#Forgot to add the bit about needing the mesh

[sadbigemini]

So, to start off, Happy Pride! And I'm here with more MHA shit. We have ourselves a long one today. I have nothing else to say, let's get into it!

First, Just Some Tidbits You Can Add To Fics

Midnight's persona is so ingrained in her that she forgot and didn't think of how that would affect her students or how they would feel about it

The class is super close and trauma bonded. They find comfort in each other after nightmares, they help each other with panic attacks, with flashbacks, etc. Aizawa lets them break the not staying in each other's dorms rule bc of it

Dadzawa offers his capture weapon to comfort his kids/students like a weighted blanket

Where Aizawa was a vigilante before he got into the hero course

Dadzawa sees the Three Dumbingos in Midoriya, Bakugou, and Todoroki or Kaminari, Sero, and Kirishima or a combination of the two lol

Quirk accidents are a common occurrence, especially In stressful or highly emotional situations. Regardless of age, though probably more common in children

Roki has a slight phobia of fire

Midoriya Hisashi as a good dad bc their isn't enough fics with it that way

A Whole Lotta Smallish Fic Prompts

Villain/Vigilante EraserMic(Cloud?) ‘adopting’ a bunch of kiddos that need homes. And creating an army against the HPSC. They'll be like the mob lol

MHA group home AU ran by you guessed it EraserMic or by Nezu and they're just caretakers

Todoroki Shouto gets OFA and is mentored by Good!All Might. It's mostly to piss off his sperm-donor but also because he is a secret AM fanboy

Sentient quirks, whether that's expanding on Tokoyami and Dark Shadow or giving someone else a sentient quirk too

Jirou knows about OFA. She overheard the knowledge of All Might's no might form and OFA, his quirk, with her own quirk. Not purposely ofc

Mido with a pyrokinesis quirk! Which has been done before but not enough! Mido's kinda a pyromaniac... Was he born with it? Did it manifest when he was four? Did it manifest much later and he was thought to be quirkless?

Sero with a cartoon physics quirk. Vigilante. Named Toons? He also listens to some tunes on patrol lol I think he'd love puns ngl. Pranks, an ungodly amount of pranks. So bad endeawhore will be sobbing in the aftermath. SeroRoki besties.

Chisaki Izuku. Mido as Chisaki Kai’s younger brother. Has an Activation and Deactivation quirk (Superpower wiki for more info). Anything he touches that can turn on and off he can turn them on and off, quirks to bodily functions (kinda the same thing I think lol) to technology. He defies Overhaul at every turn bc of Eri. He escapes with Eri and is found by Aizawa. Dadzawa, PapaMic

Shirakumo Oboro is reincarnated into one Toogata Mirio. Shirakumo Oboro died on July 15th (I think he died around this time but the timeline isn't that clear) and on the same day Toogata Mirio was born. Okay, but if I remember correctly Shirakumo was made to give Aizawa a friend like Mirio is to Amajiki. So, like it's literally perfect lol– ah! But the ages, he died 13/14 years ago and Mirio is like 18. Sooo???

Someone give Sero, our resident tape dispenser, OFA, so he can have Danger Spidey Sense. Ig there's Black Whip too, which would help with mobility. A bit like Spider-Man’s Iron Spider Armor/Suit. Sero would be living his little Spider-Man fanboy dream!

Hatsume Mei being Nezu's only personal student. The chaos– the shenanigans, the hijinks they would get into! This could just be pure crack but I think some of you could put a serious spin on this.

MHA/Soul Eater crossover. Think more MHA and heroes than Soul Eater or finding a way to mesh the lore well enough

Aizawa infiltrates the LOV and redeems them

More class B and Shiketsu fics

Shiketsu AU. Quirkless Midoriya accepted? Monoma will be there and his class B is better shtick, now Shiketsu is better shtick. Shinsou there too?? Camie helps them find their class on the first day

Jirou as MC with medical training and a quirk called Body Manipulation (look on Superpower wiki for more info). Vigilante armed with a Monster High metal bat (I think Jirou, Mina, and Toga would love Monster High). Operator is her vigilante name. Fellow vigilante and partner in crime Toga Himiko. Toga has a blood portal quirk. Vigilante name Transfusion. The two act as paramedics for an underground hospital. Future Proteges of Recovery Girl. And it's pride month so maybe you can do a rare pair with those two, Jirou/Toga

Aizawa is practically adopted by the Midoriyas! All the Midoriyas either see him at the park, cat cafe, or they share the same train sometimes. Quirkless Midoriya Izuku or he helps him with OFA. Aizawa teaches Bakugou how to control his anger and that quirkless doesn't mean useless. So, no bullying! Pining EraserMic! Aizawa kinda becomes like the Midoriya adults’ younger brother while he's like an uncle to the youngest

Twice-Centric fic. Twice is Mic's CI (and friend) who infiltrates the LOV for him

Technomancer. Mido has a technopathy and mental continuation quirk (again Superpower wiki). Mido commits sewerslide and gets this quirk (they are mixed into one). He is a tech/electro ghost, he's kinda like an AI. Now he helps different heroes especially his favorites like Eraserhead and Present Mic. But also his favorite vigilante Kaminari?? Tokoyami?? Tokage?? Roki??? His hero and vigilante name is Technomancer. Takes over the HPSC?? Nezu is intrigued by him immediately ofc. Our beloved Power Loader loves him. Absolutely loves him they work on support gear projects together. Hatsume and Power Loader can make him a robot body to possess basically!!!

Oh, How The Tables Have Turned (and how you have turned on each other): This AU(?) is lots of world building fun. A fic about how the quirked were first oppressed heavily by the quirkless and how the roles swapped. How there still is quirk discrimination but now it's more the quirked against each other than another oppressor. How quirks are everything in society now.

A Couple Quirk Ideas

Add Insult To Injury. Insult Empowerment. The quirk allows the user to get stronger when insulted. Talk shit, get hit

True Self Recognition Quirk (again Superpower wiki for both)

One Big One For The Road (Midoriya Tears™ is a quirk)

Midoriya can manipulate them from the volume to the strength to where they go. He needs to drink lots of water and will get dehydrated with quirk overuse

Mido thought he was quirkless because his mom has a secondary passive quirk that's very similar to him. That many other family members have possessed. Hence the Midoriya Tears term. And maybe he is a false negative for quirklessness

BUT HOW DID NOBODY ACCOUNT FOR IT BEING A QUIRK?!! I'LL TELL YOU–!!

–because everyone heard quirkless and that's all they paid attention to. Also the Midoriya Tears are very much a reoccurring trait with various power levels. The person who originally had the quirk was from ages ago– maybe at the dawn of quirks? And it steadily appeared or didn't and was still passed on to the next regardless.

Obviously our Mido’s quirk is the strongest version yet bc MC privilege lmao. And no one knew bc he obviously never trained it. Why would he when he thinks he's quirkless? And it's just a ‘Midoriya thing’. ALSO plot armor lol

Maybe Bakugou guesses but everyone is like, 'your delusional.' and then he's like, ‘Deku is still delusional even if he has a quirk!’?

Or good Bakugou from the start who is driven crazy trying to convince his best friend he has a quirk while scaring his bullies away as he tries to get him to stand up for himself too??

In this fic please give Sero, our beloved tape dispenser, OFA, so he can live his truth and have his little Spider-Man fanboy dream!

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

[strawberry-metal]

An SFW version of this base was planned a long time ago but I legit just forgot about it. My bad, sorry. Here it is now. One has more droopy breasts, and the other has more perky breasts. (Though I feel like the differences are more obvious in the R18 version of these bases lol)

Please don't ask for more bases I'm extremely drained in the art department right now.

TheBizarreKazeko RainwaterPearls and I are collabing to make some bases from Koikatsu, for MMD, to try and help combat the rule breaking of using models that aren't allowed with R18 content. This is the sfw version of the R18 base. You are only allowed to use the R18 version if you're an adult. You can get the R18 version in my DA gallery, just like how you can get this SFW version there, too.

Has groove and mother bone, twist bones, waist bone, upper body bone, and magic bones for the fingers. Has breast and butt physics. They're not AMAZING but they're better than the first base was! (Which you wouldn't be able to tell anymore because I updated it lol.) I left these physics in, in case anyone would want them for whatever reason, like maybe for a swimsuit model or something. You're free to edit them or just delete em all together!

The underwear is a separate mesh so if you need to get rid of it, you can remove it easily!

Rules:

Credit TheBizarreKazeko, RainwaterPearls, ShannaHeart and ILLUSION.

Commercial use is NOT allowed! This is a game rip, you could get sued.

You can edit.

You can distribute a model you made using this base.

DO NOT USE IN P*D*PHILIA OR IN*ST!

Alice, Kaz, if I missed any rules you wanted added to these bases, just let me know and I'll add em in.

