#I sculpt amazing pieces and get 15 for it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dxrkluvie · 3 years

Text

SHALL WE CHERRY?

JEAN K. x EREN x FEM READER

threesome 18+ smut

Full story available on my ao3. Click here.

Story name : " Shall we cherry? "

If you like my stories, please support me on insta --> @/llllenaj

You: I am bad at first impressions.

Eren: Do you want me to drive you home?

You nodded and let him lead the way. When you reached his car, he held the door open for you. It made you blush lightly.

When he sat down on the seat next to yours, his shirt lifted a little bit, revealing his well-toned abs. You looked away immediately.

Eren: Are you okay?

You: Yes.

He started driving. The lights were reflecting on his face, you noticed how well sculpted it was. A few hairs were falling on his forehead.

He was just so fine.

You: How old are you?

Eren: 19. And you?

You: Me too. Thank you for giving me a ride tonight.

Eren: It's nothing. By the way, the offer still stands.

You: What offer?

Eren: Mushes and wee- WHO GAVE YOU YOUR FUCKING LICENCE FUCKING PIECE OF SCUM?- the boy yelled as the driver in front of you who took a right turn without flashing their indicators.

You: If you don't cuss on the way, you're doing it wrong.

Eren: I would love to crucify those fuckers.

You: I wonder if they paid their instructors.

Eren: Perhaps.

You: I've never done shrooms. What is it like?

Eren: It depends on how much you take. Typically you see the colors a lot more vividly, they're A LOT brighter and sometimes they'd move. Also, you could get an intense body high. It enhances your feelings and messes with your head but in a very beautiful way.

You: Oh, weird. Have your friends done it?

Eren: Yes. I am not into fake shit. Natural all the way, there's no such thing like dying from weed or mushes. UNLESS you've mistakenly picked the wrong shroom, but I'm not dumb.

You: I don't know...

Eren: You don't have to be afraid, I will take care of you.

You: Oh...- you looked down, blushing once more. Being all shy and mushy was so not you. But damn, this charming brat.

The boy shook his head and looked for his parking spot.

You: Wait, we are here already?

Eren: I assume you were too busy daydreaming.

You: Oh, sorry.

Eren's phone buzzed. It was a message from Armin saying:

' Hello, Jean drove me home, I would appreciate it if you let me rest for a little while on my own and not come home yet as this whole gathering thing was too much for me. Thank you, Eren.'

The boy texted back:

Okay, is Jean home though?

A: No, he went out.

E: Okay, rest well - he said and drifted away from the parking lot. - Change of plans. If you don't mind.

You: What happened? And I do not.

Eren: Something's up with Armin, he's just so sensitive like that. It will be fine.

You: I don't feel like going home yet...

Eren: Where do you want to g- before he could finish, he received a call. It was Jean.

J: Where the hell are you?

E: I should be asking the same. I am in the car with y/n.

J: Armin kicked me out of the dorm.

Eren rolled his eyes.

E: I am not sure what we could do.

You, mouthing: Maybe we could try a motel?

E: Y/n is suggesting a motel, are you down?

J: Yeah, just give me the address whenever.

E: Okay, cool.

They hung up. The boy looked at you, his eyes were beyond stunning. - Why a motel?

You: You know I am new here, I'd like to see what it is like outside of this city. Just curiosity.

One of your fantasies was to have sex in a motel with a hot stranger. And today's events were working in your favor. You thought it was oddly romantic and you'd always make up fake scenarios in your head where this was happening. You drove outside of the city for about half an hour. Eren was slowly losing patience.

Maybe we could try this one? - he suggested, pointing out to a random building.

You: Sure- you replied, googling the place- it has 4.7/5 stars and breakfast is included. $130 a night.

Eren: Sure. - he said and got out of the car. Next, he opened the door for you and waited for you to get out, before locking it.

You found those gestures cute.

When you entered the place, the receptionist gave you a weird look. It made you feel unwelcome. Eren did not bother reacting, he just took out his card out and tapped it on the pin pad.

Room #16 is for you - the old lady spoke - good night.

Eren: Night.

You walked to the elevator.

It fascinated you how unbothered he was.

You: Did you see that?

Eren: She's probably sick of random teens renting a place to party/fuck, cause they don't have their own places yet.

You laughed - I will give it to your cash.

Jean called again. The phone call consisted of him asking for the location, and Eren simply giving it to him followed by the questions '' Should I bring cherries and alcohol? '' to which Eren answered ''yes'' and hung up.

While you were walking past the other rooms, you could hear noises of all sorts. Sweet moaning, people fighting, loud music, and people yelling.

Eren unlocked the door slowly. You stood behind him, carefully observing his hand movements. It was oddly arousing. His hands were big and had some veins slightly popping out.

The smell of his expensive cologne was spreading into the air. He took his tie off and threw it across the room. The same happened to the hair tie that held his hair up.

Neither of you was talking.

You sat on the bed, and he did the same. Both of you had your backs turned on one another.

15 minutes passed in silence when Jean suddenly opened the door with a bang.

Jean: HELLOOOOOOOO!

Eren: Ew.

Jean: Get lost - the boy shook his head and placed the bag he carried with him on one of the nightstands- I brought what you wanted me to.

Eren: So, shall we cherry? - he asked, no one in particular.

You: What is that?

Jean: Kind of like a drinking game but not exactly. The rules are really simple. You dip a cherry in vodka and place it in-between your lips. The other person has to take the cherry without touching your lips OR they'll have to give you oral.

You looked away, squeezing your eyes and lips.

Jean: All good?

Eren: It's fun. You don't have to, though.

Jean: Yeah if it's not something you think you could have fun with.

You: No I would actually try that.

Eren: Oh? - his tone changed. The boy took one of the already washed cherries. Jean handed him a plastic cup where he poured some vodka and dipped the fruit in it. He placed it on top of your lips and you aimed to eat it right away.

Jean: You broke the rule.

You: Fuck, I am sorry it wasn't intentional.

Eren: It's okay. How did it taste?

You: Sweet and slightly bitter.

His eyes narrowed at you. It almost looked like he was putting a lot of effort into getting the fruit in between his lips, that you've been dying to taste for a while.

You leaned closer to him and he purposefully pushed the cherry away with his tongue - Oh shit it fell.

You: This was on purpose.

The boy placed his hand at the back of your head- I will give you a head if you want.

Jean: Can I join?

You nodded, embarrassed.

Another thing that has been a common fantasy of yours was to be fucked by two guys, but you never thought it would ever become reality.

Eren slid your right leg up. Jean did the same with your left one.

You laid on the bed, breathing heavily.

Jean lowered his voice, making it appear huskier - Relax, baby girl, you'll enjoy that tongue.

Eren lazily lifted your dress up, and Jean slid your pants down.

Both of them were taking turns to kiss on both of your thighs. You could feel your skin get more sensitive after every touch.

Blood rushed down and you felt warmth between your hips.

Jean spread your pussy open using his middle and index finger & Eren gave your throbbing clit a slow teasing lick.

Jean: She's getting wetter it's so hot.

Eren: I know.

This small dirty talk was causing your thirst for them to grow.

Eren: She is dying to get her hole licked, aren't you, y/n?

You let out a loud ' yes ' & shortly afterward you felt both of their tongues lick up and down on both of your pussy lips.

It made your toes curl.

Eren's finger started to slowly pump in and out of your hole as Jean's tongue was eagerly gliding up and down on your wet cunt.

The room got filled with your sweet " ah's " and "oh's".

At one point you felt both of their tongues battling one another across your clit and it was nearly leaving you breathless.

The boys stopped and looked up at you.

Eren: Have you done this before?

You: As in a threesome?

He nodded. You replied with a '' no '.

Eren: How is it going so far?

You: Amazing. I actually want to return the favor.

Both of them stood up.

Now you were off the bed, kneeling before them. You could see the lust in their eyes. Especially Jean's.

Both of your hands took a place on both of their dicks. They were gently stroking them as your mouth was giving them licks and sucks on their tips, going from Jean's cock to Eren's back and forth, in a pattern.

One thing you've noticed was that Eren was tenser, his body language was more indicative. He was rock hard, his pupils were dilated and he was thrusting in your mouth slightly when given the chance.

As for Jean - he was more vocal. He'd let out some quiet groans here and there and you would occasionally hear some ' fuck yes '.

Eren: Go lay down.

You did as ordered.

Jean: Hold on - the boy said and laid down first, leaning against the bed frame - you can lay on me.

You hesitated for a bit. Eren walked up to you, lifted your chin up, and kissed you. His hands slid down to your boobs and squeezed them gently. His thumbs massaged on your nipples. It made you wetter.

" Okay... " you said and crawled on top of him, having him face your back.

Jean placed his hand around your neck and kissed on it - Have you done anal? - he asked, whispering.

You: No.

Jean: Would you be interested?

You: Yes.

He placed his thumb on your lips, you licked it.

Jean: Shitt...- he grunted and slid both of his hands down on your body, as yours were surrounded his, supporting your whole upper half. Your legs spread open and Eren made his way to you once again.

His lips were on top of your clit, sucking and licking on it.

His thumb moved down to your asshole and he carefully massaged on it in circles. He stopped for a second and looked at you - I am going to insert it in... - the boy spoke quietly while doing so.

Your body tensed up. You felt full but in a good way.

To your pleasant surprise, he was good at giving oral and a bit more gentle than his friend was.

Jean: Should I stick it in? I want to fuck you so hard, y/n.

You: Go for it.

Eren got on top of both of you. He leaned forward to give you a passionate kiss. He did the same to Jean. You noticed how attractive he looked up-close.

You: Fuck that's so hot...

Eren's cock slid inside your wet pussy as for Jean's, in your back entrance. Slowly.

You moaned as both of them started to push themselves inside you.

Eren was about an inch and a half bigger than Jean. It made you leak. He smirked - You're that wet for me?

You: Yes - you whispered against his lips and kissed him.

Both of them started thrusting inside your holes at a quicker pace.

You moaned loudly and leaked a bit more.

The pressure was building up rather quicker than you expected it to as your sweet spots were stimulated at the same time.

You: Fuck I'll squirt all over you.

Eren stopped moving and placed his lips on your neck, slowly kissing down on you.

His tongue teased your nipples. They hardened even more. Every touch of his, or Jean's was making your skin more sensitive.

The view of you and Eren indulging made Jean stop for a second as well and enjoy the show.

Your hips moved against Eren's.

He bit on your lower lip - That eager, huh?

You: Yes...

Jean's hands were firmly holding your butt, viciously slamming it down on his while Eren was filling you up from the front.

You were nearly reaching your climax and soon you squirted.

Both of them mentioned how hot this was.

You giggled a bit. - I am pretty sure we will ruin the mattress.

Eren: Who gives a shit...

Jean: Y/n...

You: Yes?

Jean: Can I cum in you?

You: Yeah...it should be okay.

Eren stopped and took a chair, sitting in front of both of you.

Jean used you for his own pleasure, as for Jaeger - for his entertainment.

He began to jerk off to the view of you being fucked.

Your hole was tight and it made Jean cum instantly.

Eren: Oh shit... -

You: Can I get off? - you asked Jean.

He said ' yes '. Before leaving though, you gave him a kiss, which he returned.

Next, your lips transferred to Eren's. He held the back of your head. Your fingers ran through his hair. Your eyes locked.

You: Do you need help?

Eren: Sure.

Once again, you kneeled down. Your tongue licked on his whole length. Your mouth was on his balls now, taking each one in as your hand was stroking him.

His breathing got heavier and his precum leaked.

You: Are you enjoying that?

Eren: Very much so fuck...

You: Cum for me, Eren.

The boy grunted and shot out a few loads - Enough! - he said and gently pushed you away.

You looked at him.

Eren: You should try sex on shrooms, it makes everything × 10 better.

You: I don't see why I wouldn't.

You blushed. Both of your wildest dreams have combined in one in just one night and you felt somewhat satisfied. Both- sexually and emotionally.

Eren: How are you accepting what just happened?- the boy asked as he stood up and handed everyone a tissue.

#eren yeager #fanfic #fanfiction #shingeki no kyoujin imagine #attack on titan eren #eren jäger #eren jeager headcanons #shingeki no kyoujin levi #smut #jean kirschtein smut #jean kirschtein x reader #eren aot #aot smut #snk fanfiction #snk eren #snk anime #shingeki no kyoujin fanfiction

60 notes · View notes

jimlingss · 4 years

Text

Sugar and Coffee [14]

Chapter 13 - Chapter 14 - Chapter 14.5 OR Chapter 15

➜ Words: 4.7k

➜ Genres: 99.5% Fluff, 0.5% Angst, Pâtisserie school!AU

➜ Summary: It isn't hard to be a pâtisserie chef, but it's not a piece of cake either. It seems like for you in particular, life keeps throwing in one wrench after another. It always finds ways to make your sweets bitter. The cherry on top is Jeon Jungkook — a rival with a sensitive sweet tooth who always finds ways to complain about you.

cr.

