#i hope i didn't miss anything!!

[lazylittledragon]

ok i swear i'm not going to talk about my breakup forever but the thing that just keeps bothering me:

i know that not getting what you need in a relationship is a COMPLETELY valid reason to end it but also. i feel like having a very vulnerable moment where i opened up about my struggles with intimacy and being relieved that i didn't have to keep doing things i wasn't comfortable with, then being dumped a YEAR later because of my lack of intimacy. is something i should be allowed to be very hurt by???

[howlsnteeth]

YOUR REFLECTION, YOUR BITTER DECEPTION SETTING YOU FREE

[bonicedemandarina]

Glorimas malleus be upon ye

Also, here's my yuusona! / Yuu oc? Yuu...idk but basically my version of Yuu. Hopefully I'll make a proper intro post for her soon

Anyways, I wanted to make something for glorimas since it came to the en server so here it is!

Click for better quality

[destinationtoast]

I know this is the least of our problems right now but do you think the US election results will impact ao3?

I am not a lawyer, nor a founder of AO3, nor a volunteer there, nor a fandom journalist or historian, so I'm pretty far from the best person to ask. I encourage any and all of the above to please chime in with more knowledgeable answers.

That said, I don't think the next few years will probably directly limit AO3 or its umbrella org, the OTW.* But that depends in part on members voting for board members who will uphold the organization's current principles. (Vote! Become a member if you're not already, and vote! Vote in ALL the elections you are eligible for and will be affected by!) And that doesn't mean a bunch of works won't become private, orphaned, or deleted.**

*A couple reasons for my cautious optimism: The OTW was formed with the preservation and maximalist defense of fanworks in mind. So the shifting US cultural norms and increasing purity culture can't easily change the OTW from within (as we've already been seeing in past years when some fans have disliked some content). And in spite of everything scary happening externally (and there is a whole fucking lot), the US still has far more constitutionally enshrined freedom of speech protections than most places in the world. It will take a long time to tear all that down. Some states and locales are doing a lot to try to challenge free speech, especially queer content and sexual content, and there will be more challenges. But many of those challenges will be defeated because of the First Amendment, and it'll take a lot of time and effort to push through any constitutional changes. You can donate to organizations like the ACLU and the EFF to help protect against the erosions of rights, in addition to supporting the OTW and the Internet Archive who work to preserve free speech rights and online rights. (Other suggestions of where to donate or volunteer are welcome in the notes!) Also, perhaps best of all, the OTW is a non-profit who owns their own servers, which makes it MUCH harder to change what they choose to host than if they relied on any external hosting services and/or had advertisers.

**The archive already has had a whole lot of fanworks shift from public to private due to external events, including the AO3 ban in China, and recent AI scraping of web content. I'm sure more AO3 users will choose to make their content private over the next few years out of a fear of potential personal risks of them being found, and/or due to new attempts to ban content. (Some users will also delete their works for similar reasons, though I urge people to consider orphaning them instead!) Downloading for personal use any fanworks you love is always a good idea, and even moreso at a time of great heartbreak and panic, like now.

*hugs* Hang in there, all, and continue to take comfort from AO3 & OTW as you survive the upcoming hard times.

[suspensefulpen]

Anything Else?

TW: Noncon Drugging, Chain Restraints, Sadistic Whumper

Whumper smiled to himself as Whumpee struggled to focus their gaze. Their eyes refused to stay opened and on Whumper.

Not only were they tired from the past couple of hours of straight taunting, they were tired from whatever Whumper had injected them with. After getting the idea from a friend, he decided to try it out on Whumpee. He was very pleased with the results.

“So, what was all that you were saying earlier?” He asked with a knowing grin. “You said you were going to hit me, stab me, strangle me, get me back. Anything else you plan on doing?”

Whumpee’s lips didn’t move to form a response. Only a small exhale could be heard. The chains attached to their wrists and ankles holding them down to the bed didn’t rattle. He could see their eyes slowly starting to shut. Grabbing their chin, he forced their head up. “I’m talking to you Whumpee.”

Their eyes opened more before slowly closing. He hummed. “I thought you had things to say Whumpee. Why’re you so quiet now?”

Whumper yanked on one chain, forcing their glassy eyes to briefly lock with his. This was something he could get used to seeing. He smirked.

“You look so much better like this. You think I enjoy you thrashing around all the time? Nah, I don’t. I like you better this way.” He hummed. “Too incoherent to talk or even open your eyes. I wish I could keep you like this forever…”

His smirk fell as a thought occurred to him.

[bylrndgm]

JULIE AND THE PHANTOMS (2020) // JULIE E OS FANTASMAS (2011) 1.01 - Wake Up // 1.01 - Enfrentando Fantasmas -> Julie meets the Band.

[dariusaurs]

i think dinostar is such an interesting ship right now even if i've kind of turned away from it after this season. the problem is that it's complicated, and fandoms historically don't like nuanced situations or takes. i don't think it's fair to say darius is putting brooklynn on a pedestal, since from his perspective, she hasn't done anything wrong, and kenji has been framed as this unfair partner to her. it does feel like his feelings are very immature and more of an infatuation right now ("if he loved you half as much.."/"unless?"), especially when you compare them to kenji's own feelings for brooklynn - his girlfriend who he's loved for 6 years - but that isn't a horrible thing, it's just different. i do completely understand if people dislike the ship right now, and even criticize darius' way of handling the accidental confession, but i just think people have been way too harsh on all three of them without being willing to see that all of their perspectives are different

[akirathedramaqueen]

Is the knowledge of magic gatekept by Hell's elite?

