#I am EXCITED about stuff in Universe A and C now!

[haveievermentioned]

Thank you so much to the @yearoftheotpevent for giving me the chance to flesh out these two and all the forms their relationship can take. I had a lot of fun doing it. I know you mentioned you weren't doing it in 2024, but I hope you return in 2025!

[pink-amethyst-tarot]

The Universe has a message for you

Take what resonates and leave the rest, only you can decide what is truly right for you...

P I L E 1 - P I L E 2 - P I L E 3

P I L E 1

Strength, Two of Pentacles, Six of Pentacles, Page of Pentacles, Temperance, Nine of Pentacles

Bottom of the Deck: Ace of Swords

The universe is proud of you. You have found the strength and confidence to keep going even though you have been doing a balancing act, one you may have been doing alone. As I look at the Six of Pentacles, I see the scale in the hand of the person that is giving gold to the poor. I see this as a sign that when everything is balanced and settled, you will be able to give in a way that you have been wanting to. You have always been such a loyal and faithful person. Someone that people could always depend on. With the Temperance card, I'm getting that you have found the balance - so much talk of balance - that you needed so that you could take care of yourself as well as others. You learned how to put yourself first. That is paying off for you. You are about to achieve things you can't even imagine. You are being rewarded with success of all kinds because you put in the work. It will come to you like a vision. You may have been dreaming of this or will start dreaming of this new life soon. I'm also hearing something about clearing the path. The path is being cleared for you.

Channeled Message: I am clearing the path for you. Don't worry about a thing. I'm going to make those mountains into ant hills for you. I will move oceans for you. I've got you covered. Don't worry about a thing. I have been looking over you. You are protected.

If you want to know more about your own personal situation, see this post to find out how to book a reading with me.

If you feel called to bless me, my c@sh@pp is $oddlycozycottage

P I L E 2

Ten of Pentacles, Ten of Cups, The Lovers, The Moon (Reversed), Four of Pentacles, Queen of Wands, The Fool

Not only is this a love reading, but this is also a soulmate reading, so buckle up!!!

This energy feels so intense and glowy and beautiful! The first thing I heard was, "Do you know how lucky you are?" I don't even know where to begin! This is going to sound so insane, I don't even believe that I'm bout to say it but you're person is this sexy CEO type, like in those books. This person may make music or own a company related to music and entertainment. This so some happily-ever-after fairytale type of stuff! Y'all sharing the same values feels like something that's really important. I'm freaking out right now! I'm just so excited but slightly overwhelmed! This is the kind of person that you can come home to and they will ease your mind after a long day. I'm hearing, "It's okay, baby, I got you" AAAAAAAAHHH!!!! Like, this person isn't going to let anyone talk crap about you and that includes you. This person is going to be so protective over you and wanting to take care of you because you are their person!! They see you and see that you have been through some things, and they want to help you through that. This person wants to protect you from the world! I'm getting that this person could be a little bit jealous and maybe possessive, but they are aware of it and acknowledge that it's toxic and they work on that. You may meet this person at work or a work-related event. It will be like a movie where you lock eyes, and the words just seems to fall away. This is the kind of love that is healing, loving a nurturing. I'm also getting that your person is going to have you on their arm at these fancy events, like some high society type of stuff. Don't be afraid of this love when it comes in because it will change your life for the better. Wow.

Channeled Message: I'm on my way!! This is the sign you have been looking for. I am all that you have dreamed of and more. You are such a big part of me and I don't even know you. I am so lucky that you chose me. I'm going to show you off to the word. I am a fool for you, my love. I come off cold with others but that's only because I'm saving all of my warmth for you.

If you want to know more about your own personal situation, see this post to find out how to book a reading with me.

If you feel called to bless me, my c@sh@pp is $oddlycozycottage

P I L E 3

King of Swords, Queen of Swords, Four of Wands, Ace of Pentacles, The Hierophant, Page of Pentacles

Bottom of the Deck: Death

For some reason, the universe decided to turn this post into a soulmate post for 2/3 readings so here we are!

To put it plainly, you are about to come into union with your soulmate! I can see that you balance each other very well. One of you is very fun and witty and the other is very cool, calm and collected. Some of you might already be with your soulmate. Whether you are or are not, I can tell you this, you are marrying this person. This wedding is going to be the talk of the town too! Everyone will be celebrating your love. With this Ace of Pentacles, I am seeing that a new opportunity is what is going to bring you too together. It might be work related, like pile 2. (They might be connected so if you feel called to check it out, go for it!) This is something that you manifested. You prayed for this kind of love. I feel like this will be a traditional relationship in a lot of ways, however that may look to you. Specifically, I think it's the wedding that will have a lot of traditional elements to it. This is going to catch you so off guard. This is BIG! This person is going to make you so happy. It's going to feel like coming home.

If you want to know more about your own personal situation, see this post to find out how to book a reading with me.

If you feel called to bless me, my c@sh@pp is $oddlycozycottage

Page Divider by @bunnysrph

LEGAL DISCLAIMER: FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. THESE READINGS ARE FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. no guarantees are implied. These readings are not a substitute or replacement for any professional help or services. My readings are not a substitute for any form of professional legal, medical/psychiatric, relationship, religious/spiritual or financial/ business advice nor consultations. You should always see a professional legal/trained adviser for help in any matter. I am not responsible for any decisions/ actions you take.

[katiekatdragon27]

To my other followers: I am so sorry.

To my two new followers: *comes out with silver platter* Here! Eat uuuuupppp~~~~

This! *slams fists on table then slams face on table* This GODFORSAKEN MOVIE HAS ALTERED MY BRAIN CHEMISTRY I'M NOT JOKING.

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT KIND OF "RECLAIMING MY CHILDHOOD TRAUMA" MINDEST MY BRAIN WAS ON BUT THE OBSESSION WITH THIS PIECE IF MEDIA IS ACTUALLY SCARING ME-

Most stuff below. Lots of rambling.

So. Flatland. It's a good book, and an amazing f*cking movie. I love this goddamned movie so much bro. It's not even like a "good" good movie I just really like it for no reason.

Some lore I have with this book, since I want to talk about it.

I watched this movie the first time when I was in 6th grade. It scared me so bad that I had nightmares about it for a week. I hated the style of the 2D world and was so scared about the amount of murder that I psychologically blocked it all out.

Now in the present (as an adult in college), my friend brought up the movie for us to watch during a movie night. I was way more excited to watch it than I thought I would be (cuz of my previous encounter with it and wanting to "reclaim" the movie), but we only got 4 minutes in before my other friends got bored and decided to watch something else. I sorta dropped it for a bit after that before @/goosesartblog posted their ONE - Flatland crossover and 10000 emotions flew over me. I then proceeded to watch it with my siblings, who also did not care about the movie.

Now, it has become a lifestyle of watching it every single day. Every. Single. Day. It's bad. I can't stop.

And it's on YouTube for free.

AND the book is on YouTube as an audiobook AND the actual PDF book is just there to read.

PLEASE. I NEED PEOPLE TO NOT BE NORMAL WITH ME.

Anyways, actual relevant doodles. These characters are A. Sphere (the objectively best character idgaf) and Carlton Cube(?). I saw something about them being John-locked and thought it was really funny. Also, I saw a meme about the two getting Starbucks or smth during the week I lingered, so here lol.

Some more doodles of concept stuff. Actual A. Square art and some style testing, Hex doodle, and more A. Sphere bc I love him so much. His ass is gay idk if you think I'm wrong just look at him.

Silly little idea I had about if Spherious *(the sphere from the other Flatland movie) and A. Sphere were in the same universe. It's unlikely, but I think Spherious would be the Messiah of 2000 and A. Sphere is the Messiah of 3000. They met at some point where their lives overlapped, and Spherious tried to give A. Sphere advice, to which he was completely ignored. A. Sphere's a bratty teen here and Spherious is a grandpa. They treat their apostles very differently.

Another silly idea I had was that when A. Sphere "died", he was actually picked up by a 4D being named A. Tesseract. He stays with her until the war is over in his dimension, and he is able to see A. Square one last time during his hallucination (that's why A. Sphere's innards are seen). Also also, A. Sphere learns how to treat people better b/c of A. Tesseract and the 4th dimensions' more liberal views on expression and gender. Development for the stupid shiny solid.

Thank you for looking at this mindless rambling. If anyone knows of more Flatland media, please send it to me I'm starving. Expect more, and have a great day :)

[writermai05]

Arsonist's Lullabye

Chapter 6: To Someone From A Warm Climate

Summary: Y/n and Azula get to know each other. 

Pairing: Zuko x fem! reader (Live Action or Animated) 

A/N: Hey hey hey guess who is not dead! My family flew in to come visit my sister and I in college, so I spent last weekend with them. There’s also a lot of crazy shit going on with the protest on my specific college campus, and I’ve been very hard on myself this week for not being productive, but when you’re in the middle of a debate over the lives of thousands of people, it’s hard to worry about the assignments and silly little fanfic you’re writing. Nevertheless, this chapter is here today, albeit a short one but I swear, shit is about to get so interesting. 

Word Count: 686

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Avatar: The Last Airbender, I am merely a nerd who hyperfixates a lot. Lots of divergence from the canon story lol. 

Warnings !: None I think. 

The post game dinner had gone about as well as it could have. Yeah, maybe it was a little awkward, but for the most part, everyone had a good time. Toph was easily able to power through the tournament, giving the University team a trophy for their first game of the season. You almost wished that the weekend had been longer to process the information you learned on Friday.

 The image of Zuko and Azula’s eyes flashed in your mind. It feels obvious that the two are siblings now. If their eyes weren’t enough, their black hair and intense aura should have given it away. As you take a seat in your shared sociology class, you notice Azula take the seat next to you once again. You catch her attention with a small smile. 

“How was your weekend?” 

“Oh, you know, just another thrilling weekend of staying in my dorm and avoiding all human contact.” 

You raised your eyebrows, nodding in mock awe, “Riveting stuff.” Azula smirked, letting a puff of air out through her nostrils.

“Did you manage to do something less boring with whatever freaks you hang out with?”

“Yes, I did.” Before you could have a chance to elaborate, your professor began to start their lesson for the day.

After your first week, this routine began getting stale. Every class period you sat through the lecture, worked with a partner, got lectured some more, and then worked on your own. Although, the unofficial assigned seats had worked in your favor, because then you got to know more about Azula, who had promptly started to sit next to you since your first meeting. 

“Interesting lesson, huh?” you venture, hoping to start up another hushed conversation. 