“After we’ve rolled our gum paste and cut it, we want to pinch the ends while tucking and rolling all the edges to thin it out and distort the shape. Peonies aren’t perfect after all.” You follow closely after her, taking the ball tool to make press it into the sugar petal and roughening the ridges. Sejeong continues to explain, “It’s a back and forth motion. Just trace the edge. Like that. When you’re happy with it, just add it to the covered center. Slide it up, like so, and then fold them up and make it tight. Overlap them and there we go! We have our bud. Repeat it for the other layers and watch that alignment. When it’s dry, you can colour it with petal dust.” When the older woman finally looks over, she’s stunned. “That’s lovely, Y/N!” “Really?” You turn your head up, eyes burning after concentrating so hard while trying to follow along. “Yes, you’re a very fast learner. I thought I would have to show you at least a few more times, but it looks like you’re on the right track. See? Isn’t this a lot more fun than just piping flowers?” “It’s more realistic.” You smile. “Thanks for showing me.” “It’s not a problem. I’ll be right back, so keep on going.” She pats your shoulder and leaves for the front where her husband should be, probably in consultation with a couple. You continue, folding the petals up so the flower looks like it’s blooming. But then your focus is shattered by a frustrated grunt from across the island. “How are you doing this?” Jungkook’s eyes bore holes into the flowers you’ve completed. You grin at him and stick it into the styrofoam. Brushing your hands off, you walk over to see his attempt of a flower. It appears more like a squashed bug. “Are you adding the glue? Your petals are too thin, Jungkook. That’s why they’re breaking apart. Not too thin, but not too thick. Here, watch.” You demonstrate despite how Sejeong already helped him individually for the past half hour. You take another rolled piece of sugar paste, cut the pattern out and pinch lightly. “See? Try it.” You hand it off and watch diligently over his shoulder as he uses the ball tool. “Like this?” “You can put a bit more pressure than that.” Your hand gingerly wraps around his wrist, guiding his motion. Jungkook’s eyes flicker to you in the meanwhile, staring. He’s noticed it for a while now — it’s hard not to when his eyes constantly stray to you. But it’s clear you’re falling in love with making wedding cakes. That you’ve found a passion within this industry. It makes him glad to see you like this. It's hard though. Since it makes you that much more attractive. “Jungkook?” He puts down the tool and knocks his head back with a long, loud sigh. “Ugh. I can’t do it.” “Psh. Quit whining, baby. You can do it.” Jungkook looks at you, suddenly quiet. He leans in, doe eyes searching your expression. There might be something on your face, but he doesn’t say anything. You start to lean back when he gets too close yet the boy hovers over you, an inch away. You can feel his breath on your skin as the heat rises onto your cheeks. Jungkook’s lips part. “Can’t you do it for me?” You snort, pushing him away with a hand on his chest. “Yeah, right. You wish. You’re never going to learn how to do it if I do it for you.” Jungkook sulks as you return to your station. “I’m not even a fan of flowers. They always die.” “Well lucky for you, these don’t die or wilt. We just eat them,” you chirp mischievously before barking, “Hurry up, we have to learn how to use royal icing and pipe lace!” Jungkook scoffs lightly and tries to continue. Even if he’s a complete amateur, it’s cute to see him so concentrated. The daily routine has fallen into place. The pair of you have learned what you need to do and it’s easy to fall into a rhythm when it’s a consistent cycle of consultations and wedding cake making, practicing techniques and cleaning. And it’s not just you two who are in and out of the kitchen. Yuna comes often to help out every other day, usually flanking Jungkook’s side much to his dismay or being amazed at your piping and sugar decorating. “How’d you do that?” She looks at you inquisitively. “How’d I do what?” “Make those flowers,” Yuna asks, mesmerized at your piping. “Mine looks so…” “Here.” You smile softly to the younger girl. “I’ll help you. When you squeeze the cream out of the bag….” You enjoy the work — it’s fulfilling to see satisfied couples on their beautiful day enjoying a slice of what you’ve created. The cakes are breathtaking when they’re complete too and you can’t believe that you’ve actually done it. That you played a big part in making a day they’ll remember forever. Jungkook seems to like it as well — maybe not as much as you, but at least when he has some time with Namjoon and the two of them work on chocolate. They always discuss things you don’t understand and often turn the kitchen’s temperature all the way down to keep the chocolate from melting. It always makes the rest of you run away to seek warmth. “Have you ever tried sculpting chocolate, son? Made any chocolate showpieces?” “I tried to make a building once but it didn’t really end up working out.” “It collapsed on you?” “It ended up being a mess.” “Ah, I know how that feels. The first sculpture I ever tried was a phoenix and it was a disaster. But don’t worry. You’re in good hands now.” Namjoon laughs heartily. “You’re talking to the master of masters here, self-proclaimed, of course.” Jungkook grins and when asked what he would like to make first, his thoughts automatically stray to you. He hears your muffled voice filter from the front entrance, laughing with Sejeong. “Is it….possible to make flowers? Like a bouquet and a vase or something?” “Yes, great idea actually! It’s simple enough to build the rest of our foundation on.” They start to pull out bowls and saucepans. “Chocolate sculptures basically break down into three types….” You’re glad to be here, even when there were so many rumours that wedding cake internships were the hardest. Somehow, you always feel satisfied at the end of the day. Especially with Jungkook by your side.

“Well, you should congratulate them afterwards” “Why? Just do it after you ask for their names.” “But then you have to do it afterwards anyway and that gets repetitive.” “It’s not repetition to congratulate them on their engagement,” you argue. “It’s called good customer service.” Jungkook scoffs. “I bet they’re tired of hearing it all the time. It’s just unnecessary, and what happens if they’re not happy about it?” Your brow cocks. “They’re not happy to be getting married?” “You never know the situation of these couples.” The little shit shrugs, simply playing devil’s advocate to fuel the banter and relish in how easy it is to make you argumentative. “Maybe it’s a marriage of convenience or an arranged marriage or they’re doing it to get a visa.” “I highly doubt that, Jeon.” “I’m just saying it’s not impossible, so it’s better to be safe than sorry.” “And only congratulate them once?” “Exactly.” “You’re fun at parties.” His arm wraps around your waist and he flashes the biggest smile. “The funnest.” Before you can utter a single word, the bell at the front rings and Jungkook’s warmth is gone from an instant. He takes a step to the side like he never showed you physical affection in the first place. “Welcome to Kim’s Wedding Catering Company. Do you have an appointment?” The woman, with long blonde hair draped down her backside, pushes her sunglasses up her head. She tugs her expensive pea coat that’s keeping her warm over her dress and leggings. She looks familiar somehow, but you can’t quite pinpoint what it is. “Yes, I do.” “Congratulations on your engagement!” you quickly interject, much to Jungkook’s dismay. You grin at him and he has to repress his smile, simply shaking his head to show his disapproval. The woman smiles. “Thank you. My name should be under Kim Chungha.” Jungkook flips open the book, but your brows furrow. Your brain searches. You’ve heard that name somewhere before. Wait a minute… “There she is!” Sejeong emerges from her office with a wide grin. She opens the gate to waltz to the woman and engulf her in an embrace. “I almost thought you weren’t coming!” “Sorry, I was running late.” Jungkook leans over to you. “Who is she?” “It’s Sejeong’s sister,” you say and he nods, enlightened. “These were the two interns I was telling you about, Y/N and Jungkook. Y/N and Jungkook, this is my dearest, younger sister, Chungha.” “Nice to meet you.” She comes over to shake your hand and Jungkook’s. Chungha turns to her sister, expression endeared. “They’re so cute.” “Yeah, the young ones always are. Full of that hard-working spirit,” she muses. “How long are you staying here for?” Chungha glances at her wrist watch. “I have twenty minutes give or take.” “Perfect. I’ll let these two give you a cake tasting and then you can be on your way.” “Are you sure you don’t want me to look at the design or anything?” Chungha asks, voice moving up a few pitches. “You don’t want me to decide the tiers or look or the flowers or the decorations? I read online that the cake should match the theme of the wedding.” “Aren’t you stressed enough with all your other wedding arrangements? At least let one thing at your wedding be a surprise.” Sejeong scoffs, hands placed on her hips. “If you can’t even trust Namjoon and I, then who can you trust?” “Alright, alright.” Chungha concedes and Sejeong allows the pair of you to take over, not wanting to influence her sister’s opinion too much. She leaves and you follow the usual protocol, taking out the decorated slices of cake on the long plate for her to try. “How long have you guys worked here for?” she asks as she tastes the first one. “For several weeks now.” You quirk your head to the side. “Two? Three?” “I think three,” Jungkook agrees. “I know they were pretty swamped ever since Soohyun went on maternity leave, so I’m glad that they have two more sets of hands here helping out. But do you guys enjoy working here?” The older woman’s eyes are curious. “You can be honest, it’s okay. I won’t tell. I know my sister can be tough.” “I actually really like it. I don’t know about him.” You laugh while hitching a thumb to the person beside you, throwing Jungkook under the bus completely. He’s stunned and Chungha takes the opportunity you’ve set up to tease him too. “Ooh, so you’re the slacker, huh?” “No. That’s not it,” he defends. “I just wouldn’t say I’m passionate about making sugar flowers and piping and stacking cakes.” “Which is half the job,” you chime. “I like the chocolate work and the people I work with,” Jungkook says with a cheeky smirk, outright staring at you. Your face heats like a furnace and you divert your vision elsewhere, mustering a half-hearted scoff and retort. Chungha notices the exchange and smiles to herself. She tries the next slice, and suddenly hums. “I really like this one. Is it chocolate?” “It’s chocolate with ganache.” “Well I guess, I finally found the one!” Sejeong’s younger sister is pleasant. She’s kind compared to the many bridezillas you encounter on a daily basis that request a gluten free, vegan friendly, and dairy-free cake in the shape of a heart with a large, customized slice for Uncle Joe. Chungha even compliments you both as great workers and leaves praise to both Namjoon and Sejeong that you appreciate. You find out that she’s getting married in three weeks — a destination wedding in French Polynesia right by the beach. Apparently the whole venue is ready and the last step was the cake that her own sister was going to make. With the way she describes it, it sounds lovely. You wish you could come see it for yourself. “We’re not taking any bookings since we’re going to have to close up shop for the wedding,” Namjoon mentions passingly. “Oh, how long will you guys be gone for?” “We’ll probably be gone for about a week,” Sejeong says. “We need to get there at least three to four days before Chungha’s wedding to prepare the cake and then maybe two or three days afterwards just to enjoy ourselves. It’s not often we’re in a resort in French Polynesia.” You exchange a discreet look with Jungkook. A week off doesn’t sound so bad. Kind of nice actually. But then Namjoon exclaims— “So you two better start packing!” “What?” You whirl your head over. Jungkook is a deer in headlights. “We’re coming?” “Of course you two are coming.” Namjoon laughs exuberantly. “We’re going to need all the help we can get! The flight and room is counted as business expenses, so you guys don’t need to worry about anything. Think of it as a business trip slash vacation privilege that you get in this internship.” “Weren’t you supposed to tell them about this on their first day?” Sejeong frowns, mouth dropping open. “Did you forget?” “Was I?” Her husband chuckles tensely much to his wife’s exasperation. “Can I come?!” Yuna interjects herself, standing on the tips of her toes, excited by the proposition. “School is done for me then!” “This is Sejeong’s side of the family and I’m sure she already has all her guests already planned. It’s rude to crash someone’s wedding.” Namjoon lolls his head to the side, waiting to see how his niece will argue. The young girl pouts. “Yeah, but Chungha knows me. Plus, I’m not just a guest. I’d be helping with the wedding cake.” “Okay.” Namjoon seems to contemplate it and the girl is hopeful until he smiles, revealing the other trick he has up his sleeve. “But what about your summer school?” “I…” Yuna opens her mouth and then closes it. “I can always skip or...catch up later.” “I don’t think so, missy. Your dad’s going to have a word with me if you fail math again and then you wouldn’t be able to work here at all.” The high schooler pouts, stamping her foot. “This sucks.” “We’ll come back sooner than you expect,” Jungkook says and she looks up at him. The boy smiles gingerly like an older brother to a younger sister. “We’ll get you a souvenir.” “Really?” “Yeah, sure.” That seems enough to placate her and Yuna hums underneath her breath as she continues on. It’s cute to see their interaction. You and Jungkook buzzing with excitement too. You’ve never been to French Polynesia and traveling while working is a win-win. It couldn’t get better than this. // “What a coincidence — I may or may not have been shopping online late last night again and impulsively got myself a sun hat. Now I can put it to good use. I should probably buy a new dress or two or maybe sandals,” you sing-song. Jungkook is amused at how you’re throwing all your money away practically in a fire pit — but you like to argue it’s money well spent. Better than him buying video games, anime figurines, and more IU merch. “Should I get a bathing suit?” “Be careful. You might just blind everyone on the beach.” “Okay, fuck off, Jeon.” “I’m just kidding.” He laughs cheekily and when he passes by you, he taps your nose lightly. You blink and Jungkook boyishly smiles. “You could go topless if you wanted and I wouldn’t mind. Trust me.” “Gross.” Your expression blanches and he cackles, moving away. “I will if you wear a speedo.” “Yeah and I might be the one to get arrested when my goods spill.” Your eyes roll. “Not if we go to a nude beach.” “Is that a proposition?” Jungkook’s irises sparkle in the light. You flick flour towards him. “You wish.” It’s another one of those late nights. The both of you are off work but are still willingly here. The shop is closed, Namjoon and Sejeong gone, but you’re still using their kitchen to practice what you’ve learnt. They’re happy to let you use their space as long as you keep it tidy and clean. Some of Jungkook’s music is playing softly in the background and you’re tapping your foot to the rhythm. You’re working on a sugar rose that’s abundant in petals, dusting the tips with a light pink. There’s a long silence as you concentrate, the jazzy melody keeping the kitchen from being solely white noise. And right when you’re about to finish, Jungkook’s arm slings over your shoulder. He presses to your side and leans over to look. “Woah. Did you do that?” “Who else would’ve, dumbass—” Giggles bubble out of your throat when he starts to tickle you. “Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean it! Jungkook!” He lets up, but is still sulking. “Show me any more attitude and I’m going to hold you down for a tickle torture, brat.” You’re rendered speechless at his dominance, but he pays no mind, too busy looking at the sugar flower. “I was going to say that it’s amazing. It looks real, Y/N. Better than real actually.” “Thanks.” “How’d you get so good so fast?” “I don’t know.” You can’t help being bashful. Jungkook’s stare is intense and you clear your throat obnoxiously, getting a grip. “Maybe cause I don’t suck.” His brow twitches. You jump out of the way before another tickle attack can ensue. You laugh as he starts to chase after you. “Jungkook! We’re not supposed to run in the kitchen! It’s a safety hazard, don’t you remember bakery safety and sanitation?!” “Then stop running, Y/N.” He’s on the other side of the island as you round a corner. Every direction you walk, he mirrors you. “No, you first!” “You started it.” There’s no way you can win against his muscle pig-ness, so your eyes flicker to the door and with a breath held, you book it to the doorway. Unfortunately for you, Jungkook already detected your plan the minute your eyes strayed away from him. And with two strides, he has his arms around your waist. He pulls you up in the air as you giggle and squeal. “Caught you.” Jungkook grins. “I win.” “Okay, okay!” He puts you down in front of his station. There are metal sheet trays on the counter with something rather special on them. “Is this what you’ve been working on with Namjoon?” “Not exactly.” Jungkook smiles. “We had some leftover strawberries that no one was using so I made my infamous chocolate-covered strawberry cupcakes.” “They look too pretty to eat.” He did a good job with the piping. The frosting is a light colour of taffy, swirled on top with the chocolate strawberry. “This was what Taehyung was raving about, right?” “Yep.” He picks one up, holding it in front of you. You’re about to take the cupcake from his hands, but he clicks his tongue in annoyance and retracts his arm. “Nuh-uh.” You pout at him, but give in anyhow. Your hand wraps around his wrist so he can’t play any games and you allow him to feed you. You bite into the cupcake and immediately, the moist chocolate is gooey in your mouth. The frost is overwhelming with the fresh taste of strawberry, the texture rather silky. Your eyes widen as you chew, the taste developing, and he watches your reaction with a pleased smile. Jungkook takes the strawberry on top that’s dipped in dark chocolate and drizzled with white chocolate. He urges you to part your lips and you bite down. The chocolate is tempered, falling apart into pieces. But it melts on your palate. The flavour is sweet but the fruit is refreshing, chocolate smooth. It’s an explosion. You almost cream your pants. “Oh my god.” You swallow it reluctantly, wanting to keep the taste forever on your tongue. “Taehyung was right. I think I almost creamed my pants.” His nose wrinkles. “All of you guys are so disgusting. But it’s good, right?” “It’s fucking amazing. Jungkook, you could open up a business just selling these.” You secure your hands on his shoulder, shaking him to his senses. You can’t believe that he’s never thought of this. That he’s never done anything with such an incredible recipe. Jungkook laughs boyishly. You let go, looking at the tray that’s appearing more like a gold mine. “H-Holy shit!” “If I had to make these all day, I think I would be bored to death.” He throws the rest of the cupcake into his own mouth, chewing in his cheek. “Can you give me the recipe then?” Your eyes are glimmering. This is big. If he doesn’t want to make a profit from it, then you can. This and Yoongi and Taehyung’s lemon meringue pie, you’ll be swimming in bills in no time. Jungkook flicks your forehead and your fantasy shatters. “I don’t think so. I might like you, but not enough to sell my secrets.” You pout at him, rubbing the spot he flicked that doesn’t even hurt that much. If he won’t give you the recipe, then you want to at least eat one more. “Can I have another one?” “You can have all of them,” Jungkook says nonchalantly with a grin. Your expression lights up like a lamp. “Really?” “Yes, really. I made them for you.” You wonder if you can reverse engineer this somehow and figure out the recipe. But knowing you, you’ll probably end up burning saucepans trying to get the chocolate right and knowing Jungkook, he most likely threw in a secret ingredient that no one would ever think of. “I’ll pack them up for you.” He grabs a paper box. “If you eat all of them without having dinner first, you’ll have a stomach ache. Dessert’s always last for a reason.” You watch him and it hits you in a delayed manner that Jungkook stayed late when he didn’t need to. He wasn’t working on anything. He just stayed to make these. “Where do you want to eat?” “How about Alberto’s?” “Sure.” Jungkook finishes packing and helps you clean up. He opts to wash the dishes and tells you to go sweep instead. As the boy scrubs the plates and utensils, he sings along to the music and you listen quietly. When all is done, the lights are turned off and the door to the shop is closed up and locked. Your steps and his fall into a rhythm. “Oh, you know that movie you wanted to watch? When Spring Meets Autumn? It’s playing tonight. We can go after dinner and I’ll pay since I have a two for one deal coupon anyway. The reviews aren’t great, but it shouldn’t be too bad.” “What are you doing?” You suddenly stop in the middle of the empty sidewalk, underneath the street lamp that warmly illuminates both of your figures in the crisp, cool night of the city. Jungkook halts with you. The light softly glows on his skin. He tilts his head to the side, doe eyes gazing into yours. “What do you mean?” “I mean this. Us. What is this?” You gesture between your bodies, conflicted to no end as the realization sinks into you. “Going out to eat, going to the movies together…” “We’ve done these things before.” “Yeah, but it's...different.” You can feel it. It’s not like two friends going to grab a bite together or going to the theater to purposely catch a bad movie and shit on it afterwards. There’s something there. You don’t know what it is or even how to explain why the dynamic between the two of you has shifted so drastically. “How so?” Jungkook questions. Maybe he’s egging you on, trying to get you to utter a coherent response. There’s no way he doesn’t feel this too. “Like….this.” You lift your bag that has the box full of chocolate-covered strawberry cupcakes. “Baking things for me. Staying with me after work. Waiting for me in the morning. Washing my dishes. Buying me lunch. Getting breakfast prepared. Putting your arm around me. Tapping my nose….just...things….like that.” Slowly the corners of his mouth curl. Jungkook casually digs his hands in his hoodie pocket. “I’m courting you, Y/N.” “What?” You’re absolutely stunned. “This is what people do when they like someone.” Jungkook keeps walking and when he realizes you aren’t following, he spins back around. “It isn’t complicated. I want to spend more time with you, so I am.” Jungkook continues moving, and you snap back to reality. Your body is in motion, trying to catch up to his side. But you’re still dazed, not knowing what to say. But there’s no need for you to utter a word. The topic casually changes like he had been previously discussing the weather. You feel unsettled, not sure what this means. It’s almost been half a year since Seokjin broke up with you. You’re not sure if you’re ready. And it scares you even more that Jungkook makes you want to be ready.

