#also i did my makeup for the photos and i look like a doll it’s so weird

[empyreasheart]

so to answer my own question, yes american girl is releasing more than just january's birthstone, but they're not actually individual dolls, just outfits modeled on truly me dolls

of course they're expensive but they are pretty at least. not sure how i feel about july's .. it's just not my style, though i guess the doll that models it plays a big part in how you see the outfit. the pigtails feel really random and i think it's just too monochromatic particularly for whatever cowboy vibe is going on here

my favorite is probably november's (citrine)

i also really like april's (diamond)

[hiddenworldofmary]

not only did i chop my hair short but i also got my cv and linkedin photos done and got a new little bag for everyday use!!! fantastic start to a new month let’s keep it that way and hope i can also find a decent job and do some sports

[hugshughes]

𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐔𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 - 𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐍𝐍 𝐇𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐄𝐒

𝐎𝐍𝐄 - 𝐒𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤!

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬 - 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟, 𝐘/𝐧 𝐘/𝐥/𝐧 𝐚𝐧��𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐡𝐮𝐦, 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐨𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞!

𝐰𝐜 - 1.4𝐤 (𝐢 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐡𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐟𝐟!)

𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 - 𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝! 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 (𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲!), 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲, 𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐳𝐳𝐢, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥!

𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 - 𝐢 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐦 𝐬𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐝𝐝 𝐢 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬!

𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 - 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 - 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 - @alwaysclassyeagle (𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰!)

-

real life! december 10th, 2023. 8:23pm EST.

"I'm gonna fucking throw up. I can't do it."

You earned a slap on the back of the head after the loud proclamation. You turned to your best friend with wide eyes, rubbing the spot she made contact with.

"No you're not. And yes you can! Everyone's gonna go ballistic, they miss you babe!"

You stared down at your phone, gazing at the text messages between you and your manager, she'd just given you the go ahead to post the announcement for your new album.

In reality, you knew they did miss you, but you were so nervous. Your new album was so special to you, and you wanted it to be recieved well. Every song was so complex and unique to you. It was the first album you would release since the worst breakup of your life. After you'd finally broken up with Mat, all you wanted to do was crawl into a hole and not talk to anyone for a year. Honestly, that's kind of what you did.

"I know. I just want everyone to love it like I do."

"They will, I promise. Everyone's gonna freak! Now, I have an idea."

"What?"

"After you post, we leave our phones down here and while we go get ready, and go to that bar you love!"

You smiled, that sounded fun. You opened Instagram, sliding to create a post. After choosing the photo of the new album cover, you typed out a caption.

"Okay, we can do that! That'll take my mind off of this. Now I just need to post, shit, I'm nervous."

You looked over and your best friend just smiled and nodding towards your phone. You sighed, biting your lip before hitting the post button. You refreshed your profile to make sure it posted before shutting your phone off, dropping it next to you on the couch.

Your best friend jumped up, grabbing your hands and pulling you to stand.

"Let's go, sweetheart. We're gonna go get you happy and tipsy."

You followed her upstairs and into your bedroom, standing at the door of your closet while she grabbed outfits to offer you. You let her dress you up like a little doll. She put you in a little black dress with a white bow under the bust. She added black boots and your outfit was complete. You both fixed up your hair and makeup before putting together your going out bags.

Once you were downstairs all you did was throw your phone into your little purse, not caring to check any of the notifications you were receiving. You climbed into her Black SUV before she pulled out of your driveway, starting to the city. You lived in a few different places, having two homes and an apartment in three different cities. Currently, you were staying in your house in New York, in a more suburban and residential area farther from the city.

You also had a house in Palm Springs and an apartment in Seattle, since that's where lots of your family currently was. The drive to the bar was about 40 minutes, all spent singing and dancing with your phone connected to CarPlay. You guys parked in a large parking garage before heading down the street into the bar. You walked quickly to get away from the cold, shivering beneath your large leather jacket.

The bar was always less crowded than most, since it was higher end, and you knew some of the staff. Your face lit up as you saw your favorite bartender wiping down glasses as you sat at the bar.

"Hi lady!"

Her head snapped up, a smile gracing her face while she greeted you.

"Aw hi! Oh my gosh, girl. I saw your announcement! You don't know how excited I am!"

Your heart warmed. This being the first reaction you heard to your announcement was definitely sweet.

"Stop, thank you so much! I've definitely been really nervous about it. I haven't even checked my phone since I posted it."

"Well you are going crazy viral, everyone is freaking out!"

You best friend gave you a knowing look, she had told you so. You blushed, thinking about your fans loving the new album. You got your drinks and went to sit at an empty booth in the back of the bar, a Cosmopolitan and a lemonade, since your best friend was designated driver. There were only a couple other groups here, around 10 other people.

After a bit, you two took a trip to the restroom. You took your jacket off while you best friend took photos of you in the mirror to post later.

After around two hours, you exited the bar, the time nearing midnight. You were astounded when you saw flashes of light blinding you as you began the walk to the garage. Paparazzi. Thankfully, you were in New York, and knew the guys.

"Oh, hi guys! What's up?"

"Hey Y/n! What's up with us? What's up with you?! Everyone saw the announcement earlier tonight! Personally, I can't wait!"

You smile brightly, New York paparazzi weren't like Los Angeles paparazzi. These were the guys you knew through Taylor, they were respectful and not pushy.

"Thank you so much! I'm so excited! I literally have not looked at my notifications since posting it, I was too nervous!"

"Can you tell us what the album's gonna be about? Maybe a little insight?"

"Well, the songs are all pretty different from each other, honestly. Some are more personal than others. But the genre of music isn't too steady through on this album, I jumped around a bit!“

They nodded, laughing along with you. You answered a few more questions and took a few more pictures before they let you go. You felt happiness settle into your stomach when you got comfortable in the car.

It wasn't until after you got home, and got ready for bed that you started looking through your new notifications. Many texts from friends congratulating you, news that you were trending on Twitter, and that you post had 6 million likes in five hours.

Your manager had also texted you that sometime soon you should post the back cover, especially since the first post was so well received.

First you posted the photo from the bar to your story before going to post the back cover, some how more nervous than before. The back cover had the track list on it, it would reveal the whole album. Scary.

"Just post it! I'm not going through this with you again."

Your best friend gave you a look, one that heavily reminded you of her mother, with a hand on her hip before she climbed into your bed next to you. You nodded, sighing as you hit the post button.

The two of you laid close and talked quietly, giggling and shushing each other like little girls scared their moms were going to come in and tell them to go to sleep.

Eventually you did fall asleep, the do not disturb setting stopping your phone from buzzing off the table.

-

social media!

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tatemcrae BEAUTYYYYYY

conangray this is kinda fire idk

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5 hours ago

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charlidamelio AHHHH

nicolassturniolo shaking in my boots

justinbeiber Can't wait!🔥

user IM CLAIMING THE MAN

user2 FALSE GOD IS MINE

haileybeiber OFFICIALLY OBSESSED!

25 minutes ago

[joedirtymadre]

Honeymoon Phase

AIZAWA X READER! (FLUFF!) Hope you enjoy! (Accepting requests!!)

You laid across your couch, reading a new book you grabbed after work. You sighed to yourself, you tried to concentrate on your book, but couldn’t shake off your built up frustration… “Ughh, I’ve reread this page 4 times already and I don’t even know what it’s about!” You groaned as you tossed it onto the side table. You sat up and immediately began bouncing your leg, “It’s been 2 months… 2 whole months… I know the honeymoon stage dies, but this badly?” You sighed as you sat back.

You stared at your wedding photo of you and Shota, “We’ve always been obsessed with each other… but he’s died down drastically… in the span of 2 months. We’ve barely been married for a year and he’s already tired of me? I miss the nights he would…” you felt your cheeks burn as you would think back to those long nights. You stood up and walked over to your bathroom, staring into the mirror. You analyzed your face, body, and hair, “Maybe he thinks I’ve let myself go…” You said to yourself softly.

Suddenly an idea popped into your brain. “I’ll surprise him! Though he hates surprises… but it’ll be fine! Where’s my makeup?” You asked excitedly. Hoping you would finish your plan before he arrives home.

You raced to put on some light makeup, a nice black dress, and fixed your hair. You checked the mirror and nodded, “Now onto the kitchen!” you beamed as you raced over to throw on an apron. You decided to make some curry with rice. After cooking you set up the table and placed two hot plates on the table. You looked over at the clock and rushed over to throw your apron in the laundry room. With a minute to spare you topped off your glasses with some wine and stood excitedly by the door. 

Right on time your husband slowly opened the door, “I’m ho-” he stopped himself as he was surprised by your presence. “(Y/N)?” He asked, confused. “Hi honey,” you smiled. “Hey… what’s up with the get up?” He asked as he placed his stuff down. “I-I just wanted to look nice for y-you…” you trailed off. “Ah,” he nodded. “I also made some food,” you smiled excitedly. “Oh no thanks, I had a pretty big lunch at work so I’m not hungry,” he said as he put on his slippers and headed towards the restroom. “O-Oh…” you said softly. “I’m gonna go wash up,” he said as he shut the door behind him. “Kay…” you replied. You slowly walked over to the table and stared at the plates. 

You grabbed them and decided to toss the food in the garbage. “I’m not hungry either…” you whispered to yourself as you cleared the table. Once finishing you headed towards your bedroom to undress and remove your makeup. “So much for a surprise…” you sighed as you looked into your bedroom mirror and stared at your pajamas. 

You walked back to the living room seeing Shota lounging on the sofa reading a book. You decided to continue yours, you grabbed your book and sat on the opposite end of the couch. “Did you put the food into the fridge?” He asked. “No,” you replied. “Did you eat it all?” He asked. “I tossed it,” You responded, not once looking up from your book. “Huh? Why would you do that?” He asked. “You didn’t want it, I didn’t want it. Why wouldn’t I toss it?” You asked. “I would’ve taken it to work,” he replied. You glanced over to him, and noticed the perplexed look on his face. “I wanted to surprise you with a meal, you didn’t want the meal. So I got rid of it, I didn’t want to see it later and think of how you paid no mind to my efforts,” you said coldly. “Efforts? You’re not making any sense (Y/N),” Shota said as he inched closer. 

