#i am just weird when it comes to photosets... i need at least two pictures at all times

[muekyn]

since halloween is SOON (yayayay), thought i’d start a halloween themed f/o tag game!

1. what costumes do you and your f/o wear? (feel free to add pictures or simply describe them <3) 2. what about a fun decoration to put up in your house? 3. time to carve pumpkins! what does your pumpkin look like vs your f/o? 4. and finally, pick some candy/sweets to share together!

like always, my post is about eren !

costume wise, we both dress as endermen. we were originally going to be a grass block and an enderman, but neither one of us wanted to dress as literally just dirt. so we ended up wearing the same thing.

2. for decorations, we absolutely have to get some colored lights, preferably orange and (maybe) purple colored. also, anything that's skelanimals related is coming home with me undeniably. whether that's plushies, paper plates, or gel clings... they're being swiped by me.

3. my pumpkin is the hello kitty one and eren's is the dinosaur one (which i helped him with hehe). eren spent way too long on his pumpkin, taking hours carefully carving it so that it was absolutely perfect. and of course... he drops it immediately after. so there's just a big chunk missing from the dino's teeth </3 we fill the pumpkins with purple smoke bombs so they're like the picture in the middle!

4. and listen i love candy bars but like... give me a caramel apple, and a mud pie, and i'm one happy lad. our caramel apples are store bought, because we're both too lazy to make them (even though they're just caramel sauce and apple). but since mud pies are extremely fun and easy to make, me and eren have no problem stepping into the kitchen for those :>

hehe happy halloween everyone! your f/o adores u very much and can't wait to spend this wonderful holiday with you!

no pressure tags: @erwinswings @arlertwitch @dreamwinged @bita-bita @wyvernslovecake @arlertdarling @roseofdarknessblog @chaotic-on-main @averysmolbear @galaxychaos78 @happybird16

[dramallamadingdang]

Replies! :)

These go back a ways, but it doesn’t include every single reply I’ve received over the last....three weeks?...or so. I just don’t have that much time right now, but I want to do some replies. So, if you’re not included here, please don’t feel left out. I love receiving comments, and I appreciate it when people take the time to leave them. :) I’m going to do a couple replies, that have longer answers, separately, but these are the “shorter” ones. :)

Anyway, these are for @princesspiratecat, @twofingerswhiskey, @lilleputtu, @penig, @esotheria-sims, @tamtam-go92, @i-mi, @hugelunatic, and @immerso-sims.

princesspiratecat replied to your photoset “Fishin’ pond. It has too-blue water at the moment, but that’ll be...”

Why and how is that water so blue?

The “why” is because I finally installed Dreadpirate’s shader fixes to de-blue snow at night. :) For those to work, the terrain shader -- which includes on-lot water -- has to be modified, and the two water mods that Dread made to be compatible with the no-blue-snow shader fixes were Voeille’s and the blue version of Moi’s. The latter is what’s in the pic because that’s the shader I currently have installed. But, I prefer and usually use the green version of Moi’s, and I’m hoping that Dread will see her way to making a no-blue-snow-compatible shader that uses the green version, but if she doesn’t I’ll have to choose between that too-blue one or Voeille’s, and I’d probably go with the latter. Or maybe... 

twofingerswhiskey replied to your photoset “Fishin’ pond. It has too-blue water at the moment, but that’ll be...”

I know that kativip included a water overlay for ponds in a lot of theirs - it's murky green like a real pond and semitransparent. If you're interested I'll yeet you the file

That’s a possibility! :) If you wouldn’t mind passing it along, it might be an option if Dread doesn’t make a green shader... Thank you!

penig replied to your photoset “It dawned on me that when I posted this terrain default I didn’t...”

Wow. As someone from limestone desert, however, I'm looking at the mountains and thinking: Where's the strata?

You know, when I was making that terrain, I tried several different kinds of textures for the high terrain. I knew I wanted something rocky because to me it looks odd when there are giant hills of green grass on more hilly/mountainous terrains.  And because I am a (near)desert dweller, I would’ve liked to have had stratified exposed rock. So I tried that. 

But the problem is the tiling. Not making the images tileable; I can do that. The problem is how the texture tile gets “painted” on the landscape, which isn’t something that can be controlled. The more detailed the image is, the more you notice the pattern repeat when it’s painted on the terrain, and it starts looking really weird. Between that and the struggle to get things in-scale, I imagine this is why most terrain defaults aren’t too detailed.

esotheria-sims replied to your photo “We interrupt these posts to bring you….a pic of the neighborhood’s...”

Nah, I'd totally trust him and his fabulous mane with my food. Sims don't shed, so there's that. :D

There is that! :D And I wish I didn’t shed. I’ve got super-long hair, and I can’t even begin to describe the amount of time I spend unraveling my shed hair from around the vacuum cleaner’s brush. *laugh* I mean, I usually go outside to brush my hair just to reduce the amount of shed hair that hits the floor. :)

tamtam-go92 replied to your photo “We interrupt these posts to bring you….a pic of the neighborhood’s...”

Can cooks be interacted with? Also: my game ALWAYS generates cooks with some fancy skin colour xD

They can’t be interacted with when they’re working, no. But they do walk by community lots, as was the case here, and then you can greet them. Once they’ve been greeted, they’re on the greeting Sim’s relationship panel, and then they can be called and dated and all that, so long as you’ve got the phone fix that allows NPCs to appear on the “Call this Sim” menu. I married-in a cook once.

i-mi replied to your post “Hmmmmm…So my plan to make a concrete terrain default that’s really a...”

Yes, I think more people have lush neighbourhoods, and as long as you warn people in the posts then it's up to them if they want to deal with switching defaults or not. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing it and would be happy if you ended up sharing it! :)

Oh yeah, there will definitely be all sorts of warnings. :) Someone else suggested making a dirt and a desert version, which I can do because both have 4 neighborhood-view textures, and I suspect that not many people use the dirt terrain. So, if I can make the terrain work like I want, I’ll probably make both a desert and a dirt default version.

hugelunatic replied to your photoset “It dawned on me that when I posted this terrain default I didn’t...”

The theme goes all through April! I'm excited to see what you come up with =)

Yeah, I know, but April is suddenly busy for me. *laugh* So, I’m hoping I can come up with a new tropical-island terrain before the end of April. We’ll see. :) I’m not going to be able to start working on it until we’re settled in after migrating.

lilleputtu replied to your photoset “These hills are still alive with the sound of still more screaming. :)...”

this looks so cool! are you gonna share? because *grabbygrabbyhands*

I suppose I could share the decorated terrain, sure. I’m pretty much done with editing the map. There’s not even any CC besides the volcanoes. I’m not sure it’ll look the same with different defaults in, though.

princesspiratecat replied to your post “PSA”

Welcome to my side of the world! I live in the San Bernardino mountains, but we often venture to the beach on the weekends, when we aren't working on our house. Have fun! :)

Ah, I’d rather be in the mountains. Hubby’s house is a beach house in Orange County and while it’s nice being on the beach eventually all the people on the beach get to me. That, and the traffic. I’m something of a traffic-phobe when driving. But on the plus side: Fast internet, woo! :) I’m lucky to get 4Mbps out of the satellite here, but out there....Oh, yeah. :)

immerso-sims replied to your photoset “Yup! This neighborhood definitely feels like home! *laugh*”

Looks lovely! We had maybe one snowy day in Denmark this winter. Which is a shame. I love snow. :( But yeah, what can you do...

It’s funny. Given Denmark’s latitude, you’d think y’all would get a lot snow, but I guess since you’re at sea level and surrounded by water you get more of a maritime-type climate. Well, if you want snow...Come on over! :) We’re heading into melt/mud season now, though. Going to SoCal is going to be a bit of temperature shock. It’s room temperature and warmer there and it’s around freezing here. *laugh*

hugelunatic replied to your photoset “This I-don’t-know-why-I’m-doing-this neighborhood is pretty much the...”

I'm not convinced about the reddish, but I'm excited to try it out! :)

It is red, yeah, but I kinda wanted that. I used pics taken in Moab, Utah for the soil, and the soil and rock there tend toward a Mars-like orange. :) I didn’t want orange, but I didn’t want just brown, either, so I went with clay-colored, which is sort of what I’ve got around here, at least in patches.

princesspiratecat replied to your photoset “I’ve never found a dirt terrain that really satisfied me, including...”

Hmmm...I'm curious to see how my own dirt roads would look with this. But you'd probably need something a tad darker.

Feel free to try it out! I have a picture in my mind of what I’d like to do to make a matching dirt road default, but I don’t know if it’ll pan out. If it doesn’t, I’ll need to come up with something else, and I might just use yours as a template of sorts. :)

[shadowsong26x]

Lavinia for the character meme thing!

All righty then! Putting this behind a cut because somewhat spoilery (though, probably her Major Plot Points aren’t super hard to guess, between various other commentaries I’ve made/tropes I’ve mentioned liking/I think I’ve hinted at it/foreshadowed okay at least in bonus content?) and also Long.

favorite thing about them

Not necessarily my absolute favorite thing, but it has a nice Flipside so…

She thinks things through. She does her absolute best to gather appropriate information and make sure she’s prepared for the situations she’ll find herself in, including researching from as broad a collection of sources as she can. She considers all the consequences of her actions, and she never forgets that, because she is who she is and she has the abilities and position she does, her actions can have Consequences. And she learned how to do most of this processing fast. She is fast and she is well-informed, and at the end of the day she will do what is necessary, in service of the galaxy and her larger goals, but she will be sure it is necessary, and that the consequences are acceptable, given what she stands to gain.

least favorite thing about them

Of course, the flipside of this is that she overthinks everything. And I mean, e v e r y t h i n g. Like I said, she learned how to overthink very quickly, because her father wouldn’t tolerate her being paralyzed by those doubts, but that also means that she never really learned how to trust herself and her judgment and be confident in her decisions. This leads to some pretty epic screwups in her personal life, and also her shying away from certain things, particularly her own abilities with the Force beyond passive observation and occasionally assisting her more mundane manipulation with a Mind Trick or two (unless she’s desperate enough to completely unleash, which leads to her pulling off things like battle meditation; which might save her and her allies once or twice, but that kind of all-or-nothing/rigid but brittle control is Not Good in the long run.)

