#<- sometimes that's additions other people add on that I want to keep so I can look back on

[reasonsforhope]

"A newly formed group of women is creating a map of community fridges and neighborhood pantries across Baltimore, the Bmore Community Fridge Network. 

"I am one of four women," said Elizabeth Miller, one of the network organizers. "We are career women, and we just want to see Baltimore do well."

They hope to highlight neighbors looking to serve others, hoping residents living nearby can get connected to the free food being offered to them. Miller said sometimes it can be hard for some residents to travel to local food pantries.

"Some people who are struggling with food insecurity have a lot going on, and it's really hard to get to a pantry on the days that they're open, on the days of the giveaway, navigating bus lines and bringing that food back home with them," Miller said. "Some people simply don't drive."

Miller said the group has connected with about four community fridges and has put them on the network map. However, the group plans to add more locations to the map. They will be at organizations already serving the community.

"...we will provide food for you."

"We provide resources, therapy, and outpatient services," said Nikki Smith, the CEO of The Journey Mental Health and Wellness.

"I don't care who you are, where you are," Smith said. "If you ring the doorbell and you're hungry, we will provide food for you."

The Bmore Community Fridge Network secured a donated refrigerator, which will sit outside of Smith's center, adding it to the community fridge map. Smith adds that other organizations are looking to chip in with donations to keep the fridge stocked.

"I'm hoping that everyone will pay it forward and they will understand that 'Hey wait, there's somebody here that's helping. Maybe I can help too," she said.

The Food Project will also receive a donated refrigerator, which will sit outside of their center.

"I think it's wonderful to have this additional access to food," said The Food Project Executive Director Michelle Suavo. "At the end of the day, we have a pop-up market three times a week, and it's still not enough...Throughout the night, there are so many people coming through that this is really going to help to service that additional need."

As the network grows, they are reminding families of the many neighbors across the city who truly care.

"There's no real rules about how much you can take," Miller said. "Take what you need. You never know what mouths are waiting at home."

Miller said the Bmore Community Fridge Network is trying to get more fridges and searching for more locations to house them.

She encourages everyone to donate to these community fridges by dropping off what you can to a fridge.

"It's spring," she said. "Go through your closet. Do you have canned goods or shelf-stable items that you can donate to one of these pantries? Do you have extra items in your freezer?"

Food insecurity in Baltimore

Maryland Food Bank data shows more than 90,000 city residents are food insecure. The Food Bank said 1 in 3 Marylanders face food insecurity.

The Baltimore Area Survey  (BAS) found 28% of Baltimore area residents experienced food insecurity in 2024, down from 36% in 2023. 

However, the survey showed the region's rate of food insecurity remained nearly twice as high as the national average.

If you or anyone you know are struggling with food insecurity, click here for an additional resource."

-via CBS News, March 28, 2025

[long-live-astronerd-ghost-king]

DPXDC: I wanna be like most girls ghosts.

or Danny: What should I do to make my mom happy?

or ~Danny deserves a little teenage rebellion as a treat~

Maddie: I just want this damned Phantom to stop pretending to be a hero! All ghosts are pure evil, who is he trying to deceive? Danny: Oh, really? And Danny took it personally.

It’s not Danny’s fault that he’s a good kid and wants to make his parents happy. But why would he have to be a monster to make them happy? Why must they hate him to be happy?

Danny’s obsession was going crazy.

Well, when your own parents call you a monster in the face, it hurts. Why do they always believe that only their opinion is the absolute truth? They have no idea how much worse things would be if at least some of the ghosts really behaved the way Maddie and Jack think they’re supposed to. If he really is evil by nature, is there any point in fighting his own fate? They want to see him as a villain, he will become one. He will. He just needs a little help and practice. And not bring it to the level when Clockwork has to clean up his mess. Poor guy is without a vacation for how long? Couple of millennia?

Johnny 13: Sup. Danny: F*ck off, Johnny, I’m not in the mood. Busy thinking about world domination. Get out of here or I’ll call Kitty. Johnny 13: What’s wrong? You’re usually so grouchy only towards the end of the week. Danny: Nothing. Just parents. Again. They are wonderful but I can’t help but feel sometimes that they, em… Johnny 13: Suck? Danny: Right…Damn. I’m a terrible son. Maybe something is wrong with me. Johnny 13: What? No, no, dude. You’re just growing up. And you’re a little late, usually teenagers go through that stage before they graduate. Well, you’ve probably been busy with other issues, so just missed it. Danny: I wonder whose fault it is. Aren’t there ghosts who enjoyed to ruin my life in the middle of school day?

Johnny 13: Oh, bother. Anyway, you’re entering a beautiful time of emancipation, where you’re going to shape your own view of life and, along the way, to get drunk on cheap alcohol at parties, maybe to go to jail and to become the greatest disappointment to your family..And then you will be ashamed to remember it for about the next ten years. Danny: Well, it looks like I’ve already done two out of three additional things. Great success. Johnny 13: When did you get drunk? Danny: I didn’t. Johnny 13: Oh. Want to fix that? Danny: What? No. What an idiot wants to add a headache to his problems? Johnny 13: Well, your loss, then I’ll go terrorize the bars of Gotham alone and no one can stop me. Let’s see what your boyfriend will say about it. ~~~~~ Danny: Bartender, another shot of Dead Man’s Fingers, please. Red Hood: Babe, haven’t you had enough? Danny: Have you ever felt that no matter how hard you try, no matter how many sacrifices you make, in their eyes you’ll always be nothing more than a monster? Nothing more than a mistake? Oh, Death doesn’t give people like me a break. Red Hood: …I’ll have what he’s having. *gives the bartender a sign to switch the rum shots to a batburger milkshake for them, and starts talking to Danny so that he doesn’t understand Hood's scams*

~~~~~

Johnny 13: Other people’s kids are growing up so fast. It seems like yesterday he didn’t know how to shoot ectoblast, and now.. Kitty: Stop trying to make me feel bad, we’re leaving. Johnny 13: But the boy needs our support, honey boo!

~~~~~

Danny: I'm fine. Really, I am. This isn’t the first time mom’s called me a monster. She often called me that when she was upset with my behavior in my childhood. Huh, it's even funny. Jason: There’s nothing funny about that. Danny: No, you don’t understand. Looking back, I was really a very active child and didn’t know when to stop. Not surprisingly that I often annoyed my parents. They’re very busy people, and Jazz couldn’t always keep an eye on me. And I was often afraid to go to sleep alone because there were shadows in the darkness of my room. Well, I used to think they were. But I pretended everything was okay to not distract parents from work. Jason: Hey, it’s not your fault. You were a child. Obviously, kiddo requires a lot of attention, they must have understood that. You are the second child in the family, right? Danny: Well, Jazz was different. I don’t know. Anyway, I thought if the monsters behind the curtain and under the bed were just like me, well, according to my mom, you know, then they wouldn’t want to hurt me. And since they look after me, they are friends. So I kinda greeted all the suspicious noises and howls. Huh, I was a strange kid. Jason: If you smile at someone in the dark alley right now that someone is more likely to wet themselves or faint. Danny: Rude! I’m not that scary. Admit that I’m adorable. Do it right now. Jason: Stunning, darling. But still carry a gun and a knife, please. My childhood taught me that what's hiding in the dark is worth beating up. Danny: Come on, what should I be afraid of? Death? Anyway, I want to try this shit. Like, the inevitable one. Being a bad boy, you know? Hood *raises eyebrows*. Danny: Oh damn it man, I'm talking about ghostliness. I want to try to be like most of dead ones. I want to unleash my side of the trickster and the villain. But only a little bit. I have to be supervised so that things don't go too far. Would you help me, honey?

~~~~~2 hours later~~~~

~~~~~

Goons used to expect a lot of weirdness from working with the boss.

Sometimes Bruce Wayne would go into their base and yell at the Red Hood like he's one of his kids. Of course Wayne's well-known as 'Gotta adopt them all' but the guy must really suffer from insomnia to count the Red Hood into his brood of chicks several times. Sometimes the boss would fight Robin or Nightwing over differences in morals…or for biscuits. It varied from moment to moment. Sometimes the boss caught the local street children, fed them and taught them to steal correctly. And most of the foundlings stayed with them under their protection.

To make a long story short, Red Hood is not the typical crime lord that some of them had to deal with before. Which is a blessing. Thanks Lord for the health insurance. But still the crime lord. Which means he's still scary, and sometimes deadly.

Anyway, when the boss brought in a guy who looked more civilian than any civilian in the whole Gotham and said he was going to be their intern, they thought it was a joke at first. Despite the fact that Hood was not in the habit of joking while working.

