#i swim the LAST EVENT which means i have to be there for like 4 hours. for a summer league monday night meet. 😐🔫

[decladams]

don’t want to go to my meet tonight 😭😭😭

[bonefall]

again looking over the reworked history what the hell happened with Ripwater, I wanna know. What *was* that? How did Riverclan kill it?

Oooooh, quite a request! Ripwater, Queen of the Lake, one of the episodes of BB!Po3!

Ripwater is a Wels Catfish, the largest freshwater fish in Europe. The biggest specimen EVER caught was just landed last year, in 2023, 9.4 feet long. It wasn't weighed, but smaller fish than this one have broken 300 pounds.

And it's not a good thing that we're catching so many big ones.

Wels catfish are extremely invasive across most of Europe, introduced for anglers who want to land record-setting catches. They're massive, intelligent carnivores, sometimes called the "freshwater orca" because they will lunge out of the water to catch land prey. They DESTROY the population of anything big enough to fit in its terrible mouth, including fish, amphibians, and even turtles.

They get that big from a mix of constant food and hot temperature. It's a sign that they're devastating their surroundings, and that nothing has been able to kill them for the decades it takes to get so large.

So of course, some dunderhead put them in British rivers, where they've been spreading upwards ever since. Thankfully they thrive better where it's warmer, so they're not too massive of a threat to BB's modeled regions in Northwestern England, but they're fucking coming.

Ripwater's name isn't an exaggeration. That's how they hunt. They gape their jaw and beat their fins like dragons, creating eddies and currents that suck their hapless prey in. When RiverClan names her, it's because they see her ripping the water in half. I was thinking about her recently, and came up with some new stuff. I'll take a brief break from my drafts to serve up some fragments for you.

[A gray cat with blue eyes, Lakepaw, later BB!Lakeheart, swims in bluegreen water surrounded by lilypads. Below her is the massive shadow of Ripwater, a gigantic Wels Catfish. Its eyes flash in the depths.]

SMALL RECAP OF BB!PO3: (to set the stage)

It is now a breather arc, just dedicated to some worldbuilding!

I feel pretty strongly that Po3's strength is how AWESOME of a slice-of-life arc it could have been. To this end, I removed the Kin of your Kin prophecy from it, until it's revealed only at the very end just before Cruel Season.

That's so I can focus on The Three and their adventures around the lake, without this big prophecy looming over them and making the lower-stakes conflicts look small.

Instead, the various episodes of Po3 are related to problems that their new home presents, with just a teeny bit of Sol's magical influence to spice things up.

While Lionpaw learns about the "meaning of strength" and ultimately learns a terrible lesson he will extend to his kits, and Jaypaw finds his limits and learns to prevent others from defining them for him, Hollypaw is grappling with Fire Alone and how to reconcile her grandfather's legacy with her strict dedication to the Warrior Code.

And SO we find ourselves in one of the earliest episodes of BB!Po3; Ripwater the River Demon. This is like... episode 3 or 4, it's a REALLY early one.

I'm just shuffling it around with ANOTHER RiverClan-centric episode; the Shinewater Plague. The oilspill from TNP is now going to be bumped up to Po3 so it's more about establishing Mothwing and her apprentice Willowpaw, to contrast Leafpool and her apprentice Hollypaw, before Holly swaps to being a warrior. Jaypaw completes warrior training before becoming a Cleric apprentice.

So I don't want them to be TOO close together. Maybe put Ripwater in Book 2 and have RiverClan comment that they don't really want to ask for help because of the last big event, Mistystar hates feeling indebted to ThunderClan.

After all, it could basically replace the "flood" episode from Canon Po3, which is often forgotten about anyway. I'm already having ShadowClan construct dams instead of RiverClan anyway...

ANYWAY RIPWATER

I want to start this episode off with Sol/Harry, who is unnamed, messing around near water. He has a bit of a fish motif going on that I want to establish, and I need to get him to start messing with the Clans good and early.

(Specifically his motif is going back and forth between the koi, also an invasive and notably domesticated species, and the atlantic salmon which is famous for its changing life cycle.)

The Wels Catfish is an invasive species to England, slowly making its way up the island from the South. The fish who will become Ripwater, at this point, is already HUGE but not cat-swallowing huge. She's an 80-pounder.

Sol hits her with some godly magic, which allows her to grow at a rapid rate.

The sort of thing where it wouldn't be COMPLETELY implausible. He just... helped it along.

When we get to her first true on-screen appearance interacting with RiverClan, she is nearly 300 pounds of monstrosity with a length of about 8 feet

I'm unsure how, exactly, ThunderClan comes to know of this. But I DO know that I want Hollypaw to be snooping, and heavily encouraged by her mentor Brackenfur to do so. So, somehow, SOMETHING starts going wrong across the lake and ThunderClan catches wind of it.

Thinking about it, this should probably be her first big action after swapping out of Cleric apprenticeship.

One of the few things she's missing about Clerichood is the way she could be close to Willowpaw without needing to sneak around so much. It's easier to just pass it off as "friendship" and "Clerics need to be close." Leafpool and Mothwing are a similar way.

Possibly work in that Hollypaw's also already seeing Heatherpaw in the tunnels, contrast the two things...

At this point, Hollypaw has a crush on Willowpaw, which is requited, but... it's kinda fading.

She still loves her like a friend, but she's liking Heatherpaw a lot more. It doesn't mean she doesn't CARE for Willowpaw, of course, but

Willowpaw is still IN love, and it's slowly becoming unrequited, when it didn't used to be.

And from RiverClan's POV...

The first disappearance is so sudden they have no idea what's happened. I'm planning for it to be Robinpaw.

(I go back and forth on if it's Robinpaw or Dapplepaw, but I'm leaning towards Robinpaw again, because I like Dapplenose too much to have her get killed off here.)

She went out clamming in the lake with her sisters, Lakepaw and Otterpaw, there was a swirl in the water, and that was it. She was gone.

Just like that.

She never came back up. RiverClan searched for her, following the currents, checking the shoreline, everything. It was like she vanished.

Mistystar is suspicious and doing everything in her power to figure out what happened, but... let's face it. It's the word of two apprentices, who were swimming alone, who swear Robinpaw just went under.

Misty JUST got done with the Shinewater Plague and isn't trying to make RiverClan look like it can't keep track of its own young. The most likely situation is that Robinpaw was sucked down by an undertow that the three of them were too inexperienced to recognize.

So... she's pretty adamant about not sharing this information until Robinpaw's body is found. Jaws Style. "We cannot let the other Clans be alarmed by this, else they might meddle in our affairs..."

(and she's still maybe a little paranoid that some snoop in another Clan is going to find out that Leopardstar wasn't killed by a rogue, y'know.)

I don't want it to be TOO much of a bloodbath, so I'm capping Ripwater's body count at three and just aiming for two deaths total.

I'm also going for a coincidence RiverClan is going to interpret as a pattern; this happens a lot, specifically, when they're hunting Freshwater Pearl Mussels.

Ripwater doesn't like the river as much as she likes the lake, but it has nothing to do with their clamming. They're just going to interpret it as such.

Anyway.

The next one she goes after was lucky. By some stroke, she opens her jaw, and the victim is able to grab onto something before they're sucked in. (Maybe toss in something here were it was Holly who was able to help save them.)

Since the WHOLE Po3 Apprentice Generation is going to be getting more focus, there needs to be more input from the RiverClan apprentices. Lakepaw and Otterpaw obviously need time here, but I also NEED to involve Ripplepaw, to establish how he's going to be seen as one of the strongest in RiverClan by OotS.

EDIT FROM THE FUTURE AS I FIGURED STUFF OUT:

It was Ripplepaw, Otterpaw, and their two mentors on a raft who were attacked next. They were fishing for mussels in a shallower part of the lake.

Otterpaw was tethered to the raft with a flax lead, so it wouldn't float off. Or just tugging it in her mouth. Either way she had a line.

When Ripwater attacks her, she is swallowed on the line like a worm on a hook

And it starts pulling the WHOLE RAFT down, just a crummy bundle of sticks

One of the mentors started shouting to cut the line, else it would drag all of them under, but Ripplepaw dives right down to beat its ass without telling them he's not gonna cut it

Hollypaw just rushed right in, didn't think about it, forgetting she was supposed to be trying to sneak around

Taking control as the natural leader she is, she ordered them to shut up and start pulling the opposite way

Underwater, Ripplepaw braced himself against the fish's lips, grabs Otter's tether, and YANKS

Abovewater, the adult warriors are pulling together, Holly grabs the raft and pulls too

Once their paws touch the bottom of the shallows it's over, one last HEAVE-HO and POP!

Otterpaw is FREE

And when it's finally known that the apprentices weren't mistaken, there's a monster in the water, THAT'S when the debate really starts up. Mistystar does NOT want ThunderClan meddling, and she'll already be pissed off that Hollypaw (and any OTHERS who tagged along with her, I wouldn't put it past Honeypaw to wriggle her little yellow butt into a later draft, or Lionpaw for his massive strength) witnessed something that's not her business.

There's a moment from canon I desperately want to keep; where Squirrelflight comes to fetch her daughter.

(more reason to just say this is replacing The Flood Episode from canon lmao)

It's such an interesting moment, and so forgotten. In a nutshell, Squilf is both furious and concerned that her kit went missing and meddled in another Clan's affairs, but... understands the impulse.

Because it's something she would have done.