Azula’s response is sharp and right in character for how much you know. 

“Yes. So interesting that I’m trying not to fall asleep from the sheer excitement of it all. Yay social class!” You quietly chuckle in response. 

“I mean there’s definitely meaning to it. Agna Qel’a is the most technologically advanced place in the Northern Water Tribe. When my family moved there for my mother’s work, it was a complete culture shock. Sedna, where I’m from, is a small city. There’s a saying that goes, ‘Take care of the land, and it will take care of you in return.’ But Agna Qel’a is magnificent, and it’s where the chief's royal palace is. It’s modern and gorgeous, but expensive.” 

Azula pursed her lips, trying to sort out her own thoughts. 

“Our capital city is similar, but probably way more grandiose. That’s how we do things in the Fire Nation. Opulence, and luxury, but mostly concerned with ourselves and no other nations. They’re practically irrelevant.” 

“What was it like growing up?”

“The Fire Nation is warm, and never really changes as far as seasons go. Sun-kissed lands and a long, honorable history. My father owns a very large company. Agni Kai enterprises does its business around the world. Before, my brother was the one who was being groomed to take over for my father once he retired, but he chose not to. After he left, then it was all on me.”

Agni Kai Enterprises was no joke. You knew that they owned many smaller companies, and had stakes nearly everywhere in the world. From what you could remember, Agna Qel’a had several complexes owned by someone involved in Agni Kai Enterprises. 

“You have a brother?” you asked, but you already knew the answer. 

“His name is Zuko. Haven’t seen him since I was 10, and he was 12.” 

Learning this new piece of information, your mouth dropped open. Eight whole years have gone by since the two have seen each other. No wonder Zuko had to ask Mai and Ty Lee questions. At this point, there was no avoiding it. 

“I know Zuko. He’s in my other class.” Azula’s head turned so fast you thought she could’ve gotten whiplash. The look in her eyes was indistinguishable, except for the usual fiery gaze. 

Azula pursed her lips and squinted, her jaw was tense. You were sure that if she clenched any harder than she would break her teeth off. “Well that’s…interesting. I assume that he and my uncle are still living above that tea shop, right? It’s been ages. Perhaps I should make the effort to go visit my dear Zuzu.” 

[puckpocketed]

19/07/2024 - Tory Pitner joins USHL in Focus: 2024 NHL Draft Edition

My transcript of Tory Pitner's interview with Paul Allan for the USHL. Lightly edited where unavoidable for clarity. Extra context in (round brackets) and adjustments for ease of reading in [square brackets]. Text in bold are all my highlights, stuff I thought was very interesting.

There's so much to say about how talkative he is. It's rarely useless chatter, it's always answering the question and on topic, and it's clear that anything he says is informed and well-considered.

I love how much he seems to think about his long-term development goals, and how his entire junior career up to the draft (and now beyond) has been about pushing himself in the right ways, finding people who he can learn from, working and working and chipping away at his goals. It feels like he could tell all the scouts exactly what they're writing about him if they asked him to break down his own game. I get the feeling he knows exactly what kind of player he is and where he needs to improve. He says, with such certainty, that his hard work will pay off. Like he knows exactly what trajectory he's on and that all he has to do is work to get there.

I like the way he thinks about leadership and responsibility, how he simply wants it, and how when he sees leaders he admires he does everything to take lessons from them. I am not surprised he's worn letters for so many teams he's been on. He's had the C twice; during his U-15 year and for the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. He craves challenge. He studies the game and loves it dearly. He can name just about every person who has ever helped him get to where he is, and he attempts to do just that. He is so, so smart. I don't know how else to sell people on this guy - I think maybe one day he's really gonna be something, whether it's as a player or a coach, or who knows. But I think I'll leave it at that and let him speak for himself.

Paul Allan: Well we’re joined now by a very busy young fella named Tory Pitner, former Youngstown Phantom who’s about to start his college career at the University of Denver. We’re excited to talk about a couple things here with Tory, it’s been a busy two years for Tory… You’re from Greenwich Connecticut, you’re an East Coast guy, but it appears to me that before you ended up in Youngstown, you spent some time on the West Coast with minor programs there; with the LA Junior Kings, the San Jose Junior Sharks, and then prep school.

So let’s talk about your path to Youngstown first, and then we’ll talk about the rest of the time here. It looks like you’re in a dorm room there at the University of Denver, so we’ll talk about that in a bit, but let’s talk about your path to Youngstown. How did you end up playing for the Phantoms and how was that — playing in the USHL [United States Hockey League] — [as] a place for you to develop as a young player?

Tory Pitner: Yeah, for sure. [It] started out like you said, I was born in Greenwich Connecticut and then I moved to Northern California when I was pretty young, and then played pretty much there in the LA Junior Kings growing up before COVID hit. So I was in that kind of system in the West Coast. Really great spot out there, with great coaches — Brett Beebe, Derek (inaudible, unable to find him on any backdated staff lists) — a bunch of great coaches I had out there.

And then Covid hit, and I made the decision to go and play prep school at South Kent, which is a school in South Kent, Connecticut, and basically that decision was a combination of being able to be on the ice every day, guaranteed ice, being able to have my academics and my athletics all in one place on the Hillside. I went to South Kent, played for [Jamie Russel (Director of Hockey Operations, Head Coach)] there. Really loved my experience, I thought it was great for me. That was the first time I was able to get on the ice every day and I think it was big for me, both for my development and maturity. Being able to figure out a schedule that works for me, because the schedule we had at South Kent was pretty similar to the one we had in Youngstown, and now the one I have here at D.U. So, great stepping stone for me into junior hockey.

And then, that year while I was at South Kent, I was drafted into the WHL [Western Hockey League] with the Edmonton Oil Kings and then I was also drafted into the USHL, after the year was done, with Youngstown. And kind of made the decision shortly after the draft there to head to Youngstown for a [variety] of reasons. Being able to play U.S. college hockey was something that was always a dream of mine. When talking to both organisations, both teams, I thought that the USHL and college in general was just the route for me to go. Looking at myself as a player I [felt] like, ‘I’m gonna need more time to develop,’ and I think the USHL is obviously an unbelievable league for development, being able to go in there and play against guys that are three, four years older than you when you when you’re 16 is something that I really looked at, and I embraced that challenge and I loved that opportunity.

I thought that the travel for us in Youngstown was a bit different than everyone else, but I thought that was good for me to learn how to navigate the roads. And, you know, going through junior hockey now into college hockey, there’s always going to be travel, and then when you get to the NHL level there’s going to be a lot of travel — granted, they travel a little differently — but I thought we did a pretty good job in Youngstown at that. So just, ultimately, the decision came down to; I wanted to play college hockey and I wanted to play in the USHL because I thought that was the best development league for me to get to college hockey.

So I was drafted by Youngstown after my U-15 year, and then decided to head back to South Kent for what would’ve been my U-16 year, but I ended up going and playing up — playing U-18 for the first [part] of the year. I wanted to go and I wanted to be over-ready to go to Youngstown, and so I thought that going back to South Kent, it was still a great situation for me. I went back and then went and played my affiliate games with Youngstown, and through my affiliate games talking with coach [Ryan] Ward and coach [Andy] Contois and coach [Brandon] Gotkin and the whole staff they have there, and based on how I felt in the games — I felt a lot more ready than I thought I was going to, so it didn’t really feel like a jump to me up to the USHL, it felt more like a transition. And that was something that — you know at the beginning of the year I didn’t wanna make the jump prematurely, but after going and playing those games I really found that it was a league that I could compete in and one that would be best for my development moving into college. 

At Christmas I finished my semester of school and decided to transition to Youngstown and it was the best decision I could’ve made honestly — ended up finishing the year with them. I think I played around 40-something games with them at the end of the year. And it was great, being able to be in the locker room with guys like Chase Pietila (PIT), another USHL guy that just got drafted, and Chase was kind of a role model for me — I still talk to him to this day — but he was someone who really showed me the ropes, showed me the league.

And Youngstown in general; Andy Contois did a great job of teaching me how to defend at that next level which I feel like is something that, for me, moving on now looking back on my career is something I’m super grateful for. Even though it was only a year and a half ago, it’s something I feel like is now a staple in my game that, before coming to junior hockey, you never would’ve known certain nuances about defending that you do now. Andy’s a great coach, he’s worked a lot with me, I’ve worked a lot with him about certain things I need to develop and will continue to develop. We still talk pretty regularly, too.

Just being able to go up and play those games and be in a locker room with those guys — like Shane Lachance (EDM), being our captain, there isn’t enough to be said about Shane Lachance. He is probably one of the best captains I have and will ever have had. Seeing him as a leader and being around him and seeing his ability to connect with every guy in the room is something that I really tried to take from and emulate. That was really great for me. And ultimately being able to play with the group of guys we had my first year in Youngstown was great. [Being] in practice every day was the best thing for me, because you have [William] Will Whitelaw (CBJ), who was going a million miles an hour on you on a gap drill, that — you’re stuck in mud — so being able to learn those things and play against those guys… I think my first year there we had five NHL draft picks; I roomed with Jacob Fowler (MTL) so I got to see excellence right down the hall. That was really something that, for me, was a great experience, and kind of threw me into the fire a bit with junior hockey, and was the best thing for me and I loved every second of it.

And those guys, after winning the Clark Cup with them, it can’t be understated how much of a bond everyone had there. We were together — you know, everyone could’ve gone home after, but we all decided we wanted to stay together and just hang out, because we knew we were gonna miss each other as a group, and we still — our group chat’s still active. We still talk pretty regularly. I talk with a few of those guys that I got pretty close with pretty often. And you know, [them] taking me in as a 16-year-old and really showing me the ropes led me to being able to jump into my next year, my 17-year-old year, my draft year, and have an idea of how it’s going to look; because I saw Stratty [Andrew Strathmann (PIT)] and Whitey [William Whitelaw], and Brandon Svoboda (SJS), [Matthew] Perkins (VAN), Fowler, I saw them all doing NHL interviews last year, I saw how that whole process went. It kind of eased my nerves going into my next year, because I’d seen it, I’d known what it looks like.

Being in Youngstown, they do a great job of bringing in high calibre players to have that experience. Me and Luke Osburn (BUF) went along with that process together this year and I thought it was great for me and Ozzy to push each other all year, being able to play games. We had another good team, we had another great group of players, great group of guys. Obviously, it wasn’t the end result we wanted, we ran into a great Dubuque [Fighting Saints] team and we just weren’t able to get it done. But ultimately I thought that this year was a great learning experience for me, too. Having to take on a bigger role with the Phantoms was something that I really embraced, and loved the challenge of, and loved the opportunity to do. I’m super grateful for the coaching staff and coach Contois for giving me that increased opportunity. Being able to wear a letter for them is something that I was really proud of. They looked on me as a leader in the locker room to kind of show the other guys the way; I thought that was really great for me.