Time for another shitpost speculative analysis. And, suddenly, no conclusions—just some facts I’ve gathered about the topic from the show and a bunch of questions for you. Because this time, as much as I would’ve liked to deliver some hot details, there isn’t enough information yet, and I prefer not to claim anything without having at least some degree of certainty in it.

So let's just talk and make some fun, semi-educated guesses, shall we?

Yesterday, @tealvenetianmask released a wonderful post about Blitzø and his insecurity regarding his intelligence. Give it a read—it's a topic that isn’t discussed enough. One of the points raised was his limited access to education, which made me think.

Grimoire.

An infinitely powerful artifact possessed by Stolas Goetia is central to the series, at least before The Full Moon episode, as it is the only way for Blitzø to access the mortal realm. While it serves its own purposes for bringing together—and ultimately breaking apart—Stolas and Blitzø, it also has many interesting properties and details that allow us to speculate on magic as a whole.

It made me think: Who theoretically can use this grimoire or other spell artifacts? Why is it that no one but Stolas is permitted to use it? Are there genetic and/or biological reasons for this, or is the restriction societally driven?

Namely, would all hell beings be able to use magic if given the chance to learn it?

Let’s examine the evidence we have and try to answer at least some of these questions.

Clue one: Using the grimoire by anyone other than Stolas is illegal

It is clearly stated by Stolas himself in these two episodes.

You know, I have been... permitting you to access the mortal realm less than... legally for quite some time now? S1EP1, Murder Family, 8:31

You will be able to go anywhere you want in the human realm without fear of consequence. Without breaking demon law. You no longer need my grimoire. S2EP8, The Full Moon, 19:05

The question is, why? We know it’s not crucial to have Goetia blood to channel magic from the grimoire—Loona has read spells from it, as we'll discuss later.

Could the reason be that the Goetia family wants to keep their powerful artifacts a secret and maintain their hold on power?

Clue two: Magic books are written in runes

The grimoire and Stolas's book about Asmodean crystals are written in runes, suggesting the potential existence of a language barrier when sharing magic-related knowledge.

Left - S1EP6, Truth Seekers, 17:44 Right - S2EP1, The Circus, 19:45

It is oddly convenient if you want fewer people to understand the sacred information you wish to keep to yourself.

Clue three: Stolas does not need his grimoire to cast spells from it

It is briefly discussed in the Seeing Stars episode.

[Blitzo]: No chance you can conjure us a couple of those, can ya? [Stolas]: Sadly, no. I'm afraid without my grimoire, my powers are just a tad limited in the human world. [Blitzo]: What, you can't memorize your fucking spells? [Stolas]: Oh, your memory's so great?  S2EP2, Seeing Stars, 6:33

See, Stolas does not deny Blitzø's assumption and gets annoyed when his memory is belittled. Therefore, I believe we can safely deduce that it is indeed a matter of only remembering the necessary chants to cast a spell. It is still possible that the artifact holds power on its own and Stolas needs it to access magic in the mortal realm, but it doesn't seem like the absence of the book prevented him from making two poor little human beings soil their little fancy trousers.

S1EP6, Truth Seekers, 19:11

And he does not need the book to summon the portals, it is seen multiple times throughout the series.

S1EP6, Truth Seekers, 20:10

Not mentioning him performing small magic tricks quite regularly:

Left - S2EP6, Oops, 7:42 Right - S2EP8, The Full Moon, 2:00

So, can we make a conclusion the grimoire is not so unique after all, if to memorize all the spells? Not sure, because... okay, I promise, we will get back to it later.

Clue four: Loona can use the grimoire, even though she is a lower-class demon

And she can shapeshift without any artifacts, which might suggest she has more magical abilities than other members of I.M.P. Her ability to read runes is also noteworthy.

Shhhit! I can't... I can't read the spell in this light! I can't see dick! S1EP6, Truth Seekers, 17:43

Do you think she could become a skilled magician with proper education? It's quite impressive that she knows the rune language to begin with, given her origin!

Clue five: Blitzø, Millie, and Moxxie are never seen using the book

Is this accidental, or are they simply unable to use the book? If the latter, is it because they are physically incapable of channeling magic (e.g., due to being imps), or is it because they don’t understand the language of the spells?

I noticed them bantering about replacing Loona because of her horrible attitude once or twice (such as at the beginning of the Seeing Stars episode). Does this mean they could take on her responsibility of opening the portal, or is it just bluff? There’s no way to know for sure.

If I'm so terrible, how about you just grow a pair and replace me? S2EP2, Seeing Stars, 3:03

Clue six: The I.M.P. crew is never shown trying any spells from the book other than those for portals

I.M.P. never tries any spells other than opening the portal, which seems strange, especially since they could have used disguise spells, as mentioned earlier in clue three.

Is it because they physically can’t use other spells, or is it an unspoken rule not to meddle with a powerful artifact whose true implications they might not fully understand?

Clue seven: Without the grimoire, the I.M.P. crew is not able to access the mortal realm

And it is posed as a big deal—the whole Season 2 setup revolves around Stolas freeing Blitzø by calling off the transactional agreement and providing a grimoire replacement, the Asmodean crystal.

