#joys of hand sewing lol

[valejalkainen]

the corset claimed another victim 💀

[dungeons-and-dragon-age]

Sighhh every time i play Impostors Enemies Among Us i think it's about how everyone is susceptible to possession and every time i forget it's about blood magic again

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

fellow + gidel ssr time fellas

(This bastard took an entire soft pity :(( but hey, I got a Dorm Uniform Jade dupe and finally FINALLY my first Dorm Uniform Floyd on the way, so I ain't too pressed about it.) RISE UP FELLOWIVES NOW’S YOUR TIME

***Character profile, voice lines, Groovy, and vignette spoilers below the cut!!***

First off! His official profile, coffin, and candy (Fox Candy):

(School) Grade/Class: None

Birthday: May 17 (Taurus)

Age: 26

Height: 181 cm

Dominant Hand: Right

Hometown: ???

Club: None

Best Subject: Mathematics (specifically Arithmetic)

Hobby: Watching theater

Dislikes: Saving money

Favorite Food: Apples

Least Favorite Food: Potatoes

Special Skill: Sewing

We finally get confirmation of Fellow’s age! (He had previously said in Playful Land that he was 20-something.)

I love that Fellow’s best subject is math Deuce is jealous/j; it makes so much sense given that his inspiration, Honest John (and Fellow himself) aren’t good at reading. It’s that whole “kids are either good at math or English” stereotype. In Japanese, the phrase 算数 is used. 算数 refers to arithmetic, or very basic math taught in elementary school (adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing). That specific phrase explains Fellow’s elementary level of understanding. His dislike being saving money is also related to numbers; he spends the money he has right away to get by in the moment. Fellow doesn’t really have the skill or the luxury of financial planning, he has to focus on the here and now, looking out for both himself and Gidel.

OMG, his favorite and least favorite foods???? 😭 Playful Land has apple (core) flavored candies and popcorn… and again, this is a reference to Honest John and Pinocchio’s first encounter! He takes the kid’s apple and eats it, lol cnsvwiwguwkw Potatoes being his disliked food… Maybe it’s because it’s the “poor” man’s vegetable? Because potatoes are so versatile, keep for a long time, and are filling because of the starch content, Fellow might resort to eating them a lot, so perhaps as a result he got sick of the taste.

What I find most interesting about Fellow’s profile are his listed hobby and special skill. He largely comes off as despicable and a slimy scammer (which he is, don’t get me wrong), but we can see different sides to him in these details—both the inner child that had his dreams trampled but remains hopeful about the future and the big brother figure/guardian to a child. Gidel is actually formally referred to in Fellow’s profile as his (non-blood related) brother, which made my heart melt 🥺 TWST must know I have a thing for beastmen who act shitty but are actually excellent mentors to the children/j

Fellow enjoys watching theater. It’s a way of transporting you away temporarily to new worlds with crazy stories and emotional performances. When words aren’t enough, you sing. And when singing isn’t enough, you dance. It’s an area that’s so full of life and joy, at least from the audience’s perspective. I’m thinking that watching theater must have been a form of escapism for Fellow, especially with how accessible it is (think of like street performances). Watching theater might also serve a dual purpose of teaching Fellow how to come across as amicable and friendly, which says a LOT about his character. He’s resourceful and able to learn from unconventional sources, then is able to apply those skills to real world situations.

Fellow’s special skill being sewing is surprisingly very cute! If you’ve taken one look at his and Gidel’s designs, we may have already spotted some of his handiwork. There’s mismatched fabric patches on their clothes!! The stitches look so clean too. The patterns not matching is probably because Fellow just used whatever scraps he was able to get his hands on, but I also like to imagine that he tried to make the best of the situation by incorporating the mismatched fabrics in a fun way (like the diamonds in his pants).

Next, can we talk about the composition of that GROOVY????

It’s another reference to the same Pinocchio scene! Fellow’s holding his book like Honest John did and it looks like he’s trying to teach Gidel the alphabet from words scratched on the sidewalk. Notice how the C is written backwards too 😂 He even wears glasses like when Honest John was trying hard to act like an intellectual.

And Gidel!!! Pencil and pad of paper in hand, he looks so interested to learn (something which was hinted at in Playful Land). Gideon in the film is also shown with a pen and pad of paper, scribbling down nonsense as Fellow pretends to diagnose Pinocchio.

Gidel glances up at Fellow with an expression of admiration. I love how wholesome their relationship is depicted as, it leaves a warm feeling in the heart.

The framing of this Groovy is very interesting. We have Fellow to our left—a direction has historically been associated with evil (in Italian, the word for left is even sinistra, as if to imply something sinister) and in the darkness. Gidel is the one to our right and in the light. It presents Fellow to us as someone who has given up on his dreams—but not completely, since we see some light touching his hat, gloves, and highest features + he is currently teaching Gidel and still has dreams of opening his own school. Gidel is shown in the light because he’s still a naive child that doesn’t understand how the world works. His dreams haven’t been destroyed yet, and there’s hope for him to have a better life since Fellow is looking after him and instructing him.

CHECK THIS OUT, GIDEL FOLLOWS FELLOW TO CLASS LIKE MARY'S LAMB OR SOMETHING????? Gidel pops out from under the desk or out of/behind Fellow's cape! Gidel also joins Fellow on the homescreen.

Some of Fellow's expressions are so priceless... For example, look at him in Flight! There's an unsure face and a little bead of sweat. (He makes a lot of pathetic accompanying sounds too, lol) Flying takes magic, so he's probably not confident or powerful enough to maintain flight for long stretches of time--though when he does nail it, he looks ultra smug.

ADGKVAVFOOEFIEQOfsl HIS SHOCKED FACE

How uncool, Fellow-san...

His attack sprites are very similar/identical to what we saw in Playful Land--Fellow's just playing for the opposite team now.

Gidel hops into battle to assist, so I guess they count as the first two-character card. It's been a while since I've seen these animations, but I think I can appreciate them a lot more now. I'm noticing new little things like how Fellow adds a bunch of showmanship into his attack, little flashy flourishes and even presenting Gidel with his arms splayed, as if welcoming a star to the spotlight. The attention to detail really is crazy for these.

If you want to read his voice lines in full, you can find an excellent fan translation of them here! I'll just be remarking on things I noticed while combing through the voice lines myself:

First off: bro calls himself Fellow Hones-SAMA???????? OKAY, KING 😭 Love that confidence you got goin' on there...

bifabsiyofbefe Love how he just reads a textbook and then flat-out admits he has no clue what the heck it's saying. Hey, honesty is a virtue.

Ace 💀 He has the balls to play a prank on an adult... I kind of want to know what the prank was, but at the same time I feel like I should be shaking my head and telling him off for doing it in the first place. I do appreciate that Ace being shitty brought out Fellow's true personality there for a second though, I live for it when Fellow gets real steamed and starts shouting that the NRC students are brats or that they should drop out if they have no motivation in school.

The way Fellow automatically clocked that Kalim is way too trusting and would surely be in danger even if he wasn't the one to come for him... Fellow, watch your back. Jamill WILL come for your sketchy ass for what you did back then.

I didn't find anything super interesting in Fellow's comments about Ortho, but I do think it reveals that there is value in him coming to school. It's only at NRC where Fellow can see such a curious thing like Ortho, and that speaks to the value of really going out there and being exposed to different things. That's part of Lilia's own growth arc too, and a large part of why he now spreads that same rhetoric.

Fellow remarks that Ramshackle is "pretty sweet", which means one of two things: either this is the refurbished post-book 6 dorm OR it's still the shabby pre-book 6 dorm, but since Fellow and Gidel have never really had their own stable housing, even run-down old Ramshackle seems like a massive upgrade.

Fellow and Gidel must have been so happy to see that lunch at NRC is free and served buffet style (so there's no limits to how much you can take). On top of that, they got dead chefs from 5 star restaurants staffing the kitchen! Those two really hit the jackpot, I hope they eat well.

AVUSDGVUADOVIAISDBIDAS THE DIALOGUE IMPLYING FELLOW CASUALLY BYPASSED THE SCHOOL'S BARRIER AND OTHER SECURITY MEASURES... So Chenya-core of him, really. Fellow may not have magical might, but he's seriously street smart to have found a way in like he has.

Small detail but I appreciate how Fellow has lines which call attention to Gidel. It doesn't just remind us that Gidel is there too, but it also demonstrates to us that Fellow actively tries to include him in the conversation despite Gidel's muteness (a condition which may lead others to outright ignoring him or talking down to him).

LAST THING (though it's not in MysteryShopTL's linked post): in his birthday greeting to the player, Fellow says that both you and him don't have talent for magic, so you should get along. I didn't think the game would acknowledge the player and Fellow's similarity in that sense, so it was very nice to be proven wrong.

And to finish off this post (which ended up being way more massive than I thought it would be), a quick summary of the vignettes!! If you want to read them in full, please check out MysteryShopTLs’ post!

In vignette 1, Fellow and Gidel are putting on a street performance in Silk City. Fellow collects fees from the onlookers and then tries to milk more out of them by spinning a story about how Gidel is a puppet that can walk without strings. Buuut Gidel moves like a normal living being and sneezes, which ruins the ruse and leads to the crowd getting mad at them. The duo run off, but Fellow reveals that while the locals were looking at Gidel, he used magic to steal some of their precious metals and jewelry. In the next vignette, Fellow and Gidel have moved on to Fairest City. It's said that they live a nomadic lifestyle and hop from place to place, never staying for too long in any one location because word of their scams may spread and cause a situation where they cannot reasonably make money through their lies. (Cute detail: Fellow listens to Gidel's suggestions on where they should go next and even praises Gidel's smarts.) This time Fellow's trying to auction off a magestone that he claims will allow anyone who holds it to use magic. The people of Fairest City don't believe him and give him the cold shoulder, which upsets Fellow (since he really hates it when others look down on him). He ends up using his UM to get his audience to be more pliant and manages to sell the magestone for a pretty penny. At the end of this vignette, Fellow drops a line about how he and Gidel are so free, how they can do whatever they want since they have nothing holding them back. I really love that thought~

AND IF YOU THOUGHT VIGNETTES 1 AND 2 WERE FUNNY HAHA TEEHEE CUTE, WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE VIGNETTE 3 💀 VIGNETTE 3 FELT LIKE IT WAS A TARGETTED SNIPE ON MY HEART

The setting is Sunrise City! Fellow and Gidel are being chased off by an angry person they tried to rob. It looks like they're unsuccessful today and will be going hungry. Gidel tries opening a random can of OIL in search of food, so Fellow scolds him and tells him to leave it be. Apparently Gidel does this a lot when he's hungry (just grabbing random shit and trying to eat it), even though Fellow has tried teaching him how to read. THIS IS WHAT THE CONTEXT OF THE GROOVY IS, FELLOW SQUATS DOWN (like we literally see his 2D model lowering) AND DRAWS IT ON THE GROUND FOR GIDEL TO SEE. O is for orange, I is for ice-cream, and L is for laugh. Fellow realizes that L is the only non-food word, but he couldn't come up with anything else. I wonder if like... this is some common game they do to distract from hunger. They have to imagine the food they could have but can't. And L being "laugh"? That can't be a coincidence. Fellow could have used any other L word as an example, even if he couldn't come up with a food that starts with L. It makes me think he picked "laugh" on purpose in an effort to lift Gidel's spirits and to try and distract from their circumstances.