“What am I saying that’s making it so hard for you to understand? For the past 2 months I’ve received nothing from you, you’ve changed… You used to bring flowers, desserts, tell me I’m pretty, small things like that. But recently everything stopped, I thought I was the problem… Maybe I let myself get too comfortable or let myself go… so I wanted to surprise you, I got dolled up and made a nice meal for us to sit and catch up. But-... It’s fine, it doesn’t matter…” you explained. “(Y/N)...” you heard him trail off, you felt him move closer to you. But making sure you glue your eyes to your book. “(Y/N) please look at me,” he pleaded. “For?” You asked. “(Y/N), please,” he said softly. You knew he was sitting right next to you, you moved your eyes slightly towards him. “Yes?” You asked softly, hoping your voice doesn’t crack.

“I’m sorry… I’ve been so busy with work and the students that I didn’t notice you felt this way,” he said as he cupped your face. “I said it’s fine… Everyone says the honeymoon stage doesn’t last forever. Of course you’d eventually get tired of me,” you said softly as you stared into his eyes. “I would never get tired of you. Please forgive me, I didn’t mean to make you feel like I don’t care about you. You know I’m obsessed with you, I love you,” he said softly as he inched towards you. You placed your finger over his lips, “What makes you think I’ll give you a kiss? 2 months with no kissing, hugging, spooning, or…” you felt your ears burn red as you avoided his eyes. “I’m sorry, please forgive me. I want to make it up to you,” he smiled softly as he placed your hand in his and kissed it. 

“Hmph,” you turned your face, wanting to hide your blush. “Thank you for dinner, it looked delicious,” he smiled. “It did…” you replied. “And… you looked beautiful, I had to hide away in the restroom or else I would’ve…” he trailed off. “Huh?” You asked as you turned to face him. “Well you always look amazing, but you wore that dress I love. How else would you expect me to act, but normally I always keep my cool around you. I didn’t wanna scare you,” he replied as he cupped your face again. “You noticed? I was afraid you thought it was just any black dress,” you laughed. “Of course I noticed, but I’m sorry I didn’t notice how much I’ve been slacking these past few months. I’ll do better, starting now,” he said as he stood up. 

“Right now?” You asked. You watched as he extended a hand out to you, you slowly placed yours in his. He slowly helped you up, but you were soon tossed over his shoulder. “W-Wait! Shota?” You gasped. He then walked towards the kitchen table, “And we’ll be needing this,” he said as he grabbed a wine bottle. “Now let’s go,” he said. “Go?” you asked. “Yeah, you said I haven’t been showing you any attention for the past 2 months. Well I’ll make up for that, right now. Hope you’re ready (Y/N),” He said as he headed towards your bedroom. 

You felt your face burning. Feeling nervous for the night ahead, but you can’t lie to yourself, you’re also really excited for what’s about to come.  

[eternal-love]

Austin and Me

“Layla”

“Wife to the ‘king’. Icon to the world. Destined for more.”

Summary: At 18 years old, she fell in love with Austin, at 20 years old, she became his wife, by 22, she was his doll. In which Cynthia’s life changed drastically after falling head over heels with a man that promised her the moon and the stars. She takes us down the memory lane of what could’ve been— the perfect marriage.

Inspired by the book: Elvis and Me by Priscilla Presley.

I do not condemn any of the portrayals I decide to do about certain people, it’s just fanfiction. And it would be divided in parts.

English isn’t my first language so I’m trying my best!

MASTERLIST

When I surprised him with my new look, he was taken aback at first then a huge smile appeared on his face, even his eyes glimmered.

“Look at ya! You look like a little doll.” Austin said to me as one of fingers played with a piece of my hair. “It makes your eyes stand out more.” He then grabbed my chin firmly. “I like you brunette and with less makeup. This is what I like.”

Bullshit. All he said was bullshit. If he liked me so much when I looked like this then why did he go after Lily-Rose’s tail. Why did he take her out for dinner? Why did he make out with her afterwards? Was I ever going to be enough for him? Because he hadn’t touch me since we were in Australia. And whenever he did, it was loveless.

I confronted him about what happened with Lily, we were having breakfast and I had seen the photos ENews published of Austin and Lily making out after having dinner together.

“Baby, it ain’t nothing, it’s just publicity.” He tried to defend himself, I only glared at him.

“Don’t call me baby.” I spat out harshly, I don’t know why but knowing that he probably called Lily ‘baby’ made me gag. As it had happened with Olivia.

“It’s PR an-” I interrupted him, standing up from the my chair.

“What’s going on?! Why doesn’t she go back to France where she belongs?” I yelled at him as I hit the table with my hands.

I couldn’t really read his face, he was in between being mad and taken aback. Of course he also stood up and grabbed my shoulder, tugging me a little.

“Listen to me. Cynthia. I need a woman who understands that things like this might happen. Are you gonna be her or not? He asked, looking down on me as if I were an spoiled child getting reprimanded.

“Okay.” Was all I said as I left the dining room.

—————————

After the incident happening, Austin started to be loving all over again, he had invited to have dinner with him and some castmates. I decided to accept after he begged me for days, I was still mad at him but I decided that maybe this could help us get closer.

I dressed up, monochrome clothing, black pants, cute pink top, I styled my hair and we were on our way to the restaurant. It was a sushi place, it had private karaoke and everything. I recognized some of them, Barry Keoghan and his girlfriend, Callum Turner, Anthony Boyle and others.

It was a nice dinner and food was delicious, although my mind was somewhere else, I was worried because I had left Lori back home with the nanny.

“Don’t worry too much, she’s being well taken care of.” Austin squeezed my hand. I simply hummed and nodded.

Feeling someone’s stare, I looked in front of me and there surely was Callum’s gaze lingering my face down my neck. His eyes went back to my face and he quickly snapped out of his trance, smiling at me and then looking at me. Weird, I thought, but it was the first time in months that a man ever looked at me like that. He didn’t talk to me much, but he surely did talk to the wives and girlfriends of his castmates. But he did look at me a lot, his foot touching mine from underneath the table.

Austin had always been charismatic but he was very, very shy so a karaoke was like social suicide to him. But Callum— he was another story. After a few sips of some Asian liquor, he was sure to go next on the karaoke.

“You should sing an Elvis song, Aus.” I whispered to Austin, trying to cheer him because it was truly getting boring.

“No, Cyn— I’ll just embarrass myself.” Austin denied it, he stayed at the booth and I rolled my eyes, I saw Barry’s girlfriend and a producer’s wife laughing with everyone as Barry and the producer sang ‘Heart of Glass’ without hitting a single note.

Laughing but at the same time feeling like I wasn’t enjoying this as I should, Callum made his way to me swiftly. Clearing his throat and sitting on the booth.

“Should I sing?” Callum spoke to me with his amazing voice and British accent, catching my attention.

“If you want to.” I shrugged my shoulders.

“I’ll sing one for ya. You’ll see, cause now— your man is as boring as a math class.” I chuckled and thought he was just joking. But then he got up and grabbed the mic, quickly searching for the song. As the instrumental started to play— I recognized that guitar riff everywhere. ‘Layla’.

As not everyone knows, the song was written by Eric Clapton, confessing his love to George Harrison’s wife, Pattie Boyd. I thought he must be just trying to lead me on, everyone cheered for Callum and his god-awful singing. Maybe it was to play it off but he started to jokingly point at whatever girl was taken. Everyone took it as a joke, even Austin. But towards me, he was a bit more serious.

‘I tried to give you consolation from when your old man let you down.’

‘Like a fool, I fell in love with you. You turned my whole world upside down.’

‘Layla, you’ve got me on my knees. I’m begging darling, please.’

He sang it directly to me, he tried to be playful and everything, but I knew he was serious. I just chuckled and tried to play it off. Was it so wrong that I wanted to tear his clothes off even if my husband was besides me? I could say the same things Austin said: ‘I’m a woman, I have needs, it’s in my dna.’

When the guys went to pay, I saw Callum grabbing his jacket, I got closer to him.

“What was that?” I asked, wanting an explanation.

“What, sweetheart?” He asked, acting oblivious, seeing my annoyed face, he chuckled. “It’s just a song, baby.”

“Don’t call me baby, I’m not your baby.” I said as I rolled my eyes.

“Come on. I could’ve sang you an Spectrum song. What about ‘How you satisfy me’?” He looked around a little before starting to pretend to have a microphone on his hand. “Honey, your love is what I need…”

“It’s not funny.” I protested in annoyance, Callum looked at the guys paying, he then smirked and looked back at me.

“You know what’s funny? That you didn’t shut me off when I was staring at you, you liked it.” Callum whispered on a teasing manner.

“I’m a married woman, for your information.” I showed my wedding ring.

“That hasn’t stopped me before and it won’t stop me now. Austin doesn’t act like the married man either.”

That was like a stab in my heart, it was humiliating that everyone else knew he was unfaithful, he immediately dropped his smirk.

“I’m sorry— I just like you a lot.” I nodded at Callum, he was beautiful but, he wasn’t what I liked.

Callum just pressed his lips together, he was going to walk off but he stopped to say something.

“If you ever feel, lonely or abandoned. Just call me.” Callum said before he waved at all of us and walked out of the restaurant.

Austin and I went back home, I tried wearing black negligee, hoping he’ll touch me again. It didn’t work, he pushed me off.

“I’m not in the mood, honey. Let’s just sleep.”

