#i still have her of course but the playset

[scarah-screeeaaammss]

pretty good finds today I think. didn't think id be getting back into barbie so much rn but I mean. Who can blame me

[creampill]

Konig x teacher reader and he helps her build stuff in her classroom! Like she’s writing lesson plans and he’s over here breaking a sweat trying to build cubby’s for kindergartners

Oh my goodness. Personal note, while I do want to teach, I want to be a professor. I could never manage small children when teaching. But through König, anything is possible.

I’d imagine this takes place on an afternoon. A sort of after-school-care situation where your classroom becomes a place for kids to have eyes kept on them before their parents come pick them up. König is a personal friend of yours, and when you’d mentioned wanting to finally get around to building the new playset you’d gotten for your classroom, he’s on it instantly. He has the afternoon free, he can accompany you. Think of it as a casual favour from a friend.

It’s one of those colourful plastic monstrosities, a little slide and steps with a little play sensory board on its side. The slide and the steps are something you can handle, just pop socket A into opening B and screw things in. But the sensory board has a ton of little fiddley pieces that need to be strung and slotted and put in right. Parts that spin and rattle and flip around- tons of fun for the little ones, but a pain to set up given the playset’s lacklustre instructions.

So there you are, sat at your desk, moving between your laptop and your notebook as you fix schedules and lesson plans. And across the room, giant figure hunched over, sits König. On the colourful city-themed rug, surrounded by little plastic tidbits as he gets the playset together.

He’s got that focus in his eyes, thick eyebrows knit together, a little scrunch over the hill of his nose. Entirely in his zone, every victory heralded by an excited ‘ah!’ or failure by a frustrated ‘bah.’ He hadn’t even noticed you staring at him, watching the way he scratched his stubble when he thought, or eyeing that dark hair peeking out from the wrist of his jumper.

You both notice, however, when a chubby little hand grabs for one of the segments on the ground next to him.

On instinct, your mouth opens, Teacher Voice ready to get the kid to let him be-

But it dies.

Because König snickers. “What are you doing, hm?”

The kid, with her big eyes and impressive head of unmanageable curls, looks up fast. She’s about four, and she holds the little segment in her fist like it was her birthright.

“Lellow is my favourite.” She replies. Indeed, the plastic she was thumbing was yellow.

König gives her a little lopsided grin. “Yellow? Your favourite?”

The little girl (Elsie, your mind finally supplies), nods, eyes settling on the other colourful blocks in front of König.

“I like yellow, too,” He murmurs. His voice is soft, the softest you’ve ever really heard it, a lilt to it.

Elsie nods again, shuffling. She kept her hands on the yellow piece.

König looks out over the pieces. Segments of a little rainbow spinner toy, meant to be strung together and then attached to the playset. A segment of which was currently being held hostage by a toddler.

He makes a soft hum in the back of the throat, a ‘hm’ sound of confusion, and Elsie looks up a slightly.

“Yellow. What comes after yellow..?” He mumbles, arranging the segments in front of him in different patterns. He huffs, furrowing his brow dramatically.

“Green.” Elsie supplies eventually, pointing to the green block. “Green after lellow.”

König’s frown breaks into a sunshine smile, “oh, you’re right! Yes. What after that?”

You watch with a warm feeling in your chest as Elsie plops herself down next to König. “Blue.” She nods matter-of-factly. She still has the yellow block in her grasp, but her previously hunched in shoulders have relaxed.

“Mhm, you’re right,” König nods, leaning back on his hands. “You’re good at this.”

Elsie makes a motion that almost looks like well, of course I am, before reaching out and organising the rest of the segments into rainbow order. Including the yellow one, setting it down between the orange and green.

“Thank you.” König says. He grabs the wooden rod that goes between the blocks, “could you put them all on this for me?”

Elsie nods again, grabbing all of the blocks and adding them onto the rod in the order she’d laid them out. She presents it to him with a proud puff or her chest.

König grins, congratulates her, and Elsie finally caves and cracks a giddy smile.

The floodgates are open from there. She goes from nervous fiddling to talking his ears off, acting as his ‘little helper’ as he continues with building the playset. He listens with nods and hums of affirmation, ‘oooh’s and ‘wow’s, and by the time Elsie’s parent comes to pick her up, she’s waving him off like she’d known him for years.

And he waves back, eyes crinkled at the corners.

When he looks at you, he huffs. “What?”

You’re grinning like a fool, chest blooming with joy, “you ever considered going into childcare?”

He scoffs, shaking his head and going back to his construction task. “I’m not good with kids.”

You break into laughter so loud he startles- but then König laughs along with you.

💖 I’m open for requests and commissions

[quirkwizard]

I've been getting a lot of asks about the various futures of the characters in this setting, specifically Class 1-A. So I thought it'd be fun to mix them all up together and toss in some headcanons about the various students in the future. And yes, I will change some of the hero names and titles to what I believe are better versions. Because I like to think that someone from the Management Course got to these kids before they went public.

The Fresh-Picked Hero, Vineyard: Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Defense Popular Product: Sticky purple orb toys that you can throw around.

Mineta eventually grew to a more decent of a hero. He learned to properly apply himself rather than coasting on what little talent he had and worked to put on a brave face when fighting villains. He was hoping his growth would improve his image with the ladies. It did not.

The Super Sweet Hero, Sugar Ray: Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: A line of sweets designed and endorsed by Sato himself.

In spite of his brutish power and appearance, Sato found himself loved among old folks and housewives that loved the recipes he came up with. He'd always spare his treats with anyone he helped in his hero work, always brightening the spirits of anyone he came across.

The Taping Hero, Cellophane: Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Recon Popular Product: A brand of tape supposedly based on Sero's own tape.

While never the most popular or successful hero, Sero was always the most approachable one of the class, remaining down to Earth in spite of his past and lifestyle. This ended up making him more of the "working man's hero", finding fans in blue-collar workers. His power may have played a part in this.

The Fighting Hero, Martial: Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: A line of fur coats inspired by his tail and costume.

Ojiro was never going to be a popular hero, yet found a hardcore audience in niche communities. He would go on to found several dojos that would help young heroes learn how to apply themselves as marital artists, with or without their Quirks, and would accept many of them as his sidekicks.

The Unseen Heroine, Ultraviolet: Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Recon Popular Product: A shoe line inspired by the ones from her costume.

In spite of the massive controversy when she appeared on the hero scene because of her power, Hagkaure has taken to stealth-focused hero work well. Still, she tries to gain as much attention as possible as not to be left in the background. Surprisingly, this does not interfere with her work since no one ever sees it coming.

The Petting Hero, Anima Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Rescue Popular Product: A playset featuring various animals Koda works with, including little information cards on them.

While Koda had a role in the Heteromorphic moment, he found himself far more preoccupied with animal protection and conversation, working to endorse several zoos and sanctuaries. The once shy boy found his voice in sharing his love of animals. He remains popular with young children.

The Tentacle Hero, Sixth Sense: Rank: 50s to 60s Specialization: Recon Popular Product: A mask and headpiece set resembling Shoji's costume.

True to his word, Shoji helped foster and repair the relations with the Heteromorphs. He worked tirelessly as the public face of the movement and as the hero who would help deal with cases of Heteromorph related crimes. In time, Shoji started to feel like he didn't needed to hide his scars.

The Illustrious Hero, Rayonnant: Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: A clothing line heavily inspired by his own fabulous wardrobe and costume.

In spite of his flashy looks and grandiose persona, Aoyama was always one of the more empathic heroes. He would always help encourage "lost causes", becoming an icon and true hero for those that felt alone and afraid. He wanted to make sure they all grew to shine as bright as he did.

The Astonishing Hero, Paradigm: Rank: 100s to 150s Specialization: Recon Popular Product: A toy version of his masks that distorts your voice.

Preferring to stay away from the limelight, both for himself and his Quirk, Shinso made a valuable underground hero for the world at large. He's been immensely helpful in deescalating dangerous situations and assisting police in doing wet work to gather evidence. In spite of that, he never once felt like a villain.

The Stun Gun Hero, Chargebolt: Rank: 70s to 80s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: A toy version of his disk launcher and glasses

While not as lazy as he was in his youth, Denki still takes a laid back attitude to hero work and tends to treat it more like celebrity work. Less out of any selfish desire and more that he's surprisingly good at that part of it, especially with teenagers. Still does little electrical shows and short circuits himself sometimes at the request of fans.

The Hearing Heroine, Treblemaker: Rank: 20s to 30s Specialization: Rescue Popular Product: Various musical equipment themed after her, especially headphones and musical toys.

After her injury, Jiro focused less on hero work as a whole. While she still went out and landed her ear when she was needed, she instead used it as a platform to prop up her music to a resounding success. She'd often use her music and concerts to help raise money and attention to disaster areas she had worked in. Eri has been and always will be her biggest fan.

The Alien Heroine, Pinky: Rank: 10s to 20s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: Various health and beauty products, especially skin care ones.