Aaaah, as I was saying! Fellow gets upset that he doesn't know as much as your average 26-year old would since he never went to school. Gidel seems to sense his frustrations and reassures him with a pat, which reenergizes Fellow. He says he'll try to find some food, so Gidel should focus on making a fire. While gathering wood to burn, they come across a job posting by a shady rich man that Fellow and Gidel supposedly did another job for in the past. Fellow suggests that they check out the job and if they don't like it then they can leave. ADSKJBBSLDIADBLUBAB These are the events leading up to Playful Land... meaning that Fellow’s showmanship is wasn’t something he developed at the amusement park, but as a general coping and survival mechanism to get by day-to-day.

I uh. May or may not have cried a little at Fellow and Gidel's really wholesome interaction 😭 I MEAN YEAH OF COURSE I'M A SUCKER FOR BIG BROTHER CHARACTERS (and we certainly see that in how Fellow scolds Gidel and looks out for his wellbeing, both in the vignettes and in Playful Land) but also???????? ? ? ? ? ?? ?????? ? ? ? ?? I love Love LOVE how Gidel is shown to be supportive of Fellow as well. Fellow as the older person, the adult, and the able-bodied one of the duo is pulling most of the weight when it comes to getting resources and handling communication. However, Gidel plays an important role in their dynamic as well. He's the heart and the emotional support that Fellow needs when he's down in the dumps and being hard on himself. Gidel not only serves as a "reason" for Fellow to work hard (to support a child), but he also gives Fellow motivation and hope that tomorrow can be another day. YOU CAN REALLY TELL HOW MUCH THESE TWO CARE AND LOOK OUT FOR ONE ANOTHER OTL

OOOOOOOoooOOooOOGGHHHH MY HEART *clutches it* I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE, I CAN'T HANDLE THE ONII-SAMA OF IT ALL

[daenysthedreamer101]

Daughter of Steel and Bronze ~ HOTD

Ch 1 - To King's Landing

Targaryen!OC x Harwin Strong (eventually lol)

Warnings: none

Prologue

Masterlist

"In 107 AC, the King held a seven-day celebration in honor of Princess Rhaenyra's tenth name day. The young Princess was named 'the Realm's Delight' by the minstrels at court. Rhaenyra was a precocious child, bright, bold and beautiful. She became a dragon rider at only seven years old, riding her yellow she-dragon, Syrax. The tourney would also mark the return of Prince Daemon to King's Landing. He spent most of his time away in the Vale, with his lady wife, Rhea Royce, and their young daughter, Princess Daena.

Princess Daena was a lively, cheerful girl only a year younger than her cousin, Rhaenyra. She became a proficient huntress in thanks to her lady mother. Some at court frowned, saying it was inappropriate for a lady to hunt down animals and cover herself in dirt and blood, but Rhea and Daemon paid them no mind, letting their daughter do what she liked. 'She's not just a lady...she's a Princess of House Targaryen. Dragons don't fear blood' Prince Daemon was heard saying in defense of his daughter."

(Fire & Blood, Being a History of the Targaryen Kings of Westeros, by Archmaester Gyldayn)

~

107 AC, King's Landing

This was Daena's second time visiting King's Landing. Well third, if you count the time her parents brought her when she was a baby so that her great-grandparents, King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne could meet their newest great-granddaughter. It was said the Good Queen wept tears of joy when she held Daena in her hands for the first time. The Queen was old and frail, having to walk with a cane. Nonetheless, the Queen gave her blessing and proclaimed that Daena would be a great beauty one day.

Now, Daena and her father, Prince Daemon, were visiting King's Landing once again. This time because of her cousin Rhaenyra. Her uncle, King Viserys I, was holding a great tourney in honor of Rhaenyra's 10th name day. Even after 14 years of marriage, Viserys and his wife, Queen Aemma Arryn, only had one living child - Rhaenyra. The King was known for spoiling his only child with many things, and "seven days of celebration for her name day seemed only appropriate", according to His Grace.

Daena spent much of her childhood at Runestone. She was taught how to ride a horse and hunt with a bow and arrow by her lady mother, Rhea Royce. Her mother was a strong, intelligent woman and was the ruling Lady of Runestone. Daena was very proud to be her daughter and always strived to make her mother proud. Daena didn't look much like her mother. She looked more like her father's side of the family. With fair skin, long silver hair, and lilac eyes, she looked nothing short of a true Targaryen Princess. Nonetheless, she knew she had many other things in common with her dear mother. 

Her mother didn't join them. She said she needed to look after Runestone, that it was her duty. But even as a child, Daena knew it was because her mother never liked her father and she simply didn't want to spend time with him. It made Daena sad, that her parents disliked each other, but they tried to be cordial with one another for her sake. She once asked her parents if she would ever get a sibling. Her mother choked on her wine while her father frowned and told her not to be silly and ask stupid questions. She never asked again.

~

"Are we there yet?" Daena asked Amanda, one of her mother's nieces who went South with them. Lady Amanda was from the cadet branch of House Royce - House Royce of the Gates of the Moon. Amanda was a pretty maid of 16 summers. Nearly a woman grown, Lady Rhea sent her young niece to King's Landing to look after her daughter and also for a potential marriage.

 Amanda had long dark brown hair and round brown eyes. Daena liked her very much. She was fun and kind and taught Daena how to sew. "We'll be there in a short while, Princess," Amanda answered while looking out from the small carriage window. 

Daena didn't like that she was in a carriage. She wanted to fly with her father on Caraxes but he refused her, saying she was too young. So, she would travel by carriage. She looked out the window and saw a giant castle made of red stone. 

"The Red Keep..." Daena whispered under her breath. She has never seen King's Landing. She did visit in 101 AC, when her great-grandfather, Jaehaerys passed away. But she didn't remember much from that whole ordeal. She only remembered that everyone was sad and quiet. 

Daena was 9 years old and slightly taller than most girls her age. She was thin and slender and had long silver hair she liked to keep in a single long braid. Father said it made her look like Queen Visenya. Daena would love nothing more than to be like the legendary Visenya. 

"Do you think Rhaenyra will let me see Syrax?" Daena quietly asked Amanda. She would never admit it, but she was a bit jealous that Rhaenyra had a dragon. Daena's dark purple egg never hatched. She still had it, it was held back at Runestone, but she didn't like looking at it.

It made her sad and angry. Some kids back at Runestone would mock her and call her Daena the Dragonless. The words of her mother's House were 'We remember' and in keeping with that, she never forgot or forgave the people who mocked her. She hoped that since she was in King's Landing, she could claim an already hatched dragon. 

"I'm not sure...Perhaps a bit later." Amanda said cautiously. She knew how important dragons were to the Targaryens and it hurt her to see Daena so sad. 

"Open the gates!" A guard shouted. They were already there. They were about to enter the Red Keep! Daena sat up straight and smoothed her red and black silk dress. Her silver hair was braided at the top to look like a crown. Small ruby earrings dangled like blood droplets from her ears. The gates were opened and the carriage entered the courtyard. 

The doors of the carriage opened and Daena could see her father dismounting his horse. A page boy helped her get out. Once her feet hit the ground, a guard announced them. 

"Prince Daemon Targaryen and his daughter, Princess Daena!" Her father beckoned her over and so she quickly walked over to him. He put his arm around her little shoulders.

"Prince Daemon...Welcome..."A voice said. She finally focused on the person standing in front of the castle doors. It was Ser Otto Hightower - the Hand of the King. 

"Princess..." He greeted her as well, though he sounded and looked like he didn't want to be there. She didn't curtsy to the lord, she didn't have to as a Princess. She felt her father protectively pulling her closer to him. 

"Ser Otto...", her father managed to say through gritted teeth. Even as a child, she could tell the two men heavily disliked each other. 

"Amanda, take Daena inside. Visit the Queen if you can. I'm sure Her Grace would like that" Daemon told Amanda. The young Royce girl nodded and took Daena's hand and they walked inside. Once they reached the Queen's chambers, they entered the spacious room. 

"Princess Daena, Your Grace", a maid announced Daena. The Queen was heavily pregnant and was sitting on a chaise lounge in front of a big window and was propped up by lots of pillows. Her silver hair was down and fell freely. She wore only a nightdress and a pretty, pink, embroidered silk robe. The Queen turned her head and smiled lightly at her young niece. 

"Daena, my dear...How you've grown. I haven't seen you in ages." Aemma said softly as she looked over Daena. The young princess curtsied to Aemma. The Queen beckoned her and gave her a warm hug. 

"Your Grace," Daena said politely. 

"Come, sit here." Aemma gestured to a nearby chair. Daena sat. Aemma looked over Daena's shoulder and saw a pretty brunette in the corner. Daena noticed. 

"Your Grace, this is Lady Amanda Royce of the Gates of the Moon. She's my cousin. She came here with me, I hope you don't mind." Daena introduces Amanda to the Queen. 

"No, not at all. It's a pleasure to meet you, my lady" Aemma greets the Royce girl. 

"The pleasure is mine, Your Grace. Thank you for having me" Amanda says and bows to Aemma. The Queen and Daena talk for a while, about the Vale, about Runestone, and how much Daena has grown.

"If I may ask...where is my dear cousin Rhaenyra? I haven't seen her yet." Daena asks after a while. Aemma sighs and fans herself with a fan.

"I believe she's having her lesson with Septa Marlow" Aemma explained. Daena hums in acknowledgment. 

"Princess Rhaenyra", a maid announces after a while. In came Daena's older cousin. She was fair-skinned with pretty purple eyes. She was a bit shorter than Daena, but they both had long silver hair.

"Cousin! It's been so long!" Rhaenyra greeted Daena with a warm smile and a tight hug. 

"Nyra!" Daena exclaimed in joy. Rhaenyra greeted her mother and they talked for a few minutes.

 "Come, dear cousin. Let's go for a walk." Rhaenyra suggests and takes Daena by the hand. 

"Your Grace, I hope you have a nice day." Daena bid the Queen politely. Aemma smiled sadly at the two girls.

Daena and Rhaenyra were walking in the Royal Gardens in the afternoon sun. They sat under the weirwood and talked for hours. In the distance Ser Harrold Westerling, Rhaenyra's sworn shield, was keeping guard. At sundown, Amanda came around and told them they were summoned for supper with the King.

"Will you show me Syrax one day?" Daena asks. 

"Of course, I would love to, " Rhaenyra answers. 