Frustrated, I tucked myself under the covers and tried to fall asleep. I knew he was turned on— he was. He just didn’t want to touch me. My days were getting boring, I wished I had something to film, some script sent to me, anything. Everyday I woke up with the hope of getting a text or an email with a new script.

—————————

I thought of Callum’s proposition everyday, I was indeed very lonely. My mind went on and on about his words: ‘If you ever feel, lonely or abandoned. Just call me’

I ended up calling him, just a night out as friends, yeah, friends with capital F. I got ready, I wore a black short skirt and a nice little cardigan. I decided to wear my now light-brown hair on a side ponytail and I styled out my bangs. And surely, Callum and I met at the movies.

We were watching a foolish movie. I was barely even looking at the movie, I was looking at him the whole time and he knew it because I saw that stupid little smirk of his. Swiftly, he placed his hand on my knee, making me smile and look away shyly, like a teenager. After the movie, we got into his car— nervous to do anything wrong, I was very quiet.

“So, you’re lonely all the time?” Callum asked, breaking the silence. I stayed silent, looking out the window. “Tell me, you know it’s just your foolish pride.”

“I stay back home. I’m waiting for a good script to come to me.”

“So what do you even do? You’re lonely and no man is waiting by your side. You seem like the perfect target for a man like me.” Callum joked, I laughed too.

I felt at ease with him, we had a lot of fun even while driving around London. He parked in front of my house, I was in silence. He leaned in and kissed me, not aggressively but romantically, I liked the kiss so I continued it. I never thought I’d make love on the back of a car, afterwards I felt really regretful of it, I was just like Austin now— I had been unfaithful.

“What is it, sweetheart?” He asked after we had gotten dressed again. He caressed my cheek.

“I shouldn’t have done this.” I said in regret, but he just smiled.

“Hell yeah you should have done so. Time for him to get a taste of him own medicine.” Callum said, I had a mental argument with myself.

Should I keep this going or not? I was a woman with needs and wishes of being desired by my husband but he always decided to turn around and go with other women.

“When do we see each other again?” I asked him, if I was going to cheat, might as well enjoy so.

—————————

My relationship with Callum developed into an affair, very passionate affair. While Austin was away having his fun around London and on set hanging out with Callum, we both texted each other behind his back.

Callum reminded me a lot of myself actually, I had told him one time that I liked blonde-haired men and the next day he texted me telling me that he was at a hairdressers appointment, he surprised me with a selfie of him full on blonde, which he already was naturally. He was scolded by producers. I also told him I liked trench coats and men wearing black slacks, next Sunday night, he’s wearing all of that. I was starting to be as demanding as Austin— and I hated it. What if he was feeling pressured or if he started to feel like I felt?

“It’s boring being the same everyday, sweetheart.” Callum chuckled with me, caressing my cheek softly.

“I don’t want you changing yourself.” I said, a bit sternly. “But blonde does bring out your face more, it makes your eyes stand out more.”

I sounded just like Austin. Just like him. Callum and I spent that night together too, but we were surprised when Austin came home earlier. My acting career prepared me all my life for this, Callum was surprisingly smooth, as he pretended to be coming out of the bathroom fixing his shirt while I quickly made the bed and fixed my smeared lipstick.

“What is he doing here?” Austin asked suspiciously.

“He came over, he said he wanted to see Lori and he thought you were here.” I said confidently as Callum nodded from the couch where he was watching Lori play.

“I thought you were here, mate. Sorry bout that.” Callum said, playing innocent for most part. Austin just nodded and took off his coat, placing it on the rack, he bent down to pick up Lori and placed a kiss on her cheek. He walked up to me and he wiped some runny eyeliner. It had smeared on the corner of my eye because of Callum and I having out little get-together in bed.

“Your makeup is all smeared.” He said, his touch being anything but gentle. He then grabbed me by the waist and pulled me closer, he was jealous. Jealous because Callum was there.

“I know— the weather is wet. It makes my eyeliner smear.” I said, I used waterproof eyeliner.

We had dinner together all night, all of us, it was rather uncomfortable. Austin was really jealous.

“You like my wife?” Austin tried to be playful while hiding his jealousy.

“I’d snatch her and Lori at any minute.” Callum answered back jokingly. “I’m kidding but y’all are beautiful family.”

Callum said all while looking at me, I wanted to kill him right there. I just nodded and smiled. And you know what? For the first time in so long— I felt alive.

[dlairlonia]

what type of barbie are you on the dance floor? A GENERAL, TAROT READING 𓇼 by Lonia 𓇼 10823

ෆ˚⋆୨୧⋆˚ෆ It's summertime and the living is easy

A GENERAL, PICK-A-CARD (PHOTO) READING ౨ৎ ⋆｡˚ As a Tarot reader passing information onto you, I hereby pass on the responsibility to you, the reader, the authority to manage your every wellbeing as a human being after taking in information (Tarot reading) that declares to be for entertainment purposes only. This is a note that I am not responsible for anything except for what I type and upload for the public to see. If you have any concerns with what I have published, please message me privately. - Lonia

˚ ༘✶ ⋆｡˚ ⁀➷˚ ༘✶ ⋆｡˚ ⁀➷˚ ༘✶ ⋆｡˚ ⁀➷˚ ༘✶ ⋆｡˚ ⁀➷˚ ༘✶ ⋆｡˚ ⁀➷˚ ༘✶

... pile 1 🌸🍀✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚

P.J MALIBU BARBIE

Truly the cuntiest on the dance floor with those glamourous and unselfish outfits that truly spreads its beauty EVERYWHERE. I sense that in the Barbie dance party extravaganza, it is most likely in your nature as to holding a drink while dancing in either lavish movements or subtle swaying, nothing in between. You truly love to smile and maybe as a little dare for yourself to pull strangers in the dance floor and they will always end up LOVIN' it!

There is this free-spirited care and you truly belong in the dance floor. I see shades you wear, skirts, and importance in makeup and most likely the shoes. Well, it is possible for someone or you giving them a wedgie.

There may be also some mischievious pranks pulled on your friends or strangers you think are gone unnoticed or you find attractive. You truly enjoy the moment! And when the party slowly dies down, you either will go leave, to stick by yourself or with friends in the corner, or go outside where the beach is. What a night, you left still looking fresh and like a doll! Good one!

... pile 2 🌸🍀✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚

VINTAGE FRANCIE BARBIE

Even if you stood quiet in the corner to not attract attention to yourself, people still came up to you and requested to dance. Some you rejected, but some you tended to and they told how much of an incredible dancer you are!

No need to hide far from the limelight!

You have this particular style most everyone in the room adored and it is merely tempting not to look as you rock it! You were personally chosen by the host to be one of the main dancers for the dance of the night, and you were showered with praises from everyone.

You being you, you took the courage to ask the bartender to teach you some, and gladly he did, then you both became friends soon after. When you notice the party dying down, you decided to be playful and pull a little pranks now-and-then. No one noticed! You were fabulously good at this. What a night!

... pile 3 🌸🍀✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚

LORRAINE SCHWARTZ BARBIE

The mother dear AKA host of the Barbara party extravaganza and even the host of the dance floor! You dance and dance and dance----however when you got bored, the real party started and the choreography you have planned for all the guests to do, lead by Barbie: The Movie Doll catches the attention of everybody, the guests, the non-dancers.

This Barbie is truly the greatest hostess and everyone is praising you for it! You have loved to put on your 'RBF' (Resting Bitch Face) to intimidate, however, when they talk, you smile a lot. And an ear-to-ear smile. How pleasant to be around! When it comes to the most lavish, sensual, and luxurious outfits of the night----the award is all yours!

You are blinging with jewelry up-and-down and to doll yourself up in the vanity truly had paid off. You effortlessly get attention. When the party slowly dies down, you occupy the role of being a DJ and hype everyone up successfully. What a night, Barbie!

... pile 4 🌸🍀✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚

BARBIE: THE MOVIE DOLL 2023

You are the embodiment of being the life of the party, my darling. YOU WIN. You have been chosen personally by the host to be the lead dancer for the choreography for the Barbie party extravaganza. Before the party has started, you were already there and helped set up the drinks, organize, and make the cards in your own, creative fashion.

Everyone attended! After the succesful dance, everyone came to praise you, so did Ken! You never failed to habitually go to the bar and have your favourite drink, dance, and hype everyone up. You were graced with the title 'The Divine Dancer of The Night'.

When you notice the party slowly dying down, you decided to converse with your friends while watching Ken and Ken bicker. Soon after, you help the host clean up the room and with a smile on your face, Ken walked you home with a lipstick mark on your cheek. Wait, did you really just put makeup on him?

... pile 5 🌸🍀✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚

TOTALLY HAIR BARBIE 1992

You, darling, is the DJ of the party. With your luscious and flowing hair, like Rapunzel; outfits filled with intricate swirls and overall designs----you bring vitality and turn the atmosphere as vibrant as possible. You know those 'party train' dance? YOU LEAD 'EM bby!

In the Barbara party extravaganza, you are always standing and partying or taking pictures to savour the moment and to remember the delightful night. You and the host switch roles with being the DJ as one parties, one makes remixes.

At the beginning of the party, you strut the stage with your Ken with both of your planned matching outfits that made everyone SQUEAL.

You were graced with the title 'Stressed but never awfully dressed'. Taking the part of the life of the party needs communication as well, so when you saw the party slowly dying down, you pulled out your tarot cards and gave everyone a reading; then showed-off your bartender skills.

[misslavenderlady]

MONSTER MANIA CON POST!!

This weekend was an absolute dream come true! Everything I had hoped and dreamed for my very first convention. And I'm incredibly grateful that I got to be there with @ghoulgeousimmaculate @bloodsuckingfiends & @silvermaplealder (and his friend Jess). Everyone was so kind and fun to be around. I'll give the rundown of who I met in this post and I'll add another post later on with more pictures!

