#costu

[billsmithsposts]

Pure Upscale: A Look at Luxury for Less

For those seeking to elevate their wardrobe with designer duds without the eye-watering price tags, Pure Upscale promises a tempting solution. But is it too good to be true? This review dives deep into Pure Upscale’s offerings, customer experiences, and reputation to help you decide if it’s the key to unlocking your inner fashionista on a budget. What is Pure Upscale? Pure Upscale positions…

[givemegifs]

[helluvatimes]

Cameroon Pink Ginger

Costus phyllocephalus, sometimes known as Cameroon Pink Ginger, looking happy after the rain. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

This particular flower was about 15 feet (4.5 m) deep inside all the shrubs and the longest lens on hand could only give up to a 400mm reach. So using the Ex Tele Conv mode on the camera gave at least up to a 800mm crop to work with. It was a jpeg-only mode though.

[phytophiliac]

Costus barbatus new shoots. Costus barbatus is a member of the ginger family native to Costa Rica. It is considered critically endangered.

[los-plantalones]

🌀 spiral ginger

[jessaerys]

cannot stop watching the it's fucking winnie the fucking pooh video. i want her

[jorgesanson]

Costus - La Piedad

[pussypopstiel]

Love the inbox trick or treating I’m seeing

[high-on-sonder]

TOMMY SERVING

TOMMY JUST IN SOCKS SERVING BREAKFAST IN BED (almost)

[cyberpawn]

I also cannot understate my love for Vale in small town settings because they have such a big personality, they're one of those people everyone knows in a small town, for better or worse

[crudlynaturephotos]

[clairity-org]

Missouri Botanical Garden 10/27/23 by Sharon Mollerus

[helluvatimes]

A French Kiss In The Garden

A particular outstanding one in a field of Scarlet Spiral Flag or French Kiss in the botanic gardens. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

Two stops of negative exposure compensation was needed for this shot. Colours were straight-out-of the camera. When composing, I would usually place the subject off centre for a stronger composition but with some exceptions. This was just one of those exceptional cases.

[phytophiliac]

Costus cf. scaber

Costus scaber is one of several species commonly called "spiral ginger". According to one source, its uses range from bringing down the fever to dealing with kidney ailments, snakebites, thirst and the effects of having endured too much sunlight.

[casscainmainly]

A Deep Dive Into Why Cass Threw Dick Out A Window

If you've been here long enough you've probably seen or heard of this moment, which is super hilarious and iconic. It's mostly discussed in reference to Dick and Cass' relationship. However, in my opinion Cass throwing Dick out a window had very little to do with her opinion of him, or even of Barbara; it has more to do with her understanding of romance and love. I briefly touched on this in my gender/sexuality post, but I'm going to explain more in depth my interpretation of how Dick functions in Batgirl (2000) as a whole. (This moment is very open to interpretation though, this is just my opinion!). So let's try to answer Dick's question: what was that all about?

Love, Language, and DickBabs

While Puckett's run is notable for not having Cass date anyone, romantic love does play a role in Cass' early understanding of the world. It's the impetus that spurs her to write: in issue 2, she sees a wife read a letter from her deceased husband, and her reaction affects Cass so strongly she immediately starts trying to write. (She also kisses the husband on the cheek earlier, which may or may not be a crush). Romance, and the ability to communicate your love, is a fundamental part of Cass' desire to learn language.

So we have Cass, who has experienced neither love nor language, living with Babs, who's in a relationship with Dick. This telephone conversation in #4 (the issue where a metahuman changes Cass' brain into understanding language) again links romance to communication. Dick and Babs are talking on the phone, unable to see each other but understanding each other perfectly; Cass and Babs, on the other hand, live together and can't understand each other at all.

"She can't talk, so it's not all that different [to living alone]." Babs is telling an eavesdropping Cass that her inability to speak prevents her from love and connection - a love and connection symbolised by one of the first romantic relationships Cass is consistently around, Dick and Barbara.

Dick as an Ideal

There's a debate whether Cass likes Dick or not because half the time they're friendly, and half the time she's punching him or throwing him out windows. This disparity makes sense if you consider that Cass strongly associates DickBabs with communication, understanding, love - very idealised notions - but she does not associate Dick as a person with them. Her interactions with Dick (sans Babs) are cute and normal - Batgirl #29 and Nightwing #81 feature some very adorable Dick-Cass moments, with no real tension whatsoever.

