#You want something to reference irl? read this and you and me and this temptation

[kaelidascope]

“I can’t believe we got you to dance all night with us!” Sun crows gleefully as Blake approaches. Neptune cheers, and as one the newlyweds surge over to her: framing her from both sides as they kiss her cheeks, hugging her between their held hands. Blake hopes Velvet caught that; she’d love to have a picture like that for her desk. Something to zone out at when the words won’t come and she’s half-convinced no one’s actually fallen in love, ever—that no one ever truly feels that deeply.

An inspiration.

A goal.

---

Velvet may not have captured it but Chef Kaeli certainly did! For @professorspork <3 Who so graciously made my job coming up with a birthday treat so much easier with this suggestion

Read this fic guys it's INSANELY cute and I was squealing the whole read. It's a short lil thing c'mon guys if I can shotgun this in one morning you can too. Give her some love, she is an absolutely hidden gem of an author and so far every work I've read of hers is excellent.

Also it's like her birthday so like yeah go on. Off with ya, go read. Comments are crack for us and we are shameless addicts

[gr0vndz3ro]

Hypnosis

Cop!Bakugou x Villain!Reader(NSFW)

Warnings: NSFW, 18+, Cursing, forced sub!bakugou, dom! reader, dub con, bondage because if you think im writing a cop au and not use hand cuffs youre dead wrong, choking, degradation, spit, oral, overstimulation, gagging, hair pulling, unprotected sex

Word count: 3973

A/N: Me and @1-800-callmekatsuki were thirsting over bakugou for hours and I HAD to write this. I ended up getting really into this so it ended up being a little longer than I expected but I hope y’all enjoy. Also this is the photo that got this whole fic started. The art is not mine.

*PSA*

A little side note I’ve gotten a few comments in regards to the current situation going on in the US and trust me I get it, but this blog is just a place for me to personally escape the things going on irl. I wasn’t writing this in correlation to anything going on and I’m sorry if people think this is bad timing but this story is free of any personal opinion and just something fun for people to read. I want my blog to be for other people what it is for me, just something to enjoy. If for any reason this story bothers you I’m really sorry🥺🥺 I’m just a horny girl who just want to write smut and I think fbi/ cop bakugou is hot 😭 If reading anything in regards to a cop (even when not negative) is something that bothers you then please feel free to keep scrolling. I don’t take any offense to people not liking this, but I did work hard on this and for those of you do read it I hope you guys enjoy it. ❤️

Arms crossed against his broad chest, Katsuki scoffed at the briefing he was just given by his chief. The criminal that the precinct had just managed to catch was believed to be tied to the League of Villains. Y/N Y/L/N, her quirk was called Sirens Song. She’s able to control men with just the sound of her voice. She had been caught trying to smuggle weapons, thought to be for the L.O.V, in a boat that she stole from two unfortunate men that happened to cross her path.

This whole thing was a waste of his time, he could be out there trying to find the actual threats. Instead he was in this meeting, listening to the description of just another wannabe villain. When the chief had finished with the case details, Katsuki got up from the chair, ready to go back to his patrol when the man spoke up again.

“We are going to be keeping her in holding for a few days to try to get as much information we can get out of her to see if she’s the connection to the League that we’ve been looking for. On the screen you will see a list of the interrogation times and who goes when, as well as who will be covering what over night watch shift. After you have checked for your name you are free to go.”

Rolling his eyes, the blond walks over to the board and sees he is set as the over night guard for tonight. He clenches his jaw, instead of being able to go home after a long day, he’s forced to work all night. Watching some criminal trying to pass as a real target. He whips his head to his boss, stomping over.

“Oi, what the hell is this supposed to be huh?! You got me working for 24 hours, ain’t that illegal or some shit?” Not being able to control his anger at the situation.

“Officer Bakugou I see that you’ve taken a look at the board. Don’t worry about the work load, you’ve been assigned to a fairly peaceful district so there shouldn’t be to much strain on you. If there any other problems you have I would recommend biting your tongue. You’re already on thin ice this week due to you run in with Officer Midoriya. Be grateful you are involved in this case in anyway. Now if that will be all.” The chief says not allowing Katsuki the time to interject, leaving afterwards to go to his office.

Left there grinding his teeth, he holds back his dying urge to curse the man out and leaves the building to start his “easy” patrol. He hated easy days, it wasn’t what he had joined for. He wanted to hunt down bad guys and make them suffer for what they did. He wanted to put away thugs and criminals, not right a ticket for an unpaid parking meter. I’m to good of a cop to be a fucking meter maid. His jaw firm as he thinks about the cases other stations were working on. The good that he could be doing if he wasn’t here, having his talent go to waste. Saving people was what he wanted to do, be the hero that saves the day. But all because of his temper, he now had the “easy” shift.

He pulled back into the station at 10 pm to start the over night watch. mostly everyone had gone home, except for the few stragglers finishing up their last amounts of paperwork for the week. He heads to the break room to grab something quick to eat when the chief walked into the room.

“There is a few things I wanted to tell you about your shift tonight and about the situation at hand. The suspect quirk is very powerful, while the room they’re in cancels quirks, the effects of hers can still be felt to some degree. They are no where near her normal strength and more of a temptation that most are able to snap out of after a few seconds. Do not under estimate her Bakugou, do you hear me? I will not be filling a missing suspect report because you are to arrogant to follow commands.” The chief explain to him, belittling him the process. If the anger he felt could be seen physically, everything in the room would have been exploded.

“Yeah, yeah I hear you loud and clear. The idiot isn’t gonna be a problem.. sir.” His attitude barely peaking out at the end of his sentence, a slight smirk on his lips. With that response, his boss leaves for the night, officially leaving Katsuki alone in the station to start his second shift of the day. 

Coffee. If there was any way that he was going to get through this night it was going to be with lots of coffee. He goes to the coffee pot and makes himself a small pot. With a mug in his hand he starts his walk over to the holding cells. He turned the corner and sees you sitting there in the cell. His eye widen subtly, Damn she’s hot. Maybe he wouldn’t need coffee after all. He took his seat near your cell so keep an eye on you. There wasn’t much he could really do. There was no way for you to get out. Basically he was just there to make sure you didn’t hurt yourself until the detectives come back to investigate you more. As he sat there he got a good look at you. Your clothes were dirty a torn from you chase from the cops, rips on you pants exposing parts of your thighs, and the rip on you shirt showed just enough of your abdomen to leave him dirty thoughts. Thoughts of how soft your skin is, how it would feel under his calloused fingers. How you would react to his touch, goosebumps covering your skin. He looks up to your face. Small scratches liter it but that does nothing to hide how beautiful you are. The way your eyes catch the light and how pieces of your hair fall out of your pony tail framing you face. Your hair slightly a mess, probably due to running yet all he could think about was how much he wanted to mess it up even more. You run his hands through it and just yank your head back with a fist full of your locks. The two of you hadn’t even exchanged words to each other but he knew he wanted you. You’re eyes met his after he was done checking you out.

“Do you like what you see?...” Your eye brow raised in amusement as you caught his wandering eyes. You take this time to check out the officer who you assumed would be watching you tonight. His uniform and vest highlighting how broad his chest is, the sleeves tight around his arms due to the amount of muscle it was trying to contain. His pants tightened around his thighs. Blond hair slightly covering his eyes. He clenches his jaw and you swear that thing could cut diamonds. This man was hot and you cant help but smirk at the fact he was checking you out. You look back down to his chest to see his name tag, Bakugou. “...Officer Bakugou” His face immediately pulls into a scowl in defense. 

“Oh you fucking wish” He pulls his eyes away from you and rest his head on the back of his seat. He shifted in his seat, trying to get comfortable, finding it impossible as this chair was a piece of shit. So he stands up and starts looking around trying to find something else to focus on. You break him out of his thoughts.

