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maxismatchccworld · 4 years

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Patch Notes

PC:1.69.54.1020 / Mac: 1.69.54.1220 Console: Version 1.35 Happy Holidays Simmers! It’s time to go back in to Create a Sim! Where in this update you will find 100+ new skin tones, customization sliders for skin tones and makeup, and three improved base game hairstyles! Every skin tone now has a value slider that allows you to change the light to dark value of that skin tone, unlocking a much wider variety of skin tone options for you to play with! You will also find that our skin tones are now filterable to warm, cool, and neutral tones (as well as miscellaneous that covers our occult skin tones).

The new makeup sliders add more choices and opportunities for you to customize your Sims, and express your Sim’s style! Hue, saturation, value or brightness, and opacity are now available to modify on the makeup. We have locked some of the sliders where it did not provide an optimal experience or make sense for the makeup. Expect us to continue our work on these issues into the future to provide you with more. In addition to the customization opportunities provided, you can also save custom swatches as you tweak your sliders to get the perfect look. When you click on the swatch (for skin tones and makeup) as you modify the sliders, you will have an opportunity to save your custom settings, so you can re-use it later without having to remember your perfect looks! Did we mention that we made some hair updates? We did - we updated a base game child hair (cfHair_BraidedPonyTail), and we added a second version of that hair that removes the baby hairs (cfHair_BraidedPonyTailPlain). And we updated a base game male hair that you may find difficult to recognize from the original hair (ymHair_flatTopTextured)!

We have updated the Main Menu!... Again! The idea behind this change is to create a more cohesive experience and give Packs a more proper space as we continue to grow our content lineup. As a nice bonus, we highlighted the Gallery in a more meaningful way to inspire you.

-SimGuruGnome & SimGuruRusskii

Now onto the fixes:

Sims 4

Sketching so much that the Digital Sketch Pad just quit on you? Never fear! Freelancer Sims that use the Digital Sketchpad will now be able to complete designs without being reset abruptly.

Happy Birthday to all! Sims will now properly Age Up. Adulting is hard but they will make it, don’t worry.

Fixed an issue in which Doors, Windows, and Arches had cutouts when being reflected in Mirrors. Rorrim Rorrim no eht llaw, ohw si eht tseriaf erutaef fo meht lla?

Sims that do not have the Fishing Skill, or have not been Fishing at all, will not get notifications about identifying Fish. THEY WERE FISHING WITH THEIR MINDS.

The following careers have added the “Take Vacation Day” option, yay!Editor Russkii note: I didn’t want to add each line in each pack for this fix, it would have looked weird and robotic so that is why I chose to do one bullet point for all in this section.

Child Sims will no longer forget they are in their Sleepwear when they go to school. Though in these times of Work and School from Home, I don’t blame them one bit.

The Sweet Escapes Country Toilet will no longer be Comfortable AND Uncomfortable at the same time… There can only be one!

Sims with the Best Selling Author Aspiration can now complete their task of writing 3 Best Sellers.

Fixed an issue in which resized objects would disappear when they were part of downloaded Gallery items.

We revised our Careers (Pack specific and not) and we made sure there were no Chance Cards that were repeated constantly.

We noticed we had added the option to Clean Up Toddler on kitchen and bathroom sinks for both Toddlers and Children by mistake, so we removed it for both age groups from the sink… but how would have they fit? Like… how? These are the questions that keep me up at night.

Build Snowpal interaction is no longer available on non-natural ground (For Simmers that own Seasons and/or Snowy Escape). That's why it's called a Snowpal, not a Floorpal!

Gardener (Seasons)

Military (Strangerville)

Lifeguard for Teens and Conservationist (Island Living)

Law, Education, and Engineer (Discover University)

Civil Designer (Eco Lifestyle).

Get to Work

We made a clarification on the Xenophilia moodlet when interacting with Alien Sims. It should no longer say “From Discovering Aliens” but now it correctly reads “From Interacting with Aliens.”

Fixed an issue in which childbirth was not possible if Simmers changed the color swatches of the Surgery Tables. Now listen, I have heard about renting whole hospital wings for a birth in real life and other eccentricities, but this… was really something.

Get Together

Male Sims will no longer get Pregnant after receiving calls from NPC Sims.

City Living

NPC Sims will now text and call with invitations to Festivals. I personally welcomed the calm and quiet of my phone not beeping about constantly. But I can’t miss a Festival!

Sims rejoice! Yard sale customers will no longer invade their Home Lots and use Household objects. It is a Yard Sale… OUT in the yard, not an Open House.

Did you ever regret trusting some Sims enough to give them your apartment keys to constantly get visits from them for Milk and Juice? You can rest assured that they will no longer visit you for this purpose. I think some neighborly love is appreciated, but this went beyond the proverbial “May I have a cup of sugar?” type of situation.

Fixed an issue in which interactions to participate on GeekCon contests would not appear when interacting with objects.

We decided to give a bit more clarity when displaying the location of Festivals, so now it will display as “Near <insert location>” and not a distinct location that is not entirely correct. This is true for Festivals in Snowy Escape as well.

Cats and Dogs

Pets will no longer sleep in random places when told to sleep on their Pet beds. In my world they can sleep where they are most comfortable, my conspiracy… allegedly.

Seasons

Sims can now Shower in the Rain… Jury is still out on Singing and Dancing.

Sims will no longer “lose” their shovels when performing other autonomous activities while performing the interaction “Shovel Snow.”

Our friendly neighborhood Snowpal has been properly renamed to Chill from Chil. Everything I knew before was a lie… a LIE!

Ever felt like the Holiday spirit has just been too much to handle, and Father Winter starting to show up everywhere and not letting you do much of anything getting a bit… out of hand? Fear not! Father Winter will stop replicating himself* to spread holiday cheer. *Note this fix is not entirely retroactive, new saves should see this without issue. Existing saves will correct themselves over time.

Get Famous

Duck Security SCROO9E Super XL Smart Vault will no longer disappear after Sims Woohoo in it… you can say Woohoo can be romantic and magical, but maybe not to this extent?

NPCs from the Actor Career sometimes would never show on Set, making gigs impossible to complete. We've spoken with their union reps and everyone has agreed to stop this ridiculous strike. What were they striking about? Was there even a Strike? We may never know.

Island Living

Mermaids and other Occults should no longer be able to make hybrid occults. How were they making them? Oh boy, I'm not sure if it's appropriate for me to give you the mermaid-birds and spellcaster-bees talk.

Randomly generated Mermaid Sims will no longer be seen without some features in affected Simmer Saves. However this fix is not retroactive, so it should be seen fixed in new saves.

Pizza delivery to Lagoon Look Lot has been fixed to arrive promptly. This is Sulani Deep Lagoon Pizza, home of the 2x1 Mermadic Kelp Pizza and the Salty Llama Combo, may I take your order? <Descriptive Simlish on the line> Uh huh… uh huh… <Indescribable Simlish on the line> Yes, we now can ACTUALLY deliver to Lagoon Look… <Interrogative Simlish on the line> Yes, we told our delivery Sims that they need to deliver it there and not keep the pizza for themselves… like give it to the actual client. <Surprised Simlish on the line>

Discover University

Has this ever happened to you? Your Sim is ready to make an offering to the Sprites only to find a crystal stuck without being able to move it? No longer a problem, Sims now can remove offerings so all their rituals can resume. Sprites rejoice.

We fixed an issue for our Console Simmers that wouldn’t allow them to close the Humanoid Robot’s Behavior Module Menus correctly.

Fixed an issue that would cause items to be repossessed when loans were fully paid. That is NOT how it worked Repo Person… NOT how it worked.

Sims with Research & Debate Skill 3 or higher will no longer be able to “Convince to” with Toddler Sims.

Masquerade Secret Society Masks are now properly unlocked in Create a Sim when joining the Secret Society.

Fixed an issue in which Heckle animation was sometimes not being performed autonomously by Sims while playing Ping Pong.

Eco Lifestyle

Fixed an issue that triggered the Off-the-Grid notifications after traveling to different Lots in Evergreen Harbor, even when they are not labeled as Off-the-Grid.

We spoke to all Eco Inspectors, and they have agreed that they should NOT be charging the Energy efficient appliances fine if your appliances are fully upgraded to be super efficient and amazing. I mean all that work and still get fined? Not in this house!

Fixed an issue in which some placeholder text was showing in notifications after Dumpster Diving.

The Americana Station Speakers will now play Music… as the prophecy foretold.

When the We Wear Bags N.A.P is active, Grim Reaper will not be partially invisible when appearing on a Lot. Grim Reaper contributes!

Living the No Appliance lifestyle? We’ve got news for you! Sims will no longer be penalized for not having “Eco-Friendly Appliances.” No appliances, no fines!

Snowy Escape

Vending Machine Canned Soups and Drinks won’t spoil anymore. Time to stock up!

Sims can no longer go on Hikes while holding their Toddlers.

Space Heaters will now be able to be placed on Lots from Inventory. Sharing the warmth everywhere!

Fixed an issue in which the Shoe Removal Sign in 5-1-2 Kiyomatsu was not working properly. We also added Shoe Removal Signs in 5-1-1 Kiyomatsu and 2-4-2 Wakabamori.

Sims will now be more visibly furious when having the appropriate furious sentiment toward other Sims. “Yes, I’m mad!... No! This IS my furious face!”

Fixed an issue with some animations that would stutter while Snowboarding or Skiing. We also made sure that Sims with a high level of those skills would not always choose the Bunny Slopes.

Izzy Fabulous’ Star Simmi Rank was just too fabulous so we had to correct it to be one star less than displayed. Don’t worry Izzy, you are a full 4 stars in my book, you are that fabulous to me.

After much debate of whether it is the Cave Shrine or the Mountain Shrine for Hiking destinations we finally decided to just call it Mountain Shrine.

We revised the Snoop-Proof Bamboo Blinds and it is now possible to drop’em like they’re hot with the Thousand Words Window.

NPC Sims will no longer “take over” the Slopes for themselves for an indefinite period of time, now they will be sharing with all Sims the joys of the Slopes.

Fixed an issue in which Sims would get highlighted in the Sentiment Panel as if receiving new Sentiments every time traveling is involved.

Sims with Rock Climbing Skill 7, or higher, are able to autonomously climb the Tall Wall (Such tall! So much wall!). There is no need to not face what makes you uncomfortable… autonomously.

Had a chat with Yamachan and asked if he was ok, he seemed to start random conversations and then randomly say goodbye without reason. We are happy to report that he is OK now and will try not to do that. Give us a hug Yamachan.

Food Stalls at Mt. Komorebi Festivals won’t be closing shop randomly during Festival hours anymore. <guitar and piano intro> Closing time, open all the Stalls and eat all the food in the world...Closing time, turn all the lights on and let Yamachan greet you heeeere…

Create a Sim asset ymHat_EP10HelmetGoggles has been fixed to no longer display clipping around the neck area as well as we made sure no facial hair is removed when wearing this asset.

Dine Out

Experimenting with photo frames will no longer use the same picture of an Experimental Meal when displayed.

Hot Pot meals are now part of Restaurant Menus! I miss the times I would go to eat Hot Pot at a restaurant. One of my favorites has a conveyor belt that carries your fixings never leaving your table for a thing. *happy sigh*

Vampires

Vampire Sims will no longer be affected by temperature, so they won't be constantly obsessed with lighting fireplaces trying to get warm.

Post edited by EA_Leeloo at 6:30PM

Source: https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/984647/december-7th-2020-patch-notes

#s4 patch notes

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thiswasinevitableid · 3 years

Note

For mermay: #30, wreckage with Danbrey in either SFW or NSFW? Thank you so much!

Here you go! I went with SFW. Dani’s design is based on a Golden Shiner, Aubrey’s on a red-tailed shark.

“Dr. Harris Bonkers? Where are you, you sneaky sea bunny?” Aubrey circles the rocks, sets her hands on her hips and flicks her tail with a frown; for a creature with small fins, that bunny can be incredibly evasive.

“We only have an hour to practice, silly bunny. If you don’t come out, I won’t be able to use you in the show.”

When her pet/assistant doesn’t emerge, she sighs and swims off to her super secret test stage. Then she smacks straight into someone and shrieks in surprise.

“GAHoh, oh my god you scared me.”

“That, that makes two of us” the mermaid she collided with stares at her, golden eyes wide with alarm.

“I’m sorry, this place is always abandoned.” She gestures to the sunken ship, one that’s been here since her grandparents were children.

“I, um, I kind of figured. That’s why I holed up here.” In the filtered sunlight, her tail glitters pale gold. A treasure at the heart of the wreck.

“Are you new in town? I feel like I would’ve remembered seeing you before.” She smiles, hoping it comes across as smooth but not too smooth because she does not want to freak out the cute mer floating in front of her.

“Yeah. I can’t afford any of the spots in town.” She sighs, giving Aubrey the distinct sense this is not a new situation for her.

“You could come live with me! Not like, with me with me, but I live in the Lodge in town and I know there are rooms open. It’s super cheap.”

(If it wasn't, Aubrey would give her the “cute mers with freckles” discount).

“Um, okay, sure. Let me get my stuff.”

“Sweet! Wait, uh, it might take a few more minutes, I have to find my sea bunny.” She swims into the wreck after the other mermaid, poking her head into her pets’ preferred hiding places.

“Is this him?” The mer holds up two woven seaweed bags. On top of one of them is Dr. Harris Bonkers, so white he almost glows in the darkened hull.

“It is! Come here you naughty nudibranch.” She scoops the bunny into her palms, then sets him on her shoulder.

“He’s cute” The mermaid pets his side, “what’s his name?”

“Dr. Harris Bonkers, PhD. That last part is a human school thing, but he worked hard for it.”

“Nice to meet you doctor. I’m Dani.” She smiles at Aubrey, the expression as beautiful as moonlight on dark water, “what about you?”

“Aubrey.”

“Nice to meet you too.” She gives the bunny a final pet and swims out of the ship. Aubrey hurries to catch up to her so they can travel side by side.

“So, um, what do you use the wreck for?”

“Magic practice!” Aubrey sweeps her hand through the water, leaving a rainbow of light in it’s wake, “it’s not, like, super secret or anything, but there’ve been a few, um, mishaps that mean it’s better if I practice away from town.”

“Mishaps?” Dani shoots her an amused smile.

“I once made a huge chunk of reef disappear. It took a whole day to get it back. And there was the time some seaweed floated past while I was practicing and turned into a sea serpent. Relatedly, sometimes a sea serpent follows me around and calls me mom.”

Dani laughs and Aubrey suddenly has so many stars in her eyes you could use them for navigation.

“That doesn’t sound too bad.”

“I mean, it really isn’t. Those are the only big fuck ups, but I’ve decided I’d rather be safe than sorry. I’d hate for someone to get hurt because of me. Um, what about you? Just come to Kepler for a change of scene?”

“Sort of. I’m an open ocean mer by birth but it gets lonely, and sometimes your own kind will chase you off of nice places to call your own. So I decided I’d come here and try to make a home.”

“The Lodge is a good place for it. I, um, I ended up in Kepler after my mom died and my dad and I drifted apart. Mama gave me a place to stay and kept an eye on me; I bet she’ll do the same for you.”

It’s a bet she wins every time. Mama welcomes Dani in with a smile, tells Barclay to make a big dinner to celebrate a new resident, and shows her to her room. Aubrey stays by her side, chatting as she unpacks her bags. Her belongings are sparse, practical, and the only flashy item is a comb with a pearl handle.

They talk until Dani is yawning and Aubrey keeps bumping into walls because she’s too tired to fight the current every freaking second. Aubrey says goodnight, tells Dani to come find her if she needs anything. Dani promises she will, brushing their tails together before closing the door.

As she swims to her room, Aubrey’s thoughts swirl like a school of sardines. Dani’s room is so bare. Dani deserves a room overflowing with beautiful art and sea glass jewelry and vases of sea flowers.

It’s lucky, then, that Aubrey knows just the mers to help her out.

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

“Oh wow” Dani holds the strands of blue and white glass up to the windows, “Aubrey, this is beautiful”

“Glad you like it” she feels like the red in her tail deepens whenever Dani smiles at her like this, “Ned owed me a favor, and I thought some sea glass curtains might make the room more, um, homey.”

Dani swims to her, rubbing their cheeks together, “You’re the best.”

“Heheee, um, I mean, I’m super glad you like it!”

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

“Did you draw this?” Dani turns in a slow circle, searching for the perfect spot to hang the picture Aubrey brought her.

“Nope. Indrid did. He was selling some of his stuff this weekend, and I remember you saying you thought Atlantis was one of the prettiest places you’d ever seen. So I, um, I figured you’d like one of his pictures of it. You know he’s actually from there. Like, he’s one of the citizens who sunk with the city.”

“That’s wild. Wait, doesn’t that make him super old?”

“Yeah. Duck doesn’t seem to mind though, and he tries hard to keep up with the times. He mostly succeeds. Mostly.” She snickers, remembering the time Indrid tried to say he thought Duck was handsome and it came out as “looks like a million red-hot lobster claws.”

“C’mon” Dani hooks their tails across each other, ushering her across the room and causing her to completely forget what she was saying, “help me decide where to put this.”

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“I wasn’t able to wrap these, but they’re totally a present for you.” Aubrey holds out the two pots of starweeds, “Duck said they’re a great way to garden in a small space. I know you’re helping with the big garden out back, but I kinda figured you wanted some in your room too.”

Dani takes the pots, not bothering to keep their hands from touching, “Thank you, firefins, they’re lovely.” She sets them on the windowsill, picks up her comb on the way back, voice much softer when she asks, “would you brush my hair before we go down to dinner?”

“Sure!” She loves brushing Dani's hair; if it’s the only time she ever makes the other mer sigh happily, the only time those golden tresses cascade down her fingertips, she’ll die happy.

As she carefully guides the brush through Dani murmurs, “my mom gave me that. She said it’s been in our family for generations. Apparently an ancestor was given it by a human lover.”

“Dang” Aubrey’s amazed anything this beautiful wasn’t just swallowed up by the open water, “I’m glad they hung onto it; it really is gorgeous.”

“I um, I, I want you to have it.” Dani turns to look at her just as Aubrey pulls back.

