#also to who ever made 19 in the gallery

[maochira]

Lesbian!reader as the adoptive daughter of Doppo Orochi. Her relationship to her father, mother and older brother (she would be around 18 or 19). Also how would her big bro react to learning about her crush on a girl.

Anon you just described my Baki self insert omg 😭😭 /pos But I won't write this exactly like my self insert

Tags: fem!lesbian!reader, a bit of hurt/comfort?, a little crack at the end

You were adopted as a baby, and you were about 3 years old when your brother was adopted

Doppo came home and was like "Hey I have a surprise for you" and you thought you were gonna get a new toy but no. You got an older brother

At first you handled the news awfully because you weren't used to sharing your parents' love and attention

It took a few tantrums (and a lot of comfort candy) until you accepted the news. And when you did, you immediately started clinging to Katsumi

Growing up, you and Katsumi had a fairly normal sibling relationship. Sometimes you'd have small competitions about minor things or argue about unimportant things. Besides that you've always loved to mess with your brother

Natsue is literally the best mom ever. Best mom award goes to her

She loves doing art and crafts with you and whatever you create gets displayed somewhere in the house. At this point it's just an art gallery of stuff you made

Doppo is the typical doting girl dad who sometimes needs to be reminded to not spoil you too much. He always gives you hugs that are just a little too tight and accidentally (or intentionally) says and does things that embarrass you right in front of your friends

You were always treated like "the little one who needs to be protected", which means you weren't necessarily actively encouraged to learn how to fight

Katsumi on the other hand was often reminded, especially by your mother, that he has to protect his little sister

That didn't hold you back from learning karate as well, though

Skillwise you've always been behind Katsumi by a lot. While no one really pointed out that difference, it began to frustrate you when puberty hit you and it became an insecurity

Around the time you were 15 you suddenly dropped karate. Your parents and brother often asked for the reasons and you would always respond something like "I want to focus on school" or "My other hobbies became more fun"

Katsumi eventually got the truth out of you. At first he didn't really know what to say, but he didn't want this to have any effects on your sibling bond

He tried to comfort and remind you that the difference between his and your skill doesn't matter because it's not a competition between the two of you. He tried to not push you into picking up karate again, though. He thought that might make you feel forced

You ended up getting back into karate, but wouldn't practice it as much as before. You just started having other priorities as you grew up

The first time you got a crush on a girl you decided not to mention it to anyone at first. You've been sure of being a lesbian for years but never bothered to come out to your family. You knew they'd always love you no matter what

Doppo would occasionally make jokes about how you might end up in a relationship with another underground fighter and you'd only respond how Katsumi is more likely to end up with one of them

When Katsumi finds out about your crush on a girl he just points at you and yells "GIRLLIKER!" Then you point back at him and yell "BOYKISSER!"

Doppo and Natsue overhear that and there's not much of a reaction cause. They already figured out you're into girls

If you liked this, please remember to reblog and add your thoughts in the tags! That's the best way to support and motivate me!

[fictionadventurer]

7 & 9-12 for Wives & Daughters, 14-21 for The Galleries of Stone, 1-4 for Brine & Bone, and 7-10 & 16 for The Blackout Book Club, please?

Wives and Daughters

7. how does the story compare to your initial impressions of it? has it surprised you yet? how?

I was under the impression that it was a sweet nineteenth-century English countryside story, like a lot of the type of classics I read, but also very long and unfortunately unfinished. I was surprised at how engaging I found the writing (at a time when Victorian authors could be very hit-and-miss with me) and how gripping I found the story, and how layered and lovable all the characters were, and how satisfying it was despite the lack of ending. And I was completely surprised to find that not only did I love it, but I might have found a new favorite novel.

9. give the most UNHELPFUL and/or SILLY summary possible.

Girl falls for a bug-collecting dweeb who is dumb enough to fall for her flashy, unsuitable stepsister who doesn't care a straw for him.

10. if you made an amv about this, what song would you set it to?

Are there good songs about sisters? (I'm sorry, all of the music questions are going to have horrible answers)

11. if you were put in the main character's position, how well would that go for you on a scale of 1-5?

I mean, I'd probably do a lot of what Molly does, and things seem to work out pretty well for her, so 5.

12. assuming your loved ones would be there, would you want to live in the world of the story?

I can't say I've ever wanted to live in Victorian England, but within that time period, I'd say Elizabeth Gaskell's kind and gentle English countryside is about as good as it gets, so I wouldn't seek it out, but if I wound up there, I could be happy.

The Galleries of Stone

14. how likely do you think this story is to break a reader's heart? If you're not done with the story, just guess.

There are some heartbreaking elements, but overall the vibe is so cozy and lovely, with all these people finding a place to belong, that the heartbreak is more for things that happened before the story than for anything that happens within it.

15. what time are you most likely to be found reading/watching this story? (time of year, time of day, season of life, whatever makes sense to you)

Either January (when I first read it) or at the end of Lent (when I tend to go back to my favorite indie-published cozy fantasy ebooks)

16. do you think this story has broad appeal, or is it meant for a very specific audience? if it's more "niche", what kind of person would most enjoy this story?

I agree with @lover-of-the-starkindler that the cozy fantasy niche is growing.

17. compare this story to your usual tastes. how does it differ from what you've already enjoyed?

The magic system isn't quite the kind of thing I usually like (a bit too woo-woo), and I've never been fond of anthropomorphic animals in fiction, but she makes it work well.

18. compare this story to your usual tastes. what parts of it are exactly the kind of thing you've always loved?

I love domestic fantasy that focuses on the details of daily living and the differences between cultures. I love stories about big, loving family and strong marriages, and this story gives them to me like nothing else does.

19. pitch an idea for a sequel or spinoff novel for this story!

How about a spinoff set on a completely different mountain (maybe the green one, with all the wind chimes), with a sculptor who takes multiple different apprentices and things work in the usual manner, and we get to see the daily lives of these people who occasionally come into contact with Aurelius or something.

20. what's the WORST thing about this story, in your opinion? (feel free to be positive, e.g. "it's not longer", if you want!)

The epithets! They drive me absolutely bonkers and make parts of it almost impossible to reread.

21. based on this story, would you be interested enough in the author to read their other work?

Yes, but unfortunately none of the author's other work looks appealing to me.

Brine and Bone

1 what got you into this story?

I don't remember how I found it, but I like fairy tale retellings and this one was cheap, so I bought it. I found it a forgettable straightforward retelling the first time I read it, then one Lent when I was in the mood for light fantasy retellings I picked it up again and was blown away by the depth and beauty of it.

2. describe it in one or two sentences.

Sentence 1 (retelling description): A "Little Mermaid" retelling from the point-of-view of the woman who the prince marries that retains Andersen's original ending

Sentence 2 (story description): A woman reconnects with the prince she's loved from childhood when she finds him after a shipwreck, but their romance is threatened by the appearance of a beautiful, frightening magical creature who may want to claim the prince for her own purposes.

3. quickly list 3 things you like about the story!

The romance, the appreciation of natural law, the heartbreaking beauty of the ending

4. assign this story a hyper-specific genre name

Theological romantic horror fantasy fairy tale retelling

The Blackout Book Club

7. how does the story compare to your initial impressions of it? has it surprised you yet? how?

It pretty much lived up to my initial impressions of it--home-front WWII fiction about people coming to find home and friendship in each other--but I was surprised at how delightful the book club minutes were. They were my favorite part of the story.

8. what questions are or were you most excited to learn the answers to while experiencing the story for the first time?

I can't remember specifics anymore, but there was one old lady's backstory that I was interested in learning about.

9. give the most UNHELPFUL and/or SILLY summary possible.

While a worldwide war rages, a bunch of people sit around and read books.

10. if you made an amv about this, what song would you set it to?

Some kind of WWII-era Big Band music.

[calweathers17]

HEADCANONS‼️

CAL WEATHERS!!

Fucking clumsy, by that I mean constantly falling, tripping, spilling things, knocking things, bumping into people seriously don't play basketball with this guy or especially not football, even falls while just standing in one place he probably wouldn't even dare to stand if he was forced to wear high heels.

Used to be in a Volleyball team

"You don't have to run up and down I think it's perfect."

Although he quit after getting into racing.

Welcome your local cat lover, small note here Strip is allergic to cats, must suck but anyways Cal once found a small family of cats, a protective yet sweet and clingy mother cat with 4 kittens. You must picture that scene where he found them in the barn but can't take them home due to his uncles allergies so after school or whenever he could he would check up on them bring the mother food and give them a nice ...place blanket or whatever (obviously after earning the cat's trust) and would keep it a secret but obviously Strip would sometimes go there and eventually Cal revealed the secret but begged his uncle and aunt not to move them. He didn't dare to take risks (my boy knows a lot about cats).

With a very cool person I know‼️ we made up the fact Strip is allergic to both cats and peanuts the same with Cal but he's only allergic to peanuts.

Trans, FtM ‼️

"I just never felt right being called Carol and being seen like that but when they called me Cal." - LIFE CHANGING QUOTE YALL

Has been living with Strip and Lynda since he was 13 and met Bobby in highschool → went to 2 highschools after hardly convincing his uncle to let him switch schools, 9th grade in a normal highschool before going to a school to learn coding and other computer things.......yes (quick note I have no idea how different the American and Hungarian school system is so if I got shit wrong I will remake it.) He met Bobby after switching schools.

