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desertdollranch · 1 month

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Opening and reviewing my first Australian Girl doll

She spent more than a month in a box, making her way halfway across the world to her new home, and now here she is! I'm so relieved that she arrived safely. It was the longest I've ever had to wait for a doll, and through much of her journey I didn't know where she was or when she would be here.

I don't want to drop too big of a spoiler, but listen to this........ she was so worth the wait, and the money. This doll instantly won my heart with how exquisite she is in every way.

Australian Girl dolls were specially made for Australian children, by Helen Schofield, a grandmother who loved dolls. She created the brand when she couldn't find an age appropriate doll that was locally available or good quality. So she created these dolls to help children feel pride in Australian culture, while teaching them about friendship and empathy. There are five girls to befriend--Amy, Jasmine, Emily, Bronte, and Matilda, each representing a different region of the country, ethnicity, and lifestyle.

The company itself has quite high standards. They strive to reduce waste in their product packaging, and they use a factory in China that treats its workers humanely and does not use child labor.

If you've been around my blog for a while, you know how much I love collecting diverse brands and types of play dolls, especially international dolls. Also, this one will be extra special because I actually have an Australian grandmother--she's also a doll collector, and I'm looking forward to showing her my new doll the next time I see her.

After the cut, I'll show you who she is, and talk about why I chose her. I'll compare her with similar-sized dolls as well, and have her do some dressing up.

Before we get to the unboxing, let's check out the little goodies included with my doll.

First is a little pamphlet explaining why the dolls are special, but also represent real girls growing up in Australia.

There's another pamphlet about how to care for your doll.

All of the dolls come with a fun freebie: this cute pair of thongs.

Another freebie (a $30 AUD value) is this very sturdy doll carrier with pockets for accessories.

I also bought a pair of sneakers for my new girl. I figured her feet would be a bit larger than my other dolls, and these are cute, so she now has three pairs of shoes to wear.

Anyway. Enough of the small stuff. Let's let her out of the box.

It's Amy from Adelaide!

I chose Amy after three entire years of being indecisive and going back and forth on exactly which Australian Girl I wanted. They're all equally adorable, so I picked Amy because her personality seems very sweet, and I love that she has mixed heritage. According to the Austrlaian Girl dolls website, Amy's family tree is a mix of Aboriginal and Dutch on her mother's side, and English and Indian/Fijian on her father's side. Very representative of modern Australia!

I have no regrets. She is perfect!!! Just the most charming little angel. I am officially WOWED.

I'm seriously impressed at the superior quality of her construction. I understand why she was priced a bit higher than similar dolls. She is, from head to toe, beautifully made, with so many sweet details. Her dress and shoes are also impeccably made and feel very durable.

Her hair is flawless. It's a Kanekalon wig with loose curls, in a gorgeous shade of brown. Her eyes open and close. She has both painted and attached eyelashes.

She has a gap between her big toe and the next toe, so she can wear her sandals and thongs.

Her elbows are dimpled and she has subtle blush color on parts of her skin, including elbows and hands.

She has a crease across her palm.

She has articulation at her shoulders, hips, and neck. Her limbs, head, and shoulders are vinyl, and she has a huggable soft tummy. I don't really have a strong preference for either cloth torsos, vinyl torsos, or half and half like Amy. They all have pros and cons. This specific construction is nice in that she can wear low-neckline clothes without showing a cloth body, but it does make her harder to repair in case she has to be fixed.

I have a pretty good idea of what she'll be wearing when she's ready to change out of her pink party dress.

The first photo shows her in a dress I made. The second is a Maplelea dress and hat. The rest are all American Girl brand clothing, except for the shoes. Amy can comfortably wear most stretchy clothes by AG and similar brands like Our Generation, but her feet absolutely will not fit AG, OG, or Maplelea shoes.

The exception to the clothes is some of the tighter pieces. This AG shirt did not fit well. Amy's shoulders are a bit more broad than smaller dolls, and so without some extra give this is too tight.

Amy is 20 inches/51 centimeters tall. Here she is next to my Our Generation doll Jordana. I'm using an OG doll because they're actually available locally in Australia. Whereas American Girl dolls, which I usually use when I compare brands, have to make an overseas journey. So it's only fair that I consider any Australians reading this now who are wondering how Amy compares.

Amy is tall, but not the tallest doll in the family! Here she is next to Fernanda, my Karito Kids doll, who is about an inch taller although slimmer. Karito Kids dolls are in fact just slightly skinnier than American Girl dolls, so they have a much easier time sharing clothes.

In conclusion, I highly highly recommend this doll. She's absolutely sublime! I'm so thrilled to have her here, and I'm looking forward to having lots of adventures with her.

Obviously I'm far from Australia, but my Amy will still live her life as if she were in a suburb outside of the city of Adelaide. I've been looking at pictures of the geography of the state of South Australia, and there are some places in the mountainous parts that look pretty similar to the desert southwest where I live. So Amy will have no idea she's actually in the USA. Don't tell her the truth!

#australian girl dolls #20 inch dolls #international dolls #doll review

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nwarrior777 · 7 months

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life update

tw: vent, sad, life crisis, identity crisis

advice ONLY if you have something really similar. hugs and specific commentary of support (like "giving you some cookies!!! or giving you yellow blanket!!) are encouraged

well i definitely didn't expect to get exsistential crisis by now

i mean i always thought that i know who i am i know what i want but like...

i had conversation with grandma, we talked about why are my bags so big, and i was like, it's just me, i don't have home, i don't have place or furniture. i only have my clothes and fancy little things and art. i only have me, and it's all it that very heavy 2 bags. and i said, but isn't it sad that everything i have at 26 is only 2 bags. i lam just 2 bags.

and she was like, but don't you have you like. in your head?

and. i started thinking about it. and now i an spiraling because i thought i got this question long time ago.

i mean. i have life goal. but it's life goal. it's not the answer to the question "who are you?". my life goal is to try to bring people around love and good and kindness. to try to be good human.

and. it's always "try" so i even can't say that i am a good human. actually i figured out that i am kinda suck on that... i am good with giving kind to strangers but. i think i am not the best person to be close with? i don't know... i am a bad person? again? did i fucked up again? eh.... i thought i was... i don't know. good at least at trying. i don't want to be in that years again... and in that feelings.... but i think i need to dive into that. because that is trying to be good person is about - you should work on yourself. but this is so fckin painfull

also i am artist. well yes but... everyone is an artist? we all have blogs and etc..... we express our visions and takes and opinions. i guess its art

and i am tired of it too... i feel like i am streaming 24/7 like, i am a Content Maker. everything i do is like....... its art art art content content content. i cant live for myself

and then i am trying to its not working. because if i will not make a photo, if i will not make a meme a post or a drawing i wil forget it. because i have bad memory. i cant hold anything in it

and i am obsessed with idea of saving my legacy. my art my. existent. i want it not to be just. dissapered. its kinda done - nobody will take away emotions which i gave you and emotions which you gave me with your feedback. they will not take expirience. and some of my art is already in safe place. see, i am too much on it

i worked so hard to make that "queer bitch gothhhicccc queen cool queer artist and a kind human" """ brand""""

but like. am i like. am i this? what makes a person a person. i don't feel. like a person

i don't feel like a human. i feel like some. poetic. image

and, please not laught, i am serious its not a fucking meme but. i feel so much like Izzy from ofmd now?... and... always feel????