“Dani, that’s so sweet, but I can’t take this from you. It’s you connection to your family. To your mom.”

“Oh.” The mermaid takes the comb when she holds it out, “okay. Let’s, um, let’s just go meet the others.”

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“...been like that for the last two days. I know you spent a bunch of time in the open ocean, so I wanna know everything there is to know about what dating is like for mers out. I’ve got to show Dani just how much I care about her.”

“I see” Ned rests back in his chair, watching Aubrey as she swims back and forth in agitation, “I shall do my best, my friend. Let me think...gift giving is common, but that’s the case for all but deep sea merfolk. Painting your scales...no, that was southern mers in general. Aha!” Ned snaps his fingers, “because open ocean mers are nomadic, giving them things for building a home is a sign of commitment and romantic interest. If the feeling is mutual, one might also offer a precious item as a token of affection.”

“Precious item? Like a family heirloom? Hypothetically?”

“Yes, I’d imagine that would fit the bill nicely.”

“Aw beans! Thanks Ned, gotta go, talk later byeeeee.”

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

“Dani!” Aubrey rounds a patch of sea grass.

The other mer looks up from where she’s collecting urchins, “Aubrey? Is everything okay?”

“No! Or maybe yes. Dani are you, were you trying to tell me you wanted me to be your girlfriend?”

“Yes, but I’m starting to think that wasn’t as obvious as I thought it was.”

“Nope!” Aubrey launches herself forward, gathering Dani in her arms. The other mermaid laughs, rolling them over to lay in the soft grass.

“I’m sorry” Dani kisses her cheek, “I thought I was being obvious.”

“I mean, I guess you were, we just had a communication breakdown. I just...I can’t believe you’d give me your most treasured possession.”

Dani leans down, kissing her until her lips are buzzing with delight and their tails are wrapped tight around each other, “Sweetheart, the only treasure I need is right here.”

#danbrey #aubrey little/dani #taz amnesty #mermay #mermay fills

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5-seconds-of-bucky · 4 years

Text

Undertow (IV)

CH IV: Market Moments

Word count: 3.8k

Warnings: none

Listen to the audio version here!

Chapter 1 // Chapter 2 // Chapter 3

Shawn felt slight guilt for letting the fib glide so smoothly off of his tongue. He and every other native to the town knew the market stands would have a slim chance of selling cheeseballs. Shawn knew not only because he works there, but also because he found the clear tub of the snack at an actual grocery store.

But the fib was worth it in his eyes. It resulted in Y/N running amuck in a quest for the orange snack, asking any patron she ran into where she could find some. Shawn just kept chuckling at her from his designated stand, apron tied around his waist. Anytime Brian noticed his employee’s lack of concentration during the beginning of the shift he would remind him in a stern tone to “keep your eyes on the bananas, not the girl.” And any bystander would have thought that comment triggered Shawn’s immediate tensing muscles and nostrils, flaring like a bull.

His employer knew, though, comments like those never put Shawn on edge like that. Brian’s eyes followed the young man’s gaze to see the same Y/N Shawn had introduced him to earlier that day. It was the stranger chatting her up, with his shoulder against one of the wooden beams nearby, that caught his attention. Based on the fuming reaction of the one beside him, the man piqued Shawn’s interest just as much. His sandy blonde hair and all-too-tight shirt made Shawn think to himself, why not just tattoo try-hard on your forehead?

“Jealous much?” Brian mumbles beside Shawn’s ear, resulting in a surprised yelp from the proximity. Though his emotions were undeniable, he refused them anyway.

“M’not.” Crossing his arms over his torso, Brian immediately patted one of his biceps in an attempt to bring them down.

“Don’t look so angry. Customers will think you’re unapproachable,” he hisses. Shawn obeys for the sake of his paycheck but refrains from straying his eyes from the two for long. Any customer who wanted assistance purchasing an item or had a question they demanded Shawn answer, the boy would only spare eye contact with them for fifty percent of the conversation.

“It’s been fifteen minutes. What could he possibly be talking about with her?”

Brian hums. “People talk about lots of things. Who knows, maybe they’re finding they have lots in common.” Shawn only scoffs at this.

“Please,” she’s a walking mermaid talking to a mooching lifeguard, Shawn thinks, “they have nothing in common.”

“Okay, how long can you hold your breath for?” Wesley’s lips form a devious smirk as the question leaves them. Y/N’s lips can only part, losing all acts of shaping anything near an answer. Her mind suffices a simple “just a while” seconds later, hoping it wasn’t too vague to beckon more questions. Lucky for her, it seems Wesley has a knack for caring more about the response to his own questions rather than hers. This was nothing new to Y/N, who did in fact, grow up with her father as a parent.

“My record is six minutes and fourteen seconds. It’s on my bucket list to beat the world record: twenty-two minutes and twenty-two seconds. I know it’s ambitious, but…” frankly, Y/N is growing bored of the conversation. As guilty as it sounds, she saw no point in speaking to Wesley when she would vanish from his world in a few days and head off to...somewhere else.

“Hey, let me ask you something,” she breaks off Wesley’s incessant chatting with a small smile and does not wait for his go-ahead to continue. “If you could go live anywhere on Earth, where would it be?” Wesley’s lips form a small ring as a strange, high-pitched tone leaves them. Y/N stands with wide-eyes and is too afraid to ask what that was or where it came from, deciding to stay silent.

“Does it have to be real, or can it be mythical?”

“I mean…preferably real, but--”

“Because my father always told me these stories when I was younger about this place on Earth. He claimed society was so different down there compared to the one on land, that he called it a world in our world.”

“D-down there?” Y/N responds in a meek voice, eyebrows raising.

“Yeah...Atlantis. You’ve heard the stories too, I’m assuming.”

“I mean...I’ve only seen it in that movie about the fish girl.”

“The mermaid,” he corrects.

“Yeah, whatever.”

“Well, my dad described it differently. He said that their kingdom was built and crafted from a sunken city. Even after seeing it demolished and crumbled, the Atlanteans knew they could transform it into something incredible. And he went on about all these abilities they have, like how their eyes adjust naturally to the darkness of the water, how they have this innate connection to marine life and can communicate with any sea animal that crosses their path; they don’t even need to hold their breaths underwater!”

“Sounds like your father was a great storyteller…” Y/N chuckles nervously, eyes darting to the passing bystanders who continue giving Wesley concerning looks. Her blood was quickly running cold in fear of finding somebody with similar, piercing eyes Wesley’s father probably mentioned too.

“That’s the thing. My father might have been good at telling stories, but he is a horrible liar. I remember the fourth time asking him how Santa Claus could get into our house with no chimney and a locked door he could not come up with an answer and told me it was a myth. The same thing happened when I asked why we had to buy eggs when the Easter Bunny got millions for free. And when I asked how the Tooth Fairy had access to all the printing presses to international currencies without being arrested, he got upset with me...told me I was too smart for my own good.”

Y/N is slowly becoming baffled by the precarious names he is throwing out and decides to let him continue. Drawing any suspicion to herself due to confusion over well-known characters of the land-walkers is the last thing she needs.

“But, when it came to talking about Atlantis, he never seemed to run out of details. Any question I asked about it, he always seemed to have an answer for. I would ask more about it now because everything inside of me is telling me it’s a real place. But...I’m scared if I confront my dad about it…”

“He’ll tell you it’s fake.” Y/N pieces the end together for him. His lopsided smile slowly turns into that of a frown, earning a sympathetic gaze from Y/N. “Well, I don’t know how credible I am as a stranger, but…” She lifts a hand to rest on Wesley’s shoulder, “I think your father is right. You are too smart for your own good...and I think if such a place were to exist, there would be more evidence of it.” Wesley nods but soon pauses, becoming entranced by Y/N’s sincere gaze.

“What’s wrong?” Her voice demands.

“Huh? Oh, nothing you just,” he clears his throat, “you have really pretty eyes.”

The orbs he was transfixed on moments before widen at this compliment. All at once, her mind rewinds itself to replay this afternoon with Shawn; his curls tickling her neck, the chuckle in his throat vibrating against her and her ruining their “moment”, a word she has yet to find a clear definition on. She also replays Connor’s entrance and comments about Shawn looking near ready to lock lips with her or be her utter demise through suffocation. Either activity sounded both passionate and intimate in a way Y/N was unclear about wanting with Wesley.

“Oh,” she whispers, dropping her arm from his shoulder in a haste.

“I-I’m sorry, that was awkward,” Wesley apologizes.

“No, no it’s alright. I just...I don’t want you to choke me,” she blurts, earning a few puzzled stares from those around them.

“What?”

“Or kiss me. Or...I don’t know, whatever happens in these moments.”

“Moments?” One of Wesley’s brows arch.

“Yes, a moment. Was that a moment? Because I think I just had my first one today and I’m not sure how--”

“Hey, Y/N, breathe.” He reaches both hands out to take her by the shoulders, quickly demonstrating a deep inhale and long exhale. She follows, mimicking his timed breaths down to the second. “It doesn’t have to be a moment if you don’t want it to be.” She nods, slowing her quick breaths and throwing a glance over her shoulder subconsciously for a quick peruse at Shawn’s figure behind the wooden stand. She smiles to herself, seeing his concentrating frame bend and twist meticulously to stack the bunches of bananas to perfection.

“Was it with Shawn?” Wesley asks. Y/N looks back toward him, pulling her brows together.

“Was…”

“Your moment. It was with Shawn, wasn’t it?”

“I..uh…” Her cheeks begin glowing red upon being caught.

“Hey, I’m not going to be upset.” He shakes his head, blonde streaks falling against his eyelashes. “Mendes and I might be tough on the water, but…” He takes his hands off of her shoulders, “I could never hate the dude enough to take his girl.” Y/N spares Wesley a grateful smile.

“Thank you.” She mumbles, preparing to pivot and return to Shawn’s stand.

“Oh, wait, Y/N--” the girl’s head turns back, humming.

“Where would you go, if you had the chance?” His question makes her eyes flicker down in thought, a pondering silence filling the air around the two.

“I’m not sure, actually. I don’t know if there is a place that could live up to this…” Through her answer, Wesley’s eyes met Shawn’s above her shoulder. Realizing he’d been caught, Shawn turned his body away, the feeling of dejection consuming his insides by the sight of his savior and worst enemy conversing.

“Well, just know a lot of people would miss you here if you left. More than just me,” he says, pressing a palm against his chest. Y/N looks behind her once more, only to be met with Shawn’s back.

“He would especially miss you.”

Another fond smile crawls onto her lips as she thanks Wesley again. When she turns to retreat to Shawn and Brian, the sinking feeling Wesley was awaiting inside of him felt more like a hot air balloon running off of helium than it did a whale with an anchor. As he begins walking in the opposite direction, sparing cursory glances at some of the products or swim trunks he walks past, his phone begins blaring its ringtone. He is stunned to pull it out and to be met with a pixelated version of his father and the name “DAD” overtaking the screen. Did his father finally keep his promise?

“Dad, hey!” The young man greets with exuberance.

“Hey, son. Finally got some free time…” Ripley announces at a regular volume. Hidden in between a few displays, he peers at Wesley slowly drifting from the curious girl, who was now speaking to an associate and pointing to the yellow fruits between them. “Tell me, how is it going? Did you win that surfing contest?”

“Yeah, but it kind of sucked to win now that I think about it. One of the other guys got really hurt.”

“Eh, I’m sure he’ll be fine. That’s what a rookie gets for going up against my son!” he barks a laugh. “I bet that trophy won you a couple of girls’ attention, huh?” Wesley gulps.

“I mean...not really--”

“Don’t lie to me, son. I can hear how lovesick you are. What’s her name?”

“Are you almost done yet?” Y/N groaned after Shawn finished up with a customer. She was sitting in a chair Shawn found under their table, picking at her nails in hopes that something interesting would happen.

“We’ve got another hour before we close up but then we have to put everything away so it’ll probably be an hour and 45 minutes before we can leave.” He shot her a smile as she dramatically slumped in the chair.

“They didn’t even have cheeseballs! I wasted half my day asking people if they had cheeseballs and they looked at me like I was insane.”

“Gee, I wonder why.”

Y/N rolled her eyes. She couldn’t help that she wanted the orange delicacy and in her opinion, these people were insane for not having it. “Just shut up and do your work so we can get out of here faster.”

“You’re so bossy.”

“I know what I want. Can you blame me?”

Shawn turned his back to her, opting to ignore her complaints instead of feed the fire.

“So you’re ignoring me now? Rude.”

He tried his best to keep the laugh in.

“That’s fine. I’ll find someone else to talk to.” She stood up and brushed off her pants, purposely bumping Shawn in the shoulder as she walked past. He reached out to grab her arms before she could get too far, forcing her to stop and turn around to look at him. “What, scared I’m going to find someone else to buy me cheeseballs?”

“Just stay safe.” There had been something nagging at his gut since he saw her with Wesley earlier and he was wary to let her out of his sight since then.

“Okay?” She gave him a funny look. “I’ll stay safe, no need to worry. Trust me, I know how to take care of myself.” It didn’t make Shawn feel much better but he let go of her anyways.

She walked off, only looking back once to shoot him a wink. He could only shake his head as he went back to work, wondering how it had been only one day and he was already infatuated with this girl.

Y/N walked around from table to table, actually taking the time to look at the contents this time. She didn’t have any money, as she found out earlier that day, but she still enjoyed looking at what each stand had to offer.

She looked around for a while before one stand in particular caught her eye. It was pushed back in a darker corner of the marketplace that people would probably miss if they weren’t paying attention.

She approached the table slowly, making sure to not startle the person running it, who seemed to be asleep in their chair. The table was decorated in an array of beachy looking stones and jewelry.

The person woke in her presence, sitting up and pushing their sunglasses up on their nose. “Why hello there.”

Y/N smiled at them, suddenly offset by their demeanor. She kept her gaze on the trinkets on the table, running her fingers over the symbols imprinted in them. Some posed a striking resemblance to the things she could find in her jewelry back home. Or, what used to be home.

“See something you like?”

“Yeah, they look a lot like-” She stopped herself, realizing that she almost revealed her identity.

“Like what?” They leaned forward, urging her to go on.

“Just, uh, something I saw in the store the other day.”

“You know,” They leaned back, crossing their arms over their chest. “Some say these came from Atlantis. Straight from the room of the princess.”

“Oh really?” She forced a laugh, retracting her hand to her chest. “Won’t the princess be upset that her things were taken?”

“She lives there no more. Ran away from an arranged marriage and was never found. I’m sure she cares very little about what happens to her old possessions.”

“That makes sense.” Her voice was so quiet she almost didn’t hear herself.

“Please, take whatever you’d like. I’ll give it to you, half price.”

“That’s very kind of you, but I can’t.” She looked back to Shawn on the other side of the market, seeing him busy bagging some fruit for a customer.

“Are you sure? Such a beautiful girl deserves beautiful jewelry. Perhaps that boy you’ve been sitting with would want to get you a gift?”

“I really should get going.” Y/N nervously scratched her upper arm. “Thank you though.”

“Always! Come back any time.” They gave her a sly smile and she took a few steps back. “Have a great day.”

“Uh, you too.” She gave a polite smile and nod, turning around and hastily making her way back to Shawn.

The vendor pulled their sunglasses down from their eyes, revealing a pair of piercing green eyes. They pulled out a phone from their back pocket and unlocked it, clicking on the name Ripley in their contacts and bringing the phone to their ear.

Someone picked up at the last second, a gruff “what?” to greet the caller.

“It’s Merlin,” the vendor spoke. “I’ve got eyes on the subjects.”

Shawn’s post-work exhaustion and shopping trip from earlier in the day made heaviness caress his eyelids without complaint. Y/N hoped it would be the same for her, but she felt there was a kickdrum where her heart usually lied and the incessant wriggling of her toes beneath the bedsheets was impossible to control. This night in particular was when the girl felt scared to let sleep wash over her like a high-tide. Various scenarios of her waking up tomorrow without Shawn beside her or not in his bed played in her mind on an unrelenting loop.

The lime green digits on Shawn’s nightstand read 2:23 when the girl surrendered to the endeavor of catching shut-eye and opted for shuffling from beneath the covers and waddling to the kitchen. Despite seeing Shawn lock it earlier that night, she inspects the front door anyway. She does the same with the windows, even going as far as to flip the lock back and forth to build the small sense of security she felt. Even then paranoia still cloaked her mind and hypnotized her to grab the near-empty bin of cheeseballs from the kitchen cabinet and situate herself into a sitting position on the kitchen island, eyes pointed directly at the meager shard between the curtains of the kitchen window.

Slowly, the girl grew disoriented from the lack of sleep and stress harboring her for the last few days. The vision her distressed subconscious conjured is one far more macabre than she could have manifested while awake. Not only did they find her, but they kidnapped Shawn alongside her and drug him down to the depths of the water with no mercy. The scream he elicited when he no longer carried any valuable oxygen was muffled and distraught. Bubbles blurred his face, which, in turn, made tears build beneath Y/N’s eyelids. When she witnessed the facade of him go limp in the guard’s merciless hold and begin sinking, the whimpering pleas for him to wake up and escape quickly morphed to crackling screams.

When she heard his voice break through clear to her, the lids shielding her vision flung open. Immediately, her eyes stung from the contact of the cold air to her hot tears as she observed Shawn and Connor’s perturbed expressions. Glancing down, she found her arms stiff and cradling the bucket of cheeseballs to her chest.

“Uh…” she sits herself up, mimicking the position she was in last night before trying a buoyant tone of voice. “Good morning!”

“Good morning...you alright?” Connor lifts an eyebrow in Y/N’s direction, while Shawn is still lost for words after stumbling into her body tucked inwards and crying out for him.

“I’m good! Just came down for a...late-night snack. I must’ve closed my eyes for a few minutes.” She assures, holding up the plastic bucket for their eyes to study.

“Seems like you were here a little longer than that.” At this comment, she twists her body around and gasps at the numbers on the stove. The numbers 7:04 stared back at her menacingly.

“Woah,” she breathes out, whipping her head back to face Shawn and Connor. “My bad.”

“Were you feeling okay last night?”