So when she scolds Hollypaw, there's this aching feeling that she's scolding a younger version of herself. Calling her arrogant and disloyal, that an apprentice's opinions mean less, and that she needs to listen to "older and wiser" warriors within her own Clan.

In BB, I want to do something big with this. Firestar is the figurehead of Fire Alone, who encouraged Hollypaw's behavior through his deputy, Brackenfur, who he set as her mentor for a reason.

But Squirrelflight is being abused. By Brambleclaw.

This is one of the lowest points in Squirrelflight's life, and she is walking a line between self-worth, the warrior code, and her personal beliefs, just like her daughter is.

SO, since I'm already using Brambleclaw's enabling of Ashfur's physical abuse as one of the contributing factors to Hollyleaf's descent, I ALSO want to show how he acts on other characters.

Brambleclaw, Clan Culture, the pressures of their strength-obsessed social system. So it's gotta be Squirrelflight that reminds her, or even plants the seed in her head;

"What you did isn't consistent with the Warrior Code."

Maybe even have Mistystar herself state this earlier, to be echoed by Squirrelflight, offering an alternate perspective to Hollypaw. Make her realize that ThunderClan's political leanings are not universal or even popular.

But when Hollypaw comes back to ThunderClan, whoever set her to be a snoop wants her to spill the beans. This is also a big WIP part, as Hollypaw struggles with if she's going to obey or not, and I still need to set all the political "players" in this moment.

I know for sure, though, that Firestar's IMMEDIATE desire is to meddle like it's an episode of Scooby-Doo. Though he's savvy enough to be smart about how he phrases it and what actions he takes, his ultimate goal is to put his little cheeto-dust paws all over this. And Hollypaw is starting to question how appropriate that actually is.

This is where it starts to really be a rip in Holly's mind. Clans aren't JUST big, blanket groups with united opinions, they're collections of individuals. Mistystar doesn't want meddling, but Willowpaw is in danger. Otterpaw and Lakepaw went all that time without being believed, after they watched their sister die, because they're lowly apprentices like her. Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw are angry and disappointed, while Firestar and Brackenfur are secretly lathering her in praise.

Now imagine me standing in front of a big board where I'm writing ??? because there's a missing chunk here.

I need to connect THIS part to what comes next, which is where ThunderClan DOES come in and help out. Here's the thought process going on in RiverClan;

Willowpaw comes in to do something important. She adores Hollypaw, knows her value as a Cleric, and knows that StarClan can sway Mistystar.

I want her to have a couple of pieces of a vision... BUT. She decides to interpret it in a way that's convenient, and add a few details.

It's not a tooootal lie lmao. It's just 75% true.

This is the true power of Clerics, when they realize it. No one can actually challenge them without just ignoring them or stripping them of power. They are accountable to StarClan alone.

A mentor simply doesn't say this out loud to their apprentice. It's a quiet secret. And Willowpaw just realized it.

and thinking about it... this should be the thing that finally breaks the budding romance Holly and Willow had. Holly is sickened by this, when Willow confesses how she convinced RiverClan to work with ThunderClan.

But, without even being a full Warrior, the apprentice leverages her power as Cleric of RiverClan, and 200 skill points of Improv Acting, to tell them these things;

"StarClan is so angry with us that they've sent a hog to the water! It's why they've sent a ThunderClan apprentice, we must work with them to eliminate the beast that lurks in our waters. With spears and plans, we must hunt it honorably!"

(Mistystar is defensive, but it's not known why) "We haven't disobeyed StarClan in any way. We'd already accepted their help once before, when sickness drove us to weakness, and it's only let them think they can disrespect our borders as they please. This can't be the holy will of our ancestors."

"It's-- We've been disrespecting this bountiful new land that they've so generously given us. That's what the pile of shells in my dream was. Think about it! The last attack was on the shore where we collect mussels. The second attack was on a cat latched to a raft, and it was only the tether that saved them. And the first..."

IVE GOT AN IDEA, Robin, Lake, and Otter WEREN'T clamming when they were attacked. She gestures over to Lake, knowing that if she doesn't back her up, the theory crumbles.

(Otter is in the Cleric's den, unconscious.)

Lake hesitates, not wanting to lie. Willow jumps back in,

"It's why Otterpaw was attacked," does those little jazz-hands to be like 'come in bitch work with me,' "And it's why Lakepaw has to be involved in killing it, to end what she started, and appease StarClan."

Lakepaw more like I LIKE-what-you-just-saidpaw, "It's true, we were so ashamed to admit it, Mistystar, this is all MY fault, I wanted my siblings to dig up mussels, PLEASE let me atone by stabbing the fish to death"

AND AFTER THAT IT'S NOODLIN' TIME

Mistystar, begrudgingly, accepts Firestar's help, or perhaps reaches out to him. Ripwater is a "Hog in the Lake," a beast too big for them to kill honorably on their own.

ThunderClan is the ONLY Clan that uses spears, and only for boar hunts. To protect themselves and to give their quarry a quicker death.

No other Clan touches weapons for dishonor reasons, as they're heavily associated with the demon Shredtail.

I should have Willowpaw explain her half-truth to Hollypaw here, and it's where Hollypaw just... so very suddenly can't look at Willowpaw the same way.

Jaypaw would definitely face an ableist moment from someone, but it's going to have to be one of those times where he accepts that there IS a very real limit to his ability here. Spears are range-weapons and his whiskers don't reach that far. He can't tell where he's stabbing, and the water is going to make it too hard to smell where Ripwater's dangerous mouth is. He can't be chosen for this hunt.

Meanwhile Lionpaw learns from Willowpelt how to make a spear and it is one of the most satisfying things he's ever done in his life, he's like "this is so awesome oh my god i love weapons"

just gently setting up that he's going to eventually become ThunderClan's head of hunting, and also that he's a lil violent

I feel like him and Lakepaw should hit it off a little because they both think the idea of stabbing a fish in the face is super cool, only for someone to growl at them that they shouldn't be enjoying themselves so much

Maybe Blackclaw, fuck that guy

(absolute tangent but BB!Lionblaze is kind of evolving into a little dork and I love that for him. Local himbo only capable of making friends or enemies, all Clanwide opinions on him are polarized, more at 11)

THE PLAN

So how DO they kill that thing? First of all, it's all about strategy.

Immediately they started making a couple of specialized spears. Most spears they make are exclusively for boar-hunting, so they have a distinctive "lug" that prevents a boar from impaling itself down the shaft to get you.

Someone in RiverClan explains that you don't want a fish having the chance to get off a claw. If Ripwater escapes, they might not find her again until she kills someone else

The solution is that these need to be custom-made, with special claw-shaped prongs, so they're chevron ^ shapes instead of tear-drop points. They stab in, and don't pull out.

So they need to make spears from scratch, which is an intensive process, and they don't have time to waste. RiverClan doesn't want to hunt by water that has a chance of having a freshwater orca spawn and drag you in; they'll starve

And there's only so many artisans in TC that can MAKE spears. Glue, twine, shafts, blades... these are all things that take hours of labor to create.

And MORE IMPORTANTLY, they realized from the Raft Rescue that a tether, attached to a floating object, can be very useful. Each weapon has rope tied through it and is tethered to a raft-- which is even MORE intensive, RiverClan had to repurpose several nets to create so many lines, and they only own three rafts, so the rest have driftwood.

So they only have time to create 3 special water-spears, and bring in 2 modified boar-spears.

Lionpaw is like visibly disappointed he can't have one lmao

The only apprentice given a spear is... Lakepaw. And it's a boar-spear

Because she's gonna be bait. They believe the litter is cursed for their "sin" and she'll be the next target.

But still, they chum up the water near the last sighting with blood and crowfood, like hog slop, and wait.

(Heavy WIP stuff here as we get to a play-by-play I haven't fully figured out yet)

Their plan is to get it on the shore as quickly as possible.

Four cats could pull Otterpaw from its mouth, so 5 spearcats and a dozen strong warriors could pull it onto the shore. Surely.

shorely.

It comes as expected, lunging at Lakepaw. She leaps back and tries to use her spear on it, but she is NOT properly trained with it, she stabs its face, but can't break the skull

RiverClan manages to toss a net at the beast, but it's NOT heavy enough

And they managed to get LAKEPAW with it, pressing her to the beast, her spear is dropped into the water

Someone shouts that it swims like an eel, able to just reverse course unlike a REAL fish which must turn

In the panic, warriors start mobbing it.

she thrashes, and splashes and the net is barely holding her back at all

She smashes a warrior with her tail, buffs another with her powerful head

She's stabbed in her side by a ThunderClan warrior (probably Sandstorm), and she turns on the raft they're standing on, breeching and SMASHING it to bits. Lionpaw and the rest of the cats on this raft get dunked

In the water, ThunderClan cats are useless, and RiverClan cats can't properly handle spears.

Someone from RiverClan, probably Blackclaw, tries to free Lakepaw but is scooped up in Ripwater's mouth.