Likes art and is quite good at it mostly drawing planes and cars sometimes people, but got into racing more after meeting Bobby who's been a big race fan for years...also likes graffiti art but only did them after switching schools.

Mostly grunge and rock music listener.

Plays the guitar.

Kinda random...once stole an ukulele from some small art meeting thing (IDK WHAT IT'S CALLED outside of school activity)

BOBBY SWIFT!!!

HERE COMES MY RACING FAN I don't have much for them YET

Got into art after Cal, being his biggest fan and supporter on the topic.

Was the first to befriend Cal once my boy moved schools

Likes cats but more of a ... Guinea pig person don't ask how.

Lives with their father, total dick though. They got the first ever support for their racing dreams from Brick (knows him since the start of Highschool, them, Brick and Cal made a pretty great trio)

Who's someone who gets under my hcs and doesn't have gender problems? Welcome my Agender dude (or demiboy, still deciding..)

"This he thing just doesn't seem to fit me, that's all."

It/they

Brick supports him, wouldn't hold back if anyone ever bullied them for it. Although Bobby never really told his father and probably won't.

Not much of a music listener but listens to whatever Cal does

Got into guitar playing after Cal and loves hearing him play it.

Small thing for my Swiftweathers fellas

After the meeting Cal started drawing people more and you could maybe guess who he was drawing!

Cal can talk for hours about cats and cars, Bobby would listen. Bobby can talk for hours about cars and racing and Cal would listen.

Graffiti art mentioned? Bobby already joked / stated if they ever become a racer their racing number would be 19 and their car would be....probably purple ( I got cool news!)

↓↓

Cal already could do graffiti art, his first one (on wall,.. if it makes sense) was the number 19, (obviously detailed and colored) small gift for Bobby (who still has it in their gallery and even as a wallpaper) although they eventually did get into trouble for it that was for something else but not the 19 one.

[riaaanna]

London - 19 and 23 Nov 2023

It was late November and I was scrambling to meet as many friends as possible and visit as many places as possible, before I was due to graduate and fly home mid December. So I had the opportunity to visit London on two more occasions and visit more Queen sites!

19 Nov 2023:

The first was part of a trip to see my friend Rowe where we spent a day in Oxford (the same day I visited the Breakthru train! and Oxford is gorgeous!), I stayed overnight in Reading, and we went to see a Tintin (2011) movie screening in London the next day! So after the movie we got desserts then I dragged her to take photos of me around some Queen sites that I haven't had time to visit.

(📸 Mick Rock)

This was where Trident Studios used to be, which is at 17 St. Anne's Court, Soho, so it should be right! This is also where David Bowie's blue plaque is placed. Queen recorded here from around 1972 - 1974 for their first three albums (Queen, Queen II, Sheer Heart Attack).

Ngl this place was A Challenge to find, last time I tried to find it I was led to believe it was at 143 Wardour street where a specific photo of Freddie, Roger, and John was taken. But that was a different site around the corner, I'm not sure if Trident was once there or is there, but hey I've been to both now lol.

And just along the way to the tube, which I couldn't believe I didn't take a picture of earlier in the year, is the Dominion theatre which of course was where We WIll Rock You previously ran. Never mind the bad exposure(?) of the picture, London was hellishly crowded I was lucky to get a photo at all!

In the evening I went off to meet another friend Ribbit London for a farewell dinner. We picked a place near Euston so we can spend as much time as possible and then quickly hop on to my train (which was late and delayed anyway, when is it ever not?).

It was then when she informed me that Queen's rehearsal for Live Aid took place at Shaw Theatre, Euston, which was a nice walking distance from the station! I think it's the right one anyway, not sure if it ever moved etc, I didn't see any other Shaw Theatre around! Video above is the interview and actual rehearsal at the theatre.

23 Nov 2023:

I was still in denial that I was leaving the UK soon so four days later I booked one last daytrip to London and met up with my friend Fran, who is an absolute adventurer and somehow willingly came along as I dragged her throughout the city for me to visit different Queen studios (I am not kidding these places are spread across London). We only had little time as we had to catch the bus back home in the evening so believe me this day was an absolute race.

The first place I went to myself the Playhouse theatre, which famously appeared in the A Kind of Magic music video! The spot is actually quite close to Proud Galleries where Brian had his stereoscopy exhibition, so I didn't have much trouble finding it. I hated that there was a giant tree covering it that I couldn't get a full view from any angle, but this was the best I could get!

The next one is Olympic Studios! Which was in Barnes, an area which I visited before, but during that time I haven't had this studio on my list yet. I also did realize there were a lot of places in Barnes I should've spent more time visiting, but I just couldn't get to them all.

Queen recorded in Olympic Studios for a part of A Night at the Opera in 1975 and much later for the Miracle sessions in 1988. The place has now become a cinema, and I'm not sure if it's still operational at all as a recording studio. I wasn't even sure if I was in the right place until I came in and found this giant picture of Freddie in the lobby!

My last stop was Metropolis Studios, which is in Chiswick (I told you these studios are spread...) and is still an active studio now. This studio was most well-known for Queen fans as the studio for Innuendo sessions and a part of Made in Heaven sessions, so it's iconic for being part of the journey in 90s Queen. ❤️

This studio was a bit more difficult to find as it wasn't by the main road. It was quite hidden and didn't have any big signpost, but I saw it written on the glass door so I knew it was right! I went inside and it was very much working office vibes. I asked the receptionist if it was possible to see the studios (long shot but hey!) but of course we couldn't go in. I knew of a previous organized tour where the participants came in to see the famous Headlong shelves and I would have loved to see that... but just being there was already pretty lucky for me!

And here's a bonus...

Fran and I were both huge Sherlock fans so we made time to have lunch at Speedy's! Food was fine but underwhelming 5/10 lol, the person (barely) serving us lowkey radiated racist vibes ngl (I'm Indonesian and Fran is Taiwanese 💀). Otherwise it was great to be at North Gower Street where the set of 221B was, and after many many years of following #setlock from Twitter since the day that term was coined... I was in first year high school I think!

My last day in London very well spent. I'm sure I'll come back someday, to Manchester, to London, to places in the UK that I haven't been. For now I'm very grateful to have and be able to share these memories. 🥰

[pumpkin-spike18]

✨Weekly Progress 2024 #18-21✨

oh... shit, it's been a month since the last update huh 💦

Well, I hope it's very obvious why that is! In the few weeks before the announcement, I was preparing marketing posts and promo arts so I didn't want to ruin the surprise via a devlog!

Weekly Progress #18

Programmed SYVNH gallery

Made a programming to do list

Updated variables

[Fan project] Planning

Tested SYVNH main game, Side B

Programmed cheat codes

Programmed choice jumping

Made marketing plan and sketches

Updated SYVNH Guide

Drafted Post Mortem

Refined countdown sketches

(SYVNH as a whole project was finished at this point)

Weekly Progress #19

Fin 4 Promo art

Generated 14 SFB BGs

Tested SFB shading methods

Rendered Avia SFB sprite

Play tested for Canvas Menagerie

Scheduled SYVNH announcements and promo posts

Rendered Raven SFB base sprite

Wrote 981 words for KHP

(SYVNH full game release announcement was made at this point)

Weekly Progress #20

Rendered Raven SFB sprite

[Fan Project] flat color (x4)

Worked on [BL RPG] world building & outline

Sketched [BL RPG] chibis

Revised SYVNH Guide/Post Mortem

Sketched [BL RPG] faces

Weekly Progress #21

Drafted SYVNH game page updates

Finished Dove SFB sprite

Evaluated SFB fight scenes

Finished 4/4 [fan project] illustrations

Started P^3 designs

Released SYVNH!! 🎉🎉🎉

I'm sure everyone knows with how often I've been saying it, buuuut!!

The full version of Stuck in a Yandere Visual Novel...HELP!! is now released and available to play for free!!

Itch is currently down for me so I hope that link I copied from previous posts will work once it goes back up.

At 2.5 years of work, this has been my longest creative project yet. I think I've said everything I could in the post-mortem for the project. It has been a huge mountain for me to climb and I'm glad I finally got through it. A lot of things have changed since I started working on this project, some good, some bad, most of which I can't really discuss. But it is over and I am proud of myself for it.

I'm also really relieved that folks have been enjoying the ending! I was definitely very worried that I did not drop enough hints and it would come way too out of left field.

So once again, thank you everyone for giving my project a chance and sticking with me for 2.5 years to reach the ending. Thank you so much!! 🙇‍♂️🙇‍♂️ This is more than I've ever dreamed for and I hope I can continue to bring good stories for folks to enjoy!

A Sky of Falling Birds

Once I was done with SYVNH, I got to work on my next big project because I can't sit still. I haven't a marketing plan for SFB yet. It's a very different story and vibe from SYVNH. I think the only similarity are the length of the main character's bangs.

I'm tentatively aiming to release SFB for BAF VN Jam.

(Ad break!