It's only when Cass sees Dick in a romantic light (as in associated with Babs) that she makes him into a symbol.

Cass often tries to copy Babs, thinking it's the 'correct' thing to do - in DC First: Batgirl/Joker, she goes after Joker because that's what Barbara did; later in Horrocks' run she'll wear Barbara's outfit. In a way, Cass' affairs with Tai'Darshan and Kon - as much as I do think Tai'Darshan was genuine attraction - is another way to 'copy' Barbara. In #42, Cass stares at a picture of Dick and Babs while asking if Babs likes boys. Obviously Cass knows the answer is yes, but see what she asks next, and how Barbara responds:

She shifts from 'like' to 'love', and Babs responds that she 'care[s]' about him. For Cass, whose arc in Horrocks' run is about parsing out the nuances of attraction, understanding the difference between like, love, and care is incredibly difficult. She struggles to separate familial from romantic (Bruce in #50) or romantic from platonic (Kon, and in somewhat the reverse way Steph). In this conversation, Cass comes to associate Dick with like, love, and care - DickBabs becomes not just a symbol of romantic love, but of any connection whatsoever.

The Old Costume

I've discussed elsewhere that Cass wearing Babs' old costume in #45 is a representation of her desire to be 'girly', and how she associates girlhood with someone other than herself, discarding her own costume for Babs'. But putting on a costume is not the only prerequisite for being a 'girl'. In Babs' speech to Cass, she emphasises being sexually attractive to men, with her final comment being about this "particular look Dick used to give [her]". For Cass, visual language is incredibly important; putting on Babs' costume is not about being or feeling like a girl, but about being perceived as one. Dick is symbolic of the perceiver: the one who can essentially 'grant' women their femininity.

But Cass is disgusted when Tim calls her hot, which adds to her confusion - why should Dick being attracted to Babs make Babs happy, but Tim (who's not a sibling at this time) perceiving her like that grosses her out? Cass' inability to feel good - to feel 'feminine' - through the male gaze is another sign, to her, of her failure to be a woman.

Which finally brings us to issue 46...

That Ableist Kon Comment

Cass finds out Dick breaks Babs' heart and then starts hallucinating on a drug. One of the things she hallucinates is Kon saying "who wants to date a cripple? Ain't that right, Nightwing?" and Nightwing responding "not me--at least, not anymore."

For the first time, we get to the heart of why DickBabs mattered to Cass: it was an example of a disabled person in a loving, romantic relationship. It goes back to that phone call in #4, where Babs implies that Cass is hard to care about because she can't speak. The Kon comment suggests Cass has carried that with her all this time, trying to find proof that she can be loved, no matter her disability. DickBabs showed her it could be done - the break-up shows her now that it can't be done.

Dick's hallucination mocks her disability: "look at her--she can't even read!" Attributing this mockery to Dick (whose real-life counterpart, unlike the other hallucinations, has never said anything remotely like this) shows that this 'Dick-as-ideal' is intrinsically tied to Cass' self-worth.

Honestly this whole post stemmed from me thinking about this one panel. There is no real reason, from Cass' view of Dick as a person, for her to think he's brave and noble and kind (more so than anyone else). But it's in the DickBabs context - that Dick seemed to love, wholeheartedly, a disabled woman - that makes Cass think this way. And now that DickBabs is broken up, it shows that she, too, is rotten to the core; that someone like her cannot be loved.

And so when Dick shows up, she throws him out the window.

Conclusion

In this moment, Cass isn't just reacting to Dick breaking up with Barbara, she's reacting to what it means to her. If Dick can't stay with Barbara, then that means Cass, as another disabled woman, is also unable to be loved. This all leads up to #50, which features another Cass punch to Dick's face, but more importantly is when Bruce and Cass reconcile through Cass' first language. It's a confirmation that though her verbal skills may not be fully developed, she still can communicate, and she can love and be loved.

I don't think a lot of the ideas I touched on here are fully developed, or conclude cleanly. For example, how does Cass' 'failure' to be a woman relate to her inability to be loved? Is she able to have a stable romantic relationship? There are lots more questions, but the role Dick specifically plays in Cass' understanding of romance is probably not going to develop further. I just think it's interesting how Horrocks uses the Dick-Babs relationship to explore Cass' identity.