It's been said by her fans that Mina was built to be a hero. And they'd be right. Between her flashy power and friendly personality, she quickly gained a following and shot up the ranks. She remains a fan favorite among the crowds, earning the fan name of Alien Queen. Tends to gossip a lot about her fellow heroes and causes undue drama.

The Sturdy Hero, Red Riot: Rank: 20s to 30s Specialization: Defense Popular Product: As much as Kirishima wants it to be his workout equipment and videos, it's his hair care products.

Kirishima became a noble and courageous hero, always being the first to run into whatever danger was in his way. In spite of his simple ability, his overall brand helped him garner the attention he deserved. He became an icon for young men around the state, inspiring them to be brave, to improve, and to protect the ones they love.

The Everything Hero, Refine: Rank: 5s-15s Specialization: Support Popular Product: A junior chemistry set that actually taught quite a bit about chemistry.

While never at the front of any one operation, Momo's plays a pivotal role in organizing and planning many operations, both big and small, and is considered the resident "mastermind" among the heroes. When she isn't doing that, she is assisting Uraraka, helping to provide the resources for needed to help those who can't afford the needed support equipment.

The Jet-Black Hero, Tsukuyomi: Rank: 10s to 20s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: Various plushies designed after Dark Shadow

In the shadows of the night, this dark hero would strike out giving all villains a true terror for the dark beast inside him. Yes, Tokoyami is still a massive dork. His own phrase of "Revelry in the Dark" became his catchphrase in the public eye, especially among his massive chunibyo fan base, much to his embarrassment. He thinks he could have come up with something cooler.

Rainy Season Hero: Froppy Rank: 100s-150s Specialization: Rescue Popular Product: A collection of Froppy themed water accessories, like goggles and water guns.

Tsuyu still patrols the coastline with her sidekicks, the Tadpoles, searching for anyone in need. While her niche work keeps her from the limelight, she is still extremely popular with small children. This is helpful whenever she helps Uraraka with her Quirk Counseling endeavors, helping to educate younger children on the matter.

The Turbo Hero, Ingenium Rank: 10s to 20s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: An Ingenium themed car for the action figure to drive around, much to Iida's confusion.

As Tenya grew older, he began to mellow out more, becoming more like the man Tensei was than the man Tenya thought he was. Still, he holds himself and his sidekicks to the high standards of the Ingeium family name. Hopes to instill those values in the younger generation and works extensively with Uraraka with her efforts in Quirk Counseling.

The Lighthearted Heroine, Uraravity Rank: 20s to 30s Specialization: Rescue Popular Product: A series of space themed toys based around a space mission storyline her brand did.

Uraraka went on to participate in and champion the act of Quirk Counseling. She helped to push for the implementation and personalization of the process across many schools. She wanted to make sure that no one would feel hatred for the Quirk and would regularly go around to help teach kids to understand and accept their Quirks.

Great Explosion Murder God, Dynamight: Rank: 5s-15s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: Toys inspired by his bracers that light up and shoot out plastic darts.

Ever the firecracker, Bakugou remains a solo hero through and through. He fails at having any real media presence and is well known for his tumultuous relationship with the press. Still, he remains one of the most impressive heroes in terms of incidents solved and time spent patrolling. Tends to take in "troubled kids" and whip them into shape as his sidekicks.

The Thermal Hero, Shoto Rank: 5s-15s Specialization: Combat Popular Product: A limited edition model based off of his first costume.

Shoto became the pro hero he was always meant to be, moving on from the shadow of his family. However, in spite of his time and dedication, his public image keeps him from the higher rankings. He still cannot talk to people to save his life, and the awkward interviews are legendary in the hero fan community. Still manages to rank high among the "Hottest Heroes" listing.

The Greatest Hero, Deku: Rank: ??? Specialization: Combat Popular Product: A short-lived action figure from his time as a hero. It is considered a high-value item that any fan would kill for.

Deku's time away has led to endless speculation on what happened to him and why he left. However, with his big splash back on the hero scene, he's made huge waves in the hero world and is fully expected to shoot up the ranks. Many fans watch on in excitement to see what will come next of the young hero. Though for him, he's still eager to help teach his adoring students.

[cinnbar-bun]

the jotaro munchies have HIT…. can i please request a pt.4 jotaro and some good domestic family fluff w smolyne…. i am so…. soft for her……

A/n: Okay so I'm going to cheat and combine like... the 4-5 requests I got of 4taro and Smolyne into one!!!

Domestic Family Fun Time (ft. Smolyne)

Summary: After recognizing he needs to be at home more, Jotaro is tasked with joining in on some of the activities you and Jolyne often partake in together!

Today's activities... slaying an evil monster and doing makeup.

Rating: SFW- pure fluff and comedy!

Word Count: ~1.4k

Notes: Reader is GN! but they do know/use makeup. Never specified if Jolyne is your biological/step daughter, and no mentions of Jolyne's mom- so feel free to imagine whatever you want! I imagine Jolyne as about ~5-6 here.

Taglist (if you'd like to be added, please fill out the form in the pinned or message me!): @gingernut1314 @adeadcreator @child-ofdust @starr-l1ghtt

Jotaro does his best to rectify some of his absence in the house since Jolyne was a newborn. He’s more present now and tries to support you and his daughter. 

Still, he’s the same stoic man, so don’t expect him to be so different now that he’s at home. He’ll be taking these duties very seriously, keeping an eye on the house, never taking a break, always work and- 

Oh who is he kidding? Even if he tries to look tough, Star Platinum is pretty much always exposing him. Star Platinum can’t help but reveal how happy and excited Jotaro gets at home with you two. 

Jotaro isn’t too used to dealing with Jolyne as she gets older, in the sense that she is becoming more active and starting to formulate her own thoughts. Still, he tries his best to work with his hyperactive daughter. 

Jolyne loves playing games and being physical. One of her favorite things to do with you is pretend to have to save you from a big monster while she is a super cool ‘fairy mermaid knight’. Normally, you two would play this by yourselves, but since Jotaro has been focused on being at home, he gets to witness these games. 

At first he stood off to the side and watched as Jolyne jumped off the couch and hit a large pillow covered with a blanket that served as one of the ‘minions’. He noticed how active you were in playing along and expressing with Jolyne, which he took note of for future reference. 

The next few times you played pretend, Jolyne beggggedddd Jotaro to please please please pretty please with a cherry on top play mermaid fairy knight with her. 

He wasn’t sure what his role was supposed to be, so he awkwardly asked, making her brainstorm. 

“Um… hm… well…” 

That is, until you had the brilliant idea to play the ‘evil villain’ and ‘kidnap’ Jotaro (put him inside the foldable pink castle playset). Jolyne was so excited to play along, and you began monologuing like a cheesy villain. 

“Now, young princess, I’ve kidnapped your father and placed him in this indestructible fortress where he can never leave! Mwahaha! Look at how terrified he is!” 

Jotaro just stands there, unsure of what to do, before you nudge his arm and gesture with your face for him to act along. He nods and then in the most bland tone ever- 

“Ah… I am… so scared. Please Jolyne. Save me.” 

You and Jolyne had to look away and stifle your laughter from that awful performance, but quickly got back into character. 

Jotaro uses Star Platinum to help Jolyne jump higher or make her feel like she is gliding for a bit. 

You hammed up the evil act while Jotaro would make the most monotone ‘screams’ as you ‘tortured’ him (tickling him or kissing him all over his face). Jolyne would yell back or gag playfully and then smack you with her fake weapon. 

Of course, you had to give a riveting performance and fake die dramatically before laying on the ground with a silly face, making Jolyne squeal happily and run up to Jotaro. 

“Thank you, Jolyne, for saving me. I’m in your debt.” 

Jolyne gets smug and talks about how of course she was going to save him, she’s his dad, and she’s gonna be a cool hero just like him!

Cue you nearly breaking character to sob and Jotaro mumbling a ‘good grief’ while tilting his hat down to hide the fact he also wants to break down at how cute Jolyne is. 

He makes sure to make her favorite dinner after- pizza rolls.

Another thing she manages to whisk you into doing is makeup. Jolyne loves to try it on and even put it on you. Sure, you end up looking like a brightly colored clown at the end, but it’s quite fun. 

Jolyne loves how colorful and sparkly she looks by the end of it when you finish her makeup. 

One day, though, while Jotaro is watching a documentary on dolphins, Jolyne comes up to him with her makeup kit and asks (read: says) to do his makeup. Jotaro is unsure at the suggestion- he’s never even worn makeup before- and seeing you walk behind her with lime green and purple eyeshadow and red lipstick makes him nearly second guess if he should do it. 

But one look at Jolyne’s face (which is done up in very pretty blue makeup thanks to you) and he sighs and accepts his fate, promptly closing his eyes and pausing the documentary. 

You join in with Jolyne and help her apply the makeup, properly showing where everything should go. 

“Ah, see, we have to apply the foundation here like this-” “Damn, dad, you’re pale!” “Jolyne-!” 