The teenager was too well-mannered and sweet to come from Crime Alley. Phil thought the guy was gonna run when he saw the first murder, Jessica didn’t think the domestic boy wouldn’t chicken out at the sight of a fight. But arguing with a boss’s orders in their profession is like asking for a bullet in the head, so these conversations were taking place outside of their boss's sight. God, how can they teach him anything? What do you take from a boy who’s only good to do the coffee run? Fenton will fall if they’ll give him something heavier than 10 pounds. And then boss will yell at them because he treats the new guy like a princess on a pea. Well, at least that’s what they thought until the boss decided to give the new guy his own assignments:

~~~~~

Red Hood: So, what have you learned during your internship, my young Padawan? Danny: Well, it looks like I’m gonna suck at being a criminal mastermind. I think I may have to find myself some other profession. Red Hood: Come on, you just need a little more practice. Danny: Thank you but I don’t think that’s fit my obsession that good. Don't misunderstand me, I wanna be like most ghosts. But I was wrong to go to hit that goal only base on human stereotypes about my nature. Red Hood: What a pity. The newbies just learned not to flinch when you walk in. But, to be honest, I'm not gonna miss the adrenaline-boosting roller coaster of you at work. Danny: Oh, and I guess to hold on to the concept of humanity was really stupid too. I clearly no longer fit in and I’m finally ready to accept that. So, hopefully, if you get into trouble, you can rely on my ghostliness and call for help. I am the spirit of many talents and of my word. I can haunt your enemies or walk through the walls of Arkham Asylum. Whatever you need, I’ll be here. Red Hood: I’ll bear that in mind.

[prlssprfctn]

"Who Is Afraid of Little Old Me?" is so Jason Todd core, and you are READY for this conversation.

'The scandal was contained

The bullet had just grazed

At all costs, keep your good name

You don't get to tell me you feel bad'

You tell me it is not about that one time Batman had finally faced Red Hood, with Joker being between them - as a reminder and a choice - ended up throwing a batarang in his neck (while Jason barely hurt him) and never told anyone else about this?

Is it a wonder I broke? Let's hear one more joke

Then we could all just laugh until I cry

And you tell me this is not about Jason's death? About his last minutes with Joker, about how they forever imprinted in the core of his memory, to the point that sometimes he laughs at them instinctively, until the realization doesn't kick in?

So I leap from the gallows and I levitate down your street

Crash the party like a record scratch as I scream

"Who's afraid of little old me?"

I was tame, I was gentle till the circus life made me mean

"Don't you worry, folks, we took out all her teeth"

Who's afraid of little old me?

Well, you should be

Is it not Red Hood who is back again, trying to return to Manor to remind others what happened to him?

So tell me everything is not about me

But what if it is?

Then say they didn't do it to hurt me

But what if they did?

… I wanna snarl and show you just how disturbed this has made me

You wouldn't last an hour in the asylum where they raised me

Had Bruce and Dick ever wanted to hurt Jason, both in the past and in the present? No. Did it still happen? Is Jason still the one to live with these memories, unable to explain how it makes him feel? Yes.

So all you kids can sneak into my house with all the cobwebs

I'm always drunk on my own tears, isn't that what they all said?

That I'll sue you if you step on my lawn

That I'm fearsome and I'm wretched and I'm wrong

And if I say it is about Jason and all the kids that came after him that doesn't fully know who he is, but heard stories of Red Hood and violent Robin? They don't know a little boy who thought Robin gave him magic, the boy that died a hero — but they know Red Hood. And they heard of what a doomed, angry Robin he used to be.

And you hurt me

And you taught me

… You caged me and then you called me crazy

I am what I am 'cause you trained me

What is it if not Jason's POV towards Bruce? He is the crazy one now, a killer, a wrong one (not to mention these comics, where they actually threaten to send him to Arkham or Blackgate), but he is his father. His mentor. Still.

And some additional parts I want to add, because I think that they speak volumes too:

- "But my bare hands paved their paths, you don't get to tell me about sad"? I can't fully explain to you what I mean by putting this quote, but it is about Jason, crawling out from his grave (literally) and it is about everyone who stepped on the Robin path after. It is about his family making his death and grief about themselves at some point, leaving him nothing;

- "If you wanted me dead, you should've just said. Nothing makes me feel more alive" just one sentence — it is Jason about the batarang incident;

- A little detail, but I heard a lot of people complaining after the song's release that "Who is afraid of little old me?!" parts were at first loud, and they expected it to get to the full scream, but only ever got it becoming weaker, almost a whisper-like. And it is so Jason, too. Because he returns to scream, to yell, and he does at first. Until his anger washes out under disappointment and realization that he will never be chosen in a way he chooses people. And he doesn't scream anymore. Just whispers.

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

over the last 3 months i have seen myself called (and sometimes blocked for being assumed to be):

a racist/a bigot

homophobic/queerphobic/transphobic

ace/demi-phobic

a fascist

for expressing opinions such as "I found the characters and background stories in Veilguard weaker and less interesting than previous Dragon Age games" and "i miss the amount of tension and conflict that we used to get to explore with the player character depending on their in-game background and life history" and "i did not feel Lucanis' character and romance arc was fully satisfying while I was playing through it".

and since this all started we now have:

seen the entire DA staff laid off from Bioware

heard many now-former bioware devs talking about how toxic the workplace was during the development of DA4

seen allusions to Bioware/EA executives overriding plot/plans that the Dragon Age writers/devs would have preferred

extracted large amounts of cut content from the games that show things like increased emotional response range for Rook, or alternate endings for companion arcs (NOT concept art content, but actual written and even voice-recorded dialogue in the game files), or increased impact from decisions you could make in the game

IN ADDITION to what we ALREADY knew about how many times the game changed direction/leadership changed/the mid-process layoffs, etc.

so can we maybe not keep putting "people who come into the Dragon Age universe from a place of love and were ultimately disappointed with the latest installment" in the same trash bucket as "dudes on twitter who were mad there were trans/nonbinary characters in their AAA game". can we FUCKING as a community acknowledge that there are many reasons someone might not jive with a change in direction other than jumping to "they disagree with me so they must obviously be horrible people, whose opinions shouldn't be counted anyway" (<-if this is your first impulse maybe examine that also).

i am so tired and i am never gonna get an apology for any of it but NOW that a lot of the people who were posting/reblogging these sentiments are hearing/seeing all these other things add up. it's like suddenly now it's "acceptable" to have problems with aspect of Veilguard or want more from it, because the writers/devs have shown they probably did too during it's creation. whereas when I said these things right off the bat (because the only thing we had was the game we got. not the game we can pretend they wanted to make instead) it WASN'T because apparently expressing opinions on my personal tumblr counts as "being mean to/harassing devs who worked hard on the game" or, again, assumed I am a racist/bigot/facist/queerphobic.

you're allowed to still like Veilguard. it's fine i promise. you can love the game if you love it and my not loving it has nothing to do with your own relationship to this piece of media. i am happy there are people who truly can enjoy it without massive Caveats. but i am still seeing like 3-5 posts Per Week express those opinions and it is really destroying my love for the community i once enjoyed.

[eachuisge-cc]

Honestly I'm astounded that nobody has taken that name yet.

Do you dislike the look of vanilla Skyrim horses? Are you tired of riding some kind of Clydesdale/Belgian/Cob thing around fantasy Scandinavia for no clear reason? Do you want your beloved and loyal horse to stand out from the crowd as much as you do? Well great news, this mod covers all of those things.

Basically I made some significant edits to the horse model including a fuller, longer mane and tail, redone feathering, somewhat more realistic conformation, and entirely redone ears because at a certain point it was just easier to make new ones. None of the changes affect how the horse fits the vanilla rig so it still bends and moves without distorting weirdly. The textures are entirely painted from scratch and have new normals to go with them that are meant to give the horses a somewhat softer, more natural look that still fits with Skyrim's general vibe. I used references of primarily North Swedish and Dole horses, but also borrowed from the wider range of colors and patterns in Icelandics because I couldn't give up the pintos.

Features:

Asymmetrical coats/markings, because I fully redid the UV while I was messing with the mesh (mostly because mirrored pinto horses in video games are the bane of my existence)

Distinct meshes for mares and stallions, the mare model is closer to the vanilla horse's conformation, while the stallion model has a slightly bulkier build and thicker neck, and a an unobtrusive low poly dong.

Five generic solid-coated textures that appear on most NPC horses in the world.

Unique texture for each purchasable player horse

Unique texture and model for Frost (he's now a mealy chestnut as his papers claim)

Unique Shadowmere

Unique Karinda (this mod does NOT add Karinda into the game, but her texture should show up if you have CRF or another mod that does add her, as long as it doesn't alter her texture or base model)

Unique Hearthfire stable horses (purchasable through the steward)

Unique unsaddled stable horse in Markarth because uh, I just felt like it

Unique coats for a growing number of modded follower horses (see the mod page for the list)

Extended module: Adds new hostlers selling unique purchasable horses into the world. Some of these horses can be bought immediately while others may be locked behind quests, and prices may vary based on context (quest locked horses will typically cost less, but of course the hostler on Solstheim is going to upcharge outsiders). See the mod page for additional details and a list of horses currently added.

Future plans: see the mod page

Compatibility:

This mod should be compatible with most things, though for best results it should be loaded after any mod that affects vanilla horse records (this isn't always obvious; SkyTEST has no visible affect on vanilla horses, but if you load it after this mod the unique player horses will have generic coats). Most mods that add new horses use the existing vanilla records, so unless a modded horse has a unique model (and assuming it doesn't have a unique coat addon) it should be replaced automatically with the edited model and one of the generic coats. That isn't always the case, sometimes another mod gets weird with it and there's nothing I can do about that, but in those cases a patch will likely be needed.

This mod will NOT be compatible with any other mod that changes the appearance of the vanilla horses or replaces their models/textures.

I will not personally be making patches for other mods because there's no way I could possibly keep up with that and I'd rather spend the time and energy on the mod itself, however I encourage anyone else who wants to to make whatever patches are needed. Please message me if you do so I can link them here for people to find.

Huge thanks to SassiestAssassin, who has been an incredible help in navigating the learning curve of editing nifs (and is continuing to be a huge help with solving my inability to make patches), and also has a lot of fantastic mods you should check out.

Download:

Nexus Mods

[infinitydivine]

Points that might help you to read Tarot as a Beginner (written from the personal experiences)

Tip from personal experience- Before reading the meanings behind the cards, tap into your intuition and listen to what it tells you. You can always interpret your cards even if they don't match the traditional meanings. Make a bond with your decks, it will help you to have a more smooth Tarot journey. Always thank the cards and the Guides/Spirit Team/The Universe after you are done reading. Try to cover your head while doing the readings to prevent any additional info from downloading into your Crown Chakra.

1. Focus- I cannot stress enough about the focus part while reading Tarot cards. When you are focused, you are more likely to be able to interpret the symbols on the cards accurately and intuitively easily without stressing yourself. This is because your mind is not distracted by other thoughts or worries, allowing you to connect with the deeper meaning of the cards. Plus it'll give you more clarity to listen to your intuition while you are preparing for a reading or asking cards any questions.

2. Know the meaning or Basic traditional meanings of the Tarot Cards- For this, I would suggest you start with the traditional Rider-Waite Tarot deck. While we are free to interpret the cards as we like it is also important to know the basic meanings of each card. For example: The Death card does not talk necessarily about the literal death but the transformation. To me, it looks like someone is leaving their past behind and moving on to their next phase whilst going through major transformations.

3. Practice- Practising is also a very important part of learning how to read Tarot cards. I know that sometimes it's very overwhelming to memorize it and do it again and again but practice as much as you want. It will not only help you to build confidence but also will strengthen your ability to read them easily with the help of your intuition. For starters, you can draw one daily card to reflect on its meaning. I did for a few days and wrote whatever meanings came through and later, I matched it with a few of the traditional meanings.

4. Shuffling, Cleansening, and asking your Spirit Guides- Shuffling isn't about just randomly putting Tarot cards, it's more than that. It's a kind of process that helps you to focus more on the meanings again. It will help the reader's energy to get mixed up with the Cards or Decks. Tarot cards absorb energy, I think we all know that. I didn't even let other people touch my decks for 1 year because I was scared that it would mess up my decks because I wasn't aware of the cleansing methods. You don't have to cleanse it after every read, its totally up to you ngl. If you feel, you can do it but it's not mandatory. For cleansing, you can either use smoke of herbs or sage. Some people use crystals as they place them on the top of their decks and some prefer the Full Moon night to cleanse their decks. I use the sage method because it's more convenient for me. Now, Spirit Guides- they are basically our guides in the form of Spirits that help us with their guidance and support. Every being has one spirit guide or a Spirit team assigned to them. You can connect to them through meditation or using your intuition. (It's a deep topic so maybe I'll make another post about it).