“Do you have anything else that I could wear? These clothes are ruined and I’d like to be in proper clothing.” You say in reference to your tattered clothes, ruined by jumping over fences and having them get caught and rip. You hear a ‘tsk’ and see him start to walk off. Rolling your eyes at the mans action, you sit down on the chair in your cell seeing as he walked off without giving you a response.

“Here” you look up to see him sliding a shirt and pair of pant in through the bars. You walk over and grab them from his hands, running your finger tips across his skin in the process. He yanks his hand back before you can try to touch him again. You wanted more. Frowning, you walk back near the chair and set your clothes down on it, your hands go to the edge of you shirt but you stop feeling a burning gaze on your back. You turn around to see him staring at you.

“Do you mind?” Raising your eye brow at him.

“I have to watch you to make sure you don’t attempt to do anything that could cause harm to yourself.” He says coldly, as if he wasn’t dying at the opportunity to see what was under your clothes.

“Okay then suit yourself.” With a smirk on your lips you pull you shirt off over your head, making sure that he could see everything. You slowly fold it and move down to you pants, your finger lingering at the zipper for a moment before pulling it down. Your hands make there way to waist band and tug them down, shimming out of the tight pants, making you butt sway infront of him. If he was going to watch you, you were going to make sure he got a good show out of it. Hands linger around your curves as you snake the fabric down your legs at an agonizingly slow pace. Katsuki could feel his pants tightening at the sight, his breath catching in his throat. A smirk across your face as you see his flustered reaction to your stripping. Activating your quirk you slowly walk over to the bars separating the two of you.

“Why don’t you get in here” Your words putting the man in a trance as he struggles against your suggestion. Starting to get ticked of he isn’t already subdued you speak up again, “Don’t make me repeat myself, you wont like the consequences.”  He feels himself start moving towards your cell against his better judgement. He fights against the feeling in his chest pulling him forward, but before he knows it he’s infront of you inside of the cell. A sinister shine in your eyes as you step closer to the blond, closing the distance, Katsuki could feel the room getting hotter. Your hands make its way to his chest, paralyzing him underneath your touch. 

“Look at you, now go be good boy for me and sit down.” His face burns red at the demand, no one talks to him like this, so why was it turning him on so much. He stays in his place as his last attempt at keeping his dominance over the situation. Your hand travels up to his jaw, fingers roughly grasping either side as you growl into his ear, your patience being tested “Do not test me pretty boy, do what you’re told.” 

You see him struggling against your command feeling conflicted at the switch of power. You put both of you hands on his chest and push him down onto the chair. His eyes wide unable to stop you as you reach down into his pouch grabbing his cuffs. Quickly, you rip off his vest and shirt leaving his torso bare. You walk behind him in the chair, your hands on his shoulders running down his arms, a burning trail left where ever your nails lightly scratch, until your hands make it his wrists. Roughly grabbing them and yanking them behind his back, cuffing his wrist to the chair, permanently securing him in place to allow you to do whatever you please. He assumed you were just going to take advantage of the situation and leave, but he was sorely mistaken. You travel to the front of him leaning forward to kiss his jaw, traveling down to his neck. You roam his neck, searching for his pulse, kissing it once you find it. A groan rips out past his lips, unable to stop it at the sudden pleasure coursing through him. The noise sending a wave over power over you as you start kissing more harshly, sucking and biting at the spot, desperately wanting to hear the noise again.

Once satisfied with the mark now on his neck, you back up standing in front of him, your hands moving down to his pants as you start undoing them. His eyes widen as you pull down his pants and underwear down in one swift movement, his raging boner slapping against his abdomen as he sucks in a harsh breath at the release from the tight confinement. A whine leaves his lips as your hands leave burning trails all over his body, purposely avoiding where he was starting to crave your touch most. Desperate to know how your soft touches would feel against him, the anticipation of whether you’d be gentle or not was starting to eat him alive.

“Did I hear a whine baby? Are you that desperate for me. Look at you, rock hard and I haven’t even done anything yet, absolutely disgusting.” Your words like venom. He twitches as your hand grasps the base of his cock, a deep gasp coming out at your sudden touch. Your other hand goes to his hip pushing him down. Your mouth goes to his ear, “If you fucking move again, I will stop do you understand?” Katsuki swallows hard, suddenly unable to find any words. He hisses as you hand leaves his dick to his throat, choking the man. “Answer me Bakugou”

“Yes princess” He couldn’t help it anymore. He was under your trance but he could care less, all he knew was he needed you. That evil smirk crosses your face once again at his submission. 

“Good boy” You release his neck and trail back down to his throbbing dick. Your thumb brushes over his tip collecting all of the precum oozing out of it. You slowly pump him in your hand, his breath catching in his throat. You gather the excess saliva in your mouth and spit it onto his hard cock. His eyes shoot to yours as the cool liquid meets his burning hot member.

Your hand starts a steady past as you move up and down, making sure to add pressure to the prominent vein on the underside of his shaft. Your hand twisting every time you get to his tip earning a deep groan from his throat. He gets lost in ecstasy as you start picking up the pace, giving extra attention to his tip. He’s so caught up in it that when you replace your hand with your mouth he lets out a moan. You make him bottom out inside your mouth and the noises coming from the man infront of you make you let out a moan yourself, the vibrations only bringing him further pleasure. 

“Fuck princess that- ugh- feels sooo good” your tongue presses deeply into the vein all the way up to his tip, you make sure to give extra attention to the sensitive swollen head. Relaxing your throat, you take him all the way in, him pressing down your throat. But it was completely worth is for the look on his face. Eyebrows furrowed and his head thrown back in pure bliss. You move you head back up adding your hand in to meet his balls as you start massaging them. Katsuki is a moaning mess under your touch and wants nothing more than to run his hands through your hair and fuck into your mouth relentlessly. Watch as you start tearing up at the lack of air as he just gets off. But being completely under your control instead turned him on to no end. The added pleasure from your hand in combination with your mouth was sending him over board. He throws his head back as a deep groan leaves his lips along with several profanities as he shoots hot white ropes into your mouth, His orgasm taking over him with no warning. Surprised by his sudden release you swallow all of his seed, yet continue your movements. When he notice that you show no sign of stopping he lets out a whine at how sensitive he was. He tried moving away but your free hand grips his thigh, fingernails digging in as he hisses at the pain.

“Wha-what are you doing? I cant-” his voice uneasy from a mix of coming down from his high and the sensitivity he felt. You release his dick with a loud pop.

“You see I never said you could finish, but you decided to be a selfish little whore and finish anyways.” You stand up, releasing your grip from both his balls and thighs. You push his knees together and then move your hands to the clip of your bra and undo it, letting it drop to the ground. Your hands shoot to your breasts as you give them a rough squeeze, Katsuki drinking in the sight, whimpering as his sensitive cock twitches. His eyes glued to your hands as the travel down your body to the waistband of your matching underwear. Your fingers toying with the band, slightly dipping it and bringing it back up, loving how Bakugou reacted to your every move. His face flushed from the hormones rushing through his body, his dick painfully hard at the beautiful image infront of him. You pull the underwear down your thighs, strings of slick connect to the lacy clothing. Saying that everything that had been happening wasn’t turning you on severely would be dead wrong. Every moan that left his mouth sent a jolt straight to your core and you wanted, no needed, something, and you knew exactly what you were going to do.

You bring you legs on either side of one of his massive thigh and lower yourself onto him. His eyes widen as you grind yourself against him, throwing your head back as pleasure courses through you at the friction. His eyes shoot to where you were seated and watched as you shamelessly got yourself off on him. He watched as your juices drip down his leg, his cock twitches as he wanted nothing more than to be buried deep within your walls, slamming into you. He wines as you let out a loud moan, the friction feeling so good against your swollen clit.

“Please princess- fuck- let me make you feel go-” You stop his talking by shoving the lace into his mouth and grab his jaw roughly.