You’re feeling it frequently these days— A panicked sensation brewing in the pit of your stomach. As if you have an inkling of what’s to come and your intuition is preparing yourself. Like seconds before you spill milk, or a glass cup is about to hit the hard floor. Moments before catastrophe that the tickle in your tummy ignites. You can’t move or react quick enough, but your brain knows it’s going to happen either way. You’re quite confident this discomfort is dread, a sense of foreboding. Either that or it’s the feeling is butterflies. Maybe it’s both. You haven’t decided. But you feel it most strongly when you look at Jeon Jungkook. Him and that stupid, big nose of his and those sparkly eyes as if his mom inhaled a tube of glitter before he was born. It’s just awful the way he doesn’t even notice. It’s awful when he scrunches those brows of his, when his eyes are darkened in concentration, and his pouted lips are downturned. It’s awful when he rolls sleeves up to his elbows and his veins are popping from his forearms. It’s awful when his fingers and knuckles are kneading into dough and he’s panting, out of breath and breaking a sweat. It’s awful when he’s focusing hard on his work and trying his best. God. It’s just stressful looking at Jungkook. It’s distracting. You try not to look at him. As if he were the sun and too blinding for you to face. But he’s always in your peripheral. He’s always the person you pick out first in a crowd. No matter what he does, you always seem to pick it up. It’s appalling. “Are you okay, Y/N?” Sejeong’s question brings you back down to the ground, crashing the train of thoughts that should’ve been stopped long ago. “Hmm? Oh yeah, I’m fine. Just spaced out a little.” You stiffly laugh and she nods. “All ready for the trip?” “Yup! I’m all packed.” “Good. I’m giving you a fair warning that it’s going to be hot, so dress appropriately. Wouldn’t want any of my interns getting heat strokes.” You bob your head and quickly steal another glance into the kitchen area. “Hey, Sejeong. Do you know what Namjoon and Jungkook are working on?” The older woman smiles, stealing a brief glimpse. “Last I heard, they were trying to make a bouquet of flowers.” Flowers? You thought Jungkook hated them.

#bts fanfic #bts scenario #jungkook fluff #jungkook scenario #jungkook fanfic #btsboulangerie #jungkook fanfiction #jungkook reader insert #sugar and coffee #JUNGKOOK AS A MF SMOOTH DUDE #Y'ALL IM SCREAMING #honestly editing this chapter has healed my soul

570 notes · View notes

globs777 · 2 years

Text

who can relate

Playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5aCVRVJOW7vSJ77OzCs1mB?si=0ec53f609ff74285

My discovery of J-pop and K-pop was wholly fostered by the internet. It felt like entering a whole new world where every new song feels like a door opened to other artists to potentially fall in love with. As they say in the community, to fall into the rabbit hole that is J-pop and K-pop. It felt like I was part of something underground and close-knit due to how small the community felt like.

Of course, being neither Japanese nor, Korean, I didn’t particularly care for the lyricism for the music I listened to. The beats and melodies are enough for me. That was the situation until a particular comment struck out to me. Although I cannot remember the exact quote, it went something along the line of “why do these songs have such depressing lyrics in contrast to the pop sounds of the instrumental”. The comment was obviously a joke, but it got me interested in knowing the meaning behind those songs. Behind the Anime like avatars and amazing dance routines, lies something that feels raw to read about. Songs become an even greater connection to the artist. Especially in the world of J-pop, much that we know about here in the west comes from the YouTube landscape where everybody is able to upload their own music. Much of these pieces become an aspect of the artists life and struggles, they talk about their own problems, their doubts, and troubles. Through their music, even if our background totally differs, we were able to relate with the artists.

These artists released portions of themselves online and us as an audience were able to relate to it even through the language barrier. I think the way that everybody can suffer through mental health is shared around the world and that is how we were able to relate to these artists who put themselves out on the internet. Hopefully, this mixtape will allow you to relate to your own troubles with society.

-songs-artist-

Yellow - Yoh Kamiyama (https://lyricstranslate.com/en/yellow-yellow.html-1)

Quiet Room – Yoh Kamiyama (https://lyricstranslate.com/en/quiet-room-quiet-room.html)

Spider – Hoshi (https://genius.com/Genius-english-translations-hoshi-spider-english-translation-lyrics)

More often than not, you feel trapped in the situation you are in. Wishing for a new future that feels like a far away dream. Thematically, these songs convey the theme of being stuck in a bad place. From being trapped in a closet wishing for a better tomorrow in “Yellow”, the “acceptance” that comes from getting used to a bad situation in “Quiet Room”, and of course, being stuck in a spider’s web.

Hated by Life Itself – Mafumafu (https://miraikyun.com/kanzaki-iori-feat-hatsune-miku-inochi-ni-kirawarete-iru-lyrics-english-translation/)

This song spoke to me deeper than most of the songs on this mixtape. The song itself revolves around the contrast between how we act when hearing about deaths against the constant comments that people constantly say about how nothing would change if they died. Thinking of this song made me realize the contradiction about life, the way we don’t like the way our lives are given to us.

Trauma – Seventeen (https://genius.com/Genius-english-translations-seventeen-hiphop-team-trauma-english-translation-lyrics)

Trauma is a track that feels like the artist is confessing all of their deepest insecurities towards us, the audience. From this track, I feel like I was able to relate to their experiences, even without experiencing the same experiences they did. Through this track, I felt like it was ok to be have your own worries and doubts.

Lost One’s Weeping – Neru (https://jubyphonics.wordpress.com/2013/06/04/lost-ones-weeping-translyrics/)

Hitchcock – Yorushika (https://ejtranslations.wordpress.com/2018/05/15/yorushika-hitchcock/)

Both of these songs relate to how society shapes us as people, specifically how school sculpted us to be the person we are. “Lost One’s Weeping” talks about how it feels like we are no longer taught emotional maturity as students while “Hitchcock” talks about how school forces us onto a path that ignores our happiness, talking about a void that can’t be filled. I feel like these two songs are the most relatable pieces on this mixtape. Many now feel like they are stuck, only doing what is most practical and ignoring your happiness.

Say It – Yorushika (https://lyricstranslate.com/en/%E8%A8%80%E3%81%A3%E3%81%A6%E3%80%82-say.html)

This song is personal to me. although I greatly appreciate all the other songs on this playlist, this one hit closer to home because of my father’s death. This song talks about having someone that you regret not being able to be together with forever. The lyric of this song feels like a reminder for all of the things that I missed.