Official Music Video, Just Look My Way, 0:11

This seems to contradict clue three. Perhaps there are specifics we have yet to learn or understand.

Why? If simply remembering the spell is enough, they would only need the book once. If Loona can read runes, she could write the spells down when Blitzø stole it, making the entire ordeal unnecessary.

Maybe, just knowing the spell isn’t enough to use it without the book. Maybe, special education or training is needed to prepare the body for it. Or, maybe, being born into royalty is a prerequisite for channeling magic without artifacts.

Maybe, if not conclusions, let's at least make a guess?

So, here’s everything I’ve gathered on the matter.

Without additional information, it seems a bit contradictory, and I admit, I sometimes get the feeling these might be plot holes left because this isn’t the focus of the story. This would be surprising though, as the show is usually very detailed and well-built in terms of worldbuilding.

I’m going to try to fill in these gaps with my speculations, just for fun. Please don’t consider this as making any claims; it’s more about me engaging in some mental gymnastics because I’m a lore geek and love figuring out how the fictional world works in media.

So, my take on whether the knowledge is gatekept or not: in short, it is.

If not so short:

I speculate (like highly speculate, because I have no proof), that any hellbeing could theoretically learn and use magic. It might require certain genetic preconditions, natural talent, and extensive training, but success is possible to varying degrees;

Artifacts assist in channeling magic for those who are untrained—like the grimoire helps the I.M.P. crew open portals;

Magic knowledge is encoded in runes to complicate the learning process for those not taught in it;

This knowledge is kept secret and shared only within royal circles, with different branches having their own secret techniques and specialties;

There are also laws prohibiting the sharing of this knowledge with lower-class demons.

Why? It’s simple—power wouldn’t be power if it could be used by just anyone. Withholding resources and granting access to it only to the wealthy is a characteristic of non-democratic regimes, and, mind you, Hell is an absolute monarchy at best.

But what do you think? Share your opinion via poll, reblogs, and comments!

Instead of my usual funny giggles at the end, I’ll reiterate from my reblog yesterday:

FREE AND ACCESSIBLE EDUCATION FOR ALL

Because only by sharing knowledge and making it public can the community truly prosper.

[cookkoo]

'Can you please not?💢'

[r0semultiverse]

Asking in good faith (check my blog if you want) but what's the trans Nova Graxx Bunny Girl's @? Does she have social media? Please, I loved her speech, it genuinely made me tear up. MagicThighs your speech made my day, I hope you see this somehow. 💖🥺

If needed, send it privately over because I understand the potential dangers & things obviously, I just wanna drop a follow if she has an account or something because omg that cosplay is so good & omg she made me tear up. 🥺💜

[theriverbeyond]

have you seen any breakdown of the political situation on New Rho (in New Rho? is the rest of the planet also populated? I think at one point someone says "down in Ur" but maybe there is an application of 2-dimensional direction terms to 3d space I havent yet thought of). Like who do they mean by militia, who is the government (who is the police?), is there any official house presence, what is the status of the barracks, who manned the spaceport, what power does BoE hold and how are they viewed in the population (Hot Sauce denounces them but who is her faction-that Pyrrha saw her with-then?) and do they know how splintered and farspread it is? what is the siege the blurb is speaking of, just the imperial emissaries showing up?

Also assuming the BoE wings are all named after different planetary settlements which seem in turn to be named after cities in the ancient near east (ur, merv, ctesiphon), why isnt new rho? but i might be misinterpreting this.

Also where does the Empire want non-House humanity to end up? They seem to be turning planets left and right with no endgoal. And how many settled planets might there be?

Sorry I'm dumping this all at you, I havent seen any worldbuilding discussion here on tumblr at all really so maybe you can redirect me somewhere.

Thankies, keep up the good work (posting)

I HAVE seen posts about the political situation on New Rho including analysis posts that were very interesting and I have utterly failed to tag them appropriately, I am sorry -- if anyone who sees this has links to that meta pls add on/reply to help anon!

But to cover the rest of your points:

What is Ur?

Ur is mentioned twice that i can find, in ch 16: Ianthe says that the end has come to the "rebels of Ur", and a person in the crowd says "Ur is fighting".

EDIT: big thank you to @eskildit in replies: "There are four total references to Ur- Corona also says that Judith is in the Ur facility and Kiriona says that the 6th house is "parked outside the Ur system". Could be that Ur is the planet New Rho is located on. While we refer the nine houses as planets, canonically the houses are actually "installations" on each planet with quite small populations. New Rho alone, which is specifically stated to be just one city on a resettled planet, is 3x the size of the 6th house"

It may have been mentioned more times, but Kindle search is giving me the 2,320 times the letters "ur" were used next to each other so I'm ngl I cannot sift through that. Rather than being a city, though, I actually am assuming that Ur is another planet entirely! This is due to multi-planet SciFi in general treating entire planets like countries or even big cities. Like…. planets are huge. There are thousands of different cultures on a planet, but in SciFi planets are often like. One Big City. One Big Country, if you have a particularly ambitious worldbuilder. See: Star Wars, the Nine Houses themselves, etc. not saying that Ur cannot be on New Rho, just that I don't think it is because this is multi-planet Sci Fi.

The militia/civic government?

