#I can totally see him cosplaying as him for comic con one year

[llamaisllama777]

TSAMS X BATFAM AU

PURPLE HOOD

(Monty as Red Hood)

Purple Hood notorious crime boss turned anti-hero

-Best friend to Crescent

-Boyfriend to Gaia Girl

-Nuisance to SolarFlare

Hey, @br41nr0t-101 , thanks for liking this series of mine means a lot. I love the Batfam and The Celestial fam so to see people like this art means a lot to me

Next up, Sundrop A.K.A SOLARFLARE (Nightwing) : D

[sprnklersplashes]

prompt: I’m a barista and you keep making weird faces when you drink the “Christmas cheer in a cup” coffee I make, why do you keep ordering it?  (ao3)

Janis is convinced that whatever corporate asshole came up with this drink is a Grinch who hates Christmas and wants to ruin it for everyone. And by ‘everyone,’ she mainly means baristas who make minimum wage at a coffee shop because their parents are no longer willing to fun their cosplay habit. Meaning if they want to put together the best possible Yelena Belova costume in time for Comic-Con next year, they need to start saving now.

Hence, they have a “do it for her” meme filled with pictures of Yelena saved as their phone background.

You see, this isn’t just a regular drink. Oh no. If it were a regular drink, then Janis would be able to make it through their workday with the usual amount of groaning and complaining expected from any teenager working under the capitalist hellscape at Christmas. But this drink is different. Because in addition to costing more than she makes in half an hour (something she’s pointed out to Damian frequently), this shit takes twice as long to make as your average coffee. Not only are there three different syrups in that bitch-caramel, peppermint, and hazelnut-but she also has to throw some nutmeg in there, top with whipped cream and more cookie crumbs, and then remember to stick a little gingerbread man on top. All without killing herself or burning herself on the coffee maker because it’s probably older than the actual business is, and this place hasn’t been health checked since the Great War.

They call it Christmas Cheer In A Cup. Janis calls it “I do not get paid enough for this.”,

But the wildest part is that the damn coffee is only half the story Janis tells Damian on their break. Because apparently, the world is determined to make their December both incredibly stressful and also just so god damn weird.

It happens almost every day they work. They work Monday 5-10, Wednesday 4-10, and Saturday 9-2. Easy enough, and they can balance it with their schoolwork. Hell, sometimes when it’s dead, they’ll start making their notes at the counter, just to save time. And every time they’re on… they appear. Janis has taken to calling them “Mystery Athlete” on account of the letterman jacket they’re always wearing when they come in because it’s not like they ever get a name (they don’t do that kind of thing here). Six o’clock on Monday and Wednesday, one o’clock on Saturday. They were slightly late last Saturday, coming in at 1:15, but they still came. Sometimes alone, sometimes with two or three obnoxiously loud boys wearing the same jackets. Which is fine; regular customers are nothing new here.

Except for the fact that Mystery Athlete always orders that damn Christmas Cheer In A Cup, the very drink that makes Janis want to throw herself headfirst into the coffee grinder. They gave up on hoping that they’d change their order two weeks ago, and instead channeled their energies into not screaming every time they pick up the cup. If Janis thought they were cute at first, that has made them significantly less so.

Damian raised an eyebrow when she remarked that to him one day and wouldn’t even tell her what he meant by that. Bastard.

But again, that’s not even the weirdest part of this thing. Because that would be too simple. No, the weirdest part of this entire saga is that this person has ordered the Christmas Cheer In A Cup a total of ten times now, and every single time, they gag. Janis has seen it with their own eyes; every day they’re here, they come in, they order the monstrosity, they dump four packets of sugar in it, they take a sip, and they gag. And it’s not subtle either; they fully stick their tongue out, their eyes bulge out, their whole face scrunches up. Sometimes when Janis is close enough, they can even hear the choking-gagging noise they make. Janis doesn’t blame them, because yes, this shit is disgusting, but surely they know their pain is entirely self-inflicted.

Yeah, Christmas Cheer Kid is an utter mystery to Janis. And despite all the pain, they’re causing them by ordering this drink, they’re also the single most interesting thing to happen around here.

So there Janis is on Saturday morning, red apron over their ripped jeans and All I Want For Christmas playing in the background (she’s already asked, and no, apparently she can’t change it). The place is completely quiet; she’s only had two customers in the past hour. One of them still sits in the corner; broadsheet newspaper open in his lap as he sips his black coffee. He’s pretty cute, with his mustard coloured shirt and little beige fedora. And so Janis spends part of the morning sketching him on the back of a take-out page. They stick it up against the shelf, earning a compliment from their co-worker Sophie, and then take out their calculus textbook. Apparently, getting a half-paid scholarship to an arts-based school means you still have to do math. They plow through equations with pursed lips and a furrowed brow, scribbling out answers and rewriting them. They try not to fall into a pity party about their dyslexia, but it’s times like this they realise how much they hate it.

“Wow, that’s a face.”

Janis’ feet leave the ground, her whole body jerking backward. Her head snaps up, and her eyes widen, and of course who should be there but her Mystery Athlete, plus some of her usual pals. Standing there with an apologetic smile on their face while Janis tries to get their heart to stop hammering out of their ribcage. The universe must be having a field day, they think.

“Sorry,” Mystery Athlete says. There’s a red tingle in their cheeks, and it looks kind of nice against their caramel coloured hair. “Just… you looked in pain there.��

“Retail will do that to you,” Janis sighs. “As will calculus.”

“Oh, you’re doing calculus?” they squeak. To Janis’ surprise, they lean over the counter, and to her further surprise, she makes no move to hide her book. The kid looks up again, the red having faded to pink, and Janis wipes down the counter to ignore the flutter in their chest. “Sorry, I just really like calculus.”

“Really?” they snort. Anyone liking calculus is bizarre to them, but especially now. They shrug, tossing the cloth between their hands. “Never heard of a jock who likes math.”

“Jock?” they echo. Janis gestures to their letterman jacket. Now that they’re actually conversing, she can see the small ‘North Shore High’ stitched on in yellow. Ah, North Shore, she should have worked that out.

Mystery Athlete looks down and gasps, a small chuckle escaping them.

“Oh, no, I’m not a jock,” they explain. They clasp their hands together and rise up on their toes, the proud smile brighter than the fairy lights around them. “I’m a Mathlete.”

Janis freezes, their brain stalling to a complete halt. They don’t know what they were expecting but…. Not that.

“You’re… a Mathlete,” they say slowly. “Not a jock.” It feels so obvious now. The number of times they’ve come in and sat in the corner flying through a notebook. Their school plays against North Shore, and they’ve still come in on game days.

To top it off, they look at them again and just then notice the ‘mathletes’ written across the left side.

Wow, she’s setting a new record for stupidity. The kid doesn’t make fun of her; instead, they seem sympathetic, and that just makes it worse. She says a silent prayer for the ground to open up and swallow her down to the Earth’s core. Because plunging into boiling lava must be less painful than this.

“So, your usual?”

“Huh? Oh yeah. Thanks.”

They turn around as the milk heats up, their conversation sparking something in Janis. After all, they just looked at her notes, and that’s pretty personal shit. So it’s only fair that they can pry back to satisfy their raging curiosity.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Um, sure. I guess.”

Janis leans forwards on the counter, and the Mathlete mirrors her. The corner of her mouth turns up.

“I’ve seen you every time you come in here. You order this drink every time. That’s three times a week. Not stalking, by the way, just observant.” Mathlete nods before letting them continue. “So three times a week, I make this drink, and every time you hate it.”

“What?” they scoff. “No, I don’t.”

“Yeah,” Janis replies dryly, one eyebrow raised. “Ya do.” She shrugs her smile dipping, softening even. She looks down at the counter, rolling a paper straw between her fingers. Part of her whispers to get out of there now, a small danger alarm flaring up in her mind. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending, she’s never really listened to that alarm. “I mean I’m not mad or anything. I’m just pretty curious.”

“Well….” They begin. “I’m-I… I just-” Red flushes their cheeks now, and Janis is torn between having fun and wishing she’d never said anything. Because while she pretends not to have feelings, she does, unfortunately. “I mean I-”

“Okay this is painful.” Janis gets her second shock of the day as one of the other jocks-Mathletes, she corrects herself-comes forward. He walks with a little too much swagger in his step, not to mention his lips seeming permanently pursed. Coffee Kid flashes them an apologetic look and that really tells Janis all they need to know. He flings an arm around them and Coffee Kid tries not to roll their eyes. “You see, my friend Cady here thinks you’re kinda cute, but they don’t know how to talk to pretty people-ow!” He rubs his side, where Cady’s elbow had just dug in. “What? It’s true. Anyways, they like you but they don’t know how to talk to you and they ordered that one drink the first time we came here and now we have to drive twenty minutes after practice to get coffee from here while we pass three perfectly good coffee shops on the way.” He beams, perfect white teeth and bright eyes. “Anything else?”

“No-thank you Kevin,” Cady says flatly. They rub circles into their forehead, their face crumpled. Kevin nods, either completely oblivious to the chaos he just caused or not caring, and asks for an oat milk latte.

He goes to sit down, taking the rest of the Mathletes with him, then it’s just them and Cady again.

“So…” Janis begins. That’s all they have really, because how do you react to something like that.

“Look, I’m sorry,” Cady says. “I didn’t mean for it to end up like this. I can-I can just go, it’s fine. You don’t need to do anything.”

“Woah, woah, wait.” The words are out of Janis’ mouth before they realise it, and this time they don’t ignore the fluttering in their chest when Cady stays. They follow their gut, as they often do, for better or worse, and lean down on the counter, a smile tugging on the corner of their lips. They play with a spare wooden stirrer, but they don’t take their eyes off Cady. “I finish in an hour. And if you’re still around… what do you say we grab something? Maybe hang out a little bit?”

“Sounds nice,” Cady says, and now it’s Janis’ turn to blush. “Just… no festive coffees this time around. Or at least no more Christmas Cheers in Cups.”

“Oh no,” Janis agrees. “I think we’ve had enough to last us a lifetime. And we don’t want to risk you getting any cavities.”

They end up getting milkshakes instead, despite it being the middle of December. As  Cady talks away about their love for math, Janis reckons it was the right call.

[anim3tingz]

'Match-Up' for weird-questions-from-an-infp-t

Hey, love! It’s almost 12am and I finally finished. I was going back and forth with girls for you. I couldn’t choose. Lol. I ended up deciding on girls who were a little more outgoing. For some reason I just feel like they share a lot of similar interests with you, but, also, being outgoing would bring a little more spice to the relationship. Funny enough they both ended up being redheads. Lol.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy it.❤️

Assassination Classroom

Hinano Kurahashi *I ship y’all so hard.*

Relationship Song: Paper Rings - Taylor Swift

You guys went from ‘Childhood Best Friends’ to ‘BF/GF’.

You might be wondering how that happened and well...it just sort of did. You both ended up developing a crush on one another over time. You were nervous to tell her. You constantly were second-guessing if you ever stood a chance with her, but all that went away when one day she just leaned in and kissed you.

Hinano is like the Sun to you. The world can be a dark place, but Hinano, ever since Kindergarten, has always been the shining star in your life.

She’s a little more on the outgoing side, which is actually one of the reasons y'all became friends in the first place. She just walked right up and struck up a conversation with you. It totally threw you off at first, but you soon found out she was very easy to talk to, and well...the rest is history.

I could just see the two of you talking for hours on end about anything and everything. You have questions, she’s got answers (sometimes theories). It’s one of your favorite things to do together. Heck, it’s how y'all became friends in the first place.

Because of the ease of communication between the two of you, arguments rarely, if ever, happen. You guys are just so open with one another.

Now it isn’t uncommon for you to end up suppressing your emotions when you get stressed out. However, since being friends with you for years, Hinano is able to easily catch on to when you start to close up and is able to bring you back from spiraling into the darkness of your mind.

She tries to be that little bit of sunshine in your life. She knows that you do so much to be there to cheer up others that you tend to neglect yourself. She loves you and wants you to see how much you mean to her at any chance she can get.

You just want to chill out at home and watch TV? She’s down. Hinano loves to just chill out on the couch cuddled up against you. It doesn’t matter what’s on TV, either. She just loves being with you.

NGL. I think she’d be really into watching superhero shows/movies. I mean she’s trying to assassinate her teacher, after all. It might help give her some good pointers and ideas.

I can definitely see y'all bonding of superhero shows/movies. I mean Comic-con dates anyone? I could totally see her cosplaying, too. I mean, tbh, she’s really great at it. She’s a very artsy individual so I can see her spending months just working on putting together the perfect look.

Dates between you two mainly consist of just hanging out at home together, but you two also like to go out every now and then. Movies, amusement parks, etc.

Speaking of amusement parks, I could see you two winning plushies for each other. It’d just be the cutest sightseeing the two of you walking around with a multitude of plushies in your arms.

PDA:

I see you guys holding hands wherever you guys go. If you guys can’t hug each other you’re holding hands. I see Hinano being the one to always grab your hand and drag you somewhere. She loves dragging you along with her on adventures.

Hugs are just as playful. Whether it’s her jumping on your back in a surprise hug, running into your arms, or you hugging her from behind. Also, wrapping her up in your jacket is totally a thing. You guys just radiate such a cute, playful vibe when you guys are together.

Playful, sweet kisses (Eskimo, cheek, nose, etc.) You blush so easily so she loves to just randomly kiss you and watch your face turn red. Kiss her randomly and she’ll just smile brightly. She’s just so in love with you.

*I love them so much. It still breaks my heart, that their real-life romance was cut so short. Finchel.*

To be honest, Hinano is more likely to be the jealous one in the relationship. You’re very kind and sweet which tends to attract a lot of people your way, girls, in particular. You might not be very aware of this fact, but she does. You’ll know she’s particularly jealous when she starts to pout and become a little more clingy with you; mainly by hugging you. If you do happen to pick up on this, just hug her and give her your undivided attention. She knows you would never do anything, she just gets a little self-conscious, every now and then.