Do you like shounen manga?? Do you like making VNs?? Consider joining Battle Action Fantasy Visual Novel Jam 2024! We're hosting a game jam focused on action stories with our beloved shounen tropes!! Join today!!)

Oh god that was terrible, don't put me on the spot like that, me.

Anyways, A Sky of Falling Birds is a yuri-ish visual novel about depression, finding a will to live, and the end of the world.

It's yuri-ish because you have two "love interests" who aren't lovey-dovey to you at all. In fact, one of them might murder you before the game ends. The main portion of the script has been finished at about 20k+ words and the sprites are done. It's time I made a proper roadmap for creation of this VN('s demo).

(Oh, what's that? Does one of their silhouette look familiar? I wonder...)

A Variety of Unnamed BL Projects

+ a named not-BL project

Although SFB is closer to being finished, I can't help but be tempted by these new ideas I have... and start designing for them.

Last time I talked about P^3, I finished the outline. There is still no title. But I worked on some potential designs for the MC and the two LIs.

I am both unhappy and un-done with LI2's outfit. They're actually a bit plain compared to my other designs, but this story's a historical (Victorian) fantasy and only LI2 is close to the upper crust of society that would wear flowing dress... shirts with lots of ribbons.

I'm still working on how to best summarize this story. But perhaps it's a little more "what would you do for family" than love story.

The other BL project, which I've named [BL RPG] is a story set in a modern fantasy society. There is turn based gameplay for this project. I had their designs finished a while back, but I finally put colors to the remainder of the cast for Part 1.

(Oh, this will be a long one, my friends...)

The outline isn't done yet.

This is a story about kissing boys, taming punks, and maybe over throwing the government.

The last of my "projects I worked on mindlessly now that SYVNH is done" I worked on this past... month is Killer Hiding Place (KHP). This is the next entry into the Kill Series and something I had outlined since last year. I kept trying to start writing it, but I keep running into trouble on how I want to tell the story. I originally intended to do another manga-esque format like that of Exorcist Killing Lie, but this protagonist tends to monologue a lot, making it difficult to put in manga form.

Other...!

I finished 4 images for a fan project, and I'm still behind on another part of that project 😢 That'll be my focus for this week...

I also did some playtesting for @arimiadev's upcoming BL visual novel Canvas Menagerie!! It's a soft and comfy SoL BL story about the struggles of being an actor.

It also has one of the best lines I've ever read in a visual novel.

You can play the Canvas Menagerie demo for free on itch!

Whew! That was a long one!

But that's all the info I got for this... month. Look forward to... next week...??? Let's go with the positive expectation that I will be able to make weekly devlogs again ahaha...

Bye-bye, Pumpkin out!

[the-paris-of-people]

I truly don't understand some of the criticisms of the sex lives of college girls season 2, particularly with the s2 finale. Yes, I agree the pacing is confusing and inconsistent, but the same can also be said of the Mindy Project, s3 of Never Have I Ever, or a LOT of other popular shows. They definitely could have defined time better in the show by explicitly stating major holidays/ I'm going to be detailing my response to some of the criticisms that I've seen from both reviewers and critics:

1.) The constant introduction of new characters and high romantic relationship turnover:

Honestly this one confuses me greatly because.... it's their first year of college? You're constantly meeting new people and "trying them on" as friends, as romantic partners, as hook-ups. It's realistic that you would be able to look back on your freshman year and laugh at how you had sex with your annoying biochem lab partner, or fucked a short king and cheated on your boyfriend and screwed things over, or went through a twincest phase, or were constantly catching the eye of the campus hotties. Honestly, the fact that these characters are slowly reckoning with their own identities and figuring out what they want out of their relationships (and the fact that some of them have!! after their first year of college!) is incredibly realistic. Also it's the second season of the show!! The characters need novel experiences (or at least just EXPERIENCES) for "character building" in the later years of their college journeys. Freshman year of college (and even just being 18-19) is supposed to be messy, and fun, and make no sense because you're figuring out who you are. I don't understand how people can't attribute the "messiness" of the plotlines with the life phase of the girls

2.) The fall of Leighton x Tatum and the revival of Leighton x Alicia:

Truly, I didn't know people were nvested in their relationship. From the very beginning, Tatum was cited as part of a "twincest" phase of coming out by Miss Willow (who is my favorite btw) and there was nothing that negated that. Tatum simply served as a catalyst for Leighton realizing how far she had come in embracing her lesbian identity, and just generally, realizing she cared wayyyy more about the LGBTQ+ community and other people's feelings that putting on this cool girl facade. Everything she did to impress Tatum at the beginning (the art gallery, trying to catch her attention) should how image and status-obsessed Leighton was, only for it to all fall down when she realized she cared more about changing and becoming a better person. Which is a positive thing! Also, what "relationship" was there to ruin? Tatum and Leighton had just started seeing each other and if count their dates including the dinner with the dads, had probably only had been on a small number of dates. This is in stark contrast with Leighton's relationship with Alicia, who she spent LOADS of time with at the women's center and privately in their own personal relationship. Alicia, on the other hand, who initially was everything Leighton didn't want to be in season one, actually was the person who taught Leighton a lot and made Leighton into a better person through Alicia's efforts at the women's center. I truly don't understand people's criticisms of Alicia's character that she was "so performative" and Tatum "showed that you can just be gay and exist without all this activism" I feel like that's code for "Tatum is more easily digestible in this cis, white, heteronormative world therefore I like her better as a love interest" Alicia, in my opinion, has a lot of positive qualities. She's bright, hilarious, has great chemistry with Leighton, and is incredibly caring and devoted to the LGBTQ+ community. I don't understand how it's a bad thing that she's seen an activist, she is just trying to create a safe space and make the world a more inclusive place.

3.) Bela's character demise:

This one REALLY pisses me off. To see people turn on Bela in what is clearly a trauma response after they claimed to stan her so hard in season one is absolutely reprehensible to me. Also, like the NHIE fandom shows, it proves that you can be a white woman and get away with anything whereas if you're POC, you make one mistake (particularly this is in response the point in the series where Bela cheated on Eric with Dan) and everyone turns against you. Seriously, no one says a word about Leighton gaslighting Natalie for not informing her about her chylamydia? And she never apologized to her either! People are forgetting how traumatizing the world of the Catullan was to Bela in s1. She was assaulted and belittled, and in the very beginning of the show was taught (with the six handjobs) that it was beneficial to leverage her sexuality to get ahead. Eric perpetuated this idea when Bela chided him for showing off in front of Dan in front of her, this idea that she needed to do whatever possible to rise to the top of her field. Also, the rigorous "rushing" process of the Catullan made her feel like other people also had to tough it out and that ultimately went to her head when she was in a position of power, which is NOT UNCOMMON! AT ALL! From the very beginning, Bela was a people pleaser and trying so hard to get people (her roommates, comedy writers, etc.) and coming up short so from the start this was built into her character. People are saying they hated Bela's character arc this season clearly do not understand TV and are not in it for the long haul. Regular people do not have linear journeys. They go through traumatic or triggering events which fuck them up, then they go down to their darkest point before they can rise again. The fact that this was written into Bela's character and the fact that they thought about her trauma response and wrote it into journey this season is amazing to me, and a sign of GOOD writing, not bad writing at all. The fact that people don't have anything but empathy for my girl is incredibly sad to me.

3.) Whitney's love affair with biochem and sex affair with the son of Julia Louis Dreyfus:

I feel like I haven't seen as much criticism of this besides the lack of direction in her romantic life. To that I say, Whitney explicitly said she was focused on finding herself this season. Her main goal was to explore her other interests outside soccer and to have fun, outside of relationships. Her cheating trauma (from that ugly ass man dalton) came back when she checked Canaan's phone, and though bio bro didn't really teach her much about romantic relationships, but like.... does everyone have to? Isn't it fun to hook up with your lab partner while discovering your passions? Also catty-words did a much better job of articulating Whitney's arc with Canaan than I ever could. Again, college is for being messy and self-discovery and Whitney is on the right track. Also this season 100% indicated that her relationship with her mom is much better than it used to be and I thought the moment they shared was really sweet (when her mom tried to get her the internship) I've seen people say Whitney had a terrible arc in season 1, and her grooming by Dalton served no purpose, but honestly I think they missed the point (which again, this post is complaining about people with no media literacy) Whitney not confiding in her mom about Dalton acted as a catalyst for relationship growth with her mother, and I'm sure it will come up in future seasons.

4.) Kimberly's story arc:

Oh, boy. I think I am going to make a whole separate post for the relationship of Kimberly and Canaan and how (to me) they make perfect sense together and the show has been building to since their first interaction. But I want to speak on Kimberly's egg donation storyline and betrayal (which I think is a strong word) of Whitney. A lot of complaints I've seen about the egg donation storyline is that it was just dropped. I agree with how it was strange that it was dropped, but upon future reflection, if this show is about all the four years of college, I'm sure the repercussions of the egg donation and Kimberly's revelation of the loss of her scholarship will come up in future seasons, which makes the most sense (because how can Kimberly deal with her donated eggs and the possibility they are being used to make babies if she JUST gave them. And I don't want her to have a medical issue right after, she had already been through so much!)