Lilac – Minami (https://lyricstranslate.com/en/%E3%83%A9%E3%82%A4%E3%83%A9%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF-lilac-lilac.html)

Outsider – Eve (https://vocaloidlyrics.fandom.com/wiki/%E3%82%A2%E3%82%A6%E3%83%88%E3%82%B5%E3%82%A4%E3%83%80%E3%83%BC_(Outsider))

Usseewa – Ado (https://genius.com/Genius-english-translations-ado-usseewa-english-translation-lyrics)

Raison d’etre – Eve (https://genius.com/Genius-english-translations-eve-raison-detre-english-translation-lyrics)

All of these songs represent my “grudge” against society. Our society really forces us to box ourselves in. To make sure we conform to what is normal in the eyes of our society. Living becomes a complex game that requires tricky navigation and shells to avoid persecution. Sometimes I feel like the new generation are not able to grow without someone elder breathing down our necks.

Roki – Mikito P (https://vocaloidlyrics.fandom.com/wiki/%E3%83%AD%E3%82%AD_(Roki))

Clap – Seventeen (https://genius.com/Genius-english-translations-seventeen-clap-english-translation-lyrics)

Hug – Seventeen (https://genius.com/Genius-english-translations-seventeen-hug-english-translation-lyrics)

This set of songs are to inspire healing, as thanks for finishing the mixtape. I feel like the topics I went with are a bit on the heavy side even if the songs itself doesn’t sound too heavy, so these songs are here to remind us sometimes we can just rock out and that it’s okay to be vulnerable.

PS. Raison D’etre is really cool, the chorus is about escaping reality to something more exciting and the instrumental itself sticks to that concept since the verses have a more dull instrumental with it getting more exciting for the chorus.

3 notes · View notes

i-think-2-much · 4 years

Text

Artist truths

Anyone who says tracing isn’t essential to art can go fuck a llama. Tracing is a great way to learn and a good skill to have if you ever do line art

All the posts saying “this is the only way” can also go join the llama orgy because the whole point of art is to break the rules and find new ways to do things

It isn’t “copying” it’s being inspired by your work as long as there are some different elements

Anyone can be an artist if they’re willing to put in the time

Line art can be done in any color. I’ve heard that some people like to do a medium opacity brown, but I rarely do line art sooo

Look at other artist’s work and learn from their best pieces and their mistakes

Try to pick a style that comes naturally to you. I don’t have the patience for neat lines, so I generally prefer to lean towards Impressionism and realism. If you tend to draw with rounded lines, lean toward cartoonism. Straight sharp lines? Abstract or whatever. You can try to break your habits, but it’s best to go with what comes naturally (in my opinion).

Your art doesn’t have to have great shading to be good. If it says something, that’s more important than proper line art

Something’s not right? Trying looking at your piece through a camera, flipping it, or asking a friend (or me even!) for advice.

You suck at art? Too bad. Keep doing it. Hope may be able to get us through hard times, but it takes more than a wish to be good at art.

Fuck fancy paints and pencils that cost $15 each. Crayola does just fine if you ask me.

Draw what you want, not what others want. You wanna draw flowers and not movie characters? Go for it. You prefer to draw animals in hammocks? That’s fucking amazing. Send me a picture because I wanna see that. You have the power to draw a kangaroo kicking Thanos’s butt in pac man. Use it. Draw what makes you happy.

Try shading with other colors instead of black/white. Yellow/chartreuse are great for highlights, blues/purples/browns are generally good for shadows.

When shading sharp corners, don’t be afraid to add highlights. The more highlights, the more constrast between the two sides. It’s hard to describe without images, but it’s important enough I’m still mentioning it

Trace drawing references. Use the color swatch tool to find your colors. It’s not cheating, it’s learning because you won’t have to “cheat” the next time.

Have I mentioned how amazing drawing references are?

You don’t have to do the shapes and circles and blah blah blah, but I personally find that they’re helpful with proportions

Use your fingers/pencil to compare different parts of the piece to make sure they’re porportional. If drawing a person, your fore arm is generally a little longer than your foot, your shoulders are three heads wide, and your fingers are one palm tall, etc.

Don’t be discouraged by people who are better than you. Instead, love them. Their art can reveal what you’re doing wrong, they can help you become better, and they can even be friends.

Don’t make fun of other people’s art. If they suck now, they won’t in three years. (If someone makes fun of your art feel free to dm me so I can rip them a new one)

Age and talent have little to no correlation. Just because someone half your age is better than you doesn’t mean you can’t become as good as they are

Have fun. One of my favorite things about art is how well you can understand the artist by looking at it. I love seeing unporportioned horses drawn by fourth grade girls because guess what? Horses are important to them, and they’re sharing their love and happiness with everyone around them. Please, don’t hide yourself. I wanna see you.

If you find yourself painting or sculpting and you’re not enjoying it, it’s okay to stop. If you keep going, you’re just going to get more and more frustrated and build up resentment toward that art form.

If you sucked at something two years ago, try again. You might be better now. Art overlaps in many ways and improvement in one area can lead to improvements in another.

Sorry this was so long, but some of this stuff is important. Art is amazing, fun, a great way to show off, and it’s important to so many people. Art is a community (not a competition) and some people forget that. If you don’t believe me about some of my tips, I recently started an Instagram for my art (@efficacious_art) or dm me to talk.

#art #tips #drawing #painting #digital art #sculpture #sketching #doodles #advice

348 notes · View notes

mr-entj · 4 years

Text

Mental Health Wellness Tips for Quarantine

Sharing a piece a clinical psychologist in my network published.

______________

After having thirty-one sessions this week with patients where the singular focus was COVID-19 and how to cope, I decided to consolidate my advice and make a list that I hope is helpful to all. I can't control a lot of what is going on right now, but I can contribute this.

Edit: I am surprised and heartened that this has been shared so widely! People have asked me to credential myself, so to that end, I am a doctoral level Psychologist in NYS with a Psy.D. in the specialities of School and Clinical Psychology.

1. Stick to a routine. Go to sleep and wake up at a reasonable time, write a schedule that is varied and includes time for work as well as self-care.

2. Dress for the social life you want, not the social life you have. Get showered and dressed in comfortable clothes, wash your face, brush your teeth. Take the time to do a bath or a facial. Put on some bright colors. It is amazing how our dress can impact our mood.

3. Get out at least once a day, for at least thirty minutes. If you are concerned of contact, try first thing in the morning, or later in the evening, and try less traveled streets and avenues. If you are high risk or living with those who are high risk, open the windows and blast the fan. It is amazing how much fresh air can do for spirits.

4. Find some time to move each day, again daily for at least thirty minutes. If you don’t feel comfortable going outside, there are many YouTube videos that offer free movement classes, and if all else fails, turn on the music and have a dance party!

5. Reach out to others, you guessed it, at least once daily for thirty minutes. Try to do FaceTime, Skype, phone calls, texting—connect with other people to seek and provide support. Don’t forget to do this for your children as well. Set up virtual playdates with friends daily via FaceTime, Facebook Messenger Kids, Zoom, etc—your kids miss their friends, too!

6. Stay hydrated and eat well. This one may seem obvious, but stress and eating often don’t mix well, and we find ourselves over-indulging, forgetting to eat, and avoiding food. Drink plenty of water, eat some good and nutritious foods, and challenge yourself to learn how to cook something new!

7. Develop a self-care toolkit. This can look different for everyone. A lot of successful self-care strategies involve a sensory component (seven senses: touch, taste, sight, hearing, smell, vestibular (movement) and proprioceptive (comforting pressure). An idea for each: a soft blanket or stuffed animal, a hot chocolate, photos of vacations, comforting music, lavender or eucalyptus oil, a small swing or rocking chair, a weighted blanket. A journal, an inspirational book, or a mandala coloring book is wonderful, bubbles to blow or blowing watercolor on paper through a straw are visually appealing as well as work on controlled breath. Mint gum, Listerine strips, ginger ale, frozen Starburst, ice packs, and cold are also good for anxiety regulation. For children, it is great to help them create a self-regulation comfort box (often a shoe-box or bin they can decorate) that they can use on the ready for first-aid when overwhelmed.

8. Spend extra time playing with children. Children will rarely communicate how they are feeling, but will often make a bid for attention and communication through play. Don’t be surprised to see therapeutic themes of illness, doctor visits, and isolation play through. Understand that play is cathartic and helpful for children—it is how they process their world and problem solve, and there’s a lot they are seeing and experiencing in the now.

9. Give everyone the benefit of the doubt, and a wide berth. A lot of cooped up time can bring out the worst in everyone. Each person will have moments when they will not be at their best. It is important to move with grace through blowups, to not show up to every argument you are invited to, and to not hold grudges and continue disagreements. Everyone is doing the best they can to make it through this.

10. Everyone find their own retreat space. Space is at a premium, particularly with city living. It is important that people think through their own separate space for work and for relaxation. For children, help them identify a place where they can go to retreat when stressed. You can make this place cozy by using blankets, pillows, cushions, scarves, beanbags, tents, and “forts”. It is good to know that even when we are on top of each other, we have our own special place to go to be alone.

11. Expect behavioral issues in children, and respond gently. We are all struggling with disruption in routine, none more than children, who rely on routines constructed by others to make them feel safe and to know what comes next. Expect increased anxiety, worries and fears, nightmares, difficulty separating or sleeping, testing limits, and meltdowns. Do not introduce major behavioral plans or consequences at this time—hold stable and focus on emotional connection.

12. Focus on safety and attachment. We are going to be living for a bit with the unprecedented demand of meeting all work deadlines, homeschooling children, running a sterile household, and making a whole lot of entertainment in confinement. We can get wrapped up in meeting expectations in all domains, but we must remember that these are scary and unpredictable times for children. Focus on strengthening the connection through time spent following their lead, through physical touch, through play, through therapeutic books, and via verbal reassurances that you will be there for them in this time.

13. Lower expectations and practice radical self-acceptance. This idea is connected with #12. We are doing too many things in this moment, under fear and stress. This does not make a formula for excellence. Instead, give yourself what psychologists call “radical self acceptance”: accepting everything about yourself, your current situation, and your life without question, blame, or pushback. You cannot fail at this—there is no roadmap, no precedent for this, and we are all truly doing the best we can in an impossible situation.

14. Limit social media and COVID conversation, especially around children. One can find tons of information on COVID-19 to consume, and it changes minute to minute. The information is often sensationalized, negatively skewed, and alarmist. Find a few trusted sources that you can check in with consistently, limit it to a few times a day, and set a time limit for yourself on how much you consume (again 30 minutes tops, 2-3 times daily). Keep news and alarming conversations out of earshot from children—they see and hear everything, and can become very frightened by what they hear.

15. Notice the good in the world, the helpers. There is a lot of scary, negative, and overwhelming information to take in regarding this pandemic. There are also a ton of stories of people sacrificing, donating, and supporting one another in miraculous ways. It is important to counter-balance the heavy information with the hopeful information.

16. Help others. Find ways, big and small, to give back to others. Support restaurants, offer to grocery shop, check in with elderly neighbors, write psychological wellness tips for others—helping others gives us a sense of agency when things seem out of control.

17. Find something you can control, and control the heck out of it. In moments of big uncertainty and overwhelm, control your little corner of the world. Organize your bookshelf, purge your closet, put together that furniture, group your toys. It helps to anchor and ground us when the bigger things are chaotic.

18. Find a long-term project to dive into. Now is the time to learn how to play the keyboard, put together a huge jigsaw puzzle, start a 15 hour game of Risk, paint a picture, read the Harry Potter series, binge watch an 8-season show, crochet a blanket, solve a Rubix cube, or develop a new town in Animal Crossing. Find something that will keep you busy, distracted, and engaged to take breaks from what is going on in the outside world.

19. Engage in repetitive movements and left-right movements. Research has shown that repetitive movement (knitting, coloring, painting, clay sculpting, jump roping etc) especially left-right movement (running, drumming, skating, hopping) can be effective at self-soothing and maintaining self-regulation in moments of distress.

20. Find an expressive art and go for it. Our emotional brain is very receptive to the creative arts, and it is a direct portal for release of feeling. Find something that is creative (sculpting, drawing, dancing, music, singing, playing) and give it your all. See how relieved you can feel. It is a very effective way of helping kids to emote and communicate as well!

21. Find lightness and humor in each day. There is a lot to be worried about, and with good reason. Counterbalance this heaviness with something funny each day: cat videos on YouTube, a stand-up show on Netflix, a funny movie—we all need a little comedic relief in our day, every day.

22. Reach out for help—your team is there for you. If you have a therapist or psychiatrist, they are available to you, even at a distance. Keep up your medications and your therapy sessions the best you can. If you are having difficulty coping, seek out help for the first time. There are mental health people on the ready to help you through this crisis. Your children’s teachers and related service providers will do anything within their power to help, especially for those parents tasked with the difficult task of being a whole treatment team to their child with special challenges. Seek support groups of fellow home-schoolers, parents, and neighbors to feel connected. There is help and support out there, any time of the day—although we are physically distant, we can always connect virtually.

23. “Chunk” your quarantine, take it moment by moment. We have no road map for this. We don’t know what this will look like in 1 day, 1 week, or 1 month from now. Often, when I work with patients who have anxiety around overwhelming issues, I suggest that they engage in a strategy called “chunking”—focusing on whatever bite-sized piece of a challenge that feels manageable. Whether that be 5 minutes, a day, or a week at a time—find what feels doable for you, and set a time stamp for how far ahead in the future you will let yourself worry. Take each chunk one at a time, and move through stress in pieces.

24. Remind yourself daily that this is temporary. It seems in the midst of this quarantine that it will never end. It is terrifying to think of the road stretching ahead of us. Please take time to remind yourself that although this is very scary and difficult, and will go on for an undetermined amount of time, it is a season of life and it will pass. We will return to feeing free, safe, busy, and connected in the days ahead.