Jotaro knows this is going to be a mess but he’s finding it admittedly hilarious how serious you and Jolyne are taking this. Star Platinum is smiling widely at the both of you and eagerly pointing at different products as you two apply them.

“Hm, which color should we choose, Jolyne?” “Ah… I think dad should get green! No, wait, black!” “Black, huh? A bold choice, dear.” 

Everything goes pretty smoothly until he comes upon perhaps the worst torture known to man. 

Doing his eyelashes and eyeliner. Before you can even apply the eyelash curler to him, he opens his eyes and gasps. Hell no. That is NOT going anywhere near him. 

“Jotaro! It’s safe, I promise!” “The fact you need to clarify that it’s ‘safe’ tells me it isn’t.” “Stop being a baby and just close your eyes.” 

He relents after a bit of arguing, only to feel his heart stop when you bring the eyeliner out. 

“You are not putting a pencil in my eyes.” “It’s not in your eyes, it’s around-” “No.” 

Jotaro swears this is supposed to actually be a torture device. There’s no way that people around the world willingly put this stuff on. He cannot keep looking up without blinking a million times as you try to put the eyeliner on. 

“Stay still!” “Don’t put a pencil in my eyes then!” 

Jotaro honestly would rather fight Dio again than bother putting on eyeliner again. 

Finally, you finish and he releases the breath he held in… until you bring out mascara. 

Kill him. Please. This man is so damn twitchy with it and ends up getting the mascara around his eyelids. 

“You messed it up, dad!” “Sorry, Jolyne. Good grief, the things you two make me do.” 

After all that pain, Jolyne volunteers to do his lips. She grabs one of her lip balms and once Jotaro tastes it, he grimaces and gags. 

“What is that?!” “Coca-Cola! The Fanta one tastes the best, but you can’t have it because it’s my favorite.” 

Finally, it’s time for him to see the results of you and Jolyne’s silly game. 

“Wow… green lipstick… I didn’t even know they made that…” “Right? So what do you think, dad?” 

“I think I look like a zombie…” 

You laugh and press a kiss to Jotaro’s cheek. “A very handsome zombie.” 

He sighs and shakes his head before grabbing the two of you to pull you into a hug. 

“Thank you. Now how do I take this off of me?” 

Jolyne screams that he can’t because he looks so cute and she needs to commemorate it. She runs to her room and gets the old digital camera he got her then demanding the two of you pose in your ‘beautiful’ makeup. 

“Come on! Say cheese!” 

The three of you have a small photoshoot with it, which you ended up having printed at the store later. The photo with you smiling and hugging Jotaro while he has a tiny smile is proudly displayed in the house. In her teens, years later, Jolyne gets embarrassed by it and often hides it when her friends are over, asking you throw it out or something. She still secretly loves the memories of it so she wouldn’t actually want you to do that. 

Jotaro still has some ways to go when it comes to playing and taking care of Jolyne, but he’s slowly getting there. He’s happy he chose to make more of an effort and that you gave him another chance to prove himself. He can’t imagine another life than the one he has now. 

And… he can’t imagine feeling safer and more content than he is now, especially seeing you and Jolyne laughing over the photos you all just took.

[shoyostar]

okay but!! childhood friends to lovers shoyo where whenever the two of u wld play house at school, he’d always insist that u two get to be mom and dad… he thinks uve forgotten it once u get too old for playground games but its always been his dream to marry his childhood sweetheart n actually make his puppy crush reenactments a reality…

ANON HOLY SHIT I LOVE YOU RN FOR THIS… I ACTUALLY SOBBED HAPPY TEARS JUST READING THIS I’M SUCH A SUCKER FOR CHILDHOOD FRIENDS TO LOVERS… AND WITH SHOYO? PASSES OUT AND DIES!!!

and i wrote a lil blurb abt this:3

content. jealous and puppy lovesick shoyo <3 childhood crushes and established relationship (in highschool). timeskip takes place third year of hs. lowercase intended. not proofread bcs self indulgent and i’m writing this as i go hehe I WANT TO TURN THIS INTO AN ACTUAL FIC

“nooo,” shoyo whines loudly, pulling the little barbie doll out of your classmate’s tiny hands, “i want y/n to be the mommy!”

she whimpers when he rips the toy away from her, tears prickling at the corners of her eyes, “but you always let her be the mom though, i want to play too!”

shoyo looks around the toy bins nearby and picks up a dog toy halfheartedly before handing it to her dully, “here, you can be our doggie.”

“that’s not fair!! i’m not a doggie!”

“but me and y/n are the mom and dad!!”

in between them sits you, sitting cross legged on the floor while pretending to cook a dinner for your dysfunctional family as the kindergarten teacher begins to seperate the two bickering kids to your sides. the plastic toy eggs are starting to burn by the time she realizes your two friends are fighting.

“aya, shoyo! stop fighting!”

shoyo refuses to let go of the barbie regardless of how much your teacher pleads with him to let aya have a turn, and when she scolds him he huffs, plopping down beside you angrily after tossing the doll away to aya’s feet.

he looks so upset, normally shining eyes now downturned and staring at the carpet floor. you turn off the little kitchen playset’s stove and wrap your arms around him in a hug, his fluffy hair tickles through your sweater.

“we can still play house, sho,” you comfort him to the best of your four year old abilities, “i can be the doggie this time so aya can be mommy and daddy with you!”

“but i don’t want her to be the mom..” shoyo pouts, leaning into your touch. “i want you.”

his stubbornness isn’t anything unusual for a kid his age, but shoyo’s always been very insistent on playing house with you and never letting your other classmates join. and if they did they were only ever miscellaneous side characters such as a couch or various pets.

“hey, y/n..” shoyo brings one of your hands into his, looking up at you with a hopefull look in his eyes, “we should just get married when we’re older, so we can always be mommy and daddy when playing house.”

you smile, not noticing the way shoyo’s cheeks flush when you hug him closer. “of course, sho! that sounds so fun!”

a little hesitant, shoyo’s stiff posture slowly relaxes once again, returning with a bright grin of his own to match yours. “yeah!”

that was years ago; and now you’re both in highschool, where you and shoyo’s old toys you’d use to play house with have now been replaced for videogame consoles and volleyballs strewn across his room whilst laying atop his bed in his chest, using his remote to scroll through the channels on his t.v.

it’s comfortable, just as it’s always been between you and shoyo.

“hey, y/n” shoyo mutters into the crook of your shoulder, his hands wrapped loosely around your waist tighten a little. “do you remember back in kindergarten when i said i’d marry you so we can always play house?”

“mmm,” you hum, still absentmindedly flipping through the different channels (mainly comprising of volleyball and sports, because it’s shoyo’s t.v of course) “yeah, why?”

“oh, you do?” he sounds surprised, shifting to sit up in bed and pulling you in with him, “i sort of figured you’d forget all that.”

“well, when my best friend keeps fighting with our classmates over playing house with me everyday how can i forget?” you chuckle, letting a comfortable silence overtakes the room once again but this time it seems a little different.

normally shoyo would’ve responded with a teasing quip of his own, but no such thing comes.

you turn around, tearing your eyes away from a volleyball highlights reel to notice shoyo’s downcast eyes, leaning back into his plush pillows and staring at the ground beneath his bed.

“sho?”

he gulps unsurely, still adverting his gaze. “just uh, forget i said that.”

that response definitely makes you suspicious, coming from shoyo who wears his emotions on the sleeve of his shirt. your boyfriend, who is never afraid to say what’s on his mind now seems hesitant.

“what is it, sho?” you ask softly, bringing a hand to his cheek to turn him towards you, “you can tell me anything, sho.”

shoyo eyes soften when seeing your concerned features; and like from when he was a child he leans into your touch once more, the only difference being your childhood friend turned boyfriend is all grown up now, and realizes the implications of what his words really mean now.

with a gentle kiss to your palms, shoyo brings you in closer by the waist, placing your head right above his chest, allowing you to hear his quickening heartbeat.

“… what if i said i was serious about marrying you?”

© property of shoyostar / thomae 2023. all rights reserved.

[barbielore]

A 2010 poll for what girls wanted to see as the next Barbie career saw the release of TV News Anchor Barbie, with flashy packaging proclaiming that this was Barbie's official 125th career.

This is, of course, a tricky thing to say for sure: Barbie has been known for her careers for a long time, and 125 is certainly a milestone, but current counts put the career list at well over 200. And frankly, I'm quite sure that isn't because we've had over 75 new careers in the last 15 years. A lot of it comes down to how you define "career".

Some counts of Barbie's official careers have different definitions - if Barbie is shown as an ice skater, or a soccer player, or a gymnast... who is to say if this is a career, or a hobby?

Are multiple variations on a theme different distinct careers? Paediatrician seems like it would be different to surgeon, but are both of these different to doctor? If Barbie is a baker, and a chef, and a pastry chef, and a pasta chef, how many different careers is this?

This is a slow build-up to the fact that I'm pretty sure there's no reasonable way to say that 2010 was the first time that Barbie was a TV News Anchor.

