#i downloaded Tumblr again to check on something

[nornities]

How to use DXVK with The Sims 3

Have you seen this post about using DXVK by Criisolate? But felt intimidated by the sheer mass of facts and information?

@desiree-uk and I compiled a guide and the configuration file to make your life easier. It focuses on players not using the EA App, but it might work for those just the same. It’s definitely worth a try.

Adding this to your game installation will result in a better RAM usage. So your game is less likely to give you Error 12 or crash due to RAM issues. It does NOT give a huge performance boost, but more stability and allows for higher graphics settings in game.

The full guide behind the cut. Let me know if you also would like it as PDF.

Happy simming!

Disclaimer and Credits

Desiree and I are no tech experts and just wrote down how we did this. Our ability to help if you run into trouble is limited. So use at your own risk and back up your files!

We both are on Windows 10 and start the game via TS3W.exe, not the EA App. So your experience may differ.

This guide is based on our own experiments and of course criisolate’s post on tumblr:  https://www.tumblr.com/criisolate/749374223346286592/ill-explain-what-i-did-below-before-making-any

This guide is brought to you by Desiree-UK and Norn.

Compatibility

Note: This will conflict with other programs that “inject” functionality into your game so they may stop working. Notably

Reshade

GShade

Nvidia Experience/Nvidia Inspector/Nvidia Shaders

RivaTuner Statistics Server

It does work seamlessly with LazyDuchess’ Smooth Patch.

LazyDuchess’ Launcher: unknown

Alder Lake patch: does conflict. One user got it working by starting the game by launching TS3.exe (also with admin rights) instead of TS3W.exe. This seemed to create the cache file for DXVK. After that, the game could be started from TS3W.exe again. That might not work for everyone though.

A word on FPS and V-Sync

With such an old game it’s crucial to cap framerate (FPS). This is done in the DXVK.conf file. Same with V-Sync.

You need

a text editor (easiest to use is Windows Notepad)

to download DXVK, version 2.3.1 from here: https://github.com/doitsujin/DXVK/releases/tag/v2.3.1 Extract the archive, you are going to need the file d3d9.dll from the x32 folder

the configuration file DXVK.conf from here: https://github.com/doitsujin/DXVK/blob/master/DXVK.conf. Optional: download the edited version with the required changes here.

administrator rights on your PC

to know your game’s installation path (bin folder) and where to find the user folder

a tiny bit of patience :)

First Step: Backup

Backup your original Bin folder in your Sims 3 installation path! The DXVK file may overwrite some files! The path should be something like this (for retail): \Program Files (x86)\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Game\Bin (This is the folder where also GraphicsRule.sgr and the TS3W.exe and TS3.exe are located.)

Backup your options.ini in your game’s user folder! Making the game use the DXVK file will count as a change in GPU driver, so the options.ini will reset once you start your game after installation. The path should be something like this: \Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 (This is the folder where your Mods folder is located).

Preparations

Make sure you run the game as administrator. You can check that by right-clicking on the icon that starts your game. Go to Properties > Advanced and check the box “Run as administrator”. Note: This will result in a prompt each time you start your game, if you want to allow this application to make modifications to your system. Click “Yes” and the game will load.

2. Make sure you have the DEP settings from Windows applied to your game.

Open the Windows Control Panel.

Click System and Security > System > Advanced System Settings.

On the Advanced tab, next to the Performance heading, click Settings.

Click the Data Execution Prevention tab.

Select 'Turn on DEP for all programs and services except these”:

Click the Add button, a window to the file explorer opens. Navigate to your Sims 3 installation folder (the bin folder once again) and add TS3W.exe and TS3.exe.

Click OK. Then you can close all those dialog windows again.

Setting up the DXVK.conf file

Open the file with a text editor and delete everything in it. Then add these values:

d3d9.textureMemory = 1

d3d9.presentInterval = 1

d3d9.maxFrameRate = 60

d3d9.presentInterval enables V-Sync,d3d9.maxFrameRate sets the FrameRate. You can edit those values, but never change the first line (d3d9.textureMemory)!

The original DXVK.conf contains many more options in case you would like to add more settings.

A. no Reshade/GShade

Setting up DXVK

Copy the two files d3d9.dll and DXVK.conf into the Bin folder in your Sims 3 installation path. This is the folder where also GraphicsRule.sgr and the TS3W.exe and TS3.exe are located. If you are prompted to overwrite files, please choose yes (you DID backup your folder, right?)

And that’s basically all that is required to install.

Start your game now and let it run for a short while. Click around, open Buy mode or CAS, move the camera.

Now quit without saving. Once the game is closed fully, open your bin folder again and double check if a file “TS3W.DXVK-cache” was generated. If so – congrats! All done!

Things to note

Heads up, the game options will reset! So it will give you a “vanilla” start screen and options.

Don’t worry if the game seems to be frozen during loading. It may take a few minutes longer to load but it will load eventually.

The TS3W.DXVK-cache file is the actual cache DXVK is using. So don’t delete this! Just ignore it and leave it alone. When someone tells to clear cache files – this is not one of them!

Update Options.ini

Go to your user folder and open the options.ini file with a text editor like Notepad.

Find the line “lastdevice = “. It will have several values, separated by semicolons. Copy the last one, after the last semicolon, the digits only. Close the file.

Now go to your backup version of the Options.ini file, open it and find that line “lastdevice” again. Replace the last value with the one you just copied. Make sure to only replace those digits!

Save and close the file.

Copy this version of the file into your user folder, replacing the one that is there.

Things to note:

If your GPU driver is updated, you might have to do these steps again as it might reset your device ID again. Though it seems that the DXVK ID overrides the GPU ID, so it might not happen.

How do I know it’s working?

Open the task manager and look at RAM usage. Remember the game can only use 4 GB of RAM at maximum and starts crashing when usage goes up to somewhere between 3.2 – 3.8 GB (it’s a bit different for everybody).

So if you see values like 2.1456 for RAM usage in a large world and an ongoing save, it’s working. Generally the lower the value, the better for stability.

Also, DXVK will have generated its cache file called TS3W.DXVK-cache in the bin folder. The file size will grow with time as DXVK is adding stuff to it, e.g. from different worlds or savegames. Initially it might be something like 46 KB or 58 KB, so it’s really small.

Optional: changing MemCacheBudgetValue

MemCacheBudgetValue determines the size of the game's VRAM Cache. You can edit those values but the difference might not be noticeable in game. It also depends on your computer’s hardware how much you can allow here.

The two lines of seti MemCacheBudgetValue correspond to the high RAM level and low RAM level situations. Therefore, theoretically, the first line MemCacheBudgetValue should be set to a larger value, while the second line should be set to a value less than or equal to the first line.

The original values represent 200MB (209715200) and 160MB (167772160) respectively. They are calculated as 200x1024x1024=209175200 and 160x1024x1024=167772160.

Back up your GraphicsRules.sgr file! If you make a mistake here, your game won’t work anymore.

Go to your bin folder and open your GraphicsRules.sgr with a text editor.

Search and find two lines that set the variables for MemCacheBudgetValue.

Modify these two values to larger numbers. Make sure the value in the first line is higher or equals the value in the second line. Examples for values: 1073741824, which means 1GB 2147483648 which means 2 GB. -1 (minus 1) means no limit (but is highly experimental, use at own risk)

Save and close the file. It might prompt you to save the file to a different place and not allow you to save in the Bin folder. Just save it someplace else in this case and copy/paste it to the Bin folder afterwards. If asked to overwrite the existing file, click yes.

Now start your game and see if it makes a difference in smoothness or texture loading. Make sure to check RAM and VRAM usage to see how it works.

You might need to change the values back and forth to find the “sweet spot” for your game. Mine seems to work best with setting the first value to 2147483648 and the second to 1073741824.

Uninstallation

Delete these files from your bin folder (installation path):

d3d9.dll

DXVK.conf

TS3W.DXVK-cache

And if you have it, also TS3W_d3d9.log

if you changed the values in your GraphicsRule.sgr file, too, don’t forget to change them back or to replace the file with your backed up version.

OR

delete the bin folder and add it from your backup again.

B. with Reshade/GShade

Follow the steps from part A. no Reshade/Gshade to set up DXVK.

If you are already using Reshade (RS) or GShade (GS), you will be prompted to overwrite files, so choose YES. RS and GS may stop working, so you will need to reinstall them.

Whatever version you are using, the interface shows similar options of which API you can choose from (these screenshots are from the latest versions of RS and GS).

Please note: 

Each time you install and uninstall DXVK, switching the game between Vulkan and d3d9, is essentially changing the graphics card ID again, which results in the settings in your options.ini file being repeatedly reset.

ReShade interface

Choose – Vulcan

Click next and choose your preferred shaders.

Hopefully this install method works and it won't install its own d3d9.dll file.

If it doesn't work, then choose DirectX9 in RS, but you must make sure to replace the d3d9.dll file with DXVK's d3d9.dll (the one from its 32bit folder, checking its size is 3.86mb.)

GShade interface

Choose –           

Executable Architecture: 32bit

Graphics API: DXVK

Hooking: Normal Mode

GShade is very problematic, it won't work straight out of the box and the overlay doesn't show up, which defeats the purpose of using it if you can't add or edit the shaders you want to use.

Check the game's bin folder, making sure the d3d9.dll is still there and its size is 3.86mb - that is DXVK's dll file.

If installing using the DXVK method doesn't work, you can choose the DirectX method, but there is no guarantee it works either.

The game will not run with these files in the folder:

d3d10core.dll

d3d11.dll

dxgi.dll

If you delete them, the game will start but you can't access GShade! It might be better to use ReShade.

Some Vulcan and DirectX information, if you’re interested:

Vulcan is for rather high end graphic cards but is backward compatible with some older cards. Try this method with ReShade or GShade first.

DirectX is more stable and works best with older cards and systems. Try this method if Vulcan doesn't work with ReShade/GShade in your game – remember to replace the d3d9.dll with DXVK's d3d9.dll.

For more information on the difference between Vulcan and DirectX, see this article:

https://www.howtogeek.com/884042/vulkan-vs-DirectX-12/

[fangweaver2099]

𝐅 𝐀 𝐖 𝐍 𝐓 𝐄 𝐄 𝐓 𝐇 - Prologue pt 2

MINORS DNI 18+ FIC

You’ve always liked the idea of having a dominant partner - BDSM was something you’ve read about, watched videos about.

Something you made Pinterest boards and aesthetic tumblr posts about when you were 18 and curious, the idea always sounded nice, but you’ve never done it in practice, not really. Sure you bought fuzzy handcuffs at a gag gift store once, but that didn’t really count.

You’re still a virgin.

You’ve always had that chronically awkward, workaholic type of vibe that made typical dating near impossible at worst and frustrating at best. Normal dating apps have proven fruitless and agitating. So poor curious little you talked yourself into making a fetlife account. You weren’t looking for true love, but at least you could get laid.

DM Request from: 10:13 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Hello, Fawn.”

College was for new experiences after all.

CW: BDSM heavy/centric fic. Safe, Sane & Consensual. Miguel is your professor, but you both don't know that. Age Gap (Y/N is 23, Miguel is mid 30's)

TAG: @slut4oscarissac23

PART 1 - PART 3

It’s been a week since you met Web. You’ve gotten into the routine he provided after you confirmed he expected you to start instantly. Thankfully, your summer job is walkable and makes the whole hour of exercise he’d demanded - so it isn’t much of a change in routine.

 He isn’t pleased that your idea of meals is usually whatever frozen nuggets you have in the fridge or whatever you and your roommates decide to swing by to, but there’s only so much you can do on a college budget, and he begrudgingly accepts that fact after some discussion. 

You wake with a groan, still entangled in your gray duvet. You had opted for a daybed for your tiny room and it means you often sleep with your nose touching the wall and your limbs curled close to you, fetal position. 

For a long moment, you consider heading back to bed. Your hands search down your body and across your bed for the phone. You pull the damn thing out from under your hip and flip it over in your hand. 

Web asks you to download something called ‘Telegram’ - it doesn’t log pictures or anything for that matter, according to him. You find you even have a few contacts saved that used it. You discover your cousin is a furry, but you aren’t going to tell him that. 

Web’s icon is what you’d expect, really - a red web. His number is fake - surprising to exactly nobody. He was clearly more tech savvy than you. When you had visualized an ideal dominant - Web checked too many boxes. At first you considered ghosting him, anxiety ate you up.

But you also crave his attention - maybe you’re more lonely than you thought. You find yourself waiting for his messages and bouncing at the attention. You’ve developed a habit of staying up too late waiting to see if he’ll pop back online again. 

So you click open your phone, ignoring Facebook, Instagram, whatever, and click open the small blue icon to Telegram. 

 9:13 AM - WebRigger2099 - “Good Morning.”  

“ I slept in… Sorry. Just saw this. Morning. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:15 PM

 1:19 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Slept in until 1pm? Up late?”  

“ Roommates were loud, so I watched netflix. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:19 PM

 1:19 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Maybe when summer is over you’ll be able to get proper sleep at my place.”  

“ That sounds nice. We’ll have to see. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:19 PM

 1:20 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I can set up a dog bed at the foot of mine. I’d make sure you were comfortable, but you’d have to wake me to go to the bathroom. The leash would keep you bound to bed.”  

“ And here I thought we’d snuggle. :p ” - Fawnteeth - 1:20 PM

 1:20 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Yes, but you have to earn the bed for sleeping at night. Incentives keep you from growing complacent.”  

“ You really do know what you’re doing. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:21 PM

“ Any free time today? ” - Fawnteeth - 1:21 PM

1:21 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I work from home during the summer and practically make my own hours. It’s a quiet day.”  