25. Find the lesson. This whole crisis can seem sad, senseless, and at times, avoidable. When psychologists work with trauma, a key feature to helping someone work through said trauma is to help them find their agency, the potential positive outcomes they can effect, the meaning and construction that can come out of destruction. What can each of us learn here, in big and small ways, from this crisis? What needs to change in ourselves, our homes, our communities, our nation, and our world?

(x)

#coronavirus #covid-19 #stress #mental health #fear #anxiety #mental wellness #psychology #life #resource

209 notes · View notes

willymywonkers · 4 years

Text

A Trip into the Factory

Summary: Maude gets invited into the factory for the first time in years. Chaos and fluff ensues.

A/N: This really is an excuse for me to try and write Wonka a little better. It's not too great I'll admit that, but I'm still getting used to writing him, lmaoooo.

It was a typical Tuesday afternoon for Maude, which mainly included grading assignments and checking over the kids work.

However, there was one thing different about this Tuesday. Charlie invited her over to the factory for dinner.

Usually she'd be happy to visit the Buckets, the only set back here was actually going into the factory.

Ever since Wonka and her reunited, things had been a little rocky. Maude was always busy with her students, and tried to creating some order in her schedule. Will was busy mentoring Charlie around the factory. There wasn't any time for them to really connect.

"Sure, I think she would thoroughly enjoy the factory, heh." Willy said, trying very hard to seem confident.

"And, when you're done, we can have dinner with my family." Charlie smiled with excitement.

"Yeah." Will gulped, slightly.

This was one of Willy Wonka's rare moments where he was uncertain. Usually, he knew exactly how people would react when entering the factory, but Maude was a different story. She helped sculpt every room when it was first built.

Willy had planned on asking Maude to move in with him before she got married. Being business partners was one thing, but being actually together was another. He knew from the start on why he didn't like her husband. Even during the wedding, Willy tried to be supportive of her. Hell, he even made especially for her a dozen chocolate roses. His feelings for her never really went away. He just wanted her to be happy.

After being isolated from the world for over 15 years, it really took a toll on how he interacted with others.

Meanwhile, Maude was dealing with her own worries. She looked at herself in the mirror, constantly overthinking.

She needed to leave in about 30 minutes, and that wasn't enough time either. Maude rummaged through her closet desperately searching for something to wear. Eventually, she found a brown dress that was casual enough to wear without looking completely overdressed.

She slipped on some heels and grabbed her coat before heading out the door. She was lucky the factory was walking distance from her house, but when the gates opened, she was extremely hesitant to go inside.

'Come on, Maude. Don't be pathetic.' She thought as her hand was just inches away from the door.

She bit her lip, tapping her gloved fist against the cold steel door.

Suddenly, there was a click and the door swung open. Maude stepped back, surprised a little at the sudden opening of the door.

Wonka stood just a little bit outside the door. He smiled, greeting Maude at the door.

"Heh, welcome, Maude." Will flashed a big smile at her.

She smiled back, taking off her coat. "It's quite warm in here, Will."

"Ah yes. It's because of my oompa loompas. They just can't stand the cold."

Maude tilted her head at Will. "Right, and what are oompa loompas again?"

Charlie had told her about these 'oompa loompas' but she wasn't entirely sure about what they are.

"Oh, well, they're my workers. They were directly imported from Loopmaland." Will explained as the two walked down the large hall.

"Loopmaland? I've never heard of that place before." Maude seemed to look even more confused.

"Well, I discovered it while I was searching the world of exotic candy." Will hummed.

Maude couldn't help, but be amazed at the amount of things Will had done throughout the years. Maude felt that she didn't really accomplish anything. After she left Ron, she mostly did boring adult stuff. When she worked in the factory, Maude felt unique and carefree. Will would listen to all her ideas for different kinds of mixtures. She remembered a time where she felt happy being in the factory, because it almost was a sanctuary to her.

The hallway began to get slimmer and slimmer. Soon enough Maude and Willy crouched down to get to the very small door at the end of the hallway.

"I don't remember the chocolate room being this small." Maude joked, trying not to hit her head on the suddenly short ceiling.

Willy shook his head. "It's not. Just watch."

Just as he turned the key, a whole world was opened up for Maude. Her eyes widened. Her lips parted at the view.

It was meadows of gorgeous green grass, and luscious chocolate river that flowed throughout the factory.

There was buttercups at her feet, and a jelly pumpkin on her right.

Maude felt overwhelmed with joy. "You did all this?" Her voice was below a whisper.

Willy smiled wide. "Yeah, I did."

Maude turned to Willy, smiling dreamily at him. "Wow.." Her body suddenly when limp, as she passed out in a sudden trance.

Willy panicked, catching her before she hit the ground. "Maude? Maude!!"

She snapped out of her trance. "Yes? Yes! I'm awake."

Will took a deep breath. "Heh, good. I was worried that I killed ya there."

Maude chuckled, blushing slightly by the way Wonka was holding her.

Wonka seemed to noticed it too. He cleared his throat. "Well, let's get a move on. There's lots of things I wanna show you."

He set Maude back down on her feet. She chuckled nervously, still amazed at the view.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of low drumming. A purple sea horse shaped boat pulled up right next to Willy and Maude.

"Hop on board!" Willy stepped onto the boat, with Maude following behind.

The Oompa Loompas seemed to be chattering amongst themselves and chuckling.

"What are they laughing about?" Maude chuckled.

He laughed nervously. "Surely, it's from all those doggone coca beans. They're a bit of a handful."

Maude smiled. "They seem quite lovely. I think I got a report from Charlie, talking about living with the Oompa Loompas. It was incredibly-"

"Weird?" Willy interrupted.

"Yeah, but, a good kind of weird." Maude chuckled. "You're a great mentor."

Willy's smile faltered slightly. "Well, I have to get him prepared to run this factory. There's not a lot of people I could trust to hold the secret recipes, and keep them secret."

"Right."

"I guess the only other person would be you."

Maude's expression shifted from happiness to a bit of sadness. She attempted to smile. "Thank you, Will."

She stared blankly for a few seconds. She began to remember Ron's horrid yelling.

"You'll always be in his shadow, Maude. Don't you want your own factory? He stole most of your ideas, Maude. A few of his would be nothing."

Maude would always refuse to steal from Will. Ron would call her a coward. Still, this torment would go on for hours, until she resigned.

The boat began to diverge into a dark tunnel. Maude's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the Oompa Loompas drumming as it began to get faster and faster.

"Can they see where they're going?" Maude said, as she turned to Willy.

"Hehe, no." Will chuckled. "There's no telling where they're going."

Maude's face turned pale as she held on to the side of the boat.

The boat suddenly took sharp dive right into the tunnel. The boat looped and turned as chocolate splashed its sides. Maude suddenly had her arms around Wonka's, holding onto dear life. Will looked over at her a little surprised. In most situations, Will despised human contact. Here, he was just amused. Even when he was a little boy, he hates when adults touched his hair, or even when they lightly tapped his shoulder. However, he was very loose when it came to Maude. She didn't appreciate close contact either, but in very few moments, Maude would casually touch his hand accidentally. She would always say sorry, but it was strange because Will didn't mind it. It was an odd connection between the two. They really just couldn't explain it.

Maude was still holding onto Will as the boat came to a stop. She sighed in relief, but quickly let go of Will.

"Sorry." Maude muttered.

Will gulped. "No matter. Let's continue."

The boat had stopped in front of the experimentation room, a place where Maude was quite familiar with.

"The experiments room. I'm pretty sure you know this one, heh." Will said, hoping off the boat.

Maude looked around, admiring the enormous amounts of lab equipment, as well as different kinds of experiments. "Oh, wow. It's gotten quite modernized."

"You're darn right. I've testing out a ton of new candy, but sometimes it's so hard to focus on one." Willy turned towards a big machine. He turned it on and out came a single stick of gum.

"This piece, right here, is a full 3 course dinner all in itself."

Maude picked up the stick of gum, and simply looked at it.

"I wouldn't eat it. There's still a few things wrong with the mixture."

"I see, and what seems to be wrong with it." Maude carefully set the stick back down.

"Well, it's ok, once it gets to the end. It's the blueberry pie that does it. I've tried it on like 20 Oompa Loompas, and each one ended up like a giant blueberry."

"Do you think it's because you made the mixture of the pie too strong?" Maude examined the sample closely, just before sticking it in her mouth.

"Yeah, well." Will's eyes widened as she stuck the gum in her mouth. "Just spit it out once it gets too sweet."

The flavors were very incredible, however it didn't mask the faint blueberry aftertaste that plagued each flavor. Once it got a but too sweet, she immediately spat it out.

Will looked at her with a bit of disgust. He kept a bit of a distance from her. After a few moments, nothing happened.

"I think I know the problem. The blueberry pie mixture is too strong. It masks all the other flavors with a sweet aftertaste." Maude put the gum in the nearest trash can. "If you eliminate that strong aftertaste, then I believe the gum should be just fine."

Willy's expression turned from disgust to ecstatic in a matter of seconds. He grabbed Maude by the hand, and shook it vigorously. "Maude, you're a genius. Absolutely incredible. I don't get why I didn't think of that sooner."

Maude smiled slightly. "This is just like old times. Remember when we were experimenting with those fizzy lifting bubbles? We flew so high. We almost lost our heads."

"Yeah, haha. I remember." Will nodded, still holding onto Maude's hand.

"I remember Ron being so worried." Maude laughed.

Willy's smile soon faded. "Yeah, him."

Hearing that name again really made Will's blood boil. He had an idea what was happening with Maude and Ron. Will had really hoped Maude would choose candy making over Ron, because that's what made her happy.

His gloved hand had a tight hold on Maude's. "It's really weird, heh."

"What is?" Maude asked.

"Being here with you. I just would've figured you'd always be with me, making candy in the factory."

"Well, I'm here right now."

"That's not what I mean."

Maude tilted her head up at him, a little confused. They looking into each other's eyes for a moment. His gorgeous purple eyes burrow deep into her dark chocolate ones.

He leaned in, giving Maude a tiny peck on the lips. It was quick and painless. Still, it made Maude go red as a cherry.

Willy giggled, wiping the tiny kiss off his lips.

"W-wow.." Maude muttered. "That was unexpected." She blinked for a few moments, promptly pinching herself, before even realizing what had happened.

"Heh, I've always wanted to try that." Will said, smiling wide. "Kissing is so weird."

"But it's a good kind of weird." Maude chuckled, as she pulled Will into another kiss.

This was so much better than she could've imagined.

#catcf #catcf 2005 #maude figgle #willy wonka #catcf fan character #catcf oc #maude and willy #willy wonka x oc #willy wonka x reader

27 notes · View notes

frodos-bizarre-adventure · 3 years

Text

@gingerreggg and here we go

Heads Up- Part 15 (Joseph x Bust! Caesar)

▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪

The big day had arrived.

"You nervous?" Joseph asked his beloved bust as he lowered him down into a box, which had been lined in foam cushions and bubble wrap to keep Caesar safe as he was being transported to the gallery.

"A little, perhaps," Caesar replied. He closed his eyes and gave a sigh.

"But I'm ready." He shot a determined smile at Joseph, just as the lid of the box was closed.

It was dark inside the box, save for a small slit on one side that let some light in. Caesar felt a brief surge of panic, inside the small, cramped space he was enclosed in.

Yet he fought back his fear with a courage that he'd gathered from a brief moment that his and Joseph's eyes met, just as he closed the box.

Be strong, Caesar, he told himself.

Be brave for Joseph.

--------

Joseph carried the box containing Caesar over to his bike, gently resting the box onto the small sidecar. He strapped down the box with locks and belts to make sure it stayed in place.

He didn't want risking damaging its precious cargo.

"You okay there, Cae?" he asked, patting the box's top gently.

"I'm fine," came the muffled reply.

"Alright there. Just be very, very quiet in there. We don't want to attract more unwanted attention."

Caesar didn't answer.

"Okay then! We're all good to go!" Joseph said in an energetic, determined tone, as he mounted his bicycle seat and began to pedal to the art school gallery.

Toward his final project's submission.

And toward his destiny.

---------

The art gallery had already gathered a small crowd, of teachers, students and general admirers by the time Joseph arrived there at nine o' clock in the morning. He was at least an hour early: the first day was simply putting up their art on exhibition, for people to view and photograph, and tomorrow, on the second day of the exhibition, the art judges would arrive to score the artworks, give the students their grades, and the best works being selected, to join the art galleries' permanent collections, some of which were priceless masterpieces that had graced the halls for decades.

Joseph wanted so badly to pass his semester with a good grade and be awarded with his degree in an artists' school. But at the same time, he knew that if he'd placed first, there was a chance that Caesar would be taken in as property of the school. And Joseph would lose him. Perhaps, forever.

He was more than a masterpiece.

He was someone Joseph truly loved.

And if all went well, if their entire trick worked according to plan, then he could have his cake and eat it too. He could pass off Caesar as a perfectly-ordinary sculpture, get him graded by the judges, be awarded his degree, and get to take Caesar back home with him once the gallery exhibition concluded. Where he truly belonged.

Not in an art gallery's shelf left to gather dust for years, but close by and safe, cradled warmly in Joseph's arms.

Because, sure, all the artwork on display here were the most exquisite, most elegant, most indescribably crafted works that were the long, arduous labors of love and were expensively insured for massive sums of money.

