#and i just think that any configuration of the four of them is so entertaining to me. i love them so much

[palukoo]

i love your take on the donna/amy & sam/josh parallels! i'm curious — do you have any post-canon/santos admin headcanons for them? (individually, as a group, friendships, romances, whatever you want!)

ahh thank you!! and, jesus, oh boy yes. i have... over 100k of a wip on post-canon/santos admin headcanons for them (especially amy, of course) so. yes.

like. where to start? i guess writing the santos admin stuff is where i really started to get invested in amy & sam which. i was not expecting, but i do in canon really love her talking him into running partially, and her working on his campaign, and him telling josh that she didn't break up with her boyfriend for him. but basically, like, with her as DoLA and him as DCoS, assuming he takes to it at all in the way the show presents the role before (or, i guess how josh did it), they'd be working together a lot and i think they are both, in a way, idealistic and would really want to push for even unrealistic agendas (as would santos. josh would be going a little insane, but it's not like he doesn't have his fair share of it, too). i actually really love writing their banter in, its fun! 

i also really, really like writing donna working for helen in the santos admin in general but also specifically in the context of her relationship with amy (whatever that relationship may be. i mean. the way i write it it is romantic but. yk) bc like, amy had that job, and amy kind of... struggled in that job? and i think donna struggles with it some, too, but i think it's something that amy would say donna is better at (because, well, she probably is. for one, in my mind she lasts a hell of a lot longer in it than amy did. i love amy, but like, given the hand she was dealt in that role and her character at that point, it was not the best job for her-- i actually struggle a little with amy post canon because of her "i wasn't made to serve at someone else's pleasure" and other lines in constituency of one). but i do think like at the beginning, it's something amy can give some advice on. and donna, in turn, can give advice on how the fuck to work in the white house, and for josh, and with sam, because at least two of those things are not things which amy has historically excelled at.

oh and josh and amy argue all the time. he and santos hired her for a reason, and i argue that it's not just because she's great at lobbying, etc, but also that she will push them further to the left and almost hold them accountable to their ideals (or. her own. that's okay, too). and he knows that, and she knows that, and it doesn't make them argue less. she thinks that he or santos is gonna fire her like. weekly in the beginning. she almost quits monthly in the beginning. but they figure it out and know that, as much as they argue, it is, in a weird way, part of what makes them work well together, pushing each other to be better. doesn't make sam, who has to be there for a lot of it, and donna, who has to hear them both complain about the other, hate it any less.

i have a lot, and i do mean a lot of other thoughts about them, and their futures during and beyond the santos admin, and how the four of them fit into the rest of the santos admin (is anyone surprised that i’m invested in amy & lou?) but like. i do genuinely have a novel about that in my google drive so. i do not know how to answer the question lmao. 

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: Serial Killers

Official debriefing report for lead Magistrate Opto Mobui pertaining to the events of the series of murders in Mega-City 4, publicly known as the “Masquerade Murderer”.

Note Taker: Please state your full name for the record. Opto: Optop Mobui. Note Taker: Official title? Opto: Lead Magistrate for Mega-city 4.  Note Taker: And- *Door opening* *Unknown*: That’s enough of that. *Sounds of chairs being pushed back* Opto: High Councilor Mooq! Mooq : At ease Magistrate.  *sounds of seats being taken* Mooq r: Forgive my note taker, he’s very detail oriented but sometimes forgets the tone he projects which can be misleading.  Note Taker: Apologies High Councilor.  Mooq : Let me be clear; you are not hear to be held accountable for these heinous crimes but to explain your investigation and the events in detail. Opto: I don’t understand; was my submitted report not good enough?  Mooq: After reading it I felt that you were scraping over some details and holding back your personal thoughts on the matter.  *pause of silence* Opto: I felt it was unprofessional to mention my inner thoughts on the matter.  Mooq:  Publicly yes, but this is to be held between us in private.  Mooq: Tell me everything. Opto: Everything?  Mooq: Everything.  Mooq: Let’s start from the beginning.  Opto: The incidents- *Finger tapping on metal* Mooq: “Murders”. Opot: Apologies.  Opto: The first of the murders happened just about three solar cycles ago.  Mooq: And you are sure of this?  *Uneasy rustling* Opto: No; I believe there were additional murders before that discovery but we have as of yet not been able to locate the bodies. 

Mooq: Why do you say that?

Opto: The arrangement of the victim’s body was too precise, too planned to be a spur of the moment. 

Note Taker: It sounds as if you are admiring the killer. 

Opto: Tread carefully, I take that as a challenge to my honor.

Mooq: What made this murder so different from the rest? 

Mooq: By records account there are at least three hundred and seventy four murders a month in mega-city 4. 

Note Taker: Sounds like someone isn’t doing their job. 

*Sounds of a chair being kicked over* 

Mooq: Please sit down Magistrate.

Opto: The next time he speaks I will strike him High Councilor. 

Mooq: Noted; now please sit down. 

*Chair being picked back up and sat in*

Opto: In a city of 4 billion people it is common to have such a murder rate, but most of those are from robberies gone wrong, gang fights, or other such criminal elements. 

Opto: But this murder......it looked as if the killer had done it for fun. 

Mooq: Fun?

Mooq: Explain. 

Opto: None of their belongings were missing, when we located their living unit we found it had not been broken into or robbed, even the access card to her transit vehicle was still in their pocket. 

Mooq: Could it not be a crime of procreation? 

Opto: From our later investigation we discovered that they had no mate nor had been courting anyone so it was ruled unlikely. 

Mooq: So it was murder for the sake of murder?

Opto: Not necessarily. 

Opot: As I said, the way the body was positioned and scared made it appear as something else. 

Mooq: Please describe the state of the body. 

Opto: No clothes were torn nor and there were no visible wounds from a confrontation.

Opto: What was unusual was a strange burn like pattern that had appeared across the victims face from ear to ear covering most of their face. 

Mooq: I thought you said the body wasn’t wounded? 

Opto: It wasn’t.

Opto: The burn marks were superficial and only slightly burned portions small portions of the skin that were not deep enough to be considered a normal burn wound. 

Mooq: Was there anything else?

Opto: The body was arranged in a strange manner; hunched over at the base of a wall in a dark alley, arms outstretched as if trying to embrace someone. 

Mooq: What happened after the body was discovered?

Opto: We exhausted every lead but after twenty lunar rotations we came up with nothing and the case was closed. 

Mooq: That was when the second body was discovered; correct? 

Opto: Yes. 

Opto: This time it was found on the opposite side of the mega-city in the thermal plant.

Opto: A worker discovered the body being held atop one of the steam vents by a series of cables. 

Opto: Whenever the steam vent opened the body appeared to dance in the exiting steam. 

Mooq: What made you believe this murder was related to the original?

Opto: Despite the steam burning portions of the body the face had the same burn marks as the previous victim.

Opto: More than that, the positioning of the body was the same over the top manner as the previous one.  

Mooq: Were the victims related? 

Opto: Not in the slightest. 

Opto: The first was a clerk in a clothing store near the upper quarter, and the second victim was a thermal worker down in the under city. 

Note Taker: A question if I may?

Mooq: Make it a good one or chances are your face will soon be rearranged.

Note Taker: If these two murders, gruesome as they were, were in isolated areas with limited witnesses how did this spiral out of control into a media blitz? 

Mooq: A fair point.

Mooq: Did you not implement silencing measures?  

Opto: We did, but that only seemed to make it worse. 

Mooq: Explain. 

Opto: This is my personal theory, but I think by not announcing the murders to the media it pushed the killer to ever more elaborate configurations. 

Mooq: I don’t understand. 

Opto: I believe the murder felt like they had been cheated by our silence, that their theatrics were not worthy of being mentioned. 

Note Taker: Interesting word choice to describe the murder of two innocent people. 

Opto: I’d agree were it not for what happened in the following lunar cycles. 

Mooq: You are referring to the-

*sounds of rustling paper* 

Mooq: -Motori Elevator incident? 

Opto: Correct.

Opto: In Motori park there is a crystal clear elevator that links the park to level 37 above. 

Opto: During the busiest hour of high sun the park was packed full of citizens when the elevator went up and revealed three more bodies hanging from underneath the elevator. 

Opto: Their hands and legs had been bound together in different patterns to make it appear as if they were some sort of entertainment act. 

Opto: Citizens were initially confused by this until the elevator came back down and the bodies were caught between the elevator and the glass panels resulting in a bloody smear being dragged down the entire elevator shaft. 

Mooq: I remember. 

Mooq: The media were all over the scene before you could arrive and lock the place down. 

Opto: From their things only became worse.  

Opto: I believe that the media coverage only encouraged the killer to continue their work; as if they were fueling them to go even grander and grotesque. 

Mooq: Did you express your ideas at the time?

Opto: I did, but they were ruled as irrelevant by the rest of the team.

Mooq: And why is that?

Opto: They couldn’t believe that someone would go through all of this just for attention. 

Mooq: The following events appear to justify your line of thinking. 

Opto: I wish they hadn’t. 

Opto: There came the upper city impalements that spun their bodies in the wind, then came the waiting valet whose body was positioned in their vehicle with a slow burning iglo stick in their hand, then the sister twins of hoblo lane found dead on benches positioned to make them look like they were drinking tea. 

Mooq: And this entire time there was still no connection between the victims? 

Opto: Nothing at all. 

Opto: Each lived in entirely different society circles that never would interact with each other. 

Opto: The only connecting fact was their strange burn like marks on their faces that we later identified to resemble a form of alien mask worn to parties. 

Mooq: If they were all so disconnected what led you to discover the killers hideout? 

Opto: It was when  I was looking at a 3d model of the mega-city with each of the murders marked that I noticed something. 

Opto: At the very center was Motori park’s elevator shaft. 

Mooq: And that was the clue?

Opto: Exactly. 

Mooq: I still don’t follow. 

Opto: I didn’t make the connection until I watched security footage of the bodies in the shaft just as they became wedged between the shaft and the elevator. 

Mooq: A rather careless mistake for a murder so specific with details. 

Opto: Forgive me High Councilor but it was not a mistake; it was intentional.

Mooq: Excuse me? 

Opto: The smear only triggered as soon as the elevator began to go down. 

Opto: It made a clear line going down through the heart of the mega-city on the map.

Opto: I had a hunch that the killer was provoking us to try and catch him; pointing where to find him.

Mooq: But that elevator ended at the park, it didn’t go any lower. 

Opto: True, but that is when I started going back through the murders and found something disturbing about each one. 

Opto: Each one held a clue that when added together with the rest of the murders pointed to the killers hideout. 

Mooq: Really? 

Opto: The first victim had their arms outstretched not in a hug but pointing in a direction. 

Opto: The valet’s meter was stopped on a specific number that when entered into a computer resulted in a downward angle. 

Opto: The two sisters drinking tea had liquid spilling out of their cups in a downward angle. 

Opto: Each murder had a feature pointing in a downward direction

Mooq: That sounds like over analyzing the situation. 

Opto: It would be were it not that each direction that was being pointed in intersected with a specific location that was directly under the Motori elevator. 

Mooq: That is it? 

Mooq: That was the tip you finally needed? 

Mooq: Why would the killer directly point out where they were?!?

Opto: I think they thought of this as some sort of twisted game and felt it only sporting for us to be given clues. 

Mooq: From your remarks it sounds as if much of your deduction was guessing. 

Opto: It had to be since no rational reasoning was linking the crimes. 

Mooq: What did you find when you raided the location? 

Opto: It was located in the mid levels that had been abandoned due to a level collapse. 

Opto: The large run down building was recorded as once being a chemical storage facility for beauty products when it was at the very top of the mega-city before the above levels were built. 

Opto: We had brought in a full three sector houses worth of officers for the raid and surrounded the building. 

Opto: On command we stormed the building from all sides. 

Opto: What we found inside was just as disturbing as any of the other 

Mooq: How so?

Opto: The best way to describe it would be the victims we had found were guests on their way to the “masquerade”. When we entered the main storage chamber we found the party was in full swing. 

Opto: Dozens of bodies held together by cables and spare metal being dragged back and forth in some horrific dance of the dead. 

Opto: The rooms smelling of rotting flesh, aged chemicals, and some form of bile that only lingered on the dead. 

Mooq: And that was when you saw the killer correct?

Opto: Correct. 

Opto: They sat on a large throne near the back end of the chamber looking down at the grizzly display. 

Note Taker: Could you make them out?

Opto: They wore some form of red suit that draped into their backside with coat tails, white gloves, and a grinning mask of black and white.

Opto: Their build wasn’t as large as ours and I was easily able to identify them as a human. 

Mooq: Rather fitting all things considered. 

Opto: How so?

Mooq: Who else but a human would go through such great lengths only to be the result of their own downfall. 

Opto: As soon as we made it half way into the chamber the human rose from their throne and began clapping. 

Opto: They didn’t say anything as they took a bow and I could feel as if they had been waiting for us to finally put the pieces together. 

Opto: I ordered my men forward to apprehend the masked figure and they rushed the raised dais that held the throne. 

Opto: They had just made it to the base of the dais when the masked human clapped their hands together and the room erupting into chaos. 

Opto: Each of the bodies that had been dancing  erupted outward in violent explosions.

Opto: The front ranks of my men that had been closest to the throne died instantly before the secondary explosions began ringing out. 

Opto: Through the smoke and burning flesh I saw the masked human staring directly at me, their masked face mocking me as the building came crashing down around us. 

Mooq: It was fortunate you were able to escape before you were crushed as well. 

Opto: I lost half of my sector house in that raid.

Opto: Lucky is something I don’t consider myself. 

Mooq: Fair enough. 

Opto Afterwards we began sifting through the debris searching for any survivors and the body of the killer. 

Mooq: What did you find?

Opto: Three survivors, but we also found the chemical compounds that had been stored in the facility were the ones used to cause the strange burn marks on all of the victims confirming that the masked figure had been the killer. 

Mooq: And the killer?

Mooq: Did you find their body? 

Opto: We were unable to find the body.

Opto: All that we could recover was the grinning mask worn by the killer. 

Note Taker: Then that means...

Opto: Yes.

Opto: The killer-

Mooq: Is dead. 

Opto: Pardon?

Mooq: The killer is dead. 

Mooq: They died during your daring raid on the villains hideout where you were able to corner the fiend and bring him to justice only for them to take their own life with the building explosion.

Opto: We don’t know if they are-

Mooq: We do and this is it. 

Mooq: The city needs to recover from these grizzly crimes and hearing of the murders death will calm their fears. 

Mooq: Besides, no human could survive that explosion. 

Opto: I hope you’re right high Councilor. 

Opto: For all our sakes. 

[daughterofelros]

I’m seeing a fair bit of anger on my dash today directed at the idea of a poly relationship between Alex, Michael, and Maria.

Now, I multi-ship and will entertain most things, so I’ll definitely be appreciative of a lot of the meta and creative content that comes about here.

I’m also Poly myself. So I will brook no Puritanical Hatred of any forms of Ethical Non-Monogamy (any time where a person dates or is intimate with more than one person, and their partner(s) are aware of it.) I’m a firm defender of the idea that love isn’t a finite resource, and that Poly is valid as an option for how we configure relationships.

