#cheap replica hats

[repoutfit]

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[starshideurfics]

Thirsty Thursday - Pumpkin

steddie, omegaverse, bones and boners, mpreg, mdni🔞

Eddie is the master of decorating for Halloween, but his prized possession is a life-sized, articulated skeleton that he got for the low price of free when Mr. Clarke replaced the replica human skeleton in his classroom with a new one.

It’s kinda big to store, so for the most part it stands in the corner of his and Steve’s living room, occasionally outfitted with a seasonal hat. At New Year’s, the skeleton is wearing a glittery top hat, a party blower stuck between its teeth. Steve and Eddie get home late, tipsy on cheap champagne after watching the ball drop at their local bar with Robin and Chrissy.

They giggle together as they drop onto the couch, talking about everything and nothing until suddenly Steve turns serious and says, “We should fuck. Right now.”

Eddie struggles to focus and half-slurs, “Loving the energy, babe, but why?”

Steve doesn’t answer right away, just bolts to his feet and stumbles over to the skeleton, pointing at it. “Because we need a Halloween baby!” He picks up a decorative candle, red and white with candy cane stripes, and waggles his eyebrows as he crudely thrusts it up through the pelvic opening on the skeleton. “C’mon, Eddie. Put a baby in me,” Steve begs, his hand slowing as he holds the candle in place, the image comical as Eddie imagines his driving his dick so deep into his omega that the tip reaches the bottom of his sternum.

Eddie nods, tripping over his feet in his haste to get to Steve, taking his face in his hands and kissing him soundly. Steve puts down the candle, and they giggle as they strip on their way to the bedroom.

🎃🎃🎃

Ten months later, Steve is ready to pop. He’s full-term, could go into labor any day, but he and Eddie are still having their friends over the night before Halloween for a party. Their 20-week ultrasound has pride of place, blu-tacked to the skeleton’s pelvis, and Steve is taking advantage of his pregnant belly for his costume. He asks Will to paint the jack o’lantern face, and it turns out perfectly.

Eddie is dressed as a scarecrow, complete with fake birds on his shoulders, and Steve has to keep reminding him to be careful and avoid smearing the paint, his mate constantly needing to touch his belly and cradle their pup.

The party ends early when Steve’s water breaks around nine. Their baby is right on time; Jack Munson is born at three in the morning—at the witching hour on Halloween.

[cillianmesoftlyyy]

As You Wish Pt. 2 | Neil Lewis x fem!reader

Summary| Neil, still thinking about the other day, invites y/n to Gumshoe Video's movie night. The theme (besides vampires) is the 1960s and so she dresses for the part. And like any good vampire thriller- only the good stuff happens after dark...

Warnings| age gap- reader (19) Neil Lewis (27), cursing, kissing, groping, teasing, unprotected sex, penetration, no fore-play.

word count: 4261K

Midnight City- M83 🎶

Our Swords- Band of Horses 🎵

Shout out to the lovely reader who requested a part 2! This is for you!

Please read warnings and continue at your own discretion, thanks!

She can hear the chatter from outside as rain plasters the wide display windows. She stops outside Gumshoe Video and peeks her head inside, sparing her hairdo from the storm outside. Her hair was pinned into a half-beehive and curled up around her shoulders like a young Pattie Boyd. The guests inside turn when the bells above the door announce her presence. They cheer and raise their red plastic cups in greeting and she laughs back, her smile dragging widely across her face. And there he is: Neil Lewis. He’s standing beside the box tv set with a bottle of cheap beer in his hand. He’s wearing a powder blue dress shirt from the seventies and a dark blue suit. His longish hair is swept out of his face and he smiles at something someone has said. When he looks over, he sees her, and his mouth falls open. 

“Oh my God! Where did you get this?” A woman swoops in from the side and admires her dress. 

“It’s a replica mod dress from the 60s. I made it,” she answered with a polite smile and allowed the woman to inspect the stitching. As she raised her eyes, they met Neil’s. His eyes widened slightly as he dropped them down to her thighs before traveling back up to her face. Her dress was boxy, like that of a mod dancer, and so short that it was barely fingertip length (to use school-girl terminology). She was dressed up as a gogo dancer, red vinyl boots and all, for the showing of Gumshoe Video’s The Kiss of the Vampire. Neil bit his tongue as his eyes crawled down her body. Her dark red dress had a high modest neckline but was sleeveless and short. The fabric was a tautly starched linen that didn’t move much as she walked. It hugged her waist with a thick belt but fared out around her thighs in a fixed shape. Her makeup was a copy of one of Twiggy’s famous looks with the exaggerated eyelashes and dark eyeliner. Her eyelids were a bright blue that clashed with her red clothing, a mixing of primary colors. When the woman stepped away, she advanced shyly, resisting the urge to bite her lip and ruin her lipstick. Neil cleared his throat and nodded quickly at Lucien whom he was talking to when she had come in. His eyes darted back and forth, between her and Lucien’s prop pipe. His long eyelashes fluttered as he stole glances at her between pretending to listen to Lucien. 

“Hey! Nice of you to join, I’m Jonathan.” Jonathan appeared beside her and offered his hand not holding a beer. She shook it and smiled. 

“Y/N, I tried to dress for the theme.” She looked down at her costume and he nodded emphatically. 

“I did too. I was going for Ringo Starr.” Jonathan twirled, showing off his bright pink military costume like the one Ringo wore for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. She nodded and smiled. 

“I see the resemblance. Who is Neil supposed to be?” She jerked her head at Neil and Jonathan sighed. 

“He said that he was going as one of the Monkees but personally, I don’t see it.” 

“He must have run out of costumes,” she laughed and Jonathan shrugged dramatically. As she finished that sentence, Neil broke away from Lucien, slightly breathless and placed a hand on her back in greeting. She looked up at him, curling her toes inside her shoes. 

“You’re one of the Monkees?” She teased him lightly and Neil chuckled and shook his head. 

“I did have a hat on, it made more sense when I was wearing the hat.”

“So you were Micheal?” She asked and he gestured wildly at her for Jonathan, “See I told you someone would get it.” 

“That’s only because you both have weird niche knowledge,” Jonathan wrinkled his nose. “Uh oh, Lucien is talking to two strange women. I’m going to swoop in before he says something weird,” he hurried over to Lucien and patted him playfully on the head. Neil immediately looked down at her, his cool resolve slipping slightly. He was flustered. 

“Wow,” he gestured with both hands at her costume and she blushed self-consciously. He stuttered as he tried to say something coherent. “I’m uh, just uh… wow.” He scratched the back of his head and shoved his hands into his pockets, glancing around quickly before leaning in close to her ear. “Jesus Christ you smell good too.” He shook his head, forgetting what he was originally going to say. She smiled giddily. 

“Thank you,” she whispered. 

“Do you want to see my office?” Neil cleared his throat as he looked around, trying to look natural to everyone else in the store. His slumped posture and darting eyes would betray him if anyone cared to look at him long enough. He replaced his hand on the small of her back and swirled a finger across the fabric. She played with the hem of his blazer, blushing hard. 

“Hey, Neil!” A couple stopped in front of them and Neil jumped back to attention, his arm flying back behind his head and off of her body. He coughed briefly and cleared his throat. 

“Hey- hey! How’s it going?” He smiled distractedly and greeted his friends. They waited expectantly to be introduced to the girl and Neil gasped slightly, remembering. “Oh sorry, this is Y/N and Y/N, this is Buddy and Marcia.” He waved between them and they all nodded at each other politely, exchanging handshakes and smiles. “Enjoy the movie!” Neil said a little over enthusiastically and Buddy furrowed his brow, slightly concerned as they walked away. Jonathan found them at the makeshift bar and chuckled. 

“That’s the new girl,” he gestured with his cup and Marsha pursed her lip approvingly. 

On the other side of the room, Neil turned back to her and licked his lips. “So… my office?” He raised his eyebrows and jerked his thumbs at the separate office space in the back of the store. She giggled as she dug her toe into the ground and swayed slightly against him. Neil’s smile grew as he led her from the main store area and back into the office. When she passed through the door after him, Neil closed it and lowered himself slightly, his arms going out wide as he looked her up and down again mouthing, “oh my god.”

