the BBC version of Jane Austen's Persuasion, so it looks like tonight is the night. I'll try to think of something more interesting to write about tomorrow. The rest of the week may be a wash. We're getting the grandgirl on Monday and returning her Thursday, so I'll be busy and tired. It's her last week before school starts so there needs to be some fun. She's had a great summer, vacation and camps, but we'll have some Grancy-style fun. Look at these cute sprinkles I picked up for back-to-school cupcakes. Perfect for a first grader!

I'll have to see if there's a movie playing that she might be interested in, and I'll bet she'd like to go on a treasure hunt in Target with me. The rest of the time it will be Barbies, pool, books, and probably some arts and crafts. The only things that she requested I add to the grocery list (I asked) are apples, pretzels, and pizza Lunchables. I have a feeling her parents may want me to get some veggies and good protein into her. Grandpa sees nothing wrong with that list. If I turn my back he'll have her at the 7-11 getting a blue Icee right before dinner. Anywayyyy, I'm rambling. I'll wrap this up by saying that I hope your Saturday evening is a delight. If that means running wild with friends or being in your jammies by sundown, I hope you love every minute of it. Sending out loads of love tonight. Take what you need and pass it on. Stay safe, stay well. XOXO, Nancy

[violetequus8]

Saint Morpheus Bookbinding, pt 1: Behind the Scenes

(This will be a very long post)

Three weeks ago, I had already had an idea of what project I wanted to torture (positive) myself with: so I giddily hopped off and asked @landwriter if I could bind her achingly good Dreamling fic Saint Morpheus. (If you haven't read it, consider this my blanket glowing recommendation).

Permission granted, I was off!

People have asked me about my work before. This post is not meant to be educational (though all I learned was through Sea Lemon on YT; don't ask me for a more in-depth explanation bc I am not equipped to give it), but I didn't want to have took all these in-progress pictures for nothing. Also I enjoy talking about my work, and maybe some of you will find this interesting.

The formatting-page process undoubtedly takes the longest. I do not use any software, so this is a lot of me using the copy-paste button and praying to any god that will listen that I don't mess it up.

(Formatting: I used 10 pt Sitka Text with no alignment. The pages themselves are a template I made in LibreOffice)

I had also decided to complete illustrations for this, which created additional pages. I had a lot of fun with those, which I'll be posting in pt 2.

Once all the pages were done, it was time for printing!

I had a bunch of fat stacks like this, which then had to be cut to size and folded into the page signatures.

(a mostly-complete text block)

I also did fancy stuff for the inside pages, the ones that go on the outside of these text blocks and which would hold the text block to the cover.

(this is one, which was completed)

(here's another one, which was in-progress)

Then came the tedious work of punching all the holes, so I could actually bind the pages together!

(I had actually bought an awl over the holiday break. Can you imagine i was going all this with a needle before?)

(lots of sewing)

YAY! Text blocks were done!

Then I could finally get to work on the covers, which had been littering my floor for weeks.

My desk was also a proper mess, but that's just what happens.

Cutting the board and arranging the covers is fun, except when I knew I was on the home stretch and ended up messing up things.

(in-progress cover. I use PVA glue)

(in-progress front cover I was doing illustrations on)

And I would be nothing without failing a few times, so I might've accidentally glued on a text block upside down on that cover. Which then I had to rip off and rebind. I had to do that twice, actually, cause I fried my brain a few times over while working on these.

There's also some things I did which I did not take pictures of but will be included in the follow-up: I gilt the page edges, which I thought was a nice touch.

And now for the finished product....

[polychaeteworm]

Here it is, the long awaited pin post (will be edited later)

If I have followed you and you are a dark/horror/goth/traumacore or Saltburn blog, it was @neurotheascars that hit the follow button.

(currently only on mobile)

Hello I'm Orn, I'm the alien system host of a 31 year old human body with 8 alters inside, this is just my blog though. I'm a mixed media artist and I know more mediums then I can remember to count. I give advice compulsively so if you have a weird art supply question my inbox is open and anons are on. I know all about glue, polymer, proper glitter use, and UV colors. Bodily Native Lakota.

Aro/ace-spec, into men as a man and women as a women. I support all people with cluster B disorders, my partner system has BPD. You are all worthy of love and safety.

