#thrift finds!!! and the scissors still work

[orphicss]

#thrift finds!!! and the scissors still work #if it's silver and shiny i will steal it #like the evil magpie i am #orphicss talk

[vampire-meta-knight]

Let's Make Cute Sweaters!!!

Listen up Tumblr, your local goth is going to teach you how to make an applique and sew it onto a sweater or sweatshirt.

Yeah, my pumpkin's wonky, but he's my Special Little Guy, and I love him.

I used plain, Time And Tru sweatshirts from Walmart that only cost about $10, but you can easily thrift a sweater or use one you already have that needs a little spice. The tombstone is made with felt, and the pumpkin is made from a plaid fat quarter--I will explain both methods, as they differ slightly.

Felt (the easiest): Find or draw a template (I searched tombstone templates for mine), cut it out, then use it to cut out the same shape from your felt of choice. If you want to embroider any details on your applique, like I did with the RIP and cracks, do that before sewing it onto the sweater. Put the sweater on and pin the applique where you want it to sit (doesn't have to be on the center--you could easily do elbow patches or a little patch off to the side), then do a blanket stitch by hand around the border for a decorative, clean way to attach it. I used 4 strands of embroidery floss in a contrasting color on the tombstone and six strands on the pumpkin--I think four works perfectly fine and is a little less bulky. Embroidery floss comes in every color imaginable and is pretty cheap, so you can experiment with color combos or even use multiple colored threads. You're welcome to play around with stitches and find something that works for you if you don't like the look of the blanket stitch, you can use a sewing machine instead, or you can safety-pin or fabric-glue the applique on if sewing isn't for you.

Optional: I sewed lace trim around the neckline and added a tiny bow for extra cuteness. If you're going to add lace trim, keep in mind that unless you're using stretchy lace, it'll hinder the stretch of the sweater. To mitigate this, I stretched the neckline a bit as I sewed and used a zig-zag stitch with my machine (you can sew it on by hand, too, just using wider stitches). I also must mention that the neckline on this sweater was decently wide without stretching, so even though it can't stretch as far anymore, it's no trouble getting it over my head. If you're using something with a tighter neckline, or tight cuffs on the sleeves, that really needs to stretch, then use stretchy lace or none at all. Bows are still something you can add that won't affect the stretch, so go wild with bows, buttons, safety pins, and all manner of little trinkets!

Cotton: The attachment process is still the same as the felt method, but making the applique is a little different. Since cotton isn't as sturdy as felt, and it frays, you need to prepare it differently. Before you cut out your shape, iron on lightweight fusible interfacing (sold at Walmart--make sure it's compatible with woven fabric if your fabric isn't stretchy and knit fabric if it is). I've made appliques without interfacing before, but they'll hold their shape much better and be sturdier if you do use it, so I recommend taking the couple extra minutes to iron it on. On the wrong side of your fabric, iron on a patch of interfacing large enough to fit your shape, let it cool, and then cut out your shape. I used an X-acto knife to cut out the face of the jack-o-lantern, which did pretty well, but did cause a bit of fraying that I cleaned up with my fabric scissors. To seal the edges, you can sew a zig-zag stitch around them, use an overlocker/serger, or use Fray-Check or fabric glue. I chose to do a zig-zag stitch so it'd be less noticeable under my blanket stitch, but I've used my serger in the past, and it looks nice, too--especially if you use a contrasting color. Now the process is exactly the same as the felt one.

Remember, it's perfectly okay if it has that "homemade look," and it doesn't need to look perfect or symmetrical, by any means! This is about having a fun little project to do while watching a show or some YouTube videos and sipping on some hot cocoa, knowing that you'll get a cute new sweater out of it that'll be unique and your own. And it's also okay to use it as stay-at-home lounge wear if it looks as wonky as Mr. Crooked Smile the pumpkin over there. Have fun, learn new techniques, and make happy little accidents!

Happy crafting!

#diy advice from your local goth #goth #goth subculture #gothgoth #goth diy #goth fashion #diy #diy fashion #crafting #sewing #sewing tutorial #diy tutorial #mine

[chronicas]

Okay just because this has been on my mind for weeks now. You should never have to choose between food and rent. One, if such a choice comes up, always choose rent, obviously. BUT if not being able to afford food is the problem, there are options. Sorry this post got so long it wasn’t meant to..

Apologies in advance I only know how this works in America, but it’s likely your country has something similar. What you’ve gotta do for this is go to your state government page and find your state’s food assistance program, SNAP, Food Stamps, whatever it is, find that and apply. You’ll probably get around $250 a month for a single household. If you’re low income, you should be eligible. If you’re on SSI/SSDI or Medicaid, you are almost certainly eligible. On top of that you gotta find a local food bank. They might ask you for your income, but they likely won’t bar you from their services if they’re a good food bank. This is a good place to get any kind of canned food and pasta, but good food banks will likely also have meat, eggs, and milk. A lot of food banks have even started delivering straight to your home. I’ve also worked with a lot of Churches to get food. I’m sure plenty of Synagogs and other religions orgs have similar programs, but it depends on how well funded they are.

Use any money you save from this for your fresh produce, but I recommend getting frozen vegetables as they have just as much nutrients as fresh produce would. I also recommend getting an instant pot or slow cooker if you can afford it. Thrift stores might have some that still work decently. I got my instant pot and my slow cooker second hand from family members so I got lucky, but if you can afford them they’re seriously a life saver.

My biggest recommendations of food to keep on hand is bread and stuff you like on sandwiches, always have eggs, always have rice, and always have some frozen vegetables. Invest in spices wherever you can, you can make a lot or really delicious meals that are super simple just by having some good seasonings. If you get on food assistance, spices are covered by that, basically everything consumable is except alcohol.

Spices I recommend to keep on hand: Sea Salt, Black Pepper, Basil, Thyme, Oregano, Ginger, Red Pepper, Garlic, Onion, any Umami/Mushroom Blend, Rosemary, Marjoram, Sage. That’s everything I use for 90% of my meals.

Also grow your own food! Mainly herbs! The easiest one to start with is green onions, you can buy some from the store, put the bottoms in a small cup with just enough water to reach the roots, let the roots grow a bit then put them in soil after about a week. Basil, thyme, parsley, and rosemary are my other favorites to grow. You can get a devoted pair of kitchen scissors to just cut your herbs directly into whatever you’re cooking! If you have enough space and time on your hands I really recommend growing tomatoes and bell peppers!! Feel free to ask me about gardening!

My Favorite Easy Meals:

Spaghetti with meat sauce: Get canned tomato sauce and diced tomatoes, mix those in a pan and add as many spices as you want until you like the flavor, you can look online for common spaghetti sauce seasonings. Get some ground beef (btw meat can be frozen indefinitely) and cook that up then throw it in your sauce. Cook noodles while you’re doing that, the whole process shouldn’t take more than an hour if you have an extra pair of hands, hour and a half if you’re by yourself at max.

Teriyaki Chicken: Easiest thing ever, just buy some chicken strips and some teriyaki sauce, marinate that shit then pop it in the oven for like around 20min or until it’s cooked to 165°F.

Egg Fried Rice: One of my favorite easy meals. Pop the (WASHED!!) rice in an instant pot or rice cooker (if you don’t have either a pot with a lid will work fine!), toss in about a tablespoon of mirin in with your rice then let it do it’s thing following instructions. About 15min before your rice is done throw some frozen vegetables in a pan (whatever kind of vegetables you like!! It really doesn’t matter!) cook those a little, put em aside in a bowl. Then take some eggs, scramble em in the same pan, put aside. Throw your cooked rice in the pan then add soy sauce, red pepper, umami blend, and any other spices you’d like (but no salt! There’s plenty of sodium in the soy sauce!).Then add your ingredients you put to the side. If you add enough eggs or are just tired, this can be it’s own meal! Or you can have it as a side with teriyaki chicken or anything else you think it’d taste good with!

Ramen: Get a bunch of packs of cheap ramen noodles but don’t use the soup packet. Make your own soup with any kind of broth (chicken or seafood works best, but just pick a favorite), add a tablespoon of soy sauce to a cup of broth, a teaspoon of mirin to cup of broth, some minced ginger (or powered) to taste, any spices you want (I like to add the mushroom blends and some seaweed flakes), cook the noodles for the recommended time in the broth then add an egg cooked in any style you want. You can get fancy with a soft boiled egg, but those take a while to learn to get right. I normally fry my eggs. And if you have any ham or beef strips those also go good with it! Top it with green onions! Takes about 45 minutes roughly.

Omelet: Whisk some eggs in a cup and add some spices (and fresh green onions if you want!), throw it in a pan, add any cheese, meat, or veggies you like on it (I like cheddar, bell peppers, and bacon in mine) then wait for it to cook on one side then fold it in half, after it’s cooked on one of the half sides, flip it over to get the other side, you can stab it in the middle to see if it’s fully cooked in the center. Takes less than 20 minutes.

Buttered Potatoes: You can get some small potatoes, cut em up, throw them in an oven-safe dish with some butter (1/4-1/2 a stick depending on how many potatoes you’re making), salt, rosemary, and black pepper. Cook them in the oven on like 350°F for about 25-30min. You can use this as a side with any kind of meat or anything else you feel it’d go good with! Sometimes it just makes a good snack as leftovers.

Things you can cook up and add to other stuff: cook a bunch of bacon and you can crumble it into stuff like omelets, mac ‘n cheese, salads!

Feel free to ask me for cooking advice! It’s one of my favorite things to do and there’s a good chance I can help you figure out how to make something. I’m happy to help talk to you about dietary restrictions and substitutes also!

I do all this and never spend a penny from my paycheck on my food! Good food is obtainable! Look online for more recipes or try and use some of these methods to enhance a simple recipe you already know!

And remember to fight to keep food assistance programs open and available! It’s an insanely valuable resource for folks in poverty! If your local government acts against these programs, speak up against them! If you can, please donate to your food bank and ask them what kind of food they need. Volunteer with them also if you can!

#Food. So important guys. Like for real. #This is all based off stuff I personally do but there’s obviously sooooo much more you can do. #ophidian lore

[dollclockheart]

A story about finding a peculiar bracelet and the consequences that follow.

Tags: Suffocation, TF, ASFR, Dubcon, 2nd Person POV

Thrifting can be exciting and you can find yourself with plenty of great deals. Something that was found in a deal bin was a peculiar bracelet that caught your attention. One made of fine lace and sporting a lovely bow. Not usually something you would purchase, but was something bought anyways. 

Following the fate of so many other trinkets, the bracelet found its place amidst the clutter of the desk. Yet, something about this one calls like a siren. Eyes glance closer whenever entering your peripheral. Such a beautiful bracelet would look really nice on your wrist. Truly.

Snuggly wrapping itself around your forearm, slipping on so well. A crawling sense of unease tingles down your spine. Flexing, closing and opening your hand, the bracelet is not cutting off circulation, but tighter than expected. Maybe needing to be worn in, it’s not worth the attention. 

Sitting back at your desk, losing yourself in whatever is your most recent hyperfixation, stimming slightly without a care in the world. Or, that is what would be hoped for, the fingers close to the bracelet begin to weigh; such an insignificant amount of effort is needed, but the feeling adds up. The bracelet starts to feel really tight on your wrist, refusing to loosen. A brief hunt for scissors and an attempt followed quickly by a horrified snapping. There was quite a bit of effort to even get the scissors under the bracelet, but the metal snapped like brittle glass when the blades tried to rejoin. 

The weight spreads to the palm, your hand doesn’t really have a resting position anymore, upon losing focus the hand returns to exactly in the position that it was left in. From a sprint to the kitchen, you grab the small paring knife on the counter and attempt to cut straight down, if this is cutting off circulation there’s no time. Nails on a chalkboard, dragging a knife against your skin doesn’t cut, but glides right off, like cutting onto a plate. The noise is so piercing, you can’t wince and grit your teeth hard enough, dropping the knife.

A cursory investigation of the wrist underneath leads to finding that your skin is hard and smooth. The knuckles between your digits are sunken in, same with the ball of your wrist. Was this bracelet cursed? What’s happening? Can this be removed? Can this be undone?

Do you want it und- of course you do. Why would that even be a question? Why was that even considered? 

The feeling crawls up your arm, creeping and spreading. First enveloping the surface, seeping further in the longer the feeling remains. To your chest now. The tips of your fingers are now rock hard, tapping against things with a soft ring. The capacitive screen of a phone no longer detects them, requiring your other hand. 

Searching up terms about cursed objects, a cursed bracelet, anything! Yet, there’s nothing you can find to make sense of this. This couldn’t possibly be real, right?

The discomfort in your chest continues. Compression from the once supple skin turns to a hard unyielding porcelain. 

Panicked and hyperventilating you to hold onto the counter; you need to focus, to calm. Breathing becomes strained; each breath isn't enough. 

Breathe in, your lungs strain against your chest, your hands instinctively clawing at yourself to free yourself. 

Breathe out, relief, comfort, you can get through this. 

Breathe in, stretch your chest, bucking it back and forth compelled by desperation for air. 

It hurts. 

Breathe out, this can still be reversed, there must be a way, a curse can be undone, that’s how these sorts of things work! Breathe in... Breathe in… Breathe… in? A sudden stillness, then a realization, the following attempted scream is airless and silent. 

Suffocation.

The blurring of vision followed by a loud thump. A body begging for air is curled up on the floor. A body without its breath of life. Yet you remain awake. Aware. 

The pain in your chest worsens, the panicked heart beating heavily, weighed down by the stress and porcelain. Soon this is too much, your heart stops, a doll doesn’t have need for either blood or a heart. A doll’s hand pathetically clutching against its chest, desperate to regain that feeling.

What would happen if the curse stopped now? That question lingers in your head, carrying unsaid insidious thoughts with it.

Your mouth opens trying to intake air, you’ve been breathing all your life, it's instinctual. An overt dryness causes you to close your mouth to rewet it- it won’t open again. Sitting up and propping yourself against the counter on the floor, your legs have followed the same fate as the initial arm, soon the other arm will as well.

Moving now is like wading through mud. It’s unnatural. It’d be better to be still, would it not?

Glassy eyes stare outwards, blinking is unneeded so that too is taken away. Your sense of touch is hazy, texture is much less noticeable, but there is enough to feel your hair. The strands of hair feel infinitely softer, fine silk threaded onto a doll’s head, perfectly maintained. 

An olympic effort was required to crawl up to your feet. Walking is much more unbalanced, porcelain feet no longer feel flex as easily, nor do they have as much traction as before. A faux-simulacrum of yourself stares back in the mirror. Porcelain skin sheens in the light of the bathroom. 

A form shifted and changed, dreamy almost. Minor things you would have never truly voiced have been tweaked in a way that just improves you. Another feeling arises in your still chest. Shaking your head to perish the thought, but that is useless. Unable to close your eyes and unable to push away the revelation.

This form is comfortable, isn’t it?

#erohorror #tf #doll tf #doll #asfr #horror #suffocation #curses #writing #dubcon #transformation

[myloveforhergoeson]

That's All She Wrote - Chapter 25

Chapter Index

Find me on wattpad + ao3

Chapter 25: Living Dead Girl (2.5) ~ 12k

It wasn’t often Roxy came home from a long day so tired she had fallen asleep in the middle of a task. However, between her date with James and her hour-long FaceTalk with Jo to decide on a Halloween costume for her and Kendall’s party tomorrow night, the writer had been beyond exhausted, accidentally going to bed clutching the piece she had been working so hard on. 

After finally finding the time to have a dish session about her newfound relationship with James, and having enough information to exchange to hear all about Jo’s last date with Kendall, the FaceTalk was just what she needed. Roxy hardly cared anymore about what Camille might think, considering the two were still on the outs, so she decided not to let that be a determining factor in her relationship with Jo either. Camille would hear about all of it sooner or later - Once she felt confident enough to march to her friend’s door and issue a great big apology for breaking the unspoken girl code. 

They’d stayed on the phone far past Jo’s assigned curfew, whispering ever so quietly to keep her dad from hearing her as the pair pulled items from their closets to try and put together a makeshift Halloween costume for the party the boys were putting on for Roxy and Kendall. 

While Jo hadn’t found anything to her liking, much preferring to hear all the juicy details about why her best friend had been kicked out of Griffith Observatory, Roxy had discovered an old, white, forgotten dress she had picked up at one of her favorite thrift stores a few hours over from Duluth in Anoka, Minnesota after a small day trip with her dad. 

The floral lace designs across the portrait neckline bodice had called her name, though the skirt was far too long for her liking, extending almost down beyond her ankles. When she purchased it, at the low price point of five whole dollars thanks to a wine stain by the left shoulder, she had full intentions to alter it to fit her height better to wear to a school dance eventually, but never got around to it. All she could manage at the time was an impressive stain removal thanks to some bleach and detergent. 

Roxy hadn’t remembered packing it to take with her to California, but she was glad she did; As she told Jo about the beautiful charms James had gifted her, she took a pair of kitchen scissors to the fabric, cutting the intricately designed skirt up to look frighteningly tattered and damaged. 

Maybe I’ll drag the bottom through Palm Woods Park in the morning to dirty it up, she had told herself as she finally tried on her creation to show off to Jo. That’ll make me look even more like a ghost girl.

With her friend’s seal of approval on her alterations, the pair finally hung up the phone after the blonde mentioned speaking to Camille about her immense costume wardrobe. Just the thought of those two interacting, plus Roxy’s long day, had tired the girl out enough to sleep like the dead.

***

Glancing over at her bedside clock as her eyes slowly fluttered open, Roxy learned it was well past noon, so it would probably be a good idea to go check in with the boys to see if they needed any help setting up for the party. Getting out of bed was easy thanks to her excitement, though the writer was dismayed to find out she had fallen asleep in her dress.