The [other] opportunities I had this year as well, like being able to captain the Hlinka Gretzky team was something that was a dream of mine. Whenever I found out about the tournament, I wanted to go, but I didn’t just want to go; I wanted to be a leader on the team and make an impact. And, you know, we were able to do that; win our first medal — since 2016 I think it was — with the United States. Hopefully the team this year can follow that up and bring home gold. Then, continuing into the season playing for USA again at the World Juniors — didn't get the result we wanted but that was another great experience. To be around the top guys in the USHL and play with other guys that have been drafted before, and talk with other guys, talk with the coaching staff… They brought some of the best coaches from the USHL along; to be able to pick their brain every day, we have guys from that coaching staff, like Mike Leone, he’s now coaching in the AHL and I got to be on the ice with Leo every day for two weeks, which was something that I thought was great for me. Being able to be around those guys, too, who are now going to step into college and be great college players before going on to having great pro careers.

So those opportunities coming back in my second year was something that was really great for me. And I was super fortunate to have that, and then getting the call to come into Denver this year, and now being able to take all that experience and transition it into college. In our first [skates (?)] here, I feel pretty confident, so that’s something that definitely prepared me and I’m really grateful for.

A bit of a long winded answer, but yeah.

PA: That’s awesome. I do have a couple of questions for you though, and a couple of observations that I always… Everybody who’s involved with hockey over the years talks about the small world and you mentioned Jamie Russel there. Of course, Jamie Russel is a former coach at Michigan Tech. and Chase Pietila is from the — I mean, I don’t know how many Pietilas have played at Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech. of the the years. There's a bunch of them.

TP: So many. And Adam is on our team again, he’s [Chase’s] cousin.

PA: But what a whirlwind for you, and I know the Youngstown organisation is extremely proud of you, a 2-time All-Academic kid, too. And I know, Tory, as you were making your — one of the things you sort of left out there was the recruiting process, and what you were juggling there, and how that went along for you. We’ll get to Denver and how you ended up deciding to go play for the Pioneers here in a sec, but I want to talk about this past year going back to the Clark Cup Championship season.

During your minus-1 draft year you end up playing for Youngstown, and what a great time to jump on board with them and contributing to a Clark Cup Championship, the first one in the organisation. That’s pretty cool, but then you touched on the Hlinka Gretzky invite and the World Junior-A Challenge invite, and then you get to go to the NHL draft, get selected by the Colorado Avalanche; and then you get an invite to the USA Hockey World Junior Summer Showcase. And you’re oh, by the way, starting summer school at DU with workouts and [getting to know] all your teammates. How are you able to juggle everything and keep a clear head with all this stuff, Tory? For an eighteen-year-old kid, that sounds like a lot of things to consider.

TP: Yeah, yeah no, it’s definitely a lot. But like I said to you before we hopped on the call: I’d rather be busy than bored. So for me, I always want to push myself. Instead of just sitting in bed and watching Youtube or something, that’ll be the time I do my homework from my summer school courses and everything like that. Being here, I really love the schedule because we’re up early, we’re working out early, and then we go to class and then we get to come back, we get to skate with all the pro guys out here. And then you come back and you do homework and you get to do it all again the next day. You’re really fully immersed in the whole culture.

And I’d really say, just, how I’m handling it is; it’s the preparation I had before, from South Kent, getting to see what that model would look like — having school and hockey in the same place. And then being in Youngstown and travelling as much as we did; some of our bus trips, like when we went to Fargo for the Clark Cup, that was right in the middle of finals season, too. We’re busing 23 hours, we’re busing out to Fargo to play the [Fargo] Force.

You learn to prioritise different things. You learn how to manage your schedule pretty well. You know, it does suck. You can’t call your buddies as much. You can’t text, Instagram — none of that stuff really comes into play too much anymore just because you’re so busy. I really embrace it. And I think that it’s something — if I wasn’t busy I’d probably be a little more upset, if that makes sense. Like, I’d rather have this schedule where I’m constantly going and, you know, I think it’s pushing me. It’s a bit of [overload] training here in the summer, just with how much we’re actually doing, how much of a course load, how much lifts we have. Skating with the pro guys, too. Being out here at D.U., we have a great setup where a lot of the pro guys come back and skate. Being drafted to Colorado is great because you see Colorado guys coming into the locker room, you get to meet them, you get to meet guys in the NHL club and you get to skate with some of them sometimes. That’s really great for me in my development going into my freshman year here and ultimately to making the Avs.

But like you said, it's been a long summer, but it’s one I’m super grateful for, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

PA: Before we talk [about the draft], I do want to talk about your decision to go to Denver and play for the Pioneers, and the commitment process. How did the process — how did you decide that going to Denver was the best place for your development as a player and as a student?

TP: Right before the USHL Fall Classic, I actually started talking to a bunch of teams. I was previously committed (to UMass Amherst), but decided to decommit for reasons — just coaching change reasons, everything like that. So, I decided to decommit and the fit really wasn’t there anymore. Decommit, and then open up my recruiting process before the USHL Fall Classic, then go to the Fall Classic. And honestly don’t really focus on it too much. Just try and play my best hockey for my team, because that was my goal, that’s what I’m there for. It can’t be a distraction. But after the Fall classic I had a little bit of time off and I talked to a couple of schools, had a couple of Zoom calls. Right when I talked to D.C. [coach David Carle] and the Pioneers, I knew that it was probably the place I was going to end up.

Being a West Coast kid growing up there, they were the furthest West team before A.S.U. [Arizona State University] became a college hockey program. So growing up, you go to tournaments in Colorado, you always want to go to the D.U. games. You grow up like — I watched Will Butcher play (2013-17), and Will Butcher’s in the locker room now (25/07/2023 - Butcher has signed with Barys Astana, a KHL team; link, archive link). That’s so cool for me, and hearing those guys talk and what they see is the plan for me, what I see is the plan for myself, and both of those kind of aligning; it really just made the perfect sense. And obviously they have an unbelievable track record of developing NHL defensemen here at Denver, like if you walk through our locker rooms you look at the walls, NHL players are on the walls. You look at them and go, ‘they’re in the same shoes. I am there doing the same workouts. They were doing the same skate. They were doing the same schedule.’ And that really gives you confidence to keep working hard because you know that someone’s been through your path before, and if you keep working and you keep staying your path… and — not keep your head down — but if you just put your head down and work hard, then you’ll be able to achieve what you want to achieve.

After talking to them and hearing those things from the coaching staff — Ferg does a great job with the [defensemen] — Dallas Ferguson. Travis MacMillan does a great job recruiting, great job with the boards. All the staff here, there’s — I could list them all, but it really doesn’t do justice how much of a fit it really felt like, talking to them on the phone.

Once I really had that conversation, I felt that it was the best thing for me and kind of a no-brainer decision when you pull in where I grew up, how much success they had… And so I made that decision shortly thereafter, and I’ve been thrilled with it ever since. Kept in touch with them pretty much all year. Had a great open line of communication development-wise and just personnel-wise, just checking in and seeing how I’m doing as a person off the ice, how I’m handling that schedule that we have in Youngstown, just being that [travelled]. They were great with me, and now that I'm here, I couldn't be happier. All the guys here on the team are great guys and I’m really excited to be here and can’t wait to get started.

PA: You’re a two-time USHL All-Academic pick in your two seasons with Youngstown. Tory, have you thought about what you’re going to take for classes and what are you going to major in?

TP: Yeah, we just actually had that conversation with our academic advisor last week, so I’m kind of torn right now, but I’m leaning towards psychology. So what I’m going to do is my first quarter, I’ll take Intro to Psych and Intro to Business and Into To a bunch of those courses, because no matter what, they're all going to count for common core courses, so I kind of get to feel it out and see which one I’m going to take. Right now I’m probably leaning towards majoring in psychology. I’ll make that decision, we’ll all declare officially after our freshman year, so I have the year to figure it out.

But I’m really excited. I have a good course load, a lot of good challenging courses, a lot of fun courses, too, interesting ones. So it’ll make it easy when you're interested in the subject to be able to go in and learn and go to class. And it’s nice to be in an actual classroom again after two years of online school with the Phantoms. It’s something that you don’t really think about, but it definitely helps. And it’s nice for me as a kid that always wants to learn. I think that’s my mentality on and off the ice. It's just always wanting to learn, always wanting to get better. So I’m really excited for it. I think that summer school so far has gone well — knock on wood — grades are coming out pretty soon, but I feel pretty confident about it. So yeah, I’m just looking forward to it. And I think it’ll be a great experience off the ice in the classroom and both on the ice.

PA: Let’s wrap it up with your draft day experience in Vegas, Tory. Of course, you’ve alluded to it already; you were picked in the 6th round by the Avalanche and [inaudible]. That’s pretty cool. What were your thoughts, and tell us about the excitement that you experienced there in Vegas a couple of weeks ago? 

TP: It was a long day, I’ll give you that one. Got there with my family. We actually — we had a test on Thursday, so I took my test and I flew out Thursday night into Vegas and the draft obviously started Friday. And going into it, you kind of have an idea of a few teams that you thought could pick you, but you don’t really know where with how the draft’s going to shake out. You hear some things, but they don’t really hold true just because everything is crazy. You saw the draft. It went nuts after that third pick, pretty much everything changed. Just going in there, no expectations, just be grateful for the opportunity you have to be there and being able to be there with my family and my friends and some coaches, just people I hold close to my heart, was something that was super cool for me.

Busy week with everything we had, like dinners, breakfasts, meetings; everything like that with teams or with whoever — with your advisor, with your family. But it was ultimately a good time, you get to throw on a suit, get to go to the draft. The Sphere was obviously unbelievable; I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that in my life. I was probably cranking my neck to see who the next pick was at the top of the board there. It was a pretty cool experience being able to sit around all those great prospects. And then, you know, I talked to Colorado quite a bit throughout the year, stayed in contact with them, and so I felt that they were one of the teams that I could have gone to, and so every time they were picking I was on the edge of my seat a bit.