He's screeching and yowling and trying to hold onto its upper jaw, regularly cut off as she dives under

When Willowpelt gets her spear in, she holds onto that damn stick with her LIFE, getting swung around and dunked in the water and then going back up into the air

Thornclaw, holding the other boar-spear, aims for its tail

But it's not enough; Even with several warriors of RiverClan, five spears, a net, and the weight of the two remaining rafts, Ripwater's managing to pull them towards the depths

She's too big to bite, too large to claw, and too strong to hold down

LIONPAW TIME

He grabs the spear that Lakepaw dropped

Ripplepaw seems to zoom right passed him, running away from the fish. He thinks he must be some kind of coward, the fight's NOT OVER YET!! WE NEED TO HELP LAKEPAW

(In a later draft I might have Lionpaw be on the smashed raft, and Ripplepaw brings the spear to him before turning and bolting back to shore. Either way he doesn't explain himself)

He paddles near one of the rafts, and is pulled up onto it

Firestar calls him a WONDERFUL BOY for bringing the spear

Lionpaw mumbles something enthusiastic around the stick in his mouth, wriggles his butt, and jumps back into the water

Grabbing the net sticking to Ripwater and using it like tree bark, he pulls himself on

Bites the spear by the lug like a handle

And stabs it in like a knife

But it's already starting to pull out, too shallow

Filled with anger and resolve, he bites the shaft, and PUSHES

Harder and harder and harder until there's a crackle, the twine breaks loose, and the lug snaps

The rest of the spear slips in as if Ripwater's made of butter

Figuring that's probably deep enough, he lets go of the net, breaching the surface, sputtering and hacking

He's about to dive again to go get Lakepaw, but to his surprise, she breaks the water next to him

and then he feels the fish bump his paws

His name is called from the shore, and there's Hollypaw and Ripplepaw waving. Ripplepaw TOOK HIS SPEAR'S ROPE. Like a GUY WHO THINKS.

Now there was a team of cats on the shore, all the spent warriors who got thrown off, pulling Ripwater to the shore.

And from the feeling of slimy fish under his paws, it seemed like her fight had been all but spent.

And more cats were swimming to shore now, with the ropes attached to the other spears.

Once on the shore, they're able to discover that, tragically, Blackclaw has died. Mistystar in particular looks deeply torn by this, as their relationship was notoriously toxic. But still, he had been the father of her children, and drowned trying to save a Clanmate. She jumps up onto the massive fish, giving a speech about sacrifice, how Blackclaw and Robinpaw would be honored, and that RiverClan has learned its valuable lesson.

Ripwater was symbolic; it's the greed they had unleashed upon the lake by over-exploiting one resource. From now on, they would be respectful of StarClan's bounty. She thanks ThunderClan for helping to fulfill a prophecy, and offers that their debt be repaid by splitting the meat of the hunt.

Hollypaw, internally: "Oh she's doing that on purpose. She knows ThunderClan hates fish and it would be rude to refuse."

Firestar: "well. how could we refuse."

Sandstorm, quietly, in the distance: "easily actually ew"

CLOSING STUFF

I kinda want some kind of "epilogue festival" where the two Clans legitimately celebrate with a somewhat somber meal sharing. Some of these episodes in Po3 will result in lasting traditions and holidays that are celebrated annually.

At that little "fish festival," it works for Holly to officially break it off with poor Willow, to leave this episode off on a bit of a sad note.

This was one of the first times Lionpaw's power becomes obvious, and it's the sort of thing that wasn't really noticed. I figure it would be good for Lakepaw to ask how that lug snapped, she could barely even get the spearhead in. Lionpaw just brags and says it must be because he's SUPER STRONG.

For some reason he's just making a ton of friends whenever I write these out, I think I'm going to lean into it. Lionpaw's got friends when he's a kid lmao, starts losing them over time as he gets more violent.

It's probably because I really need a comic relief in The Three's dynamic. Hollypaw is very dramatic, Jaypaw is dealing with legitimately stressful social issues, and Lionpaw is violent. Someone has to lighten the mood up a little and it's probably because he's The California Girl himself lmao

At this fish festival he also discovers fish isn't actually that bad. Everyone's being weird about this. It's not really that slimy. It's got a strong taste but that's kinda nice, actually?

Could use some berries but like... "damn why don't we do this more often. this would go great with blackberries."

Ripplepaw: "You think so? I can taste sweetness, can I try to make it at home and tell you how it works out at the next Gathering?"

Lionpaw: "It's not hard, you just mash the berries and stew them in a little water before pouring it over your meat. I learned it from Willowpelt, she's got a mad sweet tooth."

Lakepaw: "No offense Lionpaw, but I always thought you were a total lunkhead. I never thought you'd like, cook?"

Lionpaw: "I mean not really, I'm an awful cook, I can just make simple stuff. Willowpelt's just nice enough to be patient with me, my mentor Ashfur says if I can learn something anyone can, haha."

Just a nice little moment for him.

Blackclaw is being mourned in the mortal plane, but secretly, getting a SCATHING trial up in StarClan. His death was heroic, but his ENTIRE LIFE was treacherous.

From teaching Hawkfrost to follow in his father's pawsteps, to joining him in WindClan's Civil War, and his constant arguing and undermining of Mistyfoot back when she was just a deputy trying to do the right thing.

He goes on trial for a bunch of things he did in TigerClan, too, facing his victims who took his misdeeds to their graves. He's not the only cat in RiverClan who is getting a review like this.

Leopardstar is already in the Dark Forest, and soon, Blackclaw's sent there too.

I decided to kill off Blackclaw here so he could have a VERY cool Land Mar;

(context: all Dark Forest demons now get a cool little evil playset area just for them, where they spawn into after they're thrown out of StarClan. These are called Land Mars)

It's still unnamed, but it's basically an even BIGGER Ripwater. It goes above and below the river and lakes of the Dark Forest, popping up in any body of water big enough to hold her.

[the-letterbox-archives]

file (1)ALL-56-0190: most likely to

i've been sent this one a lot, glad i finally got around to it! this is a 'most likely to' tag game, where you answer which of your characters is most likely to do a certain thing as per the prompt. everyone's in the ring for this one!

thank you @the-golden-comet, @drchenquill, @urnumber1star, @willtheweaver, @ominous-feychild,

@paeliae-occasionally, @moltenwrites, and @gioiaalbanoart for tagging me!!

(warning: very long post)

1) most likely to faint

laszlo is pretty-fainting-victorian-woman coded, so i’d have to say him. sorry, bud.

2) most likely to enjoy art

if we mean creating art, it’s sunny (i hc she does nature/animal drawings in her spare time), if we mean appreciating art, it’s yaromyr (because he’s a softie and loves a good painting).

3) most likely to hate sports

daphne all the way. she has faked many sicknesses to get out of pe.

4) most likely to freeze if faced with something scary

either sunny or laszlo in the canon of their stories, but overall i’d go with ven.

5) most likely to eat the last bite of something

eira, he’s always got to have the last piece.

6) most likely to start an argument

so many of them. faye, sunny, sissy, sinon, danareth, eira, austine, maybe laszlo, and dulcinea, to single out some of the worst offenders.

7) most likely to own a cat

ven is a cat person for sure, theophania as well, though more in spirit, since it’d be hard for her to take care of one.

8) most likely to swim across a large river/channel without getting fatigued

possibly faye could do it with enough adrenaline, but sinon could fly over it…

9) most likely to not be a morning person and hates getting woken up too early

THIS IS LITERALLY VEN’S EVERYDAY LIFE.

10) most likely to learn a subject a day before exams (and still nailing it)

darcy does it on the regular.

11) most likely to pick up a stray animal

faye, because she’s adopted many frogs, but darcy and laszlo would if given the opportunity.

12) most likely to fall for a prank

sissy’s entire life is a prank.

13) most likely to pull an accidental all-nighter

tie between daphne and dulcinea, they are not good at self care.

14) most likely to get stranded on an island and thrive

sinon, he could use the privacy.

15) most likely to get bullied by a random child

johnnie, but she deserves it.

16) most likely to win an athletic event

hnnngh, nobody?

17) most likely to become a con artist

theophania, although she doesn’t really want to (she often is, though).

18) most likely to get lost in their own home

danareth, for the sole fact that the miyokav castle is HUGE and he never quite got his head around all of it.

19) most likely to burn something while cooking

laszlo, faye, willow, and austine can’t cook to save a life.

20) most likely to stop a robbery if they see it taking place

nobody i think, it’s entirely likely that they’d all either think it’s a) not their place, b) the robber needed the money, c) think they couldn’t do anything or d) it’d be funnier if it happened.

21) most likely to not tell people they’re sick until they really need the help

laszlo and sunny in canon, willow, alastair, and theophania by virtue of their personalities, and ven (without meaning to).

22) most likely to crush on their villain/enemy

sasha (it’s the stockholm syndrome).

23) most likely to skip breakfast

all of the teenagers.

24) most likely to have a niche obsession

danareth and yaromyr, also alastair!

25) most likely to steal what they need on moment

all the dumaresq kids.

26) most likely to start a fight

sissy and sinon whenever the other is in the same room as them.

27) most likely to do something that they’re gonna regret later

*side eyes all the protagonists*

28) most likely to arrive ridiculously early

sinon and laszlo, those meticulous mfs.

29) most likely to be in a relationship for less than a week

daphne WISHES!

30) most likely to secretly be really good at music, but just not tell anyone

lady, but mostly because she has no one to tell.

leaving this one an open tag, feel free to use the prompts i was given or make up your own!

tag list for the sillies: (avoiding double tag but i may have missed some)

@wyked-ao3, @48lexr, @melpomene-grey, @thecrazyalchemist, @thecomfywriter,

@.moltenwrites, @yourpenpaldee, @glassfrogforest, @.the-golden-comet, @.gioiaalbanoart,

@.paeliae-occasionally, @.ominous-feychild, @.drchenquill, @tc-doherty, @corinneglass

[boatem-probler]

That There's a Choopah Cobbler in... Tokyo Soul!