“ Can I ask what you do? ” - Fawnteeth - 1:21 PM

1:21 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Yes, but I won’t answer.”  

“ Mysterious. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:22 PM

 1:22 PM - WebRigger2099 - “If you guess correct you might earn a treat, pup.”  

“ How many tries do I get? ” - Fawnteeth - 1:22 PM

1:22 PM - WebRigger2099 - “We’ll say three.”  

“ Banker? ” - Fawnteeth - 1:22 PM

1:22 PM - WebRigger2099 - “No. Every time you get it incorrect, you’ll answer a question of mine, how’s that sound?”  

“ That's not very fair. :c ” - Fawnteeth - 1:23 PM

1:23 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I never said it would be.”  

“ Fine. Ask away. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:23 PM

1:23 PM - WebRigger2099 - “When was the last time you touched yourself, Fawn?”  

“ Oh. These kind of questions. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:23 PM

1:23 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Is that a complaint I hear?”  

“ No. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:23 PM

1:23 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Well?”  

“ The night after we spoke the first time. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:23 PM

1:23 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Good girl. Excited you, did I?”  

“ Yes, sir. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:24 PM

1:24 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Good girl. You remembered the rule. No ‘maybe’s, only ‘yes’ or ‘no’.”  

“ I’m trying my best. It’s not like it’s fun being a brat at the start. I gotta learn your buttons. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:24 PM

1:24 PM - WebRigger2099 - “You must be a glutton for punishment. Did you see the cane marks I left on some of the girls in my photo album?”  

“ I did. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:24 PM

 1:24 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Did it excite you, Fawn?”  

You huff, rolling onto your other side on the bed.

“ ...Yes. When do I get to guess again? >:c ” - Fawnteeth - 1:24 PM

1:24 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I never said you couldn’t. You’re just answering free questions.”  

“ Mean. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:24 PM

 1:24 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Exceptionally. You have to earn ‘nice’.”  

“ I don’t know why I find you so charming. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:24 PM

“ Librarian? ” - Fawnteeth - 1:24 PM

1:24 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Wrong. And many submissives find comfort in pain and punishment.”  

“ you seem like the librarian type. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:25 PM

1:25 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Because you think I’d spank you with a ruler if you made too much noise?”  

“ I don’t think a ruler would hurt very much. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:25 PM

1:25 PM  - WebRigger2099 - “You haven’t had one break on your skin then. I’ve left bruises with them before.”  

“ I sure haven’t. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:25 PM

1:25 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I’ll have to bring one someday, then. And a crop. Anything else you’d like me to mark you with?”  

“ Let me think about it. ” - Fawnteeth -  1:25 PM

“ Personal trainer? You have the body for it. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:25 PM

1:25 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Isn’t that what I’m doing to you? It doesn’t pay very well, but I don’t have any complaints about the benefits so far.”  

“ I mean. I guess? You haven’t asked me to work out, plus I hear the right clients means you could make bank. So you are a personal trainer? ” - Fawnteeth - 1:26 PM

1:26 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I did tell you to exercise an hour a day. Did you forget?”  

“ Not completely. I walk. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:26 PM

1:26 PM - WebRigger2099 - “No, I’m not a personal trainer. Ready for my last two questions?”  

“ Yes. :c I thought I was right… ” - Fawnteeth - 1:26 PM

1:26 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Afraid not.”  

1:26 PM - WebRigger2099 - “When you masturbated the night we first spoke, what did you imagine?”  

“ A bit of what you could look like. Putting myself into one of your photos. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:27 PM

1:27 PM  - WebRigger2099 - “Do you like the idea of me showing you off for everyone to see? Your face covered of course, like the rest.”  

“ I sure don’t mind the idea. Do most girls say no? I see you haven’t taken any photos in like 7 years. ” - Fawnteeth - 11:27 PM

1:27 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I’ve been busy. Started again recently.”  

“ Ohhh. I see. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:27 PM

1:27 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Would you like to practice?”  

“ Practice? ” - Fawnteeth - 1:27 PM

1:27 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Posing for my photos.”  

“ Can I see you too? ” - Fawnteeth - 1:27 PM

1:27 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Fair is fair.”  

“ Your profile pic leaves most to the imagination. Well. Below the belt, I guess. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:27 PM

1:27 PM - WebRigger2099 - “That’s what you want to see, is it? You’ll need to earn it.”  

“ Call me curious. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:27 PM

1:27 PM - WebRigger2099 - “You’ll need to follow my instructions for posing, Fawn. Listening?”  

“ Yes. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:28 PM

1:28 PM - WebRigger2099 - “You’ll take a picture of every step to prove you’re following along. Understood?”  

“ Okay. Let me lock my door. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:28 PM

You need a gameplan. Checking for your roommates, you pop your head out of your door, listening hard. You can hear your roommate Kore’s music - some pop medley that she’s sewing to. Good. 

You don’t hear anyone else, so everybody else must be out. You… try not to think about what Taylor or Aurora could be up to.

Sticking your head back in, you close the door. moving to click the lock shut. You check the door, only for it to open with the slightest tug. Glancing at the lock, you frown, flicking it on and off to see no little ‘lock’ mechanism come out. 

Shit… You fucking hate your landlord. 

You glance around your room - you are not doing this with your door unlocked. You grew up with half a dozen siblings and strict parents - you know how to improvise. Grabbing the circular chair piled with clothes, you push it to the door and force the metal under your door knob. Hands on your hips, you nod at the handiwork.

Good enough. 

Snatching up your phone, you frown, kicking away most of your discarded clothes and random papers.You really need to clean your room, but you decide you’d do it later.

Right now, you have other priorities. 

Said priority seems to know just when you sit down, the telegram notification lighting up your screen as if you’ve summoned him by pure thought alone. Think of the devil…

1:46 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Having trouble?”  

“ No. All good now. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:46 PM

1:46 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Get a marker.”  

You frown, then glance at your backpack. You trot over and search through it, tossing a few pens and your pencil case in frustration.

In the end you find a single purple sharpie. 

You click open your phone.

“ Does the color matter? ” - Fawnteeth - 1:46 PM

1:46 PM - WebRigger2099 - “No. It just needs to be visible on your skin.”  

“ Kay. Got it then. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:46 PM

1:46 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Take your clothes off. Bra and panties can stay on.”  

You glance up at your phone and stare at yourself in the mirror.

 Your hair is a bit of a mess - that’s fine. 

You glance at your sleep shirt, it’s old and the hem is frayed on the sleeves, the little bunny screen printed onto it is mostly faded. You knew you weren’t wearing a bra, so you glanced around your room till you spotted one laying limply on the floor. Tossing off your top and discarding it wherever it landed. 

Pulling the bra on, you take a deep breath, glancing at yourself again in the mirror. You feel yourself hesitating. You’ve taken nudes before, what about this makes it different? 

Web makes it different. Him telling you to take these for him makes it different. You slip off your shorts and realize you’re wet. Your cheeks burn with embarrassment. 

Still, your phone is in your hand again, you flick it open and type away. 

“Kay.” - Fawnteeth - 1:50 PM

1:50 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Where is my proof, Fawn? I told you to take pictures. Are you trying to get punished?”  

You bite your lip.

“ No. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:50 PM

You need your face mask - the one you wore in all your photos is easy to find. You wrap the thing around your nose and mouth. You know you’re going to crop out your face anyway, but it makes you feel better. 

Like you’re pretending to be someone else. You supposed you aren’t you anymore - you’re Fawn. Fawn doesn’t struggle with nudes. Fawn takes great nudes. 

You glance at yourself in the mirror. You end up trying a few poses, trying to not put emphasis on your long legs or stomach rolls. You settle on your knees  - back slightly arched, one hand splayed on your thigh. Not too lewd.

You snap the photo, shifting your body a bit as you take another. The routine continues a few more times before you pause to look at the photos. 

You decide the second one is the best. You move to crop as much of the background out as you can, including your face. Wisps of your hair remain around your neck but that’s fine. Whatever. Good enough.

You hesitate for a moment, finger lingering on the send button.

What if he doesn’t like it? What if he decides he doesn’t like you? You cringe at the thought. You send the photo and close your phone instantly. 

[photo] - Fawnteeth - 1:55 PM

You hear it ping and slowly click the screen back on.

1:52 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Good girl. Has anyone told you you’re beautiful today, Fawn?”  

You blush.

“ Now someone has. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:52 PM

1:52 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Write it on yourself. We wouldn’t want you to forget if I’m busy and can’t tell you tomorrow morning.”  

“ Okay. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:55 PM

You take a deep breath, grabbing the purple sharpie from beside your knee. Biting down on the cap, you frown, glancing over the expanse of skin thoughtfully. 

How the hell do you write backwards…. You’ll flip the image before you send it.

It’s embarrassing how long you pause, you stare at the pen and your skin. You come to the sad realization this is the first time a man has called you beautiful like… ever. 

You’re smart enough to realize he’s trying to build you up. God, he knows what he’s doing, doesn’t he?

You settle with scribbling the world carefully onto your right thigh. You don’t use the mirror for the photo this time, taking it directly.  

[photo] - Fawnteeth - 1:55 PM

1:55 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Again.”  

You consider asking him where. After considering for a moment, you scribble ‘beautiful’ on your other thigh. It’s not huge and written towards your knee, but it’s readable. 

[photo] - Fawnteeth - 1:56 PM

1:56 PM  - WebRigger2099 - “Keep going.”  

You wonder where - not your thighs again you decide. After some effort you manage to scribble it carefully above your panty waistband, crawling from your hip and across your stomach. 

This time you have to use the mirror. You settle back into that kneeling pose and take a few shots.

You pick the favorite, flipping it so the text can actually be read. You crop it again, cutting off your shoulders and part of your arm. 

[photo]  - Fawnteeth - 1:57 PM

1:57 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Good. That’s enough.”  

“ Here I expected something lewd. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:57 PM

 1:57 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Now pull your panties to the side and show me your pussy.”  

Your cunt throbs, making your thighs snap together. He isn’t even talking, it it’s words on a fucking screen . It’s unfair how effortlessly arousing Web is. 

You could say no. You don’t think he’d be upset if you said no. He had spoken a dozen times over about consent in the past week, reaffirming to you that if you thought it was too much that you were welcome to say so. All it took was you typing yellow or red. 

You don’t.

“ Mkay. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:58 PM

You end up sitting back on your ass, legs apart. You see the dark mark on your panties in between your legs. You almost shutter pulling the cloth aside. You feel your slickness on your fingers and wipe it away with your inner thigh. 

You see yourself through your phone, legs spread and the hints of the words written on your thighs make you freeze. 

You settle with closing your eyes to take the picture. You don’t crop it this time - but your face is still missing from the shot regardless. Just a hint of the black cloth over your chin. Your face is warm both from your cheeks and your breath now. 

You click send and wait patiently for his reply.

[photo] - Fawnteeth - 1:58 PM

 It comes instantly.

1:58 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Now shove the marker inside.”  

Your eyes widen.

1:58 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Take a picture so I can see all the writing and the marker inside you.”  

You grab the top of the marker and cap it, flipping it in your fingers.

“ I’ll try. ” - Fawnteeth - 1:59 PM

The marker is cold. You cringe as you press it against your overheated pussy, flinching as you run it along your opening. After a deep breath you slip it into your opening. You couldn’t exactly feel it - it was more like your fingers.

You’ve never bought a toy, knowing your roommates would rip the package open to see what you ordered, nosy as they are, and it’s not like you could order it to your childhood home. There are some things even you know better than to do. 

Slowly, you kneel again, your hips up in the air as you see the small white and purple thing in between your thighs. 

The last time you took a nude was before college. You chickened out of sending it to your boyfriend at the time. Now you’re just thankful you never got to second base with him. 

You take the picture, eyes closed again. Like that somehow made what you were doing more modest and less slutty. 

Is it slutty? It’s not like you’re sending it to anyone but Web. But also… who is Web?

[photo] - Fawnteeth - 2:02 PM

2:03 PM - WebRigger2099 - “ Good girl. I’m posting this as an album on my page for everyone to see. I’ll blur the background for your privacy, and you already have your mask on.”

“ I thought this was supposed to be practice? :’c ” - Fawnteeth - 2:03 PM

You slip the marker from yourself and put your panties back on correctly. You cringe at the cold wetness. 

 2:03 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I find it best to practice by doing.”  

“ I guess that makes sense. It’s the first time I’ve sent that to anyone on here. Can you keep the one with my crotch in it private? ” - Fawnteeth - 2:03 PM

2:03 PM - WebRigger2099 - “You did good. Lighting and the perfect background are nice, but it's not realistic. Not everyone has perfectly angled windows and lamps to make shots. This is raw. Vulnerable. And yes, I can keep those two private.”  

“ Thanks. My room is kinda a mess… You’re nice, Web. ” - Fawnteeth - 2:03 PM

 2:03 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Just respectful, and not that much. You have low bars, Fawn. Careful someone doesn’t take advantage of them.”  

“ You haven’t. ” - Fawnteeth - 2:03 PM

2:03 PM - WebRigger2099 - “You just shoved a marker up your cunt for me without even questioning it.”  

“ I think you’d be fine if I had said no. When do I get to see it? ” - Fawnteeth - 2:04 PM

2:04 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I suppose you earned it.”

His hands are huge, his chest is broad and clearly the same guy in the photo… and…

Your eyes widen at his dick. The sweatpants bulge in his profile pic is a fucking beast. You had asked him how long it was before, shyly, and he said eight inches. Sheepishly, you told yourself you’d fetch a ruler to see what that would be like in person. 