(Again, this is not necessarily my absolute least favorite/what I would consider her most negative trait, because a lot of that is situational, but, well, it’s situational. Her ability/habit of thinking things through and putting a lot of effort into her choices is both a good thing and a bad thing, and it’s the trait I could write up most clearly from both sides.)

favorite line

The problem with answering this question is most of the ones I can think of are somewhat spoilery Wham lines, and also require a fair amount of context to explain why they’re my favorites. And/or come from miscellaneous AUs that also require a fair amount of setup…

So, I’m going to go with one that’s from an AU of Masks!verse, in reference to Luke:

“Oh, you poor boy. Try not to let your excess of compassion get you killed. The universe needs more men like you.”

brOTP

Depending on the AU/context/point in time (and I am excluding non-fusion crossovers here), Luke, Kallus, Thrawn, Pellaeon (…who maybe shouldn’t count, because he’s more Dad, but he’s one of the most important people in her life and their relationship is 9000% platonic so), Mara, Leia, Ventress (…also kind of a weird example, because the main way it applies is Ventress as her mentor/teacher/etc. which may not be the best application of brOTP? But, again, v. important relationship and entirely platonic when it comes up).

OTP

Lando and/or Sabine.

Lando because they complement each other in some interesting ways–they’re both talented administrators and good at reading/managing people, though Lando’s a lot better at one-on-one People slash dealing with people when it’s not Work, so to speak. But he tends to be a master of Xanatos Speed Chess/a case study in “Well That Escalated Quickly,” and she is Hyperprepared/very rarely makes a move unless it’s certain. I.e., see my first two answers, lol. So they balance each other out in that way.

Sabine because they started kind of flirting in the Handler AU and then it got super cute. Might also be a thing in the Pellaeon AU? Or another Masks!Verse AU that has a similar breakpoint to the Handler AU…anyway, the two of them getting together depends on some specific changes and timeline things, so it only works in certain AUs. That being said, they’re pretty cute/sweet together. Because we have Useless Lesbian Sabine and Only Flirts In Professional Lavinia and yeah.

nOTP

Luke. Like. There is no incarnation whatsoever, even if I’m not reading Luke as aro (he’s definitely ace, but aro–I go back and forth on whether he’s aromantic or panromantic but that’s another conversation), where that works. Even in at least one AU where he’s the biological father of her child (in an IVF/sperm donor situation, she asked him because he’s someone she trusts completely and also someone who would be completely okay with not being the kid’s dad and things/their relationship wouldn’t get Weird).

random headcanon

Lavinia’s favorite color is blue. Specifically in the aqua/teal/slightly-green-tinged family. She’s always considered herself more Coruscanti than Naboo, but maybe something deep inside her feels a connection to that peaceful, watery, living color or something.

…or possibly she just likes it and there’s no Deeper Meaning behind it, heh.

unpopular opinion

…lord. Uh. This one’s hard, since she is my OC and I haven’t published/posted a whole heck of a lot about her? So it’s hard to know what the popular opinions are, let alone what the unpopular ones are…

I guess in the spirit of this, there’s the fact that, deep at her core, she’s kind of an idealist? She believes in things, and in certain people. And she believes that, not only should the galaxy be a better place, but that it can be.

(possibly in the spirit of this because she’s also, like, a spy and a professional politician so there’s a lot of cynicism on the surface/covering up that idealism…)

song i associate with them

Quite a few actually. Hm, what’s one I haven’t necessarily shared with you yet…

…ehh, I’ll go with these two:

I may have actually shared this one with you before, but it’s still one of my favorites for her. At the end of her life, looking back on her life/taking stock.

And this one I’m pretty sure I haven’t shared. From a somewhat younger perspective, and also kind of a nostalgia bomb for me.

favorite picture of them

Let’s see…::digs through #lavinia tag:: …and most of these are just fashion photosets that fit her aesthetic, but here’s a couple pictures of her:

This is probably something along the lines of what she looks like in her early/mid-teens. I believe this is the actress who plays Lucrezia in the not-Jeremy Irons Borgias show that came out around the same time. Which is particularly entertaining to me because…

Grown-up Lani is Lotte Verbeek, particularly as Giulia Farnese in the other Borgias series XD

Anyway, most of the other ones I have saved are gifs, so these two it is.

Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t link the commission I got of her a couple years ago!

[nikatyler]

Usually by the end of the week, I have my rambling part of replies done. However, it’s Sunday afternoon and I still don’t know what to ramble about. Yikes. Well, at least I’m not sick anymore, that was terrible last week.

Oh, I know what to ramble about! Yesterday I woke up at 4 am to watch an ice hockey match and it was worth it. I slept through most of second third to be honest, but that’s just because I didn’t get enough sleep at night and I needed more than my three hours long nap. But hey, I had to finish something in my game, okay? Anyway, when I woke up, the second third was almost over. I checked twitter, saw Ledecká won gold medal, thought “okay, that’s great”. That was it, I didn’t realize what the hell was going on and how great that actually was. Then the break came, they showed how she won it and I don’t even know why, I just started crying a little.

So yeah. If you ever see me starting a sentence with “I don’t really care about the Olympic Games, but...”, know that it’s a lie, I care about the Olympic Games a lot. Also, that was beautiful. It was just beautiful. Then our hockey team won too, so that was also awesome. And they won again today! I’m so proud.

Okay, here’s an advice: Don’t ever let me talk about sports. I’m not that obsessed, but when I start talking about them, it looks like I am very obsessed.

Legacy updates! Give it a few weeks and we’ll switch to sims 4. And then back to sims 3. And boy, you’ll see some things. I don’t know how I’m going to handle them.

Oh, by the way, my sister left me for a week, can you believe that? She went skiing. smh sister why didn’t you take me with you you know i haven’t skied for two years and i miss it

vanillabeansims replied to your photo “Hey it’s another weekly reply post! I finished watching Game of...”

I hate that we have to wait until april of 2019 to get more episodes. I need them now!

adfkahvlkafdbvhahvlkjadhfa what do you mean APRIL 2019

I’m graduating in May 2019, which means I will be busy getting ready for the exams in April

ok I guess I’ll just die

littlemicrocosims replied to your photo “Hey it’s another weekly reply post! I finished watching Game of...”

hey, if it brings you joy, it matters more than you might think <3 never underestimate that!

That’s true though! About any passion in anyone’s life, honestly. I would be pretty miserable if I didn’t have this. I’m still pretty miserable but at least I have something to be a little happier and less lonely

memesplayssims replied to your photoset “Doc: Heir material confirmed”

Soo Regan's the heir? ;)

Can’t confirm or deny that now ;) :D

tiny-tany-thaanos replied to your post “I'd love to hear more about Sebastian, please, if you don't mind? He...”

They told me Im gonna see better, too! These lying doctors!

I was told that it’s something that can come with growing up and getting into teenage years, but it’s going to fix itself eventually...well, I’ve been wearing glasses since like 2011, my teenage years will be over soon (not so soon but still, I’m 18, that’s pretty close to 20s) and it doesn’t seem to be magically fixing itself! I’m not really mad though, it would be weird for me to not wear glasses anymore.

simtress replied to your photoset “Adam: lol bye”

this is so funny especially your comment lol bye!

I love sims 3 with all my heart but the stroll...is not one of the good things about it. At least I can take ridiculous screenshots of it.

tiny-tany-thaanos replied to your photoset “Adam decided to take a day off from being a dad.”

Why is he so glad seeing his foot? He was so busy with th twins that he forgot it existed?:D

He loves his feet, that’s for sure. Maybe he doesn’t have enough time to take care of them, now that he has to take care of the twins :D

sugarinesssims replied to your photoset “Guess who finally updated the family tree with pictures of the twins?”

They're gorgeous! Regan looks so much like her mother!

melien replied to your photoset “Guess who finally updated the family tree with pictures of the twins?”

I love them! Felix looks like Caleb

Oh guys you have no idea how much I love them. I wish I could start planning gen 6 storylines now, but there’s so many other things I have to do first.

Regan definitely looks a lot like Miracle! I think that only her lips are different. And haircolour, obviously.

Felix took a lot after his grandmommy grandpa, yes! oh god it’s not funny anymore why do i keep doing these things

simlishanddreams replied to your photoset “Felix: wHAT IS THIS I’M TERRIFIED”

he looks a little scary lol

He’s just in shock, what could that thing possibly do to him? :o

[emmaswanchoosesyou]

CSBB: Part of the Narrative (12/17)

Emma Swan just wants to write the follow-up to her bestselling debut novel, that’s all. But when she gets off to a rough start with her new editor, Killian Jones, she knows it’s not going according to plan. Then, an unexpected figure from Emma’s past reappears and life begins to mirror the crime thriller she’s penning. Suspicion and secrets abound–but love might too. A writer/editor AU with a thriller twist.

Rated E. Includes sexual content, kidnapping, some gore, mild violence, and minor character death–not to mention salty language! On Ao3 here.

Chapter warnings: Confrontations, one main character striking another, lots of swearing, and a thing at the end

Buckle up, pals, shit’s getting real! Thank you so much to all of you who have been reading and commenting and waiting for things to get here, and to all of you who helped me get here. Thank you to all the wonderful ladies at @captainswanbigbang for all you’ve done to make this possible, and all the support you’ve given. Sophie @shady-swan-jones made the delightful banner and another photoset that I adore. Kayla @bleebug did some incredible art for the first and sixth chapters, which you can check out here and here. And all the love and thanks to Kris @sambethe for beta-ing this and making it a ton better. Like seriously, she’s the best.

[Ch. 1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]

Chapter 12

Emma grapples with Killian's betrayal. She gets a lot of writing done, and she and Henry talk on the phone every day, but something is missing. They're on their way to reforging their broken relationship when the unthinkable happens.

Emma, a few days before upon discovering Killian’s and August’s involvement

Emma couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so livid. She was furious, so angry she was red and almost crackling with it.

Cleo held her back, tried to keep her from rushing right over to Killian's and punching him in the face. And then going to August and punching him twice. "Emma, think about it. Be smart, and don't let your anger get the best of you."

"Oh, they'll get the best of me. The best of my right hook," she growled, settling back into her couch.

Cleo snorted but shook her head. "Do you have any alcohol in here?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Let me get us some," she said, reaching for the whiskey and pouring generous portions for the two of them.