my costume-gothic-bitch era started after seeing him. i opened in me new gender. that my horns - thanks to him, i bought them on festival where i went to in izzy cosplay. and that poetic symbol of a man. a guy with Moral Duty Standarts from some. ballad song. A rock

and how??? how is this. how they posted this season RIGHT in the time. then i cracked. and he too

what to do then you thought you had solid as a rock personality. but it was something different. what is it means to be a human. tell me, izzy

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jae-bummer · 11 months

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My Idol 3: Part Two

My Idol From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

My Idol is a South Korean competitive reality dating game show. It currently airs on Saturday nights on Jae-bummer’s blog. First broadcast in 2016, the show offers the opportunity for a lucky fan to go on seven blind dates with seven idols. The idol plans the date with the show throwing in a specific mission to complete during the day. At the end of the initial dates, the show opens up an audience vote to decide what four idols will move on to the second date.

My Idol 3: The Series

In the history of My Idol, you didn't think you had ever seen someone genuinely excited about doing a mission before. Often times, contestants tended to dread the red envelopes, with some even refusing to open them. Jungkook, on the other hand, seemed almost more excited for this than anything you had discussed so far.

"To be honest," you grinned. "I thought the real adventure started when Yoongi was instilling a healthy amount of fear into all of us."

"Yeah," Jungkook cringed. "That wasn't part of the plan."

"What exactly was the plan?"

"Well..." he trailed, running a hand over the back of his neck. "He wouldn't tell me. He just said he was going to handle a few things."

"And that didn't set off any alarms?" you laughed.

Jungkook broke into a smile before shaking his head. "You try questioning him and see how far you get."

Directing your attention back to the task at hand, it was hard not to be enthusiastic when Jungkook was. Sliding a finger under the seal, he peeled the envelope open with a small pop. Grinning fiendishly, he slid the contents out and began to read.

"The healthiest relationships are those where you're a team! Grab a cold lunchbox at random and microwave it for the instructed time. While the timer is ticking, divide and conquer getting the rest of your snacks!"

"That doesn't sound too bad," you said quietly, suspicious as to why you got such an attainable mission.

"There's a second card," Jungkook hummed, waving it before reading. "See below for your shopping list. Confirm you have the correct brand and item before the timer runs out. Happy snacking!"

Looking over Jungkook's shoulder, your jaw dropped. The list of snacks had to have been 20 items long. You hadn't even heard of some of them before.

Glancing up at you, Jungkook smirked. "We're going to kill this."

"I hate to be pessimistic," you cringed. "But I don't even know what half of these things are."

"Okay," he said, furrowing his brows as he scanned the list. "We'll split the list in half. I'll take the ones you're not sure about."

"Oh," you breathed a sigh of relief. "You're familiar with everything then?"

"Nope," he grinned. "But I've got the spirit to make up for it."

It hadn't taken long for the two of you to split up the list and finalize a game plan. The only thing you hadn't been able to factor in was the time you would be allotted, or how to navigate other people shopping at the convenience store.

You looked nervously from the cold lunch boxes to Jungkook. His expression was soft as he gazed at you. "Hey, we'll be able to do this, okay?"

"And what if we don't?" you grumbled. You knew the probability of succeeding at every mission given by My Idol was slim, but you weren't looking forward to any of the penalties. You had already made yourself look silly enough in your audition video, there didn't need to be another highlight reel of embaressing moments.

"If we don't, it'll be my fault," he grinned. "Just worry about your part. You're going to do great."

You felt your heart stutter as you appraised him. Jungkook was so open and giving with his words and emotions. Not once had he made you feel uncomfortable or unwanted. You knew this experience was new for the both of you, but you were clearly out of your depth. Coming into this, you felt like you were drowning, but Jungkook proved to be an increasingly proficient swimmer.

"Do you want to pick?" he asked, finally looking away to you and toward the meals.

You chuckled uneasily. "I trust you."

"Might be your downfall," he joked, reaching in and grabbing what looked to be a pretty involved meal set. Checking for any sort of instructions, he let out a hiss. "Two minutes."

"That's fine," you nodded, trying to pump yourself up. "Two minutes. A whole 120 seconds. That's a lot of time."

"You're right," he said, nodding as well. Crossing the aisle, he began to remove some of the plastic packaging before popping the food into one of the available microwaves. "I believe in us."

Shutting the door, his fingers hovered above the numbers before he thought better of it. Dropping his hand to his side, he moved back toward you, grabbing your wrist instead.

"Wha-" you managed as he shuffled you toward the counter.

Lifting your hand with his, he smiled. "We'll do it together."

Letting out a soft huff of amusement, you allowed him to navigate your fingers toward the "Start" button. "Together."

Your breath was ragged as the microwave beeped loudly across the convenience store. Stopping just short of running into you, Jungkook grinned wildly in your direction, his eyes lit with excitement.

"We did it," he said, his voice gravelly. "We did the damn thing."

You laughed, looking at his now haphazard hair. Reaching up, you flattened a few strands back into his ponytail. The small movement caused him to go incredibly still, his eyes darting around your face before looking away. Once fixed, you took a step back, only to see him zoned out and biting his lip.

"Do you really think we got everything?" you whispered. Looking from his basket to yours, you were relieved to see quite a few snacks in both.

"If we didn't, we definitely got close," he murmured. "I'm proud of us either way."

A more lovely man simply did not exist. You were sure of it.

It wasn't long before the production crew seized your baskets and began analyzing everything. You were too nervous to speak, so you remained anxiously silent as you watched them.

"It looks like everything is here," one of the producers confirmed. "...besides the tuna and kimchi kimbap."

"What!" you and Jungkook gasped in unison. You thought back to your mad dash. That one was on your list, and you were certain you had grabbed it.

"It's not here," the producer sighed, pulling a red envelope from the back of his jeans.

"Wait, wait, wait," Jungkook said, stepping forward. "Let me look."

"We already looked at everything," another producer piped in. "It's not there."

"Then you'll have no problem letting me look too," he asserted, his hands already picking through the snacks. Sitting each one on the table in the order they were written, he paused. Looking over his shoulder at you, he smirked. "Found it."

When the producers were checking everything, it looked like the baskets had only been shuffled through. You watched with pride as Jungkook pulled the kimbap out from under the baked eggs.

"Oh," the producer said numbly. Stuffing the envelope back into his pocket, he sighed. "Well done."

"Well done," you muttered. You were going to have to keep a close eye on them.