My Hero Academia

Itsuka Kendo (Battle Fist)

Relationship Song: Everybody Talks - Neon Trees

Much like with Hinano, I believe you guys would’ve been friends first before ever dating, which is how all the best relationships start. Let’s be honest.

Kendo is a little more spirited and isn’t afraid to put someone in their place if they’re being rude. Much like you, she just doesn’t like dealing with people’s BS. Let alone, letting someone else have to deal with BS when they don’t deserve it. (Monoma has some issues he’s working through. God bless him.)

You’re both very kind-hearted and are always there to help others. It’s almost as if it’s second nature for you guys.

I feel that because she had a bit more of a dominant personality that she’d help bring you out of your shell to new things. Not that you wouldn't anyways. I just think you’d feel more comfortable doing things with her. You guys just have this really solid bond.

She loves listening to your thoughts and ideas on subjects. Plus, she just loves talking to you. Her favorite moments are when a random question will just pop in your mind and you blurt it out to her, particularly if the question requires some forethought.

Date nights usually revolve around you guys playing video games together. I see friendly competitions, like Battleblock Theater, Mario Kart, etc. A particular favorite is Guitar Hero. It’s got great music and it’s a blast to play.

Speaking of music...You guys actually have pretty similar tastes. She LOVES ‘Queen’. Her favorite song, ‘Killer Queen’.

PDA:

While hand holding is still a thing with y'all, it’s not as much to the extent that it is with Hanano. Hugs, however, are. She loves to lean into your touch when y'all hug. Her most favorite position is sitting in your lap, leaning her back against your chest with your arms wrapped around her. She feels comfortable and at home in your arms. You’re her personal teddy bear.

In public, her kisses are sweet and playful. However, when it’s just the two of you alone she’s not afraid to grab your hoodie and pull you into her kiss. Now, if you're feeling adventurous, pull her into a kiss. She’ll become a blushing ball of putty in your hands. She’s a tough girl, but she’s also got a secret soft side that only you get to see.

Overall, you guys have a very laid-back, chill relationship. No jealousy. No insecurities. You guys just kind of vibe out together. You like similar things but also have your own personal interests. You guys have a deep bond, which comes from being friends, and a relationship full of love and support for the other. What more could you want.

[cosplayinamerica]

Iron Spider from MCU : alejandrojoewono // photo : rosejarmon

I've always been a HUGE fan of Spider-Man and have enjoyed his many iterations in the comics or on the screen. Spider-Man has an amazing cosplay community but sometimes it's difficult to standout. My cousin, Ruby whom got me into cosplay always told me that if I wanted to standout, I have to do something that no one really sees. The minute that I saw the Iron Spider suit in Avenger: Infinity War decked out with all the lights and even his mechanical arms I knew this was THE cosplay I can do to stand out!

In a sense, It was just being in the right place at the right time. My light up faceshell and lenses were by a creator by the name of Cavin Lam (@cavin_creations) and he did a limited run on his light up eyes. At the time I wasn't even thinking too far ahead about doing a full on Iron Spider cosplay but I hopped on that run because I am a huge fan of his work!

Every now and again I go on theRPF.com and look at their "Junkyard" section to see if there were any cosplay pieces that people were selling. I happened to run into @cos.may selling his Iron Spider Mechanical Legs, Light up  Shoulder Pads and Light up Web-Shooters. When I saw this listing and with Cavin Creations Iron Spider light up faceshell and lenses in my possession I felt that my dream of cosplaying MCU Iron Spider was in my grasp. I instantly reached out and got it. I eventually got a simple dye-sub Iron Spider suit from Zentaizone.com with the pattern done by Brandon Gilbert (@brandongilberto)

Once I had all the pieces together I had to put in a bit of elbow grease myself. First, I attached the faceshell and lenses to the mask, then I had to adjust the harness that attaches the mechanical legs on my back because it was a bit too small for me, finally I used a compression shirt and attached magnets on the shoulders so the shoulder pads could connect. I did a couple try on tests that took probably almost an hour each of getting the suit on before having a routine to get me in the suit in 15 minutes. (At first I needed help getting in but now I can do it myself no problem!)

The response was AMAZING (pun 100% intended) I was never swarmed for pictures as a cosplayer before. In a group yes but never just by myself. It was such an amazing experience. The compliments were so flattering!

One of my favorite compliments is that that I even sound like Tom Holland. When I'm dressed as MCU's Iron Spider I admittedly get into character and have my voice go up a couple octaves to try and mimic Tom Hollands voice and when it gets recognized it makes me really happy!

An interesting story is that I actually met one of if not my favorite cosplayer @Hendoart in NYCC as Iron Spider. Now if I'm being honest, it's VERY hard to see out of my lenses. From the fog to the lights, I can basically only make out shapes in there so when people ask for pictures I can still recognize body shapes and look at the camera but detail is GONE. I remember this girl asked for a selfie and so we did one. She asked for my Instagram but I never really posted (Still don't haha that HAS to change) so instead of giving a boring explanation I just told her I didn't have one.

THEN TO MY SURPRISE, after the con when I'm scrolling through stories on Instagram I see on Hendoart's story, she posted herself as Mary Jane Waston and ME as Iron Spider and in her caption it read "An Iron Spooooooder! No IG, he's just out here having a good time he said" that's when I put two and two together and my jaw dropped so fast. I even remember telling her that I was having a good time haha. It's the one time I wish I was active on Instagram. If I ever get the chance to meet her again and on the off chance that she remembers this interaction I'd love to tell her this story hahaha.

I always loved dressing up for Halloween but never found out that people dress up outside of October 31st until my cousin Ruby Rinekso (@rubinekso/fb: Planet Ruby) introduced me to the world of cosplay.

Ruby's a pretty well-known cosplayer on the east side most notably for his Batman 66, Hulk, Man-Bat, Chewbacca & Iron Man cosplays to name few! He brought me to a couple cons that he was invited to as a cosplay guest.

My first time dressing up was as the Eleventh Doctor and when I got asked for my first picture as the Eleventh Doctor, I had a gut feeling that this was going to be my new favorite hobby and still to this day I have yet to lose any love for it in the past 5 years of cosplaying.

Cosplay taught me that I wasn't alone. I grew up as an only child and I was always interested in things that were deemed "geeky". I loved things like Marvel, Power Rangers, and Anime. As a kid it was always tough to find people that liked the same things because if it was revealed that you did like those kind of things you were deemed a "loser". I got lucky and found a few friends that had similar interests but I can tell you that we were easy pickings for the bullies in elementary school.

So when I found cosplay through my cousin Ruby, it was pretty nerve-wracking to get into a community I had little to no knowledge about. I was nervous about approaching total strangers and while yes I knew they were like me and loved stuff that I did it was always hard to approach people. Until I found these three other people that were cosplaying characters that were in the same universe as mine! I was "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" Spider-Man and met with a Black Cat (@vixenjay_), a Spider-Gwen (@shaaaaaaantastic), and a Mary Jane!

When I say we hit it off we really did. We were geeking out about each others costumes and about Marvel and comics in general. This all happened because of the fact that we were all dressed as characters that interacted with each other in Marvel. I'm still close to them to this day and it's thanks to them that I've become more of a social butterfly in cosplay!

I just wanna say that walking around in the mosh pits of Dragon Con with the Iron Spider legs is the hardest thing to do without hitting someone in the face with them. The amount of times I've said sorry to someone because I hit them is too much to even count haha.

When I'm not cosplaying at conventions I'm an actor! This past year I released a Spider-Man fan film that I starred in, directed, wrote and produced. It was the biggest project I've ever done for myself and is the proudest thing I've created. It's on YouTube under "Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man Part 1" by After School Film Productions. (Part 2 coming soon!)

Portraying a character that I've idolized since my childhood honestly meant the world to me. It's even hard to put into words about my experience of playing him. Just being referred to as Peter Parker would make me geek out! I'm just thankful I have such amazing and supportive friends and family to help this project come alive and making this film is an experience that I'll never forget! No matter how many future roles I'll play, being Peter Parker/Spider-Man will always have a special place in my heart

[transcendence-au]

r!Pacifica tricks Dipper into running a booth at a TwinCon. He comes across an r!Mabel and an r!Henry who meet at his booth. (Also, brownie points if it’s a Mizcor booth)They both talk about how much they love Alcor and want to date him, and Dipper helps them realize that the traits they’re projecting onto ‘Alcor’ are actually traits they can find in each other. SO WOODZAR HAS BLOSSOMED IN THE PLACE OF MIZCOR

Mod F got really excited about this and ended up writing a thing! (Here it is on AO3 too)

===

Dipper looked toward the entrance of the convention center, at the large banner proudly proclaiming “WELCOME TO TWINCON 2896″, and slammed his head face-first onto the table.

Damn Aubrey. Damn her to the deepest pits of the Nightmare Realm for making him run a booth at TwinCon. He couldn’t believe he’d let himself get taken in by her evil tricks and wily ways; couldn’t believe he made a bet with her and lost. That was the last time he trusted Pacifica’s soul. And he totally meant it this time! Way more than the last eight times Aubrey had tricked him. He definitely wasn’t going to immediately go back to being friends with her. This was the last straw.

A loud creak announced the opening of the main con doors, and the room was quickly filled with a flurry of excitement. Dipper picked his head off the table with a sigh and prepared himself for a long day of peddling garbage. He considered how he must look – a sad demon sitting under a sign reading “MICOR MEMORABILIA” and surrounded by perverse figurines, body pillows, and graphic novels.

And then his curiosity got the better of him. He conjured a mirror in his hand and immediately noticed his top hat was askew, so he reached up to straighten it out. Perfect. He actually looked pretty good that day if he did say so himself. His hair was fluffy, his suit was pressed, his teeth looked sharp. Nice and presentable. He was so busy making faces in the mirror that he almost forgot he was at a convention, until -

“Excuse me, sir?”

“Ack!” Dipper yelped in surprise, his hat shooting high into the air. Despite this, he didn’t take his eyes off the mirror. “What do you want?”

“I hope I didn’t frighten you! You’ve got some lovely merch here. I was just wondering how much this comic would cost.”

“Check the price tag,” he responded gruffly.

“I- I tried, but it doesn’t look like there is one.”

Groaning, Dipper flicked his eyes away from his own beautiful reflection so he could see exactly what depraved nonsense the voice wanted to purchase, and -

Mizar smiled sweetly back at him.

The mirror shattered in his hand. Oh no. Oh no no no no no. This wasn’t happening. Why was she here? What was going on?

“I’ve heard about this series before,” he suddenly realized Mizar was saying, “but I never had the chance to check it out before. It’s a coffee shop AU, right? It’s so inspiring that fans can take the framework of Twin Souls and make even more beautiful stories based off of it.”

Dipper’s head was too filled with buzzing to really make much sense of what she was saying. All he could think about was how his sister’s soul was apparently a fan of the worst book series in the universe. It didn’t even seem like she was doing it as a gag like Mabel did – the girl in front of him was radiating nothing but enthusiasm and sincerity in her aura.

“Oh, I’ve read that!” another voice piped in. “It’s dope as fuck, although the first volume’s got a bit of a Woodzar focus. But if you can power through that, it’s high key Micor there on out.”

Okay okay okay. He could do something about this. Maybe he’d take Mizar aside and have a talk with her about why being a Twin Souls fan was a sin of the highest calibre. Dipper tore his eyes away from her for a moment to tell the newcomer to go away, but no sooner did he get a good look at them than he felt all the air kicked out of his imaginary lungs.

“Don’t get me wrong, man,” Henry’s soul continued, a sly look on her face. “Woodzar is a fine ship. There’s a lot of good Woodzar fic out there and I don’t fault anyone for writing it. But if we’re gonna be honest with ourselves, it’s pretty obvious that Alcor and Mizar belong together. Their romantic chemistry is off the goddamn charts. Remember when they finally kissed in the first novel? Oh, fuckin’ heart palpitations, man.”

The blood drained from Dipper’s face. What in the world was happening? Why were Mizar and Henry both Twinners? What was the universe punishing him for this time??

“I know, right?” Mizar replied with a giggle. “My name’s Minty, by the way. It’s nice to meet you.”

Henry’s soul grinned back. “Halley. Nice to meet you too. I knew coming to this con would be a good idea – it’s the perfect place to find like minded people.”

“What about you?” Minty asked, and it took Dipper a minute – so embroidered was he in querying his omniscience to see exactly what traumatizing thing had happened to Minty and Halley that made them turn out this way – to realize that she was talking to him.

“I, uh, I’m… not a… Micor is bad,” he said finally.

Halley frowned. “What, don’t you love Alcor too? You’re running a booth at TwinCon and your cosplay is on-point! That suit must’ve been expensive, and the wings look almost real!”

Puffs of steam shot out from Dipper’s ears and he flared his wings. “It’s not a cosplay, I just look like this! And I’ll have you know that I would’ve never in a million years gone to a TwinCon if my friend Aubrey hadn’t pretended to be really bad at hula hooping and then made a bet with me that she could beat me in a hula hoop contest and then absolutely kicked my ass into the stratosphere with her nutty good hooping! Graggh!” He slammed his forehead into the table again.

“Awwww,” Minty cooed. “Stage fright is the worst. I know I sure was nervous the first time I went to a con in full cosplay. That was awful nice of your friend to convince you to go anyway!”

Dipper’s head shot up and he stared slack-jawed at the two of them just as Halley nodded. “You’ve got this man, you know? Like I said, your outfit kicks ass. And hey, thanks for opening up to us. That can’t have been easy.”

“B- but I- you WHAT-” Dipper stammered.

