#Product and Orders syncing

[syncerize]

With Syncerize, you can easily synchronize inventory data between different Shopify stores.

[skitskatdacat63]

2009 Chinese Grand Prix - Parc Fermé - Sebastian Vettel & Mark Webber

[bixels]

Splatoon 3: Side Order is good, but not great. I still highly recommend it, but if you care about the story, you're going to be disappointed. Quick review: spoilers ahead.

Side Order was the devs experimenting with Splatoon's gameplay loop. The campaign is a rogue-like, and it works amazingly well. Super fun, super challenging, building my deck and fighting through challenges with the stakes of resetting really scratched an itch in my brain. They did a great job with it.

Unfortunately, I feel like priority went to game design rather than story. Much of the mysterious artwork we saw in the first teaser trailer was completely unused; turns out, all of that was just concept art that never made it into the final product. Side Order failed to make me care about what was happening. I don't know why the protagonist had to be Agent 8; it could've been anyone else and the story would've worked the same.

Octo Expansion was the absolute peak of meshing story and gameplay. The campaign's hook is insanely strong; we immediately empathize with Agent 8 because we know from previous lore that octolings like her have been trapped underground for all their lives. We care about her fight to the surface because it's a fundamentally ideological fight for freedom. The plot stuff about Tartar and the Thangs is just nice set dressing; 8's fight for freedom is the real story.

There's none of that in Side Order. I don't particularly care about Marina's metaverse, even if it's tied to Octo Expansion's story. I don't know why Acht is there other than backstory stuff. It really feels like 8 is just told to do something and she does it because she's the protagonist; she has zero personal stakes or motivations in the conflict. This is a story blunder the devs did in Splatoon 3's default campaign––forgetting to give the protagonist a personal reason to fight––that I hoped would be fixed here, but alas.

What makes it worse is that the gameplay and story progression are completely out of sync. I beat the entire game on my third run in 4 hours. With each run, you get up to two keys to potentially unlock bits of story. That means you'll get about one piece of the story every two runs. There are twelve pieces of the story; I got the first and then beat the whole damn game. Now I have to go back and grind to see the remaining story when I've already beaten the final boss and resolved the conflict. I missed the entire story because I never had to reset because I blazed through the gameplay! It's just a real shame that I experienced everything without knowing... why it's happening. The final boss had me asking myself what the hell is going on because I don't know the backstory at all.

Again, I still really recommend. The devs did a great job, but Side Order remains in the shadow of Octo Expansion's incredible success. Like the default singleplayer campaign, there's just a lot of lost story potential here that, while not necessary, would have really elevated this DLC into something amazing.

[nanamis-princess]

Wait, since you're on your period.... Might as well write a fic of jjk period comfort fics? Pretty please?

They comfort you while your on your period: jujitsu kaisen edition

Genre: fluff!

Characters: nanami kento, Gojo Satoru, geto suguru, Shoko ieiri x menstruating reader

A/n: thank you so much for the suggestion! Requests are open and im working on them in the order I’ve received! Master list

Nanami Kento

he’s prepared a few days before you get it, restocked your pads/tampons along with panty liners

as many others think he does track your period for you, it started because of a pregnancy scare in the beginning of your relationship

he encourages eating whatever you’d like during that time of the month, you want that cake for breakfast? He’s going to get it for you before his shift or he gets it delivered if he’s working.

^^ although he doesn’t mind cooking for you and waiting for you on hand and foot either.

your laying on the couch with a book as you just took a nice warm shower when your phone dings. A text from kento “hello darling i order you something, it should be there shortly. I promise i will make this up to you, i feel awful for not being there. I love you i will be home as soon as i can” you smile at your phone before going to the door. A candle you told him previously about with your favorite snacks along with a bottle of ibuprofen.

Cringing at the cramps as you take your ibuprofen while the heating pad warms up, kento walks in your shared bedroom with the plate of cake along with the drink of your choice. You look up at him with admiration, his light blue sweater sleeves rolled up just below his elbows revealing the watch you got him for Christmas, his hair still intact from this morning just one small strand leaning to the side complimenting his face. Giving you a soft smile while holding the plate and cup for you as you sit back in bed. “You’re so pretty kento” you say looking up at him, he chuckles with a small smile on his face. “You’re pretty too my love” he hums as he leans into kiss your forehead.

Gojo Satoru

you guys must be synced together because he acts like a diva right along with you.

he is stocked on sweets though, you’ll never catch him lacking with sweets. He’s got strawberry candies in his nightstand, he always has some type of cake or bakery good in the kitchen from a local shop. He has a candy dish by the door.

he does become your little errand boy though, anything you need he’s getting it for you. Honestly you tell him to jump he’ll ask you how high. You have the strongest sorcerer wrapped around your finger

you guys have a self care evenings as many times as you want, he’s sitting at the end of your bed rubbing your feet facing the tv with under eye masks on. “Okay but why would she trust him? He’s obviously been hiding something and he doesn’t seem trustworthy” he shakes his head.

The smell of essential oils fills your nose as you lay on your stomach as you feel cold hands meet your skin “your hands are so cold” you huff looking to your side. He begins in slow motions on your upper back “your nice a warm” he hums rubbing gently. “This ones new, its mint i think it smells nice” Satoru hums continuing to rub along your back. You feel yourself getting a little sleep between then gentle rubbing and the heating pad on your tummy. Satoru has you roll over, he gently rubs the bottom of your belly, slowly working the cramps to simmer away.

Geto suguru

he’s very mindful of things like these, he’s the type of person to walk around his home seeing what is running low and put it on his shopping list. This habit came from taking care of the girls. So you never run out of period products.

will do anything you asks of him really but he makes note of the things that you dont want to ask for, the ones you just want him to know to do.

like gojo he will rub your cramps out and not let you lift a finger.

he got really into meal prepping so everything you eat is home cooked, he makes meals with ingredients that may help ease your cramps.

he brings you ginger tea and dark chocolate as a snack

His hands gently rub small circles on your back as you sit facing him in his lap, your head gently resting on his chest. The rhythm of his heart beat, the scent of his amber cologne and the touch of him rubbing your back could just make you curl up and fall asleep. Not to mention the heating pad between you both being the cherry on top. “You are making me sleepy” you whine looking up at him. “That’s a bad thing?” Suguru questions looking down at you. “Mhm” you just hum and before you knew it you drifted to sleep on him.

Shoko ieiri

you guys are both synced together. Twining fr

she gets hers a day before yours so shes the first to notice if you guys are running low on products

if one of you accidentally stains the sheets you rock paper scissors shoot to see who washes the sheets.

sometimes she gets clingy during the last few days of her cycle and feels bad for being clingy. She just wants to be all up on you. She does like when you lay on top of her, the weight of you soothes her.

prefers getting takeout over cooking, she’ll cook for you if that’s what you’d prefer

has a warm beverage in her hand almost all the time during her cycle. If you have to go to work she gets your lunch delivered

She rolls over to face you, her head gently rests on your chest and rubs the bottom of your tummy. Slowly and gently rubbing out the cramps as you both decide on a place to order dinner from. “I’ll go a get it when it comes but keep an eye on it” she mumbles while continuing to rub out the cramps. Ieiri looks up for a moment but not stopping her movements “I know its like healthy to work out during your period but like all i want to do is lay down” she said recalling that her time of studying. She nuzzles her face into your neck and giving it a quick kiss.

[olderthannetfic]

I know you love scivener, but do you know anything about ellipsus? It's meant to be an aternative to google docs for collaborative writing.

I heard about them when they dropped nanowrimo as a sponsor over their inclusion of AI bullshit, which seemed promising. And digging around on their homepage I saw mentions of beta reading and ao3, and apparently they're trying to promote themselves on Tumblr now.

So it really sounds like we're the target audience, which could be great, but I don't know enough to be able to tell if there's an obvious catch somewhere?

--

This is the first I've heard of them. A quick scroll through their website seems promising.

As usual, the basic questions are:

How much does this product cost to develop?

Do they have a business plan that makes sense with that cost?

This kind of software can, theoretically, be made by a few friends dicking around, not a huge programmer team all of whom have it as their primary job, so it isn't the pile of massive red flags that all attempts at social media are.