"Now, to celebrate," Jungkook grinned, his nose scrunching. "Let's go go go!"

Settling into one of the plastic tables outside of the 7-Eleven, you assisted Jungkook with spreading out your winnings. You took turns going back and forth to heat up various things, but it didn't take long before you sat side by side.

"Mmmm," Jungkook groaned, taking a bite of the hot bar you had just set in front of him. "I haven't had one of these in forever."

"Not enough time?" you asked, taking a bite as well when he offered it to you.

"I order in a lot," he nodded. "I don't really like leaving my apartment."

You furrowed your brow as you chewed thoughtfully. "Why not?"

Heaving a sigh, Jungkook glanced up at the cameras before looking back at you. "Things can get a little crazy when you're a..."

"Idol?" you supplied. "Celebrity?"

"Something like that."

"Right,' you said slowly. Of course he treasured his privacy. He had so little of it. "But I'm curious, if you like to keep to yourself, why sign up for My Idol?"

"Why'd you sign up?" he shot back quickly with a teasing tone.

"I asked you first," you smirked.

Smiling in return, Jungkook resumed picking through the food. "I've realized that since I became an adult, I've gotten really introverted. It's hard to meet people when you're locked behind a door with your pets all day. I had some talks with friends, and they all thought this experience would be good for me."

You supposed you could appreciate that. "It's a chance for you to grow then?"

"Mmm," he hummed, mid chew. "In a way. I want to grow as a person, but it would be nice to grow with someone as well. You'll have to understand, I haven't really been "alone" since I was 15, so it's a double-edged sword. I crave that comfort, but at the same time, I've been burned by people who I thought I could trust."

"It's hard to be vulnerable," you nodded. "This is a chance to do that while also keeping rails around it."

"Exactly," he grinned. "I wasn't going to crawl out of my hole unless I felt safe to some extent.

Now, what about you? What made you submit your audition tape?"

"Alcohol," you laughed. "And a friend who said I needed to live a little."

"I think our friends would like each other then," he chuckled. "Both sat in front of a 7-Eleven because we were peer pressured to go on the highest stakes blind date possible."

"Hey, the 7-Eleven has been fabulous," you hummed. "And it's sentimental to you."

Looking over his shoulder, Jungkook gazed fondly at the building. "It really is. There's nothing like the feeling of practicing for eight hours and then stumbling down the street for some ramen."

"Eight hours?" you croaked.

"I was an underachiever, really."

You quickly narrowed your eyes at him, but immediately realized he was joking. Letting out a small huff, you shook your head. "How were your leg muscles even willing to make the trip after all of that?"

"It wasn't great," he winced. "But I was young and running off of the feeling of just belonging to something. When my members would be too tired to come out, I'd offer to carry them. Many a piggyback ride happened on the way to this place."

You tried to picture it. Jungkook who was barely a teenager and the slightly older teenagers who were made to raise him. They worked as hard as their bodies would allow until they finally got some recognition. They were sent catapulting into fame only to work harder than they ever had. There was something admirable about the journey to become an idol, but there was no way you could ever push yourself as hard as them. It took a special type of dedication.

You looked at Jungkook, assessing his features as he snacked. There was still so much of his youth in his adult features. While his softness had changed into hard edges, that child-like light never left his eyes. That mischievous tug never fell from his lips. The world had tried to beat him down so many times (and that's only what you saw on the tabloids.) Each time though, he picked himself back up and tried again.

You felt your chest give a tug. He really was someone you could grow close to if given the right circumstances.

Glancing up, his eyes caught yours. Smiling shyly, he dabbed at his mouth with a napkin. "Is there something on my face?"

"Oh," you squeaked. "Oh, no."

He leaned in close to you as if to share a secret. "You were supposed to say "Yes, Jungkook, there's beauty dripping everywhere."

You let out a surprised laugh as he crinkled his nose. "How silly of me! Here, let me help you."

Grabbing for his napkin, you began to dab his face playfully. "I'm worried that when I'm done, there won't be anything left to look at!"

Jungkook was erupting into full on giggles at this point, smacking your hands lightly as they roamed around his cheeks.

"Maybe if I took some for myself," you murmured, dabbing the paper on either side of your face. "I'll be as good looking as you."

"You already are," he said, breathless from laughing.

Getting caught on an exhale, you stilled. "Yeah, okay."

"Seriously!" he smiled, reaching up to boop your nose. "Sure, you might have things that you consider imperfections, but they give you character. I like looking at you."

You laughed through your nose. "I like looking at you too, Jungkook."

"That's as good as a declaration of love!" he gasped. "Move me on to the second round!"

"I'm not exactly sure that that's how it works," you sighed. "But nice try."

Jungkook looked down with a small smile. "I really would like to make it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," he continued, still not looking at you. "I've had so much fun. And now I know you enough to make me want to know you even more."

"Hey," you chimed, setting your hand lightly atop of his. "You will be a very hard act to follow."

"You think so?" he smirked, finally looking up. "Maybe I should have taken you somewhere more special. Something the viewers-"

"Nope," you cut in. "This place of full of memories that you actually wanted to share. That's not easy when you're giving a small piece of your world to a stranger."

"It is a small piece of my world," he affirmed. "And it's been nice to be able to come back. I was worried it may have turned into something else by now. Thank you for taking care of that memory for me."

"No more talk about the next rounds or what viewers will think," you nodded. "Only talk about what's on your mind and show me pictures of your dog."

This would be the part of the show where the cameras cut away and come back to a montage of you and Jungkook laughing together, the two of you crowded around his phone, or tossing food into each other's mouths. You could almost see the editing as the time ticked by. While your conversation remained light and silly, it was so beneficial in getting to know the person you were expected to form a connection with.

Before you could even realize, hours had flown by. Glancing up in a daze, you realized the producers had been signaling for the two of you to wrap things up. Looking from the camera crew and back to you, Jungkook smiled sadly. "I don't think I want this night to end."

Ruffling his hair now that it had long ago abandoned his ponytail, you stood. "The sun is going to come up pretty soon and end it for us."

Jungkook nodded as he pulled himself to his feet as well. Wrapping his arm around you, he tucked you neatly into his side before strolling slowly toward the My Idol SUVs. You felt completely drunk without a single drop of alcohol coursing through your system. The two of you had entered your own little bubble, sprinkled with magic, and the promise of new beginnings.

"Even if I don't make it, we'll have to do this again," his voice cut through your thoughts.

You looked up at him with wide eyes. The implication of that sentence immediately sent your mind reeling to the previous two seasons.

"No, no, no," he said quickly, spinning you by the shoulders to face him. "Not like that. Just...spending time with you. It's been damn near therapeutic. I don't want to let that go. Whether it's as friends or something more."

"Oh," you breathed, your shoulders relaxing.

"I hope you had as much fun as I did," he smiled. "You did, right? If not, lying is acceptable. I'm fragile."

"I had a great time," you laughed. "It's been a treat getting to know you, Jungkook."

