#hes wearing a vest over a t shirt over a button up in the summer. Kid.

[tsukiyouyuis]

Why is Diluc so attractive? A list of headcanons...

Since my friend is writing fics about Genshin men and is working on knowing them better + looking for more ideas, I came up a list of headcanons of Diluc and hopefully it will be an inspiration.

However, I suddenly found it’s surprisingly enjoyable to read them and it might be an good idea for me to post them here. Just to share my random thoughts/fantasies about Diluc as a faithful simp and hopefully to give people ideas for writing :)

Please note:

Most of them are implied🔞 so minors who are under 18 please respect yourselves and stop reading under the cut.

The only pronoun I used is "you" without specifying the gender. However, I wrote them in a fem! reader's POV (aka my POV). So basically it was me who are talking about Diluc to myself.

These headcanons are 100% based on my own fantasies and interpretations about Diluc. All of them are extremely PERSONAL. If you don't like them, it's fine and I respect whatever opinions you have. Just simply exit the post, but please don't be rude.

If you are okay with the above, please enjoy :)

Maid kink: He is so damn calm with all his maids in the winery but somehow gets aroused when seeing you in the maid outfit. Hmmm is that the reason why he has so many spare maid outfits in the storage...?

He’s busy but still a MAN so sometimes he fantasize about you and does SOME STUFF on his own to de-stress. He thinks you don't know about it but what if you actually do?

He likes to tie (and to be tied up by a certain someone maybe?) so he has a whole collection of belts, thigh straps, chains and other straps maybe idk (for himself or who knows…)

He takes care of his hair very well so they are fluffy all the time but does he know that his ponytail is so grabbable…? Imagine how his face will look like when you grab his fluffy red hair during your intimacies...

He likes to kiss you and to be kissed by you, very much. But when you kiss him with a whole bunch of people that both of you know he gets so shy. Try to tease and kiss the bartender and then do the same when only you two are in the tavern…You better be prepared.

This is very personal but Diluc exploring and fighting in Dragonspine just gets you all the time without any reasons. He creates flame and heat that will melt every inch of snow and ice. He usually wears black + along with his red hair flying in the snow and wind just makes the most beautiful scenery in all over teyvat… He’s gonna be so warm and bright and sure he wouldn’t mind making you warm OR you making him warmER in the way you both like.

Being born and raised in one of the prestigious aristocratic clans in Mondstadt, Diluc is very good at dancing and knows very well of those manners. But do you know he can sing as well? He would sing for you and dance with you, making you falling into his arms with his comforting voice. Someone said the song Sway is sang by Diluc and now you cannot unhear it…

Sometimes you think Diluc is wearing too many layers especially in the summer. Isn’t he hot??? But you also know that he would only wear a shirt with the buttons half done when not being in public or meeting guests and that’s so sexy of him??

He also wouldn’t mind you take his formal clothes off, destroy the rest of the buttons of his shirt (he has tons of them anyway), splash wine on his clothes or on him….and he would do the same to you afterwards.

Another one for the outfits he wears: The bartender attire! The gloves are not covering his wrists like what they are in his usual outfits and that’s so attractive to you. In addition the suits and the vest fit him so well and you can see the shape of his body. Just try to grab his uncovered wrist and pull off his glove when he handles the drinks to you…Will he be mad at you?

Okay you need to STOP fantasizing over his outfits and accessories but one last thing: His thigh straps. Diluc wears that in literally ANY of his outfit. You can’t help but wonder how he puts on and takes off that thing everyday…Hmmm how about sliding your hand into it and give it a try?

Diluc can swing his claymore (which is even bigger than himself) using only one hand. You are always amazing by how strong he is despite he never looks like he is strong. I mean just look at how slim and pretty he is. You wonder what it feels like to be pinned down by those slim-look yet secretly muscular arms.

Despite not being fond of alcohol, Diluc still enjoys making different drinks. He created a special drink just for you and told you if you forget the taste of it, he’d love to make it for you over and over again, anywhere and anytime. But guess what, this man loves teasing you and he will just drink it in front of you so there will be only one way for you to taste it.

[cerealforkart]

The third round of dress up dolls take us up to date!

Design notes under the cut

[part 1] [part 2]

Lincoln

* A fun fact about Lincoln’s dinner party look is that you’re never going to see any part of it again because it got ruined by Tony Pepperoni’s blood! He threw it all out

* Lincoln has entered his depression sweatpants era. Tragic. You’ll also notice that both he and Scary stop wearing their friendship bracelets at this point

* I’ve got an extra bullet point so I’ll just talk about my general style guidelines for designing outfits for each of the teens here (excluding Papa John’s/Black Parade looks because Papa John’s they were all given uniforms and Black Parade they were all trying to fit in rather than dress in their own styles) Link’s clothes are obviously sporty, prioritizing comfort and ease of movement over style. Given the choice he would wear his soccer uniform, but he doesn’t really have that choice anymore

Scary

* Maybe the jacket or skirt for Scary’s dinner party look could come back someday, but the shirt got ruined when Link shoved her with his bloody hands so we probably won’t see it again unless she wants to upset him (which is possible lol)

* I love my Scary’s most recent outfit. I wanted to completely change her silhouette, which meant the dress and a big coat, and most notably the braid sorta reminds me of a scorpion tail, just ignore how her hair grows a couple inches to make it work

* Scary’s usual style is obviously dark colours, black, greys, purples, etc. and in the past I liked to keep to very segmented outfits, usually a sorta baggy t-shirt tucked into pants or a skirt, but as mentioned above, I wanted to completely mix up the silhouette, hence the big coat and single piece dress

Normal

* Normal’s been getting back into the Teen High spirit, he isn’t wearing the mascot suit again, but a Teen High hoodie is fair game

* Will’s mentioned Normal’s time at Summer camp a couple times now, so I thought a tie-dye camp shirt would be fitting in this time as he’s trying so hard to play councillor for his friends

* In contrast to Scary, Normal gravitates towards bright colours, and like Link, style is not a priority. I like to put Normal in clothes promoting his interests or things he cares about ie. Teen High hoodie, camp t-shirt, he’s probably got some Swallows Ice Cream merch I’ll put him in at some point

Taylor

* Didn’t Taylor lose that jacket on Earth? Yes, but like a good anime protagonist, he knows the value of iconic costume pieces and has seven of the exact same jacket

* I actually really love Taylor’s little coveralls with all the pockets. I sure would love to draw it. You might also notice that his glasses were briefly fixed upon returning home, but they broke again when Link kicked him in the face through the portal to Hell

* The jacket is a must for Taylor, both because I like it and because it’s his iconic anime protagonist costume. Keeping in line with Taylor’s survivalist thing, he usually sticks to earthy colours, with the exception being the bright yellow shoes which are so colourful to contrast with all the browns and greens. He also probably doesn’t own a shirt that doesn’t have an anime on it

Hermie

* No Hermie fit for the dinner party, he was busy

* I knew I wanted Hermie to wear the mismatched suspenders with one being Mr. Freeze’s ice theme and one being Poison Ivy’s plant theme because he got those characters at the same time in the Undergrove, the rest of the outfit fell into place around that

* Hermie’s style is overdressed nerd attire. Suits, vests, suspenders, I’ve never put him in a shirt that doesn’t have buttons, etc. tbh it’s the kind of outfit pieces that if I was back in highschool and saw a real teenage highschool boy wearing, I would start praying he doesn’t try to talk to me, but then it turns out he’s not wearing a blazer to school because he’s a wannabe business major, he’s just a Joker cosplayer! And that’s definitely worse.

[angy-robo-bot]

Guys, Gals, and Non-Bianary pals! I like to introduce the powerful and strong raider, Shlakx! He'll raid your fridge and eat what he wants! He'll also rock out with you, using his trusty Melodica of he hears you playing music that he likes!

This guy was made for a worldbuilding project by @lilpaste

Shlakx is a Komodo Dragon like Alien that performs with an Animatronic band at a place called Crater Corner! Shlakx's main purpose is actually to be the mascot of a Laser tag attraction in Crater Corner. On a ledge inside of the arena is where there's an Animatronic of Shlakx that greets guests when they enter the arena, he delivers the rules of the attraction, and he plays his Melodica to signify the start and end of matches. When one team is losing, Shlakx will begin to rally the losing team with words of encouragement and songs to pump them up. When the game ends Shlakx will announce which team won the match and will say goodbye to the guests leaving his arena. When the laser tag arena is empty or when there's not enough people for a match to start in the arena Shlakx will begin to play Idle animations that range from leaning over the ledge and looking around to messing around with his Melodica. Sometimes when left idle for long enough, music will begin to play and Shlakx will dance to the music.

When Shlakx is performing on stage he has a separate animatronic that's behind a curtain, staying hidden when the showtape that's playing doesn't have a part for him to be in. If Shlakx is in the showtape but is t singing at the moment he dances along and Slaps his tail on the floor along to the beat of the music. For songs that Shlakx usually sings, it mostly consists of 80s new wave and glam metal. Sometimes he'll sing some songs from the 70s but that's rare.

Shlakx's main outfit is a light blue long sleeve crop top with some dark teal armor on top, for pants he wears dark teal and light blue long pants and white and light blue boots. In his left hand he carries his Melodica that he plays. He has a summer outfit that consists of him wearing white and light blue trunks and black flipflops, his right arm around a surfboard, moving it around while performing. He also has a country night outfit that consists of Cowboy boots, a leather vest, flannel button up shirt and denim jeans (with a cutout for his tail of course).

Trivia about Shlakx:

It is rumored that there is a showtape of Shlakx singing Ashes to Ashes by David Bowie that was never used due to the subject matter of the song. However there does exist a Showtape where Shlakx does The Chicken Dance.

Shlakx's canonical favorite food is Mozzarella cheese and his favorite drink is a tie between grape juice and marinara sauce.

Shlakx has a tongue that he can flick out like a real Komodo Dragon.

Shlakx's voice headcanon is Gary Numan.

