#Sue Gordon

[nerianasims-pleasantview]

Sigh, this again... oh wait shit I forgot to buy an alarm.

"There's a strange man breaking in--yes, hurry!"

The teapot picture? That does make a slight amount of sense I guess.

Well crap. Gordon King does tend to be slightly more skilled than other burglars.

"Sorry, ma'am."

"You'd better be! What do we pay taxes for! The crime in this town is out of control!"

[incorrectbatfam]

What your LEAST favorite batfam member says about you

Dick Grayson: You think life is over and people become shriveled-up hags at 30

Jason Todd: You're an Arrowfam stan

Tim Drake: Your favorite Robin is either Jason or Damian

Damian Wayne: You call children "crotch goblins"

Duke Thomas: You own something from your childhood that would be worth a lot of money now had you not taken it out of the original packing

Cullen Row: You've spent a lot of your early teens struggling to accept your identity and in doing so behaved like a douche on Roblox

Stephanie Brown: You created a TikTok to make fun of TikTokers but that doesn't change the fact that you're still on TikTok

Cassandra Cain: You were weirded out by the alt kids in school only to realize later in life they had more courage than you by expressing themselves without caring about what others think

Barbara Gordon: You had a college reading level in 6th grade that stopped mattering once you entered college where everyone was the same as you and you're still salty about it

Harper Row: Your parents didn't let you dye your hair

Carrie Kelley: You had an unhealthy relationship with a stranger on Discord where you learned the meaning of gaslighting firsthand

Kate Kane: You didn't like the Barbie movie

Helena Bertinelli: You had a crush on someone who was way out of your league but took a shot anyway and they rejected you and now every time you see someone pretty you seethe with envy

Luke Fox: You think you can take a grizzly bear in a fight when your only hobby is watching Twitch streamers and eating cool ranch Doritos

Bette Kane: You had a Wattpad Mary Sue self-insert who had all the members of One Direction falling for her and was a vampire wizard demigod that won the Hunger Games but that's a secret you plan on taking to your grave

Alfred Pennyworth: Britain fucked over your country

Selina Kyle: You know a lot about sex for someone who hasn't even gone on a date

Bruce Wayne: You stand by your guns when you say eat the rich and don't make exceptions for the "wholesome" billionaires

[forzalando]

anyone can cook

max + cooking date - 3k celebration driver scenario for @foreveralbon !! liyah, i do not know what happened but somehow this turned into just jokes and banter. i am so sorry, i hope you still like it!!!! special bonus scene at the end that is the most unserious thing i have ever written and i apologize profusely for it but i was writing this past bedtime and couldn't get it out of my head this is the end of the 3k celebration blurbs, i am kind of sad but also feel accomplished🥹 i only had to write 6 but i am notorious for not finishing things. patting myself on the back today! pairing: max verstappen x fem!reader word count: 660 words tw: none, unless boxed pasta offends you

“MAX! I said salt the water, not create the sixth named ocean,” you said through giggles. “Here, let me help.”

You cupped your hands under his, leading him to the sink to dump a considerable amount of salt under the rushing water.

“Use about…this much,” you mumbled, tongue poking out and concentrating on dumping the granules into his hands without spilling any onto the floor. Jimmy and Sassy were weaving in between your legs and you didn’t want them tracking salt into every room or, heaven forbid, rolling around in your bed.

After guiding Max to the boiling water, you turned your attention back to your blistering tomatoes and garlic, but not before passing a cheese grater and block of parmesan over to him.

“Cooking is so much work,” he whined. “How do you enjoy this?”

“Max, you’ve literally done two things. You filled a pot with water and salted it, how many things do you have to do simultaneously while in the car?”

“That’s different, it’s fun!”

“Cooking can be fun! Cuisine is an art – it’s therapeutic, calming, and you get to eat something delicious after all your hard work!”

“Yeah, and do a million dishes,” he grumbled under his breath. You immediately shot him a steely glare and he smiled big enough that his eyes crinkled. “But I love doing dishes with you! Quality time, right?”

“Nice save, Verstappen.”

For the next few minutes you worked in tandem and in silence – Max furiously grating cheese and hissing every few seconds when he accidentally caught a finger against the sharp holes, you stirring and perfecting your sauce with ease.

The stove timer interrupted the peace and you called Max over from his place at the countertop.

“Ok, lesson number three of the evening – ”

“What were one and two?” He interrupted you, hints of hesitation and guilt in his voice. When you turned to look at him, your mouth open in exasperation, you saw the teasing look in his eye and rolled yours in return.

“If Gordon Ramsay were teaching you, you’d have been called an idiot sandwich twice and kicked out of the kitchen by now.”

“Lucky me, you’re way nicer, way more patient, and way prettier than Gordon.”

He tickled your ribcage lightly, causing you to flip a spoonful of pasta water across the room.

“New lesson number three – no tickling the chef when boiling water is nearby. Lesson number four, previously lesson number three – never trust the cook time on the pasta box. A true pasta chef also finishes cooking their pasta in the sauce, so we’re taking it out a few minutes early.”

“Wouldn’t a true pasta chef use fresh-made pasta?”

“You’re on thin ice, Max.”

He leaned in swiftly to kiss your cheek and stole the pasta spoon from your hand. “I’ll be dumping the water, I don’t want it to splash on you.”