"You were better than any snack," he continued, his eyes dancing with amusement. "Well, maybe not the choco pies. Not much is better than choco pies."

"Understood and no offense taken," you grinned. "I'll see you soon."

"Soon," he confirmed, pulling you into his arms and wrapping them tightly around your waist. Setting his chin on the top of your head, he let out a sigh.

You took a deep breath in, trying to let yourself be surrounded by all things Jungkook. Although you had spent hours outside, he still smelled lightly floral. Pressed to his chest, you had never felt so warm and secure.

Finally pulling away, the loss of Jungkook's body was a stark one. You could've stayed in his arms for much longer, but you would still be unhappy when you had to let go.

Opening the car door for you, he provided his hand to grasp and ease your way in. Plopping on the seat, you turned to face him. "Thanks for tonight."

"I should be thanking you," he said quietly. Before you could realize what he was doing, he placed a soft kiss on your cheek. You sat in silence as he took a few steps back and shut the door.

Your hand immediately flew up to your face, gingerly touching the area of skin that now felt like it was on fire. Looking out the window, you smiled as he gave a small wave. Before you could return it, the driver steered away.

You sat on the feeling for a moment, trying your hardest to take everything in. Jungkook felt like a schoolyard friend that you had a crush on and were finally getting to act on it. It was that elated feeling of liking someone and finding out that they liked you back.

If you already had this level of warm and fuzzy from a man you just met, what would happen on your next six dates?

"Get it together, Y/N," you muttered, watching the 7-Eleven fade behind you. "You're just getting started."

To Be Continued.

#bts #jeon jungkook #jungkook #bts jungkook #kookie #bts jk #jungkook sluff #jungkook fanfic #jungkook x reader #bts x reader #bts fanfic #bts fluff #bts au #bts x you

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gaviicreates · 6 months

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Craft week in review

Good Morning, and Happy Sunday! Here in the US, we just caught up with the rest of the world with that twice annual clock adjusting we do. Those of you without daylight savings, you know where it's at. In any case, Northern Hemisphere means we got extra sleep today, so not too many complaints from me here. Even the dogs accepted the lie in, which was amazing.

I'm still figuring out how I want to use this blog space. My impulse posts I can't put here, because I used a log in type that requires me to be on my laptop. That means you get the nice pictures, the reflections, the organized WIPs updates, but none of that is helpful in keeping the space active. What are you, blog? An archive, a journal, a gallery?

Please bear with me while I figure it out. I get that the pictures of the finished objects are what tends to inspire people, but I like writing and sharing the journey, even if those musings are not as entertaining. I'm still working on the balance.

~*~

Doilies

Last week, I primarily worked on blocking some finished doilies I had to work on over a couple of days. I only have one set of blocking boards with the circle lines for me to properly measure out the doilies evenly. I'm fine throwing my own stuff on the normal boards and eye-balling it, but not for commissions. With those finished I decided to open up some more local commissions, which quickly filled with family members, and posed the question a bit more in general to the online audience. So four more commissions have joined my schedule, though not all of them need to be in by Christmas.

In the meantime, I started another tree doily, and I plan to take pictures of those pieces soon so I can share them. Here's a phone one to hold you over.

Purchases/Acquisitions

I had a couple purchases last week - and some quick turn arounds. In the yarn world, I placed an order for some Hobbii Rainbow Lace which is one of my go-tos for when specific colors are requested. The yardage is not as much as one might get with Aunt Lydia's from the local JOANN or Michaels, but the shades they carry are so rich and varied. Plus, I'd been eyeing up a rust color I needed an excuse to add to my cart. I also grabbed some dark reds and soft greens to play around with Christmas shades.

Of the hand-dyers, one of the brands I follow is Hue Loco out of Colorado. As with hand-dyed, you're paying for what I consider a luxury material, so as much as I would like to buy everything I do try to splurge sparingly for the sake of my wallet. But I stumbled upon a colorway that was perfect for a project I'd been planning, and since it was going to be a gift for my husband, I didn't mind going the hand-dyed route. The colorway is called "Magpie" and it's a beautiful blend of blues and greys with a sprinkling of browns. SW 100% Merino in worsted. This one came in yesterday, and I couldn't resist working it up right away.

I may have also purchased something for myself while I was on their site. Shh.

I also splurged and ordered some Furls wooden streamline hooks I'd been wanting - in Ebony. One of my dogs got ahold of one of the nice resin colors that were no longer in stock, so I couldn't re-order it when it made unusable.

Expensive week for me! But it'll be the last for awhile while I budget instead for Christmas and start working on the projects these materials were purchased for. For a last hurrah before the holidays, I'm happy with these selections.

Upcoming

The sock DPN class I signed up for starts tomorrow, and knit night at my LYS on Tuesday.

I have one more more doily to block, the next tree one to finish, and the commissions pending.

The new Furls Hooks should arrive next week. Hobbii is enroute.

WIPS: My sky blanket project is making great progress - I've been able to keep up with it and the goal will be to provide an update monthly around the middle of the month. Chevron Scarf was put on hold this week, but maybe I will work on it some today to give me a knitting break.

#crochet #knitting #crochetblr #knitblr #craft update

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italianpersonwithashippersheart · 10 months

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BL Wishes

My List of things and Plots that I Would Like to See In BL

FIRST: Rapid Fire Specific Drama Edition:

Big Dragon S2: I need it, I need it now and I need at least one kinky scene with MossBank because I have not forgotten about the lack of kinky sex in s1. I know it's going to focus on a new couple but I need at least one sexy kinky time with them please and thank you.

I need Minato Coin Laundry s2 not to break them up, or have stupid cheating plots. (The bar is in hell)

I need both Domundi (The Next Prince, Naughty Babe, Love Upon a Time, Middleman) and Taiwan (I forgot the names of announced shows but it's in my blog somewhere) Line Ups to come to me and I need it now. Especially Taiwan.

I need Make A Wish to be more available, I could only find it with Italian Subs, I didn't watch it yet, but the ending seems to be hinting at a season 2 and at the possiblity of a poly ending (or at least a love triangle) so I need other people to be able to watch it as well.

The HIstory franchise needs to get its shit together and start producing more and better shows. Like for all of it's fault I did like History 4 and History 5 was fine. But I need more, I need them to do 2 shows again, I don't want them to "fine" I want them to go all out. Go Crazy. Just don't kill gays again.

Now More Generic BL Wishes:

VAMPIRES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just give me vampires, maybe even some werewolves. I need it, I know that we have Mafia BLs but I want Vampire BL god damn it!!!! The main four actors of Cutie Pie would be great a Vampire-Werewolf BL. And I know Fluke Natouch would be great as a Vampire as well (he was in 2015 movie playing a human to vampire co-lead). I also think Earth Cooheart would be great as a Vampire. And MossBank, they would be great in a werewolves pair.