I'm also a green wizard and I've been doing weird art based magic for about 11 years

On this blog you'll find a nice mixed bag of the following: Precambrian explosion and Paleo fun, speculative biology, green magic and experimental occult content, 420 weed posting, plants, pendantic info dumps, artwork(both mine and not), web 1.0 tech nostalgia and autism/did/disability content!

I was formally diagnosed with the demand avoidant flavor of ASD when I was 7 and can't live alone but remain very independent in spite of my support needs. I have lots of trouble wording things and as an alter I've become hyper verbal out of a fear of being misinterpreted. ABA therapy abused my system into having a pretty convincing mask so Sorry Not Sorry but I am a living breathing wall of text in this space.

Other bs I deal with- DID, hypermobility, fibromyalgia, dyspraxia, low vision/legal blindness, irlen syndrome, complex synesthesia, hyperphantasia, and really uncontrolled maladaptive daydreaming

I grow cannabis in a legal state and use it to treat my various issues.

I am posic and objectum about plants and old technology and that is liable to come out a lot on this blog. I currently have a courting/platonic relationship with a Philodendron Solleum Named Basaran and a committed platonic partnership with a large MFC office printer named Leviathan. I've had several committed romantic relationships with older computers, but currently don't have an alive and well computer partner.

Other blogs I'm connected to:

My irl human(dog) partner is @guromechanical TW: don't go here if you're not fucked in the head 18+

@neurotheascars Saira's side blog, trauma holding alter, goth aesthetics and vent posts. TW for syscourse, traumacore, unreality and blood/SH specifically. If you are a Saltburn, traumacore, or otherwise dark gothic blog it is most likely Saira that has followed you.

If Saira is co-fronting or informing a post here, it will be tagged with ⚔️

Saira has more severe difficulty with communicating and needs a bit more patience than me.

Finally:

Some things about interacting with me:

I sometimes struggle to reply to people in a timely manner, but you can always poke me for a response.

I never ask bad faith questions or make bad faith assumptions. I'm a safe person to talk to if you struggle to understand language because I have alters that struggle like that. If I'm not understanding something, an analogy usually helps.

I practice kindness and I will match your energy. I am a high empathy autistic and this means the worst name I'm gonna call anyone is an asshole and asshole is a title that is temporary and fleeting because even the humans I hate are humans who are alive and make mistakes. I dislike making people feel bad so I do not hurl insults. If you give me anon hate I'm just gonna wish you well. Anger is born of pain, even if misplaced. I receive rage like a wall, so don't bruise your fists on me please.

I try not to follow minors but if I have followed you for any reason and you don't want me to follow you just lemme know and I'll comply. No issues.

I prefer minors to not follow me, but reblogging @ing, hearting, ect is totally fine.

[please-help-this-little-lesbian]

So...remember when I said I was boycotting Dead City? Welllll my dad bought the first season, so I watched it. And Boy oh Boy, Do I have Thoughts

Spoilers Ahead!!!

Note: I'm not going to address the Negan and Maggie of it all because I've long said everything I can about them.

One: What I liked, because believe it or not, I did actually like some things!

The setting! I loved seeing post-apocalyptic New York. It was really fun for me to pick out all the things I recognized.

Ginny. Was it a little annoying that she wouldn't listen to anybody? Sure, but a girl who shows up, clings to Negan like glue, and doesn't say shit? Literally, me. Character of the century.

Speaking of Ginny, I was LIVING for Negan's single dad era. Yes, king abandon your wife and son to take care of some random girl! He was living his best life.

The plot twist with Ginny was INCREDIBLE!! I was not expecting it at ALL. The fact that he killed her dad?? Bro my jaw was on the floor.

I actually liked the Croat and Negan's dynamic! I think it was funky and deliciously homerotic. However, I hate the Croat's character.

Two: What I DIDNT like.

Nothing made ANY sense, and NOTHING was explained. I get that Maggie was in New Babylon to find Negan but why was HE there? Last I checked nobody banished him from the Commonwealth. And where even IS this place? It seemed to be like Pennsylvania, New Jersey but still. Also, how did Maggie know he was there? Did she airtag him?? It made no sense.

The Croat was a TOTAL retcon. He made NO sense in the established canon. Let me explain:

3 a) I get NEGAN being upset that the Croat tortured a girl because his whole thing was no harming kids, but SIMON?? Bro you killed every boy over the age of ten at Oceanside and slaughtered all those garbage people, why are you on a high horse NOW??

3 b) If Negan could recognize that the Croat was too much of a wild card and needed to be dealt with, then why the HELL did he keep Simon around? Because Simon did MUCH worse.