"After this...do you want me to give you a lift anywhere? Or do you want to talk about it?"

Grimacing, she shook her head. "No offense, Cleo, but the last thing I want to do is talk about my feelings right now."

"Understood."

&&&

Cleo left after an hour or so, during which time they polished off their drinks in near-silence, broken only infrequently when Emma had a question or Cleo remembered something pertinent.

Mindful of the alcohol she had consumed, Emma called a cab over to Killian's. She was still in a rage, still shaking, but she needed to talk, to yell, to see if he had any defense at all.

She pounded at the door. When Killian opened it with a smile and the tantalizing scent of pasta reached her nose, her resolve weakened for a second. Until he opened his mouth like nothing had happened, like he hadn't been lying to her for at least two months--

Her vision went red, and she slapped him. She felt a pang of guilt at that, but wrapped her anger around her like armor.

Killian implored her to stop, asking her what had happened, and the concern on his face made her even angrier. How dare he get to act like he hadn't done anything, like she was being irrational...

She stepped out of range of his grasp, not wanting his touch to weaken her, to tempt her to put this behind them. Emma waited until he closed the door before gritting out, "You were spying on me? What the hell, Killian? For August? What the actual fuck?"

She watched the color drain from his face, watched the guilt fall onto his shoulders and weigh him down. Mixed with the satisfaction of being right was the sharp sting of betrayal, the hurt of her trust in him being broken .

"I--wha--how did you find out?" Killian asked.

That now all-too-familiar rage settled about her again. "That's really what you want to know? How I found out?"

Killian reached for her again, and she pushed his hand away. Not forcefully, but she was still far too angry for the comfort of his arms.

He sighed.  "I suppose that's not what matters now. I am sorry, though, I want you to know. I quit, I told August before our first date that I wouldn't continue to spy on you."

"Just...why? Why would you do that? Betray my trust like that?" Her voice broke, and this time her anger was for herself, for showing that he'd gotten under her skin.

"I...it was selfish, and wrong. I was trying to get away from a bad situation in London, and August offered me an out in exchange for my work and information on you. I didn't ask why, and he never volunteered a reason."

To her shame, she felt tears welling up, and she pushed them away as he continued to speak. "I stopped early on. I--I didn't count on you, Emma. You should know that. You swept through my life. You captivated me, mind, soul, and heart. I wouldn't--I can't begin to convey how sorry I am, but I also promise that I'd never hurt you or betray you again."

She drew in a deep breath, his declaration overwhelming her. It was like a punch to the gut, and she knew what she had to do. She could feel her heart breaking. She hadn't meant to get so attached so quickly, but--well, she didn't have a choice about it now, not if she wanted to remain true to herself, to do what was best for her. "Too late," she said. "I--I can't trust you anymore. You lied to me, and that--that's it for me."

He pleaded with her, and she tried to pull herself together as she assured Killian they'd still be able to work together as professionals.

As soon as she was done talking, Emma felt exhaustion creep over her, leaving her more emotionally drained than she'd been in years. She felt like someone had put her through the pasta machine sitting on Killian's counter, and she needed to leave. Now.

"Goodbye," she whispered, trying not to think about the devastated look on his face, or that she was leaving half her heart there with him.

&&&

The next week passed in a sort of fog, nestled between generous servings of ice cream and deliveries from Granny's. ("No, this isn't a thing we do for most customers," said Ruby, "but you're family so you get the onion rings with less effort and only a little colder than they'd be in the diner.")

Emma missed Killian more than she could have possibly imagined. She had been falling for him, that much was obvious. But beyond that, she hadn't realized how much of a friend he'd become. Somehow, he'd become the person she texted with weird things from her day or the bizarre writing thoughts she had. And she missed Killian texting her encouragement or pictures of cute animals. Or his thoughts about prominent literary figures and what kind of pajamas they probably wore.

At least she had Henry. Regina seemed to have found out that something had happened between her and Killian, and seemed more tolerant of the increasing frequency of calls between her and Henry. Finally, she even relented and consented to Henry spending a weekend with Emma.

She embraced the joy of having something positive to plan. There was relief too, that his visit in two weeks would keep her from moping. It wasn't a distraction, per se--how could her son ever be a distraction--but it kept her busy.

Emma was keen to introduce Henry to all her favorite Boston haunts, all the ones he'd be allowed into, that is. Until one day when she was talking about yet another thing she wanted to do, just one more museum she wanted to pack into his visit--

"Emma--Mom--you know I'll be just as happy if we don't do anything, right? Like, we can just watch movies and read comics and hang out. There'll be other weekends," Henry told her.

She let out a sigh of relief even as she felt a pang of disappointment. "Okay, kid. We can do that. Is Mario Kart still a thing, or...?"

He laughed, but they agreed, and she smiled, thinking about all that the weekend would bring.

Cleo was a big help, too. She invited Emma over for dinner with her husband and daughter, and she gratefully accepted, even if she did worry that it would be a little awkward.

It wasn't until she got an official email from Mills & Booth talking about the possibility of Killian being sent back to the UK--deported, and the necessity of having a meeting about the situation, that she really started to grapple with the new reality of her life and how awkward it could be. She had actually gotten some writing done during the week, and had sent it to Killian. Her tone had been professional, and she'd done her best to keep any sort of emotions out of the two emails she sent him. But it was her dinner at the Foxes' that brought things into focus. The meal had been pleasant enough, but it was obvious to all of them that Cleo had a lot on her mind.

Finally, during dessert, Cleo blurted out, "It's Killian. Apparently he's being deported. Immigration seems to have suddenly and 'randomly' found some mistakes in his paperwork."

Emma paled, her stomach dropping out from under her.

Just...no.

She might not be able to handle having Killian in her life romantically anymore, but the idea of him being gone, across the ocean? Forever? It was unthinkable.

She was barely aware of responding, but judging by the concern on Cleo's and Alex's faces, she had managed to say something. Then, bless her, Cleo told her that she was dragging her along to the meeting they were going to have about it at Mills & Booth.

&&&

She was distracted when he came into the room, too wrapped up in worry that Killian might leave permanently to actually notice him coming into the room. It wasn’t until he joined them on the couch that Emma started in surprise, but quickly schooled her features into something more neutral. She held her breath, waiting to see how the meeting, and Killian’s future here, might unfold.

Killian greeted the room awkwardly, and Regina was all business as they began. Cleo looked wary, and August had that punchable, smug look on his face. Though that faded as soon as Regina mentioned that a stay had been granted on Killian’s deportation.

Emma let out a sigh of relief and looked up, surprised. She hadn’t had a clue that Regina or Cleo were on top of this, at least not beyond knowing about it. She zoned out, only coming back when she heard August speaking. "First, I think we should really take a look at why Killian is here, and what he brings to the table. It might be easier to help you find a job back in the UK and just go with an American editor, or at least someone whose papers are in order."

"No!" Emma exclaimed, and everyone turned to look at her, with varying degrees of surprise on their faces

Killian’s face was a study in gratitude, and she had to look away. Instead, she stared August down. "No. Killian isn't replaceable. He's been a great editor, and his help and input have been invaluable. Changing editors at this juncture would have a very negative effect on the quality of my book, which I think we can all agree would be a bad thing."

"Are you sure you're not allowing your personal attachments to cloud your judgment, Miss Swan?" Regina asked.

"I am," she said, managing to keep her voice even as her heart twisted, "given that we've ended our personal association."

It was only then that she realized that maybe Regina hadn’t known before, if her raised eyebrow was any indication, but she seemed to like Emma more for defending Killian given their situation. Her expression warmed, sympathy glinting in her eyes. "Very well. So we can all agree that Mr. Jones is important for this novel--"

"--but we need to figure out whether his work on other projects is up to par. Otherwise, why bother with anything other than telecommuting?" August intejected.

Emma rolled her eyes so hard it hurt.

She clearly wasn’t the only one annoyed, since Regina’s scathing reply had him blushing. He recovered quickly, though. "I'm just trying to do what's best for Mills & Booth, and that includes maintaining a team that can work smoothly together. Is that really happening?"

"Yes," Emma said fiercely. It might not be entirely accurate at the moment, but she and Killian would get there. Hopefully.

But August didn’t look quelled, even through the subsequent exchanges. The reason for that became abundantly clear when the door burst open and Cora Mills strode in, poor Ariel trailing behind and desperately trying to stop her.

Cora Mills--Regina’s mother and the founder of Royal Hearts Publishing--was here. Regina didn’t look thrilled, but then, the feud between them--apparently related to Regina’s less-than-advantageous marriage--was well known in their circles. No one did, except perhaps for August.

The silence in the room stretched on before Cora finally broke it. "Hello, Regina. Your office is lovely, even if this is quite the collection of...professionals in it. Between the one in trouble with Immigration, the glorified beat cop, and the felon, I'm actually impressed Mills & Booth hasn't imploded already."

Emma felt her cheeks heat and rage pulse through her veins at the dig on her and the people she cared for. She leapt up from the couch, ready to fucking tackle Cora. Killian held her back, and Cora smirked. "I'd expect nothing less from an orphan of unknown parentage with a rap sheet.”

When Killian let her go so they could both fight her, Cleo was the only thing holding them back.

Then Regina spoke from where she’d made her way to the center of the room to stand in front of Cora. "Mother, what do you want? Or did you just come here to insult me and mine?"

"No, I came here with a proposition. Regina--and August, you both know very well I have plenty of contacts that could help fix Mr. Jones' little tiff with the authorities. And I'd gladly help promote Miss Swan's nove, if that's something you think is a worth cause," she said.

"But what do get out of it? I've never known you to do a damn thing for free," Regina said, looking more peeved than intrigued.

Cora replied, "I don't want anything but time with you, Regina. I've loathed being so cut off from my only child."

"How sentimental of you, and it might be more believable if I hadn't just seen a plan Mr. Booth drew up granting you shares in Mills & Booth."

Emma gasped and so did Killian, both of them shocked by this revelation.

Cora briefly tried to defend herself, but Regina told her to leave, clearly unconvinced by her mother’s motives. "Get out," she said. "And if you would kindly refrain from insulting my colleagues or bullying my assistant while you're on your way out, I'd appreciate it."