In chapter 6 a distinction is made between "the militia and the old civic govnerment". Following that, I think the civic government was probably installed by the Houses, as a ruling party that is friendly to them/House interests. I think the militia is a non-unified population of hired guns, that probably revolted at some point priot to the story. It does seem like at least some section of the militia is in power in most of the city, but I do not think there is one coherent government at the moment

Official house presence?

Yes, because there are official cohort barracks. I don't think they have much political leverage by the time NtN rolls around, though

Barrack status?

Under siege due to the people of New Rho hating them/political instability/possible militia revolt, doing badly otherwise because any and all necromancers are suffering from Blue Madness/RB proximity, as seen in ch 20 when Ianthe mentioned some of them were so poorly she had to put them down.

Space port?

I am assuming the civic government/House was originally in charge. unsure of who is in charge during NtN

What power does BOE hold?

Unclear. It seems like BOE itself is fractionated, with a lot of animosity held between different factions, and a lot of both animosity AND collaboration between different factions of BOE, the militia, the population, and the old civic government. It is a very decentralized resistance force, despite sharing a name. BOE do not appear to BE the official government, or BE the militia, though, but I would not be surprised if some groups had ties to one or both. It seems like they have influence both socially and politically but it is unclear what that power is... some factions have some amount of power. Over some parts. But!! it seems that during the events of NtN they had more power than in the past ("best hand they were ever delt", chapter 1)

How is BOE viewed by the population?

My guess is they have mixed reviews. I think a lot of people probably rely on them for resources/protection even if they don't like or fully trust them. I think a lot of people probably see them as extremists and wish they were less extreme (the liberals, u could say). Like Hot Sauce and the gang, a lot of people probably think they aren't radical enough and wish they would resist more, harder, differently. I think a lot of people probably deeply support them, either physically by being part of BOE or by providing resources/etc, or quietly because they are afraid of retaliation by the House or civil government. A lot of the population probably has opinions about BOE versus the militia, BOE verus House, BOE versus the civic government, based on their own interests/position/power. This is a really long answer that can boil down to "idk"

What is the siege?

I think the siege is the cohort being sieged into the barracks. I am guessing there was some sort of revolt in the local government, probably related to Blue Madness weakening the cohort, and they have pushed the cohort into the barracks. , as described in chapters 1 ("the cohort dies like anyone else under seige") and chapter 20 ("the barracks siege").

What group is Hot Sauce in if she denounced BOE?

Hot Sauce specifically calls BOE "fat cats" and "zombie lovers" in chapter 15, after noting that she, Honesty, and Born in the Morning, as well as Born in the Morning's father, are "active" in with an unnamed group at the park. It is unclear what group that is, if it has a name, or if it is organized in any capacity. From what little we know, it appears it is a group of people who are more radical than BOE, which I think is either ex-BOE members that were pushed out for their radial choices/beliefs, or civilians/other freedom fighters that aren't satisfied with what BOE is doing. But beyond that I have no idea

BOE wing names vs New Rho?

So BOE wings are named after historic Earth cities. Ctesiphon, Troia, Merv, Valencia (which is not historic to us, as it exists today, but WOULD be history in 10k years). They are named by BOE, likely to keep connection to Earth, just like BOE people-names. "New Rho", on the other hand, is likely named by the House. Rhodes is a place on the 7th house (see: 7th cavalier is the "Knight of Rhodes"), and I assumed that New Rho was like. The house naming shit. Like how New York is named after York in England, even though that area of land already had a name (Lenapehoking, I think?).

Specifically this difference is important because like, the House is a imperial colonizing force here, and they are naming things after their home system as a part of the imperial violence they are enacting. In As Yet Unsent, Judith notes that the non-house people call New Rho, "Lemuria" -- HOWEVER, in NtN chapter 17, the Angel mentions Lemuria twice in a way that is phrased like Lemuria is Somewhere else, and is Not the city they are in right now ("I was born on Lemuria", "there's still a facility on Lemuria") I am not sure what happened there, honestly. Perhaps an oopsie?

Where does the Empire want non house humanity to end up?

Unclear. Coronabeth notes in As Yet Unsent that even she (who has studied the war in-universe) has no idea what the real goal is. My guess is nowhere, because a forever-war has no end goal. It's a war for resources gained only by literal blood and death. Many analysis could be made about this as an allegory to to oil based forever-wars of today -- I read a few of them and as said before unfortunately failed to tag them, so if anyone has a link and can share with anon that would be awesome! But anyway, I do not think I am smart or learned enough to say a lot beyond this but, yeah. I think there is no end goal to the war besides meaningless revenge and the resources gained via murder, because that's the point. We could learn different in AtN tho! who knows

How many settled planets?

No idea! Thousands. Hundreds of thousands? Hundreds? Unsure! 10k years is a long time, and there are a lot of planets out there in the fantasy universe that could be habitable. EDIT ty @eskildit, unclear how many planets were settled over the course of the Empire, but there are three settled planets by the timeline of NtN: ""Everyone was crammed on one of three planets now, and they all agreed that this planet was easily the worst", from chapter 2

-

Thanks for sending this!! I really enjoyed answering it, and I hope it helped -- sorry if I missed any. Ask more any time!!

