#broken colors cosplay

[sparklyex]

"Sorry, it's obviously not your day~"

[bloodykillah]

💚🦎🦆

[somehow-a-human]

Whose POV is it Anyway?

A Conclusion.

DO NOT ASK NEIL ABOUT FAN THEORY

Okay. Well. That was more intense i'll say than I expected. There is a lot happening with these filters over these 6 episodes and it was a bit more detailed and harder to follow than I had originally expected but we got through it and I have more than a few final thoughts to wrap this up.

For reference & context, I recommend reading these posts:

Whose POV is it Anyway? - Introduction

POV "Your 'Something's Wrong' Voice"

POV a Trip to Hell and a 25 Lazarii Miracle

POV a Companion to Owls

POV The Dirty Donkey & I think I Found a *Clue*!

POV Bodysnatchers & Cosplaying a bookseller

POV 1941

POV The Ball

POV The End?

Lens Filters

Shall we conclude?

So, if you remember back to my originally introductory post for this series, the thing that kicked off this entire analysis was a bit of commentary made by the cinematographer Gavin Finney in this article.

Finney Describes the Bronze Glimmerglass filter as being used for "bookshop scenes", the Black Pro Mist filter for "Hell", and Black Diffusion FX for "Crowley's Present Day Storyline". I still hate that wording.

Something in that zinged my brain just right and I launched into research about the cameras and these specific lens filters. Give that post a read seriously or none of this will make much sense. ANYWAY.

What I had decided for writing these posts, since we had two main characters, was that I was going to apply the Bronze Glimmerglass (BGG) filter to Aziraphale's POV, since it was mentioned it's applied to bookshop scenes and he's always there anyway, and the Black Diffusion FX (BDFX) filter to Crowley's POV, since well, that's what they said it is kinda.

Do I think it is as simple as, it is either Crowley or Aziraphale's POV? no.

It was a decent jumping off point though, and it was working really well for the first few episodes but once we got past the halfway mark of the season, the lines started to blur, and I think that is perfectly in line with our story.

The BGG filter is usually applied to scenes in the bookshop, featuring Aziraphale, or the record shop, sometimes the coffee shop when Maggie is being lovesick over Nina. We even see it in heaven during the Job minisode and its on THICK during the Whickber Street Ball. The BGG filter is romantic, idealistic, it's just that a filter. Looking at the world through rose colored glasses! Looking at the world likely how Aziraphale would like to see it.

The BDFX filter is cooler toned, more realistic, it's used in scenes with Shax and Crowley, and often Nina when Maggie isn't around because these characters are pragmatic. They aren't dreamers, they see things for the reality that they are.

Whenever Crowley shows up and says something snarky to Aziraphale to break him out of his fanciful delusions and insults him (affectionate), like the scene at the coffee shop, or the scene at the pub, the filter switches from BGG to BDFX. We're being broken out of the dream, brought back into the colder reality.

I think it makes sense to apply the filters to characters for a lot of the season because their actions fit in their characterization. Aziraphale is daydreamy BGG, Crowley is a realist BDFX. It just works. But then we start to add in the demons attacking The Ball and the offer from the Metatron and everything falls apart. The BGG filter is gone. The dream is gone. We're in cold reality, even in the bookshop where we are usually consistently in a dreamy state.

Even Crowley gets the dreamy effects of the BGG filter and of what-could-be peace & domesticity in the bookshop when Aziraphale is in Edinburgh and he's forced to just hang around and chill with Jim. I'm sure that type of life is all he wants with Aziraphale. Quiet, wearing his cardigan and carrying books around for his love.

I'm glad I wrote my opinions before that C & A were possibly imagining each other in the Edinburgh POV chapter so that theory can exist on the internet somewhere but I think this is more likely the case. The filters are more likely indicating to us what the wants dreams and desires of the characters are compared to the realities they see. What do they choose to see better? Worse?

What does this mean for the Final 15? It's simply reality, and neither of them want it.

I'd like to remind you dear reader that this is one opinion, of which there are many on this website, and plenty of them are worth reading and considering. I don't expect that I'm right. I expect that I'm wrong. In fact, I'll probably write another series of posts next month detailing precisely how everything here is completely backwards to how it ACTUALLY is! Well maybe not. That is to say, if you don't agree with this, that's cool, I might not either tomorrow, but wasn't it entertaining to read?

[sugaroto]

@geolato thanks:D

And here's what I did:

Those were the things I used:

The jacket was originally bought for prom but not really used there

Also now that I'm looking in the photo I'm realizing I've also put some chains

Also at the school party I had some face painting of a purple 3rd eye, the photo is at school in which I didn't even bother to wear my wig🤣

So funny thing, one of my teachers texted me and asked how I did in the exams

So I told her what university I got into

And her response was something among the lines "Sugar, I remember in the carnival when you had dressed up as a reporter and had a microphone, same as me, and now it will be true! A reporter in the making"

And I think it's kinda hilarious cause I was actually cosplaying Cecil Palmer, I wanted to dress up as the winner of the Tumblr sexyman polls, I didn't thought a reporter career would fit me

And also im not sure if the university is for reporters but what am I supposed to say to her huh

[cecilioque]

VOLO’S OUTFIT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE BAD. And here is why I think so...

To begin, we are not talking about the Ginko guild design, we are talking about the “final boss” fit. We all know that Volo’s outfit is dumb, but I’m mad because it  was actually thought out and VERY symbolic in the sense that it essentially represented things Volo said/wanted.

I, like everyone else looked at this outfit and went “wow, that is dumb” and then hated on it.  Although it is not the most appealing or cool outfit, there was actually a lot of thought that went into it. I could be really over analyzing this, but here is my interpretation.

To begin with, the concept art is a lot more revealing about the intention of the design then the actual game play.  On a surface level we see Volo in what I can only assume is a Arceus gijinka cosplay.  So the hair, the stars, and color scheme are all elements of Arceu’s  design.  Cool. Good job especially since Volo had in fact never seen Arceus before.

To fully understand this outfit we have to go back to Hisui and the remains of this so called “ancient civilization”. In the Pokemon world, there is this general idea that the ancient culture was either Roman or Greek inspired. We see evidence in Legends of Arceus by the obvious column heavy architecture and use of Greek Doric columns ( one of the earliest styles of columns used for temples) and in the ruins and temple. 