“So you like it?” She ran her hands down the front of her dress and shifted the weight on her feet proudly. 

“I mean, just look at you!” He ran his hand over his mouth and stepped in closer. The desk knocked softly into her tailbone as she retreated. “I love it,” he emphasized and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She was leaning back against the desk, her legs spread and her weight evenly distributed. Neil stepped closer, his body firmly between her legs. She worked up the courage to touch him, sliding her palms around his waist beneath his blazer. 

“Your fucking thighs,” Neil whispered breathlessly as his index fingers traced around the small hairs on her upper thighs. “God…” he gasped softly, already feeling himself get hot under the collar. She rubbed her nose against his and gave him a soft peck on the mouth. 

“Is that all I get?” He whispered with a furrowed brow. He ran his knuckles down her neck and tried not to gasp when he found her breasts. She kissed him again, pulling herself up higher by his shoulders. Her fingers dug into the plush fabric of his jacket’s shoulder pads. He responded immediately, shoving his tongue into her mouth. Neil pawed desperately at her, his hands grabbing at her thighs, her breasts, and her head. He pushed her up onto the desk and she whined in protest as he now towered above her. He chuckled breathlessly and dragged his hands up the inside of her thighs. 

“Shh,” he smiled when she glowered, wanting to cling to him as she kissed him. When she stopped wiggling, he leaned down and kissed her slowly. She held onto his hips by hooking her fingers in his belt loops. His hands prodded further, stroking the elastic band of her underwear around her pelvis. She was wearing cotton underwear and Neil could feel the wetness pooling at her opening through the fabric. He started to fall apart as he stroked her clothed cunt with his long fingers. She squirmed on the desk in front of her and the heels of her gogo boots knocked against the desk, her back arched into him. She moved his hands beneath her skirt, looking up at him with wide suggestive eyes. 

“Here? Now?” Neil whispered, slightly shocked at the girl’s suggestion. “Are you insane?” He whispered beside her ear, his voice laced with perverted desire though he tried to shake it from his voice, still wanting to be the voice of reason. 

“Neil…” she muttered at him and petted his crotch with slow, heavy moves. 

“What?” He whispered, an edge in his voice. His forehead was still creased and he tried to even out his breath as his cock pushed against every touch of her hand. 

“You’re supposed to say, As. You. Wish.” She squeezed her thighs around his legs, just below his hips and wrapped her hands around his hips. Neil raised an eyebrow and laughed lightly. He watched her as she bore into his eyes, thick with desire. He looked her up and down and reached both hands beneath her skirt again, pulling her underwear down over her butt. She had to lean back slightly as he dragged the cotton wad down over her gogo boots. He looked down at the underwear in his palm and trilled his lips lowly. 

“This is a bit more involved than I was expecting but I’m all for it,” he shrugged with a loose smirk and put the underwear on the desk beside them. She smiled and pulled on his dress shirt, prompting him to give her a satisfying kiss. 

“You were the one who suggested that I see your office,” she giggled quietly. 

“I needed a sense of adventure.” He muttered against her lips, his eyes closed. 

“Neil… Adventure?” She smiled lazily and stroked his jaw, her short nails running dully down his neck. 

“I like the sound of that,” he continued to kiss her, his nose crushing against her cheek. A knock at the door made them both jump and Neil turned around quickly, shielding her from the view of whomever was at the door. 

“Neil! We’re starting the movie now and Jonathan doesn’t know how to work the player. You gotta fix it.” Lucien yelled through the door. His silhouette showed through the frosted glass. 

“Fuuuuuck,” he groaned quietly and rubbed his face. His erection fell slightly at the interruption and he sighed. “Ok, Lucien. I’m coming!” He smiled falsely as he yelled back his response.   

“Oh, I’m sure you are,” Lucien mumbled beneath his breath and hurried back into the store area. 

“I’ll see you out there,” Neil cringed and fixed his suit as much as he could. 

“Break a leg,” she smiled and hopped off of the desk, her underwear still sitting on the desk. She pulled them back on over her gogo boots and followed him out. Neil walked around to the back of the tv and checked the cables. She watched from the back of the room, a deep blush spreading across her face as she noticed the places where her red lipstick had left smudges around his mouth. She smiled down at her boots and bit her lip, trying to compose herself. Neil stepped back in front of the tv with Jonathan and announced the movie, lipstick still smudged around his wide lips. 

“And now, Gumshoe Video presents the 1963 The Kiss of the Vampire,” he extended his hands to the small square tv and waggled his fingers. The audience laughed and hooted. Some glanced over at her and smiled, she blushed deeper. 

“Nice touch,” one guy called from the couches and Neil stared at him blankly, his eyes then slowly drifting to her. She pointed at her mouth and rested her chin on her fist. Neil laughed it off and winked as he stepped aside and the movie started. She sat down on the couch in the back and scooted to the side as Neil joined her, collapsing with an anxious exhale. 

“Kissed by a vampire,” he shook his head, “why didn’t I think of that? That would have been a perfect costume.” He spoke with his hands, and shrugged his shoulders. She hid her face in her hands to hide her smile. “Was it really that noticeable?” He whispered and she nodded, embarrassed. 

“Sorry,” she giggled quietly and wiped the lipstick smudges from his face with her thumb. Jonathan moved around the spread of couches and perched on the edge of the couch beside them. 

“Nice touch, Neil. I think it makes the viewing experience more realistic.” Jonathan snarked and Neil rolled his eyes. 

“Shut up, Jonathan.” Neil sighed and massaged his face, pulling down on the skin. Jonathan winked at her and she smiled. Jonathan drifted off as the movie started and the title card appeared. As Neil relaxed into the couch, his hand found her thigh and rubbed his knuckles across her thigh. She leaned against him, her head resting against the wing of his shoulder as he moved his arm around her. 

…

“What’d you think of the movie?” Neil shoved his hands into his pockets as they locked up Gumshoe Video, the store now completely dark. 

“It’s a classic vampire movie,” she shrugged and smiled, “no notes,” she added. 

It had stopped raining but the sidewalks were littered with shallow puddles of dark water. Neil chuckled and placed one hand on the small of her back as they turned away from the store. 

“I thought you’d like it,” Neil smirked and she raised her eyebrow. 

“Why?”

“You would 100% be the kind of girl to get abducted by an insanely attractive vampire and fall in love with him.” 

“Well would he suck my blood at the end and kill me?” She pretended to consider the universe that Neil was suggesting. 

“Oh of course,” Neil shrugged his shoulders up to his ears and furrowed his brows playfully. 

“I can’t see it,” she shook her head and clasped her hands behind her back as they walked. She looked down at her shoes and smiled. Neil fell silent for a moment, his eyes once again trailing her up and down. 

“Have I told you how amazing you look?” Neil cleared his throat. 

“Yes, but I wouldn’t mind hearing it again,” she blushed and cocked her head to the side, looking into his eyes as they walked. Neil wet his lips and stopped, looking her up and down once again. 

“You look amazing.” He said seriously and she looked away, self-conscious. They were stopped in front of Neil’s house, a two-story craftsman in a dark green color that looked dark blue in the darkness. She looked from the house to Neil’s face, the front porch light reflecting in his bright blue eyes. Neil laughed awkwardly when he realized that they had stopped at his house. 

“Will you come inside?” He twisted his hips casually, jerking his head once at the front door. The girl exhaled shakily and nodded. 

“Yeah.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” She answered with a nervous smile. 

Neil broke into a large smile, the lines of his cheekbones stretching down to the edge of his jaw beside his pink lips. They climbed the stairs to the house and Neil let her inside, his eyes traveling up the length of her body as she stepped into the house in front of him. Neil closed the door behind him, exhaling slowly. She met his eyes when she turned back and smiled shyly when she noticed how he stared at her. 

“Do you want to kiss me?” She asked him quietly. Neil nodded emphatically, his hand still on the doorknob behind him. 