Speaking of Fluke Natouch and Earth Cooheart I need both of them to get more adult and darker roles. I need Cooheart to be allowed to be a little sexy, and I know Fluke would do a darker powerful role justice, I want him to be in a role where he bringes "bigger" man to their knees. I want to see him covered in blood (I say this with love)

POLYCULE with the main four actors of Cutie Pie. This is entairly @respectthepetty's fault. I saw the MaxZee posts on her blog and and It send me down a rabbit hole. By the way did you know there are no true polycule fanfic of the four of them, there is something, but not true polycule and never with Lian and Yi as a pair. Truly no one knows these characters they way @respectthepetty knows them.

Also @respectthepetty's fault for putting this in my head: Domundi Line Up Mash Up. Bad Friend and Middleman Ship meet Cutie Pie and Naughty Babe's ships. In one big BL. The idea is now in my head and it's glorious. Let's Do It!!

Choco Milk Shake Thair Remake but Poly this time. Not sure what trio could do this, but I need it.

LET GUN KISS SOMEONE WHO IS NOT OFF. Listen I realize that OffGun are probably GMMTV best pair branding, and I know that both Off and Gun are going to bank on this pair and be settled for life. I don't even need Gun to be in an endgame ship with another actor, I just need him to kiss another male actor. Not Me would have been the best scenario because of the twins situation. But they didn't go there, and I will never forgive them for that.

Related to Number 5, I had this idea for a plot with an OffGun endgame ship, that started with Gun's character being in a relationship with Sing (because I am still mad about ToddBlack - Listen they have baited us twice with GunSing kiss I need this now) who cheats on him and Gun has to move out and finds an appartmant with Off's character and maybe another roomate played by Tay because I love the Tay/Off dynamic. We would get scenes with Gun and Sing together, showings us flashbacks and stuff but also an OffGun endgame. WIN WIN!!

I need more shows with parents that are in the murky gray area between full acceptance and abusive, I need them not to change their mind at the end and I need a realistic exploration of what it means for a queer person to have parents in that gray area, I want them to question if it's worth it to have to be one that is keeping that realtionship alive. I am also loving the trend of dramas dealing with homophobia and I need to see more of it. I don't want it in all my BLs far from it, but I do like when BL goes there.

More disable characters in BL, preferably by disable actor's but this is a streach so, I just need more disability in BL.

And more actually fat characters, not like Jao in SCOY (which I Love, but calling him fat, felt like a bit of a strech)

And Obviously more GLs and more masc women in GL

I think that's it. Those are the major ones. Feel free to share your thoughts on your own wishes or if you agree or disagree with any of my ideas.

#bl wishes #bl series #bl actors

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lexa-griffins · 1 month

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It's always bothered me that I see people saying "always reblog" on gifsets or drawings but ignoring someone who just created a brand-new piece.

The same goes for writing. I see people say I just re-read this for the 4th time but won't take the time to read something someone recently wrote. People are actively killing fandoms while saying I don't understand why nobody posts anymore.

While I 100% get there being fics/art/gifsets that are iconic in certain fandoms but the truth is that people will not allow the space for anything new to be made recognized.

One of the things I have realized that happens a lot now is people just don't go to the tags. They don't. They wait for the people on their dash to reblog stuff. And what does that usually mean? That in fandoms with a few blogs everyone follows, those blogs basically dictate what makes it big or not in the fandom because it'll only be reblogged and shared if they reblog it. Now, I am by no means saying bigger blogs need to reblog anything they don't want just for the sake of it. What I mean is people don't go look for any fanart and fanfic that is newly released and even if they do, they will a lot of times wait for it to be "approved" by the bigger blogs before reblogging it.

You can also see this when it comes to fic recommendations. Its always the same 20 fics being recommended, usually all from the height of the fandom and the newer ones are always from the most popular blogs. People seem scared to read new stuff and give new authors a chance. Because they want new fics but they want new fics from a very specific group of people.

And then! Then it's the people who don't reblog, don't comment, don't say anything that will go "update?".

And I am going to be really honest here: if its fanart/fanfic you enjoy and that was just posted with little notes and your queue is months long..... just add it to the queue but still reblog it right away anyways. Especially if you dont plan on adding any tags/commentary. Just reblog it that moment. The fact I've had people ask me directly for fanart and then just leave a like without me knowing if its in the queue or they just decided their need to look at what I drew for them is done and no need for further action.

People have been asking you guys to reblog stuff. That not doing so is killing people's desire to share their art because things go forgotten 3 hours after its posted, if that long. Ficlets, doodles, all of those deserve to be shared. If you only reblog things that have been "approved" and fully polished or they aren't worth you sharing them, then you are co tributing to killing fandoms, you're telling the new writer and the new fanartist in the fandom "come back to me when you are a pro and maybe I'll consider you worth a reblog."

Go to the tags, and go look for fics without recommendations. Reblog traditional art and doodles. Im not saying reblog things you straight up dont enjoy. But while fandom is a personalized experience, dont let it be come to a point only what is considered worthy of being seen comes across your dash. Because you'll miss art and fics and gifsets and meta posts that you might enjoy that the people you follow simply didn't.

#letter opened #i am mostly in the clexa fandom so i can only talk more about it #and my own experience #and it becomes clear some of you enjoy my content but for any reason #thinking its cringe and people will think youre weird #you just wont share #because i see you guys reblogging more 'tamed' acceptable fics and fanart #but only like my stuff without reblogging #and if its pity likes: its okay you dont gotta do it #ignoreme.jpg #because this is more me ranting than anything else

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otherhearted-culture-is · 1 year

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ok, brand new here, i have a question. I don’t mean this to sound mean or judgy at all, I’m genuinely curious. I was in the furry community a few years back and I know a little about otherkin because the communities overlapped, and I’m wondering what are the differences between being otherkin and otherhearted? what does it mean to be otherhearted? from what I’ve seen so far it’s really varied and different from person to person, so I guess I’m asking with the second one what does it mean to you? what does it feel like to you, how did you discover/come to the decision to use the labels you do? what parts of you do you feel they describe?

of course you can just not answer this if you want or skip over certain question, I’m really sorry if any of these read like I’m judging, this is just the most concise way I could come up with to ask what I wanted to ask. thanks for reading all this, I hope you have a good day <3

Don't worry, you didn't come off as judgemental at all. These are good and thoughtful questions, and I'll do my best to address each one individually. I apologize if any of these explanations become too rambly. The 'tism compels me. You know how it is.

What is the difference between being otherkin and being otherhearted? This one is simple, or at least it is on paper. The difference is identifying with vs. identifying as; otherkin are their kintypes, while otherhearted folks are not their hearttypes. I say that this is simple on paper because while it's an easy enough difference to explain, otherhearted folks and otherkin can have plenty of experiences in common*, so it's not always easy to determine which one you are if you're questioning it. It's difficult to put into words what that crucial being factor actually feels like, after all. *Mental/phantom shifts, noemata, desiring to species transition in some way, etc.