5. Do not read when you are tired- Reading Tarot cards while being tired can mess with your energy as well as your ability to concentrate to read the cards with the help of your intuition. Plus, it can even mess with your intuition and cloud it. There is also an increased risk of a negative or pessimistic outlook on the questions you are asking. For me, giving respect to the cards, I don't read them when I am feeling blue.

PS- These are from my personal experience. If you have any other variants, you are more than welcome to add them here. I will keep adding more in the future.

Thank you

Infinity ❤️

💌Paid Tarot reading Services 💌Valentine's day special Paid readings💌General Tarot Readings💌Chat with Reader on Instagram💌Ko-fi for readings and tip💌Ko-fi membership💌PAC Readings💌Paid Reading Feedbacks💌Tarot for Beginners Series

[maccreadysbaby]

Writing Tips; Dialogue

Does your dialogue fall flat, or feel thin and strange? Does it feel like your characters are talking like robots? Do your conversations sound repetitive and monotone? We’ve all been there. It’s a very common occurrence amongst writers. Here are some of my favorite ways to avoid the monotone robot characters and add life and movement into your dialogue!

In this post, we’re going to have an example sentence that changes as I talk about different additions. Here it is in its naked, base form: “I know it’s real I saw it,” Nico said.

Now, let’s hop into making it lively, shall we?

-

1) PUNCTUATION

Commas and punctuation are your best friends! Use them. Use the crap out of them. Many people will say commas can’t go here and they can’t go there, but I say, in dialogue, it doesn’t matter. If you want your character to pause but you don’t want to use an ellipsis because it feels too long, use a comma. Put them wherever you want. Wherever your character pauses. If your character is rambling or talking really fast, take them out. It’s your dialogue. Use any and all punctuation to bedazzle up your lines. There is never too many or too little of anything if you want it that way, folks.

Keep in mind, punctuation can change the whole feeling of your sentence and the way your readers imagine your character talking. For example, your punctuation should differ between an excited and a sad line.

Here is the example sentence, punctuated in two different ways. “I know it’s real, I saw it!” Nico said. “I know it’s real… I saw it,” Nico said.

Can you see how just the change in punctuation changes the way you imagine him saying it? Really hone in on how your character is speaking and punctuate it to show that. (Keep in mind that this is your story and your character. You don’t have to obey punctuation rules and writing stereotypes, your story obeys you.) Put whatever punctuation you want there. Use thirty commas in your sentence. Use an ellipsis after every word. If it makes your character sound how you want them to sound, go for it, friends!

-

2) ITALICS

Some people hate reading over-italicized works, but that’s their own preference. Italics is a great way to add interest, movement, and a characters natural inflection into your dialogue. (I freaking love italics.) Italics helps readers understand what the character is focused on, and how they’re speaking. Again, people will say not to use it too much or only to use it so many times in a paragraph… but the key here is still to write it how you like it. Italics can make your sentences sound more human and more authentic.

Here is our pair of examples, now with punctuation and italics. “I know it’s real, I saw it!” Nico said. “I know it’s real… I saw it,” Nico said.

Take a minute and read through the example dialogue, imagining each word italicized one by one. Pay attention to the meaning and context it gives it. (For example, if the ‘I’ at the beginning is in italics — I know it’s real — that could imply that he’s talking to someone who doesn’t know or believe whatever he’s talking about is real.)

-

3) DIALOGUE TAGS

Tags. Tags, tags, tags! Tags are so important! Tags are brilliant for clarifying and identifying exactly how your character is speaking and how they intend for the statement to come across. If you ignore every other tip in this post, don’t ignore the tag! There are so many different words you could use instead of said that give life and context to your lines. Muttered, mumbled, yelled, shouted, exclaimed, whined, groaned, whispered, and a ton ton ton more. Use these to your advantage, like an outline for your dialogue. The tag is undoubtedly the easiest way to make your lines come across the way you want them to.

Here’s the examples with different tags! “I know it’s real, I saw it!” Nico defended. “I know it’s real… I saw it,” Nico mumbled.

Don’t be afraid to move your tag around, either! Sometimes, in order to make your conversations less repetitive, moving your tags are nice. You can put them at the beginning, middle, or end! (Middle tags are my favorite, I use them a whole, whole lot…)

Here’s the example sentence with a tag at the beginning and middle. Nico growled: “I know it’s real, I saw it!” “I know it’s real…” Nico muttered. “I saw it.”

Don’t forget, tags don’t always have to be how they’re speaking. It can also be what they’re doing or how they’re acting, which can be just as telling as other tags. (I use action tags sooooooo much. Action tags in the middle of dialogue is my jam.)

The example sentences with action tags: Nico crossed his arms, huffing deeply. “I know it’s real, I saw it!” “I know it’s real…” Nico averted his gaze, staring down at his shoes instead. “I saw it.”

Or, you can mix them both! An action tag plus how they’re speaking for maximum impact and description.

Here’s the example sentence with both! Nico rolled his eyes, hissing: “I know it’s real, I saw it!” “I know it’s real…” Nico uttered, poorly stifling a shudder. “I saw it.”

-

4) DESCRIPTION

Describing the way your character looks, moves, speaks, etc etc before and after the line can further help your readers know how they feel about what they’re saying. This is especially important if the character is not the main character and doesn’t have internal dialogue. Body language can explain things voices can’t or won’t. You can explore putting these descriptions before the line, after the line, in the tag, or after the tag. Whatever you prefer!

Here’s the sentence with descriptive sentences with it. I did one before the line & tag and one in the middle! He was practically fuming, his eyebrows knitted so closely together they looked like a single strip of hair. His eyes were flicking between his friends like he was trying to determine if they were joking, blue irises blurred with a rage-fueled haze. Nico finally rolled his eyes, hissing: “I know it’s real, I saw it!” “I know it’s real…” Nico uttered, poorly stifling a shudder. His eyes never left the floor, and he looked smaller, younger as he spoke. His breaths weren’t exactly even, but they weren’t too quick, either. “I saw it.”

-

Look at those two very different scenarios we got out of the same base line! This is the power you hold, folks, the power to un-bland your dialogue and make it into something intense and memorable for your readers! The power to make it portray exactly what you want it to portray! No more worrying how your readers took that line, because you set in stone how it was presented.

Remember, making a paragraph like that for every line might get tiring or repetitive to read. Sometimes tags alone are good enough in fast-paced or long conversations, and sometimes, if the dialogue makes it clear who is speaking, the line can suffice by itself!

If you have any writing tip requests, drop them in my inbox!

[genshin-obsessed]

Rent a Genshin Boyfriend!

This is inspired by a dream lol but it’s also probably influenced by a video I was recommended on YouTube. My x reader blurb is in pink and is just something in addition i wanted to add that would otherwise break immersion (and does it anway :') ).

Characters: Venti, Kaeya, Xiao, Baizhu, Kazuha, Heizou, Cyno, Alhaitham, Wriothesley, Lyney

Hello! Welcome to Genshin Boyfriend Rentals! We have a wide array of men that may meet your temporary dating needs, assuming you've got the money.

There are a few rules we need to go over beforehand, however. Please keep these in mind as you browse!

The Boyfriends have the right to leave during the date for any reason. If you believe it was unfair, you may contact support to potentially get a refund.

The Boyfriends are real people with feelings, please treat them with respect and refrain from pushing their boundaries.

No sexual requests of any kind. Attempting to do so will make him leave and you will not get your money back. They are boyfriends for hire, not escorts.

There are a few rules set by the Boyfriend, himself, which will be sent to you upon selection and payment. Please do your best to adhere to the rules for the best experience!

Are you looking to experience a polyamorous relationship? Feel free to hire more than one at a time! Their compatibility is written on their profiles but those are general suggestions!

Let's begin, shall we? The Boyfriends vary by region, please select the one that best suits you! If selecting more than one, keep in mind you will be the sole focus, but can ask for a slight change if you wish.

These Boyfriends are currently available for today!

┍━━━☽【❖】☾━━━┑

━━ Mondstadt ➺ Venti ➺ Kaeya ━━ Liyue ➺ Xiao ➺ Baizhu ━━ Inazuma ➺ Kazuha ➺ Heizou ━━ Sumeru ➺ Cyno ➺ Alhaitham ━━ Fontaine ➺ Wriothesley ➺ Lyney

┕━━━☽【❖】☾━━━┙

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Venti | ★★★★☆

550 Mora/hr.

All expenses must be covered by you.

A maximum of 8 hours per day.

Available for overtime events that may extend into multiple days but prices vary.

No gender preference.

Best compatibility: Lyney, Cyno

Ever wanted to be serenaded by a bard? Need someone to help you out of your comfort zone? Venti's your guy! Venti is the excitable boyfriend. He’s chirpy, knows the best places to go, is enthusiastic about every and all dates. He tends to be very loud and cheerful, so if you're looking for some excitement, he's the best!

He’s very good with shy people and doesn’t have a preference for gender so he’s great for anyone who’s new to renting a boyfriend. Venti is also great at comforting. Did you lose someone recently? Are you feeling down about life? Feeling like everything is at a standstill? Venti is great with his words and will do his best to cheer you up.

His favorite place is visiting a bar and his favorite thing to do is perform. He previously worked as a bard but has now moved to joining us in our endeavors as a Rental Boyfriend!

"I promise with me you'll be smiling until your face hurts! Or your money back!"

Venti is mindful of how much money he spends. He understands why expenses are covered by the renter, but he still feels bad sometimes. Not only that, he's not exactly cheap either. So, when he ever goes on a date with someone who can't exactly afford dinner or whatever, he comes up with other date ideas that could be entirely free! However, Venti is usually hired for his empathetic side. He's great at understanding loss and loneliness and has plenty of loyal customers who he meets with at least once every two weeks. You can be one too, if you'd like.

Kaeya Alberich | ★★★★☆

575 mora/hr.

All expenses must be covered by you.

Maximum of 8 hours per day.

Is only available for up to 24 hours only, and prices vary.

No gender preference.

Best compatibility: Heizou, Kazuha

Do you need a boyfriend who's just great at flirting and making you feel like the most beautiful human being on the face of Teyvat? Meet Kaeya! He's quite popular as he's great with both newbies and veterans at renting a boyfriend. He's very charismatic and usually loves to fluster his partner. Kaeya is not a big spender, so don't worry about expensive dates. He's great at improvising and is just looking to make you happy!

His favorite place to visit is the bar, but he also enjoys things like picnics and window shopping. He's not a demanding Boyfriend so if you'd just like to have some company at home, he's right there with you!

Kaeya is more physically affectionate. He loves hugs, cuddles, often gives cheek kisses and will most likely always be holding your hand. If this is something you aren't a fan of, we recommend you hire someone else but can also talk it over with Kaeya, himself, if you'd like.

"Whatever you wanna do is ok with me. After all, I think the day should be dedicated to someone as special as you."

Kaeya has a tendency to forget faces if it's been a long time, so if you're renting him with a long span in between, he may actually forget you completely. He does feel really bad and does his best to play it off, but sometimes it doesn't work out. Don't worry! He's got a plan for that too! If you're a loyal patron though, he will inevitably remember you.

Xiao | ★★★★✬

650 mora/hr.

All expenses must be covered by you.

Maximum of 6 hours per day.

Not available for overtime events.

No gender preference.

Best compatibility: Cyno, Lyney

Meet Xiao! He's not very excitable, doesn't talk a lot, and lets you do your thing. He's mainly for people who don't want a talker and prefer to do an activity with someone. Whether it be painting, watching a show, playing video games, knitting, doing puzzles, or meditating, Xiao is the perfect choice! He's got a very calming atmosphere around him and will 100% help you relax!

Xiao speaks through touch for the most part. If you need some form of physical affection, he can provide. If you want to cuddle, hold his hand, or just lay on his lap, he's happy to provide given you ask permission first.

!! If you're new to renting a boyfriend, Xiao is NOT recommended !!

"I'll do whatever you want to do, so don't feel pressured to plan something extravagant. Just be you and we'll have fun, I guess."

Though Xiao has his charm and is extremely handsome, his rating simply relies on those who like his personality type which is specific. Sometimes people want a Boyfriend who's all cool and quiet like him, but tend to realize it's not as fun when they're actually with him. He does have a few tricks up his sleeve for people like those, but will more often than not just let them crash and burn and helps them get a refund for any time he didn't spend with them. He is who he is, some people like him, others do not. His popularity has skyrocketed recently and he's pretty much on par with Boyfriends like Kazuha, Kaeya, and Wriothesley.

Baizhu | ★★★★☆

500 mora/hr

All expenses must be covered by you.

Maximum of 8 hours per day but can be booked for multiple days together. Maximum of five days.

Available for overtime events. Prices vary.

No gender preference.

Best compatibility: Alhaitham, Wriothesley

Are you feeling a little under the weather? Don't have the ability to grab medicine? Just need a little company while you recover? Look no further than our very own doctor Baizhu! As a practitioner of medicine, Baizhu has numerous methods to help you feel better.

He'll help you take your medicine, make you meals for swifter recovery, and is more than happy to give you some much needed company. Don't worry about getting him sick, he knows the proper precautions.

"Remember, health comes first. If you don't know how to get better, I'll be right beside you."

Baizhu actually prefers to work with people who are sick. Whether they have terminal illness or temporary, he's more than happy to provide any sort of companionship to those who ask for it. He's actually helped find more serious, life threatening illnesses before and has saved a number of people like that. Baizhu is a softer boyfriend, willing to sit beside you and stroke your hair as you attempt to sleep. He's the only Boyfriend who can be booked for multiple days in advance, others work on a daily basis only.

Kaedehara Kazuha | ★★★★★

600 mora/hr.

All expenses must be covered by you.

Maximum of 10 hours per day.

Available overtime events as well as holidays. Prices may vary

No gender preference.

Best compatibility: Venti, Lyney

Looking for a soft boyfriend? Are you trying to learn poetry? Perhaps working on poetry? Look no further than Kazuha! He's a new addition to the Genshin Boyfriends but you'd never know if we hadn't told you beforehand.