You’d been too nervous to follow through.

He’s wide, too, his log-like member swollen with arousal. The dark brown skin fades to a milder tan as your eyes finally leave his bulge, trailing up the muscular torso. You swear you see a bead of sweat running down his abs, but you realize that it's yours .

You’re sweating, forehead moist, wiping away the rest with a glide of the back of your hand.

Like all the pictures he had of himself in his gallery, the picture cuts off at the beginning of his neck. This one also cuts off near the knees at the bottom.

“ Jesus christ. ” - Fawnteeth - 2:07 PM

“ Did I do that?. ” - Fawnteeth - 2:07 PM

2:07 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Would you be proud of yourself if you did?”  

“ I’d feel special. ” - Fawnteeth - 2:07 PM

2:08 PM - WebRigger2099 - “You’re special, Fawn. Do you know what I would do if you were in front of me right now?”  

You sink on your thighs as his words. ‘You’re special’ makes you almost tear up. You’re absolutely charmed by him.

Slowly, you lay on the floor, hovering your phone above your face. It’s hard not to grin, chewing your lip red as you think over your reply.

“ No, can you tell me? ” - Fawnteeth - 2:08 PM 

You feel accomplished at that. You’re being so smooth and cool. 

You wait patiently, crossing your legs and bouncing one of them in the air.

He doesn’t reply. You feel sweat gathering at the back of your neck. You move from lounging casually to sat cross legged before your mirror. You debate sending another message. 

You do not send another message - that would make you look desperate, and you are definitely not desperate. That has to be a massive turnoff anyways - after all, he knows what he’s doing, he’s incredibly attractive and hung. He’s probably so sure of himself. Pestering him would just annoy him. 

It isn’t even five minutes you wait before you decide to do anything but stare at your phone. You change into loose pajama pants and toss your shamefully wet panties into the laundry hamper. 

You’re halfway through cleaning your room when you hear it. 

Your phone pings and, embarrassingly, you drop the bra you were holding to rush for your bed. Feeling like a kid on christmas, your fingers shake as you punch in your passcode and pull up the notification. 

2:15 PM  - WebRigger2099 - “I’m sorry. I have to go for a few hours.”  

Your stomach sinks. You think you might be sick.

“ Oh. Okay. ” - Fawnteeth - 2:15 PM

2:15 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I can message you again tonight after 8.”  

“ I’ll hold you to that. ” - Fawnteeth - 2:15 PM

Okay. It isn’t your fault, right? Something’s very clearly up with his life. 

Frowning, you force yourself take a deep breath to calm yourself.

You investigate his picture, his bedroom is neat and simple. It’s clearly not a hotel room - it’s got some personal cozy touches and you can see some brick outside the window behind his shoulder. The sheets are messy and the blankets are mismatched. He’s probably just some normal guy, maybe he works in an office and just likes his body.

And… bondage. 

Y’know - average weird secret pervert things. Hopefully he isn’t married . You didn’t see a ring on either of his hands or even an indent from one he might have taken off for the photos. 

Your eyes eventually drift to the marker discarded on your floor, the end still slick. If he was some kind of weird pervert, what does that just make you?

You look down at your stomach and the small ‘beautiful’ written carefully on it. You need to take a shower and get this off.

You sneak through the house with a change of clothes and your nice shampoo you don’t share with anyone. Your house has one bathroom with a half decent shower, technically being a 2 ½ bath house. 

You don’t like the other bathroom that Kore and Babette mostly use. It only has a bathtub - the shower head doesn’t work. 

You hop in the shower and are horrified at your discovery. It’s not coming off. The writing doesn’t come off with the dove soap or Aurora’s washing puff. Not even scratching it with your nails does anything but vaguely fade it. 

Great. 

You try your best to not freak out. You’ll dress like it’s winter until you can wash it off your skin. You should have asked Web if you should use a sharpie. 

You wash your hair and dry off the best you can. Thankfully, your loose shorts and loose t-shirt hide the marks as long as you don't let the shorts ride up your thighs too much. 

You return to your room and move your chair back into its place. You don’t have work today and you can hear the movement that told you one of your roomies had just gotten home.

Your stomach growls. 

You’re hungry - three meals, you remind yourself, Web always somewhere close to the front of your mind. Technically this would your first meal, you did just wake up and… fuck. Anxiously, you tug down your pajama shorts. Lesson learned, that shit doesn’t come off in the shower. You make a note to ask Web for a marker to get that does wash off. 

You find yourself questioning why some random faceless man on the internet is the motivation you have to take care of yourself. Shaking away the thought, you explore the tiny freezer stuffed with mostly frozen chicken nuggets. You frown, debating ordering takeout again. You settle on boiling noodles and smothering them in pesto and salt. 

You head out to the living room - the room is eternally cluttered like the rest of your college house. The ceiling light doesn’t work, so you and your roomies had hung fairy lights everywhere. The drapes are pulled back to let light in - the lesbian flag with markiplier’s face on it in full display to the whole neighborhood. Four couches meant you had plenty of space to sit, falling in the far corner from the only other person in the room - Aurora.

The bubbly blonde is chomping away at her food, phone propped up on the stained coffee table as some sort of video plays. You eat while listening to something about a person named ‘illuminaughty’. 

Aurora looked up from her bowl of fruit loops from the couch, she smiled through a mouthful, cheeks as stuffed as a chipmunk. "Mornin'!" she grinned, never one for table manners.

She wiped her mouth with the back of her arm, "You slept in late." 

Her eyes looked you up and down, a perfectly tweezed eyebrow raising to look at your leg. "Were you drawing on yourself?"

You looked down, a purple "L" in sharpie just barely poking out of your shorts. You feel a chill go down your spine. You are fucking mortified. 

"Uh...yeah," you say quickly, your brain scrambling for a moment to make up some lie. You couldn't just confess that you'd written on yourself and shoved the marker up your pussy just because a man you didn't even know the name of told you too. "Got bored last night, y'know."

Aurora shrugs, thankfully dropping the subject as she turns her attention back to her bowl of sugar cereal.

You promptly get, desperately pretending that she didn’t notice your sexy leg writing, and power walk to your bedroom. It takes effort to not slam the door. 

You stay in your room for the rest of the day because you sure as fuck aren’t hanging around your roomies now. Aurora would question you again - it’s Aurora, and you can’t exactly explain away wearing long pants in June.

So you break out your laptop and watch Delicious in Dungeon. You always have a habit of marathoning random shows on Netflix and it passes the time better than staring at the wall, waiting for Web to message you. 

You got popcorn as a snack, maybe you’d eat weird monster food too. Senshi does make it look delicious. You chuckle, realizing the name matches.

Hours passed and the sun is barely setting before you consider taking a nap.

 8:00 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Hello Fawn.”  

You sit up and snatch your phone up at the ping.

“ Hey. Everything good? ” - Fawnteeth - 8:00 PM

 8:00 PM - WebRigger2099 - “It’s fine, just a sudden schedule change. Things moved up quicker than I expected, but I should be done for the night.”  

“ Okay. Well… You never answered my question, Web. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:01 PM

“ Also. How do I get sharpie off my skin. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:01 PM

 8:01 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Oh Fawn…”  

“ I thought I could scrub it off, if I’m honest. I figured… you.. might… know… ” - Fawnteeth - 8:02 PM

8:02 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I do, but maybe I should let you keep it on until it fades normally. A lesson to be more careful. Better this than something more serious.”  

“ I should have figured as much. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:02 PM

8:03 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I’m just glad you didn’t shove it deeper. You can’t put things inside without a flare, it’ll get stuck. I didn’t realize I needed to explain things like that to you, but I know better now.”  

“ I know that. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:03 PM

8:03 PM - WebRigger2099 - “But not that permanent markers are hard to remove.”  

“ Yes. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:03 PM

8:03 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Fawn you are delightfully foolish.”  

“ I’m glad you enjoy my suffering. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:03 PM

8:03 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I enjoy your happiness too.”  

“ You’re good with words. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:03 PM

8:03 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Better with my hands, but you’ll learn that later.”  

“ I’ll make sure to keep that in mind. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:04 PM

“ Well. Now that I’ve made myself a fool, I hope I haven’t turned you off. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:04 PM

8:04 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Hardly. I believe we left off before at ‘what I would do to you if I was there’.”  

“ Thank you for mentioning it so.. I didn’t have to bring it up again. I’m still quite curious. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:04 PM

 8:04 PM - WebRigger2099 - “You remember the picture I sent you?”  

“ I do. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:04 PM

 8:04 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I want you to order something. I’ll pay, naturally, but I figure it would be more comfortable if I didn’t know your address so quickly.”  

“ Yeah. I think that would take some time. A toy? ” - Fawnteeth - 8:04 PM

 8:05 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I have a list. Run away with the money and you won’t hear my answer.”  

“ I won’t. But are you sure you want to invest anything in me yet? ” - Fawnteeth - 8:05 PM

 8:05 PM - WebRigger2099 - “You’ve invested at least 3 days in me with that marker.”

“ True enough. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:05 PM

 8:06 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I’m comfortable financially. This isn’t the hit it might be for a girl your age. You’ve earned some nice things.”  

“ Oh. I see. Thank you. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:06 PM

 8:06 PM - WebRigger2099 - “No using them without my permission, understood?”  

“ Understood, sir. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:06 PM

He sends you the link to an adult website. Your cheeks flush as your screen is filled with all sorts of sex toys and other lewd imagery. Your eyes flicker to your door for a moment, anxiety simmering low in your belly as the thought of someone walking into your room and seeing what you were looking at flashes through your mind. You bite your lip, feeling like a nervous teenager under your father’s roof once again.

You notice that the cart has been pre filled with a number of items: A 6 inch silicone dildo; a Lovense egg vibrator; nipple clamps; a rabbit vibrator; a bottle of water-based lube; and a set of black lingerie that matches your face mask.

Your eyes linger on the cart total. That’s more than your paycheck .

“ You sure? ” - Fawnteeth - 8:09 PM

 8:09 PM - WebRigger2099 - “If I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t have sent you the link. There is a gift card code: HGJ-8734-KHW. It’ll cover the expenses and leave a little extra for you to browse and select one or two items that catch your interest.”  

“ Okay. Thank you. ” - Fawnteeth - 8:09 PM

 8:10 PM - WebRigger2099 - “You’re welcome, Fawn. I take care of my pets.”  

[joojdraws]

Happy two years anniversary to one of the most beautiful and original story I have ever read... Be Kind, My Neighbor!! It’s amazing how it already has been two years! How time flies by... 🍳🎉 Here’s a Wegg holding a strawberry cake to celebrate!! 🥚🍓🎂

BKMN has been having an huge impact of me... A huge positive impact! First of all I have met incredible friends, people, artists and so on because of that story... I have been so much inspired artistically as well in the past two years!!

But also I have met my fictional other... the corn farmer I love so much: Rarold. August 15 is our special day... (I first have read the book on August 15, 2022) and I totally have something planned for our own anniversary!! (Stay tuned... 👀)

Well long story short... BKMN is a very good and beautiful comic story to me. Meaningful, even. If you’re 18+, I totally recommend to read that story at least once... (Of course don’t forget to check the content warning and such!)

You can order the book on the official publisher website (Silver Sprocket), a physical version but also a digital one!

https://www.silversprocket.net/be-kind-my-neighbor-by-yugo-limbo/ (Physical)

https://store.silversprocket.net/products/digital-download-be-kind-my-neighbor-by-yugo-limbo/ (Digital)

If you can’t order it here because of the huge shipping amount (like me... Belgium moment...) you still can check other websites, it’s available in most book shop from what I know!

...And of course I wanted to say a big thanks to the author themselves: Yugo Limbo... for creating such a wonderful story. Give your support to them, they deserve it!! (Their Tumblr is @/yugsly) :-] and don’t hesitate to check their other creations!!

Well that is all I had to say... Happy birthday again BKMN!! See you next year same day for the third anniversary of the book!! So exciting... 🧵🥚

[canarysage]

PSDs For Dummies <3

— as written by a dummy

hello dear readers and welcome back to canarysage, the world’s least comprehensive tutorial blog. today, we’re back at it again with photopea for dummies, and we’re tackling something i probably should have done first: psds.

example psds are: 1 (@cutesiplushi) 2 (@didlivio) & 3 (@lumieron)

what is a psd?

excellent question, dear reader! psd stands for photoshop document, and it’s a type of file format (like .png or .gif) that allows you to store a project’s individual layers! it’s a file format that, for obvious reasons, is exclusive to photoshop and photopea.

in editing circles, psd has become shorthand for filter. people use psds to save configurations of adjustment layers that are then used to filter images consistently, without having to remake them every time. when someone posts a psd, they’re posting a folder (hopefully it’s in a folder) with their specific set of adjustment layers for anyone to use!

where can i get psds?

right here on tumblr! check your favorite edit blogs, as they may have posted some, or search ‘free psd’ or ‘psd coloring’ in the search function. tumblr doesn’t allow you to upload psds directly, so you’ll be redirected to a site outside tumblr. probably either deviantart, google drive, or ko-fi, all of which are easy to use. deviantart requires you to have an account to download anything (luckily, an account is free!) and ko-fi may require you to pay money. google drive doesn’t have a search function in and of itself, but it’s extremely easy to download off of.

also, shameless self plug, but i post psds right here on canarysage! i personally use deviantart, but again, an account is free. if send me an ask, i may be able to provide you with a google drive link, if you ask really nicely (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

and of course if you don’t want to use someone else’s psd, you can always make your own.

how do i use a psd?

once you have a psd of your choice downloaded, open up photopea! or photoshop, if you’re rich like that.

once you open photopea, click this here button right in the middle of the screen, the one that says “open from computer”

from there, go to choose files and open up your psd! depending on from whom you got it, psds will look different once you open them. i’m using one of my own as an example.

you can see there’s two layers in my psd, a folder, and an image. the image is just for me so i know which psd this is once i save it—i like to save all my psds with images of real people so i know how it looks on moodboards or stimboards.

the folder is the important part here, that’s where the adjustment layers are contained. to transfer a psd, you can either go to file > new

which lets you start an entirely new project, or you can open an image using file > open

which will give you the image you selected.

as an aside, if you’re opening a psd and you already have a project in progress, make sure to click file > open and not file > open & place, as open & place won’t give you the adjustment layers.

then to move the folder, go to layer > duplicate layer into while having selected the folder (just tap on it, that will make it a lighter gray to show it’s selected) and duplicate the folder into whatever your image is

i’m moving mine to a random image of honami i found which is why it’s named like that. once the folder’s duplicated into your project, go over and take a look!

you should now see something like this! ensure that the folder is on top, as otherwise the adjustment layers won’t work.

here’s the difference between the unfiltered image and the image with my psd!

to save images in photopea (like i did just now) go to file > export as > (your preferred file format)

which will pull up something like this

i recommend either saving as a png (for still images) or as a gif (for… gifs) but that’s up to you! in order to save a psd, go to file > save as psd! that will save your project to your device

bear in mind that tumblr doesn’t accept psds as a file format, so if you’re going to post an edit, you have to save it as something else. also, don’t just save other people’s psds and claim them as your own—psds take a lot of time, effort, and skill, like any other art form.

can i make my own psds?