As soon as she left, they were quiet for a moment until Regina affirmed their commitment to getting Killian out of his immigration situation. They all nodded, except for August, who wasn’t meeting the glare Regina directed at him with one of his own.

They all left the room, one by one, not speaking to each other. Emma was aghast, floored at the entire meeting, but especially at the revelation that August was causing even more trouble than she’d realized.

&&&

Muttering to herself, she read from her screen. “Jacob looked from one side to the other, frantically trying to clear his head. But if his foster mother wasn’t responsible for taking him away… who was?”

Emma looked up from her laptop and pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. She reached for the coffee mug sitting on the side table as she pondered her next move. She had realized, much to her chagrin, that her original plan for the antagonist wasn’t as well-developed as she would have liked. It couldn’t be the foster mother--after developing the character, she just knew it wouldn’t work.

The leather of her chair creaked as she shifted, brow furrowed in thought. She had to think of something, but she was just so… stuck. Writer’s block was the worst.

She was interrupted from her “research,” which totally wasn’t going to be her perusing the Crate & Barrel website for hours, by a knock on her door. Puzzled by who it could be, she went to answer it. Through the peephole, she saw a deliveryman standing there with a bouquet.

“Emma Swan?” he asked as she opened the door.

“Uh, yeah,” she replied, gobsmacked by the arrangement of lilies and peonies that he hurriedly deposited in her arms before scurrying away. “Thanks, I guess?”

She took it inside and pried open the accompanying note.

Dearest Emma,

I cannot thank you enough for your supportive words during that hellish meeting. I know you're not particularly fond of me at present, and I don't blame you for that, but words cannot express how grateful I am that you stood up for me and my job.

I don't know what August's game or plan is, or how you want to handle it, but I'd like you to know that from here on out I am 100% on board with whatever you would like to do. If you decide you don't want to act, that's fine. If you decide you want to look into August's behaviour and reasons for spying on you, you need only ask and I'll assist you.

I owe you, and not just for sticking your neck out for my job and our partnership. I owe you for being the kind of woman who inspired me to step away from people like August, for being the kind of woman to remind me of what there is to live for. And whatever else I might be, I like to think I am at least a man of my word.

This isn't to make you uncomfortable, and if it does so, feel free to chuck this letter and the flowers. I made sure I had them sent to your home, since I wouldn't want there to be another floral mix-up like the one I heard about with Ariel a few years ago.

Thank you again, Emma.

Yours,

Killian Jones

Emma stared down at the letter, her eyes burning with unshed tears. One fell onto the page, blurring his signature. He had clearly written the note himself, and she was full of conflicting emotions.

On one hand, she wasn't afraid to admit it--she was still more than a little angry. But that anger was fading a little more each day as she realized the ways Killian had been manipulated into his actions. He still should have told her, but it was getting harder to hold onto her anger.

She wiped at the tear that had tracked down her face, once again noting how much she missed him. His silliness, his easy affection, the flowery speech…life was a little bit dimmer without all of it. She snorted as she read the last paragraph, the reference to her fiery reaction to Ariel's bouquet, one that she'd thought was hers, amusing her. Of course someone had told him about that.

Honestly, Emma wasn't sure she was quite ready to bring him back into her life. At least, not fully. She had a lot of other things going on, between the book, Henry, and now the August situation. But she could reply to him, lessen the tension between them.

She could at the very least do better than ignoring his gift and his note. Walking over to her sink, she reached in the cupboard for the vase she knew was up there gathering dust. She filled it with water and placed the bouquet on her kitchen table, smiling as she opened her email client to reply to him.

Hey, Killian--

Thank you so much for the flowers, they’re lovely. Peonies have always been a favorite of mine.

I’m not sure yet what I want to do about the August situation.Thanks for offering your help with whatever I decide.

I’ll be honest, I’m not ready to let bygones be bygones yet. Though I do miss talking to you and having you around. But I… well, I’m still not ready. Maybe I will be soon, though. Just give me some more time to work through stuff.

I do have some questions about my story. I think I’m kind of stuck, and I’m wondering how to proceed. I think I might have gotten onto the wrong track with my original antagonist, and I don’t know how to resolve it. Do you have any thoughts? (I’ll send you what I have, don’t worry.)

Thanks again for the flowers.

Emma

She thought about the rather abrupt ending to her note, but grimaced and hit send before she had a chance to overthink it. Drawing in a deep breath, she got up, more at ease and ready to work on completing Jacob’s story.

&&&

“Whoa, kid, slow down,” Emma said, laughing as Henry dragged her out of The Garden, chattering a mile a minute. It was Saturday, and he'd been with her for a little over a day at this point, and it had been one of the greatest days in her recent memory.

"But it was so cool! That final goal..." Henry said excitedly, jumping up and down as they made their way to the Bug.

She wrapped an arm around his shoulder, an affection stronger than anything she'd ever known rising in her as she pulled him close.

He grinned up at her. "So, grilled cheese? At that place where your friend Ruby works?"

"You've got it. And it's going to be the best grilled cheese you've ever had."

"Will there be hot cocoa?" Henry looked up expectantly.

Emma smiled back down at him. "Of course! Where do you think I first had it?"

They pulled up to the diner and slid into Emma's favorite booth. Belle nodded across the counter in greeting. "The usual, Emma?"

"Yep! And an extra for Henry here."

They unbundled, taking off their scarves and coats as they settled in. Ruby bounded out, her enthusiasm apparent in her every step.

"Hey! I've heard so much about you, Henry. I'm Ruby, one of Emma's oldest friends," she said.

"Indeed she is." Emma laughed. "And that lovely lady bringing us cocoa is Ruby's wife, Belle."

"Everything smells so good," he said. Wonder lit his face, and his eyes were wide as he took in his surroundings.

She smiled at him. "I don't think you'll be disappointed."

They chatted while they ate their food, Ruby and Belle joining them as they could. Henry agreed that the grilled cheese was excellent, but that he needed more samples for comparison's sake.

They were walking back into Emma's apartment when Henry asked her, "So where's Killian? You haven't said anything about him the whole time I've been here., He seemed cool, and you seemed like you liked each other. My mom even said you went to a meeting for him or something."

Emma stared down at him, bemused. "Did she now?"

"Yup. And no avoiding the question."

"Jeez, some people are determined."

He just looked up at her expectantly.

"Okay, fine. Um, yeah. We're not seeing each other anymore. No hard feelings, it just didn't work out," she said. And she meant it. Ever since she'd received the bouquet from him and replied, they'd resumed a tentative friendship. He sent her jokes he thought she’d find funny or the occasional small bouquet. She'd replied with thanks and funny stories of her own, and she knew her anger was gone a few days before, when she'd been walking to work. She had passed a little antique shop she'd walked past a million times before, but this time, she saw an old ship in a bottle in the window.

It had immediately made her think of Killian. She'd gone in and bought it without a second thought. Emma still hadn't given it to him, and she wasn't sure when she would, but she knew it meant the worst of her anger was over. She wasn't ready to get back together or to throw herself into his arms or anything like tha, but she wanted him back in her life.

Shaking her head, Emma pulled herself out of her reminiscing. "So… yeah. He's great. And I think we're friends again, maybe, but that's it."

Henry look at her dubiously, clearly doubting her protestations.

She shrugged. "That's just how it goes sometimes, kid."

She couldn't shake the feeling that she might have protested too much, especially when she heard Henry mutter, "Adults are a mess, ugh."

&&&

The rest of Henry's visit passed peacefully, the two of them enjoying their final day together reading comics, watching movies, and playing video games. Emma and Regina had managed a cordial discussion and farewell at the end as they made tentative plans for another weekend in a few weeks.

She was pulling the sheets from the couch where Henry had slept, considering how she needed to invest in a sofa bed if he was going to keep staying with her  when she heard her phone buzzing with an incoming text message.

Killian: I heard through the grapevine that Henry was there this weekend. Hope it went well!

Emma smiled down at her screen.

Emma: Wow, it's almost like I told you about this weekend in my last email. :P But yeah, it did. I even got him to agree that grilled cheese from Granny's is awesome, although he has the nerve to say he needs to try others to be sure it's the best

The three dots appeared immediately, and she awaited his quick reply

Killian: He's clearly as feisty as his mother, haha

Emma: Which one lol

Killian: Both! Regina scares me a little, but I can't deny she's audacious and ambitious. And I have every confidence in your pursuit of the best grilled cheese

Emma: I always do get my sandwich

The conversation dwindled at that point, but Emma wasn't entirely surprised when a "surprise" delivery person appeared at her door the next day.

But instead of the flowers she was half expecting, it was a box. The person making the delivery just shrugged as she looked at them inquisitively.

She took it inside and opened it, reaching for the sheaf of papers inside the neatly presented box. And then she laughed, full-on belly-laughed. It was a subscription to a grilled cheese box--or at least, vouchers for grilled cheese at some of the places around town that were known for offering good, cheesy sandwiches.

Once she was done laughing, Emma didn't hesitate in taking out her phone and dialing Killian's number. "Hey, thanks for the grilled cheese," she said as soon as he picked up.

He laughed. "You're welcome, lass. I saw it and I couldn't help myself. I figured you and Henry could get some cheesy enjoyment out of it."

"And if Henry can't make it, you could come, if you'd like," she suggested, chewing on her lip, hoping he couldn't hear the complete uncertainty in her voice.

He paused. "What are you suggesting, Emma?"

"I...I think I want to be friends again."

"Truly?" He sounded so eager, and it tugged at her heartstrings.

"Yep. Do--do you want to come over and talk about it?"

Killian replied almost before she was done asking, "Absolutely. I'll be over soon. If you meant today, that is."

"Red rover, red rover, send Killian on over," she said, smiling even as the butterflies danced in her stomach.

&&&

It was an hour later when she let Killian in, and Emma muffled her laugh at how puppy-like he was in his earnestness.

“Hi, Swan. I didn’t bring anything. Should I have brought wine? I wanted to get over here as quickly as I could,” he said, eyes shining with hope, even as his ears were tinged in red.

Emma let out the laugh. “Okay, calm down, Jones. Just come sit on the couch with me.” She patted that cushion, and he sat next to her.

They sat in silence until he grew serious. “So…”

She nodded at him. “Yeah…”

“One of us should probably begin,” he said with the smallest quirk of his lip.