3 c) The girl whom the Croat tortured was a scout from the Kingdom, but this makes NO sense with what we know about them? I believe the deal was as long as they paid proper tribute they'd leave each other alone, this feels like a major violation of this agreement? Like they were probably wondering what the hell happened to her, surely somebody had to address this at some point.

3 d) The Croat mentioned this story where Negan let him Lucille someone from the "river people." I feel like these people have to be Oceanside, but this is a total retcon either way.

I'll admit as a writer it's hard to keep up with details and I've had to change and retcon a couple of things myself in my stories, but surely they can go and make sure that everything in their spinoff that's a continuation of an already established story makes sense with it.

Anyway, I didn't hate it, but tbh my expectations weren't high. I got one (1) scene of evil jester Negan and a hinted promise that he'd come back in season two, and I'm disappointed. But if he DOES come back I'll have to watch I fear.

[voids-colourful-creations]

Cosplay Diary -- [Intro to costumes!]

Eight (Splatoon)

Shoes: Black Heels fitted with insoles to account for me never wearing heels. I've purchased two black zippers and some grommits to add superficially for the sake of design matching. (Who has a front facing shoe zipper??) Leggings: Eight doesn't canonically have leggings, but I'm hoping to do some for the costume, translucent ones splattered with ink/paint! I've got leggings, I've got paint, but I haven't painted anything yet Skirt: I've pinned it in further with safety pins to get a tighter fit, and plan on sewing over the fold I've made to adjust the fit (if it'll fit under my machine...). I'd also like to hem it slightly, since Eight's skirt is pretty short. Jacket: Bit big on me, and the zips too centered, but it works. Need to cut off the sleeve and cut and hem the bottom edge without murdering the existing zipper. Wig: So I've never done a tentacle wig before, but my plan is simple. I will construct 4 plush tentacles to be mounted onto an old baseball cap I found and will chop the brim off of. (That's what the bedsheets are for)

Notes: Lots to do on Eight, but a lot of the planning is done so it's mainly getting to sit down and do it. My next step is to sew the skirt and finish it up, then work on the jacket, then wig. I've done a prototype tentacle for the wig and it went well, so I'll be making another with the proper fabrics, to check sizing, then get started on that.

Dot (Pokemon)

Slippers: Managed to get those today! I'll be adding the decorative stuff to make them snorlax themed, and hopefully adding a band around the back as well. Sweatpants: A wonderful find at the thrift store! (Actually, everything here is from the thrift store for the most part. The slippers, and leggings are the only exceptions, from a walmart and dollar store respectively.) Tank Top: I love thrift store. Cardigan: The real meat of this costume, an entirely handknit cardigan. while the pattern isn't perfectly Dots, please forgive me because I've never knit a cardigan before. Actually I've only ever knit scarves, and its been a few years. I've done all body panels and one sleeve, leaving only the second sleeve and the collar trim left for the body of the cardigan. I'd also like to add pockets. Dot's cardigan has a hood, which I won't be priotizing for now (mainly because i do not know how to do that and I'm short for time.), but i've got a pair of really fuzzy socks I plan on using to make the puff balls. I'll be giving them buttons, so they'll be able to be detatched for ease of washing. (Hopefully I can do the same for the tail?) Wig: A dear friend has pledged to mail me a purple wig I'm hoping to use for this, we'll see if the post is good on getting it to me in time. the only thing I really still need to get for these costumes is the pink extensions I'll use for her highlights. I plan on doing her hair back style (because I need. to see.), and have a hairband. I'll probably use glue and hairspray to make flicked back hair I can then clip in and secure to the base wig for the bangs.... That's the plan anyway.

Notes: A lot closer to finished with Dot, big thanks to prexisting clothes from thrift stores. Which is great because I don't wanna make normal sweatpants n tank tops and things! Cardigan knitting has been going well, and I hope to finish the second sleeve Soon. It's been a long while knitting this, but I'm nearly there! Not super experienced with wig work, but hey this cosplays for fun not a contest so I don't wanna sweat it too much.

Feelings pretty good about things right now! If progress is made faster than expected, I might do a third costume, but we'll see. Haven't figured out which I'm wearing what day yet...