From the site:

"Today we are a small, close-knit team of seven, located across the post-capitalist landscapes of Berlin, Bologna, Buenos Aires, and Szczecin. (So much for our alliteration-based hiring strategy.) True to our mission, we're a progressive, remote-friendly company that prioritizes creativity, community, and creative exchange."

Jobs are listed as: Co-founder and CEO, Co-founder and community, Product and marketing, Design, and Engineering x3.

That seems like a reasonable breakdown and a size of team that could possibly be paid for with some non-insane business model.

The types of red flags we're looking for are

"We want to be the next instagram!"

Many idea people with nebulous skills, few programmers

Thinking you can run tumblr with three programmers

Thinking you can pay for 100 programmers with a cheapass subscription model

Programmers are random, cheap contract workers the founders don't know

Venture capital from sources that will want a big payout rather than support from people who share the goals/values of the team

Extremely overcrowded field with tons of products that do exactly this already

Unclear nature of product or a product that doesn't seem to actually have a market

etc.

What they say about money is in the FAQ:

Will Ellipsus have a paid plan? In order to grow the team and fund ongoing feature development, we will need to charge for a version of Ellipsus at some point. A paid version would be targeting users with specific needs related to advanced security, data syncing, and collaboration. But there will always be a free version of Ellipsus, and we want to be as generous as possible in what's included on that free plan (e.g., unlimited docs and drafts, for starters). It takes time to build a great freemium experience (not to mention a premium product people will happily pay for), which is why we won't roll that out in 2024. While the features that will be included in our paid plan aren't final-final, we can share that everything in the product today will be included in our free plan.

This sounds reasonable. It just remains to be seen whether they keep at it or go belly up (taking your data with them). I guess you'd have to know more about the specific people building this to decide whether they'll be reliable.

The biggest potential issues I see are it being difficult to get people to ditch google docs despite its issues, this taking off big time and the owners deciding to sell it for $$$$$$ to someone who will then ruin it, or the team just not being competent.

But since I don't know any of them, I have no idea how good they are at business.

[carlosainzgf]

his little bonnie

miguel o’hara x f!reader

warnings: breeding kink (go brrrr), unprotected piv, fingering, praise and degradation

Miguel just had a tough day at work. Having to work overtime, having another problem with the spider-verse, and had another disagreement about Miles. But his gloomy mood would automatically change for the better as he returned back home to see you. He walked inside your shared bedroom discreetly, you were absolutely breath-taking even when you didn't have to try so hard. You rummaged through your wardrobe until a pair of muscular arms were wrapped around your waist, making you jolt from Miguel's sudden appearance.

“Hi, Miggy.”

Miguel nuzzled his nose against your neck, inhaling your sweet scent before placing a soft kiss on your pulse point. "Mi amor, you look so beautiful today," he whispered into your ear, his voice low and husky. "I missed you so much." He tightened his arms around your waist, pulling you flush against his chest.

“How was your day, Migs?”

Miguel sighed and leaned his forehead against yours. "It was tough, but seeing your beautiful face always makes everything better," he said, his eyes softening as he looked at you. "How was your day, darling?" he asked, his hand caressing your cheek gently.

“It was okay…Just drew some stuff, s’ all”

Miguel smiled, "That's great, baby. I'm glad you had a productive day," he said before brushing his lips against yours.

"I have a surprise for you, cariño," he said, his eyes sparkling mischievously. "I want you to take off your clothes and lay on the bed. I have something special planned for us tonight."

Your eyes widened at his words. You followed his order and stripped as Miguel watched intently as you undressed, his eyes darkening with desire as he took in your naked form. He licked his lips hungrily and quickly undressed himself, revealing his muscular body. He crawled onto the bed and hovered over you, his hand trailing down your body. "You look so beautiful, darling," he whispered before capturing your lips in a fiery kiss.

Miguel pulled back from the kiss, a wicked grin spreading across his face as he looked down at you. "Now, now, my little bunny," he said, his voice dripping with seduction. "Just relax and let me take care of you." He leaned down and trailed hot kisses down your neck, leaving hickeys in his wake. He reached your breasts and took one of your nipples in his mouth, sucking and nibbling on it until it hardened. His hand trailed down your body and he slipped two fingers inside you, pumping them slowly.

Holding back a moan, you said “So what’s your surprise, Miggy?”

Miguel chuckled against your breast, his fingers still moving slowly inside you. "Patience, my love," he murmured before trailing kisses down your stomach. He spread your legs wide and settled between them, his tongue flicking over your clit. "I'm going to make you feel so good, bebita," he murmured before diving back in, his tongue moving in circles over your sensitive nub.

All you could let out was curse words followed by moans and gasps. Miguel continued to pleasure you with his tongue, his fingers still pumping inside you. He could feel your body tense up as you approached your peak, and he pulled away, denying you release. "Not yet, mi amor," he said, a devious smirk on his face. He crawled back up your body and positioned himself at your entrance. "Are you ready for me, cariño?" he asked before pushing his cock inside you, filling you completely. He started a slow and steady rhythm, his hips moving in sync with yours.

“Mig-fuck- Miguel! You know how impatient i get! P-please just tell me your surprise!” Miguel chuckled, his hips still moving steadily. "Alright, alright, I'll tell you," he said before leaning down and whispering in your ear. "I want to breed you, cariño. I want to fill you up with my seed and make you mine completely," he said, his voice low and possessive. He quickened his pace, his cock slamming into you with more force. "Do you want that, my love?" he asked, his eyes locking with yours.

“Wanna put babies in you…Watch you wiggle around with your plump stomach, carrying my baby. Wanna suck on your swollen tits, drink your milk. Wanna make you my lil’ mama.” he whispered into your ear. Miguel's words sent shivers down your spine, and you couldn't help but moan in response. "Yes, Miggy, I want that," you gasped out, your body on fire with need. "I want to carry your babies, be your little mama." You wrapped your legs around his waist, pulling him in even closer. "Please, fill me up," you begged, your eyes pleading with his.

He grabbed your legs around his waist, bent them and placed them on your chest. “C-can feel you in my stomach!” Miguel's eyes darkened with desire as he watched you, his hips moving faster and harder. "That's it, my little slut," he growled. "Take all of me. Feel me in your stomach." He said as he pressed on the bulge forming on your stomach. He leaned down and captured your lips in a heated kiss, his tongue exploring your mouth. He could feel his release building up, and he knew he was close. He pulled back from the kiss and looked down at you, his eyes filled with love and lust. "I'm going to come inside you, cariño," he said, his voice husky. "I'm going to fill you up with my seed and make you mine forever." He pounded into you a few more times before spilling his hot release inside you, his body trembling with pleasure.

He toyed with your clit as he came, making you cum with him. He pulled out, making his spent seep out of your abused hole. Miguel watched as his release seeped out of you as you clenched around nothing, a satisfied smirk on his face. He leaned down and licked it up, his tongue lapping at your folds. "Mmm, you taste so good, cariño," he murmured before crawling back up your body. He pulled you into his arms, holding you close. "I love you so much, mi amor," he whispered, his lips brushing against yours. "I'll always take care of you."

“I love you, too…but u don’t feel full enough, Migs. I think i need more of your cum in me,” Miguel smirked, his eyes glinting with desire. "Is that so, bonnie?" he asked before flipping you over onto your stomach. He positioned himself behind you, his hands gripping your hips tightly. "I'll give you more, my little slut," he growled before slamming back into you. He pounded into you with renewed vigor, his hips moving faster and harder. His hands trailed up your back and tangled in your hair, pulling your head back as he continued to ravage you.

You bit into the pillow as he fucked you in an animalistic pace. You felt my organs move around with every single thrust of his hips. Miguel could feel his release building up again, and he knew he was close. He leaned down and whispered in your ear, his voice filled with lust. "Are you ready for more of my seed, mi bonnie?" he asked before biting down on your earlobe. He slammed into you a few more times before spilling his hot release inside you once again, his body trembling with pleasure. He collapsed onto the bed beside you, pulling you into his arms. "I love you so much, mi amor," he said, his voice soft and loving. "You're mine forever."