The 6 O'Clock News Barbie playset from 1986 shows Barbie anchoring the titular news along with Ken. Ken is looking very tidy in his white blazer, I must say.

To be fair, this was a playset, not a Barbie doll. Maybe that's why this doesn't count.

But still. Doesn't that go to show how hard it is to define Barbie careers?

Since 2010, there has been at least one other News Anchor Barbie released, in 2019.

[hkthatgffan]

Do you have any particular hopes/expectations for future Gravity Falls merchandise outside of further books and other media? For me, I'm still holding-out for anything Gravity Falls from LEGO, be it a few mini-figures from a future Collectable MiniFigure Series if not a full-on playset of some kind. After all, it was the curious removal of a Mystery Shack submission from a LEGO Ideas review back in 2019 that prompted me to check-out the show in the first place... :-)

Outside of books (specifically an art book), I'm not really sure what else I'd wanna see for Gravity Falls. It's that rare show where if you can think up some merch for it that fans of any other show would wish for, it's already got it.

We need a Gravity Falls box set...oh wait, we got that in 2018! We need a Gravity Falls vinyl...already been 2 years since that! But okay...Gravity Falls plushies...been multiple of those! What about figurines...both official and fan made with SBE exist!

Long story short; we're spoiled rotten compared to other fandoms.

Gravity Falls fans are those kids at the back of the class eating a full 3 course meal (with Amphibia fans joining too given they're eating good too tbh which I'm happy about given after GF and Phineas and Ferb, Amphibia is my all time favourite DTVA show) after the teacher says no food allowed.

It's hard therefore to really figure out what else we'd need merch wise. Sadly, I fear we may never see a Gravity Falls Lego set happen. I've stopped hoping for that given I've seen multiple Lego set ideas for the show be hyped up, some by Alex himself, only for Lego to not make it. I think there's some issue with Disney themselves that stops it. Lego may wanna make it happen, but Disney has no interest in doing it.

That's the sad part about Gravity Falls; Disney owns it and so, anything that happens with it officially, is their call, not Alex Hirsch's. So, even if it's something Alex wants to happen...Disney has final say and they don't care (hence the artbook never became a thing).

I do hope The Book of Bill hype does turn the tides. Disney would be insane to not capitalize on this hype GF still has. I hope they don't do so in the wrong way, given I'm a hardliner when it comes to believing Gravity Falls ended properly and needs not continue unless it's with Alex Hirsch himself at the helm, but I am always down for more merch.

One thing I really wish we'd get merch wise that we have not yet gotten are plushes of other GF characters. We were gonna get them in 2018 but they got scrapped.

The Wendy plush was probably the one I really found interesting in this set, given it was the least cursed looking and most on point to her character. Really wish these got made to the same quality as that Wendy plush as I would've for sure gotten these back then, lol (not the barfing gnome).

One type of merch I would love to see made for Gravity Falls would be display models of stuff like vehicles or buildings. I collect aircraft and car models and it would be super cool to own say, a model of the Mystery Shack Golf Cart or Stan's car. Something like a Hot Wheels model or something would be cool to have.

Not to mention maybe one of those 3D puzzles for The Mystery Shack or like an Airfix/Revell model. That would be super unique and cool to see. Then again, I'm one of those guys that'll spend hours in a model shop looking at old WW2 plane model kits so that's more maybe saying a lot about me than anything, lmao.

If someone from Disney or heck, even The Mystery Shack or Studio Bad Egg (given SBE is making more GF toys in the future) sees this...please make a Mystery Shack Golf Cart/Stanmobile diecast model and I will order 20 of them each (JK, but I would buy one FR).

There's probably some other major Gravity Falls merch ideas I'm missing here that would be cool to see made, but that's what I could think up rn.

[a-very-silly-seal]

Age Regression Little Mustard Headcanons

He's around 13 years old and he regresses to 2-6 years old as a way to deal with is his lack of a true childhood growing up. mainly sticks around 5 but can drop lower if he is feeling super stressed or scared

Main caregiver is Mr. Compress who is pretty much his adoptive dad though the other league members pitch in of needed

Has a emotional support sea turtle plushie named yui and he carries it around everyone and he ALWAYS has to have before bed or he will turn the entire base upside down trying to look for it,

Calls Compress "Papa" when he's little and even when he's big he'll accidently call Compress "Dad" which always makes Compress chuckle.

Most common babysitters are Toga, Dabi, and Magne

Loves physical affection as much as verbal attention, things like (hugs, having his hair ruffled, being tickled and cuddles) because it makes him feel loved and protected and he never really got to experience those things as a kid. he'll go up to Compress or Mange and just poke them and ask for a hug and for 10 minutes he'll just refuse to let go.

While he likes his middle school outfit, he doesn't like wearing it while small instead prefers more comfy cloths like a simple t-shirt and sweat paints. He still likes to sometimes wear his gasmask though since he gets a feeling of safety from it

I feel like instead of running around and playing he would be more into drawing, making Lego sets and doing those chemistry playsets for kids that Compress managed to shoplift for him, he likes showing people little chemical reactions with it, under safe supervision of course.

Whenever he's done with colouring a page he'll excitedly show everyone around the base and he loves the attention and the head pats he gets. (boy just wants people to be proud of him)

Mustard is actually the shortest member of the league being only 5'1ft without his helmet on, though he is slightly insecure about his height. But he loves bring carried around cuz it makes him feel protected and its a good way to make him fall asleep if he had a long day and just needs a nap and he's been assured that he'll grow taller when he gets older.

Hates being alone :( poor baby has so many nightmares about his home and school life, he wakes up screaming and crying and compress has to rush in and hold him and tell him that he's safe and loved and most nights compress will end up falling asleep with a little mustard cuddled up in his arms or toga will sing him a lullaby with him snuggling in her lap.

might make a part 2 if I have the time but I hope you enjoy reading

[bridgeportbritt]

Creeksbrey Palace | Umbrage, SimDonia | 10 Days Until the Wedding

Gianni: Family, we have arrived!

Gianni: Oh, you guys are all... at the door... waiting. I guess I should've known.

Bria: Of course, we're all here to greet you and your guest, Gianni. That's not weird.

Gianni: Sure, well. Everyone this is Jennifer. Jennifer, let me introduce to the crew.

Gianni: Starting with the siblings, this is my #1 Pain in the butt, Ella.

Ella: Ugh, ignore him! I'm his most awesome sibling. Hi!

Gianni: This is Rose, my youngest sister.

Rose: Hi! You're pretty! Want to see my new kitchen playset?

Gianni: Later, Rose. And finally, the reasons we've flown out here, my brother, Grayson and his fiancé, Olivia.

Olivia and Grayson: Nice to meet you!

Gianni: And finally, the 'rents. Mom, Dad, you know.

Emmitt: Welcome, Jennifer. Thanks for coming all this way.

Bria: Yes, welcome! We are so happy to have you. Love your outfit.

Jennifer: Thank you! Wow. Hi, everyone! Thanks for the warm welcome and letting me be here. I'm excited to get to know everyone better. You have a beautiful home.

Ella: We're much more excited to get to know the girl that actually likes Gianni.

Gianni: Don't start, Elle.

Bria: Well, bring it in for hugs. How was your flight? Sorry, we couldn't send our jet. They're being real sticklers lately.

Gianni: No worries. Dad's old one is fine. Well, guess it's mine now.

Jennifer: It was great! I've never flown in a private jet before.

Rose: Really? How do you fly to far places?

Ella: Oh my, Watcher, Rose. You can't just ask someone why they don't fly private.

Bria: Please don't see these crazy children as a direct reflection of me.

Jennifer laughs nervously: No, it's okay! An honest question.

Bria: Rose, some people don't have their own planes, so they fly with other people... on other people's planes. You know what, listen to your sister.

Ella: Oooo, that's rare. While I'm up, would you like to see some embarrassing photos of Gianni?

Jennifer: Oh, sure!

Ella: I have so many!

Gianni: Oh my, Watcher.

Grayson: Not regretting this already, are you?

Gianni laughs: You're lucky I like you, man.

Grayson: It's nice to see you, G.

Bria: Ella, stop embarrassing your brother!

Ella: Dang. Don't worry I have plenty more. Another time.

Gianni: Soak it in because you might not be seeing me for a while.

Olivia: Hey, Gianni! Thanks for flying out!

Gianni: Aw, I wouldn't miss it. How's wedding planning? Do you even know what it's going to look like or is that all in momzilla's head over there?

Bria: I heard that.

Olivia laughs: It's going well! Honestly, it's nice having help. And we've been able to... come to compromises.

Grayson under his breath: Not enough.

Bria: Heard that, too.

Bria: Now, while you're here, Jennifer, please let us know if there is anything you need. We want you to be comfortable here.

Jennifer: Thank you, Your Royal Highness!

Bria: Please, all my friends call me Bria. I can tell we're going to be friends. Anyone that makes my son as happy as you seem to is a friend in my book.

Jennifer excited: Of course! Your son makes me so happy, as well! You clearly raised him well.