[oldfashionedmorphine]

well now i can’t say “nobody asked for this…”

(dear anon, i hope this helps!)

fyi—i spend way too much of my time looking things up for this fic… and this is some of what i saved when it came to outfits/hair and also just some basics info/stuff :)

———————

mike in 2004

hair: styled like johnny depp’s hair in the 90s… he’s kept it shoulder length or longer since 1986—he ditched the bangs at some point in the early 90s! and since he doesn’t dye it, there’s some gray throughout

outfits: white or black t-shirt’s, black jeans, and converse high tops are still his bread-and-butter base. his style is pretty consistent because he’s not a big fan of change—he likes what he likes! it’s just super easy for him to throw something else over a plain t-shirt and walk out the door.

overall: he doesn’t typically keep his face clean-shaven, call it laziness, but sometimes he will wait two weeks or more between picking up a razor. he’s still skinny because he doesn’t always eat right, skipping meals because he gets too distracted with video games, but years of drinking are starting to take a toll and reflect in his skin, at times looking sallow

———————

will in 2004

hair: styled basically like whatever hayden christensen was doing to his hair in 2003/2004, also not a fan of hair dye, and also as he got older there was a bit more wave to his hair

outfits: wears lots of flannels, band/graphic tees, polos, button ups with sweater vests, jeans/corduroy/khaki pants, adidas/saucony jazz/new balance style sneakers—usually laid back but he will also use any excuse to dress it up! wears square-framed tortoiseshell glasses since 2001 (when he had to renew his driver’s license he couldn’t pass the eyesight test—got his eyes checked and sure enough he needed glasses!)—and included that picture of noah wearing glasses cause when i saw it i was like, wow yeah, that’s not too far off, just change the frames and age him 15 years… lol

overall: usually keeps his face free of any stubble, also has a few gray hairs but not as many as mike and he likes to walk or run for exercise to better keep in shape, in the summer he’s been known to pick up a tan, and he has one tattoo—the word “love” written in morse code under the scar from where nancy burnt him with a hot iron [ .-.. --- ...- . ]

———————

holly in 2004

(holly is 24, about the same age as kristen bell so I kinda picture her from veronica mars season 1 but with long hair/dyed like cady heron from “mean girls”—holly watched the movie earlier that year and liked the look!)

outfits: low rise flare jeans, denim jackets, fitted shirts, canvas vans sneakers, low top converse

———————

el in 2004

hair: long, always past her shoulders at least—she doesn’t like cutting it short for obvious reasons—she also dyes it and never skimps on spending money to maintain it and loves adding things like butterfly clips or barrettes with sparkles

outfits: she loves fashion and experimenting with her wardrobe. lots of delicate details and whimsy. a lot of what claire danes and anne hathaway were wearing 2002-2004

what she’s up to: el never went to college, but attends a few business seminars in between all her world travels and eventually invests some of her government hush money into opening a vintage/antique shop in hawkins that her and joyce run together.

el’s exact outfit from ch 8!

———————

outfit inspiration for mike + will in 1999 (aka for ch. 15)

mike: black jeans, ochre yellow striped button down, and of course he would’ve worn his typical converse shoes if he had to physically travel to the house that night, but alas… lol

will: brown dress shoes (normally wears sneakers, but for special occasions he gets fancy), light wash denim with navy turtle neck, plus brown leather jacket

(yes… i purposefully made them wear each others colors 😏)

———————

the mood board i made for nancy + jonathan’s wedding in 1993

(i’ve posted this before but idk how many of you saw it lol)

of course there is more i could add and sadly there’s things i’ve since cleared from my phone like the picture i had saved of a wedding dress i thought nancy would wear… but if there is anything else you’d like to know, i’m always down to talk more about this story! send me a message—you don’t have to stay on anon unless you wanna, but i don’t bite!! ;)

[shichey97]

Corroded Tattoo

Word count: 1,816. No trigger warnings apply. I'd love feedback. Has it's own Tag.

Layla Miller was 5 ‘2 with short, shaggy, black hair and piercing blue eyes. She has a sharp oblong face, accentuated by her pointy cheekbones. She has a strong athletic build, she weighs around 150 pounds. She has tattoos on her right thigh and calf, left hand, left forearm sleeve, right inner forearm, right knee, stomach, and right calf. She also had her septum, both nostrils, belly button, ears, and nipples pierced. She’s dressed in a crop top that has ‘CORRODED COFFIN’ across the chest with a leather jacket. Her jeans are skin tight with rips in the right knee and left thigh to show off the tattoos there. She has a pair of heeled ankle boots on. She was out with a couple of friends from work and they managed to have a few front-row tickets to a rock concert.

Layla smiled as she watched the singer dance on the stage before he steps forward and begins singing, “What’s your thoughts about religion? Are you close to your mother? Tell me ‘bout your dream vacation and all of your ex-lovers.” His voice is gravelly and so hot. She wasn’t expecting to find this band good, preferring bands like Motionless In White, but they were. “Tell me now what’s that look on your face. She puts her hand on my lips begging ‘please end this conversation’ .”

The band picks up and so does the energy of the lead singer,“Baby said ‘when you’re talking I go dead. Shut your mouth, give me your hand I know you really want to’ .” The lead singer was bouncing around the stage swinging his hips in his lace shirt and tight jeans. “Baby said ‘Let me taste your silhouette. You can talk between my legs. I know you really want to’ .”  The guitar was amazing and Layla found herself dancing with the crowd and having fun. Her co-worker, Robin, put an arm around her shoulders as they bounced in place. Their co-worker, Steve, was recording the band. 

“Tell me what’s your favorite color and all of your ambitions. I’m not afraid of you being vulgar, but why are you so vicious?” The lead singer, Eddie, sings as he leans down touching some hands. He then starts the pre-chorus and chorus again so Layla sings along, able to pick up choruses easier.

“I was runnin and runnin and runnin and runnin and runnin after you.” He sings squatting in front of their little group as he repeats that line, “I was crying and loving while you were just coming and howling at the moon. Yeah, you were runnin and runnin and runnin away from this conversation. Sing it!”

Layla smiles, singing along with the crowd until he goes, “I wish she didn’t, but my baby said.” four times, and then the lights go down as the band takes a moment to get water and catch their breath.

“So what do you think?” Robin asks in her ear so she could be heard over the cheers. Robin was 5’8 with blonde hair and freckles. She had sharp features and she was so beautiful.

“They’re good. I like their energy.” She says back with a smile. She hadn’t met the band, but they were apparently friends with Robin, Steve, and the rest of the shop.

“Eddie is going to love you saying that.” She laughs as the band comes back with another song talking about owning his mind.

Steve was 5’11, with dirty blonde hair that curled around his jaw, and pale brown eyes that were warm and gentle. He was wearing a Corroded Coffin jean vest over a white t-shirt. He was panning the camera around as the drums, guitar, and Eddie's voice kicked in again, the crowd already hopping in unison.

Layla loved the energy between the band and the crowd. They seemed to be feeding off of each other; The band playing with pure happiness. This was the last stop on their summer-long tour so they were going out with a bang.

It was fun up until the end and then the post-concert blues kicked in as everyone, but the three filed out. Layla leaned against the stage just waiting for Robin and Steve to be ready to go.

“Hey, new girl. What’d you think?” The curly hair drummer asked as the band walked up and sat on the edge of the stage.

“You guys are amazing. The energy you have is infectious.” She says with a grin. She stretched and looked at the lead singer as he began talking.

“Thanks. What was your favorite song?” He asks, pulling his hair up into a bun as he looks at her chuckling slightly.

“Oh shit. Uuuuuh…” She thinks about it for a minute. “I love the way you dance in Baby Said, but I love your voice in Gasoline. Il Dono Della Vita is amazing. You don’t look like you can speak Italian, but you are amazing.” 

“Do you have a voice thing?” Eddie says with a grin causing Layla to shrug.

“Probably. Maybe it’s just a you thing.” She says with a grin causing Eddie to pause then grin more.

“I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Eddie Munson.” He says watching her before holding his hand out.

“Layla Miller.” She says as she shakes his hand. “You’re extremely talented.”

“It’s a group effort, Sweetheart.” He says and watches her look at the guys and nod.

“That is very true. You guys play well together.” She says fidgeting with one of the rings on her fingers. She did that a lot when she was nervous. She had the curse of anxiety.

“Thank you, Layla. Want to join us for dinner? We go to Harrington’s after every tour for pizza.” The guitarist, Grant, asks with a grin. They all seemed to wait for her answer so she shrugged.

“Sure. Is it like an after-party?” She asks, causing Steve to laugh and shrug.

“Kind of. Most of us listen to music and talk while the band, Will, Dustin, Mike, and Lucas play DnD.” He explains and Layla nods in understanding.

“Do you play?” Jeff asked, looking at her like he was genuinely curious. 

She shook her head with a soft smile, “I can’t remember the rules so I just watch most of the time.” Layla said with a soft chuckle. She really didn’t know how to play so she really only watched.

“I can teach you in a simple way if you want.” Eddie says and Layla laughs softly.

“You really want to spend time with me hmm?” Layla teases with a grin before shrugging. “Sure. I’d love to learn. I haven’t found anyone that could teach me though.”

“If anyone can, it's Eddie. He’s the best DM around.”  Gareth says with a nod, “He’s been our DM since high school.”

Layla smiles slightly and nods, “Do you boys need help packing things up?” She didn’t see any roadies so she figured it was just them.

“It’s all pretty heavy. We’ve got it under control.” Gareth says and it’s Robin’s turn to laugh.

She’s seen her pick a 6 foot 5, 300lbs, bear of a man up off the ground and set him on the couch across the room. She knows for a fact that nothing here would be too heavy for her even if she carried the big amp in the back of the stage.

“I’m offended, Emerson.” Layla says shaking her head, “I can help. I’m not that breakable.” She zipped up her jacket before hopping up on stage and helping the band up. 

“Let her help. She’s picked up a fainted customer before.” Robin says and helps Steve onto the stage. 

In record time they got everything packed away and loaded into the little trailer. Layla got it packed in a way that everything was in the trailer instead of there and the bed of the truck. Halfway through Steve and Robin went to get the pizza leaving Layla to ride with Eddie and the band the 2 hours back to Hawkins. The other band members all fell asleep for a power nap leaving Eddie and Layla to talk.

“When did you start the band?” She asks with a gentle smile from the middle front seat. Gareth was asleep in the passenger seat, his head on the window. The backseat had Grant and Jeff both on the bigger side of the scale so they let them be back there by themselves.

“Middle school. 7th grade to be exact. I met Gareth and Grant when they were in 6th grade and we started the band. Jeff was in my grade and he was a total badass at the bass already so we added him shortly before the talent show.” He explains with a fond smile.

“Did you win?” She asks, looking at the road again. She had been looking at him for long enough a voice in her head said so she turned away to watch where they were going.

“No. The judges disqualified us halfway through our song.” He says shaking his head, “Which was total bullshit because we were good for teenagers.”

“Yeah, Hawkins seems a little stuck in the past.” She says and Eddie nods with a chuckle. She liked seeing him smile for some reason. Eddie was so easy to get along with.

“Exactly. What about you? What do you do?” He asks, glancing at her.

“Oh, I’m a tattoo artist at your shop. Nancy hired me about 2 or 3 weeks ago now.” She says smiling, “That’s how I know Steve and Robin.” she explains softly.

“Oh really? I didn’t know that.” He says pleasantly surprised. She gave off the vibes of a wrestler or personal trainer, not a tattoo artist.

“I would’ve thought that she would’ve told you seeing as you’re the owner.” Layla sounds confused as she looks at him, “Are you not?”

“I am. We all are except the band. We all own a share. The manager is Nancy, Johnathan does the books, and Mike is the male-only piercer like he does the piercings on males. Robin does the piercings on females. I do piercings and tattoos when I'm not touring. Steve just does the counter sometimes. Will, Max, and Lucas take the counters in shifts." He explains.

"And Dustin is the apprentice to you?" Layla asks and Eddie nods his curls moving with the head-bob.

"Exactly. He's going to become a licensed artist soon. He's been learning for almost 3 years and then he officially starts being able to tattoo people. He practices on me a lot." He laughs.

"You guys all seem close." She says smiling at him.

"We really are. Someday I'll tell you why such a diverse cast of people are a found family taking on the world." He says and she nods and falls silent for the rest of the drive only talking when Eddie spoke to her.