As you layed on his chest calmly, you felt his hands reaching lower. His fingers collected his cum and pushed them back inside your sensitive pussy. “Gotta make sure it’s all in there.” he explained.

Miguel's fingers pushed his cum back inside you, making sure that you were completely filled with his seed. He leaned down and kissed your forehead, his hand rubbing soothing circles on your back. He pulled you closer to him, holding you tight. "I love you, my little bonnie."

[cottonlemonade]

Can i get a medium hot chocolate to go for hanamaki? I know he’d be all silly with it too, asking what size pussy you got for the night or day pads (he knows what to pick. He just saw the meme on his phone and thought it would be funny to do it for real). But he’d come tumbling home with a bunch of your favorite food in hand ;~; + his favorite cream puffs from the café down the road. I feel very normal about him.

When You’re On Your Period

request: fluffy, boyfriend Makki when you’re on your period

“Pain…“

“Pain?“

“And suffering…“

“I appreciate the update, babe, but I‘m working on fixing it.“

“Hurry please…“, you whimper on the other end of the line.

“Because of the pain.“

“And the suffering!“

“Gotcha.“

“Thank you!“

“You‘re very welcome. - So, is now a bad time to make a joke about what size you need?“

“Hiro!“

“Pain and suffering, got it. Love you!“

He quickly hung up, readjusting the armful of supplies as he waited for his turn at the cash register. Having spent his life with two sisters he knew exactly what you needed of course. So he got you your comfort brands of hygiene products, medicine, tea and snacks. He even threw in a couple of portable heating packs for good measure, in case you wanted to starfish somewhere a power cord couldn’t reach.

The guy in front of him seemed to be on a similar mission and the two boys shared a sympathetic bready smile.

“I’m back!”, he called when he opened the door. The excited pat pat pat of your naked feet on the wooden floor could be heard and a moment later you hurried around the corner, bundled in a blanket. With wise foresight he had already rummaged for the painkillers first, holding the packet out to you. Offering a grateful smile, you took them and waddled to the kitchen for a glass of water.

He followed, shuffling in his slippers and watched you gulp down the medicine.

Then you slowly sank to the floor holding your middle. He joined you, pulling you into a hug and snaking his arms under the blanket to rub your soft tummy in order to relieve some of the pain a little faster.

Opening a bag of sour gummies he dangled a piece in front of your mouth until you opened up to snatch it. It felt like having a particularly dramatic snapping turtle for a girlfriend. He kissed your cheek and fed you one more, touched when you reached for the bag yourself to offer him one. Although he knew better, he ate it and pulled a face to make you laugh. You snuggled up against him more, your back pressed against his chest. For a while you cuddled on the kitchen floor of your apartment, then your eyes fell onto a large rectangular box on the kitchen counter.

“Did you go and buy cream puffs?”

“Of course.”

“Why?”

“Because they’re excellent to cheer someone up.”

“Hiro, they’re your favorites.”

“So you’re telling me you don’t want any?”

Silence. Then chubby hands grew from the blanket bundle making grabby motions toward the box.

“No no, gimme.”, you said quietly.

a/n: thank you for the request ^^ this is excellently synced with my very own pain and suffering so this was just what I needed 🌟

[asaraviapt]

[EN] Video Game Writing Resources!

Hello! My name is Andrea--I have been writing for games since 2018, and even worked as a writer at Firaxis Games from 2022 until April of 2023. So, I knew a few things about narrative design--but what the fuck is it? Recently, I gave a talk about the fundamentals and history of the field of narrative design. In Spanish. So, let's talk about it in English--the "what," "why," "how," "when," and "who," of narrative design! What is narrative design? Narrative design is not just writing--it's a huge part of it, but designing a narrative system involves implementing narrative content into the build of the game. So there is a technical learning curve to it. Personally, I watched and obtained certifications in Unreal Engine 5 and Unity in order to be aware of the limitations of each engine. I used the free trial of LinkedIn Learning, but courses about this engine are available in these websites: - https://platzi.com/ - https://www.arkde.com/ - https://www.domestika.org/?query=unity - https://www.coursera.org/ Why do we need narrative design? In order to create an interactive story that the player feels a part of, narrative designers are mandatory. It's not a responsibility that can be placed on other designers (then we would be entering crunch territory) rather someone who specifically specializes in both creative writing and game design is needed to explain within the context of the game's story why the mechanics work in a certain way. Imagine if a Telltale game did not have dialogue, for example--what would we be left with? Or if The Last Of Us did not convey a narrative through its environments.

Narrative designers are needed so that all of the departments are in sync and understand the story that they are trying to tell. For example, if a game takes place in a haunted house that was abandoned, we need all hands on deck. The narrative designer can explain to the environment artists why there are so many holes in the living room--perhaps the last tenants of the house were a rowdy bunch. Or, they can tell the sound designers which planks of wood are the most rotten and need a loud sound effect to highlight how it has been abandoned. How do I become a narrative designer? There is no one way to become a narrative designer. Some people start in QA and transition into the field, I have also witnessed engineers and doctors wanting to get into narrative design. I do recommend having the following (at least): - A passion for storytelling. - Deep understanding of the mechanics of the game and the player experience. - Communication skills are incredibly important--can you describe your story in a concise way to your peers in a Confluence page?

Documentation skills are also a massive plus.

Very basic understanding of game engines and limitations. You don't have to be a computer science major, but know what your requests will entail. If you have an idea of a cutscene, can the engine handle it? Will the animators have enough time? Is it within scope?

If you can, attend game jams! They are an amazing way to network with amazing people and get a feel of what the game production pipeline is like.

Additionally, I highly recommend the following resources: First, the free resources! ~It's free real estate~

Look up Twinery tutorials. (https://twinery.org/) Not only is it free, but you can use it on your browser. More importantly, you will learn about branching narratives and can create your own games within a few minutes--the interface, though it requires a bit of coding, is incredibly easy to use and there are a lot of tutorials available online.

Download Ren'Py (https://www.renpy.org/) and watch tutorials. It's free, and there is a huge community of visual novel developers who may need help with narrative designers, writers, editors and even translators. An amazing resource that a colleague shared was this Discord with visual novel developers--if you have an idea, feel free to connect with artists and voice actors here! https://discord.gg/nW5yn4FE

Network, network, network! Follow narrative design and game writer groups on Discord, Facebook and even LinkedIn. -- An amazing convention that is online, free and accessible regarding narrative design is LudoNarraCon.

If you go to itch.io you will see a list of game jams that you can attend to for free! Some game jams that I have attended and had a positive experience are the following: - Woman Game Jam. I encourage folks from marginalized genders to attend this game jam, as we have a large pool of mentors willing to help in every single discipline at any time due to the global nature of it. It is a safe and inclusive space for women and nonbinary folx who want to get into the gaming industry! - Global Game Jam. Self explanatory, it has some in-person opportunities but you can also attend remotely. - Greenlight Jam. Do you have an idea that can not be done in only 48 hours? The Greenlight Jam is amazing, as it lasts four weeks--which allows narrative designers to develop complex narrative systems and even record voice lines for a more complex project. Side Note: Even though most game jams have a time limit, I do encourage narrative designers to develop and polish the prototypes and levels created during game jams to have portfolios and writing samples that stand out!

Work With Indies is a job site that publishes job opportunities--including ones in writing and narrative design. Additionally, their Discord has some networking events with writers so you can connect with them.

Other websites that not only publish jobs but include networking events are Hitmarker.net (this is their Discord), IndieGameAcademy (link to Discord),

Newsletters! A lot of experienced game writers have newsletters dedicated to the craft, to name a few that I highly recommend: -- Greg Buchanan's newsletter. Rounds up game writing news every Tuesday, and includes job opportunities. -- Bright Whitney's newsletter. A studio founder with amazing insights regarding game design and thoughtful narrative, Whitney's threads are extremely insightful. -- Susan O'Connor's blog on The Narrative Department. In addition to providing free knowledge regarding world building, narrative design, game writing and other specifics of the craft Susan interviews industry professionals and alumni who offer testimonials that have amazing advice. -- GDC talks about narrative design. Though I recommend the GDC vault as well in the next section, I highly recommend the GDC talks regarding not only narrative design but the development of your favorite titles!