But there are ALOT of misconceptions out there that have me wide-eyed and pulling out my hair, because I hate miscommunication.

So I want to address a few of them— because given the state of ship drama in RNM fandom, when we use the same term without understanding it’s multiple meanings, miscommunication is a given, and it leads to needless harm.

Throuple: First, let’s get this out of the way. Biggest red flag that the person talking about three people dating doesn’t move in Poly communities? If they use this word. “Throuple” is not a thing. It exists solely in the mind of Hollywood Screen Writers and Web Article Authors. The only time I’ve ever heard a Poly person use this term is to roll our eyes and mock it. There are serious reasons for that, but we usually try to keep to eye rolling and move on.

Why Throuple Isn’t A Thing: So, Poly is a form of Ethical Non-Monogamy.

That means the relationship dynamics that require one person to date two others equally at the same time in the same way? Unrealistic expectation and best, deeply unethical at worst— dictating who someone can, can’t, or should love isn’t ethical, and that’s what an expectation of three people all dating each other the same way is. Triads where everyone dates each other are really, really rare. And ones where two or more of the people identify as male? Extra extra rare. That triangle where everyone dates everyone else? Deeply unusual.

And in the case where it does exist? There are four relationships, not just one— each relationship between each point of the triangle, AND the overall group relationship too. Each of those have to be invested in, and each of those have to be their own autonomous relationship that grows and changes at its own pace.

Also, it should never be assumed that two people will date because they both like the same person. And people shouldn’t be expected to date if their attractions are incompatible. People also shouldn’t be expected to date if they’re Bi/Pan but not automatically into each other. In the rare event a triad forms and everyone dates everyone else...each dynamic should be unique and grow at its own pace. It’s not just monogamy with an extra body.

Okay, so...Triad?: Yup! Triad is a much better word! One that Poly people actually use to describe themselves, or aspects of their dating life. Though again, really rare to have 3 people all date each other.

Wait, what do Poly Reationships look like if everyone isn’t dating?: Most often, they look like “V” or “hinge” relationships, where Person A and Person C each date Person B, but not necessarily each other.

(Fun reminder: dating and sex aren’t necessarily the same thing, so these dynamics are about expressing a relationship, not all about sex.) Also, just because they’re not dating, the dynamic between A and C might still be REALLY important. Sometimes, there’s not much connection, but usually, that metamour dynamic is super important.

Metamour?: Yup! Vocab lesson— metamour is how you say “partner’s partner”. It’s two people dating the same person, but not each other. This looks different for different people, but for a lot of poly folks, the support structure between metamours is one of the grand benefits of Poly. Metamours may go out for coffee, hang out together, be friends, play video games together, go to the gym together, hang out and cook together, and spend time with their mutual partner both together and alone. Everyone’s mileage may vary, because some folks prefer a polite distance and don’t really ever hang out. Me? I play D&D with most of my metamours, and I’ve spent the weekend on a fishing trawler with one of my metamours because she needed a buffer from her bigoted family during their annual fishing trip. Another metamour has kids in the school where I work, so sometimes I pick the kids up! We all have big dinner parties or movie nights that involve different parts of the polycule. Our dynamic is very “kitchen table” with everyone being a big ol’ family.

Multiple Metamours? Polycule?: Yeah! Most poly people are open to dating more than 2 people over time. As we map these relationships, that tends to look like a constellation or a diagram of a molecule. Hence, “polycule”. Poly rarely looks like a closed triangle. It also doesn’t usually involve just a single V. More often, it involves a bunch of different configurations, and a bunch of ways of setting up households (including deliberately not living together. Lots of folks practice solo poly where they don’t cohabitate with anyone else. Some folks are all raising kids together in the same house. Lots of dynamics exist in-between those points!)

Here’s a great polycule map from Kimchee Cuddles! It shows how dynamics shift over time, overlap, and weave together. Diagrams like this are frequently drawn by Poly folks, oftentimes on napkins over dinner.

But...Isn’t Jealousy An Issue?: Sure! Jealousy can be a thing- it’s a really human emotion! Most people who find themselves living a Poly life find themselves have to deal with jealousy at some point. One key thing though is that for most Poly folks, jealousy isn’t seen as the expected response to a situation (like seeing someone you love kiss someone else). Instead, it’s treated as a sign that there’s some kind of unmet need to reflect on and unpack, and you get to work it out and communicate about it. A lot of us think about it as check engine light. But there’s also this beautiful counterpoint to jealousy, and it’s called Compersion!

Compersion?: Compersion is the BEST! It’s really just...being happy because someone else is happy! In Poly, that might be the fact that you find yourself smiling when you see a cute moment between your partner and metamour, or see them getting excited for a date. It’s joyful and bubbly and sweet. It’s feeling your heart soar because you see your partner happy and in love. It can exist alongside jealousy— being happy that your partner and their date went to an awesome concert, even though you couldn’t afford a ticket yourself— or it can be so bright and lovely that it completely fills the space that society says should be taken up by jealousy. It makes me giddy to see my partners smooch their other partners, or make breakfast together. I grin when I see them holding hands. Sometimes a group of us are together doing something very normal like hiking...but we’re all grinning like idiots because the Compersion in hearing the mix of conversations and hand holding and flirtation is so infectious that we’re all filled with joy from it.

The thing is, we’re actually used to feeling Compersion in some societally accepted ways— when someone gets a new job, or is excited they’re having a baby, or gets engaged. One of the easiest things in the world is feeling happy for someone you love because they’re happy. And it’s kind of mind-blowing to have the realization that that’s true in romantic contexts as well.

Look- polyamory requires a lot of communication. It takes willingness to work out issues through communication. But a lot of the reasons we think ‘that could never work’ are reflexive judgements based on social constructs. Anyone who desires the benefits enough to put in the work of communicating can do Poly well, if they find it suits their needs. And when we look at fiction, characters who experience love for more than one character at a time can always be imagined in scenarios where that commitment is possible and can be achieved. There are so many valid ways those relationships can work.

And since I would always rather see my beloved characters end up happy than broken hearted, I’m always going to be intrigued by characters who figure out that Poly is an option, in fanworks or in canon. Maybe it’s not my endgame hope, maybe it is. Maybe both can be things I enjoy.

That doesn’t have to be everyone’s cup of tea.

But we should recognize that there are a lot of ways to arrange relationship in monogamous ways, as well as in polyamorous ones... and that Poly dynamics are often very different than monogamous one. So if someone says they’re sailing a poly ship for some characters... it’s probably not the S.S. Monogamy With Three People.

That ship is out there, but it’s only one of the many ships in the fleet.

And you have the option to tour a poly ship, or book passage on it, or stay aboard your own ship. Just...kindly don’t open your gun ports and fire off a volley because you don’t think the ship should be on the ocean if it’s flying a poly flag.

[maxismatchccworld]

Get To College Mod V3

Created for: The Sims 4 by itasan2

Information The version 3.0.0 is now available! (February 7, 2019) The mod is compatible with the patch of February 5, 2019 (PC Version 1.49.65.1020). Changes in Version 3.0.0 1. Enable to build/place a university lot in Del Sol Valley 2. Enable to build/place a university lot in Selvadorada 3. Integration/Compatibility with the latest Zerbu's GoToSchoolMod, VenueChangesMod and TurboCareersMod 4. Bug Fix Because of a patch, a sim couldn't get a career advantage (career-level-4-start) after the graduation but now it works properly. 1. Introduction I like GetToCollegeMod very much. I heard the original creator “simmythesim” semi-retired from modding but I didn’t want the mod outdated yet. So I updated the mod for December 2015’s patch at first. Since then, I've been updating the mod on my Tumblr site "Everyday Life in Sims World" for GetToCollegeModV2. For GetToCollegeModV3, I finally got a permission from the original creator "simmythesim" so I can upload here Mod The Sims. Thank you, simmythesim!   2. Mod Description GetToCollegeMod introduces a college system to the Sims 4. After your sim becomes a young adult or older, the sim can go to the university using EA’s active career mechanism (requires Get To Work Expansion Pack) as well as Zerbu’s GoToSchoolMod which is for children and teens. The original description of simmythesim is on the MTS site. 2.1 Majors A student sim can chose a major from three majors - Music, Fine Arts and Physical Education. The start level (GPA) is affected the final level of high school. GPA4.0 for high school grade A, GPA3.0 for grade B and C, GPA2.0 for grade D and F. If a sim started with YoungAdult or older, it is GPA3.0. 2.2 Weekly Schedule in the College Life Sunday … Holiday Monday … Activity Day Tuesday … Lecture Day Wednesday … Activity Day Thursday … Lecture Day Friday … Presentation Day Saturday … Holiday The First Day … The student sims get to know their classmates. Activity Days … The student sims do things that train them for the real world - Working out for Physical Education, painting / woodworking for Fine Arts, and playing instruments for Music. Lecture Days … The student sims learn from their hopefully awesome professor. Goals for these day involve Watching the Lecture and Asking Questions. For Watching the Lecture, you should click on the Podium (a podium for your university), then select “Watch” interaction. For Asking Questions. you should click on another sim, then select “Ask Questions“ interaction in Friendly category. Presentation Day … The student sims give their presentation to their class. If your sim doesn’t study for the presentation day, he or she will lose a lot of performance, likewise, if your sim studies before it, they’ll get a huge boost to their grade. For giving your presentation, you should click on the Podium (a podium for your university), then select “Give Presentation“ interaction. Graduation Day? … This is the last day, say your goodbyes to your friends and enemies on this day. This takes place on Day 20 (default), which can be change to Day 5, 10 or 15 by the mod option file in "SchoolDays_SelectOnlyOne" folder. You have to talk with a sim before saying your goodbye to the sim. If you want to see how many days your student sim went to college so far, please use my Show/Search Sim Info Mod, which shows “active / all days worked” on the Career Info dialog. Technically, your student sim can graduate after all days worked is 19 (the length of school term minus one) or greater. So your student sim can go to the rabbit hole until all days worked is 19 but at least the sim have to go to the University LOT after that to graduate and get a hidden graduation trait. Don't forget to quit the university career after the graduation. You have to quit the university career manually. After the graduation, your sim gets their qualifications to start at level 4 of their dream job - Entertainer Career and Business Career for Music major, Painter Career and Business Career for Fine Arts major, Athletic Career and Business Career for Physical Education major. 3. Tip From simmythesim One of the most important things to do in University is to study. To actually study, purchase the “University Supplies” from the Bookshelf or the Build Catalog and study to your heart’s content! Warning: Like real life, studying takes a loong time, and takes about - I think four hours, so your sim will have many sleepless nights in their quest for the highest grade! If they don’t study, even if they perform well in their tasks at the University, they’ll get worse and worse grades. So please, make your sims study! 4. Installation, Update and Uninstallation 4.1 Install To install, unzip the downloaded file to your mods folder. The mod needs to be placed directly in /Mods or one level below that (see the screenshot). You have to chose the length of school term from “SchoolDays_SelectOnlyOne“ folder - the unchosen option files must be removed. If you don't use Zerbu's mods , delete "CompatibilityWithZerbuMods_IfNeeded" folder. If you use Zerbu's mods, please read the configuration in #5. The mod requires The Sims 4 Get To Work Expansion Pack. If you use the original version (by simmythesim) or version 1.x or 2.x of Get To College Mod, no problem. Just delete the old mod files. Your student sims can continue to go to the current university.  Oh, don't forget to delete 2 cache files (The Sims 4/localthumbcache.package and The Sims 4/cachestr/spotlight_xx-xx.package) too. 4.2 Update To update, delete the old mod files and 2 cache files (The Sims 4/localthumbcache.package and The Sims 4/cachestr/spotlight_xx-xx.package), then unzip the downloaded file to your mods folder. 4.3 Uninstall To uninstall, just delete the mod files and 2 cache files (The Sims 4/localthumbcache.package and The Sims 4/cachestr/spotlight_xx-xx.package). You can continue to play your sims after deleting the mod. 5. Integration/Compatibility with Zerbu's Mods 5.1 GoToSchoolMod Compatible. You can use both mods at the same time. 5.2 VenueChangesMod Needs the following configuration. Replace "Zerbu - Venues.package" with "Zerbu - Venues_WithGetToCollegeV3.0.0.package". And delete "Ita_GetToCollegeV3.0.0_VenueList.package". After the configuration, you can use both mods. If you use both mods, you can build the university lot even on Windenburg's special lots (Von Haunt Estate, Ancient Ruins, The Bluffs) ! 5.3 TurboCareersMod Needs the following configuration. Replace "Zerbu - Turbo Careers Mod Pack - Career Overrides.package" with "Zerbu - Turbo Careers Mod Pack - Career Overrides_WithGetToCollegeV3.0.0.package". And delete "Ita_GetToCollegeV3.0.0_CareerStartLevelModifiers.package". After the configuration, you can use both mods. 6. University LOT Requirements You can build the university in any world. There are three university lot type - Music Building, Fine Arts Building and Physical Education Building. To select a custom lot type, build or download the university, quit the Build mode, re-enter Build mode and change the lot type. At least, you have to select a university lot type for your student sim’s major. You can also build plural same major buildings like two Music Buildings. In that case, you student sim will randomly select from those universities every day. 6.1 Requirements for all majors A “podium for your university.” (included in the mod) and a classroom. Bathroom for your sims bladders. A cafeteria. 6.2 Requirements for Music Building At least 11 instruments. 6.3 Requirements for Fine Arts Building At least 11 easels, preferably only one woodworking table. Art to view and critique. 6.4 Requirements for Physical Education Building At least 9 workout equipment and a swimming pool. 7. Sample University Lot If you want to use a sample LOT, please use my Newcrest University (NoCC). To use this LOT, replace the microphone in the church with the podium which is include in the mod.

Download: https://maxismatchccworld.tumblr.com/

Get featured: http://modthesims.info/d/623480/get-to-college-mod-v3.html

[proggerofficial]

REVIEW: PINK FLOYD - OBSCURED BY CLOUDS

Release Year: 1972

Genre: Progressive Rock

Label: Harvest

Pink Floyd may just be the most famous progressive rock band in the world. They first started to gain a following in the late 1960’s when they helped to perfect what would become known as Psychedelic Rock before moving into a more Progressive Rock phase in the 1970’s which they continued to develop throughout their career. With massively influential albums such as “Dark Side of The Moon” and the hugely successful “The Wall” under their belt there was seemingly no stopping them at the height of their fame in the late seventies.

“Obscured By Clouds” is the album I am reviewing today. Originally scored as a soundtrack for the French film “La Vallée” in 1972, the band decided to take a different approach to recording this release by writing shorter songs than you’d usually expect from Pink Floyd so that they could be better incorporated into the movie. The group even went as far as using a stopwatch to help configure the timings of the songs with parts of the film. So just how good is “Obscured By Clouds”? Find out what I think below.

First off we have the  title track “Obscured By Clouds”. This instrumental song serves as a steady introduction to the album using the psychedelic sounds of a synthesiser and David Gilmour’s ever impressive guitar playing to prepare you for the next head-banging tune “When You’re In”. This second track is as rocking as Pink Floyd get, with its hard riffing and crashing drums even the non-Floyd fans would struggle to contain themselves from tapping along to this song.