[dengswei]

I LOVE this set and i was wondering if you could pls explain how you did the text, including how you added texture to the ripped text and the highlighting/circling/etc of words? thank you for posting your beautiful gifs 😊

thank you!! 🥺 & of course! (photopea tutorial)

the majority of the texture for the ripped paper effect i can't really take credit for it's on the paper it's self all i did was make the paper white (because the texture was yellow) and used curves to darken the texture), i got the texture from one of photopea's templates but it seems their whole template section has changed drastically and no longer has like anything i used to see before ???? so i'll just share both versions here:

(original & my edited version)

for the ripped parts i just played around with this brush set in the plugins

once i decided which of the paper brushes to use i had a new layer and used it where i wanted, so top left in the gif above, i clip masked the paper texture (and the adjustment layers as well) onto it so you get that ripped effect (if you don't like or want to add to that you can always use the brush tool again (or the erasure tool) set as the paper brush to add or remove sections i did this a lot when i realised certain words i wanted to show weren't on there (also changing the size of the paper brush when wanting to add a little bit or take a little bit away was a massive help)

i also always add a drop shadow to my paper textures, the settings i used is mostly the same EXCEPT for the angle for all of the ripped paper (it's also my text drop shadow settings) because depending on how the ripped paper looks you might have to change the angle

also i know in the screenshot below it's on but make sure the use global angle is off if you're going to have multiple different angles of drop shadow in your one gif (so if you want your paper texture on 125° but anything else on 60° the global angle needs to be off but if you want them the same then you can keep that on, which is why it's on for me because the angle is the same for both the text & the ripped paper) (and by text this isn't the text on the ripped paper, there isn't any drop shadow on the text itself there, just to clarify this was for my "ripped paper text tutorial by dengswei" text)

as you can see i also clipped my "handwriting" text to the paper layer this is so it stayed on the paper rather then going onto the gif itself (and it saved the fiddly part of masking it away & it felt more authentic this way too)

i found for me it was easier to seperate the text line by line so i knew exactly which part of the text was on which and if i wanted to change anything either it being a typo, changing the paper texture, or wanting a different word on a different line it was easier that way because it didn't end up messing up all of the text (though you don't have to do it that way, it's just what worked for me here)

font i used was: vag-handwritten (a default photopea font)

all of the next part needs to be above the text on your ripped paper:

for the highlighting, circles, and the lines it's pretty much all the same, i chose the colour which matched the gif (so say purple), for the highlight used the rectangle select & colour fill tools and set that to multiply & then played around with opacity (for most of my highlighting it's set to 50%), for the circles it was the same except the circle shape tool (no fill just stroke) set to purple, set to multiply, with 100% opacity (i found the circles looked better with 100% on some gifs depending on what colour i used), & then duplicated it once or twice and then just moved each circle to where i thought it looked best & the double lines is also the same using the line tool, set to multiply, & playing around with the opacity, & positioning them where i like

for the squiggly lines, the hearts, the 3 small doodle lines at either side of a word, & any other doodles i had on there i doodled them myself with my drawing tablet (you probably don't have to use a drawing tablet i just found it easier that way) using the free pen tool and then did the same thing set it to multiply and played with the opacity

if the colour you choose looks too dark or too light with it set to multiply either try a lighter/darker colour, try out something else like lighten, or screen, or increase/decrease the opacity more (i found i had this issue with the yellow being hard to see on the white paper so i used a darker yellow and kept everything at 100% opacity rather than 50%)

hope that helps! and please if anything is confusing or you want to ask any more don't hesitate to ask i know i ramble on a bit and it can sometimes get a bit confusing 🤣 or if there was anything i missed feel free to ask again 🥰

[otomes-world]

"Under fantasy disguise" part Pomefiore (1)

Fantasy AU “Under fantasy disguise”: world lore (prologue) heartslabyul savanaclaw octavinelle scarabia trigger warning: some self hate, reader in really bad state (but there is nothing grafic), barrely edited text.

At some point, the clouds flying past completely erased the idea of time and space. Slowly brightening sky marked the beginning of a new day. The lump in throat, the approaching nausea and self-loathing merged into one large layer, settling like a burden in your chest. A heaviness that radiates unpleasantly throughout the whole body.

You wanted to pry open chest if only it could give at least a little peace of mind.

However, the much-desired peace would not come. The subconscious told you, or maybe you yourself understood that you couldn’t let go of the situation. Frankly, what happened - all at once - was not your fault. It wasn’t, but selfishness and the banal desire to survive stuck needles into such a subjective concept of conscience, which you didn’t even suspect. When you live in a world of technology - when you don't have to make tough decisions - the world seems simpler.

You didn’t know where the carpet was going. Perhaps it was simply obeying your unspoken impulse to get away. Anywhere. To a place where it will be at least a little easier.

However, during the time you spent in this world, you managed to come to terms with the thought: it won’t get better. The further you plunged into unfamiliar lands and got to know its inhabitants, the harder the blow to your mental health. At some point you thought that the happiest time of your forced journey was wandering in the mountains.

Taking a shuddering breath, you froze abruptly, noticing movement out of the corner of your eye. Something flew past at incredible speed. Glancing briefly at the sleeping cat, you clenched your fists, your nails - or what was left of them - digging into the skin of your palms. The pain helped calm down a little and focus on surroundings. A moment and something flew by again, this time very close.

It didn't seem to you.

Waking Grimm up with your left hand, you tried to look down. The carpet did not slow down, and therefore it was difficult to try to see anything. The barely brightening sky did not help at all. Suddenly the fabric shook and you felt something cold millimeters from your other hand. Imagining the worst, you looked down, noticing the thin scratch on your skin and the arrow.

Everything inside you suddenly stopped.