Base: ILLUSION

Creation of base, texture editing, improvement of breast and butt physics, magic bones and initial cleaning: ShannaHeart (me lol)

Ripping and rigging, and adding of waist, mother, groove, upper body and twist bones, R18 texture removal: RainwaterPearls

Butt physics and breast physics, and more cleaning, naughty bits removal: TheBizarreKazeko

Poses by cutiebxt

Dropshadow effect by Beamman, edit by ChestNutScoop

[twistedchristianscience]

forgot to post about him here BUT I finished my silly little Vashraptor fursuit just before Emerald City Comic Con (and Vancoufur)

except he's not actually "finished", just finished enough for me to wear him to those cons for a bit. he still needs a few more details, namely feetpaws, the stitches on his torso, a more raptor-like hand for his prosthetic, and claws. plus I'm not totally happy with his ears so I might redo them. I'll make legs and different prosthetics eventually, but that probably won't be for a while.

as per usual of raptors, he looks pretty silly at any angle other than side profiles, so its a little difficult to get good photos while im actually wearing him.

more ramblings + WIP shots under the cut because this was the most complicated project ive ever done and im insane

so far, he's taken about $700 worth of materials and 150 hours but I'll make another post with updated numbers when he's fully finished.

the headbase is made of EVA foam, with a hinge from WeaselsOnEasels (covered with that pink fabric because I accidentally put it on the inside, rip) and 40 teeth from DreamVisionCreations. the eyes and antorbital fenestrae have .5mm computer fan pvc mesh-- his vision and ventilation are fantastic, rivaling my suit with a 3d printed base, but fine details like writing and text are lost as per usual with vision meshes (that's not normally much of a problem for me with the furry conventions I go to annually and know the layout of, but it made navigating ECCC a nightmare since ive never been before and the venue is HUGE. I imagine ill have the same struggles if I go to sakuracon-- anyone wanna be my handler for that? lol). the unfurred section is coated with Plastidip and spraypainted dark brown. most of his mane is zippered on both sides so I can remove it and make interchangable versions (I plan to make spiked-up hair in yellow, half yellow/black, and fully black) while the tip of it is magnetic so it lies flat against the base. his tongue is also magnetic. I was originally going to make magnetic eyelids, but in all honesty, I might prefer to make them velcro as they tend to be easier to adjust + more secure than magnetic ones.

the part I hated making the most was his tail, not because it's bad, but because when I was almost done with it my dog got to it and chewed it apart.

you can see there's an awkward little bump along the top near where the light yellow and black fur connect-- when im wearing the tail that bump makes it look broken. but since he's so mangled anyway it can just be considered part of his design since I didn't add any scars to it

the tail feathers were a bit of a nightmare to make but the progress shots are cool

the part I loved making the most, and that im most proud of, is the bodysuit. I thought the scars were going to be a nightmare to sew, but they were actually the most fun and I love how they turned out!! he will be getting an interchangable mane down his back as well but I didn't have the time to finish it. I might also extend the shoulders a little for a better fit, particularly the left as theres a noticeable gap between the suit and the prosthetic as it is.

I showed this video of the pattern to a friend at When Furballs Strike a few weeks back and she told me I was insane. she is correct, and I'm fairly sure me actually finishing the bodysuit in a week only proves it further. but I did it anyway, and I had fun doing it.

Fur used: Yellow (Hair/Mane, Tail Feathers): HowlFabric Buttercup Luxury Shag Light Yellow (Main Body/Face): MofuMofu Mi Yellow Long Fur White (Neck, Top Surgery Scars, Tail): BigZFabric White Short Shag Brown (Ears, Tail Feathers): HowlFabric Fossil Grey Luxury Teddy Black (Arm, Tail): HowlFabric Natural Black Luxury Teddy Scars: HowlFabric Salmon Minky Tongue: HowlFabric Banana Minky Inner Mouth: HowlFabric Vanilla Minky Inner Ears: BigZFabric White Minky

note about the mofumofu fur: it's pretty thin, if you trim too much you can see the backing through it. HOWEVER. this proved to be a positive for the bodysuit, as it's MUCH more breathable than thicker furs like howl's and bigz's. (for the one day I could make it to ECCC and two days of Vancoufur, I wore this suit for 10-12 hours straight with a sweatshirt underneath and never felt like I was overheating, the minky scars most likely helped with it but STILL??) it also doesn't get as matted. whether or not it's worth the $55/yd price depends on what you need it for, if it's within your price range and you're particularly sensitive to heat, I'd say go for it. I only needed a yard for this as I'm kindof a little guy (5'5", 120lbs) so it was worth it for me.

[fanby-fckry]

L: How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

Q: How do you feel about collaborations?

FanFic Ask Game

L: How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

So many… My process is that I write whatever comes to me and leave blank sections and placeholders where needed. Then I reread while filling in those blanks and adjust the bits around the blanks to make them fit. This does not happen all at once, and sometimes creates new blank spaces in different places.

Then, once I’m out of placeholders, I reread at least twice. I used to send them to a beta reader, reread again with that extra perspective, maybe make some more adjustments. Then reread one more time if I made adjustments to make sure it fit.

Then one last round while I manually add HTML because I’m a freak like that.

And, typing that all out, I’m starting to think I do more reading than writing, and that maybe I should be permanently banned from the ‘not beta read’ tags, because wow that’s gotta qualify as self-beta-ed even without having a designated beta reader.

Q: How do you feel about collaborations?

Complicated! I love the idea of collaborating with other writers, but I’m very scared that I wouldn’t be able to live up to my end of the bargain.

I have a deep-seated fear of letting people down, and an inability to work on a consistent schedule, neither of which really mesh well with collaborations. My executives don’t function and my interpersonal is unskilled.

I think I’m more of the friend that you can shout ideas at vs the one you can actually write them with. I’ve done some beta and sensitivity reading and oh shit I just remembered I forgot to reply to a message regarding said beta reading.

Um, so yeah, it’s going great!

[pluto-supremacy]

Arcane Headcanons: how they spend Valentine's Day with reader

➼ Here are some (very late, my bad) Valentine's Day headcanons for some Arcane characters! If there is a character that I didn't write for and you want them added on, just shoot me an ask and I'll work on it^^

➼ Characters included are: Viktor, Jayce, Mel, Vi, and Caitlyn

➼ Reader is gn except for Vi and Cait, then reader is fem (it's just the rules)

➼ No beta we die like Mylo

➼ Warnings: None! Just as a reminder none of the GIFs are mine, credits to the owners!

Honestly forgot about Valentine's Day with all of his work, spends all day in the lab and largely ignoring you. You'd be lucky to get a glance from him as he worked

Or so you think

After however many hours of work he calls you over to him, spinning around in his chair, proudly showing off what was in his hands. It's a small music box that when wound up played you guy's song. Inside are little memories of all your dates. Pictures, trinkets, anything he could fit in there

"Do you like it? I'm sorry it took that long, the gears weren't meshing together how I needed them to. Happy Valentine's Day, my love"\

He's a total romantic, convince me otherwise

Wakes you up with breakfast in bed (he got it from the breakfast restaurant down the street), gives you a handpicked bouquet (it's mostly weeds, but it's still pretty), and has a dinner booked for the two of you at the nicest restaurant in Piltover

You two finish out the night watching movies and cuddling on the couch, his arms always around you and a blanket covering you both

"Happy Valentine's Day, sunshine. You ready to head out? The reservation is at...god you're gorgeous"

It's a stay in kinda Valentine's Day with Mel. You both have a rare morning of sleeping as long as you want for the day, having to convince yourselves to even get up and get dressed

Once you two are finally up, Mel insists on painting you for the remainder of the afternoon. She poses you on the couch, looking as comfortable as ever, and takes her time painting every detail she can see. She adds herself right next to you of course, and you find a nice spot to hang it once she's done

The night ends with a good homecooked dinner and wine

"Keep still, darling. I'm nearly done here. Your perfection takes time to capture"

She's trying, okay? This is her first Valentine's Day she isn't alone and romance isn't exactly rampant in the Undercity. That doesn't stop her from giving it her all though

She takes you around to all the best spots in the Undercity. Breathtaking views, great street food, anywhere she thinks that you'll like. Vi tries to avoid the more sketchy areas with you to try and keep you out of trouble

The day ends with you two falling asleep in each other's arms while listening to your favorite songs

"Hope you liked today bun, I promise I'll try to do something a bit more grand next year"

Caitlyn has been PLANNING

Though she is still extremely nervous and a bit awkward at first. She just wants to make sure everything goes smoothly. The day is planned to a T. A slow morning, having tea together, going out to rollerskate. Then heading home

To pack for a picnic under the stars! You two spend nearly all night stargazing, grazing on whatever you packed, and cuddling on the blanket

"Out of all the stars out tonight, I have to say I like the one I'm holding the best"

[ss-2dplatformer]

Day Eight (Part 2) Continuing the State Machine, Animations and other miscellaneous tasks

First of all, I moved the sprite of the Danger Zone back by a small amount, so now the player character appears infront of it.

Secondly, I have managed to make it so all movement is disabled upon death. Whether this is the best, or if I should just disable all inputs instead is still up for debate. I think disabling movement is better though as, if you die midair above a gap, you'll just fall down while dying.

In other news, I have added animations to all of my world objects so now they are all completed.

However, while adding animations to my items, I did end up accidentally making the hitbox for the win condition a good seven times larger than it was meant to be.

Though all it took was one small change in the scale, and it was fixed.

In truth, although I say all of my world objects are completed, I have completely missed out on the bounce pad to the point that I haven't even made a sprite for it yet, and it is still using a basic mesh I made on day one. Though if I did give it a proper sprite, it probably wouldn't need to be animated besides maybe an arrow pointing down that could bounce up and down by a pixel or so.

Additionally, I have added a health counter! It's nothing big, but it's there.

The red being the HP and the blue being the Score.

Also, FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY, I have fixed the issue with the score not resetting upon death. In actuality, I simply forgot to add a few things to the Event Graph, but now it works properly.

I'm so glad I finally got this sorted. Of course, after this, I checked if the HP count reset properly as well, and it does.

Once I sorted these out, I made it more clear what you were looking at.

And this is all it is.

I had to make the strings print after the actual integers, otherwise they would be showing up below the numbers, and it wouldn't look as good.

I am noticing one small issue though. The triangle Danger Zone's collision box is defined by a square. Obviously, this means there's quite a bit of room in which you will clearly not touch anything, yet still take damage.

While I figure that out, in other news, I tweaked the walking animation slightly. There were two frames in which the player character was completely still rather than the one at the start. I removed the end frame in order to make the movement seem faster, and it has certainly helped.

The Danger Zone has now been fixed, with there being two boxes making up its collision now, rather than just one.

While I realise that there is a tiny gap in collision between the top and bottom box, the player's collision is too large to fit through that tiny gap. Additionally, I have checked, and if one box has dealt damage, the other box won't unless the player has fully left both collision areas and re-enters by triggering the other box instead.

This is how my map plays at the minute.

I understand that it is very boring, and some sections are quite long with other parts needing to be tweaked, but I am happy with it for now.

I'm thinking maybe I shorten the first level, and make the level in the video a Level 2 or something.

About 20 minutes later and I have now shrunk the first level partially, mostly to stop it from getting boring.

And I have now edited it even more. In order to make the right half of the map less monotanous to go through each time, there is a hidden shortcut underneath one of the gaps.

I should mention, as of right now, there is a bounce pad that you may notice is placed right at the start of the map which immediately takes you to level 2. This is for testing purposes only and won't be part of the proper release.