Hopefully, I didn’t wrinkle the train… She thought, absentmindedly puffing the fabric up with both of her hands. No use in changing now if I’m just going to change later. Besides, so many actors live here anyway, it’s not like I’ll look out of place.

As she passed by her mirror, she noticed the state of disarray her hair was in from rolling over her covers all night and gently smoothed it out with her fingers as best she could, taking in the sight of the rest of her features. Forgetting to wash her face had done a number on her makeup, but the dark, black circles around her eyes from the crumbling mascara and leftover eyeshadow mixing actually added to her spooky costume. 

I can always redo it later…

As her eyes fanned out to the rest of her costume, it had turned out beautifully; The length of the dress and the way the strips of fabric curled around the floor almost gave off the illusion she was really a floating ghost. 

There was just one small issue - well, honestly, a rather large one - as her gaze popped back up to her neckline. Almost as fresh as the day she had bought the dress, the stain dripping down the shoulder was back, though, instead of the deep crimson color she remembered extensively scrubbing away at, this new stain was tinted a much darker brown. 

That can’t be…blood? Inching closer to the mirror, she pulled her hair off her shoulder, examining her skin around the site of the dress’ discoloration to find it perfectly smooth. I’d be…

Roxy couldn’t stand to finish the thoughts she had about a potential blood stain that considerable dried up on the side of her clothing. I must have spilled my soda while I was working.

It was at this time, that she caught note of something else as she looked back at her reflection in the mirror. The necklace her father had bought her was tightly clasped around her neck, proudly displaying the heart pendant, but the three charms her boyfriend had given her last night weren’t dangling beside it. 

Instantly, her hand flew to her chest, too terrified to even feel her heart skip a beat.

“No, no, no…” She muttered, trying to keep herself from falling into a full-blown panic attack. For a moment, she felt like she didn’t even need to breathe as she moved back to her bed, searching over the covers to see if they had accidentally broken off. “I knew I shouldn’t have slept in this…”

When she couldn’t find any of the charms on her covers, or the surrounding floor, she reached for her red duvet to pull it back…. And her hand went straight through.

She stopped. 

She stared at her completely vanished fingers.

She almost cried at the tingling sensation running up to her wrist, like her entire hand had lost circulation and fell asleep.

So, Roxy did what any rational person would have done - Pulled her hand up, wiggled her fingers around for a moment to wake them up, and reached for the covers again. 

Same result; Her hand sailed right through the comforter as if it wasn’t even there. 

Once again, it felt like her fingers were growing numb, but this time, she couldn’t pull away. Mind completely blank as she blinked a few times, the only thing she could focus on was the sound of someone screaming. 

It wasn’t until a few moments later, when she heard the door connecting her apartment to 2-J open, then her bedroom door as Kendall, Logan, Carlos, and James came barreling into her room, did Roxy realize she was the one who was screaming. 

“Roxy! What’s-” James, dressed in one of the most ornate gothic costumes the writer had ever seen, looked concerningly toward her, then to the hand she had lost to her bed before breathing out a sigh of relief. “Don’t scare us like that! You had us thinking that the spider was back…”

“Scare you?! Spider?!” The girl spat back, utterly confused, as she slowly realized Logan and Carlos were in their costumes too. “My bed is… a hologram or something! And- and I lost-”

Helplessly, she wiggled her arm around to show off her new vanishing ability, emphasizing the point she was trying to make about her strange situation. As if the covers weren’t even there, her hand easily cut through the space in which her mattress was, despite it looking as solid as it had the day she arrived in Los Angeles. 

“Ooh! Hologram is a new one!” Laughed Kendall, bundled up in as many layers of clothing as he could comfortably fit in, as though they were back in their hometown - freezing cold Anoka, Minnesota. “I think you said illusion the last few times.”

Anoka… We’re from Anoka?

Roxy didn’t know what was worse: This prank or her inability to believe her own intuitive memory and recall information as basic as her hometown. 

With a nod, Logan, made up as though he were a zombie, agreed, “It was ‘smoke and mirrors’ at one point I think…”

“For the love of God,” Roxy pleaded, earning a hiss from James on her last word. That little move allowed her to notice two large, porcelain fangs hanging where his canines should be. Had she not been so presently terrified, she probably would’ve been all over him by now if he planned to continue wearing his vampire attire. “Will the four of you tell me what’s going on, please? I don’t mind when you play tricks on Gustavo or Bitters but on me? That’s just cruel!” 

Unexpectedly, it was Carlos who spoke next, though his vocalizations were a garbled mess of grunts and groans that complimented his Frankenstein’s Monster costume well.

It took Roxy a moment, but eventually, as she processed the noises coming out of his mouth, she was slowly able to understand what he meant. It was almost like being stuck in French class back at Mountain Aire; She had to concentrate very hard in order to translate.

“Yes, Carlos, I know I’m a ghost. Not even one of you thought to compliment my outfit by the way…” She trailed off before she moved over to where her boyfriend was standing by the doorway, practically pleading with him to put an end to this stupid prank. “James, seriously, this isn’t funny just tell me what you did to my stuff-”

When she reached out to place her hand on his cheek, Roxy was expecting the heat that normally radiated off of him - she always loved how warm he felt - but instead, she watched her hand dematerialize through his entire face. 

At her touch, he let out a little, “Woo!” and that mostly covered up the second small scream the girl let out as she abruptly pulled her hand away, grasping at her wrist with her other hand as though she were holding some sort of dangerous weapon. 

“If my heart was still beating that would’ve made it skip… I only feel the cold when you touch me you know,” He murmured, though his hands didn’t move up to her waist like they normally would with his flirty comments. Instead, one traveled up to the left side of his chest and thumped against his skin a few times to imitate a heartbeat. “I always hate how bad ghost memory is - trust me, we re-explain this to you every few months - but I feel better every time because you always remember we’re together.”

“Months? We’ve been together for less than three weeks.” 

“Yes…” Kendall jumped in, sliding his palms into the sleeves of his flannel as though he were trying to hastily cover something up. “You’d been together for three weeks before you… died. But it’s been a little over a year now, right guys?”

“One year and one day exactly,” Logan informed her.

“But don’t worry, boo!” With a wicked flash of his fangs, James waggled his eyebrows. “I made sure our anniversary was super special.”

Carlos also added his own chaotic, “Every time you forget your memory, we get through it together - So don’t worry!” she understood him a bit quicker than she had before. 

Did the bolts sticking out of his neck just… spark?

About a million questions running through her mind, all Roxy could do was stand there and stare at her friends, mouth slightly agape. However the more she took in her surroundings, doing her best to understand what they were telling her, she was beginning to believe the illusion she thought her dress gave of her floating wasn’t actually an illusion. 

This is far too complex a prank… Even for them, She thought, reaching out to try and poke James in the arm. He let out another involuntary, “Brr!” as she watched her finger disappear into his paled skin. The James she knew would never allow himself to be such a pasty color, especially with the abundance of sweet sun at the Palm Woodsylvania. Not unless he can’t go out in the sun…. Wait, Palm Woodsylvania…?

There she went again, unable to trust her own fuzzy memory. 

Nodding in agreement, Logan sighed, “It’ll all come back in time… But man, you couldn’t have picked a worse day for a reset! We’re performing at Griffin’s big Halloween party later and Doc Rocque is breathing down our necks about a perfect performance!”

Inspecting closer, Roxy’s eyes raked up and down his beaten and discolored form, noticing a small shard of creamy ebony connecting one of his fingers to his hand and an even larger one connecting his arm to his shoulder socket. I know Camille’s a good SFX artist, but she’s not that good.

Something certainly wasn’t adding up, but she knew that her friends would never joke about a topic as serious as her own death. Roxy had known she could trust them since the moment they had met in their audition back in Anoka when she had forcibly inserted herself into their conversation and handed Logan back his arm after it had fallen off. 

That’s what happened? 

By now, the boys just stood around her room, cautiously eyeing each other before looking back at their assistant. It unnerved her greatly, but she did her best to ignore the way their gaze bore into her as she recalled more and more things that had happened to them after moving across the country to their spooky residence. 

The first full moon she had spent with Kendall after learning he was a werewolf, her short-lived fling with vampire Dak Zevon, keeping her favorite candles out of sight whenever Carlos came over, and of course, the very first time she had James had kissed backstage at the first ever Big Time Rush concert. Her memories were so vivid, replaying in her mind as though she was experiencing them for the very first time except… She was alive. 

Roxy could feel it too, the fear she had experienced when she accidentally tore Logan’s foot off at one of BTR’s dance practices, the cool plastic of her favorite guitar picks in her hand, and the marble-like feel of James’ fingertips tracing the outline of her face that made her heart completely stop. Things she would never be able to experience again; A fact she knew to be true, solely based on the completeness she remembered feeling in her past and the vast emptiness she felt inside of her now. 

That seemed like everything - Everything up until the night she supposedly shed her mortal coil and crossed over into the land of the dead. After that, everything was completely blank. An entire year of her life, gone. 

Those were her memories, the essence of who she was, and there was no way the boys could plant such ideas in her head. 

“So… We’re caught in some fucked up supernatural version of 50 First Stakes?” She finally asked, glancing at herself in her full-length mirror, trying to memorize every feature that made her so ghost-like in the first place. For a moment, she swore that wasn’t the name of the movie about the playboy vet trying to woo the artsy, vampiric amnesiac, but what else would it be called? 

Eyes casting downward momentarily, James cleared his throat, “It’s a pretty similar situation to ours, yeah.”

“And we’ll get through this together, because we always do?”

At the emphatic yes the boys shared, Roxy grew a bit more relieved at the situation she was facing, figuring that if she had been through this many times before, this time would be no different. 

If they told her everything was going to be okay, she knew everything was going to be okay. 

It wasn’t long after that, Kendall, Logan, and Carlos muttered different things they had to do in order to prepare for the party that night, quickly heading out of apartment 2-H, leaving the not-so-newfound ghost alone with her vampire. 

There was certainly a lot to process, but like most things related to Big Time Rush, there wasn’t any time to make heads or tales of her situation before moving on to the next issue to solve. 

Not quite sure how to move forward, Roxy sighed, longingly glancing toward her bed. Maybe if I just go back to sleep this will all be over… 

Eventually, her gaze shifted back to James, who was leaning on her dresser. Trying not to make it obvious she was jealous he was able to even touch it, she attempted to lighten the mood. “Well, they sure got out of here pretty quickly.”

“Mhm,” The vampire responded, taking a step closer to his assistant. A small smirk formed on his lips, one fang sticking out just a tiny bit. “That’s because they know you always ask me the same question when your memory resets.”

“If this happens to me so much, don’t you ever get tired of it?”

That sure wiped the smirk right off his face. 

With a hesitant hand reaching out to run through his slicked-back hair, James faltered, “O-okay, that’s a new one. New question, new question…”

Roxy would feel bad for catching him off guard if she could remember what the question he was referring to actually was.

“Um, no, boo, not at all. Not if it’s for you. We wouldn’t even be Hollywood’s first monster boyband if not for your support, so, we’ll always put in the work to help you out.”

Had she been able to conjure up some tears, they’d probably be welling in her eyes right about now. It felt a bit tragic all she wanted to do was seek comfort in the arms of a boyfriend who wouldn’t even be able to hold her. 

“Are you mad I lost the charms you gave me?” 

“Oh, wow, another new one,” He breathed, glancing toward the mirror on her dresser like he was expecting to see his own image in the reflection. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say he was even a little panicked. “The charms? No, of course not. They’ve… They’ve been gone for a while, but it’s alright! Don’t even worry about it.”

So forgiving, Roxy thought, though she vowed to keep searching as hard as she could to find them again. How the ghost necklace situation would end up was as mysterious as the state she had found herself in, but they’d be able to find a solution. 

Nervously wringing her hands together, the ghost did realize she had one more question for her boyfriend, though it was quite an awkward ask. 

When he noticed the tension in her mannerisms, James’ eyes lit up before he took another step forward. Gently he held his hand up, palm to the ceiling, and Roxy took this as her cue to hover her fingers over his. Not quite touching, but still able to connect in some manner. 

“Since we’re together… Are we able to…?”

If Roxy had a stomach it probably would’ve dropped when James shook his head. 

“Not like we used to.” His tone was solemn, but there was a hint of something else twinging his words as if not all hope was lost. “So, we make do with second best.”

When James leaned in slowly, Roxy actually found herself wanting to pull away - a feeling she had never experienced around him before. Though he was more the ghost expert in this situation, she had already determined she wasn’t able to touch things without phasing through them, so just what exactly was he trying to prove?

So, she floated there, petrified with wide-open eyes as his lips reached the space where hers were. 

Jumping a bit at the frigid cold feeling on his end, James knew this to be the right place to stop so he didn’t end up any farther in her form. 

By her standards, this kiss - if she could even call it that - didn’t feel like anything they’d shared before, the same tingling sensation she had felt in her hand as it passed through her comforter now rushing through her entire body.

It made her gasp, accidentally filling James with an even more freezing sensation before he laughed and pulled away with a shiver. 

“Not too shabby, first timer…” He joked, causing his girlfriend to playfully shove at his shoulder, only for her hand to go clear through his body and make him cackle even harder. 

***

One lap around the hotel with Logan, Carlos, and James, and Roxy’s memories of the grounds began returning to her. She had lived there for almost nine months before she had her accident, so many of the halls and places on the property were still just as familiar to her. 

While the pool wasn’t as enticing as it used to be - who knows what might happen to a stray, floating ghost if they got sucked into the drainage system - the cemetery was just as beautiful as it always had been. The neat headstones were well maintained by the maintenance people and the whispering willows were still doing their fair share of gossiping. Few things had changed, except for the addition of a few new undead residents.

Roxy had half expected to see her own grave out there, but she wasn’t looking all that hard. Since the boys had brought it up earlier, she hadn’t had time to process what being dead meant to her and she certainly preferred to keep avoiding such thoughts. To her credit, she tried to bring it up again and ask what had happened, the three of them simply whisked her away to their apartment and changed the subject entirely. 

I’m sure I’ll remember eventually.

Still getting used to her ghostly transparency, Roxy reached for the door handle to 2-J without thinking, only to have her hand wave clear through. 

“Ugh!” She vocalized, resigning to float through the wood as James opened it for the rest of them, “This is going to take forever to get used to.”

“I know what’ll make you feel better! Watching me go talk to the new hot guy down by the pool.”

Rolling her eyes as she spied Kendall aggressively trying to shave off all the fur forming on the back of his hands with a handheld razor while his mother and sister worked on their witch’s brew in the kitchen. Roxy sarcastically punched, “Wow, you always know how to cheer me up, James. Besides, you were the only one who saw him, so we don’t even know if he’s real.”

“You’re right! I mean - I saw him first, I’m a hot vampire… and I will bite you!”

Glancing back over her shoulder, she learned that the comment was meant more for his other friends, but she didn’t find the joke to be all that funny. Though her memory was still very hazy, from her time as a human she remembered having to be very careful around her vampire boyfriend; He wasn’t very good at exhibiting control once blood was involved in a situation. 

Though… Do Carlos and Logan even have blood? She wondered before Logan ended up changing the subject entirely. 

“Hey, Teenage Lycanthrope, want to practice our dance moves for tonight?”

Mrs. Knight and Katie’s worried glances over to Kendall confirmed the answer Kendall’s friends knew was coming. “Can’t! Gotta shave my arms and meet up with Jo.”

The wolf’s words confused Roxy, who slightly narrowed her eyes before looking over to her other friends to gauge their reactions. She was pretty sure Jo knew that Kendall was a werewolf. Back before, or so Roxy believed, she, Jo, and Camille had their own little “Supernatural Boyfriends” club as some of the few non-supernatural humans to live in the Palm Woodsylvania.

“Alright, but you’re going to look like a real idiot when you can’t do this!” James scoffed, whispering a small countdown from three. 

He, Carlos, and Logan all demonstrated the moves they had been learning for Griffin’s big party perfectly in sync until Logan went a bit too hard and his right arm popped clean off. 

The five of them watched as his detached limb soared across the room before landing smack dab in the middle of the Knight’s brew.

“Ooh, that’ll add some flavor!” Katie giddy cried, grabbing onto the arm and stirring the contents of their large cauldron with it. Whatever liquid was inside bubbled a bit, popping on the surface to release a bit of spooky fog on the top of the mixture. 

Since there weren’t any other witches at the Palm Woodsylvania Katie’s age, she and her mother were very close - Even going so far as to match their gigantic, black witches hats and adorable pumpkin aprons. 

As fast as his hobbling legs could carry him, Logan made his way over to the two of them in protest, before pulling his arm back out from the young witch’s hand. “You can’t use Righty for one of your smelly witch potions!”

“For your information, we are making a cake!” Mrs. Knight bit back, right before dumping a bucket of eyeballs into the cauldron. 

Sniffing at the air a bit as Logan reattached his arm, Roxy realized she couldn’t smell anything - disgusting or not. Time to cross smell off the list of potential ghost senses.

A bit of indistinct grunting to her left startled her a bit, but it was just Carlos trying to come up with a practice plan for all four of them.

“That’s a great idea!” Roxy beamed once she finally translated what he had suggested, “One of the conference rooms downstairs could totally be converted into a practice room.”

While that didn’t convince Kendall, it was enough for her to get the other three boys out of the room before anyone else became an ingredient in the Knight’s cake. 

As they traveled down the dark hallowed halls of the second floor to the screeching stairwell, the band’s assistant tried to learn more about Griffin’s event, though James, Carlos, and Logan were all too distracted with their own thoughts to consider hers. 

Roxy’s “Which song are you even singing tonight?” was overshadowed not only by the screams of the living staircase but by a multitude of text tones going off from Carlos’ phone as they reached the lobby. 