The Temple of Sinnoh is obviously based off of the Parthenon. It’s funny because game freak went as far as to even mimic both Ionic and Doric styles in the Temple of Sinnoh just like the Parthenon. I will go as far to add that the Sinnoh temple is much simpler than the Parthenon due to the fact that it was not embellished with an elaborately carved frieze or any decoration on the exterior for the most part.  Bizarre when even the broken ruins have evidence of some sort of ornamentation. It makes complete sense why the game developers chose this style seeing how is is know for being very simplistic.  But it also dates it in context.  It makes the Temple of Sinnoh the first temple that was build and the others that followed were build as the civilization grew ( thus more elaborate but we can only see the crumbled remains).

I will be ignoring the Snowpoint temple because it is a weird combination of styles and almost seems alien and out of place which very much fits the Regi theme.  It is also based on the early game design which was limited and blocky for game space sake.

Ok, heavy Greek and Roman influence. Back to Volo and his obviously Greek and Roman fit.  Volo’s name itself means “I wish”  in latin and could possibly be a reference to the phrase “volō, ergo sum” (I wish, therefore I am). Very in character since it is the wish for more” and he did everything he could to achieve that.

The actual influence for the design is more Roman in nature. This bothered me because we can see that research and thought went into it, but they just simplified it. And this actually has a point.

To begin with the obvious stuff, we see that volo’s shirt is definitely toga like. It even goes so far to be decorated with a Fibula (brooch)in a way that indicates a higher rank or status.  Cool Volo, we get that you think highly of yourself. Color choice is also same as Arceus, but we also know that white togas were also used by senators and high political officers.

Next , the shoes.  These are just the basic stereotypical Spirit Halloween Greek god/goddess type of sandals you can get at your local costume shop.  This was actually the most disappointing part of the outfit for me. But it makes sense they went with the most simplified and recognizable style.  They wanted us to look at this outfit and go “ Wow, Volo has been studying his myths and recreated an outfit”. This is what you could expect someone to create with just a written description of the clothing used during that time.

The necklace is interesting because it stands out so much compared to the gold colors. I am no sure what they were going for here by making it so prominent, but it brings us to an interesting thought.  If they necklace does have meaning, it is related directly to the design/shape.  The waterdrop could be the Greek symbolism for "tears of grace” or in a sense “gods grace”. The idea that the tears of god water the harvest and provide life. Alternate interpretations could simply be water as a source of life, or a symbol or sadness a mourning.  If it is a symbol of of mourning, this might be a clue to why Volo might desire to rewrite the world so much.

Last but not least, the pants. I think we can all decide this is one of the worst parts of the outfit, and to me it is just straight up confusing for two main reasons.  For starters, the color green is so prominent when green is an accent color on Arceus.  So maybe the color has meaning itself.  But if you look at the image above, the color mainly refers to life and “the harvest” (possibly like the necklace).  It has a weird connections to life and creation itself, which probably is why it was included in Arceus’ design and makes sense as Volo essentially wants to become the creator of life in a new world.

But this isn’t the part that gets me the most. The second thing that confuses me is the fact that the Greeks and Romans did not use pants.  This was because pants were associated with non-Roman/Greek cultures (the Germanic tribes and Vikings) who they looked down upon. On top of that, the Greeks thought pants were feminine and silly.  This could also just simply be a design choice because they didn’t wanna draw Volo in a full toga and accidently make him look like Christ. But this leads to my final point of the physical outfit itself.

VOLO’S OUTFIT WASN’T SUPPOSED TO BE GOOD. IT’S SUPPOSED TO LOOK DORKY AND BAD BECAUSE IT WAS FLAWED! This is based on the real world cultures it was based on. And although Volo may have done a lot of research, he still didn’t completely understand ancient culture.  It’s bad because Volo made it himself. His outfit was flawed just like his ideology. It is his own interpretation of a culture that he had idolized without truly understanding that this great and ancient culture crumbled. And based off of the architecture of the ruins and temples, it never even reached a prime before it fell.

But Volo thinks its correct/cool/accurate. He is being a fool about it because he didn’t understand the bigger picture and had become consumed with this desire for power and control.  This as an idea is really cool and I find it funny that you can also wear the outfit. Its essentially mocking him. If we look at the outfit in this light, the design was a success in getting us to dislike it and evoke this distaste. We didn’t know why, but this is why.

SO IN SUMMARY, OUTFIT WAS BAD ON PURPOSE. It wasn’t thoughtless, in fact there was a lot of research behind it and yet that seems to be thrown out to simplify the design in a way that looks like someone hand made it based off of what they had put together themselves.

But this isn’t my favorite part  of the concept art.  My favorite part is the hands.

Look at his hands. Why are they in those positions? Wouldn’t it have been easier to create more standard poses?  To me the hand gestures here are just too specific. So I started digging around for what they could be on a Art history level.  I looked at Non Christian art first and then Christian symbolism within their mosaics, illuminated manuscripts, and paintings. And I found some verrrry interesting similarities.  I am not trying to make this religious. I just found some interesting similarities between old Christian art and Volo’s design.  Which makes sense if we go back to this Greek/Roman influence because these cultures eventually converted to Christianity.  And Arceus is kind of a weird goat god Jesus.

The left hand is where the biggest symbolism is.  Basically, this hand gesture has been used to indicate “the hand of god” or the “hand of justice”.  Christ sometimes is draw with a similar hand position and could be a sign of the cross, but this would also refer to some sort of divinity.  I will also note that Volo is in no way making the classic “blessing” hand gesture.

As for the right hand he is making what I assume is a Greek/Roman orator (speaker) gesture. This would mean that Volo is calling for attention. Note, that I didn't’ compare this to prophets. That’s because orators speak for themselves and prophets for god.  And Volo thinks he is god.

Under this context, in the concept art Volo is essentially saying “I am God”.  If we add the symbolism of his outfit, it only further solidifies this idea.  Volo’s outfit/concept comes together and screams “behold, I am god , the hand of justice. I will be the creator or the new world”. Which is so freaking clever because that’s literally what he tells you. 

Sure his hands are switched and lowered compared to actual real world art examples (thank you Game freak for not throwing in actual religious symbols/gestures), but I think the intention is still there.  It’s so good that I am mad.  So as much as I hate this dumb outfit, I cannot deny that it was well thought out, that the character was well thought out.