“All you deserve right now is to be my pretty little fuck toy okay. If you can behave then maybe ill let you fuck me.” You purr into his ear, your hot breath fanning across his neck as you move your hips grinding against him. You moan at the feeling, continuing to expertly move your hips back and forth. As you feel yourself getting close you reach your hand up to your nipples and starts tugging at them sending waves of pleasure into your core, giving you just the boost you needed. Your hand shoots to the back of Kastuki’s head tugging on his soft hair as you chaise your release. He watches your every move as you cum all over his thigh, his cock throbbing at the sight of your orgasm. Your eyes closed, eyebrows furrowed as you bit your lip, failing your attempt to hold back your moans. Once you come down from your high you move your legs so that you are no longer straddling his thigh, but now his waist, your soaking core pressed against his dick. A muffled moan attempts to leave his lips at the much needed pressure. Your hand goes to his mouth and you retrieve the now soaked pair of undies, a trail of saliva following. “Do you want to fuck me baby?”

“Yes, please Y/N. please let me fill you up.” he groans as you move your hips to grind against him.

“Do you think you deserve to touch me?” You ask the desperate man, a smile on your face at how eager he is.

“Fuck yes, let me make you feel so good” You lean down to wear his pants were grabbing the key, reaching behind him pushing the key into the cuff unlocking them. His hand immediately go to your body assaulting everything he could touch. Firmly grasping your breasts moving his  hands across your body down to your hips as you lift yourself to allow him to slip into you. A moan escapes both of you as he bottoms out due to how slick you were. Your walls clench around him holding him like a vice. He trusts into you holding onto your hips and you place your hands onto each of his shoulders, letting you stabilize yourself as he rutts into you. 

Each of his thrusts hit all of the right spots, rubbing against your walls deep inside of you. You’ve never felt this filled. You lean down and your lips meet with a fiery passion. Tongues fight for dominance as he speeds up his movements. You eventually win, not wanting him to forget his place. You break away from the kiss, a mix of both of you spit dripping from your mouth and you let it drip onto his glistening chest. You look down at his lustful face.

“You fill me up so good Bakugou, hitting every spot with your massive cock. Are you close baby?” Your hands making their way back to his hair, tugging at the blond locks as you feel the familiar feeling building in your core as he slams into your g-spot.

“uughh yes. I can feel how close you are, So fucking tight- god, fuck- let me cum with you princess.” His words enough to start the overwhelming feeling so you lean into his ear.

“Then cum with me baby” He sends a rough thrust into you and you come undone, a white flash taking over at the intensity of this second orgasm. You yank on the locks of hair in your fingers. Katsuki groans feeling you clench around him, trusting into you haphazardly as his own orgasm takes over, completely filling you with his hot cum. 

He slows his movements, riding out both of your highs, until he comes to a stop still deep inside of you. You both stay there catching your breath as you rest you head on his shoulder trying to regain your senses. After a few moments you lift yourself off of him, immediately missing the fullness. You move off of his lap and allow him to stand up to grab his clothes. He bends over grabbing his pants and pulling them back on. While fumbling with the button he is suddenly interrupted by a hard hit to the head causing him to fall to the floor. You frown slightly at him as you place the chair back on the ground. You slip on your clothes and drag him to the cell wall and sit him against the bars. You clip the cuffs in place securing him to the bar as you back up slightly, pushing the fallen hair out of his face.

“Its nothing personal I promise” You stand up and walk away from the unconscious man toward to door, key in hand. You unlock the cell door and walk out, not before turning back to him one final time.

“Plus I don’t think this is the last time we will be meeting.”

A/N: AAAAAAAAA im sORRY. If you guys enjoy this one I can do a part two were the tables are turned??? because im a slut for dom! bakugou

[nikatyler]

Oooh boy. Why do I feel like I should go straight to the replies, or else I will start talking about having a crush again? No one cares, I’m annoying, I’m sorry. Yesterday around midnight, I actually caved and told my best friend because I just couldn’t keep my feelings to myself any longer, and I was pleasantly surprised by her reaction. I didn’t want to tell her at first because we kinda tend to turn this kind of stuff into jokes, but I guess she did figure out that this time, it’s serious serious - THERE WE GO I’M OVERSHARING AGAIN I AM AN IDIOT. Anyway did I mention I love her? I don’t deserve her. She’s the best, you guys don’t even know her but I just wanted to give her a little shoutout because damn, thanks for yesterday, I thought I would explode. Also, she has an important exam in a week, so if you could send positive vibes her way, that would be great.

By the time you’re seeing this replies, I think I’m playing with Realm of Magic. I’m so excited! Last time I bought a pack on release day was with Seasons. I’m not sure who I will play this with yet. Maybe with Lucian and his girlfriend. I really hope you can somehow turn an alien into a spellcaster, even if that means he’d no longer be an alien. I don’t mind that. Whoops, hold on, was that a spoiler? Yeah, uh, Lucian is a teenager in my game at the moment, he has a girlfriend and he’s not very alien-y and I don’t care about that. Honestly…when have my aliens ever been alien-y? Miracle was the only one and she hated that (and 2019 Ronnie hates that she hated that but 2017 Ronnie didn’t know any better, long story).

Witches are something I’ve wanted in this game for a long time, so they better be good or else I’ll cry. Next up…I know everyone wants university, and I think we’ll get it, but to be fair, I don’t care about it that much. I’ll be playing university irl so I guess that makes sense. 😂 I would really like something like a band game pack, where you can form a band and have concerts and write music and…just do musician stuff, I guess. I was hoping bands would be added in Get Famous but nah, it was pretty much just acting…which I still haven’t explored. 🤦‍♀️ But yeah, band game pack is like my dream. I’m guessing it could be retro themed too, and have many references to some iconic bands?? Imagine if it was like 70s-80s inspired. Imagine THE HAIR. Did I mention I will defend weird 80s hair until the day I die? Yeah. I would really love that. I’m not saying I think a pack like this will happen, but it would be an absolute dream if it did.

TL;DR: I have a crush, I’m playing Realm of Magic and I want a band themed game pack.

autistichatkid replied to your post “Oh wow guess who’s putting nsb on long lifespan because even though…”

psa: you can use mccc to customize lifespan length!!! i dont like how fast normal goes but long is like. So Long. so i use mccc to make everything just a Lil Longer

I know you can do that, I don’t know how but it’s possible, yes! I’m not sure if I want to go for that though, I mean MCCC breaks with almost every update and knowing me, I would forget to fix my settings every single time. I think I’ll just use ea’s long lifespan and then age up people when I feel like aging them up.

desira-sims replied to your post “hey years ago you said you liked symphonic metal, do you still listen…”

Care to share some of your favorites? I’ve been in a music listening mood but feel in a rut.

tiny-tany-thaanos replied to your post “hey years ago you said you liked symphonic metal, do you still listen…”

I also don’t listen to e. g. often nowadays and… Their latest album was not my cup of tea except for song or two. And my music preference is now “whatever pleases my ears” even if it will make anyone else’s ear bleed��

Yeah sure, I can share my faves from 2-3 years ago! I’m not saying “from the genre” because I know some of these aren’t that symphonic, at this point it’s all a blur to me, to be fair. Besides, I stopped caring about genres, so…yeah. Just pointing that out so no one comes for me like “how dare you say band xy is that genre”. 

Anyway, 2-3 years ago I really loved Nightwish, Within Temptation and Sonata Arctica, those were like my holy trinity, I would listen to them all the time, every single day. The latest WT album wasn’t really my cup of tea, I like their older stuff way more. SA released a new album last week, I kinda liked it but it wasn’t love at first listen. I’ll have to go back to form an opinion on it. Again, their older stuff is better in my opinion. Nightwish…I don’t know if it’s still going on, but people really liked comparing the three different singers they’ve had, and I don’t know why, I think they’re all amazing in their own way. I believe I’ve read on Instagram that new album is coming next year and I’m so excited for that. I don’t think there’s a Nightwish album I disliked.