As for her betrayal of Whitney, well.... I have a controversial opinion about that. Whitney has every right to feel hurt and upset about seeing Kimberly kiss Canaan. HOWEVER, if my rough calculations are correct, Canaan and Whitney only dated for a month to a month and a half, 5-6 months ago. They were only official for a few days (though you can make the argument that Whitney thought they were serious for longer) Whitney showed no indication to her roommates (and even Willow when they were together at the last Theta party of the year) that she wanted to be with Canaan again, so Kimberly didn't know it was going to hurt Whitney as much as she did. As for "Whitney gave Kimberly the option to confess" I don't necessarily think a roommate breakfast was necessarily the best forum for Kimberly to deliver that news, and Kimberly KNEW that because she opened her mouth, saw how hurt Whitney was, and changed her answer. I ABSOLUTELY think that Kimberly should have spoken to Whitney about liking Canaan before kissing him and should have told her privately about it, but honestly, I know that most viewers at the ages of 18-19 would 100% be stunned at how to navigate the situation if they were in Kimberly's place as well. Again, these girls are still learning how to communicate with other people and honestly they 100% act more maturely than most people I knew in college so stop being so freaking harsh on them, JESUS! Also, they were setting up a Whitney x Canaan x Kimberly "love triangle" (because I think the feelings are unfortunately unrequited on Whitney's side from Canaan) from THE FIRST EPISODE. This tension between them was ALWAYS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN because Canaan (at least in my eyes) was introduced as a love interest for Kimberly in the sense that their first meeting was a funny story that will be one to reminisce and Whitney hooked up with Canaan also in the first episode. Also this isn't a situation of "two girls fighting over a guy" this is more the situation of "my close friend didn't confide me or come to me first about an issue that affects me and that betrayal hurts me deeply and I don't think I can bare to live with it" which I feel is incredibly relevant and relatable. I heard a podcast that said Whitney is not so much hurt by Canaan liking another woman, but that Kimberly wasn't completely transparent with Whitney, which also occurred with Leighton and Nico in s1 and is VERY consistent with Kimberly's character. I have no doubt they will work it out and it'll make their friendship stronger. Whitney's hurt hurts ME (Jesus Alyah Chantelle Scott is amazing) but I know they'll get through it.

TL;DR: They're young, they're stupid, they're 18-19, and a friendship breakup/going through rough patches in a friendship and particularly a large friend group in college is so, so NORMAL. Have some grace for these wonderful young women and their messy journeys. If you actually examine the show and characters holistically s2, while not as good as s1, makes a LOT of sense. Also why is no one talking about how we got so much Lila this season and it was glorious?? She's a gift to this world.

Tagging @thefabulousfab-3 @basiltonpitch

[sassyfrassboss]

Harry and Meghan Netflix special.

Episode 1 Notes:

1. From the outset we are told this is a first hand account, using footage from their own archives. And members of BRF have declined to comment.

2. For some ridiculous reason, first scene is at an airport arrivals lounge. Private jet Harry's documentary starts with scenes from a commercial airport. Lol. Appary he has just landed at London in March 2020. Probably traumatic because this was the first time they had to take commercial lol

3. It's quite evident that this started as a video diary (Meghan's idea?) around March 2020. Way before they finalized the netft deal. So ...this is how they pitched to platforms? This is the behind the scenes look? Scheming bastards.

4. They are addressing all the little criticism - private jets. How little she knew of Harry. Media scrutiny. Archie. How she gave up everything to marry him and then he voluntarigave up his life to join her world.

5. There is a LOT of footage of the kids. Basicat it's their iPhone gallery made into a movie with piano music.

6. She and her friends really overexplai. That she was single "SINGLE" for a couple of months in summer 2016. And travelly the world with her girlfriends. And that those trips were planned to enjoy the world. Girl doth protest a bit too much.

7. Oh btw they met on Instagram. Lol new twist. And she got to know his through his ig feed. Lol. He is photographer ok guys. And he asked to meet her. So not a blind date.

8. They also show their private chats. URghhhh!

9. Harry is such a doofus. All he wanted was to get married and that's a bit creepy ok. It comes across as if he would have married anyone.

10. Nacho is there. URghhhh

11. Meghan didn't know him guys, at all. Did not know anyone. But told all her friends. Hahaha... And they are all here telling us she didn't know. Hahaha... And well... it would all be cute but it's them. So Diana is mentioned a few times. We get to know about their first meeting. And then it cuts to commentary from the day Harry was born, and how special Diana was and how everyone loved baby Harry. Sneaky!

12. We see a lot of footage of innocent diana talking about Harry and Harry doing cute stuff. Just in case we forget. Harry says he doesn't have early memories of his mom. But, dear viewers, we do, right? So that's more important. We all loved Diana.

13. Everybody who has ever spoken/written anything favorable about the couple is in this series. Noone who could present the other side. It seems a bit glaring.

14. So much royal footage. So much of the queen. If she was alive she definitely would have been offended at this. I'm sure. This is disrespectful. Because it makes it seem like "Meghan against the institution". Instead of Harry and Meghan the lovestruck couple.

This is the undertone that I think Meghan may have wanted to distance herself from.

15. When Harry talks about his childhood it does make a but of sense, esp with the skiing footage and Eug and Bea look overwhelmed.

16. He says what she shared in panorama was her experience and truth. Even if it was obtained in the wrong way.

17. Harry is such a simp. Meghan tries to be, but personally she seems like she is overacting even in their old home videos and facetimes. How is that possible?? And Harry says she is so simar to his mum. ewww... the mommy issues!

18. Lol there really are Diana's pictures on the wall in a tiara in the nursery. Didn't Harry hace any private pictures of her he can show his children because this was literally from a magazine photoshoot. WTH!

19. When he talks about his mum's death, they show a photo of the two brothers. With William looking at Harry, and Harry staring into space. That's heartbreak. Truly. The only time I wished the brothers were still close. What would Will think if he sees this??

20. This episode does a good job at presenting Harry's childhood issues. And his fears. He seems self aware. And you empathise with him up to that point. But then I wonder, with all of this, how could Meghan make this whole thing about herself?? His problems are real and massive and he had so much support. And she and him, they make this all about her not being able to adjust and how unfair it was for her to leave everything behind (for all of 1.5 yrs lol).

21. I think, this maybe one of the reasons that Meghan hasn't liked this series. We get to know the Harry that we liked and loved and thought we knew. It makes her feel.like a nobody. And he overcompensates ofr that constay. But the showrunners, director, Netflix won't overcompensate. They tell us who us the more valuable one.

22. Harry is White Knight-ing in Africa. You know, the wayward, heartbroken lad who just wants some warmth and acceptance... It's a bit much, this narrative. esp in these times. This impression of Africa the land of authenticity and finding yourself, even if true, is something we should all avoid now.

23. Harry's issues are so obviously here, I believe if Meghan hadn't come along he might have stayed on the straight and narrow. She didn't value and respect his heritage. And he mirrored her to be able to keep her. (My opinion from this episode)

24. Whenever Lindsay Roth speaks, I feel like she is auditioning for the best friend's role in a Hallmark movie. Whenever nacho comes on screen I want to scream, he is a skeez.

25. They show Harry's tiny makesft tent. To quell the glamping rumours.

26. Abigail Spencer and her bad extensions. Uffff!

27. There's some friend of hers called silver tree. Lol what? Who is this woman? I bet she is a stand in for Gina Nelthorp Cowne. Poor Gina, was ghosted but would have loved to do these interviews.

28. They are saying that initially it was much easier for her to come to London and stay at KP with him. And then they would drive to Windsor and walk around frogmore and have all this space and privacy without anyone ever noticing. So much privacy in london. Hmm.... The exact life they left behind. Weird (not!)

29. It's all bad media, intrusive media.

30. Pictures of the Halloween party, the night before the news of the relationship broke. Eugene's costume, yikes! Also, did they take permission from her to use these photos because she is a literal princess. The palace would and should protect her. (IMO)

31. Harry says, after the news broke, he didn't know what he was walking into. Lol poor dude never thought Meghan would be thriving on getting papped every where. She really did milk this opportunity and was probably acting all innocent in front of him. Because his concern seems genuine, her shock less so.

32. Some of the news headlines, articles, voiceovers they show here are not from this period. They are from.much later, before the wedding. Not from 2016 i remember back then everyone loved her. And she got a lot of positive press, esp in the UK.

...

—-

Thank you!!!

[the-empress-7]

Harry and meghan Ep1

Notes:

1. From the outset we are told this is a first hand account, using footage from their own archives. And members of BRF have declined to comment.

2. For some ridiculous reason, first scene is at an airport arrivals lounge. Private jet Harry's documentary starts with scenes from a commercial airport. Lol. Appary he has just landed at London in March 2020. Probably traumatic because this was the first time they had to take commercial lol

3. It's quite evident that this started as a video diary (Meghan's idea?) around March 2020. Way before they finalized the netft deal. So ...this is how they pitched to platforms? This is the behind the scenes look? Scheming bastards.

4. They are addressing all the little criticism - private jets. How little she knew of Harry. Media scrutiny. Archie. How she gave up everything to marry him and then he voluntarigave up his life to join her world.