“Don’t forget to – ”

“Reserve a cup of pasta water, where is your faith in me? I pay attention to everything you say, mijn liefje.”

It wasn’t long before you had served up plates of pasta as fresh as you could make considering you’d just gotten back to Monaco that morning, slightly burnt garlic bread because Max forgot to set a separate timer, and a mixed greens salad so Max’s trainer wouldn’t sue you for mistreatment and neglect.

“I’d say this was a very solid date night,” Max said between chews. “Thank you for teaching me and being patient with me – I take for granted how much you do for me when we’re home.” He pressed another kiss to your cheek, this one longer and messier than the one before.

You couldn’t help but grin at him, a devastatingly lovesick grin, and your stomach fluttered when he returned the exact look. He had a tomato sauce stain in the corner of his mouth and a droplet of spilled wine on his shirt but to you he’d never looked more beautiful.

bonus snippet (i couldn’t help myself, please accept my apology)

“Y/N, I cannot cook. I can count on one hand the number of times I have cooked for myself in the past ten years. I will blow up the kitchen.”

“Relax, I’ll guide you the whole way! You’ll never be near an open flame unsupervised, no sharp knives, we can even start with something simple! Pasta al pomodoro – you’ll love it!”

“When the rat said anyone can cook, he did not mean me, I promise.”

You looked at him quizzically – “Max, what rat?”

“The little French rat, not Esteban, the one who lives in the chef’s hat and makes soup for him.”

“…Are you talking about Remy? From Ratatouille?”

“I don’t remember his name, I just know you made me watch a movie one time about a French rat that could cook.”

“Ok, well, that’s an animated kid’s movie, and actually Chef Gusteau said anyone can cook, but he's right! Anyone can cook, Remy is proof, so get ready to cook on date night.”

“Thanks a lot, Remy,” Max huffed, crossing his arms in defeat.

--------------------

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[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Generation 2 Pt. 158 (The Custody Hearing)

Before he planned to travel through time, Felix Psyded, Esquire, found himself inside a courtroom on the outskirts of San Myshuno. Normally at ease inside the hallowed halls of law and justice, today his friends were depending on him. This hearing was more than a case.

Judge Robin Marlow took a seat at her mahogany oak desk, polished to perfection inside the closed courtroom. She would preside over the custody hearing to determine whether Ash would stay with the Landgraabs, or be returned to Heather and Conrad in Brindleton Bay.

The Landgraabs had a pair of lawyers - married attorneys Pete and Laura Sue. Felix thought they'd legally changed their name because their court record with successful lawsuits was astounding. No one that good at suing people could actually be named Sue!

Regardless of their real names, they were real pains in his formerly transparent butt. He was certain they'd withheld evidence from discovery, but the hearing had come up faster than he could dig and he had to trust his instincts. He knew Ash was in good hands with Heather and Conrad on a personal level, he just needed to convince the judge, too.

With the Landgraabs on one side and the Gordons on the other, Ash's fate rested in the hands of the people in this room. Heather had read somewhere that blue was a good colour to wear to court, so she'd ditched her usual yellow and green for a blue pantsuit, and Conrad wore a tie.

As the judge spoke, her voice echoed off the high ceilings of the courthouse. "We're here today examining the existing custody arrangement between Malcolm Chester Landgraab and Heather Lea Gordon, following some very serious allegations of child endangerment. Due to the sensitivity of this case and the notoriety of the plantiff, today's session will take place in a closed courtroom. And before we get started, I just want to say we're not here to determine the worst place for Ash to be, but the best. Will the opposing counsels please state their cases for the record?"

Laura Sue stepped forward with a grin. "Your Honour, thank you. Our clients want it known they only want the best for their flesh and blood. He shares their last name, after all. The custody arrangement that's been in place since Ash was a year old was a good arrangement. It allowed him close access to his mother in the early stages of his development, affording the loving father, Malcolm, basic access to his son. But our clients became gravely concerned after Ash's recent kidnapping turned out to be the result of time travelling cartel members seeking vengeance on Ash's stepfather, Conrad Gordon."

Judge Marlow smiled. "Please clarify for the courts what you mean by 'time-travelling.'"

"I would if I could, Your Honour. Our clients are concerned Ash's head has been filled with fantastical ideas about time travel and ghosts, and their fear is that all of this is due to the Gordons' overwhelming influence on Malcolm's own son."

Heather and Conrad glared across the courtroom, but Nancy wasn't afraid to arch her nasty brows right back, even as Geoffrey tried to quietly chastise her for it. The Landgraabs' second attorney, Pete Sue, stepped forward.

"Your Honour, as the police report submitted to evidence shows, Ash Landgraabs' stepfather would likely just be getting out of prison if not for our client. He wouldn't be a successful police captain, at any rate. The Gordons have always relied on the Landgraabs, and when Conrad found himself in legal jeopardy after his college girlfriend turned out to be a murderous cartel runner, his father Stephen needed help convincing San Myshuno PD to drop his case and send him through the police academy, instead."

"And where did he go for that help?" Laura wondered rhetorically, playing off her husband like a vaudeville duo without the song and dance. "To the then-CEO of Landgraab Corp., Nancy Landgraab. She was pleased to do this favour for someone who worked loyally for her father for decades, but records were sealed. Not even Mr. Gordon himself knew his freedom was thanks to her until discovery for this very hearing, and now he thinks he can provide a more stable home for the Landgraabs' own grandson."