I also really liked Delain and…Stratovarius, I think it was called? One summer I also listened to Epica a lot, but then all their songs started sounding the same to me. Sorry to any Epica fans that might be following me 😅 And I’m fairly sure I’m forgetting someone, but I believe there should be playlists on Spotify easy to find.

tiny-tany-thaanos replied to your post “Updates”

Unfortunately I didn’t manage to create a possible spouse(( but I hope there’ll be other possibilities!XD

And good luck!

There definitely will be! Lately, I kinda hate every sim I create, sooo…I’ll leave that for someone else :D

tiny-tany-thaanos replied to your photoset “That morning, when Vanessa was leaving for work, I had a bad feeling….”

I don’t like this!

I didn’t think this would freak people out so much…but it did…and I’m really sorry :D

1o8percent replied to your photoset “Roxanne: Maybe if I go to bed, it’ll just come to me in a dream. I…”

I’ve definitely had story ideas come to me in a dream. I got several ideas for my completed legacy that way, so good luck Roxanne!

When I’m writing something late at night and I get stuck, it actually helps me to turn off the computer and go think about the story in bed. And ta-da, I suddenly get ideas! Some of them get lost as soon as I fall asleep, but usually the right direction stays in my head and I’m ready to pick it up as soon as I sit down to write again.

igglemouse replied to your photoset Roxy, the interaction said “feel tummy”, not “take the baby out of…”

She just can’t wait to meet her new sibling XD

That’s actually terrifying D:

brightlysimming replied to your post “I got a hug from a girl I barely know and now I’m emo, I already love…”

Aa!! That’s so great! I’m happy you had a good time!!

tiny-tany-thaanos replied to your post “I got a hug from a girl I barely know and now I’m emo, I already love…”

Congratulations! I hope you’ll have fun there! ��

I’m still not over that last weekend. Everyone was so nice and kind and fun and I loved talking to these people so much, uni will be great with them ;-; 

The best surprise to me was that there was this person, and they would come to me a few times and ask if I wanted to hang out with them away from the drunk crowds?? (we’re Czech, of course 95% of people who went to that trip got drunk in the evening -_- :D) And that was just so nice? I’m not used to people wanting to hang out with me. Also, we had great time together, if they called now I would quit everything to hang out with them :D

I’m about to start crying again. To all you lonely people struggling out there, trust me, it gets better, you’re not always going to be lonely and miserable. I thought that would be my case, but nope, things are starting to look better. And they will eventually start looking better for you too, I just know it. Don’t give up <3

lilleputtu replied to your photoset “*whispers* guys i wanna chop sunset’s hair off”

she’d look so cute with short hair! also it’s the sims, she can insta regrow it it’ll be fiiiiine

elisabettasims replied to your photoset “*whispers* guys i wanna chop sunset’s hair off”

One of the best things I ever did was put Cassandra Goth in a pixie cut. Doooo eeeet.

autistichatkid replied to your photoset “*whispers* guys i wanna chop sunset’s hair off”

������

deathflowertea replied to your photoset “*whispers* guys i wanna chop sunset’s hair off”

1 & 4 are ��

I think it’s official, we’ll be chopping Sunset’s hair off, yay!

desira-sims replied to your photoset “Meet the Teens! These guys will join my two girls, Crystal and…”

School and real life comes first, but I’ll be excited to see these simmies pop up when the time comes. ��

So am I! I’m not sure what to do right now. I want to play RoM, but when I come back to my NSB…do I finish Sunset’s generation requirements first, or do I just slowly start throwing these teens in? Kind of like I started working on Ross’s aspiration when it was technically still the Mint gen. Eh, I’ll figure it out.

tashsim replied to your post “URL Song Tag”

have to get up at 5:30 for a next month. feel your pain..

That’s not great D: I think I’d have to do that too, if I wasn’t moving to a dorm in Prague later this month. Spending so much time on the train and having to wake up so early would kill me.

elisabettasims replied to your post “Ahh, of course. I kinda forgot that I would get tan in summer, today I…”

I feel this on a personal level.

I kinda never had to deal with this before because I’ve been using foundation only for a year or so. And I’m fairly sure I’m using a lighter one now, because I definitely didn’t feel like a vampire last September :D

toxoplasmajuice replied to your photoset “Scarlett: “I saw you helped extinguish the flames too.” Talia: “I…”

talia… wyd

toxoplasmajuice replied to your photo “Scarlett: “Well, uhh, you didn’t mess up, so…” Talia: “I’ll stay, but…”

TALIA… WYD

toxoplasmajuice replied to your photo “Meanwhile the contestants who have nothing to worry about gathered…”

talia you might be safe this time but you definitely should NOT be thinking you have nothing to worry about after… Earlier

I hate how this turned out D: I’ve noticed that sims in my game aren’t fond of the “enthuse about…” interactions. And then it ruins things like this.

tiny-tany-thaanos replied to your photo “Madeleine: “Yes! Did you see that? Today must be my lucky day!”

Don’t boast too much, love!

She’s really doing great though! Maybe she didn’t make the best first impression, but she’s been working really hard ever since.

tiny-tany-thaanos replied to your photoset “We didn’t start the fire It was always burning Since the world’s been…”

What’s the name of the song? I love everything connected to fireXD

It’s “We Didn’t Start The Fire” by Billy Joel! Warning: It’s super catchy.

tiny-tany-thaanos replied to your photoset “I absolutely fell in love with these cute pants some time ago but I…”

I think I will overuse these pants now:D So thank you for introducing them in the first place:D And for shoutout!

I was glad to help! And… I remember those girls!

Thank youuu! I’m a “high waisted everything” kinda girl, so of course I had to recolour these so I could use them even more often. And I’m glad that I’m not the only one, I mean, the reblogs and likes on this post are insane.

And yay, glad you remember them! Juliet and Amber were easier to recognize, I guess, but the other two, Lily and Lavender…I haven’t posted them too much, ever. I forgot how pretty they were *-* I will definitely use them as my models for recolours and stuff.

dandylion240 replied to your post “I didn’t expect to come up with a whole backstory for Caleb and…here…”

I like your ideas for him though

Thank you so much! I’ve been seeing him on my dash a lot lately, so it’s kinda weird seeing like three different versions of him at once, especially when someone makes him do things my version of him would never do :D

whysimstho replied to your photoset “There you go…some gen 3 moments with no context. Good luck figuring…”

#5 Sunset signs here dad up for Simdr #6 it’s lit

1o8percent replied to your photoset “There you go…some gen 3 moments with no context. Good luck figuring…”

I’m intrigued by the last one.

desira-sims replied to your photoset “There you go…some gen 3 moments with no context. Good luck figuring…”

I don’t approve of the second one. No tears! I’ll gladly take more of the 4th and get the feeling she’s a little tired of seeing it all the time. Fire is also bad, but I guess the conversation was to good to stop. And that last one. Oh that’s great.

dandylion240 replied to your photoset “There you go…some gen 3 moments with no context. Good luck figuring…”

Why is Ross crying? Nothing better have happened to Caleb

*evil laughter*

I love how you guys assume the worst. I mean, I’m not surprised. I tend to accidentally kill my sims a lot this year. Well, you’ll find out very soon what is actually going on in these!

Also, just a side note, that child in picture #4 is Lucian and he’s not a girl, but I will admit he looks like one (and I’m fairly sure he knows that too and is okay with that, I mean, if he didn’t want to look like that, he’d beg for a haircut), so no worries. Just throwing it out there.

tiny-tany-thaanos replied to your post “Oh, try to do Salim Benali!”

Aw he looks adorable! It makes me love him even more,

elisabettasims replied to your post “Oh, try to do Salim Benali!”