And then finally you hear your name called after a long day, it was something that — a lot of relief, and just joy, gratitude. It was an unbelievable feeling. Really grateful having the Youngstown guys there. I wasn’t able to go and say ‘hi’ just because of how busy it was, which I was frustrated about, but it was good to see people that you hadn’t seen in a little bit and really share that experience with everyone that helped get you there, because that’s what it’s all about. I wouldn’t be here without all the people in my corner, all the people that have coached me going up, my mom; like everything, they’ve all been there for me in the past. I wouldn’t be there without them and being able to be there and celebrate that and going to the Avalanche is something that is super special for me, especially being here in Denver growing up.

They have an unbelievable D-core right now, and so you know that, going into it, they have a high expectation. And then going to Dev Camp and meeting the staff, you understand what that high expectation is. You just go and you work your hardest and you try and improve your game and adapt it to whatever they need so one day you’ll be able to play at the NHL level. And being here at D.U., I said it before, but having them right down the road and having some of their guys come back and skate and lift here and train here is something that’s super cool for me to get to see. Then obviously D.U. had Sean Behrens last year, who’s going to the Avs now, so getting to hang out with all the D.U. guys that were at Avs Dev Camp was great for me, especially all the defensemen.

It was really a perfect situation because even though we had summer school we were still able to go, and we wouldn’t have been able to go to dev camp if it wasn’t in Colorado, so that was awesome for me. I couldn’t be more happy. I’m really grateful for the organisation for taking a chance on me. And now it’s my opportunity, and pretty much all I have to do right now is go and prove them right. Prove to them that they got a steal and just make sure that they made the right decision, and go out there and work as hard as I can. [I’m] happy that they feel — they like me as a prospect, and I really enjoy [being] in an organisation like that. Obviously they have a great track [record] for success and I hope to get out to a few games this year and watch and cheer them on.

PA: Alright Tory, thanks very much for joining us on your busy schedule. Looking forward to seeing your career progress. You still got a lot of stuff to do this summer with the World Junior Showcase in Plymouth. I was thinking about Zeev Buium being there, William Whitelaw, Jake Fisher, all guys that you…

TP: All guys I know, yeah.

PA: And then the rest of the way with the Pioneers this winter with your schedule, and then after that. So best of luck and thanks a lot for joining us, and enjoy the rest of your summer, okay?

TP: Thank you. I appreciate that. Alright, bye.

[justhere4kpop]

~Beautiful Stranger~

Pairing: Yunho x Reader. (The guys are involved at some point too but not romantically.) NonIdol! AU

Description: A lonely perpetually single grad student working at a museum is approached by a handsome man, he looks expensive. Maybe this is your chance to get swept off your feet. Maybe he wants something else.

Warnings: I don't censor myself so I don't censor the characters, so Language warning. Let me know if I missed anything.

taglist: @legohwa, @hwaightme

a/n: Okay! I was originally going to make this a one-shot but I think I have too much storyline in my head to make it that way so Surprise! Series time! I'm really excited about this one so please let me know what you guys think, I'm having so much fun writing it already.

Also yes the Teaser is included at the beginning of the chapter, I added some stuff to it so I just put it in.

w/c: 4258

Chapter One: Handsome Stranger

The blaring sound of my morning alarm disturbs the dreams of a man sweeping me off my feet, his voice no longer sweet as honey but now Kick It by NCT 127. I guess I’m getting introduced to some New Thangs today  So it was going to be that kind of day, no school but long hours at work as a gallery attendant but also archivist in training, the latter being an unpaid internship…of course. Yeah, long day. I got up, finally silencing my alarm and pulling myself out of my full sized bed, the only luxury I could afford on my own, to drag myself down the hallway to our shared bathroom and brush my teeth. Let’s hope I’m awake enough to remember not to drink Orange Juice again as I look for breakfast. Now how long until I have to catch my train? And if I miss it how long until the bus? It’s not a terrible walk but I need to eat. Maybe I can get to Uni from here. Why does London have to be so confusing!

I’m not originally from the UK but my parents moved back and forth for a variety of things while I was growing up so it’s like a second home. I came here for my graduate program in Art History and made a few friends…moved in with them and now there’s 5 people in an apartment made for 3. We all go to University College London and live off campus in the cheapest place we could find. I was fortunate enough to get a job and internship at The National Gallery here. I’m lucky and I can pay rent but that’s about it, I’m by no means well off and trust me I could use a few extra of any sort of money. 

“You’re up early y/n” William, my flatmate’s boyfriend said passing by the open door.

“Work.” was all I mumbled as I head back to my room to pick out my outfit for the day. I stayed up writing this stupid research paper all night and what do I have to show for it…the not so designer bags under my eyes. Most days are filled with a plethora of alarms going off around the same time, lucky for my flatmates, I’m the only one with work today I guess. Alright, which combination of suit pants, blouse, and jacket am I going to wear today…All Black? All Black. I finished setting everything out before heading downstairs to eat just in case I got something on my shirt again. Last time I decided to make this beautiful breakfast sandwich with a runny egg and it broke onto the bright pink blouse I had picked for the day on the tube going to work, my boss was not happy about the spill. Did I cry, yeah…hey the saying is crying over spilt milk not spilt eggs.

“Oh hi y/n!” my other flatmate's girlfriend Emma cheerily said. “I’m just making Becks some breakfast do you want any?”

“Sure Ems…thanks.” I nodded. If I didn’t have to cook I wasn’t going to complain. Oh that’s the other thing you should know, I’m the only one single in this apartment anymore…or flat. Whatever you want to call it. 

The two sleeping while their partners roam around are my best friends for 2 years, Becka (Rebecca) and Liz (Elizabeth), I only use their full names when I’m angry at them, there have been plenty of arguments in the small confinement of our apartment. There’s 2 bedrooms upstairs, one above the living room, one above the downstairs bedroom, the bathroom is in between the two and just up the set of stairs. Downstairs is the living room, and subsequent dining area. Kitchen is just through to the back and off to the right is bedroom number 3. Yes we all share one bathroom, no it’s not as fun as it sounds. I live in the room at the front of the place above the living room. I was going to take the downstairs room because I came home late and didn’t want to wake anyone until Liz and Will got together, when they started dating they went at it like rabbits. Becka offered to switch with me since she was barely home to begin with, she and Emma had just started dating so she was with her a lot, at school doing lengthy research papers, or at her internship at the hospital. Her internship slowed down so she had a lot of time to be home and spend time with the love of her life. They’re cute don’t get me wrong…just unfortunate to be the only one single here. 

“Thanks again Ems.” I said cleaning the plate I used as I got up to finally get dressed. “It was really good, Becka is lucky to have you.”

“I certainly am.” said woman came into the room perking up at her partner. “Thank you again love.”

“I’ll be going before that breakfast makes a fast journey back up.” I laughed receiving a towel to the face. I put on the outfit I had picked out, touched up my hair so I didn’t look like I was coming out of bed, and set off for the day. Thankfully I didn’t miss my train so it was only 45 minutes to get to work. I know that sounds like a lot but it’s not so bad when you’re used to it. I get to listen to music and relax a little more before starting a long long day.

The opening of a museum is never exciting, there’s probably 10 maybe 15 guests in the first 3 hours of opening, not much to do, luckily the museum lets me work on my internship first on these long days so I’m not bored out of my mind by the time I’m done. I usually clock in around lunch time finally and sit or stand around for the rest of the day depending on what they want me to do that day. 

“Y/n” you’re going to be in Room 43 today.” my boss Henry looked at me.

“Well at least I get to look at some of my favorites today.” I sighed, knowing I was going to be on my feet for the rest of the day was not something to invoke joy. Room 43 on Level 2 had our Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Seurat paintings, most notably Sunflowers by Van Gogh, Van Gogh’s Chair, and Motherhood by Picasso. One of my favorites was-

“A Vase of Flowers, Paul Gauguin,” said the smoothest voice I’ve ever heard. Like butter melting on bread.

“Yes, one of my favorites in the room.” I smiled before turning towards the man. My breath hitched, there before me stood a man about 6 foot 1, dressed in a suit that looks like I don’t know how to pronounce the designers name, oxford shoes, no tie,his nose had a slight point to it, a jawline that looked like it was sculpted by Michelangelo, full eyebrows, his eyes soft and warm, finally his black hair. He was perfect, absolutely stunning, I wanted to look at him more than the art around me.

“Can you tell me about it?” he smiled.

“Oh, yes absolutely.” Anything to talk to him. “Painted by Gauguin in 1896, painted with Oil Paints-”

“Ah so it needs something breathable to not ruin the paints?” he smiled. “When transported for cleaning?”

“Yes, since oils are very hard to fix if damaged and excess moisture can ruin them like the whole water and oil thing... So um anyways, Paul Gauguin painted 'A Vase of Flowers' when he arrived in Tahiti for his second stay in 1895. The vase is bursting with exotic flowers including hibiscus, white and yellow frangipani and white tiare. The flowers look as though they are past their best as some blossoms have fallen onto the table. This suggests that Gauguin was not interested in the horticultural detail but instead the decorative shapes and interweaving of colors of the display.”

“Very interesting.” his smile grew. “Sorry one of my friends is very interested in this piece but I never knew what it was painted with.”

“Excuse me ma’am.” an older woman called my attention. “I had a question about this piece.”

“Oh, well I’m glad I could help sir. I’m y/n.” I shook his hand. “Please let me know if you have more questions.I’ll um..be over there” I nodded, giving him time to look at the painting. A handsome stranger interested in learning about one of my favorite pieces…he’s probably married. I’m going to be alone forever.

“Thank you beautiful.” he flashed a smile my way. 

The beautiful stranger hung around for quite some time staring at the piece, he even had a notebook where he wrote some notes and made a sketch of the painting. No I wasn’t staring at him…okay maybe I totally was but it’s not everyday you see someone that attractive in here, he was practically an art piece himself. No I wasn’t fantasizing about him taking me away in some fancy car with the engine revving going way to fast down the street to a fancy restaurant where the prices aren’t even on the menu and he tells me not to worry about it and to order what I like, he’d probably call me something cheesy like baby, honey, sweetheart, dear, starlight, honey bun….darling…his. NO! Oh my god you can’t fantasize about that stuff he asked you a question. You really are deprived. 

Work was the same as ever after the man left, I was stuck making sure no one touched the art until the museum closed and then I got to go home after clocking out. Back to the happy couples…I put on my earbuds and walked to the station, after staring at someone all day I wasn’t really ready to be reminded I was single forever. Oh well, no choice…maybe I’ll stop and get food and just head up to my room so they won’t notice.

“Hey y/n!” a voice yelled in the tunnel. “Aww hey do you have your earbuds in?” he tapped my shoulder.