Like before, the boy grumbled something about Dr. Rocquenstien and Kelly wanting to see him before their performance began in about four hours. 

“Well, I’m coming too!” Chimed Logan, “Maybe Doc Rocque can keep me from falling apart.”

As if on cue, Logan’s right arm fell off again, eliciting a small gasp from James and Roxy. Hers at the sight of her friend’s literal arm falling off and his at the cold jolting through his body as Roxy reached for his hand without thinking. 

“See?” Logan went on, ignoring the couple. “You okay, Righty?”

From the floor, the disembodied arm shot his owner a thumbs up.

Barely even giving the zombie any time to pick his arm back up, James quickly pointed someone out as they walked through the lobby. “Hey! There he is!” 

Cutting across from the vending machine to the pool was a taller, incredibly handsome teen, waving at each Palm Woodsylvania resident he passed by. It was hard not to notice how perfectly his black tank top and camo cargo pants went together, complimenting his olive-toned skin and long, black hair. The only thing about him that seemed out of place was the large orange pool bag he had slung over one shoulder and the dark green duffel he took with him out to the pool. 

Yeah… Now I get it.

Putting his phone back in his pocket, Carlos mumbled about going to make a new friend and moved to head to the pool, but James’ hand quickly shot out to grab his shoulder and hold him back. “No, no, Flathead. You’ll just scare him off.”

“Don’t call him that!” Roxy hissed, sending one of her fingers through James’ cheek for a bit of temperature therapy before her boyfriend shot off after the newcomer. “Well, I guess that just leaves-”

Arf! Arf!

Making his presence clearly known as he raced through the lobby, Lightning the TV Wonder-Hellhound shot under the bottom of Roxy’s floating dress. While she remembered him to be a bit of a troublemaker, it appeared scaring her wasn’t his only plan - Lightning did a circle around Logan as well, catching the zombie off guard before he picked up Righty in his teeth and darted away. 

The exasperated gasp Logan let out would’ve hurt Roxy’s eardrums if she could still feel them. “Lightning, drop it! That’s my bone, not yours!”

As quickly as he could, the singer limped off after the hellhound while Carlos headed to the front doors to catch a car to Rocquenstein Records, leaving their assistant all alone in the lobby of the Palm Woodsylvania. 

So much for doing this together.

It certainly felt strange to be floating by herself in a space that felt so foreign and so familiar at the same time. Roxy remembered the first time she had walked through the lobby doors with her band, how their first few months in town had been exceptionally rough as they proved their place alongside the human boy bands, and all the chaos they had caused in the hotel in their wake… She wanted to see James again, alone, and ask him a few more questions about the gaps in her memory and her ghostly abilities, but as she looked out the glass panes to the darkened pool exterior, she noticed he was sitting by the new resident as close as vampirically possible. 

Roxy didn’t have a stomach, but she felt something in her unpleasantly turn, getting gnarled up and knotted at the sight of her boyfriend speaking to someone so human. There were many things about James she couldn’t get enough of, one being his penchant for physical touch. When they were alive, he could hardly keep his hands off of her, but in her present state, the two of them know that to be an impossibility. 

Could he be looking for another avenue?

The second the thought entered her mind, she shook her head as though she were physically trying to shake away her doubt. It wasn’t fair for her to doubt him, not after he had spent a year taking care of her.

Watching on, Roxy saw the new resident laugh at something James had said, bringing a satisfied smile to the boy’s face as a little bit of fang made an appearance. 

It reminded the ghost of the first time she had ever met James, at the Paramount Theater in Anoka.

“Excuse me, but are you from Tennessee? Because you’re the only 10 I see.” and his other lame pick-up lines hadn’t charmed her the first time, especially since her father had kept her sheltered from the supernatural almost all her life despite choosing to settle in the Halloween capitol of the world. It was only after she moved to the Palm Woodsylvania and grew closer with the band did she realize what a caring vampire he could be. Eventually, she finally allowed herself to be taken “For a bite” and one thing led to another…

Am I insane for thinking that’s what he’s saying to the new guy right now?

Someone grumbling her name pulled her out of her thoughts, whipping her head from her view of the pool back around to the monster in front of her.

With a sad smile, she cocked her head to the side, “Hey, Carlos, what’s up?”

Through an assortment of groans and rigid hand gestures, Roxy was able to gather that he was upset because the taxi driver he had flagged down didn’t speak his language and he needed someone to translate for him to get to Rocquenstein Records. 

“Oh, no problem, bud! I can help… I just… Don’t think I know how to sit in a car… or otherwise.”

After he reassured her it was easy, and a lot like hovering over the floor, he laughed a garbled little laugh that made her feel much better after sharing such a vulnerable feeling. It brought a smile to her face too, a real one this time as she reached out to pat his shoulder and guide him back toward the front of the hotel. 

At the contact, a few sparks shot out of the bolts on his neck, and he made a noise as though it tickled him a bit. 

“Whoops… Sorry.”

The garbled laugh came again, before a bit of clearer speech, “It’s okay, Roxy, I don’t mind!”

***

Long before arriving in the studio, Roxy and Carlos could hear Doc Rocque’s tell-tale evil laugh echoing down the long hallways of Rocquenstein Records. 

Like most days, the building was filled with an eerie fog emanating from whatever experiment their boss had been putting together. Normally, it was just a harmless potion or useless contraption made to appease his boss, the literal devil, Arthur Griffin, but something about the air told Roxy whatever he had been cooking up today was far different than usual. The bolts on Carlos’ neck sparked with each stiff step he took, suggesting the presence of more electricity in the space they typically used to record their songs or learn their new choreography. 

The short ride over to their place of employment had given Roxy a bit of time to further reflect on the memories she and Carlos had shared over the years as she watched him grow from a younger, playful simulacrum just tagging along to a pop star audition with his best friends to a dedicated, talented performer. It was almost like he was a brand new person on stage, trading in his rigid movements for smooth dance moves and rumbling words for perfectly pronounced lyrics. 

From their time hanging out in the cemetery together, she had learned so much about him, his creation story, and his three older monstrous sisters, but those were all memories she had from her time among the living. She had no idea how Ghost Roxy got along with him or the experiences they had been through together - Beginning with his challenge with doors and her inability to open them. 

Roxy had been so caught up in her own thoughts she hadn’t even realized they’d made it to the studio doors until Carlos walked straight into the glass; She was equally just as helpless to open the solid object. 

Thankfully, Kelly had heard the clatter from across the room where she stood with Dr. Rocquestein in front of a large machine and made her way over to assist. Beautiful hair in an updo today, Roxy admired just how big and poofy her curls were as two electric white streaks shot up the side. 

Does she know how perfectly those match her lab coat?

Neither she nor Doc Rocque spared them any greetings before the mad scientist lied about whatever scheme he had cooked up in order to get the boys to participate.

“Okay, Frankencarlos, time to play in the pretty funhouse!”  

Normally, Roxy would’ve objected to this, but the contracts the boys had signed on their first day of work granted them recording rights and permissions under Rocquenstein Records as long as they acted as willing participants in his mad science experiments. As long as Carlos voluntarily walked into the machine their boss had built, there wasn’t much she could do for him.

The contraption itself looked to be some kind of large, silver chamber with plenty of colorful lights, long pipes and wires, and fog emanating in the small room behind the sealed door. What it did was anyone’s guess, but Roxy was sure she was about to find out. 

Hesitantly, Carlos shuffled toward it, and Doc Rocque hit a large button on the side of the aluminum chamber to open the glass door for him. The sound it emitted was high-pitched, scratching at the ghost’s ears, meaning it was even more disorienting to her sensitive friend, who startled and began to slink back toward the door. 

Kelly’s quick thinking kept him in the room, pulling out two fresh corn dogs from the pockets of her lab coat and throwing them into the machine, “Get the corn dogs, Frankencarlos! Get ‘em!”

Even he wasn’t immune to bribery, especially at the promise of one of his favorite treats, so once the food sailed over his head and into the machine Carlos was quick to 180 and step into the foggy chamber. 

Once he was fully inside, the lab assistant screamed “Now!” prompting Gustavo to close the door, sealing Carlos inside. 

This was always the worst part of Doctor Rocquenstein’s experiments; The moment the boys realized they had fallen into his clutches and were helpless to stop whatever was coming next. 

Covering her ears as Carlos began to scream in terror, banging loudly on the glass door to the chamber, Roxy winced, keeping one eye open just to survey the situation and find out what her boss was about to do next. 

“I give you…” Dramatically flipping a large switch from a control panel next to the machine, the room dimmed as a handful of the lights around them let off blinding flashes. “Hot singing normal boy!”

Normal boy?

After a few seconds of electrical flare-ups thanks to copious amounts of harvested lightning from the storm outside and a few ear-splitting mechanical noises, Doc Rocque threw the switch again and everything went back to normal.  

Not even bothering to check the state of his frazzled lab assistant or his band’s assistant, he hit the button to open the door once more and waited to see what emerged from the fog.

That is… What didn’t emerge from the fog: A hot singing normal boy. 

As the chamber cleared, Kelly waved her hand around inside to see if she could drag Carlos out, but her hand never made contact with anything. 

When the three of them looked around, they spotted a black bunny rabbit on the floor, lazily munching on one of the corndogs Kelly had thrown into the machine.

“Well… He’s cute,” Roxy commented, trying to figure out how Gustavo was going to get himself out of this mess. With their performance in less than three hours, Big Time Rush was now down a band member. 

Picking up where the assistant left off, Kelly rolled her eyes before looking over to her boss “But not a boy.”

“I know that!” The mad scientist yelled back, beginning to understand just what he had done to Carlos on one of the biggest nights of his life. 

Unexpectedly, a fourth voice jumped into the conversation, a high-pitched, “You wanna be famous!” coming from the rabbit at their feet. 

The ghost sighed, wishing she could crouch down and cradle her little friend, “At least he can still sing.”

“Not like that he won’t,” Gustavo interrupted before calling to no one in particular. “Try again!” 

Once more, the door to the chamber was thrown and the switch beside it flipped but this time, Roxy didn’t find her concern to be focused on Carlos anymore. 

How many buttons off from ‘hot singing normal boy’ is ‘hot guitar playing normal girl?’

Of all her thoughts today, that one was almost as profoundly crazy as the situation she had found herself in. Waking up as a ghost, having a year of memories stolen from her, worrying about her boyfriend sneaking off to talk to some other guy… If she were normal again, certainly she wouldn’t have such things to worry about. 

And now she was thinking about James, wishing to run her hands over the soft velvet reds and blacks of his favorite cape, wanting to feel the marble-like coolness of his touch. Roxy could only hope he went off to help Logan or Kendall after talking to the new guy - Not taking him to any fancy restaurant to talk about their embarrassing allergies or the dumbest pasta shapes. 

Ugh… He’s gorgeous, but certainly not the best conversationalist…

As she fondly began to recall one of their first fancy dates together, she was thoroughly interrupted by the sound of one of the panels blowing off the side of the transformation machine, paired with two sets of footsteps filing into the room behind her. 

“Doc Rocque, you gotta help me!” The familiar sound of Kendall’s voice let her know he had arrived, and she turned to find Logan hot on his heels. 

No James. Of course. She thought, not bothering to hide her scowl as the pair made their way over to the machine. 

About halfway to Wolfman, it was clear the frontman was having a bit of a meltdown. “I need to be turned into a normal for the concert. No more werewolf!”

“And I need a new foot!” Logan added, pointing down to the one he had lost somewhere along the way. 

Their assistant even managed to float over to Gustavo and Kelly, throwing her hat in the ring, despite watching what the machine had done to Carlos, “And I need a corporeal body!”

Typically, when the band began to demand things of their producer, he didn’t take it well, but today, he just let out a maniacal laugh, “I gotcha covered because, with my new hot boy band machine, you will no longer be monsters for Griffin’s Big Night of Fright!”

While she didn’t like the emphasis Gustavo had put on “boy band,” Roxy wasn’t ready to give up hope just yet. 

“Observe!” He continued, pointing to the glass door. “New normal Carlos!.. I hope.”

Throwing the switch again, a wave of force blasted through the room as the lights dimmed, causing Roxy to throw her hands up in defense; A byproduct of still believing she inhabited a human body. 

When Doc Rocque had enough of his fun, he turned it back and the door slid open, but there were no noises from inside. Anxiously, the five awaited a human Carlos to walk out of the smoking chamber. 

Instead, a beautiful teenage pageant queen stepped out, a large poofy dress, a rose bouquet, crown, and all, took a few hesitant steps from the fog.

Of course, it didn’t take long for Logan and Kendall to turn to each other, waggling their eyebrows before facing the girl once more. 

“Ooh,” The two of them chorused. “Who’s that?”

With a roll of her eyes, Roxy coughed, “Pigs!” before poking the both of them. Much to her surprise, it made Kendall’s hair - normal and wolf - stand straight up on end while Logan’s left arm fell clear off.

“It’s Carlos!” Kelly cried angrily, driving a hand into Gustavo’s side. 

While the boys cringed, the supermodel spoke out in a series of grunts and groans as if to say, “Hey guys, it’s me!” before the lab assistant shoved her back into the machine. 

“Okay, too much pageant queen…” Doc Rocque thought aloud, typing something into the keyboard of the computer unit attached to the machine. “Alright, now we just press the red button and add more ‘y’ chromosome… Yowza!”

Again, the switch was thrown, and again the five waited to see the outcome. 

Half expecting a fuzzy green monster to pop out, Roxy watched in anticipation as the door opened up and her simulacrum friend came stomping out. If they couldn’t tell from his violent screams, his reckless, destructive motions toward Doc Rocque’s machine told those remaining all they needed to know about how it felt to be the test subject of this experiment. 

Carlos was going berzerk, crying, “No more machine!” over and over as he violently unplugged the keyboard Doc had been taking his notes on before turning to face his three friends. 

“Carlos smash!” 

Roxy, Logan, and Kendall were quick to get out of his way as he upturned another table in the lab, sending a smattering of medical tools across the floor of the studio - Making a mess the assistant instincticly felt she needed to clean up before realizing she wouldn’t even be able to grab the equipment off of the hardwood. 

On his way out of the studio, he was sure to knock one of the white, leather couches on its side, completely shatter the glass coffee table in the lounge, and throw the posters off the walls for good measure before escaping down the hall onto destinations unknown - Agitated and aggravated beyond belief. 

“Okay… Who’s next?” Doc Rocque tried to ease the tension, but none of his other three subjects were exactly willing. 

“I think I’m gonna pass,” Kendall replied, with his assistant nodding in agreement. 

Logan held up a decaying finger, pointing over to his rampaging friend, “Yeah, big pass here.” 

***

The ride back to the Palm Woods was completely silent, Roxy, Logan, and Kendall all worrying about their own separate issues while Kelly and Gustavo tried to work out a plan to get Carlos under control. All the while, still trying to figure out a way to get them seemingly normal before their big appearance at Griffin’s party tonight. 

Why would he even fund a monster band if he wanted a normal band anyway? Roxy thought to herself, but she knew her four friends had more talent squeezed into their monstrous bodies than any normal boy she had ever met. Though, she supposed it was just fortunate timing Doc Rocque had conveniently made this machine the day she had determined she wanted to be normal again too - If it was even at all possible. 

There were still many lingering questions she had about her situation and unfortunately, none of her memories from her death or her year as a ghost had ended up occurring to her throughout the day. All she got were flitters from the past, things about her band, things about her dad, things about her exceptionally ordinary life before she was whisked out of Anoka and out to the Palm Woodsylvania - Nothing that helped her at all. 

Once they arrived back at the hotel, everyone went their separate ways, leaving the ghost in the lobby once again. I hate it when they do that. 

However, it didn’t take long for her to spot James, running through the pool area as he was being chased by the handsome boy from earlier.

Oh, he better be a vampire slayer or I’m going to be so upset.

One perk of her ghost abilities, she discovered, had been the ease at which she was able to travel thanks to her floating, transparent form. While she hadn’t bothered to wiggle the fabric of her dress around and discover if she had legs or just a gaseous cloud under there, she was thankful regardless for the time walking through walls saved her as she shot off after the two, ready to give her boyfriend a piece of her mind. 

When she finally caught up with them in one of the hallways to the first floor guest rooms, she noticed the other boy had James pinned to the wall, wooden stake nearly driven into his unbeating heart before the vampire smirked a bit.

“A vampire and a vampire slayer walk into a bar-”

His superhuman strength managed to give him the upperhand as he reached out to grip the hunter by the arms and easily flipped their position. As the slayer hit their head on the back of the wall with an unpleasant thud Roxy was able to catch some sort of glint in his dark, smoked out eyes as he gazed over at James. 

Ugh! Just his type, tall, dark, and broody.

“The bartender says, ‘What can I get you two?’” The boy replied, before flipping the script once more.

With James up against the wall again, Roxy had about enough of watching this all play out. She didn’t like how much he looked like he was enjoying being hunted. 

“And the vampire says-”

“‘I have a girlfriend!’” Roxy interrupted from the end of the hall, crossing one arm over the other as she cleared her throat. “‘And she’s just about tired of watching whatever the hell this is.’”

The two boys snapped their heads in her direction at the sound of her voice, seemingly forgetting all about their tasks at hand. 

“Oh, man, time out!” James cried, flipping the slayer onto his back once again - this time holding him down from an arms length away - before addressing his ghost girl angrily floating toward him. “Hey, um, boo, now’s not really the best time. Kinda fighting for my life here.”

“I can see that, asshole. Having a good time?”

“Aw, don’t be like that, Roxy. I’ve gotta have a little fun with it! This is like the sixth hunter your dad’s sent after me this month.”