1 / You Are Here! / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9

Hello once again dear readers! Al Boatem-Probler here to bring you another report on this mid-2010s Minecraft roleplay series.

Everyone's favorite boy is here, which means I will now be keeping track of Deaths Witnessed, Injuries Sustained, and Other Traumatic Events, the way @paranoidpug did in her own summaries. Not to mention, I've gotten to the episodes that haven't been covered in @sketchygainedyoursoul's summaries! Very exciting!

This report contains mentions/discussion of: scatological humor, violence, guns, stalking, harassment, and Professor Geode Rocks.

Previously on Tokyo Soul:

“STOP DROP AND RICKROLL” – Dom

“Fish are just flowers that swim in the ocean.” – Taurtis

“I’ve never felt so unsafe in my life.” – Taurtis

This Time...

Episode 6 – THE NEW GIRL!

I forgot to write this down last time, but it’s been established that Taurtis can and WILL fall asleep literally anywhere. I was reminded of this because Sam decided to sleep in Taurtis’s bedroom, while Taurtis fell asleep standing up directly outside the door.

Sam attempts to wake him up by enticing him to eat the sushi that has been sitting on their kitchen table for over a day now.

Sam insists he can see the creepy old man hiding behind a wall near their house. Taurtis insists he’s crazy. In a break from form, Sam is actually telling the complete truth this time.

Dom is putting the horrible old sushi on a bagel. Just thought you guys should know this.

They know what happened to Grian now, he went to the other Tokyo, you know, the one in Canada.

Sam: “Do you remember Grian? He’s lived with us for a very long time?” Taurtis: “That guy with the glasses, who had that rocket ship? Yeah, the rich person!” I think this is probably referencing the Yandere prequel thing? IIRC they were doing it at the same time as Tokyo Soul, but I’d have to check to be sure.

Checking the dates on the episodes… oh dang this one went up on Christmas Eve. Grian Christmas Present Momence. Okay, the first episode of Yandere went up nearly four months after this episode, so uh… in conclusion I have no idea what’s going on with this dialogue. Interesting.

Dom calls Grian “the Friendly Kid”.

Anyway they go to pick Grian up from the train station. I can’t tell if this is a different train station or if the name of it has changed between episodes.

GRIAN’S HERE!!!!!

Grian: “I don’t know whooooo was responsible for that. But you sent me halfway round the globe.” Sam: “Why are you looking at me when you say that, it wasn’t my fault!” Grian: “I just feel like… you just gave me the wrong ticket, that’s all.” Sam: “I put ‘em all in a box, I shook ‘em up, and I randomly drew one.” Grian: “And two of them went to Tokyo, Japan, and one of them went to Tokyo, Canada.”

I just had to relate nearly all of that conversation because right now I feel like any of it or none of it could be true. Because playing Russian Roulette with their plane tickets is some shit Sam would do I think, but intentionally giving Grian the wrong ticket and lying about it is also some shit Sam would do I think. So I’m just like, putting it out there for public debate.

Taurtis: “How long did it take you to realize that it wasn’t actually Japan?” Grian: “When I was on the plane, and they said Welcome to Canada.”

Apparently Grian had to spend all of his own money on the plane ticket back from Canada.

Taurtis: “How do you get your face caught in a blender?” Grian: “It happened One Time.”

They notice Geode walking to school. It seems he lives in a house with some kind of weird construction on top of it that is perpetually on fire.

Sam makes Grian show them the way to the school he hasn’t been to yet. Grian ends up asking Igbar von Squid again.

Hey whatever texture pack these guys are using has a really good nighttime skybox! This shit is pretty!

Sam’s mom texts him apparently???? I wasn’t aware she existed.

Sam and Taurtis nonchalantly introduce Grian to the creepy old man. Grian is appropriately terrified.

A new student turns up, named Yee, who’s Minecraft skin is I think supposed to be Monster Kid from Undertale. They have immediately started hitting on… one of the boys, it’s unclear which.

There is a circle of blood around a sheep’s head inside the school.

Grian: “Ooh, this school is an upgrade… [walks around the corner] Ohhhkay I take back what I said.”

Ah, apologies, it’s a goat’s head. Someone killed one of Señor Loro’s goats.

Regardless, Sam and Taurtis make Grian wrestle for his class schedule. Grian legitimately sounds terrified the whole time. Señor Loro accidentally punches a hole in the wall and runs off in shame.

Ohhhhkay, the creepy old man is IN the school, WEARING a girl’s school uniform.

Taurtis and Sam attempt to pressure Grian into going over to talk to him. It actually doesn’t entirely work, they end up all going over there. Taurtis and Sam attempt to set up the two “newbies”.

Taurtis: “Grian, you like girls, right?” Grian: “No, I’m into dudes.”

Ellen was Grian’s baby gay awakening. Taurtis immediately wants to know who Grian thinks is cuter, him or Sam. “You guys are just not my type,” Grian says. He does however admit that Taurtis has “some good glutes”.

Geode is collecting the goat blood from the floor. I cannot stress enough that Geode looks aggressively normal. He is wearing the blandest suit and has the blandest haircut imaginable.

Grian’s locker is absurdly far away from everyone else’s. Like down multiple hallways.

Episode 7 – SENOR LORO!

Tori tells Sam off for punching another kid who came in late. She is the only reasonable teacher in this school probably.

Tori is taking them fishing this class.

They walk past the girl’s bathroom next to the pool because Tori is lost. There is another goat head in it. Sam and Taurtis decide to take the head with them, in case they run into Señor Loro. Grian is worried he’ll think they killed it.

They continue to the pond behind the school, where they are given fishing rods to use. For some reason, the fishing rods sound like guns. I feel like this wasn’t intentional.

Creepy man sighted once again. Sam is now calling him Grian’s “girlfriend”.

Not Dying Class! Nurse MD has decided to call Grian “Mr. BoyMan”. Today, they are competing in a Food Pyramid Scavenger Hunt for the prize of a lifetime subscription to Hunter x Hunter. Their homework is to eat at least one item on the food pyramid. Grian is mad that their teacher isn’t teaching them anything.

Sam and Taurtis terrorize Grian with, uh, Bathroom Chocolate. Grian throws up a couple times. To be honest I’m not entirely sure what Sam and Taurtis are and aren’t doing In The Fiction so to speak, but Grian definitely vomited, so I feel I must put this on the record.

The principal has been sighted by the vending machine! Grian disagrees with his staffing choices, and tells him so, very vehemently. The principal gives Nurse MD a raise. Nurse MD gives Grian detention.

Nurse MD: “Go to the guidance counselor to get your attitude in check.” Grian: “You need to go back to university to get your degree sorted.”

Grian: “Dr. Nurse MD has to be there while I do the detention, sucks to be him!”

Apparently Nurse MD is allowed to just lock him in a room, actually. Also half the school was filming this altercation from the courtyard.

Sam: “I think that’s going up on YouCrab later.” Grian: “Good, I want everyone to know what useless staff they have here.”

Apparently “this sort of thing really triggers” Grian, this sort of thing presumably being incompetent teachers. He’s sort of using “trigger” flippantly here, but like, you could very well argue it’s true.

Oh, apparently “detention” means you have to wrestle Señor Loro. At least Sam legitimately offers to tag in for Grian (after a little while enthusiastically cheering for Señor Loro to “give him the ol’ one-two”).

They tell Señor Loro about the second Goat Murder, and he asks them to help him look for the rest of his missing goats. He gives them each a “Crystal of Tenochtitlan” whatever that means. Oh, apparently they allow you to talk to animals.

Episode 8 – GIRLFRIEND?!

Instead of searching for Señor Loro’s goats, the boys attempt to figure out which one of them Yee keeps hitting on. It’s Grian! Sam immediately tells Grian he should ask Yee to take off her glasses so they can see if she’s a lizard person. She does. She is a lizard person, and not Monster Kid as I had previously thought. In my defense, Sans Undertale has literally been in the background of several scenes already. Grian is spooked, Yee is angry, Sam has never laughed this hard in his life (according to Sam). I think they’re all being a bit mean.

Gym class is a competitive obstacle course, Girls (easy) vs Stupid Boys (difficult).

On the way to Professor Geode’s class, Sam and Taurtis tell Grian what happened last time (roughly). Grian is very apprehensive.

Geode collects everyone’s trash. The classroom has been slightly rearranged. There is now some sort of… operating table? In the center, with all the chairs arranged around it. Dom is in a giant test tube in the back. Taurtis is given a Special chair next to Geode’s throne.

Sam is told to “COLLECT THE MILK OF THE INNOCENT ONE”. This means Dom, apparently. When Sam fails to do this, Geode does it instead. I don’t know exactly what this entails, because Sam wasn’t looking at it, because Sam is not a very good cameraman. But I suspect that the limitations of Minecraft would still leave me scratching my head if I had seen it. Dom can be heard to take damage, but that’s all the information I can give you.

Geode throws onto the operating table, which I’m beginning to suspect is more of an altar: Milk of the Innocent, Toilet Paper, Rare Crystals, and Hair of the Chosen One.

This apparently clones Taurtis, somehow, although there appears to still be only one Taurtis in the room.

Geode does not offer any explanation, he’s too busy being confused by Grian’s accent and not knowing what England is. I’m… also not entirely sure he knew what a clone is either, before Sam explained that he’s not Uncle Sam because some people can have the same name.

Oh also Google Docs tried to autocorrect “Geode” to “God” I just feel like you all should know that.

Episode 9 – INTERNET DATING!