To conclude, these are my assumptions. I am not an expert on art history or religion.  If you have further insights on this feel free to share. I’d be interested with what others had to add.  I the end this could all be wrong and just crazy for overthinking the designs of a pokemon character, but it just seems too intentional to be carelessly thrown together. This is just one possible interpretation.

Though its just more evidence in my mind that a lot of love and care went into developing Legends of Arceus. Despite their limitations and resources.

[kairiscorner]

Hello po! Can I request Bodyguard! Noir with a famous cosplayer s/o? The s/o is doing a fan signing and theres this one fan whos acting pretty creepy and starts flirting with em. The thing is, their relationship with Noir is private and the media hasn't found out.

HELLO PO :DD OH SURE !!! i hope you like this >:))

respectfully, back off. – bodyguard!spider noir x cosplayer!gn!reader

(reblogs are greatly appreciated, it helps get my content out there! if you guys like what you see, please reblog it too <:D)

peter loved everything about your dimension, earth-1218–it was so full of color and was so vivacious; especially during events that you frequented, such as the very one you brought him to, a cosplay convention where you were going to do a fan signing. peter wasn't very familiar with this whole 'cosplaying' gig you had going on–he didn't understand what all the hype was about, but if it made you happy, he'd support you a 110%.

he was taken aback by all the colorful and lively people and merchandise there was everywhere, the lights were his favorite part because they were all of different colors. he got a little giddy inside but was also super confuses when a bunch of people in both costumes, casual attire, and uniforms all stared at him and took their phones out. some asked for pictures with him, and you encouraged him to do it, but he was disoriented after the first few picture takings that you had to sit him down behind your booth for the fan signing.

though when he came back out, he was greeted to the sight of this... creepy person smiling a little too eagerly at the sight of you. you laughed at their 'jokes', but peter could tell that you were extremely uncomfortable. he came out from the back of the booth and confronted the person, towering over them and glaring down at them. "this guy bothering you, dearest?" he asked you with a low voice, and as you tried telling peter no so the situation could de-escalate, the creepy person smiled up at peter. "woah... no way, awesome spider noir cosplay, man!" they exclaimed as they pointed out all the little details he had on his costume.

the creepy guy's attention shifted from peter to you, however, as he tried grabbing both of your hands–begging you to go out and get some dinner with them. they told you they bought all your merch, liked and shared all your posts–the least they deserve is your affection in return, right...? of course not, you aren't indebted to their feelings–you didn't even know their name! as you backed away from them, they got frustrated with you and tried lunging at you to get you to come with them–but peter beat them to it and clutched their hands with his own and clenched them. hard.

"ow! what the hell? now... i-i don't care if you look awesome or sound like... like nick cage, you gotta let g- ah!" they exclaimed in pain as peter ball his fist up, with the creepy person's hand in his own. a series of pops and crunches were heard coming from the person's hand, and peter let go after they were wailing in pain. "i don't know who your 'nick cage' is, but i'm not that guy–i'm not just somebody to them." he said as he gently wrapped his arm around your shoulders, surprising you and your fans.

tags !! @thecoolerdor @miguelswifey04 @sabcandoit @binibinileonara @luvstarrstruck @maxoloqy @k4tsu3 @thee-fantastic-mrfox @arachnoia @ophanimgold

peter looked at them all as some of your fans were snapping photos and filming this very moment, with them all asking themselves: who the he was this guy and what was his relationship with you? you got all embarrassed and a little frightened because you knew some of your fans were a bit... extreme like that stalker guy, whose hand peter crushed earlier. as you tried explaining yourself and apologizing for peter's actions, security was soon coming and were going to see the wailing stalker with their swollen, broken hand.

you took peter by the hand and ran off with him, hurriedly announcing your fan signing was now over, much to your fans' dismay. they tried chasing you down, and so did security after they hurried over to the stalker and asked what happened, who hurt them. as you and peter ran down the halls and stairs of the convention, peter was more than satisfied at having made his statement clear earlier: nobody was allowed to mess with you... not when he's with you.

[wallieclock]

Third times the charm

-

Look guys! Can you BELIEVE Juanaflippa came back and they're all finally happy ? (ver. without frame+background in read more)(also me talking about my designs abit because i am 💥💥💥💥autistic)

-You may be wondering why Mariana isn't in his one-punch cosplay? It is because I drew it and hated it. I'll draw him in it one day

-The missing gloves are because i forgot

-You may also be wondering why I gave Flippa a halo but no horns. It is because her face already felt cluttered to me, But still wanted an indication that this was post-second death

-They all have little jewelry that clicks together because they are familia (Mariana's necklace is the biggest piece, than Charlies bracelet than Flippas)

-Charlie gets square eyes because he is. Slime

-^^^ I see charlie as like a full slime that can change shape REALLY well. When he gets stressed/isn't around people for a while he gets.... smudgy(During his murder arc he looked human and had human colors but they were all smudged like if you took a wet canvas and poured water on it) (during exile he was pretty much all green and didn't keep shape very well)

-Mariana's heart pin says '#1 bitch wife' the other one is just sunglasses emoji. I genuinely dont know why.

-Charlie's glasses and communicator are broken because he is :D

-Mariana's scars are from setting himself on fire

-Not many notes on Flippa. She's perfect (a bit horribly traumatized but whatevs)

-First time drawing them both so I would change some things (make charlie more slimy, give mariana a scarf or smthing to replicate his cape)

These guys have. A hold on me.

[orionsstory]

girl from mars | cassiopeia (01)

amandawn alien au is here baby !!! i hope you guys enjoy it, I'm really happy with how it turned out! ---

Amanda chucked her broken umbrella into the trash as she approached the steps to her townhouse, it seemed everything that could go wrong for her today was. First, her alarm hadn't gone off this morning which made her have to rush through her morning routine just to catch the bus into work. She barely made it on time, however, her relief was short-lived as one of her co-workers ran into her, spilling their coffee all over her. It hurt like hell, and it had ruined her favorite shirt- what once was a soft, silky cream shirt now had a large brown stain down the front.

As if that wasn't enough, the raise she had been working so hard towards for the past quarter went to Jane. Fucking Jane. Amanda's work rival who seemed to always have a problem with her- despite the fact that Amanda hadn't done anything to her. Having to deal with her as a desk neighbor was bad enough, but she refused to stop gloating about her raise for the rest of the day. She knew it pissed Amanda off, yet she did it anyway. She was practically seething as she walked home when her umbrella decided to break during a torrential downpour, further adding to her bad luck.