Minty squeaked and clapped her hands together. “Yeah! I feel like I’ve made some great friends at this con already.”

“I’m- n- no you’re WILDLY mistaken- this isn’t-”

Both Halley and Minty turned their backs to the increasingly flustered demon and leaned against the stall, looking off into the rest of the hall with pensive expressions. “Friends are nice,” Halley murmured, “but what I wouldn’t give to meet Alcor at this convention. He’s everything I want in a partner. And then I wouldn’t be so lonely anymore.”

Minty put her hand on Halley’s shoulder. “I know what you mean! He’s so confident and protective. Loyal to a fault. If Alcor was here, I’d ask him on a date!”

“What makes you think Alcor wants to date any of you humans?” Dipper grumbled. “Or anyone at all?”

“Don’t be such a pessimist, man!” Halley responded. She patted Dipper on the back, surprising him into coughing out a little cloud of yellow sparkles. “Alcor is real and he’s out there. As long as there’s the smallest spark of hope that he might love me back, I’ll follow him to the ends of the Earth!”

Minty slapped her forehead, startling Dipper out of the silent terror written all over his face. “Oh, duh! He’s cosplaying as Alcor because he’s here to find his Miiiizar! That’s why he’s not interested in Alcor’s love! I connected the dots!”

“No, you haven’t connected anything!” Dipper tried to cut in, terror returning in full force because the situation was spiralling rapidly out of control, but Minty kept going.

“Ah, if only I was Mizar,” she trilled as Dipper watched her soul dance traitorously in her chest. “Then it’d only be a matter of time before Alcor came to ask me out. We’d go to the coffee shop he works at and someone would cover his shift. I’d get a hot chocolate; he, an iced latte.” She sat on the table, sending a set of Mizar action figures toppling over onto Dipper’s lap. “I’d tell him all about how art school’s going and he’d confide in me some dark secrets about how the 2801 moon landing was faked because giant aliens were playing golf with the planets and accidentally knocked the moon into a black hole. And then, finally, he’d give me a dainty kiss on the cheek, and I’d make a little squeaky noise, yknow, and he’d blush and ask me if it was alright for him to do that, and then I’d say I’d rather you kiss me on the lips instead. And then -”

“Okay, I think I’ve heard enough of your fanfiction!” Dipper shouted, cheeks going completely scarlet, claws making deep gashes in the table from how tightly he was gripping it. “I didn’t- I’ve never- No one needed to hear that, it’s- I feel lightheaded.”

“I know what you mean, man,” Halley spoke up, an obvious wobble to her tone. Dipper and Minty looked up to see her staring off into the distance, eyes red and puffy, hands crossed over her heart. “I’m feeling it too. That was so beautiful, Minty, you sure as hell have got a way with words. And yknow, I- I work in a coffee shop, actually. I’d totally take Alcor there. We’d talk and laugh – damn, he’s gotta just have the most heartwarming laugh in the world – and I’d straight up offer right there on the spot to be his Mizar. I wanna protect the world, but I also wanna protect him, I know he’s got a sensitive side, I just know it. I’d chew steel for him.”

No no no no. This had to stop. Mind racing, Dipper struggled to find something they’d said to latch onto. “Hey, uh, Minty!” he interrupted. “You like coffee shops, right? Halley… works in one! You should go there with her. Instead of being here.”

“That’s a great idea!” Minty squealed. “We should all meet up for coffee after the convention!”

“No!” Dipper blurted. “I meant, you two should go. Together. Without me.” All he got in return was blank stares. He ran his hand through his bangs nervously. “Listen, Minty, Alcor doesn’t work at a coffee shop, because no one in the country will hire him. His claws make awful screeching noises on the mugs, and also he’s a demon. But Halley does work at a coffee shop. Maybe… there’s something there?”

Minty and Halley traded glances. “I don’t understand,” the former finally said.

Dipper facepalmed. “Okay. How about… Halley, you want to protect Alcor. That’s ridiculous, he doesn’t need protecting, he has so much magic. But Minty goes to art school, she probably needs someone to, I dunno, support her during tight deadlines. That’s like… mental health protection.”

Minty shrugged. “I guess that sounds nice…”

“And, uh, Minty, you want someone who’s loyal, which sounds to me like what you really need is a dog, not a romantic partner, and I’m not- Alcor is not a dog. Also, again, he’s a demon, he’s only loyal to himself. But if you’re really set on getting that kind of loyalty and trust from a sentient creature, well, Halley’s offered to chew steel for love.”

“Hey man, don’t put words in my mouth, I said I’d chew steel for Alcor,” Halley countered, putting her hands on her hips and staring Dipper down. After a moment, though, she looked back at Minty, who had a starstruck look on her face, and drew back. “I- I mean, don’t get me wrong, I like you Minty. I just don’t want to be alone anymore. How can I trust someone other than Alcor not to get tired of me?”

“Kinda toxic, but also big mood,” Dipper muttered. “Trust isn’t something you can or even should have for people you don’t know. Not just for romance – in any kind of relationship, trust is something you build up through getting to know someone. I should know; there’ve been so many times when I made the mistake of trusting someone – say, not to snuggle body pillows with half naked pictures of me on them – without even knowing them, just because of my preconceived notions about who those people are. Relationships are always a risk, but they’re worth it when they work out. You’ll miss out if you’re too afraid to take that risk.”

He beamed at them, extremely proud of his little speech he’d managed to pull together. Minty and Halley stared back, mouths agape, probably blown away by his emotional maturity.

Then they launched themselves at each other and started furiously making out.

“Oh my stars!” Dipper yelled, recoiling from the mass of flailing limbs. “You literally just met each other! Go get a coffee or something first, holy shit!”

They broke apart, faces red but grinning. “Wow,” Minty breathed.

“Yeah. Wow,” Halley echoed. “Um, would you maybe want to walk around the convention with me? And maybe go get some coffee together afterward? I do work at a coffee shop nearby.”

Minty squealed again and grabbed Halley’s hands. “That sounds wonderful!”

“Yo, dude,” Halley said to Dipper, who was clutching his chest and hyperventilating. “Thanks for the advice. You’ve got some dope emotional maturity. Your friends are lucky to know you.”

Dipper, still trying to calm down, opened his mouth to make some words and only managed to emit a weak gurgle. He settled for giving them a nod.

The two of them started to walk away, but Minty paused and turned back. “Oh wait. We never got your name.”

“I’m Alcor the Dreambender,” Dipper grunted without a second’s pause. “Go away.”

Halley laughed. “Sure you are. You’re really committed to the character, I love it! Maybe we’ll see you around.”

Dipper gave them a strangled half-smile and waved them off, to which they finally made their departure. Finally alone, he collapsed onto the table out of exhaustion. He was relieved that he’d managed to turn Mabel and Henry’s souls away from being Micor shippers, but after a few minutes of lying there the reality of what he’d just done started to sink in.

“Oh stars, I just shipped my sister and her husband,” he moaned. “What is my life. Please, universe, let me get through the rest of the day without anything else happening. Please.”

Naturally, someone immediately started talking to him. “Yo, sleeping guy, wake up.”

“Whatever it is, please just use the credit card swiper and move on,” he responded.

“Dude, what swiper. Help me out.”

With a groan, Dipper picked his head up, and then he froze, his every hair standing on end like a terrified cat.

“This body pillow rocks,” Soos’s soul said, hugging one of the models that had both Alcor and Mizar on it, half naked and blushing. “You gotta hook me up.”

“Ohhhh, I have that pillow! You won’t regret it!” came another voice, and Dipper looked over to see Melody’s soul walking up to the table. “You’ve got good taste. Micor forever, am I right? Bro, there’s some really good smutfic I could recommend you if you’re interested.”

Dipper slid out of his chair and curled up into a ball under the table. “Damn you Aubrey,” he whispered. “I’ll fucking get you back for making me do this.”

(As it turned out, giving Aubrey a dream about being stuck at a convention where everyone was attracted to her did not adequately “get back” at her, and it was a full week before she stopped laughing about it.)

[smile-files]

melon’s comprehensive kinlist!

including name of character, source, image, short personality description, mbti, and then why i kin them! take your time to read, or don’t. i get it if you don’t want to scroll through an entire page just to psychoanalyze me lmao, have a good time

1. wirt (over the garden wall)

an angsty, socially awkward dweebus who nerds out over interior design and plays the clarinet. fears death. infp.

my first kin! for a month after rewatching otgw i desperately wanted to be him. to be like him. anything!! it eventually wore away but i still feel that urge sometimes - the urge to write r/im14andthisisdeep poetry and to distance one’s self from their siblings... and heck - his tape for sara is indeed just as awkward as he is but let me assure you that his poetry and clarinet are actually pretty cool. 9/10 i need to see him more. give me more otgw comics. ok thanks.

2. snufkin (moomins)

a philosophical vagabond of vague age. acts stoic all the time but can and will leave every social situation whether or not it’s humanly possible. infp.

after watching some 90s moomin (and later on moominvalley) i realized how much i liked him and how much i was like him; i soon daydreamed of myself, as snufkin, venting to someone. it made me very happy. i vibe with his general demeanor and ideals (minus his gripes about rules, i follow those by the book) and i love psychoanalyzing him. so fun. so fun.

3. arnold perlstein (the magic school bus)

overly-anxious jewish kid and certified expert on rocks and panicking. owns a pair of fire-proof pyjamas in a lovely shade of green. isfj.

you all saw this one coming. my early childhood lives in my mind rent free and such i can’t help but revisit arn and his character. i’ve always loved him (even in, and quite possibly especially in, the reboot) and i’ve always loved psychoanalyzing every single little thing he does (remember that one time he said he was traumatized? me too). i soon realized a lot of it was me projecting! so sue me. actually, sue miss frizzle. either one of them. i mean, if arnold really didn’t like the field trips he could’ve just filed a restraining order! ...just saying.

4. fluttershy (my little pony)

anxious pastel butterfly baby child. probably loves animals more than she loves herself. cries upon impact. isfj.

the pony i’d mentally point to and think “me”. i had like 10 fluttershy-related things growing up, like plushies or funko pops or that sdcc guardians of harmony thing. while not shy in the same manner, it was nice having a character i could relate to about so much! i cosplayed as her equestria girls form for my first comic con as well, so that’s pretty cool. in addition, me being a little lepidopterist means i was bound to love her. it was destiny~

5. lammy lamb (um jammer lammy)

socially anxious and generally anxious rock star who thinks literally everything is a guitar. has an emotional support girlfriend. infp.

man!! she embodies the feeling when you have to go to the eye doctor by yourself to get your glasses fixed or when you have to call someone over the phone... that sheer tension. the panic. the feeling of ‘i want to throw my entire being into the trash can’. but lammy has a bunch of friends to support her, so she’s cool. died by slipping on a banana peel! same, sister. and man would i like to shred on my ukulele now...

6. loser (bfb)

humble (screw bfb 21), supportive, well-loved cube dude who’s voice is like that of an angel. has an entire fanclub in his honor. enfj.

okay, no, i was never a cool kid or ‘popular’, really, but in school i was never bullied for whatever reason and was generally well-liked; i hung out with a squad of weirdos and yet the cool kids would often talk to me? and try to engage me?? despite my very apparent self-deprecation and awkwardness??? either way i feel like it’s such a blessing to me, that i have so many friends! i often feel like i don’t deserve it, but hey. it’s nice! and heck, back when i was on scratch i had a little fanclub myself :0

7. fan (inanimate insanity)

nerdy, friendly aspie boyo who subliminally vents via blogging. longs for stability in his life; was best friends with an egg. entp.

ever since i noted his aspergers-like behavior i became super attached to him - whether or not it was intentional, i found it nice having a character i can relate those feelings with. he’s really sweet and dorky and i love how he gets along with test tube, paintbrush, and lightbulb! it makes me really happy to see him whenever i do. it made me really sad when he was eliminated. what the heck. yeah i dunno i don’t kin him super strongly but i love him to bits.

8. spinel (steven universe the movie)

emotionally unstable clown girl who stood in a garden for thousands of years. patience of a saint. edge like an 11-year-old me. esfp.

uhh um uh totally wasn’t completely disturbed by how much i related to spinel after watching steven universe the movie... totally wasn’t reminded about how and why i hated middle school... totally didn’t rethink my life that day... that’s it. this is all i’m saying.

9. molly blyndeff (epithet erased)

innocent child who has a terrible father and a wonderful demeanor. teddy bear who needs a hug and a criminal as her new dad. infp.

epithet erased is adorable okay?? i knew molly was infp in the first few minutes... more precisely, i knew she was me. man!! i don’t relate directly to her angst but i still feel it. i can replicate her voice so accurately it’s scary. also, i coined a new thing -  ‘molly cake’! you have a chocolate cake, preferably with chocolate chips inside. use chocolate frosting and add little pastel star sprinkles! on top! my mom would make this cake for us anyway but then i realized it was literally just molly in cake form. and it’s just as sweet!

10. tommy coolatta (hlvrai)

a 30-something-year-old child who rocks a propeller hat. chose his last name off of a dunkin donuts menu despite the fact that he has a father. infp.

everyone loves tommy. he’s so sweet? and funny and loveable?? often times when i say something funny but bizarre, i just remember that tommy has said ‘soda helps you see faster’ and it makes me happy. if i’m going to be a weirdo i want to be the wholesome weirdo who loves soda and has a .png for a dog! also i legally have to kin tommy. i took a test for it (and i’m not complaining! i find it quite flattering).