Next it’s time to slow things down with the organ-led song ���Burning Bridges”. Utilising both David Gilmour and Roger Water’s voices and with a great guitar solo, this tune seemingly gives you a feeling of what was yet to come from Pink Floyd in their future releases. “The Gold It’s In The…” comes next. Another rocking song with fantastic vocals and bluesy guitar. This song wouldn’t feel out of place on any Hard Rock album. “Wot’s… Uh The Deal” is the fifth song. With it’s beautiful acoustic guitar work and catchy chorus, this is definitely a high point of the album. With it’s melancholy feel and almost country-like sounds it fits perfectly as the contrasting mid-point of this release. Its successor is the song “Mudmen”, another slower instrumental that acts as a transition piece between its predecessor and the next song. “Childhood’s End”, using great country rock guitar riffs and organ, would fit nicely onto a Creedence Clearwater Revival release. One can’t help but enjoy the “swamp rock” style of this track, which is a great shift from what you would normally expect from a band like Floyd. Next up is “Free Four”, a largely upbeat acoustic led song interspersed by heavy electric guitar and some of the best solos on the album. Another high point.

“Stay” is one of the few Pink Floyd songs where Richard Wright takes the lead. His balladesque piano parts carry the song as, once again, Gilmour’s guitar continues to impress as it compliments Wright’s keyboard work. The final track, “Absolutely Curtains”, is a rather haunting one. The eerie first 3 minutes or so builds plenty of tension and then we hear samples of a tribal chant to end the tune, further showcasing the band’s love of musical experimentation.

Overall, I can’t help but feel that the album “Obscured By Clouds” presents a band that is changing musical direction. Although it contains some of the psychedelic sounds people had become used to hearing from Pink Floyd, this release also uses plenty of new and different styles and seemingly signifies a group of musicians who are about to do something completely different to anything they had done before. As it turned out, that would become their next album “The Dark Side of The Moon” that was released less than a year later.

Final Summary: “Obscured By Clouds” is a very entertaining album. It shows that Pink Floyd were ready to progress to the next stage musically and you can hear that level of talent all over this release. This is an album by a band who were mere moments away from becoming superstars and it shows.

Favourite Song: Wots… Uh The Deal

Progger Rating: 8/10

[arcanalogue]

Still quiet on the job front and I’m feeling more anxious than usual. Part of me knows there has to be a tipping point, that I’ll find something when the time and opportunity is right... but the louder part is saying I’m a failure and no one wants me. How can I deal with this egoistic nuisance so I can stay positive to what needs time to manifest?

This is my last reading with this particular visual configuration — Dalí tarot, seashell, black-and-white scarf that was given by a traveling friend last month. I’m going to miss it! Anything that helps mark the time, instead of letting it slide past in an undifferentiated stream. 

Allow me to unburden you a bit, Querent, if I can.

Games like chess teach us the value of looking several steps ahead, strategically plotting a course based on the likelihood of certain outcomes. But life doesn’t work that way, Querent. Though it may prove to all be just a game, it’s not as simple as anything we’re used to entertaining ourselves with. 

Strategy is only possible in chess because there are only so many moves available to either side, and each piece has its own limited range of motion. Nothing in real life is similarly constrained! But because have absorbed all kinds of impressions about what ought to be possible, we tend to blame ourselves when reality simply doesn’t play along. 

People commonly rely on tarot and other forms of divination as part of their strategy, hoping for a clearer glimpse of the carrot at the end of that stick, or to avoid certain pitfalls, or gird themselves for the longer battle ahead. 

However, in terms of implementing anything we discover in a reading, all we can really do is take the next step. 

And in fact, the structure of the deck itself is built upon this very idea. The minor cards walk us through life simply counting steps: Two, Three, Four, and onward. Every new step symbolizes something different, unlocks a new perspective, informs the next step. 

Stepping from Five to Six, we don’t sense the choices that await us at Eight, or Ten; if we did, we’d probably mess it all up. We can approach these thresholds with ever-greater awareness, but we can’t realistically plan for them. Those choices will be made by a different version of us; our responsibility in this moment is simply to take the next step. 

Sometimes the cards dictate which direction we ought to step in. Other times, they simply inspire us to keep up our momentum, lest we balk and stop stepping altogether. Sometimes they remind us that the ground under our very feet is dissolving, and receiving news like this may not be a great feeling, but it can compel us to act, igniting our survival instincts.

Sometimes I think we set goals not to attain them, but just to keep ourselves moving. How often has it turned out that a goalpost has shifted right when we’re at the very threshold of attainment, and we find we don’t even mind? Because our awareness has changed as a result of rising to meet our fate, and our desire proves to be just as malleable as the conditions of the world around us. Amazing!

You, Querent, have kept up a brisk trot over the past months, setting goals and revising them, cultivating receptivity while also setting specific targets. It’s draining — and yet, if you hadn’t behaved this way, you wouldn’t feel that you’d shown up for yourself and others who depend on you. 

Putting in this kind of effort without reaping any apparent reward can bring about a full-on crisis of faith, at the one time when one can least afford it. It raises broader questions about one’s purpose, one’s value, one’s place in the larger scheme of things. These are questions without concrete answers, and they expose how dependent we are on certain external constants to feel any sense of peace or continuity in ourselves. 

The Knight of Swords appears here, urging you to shrink your focus back down. This Knight is relentlessly task-oriented, but prone to growing scattered without a clear order of operations. Discipline and dexterity are his strong suits, but his attention is short and the pent-up Airy energy behind his movements means that when he drifts off-course, it can be very difficult for him to find the path again, because he takes three steps at a time. He requires patience and constant course-correction in order to truly benefit from his cleverness and agility. 

This Knight sees too much, too far; he’s straining toward a target on the horizon, and can be forgiven for assuming the quickest path to it is a straight line. It would seem that way! But success is determined by taking just the next step, and letting that step’s discoveries inform the step after that. 

That is your path toward the heart of the matter, The Sun, which has little to do with getting this or that particular job, and is more about that elusive sense of arrival: that so-called first day of the rest of your life. The Sun is also the card of ego, which I think shows how the very qualities that help us shine so brightly during better times work directly against us during fallow periods. Taking credit for our successes means also accepting the blame for our failures, when the truth is that both are mostly out of our hands; all we did was take the next step, and then the next one, and now here we are.

The Sun’s sitting pretty in the center of this reading, which tells me that a new day will indeed break for you, Querent. And following that, we see the moment afterward when you can finally lay down all those arms (which are just as likely to slice you as anyone else) and lick your wounds a bit more lovingly; from your current position, doing so can seem indistinguishable from wallowing, so you may be loath to do it, pushing onward toward the horizon instead.

Please don’t be afraid to heal as you go, Querent. You won’t bog down, you won’t collapse into a pitiful mush, and your disappointments won’t pile up into an impenetrable obstruction. If anything, tending to your injuries might just slow you down enough to help you choose the next step, and then the next one, so that you’re picking your shots with greater care and precision. 

The version of you that comes later, after The Sun finally comes out, will be so glad you did this. It means they’ll spend less of their precious time in the tub tending to old, unnecessary wounds. 

So I suppose my professional recommendation is to take that bath now, instead of later, and spend a little time each day interacting with your need to know what you’re working toward. Play with it. Foil it! Give it a bone to chew on, so it’s distracted and you can survey your options without it panting at your heels and putting its muddy paws all over your nice pants.

During stressful moments, whether in or out of the tub, try to remember: The gains you seek are already on their way to you. Just take the next step. 

Have a tarot reading request or tarot-related question for Arcanalogue? Ask here. Tips accepted (but not required) via Venmo, @arcanalogue. Or support my Patreon? I’d love that.

Currently soliciting questions for my new advice column hosted by Haute Macabre!

[itasan2]

Get To College Mod V3

Information The version 3.0.0 is now available! (February 8, 2019) The mod is compatible with the patch of February 5, 2019 (PC Version 1.49.65.1020).

Changes in Version 3.0.0 1. Enable to build/place a university lot in Del Sol Valley 2. Enable to build/place a university lot in Selvadorada 3. Integration/Compatibility with the latest Zerbu's GoToSchoolMod, VenueChangesMod and TurboCareersMod 4. Bug Fix Because of a patch, a sim couldn't get a career advantage (career-level-4-start) after the graduation but now it works properly.

Download The mod version 3.0.0 can be downloaded from here (my Dropbox site) or here (my web site).

1. Introduction I like GetToCollegeMod very much. I heard the original creator “simmythesim” semi-retired from modding but I didn’t want the mod outdated yet. So I updated the mod for December 2015’s patch at first. Since then, I've been updating the mod on my Tumblr site for GetToCollegeModV2.

My Patreon Site Needs Your Supports to Keep Updating GetToCollegeMod For GetToCollegeModV3, I can keep updating the mod thank to all patrons' supports on my Patreon site. If you become my patron, you can download an updated mod a week before it's released to the public. In addition, I'll add some new features such as an entrance exam, a new major/faculty, a renewal of the current three majors and so forth if many patrons supports the project.

2. Mod Description GetToCollegeMod introduces a college system to the Sims 4. After your sim becomes a young adult or older, the sim can go to the university using EA’s active career mechanism (requires Get To Work Expansion Pack) as well as Zerbu’s GoToSchoolMod which is for children and teens. The original description of simmythesim is on the MTS site.

2.1 Majors A student sim can chose a major from three majors - Music, Fine Arts and  Physical Education.

2.2 Weekly Schedule in the College Life Sunday … Holiday Monday … Activity Day Tuesday … Lecture Day Wednesday … Activity Day Thursday … Lecture Day Friday … Presentation Day Saturday … Holiday

The First Day … The student sims get to know their classmates.

Activity Days …  The student sims do things that train them for the real world - Working out for Physical Education, painting / woodworking for Fine Arts, and playing instruments for Music.

Lecture Days …  The student sims learn from their hopefully awesome professor. Goals for these day involve Watching the Lecture and Asking Questions. For Watching the Lecture, you should click on the Podium (a podium for your university), then select “Watch” interaction. For Asking Questions. you should click on another sim, then select “Ask Questions“ interaction in Friendly category.

Presentation Day … The student sims give their presentation to their class. If your sim doesn’t study for the presentation day, he or she will lose a lot of performance, likewise, if your sim studies before it, they’ll get a huge boost to their grade. For giving your presentation, you should click on the Podium (a podium for your university), then select “Give Presentation“ interaction.

Graduation Day … This is the last day, say your goodbyes to your friends and enemies on this day. This takes place on Day 20 (default), which can be change to Day 5, 10 or 15 by the mod option file in "SchoolDays_SelectOnlyOne" folder. You have to talk with a sim before saying your goodbye to the sim.

If you want to see how many days your student sim went to college so far, please use myShow/Search Sim Info Mod, which shows “active / all days worked” on the Career Info dialog. Technically, your student sim can graduate after all days worked is 19 (the length of school term minus one) or greater. So your student sim can go to the rabbit hole until all days worked is 19 but at least the sim have to go to the University LOT after that to graduate and get a hidden graduation trait.

Don't forget to quit the university career after the graduation. You have to quit the university career manually.  

After the graduation, your sim gets their qualifications to start at level 4 of their dream job - Entertainer Career and Business Career for Music major, Painter Career and Business Career for Fine Arts major, Athletic Career and Business Career for Physical Education major.

3. Tip From simmythesim One of the most important things to do in University is to study. To actually study, purchase the “University Supplies” from the Bookshelf or the Build Catalog and study to your heart’s content! Warning: Like real life, studying takes a loong time, and takes about - I think four hours, so your sim will have many sleepless nights in their quest for the highest grade! If they don’t study, even if they perform well in their tasks at the University, they’ll get worse and worse grades. So please, make your sims study!  

4. Installation, Update and Uninstallation 4.1 Install To install, unzip the downloaded file to your mods folder. The mod needs to be placed directly in /Mods or one level below that (see the screenshot).

You have to chose the length of school term from “SchoolDays_SelectOnlyOne“ folder - the unchosen option files must be removed.

If you don't use Zerbu's mods , delete "CompatibilityWithZerbuMods_IfNeeded" folder. If you use Zerbu's mods, please read the configuration in #5.

The mod requires The Sims 4 Get To Work Expansion Pack.

4.2 Update To update, delete the old mod files and 2 cache files (The Sims 4/localthumbcache.package and The Sims 4/cachestr/spotlight_xx-xx.package), then unzip the downloaded file to your mods folder.

4.3 Uninstall To uninstall, just delete the mod files and 2 cache files (The Sims 4/localthumbcache.package and The Sims 4/cachestr/spotlight_xx-xx.package). You can continue to play your sims after deleting the mod.

5. Integration/Compatibility with Zerbu's Mods 5.1 GoToSchoolMod Compatible. You can use both mods at the same time.

5.2 VenueChangesMod Needs the following configuration. Replace "Zerbu - Venues.package" with "Zerbu - Venues_WithGetToCollegeV3.0.0.package". And delete "Ita_GetToCollegeV3.0.0_VenueList.package".

After the configuration, you can use both mods. If you use both mods, you can build the university lot even on Windenburg's special lots (Von Haunt Estate, Ancient Ruins, The Bluffs) !

5.3 TurboCareersMod Needs the following configuration. Replace "Zerbu - Turbo Careers Mod Pack - Career Overrides.package" with "Zerbu - Turbo Careers Mod Pack - Career Overrides_WithGetToCollegeV3.0.0.package". And delete "Ita_GetToCollegeV3.0.0_CareerStartLevelModifiers.package".

After the configuration, you can use both mods.

6. University LOT Requirements You can build the university in any world. There are three university lot type - Music Building, Fine Arts Building and Physical Education Building. To select a custom lot type, build or download the university, quit the Build mode, re-enter Build mode and change the lot type. At least, you have to select a university lot type for your student sim’s major. You can also build plural same major buildings like two Music Buildings. In that case, you student sim will randomly select from those universities every day.

6.1 Requirements for all majors A “podium for your university.” (included in the mod) and a classroom. Bathroom for your sims bladders. A cafeteria.

6.2 Requirements for Music Building At least 11 instruments.

6.3 Requirements for Fine Arts Building At least 11 easels, preferably only one woodworking table. Art to view and critique.

6.4 Requirements for Physical Education Building At least 9 workout equipment and a swimming pool.

7. Sample University Lot If you want to use a sample LOT, please use my Newcrest University (NoCC). To use this LOT, replace the microphone in the church with the podium which is include in the mod.  