From his position on the wall, the hunter watched the vampire and ghost argue in front of him, brown eyes darting back and forth like he was following a tennis match. “Wait… Roxy? As in Somerset? Declan’s daughter?”

“What’s it to you?” The girl spat back, a bit creeped out the hunter knew her dad’s name, but her eyes still remained trained on  James. “And why’s my dad sending slayers after you anyway?” 

At that, her boyfriend nervous-chuckled like he usually did when he was anxious or didn’t want to answer one of her questions, still holding down his adversary as best he could. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe because I’m the reason his daughter moved far, far away from home and also maybe…” His eyes shifted back and forth between the two people facing off against him before sighing, “And maybe I’m also kind of the reason she died? Time in!”

With that, he took off running for the pool again and Roxy had half a mind to grab one of the stakes from the slayer beside her and hurl it through his back. 

I would if I could at his stupid cliffhanger, she angrily told herself before crying out in frustration. Without thinking, she found herself reaching out, placing her palm directly over the slayer’s face. Based on the reactions she got from her monstrous friends at her touch, she figured the consequences were probably a bit worse for a human. 

Even back in freezing-cold Minnesota, Roxy had never seen someone’s skin turn so blue at the cold temperatures. It scared her a little bit, the small but mighty power under her fingertips, before she pulled her hand away in shock, letting the slayer groan out a cry of pain before she shot off to the pool after James. 

The reason I…? 

Suddenly, the blood stain dripping down her dress from her neckline began to make a little more sense. There were a few fuzzy bits of a memory fighting the way to the forefront of her brain as she brought her hand to her now-tender neck, one of the only physical sensations she felt all day, only to pull it away and find her fingers covered with a vicsus, green-black substance. 

“Oh my, God,” She managed, passing into the open space as she continued after her boyfriend, trying to keep herself together at the disgusting sight. There was a faint hiss from ahead, meaning James had heard her words, that told her she was rapidly gaining on him. “Ew!”

Maybe she was lucky he stopped to talk to a decapitated and dismembered Logan on one of the pool’s many outdoor couches or maybe James was just tired from all the running he had been doing that day. However, she overheard Logan mention the Hot Singing Boy band machine and watched as James scooped up as many pieces of his friend as he could carry. 

As the band’s assistant, she was still inclined to help, but once again couldn’t manage to carry anything herself before she finally managed to catch her boyfriend’s attention by sticking a few fingers in his back.

“Agh!” James startled with an intense shiver, dropping Logan’s head back down onto the couch. His friend let out a high pitched whine once he made contact with the cushion again 

“James! Explanation! Now!” 

When he spun around to face her, his already pale face paled even more, eyes flickering down to her neck and dress, as he shot her a weak smile. The little flash of his fangs almost made her forget why she was so mad in the first place - That was, until he opened his big mouth. “I really hate ectoplasm… Boo, did you get any on my clothes just now?”

“You’re going to have a lot more than ectoplasm to worry about in a second-” She threatened, before the head on the couch beside them cleared his throat. 

“Um… Why is there some guy with two wooden stakes sprinting in our direction right now?” 

Logan’s nervous laugh was honestly a tad adorable, but he brought up a very important point: They needed to get out of the Palm Woodsylvania fast if they wanted any chance at getting back to normal. A hunter stopping them dead in their tracks would certainly throw quite the wrench into their plans. 

“I’ll explain later, boo. Promise,” James managed as he reached down to grab Logan by the hair.

Though she could tell he meant it by the sincere tone in his voice, she still wasn’t happy to wait. “Fine, I guess we can head out.”

“Not funny, Roxy!” The zombie reprimanded as he was being carried away through the lobby of the hotel. “Not funny at all.”

Well, she was certainly laughing when James turned into a bat, almost dropping Logan’s head to the carpet before clutching his black hair with his tiny little claws. The image of the zombie’s head flying down the sidewalks of Los Angeles, being carried by a bat and followed by a hovering ghost was one Roxy hoped she would end up remembering. 

***

By the time Roxy, James, and Logan’s head barreled into Doc Rocque’s laboratory most of the smoke from the experiments earlier had cleared and it appeared as though someone had made an effort to clean up after the mess Carlos had made. 

Based on the groan of annoyance their boss let out upon seeing his three employees, Doc wasn’t all that happy to see them, but it looked like he had finally managed to put his machine back together again. 

“Doc, you’ve got to make me normal!” James cried, mirroring the statements his friends had made earlier. “A vampire slayer is chasing me and Roxy is really upset with me-”

“Oh, boo-hoo, okay?” Logan’s head interrupted from his space tucked under James’ arm. “A hot guy is chasing you and your ghost girlfriend got some ecto on your cape… I’m just a head!”

The vampire’s eyes widened, turning to face Roxy, “I thought you didn’t get any on me!”

She stuck her hand into his side, fully covered with as much goo as she could slather on as Doc Rocque pointed to the inside chamber of the machine, “Get in!” “May I?” Roxy asked in ernest as she watched her thoroughly-chillded boyfriend and best friend enter the machine. “I’d like to be… normal again, too.”

Doc shrugged, typing a new command into his computer, “Only one way to find out if it works.”

In a flash she soared through the aluminum paneling to land herself inside, praying that this would reverse her undead curse and solve all of her problems. 

As James placed Logan’s head at his feet, he managed to scoot back a bit to stand by his girlfriend, shooting her an extremely apologetic look as Carlos and Kelly entered the room, dragging a sleeping, fully-wolfed out Kendall behind them. 

“You remember now, right?” James whispered to her. “You normally do after I mention it, just tell me now if you’re going to break up with me.”

Blinking a few times at his words, Roxy felt the fuzzy memories she had been focusing on so hard before finally unlock, the complete feeling she had sensed before rushing through her and telling her everything she needed to know about the night she had died. 

Clear as day, she saw herself spending her seventeenth birthday with her vampire boyfriend - a trip to the beach, window-shopping downtown, the observatory, and their time spent laying on the hood of her car as they watched the sun set over Los Angeles. 

As they talked about this and that, James had reached into the pocket of the cloak he had loaned her to keep her warm and handed her a small, wrapped gift. 

Almost as if she were watching a movie scene play itself out, not knowing what was coming next, she watched as she pushed it back into his hands, whispering into his ear that wasn’t the present she wanted this year as she pressed a trail of kisses down his neck. 

He had tried to tell her it was a bad idea, that he had never done anything like that before, but she wasn’t listening to a word he said, insisting over and over that she wasn’t interested in growing any older or wasting any more of her time as a human.

We can be young and free and together forever.

In the chamber, Roxy nodded as she remembered the promise she had made to him, ghostly hand desperately trying to clutch onto his only to pass right through. 

“It wasn’t your fault,” She told him, watching blankly as Carlos dropped Kendall to the floor of the machine. “I completely coerced you, and you tried to warn me-”

“I just need you to know it was an accident, boo. I really did want to be…. together forever.”

“Well,” Roxy trailed off a bit as she watched Carlos step into the chamber and Kelly and Gustavo make their final touches to their code. “Regardless of how this experiment turns out, I think we’ve still got a shot. Forever just might look a bit different than we planned.”

From the corner of her eye, she saw him nod and the faint smirk that allowed a bit of his fang to pop out returned. “The charms are in your dresser drawer by the way, still wrapped up in that cute little box. I won’t ask how you know what was inside, though.”

Roxy just knew but she wasn’t able to explain how. “I’m sorry about all the ectoplasm on your cape.”

“I’m sorry about the whole being dead thing,” James echoed.

Doing her best to float just a few inches higher off the ground, she pressed a ghostly kiss to his cheek as the chamber door slid closed, “It’s not all that bad. I’ve still got a lot to live for.”

The light dimmed through the opaque glass, though Roxy didn’t remember the floor rumbling quite so much during the first few trials as Doc Rocque flipped the switch. 

It was hard to describe the effects the machine had on her and her friends, feeling as though she was being completely torn apart while simultaneously being put back together. None of her time spent in the land of the living or the dead had prepared her for any such sensation and though she felt the need to scream, she had no way of doing so as the chamber worked its magic. 

After what felt like ages, there was a blinding flash of light before…

***

Roxy’s eyes flew open, flinging the comforter off her shivering body before letting out a few gasps for air, hands clutching tightly at the fabric of her costume in her hands.

Eyes darting around her room, she noticed the sunlight peeking its way though her closed blinds, illuminating small spots on the collection of band posters she had up on her walls. 

She was there, in the present, entirely whole, and most important of all, not dead.

Just to make sure, she patted at her mattress a few times, entirely ecstatic when her hand didn’t go straight through and she could feel the soothing silk of her red sheets under her palm. 

What a weird dream… I can’t stay up that late to make a costume ever again.

When she glanced into her hands, the dress she had fashioned for her and Kendall’s party was right where she had left it after her FaceTalk with Jo. The fabric wasn’t stained, the strips at the bottom didn’t curl, and she still needed to run the bottom through the park to get it all dingy and gross to complete the look. 

Maybe her dream had just been wishful thinking to have the best costume at the party. It certainly had been odd, however, she couldn’t remember a time she had ever had one so vivid and detailed.

On the nightstand beside her bed, she grabbed her journal and pen before scribbling out everything she could possibly remember so she could relay the message to her friends later while Big Time Rush’s newest demo “Big Night” ran through her head. 

I wonder if Jo will tell me to lay off the vampire romance novels for a while.

As she wrote down the key parts of her dream - the epic ghost look she would certainly do her best to replicate with make up tonight, the way her dad hired literal assassins to take out a guy who had hurt her, and the significance of the charms James had given her for her birthday - Roxy felt a bit childish when she reached up to her necklace to make sure they were still there. 

Feeling out all three, right next to the pendant where they should be, she felt an odd sense of relief before getting out of bed and walking into her living room. For a moment, she stared at the door connecting 2-H and 2-J, realizing just how early she had woken up.

Roxy wanted to tell James every single thing she could remember of her imaginative monster world but knew him well enough that he would be sound asleep at this time… That boy always bragged about his strict “beauty slumber” routine to keep his skin looking as refreshed and young as possible.

Just like a vampire.

Besides, since they’d started dating, Mrs. Knight made a rule they couldn’t be alone in each others bedrooms - If they wanted to be in the apartments, they could only hang out in the common, open spaces where anyone could see them at any point in time. 

Ugh. Stupid adult rules.

Though she heavily respected Mrs. Knight and the boundaries she had set for her defacto son, Roxy figured that she remembered what it was like to be a teenager. She probably had weird dreams she wanted to tell her boyfriend about too, and for now, that required the writer to go inside James’ bedroom.

I’m sure she’d understand.

So, she quietly pulled open the door to 2-J and walked down the hallway as sofly as she could, poking her head into the living room to see if anyone was awake. 

Much to her surprise, all of the Knights were up and eating breakfast. The smell of fresh pancakes, delicious fruit, and bacon wafted through the room as the three of them entertained a pleasant conversation about the party being held later. 

It was just her luck Katie and Mrs. Knight were sat with their backs toward the hall, so Roxy was tucked just out of sight, but as Kendall got up to grab some more orange juice from the fridge, she caught his eye. 

Silently, she tilted her head in the direction of the room he shared with James and held up all ten of her fingers. In response, he subtly nodded, before glancing at the digital clock on the oven and back with a wink. 

Both of them had understood the other perfectly. 

I need to talk to James, can you give me ten minutes?

Of course, take all the time you need.

As quickly as she had come, she ducked down the hall and made a right at the door to 2-H and then an immediate left to open up the door to the room the two boys shared. 

Since coming back from tour, she hadn’t been in James and Kendall’s room at all, but the boys had returned it to its former glory after the brief period Big Time Rush had spent broken up. Though Roxy shivered at the thought, she was pleased to see all the hockey posters and pictures with Jo on the walls and sports trading card binders littering Kendall’s desk and nightstand, along with a few clothing items on the floor the frontman probably definitely didn’t want her to see.

I’ll make fun of his Minnesota Wild boxers later.

On James side, there he was, tucked perfectly between his pillow and his duvet snoozing away without a care in the world. This was a rare time in which his girlfriend got to see him, completely unaware and perfectly content. He’d probably freak out if he knew his hair was messy, sticking up in a few places from the way he was laying, not that she’d ever tell him.

He had managed to get all his posters back up too, a few with sports people, but mostly those of hot, young movie stars to look at before he fell asleep, almost similar to the arrangement of his assistant’s posters in her room. Just to the right of his head, she noticed a few pages of sheet music tacked up, and she inched a bit closer to figure out what song it was for at the risk of waking him. 

Just as she read out the title “Boyfriend” a lock of her hair fell over her shoulder and tickled his face, causing him to shift in his sleep and lift a hand to scratch at his nose. 

Roxy held her breath, wanting to watch him sleep for just a little bit longer before she woke him up, and waited. 

Smacking his lips a few times, James shuffled again but didn’t open his eyes, giving her a bit more time to snoop. 

Beside the sheet music, she also spotted his ticket to American Idiot, their ticket to the planetarium, and when she dared to peek at the place his mattress met the wall, she noticed the small stuffed animal she had won for him at the carnival. 

It filled her heart with so much love she thought she just might burst. 

Young and free and together forever… She thought, reaching out to lift up the solid blue comforter before she crawled under to lay beside him. 

Her movements, of course, woke him slightly, and he popped one eye open to make sure none of the guys were playing a prank on him while he tried to get his beauty rest. When he noticed it was his girlfriend, he let out a relieved sigh and simply scooted toward the wall to give her some more room to lay. 

“Morning,” He drawled as his eye popped back closed, voice still so full of sleep Roxy had to really concentrate on the sound as she wrapped her arms around his waist, hands finding the hem of his shirt to slip under. 

Letting her hands splay out across his back as she squeezed him tighter, she settled into his side, she shared her own, “Morning. I had the craziest dream last night and I wanted to come in here and tell you all about it because I think this dress I bought in Anoka cursed me… but I’m suddenly really sleepy again.”

A few waves of laughter rolled out of him at how ridiculous her statement was, which she could feel coming straight from his chest. One of his arms caught her waist to pull her a bit closer while the other began to run through her hair as he told her, “That’s because you didn’t get a proper eight hours, babe.”

The assistant let his words settle, ringing in her ears as she focused on the boy beside her, trying to take in every little ounce of touch he could give her. Even though it was just a dream, she hated not being able to be close to him, so she did her best to compensate for now. 

“I had to finish my costume!” Roxy defended, though she felt her eyelids growing heavier with every stroke of his hand through her hair. “If we were having a best dressed contest I’d certainly win.”

“That title just comes with being the birthday girl…” He joked, though his words were starting to blur a bit. “And also… Just being you in general.”

Burying herself deeper into his chest, Roxy smelled a faint hint of tropical fruit and lime as she poked him in the side. “Well, just you wait and see! I’ll have earned the title through hard work, jerk.”

“D’ya…” Roxy felt James’ hand flex at her waist, trailing a bit down to her hip. He was trying very, very hard to stay awake. “D’ya know what you’re gonna wish for when Mrs. Knight brings out the cake?”

“Of course I do, but if I tell you it won’t come true.” 

“Whatever you… Say… Babe…” And with that she knew she had lost him, shallow breaths turning even shallower as he dozed back off. 

Relishing the warm feeling under her fingertips, Roxy resigned to shutting her eyes as well, focusing on the rhythm of her boyfriend’s heartbeat.

Young and free and together forever.

--

thanks for reading <3 likes, comments, reblogs etc are always appreciated. i love to know that you think!

i'll be switching up the order of some of the episodes and taking a few out of the second season from here on out! just to help make a more time cohesive story :)

#thats all she wrote fic #big time rush #btr #james diamond #james maslow #kendall knight #kendall schmidt #logan mitchell #logan henderson #carlos garcia #carlos penavega

[murielles-crowsnest]

Local Woman Thrifts (Possibly) Working Scythe: Filled with Unbridled Joy and Won't Shut Up About It

I was out thrifting today (a bookcase collapsed this month, very sad, very annoy but very little harm to bookles, so not the worst...) I didn't find a bookcase since I am being a picky picker. (THIS time I am on the look out for a SOLID WOOD shelf of correct width/height so it hopefully will hold up to the rigors of reference books and art books that are too hefty for a shelf or my own back's good. If I don't find one by the time I finish repainting the room, I will BUILD it.)((Oh yeah, I am taking the opportunity of moving the big bookcase to paint the room. It's gonna be super cute. Wait and see.)) ANYHOW I am getting off topic.

I wandered into their "Vintage" section which also houses many old tools and things which might be made usable again with some extreme care. AND I SAW IT. A SCYTHE. (There were actually three but I only saw the one at first.) Now, I have secretly and maybe siilily (sure, that's a word) wanted one ever since I became a person responsible for my own yard work. There was a different vintage place that had one once upon a time but by the time I had worked up the courage to buy it, they have mysteriously scarpered off in the night without telling anyone (let alone their landlord) so I had feared I had missed my chance. BUT BEHOLD. I looked at the tag and $30??? REASONABLE!!! Especially compared to the price of buying myself a brand new one online. I gingerly picked it up (noticed the other two) and it was like angelic chorus moment. The handles and blade attachment points were all still wonderfully tight, the wood needs a little love and the blade is rusty as fuck but possibly salvageable with enough work. I was filled with such joy I cannot explain or contain (hence this ludicrous post). Being me though, I set it back down and toodled around the place for the bookcase I was supposed to be looking for. When I went back, I examined the other two. One was lighter (good) but rattled because it was missing some of the bits that held the blade in place (bad!) the other had a breaking/splitting handle (very sad!) so it was back to the first and it was something like love to hold it.