"We can even fly together once she gets big enough" Nyra adds. 

Once they were ready, Ser Harrold escorted them to the dining chamber where they were to have supper. As they entered, Daena could see her uncle, the King, sitting at the head of the table. To his right was his wife, Queen Aemma, who looked tired. To his left was her father, Prince Daemon. To Aemma's right was Princess Rhaenys and her husband, Lord Corlys Velaryon - the Sea Snake. Daena was surprised to see them there. Shaking her head, she sat next to her father. Nyra sat next to her. 

"Girls, we've been waiting for you for some time," King Viserys says lightly scolding the girls.

 "Forgive us, father. We were talking and we got distracted." Nyra says sheepishly. Viserys smiles and looks over to his niece.

 "Ah, Daena...I haven't seen you since you were a toddler. How you've grown..." Viserys says to Daena. She smiled awkwardly and the food was served. The adults talked amongst themselves. Daena and Rhaenyra quietly traded gossip with one other. Daena tried her best not to look at the Sea Snake and his wife. Rhaenys was her aunt, but she always found the woman kind of scary, though she would never admit it. 

After supper, Daena bid her cousin goodbye and left with her father to their chambers. 

"I'll see you in the morning Nyra" Daena says and hugs Nyra. She and her father enter her chambers. 

~

"Wow..." Daena gasps as she sees her room. Her chambers back at Runestone weren't nearly as big. 

"I already told the maids to fix you up a bath," Daemon says to her. He walks over to her and pets her head, caressing her silver hair. She hugs his waist and looks up at him with tired eyes. He smiles at her. 

"Issi ao ēdrugī, riñītsos?" (Are you tired, little girl?) He asks her. She nods her head. 

"Come here..." He says and picks her up easily and puts her down on the bed. He starts unbraiding her hair. He knew most men wouldn't even consider doing something like this. He didn't think he had it in him to be like this. So soft, and gentle...and caring. But the second he held her when she was born...he knew he would do anything for her. He would burn the entire world if it meant she was safe and sound. 

Once he was done unbraiding her hair, he turned her head toward him. He studied her face. She looked just like him. Silver hair, lilac eyes, it was all him. But she had her mother's oval face. He didn't like his wife, whatsoever. But she helped him create Daena. His precious Princess. His little girl. His little dragon. 

"I'll call Amanda. She'll help you bathe." He told her and got up to leave. Before he was able to leave, she caught him and pulled him by the sleeve of his shirt. He bent down to her level. 

"What is it, sweet girl?" He asked her. 

"Sȳz bantis kepa. Avy jorrāelan" (Good night Father. I love you) she told him sleepily and planted a kiss on his cheek. He smiled once again and kissed her silver hair.

"Avy jorrāelan tolī, dōna riña" (I love you too, sweet girl). He told her and left her chamber.

---

High Valyrian:

Issi ao ēdrugī, riñītsos? - Are you tired, little girl?

Sȳz bantis Kepa. Avy jorrāelan - Good night Father. I love you.

Avy jorrāelan tolī, dōna riña - I love you too, sweet girl.

***

Omg, the first chapter is finally here! It's mostly an introduction to Daena and it establishes many relationships that will develop/deteriorate over time.

Hope you liked it, and thanks for reading! ❤❤❤

If you have any opinions feel free to comment!

[pieroulette]

𝐍𝐢𝐢-𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧'𝐬 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

2023 | 18+ | S. SERIES | KOGA YUDAI × READER | MASTERLIST

SUMMARY: a decade without a mother to tend to your maternal needs had instilled a broken trust inside of you, but atleast you got the warmth of your wonderful father who persisted by your side. thus came the day, where a woman with eyes of the stars came around—bestowing rays on his days and you were more than delighted to accept her into your arms, but to your surprise, you were not only letting one person inside your home but two.

GENRE/WARNING yandere content, high school au, stepcest lol. (not a English native so prob plenty of grammar errors btw)

WC 7k / short series with three episodes with smut in the finale.

《 𝐄𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝟏 : 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 》

Playing house.

You've always adore playing house; as a child, you would sprint all the way back home just to play house with your little sewed toys and dolls. You couldn't care any less about peers your age or what they do, or what the recent updates going on about gaming or whatnot. 

For the very reason was because of a present you solely grew to adore with all your little heart could contain; which was your little playhouse your Papa had given you as present, leaving it on the table in your room on the very night of your birthday just before the midnight strikes.

Your eyes fluttered open and that alone, the sight alone was what melted your heart. And you'd never grew bored to repeat this no matter how much days, months, and years had passed.

The pure joy of placing your dolls in their respective seats, tiny teacups and porcelain plates in the purest white laid out neatly on the round small table, as you sat on the comfiness of the cushion on your knees while you talked about your day and everything little thing that occurs with the widest grin spread on your face. A tea party, or more specifically, 'an exclusive tea party'; where only the most trusted and important members could attend and dine in, they could even stay as long as they want even when the host had excused themselves which was very explanatory who it was.

You'd served them imaginary tea, or sometimes an exquisite wine when you feel like it. And depending on the time of the day, you'd serve them a plate of sandwich or bowl of soup. Sometimes the topic of the conversation with your little dolls would go as far as saying that you'd totally love to have your own little family someday, a perfect man like your father, be the perfect mother of your babies just like your mother.

Perfect, perfect; you lose count of how many times you repeated this word but how could you when you've been blessed with such perfect parents with flaws nowhere to be seen?

You happily enunciate each word to your little dolls, deeply sure that their animated yet still face are nodding along with your words.

Just like they always do.

They were much very trusted that you could talk about your imagination and your tiny aspirations of becoming a mother, just like your mother—where she could be seen from the kitchen, preparing tasty meals that left your mouth watering and heart palpating in doses of excitement. She was your inspiration, you wanted to be like her, to have your own babies and care after them with the utmost affection you could ever give; bath them, cook meals for them, give them a glass of milk, play with them, and then tuck them to bed as you read fairytale story books to them or sang a good night lullaby, ending the routine with a tender kiss on their cheek and forehead.

You would care for them, love them, embrace them, and tell them how much you love them every single day of their life. How wonderful would it be? How perfect it would be if it could come true?

Perfection. The frame of perfection binding the forms of your parents together with the little you in the center as you hold their hands with the widest smile and pride. Like the hard cover of the fairytale book you stumble upon a bookstore, displayed on the very front of the big glass window just enough for your little orbs to see. 

Lavender ink spilled through the hard letter carvings, and onto the exquisite art of their main characters, their shadows just enough to display their very personalities. That's how you imagine your little perfect family, and that's how you would like it to be in the future as well.

Innocent, untouched and untainted, sheltered with affection and love, just and justice, and a happily ever after carved on the end of the page.

Yet unfortunately, your happily ever after was nowhere to be found on the last page. Heck, you didn't even got into the last page before the one character you envisioned to be the definition of perfection was the cause of chaos and the embodiment of a rotten apple. 

It slam you the page of reality, ripping through the edges like silk turning into mold; contorting your face into expressions you've never knew existed, and stirred your hearts in emotions you've knew would be so ugly and terrible—leading you to believe that a perfect family of three would never existed at all. The rosy lenses obscuring your eyes finally ripping away to see the reality in front of you, that your dream isn't always going to come true.

That a family won't be as perfect as it is like it does in fairytales.

Until one day—

"You found someone?"

"Was she nice?"

"How does she look like?"

—was the question you bombarded your dad once you found his face smeared with a suspicious grin, one that you knew ain't anything related to his playful tendencies to you.

Strolling around the kitchen counter he did, as he dodged each and one of your question with;

"I'll tell you soon."

The sun peered through the glass pane, reflecting your childish pout you threw at your dad. Sighing relentlessly as you huffed through your room, throwing yourself on the bed. Pulling your phone out of your pockets, punching the password keys as you scrolled through your socials—ultimately stumbling on a picture of a family, a perfect picture of the widest smiles adorning their lips.

A wave of sadness washes over your soul, yet you breathe a sigh out—scrolling down to get that picture of your sight.

Refreshing and refreshing in a constant loop, with a lingering hope floating in your heart.

Days had gone like usually, yet not a day had gone by without you asking your dad though. Another pout emerged from your lips as your munch on your noodles, slurping in a spoonful of soup, relishing yourself in the delight of freshly cooked ramen.

The warm broth had you wondering when was the last time someone, or more specifically, a woman had cook for you and your dad? All this time, it was your dad that tried his best to serve good food for you, opting with simple menus from online and copying them as best as he could, just so he can replicate the warm meal your mom used to make.

Little did he know, his presence itself was the warmth enveloping you.

Going about your usual days with your usual errands, you grabbed a basket of laundries—throwing them inside the washing machine, punching each buttons with your fleeting thought. You've did this a thousand times enough to know, more than your peers might say or do. A life you've been working so well with ever since your mom left you and your dad. A tragic event that perhaps had instilled your beating heart a spiraling hatred towards her. 

You barely even remembered her face, nor you would call her mom. And you couldn't care any less. But you remembered one thing, and it stuck in your head like a superglue—stubbornly refusing to peel away.

Or more like a bloodsucking leech that devours your thoughts whenever it resurfaces. 

She said it herself with her pair of eyes that you used to cherish ever so lovingly, looking down at you with utter contempt as if you weren't her own flesh and blood, "This family has done nothing but bring me down," and her eyes fell on your little form. "And that child, do whatever you please. Get rid of her, place her into any adoption center, or just dump her any where you'd like. Just never call me again."

You despised her, you'd wish she had stayed and persisted to be with you and your dad. But reality seem to be wholly different than what your favourite fairytale literatures showcases. Yet as ugly it had became, your love for fairytales remained---the proof of it being your shelves filled with dozens of thick books of them.

Hoping that your dreams of simple, comforting, even if not perfect---but atleast complete and not with these hollow, hollow void.

That's why you didn't mind, and was more than elated to find that your dad has found someone. Someone that would make him happy, someone that would show him that it's okay for him to enjoy his life now. He did his everyday best for you, for ten years with no complaint. And you'd wish someone would do the same thing for him. You truly wish.

The one that would truly stay unlike that woman did.

Thus came the day, your dad finally broke the news with this lovely woman who was apparently a Japanese. He met her on a rainy day, after his work, under the pavilion in the park. It was short of nothing but two adult stranger having a brief talk, but that was all it takes for your dad to know that she was the one. Atleast that's how he feels, your dad clarified. 

Yet they clicked instantly, your dad grins—looking down at his sweaty palms. He baffles at how he might sound like a teenage boy in love, but that's how it spills into his heart like butterflies shooting up in confettis. 

She was lovely, sweet, and caring; a poet at her young age, and a well-loved and respected school teacher in kindergarten. From then on she built herself a solid foundation throughout her life, just like everyone but just like your dad, she was a widow but in a different circumstance.

Every description of the lady had your lips tugging up in a small, satisfied smile. Hoping that this was really it. The desire grew stronger and bigger the more your dad talks about her with his lips almost reaching his ears.