💜💜💜

The first day Ghoulie and I checked in early and got all dolled up to meet Alex Winter first. I got both an autograph and a photo op with him. He seemed a little tired/out of it and I assume that's because he JUST got back from the U.K. and went straight to the convention. His photo op was super quick and I was only able to pose next to him, not with him.

But still, he was super cool and was very happy when I told him how I introduced my fiancé to the Bill & Ted trilogy. I also showed him an art commission I requested of Ricky Coogan! He was a nice dude overall 😄

The second day Maple and I dressed up as David and Michael! I even got the honor of doing his makeup to make the cosplay extra authentic. He gave me some of his amazing, homemade stickers as a "thank you"! He was hands down the best looking David cosplayer in the whole convention.

I got to get an autograph from Heather Langenkamp before doing a selfie with her. I was the last one to see her before she left for photo ops. She was an absolute delight! I talked about listening to her episode on the Dead Meat podcast and we had a bonding moment over that. When I posed with her, I did a peace sign and she copied the pose.

Then she said "that's such a coincidence because I wear THIS every day!" and she pulled out a necklace with a peace sign charm. She was just so delightful 😊

Billy was an absolute dream. He has the most warm, caring look in his eyes and was very interested when I talked about how The Lost Boys got me back into writing. I was getting a little emotional, and I could tell he was on standby if I needed some help.

I had a photo op with him later, but I paid an extra $10 for a selfie with him. My hand was trembling from my nervousness and he was kind enough to hold it steady so I could take the picture. He made sure I was comfortable the whole time I interacted with him. 🥰

Also, I picked out a picture of Paul and Dwayne to be signed as a way to honor Brooke. When Billy saw it he said "awww I love this pic! 🥺" I was fighting tears ngl.

Kiefer was an incredible guy!! I decided just to do a photo op and not an autograph because people were lining up at 3 IN THE DAMN MORNING and I wasn't about to do that lol. He loved the outfits that Ghoulie and Maple wore, and it was such a delight seeing his smile. He was so kind with me. Very welcoming and didn't hesitate to shake my hand or wrap an arm around me for our picture! I think he was still is a great mood after seeing Maples perfect cosplay lol

The last celeb I met was Jason, and I gotta say, I think he was my favorite. Jordyn wasn't exaggerating when she said he was so nice. He was by far the kindest person I met at the whole convention (and that's saying something considering everyone was a delight to meet). I felt like he truly cared about meeting every single fan and was genuinely listening with interest when I told him the story of how @michael-after-hours got his name from Michael Emerson.

When I tell you his face LIT UP when he saw my cosplay. He was so overjoyed and it made me even happier to be dressed as Michael. The joyful energy was just so infectious. 🥰

I'm so incredibly lucky to have met all of these wonderful icons in horror. They truly did care about their fans and made the whole experience extra special. I would do it all again in a heartbeat if I could.

💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

TAG LIST

@hypocriticaltypwriter @ria-coolgirl @fallingthruspace @silvermaplealder @britany1997 @leiasolo77 @starlahuskyz @vampirefilmlover @charlizekkelly @charlottieellis @ghoulgeousimmaculate @michael-after-hours @legal-lost-boy @unethicallysourced @auntvamp

[haee-elia]

spence-tober: day 16 - wildlife photographer

pairing: wildlife photographer!spencer reid x fem!reader

summary: in which there are two people, a charity auction and ball, and a set of photographs

word count: 1403

warnings: none? very fluffy and flirty, slight plot twist at the end

spence-tober masterlist

It was amazing, completely and utterly amazing how this set of pictures could transport you. Could make you feel as though you were there when it was taken. Could invoke the feelings and memories of the fur and majestic mane that you could swear you felt on your fingertips right this very second. 

But alas, you were not in wild Africa where the picture of the small family of lions was taken. You were dressed to the nines (tens if you do say so yourself) in a deep navy blue one shoulder dress that came down to the floor. Hidden by the floor length dress is a sensible pair of black heels, your favorites as they didn’t hurt your feet in any way. 

Your hair pinned up and out of the way so it wouldn’t get in your eyes where you’re all dolled up with a natural face of makeup, although you did put on false lashes to give your eyes that larger pop of attention you so desired.

To summarize, you looked damn good and you knew it. 

But the feeling of the sequin and sparkly fabric against your skin reminded you of where you actually were, in a nice warmly lit ballroom surrounded by rich people who wanted to seem as though they are charitable. 

As you admired the photo next to the sleeping lion family, you heard and glanced to see a man had walked up near you to also gaze upon the pictures. He, like you, was dressed for the occasion in a nice classic black tux matched with white accents. He’s taller than you and his hair is unkept and the ends fly around his face. 

You bite your lip and decide to take a peek, slightly leaning forward as if to look at the photographs closer but you glance up at his face instead.

There’s a hint of some scruff and a wisp of a mustache on his face. His cheekbones are just as chiseled as the diamonds you saw the older rich women wearing and his chocolate brown eyes are addicting.

You don’t look for too long because he glances at you and you quickly glance away, feeling quite caught in your admiring of the man next to you.

“You’re a fan of animals, I presume.” The man speaks next to you. 

It takes a second to realize he’s the one your speaking to, “Oh, uh, yes. I think wild animals are quite beautiful, majestic even.”

A smile curls on his full lips, “I agree.”

You return the smile meekly and introduce yourself to him, telling him your name and then asking him his own.

“Spencer. My name’s Spencer. Spencer Reid.” He answers you, “What are you doing here tonight?”

Both of your gazes switch to the next picture, a photo of some african painted dogs sunbathing in the hot African sun. 

“I’m a curator for a museum. They sent me to watch over their bids tonight. Transports done so I get to enjoy the rest of the night.” You inform Spencer.

Spencer nods, consuming the information you’ve given him, “And you’ve decided to spend the rest of your night admiring photos of wildlife?” He inquires.

You nod, “There’s something just,” You can’t quite put your finger on it, “so captivating about being able to capture moments like these in the wild. I’d assume you’d have to have extreme patience and tranquility to manage photos like this.”

“Thank you.” Spencer says next. You look at him with a confused expression before his eyes meet yours and then trail off towards the photos again. You follow his gaze and meet where they are, on a golden label plaque which lists the photographer for the photos.

It says Spencer Reid. 

You look back to him, “You took these photos?” You question, you’re sure your eyebrows are lifted in shock.

He nodded, an amused expression on his face, “I did. Just got back a few days ago, can’t you tell by the shadow.” Spencer runs his hand across his chin, rubbing at the short and sparse hairs.

You shake your head, amused as well, “I think it suits you.” You compliment, then turning your attention back to the gallery wall.

“Thanks.” He says in reply, rubbing a hand across his chin and face, a smile appearing on his face. 

Before you two can continue on with your conversation, a portly man in a suit a size too big waltzes over and claps Spencer on the back, congratulating him.

“There’s the man of the hour!” His voice is scratchy which you can guess is from the cigar in his free hand. “Congrats on the award Reid.”

As quick as the man appeared, the quicker he left as he saw another person he seemingly needed to bother with his presence. 

You look over to Spencer once again, impressed, “An award as well? Congratulations Spencer. I can certainly see why.” Turning your attention back to the setup of the photographs, admiring the perspective and view of the animals pictured.

He blushes under your compliment. “Thanks. Again.” He tags on.

You almost chuckle at his face, “Oh come on, you certainly can’t be so flustered after a compliment? I assume you’ve been getting those all night.” You tease slightly.

He looks you up and down and you muster your courage not to shiver under his gaze, “Not all have come from as beautiful women as you.” 

You shake your head a little, amused, “Smooth, Spencer. Very smooth.” You comment, a sly smile on your lips.

Spencer shares your smile, confidence radiating off of him at your comment, “I try.”

You get an idea in your head and bend down slightly at the table in front of the picture wall, taking the pen attached to a clipboard and adding your information to the papers below.

“You’re placing a bid?” 

Spencer’s tone is slightly more surprised than you thought it would be at your action. You stand straight again and look him in the eye.

“Of course,” you say, “Have I not been clear in my compliments all night? Your work is beautiful.”

“The animals do all of the work for me.” He brushes off almost instantly, “And you really didn’t have to do that. I have many of these photos on my website for much less than you just bid.” Spencer glances down at the paper you’ve just added to and his eyes stutter slightly at the amount you’ve just bid.

“I should have known you’re a humble man. Well, your patience with the animals and the joy from your craft is beautiful to me.” You muse, “It’s all for a good cause at the end of the night.” You brush off his concerns. 

“Your compliments are simply too much.” Spencer says with a hint of playfulness in his tone. There’s a matching mischievous look in his eye. “Is there a bid for your arm tonight? So I can repay your kindness, of course.”

“Of course.” A smirk draws its way to your lips and you swear you catch Spencer looking at them. “I’m afraid not.”

“Perhaps a bid for a date with a lovely museum curator?” He trys again, the same mischievous glint of his eye has been brought down to smile and stance, as he stands facing you.

“Out of luck on that one, as well. Not sure the museum would approve of auctioning off its employees.” You joke.

“Oh, but it’s all for a good cause at the end of the night.” Spencer parrots your prior words, joining in with your joking.

“I’ll be sure to tell them that.” You quip back, a smile playing on your lips. Then you glance at Spencer’s wrist, where a nice watch sits.

“Speaking of the end of the night, I regretfully have to end mine. Thank you for the company Spencer.” You thank him.

“Of course, keeping you company has been the best part of my night.” The smooth phrase flows past his lips, easily. 

“Silver tongue.” You tease once more.

“Guilty.” He responds, putting his hands up playfully.

You go to walk past him on your way to the exit, but stop in your tracks just a few steps from him. You don’t turn back to him, rather keeping your front still tuned to the exit and your face forward.

“See you at home, Mr. Reid.”