I am now officially into New Territory, not covered by previous summaries!

They try to free Dom from the test tube and the stained glass texture SERIOUSLY bugs out.

There is. Ah. Some sort of. Sheep… cultist… possibly robot? In the hallway. It has some sort of… mechanical backpack on?

Apparently its name is Jorje the Special Goat. So this is what breaks me.

I don’t know why I’m so stuck on this, I’m usually great at stories where Things Just Happen.

Anyway, Jorje has a dire need to go to the computer room to talk to his girlfriend.

“Is your girlfriend single?” – Taurtis Minecraft, 2015

The gang try to convince Jorje to break up with his internet girlfriend and/or that his internet girlfriend is catfishing him, so that he will tell them what he knows about the Goat Murders.

Dom is just. Up on a rooftop, by the way. He keeps doing this.

It turns out that not only is Jorje’s internet girlfriend a real person, but they’re also a person of ambiguous gender and probably a furry, which are some pretty big plusses in my book. It seems like they didn’t know Jorje was Actually For Real A Goat, though.

But the boys do manage to get some information on the Goat Murders, so that’s nice. Apparently there’s some sort of Creature or perhaps a Beast underneath the soccer field at school.

“That there’s a Choopah Cobbler!” – Jorje

Actually he called it a “chuubakaabra” but potato, potato.

They tell Señor Loro about the chupacabra. Señor Loro hands them guns. Peachy. At least this time it’s Grian who accidentally shoots Taurtis.

Sam then shoots Taurtis on purpose.

There’s an item in Señor Loro’s vending machine called “Fully Cooked Ramen?” and I’m losing it.

Grian: “Hey, Mr. Principal! :) Your teacher gave us snipers! :) I don’t know what kind of circus you’re running here! :)”

Episode 10 – HUNTING A MONSTER!

Half the school is at this soccer field this feels so dangerous.

Taurtis is just shooting wildly.

Uhhhh. That there’s a Choopah Cobbler!

I promise I’ll stop saying “that there’s a Choopah Cobbler”.

Everyone tries to shoot at the chupacabra through a very narrow doorway. They mostly just end up shooting each other.

The chupacabra flees into the sewers. Dom is also in the sewers. He goes there to read.

They lose the chupacabra, briefly mistaking the creepy old man for it.

“Can I shoot him anyway? I reeeeeaaalllly wanna shoot him.” – Grian

Kurokuma: “Uh, you didn’t find any bodies, did you?” Grian: “Not yet!”

He doesn’t, in fact, shoot the creepy old man. Score one for morals, I guess. :/

Half the damn town is in these sewers.

They shoot at a “sugar dealer”, agree to say they were the chupacabra and call it a day. They then attempt to exit the sewers, which takes some time because whoever made the map didn’t account for the ways in which ladders interact with trapdoors in Minecraft.

They’ve emerged in a completely unfamiliar part of town, and it’s getting late, so Señor Loro suggests they stay in a hotel for the night, and WHY IS THE CREEPY OLD MAN AT THE FRONT DESK. Like, this place is swanky.

The old man makes a comment about setting up cameras in their rooms. Great note to end this part on.

Grian Trauma Count!

Deaths Witnessed:

Aftermath of 2 Goat Murders

Injuries Sustained:

Grian jokingly implied that he got his face caught in a blender once

Likely some bruises from wrestling Señor Loro

Shot in the leg by Sam, who was aiming for the chupacabra

Shot by Senior Loro, apparently on purpose?

Traumatic Events:

Sent, possibly on purpose, to a completely different country without any of the people he knew, and had to use his own money (all of it) to get back where he was supposed to go

Stalked and sexually harassed by a creepy old man (he keeps making comments about the characters’ legs). Also forced by his friends to actually speak to said creepy old man.

Vomited twice due to Sam and Taurtis being gross.

Punished for calling out his teacher’s incompetence and made to wrestle the guidance counselor.

Was handed a gun by one of his teachers again (and accidentally shot Taurtis), and brought on a monster hunt.

Geode’s Class is a traumatic event in itself.

Some pretty big numbers already, folks!

Something I think is interesting: before Grian arrives, both Sam and Taurtis are pretty vocally uncomfortable with Old Kurokuma, but as soon as Grian's with them, Kurokuma is suddenly "our friend who runs the panty shop", "Grian's Girlfriend", "Grian why are you uncomfortable, this is a completely normal schoolgirl, she said teehee".

I feel like I still need to chew on this a bit more to be able to actually say anything analytical about it, but it's definitely catching my attention.

Next Time...

"I'll do one post per school day," I say, and then they almost immediately stop going to school for an arc.

[languagedaemon]

The Spanish Imperfect Tense

The imperfect past tense of indicative is one of the verb tenses that can be most difficult for learners of Spanish when they are not native speakers of a Romance language such as French or Italian. In particular, the difficulty lies in differentiating it from the preterite (indefinido). Today we will look at some ways of understanding it.

1. The tree

This proposal comes from the teacher Clara Urbano Lira, and consists in considering the difference between the indefinido and the imperfect as if it were a tree. When telling a story, we will use both verb tenses, but the indefinido will represent the trunk and the branches, the fundamental part of the story, while the imperfect will be something like the leaves and the fruits or flowers, the details that make the anecdote richer and more complex, but which do not really advance the plot.

For example: En 2008 entré (ind) a la universidad. Era (imp) un lugar muy grande y podía (imp) perderme fácilmente. Tuve (ind) muy buenos profesores, compañeros muy interesantes, y crecí (ind) mucho como persona. Había (imp) muchos árboles en el campus, y la biblioteca era (imp) muy bonita, pasaba (imp) mucho tiempo leyendo allí. En mi segundo año conocí (ind) a Ernesto y caí (ind) completamente enamorada. Era (imp) un chico muy inteligente y simpático. Nos volvimos (ind) novios y tras terminar nuestros estudios decidimos (ind) casarnos.

If you notice, all the sentences with the imperfect add details, but we could take them out and we would still tell a story with the indefinido sentences: a very simple story, but one that moves forward in the end.

2. The imperfect is a present in the past.

In an article aimed at teachers, Ruiz Campillo explains that the preterite imperfect is a present in the past. This sounds like Zen wisdom, a kohan that seems illogical but which, if we let it dwell in our minds for a moment, will finally make sense. In fact, the indefinido is a kind of past-past, the action is finished, done, gone. The imperfect is a bit more complex, because it is obviously also a finished action, since it is happening in the past, but it is at the same time a kind of afterlife. In the imperfect, the action can live again, as if we were necromancers. It is as if it wasn’t finished yet, it is a finished action that is still happening, a present in the past. Crazy. Perhaps this will become clearer in the next point.

3. The projection on the wall.

I remember in my first classes as a Spanish teacher, when my students kept asking me about the meaning of the imperfect, I would resort to a metaphor that I came up with one day: that using the imperfect was like projecting a film on the wall. When we use the indefinido, it is as if we were transmitting information only, in a sense there is no narrative, it is just a chain of events, the script of the plot. In the imperfect, on the contrary, we make the film appear, the actions last, they are not finished yet, we see them live again. That is why the imperfect is a present in the past, it is a film that we can always play again.

4. Intuition

Now, and this goes for all grammar explanations: there is no problem with reading or reviewing a grammar text once in a while, for a few minutes, but don’t rely too much on them or ask them to do something they don’t have the power to do. True mastery of the imperfect, like any other element of the language, is going to come from experience, exposure. It is not as if after reading this article you will use the imperfect correctly on every occasion, that will come with practice. Little by little an intuition is generated in the student, a Sprachgefühl, which is the best tool in languages. However, a quick explanation, as this one was intended to be, can be a little push, a floatie to learn how to swim.

[nightyslibrary]

☆ FIC LIST MASTERPOST ☆

✨️ Fandoms currently include rottmnt & animaniacs & tloz & warrior cats & pokémon

✨️ you can also read most of them on my AO3

Divider credit

🐢 ROTTMNT

🧸A Friend Against Dark

Raph centric, tot Raph & Splinter, one-shot, fluff no angst, 1115 words.

Six years old Raph is afraid of the dark, so Splinter gets an idea- and a friend.

> AO3 / tumblr <

🩵Finish The Tale, Ven, Please?

Where You Belong AU, tot Leon and Venus, one-shot, fluff, 988 words.

Leon cannot sleep, so he asks his sister Ven to finish her tale about two warriors.

> AO3 / tumblr <

🌌finding your stellar association

based on ashwii's celestial au, one-shot, fluff, 2917 words. tw: referenced/implied character death (not detailed).

Moving Group, also called a Stellar Association.

A loose grouping of stars which travel together through space.

On their first trip to Earth, the brothers find a lost part of their family.

> AO3 / tumblr <

🌙so I dive straight back in the ocean

post movie, Leo centric, one-shot, hurt/comfort, 1304 words. tw: panic attacks, anxiety.

Leo goes to a lake for swimming to calm down.

> AO3 / tumblr < ☆ [playlist]

❤️Little Talks with a Big Robot Turtle

based on Cass Apocalyptic Series by somerandomdude on tumblr, Raph centric, one-shot, fluff, 2452 words.

Raph has some questions, and Casey Junior has some answers.

> AO3 / tumblr <

🌆Last Resort

Let's Grab a Slice Together AU (but can be read with no context), Mikey centric + Draxum, bad future, one-shot, angst, 1705 words. tw: implied/referenced character death

Mikey has a talk with his mentor.

