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dracosaurusrex · 4 years ago

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Bookworms (Part 2) | Draco x Reader

Summary: The feelings that Y/N and Draco have for one another continues to increase as their relationship begins to bloom.

Word count: 3.3k

Genre: Fluff; enemies-to-friends-to-lovers

TW: Slight bullying, but not too bad.

A/N: Hi! Thank you so much for all the support @.@ Here’s another chapter! It’s might not be much, but I think I like it hehe. Love is in the small things, I suppose. There’s not much dialogue in the beginning, but that’s compensated towards the end :) I hope you enjoy! Feedback is very much appreciated :D

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You wake up to the feeling of warmth. Warmth in your fingers, in your arms, and in your face. It covers the expanse of your body as your surroundings come into view. As your eyes and consciousness adjust to your environment, you immediately go red. Looking down, you see that your fingers are interlocked with someone else’s, the owner’s right arm is draped over your waist, and your legs are entangled with his. You were in someone’s embrace. Before you could identify who this person is, small breaths of air brush your forehead, alerting your attention upward. You gasp silently at the sight of Draco’s peaceful face while your heart speeds up to a rate that is comparable to that of a seeker attempting a 50 m dive for the snitch--it was very fast.

You don’t dare to move your fingers from his grasp. Rather, you begin to analyze all of his features. It is then that you notice the way his eyelids are shut peacefully, and how his lashes feather his cheeks. The scowl that usually graces his face is absent, relieving the tension that is often settled in between his eyebrows. His lips are opened slightly--his bottom one pouting more outward than its upper counterpart. His platinum locks flutter slightly over his eyes, making him look more angelic in contrast to his typical gittish appearance. Your focus travels down to where your fingers interlace into his. His hands are comparable to yours in size and in texture. While you had long fingers and soft hands, his was slightly bigger, longer, and much more rough in characteristic. And yet, they caress yours so well. You take the opportunity to completely intertwine your fingers with his, giving his hand a squeeze with hopes that he wouldn’t stir from his slumber. With full consciousness now, you press your ear against him, listening to the steady rhythm of his heart.

A couple minutes pass by, filled with the soothing sounds of his lingering beats. You begin to gently untangle yourself from his limbs, lifting each with care and placing them delicately on the bed. As soon as you slid off, you began to loosen the sheets from underneath him, trying your hardest to be as discrete as possible. Taking them with a firm grasp, you lift it over Draco’s body, stopping just below his shoulders. A smile appears as you stand and stare at his peaceful face. With much care, you sweep stray platinum strands away from his eyes. Your fingers gently stroke his porcelain skin. He was a beautiful boy.

Stepping away from the sight, you walk towards your belongings and rummage through them before pulling out a quill and paper. You then take a seat at his desk, settling yourself comfortably, while looking at the items left astray on the surface. Books and parchment littered the space. An ink bottle was left open, and a quill was perched on a stand. Lined up against the wall was a small collection of books. Ones that contrasted greatly from the vibrant cover of the memory police. Each of them were written on subjects that weren’t taught at school. You suspected that he probably studied them due to the demands of his parents.

Tearing your attention away, you gently dip your quill in the inkwell, totally focusing in on your task at hand. On the piece of parchment before you, you lay down a pattern of dots, connecting them with lines to form a familiar constellation. It was Draco. Recalling a few facts you knew from the astronomy books you’ve read, you write one with much care followed by a small message. It causes your mind to drift to the boy behind you, knowing that he’s much more than the image he portrays to the world. A sense of fondness overcomes you and you smile at the thought of him. You begin to fold the paper as soon as you place the quill down. Its creases and folds form into a crane. Satisfied with your work, you reach for the Happy Prince, and tuck the crane within the middle of the pages.

Sounds of shuffling interrupt your train of thought. When you look to your side, you see the boy stirring from his sleep, opening his eyes shortly. His eyelashes batter innocently before realizing that you were gone from his grasp. He jolts upward in response, looking for any signs of your presence. Once he sees you, the frantic look that was fixed on his expression dissipates.

“You could’ve woke me up.” He states. You throw him a soft smile.

“You looked so peaceful. I didn’t want to disturb you.” Draco’s heart flutters before he recomposes himself. He shifts his body, so that he’s sitting at the edge of his bed.

“What are you up to now?” He asks with yawn.

“Something for you.” You hand the object to him. As he takes it, he begins to scan the cover with adoration.

“I suppose this is for you as well.” He picks up the book from his nightstand and passes it to you. As you grab it, you begin to trace its edges before flipping it to look at the back for the summary.

“Did you enjoy it?” You ask.

“Very much. I hate to admit it, but muggles are quite the storytellers.” His statement shocks you.

“Oh shove off, Y/N. Don’t give me that look.” He scowls at you. In response you raise your hands up in defense and his eyes soften.

“You have a good point. I’m compelled to read it now. Thank you.” You say simply. Within the silence, the faint sound of the bell erupts, indicating the time.

“I should get going. I still have studying to do.” You announce as you stand up from the bed. As you gather your belongings, you turn back to look at him.

“Thank you for spending time with me again.” The sweet smile that you give elicits a matching one from Draco’s lips. He raises himself to lead you to the door. As you step into the hallway, you turn around to give him your farewell.

“Do you think we can do this again? Saturday’s at Avenoir and Sunday’s in the dorm?” He asks while he scratches the back of his neck. You nod happily.

“It’s settled then.” There was an undeniable gleam in your eyes. One that makes his heart flutter for the umpteenth time that day. After you depart from his room, the boy walks to his bed, picking up The Happy Prince. As he flips through the pages, the paper crane falls out. He gingerly picks it up and delicately unfolds it. What he finds inside creates an explosion of warmth in his chest. Depicted is his constellation, and below it, “The guardian of the star that never moves.” He moves his fingers to trace the lines that were etched into the page and smiles as his eyes scan over your message: “Hope you’re ready for another adventure :)” It’s so characteristic of you. He folds the crane back up and inserts it within the pockets of his book bag.

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The week goes by as it usually does, with the exception of an eventful Wednesday night. While you normally study in your dorm alone, Draco studies in the common room surrounded by the company of his friends. To his dismay, however, his companions tend to engage in conversations that are irrelevant to the assignments given. On most days, he is able to tune the noise out and concentrate on his work, but on this particular day the mentioning of your name piques his attention.

The assignment given out for potions that day was particularly difficult, resulting in complaints being made by those around him. As they do so, he initially keeps his focus on the information given in his textbook.

“Snape is really out to get us now, huh? This assignment is a killer.” Pansy is the first to speak. Daphne agrees.

“Agreed. What’s the point of writing an essay on the properties of Moonstone when you can just read the book like a normal person?” She exclaims.

“I bet that Y/L/N is breezing through this, huh? Why is she even in Slytherin? She might as well be in Ravenclaw with all those books she buries herself in.” Theo took a turn to speak. Draco stops his writing at the sound of his statement, but keeps his head facing down as he tunes into the conversation.

“Tell me about it, the sorting hat must’ve been sick when she was sorted.” The group starts laughing. When Draco looks up, he sees that Blaise had also kept his head down, eyes staring hard at the parchment in front of him. He looks up at him and gives an exasperated expression. A tinge of annoyance kindles in the blonde’s heart, yet he makes no sound.

“Y/L/N should really know her place. Did you see her when I spoke to Draco this past Sunday? She really had the nerve to mock me. She ought to keep her nose stuck in those books if she knows what’s good for her.” Astoria finally spoke out. Astoria, who was two years younger than her sister, Daphne, had a massive crush on the boy. She ensured that everyone knew of it also--even Draco himself. Unlike Y/N, she was proud. Proud of her family name, proud of her looks, proud of her blood status. She would be the perfect fit for him within the eyes of his parents’ standards. However, she wasn’t anything like you. Furthermore, it angered him knowing that these people spoke so lowly of you. You were much more than anything and everything that they had to say.

As the boy immersed himself in anger, he catches sight of you as you enter the common room from the dorms. His eyes linger on you as you swiftly make your way to the entrance of the dungeons. Without any hesitance, he collects his stuff and places it into his bag, preparing to follow you.

“Draco, where are you going?” Daphne asks.

“Somewhere else to write this bloody essay. You all are damn noisy.” He says with a cold tone embedded in voice. The group looks at him in shock. He’s normally very tolerant of the insults that are thrown amongst them. As he steps away from them, he looks back with vile-looking eyes.

“You idiots know nothing of Y/N. Leave her alone.” The ordeal attracts the attention of every student in the common room. They look at the boy with astonishment as he exits the Slytherin confines. It was the first time he defended anyone other than his family, and he had done so with just as much passion. He doesn’t care much about the shocked eyes, however. Instead, he’s more concerned about your whereabouts, envisioning the smile that gives him peace of mind. As he walks out, his mind remains occupied with anger. He mentally throws insults to the sorry excuse of a group, without giving much attention to where he was going. As a result, he bumps into something hard. It was you.

“Hey! Watch where you’re go- Draco! Are you on your way to the library too?” The genuine look in your eyes automatically relieves him of the bitterness that lingers in his mind.

“Yes, I am actually. I couldn’t concentrate in the common room.” He says truthfully. You nod your head in understanding.

“It can get rather loud in there. I don’t blame you.” His mind drifts back to the conversation his friends had just a few minutes ago. He then drifts to you. Beneath your quiet and focused demeanor was a vibrant and genuine personality. One that was so intelligent, witty, and resourceful, yet caring and empathic to a select few. He can’t help but to get angry for you.

You both enter the library and quickly find a seat. As you do so, you pull out your materials before exploring the sections for books on Moonstone. The boy sets down his belongings to follow you. When he finds you, you’re seen with an arm outstretched, struggling to reach a book from the top shelf. Draco gets behind you and reaches for the book with ease. He chuckles at your stunned face.

“You seem to have forgotten my height in comparison to yours.” You roll your eyes, trying to get the book from his grasp.

“Give it here you git. I found it first.” You spew out as you jump to retrieve it. Instead he snickers at you, and raises it higher.

“Draco!” You whisper harshly before jumping again. This time you grip his shoulders and push off, successfully retrieving the book from his hand before landing. However, your feet don’t touch the ground quite properly, resulting in you stumbling over. With quick reflexes, Draco wraps his around the small of your back, and holds your body against his in attempts to steady you. The action makes you both freeze in shock. You felt his warmth before, but you were sleeping then. Now that you were fully awake and conscious, the feel of his body against yours becomes so real, and there’s a flush of red that covers both your faces. After realizing the amount of time that has passed, the boy loosens his grip on you, and you step back.

“Let’s go back?” You ask him nervously.

“Uh yea.” His response holds the same kind of energy as you turn to walk towards the table. You get through your work with racing hearts. It was the first time you two had sat together with a purpose other than reading. You would’ve expected that it’d be easier to concentrate on your work in comparison to reading when he was around. With the whole scene playing in your mind, however, that is proven to be less likely. Nevertheless, you make an attempt to progress, flipping through pages and taking notes. Your efforts in focusing are fruitful as you continue to wrap your mind around the subject at hand. However, it is only when you feel someone’s gaze that you stop.

You catch the conflicted look on Draco’s face, making you stop yourself from writing.