100% yes! i can’t give you a step-by-step process unfortunately, as there really is no one way to make psds. i recommend familiarizing yourself with adjustment layer and seeing what works.

shameless self plug again, but you can check out my other posts in this series to find out about some of the adjustment layers!

basically, i like to think of adjustment layers as a few different categories. light/darkness adjustments (ie: brightness/contrast, levels, curves, exposure, black & white, and threshold to a certain extent.) saturation adjustments (vibrance, hue/saturation.) color adjustments (hue/saturation, color balance, photo filter, channel mixer, selective color, gradient map depending on how you use it, and replace color.) and also, miscellaneous (posterize, which gives your images a pop-art crunchy kind of effect, invert, which… inverts your colors, and color lookup, which is a set of filters unto itself)

how you utilize adjustment layers is up to you! i personally like to use a variety and see what happens, my personal favorites being channel mixer, photo filter, and hue/saturation. you can also utilize blending modes (shameless self plug again,) or opacity.

if you have no idea where to start, you can look at other people’s psds to see their process. don’t copy or steal, for obvious reasons, but you can toggle layers on and off and see what happens and what each layer does.

making psds isn’t as intimidating as it sounds, you just have to start a project and start creating! it gets really fun once you get the hang of it (*'▽'*)

i don’t edit with photoshop or photopea, can i still use psds?

short answer: nope!

long answer: if you want use psds but you’re super used to ibis paint or whatever you currently use, have no fear! you don’t have to switch all your editing to photopea. you can make your main project in ibis or whatever as normal, then upload it to photopea and add a psd.

you can also make perfectly fine filters in ibis paint in your own right, with enough tweaking. there’s also apps such as polarr and picsart which come with filters, but i’ve never used them so i’m unable to vouch for how they work.

do i need to use psds when editing?

nope! psds are 100% optional. they’re a style like anything else—some people prefer them and some people don’t. it’s up to you.

did you genuinely write 1178 words answering questions no one asked?

yep.

what if i have a question you didn’t answer?

feel free to shoot me an ask! i don’t mind explaining further, and i promise i don’t bite. as with anything, this is just meant to explain to anyone who needs assistance—photopea for dummies by a dummy, after all. we can be confused together!

are you done now?

i am! congratulations for reading this far!

yours truly, canarysage

[ikeoji-subs]

Zettai BL Ni Naru Sekai VS Zettai BL Ni Naritakunai Otoko 2024 - Episode 6 Eng Sub

VS SHOOTING and VS FALLING IN LOVE

It's the season 3 finale!

For downloading instructions and where to find the raw files, please check our masterpost.

[Subs link]

We ask that you not upload our subs to streaming sites.

Sharing with friends is fine. We’re also OK with folks sharing them in other ways as long as they aren’t public. Please use discretion when talking about the fansub outside of tumblr, but don’t hesitate to get the word out in other ways, and feel free to promote it here. Please credit ikeoji-subs whenever possible—we put a lot of time and effort into this.

Feel free to use the fansub for fandom purposes. Gif-making, meta-writing, and other fandom-related creative endeavors made using our fansub are not only welcome but encouraged.

This is the final episode of this season! We're both going to miss working on this project. When it comes to plans for the future, we're still figuring that part out, but rest assured that we'll keep everyone posted here if we have another project in the works. For the moment, we once again want to thank everyone who has spread the word or had a kind word for us in the tags and elsewhere.

Big big thanks to our pal @my-rose-tinted-glasses for letting us make use of her talents and helping our posts and translation notes look special.

translation notes:

about “acknowledge the way I feel” (20:27)

The first, more literal translation of this line, which Hatano says on the bridge, was, “Can you accept my feelings?” That line definitely gets something across, but I knew we’d be leaving it open to varied interpretations–some of them inaccurate–if we didn’t make it more specific. I might go a little overboard in the specificity department sometimes. I think it’s probably due to a combination of my ADHD-related quirks and having spent too much time picking apart variables as a researcher. Whatever the reason, this time I was kind of in overdrive because this line seemed pretty important. 

I asked Snow some questions about what “accept” meant in this instance. In English–and in the American cultural context I’m used to–there are lots of specific ways to talk about a situation like this one. Someone in Hatano’s position in the US would have a plethora of options for inquiring about Mob’s thoughts and emotions and/or making requests about how he might respond to their feelings. Is Hatano asking Mob to simply believe that he has these feelings about him? To let him show these feelings toward him openly, even if he only allows this passively, without offering anything in return? To receive them in a way that implies he returns them or that otherwise implies some degree of connection between them? And so on. 

I was expecting cultural differences to come up around this line, but they came up in a way I wasn’t expecting. Snow responded by telling me that there wasn’t a really specific meaning behind the Japanese wording of this line and that that was characteristic of the Japanese language around such things. I knew that I was more intense than the average American about wanting to pinpoint the meanings of things, but it would seem that the average American is more intense about it than the average Japanese person. 

That was a really interesting insight (one that I’m still thinking about), but it still left me with a conundrum when it came to this line. I could stick with “accept,” since it had a kind of vagueness to it (which was part of the reason I started trying to reword the line in the first place). But I thought “accepting” feelings sounded closer than I’d like to possibly reciprocating them, and I knew from my conversation with Snow that that shouldn’t be implied here. 

I started looking at thesaurus entries and going down different synonym paths. I wanted a word that, in its broadest sense, would be asking very little of the other person. I figured if the Japanese wording was open to being interpreted as either asking for very little or asking for more, then the English wording should be something that could at least be taken as not asking for much, because the implication that Hatano wants more than that from Mob is already clearly present. 

When I came across “acknowledge,” it fit the bill. At first, I just thought of its meaning on a smaller scale. It’s not much to ask of someone to simply acknowledge something, in most contexts. 

But after just a little bit of thought, I realized it also had a useful kind of vagueness. Acknowledgement can be as small as a barely perceptible nod, but it’s also used to talk about thanking someone, giving credit, commending or honoring someone, even giving someone a reward. In a romantic context, depending on the specific story, you could imagine “acknowledge” meaning anything from “yeah, I see you over there” all the way to someone’s devotion being rewarded in all the ways they’ve hoped for. 

Some of these uses are more of a stretch and would only work in just the right context. The default meaning of the word is clearly on the more modest side. But that works well, too. I took this request as coming from a pretty humble, unassuming place and I figured “acknowledge” was reflective of that. 

I ended up being really happy with this word choice. Hopefully, it’ll get the right idea across to folks who watch the show with our subtitles, even if they don’t read this translation note. But I hope that reading this gets it across even more effectively.–Towel

Tag list: @absolutebl @bengiyo @c1nto @come-back-serotonin @lurkingshan @my-rose-tinted-glasses @porridgefeast @sorry-bonebag @twig-tea @wen-kexing-apologist

[softpine]

can i just word vomit for a min...

there was a point in late 2023 where i felt like i overstayed my welcome on simblr and i planned on just wrapping frozen pines up as quickly as possible and moving on. continuing to write when it's clear that the audience for it is dwindling felt so embarrassing that i almost didn't even want to put effort into it anymore, because i was afraid it just looked pathetic (obligatory disclaimer: no one made me feel this way, you're all so lovely, it's just the nature of seeing a community change over 7 years). writing already feels very personal to me and it's becoming increasingly harder for me to put my work out there (again, for reasons unrelated to simblr and entirely related to mental illness 🤙🏻). i know my story is so long that it deters new readers, and so sporadic that it makes old readers drop off with time. this has really been bothering me lately because i don't know what i can do to fix it. i don't think there IS anything i can do.

but. okay. don't make fun of me for saying this. dan and phil returning to youtube kinda changed my mindset? they may be pulling a fraction of the views they got in their peak, but they're happier than they've ever been and they're working on things they actually want to do, not things they think will be particularly popular. seeing that has made me realize that it is possible to keep finding joy in a community that has largely moved on without you. obviously my little blog is nowhere near the same scale, so this feels kind of silly, but i've been thinking about all the things i used to do on simblr that were never fun for me, i mainly did them because i knew they would get notes or because i felt like i had to do it. making cc, lookbooks, sim requests, reshade help (oh my god the reshade help), lot downloads, etc. they DID get notes, but i can't imagine spending my time doing any of that stuff ever again tbh.

on top of that, it makes me sad to scroll through my dash and realize that i don't recognize most of the people i see anymore. i still talk to some wonderful people here who i consider friends and that's invaluable to me (💖), but the broader community aspect is something i no longer feel a part of. and believe me, i know i'm at fault here because it's not like i'm going out of my way to talk to new people or participate in trends like i used to. i don't blame anyone except the passage of time!!

frozen pines, and simblr by extension, played such a gigantic part in my life when i needed it the most. and that's not to say that i don't still care about it, because i absolutely do, but it's a different kind of feeling. i've always promised that i would give frozen pines a satisfying conclusion rather than silently abandoning it someday, and though i do intend to keep that promise, i know it's possible that i might never get there. but i don't want to let my own insecurities get in the way of something i really enjoy doing. writing is an intrinsic piece of me that i'll never quit doing, but sharing my writing on tumblr is something that can't (and shouldn't) last forever. i know that. but i'm going to enjoy it to the fullest while we're all still here together 💞

to anyone who's still reading my silly story after all these years (especially those of you who still check in on my blog even though you're not on simblr anymore): thank you thank you thank you THANK YOUUU. you don't have to change a single thing about what you're doing. this is not me fishing for compliments or putting down an ultimatum, this is just me trying to make sense of my feelings.

but with all this being said, i've decided to quit simblr and start my own exclusive streaming service for $60 a year, i hope you'll all support me as i increase my production value 😌

(just kidding. ily. okay that's all)

[luciferanalyzestar]

you mentioned the viv/sam/skye livestream signing being lost media, and really, the only way i can find anything about it is through chaifootsteps archive. because if you go back in oct under the "viv stuff" tag around when the signing was on the 26th and 27th, you can at least find anonymous asks summarizing the stream of people who watched it when it was still available. one anon described it as awkward, other people mentioned that viv said she straight up doesnt like octavia, and theres even a screenshot made by a val stan where they show a clip from the stream, where the creators state that the reason velvet wasnt apart of the vees ending song in the finale, is because they didnt have the budget for her voice actor at that point. this would also line up with the adam discord screenshot of him asking people from spindlehorse, instead of bento box which isnt working for them at all anymore to my knowledge (but we wont know for sure until hh s2 drops,) to work on the finale hazbin s1, along with pretty much only cleanup artists posting their work for JUST that episode, and not anything else from hazbin to my knowledge. chai even tried to post a tiny url link to an archive someone had of the stream when it was suddenly taken down a day later, but if you try it now, it says that the media youre trying to download doesnt exist, or something along those lines. (i couldnt download it when it was up though, both my computer and phone freaked out when i tried,) the way i see it - why would they hide a livestream where their diehard fans got to interact with the people responsible for their favorite cartoons, and then take down the archive of it? (because who else would?) why hide anything AT ALL if theyve nothing to hide? the whole thing is very suspicious, but also makes me very grateful tumblr is still a website with a pretty solid way to look back in time compared to others.

Found this screenshot on his blog and screen recorded the clip in case that user one days deletes their account or something.

There are probably more clips from this stream, but Twitter's search feature is awful.

I found the post with the link, and I cannot download it either.

I check to see if it was uploaded to internet archive, and it was not there either. If you are still out there whoever upload it to download.megaup.net and you still have the stream, please upload it to mega.nz, the internet archive, or google drive. This goes for everyone who was able to download the stream too.

This whole thing is very suspicious. Viv was hyping this stream up and has a playlist for it on her channel. I do not think she was planning on deleting the stream originally.

I found the recap post you mentioned. The stream was done around when the transphobic discord messages were bought up again. She would have disabled the live chat replay feature instead of taking the whole stream down.

[midnight1nk]

Love is a powerful force.