Heart began to beat sharply, making already labored breathing difficult. The mind tried to come up with a solution, an escape, something, but apparently the third arrow was the last warning. The last one before something incomprehensible collided with the carpet, paradoxically sobering and frightening at the same time. Intuitively stretching out your hands towards the sound of meowing, you realized in horror that you were falling down. The carpet, which had saved your life several times, was flailing in the air, trying to extinguish the flames that were engulfing the fabric faster and faster.

You closed your eyes and prepared to fall. The sharp blow, it felt like it, knocked out the remaining oxygen on the branch, as did a further fall onto the wet grass. The pain darkened vision. You wanted to scream, but you didn’t have the strength to unclench teeth and utter even a sound. Bent over, you still clutched Grimm to your chest, simultaneously trying to think about something good.

Heartslabyul still caused waking nightmares, but there were incredibly beautiful roses there. Flowers. Pleasant baking aroma. The softly shining sun.

A slow, careful breath literally created a storm inside. The lungs protested, the muscles tensed to the limit. It would be so easy to close your eyes and plunge into darkness if it weren't for the adrenaline still flowing through your veins. Your attacker was still somewhere nearby.

Sitting up with an effort of will, you could hardly resist so as not to fall back. Your side was burning, and the notorious stars were flying before eyes. What kept you from giving up was the realization that the breathing of the cat, limp in your arms, was becoming weaker. The fear of being alone in this world turned out to be enough of an incentive to go against everything: fate, a tired body and, possibly, broken bones.

A rustling sound came very close, and you tensed, preparing for the worst. Having spotted a dry branch nearby, you wondered how much time and effort it would take to grab it. There was a rustling sound again, and this time the steps took him by surprise, but a child appeared from behind the bushes. Even in the semi-darkness, you noticed his light gray hair and pointed ears. Gradually, two more appeared behind him: one with burgundy strands sticking out to the sides and a gloomy expression on his face, and the second, ready to fall asleep at any moment.

The very first, apparently the main one of the trio, took a step forward, raising his hands in a calming gesture, "How are you feeling? How many fingers am I showing?"

You just shook your head, closing your eyes. The voice of reason insisted that you had to run, but fear for Grimm did not allow you to take even a step..

"Us.. can.. help.. you.. "you didn’t recognize your own voice. It sounded so quiet and muffled that you doubted whether you were heard. Your throat burned, but you opened your mouth again to repeat the request as many times as necessary.

"Dominic, it’s not a good idea to bring someone you don’t know home, is it?" The gloomy child spoke, and for a second you again started to panic. "If we bring everyone we meet and cross, we ourselves will soon become the King’s target."

King? That's all you needed. Previous territories also had heads, but facing the “royal family” sounded much more terrible and problematic

"..only a night.. I can.. stay in the forest.. only Grimm.." It seemed like torture to pronounce every word. Your vision was blurry, but you were obliged to hold out.

“Another guest won’t be such a problem,” Dominic answered. "Can you get up?"

No. Even if you wanted to, you wouldn't be able to get up. You couldn't even lie to yourself. You didn’t even have to answer, the main one came up and extended his hands to the cat. With trembling hands, struggling not to pull them away, you allowed the cat to be taken away

"Groom, stay and look after last one. Shelpi and I will go get Neige"

The one who was called Groom grumbled without ceasing, but still approached you. Watching the children disappear among the greenery, you allowed yourself to relax. At least Grimm was safe.

"Hey. Hey! Come to your senses!"

You felt someone shaking your shoulder, but you couldn’t make out anything else. Only at some point did you hear someone’s worried voice, but you couldn’t make out what exactly he was saying.

You came to your senses, then fell into oblivion again. Voices, sounds, light caused dizziness and rejection. The only thing you remembered throughout the entire chaotic state was that pleasant voice and someone’s warm hands.

"You woke up!" Someone voiced it before you even realized it yourself. It’s just that at some point you stopped distinguishing between reality and a dream, but it seems that this time you were definitely in reality. "Wait, I'll call Dominic"

This name fluttered familiarly in memory. That's right, that was the name of the bright child. Following with an unfocused gaze the young man - although now in your eyes he was just a colored spot - who quickly rushed off somewhere, leaving you for a minute.

Closing your eyelids, you tried to focus on the present. You weren't abandoned in the forest, that's a plus. The attacker didn't show up yesterday, or maybe you just weren't found. The questions “Who” and “Why” remained unanswered. It would be possible to close your eyes and not chase your tail, as before, but your intuition suggested that this time it would be different. That this was just the calm before the next storm. But you no longer had the strength to look for shelter so as not to be carried away to the mercy of fate.

A quiet knock brought you back to reality. It was strange, the young man didn’t seem to lock the door. Opening your eyes slightly, you squinted, trying to make out the newcomer. As you thought, it turned out to be the same child. Next to him stood someone your age - maybe a little older or younger - with a friendly smile. The corners of your lips slightly twitched upward, but they couldn’t become the same full-fledged smile.

"Are you feeling better now?" Asked the child, who continued speaking after a nod from you. “You’re probably still confused, so I’ll try to speak more slowly. My name is Dominic, my dwarf brothers and me have been living in this forest for a very long time. And this,” he pointed at the young man, “is Neige. Although you may already know him. Let me know what happened to you?"