“Are you alright?” The question catches him off guard, and his face contorts when he thinks of the conversation yet again.

“Draco, is there something bothering you?” You ask again with a little more concern. He lets out a sigh.

“Y/N, in a hypothetical scenario, how would you deal with people talking behind your back?” You sit there without reacting for a moment, recollecting an appropriate response.

“It hurts to find out, but I guess reading or being in my own world helps to tune out the irrelevant stress.” It’s a truthful response, that much Draco knows. It’s you after all.

“Have you ever wanted revenge?” The boy props his head on the palm of his hand, his elbow on the surface of the table. He looks at you with pure curiosity.

“It’s pointless, don’t you think? To stoop on the level of those who already showed they’re beneath you? Regardless of what they said, if I didn’t do anything wrong, the only problem lies with them. Not me. I would appreciate it, though, if someone told me if I ever did something wrong or offensive. Besides that, revenge is a waste of energy. To be frank, it’s more satisfying to see the karma go back to them. Sorry for sounding harsh.” He shakes his head in objection to your apology.

“But why?” He asks as he begins to question himself.

“It’s a waste of energy, it gets in the way of my business, and I don’t need anyone to throw me off.” The way you respond conveys a fire in your eyes. No one can stop you from achieving the things you want, and your awareness of that excites him. At the same time, however, his knowledge of your independence and sense of responsibility enforces the feeling of worry within him.

“Y/N?”

“Yes, Draco?” The boy sits up and shuffles slightly in his seat. The words that he wants to say next are not things others would typically hear him say.

“Slytherin’s code.” He says simply. When you don’t understand what he was referring to, you quirk a brow upward.

“Come again?” He sighs. You can see him fidgeting with his fingers.

“You’ve seen me at my worst and took care of me. I’ll look after you too..if you let me that is.” You look at him stunned. It wasn’t like him to express his feelings so openly. As a few minutes pass, he begins to grow weary of your lack of response. Before you could say anything, he beats you to it.

“I understand if you don’t want it. I-” Your eyes widen.

“No! I do!” You raised your voice mindlessly. After remembering where you were, you repeat yourself slowly with a softer tone.

“I do, truly. I enjoy your presence, Draco. I treasure you.” Your genuine words come out stumbling, and the flush that you tried to suppress finds you again. You look down at your lap, starting to play with the edges of your skirt. Silence fills the air for a moment until you cautiously look up at him. A satisfied smile graces his lips and his eyes are filled with something you can’t exactly comprehend. It makes your heart race, nevertheless.

“D-don’t look at me like that.” You glance back down before looking up again. He still has the same expression on his face. You push his shoulder slightly.

“Stop.” You say again as you try to suppress your smile. You fail miserably. Draco on the other hand is filled with joy and relief at the sound of your words. His focus is fixated on you with much adoration. There were plenty of things people could say about you, yet your response has always been so eloquent, elegant, graceful, and wise. You were resilient. Today, your hair was up in a ponytail, but in Draco’s eyes, your beauty surpassed that of physical appearance--one that Astoria could never top. You were amazing, you made him better, and he was aware of all of that.

“I for you and you for me?” He asks earnestly. The sincerity in his voice prompts you to come to terms with the seriousness of the matter. As you meet his gaze, you see that he has a pinky extended upward and outward over the table.

“Blaise told me it’s a muggle thing to make promises with pinkies. I think it’s stupid, but in this case I suppose it’s...fitting.” You chuckled as the hint of his familiar arrogant tone emerges when he tries to defend himself. You wrapped your pinky delicately around his, and pressed the pad of his thumb with yours to seal it.

“I for you and you for me.” You say softly, yet so contently. Neither of you break from the position. Instead, you simply resume your work--you write and cross reference with your right hand, while Draco reads, using his left to flip pages from his textbook. You’d glance at the view occasionally, heart skipping beats at the sight of his finger wrapped around yours. After working for a while, you take a break and stare at his focused expression. If your past self saw you, she’d be raging, but now his presence represented new beginnings. For once, you didn’t feel alone within the school grounds. For once, there was someone who was willing to care for you as much as you for him. For once, you felt safe right where you were--pinkies tangled together and all. Draco being there encompassed all those things, and you couldn’t be more content.

You tightened your grip around his finger. Without looking up at you, he does the same.

A/N: I want to thank you again if you make it this far! Let me know what you think :D Other than that, I hope you have a good day!

A few tags! C:

@fadesbrina @redheaded-hobbit @ccabian @rottenhexrt

#Draco Malfoy #draco malfoy fanfiction #draco malfoy imagines #draco lucius malfoy #draco malfoy x reader #draco malfoy x y/n #draco malfoy x you #draco x reader #draco x you #draco x y/n

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zachsgamejournal · 2 years ago

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COMPLETED: AER: Memories of Old

Another of my type of games. It's got the essential elements: exploration, platforming, puzzles, and story. As much as I enjoyed it, though, it was a bit shallow. Not really in a bad way, just--I want more!

I will say--this is essentially what I expected from Skyward Sword. So void filled.

Let's start with what I love about the game:

Open World

Exploration

Great Mood

No Combat Necessary

Story

Graphics/Style

No so great:

Short

Nothing to do...

Graphics/Style

Starting in the rear here. I dig blocky graphics, so I was very accepting of this game's style. But to be hyper-critical: it wasn't blocky enough. Most of the environments are fine, but I think the characters still had too many polygons. Closer to PS2 than PS1. I would have preferred PS1.

But I found it really intriguing how they don't really use textures. Similar to classic, early PS1/N64 games--every polygon is a solid color. The character faces lack eyes or any detail. I don't mind it, and I'm impressed with how they make it work. There are a few patterns, when necessary--but not in a way that looks out of whack.

But even with the blocky, no-texture graphics--the animations are great. And the camera work, when on the rare occasion there's a "cut-scene", is perfect for the tone and project. While the graphical style was to minimize resources required--it's pulled off expertly.

Open World/Exploration

The game world is quite impressive. It's a series of floating islands amongst the clouds and there are A LOT of islands of varying sizes and shapes. Immediately I was like YES--this is what Skyward sword was supposed to be! In truth, some of the islands feel nearly as large as the playable "ground" areas of Skyward sword--so obviously it can be achieved. The game also cleverly uses clouds to hide sections. Maybe this hides loading, but at the very least it helps makes sections feel "isolated", like how Disney World's Magic Kingdom somehow makes each "kingdom" feel...I don't know. Isolated. Not able to describe it well right now.

The game is actually quite linear, but they let you "discover" where to go--much like Ocarina of time. The clues are pretty direct, but there's always a little mystery that can only be resolved through genuine discovery.

But sadly, only about 5-10% of the game world is used (or at least required). And that's the biggest sin of the game. It's so interesting and well crafted, but the majority of the world just goes to waste. I wish there was some sort of collection mechanism. It would be...silly, but at least it would have inspired exploring this awesome world.

Actually, what they should have done is had several characters that send you on side questions. Maybe a map-maker wants you to find certain landmarks and report back. Or there's an archaeologist that wants you to unravel some history and what not. This would allow the game to stay focus but also inspire the player to explore the world with purpose.

Did I mention you can turn into a bird and fly. It's pretty awesome. Just like in Skyward Sword, you flap around--but it actually uses airplane controls, thank god!

Story/Mood

The story is pretty straight forward but interesting. And honestly, it's up to snuff with most AAA games that are basically just self-indulgent 20 minute cut scene fests meant to cover up their lack of depth and originality with "production value".

Maybe that's harsh.

I think this game is, potentially, tearing down christianity a bit. Basically there was a creator and then there multiple gods and talking animals. But then a group of violent extremist decided there was one god-king and that all other gods were trash. Then they started going around murdering people and burning sacred texts and stuff.

Also, I think AER is supposed to be a resource of power, or something...I don't know.

There's a bit of sadness in the game. Moral seems to be that there's not really evil, but that mankind can develop a void that corrupts their view of the world. And a lot of the immortal beings that offer their help have to essentially die to give it. So interesting.

Short

The worst part of the game is also a strength. It's short. Really short. I probably spent 2-3 hours playing and that included getting lost a few times. It doesn't bother me, I like short games if the experience is "full". And I think this game succeeds in that. But with as large as the world is--it could have had much more. I think that more should have been optional, but to have nothing...that was disappointing.

Dungeons

The dungeons are ok. They're VERY large--like, why do they need to be this big. I think some of the layout could be confusing, but I figured it out without much trouble. I think for younger or newer gamers, these dungeons would be too advanced. But for an experience user it wasn't so bad.

No Combat

Mad respect for excluding combat. I think I briefly read this was a complaint, as it would have filled out the experience--but it truly would have just been filler. Combat should be meaningful, and I thought it was great not to have it. Not everyone wants to fight their way through an experience. Like, they cheaply could have hidden weapons and equipment around the world and had enemies of different levels requiring the player to grind and level up, and suddenly the 3 hour game would be 9 hours and all that empty space would have been filled in. But at the same time, it would have just been filler that added time more than value.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed it. And I could totally see myself playing it again one afternoon just to enjoy the magical simplicity of it. I'd love to see these game devs make more projects that are similar!

#Zach's Game Journal #COMPLETED #AER: Memories of Old #Video Games #Good Old Games #PC gaming #gaming

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spacerocksarethebestrocks · 3 years ago

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I love rocks! I have a collection of rocks. Can you please talk about rock please? Anything you'd like to say!

Nonnie. I love you.

So. I'm going to talk about some rocks from my collection, that I picked up on a field trip earlier this year. And the thing is nonnie. The thing is.

They aren't even rocks.

So where I live there are lots of ancient lead mines, and we visited some on our field trip. The ancient mines at Charterhouse date back to the Roman period. There was also silver found there. The lecturer told us that silver jewellery has been found in Rome that can be traced back to the mines in South West England, which is pretty cool.

But what does this have to do with my rocks that aren't rocks?

The mines at Charterhouse were active until the 1800s, and have left behind a large amount of slag. "What is slag?" I hear you ask. Well, nonnie, slag is just the term we give to the rocks left over after the mining process.

So far, so boring.

Now, the slag I picked up is not a rock. It looks like a rock, but it is man made, so it is not technically a rock. However, it is really cool.

Why is it cool?

The slag produced by the Charterhouse mines ore refining process was essentially lava. Very very hot molten silica. Because of this, the slag has some really cool textures, that usually can only be found in places like Hawaii, or Iceland.

But it's not Hawaii or Iceland. It's the middle of the Mendip hills.

So what kind of textures am I talking about?

First up: glassy.

You're forgiven for thinking that that's not very exciting. It isn't, really. But it is very pretty.

If produced naturally, this would be obsidian, i.e. black volcanic glass. It's produced when a silica rich melt cools too quickly for the atoms to rearrange themselves into nice crystal lattices. This bit has a really nice iridescent pattern, which is produced by weathering.

Next up: pahoehoe.

Pahoehoe is a Hawaiian word that translates to flat-swirly-swirly. It's caused when a thin skin forms on top of a volcanic flow, and bunches up. Like if you dragged your spoon through the skin on top of a bowl of custard. Since this isn't naturally forming, it's not true pahoehoe, and we might call it a ropey texture.