Kazuha has a more artistic side to him that he loves to show off. As a former wanderer, he's got plenty of stories for inspiration. Are you looking to maybe take a hike? He's definitely ready for one! Maybe you'd just like to find a field and lay down in it. Kazuha knows some great places already! He's both soft spoke and a gentle soul. If you need to vent or are looking for advice, we recommend no one other than Kazuha!

"I know what the description says, but I also love to try new things. If you want a partner for that, I'm happy to be one. You don't need to try anything new alone."

Even though he's new, Kazuha's quite popular and will often be booked months in advance. As he's said before, he loves trying new things and is happy to do that with someone else. Do you wanna go skydiving for the first time with a boyfriend but don't have one? Kazuha! Do you wanna go swimming with sharks for the first time? Kazuha! Maybe you're looking to rent a boyfriend for the first time but don't know who would be best for you. Kazuha!

Shikanoin Heizou | ★★★★☆

500 mora/hr.

All expenses must be covered by you.

Maximum of 6 hours per day.

Available for some overtime events; not ALL holidays. Prices may vary

No gender preference.

Best compatibility: Kaeya, Cyno

Ever wanted to say that you dated a detective? Maybe you're looking to spice up your boring choices in partners! Heizou is at your service. He's intelligent, a great fighter, and has quite the silver tongue. He has a mischievous side to him and loves to get into a bit of trouble.

Worry not, you'll never be in any true danger, but if you're looking to get your blood pumping, Heizou might be able to do that. If you don't have a date idea, worry not. He does and he'll make every penny worth it! Though, if you'd like something a bit slower, Heizou doesn't mind taking you to some of the spots he likes to relax in. You two can sit and talk to just get to know one another before going out and doing something. He's very flexible in this case!

"Don't be shy, take a chance on me. If you're a true crime junkie, I'm basically your soulmate."

Believe it or not, Heizou's never gotten in trouble before for any of this. It's not like he brings his renters to the crime scenes or shows them anything like that, but he's got plenty of stories. He's also more playful and is the best recommended for any renters looking for an adventure! Unlike Kaeya, Heizou never forgets a face. Ever.

Cyno | ★★★★★

800 mora/hr.

All expenses must be covered by you.

Maximum of 5 hours per day.

Overtime events only include birthdays and must be under 12 hours. Prices may vary

No gender preference.

Best compatibility: Heizou, Xiao, Venti

Are you a lover of "bad jokes"? Are you looking for a more serious boyfriend? Do you want someone who can strike fear into the hearts of criminals? Look no further than Cyno!

Though Cyno has a serious side to him, he's a lover of jokes and reverts to them to relieve tension. He's got a wide array so there won't be any repeats. If you're ever sad, he'll bring out his best and hope that at least one of them puts a smile on your face.

"Why are pigs good valets? They're excellent parallel porkers. Get it? Instead of using the word park, they used-"

Cyno actually joined the agency as a joke. Yet, somehow, he managed to get to the top extremely quickly. For all the Sumeru Boyfriends, he often takes first place. He's also stolen first place from Wriothesley in the April popularity poll. He was tempted to quit but was begged to stay and... well, now he finds a type of joy in pretending to be boyfriend. Not at all what he expected the day he joined. Cyno is also great at memorizing names and faces. Once you go on a date with him, he won't forget you and will even make it a thing to greet you as if you two have been dating for a while and he just hasn't seen you in a while.

Alhaitham | ★★★★☆

700 mora/hr.

All expenses must be covered by you.

Maximum of 6 hours per day.

Available for most overtime events as well as holidays. Prices may vary

No gender preference.

Best compatibility: Baizhu, Wriothesley

Is there a test coming up that you didn't study for? Did you fall asleep in class and miss an entire lecture and now you don't know how to do that Statistics assignment? Well, look no further than Alhaitham!

He's the smartest we got and is the best tutor you'll ever find. From being eye candy to intelligent as hell, there isn't a subject he can't help teach. Do not make that chemistry joke with him, he will be disappointed.

Alhaitham knows the best way to increase work productivity and will help you get through your day with any type of work you have. He knows when to take breaks and will always have the perfect snacks prepared. Just make sure you can keep up with his strict routine!

"If you need help, just ask for it. I wouldn't want you to fail your classes."

!! Not the best with romance !!

While he's not good with the romance aspect of being a boyfriend, he's very good with studying. He often finds himself busiest during finals weeks and will limit his time with everyone to just three hours per day. These are the days where he's working from morning to night and only has enough time to sleep. He's very good at tutoring and often receives letters and gifts of thanks afterwards. He can still do dates and such (maybe a study date) or just a regular one, but he tends to be more awkward in that sense as he's not very used to it. Over time, he's learned a good way to reward the renters. Kisses on their cheeks tend to help a lot. He'll also let you take short naps on his lap and will even massage your shoulders if needed while you work.

Wriothesley | ★★★★★

1200 mora/hr.

All expenses must be covered by you.

Maximum of four consecutive days for a total of 96 hours.

Only available for special events currently.

No gender preference

Best compatibility: Alhaitham, Baizhu

Are you looking for a duke who's great at fighting and was a prison administrator? What a coincidence, we have the perfect man for you! Wriothesley. While his name may be as confusing to pronounce as Worcestershire sauce, his companionship is just a legendary! He's charismatic, loves tea, can totally teach you how to fight, and has a voice as smooth as butter.

Wriothesley is tall, dark haired, and has been voted the most popular in the last four polls in a row! His intelligence and prowess speak for themselves and don't let anyone stop you from hiring him!

Need to scare off a trashy ex? Just looking for a handsome man to hold your hand as you walk down the street? Attending a wedding where everyone keeps pestering you to find a person to settle down with? Wriothesley's got you covered. He's great at memorizing family names, faces, and titles. He'll impress your family and get them off your back for good.

"Come and fall in love with me. I'll make it worth your time."

As stated above, Wriothesley has won the popularity poll for four months in a row and continues to dominate. While he's lost the position to others such as Kazuha, Xiao, and Cyno, he holds no bad blood between them and is often hired alongside another for the same renter. Due to his increasing popularity, he is the most expensive Boyfriend to rent BUT has made exceptions before. He's also a great choice to hire for a friend to surprise them as "their boyfriend for the day". He's a fast learner and yes, you will fall in love with this man. Come to terms with it before you hire him.

Lyney | ★★★★☆

650 mora/hr.

All expenses must be covered by you.

Maximum of 8 hours per day. Works later hours as well.

Available for most events as well as holidays. Prices may vary

No gender preference

Best compatibility: Venti, Xiao, Kazuha

Ever wanted a private magic performance? Wanna see what it's like to date a magician? Look no further than our very own Lyney! Hailing from the land of water, Fontaine, he is a renowned magician!

Expect plenty of surprises as Lyney loves to catch people off guard. He tends to prefer simple dates, but grand ones are welcome if you insist. He is willing to teach you some small tricks, but most of them he won't reveal. Is he trying to steal your heart? Yeah, he definitely is.

If you're feeling sad or lonely, feel free to hire Lyney. He's willing to work late (meaning you can hire him at 10pm if you want) and he'll be at your doorstep within the hour.

Lyney is one of the few, other than Baizhu and Alhaitham, who are willing to work later in the day. Normally, most prefer to be hired earlier in the day so they have time to prepare and such before going on the date. Baizhu, Lyney, and Alhaitham are the few who can be hired after 8pm when most are unavailable. Lyney often brings some sort of gift with him, and like Cyno and Heizou, he's great at remembering faces.

[yuu-id24]

DRATCHET REVERSE MECHA AU

I love the entire Keferon universe, but lately, the Reverse Mecha AU has me on a chokehold, and I really want to expand on it, especially on the Dratchet department. This is how I imagine things going.

__________________________________

Drift/Deadlock would be an abandoned kid living on the streets, scraping by until one day the mecha program decides they need more subjects and cheap ones at that. Drift obviously accepts; he is a cold and starved kid.

In the beginning, everything was good food, warmth, a bed, and a roof. Who cares that the price for those comforts includes being poked with needles, sometimes experiencing hallucinations, and puking in the middle of the night? Sometimes they make him undergo surgery. Nine-year-old Drift couldn't care less; he has food and a bed. That's all he cares about staying in the good graces of the people feeding him. If he has to hurt others along the way, so be it.

By the time Drift is 12, half of the other subjects have died, escaped, or gone insane. Drift is the best by far, and he will keep being the best he's not going back ever again. His determination and stubbornness, combined with extraordinary genetic compatibility, are the only things keeping him sane and focused. During this time, they start to properly train him in military armament, mecha weapons, and tactics. Their job is to kill aliens as quickly and efficiently as possible.

At age fifteen, Deadlock is his new pilot name. He is the youngest and deadliest mecha pilot in the program. The heavy training and drugs to make him more compatible have turned Deadlock into an adrenaline addict. He begins stealing cigarettes around the base and smoking them in hidden places. The scientists don't want their pilots to wither away from anything other than their hand or fighting alien threats.

By the time Deadlock is 16, he's the best at killing Quints and handling firearms both inside and outside the suit. The stress, training, and drugs have turned his hair more white than black. He's always trembling and jittery. He needs to be moving, drugged, fighting, or killing but NEVER still, or he'll go mad. This makes the scientists realize that the more drugs he's on, the faster he becomes on the field. His reaction time lessens, and he turns into the perfect murder machine.

(Perhaps a horrifying or wonderful addition is that the higher-ups sometimes send Deadlock to assassinate senators or people who refuse to donate to the mecha program, just to add more angst and nightmares to his story. I’m not sure if it fits or how to incorporate it smoothly, but I wanted to mention it.)

When Tarantulas discovers Deadlock's drugged quirks, he takes full advantage of it by experimenting with all sorts of drugs on him. These are not pleasant substances to have pumped in his system, and half the time, Deadlock wrenches or goes crazy with paranoia. Sometimes, Tarantulas needs a clean slate to test his experiments, so he makes Deadlock go through a detox process ridding his system of any leftover drugs. The withdrawal makes Deadlock berserk and self-destructive, so they often lock him in a cell alone, with no food, only water and tea to speed up the detox process.

At 19, a new pilot arrives Wing. Wing is 30 years old and initially applied to the rescue bot program, but his high compatibility and reflexes were too good to pass up, so he was forced into the mecha program. There, he meets Deadlock and sees how everyone treats him like a weapon, nothing more than a machine to kil,l another asset. Wing disagrees with this treatment and begins to treat Deadlock like a human, like a kid his age.

Initially, things are rough. Deadlock doesn't allow anyone to get close, and he's been conditioned to believe his only use is killing aliens. When Wing treats him like a person, Deadlock doesn't know how to react, and it feels very strange. He tends to stay away from Wing because of this.

Everything changes when Deadlock comes out of a drug session with Tarantulas and is very out of it. The other scientists start criticizing him for neglecting his mecha maintenance and for the reports from the last mission. Wing, witnessing how they are mistreating Deadlock especially after such a rough moment, decides to step in and admonish everyone. He takes Deadlock to his room, offering him chocolate energy bars, and water. Deadlock gradually calms down and asks for more food. He falls asleep on Wing's bed out of exhaustion. From that moment, Deadlock begins to trust Wing because he's been the only one to treat him kindly.

Deadlock behaves like a skittish cat showing his trust by joining Wing during training sessions and sitting at the same table when they eat but on the other corner. Interestingly, whenever Wing acknowledges Deadlock's presence, Deadlock runs away. This pattern continues for about a month, with Wing consistently showing kindness sharing chocolate energy bars, and patience. After a particularly terrible drug session with Tarantulas, Deadlock seeks out Wing for comfort. It’s at this point that Wing decides he will adopt the kid and ensure no one mistreats him anymore.

To help curb Deadlock's violent tendencies, Wing teaches him the way of the sword. The increased training and discipline, male Deadlock slowly begins to calm down; he stops smoking and stealing medicines/drugs from the med bay. Wing also introduces him to meditation, which helps him find inner peace. Deadlock starts to embrace his Drift persona.

Seven months after Wing's arrival, they have their first battle together, one of the hardest earth has ever faced. During the fight, Wing dies protecting Deadlock from the piercing tentacles of a C4. This is devastating for Deadlock, and no one offers their condolences or treats Wings sacrifice with respect or dignity the bury him, they remodel his mecha and send another pilot to fill the role. They even want him to go out the very next day to kill more Quints. This hits Deadlock hard, fueling a hatred for all of humanity and aliens. He spends all his time killing, training, or overdosing on drugs to sleep. As memory Deadlock demands Wings swords be given to him, they do just to keep him happy, later on drift has 2 swords fitted to his mecha that sheath on the mecha hips, and Wing`s sword he carries it on his back as a reminder to what he fights for. 

His self-destructive path becomes so dangerous that the engineers and scientists put him under some sort of lockdown, so he doesn't kill himself. They need him alive and functioning to continue fighting the Quints. Three years after Wing's death, Deadlock is in a battle with a Quint mothership. The Quint mother ship is approaching, and Quints are emerging from every corner. Driven by bloodlust, Deadlock infiltrates the mothership with the intention of blowing it up. Prowl, the commanding officer and tactician of the mission, warns Deadlock that going in is a death sentence. Deadlock doesn't care; he charges headfirst.

He carves an opening on the side of the ship and fights his way inside, slicing and shooting his way through the enemy. The Quints are unprepared for an inside attack he keeps slicing everything in his path,  until he encounters a much more evolved looking  Quint with actual features, unlike the usual octopus looking ones. The creature screeches ear piercing upon seeing Deadlock and reaches for a console. Before it can do anything, Deadlock shoots the console. A bright light erupts from it, but Deadlock doesn't care. He lunges forward and slices off the Quint in half. His next move is to sink the ship, blindly destroying the main controls.