"And ah, by the way she had a son. One that is so like her, kind and gentle. He's a few years older than you."

The growing inches of the your lip's corner was interrupted with the mention of an older step-brother. Eyes widening in few centimetres, trying to take in the new information you barely expected.

"A son?" You repeated, and your dad nodded twice in response. That's what all it takes for you to utter a 'what the fuck' in the back of your mind.

You've lived your entire life as an only child, opting to play with a few neighbour kids down the street once in awhile yet it never came to you to desire for a sibling, you were far more contented in your own. But to have an older step brother at this age? You didn't know what to expect of it. 

It had you thinking that you have to try and have a good relationship with him if this truly did work. What are you even supposed to do with him? Act like friends or straight up treat him like a brother? A boy you barely knew? A few years older even?

"How.." you tilted your head in mild hesitation, "Exactly old is he?"

"Twenty."

Great, a wonderful twenty year old step elder brother, truly wonderful!

You sighed exasperatedly, mind running in circles and wondering why are you even troubling yourself so much with it when it wasn't crystal clear yet that this blossoming relationship would even continue to bloom till winter.

A ting of curiousity surfaces over your mind, "What's his name then?"

"Kei, but that's his nickname. I'll leave it to you to ask him yourself when the day comes." Your dad gave you a playful wink at the end, obviously he's truly indeed waiting for that day where he could introduce you to the sweet lady that caught his heart, and of course for you to meet your supposedly new step brother.

So much for a guessing game.

"Don't stress yourself about it, he's a good boy."

"Hmm.." you hummed in return as you lie on the couch with your arms on your head, pondering of what to do. But judging by how your dad also swoons over the boy, then he doesn't seem to be that bad, isn't he?

Then what could go wrong?

"Whatever it is, i'm happy for you, dad. That's all."

The widest grin adorned your dad's lips, and this was a memory you will strive to keep in forever in your heart.

Quite a few months had passed since then, and you'd hear nothing from your dad but news about how the relationship grew more serious and inevitably sweeter; your dad would meet up with Ms. Koga—which he revealed as her surname a few days ago—twice or thrice a week due to their respective careers with tight schedule but that never deter them from having dates eventually.

He'd talk about how their little dates went on, or what kind of conversations they had and how she was the one and that they'd clicked instantly in almost anything and he said all that as he did a little dance across the kitchen with you as his audience, chin on your palms as you let out an amused chuckle.

Those little stories coming out from your dad had your belief in true love surfacing back again, just like those romances in fairytale books; first meeting and a doses of love floating in the air, which will soon follow with the promise of loyalty and true love, and at last—a ring that glistens under the spherical summer sun; one that represents eternal vows as it slips on the groom and bride's ring finger.

And so it finally did, the proof of it appearing on one fateful day with your dad sitting on the couch. A pretty red little box on his palms, opening the cover once in awhile to showcase the shiny diamond ring fitted nicely in the center. He gave you a brief peck on your forehead, asking you to wish him good luck before he went out for a dinner date with Ms. Koga. Coming back later he did as he entered the door with the widest grin stuck on his cheeks, to be greeted with that same wide grin every day would be your one and only wish.

Bliss.

Your dad's eyes was brimming with bliss, constantly spinning in circles and asking you which tie would fit his dark blue suit the best. And you couldn't help but shake your head at him, helping with the barrage of folded ties inside his closet.

"This one." helping your dad with the troublesome tie, you imagined how this would be the last time you'd help him, and how sooner and later---someone would come and will no longer let him stay alone like he did for the past few years. You finished with straightening the tie down, telling your dad to fix his hair up a bit with your lips curving up in a soft smile before you went to the mirror, checking your last fit one more time; a plain white dress but with a small bow your back, adding a delicate touch.

At least you wanted to look presentable to the lady who's about to be your dad's wife, and of course, your future stepmother. First impression always sticks.

The place where you're going to meet by the way was in the famous coffee shop in the city, a place being the favourite of Ms. Koga and her son—your dad clarified.

However the moment you heard the word 'coffee' though—was enough to send blaring alarms in your head, as it meant apparent death, unfortunately.

The aroma of freshly brewed coffee beans wafted from the kitchen, spilling in an almost visible and hazy smoky trails that enveloped the entire inner cafe—might be soothing to some, but for you—as soon asit hits your nostrils, it had your nose immediately scrunching in return, almost gagging.

Coffee was nowhere your favourite, and you'd prefer not to stumble on any coffee shop as it only had your soul draining in utter nausea. Might even kill you that is, if you could've leave then you would've, but a little sacrifice here and then for your dad ain't that hard to do, right?

You took your seat beside the glass window, earning a pretty view of the street outside where a bunch of other stores and shops are lined in a row, crowds passing through like hordes of ants to their respective destinations, and the luminous blue sky bestowing it's rays on the greenery plants adorning the entrance of the coffee shop.

For awhile, you thought it would probably take long before they would come as you turn on your phone to check the time, but you were proven wrong.

At last, you met her; the very lady your dad compliments to the moon and back, with her eyes sparkling like stars, he often mentioned to be her most prominent feature.

"You're (Name)?"

"Hi, Ms. Koga." You bowed down slightly when your dad mentions her arrival, too disturbed by the spiraling smell of coffee in the cafe that you failed to notice her beside you at first.

"You're so lovely, beautiful even." She takes in your hands in hers, brushing her fingers tenderly on yours. "I'm jealous that you had such a gorgeous daughter."

The sweetened lullaby emitting from the lady had you curling inside in shyness. Yet it didn't deter you from observing the way her hair were let down in wavy curls, framing her face in such a loveable portrait which exudes in dripping motherly vibes. Her aura had you instinctively leaning in to give her a hug, a tighter embrace than you'd imagine. The lady was obviously surprised by your approach, yet as quick as she got surprised, it was also the same for it to dissipate like a breeze passing over your frame. Her motherly hands brushed across your shoulders and down your hips, her fingers returning the same warmth. 

Your chin buried on her shoulder, leading you to sniffed in her comforting scent—which had you wondering just what type of perfume she was using as every other person you stumble on had a bold and thick scent it had you in nausea just like coffees do.

You pulled away, quite regretfully with a lingering desire to embrace her more. 

"Your daughter is very sweet, I have to say." 

Your dad agreed, patting you on the back. "Glad to see you two going along well."

The lady nodded in returned, a tender smile adorning her lovely features, one thing you particularly notice about her was the prominent feature of her pair of boba orbs. The sun rays reflected off her eyes like marbles, even. With her fluttering eyelashes adding to the animated portrait as she converse with your dad. She truly was gorgeous, in fact. You couldn't help but agree how your dad could fall for her, and just like that you can't help but imagine the events your dad had told you about their first meeting like a romantic retro footage in your head.

"So where is Kei?" Your dad asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry, he's running late. He had club activities to attend to, so.." She glanced down at the watch on her left wrist, "It might be around—oh, there he is."

So the son of the devil has arrived, isn't he? 

You cleared your throat, preparing to introduce yourself to the boy who might be very well your elder brother from now on, might as well make the first impression as perfect as it can be so it won't be as that difficult to meet him every now and then on once you two started to live together. Heck, you'd certainly die if it were to become very awkward. But you weren't just sure how to address him depending on how this first meeting played out, calling a boy a few years older than you and one you barely knew "older brother" had your body engulfed in utter cringe. You'd go as far as to suggest to just call him by his name, if he agrees that is. But why were you so invested and concerned about this? You haven't even talked to him yet, seriously.

"Kei, come here."

And so that was the first time you lay your eyes upon on the boy, one that you were curious of along with his mom. Your jaw parted slightly in surprise as you took in his towering height—it's almost intimidating but his innocent features spreading all over his face like a fresh breeze in the summer rain were a stark contrast from his height, and his sense of fashion utterly being different from what you've initially imagine or him.

You've imagine him to be an embodiment of a delinquent or a bad boy, that is, despite your dad's description of him being kind and gentle. Not this neatly ironed white buttoned up shirt with a black tie adorning the collar and black pants. The black frames of his glasses perfectly fitted on top of his nose, and his hair neatly combed down his forehead making him perfectly presentable to any formal meeting, or just simply introducing him as a perfect candidate for marriage.

Like a doll that was very well taken care of, and treated with the utmost care and attention.

Huh, what was that last words for even?

Your eyes met his behind those glasses, and the first thought you had was—he surely is the son of his mother. They had the same pair of eyes resembling the breath of animated verdure, his nose—not really, but his full lips certainly resemble hers. They had the same hair colour, although his was more in a darker shade. You held your breath as you saw tiny stars shimmering on his boba like eyes, was that even an imagination? Or perhaps a trickery orchestrated by the sun rays drenching on the brown tiled floor and the sudden appearance of light rain pit pattering on the concrete road outside?

"Hi, I'm Kei. Pleasure to meet you, little sis." His faint pink lips pulled up in a small polite smile, as if he was so delighted to see you. His introduction was nothing but simple yet it was his addressment towards you that had you visibly taken aback, the heck him with adjusting so quick? Surely, his voice was dripping in honey tones and almost as melodic as the bird's chirps but it was almost as if he enunciate those words in mischievous tone. Were you just simply imagining it because of your over-the-top concerns? 

"Uh, hi." You forced an awkward smile as you raised your palms waving a brief hi, which you hope weren't that too visible.

He greeted your dad shortly after, bowing down 360⁰ degress like the ideal model student which the vibe he obviously emitted since he stepped inside the cafe.

The chair emitted a slight creak across the tiled floor when he pulled it and seated himself in front of you, his bangs swaying back and forth like silk—you almost wanted to touch it. A hiccup escaped your throat, pulling you back to a logical state as to what the heck is wrong with you today? These mother and son, it was almost like they had casted an invisible magic spell on you and your dad. Or was it simply because you've never stop indulging yourself in thousand fairytale literatures to compensate for your so-called mother issues? 

Four cup of coffee were later served and placed neatly on the table, their colours completely contrasted each other; yours and your dad were pure white, and Ms. Koga along with her son; being pitch black. The only main resemblance they had was the golden rim, adding an exquisite look on them.

Yet as pretty as it look, it didn't do nothing but to have your insides churning in disgust and nausea at the wafting smell of the coffee in front of you.

Your dad and Ms. Koga went on with the conversation, talking about you and Kei's childhood and per se. Some of it leaving you with your jaw dropping immensely as your dad exposed an embarrassing childhood photo of you, pulling it out from his wallet. Of course that didn't leave you being the only audience being heavily embarrassed here as the latter had been pulled into it as well.

Yet he remain unfazed much to your surprise, only pulling up a gentle chuckle as he nodded along. Like really? Does these childhood photos of him doesn't stir a bit of shame in his old folly days as a mini human trying to figure out life for the first time?