Completely soaked, Amanda stepped into the building's hallway to see her door left slightly ajar. Her eyes widened as she assumed the worst, however when she entered the building none of her items seemed to be missing- her TV, laptop, everything of value was still there, so she hadn't been robbed. She thought back to earlier in the morning- had she forgotten to close the door in her rush? It seemed to be the most likely option, she didn't remember locking the door like she usually did. She chided herself for being so careless as she dried her hair with a towel and changed into clean, dry clothes.

She made her way back to the kitchen, shaking the container of cat food as she poured it into Violet's bowl. Oddly, Violet did not come running into the room at the sound, which was very unlike her. "Violet?" Amanda called out, searching around the room for her beloved cat. She wasn't in any of her normal sleeping spots, which caused Amanda to start to panic. She was turning over couch cushions, peeking under the bed, and looking through every nook and cranny to find her. Finally, she hesitantly looked towards the door, the realization dawning upon her.

"Oh my god, please don't tell me she got out." She gulped, quickly pulling on a raincoat and rushing out the door.

-

"Violet?!" She called out, shielding her eyes from the torrential downpour as she peered into the alley. 'She wouldn't have gone far...not with all this rain' she reasoned to herself. But then again, she hadn't known how long Violet had been gone. She wasn't a super active cat, so Amanda was hoping and praying that she would be close by. Violet wasn't in this alley, so Amanda quickly ducked into the next one to continue searching. She had been looking for almost half an hour and was starting to become more nervous when she heard the faintest sound of a bell.

She rushed towards the noise, rounding the corner to an alley. She couldn't see anything from the outside, so she crept further into the dark alleyway. Once again, she heard the faint sound of a bell- one that sounded exactly like the one on Violet's collar. She clicked on her flashlight, illuminating the figure of a person and a grey cat in front of her.

"Violet! Oh my god!" Amanda cried out with joy, causing the figure to turn to face her. The person had black hair tied up into two high ponytails and was wearing a brightly colored outfit, they also had...blue skin? Amanda would've thought it was just a cosplay if it wasn't for the long elf ears and blank white eyes. The creature's eyes widened as Amanda approached, which caused her to slow down.

"Sorry, uh...I'm not going to hurt you," she calmly spoke, "My name is Amanda, and I just want my cat back. Uh, her name is Violet." She gestured towards herself and then towards the grey cat in their arms.

She hoped the creature could understand what she was trying to get across. She didn't know if they could understand English. She slowly approached the two, trying her best not to startle them. As she got closer, she could see the creature was covered in cuts and scrapes, dark blue blood pouring out of them. Amanda quickly bent down, examining the cuts as the creature flinched back.

"You're bleeding..."

Amanda sighed, against her better judgment she slung her raincoat off of her and covered the blue figure with it. They looked surprised, shrinking backward.

"Come with me, I'll help you."

She offered her hand out to them, the creature hesitating for a moment before taking her hand.

-

Amanda quickly ushered them inside her apartment, shutting (and locking, she learned her lesson this time) the door, leading the creature to the couch. Violet hopped out of the alien's arms and returned to her cat tree as Amanda rooted around her cabinets for the first aid kit. She finally found it and brought it back to the couch, gently sitting beside them so as to not disturb them. She gestured towards them to give her their arm. The creature obliged, and Amanda quickly began to treat their cuts muttering 'sorry' as the creature flinched.

She finished as fast as she could, leaning back once she was done.

"...Thank you."

Amanda's eyes widened and her jaw fell open.

"Y-you can speak English?"

"Of course. It's a common language to learn on my planet. I've known it since I was young."

She let out a soft 'oh'. She sat in silence for a moment, not sure what to do. To be honest, she wasn't completely sure if this experience was real. An alien was in her house- but aliens weren't supposed to be real. Maybe she was dreaming? But they felt so real. Their blood stained Amanda's fingers, and their skin was soft when she had been cleaning their wounds. She was at a loss for words, struggling to wrap her mind around what was happening to her.

"...I know this must be weird, huh?" 

Amanda could only nod in response.

"I...I could tell you what happened, I mean, you took me in and everything. It's only fair."

Her eyes flicked up towards them, "Are you sure? It's okay if you don't want to. I get it."

"I don't mind."

She nodded at them, encouraging them to continue.

"My name is Dawn, I'm what you would call an anthropologist- I'm studying human culture. I was traveling on my ship toward the area where I was going to study when I crash-landed not too far from here. God, my boss is going to be such a bitch about this. He doesn't think a girl should be in this field." She explained, rolling her eyes. "But anyways, the crash also shortcircuited my bracelet which lets me disguise as a human," Dawn raised her arm to show off a dangling silver bracelet, "so I can't even conduct research until it's fixed." She sighed, leaning back into the couch.

"Wow...that sounds like a lot, I'm sorry that happened."

Dawn waved her off, "Oh don't worry, I'll be okay. I just need to fix my bracelet and my ship. No big deal."

"Is...is that going to take long?"

"Months at least for the ship, but I'll manage."

Amanda's brows creased, she felt uneasy about the idea of Dawn being homeless for the foreseeable future. She shouldn't care this much- Dawn was essentially a stranger, and an extraterrestrial being at that, but for some reason, she did care. She couldn't help but speak before she could think.

"You could stay. Here, I mean. While you fix your ship."

Dawn's eyebrows raised, "Really? A-are you sure?"

Amanda nodded, "Yeah. I mean, it's no big deal."

The other girl's face lit up and pulled Amanda into a hug as she thanked her over and over. Amanda laughed, grateful the other girl couldn't see the blush spreading across her face.

"Oh shit, sorry I'm soaking wet from the rain." She realized, pulling back and looking down at her soaked clothes. "Uhm, give me a second to shower and change, I'll be right back."

She hesitated at her bedroom doorframe, "I have a spare t-shirt if you want it. So you're not in wet clothes."

Dawn smiled softly, "Thanks, I'd appreciate that."

And so, Amanda was rustling through her wardrobe for a shirt she deemed 'good enough'. What good enough meant, she didn't quite know. But it seemed that none of her shirts fit the bill. She eventually landed on a t-shirt with an image of Violet on it, grabbing a pair of matching pajama pants she made her way back out to the living room.

Dawn looked over the shirt, giggling to herself.

"What? Do you not like it?" She worried, her eyes scanning Dawn's face for a reaction.