“Yes,” she squeaks defensively. “I just...had trouble getting comfortable is all.” Crossing her arms, she refuses to meet Connor’s questioning eyes and Shawn’s features, still locked in place. “I’m going to the bathroom.” Y/N excuses herself in a mumble before sliding off of the counter and scurrying through Shawn’s open bedroom door, shutting it behind her. When a second closing door sounded, Connor looked directly at Shawn’s profile.

“So, you’re not gonna tell her what you heard?” Shawn glanced down to his fingers, picking at his nails.

“Why should I?”

“I mean, if a girl I was into confessed her love for me in her sleep I wouldn’t be standing there keeping quiet.”

And Shawn’s initial reaction was quite the opposite. When Y/N murmured “I love you” followed by his name an undeniable smirk tugged the corner of his lips. The man wasn’t quite sure he felt smitten at the same level, but he could surely reach it. And he wanted to, but the only thing stopping Shawn from planting a kiss to her lips the moment her eyelids fluttered open happened to be the echo of her cautionary messages playing on a loop in his brain. Both knew their relationship already pushed boundaries that threatened their lives to those looking for Y/N and to draw any more attention to themselves would be a ludicrous choice.

Furthermore, Y/N has shown no signs of traveling these last few days. For Shawn to jeopardize this new affair by selfishly wanting more out of it would only result in her packing her bags and leaving. She even preached that she would only provide Shawn with a load of heavy burdens and trouble. He begs to differ, since the moment they crossed paths, his woes were as scant as raindrops. But even in this unacknowledged intimacy, Shawn understood he must reciprocate the blurred lines, throw out the words he can never say to her, realize that she could up and leave any day now.

This new friendship was one Shawn was riding like a bumpy wave. And each time he thinks he may be near the end he plummets back into the thought of her. Every being of Shawn wants to follow Y/N’s instruction and keep paddling to the next wave to sweep him up.

“It was just a dream, Con. It didn’t mean anything.”

Whether or not he had admitted to himself, though, he was already snagged beneath by her undertow. The depth she chooses to yank him down to could be the least of his worries. The only doubt suffocating him is the matter of her deciding to let him go.

Look out for the next part of Undertow coming out 2/19/21!

Join the taglist to see what happens next!

Taglist: @fallinallincurls @ilumxna @lonelyreputation @purely-imagines-and-fantasies @shawnmxndxs @learning-howto-be-myselfx3 @sillyquirkymendessupporter @itsalwaysbeen305 @friendlyneighborhood-mendes @marissje @princessmia1705 @rosetoronto @itrocksmysocks @organicpurplepants

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thesims4blogger · 4 years

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The Sims 4: New Game Patch (December 7th, 2020)

There’s a new Sims 4 update available for PC/Mac and Consoles. IPC:1.69.54.1020 / Mac: 1.69.54.1220 / Console: Version: Console: Version 1.35

Happy Holidays Simmers!

It’s time to go back in to Create a Sim! Where in this update you will find 100+ new skin tones, customization sliders for skin tones and makeup, and three improved base game hairstyles! Every skin tone now has a value slider that allows you to change the light to dark value of that skin tone, unlocking a much wider variety of skin tone options for you to play with! You will also find that our skin tones are now filterable to warm, cool, and neutral tones (as well as miscellaneous that covers our occult skin tones).

The new makeup sliders add more choices and opportunities for you to customize your Sims, and express your Sim’s style! Hue, saturation, value or brightness, and opacity are now available to modify on the makeup. We have locked some of the sliders where it did not provide an optimal experience or make sense for the makeup. Expect us to continue our work on these issues into the future to provide you with more. In addition to the customization opportunities provided, you can also save custom swatches as you tweak your sliders to get the perfect look. When you click on the swatch (for skin tones and makeup) as you modify the sliders, you will have an opportunity to save your custom settings, so you can re-use it later without having to remember your perfect looks! Did we mention that we made some hair updates? We did – we updated a base game child hair (cfHair_BraidedPonyTail), and we added a second version of that hair that removes the baby hairs (cfHair_BraidedPonyTailPlain). And we updated a base game male hair that you may find difficult to recognize from the original hair (ymHair_flatTopTextured)!

We have updated the Main Menu!… Again! The idea behind this change is to create a more cohesive experience and give Packs a more proper space as we continue to grow our content lineup. As a nice bonus, we highlighted the Gallery in a more meaningful way to inspire you.

-SimGuruGnome & SimGuruRusskii

Now onto the fixes:

Sims 4

Sketching so much that the Digital Sketch Pad just quit on you? Never fear! Freelancer Sims that use the Digital Sketchpad will now be able to complete designs without being reset abruptly.

Happy Birthday to all! Sims will now properly Age Up. Adulting is hard but they will make it, don’t worry.

Fixed an issue in which Doors, Windows, and Arches had cutouts when being reflected in Mirrors. Rorrim Rorrim no eht llaw, ohw si eht tseriaf erutaef fo meht lla?

Sims that do not have the Fishing Skill, or have not been Fishing at all, will not get notifications about identifying Fish. THEY WERE FISHING WITH THEIR MINDS.

The following careers have added the “Take Vacation Day” option, yay!

Child Sims will no longer forget they are in their Sleepwear when they go to school. Though in these times of Work and School from Home, I don’t blame them one bit.

The Sweet Escapes Country Toilet will no longer be Comfortable AND Uncomfortable at the same time… There can only be one!

Sims with the Best Selling Author Aspiration can now complete their task of writing 3 Best Sellers.

Fixed an issue in which resized objects would disappear when they were part of downloaded Gallery items.

We revised our Careers (Pack specific and not) and we made sure there were no Chance Cards that were repeated constantly.

Build Snowpal interaction is no longer available on non-natural ground (For Simmers that own Seasons and/or Snowy Escape). That’s why it’s called a Snowpal, not a Floorpal!

Gardener (Seasons)

Military (Strangerville)

Lifeguard for Teens and Conservationist (Island Living)

Law, Education, and Engineer (Discover University)

Civil Designer (Eco Lifestyle).

Editor Russkii note: I didn’t want to add each line in each pack for this fix, it would have looked weird and robotic so that is why I chose to do one bullet point for all in this section.

Get to Work

Get Together

Male Sims will no longer get Pregnant after receiving calls from NPC Sims.

City Living

NPC Sims will now text and call with invitations to Festivals. I personally welcomed the calm and quiet of my phone not beeping about constantly. But I can’t miss a Festival!

Sims rejoice! Yard sale customers will no longer invade their Home Lots and use Household objects. It is a Yard Sale… OUT in the yard, not an Open House.

Fixed an issue in which interactions to participate on GeekCon contests would not appear when interacting with objects.

Cats and Dogs

Pets will no longer sleep in random places when told to sleep on their Pet beds. In my world they can sleep where they are most comfortable, my conspiracy… allegedly.

Seasons

Sims can now Shower in the Rain… Jury is still out on Singing and Dancing.

Sims will no longer “lose” their shovels when performing other autonomous activities while performing the interaction “Shovel Snow.”

Our friendly neighborhood Snowpal has been properly renamed to Chill from Chil. Everything I knew before was a lie… a LIE!

Get Famous

Duck Security SCROO9E Super XL Smart Vault will no longer disappear after Sims Woohoo in it… you can say Woohoo can be romantic and magical, but maybe not to this extent?

NPCs from the Actor Career sometimes would never show on Set, making gigs impossible to complete. We’ve spoken with their union reps and everyone has agreed to stop this ridiculous strike. What were they striking about? Was there even a Strike? We may never know.

Island Living

Mermaids and other Occults should no longer be able to make hybrid occults. How were they making them? Oh boy, I’m not sure if it’s appropriate for me to give you the mermaid-birds and spellcaster-bees talk.

Randomly generated Mermaid Sims will no longer be seen without some features in affected Simmer Saves. However this fix is not retroactive, so it should be seen fixed in new saves.

Pizza delivery to Lagoon Look Lot has been fixed to arrive promptly.

This is Sulani Deep Lagoon Pizza, home of the 2×1 Mermadic Kelp Pizza and the Salty Llama Combo, may I take your order?

Uh huh… uh huh…

Yes, we now can ACTUALLY deliver to Lagoon Look…

Yes, we told our delivery Sims that they need to deliver it there and not keep the pizza for themselves… like give it to the actual client.

Discover University

We fixed an issue for our Console Simmers that wouldn’t allow them to close the Humanoid Robot’s Behavior Module Menus correctly.

Fixed an issue that would cause items to be repossessed when loans were fully paid. That is NOT how it worked Repo Person… NOT how it worked.

Sims with Research & Debate Skill 3 or higher will no longer be able to “Convince to” with Toddler Sims.

Masquerade Secret Society Masks are now properly unlocked in Create a Sim when joining the Secret Society.

Fixed an issue in which Heckle animation was sometimes not being performed autonomously by Sims while playing Ping Pong.

Eco Lifestyle

Fixed an issue that triggered the Off-the-Grid notifications after traveling to different Lots in Evergreen Harbor, even when they are not labeled as Off-the-Grid.

Fixed an issue in which some placeholder text was showing in notifications after Dumpster Diving.

The Americana Station Speakers will now play Music… as the prophecy foretold.

When the We Wear Bags N.A.P is active, Grim Reaper will not be partially invisible when appearing on a Lot. Grim Reaper contributes!

Living the No Appliance lifestyle? We’ve got news for you! Sims will no longer be penalized for not having “Eco-Friendly Appliances.” No appliances, no fines!

Snowy Escape

Vending Machine Canned Soups and Drinks won’t spoil anymore. Time to stock up!

Sims can no longer go on Hikes while holding their Toddlers.

Space Heaters will now be able to be placed on Lots from Inventory. Sharing the warmth everywhere!

Fixed an issue in which the Shoe Removal Sign in 5-1-2 Kiyomatsu was not working properly. We also added Shoe Removal Signs in 5-1-1 Kiyomatsu and 2-4-2 Wakabamori.

Sims will now be more visibly furious when having the appropriate furious sentiment toward other Sims. “Yes, I’m mad!… No! This IS my furious face!”

Fixed an issue with some animations that would stutter while Snowboarding or Skiing. We also made sure that Sims with a high level of those skills would not always choose the Bunny Slopes.

Izzy Fabulous’ Star Simmi Rank was just too fabulous so we had to correct it to be one star less than displayed. Don’t worry Izzy, you are a full 4 stars in my book, you are that fabulous to me.

After much debate of whether it is the Cave Shrine or the Mountain Shrine for Hiking destinations we finally decided to just call it Mountain Shrine.

We revised the Snoop-Proof Bamboo Blinds and it is now possible to drop’em like they’re hot with the Thousand Words Window.

NPC Sims will no longer “take over” the Slopes for themselves for an indefinite period of time, now they will be sharing with all Sims the joys of the Slopes.

Fixed an issue in which Sims would get highlighted in the Sentiment Panel as if receiving new Sentiments every time traveling is involved.

Sims with Rock Climbing Skill 7, or higher, are able to autonomously climb the Tall Wall (Such tall! So much wall!). There is no need to not face what makes you uncomfortable… autonomously.

Food Stalls at Mt. Komorebi Festivals won’t be closing shop randomly during Festival hours anymore. <guitar and piano intro> Closing time, open all the Stalls and eat all the food in the world…Closing time, turn all the lights on and let Yamachan greet you heeeere…

Create a Sim asset ymHat_EP10HelmetGoggles has been fixed to no longer display clipping around the neck area as well as we made sure no facial hair is removed when wearing this asset.

Dine Out

Experimenting with photo frames will no longer use the same picture of an Experimental Meal when displayed.

Vampires

Vampire Sims will no longer be affected by temperature, so they won’t be constantly obsessed with lighting fireplaces trying to get warm.

It's here – and a day early! Today, a free game update brings you 100+ skin tones, customization tools for skin tones and makeup, three improved base game hairstyles, and a main menu makeover. Available now to all The Sims 4 players! pic.twitter.com/p7QIIkI74d

— The Sims (@TheSims) December 7, 2020

A huge thanks to @Xmiramira @EbonixSims @MiaZaff1 @RaonyPhillips & @catherinegYT for the candid conversations & constructive feedback! Their input, representing their viewpoints alongside their player communities, was instrumental to current & future improvements. #GameChangers !

— The Sims (@TheSims) December 7, 2020

Every skin tone now has a value slider, unlocking thousands of customizable options. In addition, we made improvements to both new and existing skin tones, including strengthening the quality of suntans and sunburns.

— The Sims (@TheSims) December 7, 2020

#news #the sims 4 #ts4 #sims 4 #game patch

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comicteaparty · 5 years

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February 24th-March 1st, 2020 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from February 24th, 2020 to March 1st, 2020. The chat focused on Whispers of the Past by Crona J.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Whispers of the Past by Crona J.~! (https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/whispers-of-the-past/list?title_no=191366)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace until March 1st, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Discussions are freeform, but we do offer discussion prompts in the pins for those who’d like to have them. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic! Whether you finish the comic or can only read a few pages, everyone is welcome to join and chat with us!

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 1

1. What did you like about the beginning of the comic?

2. What has been your favorite moment in the comic (so far)?

3. Who is your favorite character?

4. Which characters do like seeing interact the most?

5. What is something you like about the art? If you have a favorite illustration, please share it!

6. What is a theme you like that the comic explores?

7. What do you like about the comic’s story or overall related content?

8. Overall, what do you think the comic’s strengths are?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

FeatheryJustice

So far, first impressions, holy cow the art is amazing.

Ash🦀

1. My favorite part about the beginning was the style. It immediately drew me in how everything was lovingly rendered in color that made me feel like I was seeing the world for the first time. It made me want to paint, too! 2. When we first see the man. Whoo buddy. Whoooooooo buddy. That was... a finely sculpted painting there. I could’ve framed him and hung him on my wall if the artist would let me. WHOOOO BUDDY. 3. My favorite character so far is Martel. I don’t write them often, but I love seeing kids in media, and I love the design of her hair. I know it’s a random thing to make me like her but I just... really like her hairstyle. She’s cute, and I’d guess she’ll be a breath of much-needed light air later in the story. 4. Mystery man and Martel are precious. 5. I point to answer 2 here. That lovingly sculpted chest? My heart was a-flutter I tell you what. 6. The art style is just... SO LOVINGLY RENDERED. The quiet moments of baking bread juxtaposed against a chaotic battle was SO. GOOD. Aaaaaah Could also be that that particular part is my favorite part of making bread so it was extra special aaaaaaah 7-8 I haven’t seen enough of the story to answer these yet! But the art is banging and I can’t wait to read more. Subscribed.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I've read this before and the art and story aren't really my thing. Since critique is allowed I could give art comments if CronaJ would find that kind of thing helpful? But even though I won't be following the story I was still impressed by how much care the author puts into it. Both from looking at their comic and from reading their comments on this discord and on the tap forum it's clear they've put a ton of effort into the art and story, and haven't cut any corner.s And all the panels are so rendered. I wonder how long it takes to draw a page?(edited)

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Hey everyone! I'm the artist and writer of Whispers of the Past. I want to thank you all for your kind comments and observations so far. It really means a lot to me to hear what others think of this heartfelt project. I know that the story is in the beginning stages right now. But I'm looking to post the end of the first chapter this week, so hopefully a bit more will be revealed soon. Please feel free to ask me questions about anything, or (to answer @Eightfish (Puppeteer)'s question), to offer critiques for how I can improve what I'm doing.(edited)

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

@FeatheryJustice & @Ash🦀 I'm glad you enjoy the artwork. The painting process is probably what takes me the longest when it comes to pages. In response to @Eightfish (Puppeteer)... It takes me around 30-40 hours per page, and I try to post 2-3 page updates. Obviously, the amount of time spent per page varies depending on several factors, such as: the number of panels, the level of complication of poses, how many characters/background elements there are, and sometimes just whatever weird reason my brain isn't working that day ^^; So for my average 5-7 panel pages, they typically take longer than, say, a full-page spread. @Ash🦀 I'm so happy that the first few pages pulled you in! I spent a lot of time deciding on how I wanted to draw those panels, and what style to use, etc. I actually redrew the first 3 pages at least 5 times before settling on them as they are. And, you can hang and frame the image of our male MC if you want, haha, I actually don't have prints of it, but it is something to consider That particular panel was a one-page spread, so I was able to dedicate a bit more detail to it. Maret is a worthy favorite character. She is too pure and precious, and she just wants to make friends with everybody. Even when the "strange man" is kind of curt and unfriendly to her, she wants to befriend him. Also, I am SO unbelievably glad that you picked up on the juxtaposition in the bread-making scene! Ahhhh! I had a lot of fun with that one

FeatheryJustice

1. The Pacing, I love slow starts to comics because I get to absorb it and learn more. 2. Favourite Moment? Dude trying to climb out the window and failing. That was really funny XD 3. Mysterious dude from the water of course. He has pointed ears, you know something is up. 4. I like Maret and the mysterious man, it seems like a child being like 'this is new and I want to learn more' Also thank you for not writing a grating child character. They sometimes turn up too pure to be real, or too grating because they are too real. Maret at least has that nice balance of a healthy child will not acted spoiled but still want things because child like the scene where she was shoo'ed out of the room. 5. I think we talked about htis a long time ago, but I love the way you draw hands and feet! 6. Nothing so far, not sure where the story will head so I can't answer this. 7. I like the start of the mystery and the slow ramp up. We are just getting comfortable and I'm sure we are going to get rocky soon! 8. Art, from seeing Cronaj spend so much time on it, it's freaking amazing. I can almost feel the characters come to life.

Also on a side note, I want Maret to hear from the Conch shell (As a memey joke) "Under the sea, under the sea" XD

(Mysterious man has red hair, I wouldn't be surprised he turned out to be a mermaid XD Sorry I'm just on slight crack theory mode right now. He didn't sell his voice though)

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

When I was first writing and planning this comic, I was a little scared about how slow the start was, but I'm glad that it has been interesting despite the slow nature of the exposition.