The love between friends, family, partners. And most importantly, the love one has for themselves. In the SMG4 show, this is no different. I’ve touched on this back in my ‘ONCE UPON A Ṕ̷̱E̴̺̽R̵̖̎̕F̵̢̗̈́̀E̴̞̍C̴͈̽T̶͓̘̈́ SMG4’ theory. In IGBP, Boopkins said this:

“Love wins! Love always wins!”

[’It’s Gotta Be Perfect’ // timestamp 28:56]

He wasn’t wrong. The countless enemies the Crew has encountered, all were resolved one way or another through the power of love. No one ever said love didn’t come at a price.

The good guys indeed win, but not without sacrifice. They kept their promise, but not without loss.

However, despite everything, love always remained.

A connection bounded by love is delicate. It can either make itself stronger or it could break.

For our returning character, Marty, his connection with Mario was broken due to a one-sided betrayal. As I also discussed in my ‘WOTFI 2024 Predictions’, Marty would take his revenge on Mario in WOTFI 2024. Ever since his debut, Marty has been overworking and feeling underappreciated. Underestimated. The only ally he had was Mario. That was until Mario, his own creator, abandoned him for a plate of spaghetti. And that is who Marty will go against.

There is one more taking his revenge on the crew: Mr Puzzles. As seen at the end of The Meme Factory Arc, Mr Puzzles swore that he would be back and indeed did in ‘SMG4: Inside Out’. Well, at least that was how it was. With the current episodes coming out, some people were confused about why this wasn’t mentioned again.

The truth, my dear fellows, is that his plan has already started and we didn’t even realize it.

Follow me as I discuss the parallels between previous arcs, a callback to narrative foils, and most importantly: a sequel…

PUZZLEVISION 2: NOW AIRING

⚠️ DISCLAIMER IN INTRO POST ⚠️

“The worst of times are when you have to force your biggest smiles…”

I’ve made many theories on SMG4, a few now posted on Tumblr. However, this was the actual first theory I came up with, not ‘ONCE UPON A Ṕ̷̱E̴̺̽R̵̖̎̕F̵̢̗̈́̀E̴̞̍C̴͈̽T̶͓̘̈́ SMG4’. It all started back after the Puzzlevision arc ended when, out of pure curiosity, I decided to check out the PV website. It was mostly to see if it was still up and, to my surprise, it was. Not only that but it was replaced with a whole new image.

If Gravity Falls taught me anything, it’s that something never truly ended.

Ever since then, every Wednesday and Saturday, I would check back at the website to see if there was any change. It seemed like my efforts were worth it because, on one of those days, the image became a GIF. I unfortunately wasn’t able to capture it to show but I know I’m not the only one who has seen this. All I could offer instead is this…

Back when it was still the PV arc, there was a moment when you could save a PNG of Mr Puzzles, and every time it did, it would show a message.

“Downloading me is pretty rude” (correct me if I’m wrong) — Mario’s Mysteries ”Still pretty rude of you” — Once Upon an SMG4 ”You don’t seem to listen, do you?” — Scooby Mario, Where'd You Go! ”HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA” — Mr. Puzzles' Incredible Game Show Spectacular!

Now, when you save the image this is what comes up:

“Now Airing”

And if you look closer, the file type is also there [gif-to-webp]

The term "Now Airing" is obviously used when a program is currently on the airing schedule of the channel. The people behind SMG4 didn’t need to put this image in, they didn’t need to keep this website on. But they did.

"That's All Folks!" Yeah, right. Nice try.

Looks like this website is about to come back to life, and a new game is afoot.

WOTFI 2024

In my ‘WOTFI 2024 Predictions’, I’ve picked apart the episode ‘We Must Kill Mario’ and how it would relate to this year’s WOTFI.

I’ve intentionally left some details/questions out from the post. The biggest example being Marty’s speech. It stuck out for me when I first heard it, it was way too specific and way too familiar.

“The one person I trusted the most has left me behind for… SPAGHETTI! Now I’ve escaped! …And it's time for… everyone to suffer like I have! At the hands… of the one thing YOU love the MOST.”

Then I realized why: the Meme Factory mini-arc.

Mr Puzzles never had friends growing up, it’s what got him obsessed with television. It was also the core motive to creating the perfect show, that any kid who is just like he was won’t be alone anymore. Of course, he got defeated by the SMG4 crew.

In the mini-arc, Mr Puzzles and Leggy went through the Meme Factory so he could have power again. For the first time, he got to experience what was like to have a friend. While he initially wanted to do this on his own, he had Leggy as part of it. That was until the Crew beat him once again, turning Leggy back into Meggy. This was different, this truly did hurt.

Because what’s worse than having no friends? It’s to be betrayed by someone who you thought was your friend. And the SMG4 crew was to blame for it. Now with the Marty speech, it applies to him:

“The one person I trusted the most has left me behind for… them! Now I’ve returned! …And it's time for… everyone to suffer like I have! At the hands… of the one thing YOU love the MOST.”

If that's so, then what is the 'one thing'?

Well, with spaghetti going from Mario’s one true love to becoming poison, it’s only logical that Mr Puzzles would turn someone from the Crew to go against them. A friend that would destroy their friendships. And he already had the perfect choice:

“And SMG4, who knew you could play an antagonist so well! High marks from me.”

[Puzzlevision]

When Mr Puzzles returned in ‘SMG4: Inside Out’, he latched onto Four’s mind and took over. For what purposes, we don’t know. Yet. But the Crew would have to save Four once again.

But Four isn’t showing any signs of control or possession?

No, but it doesn’t mean Mr Puzzles isn’t working behind the scenes, watching over Four’s every move.

Back in ‘We Must Kill Mario’, when Karen’s kids were flipping over the videos on the SMG4 channel, they stopped and jumped for joy at ‘Mario’s Mysteries’. A Puzzlevision episode.

Later on, when Marty revealed his motive behind his poisonous spaghetti sauce and declared that he was going to come back when he escaped from Karen, it left many questions:

How did he escape from jail?

Who is driving the helicopter?

How did he even get inside the house?

We can assume. But to know in absolute, no.

After Marty escapes, Karen thanks Four and Mario for keeping her kids safe, saying:

“I owe you one.”

Now, I did say that this could mean that Karen could have a big role in WOTFI ‘24 where she will finish the job. But it also could be interpreted in another way.

You saved my kids, but now let me help save your life, SMG4.

If Mr Puzzles is really working behind the curtain, then it would turn out that, as of right now, two arcs are happening simultaneously.

And this wouldn’t be the first time.

WESTERN SPAGHETTI & WOTFI 2023

Let’s rewind to Marty’s debut episode, ‘SMG4: Mario is Fine’ when, just as any other episode, a wacky adventure with Mario. Except for the very end, when the episode ends with an ominous close-up of Marty, clearly implying that there is more than what meets the eye. For the rest of the episodes, it went along like this:

[Marty’s debut]

Marty’s strange and subtle appearances (he was just standing there)

the Western Spaghetti arc

Marty’s even stranger appearances that none of the crew took seriously (like the interrogation scene with Shroomy in 'SMG4: SMG4 Kids')

WOTFI 2023 (the Notebook arc)

It starting to parallel to episodes we currently have:

Mr Puzzles’ Return (’SMG4: Inside Out’)

His sudden appearances like 'Mario Lost His M(o)ustache'

(+ perhaps future subtle hints that something is wrong with Four)

WOTFI 2024

"something is really wrong with Four" moments

Puzzlevision 2

Structure-wise, it is similar. But with Four involuntarily along for the ride, this makes things more complex character and lore-wise. Hmm, curious…

Possession, power, perfection.

Do any of these words ring a bell?

…I think it’s time to revisit an old enemy of the SMG4 crew, one achieved far greater than anyone of us could’ve imagined.

To create the perfect universe.

GENESIS & REVELATIONS: THE INFAMOUS TWO-PARTER

Before I called this "Puzzlevision 2: Now Airing", this was the "Reverse Genesis" theory because I saw how Genesis and Puzzlevision were really similar. Genesis had Revelations right after, so I suspected that Puzzlevision would have a sequel of sorts. Let me explain:

GENESIS

⭐️ Initial Motive

Zero, a virus from a different universe. He traveled from universe to universe, destroying them by killing their corresponding avatars.

Zero had the power to convert Mario into his new Avatar and a new universe. He was close to completing the process until the SMG4 crew intervened.

⭐️ Zero's Defeat

The Crew worked together to save Mario. Three and Four were able to use their guardian powers to transfer meme energy to Mario.

Axol sacrificed himself to save everyone and defeat Zero (but didn’t outright kill Zero).

REVELATIONS

⭐️ True Form

It turns out that Zero is two people: SMG0 and Niles.

SMG0 wanted things to go back to the way they were when the memes were getting corrupted > Niles and the creation of the meme cycle > Niles getting obsessed with the idea of a perfect universe.

He returns in Revelations to carry out his plan, carrying a grudge for the other Meme Guardians.

We see Zero’s true appearance, the one without Axol's physical features.

⭐️ Controlling the Most Vulnerable

Nine latched onto Melony, who was grieving over Axol’s death.

He used Melony to learn her god powers so he could use her to get to the God Box and reunite with SMG0.

⭐️ The Drawing

Melony drew a picture of her and Axol a week after WOTFI ended.

In her mindscape, Niles impersonating Axol ridiculed Melony for not being strong enough and for hanging on to Axol, ripping her drawing.

Melony fought back, claiming how their friendship gave her strength and it would be the same thing that she'd use to end Niles.

⭐️ Round Two: The End

Another fight against Zero in his true form, back to where it all started: the God Box.

Zero finally gets defeated, being killed in the explosion, allowing SMG0 and Niles to move on.

⭐️ A Sacrifice

Terrance was sacrificed to save everyone before the God Box gets blown up.

PUZZLEVISION

⭐️ Initial Motive

As I already mentioned, Mr Puzzles didn't have friends growing up and got obsessed with TV.

He wanted to be on TV and tried to achieve 5 stars with his streaming service, Puzzlevision.

He managed to get them and create the perfect show where the audience gets to be involved. At least, for a moment.

⭐️ Mr Puzzles' Defeat

While he managed to get 4.5 stars with 5 episodes, the Crew beat him with 5.5 stars within an hour special.

Mr Puzzles received a final but non-fatal blow from SMG4.

Technically, Luigi sacrificed himself by taking the hit from Mr Puzzles instead of the Crew. But no one really died.

NOW AIRING

[We're entering the predictions part of this theory, let's go:]

⭐️ True Form

Due to the Meme Factory arc, he is motivated more than ever to crush the SMG4 crew.

PREDICTION: he might show this true self(?), one where we see his body mingled in wires and metal

⭐️ Controlling the Most Vulnerable

Mr Puzzles has three choices regarding who to control:

Meggy — Tortured in ‘Western Spaghetti’, was friends with him when she was “Leggy”

Four — Possessed in ‘It’s Gotta Be Perfect’, terrified that another IGBP incident would happen, a perfect narrative foil to Mr Puzzles and the most likely choice.

Three — Notebook stolen for WOTFI 2024, has the most to lose (his café, friends, domestic life, etc), and able to emotionally manipulate.

⭐️ The Drawing

Just like Melony, Three drew him and Four in his notebook after WOTFI. The only difference is that her page is more open and seen whereas his notebook is personal and secretive.

This drawing will come into play whether Controlled!4 or Mr Puzzles find it and ridicule him for being soft, ripping it even.

OR

Three would use it as proof to Four that Three really cared about him, that as much as he denies it and play it off like they aren't, they're friends. What he said when they were in the pit wasn't out of desperation to save himself. He meant it.

⭐️ Round Two: The End

Final Battle with Mr Puzzles, perhaps this time being his final goodbye.

⭐️ A Sacrifice

As mentioned in my ‘ONCE UPON A Ṕ̷̱E̴̺̽R̵̖̎̕F̵̢̗̈́̀E̴̞̍C̴͈̽T̶͓̘̈́ SMG4' theory, someone may be sacrificed. A character doesn’t necessarily have to die, it could just be a fake death, which leaves us with several options:

Three — to show that he does care.

Four — feel guilty for being a “villain” again, so he would have to take Mr Puzzles down himself. Turning Mr Puzzles own weapon against him.

Pedro — Yes, Pedro of all characters. From his first appearance, it's likely that he's not going to come back. But then again, narrative foils. Pedro was created to be a funny man for Mr Puzzles (Pedro was able to still remain funny by the end) meanwhile Marty was created to take over the pizza shop for Mario (constantly being underappreciated and underestimated). If he doesn’t sacrifice himself to save Mario in WOTFI '24, then it would be here.

Another meme like in Revelations (please not the children please not the children please not the children)

ROLLING DOWNWARDS

With all of these arc parallels and Four's mind being invaded by Mr Puzzles, there would have to be hints about something being wrong with Four. Well, there kind of was. There are a few ways that I could think of that Mr Puzzles could use Four:

Man on the Inside

In 'Mario Lost His M(o)ustache', Mr Puzzles overhears Three’s idea to rig the votes, stopping the idea from even happening. Of course, it could be that they were right next to him, and/or they were loud. That was what I initially thought. But it could also be that Four at this point is still under his control. Four could be acting as his eyes and ears when he isn't near, unintentionally becoming a spy for Mr Puzzles.

(Those familiar with Sonic X and the Cosmo Arc, yeah, it's like that.)

Mr Puzzles could listen to every conversation, every detail. And he would know if the Crew is plotting something to get rid of him for good.

2. "Tear Themselves Apart"

Another thing I left out of my WOTFI '24 Predictions was that Mr Puzzles could speak for SMG4, interfering with Four's thoughts to make him say what Mr Puzzles wants him to say. A script of sorts.