Lastly: lava tubes.

Lava tubes are naturally occuring phenomenon, where the roof of a flow cools to form a roof, insulating the lava below and keeping it hot and fluid. They also formed in the lead processing.

You can walk in old lava tubes. Don't walk in active ones, you'll die.

What that weird looking chunk is, is a section of the roof of a lava tube. Or a slag tube, I suppose. Those sticky up bits are drips from the roof, that solidified and froze like that. By some miracle, they weren't snapped off, and I found it over a hundred years later, the drips still intact!

It's one of the coolest things I've ever found!

So, nonnie, I hope you enjoyed my happy ramblings about my rocks that aren't technically rocks. Your ask made my day!

(Another cool thing about this, is that there was so much slag around Bristol, there's bricks of it built into the walls, even some buildings. There's a pub that's practically made of the stuff.)

#rocks #mining #asks

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maxismatchccworld · 5 years ago

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Patch Notes

Update 06/03/2020 PC: 1.63.133.1020 / Mac: 1.63.133.1220 Console: Version 1.25

The Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle Expansion Pack drops in just a mere few days, and since we know that living your best Eco Lifestyle can take a little extra elbow grease, we’ve added some exciting quality-of-life improvements to help pave the way.

Between Inventory updates, new CAS assets from a surprise partnership with M·A·C, the return of two beloved NPCs, as well as some really cool new Build features, we hope you enjoy the update.

-SimGuruJill & SimGuruRusskii

NEW & IMPROVED FEATURES

INVENTORY UPDATES

Fellow hoarders, this one’s for you: We have updated the Sim Inventory with the ability to Filter, Sort, Favorite, Multi-Select, and Multi-Sell in one easy flick of the wrist. Managing that cumbersome pile of collectables you’ve been racking up for the past five years has never been so easy!

FREE PLACEMENT OF DOORS AND WINDOWS

Following in true Eco Lifestyle fashion, Door and Window placement is now also Off-the-Grid. But not that kind of grid. The limiting kind of tile grid that used to keep you from placing your windows and doors precisely where you wanted them. By holding down the Alt key while dragging, you can enjoy the smooth sensations of free Door and Window placement.

LADDERS

Ladders have been added as part of the Build System. Find your free Classic Wooden Ladder in the Build catalog in the Stairs (& Ladders) category. Unlike Island Living’s Dock and Ladder objects for use on water lots, these Ladders can be placed anywhere on your lot and like stairs, they can be used as a means for Sims to traverse from one floor to another.

M·A·C COSMETICS

Did you say you needed some fresh looks for your Sims? We’ve collaborated with none other than M·A·C Cosmetics to bring you 12 fashion-forward makeup assets suited for everything from everyday to night out glam. If you’re not already using it, on PC and Mac we recommend trying out the “Uncompressed Sim Textures” setting in the Options Menu, which is now enabled by default on the High and Ultra graphics settings profiles in order to see these looks really shine. While console versions of The Sims 4 do not have the setting in the Options Menu, each console spec is automatically using the optimal graphical settings based on system resources.

REPO PERSON NPC

The Repo Person NPC has graduated with honors from Discover University’s University of Britechester with a Degree in Villainy and has comfortably taken up residence in Base Game. Now everyone can taste their wrath if Bill payments fall behind.

BILLS UPDATE

Speaking of Bills, we’ve added a cohesive breakdown of Sim’s Bills information that can be accessed via an interaction on the Mailbox or Phone. Now instead of lumping everything together, you can see what percentage of your Bills go to Water, what percentage go to Power, insight into any Fees, Reductions, or Penalties. All this and more, calculated and cleanly presented for your finer understanding.

LEGACY NEIGHBORHOOD MAP TAGS

We have gone back and added Map Tags with Neighborhood Descriptions to existing neighborhoods that didn’t yet have them. We now have delightful icons, names, and descriptions for the no-longer-forgotten Willow Creek, Oasis Springs, Newcrest, and Windenburg. Ok, feel free to freak out now.

OFF-THE-GRID UPDATES

This one is tricky to list out in a single paragraph with attempted wit, so I’ll just drop this bullet list off right here:

The Off-the-Grid Lot Trait now ties into our new Bill updates, drawing from Water and Power utility. Without excess utility, lots function off-the-grid as they did before. With excess utility, they function more like an on-the-grid lot.

There is a new Off-the-Grid Build category that will allow players to find Off-the-Grid and survival-esque objects.

We've done a pass on candles to ensure they properly work when electricity is out.

Off-the-Grid supported Fridges now have an "Add Ice" interaction that will allow them to keep food preserved—so long as the ice remains!

Sim will now autonomously use stoves and fridges when Off-the-Grid, not just grills.

Harvestables now grant unique buffs when consumed off-the-grid.

Dogs and Toddlers now have a unique interaction to be bathed in Bathtubs even when Off-the-Grid.

Objects can now be cleaned using the "Use Elbow Grease" interaction. Yummy.

Players are able to gather Water utility from fishing spots in base game. With Island Living they can gather from the waterfall. Water can also be gathered from any world with swimmable 'ocean' water. With Seasons, water can be gathered from snow drifts.

Off-the-Grid specific buffs will now take into account motives and Sim traits when determining if a Sim should receive a positive or negative moodlet when living Off-the-Grid.

We've added multiple new recipes that can be cooked while Off-the-Grid given a Sim has the proper cooking skill level. Some recipes require special ingredients like the Boiling Frog Hot Pot—which adds a really neat survival element to off-the-grid gameplay, while providing Sims with powerful new moodlets that will help them survive in the wild.

NO TRESPASSING

Some people who have the Vampires Game Pack appreciate Vlad’s antics more than others. I personally love receiving a charming visit from Vlad, and sometimes I could really use a kind compliment about my neck. But we’ve heard there are a select few that don’t quite like having their Sim’s necks bitten and motives tanked by an invasive nighttime visitor with no respect for boundaries. Keep Vampires and other unwanted visitors at bay with a new No Trespassing interaction we’ve added to the Door.

SEND HOME INTERACTION

Speaking of unwelcome visitors, we’ve also added a new Send Home interaction that’s available on visiting NPCs or as a self-interaction in the case of multiple visitors. How is this interaction any different from Ask To Leave or Go Away, you might ask? Convenience. Unlike its less efficient predecessors, this interaction is nearly instantaneous and leaves your visitors with no hurt feelings or Relationship impact. We added it as a useful tool for players, not necessarily as a story-telling mechanism.

BUILD MODE ITEMS GRANT GAMEPLAY EFFECTS

How you build your lot can now affect your gameplay. Certain objects such as wall patterns, floor patterns, fences, and columns bring different gameplay modifiers. Some of these modifiers affect how your Bills and utilities are calculated by decreasing or increasing your Power or Water utility production or usage, as well increasing or decreasing the price of bills. Environment Score can now be impacted by certain objects and materials. Drywall walls without wall patterns applied now decrease environment score like they did in The Sims 3! The choice of floor and wall materials used can also affect the ability to spread fire or puddles at an increased or lessened rate. And if you’d rather build your lot without having to think about these things, don’t worry. There’s an Option in the Gameplay menu to turn all of this off.

FIREFIGHTER NPC

Oh hey, and speaking of Fire, that reminds me. Did you hear that we’ve added Firefighter NPCs to the game? We took nods from classic Firefighter NPC behavior from The Sims, The Sims 2, and The Sims 3 and added a few small twists for The Sims 4. When a fire breaks out, Firefighters will come automatically to your lot if you already have a Fire Alarm installed. That way, if you still like to let things burn baby burn, you can just “accidentally” forget to place a Fire Alarm. It’s okay. We won’t tell anybody. If you honestly did forget to place a Fire Alarm, you can call the Fire Department from the Phone or by clicking on the fire itself. If the Fire Department is called, but there is not an active fire, they will call you on your lapse in judgement and charge you a fine. You won’t be punished if there was legitimately a fire that was extinguished before they arrive though. The Firefighter Uniform can be accessed in CAS and gives any Sim wearing it the Fireproof Buff, which gives them some extra protection against fires as well as make them more efficient at putting out fires themselves. It’s worth noting that Firefighter NPC’s do not show up in Island Living’s Sulani. Sulani already has their local Fire Brigade to handle these kinds of emergencies and besides, who wants to wear all that heavy Firefighter gear in the tropics?

STYLED LOOKS FOR TOTS AND KIDS

More than 20 New Styled Looks have been added for Children and Toddlers, using existing Base Game CAS assets to better flesh out some outfit categories that previously felt sparse.

BALANCING PASS OF PHONE CALL INVITATIONS

After five years of Expansion Packs, Game Packs, and Stuff Packs our phone call invites were admittedly starting to get a little spammy. Moments after moving in, you’ve got Lucas Munch hitting you up, asking you to go to the Bluffs with him. Then not long after, you might have had Vivian Lewis asking you to join her at The Spice Festival. Jeez, let me get settled in first, why don’t ya? We’ve done a tuning pass to rebalance all of these previously competing Phone invites to give you a more meaningful and holistic experience.

LESS INVASIVE EARBUDS

In the same vein as the above balancing pass, we wanted to smooth out one of our more pressing notifications. The free earbuds pop-up that comes with Fitness Stuff has been changed to a more passive TNS and gifts your Sim the earbuds automatically when it triggers. The days of telling the game over and over that you don’t want free earbuds, or worse - hitting OK by accident - is a thing of the past.

CONSOLE UPDATES

Eco Lifestyle releasing on the same day across all platforms marks an important milestone for The Sims 4 as Simmers get to play the same content and share new creations on The Gallery together. In this update Console Simmers have a few additional features to improve their quality of life:

We have added a new Controls Overlay Reminder that shows up throughout CAS, Gallery, Live Mode and Build Mode which should make it easier for new Simmers to jump in and not need to remember all the controls.

If you don’t want to be reminded and you know all the controls by heart, you can turn off the Controls Overlay Reminder in the Game Options > Other menu

The controller overlay screens remain available for those who want them.

Now onto the fixes and updates:

The Sims 4

macOS players should no longer encounter the setLocale.zsh error. However, both Origin and TS4 must be up to date.

Sims will not have random accessories or clothing pieces when changing into towels.

Style Influencer Sims can now remove trends they have created, with the Reset Trend interaction.

Fixed an issue where Sims were not able to Care for Self after they had been in daycare when they were a Toddler.

Some roofs were updated to remove the appearance of black sides when placed on ceilings.

Active Sims will no longer get a Tense moodlet for lack of exercise when finishing exercising. Do you even push up bro?

Sims will no longer get the Fatigued moodlet immediately after starting a workout. Now, we know that endurance takes time to build, but we decided to give Sims a chance to enjoy their workout before being completely fatigued right away.

Child Sims will now be able to unlock the Video Gaming Skill after they have maxed out their Mental Skill instead of their Motor Skill, which was causing adult skills to reset for Child Sims when they completed aspirations.

Fixed an issue in which some Households did not have their names displayed in Manage Worlds.

Corrected requirements for completing the Great Landscaper task that is part of the Mansion Baron Aspiration.

Fixed an issue in which when utilities are shut off (either because of past due bills or Off-The-Grid) adding objects from Build Mode such as Lamps, would add them turned On.