For Japanese speakers: 

お知らせ Version 3.0.0がリリースされました！(2019/2/8) 当MODは、2018/2/5配信パッチ（PC Version 1.49.65.1020 ）環境での正常動作確認済みです。

Version 3.0.0での変更点 1. Del Sol Valleyワールドに大学区��を建築・設置可能になりました 2. Selvadoradaワールドに大学区画を建築・設置可能になりました 3. ZerbuさんのGoToSchoolMod、VenueChangesMod、TurboCareersModの最新版との統合・互換性の改善 4. バグフィックス パッチにより、大学を卒業したシムが就職時に特典（レベル４で開始）を受けられなくなっていましたが、今は正常に機能しています。

ダウンロード 当MOD Version 3.0.0のダウンロードは、こちら(Dropbox) または こちら（自前サイト）からどうぞ^^/。

1. はじめに simmythesimさんが作成されたこのGetToCollegeModが大好きでよく利用してますが、お忙しいせいか、このMODの管理ができなくなったと聞きました。それならと言うことで、個人的に2015年12月配信パッチに対応させてアップデートしたのが、事の始まりで、それ以来マイシムズ・ブログの方でアップデート・配布（GetToCollegeModV2）をしています。  

GetToCollegeModのアップデートを継続するために、私のPatreonサイトで支援者を募っています。 GetToCollegeModV3では、Patreonサイトでのパトロン（支援者）の皆さんのご支援があって、当MODのアップデート・配布を継続できています。もし、あなたがパトロン（支援者）になってくれれば、一般の方にリリースされる１週間前から当MODをダウンロードできます。さらに、このプロジェクトが多くの支援者にサポートされれば、日本語化や入学試験や新しい専攻／学部や既存３専攻のリニューアルなど新たな機能も追加する予定です。

2. MODの概要 当MODは、大学プレイを可能にします。若者以上のシムは、子供＆ティーンを小学校・高校プレイ可能にするGoToSchoolMod（Zerbuさん作）同様、GetToWork拡張パックの仕組みを利用して、実際に大学に通えるようになります。原作者simmythesimさんによる（初期リリース当時の）解説はこちらのＭＴＳサイトで閲覧可能です。

2.1 専攻 大学生シムは次の３つから自分の専攻を選択できます - Music（音楽）, Fine Arts（美術） and Physical Education（体育）.

2.2 大学生活の週間スケジュー��� 日曜日 … 休日 月曜日 … アクティビティーの日 火曜日 … 講義の日 水曜日 … アクティビティーの日 木曜日 … 講義の日 金曜日 … プレゼンテーシ���ンの日 土曜日 … 休日

The First Day (初日) … 学生シムはクラスメイトたちと知り合います。

Activity Days (アクティビティーの日) …  学生シムはトレーニングします - Physical Education専攻なら運動を、Fine Arts専攻なら絵を描いたり木工を、Music専攻なら楽器演奏をします。

Lecture Days (講義の日) …  学生シムは優秀な教授から専攻してる学問を学びます。講義を聞いたり質問したりします。 講義を聞くには教壇（a podium for your university）をクリック後、「見る」というインターラクションを選択します。 質問をするには質問したいシムをクリック後、（フレンドリーカテゴリーにある）「Ask Question」というインターラクションを選択します。

Presentation Day (プレゼンテーションの日) … 学生シムはクラスでプレゼンテーションを行います。プレゼンテーション前にしっかり勉強してないと、成績が大きくダウンします。反対に、しっかり勉強していれば、いい成績が取れてグレードがアップする事もあるでしょう。プレゼンテーションを行うには、教壇（a podium for your university)をクリック後、「Give Presentation」というインターラクションを選択します。

Graduation Day (卒業の日) … キャンパスライフ最終日です。友人そしてライバルにもお別れをしましょう。なお、卒業までには２０日間の在学が必要ですが、当ＭＯＤのオプションファイル（"SchoolDays_SelectOnlyOne"フォルダ内）によって５、１０、１５日間に変更する事も可能です。あと、クラスメイトに別れを告げるには、一度彼らと話を始める必要があります。

学生シムが今何日間在学しているかを知りたいなら、私の Show/Search Sim Info Mod を利用するといいでしょう。キャリア情報ダイアログの「アクティブ／総勤務日数」で確認できます。厳密に言うと、総勤務日数が１９（設定した在学期間－１）以上になった際に学生シムは卒業可能となります。総勤務日数が１９になるまで毎日ラビットホールを選択する事も可能ですが、大学を卒業して卒業の隠し特質をゲットするには、それ以降に（卒業の日に）必ず大学へ赴く事が必要です。

Graduation Day終了後、大学キャリアを辞めさせるのを忘れずに。手動で大学キャリアを辞めさせる必要があります。

卒業後、就職する際、キャリアレベル４から開始できます - Music卒業ならエンターテイナーキャリアとビジネスキャリア、Fine Arts卒業ならペインターキャリアとビジネスキャリア、Physical Education卒業ならアスリートキャリアとビジネスキャリアでこの恩恵が得られます。

3. simmythesimさんからの助言 大学で行うことで最も重要な事は勉強です。勉強するには、「University Supplies(大学教材)」を本棚または建築モードから購入して真剣に学びましょう。注��：リアル同様、勉強にはとても時間がかかります（約４シム時間）。好成績を目指すには、睡眠不足になるかもしれません。もし、勉強を怠ると、たとえ大学内でうまく振る舞えたとしても成績はどんどん悪化するでしょう。ですから、学生シムにはきちんと勉強させましょう！

4. インストール、アップデート、アンインストール方法 4.1 インストール インストールするには、ダウンロードしたファイルをModsフォルダへ解凍します。当ModはModsフォルダ又はそれより１レベル下のサブフォルダに置く必要があります(スクリーンショット参照)。

"SchoolDays_SelectOnlyOne"フォルダ内のオプションファイルから大学在学期間を選択して下さい。選択しなかったオプションファイルは必ず削除して下さい。

ZerbuさんのModを利用しない場合は、"CompatibilityWithZerbuMods_IfNeeded"フォルダを削除して下さい。もし、ZerbuさんのModを同時利用する場合は、No.5の設定を行って下さい。

当MODはシムズ４ Get To Work拡張パックを必要とします。

4.2 アップデート アップデートするには、古いMODファイルと２つのキャッシュファイル(The Sims 4/localthumbcache.package と The Sims 4/cachestr/spotlight_xx-xx.package)を削除した後、ダウンロードしたファイルをModsフォルダへ解凍します。

4.3 アンインストール アンインストールするには、MODファイルと２つのキャッシュファイル(The Sims 4/localthumbcache.package と The Sims 4/cachestr/spotlight_xx-xx.package)を削除します。当ＭＯＤ削除後も普通に継続してプレイできます。

5. Zerbuさん作MODとの統合設定・互換性 5.1 GoToSchoolMod 互換性問題なし。両MODを同時に利用できます。

5.2 VenueChangesMod 次の統合設定を行って下さい。まず、"Zerbu - Venues.package"を"Zerbu - Venues_WithGetToCollegeV3.0.0.package"に差し替えて下さい。. 次に、"Ita_GetToCollegeV3.0.0_VenueList.package"を削除して下さい。

上記の設定を行う事で、両MODを同時に利用する事ができます。さらに、両MODを同時使用すると、Windenburgにある特別な区画(フォン・ホーント・エステート、エンシャント・ルイン、ブラフス)にも大学区画を建築・設置できるようになります！

5.3 TurboCareersMod 次の統合設定を行って下さい。まず、"Zerbu - Turbo Careers Mod Pack - Career Overrides.package"を"Zerbu - Turbo Careers Mod Pack - Career Overrides_WithGetToCollegeV3.0.0.package"に差し替えて下さい。次に、"Ita_GetToCollegeV3.0.0_CareerStartLevelModifiers.package"を削除して下さい。

上記の設定を行う事で、両MODを同時に利用する事ができます。

6. 大学区画の設置条件 どのワールド（休暇先ワールドも含む）にも大学を建築可能です。大学区間には専攻に対応した次の３つの区画タイプがあります － Music Building (音楽専攻キャンパス), Fine Arts Building （美術専攻キャンパス） and Physical Education Building （体育専攻キャンパス）。カスタム区画タイプを選択するには、大学を建築またはダウンロードして、建築モードを終わらせて、再び建築モードに入って各専攻に対応した区画タイプを選択します。少なくとも、あなたが操作する学生シムの専攻に対応した大学区画が１つ必要とします。同じ区画タイプの大学を複数設置する事も可能です（２つのMusic Buildingsなど）。その場合、学生シムは毎日ランダムでどちらかの大学に通学する事になります。

6.1 全大学区画タイプに必要なもの 教壇（a podium for your university）(当MODに含まれています)と講義室。 あなたの学生シムが困らないように、トイレ。 学生食堂。

6.2 Music Buildingに必要なもの 少なくとも１１個の楽器。

6.3 Arts Buildingに必要なもの 少なくとも１１個のイーゼル、可能ならさらに木工テーブルを１つ。 観察したり批評するための絵画。

6.4 Physical Education Buildingに必要なもの 少なくも９台の運動器具とプール。

7. 大学区画のサンプル もし、サンプルを使いたいなら、公式Galleryにある私の Newcrest University (NoCC)を使って下さい。なお、この区画を使うには、講義室（教会みたいな建物）内にあるスタンドマイクを教壇（a podium for your university）に置き換えてから使用して下さい。 

[captainclickycat]

So I actually say down and started calculating in my head, just out of idle curiosity, how long I’d be willing to wait in a queue to meet someone I really wanted to meet. Like one of my favourite authors or an actor I had a crush on or whatever. And after all the waiting I’d be able to have an actual conversation with them, albeit a brief one.

I’d probably be able to pass the first hour quite comfortably. It wouldn’t be all that enjoyable to stand upright for that long, but I could entertain myself, bring a book, screw around with my phone, chat with the people around me, whatever. An hour would be fine. Maybe two.

After the third hour I’d be getting uncomfortable, more than likely. I don’t enjoy standing around like that for long periods. It’s why I don’t go to Pride parades so much these days. Three hours and I’d still be there, but I’d be getting antsy, thinking longingly about sitting down, maybe considering walking away. But I wouldn’t walk away just yet. I’ve waited this long, after all. I really wanted to see this person. So I’d just let the minutes go past gradually, just not commit to leaving yet, just wait that little bit longer.

Besides which, after about three or four hours a whole new problem would emerge: the sunk cost. If I walk away now I’ll have wasted three hours. So I’d stick around, even though I’m really not enjoying myself any more at this point, purely for that reason. Five hours, I could maybe just about manage at a push. Maybe, maybe I could make it to five and a half, if I was really really invested. But at that point I think I’d genuinely have to be done with it, sunk cost be damned. If I’d been waiting that long and still didn’t know when I’d be able to meet that person, when the only guarantee was more waiting, I’d have to cut my losses and walk away and go to the pub or something. If I was told “five hours and then you definitely get to talk to this person”, I could just about handle the five hours. Anything longer and I’m throwing my hands up.

… There are people out there who waited twelve hours or more for the chance to walk past, and briefly gawk at, somebody’s coffin.

I can’t even begin to get into that headspace. I can’t even fathom it. It’s so, so far away from anything I can ever imagine being willing to do that I’m struggling with the knowledge that I’m even from the same species as these people. It’s like trying to imagine a billion quid, my brain’s just not configured to deal with this sort of thing.

Twelve hours to look at a box. Jesus Christ.

[letsanime2019posts-blog]

Can you imagine what it is?

Large glistening eyes, brightly colored hair, vague nose and exaggerated facial expression reminds me of just 1 thing.

Anime

Can you imagine what it is?

If your reply is Anime, then BINGO, you simply read an otaku's head!

Anime (pronounced:"Ah-nee-may") is a kind of animation normally from Japan.  They have their very own style and it might demonstrate that in strange and amazing ways. Anime also includes its own sense of humor and has a special way of thinking. It can get very serious and deep, or it may become silliest (such as:"Lucky Star","Kill Me Baby") and craziest (such as:"Death Notice","Gintama") things you've ever seen. Most Anime displays derive from favorite manga (Japanese Comics), only putting a bit more life . Anime frequently covers more serious issues than normal cartoons. In the usa, animations are regarded as a sort of entertainment intended for kids. In Japan, people of all ages (not toddlers infants!)  Watch anime. Most movies and shows are centred for children, teen or young adults, but there are also numerous anime which are created for elderly audience even sailors and housewives!

Anime

The term"Anime" is the abbreviated  Pronunciation of"cartoon" in Japanese, in which this expression references all cartoon. Outdoor Japan, anime is used to refer especially animation from Japan or Western disseminated animation style frequently characterized by colorful images, vibrant characters and fantastical topics. Japanese cartoon started in the 20th century. Katsudo Shashin is promised to be the oldest Japanese cartoon. The 1923 Great Kanto earthquake led to widespread devastation including demolition of oldest Anime Studios and arcade functions; leaving Kouchi's Namakura Satan since the earliest surviving animation.The initial anime tv show was Otogi Manga Calendar aired from 1961 to 1964.

Was in a class four when I saw"City Hunter" at a T.V. station, Animax. Although I watched anime (as a matter of fact that the plural of anime is anime) such as"Doraemon","Shinchan","Avatar-The last airbender","Summer Days using Coo","AstroBoy","Dragon Ball-Z","Naruto" way back before I did not recognize the deep awareness of anime because it had been dubbed in Hindi (rather, I'd say"polluted" rather than"dubbed" by older, foolish male voices in Hindi who'd crack unneeded, slap-stick jokes deviating audiences in the plot and land you at a hotch-potch of indianised anime).  My sister ( three years younger than me although I refuse to confess she's more older than me. ) took a strange fascination with Japanese arcade like" Tears to Tiara" and"Stigma of the Wind" aired in Animax: I thought odd at the time as my"patriotic inertia" would stop me from accepting anything but Indian goods.  I was repelled from the fact that the whole voice recorders were in Western and also to comprehend the narrative I needed to shoot the trouble of studying the English subtitles and needed to correlate the address together with the movie revealed; for which lot of attention has been demanded. It had been not possible for me to perform both those tiring jobs at precisely the exact same time, so that I returned to my previous T.V. stations: Cartoon Network, Nickolodeans, Hungama, Pogo, Boomerang and Jetix.

After a lengthy hiatus, in a class seven, I started  Assessing my abilities in understanding anime that turned out to be a victory, when I indulged in anime such as"Hayate the Combat Butler" and"Fairy Tale".  Oh! This type of sweet poison! Following an entire hectic day in college, swimming pool courses, music and art classes, and complete other hell bunch of actions; I waited just to settle back and unwind to see this anime. At that moment, nothing mattered to menot my parents, teachers and friends. In that digital realms of enjoyment me could handle my beats and sufferings as readily as I'd obtained in successes. Nothing bothered me, except when I needed to attend telephone calls or to open doorway, when any guest stems if the anime exhibits were continuing. But, anime barely did impact my research as after viewing two hours long schedule, I endured from PADS (Article Anime Depression Syndrome) for that I endured the guilt of wasting time that was intensified by my mum's rebuke (I'd love to explain this situation as"Kata Ghaye non-er Chheta") and this guilt could propel me to study harder, focus and work for more hours and this happened as daily routine for me personally; therefore I could easily outdo the majority of the pupils be it swimming or studying or another job.

So to each of guardians, I Want to Ask to allow your children to watch anime because it worked out for me (perhaps I've odd wiring in my mind!) . Watching anime will certainly help you hone your literary, analytical and vocabulary abilities. What's more, it would function as an immense supply of amusement, at least way past the league of Indian soaps.

Recognizing  The culture of source is quite important to see the storyline, be it Japanese arcade, Korean Aeni webtoons, Chinese Manhua Anime or even American sitcoms (that I endured when I was a novice in seeing anime). In case you've watched any anime, then you will likely observe that the characters act differently and things generally (like homes, transport, eating etc.) are little different from what you used to. Possibly the most easily evident differences between Japanese cartoon and others is your art where enormous eyes (larger than a nose), brightly colored hair, a few well-endowed personalities and exaggerated emotional expressions and expressions are typical of arcade. Becoming hand-drawn, anime is divided from reality, supplying an perfect route for escapism to which viewers can immerse themselves together with comparative ease. The creation of arcade focusses less on the cartoon motion and much more on the precision of configurations such as"The Garden of Words".