5. There is a LOT of footage of the kids. Basicat it's their iPhone gallery made into a movie with piano music.

6. She and her friends really overexplai. That she was single "SINGLE" for a couple of months in summer 2016. And travelly the world with her girlfriends. And that those trips were planned to enjoy the world. Girl doth protest a bit too much.

7. Oh btw they met on Instagram. Lol new twist. And she got to know his through his ig feed. Lol. He is photographer ok guys. And he asked to meet her. So not a blind date.

8. They also show their private chats. URghhhh!

9. Harry is such a doofus. All he wanted was to get married and that's a bit creepy ok. It comes across as if he would have married anyone.

10. Nacho is there. URghhhh

11. Meghan didn't know him guys, at all. Did not know anyone. But told all her friends. Hahaha... And they are all here telling us she didn't know. Hahaha... And well... it would all be cute but it's them. So Diana is mentioned a few times. We get to know about their first meeting. And then it cuts to commentary from the day Harry was born, and how special Diana was and how everyone loved baby Harry. Sneaky!

12. We see a lot of footage of innocent diana talking about Harry and Harry doing cute stuff. Just in case we forget. Harry says he doesn't have early memories of his mom. But, dear viewers, we do, right? So that's more important. We all loved Diana.

13. Everybody who has ever spoken/written anything favorable about the couple is in this series. Noone who could present the other side. It seems a bit glaring.

14. So much royal footage. So much of the queen. If she was alive she definitely would have been offended at this. I'm sure. This is disrespectful. Because it makes it seem like "Meghan against the institution". Instead of Harry and Meghan the lovestruck couple.

This is the undertone that I think Meghan may have wanted to distance herself from.

15. When Harry talks about his childhood it does make a but of sense, esp with the skiing footage and Eug and Bea look overwhelmed.

16. He says what she shared in panorama was her experience and truth. Even if it was obtained in the wrong way.

17. Harry is such a simp. Meghan tries to be, but personally she seems like she is overacting even in their old home videos and facetimes. How is that possible?? And Harry says she is so simar to his mum. ewww... the mommy issues!

18. Lol there really are Diana's pictures on the wall in a tiara in the nursery. Didn't Harry hace any private pictures of her he can show his children because this was literally from a magazine photoshoot. WTH!

19. When he talks about his mum's death, they show a photo of the two brothers. With William looking at Harry, and Harry staring into space. That's heartbreak. Truly. The only time I wished the brothers were still close. What would Will think if he sees this??

20. This episode does a good job at presenting Harry's childhood issues. And his fears. He seems self aware. And you empathise with him up to that point. But then I wonder, with all of this, how could Meghan make this whole thing about herself?? His problems are real and massive and he had so much support. And she and him, they make this all about her not being able to adjust and how unfair it was for her to leave everything behind (for all of 1.5 yrs lol).

21. I think, this maybe one of the reasons that Meghan hasn't liked this series. We get to know the Harry that we liked and loved and thought we knew. It makes her feel.like a nobody. And he overcompensates ofr that constay. But the showrunners, director, Netflix won't overcompensate. They tell us who us the more valuable one.

22. Harry is White Knight-ing in Africa. You know, the wayward, heartbroken lad who just wants some warmth and acceptance... It's a bit much, this narrative. esp in these times. This impression of Africa the land of authenticity and finding yourself, even if true, is something we should all avoid now.

23. Harry's issues are so obviously here, I believe if Meghan hadn't come along he might have stayed on the straight and narrow. She didn't value and respect his heritage. And he mirrored her to be able to keep her. (My opinion from this episode)

24. Whenever Lindsay Roth speaks, I feel like she is auditioning for the best friend's role in a Hallmark movie. Whenever nacho comes on screen I want to scream, he is a skeez.

25. They show Harry's tiny makesft tent. To quell the glamping rumours.

26. Abigail Spencer and her bad extensions. Uffff!

27. There's some friend of hers called silver tree. Lol what? Who is this woman? I bet she is a stand in for Gina Nelthorp Cowne. Poor Gina, was ghosted but would have loved to do these interviews.

28. They are saying that initially it was much easier for her to come to London and stay at KP with him. And then they would drive to Windsor and walk around frogmore and have all this space and privacy without anyone ever noticing. So much privacy in london. Hmm.... The exact life they left behind. Weird (not!)

29. It's all bad media, intrusive media.

30. Pictures of the Halloween party, the night before the news of the relationship broke. Eugene's costume, yikes! Also, did they take permission from her to use these photos because she is a literal princess. The palace would and should protect her. (IMO)

31. Harry says, after the news broke, he didn't know what he was walking into. Lol poor dude never thought Meghan would be thriving on getting papped every where. She really did milk this opportunity and was probably acting all innocent in front of him. Because his concern seems genuine, her shock less so.

32. Some of the news headlines, articles, voiceovers they show here are not from this period. They are from.much later, before the wedding. Not from 2016 i remember back then everyone loved her. And she got a lot of positive press, esp in the UK.

..

PS: these are just my first impressions. I do the same for ep2+3, provided I can sit through this nonsense for 2 more hrs.

====

Thank you so much for this. I have so many questions.

To start with, Harry's IG was private and incognito. So how exactly did she know whose. DM's to slide into?

[stereopticons]

for the fun meta asks:

19. Is there something you always find yourself repeating in your writing? (favourite verb, something you describe ‘too often’, trope you can’t get enough of?)

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

19. Hahahahaha. I feel like you should ask @blackandwhiteandrose this question because she’s the one who has to deal with the fact that once I start writing, I forget every word I’ve ever known and use the same ten verbs over again.

I definitely use the word “murmurs” a lot because I maintain that there is no acceptable substitute. It’s a specific type of speaking that unfortunately occurs a lot in my writing and I spend a lot of time trying (and failing) to find acceptable synonyms. I also frequently describe feelings as being in the character’s chest (tightness, warmth, pain, whatever, it all goes behind the ribs I guess) and I do often describe how someone tastes when kissing. I’ve written Patrick coming out to David at a bar/the Wobbly Elm at least three separate times, so I should probably knock that off.

20. Ooh okay. Well. I’ve said, since I started writing fic, that world building is my biggest weakness. I’ve never felt very confident with it. So when I started writing indie band Patrick, I decided to challenge myself and really delve into the world building. Granted, it’s not fantasy or magical realism or anything like that, and it takes place in a real place (New York, primarily), but it’s outside of Schitt’s Creek and there are a lot of pieces I have had to pull together. Every place that’s mentioned so far with the exception of David’s gallery, really exists. I went on streeteasy and found apartments for Stevie and Patrick and a loft for David. I’ve researched music venues extensively lol. Even the subway routes. But the piece of completely unnecessary but still really fun world building that I loved doing was booking Patrick’s band’s tour. I had a couple of cities I needed them to hit for plot reasons and certain date parameters and used that to create a plausible tour route. Then I looked up music venues in each city that would fit the band’s status and the type of music I imagine they play. THEN I made a tour poster:

Of course, if I’d been writing instead of making that, maybe I’d have finished the fic by now lmao. Oh and I also created all of the song titles for their first and second albums as well as an EP, which I won’t share yet but they are pretty delightful.

Meta asks for writers

[emilee-has-legs]

that one really cool sim tag thats been going around.

wasn't tagged by anyone in particular, but @loafysims and @ravensccfindss both mentioned me in this tag recently so i thought i'd give it a shot. also my need for attention is a bottomless pit so.

1.) What’s your favourite sims death?

honestly, the classic, putting a sim in a pool and then taking out the ladder. theres no common sense to the action it's just genuinely so funny.

2.) Alpha CC or Maxis Match? 

technically im maxis mix, but i tend to lean very hard to maxis match clothing.

3.) Do you cheat when your sims gain weight?

no not really. if i want them to loose weight i'll have them work out

4.) Do you use move objects?

if you dont use moveobjects, i think legally we can consider you clinically insane.

5.) Favorite mod?

this is so hard... ummmmm, probably like better build buy. i spend a good amount of time in build mode and use debug/live edit objects a ton when i build, so it's pretty useful.

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

i think it was get to work, i even bought it in a physical case thingy and i still have it lying around somewhere. (as well as seasons.)

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

LIVE mode.

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

you're asking me to pick a favorite? out of all my children?? i honestly can't pick a favorite, but here's layla, and i love her.

9.) Have you made a simself?

yeah, i've tried on multiple occasions, but none of them have ever really captured my essence all that well. eventually i gave up and just started using my mascot sim, Nellie, for my quote-on-quote "branding"

10.) What sim traits do you give yourself?

im gonna go ahead and give myself five traits assuming we all have the "more traits in cas" mod:

creative, goofball, loves-outdoors, squeamish, foodie.

11.) Which is your favorite EA hair color?

the darkest brown swatch is my go-to.

12.) Favorite EA hair?

ima be so real rn i dont use EA hairs at all.

13.) Favorite life stage?

young adult. might be biased because that's around my age-frame

14.) Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay?

builder. i have the most fun in either buildmode or cas.

15.) Are you a CC creator?

not offically, but i've converted defaults and skin details for personal use before, and i've even released some load screens.

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

yeah baby, check these amazing people out.