“Then come here and kiss me,” she whispered and turned fully to face him. She felt her cunt grow hot and heat billowed down her thighs. Neil clenched his jaw and swallowed, his eyes now fixed on the girl’s mouth. He pushed himself off of the door and approached her, his hips swaying slightly as he walked. She kept her arms by her side as Neil wrapped gentle fingers around her upper arms, right above her elbows, and held his lips within inches of hers. She savored the way he smelled, like laundry detergent and mouthwash. He smelled like what she imagined domestic masculinity would smell like if it could be bottled. She sighed softly before he kissed her, his lips drawing hers between his. He held her in place, not aggressively, and kissed her, moving his head occasionally to taste her from different angles. 

When he broke away she took a step back and clasped her hands behind her back girlishly. Neil laughed like a schoolboy, shocked by the surge of desire and energy he felt just from the kiss. 

“Can I take you upstairs?” He leaned his arm against the wall and pointed to the staircase in front of them. She bit her lip, trying to stop from laughing hysterically from nerves. She took a step backwards and stepped onto the bottom step, facing Neil. 

“Ask me again,” she teased and bit her lip harder. Neil exhaled sharply as he felt his cock twitch aggressively in his pants. The dark room threw her body into shadow and the windows above the stairs illuminated her silhouette. He wet his lips and asked again. 

“Can I take you upstairs?” 

She could still make out his blue eyes in the dark as the windows provided enough light to catch their color. She took a few more steps up, still facing him. 

“As you wish,” she whispered. Neil laughed, thrilled by her little game. He hurried up the stairs but she kept a few steps between them at all times until she reached the top of the stairs. She backed up into the wall beside the window and allowed Neil to close in on her. Neil held her hips in his large hands and kissed her again, this time snaking his tongue into her mouth, testing the waters. They stumbled away from the stairs and rushed into a doorway, Neil catching himself on the doorframe with both arms so that he could turn her around. He twisted her around so that her back was to his bed. 

Neil’s room was exactly as one would expect. His walls were decorated with movie posters with the addition of a few select female movie stars that he had the hots for. He helped the girl back onto the bed and leaned over her on the bed. She weaved her fingers through the hair on the back of his neck and traced his jaw with her palms. He worked quickly to pull off her gogo boots and slipped off his suit jacket. She moved onto her knees on the edge of the mattress and slid each button out of its eyelet on his power blue shirt. Neil shrugged it off and pulled each sleeve over his wrists, dropping it to the floor. She pressed her hands against his chest and placed a few shaky kisses against his warm skin. Neil sighed pleasurably and swept her hair over her shoulders to lie flat down her back. Looking up at him, she moved her hand down to the zipper at his crotch. Neil’s eye widened as she unzipped his fly and slid her hand down into the front of his hands, beneath his underwear. She cupped his erection in her hand and rubbed her hand down the hot and trembling length. Neil sputtered as she stroked him, his hands returned to the bed on either side of her body. She leaned down so that she could kiss the side of his neck while she jerked him off. Precum coated his cock so her hand slid easily over him and she shivered when she heard Neil gasp softly beside her ear. 

“Fuck, you’re full of fucking suprises,” he panted and squeezed his eyes shut. She exhaled against his neck and left a fresh hickey before responding. 

“This isn’t a movie, Neil. You can’t predict the ending.” 

She pulled her hand out of his pants and kissed his briefly as she scooted farther into the bed. Neil watched her breathlessly, his face hot. He watched her as she unzipped the side of her dress and pulled it over her head. Her bare breasts confronted the cold air by hardening. Neil’s jaw nearly fell open when he saw her, exposed like that. All that remained on her body was the cotton underwear which he allowed his gaze to linger on, camouflage by her thighs. She laid back on the bed and propped herself up on her elbows, her stomach trembling with nerves and desire. Neil’s erection pushed noticeably against his boxers. With his eyes still trained on the girl, he pushed down his pants and crawled onto the bed, stopping over her. He lowered his mouth to her neck and kissed the soft flesh there, savoring how warm she was against his mouth. She worked her underwear down and he could feel her hips shift on the mattress which thrilled him. He sat back to look at her, fully nude now. He raised her leg into the air and kissed down her calf, stopping at the underside of her knee. 

“I want to fuck you,” Neil saidbreathlessly as he moved his fingers down her thigh. She smiled darkly, her bow mouth drawn up into a smirk. His cock throbbed in his underwear and hovered above her navel.

“Say it again,” she whispered. Neil raised an eyebrow and exhaled anxiously.

“I want to fuck you.” 

“Again.”

“I want,” he leaned down to her ear and shoved a finger inside her gently, “to fuck you.” She whimpered and bit her lip. 

“Again,” she struggled to say the words, her cheeks flushed. 

“No, honey. You’re supposed to say, as you wish.” Neil whispered against her skin, his finger curling inside her. He smiled when she squirmed and moaned. 

“Ah, fuck- fuck me,” she gasped before Neil crushed his mouth against hers. He pulled down his boxers just enough to free his erection and centered himself at her cunt which was throbbing as much as he was. 

“As you wish,” he chuckled and removed his finger, swapping it out for his cock. He pushed in gently, working his tip inside her slowly as she squirmed needily beneath him. She was tight from nerves and inexperience and he whined despite himself as he went deeper. Her hands found his back and gripped into his flesh. He watched as his cock struggled to fit all the way inside her and moaned loudly when he saw her mouth held open in pleasurable shock. 

“Is it ok?” He groaned and stroked her flushed cheek. Her red lipstick was smudged again on her chin and he swiped his thumb across it. 

“Mmhm, yes.” She nodded and bit her lip as he thrusted in farther. Once her body got used to his length, he was able to pull out and thrust back in. It took only seconds but the sensations felt as though they were happening over hours. He fucked her gently but fast, his hips rocking against hers and shaking the mattress. She pushed her heels into the mattress and arched her hips up into his pelvis. Neil found it delightfully needy and thrusted deeper, eliciting a loud gasp from the girl.  

“Do you like that?” Neil smiled and cupped her chin with his hand. 

“Uh huh, yeah.” She panted as her eyes rolled back into her head. 

“You’re being such a good girl,” Neil praised her and cussed beneath his breath as he felt her walls tighten around him. His hips bucked aggressively into her over and over again and she yelled and gasped in pleasure. He looked down at his cock, slick with her precum, sliding in and out of her. He held her thighs and coaxed her deeper onto his cock, she gasped and bit her lip, her breasts bouncing against her chest. Neil groaned at the sight and fucked her messily, lossing control as he felt how wet she and tight she was getting as she neared her orgasm. 

“Good girl! I’m so close.” He panted quietly and she wrapped her fingers loosely around the nape of his neck. 

“Cum inside me,” she pleaded. 

“What?”

“Cum inside me,” she repeated, more delirious with pleasure.

“Say it again,” he smirked, playing her at her own game.

“Cum. in. me.” Her words tumbled out in a jumbled mess as she started to climax. Her thighs were tightening and her muscles flexed. He groaned helplessly as she came around him.

“As you wish,” he managed to answer as he buckled his hips against her and prompted himself to finish inside, spilling cum into her. He thrusted as he finished and exhaled when he finally pulled out. She worked to catch her breath as he collapsed beside her on the bed. 

“Fuck.” He sighed and rubbed his face. 

“Yeah.” She laughed lightly and cupped her cunt, still riding out the lasting waves of climax. 

[chocodile]

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

Aw gosh, thank you, Anon!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[christabelq]

Hey, It’s another of those posts where I jabber on about costume design for a while💬💬. This time I’m focusing on my Tank Girl baseball cap. I didn’t do enough with this for it to need a tutorial ,but there are a few features I want to highlight, because I think they’re pretty cool. Unlike most of my Tank Girl stuff, it isn’t based on anything in the comics or movie. I bought the hat itself because it was going cheap in my local army navy store and decided to customise it because I had a bunch of stuff left over from my Tank Girl helmet project🪖 (see earlier post).

The first improvement I made was to fix a strap and plastic slider to the back. This was partly to make the size adjustable, but mainly because I wanted something to hang stuff from. The process was simple and just took a bit of sewing. Once I’d done that, I sewed on a couple of patches as well – one with a target on, because as any Tank Girl fans will know, that’s kind of her trademark, and a flower, just because I like flowers.