The credit and opening sequences of all  Cartoon is accompanied by Japanese pop or rock tune that perhaps related with all the anime show, by popular bands. "Nanairo Namida" by Tomaton' Pine of arcade"Beelzebub" and"Only Awake" of Cartoon"Hunter X Hunter" are a few of my favorite anime tunes, which you may test .

As There are lots of sorts of anime, 1 have to categorize them in distinct  Genres, a number of them include: Action, Music, Mecha, Adventure, Mystery,   Life and a lot more. Whether you are a diehard anime enthusiast (like me Generally tagged as"otaku"), a casual watcher, a curious onlooker  Or commoner out of non-anime domainnames: anime genres will equip you with Some fundamental knowledge and assist you to venture into the anime world without difficulty  and delight.

[hunterxhunter5-blog]

Can you imagine what it is?

Anime

If your reply is Anime, then BINGO, you simply read an otaku's head!

Anime  They have their very own style and it might demonstrate that in strange and amazing ways. Anime also includes its own sense of humor and has a special way of thinking. It can get very serious and deep, or it may become silliest (such as:"Lucky Star","Kill Me Baby") and craziest (such as:"Death Notice","Gintama") things you've ever seen. Most Anime displays derive from favorite manga (Japanese Comics), only putting a bit more life . Anime frequently covers more serious issues than normal cartoons. In the usa, animations are regarded as a sort of entertainment intended for kids.  Watch anime. Most movies and shows are centred for children, teen or young adults, but there are also numerous anime which are created for elderly audience even sailors and housewives!

Anime

Pronunciation of"cartoon" in Japanese, in which this expression references all cartoon. Outdoor Japan, anime is used to refer especially animation from Japan or Western disseminated animation style frequently characterized by colorful images, vibrant characters and fantastical topics. Japanese cartoon started in the 20th century. Katsudo Shashin is promised to be the oldest Japanese cartoon. The 1923 Great Kanto earthquake led to widespread devastation including demolition of oldest Anime Studios and arcade functions; leaving Kouchi's Namakura Satan since the earliest surviving animation.The initial anime tv show was Otogi Manga Calendar aired from 1961 to 1964.

Was in a class four when I saw"City Hunter" at a T.V. station, Animax.   I was repelled from the fact that the whole voice recorders were in Western and also to comprehend the narrative I needed to shoot the trouble of studying the English subtitles and needed to correlate the address together with the movie revealed; for which lot of attention has been demanded. It had been not possible for me to perform both those tiring jobs at precisely the exact same time, so that I returned to my previous T.V. stations: Cartoon Network, Nickolodeans, Hungama, Pogo, Boomerang and Jetix.

 Oh! This type of sweet poison! Following an entire hectic day in college, swimming pool courses, music and art classes, and complete other hell bunch of actions; I waited just to settle back and unwind to see this anime. At that moment, nothing mattered to menot my parents, teachers and friends. In that digital realms of enjoyment me could handle my beats and sufferings as readily as I'd obtained in successes. Nothing bothered me, except when I needed to attend telephone calls or to open doorway, when any guest stems if the anime exhibits were continuing. But, anime barely did impact my research as after viewing two hours long schedule, I endured from PADS (Article Anime Depression Syndrome) for that I endured the guilt of wasting time that was intensified by my mum's rebuke (I'd love to explain this situation as"Kata Ghaye non-er Chheta") and this guilt could propel me to study harder, focus and work for more hours and this happened as daily routine for me personally; therefore I could easily outdo the majority of the pupils be it swimming or studying or another job.

So to each of guardians, I Want to Ask to allow your children to watch anime because it worked out for me (perhaps I've odd wiring in my mind!) . Watching anime will certainly help you hone your literary, analytical and vocabulary abilities. What's more, it would function as an immense supply of amusement, at least way past the league of Indian soaps.

Recognizing  The culture of source is quite important to see the storyline, be it Japanese arcade, Korean Aeni webtoons, Chinese Manhua Anime or even American sitcoms (that I endured when I was a novice in seeing anime). In case you've watched any anime, then you will likely observe that the characters act differently and things generally (like homes, transport, eating etc.) are little different from what you used to. Possibly the most easily evident differences between Japanese cartoon and others is your art where enormous eyes (larger than a nose), brightly colored hair, a few well-endowed personalities and exaggerated emotional expressions and expressions are typical of arcade. Becoming hand-drawn, anime is divided from reality, supplying an perfect route for escapism to which viewers can immerse themselves together with comparative ease. The creation of arcade focusses less on the cartoon motion and much more on the precision of configurations such as"The Garden of Words".

The credit and opening sequences of all  Cartoon is accompanied by Japanese pop or rock tune that perhaps related with all the anime show, by popular bands. "Nanairo Namida" by Tomaton' Pine of arcade"Beelzebub" and"Only Awake" of Cartoon"Hunter X Hunter" are a few of my favorite anime tunes, which you may test .

As There are lots of sorts of anime, 1 have to categorize them in distinct    Life and a lot more. Whether you are a diehard anime enthusiast (like me  Or commoner out of non-anime domainnames: anime genres will equip you with Some fundamental knowledge and assist you to venture into the anime world without difficulty  and delight.

[xavieryeates]

It accepts a 3 hp gas motor at the stern and Sevylors 12 volt motor at the bow or stern.

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Before long he was flying around the cavern, weaving through the long stone teeth that hung down from the ceiling, even flapping out over the abyss and swooping down into its cold black depths.. But (I’ve been thinking about it for a long while, I assure you) . “My ragged raiment?” The Pentoshi gave a shrug. There have been superior performances than mine, Amitji Pink, Salman Khan Sultan, Sushant MS Dhoni: The Untold Story. Coming here, to you. That it is lawful for the master to chastise his slave, and that if death ensues from such chastisement, unless it was intended to produce death, it is like the case of homicide which is committed by a man in the performance of a lawful act, which is manslaughter only. Diablo Sport has claimed performance increase of 20+ horse power and 20+ ft/lbs of torque on the new 2010 Camaro L99 with the automatic transmission and they even do a little better on the LS3 motor with the manual transmission.

[yugirl-with-dragons]

Arabic AU - Distraction

Guess what, another piece written by my friend @aceyugiohdreamer!!! (again, all the stuff you’ve read so far is a product of Ky’s mind, an I have no words) Ky is great and this piece is the best thing ever!! x°D 

#very recommended to every faithshipper out there

--

However, she shows Aki the outfit.

Aki peered at the display. All she could see were a few sheer, brightly colored fabrics that, even if they had been more opaque, would still barely cover anything. They seemed less designed to function as clothing than to accentuate the body wearing them and exaggerate all movements, since their gossamer texture meant they would flow airily with the momentum. The only part of it with any substance were the strings of gold diamond-shaped ornaments hanging from the length of some of the sashes. They served no practical purpose, as far as she could tell. Nothing of this costume seemed practical.

She was starting to form an idea of what Sherry had meant by “entertainer.”

“What,” she seethed, glaring at the fabric with enough intensity to possibly set it ablaze, “in the hell am I supposed to do with that?”

Sherry rolled her eyes.

“I’ll show you,” she offered.

Aki quickly stepped back. “Unless you’re going to show me on yourself . . .” She glanced at the costume again, grimacing. Sherry half-expected her to hiss like a cobra. “I’m not interested. That there is disgraceful.”

“Don’t be a prude,” Sherry admonished firmly. “Say whatever you want about your own tastes, but there’s nothing disgraceful about the human body.”

Aki frowned. “That’s not what I—”

“Whatever,” Sherry cut her off impatiently. “You don’t like it? Fine. It’s been noted. Now, are you going to put that aside and do it anyway for the sake of the cause, or not?”

Aki’s heart pumped molten iron through her veins. She wanted to retort that she could come up with a better plan if she had a chance, one where she didn’t have to wear such worthless scraps for the provocation of any onlookers’ lewd desires.

But it was true that Aki had been raised her entire life to think in straightforward terms. She wasn’t trained to deceive or sneak around clandestinely. Her plan would most likely consist of storming in at the front gate with companion dragons at the ready. She could be properly clothed for that.

But were any of the others ready enough to use their magical gifts? Would they be ready to take on an entire army? Would innocent people get hurt in the fight? Would Rex have more surprises waiting for them? She hadn’t sensed him up to anything major the last few days, but she also hadn’t sensed his operation of the perverted underground chamber until the very last minute—what else might she have missed?

And with that in mind, the less time they wasted, the better.

She ground her jaw.

Sherry waited patiently with a perceptive eye that Aki glanced away to avoid. Finding the ensemble again made her stomach clench, but she also couldn’t ignore the stinging shame of thinking that if she refused this, she would be selfishly dooming the world to destruction for her own pride and dignity.

She would be the greatest of all failures, throwing away everything she had been given and everything she had accomplished with her skill, rendering herself and her life meaningless. How could she face the Crimson Dragon after that? How could she face the millions of lost lives in the afterlife who died because she couldn’t bear to wear one outfit with scanty coverage?

The weight of their imagined judgment felt like burning coals on her head.

“Fine,” she muttered, still not looking a Sherry. Though they were both strong, confident women, she could imagine how childish she must seem through the other’s eyes right then. But it wasn’t childish to her: for Aki, this was a matter of identity. Her clothes marked her as part of her tribe, and marked the station she held among her people. To strip herself of that . . . it felt antithetical to everything she was and lived for. Could Sherry understand that? Or did she really think her just a prude?

She felt a strong hand on her shoulder then—and the compassion it conveyed.

Sherry’s voice was somber. “Everyone has to be prepared to make sacrifices in dire times.”

Aki’s first bitter thought was that this was beyond sacrifice—more of an excessive test of her devotion, or some wild joke—but she held her tongue.

Sherry pat her shoulder, then asked, “Where do you want to change?”

Aki sighed with resignation and gestured to a corner where three rugs stood on posts, connected lengthwise and set into a zig-zag. Though technically the whole temple was her space, she preferred to have an extra layer of privacy for undressing.

“Come on,” Sherry said with gentle motivation. She gathered the ensemble into her arm and nudged Aki on. Once they were safely behind the curtain, Sherry put a hand on her hip. “All right, we can go one piece at a time, or all at once, whatever you prefer.”

Aki felt her face burn. No one had ever seen her naked. No one had ever seen more bare skin than her face, hands, and feet. How could Sherry be so casual about this?

Sherry was diplomatically patient, and seeing Aki’s apparent equal distaste for either option, she made the decision herself.

“One at a time then,” she declared.

Aki agreed silently, taking in a deep breath in an attempt to calm her nerves. When that didn’t work, she could only push herself to go through with it anyway. Slowly she removed her topmost layers—first her shawl, then her outer robe, then the sash wrapped around her waist, then finally her overtunic—until she only had on her undertunic and pants. She swallowed, then grabbed the back of her tunic and slowly, reluctantly, slid it up and over her head. For a moment she held it bunched around her arms, covering her breasts. She couldn’t bring her eyes higher than Sherry’s waist as she hugged it tight to her chest, but after another deep breath she finished by slipping her arms out of the sleeves one by one and rolling the tunic up around them. Only when it was in a neat bundle did she finally set it to the ground, then she stood with arms crossed over her chest to give herself some small sense of comfort.

“All right,” Sherry said softly, drawing up one of the pieces of fabric—though, how she could tell that was the one that went on top was a mystery Aki. Seeing Aki’s uncomprehending eyes, Sherry held it up with both hands to give her a better view. “This is the top. See?”

It was a long orange sash, with the string of ornaments dangling along the bottom of the center. As she looked closer, she could see that there were designs embedded into the fabric, and she felt a sour tinge in her mind at the thought that this must mean it was expected that the wearer would get close enough to the audience for them to see the designs, too—otherwise, what was the point? Fortunately, at least, this middle section seemed opaque enough that it would conceal the skin beneath. She could also see two U-straps hanging down from the top.

“See these?” Sherry pointed to two small cups sewn into the back of the sash. “Fit your breasts into these. They’re meant to keep them steady and push them up a bit so they look rounder.”

Aki felt no enthusiasm about this lesson—but she nodded to show comprehension.

“Slip your arms through these”—she held up the straps—“then hold them up.”

Aki felt squeamish, pressing her arms harder against her chest, but hoped that if she cooperated this would get over with sooner. So she did as instructed and let Sherry guide the straps down the length of her arms to her shoulders before holding them up at her sides. Sherry pressed the sash against Aki’s front—with a width that only stretched from the middle of her chest to the bottom of her lowest rib—making sure to fit the cups comfortably over their targets, then went behind Aki so she could tie the ends together tight enough that the whole thing held snuggly against her body.

Aki had never word anything that clung to her skin this way, and she felt an instinctual desire to wriggle out of it.

“Now, the rest of the top portion includes these.” Sherry lifted up four more long strips of a matching bright orange, which at first Aki thought—hopefully—would be more layers to cover her body.

But no.

Sherry wrapped and tied each one around her upper arms and wrists so that they hung almost to the floor. Aki swayed her arms experimentally, and as she thought, the fabric was so light that they began to float with the slightest movement.

Purely for show. Visual interest.

They would have been better wrapped around her body.

“All right, ready for the next part?”

Aki grimaced.

“No.”

But she put her hands on the waist of her pants anyway and untied the straps. Then she unwound them until the pants were able to fall off if she let them, but instead she held them up and, with great deliberation, stepped out of them one leg at a time. Then like the tunic, she lifted them and folded them around her arms into a neat bundle before setting them down.

“All right,” Sherry said, holding up the next piece. To Aki it looked like two long cuts of fabric hanging down from a horizontal band. “You’re going to step into the undergarment piece,” she instructed, moving aside the front cloth to show what she meant. Aki breathed a prayer of thanks that it had at least that much. Sherry handed the piece over and Aki configured it in her hands so that she could place her feet through the band and raise it up to her hips. Sherry then tied a knot in the back that set it firmly in place. Aki looked down, dismayed but unsurprised to see that the hanging fabrics did nothing to conceal her legs in any worthwhile way.

“Good. Now, one last thing.”

Keeping behind Aki, Sherry swung a small cut of fabric around her face and tied it so that it hugged across the bridge of her nose, teasing the bottom half of her face with it feathery touch.

Sherry stepped back around and gave Aki an evaluative survey, her eyes riding up and down her body without a hint of embarrassment or hesitation.

It only exacerbated her chagrin.

And then came assessment.

“Perfect. You look perfect.”

Aki crossed her arms again, holding herself defensively.

“That is not what I want to hear,” she muttered.

Sherry exhaled, summoning her patience. “Listen, it’s only awkward if you make it awkward. It doesn’t have to be, because despite what you think, you don’t look ridiculous—you honestly look the part. Now it’s just a matter of acting. Giving off the right air. If you own it, then you’re in control, and there won’t be anything to be embarrassed about.”

Aki had serious doubts there was any way she could feel in control of this situation. She felt stripped of it—not to mention of her clothes, too.