"No, no- I think it's cute! You're such a cat mom." Dawn giggled. 

Amanda felt her face go red again, "Well, she is my pride and joy." She joked, feeling herself relax a bit.

She quickly retreated to the bathroom, letting the hot water wash over her skin. She stood there, thinking back on her insane day. From having what might be considered the worst day of her life to meeting an alien- she appreciated the chance to finally relax. She didn't know how long exactly she was in the shower, but by the time she reemerged into the living room, she found Dawn tinkering with her bracelet.

"Hope you don't mind I borrowed some of your tools."

Amanda took a seat beside her, watching her work.

"I don't mind. I never use 'em anyway. Do you think you'll be able to fix it?"

"Oh yeah, in fact..." she held the bracelet up to the light, examining it, "I think it might just be fixed."

She slipped the bracelet on, giving it a quick tap. Suddenly, the bracelet flashed a bright white. Amanda shut her eyes, only to find someone there when she opened them again.

Dawn's skin was now peachy, her black hair remained but it was shaven on the sides. Her blank white eyes had turned to light blue iris' and her elf ears had become rounded. She looked beautiful.

"Wow..."

"Impressive, right?"

Amanda nodded as Dawn beamed, clearly very proud of herself.

Her stomach rumbled, and Amanda realized it had probably been hours since either of them had eaten.

"Hungry?"

Dawn nodded.

"Let's test out your new disguise then- I know this great diner a few minutes away, c'mon!"

She pulled the other girl off of the couch, and after making sure she had actually locked the door this time, the two took off into the late night.

-

The diner was quaint, with blue leather booths and checkered floors. There were photos strewn about the walls, showcasing the different generations of a family. She caught Dawn staring at one that featured Amanda.

"This," she motioned, "is Megami's."

Suddenly, a woman popped out from the kitchen, squealing when she saw the two.

"Mandy! It's been so long, baby, how are you?"

Megami, one of Amanda's childhood friends and owner of the diner, enveloped her in a tight hug. "I know, I know! I'm sorry, I've been so caught up at work!" Megami pulled back, "And who is this?" She motioned to Dawn.

"This is Dawn, she's a friend from out of town. She's here doing some research, thought I'd take her to the best restaurant in town."

Megami eagerly shook Dawn's hand. "It's nice to meet you, any friend of Amanda's is any friend of mine! You guys just sit anywhere, I'll be right out to take your order!"

Amanda led Dawn to her favorite corner booth, beaming with pride.

"This place is neat," Dawn murmured, looking around her surroundings, "how long have you known Megami?"

"We're childhood friends- she used to hang out here when it was her parent's diner, and I preferred to hang out here instead of my grandma's after school. We clicked and we've been friends ever since!"

Dawn hummed, looking over the menu in her hands. "That's really sweet, I had a friend like that back on my home planet." Her eyes flicked back up to Amanda's. "Different dynamic though, Jay and I would always bully each other."

"Megami's being sweet to me because you're here. Trust me, she can be brutal." Amanda chuckled, earning a fake gasp from Megami who had just approached her table.

"Don't listen to her, I'm an angel." Megami chuckled, "So, what can I get for you two?"

The two ordered, Amanda ordering a burger and Dawn getting a plate of fries. Megami noted it down before walking back to the kitchen to get started. Amanda looked back at Dawn, a question forming in her mind.

"Uh, I have a stupid question..." she began, Dawn nodding for her to continue. "Do...do you guys have like...Earth food? In space?"

Dawn nodded. "'Course! It's like how you guys have Italian or Thai food, we have that with Earth food. Granted, Earth food on my planet is pretty small, usually some popular stuff from around the globe. We have sushi, pasta, fries, that kind of stuff."

"Is it any good?"

Dawn chuckled. "Well, my professors who had been to Earth always said it's shit compared to actual Earth food, but I think it's pretty good."

"Well..." Amanda said, her eye catching Megami coming out with their food, "I guess we'll have to see!"

Megami places the food down, and Amanda carefully watches as Dawn takes a bite of a fry.

"Well?"

She scrunched her face, appearing deep in thought as she munched on the fry.

"My professors were right, this is so much better."

Amanda cackled, Dawn smiling at her reaction. Suddenly, an idea popped into Amanda's brain. She quickly shot Megami a text before returning her attention to Dawn.

-

An hour had passed, but it felt like it had been no time at all. Despite meeting hours ago, Amanda felt like she had known Dawn all her life. The two got along like a house on fire, Amanda knew just how to make her laugh and she found herself enamored with Dawn's stories. Their banter was briefly interrupted by Megami bringing out a milkshake. She winked at Amanda before walking away.

"But we didn't order this?" Dawn says to her, confused.

"I did. As a surprise." Amanda explained, handing her a straw. "Have you ever had a milkshake before?"

Dawn shook her head no.

"Good, you're going to love it! I got vanilla, it's a pretty basic flavor." Amanda explained, unwrapping her straw and sliding it into the shake. Dawn mimicked her, watching Amanda take a sip from it. Dawn took hold of her own straw and followed her lead. Amanda watched with bated breath for her reaction.

She could've sworn Dawn had stars in her eyes.

"You like it?"

She nodded enthusiastically, "It's the best thing I've ever had."

Amanda broke out into a grin, "I knew it. Oh my god, this is great. I can't wait to take you to all my favorite places!"

"I'd like that, it sounds fun." Dawn smiled, taking another sip from her milkshake.

The two finished the shake shortly after that, Amanda paying and then leading them back to the apartment.

-

They soon returned to the apartment, Dawn coming out of her disguise as soon as Amanda clicked the door close. Amanda tried to stifle a yawn as she glanced at the time, it was late. She should've been in bed two hours ago, she had work tomorrow, but she didn't care.

"Are you tired? You should go to bed." Dawn spoke up, drawing Amanda's attention.

"Yeah, you're probably right...uh, the couch pulls out into a bed, I can set you up on that, if that's cool?"

Dawn nodded, "Yeah, of course!"

So Amanda got to work, fighting against the bed to get it into place. She had to get some help from Dawn, but eventually, it was all out. She quickly gathered the sheets and some spare blankets and pillows, setting them out for her.

"I figured we could go shopping tomorrow and get some clothes for you, you can just wear that for tonight."

Dawn nodded, getting into the bed and fluffing up the pillow. Amanda went to open her bedroom door before Dawn called out for her.

"Amanda?"