Salim is hard because he’s already pretty good looking, etc. He’s the dad of one of my sims who I did a BC with and founded my legacy on her, LOL(Anissa Hoffmann, she has her mom’s last name). Though I guess REALLY Salim and her mother are the founders but, I didn’t start a legacy until after her BC.

I agree, he’s definitely one of the few miracle townies who don’t need fixing.

Also, thank you!

tiny-tany-thaanos replied to your photoset “Ugh, I hate this already. Can I go back to being an adorable evil…”

You can be an adorable evil child instead!

Oh, she will be.

tiny-tany-thaanos replied to your photoset “Gwyneth: “Ready to age up, sweetie?” Avery: oh mum you bet”

Why is Gwyneth so cute I can’t even describe it!

Her cute face is the only reason why I thought “well, I could try a BPR I guess…”

Seriously. I’ve never really cared about berries, I’ve always prefered vanilla sims and berries were just something I created in cas from time to time and then never touched again. I still prefer vanilla sims and kinda doubt I’ll ever start another berry save.

elisabettasims replied to your photoset “Right…so now you’re a middle aged mum with a midlife crisis and a…”

I HATE THAT STUPID HAIR AND HOW IT SHOWS UP ON EVERYONE WHEN THEY AGE UP. *coughcough* Sorry. Had a bad flashback seeing that.

I hate it so much too! But actually, wanna hear a deep dark secret? I once used it on a sim…unironically. Like I actually thought it was cute.

I was 11 though, so that makes it okay, I think. I hope.

[feebledungeons]

Me and my friends have never played d&d, but we want to try it out. Unfortunately we don't know anyone who has played before and we didn't find any groups in our city. Do you have any tips for the first times playing? (I'm DM)

Hi there Nonny!

When I first started D&D none of my friend group (including myself) had tried it either. It’s been great to have players in my group that have been with me from the start and gotten to see them evolve as players and GMs, just as I have!

Anyhow, here’s some advice:

I’d recommend the whole group downloading the 5th Edition Basic Rules (they’re free!) and having a read through before you start. Maybe have a chat together about anything that doesn’t seem to make sense to people and decide as a group how you want to play with those rules.

When everyone’s ready, have a ‘Session Zero’. This is a hang-out where you go through character creation, setting and table rules together. You don’t actually play the game, instead you hang out and chat about how you all want the game to go in general.

I wouldn’t run a Session Zero for every game or campaign. I usually just do it if we’re playing with an entirely new group or with people who haven’t played together for a long time. But even when I don’t do a proper Session Zero, I usually still do a chat group where we go over the below points.

The way I’d normally run a Session Zero is (below the cut):

1. The Pitch: 

As DM, chat about the setting of the game/campaign. None of these things are set in stone and, as DM, you should be totally open to what your players want to play. This is your ‘elevator pitch’ where you tell your players about how excited you are for your ideas while also checking in that this is the game they want to play. 

This includes things like: 

The general tone (is this a comedic/dark/emotional/light/scary/thoughtful type story) or genre (thriller/horror/action/comedy/farce/romp)

The practical details (is this setting a standard fantasy or a sci fi or gothic or a steam punk type campaign. Is there magic? Is there advanced technology? Is there prejudice? Are you dealing war? Is this set in a whole continent or contained to a small city?)

[Optional] The themes (the story explores themes of identity or mental health or loss or religion or violence)

To give you an idea, here’s a really short elevator pitch for my next campaign:

A standard fantasy campaign with magic but no advanced technology, set in a small isolated country where communities are deeply suspicious and cults run rampant due to the dangerous monsters that assault settlements. Based on Dante’s Inferno and dealing with themes of morality and temptation. Some horror elements.

After you’ve pitched, it’s time to to chat around the table and make sure this is the kind of story everyone’s up for playing. Feedback is a great thing and can help your story grow. It may seem uncomfortable to do this if you’ve put a lot of work into the world already but that’s why I’d recommend doing this before you get too far. You’ll regret it later if you don’t make sure your players want to play in the world you’ve created so make sure you’re all on the same page before you start.

2. Comfort Levels:

After you’ve discussed story, it’s time to talk about what’s off the table for everyone (including you! Don’t forget that you, the DM, are also allowed to call veto on things that make you uncomfortable). This is the chance for the group to discuss, in advance, what things you DON’T want to deal with in the game world. 

This might seem silly if you’re playing with friends you’ve known for years but I wouldn’t advise skipping it. Everyone has life experiences you don’t know about and roleplaying can feel very personal so it’s always best to check in before you surprise them with something that might upset them.

Remember: This is a personal preference for each of your players and TTRPGs should be fun, that’s why you set these boundaries.

Here’s my personal list of NOs:

No abuse of minors - I will not roleplay in a game where child abuse of any kind is roleplayed (References to it or having it in backstory as long as it is treated as abhorrent is fine)

I won’t have rape/sexual assault scenes (References to it or having it in backstory as long as it is treated as abhorrent is fine)

I won’t have explicit sex scenes with NPCs or PCs at the table (‘fade to black’ type stuff is fine)

Race/Culture/Genetics = Alignment. I don’t wanna play a game where your morality is defined by your birth.

Here’s my MAYBEs:

Prejudice - as long as we’re all on board with how and why it’s wrong

Oppression - see above

Systemic Violence - see above

Mental Health - as long as it’s not going to hit any of my personal issues (which I’m not gonna share here)

Gore/Self harm/Torture - I can cope with this as long as it serves the story and isn’t indulgent

Here’s my COOL WITH MEs:

Horror - I’m fine with being frightened

Character death - I’m cool with characters being killed off (not all players want this, be aware)

Gallows humour - I’m fine with dark humour as long as it’s punching up not down

3. Table Rules: 

This is just a quick run down of how you want to run the game IRL. Generally things like:

No phones at the table

The DM’s rules are more important than the book’s

Players can always question the DM but the DM’s rule is final

Everyone gets a chance to speak

Anyone can request a break at any time but play may go on without you

Respect your fellow players

These don’t need to be written down but they need to be a general guide of how you all expect to be treated and treat each other.

4. Character Creation:

Once you have everything agreed between you, it’s time to start creating your characters together! It’s a good idea when you’re all newbies to at least start the process off together. As DM, you don’t need to worry to much about this bit, just be on hand to help out with setting questions and with suggestions to help tie the characters to the world.

I hope all that is helpful! This turned out to be a lot longer than I was expecting!

Just to note:

The best thing about D&D for me is that, as long as you’re having fun, there really isn’t a way to do it ‘wrong’. This is how we started (all those years ago) and we grew together as a group along the way to the point where most of us are introducing new players to the hobby or devoting a lot of our time to TTRPGs.

Last thing: Have fun!

[werealiveandsinging]

Get to know me - Tag

Rules - Tag 20 followers you’d like to get to know.

I was tagged by @brideofchrist95 and I'm so honored?? Legitimately so excited to be one of The Chosen Ones™ thank you for making me feel like my tumblr isnt just shouts into a dark void 😂

As for the people I'm tagging, I really like you!! Y'all have made my experience on tumblr (or irl, for those of you I've known from school) a wonderful one and I truly do love getting to see where y'all are at in your life through something so personal and customizable as a blog.