Biting her lower lip, she agreed. “And I think you should. I--I need a moment.”

“I don’t think I can apologize enough. For going behind your back, and lying about it,” Killian said hurriedly. The earnest look had returned, but there was something new with it--contrition.

“It’s just--I...I told you everything. You know it all, and you still lied to me.” Emma was getting incredibly annoyed at her newfound tendency to get choked up, and here she was, getting choked up again.

“I know,” he said, hanging his head.

She twisted her hands, looking down at her lap, and said, “I can’t do that again, you know?”

“And I can’t blame you for that.” He turned his gaze away from her and his shoulders slumped.

“But here’s the thing, I want to. I want to try. I miss talking to you, I miss being with you. And I want you,” Emma said, taking a deep, fortifying breath.

That hopeful look from earlier returned, even when he replied, “I’m sensing a ‘but’ in there, lass.”

Emma hesitated. “I’m really having a hard time with you lying to me and hiding things when I was vulnerable. You knew about Henry, you knew about prison, and you even fucking knew about Neal.”

“I told you about Milah and about the Navy.” He wasn’t quite defensive--no, it was more like he  was pleading with her.

“But you neglected the part where you were keeping tabs on me, and where August was basically blackmailing you with your visa. I mean, Jesus, Killian.” She shrugged, shaking her head in disbelief.

Killian buried his face in his hands for a moment before reaching over and seeking to entwine their fingers. “I--well, like I said, I have no excuse. I--Is there any way we can move past this, though? Or, perhaps, through it?”

She acknowledged his question, tinged as it was with desperation, with a serious nod. “I mean, I think we can try, as friends? I’m willing to. Just...promise me, no more lies.”

“As friends? So we’re not together again? For lack of a better phrase. Or is it just professional?”

“Can we…take it slow? And figure it out as we go?” Her voice was tremulous, indecisive.

He bit his lip, looking conflicted. “Part of why I did what I did was that I didn’t want to get hurt again. And I still don’t much like the idea. It just seems to me that not doing a good job of figuring out what we are could lead to more miscommunication and pain, rather than less. And I don’t want that for either of us, Emma.”

“I care about you. A lot. But so much is going on right now, and I’m trying to figure out how my life works again,” she said, wincing at her inability to offer him reassurance.

“I think I can do that.” To his credit, he only sounded the tiniest bit sad. His mouth was turned down, and she could see pain in his eyes, but he tried to smile.

Emma threw herself into his arms, embracing him tightly. After a moment, she pulled back, chagrin clear on her face. Wincing again at the mixed signals she was sending, she asked, “Is this okay?”

“It only wouldn’t be okay if you didn’t do that,” he said, finally laughing a little.

She laughed. “That didn’t even make sense.”

“I know,” he said, still smiling.

&&&

Before she knew it, Henry was back for his second weekend visit. This time they had a chance to do some of the sight-seeing they hadn’t been able to the previous time. They even made it out to Cambridge for a visit to the Harvard Museum of Natural History, as per Henry’s request.

Henry was a smart kid, and he immediately picked up on the frequency with which she received incoming texts, and he was wily enough to peer over her arm and see that most of them were from Killian.

He shot her a more knowing look than any eleven year-old had a right to. “So you and Killian are friends again?”

She blushed and ducked her head, trying to hide her smile. “Uh, yeah, something like that.”

“Are you all back together?!” He was all but bouncing on his feet, eyes wide as he looked up at her.

“Not really. But he’s around again, and we spend time together,” she tried to explain.

And it was true, after a fashion. Emma and Killian were texting back and forth non-stop, and they’d managed two coffee non-dates. They’d talked about her novel and helped iron out some of the issues she was having with it, but they’d also debated the merits of the latest movies they had seen and which of them had found the cuter picture of cats and dogs cuddling with each other. Emma finally felt like her friendship with Killian was back on solid ground, and that they were potentially building the foundation for something more. She didn’t want to jinx it, but she felt like maybe after this they could last.

But she wasn’t ready to confide all of that to her preteen son. So she tried to change the subject back to him.

“So, about that math class of yours, Regina mentioned you’ve been having some trouble?”

He snorted. “It’s fine. I’m doing better, now that I have a tutor.”

“Well, that’s good,” she said with a smile. Remembering one of the issues he’d had a few months before, she asked more seriously, “What about that feeling you had about someone watching you a few months ago? Anything come of that?”

Henry screwed up his mouth, a line appearing between his brows. “Not really. Sometimes I still think… but no.”

“You’d tell me if you were in trouble, right?”

He let out a loud, aggrieved sigh. “Of course. I’d tell you and I’d tell Regina.”

“That’s what I like to hear.”

&&&

After a stellar visit, Emma drove Henry back up to Storybrooke. Their next visit would be able to be a little longer, with Henry having a break from school coming up. She dropped him off at Regina’s, and decided to head out as soon as she could, even though Henry expressed some interest in bringing her to the comic book shop. She begged off, having gotten very little sleep the night before between late night chats with Henry and texts from a certain British someone. Henry was disappointed, but said he understood. Especially when he started grinning when she mentioned the texts from Killian.

The drive back was long, lengthened slightly by the nap Emma took at one of the rest stops along the way. All in all, though, she felt happy. At peace. It had been a good weekend, and it felt like things were finally going her way.

She was nearing Boston when her phone rang. She normally would just wait and deal with it when she got home, but she raised her eyebrows when she saw Regina’s name on the caller ID.

“Hey, Regina--”

The other woman’s panicked voice cut her off. “Where the hell is Henry? He’s been gone since about fifteen minutes after you left!”

[reenadelenyel]

Easter Replies Part 2

I still have quite a few replies to do, thank you everybody for liking, commenting and being patient with me :3 I get side tracked easily xD I have posts about the career testing till tomorrow afternoon at least, then if it runs out you will see Reena again at Uni :p

Replies about the Reporter custom career

ktarsims reblogged your photoset and added:

Heehee. Was great fun coming up with those name...

It was!! I had a really good laugh :D And a huge help, can’t thank you enough ♥ hyperkaos replied to your photoset “So Litia headed to Doo Peas Corporate Towers to get the Reporter job...”

This is great! I'm enjoying watching the progress you're making

Thank you!! Means a lot to me, you made my day girl ♥ ♥

Replies about Ravness and Dracklore

davidmont replied to your photoset “I switched to Ravness and Dracklore, and Nia at 2am is on her way to...”

what a scene! favorite

I love it too, it was so cute :3 Sims (including pets) can do the most terrible or amazing thing with autonomy. They always surprise me. declarations-of-drama replied to your photo “Ravness: “You know, that suit looks really good on you…” Dracklore:...”

Oh! I thought she was saying she wanted to put him in sandwich and he was like, Sandwich?

... she wanted to eat him...? *coughs* davidmont replied to your photo “Ravness: “You know, that suit looks really good on you…” Dracklore:...”

wooooooooooooooooooooooo or maybe he was like "Let's make a sandwich together ��������"

Is that innuendo David? xD davidmont replied to your photoset “Ravness was past exhaustion and fell asleep right away after they were...”

TOO TINY ALSO haha

I will assume you mean the size of the bird... xD my-simension replied to your photoset “She might have to call in sick at work, she is supposed to start in...”

5hours!!! (ง ͠° ͟ل͜ ͡°)ง

Well they got busy till late at night :p davidmont replied to your photoset “She might have to call in sick at work, she is supposed to start in...”

AND THEY MADE THE SANDWICH YAY! ������

Yes you did mean it that way lmao xD my-simension replied to your photoset “A flat is not big enough to brush the cat. No. You go downstairs in...”

lol Yep. And she looks lovely. :)

She does! I like how she always look confident even in her nighty :3 declarations-of-drama replied to your photoset “A flat is not big enough to brush the cat. No. You go downstairs in...”

Ugh! Same with things like playing guitar and stuff - why do they always need so much room????

It is a routing thing, but I do not get it when they have space inside but go outside. Which does happen indeed if you want to repeat in a band :p davidmont replied to your photoset “A flat is not big enough to brush the cat. No. You go downstairs in...”

if you don't do it that way, it is wrong :)

xD declarations-of-drama replied to your photo “Nia: “Hi, I’m the house cat! Got anything for me?”

This boot if you get nasty!

But Nia is so cute xD declarations-of-drama replied to your photoset “The lobby, the best place to read your newspaper. Very comfy and all...”

I do love that hair!

The hair she had before is from Bfly or however she calls herself I forgot, but I am not sure who did this one. If you want to know I will look in my files :D my-simension replied to your photoset “Turn and turn and… blam! Those two need some more training :p”

Cute :)

Those two are very often cute :3 my-simension replied to your photoset “I forgot to send her to eat before and it took her some time to get...”

haha xD Nice parasol though.

Yes, not sure why she decided to use it just then xD my-simension replied to your photoset “Mmmm snow cones!”

Lovely park!

It is small but quite nice :D my-simension replied to your photo “Breakfast before work, I like the view from the kitchen. Have a good...”

Really nice view! :)

It gives on the bridge and the river that separates both sides of town in St Claire, makes for a lovely view from the top of their building.