If not, level 1 would be very short and you would only get 1 point before level 2. (It is impossible to get the coin at the bottom of the screenshot and the bounce pad into level 2 within the same run.)

Anyways, the final thing I did today was coloring some portions of the map so it doesn't always look the same.

There's no real indication as to what colors mean what, I just chunked them into sections so that level 1 isn't identical most of the time.

[kyrodo]

I've made a lot of good progress when it comes to avatar retexturing, and the standard workflow of avatar customization in a general sense. It helps that I already knew a bit of unity beforehand. So dealing with the inspector, standard flight controls, understanding basics like what the assets area, hierarchy, and game/scene windows due, or even the concept that a scene is a standalone thing and not the entire project. I already knew all that stuff. What I didn't know, blender, substance painter, all the the vrchat specific stuff, poiyomi, vrcfury, the entire process and specifics of uploading an avatar was completely alien to me.

I've come a long way since then. Enough that I start to compete with people like OkamiYuki, and whoever Mana is commissioning. They are a know it all when it comes to avatar customizing. They know about topology, retopology which I did see a tutorial on, weightpainting etc. Which I've seen before proudly. But shader code. That is the one bridge I never crossed. The closest I got was when I pulled outlining code into another shader, and this was shortly after I had already worked on procedural meshes in unity to make the aquifer lab. Fish dissection I wanted to highlight body parts that the student clicks on. So that's where the outline comes in. Because there are views like x-ray, etc., things need to be able to go transparent. So the toon shader I was working with was not gonna work for that. Not without editing the shader, because the standard toon shader doesn't have transparency. That's where I just straight up opened a shader made a duplicate to be safe and started pulling stuff over that I felt was related to the outline from toon outline to a standard shader. And eventually I got it working.

Doing that with the fast fur texture would be nice. But I'm not sure if I can pull it off as easily as I did last time. I already forgot about the triangles/uvs part of the code. I believe a shader does go over that to an extent. I don't remember honestly. But it's been so long since I've even seen the structure of a shader, and I never crossed the bridge of actually learning how it works. And I always felt I should. It would've given me an edge in some of the things I applied for. But I just didn't. It was too intimidating for me to even look anything up.

That said that's going to be my next step. My competition is bragging about how they could do just add rim lighting code to the fast fur shader. I partially know how it works, and all that's missing is the thing I never took the time to learn. Blender and substance painter gave me so much power. But there's no reason I have to stop there. So that's where my learning will go next.

[saisok]

08.11.24

I’ve been soo busy these last few days. I forgot that Kevin took Friday off so he can also attend Hunter’s meet and greet with his new teacher. I swear he told me he forgotten to request for it off.

Hunter was chilled while we met his teacher and his new room. He already knows who she is. She used to be a PM teacher when he was there last school year.

The moment we grabbed our papers from the teacher, he started crying lol. He thought we were going to leave him. I know it’s going to be hard this week. He cried his eyes out when I left him the first day of school for about 3 days though. Hopefully he will be alright this time.

I’m still gyming. I went to the gym 7 days straight! I decided Saturday will be my day off going forward. Today was a good workout because I had the gym to myself so I was able to do strength training on my arms. I’m weak as shit. Seriously! When we were at target, the cashier asked if I would like a bag for the watermelon and I said no thank you. He scanned and handed it to me and dear lord, I almost dropped it with two hands holding it. I injured the back of my left hand…. Because I hit the cart with it as the dang watermelon landed lol

I’m also still making my green smoothie. It’s getting a lot better. I’m mixing things around and making it more water down because it’s a lot easier to drink it. I can chugged it with no issues. The previous ones was a bit harder because I didn’t add enough liquid. Let me be a pro now ha.

I also prepped lunch for Hunter and I tomorrow. His bento box is ready and my lunch bag is packed. I ended up grilling chicken breast with sauté spinaches on the side. I didn’t have to pack anything for Kevin because he’s traveling to San Antonio tomorrow to pick up his new work truck. I can’t wait to see it! He sold his Mitsubishi Evo last year because he wasn’t driving it anymore due to his work truck being his main. Also because he gotten into an accident a few years ago with it, he said it’s not the same. He says, it’s a guy thing or whateverrrr. Goodbye stick shift.

Today I spent my day doing laundry and getting things done as Hunter prepared for his first day of school tomorrow. The school required mesh or clear backpack only, which totally sucks because I really wanted him to select his backpack. I am sure all the kids going to end up with identical backpack so I pulled my embroidery machine out; embroided his name and attached it to his mesh backpack.

It came out great!

We went shopping today because Kevin needed some new kicks. He’s so frugal when it comes to himself. I love that he takes good care of us and spoiled us to death but homeboy has to stop saying No to himself lol. In the end, I bought Kevin and Hunter’s first matching Jordans.

I can’t wait for them to wear it out together hahahaha

Okay, I need to catch up on my remote jobs. I got so many audits to do.

Bye

[m1ckeyb3rry]

TRUE the crow dedication is so real….like bro really took his last name literally LOL

PLATONIC RELATIONSHIPS>>> idk I just love exploring the different avenues and depths of friendship esp since I myself don’t like forcing romance upon anything rlly….also like some dynamics remind me of how I’d act with some close friends too like I’ve just never seen the need to ship or anything when you can have a perfectly developed and interesting relationship without having to be in love with someone yk I feel like it almost makes the dynamic and friendship even more meaningful sometimes

The second selection trio is GOLD I Lowk loved that trio and how they meshed together despite being such different ppl?? I also LOVED that arc for the Barou development bc omg someone who learns from their defeats and makes a better version of themself that’s actually so cool….

Otoya’s fit is SO on brand LMAO I feel like yukis has too many layers almost like just looking at it makes me sweat HAHA

Im ngl I feel like something looks a teensy bit off in that one colored art…maybe it’s because it’s fully buttoned or something? But I LOVE THE TURTLENECK TRENCHCOAT COMBO it’s like my fav outfit style ever and he looks SOOO GOOD IN THE MANGA!!! Ugh the turtleneck >>>> I have a friend who hates the turtleneck long coat combo and I’m like….bro…..where’s ur taste…. But fr I something about the clean mature looking style also just fits him so well too!!!

AOT LMAOOO what’s even funnier is (idk exact how accurate this is) but I heard rin was possibly inspired by two characters?? Eren and I forgot her name starts with an M I think….but apparently one of the authors was an assistant for aot I think so definitely fitting LOLLL

Ok and honestly the Hiori duality is also so fitting?? Like we see in the novel he’s a pretty open/relaxed chill little boy outside of his household and when he opens up to Karasu and the team but then BAM switch flips once he enters his home and I feel like the diff between white butterfly and fwtkac matches that so well…..I love a little angst sprinkled in sometimes too that kinda duality is just so good, just goes to show the depths a character can have!! I love it!!!

Trust me I will be EATING UP those hiori works too honestly being fed so well by all of your writing lately I’m so excited to read everything <333

The light novels are SO. FUNNY. cursed Nagi was actually hilarious and I remember first reading the Hiori one and the whole stalking thing was peak comedy like wdym you’re a 6 foot man trying to hide your near fluorescent blue hair under a baseball cap….I’ll never forget the line that’s like “he’s only ever done soccer his entire life…it’s only natural that he doesn’t know proper social etiquette” LMAOAOOO

I think recently my favs finally settled the was like swapping between Chigiri Nagi Rin and Karasu for a good while a couple months ago….i feel like new ppl don’t really ever my top five as much it’s just a matter of the ranking amongst them LOL

Also I love Otoya but I also LOVE Otoya slander HAHA I love making fun of him so bully him all you like LMAOOO

Nagi fr is just like a big koala bear….i remember being so shocked by his height at first but it honestly adds more to his charm LOL and definitely!! The parental neglect is kinda real for him too like…ppl take his “breakup” with Reo and run with it like are we reading the same thing….. the dark haired hot trope is too real like people just toss rin into that category throw in some Emo and call it a day like….i think especially the moment after the u20 match where rin looks at sae thinking he’ll be praised by him just kinda shows he’s just an emotional stunted boy with brother trauma like…..man…you’re so right about the fanon Rin being like aiku or Karasu though i do see a lot of like…smooth talker rin on here…..

TREADMILL yesss get those steps!! Chronically online gang rise tho LOLL but hey at least you’re being productive and active while online!!

-Karasu anon

he was assigned crow at birth and knew what he had to do from there 🫡 i’ve always wondered what his older sister looks like (apparently he had one according to the official egoist bible) i bet she’s sooo pretty but like. does she also do her hair in some weird vaguely-crow inspired way?? or does she think her little brother is a freak?? what abt the rest of his family?? LMAOAO questions we may never know the answers to…

even when writing romance i’ve noticed i’ll have one or two Kiss Scenes but for the most part i prefer showing love in other ways!! smth that’s always stuck with me is that if your characters need to kiss to prove to your readers that they’re in love, you didn’t do a good enough job writing their relationship. so personally even in my longest and most devastating love stories i hardly write Actual Romance!! i think the reason i don’t like shipping personally (again, full respect to anyone who does 💖) is because making the love between two characters explicit instead of implied often (to me) ruins the actual depth between them.

second selection trio is so so good!! and i agree barou’s development esp in the match vs reo kuni and chigiri was delightful to see. tbh when i first watched bllk i thought barou was a “baddie of the week” character who would only be relevant in the match against team x and then disappear entirely, so i was really excited to see him come back AND with a new and improved design (first selection barou kinda haunts me tbh why does he look like that…)

ohhhh i was talking abt the manga only!! i haven’t seen the colored illustrations but i agree the coat is a bit odd in them. i imagined it to be tan when i read the manga which i think fits him better than the bright blue but oh well it’s karasu he can pull anything off. he looked so cute in it in the manga!! when he took it off and went with just the turtleneck too…it really did give me such a lowkey but mature and elegant vibe!! like future businessman right there mr “if i randomly got 100 million yen i’d invest in index funds” bro is trying to be reo so bad DHSKSJSJ (speaking of which i do not fw reo’s fits he needs to hire a better personal stylist because some of those choices he makes are certainly. choices.)

