#whenever I mentioned slay the princess multiple people mentioned they’d been thinking of playing it so I recommended the game a lot XD

[mushmallowy-marshshroom]

I was at a con recently and here was my attempt at a cosplay of the long quiet! I based the design off the bit we could see in the mirror as well as some of the fanart I’ve seen and then the rest is just based off what I thought could work well to portray the character (in a costume that wouldn’t overheat me for 12 hours or so at a con)

I created the gloves based off a tutorial by @sunset_sewing on Instagram.

The cape was a very altered version of the high low cloak on Fleecefun.com.

I got the 3D model of the dagger from blreyns on Printables and painted it.

And the mask I patterned based off a plague doctor mask I have.

The rest (aka the leggings, bloomers, and vest/corset) I got off of Amazon.

I definitely have plans to eventually improve the costume but I’m happy with how it turned out especially as the first cosplay I actually sewed pieces for.

[bubble-tea-bunny]

if the sky could dream 

[mike wheeler x reader]

author’s note: been wanting to write this but just didn’t know how to go about it, kinda happy w/ how it turned out tho. i love writing the boys so much, they’re the perfect practice for writing a conversation involving multiple people 

word count: 1,671

It’s not exactly like he can control the way his heart practically stops the moment he hears your laughter floating down into the basement.

It’s jarring, but not unpleasantly so. The battle at hand is pushed to the side as Mike looks away from the map on the table and towards the stairs leading up to the first floor. The door is open and he can hear two people’s voices, but the only one he’s focusing on is yours. He’s stopped paying attention to the campaign, but the others only notice when it’s his turn to roll.

“Uh, hello? Earth to Mike?” Lucas waves his hand in front of Mike’s face in an effort to grab his attention.

“Huh?” Mike blinks and looks over at Lucas, whose expression is unamused. “What?”

“This isn’t the time to get distracted! In case you’ve forgotten, we’ve lost to Caligari two times already and now is our chance to beat him!”

“Oh. Yeah. Sorry,” Mike mumbles, returning his attention to the map. Atop the piece of paper rests three small figures, one for each party member: him, Will, and Lucas. Dustin sits across the table with a screen to hide all of his information as dungeon master, and he’s narrating the newest portion of their campaign—their third (and hopefully final) fight against Caligari, a minotaur that fights with a giant ax. Each battle with this boss has nearly resulted in a game over, but they’d pulled through, and Will commented that this was a sign that they were destined to stop Caligari, no matter how long it took.

“Give him a break,” Dustin remarks with a smile, breaking character for a moment. Just several seconds ago he’d spoken with urgency, describing the intense scene to the party members and the immense power of Caligari and how they might actually meet their end here if they don’t watch themselves carefully. “Don’t tell me you wouldn’t act the same way if your crush was nearby.”

“I don’t have a crush,” Mike rushes out, but he doesn’t meet Dustin’s eyes. This isn’t the first time he’s had to say that.

Will laughs. “Sure. So why’s your face red?”

“It’s just… warm in here.”

The others respond with something to the effect of “Oh yeah of course" but it’s clear they don’t believe him. And Mike isn’t surprised. It hadn’t been a very good reason. At this point, he doesn’t know why he’s trying to pretend he doesn’t have a crush. They’d figured it out almost right away and no amount of excuses could get them to think otherwise because they see how Mike reacts when he so much as hears you and that’s not the kind of shit you can hide. No, sir. Breaking his immersion in the midst of a very important Dungeons and Dragons boss battle is quite the feat, especially if it’s one as high stakes as this. Mike supposes, then, that he’s doing it to save face. What face there is left to save anyway. The teasing has been unrelenting since they realized how hopelessly infatuated he was with Nancy’s best friend.

“Are you gonna go say hi?” Lucas questions, small smirk on his face. Dustin and Will are stifling giggles to no avail.

Mike takes a deep breath, willing the heat in his cheeks to go away as he looks down at his character sheet. “No. It’s my turn to roll isn’t it?” He holds his hand out and Lucas gives him the various-sided dice.

Luckily that remains the extend of their teasing for the rest of the evening they hang out. The campaign keeps them distracted, and Mike can no longer hear you; you must’ve gone upstairs to Nancy’s room. The party ends up defeating Caligari once and for all, an accomplishment resulting in loud cheers that surely reached the main part of the house. By the time they call it quits for the night, they’ve since arrived in a new town with more people to interact with and more quests to embark on. Mike walks the other three to the front door.

“I can’t believe we finally got him,” Lucas remarks. There’s a ghost of a smile on his face as he thinks back to the moment.