[flightofaqrow]

vytal dance

qrow x Bartholomew Oobleck ( @erudite-rebel​ ) [incomplete but lbr it was just an excuse to describe some outfits and it got that far]

They were only supposed to be going together to the Vytal Dance as a joke. That was all. Not-Quite-Stag. They’d get up to no good and hang on the fringes and tease and enjoy themselves.

But it didn’t feel like a joke. And it felt like it took forever before someone opened the door.

qrow breathes a sigh of relief when he opens the door and sees Barty dressed up but down a level much as he. qrow had nothing on Raven’s dress, but he didn’t take this quite as seriously as she did with… everything.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

There is no small amount of nervousness that accompanies him as he knocks quietly at the dormitory door. There were parts of his wardrobe he couldn’t abandon - his boots, his rings, his bracelets - but he’d traded skinny jeans for dress pants, a torn t-shirt for a button down, the collar open, and a vest normally adorned with buttons and patches neat with a dark brocade that looked green at one angle, and blue at another, like his hair.

They were only supposed to be going together to the Vytal Dance as a joke. That was all. Not-Quite-Stag. They’d get up to no good and hang on the fringes and tease and enjoy themselves.

But it didn’t feel like a joke. And it felt like it took forever before someone opened the door.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Summer tried to make him wear a standard tux.

but qrow feels like day after day in the beacon uniform is enough conformity, thanks. even Raven stood up for him, and she never could deny two stubborn pairs of red eyes at once. at least they’d agreed to go to the dance. she had no leverage.

and he breathes a sigh of relief when he opens the door and sees Barty dressed up but down a level much as he - black dress slacks and a medium gray open-collared shirt peeking out below and above a double breasted jacket with tailcoats, boasting a similar black-on-black brocade of opalescent, feathery spirals when the light hit just right. and his cape. of course, he kept his necklace and rings and red cape.

qrow had nothing on Raven’s dress, but he didn’t take this quite as seriously as she did with… everything.

“hey, Barty,” after the initial wave of comfort hit, he leans an arm into the doorframe and gives the young man an entirely conspicuous once over, “y’look good.”

the outfit he’d chosen brought attention to so many of his more attractive features… alright, maybe there’s something to this being fancied up thing. even if it’s only to get right into a little trouble.

“…all set t’go?”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

He didn’t mean to blush, but he did. Sapphire eyes widened as he took in Qrow’s outfit, as his mind cranked out a few possible adjectives. Suave. Dashing. He couldn’t decide, and had to resist the stupidly wild urge to jerk his hand out to shake his hand, without the faintest clue where that had come from.

He wet his lips and ducked his head. “You look good too,” he said, trying not to let his voice crack or do anything humiliating, before he took an automatic step back and held out his arm for Qrow to take.

That was how it was done, right? Because this did not feel like a joke any longer.

“I am, yes… and you look better than good. You look. Amazing.” He laughed quietly, then glanced out of the corner of his eyes at him.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

ah, hmmmm. finally qrow gets to see the way Barty’s face must have looked when he first crawled beneath fabric and past the line of friendship, and qrow can only grin, glad that some high class didn’t suddenly turn his date into someone high and mighty.

Barty being so afraid of mistakes set qrow at ease should he, metaphorically or literally, fall on his own face.

he takes that arm, linking their elbows together the way he would at one of the tribe’s fire circles, except only for two people. he’s pretty sure that’s how he’s seen it done around here. he has no idea what it means.

he waits until Barty’s beautiful blues meet his own eyes again, then throws him a quick wink in acceptance of the praise, “sounds like we’re all set then.”

a free hand slides into a pocket as they start down the hall towards the gym. Raven and Tai would be soon to follow, and Summer was already early, having signed up to be a greeter, of course.

qrow chuckles to himself, trying to discern if the weight pulled by his arm didn’t feel like it came with anything extra than a body, “tell me y’didn’t bring any books with you.”

[us3rnam3-r3dact3d]

I spent far too long contemplating these

D.A.M.N. Boy Fashion

Damien

Dark academia. He sticks to cool earth tones with flashes of warm colors in statement pieces or accessories. Damien is incredibly fashion forward. His image, just like every other part of him, is carefully maintained. He stays on top of current trends while keeping a strong emphasis on mainstays and signature cuts to his wardrobe.

Damien cinches his waist higher than his natural one, mostly because he likes a slightly feminine silhouette. He only wears a more masculine cut when he’s around his family.

He keeps an eye on K-Pop and J-Pop music videos and concerts since they have a pretty good sway on western fashion these days. He picks trends to emulate very carefully, and usually picks accessories or silhouettes to add into his wardrobe.

Oversized tops are fine, but never pants. All of his pants are tailored to accentuate his ass and hips, flaring slightly around his calves and cinching again at the ankle to make a clean, flowing line. Shorts are always with a five inch inseam to show just enough thigh while still being comfortable to move in.

In the winter, he carries (but never wears, he runs too hot for them) waist length peacoats in blacks, browns, and grays, layered collared shirts and sweaters, and plaid, paisley, and argyle patterns. In the summer, he wears cuffed shorts, pristine white Vans, ironed t-shirts, and sweater vests with nothing underneath.

(As a note, he has Huxley’s letterman. He’s not huge on oversized clothes, but he wears it to all of Huxley’s games.)

Lasko

Light academia with a softboy twist. Lighter, warmer earth tones than Damien. Warm tans and browns that are accented by touches of pastel colors. Lasko has less of an idea of what he’s doing fashion wise, but he does his best. He’s not as good at messing with the color wheel as Damien, so his pops of color sometimes clash with his neutrals, but always in an endearing, almost unnoticeable way.

Baggy is the name of the game. If Lasko can disappear into his clothes, he will. Even his glasses are oversized.

In the winter, he layers to the gods. Light turtlenecks under colorful button ups, corduroy statement pants, and chunky, platform loafers. In the summer, he still wears long sleeves and pants, but chooses thinner fabric. Vertical stripes, soft patterns, and tasteful graphic tees. Light wash jeans only, never black, white, or acid. Chuck Taylor’s that have seen better days.

He carries a worn dark green jansport backpack and a weathered leather computer bag. He wears small, silver jewelry. The occasional delicate necklace over a turtle neck or his D.A.M.N. class ring with an inset amethyst that is fading every so gradually in the sun.

Huxley

Jock chic. He would wear athletic clothes constantly if he could, but Damien insists that he wear nice clothes at least some of the time.

The goals in all of Huxley’s clothes are comfort and functionality. He wants to be able to move and/or sleep in anything he gets put in. He mostly wears, funnily enough, earth tones. Warm, dark browns, tans, and varieties of greens and yellows.

Hux runs hot and his partner is a fire elemental, so he doesn’t have the need heavy winter clothes. Snug, comfortable t-shirts and hoodies, sweatpants, and loose fitting jeans with shoe strings as belts. A jean jacket if it’s cold enough. Hiking boots and ten year old, creased Air Jordan’s, a gym bag that’s become a catch all for anything he needs.

The summer is when Hux really gets to wear what he wants. Flat front and Bermuda shorts. Light linen button ups and tank tops. Vintage graphic tees and faded jerseys. When he’s forced into formal wear, he’s a huge fan of florals. He wouldn’t be caught dead in a blazer.

Gavin

Gavin’s style is the hardest to pin down to a single aesthetic. He borrows from a lot of subcultures, mostly because he doesn’t really get that there are dedicated subcultures that contain rich fashion histories. He sees something he likes and he wears it.

His fashion borrows a lot from glam rock, both the masculine and the feminine. Bright, bold colors on a monochrome background. Heavy patterns and shape wear that gives him interesting and androgynous silhouettes.

Gavin doesn’t have a care in the world for the temperature. He wears what he wants when he wants. Nothing is seasonal.

He wears indecently low cut bottom layers under distressed graphic tees and layered jackets. Heavily distressed, skin tight jeans or flared pants that fall just above the ground. Leather pants and animal print. V-necks that reach his mid chest. Button ups that are almost constantly left open. High neck, pussy bow blouses. Bolo ties and thin, sheer scarves ties so tight around his throat you can see his Adam’s apple jump when he swallows.

Thigh high boots and platform doc martins. Sheer shirts and fishnets. Flowy dresses cinched with a corset. Bralettes or nipple tassels that just peak from behind a loosely tied poet shirt. Religious items and iconography he doesn’t understand. A mother of pearl rosary. A cross on a delicate, golden chain.

[ask-whumptown]

helllo. fourtown. hope jesse's birthday was a good day and that he got everything he's ever wanted ever heart hands

now i do have another question teehee!!

we see you all in your regular outfits, jesse's vest, robaire's button down (button up?), z's tank top, etc. .. but what do you all tend to wear outside of your professional life? would love to know how you all would describe ur own (or ur fellow members!) styles are like :D

much love, hope you guys are doing ok especially the t man over there!! heart hands :]

star :D

Jesse smiles. "Hey Star, I appreciate the kind wishes."

"We spoiled him, don't worry." Robaire winks, and gives you a thumbs up.

"I'm so glad you asked, because I've been dying to talk about fashion with someone." Aaron T.'s eyes are wide with excitement, and he bounces a few times on the couch. "Off camera, I'm pretty big on layering still. Cardigans, flannels, sweaters tied in literally every way a sweater could be tied, I love using stuff like that to add colour, dimension, texture, or shape to an outfit!"

"You've won him over." Aaron Z. smiles fondly.

"Of course, you know that I'm always wearing hats, and ball caps are my signature, but when I get to wear what I want I like to mix it up a bit. Especially beanies."

"He'll wear winter clothes in the summer if you let him, or summer clothes in the winter," Jesse says.

"Clothing has no season if you try hard enough."

"That's-"

"Z. is also really fashionable," Taeyoung interrupts, "think like, boxy but in the a good way."

"He easily spends the longest time putting outfits together." Robaire nods. "And they always look great, he plays with proportions really well."

"I like to be intentional with my outfits." Aaron Z. seems almost embarrassed by it. "My go to is probably a well-fit pair of jeans, a statement shirt, and sunglasses."

"Tiny sunglasses," Aaron T. puts in, "the ones that are very obviously not helping with the sun. He has three pairs and at least one is with him at all times."

He shrugs. "I like how they frame my face."

"His collection of button ups rivals Jesse's." Taeyoung grins.

"Oh God, yeah." Aaron T. nods with extra emphasis. "Button ups, polo shirts, dress pants, that's Jesse."

"I don't think he owns one pair of pants that doesn't have belt loops."

Jesse blinks. "That's... a really strange thing for you to notice."

"I opened his closet once, he keeps his belts front and center on a display," Aaron T. snitches.

"I only dress like that if I have somewhere to be, if we're practicing-"

"Practicing doesn't count, that's not style." Taeyoung crosses his arms. "That's like saying you wear pyjamas to sleep."

"When he dresses casually, he dresses like he's going camping," Aaron Z. says, "he's got just as many sweaters and sweatshirts as he's got button ups."

"Robaire's fashion strays pretty far from his stage looks." Aaron T. changes the subject before Jesse can find something to complain about. "I mean, even before we got those specific looks, his stage outfits were always very tight."

"I don't mind tight clothing." Robaire waves both hands. "Or any clothing that, uh, shows things off, but I'm definitely more comfortable in it when I'm onstage."