“I have mace!” I whipped around feeling someone tap me. Oh. “Wooyoung! Don’t scare me that way!” I hit him gently and took my earbuds out.

“Heading home?” he asked.

“Yeah, I just got off work.”

“I was hoping you were going to say a date,” he sighed.

“Can’t find one. I stare at paintings from the 1800s all day.” I chuckled and nudged him. “Let me know if you find Degas or Van Gogh walking around, I’m pretty sure I know more about them than myself at this point.”

“I’ll be sure to point them your way.” he smiled. “Not even one of your coworkers huh?”

“I went out for drinks a while ago with David but he was so boring, no spice you know. Plus he’s one of those water is too spicy guys.”

“Oh yeah, ew.”

“I don’t know, maybe I’m just always going to be single. I just want someone…who’s a little interesting you know?”

His eyes lit up, he had heard that sentence a few days ago from someone else, he knew what to do.

“Well maybe I have this friend?” he started.

“Oh god not matchmaker Woo again.” I rolled my eyes as we got on the train.

“Hey look I really thought you two would hit it off.”

“Woo he just wanted to make his ex jealous…and I ended up with a ruined dress and a large bill.”

“I apologized and paid you back for his meal. I’m sorry!”

“I know you did.”

“Okay but seriously, this guy is one of my best friends, he’s got some money, he’s actually single single, like hasn’t had a partner in years single, he likes art, he’s tall, he’s not a scumbag, and he’s interesting. I promise you’ll like him.” he pleaded.

“Woo I just-”

“Pleaseeee just one date and then if you don’t like him you can tell me to fuck off whenever you want, please please please!”

“Okay okay fine…one date. Just…one ok?” I sighed. I trust Wooyoung. I do. He's a good friend, great even…his matchmaking skills are just…hit or miss.

“You won’t regret it, and be sure to thank me at the wedding!” he got up at his stop.

“Woo there won’t-!” the doors closed… “be a wedding.” I groaned. Just what have I gotten myself into.

“Hey sour puss what’s with the face?” Liz asked as I came in.

“Ran into Wooyoung on the train.”

“Oh how’s he doing? Also what did he do, you’re not in a bad mood every time you see him” she smiled. “Will is in the bathroom.” I motioned to head up and stopped at her words

“He begged me to go on a blind date with someone he knows.”

“Oh god because that worked out so well last time.” she smiled.

“What did?” Becka came into the room.

“Woo set y/n up on a blind date…again.” Liz smiled.

“Oh god, you have my number I will come get you.” Becka chuckled.

“He promised it wouldn’t be as bad this time but I don’t know I’m still worried.” I rubbed my arm. “He did apologize for last time but still…that was so bad.”

“Do you know anything about this one?” Liz asked.

“Apparently he’s tall, very single, likes art, and has money?” I said remembering what Wooyoung told me on the train.

“Ooo tall handsome rich single man?” They both chuckled. “How does Wooyoung know someone like that?”

“Beats me honestly, but I said I would try…even though I regret it already.”

“And when is said date?” Becka asked.

“Dunno….he’ll probably text me about it later.” I sighed. “I mean I guess it couldn’t be too bad to try.”

“It’s probably worse to trust Woo than to go on the date.” Liz smiled and Will came down.

“Who’s got a date?” he asked.

“y/n” Liz said and made room on the couch for her boyfriend.

“Oh y/n has a date?” Emma sat next to Becka.

“I’m off to bed, it looks like a date night.” I waved. 

No need to be reminded I’m still…very much single.

~~~~~~~~~

“Hyung Hyung Hyungie Hyung-ah Hyunghyunghyung” Wooyoung began annoying the older man at his desk.

“Yes Wooyoung?” Yunho looked up from his computer, blueprints and notes scattered around the desk. “Do you need another reference photo or something?”

“No no that’s fine, it’s all coming together.” Wooyoung brushed the man off. “I found you the perfect date!”

“Woo we’ve talked about this, I don’t date.” he sighed.

“No no listen really, she's perfect for you, she’s single and lives with two other couples so she’s practically begging to get out, she doesn’t ask a lot of questions, she knows a bunch about art and everything.”

“Wouldn’t that make it easier for us to get caught Wooyoung? She could tell fakes from the real ones?”

“Nah her eyesight is too bad for that unless she’s up close and personal. She could help us out with transporting them properly, you know, how to keep them undamaged. Plus she’s really pretty, you’d like her…oh and she’s funny, sarcastic, looks good on your arm at a party.”

“Why don’t you date her then?”

“Oh hyung don’t be silly, you’re the one getting old, you need to settle down, don’t you want to spend time with someone, you know spend some of that money on them, have someone besides us…help relieve some stress?”

“We’re the same age Wooyoung.” he closed his laptop.

“Oh no, my birthday is in November, yours just passed.”

The room got quiet.

“You’re not letting this go until I say yes are you?”

“Oh come on just one date! You’ll like her, I bet you’ll even get married come on! Please please please please please please please please please please please please pleasepleasepleaseplease-”

“Okay!!...Okay fine, just one date, and we’re not-” Wooyoung left. “Getting married…”

Yunho couldn’t help but think of the beautiful stranger he met at the museum earlier, he caught her staring a few times but couldn’t bring himself to say more in case she got suspicious, but man did he want to, her smile was infectious, her clothing choices mimicked his own, she knew about the art he wanted…but he’s a criminal, no one would ever want to be with a criminal, it’s not that he can’t do the time he just wouldn’t want to drag someone else into it, although he certainly wouldn’t mind coming out to that beautiful face…if he ever got caught that is, he has no plans on making that a reality. 

“One date.” he sighed to himself.

~~~~~~~~~~

I smoothed over the dress I chose for tonight, Wooyoung couldn’t wait to text me and tell me his friend said yes. Why did I bother saying yes this is…no let’s..let’s be hopeful, maybe he’ll be nice, and funny, and hopefully a little good-looking….please Wooyoung…don’t do this to me.

“You look gorgeous y/n!” Emma and Liz squealed, their partners on the couch. 

“We definitely won’t be seeing you tonight.” Becka chuckled.

“Oh please I’m definitely not going to sleep with this guy, it’s the first date and it’s a Wooyoung blind date.” I rolled my eyes.

“I mean if he’s lucky we won’t see you tonight.” Liz laughed. “He’ll certainly only have his eyes on you this time.”

“One can hope” I groaned. “I better go, I don't want to show up late.” I grabbed my purse and a long black coat to keep warm. Of course there’s a hole in the pocket…I really need to get this fixed. 

“It’s going to be warm out, just forget the coat and get it fixed later.” Liz called out. “Go go! You’ll be late.”

It feels weird to walk around the city in just a dress and heels, I feel a little exposed but it’s not any different from the other people I’ve seen I guess…I made my way to the station to go to the restaurant Wooyoung had picked out, he told me to dress fancy so I got the fanciest dress I could. Black and white, a little lace, elegant but not over the top, stops at the knee, a cute little black heel and my hair pulled up into one of those fancy buns. Hopefully I remembered my glasses this time in my bag.

When Jung Wooyoung says fancy restaurant he wasn’t kidding, I’m pretty sure an appetizer here costs my entire rent, there’s not even prices on the menu how am I supposed to afford-

“Miss y/n?” A voice called. Sounds….familiar?

“Yes?” I turned around and it was the guy from the museum. “Oh hello.” I blushed

“It’s nice to see you again, are you waiting for someone?”

“My um..my friend set me up on this..silly blind date.” I chuckled lightly.

“How funny me too.” he smiled. “I wouldn’t be rude to assume you know a Jung, Wooyoung?”

“That would be the one.” I nodded gently.

“Well how funny would it be if I told you the very person sent me here on a silly blind date as well?”

“Well I suppose that would be…quite nice actually.” I sighed. “Last time I let him talk me into this…it didn’t go well.”

“Ah I know the feeling. She went after her ex after spending 30 minutes with me.” he chuckled.

“Ironic, mine used me to get back with his ex.”

“Now isn’t that just something.” he offered his hand to me. “Shall we go in?”

“How gentlemanly.” I let out a chuckle.

“Oh I’m Yunho by the way, Jeong Yunho.” 

“Oh a James Bond type I see. Last name first.” I chuckled. “Y/n L/n. Sorry I went the other way.”

“Oh god!” they both thought. “It’s you from the museum! What should I do?...stay calm, it’s just a date.”

I never thought I’d thank Wooyoung for setting me up on a date but, I might after this one…he’s so…he’s almost too perfect to be true, he’s interested in what I do, he’s charming, funny, he’s handsome…I..I almost feel like I’m dreaming. I’m pinching myself and not waking up so this has to be real, please be real. If this is a prank Wooyoung I’m never speaking to you again. 

“I should warn you beautiful, I’m quite dangerous.” he chuckled

“Oh are you now? Maybe I should’ve brought a bat.”

Time felt forgotten, it passed by so fast but so slow. Before we knew it the restaurant was closing and asking us to leave.

“Oh don’t worry about the bill.” he waved his hand at me reaching for my wallet. “It’s on me tonight.”

“I couldn’t possibly let you-”

“I insist beautiful.” he smiled and handed the waiter his card….A Black Credit Card!??!?! Oh my god.

“Next time is on me.” I said my cheeks were heating up. “A-As long as it’s pizza.” I joked…not really.

“Pizza sounds perfect if you’re there.” he winked. Oh man he is dangerous. “Can I walk you home? Or perhaps drive you?” he beeped his car…his very expensive silver car. A Rolls Royce?

“Oh my god.” I whispered. “What do you do?” I laughed.

“Oh I just inherited a lot of money from my uncle.”

“Oh sure, do you sell organs on the black market?” I nudged him gently.

“Oh no way, blood freaks me out.” he laughed. “I invest.”

“Sure.” I smiled and got in the car.

“Where to?” he asked.

“Oh right.” I gave him my address and we were off. It was bittersweet driving with him, I really didn’t want it to end yet. If this was going to be my only date with Yunho then…I just wanted to feel special for a little while longer. “Um, would you mind if we made a short stop first? It’s just…a really nice night out and I don’t want to…with my roommates and all.”

“Sure, I wouldn’t mind staying out myself.” he smiled.

“There’s a park just up ahead.” I said bashfully. “We could just…walk around?”

“I like that idea.” he pulled over to the park and before I could even think about opening my door he had sprinted around the car to open it.

“Ever the gentleman.” I stepped out and he offered his arm.

We walked around the park for a little just continuing our conversations from earlier, he shared about his childhood days, some of the stuff he and his brother used to do, his friends and how he met Wooyoung. It was all great until a breeze swept through.