HAHA yes i’ve seen that rin is supposed to be a blend of eren and mikasa!! i can def see it. i was heavily into aot back in 2021 though not much anymore actually which is why i immediately clocked the comparison!!

i know the karasu series is pretty fluffy and funny but i am actually first and foremost an angst lover!! i love writing absolutely heartbreaking stories they’re my favorite thing in the world. bllk is making me lose my edge though 😔 i need to get back to writing angst again…i think maybe i’m surprised by people being sad abt white butterfly because when i imagine angst it’s like death and inevitable ruin HAHAHHA but anyways i agree hiori def is a very layered character!! i’m excited to write more of him as well

oh my god the light novels are so sillyyyy 😭 when karasu made up an entire tragic backstory for himself just to mess w hiori??? he is so problematic i can’t even lie and the way hiori 100% believed him too had me bawling

OTOYA SLANDER 4 LIFE he is just so so easy to make fun of!! spoiler alert it’s actually not y/n who hates on him the most…let’s just say that our dear best friend who wants a boyfriend has major major beef w him (he is completely unaware of this ofc)

everyone says they’re surprised that nagi is so tall wdym!! he is sooo teddy bear i think him being huge makes sm sense!! he has such big fluffy lazy dog vibes too…yk the kind that thinks it can fit on your lap despite being the size of a small horse 😭 like THAT is nagi to me

i fear rin will never escape his fanon characterization 😔 but yes i think the teasing/sassy side that people give him is actually much more in line w karasu’s personality, and him being super smooth and flirty is way more aiku than anything!! rin has like one insult that he uses for everyone he is NOT a sarcasm god i’m afraid 😰 and according to the egoist bible he knows he’s unfriendly but thinks if people don’t like that abt him they shouldn’t interact with him!! in my mind the extent of his flirting would just be him going nonverbal and being like 🌎👄🌎 at you from across the room LSJDOWNDWJ hopefully you are a mind reader because otherwise you are never finding out he has a crush

YESSS unfortunately i do have to go to the gym quite frequently because alongside being chronically online i ride horses competitively and go to parties and whatnot so the body must be maintained 😔 HAHA it’s like a double life omg sometimes random guys will try to flirt w me when i’m out w my friends and in the back of my mind i’ll just be like “oh he has NO idea I write reader insert fanfiction on tumblr dot com” 😭 once i was at a party and i just took out my phone and started responding to comments on ao3 instead of dancing or talking because i thought the music sucked and it was way too loud 😓

[happi-meals]

Today's breakfast!

Vegan almond yogurt, carrot, and clemintine drink + pan-fried egg, steamed kale, sliced vegan bratwurst on a bed of rice!

Very rewarding meal, though I would have loved to have the drink and the food together lol. I forgot to prep and make the drink first, so I made and drank it afterward.

Wrt the drink, I cant quite call it a smoothie yet because I dont have ice and its just not the texture I want it at yet. It has very great flavor, especially the citrus zest; 2 clemintines with pulp amplified by twang of ginger root and a brightness of lemon juice (no cider this time! Didnt need it); lots of honey and carrot to add a tinge of particular sweetness.

BUT

I simply dont have the consistency I desire smdh. The lack of ice means theres less volume to the drink and its lack of viscosity makes the chunks of veggies (particularly the carrot) relatively unplesant in texture. I wouldnt mind said chunks and pieces if they were spread evenly in a smoothie. But alas lol.

Will definitely give the kale a break for more of this bright and healthy juice option!

Ingredients for the drink (no particular proportions; experimenting to taste)

2 clemintines with pulp 🍊

A handfull of baby carrots 🥕

A dash of lemon juice 🍋

A few dollops of vegan yogurt (unsweetened) 🍦

Small cut of fresh ginger root 🫚

LOTS of honey! 🍯

Now that I'm thinking about it, this entire drink would have been nice as is if I had some sort of mesh strainer to seperate the large chunks from the juice itself. That way, it could suffice without ice! 🧊 I def need to invest in one if I cant find one thrifted.

Onto the food!

Nothing too much to say here other than it was a great meal!

The egg was certainly more flavorful than last time, thought I admit it was a bit too much season salt lol. I cooked it last since I was right to remember that eggs cook in like 4 mins max lol. However, I accidentally skipped a step in remembering to heat up the pan with its oil before cracking the egg into it. So for several seconds the poor abortion remained clear and uncooked in the pan, sliding but not simmering. I thought i may have fluked the process again but I turned up the heat a bit and the egg bounced back, the whites appearing slowly as it actually simmered and cooked lol

The rice I simply made in my cute lil rice cooker (i should give it a name 🤔).

My mom got it for me when I was in college, considering I went vegan a few yrs prior, hadnt bought an [unlimited] meal plan at the dorm cafeteria, and may have had limited options (thankfully I didnt, eventually bought and u limited meal plan, and never needed to use the cooker living on campus. It became my ol-reliable later before I left though lol). Its a great cooker and can handle I believe up to around 1 or 1 1/2 cups of rice and its respective portions of water, which is plently for just me and usually enough for 2 servings. I use it almost daily when I cook so its def a staple tool in the kitchen I'm grateful to have. Thanks, mom! 💕

The kale I steamed in a pot with a lid and added a but of Lawry's season salt, a cap full of vinegar, and pepper. Simple yet flavorful. I love seeing the change of volume the kale undergoes as its steamed. A large portion of bright green, rubbery kale leaves that overfills the brim of the pan quickly shrivels into a manageable serving of jeep-green, seasoned kale, steamed to perfection (and much more pleasant to chew!). Speaking of kale transformations lol....

.... Ive had this batch of kale for going on 3 weeks now! I made a post about it before on my nature blog @happigreens (I'll transfer here eventually), but to condense it to the gist of this one, the salt bath i gave the kale was extremely helpful in extending the shelf life of the leaves. By now, theyre finally yellowing and some are wilting from dryness, but many still retain a crisp texture as if freshly harvested. I'll always soak kale leaves in saline water to preserve them! The kale in this meal didnt need that crispness necessarily, but the soaking probably retains its nutritional value for a lot longer, so thats definitely always important!

The brat I cooked the same as last time: pan fried! The brats are so good imo that they dont need any seasoning other than compatible cooking oil! Beyond Meat has some absolutely delish products. I just hope one day plant based products like that can be subsidized or something 😅. Also like before, the brat complimented the egg so well. I really didnt want any meat for this meal but craved the umami flavor combos I had with my last meal. Was not disappointed!

Ingredients for this meal included:

1 Beyond Sausage Brat Origianal link (pulled into pieces for a feeling of bigger portions lol)

1 egg (to be fried)

Like a big bowlfull of kale (again, no exact proportion here lol, but ut was a lot!)

Lawry's season salt (to season kale and egg to taste)

Pepper (for the kale and egg again)

A capful of vinegar (for the kale)

Olive and sesame oil (for pan-frying the egg and brat, and steaming the kale)

1 cup of rice (which take ~2 cups of water to cook)

9/10 It all came together for a great meal! :-)

[moodaye]

I need more of these straight leg male jeans because… I’m just not into the skinny jeans look for male sims… Like in real life it can look great but on the sims, it looks like man leggings sometimes and like it’s cool if that’s the look you want but like sometimes I just want jeans, not jeggings. 

Anyway, My go to male jeans are these Buttoned up Jeans by @peacemaker-ic {Thank you for making these btw.} and I thought it would be great to recolor/retexture them to have a different set of the same great jeans. 

So….. Yeah, enjoy and let me know if I messed anything up.

Download  {Dropbox} Download {SFS}

You will also need the mesh by Peacemaker-ic

Get it here

Unedited & Reshade free Screenshot under the cut.

[vintagesimstress]

Victorian robes for teeny tots

Hi everyone!

This outfit was supposed to be a baby. Yep, you read that correctly. The queen of medieval conversions @simverses​ once figured out how one could replace the in-game baby mesh with a new one and asked me if I could make some clothes for it. And so I did - but when our Victorian baby was about to be shared, Nifty Knitting happened and completely changed the way the game handles babies. I recalled those old meshes yesterday and thought... It doesn't look like we're getting a baby update any time soon, but maybe I could at least convert those pieces for toddlers? And it worked!

Why the whole backstory? For two reasons. Firstly, to warn you that those pieces look a bit different than my usual cc (i.e. less detailed), as they were intended for a creature the size of a big pumpkin. They were supposed to be pretty, but simple and low poly. I still find them cute though, and I hope so will you!

And secondly, if you care about historical accuracy please remember that those dresses/robes were intended for really, really, really tiny people. Like, the small toddler preset tiny. The girls modelling both dresses in the preview are in fact too old for them. Unless you decide it's not lingerie but summer dresses - then it should work! Maybe it's good I didn't add too many details after all ;).

Both versions come in 10 swatches, mostly very pale:

polycounts: ca. 4K

Base Game compatible

HQ mod compatible (pictures taken with the mod - not that it makes any difference in this case)

all LODs

custom thumbnails, bump and specular maps, some shine

tagged as everyday and sleepwear

found under long or short dresses and lingerie subcategories

colour tagged

disallowed for random

unisex

PDN and PSD for recolours included - you don’t need them for the meshes to work

Hope your teeny tots will like them, enjoy!

Download (free on Patreon, no ads)

PS. I forgot to add: the design comes from 1899, but ofc should be pretty universal - not much was happening in Victorian baby fashion ^^

***

Terms of Use

Don’t: claim it’s yours or monetise in any way

Do: convert, recolour, include the mesh, edit the mesh to create something amazing - just please tag me once you publish it, so that I could also see it!

[greenplumbboblover]

TUTORIAL: How to make your Clothing item Sewing table compatible!

With a whole new feature for the sewing table that adds a whole new clothing support feature, you might be curious as a CC creator (or even non-CC creator!) how to enable it to show up as a pattern for the sewing table! :) It's super easy!

If you're looking for the tutorial on how to do this for objects instead, see this: https://modthesims.info/showpost.php?p=5635070&postcount=2

BEFORE WE BEGIN (A note from our sponsors!):

If you ever create any 'sewables' for the sewing table, do let me know! That way, I can give you a shoutout and a direct link to that piece of clothing in the description so others don't have to hunt down for Sewing table compatible clothing! :)

Allright! Let's get started!

