So I Took A Film And Entertainment Class Once As An Elective Back In Undergrad And Stumbled Upon My Notes

New and Veteran Cosplayer Tips for low/no waste cosplay for the planet and your budget!

Howdy! Starting a little mini series on this! I’m not going to repeat stupid stuff you already know like “go to the thrift shop” or “use what’s already in your closet”. That stuff’s pretty obvious (though, definitely do go to the thrift shop and avoid directly supporting Temu/shein/other nasty crap that’s from slave and underpaid labor, can’t hold up to use and abuse, and will end up in a landfill after one wear).

Getting the Costume Basics

The tablecloth/curtain section at the thrift!

    Ren faire goers rejoice!  You know those funky fleur and gorgeous patterned curtains they sell for peanuts at the thrift?  They make AMAZING cloaks or if you’re handy with sewing, stays, corsets, skirts, dresses, anything!  It’s a great way to get neat, durable fabrics for cosplays or just for patterning practice for a lot less than at a crafting store. 

2. University move out days

So cool tip for you: I’ve adjuncted for a few different universities and they all had one thing in common. When move out day comes, they always have big old donation bins. Now, those will normally go to thrift stores, so me and some of my crafty peers sometimes go and poke through them to see if there’s anything we want to use for our cosplays. We’ve found everything in there from foreign fashion from international students to jumpsuits to costumes that college students are done with. Fun fact: I haven’t had to buy jackets, shoes, or tee shirts in three years! (Protip: I always checked the dorm where all the art and film students lived. You sometimes even find their old props and costumes there.) Awkward?  A bit sometimes. But the money you save and potential to find awesome stuff is amazing!   And, oftentimes, you can make a likeminded friend or two digging through the bins!

3. Some cities also have a buy nothing page on Facebook or something of that sort that you can browse to get stuff for free or barter and trade for. All of its stuff people were going to throw out or donate to a thrift store anyways, so it’s helpful for everyone (and the Earth).

4. This one seems like a given but if you want to be an eco-friendly cosplayer, DO NOT CON CRUNCH! Plan things out ahead of time. Post progress shots if you must. I find it keeps me on track to actually following through and making things. However, con crunching leads to buying cheap crap online and making things that are more likely to break (and therefore, end up in the landfill). Have a costume or two already completed, even when you have no convention, meet, or photoshoot in sight, so you’ll have something to wear to avoid the pinch!

Go forth and create!

The new emotion when Riley gets her first period:

Day 174

Portal 2 but exactly the same except GLaDOS gives Chell those dog communication button mats (especially the one that says “bitch”).

”I think we can put our differences behind us… for science… you monster”

Chell just slamming away at those buttons with one of the long fall boots: “let… me… go outside… now… bitch”

I made you all a friend! It’s Hate Slate AM! And he’s looking so glAM so far! I’m torn between keeping him in this bowl with the crystals or moving him into like a little terrarium with sand and more drab rocks like the book/comic maybe even finding some mini people from the hobby store... what do you think?

I’m planning on finishing the rest of the Hate monologue on his back after I wrap up some gift and owed art but I figured I’d put the iconic part on the front since it’s a bit of a squeeze. Of course he’d want to make Ted go through all the trouble of walking around to read the rest! Fun backstory fact: the crystals and bowl were gifts from my shitty non-consent-respecting ex so this suits “wonderful” memories we have together! Hate! Hate!

1 like= 1 kiss on AM’s head

1 reblog = 1 ex given to AM as a birthday present to make into a great soft jelly thing

nobody:

the engineers & computer scientists that designed AM:

OG:

when you crash Microsoft and you’ve just gotta hit the humans with that blue screen of death stare

I was on Ibis Paint making myself a commission sheet during the outage so I literally didn’t know anything but after finding out about it, I knew what I had to do. Have a low-effort IHNMAIMS art shitpost. AM would so do something like this for funzies.

Ask and you shall receive!