Now I have a scythe that I can clean up, sharpen and try using on the suburban lawn like a completely sane person. Fuck you powered mowers, you are loud, your vibration pains me and scares the critters. I cannot wait to freak out the neighbors even more, who have already seen me trim my hedges with enormous scissors (garden shears) whacking away at weeds with a bladed golf club (grass whip, basically what you had pre-electric corded weed whacker), and chop roots with an axe. I will be the local cryptid I want to see in the world.

Now, to look up tutorials on how to correctly clean it and use it!

#I am honestly so happy I could cry #I do not understand this level of joy right now #I am not just vibrating I am THRUMMING #Anyway I like hand implements and am kinda good with them #if it doesn't work out for my simple city-ordnances compliant (ew) lawn care needs at least I will still have a fucking cool thing

[nabilla3]

Reading Report: Scissors and Glue: Punk Fanzines and the Creation of a DIY Aesthetic

Scissors and Glue: Punk Fanzines and the Creation of a DIY Aesthetic is a journal published by oxford university on behalf of the design history society. The journal gives an overview of the history of punk fanzines. Fanzines were made by individuals as opposed to companies and had a specifIc aesthetic that stood out against the typical corporate magazine or newspaper. They were looked like collages and would have handwritten text along with a mash of fonts, and were were only a few pages. Although the punk fanzines had “no specific agenda” (Triggs, 2006) the production of the fanzines were a comment on class politics. Usually writers for newspapers etc. would be middle class and had studied to make formal pieces of text however, the writers of fanzines were from working class backgrounds and unlike usual publications ,it would not have to go through editors and approvals to get published so the fanzines would be informal e.g. would have cursing and opinions in it. It brings up the question credibility of the DIY fanzines and lower class writers.

One word that is associated a lot with the punk movement is “anarchy” I find this interesting because the connotations of the word anarchy are usually bad in the sense that its out of control, in a state of disorder, and creates confusion. But the punks owned the word in their language of resistance. Anarchy was part of the asethetic that they created with visual language. The word anarchy means to not have a governing power, I think this represents how systemic the class divide is even in our language the idea of having no power structure is synonymous with disorder. It engrains the idea that we need to have the bourgeois and proleteriat in order to have stability even if one is constantly being exploited.

I think that a current language of resistance would be how younger people have made it “trendy” to be buy more sustainably. With the rise of popularity of buying from charity shops and apps like Depop or Vinted. As a response to fast fashion, individuals prefer to buy cheaply from said places rather than large chains, like H&M, where most clothes end up in landfil and were created through the exploitation of countries with less regulations with working conditions and sometimes no minimum wage. The kind of clothes that can be thrifted has become an aesthetic and seen as fashionable. I do not think this is necessarily a subculture but is still a language of resistance against capitalism. 

Although, it seems like the sustainability movement is becoming like the fanzines in an unfortunate way aswell. Corporations have jumped onto the craze and the market is not just independent individuals but also large businesses mimicking what people want, drowning out authenticity and ultimately funding capitalism.

What I learnt the most from this article is the power of semiotics. The written and visual language that the punk movement created was a big part of the subculture and helped people identify themselves wit the subculture and how they represented themselves and the community. The creation of fanzines and reinforcing the aesthetic was a form of self empowerment. Therefore created confidence within the punks and a shared experience between them. 

Triggs, T., 2006 'Scissors and Glue: Punk Fanzines and the Creation of a DIY Aesthetic',Journal of Design History, Vol. 19, No. 1, Do It Yourself: Democracy and Design, p. 69-83 

[wastelesscrafts]

Crafting on the cheap

Introduction:

When you want to learn how to mend or make clothes, the costs of tools and materials might seem daunting. However, it doesn't have to be!

Mending your clothes is a great way to save money. Every piece you mend is a piece you don't have to buy anew.

As for making clothes from scratch, the materials and especially the time you invest in your craft might not weigh up to buying fast fashion. That's true. However, there are ways to at least keep the costs of your materials down.

Making your own clothes does have one financial edge over fast fashion: as you get better, the items you produce will end up being of much better quality than your average fast fashion piece. They'll last longer, which means you'll have to buy new things less frequently.

Unlike fast fashion, everything you make will be unique, too!

How to keep things cheap:

Tools: needles, embroidery hoops, fabric scissors, crochet hooks, seam rippers, chalk, rulers, pins, darning eggs, maybe even a sewing machine,... All things you might want when you're just starting out.

If you're completely new and aren't sure if you want to invest in any tools yet, ask around if you can borrow some of these items. Maybe your crafty friend will lend you their hoop, or perhaps you've got a community centre nearby that has sewing machines available to the general public. Some libraries also run tool libraries, which are well worth a check if you're starting a new craft or even looking to remodel your home.

Don't skimp out on sewing needles. A good sewing needle is worth its weight in gold. Blunt or ragged needles will cause you much frustration, and they'll damage the item you're working on.

As for fabric markers: you could invest in some good tailor's chalk or water-soluble fabric markers, but you could also just use sideboard chalk or an old piece of soap. These will give you less precise lines as they're thicker than tailor's chalk, but they mark well and wash out easily. Don't use anything like a biro or a crayon, though. They will permanently stain your fabric.

Check if you have a local freecycle group: if you're lucky, you may find people who just quit their craft and are giving away all of their tools.

Second-hand shopping is your friend! A lot of thrift stores have a crafting section. I've managed to get almost all of the common knitting needle sizes for €5 at my local thrift store, for example. If you don't have a physical shop nearby, check out online second-hand platforms like Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Vinted, Poshmark, Depop, or whatever your local equivalent is.

Note that if you end up buying a second-hand sewing machine, you still may have to spend some extra money on maintenance or repair, depending on the state of the machine.

While this blog promotes reusing as much as possible, it's also important to acknowledge that's not always an option. You'll occasionally find cheap tools at shops like the 1 euro store, Dollar Tree, 100 yen shop,... Whatever your local equivalent is. Honestly, if you use your tools until they break (or sell/give them away once you're done with them), it's okay. You'll be using them to save other resources by mending your clothes, which will offset the use of your new tools.

Notions: thread, buttons, zippers, ribbons, lace, interfacing, elastic, bias tape, embroidery floss, beads,... You can't get started without whatever basic notions your project requires.

Just like needles, don't skimp out on thread. Weak thread that breaks easily is frustrating to work with and will cause your mends to deteriorate faster.

Again, check the crafting section of local/online second-hand shops and ask around in freecycle groups. You'll frequently find people selling/giving away their notions.

Speaking of thrift stores: a lot of second-hand shops receive more donations than they can sell due to overproduction in the fast fashion industry. My local shop even holds regular €1 sales just to get rid of their excess stock. So, don't feel bad about buying garments just to repurpose parts of them for your craft projects. Whatever you don't use now can go into your stash for future projects. If you run into uncommon sizes or disability aids, or if you live in an area with specific shortages, maybe leave those items for people who need them more than you do. Apart from that, everything's free game.

Don't throw anything away. Use your broken garments as a source of raw materials, instead. Your moth-eaten blouse probably has buttons you can repurpose. The lace on that lingerie set with the broken bra hook can be used to modify other underwear, or to cover up a hole in your favourite dress. That hoodie that ripped last week? If the zipper's still fine, it's perfect to fix up a different hoodie with.

Patterns: if you're new to your craft, you're probably looking for good patterns to follow, but even those you can often get for free.

Got a favourite garment that fits you like a glove? You can duplicate the pattern and make your own version of it.

Looking for free knitting/crochet patterns? Make a Ravelry account. They have a huge collection of both free and paying patterns available.

Need free sewing patterns? Check out sites like Freesewing.org.

Invest time into making proper pattern blocks for your body if you've already got some pattern drafting experience under your belt. Once you've got a few good basic patterns, you can modify them into anything you want them to be.

Check if your local library has pattern books.

Look up vintage patterns online. Sites like Gallica or Archive.org have plenty of magazines and even old sewing manuals available for free.

Don't forget about Pinterest! There's plenty of free patterns to be found there, too.

Ask your crafty friends if they have a pattern you can borrow.

Learn how to draft your own patterns, or how to sew/knit without patterns! It takes some experience, but once you've got a good grip on the basics, it's easier than it looks.

Materials: good quality fabric and yarn are expensive. That's a fact we can't change. What we can do is look into cheaper sources of materials.

I've mentioned second-hand shopping multiple times in this post, and I'll do it again. It's an absolute goldmine of raw materials.

Hunting down cheap yarn? Look for people who just quit knitting and are selling their yarn collection online. Browse your local thrift store for sweaters made of nice yarn that you can unravel into a new skein. Also check the shop's craft section for unused skeins, while you're at it.

Looking for fabric? Take a look at your thrift store's curtain and bedding section: once that curtain's a dress, nobody will know it once hung in front of a window. If it's good enough for princess Giselle, it's good enough for us. Just make sure your curtains/bedding are made out of materials that are suitable for making clothes. Thrifted maxi skirts and maxi dresses are also a great source of fabric thanks to their length.

A lot of fabric stores have a discount corner with leftover bits of fabrics that are too small to sell at full price.

Again, don't throw anything away. If you've turned a pair of jeans into shorts, keep the legs to patch other pants with. Your old pillow case might make for a great skirt. That leftover yarn from your last project might be just enough for a pair of socks. Be creative. Start a stash with bits and bobs that you can dig into whenever you need to patch something up or replace a zipper or something. Encourage crafty friends to also start a stash so you can trade with them.

Conclusion:

Mending and making clothes does not have to be expensive. If anything, it might save you money. While you can't reduce the time needed for your craft project (because let's face it: time is a luxury), you can find ways to at least make your tools and materials cheaper.

I absolutely live by the things mentioned in this post. Check out my latest yarn haul, for example:

[ID: 58 skeins of various types of yarn spread out on a wooden floor.]

If I had bought all of these skeins new from a shop, I'd have paid hundreds of euros. There's some very fancy wool in there! What I did instead was look up people on Vinted who were selling their yarn collections, and buy their stuff at a fraction of the retail price. It's a win-win situation: the seller gets some of their money back, I get cheap yarn, and a whole bunch of pre-existing materials that otherwise might have gone to landfill will now be turned into clothes.

#wasteless crafts #diy #upcycling #cheap crafts #recycling #money saving #fast fashion #slow fashion #fibre crafts #fibre arts #knitting #sewing #crochet #mending #modding clothes #second-hand #thrifting #zero waste #zero waste crafts #global warming #climate change #reuse reduce recycle #clothing repair #sustainable fashion #sustainability #life hack

[soupbabe]

Hi there! Could I ask for some hcs for La Squadra with a gn!S/O who's into like thrifting and upcycling when it comes to fashion? Like they'll just walk in on their s/o trying on a shirt they thrifted and sewed/edited and they get curious? Tysm if you end up taking this request, have a wonderful day/night! 💕

La Squadra w an S/O that Goes Thrifting!

~~

Sorbet and Gelato

- They will follow you everywhere you go

- Shopping with them can be a hassle, it's mostly because Sorbet has a tendency of overspending

- Especially when it's at a thrift store, everything is so cheap it's very easy to forget it all adds up at the end

- Please make/pick out outfits for them omg

- They wouldn't be with you unless they didn't think you had a suberb style, it's only natural they want a Y/n-inspired fit

Formaggio

- He's also a frequent shopper of the thrift store, but he's surprised you found something good

- Ngl I just think half of his outfits are thrifted, the other half stolen out of a dumpster

- Finds out you can sew? Oh yea he's asking if you can sew all the tears in his pants for him

- Prosciutto and Melone know how to sew clothes, but Formaggio's clothes can come to them rancid

- Both in stench and in how bad of a condition they're in

- If it's not reduced into a string, Maggio will still wear it

- He adored your sense in style and was shocked to you bringing in bags of clothes from the thrift store

Illuso

- You didn't know he was there. He was hanging out in your mirror

- Confused him greatly when you started taking measurements and cutting up the bought up items

- You nearly cut yourself on sewing scissors when he showed up, going off about how you're wasting money

- "Illuso, I upcycle them. I make most of my clothes"

- Is he embarrassed to know he was wrong? Yea. But he apologizes anyway (though it was just a brief "sorry" and into the mirror he goes)

Prosciutto

- He is so impressed that you make/upcycle your clothes

- He always had a knack for more expensive tastes so seeing you create something out of (what he believes is) nothing, he thinks he adores you even more

- You once took him thrift shopping and he found himself enjoying it

- Granted, half of the clothes there are tacky t shirts and clothes that obviously belonged to someone's grandparent, but he was able to find some diamonds in the racks

- And when you made him his own upcycled outfit?? Oh my god he loves it, only wearing it for special occasions

Pesci

- He's very impressed and will constantly compliment your work

- He'll also do whatever he can to help you make your outfits

- Even if it's something as simple as pinning fabric down, he's just so happy to help

- He also happy to go shopping with you, sometimes pointing out clothes that he thinks would look good on you

- Overall Pesci thinks you're so stunning and creative shdjdjdn

Melone

- I feel like you two mostly bonded over your fondness of sewing

- Ngl it's obvious that Melone made his own clothes, there's no way in hell you'd find his bodysuit anywhere else

- I think going thrift shopping is a common date between the two of you, giving each other small projects/challenges to do out of the stuff you find

- He adored your creativity and your fashion style

- It's a common thing for your go to gifts for each other are various outfits

Ghiaccio

- I feel like he likes to watch you make your clothes

- He doesn't really care much about your fashion, though he likes how you look and create your own style, he just thinks the process is fascinating to watch

- Though something just tells me he's the kind to nag you about your process if it's not up to his standards 💀

- But it's mostly safety concerns and him putting your pins back into the pin cushion

- He's not a big fan of going to thrift stores though, he doesn't like being surrounded by dirty clothes

Risotto Nero

- He knew that you upcycled clothes, you've always offered to fix his up all the time

- Sometimes you make him clothes and he enjoys trying them on

- Literally the only time you find him wearing a shirt is only when you made it for him

- His taste could be more out there, so having someone who knows their way around a thrift store is a big help when he wants to find something

- And when you show off your new clothes?? He gets so happy to see the proud look on your face, spinning around to give him the full view of your new work

#jjba #jojo's bizarre adventure #jojo's bizzare adventure golden wind #golden wind #golden wind x reader #la squadra x reader #jjba la squadra #sorbet and gelato x reader #sorbet and gelato #formaggio x reader #jjba formaggio #illuso x reader #jjba illuso #prosciutto x reader #jjba prosciutto #jjba pesci #pesci x reader #jjba melone #melone x reader #ghiaccio x reader #jjba ghiaccio #risotto nero x reader #risotto nero

[lovely-necromancy]

A Cure for Insomnia CH. 8

TW

Mentions of SELF HARM. Please be aware before reading.

“Yeah, in the end Jenna Rosencali decided that she didn't want to invite Meghhan Levei to her birthday party. And that's what started the water balloon war at eight in the morning.” Little Jo said as she scrunched her curls trying to get them to dry somewhat uniformly.

The poor eleven year old had walked into the shop soaked down to the bone. Her cousin had rushed her straight into the break room to have her get dry and change clothes. Even running across the street to Dunkin' and get her favorite breakfast sandwich and donut. Then Jo had come out not even a minute after he left and proceeded to tell you what happened, knowing her cousin probably thought she'd been bullied.

But you were different, you didn't see her as a target at all. She likes to think you see her as a little sister, one who enjoys hanging out with you. As much as she likes to think that she understands you probably just see her as the boss' kid that you have to be nice to. You don't immediately jump to her aid when things look a certain way, like just right now. You waited to hear what she had to say rather than assuming someone was mean to her because she was different. Jo knows her family just wants to protect her but sometimes she just wants them to listen to her like you do.

“It's always Megans. Lemme guess name spelt weird.” like right now, you heard her.

“Yea she's got two 'h's in the middle. Meghhan.” she laughs as you roll your eyes. She tics and yanks on her hair as she's scrunching.

“Ouch” stupid tics.

“I've got some shea moisture in my locker in the break room, want me to grab it for you? It'd help with frizz.” another reason she likes you, it took a few days before you stopped checking on her tics, so long as she didn't have scissors.

Even her family haven't mastered that and they've been dealing with her Tourettes for six years.

“Please.”

She follows you to the back for the hair masque. Letting her take what she needed you place the jar back in your locker. Letting her know she's free to it in emergencies like this or rainy days. It's not like your locker was ever locked with just you and Nate being here. And you're pretty sure Nate dipped into this emergency hair saver as well. You didn't have an extreme need for it here it was just a habit you've kept from living in muggy humidity most your life.

“How's your week been?” Jo asked as she finally settled her hair how she liked it, with help from the masque.

She startles at the frustrated noise you make as you both leave the break room.

“Bad?” she questions.

“Sort of...there's...this..it's...”

Shit, you hadn't thought about your response. With all the stress this week you just reacted naturally to the question. Who can blame you, what with your stalker being on your mind all week, minimal amount of sleep, plus the weird interaction you'd had with Brian at the start of it. Then yesterday you topped off your stress with a healthy portion of more frustration driving up to the lodge after work to see if Barclay would like some help with cooking or even shopping for the picnic. Stubborn man sent you off with a hearty laugh after getting you opinion on the vegetarian/vegan main course, eggplant teriyaki or tofu and pineapple chipotle skewers.

“Oooooooh a boy.~” she might not be your actual sister...but you're starting to understand the Cain Instinct.

“Half right I guess.” Jo starts bouncing waiting to hear more, she's probably expecting some juicy relationship drama. Sucks for her that you are probably the world's most boring twenty-four year old, and you're content with that.

“Barclay's just frustrating sometimes.”

“Wait! You and Barcl-”

“Nope.” you interrupt, “I asked him if he needed help with any cooking for the picnic and he brushed me off.” You know he didn't mean anything by it and from what everyone said he could more than handle cooking for the amount of people just fine on his own. You'd just thought it'd be a nice gesture to offer, though you did hope he'd accept. He'd been pretty quick to turn you down, had you been any one else you may have even been insulted by the speed of the rejection.