What do I need?

You probably have these already if you're a CC creator, but here's the list:-

S3PE

- Notepad or even Notepad++ (any text editor really, just don't use word please :p)

That's it! See, I promised you it would be easy ;)

Things to know when doing this:

1. If you do make your item sewing table compatible, it WILL be hidden in CAS! The sim has to collect the pattern and create the clothing item before you can see it in CAS again. It's a bit like Unlocked outfits (Actually, that cheat will make them show up :p) 

NOTE: For this reason alone, it's also a good idea to either clone your CASpart, or follow the following method below that will give the option at least.

2. Your CAS item will be available for gifting it to other sims! (And they will wear it ;))

How to do it:

Luckily, this is actually more easier than doing it for objects, in fact, it's even less numbers! :p But! let's get started!

This workflow assumes that you've completed your clothing item and have packaged it. Therefore, the current state should be pretty much 'releasable'. You can still, of course, go in and edit all sorts of things later on (Think, meshes, Categories, textures, etc). But just so there aren't any dangers the CASP file changes.

1. First, Export the CASP resource from the package. This is so your downloaders can choose whether they want a 'sewing table enabled' item or just see your item directly.

2. Create a whole new package, by clicking File > New.

3. Import your CASP resource you exported. (You can drag&drop it in too if you're lazy like me :p)

4. Now you're seeing this popup with instance, group and type. If you accidentally clicked 'ok' on this one, just double click the CASP ;). Click the button 'COPY RK'. Paste this in a notepad or wherever.

5. Click OK.

6. Now go to Resource in the top bar > Add.

7. In the popup write the following:TYPE, fill in: _XML 0x0333406CGROUP, fill in : 0x7354C1FCINSTANCE, Fill in the instance of your CASP resource. Here's an example if you're unsure where to find it:If my CASP were to be: 0x034AEECB-0x00000000-0x1289EDD7532CA188Then, 0x1289EDD7532CA188 is the instance ID! Use this.

8. Now click OK! you should see an XML resource and a CASP in your package now :)

9. RIGHT-Click on the XML file, you should see on the bottom that it says 'Notepad'. If you want to use Notepad++ or any other external program Instead see: http://www.simlogical.com/ContentUploadsRemote/uploads/1613/How_to_Make_an_XML_Tuning_Mod.pdf (And then click 'text editor, rather than notepad of course ;))

10. You should now see your text editor open with absolutely nothing! :D Now, go ahead and copy this:

----

0x034AEECB-0x00000000-0x66FD9ACE77C4E50A

Cotton, KnittedisMagicProject=False

isDiscoverableOnly=False

amountOfFabricToRemove=2

isClothing=True

ClothingName=String to import

Allright! so before we're editing anything, I do want to explain what is what. So:

Line 1 is your ENTIRE resource key for your CASP.

Line 2 is the fabric that it needs to consume :) You can choose out of the following: Knitted, Cotton, Denim, Satin, Leather, Synthetic

NOTE: Don’t do ‘Knitted, knitted, denim’ or whatever to have it remove Knitted twice. this won’t work as we’re basically telling the importer script that we just mean to remove X amount (2 if you take my example snippet) of Knitted and Denim ;)

Line 3 is whether your item can only be made by an occult sim!

Line 4 is if you don’t want your pattern to be loaded in when one uses the ‘DEBUG_GetAllPatterns’ interaction. Personally I’d just keep it to false ;)

Line 5 Is the amount of fabric that needs to be removed. Currently, in this case, it would mean that both cotton and knitted will have 2 of them removed. So if you only want to remove one of each, set this number to 1!

Line 6 is Whether it’s clothing. make sure to keep this as true!

Line 7 is the name of your item. this will show up as the pattern’s name and as the text under the item when you select it from the ‘sewing clothing’ dialogue. Keep this as short as possible! else the text will go through the button of the dialogue, or other items :p

NOTE: DO NEVER REMOVE THE ---- ! You will break the import code for it if you do!!! 

Now that we know about this... Let’s get started!

11. In the first line, remember when I said at step 4 to paste your CASP resource key somewhere? Well, this is the time to paste it! :)

12. Set your settings as desired!

13. Save inside the notepad or program, close the program, and if you see the old XML resource being crossed out then you’ve done it! :) If it’s empty, then you probably forgot to save the item in the notepad.

14. Now, we need to set the CASP resource as ‘hidden in cas’. To do so go to GRID at the bottom of S3PE, In the new popup, collapse ClothingCategory and find ‘HiddenInCAS’. Set this to True. Commit.

15. Save the package, I’d recommend calling it something like ‘CLOTHINGNAME_LyraleisSewingTableCompatible.package’.

15. Now dump both your regular CASpart package and your sewing table enabled package in your mods folder! :) You will notice that if you decide to take out the sewing table compatible package that your CASpart will show up in CAS again. But as mentioned before, that's the whole point of the sewing table’s new functionality ;) Also! Congrats on making your first default replacement! :D

Hopefully this was simple enough to understand! if you have any trouble with it, let me know!

[littlesparklight]

"Here you are," the merchant says in bare, heavily accented Hittite, and Paris thanks the Egyptian and pays what a bare glance at the wrapped item confirmed is high quality work. The men he'd seen wearing similar pieces had been wearing some sort of perizoma beneath this particular piece, but the holes cut in them had been larger, so this one doesn't need it.

Honestly, considering the heat wave currently choking Troy, it's truly serendipitous that his request was filled today, after nearly a full year of waiting. He'd almost forgot about it completely until a runner had come from the harbour and asked for him by name, saying an Egyptian merchant had something he'd apparently requested. And that he had. Chuckling, Paris wanders back up through city towards the citadel hill slowly only in deference to the heat, which chains his limbs heavy and would make even the hardiest soldier stumble for stamina and breath. This when he's only wearing a kilt, too.

Well, this purchase might aid in cooling him down what little extra bit of it there might be to gain, and Paris ducks into the closest building to peel out of the kilt. Shakes out his new purchase and ties it about his hips, considering the possibility to add strings of beads to the polished-smooth ivory rings gently digging into his hips that the straps are attached to.

He wanders out of the end of the stables with a jaunty spring to his steps, and the contrast to the choked heat the kilt trapped about his thighs to the breeze now teasing him from top to toe is perhaps not so great as it feels, for the kilt had allowed a breeze. This still allows for so much more.

There's whispers trailing him, hitched gasps following shocked silences and Paris' shoulders are shaking before he spots Helen, come wandering out onto the baking courtyard for whatever reason. Paris cheerfully flings his discarded kilt over a shoulder and steers across the stones to catch her before she can flee inside again.

"Helen! What do you think?" Paris asks, innocent as anything as she turns. Stops. Stares at him, way down below his face, and Paris can only barely keep his expression straight. The look in her eyes is almost enough he'd end up embarrassing himself, but maybe he doesn't care.

"Alexander---?" She chokes on her question, a hand to her mouth now, but it can't hide either her blush or her dark, intent stare.

"I bought it from an Egyptian merchant," he says brightly, lowering his lashes, his smile slow and losing its innocence, "it sure helps cool one dow--"

"PARIS!"

Paris yelps, near leaping into the air at the bellow, more furious than an enraged bull. He whips around - Helen chokes a little behind him and Paris manages to meet Hektor's furious, blood-red face for all of half of a heartbeat before he turns around, falling into Helen's bosom and laughs himself sick.

"Cover--- Alexander, we're not---"

Hektor's sputtering can't fully cover the couple admiring whispers from nearby, and Helen's fingers is digging into his arm, and Paris can't stop laughing. Which also means he's practically rippling from head to toe. The fine leather mesh that's wrapped around his hips and between his legs as neatly as any cloth loincloth would be and at a distance does look solid but on a closer view reveals the many tiny and perfectly cut-out diamonds in the leather, showing flesh, is right now revealing the perfectly tanned curve of his ass, with only a small panel to protect any sort of dignity - the front is little better, the decorated linen there at least keeping his dick from direct view.

(Anyone seen this post? Yeah. That's what's going on here.)

[criquette-was-here]

Long Due Replies

Hi everyone! It’s been some crazy few months for me. Real life has taken over completely so I didn’t have a chance to pay attention to my inbox. There are lot of asks on troubleshooting and I apologise for not being able to help on time. I hope everyone who needed help has got it somehow >.< There’s a crazy amount of messages, so I’m going to hide it under the cut.

@shutupshirley said:

Hi Criquette, I’m sorry because this is dumb, but I don’t understand how to install your neighbourhood lighting mod on an installation of Ultimate Collection... do I change out every lighting.txt file I can find across all the expansion and stuff packs? :/

Thank you!!!!

Hi @shutupshirley! I’m not a big specialist on windows version of TS2 and UC but I believe there are two folders you have to look at and they are ‘Fun with Pets’ and ‘Open for Business’

Anonymous said:

What do you imagine residents of Feverfew are called? I keep doing Peruvian but like Ferfewian or some

Oh, yes, I was thinking about this matter at some point! Feverfewian is what I came up with. I even found a wiki article about different names for different town inhabitants to sort of made it up a bit, but I haven’t write down the result I had and now I’ve lost it. I think feverfewians sounds best, it can even have some silly derivatives like ‘fewies’

@3sushiroll said:

Hi Criquette, I'm getting into SC4 and have been getting the hang of it while using the sims 2 hood planner. I've been starting to use bridges and have been using yours. When I put in the tile measurement into the hood planner (ex: 15 tile = 8 in SC4), it doesn't exactly line up in game. Does this usually happen for you and you put in a piece of fake road in the middle or am I just doing it wrong and it should line up super nicely? Thank you for all your wonderful creations!

Hi @3sushiroll! Yes, TS2 parses SC4 roads this way. I always put some decorative road in the gap or I make the shores narrower so that the bride would overlap the road. But to make slopes where the road ends equal, you have to use TS2 terraforming tool to make this flat empty piece of terrain right after the road end into slope so that it would look like the opposite.

Anonymous said:

Hi there, hope you're doing well! I downloaded your simple walkways set and noticed that they float. They don't sit on the ground properly. Is there anything I can do on my end to make them sit closer to the ground? Any help would be appreciated, thank you!