"Our clients vehemently beg to differ," continued Pete. "And they demand a revision to the custody file granting Malcolm Landgraab primary legal and physical custody. They feel their position and security will provide him with the tools he'll need as he approaches adulthood, while his mother and stepfather engage him in fantasy roleplaying as a lifestyle."

Heather and Conrad squirmed from their corner of the courtroom. Discovering that Nancy was more or less the sole reason they'd ever had the chance to meet had been a difficult pill to swallow, but considering the position they were in when they'd discovered it, they saw no reason to thank her.

Judge Marlow nodded, turning to Felix to hear the defendants' make their case. "Your Honour, my clients are as surprised as anyone to be here today. As surprised as they were the night Ash was uprooted from the home he's known since birth. Ash was born in Brindleton Bay, and for more than the first year of his life, his biological father didn't call. He didn't visit. He didn't care."

"Objection!" argued Laura. "Counsel can't know our clients' feelings nine years ago."

Judge Marlow nodded. "Sustained. Facts only, please."

"My clients have been there for Ash day in, day out, for close to a decade. Heather Gordon has provided for Ash from the day he was born, and she did it alone before she met her husband. She's a successful vet, stood as a surrogate for two of her closest friends, and a doting mother. On top of raising a well-adjusted son and daughter, Mrs. Gordon ran her clinic so successfully, she was able to buy out the Landgraabs and become completely independent within seven years of signing the lease."

Judge Marlow listened intently as Felix spoke for his clients. "They've provided a safe and stable home despite Captain Gordon's line of work. Ash has regular appointments with counselors and they've all submitted statements to the record. They attest to him being responsible and emotionally mature. Besides, Ash wasn't kidnapped while under the Gordons' care in Brindleton Bay, but while he was staying with the Landgraabs in San Myshuno."

"Counsel, is it true your clients' met because Captain Gordon was investigating a hack of Landgraab Systems perpetrated by Mrs. Gordon?" Judge Marlow raised an eyebrow and Felix nodded.

"It is, Your Honour. She's a very successful app designer, and Malcolm stole her app code before they broke up. She discovered it months later and orchestrated the hack to delete the stolen files, but the Landgraabs declined to press charges and everyone has moved on. At least, that's what my clients' thought. But perhaps my clients should have known the Landgraabs wouldn't honour a contract. It's not uncommon for Landgraab Corp. to stiff their contractors, daring them to fight their considerable resources in court or take a lesser deal. Now, it seems, they're trying to do the same to my clients, and they're using the well-being of their own flesh and blood to do it."

Across the courtroom, vicious Nancy laughed, as though Felix' words were useless against her influence and wealth. Malcolm and Geoffrey chuckled with her.

"And Your Honour, I'm not a judge, but it seems to me that Ash's own testimony - recorded by Officer Camden Romeo the night he was escorted from Brindleton Bay - should be strongly considered. He said he wanted to stay at the Gordon home with his mother and stepfather."

"Objection, Your Honour," said Pete. "It was an emotional evening and children's testimony can be unreliable."

Judge Marlow shook her head. "Overruled."

Once the attorneys had made their cases, Judge Marlow stepped away to make her decision. The wait for word felt agonizingly long for Heather and Conrad, but they waited eagerly when she called the court back in session.

The Gordons and Landgraabs waited with baited breath as Judge Marlow smiled. "I would like to start by saying, despite events, I don't believe Ash is particularly unsafe with any of his legal guardians. That being said, the testimonies from everyone, including counselors, discussing time travel and ghosts with shocking complacency is alarming. It's an atypical and potentially dangerous way for a young, impressionable person to be raised, and it does raise questions about the suitability of his primary home."

Felix anxiously pulled at the chain on his navy vest. He knew what was coming but he couldn't interrupt the judge.

"Stability is the most important thing for any child whose cases cross my desk, and the Gordons' situation is less stable than the Landgraabs, especially with another child on the way and no way to know what this will do to the family's dynamic. As such, the court sides with the plaintiffs, and I'm ordering a reversal of the current custody arrangement."

Heather and Conrad gasped, their faces pulling in anguish as the judge continued. "Primary legal and physical custody of Ash Neal Landgraab is hereby awarded to Malcolm Landgraab, with visitation granted to Heather and Conrad Gordon at the Landgraabs' sole discretion."

Nancy grinned like a cat who'd slaughtered a mouse while Heather and Conrad suffered, the judge's voice fading in and out as both sides of the courtroom processed the verdict.

"Court will reconvene in a year, at which time, I will hope the Gordons have settled into a more quiet life for the sake of all their children, but for the next year it seems quite clear the Landgraabs' will provide Ash with the best possible care."

The Landgraabs left in a hurry while Felix apologized to his friends. "I'm so sorry. I hate to lose a case and this one...We have a year, but we can try a lot of things to get an earlier hearing. I'll try every single one of them."