“That's what's bothering you?” Jo's face held a very confused expression on it. It was understandable since not a lot actually bothered you, especially something as small as this. However, it's not like you could tell an eleven year old 'Yea I'm kinda being stalked right now and this week has me looking at every shadow and movement differently but fortunately or...unfortunately no one seems to notice and just brush it off as my hallucinations.'

Yup, totally not the thing you confide to an eleven year old about. Especially now that you have your plan all figured out. You've planned to let the stalker continue stalking you, picking up clues where ever they may leave them. They're bound to slip up at least once after a month of following you through your routines. Should be able to find evidence to have Big Jo help you in no time.

“Well no...I've just had a lot on my mind...”

“We can talk about it.” kid's got a kind heart, but this isn't her problem and you won't put it on her.

“Nah, it's fine.”

There's a pause as silence settles over the shop front. Jeez how long does it take to get an order from Dunkin'? Jo is staring at you as if she can see every part of your being. Breaking open your soul so all your secrets are laid out on display for her. You really don't like it, it feels like being under the microscope and it's making your skin get that familiar itch under it.

“Stop staring.” thankfully she does as you ask.

“...you said it's fine...are you going to be ok though?” Damn Montessori schools, actually allowing children to pick up on emotions and meanings behind linguistics.

You have to pause when you go to respond with the polite 'Yea I'll be good'...because you hadn't given it any real thought. You've made up this best case scenario plan. A plan that requires time and a lot of it. But you never gave thought to the fact that you might not have much time at all. What if the situation was more dire than you thought...what if this wasn't simply a stalker but a serial killer and you happen to fit his MO. A cult who was looking for the perfect sacrifice for their god. And while those thoughts could also be far fetched so is the scenario that you've built up for this past week.

Even if this was a simple stalking case, who's to say it wouldn't escalate? You have an old steel baseball bat in the hall closet and you could use it in case things got dicey. But that would require it being on your person a lot more than it actually is. Maybe you could make it look like you took up going to batting cages...are there even any batting cages in Kepler?

'Fucking focus...stop the rambling. Am I going to be ok?' you think to yourself despite the roaring chaos of your mind. Even with all the possibilities being thrown around you don't have an answer. Maybe that's really the answer after all if you can't get even one 'yes' from any of the possibilities...maybe you wouldn't be ok after all. Maybe you weren't ok.

“I don't want to talk anymore.” It's said so plainly, in such a dull monotone that it throws Jo off.

Jo's not quite used to this but she understands from the two times she's seen it that sometimes you just shut down under pressure like this. This topic, whatever it is, must really bother you. She wishes there was something she could do to make you feel better, but you can be really volatile in this state. Easily going from shutdown mode to meltdown at the simplest action.

With a jolt joined by a 'yip-yup' she remembers something that might put you in a better mood. And if it doesn't she still needs to give it to you so you have it. Rushing off to the back as fast as her legs will take her, having the agility only years of dance can provide.

Nate comes back into the shop as she disappears to the back.

“Did you know the Dunkin' across the street does parties?” What? To the man's credit he had no reaction to your blank stare and lack of response. He clocked the eye contact aversion right away.

You've gone into shutdown mode. Sometimes you just go quiet and that's fine, you're like a robot in this state and if he sets you up with a task that should take all day you have it finished in a few hours.

Once when he asked you just said you needed to not talk at time and that the tasks were good ways to process thoughts. Nate was reasonably creeped out by this but you aren't hurting anyone so c'est la vie.

“Nate?” Jo's calls out from down the hall.

“Yea, I'm back. Brought food.” he set the bag on the counter and handed you the shitty hash rounds you like for some reason.

'It's only cuz they're bad, if they were good they wouldn't be worth eating.' you think as you pop one into your mouth.

Jo comes twirling back into the room. In a broad sweep of motion kicks her foot off the floor to do one final dramatic twirl that ends in a bow with the same leg pointed toward the ceiling. All to present to you and Nate two tickets. Tickets to what?

“Another dance rehearsal?”

“Nope actual thing this time.” she supplies passing you each a ticket.

It's such a formal looking ticket for a recital that only goes up to age twelve max. Most dancers will still be in elementary school. But they want you to treat this like the Russian Ballet. Oh it even says it's a black tie event, completely different from the rehearsals you've been too.

You aren't sure if you have anything black tie status. You'll have to make a trip further out of your normal bounds and go thrifting for an outfit. Luckily it won't be happening for another month, that gives you plenty of time to try finding something in your size that you also like. It also gets you out of Kepler and away from your stalker for a few hours. Hopefully. But there's a chance your stalker will follow you on your outings away from Kepler so you'd need to keep an eye out for familiar faces on the trip.

“YN...will you come?” Jo's looking up at you with her big puppy eyes. Unfair, even if you wanted to decline she pulled puppy eyes. What heartless monster would refuse puppy eyes.

You give a slow nod along with a smile that doesn't reach your cheeks let alone your eyes. And while Jo's a little disappointed with the lack of enthusiasm she's still excited for you to come to her recital. Nate nudges her into her personal reading nook making up a lie that you hadn't finished your task sheet today so he'd watch over her while you finished working. You'd only had vacuuming and organizing the shelves that got mussed up the previous day, needless to say you were done nearly as soon as you started. When he came back to you he had a whole stack of papers for books that would need to be input into the system. You got to spend the rest of the day on the dinosaur computer in the backroom.

The quiet was nice.

After you'd gotten off work you still weren't out of your funk. Frustrated with the idea of going home and not actually being alone with a stalker prowling around. You decided to go to the one place that can calm even your worst of moods. The stream.

There's a reason why you've never been able to do longer than a thirty minute hike through the Monongahela and that's the stream. Every time you've said you'd go further into the forest you're always drawn back into that spot along the bank right under the red spruce. It has the best smell of all the trees, you think.

Just thinking about it has you having a better outlook on the day. You hardly spare the RV a glance as you go along your usual route.

You've said it once you'll say it again for emphasis. You could walk the same path every time you came through and always find something different. Like that cool rock right there. Picking it up to inspect it closer you note the color is a deep dark brown that it almost looks black even obsidian, it reminds you of something but you can't quite place it. It's very smooth and oddly enough fits perfectly in your hand given it's larger size.

You think you'll keep it, this is a good rock. Idly rubbing the smooth surface of the stone as you trek through your trail, you can feel the tension start to ease off of you. You found a very nice worry stone, it works amazingly well. Hopefully no one lost it and it is just a naturally occurring stone that you happened on by chance. As much as you like it you'd hate to think of the chance of someone loosing something they need.

All thoughts cease once you hear the babble of the stream. As if on auto pilot you move with a fluidity through the brush and low hanging tree branches to your spot. Right under the spruce. Just as you did the last week and every other trip before you remove your shoes and socks placing them further behind you, so you can dip your feet into the cool stream. It's very refreshing on this hot summer's day.

Lying down with your feet still in the stream you close your eyes and just loose yourself to nature. All your cares and worries getting washed away by the steady moving stream. It's strange to be here without the buzzing in the back of your head. Oh great speak of the devil and he shall appear. It's fine, after all you're used to this, it's easy to ignore.

However, what isn't easy to ignore is the snapping of a branch, from in front of you just across the stream, how cliche. Cliches aside the sound rockets you back into a sitting position as you look for the source. And you find it...find him standing just on the other side of the stream emerging from the brush on that side. Toby. And he's mask less, not a weird choice considering he probably wouldn't have run into anyone had you not decided to come out for a hike.

Great you can feel your chances at friendship slipping through your grasp just like the water slips down the bend. He's gonna think you're weird when you don't respond to him verbally. Or worse he'll think you were rude for not wanting to talk to him and then never want to talk to you again in retaliation. Whatever relaxation had once been over you quickly dissipates and you are left anxious and with a tickle at the base of your skull.

Toby hasn't said anything yet. Not even a raised hand in a half wave. You also don't see Connor anywhere. Is Toby okay right now? Fuck even with that kind of thought you can't manage to move your lips let alone actually utter a sound, even ones that wouldn't ever be counted as words by anyone who was currently living. So you take the first move, literally.

Raising the hand without the stone in a mock form of a greeting. Toby doesn't seem to quite register it or you but he copies the movement. Oh he must be dissociating either that or in a catatonic state similar to the one you'd been in last weekend. That's probably how he knew he just needed to sit you down and keep and eye on you. You could do that for him...if that's what he needed.

You wave your hand beckoning Toby to come over to your side of the stream. Toby tilts his head to the side before his arms jolt up, going across his body. You assume it was a tic because he didn't keep the pose long. Tilting your head back at him, as if to say 'You coming over?', you pat the spot next to you.

Seems he registered that because he backed up a few steps before taking a running leap to cross the stream. He lands with more grace than you'd given the lanky guy credit for, normally someone with such long limbs would be a lot more clumsy. Not to mention that was a pretty wide jump, and Toby only has a few inches on you, you could probably barely cover the width of the stream. But he not only cleared it but he gave himself a good six inches of coverage away from the edge. You just hope he didn't roll or over exert anything by doing that. With his insensitivity to pain he wouldn't feel it and if he wasn't here mentally right now it's likely he wouldn't even remember he made a jump like that in the first place.

When he just stands in place staring at you, you get a bit uneasy. What's up with everyone staring at you today? You get really uncomfortable with people's stares normally, and now you're overstimulated and stressed it's not a great combination. But you can rationalize Toby is having a moment of his own. And since he helped you the best that he could you'll do the same for him, pushing aside your own issues for the moment. After all what are friends for.

He's standing within arms reach. You don't even have to get up as you gently grab his hand and give a few light tugs. Trying your best to get across that he should sit down with you. This would probably be a lot easier if you could speak right now. Did he speak to you when you were like this?

Toby thankfully gets the message and drops into a criss-cross position next to you. You start to retract your hand, now that the need for contact is over, when Toby's rough hand closes around it suddenly. Looking to Toby he's just staring straight ahead and not at you. His eyes aren't frantic or moving in any way, like yours sometimes do when you're following a hallucination. Physical closeness must help him through this kind of thing.

As gross as the feeling normally would be for you it isn't so bad right now. It seems Toby's CIPA also affects his body's temperature and his ability to sweat. Where there's usually the feeling of burning and clammy moisture coming off of another person, Toby is just tepid and dry. If anything it feels as if you're being held by a leather baseball glove.

Toby's hands are very rough, especially his palms, maybe you should let him burrow some of the goat milk lotion Dia gave you a few weeks ago. It smells pretty good and it only takes a little bit to soften your skin back up. But as you look closer at his hands you can see the spots roughest are around his nail beds. Someone has a biting problem, maybe he needs an oral stim toy. That would keep his flesh out of his mouth, and stop him from injuring himself...hopefully. There's still a chance he'd bite through his tongue without realizing, honestly you're a little surprised that hasn't happened yet.

You had completely forgotten about the stone in your hand until you went to grab at Toby's hand that still held yours in a firm grip. Seeing the dark brown rock again you remembered what it reminded you of, Toby's eyes. They were the same shade as the rock, that's funny...anecdotally at least. This rock helped you maybe it would help calm him down some. Worth a shot.

Since your hand closest to him is preoccupied you have to reach across his body to nudge the rock to his hand. He spares it a single glance before covering it with his other hand. Mission partially accomplished you guess. Now you're just sitting here, with Toby catatonic, by the edge of the water bank. Pulling your feet from the stream you mirror Toby's pose, you'll likely be here a while.

While normally you'd love to just loose your self to the sounds surrounding the stream, in the presence of another person you're too jittery to enjoy that. If only you had something to fidget with... You wonder what Toby's reaction would be if you just... Toby turns his head to watch you when he feels a gentle smaller hand on his own. Dark eyes watching intensely as you pull his hand into your lap. Turning it over so his palm is facing up, before you start tracing patterns into his palm lines and flexing his fingers individually. He watches for a moment before turning back to his original point.

Playing with his hand you noticed a few more things about Toby. From his chipped black nail polish, a look you personally think not enough guys go for even though it makes them look more attractive and approachable. To the single string paracord medical bracelet he's wearing, metal tag simply stating 'TOURETTE'S SYNDROME'. And a little further down you see scars, a few are crescent shapes easily identified as Toby's own nails. But most are straight lines, even a few jagged cuts, that run up and along his forearm.

'Tobais...what on Earth happened to you?' just as the thought rings through your mind you feel a sudden weight on your shoulder.

Toby is resting on your shoulder with his eyes close. You can tell he's just resting them by the lack of movement behind the eyelids.  With his head being on your shoulder you can smell him, not in a creepy way but he's just so close that his scent waifs your way. He smells like fresh dirt...it isn't a bad smell. It reminds you of gardening but on an overcast day. It hadn't rained today so how does he smell like it?

Moving your attention back to his hands, and away from how nice Toby smells, you catch sight of the scars again and bite your lip. Not wanting to dwell on the scars and their implications any longer. You curl and uncurl his fingers and start a rhythmic motion of curling them individually.

'You poor sweet boy.' is the only thought you can focus on. Even though the scars may be old and those wounds long healed. Toby at one point made them and it's very apparent that he is still not in the best way mentally. Once the two of you are friends, you'll do your best to be there for him. Like you are right now...you really hope it helps.

Toby didn't make even the slightest movement until the sky had begun to bleed its deep oranges across the horizon. He pulls his hand out of your grasp. And when you try to retrieve it to keep up you activity he softly pushes your hands back to you. Guess he's done for now.

With as late as it is, you'd like to go home. And Toby seems more aware of the things going on. But it isn't until you hear a call for him behind you two and he reacts looking in the direction of the call, that you decide he's safe enough for you to leave here.

Without much hesitancy you push off of the ground and stand. Toby isn't looking at you. Taking that as a cue you head back towards the entrance of the forest. Before you leave the clearing however, you look back to Toby and notice a dark colored stone resting nicely in his palm as he idly brushes a finger across it's surface.

Yea he's going to be fine.

#ticci tobyx reader #ticcitoby #ticci toby #timothy wright #timothy wright x brian thomas #timothy wright x reader #masky x reader #masky #hoodie #brian thomas #brian thomas x reader #creepypasta fanfic #self harm mentioned

[pbandjesse]

I am glad we didnt do the market. I am still a little sad about it, but Angie told me tonight that they closed early because of the storm anyway. So it all worked out.

I slept okay last night. I woke up at 8 but I did not get out of bed until 9. James came and laid with me a little. Then the water on the stove started whistling, so they went to handle that and take the trash out. Where they ran in to our neighbor who lost their phone in an uber and needed help. So because my partner is a lovely person, they helped out there.

I was upstairs slowly getting ready. I wore comfy clothes because I knew I would get changed for work later. I just needed to be warm so I could do things in the studio. I loved the outfit I changed into. I kept calling it my "stupid little outfit" but like in the best way. Like look at those changes in scale! The long sleeve shirt under the baby doll dress, the socks and sandals in mid November?? Just the best outfit.

I would have a little breakfast. A donut and a soda. Me and James had a lot of little laughs today. It was good.

I would work in the studio from the time I was dressed until 11. I made 10 more bears, sewed and given eyes and noses. I wanted to do more but my machine was not cooperating. I might need to get a nicer machine, because while I love the simple singer, I am just running it ragged.

But with a lot of cursing, I finished the 10 bears. And watched a video. And put in their little faces. I am so pleased with them. I would like to double the amount on Monday and Tuesday. But honestly this week is so busy. But it will be okay. I will get everything done I can.

At 11 me and James headed out into the stormy world. We drove out to the county to go to Joanns for poly fill and vellum and silly scissors. We ended up helping a really nice mom and her son who wanted to start to draw find the best types of markers (posca) and explained what different paper types are and what the numbers and weights mean. It was nice being able to help.

We had some trouble finding velum though and that was annoying. Eventually we found sheets in the scrap booking area. Got 5 sheets just to try it for some of our save the dates. We worked on that when we got home and I think we will finish them all like this.

After joanns we went to Savers next door. It was busy! But they have self check out now?? At a thrift store?? Amazing. I am very excited about that.

We did not find any candle stick holders, but we got a few little Christmas presents. And then I found a banana cat plush and was so excited about that. They are such a good hug.

We tried on shoes but there was nothing worth while. So after paying we went to get lunch.

We had five guys. And it was nice just chilling and eating and scrolling on our phones. But it was time to go home.

We got back here and the sun started coming out. We took all the labels out of things. And got to work on our save the dates. We used the silly scissors to cut the prints I made down and regular scissors to cut the velum into 4s. James would glue things down and I would make sure everything was clean enough to put under a heavy book to dry.

Once we were done that I had to style for a while. I feel very behind, I am not, but it feels that way. I styled my two people I had to do, and played animal crossing for a while. I was tired, but there wasn't really time to sleep. So for the last hour I was home, I changed into my good outfit, and laid in bed watching tiktoks.

I was not looking forward to tonight. And when I would eventually get there poor Angie was already struggling. Apparently the wedding party had showed up at 230, hours early, already drunk, and not particularly kind. So that was frustrating. I actually had a few issues with this party.

Specifically the officiant went missing, there were at least 5 late guests (they came in as the bride is going down the aisle), and the bride complained about me!

That one hurt! I was back in the gallery, talking to guests, showing machines, having a good time, when the wedding party comes up and I wave, the bride waves but doesn't look at me, they are with the photographer and I was like, bet, they are taking pictures in the galleries, that's cool. So I got out of their way, I followed them into the machine shop and said, "Hey! I can turn the shop on if you want?" but the larger group didnt acknowledge me. Someone at the end of the line was like! Oh cool! We will come back for that.