What does being otherhearted mean to me, the mod of this blog? What does it feel like? This might be the hardest question of all of them, as 'heartedness is notoriously one of the hardest alterhuman experiences to put into words. Maybe it's different in other languages, but both the languages I happen to know feel poorly equipped for the task. Regardless, I'll do my best. It says in this blog's pinned post, but for those who aren't aware, my hearttypes are spiders and Kris Dreemurr from the game Deltarune. My otherheartedness in involuntary and a mix of familial attachment, "me but not literally", and being, I suppose, a "Kris-themed" and "spider-themed" person on some fundamental level. I care deeply about my hearttypes, I want to be associated with them as much as possible, and I am ontologically adjacent to them (… if that makes any sense at all). All this stuff sits right next to my literally being certain things on the metaphorical identity shelf, even though it's not in the same category. I don't really get full on hearttype-related shifts, but I do get random impulses related to them sometimes. I don't get any body dysphoria from them or deeply long to look like them as I do my kintypes, but I certainly wouldn't mind looking like them and I occasionally find myself wanting that a little bit. I've previously written an in-depth post about being spiderhearted specifically, which you can read here if you're so inclined. I won't rewrite everything I said there. I never got around to writing an equivalent post about being Krishearted, unfortunately. My feelings about Kris Dreemurr ended up being even harder to put into words than my feelings about spiders.

How did I arrive at the labels I use right now? Before I knew about the term otherhearted, I was struggling for months over whether or not I was spiderkin. Was I a Caribena versicolor? Maybe a Theraphosidae cladotherian? Hell, maybe I was a fucking Araneae cladotherian. Maybe I was just all the spiders. That's like, 50,000+ species, but there was no denying I felt some connection to all of them, and even to fictional spiders. But… none of these actually felt right. And yet, at the same time, there was something there. Just saying that spiders were my favorite animal was woefully inadequate. Sure, that's technically true, but that description was so shallow compared to what I actually felt that it was almost painful to say. I kind of gave up after a while. It seemed like there was no answer for whatever was going on there. I don't remember exactly how, but some time after that, I discovered the term otherhearted. That prompted me to start thinking about the spider thing again, and it did take some more internal debate, but not a whole lot. I pretty quickly arrived at the conclusion I was spiderhearted once I knew the term existed. When it comes to Kris, it all started as a flicker. If you're not familiar with the term flicker, they're basically like... temporary kintypes. Usually a flicker will occur shortly after consuming the source material, but in this case it was after I hyperfixated extremely hard on the source for over half a year straight. The flicker lasted a bit over a week, and occurred in November of last year. It was pretty easy to tell when the flicker had ended. I no longer felt the emotions associated with Kris' story as literally my own, it didn't feel unnatural to refer to them in third person anymore, I stopped having dysphoria about not being a boss monster, and I stopped being weirdly obsessed with knives. But my identity didn't completely revert. I was left with something that I now did know the word for: a hearttype.

What parts of me do those labels describe?

I suppose they describe my proximity to other things? There's not any specific "section" of myself that I can point to and say "it's that" like I can for something like gender, species, or narrative identity. Otherheartedness is unusual in that way- it's an internal identity that is related to something outside the self.

Thanks for reading this very long post. And to Anon, I hope it answered your questions to a satisfactory degree.

#otherhearted #otherkith #alterhuman #spiderhearted #fictionhearted #this is the longest post I've ever written I'm pretty sure? I had to cut a huge section out of it to get tumblr to even save it #not otherhearted culture #Q and A #information #anonymous

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natsspammityspamspamham · 1 year

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Social Anxiety and Pretty Privilege in Anime

Disclaimer: If you enjoy any of the following anime the way they are and do not want my take on this, feel free to skip this post. I'm not saying that any of these shows are bad in any way, but I will be looking at it from a viewer's perspective on how well it portrays social anxiety disorders. I do have social anxiety myself, but I am hardly the poster dino for it as the condition varies from person to person. This is just my own take on my own blog, and you're free to disagree, but I encourage you to do so respectfully as my feelings are easily hurt.

Some more anime were added below.

Anime Mentioned:

Komi-san wa, Comyushou desu.

Cool Doji Danshi

Romantic Killer

*(I did not finish Cool Doji Danshi or Komi-san season 2)

The Halo Effect: The halo effect is the tendency for positive impressions of a person, company, brand, or product in one area to positively influence one's opinion or feelings in other areas (Wikipedia). In this case, we will be looking at it in the case of people who are conventionally good-looking being seen more positively. This specificity also describes the popular term: Pretty Privilege.

Since this is the only anime in the list that I finished, I will start things off here. Romantic Killer does a great job portraying symptomology of social anxiety even if it would more closely resemble PTSD in this character's case (although I'm not an expert on the topic). His behaviours and responses change his everyday life, and when it's revealed why he reacts in certain ways, it is not romanticized in any way. It's not played for giggles. If anything, it subverts the trope of the "cool guy" to a whole new level. I'm not saying that shows need to get on his level of backstory (because quite frankly, I don't want every show I'm watching to turn into a psychological thriller in the last few episodes), but I like how this show interprets the symptomology of a panic attack in a way that feels incredibly realistic. For a show that is literally 99% comedy, they certainly got me there.

I get what Cool Daji Danshi is trying to go for, and I do support it even if I can't get behind it or agree with it. Cool Doji Danshi goes with the approach of "These guys are clumsy and make mistakes, but they deal with it in different ways!" I watched the first four episodes to get a feel on what the show was trying to get at and what each of the guy was supposed to represent. The running theme seems to be that besides their social awkwardness and clumsiness all of them are conventionally good-looking in their universe, and people around them react unusually understanding and well because of it. People like me, not conventionally attractive with social anxiety, do not get this luxury whatsoever. If I mess up, it isn't an "oh, he's so cool even when he's absent-minded!" it's a "Never do that shit again. It's embarrassing, dude.", an incredibly judgemental stare, or just the conveyed emotions of absolute pity.

The same thing goes for Komi-san. Komi-san is described as a beautiful ethereal being, and everyone in the whole universe of that anime knows that. This is essentially Cool Doji Danshi's issue for me and cranking it up to a comedic level while consolidating all of it into one character. When I'm nonverbal, unable to speak, and sweating in social situations, it makes the atmosphere awkward. It makes things uncomfortable, and I know that this anime is built on overly exaggerated tropes, but I can't agree with a portrayal that uses the disorder for comedic effect. It just doesn't work for me. Nothing about these experiences is funny, and while there is a time and place to laugh at yourself, this show just felt exhausting to the point of being exploitative towards the disorder.

I wanted to focus on anime that are mostly framed around less heavy and more comedic tones (I swear, Romantic Killer is usually funny and lighthearted). There are other shows that tackle this too that I didn't mention like Welcome to the NHK or the notorious Watamote. There are other more serious anime that take on similar topics such as A Silent Voice and Anohana, but those are far from comedic.