"He has like, five pairs of the exact same light wash jeans." Jesse says to you, before turning to point at Robaire. "You have a problem."

"I gravitate towards lighter colours, for sure. Pastels especially."

"Knit sweaters, necklaces, loose t-shirts, that's Robaire." Taeyoung squeezes his arm. "But you can always trust him to have the best shoes, hands down."

Aaron T. sinks back into the couch. "God, yes, Robaire has the best collection of shoes, and none of us can borrow any cause his feet are-"

"Do not finish that sentence." Aaron Z. glares.

"I think my fashion is probably the most casual," Taeyoung says, "I don't dress up very often, even if we go out as a group."

"He wears a lot of grey," Robaire explains, "lots of athletic-wear, sweats, tank tops, graphic tees, hoodies, he's always comfortable."

"If we're going to like, a nice restaurant or something, I'll wear something nicer! I have a pair of black dress pants that I adore, and like, I don't know, other nice things, those guys just care way more than I do." Taeyoung giggles. "And I say that with much love."

"His sense of style? Top notch," Aaron T. says, "he could probably join the stylist team and nobody would bat an eye."

He flushes. "T."

"So, yeah." Jesse eyes you curiously. "That's what we wear offstage, and when we're not at official events or anything."

"Thanks for asking Star!" Taeyoung waves.

At your concern, Aaron T. chuckles nervously. "Me? I'm okay!"

Jesse glances at him, then at you, then at Taeyoung, and then sighs. "Heart hands."

"Heart hands!" Aaron T. makes the gesture. Jesse does too.

"Yay!" Delighted, Taeyoung joins in. "Heart hands."

[stop-saying-tootsie]

the ghosts and what they would wear if they were alive today!!!

*

robin

definitely into ripped up band shirts that he’s cut the sleeves off of

would have a denim jacket for when it’s cold

jeans, but buys one pair a year and cuts them up into shorts when it’s hot out

a pair of steel toed boots

generally just a huge diy guy

humphrey

would try to keep up with whatever the youth is wearing

a fan of brighter clothes in the summer

like button ups and stuff

generally sort of quieter but the button ups are important to him, they’re his bit of confidence (totally not projecting)

so older shirts like robin, followed up with a brighter hawaiian type shirt

also funky socks!!

when it’s colder out he definitely has a ton of sweaters

mary

i think she’d love a nice sundress

something simple but colorful

like i can see her loving a gentle blue dress

but she’d have dresses with pockets bc she’s cool

kitty

loves to dress like her friends honestly

doesn’t have too much of her own style but then again that IS her style

she also likes nice dresses, but it’s not unusual for her to be in a jumper like the captain or humphrey when it’s cold

she’s actually stolen quite a few of theirs and they don’t mind

thomas

oh god

dark academia wannabe

he tries to dress all fancy every day

but also he loves denim

finds robin’s cut up clothes atrocious

wears good shoes every single day

he would enjoy long sleeved button ups with sweater vests but everyone laughs at him

bc he looks like a child

fanny

old lady

jk jk but also like. not

she’d also wear dresses but not like mary’s, hers would be not quite so bright

cardigans probably

accessories galore!! she has so many rings and necklaces and stuff

the captain

very serious all the time

dresses like he’s got an office job

ties and button ups and khaki pants

tho he does throw a jumper over it when it’s cold (he owns cardigans too don’t argue w me)

also rolls the sleeves up a lot

casual wear?? what is that??

no bc on weekends he always has some project (dad™️)

so he wears heavy boots and shorts and old t shirts

but no one ever sees this so. cannot be confirmed (except pat)

pat

this guyyyyy

we know he wears funky jumpers

honestly dresses like a tourist a lot

he has a lot of just very cool polos and such

would love thrifting so he can keep an 80s dad style

wears tight shorts and is unashamed

has a big sun hat he wears when he gardens (totally not while the captain works on his projects)

julian

also always in a suit but only because he thinks it’s sexy

it’s not julian

his casual wear is very golfer-esque

bright shorts and polo shirts

it’s sorta funny but also suits him

[rocksandrobots]

Fanfic Fashion - Dinner Date

OK, so this dress has already appeared in the Paris episode, where the ‘dinner date’ (that’s not actually a date) happens, which you can either read here 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23068177/chapters/75878816

or here 

https://rocksandrobots.tumblr.com/post/648776213957148672/of-rocks-and-robots-ch-38-paris

So below I have a bonus scene if you want to read it. 

Honey Lemon pulled out the new dress she had bought and ran into the bathroom to change. She was so excited she could hardly stop from bouncing with joy as she put it on. She was going to eat dinner at an authentic French restaurant in historic Pairs! And it was a very extravagant establishment at that; the hotel Varian had booked had been fairly high end and the attached eatery that came with it was of some renown. 

Not that Varian cared. He had only reserved the room because they needed a place to sleep for the night and the additional restaurant was just a convenient bonus. He was always so practical, in his own haphazard way, that even a trip to freaking Paris was part of some experiment and not just a vacation. He honestly couldn’t care less about the ‘City of Love’, coming here was solely for her benefit and he was merely indulging her. 

Well, so what? She liked being indulgent! She liked the attention and she loved, loved, looooved fulfilling all of her daydreams. Sure it wasn’t real. Varian, after all, was only a friend who was doing her a favor and not some leading romantic man come to sweep her off her feet. But what did it hurt just to play pretend for a day? 

She smoothed down the skirt of the dress and looked into the bathroom mirror. She had bought the sunny yellow gown because she had thought it cute looking, what with it’s soft layered tulle and frilly bow on the front, but now she worried that it wouldn't be fancy enough. It was short, cutting off right above her knees, and the top was very plain. Altogether it looked more like a summer party dress and not an elegant cocktail frock. 

She bit her lip in thought. Maybe if she could accessorize it right, but with what? She hadn’t planned on going out tonight or even coming on this trip to begin with. She didn’t even have her make up bag with her. She then noticed the ribbon that acted as handles for he paper shopping bag that dress had came in. They were also yellow. She broke one off and tied her hair into a half up-do with it; making a bow that matched the one on the front of the dress. 

She also decided not to wear her glasses. They really were for reading mostly and she’d gone without them hundreds of times before, especially whenever she had to don her super hero clothes. It wouldn’t do to have them break in a fight. There’d be no way to explain it her mother that she needed new ones if she did. 

Finally satisfied, she slipped on the matching wedged sandals that she had bought to go with the dress and walked out of the bathroom. 

Varian was already dressed himself. He had only slipped on the new vest she had picked out for him over his white buttoned down shirt. Being from an alternate past, Varian tended to favor collared shirts and slacks even when being casual. Sure, he had the odd t-shirt or pair of jeans that he would wear as well, but the semi-formal outfits suited his old fashioned sensibilities better. And Honey Lemon had to agree; Varian sometimes came across as if he had stepped right out of an old black and white movie or escaped from the pages of a storybook, and the clothes only helped to complete the image. On occasion, Honey Lemon would forget that he wasn’t an actual dashing nobleman nor roguish hero, only for him to do something stupid and shatter the illusion. 

“I’m ready.” she said. 

He was waiting on the balcony when she had a emerged and turned back to look at her over his shoulder. He gave her his usual Cheshire grin upon seeing her. With that sly smile still in place, he leaned over the banister and plucked a yellow rose off the vine that had crept of the side of the old building. 

“For you my lady,” He bowed and offered the flower to her. 

Honey Lemon was torn between wanting to roll her eyes in exasperation and blushing with girlish pride. Varian was only teasing her, she was sure, as he always did, yet it still made her feel special. She hoped, in her vanity, that he really did find her attractive. Not that she was trying to impress him or anything; just that it was nice to be admired sometimes. 

She settled in giving him a simple thank you and taking the rose from him. She tied it up with the second ribbon and placed on her wrist like a corsages. Once done, he offered her his arm which she took and out the door to dinner they went. 

[sodalitefully]

Santa Slash is coming to town...

This fic is the Christmas-themed spiritual successor to my Easter Bunny AU.  Special thanks to @slashscowboyboots for supporting all my holiday nonsense! 

Four snapshots from Slash’s Christmas prep marathon through the years:

🎄🎄🎄🎄

Jingle bells.  

Fucking jingle bells.

There were FIFTEEN of them on the stupid-fucking-candy-colored costume he had to wear at this godforsaken excuse for a seasonal job.  “Earn some extra cash,” they said.  “It’s easy, you barely have to do anything,” they said.  "You'll be perfect, you already look the part!" they said.  

"They are about to find a size-ten jingle-toed bootie up their ass,” Axl said – to himself, as he rushed into the storage room turned "dressing room" and buttoned up his itchy red and green vest with one hand while sipping an Orange Julius from the food court with the other.  

“Hey, Axl! You’re barely late today, awesome!”

And then there was this weirdo.

Axl could not for the life of him explain why a shopping mall in Indiana elected to hire a skinny dude in his 20s with a dark complexion and a nose ring to portray Saint Nick himself, but whatever the reason, Axl was stuck working with this fruitcake until Christmas Day.  Sure Slash was nice enough (oh yeah, and his name was Slash, or at least that's how he introduced himself without offering any explanation or even a last name), but he was way too enthusiastic about getting paid minimum wage to let strange kids sit in his lap at a grimy old shopping mall.

Uh, not in a weird way, Slash was good with the kids, really.  But sometimes... it seemed like he was taking his role a little too seriously.  

"How come you don't have a beard?" the first customer of Axl's shift, a little girl in a Tweety bird sweater and blonde pigtails, asked suspiciously.

"That's a good question,” Slash said, scratching at his bare chin. The neck of his Motörhead Beyond the Threshold of Pain Tour T-shirt was visible over the faux fur collar of the Santa costume, and his shiny black boots clearly came from a military surplus store. “I get asked that a lot but the truth is, it just isn't a flattering look, trust me.  I tried it once, and the elves could barely look at me in the eye." To Axl’s incredulity, the girl actually accepted that answer.  "Now tell me, what would you like for Christmas this year, sweetheart?"

As usual, Axl tuned out at this point.  Fake a smile for the overprotective parents, take the painfully awkward commemorative photograph, try not to look like he would rather die than hear Slash try to gently explain that Santa will probably not be delivering a pony this year one more damn time, rinse and repeat – until about an hour later, when the unthinkable happened.

The less said about about the incident, the better.  Suffice to say, one of the darling angels tossed his Christmas cookies, and some of the resulting mess wound up soaking into the front of Axl’s elf costume.  As if he needed another reason to hate his job; this was just adding insult on top of injury (that is, the injury to Axl’s pride as a result of being forced to wear the most ridiculous-looking costume he’s ever had the misfortune of laying eyes on). 

“That’s it. I quit.”  He grabbed the elf cap off his head and slammed it on the ground, then stormed through the exit gate past the sign wishing customers a "Holly Jolly Holiday Season," the bells on his costume ringing merrily as he stomped his feet.

“Hey, wait!”

“No,” Axl growled, but he did turn around to look back at Slash, still sitting in the plastic candy-cane throne unbothered by the mess or the sniffling child now mostly placated by a peppermint candy.  "What."  

Slash offered him a bright, beguiling smile.

"What do you want for Christmas, Axl?" 