“I’ll be right behind you, Mrs. Reid.”

a/n: i love this one! i actually had no idea where i was going with this prompt/au until this hit me. originally this was going to be another meet cute, but i've grown quite tired of writing meet cute after meet cute.

[demonslayedher]

This is a bit of a throw-away idea, but I can't chase it away. But I also cannot produce my vision. This vision fits no where. Anyway. The vision is goth Butterfly Girls.

Was doodling and I wound up doodling Kanao in an article of clothing I had envisioned her before when I rediscovered some old photos with a particular article of clothing I used to own (and which I must had given to my sisters at some point because I rediscovered it while visiting home and I was like, 'yeah, I still love this').

It's a short sleeve black hoodie with a subtle butterfly pattern and lots of nice details like lace all over the inside of the hood and on the outside of the pockets. Yes, it even had pockets!! It was such a good, good thrift store find. A nice elegant touch of goth, but totally casual! I loved it, and Kanao would look adorable in it. But what goths would the others be? Well, if Shinobu as we know her in the majority of canon, yes, she'd pull off a fancier lolita quite nicely, but nooooo, not in this AU-which-isn't-even-a-proper-AU. If it's openly angry Shinobu who has an older sister who already dresses like an elegant goth anyway, Shinobu's going to accessorize and wear pants with so many chains that she jingles. (Did I base her outfit completely on a friend's signature look? Yes, absolutely. Also, that is the friend responsible for my having gotten into KnY. She has good taste. I also rediscovered a photo from a time she dressed me up in her usual clothes and had me pose in her posture. It was very, very odd for both of us.) She wears boots with very, very thick soles. She had hide a lot of knives in those. But did Shinobu go through a more hardcore phase with daily black lipstick and very very heavy eye makeup? Yes. Kanae teased her a little and after that Shinobu made it worse for a while, but she later toned it back down to a look that's easier to do everyday. Shinobu is no poser, she is committed. She also listens to goth music like an angry teen should. Kanae is the one who started all this. She just pulls it off with grace and looks like she's not trying very hard. Her style is long and flowy. She does tea party fashion get-togethers and stuff.

The first time Aoi tried it, it was because Kanae lent her an outfit and took her along. She liked how people appreciated the desserts she made, and she started getting creative ideas for what sorts of accessories she could make. Next thing you know, Aoi is someone who works very, very hard on each outfit and is very committed to an ideal loli-goth shape. She gets a little stressed out if the petticoats aren't working the way she envisioned. Despite all this effort, she gets embarrassed and doesn't talk much when she's dolled up. It's hard for her to walk in the shoes.

And the little girls? Yes, they want in on this too. Kanae would rather they be more mature before committing to a fashion scene, so they keep things simple with black dresses and tights.

So you got three little Wednesday Addams, and all the boys at the hospital are kind of freaked out by them. Sumi, Naho, and Kiyo change nothing about their tastes and personalities, yet they have mastered goth. No, I will not elaborate anymore than this. No, I will never have the patience to draw the sorts of elegant goth looks I love. No, you don't get to be as cool as I was in that lacy black hoodie. (I don't either, because I don't have it anymore.)

[my-plastic-life]

Behind the Scenes: Rumiko Takahashi

This idea bounced around in my head for a while, and I finally decided to take the plunge!

Not only is Rumiko Takahashi the creator of my favorite manga/anime, Inuyasha, which introduced me to the entire genre and sparked my interest in all things Japan, she's the best selling female comic artist in history. And since I'd made custom dolls of so many of her characters, I thought she was worthy of a doll of her own. Plus, when I heard of her honor of being named a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in France - the only female mangaka to receive the honor - it just sparked inspiration.

First up was finding a doll to use as a candidate. I'd considered using the Happy Family Grandma doll because she already has the aged look, and her hair was a pretty similar style already (though it would need to be colored, if not rerooted), but she didn't have the Asian eyes:

I have several Asian dolls, but they all just looked like regular Barbies. Fine, but not quite what I was going for.

Then the live action Little Mermaid movie dropped, and the only good thing to come out of that was this doll - she was my candidate.

I'd been saving those glasses (they came with a fashion pack, I think a Jurassic World one), and upon putting them on the doll's face, I thought they were perfect. Plus this doll looked more like an actual person than a regular Barbie doll. And she already had the black hair! Yes!

Next up was choosing a body. I knew a curvy body would be fitting for Rumiko, and the Inspiring Women dolls have either Made to Move bodies (but that's mostly for the athletes) or bodies with articulation at the neck, shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, and knee. I opted for the latter. I had some Barbie Extra dolls saved, so I started comparing skin tones. These two were the closest:

I picked one, and once the head was on the body, it looked way off in person... so then I put it on the other body and that looked much better. It looks off on camera, but thanks to Photoshop magic, no one will know that LOL. It's a much better match in person.

Next was the outfit. I knew if I couldn't get an outfit made, this entire ordeal would be for nothing. And you wouldn't believe how difficult it was finding a full body shot of Rumiko! All her interviews and profile stories and what not, they only seem to show her from the waist up. But I did manage to find this one:

That was the ribbon cutting ceremony during the 30th anniversary of Rumic World, back in 2008. Not a recent photo, but something. But I was hoping to get an outfit based on this one because it's what she wore when receiving her most recent honor (the aforementioned knighthood):

I don't know how, but somehow I managed to find that picture, which showed her legs LOL. I don't know what shoes she was wearing with that outfit, so I went with the ones in the previous one. The shoes in question came from a random curvy Fashionista - they were orange and I painted them a more neutral color to match the source photo.

Then I had another conundrum - I couldn't decide which outfit I liked better!!! Fortunately, my seamstress (Molita's World), was kind enough to make both!

The next step was the face. While I didn't use the Happy Family Grandma to create this doll, I did use her as a guide. I needed to make the doll look older, and Grandma has painted age lines on her face. So I kind of went off those - after finding a hopefully good color that looks natural and not like random makeup - to create the face. I also used acetone and a toothpick to remove the heavy pink eyeshadow to give her a more natural look.

Next up was the hair. Since the doll already had the right hair color, all I had to do was cut and style it appropriately. I think I managed to pull it off quite well, if I do say so myself:

(The plastic wrap around the face is meant to keep the hair shape)

The outfits didn't take long to complete and arrive, so I got her dressed and started on the props. All the Inspiring Women dolls come with a prop, and I knew what I wanted this doll to have - her special Colors book that was set to release in December 2023 commemorating her 45 years as a mangaka. But something happened and that particular book was postponed, then renamed Colors 1978-2024 (rather than Colors 1978-2023) and released this past March. So I had to wait for that to release, and then I had to wait to find good pictures of the front, back, and spine so I could put it together, scale it down, print it out, and make a book out of it LOL.

While I was waiting on that, I thought it would be a cool idea to have some of her sketches with her. Plus I had an extra first volume Inuyasha manga from when I made the series for ani-ME, so I threw that in there too. There was another book released for Rumic World's 35th anniversary, so I thought it would be a cool idea to make it like a folder that her real sketches could go inside. So I managed to find some decent photos of the front, back, and spine of that book, then I created a pocket for it, then I found a bunch of Rumiko's sketches from various series, sized them to fit inside the book, then printed them out. So the sketches she comes with are real ones she's drawn, and they fit right inside one of her books!

I wasn't going to make a box for her, since I don't keep my dolls in boxes, but I had a spare one and thought I could use it as a template to create one. So I gathered photos of actual Inspiring Women boxes (I could have used the latest one, Kristi Yamaguchi, because that's probably the newest design and Kristi, like Rumiko, is an Inspiring Woman who's still alive whereas the others have passed, but I like the original style better), created a template, and made my own box. Fun fact - the box was made but not printed. So the doll's pose and everything in the box is all digitally edited LOL.

I created it all from scratch - I looked up fonts, found Barbie logos, made all the name boxes, etc. I'm pretty pleased with how it looks considering it's not a real box lol. I did the same thing for the back, and I even made a design for each side of the box:

And with that, the doll was done! I think the most time-consuming part of this one was the props. I printed a TON of those little sketches because I wasn't sure how many would fit in the book, and then I had to remind myself to use more than just Inuyasha because she did create several other series LOL. But overall, I'm pleased with her and she's now displayed in my cabinet! Thanks for reading!

[jenneyquinn]

𝐢𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐞𝐮: 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝟐 — 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐨

in which i give you the summerween part from ilyieu 3 (well the rough outline for it anyways)

yep, it’s that time of year again: the holiday so nice, gravity falls celebrates it twice

what holiday, you ask? actually, of course you’re not asking—you read the title

anyways, it’s mabel and dipper’s second summerween and since they’re technically teenagers now, it’s understandable that they want it to be BIG

lucky for them, soos is thinking the same thing too—after all, he’s the owner of the mystery shack now and he can do just about anything he wants

yes, they throw a summerween party—which brings me to my favourite part: the COSTUMES

soos is a mummy, melody is medusa, gideon dresses up as elvis, wendy dresses up as marceline (from adventure time), candy is a gummy bear, and grenda is a vintage doll

nate and lee don’t really put much of an effort and came in wearing masks (the purge led one and anonymous), thompson dresses up as baby brent (from cloudy with a chance of meatballs—yes, the group made him dress like that)

robbie and tambry dress up like grim and malaria (from grim adventures of billy and mandy; robbie pretends he was forced by mabel to participate, but didn’t really put up much up of a fight about it and just wanted to act like it was all mabel’s idea)

also grim makes sense for robbie—he’d just be wearing a black hoodie instead of a cloak and have the makeup on (jack and sally was considered, but robbie wouldn’t wear a suit—let alone own one)

mabel gives makeovers to the stans, turning them into a vampire and a werewolf (i’ll let y’all figure out who’s who)

last but not least, we have pacifica as rapunzel, and dipper and mabel—as tradition—matching again! this time as donald and della duck