Being in Four's mind gives him a huge advantage: Mr Puzzles has access to all of Four's memories. For one, Mr Puzzles could find out about the cosmology lore and all of the Crew's adventures.

Second: Mr Puzzles could interfere with his memories and change them. He could make Four forget about stuff.

Third: Mr Puzzles could go through and pick out what makes each member of the crew tick, making Four do all the talking for him. For example, he could bring up Desti for Meggy, Terrance/the Youtube Arc for Three, etc. Mr Puzzles wouldn't have to even lift up a finger when they can tear themselves apart.

If I wrote it: I would have Controlled!4 namedropping someone from their traumatic past or bringing out their insecurities in a passive-aggressive manner. Basically, like the examples I gave. And every one of them would start to leave the crew, hanging out less and less at the castle. SMG3 would be the last one Controlled!4 would break. I imagine them getting into a heated argument that becomes way too personal, something along the lines of:

Four?: “Dude, you fell off. You’ve gotten soft. Domestic even. And where did that get you? Oh, that’s right… Terrance.” Three, offended: "Don't you dare bring him into this!" Four?: "Hmph. Oh, yeah? What about Eggdog? Face it, SMG3, you'll always end up alone." Three: "Did what I told you at the pit meant nothing to you?" Four?: "Like I would ever believe you! You just didn't want to die. Even if you aren't a villain anymore, you are still a selfish piece of shit. Still comparing yourself to me, ha. I don't get why you would even try, you'll always be second best."

Then, Mr Puzzles, talking through Four, would slip up. Mr Puzzles would be more interested in finding all the Crew's weaknesses so any detail that wasn't part of it was skipped over. It wasn't like it was important, is what he thought. But for Three, it was everything he needed to know,

This isn’t the real Four.

Three, smirking: "Oh, so this was your big plan? I would've come up with something better than that. I guess we meet again, Mr Puzzles."

3. What if: the demonic goop is still in Four...

“Oh, SMG4! It never left.”

It would be a sort of Venom situation that, even if you tried to get rid of the parasite, some of it still remains. [insert spider-man 2 black suit theme]

During the Meme Factory arc and in several episodes, his strange behavior from IGBP came back. At times, scenes looked incredibly identical.

[........Announcement?????? // I Put Mario In Danger For Views]

Could it be bad writing? Likely. But the fact that IGBP was referenced once again for this arc, everything has to be put into consideration.

If it is confirmed that the demonic goop is still inside Four, Mr Puzzles will use it to his advantage. After all, it did work the first time in IGBP, so why not again? Not only that but it also gives him a bonus advantage, he could be working on his plan in two places at once and none of the crew would notice, thinking that they already got rid of it. It has a lot of potential to bring back the keyboard, the goop, the pit, the USB with the perfect video, and even Peach.

And if we are acting like it's a Venom situation, then maybe we could have the goop have a voice on its own. Could you imagine a "We are Venom" moment, that would be sick! (sorry, I'm just a spider-man fan.)

HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT

What else could happen in Puzzlevision 2?

It may be a bit too early to call since we still have to go through WOTFI. However, knowing me, that doesn't stop me from trying. For that, we have to dive into some semiology.

That’s right, we’re going in the deep end here.

Let’s head back to a familiar arc:

It's Gotta Be Perfect

While I was going over the movie for these past theories, I remembered something that piqued my curiosity.

The goop itself.

As someone who is into mythology, I spotted some familiar symbols and I've decided to give you an insight into what they are and explain why they were one of the top-tier design choices of the show.

Let's start with this one:

The Eye of God

You probably have seen this before. This is as its name states, the eye of God.

It's also known as the All-Seeing Eye because, according to Christianity, no matter what you do to hide your sins, God would see it. He sees all.

The symbol consists of an eye in the middle of a triangle. The triangle represents the Trinity (Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit). Because of this, this symbol is used for protection.

It is also similar to the Evil Eye symbol, where it's a circle instead of a triangle. This one is to ward off evil spirits/energy. (I actually have one of these myself.)

Secret societies use the symbol for other reasons: for power, wisdom, and control.

Well, yes. It would make sense why it would be in IGBP. Four's audience watches his every move and no matter what secret he has, they will pick up on it. But the symbol is also used in a negative connotation; the keyboard and Mr Puzzles use their power to control Four.

The Eye of God is also known to be the 'Third Eye', which God uses to put judgment on the people. On a human face, our third eye would be in the middle of the forehead.

And where on Four exactly did Mr Puzzles take control of?

That's right, in his mind, near where the third eye would have been.

Now, onto the next one:

The Eye of Horus

In Egyptian mythology, there are two eyes, both from deities, that are considered sacred. One of them is the Eye of Horus from, you guessed it, the sky god Horus. His left eye, to be precise.

Symbol representations include: protection, wisdom, good well-being and health, re-establishment of order from chaos, and the moon.

The eye is used as a form of measurement for pigments and medicines. We'll get to that.

Two myths connect to this symbol:

In a fierce battle between Seth (the god of deserts, storms, disorder, violence, and foreigners) and Horus, Horus got his eyes ripped out. Thoth (the god of writing and secret knowledge) helps him restore them back to where they belong, becoming a symbol of life and restoration.

The eye itself can be divided into 6 pieces, each one representing the six senses (smell, sight, thought, hearing, taste, and touch) and a specific numerical fraction. Think of it as a measuring spoon. But if you put the pieces together, the fractions don't add up to a whole. Some suspect that it was because of the magic Thoth used to restore the eye. Some say it represents the fact that perfection isn't possible.

Perfection isn't possible, that is exactly what was said in IGBP. I went frame and frame to see if this eye was flipped in any way (due to it being a texture pattern). But, nope, it stayed exactly this way. This will come back in some way in PV2, especially if the whole "the goop is still inside him" theory comes true.

PREDICTION: by the end of Puzzlevision 2, something will change about Four’s left eye (heterochromia, blind, etc.)

Still don't think it is relevant? I present to you this frame:

His left eye is within the corruption of the goop.

To the fans who had this as a headcanon, congrats on predicting this somehow!

Now, let's not mistake the Eye of Horus for the other important eye:

The Eye of Ra

While the two eyes are similar, the Eye of Ra, the right eye, is different in terms of appearance and purposes.

Symbol representations include: power, violence, fury, and the sun.

The eye is the embodiment of his daughter, Sekhmet.

Pharaohs would adorn them as amulets as a form of protection against their enemies, usually painted with a dark red. It must be handled with care because its power can easily get out of control.

Similarly to God's Third Eye, the Eye also obtains information from what it sees.

A little fact about this god: Ra places a solar disk on the top of his crown aka his head.

Again, there is a myth linked to this:

Ra was becoming old and weak, making him vulnerable. That made the people of his kingdom disrespect him, they ignored his laws and instructions. They basically made fun of him. Furious, he set his daughter (Sekhmet) to punish anyone who did this. The lion's eye, Sekhmet, went on a rampage, her roars so powerful that they conjured diseases. This killed millions of people. When Ra saw the devastation she caused, he tried to call her back to his side. She ignored him and continued on. Blood-thirsty, literally. Without a choice, he tricked her into getting drunk by using a mix of beer and pomegranate juice. She passed out for a few days and afterward, she calmed down. It wasn't all bad as the priests who worshipped her were able to create new medicines. Without her, there wouldn't be medical advancements, naming her the goddess of medicine.

What does this have to do with the SMG4 show?

Narrative foils are a constant in the show, especially in arcs. Two sides, complete opposites, are more similar than they ever realize.

Three versus Four in IGBP

Meggy versus Wren in Western Spaghetti

Four and Three versus Mario and Marty in WOTFI 2023

and of course, Four's crew versus Mr Puzzles

Then, who would be the Eye of Ra to Four's Eye of Horus?

It's Mr Puzzles.

Mr Puzzles and Four are indeed different but they are also really similar with one thing: they want to keep their audience happy. What makes them different is that Mr Puzzles sets himself is high standard for the sake of being popular while Four does it for the sake of his audience.

Just as Ra places his solar disk, Mr Puzzles got rid of his head and placed a TV, a luminous object, in its place. His obsession became his identity.

From the Meme Factory arc, Mr Puzzles swore revenge on the SMG4 crew after they disrespected him. That he seemed like a laughing stock.

But we haven't seen the Eye of Ra anywhere in the show. Unlike Four, Mr Puzzles doesn't face a humanoid face anymore. How could he have the Eye when his face is just pixelated screen?

Actually, he does and we saw it ourselves.

I present to you this from the Puzzlevision arc:

In the most human we have seen of him, we can see his right eye. Not only that, it's almond-shaped, the same shape as the Eye.

That is why one of my predictions was that we might see his 'true self'.

Am I reading too much into this? Yes. But if they were able to put the name "SMG4" into the castle door frame design, I would think twice about these design choices. This fits just perfectly right.

THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN PV2:

Signs of Controlled!4

If the whole “he still had the demonic goop inside of him” is true, then Four’s pink scars might return.

Even better, I want to see Four already having scars from the incident, hidden under his glove and sleeve.

If not scars, then they could show his change through his wardrobe. I mean look at them:

All Four needed was some suspenders, a hat, add in a puzzle piece pattern, and they're basically twinning. Give my guy a new outfit, please!!! Hell, give him a mask even!

Meggy talks to Mr Puzzles

She confronts him for the last time, telling him that she understands where Mr Puzzles is coming from but it should give him an excuse to do what he did. Mr Puzzles will have to see that, regardless if the show's going to give him a redemption arc or not.

Three’s Part of the Crew

Three tells the Crew that they are his friends. Probably it slipped out or he did it on purpose. Either way, he meant it.

Three would confirm to Four that they’re friends. As much as it was Three denies it or acts very tsundre about it, he meant what he said in the pit back in IGBP.

BONUS: Three promises Controlled?4 that he would take them home. (She-Ra moment OMG!)

Mr Puzzles’ True Form Prediction

With the power he has left, he’s going all out, revealing his body mingled with wires and pieces of metal.

Cosmology Lore Returns

Before the battle, the Crew would have to gear up. Three might return to the Meme Factory to get as many memes as possibly could, using the Meme PokéBalls. He urges Eggdog to stay home.

At the battle and Four is saved from possession, Three and Four use their meme guardian powers to defeat Mr Puzzles. Add in the WOTFI 2020 tracks and the crowd goes wild!

(For those who were in the Owl House fandom, it would be a 'GROM' moment!)

Reprise of the Song ‘Creative Control’

Originally, it was about how Mr Puzzles was willing to do anything to get 5 stars and his perfect show.

Reprise could be about the SMG4 crew fighting back against his control, accepting imperfection.

(sort of how real-life TV show executives put limits on the creative team on what is allowed in the final product.)

SMG4’s Left Eye Prediction

Using the meme powers and/or defeating Mr Puzzles affected Four’s eye.

Pink - a reference to his scars and pigments, matching his ‘S’ logo (also because he looks good in pink).

Blindness — due to his scars

Mario’s ‘Best Friend Award’ For SMG4

Mario wasn’t able to give his award on MAR10 day or after IGBP.

He has the chance to give it to Four here.

THINGS THAT DEFINITELY ARE NOT GOING TO HAPPEN, BUT COPIUM

SMG4’s Locket

We never got to see who was inside Four’s locket. Who was the person waiting for him back home?

They could bring it back and finally reveal what was inside Four’s locket.

X and FM Return (+ Redesigned Models)

To be fair, it’s their choice not to be back, but I would love the Meme Machine(TM) together again.

The Boarded-Up Room & Upper Floors

Finally reveal whatever the hell is that closed-off room in the SMG4 castle.

"...And... This...Well...I'm not sure what's behind this door."

"...uh we don't talk about that room."

[SMG4: The New Castle]

Hey, Four, now is a good time to show it off. C'mon, I wanna see!

.・-: ✧ :--: ✧ :-・.

And that is my "Puzzlevision 2: Now Airing" theory and predictions. Undoubtedly, a sequel to Puzzlevision is going to happen. But as to what it is about? We would just have to wait and see if the power of love would be perceived once again. An arc starting from a betrayal.

"…And it's time for… everyone to suffer like I have! At the hands… of the one thing YOU love the MOST.”

The game is afoot and with that, my dear fellows, we shall see in the next upcoming episode. But, in the meantime, that’s just a theory…

AN SMG4 THEORY

🎶Thanks for dropping by🎶

[gummilutt]

Cyjon Loan Jar Modifications

This is an old creation of mine that I never got around to sharing, that I thought might make a nice release to celebrate 100 followers on tumblr. I never really expected so many of you to find and enjoy what I shared, but it's been wonderful once again getting that feeling of possibly helping someone enjoy their game more :)

I enjoy making my Sims lives more difficult financially, to have a real reason to work and run businesses and such, and being able to take loans is an important part of that. While Monique's computer is great in many ways, I never liked how interest is handled which is why I mainly use Cyjon's Loan Jar for loans. But even set to the lowest interest of 1%, the daily increase quickly gets out of hand on a big loan. I wanted more flexibility, and that's how this creation came to be.

Download from simfileshare

What's new?

The option to control which days of the week interest is added, with individual days or all at once setting options

An optional pop up dialog that informs you when interest has been added, and how much interest will be next time. When enabled (which is the default) the pop up will occur daily at 7am, regardless of whether there is a loan or not. When a loan jar is on lot with no active loan, use the setting option to turn the alert off :)

Easy overview of current settings regarding days, alert and interest rate

Support for pop up dialogs where you can enter rules you use in your hood, so you have easy access to them from inside the game (see picture included in download for example)

Jar and note subsets created by gayars, along with a new glass jar mesh and recolors by gayars

Paper note made recolorable by gayars, with recolors by gummi with game icons to make it possible to differentiate different type loans from each other (see picture above for examples). Set different interest rules for different types of loans, and use the icons to help you tell which is which :)

Alternative object models if you'd prefer something that blends in, with a pop up list to show you the options and what order they are in.