And I was like okay! I will be here!

And then ot a minute later, after the wedding party had left that space, Angie comes up and was like you are here! And I was like. Yes. Well apparently when the party came back they wanted to see the machines and since they were not on they went to complain to Angie that I was not back there and they had paid for me to be there. Except I was there!! They never came back up there. It hurt my feelings.

But everyone else was nice and I had some lovely chats. My favorite bartender was there. I gave a little tour to some of the catering staff. I felt a little awkward all night, but I was okay. It was a good night still.

At the end of the night I sat at the desk while Angie went to get a coffee at the gas station. She would have a long night. But soon I got to go home. With like 3 pounds of crab dip. Neither me, nor James, will eat this. But it is fine. We will find someone to eat it.

I was really glad to be home. James made me spring rolls. I gave them the legos I got them for their birthday. A little one and a big one. They put the little one together already. We will put the big one together, together this week I am sure.

We hung out for a while. I took a late shower. And now we are in bed. Where I just discovered that the banana cat's banana closes?? With velcro?? Amazing.

Tomorrow we have the special train trip for James's birthday. I hope it is just a really nice day and we get to see lovely nature and farm land. It will be a lot of fun.

Sleep well everyone. Take care of each other. Goodnight!!

[lihikainanea]

Tiger and Bill wait until the lasttt minute to go shopping for Christmas decorations and no surprise, stores are cleared out. I mean shelves are barren. They both have been so busy and this the only day they could make it out to the shops. Tiger wants to have an absolute meltdown right in the middle of the third store they’ve visited but Bill knows how to take control and calm her down. But Bill always has a solution and finds a way to get them decorations another way (thrifting, crafting - Thanks Pinterest, family donations, etc).

Oh my god this is so precious though? Christmas is so weird this year--fuck, everything is weird this year. But I find people got into the spirit super early, like right after Halloween. And when I went to buy a few more decorations at the end of November--THE END OF NOVEMBER--the shelves were empty. Empty. But also the whole festive spirit has been going on for so long that it also kind of feels like Christmas is...over? I don’t know. I peaked around December 1st. I feel like Christmas happened at some point last week and like everything else in this cursed year, it was underwhelming and utterly disappointing and left me even more sad.

Wait, what’s that? Shut up Lei? Yeah alright.

One of the many things I love about Scandinavian Christmas is how very understated the decorations are. They’re just so beautiful and minimalist, classy, elegant. And for all the beautiful ones you can find in the stores, you can make their equivalents at home with just a little patience and some things from nature.

Bill grew up making paper stars in school, the kind that all Swedes hang from their windows around this time of year. He even learned how to make the classic woven Danish hearts, stuffed full of sweets in their own convenient heart-shaped basket to give to his older relatives. He learned how to put branches of spruce and pine together, dotted with pinecones, into a nice mantlepiece. He learned to pick up dried twigs and berries and to fill vases with them, and some twinkle lights.

So maybe our two favourite idiots have just been kind of busy; Bill’s been away for work and tiger’s whole festive spirit comes from spending this cozy season with her Big Dude, and she hasn’t been able to do that yet. So instead, she pours herself into her work and by the time they both realize it, the festive season is well underway and there’s nary a decoration to be found in their dwellings. They talk about it one Friday night, cuddling on the couch with some glogg that Bill had just made, and they vow to rectify the situation tomorrow. The apartment must get merry.

But that’s just the thing--the shelves are just...barren. Tiger even makes Bill jump to check way high up on the top of the shelves just in case anything was still hiding at the back, where nobody of normal size can see. But there’s nothing, not a holly berry, not a mistletoe--nothing.

Tiger is upset. She’s grumpy and snippy because god this sucks, she just wanted a bit of the festive spirit and everything is gone. Bill already has a plan but truth be told, if he tries to get tiger into arts and crafts when she’s in this kind of mood, she’ll likely cut him with her crafty scissors. He lets it be for now, settles her with a blanket and a mug of glogg when they get home. He doesn’t say anything.

But the next morning, maybe he slips out of bed a little earlier than usual. He gets set up at the kitchen table with all kinds of things that he can turn into all kinds of other things. And he’s at it for a solid hour, when he hears tiger’s angry whine from the bedroom--the bed is pretty cold without him, and in frustration she launches a pillow out the room and he watches as it slides down the hallway. Taking one of his little crafty pieces, he heads to the bedroom where she’s already scowling at him.

He holds the tiny, little bundle of sprigs over her head and smiles softly at her.

“Mistletoe,” he murmurs as he kisses her, “Good morning.”

“What are you doing?” she mumbles sleepily.

“Decorating. Coffee?”

She nods her head, but she also reaches her arms out for him so that he’ll pick her up. And he carts her to the kitchen that way, like a koala stuck to his front, and settles her at the kitchen table. He pours her a mug while she pokes at all of the supplies.

“What is all this?” she asks.

“When I was in school we used to make all of our own decorations,” he plunks the mug in front of her, “And I still remember how, so I figured home-made decorations are better than no decorations, right?”

He sits back down and takes her feet in his lap, and then gets back to work. She watches him in her sleepy stupor, watches him cut out little paper trees and string them together, watches him weave together a red and white heart, watches him cut snowflakes out of folded paper. Eventually when she’s awake enough she reaches for the scissors and cuts a few strips of paper, tries to follow his movements.

“Like this kid,” he says softly, guiding her hands with his, “Over, and then under.”

They’re at it for hours. Bill shows her how to bundle pine and spruce sprigs around branches and tied with twine, to hang up anywhere. He shows her how to make mistletoe--and then sticks a bunch in her hair, so he always has an excuse to kiss her stupid.

#Bill skarsgard #bill skarsgard drabble #BFF!Bill #christmas #holidays

[thedappleddragon]

hooooo my fucking god I don't know why but recently my anxiety/sence of dread has SKYROCKETED in the last 3 days, I haven't been sleeping great and last night I had an anxiety dream about manning the register at work. idk I guess today was fine but im so fucking overstimulated I guess?? I seriously just dont fuking know. but anyway here’s a summary of some days that I may or may not remember. putting it under the cut

Wednesday I was exited to work, they didn’t need me, I hung out with my friends at their outdoor band concert and had boba and it got super cold out

Thursday I went with my dad to drop off a car, then we had breakfast together at a little restaurant I had never been to before. He told me about his childhood n stuff. Then I went to work and priced things outside and felt good about helping some people buy plants even tho I didn’t know exactly what I was doing and ended up handing them off to Becky anyway. Got off work, came home, hung out waiting to be able to go visit my friend but she took a while so dad and I made the snack he had a lot as a kid which was just handmade chocolate frosting on graham crackers. Eventually my friend got home so I grabbed one of those graham crackers in some Tupperware and some other stuff and headed out. It was a longer drive than I was expecting but eh whatever, I got there no problem with a bunch of dad’s shit in the back of the car. We had awkward hellos in her apartment and I pet her fat ass cat until she suggested we go thrifting and oh my god I had never wanted to go thrifting more in my life than right then. I had one of those moments where I realized oh I’m an adult who can go out and just DO things :D so we walked around and gossiped in goodwil and had a great time until they closed, whereupon steph frantically looked for anything that was open near us while I drove around. We settled on going to a little park nearby, where we climbed on the tube with holes on it and swung on the swings. Then we walked around a dense tree/brush like and into the middle of a field, having our main character moments as we walked to the top of a hill with a cross on it. I took a picture of the sunset and a selfie with both of us before we walked back through the field and drove back to her apartment. I gave her 2 tiny flower jars and she let me borrow her container of earring hardware and a bunch of different tiny things to make into earrings. I had a great time and I’d love to hang out again, maybe when everything isn’t closed lmao. We joked a lot about understanding why people do drugs lmao since there’s nothing else to do! everything’s closed!! Also some joke flirting mixed in for flavor. We have an excuse to hang out again so I can return her earring supplies and she can return my Tupperware lol. I thought my phone was going to die on the way home before I realized there was a charging cord in the car! Nice. Got home, watched my friend stream plasmaphobia for a bit while I finished a birthday gift, and hung out and slept when she quit streaming. 

Friend’s birthday party day!! Also dad moving day!! The first task of the day was to drive with my dad down to the nearest uhaul to pick up a big ol’ truck, and follow him home in the car while he lead the way in the truck. Then we brought his car full of shit to the apartment, got his key and paid his first month, and looked through everything to do inspection. Tbh it’s a pretty nice apartment, I’d love to spend some time there once it’s a bit more furnished. My favorite part is a Harry Potter style hidey hole closet that’s meant for storage, but it’s the perfect size for a secluded hangout spot for me. I’ll totally let him use it for storage if he wants, I just like sitting in there. I joked that I would let Emily hang out in the spare bedroom and I could get the tiny room. But we spent time cleaning and looking around and bringing in boxes before dad sent me to pick up lunch, my sister, and another car load of boxes. I left to do all 3 and came back with Mcallisters, and we all sat on the floor and ate together. A very nice way to break in a new apartment. We brought in boxes and dad sent us on a quest to pick up a car part and drop it off where the car we dropped off the day before. We got there just fine, but getting to the second location was a nightmare because of all my wrong turns and u turns and no left turns, it was awful. I mean we got there eventually but still. By then it was time for me to get home so I could wash my hair and get ready for the party!! I got everything ready, but my sister wouldn’t be home with the car on time, so I just took my mom’s van. I was on time for once!! But in exchange I didn’t realize I had forgotten Cassidy’s gift until I was like 3 minutes away. But also I found driving my moms van very easy compared to last time I tried to drive it, and I think I’m a much more confident driver now :) but I was one of the first to arrive, accidentally twinned with cass, waited for everyone to show up, met her new dog, and then we all packed up the picnic basket and walked to the top of a hill to have our little sandwiches and play cards against humanity. On the walk there we passed by a park where little kids were asking why we were all dressed up if it wasn’t Halloween, so I shouted at them that it was her birthday and handed them the branch I was carrying. We played CAH on the hill and ate little sandwiches and meatballs and drank sparkling juice and had a lovely time, and when we were done, we walked back to her house where there was pizza and we all changed out of our formal wear. My bra was sewed into my dress with 6 stitches, so I grabbed some scissors and flashed my friend’s cat as I cut my bra free of the dress because I forgot to bring an extra. I changed into my ghostbusters shirt and snake onesie and joined everyone outside for pizza and lots and lots of stories and ice cream cake and gossip and quiplash and balloons and gifts and CAH and friends leaving and new friends arriving and more quiplash and then the grass getting cold and wet and going ham on keeping the balloons up and then playing that’s what she said (basically CAH but ✨for women ✨) and by this time there was a dude I didn’t know but he was very nice and cute and already taken. Tbh I didn’t know half the people there, there was a group of 4 cool alt people I had never met and then the 4 band kids I already knew but everyone else seemed to know each other and they all had great energy so I yelled a lot and joked a ton and had an amazing time. As the crowd dwindled and the night got cooler, I helped put things away before I left so I could be a nice guest, said my goodbyes, gathered my things, and drove home past midnight. Ask walked around the house turning off lights like my mom asked, I realized that my dad wouldn’t be sleeping here anymore, and I felt bad that he had to spend the night all alone in his new apartment :( and this is going to be a huge financial burden that idk if he can afford, rent for the apartment is almost as much as my mom pays for the house. Jejdjgjt this is all a mess and I would like to go back to ignoring it all <3 Listened to a lot of two trucks by lemon demon lmao

Hoo boy howdy I did a lot of shit today. Basically as soon as I woke up I got a text from dad about us helping him move with a promise of donut holes and a fruit platter. I walked out to the garage to find our family friends the drakes helping to move boxes, so we all spent several hours loading boxes into our cars and driving back and forth from the house to the apartment, with emily and I avoiding the drakes as much as possible lmao. When we had moved as much as we could in the car, we started loading up the uhaul, shoving as much shit in there as possible so we only had to do one trip there and back. Partially through unloading the truck the drakes stopped cleaning things before we brought them in left and some randos from dad’s work came to help unload and somewhere in the middle of all this our aunt and uncle and her service dog came to visit?? Bruh idk so much stuff happened. Emily asked me to take her home so she could work on school stuff and we put things back into the garage and I went back to the apartment to help with stuff and hang out with my aunt while my dad and uncle returned the truck. We made a list of stuff I might need for college and I wrote it down on a notepad and most of the page space was taken up by ponies tbh. The men brought back burger king and eventually my aunt and uncle left. I helped my dad clean up and set up his wifi and we watched mama Mia. It was my first time seeing the film, and it was really dang fun. Then I made dad drive me ho e since emily was still gone with the silver car. I’ll spend he night over there eventually, but not yet. I’m exited to eventually invite friends over since I’ve never been able to do that before. So now I’m home trying g to go to sleep so I can work tomorrow. I keep thinking about smoking weed and making out with someone in the hidey hole in dad’s apartment............ even tho I have literally no one to do that with afsagssg I’m a CHILD. 

Had dreams last night about being stuck on the infinity train again, except there was a mechanic of switching the world between 2d and 3d and the cast of Bluey had to help bingo go through stages of grief / character moments to help her get off the train or something. I was tossing and turning for a few hours anxiously waking up thinking I was gonna be late and going back to bed so I could sleep/dream more. But then I finally got up, fed my cat, fed myself, helped clean the kitchen a little bit, got ready for work, arrived 15 minutes late on accident, worked register for 6 hours, got more comfortable with register and learned how to do stuff, lots of friendly people, lots of me struggling and my bones hurting, dad brought me food but I couldn’t get to my lunch break until everything was room temperature. The chicken sandwich reheated well but the fries did not. After work dad and I stopped by the house, I got an info card to fill out so I can be called in for jury duty eventually, dad handed me $50 for dinner for us and my sister, we laid on the floor and looked at the noodles and company menu, drove there, picked up our food, had a lovely dinner at dad’s apartment, laid around while he talked to Greg on the phone, went to target to pick up small apartment things like a clock and a trash can and some small groceries but it made me nervous because I hate spending money and watching my dad spend money he may or may not have, and by then we were tired as shit and after dropping his stuff off emily and I drove home and I tried teaching her how to crochet for a school project. Now I’m hanging out wanting to go to bed and thinking about how everybody else my age working at ACE is doing like 60 hours a week with 2 jobs and saving for college and I’m just sitting here with probably 14 hours a week and fuck. I don’t want to spiral into shit, I just want to keep busy as much as possible. Maybe I’ll ask for as many work hours as possible, maybe I’ll ask my friends to hang out, idk. Right now I jut want to be busy so I don’t have to think about anything. I’ll spend as much time as possible helping my dad set up his apartment, I don’t care.

WAAAAA TODAY AT WORK WAS SO STRESSFUL, I LEFT FELLNG SO FRAZZLED IT SUCKED. basically I worked register for 4 hours but they’re all trying to ween me off asking for help to get me more comfortable, and we were surprisingly busy, and my garden boss becky asked me to do 2 extra things and my boss boss kept asking about paperwork that I couldn't fill out because I needed my sister to text me something, and an old man got mad at me over the phone because no-one was out there to fill his propane tank and I had a lady waiting for 10 minutes for someone to help load salt into her car and a middle aged man tried to use sarcasm at me while I was in friendly cashier mode aND IM SORRY I HAVE ADHD I DONT GET IT PLEASE S T O P and I tried answering the phone more and I didnt get the things done that becky asked and I left shit there because I just wanteD OUT. afterwards I went to target to get something, idk im writing this afterwards so I not really remember 

and today, my day off. ugh god I dont remember what I did, I know I picked up a vent for my mom’s bathroom and I just went to go get Taco Bell with my sister and bought her some more about crocheting and she’s making progress :) tomorrow is my friend’s birthday and last year I made her a felt doll of her fursona, so today I started making a crochet doll for her. so far I have the body and libs, but I still need to make the muzzle, tail, ears, attach everything, and hand-sew on all the markings and glue on button eyes. or maybe felt eyes, idk. my stomach hurts and I got upset because I told my mom my cat may be sick because her pee looked suspicious so I crocheted and watched my little pony and now I have a headache and im just trying to listen to music but really I just want to watch 50 arms videos at once but it wasn't loading right and idk man I dont know what’s happening, I may be going into work tomorrow. I think now that I have a job to do 3-4 times a week, I dont feel like I can just chill and wing it anymore, it’s like I have plans forever now. and oh god I still have to sig up for college orientation night or whatever, but my mind hasn'tt been on college for like a month or longer. I think im just going to take some Advil and try to relax with my cat and my music. holy shit dude. I know none’s gonna read this but just. fuck. also I should really post these more frequently rather than let them pile up in my texts. thinking about going back and adding all the dates like I did with my early quarantine diary, but that feels like a lot of work

#thanks for coming to my ted talk #may 2021 daily

[dallonm-archive]

Hi! I love ur WIP oh revelations revelations, and I was wondering if you could give ur characters physical descriptions?

hi thank you so much!!! not gonna lie i ~suck~ at character descriptions (really I’m just not confident in them) and the ones I do aren’t overtly detailed and feed a lot more into showing their personality combines with appearance. Plus as a reader I will create my own image in my head if I don’t get something from the author lmao. So this will just be some rambles with some picrews and IRL photos (I don’t do official faceclaims and will get into that, but I do use some to help visualise what’s in my head), and also fashion because I love fashion and I love 80s fashion and I have to stop myself from writing 389424 outfit descriptions <3 feat. some barely edited prose!! 

only doing the “main five” (are they truly the only main characters? I have no self control <3) because I lose track of which characters I’ve talked about so this is far from all the cast! And picrew/photo limitations mean these aren’t how exactly they look but it gives you an idea! Also I wrote this out and then lost it t w i c e :) Here are the two picrews I used: x x

Beau

My KING. It’s kinda funny to me because his description comes from the POV of a man who’s going to fall in love with him so whilst it’s not like “oh my god he’s so hot” I feel like you can DEFINITELY tell there’s something there. Beau and Felix aren’t exactly a slow burn couple lmao

Beau mirrors his mother. Same complexion, same smile, the only difference is his eyes are lighter and his curls are wilder, one absentmindedly coiled around his index. He wears a pistachio coloured button up with palm tree prints, oversized. A necklace with a shell charm, a brown beaded bracelet. He still grins at Felix, charmingly, as he continues to ramble about the music. Beau is effortless. He swims in the San Francisco colours.