11. twyla (monster high)

the daughter of the boogeyman; would very much like to boogey out of here, if you know what i mean. avoids people like the plague. infj.

seeing her role in the show and in the movies, i really love twyla? first of all, her voice is my new favorite thing. it’s like... gravelly? and soft? she’s the type of person who would very much like to disappear when in a crowd; thankfully, she literally can. i am drawn to any sarcastic, self-deprecating introvert who takes care of their bonkers extrovert friend (in this case howleen), as i often act as such myself. also the phrase ‘boogey sand’ will never leave my mind now :)

12. lapis lazuli (steven universe)

water gem who wants you to leave. cynical as all heck, sensitive as all hell. is there such thing as a gem therapist? just asking. infp.

in a similar way to twyla, i vibe with lapis’ sarcasm and wit as well as her emotional side. it can be kind of addicting, isolating one’s self. anywho, me and my sister used to do this routine of yelling up to each other this certain dialogue between lapis and peridot when peri was leaving for something (in which lapis replied to everything she said with dry ‘yeah’s); i would always do lapis’ part. i do reply a lot with ‘okay’ or ‘yeah’ or ‘cool’ to things people tell me, as i never really know what to say.

13. brad meltzer (xavier riddle and the secret museum)

shy jewish butterfly kid who absolutely hates time travel. attracted to people who know how to socialize like a normal human being. infp(?).

okay okay so... combine everything from arnold and everything from fluttershy and that’s basically what brad is to me. a jewish socially anxious nerd who loves butterflies and drawing. badabing badaboom, there i am. that’s it.

and boom! all of the kins i can think of, of course not including comfort characters like will byers from stranger things or isabelle from animal crossing. if you have any kins to suggest to me, i would love it! thank you for taking your time to read this, friend! have a fantastic day :)

[fluidityandgiggles]

Dalton Big Bang day 1 - The Canadian Girlfriend Experience

Writing Masterpost, AO3 Link

Notes: So... y’all. Dalton fam. Hear me out.

I understand that y'all are gonna be mad at me for staying up until (four? five?) five in the morning to post this, but I'm something like 90% sure I'd forget to post it in the morning (afternoon), and I have to write tomorrow's fic anyway, so... here's an extra early fluffy mess. Hope y'all like it.

I had to write this one... I really really had to. Han's girlfriend is a big deal to me. I hope you understand it.

(And for the uninitiated in pathfinder - the rank system is wild, feats are taken every two levels or so, Logan’s character is basically invincible, defeated only by Dwight’s monk and the absolute insanity that creating a monk in pathfinder can end up being.)

—————

"I really have to go to sleep," the familiar (by now) high-pitched voice said through the headphones, stifling a yawn. "My drama class is moving props to the auditorium tomorrow for our exam and my mom would be mad at me if I don’t go to sleep in the next thirty minutes."

"So go to sleep, Lils. I won’t be mad at you."

"Okay! I’ll text you in the morning! Love you, bye!"

"Good night."

Han finally let himself snort a bit after his girlfriend hung up, watching as she disconnects from the game a few moments later. He did say he’ll only play Starcraft today so long as Leah is available, and now that she’s offline…

He just closed the game and went back to working on his Pathfinder session prep.

Han met Leah at the San Diego Comic-Con last summer. On day one, she approached him because she thought the Westwoods’ Bat family cosplay was really cool. On day two, he approached her because her Arwen cosplay was flawless. By day three they’d already ditched the con to have a not-date lunch at In-N-Out, found out they’re in the same guild in World of Warcraft, Han found out Leah has a voice acting channel on youtube, they exchanged phone numbers, and by day four they may have not spent the whole day together but they certainly went on a date-date at the end of the day.

They’ve been rather inseparable for the following three weeks, but by then Han had to face the reality of it all. Leah’s phone number was weird to him from the start, sure, and he was willing to pass off her accent as a speech quirk, but it wasn’t until those three weeks ended that it finally sunk in that she’s not American. And like most good things, her visit too has to come to an end.

Maintaining a relationship online just… didn’t feel the same.

1 Unread Message

‘Merril: Can I suggest an idea for Mishka’s character arc?? You can say no, I just had an idea is all!’

Caterpillar: I’m all ears

———

"While this mess of a… bargain is happening," Logan called as Merril and Reed tried to catch their breaths from laughing. "Can Dwight and I get to the diplomatic debate?"

"Sure," Han sighed, watching his party quickly derail the session. "But let’s take a break first."

The first to disappear at the sound of "let’s take a break" was Lucy, who ran to the bathroom, accidentally knocking off Logan’s dice tower in the process. Merril got the brownies out and on the table, everyone pulled their phones out…

Han could take a couple moments to look at the pictures Leah sent him earlier. According to her, they were not yet done with lighting cues, and she was going crazy, but seeing her in her period piece of a costume and leg brace prop made him feel excited for her, somewhat.

Caterpillar: wish I could been there to see it 

Jabba the Hutt: Oh no! Don’t say that! Jabba the Hutt: I’ll send you the filmed version when I get it, but it’ll probably be really bad anyway.

Caterpillar: im sure it cant be that bad 

Jabba the Hutt: Han, it’s a high school production of the Glass Menagerie. Jabba the Hutt: My class is also doing the play version of Spring Awakening. Jabba the Hutt: It *can* and *will* be that bad. Jabba the Hutt: Trust me. 

"Han?" Merril called before he could answer that one. "Hansel, are you listening?"

"No, I wasn’t. What was it?" He grabbed a brownie, leaving his phone aside for a second.

"Wizards of the Coast announced a new edition of D&D," she said again, smiling gently. "Do you think you’d want to try it?"

"I’m already one step ahead of you there. I’m going to playtest it when it— excuse me…"

Jabba the Hutt: WE FINALLY FUCKING FINISHED THIS Jabba the Hutt: I’ve never been happier to say I’m getting offstage, I need someone to punch me!

Caterpillar: dont you mean pinch?

Jabba the Hutt: I meant what I said and I said what I meant.

Han tuned back in time to hear Logan say "I just really don’t want to have to mess with the power system again", which resulted in Dwight throwing a bag of chips at his head.

"Fourth edition has a very special place in my heart, Wright. Don’t talk shit about it around me."

"Yeah, why all the hate for the power system?" Lucy frowned (when did she get back from the bathroom?). "It’s not all that different to how feats work. Would you complain about getting a new feat every odd level once we switch systems?"

"Not going to happen, Lucy."

"Aw man, but I wanted to play Vampire the Masquerade next!"

"And we already said Merril is going to run it," Han reminded her, checking his phone one last time. "But we’re not switching our current game to another system. Not gonna happen."

There was a quiet "hell yeah" from Merril as Han’s phone buzzed with a new message, but before he could even read it, it was snatched by Lucy.

"Wha… who are you talking to, Han?" She laughed a bit, scrolling up, and then her eyes went wide open. "Well… damn."

"Don’t act like you’re surprised, that’s my girlfriend. You met her before."

The silence in the room was so tense, Han swore he could hear a pin drop. 

"...a girlfriend?" Dwight was the first to ask, raising a brow. "Since when?"

"You know, I honestly thought she would’ve forgotten all about you after two weeks…"

"Since a few months ago," Han told Dwight, taking his phone back. "Can we continue, please?"

"No! It’s interesting!" Merril joined in, resting her chin on her hand as she got closer, pushing some papers a bit. "How did you meet? Where is she from? Can we meet her?"

"We met at Comic-Con and no, you can’t meet her. She’s… not from here."

"...is she Canadian?" Logan raised a brow too, starting to laugh.

"Noooooooo…?"

"Oh yeah, Han’s Canadian girlfriend."

"She’s not— let’s start to fucking play, this session isn’t going to end itself."

By the end of the session, Han couldn’t say he’d be surprised if the whole school found out by tomorrow. And if anyone (namely the twins) made fun of him for his "Canadian girlfriend"... so be it. 

———

"Is this Canadian girlfriend of yours coming to prom?" Julian’s tired voice came through the phone, sounding like he was about to pass out. He just arrived at school earlier today, already tired from the flight, and immediately got coddled by Logan.

"She’s not Canadian, Julian. You’re the twenty-fifth person I’ve told this already."

"So where is she from? Would you please tell just one person?"

With a quick glance at the security footage, to make sure Logan wasn’t listening, Han whispered "her name is Leah, I met her at Comic-Con in San Diego last year, she’s from Israel and no, I doubt she can come to prom. She has her own prom to attend."

"...okay, so this Israeli girlfriend of yours. Got it."

"Thank you."

"Are you sure you want to keep her a secret…?" He clicked his tongue. His laugh sounded a bit rougher than usual. "You know how things can end up. You of all people."

"I… I’m just not sure I’m ready for… dude. Is Logan drooling on your shoulder…?"

"Give him a break, Westwood. He’s adjusting to his new pills."

"I asked about the drooling."

"He does that sometimes. I just let him be."

"...why is everyone so interested in my girlfriend? Is it really any different from David and Katherine?"

"I don’t know how to break it down to you, Westwood, but you’re not exactly the type anyone would expect to even have a girlfriend."

A shift in the camera footage made Han cuss silently, covering his microphone.

"...she said she’ll be here for graduation. Hers is in late June, but she finishes school in May."

"Yeah. May. When prom is."

"Do you want to talk to her yourself?" He could hear Julian snort. "I’m not kidding. I’ll give you Leah’s phone number and you’ll convince her yourself. I can’t."

"Because that totally won’t be crazy."

"Julian."

"Hansel."

"Just fucking ask her, you absolute nerd!"

"Can you stop ordering me around? This isn’t Hollywood. This is my girlfriend we’re talking about."

"Can you at least send me a picture of her? So I’ll know she’s real?"

"...fuck you, Larson."

Han sent him a picture anyway. A picture of the two of them that Lucy insisted to take while they were in San Diego. They coordinated somehow, Han with his LOTR shirt and Leah with her whole Arwen cosplay. It was the happiest day he could possibly remember.

And then, a snort through the phone.

"...so you’re Leah Appelbaum’s mysterious Maryland boyfriend? Huh. Didn’t know you lived in Maryland."

"...you know Leah?"

"We had auditions in the same building two years ago and she approached me because she’s a fan of Something Damaged. She insisted on keeping in touch. How did you meet her?"

"At Comic-Con… please be gentle about this, Julian."

"Okay! I just… wow. I know where you live now. Sweet."

"Don’t you dare try to blackmail me with that information, Larson."

"I won’t. There’s nothing to worry about."

———

"...you know what?" Han sighed as the last session before prom was about to close off. "Roll sense motive."

The clatter of dice hitting each other and everyone cussing filled the room, quickly picking up their dice and looking.

"Fifteen!"

"Seventeen!"

"Five!"

"How’s you get a five, Lucy?"

"I’m a barbarian, what do you think—"

"Thirty-four."

Dwight practically glared at Logan. "What the fuck, dude?"

"I play a half-elf cleric, Dwight," Logan answered, straight-faced. "Plus two to wisdom straight away, rolled extremely well, I have a plus five modifier to wisdom and the alertness feat. I took a single rank in sense motive every time we leveled up and now I have ten ranks. On the tenth rank in sense motive or perception, you get a bonus four to the skill instead of the usual two. Thus, ten plus four plus five equals nineteen, plus the fifteen that I rolled. That’s thirty-four. Do I sense motive?"

"...everyone who rolled above a fifteen, and that definitely includes Flint—" Han could see Logan smiling smugly. "Everyone who rolled above a fifteen can see that this woman is telling the truth. Anyone who rolled a twenty or above, Flint, can also sense that—"

There was a knock at the door. There was never a knock at the door. But now there was. And as Reed got up to open the door, Han silently hoped it wouldn’t be anyone who shouldn’t be there—

"And this is your boyfriend’s room," Julian’s voice came through as Reed’s jaw dropped. "Thank you for picking Julian Larson to be your tour guide, we hope you enjoyed the trip."

"Very! Oh, hello!" The girl at the door waved at Reed, who waved back. The whole party waved back. "Am I interrupting anything?"

"No, those nerds are just playing dungeons and dragons. You have nothing to worry about." Reed finally returned to his seat as Julian kissed the girl’s cheek, chuckling at the shock. "Logan, I’ll be expecting you to pick me up at six. I want my pre-prom sushi."

"I promised you I will, Princess, don’t panic."

"Okay, just making sure."

As Julian left, the girl went to sit on Han’s futon and look at everyone. Long brown hair, half of it bleached; dark eyes behind a pair of green plastic-framed glasses; a bit on the heavier side, like Han himself, and wearing a floral summer dress and a pair of short leggings. Her face was flushed red, her lipstick a dark blue, and her nails painted black that just started to chip.

Han missed her so much.

"So… hi." She waved around again, a bit confused. "What’s up…?"

"Who’s this?" Dwight was the first to speak.

"My girlfriend," Han replied, sounding rather insistent. "We were just about to finish our session, Lils. Can you wait?"

"Mmhm! Absolutely! I’ll be so quiet, you’ll forget I’m even here!"

Nobody forgot she was there. Merril kept looking over to her, Reed and Dwight seemed skeptical as ever, and the only person who was normal about it was Lucy. But it wasn’t news for Lucy, she’s met Leah before after all. All the while Leah sat there, chuckling at the game and waiting patiently for Han to finish, which he did twenty minutes later. Dwight practically ran out, followed by Logan who needed to pick his own boyfriend up for dinner, but…

"So where are you from in Canada?" Merril asked first, making Leah smile. 

"I’m… not Canadian. Did Han tell you I’m Canadian?"

"Where’s your lipstick from?" Reed asked next.

"Umm… it’s, it’s from NARS, I picked it up on the way here, I forgot to pack my own makeup and—"

"Is Han taking you to prom?"

Han choked on his water at that. "I can’t leave my room for prom, Merril. Health risks."

"You can have an indoors prom."

"We planned on watching Battlestar Galactica and ordering takeout," Leah admitted. "But… an indoors prom would be nice. I’m not going to mine anyway. My class is writing this… really offensive skit about one of the math teachers and I don’t want to be a part of it."

"What’s your prom even like…?" Reed squinted, sitting back down. "That you do skits."