Bria: Thank you for saying that. I worry about that one. But, if he could pull a girl like you, maybe I didn't fail him!

Jennifer laughs nervously: Thank you.

Gianni: Alright, can we break up this welcome wagon?

Emmitt: How about you two head up to your room and get settled?

Bria: Yes, we've still got work to do. The rest of the fam will be trickling in in the next couple of days.

Gianni laughs: Back to work, people. There she goes cracking the whip!

Bria: You'll be working, too, sir! Don't get too comfortable!

Before departing, Bria and Gianni share a look which conveys a message only they can hear.

Gianni: So?

Bria: I like her. You did good.

Gianni: Thanks, I do, too.

[queen-of-deans-booty]

The Werther Project: Part One

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~2.5k

Warnings: canon angst and violence, extra angst

Summary: Dean's worst fears come to light when he and Sam mess with something that shouldn't have been messed with in the first place.

Season Ten Masterlist

Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Supernatural. All credit goes to their respective owners. I love seeing any and all comments <3

x

For the past week, Dean has been trying to practice using your magic. You haven't come back to the Bunker since you left the cabin in Des Moines, and he doesn't really care. You're not here which means he gets to practice without you knowing he has your magic. The best place to do that is in the backyard you made. No one is around to enjoy it so it's become a breeding ground for magic.

Dean looks around the destroyed backyard with a sigh. The basketball net is shredded, Sam's garden looks like a car ran right through it, and the wooden gazebo is in pieces on the ground. If Dean continues this way, he will destroy everything else. Dean creates a ball of blue magic between his hands and tries to hold it but it shoots out of his hand and to the ground. Instead of the ground absorbing it, it bounces back and hits him square in the face.

"Fuck!"

"I take it it's not going well?" Sam asks.

"I don't know how Y/N did this. It's so damn hard!"

Dean conjures a ball of magic again and tries to lift Maryann's playset up but all it does is explode next to the swings, causing bits of hard plastic to go everywhere.

"Great," Dean scoffs.

"Have you tried reading the journals and books about the Sapphire Witch?"

"Yeah, I did. Multiple times. It's completely useless because I don't understand how easily it came to them. God, I wish Y/N was here to help me," he sighs sadly.

"Well, I got a lead on the book." When Sam told Dean he didn't destroy the book, he was pissed but it's the only thing that is going to help you so he's grateful that it's still here. "I'm going to talk to Rowena. She might be able to help."

"I don't like bringing this to her."

"The only other person who can decode it is Y/N but she'll destroy it. So, Rowena is my plan."

"Just go," Dean sighs. "I'll try not to destroy much else."

When Dean is alone again, he thinks back to some of your most magical times, one of them being this backyard. Magic looks easy when you're the one who was doing it. If you can create twelve of you to fight Cas then he can do a simple levitation spell. He doesn't need to be an expert on this, just enough to take you down. He takes a deep breath and tries again.

Rowena agrees to meet Sam at a restaurant only because she wants something. Sam gets there first and takes a seat in the back. Rowena strolls in moments later all doled up like she's going someplace fancy.

"Samuel," she grins and sits across from him.

"Rowena. I know you know we have the book."

"Yes, I do, but my help does not come for free."

"As I suspected. What do you want?"

"There's only one thing you could possibly do for me that I can't, at least presently, do for myself. Kill my son. He's expecting it from me. He already has his stinking minions on high alert. If you're wondering how a mother can get to the point of wanting her own son--"

"No, I'm really not," Sam cuts her off. "I'll do it. I'll kill Crowley. First things first, can you read the book?

"Of course I can. Besides the Scarlet Witch, I'm likely the only witch alive who can understand such old, dark magic. Just not in its present form. Allowing me to look at this book is bold even for you. I'm your mortal enemy. I've tried to kill you, your witch, and your brother as recently as last month. You wouldn't have come to me if I wasn't your last resort. You're desperate. You can stop pretending you're not. Now, I can't read the book in its present form, but there is someone who could. Nadya. Grand Coven witch."

"Where do I find her?"

"You don't. She's dead. Long ago. Murdered for her life's work. Her decryption formulas and her codex are what you can find. Bring me Nadya's codex, and I'll break this text right open and give you your cure."

"Where do I look?"

"If I were you, I'd start at home. Who do you think murdered Nadya and stole the codex in the first place?"

"The Men of Letters. I'll be in touch."

Sam heads back to the Bunker only to find Dean asleep in his room. You're still nowhere to be found but he can't care about that. He knows how hard this has been for Dean so he has to find this cure as fast as he can. You're his best friend. He'd do anything for you. Plus, the longer you go without your soul, the more it's going to hurt when you finally do get it back. Sam finds a bunch of stuff in the storage room that he moves into the library. Inside one of the boxes is an audio tape reel. He doesn't want to wake Dean so he plugs headphones in and listens to it.

"Please, let's come to order. Men of Letters meeting minutes--May 16, 1956. On the matter of Cuthbert Sinclair's expulsion."

"This is hardly your first offense, Cuthbert. You've been cited for disciplinary infractions seven times in the course of your tenure. This enchanted vault of yours, this Werther box has a warding so potent it achieves a theoretical rate of, in your own words, ninety-eight percent lethality."

"Extreme measures were warranted. The Coven is desperate to get the codex back. The Werther box works," Cuthbert explains.

"All too well, I'd say. Working in secret, embarking on this project without oversight left two fellow Men of Letters vulnerable to your most potent magics. Fletcher and Martinez were members in good standing. Fletcher chanced upon the box and died in two hours. Martinez heroically tried to shut it down. We found him dead on the floor beside the box, his wrists cut," Markham says.

"I already apologized for that accident. I refuse to do so again. Why are you all so small-minded? Hmm? We were brought here to do great things, to take risks, and to bring the fight to the monsters of this world. Yet, to a man, you choose instead to molder in these stacks. You are not men. You are NOT men. You're librarians, nothing more."

"Before we rule on what is to be done with you, I'm prepared to give you a chance to secure our leniency. Tell us how to shut it down. The box is still in St. Louis with the codex. It's still a danger."

"Let me tell you what you can do with your leniency, Markham. You know, I saw the writing on the wall. I knew you cowards would shut this project down, which is why I built it the way I did. There is only one way to silence the Werther for good. Let's just say Martinez was on the right track. I doubt you lot have the guts but you're welcome to die trying."

A door slamming sounds and Sam can only imagine Cuthbert left the room.

"Markham, would you have us keep trying?" another man asks.

"The box is to be interred and guarded where it stands, in perpetuity. Bury it."

Sam turns off the tape and looks through the records where he finds the Men of Letters headquarters in St. Louis. He takes out his phone and calls Rowena. It takes three rings but she eventually answers it.

"I was in the middle of taking my nap, Samuel. I'm over three hundred years old. Beauty sleep isn't optional."

"I've been looking into the thing we discussed. I got a lead, but it's guarded by a violent enchantment. I need a spell to break the spell."

"The Cabirian invocation. Easy to obtain. Good all-purpose disenchantment."

"Great. Thanks."

Sam is about to hang up but Rowena speaks again.

"It's not recommended for amateurs. In inexperienced hands, the invocation has a way of fizzling out. I could come. You might need me."

"I'll take my chances. Thanks," Sam says and hangs up.

"What are you taking your chances on?" Dean asks when he walks into the library.

"I got a lead on the codex. Are you up for it?"

"Give me ten."

Sam and Dean travel to St. Louis and pull up to a run-down-looking house. The white paint is chipping on the outside of the house, the yard is overgrown with weeds, and there are piles of newspapers sitting on the front porch.

"So, you want to do this or shall I?"

"Wait here."

Sam gets out of the can and walks up the porch steps, careful for the one step that's bowing in. He doesn't think anyone is living in this place so he doesn't bother knocking. He tries to look into the window on the door but there is a curtain closed so he can't see much. He takes out his lock pick and tries to use it but the barrel of a gun comes out of the letter box and whoever is on the other side is pointing it at his pelvis.

"Bad idea."

"Whoa! I can explain!"

"Yeah, don't bother. You have three choices: get arrested, get your bits blown off, or get back."

"I think I'll get back."

"Attaboy."

He walks back to the car and looks at Dean with wide eyes.

"Yeah, she threatened to shoot me in the dick."

"Really?" Dean chuckles.

"Dude."

"Alright. From what I gathered from Google, this family moves into this long-vacant house. One week later, three of them were dead at their own hands. The whole family was wiped out except for the daughter, Suzie, whose house is still under her name. I'm figuring she's the one who nearly unmanned you back there."

"Yeah, well, this long-vacant home used to be a Men of Letters chapter house. Remember Magnus?"

"You mean the dickwad ex-Men of Letters that tried to make a zoo exhibit out of me and YN? Yeah."