She needed Sherry to keep going, to boost her morale higher, help her believe that she could actually pull this farce of a role off.

That wasn’t what she got.

“So, that in mind: do you know how to dance?”

Still strained with doubts, Aki muttered, “I know my people’s way of dancing.”

Sherry gave a look that made it clear she doubted that would do any good.

“Well, look, the basic principle isn’t that hard. There’s going to be music, and you’re going to want to try to move in time with it, but the main thing you’re going to want to do is focus on drawing attention to your curves—so sway your hips a lot, and twist whenever you can to show off your breasts.”

Outside the temple, where Yusei and the twins had been lounging in the shade, the three of them jumped at the sudden, horrified shriek, “YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT?”

Ruka and Rua were on their feet, hearts pounding.

“Should we go in there?” Rua asked Yusei, nerves coiled and muscles ready to pounce.

Yusei pressed his ear against the canvas and heard a muffled voice reply with exasperation, “Do I have to tell you everything?”

Yusei put his hand on Rua’s head, patting him reassuringly.

“I don’t think there’s anything we can do. Don’t worry, Aki will be fine.”

He kept his face confident as he thought to himself, I hope.

Aki was shaking, Sherry’s unreasonably casual manner unbearable on top of everything else.

And despite Aki’s alarm, Sherry continued undeterred, slapping her hands onto Aki’s hips. The unexpected touch made Aki jump.

“These things. Their called hips. And when you move them”—Sherry pushed to force a side-to-side motion—“they get people’s attention. Which is what we’re after here.”

Aki stepped back, waving Sherry away.

“Don’t make fun of me!” she demanded. “You’re not helping!”

Sherry put her hands on her hips. “I would have thought a high priest like you would be used to being the center of attention.”

“Not like this!” Aki waved her arms emphatically, only to feel that the comical levity of the floating fabrics undermined her seriousness. She huffed, smacking one as it fluttered by her side. She turned her eyes back to Sherry with a pointed glare and asked, “Why do you even know so much about this anyway? Are you around nearly-nude dancing women often?”

Sherry crossed her arms and lifted her chin. “Why not?” she asked with assuredness that dared Aki to object. “These dancers work hard and are skilled at what they do. They are a marvel to watch. And it’s the same with the men. They’re all artists, and I take pleasure in admiring their work.”

Aki didn’t know what to say to that at first. It wasn’t her place to judge or downgrade anyone else for their profession. But it still didn’t make pretending to be something else any easier. So she just stood there, feeling tight, ridiculous, and exposed.

“I prefer my kind of art,” she muttered bitterly, waving her fingers rhythmically so that they summoned a small, curling wind. She enjoyed the thought of her power ripping the flimsy fabrics apart out of spite.

“And I prefer mine,” Sherry countered, stepping forward. “And hopefully, we can both get back to them quickly.”

Aki nodded to affirm her agreement.

Sherry returned the nod, signaling mutual understanding.

“So, with that in mind—” Her hands smacked back against Aki’s hips and gave them a quick jerk. “Show me what you can do with that beautiful body of yours.”

Aki flushed, burning with indignation, doubting that if any strangers touched her like this while she was in the middle of her act that she would be able to keep herself from ramming her knee into their face.

Sherry chuckled. “Careful, or you’ll turn just as bright red as that dragon god of yours.”

Aki began twisting the ball of her foot into the ground. “Shut up,” she muttered.

Yusei was still standing by the temple when Sherry came out, looking utterly pleased with herself. Yusei jumped to attention, as did the twins beside him. Sherry quickly met his eyes, apparently having intended to find him in the first place, and approached him with a stride that struck Yusei as triumphant.

“Yusei,” she addressed, putting her hands on her hips. “I would very much appreciate you providing a second opinion.”

Yusei blinked.

“What?”

Sherry closed her eyes to hide their roll.

Then she gave him a direct look.

“I want you to go in there, take a good look, and tell me if you think that priest will make a passable entertainer in the royal palace. Understand?”

Yusei was visibly baffled. “But . . . why me? I wouldn’t know that. Jack would be more likely—”

“I am not letting that blustering, uncouth brat anywhere near Aki,” Sherry said, slicing through the suggestion with absolute refusal. “She’s fragile and on edge enough as it is. I need someone with tact. Someone who can put her at ease.”

Yusei immediately felt silly for having even brought up the name.

“I’ll go,” Ruka offered shyly. “Maybe I could help?”

Sherry gave her an evaluating eye, then shook her head. “No. Thank you, but, I need a more . . . mature eye.”

The suggestiveness in her tone made Yusei nervous.

“What do you—”

“Just get in there!”

Sherry grabbed his arm and jerked him forward, then pushed his back when he had stumbled past. Yusei caught himself on his feet and straightened up at the closed flaps. He glanced at Sherry, who gave him a hard look with her arms crossed. There’d be no arguing with her.

Yusei relented. After all, if Sherry thought Aki needed someone to calm her down, well, as her friend, he was happy to be the one to do it. He took a deep breath then called out, “Aki? I’m coming in . . .”

There was silence for a moment, and just as he was about to glance at Sherry again, he heard a small voice—an unnatural sound coming from Aki—call back, “Ok.”

So he put out his hand to create a small opening and slipped through.

Then froze.

She was standing there, in the center of the temple, arms crossed over her chest, looking like she was huddling for warmth against cold air.

And every fiber in his body told him to look away—because he felt like he was seeing far more than he ever should.

Her entire outline was visible, and most of her skin, even with the few swaths of vibrant orange fabric that pretended to conceal it. He had the very intense feeling that this was a terrible invasion of privacy, and yet . . . his eyes felt stuck.

She was so clearly uncomfortable, and he was being discourteous. He should look away. He told himself to look away. He should show her some decency and respect her modesty.

But he couldn’t even blink.

As the seconds passed, Aki wriggled where she stood, frowning and growing a darker, warmer shade all over.

“What?” she finally demanded sharply, pressing her arms tighter over her chest.

He felt like a complete idiot. Thirteen years of the highest quality education, five years of building up street smarts, and he could think of nothing to say. Nothing.

He opened his mouth, begging for something to come out.

“I . . . I . . .”

Aki’s body shrunk in on itself with growing agitation.

“What?” she shouted. “What is it? You want me to entertain you too? You want me spin around all provocatively”—she waved her arms, sending the sashes tied to them flying in wispy trails around her—“and satisfy some perverted fantasy of yours? Is that it?” She realized then that she had uncovered herself and quickly slapped her arms back crossed over her chest, glaring at him with a hot mix of hostility and embarrassment.

Somehow that rattled Yusei’s mind back into operation.

“No,” he countered, holding his hands up in a defensive gesture. “That’s not—I don’t—it’s just . . . you . . . you look . . . amazing.”

It felt so flimsy. As excuses went it only convicted him more of his offence. He prepared himself for a blast of her ire.

Instead her eyes widened, and her cheeks darkened to a deep, red amber. For a moment they stared at each other in silence.

It did not escape Aki’s notice that his eyes traveled nowhere beyond her own.

Maybe she had spoken too rashly, she thought, feeling her agitation soften in shame.

“I don’t want to hear that,” she mumbled, looking down. She pressed her bare thighs together, hating that she could see them through the translucent orange. It felt wrong, so wrong to her. She could decide to bear with it, but this would never stop feeling wrong. And for Yusei to see her like this . . . She had the sinking sensation that she had completely lost his respect now. How could he ever take her seriously again?

She heard the soft footsteps on the rugs as Yusei approached her. Her body tensed defensively, but she forced herself to stay put—running away would have only made her even more ridiculous.

And then she felt Yusei’s hands on her shoulders. She jumped at first, because she hadn’t been expecting it, but then she looked up and saw his eyes again. And they were such kind eyes. And it was such a companionate touch. She swallowed, wondering why she felt a tremor in her spine.

“I know, I’m sorry,” he said in a low voice.

His hands were on her bare skin. Her bare skin.

That must be why she felt shaky. This was too strange. Her body was responding to the unnatural feeling of being exposed to such contact.

Or was it . . . maybe it was . . . those eyes—eyes a richer blue than the sky—looking at her, at her. Like that. Despite having such open opportunity, her body vulnerable and defenseless against his exploring gaze, he maintained a deep hold on her face. He chose to come close and see her—the way she wanted to be seen.

“I was just . . . surprised. I didn’t mean . . . to make things worse for you. I know this is hard.”

He gave her shoulders a squeeze. And she felt his support fill her as if he had summoned it magically into her heart.

“But you’re going to do great. I know it.” He spoke with such confidence. His voice was so warm. His touch so soothing. “We’re counting on you, Aki, and I have every confidence in you. You’re strong, and smart, and you can get through anything. So you’ll get through this.”

Her head began to buzz, her scalp tingling. And her throat felt dry like the air. She had to swallow again.

“You don’t think I look stupid?”

He shook his head. “No,” he said honestly. Of all things, stupid was not at all how he thought she looked. “I really don’t. It’s strange, for sure, but not stupid. And just think, when we’re done, you’ll never have to dress like this again. You’re doing something that makes you uncomfortable for a bigger cause. That means a lot, Aki, and I’m proud of you. You should be proud of you.”

Words escaped her, just out of reach of her numbed mind. There were only two she could manage to string together.

“Thanks . . . Yusei.”

He squeezed her shoulders again—and her head swelled with the sound of her heartbeat.

The air felt so cold around her shoulders when he removed his hands.

For the briefest moment, she had forgotten how bare she was, but when his own face began to color with a new shade of red, the memory came flooding back.

“Well, I . . . I don’t want to, you know, keep you, so . . . I’ll just . . . I’ll let you . . . I’ll go now.”

He hadn’t meant to stumble so inelegantly. It was just easier to keep his thoughts collected when all he could see of her was from the neck up. Now that he had stepped back, he had to fight against the call of the bright colors—and the curves they highlighted—below that boundary. With his attention split, forming sentences had become much more difficult.

He cursed himself. Nothing had ever addled him like this before, and he couldn’t let it. This was too important. He needed to get his head together before their mission started or else he’d be a liability. But also because . . . Aki deserved better.

She still had her arms crossed tightly—self-consciously—over her chest, which Yusei deliberately prevented his eyes from sinking towards. He gave her a nod to excuse himself, then turned, forcing himself to exit at a calm pace.

Only when he was safely outside did he exhale a long breath and bury his face in his hand. But with his eyes closed, his mind went rogue, filling the emptiness by conjuring the image of her it had captured in that brief view. He wanted to dig it out, or at least pour water over himself—because he felt so hot in his chest.

This was ridiculous. He had seen plenty of women in the city, what the hell was wrong with him? Why did the only one his mind had ever decided to latch onto have to also be the one with the power of a fiery god blazing inside her?

Right, that’s right, remember that. If she wanted to, she could probably summon a wind strong enough to tear limbs right off someone’s body. Wasn’t that terrifying?

But . . . no. That wasn’t all she could do. Terror was just a part of it—a part of power in general. Mostly, what he felt when he saw her bursting with so much magic and energy and confidence . . . was awe. That Dragon was magnificent to be sure, a being unlike anything he had ever experienced, but there was something about her . . . He tilted his head back, relishing in the word that came to mind.

Glory.

She shined with it.

And to see her this way, shriveled up by humiliation with and costumed in a way that seemed to mock her true power . . . felt wrong.

And yet, his mind still insisted on superimposing that image over the other—fabrics swirling and ornaments chiming and skin catching the light of the sun and—

He slapped his hands over his face and crouched low to the ground, groaning.

He considered praying to the Dragon for help.

[isabeau25]

Magician AU

This is a good one! I haven’t done this before! Thanks for sending it!

1. Everyone has magic, some mundane and some spectacular. Lance has a cousin who can make anything taste like peanuts. Anything. It took her parents the longest time to figure out why she kept eating paper and glue and paint as a child. Matt, on the other hand, could grow an entire forest in just a month or two, and a single tree in just a few minutes.

2. Lance considers his magic very mundane, and he hates it. Actually, Lance doesn’t understand his magic very well. As far as he can tell, he makes pretty blue sparkles, which is cool when he’s entertaining his little nephews and nieces, but doesn’t seem to be good for anything else. Lance resents this a lot. His older brother can create a steady wind strong enough to push a sloop for hours, and he makes glitter.

Shiro can warp space, making it appear as if he can teleport, although the better he gets with his magic, the more he can do with it. Pidge can control technology, build it, take it apart, make it do things that it was never intended to do.

Hunk’s magic is more complex. It has to do with problem solving, with being able to see the components of things and all the possible ways they fit together and the potential outcomes of each configuration. Sometimes it’s overwhelming for him, but the better he gets at using it, the more he he enjoys it, and the more complex the things he can apply it to.

Keith manipulates energy. He likes to use his magic for making explosions. He’s tailored it to combat because that’s what he knows and that’s what he likes. His instructors think he might be one of the most powerful magic users in his generation. Keith hates it when they say that. He has the potential to use his magic for more then fighting, but what he does with it when he fights is so powerful and effective that very few people have pushed him to do more with it. (Shiro is one of the few. People who work directly with energy can sometimes heal, which is one of the rarest and most sought after magics, but Keith hasn’t shown any inclination towards that yet.)

3. The five of them travel in the same circles. They go to the same school, have some activities in common. Keith is a year older and a year ahead of them. Shiro graduated two years ahead of Keith, but he and Keith are still friends. Shiro is also friends with Matt, and they’re at the same university. Pidge is a protegee and skipped a couple grades, putting her in the same grade as Lance and Hunk.

Lance is intimidated and frustrated by being surrounded by such powerful magic users. He always has been. His family has some very powerful magic users in it who aren’t shy about showing off what they can do. He used to get so frustrated and angry as a child that he would cry. Then his uncle showed him a different kind of magic. Slight of hand, card tricks, illusions. Suddenly, Lance had a type of magic he could be good at just by practicing. It didn’t matter what magic he had been born with; if he tried hard enough, he could make people think he had something better.

By the time he gets to high school, no one, even Hunk who has known him the longest, is quite sure what exactly Lance’s magic is, and Lance ever the consummate showman, keeps them guessing, leads them into believing he can do things that he could never even hope for. Sometimes it bothers him that none of it is real, but he’d rather keep going with the lie than be left behind.

3. The Alteans are an ancient race, long thought extinct, wiped out in a war against the Galra thousands of years ago. There are still Galra around, but no massive empire of their own anymore, just a quiet, persistent undercurrent of ambition and conquest that erupts every few decades into conflict. On the seeder side of things are galra like Zarkon, a powerful business man and secret crime lord. Haggar works for him, experimenting in methods to steal or control other people’s magic.

Shiro is captured by Haggar to experiment on. His magic is rare and powerful, and she thinks she can learn a lot from using him. Her own power is decomposition. If she were someone else, someone younger and less lost to her quest for power and knowledge, she would be able to use her power as it appears in nature, as a force of renewal, but it’s been a long time since she’s used it that way. She uses it now for corruption, for death, to break things down until they’re not even recognizable as what they used to be.

4. Keith, driven by instinct and impulse, and desperation to hold onto the few people he has in his life who care, hunts Shiro down, dragging the other three with him, because there’s no way they’re letting Keith run off on his own. He gets into enough trouble when they’re there to stop him.