This picrew captures him pretty well although I wish they had a facial hair option as he does have a bit of stubble

It’s all about the curls! He has a head full of them and they’re my favourite thing about him. This is a good example of where I don’t have a faceclaim but I do have pictures of a model that help visualise what I see: these pictures of Miles Frank were the first that resembled what I saw in my head, but only these two resemble him lmao. He’s not his faceclaim. Again, it’s all about the curls! (and the leather jacket)

He kinda has an athletic build not not overtly? Like he’s not muscular but he used to do a lot of sport as a teenager and he’s 100% the type of person who wakes with the sunrise to go on runs. Cannot relate but good for him! He’s around 5′10/5′11

Style is definitely important for his self expression but he also values comfort over fashion. It’s all about the oversized printed button ups (I found one in a thrift store that looks EXACTLY like the one in the description and I didn’t buy it I’m so mad!!! I failed both Beau and the queer community in that moment). He will wear All The Colours but he especially likes greens and pinks/reds. Leather jacket is a staple when the weather allows it. 

He also loves jewellery, especially bracelets, especially homemade bracelets. 100% makes friendship bracelets.

Dorothy and Felix

I’ll put these two together because they’re not identical but like, they are twins lmao. Life hack: if you hate description for the POV character give them a twin and make them lowkey hate each other so you can ~compare~

Brother and sister. Born minutes apart on a dreary January night that wheezed rain. Bundled in identical bloodstained blankets, porcelain limbs and faces indistinguishable - but as they grow, the mirror their reflections share starts to crack. Dorothy grows taller, then Felix overtakes at 16. Dorothy’s features soften, but she grows a glare that digs deeper than Felix’s ever could. Dorothy aims for the moon; Felix accepts that he’ll never leave. Dorothy maps out a survival plan for the outside world; Felix maps out how he’ll work for the Church. But they still share the cinnamon hair, the freckles peppering their nose and cheeks, the grey-blue irises and heavy eyelids. They grew into different people with the same face made of different stitching, the same blood infected with different sin.

Dorothy is the only one who kinda has a faceclaim but not really? I struggle with faceclaims beyond inspo/resemblance because like I said, I don’t have the most exact image in my head but I am still very picky so I can look at a pic and immediately be like YES or NO lmao. But also, an issue I have is that a lot of faceclaims come from models/actors; I have no issue with pretty characters (I would call mine pretty lmao but it’s never like. a character trait), but there is that element of conventional attractiveness as well as editing/posing/lighting for professionally shot photos. That’s just me personally though, love them for helping visualise ideas! Since Dorothy was really difficult to get an image of, a “faceclaim” really helped. I made her after Felix so her only descriptor was “brown hair like her brother, similar facial features”, until I saw these pictures of Jane Birkin from the 60s. Again, not an official faceclaim (Dorothy isn’t as skinny as her), but that was where I first got an image of her as an individual character and was definitely the foundation. Her hair looks exactly like that!

She doesn’t really wear makeup, it’s not a statement or anything I just don’t think it suits her haha. 100% wears astronomy themed jewellery though

Her favourite colours to wear are red and violet. I’d describe her fashion as quite casual and flowy? She loves blouses, especially ones with floral prints. 100% rocks double denim (we are pro double denim here). I’d say her style is also more 70s inspired than 80s 

She’s 5′9 which makes me 😳

I first made Felix because of a picture of Luke Powell, and I have to laugh because he is SUCH a common faceclaim on Pinterest but also suddenly I was just like ??? NO???? I held onto him as a FC for way too long when they don’t really look alike  

Fluffy hair! Floppy hair! This isn’t canon in the book yet because I’m not sure how to present it beyond a bunch of hair descriptions, but I can see his hair being much shorter whilst he’s still in the cult and then he slowly grows its out (not much longer, just messier and unkept until its like the picrew) - again I have no idea how to show it in prose but I think in a movie/TV Series that’d be a cool way to show passing of time but also him settling into his identity. If he wasn’t a coward he’d grow it to mullet length

He and Beau are similar heights - 5′10/5′11. I love height differences in couples but I don’t think that suits them? They’re more likely to argue over who’s the taller one because the inch or so difference is so subtle they can’t even tell LMAO 

I know this man just has the ugliest fashion taste but like in good way? Like you know when you see a sweater in the store and you’re like that’s so UGLY I need it? 100% owns both of these:

I think he’d wear a lot of yellows/oranges/browns but also blues. Would love a brown corduroy or bomber jacket, or dark/moss green??

Jolie

The way she was LITERALLY meant to be the main antagonist and then I was like wait but she’s hot lol. Jolie is a very interesting character to me - she won’t be in the next update but she’ll be talked about a lot in the one after 👁️ (Not obvious in the excerpt but the idea is Dorothy’s listing the “colours” of Jolie)

High waisted, baggy jeans distressed at the knee; matching denim jacket rolled up to the elbow. Faded blue. Cheap band print shirt. Blondie. Kitchen scissor-cut fringe. Bleached – originally chestnut. Chipped nails. Cherry lacquer. Round glasses with scotch tape around the bridge. Silver. Triangular face, straight nose. Pale. No makeup besides red lips. Whatever the cheapest red shade at the drugstore was in 1984. Combat boots with heels nobody else would travel in, but Jolie would. Leather black. 5’2. She smiles at Dorothy with her teeth. Lipstick stains her incisors.

Jolie’s been the hardest to nail appearance wise and it honestly this picrew is the only thing that visualises what’s in my head. 

At 5′3 she’s the shortest out of these five. She’s plus sized, which is another thing I find a lot of picrews don’t show very well unfortunately

She bleaches her hair just before we meet her in the book, and later on we see her cut her hair into a messy mullet style, before that it was shoulder-length. Would never pay for a haircut because hairdressers cannot give her what she wants

A lot of her style is a blend between masculine and feminine. She has a very complicated relationship with her gender identity which she navigates through her expression but she does embrace some elements of femininity, although to her it’s redefined to suit her perception of it. Her style is very similar to Jamie’s from Bly Manor. I think she’d also be influenced by punk and rock fashion.

She’s a gardener and it shows, definitely the type to tuck a little flower behind her ear. 

Isaias 

No character description for him because I scrapped and am currently rewriting the whole chapter where he’s introduced so :( but I will make sure to include it in the next writing update! I love him, he has such pleasant vibes

There is one picture that is very similar to how I see him, especially because the person in it is wearing a denim jacket and an oversized denim jacket is an Isaias STAPLE. The only problem is the photo is in black and white, also I’d like to see him smile.

I’ve been struggling to nail his hair but the picrew shows it quite well, albeit in a cartoon style. It’s all about the long side part

Besides the denim jacket he wears a lot of turtlenecks when the weather allows it, otherwise he’s a big fan of dress shirts. Loves to wear deep blues and purples. Depending on the weather, he’d also layer up with two jackets over a dress shirt. On the flip side I can see him wearing a pastel coloured blazer as well, like lavender? LOVE that. 

He’s a pretty average height, not short and not very tall. Around 5′8? 

Pretty much always has some kind of bag/backpack with him because he likes to have his notebook on him at All Times. 

I’ll stop myself there because this is getting long! Like I said, I don’t have exact images in my head but I do have well, an image lmao. I do like the idea that people can develop their own image in their head too based on what I’ve described so I hope that was interesting! I’d also love to do some art of these guys so I can show better what I see, but unfortunately my tablet is at my dorm and I’m at home and we are on strict lockdown for the foreseeable future :( someday! 

#Anonymous #revelations revelations #omg i have to change the tag on all the posts ive made #thank god for xkit

[thelittleredheadedmusician]

The Good Stuff

Rating: G 566 words Gen AO3

Kath pulled her favorite armchair into the doorway of her apartment. The antique wingback her friends had helped her liberate from a thrift store in Queens and then clean and reupholster. It was, undeniably, too heavy to be shoved across the hardwood like that but Kath wanted to be comfy. And there were the little felt things on the legs to protect her floor.

When she’d learned about the building’s trick-or-treat Katherine knew she just had to participate. She had no kids and at twenty-one was likely the youngest lone resident but there were lots of families and her neighbors were nice and Kath really liked Halloween.

So, she bought three of the biggest bags of candy she could find – charged to her family’s credit card – and a giant plastic bowl. Plus, lights and sparkly garlands and a pumpkin.

Katherine’s door was decked and pumpkin painted courtesy of Jack and placed in the hall. The first bag filled the bowl and the other two and her scissors were shoved under the chair. Which left her with a half hour to get her costume on before the kiddos would be taking the halls.

She was pinning her braids up so she could pull her wig on when her phone rang. Katherine hit accept without looking at it, still needing to finish her eye makeup. “Happy Halloween! Katherine Plumber speaking.”

“Where are you?” Specs’s voice warbled on speaker.

Carefully, Kath dabbed the silver glitter onto her eyes. “Uh, my bathroom?”

“Why?”

“Because I’m still getting ready?”

A crackling pause followed that during which Katherine stepped back to admire her handy work. The fishnets felt like a bit much but she was really glad she’d opted for black shorts overtop instead of a leotard.

Alfred may or may not have gotten her obsessed with Zatanna Zatara and Kath already owned the white button down, black blazer, and glitter. Wig, top hat, vest, and fishnets had been super easy to come by. Though she placed practicality over accuracy when it came to footwear. Docs were way more suited for a superhero slash all powerful backwards talking magician anyway.

Specs still hadn’t replied, leaving Katherine to frown down at her phone. “I’m missing something, aren’t I?”

“Uh, yeah? I was under the impression that you were meeting us at Jacobi’s before the party?”

Katherine cursed. “I told Jack and Charlie and then forgot.”

“Forgot what? Told what? I’m guessing this means you’re not coming?”

“I’m doing trick-or-treat for my building and coming to the party late. I am so sorry I spaced.”

Thankfully, Specs laughed. “No worries. Here we thought you got kidnapped or something. Good to know that you’re still in the realm of the living.”

She snorted, pulling on the long black wig. “Yeah. Definitely am. I’ll let you know if someone mistakes me for the real Mistress of Magic. Or recognizes me as Joe ‘Moneybags’ Pulitzer’s kid.”

“Please do,” he laughed. “And now you know who to call if you see a ghost.”

“Oh no. Elmer convinced you, didn’t he?”

“Unfortunately.” Though Specs didn’t actually sound that upset about it. “Ok, I’ll see you in a bit. Bye Kath!”

“Bye Specs!” There was the boop of the call disconnecting and Kath grinned at the time. Just enough to grab her hat and snap a few pictures before opening her door to sit and pass out the good stuff.

#newsies #katherine plumber #katherine pulitzer #specs #fanfiction #fanfic #my fic #own writing #writing

[im-not-shouting-im-projecting]

Some Seamster!Quinn Cooper HCs

I didnt intend for this to be this long, but my seamstress heart was inspired. I got kind of carried away, and had to refocus, so I'm going to do another post soon with some advice and anecdotes for wrighting costumers.

For the last couple of months I have been absolutely Obsessed with @poindextears 's Crickets, her SMH post-Waffle Frog OCs, and I have had a lot of headcannons about Quinn Cooper: a theatre kid extrordanare and Hoh icon who talks like he's from 50s and is the boyfreind of Nando (Cricket dman) as we have quite a bit in common. All of Mel's fics are amazing, and I would highly recommend! Give them a read on tumblr or AO3

--

I know Mel has said that Quinn's favorite place is Joanne's, which is completely understandable for someone who doesn't live near actual textile markets... but Joanne's (and similar chain craft/fiberarts supply stores) suck.

Like first of all, on a monetary level... I'm going to start with the assumption that high school Quinn didn't have a large project budget (reasoning: 1. his family is already tight with money, 2. I can't imagine his not-particularly-supportive guardians gave him lots of spending money (esp with theatre fees and materials) 3. I can't imagine he brought in tons of money on the side with a theatre schedule + grades good enough to go to med school + time with his old lady freind + time for sewing)

With that being said: Fabric is expensive. Way more expensive than people expect. Especially if you don't have expensive machinery (like overlock machines) that make cheap synthetic fabrics usable. Also I like to imagine Quinn is in the "fabrics made of plastic are itchy and bad for the enviornment" club like me.

All that is to say: Joanne's is absolutely the worst place that isn't actively upscale to buy fabric (or materials) on a budget.

- The shop's target demographic is stay-at-home white suburban moms who have the time to clip coupons, buy materials on a "when it's on sale" basis as opposed to a "my sister didn't notice the four seperate places I marked my shears 'fabric only' so now I physically cannot continue this project without buying new extra-sharp fabric scissors'" basis, and importantly: can stop by the store every day for a month because discounted items change on a day to day basis, all of which is not particularly conducive to someone a high school kids on a budget.

- Even with all the discounts in existance, the fabrics there are still super expensive and especially for the often lackluster quality (like... they are fine but if I'm paying literally $40/y for enough faux fur to make a big enough "mane" to cover the gap between the cowardly lion's padding and the actor's neck, we shouldnt have to sweep the fur bits off the stage at intermission)

- Additionally if you need a lot of fabric, say enough 7ft squares of heavy mustard yellow fabric for 30 lioness cape/pants? You might just need to run 4 seperate Joanne's out of two different fabrics that were close enough to each other to work

If you are putting in the time and effort to make something complicated,

- Also, and this is probably the most obvious: there just aren't that many options. If you want anything other than a cotton or fleece, than you better hope the single shade they have in the right color works

So I have established: Joanne's = Bad

So how does Quinn factor into all this?

Well first of all I would like to imagine that at some point Quinn helped out in SMH costuming, where they teach him the magic of using something that already exists. Samwell being as liberal as it is, I would like to think that the costuming people are aware of how awful the current state of fabric waste is, and, how his sewing skills are so much better used altering things at thrift shops beginning his journey twords my completeley basess headcannon that he one day adopts some vintage looks

While I think he would be down to adopt some of these practices in his costuming (a la my personal anectode below), I have a feeling that Quinn is one of those people who just likes to make things from scratch. (reasoning: 1 his general personality, but far more importantly, 2 THIS BOY WANTED TO MAKE EVAN HANSEN'S POLO BY HAND, WHY??? WHAT IS THE PURPOSE??? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH TIME THAT TAKES???????? YOU ARE WILLING TO SPEND UPWORDS OF TEN HOURS OF YOUR LIFE ON A MODERN STYLE SHIRT THATS GOING TO BE SEEN 4 TIMES???)

I get it, especially for historical reconstructions, there are people who genuinely love sewing by hand, I love Bernadette Banner as much as the next seamstress, but I honestly don't know how they do it.

I like to think that Quinn would be wandering around some thrift store and out of the corner of his eye notice some curtains and have a vision of frolicking through a meadow like Julie Andrews in cloths made out of a curtain... metaphorically. But he def gets "Do a Dear" stuck in his head every time he wears it

Of course the SMH Costuming crew introduce him to some better places to at least get draping and mock up fabrics, but I think they would also introduce him to an actual fabric store.

Samwell is close enough to Boston that I'm sure there's an actual fabric warehouse within driving distance, so when Quinn can't find a suitable material at his beloved Joanne's, and is understandably skeptical about ordering fabric online, Ford is just like dude, go to the fabric warehouse, so he gives it a try.

Ok his fist thought when he gets there is omg everything is so big. Ok, that's his second thought, his first thought is ugh this smells like the SMH locker room, bc a giant block of concrete with no internal climate control in the New England humidity stuffed to the brim with moisture-holding fabric is def gonna make some kind of funk.

But after that like...

Ok, on the left is your average Joanne's while on the right is your average fabric warehouse

I can totally imagine him physically getting lost. He is tiny, and those places are total mazes, absolutely ginormus, they are all stacked literally 8 feet tall, and all the rows look the same.

Fabric in warehouses is stored for maximum capacity as opposed to places like Joanne's where it is purposely stored in ways that display the whole selection at once. Additionally, while hobbyist bolts face out as much as possible so you can see it at a glance, professional grade bolts face in for protection

...If it's on the shelves at all, the hallmark of a textile warehouse is just dozens of bolts leaning haphazardly in precarious places

This tiny boy is just absolutely surrounded by rows upon rows of fabric, stored in ways that are absolutely not conducive to being looked at easily, and is incredibly frusturated bc Aggghhh I can't look at any of this without moving all of it around, and I can't reach any of it!!!

BUT!

Guess what he has?

Nando to the rescue!

Quinn's big strong dman boyfriend is more than willing to move around and carry the bolts for him and when need be he'll just straight up plop Quinn on his shoulders so he can see the stuff at the top :)

Ok, that's the gist of what I had to say, some other little seamster!Quinn hcs:

his old lady friend taught him the absolute basics, and his wedding gift from her is her 70 year old sewing machine that he first learned to sew on and he treasures that thing FOREVER

bc of his apparent love of hand sewing he is one of those people that swears by genuine leather thimbles, idk why it just feels like him

whenever people compliment his outfit he is just casually like "Oh thanks, I made it" (bc non sewers are always astounded by that and we get to gloat) because I said so

he makes Nando cute crop tops

#quinn cooper #the crickets #Poindexters #alannah talks about sewing #oh look i said something #sewing #costuming #quindo