-----

Nothing said "holiday cheer" like wandering the tinsel-adorned labyrinth that was a Walmart superstore a week before Christmas, with Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime" echoing through the tinny PA system and surrounded by other last-minute vultures hopelessly scavenging the picked-over aisles.  

In Izzy's defense, he actually finished all his shopping early this year, for once.  But then his two little brothers begged him to drive them around town to find the perfect gift for a girl at school that they apparently both had a crush on, and like a fool he agreed. 

He was regretting it now.  Anything would be better than subjecting himself to nearly an hour of top-40 Christmas music.  The jingle bells were jingling, the carolers were caroling, the B-list pop stars were spitting out god-awful covers of Christmas classics, and don’t even get him started on the commercials. 

He wasn't about to walk around in public with his fingers shoved in his ears (at least, he wasn't that desperate yet), but he did squeeze his eyes shut and pinch the bridge of his nose, trying to force himself to relax.  Just take deep breaths and think of The Rolling Stones... 

"Hey, uh, you doing okay?"

Izzy opened his eyes reluctantly.  In front of him was a young man wearing a concerned expression and a Santa hat, stuffed onto a massive pile of dark curls.  

"I'm fine.  Just finding out if it's possible to die from overexposure to Christmas music."

"Ahhh."  The man nodded in understanding.  "It's not, unfortunately.  I've tested it, trust me."

"Do you work here or something?" Izzy asked.  A leather jacket and ripped jeans didn't look like an employee uniform, but his hat matched the store decor and he didn't have a cart or shopping basket.  

"No, I'm actually a seasonal distributor.  Just checking in to make sure everything's in place before that last holiday rush, you know? Shit always gets crazy at the last minute."

"Tell me about it," Izzy responded, as if he knew a thing about marketing as a cynical 16-year-old.  But he had first-hand experience with last-minute crises, and as if to prove it, his brothers came running up to him at that moment.

"Jeff!  We can't find anything good, what should we do?"

"What's the problem?" the stranger in a Santa hat asked, looking genuinely concerned.  

"We don't know what present to get for a girl at school," the boys explained.

"Hmm..." He tapped at his chin.  "Why don't you just – oh wait, you're underage.  Well, how about you bake her some cookies or something?  That's what everyone does for me and I have no complaints."

Desperate to remove himself from this musical hell, Izzy jumped on the idea.  "Yeah, you could do sugar cookies!  And decorate them like horses, she likes horses right?” The boys had only mentioned that a dozen times; Izzy was starting to wonder if this girl even had any other personality traits.  

To his relief, a spark lit up in his brothers' eyes.  Cookies were a perfect idea, and suddenly they were dragging him away to look at cookie cutters and sprinkles.

Izzy turned around to shoot the helpful stranger a grateful look, but when he looked back, the man had disappeared with no trace, leaving not even a furry white pompom behind.

-----

Slash glanced out the window and grimaced – it was cold as a witch’s big bouncy tit outside, nothing but snow and ice as far as the eye could see. He pulled the blanket tighter around his shoulders and took another swig of hot Irish coffee.   Damn the North Pole, there was a reason he took his summer vacations in Malibu.

But despite the miserable work conditions, Slash was nothing if not dedicated to his job.  In front of him was a sack overflowing not with toys but with the most recent letters to Santa, straight from the North Pole's post office.  With Christmas only a few days away, his daunting task was to go through the whole mountain of letters as quickly as possibly in order to take their special requests into consideration before it was time to start loading up the sleigh.  

Well, there was no time like the present to get started.  Slash stretched his back and got comfortable in his coziest armchair (by throwing his legs over one armrest and slouching until his head rested on the other), absentmindedly tapping the end of his peppermint stick on the edge of an ashtray.  He grimaced when he brought the stick back to his lips and realized his mistake. 

With a sigh, he dropped the peppermint stick back in the ashtray already full of cigarette butts and ruined candies, and unfolded the first letter.  In barely legible green marker, the message read: 

Dear Santa Claus,

My name is Steven and I'm 5 years old.  Please give me a skateboard for Christmas.  My brother has one and he won't let me borrow it to learn tricks.

Hmmm.  Five years old was a little young for a skateboard.  Knowing Steven, he'd probably knock his teeth out by New Year's...

...Slash shrugged.  Why not?  All things considered, he would have killed for a skateboard when he was five, so who was he to say no?

-----

Duff was seven years old when his older brothers cornered him in the backyard and gleefully informed him that Santa Claus was a fraud.  It was all a lie made up by parents to convince their children to behave during the year, they explained, and the toys were made on factory lines not by magical elves.  Their mother gave them a hell of a scolding afterwards but it was too late, the deed could not be undone. 

He tried to play it cool, but the truth was, Duff was very distraught as Christmas Eve inched closer.  Could his siblings be right?  He didn't want to believe it, but if he was being honest with himself, he'd suspected as much for some time.  He braced himself to accept the hard truth come Christmas Eve – but only if he was presented with definitive proof.

When the fateful night finally came, Duff and two of his brothers laid out their sleeping bags behind the couch, where they'd be hidden from view if anyone tried to approach the Christmas tree.  They all swore not to fall asleep, not even for a second until Christmas morning... And it wasn't until his brother started snoring that Duff realized he was the only one still awake and silently anticipating the moment of truth.  

It was imperative, of course, that he stayed hidden and didn't make a sound, or else risk giving their plot away.  But... it was past midnight, dinner was hours ago and Duff's empty stomach was starting to distract him from the task at hand.  He couldn't stop thinking about all the food he would get to eat with his family on Christmas Day: the glazed ham, mashed potatoes, apple pie and Christmas cookies... 

In the dim light, Duff could just barely make out the plate of cookies for Santa, waiting in front of the tree.  The cookies were still there untouched, all six of them... Surely no one would notice if Duff ate just one?  

He tiptoed over his sleeping siblings, as silent as the snow falling outside, making his way around the sofa to the plate on the coffee table.  But just as he reached out to pluck a gingerbread man from the assortment, he saw a shadow of movement out of the corner of his eye.  There, beside the Christmas tree in the flickering glow of multicolored string lights, was a mysterious figure in a fur-lined coat and a red cap.

Duff stared at the intruder, slack-jawed.  The cookie clattered back onto the dish, and at the noise the stranger whirled around to face him. 

"Duff!  What are you doing still awake?" he demanded.  Duff took a breath to answer – or more likely to ask how the man knew his name – but before he could, the man peered over the couch, narrowed his eyes and frowned.  "Oh I see what this is. You thought you would catch your parents pretending to be me!" he accused.  "Well, here's the real truth: adults are always wrong and you should never do what they say!" 

The man – could he really be Santa Claus? – he planted his leather-gloved hands on his hips as he scolded Duff.  "And don't even get me started on teenagers..." he griped, casting a stare over Duff's shoulder where his older brother's leg was sticking out from behind the couch, tangled in a blanket.  

Tears started to well up in Duff's eyes.

"Please still give them Christmas presents!  I know they said they don't believe in you, but they've been good, I promise!" he begged.  Santa's expression softened.

"Aw, I know, kid.  I promise they'll still get their presents, alright?  Let me just finish up here and then maybe you can help me out with those cookies, sound good?"

Placated, Duff sniffled and nodded, scrubbing his eyes with his sleeve. He hopped onto the sofa, swinging his feet and watching with awe as Santa pulled beautifully wrapped gifts out of seemingly nowhere and stacked them around the tree, one after another until all eight of the McKagan children were represented. He took a step back to take in his handiwork, made a few minor adjustments, then turned back to Duff: “Voila! That’s the magic of Christmas. Now pass me that plate, would you?”

Santa sat down next to Duff and propped his boots up on the coffee table. When Duff held out the plate of cookies, he selected one decorated to look like Santa Claus, white beard and all, and promptly bit its head off. 

“I love my job, but delivering presents is exhausting,” he sighed, accepting a glass of milk from Duff’s outstretched hand. “I’ve already covered Asia, Africa, Europe, and most of the Americas, so I’d say I’m due for a break.  Cheers, Duff.” He held up his glass and Duff tapped it with his half-eaten cookie. 

“To a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!”

🎄🎄🎄🎄

[lightfoot-bros]

I'd sell my soul to know about Barley's style in other seasons? I bet he wears his vest over QOY hoodies and skull print button ups in chillier weather 😍

I concur! I do see Barley wearing a cozy XXL sweater with pins and patches on them during the winter snow ☃️

In the summer it might get so hot he would just wear a black tank top, sandals and cool sunglasses when going to the beach ⛱

And I am sure he also bought many T-shirts and jackets when his favorite bands came to visit New Mushroomton.

[seattlesea]

Lorien Legacies Characters + Styles of Dress

One- Surfer + Cute She always dresses like she’s about to go to the beach. She wears a lot of tank tops, shorts, sandals, flip-flops, wedges, Vans, ripped jeans, tie-dye t-shirts, flannel shirts, bikini tops, and cute tops and always accessories with sunglasses and a small crossbody bag. She also likes wearing silver jewelry and sun hats or baseball caps. Her outfits are always on-point and super cute. Her main colors are blue and white with tan and light orange accents. She also loves shorts with beach-type prints like waves and palm trees, thin jackets, and high-waisted shorts, and when it’s cold out she wears a jumper or knit sweater with a natural tone, and she’ll wear a button-up jean shirt from time-to-time. Her style is really laid-back and looks super nice even when she doesn’t really try as she doesn’t care too much about fashion but likes the style. Her favorite article of clothing is a white and blue gradient tank top she ‘borrowed’ from a store while with Wade. 

Maggie-  Autumn + Academia Her style is really cute and warm, she looks like the human personification of autumn. She likes wearing scarves, cardigans, knit sweaters, stockings, skinny jeans, parkas, short and ankle boots, and flannel, long-sleeved, and button-up shirts. She usually looks like she’s about to walk into a coffee shop to read. She always carries a brown bag to carry all her books and accessories with plain gold jewelry- especially rings and earrings- usually has some sort of overcoat on, likes wearing layers, and her outfits are always precise and perfect. She accessories perfectly and her main colors are brown, black, and maroon with dark orange and crimson accents. Sometimes she’ll wear an overall dress and floral patterns so long as it has that fall-color palette, and she’ll wear the autumn style no matter the season. She’ll wear the perfect fall outfit in the dead of July without hesitation. She also likes wearing hair accessories like hairclips, headbands, bandanas, hats (especially fedoras, she’s one of the few people who can actually look decent in them), bows, and clips and she usually styles her hair really nicely when she doesn’t just put it down. She also steals clothes from all of the guys- mostly Adam, John, and Nine- like she did with Conrad cause they’re so big and comfy, especially on her. Her favorite article of clothing is an oversized maroon sweater Conrad knit for her. 

Hannu- Trendy + Comfy He likes the classic, comfortable clothes most teenage boys wear. He wears a lot of sweatshirts and hoodies, brand-name shoes like Nikes and Adidas, sweats, jeans (most of which cuffed), zip-up sweaters, knee-shorts, khakis, and plain tees with the occasional turtleneck. Most- if not all- of his clothes are big and comfy and others love stealing them from him cause because of it. His main colors are brown and gray with black and white accents, and he owns most clothes everyone else own. He likes to keep it simple and straightforward and doesn’t care too much for fashion, but will experiment from time-to-time. He’ll occasionally wear a basic accessory like a woven bracelet, wristwatch, or chain necklace and a bolder color like yellow or blue every now and then but other than that he avoids anything too flashy or eye-catching. He also likes clothes fitting for long runs and playing basketball like tank tops, athletic shorts, and track pants. His favorite article of clothing is a black tank top with the Kenya flag on it he got while at the village. 