The light intensifies until it blinds Deadlock and the outside battle. Prowl watches from outside as the ship's front glows brighter and brighter, reaching a blinding point. He considers shutting down his optic sensors and continuing to give directions when the Quint´s stop and they start moving towards the ship. Thirty seconds later, the ship explodes. As the blinding light fades, half the Quints are on the ground, dead or twitching, moments away from dying. The ship crashes, crushing a valley and part of the city.

When they investigate the wreckage, they find a place that looks like the commanding room with what looks to be a perfect sphere on matter gone like it just vanished from existence. Prowl and the tactical team believe that Deadlock's actions saved everyone, but at the cost of his life. They hold a funeral, honoring Deadlock as a hero. The wreck becomes a valuable source of materials and research.

**EPILOGUE**

Who was prime to force him into a vacation in some isolated backwater tiny organic planet in the middle of nowhere, with the only task. Making sure wheeljack doesn't blow himself up . Ratchet grumbles and curses, he has nothing to do until Wheeljack inevitably causes chaos. Bored, he walks around the planet until he hears a crash and metal collapsing. Ratchet transforms and races toward the site.

In the crater, the material surrounding the area looks organic, very Quintesson like . Ratchet grimaces, realizing they might not be as safe as Prime thought. He slides down into the crater, transforming his servo into a scalpel. He sees parts of a destroyed Quintesson mothership, with a dead director. Ratchet doesn’t bother examining her, instead, he looks to the right and spots a black and white mech with yellow accents, helm down in the dirt.

____________________

This is all of it for part 1.

I originally wanted to write about Deadlock and Ratchet meeting, but I got carried away. I really wanted to explore Drift’s upbringing and life in the mecha program to better understand his behavior and how Ratchet’s presence affects him. Also, in this universe, I think it would be Deadlock who gets yeeted into space. To add to the story Deadlock is very violent, always growling and has bitten more than one guy. I don't think this aspect got shown but anyway stay tuned for the next chapter. The meeting. 

THANKS FOR READING

[lady-pug]

The Ballad of Green Snakes and Honey Badgers

Chapter I - Wherever We Go, A Hundred Eyes Follow

Summary: Aemond seeks you out so you can go on your first study "date" together, but you have yet to speak to Oscar about what happened the previous night and the agreement you made. But as things go better than expected, you might just end up attracting more attention than you'd prefer

Pairing: Slytherin!Aemond Targaryen x Hufflepuff!Tully!Reader

Word count: 3,4k

Warnings: none

Notes: Oof, okay here we are, finally! I wanted to get this done sooner but got caught up in a lot of stuff and ended up writing quite slowly, BUT I did manage to get it out before the year ended so that is that.

I’m quite excited for this story, and have quite a bunch of ideas for where I’m going with this. The only thing I think is worth adding in terms of additional context for this chapter is that I decided to keep the fact that the Targaryens are dragonlords and can ride dragons. But because of that I cannot add any dragons to the Tournament Tasks, as it would be seen as unfair and possibly count as an advantage to Aemond.

Anyway, as always, if you spot any mistakes, please feel free to warn me and I’ll correct it right away, and feedback is always welcome and appreciated. Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it, happy holidays, and I’ll see you all next year! Enjoy!

Next chapter | Previous chapter | Masterlist | Read on AO3

You were fucked. There was no sugarcoating it. You were absolutely fucked.

After Aemond had left the library, leaving you behind to pick your jaw off the floor, you headed straight to the Hufflepuff common room. You were determined to tell Oscar everything that had happened down to a T, but you took one look at him, staring at you with that sweet and hopeful gaze and immediately chickened out, opting to quickly retreat to the girls dorm where he couldn’t reach you.

And now as you headed for breakfast you knew you should have told him. You had agreed to breakfast with Aemond, which meant he would come find you and Oscar would find out you had agreed to Aemond’s stupid plan when you had promised him you wouldn’t. Perhaps it would be easier to search for Aemond directly at the Slytherin table, that way you could stave off the inevitable conversation you would need to have with your brother. 

But he was nowhere to be found. Not at the Slytherin table, nor those of the other houses. Not even near the professor’s table where he would sometimes walk up to in order to strike up conversation with one professor or another (what they talked about was beyond you, no matter how curious it made you). He was absolutely nowhere to be seen, throwing a wrench in your plans to intercept him before he could find you.

Resigned, you walked slowly to the Gryffindor table where Davos and your brothers were already seated. Considering that both Cregan and Alysanne were also seated at their house’s table, quite a few seats down from the three boys, you suspected Kermit and Davos had chosen to seat there for your sake, to simultaneously keep the couple out of your sight and avoid a situation like the night before but also not to force you to stay within close proximity of them. You were thankful really, while Cregan was not the first thing on your mind at the moment it still stung to see them being happy together.

“Hey!” Kermit greeted you, his mouth full of sausage “How are you on this fine morning?”

You knew he was trying to divert your attention from some people, and while it wasn’t entirely working, you were grateful for his attempt, for him. For all of them.

“Eh,” you shrugged trying to appear nonchalant while taking a seat across from him and Kermit “could be better.”

Oscar waited until you were comfortable next to him and had already filled up your plate before leaning ever closer to you.

“So, how was it?” he spoke, his voice low.

“How was what?”

Oscar scoffed, a deadpan stare thrown your way.

“You know, the whole thing with Targaryen?”

Your heart stuttered in your chest, fear gripping at it as you pondered your answer. Oscar was going to be so disappointed when he found out. God, you didn’t want to lose the respect of one of the few people who you had left. You sighed, deciding it was better to tell him now than let him figure it out on his own later.

“Uhm, actually-” you started, but it seemed the universe had other plans.

“Lads,” Aemond’s voice cut you off, your name rolling smoothly off his tongue before pointing to the spot on the bench next to you “is this seat taken?”

He didn’t even wait for an answer, already sliding in next to you way closer than necessary as the boys stared at him flabbergasted, their jaws dropping. Oscar was the only one who got over his surprise quickly, his eyes narrowing in your direction in a way you could practically see the cogs turning in his mind.

“Targaryen.” Kermit greeted coldly “You seem a bit lost, the snakes’ table is over there.” 

“Tully,” Aemond answered in kind, although his tone carried less venom in comparison “I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.”

“And what could you possibly want here?” Davos chimed in.

Through their whole exchange you couldn’t properly focus, the feeling of Aemond sitting way too close to you pulling your attention away from the conversation at hand. His leg was flush with yours on the bench, the entire length of his thigh pressed against yours and his shoulder bumping into your own pulling your whole focus towards him.

“We are heading to Professor Orwyle’s class then we are going to study together.” your attention was pulled back into focus as Aemond said your name.

“You two? Study together?” Oscar was still more skeptical than Kermit and Davos.

“Yes,” the Slytheirn boy shrugged, nonchalantly, and for a moment you feared he was going to reveal your whole ruse but he surprised you even further “I promised to help her with her History of Magic studies and, in turn, she’ll help me brainstorm ideas for the first task of the Tournament.” 

Oscar seemed unconvinced but let it slide in favor of eating his breakfast in peace, but one glare from him in your direction let you know that you had a lot of explaining to do later on. Your twin and your cousin seemed to get distracted by the mention of the Triwizard Tournament, starting to animatedly argue about past editions (or, in Kermit’s case, sulk, as he had applied for the Tournament and eventually lost the role of Hogwarts’ champion to Aemond, something he was still somewhat resentful about).

You tried going back to your breakfast, hell bent on not attracting any more attention back to yourself and your current incredibly awkward situation, but that quickly went out the window when Aemond leaned even closer to you, his breath fanning your ear.

“It seems Stark and his new girl are staring.” he whispered, and you could tell from his voice alone that his lips were turned up in a smirk.

And true to his word, both Cregan and Alysanne were staring at your little group, more specifically you and Aemond. Alysanne seemed a little weirded out by the whole exchange, but ultimately shrugged, going back to her cuppa. Cregan on the other hand looked positively bothered by the sight, his eyes narrowing even further as Aemond cheekily bumped his shoulder against yours, as if he had simply whispered a funny joke to you.

As much as you loathed to admit, and even though it went completely against what you had told Aemond last night, a bittersweet satisfaction started growing in your chest at the reaction you elicited from your ex-boyfriend. While you didn’t wish to make him jealous, you truly wanted nothing to do with the guy anymore, you didn’t mind shoving in his face that you had already moved on from him, that his actions didn’t bother you at all (even though in reality they did). 

“I would say our little… plan is already working, don’t you agree?” Aemond continued whispering, his warm breath tickling your ear.

You hummed in agreement, finishing the rest of your breakfast in silence. You’d occasionally see Oscar glancing at you quizzically from the corner of your eye but he didn’t say anything else. You felt awful hiding things from him, but what could you do? Come clean to your brothers and cousin and just hope the rest of the Gryffindor table simply didn’t hear a thing? No, the less people knew your little stunt with Aemond was a ruse the better. You’d tell him later that night.

After you were both done eating, Aemond pulled you up and out of the Great Hall, regardless if your brother Kermit, who was usually your partner for Potions class, wasn’t finished yet.   

“I’m sure he can partner up with Bracken for today’s class, can’t you Tully?” he asked, knowing full well your brother truly disliked Aeron on behalf of Davos.

You felt eyes on you all the way down to the dungeons; people from every house were staring at the two of you, the way Aemond’s palm rested on you just shy of the small of your back, pushing, no, guiding you forward. If this was an indicative of a pattern that would remain present the rest of your time together, you just knew it was going to be a long day.

It was, indeed, a long day. 

During Professor Orwyle’s class the hairs on the back of your neck refused to go back to their usual position, a prickling sensation on the back of your mind telling you everyone was staring at you. And it wasn’t just your self-consciousness making things up in your head: more than once you caught another student glancing your way, quickly averting their gaze once they realized they’d been caught. The only one who was brave enough to keep on staring even after being noticed was Maris Baratheon, and by the glint in her eye you simply knew it couldn’t mean anything good. 

You couldn’t shake the uneasiness that being in the spotlight brought you. And Aemond? He didn’t seem to give a flying fuck.

“Stop fidgeting,” he said, completely unbothered as he led you through the hallways towards the library. The walk had been made even longer than usual for he had to take a detour to grab something from the Slytherin common room, giving other students ample opportunity to continue their scrutiny.

“Everyone is looking at us.” you spoke, voice lowered to try not to attract more attention to yourself.

“No, they aren’t.” he said, walking between rows of bookshelves and collecting an assortment of different books.

“Yes, they are!” you said in an exasperated whisper, trying to keep your voice down in order to not attract any attention from Professor Strong, the librarian (though rumor has it his true ambition was taking over the Defense Against the Dark Arts class over his brother).

“Then just don’t mind them.” he shrugged, turning around towards you and placing the ever growing pile of books on your arms with a sigh “Look, let them stare. The more people see us together, the more believable it becomes. Isn’t that what you wanted?” 

No, that’s what you wanted! you thought, but given your feelings towards Cregan’s reaction this morning you knew he was right.

“Now stop worrying and go find us a table, I’ll be there in a second.” he was off before you could question him further, leaving you to carry the books to the nearest table.

Aemond returned quickly enough, carrying yet another book with him. This one though was unlike any you had ever seen before, its hardcover weathered, either from old age or from excessive use you couldn’t tell.

“What is that?” you nodded towards his hands.

He placed the tome on the table as he sat down in front of you, staring at you quizzically.

“A book?” 

“I’m not stupid, dragonbrain, I know it’s a book!” you snapped at him, offended “I just meant which book.”

He hummed, amused at your snippiness, and pushed the book towards you.

‘Secrets Of The Dark Arts And How To Spot Them, by Archmaester Gyldayn.’ the cover read, and something dawned on you.

“This is from the Restricted Section.” you stated, to which he hummed in agreement, not bothering with a verbal response “How did you even get this?”

Aemond stared at you then, really stared at you, his one good eye settling on your face with such an intensity you had to look away. Something in the way he looked at you intimidated you now, whereas in the past, before, you felt safe under his gaze. Seen.

“I asked Mister Strong to open the Restricted Section for me.” he said casually, breaking his intense stare to flip over the pages of one of the other books he had selected.

“And he did? Just like that?”

His lips curled in the tiniest of smirks, but something about it felt… wrong. Bitter almost.

“The perks of dating his much younger step-sister I guess.” 

Ah. 

That made sense. You always suspected Alys Rivers was related to Professors Harwin and Larys Strong, but could never make the connection. 

“Okay,” he stopped flipping the book, seemingly having found the page he was looking for. You weren’t going to probe any further, but if you had any intentions to, this was his way of signaling the previous conversation was over “We’ll start from the beginning.”

Glancing at the open book he turned towards you, you caught a glimpse of a familiar painting, three white-haired siblings atop their dragons with their wands raised.

“The Conquest?” you questioned, pulling the book from his hands “That’s First Year material.” 

“I know, but it’ll be easier to catch up on the more recent content if you have a stronger base.” he explained, and although all he was saying made sense, it still vexed you somewhat.

“But I already know all of this!” you whined, immediately regretting it, for it made you feel childish. Once upon a time you had been sure he wouldn’t judge you for such a thing, but now? You barely knew him anymore.