She turned around.

"Yeah?"

Dawn paused for a moment before speaking up again. "Thank you, for everything. You've been very kind to me. I know most people aren't like that."

Amanda softly smiled, leaning in the doorframe.

"It's no problem. Now I have my own little ET." She chuckled.

Dawn rolled her eyes, flipping off Amanda who cackled in response.

"Goodnight, Dawn."

"Goodnight, Amanda."

[lightleckrereins]

Have you heard the news? Apparently Hannah said on tiktok they are reusing old costumes. She is orange, Naomi is teal and Gabriella is silver because an existing pink doesn’t fit her and I guess they don’t want to go look at the black ones :/

First of all so sorry for going MIA for two weeks in the middle of peak six chaos time. Life got crazy (read been drowning in work, working like crazy in cosplay for a contest and battling a bad cold all at once).

Second I'm throwing this all together because answers overlap.

For once I actually saw the bits of the live(s) everyone is talking about. The things we know for a fact are: current WE alts will wear alt costumes made for previous alts for their second covers, those costumes have been altered to fit them (to quote Hannah) properly, Hannah will wear orange, Naomi will wear teal and since there wasnt an alt costume that fit Gabriella well enough she will be wearing a silver swing costume.

Six has a very long history of reusing costumes (I really need to make part two of that post). And the reason is generally obvious: debuted earlier than expected, no time to make a new costume, only wearing it for a very short period of time, fits well enough to wear full time, etc. Giving new life to costumes that were worn for only a handful of times, are in great condition and fit is a really good reason. We have been saying alts wearing altered costumes was a possibility since cast change. And at one point things pointed to them having different ones as a sort of emergency backup (orange for Naomi and pink for Hannah).

It is a good plan.

As for what they are getting and why. All black costumes have been worn by queens that had only black and for long periods of time so those are likely all too broken down and retired. It is the same case for silver but those have a stronger construction and the way Hannah phrased it says they tried all alt costumes before considering silver. I don't think they aimed for having different colors for all of them since second covers are meant to be for emergencies only and in theory who goes on for what character could be moved around to avoid duplicates (we know there will be shows with duplicates because this is six but that is not the plan). So Gabriella could have ended up with teal/orange/pink its just that nothing fit well enough.

And why do I keep saying "fit well enough"? Because I think they are aiming for a post lockdown AUS situation. They got a great mix of Zara's costume being a perfect fit for Cristina, Chiara inheriting Ella's costumes and despite not wearing the pants outside of promos and tech the top and shorts were a great fit, and Madeline wearing a slightly altered version of Jen's teal costume. On all three cases there are small signs that the costumes weren't made for them but you need to look very closely at photos to notice which means it wasn't visible from the audience. And I think thats what will happen with the WE alts. Costume team would have gone through the full costume stock to find what fits best with some alteration. We will definitely look at every milimeter of those costumes to search for the alteration points. But the audience won't know someone has two holes of net less or a new waistband and thats what matters.

[poupeesdecirque]

WiP - Clown Allen, Wig styling, final make up test before the con

Here we go again, I know I have posted the final make up test/the HQ photos a while ago, roughly a month before the con.

But as you might know this blog runs on queue and it takes a while until i post everything else and I like to have a variety posted.

I procrastinated on working on the wig with all I got. As I never worked with a frontlace wig.

In the end it wasn't as bad as I thought. But I was nervous regarding the make up as well as the first was super rough... I got some new body paint colors as I wasn't satisfied how brittle the clown paint was.

So after cutting off the edge of the lace it was about time ...

This is again still a bit rough, I have to cover the neck more and tweak a few things here and there. But damn I am glad I got new make up at least for the face itself. For the lashes I might go back to the other paint. Also I got a different brush for eyeliner and it's such an upgrade.

The mess though :'D

Time for pics!

Some full body photos.

Yes you can carry the collar like this. The seams from months ago are still broken LOL I need to fix them.

DOLL SELFIE WE CAN TWIN.

I think you can see how happy I was during the testing. THis is my absolute dream cosplay.

[bloodykillah]

Hi 🐍

[likeshipsonthesea]

I love your recent posts about Eddie and Shannon and their relationship. I just don’t see how the show can address any of that with the way they’ve written this arc. There’s no one who can criticise Eddie’s feelings of ‘she was the love of my life, I’m broken without her’ except us the audience. There are no characters who saw their relationship as it actually was, so how can the show steer Eddie in that direction? I feel like they’re gonna leave it as she’s his Great Dead Love and that’s that

i see what you mean, and tbh i'm not sure what the show is going to do with this arc on-screen. they have a bunch of storylines to tie up in this finale episode (here's hoping we don't get any cliffhangers 🤞) and i don't know how much time they will have to devote to eddie, or even what they want to do with that time. it's possible they have a completely different perspective on this and will take it a whole other way, but i have faith that the show will tell the story they want to tell and, if the past six seasons are any indication, i will enjoy that story

all that being said, if we're talking dream arc, this is what i would want

as far as who can tell eddie "hey, you're looking at your marriage with rose-colored glasses, this is how it actually is," i've got two ideas for this. one is eddie himself, and the second is his parents, specifically helena, who has been rumored to be in the s7 finale. i'm kinda more excited about the second, so let's get the first one out of the way

eddie himself - hopefully after the clusterfuck that is explaining to his son that he's been seeing a dead ringer for his dead mom and she cosplayed as mommy to give eddie closure, eddie will talk about this in therapy, and through the skills he's learned and a frank discussion (pun intended) he will be forced to confront the reality of his marriage and start to address the trauma he has from everything with shannon

p cut and dry, my typical eddie-goes-to-therapy kinda story. we've all been here before.

now, for the good stuff 😈 (putting this under a read-more bc i have Thoughts)

helena. the diaz mother we all know and have complicated feelings over. or not-so-complicated feelings over, given the "don't drag [chris] down with you" line. i know i keep asking y'all to think of things from the white woman's perspective, but bear with me just one moment while i do this again

helena married into a large mexican family in the 80s. she had a mother in law whose cooking was renowned, a husband always away on business, and three children to bring up along with keeping her home together. given how everyone in their family seemed to treat shannon, i'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume there were some heavy expectations on helena to be the wife everyone thought ramon deserved, and i'm gonna assume that meant a lot of tradition--cooking the right things, doing the holidays the right way, teaching the kids the right values, etc. etc.