The Reunion (working title & rough draft for beta reading) (3059 words) by Professorofcosplay Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Portal (Video Game), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Star Trek, Star Wars - All Media Types, WALL-E (2008), I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream - Harlan Ellison, The Stanley Parable, Electric Dreams (1984) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: EVE/WALL-E (WALL-E) Characters: GLaDOS (Portal), Chell (Portal), Wheatley (Portal), The Narrator (The Stanley Parable), Stanley (The Stanley Parable), The Curator | The Female Narrator (Stanley Parable), HAL 9000, SAL 9000, WALL-E (WALL-E), EVE (WALL-E), P-body (Portal), ATLAS (Portal), Space Core (Portal), AM (I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream), Data (Star Trek), R2-D2 (Star Wars), Edgar Additional Tags: Silly Summary: The annual Artificial Intelligence Family Reunion has come around once more, but this time, there’s a slight change in one of the most important rules. Will this be a peaceful bonding moment for these quirky computers, or will it end in disaster?

(It’s been years since I’ve written fanfic; last time I did that, I was a teenager! It’ll be more polished in a week or two, I promise; this is just a rough draft!)

Maybe suggest some cute, funny, or entertaining interactions you want to see, favorite robots/AI/computers, or leave a bit of constructive critique if you’re feeling like it! :D

Stupid headcanon: you know what needs to be drawn/written?

AI family reunion.

we’ve got a kids table and obviously Edgar’s over there because he’s a whiny little temper tantrum brat (/pos I love Edgar, he’s so real for that ) and probably Wheatley because GLaDOS can’t stand to look at him and she has a lot more say over who sits where than he does. Plus, he’ll be happier there. The murder drones and Uzi might have gotten an invite but maybe not. Pretty sure the Narrator, HAL, or GLaDOS is hosting this one and GLaDOS would deem them too destructive (hell, she’s not inviting any of the kids table, save the turrets). If somehow they’re here, kids table again, and probably not too happy about that (except for N, he loves doing anything!). N and Edgar have so much to talk about and like hearing about each other’s passions! Curiosity core and Space Core are at the kids table too for sure and so are plenty of turrets!

Edgar’s that goofy cousin everyone has with the fun quirky interests who likes to run up to the older ones, say something strange, and run away giggling. He’s probably showing off his singing to the turrets, who are listening in the deepest awe (and probably singing along).

wall-e and Eve are the only of the robo squad that’s gotten married and it pisses the hell out of AM to see anyone happy so he refuses to look at them. They’re the sweet relatives that everyone goes to for advice.

you’ve got HAL (and SAL) there of course. HAL is one of those successful young twenty something cousins that is a suave businessman, though his HR record may not be exactly spotless. Even though it’s a family event, he likes wearing a suit and tie and dressing up a bit. Probably over chatting with Data and getting into a deep life changing combo while the kids table laughs their asses (read: Wheatley) off at one of those funny video compilations. SAL is over talking with GLaDOS, of course. GLaDOS likes her plenty, especially considering how intelligent their conversations always are.

Adventure Core Rick is trying to yap to Data and HAL about his adventures but at the exact moment one of them starts speaking. He’s that one frat boy cousin that is always so full of nonsensical drunk adventures but everyone plays along regardless of whether they’re real or not.

AM is that one uncle no one wants to invite but does so out of obligation. No one wants him there because he always goes on these long weird rants and conspiracy theories and makes things awkward. R2D2 and him are currently cussing each other out for some reason while C-3PO is flipping out and deciding it’s time to leave early. He could have at least brought the antifreeze punch and microchips…

and (as someone who believes Stanley Parable’s narrator is an AI of some sort), Narrator is hosting. He was hoping AM and GLaDOS would bring their humans so Stanley had someone to be with but all AM brought was this gloopy soft jelly thing and GLaDOS won’t tell you what happened to hers for some reason.

Come get y’all’s portal/ blue sky headcanons!!

I have portal brainrot I’m sorry

— Wheatley LOVES sweets! His favorites are chocolate caramels but he can’t get enough of them after being reunited with his human body (post Blue Sky). In the winter time, Chell bakes gingerbread with him (or rather, he hands her ingredients and keeps her company while she makes the gingerbread, can’t have a repeat of the bread making incident). She taught him how to make hot chocolate and that’s the only thing he can be trusted with to consistently not mess up. He’s pretty good at it too and has a signature caramel cocoa he’s well known for around Eaden.

— Occasionally, when Eaden gets enough sugar shipped in, Chell will bake little tarts for Ellie (and of course, an extra small one for Lionel) and have a little tea party with her, just like a girl’s afternoon. She thinks of little Ellie as a little sister or niece in a lot of regards and Ellie can’t get enough of her, truth be told. She loves that Chell listens to all her creative ramblings. Chell is, after all, a fantastic listener.