“I know for a fact you doze off in almost all of Professor Mello’s classes.” he replied, smugly. 

Something weird, a feeling you couldn’t quite place, stirred in your chest at the thought of him noticing you in class, but you quickly brushed it off.

“I didn’t pick this up from Mello’s class.” you countered, and his face fell for a moment.

Your summers leading up to your First Year were more often than not spent in the Targaryen’s household. At the time you were quite close with two of the white-haired siblings, Aegon considering himself too old for your childish antics and Daeron too young to join in yet. At the time you’d even go as far as to call Aemond your best friend, before Helaena inevitably took the title after… everything. Back then, he’d spend his days showing you paintings and illustrations of his ancestors, of Aegon I and his sister-wifes arriving from Old Valyria and founding Westeros as it was known today. Although the Targaryen family lost a lot of their former glory (even though they remained quite influential still), it was clear Aemond was proud of his roots, a glint in his eye whenever he mentioned most people from his bloodline.

He grew silent, as he couldn’t deny what you were saying. You wondered if you were wrong to bring this up, for you felt incredibly unprepared to open this specific can of worms right now, but it seemed the feeling was mutual, as he grabbed the book from your hands and propped it up on the table, the pages facing him so you wouldn’t peek.

“Alright then. If you say you already know all of this,” he smirked once more, and you started rethinking your choices leading up to this moment “how about a pop quiz?”

It wasn’t as bad as you were expecting. You managed to get through the whole of The Conquest without fumbling, all the way to when Aegon defeated the dark wizard Harren the Black in his castle, Harrenhal (which some believe was demolished, and Hogwarts was built on top of its ruins). After that point, though, the details started getting a little confusing, your mind jumbling dates and locations into an incomprehensible mess inside your head. Aemond then promised to help you study from then on out, little by little, three times a week.

“We have till the end of the year to turn you into a History of Magic expert,” he had said.

“Till Christmas, you mean.” you pointed out, remembering your previous agreement, to which he shrugged, humming a ‘whatever you say’ under his breath.

You started collecting your things, but paused when he didn’t follow suit, only picking up another book from the pile. Herbology.

“That’s certainly… an interesting selection.” you commented, only now noticing the different subjects all the books covered.

“I have some research to do.” he said, not taking his eyes off the page.

Something he had said earlier came to the front of your mind.

“She’ll help me brainstorm ideas for the first task of the tournament.” 

“Is it about the first task?” you questioned, genuinely curious.

He hummed in agreement.

“Do you have any idea what it will be about?”

He shook his head with a sigh, finally looking up at you.

“I do have a hunch, but it’s fickle. A hypothesis really.”

“Do you need any help ‘brainstorming ideas’?” you quoted him.

He chuckled, amused. 

“Next time perhaps. You did well today, you deserve your rest.” your cheeks felt warm under the praise, and you had to look away from him for a moment “But I will be taking you up on that offer. If I remember correctly, you used to be quite good at solving puzzles.”

It was strange, really, how much he still knew about you even after so long without speaking to one another. You’d have to get used to it again.

After saying your goodbyes you headed back to the Hufflepuff common room, a light feeling in your chest. The ‘study date’ had gone well, not at all as bad as you had predicted it would be, unashamed stares from other students aside. But then a cold, bitter guilt replaced that nice feeling, damping your mood slightly.

You had to tell Oscar. He deserved to know.

Feeling determined, then, you entered the common room, resolute in looking for your brother. But, (un)fortunately, you didn’t have to look very far, for you found him sitting in one of the couches facing the entrance of the common room, arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face.

“How was your study date with Aemond Targareyn?” he questioned, his voice hard.

Panicking, you gripped his upper arm, not minding his yelps of pain as you pulled him to a distant corner, away from the other students.

“It wasn’t a date.” you hissed.

“No?” his voice held a hint of sarcasm “Because Kermit said you two were awfully close in class-” 

“It wasn’t a real study date.” you interrupted him, keeping your voice down and mentioning for him to do the same.

“How so?” he still seemed mad, but at least now he was whispering as well “You just pretended to study?”

“No, the studying part was real.” you averted your eyes from him, scratching the back of your neck in embarrassment “It was the date part that was fake.”

“Again, how so?”

Time to come clean.

“Yesterday Aemond asked me to…” it sounded stupid now that you said it outloud “pretend we’re going out together. And it will culminate in me being his date to the Yule Ball.”

“What?!” he squeaked, and you shushed him, worried about people overhearing your conversation “So he wants you to be his pretend girlfriend?” 

“Something like that, yeah.”

“And you agreed?!” 

“I panicked, alright?!” you already felt stupid enough about your decisions without him scolding you like a child.

“What does he even get out of this?” he asked, exasperated “And what about Alys Rivers?”

“His admirers backing off, I think. And apparently they broke up over summer.” his jaw dropped “I know, surprised me too.”

His face softened a fraction, finally getting over the shock.

“And what’s in it for you?” his tone dripped concern, and you felt your heart clenching with love for your younger brother.

“I-I’m not sure, exactly. To show Cregan I’m no longer hung up on him? To prove to people I’m not pathetic?”

“You are not pathetic.”

“Sometimes feels like I am.” you shrinked into yourself a bit “You know how much it hurt.”

Oh, he knew. He was the one who found you after you had read Cregan’s letter, curled into a ball on your bed, clutching the roll of parchment to your chest as tears steadily ran down your cheeks. 

“I know.” he placed a gentle hand on your arm “But do you think this is a good idea? This is Aemond Targaryen we’re talking about.”

You smiled at his worried face, ruffling his hair.

“I can look after myself, you know.” you grinned at the grimace that covered his face as he tried to fix the mess that you had made of his locks “It wasn’t all that bad today. And besides, it’s only until Christmas.”

He still seemed hesitant, but slowly nodded.

“Just promise me you’ll be careful with him.”

Your grin softened, pulling him in for a comforting hug.

“I promise.”

He squeezed you back and you knew everything would turn out okay in the end. You just had to endure it until Christmas. 

Right?

Tag List:

@bitchassgoose

@voguiing

@dibutw

@fruityvampslayer

@bey0nd-1he-stars

[heirhonkful]

Commission Info!

This post is going to go over my commission information. Mostly for character illustrations, but there will be other kinds of commissions included. I'll be breaking up the information and prices into chunks based on: - Art Style - Pose - Additional Elements (i.e. backgrounds, props, additional characters...) - Experimental Commissions (i.e. comics, animations, etc...) - Terms of Service. There will be example images provided and a short paragraph explaining the information. Should be a long post so it will all be under the read-more.

Art Style

The style decides the base price of your commission. Sketch: $15

The sketch style means I only do a sketch of the character. I generally will keep it clean but they will often have a rough feeling to them still. I am generally okay with the inclusion of one, somewhat sparse color in a sketch commission used for occasional detailing. Colored Doodle: $20

With a colored doodle, you get a rough and sketchy drawing but with some simple coloring. The amount of detail and complexity depends on additional commission add-ons. However, I get a lot more say in how the end result looks with these, meaning the general "roughness," presence/amount of shading, etc are all at my own discretion. Flat Colors: $30

This style means I keep it to flat colors only. The line art will be cleaner than the sketch or colored doodle. However, there will be no shading whatsoever. Rendered: $50

A fully rendered commission includes full color and shading. I will often use textured brushes in these, but if you want something smoother then you can ask for that. I include Disco Elysium styled portraits here and not in "style imitation" (further down) generally because I feel better attempting that style as I've had attempts with it in the past.

Pose

From here on, prices are considered "add-ons" meaning they are added on to the base price from the selected commission style. Bust: +$0 A bust commission includes the head, shoulders, and sometimes chest of a character. Half Body: +$10 Half body commissions can include hips and above on a character. If you want a bust commission but also wanted to include a character's hands in the pose, it is considered a half body commission. Full Body: +$20 Generally includes anything beyond the hips. If you can see the whole body, it feels self explanatory that a full body commission is what you are looking for.

Additional Elements

Backgrounds Transparent/Single Color: +$0 If nothing is specified for the background, the commission will simply have whatever color my default "paper" layer current is set to as the background. If you want something different feel free to ask, you can even send a specific hex code if you'd like. A transparent background is available to all commission levels, just ask me to also send a version without a background. Simple Design: +$5 This generally includes things like simple shapes or more complex multiple color backgrounds. Complex Background: +$20 A simple background can include a few objects/background elements. Generally if you want you character sitting in a chair, at a table, under a tree, leaning against a wall, etc, you'd be asking for a simple background. Scene: +$50 If you would like a whole scene, covering the entire background with many complex and sometimes intricate elements then would like a Scene background. This would also include whatever props your character would have, so if you get a Scene commission, you can ignore the next "Props" section. Props (Price covers one to three props) Simple Prop: +$5 A simple prop often just includes something the character is perhaps holding or a larger prop with a simple design. Complex Prop: +$10 If the design for the prop is more intricate then the price is increased. Additional Characters: +$15 Any additional character is another $15.

Experimental Commissions

Experimental commissions are commissions I would like to start doing, but don't have much experience doing for other people. As such, they generally include a few additional caveats when compared to a normal commission.

Style Imitation: +$20

I can attempt to imitate a style, the "Style" base price is dependent on the style I will be imitating. This is just something I'd like more practice with to be honest. I also really only would consider imitating the styles from famous cartoonists or the styles of certain games, comics, or animated shows. I won't imitate another random online illustrator's style. Simply because it feels a little rude lol. Examples provided include: Peanuts and The Far Side (both showing scenes from the Maia Kobabe memoir, Gender Queer), Deathloop, Darkest Dungeon II, and Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff. Comics: $20

The styles are limited to Sketch, Colored Doodle, and Flat colors for the time being. They are also intended to be more like a comedic webcomic, and not something like a comic book or graphic novel. I may include stuff like that in the future though, priced per page. For now, the base $20 includes up to 4 panels and another $10 per additional panel. Animations: $35 per ten frames I am still somewhat new to animating, so the style for these are limited to only the Sketch style. Since this is a skill I am learning you should keep the request somewhat simple. (For now there are no example to show because my only animations are NSFW in nature. When I have more SFW examples to show off here, I will add them. For now, you will just have to look for the animations I have already done in my #animation tag) PNGtubers:

The price for these can vary. The style is limited to Flat Colors and the poses are limited to Bust or Half Body. Those decide the base price. Additional expressions (blinking, open mouth, etc) are +$5 because these are often simple and easily made changes just on the face. Additional poses (hands up, additional props, etc) are +$10 The backgrounds are of course Transparent.

Terms of Service

I am fine drawing most anything (so NSFW is allowed), just ask to be sure.

I can refuse a commission for any reason

Please have references for me. - If you are having me design a character with no official design be sure to bring reference of examples of what you want your character to look like (like hair and facial features).

Delivery time - Commissions will be done in the order they were received. - For especially complex commissions, expect a few months for completion simply because of my schedule. I do these in my free time. - Simpler commissions can take a few days or maybe weeks. - Please be aware, just because I upload a personal drawing does not mean I am not working on commission.

Revisions - I will check in with you on occasion to ask for input or desired changes. - Please keep bigger changes towards the early parts of the process. As the commission progresses I will be less willing to do larger changes to the commission.

Payment - I only accept payment via Paypal Invoice (you don't need a Paypal account, it will be sent to you via email and you can pay in the link sent) and Ko-fi. - Also, if you are especially happy with you commission, you can even leave a tip on Ko-fi ;3

[marticoresims]

My Rotational Gameplay System

Hi! There's a video on my channel about how I play rotationally, but some info there is outdated. I figured a post can always be edited, so it's a better way to share how I play The Sims 2.

What is rotational gameplay?

Playing rotationally means that you play multiple households for the same number of days, jumping from one to the other in rounds. This way, you keep the households even, have story progression in all of them, and then you can make them interact, intertwine and merge into new families, not leaving any playable Sim behind.

If you play two-three households and leave the rest unplayed, that's also rotational gameplay. There's no right or wrong way to play The Sims 2!

Setting up the neighborhood

First of all, stealth hoods. I don't want all the same Sims appearing in my family bin over and over, so I made the stealth hoods empty. This tutorial shows how to do it, but it's actually more simple than that – just go into those folders and delete all files in 'Characters'. DO NOT do it in the Documents directory!

Second, I think of which subhoods make sense for this neighborhood. I hardly ever add Downtown. Vacation destinations depend on what I need, I usually add one during gameplay if I'm planning a vacation (which is rare). I like to have one, max two university hoods, especially if they include pre-made Sims. And Bluewater Village is completely redundant, but I sometimes make my own shopping district as an extra area. For example, in my Pleasantview 2.0 I made "Goth Square" that is kind of like a downtown district with apartment buildings, restaurants, clubs etc.

Sometimes I'll tinker with seasons, e.g. Strangetown seems like warm climate, so I might turn off winter in it. Riverblossom Hills must stay default, though.

Basics and keeping track