> AO3 / tumblr <

🍄Last Night in Mushroom Forest

post movie, disaster twins, 2 chapters: one fic two versions, horror/comedy, 7246 words. possession and horror elements in ch1, ch1 also include unreality, anxiety, and similar events.

Leo and Donnie decide to go and explore the Mushroom Forest. Leo has a very bad case of brain fog, while Donnie has a very bad case of deja vu while trying to save his twin.

Meanwhile, in chapter 2 there's a different version where the boys have some silly adventure and it's just shenanigans and a lot of sibling banter.

> AO3 / tumblr <

🌠It's Not Always the Rabbit Who Takes the Wrong Turn

Dimension Hopper Leo AU, multichaptered, mostly Leo centric, many crossovers, ongoing. Warnings will be included in chapters.

When Leo ends up in Prison Dimension, he manages to hold onto his katana. So he does his thing and portals out... except he arrives at the wrong place.

(AKA what Leo portals himself to the wrong dimension and has to find his way back home again, and again, and again... Meanwhile his family is trying to find him.)

> AO3 / tumblr masterpost (tba) <

🍕Pizza Means Family

Where You Belong AU (Separated au), multichaptered, various povs, ongoing. Warnings will be included in chapters.

Another separated au, where Mikey is the only turtle Splinter saves. While he finds April accidentally and wastes no time to call her his sister, his siblings are raised by two of the famous bad guys. This get out of control when six of them end up at the same place, and each sibling has to decide what to do with what they learn.

aka where you belong au because I'm either too good with titles or too bad haha

>AO3 / tumblr <

💜Deep (Purple) Thoughts (and Realizations)

Donnie centric (mostly), multichaptered, ongoing, post invasion. Warnings will be included in chapters. Hurt/comfort.

As Donnie repairs Shelldon, he comes across some realizations which lead to some discoveries. It turns out there is still much unsaid about the invasion, even after weeks.

(Aka Donnie remembers he records everything all the time.)

>AO3 &lt; ◇ tumblr: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 ◇

🍲Mystic Sickness

This is based on @/turtleblogatlast 's post about mystic sickness idea :D Hope you like it!!!

Warnings: a brief mention of throwing up, nothing else i can think of ^^

>AO3 (tba) / tumblr<

🍵Portal Bros Sickfic

a short sickfic i wrote for my friends :]

>AO3 (tba) / tumblr<

🟣(A Short Fic About) A Normal Day With Your Double Mutated Brother

A gift fic for heckitall's armageddonnie au!! Fluff. Oneshot.

>AO3 (n/a) / tumblr<

🎃 Baby's First Halloween

My @/rottmnt-secret-gifting gift for @/bambiraptorx :]

Mikey forces Draxum joining him and his family for trick and treating.

>AO3 / tumblr<

💭 A Reminder

this one is Cass Apocalyptic Future fanfic ( by @/somerandomdudelmao) written for Comfortember 2023, day 1: safe

Sometimes Donnie forgets he and his family are safe now.

>AO3 / tumblr<

❄️ Till the Cold Pass

Another fic for Comfortember 2023, this time focused on day 4: warmth.

Splinter learns something new about his sons when winter cold arrives.

>AO3 / tumblr<

💙 Leo Blues

inspired by @/tmnt-event-blog's prompt (hot cocoa)

Leon (Future Leo) realizes that his younger self is feeling a bit blue and decides to help him feel better.

>AO3 / tumblr<

🐀 ANIMANIACS

🐇Welcome Back, Doc (Space Jam: New Legacy crossover fic / multichaptered ongoing / Dad Bugs) AO3 [on hiatus but might finish it before the end of may <3 ]

👑Years Ago, A Winter Night (Wakko's Wish fic / a lot of angst & hurt/comfort / multichapter & completed / XMas fic) AO3 | Playlist

🌸Happy Allergies Dot!! (one-shot / Dot centered) AO3

🧢Guilt Is Eating Him Up (one-shot / lots of angst & hurt/comfort / Wakko centered) AO3

🎞️Toons (Storks AU / multichaptered ongoing / kinda on hiatus??) AO3

⚜️There's a Beast in There (Beauty and the Beast AU but without any romance / multichaptered ongoing / *holds it gently* this one is my fav) AO3

🗡 TLOZ

Breath of the Wild

🫕Warmth (Zelink / One-shot) AO3

🎄Christmas Together (Multichapter Modern AU Xmas Fic / Ongoing / Includes Zelink and Miphvali) AO3 [currently on hiatus]

🩸Following the Silent Princess (Modern AU / includes Zelink and Miphvali / multichaptered ongoing) AO3 [currently on hiatus]

Zines: By Your Side Zelink Zine

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity

🗻Mountain Walk (Miphvali / One-shot) AO3 | Chinease Translation (AO3)

🎶For You (Zelink / written for Fated: Through Time digital zine / one-shot) AO3

🐈‍⬛️ WARRIOR CATS

˚☽˚｡⋆One Last Night (Leafpool x Hawkfrost / one-shot) AO3 | Turkish Translation

🎮POKEMON

🌲Lost & Found

Touko gets lost in Lostlorn Forest, only to find a familiar face.

Touko x N ship fic, one shot, I headcanon Touko being 16 and N 17 in Black/White. I didn't know about their canon ages until recently, thought it would be good to add it here.

>AO3 <

ZINES:

-Your Journey Awaits! (A free digital zine focusing on the beginning of the Pokémon journey.)

-Dreams and Destinies (a Kingdom Hears x Pokemon fanzine)

[dazzasarchives]

Fantastic Four Volume 1 Issue 4.

So this issue features the return of a Marvel Golden Age character, that being Namor the Sub-Mariner. He's a mutant, a human, an Atlantean, and the first hero to ever fly. Though he starts off his Silver Age debut as a villain. I was always curious as to why Marvel chose to do this, especially because later on he does become a hero. Though recently he's more of a neutral type of character. I've also come to notice a lot of water based heroes to this route. Coincidence maybe? Anyway on to our thrilling tale, and the return of the Sub-Mariner.

Alright so this issue is pretty fun. It takes place right after the events of the last issue with Johnny Storm leaving the Fantastic Four. Though I don't like that they blame the Thing for it I believe both are at fault here. Anyway they decide to start searching the entire city for the Human Torch with the Fantasticar. Though all of them fail except the Thing who finds him in his garage.

Johnny ends up fleeing from the Thing, due to him turning back into Ben Grimm. Honestly I feel bad for the guy, this tends to happen often to him, even later having Mister Fantastic make serums to help him turn back. Only for it to last a few measly minutes.

Well Johnny ends up staying at a very run down Men's Hotel. Where he finds a comic from the 1940s, which features, you guessed it, the Sub-Mariner. Then by sheer dumb luck guess who Johnny ends up running into at this shabby run down hotel. That's right, the Sub-Mariner. Johnny uses his flaming fingers to give him a hair cut, removing his long hair and beard. Then boom, classic Golden Age Sub-Mariner.

Anyway our other three heroes continue the search for Johnny, while he basically slips past them, well he slips past his sister. Then he takes Namor, and drops him into the Ocean. Which gives Namor back his memories and he then remembers that he is Namor the Sub-Mariner the legendary prince of the sea.

Namor then swims to what was once his undersea kingdom. Only to find it destroyed by humans radioactive weapons. I wonder if Godzilla was close by. Namor then swears his revenge and vows to destroy the surface world. Just a recap real quick that means, The Mole Man and his underground group wishes to destroy the surface, the Skulls from Space wish to conquer the Earth, and Miracle Man just wanted to have us fear him. Now Sub-Mariner and any ocean buddies also want to destroy the surface world. 616 earth cannot catch a break.

Anyway the Fantastic Four catch up with Johnny, and he tells them what all has happened. Sub-Mariner then summons a massive sea creature from the Depths known as Giganto to attack the surface world. The Fantastic Four attack only to learn that nothing can harm it from the outside, but what about inside. That's when they send in my man the Thing. They strap a nuke to his back and have him walk into Gigantos stomach to plant it and blow him up. What a Chad. Thing also battles some monsters while in Gigantos stomach so again he is without a doubt the best member of the team.

Well after Giganto dies, Namor resurfaces with his horn to summon another terrible monster in which Sue steals it from him. Though he instantly catches her, and she turns visible and Namor falls in love with her, and then she also finds him very attractive like he asks her to marry him and she genuinely thinks it over, and they first met seconds ago. You guys thought Disney was bad with it's quick love stories.

Well Namor then tries to steal Sue away beneath the Ocean, and none of the Fantastic Four can think of how to prevent this. Until Johnny uses his flying speed to create a whirlwind and transport Namor back into the Ocean without his horn. Like the horn just gets lost in the depths, and Namor "loses". Though the Fantastic Four swear if he returns he will have them to deal with.

Alright so this comic is alright, I feel like I say that a lot. Namor is a really good addition to the Silver Age of comics. Just he's really depowered so that the Fantastic Four can win. Also I don't like the Sue, Namor, and Reed love triangle. It to me is probably the weaker love triangle within comics. Also this comic and the last one really make me not like Johnny Storm.

Anyway onto our character analysis for this comic.

Alright my views on Mister Fantastic stay the same from the last issue. Though I don't know how he wouldn't have found Johnny with his superior intellect, but I'm also glad he didn't. He also doesn't do a whole lot this issue, again I'm not upset with this, I'm glad some other characters got to make the power play in this issue. So Reed buddy keep doing you.