Looks like I also had comments from Brett and Reena left <3

davidmont replied to your photoset “Here have some loveliness from Mochi ♥”

cute dog with too big things haha

Its because he is still a tiny lil adorable puppy ♥ davidmont replied to your photoset “In search of inspiration he fed the bird, talked to Mochi for a bit...”

tiny bird and tiny dog haha

Tiny family (except Brett is very tall) :D davidmont replied to your photoset “Man… you seriously need to improve your drawing before you can make a...”

that looks like a cow lol

A cow? It’s actually the beginning of the ghost drawing. But we can pretend he tried to draw a cow ;) davidmont replied to your photoset “He has an amazing view around him and he draws ghosts…. I might have a...”

lmao but i like the giraffe lol

I guess it’s closer to one than to Mochi :D davidmont replied to your photoset “He looked like he was done drawing so I had him ask Reena to go out...”

lmao poor </3

XD davidmont replied to your photo “He is now on his way to Club Prive and will have to call her again for...”

that deer looks angry

It might have been looking for wild stray friends. Bunnies... have you seen bunnies? I could call him Bambi (wait I think the game often call them that way) davidmont replied to your photoset “Let’s try this again, shall we? Call her you silly! Koku you shouldn’t...”

omg what a weird date, but what a cool fountain 8)

It is a very nice fountain, I will take pics next time I go back to St Claire if you want, it is nicely done :D davidmont replied to your photoset “And this is where we see where EA fails at categorizing their clothes....”

lmao maybe he arrived at the sexy time? hahaha

Tonight is sexy night! davidmont replied to your photoset “Now that’s an electric drink! Trying the Tropic Twister today :D Reena...”

wow she's lovely

Reena? Always ;) Thank you ♥ davidmont replied to your photoset “I am going to end up believing this town is overrun by ghosts. Those...”

i ship them <3 i love her and he's lovely too awww

Thank you!! ♥  Those two are adorable together :D davidmont replied to your photoset “I was sad to see I couldn’t ask her to join me I completely forgot...”

tag yourself: i'm the table lol

If you want to, I won’t stop you xD davidmont replied to your photoset “Nikita showed up too! It’s actually nice to see she can take a break...”

maybe they are scared and they have insecurities lol

It could be an explanation. my-simension replied to your photoset “Ravness & Dracklore’s cat Nia taking a walk somehow she got partnered...”

Mochi is so tiny omg ;-;

He issss! I love him haha

Misc replies?

declarations-of-drama replied to your post “Replies”

I was good and bought a punnet of grapes instead :D YUM!!

You are lucky girl, I intended to take a picture of my egg JUST for you... except it was eaten before I got a chance xD And it was GOOD!

davidmont replied to your photoset “So I was bummed the other day when I couldn’t ask my date to join me....”

i got it already yay

Thank you David! Let me know if you need another one like this.

[lumiolivier]

Chapter Twenty-One:  Hangovers and a Harajuku Staple

Word Count:  3259

Chapter No. 21/?

Notes:  Lookie, lookie!  This one’s up really early today!  Probably because I had it done last week.  Good for me.  Nothing too terrible to report here.  Enjoy!  (And some feedback would be nice, too.  Hell, even some anon feedback would be nice.  So...Yeah...Kbye.)

Chapter Nineteen:  The Placebo Effect

Uh...This is weird. When I finally woke up, I had a warm body around me in my twin bed, not intended for two.  I still had Sebastian in my arms, but I was in the arms of another, “Julian, I’m really hoping that’s you.”

 “Of course it is,” he promised, “You said you’d leave the door unlocked.  And it’s five o'clock.  I thought you’d be up by now.”

 “Apparently not,” I let Sebastian go and curled into Julian instead, “I don’t talk in my sleep, do I?”

 “Nope,” Julian gave me a quick kiss, “But you were doing a little moaning.  Naughty dreams?”

 “Not really naughty,” I assured, “More revealing, but not naughty.”

 “Sure,” his voice dripped with sarcasm, “Who was it this time?  Did you finally get to watch the wicked hate sex between Noiz and Koujaku? They asked you to join in, didn’t they?”

 “No, you moron,” I giggled, “I was in the manor belonging to the Earl of Phantomhive.”

 “So, someone was having some Sebaciel dreams, was she?” Julian teased.

 “No,” I got out of bed, “Just Sebastian and me.”

 “Missing me, huh?”

 “Just a little,” I admitted, “I really can’t wait until May.”

 “Me either, baby,” Julian smiled, “Speaking of our favorite demon butler and his young master, I have some good news.”

 “Oh?” I came out of the bathroom, “What’s that?”

 “I posted our photoset from Saturday.”

 “I’m sorry,” a massive knot formed instantly in my stomach, “I’m still a little out of it.  If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you said you posted the pictures from Saturday.”

 “I did,” he braced himself, “You said that was ok.  I didn’t post the ones from Sunday.  Don’t worry. I did put an ominous caption on Saturday’s saying, coming soon to Kansas City in May.”

 “And I suppose you can’t take it down, can you?” I sighed out.

 “I can,” Julian cleared up, “If you want me to, I will.  It’s just a quick click of the button.”

 “What are they saying?”

 “Excuse me?”

 “The comments,” I elaborated, “Do they like it?”

 “It’s already got high numbers,” he beamed, “And all the comments are unanimously positive.  A handful of them calling me senpai.  Some of the spazzier ones calling me dad.  But a lot of them are asking me who my Ciel is.”

 “Why would they be asking about your Ciel?” I wondered.

 “Because they think she’s flawless,” Julian gushed, taking his phone out, “You want to see?”

 “Sure,” I sat next to him, “Show me.”

 I looked over Julian’s shoulder while he scrolled through his comment section.  And they all loved me.  They begged for us to do another set.  Maybe this was a sign.  Maybe Sebastian was right.  Maybe I should let Julian post our Death Note pictures.  I didn’t recognize a single username, so that was a bit of a plus.

 “See?” Julian held me tight, “They were never going to hate you, Mimi.  They adore you.  I bet some of my fans are your fans, too.  Imagine the reactions.  You saw what happened Sunday with…whatsherface…what was her name?”

 “Karina,” I remembered, “They’d all have a simultaneous nosebleed.”

 “So?” he bit his bottom lip, “Can I post the Death Note set?”

 “Not yet,” I stopped him, “Soon, but not yet.  What are we doing this weekend?”

 “I don’t know,” Julian shrugged, “Since it’s going to be October third on Saturday, I thought a Fullmetal shoot would be approp…”

 Julian stopped midsentence and went completely pale.  That didn’t make me nervous, “Julian?  You ok? I didn’t break you, did I?”

 “Saturday’s the third of October,” he repeated himself.

 “Yeah…What about it?”

 “Your birthday’s on Saturday.”

 “Yeah,” I giggled, “And?”

 “Nothing,” he brushed it off, “I have…Let’s see…Today’s Tuesday.  Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday…Four days!  Four days to pull my head out of my ass.  That’s fine.  We’re good. Don’t worry about me. Everything’s fine.  Slight weapons malfunction.  We’re good now.  Thanks. How are you?”

 “Skeptical, Captain Solo,” I gave him a look, “I’m going to go make breakfast.  Care to join me?  We do actually have company.”

 “I saw that,” Julian pulled me onto my feet, “How was she when you got her back here?”

 “She thought she was hammered,” I recalled, “But at least I know she’s a happy drunk.”

 “No more tears?” he hoped.

 “No,” I let out a sigh of relief, “Thank God.  I love her to death, but she can be a handful.”

 “Good thing you got two hands.”

 “Smartass,” I rolled my eyes at him and got to work in the kitchen.

 “You need me to do anything?” Julian asked, “You saw me the other day.”

 “I got it,” I settled him, “Sit.  I’m about to pull out a Harajuku staple.”

 “Are you now?” he beamed as I pulled the eggs and the milk out of the fridge, “And what, pray tell, would that be?”

 “I got a little time,” I grabbed a mixing bowl, “I’m making crepes!”

 “Yay!” Julian squealed, “I haven’t had good crepes in ages!  Please tell me you make good ones.”

 “I do,” I assured, checking the spice cabinet for vanilla, “But first, I have to wake princess up, so I can take her home.  She doesn’t need to be at school until eight.  I’m not taking her there at six.  That’s ridiculous.”

 “You want me to do it?” he offered.

 “Appreciated,” I thanked, “But no.  I got her. If you want, scour the kitchen for the hand mixer.  Those are a pain in the ass to mix with a whisk.”

 “Ok,” Julian set off on his trivial errand while I braved the living room.

 “Veronica,” I shook her, “Veronica, wake up.”

 “Why?” she moaned, “What’s the point?”

 “You have to go to school,” I explained, “And I’m making breakfast.”

 “Ok,” Veronica rolled off the couch, “I guess that’s worth getting up.”

 “How you feeling, sweetie?” I asked.

 “Like shit,” she whined, “Is this what a hangover feels like?”

 “No,” I came clean, “It’s what an extreme sugar crash feels like.  You didn’t have any alcohol last night.”

 Veronica glared at me, “What?”

 “Yeah,” I confessed, “You weren’t drinking last night.  I had Julian call Lilith after we left last night and tell her not to make any of your drinks with booze.  You needed a smile on your face and I didn’t want you hungover.”

 “You’re an asshole,” she threw her arms around me, “But I appreciate it.  Can I go back to sleep yet?”

 “No,” I helped her up, “But once you’re done eating, I’m taking you back home before I go to work.”

 “Thank you, Mimi,” Veronica stumbled a few steps, “I needed last night and I’m sure you had better things to do, but thanks for backburnering them for me.”

 “You’re welcome,” I headed back into the kitchen, “What do you want in your crepes?”

 “Surprise me,” she yawned, shuffling toward the bathroom.

 I knew Veronica better than anyone.  I got her, “Hey, Julian, will you check the pantry for a jar of Nutella?”

 “Sure,” Julian jumped down from his barstool and dug around, “Got it!”

 “Awesome,” I cheered, “Put some in a bowl and melt it for me.”

 “No problem,” he kissed my cheek on his way to the microwave, “What do you need melted Nutella for?”

 “Veronica’s a chocolate fiend,” I explained, plugging in the mixer, “I figure Nutella and strawberries would be a good combination.”

 “That sounds really fucking good,” Julian drooled, “Give.”

 “Alright,” I settled him, turning the beaters on, “I have to make them first.”

 “Anything else you want me to do?” he offered.

 “In the fridge,” I directed him, “There’s a carton of strawberries.  Wash about a dozen of them and cut them for me.”

 “Aye!” Julian grabbed the little cutting board off the wall and a knife.

 “Do you have any coffee made, Mimi?” Veronica came around the corner.

 “I do,” I got her a cup.

 “Thank God,” she rubbed her eyes and laid her head on the island.

 “Morning, Veronica,” Julian greeted her, “Rough night?”

 “Rough day yesterday,” she clarified, “When the hell did Julian get here?”

 “Around five,” he thought back, “I woke her up, came downstairs, started making breakfast.”

 “That’s thrilling,” Veronica was already halfway to falling back asleep.

 “No,” I nudged her, “Roni, you can’t do that.”

 “The fuck I can’t,” she shut her eyes.

 “Julian,” I begged, “Please.”

 “Come on, Veronica,” Julian sat next to her, “I came all this way just to have breakfast with you two.”