Hey anon! Thank you! Yes, this old set of walkways was made this way. Maxis made neighborhood mode roads float, so I had to do the same with road related decorations. But now you can use these Cobblestone paths or side walks from the Rural Charm, they’re as close to the ground as possible.

Anonymous said:

hey! would it ever be possible for you to create recolors of the cobblestone sidewalks in red brick/cobblestone?

Hi anon! I don’t think so :| I can’t even find the time to fix some Ferverfew related issues >.<

Anonymous said:

Hi Criquette. I liked Feverfew very much. I would like to make some of the houses multi-unit, keeping your doors in place. Is it possible to add the function of apartments to these doors? :)

Hi nonne! As far as I’m aware, you can only default replace those apartment doors which is quite useless. What you can do, is to put an apartment door right behind the front door. This, obviously, would eat up the space but could work as a solution.

Anonymous said:

Hello! I just downloaded Feverview and it's gorgeous! I can't believe all the little details you added, the effort and love you put into this project is incredible. I just had a small question: a few residential lots are fake apartments, I was wondering if you know how to turn them into functional apartments 

Hi anon! I’m glad you liked Feverfew! ^__^ In theory, you can use SimPE or Lot Editor to change lot type from residential to apartment and then implement apartment doors somehow, but since I don’t have AL in my Super Collection, I have zero experience in that.

Anonymous said:

Hi Criquette! :) I just realized recently that if I delete objects in game, I have to delete first the recolors of it. I've already deleted a bunch of objects without knowing about this, so now my downloads folders has houndreds of recolors without meshes. Do you know about anything I can do to find and delete these orphans? (Delphys download organizer just can't make difference)

Hi anon! I’m definitely not a helper on the matter of keeping Downloads folder organised, sorry ^^’‘ I would thing about finding sets of files with similar names keeping eye on the absence of the word ‘mesh’ in the names, and looking at the file size at the same time. And that would take ages, obviously. 

@ardyyy4 said:

Hello Criquette. I love Feverfew so much. But I have a problem. The grass and NHood objects are flickering together and it looks bad. How can i fix it? Thanks.

Hello Arda! That’s because of the neighborhood camera you’re using. I’d recommend you to install this particular camera just to get rid of flickering.

Anonymous said:

Hello! First of great content! Always been a fan! I was wondering if you could give a bit of advice with hood deco, I have downloaded an Ocean floor from Gwenke, and in lot view it only shows up at the very far edges, around my lot it is missing (it does show when render is set to small though). And it shows on beach lots too, I was wondering if you know of way to make it so that it is seen no matter what the view distance is etc? (I have the relevant cheats on btw) Thank you in advance!

Hey nonnie! Thanks :) Have you ticked off object hiding in the settings? Other than that, it could be camera issues.

Anonymous said:

is there a way to stop neighborhood decor from fading? I know there is the „boolprop dontmergenhflora“ cheat, but I still get some fading. for excample when I look at the lot from the street the NH decor by the street fades

That’s definitely sounds like object hiding option from the game settings :}

Anonymous said:

Hey how are you ? I hope all is well. I was wondering how is it that ts2 has no ski deco but in ts1 we had ski slope and skate lake !?? I was wondering can you and the sim community make deco or interactive items such as a ski slope or even snow shoes or just something that goes with seasons n BV pack ?

Hello anon! I hope you’re well too! Ski slope and winter sports related decos is something I wanted to make since 2016, but never had enough time to do so. Sometimes I even think about available TS2 technologies to make an animated ski lift and umm.. may be in the next ten years? ^^’‘

Anonymous said:

hello!! i'm sorry if u already answered something like this (i searched but found nothing) but the better nightlife isn't working for me :(( i put the better nightlife+voielle water on download fold and the decorations still flashing in pink light, i did something wrong? (i use win10) sorry for the inconveniente

Hey anon! Sometimes you have to do these weird steps in order to make it work:

remove Better Nightlife + water mod from your downloads folder,

load the game, load the neighborhood, make some changes, exit game

put Better Nightlife with water back. Toggle day/night with ‘L’ key to see if it works. If it’s not, than the problem is somewhere else. Pink flashing also could be unrelated to Better Nightlife, so I’d recommend to check TS2 graphics setting for Win10 manuals available.

Anonymous said:

Hello there, I'm having a problem with the rural charm, on lot view the roads have yellowish boards (idk how to explain exactly). I saw that was because of CuriousB terrain, but I don't have it downloaded anymore so I'm kinda confused. What should it be? Sorry for bothering,,,

Hello, anon! What’s current season you’re having in your game? It can be the season lighting differences that make roadside and terrain grass colors different. If it’s not, I’d check the Downloads folder to see if there’s still some terrain DRs I’ve forgot about.

@pinkflamingosims said:

Hi criquette! I was wondering if you have any idea why some hood deco cc crashes on mac, like palm 1 to 4 from the tropical 4t2 set by leoz94. Leoz94 says the only difference is the high polycount, but I don't think that's it, it looks a bit high to me but not insanely so, I have  other stuff in that range with no problem... Have a nice - evening?

Hey @pinkflamingosims! I hope you’re doing well! Yes, some hood decos are really make the game crash and frankly speaking, I think that’s jsut package related issues like broken references in the resource tree. The best way to fix this type of hood decos is to make a clean and stable new clone and replace mesh/textures again.

Anonymous said:

Hello and thank you for amazing Feverfew map! I have a problem... ground is flashing red and I cannot fix it, do you have solution for this problem? It's been soooo long when I last played Sims 2 so apparently I did something wrong when installed CC. :(

Hello anon! Thank you! Oh, red flashing could be the result of lighting mod not being installed correctly. I’d start with getting rid of any lighting mods to see if it helps.

@marv61​ said:

Hi Criquette. I just downloaded your terrain of Forkshire, it looks great! I know it has been since 2009 that you uploaded the terrain but I was wondering if you have a completed Neighborhood with houses, trees and all for download? I would love to play your version. Thanks.

Hi Patchman! Oh, goodness no! :D That was 12 years ago, those TS2 files are long gone since then.

Anonymous said:

Hi Criquette, first things first, I love your work thank you so much, you inspire me! Now the question: I have been using the dirt roads from your Rural Lanes set and found that sometimes it is difficult if not impossible to fit them to the slopes of steep terrain. Would it be possible to instead create road pieces as a texture like your Neighborhood Decals? That way they would "stick" onto the terrain regardless of shape. Wondering what you think? Love!

Hello and thank you, anon! The problem with the decals – we can’t see it in lot mode yet. And it must be a DR only so we’d have to ditch one of the Maxis’ decals for dirt road, which isn’t great too.

Anonymous said:

Hi Criquette! Will Betternightlife mod ever be updated to work with lighting mods with dawn and dusk? Is there any that already works with it? I really want to use the light up hood decos!

Hey anon! You can use it with lighting mods that add dusk and dawn to the game. For instance, there’s one here by @dreadpirate​.

Anonymous said:

Hey Criquette! I recently used your template to make lit-up hood deco buildings using the Better Nightlife mod. The day text was great! However, the night texture was being clipped by the day texture. That is, some parts of the day texture was showing through the night texture. Is there a fix for this?

Hello nonnie! I’d recommend to check the meshes to see if day/night parts clip through each other and if they aren’t I’d check if all the day/night TXMT data is correct.

@criquette​ said:

I've installed Fewerfew following all your istructions. Apparently it works but the night lamps are flashing pink even ig I've installed the mod better night light. It seems that this mod does not work properly. Any recommendation?

Being Criquette, you should know the solution to that issue yourself :P Just kidding, sorry, couldn’t resist! If it flashes pink only by night than you have to check your ‘Downloads’ folder for conflicts. If it’s flashing constantly day and night, than I’d better check graphics setting using some windows related guides available across the Internet.

Anonymous said:

Hello, I love Feverfew and it's amazing. I have a problem where Linden Tree 1A isn't showing up in my game even though it's in my downloads folder. Also the railroad tracks are flashing blue, and those are in my folder too. Thanks in advance!  :)

Hello anon! What type of the trees you’re using? Stand alone or default ones? If you’re using defaults, you can find the trees under Maxi’s oaks accordingly. As for the flashing blue railway tracks, check if you have this set in your ‘Downloads’ folder :)

Anonymous said:

Hello Criquette, before asking for help, I came to say that the Brazilian community loves your creations. But, to get to the point, anyway, I have been thinking about creating a Hood (inspired by Rio de Janeiro), so I would like to know how to create Deco Hoods for my game (the statue of Christ), I can't find that anywhere, Would you help me?

Hi there! Ah, most kind, thank you ^^ Well, there’s no big deal in creating hood decos. You have to switch your SimPE to advanced mode and after that neighborhood decoration will be visible in the catalogue to be cloned. I assume you already know how to make lot mode objects and know how to create, edit or convert meshes/textures though.

@hideshio​ said:

Hello! I found your train set (and it's AMAZING) on mts and was wondering if you had a railroad crossing sign? With the lights, X, and the red/white hand that goes down. Or the lights that go across a pole above the railroads. Thank you!  =D

Hello @hideshio​! Well, there is a railway crossing sign with lights and red/white hand included in this set :D it’s not animated though. But still!

Anonymous said:

Hi criquette, I’m a huge admirer of you work and I was wondering if you had any advice regarding road placement. Specifically the difficulty of road pieces that are deco only being able to be placed underneath the actually roads leaving it looking a little off.. if there a way to raise them higher before placing them or some kind of work around? 

Hey anon, thank you! Unfortunately, there’s no way to make decorative road pieces work for lot mode and neighborhood mode at the same time. If you lift them so they look okay in hood mode, they will float in the air in lot mode. Since my latest creations are lot mode oriented, I’ve decided to save my efforts on making road pieces even with neigborhood mode roads.

Anonymous said:

Hey Criquette. I noticed that in my Feverfew none of the buildings across the street of Feverfew Sports Hall show up. I know those are supposed to be hood deco and look like duplex buildings, but I can't figure out what I'm missing. I deleted and redownloaded everything and couldn't fix it. Also the river ends at the first bridge in front of the cathedral, so the boats next to it appear to be flying. What is going on?