Sue, why, why are you like this? Like I don't dislike her, some of her scenes are funny, and would be something id definitely do if I had invisibility. Like she take a sip of a drink at a diner and everyone thinks the place is haunted these are the shenanigans I live for. Just why did you fall for Namor so quickly I don't understand.

Johnny, I'm still not a big fan of you buddy. You kind of caused the problem this issue and didn't really solve it, although you did. Just I know you'll get better but honestly my opinion of Johnny has stayed in the lower regions like in the last issue.

Thing, my man, the Goat. The more I get of you, the more you become my favorite member of this team. You strapped a Nuke to your back and walked into Gigantos belly. A true hero, and I'm sorry you keep changing from Ben to the Thing for basically a few seconds. I know your future is bright, keep being brilliant.

Namor the Sub-Mariner, I actually really like this character. I think his introduction is very forced, but hey it's comics. Also I just like the design, the swimming speedo, the wings on his ankles, the pointy ears. All very nice, I just don't see what Sue sees in him. Take out the love triangle and he's a really good antagonist. Also you where robbed of tpk, but hey that's comics for ya.

Alright so next issue we will be introduced to one of the Fantastic Fours most notorious villains, and possibly the most notorious in all of Marvel Comics. Until next time.

I do not own the images in this post they are property of Marvel Comics.

If you'd like to visit the website that I use to view these comics in chronological order please follow this link here:

If you would like to view the next post in this series please go ahead and follow this link here:

If you missed the previous post and you wanna catch up please follow this link here:

Or if you have just found this for the first time, and you'd like to start at the beginning please follow this link here:

[deadrlngers]

3, 4, 9, 17 for ves and nix ‼️‼️‼️

more clownery from the two clowns :)

ask game

3. By contrast, what was the moment that first made their ~heart~ Soft for the other person? Not necessarily a conscious realization of “I love this person,” but a moment that had them like “Oh…I adore them…”

I think that for both it's a build up of things, it's a gradual realization. It comes from the little moments when Fenix finally sees how there's someone who's reliable and strives to help him and cares for his wellbeing and Vesper suddenly realizes that she smiled more in the last week than in the last 2 years, when they're together in such a busy city like the one they live in and it suddenly feels like it's just the two of them in the whole world, in the smiles and laughs and longing stares, it's all an explosive mix until they just have to surrender to the realization..they make me white knuckle grip the sink fr.

4. Does this change over time? What will always reliably make them melt with how much they adore the other character?

It's the small little things for me!!!!!!!!!! Fenix getting a little :) seeing Vesper bicker with her brother like they are 15 y/o, or when it's just the two of them and she allows herself to be a little soft, to get a little cuddly,,and says he's Everything to her; Vesper melting like an ice cube under the sun when he gets all funny and cracks jokes and does his stupid little grin and she has to fight back her smile to not stroke his silly ego and then fails every single time. When Fenix goes ti amo and Vesper doesn't know how to answer back in a mix of shyness and embarrassment and it's been 10+ years girl get a grip!!! When Fenix begins rambling about whatever book or thing only him and other 5 ppl in the world are interested in and she says 'u look very handsome when u get all clever' and he's like 👉👈 who, me? genuinely so unwell about them let's move on

9. What do they think about commitment? Is a long-term partnership the goal? Are they thinking about building a life with their partner, or are they focused on the present?

Inch resting question fr. Vesper thinks of the present, living the current day type of feel, and while a 'forever and ever for the rest of our days' lives somewhere in her mind she doesn't actively think of it, mainly out of fear of the future. Fenix on the other hand is a lover. A hater on the surface then a hater deep down and i'm sure there's some more hater until we reach lover BUT it's there and it got unlocked the moment he got with Vesper. I think he genuinely hopes and dreams of spending every moment of his life with her, he's the type of fella that looks back at his life and goes it would have zero meaning if you weren't there with me, he's so sweet :// plus neither of them ever thought of stuff like marriage because they both considered it smth that was never going to be for them until Fenix was like (dead serious, heart about to explode in his chest) we should get married :') and Vesper was like haha you're hilarious :) wait what do u mean it's not a joke. They are building a life together yea <3

17. Under what circumstances would they want to be left alone by their partner?

Game events are the longest 'i want to be left alone by every single person in the world' event Vesper had so that tells you that, in the face of a crisis or rough times that personally involve her, she prefers to be left alone which isn't exactly the greatest choice let's be honest. She thinks that she can handle everything on her own, pushes Fenix away when he tries to offer his help, she simply needs to swim in her own pool of desperation sjfjsjk

Fenix wants to be on his own after a fight, just like Vesper tbh but while she could keep on fighting for hours he just walks away before saying stuff he could regret. He's veeery good at saying stuff he could regret later, especially when he's angry himself which doesn't happen that much, seems unlikely but it's very hard to make Fenix lose his temper but when it happens it's..not a pretty show

[yume-x-hanabi]

4, 6, 12, 19 please tell us about Minah, 27, 30, 37, 49, 61 and 65 for Concubinage, and 74

4. How do you choose which fics to write?

ig it depends on how obsessed my brain is with the random plot bunnies hopping around in my head? When I start thinking up narration sentences, that's when I know a particular idea wants to be written. Doesn't mean I always do it, though (in an ideal world with infinite free time, maybe...)

6. What’s the last line you wrote?

I haven't written in so long I don't even remember 😭

Looking at one of my latest wips, probably this one because it's incomplete lmao:

The room was as dingy as the rest of the inn and smelled vaguely of stale tobacco, but at least the bed was soft and the sheets were clean. He collapsed on the bed with a sigh of relief, head swimming from all the

(wtf was I trying to say? it's a mystery 🤷‍♀️)

12. Do you outline your fics?  If yes, how detailed are your outlines?  How far do you stray from them?

Usually not, and then it comes to bite me in the ass when it's ten months since I plotted the idea and I don't remember what I was planning to do 😅

There's one fic that's an exception cuz it's a fusion AU type of thing so I'm planning carefully how it follows (or not) the original's plot. Well, idk if I'll actually write the fic actually, maybe in this case the outline will be all there is, as a fun exercise for myself XD

19. Do you enjoy creating OCs or do you prefer to stick solely to canon characters?

I love creating OCs, but like, they need a purpose. An OC just for the sake of having an OC or self-insert isn't my kind of thing (no shade to those who do, I'm just not wired that way), but depending on the story I might need to flesh out a supporting cast. And I love it when they slowly take life and develop.

Minah was a really fun case because she was supposed to be a kind of "throwaway" role, only there for a scene or two. She wasn't even planned like she turned out to be (I originally imagined her younger, for example). But then she... just happened lol. Within a few lines of her dialogue I was in love with her and she was just so fun to write, in a way she wormed her way into a bigger role than intended and I'm really glad she did because it works out so well in so many ways. Funny how things go sometimes 😂

honestly my OCs often end up surprising me in one way or another haha. rare are those who stick to the plan

(rest under cut cuz it's getting long)

27. What area of writing do you feel strongest in?

Battle scenes, apparently 8)

30. How much do you edit your fics?  Do you edit as you write or wait until you finish the first draft?

I actually... don't edit that much 😅

ig in a way I edit in my head before I write? I've always been like that tbh, even at school--what I write down (whether fic, essay, translation...) is often very close to the final version. Of course I go over it a couple times once I'm done and tweak a few things here and there, but it's usually minor stuff. Sometimes I end up redoing entire scenes/chapters because I feel something's not working, but it's rather rare when it happens.

37. What fic has been the hardest for you to write?

Probably Fractured Lives? There's a reason it's only gotten five updates in nine years so far. I have to be in a very specific mood to write it, which doesn't happen often. A pity, cuz I liked the concept...

49. What fic of yours would you say is the best introduction to you as a writer?

I'd say The Best Laid Plans. It's got my particular brand of humor, and also some kickass battle scenes :p

Another one would be Strong Currents, cuz worldbuilding (plus getting Gaius and Wingul to have emotional talks lolol)

61. In Concubinage, what’s your favorite scene that you wrote?

Probably Lin and Arst's first kiss. It's such a significant moment<3

65. If you wrote a sequel to Concubinage, what would happen in it?

I am actually vaguely planning a sequel if I can finish it. Basically it'd be the events/plot of the game, but with all the changes in settings brought about by the events of Concubinage. I'll have to think carefully about what will change, what will stay the same, and what will be a slightly different spin on things that'll still happen. I think the main difficulty will be to juggle Milla's journey with Gaius&Wingul being the main characters without them overtaking the plot. And also how close or different it should be to canon...

74. Do you have a fic you wish got a bit more love?

Among my least kudosed ones, I'd say Chaos in the Ballroom (my Tales Big Bang fic). I know it's a bit different from my usual stuff, and relies heavily on knowledge about Agria's side story, but I put a lot of thought in that one.