Heather and Conrad embraced, fighting off the numbness threatening to swallow them both. "We're going to get him back, I promise," insisted Conrad. "There's no way it's gonna take a year." ->

<- Previous Chapter | Gen 2 Start | Gen 2.1 Summary

Gen 1 Start | Gen 1 Summary

Shout out to @matchalovertrait, who said some very nice things about all Heather has accomplished right while I was writing this post. You helped write Felix' defense without even knowing it, so thank you!! I'm sorry it didn't actually help *ducks*

WCIF Poses, Landgraab Attorneys & Judge Marlow? Several of Heather and Conrad's reaction shots were taken with Akuiyumi's Sadness poses, but a lot of this was staged by getting characters to sit or stand in one place and practice singing. They look expressive and it saves me when they're standing or sitting too far away to have a conversation. (Fun fact, I also did this when Conrad met John Brindleton at the prison for his confession, because I could not get them to sit in those chairs and have a conversation because they were technically sitting in different rooms.

I found Pete and Laura Sue on the Sims 4 Gallery by user mgq15, and it looks like they're part of a series, and yes those are the names they were uploaded with! I'm sorry they're playing attorneys for the bad guys but I thought they just had that vibe! Likewise, I found Robin Marlow by Gallery user Beths1990 while looking for a judge and put a robe on her. I really liked them all in the scene and we'll see them again - there's another custody hearing scheduled in a year, after all!

The courthouse came from a redone koomasterpc build by KPOPfan07-09, and I liked that the fourth floor looked a bit like a big city courtroom, different from the courthouse in Brindleton Bay because the Landgraabs had jurisdiction on this one, unfortunately.

[dc-gotham-instincts-wild]

ANOTHER UPDATE FOR THE CITY MARKS AU

I came up with this recently, bc i LOVE the cryptid batfam trope. Sue me.

Also the Marked have their own language, a sort of jumble of clicks, whistles, screeches, chirps, growls, hisses, purrs, rumbles, squeaks, chatters, chuffs, croons, snaps, coos, howls, hoots, crows, caws, and other noises.

Marked are generally feral. Whatever your first language was before being Claimed, it's your second now, replaced by Marked-Tongue. Whatever your first instincts were before, they are replaced by feral urges once your area lays its claim on you. Not evil, but wild and untamed. 

Most Marked manage to keep it down when around normal humans, though for younger ones it's harder to control. 

The Bats in particular find it very hard to resist their instincts since Gotham's claim on them is stronger. However, when it's just them on patrol in Gotham and Bludhaven, they let loose. total feral. They still speak English to villains and the GPD, but sometimes the younger ones don't grammar correctly or hisses, clicks or such bleed into their speech. Sometimes when they're hurt or if one of the others is hurt, they go feral and won't speak. Commissioner Gordon is literally the only human that they're fully calm around.

They're not metas, but they're not exactly human anymore.

The JL and any non-Gothamite is fully unaware of the feral part. Not even the JL knows, because the Bats always manage to control themselves around them. Gothamites note that the Bats keep their feral-ness secret around other heroes and likewise play along, and don't blab to any outsider.  Lord knows how the Bats keep it down when in civilian form. When it's just them, they abandon English, and revert to Marked-Tongue.

[shinyspanishgem]

Dick didn't know how it ended up like this.

The GCPD is covered with flowers, love letters, and postcards of almost all of the Gotham Rogue Gallery, all addressed to Batman.

It didn't help that Dick was the last to use the Batsuit that entire week, covering for Bruce so he could heal from an important shoulder injury. And hey, he was tired, taking off the Nightwing suit for the night only to be called to be the emergency replacement cought him off guard, and the next day he still had to keep the same routine to keep both Bludhaven and Gotham safe.

So yes, maybe he joked around with Bruce's villains too much, so sue him. But them interpreting that as genuine flirting was mortifying.

Sure, he *asked* the Riddler for riddles beacouse he was bored in the slower night of that week,but wasn't sending an engagement ring in response for their "magical night together" (15 minutes of indulging some riddling) a bit too much?

Fine, he joked that if he ever needs a lawyer he'll call Dent, but seeing him on national television arguing he should get his lawyer licence back is too far, since when do people listen to Batman the vigilante for legal advice? He seemed to be trying to turn his life around (without stoping his crimes,somehow) and the flowers were sent to Bruce directly.

Oh, so now you can't compliment a man's suit without the Penguin sending you his literal tailer wrapped up like a present? give him a break.

He asked Harley where she got the Hyenas (for Damian) and got into a discussion on how to properly love and raise exotic pets, and yes leaving a full grown tiger for him in Gordon's doorsteps is insane Harley (Battiger is nice though, Robin says thanks).

He though he was being sooo funny by giving Killer Croc a 'men fear me, fish fear me too' hat, now he keeps showing up in Bruce's patrols becacouse he thinks they are best friends now, or mates? he does NOT want to know.

He called Manbat 'cousin' just for giggles, the roumor has picked up and Bruce gets asked twice a week about it now, that one was on purpose. He left rats hanging from the GCPD precint like a cat, he prays to God Bruce doesn't become inervetedly attached to it, the Batcave is full no thank you.

Ivy had been nice, they just chatted about plants for a bit beacouse Dick's been thinking of getting a Bonsai, she was delighted and sent a starter kit.

He chatted with a goon about his daughter and how she's around Robin's age while waiting to ambush Clayface, and there's a chance he set Damien up for a playdate.