But to Joseph, he was far more valuable than all of them combined.

--------

"Joseph! I didn't expect to see you here so soon!" cried a familiar voice.

Suzi came pushing her way through the crowd to greet Joseph, who stepped into the door of the gallery, carrying a large cardboard box, bearing the words "Handle with Care".

Suzi quickly rushed to Joseph's side. "He's...he's in there, isn't he?" she whispered.

"Yep, he's here alright," Joseph quietly answered. "Come on, we gotta find a spot to put him on."

After some amount of searching, Joseph and Suzi managed to find a low-slung table, still unoccupied. It was little more than a black, stone, semi-flattened cube in the middle of the hall, little higher than the living room table they had back at home.

"This should do," Joseph concluded. "He's not too fond of heights."

"I suppose," Suzi quipped. "He's definitely already stressed enough at being out in the open for the first time in like, ever."

Joseph smiled.

"And now we're all set," Joseph said. "Time to get him out of his box."

He patted the box gently.

"It's your time to shine, Caesarino."

-------

Light suddenly flooded inside the box, and Caesar felt himself being lifted out and gently placed on a cool, hard surface.

He was in a strange place, that was unlike Joseph's house at all. Instead of a small, cramped apartment, he was in a vast, spacious building, that was teeming with crowds of people. From what little he could see without moving his eyes, he could see numerous paintings hanging on the walls, numerous carvings and statues placed on square pedestals of varying heights. Spotlights shone brightly on each pedestal, including on him, and he fought the urge to squint in the glare and give himself away.

But he remembered what Joseph said, and he remembered his promise, his purpose, and he stood steadfast and blank on his pedestal, as lifeless-looking as the day he first was sculpted.

He had one job, and he would do it.

His still, frozen face bore a look of determination, his eyes staring straight ahead as if to glare at a nonexistent foe. His mouth hung slightly open, revealing his teeth that Joseph had painstakingly carved and inserted into his mouth one by one. He, in his false impression of inanimateness, had every bit the look of a focused grimace of one prepared to fight, and with his feathered headband and pink scarf around his neck, looked every bit like some ancient warrior prepared for combat. A brave, heroic soul passionate to fight until the very end.

"That's a great look on you, Cae," Joseph smiled, gently stroking Caesar's face. Caesar felt the loving warmth of the touch, but didn't respond-- keeping the same, fierce, courageous look he fixed upon.

And affixed on the pedestal was a small, pink label, bearing the text "Artist Name:" and below it "Title of Artwork:".

Joseph pulled out a black felt pen and filled out the blanks.

"Joseph 'Jojo' Joestar"

"Battle Tendency"

-------------

It wasn't long before a small crowd began to gather around Caesar, amazed in awe at how lifelike he looked.

"It's almost like a real person!" exclaimed one. "Except it's just a head."

"That hair looks so realistic! Get a look at that texture!" complimented another.

"Can I hold it?" said a third, reaching out to touch Caesar's nose.

Joseph held back the inquisitive visitor. "Don't touch him! Eh...I mean don't touch it," he corrected in the nick of time. It felt almost like a crime to address Caesar as 'it', but they had a charade to uphold.

Any offense could come later.

"Sorry about that," apologized the visitor.

For the next few hours people came to admire the sheer perfection of Caesar's creation. They commented on how his skin looked so real, how his eyes were so proud and lively, how his overall aesthetic was full of energy and personality.

All the while, Joseph was proudly and passionately talking about how he made Caesar and detailed him to perfection, shooing off grabby guests who wanted to touch and prod the unmoving Caesar, and scoffing at naysayers who were convinced he was an actor hiding his body inside the table. Joseph lifted Caesar off the table briefly, to show that he had no body underneath, and without a doubt a genuine, high-quality piece of art.

Joseph was filled with pride at people admiring his beautiful creation in all his perfection, and was also proud of Caesar pulling off the disguise so well. He could tell, by the faint gleam in Caesar's eyes, that he was enjoying the compliments and the love he was recieving.

Everyone who saw Caesar could not resist a smile. At stunned amazement of his sheer realism and his powerful, emotional aura conveyed by his defiant expression.

"It looks almost alive," said one student as they walked by.

"Heh...almost," Joseph laughed uneasily.

And he could tell that Caesar's presence, energy and appearance brought great joy to every face in the crowd.

All except for one.

Joseph's smile faded as he noticed one familiar face in the crowd, looking directly at Caesar's face with a sorrowful expression.

It was Mr. Will Zeppeli, his old art teacher.

And he was crying.

-------------

(Previous Chapter)

(Next Chapter)

#jjba #jojo's bizarre adventure #gingerreggg #hands of life au #bust!caesar #sculptor!joseph #heads up #caejose #caesar x joseph #battle tendency

6 notes · View notes

terminally-karkalicious · 3 years

Note

allow me to rant about the only thing that has been in my brain for the past two months and that is doll customizing babeyyyyy

i know there’s a 90% chance that you wont give a Shit about any of this but here we go anyways

SO first you gotta choose a doll. preferably one with a high range of motion to avoid creating new joints or having annoying limitations like not having elbow joints for some fucking reason. what the fuck mattel. give monster high dolls back their ball jointed shoulders and elbow joints. smh

the most common dolls ive seen used as bases are monster high and ever after high. most customs ive seen are highly stylized so the stylized face molds work well for those types of dolls but dolls like barbies are good for when you want a more realistic face-ups.

once you’ve got your base picked out you gotta wipe that bitch’s face off with like. acetone or nail polish remover or something strong like that. you can also use acetone to shrink doll heads which is cool as hell imo. n e way once the face is wiped you gotta chop off the hair and remove the hair plugs from the inside. ive seen this done several ways but the easiest and most common way ive seen is to dunk the head into boiling water for ~30 seconds until it gets squishy and malleable. once you’ve got the head back, you can use pliers (i think tweezers would work in a pinch) to pull out the hair plugs which are kinda icky because theyre covered in glue and other gross shit. ew

now you must decapitate the doll. dunk em back in the boiling water to soften them back up then just tug the head off. the neck pegs look funky and are usually a different color than the body so thats cool ig

once the head’s off, you can start the face-up which is basically just giving the doll a new face using stuff like watercolor pencils, acrylic paint, gouache, and a whole lot of other stuff. hell ive seen people use person makeup on these dolls.

next,,,,, hair. there’s about twenty million ways to do hair from gluing yarn wefts to sewing to rerooting with purchased nylon doll hair or yarn wefts but i’m gonna talk about the most common one ive seen which is rerooting and gluing.

before you can reroot, you need doll hair. which, as i mentioned, can be bought at stores like the doll planet or made at home with yarn in literally any color. have fun with it! make rainbow hair or something idk

to make homemade wefts, you take some acrylic yarn, cut it twice as long as you want the hair to be (keep in mind you can cut and style the hair once it’s been rerooted), fold them in half, and tie it to something sturdy like a wire coat hanger for the next step.

once you’ve got your yarn tied to your hanger, use a pet brush and brush the yarn until it’s wispy and looks like hair. then take a straightening iron and iron the weft flat. then remove from the hanger and boom. hair wefts. ta-da

to reroot the wefts onto the head, use a rerooting tool (which can be as simple as a needle with the eye cut at angle) (just google it please i’m shit at descriptions)) to poke small sections of the hair into the head. you can use the pre-existing rooting holes for your own reroot as they’re usually pretty reliable. to reroot, take a small length of you doll hair (about 10-15 strands), loop it in half, and put the middle of the loop into the reroot tool. poke the end of the tool with the hair on it into the pre-existing hole and remove the tool. the hair *should* stay in and fill up that plug!! also remember to plug thickly at the hairline and part of the hair where it's most noticeable. it doesnt matter as much in the center of the head as that’s not usually visible on the doll. once you’ve rerooted, squeeze in strong glue through the neck hole and squish around the head to make sure it covers all the plugs and secures them in place. then pour hot water onto the head to make the hair lay flat for styling later.

also, you can reroot yarn directly into the head to make thicker, more textured hairstyles. and since the yarn is thicker, you dont need to glue the inside of the head for the hair to stay in place!!

if youre not doing body modifications (which are also cool as hell) then it’s time for clothes but clothes are boring and i like body mods more so i’m gonna rant about them instead

the material ive seen most doll artists use is apoxie sculpt, which is like play doh on steroids. it comes in two parts which you gotta mix together for some reason. why dont they sell it pre-mixed. what was the reason. also once it’s dry it’s super super strong and you can sand it, drill into it, paint it, and all kinds of stuff. very nice and i want some for myself.

you can use hand saws and drills and shit to whack off doll limbs to make stuff like digitigrade legs or new joints. also dont be afraid to use other mismatching doll parts when customizing like heads and bodies and forearms and hands and shit. it literally does not matter if youre gonna recolor the doll anyways so have fun with it. make frankenstein’s doll if youre feeling spicy

accessories my beloved. stuff like tiny beads and clay baubles and shit will literally transform the entire doll plus they’re adorable and multi-purpose

i suppose i must talk about clothes now. ah well. you can find great clothing patterns if youre new to customizing on other customizer’s etsy shops and probably google although those will probably be lower quality than paid pattern pieces. and keep in mind that if it exists as clothing irl, you can likely make it doll-sized. there are literally no limits to your clothing options as long as you can execute your idea.

the once all your components have been made, you can assemble the doll again!! and finally see what all the parts look like together!! very cool 10/10 stars.

ight that wraps up my doll rant. i could really go into more detail on certain parts but thats a whole other rant for a whole other day smh. sorry for fucking flooding your inbox ender ahaha……………. you asked for this

little did you know that dolls have been one of my favorite things since like ever. if i can read a 25 chapter long fanfic i can read this B)

mattel definitely fucked up by completely ruining MH doll designs and just stopping EAH, alot of their profits most likely came from people who collect and customize dolls and by changing MH doll designs/Stopping EAH dolls they 1. most likely lost a small (or big if we're not jus talking people who customize dolls) part of their profit and 2. made it harder for doll customizers to make dolls/get commissions out rather quickly because they probably have to waste more time making joints or learning how to make joints.

EAH/MH dolls (specifically MH dolls) had AMAZING MODELS because there was so much variety with height, face shapes, etc (my favorite molds had to be the short/tall dolls and the cat molds because of the tails) and doll customizers really went all out with enhancing a molds unique features. The only "downside" abt MH dolls is that they (or atleast most)(from what i remember)) had slimmer faces but wider eyes while EAH dolls have wider faces with slimmer smaller which left a canvas for the face and not the eyes (and vice versa for MH dolls)

I've never seen any videos where a barbie is customized (maybe because i absolutely despised barbies at the time) so I'll definitely have to check those out but they seem to be good for realistic makeovers. I've seen like like semi realistic makeovers for EAH/MH dolls that were pretty good too tho (pretty sure mostly EAH dolls since yk MH dolls were used for creature makeovers while most EAH dolls weren't)

yeah i was always amazed by the head shrinking with acetone. honestly i still am?? idunno i have no idea how that chemical bullshit works. Ive seen a few of uh makeovers that just pain over the face (in multiple layers ofcourse) but that's usually when they're painting the entire body a different colour (again usually when they're turning a doll into a funky little baby man). I've also seen a few that just chop the hair off and take out the hair plugs yk without uuh like softening the head or just go straight for the hair plugs after taking off the head (i used to do that it was funny to me??). i always really liked when they used watercolour pencils or just colour pencils in general to draw/sketch on the face cause like wow ur drawing on ur doll without ruining it?? kinda epic maybe even poggers and pogchamp?? oh god my brain is failing wjshsmsj.

Watching them putting the hair back on the doll was, other than the face stuff, was the BEST part for me. Favorite type of hair was iuuuuuh was either thick yarn or brushed out yarn. Literally worship the people that would reroot the hair, theyre the most patience people on this earth!! it's literally insane but i guess that's what happens when you've been doing that for years? you guess kinda get used to it. when they put glue into the head does it just become stiff?? like it's just a clump of dried glue or does it like..hollow out again??

dude you literally cannot convince me most of the supplies used for doll makeovers. APOXIE CLAY LOOKS SO FECKING GOOD. its edible and i will die on that hill. The body mods are literally so amazing!!!!! it's so impressive how theyre able to imagine certain features THEN LIKE ACTUALLY MAKE IT LOOK ACCURATE TO WHAT THEY WANTED TO LOOK LIKE AFTER LIKE ON TRY (or many yk trial and error is very necessary for..everything). Absolutely loved when doll customizers would saw off a dolls legs and use different ones or just completely get rid of the torso to use a different one. it's like uuh that one big guy that's mismatched and sewn together. very cool. The accessories are so fun!! just small little details you seen really need but can add because it's your feckin doll!! I used to be absolutely obsessed over the doll clothes i would find on etsy, so much so that i started sewing shitty shirts and dresses for my uh "customized" dolls (they were absolute HORRORS idk WHY my mom let me feck up my dolls like that).

Thank you for this!! i haven't been able to talk about any of my interests for a while and this just really made me happy!!

Question fer u my fellow MH/EAH enthusiast: what was your favorite MH/EAH movie/episode and doll series. Mine was The fusion dolls (MH obvi) and that MH movie "Haunted" cause we got to know more about Spectra :D

#YOOOO LONG POST?!#long post #:) hehehe #this was very fun to read cant wait for ur next fanfic length ask #asks :D #theoreticallyjasper

2 notes · View notes

yeeshastone · 4 years

Note

Just found your blog and I am in love, all of your figures look so great! It's amazing how many you manage to make in a day or two while still putting a lot of character and quality into each one. Do you have any specific tricks to making figures that quickly, or is it just the result of lots of practice?