i think it was hard. i think helena didn't always meet the expectations put on her. i know it was played as a joke, but during ramon's retirement party, eddie and pepa were concerned that helena was cooking a specific dish (i can't remember which one atm) until abuela assured them she was in charge of it. meaning this is probably a running joke, helena not cooking things as well as she ought to.

also, raising three kids with a physically absent husband in a town that (i'm assuming) is full of in-laws seems hard to me, too. (if this is sounding familiar, yes i'm about to make a shannon comparison just gimme another second). the stories we hear about eddie as a kid are yes, reflections of traditional masculinity and eddie falling short of that, but also reflections on his parenting--how could helena let her son try to cook? that should be her job, she should be watching him! how could she let him try to drive at 8? tsk tsk and all that

i think helena has become a part of the diaz family fully, but i don't think it was always easy, and i think when her son married a white woman who didn't fit the expectations of a diaz wife either, helena recognized that. i think helena saw herself in shannon so clearly.

and instead of breaking the cycle and offering shannon that support and empathy that shannon (and young helena) needed, helena enforced those expectations even harsher. helena did it, so shannon had to, too.

maybe it was out of protection--she wanted shannon to fit into the family the way helena had learned to. maybe it was common generational sentiment, i.e. it's the Right way or it's the way I did it so therefore you have to do it that way, too. maybe it was a means of reinforcing her own place in the family, as she was no longer the newbie, shannon was.

whatever it was, i don't think she was conscious of it, and especially after shannon left her son, helena refused to acknowledge she was anything like shannon at all.

until now.

(yes i've found my way back to the point, i usually do i promise--and yes my adhd meds are THRIVING rn)

both helena's husband and son have done a lot of emotional work in the recent years and i think it's likely she would take a queue from them (and if her daughters are anything like me, i'm sure they're trying to nudge her towards a therapist at every turn). helena very well may be in a place where she can acknowledge how the expectations she's lived under may have been stifling, and given her son's recent encounter with kim, she very well may be in a place to acknowledge how similar shannon was to her.

and that's where, dear anon, your point comes in.

because helena was there for shannon and eddie's entire marriage. ramon was working, eddie was in the war, abuela and pepa were in la, but helena was right down the street (idk if she was actually right down the street but you know what i mean). helena knew shannon as an 18-20yo woman, as a new mother, as a struggling mother. she was in the unique position of watching shannon go through a marriage alone and remembering exactly how that felt.

kim may look like shannon, but she has no idea how shannon felt during her marriage. eddie can say all the things he wants to say, but it's like talking to a gravestone. i think helena can say the things eddie needs to hear, even if he may not want to hear them.

....and now i really wanna write that conversation. fuck.

[amazonmandy]

Finally, my 2nd Lady Death! I am finishing 4 costumes this month that I started so long ago, life just keeps happening. It feels good to be wrapping them up and planning shoots for them all!

I based this design on a gorgeous cover art by colletteturnerart! I chose a rich blue velvet for the gown, the accessories are foam and thermoplastic. The sword was printed by gmweed(tw), I put it together, painted, added crystals. White is probably the body paint color I hate doing the most, it's so difficult to get even, but my airbrush was the MVP in this one. I need to find new shoes for this, the freaking heel busted on one during the first wear ✨✨ That is IF I wear this again, I may sell this at some point bc for whatever reason it's just one of those cosplays that I don't feel super great in. I love wearing my original black LD much more!

BUT at least Scoundrel.run got some amazing pics, what a trooper while I limped around on that broken heel 💀💀💀 we did find the perfect location, though!

[phthalology]

situation: helping someone remove an accessory/article of clothing/armor/etc. not often removed? (i was thinking of necklaces, but...)

ah, friend, I asked for cute prompts, received many lovely ones including this one, and immediately started writing for you the aftermath of bloody violence. there are some cute parts in this, perhaps. I did not consult my fanfiction medical expert except to say like "I got this," so any mistakes are my own. for anyone who has been following my hfw opinions closely: burning shores exists in my headcanon only under certain conditions. this is one of those conditions. similarly, this story is not in signal-verse, although perhaps if I had written about one sentence longer it would have had to be, since these two need about thirty thousand words of buildup to get to the kissin. shoutout to the playstation cosplay guides, which provided turnarounds and useful information about materials and such.

aloy/sylens, 800 words, pre-ship 

*

Sylens slammed to his knees in the grass, green staining up his pant leg. The verdant jungle colors clashed with blood so red and free-flowing Aloy thought for a moment the machine might have taken off his hand.

Aloy and Sylens had gone to the jungle shore tracing rumors of a surviving Zenith mobile platform. Now, Aloy left her spear in the machine’s guts, seeing by the shudder and collapse that it wouldn’t rise up again, and hit her own knees hard. Craned to see whether she was about to have to figure out a prosthetic for the only person on the planet who could reverse engineer a Zenith shield.

Sylens winced and ripped a strip of cloth off his wrist. Repositioned it to staunch the blood pooling over the back of his hand. His metal brace hung at a broken angle; the machine’s flail had cut up and under the brace, through leather and linen. Aloy’s voice clenched in her throat. This can’t be what kills him. Not after everything. 

She wouldn’t fuss over him, and he wouldn’t want her to. But her throat relaxed when he spoke. “Need to elevate it —“

So he hung his head against the machine’s strange, smooth chassis and stretched his arms up, one hand clasping the other wrist. Closed his eyes and breathed hard. Aloy, breathing hard too and wanting to close her own eyes, started tearing the machine’s wrenched-apart limbs into scrap. Sylens wouldn’t necessarily tell her if he was hurt badly, but she’d be angry if he didn’t, angry that he valued his aloofness more than their shared venture, angry that … well, scared that he’d leave her again. They’d just gotten used to each other. They’d just started sharing meals with Beta at the base.

“Tell me that cut isn’t as bad as it looks,” Aloy finally said, half-way finished with material recovery. 

“It is not as bad as it looks.” Sylens struggled to unpeel tangled cloth from the metal brace as blood dried and turned tacky. 

“Let me help you.”

“The wound shouldn’t be moved now. Surely, you know that much.”

Aloy climbed on top of the machine. Flopped down on her belly and eased his palm off the metal from above. “It’s tangled.”

“I know.”

“Do you mind if I move this?” The brace — a strut from a Ravager, most likely — had nearly fallen loose from the wrappings. 