As someone who runs into hurdles and difficulties daily due to social anxiety, it's nice to know that there is representation for people like me. However, I feel that some of these works shift the tone to comedic by making sure that those with social anxiety as an MC or lead character are inherently attractive. To me, social anxiety isn't being perceived as "cool and stoic" with a side of cute awkwardness. It can lead to you making bad social decisions, having a damaged perception of how the outside world looks, and it can seriously impede your everyday life (seriously, failed my driving test twice because I couldn't stop shaking and crying due to a stranger sitting in the car with me). It's not pretty, it's hardly comedic, and it would sure be nice to have a more mainstream show that shows that people with social anxiety can grow with the proper help and support without being born with good looks.

EDIT: Some more anime that came from Anon and my personal viewing.

Tsuritama was a fun watch! I don't remember a ton since I watched it years ago, but it is a relatable representation of what it feels like to drown in anxiety. It's also wacky. I never thought I'd like the duck that much.

I didn't watched Ookiku Furikabutte because I'm not a sports anime person, but I hear it's good!

Bocchi the Rock was not only a great watch, but I found it was an extremely accurate representation as well! Even though it was played off for comedic purposes, I can't say that it wasn't accurate to my being (seriously, even the exaggerated bits were a bit too much like me). Sure, it's an anime that's supposed to be marketed on "cute girls doing cute things", but it never actually says that social anxiety is cute. Heck, it even distinguishes the difference between introversion and social anxiety!

((That's me with my double bass. I hate it (joking)))

#social anxiety #mental health #anime #komi san wa komyushou desu #komi san has a communication disorder #cool doji danshi #romantic killer

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panchambro · 8 months

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An In-Depth Story of my Pancham OC and a Major Rebrand

It has been 5 years since I first adopted my Pancham OC, and while he has changed over the years, he still represents me. Because, well, he is me.

To honor this occasion, I have drawn a new version of me as summer draws to a close. This is also a blog post explaining the history of my OC, so keep reading if ya will :P

You may have remember my Tumblr post explaining my 10 year history on the internet, and my history with different aliases over the years. That also reflected with how I chose to represent myself.

Not long after I joined on February 17, 2013, I chose to based my identity around the Koopa Bros., for a reason. The group grabbed my attention in their appearance in Super Mario Bros. Z, a flash animation by Mark Haynes that crossed Mario and Sonic characters with elements from Dragon Ball Z.

From their first appearance in Episode 4 to their um...untimely death in Episode 6, I was so rooted for the Koopa Bros. in the flash animations that I didn't realize they were originally from Paper Mario. Once I found out presumably on Super Mario Wiki, well I got into the Paper Mario series of games. They were a no-brainer as the characters I chose to represent myself...except...well...

So let me try to explain this green monstrosities. I chose the name "The Zombie Bros." because...um...I made the Koopa Bros. zombies...for reasons. It's merely swapping the yellow and white in their sprite for green, as I wasn't invested in doing art back in the day.

After this I stayed out of making any more OCs that represented me, either using an existing character (e.g. Pinkie Pie, the Koopa Bros., and later Sans) or just using letters (as seen below).

There was a My Little Pony OC that I did make...but unless you knew me as Creeperfan, you knew that I never got around into implementing him at all.

Like while I made this design myself and publicize him actually, I never used him much, I stuck with using Spike as my main representation throughout my time as a brony.

By 2017 though, I was starting to take drawing as a hobby, but for the most part the OCs during that year that represented me was any version of Sans, whether that be from a AU or not. One Sans version that I used to represent me was this take of Sans with Cappy on his head, which I did twice in that same year.

But while I did enjoy Cappy!Sans, they didn't stick as long as possible. But into August 2018, I had gotten off being represented as Tough Bippy and was into being Chespin. I was looking up Chespin related stuff on the internet, and came across Pancham.

To be more specific, it was Serena's Pancham, but regardless of what Pancham it was, this character got me really invested, and all the love I took with Chespin, from instances in Smash Bros...well...I dropped it all in favor of Pancham. The two were rivals in the anime anyways, so...I guess I skewed the results heheh...

And it couldn't have come at a perfect time, because I wanted to do a OC of Pancham. And I did! Red glasses and all! On August 27, 2018, exactly 5 years ago, I made a Pancham OC and slowly embraced him as my own.

From that point forwards, Pancham (later renamed PanchamBro) become the embodiment of me as a whole. In spite of a break during 2019 when I became Scorbunny/Raboot/Cinderace, I still somewhat represented myself as a Pancham, and Pancham (the Pokémon) remains one of my favorite Pokémon out there.

The Pokémon's namesake would inspire me to brand myself as "PanchamBro" on January 11, 2020, which then became the name of my Pancham OC...and in retrospect to me in regards to my internet identity.

Of course, with time my design has changed. I used to see myself with red glasses until December 2020. Then I began to swear clothing, just slightly.

My green sweater was drawn out of necessity for a New Year's Day art that depicts a funny in there, but now it's my default outfit.

My summer outfit consist of a white shirt and green shorts, and just this year I introduced a scarf, one that bore the Gay MLM Pride Flag colors.

A hole in the leaf was added just around the end of 2022, being a symbol for my Nookipedia presence.

And on my sweater itself, I added a badge with the Gay MLM Pride Flag, as I was proud to be gay, albeit in secret, but proud. I'm happy for the changes that I've made to my sona.

In celebration of my sona becoming 5 years old, I decided to do a major rebrand. If you haven't noticed, I've been slowly adopting a unified color base for all the accounts I have, whether that be on Twitter or YouTube.

This is what I've come up with.

These are five major colors to which they shall be used to represent me in appropriate conditions. Ideally they should be shown against a dot pattern backdrop and a gradient, but how this gradient looks varies.

You can actually see this already set in motion (except for Red, but we won't talk about that for now).

On Twitter, the banners for PanchamBro and CinderaceBro show this color preset in motion.

And on YouTube, you can see my sona being depicted differently with the color choice also reflecting this change.

Now what I hope from now is that my presence can at least have a sense of unity, if only to make sure people know what I am and what I do for a living. I've been planning this for a while now, but only got off the ground last week.

These past 5 years have given me a chance to grow my OC, and I can't thank everyone for giving me their spirit and inspiration to make my OC a somewhat bashful little fuck. Here's hoping in 5 more years, I start to grow a beard.