Nicknames - McCamillionaire, Mille

Gender - Female

Star sign - Libra

Height - 5′ 6″

Sexuality - Ace, I'm not sexually attracted to any genders. I remember reading How to meet your soulmate without losing your soul (great read btw) my sophomore/junior year of high school with the girls group at my church and whenever we talked about temptation I remember sitting there really into it like oh yes I'll be sure to note that for future reference. Fast forward a few years and relationships later and yeah, it's safe to say not an issue

Hogwarts house - 100% Hufflepuff through and through 👌

Favourite animal - Manatees! They're so gentle and chubby and adorable

Average hours spent sleeping - Not nearly as many hours as I'd like

Dogs or cats - Both, both are good

Number of blankets I sleep with - I used to sleep with like 5 blankets at a time because I love being warm and cozy but recently I was graciously gifted an electric blanket and so now I only use one

Dream trip - As a Catholic I can't not say Rome/Italy! Also high on my list though is Japan

Dream job - I want to somehow magically make enough money to focus all my energy into non-profit work. More realistically, I'm gonna go to grad school for psych and become a therapist

When I made this account - November 2012

Why I made this account - My best friend at the time had made one and convinced me that it was a really cool thing to do 😂

# of followers - 352

Tagging - @riverecho @spookyinsights @restlessghosts @drangleicasshole @llleeerrroooyyy @dannyphantogram @tachibaena @saadoesthecatholic @four-fires @thecatholicnugget @pithobbit @captainvatican @patron-saint-of-smart-asses @intrinsicallydisordered @cuethesun-bitch @mybeltruns @myheartwillsing @acatholicjourney @hope-runs-underneath @the-catholic-geek

[k-amui]

I’m SO SORRY for taking this long, @katsurakatsurakatsura tysm for the tag!!! 

Rules: Answer 11 questions, ask 11 more

1. Favourite shoes?

Comfortable, resilient, with laces and simple black boots

2. Favourite mobile app?

I use tmbl and twtr the most

3. What does cheer you up the most when you feel down?

It’s sappy, but the sky really soothes me. As for cheering me up, dunno it depends. Sometimes rewatching/rereading certain parts of a story. 

4. Do you bite your nails when you’re nervous?

Nope, but I used to when I was a child!

5. What’s the kind of small talk you’re most comfortable with?

I’m pretty quiet and bad at holding a conversation irl so I actually don’t like small talk. I’ll do my best in any situation ;;

6. Favourite movie genre?

I’m not fond of movies... They’re too long for my taste but I really like comedy as a genre, in general.

7. Do you ever talk to yourself?

Yep

8. You have the chance to have dinner with 2 famous historical people. Who would they be, and why?

B, do you know how hard is this to answer.. This will probably be disappointing, sorry in advance ;;; I’m interested in the bloody countess, Elizabeth Báthory, but given her murderous tendencies maybe she’s not the best choice to have dinner with lol in my opinion she’s as fascinating as scary.

Then, Anne Bonny or Mary Read! They were both pirates! Pirate women were such a rare thing! Back the day I really obsessed over them, I even chose them as the topic of an important project in HS. I’d love to know in detail how their life was and I’ve always been very jealous they got to board the impressive ships of the 18th century!!

I don’t feel like they are the kind of famous historical people you were referring to ?

9. What’s your favourite scent?

Maybe vanilla

10. Are you afraid of heights?

No, they’re impressive and they usually make me feel positive! 

11. If you were given the chance take a peek at your future self, would you?

That question is so interesting yet difficult omg. Hmm... Honestly I would LOVE TO and when I am in a pinch I often wish for it, but rationally speaking, I think it might be better not to know. I’m not sure if I could resist the temptation if I had the opportunity, so I’m thankful it’s not possible. 

My questions:

1. What was the last dream you can remember about?

2. Favorite mythical creature?

3. What do you do to relax?

4. Tell me something you’re looking forward to.

5. Land, sky or sea, and why?

6. What’s a sound you love?

7. If you could do anything you wanted for a day, without any kind of repercussion afterwards, what would you do?

8. Do you have plants in your room?

9. What did you want to become when you were a child?

10. What type(s) of personality do you like?

11. Who was your first favorite anime character?

tagging: @smilingskyprincess @93700  @le-vent-se-l3ve @modernhorror @nakurawari and anybody who wants to do it

[kittymaverick]

Tyranny Tarot Card Motifs: Major Arcana

So some folks in the Discord asked about Tarot Cards and who would be what. I’ve some knowledge in tarots, so I’ll post what I think are good symbolic equivalents with explanations below. There might be some spoilers so read at your own risk. Edit: Made to finish some entries that were missing (?) and a few place with weird wording.

The Fool: Young Fatebinder This one’s pretty simple. The fool is a blank slate, ready to begin it’s journey. The Young Fatebinder at the very start of the game is therefore the perfect example of the fool.

The Magician: Lantry At first it might look like this is because sage = mage, it’s actually a bit more than that. Lantry isn’t actually necessary a good representation of a Magician is like, perhaps minus his versatility, breadth of knowledge, chronicler and jack of all trades tendencies. Rather, he’s more of a WITNESS to the Fatebinder’s actions, all of which can be classified under the Magician card.

The High Priestess: Verse This one surprised me, because it was a coincidence post elimination, but Verse, murderous and ruthless as she may be, exhibited an incredible amount of insight, especially in a fight. It’s part of how her ability to learn any skill comes from, without her really knowing exactly what is going on.

The Empress: Amelia This is from a bit later in the game unfortunately, plus some say Eb would be a good candidate, which I agree, except emphasis on the would part. (See the Hanged man below for why.) That leaves the very protective mother of the unexpected baby as the perfect, almost literal (it runs in the family even! Look below!) representation of the nurturing and protective nature of the Empress.

The Emperor: Graven Ashe Graven Ashe is the stereotypical representation of the Emperor from the get go: in command, laying down the rules, protective and paternal. There couldn’t be a better candidate for this.

The Hierophant: Tunon I know, I know. WTF is Tunon doing HERE instead of Justice. I’ll explain part of it here. Tunon, though he is the Archon of Justice, is one who IMPLEMENTS Kyros’ Law upon the newly conquered Tiersmen. He is the one who introduces them into Kyros’ empire and the society at large, and helps them conform to it. Not only that, he HAS an organization under him that helps him implement those rules. Though he may look like a representation of Justice, he role in Tyranny lore is in fact the very definition of what a Hierophant is.

The Lovers: The alliance? This one really threw me for a loop, because there wasn’t any significant relationships that is obviously romantic, nor do we know of any couple in game where both parties are alive, nor in a healthy relationship. Death Knell and Fifth Eye was suggested at one point, which I thought of for a while, then rejected because that’s more “carnal catharsis”, as Lantry would put it. So instead, we’ll have to settle for the next best representation of forming relationships that can be found in the game: forming an alliance on the rebel path. There IS an option though that may be considered, even though it’s not romantic (lovers in tarot doesn’t automatically mean romance, though it heavily leans toward it). It’s not in the game itself, nor does it actually pass the “both parties are alive” test, technically. But if anyone has read the short story “The Epistolary of Song and Stone”, you would know that Cairn and Sirin had the most innocent, pure, and healthy friendship on the face of Terratus going on. Next time you kill Cairn, think about what you just did and feel guilty.

The Chariot: Barik Chariot and Strength are actually two very commonly confused cards even in general Tarot culture, because Chariot represent Strength, while Strength represent...while...itself. XD However, there is indeed a different. Chariot is about using the strength one possess to work towards a goal. It’s about gaining control and steering you to where you want to be despite obstacles. It’s about bringing an order to the chaos around you. All these are very well represented by our resident stuck-in-his-armour Disfavoured, Barik.

Strength: Sirin I didn’t pick this just because it’s a tiny girl opening a lion’s mouth in the picture, I swear! The card Strength itself is different from Chariot in that control itself is the goal. In Sirin’s case, she’s still a budding archon learning to use and expand her powers over the course of the game. Her power itself is a form of mind control. Of course, we know she gets stronger at the end of the game should you guide her, but does she become someone who use that power for good, or someone who use that power for evil? The dual nature of nearly all tarot card is actually also part of the consideration of which symbol represent what.

The Hermit: Kills-in-Shadows With this one, I did take some artistic liberties in why Kills is the Hermit. Killsy’s motivation in game was to survive by being in the shadow of the strongest person in the Tiers, which is very far flung from the typical Hermit, representing introspection and solitude. However, on closer examination, you can see a resemblance, as the hermit isn’t just about looking into one self, it’s also about hiding yourself away. Killsy’s powers and intention is very much that, and who could blame her, given that she’s the sole survivor of the Shadowhunter’s clan?