"It’s… not really a prom. Israel doesn’t really have the promenade culture, it’s just like a showcase the whole class does for family and friends before graduation… I’ve never liked this practice, you know, I think it’s just…"

As Leah rambled on, Han took his time to clear the table and silently hope Merril and Reed leave soon. Those two have prom dates after all. And neither are a Canadian girlfriend.

[gerbiloftriumph]

So you wanna be a king (pt3)

or maybe you just wanna cosplay one.

Continuing the cosplay semi-tutorial-semi-rambling for those who love one smol bean and wish to dress as him for funsies:

Part 3: Trousers and Boots

Okay, so, at this point you’ve probably spent at least $150, and at least enough hours to watch every Game Grumps King’s Quest LP (that's three and a quarter full games) three times. Likely more. 

It’s time to pull out your screencaps again, to remind yourself why we’re here. 

(it’s for this cute face, with all his determination and compassion and bravery and intelligence. That’s why.)

You’ve got a jerkin (pt 2) and a cloak (pt 1) but it’s indecent to walk around without anything waist down, so let’s a’stitch some trousers. And also some boots while we’re at it. 

Trousers!

When I was at the Renfest, someone asked me where I got my neat blue riding pants. Well, for starters......they’re yoga pants. And also, Goodwill. Have you noticed a trend with me yet. 

This knobbly-kneed lad is definitely not pulling a Men In Tights routine--there’s too much definition and stiffness in the wrinkles. I decided on sweatpants, though, because why not? May as well be comfy. (The more accurate fabric choice would probably be like, a khaki material, but, nah). I selected two separate pairs in the colors I wanted.

Because this costume isn’t warm enough, I attached the lighter pair over the darker rather than Frankenstein-sew two chopped parts together. It’s kind of like wearing pants and a half. Because I’m the monster. And also I was concerned that long-term wear would weaken the stitching if I pulled a Frankenstein, and this costume has been time consuming enough without risking it falling apart on me. 

What that means is this: I put on the darker pair, measured about how wide it looked Graham’s pants were vs on me, turned the lighter pair inside out so I could mark the width on them, and cut out a long and bizarre looking rectangle from the inner section of the light pair. 

The reason why we cosplay is to get into our favorite character’s pant--no, I’m sorry, the joke’s too bad, I’ll see myself out. 

I selected three inches wide on either side of the inner pant hem, so six inches wide in total, from ankle to ankle. This does mean there’s more fabric around the ankle since they naturally slim down, but the boot covers that. Since the lighter pair had an elastic stretchy cuff, I left that intact so the pants wouldn’t bunch up when walking. 

Immediately after cutting out the light pair, I ran it through my sewing machine with that herringbone stitch (the zigzag triangles) to “seal” the fabric edge and prevent fraying. It gives it kind of a bubbly textured look if you look closely, but if you’re not about that life, you could cut out an extra inch and hem it back for a straight clean line. 

I then carefully lined up all the hemlines, light to dark, pinning as flat and evenly as possible. Then, hand sewing. Bane of my novice cosplay life. 

First I stitched hemline to hemline so it would be precisely centered, then again along the edges of the light fabric. So I sewed this thing by hand three times, paying special attention to the area where the legs intersect since that’s where the most friction from walking and picking up inventory items and the like will wear. Just sew along existing hemlines. It can be sloppy; no one will ever see your stitches--unless you turn it inside out to make a semi-tutorial for strangers on the internet, and then they’ll laugh at you.

If you feel fancy, you can add the thick patches on Graham’s trousers. I didn’t bother at the time because it felt like a bit much, but I do really like those patches. Maybe someday. 

Also, you should probably handwash this piece too. Unless you trust your sloppy stitches more than I trust mine. 

Boots!

I’ma tell you a secret: my absolute favorite part of all of Graham’s outfit is the boots. I love them. I want a real pair. Like, with actual metal bits, not cheap eBay boots and shoe goo and hope. The boots are at least a quarter of the reason why I made this costume in the first place. 

And yet, the boots were the last thing I made, more than a year after completing the rest of the costume. I wore shin-high lace up boots in the meantime, and it was fine, but knee length is truly the ideal silhouette against your cloak. It does make a difference.

I’ve made boot covers before (Lynne, Ghost Trick, bright red), and it’s fine, but it’s also frustrating. I highkey recommend just modifying a regular boot. There are lots of gorgeous, expensive options out there, but in the end I settled for a bootleg boot from China (you know, the ones that are “fashion” but which all use the same stock image and are fake mimics for a fraction of the cost on eBay) for a grand total of...$25.00, with shipping. Ye boi.

According to the receipt this boot is an.....”American Rag Ada Round Toe Synthetic Over the Knee Boot.” Cool, deffo bootleg. 

Another secret: I put gel inserts in both the toe and the heel, I wear gel-ankle socks over my regular socks, and I stuff the heels with leftover plushie-making cotton fluff. Because bootleg boots are cheap and blistery, and comic con floors are hard enough even with a nice sturdy pair of shoes, so seek every advantage you can. More cotton fluff. More! Stuff it in there! And also wear your favorite patterned socks, because it’s my tutorial and I said so. 

Okay, back to the store. Get the following things: a small amount of stretchy black fabric, a small amount of gray fabric, a sheet or two of craft foam, a tube of shoe goo, and popsicle sticks or some other way to “paint” the goo. Also an audiobook to help pass the time. (can you believe no one’s recorded the King’s Quest novels into an audiobook form, how tragic.)

Using some of the boundless scrap you have from the rest of this cosplay, determine how wide you want the black pieces to be, and maybe the gray while you’re at it. That fully depends on your boot. 

Cut out your black for the front and back pieces. They won’t be pure rectangles, but have a trapezoid curve to them to mimic the shoe curve. Pin and hem.

Apply shoe goo around the whole section of the boot you’re covering, as flat and even as possible, and stretch, apply, and pin your black fabric into place. Do little detail work with the popsicle sticks, and once it’s all pinned, leave to dry for a while. Ideally, overnight, so the glue can set. 

Go play King’s Quest again or something while you’re waiting. It’s not like you have anything else to do, right?

This boot happened to already have a buckle on the back which I wrapped in gray fabric to mimic the silver on Graham’s heels--your boot probably doesn’t have this, so use this following method instead.

To get the silver cuffs, I cut out foam (you might have to look around for foam in a good thickness, or glue multiple sheets together--mine is, uh....the thick foam my bose headphones came in.....), and glued fabric over it. Then I glued the foam/fabric curve to the shoe, pinned it in place, and walked away again. I sure hope you like your audiobook. There’s a lot of downtime here. 

This method works for the anklets too. Wrap foam entirely in black fabric. Hilariously, since it’s foam, I didn’t have any trouble pushing it through my sewing machine to add the gray on top of the black. Another secret: my anklets connect via elastic, so I can get the boots on while still having a snug anklet. No, it probably doesn’t look great if you’re walking right behind me, but there’s that 5 foot rule of cosplay that means no one should see it, and who’s staring at my heels anyway, that’s weird. 

Cut thin regular plain sheet foam in the right size to fit over your toe. To achieve the curve, cut out little notches (you can just see a discarded notch in the included picture), then glue the edges together again sans notch. Bam, curve. Cover in fabric, glue to the toes of the boots like everything else, pin, and wait until dry (yes, overnight again--I did tell you about the audiobook). 

And that’s that! (At least, for me: I have not done the laces on the front, or cut out the knee guard, or anything that requires actual intensive boot modification because I was in a hurry to go meet Christopher Lloyd and on a deadline and forgot to come back to it. No, for reals. Comic cons are magic places.) It’s held up for two full years at cons and renfests and even in a light rain without trouble, tho I do need to touch up some of the edges a bit. 

Put the whole thing together: jerkin, cloak, cowl, trousers, boots. You’re looking fiiiine. All the cool cats are jealous of your sweet new kicks.

And with that, all the giant heavy pieces of your cosplay are done! It’s just accessories and details left. And the adventuring cap, one might argue the most important piece of all. But we’ll get there. Probably. As long as this is helping someone. 

[maraudesmap]

23 May, 1992

Today in Italy is the anniversary of the death of the magistrate Giovanni Falcone, his wife Francesca, also a magistrate, and three police officers and their bodyguards: Vito Schifani, Rocco Dicillo and Antonio Montinaro.

They lost their lives in a mafia attack called "Strage di Capaci" (the Capaci bombing), which took place on the A29 motorway at 17:57 in 1992.

I'm not writing this post to teach history or even for a sudden poetic surge of melancholy. I'm writing because I see more and more often on socials like this one an attitude of romanticization of the mafia, often also by cosplayers and people that I esteem so much and that I find inspiring and that I don't want in any way to offend. Surely these people create their content knowing what they are talking about but maybe some of their followers base their knowledge on these AU or on comics read or other conjectures. So I want to talk to these people who maybe think that mafias are not a totally negative thing.

I understand that abroad there may have remained an image of the mafia like Al Capone or similar... of men of other times, criminals of course, but with values like, for example, the untouchability of women and children. Perhaps (I am not an expert on the subject, so it may be possible) in the past organized crime had a sort of ethical code; but, if it ever existed, it hasn't existed for a very long time. Because the mafia, the real one, the one that still terrorizes countries in the south but also in the north of Italy, kills men, women and even children indiscriminately.

It kills men who fight for the freedom of the state and for legality, like the magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino.

It kills boys like Giuseppe (Peppino) Impastato, a young journalist and activist in his early thirties who rebelled against Cosa Nostra, because he believed that the terrified Sicilian people could be freed from this scourge.

It kills women like Graziella Campagna and Emanuela Loi. The first "guilty" of having collaborated with the justice system for the arrest of a fugitive mafia man, discovering his identity by chance while doing her job as a laundress; the second one, instead, was one of the first women policeman of the bodyguard service, entrusted to the protection of Borsellino and, like him, blown up outside a building in the Strage di Via D'Amelio (Via D'Amelio bombing).

It kills kids like Giuseppe Di Matteo, kidnapped at the age of 12, held hostage for more than a year, then killed and dissolved in acid just because he was the son of a repentant boss.

It kills children like Mariangela or Noemi who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It kills people on the street just because he looks like a member of an enemy clan and therefore "uups, wrong person".

The mafia here in Italy is serious. Despite the fact that some young people answer "it's not here in my house, so I don't care" it's a disease that seems incurable, worse than Covid19.

It's not only about southern Italy as many people think, the small town where I live is one of the (minor) centers of the mafia in the north of the peninsula, just 10 years ago there were arrests and "gambizzazioni" (shooting another person in the legs as a warning or a gesture of revenge) just behind my house.

So, please, however imaginary "the Boss" may have his charm, don't make him pass for the misunderstood one, the one who in the end does good even though he bypasses the law because in this way you only spit on all the dead, as you would do if you would excuse the perpetrators of the massacres in schools or other kinds of attacks.

With this I'm not saying that in Italy we have to pay attention to every dark alley or similar (I mean, in those cases you have to pay attention wherever you are, but not because of the mafias). Ours is a wonderful country with a unique history and culture that can't be found anywhere else, as well as all the cultures of this world; so, once this mess with Covid19 is over, come and take a tour and enjoy the beautiful cities like Naples, Rome, Turin, Florence and Bologna or see the wonders of our Alps or beaches.

As a fangirl and a cosplayer I love good AU's and the creation of original and eye-catching OC's... but the important thing is to be able to distinguish fantasy from reality.

I know that not many people will have read all this post and many will have found it heavy and boring but I invite you to do some research, even just type on google "Strage di Via D'Amelio" and "Strage di Capaci" which are the most sadly famous. Look at the photos. Look how they destroyed roads to hit a single man, in both cases. Then you can go back to cosplaying and writing and reading fanfiction, you have every right but at least you will do it with more awareness.

 P.s: This applies to all mafias, both Italian and foreign.

 P.p.s: Since English is not my native language and I have never studied it so much, I hope I haven't made too many mistakes and that the sense of the post is still clear.

///

Oggi in Italia è l'anniversario della morte del magistrato Giovanni Falcone, della moglie Francesca, anche lei magistrato, e di tre agenti della loro scorta: Vito Schifani, Rocco Dicillo e Antonio Montinaro.

Hanno perso la vita in un attentato mafioso che prende il nome di Strage di Capaci, avvenuto nel tratto autostradale A29 alle 17:57, nel 1992. Non scrivo questo post per insegnare la storia e neanche per un improvviso slancio poetico di malinconia. Sto scrivendo perchè vedo sempre più spesso su social come questo un atteggiamento di romanticizzazione della mafia, spesso anche da parte di cosplayer e persone che stimo tantissimo e che trovo d'ispirazione e che non vorrei in nessun modo offendere. Sicuramente queste persone creano i proprio contenuti sapendo di cosa stanno parlando ma magari alcuni loro follower basano le proprie conoscenze su questi AU o su fumetti letti o altre congetture. Voglio quindi parlare a queste persone che magari pensano che le mafie non siano una cosa totalmente negativa.

Capisco che all'estero possa essere rimasta un'immagine della mafia tipo Al Capone o simili... di uomini d'altri tempi, criminali certo ma con dei valori come, per esempio, l'intoccabilità di donne e bambini.

Forse (non sono un'esperta in materia quindi può essere possibile) in passato la criminalità organizzata aveva una specie di codice etico; ma, se mai c’è stato, non esiste più da tantissimo tempo.

Perchè la mafia, quella vera, quella che terrorizza ancora paesi del sud ma anche del nord Italia, uccide indistintamente uomini, donne e perfino bambini.

Ammazza uomini che combattono per la libertà dello stato e per la legalità, come i magistrati Giovanni Falcone e Paolo Borsellino.

Ammazzano ragazzi come Giuseppe (Peppino) Impastato, un giovane giornalista e attivista appena trentenne che si ribellava contro Cosa Nostra, perchè credeva che da questa piaga il popolo siciliano terrorizzato si potesse liberare.