Before they find Shiro, they find what may just be the last two Alteans left, preserved in a magical sleep until Hunk puzzled through the spell and woke them up (he didn’t actually know what would happen; it was just such an interesting puzzle of a spell that he couldn’t resist undoing it).

Allura and Coran are the guardians of the last five stellar lions. Immensity powerful cosmic beings who require a bond with a medium to interact directly with the physical world. With the spell on Allura and Coran broken, the lions are freed as well, and they immediately choose the four who helped free them, with the Black Lion trailing quiet and unseen behind, sure that her sisters will eventually lead her to her paladin.

Allura has other plans. She wants them to use their newfound bond to fight against the growing threat that certain groups of Galra have become. Keith doesn’t care. He’s going to find Shiro, and if he’s going the others are going with him, because who knows what kind of trouble he would get into without them. The Lions are happy to follow their chosen paladins where ever they go, more concerned with being with them then the particulars of what they’re doing.

Thrown suddenly into such a large arena, surrounded constantly by magic that is bigger and more powerful then anything else he’s ever seen or even dreamed of, Lance is terrified. Terrified in the normal common sense way anyone suddenly dumped into something like that would be, but even more then that, he’s terrified that someone will find out he’s a fake, that he doesn’t have any magic worth mentioning, and they’ll either abandon him, or someone will get hurt because of him.

Lance is clever though and quick on his feet. He’s good at making plans and good at adapting to a variety of situations. He’s more helpful to the group then he realizes, and he gets them out of some very tight situations. Needless to say, Blue is smug over her choice of paladin.

5. It takes months to find Shiro, and when they do, he’s in bad shape. He wants freedom though. He wants to escape and go home to his family and friends. He does what he can to help with the escape, but Haggar has worked a powerful spell on his right arm that prevents him from using his magic. It also is preventing Black from bonding with him, even though she knows this is the one for her.

While they are able to escape, Haggar is able to use the foothold she already has on Shiro through his arm to place a powerful corruption spell on him. It spreads from his fingertips and unless they can find a way to stop it quickly, it will kill him.

Hunk tries his hardest, looks at every possibility and component, but in the end, there are only two options; the arm stays and Shiro dies, or the arm goes and there’s a chance, not a guarantee, that he’ll live. So they take his arm. It’s hard and it’s terrifying, for them and for Shiro, and after all that, it still looks like Shiro isn’t going to make it.

Keith tries to heal him, tries to force his magic into a shape and form it has never really fit in, but it doesn’t work. Just when they think the most they can do is try to keep Shiro comfortable and close, Blue nudges Lance.

She wants him to use his magic; his real magic, not his card tricks or quick hands. Lance doesn’t understand how glitter is going to help Shiro, but it did always make his little nephews and nieces happy, so maybe he can at least do that for him.

Except Lance’s magic was never about sparkles. Lance is a healer. It’s not showy or spectacular, and he never even considered it a possibility, but with Blue’s help he’s able to use his magic as what it really is. He’s inexperienced and untrained, but he still manages to save Shiro, and Black Lion is there to bolster his strength once the corruption keeping her from him is gone.

And there are still sparkles.

After they’ve rested and recovered, they go back to Allura and Cora and tell them they’ll help stop Zarkon and Haggar. Matt and Pidge work together to create a prosthetic for Shiro, one that’s practically living, that suits him and the particulars of his magic. They all get better, stronger, and even though the fight is hard, they persevere.

Bonus 6. They all go home in the end, because what’s the point of magic if they don’t.

(So I numbered it. That means it still counts, right? Still taking “5 head canons for an au” asks. Ones I’ve already written and new one are both fair game.)

[peacefulheartfarm]

Pecking Order

Pecking order and Quail are in the news again today. There is always something new with these little guys. I have so much fun with them. They are very entertaining. However, quail, and all birds and fowl, have a dark side. The “pecking order” occurs in many species of animal. It’s done to establish the dominant animal then the next most dominant, and the next and the next, all the way down to the “low man on the totem pole”. However, the very words “pecking order” have to do with birds pecking each other to establish dominance. Not only the quail, but the cow pecking order is in the podcast today.

Before I get into all of that, I want to take a minute and say welcome to all the new listeners. Thank you for joining me. And a hearty welcome back to the veteran homestead-loving regulars. Thank you for stopping by the FarmCast for every episode. I appreciate you all so much. Let’s get to it.  

Our Virginia Homestead Life Updates

Garden

The garden is done. I still have some perennial herbs going strong out there, but everything else is done. We need to do lots of cleanup of old, dead plants. The ground cover we used to keep the weeds down will remain in place through the winter. Yes, weeds will survive through the winter and even grow if not kept in check.

After the cleanup, the next details on the garden will be talking about what we plan for next year.

Creamery

Scott has made so much progress with the creamery. All of the open cracks between the blocks have been filled. Additionally, he put a beautiful finish on the concrete blocks. As I mentioned in a previous podcast, it looks a bit like stucco now. That took a lot of extra time and effort. Scott is really good at working on these small touches to add beauty to the building. I say small touches. The idea is small, but the work to make it happen was large, really large.

Today Scott is out there making final measurements for roofing materials. He also has a list of odds and ends kinds of tasks to get the building in tip-top shape.

A week or so ago he moved all of the winter hay under the roof of the loafing area. That’s going to save some money on hay. He got it done just before the latest remnant of a hurricane came through and dropped another three or so inches of rain on us.

Animal Husbandry

Donkeys

The donkeys are getting ready for their hoof trimming appointment. I was talking with Scott about this just this morning. He let me know that in a previous podcast I had said that Johnny was getting better about standing still for his trimming – and he did not see that as a true statement. According to Scott, Johnny is just as stubborn today as he has been since the first day he arrived on the homestead. Then he told me a story about a neighbor and friend who as a couple of donkeys. His hoof trimming story made Scott’s dealings with Johnny look like a walk in the park. It seems there is always someone, somewhere who has a bigger problem. These stories can help with perspective on our challenges.

I’ll put in a little bit about pecking order for all of the animals. Daisy is definitely the matriarch ruler of the donkeys. I don’t know the order beyond that. They tend to hang out in pairs. Daisy and Cocoa are one pair. Johnny and Sweet Pea are the other pair. They are in separate pastures right now so they have no choice but to pair that way. However, when they are together, they still pair up that way. I think Sweet Pea rules in the Sweet Pea/Johnny pairing.

Sheep

There are still two flocks of sheep, but now configured differently. A small flock of five was originally all boys. Now the small flock of five is one boy, Lambert, and his four female companions. The other four boys are with the rest of last year’s lambs and a couple of other ewes that we decided not to breed this year. There are twelve members in that flock. All are doing well, no issues. The sheep have been the easiest of our animals for quite some time now. I don’t know if we have worked out most of the kinks or they are just easier to deal with in general.

Pecking order in the sheep is much harder to see and perhaps they are one of the few animals that do not have one. Sheep hang together as a group better than any of the other animals. They instinctively know that there is power in numbers. If a coyote can get one animal separate, that animal is a goner. So they really huddle together while grazing. The only time I see them jockeying for position is when we have them huddled together. They will butt heads and push each other a little bit there. Watching them move in the field, you can see who the leaders are, the ones that everyone else follows. Again, they tend to stick very close together. One will lead and the rest follow – like sheep. Haha.  

Goats

The goats are the next easiest animal to deal with on our homestead. We have the internal parasites under control. There is only one real issue with them and that is their hooves needing to be trimmed. They tend to become lame from time to time. I’ve said it before. We are going to gradually phase out our current herd of cashmere goats and replace them with a hardier meat breed. One that is known for low parasite loads and low hoof maintenance.

Kiko goats and Spanish goats are the breeds we are considering. Both of these breeds have closer ties to their original, wild state than some of the most popular breeds of goats which have been bred to bring out specific characteristics. Usually either meat or milk. Just like breeding any animal, as you make your genetic choices, some things improve and others get worse. Animals living in the wild are always going to be hardier. Without humans making genetic selections, wild species develop characteristics around one goal. The goal is to survive. In the case of goats, wild species do not have humans there to trim their hooves and treat internal parasites. They must evolve to be resilient, resourceful and efficient in their genetics.

Among the goat girls, I don’t see much pecking order. If pressed, they will huddle together like the sheep. However, if they feel threatened, one or more of them will break away from the herd in different directions. I think they rely on their speed and agility to get away from predators. Coyotes hunt in packs and work best when they separate one animal from the rest. But the goats are fast enough to get away, I think. Anyway, one or more will break away as I said. Then the rest of the herd scatters. Goats are significantly harder to herd than sheep if they get excited. If you keep them calm and gently move them a little at a time, they are not so hard to move.

So I think the goat girls have a much subtler pecking order. If we were working them closely like we do the cows, we might see it more. We don’t have goat boys anymore, but there was definitely a pecking order there. Appomattox was king and Roanoke was prince. Everybody else was down from there. Sometimes I miss the boys. They were all so regal with their long, curled horns.

Cows

The calves are completely weaned from milk. They are out there grazing on grass full time now. The preg checks on the girls are done and we have five of six that are pregnant. It is as we expected. Buttercup is not pregnant. We were pretty sure that was the case but it is nice to know for sure. Our newest heifer, Rosie, is pregnant. She was bred at a very young age so I got some really good advice from the vet about how to help her through the process. The central bit of advice is that she needs to grow.

Rosie will get extra feed all winter. She was getting just a taste to get her trained to put her head in the milking stanchion. However, the vet recommended she gets lots of extra feed with at least 14% protein, as much as she wants without getting fat. We don’t want her to get fat because that would complicate the birth as well, but she needs to grow. She needs to get bigger. The extra feed will help her with that. We give her the best feed available. It is non-soy, non-gmo organic dairy feed, 15% protein.

Scott and I had this long discussion on how to feed Rosie while not feeding the rest of the herd. We are a grass-fed operation for the most part. The big girls get a little supplement while they are producing milk. Other than that, it is grass year-round with supplemental hay in the winter. That’s it.

In order to get Rosie the extra feed she needs a separate pasture area is required. We need to keep her close to be able to get feed to her efficiently. Now who to put with her as a companion? The calves are too small. She has already shown she will bully them so we can’t put Rosie with the calves. The calves will get merged into the big girl herd as soon as those big girls stop producing milk. Moving the calves frees up that pasture area. It’s close. We can easily keep an eye on Rosie.

Should we put the two Jerseys together? Butter is high in the pecking order and Rosie is low man on the totem pole being the youngest and latest addition to the herd. Rosie will not bully Butter. Could Butter be the one to be a companion for Rosie? Naw. Butter would simply bowl her over and grab her feed.

After some little discussion, we decided that Buttercup is the perfect choice as companion for Rosie. Unlike Butter, who will bowl over anyone who gets between her and feed, Buttercup is the opposite and pretty ambivalent towards anything but grass. Oh, she will eat her supplements, but she is not eager. Rosie will get her feed and Buttercup will just keep grazing and may not even notice. Any of the other cows would immediately come up and start competing for that feed. Hopefully, it will work out as we have envisioned it. If not, we will come up with another plan.

One other note on pecking order amongst the cows. Once the calves get added to the main herd, Rosie will no longer be low man. At least until the calves are full grown. If Virginia and Luna get bigger than Rosie – and they will – Rosie may end up back at the bottom again. We shall see. Butter is smaller than Violet and also a fairly recent addition to the herd, but I’m pretty sure Violet is only one step higher than Rosie. Butter pushes Violet around at will. Claire will always be matriarch and Buttercup right behind her, or maybe Cloud. Those two are close in dominance. Violet, Butter and Rosie are down the line. I don’t know all of their criteria for order of dominance, but it is quite educational to watch it all happen.

Milking

We have three more days of milking and then we are done for this year. There is always a sigh of relief as the final day of milking is complete. The constant, every day, no breaks schedule of milking is not for the faint of heart. Some people do it year-round. Twice a day, every day, 365 days a year. That’s not for us. We love our cows. And we love our milk and dairy products. But we don’t love it so much that we give up our entire lives for it. Nope. We have a plan for making a living and milking seasonally.

Maybe some time in the far future we will sell our little dairy and someone else will come in and want to a milk a larger herd of cows, every day, 7 day-a-week, 365-days a year. They will have the setup to do that as well. We have created a creamery with lots of flexibility to scale up as needed. We could scale it up if the need arose. Right now, the business plan is seasonal milking. We have three more days of milking and then we are done for this year.

Skim Milk and Yogurt

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been freezing skim milk. Scott will drink it after we run out of fresh whole milk and I now have enough to see him through the winter. The final six gallons went into the freezer this morning. Whole milk does not freeze well. The cream separates and get lumpy. It doesn’t incorporate back into the milk very well. I’ve heard stories of people making it work, but I never have been able to do it. Even thawing it very slowly and shaking it up a lot. The cream is just changed by the freezing process and there is no going back.

I will still be making yogurt for a few more days. There are seven quarts in each batch stored in 14 pint containers with tight lids. The yogurt is an experiment to see how long it will last in the refrigerator. I’m making enough for three or four months. Will it be edible three of four months from now? I don’t know. We’ll keep you up-to-date on that as we progress through the winter. In the end, we will know exactly how long we can keep yogurt and that’s useful information.

Quail

Now on to the quail and their pecking order. I don’t know if there is another animal that is as vicious as birds when it comes to pecking order. Sure, they are cute and fun to watch. But turn your back and the next thing you know they are pecking so much they actually injure one another. We had just that scenario recently.

There is only one white bird among all of the other shades of brown birds. A little over a week ago, she got injured. Her head was bleeding just a bit. The next day I went out there and the other birds had severely injured her, literally scalping her. Once they had the taste of blood in their mouth, they just kept going and going. I quickly got her out of there and into private lodging. She is healing up but it is going to take a long time. Especially when there was quite a set-back. One of the birds was obviously in distress with mites. So we were cleaning out all of the cages, disinfecting them and treating the birds and cages for parasites.

We moved all of the birds out of the cages and into the various plastic boxes we use as brooders for young birds. I put the white one back in with her original group just to see how it would go. Not a good idea. After only a couple of hours, she was bloodied again. Naturally, she is back in her private domain once again.

The other bird that was showing signs of parasite infestation has been removed from her group as well. It was a few days before we got the permethrin we needed to treat the birds and cages, so I moved her away from the others. While cleaning the cages, we put her back in with her former cage companions. Same couple of hours and she had a small bit of blood on top of her beak. I decided immediately that she needed to be separated until that healed. The blood is just too tempting for these guys. Again, birds are vicious. And remember, even though you can buy chicken eggs in the grocery store that say “vegetarian fed”, birds are NOT vegetarians. They are very carnivorous, though they will eat veggies as well. You will recall the stories of the early bird getting the worm while you were growing up. That story meant to teach promptness to children. However, it also illustrates that birds like worms. They also like bugs. Birds are not vegetarian.

Anyway, I really love my quail. They are a joy to watch. But they are still animals. They exhibit animalistic tendencies. Make no mistake, they have a pecking order and only the strong survive. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to keep my one white hen. She may be too different from the others. She may be low man on the totem pole because of her color. I don’t know. I’ll still make the effort to get her healed and back with her group. But if it happens again, I’ll have to make a different choice for her. It would be cruel to continue to let her be pecked so badly. Sometimes the only choices are tough ones.  