John- Prep + Plain He kind of dresses like a white suburban dad (and Nine loves making fun of him for it). He likes button-up, striped, and polo shirts, khakis, plain tees, zip-up sweaters, jeans, knee-shorts, sneakers, sandals, and the occasional sweatshirt or hoodie. He owns a million different belts and sometimes wears a watch but doesn’t really like to accessorize. The number one thing the others hate about his style is his tendency to wear socks with slip-ons (it’s an Ohio thing), and he does it just to piss them off. Overall, he has a very simple and plain style. He doesn’t care too much about fashion but does like looking presentable, so he and his clothes usually look pretty neat and clean but most of the time there’s that one thing that tips his outfit off like a color that doesn’t match with the rest or an accessory worn with the wrong outfit, but no one bothers to point it out cause they all know John will just shrug it off anyways. His main colors are white and blue with brown, orange, and dark blue accents. His favorite article of clothing is a pair of lightly ripped jeans that used to belong to Henri. 

Five- Emo + Grunge He’s the middle line between emo and grunge, really. He mostly wears skinny and/or ripped jeans, classic-rock band tees, Vans, Converse, leather or denim jackets, combat boots, faded clothes, parkas, distressed jeans, oversized shirts, black sneakers, and acid-washed jeans. He doesn’t really like accessories except a few pins and wristbands here and there, and when his hair has grown out too long and he doesn’t feel like combing it (which is most times) he wears a beanie to cover it. Overall he doesn’t really care about fashion (or his appearance at all) so he just throws on whatever he sees first and it may look bizarre at first but he somehow makes it work, even though he doesn’t really try. He also- to the others’ surprise- really likes floral-print, so he’ll be seen wearing a black and white floral-print t-shirt every now and then. His main colors are black and white with silver, dark gray, and dark green accents. His favorite article of clothing is a parka he got the first time he went to a non-tropical place during his run from the Mogs. 

Six- Androgynous/Tomboy + Punk She acts like a butch and dresses like one, too. She usually wears army-print jackets, ripped jeans, sweatshirts and hoodies, button-up shirts, jeans, sneakers, trucker hats, leather jackets, baggy tees, flannel shirts, combat boots, and denim or leather vests. She rarely accessories but the few times she does, she goes all out with studs, chains, wristbands, pins, fingerless leather gloves, black accessories, and studded belts, and sometimes she’ll wear eyeliner (with enough begging from Ella), and other times she’ll wear suspenders, women’s suits, or polo shirts. Her right ear is covered in piercings and she has a diamond nose stud on the left, and it may not seem like it, but she actually doesn’t care about style. She just throws on whatever she thinks will look somewhat decent and leave, but it usually looks really good, though sometimes she messes a few things up like mismatching the colors. When she’s feeling nostalgic or she misses Katarina more than usual, she’ll wear a bow in her hair like she used to, and her main colors are black and blue with white and brown accents. Her overall style is down-to-earth, simple, and tomboyish with some punk-rock highlights here and there, or she’ll go full punk and it looks pretty good on her. Her favorite article of clothing is a black leather jacket, which was the first thing she got after she escaped from the West Virginia Base.

Marina- Hipster + Simple Her style is simple, but pretty cute. Out of all the Garde besides Ella, she probably cares the most about fashion and often wears fedoras, flannel shirts, jean shorts, stockings, beanies, combat or ankle boots, denim jackets, baggy sweaters, graphic tees, and cardigans with the occasional leather jacket (usually one of Six’s). She loves tying flannel shirts around her waist or throwing it into any of her outfits, even if it doesn’t match. She usually accessories with a bunch of stacked rings, silver necklaces, and sometime a bracelet, mostly beaded ones, but rarely wears earrings. She also loves layering, it’s almost impossible for her to go out- even in the summer- without wearing something over her clothes. She likes looking nice so has a very neat and cute style but doesn’t go overboard. When it’s cold out, she’ll throw on a cute knit sweater or nice-fitting long-sleeved shirt and also likes wearing beanies (a lot). Her main colors are brown and cream with black and tawny accents and while she does care quite a bit about fashion and presentability, she’ll always choose comfort over fashion. If she had to choose between a cute cardigan that itched and a plain and baggy but comfy tee, she’ll choose the latter in a heartbeat, but she’ll choose flannel over everything, it’s basically her trademark style and she owns like a million flannel shirts in a hundred different colors. Her favorite article of clothing is a dark orange and black flannel shirt. 

Eight- Cozy + Eccentric His style will change every other day. One day he’ll be wearing basic, everyday clothes like hoodies, sweatshirts, jeans, sweats, baseball caps, sweaters, tank tops, baggy tees, and sneakers- the comfiest clothes almost everyone has just lying in their closet- and the next he’ll be wearing the weirdest array of bright, flashy colors and prints. He loves floral and animal-print shirts, silly graphic tees, skinny jeans, and bizarre accessories like fringe necklaces, friendship bracelets, woven bracelets and necklaces, and Silly Bandz (which are his trademark article of clothing). His right cartilage is pierced and he always has a small silver helix earring on, and he’ll wear the most offbeat and surreal colors together like a bright orange t-shirt with lime green skinny jeans and dark blue boots. They literally never look good but he doesn’t care (nor does he mind the staring from strangers) as he doesn’t care about fashion and just wears whatever he’s comfortable with, which just so happens to be the brightest, flashiest clothing and colors in existence. His main colors are basically every one with gold and silver accents. His favorite article of clothing is a bright yellow ‘Shut up, Karen’ t-shirt, a gift from Nine.

Nine- Athletic + Casual His style isn’t too bad when he actually wears clothes. He wears the basic workout clothes like track pants, zip-up sweaters, comfy t-shirts, workout shorts, athletic tops, gym shoes, and athletic tank tops that usually have a Chicago team logo on them (mostly the Bulls), but besides that he wears basic, everyday clothes as if he’s taking a quick trip to the grocery store like sweatshirts, large hoodies, plain tees, (ripped) jeans, sneakers, and knee shorts. Despite having the most money of all the Garde and living in a penthouse in Downtown Chicago, Nine doesn’t like flashy or expensive clothes and goes with the casual, daily clothes he’s seen the majority of people wear since he’s learned to adapt to and act like others around him while on the run from the Mogs. He also hates formal clothes like tuxedos cause they’re uncomfortable for him and he would never let Sandor make him wear one. His main colors are gray and blue with dark red and black accents and besides a basic watch and chain necklace here and there, he never accessories and usually throws on the first thing he sees when he wakes up. The others always steal his shirts and hoodies cause they’re so big, warm, and comfy. His favorite article of clothing is a gray sleeveless hoodie he had since he moved to Chicago. 

Ella- Retro + Feminine Her style is easily one of the cutest out of all of them. She loves feminine, retro, old-fashioned clothes like striped shirts, cute dresses, flowy skirts, 90s band tees, overalls, button-up shirts, suspenders, sweaters, cute tops, shorts, and colorful sweaters. She usually accessories with sunglasses, bows, scarves, belts, bandanas, earrings, and small rings and always looks like she came out of a 90s romance film. She cares the most about her clothes and fashion so usually looks the best-dressed out of all the Garde with an exception for her lazy days where she usually just throws on a sweater and leggings. Sometimes she’s the epitome of the ‘Soft Girl’ aesthetic- baggy sweaters, denim skirts, scrunchies, white shoes, and cute t-shirts. Her main colors are pink, pastel purple, and vivid red with jean blue and soft orange accents and her style really reflects on her young and bright personality. Her favorite article of clothing is a red, orange, yellow, and blue-striped t-shirt she got while out with Marina.

Sam- Nerdy + Vintage For someone who doesn’t really care about his looks, Sam’s outfits are pretty damn nice. He mixes ‘nerdy’ and ‘vintage’ styles so he usually wears button-up shirts, suspenders, collared shirts, flannel shirts, plain jeans, zip-up sweaters, striped shirts, sweaters, and sometimes a denim jacket. He basically looks like Peter Parker if he was from the 90s. His style pretty much reflects his personality- nerdy, cute, sophisticated, and smart- and he rarely accessories besides watches and friendship bracelets he made for him and John. He won’t be caught dead without a zip-up sweater on, too. He’s obsessed with the things and refuses to leave the house without one, and he occasionally wears ripped or cuffed jeans. Mostly he likes wearing a collared long-sleeved shirt under a sweater and also likes funny shirts with cheesy jokes and puns on them. He doesn’t really care too much about his appearance or fashion, but enough to make sure his outfit isn’t absolutely hideous before he goes out. He usually goes for the comfier clothes and will often steal John, Nine, and Hannu’s clothes. His main colors are light blue, gray, and brown with cream and dark orange accents. His favorite article of clothing is a slightly baggy, dark blue zip-up sweater that was Malcolm’s. 

Sarah- Fashionable + Girly She has the most feminine style, and it suits her well. She usually wears  dresses, skirts, halter tops, tank tops, high heels, sandals, silk jackets, ripped jeans, jean shorts, tube tops, denim jackets, and cute tops. She always accessories and does so perfectly with earrings, affirmation necklaces, bangle or charm bracelets, and plain rings, and every outfit is always on-point and perfect as she’s one of the only ones who actually cares about fashion, cares the most about her appearance, and always wants to look nice and presentable. She’ll occasionally wear comfier but still cute clothes like beanies or knit sweaters and always has a bag or purse with her to carry all her regular ‘human’ items, including her camera. She also usually wears light makeup like mascara, lip gloss, and a bit of blush and either has her hair down or nicely styled if she has the time. Her main colors are pink and white with light blue and gold accents and her overall style is very neat, cute, and feminine and shows what type of person she is. Her favorite article of clothing is a white off-shoulder top she likes to wear with a silk pink circle skirt when she’s feeling extra pretty.

Adam- Alternative + Dark He has that ‘dark but not emo’ style, on the border of e-boy. He typically wears black aviator, leather, or bomber jackets, long-sleeved shirts, band tees, ripped jeans, striped shirts, denim jackets, baggy tees, Vans, collared shirts, and dress pants. He likes wearing leather belts with chains but other than that usually skips accessorising besides the occasional earrings as he has quite a lot of ear piercings (and either a nose ring, snakebites, or eyebrow piercing). Sometimes he’ll even dress like a skater boy- Thrasher and/or baggy shirts, distressed jeans, checkered Vans, studded belts, flannel shirts, light studs, beanies, long socks, and graphic tees, and he loves black and white flannel shirts and pocket-grid pants and jackets. His main colors are black and white with dark blue and gray accents, and he adores pins. He owns about a million different vests and jackets (most of which leather or denim and either black or dark blue) and he loves decorating them with pins, stitches, and even safety pins on the sleeves of his vests. He has too many pins to count like the stereotypical alien head, a UFO, a pride flag, rock band logos, a skull, a smiley face, and other random things he sticks onto himself every morning. His style is overall a little messy but pretty nice as he doesn’t care that much about his appearance but likes the style. His favorite article of clothing is a black denim vest with a hundred pins and stiches on it Malcolm bought for him. 