"…if.. I knew.. someone attacked us while we were flying on the carpet.. we turned over and fell, Grimm.. Grimm! Where is he?" An attempt to sit up abruptly was unsuccessful, causing more circles under the eyes and weakness. A brunette who appeared next to you prevented you from turning over and falling out of bed

"Your friend is okay!" The dwarf immediately answered hastily. "He, like you, needs to rest. But you need to do this first. During the fall, you broke a rib" you immediately touched your burning side. “It will take time to heal.”

Having given a short thank you to him and the boy, as a sign that you were already feeling better, you began to hastily rebuild your plan of action. It was impossible to linger, but on the other hand, going in the current state was no less stupid. You understood that the fall could not have happened without something - there was a limit to luck and the capabilities of the human body - but the awareness did not brighten up what was happening.

"Do you know who could have attacked you?“ The young man asked softly, holding out a glass of water that had come from nowhere. However, you weren't complaining.

“No.. No, this is my first time in these lands,” after a couple of sips it became easier to speak. “We were flying… yes, we were flying,” you strained your tired memory. "…someone shot! I remembered the arrow!" Looking hopefully at Dominic, you saw a worried look. As if he realized who exactly attacked you and the Grimm. For some reason, you doubted whether it was worth finding out the truth. "This is not someone from the royal family, right?"

You tried to laugh, but it sounded pathetic even to your own ears. For some reason, the duo didn't appreciate your joke.

“It might have been Rook,” you frowned, another new name. “He works as a hunter and serves Vi,” the young man tried to keep the conversation going with the same light laugh, which came out better than yours. However the impression he made was the same - he did not inspire confidence.

“Vi?” You asked carefully, afraid to confirm your fears.

"Exactly, you don’t know. That's what I call Vil, he is the king of these lands. We saw each other quite often at the castle!"

You were doomed. You could see the world literally crumbling before your eyes. This is exactly what was needed for happiness. Purely to confirm what you already suspected, you turned to Dominic, "What is the probability that… how did you call him, Rook?.. Reported everything to the king?"

Silence was a convincing enough answer.

Despite the chance of being discovered, you remained in the dwarves' house. It was inspired by the hopelessness and persuasiveness of Neige, who took upon himself the responsibility of your personal doctor. Although this was too strong a word, the process was still more led by the chief of the dwarves. Gradually you got to know the others.

Groom and Shelpi were part of the company that day. Although the first one was rude and hot-tempered, you couldn’t call him bad. It just took some getting used to. Shelpi was his opposite. A dwarf with a perpetually sleepy look, although you could understand him. In your current state, all you wanted to do was sleep.

There were four more gnomes: Timmy, Toby, Snick and Hop. You saw Timmy only from afar and only in someone else’s company. Perhaps he was just nervous around strangers. Toby was a sweetheart whose memory failed him more often than usual. Hop was a classic example of a cheerful child, and Snick's specialty was his perpetual allergies.

Watching their noisy but cheerful routine was a pleasant change from the nightmare that was happening in your life before. Nevertheless, you remembered Heartslabyul’s experience and were in no hurry to relax.

The more time you spent in their friendly company, the stronger the feeling of guilt grew. Understanding that they would come for you. Now or a little later didn't matter. Just like how many troubles befell the cat’s head for the company. Asking to take care of Grimm was another breaking through the ceiling called “selfishness,” but… that incident made it clear that problems were pouring down on your head more and more often. Their consequences were becoming increasingly difficult to correct.

Living with guilt was unbearable.

So much so that you were unable to look into the eyes of your faithful friend, who has literally gone through thick and thin with you, and you decided to leave him.

You didn't even hope for forgiveness. Deep inside you understood that this was just an attempt to come to an agreement with yourself, a struggle for the opportunity to hate yourself a little less. Looking at the recovering cat, this thought took root more firmly in consciousness.

The pathetic excuse “it will be better this way.”

Gradually you were allowed to take short walks. Your side still hurt, as did the wounds on back, but the fresh air helped to distract you and not drown in self-flagellation. The only activity for which you always had the strength.

Hoping to find your things, you tried to find the crash site from memory. It was stupid, especially since those trinkets were of no value. To some extent, they simply gave an imaginary sense of belonging. Reminders of your home world, which seemed farther and farther away day by day.

Moving aside the branches, you were finally able to find the desired clearing. It was like all the others, but some internal awareness did not allow you to pass by.

Check and leave.

Simple plan - simple implementation. Searching among the bushes without bending down was another challenge. Having sat down, you rose to your feet again with great difficulty, the shooting pain in your lower back made itself felt every time you tried to find your treasured things.

Breathing heavily, you leaned your hand on the trunk of a nearby tree. A little break won't hurt anyone, that's for sure in your condition. Taking a deep breath, you glanced around the clearing once again, making mental notes of where the bag might have been thrown.

There was not a soul around, or at least it seemed so. Perhaps over time you became too suspicious, but at the moment you could not leave the feeling of being watched, no matter how stupid it may sound. Who could be in the deep forest, right? Unless… who attacked you and the Grimm that day. You tsked and took another breath, trying to calm down.

It was dangerous to return to the house: you didn’t want to let Neige and his friends down. Trying to escape in an unknown direction was reckless. You didn’t know these places, one wrong turn and Robinson Crusoe will appear in this forest. Although you doubted that this world had heard of him. The possibility of becoming a discoverer was not encouraging.