Now, for resources that may not be free--but I highly recommend, as someone who used them first hand. - The Narrative Department. This post is not sponsored by them at all, however it is rare to find an instructor as kind and hard-working as Susan O'Connor who has been a narrative designer in historic AAA, AA and independent titles. Known for her contributions in Tomb Raider, Batman: The Enemy Within, and BioShock to name a few (imdb is: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1897248/) her Game Writing Masterclass offers a certification in everything related to game writing. A few subjects she touches on are: -- Characters and how to make them compelling. -- Barks and ambience writing. -- Dialogue, backstories and scripts. -- How to work with other departments. And more! Additionally, you would obtain access to a huge alumni network full of game writing professionals working in independent, AA and AAA studios! Not to mention that all of the assignments completed in the class will look amazing in a portfolio as game writing samples. - GDC Vault. Though I have an opinion on the price tag of GDC tickets and the vault, I would definitely include it as it has resources from several studios, writers, narrative designers and more! When was narrative design formed? When can I become a narrative designer?

That's a wonderful question. Narrative design, as a term, was first used around the 90s but became more established between the 2000s and 2010s. So, although the field is relatively new, and there are not a lot educational resources available, consider yourself part of an innovative field that is exponentially growing! Recently, a game developer asked when was the best time to keep an eye out for job openings. And a harsh truth about the gaming industry is that it is extremely volatile--layoffs, downsizings and startups rise and fall. This is not meant to deter anyone from pursuing a career in narrative design, but rather I am including it for the sake of transparency. We cannot predict when a studio is going to layoff their employees, or when they cancel unannounced projects. Unlike most industries where we know for a fact that recruiters keep a sharp eye for candidates in Q1 and Q3, a piece of advice I received from a mentor of mine was to try to predict when projects are going to need more stories. There's the release of a game, and then there is the addition of additional narrative content--and for this, they will more than likely need associate/entry/junior level narrative designers, writers and quest designers. But--this is related to searching for a job as a narrative designer, and I can write a novel about that (and will edit this article to redirect folx into it.) So, keep an eye out for huge game announcements. Then, cater your resume to what the studio is looking for in a narrative designer. Now, to finish off this article: Who is a narrative designer? If you have a passion for storytelling and games, and have participated in game jams, congratulations you are a wonderful narrative designer! Make sure you always include that you are a narrative designer, and not an aspiring narrative designer--it makes you stand out amongst applicants. That's all I have for now--feel free to interact, comment and share! Let me know if I missed something and I will be sure to add it.

[daportalpractitioner]

moon syncing with the first quarter moon in taurus (february 16, 2024):

bleed phase: for those bleeding with this taurus moon, you're being called to release + detoxify yourself from poverty consciousness by removing all reflections of low self-worth, broke energy, and all low level vibes. identify wherever you feel shame and release it. on an internal level, you may need to address certain stubborn habits that are keeping you the same broke ass cycles + finally take accountability for it. shift your environment by doing whatever you can in your power for your environments to compliment the empress within. in your opinion, would a true empress be associating themselves some of the people you choose to? would she be allowing herself to indulge in some of the unhealthy behaviors you continue to indulge in? it's deeper than simple money management. it all boils down to how much you truly value your life + the experiences that you deserve in this life. keep it real with yourself as this is a huge accountability check here to unbind you from the chains of poverty + lack of resources.

follicular phase: this is the best time to do some financial planning, rerouting your plans for material abundance, and doing the physical work to remove external blockages. during your follicular phase is when your productivity is at its peak so the focus is on getting to the bag so that you can be self-sustained without any worries. if finances are a worry for you, use this time to invest in expanding your pockets, even if it's just taking some time to learn nu information in order to become more money-savvy. your discipline is being tested right now for the Universe to see how bad you truly want it. aside from finances, what actions can you take to make life more valuable for you? it's aquarius season, so what steps need to be taken in order to fulfill the vision that you have for yourself?

ovulatory phase: ovulation is a time for attracting our desires and when the moon is in taurus, we are attracting wealth + abundance! what does long-term success look like for you and how does your idea of success look different from what you've been programmed to believe by society? this is an opportunity for you to break free from the mold of what you thought abundance was supposed to look like. take a risk to invest in your vision, but make sure it's a practical risk that you see a high ROI in. connect with people that you want to be apart of your community + focus on the things that matter most to you outside of monetary pursuits — that's where the real value is at.

luteal phase: as you go inward + do some more reflecting during your luteal phase, your wisdom increases. this is a great time unpack where you are still operating from a place of insecurity + the impact it's making on your present day life. release yourself from your tendency to be stubborn + open yourself up to the idea of change. you're naturally going to be feeling the need to shift your energy + rebrand yourself into a more high-value woman when the moon is in taurus. identify where you have been the problem in terms of where you have abandoned your boundaries + have went against your own standards in survival mode. how do you choose to show up every day from this day forward in order to not let your values, priorities, and high standards for yourself go by the wayside again? it's time to break the cycle, but you have to choose that for yourself.

[thegamingcatmom]

you walk into Castle Dimitrescu with a fully functioning smart phone. What are you showing each sister? (songs, memes, etc.) 🤔

ASKJASKFAKSFKSA

I LOVE THAT ONE!! 😭❤️

classical music

pop music

I feel like she´d be a huge Ava Max fan

fanfictions

especially self/reader-inserts of any kind

but especially the ones about drama or mystery/thriller

memes of any kind

...instructions unclear - she doesn´t find em funny

at all

(help)

oh wait nvm-

I showed her Ebay and now we´re back to being besties

stock trading apps, sites etc.

I think that´s smt she could lose herself in, which means she´ll forget about me :D

...shit, stocks have dropped and now she´s mad

and blaming me for it

(help)

WAIT-

*shows her LinkedIn*

...she´s buzzing, literally

"Oh, this will increase productivity and flow immensely! I shall be the FIRST to show Mother!"

*buzzes off*

thank f-

*buzzes back*

fuck

"Mortal! Show me where to find the status of their purity!"

...

why do I feel like I have done smt terrible? :(

porn

fanfictions

especially lemons and those that play in the A/B/O universe

yall just know that shit would drive her crazy

heavy metal or rock music

"Master Of Puppets" (Metallica) anyone?

Temu

cause she loves it used and cheap

(yall understand I´m referring to her general preferences here, right?)

(therefore: jk, Temu✌️)

(...or am I?)

vids about blood and death

in hopes it will distract her enough to forget about my blood and death

the Dark Web

(I feel like this would become her 2nd home)

...shit, what have I done-

*quickly shows her some more porn*

whew

that immediately got her attention

crisis averted

YouTube Shorts

I reckon those quick vids are exactly her thing - girl isn´t just made of flies, she also has the attention span of one

Netflix

...

she´s just discovered Netflix and Chill

oh boy

some maids will get very (un)lucky indeed

fanfictions

especially those about "enemies to friends to lovers" OR "roommates to friends to lovers"

cute and funny dog videos (which will hopefully spare me from a rather gruesome fate)

cute and funny dog memes

cute and funny things to get for your dog

she strikes me as a dog person

Lady Gaga

her favs are "Bad Romance" and "Stupid Love"

Candy Crush

she´d get hooked on that one, I just know it

which means I get some time to get the f outta-

...

HOW DID SHE LOSE ALL HER LIVES ALREADY??? D:

TikTok

she can´t get enough of lip sync

...also because the poor thing has yet to realize that this isn´t their actual voice

"How do they do that?? That´s not what they sounded like before! *gasps* Can YOU do that??"

"...I-"

"DO THE VOICE!"

...

(help)

Amazon

...that was actually genius omg

she´s way too busy ordering useless stuff via Prime to remember she was about to off me :D

...nvm, her sisters are back

(help)

BONUS:

One thing I´d show ALL of them: Tumblr & Resident Lover

So they may witness the absolute depravity carried out in their names.

(Cass couldn´t be prouder of herself.)

.

.

.