Hey anon! There’s definitely some files missing. If you’ve checked and redownloaded all the files, try to replace the Feverfew neighborhood folder with initial one. The game never restores disappeared hood decos by itself. Even if they were placed in the folder after their absence is discovered.

@simping-simmer​ said:

Hi Criquette, am I remembering correctly that there is a trick you can do with SimPE to change the height of individual pieces of hood deco? I’m struggling with putting ships in my dock because if I change a CC ship’s placeability to be able to be on both land and sea, it just sinks, but if I only keep it on sea, it can’t get close enough to the shore to place it in my docks. Does this make sense at all? Lol

Hello @simping-simmer​, you’re absolutely right. You can change the height of placed hood decos via SimPE. Things you need to do are described here and here

Anonymous said:

Hello! I love all your work.  I was wondering if you had ever thought of making some desert roads along the lines of the Terrain Mod: Dusty Roads for Desert Neighbourhoods by Stev84? I love the way this looks in my desert, but unfortunately, this mod makes the road in live mode a floor, which then makes you unable to place driveways.

Hey anon! Thanks ^^ Frankly, I don’t have any plans on creating any desert related CC at all :|

Anonymous said:

Hello Criquette. I would like to thank you for all the amazing work you have done creating content for sims 2. Thanks to you all my projects are possible. My question is: Chainlink fences for neighborhood deco... Do they exist? Searching the web these past day only found for build mode. Do you know of someone who already make some for deco hood? Or kindly will you be able to make some if its not much work? My sports fields and Industrial zones will be pleased for sure! Once again, thank you! :)

Hey anon and thank you! I don’t think hood deco chainlink fences were created by someone yet, but they definitely would be a great addition to the game. I was going to create some while working on Feverfew, but never had enough time to do that. May be i’ll make one at some point in the future!

Anonymous said:

Hello, Criquette. Do you know of any way to place lots without the area around it moving? I downloaded Ousmeo's remake of your Dullsfielde and read his og post using the waytime machine. When viewing that post, Tumblr recommended similar posts, one of which seemed to be a tip to prevent good deco from moving when placing lots nearby, but that post wasn't archived, so I can't visualise it. My guess is that if anyone else knows about this, it must be the best hood decorator that ever was ;-)

Hello anon! Ugh, this TS2 ‘feature’ is driving me mad quite often too! Unfortunately, there’s no easy way to get rid of it. The only way to fix the consequences is to backup initial hood folder and when you finish placing lots, replace spoiled terrain with the initial one with SimPE or HoodReplace.

[ace-oreos]

You must be so sick of alpha and Fordo asks but you’re latest fic has given me angst potential- maybe a one-shot with alpha working with the bad batch to find Fordo post order 66 an him just breaking at the seams when he finds his Vod because he thought he lost Frodo like he lost Sev. Tears and man hugs ensue

Oh I am NEVER sick of Alpha and Fordo asks - they’re such a fun chaotic duo to write for. :D Also, Alpha working with the Bad Batch is something I never knew I needed until I saw your ask and I would absolutely write something with all of them again. I cannot express how difficult it was to not go off on a tangent about Hunter.

In true Sev style, I chose Kashyyyk as the main location for this one. It’s just so useful for these kinds of things.

Also. Y’all. I did not realize until I was four pages into this that I forgot Echo. So uh... whoops?  😅 😂 With that in mind, let me warn you that this is WAY longer than the other fics. I have no idea what happened. I have no idea what I’m doing.

Also also, thank goodness for Wookiepedia lmao

Edit with tags: @dudewhynotthis @merspots @the-mandalorian-clone-lover @delta-the-mando (taglist is open!) 

“Captain.” The sergeant keeps his distance even now, face inscrutable as he surveys Alpha. 

“Alpha,” he corrects half-heartedly, more for the sergeant’s sake than his own. 

“Alpha,” Hunter amends. “We’ll be entering the Mid Rim soon - maybe an hour, hour and a half tops.”

“Good to know.” Alpha knows he sounds despondent at best, but he’s hit enough dead ends by now to know all too well this will likely be a fruitless endeavor. There’s nowhere in the galaxy safe from him - not when his brother’s life is hanging in balance.

But it’s a big galaxy, with little regard for individual yearning or emotion. Alpha can vow to upend the galaxy as much as he likes, but the fact is they’ve only so much time, and only so many resources, and...

And maybe Hunter picks up on that, in that way of his as he observes Alpha without further comment. The sergeant is as much his vod as anyone else Alpha has encountered. Still beyond him sometimes, a little too other for Alpha to ever fully mesh with him or his brothers, but he’s a good soldier. A good man. 

“We’ve always got room for another,” are Hunter’s parting words as he makes his way back to the cockpit. 

If you find out your brother was dead all along. 

Alpha doubts it was anything less than a genuine offer, but it isn’t the only route. Not until I’ve exhausted every other option. And even then....

It doesn’t do, to let himself become so intertwined with a brother until he isn’t entirely sure he knows who he is without the other. He’d tried, both for his brothers and for his own peace of mind, to put a stop to it before it went too far. And maybe that was Jango getting in his head more than Alpha ever should have allowed, but he’d thought it was the right thing to do.

Sometimes I can’t help but wonder...

________________________

“ - you know as well as I do we’ve been going in circles for weeks now - ”

“Yeah, you might’ve mentioned that once or twice…”

“You said it yourself - we’ll get ourselves killed if we aren’t careful.”

“So we’ll be careful.” Hunter’s voice holds a note of finality. “We can keep rehashing this conversation, or we can help a vod.”

Alpha doesn’t catch the muttered reply, but it’s hardly amenable, if Hunter’s sigh is anything to go by. He can’t blame them, really - Fordo isn’t their brother, and outside of combat they’ve little common ground. And it’s only natural for Crosshair to raise the questions none of them are yet ready to face. Alpha thinks he could learn to like the man, given time. 

He reigns in his thoughts before entering the cockpit. The least he can do is put on a rational front. This whole thing isn’t at all rational, but the Bad Batch seem to understand better than others. It runs deeper than brotherhood here, whatever it is, and Alpha is irrepressibly reminded of Fordo, somehow - 

(And osik, does that thought burn, dig under his skin to remind him once again that he failed, that should he redeem himself it will be not on his terms but likely an inconsequential whim of a galaxy that cares nothing for them or everything they’ve fought so hard to hold on to - )

“Y’know, I’m not sure we’ve ever been to Kashyyyk,” Wrecker muses. “That’s a first.”  If he’s trying to divert Alpha’s attention from Crosshair, it’s a skillful effort that almost takes Alpha aback. “‘Course, I only remember the fun parts,” he adds as an impish afterthought.

“Anything with explosives, you mean?” Alpha asks drily. 

Wrecker grins. “Something like that.”

You and Fordo would get along fine.

What leaves his mouth is, “I don’t suppose anyone has any relevant information about this place?”

Right on cue, Tech pipes up from his position alongside Crosshair. “Actually…”

Tech is just as much of an efficient distraction in his own right. It’s not exactly the height of strategy on Alpha’s part, but once again it redirects attention. He has no doubt Hunter sees right through it; still, the man has enough tact to refrain from commenting.

You understand, I think, Alpha decides, watching exasperation and amusement play across Hunter’s face in turns as his brothers’ bickering fills the cockpit. You would go to hell and back for them, wouldn’t you, Sergeant? 

Hunter casts him a wary glance. Alpha holds his gaze.

There’s too much we can’t say. It’s okay, vod - I think I’m starting to understand too.

________________________

Kashyyyk is dishearteningly vast, all sprawling jungles and endless island chains set on a swath of ocean that dissects the planet’s hemispheres. Getting in was no easy task, what with the Imperial blockade cutting off the planet from others in its sector. But Tech’s adroit piloting had come through, and they’d slipped past the blockade with little disturbance.

“You really think your buddy is here?” Crosshair asks dubiously, surveying the area with a distinct air of displeasure.

“I’ve seen the records,” Alpha says, as much to reassure himself as the other man. “The Empire’s tighter with the book-keeping, I’ll give them that. Fordo’s unit lost contact not long before Order Sixty-six went down. If they made it out, it would be on record somewhere.”

“And if they didn’t?”

Alpha battles his temper into submission before replying. “Then they would be confirmed KIA. But they’re still listed as missing as of two weeks ago.”

“Sounds like you’re leaving an awful lot to chance,” Crosshair opines. There isn’t malice in his voice so much as an unmistakable note of disapproval. “What’s your plan if it turns out they were just waiting for reinforcements and pulled out days ago? That leaves us here in the heart of Imperial occupation.”

“I haven’t forgotten,” Alpha says grimly. “But if they lost comms before the order came through, then there’s a chance they aren’t with the Empire. Their main focus would be survival, not falling in line nice and neat like Palpatine expects.”

It’s clear there are a number of objections rising to the forefront of Crosshair’s mind, but the man keeps them to himself. There’s a conflict brewing there, Alpha knows, but that’s a matter to address at another time. 

“There’s an area south of here where all comm signals go dead,” Tech announces, tapping furiously at the device mounted on his vambrace. “According to intel, the Wookies call it the Black Forest.”

“Sounds inviting,” Hunter says. “What’s the deal with it?”

“A prison ship crashed there centuries ago,” Tech relays. “The Wookies believe it’s cursed, so they avoid it whenever possible. It’s possible Fordo and whoever was left were driven back by the Seps - or it was a desperate bid and he was banking on the droids not following somewhere they can’t maneuver well. But why cut himself off from allies…?”

“The forward operating base was set up in Kachirho,” Alpha muses aloud “There was another commando squad deployed here, but they were retasked shortly after Order Sixty-six. If Fordo’s here, I doubt he would hang around anywhere with high Imperial activity.”

If he were operating alone, the decision would be simple. But he has the welfare of four other men to consider now; one wrong move, and they’ll all end up on the business end of a blaster.

With that in mind, Alpha looks to Hunter. “Sergeant. What do you think?”

“It’s your call,” Hunter answers. “If you have reason to think your brother is hiding out here, then I think it’s worth taking a look. So long as we go careful, I don’t see why the Imperials should notice us.”