"Ma cheri! What a rarity it is to find such a beautiful creature in such a dense thicket,” a voice that came out of nowhere took you by surprise.

Turning towards the sound at a speed you didn’t know you were capable of, you saw a strange blond-haired young man.

“Are you… talking about me?..” You asked carefully, simultaneously looking for a way to escape. Now the suspicions no longer seemed groundless.

"Oui! Yes and yes! A triple "yes" is not enough to prove the sincerity of my words. How brave and reckless are walks in the wilds, where every animal and people poses a danger. I had already decided that knowledge, Fata Morgana, which had darkened my mind and revealed such a fragile angel in human form!"

He spoke a lot and not very clearly, sometimes you lost the thread of the story. In your best times, you didn’t like such conversations, let alone today. However, this was a good opportunity to look at the blond. He was wearing a cream-colored tunic, loose pants and a hat with a fluffy white feather.

It was necessary to come up with an excuse and as quickly as possible. Perhaps you would be able to wander around, wait for him to leave, and return home without consequences. However, this would be too loud a statement. If there's one thing life has taught you, it was not to think ahead of time.

"Thank you, I guess?.. Did you want something?" You decided to ask directly.

"Oh, that's right. Wandering among the flora and fauna, I found one interesting little thing,” he sadly shook his head while you did everything to prevent doubts from showing on your face. "Obeying the will of my heart, I am trying to find the owner."

Emphasizing the last word, he smiled, narrowing his eyes. The nature of the emotion that flashed through them made you shiver.

"Well, I wish you good luck in your search, sir.."

"Hunt! But you can call me by my name, just Rook,” digging your nails into the palms, you kept a friendly expression on your face through an effort of will. The blond raised his hands in a surrendering gesture, and then also calmly began to close the distance. "I don’t dare to hope that you have heard of me. However, like me about you. His Majesty, Roi du Poison, has been wanting to meet you for quite some time, and who are we to refuse him."

Looking ahead at the outstretched hand and the unshakable figure of - as Neige said - the hunter, you doubted that you had any chance of escape.

[somegrumpynerd]

Been reading @topazshadowwolf's How Nightmare Became Dadmare and I have been so sucked in by this silly little family I had to start doodling

[ivys-garden]

You know, Whenever I hear people talking about what Hermit False did to Empires False it's always phrased as "Hermit False is evil and in the wrong!" And it honestly makes me question if y'all watched the same series

First of all, Hermit False was completely justified in locking Empires False away. Empires False was going completely insane and bloodthirsty, the best way to keep Empires False and The Hermits safe is to lock her away. Plus, it's not like Hermit False left here there and pretended she didn't exist, she was actually trying to find a way to cure Empires False of her blood lust so she clearly still cared for her.

And after Empires False escapes and Kills Everyone in the lab it makes sense for Hermit False to send her away and to make sure she can't remember anything, locking her up didn't work, there doesn't seem to be a way to cure her and Hermit False would be understandably reluctant to kill her sister, so to keep everyone safe the best thing to do is to send her away. And again, she did look after her, sending supplies through the rift to insure she survived. Plus after everything she sent that book through and gave Empires False her memory back.

And this whole thing did work out in the end, Empires False regained there sanity and love for building and ended there series by hanging up there Sword for good.

Is this 100% moraly ok? No. But Hermit False isn't the heartless evil monster some people make her out to be (while conveniently ignoring that Empire's False full on murders people regularly, including plotting to murder several Emporers and Hermits)

Yes I know I'm taking this to seriously. Shut up.

[neosimi]

🥫 4t2 Grocery Set - 2k Milestone Gift 🍫

better late than never, here is a mix of conversions mainly recolors by budgie, but also from severinka, ats4, and simdoughnut. i included a slaved version like a 3 in one of each object to make stocking shelves easier. that’s entirely personal preference lol i die every time i have to stock one by one. the crackers and cookies is slaved to lemonlion’s conversion. the my sims stickers are kind of random but they would work well near the video game section. i changed the textures on the sweets display to be simlish, and wanted to do more with them but i’ll save that for another day. anyway, that should be all! thank you everyone for 2k. ♡♡ as always, please lmk if you run into any issues. enjoy!~ ‹𝟹 ʕ´ڡ｀*ʔ

files are compressed. object list + polycount under the cut. meshes included.

download: [sfs] | [box] | [collection file] ♡

food points version: [sfs] | [box] ♡

credits: budgie, pilar, OBP, sg5150, severinka, sandy @ ATS4, simdoughnut, lemonlion. 

OBJECT LIST + POLYCOUNT:

beer pack - 100 polys

body butter - 226 polys

cake frosting - 226 polys

cake mix - 30 polys

crackers n cookies - 38 polys [slaved to lemonlion’s conversion]

foaming soap - 386 polys

food can - 112 polys 

hot sauce - 458 polys

jam/medicine - 374 polys

lotion bottle - 402 polys

spa bottle - 46 polys

lotto machine - 300 polys

mustard - 456 polys

shaving cream - 1274 polys [?? idk why it’s sm higher lol]

spice can - 50 polys

sweets display - 1836 polys

tube of cream - 282 polys

lotto posters - 2 recolors [on grilled cheese]

my sims stickers - 15 recolors [on butterfly crawler]

shop ads - 5 recolors [on grilled cheese]

community signs - 26 recolors [on aikea guinea mesh]

note: everything is decorative. the mac and cheese boxes and food packets are from here.