Honestly? There´s probs SO much stuff you can do with/show on a phone that I´m not remembering rn. The possibilites in our time and age are pretty much endless. 💀

But also, given they (probs) have no idea an outside world even exists-

Just show em Google and they´ll be busy for quite a while, honestly. 🤷🏻‍♀️

.

Thanks a lot for your ask! 💋

[pleaseeeimjustagirl]

🎀30 Day Glow Up Challenge 🎀 - day eight

♡ Mindset : A book that I recommend is “In The Flo” it’s the perfect book to educate yourself on cycle syncing I love the book. I watched a lot of YouTube videos on self help recently that was very eye opening on self love and show to learn to truly love yourself by Leo Skepi. I love him and the journey he is going on in better himself more and more so he can continue to help others.

♡ Health : I don’t track calories anymore because it triggers me so I started keeping a food diary in my notes app it helps keep track of my food and what I’m eating or what I plan on eating. I walked 3K steps today and I did a home workout before work that was good I know I’m going to be sore tomorrow. I wore my corset today for an hour I love having a smaller waist so I try and be consistent in wearing it.

♡ Self Care : I was going to drink my serenity tea tonight but I got so lazy and just called it a night early. I did my skin care and took time pampering myself. I went searching on Pinterest for new self care products and ideas. Pinterest is the best place to get inspo if your looking for any.

♡ Experience : I talked to my friend about our spa day on Wednesday that we are both excited about the bathing suit I ordered was having some issues so I had to call Amazon and they told me I wouldn’t be able to receive it before Wednesday so I had to make plans to go to target tomorrow to pick up a bathing suit. I took a mini break from duolingo but tomorrow I want to continue my Italian lessons<3333

Tell me how you’re doing babes I would love to know my inbox and requests are open<33333

[broadwaybalogna]

zutara prompt for you — “ why didn’t you tell me you got hurt. I could have helped you—.”

Awwwwww cute!!!

Here ya go!

-

Katara whined as she hugged her stomach in the large bed she laid down in. She continued to move from position to position in order to find some form of peace for her body to no avail. Tears pricked at the sides of her eyes as she continued to struggle through her cramps.

Katara got her first period when she was twelve in the southern water tribe. Being one of the few women in the tribe meant little menstrual products for her as well, so she was forced to make do with what little she had. Her cramps only got worse with time, however, as her body continued to grow. She’d spend days in her room in the Fire Lord’s palace just trying to find a few hours of comfort.

It had been five years since her first period, and she wanted to rip her uterus out.

She found a bathroom in a nearby corridor and slipped in so she could lay on the floor. Fire Nation palaces had nice specious bathrooms that were perfect for laying down on and contemplating one’s life. Katara groaned.

Katara was one of few women Zuko knew, and she honestly doubted he had ever stayed with any of them long enough to witness their menstrual cycle. The only other woman in the castle that they both interacted with was Azula, who Katara’s period quickly synced up to.

After a few minutes of laying on the floor, she picked herself up and walked back to her room. Azula was lucky in that her cramps were nearly nonexistent.

Katara continued to roll in her bed until a knock echoed through the room. Katara would have politely asked the person to leave, but she was too uncomfortable and exhausted to make any more than a loud hum escape her mouth.

“Katara?” She heard Zuko say as he entered the room. Katara was curled up in the bed with the blanket thrown onto the floor, it was too uncomfortably hot.

Upon taking in the state of Katara’s room, he paused. There were a few moments of silence between the two, but Katara was far more focused on her internal pain than her awkward encounter.

Zuko let out a sigh then spoke again, “Azula said I might find you like this.”

Katara groaned, of course Azula wanted to make her brother walk in on her while she was at her worst. Average sibling activities.

“Are you… okay?” He asked. Of course it wasn’t odd for Katara to take a break for four to seven days of each month from her duties as an ambassador, but she never exactly made it well known that it was because she could barely stand without keeling over and nearly throwing up out of pain.

“No,” she said as deadpanned as possible, but it came off more as a whine, if anything.

“You know I- I can help you,” he finally said after more awkward silence. This made Katara turn to face him. What was he getting on about?

“How?” She asked as genuenly as possible.

“Well, I- uh- talked with Azula about…” he paused to imply ‘period’. Katara couldn’t care less. She rolled her eyes. “She said that heat helps,” he finally spilled. This made Katara cock an eyebrow.

She took a deep breath. “You do know where it is that the cramps are, right?” She asked, knowing that if Zuko knew he would never have suggested this in the first place.

“Yes,” he clarified, which took Katara by surprise.

She considered her options. She could either wait for the pain to subside (which could take anywhere between a minute and a few hours) or she could let Zuko grant her comfort, albeit a little odd. She looked over at Zuko. His eyebrows were knitted together like he actually cared about her and her comfort, and he eyed the lower half of her abdomen where her pain centered.

“Okay,” she finally decided with a sharp nod.

Zuko sat down beside where Katara was laying and hovered his hand over where her uterus was.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” she explained. “But if you don’t, I’d prefer to know now.”

“No- it’s fine,” he interjected. He softly laid his hand against her stomach and Katara could feel the small wave of heat begin to pool around her. The heat was more comfortable than anything she had tried before, and she was quick to relax into his touch.

While the warmth didn’t alleviate all pain, it certainly helped and she let out a long pent of sigh of relief.

After a few seconds, she took Zuko’s hand in her own and moved it lower down her abdomen. “Lower,” was all she had to say and Zuko easily complied.

Katara closed her eyes at the her newfound relief, she hadn’t felt this way in what felt like years. She felt herself slowly begin to drift to sleep, and she did nothing to stop her body from accepting it.

-

When Katara awoke, Zuko was laying next to her, also asleep, and with his hand still over her uterus. He was in a slightly awkward position which made her appreciate him even more.

Next time she felt this way, she would be sure to grab the firebender as soon as possible.

[kookienooki]

Melodies of Seduction | Ch. 3

❀ summary: With platinum albums and millions of adoring fans, Yeon-jin thought she knew exactly where her music career was headed. But when her manager drops an unexpected bombshell—BTS' golden maknae Jungkook wants to collaborate on an R&B album—her carefully planned world spins into beautiful chaos.

Between late-night recording sessions, stolen glances across the studio, and harmonies that seem to sync with more than just their voices, Yeon-jin finds herself composing a different kind of song altogether. One that could either launch her to new heights of stardom or leave her heart in free fall.

The question is: in an industry where every move is scrutinized and romance is taboo, can two of K-pop's brightest stars risk it all for a love that wasn't part of the production plan?

❀ pairing : idol!Jungkook x idol!oc

❀ genre: idol AU, romance, angst, fluff, eventual smut, im not sure what else

❀ rating: 18+

❀ word count: 782

Previous Chapter • Next Chapter

Chapter 3: Creative Spark

Their first official writing session started awkwardly. Yeon-jin arrived at her studio early, meticulously arranging everything—fresh notebooks, sharpened pencils, and her favorite tea set from Jeju. The morning sun filled the space with warm light, but she still felt nervous energy coursing through her veins.

Jungkook arrived precisely on time, carrying his own notebook and a guitar case. He'd dressed down today in ripped jeans and an oversized hoodie, his hair slightly damp as if he'd just finished working out. The casual attire somehow made him more intimidating—this was Jungkook the artist, not the polished idol from their first meeting.

"I brought some ideas," he said, pulling out his phone. "Just some rough melodies I recorded last night. Couldn't sleep."

They sat at opposite ends of her grand piano, both seemingly unsure how to bridge the gap between professional courtesy and creative intimacy. Yeon-jin had collaborated with dozens of artists over her career, but this felt different. There was more at stake.

"Should we start with structure?" she suggested, falling back on her training. "Figure out what kind of sound we're aiming for?"

Jungkook nodded, but she could see the slight tension in his shoulders. They were both overthinking it, trying too hard to be perfect. The conversation felt stilted and technical. They discussed time signatures and key changes, but the spark from their first meeting seemed to have dimmed.

Then, almost unconsciously, Jungkook started humming a melody while she was talking about chord progressions. It was something haunting and beautiful that made her heart catch. Without thinking, Yeon-jin found herself harmonizing, her voice finding spaces in his melody that seemed to have been waiting for her.