Ammazzano donne come Graziella Campagna e Emanuela Loi. La prima "colpevole" di aver collaborato con la giustizia per l'arresto di un mafioso latitante, scoprendo l'identità dell'uomo per caso svolgendo il proprio lavoro di lavandaia; la seconda, invece, è stata una delle prime donne poliziotto del servizio scorte in Italia, affidata alla scorta di Borsellino e, come lui, saltata in aria fuori da un palazzo nella Strage di via d'Amelio.

Ammazzano ragazzini come Giuseppe Di Matteo, rapito a 12 anni, tenuto in ostaggio per più di un anno, poi ucciso e sciolto nell'acido solo perchè figlio di un boss pentito.

Ammazzano bambini come Mariangela o Noemi che si trovavano solo nel posto sbagliato al momento sbagliato.

Ammazzano gente per strada solo perchè somiglia a uno appartenente ad un clan nemico e quindi "uups, persona sbagliata".

La mafia qui in Italia è una cosa seria. Nonostante alcuni giovani rispondano "non c'è qui a casa mia, quindi non mi interessa" è una malattia che sembra incurabile, peggio del Covid19.

Non riguarda solo il sud Italia come molti pensano, il paese dove abito è uno dei centri (minori) della mafia al nord, solo 10 anni fa ci sono stati arresti e "gambizzazioni" giusto dietro casa mia. Riguarda tutti, anche chi nasconde la testa sotto la sabbia.

Quindi, per favore, per quanto nell'immaginario "il Boss" abbia il suo fascino, non fatelo passare per quello incompreso, quello che alla fine fa del bene nonostante scavalchi la legge perchè così non fate che sputare su tutti i morti, così come fareste se scusereste gli artefici delle stragi nelle scuole o attentati di altro tipo.

Con questo non sto dicendo che in Italia dobbiamo fare attenzione ad ogni vicolo buio o simili (insomma, in quei casi si deve fare attenzione in ogni caso ovunque si è, ma non per via delle mafie). Il nostro è un paese meraviglioso con una storia e una cultura unici e introvabili da altre parti, così come tutte le culture di questo mondo; quindi, una volta finito questo casino col Covid19, venite pure a farvi un giro e a godervi le splendide città come Napoli, Roma, Torino, Firenze e Bologna o a vedere le meraviglie delle nostre alpi o spiagge.

Da fangirl e cosplayer adoro delle buone AU e la creazione di OC originali e accattivanti... ma l'importante è riuscire a distinguere la fantasia dalla realtà dei fatti.

So che non molti avranno letto tutto questo post e moltissimi l'avranno trovato pesante e palloso ma vi invito a fare delle ricerche, anche solo digitare su google "Strage di via D'Amelio" e "Strage di Capaci" che sono le più tristemente famose. Guardate le foto. Guardate come hanno distrutto strade per colpire un singolo uomo, in entrambi i casi. Poi potete tornate a fare cosplay e a scrivere e leggere fanfiction, ne avete tutto il diritto ma almeno lo farete con più consapevolezza.

P.s: Questo discorso vale per tutte le mafie, sia italiane che estere.

[pacifistofpatience]

What they collect

((Ive had this in my Word Doc for a while and wanted to get it out))

Undertale

Sans- Old video games. Like…the very first few (and their consoles) It started when he was still in the underground and they showed up in the dump. A lot of them never worked but he thought they looked kind of cool and hung on to them. Then, one day, this whole pile of the same exact game washed up. Some of them survived the fall so he gathered them up and kept them in his lab.

He eventually got one to play, and the game was so gosh darned terrible that he couldn’t not fall in love.

Papyrus- Snow globes. For what it was worth Papyrus enjoyed his time in Snowdin and, while he would never want to go back to the underground when he has this Wonderful world to explore, there are a lot of good memories he associates with the place. When he shakes one of his snow globes it reminds him of his friends and family.

(A memory of a snowy day when he was just a little baby bones, of rolling a ball of snow bigger then himself trying to make the perfect snowdude. Of Sans helping him to push it. Of them putting this lopsided creature together and him standing proudly, beaming at the creation he and his brother made together…

And then the offended squawk he made as a Snowball hit him directly in the face, Sans laughter echoing throughout Snowdin.)

Underswap

Sky- Comic books! Stories of heroes going on adventures and saving the day is totally his thing! He’s inevitably dragged into the movies as well, and then he learns about cosplay and cons and people like him that love dressing up and! How could he not?!

He drags Pappy to a lot of the cons dressed up as some sort of superhero duo. Pappy happy to follow along as the Bucky to his Capitan America. Or Robin to his Batman (And these hot pants some of them wear? Are kind of nice…) They become well known in the community because Sans has a habit of just…Lifting v heavy things he shouldn’t in an attempt to stay in character.

Pappy- Pappy likes Vinyl Records. Living with Sky meant there was always noise in the house so when it’s silent he gets a little nervous. He used to combat that by leaving the TV on, or playing music with an old MP3 he found in the dump (and he did find vinyl’s, but usually by the time they made it to the dump they were ruined)

He loves to hear the soft hum of Frank Sinatra from the other room and has, on more then one occasion, woken up to the music skipping.

Underfell

Red- Coins, occasionally the stay dollar. The underground just has a bunch of lumps of gold that they used but on the surface there’s all these different kinds of money! And they can be converted and traded in for different money!? How cool is that! The coins are small too, so he can carry them around as soft of a…comfort?

And look at this dollar! It smells like maple syrup!

Boss- Stayed true to his roots and began to collect action figures. A lot of his old ones were either thrown out or…broken beyond repair long before he  became Captain of the Royal Guard. Once they hit the surface (and once he knew another war wasn’t brewing) they started to catch his eye again. The first one he bought was from some random thrift shop Sans had brought him to and it avalanched from there.

He’s… a little embarrassed (They’re TOYS! He’s an ADULT Skeleton!) and because of that he keeps them hidden in a box in his closet. He takes very good care of them and learned how to fix them up a little.

Swapfell

Black- it takes black a very long time to find something that just…clicks with him. He’s a busy skeleton and doesn’t have time for trivial things such as that.

Then one day he received this…card in the mail. It’s not a bill, and its not something from the government about monster rights and all that, but it’s addressed to him. When he opens it, he’s greeted with a picture of a cat with its head stuck in a slice of bread with the words “Bread-y for the day!” and Alphys chicken scratch on the inside.

It’s so Stars dammed stupid! the most ridiculous thing he’d ever seen! He shoves it in one of the empty draws of his work desk and leaves it there.

And then another comes, and another, and then his birthday happens and suddenly a years gone by and the drawer is filled to the brim!

Rus- Oh gosh. He’s a little shy about it but Rus started… well he started collecting dice. On surface he started finding all these different colors and was fascinated by them! As an artist himself he admired a lot of the more detailed ones, and has probably tried casting some himself with mixed results.

Some! Even! Look! Like Candy! How could he not?!

Horrotale

Jupiter- Can I borrow a HC from @popatochisssp and go with their idea? After reading Fur A Good Time Call I can’t see him collecting anything aside from rocks/gemstones. This nerd has so many of them and knows the actual scientific name of every single one!

(And he has totally used the whole “rocks in my skull” joke waaayyy too many times)

Lol I don’t wanna say much about this because FAGTC has influenced me a lot, so if you wanna know more about it I suggest you read the fic (It’s the best soft horrortale fic and made me fall in love with this big soft boi.)

Mars- Seashells. He remembers reaching the surface for the first time, and not too long after receiving a chance to see the breathtaking beauty of the roaring waves hitting a sandy shore. How there was still so much world to discover past the horizon (and how the sun set so beautifully with it) and looking down for a moment to find those little shells everywhere. That these fragile things probably traveled the world and still made it there. They’re a little broken but they’re still stunning in their own way and…

He keeps a jar full of them on their living room table at home. Sometimes Sans will sneak a rock in there just to see if he notices.

[moonwaterart]

About my Slenderman con post

So, this took place when I was ~16-17 (I’m 23 atm). I used to attended a lot of conventions and was a mediocre cosplayer at the time. I only remember this due to remembering the rose that’s still in my possession.

Now, I’m gonna be honest, I was a depressed mess of a teen, but unlike a lot of teens at the time, I didn’t read Creepypastas. I was a scaredy cat and refused to read or look at anything pertaining to them. Even today it’s still hard for me to read and look at them due to having a hyperactive imagination. None-the-less, this happened. If I can find the box the rose is in, I’ll post pictures of it.

Now, conventions were a family thing for me. I’d practically have to beg my parents to take me to any convention happening near where I lived and I was always thinking of new cosplay ideas, but it was Sunday, so I was dressed in a cute skirt and top. It was the final day of the convention. My parents were at the hotel getting last minute things packed, my older and younger brother were at a panel and I was left to wonder the convention to get any last minute things I’d want. As I was walking around though, I could feel eyes following me and it freaked me out, but I didn’t say anything because I figured it was security just keeping an eye out for any trouble.

As the day progressed, I kept running into two cosplayers. At the time, I didn’t know who they were cosplaying. I thought ‘Marble Hornets’ was a comic book series anytime my older brother would mention it and I never bothered looking into it at the time. These two cosplayers were dressed as Hoodie and Masky, but I didn’t know that. Every time they’d see me, they’d give a wave and I’d wave back with a small smile. I thought they looked creepy, but totally cool and chill.

I remember running into them at least four times that day. Twice were with, who I knew was The Slenderman. This cosplayer was on stilts so I was guessing that the other two were his spotters just incase the guy took a tumble or needed help taking the stilts off. Typical spotter stuff. Now, the guy who was Slender was pretty tall already, so those stilts probably put him over 7ft. All three of these guys were very accurate to the characters and stayed in character every time I saw them, the only thing off about one of their cosplays was that this Slenderman had a single white rose tucked into his suit jacket. It looked like a boutonniere, but something was off about it.

Anyway, I had bought a small keychain of an anime I really really liked at the time (Hetalia I believe) and was going to meet back up with my family to go home. I was on the phone with my mom who told me where she was. I told her I was coming and we could go when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I hung up and turned around to see the same three cosplayers. The Masky pointed to Slenderman and I watched as this cosplayer took the rose he was wearing out of its place, bending down and offering it to me. I was stunned, but smiled and took the rose, thanking this guy for the gift and hoped that he and his friends had a great convention. In return he nodded, pat by head, and stood back up, starting to walk away. I thanked them again as they left and tucked the rose away in the bag I was carrying and went to go meet up with my family and go home.

Thinking back, idk what that whole ordeal was about, but it made my teenage heart happy that day. Again, I’m positive I still own the rose after all these years. I have boxes I still need to sort through from my move 9 months ago. Once I find it, I’ll update this with a picture of the rose.

Anyway, thanks for letting me tell you guys this story from a few years ago, I wouldn’t have had remembered it if it wasn’t for the fact I have mad insomnia as of late and I’m up with my thoughts right now at 4am.

[rcsordinaryworld]

Daisy Outfit Compilation

Daisy from @bittersweetcandybowl usually dons her simple pearl necklace by itself, but occasionally she gets all dolled up and I think that’s really cute. I think of the cast, she’s the most interesting clothing-wise. She doesn’t wear it consistently, but she wears it more often than pretty much any of the not-always-clothed characters, if that makes sense. So I decided that, instead of doing my day job, I was going to make a compilation of all of Daisy’s outfits.

This probably won’t be an analysis, more of a dump with images and chapters listed. I like to draw her wearing clothing a lot and I like basing her outfits on things I think she would actually wear. I think her taste has remained pretty consistent through the years, so let’s see if that’s true! And also, sorry if I missed any, and please feel free to reply with any that I do miss.

The very first outfit we see Daisy wear is her cheerleader outfit (right). This one is her middle school one, which is a little different from high school, but I couldn’t find a color version. I also included a shot from when Augustus recalls seeing her in this in a later chapter, though it looks like she’s wearing her pearls on that one. Don’t you know you’re not supposed to wear accessories in uniform, Daisy?!

Not sure if it counts (since it was for a gag) but she did dress up as a lobster with the rest of the gang for Mike’s birthday. I love the little smile on her hat.

Next, the gang surprises her with a Daisy dress, of the Mario variety. Unfortunately, she doesn’t appreciate it very much. A shame, considering how much that thing must have cost! 

This shows up in a flashback scene with Paulo, but I can’t really tell what it is. A coat I think? It’s not something she wore all the time though, since we’ve seen her as a child and she’s not been in it.

The first Christmas outfit, at Tess’s first party. All of the crew’s outfits are Santa inspired this year, but Daisy’s is particularly adorable thanks to a big bell she wears around her neck.

As it warms up, their PE class involves swim lessons, where Daisy’s donning a black T-shirt. I didn’t even think she would own one, considering how much she loved pastels, but she really is quite self conscious. I can’t tell if she’s wearing any bottoms, since it is a long shirt. I imagine she probably has those boyshort type bottoms, probably also in black.

Hush, no, you’re perfect.

At least she seem comfortable in her cheer outfit! Chapter 38 features the first appearance of her high school cheer outfit, which is different from her middle school one, most notably, that she seems allowed to wear jewelry. (she’s not the only one, as Katie is wearing a necklace.) Also, her new outfit shows off her middriff and has a different pattern on the front chest panel. This one shows up in a few different chapters (list not comprehensive) as well as in the Candybooru. Also interesting, is that it looks like their school colors are sky blue and black. Go Roseville High!

AYOO meme time

But seriously what a weird but cute outfit! It’s so unique!! She was really laying it on thick to impress Mike, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she made it herself. It has a bit of a modified-from-thrift-store-finds feel doesn’t it? I have no idea if Daisy can sew but I am choosing to believe she does. Sadly, the night goes horribly wrong, but hey, at least she looked cute right? 