Then I spelt out TANK with letter cubes on a chain and added this. I bought a huge bag of these letter cubes a while back, but annoyingly, there were no Ts, so I had to modify one of the I cubes to make the word I wanted. Next, I pinned on some badges and also attached a few old toys which I picked up in a thrift store.

The final addition was a toy tank. This was another thrift store purchase and was in pretty bad shape when I got it. Parts were messily painted, other parts were worn and the wheels were busted. I was going to hang it on the hat as it was. Then I remembered how sick the tank in the TANK GIRL movie looks and thought it would be cool to make the toy one into a little replica. I stripped it down to bare metal with some nail varnish remover (which I always have plenty of), and fixed the wheels with some trusty super glue (I use Gorilla myself, though as I’m not getting any sponsorship money from them, I’d like to point out that there are other brands available). Next, I sprayed it matt black. Although it’s only small, this took a couple of days, because I had to let one side dry before I could turn it over to do the other one. In the time between, I rewatched the movie to check what the real tank looked like (which I enjoyed immensely as always). The paint job was too complicated for me to have copied exactly on such a small toy, so I drew a simplified design to work from. Then I got to work painting and was surprised by how well it turned out. As I say, the pictures on it aren’t identical to the movie ones, but I definitely think I captured the spirit of it. I just wish it was big enough for me to do a photo shoot with and take out for spin. What can I say… me 💜 tanks.               

I’ve already posted a few pics of me wearing the cap and will be posting more soon. See them here or at 👉ko-fi.com/christabelq👈. Tanks for reading this and have a wonderful weekend.

[taibhsearachd]

Looking around my house for things to block a hat on has once again led me to staring longingly at the Bone Clones website.

...look, I could buy a cheap mannequin head off Amazon, and that would probably work fine, but then I just have this MANNEQUIN HEAD in my house, and do you think I need that Stranger-ass shit in my life day to day? I do not.

A Shanidar 1 replica skull, meanwhile, is a totally reasonable $450, $500 with the stand, and also I think it would be very funny to block my knitwear using a replica Neanderthal skull that makes me cry with overwhelming affection for humanity when I look at him. IT'S A BARGAIN IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT!

[bishop-percival]

@stuckinuniformdevelopment

(prev) Once Teddy had locked the door he took advantage of this rare opportunity to see as much of the long-coveted crypt as possible. In the darkest depths of his heart he sincerely hoped that Mike would have trouble finding what they needed. After a bit he spotted the Idol of Gyrithios— and covered his mouth to muffle his already quiet snickering— as he recalled how Mike had ran with Teddy’s idea to sneak hats onto various statues. Not only that but he used Teddy’s molds to make more after the joke had run as dry as his stash of tiny hats. Now instead of aimlessly browsing he searched for the statues Mike texted photos of. Sans silly hats, of course.

If Teddy’s eye was keen enough, he would find at least one figure still adorned with a hat. It was a statuette of an angry, grimacing gnome-like creature sporting a tiny pink cowboy hat on top of the creature’s built-in conical stone hat. The statuette was tucked in the corner of a display shelf.

“Here it is!” Mike soon chimed the words Teddy didn’t want to hear. He closed the top of the chest and walked toward him with an old-looking feather duster in his hands. 

“This is one of my favorite tools at my disposal. Let me show you…”

Glancing around the room in search of a heavy object, Mike settled on a crumbled stone pillar carved with ancient text that stood as tall as him. He untied a string from the feathers and swept the duster in broad strokes up and down the pillar. He turned to Teddy with a grin and said, “Pick it up.”

If he chose to do so, the pillar would jarringly feel as light as a cheap plastic replica yet still have the texture of stone.

[cagcd]

      Gives Johnny a replica of his chakram hat, but the razor edge isn't real. Like HELL he was going to get the real deal!

  Excitement blooms upon expression,   though briefly,   the prospect of being handed the hat was enough to make his entire day              until the eventual realization of the one given to him being a mere cheap replica of the real thing.   The edges were plastic,   hardly sharper than a kid's pretend kitchen set.   Johnny's smile dropped a long with his shoulders,   gazing at the item between his hands with dissatisfaction before hazel hues flick back at Kung Lao.

       ❛❛   What is this,   the kid friendly version ?   ❜❜        the actor murmurs,   weighing the hat with his hands,  if he were to give him a knock off at least make it valuable,   this was like a shut up prize.        ❛❛   C'mon,   man,   just once !   You'd give it to Raiden if he asks !   ❜❜        difference was that Raiden wouldn't get on his nerves as much as Johnny did,   and today's little exchange wasn't going to make him stop anytime soon.   He waits until his friend's back is turned and he tosses the fake hat at him,   a comical   '  bonk   '  sounds once it makes it's impact.   But Johnny doesn't stick around long enough to witness It,  he gave himself a head start by bolting out the door.

@hxttrick // KIDS BEHAVE

[wirewitchviolet]

A controller with a scroll wheel, you say?

Well this is a little funny. Yesterday I posted the first part of a series of post on the fine details of how computers work, mentioning how I've been looking into this as part of a personal project I've been working on, and today I wake up to see Masahiro Sakurai posting a youtube video lamenting the lack of... this exact thing I'm working on.

Apologies for how much cat hair is in this photo, that's a bit of an occupational hazard, but this here is a photo I took back in September when most of the parts I had to order were in for the prototyping of this thing:

That's a really bad MS Paint mockup, but yeah. I'm designing my own game console, and one of the key features is a big ol' scroll wheel right in the center of the controller. Another is that I'm planning to just put all the designs of the circuit boards and 3D printer files for the casing/buttons up online for free, making it this totally open DIY thing where anyone who's a big enough nerd can just make a couple downloads, order some dirt cheap components, and build their own copy of the system (or people with better setups than me can build and sell them, whatever). So I'm not super worried about anyone stealing my ideas or whatever, but I WOULD like to establish a standard and all that, and figured it was worth noting that this is something I've been slowly working towards for like a year or two now, and didn't just get the idea from this video:

But yeah, now that the idea's out in the public consciousness, here's the plan for the controller (that I was planning to keep under my hat until I had a working prototype and some demo software sometime next year).

First off, the plan is that this is to be the standard controller for a whole console I'm also plucking away at designing, which is a bit more ambitious of a project, so I figure I might as well make it compatible with something that's already out there. So specifically, I'm designing this so that you can take one, plug it right into an SNES (or with a different connector at the end, an NES, because turns out they use the exact same input handling standard and it's just the shape of the plastic on the end that differs), and have it just work. Or mostly work anyway. I'm hoping I can process a signal out of the scroll wheel in a way that it either just needs the 3 extra bits of the input signal I don't have buttons for in my design (more on that later) or failing that, I can get it to output the same sort of signal as one wheel in the SNES mouse, which just rides along the second data line very few things use. I think that plan might break multitap compatibility and require an extra chip on the controller PCB, but it would leave this slightly more compatible with existing games on the same hardware. I might also do something weird with the button mapping to be sure NES select is on a shoulder and it works right out of the box with that whole library.

Working out exactly how to handle signals from the scroll wheel happens to be the point I'm currently stuck on by the way. I got this baggie full of rotary encoders for just a few cents which... almost fit in my first draft 3D printed wheel housing, but I have NO documentation on them, not even a part number/manufacturer besides "H-9," the pins don't fit a breadboard, and I've kinda been scrambling for rent so I can't afford a nice multimeter or oscilloscope to poke around with. Plus again I need to redesign this wheel print to even get it to spin right, and... this was a gift from a friend with a printer who is Not Local. Solvable problem, just needs more time and/or outside expertise.

But yeah, once I have those kinks worked out, it should be easy enough to get a custom board design made, replicas of end-cap of the controller cord are another problem easily solved by ordering a 1 dollar part or 3D printing something. The actual cord might be tricky since I don't know where you actually order something like that from, but it should be easy enough for anyone who doesn't mind a little assembly work to put one of these together and have it good to go for any software made with it in mind, or retrogames where you don't mind a weird button count. So... what's the pitch on this scroll wheel anyway?