Im glad you like them! As for how i make them so fast its a few things. Practice for sure helps, but also i try not to focus to much on what im working on. I find if i give my full focus on what i am sculpting then it gets over worked and never looks as good as it dose when i only partially focus. So often when i am sculpting ill put on a show that dosent take all my attention, but can help me from over working the piece.

The reason i can do so many right now is that during AF i try to take off as much time as i can from other things so i can just focus on it giving me lots of free time becuse i love AF so much.

And the last thing that can help is having a goal. I find if you give yourself something to push for, a goal that you will have to work at to achive then that can help. If you give your self a deadline you will start to focus on whats more important rather then getting caught in the details and never finishing. Also having a goal helps you keep track of your progess and help to show you just how far you have come and i find that super satisfying. When i was 15 i made a goal to make a pair of earings out of clay every day for a year. Were they all great, no, but i was able to hold my head high when the 365th day came around and i knew better what my limitations were and what needed to be worked on.

Sorry if i rambled a bit, hope it makes sense.

7 notes · View notes

f4liveblogarchives · 4 years

Text

Fantastic Four Vol 1 #197

Sun Aug 25 2019 [02:44 PM] Wack'd: The Red-Haired Man doesn't like Reed so he shot 'em into spaaaaaaace [02:44 PM] Wack'd: Nah just kidding it's to hit him with more cosmic rays [02:45 PM] Wack'd: Reed has no idea why the supposed baddie is doing this but whatever [02:45 PM] Wack'd: My guess is that Doom wants him in fighting shape so it'll be a fair fight when he kicks his ass [02:46 PM] Wack'd: Why didn't Reed do this earlier? Well, getting the ship right would cost more money than he had, and by coincidence it would cost exactly as much as a small country might have in hand [02:46 PM] Wack'd: Handwave the fact that plenty of other people have gotten hit by cosmic rays, including the team themselves, in an assortment of spaceships, however you like, I guess [02:48 PM] Wack'd: sure

[02:49 PM] Wack'd: sure

[02:50 PM] Wack'd: Back in Doom's keep, he's got Sue, Johnny, and Ben chained up, and has agreed to release them if Alicia sculpts him [02:50 PM] Wack'd: An agreement I'm absolutely positive he'll keep [02:51 PM] Wack'd: Alicia he's kidnapped your boyfriend

[02:51 PM] Bocaj: Doom there's easier ways to get commissioned artwork done [02:52 PM] Wack'd: In fairness he wanted Alicia specifically so no one would look at him [02:52 PM] maxwellelvis: But none that are EXTRA enough for DOOM, fool [02:52 PM] Umbramatic: amazing [02:52 PM] Wack'd: But also--pay her money, maybe? [02:52 PM] Bocaj: Money can be exchanged for goods and services [02:52 PM] Umbramatic: commission me doom, i'm open [02:54 PM] Wack'd: With every passing appearance before his turn to "antihero", "Doom cares about his citizens and puts nothing above their wellbeing" becomes a hotter take

[02:55 PM] Wack'd: Cool move, Castro

[02:56 PM] Wack'd: Back in space, turns out Red Ghost is here basically by coincidence [02:56 PM] Wack'd: He was like "oh, that ship is going to space to bring Reed's powers back, I'mma stowaway" [02:57 PM] Bocaj: "The rules say I've served out my term as unquestioned god king. Doom is a stickler for rules so he is passing the throne to DOOM's son, that he has always had" [02:57 PM] Wack'd: "I definitely didn't grow him in a vat to be my puppet" [02:57 PM] Umbramatic: amazing [02:57 PM] Wack'd: (That's a joke but I also wouldn't be surprised) [02:57 PM] Bocaj: A son of doom shows up in the Soule run of She-Hulk [02:57 PM] Bocaj: He's great [02:57 PM] Bocaj: Like if Eeyore was the son of a tyrant [02:57 PM] Wack'd: I think it might actually be the same guy? [02:58 PM] Bocaj: "It's my super-power, father" [02:58 PM] Wack'd: Huh, no [02:58 PM] Wack'd: This is a different Son of Doom [02:58 PM] Bocaj: Hey *may* actually be growing them in vats [02:59 PM] maxwellelvis: ISTR one of them was actually the son of the man he deposed or something. [02:59 PM] Wack'd: I made the mistake of looking him up and he is in fact a clone. [03:00 PM] Bocaj: Doom I don't know if you're following the spirit of the laws that you decided applied to you for a change [03:00 PM] Wack'd: Anyway [03:00 PM] Wack'd: Red Ghost drops a buncha spaceship on Reed's head [03:01 PM] Bocaj: As ya do [03:01 PM] Wack'd: Then gets mad at Reed for using his stretchy hand to sneak up behind him [03:02 PM] Wack'd: Look, Red Ghost, turnab--

[03:02 PM] Wack'd: Stupid Reed [03:02 PM] Wack'd: Stealing my catchphrases [03:02 PM] Bocaj: Villains have weird ideas about whats fair play [03:02 PM] maxwellelvis: "NYET! Is not fair! You are cheating!" [03:02 PM] Wack'd: "Fair?! Who's the nihilist around here?!" [03:03 PM] Wack'd: Anyway turns out just as Sue can turn other things invisible, so Red Ghost can turn other things intangible [03:03 PM] Bocaj: Sure [03:03 PM] Bocaj: That actually follows [03:03 PM] Wack'd: And traps Reed between two floors of spaceship [03:04 PM] Bocaj: Its fun how the different intangible characters work in different ways. [03:04 PM] Wack'd: For the record, this vessel was built for one man, for one purpose, and it has three floors [03:04 PM] Bocaj: Kitty Pryde shorts out electronics she phases through. Vision doesn't. But he can cause pain by partially resoldifying in someone's chest and boy does he love to fist people to win fights [03:05 PM] Wack'd: Anyway the ship is now crashing to a fiery demise [03:05 PM] Wack'd: Doom, realizing he might kill Reed by accident, is livid [03:06 PM] Wack'd: I'm not totally sure this follows? Surely that would, at best, allow him to pull the suit out

[03:07 PM] Umbramatic: "Only DOOM is allowed to kill Reed!" [03:07 PM] Bocaj: I tend not to question the particulars of how Mr Fantastic works [03:07 PM] Bocaj: Because that way lies Ultimate's 'bacteria sack' [03:07 PM] Umbramatic: o-oh [03:08 PM] Wack'd: Anyway Red Ghost tricks Reed into entering the decompression chamber and then intangables himself out of the ship and--falls to Earth, I guess? He can't fly [03:08 PM] Bocaj: "Ultimate Reed's body has been radically transformed, his only internal organ being a "bacterial stack" that generates energy to fuel his body.[34] This obviates the need to explain, for example, how his circulatory system can pump his blood when his body is stretched the length of a football field; he simply has none. Lacking a digestive system, he has no need to eat or drink. Similarly, because he has no lungs, Ultimate Reed does not need to breathe in any conventional human sense and can survive in environments lacking oxygen; during his time in the N-Zone, where the atmosphere is essentially acid and contains anti-matter, he is able to survive." [03:08 PM] Umbramatic: what [03:09 PM] Wack'd: What's his endgame here? If he turns tangible before he hits the ground, he will splat and die. If he doesn't, he'll fall into the earths core, burn and die [03:09 PM] Wack'd: And there can't possibly be anyone waiting for him down there because the ship is way off course and he didn't tell anyone he was doing this [03:09 PM] Bocaj: Can he do gradiants of tangibility? [03:10 PM] Bocaj: If he can he can go slightly tangible enough to waft down like a piece of paper [03:10 PM] Wack'd: ...huh. I guess? [03:10 PM] Bocaj: (Apparently this is how Vision flies. Just goes intangible enough to be carried on the breeze) [03:11 PM] Wack'd: Anyway, apparently the wall of the spaceship got cracked during the fight, so Reed just squeezes out of there [03:11 PM] Wack'd: And manages to radio SHIELD before the ship crashes, so they come get him. Good thing they were nearby? [03:13 PM] Wack'd: Fury's like "explain yourself," and Reed's like "I need my Pogo Plane back to find Doctor Doom and kick his ass" and Fury's like "sure" [03:15 PM] Wack'd: And that's where we'll leave things for now [03:34 PM] Bocaj: Everyone is always very understanding of needing pogo planes to kick Doom’s ass

#1978 #Marv Wolfman #Keith Pollard #The Main Book

3 notes · View notes

thought-it-undaunted · 4 years

Text

Copied and Pasted

******************

Got this from my friend who’s brother is an MD and psychologist.

After having thirty-one sessions this week with patients where the singular focus was COVID-19 and how to cope, I decided to consolidate my advice and make a list that I hope is helpful to all.

MENTAL HEALTH WELLNESS TIPS FOR QUARANTINE

1. Stick to a routine. Go to sleep and wake up at a reasonable time, write a schedule that is varied and includes time for work as well as self-care.

3 notes · View notes

mfackenthal · 5 years

Text

The MFackenthal Show and @maxattack-powell!

banner by @whenyourheartskipsabeat

Hello all! Welcome back to the MFackenthal Show! I am so glad that you are here today. If you’re new to the show, I encourage you to go here to find past episodes. There are only a few.

The MFackenthal Show has officially been green lit for more episodes! We used to only be able to afford to run the show every once in a while, but the people have spoken - they want to see the show more often! The funding came through and we hope to give the people what they want! Do you want to be on the show? Do you have someone that you want to see on the show? If so - reblog or comment or send a message to let MFackenthal know! We’ll see what we can do! We have this show and two others lined up for you!

I could not be more excited to bring you this next guest. She has been with the fandom for quite a while. She was one of the first people I started communicating with on a regular basis. She has talked me up, supported me from the beginning and though she hasn’t written much lately - when she does drop a chapter - it’s long and it’s worth it! Please welcome to the stage @maxattack-powell!!!!! (Insert Cheering here!)

(Megs greets Max with a hug - which means that Megs essentially runs and leaps into Max’s arms. Max is fairly tall and Megs is barely 5′3″)

Megs: Max, I am so happy that you are here! Can you believe that you’re here today?

Max: Haha, yes - I can. But I am honored to be here.

Megs: Max, sit with me. For those in the audience who may not know you, tell us about when and why you joined the fandom.

Max: Yanno, I always made my best guess at this before, but I knew you were going to ask me this - so I looked it up. Did you know that now there’s this Official Tumblr blog called @memories, and it knows down to the minute when someone joined? Let me go check it… *digs through the blogs posts* Okay, it was apparently 07/31/2017 at 1:17:15 PM, which means it must have been on the weekend because of the time of day haha.

As for why ... hmm, well… I found the Choices app one day, when it only had like… three series I think! Anyone else remember that time?

Megs: I do! Because I was playing Hollywood University I think I downloaded choices the day the app came out.

Max: Awh! Well, I fell in love with The Freshman Series. Mostly because of Chris Powell and Zack Zilberg, and a long time ago I was in another fandom that had tons of fan fiction/art… so I googled “Choices Chris Powell” and any other combination I could think of looking for possible fanfiction. The fandom was almost non existent at the time. There was actually one person, who has long since left the fandom due to fandom dramas - we all know the kinds I’m talking about - but a few others had started posting their works as well… and I got hooked. Eventually I felt the bug to write how I felt TF should play out as well, and here I am *looks back at the “joined tumblr timestamp”* uhh… 20ish months ago! Haha!!

Megs: LOL, when you put it that way it doesn’t sound like that long ago ... lets call a spade a spade - that was almost 2 years ago! That’s amazing! You have to have seen so much in this fandom! What is it that keeps you around?

Max: There are so many awesome people in this fandom, in this world we’ve all created for our pixelated loves lol. Soooo many creative minds to follow and enjoy. The content people share, original or repost… it’s great.

... Unfortunately it is also a double edge sword ... the drama, the jealousy, the rumors, the hate, etc. I’ve sadly seen far too much and it comes in so many forms… it’s unnecessary.

Megs: I couldn’t agree more! If you could tell the fandom one thing - what would it be?

Max: It would be that we’re all here because we want to have a good time. No one came here to get ridiculed, to be scrutinized or chastised for their opinions, their likes or dislikes. Real life has enough of that going on. We are all individuals - if you want to be treated nicely, fairly, etc. you must also do the same to others. There is no reason someone must agree with you or anyone else. Live and let live. Embrace our differences as it makes us who we are. Most of the issues I see stem from a simple difference in opinion. That is ridiculous. Everyone’s entitled to their own thoughts. We must build each other up, not tear one another down. No one here owes anyone anything, now go have some fun.

(The room stands up in applause!)

Megs: You should definitely stand up and take a bow, Max!

(Max does just as Megs suggests - but she also makes Megs stand up and do the same. Laughing, they both sit back down.)

Awh, Max ... okay, let’s get back to you. We know that you’d fight anyone for the position of The Chris Powell Appreciation/Fan Club. And for those who don’t know, Max has been retelling the full The Freshman series, interweaving dialogue and plot from PB but also adding much of her own content. MC and Chris get a backstory. Chris gets best friends from back home. What is your favorite piece that you have written?