Only Catwoman caught on, beacouse Dick was uncomfortable with her flirting instead of going along, she told nobody.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I don’t know if you’ve already covered this, but I had a question to ask about the VDC in Book 5. To clarify, I understand that RSA needed to win for thematic and character arc purposes, and that in-lore it was an audience vote not a professional one. The story beats line up. But the choice of cutesy and childlike RSA performance over the more refined and professional NRC performance still doesn’t quite click with me. Is there some kind of cultural difference that didn’t translate to explain why one performance was supposed to be understood as preferred over the other? Even if it was an audience vote, the standards should be higher just by virtue of this being a big name competition for teenagers held at a prestigious school.

Very quickly, I want to add a couple other points that help to explain why RSA won over NRC! Book 6 opens early on with Vil noting that NRC was not able to perform as well as they wanted to since they had just come out of a difficult battle against his OB form. (Because of this, he accepts responsibility for their loss.) Thus, the NRC performance may not have actually been as "refined", "professional", or as polished as we imagine it to be.

Additionally, it’s stated in book 5 that RSA’s song choice had universal appeal whereas NRC’s did not. We see this effect on the production crew when Neige and the Seven Dwarves do their practice run; their performance has a refreshing and soothing effect on what appears to be an older audience (as it plays to their nostalgia); we must consider this when evaluating RSA and NRC. For example, I know that I really disliked NRC's performance (sue me/j) because it sounded very oppressive and therefore unrelatable to me. The lyrics are literally about how NRC will dominate their opponents and win 😭 Sure, the music and lyrics for Neige's song aren't complex, but they're at the very least accessible and easy to follow along with. (That's not to say that I prefer RSA's performance though; I'm just explaining why someone might not find NRC's performance appealing.)

Lastly! We as players are looking at the two song + dance numbers from an omniscient perspective. We need to consider our own biases when judging, and accept that it may differ from the characters in-universe view things. Maybe you prefer NRC’s performance. That’s fair! But how much of that is informed by your personal music preferences? And how much of that comes from your attachment to the NRC characters, since you’ve followed their stories up until this point? As Rook points out in book 5, he’s aware of how hard NRC has worked to get here… but he’s also aware of Neige’s hardships too (er, in terms of his lifestyle; ie living with the dwarves and doing chores, etc.). Consider then, would you honestly not have a bias for RSA had Twisted Wonderland’s story centered on them instead of NRC?

It’s also worth noting that how things are seen in Twisted Wonderland may reflect its own unique culture rather than how we in the real world may perceive it. Maybe the people of Twisted Wonderland just prefer a cute, nostalgic performance. This may not necessarily correlate with west or east at all and that has always been a possibility! (While TWST does take inspirations from the real world, it’s not a 1:1 with the real world.)

dkhlbaiyfadvfoad Okay, NOW onto the actual question being pitched!

When you look at media from different countries, there are some stark differences in how the same information is presented. One example is like... any Gordon Ramsay show yes, I am using him as an example. Compare the American cut and the British cuts; there are much more loud sound effects, dramatic music, yelling, and cussing in the American cuts. The British cuts, by comparison, are notably quieter and contemplative, with hardly any cursing. Another example! Looking at variety shows from the east vs the west, they're quite different as well. Eastern variety shows tend to be "cute", usually using various cute sound effects or edits which make the guests appear more bashful (like drawing blush over their cheeks or something). We don't see this in western TV shows, which are louder and more boisterous. I've noticed a similar trend in the music industries of the east vs the west as well, where eastern stars tend to emphasize their youthfulness and playfulness and western stars try to be more "mature" and grown-up. These are just my personal observations and may not reflect reality, especially seeing as I am not involved in music-oriented spaces.

I asked friends and personal contacts in both eastern and western pop music fandom spaces for their own insights (which is also in no way representative of both fandoms, but at least this gives us other perspectives for consideration). To summarize, most of them replied that they did not think cultural differences account for this situation, since equating a preference for a "cute" aesthetic is not the same as RSA performing what is basically a nursery rhyme. There's no real-world equivalent for that (at least none that they can think of), and I agree with all of this. There’s really no point in trying to compare the two.

I remember lots of Japanese fans being upset at NRC’s loss too (when book 5’s ending was first put out), so the impression I got was they didn’t prefer the performance of RSA over NRC either. It was not just the international fandom that was disappointed. I don’t believe TWST ever intentionally set out to present “Everyone Yahoo!” as the “superior” song and dance number, or as the performance we’re supposed to like more than the other. It was very much framed as something pathetic and unlikely to win in most of the eyes of the NRC characters. They make fun of RSA’s clumsiness and claim it’ll be easy to win over them. The player most likely is supposed to think this way too—until Vil, the one with an eye for showbiz, realizes his loss. Why? Because it doesn’t matter what we think. What matters is how this clumsy performance will resonate with the common person.

What I think it ultimately comes down to is emotional appeal to the audience, which is more of a personal/individual level thing than a cultural thing. The competition is decided by audience vote. The average person honestly does not care about quality or standards. No one is giving them rules to evaluate by, no one is going to tell them off for not having strict standards. They will pick based on what they like best or whatever makes them feel good. And what will make anyone feel food, regardless of age, sex, race, education, socioeconomic status, etc.? Something cozy and familiar, thoughts of simpler times… Nostalgia.

Something else to think about is what a powerful motivator emotions can be. There are irl idol competition shows that are high stakes and decided by audience vote just like VDC/SDC… and people will still vote for their favorites even if they gave a technically bad performance. This is because fans are so emotionally invested in and attached to the performer. It doesn’t matter how “bad” they are, the performer/performance makes the audience member feel impassioned, and they will then act according to those intense feelings. Think about what you’re like when you’re in a terrible mood vs a good one. You act completely differently, right?