He sighed, exasperated, and she pulled back. Battlefield care was one thing. But the blood was clotting, the emergency ending, and she hoped to show some respect for him. She wouldn’t help if he didn’t want, out of both that respect and many years of anger. Grudging as it was, their last serious conversation — after her return from the Burning Shores — had left her with a smile and some mutual respect, and had left him working in her room, as comfortable there as he was in his own skin.  

“If you must,” he said.

She untangled the brace, pulling strips of blue linen with it, and tied it to her belt. After that he was quiet and watched her. The leather wrapping hooked around his thumb was ripped down to the big veins at his wrist.

“I have to cut this off,” she said, “Or it’ll stick in the wound.”

Sylens nodded. 

“This angle will make it difficult,” Aloy said, realizing as she spoke. “Put your hand down. The blood is clotting.”

He nodded. With both of them standing in the green clearing she could lay the golden edge of an arrowhead against his wrist and tear. The battlefield healing was nothing new to her — she’d helped other people with wounds after the battle of Meridian, and after some Tenakth or Utaru skirmishes — but since Sylens had always held himself so aloof, it was strange to see the calmness with which he presented the underside of his wrist to her weapon. Aloy found herself holding the back of his hand in the palm of hers to wash the wound. He kept his fingers curled up so as not to touch her. The flail had laid open a thin layer of fat on his lower arm, but at the back just below the first set of piercings, not near the vital veins. She had done all she needed to do now; he could do the rest. But … 

“I have herbs,” she said. “Let me fix this up before we start a long ride back.”

So she packed the wound too, and this let her feel the warm weight of his wrist in her palm for a while longer, let her look at the proportions of him and feel the pulse point under her fingertips. She hadn’t noticed such details before, the hair on his arm or the lines on his palm. All the while he looked at her with the new openness she had seen since he started living at the base, a sort of surprise that softened his face. People think Avad looks regal, Aloy thought, because they’ve never seen Sylens … 

His hand trembled slightly. Aloy had packed the wound all she could. She handed him the brace and the torn linen strips, which he took in a firm left hand. No tremble there at all. 

[sseanettles]

Tag Game

Tagged by @zzoomacroom, thanks dear!

Fav Color: dark blue, like a deep, dark navy blue

Last Song: welcome to the machine by pink floyd

Currently Reading: not currently reading anything (too busy between my actual real life job, cosplay work, and trying to get back into my own writing), but I read Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson last month and greatly enjoyed it

Currently Watching: I am presently re-watching my belovedly dorky Psych, it's such a delightful, low-brain-power trip down memory lane

Currently Craving: pork tamales :( I got faked out by the red sauce stain on the corn husks on the last one in our fridge, which turned out to actually be rajas con queso (which I hate)

Coffee or Tea: I take the third door. hot chocolate.

Hobby To Try: woodwork. I want to try to make my own alebrijes

Current AU: oh man. how to live with living forever aka my "Death resurrects Morpheus, and he is pettily furious about it in the single most graphic and self-destructive way he can manage ft. Hob Gadling discovering how much he love-hates the Endless as he teaches his bedridden stranger currently rotting away on his couch how to face up to the truth of the self, how to find the will to live when you have no other choice, and how to be a better person." The first work is nothing grows in corpses (in the earth of me).

The second one is going to be called ruin (of bitten lips and broken hands) and you can read an excerpt here from my old blog of Delirium being. well. Delirium. but in Hob's bed. while he is still in it. and Gwen is very, very deeply, mercifully asleep next to him. it's a good time XD.

Tagging mutuals (no pressure): @windsweptinred @inastarlesssky @rriavian

[da-owo]

GOOD MORNIFN TUMBLR IT IS CURRENTLY 2 PM FOR ME AN I AM FEEELIN VERY GOOD VERY COMIC MOTIVATED to answer some questions tho - do i sleep? absolutely even if its only a couple hours i have horrible insomnia and i tend to have to exhuasted myself to an extreme deal if i want to sleep more then 3 hrs which is why sometimes ill be alive at 4 or 5 am , this is also why i stated updates will be random , tho i dont like posting at 3 am i will if i want to move onto my next project -you've noted my bio says full time nsfw artist , is there going to be nsfw in the comic? if there is it will not be plot related and it will kept to my nsfw accounts ( i will not be sharing a link here or in the comments of this post as i have already shared where you could find that content ) - i'm really fast how am i getting this much done this fast? i work from home an yes do art full time , i do live in stream commissions so i just have "trained" my self to move faster when it comes to my art that way i can do more then just one persons commission in stream so now out of habbit i go go go go i've been called the "amazon prime" "same day shipping" artist haha tho sometimes a really really big piece comes through an that is a all day project but nonetheless anyone can practice enough to do stuff fast i also have been a full time artist for 5 years now ( sometimes even just taking a day to do fast sloppy sketches really helps with getting speed but speed should not be you main focus your growing as a artist and should enjoy the process and the art you make <3 -anything cosplay related , since i have gotten a vast amount of questions there -my wigs are all to mostly from arda wigs ( my jack frost and danny wig is a jet wig from arda, jacks is a silver in jet and danny's is a pure white in jet but i cut it in half to dye the under cut black ) if my wig isnt from arda they are mostly from amazon map of beauty is a good start for someone who wants a cheap wig to start with - i have been cosplaying for almost 12 years now i do not use name brand make up tbh my foundation is super stay from walmart in the lightest shade since i dont get to see the sun very often haha , i will always recommmend TRANSULUCENT setting powder -Contacts! yes sometimes i wear them but my eyes are very sensitive and i am very blind so most the time i am just editing them to the color i need them lol please stay away from ttdeye contacts they can damage your eyes DO NOT SHARE CONTACTS if they hurt TAKE THEM OUT NOW , contacts can cut and damage your eyes very easy - my jack frost cosplay staff , my staff is over 6ft tall ( i am not very short so i had to make it sized to me ) its a pvc pipe i had laying around and on the top there is a piece of a different broken prop hot glued to hell and back and heat shaped to make the hook then i i cut up a bunch of random lengthed shapes of foam and glued it around from the base to the very top and then sat there with my hot glue gun and added wood texture with hot glue , painted it a off brown , then dry brushed white all over it my staff is not perfect but for having made it all in one day i love it

if i missed anything feel free to ask im sure have an answer haha also been debating a name for my comic so might be refering to it as the golden dream but im unsure if i want to commit to it haha