"Before he was expelled, he built Werther, a magical box with a deadly alarm system. Werther is buried somewhere in this house. It was supposed to have been guarded, but I'm guessing that plan went out the window when Abaddon massacred the entire membership in '58. The house stayed in limbo until some lucky family bought it. Werther's a time bomb and it needs to be defused. Not only is this in our wheelhouse, it's our responsibility."

"Our responsibility?"

"We're Men of Letters. It's our legacy."

"Alright. Different plan. She's only seen you. You sneak in the back and find it while I distract her. Think you can manage that?"

"Yeah," Sam rolls his eyes.

Dean walks up the porch steps to the front door and knocks while Sam runs to the back without being seen. He looks down at the letterbox, remembers what Sam said, and covers his dick with his hands as if that will stop a bullet. The door opens and a woman steps out with a gun pointed right at Dean.

"What did I say?" Dean squeaks when he sees the gun and looks at her with wide eyes. She frowns when she sees it's not Sam and looks around. "You're not.... Fella tried to.... What do you want?"

Shit, say something. Anything. Anything will do. Just say words.

"You saw him? Oh, tell me you did. I'm sorry, but my name is Dwight Twilley. I'm with the neighborhood watch. We're looking into a few recent break-ins, and if you saw the guy it would be mighty helpful if you gave a description. If I could--if I could just have a minute of your time?"

Dean steps into her home and squeaks out the word "time" but clears his throat to keep his composure. She looks around and closes the door before joining Dean in the living room.

"Tall, white fella. Pretty hair."

"Right. It's a nice house you have here, uh..."

"Suzie."

"Suzie. Do you live here alone?"

"Just me and Gus."

"Gus?" Suzie raises her gun in response. The kettle begins whistling in the kitchen so Suzie walks over to it with Dean following her. "So, all alone in this big house, huh? Must get lonely even with Gus."

"Yeah, well I'm used to alone."

She pours herself two cups and puts two tea bags in them. She offers a cup to Dean but he shakes his head politely. With her back turned to him, Dean looks at the back door and sees Sam trying to break into the basement door. If he's going to hide something as big as a Werther box, it'll be in the basement. He gets the lock open and gives a thumbs up to Dean.

"No, thank you."

"Been alone here since, uh, '80? After my family died, my Aunt Pauline moved in. She took care of me and raised me for a few years."

Dean hears something move in the basement and he coughs loudly to cover up the noise.

"So, what happened to your aunt?"

"I told her not to go in the basement. No one goes in the basement."

"What's in the basement, Suzie?" She looks out the window with tears in her eyes. She turns back to the kitchen counter and grabs a knife. "Ma'am you okay?"

She immediately turns and points her gun at Dean who backs up in fear.

"Oh! Whoa! Suzie!"

"My social skills may be rusty but I'm no idiot. The doorbell hasn't rung in months, and two visitors in one hour? One breaking in, and the other asking all sorts of questions about..."

"I told you, I was from the neighborhood watch."

"Yeah, yeah, neighborhood watch. Right. Boy, have you seen this house? There's only one thing in here worth getting at, and it sure as hell ain't me. You came for the box. Whoever left that Godforsaken thing down there.... I knew someday, someone would come for it. I swore never to let that happen. He's downstairs isn't he?"

Well, the gig is up.

"He's my brother, and we're here to help you."

"You call him up here. Now! You call him up here! Now!"

"Sam! Sammy!" Dean yells. "She wants you up here, now!"

Suddenly, a loud boom sounds from the basement that terrifies Suzie.

"No... No! Get out! Get out! Out! Out! You bastards!" Suzie rushes Dean toward the front door with her gun trained in front of her. He stops by the front door and looks at her who has tears in her eyes. "You let it out!"

Both he and Suzie look toward the stairs where there is a bright green mist. It flies all around the duo before entering their bodies through their eyes. Both of their eyes are yellow-green as the mist takes control of their minds.

"Dean!" Dean blinks and his eyes return to normal. "Dean!" He sees the gu in Suzie's hands and puts his hands up as he joins his brother's side. "Hey, hey, hey. Take it easy."

"Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"Put the gun down. We can talk about this, okay?"

Something passes by the brothers from behind and Suzie's eyes go wide.

"What was that?" She looks at something between the brothers with fear in her eyes. "Oh, my God."

"What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know."

"Stay back. Stay back!"

"Go!" Sam and Dean jump out of the way just in time for Suzie to shoot her gun at her bookshelf. She must be seeing something that isn't there. "What are you doing, huh? You don't have a plan. You don't have a defense."

"No!" Suzie yells from her office door.

"Suzie!" Sam yells and leaves the living room to head to the office.

x

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[davidluongart]

Toying around with love and war 💗

Currently, dolls, cars and action figurines had been on my mind constantly, ever since the sneak peeks and later release of the Barbie movie by Greta Gerwig. So here is another childhood toys-themed collection !!!🪆🧸🎎

Ares with a Barbie-inspired Ancient Greek doll of his groovy chick (especially in the lines of Totally Hair Barbie and Myscene Barbie, because they are the cutest ones in Mattel and I want Ares’ children to play with her and dressing her up, of course!!! 🎀); while Aphrodite have her own action figure of her lover boy in the Ancient Greek warrior outfits and toy chariot playset. Ares was inspired from this Heracles doll that I saw sold by a vintage Greek toy seller in EBay, though. ❤️

( I did tried to tie a tons of connotations to Ancient Greek toys, too, as they’re still the main original inspiration of the illustrations. Like how before the introduction into adulthood and marriage in a very conservative Greek society, Ancient Greek girls were required to dedicate all of their toys to the goddess Artemis.)

[werothegreat]

Shimmering Skies

More stuff! So much! Let's go with important things

Of course we have HeiHei. He is here, he is good boy.

Naveen is insane. Play this 4 drop Singer with a decent statline and oh yeah also play Grab Your Sword or A Whole New World or Along Came Zeus for free. Nutty.

Keyword is just Support (meh) but he costs 1 less for each item in play. This will see play in item decks and he might be scary.

This is just shiftable worse Don Karnage, but the art is fantastic.

He also gets a gorgeous Enchanted, which he deserves, just look at him.

Ward, shift 3, gets +1 lore pip for each other The Queen you have in play. This gets more interesting with:

Ward, when you play her, look at the top 3 cards of your deck, put any The Queens from them in your hand, bottom deck the rest. I'm not sure why The Queen is Spiderman meme-ing, but I am intrigued, let's see what this gaggle of girlbosses gets done.

First printed 5-lore character! Gonna be real hard to actually get her on the board, but still love the symmetry of a 5/5/5 for 5.

She's also the prize for store championships next set, with gorgeous art.

Honestly decent statline for a Reckless character, and very flavorful. Give me more bird Arthur!

Ehehe. Forgive me a cru-el chuckle.

WHOSE LIES WERE TOO GOOD TO LAST sorry don't know what came over me. Maybe play in a Puppy deck? Would be amazing if this were in Broom colors but right now there isn't really any (competitive) name-typal deck in Amber.

Obviously intended to bounce his cousin we just saw, but I could see him in a Blurple items deck running him as an extra Tamatoa or Belle.

Welp, Amethyst had to get a good card eventually. Shift 4, when played, exert all opposing characters. This might see play in Amethyst/Ruby, but I think Amethyst/Sapphire might be a more likely candidate, since those colors like a board wipe.

I LOVE HER AND NEED A PLAYSET. Shift 5, at the end of your turn, choose an opponent, if they have more cards in hand than you, draw until you have the same. This is very good card draw, especially against Amethyst decks, and if you can get her out quickly enough, you can get around discard decks as well.

Shift 4, when played, banish an item or location. Notable mostly for being Simba's first Floodborn, he is not going to replace Benja or Aladdin - Brave Rescuer anytime soon, and Steel already has so many ways to get rid of locations.

The passive is nifty, but I don't understand why they keep giving Challenger to higher lore characters. He dies to Brawl, for fuck's sake. Most notable for the story beat, I guess we have different villains trying to fill in the power vacuum left by Ursula?

So first off this is Brainstorm in Lorcana, which will likely see play, second Basil gets hypnotized by Jafar, which is interesting, and third I really hope this means we get a Basil Floodborn in Emerald, and a good one this time!

Here, have 4 extra copies of Mufasa - Betrayed Leader. Also does this mean we're getting a new Mother Gothel card?

I want to like this card, but he dies to Brawl and Daring Visitor, and if your first and second turns are just playing an item and a location and Pacha is your first character, you have just forfeited any board control.

This one is interesting. I like the flexibility, and it's cool that Emerald has been getting these "kicker" cards this set, but the uninkability does hurt her a bit. She may still see play just for how much she can do, though.

lol

[desertdollranch]

Welcome to La Grande Pâtisserie

Grace Thomas is excited to announce that today is the grand opening of La Grande Pâtisserie! Everyone in Grace's hometown of Bentwick, Massachusetts, has been eagerly awaiting the debut of this authentic French pastry shop. There's nothing else like it anywhere in town! Bentwick prides itself on being a quaint little village with a high standard of living for its residents, so this is the perfect place for Grace to see her dream come to life.