I hope that perspective helps! 🙏 I tried to be as thorough as I could be in this response, but please let me know if I misspoke or maybe missed a point.

P.S. I happen to be responding to this ask after TWST showed us the NRC Tribe’s dance performance in a MMD video. I wonder if this only made the “NRC should have own” crowd double down on that opinion since now we’re seeing just what their performance looks like 🤔 (though we don’t have a complete MMD video of Neige’s group to directly compare, just this which shows part of the dance and not in the same clumsy way that Neige and co. perform it).

[lightning-and-dragons]

Theory/personal headcanon time? I don't know...but here we go!

What if Scott was actually Jay's half-brother? Think about it.

Cliff Gordon could've had a son before Jay was born. Let's say this son loved videogames, and Cliff pulled a few strings to get him to become the assistant to Milton Dyer, and to eventually test a new game called Prime Empire. Scott then vanished, and no one knew what happened.

Cliff, in his grief and pain at loosing his son, sues Vast Industries, and gets Milton Dyer fired, and then flings himself further and further into his acting career, hoping to find the joy that vanished when Scott did.

Eventually, Cliff meets Libber, marries her, but as soon as Jay is born he becomes afraid of Jay meeting an unfortunate demise like Scott did. In his fear, he leaves Jay's life, convinced that Cliff himself was the one bringing harm to his children. Libber then gives Jay to the Walkers, unable to be a single mother, and vanishes.

When Jay and Scott meet in Prime Empire, there's an immediate connection, a trust and friendliness the two have to each other. Of course, this could be because they both saved each other's lives, but there's a deep level of trust that they both have, enough for Scott let Jay into his secret garage, and soon use it as well. They don't know that they are brothers, but they act like it in every way.

And, in a game like Prime Empire, trust means a lot.

Quick notes about this headcanon:

Scott totally gives the rebellious teenager whose father is a millionaire vibe, while also still being a nice guy.

And, Scott has such an older brother vibe, while Jay is like a younger brother, especially in Prime Empire.

Scott totally takes Jay under his wing as soon as they meet too, teaching him the ways of Prime Empire.

(I'm not sure if the ages match up...but I think I'll headcanon this and hope that it does...I'm not too eager to do more research lol)

I would love to write a fic about this one day...i just love the idea so much!! But why can't we learn more about Jay's bio family? There could be so many exciting stories created with it! (I guess I really want Jay to have bio siblings, too)

[oriistar]

Googly Eyes

Sun x GN! Reader

Summary: A slow day at the plex leads to a lot of things and finding ways to entertain Sun was one of them.

Warnings: Just Fluff!

Today was an unusually quiet day throughout the Pizzaplex. The hallways and open rooms that were usually teeming with activity were early silent with only the sound of heavy rain hitting skylights and muffled thunder off in the distance. There was a freak storm passing through the city that had left streets flooded and electrical wires down. Every time you checked your phone you were met with news article warnings to seek shelter and refrain from traveling anywhere until the storm passed. Faz Co was an incredibly shitty and greedy corporation though, and had sent out emails to its human staff detailing the fact that no employee was permitted to miss any amount of work during the storm. Failure to show up for your assigned shift would lead to immediate termination. You were about 98% sure that you and the other employees could sue for such a claim and as far as you could tell, a very vast amount of your coworkers had in fact skipped out of work for the day and possibly the days after until everything outdoors went back to normal. You were not so fortunate though.

Being a broke college student that was hardly making ends meet as it is didn't give you the luxury of tossing away a decent paying job and honestly? What you were making now as a daycare assistant for the plex was far more than you could earn as a fast food worker and you weren't so keen on simply throwing this job into the gutter on account of some bad weather. Even if that bad weather might have been kind of life threatening. Why the damn place insisted on being open today was beyond your comprehension though. You practically had to swim to the doors to get here this morning and it was already almost noon with no sign of a single customer anywhere. You were glad that no one was stupid enough to even try to bring their children here on today of all days but it did make you question your own sanity a bit. 

All things aside though, it wasn’t too bad being stuck in the plex while a huge storm raged on outside. As cheap as Faz Co was, they didn't skip any corners when constructing the building and you honestly felt like you’d be safer here than at your rundown apartment that leaked whenever it rained anyway. At least you were smart enough to bring a few things to keep you occupied for today. And so here you were, lounging across one of the huge bean bag chairs with your old tablet propped up in your lap and playing Gordon Ramsey’s ‘Kitchen Nightmares’ at full blast since there weren't any children around to hear it anyway. Your coworker; however, was not so happy about the show choice as he leaned his large circular head over your shoulder so he could watch as well. 

Sun was very noticeably bored today. Usually he’d have so much to do but with the daycare empty for the day he just didn't know what to do with himself. He had been pacing back and forth before he decided to lay on the floor beside you and now he was making comments about the show. “He’s just so mean!” Sun exclaimed as he leaned closer, one of his firm silicone rays pressing against your cheek. “I don’t know how you enjoy watching this…” The animatronic gave another heavy sigh as he flopped fully onto the padded floor beside you. You just shrugged in response, too absorbed in watching Gordon yell at some incompetent manager to worry about Sun dying of boredom. 