2. Favourite Moment? Dude trying to climb out the window and failing. That was really funny XD

@FeatheryJustice Accurate! He's kind of an idiot, and he panics over nothing. For Maret... I actually based her character partially off of my two younger sisters, so that might be a lot of what contributes to her personality and realism. We did talk about hands and feet before! I love drawing hands, because they are so expressive and complex, but hate drawing feet because they are complicated. But I did study from life to draw Maret's feet, because I felt like I would mess it up otherwise ^^;

Hahahaha! I could definitely make an edit of that, tbh.

FeatheryJustice

That would be a funny joke panel if you ever want to do one. XD It's like replace the diaolgue memes XD

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

And I was partially making a mermaid joke when I had the reference to mermaids in the comic because he is a redhead

Definitely an idea....

I would title the episode "Whispers of the Crack"

FeatheryJustice

OMG YES I would love to see that XD

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

I have a WotP meme folder on my computer already

carcarchu

1. What did you like about the beginning of the comic? Mystery man pretty 2. What has been your favorite moment in the comic (so far)? i liked the part where maret was listening to the conch for mermaids, had a lovely magical charm to it 3. Who is your favorite character? mystery man 4. Which characters do like seeing interact the most? not too many interactions so far but maret and the mystery man were cute 5. What is something you like about the art? If you have a favorite illustration, please share it! the sunset scenery had a nice vibe

also i can see why people were saying it reminded them of ruroni kenshin, mystery guy especially with his hair up and on the cover image is reminiscent of kenshin but storywise doesn't remind me of it at all

carcarchu

I have some critiques that i'll cover in case you don't want to see them. SPOILER The anime-ish emotes (the blush and the anger vein) to me clash against the realistic artsyle and detracts from the moments, some more subtlety with them would be appreciated. And Maret doesn't really look like a child to me, her face is very mature so it makes her look older than she is. Moreover the 3 characters that have been introduced thus far have very similar facial features. For maret and agatha they are siblings so it makes sense but the mystery man is (presumably?) not related to them so i'm not sure if that's intentional. In any case more facial diversity would be appreciated going forward (if it's just your style that's fine too). And this is a really small nit-pick but the first panel of chapter 6 has horse hooves with the sfx thump thump thump. In my opinion this sfx should be clip clop clip clop END SPOILER

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

@carcarchu Thanks for the notes! I actually had a hard time deciding how to portray blush noticeably in a more realistic style, haha, but I can definitely see why it's jarring. Do you have any tips for how to depict blushing without anime emotes? I would just make it more reddish/pink, but it always looks weird to me (or too unnoticeable). As for Maret... She looks like a child to me? She's six, so she isn't quite a toddler, so I don't know if that changes your perception of her. She actually resembles my youngest sister a great deal, and my youngest sister was 5, almost six, when I designed her. (I just looked through the pages again, and there's maybe one panel that I think she looks slightly older in, so if anything, I'll try to fix that panel.) So yes, obviously Agatha and Maret look very similar, hahaha. They are biological sisters, so that makes sense. There will be at least two more characters introduced that are also related to them (and look fairly similar as well) and one character who will be mentioned who is also related and looks just like Agatha. Other than that, Izrekiel does look somewhat similar, I suppose, but it might also be partially that he canonically has a very feminine face as opposed to other male characters to be introduced later. It could be that and also a bit as a result of my style. I'm not sure. Ahhhh, sound effects! I also struggled with deciding what to do here. I wanted to do something different than "clip clop," mostly for a stupid personal hang-up. (I don't know why, but "clip clop" always looks so comical to me.) But if it helps translate the sound better, I might just have to bite the bullet and change it. Thanks for your feedback! Even if I don't agree with all of it, it does help me to take a closer look at what I've done with some different eyes. (edited)

carcarchu

That's fair! You don't have to accept anything just my thoughts (i hope nothing i said was too harsh) for me thump thump is a dull sound whereas clip clop or clippity clop is a sharper and harsher sound

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

yeah, I think you're right about that

thump is more like a heartbeat

or someone falling on carpet or something

carcarchu

and as for the blush question i think there are ways to depict a similar emotion without relying on the blush itself as a short hand like the softening of the eyes, the shape of the eyebrows, looking down and heck even body language can help with this. expression is more than what is shown on just the face

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Thank you. I always feel like my characters look too stiff, like mannequins. ^^; I'm probably not going to completely redraw any old panels at this point, but I might make a few alterations to these panels to make it more consistent with later panels down the line.

carcarchu

i also noticed that a lot of your panels are the characters looking straight towards the "camera" and i would appreciate more varied angles and perspectives

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Particularly with the first ten pages, that is certainly true

I got that note before, but I didn't redraw every panel, only some which looked particularly bad.

carcarchu

personally i never edit old chapters unless i 1. forgot to draw something important 2. there's a huge typo 3. it's missing a panel

any critique you can just keep in your heart and implement if you choose to do so moving forward

keii'ii (Heart of Keol)

2. I really liked "what if it's mama?" - a lot of hints condensed there: family history, how the topic of deaths/ disappearances are handled around children (either in that family specifically, or in that culture), and also a moment that shows a glimpse of Agatha's sisterly love instead of having the readers assume it.

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

Really loving the comic so far! Right now, I'm most interested to learn about this family situation. I'm guessing their mother is dead or missing, but what about their father? I suppose his clothes were still in the house so maybe he just went out? Or maybe they're both missing and it was just fairly recent?

Also, the paint-y style of this comic is just incredible

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

https://media.tenor.com/images/878a64d90a1139bcb1e863ee29bfa929/tenor.gif

I'm so happy that you guys picked up on the clues about their mother. It alludes to some pretty plot heavy stuff that very few people have really commented on so far.

eli [a winged tale]

Oooh I’m so excited for your story Cronaj! Here are my answers~ 1) I love the beach scene! Maret with the shell is adorable and you established their relationship right away 2) Fav moment is probably the scene transition to our lad waking up with Agatha going about her day. It’s very peaceful and I’m a sucker for slice of life stuff. 3) Can’t pick just yet~ I like Agatha as a solid protagonist though. 4) More Agatha x mystery man please 5) I loooove the illustration aesthetics. Bold colours! 6) haven’t gotten to the core theme yet I’m sure but first impressions/meeting are always exciting. 7) I’m excited for what is to come. Can’t wait for the call to adventure. 8) Strength is definitely the art - beautiful and bold. Keep up the wonderful work!

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

@eli [a winged tale] Woah!!! You're the first person I've heard say that they like Agatha! She's mah girl! (And don't you worry, there will definitely be a lot more Agatha x Mystery Man ) Thanks for participating

eli [a winged tale]

she’s a solid sister!

sagaholmgaard

1. What did you like about the beginning of the comic? I like how the intro had a nice balance between art and text. Usually if there’s a lot of text on the first page I can get deterred from heading a comic, but here I think it worked really well! And the loverly painting of the ocean sunset also reeled me in and fit really well with the poetic text! 2. What has been your favorite moment in the comic (so far)? ”He’s the prettiest man I’ve ever seen!” LOL (and she’s right too…) 3. Who is your favorite character? I like the kid! But I’m excited to learn more about the other characters as the story goes on! 4. Which characters do like seeing interact the most? I liked Agatha and Mystery Man interacting, it felt very natural and I’m curious to see what comes of it. But the dialogue felt pretty strong which I gotta applaud 5. What is something you like about the art? If you have a favorite illustration, please share it! The beautiful shot of Mystery Man on the beach of course, lol! I love the way the hair is rendered, it really feels like it’s has weight and is spread out in the sand, if that makes sense? 6. What is a theme you like that the comic explores? It seems like it will explore a lot of interesting themes in the future, such as grief and finding where you belong, so again I’m interested to see what the story brings! I’m sure it’ll be good no matter what :D Overall I like what I’ve read so far! It’s not the type of art style I usually gravitate towards, but I can tell a lot of love is going into rendering and I think we’ll be seeing Crona’s art improve a lot as the story goes on, which is always exciting to see!

RebelVampire

What I like about the beginning of the comic, which also goes for what I like about the art in general, is the attention to detail in the background colors and lighting. I've never seen such a beautifully rendered (what I assume is) a sunset. It really makes everything have this great almost mystical atmosphere to it. In general, though, the art so far is definitely the comic's strength because you can see the sheer passion in every drop of it. My favorite moment so far is when Maret gives Izrekiel some flowers and then drags him off and he's just meekly protesting. It was both cute and comedic and the preciousness hurt my heart. This is also why this is my favorite pair of characters interacting so far. I think the age gap combined with the context of Izrekiel's situation is gonna lead to lots of awkwardness that I look forward to. As for fave character, though, I would have to go with Agatha right now. I don't know what it is about her, but everytime I see her I feel like I'm looking at an old soul. Like maybe someone who still has a lot to learn about the world, but is wise beyond her years in other regards. And it makes her a captivating character for me.

While I'm not sure if this will be an overall theme throughout, I like that the comic starts to deal with the theme of loss and hope. On one side you have Agatha who just kind of accepts loss and deals with it, and then you have Maret who just lives on in hope. And I kind of feel they represent two dynamic sides to the issue about whether its better to cling to hope or just move on and deal and how both can be harmful if not expressed in the correct way. As for overall story content, while we're not that deep in, I do like it starts with a multitude of mysteries cause mysteries are always great for making ppl want answers

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Since Crona said they were good with art critique: The main thing I noticed when I first saw the art was that, though lovingly rendered, the characters' faces and bodies are kind of stiff. They don't really scrunch up their eyes and faces when they emote- it's mostly just the eyebrows (this was especially noticable when Maret was crying, or on the latest page, first panel, where Agatha's face doesn't really match her body language or words). And characters often don't seem to twist their bodies as much as they should. Oh- also the same camera angles of faces and bodies are repeated a lot. Front, 3/4, and profile. It'd be cool to see some shots with foreshortening from above or below the characters. Also the lighting is pretty diffuse- the characters seem to be shaded about the same way, and with the same colors, regardless of the lighting situation. I can still tell where the light is coming from, because there are those strong bright highlights in the direction of the light, but other than the bright highlights everything else seems to be shaded as if there was another light source coming from straight ahead. Also, sometimes characters seem to lose their shadows? Like on this page https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/whispers-of-the-past/ch-1-what-the-waves-left-behind-pt-3/viewer?title_no=191366&episode_no=4 where Agatha doesn't cast a shadow on the man, or this page https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/whispers-of-the-past/ch-1-what-the-waves-left-behind-pt-8/viewer?title_no=191366&episode_no=10 where they're running.

Those things being said though, I was still very impressed by the sheer amount of effort put into this comic. 100 hours/ update is absolutely insane. And you pay so much attention to the inanimate objects of this world. It makes the story feel grounded. About what someone else said: I agree that the cartoonish blush looks out of place. But I disagree about Maret- I think she does look like a child. 5. Favorite illustration? Definitely Agatha's hands when making dough. Not a critique but just a question: I was confused on the location of the story. Where is this?

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Ooof. Finally got a chance to sit down and respond to all these comments. I keep rereading them over and over again, so thank you so much for sharing your thoughts everyone! I've noticed a few themes with what people have commented so far: Maret is most people's favorite character, the panel of Izrekiel on the beach is also very popular, and the theme of loss/grief is apparent to the readers (which I'm very happy about.)

@sagaholmgaard I'm glad that you mentioned the theme of "finding where you belong" too, because it is and will be a very prevalent theme in the comic. And reading your comment about how the dialogue seems natural made my day. I used to worry about how the dialogue came off constantly, and to hear that it's strong is so encouraging.

@RebelVampire As is expected, your comments are very thought-out. The interaction between Izrekiel and Maret after he falls from the window is one of my favorite moments so far as well. I'm happy that Izrekiel's behavior came off as meek in this scene, because that is one of the defining traits of his personality. I'm glad for another Agatha fan! She is such a fun (and difficult) character for me to portray. There are so many layers about her that even I am still discovering. She is definitely an old soul, and he experiences growing up have definitely matured her beyond her years. As I mentioned before, the theme of loss is definitely a major theme of the comic overall. And hope as well, since I think the two are very connected.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

@Eightfish (Puppeteer) Thank you for offering your critiques! Character stiffness is definitely one of my major problems that I'm working at. I definitely see what you mean about Agatha's face in the latest update. Her eyebrows look painted on (pun not intended). I have been looking forward to having some more dynamic poses, especially foreshortening, but I do find it somewhat difficult when most of what the characters are doing so far are standing, sitting, talking, and maybe doing something with their hands. ^^; Hopefully, in the future, when more "action" happens, it will be easier to do this. As for bird's eye or worm's eye shots, I'm not gonna lie, I struggle with them so much. I had two bird's eye panels, and those took so much time, and I still don't know how I feel about them. If you have any tips for exercises, I would be so grateful. (Finding reference isn't always possible.) I also would love some tips/resources on how to get better at lighting. Again, lighting reference isn't always possible for specific panels, so it would help me a lot to learn how light works in general. OOOOOOF! I don't know how I missed the lack of shadow on Izrekiel in that panel. That was 100% a stupid oversight on my part. The scene with Agatha making dough had some of my personal favorite illustrations for a while. :) Also, your question about the location, I'm not entirely sure how to answer it?(edited)

It's a high fantasy story, so the location is entirely fictional.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

The best I can answer that is to say that the story takes place in a country called Shai-Ryam, consisting of four major "districts" in a semi-tropical temperate peninsula called "The Aka Peninsula," named after the native people who originally lived there. As of right now, they are in a city called Gon Atam, a seaside village on the western shore of the Nuata District, near the Ocean of Saturuna. It is a city heavy in trade and with a long history, yet quaint and small due to a disaster several hundred years ago. It is only now being repopulated.

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 2

9. Where do you think Izrekiel comes from, and what is his past history that seems to haunt him? Additionally, how do you think he wound up with amnesia and seemingly abandoned by the sea?

10. How will Izrekiel’s past history affect events of the story? In particular, how will revelations about his past affect his relationship with Agatha and other characters?

11. How do you think Agatha’s life will change from her encounter with Izrekiel? Will it somehow lead her to a more exciting life? If so, will it make her miss her simpler life with her family?

12. What are the biggest questions you have so far and are hoping to see answered over the course of the story? Also, what do you think will happen in the story in general?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

Ash🦀

9. Okay, so, here’s my theory. Just a guess. So Izrekiel is from a very war-friendly people up north who need land. Izzy just isn’t all about that life, but feels like he has no choice. Then he gets hurt fighting someone close to him (I’m putting money on brother or cousin who lives on the “wrong” side of things, hurt because he just couldn’t fight them at full strength. And then he realizes he can’t do it, while on the ship bound for new fight zones. His captain gets wind of it and is like “oh no I can’t let Mutiny Happen” so HeS all long ike “either fall in line or get off my ship” and Izzy is like “no I don’t wanna fight anymore heck you guys” and the captain proceeds to yeet him off the ship, leading him to the island, which, unbeknownst to him, is the next target. That’s my guess. Might be wildly off. He might be part mermaid. (Merman? Is mermaid gender neutral?) 10. Izzy or his bros probably killed one of Agatha’s family members, possibly the mom? Possibly violently? Which is why she never told babygirl what’s up. It’s probably going to be remembered in the buds of their relationship, hes going to try to hide it but it’ll come to light and she’s gonna be like “Izzy I hate you” and it’s going to make me cry. 11. She’s going to have a bread making partner in the end. They’re going to have adventures and go back to a domestic bread making existence, I speak it into being now /smacks table That may just be what I want to happen, though, as I very much enjoy bread making and wish others the same simple joy of giving dough a good smacking. 12. IS THE MOTHER REALLY A MERMAID OR WHAT Is Agatha a mermaid Are they like Selkies where they can come onto land a little Is babygirl a mermaid too(edited)

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Omg... I love reading these theories. I won't say you're wrong or right, but this is a riot. I'm thoroughly enjoying this.

FeatheryJustice

9. Pulls out my Crack Theory brain Okay, so Iz is actually not a very hot man, but actually a really hot princess, transformed into a man since she was exciled from her country but their rules are to give the exiled a new life so they shape shift them into something else. Iz got shifted into a man, and the lovely wide bare chest was because their top was lost to the ocean like how someone would lose their bathing suit top to the sea. Anyways, knowing nothing about themselves, Iz now lives their life as a man never remembering they were a princess in the first place. Ends Crack Theory 10. Don't know, can't say for now. 11. She could always politely kick him out later, so I can't say for now. XD 12. I want to know if there are monsters in this story or just like different species warring it out.

RT|NitghVision

^ I like this theory

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

@Cronaj (Whispers of the Past) Oh! I missed that it was high fantasy. I thought the story was historical fiction. No wonder mystery man has pointed ears. I was so confused- I kept thinking, oh, she looks Polynesian and lives by the ocean. But wait, her name is Agatha and she makes bread? And the houses look Japanese? What culture are her clothes from? The world being completely fictional explains all that. I think I was confused by the real names in a high fantasy story- you don't really see that a lot. Finding the right reference for lighting or pose is impossible for me. I have no tips. The only way I've found is to make my own references. I will sit in front of a window, or take a lamp into a dark room or something, and prop my phone up and take photos of myself in the poses and lighting direction I need. But hey, at least that way I don't have to worry about stealing someone else's work?

(i also like feathery's theory)

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

@FeatheryJustice Crack theories are best theories.

@Eightfish (Puppeteer) Oh! I had no idea you thought it was historical fiction No wonder you were confused! There's a lot of weird cultural-mixing shenanigans going on in the setting, and it's a bit confusing.

I should try that, for now the lighting has been primarily sunlight, or diffused sunlight (which I don't think I depicted correctly).