It’s kinda messed up that Tess was pushing so hard for Mike and Lucy to go to Acapulco, but totally doesn’t seem to care if Daisy and Abbey skipped out. Daisy helped you pass your classes, Tess! I mean, I guess Abbey did need the support, and we did get to see Daisy wear a cute dress to see them off. There’s lots of shots with it being all flowy and girly, I love it so much. That sash is great.

Speaking of cute dresses, she wore a simple but pretty one on her first date with Abbey. They went to a therapy session slash picnic which is a... non traditional choice, but a very sweet one. You can tell she’s really into Abbey by how she’s dressing up for him, and that Taeshi had a lot of fun drawing the flowiness of it.

Bonus silly cute images featuring glasses Daisy. She also sports glasses in the student gov chapter, and whenever she’s shown in the future, she also has them. Adorable.

Halloween costumes are always fun, and Daisy’s costume for freshman year was a traditional one-- a witch. I love the off-the-shoulders look of it. It’s a shame she wasn’t really important that chapter. I’m interested to see what the current Halloween chapter will have her wearing, if she’s in it. 

Pillow Talk is still one of my favorite chapters, because who doesn’t love gossip? What’s interesting is all of them wear pjs, even if they don’t normally wear clothing. Daisy showed up just wearing her pearls, and then put on a sleep dress (gown?) at the actual party. I included a shot of her room from this chapter too, since how she decorates her space is just as interesting as how she decorates her body, right?

Parties are definitely where Daisy likes to show off her fashion sense the most. Tess also hosts the Christmas party the next year, and it’s very cute. She’s got like... a poncho style thing, which actually became a trend way after this I think, since this chapter came out in about 2012, but a sort of Mexican inspired flowy top seems like something that definitely became super common in 2018. She’s ahead of her time! I think I love the flower ornament by her ear too. I couldn’t find a good shot of the length of the dress though.

But enough happy times. The day after the party, she wore this bright navy blue trench coat when she and Abbey went to visit Charlotte’s grave. Usually her fur is enough to keep her warm, so wherever Charlotte is, must be freezing. I wonder if she’s got anything under it, or if that’s not a prerequisite for coats in the BCB universe?

Looks like the trip to the cemetery got her too bummed out to plan an outfit for the New Year’s party. She’s just wearing her standard pearls for that one. Tess has a cute dress though.

She’s in a much better mood by Rachel’s party. I love that her shoes match perfectly. Off-the-shoulders is a great look for her, just like with her witch costume. This one is also reminiscent of the Mexican style blouses I mentioned earlier. I don’t think the waist-cinching has the effect she was probably going for though, at least not without a belt. She really seems to like baby blue huh?

WAIT A MINUTE THAT’S JUST MIKE COLORED.

AWKWARD.

But moving on! Remember how we found out she’s a huge weeb? That was great.The lanyard and backpack are such a great touch of realism. Con badges are the worst part about cosplaying at cons, since if you’re caught off guard you’ll have it in the shot, ruining all of your hard work. She obviously did put some effort into it too-- her costume is really well sewn and intricate and poofy. Notice all those panels on the chest and skirt. My theory that Daisy can sew intensifies. Also those bows are just too cute! I wish she wore them more often.

The same night she’s wearing some pjs again, this time a blue slip. Nothing fancy.

While not an outfit, Love Again opens with the first canon appearance of Daisy’s hip curls, inspired by Kit’s lovely fanart. I’m pretty sure they have a tumblr but I don’t know it, sorry!! I’ll edit it if I find out.

An intermission comic featuring all of their days starts Daisy off in pjs. These look like the one from Lucy’s birthday sleepover, judging by the collar frills. Looks like it might be getting more snug on her as she grows up.

Speaking of growing up, here’s Daisy all dressed up for her birthday, sporting a very cute bow. Her actual dress is made of a really strange material that’s presumably extremely thin, and sewn with plenty of elastic, judging by the wrinkles. I think it’s an interesting experimental outfit, but it’s so detailed it doesn’t really look the best in small scale. I’m not a huge fan of the wrinkled look in general, but the colors are very flattering on her, and the overskirt thing is pretty nice.

Daisy makes a brief appearance in Escape Route, a chapter mostly about Augustus and Lucy. Normally she wears dresses, but this time she’s rocking a cupcake liner. Okay, so it’s not really her, but I can’t not include this cute cupcake!

Last but not least, here’s her outfit for Mady’s birthday party. I adore this outfit so much! It’s amusingly similar to one of Lucy’s mother’s outfits, though her mother pairs it with pants.  That being said, I think this is my absolute favorite outfit of hers. The cardigan pairs great with her necklace, and the belted dress is just so flattering and and adds just enough detail. I think it’s simple, classy, flirty, and just so cute. Most of her looks have been blue, and this is actually one of the few pink outfits she owns, but we know she does like it based on her room. Pink pairs with her apricot/cream fur for a fun, girly look that’s just right for her.

And with that, we’ve finished compiling all of her outfits from the comic, though I didn’t gather any outfits that are Booru-exclusives, like her prom(?) dress. I thought about including those, but there’s so many to go through, and their canonity was so iffy that I decided against it for this post.

It seems safe to say Daisy has very simple tastes, with a rather timeless but definitely girly feel to them. Flowy, mid thigh dresses and skirts are her favorites, and seems to prefer sleeveless or off-the-shoulder looks. She also has a tendency to dress up to impress boys, but she does genuinely seem to enjoy making outfits, and she’s quite fashionable! 

I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed making it. Daisy deserves all the love in the world.

[douxreviews]

Legends of Tomorrow - ‘Egg MacGuffin’ Review

"I’m sorry that our first date got ruined by Nazis."

The Legends of Tomorrow episode title game is really on point this year.

Forgive me in advance if this is overexplaining, but I'm not entirely sure how well known the terms are and it's going to become relevant in a minute. If you already know the terminology better than I do, and I'm sure many of you do, I beg your indulgence.

A 'MacGuffin' is the term for a plot device that exists solely to provide motivation to the characters in a story. The example that's most often cited at this point is the titular Maltese falcon statue in The Maltese Falcon. This is a subtly different thing than 'phlebotinum,' which we discussed a few episodes back. Generally speaking, phlebotinum is a made up thing that facilitates the character's journey, for example, polyjuice potion. A MacGuffin is a made up thing that motivates the character to make the journey, for example the sorcerer's stone. Or philosopher's stone if you live in a country where the publisher wasn't afraid of accidentally teaching children the word 'philosopher.'

The real takeaway is that Legends of Tomorrow has now given me an excuse to explain both of those terms, and regularly allows me pretentiously discuss semiotics, and is therefore the best thing ever broadcast. But I digress.

The genius of this week's episode title is that the golden egg that Nate and Zari are looking for at the Adventurers Club is unequivocally a MacGuffin with no significance of its own beyond that (at least this week).  In fact, part of the plot of that storyline explicitly involves Nate and Zari questioning exactly that point, and they come to the conclusion that it is a MacGuffin that Sara planted just to give them an exciting first date. Which is clever because it isn't a MacGuffin within the story we're watching, but it absolutely is a MacGuffin from the outside perspective, and you know it might actually be possible to be too clever about these things. Whatever your personal tolerance for post-modern narrative gameplaying, I really enjoyed it.

Now, in the past I've complained a bit here and there about the fact that the Legends' reduced number of episodes in a season often makes them condense what could be two or three episodes worth of plot into one. I'm not sure if I've just gotten used to it or if they're getting better at it, but I've really begun to enjoy the fast, breezy clip at which these episodes move. Nate and Zari are really just doing an extended Raiders of the Lost Ark homage, and a nice zippy pace is essential for that kind of romantic adventure fiction. The Ark of the Covenant itself, while we're speaking, is another classic example of a MacGuffin. I'm certain that was not coincidental.

In any case, I think I'm pretty well sold on the Zari and Nate romance, and I think it's down to one particular moment in this episode. When they realize that Sara has set them up on a romantic mission, Zari offers to call it a night and return to the ship, and Nate says, 'Or we could see where this mission takes us.' What he's clearly really saying is, 'Hey, I'm open to exploring whatever this is going on between us if you are, but there's no pressure.' I don't seem to go a week without mentioning how refreshingly adult the characters on this show are.

In fact, part of why the aforementioned fast and breezy pace felt so appropriate this week all around is because the show has romance stories on its mind. We have Sara and Ava, thankfully post-argument, making an effort for one another in the little ways. We have Mick and Charlie at Romanticon, attempting to cash in on Mick's authorial alter ego, Rebecca Silver, without actually having to reveal himself to his fans. Which is so completely on brand for both of them that I loved every second of it. God bless Mick, both for actually caring about his fans and for being willing to admit the fact when pressed.

Then finally we have my current relationship on the show, Ray and Nate. I realize I went on a bit about this last week, but I just can't say enough about how great their friendship is. Thank you, whoever on the writing team made the decision that Ray would give up his soul to Neron in order to save Nate's life, as opposed to Nora's. Neron said he would make Ray kill someone he loved in order to break him, and the show went with Nate as that person. Is it possible to platonically 'ship a couple? Because I am totally team Palmwood.

That was an unfortunate first attempt at a couple name. Please leave alternate suggestions in the comments.

Which leads me to the painful part. There were a number of little clues as to what was coming for Gary, but I really only noticed them in hindsight. When Sara is discussing who the murderer could be in book club, she mentions that it must be the dogwalker because of his pent up frustration and being treated like a doormat. The shot transitions from her to the next scene halfway through the line, which means we're hearing her but looking at Gary. The subplot about Vincent the Adventurer's assistant is basically a mirror of Gary's position. And Gary is clearly crying in the bathroom – a thing that he had just told us he often did – when Ray calls him and he drops everything to go help.

Gary Green, on paper, should not work as a character. He should come across as a caricatured doofus, occasionally good for a comic relief moment. But Adam Tsekhman invests him with something undefinable and real, and he just fundamentally works as a tragic figure despite all the reasons that he shouldn't.

Also, whoever planned out that Gary's nipple returning from Hell would be the final temptation that makes him give in to Neron is a mad genius and should be our leader now.

Everybody remember where we parked:

The Waverider did some proper time travel for the first time in what feels like ages and took most of the team to the Adventurers Club, 1933, in order to retrieve that golden egg. Mick and Charlie, meanwhile, take the jump ship to Romanticon, 2019. Gary uses his time courier to flit between 2019 and the Waverider, and Neron and minion-Gary appear to lift Damien Darhk's old time travel stone from Constantine and use it to leave for destinations unknown.

Remember when time travel seemed like an exclusive and exotic thing?

Quotes:

Sara: "Honestly, with Neron gone, catching fugitives has never been easier. I thought it was gonna take all week."

Zari: "It was that awkward, huh?" Sara: "Even the mummy thought it was awkward."

Nate: "Excuse me, my good man, could you point me to the nearest facilities? I have an urgent need to… uh... relieve my bowel."

Nate: "Wait. Trip wires. This is going to require one of us to squeeze through these trip wires, maneuvering our bodies in unexpected ways." Zari: "Are you asking me to do that?" Nate: "No, I’m asking you to hold my coat."

Ava: "Honestly, I usually just drink rose and let Mona go on and on."

Gary: "I may not be a master of the dark arts, but I am an intern of the dark arts."

Ava: "Were you guys about to hook up?" Zari: "No. no, no, no, no." Nate: "It was definitely on the table."

Bits and Pieces:

-- This show just doesn't do misunderstandings for dramatic effect. Nora immediately told John that Ray was possessed as soon as she woke up. Neron repeatedly goes out of his way to clarify that he's the one doing evil things, not Ray, even when it would really be in Neron's best interest to let the Legends think otherwise, thus driving them apart. That might be the thing I appreciate most about the writing.

-- It seemed odd at first that Mona didn't already know about Mick being Rebecca Silver, but on reflection it makes sense.

-- Loved the Garima cosplay at Romanticon.

-- How many books has Mick had time to write by this point? I mean, I suppose time travel would help with that, but I lost track of how many different titles they mentioned. I particularly liked Raw Hides.

-- Mick's final speech to the con about how all anybody really wants is to feel a connection was a lovely piece of writing, well performed. And a hell of a good underscoring to what was happening to Gary at that moment.

-- I get why they didn't do it, but it would have been smarter for Charlie to have shape shifted into a neutral third party to portray Rebecca. That said, I adored the Rita Skeeter vibe she had going on with her outfit.

-- Outside of the Rita Skeeter vibe, we also had phoenix feathers and a dragon egg. I'm sure there were a few other Harry Potter nods that I missed beside those. Anyone?

-- And speaking of the egg, it's a neat bit of long term plotting that what was just a MacGuffin this week is clearly set up at the end to be relevant to a different plotline later.

-- It's entirely in character for John Constantine to be rude and speak to Gary like that in a moment of stress, but the whole sequence of events felt sadder to me when I thought about the considerate way that he sheltered Gary's feelings last week.

-- I've noticed that they've gotten into the habit lately of consistently leaving someone on the Waverider to 'Quarterback' the mission. That's not only hugely useful for splitting up the characters and facilitating different schedules, it's also a really sound battle tactic.

-- Note added after the writing of this review.  Apparently 'Egg MacGuffin' is the official name of this sort of thing as cited on tvtropes, and not an original pun coined by the writers here.  Ah, well.  Still a clever title for how it was used here.

I loved this episode from beginning to end.  How can we only have three more left?

Three and a half out of four, and the only reason it's not higher is I suspect I'm going to need a higher number to go to in the next few episodes.

Feel free to mention your favorite MacGuffin in the comments.

Mikey Heinrich is, among other things, a freelance writer, volunteer firefighter, and roughly 78% water.

[amostexcellentblog]

So, I watched the Live Action KIM POSSIBLE Movie...