“Here.” he shrugged off his coat and pulled it around me. “Better?” he smiled and his touch on me lingered slightly.

“Better.” I whispered and looked at him. “Thank you.”

“Sure.” he cleared his throat and pulled back slightly. 

It was close to 11pm when we finally decided we had been out long enough, I would hopefully not get hazed about the date and he would hopefully be able to go back to whatever he wanted. Even if it was just one date, it felt like a million and it just felt wonderful.

“Oh your coat.” I started taking it off as we pulled up to my little flat.

“Just give it to me next time Beautiful.” he smiled and put his hand up to stop me.

“Are you sure?”

He nodded.

I leaned over the center console and kissed his cheek leaving a slight pink imprint there.

“Goodnight Yunho, thank you for the…probably most perfect night of my life listening to me talk about work.” I smiled and got out of the car. I’ll miss him.

“Goodnight Beautiful.” he smiled more to himself as he drove off when she walked in her front door.

Did I receive the interrogation of a lifetime? Yes absolutely.

Could I stop smiling? No..Not at all. He listened to me ramble about work and school and how overwhelming it is, he listened to me talk about different paints and how to preserve them and take care of them like it was the most interesting thing he ever heard. I almost hate him for how perfect he is.

“Jung Wooyoung, I'm going to kill you.” I said as he picked up the phone.

“What?! Why!? What happened!?” he sat up on the other line.

“How could you literally give me that after all the shit dates you’ve set me up on!”

“Was it bad? You guys have been out for hours!”

“No! It was amazing! I can’t believe you!” I groaned and flopped onto my bed. “He was…kind and sweet and charming and caring and…everything and I hate you for it.”

“...BECAUSE I WAS RIGHT???”

“BECAUSE YOU WERE RIGHT!” I sat up. “Why did you have to be right!?”

“Because I’m amazing, excuse you. You liked him.”

“Yes.”

“You liked him a lot?”

“Wooyoung I literally would drop everything right now to just listen to his laugh.” I sighed. “It's pathetic.”

“I’ll let you know what he says, I just heard the front door.”

“No Wooyoung please, it's fine. I’ll see you in class tomorrow.” I sighed. “I’ll have to give you his coat too.”

“He gave you his coat? Oh my god. See marriage.”

“Goodnight Woo.”

“I’m the matchmaker god after all.”

“Goodnight! Woo.” I hung up. I hate this.

I hate men.

`Next

[dearwriters]

Do you have any tips or advice for people with ADHD that struggle with writing?

ADHD writing advice?

I have been asked this before and the last time I said this:

I am NOT the person to ask about advice when it comes to ADHD management. That's something very individual and different things work for different people and I'm in no way qualified to speak on that.

Now, I am currently myself in talks with my therapist about me having some form of ADHD/ADD (which, you know... makes sense of a lot of things in retrospect). This being said: I am still no expert on the topic and especially not on your specific brain. We all work a bit different. I too struggle with writing a lot and I found that for me it's all about figuring out how my brain likes things. And isn't that the universal ADHD struggle?

I hyperfixate on stuff and then I burn out, so I need to account for that by

a) always having my phone with me so I can write down ideas, sentences, whole scenes whenever they hit me, because unless I am so obsessed with them that I can't stop thinking about them, I will simply not remember them and I will KNOW that I had something great I can't remember now and it will drive me bonkers.

b) figuring out how much planning I need to do. I personally need an outline (I call it "The Murder Board Method") to stay focused, but it can't be too detailed or I will loose interest. That's something very specific to the individual, I've seen people talk about instantly loosing interest the second they finished an outline, so lots of ADHD writers seem to be discovery writers.

c) allowing myself to write what I am excited about. Sometimes writing may seem like a bit of a chore when you are not motivated to write the scene you are currently working on. So I allow myself to jump around and write the scenes I am currently obsessed with. Sometimes that means only writing bits and pieces and later glueing them together. It can get disorganized but it's way more fun for me that way.

d) accepting that I will never have a routine, because my brain struggles with routines. So, while I often recommend people to build a writing routine, because it helps a lot of people, I myself just can't do it. Like, seriously, after 10 years of having to take medication every day, I still need a reminder on my phone! I actually also have reminders on my phone to remind me of going to the bathroom or drink water once in a while...

So yeah, bonus tip: set yourself reminders to take breaks while writing in case you are hyperfocusing and can't register that your bladder is actually in distress.

e) figuring out how to get in the zone. Something that helps me a lot with that is finding the right music. I spend a lot of time looking for songs with the right "vibe" I want to emulate, and sometimes I spend like... hours, listening to the same song on repeat. I also, when I struggle really bad, try to just sit down and write whatever comes to mind. Zero filter, zero censoring, stream of consciousness. Just write down your whole thought process. Even if you write ten times “I don’t know what to write”. Sometimes it feels like uncorking a bottle of champagne that build up a lot of pressure and suddenly it just all spills out. Furthermore I found that engaging with writing content (like here on tumblr for example) gets me back into my excitement about the writing itself!

f) making a game out of it. I like checking things off a to do list. So by making little goals for myself and being able to chek them off, it kinda gives me a feeling of accomplishment and I can get myself a treat :)

So yeah, this might be very unhelpful for you, but maybe it will help someone out there.

Have fun writing!

[yutlii]

Programming

Today is Programming day. I am not very excited about it, since it is going much harder and much slower as I expected. But we have to Work...

I am developing a website using Mudblazor. UI Is done but I can't show it here cause it is a private project. Now I have to connect the DB with the UI. The functions that interact with the DB are also ready, so all missing is the logic connecting both. And at this moment I realized how much my UI sucks, hahaha. But Blazor and Mudblazor are very interesting, I am also enjoying programming with c#. I tried developing games with it in Unity before, and it is a nice language. I mostly work with Swift because of my job, so I am happy to try something I can use outside apple environment since most of my devices aren't even apple. I have an iPhone and that's it, my laptop is a windows, android tablet, kindle, WSL, Xiaomi Band (nor very smart). I'll try any old tech you give me.

For those wondering how I can develop with Swift without a Mac, I do have a Mac from work, but it is not my personal Laptop and I don't have anything personal there. All my games and university stuff is in my Windows laptop.

[northadawn]

NorthaDawn's Feb 2024 Update

Hello everyone, NorthaDawn here, and it's February here, I hope that your 2024 has been going great so far! Mine has been decent so far, and I wanted to write this important journal to give you some in-depth news into the latest happenings that I've been doing that I feel all of you deserve to know about!

1) PERSONAL HAPPENINGS

I'll get the elephant in the room out of the way first; on the health side of things, I've been doing much better and physically, this is the healthiest I've been in ages. Mentally? Let's just say that I've had to cut off someone really toxic from the community; they've caused a lot of trouble for me and my dear friends for months. I don't want to dive further into what happened to keep my friends safe, but I do want to say this: be there for your friends and stand up for them when they need you around.

Apart from that, I have been changing up things here and there and handling stuff in my university and in my family, but I do have some things cooking up for you guys that I'll share with you here later! But first, I want to go over my announcement from a handful of days back to clarify a few things.

2) THAT SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

You've probably already read my post where I announced my decision to continue making Titanic content in the future instead of retiring, but I think I should also explain why I contemplated retiring (again). To be honest with you, ever since my heart attack ages ago, things have gone poorly for me here; a partnership that wasn't meant to be, my ever-increasing workload in university, losing momentum and motivation for Titanic art in general, and feeling like a stranger here again has been a few reasons as to why I decided to quit once 2023 turns into 2024. However, a new partnership with smolnoodlekitty that soon turned into "Team Heartslash" (which includes people such as Matlock26th, caitlin._.art, Lacoeurdelamer, NWArtOfficial), getting more lovely people to voice act my characters, and the support from the newest batch of talented artists in the community made me rethink my decision to step away from doing Titanic art. That's why I decided to stay on! Unironically, I wouldn't still be here today without your support, so thank you all for continuing to support me even though I barely upload at all these days. I'm trying to work on that, I promise.

Speaking of characters...

3) MY FIRST OC: MASAKO HONDA

I finally made an actual original character that isn't a gijinka of some sort! I got the confidence to finally make a character that isn't limited to being a gijinka, and I'm happy with what I have. You've probably already seen her if you checked out my Twitter, but here she is: Masako Honda!

Masako Honda is a hyperactive, ADHD-ridden Japanese-Filipino girl who moved to the Philippines at the age of 10. Despite being a self-proclaimed nerd who is very geeky and hyperactive to the point where she can't stay still for 5 minutes, she is a very attractive girl who is way out of most guys' league. However, she doesn't have a boyfriend since birth. She took up the Game Development course in her university because of her self-taught ability in Unity and in C#. Just don't call her a Java developer.

That's a brief introduction of her, she'll soon have her place in my gallery, and I hope you'll be excited for that day to come as much as I am! The early reception I got from both my Discord server and my classmates has been insane and I couldn't be more thankful for the response I got for her!

4) SOCIAL MEDIAS (DISCORD SERVER + DA GROUP)

I've been going around and trying to update my social media pages and stuff, and I understand that there's a lot of links to keep up with, so I compiled them all in one page so you can quickly go to my profiles in certain sites! You can check them out right now through my Linktree here: https://linktr.ee/NorthaDawn

Speaking of updates, I've also been doing a little rebrand, which is why I've transitioned away from my old theme to the one I've had right now, I hope you like the new look!

I've also decided to take on a new tagline that I feel would represent not only me, but also all of you guys as a whole well. It's a simple line, yet it's a very motivational one, at least for me, and I hope it'll be motivational for you too. The tagline? "THERE IS STILL A VOYAGE TO EMBARK ON."

As a final reminder, I do have a Discord server up that also serves as a server for smolnoodlekitty and caitlin._.art! You can join through this link here: https://discord.gg/gsxGMPMPNb

5) VOICE ACTRESS ANNOUNCEMENT

Of course, I'd save the best for last. I'll keep it short and sweet...

RMS Olympic (Olyvia McLoughlin) - caitlin._.art

You probably know her as my Titanic's voice for a bit now, but she'll now be primarily voicing the Old Reliable now! She also did the absolutely gorgeous art for this announcement! As for who'll take her spot as Titanic?

RMS Titanic (Emily McLoughlin) - Lacoeurdelamer

She's the nice girl who'll play the Queen of the Ocean! If you've been around my Discord server, you know her as Maxine, and the amount of similarities she has to my Titanic is quite insane, which is why she's the perfect fit!