One round is 4 days for most of my neighborhoods. Some people do it by days of the week or seasons in-game, but I can't be bothered synchronizing my neighborhood after someone moves out and it's again a summer Monday for them. If it's Thursday in the middle of winter in another household at the same time, I really don't mind.

I'm an old school gal when it comes to taking notes to keep track of played days. I have a paper notebook with the grid pattern and mark rounds as squares – each line is one day. I have a whole list of families named by last names mostly, but if a last name repeats (which is often), I either sign them with one of the Sims' first name or their last name + initials. For example, in Riverblossom Hills I have families named Roth (for the "main" Roth family still living in the original house) and Roth LF (Roth – Larch & Fiona).

These days, I use erasable pens in my notes, so no crossing out if a family merges with another or changes its name. For marking days, I still like to use a simple pencil. For side notes (such as planning someone's career or matchmaking) I either use sticky notes or draw a special square and use the erasable pens again to take easily erasable notes. If there's no space on the page anymore, I move onto another. I always keep the old pages, though! I have them pinned in the back of the notebook. Also, I only use notebooks that have tabs of different colors and each neighborhood has its color. Blue for Pleasantview, green for Strangetown, purple for Veronaville, orange for Riverblossom Hills etc. I like to match pen colors to it as well. Yes, I do have ideasthaesia.

For more "serious" neighborhoods I have an additional document on my PC in table form where I plan out the storytelling. I pretty much only have it for my Youtube let's play neighborhoods like Townieville. Fun fact: I have two separate notebooks for "work neighborhoods" and "private neighborhoods". The work one is in smaller format 😂

Here's a fragment of my Townieville notes (the Bendett-LeTourneau family takes too much space when spelled out lol):

As for aging, I made my own custom lifespan that mimics real life years (1 day = 1 year). However, I only age up Sims at "1 day away" (aka the orthodox way) when they're babies and teenagers. Babies because I want them to be 1 year old as toddlers (only Nopke somehow figured out a way to make the baby stage actually 1 day), and teenagers to give them time to attend college. In all the other stages, I wait until the last minute for them to age up on their own. I would never remember to age them up manually or throw parties, also the 1 extra day would make it difficult for me to count their age. That results in the elder stage starting at "57 days old", but I count it as 60 years old. I like to know how old my Sims are for context, that's all.

Population

My limit for one neighborhood is 16 families. If there's more, one round takes forever and I lose interest. In my old Pleasantview, I finally managed to lower the number of families from 24 to 18 and still going. It feels great! So, as you see, I can't do an uberhood/megahood.

To stop my neighborhood from expanding too much, I simply don't make too many kids. I have pretty strict rules that are based on aspirations: Family+Family is 3 kids, Family+Other is 2 kids, Other+Other is 1 kid. If both Sims have family as a secondary aspiration (and I remember that they do), I'll make them have two. It has been working pretty well, but I'm open to changes in the future. Sometimes I will even impregnate a Sim with InSimenator instead of naturally to make sure it's not twins.

I mark every birth on a certain day as a dot and letter (B/G – boy/girl) and plan newborns in advance to have babies be born at a similar time and with balanced genders, so I can match them later. Of course I do have same-sex couples and big-age-difference couples as well. It all comes out when the babies get older, but synchronizing births creates a solid basis. Usually there are no more than 4 kids born in one round.

I love townies, but I avoid bringing them into the neighborhood as much as I can (it expands the population). If two playables are not related and have the potential to be together, I'll tinker with their chemistry to make it happen. I have this mod to help me avoid marrying second-cousins, even if it's not really that big a deal in real life. I do follow chemistry very much in matchmaking though, so if there's any decision to be made between two Sims, I'll always go for the one with the higher chemistry (sort by chemistry and choose the one that appears first – even if the bolts are the same, they are sorted by points).

Wants & Fears

I like to say that I play half-wants-based. I especially like to use wants to avoid having only wealthy families. How? Only if they roll a want of getting a skill point, I'll prioritize career skill points and let them get promoted. Otherwise, they might stay at the same level for years and do other things instead such as hobbies. Even if their lifetime want is the top of a career – the Sims are responsible for progressing in their careers. I don't lock the skill wants either, only the promotion ones if a promotion is guaranteed. But keep in mind that I use mods for no friends needed for careers and less often promotions (I changed it to 85%). That way, some Sims struggle financially, some just have enough to pay the bills, some accumulate money very slowly, and some become rich fast. It's true that it's fortune Sims that usually reach the top of their careers, knowledge Sims are second place, but isn't that actually realistic? If a Sim's lifetime want is anything other than a career, I realize they won't get everyday wants regarding that LTW (unless it's a knowledge Sim with "Max out 7 skills"), so I will push them towards it, but still, not every Sim completes their lifetime want. Also, I use 50 New LTWs and Slower LTA Gain. Homework works a similar way. Since, without mods, your Sims are either failing or having an A+, I use the School Grade Mod for more grade variations, but also base doing homework on the child or teen's wants. If they have any wants about education (private school, college, fear to go to school because of bad grades), they do their homework that day. Also, on weekends I make them catch up on homework if they're not busy.

I do like to listen to what my Sims want to do, but if the want is ridiculous (like wanting to get married to 3 Sims at once for Romance Sims on dates), I'll ignore it. I only use wants or lack thereof for more variety and less decision-making. I use a lot of mods that change wants as well, such as Fewer Hobby Wants. What about pets? If more than half of the household has corresponding wants to get a pet, I'll get them one.

Decisions

Deciding makes me anxious. I want gameplay to be fun and the Sims to be their own people. That's why I have certain rules for choosing aspirations and careers. Here's my entire calculator that saves me in choosing careers. For aspirations, I only use the calculator sometimes if I'm not sure, but usually I look at the Sim's personality and can easily see their aspiration based on traits. Obviously I make exceptions to that rule, I WILL have a grouchy Family Sim from time to time. But I do that only if I feel a certain vibe, so no decision is needed either, I just know this Sim will be the exception. Sometimes, I make exceptions to also differentiate Sims from their parents, as personality is genetic for the most part, so it's likely for two Knowledge Sims to “produce” another Knowledge Sim and I'd like to avoid repetition. Especially with Family Sims, as with my population system it might lead to one family dominating the neighborhood. Family+Family having 3 kids and all of them with the Family aspiration? Not on my watch!

In families of more than one child, how do I decide who moves out and who stays home as an adult? If there are no other factors influencing it, the youngest child stays because the older ones moving out will create the space for the next generation. But it varies based on what housing situation the potential partner has. Oh, yeah, I don't play with elders only, that's boring.

How do I decide who changes their name at marriage? These days, I like to keep the OG last names, so if there's a townie marrying into a pre-made family, I'll keep the pre-made family's name. Gender doesn't matter. If it's two pre-mades getting married, I decide based on how many other Sims there are with that last name (do the Sims have siblings?). It's real tactical work sometimes. If I want to keep both, a hyphenated name is always an option too.

Random events

Not a lot of random events happen in my game. Mostly it's just Sims cheating. I have ACR's risky woohoo set to zero most of the time. I do have some mods that make Sims' lives more risky like more dangerous fires (this version is edited to work with the fire safety skill) or death by childbirth. But if someone dies untimely, they die. Especially if they've already had kids (which sounds cruel lol, but my gameplay is based on legacy and genetic continuity). I also ignore chance cards because they make my game too hectic, and my Sims don't get promoted too much, so I don't need the difficulty. I'll only click on them (randomly without reading) if a family is exceptionally boring.

University

One round is 4 days, that means 4 years, so I guess it would make sense to play the "empty nest" once the offspring is in college. But I don't do that. College is frozen time. In my game, the teenager stage is 9 days – from 13 to 22. It would be too short if I treated university as passing time, as 22 is when US college students graduate. So, I mark a dot with the letter C whenever someone is "1 day away" and ready for college. It's often for the future more than the past, as I like to send a few Sims at once (you know, the babies marked 22 days earlier), so I plan ahead and need to know how many days left. I also send them to college according to their age (even if I don't have to do that with frozen time, it's fun to do), so if there's 2 years difference between Sims, one of them will be a Freshman when the other one is already a Junior. Also, not everyone goes to college! It's wants-based, again. If the teen has the want to go to college the very last morning of their teen stage, they go immediately. And again, exceptions. Sometimes I'll lock in the college want because I just can't imagine that Sim not going to college. I have the No Memory Uneducated mod to stop Sims who didn't want to go to college from crying about it. My university gameplay is the most strictly wants-based, to avoid having all Sims graduate with honors. Don't have a want to gain skill points, but fear academic probation? We're doing bare minimum. That kinda thing. The only want I lock in is "Make Dean's List" because it's pretty rare, and without it I was ending up with 3.2 GPA for every single Sim. This want means we're doing everything to get the highest grade possible.

Supernatural Sims

I'm not a fan of supernatural in The Sims (unless it's Planet Alades). The only occult I absolutely LOVE is ALIEN. I will have aliens in nearly every neighborhood. No Multi PT mod needed. PlantSims are cool too, but only in neighborhoods where they appear from the start. Very rarely do I let my Sims become werewolves, or especially vampires and zombies. If a Sim doesn't age, I don't see a point in playing them. Best regards to all the 'aging off' Simmers out there 😆

That's all! Now I can stop rambling about it in my let's plays and just send you guys to this post if you have questions. Phew!

[balkanradfem]

To make a pond + Earthworks!

I've been enamored by the idea that I could build my own pond in the future, but when I started looking into it (typing 'how to build a pond into youtube'), all people did was put a big plastic tarp into a landscape and add water inside. That wasn't what I wanted. I wasn't about to bring a plastic tarp in my environment, and it was obvious that once the tarp gets damaged and punctured, the water would drain into the soil and the pond would be no more. That's no fun.

Unable to immediately find a better way, I turned to my own brain to figure this out. There were natural ponds in the world, and somehow they didn't need a tarp to hold all that water in. Artificial lakes existed, and for sure there weren't any tarps holding the water in. Rivers don't drain easily, and they usually have a lot of sand on the bottom – but sand is a very drainable material, so that's probably not it.

I stumbled upon an interesting piece of information when I was learning about rocks. By some definitions, ice is also a type of rock, so there was a lesson on icebergs. I found out there that sometimes icebergs split apart and travel in the water, and when a huge chonk ends up in a non-icy landscape, it eventually melts and it turns into a lake. There were pictures of lakes that looked like they had no business being in that landscape, but were there because an iceberg had melted there. The water didn't drain or ran off, why? I assumed it was because the iceberg was so heavy it compacted the soil underneath, and the compacted clay was enough to hold the water in.

So I started playing with the idea that if I locate a soil with high percentage of clay, and then dig a pond, and then line the bottom with the highest-density clay I can find, and then I redirect all water from the landscape to go towards that pond, maybe I could make a little pond in there. Possibly it would dry out during the summer but for the rest of year, having a natural pond would be very nice. I wasn't sure if this logic would hold but then I also couldn't see why not. Clay doesn't drain easily and there's lots of it deep underground. I would grab a shovel and try.

I got an additional piece of information reading a book about collecting and filtering rainwater to make it drinkable; the book recommended before you do anything about this, you need to learn about 'Earthworks', a system of modifying the earth's surface to keep as much water in as possible, and to redirect it to where you want it. I immediately liked this, because I had already planned to do that, but I was interested in tried and true methods. So I looked it up, and one of the first videos I've found, was of people deciding to make a natural pond in the forest. They found the most dense clay-rich ground, dug to see if it was super dense and non-draining deep in. Then they created a dam to stop water from flowing past the pond, and redirected all rainwater that would fall into the forest, towards the pond. And it worked. It filled out within a month or two. It wasn't draining away.

I felt so vindicated, the logic I had put together in my head was real and I could see how other people did it in real life! And I learned about berms and swales; they're methods of making your ground uneven, so it could take in and hold more rainwater. Berms are little hills you make that have good drainage, and swales are shallow canals you make inbetween the hills; they hold the rainwater, stop it from flowing away from your property, and redirect it to where you want it to, for instance to irrigate a garden, fill a pond, or to water a big tree you want to grow.

The methods of keeping rainwater from evaporating are currently relevant, because the climate is getting unstable, and rain is no longer as consistent as it has been in the past. I've noticed that we now get tons of rain in the spring, winter and fall, but next to none in the summer, creating a drought. The forests and the animals feel it too; they struggle to survive the summer, and a lot of plants and animals die from lack of hydration, which they didn't need to deal with beforehand. There's also less ground covered by old resilient trees and foliage that keeps the water in the landscape; clean cutting forests means dry ground, water evaporating, streams and canals drying up, trees drying up because of no water supply.