And I wrote down some thoughts and observations while I watched:

The stunt work and action scenes are terrible so far

Patton Oswalt has a cameo as Dr. Dementor in the opening, that’s random

When you see it in live action it’s really hard to ignore the fact that teenagers SHOULD NOT BE DOING WHAT KIM AND RON ARE DOING OH GOD WHERE ARE THEIR PARENTS?!?!?

Kim’s mom is played by the red head from HIMYM, I wonder if this is where she thought her career would end up

Kim is running to catch her bus but stops to use her hair dryer grappling hook to catch a baby stroller from rolling away. Kim you could’ve just shouted at the lady “Hey your stroller!” and let her catch it. Seriously, It was barely moving, wtf Kim?

More bad stunt work, with Kim having to use the grappling hook to swing onto the school bus, because in this world bus driver won’t stop and wait if they see one of their students running to catch them I guess...

Drakken is being held in high security prison in the glass cage from Skyfall

Holy Shit, the actors playing Drakken and Shego are On Point! Like the mannerisms, banter, it’s like the cartoon versions come to life! I’m starting to have hope for this movie...

Drakken is in a high security prison yet him and Shego can just stand around arguing for 5 minutes after she breaks in without a single guard coming to see what’s going on. Makes sense.

They kept the school sign sight gags!

Ron is livestreaming his first day of high school and I’m suddenly struck that Kim and Ron now exist in a world where social media is a totally normal part of their lives. And that to the people watching this on Disney Channel have never known a world where social media isn’t omnipresent and think it’s totally normal for kids shows to joke about livestreaming. 

Oh God, am I old now?!?

How does social media work for Kim and Ron though, like they joke that Ron only has one follower but how do him and Kim not have like a million followers from saving the world all the time? Like they should be major influencers but that doesn’t go with the “just average kids” thing.

The kimmunicator is now a necklace that projects a video screen to let Wade talk to Kim. I wondered why they did this before I realized that nowadays the kimmunicator is just an iphone with facetime.

I’M OLD!!! It’s not fair, I’m only 25 and already the tech dreams of my childhood have become ordinary?!? Meanwhile the people who grew up with the Jetsons are still waiting for their flying cars! Why me?

Mr. Barkin is just all wrong, he doesn’t have his tough guy exterior

Ron is such a good friend... Oh god, after all these years I still ship them SO HARD!!!

Kim and Ron made a new friend, Athena, she’s a super fan of Kim and has already used the words “Selfie,” “Cosplay” and “Comic-Con” in under a minute. I remember when kids shows would treat going to cons as weird. That was before the nerds took over. Better times. I feel so old...

Athena cosplayed as Kim and dressed her dog as Ron because she didn’t have anyone to go with her. She says this like she expects them to laugh but Ron just tells her that he’s always wanted to be a dog.

I didn’t notice it before, but the actor playing Ron is actually perfect?!?!?! He totally nails Ron’s goofiness, loyalty, and lack of toxic masculinity

Not totally sold on the actress playing Kim though, she’s not bad but she lacks a certain spark. Like, she isn’t indistinguishable from her cartoon equivalent the way Ron Drakken and Shego are.

We got a cameo from Kim’s cartoon outfit and Chritsy Carlson Romano who voiced her!

Athena is really eating up a lot of screentime, if I remember my DCOM tropes right this means she’ll either turn out to be evil or an undercover ally in the third act

I ship Kim and Ron so hard I can’t even appreciate the lesbian subtext between Kim and Athena. This is literally my only het ship.

Ron just found Rufus in a lab where he’s been experimented on to become super intelligent. I liked Rufus better as just a character quirk of Ron’s, he didn’t need an origin story!

Ron is still adorable

Kim’s jealous of Athena and I understand because I don’t really like how the movie’s OC is hogging screentime from Ron and Kim’s friendship

Also, where is Monique!?! Did she get shafted because they needed to focus on Athena? (Yes.)

Yup, Athena’s evil. Called it.

Also she’s robot apparently.

Kim brought her mom and grandma to fight evil with her. I love this because it’s feminist and sends a message that it’s ok for kids to ask for help when they’re feeling overwhelmed

I don’t understand Drakken’s plan so I won’t summarize it

Athena turns good at the end and saves the day, joining Team Possible. I am not a fan of this last development. Team Possible is Kim and Ron a third member just throws the group dynamic off.

There’s a set up for a sequel where Drakken is turned into a kid and enrolls at Kim’s school.

“I need to get home and change out of these clothes into a sensible leather body suit”--Confirmed, Shego is Gay Culture

Anyway, overall it was better than I expected. They nailed a lot of what made the show special. It’s no Descendants but I do hope they make a sequel, there’s a lot of potential here. Whether there is a sequel or not is up in the air, because ratings wise it was both the highest rated kids show in its timeslot but it was also one of the lowest rated DCOMs ever. So it’s a mixed bag, but hopefully Disney will give it another chance.

[epicwolfofdarkness]

ConFuzzled 2018 (aka. my first furry con)

Alright. Here's my post about Confuzzled 2018 (which was in May) that I've been putting off for way too long, because I’m lazy and I just took so many photos XD I guess this also counts as a face reveal of sorts, as I didn't have a fursuit and I don't think I've ever uploaded any pics of myself here (I should really upload some of my cosplay pics sometime though). Photo captions are below each image, or set of images.

The first fursuiter I got a photo with. Not the first one I saw, but the first one I got a photo of :)

Noodles the Asian Dutch Angel Dragon, who I thought was absolutely adorable ^_^ I don't think I'd ever seen an Eastern-inspired Dutchie before this one. He/she(?) even had whiskers!

A dragon I asked for a photo just before another suiter came up to them and started messing around XD (Yes, the other one did get booped after the last pic was taken)

This was like an official cake for the convention or something? Either way, it looked amazing :D

A fursuiter (with another one in the background) who was playing music through a portable speaker. He was also in the fursuit dance competition later that day (I can see why)

Miscellaneous fursuiters I saw around the place whose fursuits I really liked :)

I just loved this guy. His suit was so amazing and detailed, and he was pretty funny too! This photo was taken in the queue to the Dealers’ Den - someone else in the queue asked him for a photo, and he asked them, “would you like a sexy pose or a scary pose?” I can’t remember exactly which one this was, but I think it was the scary pose XD I kept seeing him around the con, and he was honestly really cool.

Someone in the Dealers’ Den had a sketchbook that she’d been letting people doodle in for the last few years, and if you visited her stall you could doodle in it too. So I drew a badly-drawn headshot of my fursona, and @celticwarriormoon​ (who was with me) drew her dragon character Seetam :)

I only found out after the con that you weren’t allowed to take photos or film in the Dealers’ Den, whoops ^^; The person at this stall obviously didn’t mind though.

Just a Lycanroc :D

I couldn’t believe it when I saw this guy at Confuzzled! I’d seen Sunny Dingo in furry vines and videos before, but I was not expecting him to turn up at a UK con. Either way, I seized the opportunity and got a photo with him after I’d had a few snacks :D

Some photos of me with my friend @lankylunatic (as SW7 the hyena) and their friend Jasper (a monster wolf I think? I’m 99% sure). I loved hanging out with these guys so much! This was actually the first time I’d seen SW7 as a full suit in person :D I’d only seen him as a partial before Confuzzled, but as a full suit he looks even more amazing! Both of these fursuits looked way better in person than these slightly blurry photos, I really didn’t do them justice here D:

Another popufur! As if Sunny Dingo wasn’t enough, I also got a photo of Artemis :D I recognised him from his Youtube channel, Artemis Wishfoot. I think he was also at the Youtube Furs panel (but I didn’t go to that)

A kitsune I didn’t get the name of, but they had a nice design :)

A really cute Dutch Angel Dragon who was playing around with SW7 and co. I thought their suit was adorable :)

I bought a pair of wolf ears that perfectly match my fursona in the Dealers’ Den  earlier that day, and I put them on in the bathroom before going back out to meet more fursuiters. I found one cosplaying as Reaper from Overwatch and got this photo with them :D They were amazing! Unfortunately this is the only photo I have with my ears on as I wasn’t wearing them the whole day.

Another fursuiter in cosplay, this time as Junkrat from Overwatch :) The Reaper from earlier also interacted with them a bit, which I loved XD

Gaming-themed artwork on some of the windows. It was amazing :)

I thought this fursuiter was really cute! I found out recently that their name is Took :D

Some sort of zombie dog/wolf who I thought was really cool :)

A dragon whose design sorta looked Eastern dragon-ish (I think it did, anyway) :)

Two adorable Dutch Angel Dragons who I kept seeing around the con. Both of them squeaked/chirped, and one of them sounded kinda like Telephone :D I saw the one on the left nose-boop someone’s camera earlier on, and it was honestly the most adorable thing ever! ^_^ I just love Dutchies so much :)

This wolf (I think?) came up behind me as I was taking photos of the dragons in the previous pic. Their suit was really realistic and detailed :D

The main hall before the fursuit dance competition. I loved the lighting effects :)

Don’t know if you can see it that well, but the presenter of the dance comp was dressed in a Mario outfit XD

Photos from the dance comp, judges’ performance and results (I know some of them are blurry and hard to see, but I couldn’t help that with all the movement and excitement)

I got a photo with Mutley and Zephyr after the dance comp! :D I’d met Mutley before at Dublin Comic Con 2017. This was my first time seeing her in person again after that :) I also recognised Zephyr from DeviantArt, so it was nice to get a photo with her as well.

Last but DEFINITELY not least, I managed to get a photo with BeautyOfTheBass!! :D Ever since finding out about her online, I’d dreamed of meeting her in person. That dream came true at Confuzzled :’) She came joint second in the dance comp audience vote, and I was so happy for her. She also debuted the Bass 3.0 suit at the dance comp, and I absolutely love the new design! (Her old one was pretty cool as well though.) I’m kind of annoyed that my sister (who isn’t a furry) got a better photo with Bass than I did, but at least I got to meet her. It’s the memory that counts. ^_^

(I also got a pin from Bass’s stall in the Dealer’s Den earlier on, so that’s something as well)

All the stuff I got in total (first pic), and everything including stuff my sister got as well (second pic). It was a good haul, not bad for my first furry con XD

All in all, ConFuzzled 2018 was an amazing experience. I’d highly recommend the convention to other fellow furries, and I hope to go again next year! :D

Bonus!

I also got a little Bolt plushie the night before I went to the con! I saw him in a Disney store in a shopping centre and I knew I had to get him. He’s such a special boy and I love him so much ^_^ Just another great souvenir from my Confuzzled trip. :)

[cosplayinamerica]

After watching the movie Thor: Ragnarok when it first came out last year, soon as the movie ended, I remember the kids looking over and saying WE WANT TO BE THEM!!! Aurora, the youngest was talking non stop about how beautiful, strong and cool Valkyrie is. Alice the oldest actually wanted to be Loki first, but she later changed her mind when she saw the movie for the second time and said she wanted to be the Goddess and they both made the decision for their best buddy Hayvk to be Thor. Alice mentioned that Hayvk looked like him in the film and he would be perfect. Once the kids have characters and a theme they want to be for a convention, they stick with it the whole year!

We started with the Hela Headpiece knowing it would take the longest, cutting the horns out of EVA foam, using coat hanger pieces to shape and make it more sturdy. A lot of people asked if the headpiece was heavy, but using the Foam and the proper placing on the base made it light and comfortable for her to wear it for long hours. Hela's body suit we ended up hand painting since Alice is really tiny and we wanted to make sure all the little details were not missed. Thor and Valkyrie were made of Leather, Vinyl, craft foam, Eva Foam and metal studs. Everything was hand-made, and a lot of sewing details on each piece. Fine painting details were done with spray paint & a tiny paintbrush. We tried to be as accurate as possible to the images that the kids picked out. The only pieces not hand-made were the pants for Thor & Valkyrie, and of course their shoes (Kids need to be comfy if they are walking around all weekend). We would say that it took overall around 96 hours to make all of them. Totally worth it!

Alice and Aurora have been going to conventions since they were 3 and 5 years years old, loving it more and more each year. Alice's is usually a very shy and timid girl, going to conventions and dressing up brings out her personality and confidence, she loves seeing and meeting other cosplayers, she especially loves to have her photo taken. Aurora is really big on looking at all the amazing artwork, checking out new comic books and she enjoys meeting the vendors / artists. Havyk (Thor) talks about the con all year and always has a mission on which vendor or what he wants to do while he is there. Going conventions is like Christmas and Halloween combined for the kids, they love every minute of it and the energy it brings out.

The kids were so excited to see Jeff Goldblum, telling everyone that they were going to meet the Grand Master. Not many congoers were asking for photos of our little Valkyrie, however she said to us that she knows one person who would be excited to see her...The Grand Master. She would tell us how when she see`s him (Jeff Goldblum) that he will call her "The Best!" When the moment came, the excitement kicked in! Jeff took a look at them, bent down and you could tell he was excited to see the little Ragnarok Group... calling them over so nicely, complimenting them, Aurora (Valkyrie) had the biggest smile and Jeff was getting right into the photo with them, saying how amazing they looked. They LOVED IT!!! After the photo all the kids were so happy, but sad they wished he wore his Grand Master suit.

Alice and Aurora want others to know that everyone should be able to experience a comic convention, it is such a fun, positive environment and you can dress however you want! We are huge supporters of the cosplay community especially for children, every child deserves to have the chance to attend and dress up if they want to. Their step dad @carrickscosplay (IG) creates the kids cosplays and he also makes them for other children as well, no matter the budget! Dressing up shouldn't have a price tag. It is a fun community to be a part of and it really does encourages confidence and kindness to all. We love our Cosplay Family.

---- https://www.instagram.com/alicenaurora/

Support Cosplay in America by shopping on Amazon https://amzn.to/2w0vUG5