If you are unfamiliar with Cyjon's original, you can find more information about it's original functions on Cyjon's website. For more work by the very talented gayars, check out her website or her tumblr. Thank you my friend, for agreeing to make a new mesh to separate my version from the original, and for making the note recolorable. Being able to tell which jar is which loan is one of my favorite features :)

Requires Uni or a later EP according to Cyjon. Separate guid, so it will not overwrite the original, you can have both. Found in misc/misc, costs 1 simoleon. Has been tested in my game for years without issues. I hope you enjoy :)

[charmedreincarnation]

Since 2016 I knew about the law of assumption, I was struggling hardcore with my mom and was looking for ways to make money and out of the blue a law of attraction video pop up, tried that, it was hell then search on google to get more info then I saw law of assumption, search it and apparently all I had to do was affirm ofc I didn’t believe my affirmation and the “law” but the person said to persist ( and I was desperate)so I decided to manifest my mom having 10k ( with fcking tears in my eye because we REALLY needed to pay rent plus my baby sis and I didn’t eat anything for a week) then boom 8 mins after my grandmother called and said she has 5k to give us and my mom was sooooooo fcking happy I was grateful but I wanted 10k( because I remembered the woman said don’t settle for less) then after the landlady called my mom and said she needs to collect her Cheque in the mailbox but the fcking thing is my mom check that same fcking morning and few minutes before to see anything for us and nothing just spiders, so my mom went and collect it only to see we have over 5k in the cheque and obviously tears was spilled and a lot of shouting my mom went on her knees to thank god but I didn’t tell her anything honestly just let her do her thing and she even made my sis and I thank god which I did obviously, then I decided to play a little greedy and manifest my mom to give my sis and I a little 100$ to shop ( for snacks and drinks)and few seconds after she told us to organize and then handed my sis and I a 100$ to buy anything we want,that day made me believe the law is real and I continue manifesting a lot of things from there, just affirming and persisting because that’s how I was taught it and it worked for me.

I downloaded tumblr because some people in the comments said it had more info and success story, downloaded it in 2017 and didn’t know how to handle so I deleted it then 2019 decided to download it again and I get a better understanding of the app and I did see success stories and other stuff about the law apparently but I choose to ignore I just search got7 stuff ( huge kpop fan back in the day) deleted and came back here in 2022 and saw stufff about the void and saw success stories to I decided to try it just to test it and honestly I got through because I saw a whole lot of affirmation and I was lazy so I only use one but I got in in the first try felt extremely comfortable but exit the fck out because my life is already perfect the way it is, I just lay on my back and said I am the void ( even though it was uncomfortable) while falling asleep and apparently I discovered I did the lullaby method but yeah, states vs a+p doesn’t make sense honestly because I see a lot of people write stuff in journals and got what they wanted an 369 method and so on, so it was very funny to me watching a+p and states fighting honestly they look extremely dumb and ignorant but it is what it is I’m enjoying life with my method which is a+p and just on tumblr for a fandom I’m in (yes K-pop)

Congrats! It’s wonderful how you used the law and changed your life for the better. I hope everyone takes something out of this post lol.

[kwimii999]

This is a follow up post to this post here

TLDR : I'm KINDA quitting content creation but will continue to post from time to time on my free time

-

All my downloads

ModTheSims

All my tumblr posts tagged with " Downloads " (keep in mind that sometimes tumblr can sometimes not properly tag things therefor not all my downloads may be in there. you can go through the other tags on the lower right corner of my blog)

-

Documented Deleted Content/Updated Links

Anything else that isn't in this list will not be deleted.

Note 1, Sharing : if you have any files of my deleted content, feel free to share with others that may want it, it does not bother me, I won't even be here.

Note 2, The links : For my face presets, you'll start noticing the SimFileShare links won't work anymore (for the heads and eyes only) because they've been uploaded to modthesims instead, I did that because it's way easier for me to organize and upload and update the files if needed in only 1 place at a time + tumblr is really hard to track because once you update a post, the reblogs won't get updated, therefor some people who don't follow me will miss important information if I added something new or updated the links. My mediafire links are all dead, it was intentional (except I forgot to back up 2 files, read the section overrides) as I don't intend to use mediafire anymore + most posts have alternative links so It's quite alright.

CAS

Deleted | Sim Dump #1 - Reason : Too much CC + Term of use + most of those sims have been updated or deleted and I don't feel like updating the sim dump because I think I'll genuinely start tweaking. Deleted | Face presets - Headshapes v1 - Reason : was legit just ugly and I wasn't satisfied with it + newest version aka v2.1 is way better.

Builds

Deleted | Townhouses - Le losange - Reason : Too much CC Deleted | University of Sunset Valley - Reason : Big lot 64x64 + 5 floors + furnished to the max, was too laggy anyways. Deleted | Oli's Market, Grocery store - Reason : I made a better grocery store in collab with @mookymilksims and it's up for download

Overrides

Deleted | Ration boxes overrides for ATS3 Grocery - Reason : My goofy self deleted it and realized what I did too late but luckily @mookymilksims has made an edited version of them not long ago on this post, so if you really want it, check out the post here under " Modded Objects " Relinked | Ration boxes overrides For ATS3 Grocery Bags - Reason : once again I deleted it by accident but I reposted a new link with a new file.

[fuckyeah-beringandwellsfics]

Hi! I'm not new to Myka and Helena, I remembered them from the 2010s and now watched the show just for them, but I am new to Myka and Helena fanfiction.

Do you know any more fics like this https://archiveofourown.org/works/957200?view_adult=true or vaguely like this?

Is there a big masterlist of good Myka and Helena fics? I've been reading through their tag on AO3, but there are 1600+ fics 😯 so it'll take me a while to read them. I'd like to read some good ones.

Hi and thank you for asking, anon! That fic is great, isn't it! (clickable version of the written-out link anon sent: Resigned to These Histories (We Exist) by journaliar/@snake-juice)

Anon, as far as I am aware, there is no *one* big masterlist.

Several people in this fandom have made their own rec lists over time, of course, from the very beginning. (The older they are, unfortunately, the higher the chance that some links might not work anymore, but you can still try them out!) I have a "fic rec" tag on my main blog (linked in case you want to know the source; that tag contains other fics too, not just Bering and Wells, but all of them femslash), and here are some Bering and Wells specific lists that I've found going through it:

styrofoamtokyo's list, from 2014

tracybering's list of Tracy Bering friendly fics and art, also from 2014

lonely-night's lists from 2017 and 2018

wibblywobblyida's list from 2021

There's also the Ballet AU, a collaboration with multiple fics and pieces of art, from several of this fandom's best authors and artists; highly recommended, masterpost here.

I'm sure there are more fic rec lists slumbering on people's blogs! So here's my call to anyone who sees this post: please link yours!

I myself am trying to assemble recs on an individual basis. Almost a year ago, I tried to make a list of what has been already recommended through this post, but now that is way out of date, of course.

Beyond these lists, the usual tips for AO3 and Tumblr apply (under a readmore for length):

when you found a fic you liked, click on the author's name and see what else they've written for the ship/fandom, see if you like those too

check if that author's bookmarks are public; those are fics that they liked, and maybe you'll like them too

and then with those fics, you can go to *those* authors' profiles and see what else *they* have written - and so on.

Don't forget to bookmark and/or download these fics so that you can find them again. You need to have a user profile yourself to bookmark fics (and that's not the only advantage; I highly recommend it - and remember, you can set your bookmarks to private if you want).

also, please please consider leaving kudos and comments on fics that you've liked - a lot of authors are still active in the fandom/for the ship, and kudos and comments always help us *stay* active, because they tell us that people still enjoy what we create. Even if the specific fic in question is from the early days of the fandom, kudos and comments are always welcome.

same goes for reblogs on Tumblr, be it the above lists, individual fic rec posts, or posts from the authors themselves with or about their stories.

some authors with a Tumblr blog also have a dedicated "my fics" tag or link on those blogs. Always worth clicking through from an individual Tumblr post to the author's blog, and seeing if something like that is on it - and if the author is still actively writing, consider giving them a follow (and reblogging their fic posts; I've heard from so many authors that their fic posts barely get any reblogs at all to spread the word)

I hope that all or at least some of these tips are helpful to you, Anon - there is a lot of great stuff out there, and you're right, it can be a bit daunting to figure out where to start. And hey, it's always okay to click back out of a fic you find you don't like. No harm no foul, even if the fic came recommended; everyone's taste is different! There is no "required reading" that you *have* to have done to be a fan. You already are, no matter how many fics you've read!

[alyss-erulisse]

Marik Ishtar's Egyptian Choker from YuGiOh

Sims 4 Version

Two months ago, I made Marik's Egyptian Choker for the Sims 3 under the creator name SallyCompaq122. Finally, I've recreated his distinctive choker necklace for use in the Sims 4.

This was my first time creating an accessory for the Sims 4 that involved morph states, so there was another steep learning curve. Apparently, Sims 4 uses a different technology for morphs than the previous game did. They traded in some quality control to get the faster game performance, so these morphs will not look as nice, but I have managed to mitigate the disaster and come out with something decent.

If you like the Sims 4 and want to play with this content, you can download it here.

This necklace is base-game compatible and works for male and female sims of all ages.

The level of detail is optimized so as not to slow down your game.

There are 8 presets color-matched to precious metals and other metals historically used in jewelry.

I will be posting more of my content here, especially since I am actively creating again, so if you're interested, give me a follow.

See more of my work: Check out my archive.

Join me on my journey: Follow me on tumblr.

Keep me creating: Support me on KoFi.

[beyondtheborderridiculous]

Watch Mankai Stage Autumn 2020 (The Tale of Genji) w/ Eng Subs

Watch Mankai Stage Autumn 2020 (The Tale of Genji) Eng Subs

Yay! It’s here at last! The third autumn play is finally here! (It only took 10,000 years…) Get ready for the yakuza!

If you are feeling generous, my tip page is here. It’s hella empty, but it’s me, I promise. I just have no idea how to organize it… YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO PAY ME THOUGH. Please, don’t feel pressured! 

INSTEAD I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO PURCHASE THE DVDS ON YOUR OWN TO SUPPORT THE FRANCHISE DIRECTLY!

For those of you guys who didn’t get a chance to watch the previous ones, I’m really sorry, but because of lack of storage, I won’t be reuploading it. But if someone wants to do a discord watch party or something with someone who already has the files, I wouldn’t be opposed to it (I’m also willing to do it, but my timezone is Pacific, so that might not match with some of you).

I’ve also been getting requests for my transcripts of the scripts. Those I have decided to charge. A coffee per script. Again, if you want to watch the previous ones for free, just dm me to schedule a watch party.

But if you guys still want to watch Autumn 2020 anyway, please read my following rules! 

Since it’s a bit risky posting this on YouTube, I’ll be uploading this onto a google drive. Please DM me with your email, and I’ll be happy to share the link with you.

Also, I’ve been receiving requests for the drive through anon. I can’t reply to anon messages directly, and I feel iffy about publicly publishing your email, so please, for your sake, don’t send me a request through anon. Also, the fact that you’re on anon kind of makes me nervous? So please just dm me off of anon.

I also want to note that I purchased both the DVDs and the scripts, and combined, it was pricey as hell (don’t even get me started with international shipping). So out of respect, please don’t post this or share this anywhere else. I don’t mind if you decided to download it, but if I ever come across this anywhere else, then I won’t be sharing the others. Also please DO NOT UPLOAD SCREENCAPS OF THESE ON TWITTER ON INSTA. Tumblr is fine, since no one checks this hell site, but the other ones? No way.

Also, my reading comprehension is a lot better than my listening in Japanese. Mankai Stage loves their ad-lips, and as much as I love them, they drive me up the wall. For example, there’s a lot of yakuza lingo being thrown here and there, and omg was that a struggle. I cannot claim to have 100% accuracy in any scene. I merely tried my best. If someone wants to make corrections, I totally don’t mind! Instead, I’d love to know! (But I probably won’t be changing it officially since… rendering the whole thing again would take fucking forever.)

I’m just an amateur at subbing, so I apologize if the quality isn’t the best. I do a proof-watching before rendering, but I’m not sure if I caught everything. Sorry if there’s some mistakes!

Lastly, I have one request, and it’s totally optional! But I would love to hear your commentaries/thoughts/opinion, on Mankai Stage Autumn 2020, since it’s kind of lonely just fangirling about it myself. 

As proof of you reading through this whole thing, please include the word: yakuza, in your DMs to me! 

Thank you!

[ikeoji-subs]

Zettai BL Ni Naru Sekai VS Zettai BL Ni Naritakunai Otoko 2024 - Episode 2 Eng Sub

VS SMELLS and VS AGE GAP RELATIONSHIPS

For downloading instructions and where to find the raw files please check our masterpost

Subs link

We ask that you not upload our subs to streaming sites.

Sharing with friends is fine. We’re also OK with folks sharing them in other ways as long as they aren’t public. Please use discretion when talking about the fansub outside of tumblr, but don’t hesitate to get the word out in other ways, and feel free to promote it here. Please credit ikeoji-subs whenever possible--we put a lot of time and effort into this.