The Water Pump, Fishing Holes, Romantic Garden’s Whispering Wishing Well, and Get Famous’s Luminary’s Exotic Water Garden now have the Gather Water interaction when the Off-the-Grid Lot Trait is applied.

Fixed an issue in which the Subtle Saucer Light was not being so subtle and made objects added from Build Mode be placed randomly when dragged near it.

Teen Sims will now see the appropriate tooltip when trying to acquire the Fertile Trait from the Rewards Store. No, they are not Robots.

Fixed an issue in which some Roof Eaves were clipping into enclosed blocks.

Fixed an issue in which the Clean Up interaction would drop off the queue if dirty dishes were placed on a counter.

Since we added a new trash bike to Eco Lifestyle, we’ve made the bicycle helmet available for everyone in CAS. Now you can outfit your Sim in a helmet, regardless of owning a pack that includes bikes.

Sims will now not receive occasional text messages asking them for a Date from other Sims that they are not romantically involved with. Because it was aaaakward…

Toddler Sims will not be able to Ask for Mentoring on some in progress mentoring interactions to strangers. Except for “Invite to Bob to Music” because we can dance if we want to, we can leave our friends behind, ‘cause your friends don’t dance and if they don’t dance well... they’re not friends of mine.

Fixed an issue with textures for the tops and landings on some Staircases.

Fixed an issue that did not allow randomizer to work correctly when Male Sims had Makeup on Create a Sim.

Plants can now be placed closer to foundations with moveobjects cheat enabled, as long as most of the plant's footprint is outside of the foundation.

Fixed an issue in which Simoleons were not added to Household Funds when moving and selling furniture.

Fixed an issue in which previewing certain windows on diagonal walls reverted their color back to the default color swatch.

Simmers on macOS Catalina and Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 GPU will no longer experience seeing a squared shadow under their Sims.

Fixed an issue with the Wooden Prairie-Style Two-Panel door in which color swatches were not displaying correctly on both sides of the door.

Sims now can dispose of packed lunches that have spoiled. Out, foul food!

Fixed some oddness with disappearing Stairs within enclosed courtyards.

Fixed a Stair issue with Landings not working properly on lots with raised foundations and basements. Sims will no longer walk through walls and things should now look appropriate.

Fixed missing Career Promotion screens for careers in various packs.

Fixed User Interface elements and Icons across multiple packs.

Spandrels can now be properly applied on Fences.

Stairs will now not shrink when increasing Foundation heights.

Get Together

Fixed an issue in which non local Sim Townies would spawn in Windenburg’s Island, now named The Crumbling Isle.

Fixed an issue that caused an error to occur when deleting or editing Clubs.

As much as Windenburgians (Windenburgers? Windenburguese? Windenburglites?) love visitors from other worlds, they have voted them off the Island. Sorry, not sorry!

City Living

Fixed an issue that caused time to be desynchronized at Speed 3. Bending the space time continuum no more!

Vet Clinics can no longer be placed in Penthouses.

Yard Sale customers will no longer wander inside Sims’ houses and interact with their belongings. While prospective buyers are nice to have in any sale, this was just rude, this is NOT a Welcome Wagon.

Cats & Dogs

Game progress will no longer be lost when editing/adding/deleting career outfits in Create a Sim.

Fixed an issue that made Pets’ needs to not be fulfilled if not playing an active household.

Pets’ ehm… poop is now able to be used as plant fertilizer. Happy gardening!

Seasons

Sims can now sell Flowers in stacks from their Inventory.

Sims will now appropriately put their Umbrellas away before performing some interactions. Because WooHoo while having an Umbrella out in the open, seems complicated, we are not judging… but seems complicated.

Fixed an issue that made Simmer created Holidays in the Calendar populate after a season ended.

Father Winter will now be able to remove his beard and change in Create a Sim if he is part of an active Household. But who would dare shave Father Winter’s beard?? Who?!

Get Famous

Fixed the issue with the Actor Career where Sims were unable to complete their gig when they would travel and return home before it was time for the gig.

Island Living

Lotta Cocolatas will now be made with actual Coconuts taken from Sims’ Inventories. What were they made from before? We will never know! Never accept imitation Lotta Cocolatas… never!

Fixed an issue in which some quick meals were requiring a Microwave while being Off-The-Grid when it is not needed. Yogurt needing a microwave? I think not!

Mermaids in Create a Sim will no longer be able to have their Traits randomized. This allows them to keep their Mermaidism, as well as their air of mystery and charm.

Mermaids now will wear appropriate career outfits when going to work. So I can picture this now, Mermaids as Doctors would be a great TV show.

Fixed an issue in which some Island Living Tank Tops were categorized incorrectly in Create a Sim.

Mermaid Children made in Create a Sim will now grow up to be fully-functioning Mer-dults.

The Go To Work button for Odd Jobs has been fixed for Sims on Vacation.

The Eyedropper tool will now work on Stilts instead of only working on the Foundation Trims.

Fixed an issue in which Sims in Off-The-Grid lots were showering constantly. Now they will shower when appropriate. Though, with this heatwave, anything goes in my opinion!

“Dr. Mermaid/Merman, what do you recommend?

“I am prescribing some Vitamin Sea”

Give Russkii more coffee please...

Discover University

Student Sims will not lose their Term Presentations Boards when signing up for another term.

Simmers with Seasons additionally installed: Student Sims will no longer receive Academic Probation if they were on planned Holidays through the Calendar.

Student Sims will no longer be labeled as Graduate after completing the Graduation Ceremony. Congratulations!

Fixed an issue in which homework assignment progression was too slow and timers might have been missing in some instances.

Fixed an issue in which Sims were taking showers fully clothed. As much as the current heat wave is giving us creative ideas to cool off, it would be more efficient to not be fully clothed when showering.

Hair Style ymHair_EP08MensShavedPonytail_Black has been updated for Teens, Adults, and Elders to display all swatches. Similarly yfHair_EP08ShortBobBraid_Black has been fixed to appear as an option for Teens.

Sims that re-enroll in University after graduating or dropping out, can now rejoin their Secret Society. Likewise, if Sims get suspended and re-enrolls their progress will not be lost.

Fixed an issue with the "Gameday Glute Accommodator" chair that occasionally could make Sims invisible if they placed it in their Inventory. We don’t know what other powers the "Gameday Glute Accommodator" may have but invisibility is now not one of them.

Sims in the Law Career can now Attend Depositions from their Computers and Phones. Because you don’t need to break your computer to complete an assignment, that seems impractical.

Vampire Coffins and Sleeping Pods can now count as Beds in University Dorms.

Fixed an issue in which the Write and Publish Research Paper interaction would disappear from the options if it was cancelled midway. I mean, I understand rage quitting something but not to the point of my options to do it disappearing...amirite?

Fixed an issue with yfBody_EP08DressParty_SolidPurple in which pendant necklaces were not able to be seen if this asset was worn by Sims.

Fixed an issue that could make the Soccer interaction Study Plays with drop out from the interaction queue.

Corrected Final Exam Requirements for Elective Courses to say that for studying they need to do so on Computers or Research Machines.

To anyone who may have noticed the tiny head effect in the thumbnails if you wore the Dragon or the Lobster mascot costume without their hats, that issue has been fixed.

Humanoid Robots will no longer be able to have Traits or Aspirations modified in Create a Sim. You are a real Sim to me Robot friend, you are to me.

If a Sim already knows about the Secret Society, is it still a secret? Time will tell.

Outdoor Retreat

Herbalism recipes can now work while Off-The-Grid, however only on Off-The-Grid supported stoves.

Dine Out

Random NPCs will not leave Hamburgers on tables at restaurants anymore. As much as we like to receive free food, we don’t think it is proper to get them randomly from a stranger.

Vampires

Vampire Sims working on the Master Vampire Aspiration will no longer have the task “Survive for an Additional 20 Days as a Vampire” reset after traveling.

Vampire Sims with Full Sun Resistance are now able to properly tend to gardens and not tend to plants one at a time.

Fixed an issue in which you could set the Registered Vampire Lair Lot Trait for Venues.

Vampire child ears can now be changed after being aged-down from adult Dark Form.

The Rustic Candle Chandelier now has flame effects on the candles.

Jungle Adventure

Fans/Stans will no longer follow their adored celebrity into the jungles of Selvadorada.

Realm Of Magic

Spellcasters have regained access to Styled Looks.

Fixed an issue in which a Tank Top belonging to this pack was not categorized correctly in Create a Sim.

Hot Tubs that have been upgraded to unbreakable will no longer be broken upon performing the Zipzap Spell.

A Spellcaster is never not in vogue, but it’s always nice to have options.

Moschino

We fixed an issue in which some hotkeys in Photo Mode (particularly E and Q) were not working.

After popular demand, the Libearian bookend will now cost Simoleons. Nothing’s for free, nothing’s for freeee... take it away!

Tiny Living

Murphy beds will now be more resilient after first use. Warranty terms pending.

Fixed an issue in which Game Consoles were not usable with the all in one entertainment systems.

Fixed an issue in which Hair Styles from this pack appeared with their color swatches out of order in Create a Sim.

Fixed an issue in which Sims could not Put Bed Up their Murphy Beds after WooHoo.

We have also adjusted their pricing and comfort levels, bang for your buck!

Now the “Media Marathoner All on the Wall” will be actually the Media Marathoner All on the Wall.

#s4cc #s4mm #ts4cc #ts4mm #maxis match #thesims4 #s4 patch notes

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thatgamefromthatad · 4 years ago

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Seen these ads? (Dress Up! Time Princess Review)

This is primarily a dress up and interactive fiction game.

The storylines and character interactions are not as dramatic as the ads would suggest, the gameplay mechanics are different from what you see in the ads and it is not a “makeover” game as some of the ads state. There are also a lot of other features in the game, although the primary focus is on dress up stages and interactive plot lines.

The characters are heavily “Elsafied” as shown in the ads, but this is actually a much better game than one would assume based on how it’s advertised.

Read my full review below:

***

👸 Is the game still fun? Yes, it is fun! The game is very well fleshed-out, from the dress up system to the storylines and characters, and the graphics are very nice as well. The outfits especially are very pleasant to look at - the fabrics have texture and motion, there’s a wide variety of items and you can even customize your own clothes with dyes and patterns and stuff unlocked along the way, which I don’t think I’ve seen before in a game except maybe the Sims and Animal Crossing lol.

The storylines are mostly based around historical events and fairytales which is pretty unique and makes for a surprising bit of edutainment - there are even little factoids throughout on different historical figures, locations, events and items etc. The decisions you make actually affect the story routes, endings and your relationships with other characters, and the characters themselves are well-developed with their own personalities and designs (although they are still Disneyfied/Elsafied designs.)

The characters emote and move throughout the dialog in a way that makes the stories more engaging, and the relationship system is really well-done; your decisions throughout the story effect your relationships and your relationship stats affect the story routes in turn. You can also improve relationships by giving characters gifts based on their individual preferences and you even get little letters and rewards from them as your relationships improve.