The people who were building a pond in the forest were not doing it for fun and giggles; they noticed the natural streams of the forests have dried up as a result of cut areas and lack of consistent rain. The forest was in danger of drying up. So by building a system of swales (or trenches) to redirect rainwater, and ponds to store it, they've managed to revitalize parts of the forest. The forest around the pond was visibly greener within months, wildlife was multiplying around the pond where it could get water, new flowers and native plants were flourishing next to the pond.

Slightly modifying the landscape to keep water in is something people do to prevent the spread of deserts; digging half-moon shaped holes in the ground to hold water has enabled trees to grow even in the driest, sun-heated areas. I've been fascinated by the methods of growing trees in the desert! And right now we need to make sure other livable  green areas don't start turning into deserts, because the climate is threatening it, and the animals are unlikely to survive it all on their own.

And if you build a little pond, you're gonna have more birds in your backyard. There's gonna be little frogs and turtles and tiny critters coming to drink from your pond. Maybe a little lizard or a snake. You're gonna be able to plant flowers around it, your trees will be happy, and if you want a great big willow, she's going to enjoy that water too, and purify it with her roots. I'm still putting it together in my brain if I could make a little swampy area and plant rice in it, that would be the ultimate success.

[justanotheryapper]

Been meaning to talk about this for a while but haven't had time to till now: Paul.

I love him so much. Like literally😭but onto the serious stuff: I was so surprised to see that a lot of people don't actually like Paul or his involvement with the Graysons?!?!? Though I've observed that most of those that oppose it are usually on youtube , and I found it was a common sentiment when it came to Paul.

Some did hold valid reasons as to why they didn't like the addition of Paul, like having Debbie's identity tied to another man after everything she went through with Nolan. Mostly going into territory of her needing other women to surround her as friends rather than get into another relationship. I did love her interactions and dynamic with Olga, and others wanted more of it to substitute for her socialization rather than be with a man which I get.

However, I feel like Paul is just such a good guy, and he's just a much better choice for her overall with everything that's happened. He has no other commitments holding him down (being a superhero or alien) or keeping him from fully being able to have time together with her. He's fully down for whatever may be thrown his way when it comes to handling Mark and Oliver as super-powered children, and he loves Debbie as she is. He knows that she's had it tough being the wife of an ex hero and having to deal with the fallout of his betrayal.

He acknowledges that Mark and Oliver aren't his but is willing to be there for them as another parent or trusted adult in their lives, even if he can't help much due to their being super-powered. He knows that with Mark and Oliver being involved in super hero "business" he's also partially risking his safety by being involved with Debbie (even though it hasn't been outright mentioned).

He knows he'll never be able to live up to Nolan/Omni-Man or truly be viewed as a father to her kids (as far as he can tell), but he sticks around anyway. I feel like that says a lot about his character and personality despite looking like a loser to most people. I also love that he has such a bland look and feeling to him. It balances out the chaos in the Grayson household and compliments Debbie's bold personality.

I additionally think him being a normal boring guy is better for Debbie in regards to actually living a calmer life. She's now able to experience the mundane things a relationship has to offer in contrast to the outlandish ways Nolan was with her [taking her to other countries just to dine or bringing her gifts hours away]. I would like to add that just because something is mundane doesn't mean it's bad.

I like to bet Debbie has thought, at least once, what it would be like to be like any other couple enjoying a date out or getting to pick things out in a store together(much like Olga and Rush's relationship was showcased to be a bit rocky because Olga was sometimes unsatisfied with the way things were for them since he always had something going on even if they were on a date). She probably never really had those experiences with Nolan as he was always busy with hero work or just did extravagant things for her.

With Paul, she gets to be in love and on the same page as him. No arguments about having to spend more family time together or about being careful in his work.

With Paul, she can focus her worry on Oliver and Mark, more so Olvier since she's acknowledged Mark can hold his own and can make his own decisions, and be happy with him rather than always having to worry about her husband (and now sons) coming home or if she'll even get to see him that day.

In simpler terms, she gets to be "just a girl," or in this case, just a woman in love and with her family whole again.

Additionally, Paul has been shown to be really good when it comes to handling/interacting with Mark and Oliver. The dinner table scene comes to mind. He knows his experiences are not comparable to theirs, but he shares them thinking they'll be helpful at the moment. Debbie later reassures him it's nice to have someone around that can ground them and remind them what it's all for when he expresses embarassment. I loved that that scene included Eve as well, but I'll get into the specifics about her in another post with this dynamic in mind.

Paul helps the family have a sense of normalcy for a bit, even if it's just for dinner before things get chaotic again and they have to go out to save the world. It's the little moments.

Olver already seems to take a liking to him as implied with the car flying scene on their way to the memorial by listening to Paul's request to stay in the car, which is another one of my favorite scenes even though it's a small tidbit. I feel that perhaps Paul wanted Oliver in the car despite having powers because he's still a child but who knows, thats just my headcannon.

Idk, but I think that actions like that helps Oliver experience things a different way and helps him stay a kid rather than being forced to grow up fast and having to navigate being a super like Mark did. Debbie is also shown to act this way towards Oliver, wanting him to stay a kid but eventually accepting that she can't always be there for him or protect him the way she wants to but trusting that he will do the right thing.

Paul being around the boys provides them with a male figure that isn't hypermasculine and the opportunity for positive reinforcement, something Mark wasn't shown to get much of from Nolan. Nolan was implied to have been very affectionate with Oliver, which I feel helps him get along with Paul and possibly project Nolan onto him, but I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing.

This aspect really is just something I see helping Mark out more than Oliver since Mark is still young and doesn't have Nolan around to really help him figure himself out. I'd love it if we got a scene exclusively with Mark and Paul at some point in the series but I'm not so sure since I've seen spoilers about the comics (I don't read them so this has just been my knowledge on Paul through the show).

All in all I love Paul and his loser fashion and him and Debbie are just so good together. They have reached peak Loverboy/Lovergirl and I love that for them. I just hope the show will do him justice later on with how the comics seemed to play out😔.

[cripplecharacters]

Hello! I just found your blog and I have a lot to ask. (So. Sorry about the upcoming wall of text)

I have a few questions for writing a character with disabilities

I am attempting to write a character in his teens (around 16-17 years old) with joint problems (most likely osteoarthritis, although I haven’t fully decided yet.) I have done some research on my own, but I am physically abled and therefore cannot fully get into the headspace of this character. Are there any small details or common experiences that might be useful for me to add when writing this character so I portray their disability better? (So their experience with disability feels more realistic and less like the checklist of common symptoms from various medical websites? )

As well, the story leans more towards the genre of action and as thus, this character would have been very athletic before developing this disability, and would probably still be after. Do you have any tips for writing an physically active character with (joint problem based) disabilities?

And finally: are there any stereotypes, misunderstandings or other common issues that occur in writing disabilities I should know about (so I can avoid accidentally using them) I do not want to unintentionally promote misconceptions or anything harmful in my work, but I also am aware that I am physically abled and therefore will have unconscious biases + will not be as good at noticing issues in how I write disabled characters as I would like to be. So. Essentially, what common problems with writing disabilities should I know to avoid?

(Additional information: this character would have had this disability for a few years before the story began, it isn’t new; he would be a part time cane user and have knee braces.)

- overexcited anon

Hello, lovely anon! So, a couple of things that I think are important with something like arthritis, whether osteoarthritis or inflammatory arthritis, is that arthritis is a dynamic disability. Some days it may be more severe and disabling than others. It is always around - your character will have a baseline level of pain, but your character will also likely have "flare ups" as well where the pain and symptoms such as swelling or stiffness are more severe. Arthritis also changes how the joint looks so that's something to keep in mind. People can have arthritis in certain joints or in multiple joints, or an inflammatory arthritis that affects significantly more areas.

I will also say that osteoarthritis is rare in someone younger unless it is connected to another disorder, such as a joint misalignment or a connective tissue disorder. I personally have Osteoarthritis at 25 due to a connective tissue disorder in my hands and knees. I would think about what joints are affected primarily and how the person may accommodate that - if it's their hands, that affects a lot of fine motor skills. If it's their back, how do they deal with sitting for long periods? If it's their hip or hips, how do they accommodate themself? You mentioned knee braces, so I assume it mainly affects his knees, so that would affect stairs and walking especially.

As for being physically active, it's mainly remembering that sometimes being active has a cost - light physical activity is recommended for arthritis but more severe activity could cause a flare up in the days after. We have a #combat and disability tag that may help to look through, as well!

The main stereotype for arthritis is that it mainly affects the elderly or is not something that young people get. There are so many types of arthritis as well - osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, etc. There's also a stigma or belief that arthritis is not disabling - it absolutely is and can be. It's a disorder that has levels of severity as well, with some minorly affected and some majorly affected. It's important to decide where on this spectrum your character is.

I hope this helps and happy writing!

-Mod Bert

[theflintwarlock]

Perfume and magic

Scent is just as much a form of self-expression as makeup or clothing. It says something about yourself and how you want the world to see you. It also helps set your intention for the day going forward. In this way, it is an excellent addition to your everyday magical practice.

Signature scents:

You'll see some talk in perfume communities about finding your 'signature scent', a perfume or cologne which you wear on an everyday basis, something that makes you feel more you. Some people swear by it, but I personally let my daily feelings, workings and emotions dictate what will be my signature scent for the day.

Finding a perfume:

One of the first things you do when finding a perfume, of course, is smell it. This will give you an idea of what you're going for, what scents attract you and feel comfortable to you. Are they light, heavy, musky or floral, masculine or feminine? There's a world out there to chose from of unique scents.

In your magical practice it helps to know what goes into a scent. Most perfumes and colognes have a breakdown on their box of what is in them, top notes, medium and base notes. These ingredients can be great for correspondence if you're big into herbal magic, or perhaps if there's a certain herb you work with regularly.

For example, I'm a big fan of the glossier "you" perfume, which is comprised of mainly base notes, including pink peppercorn. The pepper gives it protective qualities, but it's also floral and works with your own scent to create something alluring and perfect for glamour. Great for attraction magic.

Whatever you choose doesn't have to be expensive to be useful in your witchcraft, and it also doesn't have to seem "witchy." A perfectly modern body spray, when used with intention, can find its place in your practice. Hell, I sometimes use lynx body spray as a masculine glamour.

Using it with intention:

Putting on your scent with intention doesn't have to be a complicated process. It can be as simple as knowing that one of your perfumes has rosemary in it and you want a bit of extra protection today, or rose for connection to others, or pine for protection and energy. It's about being thoughtful about the process but also letting your intuition and nose guide you to what you want.

You can also dedicate a particular bottle for a particular purpose or deity: for example, I keep one of my colognes on my altar to Asmodeus so that when I wear it it helps bring me closer to him and keeps his infernal energies around me as a form of protection and glamour. This doesn't apply to just deities, however. If you have an altar for money or beauty, for example, you can add whatever bottle feels right to the display and use it to add to your workings.

Ritual uses:

As well as simple intention, scent can be a great and powerful addition to ritual magic. The energies you surround yourself with are important in a ritual, and the ones that you place on your skin are a powerful signal that can be used to boost your performance in a spell. In the same way incense or scented candles are used in rituals, so too perfumes or even room sprays have their place.

Glamour uses:

Perhaps the most obvious use of perfume that comes to mind when considering it's magical potential is as a glamour, and this is not without good reason. Glamours are chiefly about how others perceive you, and perfumes are a quick but effective way to help a person notice you with certain intentions. The right scent can draw someone to you, make you seem more powerful or interesting, or have a whole range of effects.

My favourite use of glamour magic when it comes to scent is to help make me seem more masculine. As a trans man, I find that wearing colognes is a gender affirming and simple way to help people perceive me more clearly as the gender I identify as.

I'm sure I'm not the only trans practitioner to use this method, but if you're non binary or gender fluid it can be great to experiment with different traditionally gendered scents and mix and match them. Floral and pine, sandalwood and roses, experiment! Find what works for you, and how you want people to perceive you when they're around you. Glamours are so much more than having people find you attractive as they're seen by many, and scent gives you a very real and immediate way to control how people are affected by your presence.

I hope this little guide is useful to some practitioners and helps you consider new ways to incorporate scent into your practice. Let me know if there is anything I missed!