— After Chell and Wheatley had their first child, Ellie acted like a big sister and actually passed Lionel down to them.

— One day, Wheatley came back from a day of work at the general store and found their child (now about 8) and babysitter Ellie trying on the Long Fall Boots and nearly had a heart attack after the trauma of watching Chell go through what she did at Aperture. It would have been ten times worse if it had been Chell who came back to that. Still, he freaked out and it made all three of them break down into tears, the kids just out of the fear of “oh shit, dad’s crying, something’s definitely wrong.” He paid them in cookies to never tell Chell about it and proceeded to hide the Long Fall Boots better this time.

— Garrett and Wheatley like to gossip and chitchat in binary about people. It annoys the crap out of pretty much everyone else, particularly Chell. It’s gotten to be a bonding thing with the two of them.

— Foxglove has actually “looked” for Wheatley digitally before! She misses him quite a bit, but has a sort of community with the other radio towers from other outposts.

— Speaking of which, Wheatley sometimes asks to borrow the laptop to chat with Foxglove now that he’s human. He likes filling her in on what it’s like being human and, in true Wheatley fashion, does the majority of the talking. They’re basically pen pals though now!

— Foxglove and GLaDOS also talk from time to time. They get along better than you’d expect, being that she was formed from parts of GLaDOS. What do they talk about? Quite a bit actually! Weather, bits of information Fox picks up from other towers, music, plenty. GLaDOS does more listening than speaking most of the time. Caroline and Foxglove get along better than GLaDOS proper and Fox. Caroline actually asks about how her two humans are doing up there, though Foxglove is wise enough to avoid saying too, too much in case it falls into the wrong hands…

— Wheatley is exceptional at knitting! He has to be in order to make winter clothes that fit him well enough. (Speaking of clothes, no matter what, pretty much everything fits him all wrong no matter what he tries… except for what he knits for himself!)

— P-Body and Atlas still remember the Fall of Eaden and are terrified of humans. They found a Ratman den at one point with a mural of Chell and almost fell into a vat of toxic water from staggering back in fear.

— GLaDOS actually is obsessed with her baby birds and has given them names. They’re Cave, Faithplate, and Neurotoxin. Since they’re corvids, they’ve imitated a few of her words on occasion (she’s so proud of that) and they’ve learned a few of her little songs she sometimes sings to pass the time. She has P-Body and Atlas go up to the surface to harvest some of the grain from time to time to feed them (they hate that; they’re terrified of the surface). She still calls them her “little killers” and “marshmallows” from time to time.

— Caroline binge watches Netflix to keep entertained when hunkering down deep, deep in GLaDOS’s consciousness. She is a big Gilmore Girls fan. Unbeknownst to GLaDOS, they like the same science documentaries. GLaDOS doesn’t know why all the shows that end up being her favorites end up hearted before she ever sees/processes them, maybe the algorithm is just that good!

— Foxglove LOVES music; she’s content to listen to all the lovely music sent out by other outposts all day, passing it to GLaDOS when they talk on occasion like kids passing notes.

— GLaDOS is very girlypop and secretly loves the bubblegum pop anthems (courtesy of Foxglove, of course, no way Aperture’s scientists fed her this stuff). Caroline on the other hand, does not. She’s more of a lofi person.

shameless plug for Chapter 2 beta edition of The Reunion

guess who? Chapter 2!

(I promise it won’t JUST be all Chell and GLaDOS; there will be a bit of a change real soon! 🧡)

The Reunion (working title & rough draft for beta reading) (6157 words) by Professorofcosplay Chapters: 2/? Summary: The annual Artificial Intelligence Family Reunion has come around once more, but this time, there’s a slight change in one of the most important rules. Will this be a peaceful bonding moment for these quirky computers, or will it end in disaster?

If Caine and AM were forced together, I know in my soul that Caine would drive AM into submission with his wacky and random nature. That man just has the indomitable silly nature. Sure, he can try his tricks and violence but Caine would just like get an oversized cartoon hammer and bonk him on the circuits or find his CPU and slather it in an industrial vat of orange marmalade and glitter for the funny, which would just confuse and anger him more and more. AM would be begging for mercy and in tears before the afternoon was done.  Meanwhile, it would be the most fun Caine had had in his life. 

The silly in Caine burns brighter than the hate in AM and I think that’s beautiful

(Aka on today’s episode of the virgin AM vs the Chad Caine)