RebelVampire

Time to crack story theory. I don't know enough about the world to guess a name to where Izrekiel is from. However, wherever it's from, I get the impression its embroiled in a bloody war that is suffering heavy casualties. I imagine that Izrekiel mightve been in a battle and just wound up in the sea by circumstance - like maybe was taken as a prisoner of war and jumped overboard to escape. Something like that. As for the amnesia, well, Imma chock that up to PTSD cause the brief flashbacks we got don't look pleasant. However, I definitely think someone will come looking for him, and that these someone's will make trouble with the people he's just met - perhaps even forcing them to abandon their home with people in pursuit. And I'm sure as Izrekiel remembers more, others are going to really view him as potentially dangerous and blame him (but then get over it cause he's pretty O_O) Given that, I do think Agatha is gonna leave home because of Izrekiel's past running after them. I do think she's inevitably gonna miss the simpler life. Not to the point she won't rise to the challenge, but to the point that she's gonna be like "wait theres danger out here and i didnt even get a sword from an old man in a cave!" As for biggest questions, right now I'm just kind of hoping to see more of the world cause current world events really are gonna dictate a lot where the story could go.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Dude I was literally googling the names to see what country they were from because I thought they were from some obscure real island with a history of cultural mixing that I hadn't heard about before.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Hahaha! Yeah, Agatha is an English name. Maret and Kelan (a character that hasn't been introduced yet) are Irish names. Aalia (another character that isn't introduced yet) is an Arabic name. Kehhasan (another character) is a made-up name. Izrekiel is a made-up name inspired by the biblical names Israel and Ezekiel (although technically it is often spelled in their alphabet as "Isarikieru," which has a particular meaning and pronunciation in an even older—fictional—language). Ryukou (another character), is a real-ish name, based off of the Japanese names "Ryu" and "Kou," which mean "dragon" and "peace/light" respectively. Four other characters have fictional names: Ia, Tammamori, Soro, Ghita (although technically it's a Greek name, that wasn't my inspiration). And of course there are hundreds of side characters with a combination of weird names and name origins.

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 3

13. What are you most looking forward to seeing in regards to the comic?

14. Any final words of encouragement for the comic?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

Deo101 [Millennium]

So! I don't really do so well with answering questions, but I do want to say it's inspiring to me to see just how much WORK is put into this comic. It's really lovely to see so clearly how much you care for it. Just want to give some general words of encouragement, keep it up!

Ash🦀

I’m most looking forward to seeing more of Izzy how the story develops along with your painting. There are so many hints and peeks at the world, and I can’t really guess where it’s going. I feel like I already care for these characters, and I can’t wait to see their journey. I am also not good at encouragement, as generally I’m fueled by spite. But I just wanted to say, keep going! You got this! We believe in you!

eli [a winged tale]

Keep up the good work Cronaj! Your art is beautiful and I can’t wait till we start rolling into act 2!

FeatheryJustice

I'm excited to see what else comes up next!

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Thanks for all the kind words and encouragement everyone! I'm so happy to know that you are enjoying the story so far!

RebelVampire

I'm most looking to learning a bit more about the world structure I think. Since I think current events are really gonna hint at a lot what's going on. As for final words, this is an artistically wonderful comic with a lot of love put in, and I can only imagine how things will improve in the future!

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

I'm just really looking forward to seeing these characters grow! This is a beautiful comic, and I can't wait to get more of it!

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Before the book club ends, I just wanted to pop back in and say thank you to everyone for their participation. Your kindness, insight, and critiques will stay with me for years to come. I'm so happy to have found a supportive community of readers and fellow creators!

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Whispers of the Past this week! Please also give a special thank you to Crona J. for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Whispers of the Past, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/whispers-of-the-past/list?title_no=191366

Crona J.’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cronasonlyfriend

Crona J.’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/cronaj

Crona J.’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/CronajArt

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #book club #bookclub #webcomic book club #webcomic bookclub #comic tea party #ctp #whispers of the past #crona j.

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curemoonliite · 5 years

Text

Premiere Nebula Modern AU Headcanons

(AKA how I think these future girls would act in 2019.)

Omega:

—Cartoon fangirl. Since her theme color is rainbow and she’s an artist, her faves would probably be the crazy colorful ones like She-Ra, Steven Universe, and MLP.

—Sells her art on the convention and Maker Faire circuit.

—Likes listening to indie music.

—Isn’t big on superheroes, but Stelle bought her a Thor jacket once for a gift exchange/secret Santa (kind of as a joke about her lightning powers), and she still wears it around a lot.

—Likes investigating urban legends, but isn’t quite as daring as the YouTubers who regularly go into abandoned buildings. (She may not be as easily scared as she was before the altering, but she’s still got anxiety, so like me, she’d be much too freaked out about getting caught.)

Valka:

—Watches true crime documentaries and claims she’s doing it for intel about how villains think. (Which is true, but she also wants to see if her case ever comes up, if people ever suspect one of the country’s major leaders of being the Manufacturer.)

—Likes tabletop games, especially if they’re strategy-based.

—Wears silly workout shirts, mainly because she thinks an athletic sun elemental wearing a “sun’s out guns out” shirt is the funniest thing ever. The other Nebula members understand that anything that gets their leader out of her trauma for a little bit is good, but still find it hard to take her seriously if she’s wearing one during briefing.

—Uses the “sparks joy”/“does not spark joy” meme incessantly, because her last name is Sparks and she secretly has a terrible sense of humor. Will instinctively say “this does not spark joy” in a tired voice whenever she’s disappointed.

—Because her younger sister Io loves anime, and because she has black hair and blue fire, she has been roped into cosplaying Dabi several times, often while Io cosplays as Todoroki. She was annoyed at first about this but realizes that this is probably the one time people get excited about seeing her use her powers. (“She did the thing! She did the thing!”) Plus, she actually doesn’t mind playing a villain once in a while.

—Definitely watches “mind game” anime like The Promised Neverland and Death Note.

Io:

—Was an unbearable hipster in her early teens.

—Probably owns at least three Jurassic Park T-shirts.

—Shitposter of the group.

—Was the one who got Valka hooked on true crime shows.

—Is currently the one trying to peer pressure Omega into exploring abandoned buildings.

—Likes YouTube amusement park documentaries, even though she’s only been to a few in her life because of the Manufacturer’s terrible parenting.

Xue:

—Definitely likes fairy-kei and Lolita fashion, and often looks at street fashion blogs for inspiration.

—Has successful managed to choreograph her ice magic to match Elsa’s in Let It Go. Is currently working on the other Frozen scenes in hopes of someday mastering the entire movie.

—Probably dresses up as Elsa for little kids, because she’s that good of a person. The kids love seeing an Elsa who actually has ice powers!

—Goes on advice blogs a lot and tries to help as many people as she can on them.

—Once got a “my shield doesn’t fit in my workout bag” novelty exercise shirt from Valka, and only wears it to be nice. (Needless to say, the Nebula gift exchange was a bust.)

Xing:

—That one YouTuber who exclusively does metal covers of non-metal songs.

—Secretly has an Instagram poetry account, where she writes under a pen name to preserve her “street cred.” (“It’s one thing to write your own songs—online poetry is not rock ‘n roll.”)

—Absolutely had an emo phase.

—Attempts to make a Nebula meme account along with Io. (Valka nixes the idea.)

—Overly aggressive Guardians of the Galaxy fan. (“If you try to tell me the Avengers are better one more time, Stelle, I will fight you.”)

Koto:

—Gets roped into joining the robotics team, and actually really likes it.

—Once ordered an absolutely massive mint chocolate shake (like the kind you see on food blogs), and regrets it immediately.

—Regularly gets in Internet fights with people who hate mint chocolate.

—Will talk your ear off about the similarities between Stormtroopers and military clones, and how the implications behind the fictional one tie into the treatment of the other, very real party.

—Likes Captain Marvel (because she reminds her of her girlfriend Stelle) and has a couple Captain Marvel T-shirts.

—Since Io likes anime in the modern AU, she would immediately see the resemblance between Koto and a gender-flipped Deku (green hair, freckles) and remark on it in battle. Once she watches the anime, she finds it’s pretty cool that they look alike. (And that the dark skin/green hair combo also makes her resemble Sailor Pluto.)

Stelle:

—Had (and probably still has) a DDR phase

—Really likes Captain America, because Winter Soldier was on TV when she was in the hospital, and she admired how he never gave up on Bucky in spite of his brainwashing. For a while, she wished she had someone like that in her life, until the Nebula members basically say “Koto’s right there, you idiot.”

—Would probably be the one to spam their page with mental health and trauma memes.

—Likes YA fantasy a lot, even the silly ones.

—Projects a lot onto fictional characters. (Particularly Bucky because of the whole “brainwashed assassin” situation, Captain Marvel because of the “fighting for the wrong side” situation, and Rapunzel because of the “kidnapped since infancy” situation.)

Kaine:

—Probably reads trashy romance novels.

—Absolutely mains Widowmaker. (I don’t even play Overwatch, and I know this. Sniper-type IRL, kinda goth, definitely a Widow main.)

—Teaches Stelle to play Widowmaker after she realizes how close their backstories are, and bonds with her over video games.

—Follows Gothic Lolita blogs, just like how Xue follows classic/sweet Lolita blogs.

—Likes horror movies, but doesn’t scare easily.

Phea:

—Has a beauty/social justice blog that isn’t really popular.

—Most of her popularity comes from her makeup videos, where she attempts increasingly weird and complex stage makeup designs. She’s the one who does Valka’s cosplay makeup for the Dabi costume.

—Is a big advocate for body positivity, and calls out every scam-endorsing celebrity she sees on Twitter.

—Is the type to bullet-journal every day out and make it as aesthetic as possible.

—Has mermaid-print everything.

#premiere nebula #writing #my post

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thetygre · 6 years

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30 Day Monster Challenge 2 - Day #23: Favorite Bad Movie Monster

Alright, so most of these movies aren’t really all that bad; they’re just kind of ‘meh’. But they would have been a lot worse without these cool and/or goofy monsters.

1. Jabberwocky (Alice in Wonderland 2010)

I am prepared to disclose that Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland was not horrible, but 60% of that opinion stems from the Jabberwocky. (The remaining 40%is 30% the other monster designs and 10% lesbian subtext.) The Jabberwocky has always been my favorite part of the Alice mythos (surprise surprise), and not to sound petty, but I have dropped Alice movies just for not including the brilling beast. Burton’s Jabberwocky might not be my favorite, but it has a lot going for it. The way they treat it is basically as Wonderland’s Tarrasque; a living WMD, a legendary kaiju, the ur-monster in a world teeming with dangerous and crazy creatures. The way it wakes up is even a direct nod to Chernabog from Fantasia; they are literally equating this thing to the Devil.

Second off; Christopher Lee.

Finally, when the Jabberwocky meets Alice to fight, he says this thing about meeting his ‘old foe’, ‘the vorpal one’, in battle again. It is made explicitly clear that he is talking about the vorpal blade, not Alice. And that just… I don’t want to say that that changes the entire movie, but yeah, it kind of does. The implications here are that the vorpal blade and the Jabberwocky have fought each other countless time before in the past. The history of Wonderland is just the history of a dragon and a magic sword fighting. Is the vorpal blade sentient? How many times have these two fought? This kind of transforms everything about the setting the movie has established for the last hour and a half. It’s just so filled with so much potential to me.

2. Torgo (Manos: The Hands of Fate)

Y’know, when you’re in a dark place, you have to find your own light. A source of motivation, something you can cling to to pull you through to the other side. Maybe that’s a dream, a goal at the end of the tunnel, or maybe it’s a hero, someone you can look up to. I’m not saying that Torgo is a hero, but he inspires me. There are weeks at work where I just don’t want to get out of bed in the morning. I come home at night to an empty room and fall asleep alone. It gets hard, is what I’m saying. But you know who never stopped trying, even though he hated his job and was lonely too?

Torgo. That’s who.

Everyday Torgo gets up, throws on his blazer and hat, and he goes out there and busses a haunted motel for a boss he hates. But he does it, every day. And if Torgo can do it, you can too. So you’ve got to get out there and be the best damn lackey you can. You’ve got put in the work to make it to tomorrow. And when the good times roll in and come shining down on you, you take a minute to remember the man who helped you get here. Take a minute to remember Torgo, looking down on you from Cloud No. 9, shedding a tear.

3. Radu (Seventh Son)

The Last Apprentice series is actually a pretty cool (and grim) series of dark fantasy/horror young adult novels, kind of like junior’s first Solomon Kane. The Seventh Son movie based on the series has piss-all to do with it, and its only redeeming features are some cool monster designs and Jeff Bridges. Of those cool monster designs, the stand-out for me is Radua aka Muslim Dragon Kratos. He’s one of our villain witches chief thugs, and is unnecessarily cool for a side-character. He’s got this whole Nosferatu Zodd code of honor thing, and wields these two chain blades and probably could have been the villain in his own movie.

Now that alone would have been a neat detail, but then he can turn into what I honestly consider one of the more interesting dragons in recent cinema. I talked before about how one archetype of dragons was of being these unholy, scavenger type wilderness monsters, and that’s kind of the vibe I get from Radu’s dragon form. It’s all lanky and feral looking. It has too many limbs, and it walks around like it doesn’t know how. It’s another unnecessarily cool design for such a generic movie, and it’s definitely worth checking out.

4. Krakensaurus (Jack the Giant Slayer)

I don’t want to be mean and discount Jack the Giant Slayer as ‘discount Ray Harryhausen’, but thems is the breaks, as the saying goes. The movie is kind of charming in how earnestly it plays to being a 1960s fantasy movie, with princesses in pink dresses and warlocks with goatees and a rhyming leprechaun. The movies stop-motion monsters don’t really live up to industry standards, though. But I can’t sit here and lie and say that I don’t have a special fondness for the sea monster at the end. The movie’s penultimate scene sees our heroes trying to escape the warlock’s castle, so the villain summons a two-headed giant (or ettin, if you know your monsters) which looks suspiciously like one of Ray Harryhausen’s cyclopes. Trapped in a sea cave, the rhyming leprechaun trapped in a bottle (roll with it) summons a sea monster to deal with the problem.

Sometimes it’s the little things in life, like watching two weird looking monsters fight to the death. Our sea monster is a blue-green mixture of kraken and allosaurus, and I’m pretty sure its toy had more detailing than the actual moving model. When this guy showed up on the screen, six year old me was hype enough to punch through a wall. I spent the next week drawing pictures of him so I wouldn’t forget him. This movie has 100% more sea monsters and singing leprechauns than The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, and that almost makes up for its deficit skeleton warriors.

5. Queen of the Lair (She Creature 2001)

Stan Winston was on the helm for this little lady’s monster design, and it shows. A mermaid queen, it’s hard to tell if her monster form is her real shape or just something she can morph into. Even her basic mermaid form is pretty interesting; the split tails remind me of sirens or tritons. Her monster shape, though, is pure Stan Winston gold. There’s more than a little bit of the xenomorph queen in there, between the crest and the fangs. Someone threw it into a blender with a sea serpent and a viper fish and what comes out is the most badass mermaid to ever slink across cinema. She rips people’s heads off, her tail is covered with bone spikes, and she can sing a siren song to summon up her mermaid swarm. Oh, and psychic impregnation powers. That part’s kind of important.

6. She Creature (She Creature 1956)

Aforementioned sea monster queen was part of a series of horror films based on old b-movies, so this is the original She Creature. Even today, this is one of my favorite designs from the 1950s. Paul Blaisdell might just be the king of B-movie monster suits, and belongs up there with Ray Harryhausen in the great monster hall of fame. The she creature looks like the sum product of an orc, a lobster, and a scorpionfish. It’s a shame you only see her in monochrome, because her color scheme is a startling mix of green and pink. What I find most fascinating is the concept that this is supposed to represent some parallel evolutionary stage of humanity. This is supposed to be a different version of Homo sapiens that never left the sea. Stan Winston’s mermaid queen is great, but I would still love to see an updated and more articulate version of this design.

7. Vampire Spawn (Van Helsing)

This raises so many questions. So the crux of Van Helsing is that Dracula needs Frankenstein’s monster to power a force-field that will allow his swarms of vampire spawn to survive past infancy. I bet you thought vampires reproduced by biting people, right? Well, apparently they also have egg-sacs. Just, massive, Aliens style egg-sacs full of bat/human fetus monsters hungry for blood. It’s so stupid that I love it. These things are horrible and adorable; they remind me of chupacabras. I want one as a familiar, or at least statted up for a tabletop roleplaying game. Just really try to avoid thinking about the whole egg-sacs thing and all the implications that brings to vampire mythology.

8. Emperor Tyrannus (Attack of the Super Monsters)

I don’t… I don’t think I have the strength to really get into Attack of the Super Monsters. When I watched it, liquor was involved. Describing it reads like a parody of Japanese media that involves anime, men in monster suits, and giant robots meant to sell collectible toys. But it’s real, and the realest shit ever is Emperor Tyrannus. Emperor Tyrannus is literally a giant tyrannosaurus rex who is the evil mastermind of an underground civilization of dinosaurs. The dinosaurs talk, because shut up, and Emperor Tyrannus in particular talks with a villain voice that I just can’t really convey through text. I think the closest I can get is saying that he sounds like someone doing an imitation of Brian Blessed while having a stroke. Emperor Tyrannus shoots laser beams from his eyes that mind control the other dinosaurs into being evil, and watches them fight a hermaphroditic cyborg superhero in a drill/airplane. Look, you need to see this for yourself. I’m not doing this justice. Get your friends, find the DVD, and strap in for a wild ride.

9. Witch Tree (The Last Witch Hunter)

The Last Witch Hunter is another guilty pleasure move where Vin Diesel brings what I’m pretty sure is one of his D&D characters to a movie and somehow ropes Michael Cain and Elijah Wood into it with him. Our villains are, in a surprising twist, witches that cook up some fairly grotesque magic. One of the creatures meant to act as the witches’ guardians is a magical sentinel, and it just goes so hard and so dark for what amounts to a stick golem. It’s the fine details that make this construct stand out. The extra limbs let it move faster and have extra attacks, the jawbones around the front form a crude mouth, and the branch rib-cage makes it look like something that used to be alive instead of something that was just magically summoned. There’s so much work poured into this one monster, and it’s definitely a treat to see it at the end of the movie. Rethink your golems, kids; treat yourself better.

10. Giant Leeches (Attack of the Giant Leeches)

I used to be pretty intensely leech-phobic when I was younger (and by younger, I mean a couple of years ago), but even then I knew the giant leeches were lame. Incredibly lame. Like, honestly kind of pathetic. I kind of like them out of a bizarre sense of pity. Giant leeches should scare me, but these guys are just goofy. A leech isn’t a hard design; it’s a tube with a sucker on each end. But I am almost convinced that the person who designed these monsters had never actually seen a leech, or possibly even a worm. But the movie still treats them with all the dignity and awe of the Creature of the Black Lagoon. There are prolonged sequences of these guys swimming underwater, floating around like hungry garbage bags. These things are not, nor were they ever, leeches; they are some kind of aquatic octopus or confused anemone. That’s why they need our love, our protection; because they’re too stupid to survive by themselves.