In her third book, Grace Makes it Great, it's been a few months since Grace returned from her summer trip to Paris. In that time she has been working hard to make her bicycle-delivery-based baking business successful, but she realizes it may need to start growing much faster! Her grandparents' bakery may have to close down forever if it doesn't stop losing money and business to the local grocery store bakery. So, using what she learned while working at the patisserie in Paris, Grace teams up with her grandparents to turn their bakery into a beautiful, unique French pastry shop.

As for my part in all of this...... like Grace, this opening day is a dream come true. For inspiration, I based this on the bakery playset that was sold as part of her collection when she was the Girl of the Year in 2015. Her bakery was notable at the time for being the most expensive doll item ever released by American Girl, at $500.

(Later surpassed in 2020 by Joss Kendrick's surf bus, at $650).

Now, of course, nine years later, it's still very expensive when bought secondhand, even when it's sold without all the small accessories. I certainly couldn't ever justify spending that much on one single doll item. And why should I, when I can build something like this with my own two hands, for a lot cheaper? I've already built Caroline's parlor, three arcade video games, a skee ball lane, Kanani's shave ice stand, Grace's pastry cart and bistro set, bedrooms for Josefina and Kirsten, a greenhouse, Rebecca's phonograph, a few small pet habitats, and lots more for my dolls. I like having creative control that lets me expand on the things that interest me the most. I like making or collecting small accessories to supplement my projects. And I like that my renditions can be built at a more realistic scale. The bakery in Grace's collection is scaled so small that it looked more like a child's playhouse than a legit bakery, and so I was shooting for something scaled larger.

I've had Grace in my doll family for four years now, but it's only recently that I've felt like I have enough small accessories accumulated to make the whole thing look top-notch and full of detail. I also can't get out of my head the idea of making a little breakfast joint for my dolls and me to share breakfast and coffee with them on weekend mornings. I'm thinking maybe that will be accompanied by occasional videos showing Grace making breakfast for me and another doll. So keep an eye out for that!

If you haven't seen it already, you can browse Grace's hashtag to check out all the other things I've made and collected for her.

And here we are...... it's opening day!

So let's take a closer look at La Grande Pâtisserie. Grace is so eager to show off what's inside, and while she does that I'll explain how I made everything (not to take the magic away, but I always hope to inspire other crafty readers who may want to make their own doll stuff). This you see here is only a small part of the pâtisserie! I'll show you the front of the shop, the kitchen, and then the outdoor seating area.

When you walk in, the first thing you'll notice is the pastry case.

On the top row are the fancy cakes and macarons. The middle shelf has croissants, cupcakes, eclairs, and beignets. The bottom shelf has jelly donuts and petit fours (back row), plus a square of frosted gingerbread, cherry cheesecake, chocolate tart, raspberry tart, and madeleines.

These were all made by me, mostly with clay and puffy paint. A lot of them were based on the little pastries that were part of Grace's collection, some I made for other dolls and other occasions, and a few were based on real bakery treats.

The "glass" pastry case is clear plastic that comes from packaging material, including a few 18 inch-sized doll boxes. Whenever I buy something with this sort of strong but flexible clear plastic, I hoard it for future projects.

These three cakes were made from layers of foam board. This is a great material to work with because it's easier to cut than wood, very lightweight, can be shaped with sandpaper, and takes paint very well.

The jelly donut, eclair, and cupcake, all made from clay. The heart sprinkles were not made by me.

The cherry cheesecake. Those are wooden beads on top of the slice. I used a mixture of glue and food coloring to make the cherry sauce.

And the little berry macarons. The berries are made from seat cushion foam that I cut up and soaked in red paint.

The to-go bags (the small one has a croissant poking out) are printables that came from AmericanGirlIdeas.com. I made the croquembouche on the right, originally for Marie-Grace and Cécile. It's pretty big and doesn't fit in the pastry case.

I promise I will show off more contents of the pastry case when the dolls and I start having breakfast together!

Looking past the pastry case, here's the behind-the-counter setup.

The walls here are a large cardboard tri-fold that I spray painted aqua blue. Everything hanging on the walls is held there by Velcro that I superglued onto the tri-fold, so I can take them down and switch them around. You'll see why very soon.

The art on the walls all came from Pinterest, except for the painting of Provence on the upper left. That was made by an AI image generator. The red display shelves are foam board I painted. I made the menu in the middle (if I haven't said so already, I really love making my own printables/labels/packaging etc. It's the thing I look forward to the most when making doll stuff).

The three under-counter refrigerators are product pictures I found through a web search. They're glued onto a panel of foam board, which is glued onto a cardboard box to give it strength to hold the accessories on top. If you look closely, you can see little squares of Velcro in the upper left and right corners. That's there to attach another panel, which you will also see very soon.

The coffee maker was a thrift store find, but it originally came in a set of three toy appliances. This is so fun to play with. It really "brews" coffee; if you fill that little reservoir (covered with a sticker) with liquid and hit the button, it will dispense the liquid into the cup below while making coffee brewing noises. I made the coffee pot using this tutorial. Directly above the coffee maker is a shelf of white mugs, which I bought from Amazon.

On the left is the toaster. It makes real "toasting" noise and pops the toast up when the timer is done. The sticker on it and the coffee maker came from Farm and Feast: Gather Together with Friends and Food, an activity book & kit published by American Girl.

In between the toaster and the coffee maker is the waffle iron. I made that from a makeup compact.

I made the waffle from painted clay. And I only realized now that maybe the waffle should be lined up with the hinge and not at an angle....

Grace is demonstrating here how her machine can brew both pots of coffee AND shots of espresso!

Over here is the blender. The toy appliance set did originally have a a blender in some versions, but I've not found it at any thrift store and so I just made my own. This is made from two clear plastic cups, one for the base and one for the blending part. The lid, which by a beautiful coincidence was the perfect size, came from a fancy container of gelato, and there's a smaller metal lid on top of that. The little blade inside is just a metal wingnut glued to a metal washer. The base is painted pink and it's glued to a mason jar lid ring. I designed the button panel, and the buttons are pony beads painted black.

The little box of chocolates on the red shelf were made by me as well from clay and puffy paint.

Grace can make blended coffee and smoothies in the blender. The milk and orange juice containers are printables I found somewhere on Pinterest and can't remember where. I made the little yogurt from a Keurig coffee pod filled with clay and topped with some white puffy paint. The little plastic containers of blueberries and cherries came from a Make it Mini set. The bowl of fruit contains berries, peaches, and bananas, which I made. I did not make the grapes, but found them at a thrift store attached to a set of plastic napkin rings.

On the top shelf on the wall, Grace has displayed three baguettes and a bag of biscotti, which are twice-baked long cookies that pair nicely with coffee. These are all made by me. I designed the paper bags holding the baguettes, while the biscotti bag was a printable from American Girl Ideas.

I also made Grace's dress, based on the Opening-Night Outfit from her collection. (And if you notice that my Grace looks slightly different from other dolls, it's because I enhanced her freckles a bit).

Above her right shoulder, on the bottom red shelf, you can see the little pineapple cake that I made from a Make it Mini set. The little pineapple rings and cherries came in those tiny plastic containers next to the blender.

Now that you've seen the front of the shop, let's check out the kitchen!

As much as she loves working in all parts of the shop, Grace's favorite place to be is in the kitchen, using her hands, making the magic happen.

It was in the process of creating that Grace found her passion. She considers baking a form of artistic expression. Here she is trying out a new recipe for pain au chocolat, which is like a chocolate-filled croissant. I think this is what she might be serving me the next time I stop in for breakfast.

Some common ingredients she uses are flour, sugar, eggs, butter, vanilla, baking powder, nuts, and jam.

I made pretty much everything here, except the text on the labels, which also came from Farm and Feast. I also didn't make the label for the butter box. The little containers of baking powder and vanilla are my favorites. The vanilla extract bottle came with a Miniverse Make it Mini surprise package. I made the label for it as well. And the baking powder is just a tiny glass jar from Dollar Tree, with a label attached, which I did not design.

Here's a wide shot of the kitchen counter. She's got two ovens, a proofer/holding cabinet, and a few shelves for stainless steel dishes.

The counter here is actually the same one seen in the previous pictures, behind the pastry case. This panel with the ovens and dishes attaches with Velcro to the refrigerator panels. I just printed out the three pictures and glued them to the panel. The left side and middle panels were generated by an AI image maker based on my prompts, since I couldn't find a real picture of exactly what I was envisioning. The right side panel is a product photo of industrial double ovens.

On top of the counter, I've put a few mini kitchen tools: a stock pot, a colander, a box grater, and a stand mixer. Hanging on the wall are mixing spoons, spatulas, and an oven mitt.

All of these dishes and tools were thrift store finds, with the exception of the oven mitt, which came with Farm and Feast.

On the left is a stove top (another printed image) that attaches with Velcro onto the pink marble countertops, and that's her crepe pan in the picture on the left. It's a real cast iron pan that I was gifted this past Christmas, and as I thanked the giver all I could think of was how cute this would look in my doll-sized kitchen.