[activesplooger]

𝖂𝖊𝖑𝖈𝖔𝖒𝖊 𝖙𝖔 𝖍𝖊𝖆𝖛𝖊𝖓, 𝕭𝖆𝖇𝖊 | Adam x reader | HAZBIN HOTEL SMUT ONESHOT| 18+

MDNI!

You and your husband have a fun little roleplay~

cw: roleplay, light degrading, p in v sex,

“Wait wait- You want our role play to be what?”

Adam rolls his eyes, ”Cmon babe! I’ve explained it like a hundred times.”

The angel exhales sharply, “I want you to pretend to be a sinner looking for redemption and beg me to let you into heaven!” You look at him with a confused expression, your mind still trying to process his words, “I’m just a little shocked is all… I thought you hated sinners…?”. “I do!” he explains, “That’s what makes it hot!”. As much as you wanted to pry into this more, you held back. After all, this wasn’t the most taboo role play your husbands managed to convince you to do. And you had to admit, you never regretted saying yes to him, it always ended up being hot as fuck and took your sex life to a whole new level.

”Alright, any costu-“ Adam cuts you off, a satisfied grin plastered across his mask. “Glad you asked!” he tosses some type of red accessories and lingerie at you, “put this on, Sugartits! Your master will be waiting~”. Jesus he was demanding tonight! You oblige half heartedly and go to the bathroom to change.

The costume your husband had so kindly asked you wear consisted of: red lace lingerie, matching red stilettos, and a pair of faux devil horns. You fix your hair in the mirror and prepare to get in character. With a deep breath, you step out of the bathroom.

You lean against the doorway, arm resting against the curve of your hip. Your voice is low and sultry as you address him, “Excuse me?”. Adam turns to face you. With hands in a prayer position, he smiles innocently, “Yes?”. You inch closer to him, gaze flickering down to the bulge poking out of his robe. “I was wonderin’,” your fingers crawl up his arm, ”I’ve been really really naughty… but I’ve been a good girl lately, and I wanna go to heaven.”. A chill runs down Adam’s spine at your words, “What makes you think you’re worthy of entering the pearly gates?”.

You lean closer, your hot breath tickling his ear as you whisper, “Please Adam… I’d do anything to get in.”. The angel presses his hips against yours, the feeling of his throbbing bulge against your thigh dampens the mound between your legs, soaking the lacy material.

“Oh yeah? Anything? That sounded awfully slutty coming from those pretty little demon lips of yours… I wonder what else you can do with them…”. Adam’s hand creeps down your body and onto the wet material of the lingerie. “Aw, is the little sinner that desperate? Getting all wet for redemption are ya? Might as well make use of this waste of human creation…”.

In one swift motion, your husband pins you to the bed, an exaggerated moan-like gasp escapes your lips. “Ah~! Please… Take me to heaven…”. Adam wastes no time in removing his mask and clothes, "Yeah? That's what you want? Fuckin’ knew it, everyone wants a piece of this! …stupid little fucked up hottie…”. He teasingly takes off the last remaining clothes. Slowly, he slides down his boxers, freeing his stiff cock.

“Fuuck….” Somehow, you always underestimated how massive Adam’s dick is. Which is strange because he’s literally always talking about his member in one way or another. Out of all the cocky crap your husband boasts about, you had to agree that he is kind of a “Dick master”. His dick is a solid 9 inches, and while that’s impressive, it’s the thick girth of it that really kicks up the pleasure factor. A few veins bulge out on the front that always manage to hit your G-spot in all the right places. You found yourself staring at the precum that soaked Adam’s tip. He immediately noticed this and practically pounced on you.

The Angel positions himself over you, unable to wait any longer. He hooks his finger under the wet lacy lingerie covering your center and pulls it to the side. Almost instinctively, you wrap your legs around his waist and pull him closer, bringing his throbbing cock teasingly close to your wet pussy. “Please, Adam…”. Adam chuckles smugly, slowly pressing his hips forward and finally filling your aching core. Before continuing, Adam playfully whispers in your ear,

“Welcome to heaven, Babe~”.

—-

BAHQHQ ENJOY THE SMUT. i laughed so fucking hard writing out “getting all wet for redemption” 💀💀💀. first time writing smut idk guys i just got bored and was like “shit wait lemme write this down”. just some smut writing practice ig even tho the smut is like v light. the amount of times i CACKLED during this. i can't take myself srsly w the role play dialogue i honestly didn't know what I was doing. anywho here u go!!