Final Thoughts

That’s it for today’s Peaceful Heart Farmcast. As usual, there is a lot going on at the homestead. Always something new, something different. Life is filled with wonder and awe at nature and God’s creation. The hierarchy of the animal kingdom is alive and well. It has worked for thousands of years to bring us and our animal friends to this point in time. We fully expect the pecking order to ensure that life continues to the end of time. Sometimes it’s ugly. Just as our lives can be tough. But we all do the best we can with what we have. We cry and pray and hope to live to see another day.  

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Check out this episode!

[gwydionmisha]

The Case of the Missing Pill Bottle

So the point of me going out yesterday was I was out of one thing and down to one pill of another thing.  Also, I kind of needed bananas, which cut down on that whole body spasm situation I had going on last night.  (I was able to make a magic smoothie today, so there shouldn't be a repeat tonight).  At bed time, I dumped out the back pack with my meds and library stuff on my bed.  I'd just kicked Tavy off for unnecessary roughness, so it was just me and Livia.  She was thinking of flitting, but I mesmerized her with the pharmacy bag (she was too shy to play with it, but had a great time watching/listening to me try to entice her), a good game of jingle stick without Tavy, and some dental treats which she adores.  She is still shy with me at times, but making progress and it is a rare thing to get one on one play time.  So I'm sorting and stowing periodically with one hand, and playing with Livia with the other.

When I paid at the pharmacy, I had five prescriptions.  When I went to bed, I had four, but I didn't notice this, what with being exhausted and Livia and all.  I take the last pill from the bottle and casually toss it away, secure in my belief that I had a whole new bottle.  I switched the pillows into sleeping configuration, read for a bit, put out the light.  Tavy had settled amoungst my legs and Livia was playing with something on the bed, but I'd have to dislodge Tavy to check and anyway, it sounded like maybe she had one of the balls on one of the small flattened pharmacy bags they like to have in their mesting box.  I like to toss whatever of their toys are around on floor in he bedroom into the mesting box, because Tavy likes digging in there and discovering them.  If one has a cat as high energy, intelligent, and easily bored as Tavy, one learns to set up things like the busy box, the busy bag, and the mesting box to entertain him while one sleeps, and now their are two little hellions to keep entertained.  They'd flatted the sides of the busy box and I haven't gotten around to fixing it, so a roll thump, rattle roll sound was only mildly ominous as it sounded rather like the ball or whatever had rolled on or in or next to the kitten ring toy on that side of the bed and maybe she was playing with both?  So I made a note to check in the morning and went to sleep.

5-6 hours later, I wake up, realize I really ought to take another dose if I want any hope of going back to sleep given the whole still sick situation.  Can't find the bottle.  Get up, turn on light, search properly.  No bottle.  Search area around the bed meds shelf.  No bottle.  Run mental image of my emptied pack, realize that the other four items from the pharmacy bag were big square boxes, but the bottle wasn't amoung them.  Get up, turn on lights, search back pack and environs plus anywhere else I could reasonably have put or dropped it.  Fuckfuckfuck.  Thoroughly awake, I phone the pharmacy and leave a message asking them to check if I left it on the counter or if it might have rolled.  Could it have fallen out in the car in the brief time it took to open the back pack and put the bag in it?  It couldn't be stolen, even though it was the one thing in their someone who wasn't another serious lung patient would steal, as I was super careful to lock the car doors for errands because I didn't want a backpack full of library books and meds to get stolen.  There is now no chance of sleep what with the adrenaline and the mystery and the infection symptoms worsening, so I read a couple of chapters of 15th Century land disputes and how they played into and were effected by Lancasterian/Yorkist tensions.  (I reached the first battle of the War of the Roses, though they don't know it's going to be a War yet).  I finished Rupert Everrett's witty, charmingly written book about death, the vanished years, which had been partially brushed aside for the crusades, had as it was to only read small chuncks every day instead of swallowing it whole.  I did morning meds.  I pet Tavy and watched Kiki's Delivery Service, which I had seen only the once with Skye right after Princess Mononoke came out.  

I was in the bathroom, stealing myself for the terrible chore of getting dressed, when I look over and see it: the missing pill bottle.  Livia likes to play with toys that roll in the bathroom as it's got a big empty space to chase things around in there, and indeed, I'd just been rolling things for her to chase in their the night before.  How I didn't literally step on the bottle at any time during the night, I don't know.  That rattling about?  Her stealing the bottle from where it must have rolled under the big leg prop pillow.

What a clever, clever girl.  She's actually Tavy length now and noticeably heavier than when she arrived, though still kitten shaped and deceptively small looking when she's rolled in a ball or hunched sitting upright.  It's when she's stretched on her side, or walking, or standing on hind legs next to him that one really notices her length.  he's still got adult weight and muscle on her, but the way she's eating she's still growing fast.  5 months old.

[pogueman]

Pogue's holiday picks: 8 cool, surprising tech gifts

The holiday season is the lifeblood of the tech industry. About 70% of U.S. consumers will buy tech stuff as gifts this holiday season, spending an average of $478 each, according to the Consumer Tech Association.

Most of that stuff is predictable: laptops, tablets, phones, Amazon (AMZN) Echos. OK, we get it.

But what if your lucky recipient already has that stuff, doesn’t want it, or doesn’t deserve an expenditure that big?

That’s where these more offbeat tech gift ideas come in. They join my earlier list of ideas for less expensive (but still surprising) gifts.

ConnectSense Smart Outlet $60

You’ve heard of the Internet of Things, right? It’s those gadgets that you can control with a phone app. You know—thermostats, light bulbs, door locks.

But if you get an Internet of Things outlet, you can control anything from your phone. Anything you plug in: lamp, heater, fan, radio, TV, Christmas lights, whatever.

There are lots of these “smart outlets.” But I’m a particular fan of the ConnectSense Smart Outlet ($60), because it’s compatible with Apple’s (AAPL) HomeKit. First, that means an incredibly easy setup: Open the ConnectSense app, point your phone’s camera at the sticker on the outlet, and boom—the device is recognized and configured.

You can control either outlet from an app, by voice, or from miles away.

HomeKit also means that you can turn the outlets on and off remotely, either from your phone’s Control Center (you don’t have to open some app first) or by voice. You can say, “Hey Siri—turn on the Christmas tree” [or whatever you’ve named that outlet] or “Hey Siri—turn on the Table Lamp!”

It just works.

You can also set up schedules for these on-and-off-turnings, or (if you have an Apple TV) even control it from across the internet. The app tells you how much energy each formerly dumb device has consumed.

Then again, if you’re not an Apple person, you might prefer the Wemo Mini Smart Plug; it lets you voice-control your outlet using Alexa or “OK Google” commands. It’s only $34, although it has only one outlet.

Logitech Craft Keyboard

You wouldn’t think there’s much call for PC peripherals anymore. Those were the hot items during the holidays maybe 20 years ago—but now? Who’d want a mouse or keyboard for Christmas?

You might, if you could try the Logitech Craft Keyboard for Mac or Windows (MSFT). It feels like it’s made of stealth-bomber carbon-fiber or something. It’s fully wireless, super thin, super sturdy, with a great typing feel and a complete set of keys, including a numeric keypad.

The best part, though, is the knob at top left, called the Crown. It’s an input device that works in three ways: You can turn it, you can tap it, and you can click it down—and in many programs, you can program what those things do!

You might set it up so that in most apps, turning it controls volume; tapping it means Play/Pause music; and pressing it switches apps. In Photoshop, you can have it change brush sizes. In a web browser, turning it might switch among open tabs.

It’s a great keyboard—with a knob.

Sadly, those customizable functions are available only in Microsoft Office and Adobe programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere—not any program you want. I’d love for that knob to scroll the timeline in Final Cut, for example. Still, this keyboard transforms the experience of typing and doing creative work. The computer nerd in your life will adore it.

ReMarkable Tablet

What a weird, wonderful product!

The ReMarkable tablet, born as a Kickstarter success story, is true to its name. It’s pretty remarkable, and you can mark it over and over again.

It feels like a legal pad: very light, easily one-handable. You use the included stylus to write on it. (The stylus never needs batteries or charging.) There’s no lag when you write, and the grayscale E-Ink screen has no glass (the company says that the tablet is “virtually indestructible”); it’s a finely textured plastic, so it feels exactly like you’re writing on paper.

The ReMarkable is like a Kindle that you can write or draw on.

You can have your “paper” be blank, lined, or equipped with a grid, like graph paper. You can import PDF documents and mark them up, easy as pie—incredible if you’re a teacher or a lawyer or something.

And in real time, anything you write or draw on the tablet shows up on your computer, ready for sharing or printing. It��s all automatic and wireless.

I recognize that upon hearing the $600 price, a natural reaction might be, “Holy moly—for that money, you could buy an older iPad or Android tablet! Which is color, and has speakers and microphone and a backlight!”

And that’s all true. On the other hand, the comparison isn’t quite right. This thing isn’t a full-blown computer with a complex operating system and millions of apps. It’s simple, true to function, and an absolute joy to use. There’s really nothing else like it.

EvaLight Personal Air Conditioner

This little box, from Evapolar, sits on your desk and cools you much more effectively than a simple fan; it’s an actual personal air conditioner. It can’t chill an entire room; it creates a cocoon of cool only around you, using a tiny fraction as much energy (10 watts) as a regular air conditioner (900 watts).

It’s a personal air conditioner for your desk.

Now, the science of this thing makes no sense to me: You fill its reservoir with water, and its “evaporation pads” humidify the air that it blows on you.

I’ve always thought that heat is worse when the air is moist. (You know: “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity!”) Don’t air conditioners work by drying the air they blow at you? I asked the company, and the response wasn’t crystal clear: “When the hot air is saturated with water, it gets cooled.”

In other words, it works because it works, I guess.

Well, whatever; the point is, it does work. It’s very quiet, it simultaneously filters the air, and it drops the temperature around you as much as 55 degrees Fahrenheit in dry climates—much less in humid climates like Florida.

Eero 2 Mesh WiFi Network

The Eero was one of the first mesh WiFi systems for consumers. When I reviewed it last year, I wrote:

Instead of installing just one Wi-Fi transmitter, you install a set of them, spaced evenly throughout your house.  The result is a single "mesh network" that blankets the entire house with a good, strong signal. (The company’s marketing pitch goes like this: Expecting a single router to fill an entire home with Wi-Fi is like expecting one speaker to fill every room with music.) Eero smashes the dead-zone problem like a sledgehammer on an ant. It’s drop-dead simple to set up and a joy to use.

Now there’s the Eero 2, which lowers the whole-home price of entry, from $500 to $350. That’s because the $350 kit includes only one main router—and two half-size “beacons” (satellite units), which plug into any power outlet.

These three WiFi pieces can blanket a four-bedroom house with no dead spots.

As a lovely touch, the beacons also double as automatic night lights, whose brightness adjusts to the room.

Why put so much effort into making these gizmos small and attractive? Because they work best when they’re out in the open. “We don’t want people putting them behind the dresser or a couch,” the company tells me, which is exactly what you’d do if they were ugly.

The Eero 2 is also 20% to 30 % faster than the original Eeros, and offers twice the range. The app is still lovely and simple to use; you can set the whole thing up in about six minutes.

(The company also offers a $100-a-year subscription service that offers whole-home virus/malware protection and parental controls. You’d know if that’s appealing to you.)

Prank Packs

These things are hilarious. They’re incredibly real-looking, earnestly designed packages—yes, empty boxes ($5)—for terrible products. They’re pranks: You’re supposed to put a real gift inside, and then enjoy that moment when the recipients tear off the wrapping to behold what they think is a huge misfire of a gift. “Oh, uh…wow. Thanks!”

(And what’s wrong with regular gift bags? As the website puts it: “Because gift bags are boring and dull and mundane and stale and they end up in landfills. Prank Packs are entertaining, colorful, and rigid. Last we checked, no one throws away entertaining, colorful, and rigid items.”)

If you have a baby, you might really enjoy the convenience of the Crib Dribbler, which is essentially a hamster-cage water dispenser for infants. The testimonials on the back are fantastic. (“I forgot I had a baby for six wonderful hours!”)

Or how about the Tech Neck? It holds your phone so you can be hands-free—by clamping a bendable arm around your neck.

Real boxes for fake products.

Then there’s the Earwax Candle Kit, the Bathe+Brew (shower coffee maker + soap dispenser), the Cheese Printer (“Adding a nutritious component to fond memories is as easy as One, Two, Brie!”), and many more. You can look them over here. (The funniest stuff is often on the back.)

And don’t miss the same company’s prank gift cards, like the one that’s redeemable at the SOAK Hot-Tub Dining restaurants, or Barry Del Greco’s MobileRub massage trailer.

You can slip an actual, useful gift card into one of these phony, hilarious sleeves.

I’m also a fan of their fake wine labels. They neatly cover up the real labels of bottles (front and back)—perfect for the wine you bring when you’re a dinner guest. (They peel off to reuse.) There’s Highway Bounty 2011 Table Wine (“Harvested Daily from HWY 64, Teminville”), for example, and my favorite, Chateau La-Di-Da.

There are hilarious bogus wine labels available, too.

Lyric Speaker

OK, this last one—holy moly. It’s called the Lyric Speaker, and it’s hand-made in Japan, and it’s just unbelievably cool.

It’s a Bluetooth speaker the size of a small suitcase. The front and back are glass. And somehow, when you connect it to your WiFi and play music from your phone, the lyrics of the song appear suspended in space inside the glass. I have no idea what kind of display technology it’s using; it’s crisp grayscale images on transparent glass. You can see through this thing.

Art? Music? You decide.

This is not just karaoke. The lyrics don’t just scroll; they use different fonts, sizes, animations styles, and background visuals to create live, moving art. The speaker really is an art piece as much as it is a speaker; you could sit and stare at it for hours. (The company says it has 2 million songs’ lyrics in its database. When you choose a song it doesn’t know, it plays super-cool screensaver visuals instead.)

Now, I don’t really expect you to buy this thing unless you’re in Donald Trump’s tax bracket. It costs $4,500 for the black one, $5,600 in gold color. But hey, cut me some slack—my previous gift idea was a $5 cardboard box.

Happy Hollydays!

So there you go—gift ideas nobody saw coming. All of ‘em are great, in their own ways—and all of ‘em will lead to a delightful day of playing with the new toys.

More from David Pogue:

Royal Caribbean’s big bet on new tech

Battle of the 4K streaming boxes: Apple, Google, Amazon, and Roku

iPhone X review: Gorgeous, pricey, and worth it

Inside the Amazon company that’s even bigger than Amazon

The $50 Google Home Mini vs. the $50 Amazon Echo Dot — who wins?

The Fitbit Ionic doesn’t quite deserve the term ‘smartwatch’

Augmented reality? Pogue checks out 7 of the first iPhone AR apps 

David Pogue, tech columnist for Yahoo Finance, is the author of “iPhone: The Missing Manual.” He welcomes nontoxic comments in the comments section below. On the web, he’s davidpogue.com. On Twitter, he’s @pogue. On email, he’s poguester@yahoo.com. You can read all his articles here, or you can sign up to get his columns by email.