The way he acted is a tad bit similar to those princely characters in the books you read, as if he was fabricating a whole new character that are based on perfection. It gave you the ick, unable to ignore these growing weird sensation crawling on your skin but what if you were just too deep into your childhood traumas again?

Shortly after, your dad and Ms. Koga excused themself for a moment, saying that they're going for a short walk down the street which left you screaming inside cause you for sure don't want to be left alone behind with this boy. Well yeah of course, not really alone in almost packed cafe but still. You silently protested by raising your hand, hinting that you want to follow along but all of it was shut down in a matter of second when your dad added that you should try to get along with Kei.

And it didn't help that Ms. Koga told her son, with her lips curved up delicately, even. "Treat her well, and try not hit her up so much with nerdy stuffs."

A pout forms on Kei's lips, his glasses lifting up slightly. "I'll try, but can you really blame me?" He turned his eyes from his mom to you for a second, and then back at your dad and his mom again. "Have fun, mom. I'm sure we'll get along very well."

Your eyebrows knitted slightly in a frown, shrugging at the way he was so confident in his words. But oh well, maybe the feelings are mutual and he is just saying that to keep them in a good state of mind.

With the summer rain still pit pattering outside, your dad pulled out an umbrella in the round container, pushing it open and hanging it above their heads. You almost sighed with the sight of your dad and Ms. Koga exiting the cafe, their perfect picture as a couple walking past the huge glass window, not missing the tiny gestures of your dad interlacing his fingers with hers and the rosy hues dusting off Ms. Koga's cheeks despite her hair almost covering it.

The sight alone melted your heart and washes away the ten year submerged in nightmares into the ocean, making it still and serene. Like spring, frame of cherry pink petals blossoms and floats down their figure, and your heart prayed nothing but for their happy end to be not only at the last page but at every single page from now on.

A warning, a sense of dread engulfed every thumping vein beneath the depths of your skin, fingernails crawling across your bare skin even though you were fully clothed. As if..

Someone, someone, was undressing you with their pair of eyes.

You gaze at the window for a moment longer before turning away only to realize the boy; still seated, with his eyes fixated on you for god knows how long it had been. This uncomfortable sensation of his eyes on you had you burying yourself deeper into the seat despite it being totally impossible.

The dozens pair of feet scattering beneath your peripheral vision seems to slow down, beyond what a human could take. As if a footage playing in a slow motion, the audible sound of the pointed arrows on the clock as it moves down resonated through the entire space, and the space seems to grow larger but then it returns to its focal point; suffocating your figure in claustrophobic state, numerous pale arms with visible crimson veins emerged from the floor—clutching your legs in carnal desires to pull you down into the spiraling hole that resembles one of the prominent stories you've once read as a child.

Your neck remain stiff as you raised your head to met those pair of marbles looking down at you up and down. He had the smile of an angel, but the overwhelming dread consuming your body with his presence says otherwise. 

"I don't look like I eat people, do I?" The pearly white of his teeth emerges as his lips slightly parted with a mild amusement.

As if a magic casted on you has been broken, his voice pulled you out from the frozen and hypnotic trance you've been falling in.

"Don't be scared, I don't think I'm even capable of that."

"I am not scared." You replied, trying your best to smile a bit.

"Sure," Kei tilted his head, eyes fixated on the rim of your cup when he notice how you deliberately avoided to look into his eyes, anywhere but him. A brief silence follows after that, a very awkward one apparently. But it didn't deter him from keeping the conversation going even for a bit, "I have to compliment you for going this far though, you're such a good daughter to your dad. Kind of rare to see that nowadays."

You raised your eyebrow in confusion, finally looking at him but rather with a wary expression etched all over your face and eyes. "What makes you think of that?"

"Your cup," He gestured at your white cup with his eyes, "You haven't taken a sip yet." 

You look down at your cup of coffee, the content completely filled up to the rim, not once touched at the slightest. "Well that doesn't mean anything."

"Sure." He stirs the coffee in his black cup with a tiny spoon, slowly but with tender care. "But it sure takes an effort to only breathe through your mouth, I must say. If you'd like, we can go outside to take fresh air."

Taken aback by his observant eyes, you simply answered. "It doesn't matter, it's fine.."

"Then if you'd like, we could order something else."

"It's a coffee shop."

"Coffee isn't what it only offers."

A heavy silence forms between you two, thickening into an imaginary border which had you squirming uncomfortably on your seat, desiring to get this to end once and for all.

Getting caught once but not thrice, it sure does bring a hell lot of awkwardness for first time impressions. But are you even to be blame about not having any knowledge of it when you don't even have the slightest experience in being one for the last ten years in your life? Even so more so, you realize you didn't contribute anything to the conversation at all due to your huge distrust at strangers, especially the gut instinct crawling on your skin with this boy's presence being the main reason of it most of all.

Maybe this won't go well after all. Apparently it should have been, if not because of his initial addressment towards you. It doesn't sound right at all. Or maybe you were simply just not used to it?

"If coffee aren't anywhere in your list of favourites," Kei suddenly spoke much to your surprise once again, although rather slowly as if he was heavily choosing the right words to say but curiosity follows along despite it, and you waited in patience with a ting of uneasy, that is. "What do you love then?"

A harmless question.

"Books." You simply answered, yet added with an afterthought that you might be being too cold and wary around him. "Fairytales, and if it seems too childish for you, oh well—I couldn't care any less."

Or maybe not.

"Who says it's childish? That's like me saying that I love math, most people don't like it—much less find it entertaining enough to last with three minute video of it, but does it make any less worthless, or childish as you say or those people who said it?"

A mild pause in silence.

"It's short of nothing but a petty remarks made by less smart people, you see." A genuine smile you feel, made its way on his lips for the first time. "Take joy in what you love with less care of others."

Surprised by his unexpected words, "Well, I guess." Your shoulders drooped down after an extended time of being wary, your back leaning comfortably against the chair as you took a nice breathe in after awhile. "What do you do then? Math, you said."

"I majored for computer science, specifically programming. All those coding and stuffs."

"Looks like it." You replied nonchalantly, yet added with another afterthought. "That sounds cool, you really seem like it."

"You think so?" Kei slightly chuckled as he lapped his tongue at his lower lip, spinning his thumb around the golden rim of his cup. "I'm flattered, then. It took me quite awhile."

Your heart made a slight jump at the sight, which doesn't make sense. Surprised at your not-so-good reactions, you cleared your throat and tried to put in more effort into the conversation that it's now starting to ease up a bit.

"You'd make hell a good of mon—" You bit your tongue, maybe that's not quite a nice way to put it, you silently cursed at yourself. "How do you, I mean, what got you into numbers? Like, those complex stuff."

"Simply because they're complex."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, I like it when things get complex." Kei looks into your eyes, stars shimmering on his chocolate brown eyes like it did awhile ago again, but this time the sun rays illuminated the edges of his hair—down to the edge of his cheeks perfectly; like an illustrated portrait breathing the soul of verdure into it. "It makes it fun and worth the prize. Easy is not my thing."

Fascinated by the trickeries of the damn sun rays again, you cleared your throat as you nodded—altering your position in the process.

"Isn't it that way in fairytales? Happy ending; efforts are needed before you can get to the last page with it's fruits laid out rightfully for you?"

"They are, happy endings are everyone's favourite anyways. Who wanted the latter? But I'm more a middle type of person." You corrected him, which made him raised his eyebrow in curiosity. "The journey."

"You mean?"

"Those little stuffs that happened in the characters' daily abouts of life. Like playing house, each person in the family plays their respective roles." With the topic of your interest, it naturally gravitates your attention to the window—catching the animated scene of tiny beads of droplets racing down the glass window, you added. "The little things, that's what make it worth it."

Kei lets out a breathless chuckle before raising his cup, looking at you through the lens of his glasses; taking a few seconds to observed the motion of your pupils following the trails of the droplets before a tiny smirk tugged at the corners of his lips, taking a sip in. "We're quite the same then, but in different ways."

"What makes you think of that? Doesn't sound like it though." Your focused attention breaks apart upon hearing those words, snorting disbelief as you turned your attention back to him.

"You mentioned no one wanted the latter, the bad ending." Placing the cup back on it's saucer, his fingers returned to brushed across the black frame of his glasses, pulling it off, folding it neatly as he placed it on the side of his table. "I like it though, I prefer when it tells the dark side of reality."

Your eyes lit up with his words, it piques your interest quite a bit for you to asked. "Oh really? Why?"

With his eyes no longer obscured by the lenses, you were able to get a much clearer view of his eyes. They are perfectly round, yet quite big in size which make them very much adorable. You swore you've never seen those eyes like his.

"They're way more fascinating, everyone desires for a perfect happy ending where everyone forgives each other, or perhaps for lovers to reunite together again, or perhaps.. because no one is truly ready to hear for the unnerving and sinful desires or actions of humans, or how far would they take something if it didn't go their own way."

"That's interesting." You breathe out a chuckle, realizing that you haven't taken a blink, you tried to blink a few times to get rid of the dryness consuming your eyes. His words truly pulled you into a deeper understanding of the topic, although like he mentioned, it's certainly unnerving. "Good for you I guess, but that doesn't make us anywhere the same, at all.

"Maybe," He tilted his head down on his right side playfully, the loose strands on his forehead following along like silk. He pushed his cup against your one; the pitch black and pure white contrasted one another, yet the golden rim perfectly blended as if it belong together. "—Or maybe you were reading the wrong book of fairytales all along this entire time."

"Please, of course I'm well aware of the real dark fairytales, those gory type of stories with endings like that. Sure, but not my kind of taste." You shrugged, remembering a recollection of your memories of those days when you tried to read those so called real and dark fairy tales you stumbled deep into the library. "They are not the very least comforting at all. Reality's already so dark like you said, so why intentionally put yourself into it more?""

"Of course, no?" Kei gave you a reassuring smile, "Why would it be anything wrong to only want for good stuffs?"

The soft rain had finally subsided, letting his voice turned clearer alike the grey lump of clouds breaking apart for the luminous sky to make its appearance.

"Just saying," Kei stares into your soul with a glimmer on his eyes yet obscured with faint obsidian hues. Like stirring an ink block on an inkstone, hypnotizing. "You already know that real fairytales aren't as pretty as we might think. But have you ever try to think that the correct term would be intriguing? The protagonist wouldn't let off the evil ones just like they do in those friendly latter, yes. Gory, of course."

He pauses, letting it sink into your mind.

"But that's what makes it exceptionally intriguing, don't you think?"

Amused but interested at his words, "Maybe? I'd never thought of it that way."

"C'mon, reality aren't so friendly, but that doesn't make it any less intriguing. I might say, it grew more tempting."

"Tempting? That's a new way to put it."

Kei leans in closer, resting his chin on his palms as his lips curved up in a delicate smile resembling his mother, pair of eyes that resemble objects you could describe. "Yes, temptation, aren't we all but a greedy, insatiable beings? Those characters, aren't they very much an almost perfect replica of us in real life?"