#art #digital art #pancham #pokemon #oc #pokemon oc #rebrand #story #oc story #art evolution #panchambrodraws

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hidekomoon · 2 months

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How do u do these redesigns?

hi! firstly thank you for asking this, i Love questions

i mainly used canva, and the majority of the elements you see on them are copyright-free pictures available without the canva premium subscription. the rest are paramore photoshoots, some photos i found on tumblr, and a collage of mine that i made a few months ago.

it took me a lot of time to make them all, i spent hours looking for pictures that fit the vibe i wanted for each paramore album & inspired me. I think the riot! album was the one i struggled with the most, i'm still not entirely satisfied with it... to give you an idea of how i worked, here are some first drafts:

i had already picked the photoshoot for the self-titled redesign but it was much simpler, just the picture, a "film" filter, and the paramore logo (if you need me to show you how to make a logo transparent to use it somewhere else, just ask)

and for the brand new eyes one, at first i thought i was going to manually create all these "ripped" pictures of eyes (for the 5 eyes you see here, i picked full pictures of eyes, cut them using photopea, then added between 5 and 10 long pictures of ripped paper that i found on canva. that took me a while and i didn't even end up using it lmao). in the end i found a collage of eyes that i made in october/november and i just took a picture of that because it was way more harmonious. those eyes were from paper magazines. also you can see that when i gave up on this first idea i kept the maps background for my riot redesign.

i looooved this after laughter logo that i made but overall it was too simple a design for my taste so i redid everything. the original idea was to have a kind of postcard vibe, as you can see on the back of the album, but i couldn't find a way to keep the picture and the text in a harmonious way, and by the time i found a solution i had started the finished version you've seen on my blog, so.

now for the detail that ties everything together: the text on the back. I simply copied word for word everything that's written on my copies of each album (i own all of them except for awkif, but it's easy to find online). i found the logos online & i took photos of the actual barcodes.

what else can i say? sometimes i tried to pick the same fonts as the original album cover, and i looked up fan forums who had already answered that question. i browsed tumblr a lot to find the various photoshoots i used. i played a LOT with the canva tool that lets you modify a picture, specifically the colors in the picture, in order to make everything harmonious. and when i needed to make something transparent, i used photopea (which is kinda like photoshop, but free)

do you have a question about an edit in particular? because i'd love to go into more detail if you're interested. if i have one advice to give, it's to go crazy with it: you can literally make anything you want. & if you ever make your own redesigns i'd love to see them!!

#ask #paramore #pmorealbums*

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20dollarlolita · 2 years

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Found your blog, cool stuff and guides, but getting anxious. I've always wanted to get into Lolita, don't know a whole lot of specifics but admire from afar. But your talks of what the community will or won't accept reminds me that I am naturally unfeminine. My facial hair alone needs shaving every morning because I'm stubby by the afternoon, I don't know how to do makeup and it's sensory hell for me. I've never performed femininity, even for like school dances, because my body precludes me from it, and I guess Lolita became this dream of wearing the stuff I've wanted to all along.

So, I guess what I'm saying is... Should I just drop the idea, at least insofar as taking part in the community? If people are going to judge for things like chokers or types of lace, I don't see how I'd be remotely accepted as someone that can dress fem and still be mistaken for being a guy.

You've got two issues you've brought up here. The first is the way that the lolita community generally treats the "rules" of lolita, or what we do and don't accept in the fashion. The second is about finding acceptance in the lolita community, even if you don't present in a way that's traditionally feminine. Let's look at both of those, starting with the first one.

The vast majority of the lolita community is very aware of the difference between giving concrit like, "you should get a different necklace," and the shitty comments like, "have you tried getting a new face?" We build coordinates the way we build IKEA cabinets or draw a picture of a house. We put them together and then ask, "Does this look right?" or "how can I make this look more real?" On this blog, I make posts to answer questions people might have, or to bring up points that other people might not have seen. All of these things that we get picky about on this blog are elements of things you build or craft or create. You're making an outfit. You're making a thing.

People who are not assholes understand that most people are not building or crafting or tailoring their bodies the way we build/craft/tailor our inanimate objects. We don't pick out what body we start with. Altering our bodies takes a long time, and no one should be obligated to do that just to wear clothing. It's pretty unanimous in the mainstream western lolita community that giving "concrit" (in quotes because it's not really what concrit is) about something someone can't change exists somewhere in the spectrum between rude and bullying.

As a tip to people who follow this blog, if you see someone critiquing someone's body instead of someone's outfit, dropping the comment of, "Wow, that's pretty rude," actually does a whole lot of good for everyone involved. Do that.

I'm not going to say that if you want to participate in the lolita community, you will find universal acceptance. A lot of people who don't look like the models that the big brands use to advertise their new releases will find that there's some parts of the fashion that are more difficult for them. A lot of brands don't specifically cater to people who aren't the standard size they've decided they use. This has gotten better over the years, but size discrimination is still a thing.

You don't actually need to join a lolita community, if you don't want to. For a long time, I made handmade lolita garments and just wore them for a couple of pictures in my selfie hallway. I'd put them on tumblr and get very little notice, but I liked how I looked in those clothes and so I'd make more of them. I had a couple of lolita friends and we'd talk about the fashion online. I posted and got some feedback in a cosplay.com thread, which wasn't a lolita-themed space. I wore it to conventions like a cosplay instead of like a fashion. And the thing about this that made a difference to me was that, when I decided I did want to join a mainstream community, I'd already had some experience what what I could and couldn't make and what I did and didn't like.

By the way, it's actually very common in outfit shots to block your face either with your phone or with a sticker, so if you have facial hair and don't like makeup, you can still participate in the online community without having to change that.

So my advice to you is to look for high-quality lolita pieces made by legitimate lolita brands. You don't need to spend a lot of money, but don't buy from Amazon, don't buy anything labeled with or reminiscent of the term "sissy". Go onto places where people freely post lolita coordinates, like instagram and lookbook, and search tags of brand names. You get much better results when you search #babythestarsshingbright than you do with just a #lolita search. Find a dress that you like, and see how other people coordinated it. Check all the components of their outfits and see if you can put similar components into your coordinate. I've found that people from the lolita community react more positively to a coordinate if the person posting knows the right terms (coordinate/jsk/op/some brand names/etc), and follows the convention of posting their pronouns and then posting what brand the parts of the coordinates are from. If someone who is appropriating lolita fashion terms and styling for fetish reasons tries to join a legitimate lolita community just to get their rocks off, they usually don't do that standard way of interacting with the group, so doing the pronouns+coord rundown shows that you've done some research about how coordinates are usually posted to social media.

You're totally welcome to just wear lolita for your own sake. There's plenty of places to post a look online that aren't lolita-specific, but where lolita fashion is accepted positively by the average viewer. You could even make a separate account on instagram or facebook or twitter or wherever you'd like to, and just post pictures of your coordinates with your face censored. There's a lot of ways to participate in parts of the lolita fashion without diving straight in to very critical groups like BSoLF or Rufflechat or CoF.

Thank you for sending this ask in. I know that other people have similar questions and that it's a difficult thing to ask.

On things like this, please come back in a couple of days and check out the notes. The 20dollarlolita reader community is pretty great about adding information that I didn't think to add.

#ask #anon #lolita outsiders #lone lolita #bsolf is big sisters of lolita fashion #rufflechat is a general lolita chat group #cof is closet of frills #all of these are facebook groups that require you to have a coord to be let in #so just making coords you like for fun can actually help you find a lolita community #do what makes you feel beautiful

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