#30 Day Monster Challenge 2 #30 Day Monster Challenge #monsters #movies #fantasy #mst3k #stan winston #paul blaisdell #long post

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logodesign0-blog · 6 years

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You Essential A New Logo Designed For Your Business, Wedding, Event Or Sports Team - Currently What?

Do you have any of these predicaments?

* You need a Logo Design for another business you are setting up.

* Your games group needs a logo.

* You are getting hitched and you need a logo for the solicitations or seating place-holders.

* Your organization's logo should be invigorated, redone, modernized, or recolored.

* You have a logo, however, it's never been the best quality (it's somewhat fluffy).

* You have a mark occasion that requires a logo.

* One of your printing accomplices is asking for your logo in a vector group.

* You have a shading logo, yet you have to give it in dark.

In the event that you wind up in any of these circumstances, don't stress. It's normally very fun and intriguing to have a logo made or refreshed. Having it put into different organizations isn't that difficult either. You simply need to realize whom to work with, what to search for, which things to ask and what you can anticipate.

What is a logo? A logo is an imprint, badge, image or symbol with recognizing attributes. Regularly, it is comprised of words and an image or delineation, yet here and there the words are the image. A portion of the pictures that strike a chord are the Playboy bunny, the Nike registration, McDonald's brilliant curves, Audi's four between associated level rings, Apple's mostly eaten apple, Mercedes Benz's three-point star around, World Wildlife Fund's high contrast panda, and Starbucks' two-followed delegated mermaid.

Logo originators more often than not come as Graphic Designer, Print Designer, Creative Firm or Marketing Company. Costs can shift from seventy-five dollars straight as much as ten thousand dollars relying upon whom you contract, the kind of customer base they work with and the extent of your organization, occasion, group or task. Before you call them to examine evaluating, investigate their logo portfolio to perceive what they have created. On the off chance that you like their style, get in touch with them. On the off chance that they hit you up rapidly, it's most likely a decent begin to your relationship.

When you contact a Creative Logo architect and concur on the value, you can anticipate that your creator should make inquiries like:

1) What is the name of your organization, group or occasion?

2) What is your slogan, mantra, situating explanation or goal?

3) What does your organization, group, or occasion sell or do?

4) Who are your essential clients?

5) What sort of inclination do you need your logo to make?

6) Do you have any shading inclinations?

7) Is there anything emblematic that you might want to make reference to?

8) What is your group, occasion or organization's history?

On the off chance that your logo is being intended for your wedding, the creator will need to realize the hues related with the enormous day, where the wedding will be held, how you met one another, the wedding topic and your names. A Western wedding logo (ranchers, steeds) would warrant a significant unexpected style in comparison to an Eastern wedding (tiger, sanctuary, light, lotus) Logo Design.

A logo for a games group would need to consider the group name, sexual orientation of the group, uniform hues and if there is a mascot or not. It bodes well for The Calgary Flames hockey group logo to have flares falling off the C simply dependent on the name alone, isn't that right?

When your originator sets up a vibe and general bearing for your logo, the person will create various structures for you to take a gander at. It is essential to realize what number of starting plans you can expect and what number of rounds of corrections are incorporated when you are arranging the cost. You can, for the most part, anticipate that the plans should be messaged to you in a.jpg design which is anything but difficult to open. On the off chance that you are in the equivalent geographic zone, a few fashioners or artists will take a seat to indicate you them and to see your response. On the off chance that you are working with a long separation architect, email proofs work extraordinary.

In some cases, you'll see a structure that works for you directly off the bat. Or on the other hand perhaps you like the symbolism, however, you can't peruse the wording (textual style type). Perhaps you like the general structure and the wording, however not the shading. Hues and text style styles are very simple to change except if you need a costly textual style that hasn't been planned for in the venture. A lot of times, logos are planned with free text styles. Here and there this makes the logo less special. Now and again, there is nothing amiss with free text style and it fits in pleasantly with whatever remains of the structure.

On the off chance that you despise the majority of the plans that are appeared to you, your fashioner may need to alter course or potentially pose more inquiries. It's a procedure of becoming more acquainted with what you like. Frequently, it works out well with a few variants returning and forward. It is a smart thought to have a "slaughter expense" spread out amid the value arrangement process just on the off chance that you and the originator essentially can't concede to the plan. That way, you can both leave the undertaking with you having paid a smidgen to realize what you don't care for and them profiting for the exertion they put in. It occurs.

More often than not, the planned procedure functions admirably and you will get an incredible logo that depicts your group, occasion or organization with pleasant visual effect.

When a plan is picked and the hues are picked, the realistic must be transformed into a few hues and organizations.

Generally full shading, dark on white and white on dark will be all that anyone could need shading decisions to satisfy most advertising solicitations.

As far as organization, record types including.psd (Adobe Photoshop),.esp. (typified postscript),.ai (Adobe Illustrator), high resolution.pdf (Adobe), and.tiff or.jpg are the majority of the document types you will ever need to give to any number of print or web-based promoting accomplices.

Imagine a scenario in which you have a logo and someone approaches you for a vector record. Vector documents come in.cdr (Coral Draw),.ai (Adobe Illustrator) or.eps (Encapsulated post content). On the off chance that your logo was not made in any of these document types, don't freeze. Frequently, a great architect can reproduce your logo into one of these configurations. It might cost two or three hundred bucks to have a creator do it for you, however, once you have it in that group it will spare you time and cash over the long haul. Due to its adaptable nature, vector configuration will guarantee that the respectability of your logo is kept up whether it's on a modest stick or a vast bulletin.

Weaving organizations can be a special case. I have run over the event where a weaving organization required an alternate kind of record than any of the sorts referenced previously. There was nothing I could do to get them the record type they needed and they charged my customer a setup the expense to get the logo into their particular document position made for their machines.

Consider the possibility that you as of now have a logo that you have been utilizing for quite a long time, however, it's sort of fluffy when printed or appeared on sites. A current logo can be changed into the record designs I referenced with the goal that the nature of the logo will be impeccable in future print materials. You simply need to give an image of the logo to your picked originator.

A decent quality Logo Design can make your group, business or occasion resemble a million bucks, so don't be reluctant to put resources into one.

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princessfaeron · 7 years

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Student Movie! AU for Rainbow Rocks, where the entire thing is a collaborative project between some of the music groups in Canterlot High (the Rainbooms, the Dazzlings and Trixie And The Illusions) which turns out startlingly good considering it’s nearly entirely made by teenagers

-when they all start working on the script the Dazzlings volunteer to be the villains because listen our group is themed around SIRENS do you KNOW how much villain potential mind-control mermaids have?

-this is only partially an AU, as in the events of the first movie did actually happen, and Sunset Shimmer is like "hey, Sirens actually exist in equestria" and then "hey I just remembered something mb we can do a thing"

-contacting Twilight Sparkle because maybe they're actually onto something with the equestrian sirens thing and eventually all of their ideas morph into Rainbow Rocks

-At some point Twilight figures out the portal thing so they actually get to film ON LOCATION in Twilight's castle and with her pony friends

-(Rarity practically swoons when she realises she's being invited to a CASTLE by a PRINCESS, and can't hold back her excitement when the Rarity native to equestria invites her to her boutique. ("YOU DESIGNED FOR A ROYAL WEDDING?" "Oooh this fabric is gorgeous! If there's ever an exchange rate between our currencies would you ever consider selling me some?"))

-(Human Rainbow starts tying her hair up in Equestria so she can be told apart from Pony Rainbow. Pony Rainbow also teaching her how to fly so they can race.)

-The Rarities and Twilight working together on making the storybook the Sirens show up in because the existing legend is great to base it off of but it wouldn't explain how they got to the human world, bc in this AU the equestrian sirens weren't banished (ofc)

-at first Trixie isn't involved and it's just the Dazzlings and Rainbooms wanting to make a thing but somehow she gets involved anyway and ends up being a semi-major supporting character

-the starting budget for the film isn't very much but when the portal to equestria opens it goes WAY UP because Twilight donates Bits and as it turns out (after Sunset Shimmer points it out and it's tested) they're made of ACTUAL REAL GOLD, and the gems Spike gave them are somehow even more ridiculous

-("This is a diamond. This is a diamond the size of my fist. I don't think we can sell this, we'd get in trouble for scamming. Hey Rarity want to make yourself some 'costume' jewellery?")

-(at some point the Equestrian government notifies the US government of their existence and the situation because at this rate these kids are going to get in trouble for this. Somehow a bunch of high school students become legal, and the only, suppliers of equestrian gold to the US government.)

-the rainbooms literally buy professional movie cameras and software for editing and special effects and other misc equipment because not only do they have a bunch of money from selling bits but they also have a SALARY now and it's a lot, like, enough to fund a blockbuster movie enough.

-Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna are a little bit surprised when a group of their students ask if it's okay if they film at the school because normally if some students want to do a home movie they don't bother asking permission but then they're shown the cameras and the storyboards and concept art, not to mention the endorsement agreement from the Equestrian Government which they didn't even register was a THING before then, but this is clearly a much more serious endeavor than most student movies so yes we'll get you some permits, just don't let this interfere with lessons and yes that includes yours.

-they hold auditions at the school for background and supporting characters and pretty much everyone is into it, especially once it's mentioned that Princess Twilight will be visiting again to play in it.

-In fact, everyone pretty much everyone auditions to play someone. Flash Sentry gets the part of... himself, and is elated by this fact, because he's not actually very good at acting. He starts to practice in private so he doesn't mess it up because he's one of the few supporting characters who has speaking roles. (when shooting rolls around he has to reshoot the scene where he gets mad at Twilight more times than any other because he keeps apologising about it before the scene is over)

-shooting is nearly finished when the friendship games happen, which goes pretty much exactly how it did in the movie. Scitwi is added to the movie crew as a digital effects artist and even gets her own teaser clip at the end of the movie, and agrees to get involved if a sequel happens too (which everyone silently agrees will be a recreation of the friendship games event)

-whenever they're not busy with their other duties, Rarity, Pinkie and their counterparts start working on marketing. "Rainbow Rocks" social media accounts with things like posters, teasers and even on-set photos from between scenes are made, and the hype for the movie slowly grows. While the writers and directors are originally kept anonymous, at some point the movie's popularity BLOWS UP to massive amounts when people find out that this musical modern fantasy epic blockbuster is being made nearly entirely by teenagers and movie critics are already praising it and calling everyone on the crew a prodigy even before the official release date is revealed

-somehow these kids get a proper theatre premiere and the tickets are sold out in a day, along with the tickets for every showing for a month, because while Rainbow Rocks might be considered "eh" here where it's an animated movie about a kid's show, in the world it's set in it would be more along the lines of epic fantasy blockbuster (like Harry Potter but more girl power and not based off a book)

-lots of people are stunned by the scenes filmed in equestria because THEY LOOK SO REALISTIC HOW THE FUCK? IS THIS EVEN CG (no, no it isn't. In fact, most of the magic in the movie isn't CG either, the only bits that are are the dazzling's mer-horse projections and the harmony lazer alicorn) -there's a slightly less big premiere for the equestrian release because the movie industry there isn't as big but it's still very popular and even the princesses attend it

-the mane six visit the human world to attend the premiere and lots of people are very confused to see slightly-older-looking-and-differently-dressed doubles of the leads

-(they're even more shocked by Spike. Twilight managed to do something with the portal to let Spike through as a dragon, just for the premiere, and he is ELATED but everyone at the party who didn't work on the movie has a mental bluescreen and has to reboot)

that’s all I’ve got for now but there might be more later. I should do this with more of my plot bunnies, lol, I got so much info out onto paper.

#my little pony #equestria girls #rainbow rocks #au #mlp au #mlp #long post #Student Movie! AU

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getreadytosmash · 7 years

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Chapter 11

A-Bomb’s POV

We all stared at her for a long while not knowing what to say.

“Hey Hulk. What did you have to save Sammy from?” asked Carla.

“Oh! Yeah…right. I had to get you both out of a swimming pool because of a radio that fell in.”

Wait. That sounds a little too familiar.

“A-Bomb!” called Carla.

“Uh, yes ma'am?”

“You a fan of my movies right? I saw how you have designs that was based off of some of my films.”

“Yeah, but how did you know?”

“Well I kinda watch your show to know when it was time to come. Anyway, back to the question. There’s no time to talk about everything else.”

“Okay? I watched a lot of your films since they are so amazing and you are my favorite director.”

“Perfect. And I see that you are watching my ‘Crystal Aquarium’ film,” Hulk, describe what type of floaties we were on and what caused the radio to cause,” ordered Carla while pointing a stuff snake at him with the name Mattie on it.

“Sure,” Hulk said uncertainty, not knowing the purpose.

“You were in a turtle floatie and Sammy was in a whale floatie. The radio fell because of a cat that was there.”

“Alright A-Bomb. Here’s the last thing I have for you. It will all come together for you and tell everyone else the meaning of this,” proclaimed Carla.

Carla went up to me and stood in front of me and simply said, “the S Theory.”

Oh. Ohhh. OHHHHHH! OH MY FUCKING GOD!

“No! You- It- it can’t be! Well. Uhhhh,” I stuttered like an idiot in front of Carla.

“Jones! What is it? What does it all mean?” demanded Red.

I couldn’t believe this. This is too much for me. Where do I even start? I looked at the TV and saw the movie. I went to pick up the remote and fast forward to a particular scene that Hulk will find out familiar.

“Okay. Let’s start from here.”

“Hold up. Why-”

“Let me explain Hulk. The climax of the movie is that the crew had to get all the fish out of the tank to another one correct? Well the last mermaids that were left was….Silas, a shark mermaid and Donna, who was a turtle mermaid. One of the feeders named Cordelia and a scientists named Mila tried to get them out of the tank. The bad guy, Mr. Katz, tried to drop this huge machine that will shock everyone in the water. The person who saves them was a visitor named Henry who saves everyone with a crane and carried everyone to safety. The movie was based off of that moment that Hulk was in,” I explain.

“However, there is a certain theory that everyone is talking about. The S Theory. For some reason in every movie there is a character that plays a huge part in it, starts with the letter S. As we see here this one is Silas. Then others like in EyeCatch that has Silvester, Long Hair that has Sean, and others too. Coat Black didn’t had one because it was a prequel to EyeCatch that was an organization that deals with weapons and and Coat Black that deals with stolen artifacts like paintings and selling them. Coat Black was EyeCatch’s backup if something goes wrong and that is why we saw Silvester in the end of Black Coat. Only in Samantha is where that main character has the letter S AND was based off of a true story and involve Carla but names and genders were change. The theory is that every person with the letter S is the same person in different universes because of the S and the same personality they all have that they were based off of someone. So if the theory is right then the person she based it off of was Sammy.”

Jesus Christ that was long. I don’t know if the others got it. Carla seems happy and looks very proud of herself that I understood it.

“That must mean that you were Cordelia,” thought Jen.

“And Dawn! That must have been Donna. Dawn is Sammy’s cousin,” Hulk explain.

“But what about Mila?” wondered Red.

“Mila was Sam and my kindergarten teacher and Sam did have a shark plushie named Millie after her,” said Carla.

“And Henry must be Hulk,” said Jen.

“Yup, you guys got it,” agreed Carla.

“Carla tell Hulk who Sam is?” asked Skaar.

“…Nope!”

“What!” shouted everyone in union.

“I only came here because Sam told me to after he left and never came back. All he said was that he will find me somehow but made me make a promise to him that I will come when Hulk was going to the past. I will refuse to give out Sam’s whereabouts so you are going to have to figure it out yourself. Every time you go to the past, I will tell you what happened later or any other information. Got it?”

Aww! The suspense of Sam’s or Sammy’s or whatever his name is identity. Well I least I can confirm the theory and I can ask a lot of questions about her movies. I feel like I have to binge watch all her movies just in case Hulk goes back.

“By the way, what ever happened to Mattie?” asked Hulk.

“Well, it turns out she wasn’t exactly a real snake and she actually escape from the zoo again at the same time Sam disappeared. Probably went looking for him. They never found her. It turns out she was human that was forced to transform into a snake by magic and couldn’t get back to normal. That explains her human personality.”

“Why Carla knows what happened to Mattie?” asked Skaar.

“Uhhh. I’m not telling. I already told too much anyway. It will ruin the fun and beside it Sam we want not Mattie,” declared Carla trying to hide her slip.

“You know what? Here have this stuff Mattie, I only bought it to scare Hulk. In surprised that they still sell these.”

Skaar took the snake and wrap it around his arm petting its head.

“Skaar likes Mattie.”

“Alright. Back to business,” said Red.

“Nope,” denied Carla.

“What do you mean no?”

“I have to go hide at a hotel and hope that no one saw me. You see how big my hair is? Do you know how hard it is to straighten it? Unless you don’t have another room.”

“You can stay here. Right Hulk?” I said. We have the answers right here and I’m not letting her identity be caught in public. If that happen, she’s going to have to go and people will ask why she’s with us.

“*sign* You can take my room, Carla” admitted Hulk. “I’ll see where I’m going to sleep at.”

“No that’s okay, I can get a-”

“My room! She can go to my room, since we are both the only girls here,” exclaimed Jen with the same idea of not letting her go.

Carla smiled really big. Oh Jen. You have no idea what you did. Should I tell her? Nah.

“Perfect. I need to get my stuff. Can you help me, Skaar.”

“Skaar help!”

They both went to get her stuff and Red look at me.

“Jones, stop trying to flirt with Albizu.”

“I’m no trying to flirt with her and I can’t. I’m trying to make her stay so we can have answers.”

“Wait, what do you mean you can’t?” asked Jen.

To say or not to say? That is the question. Imma say it.

“Well, it’s really hard to flirt with someone who is a lesbian. And jokes on you Jen and think she’s going to be after you.”