Wrecker’s chuckle fills the comms. “Famous last words.”

_________________________

For all that they have a reputation for being unorthodox - a reputation that is doubtless justly earned - the Bad Batch can pull off stealth pretty well, too. It comes as a bit of a surprise, if Alpha is being honest, but if nothing else the overarching threat of Hunter’s wrath is enough to keep them in line. 

“Keep an eye out for slavers,” Tech warns. “The whole planet has been a hotspot for them ever since the CIS first let them in.”

It’d be just our luck to run into slavers, Alpha thinks wryly. Individually they’re not much of a threat, but a group of Trandoshans spells trouble for anyone. Even without the training to back it up, their brutality can overpower even an ARC trooper. ‘Course, it’d be just like you to get into a mess like that, Fordo…

“We’ll be a bigger target if we travel as a group,” Hunter says. 

“If we split up we might as well ask for a death sentence,” Alpha cautions. Typically his first choice would be to operate alone, but between the slavers, the Imperials, and the remnants of the Separatist forces, he’s starting to think their strength might lie in numbers this time. 

Alpha mulls it over. Greater numbers means slower going. If we split up, we’ll be able to cover more ground. It’ll be risky, but - payoff is worth it. 

“We’ll move faster this way,” Hunter says, echoing Alpha’s thoughts. “Wrecker, Tech, you’re with me. Cross…” He fixes his brother with a stern stare. “Don’t do anything stupid. Alpha has my full permission to stop you by any means necessary.”

Alpha rewards the sergeant with a wolfish grin. “I’ll hold you to that.”

He can’t read Crosshair half as well as the others, but the sniper doesn’t appear altogether displeased. He merely shrugs when Alpha jerks his head towards the route they’ll be following, and trails after him without argument.

Silence lays thick over the jungle. There’s an odd rustle here and there, interspersed with faint growls from time to time, but progress is relatively smooth. Alpha takes pains to remain on guard; just because he can’t see a threat doesn’t mean they’re in the clear. 

Before long the silence is disconcerting. Given the planet’s Wookie population, there should be regular movement around them, or some sign of existence. But this stretch of the jungle is oddly lacking. 

“This doesn’t feel right,” Crosshair mutters. 

“Guess no one’s home,” Alpha answers absently, scrutizining the terrain. “Look - there’s no sign of a fight. Maybe no one was here to begin with.”

“Kachirho isn’t too far from here,” Crosshair points out. “You don’t think it’s a little odd that this path hasn’t been used at all?”

“It is,” Alpha allows, “but look at it this way. We’re traveling the way we’ve been trained to in this kind of setting. The Wookies probably have their own methods for getting around.”

“It’s still weird,” Crosshair decides. “And if your brother really was here, we’d have found evidence of that, too.”

He isn’t wrong, but it nonetheless stings to hear the man voice the doubtful thoughts that have been creeping up on Alpha. Still, we’ve come this far. What have we got to lose?

(More than he’s willing to surrender. But Crosshair doesn’t need to know that.)

“Let’s keep moving,” Alpha says, sharper than he intends. 

“Hang on,” Crosshair says suddenly. “Contact - ”

Alpha pivots in time to see a Trandoshan emerge from the surrounding foliage. The lizard is taller and more solid than he previously anticipated; instead of hitting it head-on like he initially planned, Alpha redirects in order to avoid being gutted on the lizard’s knife. 

He hears the shot and the telltale thump of the lizard falling to the ground. As Alpha picks himself up, Crosshair scans the area through the scope of his rifle. 

“Oh, shab,” the sniper hisses. 

It doesn’t take long for Alpha to locate the cause of Crosshair’s disgruntlement. A group of Trandoshans lurches towards them. Alpha does a rapid assessment: each lizard is packing some sort of ranged weapon - including slugthrowers, he notes unenthusiastically - and most are carrying an assortment of knives.

“Ideas?” Crosshair asks tersely. 

“They’ll just follow us if we run,” Alpha says. “It’ll save us trouble in the long run if we take them now.” 

“I can see why Hunter likes you,” Crosshair says, oddly nonchalant considering the circumstances, and fires. 

With Crosshair covering ranged attacks, Alpha elects the more up-close-and-personal option. The slavers have the advantage of size, but Trandoshans aren’t renowned for their intelligence. As long as he stays in motion the risk of having his throat slit is greatly reduced. 

Alpha targets a straggler first. He hits low, knocking the lizard off balance and sending it staggering into another. The other makes a grab for him, but Alpha is already ramming his vibroblade into the first slaver’s exposed neck. Using the limp body as a buffer, Alpha pushes against the other lizard, trying to force it onto its back foot. 

Just as he feels his opponent’s defense start to give, another three descend on him. Cursing, Alpha throws himself aside before they can hem him in. One of the slavers has enough presence of mind to bring his knife down on Alpha’s unprotected back; the force of the blow has him crashing to the ground. 

Alpha scrambles for a foothold, but one of the lizards seizes his leg in a vicelike grip. He writhes instinctively, kicking out with his other foot. He feels the impact more than sees it and wrenches himself free. 

Just as a third lizard fills the other’s place, there’s a crack from Crosshair’s rifle, and the lizard topples. Alpha springs to his feet to avoid being crushed by several hundred kilos of Trandoshan. The others are wary now, trying to divide their attention between him and Crosshair. 

Alpha doesn’t give them time to choose. This time he uses his blaster to put a round through the closest target. It’s not quite enough to put the lizard out of commission entirely, so he follows up with a quick succession of bolts. 

It’s not exactly an even match, but things aren’t going as badly as he first feared, Alpha thinks. No sooner does the thought cross his mind than his helmet flashes a warning. He turns to deflect the attack coming from behind, but he moves too late and steps directly into the strike. 

The slaver’s curved knife skids off Alpha’s breastplate and sinks into his bodysuit in the gap between the cuirass and the shoulder bell. Alpha manages to pull away, but not before the knife catches the underside of his arm and slices a gash halfway down his bicep.

A line of pain sears through his arm. There’s no doubt the Trandoshan cut deep into the muscle. That arm is effectively useless now; Alpha grimly switches his knife to the other hand. 

He doesn’t have eyes on Crosshair from his current position, but the rasping breaths and occasional curses over the comms suggest the sniper isn’t having an easy time of it either. Time to fall back and reassess.

“Let’s pull back. We might be able to lose them.” Alpha bites the inside of his cheek to suppress a hiss of pain when his wounded arm is jostled. “We can’t take them now, at any rate.”

“You might want to rethink that, alor’ad…”

Crosshair jerks his head to indicate the slavers pouring into the area. There’s a slim chance they’ll be able to slip by, but not without risking serious injury. Slowing down to accommodate a bad hit would mean certain death or capture.

Pinned down. Shabla brilliant. 

Alpha makes an effort to keep his rapidly rising alarm in check. “We’ll have to hold them off, then.”

“There’s no way,” Crosshair objects. “We’re outnumbered eight to one.”

Alpha sends a slaver sprawling rather than answer. He can see it as plainly as Crosshair, but he’s not going to lay down and die, not when his brother is still out there somewhere, not when there’s still a chance they could pull this off -

He hasn’t been this close in weeks and it isn’t his place to gamble anyone else’s life but his own, but even now he can’t bring himself to give in and he understands in a sudden flash of clarity that this is where he will always fail - because he has a foothold, now, and even though all logic points to turning back for once he can’t give in - 

An arm clamps around his neck. Alpha thrashes, trying to throw his attacker off, but now that he’s been caught off guard the lizard has an advantage. His vision begins to blur at the edges and he redoubles his efforts, fueled in no small part by panic at being unable to draw breath. 

He doesn’t know where Crosshair is anymore. He can hardly see beyond his own hands, scrabbling desperately at the arm locked around his neck. 

No sooner does his vision begin to fade than the crushing pressure on his neck abruptly loosens. Alpha hits the ground gracelessly, coughing violently as he tries to inhale. His breath rattles in his throat, but his vision gradually returns. 

He lurches to his feet and assumes a defensive stance as best he can. He’s lost track of how many slavers are still standing - too many is his best estimate.

But the man standing before him isn’t an enemy. He’s -

“Vod,” Fordo says softly. 

Alpha can only stare at his brother in stunned silence, momentarily deaf to the ongoing struggle around them. Fordo....

“Later,” his brother promises. 

______________________

“So how’d you end up running with them?” Fordo asks with a nod towards the Bad Batch. 

“It’s complicated,” Alpha says lightly. “Too much to unpack now, at any rate.”

Fordo laughs. He’s battered and weary, with something lurking in his gaze Alpha can’t quite decipher yet, but it’s Fordo, and that’s more than enough. 

“It’s quiet here,” Fordo remarks. “I like that.”

“‘S nice,” Alpha agrees. 

They’re still hovering just above the surface. Tentative. It’s not exactly what Alpha is accustomed to, but for Fordo’s sake he lets his brother take the lead. 

“Everything’s gone sideways, hasn’t it,” Fordo says suddenly. 

“It has,” Alpha admits. There’s no use pretending otherwise. “But we’ll find a way through.”

Fordo flashes a small smile. “You’re good at that.”

Alpha merely shrugs. There’s a thousand other things he wants to say, but he hasn’t the faintest clue where to begin. Finally he ventures carefully, “Y’know, for a while now I thought this mission did you in.”

Fordo lets out a long sigh. “I was starting to think it might, myself.”

“I…” Alpha breaks off, startled by the sudden pressure behind his eyes. It worsens when he tries to continue. “I don’t know what I would’ve - ”

He falters again. I care more than I should. I never should’ve let that happen, but even now I don’t know if I regret it.

“Alpha,” Fordo says softly, and pulls him into an embrace.

Alpha doesn’t know how much time passes before he finally disentangles himself from Fordo as gently as he can and scrubs at the hot trails on his face. He can’t quite bring himself to feel any shame over it. He’s never been given to such displays, but… Fordo is his vod. 

“So what’s the plan, alor’ad?” Fordo asks with a familiar note of mischief in his voice.

Alpha smiles despite himself. “It’s a big galaxy.”

“We’ve got time.”

“Yeah,” Alpha laughs. “We have time.”