 “Don’t lie to me,” she mumbled, “You’re here to get in Mimi’s pants.”

 “No,” he covered, “I really am here with innocent intentions.”

 “Good for you.”

 “Come here,” Julian sat her on his lap, “No need for the sass.  No need for the bitter.”

 “I have both in copious quantities.”

 “Veronica,” I scolded, pouring batter in the pan, “He’s trying to help you.  Don’t make it difficult.”

 “I’m sleep deprived and depressed out of my skull,” she laid her head on Julian’s chest, “I have every right to be bitchy.”

 “Poor baby,” Julian cradled her, “You’ll be ok.  I promise. If I can get Mimi out of her hellish depression, I can get you out of it, too.”

 “When did you get me out of hellish depression?” I had no clue what he was talking about.

 “Your parents,” he reminded me, “They were practically talking about kicking you out right in front of you.”

 “Gee,” I grumbled, “Thanks, Julian.”

 “You asked,” Julian pointed out, “But that’s what we had ice cream and Fireball for.”

 “That’s right,” I came back around, flipping my first crepe.”

 “That bottle of Fireball’s still under your bed,” he told, “I haven’t moved it.”

 “It’s under my bed?” I squealed.  I had cinnamon flavored whiskey to get me through last night and didn’t know about it? I didn’t have to toss and turn until I finally clocked out and had my Sebastian dream?  Dammit, Julian.

 “Yeah,” he confirmed, “I’m sure by the time you go to move out, you’ll have a minibar.”

 “I doubt it,” I started filling Veronica’s crepe, “Roni, how many of these do you want?”

 “Keep them coming,” she ordered, “It’s not like I’ll need to fit into my homecoming dress now.”

 “When is homecoming?” I asked, hoping not to step on a land mine.

 “Two weeks from Saturday,” Veronica filled me in, “You think if I return it, they’ll give me cash? That dress was expensive as hell.”

 “At least store credit,” Julian figured.

 “I remember when Luke asked me,” she sighed out, “Came to my house with half a dozen white roses. That’s what my corsage was going to be. Now?  All down the drain.”

 “Are we going to have to do this in two weeks from Saturday, too?” I assumed.

 “No,” Veronica shook her head, “I’ll have a night of treating myself instead.  Take care of me and fuck everyone else.”

 “That’s my girl,” I applauded, drizzling the warm Nutella over her first two crepes, “I reward you with a gift from the French.”

 “I’ve never had crepes before,” she hopped over to her own barstool, “What are they like?”

 “Really thin pancakes,” Julian explained, “They’re incredible.  There’s this place in New York that has the greatest crepes I’ve ever had in my life.”

 “Second greatest,” I corrected him, “Mine are the greatest.”

 “I don’t know,” he shrugged, grabbing a fork out of the drawer, “I’ve never had your crepes before.”

 “I fucking love you, Mimi,” Veronica moaned out, “I need about half a dozen more.”

 “Thought you’d say that,” I gave myself a quick pat on the back, “Julian?”

 “Hmm…?” he couldn’t even talk.

 “You ok, honey?” I asked, “You don’t look so good.”

 “I’ll be fine,” his voice broke.

 “You sure?”

 “Second best,” he corrected himself, “Second best are in New York.”

 “Damn right they are,” I giggled, taking a bit of pride in my work, “Too bad I don’t have matcha powder.  I’ve been told that matcha crepes with chocolate filling are mind blowing.”

 “That sounds orgasmic,” Julian was already halfway there.  I’m sure it wouldn’t take much more for him.

 “What’s matcha powder?” Veronica wondered.

 “It’s a finely crushed green tea powder,” I told, “It’s for when you want green tea flavor, but can’t use green tea.  It’s really good in Kit-Kats.”

 “You’ve had green tea Kit-Kats?” Julian gasped, “I’ve always wanted to try them, but I can’t find them anywhere.”

 “Got them at a Whole Foods in Kansas City,” I flipped my next crepe, “They’re different, but delightful.”

 “This was worth getting up earlier,” Veronica murmured, her cheeks stuffed.

 “Hurry up and finish,” I sped her along, “We need to be leaving shortly.  You two eat.  I’m going to go get ready for work.”

 “You do that,” Julian sent me on my merry way.

 Shower.  I needed one of them.  Definitely.  I came home smelling like sweat, shame, and cheap cigarettes.  Like I did any other time I went out in Kansas City.  And I didn’t want to wear someone overly elaborate. I went to work as Winry yesterday, went out as Hawkeye last night.  Maybe not Fullmetal today.  And not Death Note either.  That was Sunday.  And my Misa was in the washer.  Maybe I could be my favorite pain in the ass.  I’m going to be Alois Trancy of Black Butler.

 Alois didn’t come in until season two.  Poor little baby was abused by some pervert and ended up making a deal with a demon, just like Ciel.  The only difference was the caliber of demon.  Claude Faustus pissed me off to no end.  I’m glad he got what he deserved.  A lot of people found Alois to be annoying, but I found him adorable. He was another one of those anime characters that deserved better.

 Let’s see.  I needed something purple.  Something green.  Something black.  And an asshole for a butler.  Fucking Claude Faustus.  He was a beautiful creature, but he was a dick.  Definitely no Sebastian, that’s for sure.  I wouldn’t trust that asshole with a pair of safety scissors.  But I adored his young highness, so I guess he had one redeeming quality.  No. Two.  He’s a killer tap dancer.

 A quick trip in and out of the shower, my green button up shirt, black shorts, and long purple sweater later, I ran back downstairs and grabbed my bag off the kitchen counter, “Come on, kids.  Time to go. The minivan awaits.”

 “You don’t have a minivan, Mimi,” Julian reminded me, taking his and Veronica’s plates and putting them in the sink, even going as far as to rinse them off.  On that principle alone, I should marry this man, but it’s a bit too soon to be thinking about that.

 “You get what I mean,” I rolled my eyes, “Get in the damn car!”

 “Yes, your highness,” he teased, poking at me on his way out.  See…Then, he goes and does Claude Faustus type shit like that and I want to kick his ass.

 “He thinks awfully highly of you,” Veronica smirked, “Are you sure you two aren’t a thing?”

 “Yes,” I got defensive, “Go. Car.”

 “Shotgun!” Julian called.

 “Get your ass in the backseat,” I dictated, “Veronica gets shotgun.”

 “What did I do?” he pouted.

 “You know what you did,” I glared a hole through him.  

 “I love you, Mimi,” Julian tried to redeem himself.

 “Fuck off,” I laughed a bit.

 “I love you, too, Julian,” he muttered to himself, “Thanks for coming to wake me up this morning since I slept through my alarm.”

 “Again,” I repeated, “Kindly go fornicate yourself, good sir.”

 “No need to get so eloquent,” Julian got in the backseat like I told him to.”

 “See?” Veronica chirped, “You already fight like a married couple.”

 “Who said anything about us getting married?” Julian freaked ever so slightly.

 “No one,” I shut her down instantly, “Would you shut up about us, Veronica?”

 “Fine,” she pouted in the front seat, “It’s going to happen though.  I’m calling it now.”

 I pulled out of my driveway and gunned it for Veronica’s.  As soon as I pull up, her mom was sitting outside with a cup of coffee, waiting for her daughter.  I loved Veronica’s mom.  She was cool as hell.  She had Veronica when she was seventeen, so she had to grow up fast, but she never lost what it felt like to be young.  Tammy and I got along famously.

 “Morning,” she chimed from the porch, “All you’re missing is your panties hanging out of your purse, Veronica Sue.”

 “I’m not making a walk of shame,” Veronica swore, “I was with Mimi last night.  She’ll vouch for me.”

 “I know,” Tammy threw her arms around her baby, “Mimi called me yesterday.”

 “Hi, Tammy,” I stuck my head out the window.

 “Thank you, Mimi,” she smiled, “I hope you’re feeling better, Roni.”

 “Much,” Veronica assured, “See you later, Mimi.”

 “Bye, sweetie,” I waved, “Julian, you want up front?”

 “Duh,” he climbed over my center console, “Damn, it’s cramped back there.”

 “I’m sorry,” I pulled out of the driveway, “All my friends are small.”

 “You can’t tell me Veronica’s your only friend.”

 “Actually…” I bit my lip.

 “Oh,” a look of sadness washed over Julian’s face, “I didn’t…”

 “She’s not my only friend,” I turned myself around, putting my hand on his thigh, “Because I have you. And all the new friends I’m going to make in May when we hit the con circuit.  And I have some friends online that I absolutely adore.”

 “That’s comforting,” Julian let out a heavy sigh, “I really have to get you to a con, baby.  There’s nothing like it.”

 “What is a convention like?” I wondered, heading toward downtown.

 “It’s like Christmas,” Julian lit up, “It’s better than Christmas!  It’s more expensive than Christmas, more often than not.  But the feeling…it’s indescribable.  You’ll have to see it yourself.”

 “How big do the crowds get?” I worried.

 “They’re not little,” he took my hand, “But I’ll be there every step on the floor.  And if you get bad, tell me.  I won’t be mad.  I won’t be disappointed.  I’d rather you with a level head than anything else.”

 “I just get claustrophobic,” I explained, “A couple minutes outside and I’ll be fine.”

 “You sure?”

 “Positive,” I promised. Soon enough, I pulled up in front of the café and a sudden realization hit me, making me slam my forehead on the steering wheel, “Son of a bitch…”

 “What?” Julian worried.

 “I have to stay over tonight,” I cringed, “I don’t want to balance the books.”

 “You’ll be fine,” he assured, “It’s number crunching.  Sure, it’ll be mundane, but think of it this way.  Albert Einstein had a boring, mundane job at the patent office when he came up with the Theory of Relativity.  Maybe something boring and mundane will knock something loose in your brain, too.”

 “Nerd.”

 “It’s true.”

 “What’s it going to knock loose?” I wondered.

 Julian gave it a quick thought, “Maybe you’ll get over your writer’s block and finally get that one-shot you planned on updating plotted out.”

 “But,” I pouted, “I was supposed to stay with you tonight…”

 “And you will stay with me tonight,” he kissed my forehead, “I’ll take your car home today and I’ll get you at ten, ok?  Then, some Dramatical Murder binging?  Sound good?”