@loafysims

@inspiredsimmercc

@pikaburr

@rhdweauni0

@dizzyscabiosa

@ravensccfindss

@gabrielle-kl

@nihilismtrcit

17.) What’s your favorite game?

i cant decide, it's between the sims, halo 3, minecraft, stardew valley, and splatoon. i want to play zelda: tears of the kingdom as well, but its just not in the budget rn sadly.

18.) Do you have any sims merch?

no.

19.) Do you have a YouTube for sims?

yeah actually, if you can ignore my 13 y.o sounding voice, check me out

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

omg so much. here are some side by side comparisons of my different eras/progression.

(its the way the first sim looks like she could be a trademarked lego piece that gets me)

21.) What’s your Origin ID?

pretty sure its just emilee-has-legs. i have a couple of builds on the gallery if you wanna check me out, i just never posted them on here because that was before my simblr era.

22.) Who’s your favorite CC creator?

dogsill, softerhaze, greenlamas, ceeproductions, sentate, serenity and simstrouble take the cake for me

23.) How long have you had a simbIr?

i've had my blog for a minute but i only became an active simblr like a couple months ago.

24.) How do you edit your pictures?

i dont really edit except for a few touchups in picsart, and also srwe.

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

probably get together, never got around to purchasing that pack and there's a couple things i want from the ep.

tagging: anyone who wants to have some fun. it was nice to chill on call with friends and fill this out. cya besties ily.

[catnipsims]

BESTIE @aliengirl tagged me, thankou !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sims Tag

1. What’s your favourite sims death? The city living pufferfish one 😭 its kinda silly hgishughuhdg

2. Alpha CC or Maxis Match? well i used to be maxis match but idk anymore hiushguriugiosrhig alpha cc is so pretty on the previews but often looks... crunchy????? in game... so i guess i tend to stick to mostly mm???

3. Do you cheat when your sims gain weight? I've never played far enough of any household to notice weight gain 😭😭😭

4. Do you use move objects? GIRL YES 😍😍

5. Favorite mod? i CANNOT live without more columns in cas & no cc wrench 😭😭

6. First expansion/game/stuff pack you got? first one i got back when my game was still a legal copy was city living !

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

8. Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made? i have an unhealthy attachment to veronique, the model sim i made back in 2020. (Shes the one i used to model my recent Octavia hair) her tag

9. Have you made a simself? yes on multiple occasions 😭here

10. What sim traits do you give yourself? I just choose random ones most of the time???? but after checking creative seems to be a common one??

11. Which is your favorite EA hair color? Oh the fourth one, that new warm brown one, i keep needing to restrict myself from using it on every single sim i ever make....

12. Favorite EA hair? really love the short parted one from the free update back in september?????? of 2021

13. Favorite life stage? the few times ive tried playing in live mode its been young adults so that one????????

14. Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay? im only ever really in cas eiughisghiruhg. i build sometimes but i really never play in live mode so i guess builder????????????

15. Are you a CC creator? well im supposed to be but cc creating is just on the backburner rn 🤭 also bugfixing gives me anxiety

16. Do you have any simblr friends/a sim squad? i have the 5-ish mutuals that i keep harassing with my silly comments, but definitely no full on squad

17. What’s your favorite game? (1, 2, 3, or 4) ts4 was the first one i got, and the only one ive really played, so i guess that one

18. Do you have any sims merch? nough 🥰😍🤪👍

19. Do you have a YouTube for sims? i tried and forgot about it 😭😭😭 so currently no

20. How has your “sim style” changed throughout your years of playing? i think i used alpha cc back in like 2017????????????? and then i transitioned to my hardcore maxismatch era back during the early times of this simblr if you were there no you dont i ate your memories of me and now its just all over the place (maxis mix????????? idk)

21. What’s your Origin ID? i think its just catnipsims????? i could be wrong but i dont use the gallery anyway....

22. Who’s your favorite CC creator? oh thats a difficult question 😭😭 id say @pralinesims, @simandy, @clumsyalienn, and @marsosims !!!!!!!!!!

23. How long have you had a simblr? since summer of 2019 i think???? yes i was 12 dont bully me

24. How do you edit your pictures? editing???? never heard of her.... no but i use photoshop for whatever minor adjustments i want to make through liquify and adjusting contrast and whatnot

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack do you want next? any occult related anything will fullfill my sim creating needs 🤭🤭

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack is your favorite so far? since im so rarely in live mode i dont really have any opinion on gameplay ghihuighruie but i really really love the aesthetics of snowy escape in like every aspect but gameplay (cas, buildbuy, world etc.)

tag @barbieaiden, @marsosims, @eva-andsomenumbers, @avornalino, @woosteru, @ravensim, @wastelandwhisperer / @adrasteamoon, @radical-sims, & @chelseasasimmer and anyone else who i forgor 😭😭 sorry my brain is not the best

[salemssimblr]

Sims - get to know me

I was tagged by @druidberries & @m0n0lithical! Thank yall for the tags!

I rarely actually play the game so take my answers with a grain of salt but this should be fun!

1. What’s your favourite sims death? Cowplant, hands down

2. Alpha CC or Maxis Match? For the longest time I was strictly Maxis Match but recently I've been way more Maxis Mix and I'm loving it

3. Do you cheat when your sims gain weight? Nah I let it happen!

4. Do you use move objects? Religiously, I cannot build without it. Routing be damned!

5. Favorite mod? BBB, I cannot play this game without it. I also get ornery if I don't have UI cheats extension and more CAS columns.

6. First expansion/game/stuff pack you got? I was on the Sims 4 bandwagon from day 1, so Outdoor Retreat.

7. Do you pronounce “live mode” like aLIVE or LIVing? Living. You've got build, buy, and live, at least that's how my brain rationalizes it.

8. Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made? I'm obsessed with all of my rpg oc sims (Ariss, Katya, Nat, Kai, Calista, etc), but probably my favorite sim-sim, well that's hard too. I really love my Simeon Silversweater makeover, and Rhiannon Reinhardt is prob my fave original sim.

9. Have you made a simself? I have! I've made myself, my husband and our dog (: One day I'll have to render them and post pics, I'm sure they all need an update now.

10. What sim traits do you give yourself? Clumsy, creative, & paranoid lmao

11. Which is your favorite EA hair color? Idk prob black or dark brown, so many of the other swatches look unnatural to me. I like the fun colors though, esp the lighter blue/cyan-y swatch.

12. Favorite EA hair? In terms of design, I really liked the braids that came with RoM and the really cool swatches, but I rarely ever use that hair.

13. Favorite life stage? YA cause it's the only one with adequate gameplay oops lmfao

14. Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay? BUILDER I rarely play the game at all but if I am I'm probably building. It seems every time I actually get into gameplay (which is rare in itself) something (a patch) comes along and breaks everything to the point where I can't anymore and I lose love for it all over again.

15. Are you a CC creator? I am! But only barely haha. I've made a few recolors and some art, but nothing from scratch YET. Soon hopefully

16. Do you have any simblr friends/a sim squad? I do! I'm a moderator of @cozyacres's Cozy Cave discord server and I LOVE out little community there! I've also got so many wonderful mutuals here I love you all so much.

17. What’s your favorite game? Sims 3 was fantastic and if I remembered more of it I'd probably say 3, but I got really invested in the community for 4 and it does hold a special place in my heart even if it's deeply flawed. So, 4.

18. Do you have any sims merch? I do not.

19. Do you have a YouTube for sims? I have an account but I haven't posted anything yet! I'd like to one day post speed builds and speed renders, I just need to figure out my recording process (I tab out of what I'm doing so often that I feel like the editing would take a million years for me to remove all of my discord chats lmfao)

20. How has your “sim style” changed throughout your years of playing? I feel like my actual sims style hasn't changed too much, except that I've incorporated a lot more maxis mix/alpha into my style, but that's mostly for rendering and not actual gameplay.

21. What’s your Origin ID? SalemsSims! I have a few CC-free builds on the gallery (:

22. Who’s your favorite CC creator? This is an impossible question to answer. I love so many for gameplay vs render resources.

23. How long have you had a simblr? I just legit checked cause I wasn't sure and it turns out I've been shitposting since 2019! Who knew!? lmao

24. How do you edit your pictures? I'm lucky enough to mooch off my dad's photoshop license. For renders and screenshots alike, I'll edit the brightness, contrast, levels and curves and then use a collection of PS actions/tweaking/blur/vignettes etc as necessary to get the effect I want.

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack is your favorite so far? It's really hard to say... I've been excited for each one of them then disappointed in each one of them lmfao what a mood. I gotta say I was really pleasantly surprised by Werewolves, and HSY exceeded my expectations, even though both had their fair share of disappointments. I don't think I really have a favorite overall though (which is def a side effect of... not actually playing the game, lmao). But those two actually got me playing the game and that's saying something.

26. What expansion/game/stuff pack do you want next? Oops I own them all so, whatever comes next that strikes my fancy. Idk how I feel about the horse rumors though... we'll see if it's actually good or just another disappointment.

Tagging @chaoticsimlish, @reality-refuge, @raiiny-bay, @glammoose, @buttertrait, @crsentfairy, @glittermutt, @crazy-lazy-elder-sims & anyone else who wants to do this! My brain turns into a goldfish whenever it's time to tag so pls don't be offended if I didn't tag you!