Masako Honda - moonglower.art + smolnoodlekitty

A 2-for-1! Weren't expecting that, were you? Either way, they're sharing duties to be the voice of the hyperactive college girl!

I hope you'll be looking forward to hearing them bring my characters to life!

FINAL REMARKS

Thanks for your continued support, and I hope that this has been a nice update so you're up to speed with what's going on in my end of things. Please do leave a comment, I'd like to know what you think! Also, go support every artist mentioned in this journal, they deserve it too! Have a wonderful day!

-Northa

THERE IS STILL A VOYAGE TO EMBARK ON

[creepypasta-meh-dudes]

Lunchables and Familiarity

*Nathan the Nobody and Candy Pop are sitting on Candy Pop's bed, recovering from a little game they liked to play called: How long can we kiss without passing out?...with Candy Pop winning as usual*

*after a few more deep breaths, Nathan looks over at Candy Pop*

Nathan: you want to come with me to get a lunchable?

Candy Pop:....what in the 7 deadly sins is a lunchable?

Nathan:.......what did you just say?

Candy Pop: what's a lunchale-

Nathan: you poor, neglected, demon possesed-fairy-angel-blue jolly rancher....you have never tasted a Lunchable?

Candy Pop: no....I haven't....

Nathan: *picks candy up* come with me then, blue raspberry goblin, we shall find you the best Lunchables we can....and some babybel cheese on the side!

Candy Pop: *finding this wildly funny* alright then?

*Nathan carries Candy Pop on his back, taking him to the nearest exit of Jason's little pocket universe....he puts Candy Pop down about 3 minutes later cause he's having trouble keeping his balance with the unruly and excited genyr on his back*

*eventually Nathan finds the exit and Walks out with Candy Pop into an alley way, seeing a walmart sign about 5 minutes away from them*

Nathan: *putting away his mask and tying his hair up into a man bun* alright...if anyone asks, Candy Pop, you are a cosplayer and I am your roommate.

Candy Pop: but you're my boyfriend-

Nathan: *putting a finger to the small jester's lips* SHHHHHHH. we will devote ourselves to the role.

Nathan: NOW, we shall go...*he walks with Candy Pop to the walmart*

*Once they are inside, Candy Pop looks around excitedly...practically bouncing up and down, even though Candy Pop had gone to Walmart with Nathan a few times before, he always found it all quite invigorating considering where he was from, they had nothing like this*

*Nathan walked toward the cheese and lunch meat isle and pointed at the lunchables*

Nathan: the ambrosia and nectar of humans......✨Lunchables✨

Candy Pop: you've been hanging out with Papa Grande...haven't you?

Nathan:...........hush you glitter force-glitter diamond lookalike.

*candy Pop laughs at this and just grabs a lunchable*

Candy Pop: alright we got the- *GASP*

Nathan: huh?

Candy Pop: *pointing at the refrigerators* red bull!

Nathan: Candy...if i buy that for you...Jason will KILL me....you understand that...right?

Candy Pop: small price to pay for your boyfriend's happiness~

Nathan:.....you're lucky i'm feeling extra good today.

*Nathan gets a red bull for candy pop and walks with him to the cashier*

Cashier: that'll be 14.59...

Nathan: *raises an eyebrow* hm...that's...more...than usual...

Cashier: *shrugs and takes the money from Nathan and gives them the stuff they bought*

Nathan: *mumbles* thanks...

*Candy Pop kept his eyes on the cashier...something felt....off*

Cashier: *looks at Candy with an odd grin....a grin Candy Pop had seen in the past but couldn't quite put his finger on* so...you're a cosplayer? what- or WHO are you cosplaying?

Candy Pop: *cautious* well....i'm cosplaying-

Cashier: wait....let me guess. a genyr?

Candy Pop: *eyes widening* how did you-

Nathan: *already at the exit* Candy! c'mon! Jason's gonna get worried if we're gone for too long!

Candy Pop: c-coming...*he heads towards Nathan...thinking about the odd interaction he just had...how on earth did that cashier know Candy Pop was a genyr...Genyrs were not something humans knew about...Genyrs were often mixed up with Angels...but that cashier had guessed perfectly...it wasn't normal*

*Nathan and Candy Pop head home and enjoy their red bull and lunchables*

*after they finish, they both get ready for bed, Candy Pop practically vibrating from the red bull...they walk to Jason's room and lay down all together, Candy Pop in the middle of the 6'0" goth and the 6'4" Toymaker*

Jason: *looking down at Candy Pop* why....why on Earth are you so shaky?

Nathan: *giving Candy a look that says: tell him and you wont be able to walk for a week.*

Candy Pop: *simply smiles at Nathan and turns to Jason* Nathan bought me a Red bull.

Nathan: YOU LITTLE SNITCH-

Jason: *sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose* i'm too tired to lecture you at this point...just don't do it again.

Nathan: *squints* hm...alright....fine...

Candy Pop: *simply chuckles and drifts to sleep*

*the throuple falls asleep peacefully*

................................................

Cashier: *walking into the back of Walmart snickering*

???: what's so funny?

Cashier: *slowly morphing* you wouldn't believe what I saw....

???: what?

*the cashier has now completely morphed*

Morivin: I got to see our dear older brother.

Drolsoir: he was here?

Morivin: yes...posing as a cosplayer with this...HIPPIE he was with

Drolsoir: ah...do you think we could use this?

Morivin: i believe we can younger brother....we will use our brother's relationship with that hipster people call a man to draw him in....and kill Night Terrors.

Drolsoir: lovely....

.....................................

*candy pop sits up, waking in a cold sweat*

Candy Pop: no....no no no....

Night Terrors: what is it?

Candy Pop: *grits his teeth* Morivin.....that cashier....it was Morivin....

Night Terrors: *Malice and cruelty in his voice* oh my~ quite the development we have.....

*Candy Pop closes his eyes in regret.....remembering the danger this could put him in....the danger this could put Jason and Nathan in*

Candy Pop: *breathes out* very well....I will simply have to be more careful...

*he lays down, pretending like everything is ok....just as he always does...*

........................

so, if you couldn't tell, this is going to be connected with the backstory i wanted to make for him.

(none of these characters belong to me,

Nathan was created by Ivydarkrose

Candy Pop was created by: DanceofAngels

Jason was created by: Kristanyl.)

Morivin and Drolsoir were created by Ivydarkrose

[darkdoverpseeker]

 🐭 20f looking for 18+ roleplay partners 🐭  hey there c: ive recently come back from a hiatus, and most of my roleplays have died off, so, im back and im looking for more! before i dive into all my brain rot and current fixations, id like to say a little about myself c: im a full time university student, so my schedule is hectic as fuck, but i often find time to come online and chat. i also have the worst work schedule in human history so i try to keep my partners updated on my work schedule as well! and i do not ghost - i would appreciate it if you don't do the same. if at any time you feel the roleplay isn't where you'd like it to be, or you're simply uninterested anymore, just let me know! it won't cause any hard feelings on my end. im not too strict on replies, just please give me enough to work off of! i believe in quality over quantity. When it comes to pairings, my preferred pairings are mlm and mlw, with selective wlw.  i do wish to play the female lead in mlw due to how rusty i am at playing male leads. as of now, i am unable to double up. i know this is a deal breaker, but depending on how many roleplays i begin, i want to be able to timely respond without the stress of extra long replies. i am so sorry </3 when it comes to smut, please be comfortable with it. i do not fade to black, i am sorry! smut won't happen every five seconds, but it will happen! now for the fun stuff - below are the super vague and shitty ideas that i have. these can be further developed privately!!

- i recently succumbed to the game of thrones universe, and im begging for something royal-centered. I think it could be super cool to maybe do a royal x mistress/paramour. i love the angst that could come with our characters sneaking around, hooking up in secret places, and having to hide their true intentions and feelings from those around them, as well as the fear that could come with getting caught! if infidelity plots aren't your thing, i would also love something a bit more cliche, perhaps an enemies-to-lovers situation. maybe an arranged marriage plot where they start out hating each other, but eventually begin to love one another. 

- zombie apocalypse brain rot!!! literally will always be down for an apocalypse roleplay. the simplicity is *chefs kiss* 

- vampires <3 love them. i have this idea that involves a super bitchy vampire lady who ends up falling in love with a super goofy himbo boy. im a sucker for cliche tropes, especially black cat x golden retriever types. this is very bare bones, but get me excited and i can totally come up with something!!! 

- alright here's the hella weird request that'll get me nowhere BUT HEAR ME OUT- im like, so deep into the hayden christensen verse than i am on my knees begging for someone to be willing to use him as a fc. idgaf about the plot ( i do but i also don't ) in return, ill use whoever you want as a fc!! this wont be doubled, but ill try to make it as even as possible that way we can both enjoy the roleplay! 

alrighty roo that's it. like this and ill try to reach out at some point this decade <3

like if interested !

[findyourrp]

🍓🧀 🐭 20f looking for 18+ roleplay partners 🍓🧀 🐭  hey there c: ive recently come back from a hiatus, and most of my roleplays have died off, so, im back and im looking for more! before i dive into all my brain rot and current fixations, id like to say a little about myself c: im a full time university student, so my schedule is hectic as fuck, but i often find time to come online and chat. i also have the worst work schedule in human history so i try to keep my partners updated on my work schedule as well! and i do not ghost - i would appreciate it if you don't do the same. if at any time you feel the roleplay isn't where you'd like it to be, or you're simply uninterested anymore, just let me know! it won't cause any hard feelings on my end. im not too strict on replies, just please give me enough to work off of! i believe in quality over quantity. When it comes to pairings, my preferred pairings are mlm and mlw, with selective wlw.  i do wish to play the female lead in mlw due to how rusty i am at playing male leads. as of now, i am unable to double up. i know this is a deal breaker, but depending on how many roleplays i begin, i want to be able to timely respond without the stress of extra long replies. i am so sorry </3 when it comes to smut, please be comfortable with it. i do not fade to black, i am sorry! smut won't happen every five seconds, but it will happen! now for the fun stuff - below are the super vague and shitty ideas that i have. these can be further developed privately!!

- i recently succumbed to the game of thrones universe, and im begging for something royal-centered. I think it could be super cool to maybe do a royal x mistress/paramour. i love the angst that could come with our characters sneaking around, hooking up in secret places, and having to hide their true intentions and feelings from those around them, as well as the fear that could come with getting caught! if infidelity plots aren't your thing, i would also love something a bit more cliche, perhaps an enemies-to-lovers situation. maybe an arranged marriage plot where they start out hating each other, but eventually begin to love one another. 