[antiquatedsimmer]

Lucile's heart skipped a beat as the doorknob turned, the distinct sound slicing through the stillness of her room. Her hands instinctively closed the diary she had been pouring her thoughts into, fear coursing through her veins. For a fleeting moment, she worried that her clandestine late-night activities had been discovered by her watchful mother.

Startled by the sudden presence in the room, she sprang up from her seat, ready to defend herself and provide an explanation for her late-night wakefulness. However, instead of facing the stern gaze of a parent, she found Silas standing across the room, his arms firmly crossed against his chest.

Relieved, Lucile smiled softly and released a nervous laugh. She lowered her voice as she spoke, "Oh, you startled me, Si. I thought you were Mother."

Silas interrupted her with a hushed yet resolute tone, "Enough."

Lucile was taken aback, her brow furrowed as she realized Silas was upset. "What…?" she stammered, momentarily lost for words. "I'm sorry if I woke you, Si. I was just writing-"

Silas interrupted once more, his anger evident in his tone. "No! I want you to stop! Stop trying to take my best friend away from me! Go find your own friend! Jackson and I are too old to be hanging out with a little girl like you!"

Lucile scoffed in reply, her voice filled with a hint of defiance. "We merely spent some time together, that's all!"

"You're nothing but a foolish liar, Lucile!" Silas exclaimed, his voice filled with frustration. "You stuck to him like glue throughout the entire dinner, and then you whisked him away without a care in the world! By the time I found you, he had to leave and return home!"

Lucile defiantly crossed her arms. "You were too busy chatting with that tall blonde lady! Don't put the blame on me just because you lost track of time. Besides, I didn't have to drag Jackson anywhere. It was his own idea to escape to the porch and get away from the boring grown-ups," she retorted, smirking confidently. "I think he likes me. He even complimented my bow!"

Silas smirked condescendingly and tapped the side of his head with his index finger. "Use your noggin, muttonhead! Jackson only said those things because he had to. It's proper etiquette to be overly polite to guests, remember? Next time, why don't you just leave us alone and go do your women's chores like cleaning and knitting?"

"NO!" Lucile retorted, her voice filled with frustration. "I can be friends with him too, Silas! Why are you being such a schmuck?"

Silas burst into laughter, tilting his head back and mimicking Lucile's words in a mocking tone. "Why are you being a schmuck?" he jeered, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Silas stepped forward, his face contorted with anger, and firmly grasped Lucile's arm, squeezing it tightly. "I'll tell you why!" he seethed.

Lucile winced, feeling the pain in her arm, and instinctively tried to pull away from Silas's grip.

"Because you're nothing but an ugly, fat, and entitled pig-faced excuse for a girl!" Silas hissed, his voice dripping with venom as he leaned in closer, his face inches away from Lucile's. "All you have to worry about is being a dutiful daughter and carrying out the simple tasks, while I'm burdened with the heavy labor. I have to toil all day long for Papa's approval, while you barely do anything of value and earn his favor effortlessly!"

Lucile's heart sank as each hurtful word pierced through her. The weight of her brother's cruel tirade bore down on her, leaving her feeling wounded and dejected.

Silas jerked her arm aside as he let go and began pointing in anger, "All I want is to spend time with my friend, and you're ruining it!" Silas exclaimed, his frustration boiling over. As Lucile's emotions overwhelmed her, tears streamed down her cheeks. She couldn't fathom why her own brother was being so heartless. What had she done to deserve this?

Silas pressed on, "Why do you think Ma went through the trouble of making that expensive dress for you? You don't even deserve it. She knew you'd only embarrass us if the guests saw you! Even the dirtiest pigs have to be spruced up for the fair, or else they'll make everyone who attends sick to their stomach!"

Silas stood tall, his arms crossed defiantly. "Someday, I'll be the head of this household, and you'll have to listen to me. Go find your own pig-faced friends to roll around in the mud with! And if you dare breathe a word of this to Mother or Father, I'll teach you a lesson you won't soon forget!"

Lucile, her voice quivering with quiet sobs, managed to respond between hiccups, "O-Okay..."

Silas, with an air of triumph, strode out of her room and retreated to his own bed, ready to fall asleep. Lucile, left alone, sat on the edge of her bed, wiping away tears as she desperately tried to calm herself, not wanting to disturb her slumbering parents.

As she sat there, her heart sank deep into the pits of her stomach. The familiar terror that she had grown up with since her years as a toddler had resurfaced.

ooc: Holy fuck Lucile baby girl I'm so sorry, I did not plan on making Silas this awful at the start.