[gimletagain]

Harry and Meghan Netflix Ep1

Notes:

1. From the outset we are told this is a first hand account, using footage from their own archives. And members of BRF have declined to comment.

2. For some ridiculous reason, first scene is at an airport arrivals lounge. Private jet Harry's documentary starts with scenes from a commercial airport. Lol. Appary he has just landed at London in March 2020. Probably traumatic because this was the first time they had to take commercial lol

3. It's quite evident that this started as a video diary (Meghan's idea?) around March 2020. Way before they finalized the netft deal. So ...this is how they pitched to platforms? This is the behind the scenes look? Scheming bastards.

4. They are addressing all the little criticism - private jets. How little she knew of Harry. Media scrutiny. Archie. How she gave up everything to marry him and then he voluntarigave up his life to join her world.

5. There is a LOT of footage of the kids. Basicat it's their iPhone gallery made into a movie with piano music.

6. She and her friends really overexplai. That she was single "SINGLE" for a couple of months in summer 2016. And travelly the world with her girlfriends. And that those trips were planned to enjoy the world. Girl doth protest a bit too much.

7. Oh btw they met on Instagram. Lol new twist. And she got to know his through his ig feed. Lol. He is photographer ok guys. And he asked to meet her. So not a blind date.

8. They also show their private chats. URghhhh!

9. Harry is such a doofus. All he wanted was to get married and that's a bit creepy ok. It comes across as if he would have married anyone.

10. Nacho is there. URghhhh

11. Meghan didn't know him guys, at all. Did not know anyone. But told all her friends. Hahaha... And they are all here telling us she didn't know. Hahaha... And well... it would all be cute but it's them. So Diana is mentioned a few times. We get to know about their first meeting. And then it cuts to commentary from the day Harry was born, and how special Diana was and how everyone loved baby Harry. Sneaky!

12. We see a lot of footage of innocent diana talking about Harry and Harry doing cute stuff. Just in case we forget. Harry says he doesn't have early memories of his mom. But, dear viewers, we do, right? So that's more important. We all loved Diana.

13. Everybody who has ever spoken/written anything favorable about the couple is in this series. Noone who could present the other side. It seems a bit glaring.

14. So much royal footage. So much of the queen. If she was alive she definitely would have been offended at this. I'm sure. This is disrespectful. Because it makes it seem like "Meghan against the institution". Instead of Harry and Meghan the lovestruck couple.

This is the undertone that I think Meghan may have wanted to distance herself from.

15. When Harry talks about his childhood it does make a but of sense, esp with the skiing footage and Eug and Bea look overwhelmed.

16. He says what she shared in panorama was her experience and truth. Even if it was obtained in the wrong way.

17. Harry is such a simp. Meghan tries to be, but personally she seems like she is overacting even in their old home videos and facetimes. How is that possible?? And Harry says she is so simar to his mum. ewww... the mommy issues!

18. Lol there really are Diana's pictures on the wall in a tiara in the nursery. Didn't Harry hace any private pictures of her he can show his children because this was literally from a magazine photoshoot. WTH!

19. When he talks about his mum's death, they show a photo of the two brothers. With William looking at Harry, and Harry staring into space. That's heartbreak. Truly. The only time I wished the brothers were still close. What would Will think if he sees this??

20. This episode does a good job at presenting Harry's childhood issues. And his fears. He seems self aware. And you empathise with him up to that point. But then I wonder, with all of this, how could Meghan make this whole thing about herself?? His problems are real and massive and he had so much support. And she and him, they make this all about her not being able to adjust and how unfair it was for her to leave everything behind (for all of 1.5 yrs lol).

21. I think, this maybe one of the reasons that Meghan hasn't liked this series. We get to know the Harry that we liked and loved and thought we knew. It makes her feel.like a nobody. And he overcompensates ofr that constay. But the showrunners, director, Netflix won't overcompensate. They tell us who us the more valuable one.

22. Harry is White Knight-ing in Africa. You know, the wayward, heartbroken lad who just wants some warmth and acceptance... It's a bit much, this narrative. esp in these times. This impression of Africa the land of authenticity and finding yourself, even if true, is something we should all avoid now.

23. Harry's issues are so obviously here, I believe if Meghan hadn't come along he might have stayed on the straight and narrow. She didn't value and respect his heritage. And he mirrored her to be able to keep her. (My opinion from this episode)

24. Whenever Lindsay Roth speaks, I feel like she is auditioning for the best friend's role in a Hallmark movie. Whenever nacho comes on screen I want to scream, he is a skeez.

25. They show Harry's tiny makesft tent. To quell the glamping rumours.

26. Abigail Spencer and her bad extensions. Uffff!

27. There's some friend of hers called silver tree. Lol what? Who is this woman? I bet she is a stand in for Gina Nelthorp Cowne. Poor Gina, was ghosted but would have loved to do these interviews.

28. They are saying that initially it was much easier for her to come to London and stay at KP with him. And then they would drive to Windsor and walk around frogmore and have all this space and privacy without anyone ever noticing. So much privacy in london. Hmm.... The exact life they left behind. Weird (not!)

29. It's all bad media, intrusive media.

30. Pictures of the Halloween party, the night before the news of the relationship broke. Eugene's costume, yikes! Also, did they take permission from her to use these photos because she is a literal princess. The palace would and should protect her. (IMO)

31. Harry says, after the news broke, he didn't know what he was walking into. Lol poor dude never thought Meghan would be thriving on getting papped every where. She really did milk this opportunity and was probably acting all innocent in front of him. Because his concern seems genuine, her shock less so.

32. Some of the news headlines, articles, voiceovers they show here are not from this period. They are from much later, before the wedding. Not from 2016. I remember back then everyone loved her. And she got a lot of positive press, esp in the UK. She seems to out the responsibility of "protecting her" solely on him. Strange.

...

PS: I have shared this same on another blog (sassy). If you don't want to publish this please let know, I get it.

————-

thank you for this! honestly, I woke up at 4 am this morning thanks to my toddlers and scrolled dm with dread anticipating how much more crap the RF has to put up with. But there’s actually very little beyond the workings of a totally deranged narc who took iPhone videos of everything over the past 6 years. (Who the f does that? This isn’t normal.)

My jaw dropped reading Oprah and the reactions on my IG feed. It’s not like that now, at all.

[chaoticsimlish]

Get To Know Me

I was tagged by the sweet and endlessly talented @salemssimblr for this! Apologies it took so long to get to it, wanted to wait until I was on my desktop again haha

What’s your favourite sims death? Gotta be laughing to death! I had a sim for a legacy challenge propose to her girlfriend once and her girlfriend was already in a silly goofy mood but rejected her and then proceeded to laugh to death. I hadn't even known that could happen and was caught completely off guard!

2. Alpha CC or Maxis Match? I tend to lean more towards Maxis Match stuff but I really have move of a blend happening

3. Do you cheat when your sims gain weight? Nah if it happens it happens, you can't have a sim push out four babies for a legacy and still have a stick lol

4. Do you use move objects? Definitely do! Even switched back to my old keyboard because it is better equipped for handling move objects in build mode!

5. Favorite mod? More columns in CAS! I cannot make sims without it!

6. First expansion/game/stuff pack you got? I bought every expansion/game pack/stuff pack that came out until My First Pets Stuff so it'd be Outdoor Retreat! I only recently caved to that stupid stuff back, always swore I'd never put money down on a DLC for a DLC but it was on super sale and I think I'd like to have rats in game

7. Do you pronounce “live mode” like aLIVE or LIVing? Liv definitely, I know in context it's LIVE mode but I have never said it like that

8. Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made? Probably Monty! My green haired sim I made originally to submit to a story that someone else was doing. I have the most back story on her! If not her than my boy Kaz who was made to be a bachelor in my bachelor challenge that ended abruptly when the save got corrupted and life made it hard to play! Kaz still to this day remains my favorite base to use when making male sims :3

9. Have you made a simself? A long time ago! I should probably make a new one

10. What sim traits do you give yourself? Creative, Clumsy, and Geek!

11. Which is your favorite EA hair color? I really like the darker brown and the auburn-y red

12. Favorite EA hair? I rarely use the EA hairs lol I don't really have an answer for this!

13. Favorite life stage? YA for sure because it has the most stuff to do but also I started playing Sims 4 when I was 20 so I was a YA when I got to play with it and it has always just felt like a good home base life stage!

14. Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay? When I do get to play, I'm in it for the gameplay! I honestly hate building from scratch because nothing ever seems right so I usually tweak builds I find in the gallery! I also really hate how much time it takes to decorate and clutter things up!

15. Are you a CC creator? I used to be! First thing I created (like five blogs ago now) was a set of nerdy art for my sims, I also recolored a bunch of hairs in Pooklet's colors and recolored a handful of items. Pretty sure that's all gone now though and I definitely don't have time to do it anymore!