The dress up stages are woven into the story, usually with you dressing up to attend an event or meeting with the stage objectives related to the type of event/meeting it is (formal, informal, outdoors, you’re trying to impress someone, you’re trying to appear humble etc.) There are even items based around the specific time periods and locations of the stories.

In addition to the dress up stages and storylines there are a lot of other things to do in this game - crafting, minigames, events and contests, side stories, pets and items to collect that can boost your points during dressup stages, etc. I would say there’s almost too much to do, with a busy home screen covered in notifications that can be a hassle to go through if you’re like me and want to clear all your notifications before you do anything else lol. There are also a lot of different in-game currencies involved for different parts of the game which can be confusing. But the game gives you a good amount of guidance with tutorials explaining each feature along the way (and not thrown at you all at once), and if you can get past the sheer overwhelming quantity of things to do, you can either figure out how to organize and optimize your tasks, or just ignore the more complicated stuff and enjoy the main story stages/dress up aspects.

I was really surprised by the quality of this game based on the spammy/clickbaity/fake ads and the fact that on its face it seems like something that would be geared more toward younger children. It still isn’t exactly my cup of tea since I’m personally not that into dress up games and historical fiction, but I have to admit it was pretty enjoyable and impressive, and definitely something I would recommend to those who enjoy these specific genres.

👗 Is this a free game or a “free” game? I would definitely consider this a free game, you can pretty much do everything for free and play for a long time without hitting a dead end. You need stamina to play the main story/dress up stages but this renews over time and the stages themselves are long enough that you might not even play enough in one sitting to run out of stamina completely. I personally never ran out of stamina, especially since I racked up a lot of extra stamina (I think from earning it from different tasks I completed along the way but I’m not sure exactly where it came from).

Even if you did run out and had to wait to play more main stages, there are so many other things you can do in the meantime. And there are tons of opportunities to earn crafting materials, dress up items, experience and in-game currency, which lessens the pressure to pay in order to get more items or progress through the stories.

Probably best of all is that there aren’t paid choices in the storylines, unlike in a lot of other interactive fiction/visual novel games, where more favorable/consquential options require premium currency to make.

🕰 Features

There are a ton of different features in this game but I’ll try my best to list the ones I remember.

Dress up stages (you put together an outfit using clothing items/accessories in your inventory, and earn more points for higher-rated items as well as items with attributes that match the stage goals)

Storylines (there are different “books” to choose from with their own themes, plots, characters and dress up stages, which are mostly based on history or fairytales with the overarching plot being that your character is a time traveler who can travel into storybooks and take on the role of a historical figure/protagonist, kind of like a “past life” thing. Your character is always female and you can customize their facial features, skintone and base hairstyle but not their name since it will always be the name of whatever main protagonist you’re taking the role of. Each book is pretty long with dozens of stages and you unlock them with tickets you can earn from progressing through other books; there are also a few shorter stories or spinoff stories from the main books that cost less tickets)

Character relationships and interactions (with each main book comes a set of main characters called “companions” with their own personalities and preferences, who you can build your relationships with through story choices, giving them gifts they like and other interactions. You can get letters and rewards from them as your relationship stat increases and there’s also something called “encounters” where you make a choice based on a single line of dialog from a companion or generic NPC and get a reward, but I don’t think this affects the relationship stat. There are romantic plot lines but I don’t think there’s a separate stat for romantic relationships, it just comes out through the narrative/dialog. I’ve only played partly through one main story so far so I don’t know if your love interests are always male or not.)

Crafting (you can use materials and blueprints earned by completing stages and other various tasks to craft dress up items and gifts to give to companions)

Gacha mechanic (there’s a gacha mechanic where you get free draws each day to get crafting materials or dress up items. You can pay other currencies for more draws with guaranteed rare items.)

Friends/community (you can make friends with other players and gift them stamina and friend points which can be used for draws in one of the gacha pools. You can also borrow dress up items from friends to complete dress up stages, although this costs in-game currency. There’s also a global chat and other public chat rooms, and you can chat with or message your friends.)

Avatar and customization (You have a main customizable avatar displayed with the storyline dialog that you can also dress up with any of the items you own for a photobooth type thing, where you can make images of them in different poses to share on social media or what have you. You can also customize some clothing items using dyes, patterns and stamps you’ve unlocked and use those to dress up your avatar. The customized items can also be used in stages though I’m not clear on whether customization affects your performance or is only for visual effect.)

Events, minigames and contests (There are countless events going on at any given time, including log-in events, contests, puzzle/arcade minigames and more. These provide an abundance of opportunities to earn crafting materials, dress up items, in-game currency etc., pass them time while waiting for stamina to refill or overall engage with the game community.)

Pets, relics and research (I haven’t explored these part very much but you can get pet cats that can be attached to outfits to boost their stats and be sent out on missions to passively bring in rewards over time. Relics are another type of point-booster for dress up stages and research can be done on categories of dress up items to increase the points they yield.)

Edutainment (there’s a “memories” area where you can read through the different historical facts and trivia you’ve come across throughout the storylines)

⚖️ Ad Honesty Rating: 2/5 (the ads rely on overdone tropes and melodrama, and blatantly copy from other games/game ads. For example the ads where her eyeliner is all smeared are basically the same exact ads used for Project Makeover. The art style and basic gist of the game’s genres are relayed through the ads, but they scarcely include real gameplay and really don’t do the game justice.)

⭐️ Overall Rating: 5/5 (other than the game being overly busy and having an Elsafied art style, there’s not much else to complain about, and there’s a lot of great stuff going on here. The visuals especially really caught my attention and the complex storylines and ability to play for free unhindered really make it a 5/5 for me. Overall one of the best games I’ve reviewed so far even if it’s not my personal genre preference.)

▶️ Ad Example:

youtube

▶️ Gameplay Example:

youtube

Follow me for more reviews of those free mobile games you’re always getting ads for! Thanks for reading! 🥳

#dress up games #fashion #historical fiction #mobile games #tumblr ads #game ads #instagram ads #in-game ads #fashion games #dressup games #interactive fiction #romance games #gacha games #fake ads #full review

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harriet-bailes · 4 years ago

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fuck it, Mary Wardwell neurodivergent headcanons bc no one can stop me. no I do not take criticism (yes I do actually just constructive though, lmk if I make any mistakes etc!) (a sprinkling of Lilith because they’re two sides of the same coin and very interconnected red string of fate and all that)

(slaps my blog) this post can fit so many headcanons in it, this went everywhere and kind of. isn’t actually specific to nd things but also that shapes a lot of my idea of her.

also warning this has a fair bit of negative stuff and a hint o’ ableism from the caos vaguely 1960s setting

Sensory issues

Her cottage is so dark the whole show is so dark, visually, anyways she’s sensitive to light, prefers candles/old lamps/the fireplace to brighter lights and direct sun (when gardening, big hats are required)

but she canonically goes on nature walks! I’m gonna say mostly on misty days, in the early mornings or near the evenings

She wears sweaters all the time because the costuming department did her dirty because she doesn’t like having her arms exposed, they have a good weight and she sticks to a few good textures

doesn’t like a lot of pants because they’re restricting and there are only a few textures that she enjoys, also doesn’t like tight/short skirts for the same reason

necklaces are the only jewelry she can stand

also can’t stand dry skin she uses so much hand lotion

keeps her nails very short as well, to keep em from brushing bad textures and just to keep them out of the way

especially cause she deals with a lot of paper and dry hands on paper is the 3rd layer of sensory hell, as referenced in Dante’s Inferno of course (this one is just straight up projection that one kind of slightly thicker printer paper is. evil for my nails)

very specific about physical contact and external pressures, mostly it feels Bad (like idk maybe getting tied up with rope and gagged by a student hmmmm)

bad with intense/artificial smells but she has worn the same subtle perfume for 2 and a half decades

weirdly okay with a lot of noise, probably a combination of playing the piano when she was younger, drowning other things out with music, watching loud movies at the theater, and mostly working in a loud highschool. The ‘foolish chitter-chatter’ becomes white noise and it’s almost comforting sometimes. but it’s annoying when you haven’t gotten any sleep because you shot a woman in the chest the night before (I only half accept pt3 as canon)

okay also because school things are half back now, I’m remembering the bell and beeping from the intercom is Sensory Hell

General Things?

so so so so observant

always noticing patterns, everywhere in everything

yes there’s piles everywhere but she knows where everything is so it’s f i n e

interested in Everything, a very well rounded set of interests, she can draw and bake and garden fairly well and tell you the most obscure historical and literary facts

she really will just pull out random facts all the time, you can talk about anything and she’ll start talking about the deep history behind it

“who doesn’t love a good scare every now and then” is a cover for her Intense interest in horror of every kind

collections, collections of so so so many things. bisque dolls that she holds onto from her childhood, MAPS! SO MANY MAPS.

I can’t decide if she’s either read every single one of her many books or if they’re mostly just rare ish things she’s collected on Every Possible Subject but hasn’t actually gotten to and they’re mostly just there for students

that being said, either way, she has at least 10 books in Every genre, her own library has a lot more range than what’s available in the main library, including many Inappropriate/banned books

color coded grading with a specific set of blue/red/black pens and stamps, students either love it or hate it

she gets deeply focused on tasks, you have to bring her out of it gently, she can startle like a deer. If she’s reading or grading or pretty much anything she can tune everything out

knitting is great for that too, very rhythmic

gets very uncomfortable leaving a task unfinished, like it’s straight up disturbing for her

hyperempathy that’s it that’s the post.

and a strong sense of justice!!

and so so so much anxiety that she holds equally in her body and brain, have u Seen how she holds herself

panic attacks panic attacks

constantly thinks about how she’s being perceived, shifts her behavior and acting accordingly to put other people at ease

but so much more comfortable alone when she doesn’t have to manage her facial expressions

and she’s so repressed, oh dear god

I headcanon her as a very repressed lesbian, she just completely pushed the idea of attraction out of her mind and when she got older she’d subconsciously distance herself from other women and ended up just latching on to a man who was There (okay this is more internalized homophobia and gender roles stuff but yknow) (I think about this fic https://archiveofourown.org/works/22517653 SO MUCH, thank you Paradox)

ms. softlilith once referred to her as, “for lack of a better phrase, the patron saint for weird, crazy fact hoarding, intellectual gays” which lives in my head rent free

Stims/fidgeting/other physical things

Listen she 100% rocks in that armchair

god okay it’s not flapping but yknow when you kinda wave your hand up and down parallel to your head? that.

taps her fingers together in patterns

taps her pens and twirls them a lot

cleans her glasses when she gets nervous, she’s so anxious that they’re spotless 98% of the time

talks with her hands A LOT (this includes gesturing with objects, especially if she just forgets that she’s holding them) and tries to repress this a fair amount but if she’s comfortable around someone Get Ready For Hands

also constantly fidgeting with her hands

hums when she’s alone!! very self-conscious about it

external pressure can be very very bad but as a comfort she presses her head, especially when Wuh Oh Hell thoughts and headaches

also love the sad image of her hugging herself :)

when she was a kid she’d twirl her hair but as it got seen as immature she stopped and became very self-conscious about it