You briefly scrunched your nose playfully at him, gradually easing up to him despite the dark tones of the conversation since after all—fairy tales are the very thing that tugs your heartstrings and it's not once in awhile for you to find someone delving deep into the subject even if not exactly the same. "Bold of you to include me, I am not greedy at all."

"You sure?" Kei looks at you with mild disbelief, yet with a faint mischievous smirk etched on the corners of his lips. "Where there's a want or need, there exists the spectrum of greed."

"Like I said, I only want simple things, the little things."

"What do you want then?"

"A family." You answered the question with no hesitation at all, pride visible on your eyes and the smile on your face not only remains but grew wider, "Of my own."

A few beat of silence surfaces through the air, yet the ambient noise of the coffee shop replaces it instead. Soothing enough with the clink clanks of the plates, the lapping voices of the customers almost forming an orchestrated instrumental, adding the heavy scent of brewed coffee spiraling into the air in visible trails of smoke.

A slight chuckle soon squeezes its way out of the boy's lips, a small grin threatening to form on its corners. His palms made its way across his hair, ruffling the top of his head with his fingers---turning his once neatly combed hair to a disheveled one. "That's wonderful, I'm sure you'll be a great mother."

His now disheveled hair stirs quite a feeling in you that you couldn't fathom, but you smiled in return, thanking him. "Still, that doesn't prove your point that we're the same."

"Maybe?" Kei spoke in such a feathery tone that it brushes against your skin despite the obvious distance, you notice that he had his eyes on your cup before he spoke again. "How about you just give me yours, since you don't like it anyways?"

Your eyebrows raised in mild surprise, looking down at your white cup, the brown coffee still untouched "Oh, this? You can order another one though."

"Well, if you aren't going to drink it, it's all gonna be a waste."

He was right, what's the point in keeping it with you till it grew cold? You breathe out a sigh, "Alright, here."

You pushed your white cup to his side, his fingers subtly brushing against yours as he pulled it closer—having you pressed your lip in a tight line as you pulled away. You observed as he stirred its contents with the little spoon from his own cup—in a delicate motion. Raising it to his lower lip, he took a glimpse at you, "I like coffee anyways."

You watched as he drank the cup, finishing the coffee in one gulp down his throat. A scene that doesn't quite feel right, yet you brushed it off as another mere uneasiness of yours, "Can you suggest me some dark fairytales books you like then?"

"Of course. Why not? It would be my pleasure."

「 © talesofyuan on tumblr 2023 」 all rights reserved. do not copy or post without permission. / 02112023

[a-little-revolution]

Is there something (or multiple somethings) about being a little person that you really love and brings you joy?

Hi! Gosh yes there's so much I love about being a little person!! ♡♡♡

I love that my disability has made me think creatively and analytically about the world

I love the way I carry my fatness as someome of shorter stature - I love my stomach and booty and hands

I love how much my friends and partners love holding my hands, the way mine fit into theirs so nicely

I love my button nose and how my art teacher described it as something perfect to draw

I love my LP community and the chances it's given me to travel to conferences and meet kind people

I love that meeting me enlightens so many people about ableism and prejudice

I love that my height has given me a special relationship with the children I've worked with and my niece - I love that it lets me step into their world in a way that average height folks can't

I love how adjusting my own clothes furthered my sewing skills

And I love that my disability has taught me radical love and self care

I know I talk a lot on here about the struggles of my disability and the traumas that go with it, but I wouldn't be able bodied if i had the choice (maybe I'd lower my pain levels but still lol). I love my little body and the life it's given me. Thank you for this ask ♡ - Elliot

[bomberqueen17]

sewing other things

OK so. I have talked about the Loftus Bralette so much on here that one could be forgiven for chuckling gently when i said I should sew other things. But I do actually have several other projects I've been wanting to work on. And i have actually cut some of them out.

Also when I was last at the farm my niece brought me some of her t-shirts and said "I really like this one can we cut it apart and re-sew it bigger so I can still wear it", and I remembered that her BFF's mom, who works at the farm twice a week doing the books and managing store inventory, owns a serger she didn't know how to thread, so I texted her to ask if I could borrow it and indeed she had accidentally unthreaded it and there was a stuck lever and needed me to fix it anyway, and maybe I mentioned that on here but I did actually make my niece a couple of tunics while I was last at the farm. Including hand-sewing a whole bunch of details on the last one while the family was driving on a road trip one weekend.

So I brought all that stuff home with me and was hoping to get to work on it this week. All I've sewn has been the bralettes but I still have today. We'll see what I can get done.

I measured Farmkid and she's ten years old so her shape isn't the same as that of an adult woman, but she's five feet two and like 130 lbs, and some of her measurements put her in a women's size 12. So. She expressed interest in a garment I wear frequently, a Studio Tunic from Sew Liberated. I printed off the pattern in a size 12 and have assembled it, but I'm stuck deciding what fabric to use for her. I should decide that today. She's ten, her favorite color is ostensibly yellow but she mostly wears pinks and purples, she's a grubby kid who wipes her hands on her shirt and always winds up with stains on the belly of her shirt still, and she wants this tunic I think largely so she can cram her tablet into the pocket and go climb trees while listening to audiobooks on speaker. So I want a bright color but not too pale, and I want a tough fabric but not unbreathable, and I'm just. Deciding, still.

Probably what I should do is use some undyed fabric I own, and then bring my supplies and let her tie-dye it. I have a couple other things I could tie-dye, or will by then. That would be a fun bonding activity. I don't know if I'll have time to do it this trip though. So maybe I'll postpone the project and ask her for help once she's on summer break. (Good luck catching her, kids these days have so many summer camps.) As a bonus I bet I could loop her BFF and BFF's Mom in on the tie-dyeing, they're both into that shit.

Hell we could do ice-dyeing, the farm has a 1000-lb ice machine that is very frequently turned on (weekly for the market, biweekly for chicken processing-- there could be ice available at pretty much any time lol).

So anyway. I know she wants me to make a tunic out of a trio of large-print cat shirts she's outgrown, and she wants to wear it for her 5th grade moving up day ceremony, and I looked at it while I was home but I haven't done it yet. I need to get my shit together.

What I might do is print off a size 12 version of the t-shirt pattern I own, it's just that it's designed for busty women because I'm a busty woman, and she's Not, yet (oh, she will be. soon. but not yet.) so I have to kind of. Well, I own a pattern for a swing tunic that's close to what she wants actually. Oh, I should just print that one off. (The joy of the Cashmerette Club subscription patterns is that you get all the sizes, 0-30, and I've now made a couple of them for smaller friends, because like. I mean I own the pattern! PDF patterns are so great because you can reprint them in the smaller size instead of trying to trace it off. I never ever got the hang of tissue paper patterns.)

Yeah here this one, the Wexford Top/Dress, would be easy enough to kind of carve out the bust curve a little and make it fit a kid, because it's not meant to be that fitted. I'll just sort of use that as a general guideline and then make the cut-out-and-patchworked t-shirts fit into that approximate silhouette. The way I made the other tunics for her, I just used a shirt whose neck and shoulders still mostly fit her. But these cat shirts she's thoroughly outgrown, so making a new neck/shoulder area would be best.

Orrrrrr.... I could use one of the zillion old t-shirts of mine that I've saved to cut up. The neck/shoulders of a fully adult-sized garment are no longer too big for her. That's easier.

I also have a bunch of garments I want to make for myself, as I don't seem to buy clothes much anymore (I can't bring myself to pay $40 for a dress off the clearance rack that won't fit me and will mostly be polyester and won't be that interesting and will pill the first time I wash it). The Club's latest pattern is a skort/shorts/skirt dealie, and I need more shorts all the time-- I've largely given up on underpants and just wear boxer-briefs or anti-chafe shorts and I just don't see the point now of wearing a pair of panties and then shorts over the top under my skirt. Like. Just wear the shorts! So being able to choose the materials and print and look of that would be pretty great. And the Cashmerette one is inseam-less, like my favorite anti-chafe shorts are.

So I have cut out a pair of just the shorts in a clearance cotton mesh from Dharmatrading, and I even have the correct elastic for the waistband, so that kind of rules. I will sew those up as soon as I get a chance. I would like to make several skorts as well, probably from synthetic ponte or something, but my ideal would be to get some decent merino/nylon jersey and do a few from that. You never see merino skorts but I would wear the shit out of those.

I also have a lovely underpants pattern from the Club from ages ago, and while I rarely wear underpants of that style anymore, I would like having some cute matchy ones to go with the bralettes. Also, I have a shitton of foldover elastic, and I suspect I could use foldover elastic in some of the bralettes I want to make, so I want to get proficient in its use, and there are directions for applying it in the underpants directions, and it seems like a good way to practice. So I cut a muslin of those from the same cotton mesh as the shorts, and just have to sew the pieces together.

I also want to make myself more pretty dresses, and I have parts of a new Studio Tunic for myself already cut out, but not the rest.

And I recently made myself the button-up shirt from the Club, I know I posted about it on here. And I wanted to immediately make myself several more, and I got out some fabric and prepared it and cut out one pattern piece and then ran out of time. So yesterday I finally cut out the rest of the shirt from this fabric, a print from Mood covered in tiny dinosaurs. So I have that all ready to go in a plastic baggie too, just waiting for me to have time to sit and sew it. (Once I do that, I would really like to make myself a dress version of it from the cool green not-quite-seersucker I got from that remnant bolt at Promenade Fabrics in New Orleans.)

AND. i also have resolved to make my BFF, the one in Rochester who I lived with for a bit in the pandemic, with the little kids-- MM-- I am going to make her a sloper, before I see her next weekend, or maybe while I see her next weekend if i don't get to it in time argh, and I am going to at least try that on her and figure out approximately what shape she is so that I can put together a master pattern for her to make herself dresses from. I took her measurements ages ago, and she's a 14CD bust, a 16 waist, and an 8 hip in Cashmerette's sizing, and so I think just making a sloper with those sizes all graded together will be a huge start. And then we can mildly tweak the fit for her frame, and-- the thing is, she's always buying custom dresses on Etsy because what she wants is very specific and not usually available in stores, and then the dresses come and don't fit her so she has to get them tailored, and then they were just made of cheap quilting cotton from Joann's so they wear out after she washes them a few times, and she's had to add on pockets anyway because they didn't have them.

So I just feel like if I could get her a paper master pattern that fit her... heck i could even just make her dresses if *I* had the pattern. It would be easier and more efficient. I could do the basic construction and then turn over the pockets and embellishments to her, which is what she does anyway. So that's my goal there, and we'll see if I can reach it.

Anyway. If only I didn't have to work at all and could just sew all the time. I am not the first person to say this, LOL.

I have a lot of irons in the fire but at the moment am trapped under a cat so those irons are not going anywhere.

[wandaluvstacos]

I hath finally finished my coat. :) Just in time for hot weather lol. This thing took a long ass time because I'm an amateur and make a lot of mistakes but also the level of hand sewing I had to do got me through the entirety of the ATLA series lol.