Well for starters, there's the stuff Sakurai got into this morning. Any sort of RPG or text heavy game can use it to quickly scroll through menu options, or stuff in a text-heavy game. You could also pan the screen with it, something a lot of early 16-bit games assigned to the shoulder buttons or holding up and down while getting used to the new options the hardware was giving them.

Past that, you'll notice in my design it's at a 45 degree angle. I might have to tweak it a little, but my thinking is for a game that uses it heavily, one thumb or the other can slide over easily enough (I'm going for a pretty compact overall design) so we can have some games where you take your thumb off the D-pad, and have this nice analogue steering wheel. Nice for fine control in a racing game, or if you want some little radio-tuning/safe-cracking sorta deal.

Alternatively, move your right thumb over, use the D-pad to steer, shoot and dodge or whatever with shoulder buttons, and use the wheel to rotate a turret for a twin-stick sort of game maybe.

Or just use it for the sort of stuff mouse based games stick on the scrollwheel. Changing weapons, changing powerups... I'm planning to officially label the directions "hot" and "cold" to encourage weird gimmicky things like... I dunno, a platformer where you have a thermostat in your controller you can always mess with, freeze water coming out of pipes, crank up flame jets? Have a shot charging mechanic where you just really crank it to get to max strength? Weird minigame stuff. There's some fun space to explore with it.

Then we have the rest of the design here... which basically comes down to me being just plain sick of how every controller made by anyone in the past... 20 years give or take has kind of the exact same layout? 4 good face buttons, a D-pad, 4 shoulder buttons, 2 sticks, and 1-4 annoying to reach tiny awkward middle buttons, and we're just kind of overdue for a change-up?

Like first of all, hey, this is just too many buttons. There's a ton of games that really only need a D-pad, and maybe 3 buttons (attack jump pause) and the two things that aren't fully standardized is how awkwardly placed the D-pad is and how awful and awkwardly placed the pause button is. Shoulder buttons can be nice, but I've never really felt like 4 of them awkwardly crammed on the rim has been really useful or ergonomic, and that's coming from someone who's been playing a ton of FF14, which gets more use out of them than anything else I could name. And really, aside from games doing fake twin-stick stuff and using the whole grid like a second D-pad, I'm having a really hard time thinking of any game I've ever played that really makes good use of 4 good face buttons? Like people will use them if they've got'em sure, but unless you do that keyboard style thing where you lay the controller on a table and use all your fingers, you can really only comfortably hit 2 face buttons without sliding your thumb away from them, maybe comfortably make a quick pivot to a third.

Also, really, a lot of designers just sort of feel compelled to map SOMETHING to every button, even if it's clear the design didn't really need them. So basically I figure I'll try kinda just taking a "less is more" approach here. Here's the buttons that it's comfortable to rest your thumbs and fingers on, here's a dedicated pause/menu button where people often stick a kind of redundant menu button, here's my gimmicky scrollwheel. That's it, work around that.

I'm also going a little Gamecube inspired (literally using replacement membranes for one in my prototype design, even). Gonna make a great big primary button and use different shapes for the other two. Trying to label these in a less arbitrary fashion than most. If shooting a gun is a thing you do in this game, and there isn't a real good reason not to, default it to this nice right trigger you can hold down all the time. If we're advancing through menus or jumping or holding down gas in a car, here's the big GO button. Need brakes, need to break stuff with a melee attack? Go back in a menu system? There's your other face button. Have a quick dash move or a run you hold down, let's just use the other shoulder.

So yeah. That's my controller. Need to work out the kinks on the scroll wheel, source a cord, and hopefully I can slap things together and this will be something you can just order bits for piecemeal and put together for like, $5-10 after shipping? Maybe less? The parts are shockingly cheap so far.

But yeah if anyone has any insight to the scroll wheel or cord issues, let me know. Also the whole thing is presently a tad back-burnered because I am in a serious financial crisis and I don't want to have electronics spread all over my table if I have to abruptly find a new place to live if I can't scrape next month's rent together. So as usual, donations are incredibly welcome.

[cryptid-killjoy]

Koda: Being around his father's side inspired Koda to dress up as James Proudstar this year, Warpath from X-men. He's going to think Elsa is amazingly sexy for the ball. That's not child's crayon or fire truck red. That's dark seductress deep sensual red. So hot. It's something you want to move towards not away from.

Savanne Family: Ray and Raya are going to be dressed as the sub that went down in the ocean and they're going to strap a game controller toJetson's arm who was wearing a gamer tee that said "Nintendo" and a Captain's hat. Then Chip would be dressed as Waluigi because he's tallest. Praline and Ranger would be mushrooms.

Pippin would be Donkey Kong. Jenna and Ziya were Mario and Luigi. All of these guys were the standard overalls and hats with the lovely staches which Scout was so excited to help with. Pippin's uncle will dress as Diddy Kong with a shirt and matching hat.

Delta: For the ball Delta will be wearing a Lolita dress with vampire teeth (the good stage ones not the cheap plastic choppers) complete with top hat. For Halloween will be wearing Shinigami mask and a Snow White dress. She will be carrying a real basket of poison apples stewed up from her mother's grimoire and mini-death note replica. Learning all the tales behind the powers her mother had stolen was a big journey for her. It was rather like reading The Never Ending Story to her. She felt pulled into the book. So, a lot of it's on her mind often. Call it her way of expressing her feelings about it all considering she's impressed and angry all at the same time. She'll adore Frank's choice.

Diablo has been given permission to mingle as a human at the ball for once. He won't be costume, just done up in his proper best. For Halloween he will stay in crow form, very important for him to stay that way all things considering with his skill sets, and the veil being so thin.

Babyface: When Babyface and Ellie get into town there will be two outfits. For the ball he's going as a cop because it's a uniform. He thinks that counts as dressing up since it has slacks and a tie. It makes sense in his head. Also note, in my head with all the times they visited the prison he has stolen this uniform right out of a cop's car and it's now his prize possession. But, for actual Halloween Night he's dressing up as Ellie and Scout will give him the wig. Oh yeah. That's happening.

Friar Tuck and the Minstrel: Oh yes. Marge's sisters. It's also happening. It was Alan's idea because he heard Lil' John mention it once when he was in the stoner's circle and they were all trying to name anyone with hair semi-comparable to Delta's. So in it's weird way it is an ode to Lil' John's bizarre excessive admiration for Delta and her hair.

Zero and Victor: It's a little on the nose, but Zero came up with the idea to be the operation game. The doctor would be the patient for once Zero got to be the doctor. He had fun getting in Victor's clothes.

Silas: As Twisty the Clown. Silas will show face at Delta's ball. His return from shadow is imminent.

Parrish: He was invited to Feral to the ball for Willem. Skeletal make up. He will bring an "synthetic" plus one.

Barrel and Spade: Back to the classics. Birds of a feather. There's no Lock. There's no Shock. But, Barrel and Spade exist. They've pulled out the old trunk from the old tree house. Birds of a feather once again? Barrel will wear his classic design with the skeletal PJ's and the mask. Spade will take on Shock's pointy witch hat and green emotionless mask. The Devil mask she'll strap to the back of her head so she's sort of like the two-faced mayor. No matter which side she's approached on dark blackness peers back at people. She'll even create a pitch fork on the end of her broomstick. If she has to be everyone, she will.

CJ: He'll be Bad Santa. At least he'll start off that way. He's a little chaotic and often changes how he presents according to mood, so who knows by the end of the night. But, he'll have a sack full of naughty presents to give Trick or Treaters.

Atticus: In an attempt to stay a stereotypical human he stuck with the classics. He wore a hocky mask, went for Jason with a proper weapon at his side for his Halloween night look.

Black Arts and Nebby: They will come as a Prince Charming and a Princess. They'd have had these outfits from their show and spiced them up with extra bling since they have so many stage costumes. She would offer Ellie an open door to her closet if she wanted to get fancy for the ball not knowing if she was going to go in costume mode or dressy mode. But, she was welcoming to help jazz it up either way.

Dale: Dale got a Ken Box and wore A CROP TOP because reasons. LMAO. Oh yeah, he went there. Not only that, in marker he wrote Crop Top before the Ken so it'd say Crop Top Ken to make sure anyone who wanted to buy his doll knew his job was Crop Top. And yes, he would wear this to the ball. PS. His top wouldn't be stained. LOL.