Lilith/post-hell

Lilith noticed but just repressed all of her physical impulses, no tapping, her reactions were so different, she didn’t fidget she was eerily still compared to Mary’s almost rabbit like nature

if a single person ever really saw her they’d immediately know there was something wrong with Lilith’s “Mary,” her entire personality and style changed and again, her

but when they end up reconciling ala AfM style? ish? it’s good cause Lilith knows all of her little ticks and signs and how to work with her. she can get her out of a trance gently and lets her ramble on and knows just how to soothe her anxiety

I’m not even gonna get into the Trauma but I really love the idea that Lilith understands Mary in a very intimate way bc of their essentially shared body

once Mary comes back she sticks to her routines even more than previously, it’s the main thing that brings her comfort

but jesus christ if her routines get interrupted at this point and if she’s stopped from completely delving into her work to distract herself from the nightmares? it gets bad

I wrote some angsty stuff last October uh but. Yea it gets bad

she had migraines before, light sensitivity and all that, but wow it’s so much worse now

intrusive thoughts woah baby she’s got em! it feels like there’s screaming in her mind

on a lighter note, she’s not a big rulebreaker but she will bend things a bit for students, especially if it’s related to any kind of research, Lilith’s support of this and WICCA and banned books etc was probably the least suspicious thing

like Mary would also sponsor that club, she admires Sabrina’s outspoken, bold nature and does see a bit of herself in her, but of course she’s so much more Out There than Mary ever was

‘a little something for each of you’ is something Mary would say while handing out her specially picked books for everyone but it would just be in a really sweet way instead of a Cackling Villain way. Theo is going to read Virginia Woolf no matter what

they’re both deeply sincere but the differences are the ways in which they completely repress shit and hide the truth in what they say. again, if anyone ever really LISTENED they’d notice that Lilith is constantly saying Cackling Villain things and Mary’s actual emotions and thoughts which! she’s making very clear but no one pays attention! does this make any sense

did I mention she’s very self-conscious. she’s very self-conscious. Lilith’s practically the only person she can fully relax around, not focused on performing unless it’s purely for her own sake. there’s genuinely no point in pretending or tightly controlling her behavior and emotions cause she can read her completely. this doesn’t go entirely both ways but she can read Lilith better than anyone else (I think the lovely jyou-no-sonoko19 wrote the fic with the line ‘it’s my face I know the shapes it makes when I’m sad’ or something similar, that’s not what this is based on but it summarized that. so well)

also half of all of this is subconscious because I love the vaguely 1960s caos setting and love pain and horrible treatment of mental illness and any kind of ‘weird’ people /j

anyways! hope y’all enjoyed. I have. more.

#oh my god this is just so much projection #thank you so much to the singular person who asked for this it's been rattling in my brain for forever #ramblings #so much rambling #is it clear this is 2 years worth of Brain Thoughts #maybe this should've been like 6 different posts #mary wardwell #coherence #again- not specifying any kind of disorder cause I don't wanna be inaccurate but there's a lot of overlap #and shared experiences etc and focusing on specific diagnoses instead of symptoms and behaviors can be v unhelpful #and I don't even entirely know my own deal but I am trying to shift my focus but again Projection #very comforting to imagine her doing this stuff I guess? I just wanna see her idly fidget n happy stim and comforting herself #because Mary deserves better- and Lilith has to be included in this bc they're inextricable #I'm up to discuss All of this btw #headcanons #long post

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elysicndrcvm · 4 years ago

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━♡ guess the 23 YEAR OLD FEBRUARY baby just arrived to dallyeog! it makes sense, because CHU EUNHA is just as BEDAZZLING as the month of FEBRUARY. wait, why do they remind me of JACOB BAE? beyond that, they seemed JOYOUS and SAVVY upon first glance. i heard someone say they’re sort of DELICATE and QUIXOTIC though. i hope they get acquainted here in COMPLEX 1 / APARTMENT 0215 / FLOOR 3 ; HE seem(s) to have a lot going on with HIS job as a PATISSERIE OWNER/NUTRITIONAL SCIENCE STUDENT. ( ez, 21, she/they, gmt. )

well hey there !! im ez but you fellow dallyeogers can call me ezzy, i have been in dallyeog before so some may remember me as having someone v different to my new bb i bring u now, i joined before with miss tam carmen !! anygays i return with this lil angel who i am all ‘ i say that’s my baby and i’m proud ’ over already even tho i literally came up with him like two days ago. you can find his pinboard here ( which btw i fuckeN love like he’s so aesthetic to me u go king ) and i made him a lil playlist which u can vibe to here. you can learn more about him under the cut but he’s a super soft-hearted gentle dove of a muse and quite...simple for me ?? sdhdh that’s not the right wording but U GET IT djjflg he isn’t super full of angst or trauma he’s just kinda viBIN livin his best life so that’s fun !! but ye without further ado:

so as u kno from his app he owns a patisserie, it’s his lil babey and he is very dedicated to his craft and makin sure all his ideas for the place and the baked goods he sells are like rlly quirky and avant-garde. like he is so passionate about it u dont even KNOW, he tries to make sure most of the stuff on his menu is something like fun and new u wouldn’t get at just any old patisserie or cafe and that it’s super varied and also kinda aesthetic af? the place is very like trendy. it’s called patisserie d’elysian cause ya know he’s an extra biTCHH and proud.

he has three pupperino’s. all as adorable as each other, snickerdoodle is his golden lab and often ppl shorten it down to snickers, butterscotch is his dapple daschund pup, shortens the name to scotchie often. toulouse is his fancy toy poodle boi, shortens the name down as toto. if u are on the shortened name basis with his pups then u can consider urself one of his close pals.

he’s actually adopted by his aunt but she raised him like she was his mother so that is what he considers her, she’s on his mother’s side but they are half-siblings. in terms of first name reasoning as well she just liked eunha as a name and didn’t even think about how it is traditionally for a female, she liked that it meant gift from heaven so it stuck. his father is still around, he’s just quite elderly so it felt like a better living situation for him to be raised primarily by his auntie. unfortunately his mother has passed on but no tragic story, she just went peacefully in old age.

he dyes his hair quite often, it’s currently like a really pastel blue with black streaks consistently throughout like lil ones so it looks super cool. but he’s also had it be a more electric blue, lilac, and a duck egg kinda faded silvery blue. it’s naturally dark brunette. has brown eyes kind of a hazel hue.

his style is kinda androgynous ig?? he just lives for soft retro fashion, lots of color in his wardrobe but also lots of tapered short and t-shirt fits frequented, sweater vests, rolled up jeans, high skater boi socks, soft jumpers with shirts, shirts in bright colours or satiny texture worn over plain white t-shirts, cardigans, pastel denim jackets, jeans with printed patterns on like clouds, flowers etc, favors yellow and blues. sometimes does eye makeup, occasionally wears heels bc he’s a baddie or super heeled boots/chunky shoes.

obsessed with music, can play violin and guitar. he’s a big mitski and rina sawayama fanatic, likes anything that sounds peaceful or calming or has like a good fun vibe to it. also likes the trademark gay icons like carly rae jepsen, lorde, etc. he’s not ashamed. obsessed with mamma mia movies. but also likes rap which is rlly funny cause its like the bad bitch female rappers only and like he’ll listen to it while arranging his sock drawer or making his bed or something ajdjdj it’s like hype anthems for being a baddie and a hoe and he’s just doing his night sleepy routine adkfkf.

showers, blankets, music, baked goods especially bagels are his happy places.

very much a sensitive lil romanticist, falls in ‘love’ like five times a day, he just likes to giggle and smile around pretty people and admire the artwork hnghdh, he’s like yeARNS though ya know?? like he’s all i will flirt by making prolonged eye contact, i made you a playlist, this song makes me think of you etc. it’s either memes as flirting with him or elaborate love letters u never know what ur gonna get akdkd.

awful sense of humour, loves his friends more than anything on earth except his pups, would fully live in a huge house of just like his pups and all his closest buds for all eternity. likes fruits way too much, enjoys puns about fruits way too much. milkshakes, sushi, orange hues and bus rides are some of his absolute favorite simple pleasures of life. clouds, flowers, salt lamps, the sunrise over the sea, skateboarding, fresh soda, teddy bears, busy street markets, parasols, fish tanks with exotic fish, sorbet, bike riding, polaroids, record players, rain at night against floor to ceiling windows with a fresh steaming pot of tea on the desk beside it and warm fresh sheets from the laundry on his bed, ponds, skateboarding. all little joys in life that give him like the biggest pleasure dopamine hit in the world.

his cousin actually owns a florists so he has flowers just littering his apartment like a lot and it just looks like he has ten million suitors from the late eighteenth century attempting to court him but no all these flowers are from him to him or worse from his aunt djfjg she sends him some for valentines every valentines, pls help him, pls send him flowers.

studies nutritional science and he fucken hates it. do not ask him shit cause he doesn’t KNOW OKAY? he doesn’t understand it either. he took it because he needed something to go alongside the passion for baking that was a real ‘qualification’/job so that is the only reason he’s doing it. no point doing a baking degree after all when he’s already a baker with a business, he’s super young still he gotta keep his prospects open. so YAH. he’d rather be doing culinary arts but eh. nutritional science sounded better and more logic based. the real miracle is he still gets top grades all the time even tho he spends his life like wtf am i even doing is this even legit akdkdk. school is the worst thing in the world for him watch his mood instantly deflate the second its brought up.

despite being a quixotic, he’s a lil afraid of intimacy. like oh god does he love it, those small touches and acts of affection u kno? the subtle things that normally go unnoticed, eye contact, brushing of hands, linking of little fingers, rubbing a thumb, kissing eyelids or foreheads or palms or shoulders in little gentle pecks, back massages and rubs or finger tracing patterns absent-minded, shoulder massages, laying your head on someone’s shoulder or on their lap, knocking knees together, exchanging a small glance only the two of you get before bursting into laughter, smiling into kisses, napping together, having blankets placed over you warm and fresh, or towels put ready like it, someone making you something they know you like a lot. that’s his sHIT. but like he’s terrified still, someone skimming their fingers on his skin makes his breath hitch like he’s a scandalized and alarmingly aroused victorian woman sjdjd. he’s literally still a virgin, he hasn’t even had his first kiss okay my baby is delicate be gentle with him akdkd but he still LIKES PASSION AIGHT kfkf.

real soft spoken, honey tinted voice like i shit u not this boy talks like he’s an angel sent from heavens above to guide you to the paradisaical garden of eden or some shit akdkd. ur gonna fall in love with eunha’s voice before u even fall in love with any other part of him like his adorable beaming smile or stunning eyes akdkf.

has dance parties around his room when getting ready in the morning, listens to bella’s lullaby unironically yes from twilight yes u heard right, bit of a himbo streak sometimes in his obliviousness djfjf. quite silently subtly funny actually much like jacob himself.

he is gay, afraid of driving, cannot do math, blanks out often and he is valid for all of those things. has a collection of cartoon and disney animal movie dvds. has a dream notebook. always has blue painted nails in some kinda shade.

does not enjoy turning in assignments bc he is scared he’ll fail, avoids looking at his grades for weeks after they’re released and hates knowing that they’re out.

cannot dance, dances often. collects vintage stuff esp clothes and mostly sweaters. likes midnight trips to corner stores and fields where he can just lay and look at the stars. makes friends rlly easily but has super bad performance anxiety. cannot ever have a messy room like even the tiniest bit messy. even like clothes being stacked on a chair instead of away.

bakes peanut butter, banana and choc chip muffins (they r called monkey bites normally) whenever he’s super stressed. if u want to cheer him up when he’s anxious or stressed then u should give him french lavender honey, chia seeds and caramelized pear on toast/bagel. it is his comfort food. he fancii when he needs a pick me up. treat urself and all that.