Anyway, details:

The cloak is removable. I don't think it was originally supposed to be in the pattern but I realized how much of a headache it would save me if it was removable. I had to sew washers into it because the material is so thick that the cloak was sticking straight out instead of folding down over my shoulders.

The exterior is 100% recycled wool from Poland: https://www.woolsome.shop/product/wool-fabric-diamond-red-orange-wd-29-03/

The interior lining is damaged sari silk from India, so I got it for like $18 for 5 yards, which is pretty nice! https://www.ebay.com/str/sushilaart

The buttons are authentic horn from Lithuania: https://www.etsy.com/listing/652972697/brown-horn-buttons-with-rim-10-28-mm-4

I also had to buy a cotton interlining and horsehair canvas. I tried to keep the materials I used as organic (as in, not polyester) as possible. Outside of the recycled polyester interfacing, I achieved that (I even used 100% cotton thread).

It was not cheap; I ended up spending more money doing it myself than I would have just buying a coat, plus the many, many, many hours I sank into it, and it definitely doesn't look as nice as something professionally done, but there is a deep sense of satisfaction and joy in this coat that simply buying it would not have. I hope to wear this thing for many years, so hopefully it all works out in the end.

I am intending on making a matching belt. I bought some leather for the underside as well as a vintage 1930s belt buckle from france, cuz I'm sourcing every country on earth at this point lol.

Anyway, I made nearly the whole thing on my 1960s sewing machine, outside of any interlocking I had to do on my modern machine (it's not a true interlock stitch but it's good enough). Get yourself an old machine if you want to do thick wools like this (or pay a shit ton of money for a really nice modern machine). This thing saved me a lot of frustration.

[daisynik7]

Hello, I hope you've been doing well! When you have the time, could you please write about Nanami with a s/o who's creative and kind of hippiesque? I'm making that a word now haha but this is very much a self insert and I felt comfortable enough to ask you ☺

I've been tapping into my creative side more lately and even experimented with clay for the first time! I typically alternate between writing and sewing, sometimes I doodle. When it comes to clothes and just overall aesthetic - think thrifting, knick knacks, flowly/light fabrics, and things like that. I'm tempted to call it romantic but idk about that lol. Anyway, here's flowers and tea for you 💐🍵💓

p.s.: the idea of making him a bag for his work things 😭

Author’s Note: Hello friend! I’m so sorry this took SO LONG to complete, I know it’s been months since you requested, so I appreciate your patience on this! I hope you enjoy this little drabble!

Nanami wasn’t always reserved and rigid. Growing up and joining the workforce unfortunately led him to this mundane lifestyle, often following the same routines day-by-day, with little-to-no color in his life. He often reminisces about his high school days, when he used to sneak off from class to listen to punk rock music with his best friend Yu Haibara, who always used to radiate bright energy, enough to warm even Nanami. When his friend passed away, it seemed that the void he left would never be filled again.

That is, until he meets you. 

You are vastly different from Nanami, but that’s what he loves so much about you. Where he lacks in creativity, you do more to cover the both of you. Most of your décor and accessories are homemade, crafted from your very own hands. The pieces displayed on the walls of your shared apartment are all original artworks. Watercolors, acrylics, charcoal, pen and ink. You like to experience with different medias, creating a variety of scenes, depending on an image that captivates you that day. Flowers you see on your daily walks to the park, a golden sunset you watch together on the beach, Nanami sitting on the couch resting his eyes after a long week at work. It’s simple in the grand scheme of things, but when it’s captured forever on canvas or paper, it becomes something special. 

It takes a while for Nanami to get used to being the main focus in your artwork. He’s never liked standing out. When you show him one of your first sketches of him just standing in the kitchen, he’s surprised. Not only at your talent, but at how accurately you were able to portray his personality with a couple strokes of your pencil. That’s when he knows he should appreciate this for all that it’s worth.

His outfits soon become accessorized by your crafts. A knitted red scarf he uses when it’s cold out, with a beanie to match. Sewn mittens for his hands, keeping him warm throughout the train ride to work. He even replaces his briefcase with the bag you crochet for him, insisting that it’s perfect for all his belongings, even if there are a few places on it where his papers stick out. He gets used to the little trinkets and figurines you collect from various flea markets or thrift shops. Half the closet is his muted natural colors while yours is a rainbow that brings him joy every morning he has to get dressed for work. 

Nanami absolutely loves how much of you bleeds into him, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. His daily routine now sparks with something special, all thanks to you.  

[inkofamethyst]

September 8, 2024

It's been a minute.

In brief: first week was good; finished my hair in three days and it's alright; worked deep into nights to finish the costume; ren faire was amazing!

First Week: I'm getting the feeling that I will have a decent amount of downtime to dedicate to my research and improving my lab skills this semester compared to last year. I was stressed about several things, but they turned out alright in the end. One thing was the primate class I'm taking. I don't have much primate behavioral background, but this class seems like it will mostly just be reading and discussion, so a super super chill seminar (no papers or exams, either!!). I was also worried about the new responsibilities that are lumped onto second years, but they seem manageable, especially with such a "large" cohort.

Hair: they're essentially mini twists with extensions, so I generally like the look of them, but I think the extension quality is lacking. It did take me two additional evenings to finish, but they should be good for at least another two or three weeks. Next time, I may try marley hair.

Costume: I was in the library makerspace for five hours last week to do the main machine-sewing bits. It would've been six but a friend had a last-minute birthday gathering which I forfeited my makerspace reservation to attend (I don't regret that choice, though!). While I couldn't finish everything exactly as I'd hoped to (the bottom hems on the chemise are raw (but I cut/tore them straight across so I wasn't too worried), not enough time to add the ruffle to the chemise (and I wasted like an hour at the machine prepping it before realizing that I still needed to work on the bodice), no "boning" in the bodice (which ultimately was probably for the best, as the canvas interlining was HEFTY (potentially too hefty considering the event lol)), ran out of lining fabric for the bodice so the back pieces are unlined (I was using scrap to begin with, and I'll likely go in and use scraps from the chemise just to cover those back seams)), it still managed to look REALLY COOL. I am SO PROUD of what I managed to accomplish in just a week. GAH I felt so pretty. Even despite all the incomplete bits and things I would change. Every time I looked into a mirror yesterday I would just beam at myself because I felt so good!!! I managed to complete all of my goals (chemise, bodice/corset, skirt hike) to a passable degree, and it brings me so much joy to think about. I did that!!!

Ren Faire: The faire was so good. Plenty of activities, plenty of shops, plenty to see, plenty to eat. My dnd group plus my turquoise-friend were all there for a birthday celebration, and it was a grand time. I got to try archery, I failed to eat a turkey leg by myself, I yelled my throat raw cheering for my assigned (and particularly bloodthirsty) old man knight during the jousts, I tried (and loved) raspberry mead. While my turquoise-friend and I hunted for elf ears that'd match out skin tone, we couldn't find any and instead each bought some gorgeous filigree elven ear cuffs. I adore mine and want to wear them everywhere omg. It was all-around just so great, and I totally want to go back next year.

As I was roaming the faire, it became clear that my outfit wasn't really anything special at a glance. Bodice, chemise, skirt, belt. While, yes, that was my goal, I did take some time to reflect on whether hours of designing, drafting, basting, machine sewing, and hand sewing were worth it to look almost exactly like every other bar maiden/tavern wench who bought a costume from amazon or spirit halloween. I think the answer is that it was worth it, even if the costume wouldn't pass a true seamstress' close inspection. There are absolutely elements to mine that are unlikely to be found in mass-produced versions, even ones that "look cooler". Certain seam finishes, the amount of fabric used (esp in the skirt omg), specific time-intensive design elements, even if they look simple (the sleeves are based on Jester's and are my favorite part of the whole outfit). Plus, I have something I made! That I'm proud of! That I enjoy wearing! The design process was fun, far more fun than scrolling through etsy or something. So, yeah, it's not about the complements. It's way more about the feeling I get while wearing it and how that impacts my faire experience.

For next year, I'm going to try to add elements to the outfit that give it more character, sort of like environmental storytelling, but with accessories on the body.. Will I be a tavern wench who moonlights as a royal assassin? Will I be an herbalist's apprentice who works at an apothecary and is hoping to finally brew a love potion, or perhaps a budding necromancer longing to bring their loved one back? A floral fairy who's been transformed to human size, or a bloodthirsty berserker queen? (The Renaissance Faire maybe isn't the best place to try out these ideas, as it's heavier on the historical side of historical fantasy, but maybe what I need is a larp that's heavier on the fantasy side.)

Today I'm thankful that last week was a good week! I'm thankful that my classes seem okay and that I managed to finish my costume (mostly) and that I had a lot of fun at the faire! I'm also thankful my turquoise-friend was with me at the faire. This will absolutely be a fantastic grad school memory.

Also special shoutout to the nyx eye pencil in icy blue (or something like that). I went low makeup yesterday but randomly picked that up the day before to help my eyes match the blue elements in the costume, and it stayed on all day. Impressive for a budget item.

[entomolog-t]

Probably too many for one ask but I didn't want to miss anyone out lol

🌙 - What’s their sleep schedule like? For Aedes

💤 - What do they absolutely need to have to fall asleep? For June

🖌️ - Do they have any hobbies? For Sal

🍽️ - What’s their favorite food? For Betty

🤡 - What’s something dumb they’re embarrassed about? For Mark

💝 - What gestures do they really appreciate? How do you get on their good side? For Bram

🍪 - How well can they bake? For Dawn

🤔 - What’s something they’ll never understand? For Tamius

🌱 - Do they have a green thumb or are they a plant killer? For Rose

AHH I LOVE THAT YOU DIDN'T LEAVE ANYONE OUT💕

What’s Aedes' sleep schedule like?

Aedes is nocturnal by nature- It's easiest to prey on humans among other things in the dark/while they're sleeping. Sunlight tends to make him feel open and exposed, where as darkness acts almost as a security blanket for him. Though his sleeping habits are notably impacted by the presence of June...

What does June absolutely need to have to fall asleep?

As hinted at in the first chapter of Bite Me, June sleeps with an open window- she needs a room cold and preferably having fresh air.

Does Sal have any hobbies?

ABSOLUTELY - That lil gremlin is always looking for new things to do/try. He loves working with his hands, crafting tools, wood working, even sewing (specifically accessories for his 8 legged ladies). A lot of his hobbies are born out of necessity for his life style (foraging, climbing, hunting, etc..) but if we're talking specifically for fun/to pass time he loves to take things apart. Lil man loves to figure out how things work and will disassemble and attempt to reassemble things he's interested in. Do not leave him unattended with valuables.

What’s Betty's favorite food?