 “Sounds wonderful,” I rested my head on Julian’s shoulder, “I love you.”

 “I love you, too,” he put his arms around me.  Time to brave the nine to five…

[dramallamadingdang]

I’m taking the night off from sky-making because I’m actually ahead of “schedule” and because I’m getting sort of disturbingly obsessed and playing my game for a bit instead, so while it loads, I write a bunch of replies. :)

These are for *deep breath* @penig, @holleyberry, @esotheria-sims, @acquiresimoleons, @kayleigh-83, @didilysims, @tamtam-go92, @dunne-ias, @strangetomato, and @eulaliasims. (Which doesn’t look like a long list, but there are multiple replies for pretty much all of the above, so....Yeah. :) )

penig replied to your photo “Dear Diary, Like wow! I got my first kiss and lost my virginity in...”

Bang it out...I see what you did there...

SOMEONE UNDERSTANDS ME! *heart* :)

holleyberry replied to your photo “And here’s the other one I really wanted: Just a grassy, flat horizon...”

Maxis neighborhood specific ones would be great too.

How do you mean? Like, made from panoramic pictures of specific neighborhoods? It’s an interesting idea, actually. I’d have to reinstall those neighborhoods to do it, though. Unless someone wants to volunteer to take pics for me. ;) Even so, I’m not sure I could get the scale right. Scale is a definite issue with these things. It will never be right, actually, but the most noticeably out-of-scale things on them are definitely buildings, when compared to the size of an actual, in-neighborhood building.

Speaking of Maxis, though... I’ve been fooling around with making some flat horizons to actually match the Maxis terrains, but it’s proving difficult. The scale issues are pretty bad. :\ I mean, like I said, these things are always going to be out of scale with the actual in-game houses and whatnot just because it’s the nature of the beast, but I’m trying to minimize that as much as I can. For some reason, it’s just not working very well with the Maxis terrain textures. I’m hoping to be able to make it work, but right now it’s not looking good. :\

esotheria-sims replied to your photo “Man, I’ve put a lot of work into this one. :) Like *checks time* about...”

Wow, just wow. This has got to be one of the coolest and most realistic skybox recolors I've seen around (though the 'realistic' part doesn't really come as a surprise, considering the source material :D) I'm extremely tempted to turn Strangetown into a miniature pseudo-Arizona town now.

:D That’s pretty much what I’m doing for retro-Strangetown. Because it amuses me to make the town Roswell-esque. Roswell’s in New Mexico, not Arizona, but the terrains in the two states are pretty similar. About the only difference, overall, is that (southern) Arizona has saguaro cacti and New Mexico doesn’t. I think NM is not quite as dry as AZ, but they’re both part of the same big desert, really, so...yeah. 

In any case, that sky is one specifically meant for retro-Strangetown, for my own purposes. I also separated the horizon from the sky and put the horizon-only version on a lower layer so that the horizon can be used with any sky. So, the place can have different skies at different times but always have the same surrounding terrain, for continuity’s sake.

acquiresimoleons replied to your photo “Sharon still had that flirt want, and I figure the only way she’s...”

I guess her time with the aliens was fun and she wanted to try it with an earthling

Hah! Yeah, maybe...although in my mind the alien thing isn’t sexual at all. Just a “bit” of genetic engineering. But it might’ve put crazy ideas in her head, nevertheless. :)

kayleigh-83 replied to your photoset “Will, attempting and failing at yoga.  But hey! At least he was doing...”

Like juggling, Sims have a remarkable natural aptitude for yoga!

That, and the fact that if you’re a Sim who’s really good at playing the piano, you can also paint like Picasso. Wish it was like that in real life because I’d really like to be able to paint. I mean, I can do all right with digital painting so long as I can use custom Photoshop brushes so that I can just “paint” a shape with a single click. But with actual physical art tools and supplies on an actual canvas or piece of paper? Completely hopeless. *sigh* Although I do plan to take some art classes at the local community college when we go home to CO. I’m hoping to be able to learn something. :)

didilysims replied to your post “I’m having a bit of a dilemma. Need some input. :)”

Some download sites have an option to have individual files in a folder and you can download the entire folder, so maybe that's an option? But honestly whatever's easiest for you is fine. I want 'em no matter what! :D

On SFS you can upload stuff in folders, and then downloaders can choose to download individual files from within the folder. That’s how Lowedeus uploaded his recent batch of skies. I’m thinking that might be better for folks with slower internet connections or those who know they don’t want every sky and want to pick and choose. I’m going to make a photo album on my Livejournal space with at least one pic of every sky, that such folks can reference in order to decide what they want. I’m thinking I’ll do a folder as well as a single file with everything in one, for people who just want everything and who have the internet bandwidth to download it all within a reasonable amount of time. That ought to cover all the bases, I think.

didilysims replied to your post  “You used to use a bite neck mod for vampires. Do you still use it?...”

Cool ideas! I definitely want to steal the no food for vamps plan! Part of me also wants to steal the turn/kill randomization too, but I know I would be so sad if someone had to die. :(

Yeah, I can understand that. I’m just not overly-sentimental about my pixel people. Actually, I get far more attached to the pets than I do to the human Sims. So, I don’t have problems with killing Sims when the random number generator says to kill them and/or to have them die of illness thanks to RealSickness. And sometimes...Well, sometimes a population just NEEDS culling, especially because I let Sims breed as they will. In such neighborhoods, when I’ve got vamp residents, I’ll usually bump up the chance of bitten Sims being killed as population control. BUT! If you wanted to try it out, you could say they can only bite/turn/kill townies that you don’t really care about. :)

tamtam-go92 replied to your photo “Will decided to skip class, so I sent him off to the park that I...”

Lol, I have a sim that has three bolts with a guy with the same face template too xD

There’s always that one gorilla-faced dormie! :D I actually don’t mind that template at all. If you breed ‘em with a Sim with the right features to sort of soften the gorilla-ness, the kids are actually pretty darn cute. Usually chubby-cheeked and full-lipped but not as extreme as the gorilla-face. I have a weakness for chubby cheeks, myself. :)

tamtam-go92 replied to your photo “As if spending most of his time yakking with dormies wasn’t enough...”

I LOVE the tiles!

Yeah, they’re pretty cool. Maxis, too, since those made-over Academie Le Tour buildings I use are all CC-free, and I see no reason to make them otherwise, for the (relatively) short time that Sims live there. I think those tiles came with Nightlife, IIRC...

penig replied to your photo “Alien pregnancy doesn’t stop Sharon from being a complete nerd. It...”

You say "complete nerd" like it's a bad thing.

Nah, not bad, per se. Just reminds me too much of me when I was young and way too serious and not-fun for my own good. Being a complete anything can be a bad thing, after all. There was so much I missed out on when I was young because I was so focused on being a superior student and then on my career. The former actually didn’t have that huge of a positive impact on the latter. And I sort of gave up the career path I’d planned on to focus on raising my kids -- which I hadn’t planned on having -- anyway. So, in the end, all that seriousness and nerdy and sort of arrogant scholasticism had no real net gain and, like I said, made me miss out on experiences that probably would’ve been greatly enriching both personally and professionally. So...moderation in all things is my philosophy now. Which isn’t to say that I’m not a nerd at all. I mean, an encyclopedic knowledge of Star Trek as well as a nerdy fascination with arthropods kind of clinches that. But I don’t strive to be a complete nerd anymore.

dunne-ias replied to your photoset “So. I made skies. Like, *cough* 30 of them. So far! Above is a...”

I find it hilarious that you "need to get your butt in bed now" when you live where you live compared to where I live and it's actually approaching MY bedtime.

:D Yeah, being nocturnal and living on the US west coast and going to bed around noonish my time does sort of put me on the same sleep schedule as normal diurnal people in especially the more eastern parts of Europe that are 9 or 10 hours or so ahead of where I am. Like you, for instance. :) 

penig replied to your photo “Oh God, not you, too, Will! Just sitting there, not playing chess,...”

Replace the chairs. They're too comfy.

See, that’s the thing. Those same chairs are used in other places in the dorm, not just at the chess table. Yet they choose the ones at the chess table, even if they have to walk past other iterations of the same chair to get to it. It’s weird. I can’t figure it out.

didilysims replied to your photo “The cow mascot was wandering around, doing her thing. Must hurt to get...”

Eh, they're just cheap plastic. Look at the tacky shine on 'em.

Well, yeah, but cheap plastic can still hurt if it pokes you hard enough!

...OK, that sounded vaguely dirty somehow. :)

kayleigh-83 replied to your photo “The cow mascot was wandering around, doing her thing. Must hurt to get...”

I love those mascots, such shit disturbers!

Y’know, I’m actually not a huge fan of the mascots in general. I find them more annoying than anything, same as I do Crumplebottom. Usually, I ban them with the Visitor Controller. For some reason I decided to let them torment dorms (they’re still banned in private on-campus residences, where it seems less appropriate for strangers to be barging in to do strange things) for now. I’m sure they will become annoying enough to ban them again, but for now...Yeah, they’re amusing me. And hey! The cow mascot’s sprinkler prank gives the germophobes something to do, with all the mopping. *eye roll*

strangetomato replied to your post “Later that night...”

I will never be tired of the silly date gifts.

It’s actually one of my favorite things about the whole dating thing. They make me laugh and/or they can sometimes be really useful. In fact, if they didn’t exist, I might not send any of my Sims on any actual, official timed dates at all. But since timed dates/outings are the only way to get the silly pressies, I do...

eulaliasims replied to your photo “Oh, God, it’s time to finish this thing. :P It’s campus housing, to...”

Apartment lots *are* a pain to furnish. Shift-key and dump identical bare necessities in each apartment is my method. At least the building looks gorgeous! I like the mix of windows. :D

Thank you! See, part of my problem with apartments is that I really can’t bear to furnish/decorate them identically. I really don’t know why. I mean, if I download an apartment lot with identically-furnished units, I’m perfectly OK with using them as-is. But, if I’m building the building, I just...can’t. I have to do them all differently. So, it’s like committing to decorating four (or more!) entire houses for one lot, and since furnishing/decorating is pretty much my least-favorite aspect of building...Yeah, apartment lots sort of intimidate me. Love building them. They’re fun to design/build. But the rest of it? Ugh, such a burden. :)