Wheel of Fortune: Ascension Hall Runic Hall Edit: Somehow I missed writing the explanation for this one! The wheel of fortune is the representation cycles, luck and turnings points of life. Think of the dharmachakra, if you will. In Tyranny, I think the runic halls, especially Ascension Hall Runic Hall, is a good symbolic equivalent given that it is the location where the Fatebinder took their first step towards becoming the what they will be.

Justice: Tunon’s gavel, his mask, and the Scales of Mercy Okay, back to the topic of why Tunon =/= justice. Tunon himself pointed out that Kyros’ Law doesn’t ACTUALLY serve justice in principle as much as it should. By extension, he, the instrument that her laws are delivered though, therefore cannot be justice ITSELF even if Kyros is adamant of making him the very symbol of it. In fact, the endeavour itself is impossible. He knows Justice a notion that you reach for, not something you can truly embody. That being said, the gavel, mask and scales, however are symbols that can represent what is it he technically wants be serving.

The Hanged Man: Eb Other than being the only one with enough rope to tie herself to a post, Eb has sacrificed everything to the war with Kyros. Family, the School of Tides, Country, home, she’s pretty much lost all of it. At the same time, she’s forced to contend with the new life of living under the Overlord’s rule. This is the embodiment of the Hanged Man: Sacrifices and change in perspective. Of course, being incredibly stubborn, Eb isn’t quite ready to hand everything over yet, which is often represented when the Hanged Man is upside down.

Death: Kyros Death represent change, it represent endings, beginnings, and transition. While Kyros, faceless like our representations of Death IRL, never shows up in the game, she’s the driving force of introducing change to the Tiers, all be it through her armies and Archons.

Temperance: Matani Sybil The reason why I associate Temperance with Sybil is mostly because of the water motif. Whether she embodies the virtue is a matter of debate, though I think giving rude gestures across a river is rather reserved in comparison to other actions. XD

The Devil: Bleden Mark Ah, the Devil. The Temptation, materialism, addiction and surprise surprise, bondage. Mark doesn’t seem much of a threat on other paths until he stabs you at the end of the game, but on anarchy he plays the role of the Devil down to the “is he serving you, or are you serving him” bit. Also, the Binding of Shadows? It’s like he can’t wait to put something on you that says “THIS ONE’S MINE”.

The Tower: The Mountain Spire The Tower is the one frigging card in the Major Arcanas where the meaning does not change no matter which way you turn it, other than perhaps your reluctance towards what is to happen. It’s destruction, it’s upheaval, an explosive conflict. So what better object can we find than the Spire from which we rain destruction and upheaval upon as the game’s representation of the Tower?

The Star: Tarkis Arri The Star is the thing that brings hope to someone (you know, because you wish upon it), or inspires you to do something. It’s about what makes you start something new, or in this case, a rebellion. Arri, being the leader of the rebels, is therefore a good fit for the card.

The Moon: The Voices of Nerat Moon is the symbol of illusions and lunacy. Nerat is all about trickery, secrets and being off his rocker. These two were made for each other like Ashe was made for the Emperor.

The Sun: Florian Pelox, or should it be Travost? Or maybe ELDIAN? We might just have to go with Vittles here... @elegiacescapist, you might be right. Okay, with this one, I just wanted to throw someone from the first act in. My justification was “you know if he wasn’t so hostile Florian is pretty much a cheery and boisterous guy”. And if you don’t think about it too hard, it fits! Actually, you know what? He’s kinda a bravado-fill war jockey. Florian’s brother, Travost, seems chill though, and I think they have the same game model so we don’t have to change anything. The alternative of Eldian is really weird because usually, the Sun is represented by a boy toddler (a bit of a reference to Apollo) and associated with youth. However, Eldian does exhibit some of the traits of the Sun, especially in the positivity and warmth. Plus you know, he lives under the Sunset Spire... Though in honestly, Elegia’s suggestion of Vittles is a pretty good fit that you can’t argue too much against. Soooooo until further notice, I think we’ll go with the poor forced into conscription boy.

Judgement: Edict (of Execution, though all fits) Speaks for itself.

The World: The Tiers Speaks for itself.

[trentteti]

Reading Comp IRL

We often recommend that students who want to get an advance start on their LSAT classes read dense publications such as The Economist as a way of preparing for the Reading Comprehension section. Today, we’re putting our money where our proverbial mouth is, and taking it one step further: We’re guiding you through an Economist article as though it were a Reading Comprehension passage.

When selecting an article, I decided to find an article in the “Science and Technology” category, since I know science-related passages can be scary for students. The lucky winner? “Strange Signals from the Sky May Be Signs of Aliens.” (I’m torn between feeling that LSAC would never choose a topic as interesting as aliens for a Reading Comprehension passage, and feeling like the topic is juuuust weird enough that it might pass muster.) I recommend that students approach Reading Comprehension passages on the LSAT paragraph by paragraph, pausing after each to consider the role (or function) of the paragraph, so that’s the approach we’ll take here as well.

Paragraph I: You may be tempted to try to retain all the details in this paragraph. Avoid that temptation – the LSAT is unlikely to ask you, for instance, exactly how many milliseconds this burst lasted – and even if they do ask, you should know exactly where in the passage you can quickly retrieve that information. Instead, focus on what the paragraph is doing: Providing background information about a phenomenon. At this point, as an active reader (meaning one who is thinking critically about the passage), you should be expecting a discussion of the significance of this phenomenon.

Paragraph II: First, we get a name for this phenomenon – “fast radio bursts.” That’s a good detail to annotate, as it’s conceivable that LSAC will ask you questions about FRBs. This is immediately followed by a couple hypotheses, which you should also be annotating – per Blueprint’s patented method for crushing Reading Comprehension passages, you should always note hypotheses when you see ’em. And it seems pretty apparent from the set-up that the rest of the “passage” will be about this alien spaceship hypothesis, which is a theory that I, personally, can absolutely get behind.

Paragraph III: A description of the mechanics behind this hypothesis: radio transmitters. Aight.

Paragraph IV: At long last, here we get some author attitude. Recognizing the author’s attitude toward the subject matter is extremely important for understanding Reading Comprehension passages – you need to know whether the author is neutrally presenting facts or arguing for something in particular. In this case, the author appears to at least be considering the hypothesis – saying an idea is “not completely mad” is relatively faint praise, but she goes on to explain one point in favor of the hypothesis.

Paragraph V: Further explanation of how the logistics behind the hypothesis might work. Make sure to a put a big ol’ box around Yuri Milner’s name – that’s how we keep track of peoples’ names in passages.

Paragraph VI: Finally, we’re back to talking specifically about our hypothesis. Again, for our purposes, don’t get bogged down in the details – LSAC won’t ask you to become an astrophysicist and perform calculations about how much energy a certain amount of sunlight would yield. All you really need to note from this paragraph is that at least one part of our explanation is theoretically possible.

Paragraph VII: Another point in favor of the hypothesis – it’s possible to keep these transmitters cool. Here we’re relying on expert opinions to support the thesis.

Paragraph VIII: In classic LSAT fashion, this passage ends by hedging its bets – this is what’s often referred to on the test as “qualified approval,” meaning approval with some reservations. In this case, they use a counterexample – another time we thought aliens might be the explanation for a phenomenon, but later found out there was a more innocuous explanation. Even in that case, though, the author expresses some enthusiasm – although not nearly as cool as aliens, the explanation ended up being interesting and useful to astronomers.

You’re *almost* ready for the questions, but there are a few more steps. First, you want to consider how many viewpoints are present in the passage. You can make an argument for the existence of multiple viewpoints, since the passage mentions alternate hypotheses – but since they’re really only discussed in passing, I’d argue that there’s one main viewpoint.