#dallyeog:intro #i'm literally in love with him he's the softest most goodest boi muse i have ever made and i just #im that meme of the samari sword guy with the cat in his arms akfkfk #IVE ONLY HAD EUNHA FOR TWO DAYS BUT IF ANYONE HURTS HIM I WILL KILL THEM AND THEN MYSELF AKKDK

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quicksilversquared · 5 years ago

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A Very Jagged Take-Down Ch 3: The Last Lie

Marinette knows Jagged Stone, everyone knows that. She’s his favorite niece, never mind the fact that they aren’t actually related. And Jagged Stone is really famous, the exact kind of person that Lila loves claiming connections to.

That was never going to end the way Lila wanted it to.

(a collection of one-shots)

links in the reblog

Marinette had spent the past month getting everything absolutely perfect for Penny's birthday gift for Jagged Stone.

Shiny aluminum dragon scale beads shimmered and caught the light from between more muted scale-textured fabric on the slim-cut jacket. Uneven netting made the illusion of yet more scales, each texture carefully placed to make sure that it wouldn't impede Jagged Stone's guitar or piano playing. Marinette had gotten the idea from the Game of Thrones wardrobe and added her own spin, and she couldn't deny that both it and the pants that she had made- with the same fabric scaling texture wrapping around in uneven patches and lines- were absolute works of art.

(There had been so many hours spent frustrated as she worked at the texture, trying to get it to come out right, and then the actual pieces had taken ages, but- well, it was all worth it, both for her portfolio and for the check that she had gotten to cover the commission from Penny,)

And now- in only a couple of hours- Jagged Stone would have his birthday party and get to open his presents. The party wasn't in Paris- Jagged Stone's tour had him enjoying lovely summer weather in New Zealand while Paris shivered under a layer of snow and ice- and so obviously Marinette couldn't attend, but Penny had promised to send a video of Jagged Stone's reaction to his presents.

(Marinette was so glad that she- or rather, Penny- had paid for express shipping. Even with it, the package had only managed to arrive the day before, which was cutting it far closer than Marinette had wanted.)

"Are you going to make a piece for yourself that uses some of the dragon scale mail stuff?" Tikki wanted to know as Marinette anxiously waited for the text from Penny. "Or that texture? It turned out really cool."

"I think I'm going to give my fingers a break first," Marinette admitted with a laugh. "There was so much hand sewing on those pieces, my fingertips are pricked to bits. And it took up so much time- I haven't gone on any outings with my friends in forever, because I was trying to get that done. So I want to hang out with them a few times first, before everyone decides that I'm just flaking completely out on them, and then- yeah, I want to come up with some design to play around with."

"They wouldn't think that you're a flake if you hadn't decided to keep the commission and your gift for Jagged Stone a secret," Tikki pointed out. "I can understand why you wouldn't show anyone pieces in progress, so that the design wouldn't get leaked, but you could have told them that you had a commission for Jagged Stone, at least."

"And then everyone would be bugging me wanting to see it. No thanks." Marinette had considered it at first- after all, it would be a reminder to their class that she did know Jagged Stone, thank-you-very-much, and maybe if she said that one of Lila's stories about Jagged was a lie, people should actually consider listening- but then the cons had sunk in.

The pestering. The attempts to steal ("borrow") her sketchbook in hopes of getting a glimpse of the design. The snooping around her room- which would be a big problem now that she was also hiding the Miracle Box- to try to get a sneak peek at the piece. If she was especially unlucky, Lila or Chloe stealing or destroying her sketchbook out of jealousy.

It would be easy enough to admit to the commission after Jagged Stone had already gotten his present. That way, there would be no chances of sabotage. Then she could admit the reason why she hadn't been hanging out all month, everyone would stop complaining about her absence, and things would go back to normal.

(She had told Chat Noir, after her partner had dropped by her balcony while she was working on the texturing for the fabric scales, but he had been sworn to secrecy in return for a few pain au chocolat. Hopefully the rest of Paris never found out how incredibly easy he was to bribe.)

It was hard to do her homework with so much anticipation swirling around her gut, but Marinette forced herself through it. After all, as a superhero, she didn't exactly have time to spend just sitting around not getting her homework done, and there had been some projects that had been pushed aside towards the end of her present-sewing spree that Marinette had to get caught up on.

At least she had practice with shoving aside everything else in her life to focus on homework. Marinette had had to play catch-up after akuma attacks a few too many times for her to not know how to do that.

Two hours later, her email beeped with a new message. Marinette shoved aside her Chemistry practice problems at once, reaching for her computer mouse and opening the email from Penny.

Jagged LOVES his pants and jacket! the message read. They're absolutely gorgeous! He's gone to change into them right away because he just couldn't wait to wear them, so don't be surprised if you see a picture or two floating around on the Internet before long! Thank you so much for all of your hard work- I knew it was a fantastic idea to commission you!

Marinette had to laugh as she clicked on the video link and it started to play. That was so very Jagged, to be too excited about his new outfit to be able to wait.

Onscreen, Jagged Stone was opening a few presents, probably from his family and staff considering that they had been brought along on tour and weren't just waiting for Jagged Stone at his home studio. Marinette could tell the moment that Jagged spotted her present to him, because he lunged across the remainder of the pile to pounce on it at once. The wrapping paper- courtesy of Penny, because it was just more convenient to ship without extra packaging- went flying at once, the box was opened, and Jagged Stone crowed in delight as he pulled out the pants. A hand- Penney's by the look of it- slid another present to Jagged before he could run off and change into the pants. He opened that one eagerly, too- Marinette could just hear Penny over the music of the party telling him that she had commissioned her- and positively rocketed out of his seat with glee at the sight of the jacket.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Jagged Stone exclaimed, He waved the pants and jacket at the camera. "I'm gonna go change! These are too amazing to not be wearing this very instant!"

Marinette laughed again as the video cut off. She closed the window, only to spot a new email from Penny, with a series of photos. Jagged Stone was wearing his new outfit, posing in it with the world's largest grin on his face.

She could breathe a sigh of relief, at least- everything fit just like it was supposed to. The jacket sat correctly, and the pants were a perfect fit, slim-cut but with enough room for him to move around and rock out. With one more grin, Marinette emailed Penny back, asking her to wish Jagged a happy birthday from her. With the email sent, Marinette could only beam up at the ceiling.

Mission complete. She could breathe easier now, knowing for sure that Jagged loved the pieces she made for him.

She couldn't wait to tell Alya.

"I can't believe you know the designer that did all of the Game of Thrones costumes, Lila! That's so cool!"

"Oh, what now," Marinette grumbled as she recognized Alya's voice. Couldn't she go one morning without hearing another new lie from Lila? Just once? "And why is she trying to claim a connection to a costume designer? I'm the only one that would be really interested in something like that."

Tikki was frowning as she peered out of Marinette's purse. "Marinette, she mentioned Game of Thrones. Isn't that the TV show where you got the idea for the dragon-scale patterning from?"

Marinette's stomach dropped. In a heartbeat, she knew exactly what Lila must be trying to claim. How dare she try to take credit for getting Jagged the jacket and pants that Marinette had spent hours slaving over, stealing Marinette's accomplishment away-

-but wait. There was no way that would stand. Maybe the paparazzi and the world had gotten a glimpse of Jagged Stone's birthday gift outfit already, but he probably hadn't felt like answering press questions on his birthday. If she knew Jagged Stone like she thought she did, he would no doubt gush to the press where, exactly, he had gotten the pieces, and who had made them, probably within the next day.

Marinette grinned. Lila had picked the wrong lie to tell for sure this time.

"Marinette, guess what?" Alya exclaimed as soon as Marinette stepped through the door to the classroom. Just as Marinette had suspected, everyone was clustered around Lila at the front of the room. Even Adrien, for once, but he seemed far more interested in the pictures that were being shown than he was in Lila's story. "Guess who Lila knows? She knows this really amazing costume designer who did a whole bunch of the Game of Thrones costumes, and she commissioned this really awesome jacket and pants combo from that designer for Jagged Stone for his birthday!"

"He clearly loves it if he ran off to change into it before the end of the party," Rose gushed. She beamed at Lila. "That was a really great idea for a gift, Lila!"

"Yes, well, it was a bit pricey even with my connections, since of course I wouldn't ask my friend to work for free, but since he and I are friends, I wanted to get a nice gift for him," Lila told them. "And since he has Fang, well- crocodile scales and dragon scales are pretty similar, right?"

Alya nudged Marinette. "Isn't it cool that she knows such a fantastic designer?" The implied be nice, maybe she can introduce you hung heavy in the air. "That jacket- it's incredible. I bet she has a lot of tricks and tips about design and sewing!"

Lila nodded, her hair bouncing. "Yeah, she's super talented! And I was lucky enough to actually get to help her with the jacket when she came through Paris a couple weeks back! I didn't do a lot, of course, because I didn't have the time, but it was super cool to see how the scales were made." Her eyes slid sideways to Marinette, a silent challenge that she was so sure that Marinette wouldn't take. "If you wanted, Marinette, I could maybe teach you some of the things that she taught me."

…yeah, okay, Marinette was not going to stand here and pretend to play nice with Lila, not even for the few hours it would no doubt take for Jagged Stone to tell the press who, exactly, had made the pants and jacket for him. Not when Lila was actively claiming credit like this, claiming that she had made part of the outfit when it was all Marinette's work.

Whelp. Time for her to step off of the high road and for the gloves to come off.

"That would be so nice, Lila," Marinette crooned, keeping her eyes on Lila's surprised face. Then her eyes narrowed. "Except for the fact that it's all complete bullshit."

There were gasps at that, and Marinette could feel Alya's hand tighten around her arm in a silent reprimand. Lila gasped, pressing a hand to her chest as though deeply offended. "Marinette! I was just trying to be nice, and this is how you-"

"Oh, save me the sob story." Marinette's eyes slid around the group and caught on Max and Markov, who was out and clearly listening. A conversation from a couple weeks back tickled at the back of her mind, and Marinette went for it. "Markov, you record video of things you see to review later, right?"

"I do!" Markov chirped, clearly pleased that she remembered. "And I usually retain the footage for one to five hours, depending on how common or uncommon a social interaction was."

"Can you retain the story Lila just told for a bit longer?" Marinette asked, ignoring how Alya's hold was getting tighter and tighter. "For a day, maybe."

"Of course!"

"Marinette," Alya hissed through gritted teeth. "Cut it out, Lila is trying to be-"

"After all, Jagged Stone is never quiet about the gifts that he likes or about giving credit where credit is due," Marinette continued, brushing Alya's hand off of her arm without sparing it a glance. "So I'm sure he'll tell the press about who actually gave him those gifts within twenty-four hours. So I'd like to have the footage of right now to make sure that your story doesn't magically change between now and then."