“If it weren’t for that high roll you got, we would’ve died for sure this time,” Will says.

“Okay, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting you to defeat him,” Dustin pipes up. “I purposely made him really, really difficult.”

“We noticed.” Mike deadpans, but then he laughs. “But now he’s gone and that’s all that matters.”

Lucas, Will, and Dustin left their bikes on the front lawn and Mike stands on the driveway as they grab them. Before the three of them take off, Dustin turns back to Mike. “Say hi to [Name] for me.”

Mike groans. “Shut up.”

Dustin’s laugh seems to echo in the night as they start maneuvering their bikes down the driveway and onto the street.

“See you tomorrow, Mike!” Will yells. Lucas throws up a hand to wave, and Mike returns the gesture. As he starts his walk back inside, he exhales, and his breath materializes in front of him. The nights are getting chillier and chillier. The snowfall will be here before they know it.

Mike closes the door and turns around just in time to see you come down the staircase. He’s frozen right where he is. It’s like his body’s forgotten how to work.

“Oh, hey, Mike!” you greet, a bright smile on your face. You get to the bottom but don’t move, hand resting on the bannister. “I didn’t see you when I got here.”

“I was in the basement with my friends,” Mike explains, trying to put on a relaxed smile (it probably looks more like a cringe).

You hum and nod. “That’s right. Playing that game of yours. What was it called again?”

“Dungeons and Dragons.”

“I always thought that name was so cool.” The smile is still on your face. Mike’s confident you can tell how nervous he is and he wonders if you know about his crush. Well, you have to by now. He’s not exactly good at hiding it, and even if he might not see you much in the daytime, since you’re at Hawkins High School, you’re always at the house sleeping over. Given the time and the fact you’re still here, that’s the case again tonight. “Anyway, I was just down here to grab a glass of water. Your sister and I have been gossiping and all that talking’s made my throat dry.” You laugh quietly as you head into the kitchen.

Mike trails in after you. “This whole time? There’s that much to talk about?”

It’s silent for a second as you gulp down some water. “Oh yeah. High school is…” you trail off, trying to find the right word, but shrug when you can’t find it. “It’s something. But it’s definitely not as exciting as slaying dragons.” You grin at Mike before refilling your glass.

“There are all sorts of monsters to kill in the game actually,” Mike explains.

“Really?” You’re genuinely curious. It shows in your eyes. As the two of you slowly ascend the staircase, Mike is rattling off information about the role-play game. Just the most basic stuff that could be explained quickly. Even when you two get to the second floor, you remain standing in the hallway. He mentions that he and his friends defeated Caligari tonight, and so if you’d heard shouting, that was why. You laugh and tell him you do remember hearing cheering from Nancy’s room.

“Well, should you ever come across an evil dragon, kill it for me, okay?” You smile.

Mike smiles back, one much more comfortable than the one earlier when you caught him by surprise after he’d said goodbye to the others. It’s strange. He always feels so nervous at the prospect of talking to you, and whenever he thinks about it, his hands get clammy and his heart starts to race. But then he does talk to you and it’s so easy. You’re incredibly nice, clearly wanting him to be able to talk to you like you’re any other person. You want him to be relaxed around you (since you’re at the Wheeler house all the time it seems). But you’re not just “any other person,” not to Mike anyway. And maybe you knew that. Maybe you didn’t. He just knows that out of all the people Nancy could’ve been best friends with, he’s glad it was you. “Okay.”

It happens so quickly that Mike thinks maybe he’s imagined it, but the residual warmth of your lips on his cheek is all too real. His eyes are wide as he looks at you and your smile that has only grown. “For good luck,” you explain offhandedly, as if it’s no big deal, but there’s mischief dancing across your face, and Mike blushes heavily.

“Yeah… For good luck.” He smiles sheepishly, nodding when you tell him you’re heading back to Nancy’s room now, as she’s probably wondering where you’ve been this whole time. When you open the door to his sister’s room, he hears her speak up—“How long does it take to get a glass of water?”—and then your laughter before the door closes behind you, and he’s alone in the hallway.

You knew. You definitely knew. And Mike knows he will never hear the end of it from the others. As he enters his room, he absentmindedly brings a hand up to his cheek, to the spot where you’d kissed him. Dustin did mention an abandoned castle on the outskirts of the town the party had arrived at in-game. Maybe there would be a dragon in there guarding a princess they needed to go save.

(When they reconvene a couple of nights later to resume the campaign, this turns out to be the case. And because Dustin is, well, Dustin, the princess bears a striking resemblance to you.)