16. Do you have any simblr friends/a sim squad? I have a couple people I feel like I can chat with without feeling like I'm bugging them! @salemssimblr and I talk on discord about this and that (mostly writing!) and @druidberries and I have had a few good moments as well! I used to have a group I was part of on discord but that's been a long time ago now

17. What’s your favorite game? Favorite series is forever Bioshock! The depth of the worlds and just how well those games were developed and thought out was always great for me! What Remains of Edith Finch changed my entire brain chemistry it was so good, Dragon Age Inquisition has been played about fifteen times, and I'm really enjoying Tears of the Kingdom right now!

18. Do you have any sims merch? Somewhere, lost to the basement which devours everything, I have a plumbob light thing I got with a special edition of something. Other than that no

19. Do you have a YouTube for sims? Nope! I'm happy posting on here where no one can hear me stumble over my words and watch me spend an hour debating over which hair to put on a sim lmao

20. How has your “sim style” changed throughout your years of playing? It's changed pretty drastically I'd say! My early sims, when I started really getting into the Sims 2, were all super goth and had the most wild and ridiculous outfits! I used to make sims who looked like they walked out of My Chemical Romance music videos! Now, though I still have to push myself to not use as many of the same or similar features (I'm really bad about almond eyes, down turned lips, and noses with the nostrils just so), I feel like I do make sims with more variety. I also work hard to make sims who are either queer, non-white, disabled, or occult as well. It's really easy to fall into a pattern of making the same kind of sim over and over so I fight that as much as I can.

21. What’s your Origin ID? EchoSoul I believe, there may be a 13 in there somewhere lmao

22. Who’s your favorite CC creator? I think the creator I jump to download all their cc every time I reset and whose cc just gets used and abused in my game is @clumsyalienn! I have almost everything they make and I'm pretty sure every single sim I make has at least one thing on their's on them!

23. How long have you had a simblr? I've had this simblr since 2018, before that though I've had multiple other simblrs that either got killed off because of a lull in notes or just disuse. I started in the simblr community in 2009 I believe! I've been on tumblr since 2008 and as soon as I found the sims community I've always had a foot in the door!

24. How do you edit your pictures? I don't lmao

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack is your favorite so far? I'd have to say that Realm of Magic and City Living! I'm a sucker for magic and witches and to this day San Myshuno is one of my favorite worlds to live in! Can't go wrong with the Spice District!

26. What expansion/game/stuff pack do you want next? I have all of them except for Dream Designer and a handful of kits so I'd say Dream Designer lol

NOW

I tag @shittyysimblr, @lilypixels, @whyhellosims, @pink-chevalier, @katmk36, and anyone else who'd like to do this who hasn't been tagged yet!

[druidberries]

sims get to know me tag !!

thank you sm @duusheen for tagging me 🥹💛

1. What’s your favourite sims death? cowplant lmao

2. Alpha CC or Maxis Match? I like maxis mix!

3. Do you cheat when your sims gain weight? no

4. Do you use move objects? I can't build without it 😅

5. Favorite mod? this is super tough but I couldn't play without mccc and ui cheats!

6. First expansion/game/stuff pack you got? outdoor retreat!

7. Do you pronounce “live mode” like aLIVE or LIVing? I feel like it's changed so many times throughout the years but lately it's been exclusively LIVing

8. Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made? a sim called Nex that I've never shared and Elowen! ofc lucine and flourish too but they're dnd characters before they are sims 😅

9. Have you made a simself? I did yearsss ago but she looks absolutely nothing like me lmao. I do kinda wanna try again tho?

10. What sim traits do you give yourself? I'm picking 5 bc that's how it should be in sims 4 *cough cough* family oriented, hopeless romantic, animal lover, geek, and socially awkward! I know some of those are sims 3 traits but its ok 😭

11. Which is your favorite EA hair color? red and green! I have to resist the urge to give all my sims bright red hair 🫶 I love super dark black hair but it's such a hit or miss whether the swatch is gonna be gray, blue, or pitch black

12. Favorite EA hair? off the top of my head, I love the one we got with that sdx drop with the ombre roots and like 3 different high school years ones lol

13. Favorite life stage? I love infants bc 🥹🥹 but also teens and YA! even tho teens and young adults are pretty much the same 😐 it's one of the best parts of legacies when a child ages up into a teen!

14. Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay? gameplay and cas! I'm not great at building and only do it when I need to but creating characters and playing with families are my fav <3

15. Are you a CC creator? no lmao. I would like to make some more recolors but I only ever make them for personal use! maybe one day I'll release some 🤔

16. Do you have any simblr friends/a sim squad? I've met some really good people on here that I just adore talking to <33 and I always think of my mutuals as my lil sims buddies 🥺

17. What’s your favorite game? 2 and 4! sims 3 is so good but 2 has my heart.

18. Do you have any sims merch? I used to have those headphones with the plumbobs that changed based on your sims emotions and they were so nice but they broke yearssss ago :( other than that no unless we're counting the freezer bunny I'm crocheting lol

19. Do you have a YouTube for sims? no :(( I've wanted to start a youtube channel since I was just lil child but I'm so scared 🙃

20. How has your “sim style” changed throughout your years of playing? I honestly don't think I have a sim style? but I do think I've gotten better at making sims in general? I'm much better at using different faces and making sims look different now!

21. What’s your Origin ID? druidberries but i don't upload anything to the gallery

22. Who’s your favorite CC creator? trillyke, simstrouble, ah00b, ratboy, simandy, squea, ladymoriel, praline and literally so many more I could go on forever

23. How long have you had a simblr? I've had tumblr for ages like lurking but I think I started my first simblr around 2016-2017? I used that one on and off for so long and I always lost motivation but finally what like 2 months? ago I made this one and got a nice clean fresh start 😌

24. How do you edit your pictures? I use photoshop and I pretty much always do topaz, noise, and sharpen, and then from there I decide if I wanna do some brightening or whatever. I do use actions sometimes too! I really have no clue what I'm doing when it comes to editing 😭

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack is your favorite so far? all of the occult packs ofc + growing together and cottage living <33 I also really love nifty knitting bc most of my sims knit lmao

26. What expansion/game/stuff pack do you want next? I really want them to make a fairies pack 🧚‍♀️🫶

feel free to ignore this but I'm tagging: @buttertrait. @potionio, @aurorangen, @estah, @sinfulwunders, @salemssimblr, @duskiivy and @simlishpiadina

[hechiima]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thought this would be fun with the end of the year!

1. How many works do you have on A03?

31.

2. What's your total A03 word count?

398,723. I'm really proud of this number tbh; never thought I'd write this much. Was hoping to hit 400k by the end of 2023 but I don't think that's gonna happen. Here's to hoping I hit half a million by this time next year!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

AA/DGS

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

You Ever Been In Love?

Things Are As They Are

On the Morality of Birds

Awkward Business

The View from the Gallery

No DGS fics. I know its a smaller fandom so it makes sense but still. 🥲 Also I swear I'll finish Awkward Business someday I'm just. So deep into Sherlock Holmes/DGS hell atm. ;A;

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I never do unless it's a specific question. I used to but then I got overwhelmed/I never knew what to say so I just stopped. That said, I read all of them and they really mean a ton to me!!!

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Prob Running Late or Shoulder Pain. I'm not really good with angsty endings so I usually only keep it angsty in the shorter fics lmao.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Lololol I think most of my fics have happy endings so that's a hard one.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Nope! Thankfully, I think the hate on fics trend has died down a lot since the ff.net days.

9. Do you write smut?

Hell yeah. Please read my smut I'm so proud of it. I'm also on a quest to boost the hmmk smut tag on ao3 so if y'all have any smut you wanna see for them lmk.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Nope. My dream fic of a holmesverse crossover will happen someday though.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Thankfully no.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! I've had a few translated to Russian and Chinese. Honestly it's insanely flattering when ppl ask to translate a fic like ough you liked my story so much you wanted to share it with others who don't speak English? It's so sweet. ;A;

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Okay so Mango and Krissey and I started an amazing pirate AU and l adore it. And someday. We will finish it. I believe in us. I'd love to co-write a fic tho so if anyone's interested please hmu I think it'd be so so fun.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Ugh. Johnlock/Hmmk or Nrmt have to be like. The only ships that made me insane enough to write multiple fics over so it's def them. I love insanely codependant relationships.

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

There's so many. But off the top of my head, I have a fantasy AU that Beau and I came up with that I still love a ton (Finding You) and want to finish and a Edgeworth ends up in a Gregory lives AU (In Another Life) that I'm not sure if I'll ever finish. The former is just so much work and the latter I've kinda lost the plot thread so. Ough. Sorry.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue!

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

aksfjjalsjflsjf everything else LMAO. That's why we practice!

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I don't love doing it? I've done it like once for a fic where language was important but other than that I try to avoid doing it.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

....hetalia..........it was the only other fandom i wrote for before AA. This was like in 2009/2010 tho I know better now but those fics ARE still up on fanfiction.net (: It sucks b/c sometimes I wanna compare my old writing to my current writing but I'm like ough. I cannot read these old fics.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

I'd have to say A Study In Gold. I genuinely love that one so much. Thinking about hmmk early days makes me insane. I also really liked On the Morality of Birds b/c it was just such a supremely stupid fic.

@anyone who sees this and writes fic please feel free to do it! I'd love to see others talk about their fics <3