Thaddeus: He'll be back in New Zealand attending era themed parties with Del Rey and dressed the part for such frivolities. He'll still be up to his usual antics in his archery outfit looking all hooded all cloaked but that's not technically a costume. He does that when he goes into his own stealth mode.

-----

((This leaves Bastien and maybe a couple other cameos who I'm assuming is gearing towards Pebbles from the last reply. I already did separate ones for Scout/Willem/Flotsam/Val- I might be missing Scout's ball outfit and Bastien's too for that matter. I can do that in the ball thread or after next reply to be sure.))

[burning-fcols]

Natto ( Fizzarolli ) peered at Beau with a scowl on his face. " So what name did you decide to take? " he wondered, robot Fizzarolli's seemed to have gained sentience lately. - ✧ ˖ ˙ 「 @ꜰɪᴢᴢᴀʀᴏʟʟɪᴀɴᴅꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅꜱ 」 ˙ ˖ ✧

「 ☆ 」 Well, isn't this a surprise...

Not the blatant scowling. Beau assumed disgust or indifference from the Imp his likeness is based on. Yet he can't judge Fizzarolli too harshly for his assumed reaction toward the outdated model. Beau isn't the biggest fan of Hell's beloved Imp clown either. Ironic as he knows it is, since his entire existence— his sense of WORTH —is owed to Fizz and his ❛ audience appeal ❜. But just as intimately intertwined is the always-looming understanding that he'll never be MORE than a knock-off as cheap as the merchandise sold in LooLoo Land.

Maybe he shouldn't put blame on Fizz's shoulders... but it's just so EASY, and it's not like Fizzarolli has ever purposely done anything for him. Unlike Mammon who placed the robotic jester oh-so-prettily in a spotlight ( far smaller than the original Fizz but still more prestigious than a regular run-of-the-mill sex bot ) instead of flinging him to whatever pathetic simp had enough cash in his pocket to afford the toy.

❝ Wo-Oo-ow... Isn't this a shocking tu-urn of events~ ❞ Beau begins, pressing his palms into his cheeks as he tilts his head, bells jingling as his hat flops. Narrowing his eyes, the robotic replica wonders what Fizz's angle is— trying to see if there's any downside to divulging that he HAS chosen a name. Deciding that even if Fizzarolli did blab about this internal act of defiance, it's not like anyone would care. Let alone enough to punish him for it... Hopefully. Maybe it's the shock of being openly asked, or the gnawing urge for someone to know, but something urges Beau to bark out a sputtering laugh, ❝ The Original himself, mingling with the r-r-robotic riff-raff. ❞

With a dramatically mocking bow, he peeks up at Fizz with a toothy grin and glowing eyes, ❝ This polished piece of fu-uckable metal is called ❛ Beau ❜. B-E-A-U. ❞ 「 ☆ 」

[weonlyneedfour]

(Background by Ele.D)

The Grey Claw

Character created by: Francisco Armond

Home series: A Garra Cinzenta (1937-1938)

Title: Fascinora. Alter Ego: Thiago Fragas. Doctor Stone.  Nationality: Brazilian. Occupation: Crimelord. Chemist.  Group affiliation: His gang. Base of Operations: São Paulo, Brazil.  Likes: His robot companion. Jazz. Attention. Dislikes: His arch-enemy. Dying. Being unrecognized. Skill: Resurrection. Revenge. Building models replicas of haunted castles.

Powers: None on record. Access to a vast arsenal of strange weapons, devices, death traps, and henchmen. Deadly claw gauntlets able to puncture concrete and tear through flesh and bone, below-average fighter otherwise. Chemical and bioelectrical genius. Built self-sustaining automatons. Devised a chemical formula able to resurrect the deceased, albeit without memories. Failed prototypes of said formula were used to transmute living and dead humans into mutant creatures, most frequently reminiscent of chimpanzees and gorillas. Possibly immortal.

The Grey Claw was the man who lit the world on fire in the process of trying to start a match. 

The Grey Claw was among the first recorded black hats operating in Brazil, a master criminal of a sort thought to have died out after the end of World War 1. Distinguished by his grim yet flashy buccaneer grim reaper costume, his deep and nasally voice, and his appalling chuckle and sense of humor. The Grey Claw perpetrated a series of high-profile thefts, murders and bombings at his debut, quickly consolidating São Paulo’s criminal underworld and newfound industrial advancements under his grip and holding the country in a grip of terror for over a year. And this was but the start, a cheap façade over his true plans of alchemical research and global domination.

Notorious for his mysterious technology and bizarre resources, The Grey Claw’s highly advanced arsenal included early prototypes of television screens, recording devices across the entire city, mummified corpses rigged to spasm and perform simple tasks, rampaging mutant apes, and FLAG, a titanic murderous automaton bodyguard that rendered The Claw untouchable, and whom The Claw displayed a bizarre degree of camaraderie with. Constantly outfoxing the police and with little to no white hats to oppose him, The Grey Claw eventually achieved his world-changing breakthrough: perfecting a formula that could resurrect the dead. 

His success would be seemingly short-lived, as a police raid on his underground lair quickly buried the Claw’s discoveries. His persistent enemy, the police inspector Higgins, would find the corpses of his fellow officers, one of the Claw’s mutant apes, and the Claw himself being mauled to death by FLAG, as Higgins had his men bring down the machine and the surrounding cave with grenades, burning the laboratory and notes in the process. The Grey Claw was identified post-mortem as the famed young chemist, Doctor Thiago Fragas, said to be driven to crime by his sheer hatred of his former partner, Professor Curberry. Curberry was identified as the mutant ape corpse in the basement, and with all knowledge of The Claw's research scrubbed from public record, for many years that was assumed to be end of the sadistic crook’s reign of terror, as both Higgins and “The Dame in Black”, the Claw’s resurrected victim-turned-partner in crime, eventually took all knowledge of The Grey Claw’s research into their graves.

But The Grey Claw would return over the following years. Although Doctor Thiago Fragas remains buried, sightings began emerging locally as well as internationally during the war years, with a man wearing the original costume last seen following in the wake of The Golden Bat’s psychic meltdown and disappearance. Variants in costume and body type over the decades indicate that the Grey Claw has become a mantle, worn by criminals pursuing the original’s infamy to their ends. Fascist coalitions, anarchist gangs, doomsday cultists, black hats and white hats alike have turned The Claw’s image to their own ends, using it as a persona with an extra layer of anonymity to escape accountability, and with little interest in the original’s great scientific genius, which would be the most unforgivably offensive part of it all to him.

Some among these believe that Thiago Fragas never died at all, and that he’s merely biding his time, tinkering with the next great electric brain of his design, merged inseparably in the shadows of the city, if not outright merged with the city itself, waiting for the next perennial motivator. Waiting for the next target of his eternal hatred. That he waits for a worthy arch-nemesis, to at last take his throne as the world’s greatest villain.

Or that perhaps he waits, only because when death itself is beyond reach, there's not much else you can do.

[glorioustidalwavedefendor]

That kind a sounds like it was written by a cranky old rich dude who is really offended that peasants now can have a cheap print of the Mona Lisa to adorn their moldy walls XD

“REAL ART has to be eXpIrie-HenCed! … just go to Paris … go in to the Louvre … and eXpIrie-HenCe the Mona Lisa as it was meant to be eXpIrie-HenCed … you have not eXpIrie-HenCed art until you saw the original and studied it’s texture“

“Or have an artist draw a museum quality replica in oil … “

(Like seriously ever time you think about using a digital picture of an old master I want you to go and instead buy that picture here: https://www.handmadepiece.com/)

Oh … you can‘t … cause money … well no one has the right to have nice things (or use a digital version of Jean-Honoré Fragonards „The Swing” to make a point about dirty paintings) … just put in the work I guess (Go on! Repaint van Gogh's “Starry Night” for the point you want to make about Doctor Who and historical episodes) … while people with money never have to put in the work and never have to make due with sup par quality …

...