His eyes widened, and he quickly reached for his phone to record. "That's it," he said excitedly. "That's the bridge we've been looking for."

The ice broken, creativity began to flow. Yeon-jin moved to her production setup, quickly laying down a basic beat while Jungkook worked out guitar parts. They traded lyrics back and forth, mixing Korean and English, finding ways to tell their story through both languages.

Hours slipped by as they worked. When hunger struck, they ordered jjajangmyeon from the place around the corner, eating cross-legged on the studio floor while discussing musical influences. Jungkook told her about learning to play guitar during BTS's early days, practicing in bathroom stalls to avoid disturbing his members. Yeon-jin shared stories about her pansori training, and how her grandmother would make her practice projecting her voice at the ocean.

"That explains so much about your breath control," Jungkook said, genuinely fascinated. "Would you teach me some techniques sometime?"

The request surprised her. "You want to learn pansori?"

"I want to learn everything," he replied with disarming honesty. "Every type of music has something to teach us, right?"

As the sun set, they had the bones of three songs and dozens of voice memos filled with ideas. Na Ra knocked on the door at midnight, concern evident on her face.

"We lost track of time," Yeon-jin explained, suddenly aware of how close she and Jungkook had moved during their last recording session, both huddled around the microphone.

As they packed up their things, their hands brushed reaching for the same notebook. The touch lasted only a second, but the electricity lingered. Yeon-jin pulled back quickly, dropping her pencil in the process. They both reached for it at the same time, laughing awkwardly.

"Keep it," Jungkook said softly. "It's got good luck now. Look what we created today."

She tucked the pencil into her bag, trying to ignore the way her fingers tingled where they had touched his. "Same time tomorrow?"

"I have dance practice in the morning, but I can be here by two?" There was something hopeful in his voice that made her heart flutter.

"Two is perfect. I'll have the haegeum player's samples by then."

Na Ra cleared her throat pointedly from the doorway, and they finally moved to leave. In the elevator, Yeon-jin caught her reflection in the mirrored walls. Her carefully styled hair had come undone, and her expensive blouse was wrinkled from hours of work, but her eyes were bright with creative energy.

"You two work well together," Na Ra observed carefully as they walked to their car.

"The music just flows naturally," Yeon-jin replied, trying to keep her voice neutral. "It's rare to find that kind of creative chemistry."

Na Ra gave her a knowing look but said nothing more. As their car pulled away, Yeon-jin saw Jungkook still standing at the building's entrance, typing something on his phone. Moments later, her phone buzzed.

"Already missing our harmony. See you tomorrow."

She smiled all the way home.

❀。• *₊°。 ❀°。✯¸.•'*¨'*•✿(◕‿◕)✿ •*'¨*'•.¸✯❀。• *₊°。 ❀° ❀

A/N: I hope you guys are enjoying my book so far 😅

I'm trying to make these chapters longer so hopefully, this next chapter is. no promises tho.

Comment if you would like to be added to the tag list!

[randgugotur-6]

May 18th 1987 - KISS released the film Kiss Exposed documentary film

KISS Exposed is the 1987 long-form music video released by the American rock band, Kiss. This was the band's second home video release. KISS Exposed is based on an interview with the members of Kiss (almost exclusively Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley) and is interspersed with music videos and live concert clips from throughout Kiss' career, until the album Asylum.

The original idea had been to put together a simple compilation of the promo videos the band had filmed since 1982 but according to interviews with Paul he felt that such a product wasn't right: "The new video, KISS Exposed, came out of the record company wanting to put out a compilation of our videos. And I always see that stuff as a rip-off. In essence, what they are doing is having the public pay the company back for the cost of the videos." Instead, KISS suggested a look behind the scenes/history of the band. According to Len Epand, the executive producer for the video and the senior vice president of music video production at PolyGram, "Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley were responsible for much of the idea and its execution and even came up with the title. […] When we brought the concept to Kiss, they upped the ante by giving us the rights to classic pre-video-age concert cuts from their own archives, from when they still wore make-up". The conceptual footage that tied the promo videos and live clips together was filmed at Gray Hall, a mansion in Beverly Hills, in August 1986.

The première showing of the completed product was at Billboard’s Eighth Annual Video Music Conference on November 20–22, 1986. It was described as "an original music/comedy/docu-drama".lFinal post-production work was undertaken in December 1986 at Sync Sound in New York for a January 1987 release. "Kiss have[has] now finished work on a 90-minute video package which they plan to issue worldwide in January ’87". However, this release date was soon pushed to March, something Gene and Paul referenced when they were guest VJs at MTV in January 1987. This March release date explains why KISS Exposed was listed as a new release in several US newspapers in mid-to-late March.

However, PolyGram pushed the release even further and it was eventually released on May 18. 1987. Whether or not it was the reason for the delays, Billboard wrote that PolyGram was "timing the videocassette […] to coincide with the compact disk release of the remainder of the Kiss catalog". Regardless of the reason for the moving release date it worked to drum up interest. According to an ad placed in Billboard in mid-April the video was set to ship gold (25,000 units) but the veracity of that early ad might be questioned. In an interview slightly closer to the actual release date representatives for PolyGram said that pre-orders were "approaching 25,000". (RIAA certification thresholds for long-form video have changed since the late 80s, in 1987 gold was 25,000 units and platinum was 50,000 units.] It was certified for gold status on July 23, 1987, and later platinum on October 1, 1987. Certifications always lag (and have to be asked for by the releasing label) and sales over 50,000 were reported long before the actual certification. In late 1988 Len Epand would claim sales approaching 90,000.

A follow-up was planned and almost 5 hours of footage was filmed during the first week of Hot in the Shade Tour, but it was shelved for unknown reasons. The footage leaked to the bootleg circuit and is called "eXposed II".

[galacticbuddysimblr]

Part 1: The Timeline of The Sims

Welcome to the first entry of The Sims Mysteries! I’ve been wanting to give my take of the story of The Sims for a while, and to start a conversation with other Simmers about what their theories are for the countless lore debates that are out there. First though, here’s some context:

There’s a Sims movie in production! Margot Robbie’s production company, LuckyChap, has started work on one, which we heard about last week. I’m super excited! However it turns out, I’ve always wanted to see a live action Sims movie, and I personally have high hopes for it. So far we know the movie is not going to be largely based on the game lore, but now’s as good a time as any to give my two cents on the various inconsistencies in The Sims canon.

As with Barbie, I can imagine the movie will deviate somewhat from what the fans consider canon and will not actually focus on lore at all, but on the simulation aspect of The Sims just as how Barbie focused on the dissonance between the real world and Barbieland. Today, I’m going to start with the topic I feel most strongly about: the timeline order of The Sims. If you take away one thing from this post, let it be that the story of The Sims does not take place in alternate universes or timelines. Take a look under the cut to read my explanation!

When The Sims 4 came out, the alternate universe theory was used as the main explanation for inconsistencies in the lore, specifically regarding sims’ ages. For some reason, this explanation was set in stone as canon without question. A lot of the confusion surrounding the timeline arose due to the assumption that The Sims 4 would take place after The Sims 2; at that point the latest established point on the timeline. Also, there seems to be a figure that’s cited often whenever simmers refer to the timeline; that there are two 25 year time jumps between The Sims 3, The Sims, and The Sims 2. I haven’t been able to find a source for this fact, though. If you know where it’s from, please send a link my way! I presume that it’s not as canonical as it’s considered to be, and in any case it’s a very rigid timescale which is incompatible with the stories of most if not all sims.

I want to recognize the fact that I think The Sims 4 has started taking its lore more seriously. The story of Robert Crumplebottom turned Roberto Crinkletop shown in a promotional video for Horse Ranch is exactly the kind of small scale but significant lore that I personally love! It truly gave me an impression that the developers care about the stories of our favourite sims. Just because The Sims 4 base game is not a neat addition to the canon we all know and love, that does not mean we should resort to the alternate universe explanation. Personally, I see alternate universe explanations of lore as lazy and messy world building, at least if a story doesn’t start out with a theme of alternate universes in the first place. It just seems like a sign that the developers or writers between different entries in a franchise were not in sync with each other or didn’t care enough about the story as long as the same characters were used. In any case, it’s more challenging, and in my opinion more interesting, to put together a unified story from a franchise that is on the brink of being explained away as a multiverse.