mabel has an aviator cap and goggles on, as well as a scarf, leather jacket, and shorts while dipper has a black sailor beret and jacket on along with a pair of white jeans (if it weren’t for the duck bills, people would easily mistake the twins for amelia earhart and a regular sailor, respectively)

dipper hates the beak and thinks the photos definitely come out dumb, but for the sake of mabel’s scrapbook—he puts up with it

it absolutely does not help that pacifica finds it funny, but she finds it cute that he and mabel still matching costumes

though dipper plans to dance with pacifica, the latter had other plans as she spent more of the night with mabel, candy, and grenda

it’s not that she’s consistently shutting him down, but in mid-conversation, pacifica just freezes, then whips up some excuse to leave and go back to mabel and her girls

unbeknownst to dipper, he doesn’t see that wendy enters his radius, prompting the blonde to freeze up and freeze him out

wendy, noticing dipper down in the dumps, obviously goes up go him—suggesting that he cheer himself up by joining the group in some cup pong (with pitt cola, of course)

he ends up having fun for the most part, but he can’t help but to steal glances in pacifica’s direction every now and then, but nobody notices except robbie

and for majority of the night as dipper stares at pacifica, robbie’s trying to figure out why his former enemy is staring so miserably at his sister and her friends—did he and mabel have a fight? or did he do anything to upset her… or her friends?? he doesn’t confront dipper about it though, after all, his old rival being sad doesn’t bother him

on the other hand, dipper doesn’t know that pacifica is looking at back at him whenever he isn’t staring at her—and, of course, mabel notices

so… when are you gonna ask him to dance?

*sputters* WHAT?

c’mom paz, you know he likes you, right? and the whole world knows you feel the same—why not?

pacifica doesn’t say anything to deny or confirm mabel’s words, just staring back at her crush and his ex-crush laughing together…

she knows she doesn’t really have much reason to be jealous… after all, wendy’s much older… naturally popular and well-liked by everyone close to her… not to mention not being noticeably ugly…

no—dipper said he was over her, and pacifica trusts him—friends trust each other, after all

yeah… friends… just friends

as pacifica is left losing the fight in her head, mabel is deep in thought as well—brows knit together, lips pursed and all

when she gets it, she turns back to grenda and candy, and the three exchange mischevious smiles and giggling before turning back to the blonde

hey, i know what’ll cheer you up!

with that said, mabel runs up to soos—also deejaying despite being the party’s host—to request a particular song

*insert pacifica taking over the karaoke and singing blondie’s “call me” with mabel, candy, and grenda as backup*

dipper is left speechless, which doesn’t go unnoticed by robbie; the latter looks between his former rival and the also-formerly rich blonde—and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to put two and two together

the girls karaoke the night away, which puts a damper on dip’s plans to ask pacifica to dance…

suddenly, a familiar song fills the room, and a particular pair locks eyes with each other

pacifica smiles at dipper first, and when he smiles back at her, mabel calls him over to join them

so maybe he didn’t get his chance to put the moves on paz they way he hoped, but at least the night ended with everyone smiling and laughing

a/n: sorry i’ve been super swamped this month guys, i barely got a chance to work on ilyieu but i hope this’ll be enough for now… i was originally considering this to be included for part 3, but i figured taking this out and posting it separately was best since it is halloween after all and as a mini thank-you to everyone who enjoyed ilyieu—from the start or even if you just started reading like a week ago :)

[minkkumaz]

GLITTER ON OUR BLUSHED CHEEKS

haemin was the perfect boyfriend, and you couldn't stop admiring him. for their recent comeback, they seemed to use a lot of glitter to freckle his cheeks. but you thought he sparkled without it!

PAIRING jung haemin x gn!reader WC 0.6k TAGS established relationship. fluff. lots of kissing! OMI NOTE silly drabble for @woonhakist inspired by the comment she made yesterday about 8turns stylists putting glitter on their faces.

those eyes were stuck in your mind, as well as the glitter freckled atop his porcelain skin. it sat effortlessly on his face. and while the thought of the sparkles getting everywhere cringed you out, haemin couldn’t look more beautiful.

but maybe it was just him; no, it definitely was just him. he always entranced you, looking most ethereal at every moment of the day. whether his face was bare, or concealed with different makeup products and foundations, he was perfect.

and you never hesitated to let these words slip from your lips. expressing every synonym for the word ‘breathtaking’ you could think of from the top of your head. his face contorted at your compliment, the easily embarrassed boy you’ve known to love.

despite this, you always knew how much he appreciated the love you gave to him. what the two of you had felt for eachother was special in more ways than one.

in front of you, he sat on a spinny chair getting his makeup done. the feeling of soft prickles from a brush wiped against his cheeks. from the mirror that lay in front of him, he could see you in the background waiting patiently.

as soon as the brush lifted off his skin, and the stylist left from the room, he spun around to give you some attention.

“they did a really good job on your makeup, wow! you look really pretty haem.” you grin as he sit on the arm of the couch.

“thank you angel. i’m so tired, but i’m excited to do the photo shoot.” he sighed, looking down at your figure.

“i’m sure they’ll love it, plus you can get a lot of rest afterwards.” you affirm positively, making his lips perk up slightly.

he let out a quiet ‘mmhm’ before tilting your face up to meet his, kissing softly against your lips. 

“hey what was that for?” you said jokingly.

“you’re also really pretty.” he runs a hand through your hair before letting it rest at the top of your head.

“pshh, you’re the one all dolled up!” you blush at the compliment before he swipes a finger against your bottom lip, kissing you again.

the sway of his lips against yours lasts longer this time, melting into the touch of you. at times when sometimes he’d be more shy, he forgot about everything once you were perfectly against him.

“y’know, that glitter on your face makes you look magical but it kind of gets everywhere.” you pull away, wiping a stray sparkle from your cheeks.

“would you prefer me without the glitter?”

“i love every makeup look you have my love, but i feel like it’s gonna be hard to pretend like we weren’t just kissing when so much of it transferred over.” your laugh made him shy.

“shh.. nobody will ever know.” his kiss trails against the corners of your mouth and to your forehead as you squirm beneath him. at that point you almost felt identical to a unicorn.

“haemin..!” you whined, shaking your head to rid yourself from the speckles.

“okay okay i’ll stop.” he had a slight smile, taking the pads of his fingers to wipe your face. 

there was a tender moment between you two for a second, as he cleaned the remaining glitter from your face. the way he looked at you with so much genuine care almost made you faint, feeling comfortable at his touch.

when he finished, he wiped his hands together to get off any excess, before poking at your cheek.

“maybe next comeback you should wear a sequin top to match with the glitter.” you tease.

“you’re so dumb, angel.”

© 2023 minkkumaz, all rights reserved support your writers by reblogging + giving feedback! it is greatly encouraged and appreciated. thank you! → why feedback + reblogging is so important. ~ (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡ if you'd like, donate to minkkumaz !

[midnightedengaming]

Anime North 2024 Blog

Day 2

It rained. A lot.

But even so, I had such an incredible time!

The original plan for today was to wear my Bleach cosplay, walk around the convention, maybe go to a panel, and then hit up the Bleach photoshoot at 5pm.

But since I was staying so close to the convention, I decided to wear BOTH my cosplays that day! That way, I could go to the Zelda photoshoot at 12pm as well.

The weather had slightly different plans.

It was a light rain when we left the hotel. Luckily, I remembered to bring an umbrella to Toronto so I could keep my makeup from being washed off. Little did I know that, when it came time for the photoshoot, the light rain would become a torrential downpour.

There were still quite a few of us who showed up to the Zelda photoshoot, and luckily, we were able to hide beneath a few trees from the rain and get a few photos in! It was such a wonderful time despite the rain. There was a raffle, there were four people dressed up from the Yiga Clan who brought bananas with them, and overall everyone looked absolutely stunning in their cosplays!

My dress got soaked but fortunately, my phone and merchandise did not! I am so glad I had my umbrella!

I met up with my friends back at the hotel. We got all dolled up and went to lunch! Then I missed a panel I thought I might like to go to, but it was alright because I'd already gotten to enjoy a panel with similar vibes from the day before, so it wasn't devastating or anything (and I really enjoyed my lunch too, haha)!

Then I got dressed in my Bleach cosplay and headed back to the convention!

This is the only gripe I had about the entire weekend. I had to get my weapon checked, and in order to do so, I had to walk SO FAR! Weapons check was not in the area it previously had been. Instead, they moved it to a completely different building (and it was on the far end of that building, too)! I'm glad I left well over an hour before the photoshoot was scheduled to begin, because it took me that long to find Weapon's Check and then walk back to where I started in order to get to the photoshoot.

The photoshoot, however, was an absolute BLAST! It was so much fun to see all the Bleach cosplayers! And I was also just so happy to be surrounded by people who shared a passion for the same anime I did. Also it was hilarious whenever the organizer called up a group of people (Quincy, Hollow, etc) and all the Ichigo cosplayers went "so us too, right?"

I had so much fun!

It's also really cool to see all the photos from the shoot pop up online!

There's only two issues: 1, I wish someone had reminded me to pull my mask down because I think I kept it up 80% of the time (oooops). And 2, I keep finding pieces of myself but nothing complete (so far! Lmao)

I think this is HILARIOUS, by the way. No hard feelings at all! My friends have called me Exodia. So we've got the head and the left arm, now I just need to find the other pieces! LOL

Anyway, after that was the Shonen Jump photoshoot!

And that was also amazing! It's so nice to have all the fans of different shows come together and cheer each other on instead of bashing each other's shows (looking at you, Twitter). I also saw that the One Piece photoshoot was moved to this later time because they got rained out, so I'm happy that it was sunny by 5pm so that they could get a chance to shine!

Overall, another very fun day! I did some shopping and met some wonderful people.

[all-the-things-2020]

Late Night Talking - Chapter Ten

Summary: The aftermath of the movie premiere.