Grace's adorable cupcake shirt and black apron were not made by me, but are from her original collection.

Let's go look at the outdoor seating area.

This is the other side of the cardboard tri-fold. I spray painted this red and then printed out the windows and door image.

I also made Grace's shirt and skirt. It's based on Grace's Sightseeing Outfit from her collection.

The shop has an outdoor seating area where customers can bring their pastries, breakfast, or coffee and enjoy them in the open air.

This table is a revised version I made a few years ago for Grace, based on the bistro set from her collection. It is seriously such an easy craft, anyone can do it. I used an inexpensive marble-print cardboard cake board from Michael's, glued it onto a cardboard tube taken from a roll of paper towels, and glued that to the base which is made from a black plastic takeout container. I gave the tube some extra stability by gluing it inside of a prescription drug bottle. Then I painted the tube and bottle black; the base is black plastic.

The chair was a lot trickier. I made this a few years ago with flexible plastic-covered wire, and the seat is cardboard with a cushion glued to it. I really had to force that wire into shape, and used floral wire to hold it together. Then I spray painted it red.

Putting the red chair in front of the red storefront kind of makes it disappear, so I'll bring back some pictures of the first version of her bistro set that I made in 2020 (one of my earliest pandemic projects).

These pictures are from Grace's trip to Paris! She got lots of inspiration there for how she wants her own shop to look. Here she is eating at her aunt and uncle's La Pâtisserie.

The turquoise menu board is just foam board that I painted, with a dowel as the pole. At the time I made it, I didn't have a printer, and I usually just did all my printing at the library. But the library closed during lockdown, and so I had to freehand paint and draw everything! The tabletop here is painted as well, but I like the cake board version better.

The croissant, brie cheese, and berries are made from clay. The little Eiffel Tower is a foam board base and some of that rigid clear plastic for the menu holder. The cup came from Dollar Tree, and the green straw is actually a small leftover piece of that flexible wire the bistro chair is made from.

So that's everything! I spent very little money on all the supplies, and used upcycled materials as often as I could. This won't be the last you'll see of the shop. This was definitely a huge time investment, and so I'll be using it often from now on.

[sunnylovesgirlythings]

“Why does my little pony toys suck now?”

Because they need to learn to have fun with zero regard for any show again.

In g1 to very early g4 the set up brand wise was that that the lore was built from picking elements from the toy line. They’d go “I’ll take this, this aaaand this and make a story out of it!”

Anything not used was just considered a non canon fun toy by kids and collectors!

That allowed for a lot of really fun experimentation! It was a merch first show! No one took every single toy release seriously.

Then g4 exploded in popularity online. With a new target audience that treated the toy line more like collectible show merchandise. All of it. And thus got confused/annoyed when something was just in the merchandise for no show reason.

Remember these two? The merch exclusive princess’s gold lily and sterling? Just them wanting to get more use out of the tall princess mold right? Just a fun merch idea that they didn’t burden themselves trying to wedge into the show?

Online fans still get confused about these two. Not understanding why they were even made to this day. Like clockwork there’s always a post that goes viral about them with a caption like “remember these two? Who even were they?🤣”

They couldn’t just make a toy for the sake of it being a toy anymore. It had to either already be a show element or planned to be in the near future.

So overtime a shift happened.

It became the show writers responsibility to both incorporate the merch plans the marketing team had (twilights castle, flurry heart the baby princess, etc) and always keep their minds open to potential ways to present their own merchandising opportunities.

But writers aren’t toy designers. So this also meant merchandise got less and less overtime too.

Because the merchandising team won’t always bite when it comes to show presented toy Ideas. They’re a pitch at best.

And nowadays in g5? They’re really not biting. Which is bad because the bulk of G5s merch ideas are from the show first.

The last major special we got? Secrets of starlight? Was functionally one big massive toy pitch. And it had a lot of elements that would genuinely make really good and fun toys!

But the marketing team didn’t bite. They didn’t make any toys for it. (Which has outside elements at play as well of course. But it still sucks.)

If this was G1-3? Or even early G4? There would be line after line after line. There would secret of starlight versions of characters who weren’t even in the special. Of characters not even in the show! Auroricorns would just occasionally appear in lines long after the brands moved on.

There would be full lines with no show episodes or specials attached!

Example? In g1 the ponies actually did have a leader! Her name was majesty and she was the original owner of spike. She released with a big castle playset!

She’s actually the original inspiration Lauren Faust used when coming up with celestia!

The only time majesty ever appeared in animation (outside of commercials) was as an unnamed cameo in a story the characters were listening to. We only know it’s her because of the fact she has magic horseshoes.

Her castle appeared! Spike definitely appeared a lot! But not majesty herself. Because they didn’t have a narrative reason to.

They were comfortable just letting her be a merch and comic strip character.

I think they need to start doing that again.

[sillyguytm]

Whats rosemary’s favorite game to play with adam, and what’s Adam’s favorite game to play with her? :33

(And if their favorite games are different why?)

smiles at you. i hope this answers your question... (also hi guys im back again)

i feel like rosemary's favorite games to play with adam have changed over the course of her life, so here's an extremely rough timeline!!

i'd say, the first notable "game" rosemary would ask to play would be when she's around pre-k aged (so like 3-4) and it would be something involving those toddler kitchen playset things. and it would usually be in the form of "restaurants" where her customers would be her toys and (of course) her beloved father. i feel like these would usually involve adam playfully commenting on absurd pretend food combinations, mock complaints about poor wait time, and other such theatrics that would make rosemary just burst into a fit of giggles.

once rosemary reaches early elementary school age (5-8) her favorite game would be pretend. it's a broad descriptor, but rosemary would almost always have a new scenario to act out, including but not limited to: 1.) tea parties 2.) princesses 3.) something themed around her appropriately cringy kid interests (like some equivalent to warrior cats or anything along that line) 4.) house

(side note: dress up is 100% included too, but i feel that's less of a game and more of them just spending time together— like daddy-daughter dates)

unfortunately, the moment rosemary hits the age of 9 almost 10, she has her moment of "playing pretend is embarrassing something that cool kids do not do" at least in regards to playing with adam, so that comes to a stop. though, the games continue. now, it's various videogames, board games, card games, or maybe some of adam's interests (like fishing or hunting or whatever a guy like him would enjoy) that becomes a friendly competition.

from that moment on, it's mostly the same thing, but it does grow less frequent as rosemary hits her teenage years because of course it does, however they do still spend time together.

in terms of adam's favorite game to play with her, he would tell you that he enjoys doing whatever his daughter wants to do with him. secretly (mostly due to the embarrassment rosemary would definitely be hit with) he is most fond of the times they'd play pretend together. she was just so tiny back then and he was genuinely invested in whatever silly storylines her little mind would come up with.

[catsofemma]

i recently rebinged g3 and i have some notes

• i absolutely adore paisley and autumn. i feel like it’s really hard to pick a “best girl” or even “best character” when it comes to this generation. they’re all amazing and wonderful in their own ways. but if i had to pick the characters that i feel were the most influential, it would be those two. they make me feel so joyous and happy when on screen. i love paisley’s friendship with olly… i love autumn’s passion for animals… they’re both just so cute and so sweet and perfect

• liann and nova are totally girlfriends. my friends and i were in the car discussing the new playset (of the chocolates, flowers, etc. from nova to liann) and how specific it is. like they have to be dating! dating! I WOULDNT DO ALL THAT JUST FOR A FRIEND! i know it’s a show about friendship but cmon! why didn’t nova do that for anyone else? oh, i don’t know… BECAUSE LIANNOVA IS 👏🏻 CANON 👏🏻

• leo is by far my favourite boy. he’s the perfect combination of silly, creative, anxious, and boyish. i just adore him and his goofy watermelon shirt whenever he is on screen

• brad is the funniest character for sure. it’s never a dull episode if brad is getting some screentime. he totally reminds me of those class clown kids at school who did a bunch of childish, random, “funny” things just to get attention from the teachers and classmates. like bro doesn’t need to be doing all of that. i love him for it, though

• aliya and autumn have the cutest friendship for sure. they level each other out pretty well and that’s always something i always look for in my ships and pairings. i of course love autumn with nova, i love aliya with liann. i love most pairings. but those two were my og ship from g3 just just just being announced and they still live on as a top favourite ship of mine. they’re so perfect together

• paisley’s backstory literally tears me apart. her and olly being friends is so cute. one of my most favourite moments between them (and the entire show, to be exact) is when they were both filled with tears of joy and olly asked to give paisley a hug. that is the purest most sweetest most kind hearted thing and they are so adorable. olly is always there to lift paisley up and help her through her troubles. she’s always there to support him and be kind to him. getting her to sing her mother’s song and getting her to perform were two very big things paisley never would’ve done on her own. i think if any of the other friends were to try to help her with that, she wouldn’t have gone through with it. but her friendship with olly is so sweet and i hope they stay best friends forever