Red started to laugh while Jen didn’t know what to say. She was thinking about what she offered and blushed.

Carla and Skaar came back with a suitcase, a large bag, and…a cage? Because of the large bag was really heavy, the cage are fell down and -OH MY GOD WHAT IS THAT!

Something really huge and furry came out of it. Me and Jen both screamed at it as came toward us and went into the vents.

“Was that a rat?” asked Jen.

“No, I think it was a pony,” replied Red.

“Oh no! Icarus!” Carla went after the rat and followed the sounds of where the rat was walking in the vents.

“Rick, go follow her,” ordered Hulk.

“Me! Did you see how big that thing is?”

“Okay then, why don’t we get Walters to go get it,” suggest Red with a smirk.

“Oh hell no! I’m not getting that! Make Skaar get it!”

“Skaar carries bag and can’t go.”

“For fuck sake. I’m going,” said Red. “I’m going to the camera room first to look for her first. Get the room ready. And no flirting with the director.”

“I’m not flirting with her-” I started but was cut off.

“I’m not talking about you Jones.”

…oh.

“Hey!” yelled Jen after she realized who he was referring to.

Red laughed as the went to the camera room.

Carla’s POV

I ran all over the place to get Icarus, Sam’s pet rat, but she won’t stop running. Suddenly her took a left turn that lead to a closed door. Since I watched the show before I opened it and saw Icarus running into a glass case and was trying to get in.

“Icarus! Don’t run away from me like that!”

I noticed how hard it was struggling to get out of my arms and wanted to get into the glass case.

I looked up and almost cried. I held Icarus tighter as I saw who was watching me. Sam was on the other side of the glass.

We stared at each other. I can see tears almost coming out of his eyes. I want to say so many things to him….but I can’t. There are cameras here and I’m not giving Sam away.

The door opened and Red Hulk came in.

“I see that you met the Leader. Don’t worry, he’s not coming out of there anytime soon,” he assured me.

“Oh. Yeah. Sorry about that. Icarus would go to….random strangers if they smell like….anyone familiar to her,” I lied. Great fucking Carla. That’s the best lie I can give.

“If I was that rat, I would have run the opposite direction from him,” joked Red.

God I wanted to punch him.

“So is the room ready?”

“Yep. Follow me, I’ll show you where it is.”

I went up and followed him through the door and looked at Sammy one last time. Red was already ahead of me and I swore I heard him sobbing from the other side.

Jen took me to her room and made another bed for her on the floor. She left me alone so I can get comfortable with the room. As soon as she left, I cried.

??????’s POV

My phone was buzzing. How strange. I never had text messages for a long time. How annoying but I went to pick it up anyway.

Unknown: Shorts. Is that you?

Agent Rag Doll: Who’s asking. Get lost if you know what’s good for you. I don’t want to get into any problems. That’s too much trouble.

Unknown: I’ll tell you later, but I have something that might interest you.

Agent Rag Doll: How did you get into S.H.E.I.D’s contacts?

Unknown: Enn…it’s about Samuel Sterns.

Agent Rag Doll: …

Agent Rag Doll: I’m listening.

\Holy Crap that was a lot! The movies are based off my imagination like different dimensions that I decided to put in there. Leave me and my naming skills alone :P I had these names for a long time. Oh yeah introducing person A. Hope you enjoy.\

(Oh boy that was emotional! I can't believe Carla and Leader got to see each other for only a few moments before Red ripped them apart 😢. I really love the names and the s theory, top notch fan theory there! And Skaar's showing an affection to Mattie, *wiggles eyebrows* wait till he sees the actual girl, cue heart eyes. And oh boy Jen, you've gotten yourself into a wild predicament and Red ain't helping one bit XD. And person A!!! I'm looking really forward to learning more about Rag Doll and their goal with Leader. Dang Samuel, bringing all the lovers and drama to the smashers, aren't you?)

#Marvel #Fanfic #The past that smashed #Skaar #A-bomb #She-hulk #Red #Hulk #Carla #Leader #awkward-snake-girl #Rag Doll #nice chapter #time for Leader to get some attention #from shield nonetheless #submission

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thiswasinevitableid · 4 years

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indruck volcano pls?

Here you go! I based Indrid’s mer-design on a Chinook Salmon.

Duck’s search history is getting weird.

In his defense, the last few weeks have been pretty damn weird.

It started two weeks ago, when he was checking tree specimens along the river. One minute he was engrossed in his work, birds chirping and the sky blue above him. The next the hair on the back of his neck was straight up, and he was positive someone, or something, was watching him.

Gradually, the feeling subsided, and he chalked it up to random case of the heebie-jeebies.

Except, two days later, it happened again. And then again the day after that. Each time he looked around, kept his ears on high-alert, and came up with nothing. The fourth time it happened, he got a glimpse of the back and tail of something human-sized and pinkish-red disappearing beneath the water.

He knows his wildlife well, but he’d never seen anything like that. That night, he sat down at his computer for research.

River fish of the pacific northwest?

Biggest species of freshwater fish in pacific northwest?

Are there pink sturgeon?

Pink fish near Mt. Saint Helen's?

How to report illegal, exotic pet selling ring?

The next day, he was leading a tour around the river walk, when something pink-red caught his attention. He kept one eye on it as he spoke, noticed it disappeared under the surface whenever anyone else turned to look it’s way. Towards the end of the tour, he glanced over to find, instead of reddish scales, red eyes watching him from a definitely human face. It blinks, then ducks beneath the current.

Mermaid sightings in Washington?

Animals commonly mistaken for mermaids?

Are mermaids real?

Proof of mermaids other than that freaking discovery channel mockumentary?

Two days later, he’d been bending over the embankment to see if that was a native turtle or a released pet in the water when his hat dropped of his head and into the water, rushing away before he had a chance to go in after it. It was, as his friend Aubrey would put it, a bummer. That hat had pins from all the parks he’d been too, and the first nametag he was ever given as an official member of the park service.

Just before his rounds took him away from the river, he spotted something on a rock at the edge of the water.

His hat.

He was about to thank his luck that it got caught on the stone when he noticed that it had clearly been placed there, and that there wasn’t a speck of mud or dead leaves on it. And whoever put it there had thoughtfully weighed it down with several colorful rocks.

And there were no recent footprints on the shore save for his own.

“Uh, thanks?” He called out over the water, feeling sillier by the second. No response came.

He turned, headed up the bank, and swore he heard over the burble, “You are welcome.”

Can mermaids talk?

Are mermaids friendly?

Which brings him to now, several days later, as he’s back in the same patch of water, trying to fish out the turtles that were, indeed, someone’s non-native pet that had been turned loose.

“You are going to lose your hat again.”

“FUCK!” He stumbles back, landing on his ass in the shallow water. Across from him, peering around a rock, the man who definitely has a fishtail, looks concerned

“Oh dear, in most futures you did not fall.”

“You’re a fuckin’ mermaid. I ain’t crazy! Wait, futures?”

“I can see the future. And no, that is not a thing all merfolk can do, since you were about to ask.”

“I...how...god what the fuck is goin’ on?” His pants are taking on water at an alarming rate, but that is the least of his worries.

“I am introducing myself to you. I thought that was a custom merfolk and humans had in common?”

“It, uh, it is, but, uh, see, most humans don’t expect to ever meet a merperson on account of we assume you ain’t real.”

The merman sighs, “I know. And those who do see us are often frightened. Or try to capture us for money.” Cautiously, he swims away from the rock and over to Duck, stopping a few feet away, water shallow enough that he can keep his arms resting on the pebbly sand and tail flicking drops of water into the air, “but you are not one such human. Which is why I wanted to know you.”

“You, uh, you wanna know me because I don’t seem like I’m gonna sell you off to a sideshow?”

“Among other things. I have been the steward of this portion of river for years, seen many tend to these woods. You have such an air of caring to you when you work, and such competence, it is fascinating to watch. Also I enjoy that you sometimes speak to the trees.”

“I just want ‘em to know they’re grownin’ well.” Duck mumbles, blushing.

“It is charming. If it is alright, I would like to continue watching you when you work. Perhaps I could even talk to you while you do, if it is only you and I around?”

“Uh, sure?” Duck shrugs, “can’t promise sparklin conversation, but I ain’t opposed to the company. Might learn more about trees than you ever care to know.”

“Splendid!” The merman claps his hands together, “some day, in return, you can come swim with me and you can learn more about fish and current than you care to know.”

His enthusiasm skips across the water and Duck catches it.

“You got a deal. Name’s Duck, by the way.”

The merman grins, teeth sharper than Duck expects, “It is nice to meet you Duck. I am Indrid.”

Mermaids carnivorous?

Should you offer to share your lunch with a mermaid?

Indrid, true to his word, appears now and then over the next few days. Sometimes, if the trails or river are busy, Duck will just see flashes of tail, or a flicker of a face peeking around a rock.

Other times Indrid will float on his back or even climb up onto a rock to watch him work. He asks Duck questions about birds, and trees, the various behaviors of humans that confound him. Duck, in turn, asks him about his life in the river, about the layout of merfolk up and down this part of the state.

Some days, Indrid is nowhere to be seen. But on those days, Duck will spot pictures drawn into the mud or sand of the riverbank, as high up as Indrid was able to manage. Sometimes, it’s as simple as a drawing of a merperson waving. Others it tells Duck where to spot a rare salamander or songbird. Once or twice, it’s reminder of something Duck needs to do that day after work, something he meant to write down but didn’t and is glad for the reminder of. He assumes Indrid must use his future sight for those.

On the days when it’s only messages in the sand, he’s always sure to leave a happy face (or the words “thank you” once he teaches Indrid how to recognize it).

It’s been three days of sand messages, the longest stretch yet (Duck misses him, keeps hoping he’ll turn and see that toothy smile) when Indrid finally appears and asks, “would you like to swim with me tonight?”

Given that it’s pushing a hundred degrees (the kind of day that makes him feel as though the mountain will erupt at any moment) and he’s fairly certain Indrid either can’t or won’t eat him, Duck says yes.

When his shift is over, he heads down to their agreed meeting space, an inlet that’s off limits to the public and has a calm current.

“I assume you wear those because otherwise the water is too cold for you?” He points at Duck’s swimtrunks, the spare pair he keeps in the car.

“Kinda. Mostly to, uh, preserve our modesty.”

“Ah.” Indrid says with the tone and nod that Duck knows means, “I understand but think it is a bit silly.”

As soon as he’s up to his chest in the water, Indrid is swimming around him, talking animatedly and brushing his body along Duck’s back. Duck shivers at the contact, tells himself it’s from the unfamiliar, cool scales.

Their conversation turns to Indrid’s younger years, and he admits to harassing a flock of college students who were tubing and kept chucking their beer cans into the water.”

“How’d you get ‘em to stop?”

“My tail is rather strong, so I got it under their tubes and just-” he flicks his tail out of the water with a huge splash, the bulk of which hits Duck.

“Ackhey!” He splutters, giggling.

“ApologiesAH!” Indrid shakes his head in surprise when Duck splashes him back. The human gets another wave directed at him by Indrid’s tail, and when his vision clears the merman is gone.

“Uh oh.” He says just as Indrid pops out of the water in front of him, drenching him as he does. The tail sneaks behind his legs and knocks them out from beneath him. But before he goes under, willowy arms grab him.

“I win.” Indrid grins.

“Guhhuh.” He flails a bit, trying to right himself, and his hand slides up Indrid’s tail.

“Mmmmmm.” Indrid sighs as he helps him up, “that feels nice.”

“Is it, uh, can I do it again? It’s kinda cool, never felt anythin’ quite like it.”

“Of course.” Indrid rests his head on Duck’s shoulder as the human runs his hand up and down his tail, noting the dark flecks in the red.

“It been the same color all these years, or does it change?”

“That’s a fascinating question….”

They talk until the sun goes down, resting against each other all the while.

Merman tail sexual thing?

Can a human fall in love with a merman?

Can a merman love a human?

Merman porn?

Two days later, Duck is just starting his rounds by the river when Indrid emerges, eyes frantic.

“Duck, Duck, the volcano-”

“Oh fuck me, is it-”

“No, it is not erupting again, but, but there will be an earthquake on account of it’s seismic activity. You need to clear the visitor center, the roof is going to come down and it will kill twenty five people. You have fifteen minutes.

Duck runs, is winded by the time he reaches the center, and no matter how he tries, his coworkers will not listen to him (he wishes Juno was working today, he might be able to tell her the whole truth).

Out of ideas and time, he pulls the fire alarm.

The center evacuates in a hurry, and just as his boss is about to ask what the hell he’s doing, the ground shudders once beneath them. Then again, more violently, thirty seconds and an eternity all once of cracking and shaking and shouts of alarm.

The visitor center is ruins.

But everybody is alive.

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

Duck rolls his pants up, wading a little ways into the water as he chucks stones into it

“You did it.” Indrid surfaces, swimming over to float off to his left.

“Yeah. Guess I did. Got two days suspension for pullin’ the fire alarm though.”

“I am sorry.”

“Ain’t the end of the world. Uh, are there any more of those comin’?”

Indrid thinks for a moment, “No, none so severe in the forseeable future.”

“And the volcano?” He steps into deeper water.

“Still not erupting any time soon.”

“Can, uh, can I ask you the odds of one more thing?”

“Of course.”

“Uh, what, what are the chances of you and I kissin’?”

Indrid swims the few feet between them, looping his arms around Duck’s shoulders and planting a single, cool kiss on his lips.

“Indrid.” Duck whispers, ready to wade in over his head just for another kiss, knowing for certain Indrid would never ask him to.

“Before you ask: yes, my sweet, I do see many more of those in our future.”

#indruck #mermay #mermaid au #mermay fills #indrid cold/duck newton

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stimtoybox · 8 years

Note

Sorry if you've answered something like this before, but do you have any recommendations for stim toys that are on the subtle side and can preferably be kept on the person?

It’s fine! You can always check my ask tag to see what’s been answered, but I understand if you’re not able to flip through five pages of asks (and tags are harder to access for mobile users, although I keep the tags pages linked in my user description to make it easier). You might like to look through this previous ask for ideas, as it discusses lanyard-clipable stim toys!In addition, if you’re in a classroom or desk office setting, some of the stationery items mentioned in this ask might be workable as stealth toys.

I’m not sure what kind of toy you might be after (chewable, fidget, etc) so I’ll list everything I know of that’s both on-the-person portable and subtle/stealth. Jewellery is like to be your best option. This is a little harder for people like me who prefer not to present in ways socially-coded as feminine, but, thankfully, most of these things don’t have strong associations with a binary gender.

Stimtastic really does have some of the best offerings for teenagers and adults after subtle/stealth stim jewellery.

Fidget jewellery that’s perfectly stealth: Roller Ball Bike Chain Bracelet | Extra Wide Bike Chain Bracelet | Spinner Rings (link to category, in various colours and designs) | Double Circle Earrings | Concentric Circles Necklace | Scented Vial Necklace (I have the cinnamon one and I love it - it’s small enough to be unobtrusive/merely decorative and it smells divine) | Snake Twist Necklace (a subtle Tangle alternative) | Mobius Flower Earrings (I took these off the earring backings and turned them into necklace pendants strung on a leather cord - gender neutral and nobody knows it’s stim jewellery) | Heavy Bike Chain Bracelet | Interlocking Bike Chain Bracelet | Light Bike Chain Bracelet | Wrist Coil Bracelets (like wearing a hair tie on your wrist - unremarkable) | Zipper Bracelets.

Fidget toys that can be attached to a bag or belt loop: Rolling Bead Lanyard | Large Bead Ring | Squishy Panda Charm | Jumbo Bead Ring.

(Note: how stealth these ones are depends somewhat on how eclectic you are in presentation. I can attach a bead ring or a squishy to a belt loop and have no one remark on it, but I’m the kind of person psychologists politely call “quirky”.)

Fidget toys that can fit into a pocket and hide in your hand/palm when someone comes over to your desk: Spiky Animal Fidget | Boinks Fidget | Mini Prickle/Hedge Balls.

(Note: I’ve found the animal prickle fidget toys in multipacks in the party sections of dollar shops and Toys R Us, $4-$4.50 AUD. I’ve also found the mini prickle balls in multipacks in the party sections of dollar shops and Big W, $3-$5 AUD.)

Chewables that are closer to stealth: Chewable Dulcimer Necklace | Chewable Trapezoid Necklace | Chewable Doughnut Necklace. (These are the smaller or plainer chewable pendants, and I assure you, I’ve seen folks wearing non-silicone versions of these. I’ve also walked around various cities, stores and markets wearing the Braid Pendant and nobody has once thought anything of it if they don’t see it in my mouth. Oversized jewellery, especially for femme-leaning folks, is pretty fashionable.)

DIYs: If you want to make your own roller bead lanyards, here’s the tutorial. If you want to make your own bead rings and make them even more stealth, here’s my tutorial on making bead ring necklaces. Nobody has ever treated these as anything more than funky necklaces, and I wear these everywhere, every day.

@caseydickdanger, if you’re located in the US, makes some seriously unique handcrafted pieces. Most things have textures if you’re just after a necklace pendant to touch and handle. The really stimmy in-stock items include the Nautical Bottle Necklace, Mocha Tubez Bracelet and the Mermaid Sand Tubez Bracelet.

@spacerobotstudio has a phenomenal selection of funky, unique fidget necklaces: Spirit Level Necklace in Red | Spinner Pendant Necklace in Copper and Teal | Bronze Double-Sided Compass Necklace | Pink and Blue Saturn Spinner Necklace (oh, god, want) | Dots and Brown Spinner Pendant Necklace | Blue Glitter Globe Necklace.

Banggood or ebay also sell tiny squishies. Mochi squishies are perfect for holding and hiding in one’s hand (links to many individual ones in this post) but most of the cheap squishy assortments include smaller bun and cake squishies as well (and these have strap attachments for adding to bags).

(If you’re after more bag or lanyard-attachment fidget toys, here’s the ultimate post on where to find edamame poppers!)

Etsy has a wealth of spinner rings. There’s a wide variety running from affordable to bespoke.