Feel free to use the fansub for fandom purposes. Gif-making, meta-writing, and other fandom-related creative endeavors made using our fansub are not only welcome but encouraged.

translation notes:

about Fish Cake Man (7:28)

As we state in the subtitles, this guy’s monologue isn’t something we’re equipped to translate and if we did, it probably wouldn’t make much, if any, sense to English-speaking viewers. We learned from Snow’s Japanese friend that he's a comedian who is famous for doing this particular bit. After we had already finished most of the subtitles, I rewatched seasons 1 and 2 of the show and found that he was also in the other two seasons. In the first season, when Mob is explaining about how he's a side character and intends to keep it that way, he looks at a gardener on his university campus who is pulling weeds, illustrating that the world of BL needs to include some people who are unlikely to ever become main characters. That’s this dude. He appears again in season 2, when Mob is scouring the university for signs of Kikuchi after reading his goodbye letter. In every appearance, he's shown wearing the same sort of nondescript work clothes and cap and seems to work in some kind of maintenance or cleaning capacity at National BL University. –Towel

His name is Nou Misoo (脳みそ夫) which means brain tissue. I believe there's a pun here I'm missing but you can check our his sillyness on youtube, instagram or tiktok. –Snow

about “the gods decided to smite me” (10:24)

The first version of this line said that Mob “received divine punishment” for his Mob Move. That was already a great line! But I thought it had the potential to be a little more specific and evocative in an English-speaking context. At first, I was just trying to think of something a bit more specific to replace “received.” I thought of a few possibilities, including “I was smitten by divine punishment.” But since “smitten” is barely used anymore except to describe someone who's in love, it had the wrong connotation. Then I thought about how another tense of the same verb, “smite,” avoids those connotations and has a kind of King James Bible quality. But if I was going to say “smite,” I’d have to change the sentence from passive voice to active voice (which is generally best anyway) and give the sentence a subject who is doing the smiting.

I thought a unitary, capital-G God would make it sound a little too Biblical, possibly tipping it over into sounding overtly Christian. I knew that some religious traditions practiced in Japan, like Shintoism, included multiple gods. So I tried “the gods decided to smite me.” This seemed to balance out the Old Testament-ish aspect of “smite” a bit. The end result seemed more vivid than the earlier version, and it seemed like something Mob would say.–Towel 

about “select shop” (11:30)

Observant English speakers might notice that when the guy who used the same shampoo as Mob talks about where he got it, he uses a term made up of English loan words. He says he bought it at a “serekuto shoppu" (in English, a "select shop"). While both parts of the word are borrowed from English, the term you get when you put them together isn’t commonly used in the US. I ended up replacing it with “boutique,” which gets across some of the meaning. But I’ll explain in more detail here. 

It turns out that a “select shop” is a kind of smallish shop with carefully curated items that all fit a certain aesthetic. A business like this might be called a “lifestyle boutique” in America, but it’s slightly different from any business model used widely here. The big selling point of a shop like this is the fact that they’ve already vetted and coordinated these products. Their offerings are tailored for a particular niche, so that if you’re into the general idea a select shop is going for, you’re likely to be interested in a lot of what they’re selling. The items for sale will also have been hand-picked by a professional who’s able to find just the right thing in a way that a typical consumer wouldn’t be able to. 

You can imagine what kind of college student would not only shop at this sort of place but declare it proudly. Even if Mob was going to fall in L with a B, this guy would be a bad fit.–Towel

about “a listless ne’er-do-well” (19:04)

The more literal translation of this part goes “a man like this, without ambitions or vitality.” It’s a nice turn of phrase, definitely, but I thought if I could localize it a bit it might evoke more of the right feeling. I thought it would be more typical in English to express this in terms of an adjective plus a noun describing the kind of person he’d appear to be, rather than saying he was without these qualities. From “without ambition” I got “ne’er-do-well” and from “without vitality” I got “listless.”–Towel

Tag list: @absolutebl @bengiyo @c1nto @come-back-serotonin @lurkingshan @my-rose-tinted-glasses @porridgefeast @sorry-bonebag @twig-tea @wen-kexing-apologist

[thelongestway]

One or two chapters more left after this. My heart goes out to all the authors that have to write endings. Ye gods the fucking things are intricate.

And long enough to give tumblr trouble posting it, apparently! Needed to edit so it would let me - let me know if the thing cuts off mid-sentence or something!

Also, take note that the cw: suicide mention stands.

With those hurdles cleared, though, I present...

Chapter 13: Friends

Dandelion regarded me for a long 3,5 seconds, and that made my threat assessment spike, so I checked to see that no one was doing anything stupid in the feed (they weren't). And all the humans in the sector had done the smart thing (gotten the hell out of our way). And the Friend was securely sedated. There wasn't anything that could possibly be taking her so long to process, so I asked, Are you crashing?

The voice she produced was carefully neutral. No. I'd just like some additional context to answer that question properly.

I gave her a cautiously affirmative ping.

She said, Do I understand correctly that you were custom made for your function? And everything irrelevant to it was a later development?

No, I was mass produced for my function. Also, what the fuck does that have to do with anything.

Let me try that again. When we first met, you attempted to copy my media archive immediately upon connection. May I ask why?

Yeah, and fuck you for your "a malware scan will be wholly sufficient, security consultant SecUnit." Again, what the fuck does that have to do with anything.

She gave the bot equivalent of a sigh.

SecUnit, I am trying to understand whether I need to explain the specific customs we have around Movie Night, or whether you have simply never seen a movie in your life, instruction videos notwithstanding.

This time I was the one who needed entire seconds to process. In the end, I just threw a directory listing of my own archives into our feed.

And that's not counting all the crap I deleted over the last 42 000 hours!

Dandelion hummed appreciatively as she skimmed the list.

I stand corrected.

Why exactly did you think I was downloading your media archive?

Iceblink and I thought you were looking for records to analyze. She briefly considered letting you believe we were all Zeelites, but we decided in favor of caution.

And that was the exact moment Indah decided to tap Dandelion's feed in order to send her a route map. Dandelion pinged me to assess the route, then patched the audio transmission through.

"Senior Medical Officer Dandelion of the Dandelion Tenacious, you and your patient are clear to proceed to the Merchant Docking ring embarkation hall via the indicated route." Indah's voice sounded like she was instructing a particularly stupid bot that it was supposed to dock at the cargo ring, not the public ring. "All civilians have been cleared from the area, and the last security personnel are withdrawing now. Be advised that transition from ring to ring will require an authentication procedure which must be initiated by your security escort."

The route Indah suggested was as direct as possible, and bad for any kind of traps. Preservation Alliance was letting them go.

I informed Dandelion, and her performance reliability wobbled, then stabilized a little higher than it had previously been.

"Acknowledged, Senior Station Security Officer Indah, and thank you for your help. We will be at the Merchant Docks shortly."

Normally Indah would close the channel at this point. Instead, she said in the same bored tone, "By way of thanks, would you mind answering a few questions for me while you walk?"

Ah. I see we are at the part where your security decides what to charge me with. Dandelion said in our private channel. Then she responded to Indah, just as dryly: "Answering security questions without legal counsel is generally considered unwise. I'm afraid I must decline."

"That's fair," Indah allowed. "You're not under any standing obligation to respond, if you were wondering. Off the record--I just find myself curious whether you could tell me any more details about a certain humanitarian-cum-terrorist organization best known for ignoring the law entirely in favor of what it considers moral. Especially seeing as it's supposedly been defunct since the early days of the Rim. Crossed one too many corporate lines back in the day."

Dandelion's processing activity spiked. She didn't add Indah as a separate threat parameter, but she was certainly paying attention now. And talking. Which she had acknowledged was stupid a second ago.

"You are remarkably well-informed about a long-defunct fringe organisation."

Indah chuckled.

"Not too many people in Preservation Alliance are interested in the very niche subject of terrorism history. Between you and me, Senior Medical Officer, it was extremely gratifying to have one up on some of the snobbier historians around Preservation. I am surprised to see a doctor recognizing such a relic from the bygone past, though."

"Do you know what a Lyson project is, Senior Security Officer?"

"I'm afraid not."

"It's the medical procedure used to create the Friends, a kind of brain-altering surgery. Abuse of the Lyson procedure had been prominent enough on pre-Javelin Earth to be banned entirely save for certain exceptions, screening for which took years at the minimum. The Friends used to be the best known such exception, but they were born of a time most people knew these things were possible.

"Once I would have said any doctor worth her salt should have recognized that brain scan, but it is becoming more and more apparent to me that a great number of things were lost or fragmented with the corporate expansion. Despite their excellence otherwise, your medical databases do not have anything listed under the Lyson name. I suspect once the procedure was no longer common knowledge, the surviving Friends took great pains to keep it that way."

"I see. Senior Medical Officer Dandelion, in your opinion, should I be worried about seeing more Lyson projects in the wild from now on?"

"Not from the Trellians, Senior Security Officer Indah. There had been six Public Universal Friends on our founding Javelin. Only one Friend made it to the node ship era, and it died 165 years ago. There is no one remaining who would carry out the induction procedure."

"But there is one doctor who would risk a great deal to stop someone else from reversing it. I would very much like to know why."

Dandelion was silent as we walked through the empty corridors, lit only by emergency lighting, and silent as I entered the codes which would let us into the Merchant Docks, and silent as the codes came back green and the lift took us to the embarkation floor. I could feel Senior Indah's presence lingering in the feed. She was patient. I hoped she knew what she was doing.

Dandelion spoke up only when the doors to the embarkation floor opened, and there were no serious physical obstacles remaining between us and the Tenacious' docking bay.

"By now, you should have Senior Engineer Haze's story."

"I do. But it is something of a second hand testament. I'd like the tale straight from the horse's mouth, as it were."

"Before I give you any details, I would like to know whether this case will be a matter of public record. Not for the sake of my own privacy, but because a second era of unchecked Lyson projects is a horrifying prospect."

"I'm glad we agree on that, Senior Medical Officer."

Senior Indah sent Dandelion several documents, and she quickly scanned them. Her performance reliability was rising steadily, and my threat assessment rose at nearly the same rate. Then she marked one form with a signature and sent it back to Indah.

"Very well, Senior Security Officer. I confirm that I had once been an initiated member of the Public Universal Friends, and later a victim of the very same reversal procedure Dr. Mrinal of the Preservation Alliance attempted to initiate on the Friend currently in my care. I wish to testify that the reversal had very nearly killed me, and that I could not in good conscience allow someone else to suffer the same."

"'Very nearly' does play a role here, Dr. Tenacious. According to Dr. Ratthi's report, you seemed very certain the procedure would, in fact, kill the patient. Yet you appear to be very much alive. Why is that?"

Dandelion's performance reliability stabilized at around 80%, oscillating with a magnitude of approximately 5%. Considering how many emotions she was having in the background, this wasn't bad. And the wobbling seemed like a good thing. I never wanted to see that number go above 98% again.

"Because I had friends, Senior Security Officer. Friends, who had forcefully removed me from medical confinement and who were my lifeline as I recovered the sense of self gutted by the procedure." Dandelion's voice became very hard. "I want to make it absolutely clear, Senior Indah, that it wasn't the operation to turn me into a Friend which destroyed who I was. It was the reversal, carried out without either my knowledge or my consent."

"Noted," Senior Indah said seriously. "Please continue."

"The doctors took me as I slept, and I woke up a different person. When I told them I had not wanted the procedure, they said it had been for my own good and that I was simply being a difficult patient. I had little recourse to demonstrate how wrong they had been, so I attempted suicide by starvation. If not for my friends, I would have succeeded."

Dandelion waited for acknowledgement of what she had said, then continued: "The Friend in my care was running a solitary operation. It has no one. Were the reversal procedure undertaken successfully, I am certain it would have killed itself once left to its own devices."

She was wrong. That Friend wasn't a doctor. It was a security officer. It wouldn't have destroyed itself in order to make a point. It would have tried to nullify the ongoing threat to others like itself.

I threw my analysis into our work space and pinged Dandelion to let it through to Indah. She complied without even scanning it.

Indah took some time to read through, then said:

"Senior Medical Officer Dandelion of the Dandelion Tenacious, are you making a formal charge of criminal negligence against Dr. Mrinal?"

"I am not. Much like the doctors who did it to me, Dr. Mrinal had never seen a Lyson project before, and acted on their understanding to the best of their ability. But regardless of their intent, and of whether or not I had the legal right to intervene, I could not let them go through with it, costs be damned."

"Thank you for your testimony, Dr. Tenacious. You have been very helpful. I will relay this information to Preservation Alliance leadership, and I will come back to you with their response."

Dandelion acknowledged the message and closed the connection. We proceeded.

Once we sighted the Tenacious' walkway, flanked by a delegation of both Preservation and Trellian humans, Dandelion suddenly tapped my feed. Her performance reliability oscillation had gone from sharp spikes to much smoother waves, and she sounded a lot calmer.

To answer your question, SecUnit, Movie Night is a custom that's even older than the node ships. Once a week, a crew member chooses media that they like, and everyone who wants to experiences it together. Movie Nights are far from mandatory--the node ships have grown much too large for that, and most have several stable movie night groups anyway--but they are usually a well-attended event. Sharing their favorite stories lets people grow closer.

For some reason I was imagining Mensah, Ratthi, Pin Lee, Arada, Overse, Bharadwaj, Volescu and weirdly even Gurathin all sitting on board ART and choosing a show. That would never have worked. ART would be an asshole like it always is, so any show would just get replaced by Worldhoppers the moment the humans lost focus.

How do you decide who gets to choose? Do you get a turn?

We draw straws, then keep the order going. New crew are added after the latest round ends, Dandelion focused her cameras on Captain Reed's gaunt face. And yes, normally I do. But not any time soon, I think.