Lila blanched, then pasted her usual expression back on before anyone else could notice. "Actually, I asked him to keep it on the down-low right away- after all, I didn't want people flooding my other friend with requests, because she's starting work on wardrobe for a new movie soon. Besides, I don't need any public thank-yous. I know that he likes my gift, and that's enough."

Marinette didn't even bother hiding her eye roll that time. "Sure. And I'm the Queen of France." Brushing past the group, she headed over to her desk, ignoring the stares of her classmates.

She couldn't be surprised about that, really. After all, while Marinette had called out Lila's lies on a fairly regular basis before, it had always been more of a one-off comment, not- well, not her clearly calling Lila a baldfaced liar.

"That is not okay, Marinette," Alya hissed as she passed Marinette's seat. Apparently she was headed up to sit with Lila instead for the day. "I know you don't like Lila, but-"

"I'll accept 'sorry I didn't listen to you, Marinette' apologies in the form of fabric store gift cards once you realize that I'm right," Marinette told her instead of listening to Alya's scolding again. Alya scoffed.

"Well, when Lila is proved right you can apologize to her for not listening and to us for having to deal with this nonsense by taking us all out to lunch!" Alya shot back. "Lila loves this little seafood place a couple blocks away. I'm feeling hungry for their salmon bake already!"

"Don't hold your breath for it," Marinette muttered, but Alya had already flounced off, clearly entirely convinced that she was right.

Well. Marinette had more or less been kidding about the gift cards- after all, her allowance plus the money that she got from babysitting and commissions meant that Marinette wasn't exactly scrounging for money to buy the materials that she wanted for her projects- but if Alya was going to counter her joking suggestion with a completely serious response, then Marinette would gladly welcome a little extra fabric money.

Marinette turned back to the front, ignoring the looks that she was getting from the others around the room. Oddly enough, Chloe and Sabrina weren't sneering at her- in fact, they seemed to be hunched over Sabrina's tablet, which had the pictures of Jagged Stone pulled up on it. Chloe was tracing part of the picture, saying something quietly to Sabrina, and Marinette had to wonder what they were talking about. It wasn't as though the jacket was Chloe's style at all, so why were they finding it so interesting?

And then Marinette's gaze slid further around, and she practically had a heart attack when she saw Adrien turned around to face her, his chin propped up on his arms on top of her desk and his eyes sparkling.

"Hi, Marinette!" Adrien chirped, sounding incredibly cheerful and not at all bothered by Marinette abandoning the (incredibly ineffective) high road in favor of- well, calling out the bad guys. He grabbed his tablet, nudging it onto her desk. "I was looking at the picture of Jagged Stone's new jacket and- well, maybe it's not the highest-resolution photo in the world, but I thought I noticed your signature on it, like you did on the hat. Was Jagged Stone's outfit something you made?"

Next to him, Nino startled, glancing up from his notebook and back at Marinette.

"Yeah, I made it," Marinette told him, unable to hide her grin. Adrien had noticed her signature! He had looked closely enough at the jacket to notice it threaded in amongst all of the other patterns and textures going on. "Penny commissioned me for the jacket, and then I made the pants as a gift to go along with it. And I was going to tell people about it today, since I didn't want the news getting out early and spoiling the surprise, but Little Miss Lies-A-Lot decided to throw a wrench in that plan, apparently."

Adrien winced, then reached out to pat her hand comfortingly. "Well, at least you know that that lie isn't going to last long."

"Yeah," Marinette agreed. It was the light at the end of the tunnel, at long last. "Thank goodness."

Marinette headed back to school after lunch feeling much less excited about going there than she had that morning.

Maybe every passing hour brought her closer to the time when Jagged Stone would mention to the press where his gift had come from, but ugh were those hours ever dragging. Maybe Adrien knew the truth- and Nino did now too, since he had overheard her and Adrien talking about the pieces and the work that had gone into them and other possible applications of the dragon-scale patterning- but the rest of her classmates were apparently convinced that she was being unnecessarily mean to Lila and were acting accordingly.

(Marinette really liked the idea of scaled boots. She would have to poke through thrift shops for a base shoe, probably, but when they were finished? It would be killer.)

"Cheer up, Marinette, maybe Jagged Stone has said something already!" Tikki chirped when Marinette sighed again, her footsteps still absolutely dragging. "You know it's possible, since you were too busy helping in the bakery for the last part of lunch break to be able to check!"

"But it's not likely," Marinette pointed out. "I did check at the start of break, after all. Add in the time zone differences and the fact that Jagged is probably moving to a new place for his tour, and what are the chances?" She sighed. "And now I'll have to deal with Lila's new conspiracy theory about why I got so ticked off about the pants and jacket for the rest of the afternoon."

Lila's conspiracy theory, which Marinette had overheard Lila telling their classmates just before lunch and which was possibly one of the most maddening things about this whole mess, the thing that had made her go from being willing to wait the whole thing out to being more than a little impatient. Lila had told them that she thought that Marinette had probably wanted to claim for the credit for the jacket, because she was jealous of Lila's connection to Jagged Stone and wanted the attention for once. The tantrum-throwing, Lila had continued loftily, was probably just because Lila had told the truth before she could start spreading her lie.

Ugh.

Tikki giggled at that. "Yes, but just imagine the look on Lila's face when she realizes that you were actually the one to make the pieces! She'll be so shocked!"

Marinette certainly hoped so. It had taken everything in her not to turn around, march up to Lila, and inform her that actually, I DID make that outfit, and I have the receipts and progress photos to prove it!

She could have. But Lila would shove right back, and Marinette really hadn't felt like getting into another argument, not when she would get proven right without wasting her breath.

At least Marinette had Adrien to keep her sane. He knew the truth, just like Marinette, and understood why that particular story had been the straw to break the camel's back. He had wanted to know all about the process of making the jacket, and Marinette had been happy to comply. She even had in-progress shots, which meant that by the time classes let out, Nino had been convinced, too. He had been furious on her behalf, but had agreed that maybe it would be best to wait for Jagged to make some sort of comment instead of trying to argue with everyone else.

(After all- well, Marinette didn't want to risk seeing doubt in her friends' eyes if she tried to tell the truth and told them that she made the pieces. That- that would just hurt.)

With one last sigh- ugh, an akuma right now wouldn't be so bad, at least then she wouldn't have to listen to Lila 'answering' questions about what getting an on-set peek of TV shows was like- Marinette headed into school and up to the classroom.

Oddly enough, despite the fact that class was about to start, there were a lot of people missing. Alya wasn't back yet, or a lot of the other girls. Lila was there, though, and she smirked at Marinette as she came through the door. Clearly she was still riding the high of having gotten a reaction out of Marinette earlier.

Marinette smirked right back as she slid into her seat, Tikki's words coming back to her. Lila could gloat all she wanted, but that didn't change the fact that Marinette had made those pieces and the truth would come out. Even if it was taking longer than Marinette would have liked.

She was just being impatient, honestly. After sitting through months of Lila's nonsense, one day more was really nothing.

The afternoon bell rang, and Adrien twisted around in his seat to give Marinette a questioning look, glancing around at the empty seats before quirking an eyebrow. Marinette could only shrug in return.

After all, she didn't know where everybody was, either. Normally, she would have guessed that people had gotten distracted by a Lila-story in the cafeteria, but considering that Lila actually was in class, that clearly couldn't be it. She would suggest that Adrien ask Nino since Alya was his girlfriend, except Nino wasn't back yet, either.

...odd.

Before Marinette could spare much more of a thought to wonder where in the world everyone was, the door burst open and their missing classmates tumbled in. They practically swarmed Marinette's desk, pushing Alya to the front to drop a gift card in front of her.

Marinette blinked.

"Wait, what's going on?" Lila demanded, her voice shrill. "Why- why are you giving her a gift card?"

"Because, Lila," Alya started, her voice absolutely dripping ice, "Marinette was the one that made Jagged Stone's new outfit. The jacket was commissioned from her by Penny Rolling, and the pants were a gift directly from her."

"But- no, I already told you guys that she would claim that," Lila said with a titter. All of it came out too pinched, too high-pitched, too fake. "I knew Marinette would claim-"

"Jagged Stone told the press who it was from himself. Marinette never claimed anything." Alya cast a disparaging look at Lila. "Now I have to wonder how much of what you've told us is a lie. All of it, probably. Did you even leave Paris when you tried to claim that you were out traveling around the world?"

"The packages must have gotten mixed up," Lila tried, her voice climbing higher yet. Their other classmates were sending her dirty looks now, too. "The tags on them, I'm sure that they must have been switched-"

Chloe scoffed from her seat. "Right, and Marinette's signature just magically managed to jump from the pieces she made and onto your gifts, right? What a lame little liar."

…okay, Marinette was officially going to count herself impressed that Chloe had actually noticed her signature, because she had hidden it pretty well. That must have been what she and Sabrina had been looking at in the pictures earlier.

Maybe it wasn't that big of a surprise after all. Chloe had seemed annoyed by Lila's grand claims as of late, and Marinette wouldn't be surprised to hear that Chloe had wanted to discredit Lila and have her spot as the most connected person in the class back.

For once, Lila fell silent. Her face had gone pale. Alya spared her one more glance before rounding the desk and sitting in her regular seat.

"We all chipped in the price of what we would have ordered at the cafe," Alya explained as the rest of the students dispersed to their seats and Ms. Bustier headed up to the back to collect Lila, probably to march her straight to the office. "Food and drinks, and then- well, I at least threw in a bit extra, because we've been giving you a lot of grief about the whole Lila thing."

Marinette grinned, picking up the gift card. An amount was scrawled on the back, and- wow, it was not a small amount. Marinette was willing to bet that more people than just Alya had put in extra. Either that, or people had very expensive tastes. "Thank you."

"It's our apology to you. We should have listened to you earlier." Alya looked sheepish. "I was just too excited about all of the potential scoops that I could get from Lila, I didn't stop to fact-check and really think about what she was saying. I'll do better in the future, I promise."

Marinette could only beam. This was what she had been waiting for.

"So…" Alya started, leaning forward with her eyes alight. Marinette quirked an eyebrow back at her. "You dressed Jagged Stone and made the coolest jacket and pants that I've ever seen! What was that like? Nino says that you have progress photos- can I see them before Ms. Bustier gets back from the office? I want to hear all about it!"

With a laugh, Marinette pulled out her phone and swiped to the photos that she had taken. "Of course! So a couple months ago, Penny approached me about designing something…"

Maybe it would take a couple weeks for them to really get past all of this and for their friendship to fully recover, but Marinette was confident that they could. Alya had no doubt learned a few lessons about listening to Marinette, and something told Marinette that Lila was going to get in no small amount of trouble, potentially even getting kicked out of their school. Even if she didn't, Lila's power was gone. No one would believe her now.

And that was how it was meant to be.

#Miraculous Ladybug #my writing #A Very Jagged Take-Down #Jagged Stone #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste

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thesims4blogger · 5 years ago

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The Sims 4: New Game Patch (June 3rd, 2020)

There’s a new Sims 4 PC update available via Origin.

Remove all MODS and Custom Content before updating your game