He huffed again before he rolled a few times and sprung up to his feet. You glanced up from your tablet as you shoved a chip in your mouth and watched as he took long strides over to the craft nook of the daycare. Deciding he wasn’t doing anything he wasn't supposed to, you went back to watching your show. You heard the jingle of his bells as he approached and were vaguely aware of him sitting beside you and messing with something but you didn't really mind as long as he wasn't whining in your ear again about the foul language that often came from the show you were watching. Sun began to hum along to the daycare theme that was playing quietly in the background and you could feel his hands brushing against the sleeves of your Superstar Daycare branded hoodie. You relaxed a bit further into the beanbag chair and let him do whatever he wanted, finding no harm in him fiddling with your clothing and soon he had drifted from your sleeve, to your shoulder, and even around the back of the beanbag chair. 

After the episode ended, you turned your head to see what Sun was up to only to jump in surprise as you sat up and realized that he had been sticking fucking googly eyes to you this whole time. “Sun, what the fu- heck are you doing?” You questioned, catching the curse before it could slip out. Sun just hummed in response as he grinned mischievously, sitting with his legs crossed and a half empty sheet of adhesive googly eyes in his hand. “Well, you weren't giving me enough attention Starlight..” Sun said, his rays spinning from side to side as he watched you, “So I figured, if you had more eyes then you’d be looking at me all the time!” He laughed, falling onto his back as he kicked his feet and giggled as if his joke was the funniest thing in the world. You were not so easily impressed. 

“You are one weird clown.” You said with a sigh but your expression cracked a little as you smiled at him. Sun didn't seem at all offended by your words as he pushed himself up and quickly crawled over to you. He shoved your tablet aside and flopped himself across your lap in its place, nudging his head up against your hand just like a cat. You rolled your eyes and began to stroke his rays in the way you knew he liked and he sighed happily in response. “You’re just a huge baby, you know that right?” You asked him and he tilted his head a little in your lap, his rays retracting where his faceplate met your thighs. “Yeah, but I'm your baby aren’t I?” He asked innocently and you felt your face warm in response. You scoffed and shoved him off your lap as he started up his giggles again. 

“Okay, whatever weirdo. You better help me get these googly eyes off or else i'll take all the glitter glue home with me tonight.” Sun gasped at your threat and jumped back up immediately, removing the googly eyes from both you and the beanbag chair while pleading with you not to take his precious supply of glitter glue. You were pretty sure he ate it when everyone was gone but hey, everyone has some freaky habit so you couldn't really judge him too hard. You just laughed as you let him pluck the sticky eyes off of you.

All of my writing is original work created by me. Please do not repost, translate, or alter them in any way.

[natalieironside]

This is a question I have always wanted to ask an intellectual property lawyer but I don't have any ready to hand: Is the melody of Gordon Lightfoot's Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald effectively in the public domain?

B/c Bobby Sands lifted the melody whole-hog when he wrote Back Home in Derry and I've never heard of any copyright holder trying to sue any neofolk pub bands for covering it. Is that an effective admission that they don't intend to defend it?

[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Generation 2 Pt. 120 (Searching For Answers in Sulani)

cw: blood, death, violence (sounds terrible, I know...this tropical world is beautiful but this is not a cozy one, it's a detective one!)

The Sulani sun was warm, even for an overcast day in late winter. As Conrad approached George Brindleton's villa, a chill ran down his spine. George liked to dictate the terms of his communication with Brindleton PD, but he'd been far too quiet. The stunning modular villa overlooking the water seemed too quiet, too.

He approached the front door and knocked. The entire front room was open toward the endless sea, but Conrad couldn't see, or hear, any signs of life from inside.

"Yoo hoo! Hello, stranger. Are you a friend of Mr. and Mrs. Brindleton?"

Conrad turned back down the steps to greet two women who approached with friendly smiles. "Not exactly. Do you know where I could find the owner of this villa?"

"That'd be me," said the brunette. "Oliana Ngata. I rent it to George every winter, but my wife, Leila, and me, we were supposed to talk about him extending into spring and he never showed up at the tiki bar."

"Have you gone inside?"

"George tells us not to, and he pays us enough that we do what he says. But my son said there was a weird smell coming from the place when he walked home from school yesterday, and we're starting to get concerned. June usually comes around to talk to us every few days, but we haven't seen her either."

The blonde woman at her side rolled her eyes. "I don't know what she sees in that old man. He's always walking around barking orders. I can't stand the guy."

"Shhh," said the brunette. "He pays us well enough not to talk crap about him, Leila."

"My name's Conrad Gordon." He flashed his badge. "I'm a lieutenant at Brindleton PD back on the mainland. We've been trying to get George's cooperation about a body that turned up back home. But he went radio silent a few days ago, so we're risking him trying to sue the department to check up on him."

Leila laughed. "He makes friends everywhere, does he?"

"Could you let me inside?"

Oliana nodded, tailing him through the front door once she'd unlocked the airy vacation home. "Do you think something could have happened to them? - Oh my Watcher!"

She peeled back in fear and surprise at the sight of George Brindleton face down in a pool of his own blood. By the looks of the blood stains, he'd been dead a few days already. Looking around, Conrad saw no sign of June, but the staircase to the upstairs bedroom beckoned.