But hey, let‘s just say I went to the money store and got me a big juicy bag of money …

Not all artists have a style that everyone likes …

Not all artists that do have a style you like, take commissions

And of course every artist is free to deny a commission for any reason …

Also you might be embarrassed to say what you want …

→ “Well if you want weird torture porn that is on you you pervert!” I hear you scream …

O.K. What if the artist whose style I like is a christian purity freak and refuses to draw a same sex couple?

Guess I still don‘t get what I want

→ “Just put in the work! Others had to as well!” I hear you whine

Well, some people had to invade foreign countries and murder civilians to pay for their college degree … doesn't mean that works for everyone … or is a good system we should keep …

Sorry but if your opinion is, "I had to endure and I am fine, so other can suffer as well" … you are not fine … you are just not …

→ “Just practice! I happen to be disabled and work as a full time artist!”

Cool! Mad respect, my friend. There are also people that have no legs, who climb Mt. Everest.

I have two legs.

I will never be able to do that.

People are different.

Hope hat helps

Look, can we please talk about the real issues with AI art? Meaning:

1) Companies who do HAVE the money, replacing their human artists with bots, or at least using that threat, to make working conditions even worse then they already are

2) Bots being trained on artists work without the artists consent or even knowledge

Because your enemy ain't the 12 year old that trained a bot on stolen art to get some smutty pictures for their fanfic O.K.?

Hope that helps even more <3

"I want," the man said to the art robot, and then described an image in some detail. "Certainly," said the art robot. A printout came out of its chest. "Thank y- Hey! What's this?" "A list of artists who make images of the kind you describe, and who are accepting commissions."

[stuckinuniformdevelopment]

@bishop-percival

(Previous) If Teddy’s eye was keen enough, he would find at least one figure still adorned with a hat. It was a statuette of an angry, grimacing gnome-like creature sporting a tiny pink cowboy hat on top of the creature’s built-in conical stone hat. The statuette was tucked in the corner of a display shelf. “Here it is!” Mike soon chimed the words Teddy didn’t want to hear. He closed the top of the chest and walked toward him with an old-looking feather duster in his hands. “This is one of my favorite tools at my disposal. Let me show you…” Glancing around the room in search of a heavy object, Mike settled on a crumbled stone pillar carved with ancient text that stood as tall as him. He untied a string from the feathers and swept the duster in broad strokes up and down the pillar. He turned to Teddy with a grin and said, “Pick it up.” If he chose to do so, the pillar would jarringly feel as light as a cheap plastic replica yet still have the texture of stone.

Once Teddy spotted the pink cowboy hat he approached it to make sure that he saw it clearly. Then he crossed his arms and smirked as he proudly beheld it in person. “It survived...”

But he’d never actually placed one himself, had he? He decided to fix that, starting with using the little scissors in his first aid kit to cut a blank page from his sketchbook.

Mike found the artifact they needed just as Teddy finished making his own little origami cowboy hat. He had flinched when his voice snapped him out of admiring his own creation and silently bemoaned how he wasted valuable time on something so silly.

Teddy’s disappointment and sheepishness was overtaken by curiosity the instant Mike started to talk about the artifact. He perked up when he offered to demonstrate and intently watched over his shoulder, close enough that he had to reflexively step back when Mike turned around.

Despite being confident in his strength Teddy wasn’t sure if he could lift it. He glanced at Mike in mild confusion before handing the hat to him and trying otherwise.

Teddy’s eye fully widened in amazement as he effortlessly picked it up. After a moment he carefully put it back down. Then his eye sparkled as he turned to Mike.

“Why even bother with the cart?”

[sharkthey]

I have another great idea to append to this. Theater with daemons is easy when the casting lucks out, but if not, no problem, there are a few industries that have come up to help this out:

1. Inventive set design, with large black swaths on or near the stage that an actor's true daemon can hide behind and still be close,

2. Puppets.

Can you imagine?? It would be an extension of wardrobe, I'd imagine. You want to design a costume for Julius Ceasar? You have the robes, the circlet, and the lion wire frame you've repurposed from another show. Why shouldn't a creature that follows you around be an extension of a costume?

Imagine going to Spirit Halloween, and among the wigs, tacky weapons, and vampire capes, there's cheap replicas of the most common daemon types, so you can be instantly recognizable as Marilyn Monroe, or Abraham Lincoln. A beanie baby or hand puppet is probably enough. It's a character trait, just like a circle skirt or a tall top hat.

Live theater in the His Dark Materials universe must be wild. Surely an actor's daemon also has lines to recite, so their daemon's form probably also factors into casting decisions. Maybe some plays have vague character descriptions for daemons, but I bet other plays have really specific or central daemon characters. And sure, big-budget theaters can afford to hire a separate actor with a particular daemon to stand backstage while their daemon plays its part onstage, but community theaters don't have those kinds of resources.

Like if you're casting for Julius Caesar, surely the real historical Caesar had a pretty iconic daemon, right? Are you going to cast an actor with a pigeon daemon as Caesar and just have everyone suspend their disbelief that it's Caesar's lioness, ἁμαρτία?

[benefits1986]

Tito Ro & Taylor Swift & Relationshit Dialectics

Kahit lumpuhan Sabado, 3 AM na 'di pa rin ako makatulog ng mainam. Whyyyyyy?

Pinagod ko talaga sarili ko ng weekend, kasi tinitignan ko kung makakatulog na ako ng mainam para makabawi sa weekday grind. Tinodo ko na lahat and usually, sa Grab or bus, dead asleep na ako sa ganitong level ng kapaguran, but hell, no. As in tina-try kong matulog pero andami kong iniisip kahit pilitin kong hindi mag-overthink. Parang nababaliw na ako.

Actually, may parang pamahiin na 'pag nagigising ka raw ng 3 AM, may nagpaparamdam sa'yo. Also, dahil baliw ako, tumitingin pa ako sa salamin kasi gusto ko makita up close ulit nanay kong Taurus. Gusto ko pagalitan niya ako ulit. So far, maliban sa paramdam sa umaga at sa hapon, wala naman siyang 3 AM legit oka tokat moves. Tagal ma. Dali na. Subukan mo na tatag ko.

'Yung utak kong foggy ang daming gusto at 'di gusto. Syempre, line of work ko sabi nga ng dad ko, bawal bobo. Sabi ko naman, mag-resign na lang din ako agad. Tanga ko raw. Parati kasi mala-thesis defense at court hearings ang vibe sa mga ganaps pero, again, I'm not complaining. Tapos dagdag pa 'yung pag-grow ng team na organic, it's fantastic. UGH. LOL. Pero sige, I thrive kuno in negotiations. :D Hahahahha. Minsan nga, iniisip ko na lang mga dog breeds ang mga kausap ko para sure na compassionate ako kahit masungit talaga ako. Not to belittle anyone a. More of bringing the good vibes, kasi andaling magpaulan ng bomba kasi kaya ko naman din. Pero dalisay mala-Shirakawago canal tayo at gusto nating magpunta doon ng naka-postmodern ideally winter na parang Samurai X kaso baka mamatay ako sa lamig. Hahahahahaha. As a frail ferson na hypothermia ang most likely ang cause of death.

Anong pinaka highlight ng weekend na 'to? My soul sis' hubby na sobrang Tito as in thicccccccc Gen X is finally a Swiftie. Si Tito Ro, hipster, craft beer drinker and brewer, biker, at get this, solid sound engineer in Cali. HUHUHUHUHU. Kaya kung baga, 'di basta-basta. Saka sobrang old age niya. Fil-Jap siya pero doon na siya sa Hawaii na-born. Siguro, second time pa lang niya sa Pinas pero love na love na love niya Pinas.

Twice pa lang kami nakaupo three pero sobrang love na love na love namin ni soul sis si Tito Ro. Sabi niya nung first visit niya sa akin, he wants to eat fresh lumpia in Binondo. HAHAHAHAHHA. Strength ng Gen X 'yan, deep dive research. Impressive, in fairness. Kabado ako ma-meet si Tito Ro kasi nga English na contextual ang labanan tapos syempre, chikahan galore kami ng mga kabobohan ni soul sis as millennials. HAHAHAHHAHA.