[danikatze]

Inktober 14th!

New kid in town welcomed to Rydell High by lunch man’s daughter and school’s jack-of-all-trades.

Once again a sincere thank you to the person who requested Grease AU MatsuMasa ;_; I couldn’t really decide which Grease scene to rewrite for to fit them, so I’m going to do two.... plus a single illustration to sort of tie them together or maybe I just wanted to draw Sachi as a 1950s cheerleader so what shush. Which means another three-parter.

I don’t think I’ve ever drawn anything so niche (and I’ve drawn some niche things..) but I’m taking comfort in the fact that at least one person will want to see it hahaa!

ID below the cut. It’s long.

[ID: a two (square) page comic about Masa, Okinu and Ginta from House of Five Leaves. It’s a Grease AU, where Masa takes Sandy’s role. He has short, tidily slicked back hair. He wears a tidy white button up shirt, with a light coloured vest over it, and wears light, loose fitting slacks. He holds a few books to his chest and a light coloured jacket over his arm.

Okinu wears a dress with a high waist, a long skirt, a round collar and short sleeves. Her hair is pinned up in a roll at the base of her head, and she has short bangs. Ginta wears jeans and a striped t-shirt, and has the same hair-do as Masa.

Page one has four panels.

Panel one: Masa, Okinu and Ginta are walking on school grounds. There’s a bit of a building and a tree are visible in the background. Okinu and Masa are talking, all smiles, and Ginta follows the conversation pretty attentively while eating an apple. Okinu asks Masa: “did you have a good summer, Masa?” Masa replies: “oh, yes!”

Panel two: Masa is shown from the front. He continues, blushing dreamily: “I made a... very close friend.” A thought bubble shows him being kissed by Matsu, who wears a typical greaser hair-do and a tight black t-shirt. He holds Masa’s face with one hand, and Masa’s hand, close to both their chests, with the other. Masa touches the underside of Matsu’s forearm softly.

Panel three: Okinu replies: “how nice!” Masa continues, with a soft smile: “he gave me his address, to write to. He should live near here.”

Panel four: they are all shown from the side, Masa gazes vaguely ahead of him. “I hope to be able to see him soon,” he says. Okinu and Ginta both look at him. “What’s his name?” Okinu asks, with a big smile. Ginta adds, with his mouth full of apple: “yeah, maybe we know him!”

Page two has three panels.

Panel one: the three are shown from behind. Masa says: “his name is Matsukichi.”

Panel two: Okinu and Ginta sort of stop in their tracks, looking a little stunned. “Matsu.. kichi?” It’s unclear who of the two says this, maybe both.

Panel three: Okinu and Ginta stay behind, Okinu whispers to Ginta: “could that be our Matsu??” In unison they repeat to each other, behind their hands, what Masa said earlier: “very close friend?” “Doesn’t sound like him... does it?” /End ID]

[nataliedanovelist]

GF - Dr. Mystery

Another gift for @siro-cyll​ cuz I have unhealthy obsession with their work and just gotta write fanfiction for it. I also may or may not have an unhealthy desire for more Ford and Mabel bonding content. (By the way, to all of you who liked my last gift, Tiger Stripes, and especially to @siro-cyll​, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for all of your love and support! I’ve been close to tears so much lately due to your kindness. Just... thank you so much.) Oh! And, S.C., there’s a special little message for you told by your favorite six-fingered fluffy owl; everyone needs a little encouragement and I can’t think of anyone who deserves it more than you. - N.S.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ever since the Pines family had returned to Gravity Falls for the summer, Soos and Stan shared the role of Mr. Mystery. It was primarily Soos' responsibility so that Stan could sit in his boxers for as long as he wanted, but every so often - to give the old man something to do or so Soos could work on a project or a repair - it was like the good ole days with the original My. Mystery scamming tourists and a humble handyman making the shack stand strong.

Unfortunately, Soos caught a bad case of the summer flu, and so to try to keep two old men and two young teenagers from getting sick, he quarantined himself in his room and Stan had to fill in the My. Mystery role. It felt good to be back in his old ways for a bit, amazing gullible tourists with made-up attractions; he had been doing this for thirty years, he could do it for a week, right?

Wrong. When it was almost ten o'clock and the first tour was scheduled to happen at eleven, and Stan still wasn't up yet, Mabel decided to wake him up in the best way possible: by attacking him with hugs. She tip-toed in her socks and oversized t-shirt her dad gave her to her grunkle's bedroom and carefully opened the door to prepare her attack, but a nasty cough destroyed her devilish plan and she hurried to Stan's bed.

"Grunkle Stan? Are you okay?" Mabel asked. Stan tried to tell her that he was fine, but she felt his sweaty forehead and gasped, "You've got a fever! Hold on!"

Meanwhile, Ford was sipping his third cup of coffee in the kitchen and reading the newspaper since Stan wasn't awake yet to hog it. He saw Mabel running across the hallway and up the stairs out of the corner of his eye and chose to ignore it; his niece often got excited about little things. His concern only came when she ran past the kitchen again, this time fully dressed in a red skirt and a handmade white sweater with a red cross, a white headband over her hair.

"Mabel, sweetie, what's the matter?" Ford called; Mabel wearing her nurse's sweater was never a good sign. Unless she was playing doctor with Waddles.

She popped back into view, this time with medicine, a washcloth, and a first-aid kit in her arms. "Grunkle Stan is sick." She answered and went off to help.

Ford decided that Mabel needed a capable adult's supervision and he followed her to Stan's bedroom, only to find her responsibility giving Stan a thermometer to hold in his mouth and cooling him down with a damp washcloth; Mabel even put on her stethoscope and listened to her uncle's breathing and heartbeat to see how forced it was. Ford crossed his arms over his chest, leaned against the doorframe, and smiled proudly at his little pumpkin.

"You sound really congested." Mabel commented calmly. "Does anything hurt? How's your head and your tummy?"

"Stomach's fine for now, but my head's poundin'." Stan groaned quietly.

Mabel took the medicine bottle she had brought from the nightstand and read the directions carefully. "Okay, I think you should take this every six hours, only a cap full. Once it starts to relieve pressure and congestion your head should stop hurting."

"Good job, my dear." Ford complimented, recognizing the bottle of syrup and giving her his approval to give it to Stan.

Mabel's cheeks turned rosy and she filled the cap with the appropriate amount of medicine. Then an idea came to mind and she put the medicine back on the nightstand. "Oh! Hold on! I'll be right back." And she hurried past Grunkle Ford and out of the room.

Ford smiled sympathetically at his brother. "So you caught Soos' flu, huh?"

"I'd fire him if I could." Stan growled and ducked his head under the covers.

Ford chuckled at how little Stan had changed from when they were kids; as tough as he was, whenever he was ill he tended to curl up like a bunny and sleep off his virus.

Mabel came back with a glass of water and gently rubbed Stan's shoulder to coax him out from behind the blankets. "You can take your medicine now. You should take it with water so it doesn't taste as yucky."

How can anyone resist smiling at Mabel's kindness? Stan's lips curled upward as he propped himself up on his right elbow and accepted the cap of medicine, took it, and then gratefully had Mabel's glass of water, but he did so after she took the thermometer out of his mouth. "Thanks, pumpkin."

Mabel just smiled at her hero. "You've got a fever of 101.5. Definitely the flu. You should rest and I'll be back at lunchtime with some soup." She packed up her things and left her uncle to rest.

Ford was about to follow her out of the room, but Stan stopped him. "Hey, do me a favor, Sixer, and keep the shack open, okay?"

Ford stared at him. "Excuse me?"

"You know, run the tours. Make sure Wendy does her job. Squeeze every cent you can outta the tourists. The usual business stuff."

Ford put his polydactyl hands up in both surrender and defense. "N-No, Stanley, I can't do that. I'm a lot of things, but a businessman is not one of them."

"I ain't askin' you to own the Mystery Shack - which in a way you kinda already do - I'm just asking you to hold down the fort until Soos or I are back in the game." Stan groaned and closed his eyes, laying on his back, and he waved his hand in the air casually. "C'mon, you're an anomaly expert, right? Just tell 'em about some freaky safe weird thing and do it with some dramatic flare."

"But…"

"Grunkle Ford," Mabel whispered as she returned and held his hand. "C'mon, we gotta let him rest. You don't wanna get sick, do you?"

Ford let her walk him out of Stan's bedroom and she closed the door behind him, the scientist's stage-fright giving him tunnel vision. Just as the sweater-twins were at the bottom of the stairs, Dipper came down in his orange t-shirt and gray shorts, pinching at his stiff eyes.

"Dipper," Mabel called to get his attention. "About time, sleepy-head! Anyway, Grunkle Stan is sick, so we need to work extra super-duper hard to keep the shack open!"

Dipper, coming to his senses, said, "Great, do I need to be Mystery Jr. again?"

"Nope! You're gonna help manage the tours so Grunkle Ford can lead them!"

"You got it." Dipper pulled out a pencil and a notepad from his shorts and got to work. "I'll help Wendy with the ticket sales and I'll pull from Soos' spare attractions to fill up the shack today."

Ford shook his head to clear it. "Dipper, my boy, if you have done this of all before, perhaps you should…"

"Nah, ah, ah." Mabel said gently, shaking a finger. "Grunkle Stan asked you to run the shack, not Dippin'-Dots. Besides, it'll be good for you to try something new! Now go hurry and get dressed!" And she and her twin went into the kitchen to plan the day.

Ford sighed and went into his room; he supposed he could last one day, right?

In the back of his closest, hidden by the many colorful sweaters Mabel had made for him (she claimed that he was her favorite model), Ford had a spare suit to replace the one Stan had stolen from him after disappearing on the other side of the portal. He shed his red sweater and changed into the formal attire, unsure of what to do for a tie. Guessing Mabel knew where one of Stan's ties were, he put on his white button-up, gray vest, and slipped on his black coat while he looked for her.

Mabel emerged from the living room and stared at her uncle with shining eyes, then let out a very "fangirly" scream. "Grunkle Ford! You look amazing! Wow! You might just steal Stan's title as the silver fox in the family!" Mabel giggled at her joke while Ford's entire face turned beet-red. "Here, I made these for you." She held out a maroon fez and matching neck-tie, but the fez, rather than a crescent, had a golden six-fingered hand, and the tie had a golden six-fingered hand pin. "The best way to be Mr. Mystery is to be you."

Ford smiled affectionately and was starting to feel a little better about this whole thing. He got on one knee and accepted the gifts. "Thank you, Mabel. I think these will suit me just fine."

"No pun intended?" Mabel asked, making Ford laugh as he tied on his neck tie and let his pin show proudly. She helped by putting the fez on the top of his fluffy hair, running her little fingers through his charcoal-fluff. She pressed her lips and hands together and squealed again. "Eck! I gotta get my camera!"

"Mabel, no…" But she was gone.

Ford sighed and stood. He turned to look at the mirror and examine his appearance. He did look… nice? Maybe. Possibly. Mabel seemed to think so and she had exquisite taste. Ford decided to ignore the fact that her opinion was biased since they were family and he also decided that his little shooting star might be right.