- zombie apocalypse brain rot!!! literally will always be down for an apocalypse roleplay. the simplicity is *chefs kiss* 

- vampires <3 love them. i have this idea that involves a super bitchy vampire lady who ends up falling in love with a super goofy himbo boy. im a sucker for cliche tropes, especially black cat x golden retriever types. this is very bare bones, but get me excited and i can totally come up with something!!! 

- alright here's the hella weird request that'll get me nowhere BUT HEAR ME OUT- im like, so deep into the hayden christensen verse than i am on my knees begging for someone to be willing to use him as a fc. idgaf about the plot ( i do but i also don't ) in return, ill use whoever you want as a fc!! this wont be doubled, but ill try to make it as even as possible that way we can both enjoy the roleplay! 

alrighty roo that's it. like this and ill try to reach out at some point this decade <3

.

[ivycopur]

ty for the tag @simmer-until-tender!!

1. what’s your favorite sims death?

death by fright is fun with how it can escalate, ghosts killing people to create more ghosts killing more people... i enjoy the chaos of a very haunted house 😈

2. Alpha CC or Maxis Match?

i lean more maxis match these days but i don't have a strict aesthetic

3. Do you cheat when your sims gain weight?

i assume this is more about ts4, i hardly ever see sims gain weight in ts2. but in either case nah

4. Do you use move objects?

of course, i'm not much of a builder tho

5. Favorite mod?

hmmmm there's soooo many i consider essential but if i had to play with just one mod i guess it would be the sim blender

6. First expansion/game/stuff pack you got?

ts2 university! and it's still a fave, i love playing dorms

7.  Do you pronounce “live mode” like aLIVE or LIVing?

i always assumed it was like aLIVE until the behind the sims summit which was the first time i actually heard someone from EA say it out loud lmao. ive tried to adjust to say LIVing but it still sounds wrong

8. Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made?

im gonna go with Clementine Bosden, the C heir of an alphabet legacy i attempted in 2011 (which got nowhere near Z, lol). she's a family sim with 1 nice point which is a hilarious combination to me. pictured here raging in the park for some reason & cheating at chess with her wife (an aged-up Chloe Gonzaga). ahhhh digging up these screenshots makes me wanna pick that hood back up again....

9.  Have you made a simself?

the last one i made was in 2016 when i had an undercut... not terribly accurate ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

10. What sims traits do you give yourself?

using TS3 traits... Vegetarian, Computer Whiz, Brooding, Loves the Outdoors, Animal Lover

11. Which is your favorite EA hair color?

again i assume this is more about ts4. but i am a fan of the various ts2 rainbow mohawks

12. Favorite EA hair?

it's basic but i've used the french braid hair a lot

13. Favorite life stage?

the younger stages are cute but it's gotta be adults, that's where the most gameplay is at

14. Are you a builder or are you in it for the game play?

building is a STRUGGLE for me, im here for the gameplay. although lately i've spent more time reading about how the game works & poking around in simpe than actually playing haha

15. Are you a CC creator?

nah, i've messed around a little with texture edits but im more interested in making mods than CC

16. Do you have any simblr friends/a sims squad?

me n my gf play sims together a lot but besides that not really

17. What’s your favorite game (1,2,3,4)?

ts2!!!

18. Do you have any sims merch?

i have some sims themed stickers from redbubble...

19. Do you have a youtube for sims?

well i have a sub-account on my youtube just for all the sims youtubers i subscribe to so i can keep up with them without it all being mixed in with all my other subscriptions on my main account. but no i don't make sims videos myself. i do like to imagine the sims video essays i would make if i had a infinite time to spend on that sort of thing but i doubt i ever will 😅

20. How has your “sims style” changed throughout your years of playing?

my MO is usually to start with one sim, have a bunch of kids & then a bunch of grandkids, get overwhelmed by the number of sims i'm managing & then abandon the family. but now i'm setting up an uberhood to play with LD's story progression and im very excited to see how it goes when i can just focus on one household and let everyone live their lives without me :)

21. What’s your origin ID?

it's simbly but there's nothing on there

22. Who’s your favorite cc creator?

tbh i've been avoiding going down the cc rabbithole for now... i have a ton of stuff bookmarked to check out later but idk what i'll end up using.... i'm picky about keeping my files organized and wrangling my huge mods folder has been enough of a headache, the amount of cc out there is even more overwhelming >.<

23. How long have you had a simblr?

only since fall 2022, ive been on tumblr since 2013 but this account is pretty new, i'm just getting back into the sims after not playing for a long time!

24. How do you edit your pictures?

photoshop babey

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack do you want next?

OpenTS2😭😭🙏🙏

[forabeatofadrum]

aap noot mies (3/14)

Notes: In case it wasn’t very clear, the chapter titles are the words that I made from the scramble letters and I even wrote down how many points I got for each word. I really liked this new challenge!

AO3 | S&C

–

YEAR - 7 points

“So, it all started last year. My dad got ill and it looked like he wasn’t going to make it – no worries, he’s fine now. But yeah, it got scary and my dad asked me and my stepmother to go through his belongings and stuff. After my brother died unexpectedly, we know what it’s like to be left behind with nothing arranged.”

That is a lot of information to take in.

Kurt says it with ease, but Blaine can hear a slight tension. It must’ve been really bad and stressful to have his brother die and then have his father almost die.

“While we went through his stuff, we found out we had some long lost family! My dad has two sisters! That is huge!”

“Let me guess, they’re from the Netherlands,” Blaine fills in.

Kurt nods.

“Yeah, there’s a lot of mystery surrounding my dad’s family. I never knew my grandparents either. Anyway, we contacted them and they were happy to hear from us. Turns out they didn’t really know of my dad either.”

Blaine nods in understanding. Contacting long-lost family feels like the dream. He hasn’t heard much from his family after he moved to this planet.

“People in the Netherlands speak English,” Kurt continues, “But, I don’t know, maybe it’s my ambitious side, but I’d love to learn the language. I originally considered asking them to teach me, but I want to surprise them.”

“Are you planning on visiting?” Blaine asks.

Kurt nods eagerly.

“Yes, we’re currently saving up. Hopefully next summer we’ll go there. We haven’t seen them in person yet.”

Blaine files that away for later. This means he’ll have one year to teach Kurt as much as possible. Of course, if Kurt lets him.

It’s a nice reason to learn a language. Yes, sometimes Blaine laments about how his superpower isn’t super useful, but it has also made Blaine appreciate language. Languages are a form of connection. It’s culture: history, art and community in one. Language, in all of its forms, be it written, spoken, signed (or other, Blaine knows that there are some other forms of language on some planets) is shared by everyone in the whole universe.

Sure, Blaine would love to have a superpower that makes it easier to find things he’s lost, but when he hears Kurt talk about how he’s excited about this prospect of connection, Blaine feels incredibly content.

“Sorry, am I boring you?” Kurt asks after a while. He’s realized that Blaine’s in his own world.

“No, of course not! On the contrary, I was thinking about how lovely this plan is.”

“You think?”

“Yeah, absolutely!” Blaine says excitedly, “I’ve heard several reasons why people learn a language and they’re all completely fine-” Well, apart from this one guy who wanted to speak Italian because he dreamt of joining the mafia “-but this one is definitely one of my favourites. It’s driven by love.”

Those are indeed Blaine’s favourites: people learning a language to welcome a new person, people learning a language to talk to their spouse’s family, people learning a language to impress someone they have a crush on.

Blaine just loves love!

[victorluvsalice]

A New Smiler Headcanon Related To The Takeover

Me: Oooh, I’m so excited to see these vlogs on The Smiler Takeover at Alton Towers! :D I can’t wait to get a glimpse of the shows and the themeing and all of that!

Me: [watches the videos and thoroughly enjoys all the Smiler stuff, including in particular the “Celebration” stage and Felix E. Lated the singer]

The Videos: [being negative about the event] And also the Felix E. Lated stuff sucks, even if the performer is doing his best. It’s way way too cheesy.

Me: [in a fit of pique] Well fuck you he’s Smiler’s uncle now.

Aaaaand -- yeah, that’s stuck. So, for any universe where Smiler is at least mostly human and has Matthew and Carol Alton for parents (Modern Human AU, Valicer in the Dark, the “As Long As You Love Me” sequel I’m working on), they now have Felix as their uncle. He’s Matt’s older brother, he’s a lounge singer or whatever equivalent is appropriate for the locale of the AU, and he uses “Felix E. Lated” as his stage name. And, based on his performance in the Takeover and what he’s wearing (a glittery gold jacket and shirt, black pants, and white shoes), I’d say he’s the inspiration for a) Smiler loving karaoke, b) Smiler’s fashion sense, and c) Smiler calling themselves “Smiler” (as they probably took a cue from the stage name). They are embracing the cheese and I am too, damn it. *hugs Felix*

[inkykeiji]

Clari! I haven’t updated you in 2 maybe 3 months?? I was so busy and stressed out, I am now feeling better though physically and mentally. But enough about that guess what...I GOT WORK GUY’S NUMBER!! I was such a flustered mess, was quite literally shaking while writing my number down for him but it felt like a dream come true!!🥺. Also i never even mentioned what i do for work. I work at a small shop near my university. Anyway this update is very short due to it being so late here (12:24 AM) I normally try to go to bed around a normal time so this is very late for me lol. I hope it all made sense, will definitely try and remember to tell you more. Anyway how have you been?! I have to get caught up with all your recent works💞💞

-☘️

CLOVER MY BB!!!! <33

first of all, massive apologies that i'm getting to this so late ugh >.< i've been meaning to sit down and properly respond (aka give ur ask the attention and thought it deserves!) and i just couldn't find the time!!

i'm glad to hear that you're feeling better sweet clover <3 life can be rough, especially when you're juggling multiple responsibilities, so it's wonderful to hear that you're doing better now luvie <3

THE SEXY DADDY GUY???????????? omg clover!!!!! what!!!! that's incredible!! oh bb i'm so happy to hear it!! <333 waaah you have to tell me all about it omg! how is it going??? what's he like!!! have you guys went on any dates yet?? omggg i am literally squealing for u!!!!

aw, cute!! also, we're in the same timezone!!! it did all make sense, thank you so much for sharing a lil piece of ur life with me!! i'm genuinely so flattered and excited whenever any of you wanna share something special with me, it's so sweet and it means so much to me <3 i've been okay!!! busy busy!! lots of landscaping and yard work to be done but we're just about finished now!! c: oooh hehe it's mostly bsd stuff!! <3