Betty is SPOILED! She particularly likes crickets as they're more fun to hunt, but taste wise she has a bit of a sweet tooth fang and and Sal absolutely spoils her with strawberries from time to time. You know those videos of pet owners putting together those very extra meals for their pets? That is 100% Sal with Betty. He insists she prefers Rosey Maple Moths, and will pair it with a nectar source to make it "extra special/pretty" for his precious girl. He's even taken to cooking isopods/potato bugs for her as an occasional treat.

What’s something dumb Mark's embarrassed about?

Ironically enough- his height. Mark is around 5ft3 is fairly self conscious about it.

What gestures does Bram really appreciate? How do you get on their good side?

Value wise Bram deeply respects courage, specifically being able to make sacrifices for others. He's not fond of people pleasing niceties and much prefers direct and blunt communication.

Tangible gestures?

He likes food.

Feed him and it goes straight to his heart (Homeboy craves to be nurtured).

How well can Dawn bake?

Dawn is quite the baker, and cook in general. She's close with a few Mennonites (who also happen to run a local bakery) and learned a lot of her baking techniques though them. She doesn't bake sweets too often, usually making them for Holidays/special occasions, though she does make her own bread!

What’s something Tamius will never understand?

Women

Tamius doesn't see the appeal of sports, more specifically high intensity/contact sports. He understands the joys of competition, as well as being physically active, and being able to defend oneself is important- yet the thought of doing it for some self imposed sense of duty? Fun? Not out of preparation/ self preservation, but to put your body through undue strain and harm for what? the amusement of others? Baffling.

Does Rose have a green thumb or are they a plant killer?

FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK THIS.

Rose is a plant hoarder. Her entire home is just filled with greenery (Which Tamius quite appreciated in terms of quick/easy hiding spots).

[mintawasalreadytaken]

For the game, how about...

Fidget

Floral

or

Fellatio

this ask game has taught me that while you can search for a word in google drive and it'll bring up all the docs that word "is" in, it's actually a list of all the docs that word was in, once upon a time, before you chopped them out. so it goes, lol.

here's "fidget", from one of my favourites, "Take a Chance on Me":

"I used to put on shows at Christmas," Draco says. "And Easter, actually, too."

Potter's got his hands in his front pockets, and Draco finishes the bow and stands again. Draco keeps his gaze on the shoe, and Potter scuffs a sole on the ground. Fidgeting, he's always moving about like that, and Draco's urges are falling over each other tonight—he wants to make him still. Wants to figure out what will make him quiet and stop the restless, constant movement. To admit he's uncomfortable and find some way to overcome it.

"Draco?"

Draco closes his eyes and makes fists with his hands. His shows were embarrassing. His parents told him so when they caught him at one. 

"I did all the voices, all the parts. I sewed a doublet when I was nine."

Draco swallows hard. These are memories he's tucked away a long time, and he's filled briefly with joy and also that squirmy, unpleasant feeling of loss and pain to think of them. He licks the sweat from his upper lip and finally opens his eyes to look directly into Potter's.

"I—"

Potter's lips are softer than Draco thought they'd be.

[rattusrattus3]

Hi! So so sorry to bother!! I had to buy a bag for a school trip to another country and I saw your emily the strange bag on your channel and thought it was so cool and got inspired, so I wanted to customize mine a bit (maybe sew some patches on it?).

Do you have any tips? Is it very different from customizing clothes? It seems hard so I've been putting it off 😅

Again so so sorry to bother you but itd be really helpful!! I love your content, I've been watching your videos for 2 years and you've really inspired me to dress how I want without fearing others opinions. I can't thank you enough for the joy you've brought me!!

Hi! No need to apologize ! Hmm it was kinda long ago and I haven’t done much to bags since but i think it’s pretty similar.. sometimes the fabric of bags can be thicker so I think if you are having trouble sewing things like patches on, using fabric glue would be a good alternative , especially something heavy duty like gorilla fabric glue. (Or safety pin patches on is a tried and true method for a reason :-)) I’ve been wanting to do some more custom bags lately but just haven’t done it yet lol

For durability stuff that I have learned : If you’re using screw on spikes, add washers between the screw and the bag so they are less likely to fall out, if you’re adding pins/buttons, add a clear plastic earring backing to have an extra layer of security from the pin falling out, if you’re using safety pins, clamp them shut with pliers so they’re less likely to come out and come undone . Take your time and use a thimble, sharp needle and smaller needle if hand sewing is being difficult/painful

Hope that helps !!

If anyone reading this is interested in seeing the Emily purse tutorial you can chdck it out here !

Good luck and enjoy :-)

[thylacines-toybox]

first off I LOVE YOUR BLOG it brings me so much joy each day.

If you have the time, I wanted your expertise on stuffedy alteration- or even just a book/website recommendation?

how would I go about making a lil buddy from a sort of stiff and fixed pose to a more loose and squeezable buddy?

my brother got me a Bulba for Easter and I love it very much but he is a very stiff little fella.

also, the tip of his bulb seems to be stuck inward in a weird way...do u think I could fix that as well?

thanks so much, keep rockin

(Firstly, I love a non-traditional easter animal as a gift lol. I got an easter mammoth from my granny once as a kid. Wish I’d kept that…)

This got a little long so just popping it under a cut!

It sounds like you have a pretty firmly stuffed bulbasaur there! Are you hoping to just make it a little squishier, or make it beanbaggy? I’ve given a couple of other stiffly-stuffed Pokemon plushies the beanbag treatment and it definitely makes them more fun!

Can you find the closing seam on its body somewhere? It’s likely to be on the back, tummy or butt of an animal (probably not on a bulbasaur’s back with the bulb in the way) and will look like a more wibbly, obvious bit of hand stitching, done with a thicker tread than the rest of the seams. You can carefully snip this thread to open up bulba and take out his stuffing.

Try taking out a bit and squishing him around, or take out a lot and fluff it up a bit more if it’s too tightly packed, then put just some of it back in. You can also look for a softer, puffier type of stuffing in craft stores, if the current stuffing feels a bit too cheap and dense!

If you’d like, add some beans! Could be literal dried beans/lentils/rice (make sure bulba always stays dry if you use that!) or small beads, but best of all is plastic poly pellets designed for beanie toys. You can sew a thin fabric pouch filled with the beans to put inside, but honestly since bulbasaur is a pretty simple shape I’d just pour the beans right in there (carefully) and fill him up. Makes him extra nice and heavy! Leave the head and bulb filled with the fluffy stuffing.

Once you’re done just sew up the closing seam again using a ladder stitch! (If he’s full to the brim with beans put a little wad of the soft stuffing at the entrance just to stop bean escape while you sew.)

As for the funny bulb tip… is there a single stitch in there to pull it inwards? It might be a case of unpicking that and re-stitching it a bit more neatly, but it’s a little hard to tell what you mean from here! Feel free to message me and we can take a closer look at that.

[imaginethezeldaverse]

Hi Bard! I've been curious about your thoughts on what kinds of gifts would Daruk/Yunobo give their sweethearts?

Between the both of them? Anything with a Goron ruby lol. It's the pride and joy gem of their people so of course they'd love to see you in it. A headpiece, an armband, a bracelet, anklet, earrings: you name it. But be forewarned: if you accept a Goron ruby from them - this begins the plot for them to start designing your engagement piece 🤭 (mostly because they see how much you love it and they are over the moon at how stunning you look in it).

Now for Daruk specifically - he has always pegged me as someone good with his hands. He's strong, hard working. I think he'd prefer to make you something if he can help it. So say you mention wanting some pots for your garden - he'll make you some from a mixture of lava ash and hot spring water to make these beautiful vermillion clay pots that you can use for planting! Or perhaps you'd like a new fireproof outfit - not a problem. He's consulting Urbosa right away on how to make these things for you (though admittedly he will probably not be the best at sewing and will instead hand over fireproof linens and an idea of what you'd like to wear to one of Urbosa's trusted seamstresses and have them made for you). He likes to think practically, give you things you'll use or can have for a long period of time.

That's not to say Yunobo won't do the same! However, this gentlegoron pays a little more attention to the details. He tends to notice when the types of foods you enjoy or what colors you feel look best on you. While he too doesn't mind having things made for you, he also knows where the expertise lies. So if it's something like an extremely fluffy quilt that you're looking for - he's sending a message to Teba right away and seeing if Misa is able to whip something up over at the Slippery Falcon. Maybe flowers are more your thing - no worries, there are plenty of beautiful flora in Lurelin Village and Ramella thankfully knows Flavi down there very well so she hooks him up with a bouquet of some of the most beautiful petaled pieces you've ever seen!

But then again...some gifts are not always material. Both of these Goron men are very much the type to be crazy about you. So quality time and physical affection are on the menu too. Though not "gifts" in a traditional sense - they fill you (and him!) with the same satisfaction and adoration. Being present with your rockbae and just being held by him, kissed by him, loved by him is a gift in itself, no?

[deedala]

✨Macy's Tag Game Tuesday✨

thanks macy for another lovely tag game tuesday! and thanks for tagging me to play @celestialmickey @mickeysgaymom and @energievie 💖

name: deanna🌱

age: im still calling it noel-aged

pronouns: she/her

tell me about one of your hobbies: i feel like all my hobbies are already on this here tumblr!! drawing, giffing, watching tv shows?? lol you know what, i dont do it very often but i do really love putt-putt golf.

what languages do you speak? english and microscopic amount of norwegian (im working on it!!)

one of your comfort movies: love and monsters🏹

do you have any kids? do you want any? yeah 2 and thats that

cold weather or hot weather? cold please🌨️

you're at an amusement park. what ride are you going on first? yeah take me to the roller coasters that dont go upside-down lol 🎢

what's your go-to hairstyle/how do you wear your hair most days? its very short and a bit frizzy so its often just "down" (but think doc from back to the future) but it is long enough in a mullet kind of way that i've been tying the back into little ponies lately.

who was your top artist in your spotify wrapped/apple music replay in 2022? ok i tried to look at the apple replay presentation for this information but it was so overly graphic designed that it was incomprehensible. based off my last.fm info its probably halsey though??

you've just been handed $1000 but you have to spend it on clothes. where are you shopping? im just a boring bitch thats going to target 🎯

wireless or corded headphones? CORDED

finally, tell me something that sparks joy: just did a little mini-sewing craft with my 6 year old she made a little llama stuffy! 🦙💕

ok little nuggets im tagging you in if you wanna play! also also anyone else who wants to play you can say i tagged you and i'll corroborate 💖 @michellemisfit @too-schoolforcool @harrowhark-a-vagrant @thepupperino @grumble-fish @callivich @sleepyfacetoughguy @gardenerian @heymrspatel @mmmichyyy @juliakayyy @lingy910y @creepkinginc @mishervellous @lee-ow @grossmickey @suzy-queued @sickness-health-all-that-shit @canticle-of-apotheosis @maizzycakes @lalazeewrites @vintagelacerosette @themarchg1rl @metalheadmickey @sirrudo @babygirlmickey @purplemagpie @rereadanon