In a sentence, since the developers didn’t give us a clean slice of lore, it’s up to us simmers to put the story together. As you may know, this is the current most popular theory of the chronological order between the mainline Sims games based on lore:

The Sims 3

The Sims

The Sims 2

(The Sims 4 outside of the timeline, in an alternate universe)

Here is what I think the timeline should be:

The Sims 3

The Sims

The Sims 4

The Sims 2

The Sims 5?

So yes, all Sims games (including all spin-offs) are in the same canon and timeline in my eyes. The confusion comes from multiple inconsistencies introduced in The Sims 4, but as I said the main factor is the age of sims.

Originally, the main reason I was going to give for the inconsistencies in age was the Elixir of Life. We know that the Elixir of Life is an item in The Sims 2 which has the ability to prolong a Sim’s life in their current life stage, thought to be invented by Mortimer Goth. When it comes to aging inconsistencies, I think this makes for a much more elegant resolution than branching off a whole alternate universe. Anti-aging potions might not seem like a good solution for realism-oriented simmers, but at the end of the day something like an Elixir of Life is exactly in tune with the unique magical realism of The Sims.

All that considered, though, when looking at some of the staple households which appear in multiple games, there actually isn’t any aging conflict. That is, in the chronological order of games that I propose, the age of said sims progresses linearly. The issue might arise when trying to define the exact number of years passing between The Sims games, however considering that there could be different lengths of time between different entries in the franchise, it should be relatively straightforward to figure out when comparing sims’ ages against each other.

To convince you that the multiverse explanation of The Sims canon is unnecessary, I’m going to address the main reasons given in the ‘Alternate universe’ article on The Sims Wiki. Thank you to the person or people who wrote it by the way! Insofar as explaining the alternate universe it makes sense but I’m just using it as a jumping off point to explain my perspective. In the below table, the first two columns contain the conflicts in quotation marks as they appear on The Sims Wiki, while the third leftmost column is the reasons I have for the differences in the lore:

My main wish for the lore of Project Rene, or the current development of The Sims 5, is for it to be set after The Sims 2. This way, we start a new entry in the franchise with a clean slate and no confusion about the timeline. A big mistake The Sims 4 made is being afraid to show how life has gone by for our favorite sims, which just made confusion in the storyline. In fact, SimGuru Sarah said herself that it was the most flexible way to keep the most recognizable sims in the newest game. However, this made the story of The Sims 4, at least in the base game, seem stagnant. Let some of our favorite senior sims die from old age! Let our younger sims grow up and start families! Let Bella Goth grow old!

At the end of the day, we don’t need to rehash Bella’s, or anyone else’s, young adult life with new places and people, and it would be much more interesting to see how she is as an older woman, while her family matures and grows. That is, if Bella is in The Sims 5 at all! Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts! If you have any comments please message me or reply to this post—I’d love to start a discussion! For upcoming posts, here are some ideas I want to tackle (see the table for the mention of the topics below):

MySims in The Sims

With some of our favorite adorable MySims bridging the gap to the mainline franchise, how can we abridge their stories? What problems came up in their move to The Sims?

The Nighat Caliente vs Katrina Caliente Conflict

Both moms to our favorite sisters, Dina and Nina, but who is the real deal? Are they both?

The Timespan of The Sims

Have the games given us enough clues about the lengths of time that pass between the games? Can we use this to figure out the exact ages of sims or vice versa?

Too Many Malcolms

With enough Malcolm Landgraabs to go around, how can we tell who’s who? Which Malcolms are the same person, and which are relatives?

The Disappearance of Bella Goth

The age old debate: what happened to our Bella after that fateful night in Pleasantview? How much do we really know?

Agnes and Mrs. Crumplebottom

You’d be forgiven for mistaking the two, so how do we know they’re different? Is there a larger lineage of prude Crumplebottoms?

The Setting of The Sims

Do The Sims games take place in SimNation, or across the world on an alternate Earth? How does this Earth differ from ours?

The Teleportation of Don Lothario

When the time came for Don to reap the consequences for his streak of heartbreak, what did the women he scorned decide to do with him? How did Don end up in Riverview?

The Time Travel of Alexander Goth

One Alexander Goth is credited for writing A Murder in Pleasantview, but how did he write the book when his parents were still children? Did young Alex try to save his mom by trying to undo what was already done?

The Identity of Lolita Goth

Who was the mysterious bachelorette buried in the graveyard of Goth Manor? Was there an unspoken affair between her and Gunther?

[kiruamon]

Grey World AU

I stumbled into an old au idea again by accident and thought I'd see what would come out of it if I threw Sun, Moon, and Y/N into said setting.

You can find the background informations of this au after the sketches.

Let's start with the background information first:

The au is set in a city where everything is gray and dreary. Starting from the color of people's faces to their eyes and hair. Even the plants in the city park or the sky above their heads is gray. Simply everything seems to consist of a palette of different shades of gray. Humans and robots alike indifferently carry out their assigned work in this city. Regardless of whether this serves a meaningful purpose or not. Emotions are unnecessary. Unwanted. They only disturb the schedule, which each of them has to keep to the letter. Not falling out of step is the most important thing. Just following the instructions without ever wondering what for. Without ever truly taking in their surroundings, or building relationships with those around them. Concepts such as love, affection or passion are completely alien to the inhabitants and at best abstract concepts that they have read about somewhere. Negative feelings in a weak and suppressed form are more likely to be found in the hearts of the city's inhabitants, but are usually hardly acted out, since interactions with each other are limited to a minimum.

And then there is the strange fact that no one can remember things from their own life that happened more than five years ago. This is because every five years in the life of a person or an A.I., they are picked up to ensure that they keep up their productivity. The process is known to people as replacement where someone in their current job will be replaced by someone new. But what exactly happens to the people who are taken away is hardly known and usually nobody thinks about it.

So what happens during said replacement?

You could say that those affected are undergoing a reset. Memories of the last years are deleted. For example, where and what the person last worked as. Memories of work colleagues or what daily routine they followed and where they lived. Only the basic knowledge of the person remains. Usually, after the reset is completed, the person is equipped with new knowledge and tasks and is reassigned to a new position in a new place.

From time to time, however, individuals break the routine for some reason. It can be a tiny trigger that creates bigger and bigger waves in that person's life. Some will break from it, falling into a state of complete apathy in which they are no longer able to do anything until they are found in some dark alley or their homes and taken away to be given an early reset. Or, although much rarer, some people become overly aggressive and, in the worst case, cause chaos within society and shake up the lives of others around them. Regardless of which of the two cases it is, such individuals are commonly referred to as Broken. Oddly enough, these phenomena, although less common, have been observed in some bots and animatronics as well.

However, there also exists a third possible outcome. Individuals who get out of sync without falling into permanent madness or apathy, and who gradually learn to become aware of themselves. The longer this state lasts, the greater the likelihood that they will begin to notice emotions that they did not know before and which become more intense over time. For unknown reasons, this causes their previously gray appearance to slowly change to a more and more colorful one. There are no reports or news about these third cases. Officially they do not exist and as soon as they are discovered they are brought away as quickly as possible, just like the others, in order to make a functioning member of society out of them again.

All people are equipped with a watch-like device that is usually worn around the wrist. The device is not only used to read the current time, but also checks the vital functions of its wearer while being worn. Additionally, it shows how much time is left to complete a certain activity or to get from A to B in order to keep the personal schedule. If for some reason there are minor delays in the routine, the device - as far as possible - readjusts the schedule and tries to guide the owner back into their normal routine. Bots and animatronics on the other hand have a separate program in their code instead of this device, which takes care of these functions.

Although every home is equipped with a kitchen and there are also supermarkets with real food, restaurants, snack bars and the like, people eat the food units assigned to them. These are tasteless, gray little cubes that contain all the nutrients the person needs for their daily meals, and are precisely pre-calculated by the wristwatch before being spit out by the machines that can be found in every kitchen.