Word Count: 3150+

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: mentions of parent death, issues with body image

Tag list: @rhoorl @avastrasposts @readingiskeepingmegoing @runningmom94 @gwendibleywrites

We slept late the next morning. It was after nine when I crawled out of bed to use the bathroom. Dieter was still passed out cold, lying face down with his face crammed into a pillow, his bare ass poking out from under the covers. I took a look at myself in the mirror and wished I hadn’t. My hair was sticking up in all directions and there were bags under my eyes. It was a far cry from my red carpet look.

I decided to take a shower and start over with my hair, rather than try to tame it the way it was. When I got out, I slipped into a pair of leggings and a t-shirt, deciding to forgo a bra, at least for the time being. It was going to be a lazy day, after all.

Dieter was still asleep. I leaned over the bed to cover him up and he grunted. “Why are you so obsessed with my butt?,” he mumbled.

”I’m not obsessed with your butt,” I told him. “I just didn’t want it to catch cold.” I tucked the comforter around him and patted his bottom. “Go back to sleep, Deet. You’ve earned it.”

”What time?”

”Doesn’t matter. Go to sleep.”

He didn’t argue with me. I knew the press junket had been stressful and tiring. He deserved to get some rest. 

I found my purse in the living room and pulled out my phone. I’d managed to remember to turn it off last night, so the battery was still at 65% when I powered it on. All my apps were lit up with notifications, but I went first to my texts. 

SAM: You look GORGEOUS!!!!

ME: Aw, thanks. It’s all thanks to the stylists. Did my hair and makeup and everything. Felt like a giant Barbie doll. LOL

It was close to midday back East, so I knew she was probably at work and wouldn’t respond right away, so I jumped over to Instagram. I followed the studio’s page and I knew they would have posted photos from last night. 

There were several pics from the red carpet, including one of me and Dieter. It was weird seeing myself all glammed up, standing beside him as he posed effortlessly for the camera. I could see that I was a bit stiff and awkward, despite the elegant dress and high heels. Still, I looked nice. Not bad for a first time, I thought. Then I started reading the comments.

She’s OLD.

Come on, girl, at least dye that gray hair. Woof.

Thought Bravo had better taste than that. 

Def a publicity stunt. Prob trying to hide that he’s gay AF.

If they think we’ll fall for that, he needs a new publicist. Lots of actresses they could have hired to help his image. Barf.

I think she looks nice. For a middle aged woman. 

There were positive comments, of course, many of them, but my eye went right to the negative ones. After all, most of the positive comments were simple heart emojis or “they look so cute” or other generic messages. The negative ones were more pointed.

I closed Instagram. Twitter would be even worse — there were so many trolls on there that I hardly ever posted anything anymore. Maybe tumblr would be kinder. I was wrong.

There were several posts under the hashtag “dieter bravo” that displayed one of the Getty photos from the night before and had commentary along the lines of “I’m glad he’s so happy” and “Aww, they made it red carpet official” but there was also lots that claimed to be insanely jealous of me for being beside him.

Oof, not to be that girl, but I could pull off a red carpet look better than that, just saying.

Not sure what he sees in her, but you do you, Dieter.

He looks AMAZING as always. Wish she’d worn something better.

She looks like she doesn’t want to be there. I’m sure it’s overwhelming and all but at least look happy to be next to him. I’d kill to be on the red carpet with him.

Ugh, I hate her, lol. Seriously, does anyone else think he’ll be back on the market soon? She is so not his type. Dieter fucking Bravo is a party boi.

I could feel tears stinging at the back of my eyes. It was silly — I knew they were making the comments out of jealousy or sheer assholery — but it was like being teased or excluded on the playground in elementary school. It still hurt.

Fortunately, my phone pinged with an incoming text.

SAM: Those stylists couldn’t have done it without something amazing to start with — YOU! I am so proud of you, chickie! You rocked that red carpet. And Dieter 🥵Don’t know how you manage to survive around him without spontaneously combusting. Dude is HOT.

ME: You don’t know how badly I needed that, chickie! Been looking at comments on social and people are brutal.

SAM: Fuck them. I’ve been bragging on you all day. Everyone thinks you look fabulous. Trolls gonna troll.

I smiled. Leave it to Sam to cheer me up. Then another text came in, this time from Simone.

SIMONE: Girl! You were on fire 🔥 last night. Your pic is all over campus. Kids are all planning to go see the movie with Miss Emily’s boyfriend this weekend. Eileen had such a sourpuss when I saw her, lol. 

ME: Thanks! Been seeing some haters online so glad the kiddos got my back. And I’m ROTFL over Eileen 🤣

SIMONE: One of my kids was IRATE over some of the stuff people were saying about you. She was going OFF! I didn’t even know she knew where the library was, lol. If a 15yo can see through their b.s., so can you.

“Hey.” Dieter came stumbling out of the bedroom with his hair sticking straight up and one hand in his boxer shorts scratching his ass. If only the fans could see him now!

”Hey yourself,” I said. “You need coffee?”

He nodded as he shuffled toward the kitchen island. “I got it,” he said. “You looking at photos from last night?”

”I was, but people are mean. Then I got a couple of texts that cheered me up.”

”People are fucking assholes online,” he said as he dumped water and coffee grounds into the machine. He slopped water onto the counter but didn’t wipe it up. He was messier than usual when he was only half awake. “First thing Carmen told me when she signed on was never read the comments.”

While the coffee was brewing, he fished his phone out of his pants, which were draped over one of the dining room chairs. He slumped onto a stool at the island and started swiping. “You looked so good last night,” he said. Then he yawned and scratched his head. “Anyone who says different has their head up their own ass or is just jealous. Or both.” 

The scent of coffee wafted through the air and a shaft of sunlight lanced through a gap in the vertical blinds. The kitchen was illuminated with golden light and Dieter’s hair became a halo of fire around his head, just for a second. Who gives a fuck what Prissy McDickface on Instragram thinks? I’m the one here with Dieter, watching him smile at pictures of us while he’s waiting for his coffee. And if Dieter could smile before his first infusion of caffeine of the day, I knew he was truly happy. Because of me.

*******************************************

The movie was a hit. It was number one at the box office that weekend, and Dieter spent most of Saturday afternoon fielding phone calls and texts from Carmen and his agent. He looked every inch a Hollywood star as he sat on a lounge chair beside the pool with his Ray-Ban sunglasses on and his phone up to his ear. 

“Yeah, set it up,” he said. “Can’t hurt to meet with them.” He looked at me over the tops of his shades and winked.

”Shit, I can’t believe all this,” he said when he’d hung up. “Carmen has ten journalists lined up to interview me. And half of them are from legit outlets, not just bloggers.” He laughed. “Who knew a twenty minute part would get so much attention?”

We had skimmed some of the reviews online and most of them had been positive. Many of them mentioned Dieter’s performance as one of the highlights of the film; several had used the phrase “Bravo’s back.”  

“And David has two meetings booked with producers this week,” Dieter continued. “I don’t want to get ahead of myself but this might be the thing to get the ball rolling again.”

“I hope so,” I said. I knew that Dieter really wanted to get back to the level he’d enjoyed earlier in his career, where he was taken seriously as an actor. He’d taken just about any part the last few years, just to keep the money flowing but while movies like Cliff Beasts might be popular with fans they weren’t taken seriously by critics. And he admitted he’d been phoning it in before he’d gone to rehab. This film was the first project he’d worked on since and apparently he’s done a very good job. 

“Just don’t get too famous and forget about the little people like me,” I added.

“I will never forget about you,” he said seriously. “And you are definitely not one of the ‘little people’ in my life. You’re huge, baby.”

“Yeah, that’s what some of the trolls online are saying,” I joked.

“Fuck them. I’ve been with skinny women and it’s like hugging a skeleton. You’re real, Em. Nothing fake about you. Which is one of the many, many reasons that I love you.”

******************************************

We had finally finished off the leftover Chinese food, so we decided to go out for dinner Saturday night. Nothing fancy, just a little hole in the wall Mexican place that Dieter was fond of, and not just because the food was good. The owners were very protective of his privacy and didn’t laugh at his clumsy attempts at Spanish. His father’s parents had been born in Ecuador, and he still had some distant cousins in South America, but Dieter and his family had only ever spoke English.

”My dad can get by pretty well,” he’d explained to me once. “He does business with one of his cousins who lives in Buenos Aires, and he sometimes visits his aunt in Santiago, but Freddy and I never learned. Hell, I took French in high school just to fuck with everyone. Freddy took German, of course.”

Although they’d come from Ecuador, Dieter’s grandparents were descended from German and Italian immigrants. “My dad’s grandpa Antonio Bravo married one of the Diefenbach girls,” Dieter had explained. “Huge Romeo and Juliet vibes there. The two families were rivals in the button business.”

My own skill in Spanish was limited to the Spanglish I’d picked up by osmosis from living in Southern California (like Dieter, I’d take French in school, because I thought it sounded fancy). But everyone at Ramon’s was friendly and very patient with our attempts to do more than just ask for what was on the menu.

”Buenos noches,” our waiter said as we sat down at our table, tucked away in the back. ”El jefe said you get free margaritas because the movie is doing so well.”

”Gracias,” said Dieter. “Um, dos platos de empanadas, por favor. Y los margaritas.”

”Muy bien! And my sister in law saw the movie last night. She said tell you she really liked it if I saw you.”

”Tell her thanks, man,” Dieter had exhausted his capacity for Spanish already. He was still running on fumes from the press junket. I could see it in his eyes.

After a delicious dinner of empanadas and enchiladas — not to mention two extremely generous margaritas — we went back to Dieter’s place and collapsed on the couch.

”If I went there too often, I’d gain thirty pounds,” Dieter said, unbuttoning his pants. 

“The food is amazing,” I agreed, glad I was wearing stretchy pants. “You want to put a movie on before we succumb to the food coma?”