"Grunkle Ford!" Mabel's voice ringed like cheerful bells, and when he looked her way he was blinded by a flash of light. Mabel got a polaroid of her fluffy, floofy, flustered old nerd whom she admired dearly. She grinned at the picture and claimed, "I never miss a scrapbook-ortunity! I'm gonna go add this to our family scrapbook! Dipper's ready for you in the gift shop!" And she skipped away to work on her arts-n'-crafts.

Ford took in a deep breath and reminded himself that it was only for one day as he walked towards the shop. Dipper had planned out a good schedule for the tours, bringing back nostalgic attractions as well as some new ones. First, the rock-that-looks-like-a-face had been brought inside to start off the tour; then a collection of rare and exotic (probably fake) pictures, like of bigfoot or of horses riding horses (Ford wasn't sure if that picture was PG); then the "ugliest creatures known to man" gag; then shells of a dinosaur egg (which Ford was pretty sure was legitimate and from Stan Jr.); and then finally the sack of mystery.

When Ford left to greet the arriving tourists at eleven o'clock, Wendy asked Dipper as she flipped through her magazine, "You have a backup-plan, right?"

"Oh, totally." Dipper said and replaced his pinetree-hat with an eyepatch.

Ford took in a deep breath and then gave his little audience a toothy grin (he was lucky that it was flu season and there weren't a lot of tourists today). He just had to be like the original Mr. Mystery. He could do that, right?

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to my humble Mystery Shack! I, Mr. Mystery, will gladly give you a tour so you may gaze at many abnormal wonders that plague my home." Ford gestured to the rock. "Behold! Rock That Looks Like a Face rock: the rock that looks like a face!" And he grinned nervously; his anxiety was starting to increase subtlety.

"Does it look like a rock?" An old lady asked, adjusting her glasses.

"Um… n-no." Ford's confidence was starting to fade. "It's a rock that looks like a face."

"Is it a face?" A chubby boy with a lollipop asked.

"N-No, it only looks like a face."

"But where did it come from?"

"Was it once a face?"

"Is that what we look like when we're dead?"

The questions kept on coming; this normally wouldn't have bothered Ford so much, he lived to seek out answers, but these were questions he could not answer nor could he investigate to find the answers; he was expected to know what to say on the spot; Stan could do that, but Ford could not. He swallowed as his skin paled.

"Ladies and gentlemen!"

The group turned to find a boy in a suit with an eyepatch and his hair combed back. They gasped and admired the adorable Mystery Jr., having heard of him from last summer, and the tourists hurried to him, leaving Ford free to breathe heavily and try to relax.

"Thank you, thank you all for coming!" Dipper started to lead the group to the next room. "You'll quickly notice the numerous attractions we keep here, but some weirdness we could only capture through pictures! Be amazed, at our Hall of Photos!"

Ford slipped away as cameras flashed and gullible tourists were entertained. He wiped his sweaty face with a handkerchief and he realized what happened; he got stage-fright, inconvenienced by the slightest change, choked, and his own nephew had to swoop in and save him. Ford was incredibly flustered and embarrassed and decided to get some water from the kitchen.

He found Mabel there, wearing an apron over her nurse's sweater, and she stood on a step-stool in front of the stove, mixing a big pot. She smiled sympathetically when she heard her uncle come in. "Hey, how did it go?"

"Horribly, my dear." Ford groaned and filled himself a glass of water from the sink. "I just couldn't do it. I know Stan asked me to do it, but I think it would be best if Dipper continued to handle the tourists. I would be happy to assist in some other way, but I'm no Mr. Mystery. I'm nothing like Stanley."

Mabel paused her work, tapping the wooden spoon on the side of the pot to shake off some broth, and she turned to look at him. "Grunkle Ford, that's not true. You're very much like Grunkle Stan; you're both sweet and handsome and strong and very brave."

Ford turned red and hid the bottom-half of his face in his cup. "Th-Thank you, Mabel." He stuttered.

"And it's okay that's you're not like him. More than okay." Mabel insisted as she moved to where chopped vegetables laid and she scooped some up into her hands. "We never wanted you to be. At least I never wanted you to be. You're supposed to be Dr. Mystery, not Mr. Mystery. Look, being weird and being different is awesome cuz it gives you a chance to be yourself. You have to give the tours your way. Get open, get honest with yourself, invent your own way of doing things, no matter what others think. Leave people confused by how awesome you are; that's what it's supposed to mean to be Mr. Mystery."

Ford's eyes were round and shining like stars as he stared at his niece, who plopped the veggies into the soup and stirred them in. "M-Mabel Pines, that… that was very wise and mature of you. When did you learn all of that?"

"Somewhere between fighting an unholy triangle and getting my braces taken off." Mabel joked, grinning to display her braces-less teeth. "Oh! Maybe my braces held back my wisdom and whatnot! We should sue my dentist for everything he's got!"

Ford laughed, feeling much better than he has felt all day.

Mabel tasted her homemade chicken soup and said, "Lunch is almost ready. Want some? I made plenty to share."

Ford smiled and nodded. "Thank you, my dear. I will be back in a moment to join you for lunch." And he left for his room again.

Mabel was right; Ford had been trying to hold a false image of himself, an image he didn't have because his twin had it, and really he just needed to be himself. Ford tossed the fez on his couch and saw the white lab coat on his desk-chair. He smiled and exchanged that for his suit-jacket. He smiled, much more comfortable in his trenchcoat-like attire with his gray vest and white button-up, and he adjusted the pin Mabel had given him; he would always treasure that tiny six-fingered hand. Ford went back into the kitchen just as his niece was leaving with a tray holding a bowl of soup and a glass of orange juice and she grinned and nodded in approval.

After a pleasant lunch with Mabel, another tour was scheduled. Dipper offered to take this one, but Ford claimed he had it under control and he knew just what to do this time.

"Now, many of you may have had a friend owe you money or have won poker and someone couldn't pay you right away," Dr. Mystery said eerily, his back to the audience. "But have you ever had The Mothman owe you money?!" And he spun around, his fluffy hair a little extra floofy due to the sudden movement, and he gestured to an inky drawing of the odd creature.

The tourists gasped and clapped and took pictures. "What happened?" A little girl asked with a lisp, reminding the doctor of someone very dear to him, and he cleared his throat.

"I'm glad you asked that, my dear. It all began thirty-two years ago in a strange place long-forgotten…" And he began his storytelling, entrancing his audience and enjoying their captivated attention.

The rest of the day the fluffy, nerdy owl did an amazing job entertaining the tourists with his stories and evidence to back it up, and he even brought in some of his "mad scientist" experiments and had some kids help him mix colorful liquids in beakers so they made bright, harmless, explosions. The tourists were also delighted by their tourguide's extra fingers; never before had Ford been surrounded by so many people who were delighted and happy to see his birth defect, asking questions he could confidently answer and showing how well he could do shadow puppets. Dr. Mystery was a huge hit, and when Mabel watched him smiling and laughing at the last tour of the day she was reminded of that Bob Dry the Science Guy, those videos her science class sometimes put on and it would make the whole class freak out.

As the tourists walked away with boxes full of merchandise from the shop, babbling about what a great time they had, Dr. Mystery waved them away, wiggling his six fingers, and he called, "Remember, we put the 'fun' in 'no refunds'!"

Mabel snuck up behind him and hugged him. Ford jumped, but turned to hug her back. "That was great, Grunkle Ford! I'm really proud of you!"

"Thank you so much, Mabel." Ford got on one knee to be eye-level with her. "You really inspired me to be the best me I can be, and I have no one to thank but you. You truly have a gift."

Mabel's cheeks were rosy again; she hugged Ford around his neck and he hugged her in return, rubbing her back and combing her beautiful long brown hair. She snuck a kiss on his cheek before skipping away to check on Stan. Ford's eyes were misty as his fingertips gently grazed the spot on his face where Mabel had kissed him; He then grinned and left the gift shop, confident that Dr. Mystery would be available tomorrow.

[theblackberrygirl]

What’s everyone’s clothing styles like in Adventures of a Little Mountain Bookshop??? :)

AHHHHH BOOKSHOP ASKS BOOKSHOP ASKS BOOKSHOP ASKS BOOKSHOP ASKS!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!

Alrighty here we goooooo!! If I could do mood boards I would but I CAN’T so you guys just get words. (If anyone out there is good at mood boards... it would be very much appreciated...)

Hotch: he dresses in solid color button ups, no tie normally, and dress pants. So basically just off-duty canon Hotch haha

Garcia: SO MANY COLORS. The others have joked about getting her a “epilepsy trigger warning” sign because she is SO BRIGHT. Even her hair! She has rainbow highlights in and they look AMAZING.

Elle: pretty much just always t-shirts and jeans, with a long sleeved shirt under it if it’s chilly out. Her girlfriend (yes I’m giving elle a girlfriend in this story because YES) really likes to play with her hair though, and so sometimes she’ll come in with this VERY elaborate braided hairdo, complete with ribbons and flowers. Penelope says she looks like a princess.

Tara: y’know I can see Tara being a sweaters and jeans/leggings kind of person. Especially because this story will mainly take place in the fall and winter.

Kate: she wears a lot of cute skirts with sweaters. She’ll steal Tara’s after they start dating even though they are wayyyyyy too big for her. Because Tara’s so much taller than her, they’re almost like a dress. She loves them though. (I’m doing a kate/Tara romance because why the hell not)

Rossi: the exact same as in the show. Nothing has changed. Same with Gideon.

Morgan: cargo pants and v-necks. He also wears a lot of hoodies (that Garcia steals). Sometimes she’ll bedazzle the hoodies and make Morgan wear them (he pretends to be annoyed. He’s not.)

JJ: LIVES in messy buns and leggings. Also sweaters. So many sweaters...

James: honestly I can see James being a dark academia guy. Lots of dark cardigans over collared shirts.

Emily: MY LITTLE GOTH BABY. She wears black skinny jeans, often with rips, black t-shirts, black cardigans (pretty much everyone wears cardigans or sweaters in this because I’m ✨projecting✨). She has the underside of her hair dyed a bright colbalt blue. She’s got a collection of Doc Martens, but these are her favorites. (Honestly I love those shoes)

Alex: She too wears cardigans, but they’re lighter than the ones James wears. More happy. She also wears a lot of really cute skirts, and in the summer she wears sundresses. Actually since it’s only September she might still be wearing some sundressses. She also wears high-tops. Honestly though I have so many cardigans and sweaters that I could probably recreate some of these outfits like I did for Patron Saint of Lost Causes if you wanted.

Spencer: before he met Alex, it was shirts and pants 3 sizes too big for him, shoes being held together by duct tape, a threadbare backpack on the verge of falling apart. Then he met Alex, she thought, “oh my sweet disaster child,” and got him a bunch of new stuff. Wait that could be a drabble... Anyways now he wears crisp button ups with trousers and cardigans (YES I KNOW IM OBSESSED WITH CARDIGANS), as well as some sweater vests and a few pairs of new converse. With a bit of digging (and some help from Garcia), she was able to find a pair of purple ones. Those are his favorite.

HALAJALSAAKKAKAJLAKA THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ASKING!! I LOVE YOU!!