People only get assigned a partner for a day once or twice in their lives. The partners are selected based on algorithms. However, it is usually none of the biological parents who end up raising their child. Often, this task will be handled by someone completely different who has been prepared for this. And even this person will be only two years in charge of the child until it is passed on to the next caregiver. This is to prevent a deeper bond from forming between the child and the caregiver. The children remain in human care until they are about ten years old, at which time they are strongly encouraged and taught to be as independent as possible. After that, they are sent to institutions where they are taught and educated individually. The child care there is mainly performed by bots or animatronics and a few humans as supervisors. The first time the reset is performed in their lives is when they reach the age of sixteen, in order to avoid serious side effects in children from the reset. Those who raise the children already receive a reset when the child is handed over to the next caregiver.

Because of their excellent A.I. and programming, both animatronics and simpler bots have an extreme ability to learn and are flexible in their application possibilities. Which caused them to develop a consciousness of their own as a side effect. Usually, however, this is not seen as a problem, because despite their consciousness, like the humans around them, they show little personality and often perform their prescribed tasks extremely reliably. If, however, they show uncharacteristic signs during the regular maintenance like abnormal behavior, a strongly developed personality, or evidence of emotions developing, they undergo an early reset, like humans would. If a soft reset is not enough, a hard reset is also performed when in doubt and a reprogramming will be done.

With that, we have put the general background info behind us and can now talk about the role of the characters within the au!

Sun and Moon

Sun and Moon share a body in the au and are currently assigned as police officers. Before their last reset, however, the two worked in one of the institutions in which the children from the age of ten are held. In fact, they were specially created to take care of children and raise them to be obedient members of society. For this purpose, they were equipped with all possible theoretical knowledge. However, in their early days, it quickly became apparent that the knowledge they had been given was extremely incomplete when it came to how exactly to care for emotionally troubled children, which was often the case when the children were new to the facility and had adjustment issues. With some of the children, their built-in knowledge kept leading them to certain limits.

So they tried to expand their knowledge using the available databanks. Among those were also numerous files and information from the old times, when children were educated in a completely different way compared to today's system. This, in combination with the practical work with the children, resulted in them learning extremely quickly within a short period of time to adapt to different situations and to constantly adjust and improve their approaches to solving problems as they arose. More and more often, they found themselves resorting to the much older proposed solutions rather than those suggested by the current system, thus making the children's stay significantly more comfortable. Through their work, Sun and Moon were much more exposed to the emotionality of their surroundings. Even more so since they were mainly taking care of the children who had just been brought into the facility and were often more confused or shaken up than the older children due to the new environment. It was only a matter of time before they learned not only to recognize or understand the children's feelings, but also to empathize with them. They began to think more emotionally and to act according to that.

For the two of them it was like a tiny miracle when they made one of the children laugh for the first time. Or when one of the children came to them on its own to be comforted by them. You could say they became too good at their job. In a way that had not been intended when they were deployed. They did exactly what was supposed to be prevented by their creation. The development of an emotional bond between the children and them. At first, they simply tried to erase Sun and Moon's memories. It went well for a while, until things began to repeat themselves. Accordingly, it was decided to replace them completely, erase all their memories once again, and reprogram them to be used elsewhere.

Neither Sun nor Moon can remember this time before their work as policemen. At least until a familiar sound accidentally awakens something that lay hidden deep within them. Perhaps a few memory files survived the deletions after all? They have a pretty elaborate A.I. and it's unclear how many times they've gone through a reset in the past. So far, they have never given it a second thought. Generally, they just follow their daily route and patrol the area of the city they are stationed in. Sun does the daytime patrols and Moon the evening or night patrols. Their rotation is based on the actual sunrise and sunset, at which time one of their internal programs sends them a signal and triggers the transition. Their daily schedule is a bit looser than most humans or bots. While they have set routines in their daily routine, they are not scheduled by the minute between the beginning and end of their work to be able to investigate or respond to any anomalies and report them accordingly if necessary.

Y/N

Y/N works as the only employee in a flower shop where no customer ever sets foot in. They had never really thought about their life. Or about whether or not they were qualified to work in a shop like this. If they got assigned here, then everything had to be correct. And after all, the schedule told them exactly what they had to do and how they had to do it. Everything had its exact place, the new deliveries always arrived on time, and there were precise instructions for the always identical, gray bouquets that they had to produce and which no one ever bought. It was neither dull nor exciting. It was simply their daily routine. Nothing more, nothing less. Y/N was jolted out of their daily, thoughtless routine for the first time when, in the third week, a fresh delivery of plants and flowers arrived, amongst which were so-called defective specimens. They found it difficult to take their eyes off the few splashes of color that stood out in the sea of gray like nothing they had ever encountered before in their lives. It was the first day in their life to show irregularities in their behavior.

Not only did they find themself unable to dispose these so-called defective specimens in the garbage cans outside, but they also found themself out of sync with their schedule on several occasions, causing a slight sense of confusion and panic in them. To make matters worse, the device on their wrist constantly reminded them of their tardiness, once they stared longer than they would have liked at the colorful petals or intense green leaves of one of the flawed plants they had placed with the others in the shop. At first, the process was still quite slow. Y/N would often feel distracted, catching themself just staring for a few seconds, or falling slightly behind their set schedule, or not being able to fall asleep properly because they were suddenly thinking about things they shouldn't or didn't want to think about. There were also some attempts on their part to get back into the old routine, but they were all to no avail. In retrospect, however, the phase that followed this time was the worst from their point of view.

During that phase Y/N felt constantly confused or angry and irritated by every little thing and had gone through some pretty bad mood swings, ranging from absolute lethargy to hitting the walls of their apartment out of frustration or experiencing deep self-doubt about whether they were broken or not. Oddly enough, it was the work in the flower shop that had thrown them into this crisis in the first place, but helped them get through it as well. Knowing that if they suddenly stopped taking care of the plants and flowers, they would simply wither away, gave them the push they needed to keep going. It also helped a little when Y/N turned the watch-like device to silent and no longer tried to stick to everything it told them no matter what, but instead relaxed and worked through the daily tasks in the store at their own pace. After all, what was the point of making twenty or more identical bouquets if no one ever stopped by to buy them? What was the point of sticking to exactly which of the flowers to use for said bouquets and not just doing some trial and error? What was the point of always putting the flowers in exactly the same place when they could be arranged differently inside the shop? Starting things in new ways made Y/N much more balanced, and by now they are already looking forward to go to work.

Of course, there were still some doubts and fears left that they were no longer normal. Different from the rest, which is why they suspected for a long time that someone would probably come to pick them up soon, just like the Broken, to replace them. But contrary to expectations, no one has come to pick Y/N up to replace them, even though there was clearly something wrong with them. Meanwhile, Y/N suspects that they may not be broken, but possibly flawed, much like the colorful flowers in their store. But since no one seems to care, they just try to make the best of their current situation. This also includes accepting the new feelings and thoughts and living them out to a certain extent instead of suppressing them completely - apart from the fact that they have learned that it is no longer possible for them to suppress their feelings. Y/N clearly enjoys working in the flower shop, even though unfortunately no one ever comes to buy a bouquet or any of the plants. They started to display mainly the colorful flowers and plants in their shop instead of the gray ones. Meanwhile, they are trying to learn how to cultivate the colorful plants by reading some books about the matter. Over the last half year, there have been some small successes here and there. Also, a few months ago, Y/N noticed with amazement that the gray in their eyes as well as their hair is taking on a different color and is becoming more noticeable as time goes on. By the way, they found the colorful apron while shopping in a shelf with discounted clothes and bought it, because they thought it looked really nice. Y/N honestly didn't even know that colored clothing existed even if it seems to be rare, but can't say if they just never noticed any when buying something new to wear.

_

For the first time the three of them meet during one of Sun's patrols when he passes the flower shop, noticing the flower tubs right in front of the store, which weren't there usually, so he takes a look through the window for the first time only to realize irritated that something is wrong here and enters the store shortly after. I would talk more now, but… I think I will rather post further details together with upcoming sketches/drawings.;)