"Lieutenant Gordon, be careful," called Oliana with an anxious lilt. As Conrad stepped into the master suite, his face fell. June laid on her back on the bed, with a pool of blood forming on the hardwood floors beneath her.

Both George and his wife had been brutally murdered, and Conrad's heart sank. He really didn't need another murder case on his plate - least of all the murder of the most powerful man in town thousands of miles away from the place that bore his name.

Bloody footprints, large enough to be a man, headed toward the bathroom before disappearing, with no sign of forced entry or exit through the immaculate floor-to-ceiling glass windows.

He pulled out his phone to call it in, waiting for the arrival of local law enforcement. But they didn't take kindly to Conrad's chief pulling rank, demanding they let Brindleton PD handle the murder investigation.

"You think you mainland cops can come out here and tell us how to run the show on our own islands, and we're just supposed to stand back and let you?"

"It's not about the work," Conrad assured him. "It's the victim. He's been a person of interest to Brindleton PD for a long time - a lot longer than even I've been on the force."

The officer scowled but let Conrad do his job. He looked for evidence, but relied on landlords Oliana and her wife, Leila, for descriptions of the young waiter they knew as Javier Vargas. "He's a good kid, but we haven't seen him in as many days as the Brindletons. If he's not dead in there with them somewhere, I don't know what to think," mused Oliana.

"Why would George Brindleton call him Rafael? Does the name Rafael Bonilla mean anything to either of you?"

The women shrugged. "He wouldn't be the first person who's come to the islands to start a new life," said Oliana. "We're far enough away from everything, plenty of people find that appealing. We pay everyone in cash who works at our villas. They like it that way, and they like that we don't ask a lot of questions. But he's a good employee and we'd given him a key to the place since George liked to start drinking with the sunrise. He was a piece of work, but Javier always did his job without complaining."

"Do you know where I could find 'Javier'?"

The women shrugged again, but their son approached toward the end of the school day. "I think he's hiding in Princess Cordelia's ancient shipwreck near the volcano caves."

Oliana gasped. "Tane, where did you hear such a thing?"

"I didn't hear it. I saw him! Why do you want to find him?"

"I just want to ask him some questions."

"About what?"

"About being a waiter," Oliana cut in quickly, and Conrad didn't bother to correct her.

He turned to the young boy. "Do you know where I could find this abandoned shipwreck?"

He nodded. "Walk on the sandbar to the volcano. You'll see it near the beach. It's so far from the water because a storm blew it all the way inland when it crashed hundreds of years ago!"

Conrad left his number and promised to be in touch while the bodies were shipped to the morgue. He'd have to worry about the paperwork to get the Brindletons back to the Bay, but foremost in his mind was finding Rafa, once and for all.

He followed young Tane's directions and made it to the volcano caves after sunset. The dense jungle was dotted with worn dirt paths, but painted wooden signs led the way through the canopy. He found the caves and spotted the crooked mast of an old ship, half buried under the sand.

He spotted what looked like a front door on the part of the hull that stuck out of the sand and knocked.

"What the hell do you want?"

A gruff voice cut through the chirp of crickets in the nearby jungle, and Conrad turned. He hadn't seen Rafa Bonilla since he was a kid. Now this young man towered over him in height, deep-voiced with strong muscles, but Conrad knew it was the same boy. He had the same eyes.

"Rafa, it's me. Conrad Gordon."

"Yeah, I'll bet." The man sneered. "I saw you with a badge at the villa."

The young man threw a heavy punch before lunging at him, knocking him to the ground with brute force. "Rafa, it's really me," he choked out, as the man straddled his shoulders and blocked his airway. He struggled to breathe, but Rafa wouldn't let up no matter how hard he fought him.

Conrad's face grew hot as his throat closed, and the world around him faded to black. ->

<- Previous Chapter | Gen 2 Start | Gen 2.1 Summary

Gen 1 Start | Gen 1 Summary

WCIF? George and June are posed with Akiyumi's Too Much and SamsSims' Sleep posepacks respectively. Conrad and Rafa's scuffle is from @rebouks Fite Me posepack, and the last shot of Conrad, unconscious, is from @yibsimchronicles' Fainted posepack. I love them all, and they really helped me get different shots I had in my head into the pixels, so thank you to all for sharing!

And I need to thank Cepzid for their police station uniform pack cc so I could stage the shots with Ximena in the last episode, and the shot with the officer here, since none of those scenes were triggered by actual gameplay. The clothes look great in game!

[t4tails]

i know its a term thats been run into the ground but jim gordon is literally a mary-sue

[ghosteso]

Podcast Faves

My one mutual (shout out to @moosha-mushroom ) did this so I wanted to do it too! Here are my favorite podcast blorbos! Some have more than one! Because it’s impossible for me to choose between them.

Ghost Wax: Luca Eso, Pip James, Owen Voncid

The Technomancy Project: Jason Fenix, Allie Watts, Elijah Long (yes I have a thing for found family sue me)

Malevolent: Arthur Lester

Hotel Daydream: Lionel Autuary

The Patient Files: Charles Talbot

Red Valley (not caught up yet shhh I’m trying): Gordon Porlock and Warren Godby

Station 112.211: Joan and Tim

Hello From The Hallowoods: Nikignik, Polly, Yaretzi, and Mort

The Phosphene Catalog: Jude

Jar of Rebuke: Jared Hel

Middle of No Air: Acob

The Grotto: Matt (shhh)