Secondly, you need to consider the primary purpose of the passage – this should be a very brief explanation of the passage’s function. This particular passage exists to explain the support for a given hypothesis explaining a phenomenon.

Next, think about the author’s attitude toward the viewpoints. In this case, the author seems cautiously optimistic, or at least interested – she’s not rejecting the hypothesis out of hand, but she certainly hasn’t gotten out her tinfoil hat and gotten all Area 51 on us. And she seems to feel that even if aliens end up not being behind the bursts, the explanation could still be exciting.

Lastly, you want to summarize what you see as the main point of the passage. This is an important exercise because the first question for a passage usually asks about the main point; in addition to giving you a chance to gather your thoughts, anticipating the main point puts you ahead of the game. So seriously, take a second right now and articulate the main point to yourself. There’s not an exact right answer, so go for it.

Back with me? Great. Now let’s compare notes.

I’d summarize the main point like so: “An observed phenomenon, radio bursts, could be explained by activity from alien spaceships.” Your answer might be somewhat different, but it should offer a brief explanation of the viewpoint(s) present in the passage, and it should encapsulate the author’s attitude or lack thereof.

Lastly, think about any features of the passage that seem particularly likely to relate to a question. Examples are always a prime suspect; in this case, I’d keep my eye on that counterexample about pulsars in the last paragraph.

So that’s it! At this point, you’re officially ready to move to the questions. You haven’t memorized all the details, but based on your annotations, you should have a good idea of where to find these details in the passage if a question happens to ask. You’ve survived a Reading Comprehension “passage,” and it wasn’t even too scary (unless aliens are inherently scary to you, in which case I apologize).

Reading Comp IRL was originally published on LSAT Blog

[pianosmasher]

breakdown.

A friend of mine used to make things like this back when Tumblr was a dirty little secret to be shared close friends and complete strangers.

In those days, I only followed those who followed me, who I knew in real life, or who actually seemed active on the site (as opposed be running purely of queued posts).

A breakdown post works like this: a series of statements delivered in bullet points is hidden beneath a readmore with a simple caption of "breakdown" at the top. Every statement is a single sentence in reference to a strong, particular, personal sentiment held for a person in the postmaker's life, but published without revealing the person's identity.

Due to the sensitive nature of readmore posts, I immediately felt concern for this friend when seeing "breakdown" above readmore, but after clicking on it, I was fascinated by a bushel of leftover sentiments now purged by the form she gave them. I had no idea who any of the statements could be about and was astounded by their tenderness, as it revealed such unexpectedly gentle depths hidden inside one of the more enigmatic and distant people in my life. The post stuck with me.

It's hard to imagine making something like it now. Tumblr has fallen into a paradox that often follows a platform's decline from mainstream success -  it keeps soldiering on with its smaller population of loyalists but without the return of the untouched joys that surrounded its earliest days. I saw someone metaphorically describe this site as an area suffering from the effects of an irradiation incident, its land still scarred by the porn ban and absence of major personalities, its users now increasingly risk-averse with periods of unprecedented inactivity. It's hard to trust the soil on here these days. We have our reasons why.

As in all the things I encountered in youth, I had trouble letting this older practice of intimacy "be" once adopted back in its heydey. I've mentioned before how I joined Tumblr specifically to begin opening up about my life and thoughts after friends encouraged me to do so. However, when hurt or unfairly maligned, I would feel powerless to stop the negativity rushing into my heart, and so I began to use my personal posts in an attempt to correct narratives and set records straight about the "truth" of my victimized position (as if the truth could heal anything).

As a person who used to pride themselves on how friends would often open up to me, this misuse of my own personal tools would only dig my hole even deeper. No one wants to extend their trust to another who seems like they might lose control. I couldn't see that then the way I do now.

I'm almost positive that during this period in my life, I made some breakdown posts of my own. There was something so tantalizing and satisfying about venting with some plausible deniability built in. A vast majority of the time, the statements weren't negative or mean. They were a way of telling the people in my life things that I could never imagine bringing up to them, either due to time, privacy, or other concerns.

Remember: in those days, I only followed those who followed me IRL or who seemed active enough. I had an idea of who would be seeing what I was writing. I knew that somewhere in there, they would read something that was meant for them to hear. I could settle for that.

I have always been fascinated by the difficulties of communication, especially its technical impossibility and the rules we fudge in order to account for such an obstacle.

In my final paper in college, a de facto senior thesis on literature seeking to depict the complexities of ordinary life, I made the claim that all conversation works like a trick-taking game, with each particular topic acting as a different suit and each individual story contributed by the conversationalists a different card to play. Like cards, there are values, and should someone tell a particularly impressive story, others may hold back in fear of providing a disappointing follow-up. It's worth asking, too, how the suits get changed and who's doing the changing. It's worth wondering what suits may never be played due to reasons as small as potential awkwardness or lack of time. To play the game is to walk through charted territory. The only thing I got wrong in that paper was assuming charted territory was ordinary life.

We are all in uncharted territory now. The activist energy behind the deposition of Trump has nowhere to go now that the revolution can no longer be sold, not even for the price of attention. The goal of vaccination, held so closely by the pandemic's survivors, is now being reached. What comes next? No one has any idea. It seems like all we have left these days is our vigilance. What do we do with it now?

I've been thinking of ways to break the silence that's now settling above these repressed frustrations. I've been trying to say something that's true. I've been looking in both fact and fiction alike, in books, documentaries, music, and even a few drugs. I haven't found anything that doesn't feel like coming up short.

I remember a time when we had open secrets. A time when we could prepare a secret room of one's own on this place, where beneath a readmore one could leave the fragile promise of being heard if not seen or interacted with. We had a way of talking to each other, however immature or ineffective.

I wasted too much of that time. I should've taken more pains to share the more sublime, romantic things inside my heart, instead of letting contempt and frustration have an equal seat at my table. I miss it now. I had my cake and almost ate it, too.

It's the task of the adult to evaluate the risks of everyday life. It's the job of the mature to put oneself "out there," to risk humiliation and criticism in every push for change in living. I realize that now. This is why it's so important to have a barrier between oneself and the world. The task of living is: risk, repair, repeat.

Is a breakdown post a calculated risk? Or is it the muddled breath of cowardice before conversations long overdue? What kind of games are we allowed to play with each other? Is it more true to force oneself to open up, or to be shy and thus talk shyly to another?

The question of truth, of course, interferes with the fulfillment of the simple need behind the formalities: knowing that one has been heard.

The temptation in a breakdown post is to make the sentiments so tantalizing that they'd have to elicit a reaction. This temptation, of course, must be resisted, for fear of spoiling the intimacy that such a post offers in much the same way I used to spoil mine. I think about that temptation every time I sit down to write something underneath a readmore. The space must be cherished, stay purified, preserved.

All that I have lost has left more room for gratitude in all that still remains. I am grateful to every one of you who still reads whatever I leave under my cutaways. I hope that you have seen some growth in these little notes that I can't help but leave. I hope that, in reading them, they've passed your time a little brighter than they used to.

This is still my way, then, of talking to you, dear reader, and I don't plan to abandon it just yet. I hope the obscurity isn't mistaken for cowardice. I only ever meant to leave a place for anyone who's curious about me to somehow find, judge, and possibly enjoy. If you're one of those people, then consider this a thank-you note for our relationship, mutuals or otherwise. You may never have reached out or reacted to any of my personal posts, and that may not change in the future. I am grateful for it anyway.

It is because communication is such a challenge that I have such respect and interest for any and all methods that attempt it. I'd be remiss to forget that my experiences here helped form a part of that passion, and I want to do more to include that influence going forward.

Depending on context, a breakdown can either be the complete failure of a process or a simplification of one into smaller, more digestible parts. I envy the friend of mine who managed, without trying, to do both at the same time with this format. I’m not sure if I did either here, but then again, that’s not for me to judge.

I hope you’re doing well