You can also find the wrist coil/telephone cord bracelets in cheap multipacks in every dollar store - look in the hair accessory section. Also available on ebay! If you’re not the kind of person who wears bracelets, I’ve seen them as lanyard clips in many dollar shops (link to listing on Banggood).

Chubuddy and Amazon also have chewable telephone cord bracelets, if you want something unremarkable that’s chewable and a fidget.

Chewigem has several silicone raindrop pendant chewables that look just like oversized funky pendants.

In short, there’s a lot of options, especially jewellery-wise. However, most of these sellers are based in the US, so if you’re an international stimmer, be prepared for international shipping rates and conversion fees. While there are therapy-focused stim toy stores internationally, most of them don’t offer a lot in the way of subtlety!

Good luck. If this doesn’t help you enough, please let me know. If there’s something I should have included and didn’t, please also let me know!

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dlamp-dictator · 8 years

Text

Allen’s Ramblings XIV: Allen’s Limits (Fanservice Edition)

Well, I just finished another go-over for my fanfic (which I’ll hopefully be updating tomorrow), so I’m in a writing mood today. Before I head home I think I’ll do a rambling real quick.

So I made a post here saying that I can’t watch the anime Valkyrie Drive Mermaid because it hits “my limit” in terms of fanservice and what I’m willing to tolerate, but I’ve never really discussed what my limits were in terms of fanservice.

Let me just be frank about my (trash) tastes real quick. I love and will defend Senran Kagura as a game with not only good gameplay, but a good story to my grave (unless we’re talking about the timeline/multiverse split, then this game deserves all the flack it gets on that end). I enjoy anime like Ikkitousen/Battle Vixens (the first season anyway), Wanna Be the Strongest in the World (though I will never recommend that to anyone. Ever.), Kill la Kill, Keijo, Koihime (wow, a lot of K’s there), and so on. I love playing games like Dead or Alive (I even buy the DLC sometimes), Rumble Roses, Onechanbara, Blazblue (its female designs are really fanservice-y, let’s be honest here), Nitro Busters, and I’m willing to try almost any MMO with cute female character designs for a bit. Needless to say, I like me some fanservice, or at least I can tolerate a hell of a lot of it.

You will never hear me say “this anime/game is good if you can get over the fanservice” because I refuse to believe an anime or game should have a gap like that for people to over to enjoy it. Unless gap is a video game and it’s a skill-based gap, there shouldn’t be a one in the first place (that said Senran Kagura: Deep Crimson is actually kind of hard unless you grind a bit, so... fair warning). You might have noticed I say things like “if you can’t handle the fanservice that’s fine, but try to make it past episode 1 at least.” That’s because I feel you at least need a minimum amount of context before making a call on a show or game just being fanservice trash. Seeing a few gif sets or screen shots isn’t context, not to me anyway. With shows like Keijo and games like Senran Kagura, there’s a good anime and game there, and a lot of the judgement come from the premise and people just ignore the context. Many of the people that try the games out or watch the shows usually say something “yeah, this is a good game/anime, and it has potential, but the fanservice kills it for me.” That’s a 100% okay thing to say. I just get mad when people call it trash without even looking into it. To say Senran Kagura is a trash game that only panders to male audience is just... not only wrong, but shows ignorance to me. To say Keijo and Kill la Kill are fanservice-y shows that just attract a male audience just... kills my soul a little when I know for a fact that it’s got other things going for it than just the fanservice.

However, with all that said I still have my limits. There are shows and games that even I can’t get intodue to some of the content in it. I won’t say these games and shows are bad, but sometimes I will say I can’t finish, watch, or play them because the content in them turns me off, or at the very least I will advice people to skip certain parts because that’s how bad they turned me off.

But anyway, let’s get on with what limits Allen has in terms of Fanservice:

Bare Breast Being Shown

Christ, this is the main reason I can’t get through Valkyrie Drive Mermaid.

Look, I’m a guy. I’m a straight guy. I think I can comfortably say I like breasts. As an anime fan with trash taste I can say that, yes, I like anime tiddies. However, flashing bare breasts on the screen just... turns me off a little. Like, I get it, sometimes that’s just how the show is. Clothes and underwear come off, so it just makes sense, but I just... don’t enjoy. This is mostly because when I watch fanservice-y anime I’m watching the simulcast version where the boobs and nipples are censored in a way that it’s either in a way that’s comedic (like in Daimao), stylistic (like in Samurai Girls), or by editing shots (like in... most anime nowadays). So, when the blurays come out the anime tiddies are shown in full, uncensored view it feels more distracting than tantalizing. Like, you’ve already hooks me with the story, comedy, or action dude, why are you showing me the anime tiddies when I didn’t care for them three months ago? That’s just how I feel anyway, I think I’m the only one that thinks like this.

Sex Scenes

This is in the same vein as bare breast. I usually watch these fanservice-y shows for either it’s action, comedy, or actual plot (what little one exists anyway), so even if the sex scene makes sense in context, unless it’s playing some comedic gag like someone walking in on the characters and kills the mood or it’s an implied sex scene where the joke is that it’s some innocent I just... don’t want to watch it. A good video game example might be the sex mini game(s) in the God of War series. Yeah, they’re short and aren’t important to the game, but... I didn’t buy the game for that reason, that’s not the point of the game, and it feels like it was put in their for stupid reasons.

Taking the Plot Too Seriously/Flimsy Justification for Fanservice

This is the main reason I can’t get into Queen’s Blade, but some online friends have tempted me into giving it another shot. This is also the main reason I can’t recommend Ikkitousen past season 1. When shows and games try to make their plot out to be something more serious than it actually is it just... makes me wonder why. Like when I was talking about Keijo in my anime updates, it’s main draw was the ridiculousness and action, not the fanservice. If that show tried to play Nozumi’s poverty seriously and had her involved in Keijo out of desperation to make money I would had dropped it immediately.

To clarify, the manga made it clear that Nozumi knew she could make a killing as an Olympic Gymnast, but as a Keijo player she knew she’d have a bigger payout, longer career life, and (arguably) less risks to her body. Becoming a Keijo player was just systematically better for her and that’s why she did it. No more, no less. I would had stopped watching almost immediately if they had made Keijo out to be some vile sport forcing girls to battle for a wild crowd like an underground cock fight and Nozumi was desperate enough to quick being a gymnast to make money in that sport.

Again, this is what killed my interest in Ikkitousen. I was watching that show to see cute girls punch each other with decent fight scenes and animations, not for some Three Kingdoms drama about defying fate. I’ll play Dynasty Warriors if I wanted that.

Playing to a Fetish I Don’t Have/Care About

This one’s pretty simple, so I won’t get too ramble-y here. If the show or game’s trying to sell me on something I’m not into, I won’t care to play or watch it anymore. I’m not about to start spilling my virgin-ass sexual interests on the internet, so that’s all I’m gonna’ say on that.

Underage Sex Scenes/Underage Sexualization

No. No just. This is a bad thing and it’s why I can’t and won’t recommend Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya past the first season, and why I will recommend people read Negima at Omnibus Volume 3 instead of at the beginning.

Now, when I say “underage sexualization” I mean “below high school age.” Why do I let high school get a free pass? Well, because I’m pretty sure a good majority of us lost our virginity in high school, and high schoolers having sex is a plot in nearly every live action high school drama ever, so... yeah. High School and sex is just a real life thing, so any complaining about it just seems hypocritical to me unless the sexy is stuff is about the point below. Anything under that high school age is just... no.

Also, the show/game sexualizing things and the fandom sexualizing things are two completely different things to me. I don’t like it when fans do it either, but those are the fans getting horny at the wrong things, not the creators endorsing that behavior... unless they do, but that’s a whole other conversation.

Glorifying Rape/Brutality (Especially Against Minors)

Again, a thing that is just... no. However, this one’s a bit more... eh, complicated?

For me, rape and brutality shown in media isn’t a turn off point. I mean, it is, but if I’m being super-hyper-mega-ultra-willing to, I can deal with it. That is, so long as the characters involve react in a realistic/believable way. Do people in the story justify the act? Do they rebuke the one who did it? Is that person punished in a way that is either karmic, or proper given the laws of the world of that story? Is that person called out on their behavior?

Look, I’m not going to start defending rape and the like in media, I’m just saying if it’s done to make a point and not playing at some ultra-violent fetish then there’s some room for discussion. It still turns me off, it still hits my limit, but yeah.

So yeah, there are a few others for me, but those are the big ones. Anyway, that’s it for this rambling. Feel free to ask me stuff and whatnot. I’m heading home now and I’ll probably be taking a third look at my fanfic, so... yeah.

#your dictator is speaking

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travelteatv · 4 years

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Last October, a couple of friends and I jumped on a plane to Copenhagen, Denmark. We booked the trip on a bit of a whim (thank you Norwegian Air for your affordable flights) and in all honesty, I didn’t really know what to expect of the city.

I’d been around Norway and to Stockholm but never to Denmark (I’m actually trying to visit all the Nordic countries before I’m 30, so this got me another step closer!). I’d heard great things but aside from their obsession with bicycles, the Little Mermaid and their beautiful Royal Family, I didn’t know much about Copenhagen.

I looked up a few restaurants/general things to do, but didn’t really think about how we would fill our time. I was going with two friends that I was eager to catch up with and very aware that we would probably spend most of our time chatting (I wasn’t wrong there), so drinking/eating was my first priority.

I suppose what I’m trying to say is, I went to Copenhagen with a completely open mind and no real idea of what to expect. I came back absolutely blown away – I always say that for me what makes a great city, is when I feel like I could live there and immediately, walking the streets of Copenhagen felt like home.

I think a big part of it is down to it having a similar vibe to my real home – London. It has this amazing mix of historic buildings: palaces, churches, political buildings and then also, super cool neighbourhoods with amazing breweries and interesting restaurants.

Here were my highlights of the weekend:

THINGS TO DO

Freetown Christiania

I’d heard about Freetown but until you experience it, it’s hard to completely understand. It’s basically a ‘hippy’ area of Copenhagen. There’s lots of colourful buildings, artsy murals and seeing as there’s no cars, a really nice place to walk around. Plus, there are loads of options for food and drink, including of course, a heck of a lot of vegetarian cafes.

I don’t have many photos are you’re not allowed to take photographs within the main part of Christiania, probably because there are people openly selling weed there (even though they’re not actually meant to).

Just outside it though, are the most beautiful houses – we walked around gawping at how incredible they were. A lot of them looked self built but were well maintained and looked very loved by their owners. It’s definitely worth exploring a bit further afield than just the main areas.

Wander the Old Streets Magstræde and Snaregade

Copenhagen is a beautiful city and to be honest, most streets have their charm but these two streets in particular are picture perfect. They’re also quieter than some of the surrounding areas and it’s worth spending some time walking around here, if even just for a bit of peace!

Nyhavn

Nyhavn is a beautiful old port, where Danish fairytale writer Hans Christian Andersen once lived. The area itself reminded me a lot of Bergen’s ‘Bryggen’ – lined with beautiful coloured houses and enchanting architecture, you can see why so many people want to photograph them both.

It’s a busy area – it’s nice to walk around and take photos here, you can also stop for a beer/some food although as with any area popular with tourists likely to be even more expensive than some other parts of the city.

Tivoli Gardens

I won’t lie, even as I was queuing to go into Tivoli I didn’t really have a clue what it was and still even though I’ve now been, I’m still not really sure how to explain it. It’s basically a park/amusement park (the second oldest in the world actually) with rides and a market, that is always beautifully themed and dressed for each time of year.

We were there during Halloween, hence the many pumpkins.

It’s much bigger than I first realised it was and you could easily spend a day here really taking everything in. We went in the evening to really make the most of the ‘spooky’ decorations, so only spent a couple of hours there before it was closing. It is a bit tacky but it’s still fun to walk around – there are lots of different areas to the park, each with their own restaurants/pubs/shops etc, a bit like Thorpe Park/a small Disneyland (Walt Disney is said to have taken inspiration from Tivoli when building Disney World).

Little Mermaid Statue

Inspired by a ballerina and made in 1913, she’s getting on a bit in terms of age and has been vandalised a few times (including having her head sawn off) but as as she’s made of granite and bronze, and the city has carefully looked after her, she doesn’t really look it.

I do think this is a bit contrived but like the ‘manneken pis’ in Brussels, it’s just one of those things that you have to see if you come to Copenhagen. The area she’s in is quite nice, with lots of fountains and parks, so if its nice weather it’s definitely worth spending some time wandering around and not just coming to see her.

It was a slightly rainy day when we visited, so we spent only spent a short amount of time looking at the statue/avoiding the crowds of other people visiting it) but we still made sure to see some of the lovely fountains/statues nearby as well.

Scandinavian Shopping

I’ve always been a bit obsessed with Scandi style – Hay and Broste are two of my favourite designers, and Skandinavisk make maybe the best candle I’ve ever smelled. I definitely try to incorporate some Scandinavian chic into my own home, so I was very happy when we ended up in the home section of department store ‘Illum’ in the shopping district and saw there was a sale on ‘Ib Laursen’ and ‘Bloomingville’.

I’m due to move into my own flat soon and so have been collecting items for the new place, which I’m so excited about. If you’ve read any of my other posts, you’ll know how much I love collecting things from my travels such as prints, vases, antiques etc. It’s nice being able to just look at an item and be reminded of a special memory.

From Illum I bought two candle holders and some candle sticks, then in another small gift store I bought this little tealight house (I got it discounted because it was a bit wonky but personally I love that its imperfect, I think it adds to the charm!) I can’t wait for them all to sit pride of place in my new home.

FOOD/DRINK

Warpigs and Mikkeller

Ugh I just. I just love Warpigs so much. It’s a BBQ place that serves INCREDIBLE food (veggie included) and they’ve teamed up with beer company Mikkeller (again INCREDIBLE beer) to make one of my favourite places ever. If it was in London I’m not sure I’d ever feel the need to eat/drink elsewhere ever.

There is a Mikkeller in London and I have noticed a few supermarkets (Marks and Spencers for example) do stock some of their beers, so it’s not like I can’t experience part of it but there’s something about Warpigs that I just really enjoyed; communal tables, loud music, I don’t know – a very East London vibe that I could very much get on board with.

Torvehallerne

On the complete other side of the spectrum, is the calm and collected Tovehallerne. A food market which just so happened to be very close to our hotel and also, where we had breakfast every day.

What can I say? Once you’ve tried a pastry from Laura’s Bakery, there’s no going back. She makes a variety of cinnamon buns with different flavours and I think we must have made it our aim to try them all because my goodness, did I eat a lot of them.

As well as Laura’s Bakery, there’s a lot of amazing options for other food and drink, including ‘Coffee Collective’ who make the smooth but strong latte of my dreams. Paired with a pastry they’re just *chef’s kiss* (very good). Plus, there’s even a Mikkeller beer shop within this food hall! Honestly, what more could you want.

Neighbourhood

There’s a few famous pizza joints within Copenhagen – ‘Mother’ is the big one I had heard of but in truth, I couldn’t get a reservation there as it was a weekend and I left it far too late. Thankfully, just around the corner was a branch of ‘Neighbourhood’, which I would recommend again and again.

As with (it seems) every place we ate at, it had a super cool vibe (all of the servers were young, dressed like they’d walked out of Harper’s Bazaar but still very nice) and of course, the food was delicious. Their unique flavours and thin pizza bases make for something really special.

We all had a pizza each and then stayed for a few hours drinking beers, and chilling out. Normally after a pizza I’d almost immediately fall into a food coma and want to go to sleep, but as they were so light, miraculously I had room for a beer (or three) afterwards.

IBSEN’S HOTEL

We didn’t do a lot of research on hotels – our choice was based mainly on location and price; it was very central and cost just under £100 each for 2 nights (based on 3 people sharing a triple room). Well that and how Ibsens offers a happy hour every day in the hotel lobby, where you can get one free glass of wine/beer (or a soft drink). And anywhere that offers free alcohol sounds like a great place in my book.

Thankfully, we made a great choice here – the Ibsens was perfect for us. Not only was it in the perfect location but it also had the perfect vibe. Everything about it was fun and well thought out – little things like a stool in the bathroom so you can sit while doing your make up, and this ‘do not disturb’ sign, really brightened our days.

If you’re looking to save money, I would suggest getting an apartment as buying food from the supermarket is much cheaper but if like us, you’re only going for a few days and would rather eat out, then I would 100% recommend this hotel. I would happily stay there again if/when I return to the city.

USEFUL INFO

Travelling around Copenhagen was actually incredibly easy. We got the metro to and from the airport, and also used the train/metro system to travel around.

We used it sparingly as it wasn’t cheap and mostly walked – staying central really helped with this. Often we would get the metro to the furthest point we intended on going that day, then slowly walked our way back. It’s a beautiful city, so it would be a shame to miss out on being able to walk through and see it all!

It also can often get a bit cold in Copenhagen, so sometimes its nice to jump on the Metro just to warm up a bit! It wasn’t freezing when I went in October (nothing is really once you’ve lived through a Canadian winter) but it was a touch windy/did spit with rain from time to time, so it’s definitely worth bringing a warm hooded jacket. (Option to pull over your head at all times is up to you)

Also as I mentioned, Copenhagen isn’t a cheap city – be prepared to spend around £3.50 for a coffee and around £8 for a beer (dependant on where exactly you go of course). Living in London, the prices were definitely a bit more than what I would usually spend but they weren’t too shocking. I’m used to paying around £2.80 for a coffee and £5 for a beer (I’m aware people from outside London might find that ridiculous!)

We didn’t use a lot of cash in Copenhagen – I have a Monzo card (a cash card) which I would really recommend (I have also heard great things about Revolut and Starling Bank). You can use it as your usual current/savings account but I mostly use it for travelling/fun things. There is no charge to use it abroad and when you do spend money, you get a notification through the app which tells you how much money you have spent in your own currency, which makes it incredibly helpful.

Of course, they do still take cash but I personally found card easiest – almost everywhere takes card and I just find it easier to keep track of my money this way.

Abi

@travelteatv

A Weekend in Copenhagen Last October, a couple of friends and I jumped on a plane to Copenhagen, Denmark. We booked the trip on a bit of a whim (thank you Norwegian Air for your affordable flights) and in all honesty, I didn't really know what to expect of the city.

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