Max: Oh geez hahaha. Um… can I just say The Freshman Chronicles as a whole? I’ve written for different fandoms, and I have original WIPs but I’ll stick to the Choices fandom for this answer. I’ve put a lot of time into TFC. Tons of additional story work, research on characters and their backgrounds, PBs and my own OCs. You should see my file folder setup haha. It’s crazy… I have so many docs, pictures and gifs. Most organized by location (Hartfeld, Boston, New Haven, Cherryfield, etc.), then by character… and on some I get more detailed and split them by emotion and situation.

Megs: By what again?

Max: Emotion and Situation ... Yeah. I warned you it was crazy! *laughs* TFC was the reason I joined tumblr really. Instead of staying a Nonny and only reading others posted works. I wanted to comment, like and reblog what I enjoyed, while I also worked on my own contribution to the fandom. I had a vision for Chris and MC that had more than the game could give, and I wanted to see if i was still any good at writing since it had been years and years… it’s funny to see how different my current posts are from my first over a year ago. Makes me want to go update a few because they could use a little help *awkward laugh*

Megs: I’m sure we can all relate to that! Hmmm ... I’m starting to get a feel for this, I think, but what is your writing process?

Max: Lots of planning, mostly in my head. When I feel like I have a decent concept I might type out some notes or work it into my outline (another crazy thing I have going for TFC because it’s so big haha). But usually, once I hatch out a basic plan on where I’m going… I just start typing. Keeping the general plot and main points I want to hit in mind, I simply start typing… keeping it as organic as possible. It usually works out well.

Megs: Do you have any advice for other writers?

Max: First, and most importantly… do it because you enjoy it. Don’t do it for likes, reblogs, popularity, etc. If you’re having a good time dreaming things up and typing them out, that’s what’s important. The rest is just an extra bonus. Also, don’t give up. It’s easy to become discouraged, frustrated, distracted and more… but remember - your creative cells can’t be running all the time. They need to rest just like your body. Take breaks… go read, play games, hang out with friends/family, watch a movie… whatever. Just do something to help you relax, to reset and you’ll very probably find inspiration and/or motivation to continue. Remember, this is for fun. *wink and finger guns*

Megs: So what do you do for fun?

Max: I actually have a few things I do regularly. A big one is making costumes/props for conventions, small productions, etc. I also train and show horses. I do the same with my dogs, but more for competitions and not really any shows. I’ve always drawn, sculpted, painted since I was old enough to hold things with my hands… and about a year ago I started learning how to do it digitally as well. I run (not at all for fun haha) and play hockey (totally for fun), follow comics and watch anime. I've restored houses, cars and old furniture. I like to read as much as I can - that’s an important one. I also play video games. Something I’ve done since I was young… I've even competed, and won, a few gaming tournaments.

Megs: You don’t know how to be bored do you?

Max: LOL, Megs. Yeah, um, so there’s a “few” *makes air quotes* of my never ending list of interests haha. Gives me a lot to talk about with people, eh?

Megs: Not that I can understand how you’d have time for this ... but what do you do to help pay for your many activities?

Max: Oh like, my job? Well that can be a simple answer… like “I work in software” but the more interesting way to say it is I use my MBA, experience in business, the financial industry and technology to improve and stabilize my customers environment through technological solutions that fit their specific needs. *presses lips together* I solve problems by designing solutions. Bored yet? Hahaha.

Megs: No! That sounds wonderful! Who doesn’t want their stuff to be designed better? Any chance you could start working for tumblr? Some of us have a few complaints ... tags ... mobile losing our work ...

Max: I’m not sure they could pay me enough to help them with all of their problems! But, tumblr, feel free to send me an offer!

Megs: Seriously - send her a 6 figure offer!

Max: Okay, Megs, well now I have a question for you.

Megs: Uhhhh, Max, that’s not exactly how this is supposed to go.

Max: Yeah, don’t care. Your fans need to know ... Hoooow do you find the time to read and review so much?! And I know that’s just in this fandom. I know you read books and you may read for other fandoms!? Seriously, it’s awesome. We need to clock your page flipping speed haha.

Megs: *blushes* Oh my gosh, you have to stop! Here’s the key to how I do it ... I wake up at 5:30am and read for about 30 minutes. Then I workout and start my day. I read in line at the grocery stores. I read on my breaks at work.

Max: Oh my gosh - you’re such a nerd and I love that! Okay, nerd, what is your favorite thing to do, besides reading all the things of course?

Megs: This show, of course! And, of course, getting people to do silly things on this show with me. For instance - with as athletic as you are, I hear you can’t jump?

Max: Megs, shhhhh. You told me you weren’t going to bring that up.

Megs: I did no such thing! (Meg says while laughing) I said I might not bring it up.

Max: Uh huh.

(Kris Kross’s “Jump” starts playing in the studio)

Megs: Come on - show me what you’ve got!

(Megs starts “singing” along and jumping along with the song. Max stays seated. Megs finally pulls Max up into a standing position. Max plays along and “jumps” next to Megs - getting no air at all.)

Oh, come on Max - put some real strength in to it. Jump! Jump! Jump!

(Max jumps and gets the smallest amount of air time.)

Max: *laughing* Megs - I’m tall! I don’t need to jump to reach things!

Megs: *laughing* That must be nice. I got good at this type of jumping because I had to learn to jump up and gently grab things from the grocery so I didn’t knock everything down.

*continuing to jump around the audience - getting everyone to join her* And that’s all for the show today today, folks! Thank you for watching!! Have a great night!

#The Mfackenthal Show #With @maxattack-powell #Official show number 3 #But the 4th interview #Ellen has nothing on me #Oh who are we kidding #I wish I were half as cool as Ellen #She gets paid to do this #I do this for free #But I love it!

49 notes · View notes

optimusphillip · 5 years

Text

OptimusPhillip Reviews 16: Transformers: Generations Soundwave (WFC: Siege)

It seems that the old Micro Change Transformers can never get a proper update these days. Megatron can’t be a gun because that’ll apparently get kids shot, and a robot that turns into a camera or a microscope just doesn’t please the kids like it used to. But the thing that never ceases to amaze me is that apparently, kids don’t even know what cassette tapes are. Primus help me, I’m only nineteen and I already feel old! As a result, Soundwave and Blaster always feel the need to get creative... even when they’re marketed towards people who do know what cassettes are. Anyway, today we’ll be taking a look at Siege Soundwave, the latest attempt to update the classic communications officer.

Spaceship Mode

It seems that when Hasbro can’t think of a new vehicle mode for a Decepticon, they default to “Cybertronian spaceship.” As a result, Soundwave transforms into a flying brick with booster rockets and landing skids. At the very least, he proves my point about Hasbro forgetting the battle damage feature wrong. The entire top of the vehicle is slathered with silver weathering detail, as are the sides of the nose. It’s one of the busier examples of battle damage, and I’ll admit, probably my least favorite. At the very least, I don’t think the vehicle had much aesthetic value to detract from in the first place. On the plus side, all that sculpted detail I love so much is still here. I like the little antenna sticking off the back of the ship. Brings a bit of interesting asymmetry. Though I do question the decision to give him a cockpit.

In terms of functionality, it’s pretty much as much of a brick as it looks. You can play around with the position of the thrusters, but I don’t think that’s intentional. It feels like they just aren’t locking in the way they should. Most of the functionality comes from the weapons gimmick. Each thruster has a COMBAT port on it, where you can attach his weapons: a pair of matching cylindrical blasters with stubby little barrels. He also has his third weapon, a double barreled blaster that stores by tabbing in beneath the right thruster. All of their barrels are compatible with the blast effect parts, but strangely not the thrusters themselves. Though be careful when putting a blast effect on the “Concussion Blaster”, since the peg on that one is designed to slide in for a robot mode feature. Just remember to push back on the rear and you’ll be fine.

Aside from that, there’s not much to the spaceship mode. It’s honestly kind of a throwaway mode... but you do have an alternative.

Lamp Post Mode

Yes, after many years of fan-modes, Hasbro has finally made a real bonus mode. In this case, Soundwave is capable of transforming into the lamp post mode seen in the pilot episode of the cartoon, and to the toy’s credit, it doesn’t just consist of putting Soundwave into a T-pose. That said, it still has a lot in common with the robot mode, and it doesn’t really do much in this mode either: what you see is what you get. It’s more a fun novelty than an actual mode, and it is a lot of fun.

Conversion

Converting from spaceship to robot (or lamp post) is fairly bare-bones at its core, but actually does have some interesting tricks, particularly in the way the legs transform. Not only do the side panels of the legs fold up to hide the thighs, but the feet are cleverly concealed by a set of panels, which collapse up to fill the cavity left behind by flipping them out. From there, most of it involves flipping parts around the torso. The arms split apart and fold up from underneath the ship mode, and the waist assembly comes down from the back, and the thrusters collapse into a backpack. Take special note of the rear antenna, however: it must be folded down in order for the right arm to tab into place, and for his shoulder cannon to peg in.

Robot Mode

Soundwave continues the trend of Siege toys mimicking their G1 counterparts ludicrously well. Granted, Soundwave isn’t a particularly hard design to replicate, but they still pulled it off really well. The battle damage is, of course, still present, but it’s far more subdued here than in spaceship mode, since most of the spaceship roof is hidden away here. Now it’s mostly in his legs, with some scuff marks on his forearms, and my personal favorite detail: the cracks spider-webbing in his chest. It’s a clever way of incorporating the design feature, though it probably won’t win over those who still dislike it. Me, though, I like this level of battle damage, and would like to see more toys take the approach of this mode.

As far as other painted details, it’s about what you’d expect from a Soundwave: red bands around the wrists, silver on the faux tape deck buttons, a fully painted chest door, and some extra detail on the shins. Of course, the head sculpt is 100% Soundwave, though his eyes are done in yellow plastic rather than red, like his original toy. It’s kind of odd: eye color is usually the one thing Hasbro keeps from the cartoon over the toy, which makes Soundwave kind of an outlier among his teammates. Still, he’s got some good light piping, and if it really bothers you, a red sharpie should do the trick.

Siege has been a great line for articulation, and Soundwave so lives up to that standard. Ball jointed neck, universal shoulders and hips, with skirts to provide forward clearance, bicep and thigh swivels, double-jointed elbows, 90 degree knees, a waist joint and ankle rockers. Though I will say, the right shoulder does have a tendency to pop out of its socket. You know, as much as I found the antenna amusing, I feel like I’d rather have a secure shoulder.

For extra functions, the robot mode adds seven new COMBAT ports, meaning he can be armed up with extra weapons if you so desire. Of course he gets his classic shoulder cannon (or “Sonic Cannon”), which now has a jointed peg to serve as anti-air fire, as well as his “Concussion Blaster”, which lacks the midway extension, but still gets its blast effect compatible slide-out barrel. He also gets the “Blitz Charge Blaster”, which is unique to this version of the character, and which I honestly don’t use very much. Sometimes I’ll peg it onto his arm or something, but it just doesn’t feel right giving it to him. Though interestingly, it can actually be used with Siege Megatron to recreate his back-mounted cannon, in case the sword-gun doesn’t work for you. I may actually just end up doing that with it instead. And of course, the weapons can be combined to form the “Sonic Compression Mega-Blaster”: basically Soundwave’s two main weapons strung together with a gray rod. It’s honestly kind of underwhelming, though it’s length is impressive. I’m guessing this is the reason the Charge Blaster was included, but it feels like an odd choice, considering the two main weapons can just peg together on their own, and if anything look more cohesive that way.

But of course, it is Soundwave, and so it retains his classic gimmick. Pressing a gray button on his shoulder causes his chest compartment to spring open, with enough space to accommodate one cassette. None are included, however, so you’ll have to buy them separately. I like how his left hand has an extended finger, so he can actually be posed ejecting the tapes. One thing that merits mentioning, however, is that the chest door has no permanent stopper to keep it from going all the way down. Instead, it’s held up by the waist piece, which isn’t doesn’t clip in all that securely, so opening the chest may mess with some alignments. Oh well, it’s not a huge deal.

Normally, this is when I’d go into my final thoughts on the figure, but there is one thing I feel deserves a mention...

Boombox Mode (Fan-Made)

“If a Soundwave toy exists, fans will attempt to turn him into a boombox.” --Rule 84

It’s honestly not surprising that fans have made a boombox mode for this figure. Not only is Rule 84 totally a thing that I did not just make up, but this figure is so well-articulated and so accurate to the G1 model that it’s honestly child’s play to figure out. Of course, the legs aren’t designed to look like the sides of a boombox, and the thighs aren’t well hidden, but it’s still more than passable. That said, there’s one hiccup: the arms. The arms have no place to go in boombox mode, meaning they have to come off for everything to sit flush. Fortunately, they’re just on mushroom pegs, so they can be removed by hand, but it still means you have parts lying around. If you’re willing to shell out 15 bucks, however, you can buy a set of add-on parts that peg into the hollow parts of Soundwave’s arm mounts, creating a track for them to slide along. I personally do not see that function as being worth an additional $15, especially when I could 3D print a set of my own for cheaper (not counting the cost of CAD software and the printer itself, both of which I already have access to).

Function-wise... it’s a boombox. It retains the spring-loaded compartment from robot mode, but aside from that, it’s just a box.

Final Thoughts

If you love classic Transformers, this toy is a must-have. His official vehicle mode is forgettable, but his robot mode is phenomenal, and a great representation of his G1 self. In addition, not only does he have the secret lamp post mode, but he can also easily assume the best boombox fan mode I’ve ever seen on a Soundwave toy, making him an overall well-rounded figure, especially if you get the upgrade parts. But of course, what is a tape deck... without tapes?

#transformers #war for cybertron #siege #soundwave

3 notes · View notes