”You read my mind.” He grabbed the remote off the coffee table. We were only about twenty minutes into Jurassic Park when I felt his head slump onto my shoulder. He was out. I maneuvered him into a more comfortable position so he wouldn’t wake up with a stiff neck. I never saw the end of the movie. I was tired, too.

**************************************************************

We lay in bed, both of us wide awake at two a.m. after our nap on the couch. “Whatcha thinking about?” Dieter asked, his hand idly playing with my hair.

”Not much. Just feeling cozy. How about you?”

”I’m thinking how I could get used to this,” he said. “Dinner, falling asleep on the couch, lying in bed talking about stuff … I wish you didn’t have to go back home tomorrow.” He kissed my forehead. “You know you can move in any time you want.”

”It’s tempting but it would be a hell of a commute.” 

“Quit your job. Get a new one. There are plenty of schools. You’d still be in the same union, right? Still get your pension?”

I rolled onto my back. “Deet, it’s not that easy. There aren’t all that many school library positions out there and they pay well enough that people don’t leave. Or they’re part-time at elementary schools. And other positions … yeah, I could do other stuff, but your retirement is based off of your final two years salary. If I took a pay cut, I’d get less so I’d have to work longer.”

“Jeez, you sound like my dad and Freddy. ‘Be practical, Deiter. Plan ahead, Dieter. Invest wisely, Dieter’,” he grumbled.

”I have to be,” I said. “I only have myself to rely on. You know my parents didn’t leave me anything.”

Dieter sighed. “You aren’t alone, Em. You have me.”

”For now,” I said. “I want to believe this is forever, Deet, I really do, but I just can’t jump off the cliff yet.” I sat up, hugging my knees. “I know you think I’m being too cautious, and I know it probably hurts you to hear me say stuff like ‘for now’ when you want to hear ‘forever’ but …”

He sat up and put his arm around me. “I get it,” he said quietly. “I get you. And you’re probably right. I’m too much like my mom. I need you to balance me out.”

”You don’t talk about her much,” I prompted. I knew she had passed away not long after he’d won his Oscar, but that was public knowledge.

He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Yeah, I’m still working through some shit in therapy,” he said. “My mom … she was an artist. Painting, sculpture, stuff like that. And that was the love of her life. Art. Creating. And once she created something, she moved on. She wasn’t interested anymore once a piece was done.”

I kissed his shoulder. “You don’t have to talk about her if you don’t want to,” I said. 

“When she and Dad got divorced, she moved to New York City,” he said. “That’s why I went there for college. But about two months after I got there, she moved to Europe. So I went there after I graduated. She was in Italy, so I went to Milan. Then she moved to Madrid, then Stockholm — god, Stockholm was so freaking cold — and then I got tired of following her and came to L.A.” He laid his head on my shoulder. “I was going to visit her in Switzerland after I won the Oscar. She’d actually called me and said she was proud of me. But I had a movie to do first and … it was a car accident in the Alps. She and her latest guy were on their way to Venice and a dude in a Maserati blew a turn and crashed into them.”

”Oh, Deet, I’m so sorry,” My own parents had been ill before they passed, so I’d had some warning, at least. 

He shook his head. “Hey, we’re supposed to be celebrating this weekend, not confessing our darkest moments. So let’s talk about something happy. Like my bank account after the movie earns out and I start getting some checks. We should go somewhere. Romantic getaway.”

”I do have a week off for Thanksgiving,” I said. My aunt always invited me up to her place for Thanksgiving and I always declined and ended up at some friend or co-worker’s Thanksgiving dinner. It was not my favorite holiday.

”Hey, see, making plans for the future.” He nudged me with his shoulder.

”It’s like two months away,” I reminded him. “Not that far in the future.”

”Baby steps, Em. Baby steps.” Then he kissed me and we stopped talking for a while.

******************************************

As I was driving home on Sunday afternoon, my phone rang. I usually don't like to use the Bluetooth, because it distracts me from the road, but I recognized the number. It was Sam.

”Hey, Sam, what’s up?” She rarely called; we both preferred to text. Our grown up version of passing notes in class.

“Just checking that you’re still alive after spending three whole days with Dieter,” she said. Her tone was joking, so I knew nothing serious had prompted the call. “Really, I just wanted to hear your voice. I saw the movie and it just doesn’t seem real that you and Dieter are … I mean, it sounds stupid, but I had to make sure you were still you.”

”I get it,” I said. “Hey, I’m on the freeway right now. Can I call you back when I get home? We can have a good talk. I’ll tell you all about the dress and the red carpet and … maybe you can give me some advice?”

”You better not be thinking of breaking up with him, Em. He’s the best thing that’s happened to you in a long time.”

”No, no, kind of the opposite. Shit, use your signal, you asshole! Sorry, some dude in a Tesla just cut me off. I’ve got to hang up. Talk to you when I get home, chickie.”

”Stay safe, chickie.”

I ended the call and tried to concentrate on the traffic. It was an incredibly long and tedious drive to make every day. There was no way I could keep my job and be with Dieter more than just on the weekends. And I would be foolish to quit for a guy I’d only known for a few months. Right? 

I shoved the thought to the back of my mind. Sam would help me figure it all out. She always did. 

[jencattv]

i think being myself i am obligated to ask u what inspiration u took for ur jane... what kind of doll shes inspired by.. any special parts of ur performance that u want to share.. :3

I collaborated with the costume designer for the show and we got a bunch of inspo photos we found online and picked what we liked! The swirly cheeks are definitely inspired by jigsaw and the sadly cut Saw 5 bit in the show, and the eyes are definitely inspired by the enlarged manga/dolly eye look that I idolized as a kid haha.

Our set is inspired by an aging, deteriorated and almost post apocalyptic carnival stage setting so I wanted Jane to reflect her environment by adding cracks on her face as well as crying mascara lines. She did used to have puppet lines but it didn’t read with the stage lights so I decided to go more darker on all the other characteristics instead! My background as a scare actor definitely also contributed to her look and the way I play her (which from what I’ve been told is absolutely terrifying 🤣💯) She is definitely my favorite role I’ve ever played and I put a lot of love and thought into my version of her ❤️

I’ll definitely be posting clips on here, so stay tuned! Thanks for the question! 🫶🏼

Added some process pictures here, from first makeup test to first photoshoot to updated wig to opening night to now 😊💗

[futuristicsaladparadise]

Enhancing Doll Brows

This is my guide to either enhancing or completely redoing an AG doll’s eyebrows. Several people have asked about this, and I hope it will be useful.

You will need: a doll, watercolor pencils in black, brown and white, cotton swabs (preferably the pointy makeup ones), a small amount of water, and setting spray. If you are removing the original brows, you’ll also need nail polish remover and a paper towel to wipe the color off. 

I use Mr. Super Clear from Amazon, specifically the matte UV Cut version, so it doesn’t dry shiny and protects the doll’s vinyl and paint from fading in sunlight. The watercolor pencils were from a cheap set I got at the craft store. Almost any brand will do, but make sure your pencils are sharp! (I had to sharpen my white and black after I took this photo.)

Next, you will need to prep your doll for her treatment. You can easily overspray and get the setting spray in the doll’s eyes and hair, and it makes the eyes cloudy and the hair dry and crunchy. To prevent this, I used a couple of long scraps to tie back and cover my subjects’ hair, and half a cotton ball taped down to protect their eyes. You want to make sure there is plenty of space to work around their brows, so you might notice that you can see the top of Lydia’s (known as Subject A for this post) eyelids. This is fine as long as the eyelashes are covered. 

Once ready, go outside and spray their faces with the setting spray, concentrating on the forehead. Be careful not to totally soak the face. All you want is a light dusting. Once it dries, you can always spray another layer if you don’t think the first one is sufficient. This preliminary spray makes a better surface for your pencils to grip. If you skip it, you may not be able to get any pigment on your doll’s face. Let dry for 20-30 minutes between layers.

Next, you will want to start filling in the brows with short, light strokes, from root to tip, in the direction of hair growth. You will likely want to practice with a pencil on paper first, if you haven’t done this before. 

This is after a handful of strokes on each brow. I usually begin with black, but I did Subject A’s left brow in brown first for illustration purposes. It doesn’t really matter which you start with. For me, brown is primarily a filler, unless I’m working on a doll I want to have paler brows. 

This is after some more lines in both black and brown, with a few (4-5) strokes of white to provide depth. 

If you make a mistake, use the water and a cotton swab/Q-tip to remove the errant mark and continue. You may have to remove everything you have done and start over. That’s okay. In this case, I didn’t like the white line at the bottom of her left eyebrow, so I wiped it off and re-drew the black and brown lines that were removed. 

Keep working until you are satisfied with the result, then set with another layer of setting spray. Your doll will look amazing!

It helps if you don’t immediately go to set the paint after you finish. Give it a few minutes, then go back and look to make sure it’s the look you want. I did this several times with mine, and I kept adding a few lines here and there until I was happy. If you spray it and then decide you don’t like it, you will have to use nail polish remover and it will wipe out the original paint along with your watercolor work.

New brows: These are much more difficult than simply filling in because you have no good indication of their shape and position.

Once you have removed the original ones with nail polish remover and done the preliminary spray, you can start sketching a guiding line. 

This image shows a couple of layers of short strokes, following the brow ridge. 

This was so, so hard for me in the beginning, one eyebrow would be perfect and the other would...not. At all. If you aren’t sure of your skills, you may want to get a practice head from eBay or somewhere to practice on until you feel ready to work on a “real” doll. 

More lines, going over the original work. As you can see, they aren’t quite the same, so I kept going, setting Subject B aside for awhile several times. I used black, then brown, and then a few white strokes. 

Set the paint afterwards with the setting spray.

Et voila! I’m not 100% happy with that right eyebrow, but I can go back and redo it some other time.