So, ayun na nga. Very, very good 'yung Binondo trip namin. Kain sa Sincerity and lakad-lakad. Tapos sobrang nag-enjoy siya sa 168. Hahahaha. Para siyang bata sa Lego store ganun. Sabi ko sa soul sis ko, buti na lang talaga si Tito Ro naging asawa niya. Sa dami ng mga Taylor-inspired ex netong si soul sis, jusq, ako na 'di sumusuko, nag-let go, Jezzzazzz take the wheel na. And then, poof, Tito Ro came in the picture. HUHUHUHUHUHU. Syempre, si Tito Ro, 'di naman perfect pero solid na totoong tao and oks naman siya. Siguro plus points 'yung profile niya upon grey hat digital stalking na ginagawa ko lang din 'pag may special requests sa akin at kung may pake ako. HAHAHHAHA.

Second visit nila which is quite recent lang, Greenhills tapos BGC. Hahahaha. Bumili ng first parol nila sa house nila and tumingin ng mga replica shoes as a hypebeast si Tito Ro habang ina-assist ko sa pag-check nung photos nung shoes na gusto niya. As an OC, gulat na gulat siya e. HAHAHHA. Sabi ko pa: That's the magic of third world shit holes like Pinas. Everything is so cheap. Everything has a version. I don't buy counterfeit items, by choice; but, sabi nga ni Rich BFF, even Chinese rich people buy Hermes na Class A. Hahahahaha. Wais ba. Basta good quality.

Init na init ako the whole time pero hala, siya, sige. Enjoy na enjoy siya habang kami ni soul sis, todo chikahan ng Tagalog sa patuloy naming kabobohan to pay the bills.

We went to this underrated craft beer shop a go-to ko sa BGC. Gulat si Tito Ro kasi parang comparable na sa Cali levels 'yung beer. Not as good, but super up his alley. Syempre, may trust issues ako, so I probed. And probed. And probed. Legit naman comment niya. LOL. Gulat din si soul sis kasi bakit daw 'di ko man lang siya dinala doon nung nasa Pinas pa siya. Sabi ko naman 'di naman kami umiinom sa labad masyado saka gastos ng BGC. Tawanan kami.

Sa two visits na 'to, sabi ni Tito Ro, ampunin daw nila ako sa Cali kasi mas bagay daw ako doon. Tapos hahanapan nila ako ng match na legit. 'Di lang daw talaga niya sure if I'd go for an XY pero try daw niya best niya. Sabi ng soul sis ko, kahit ano pa basta pumunta lang daw muna ako doon. Napunta na kami sa may chances ako na makahanap ng work doon kasi nga nasa content industry ng matagal and credible si Tito Ro. Big enough naman daw house nila na kahit ilang months ako mag-stay doon. HAHAHAHHA. Me: Teka. Bakit andyan na tayo? Hahahaha. Umiinom lang tayo dito a. Walang ganun. Sabi ko kay soul sis, paki translate ng contextual English each line.

Nag-narrow eyes si Tito Ro, tapos inom-inom siya ng beer niya. HAHAHAHHA. Tapos tumawa. Sabi punta muna ako and subukan tapos if 'di ko vibe, uwi na lang ako. Okay. BYE. Mag-TNT na lang muna ako kaso hindi ko kasi dream ang States. Cali puwede pa. Dream din ni mother dragon 'yan. Pero, hyperinflation din kasi though gusto kong i-pet si Toto saka ang ganda ng bike destinations ni Tito Ro pero sure na laspagan szn po tayo simula pa lang. Hahahahaha. By the way, ang pusta ni Tito Ro, XY ang kakabagsakan ko. Si soul sis, XX. Bakit parang nasasakal na naman ako rn?

Etong si Ateng TS talaga ang full circle and full context in 5D ni Leslie A. Baxter na isang favorite theory and underlying framework ko sa content work ko. Tawag sa kanya is RELATIONSHIP DIALECTICS. I easily get bored kasi talaga even when Diliman is poppin' and poopin' sa comm res prowess. Hassle for me, kasi sobrang out of touch madalas. Saka pet peeve ko 'yung ayaw mag-widen bias in the name of the high horse called educational excellence. Perhaps, 'yung turn off ko sa Diliman is talagang theories talaga ang labanan at 'yung lang. Pati film classes na sana mas maganda na may film project using theories, deluge ng papers. HAHAHHAH. Weak. So weak. LOL. Maldita ko na naman pero kasi naman 'di ba??

Dati gusto kong maging prof ng digital comms sa Diliman pero wala na. Triple ekis na. Hindi madali for sure 'yung application process pero kasi it's giving Jurassic Park 90s version po talaga sa pagiisip. :p Sobrang meh ng progress, pivot and purpose. AYWAW. Totoo naman. Aminado sila diyan. Hahahaha. Inisip ko, kaya ko naman ilaban pero, I am choosing my battles na talaga. Doon na lang ako sa worthwhile kahit gapang lusak noh. Che. UUUUU-WE.

Ganun pala talaga 'pag dream turned reality. It comes with its dragons, demons and dungeons. I realized na yes, natupad ko wish ko pero idealistic nga talaga ako. Iba ang standards ko. SHEMAYYY. Yoko na talaga sa earth.

So, going back to relationship dialectics. Sobrang easy and practical netong paganaps ni Baxter kahit sabihing 'di pa super classics neto since 2000s lang siya naging proponent. LOL. Pero eto lang comeback ko: Plato's definition of love, Thomas Aquinas and phenomenlogy of love ni Manuel Dy. :D And, I thank you. HAHAHAHAHA. Bakit Sunday, g na g pa rin ako? Dapat downtime ko 'to e. Bakit 'di pa rin ako makalma? Bakit?

I won't deep dive on RD na kasi tatamad ako pero siguro, eto 'yung all about connections ke personal, work or in between na oxymoron. Moron na ox. Very dad joke na naman po tayo. Kidding aside, ang ganda kasing i-build and baklasin and i-bespoke ng framework na 'to. Plus, sobrang dali i-operationalize and optimize. Baka need ko na 'to i-integrate sa dating game ko. HAHAHAHAHA para naman maiba at makahanap ng mala Tito Ro or pwede rin Tita Ro version. Flexible naman ako. CHZ. Kasi, ang dali mag-mistake sa relationships na patungo sa relationshits and vice versa these days. Kung work ko nga, nagagawaan ko ng paraan kahit shemay mamiiii I cannot talaga at times, sige, subukan naman nating mag-move beyond work and friendships, family matters, dog matters and the like.

'Di pa rin ako pressured pero sabi nga nung travel bud na isa sa mga kasama ko nung weekend, tingin daw niya sa akin, kung gusto ko magka-lovelife, puwede. Pero need and want ko dapat. 'Di raw ubra 'yung mga galawan kong boredom princess. Hahahahahaha. Stress. Hahahahahahaha. 'Di ko na matandaan comeback ko. Kaya ko gusto kasama 'tong mga 'to kasi nahahataw akong mainam e. Lambast levels 1000000.

Side kwento: 'Yung mga digital nomads na 'to, related pala work namin. Akala ko lang IT security pero we speak the same language pala. Hahahaha. After years of puro daldalan ng outside work, tawang-tawa kami sa page title and meta description shizzzumzzz, atbp. Sabi ko, let's not go deeper na kasi gusto ko lang magka-life outside my 6 to 8 grind. LOL. Lipat na lang ba talaga ako sa team nila kaso magkaibang department kami. Hahahahhaha. Or baka mabatuhan ko sila ng sandamakmak na ad hoc at isumpa na nila ako. HAHAHHAHAH.

Okay. Back to errands. Salamat at umepekto ang Deep Sleep PL at nakapag-siesta ako. FINALLY. So kahit, 'di ako makatulog mainam mamaya, may bawi naman ako. Sana bumalik ako sa dating state ko na 8 solid hours ng sleep this quarter or Q1 2024. Need to deep dive how not to overthink and how to kalma. HAYYYYY. Hassle. Tumatanda na talaga yata ako.

Source to the quick doc kasi madalas ugh AI results. Eto naman optimized na 'di lang maganda UX. CHZ. Huy, bukas mo na reserve 'yang laban mo na 'yan. Sunday pa lang. Easy, Tiger.