[catboyebooks]

i’ve still got more chapter 5 stuff to talk about. is anybody surprised? since the last two posts were more character-focused, let’s talk about The Plot. specifically the events of this chapter. specifically the ways in which the events of this chapter bear (heh) similarities to the events of dr1. this one isn't going under the cut either, fair warning.

not saying anything groundbreaking here, but the sdr2 killing game very closely parallels the dr1 killing game. without even being exhaustive about it, let me point out some of the similarities in the murder cases:

in chapter 1 of both games the motive relates to the memory wipe, the murder takes place at night, the victim is killed by being stabbed repeatedly, the murder is instigated by someone who is not the killer (in both cases, also, the instigator is someone close to the protagonist), and the killer is collared around the neck and strapped to a pole as part of their execution

in chapter 2 of both games the motive relates to the past / secrets. the murder takes place near the water / in an area where people might get ready to go swimming, and the victim is killed with a single blunt-force head injury by someone who acted impulsively rather than out of actual animosity towards them. there’s an attempt made to frame another student for the murder as well as confusion over whether a famous serial killer might have done it. familial relationships, specifically sibling relationships, factor heavily into the motive. while the protagonist and deuteragonist conducted the bulk of the investigation together in chapter 1, this time it’s mainly the protagonist and tritagonist who do so, with less direct input from the deuteragonist

in chapter 3 of both games the crime that takes place is a premeditated and particularly cold double murder. the motive is something unexpected and difficult for the others to understand or relate to. a major point of confusion during the trial is the sequence of events during the killings, and misleading photo/video evidence is staged by the killer in order to further this confusion

in chapter 4 of both games the characters start to become preoccupied with who the traitor might be. a robot/AI “dies” this chapter. the person to die is the most physically powerful member of the group by far, raising doubts as to who could have killed them; in fact, the “murder” is actually a suicide / suicide pact done to ensure the rest of the group’s survival, and in the aftermath of the trial the survivors feel inspired to work together and try and end the killing game. one member of the main trio, who has had a particular approach to the killing game since the outset, changes strategies during this chapter’s trial and no longer believes the killing game ought to be won. this same character shows off during the investigation/trial by doing something that looks like it should be fatal

now, in chapter 4 of sdr2, the characters learn about the previous killing game and komaeda is quick to point out the parallels. most of what happens in chapter 5 is masterminded by him, so i think we can infer that the parallels between 1-5 and 2-5 are intentional on not just AI!junko’s part (obviously some of the similarities, like similar motives, are things she has direct control over), but on komaeda’s part as well. 

there’s an interesting dynamic that plays out between komaeda and monokuma this chapter. for the sake of brevity (haha! that worked out well) i didn’t get into this in the previous longpost about komaeda, but i do think i have to talk about it here. 

(as i’ve been over repeatedly) monokuma handed komaeda the information about shsl despair clearly intending for him to react by doing something batshit insane. that’s why he’s happy to go along with it when komaeda takes the reins this chapter — i mean, komaeda basically says “you don’t need to give us a motive this chapter, i want to know who the traitor is and if i don’t get a confession i am going to blow up this entire island” and monokuma not only has zero objections, he seems to be in a great mood most of chapter 5. of course, monokuma would have known all along that the “bomb threat” was just a bluff intended to keep everyone else distracted, but i don’t think he realized that he counted as part of Everyone Else here. 

the bomb threat serves to accomplish a few things — it keeps the other survivors preoccupied while komaeda sets up his own murder, and it ensures nobody has an alibi for his murder because they all split up to investigate. however, komaeda’s unhinged villain act in 2-5 isn’t just to convince the others that the bomb threat is real, it’s also to convince monokuma that komaeda has indeed snapped and is now acting with malicious intent towards the others. and it works. during the trial monokuma actually praises komaeda’s plan and makes it very clear that he admires it, but he’s misinterpreted the takeaway — he thinks komaeda’s goal was to show the others True Despair by trapping them in an unwinnable stuation. 

back to the parallels with the previous killing game, i think another big reason why monokuma is all too happy to let komaeda take charge here is because chapter 5 of the last killing game is when junko really started losing control of the situation. after sakura’s suicide in 1-4, the survivors resolved to work together to solve the mystery and end the killing game, leading junko to become increasingly desperate in her attempts to keep the murders going. she tried killing naegi herself, and when that didn’t work she reused her sister’s corpse to set up a fake murder so that she’d have an excuse to execute kirigiri or naegi. i’ve talked about this a bit before but it does feel like AI!junko is playing her side of the game more aggressively this time, particularly starting in 2-4 with the funhouse motive (never before has she imposed a time limit for committing murder). this is, i’m sure, why she chose to give komaeda the info on shsl despair. monokuma doesn’t seem to feel Threatened by komaeda in the same way that he did with naegi and kirigiri (figures, since komaeda has actually been in favor of the killing game and does not announce his intent to stop the killing game / take down the mastermind the way naegi and kirigiri do), but the rest of the group has been relying very heavily on komaeda to solve the mysteries, and it certainly makes the situation more difficult for everyone else if they don’t have komaeda as an “ally” of sorts. last time, it was the survivors working together as a team — in particular, the main trio working together — that ultimately derailed the killing game, and this time monokuma is trying to ensure that Does Not Happen. so it’s no wonder that he’s in such a good mood this chapter, it looks like komaeda is doing exactly what monokuma hoped that he would! 

however, it also appears to be slowly dawning on monokuma throughout the course of this chapter that komaeda has figured out way more than he anticipated about the situation, and that this might be A Problem. at several points beginning during 2-4’s trial and continuing into 2-5, komaeda makes comments hinting that he knows they’re in VR and that he knows the mastermind is planning something much bigger after the killing game ends; he’s vague about it so it’s not clear exactly how much he knows, but it’s enough to get monokuma agitated. during the scene where komaeda confronts monokuma alone at the end of 2-4, monokuma initially seems quite confident and pleased that his plan is working but gets shaken towards the end when komaeda implies he knows what the mastermind is planning to do when the killing game ends, so this is definitely a worry monokuma has before 2-5 even starts, but the rest of komaeda’s actions appear to lull him into a false sense of security. 

one thing komaeda does this chapter feels particularly pointed, though. and yes, pun intended, i’m talking about the impalement. the way junko staged mukuro’s body in 1-5, she was lying flat on her back with a knife in her stomach. komaeda stages his own death so that he’s discovered in a similar position, but rather than stabbing himself in the stomach with a knife, he uses a spear, just as was actually used to kill mukuro. lemme point out again that the spear was a totally unnecessary element of his murder, it was 100% for show as the poison would have killed him anyway. i don’t think AI!junko, observing the setup for this, would have noticed the similarities to the way she staged her sister’s body at first — most of the setup would have involved komaeda tying himself up and stabbing himself and i’m sure that kept her distracted. but when hinata’s investigating komaeda’s body (hehe) monokuma comments on the spear, calling it “the spear of gugnir” without explaining the reference. he seems a bit shaken by this. komaeda going to such lengths to imitate mukuro’s chapter 5 body discovery, including throwing in a reference to her actual cause of death, feels very much like he’s telling junko that he knows who she is — and since they all know the mastermind of the previous killing game is dead, if he knows they’re still dealing with junko, that must mean he also knows it’s VR.

regarding komaeda’s final video message, which monokuma redacts parts of — the mastermind of course would have witnessed komaeda recording this video, and presumably didn’t worry too much about whatever he said at the time because at that point komaeda was already setting up his own murder, and the rest of the group might not even live through the trial to view the video. while ofc i have to take a guess at exactly what was redacted, it sure looks like monokuma removed some references to everyone being former shsl despair and at least one reference (which could very well have been vague, but i think monokuma is generally displeased that komaeda figured this out and would have redacted it anyway) to the killing game happening in VR, but he didn’t redact the instructions on how to enter the ruins. he must still think it’s possible to turn the situation around in his favor, especially with both future foundation agents out of the picture, no more main trio, and only five people left alive. i think this means that junko still doesn’t understand what komaeda was actually trying to do in chapter 5 — like i said before, i think his actual end goal was for the group to survive and make it into the ruins, hence why he left instructions, but none of the characters seem to have realized this. (hinata actually got the closest. there’s a moment during 2-5 trial where he thinks that maybe the only reason komaeda put them in such a despair-inducing situation was to force them to overcome it together with the combined power of their hope, or something.)

there’s other 1-5/2-5 parallels beyond the way the body is discovered this chapter, of course. both trials, it feels like the group is being rushed along and there’s a(n entirely justified) sense that they’re headed towards a trap. both trials also involve a metaphorical trust fall — in 1-5 naegi has to trust kirigiri and allow suspicion to be directed onto himself (the alternative is a bad end), and in 2-5 the entire group has to trust in nanami’s assertion that the only way for them to live is to vote her guilty. in both of these scenarios, also, the person being executed is particularly friendly/kind/optimistic, and they’re set to be executed via crushing. neither of the executions are “real” either in that naegi survives and nanami wasn’t alive to begin with. 

i’m sure i’m gonna keep talking about parallels between the cases in this liveblog, as well as when i end up eventually talking about ultra despair girls and dr3 and ndrv3 on here, but i did want to talk about the way komaeda sets up his murder in particular because imo he 100% did that shit on purpose. anyway that’s the post

[beauty-grace-outer-space]

I’m very much teetering on the verge of a breaking point, so I’m desperately trying to focus on routine while also attempting to romanticize my life. This led to me sitting outside for a solid 4 hours yesterday on an old blanket in my front yard reading a book. 

Somewhere mid hour two, I heard the telltale tinkly tinkle music of an ice cream truck. From a few neighborhoods over, the strangely discordant music box tones of Greensleeves filtered to me. 

Ya’ll, I was so excited.

I listened for a few minutes to be sure-- I haven’t heard an ice cream truck in my area in years-- and once I was certain I threw down my book and ran inside to get my wallet. 

Then I walked to the edge of my cul-de-sac in slippers and my mismatched “It’s too hot but also I want to be comfy” assortment of loungewear and athleisure garb, and I stood at the end of my street and I waited. 

After a few minutes, I felt silly just standing around and, figuring I had a few minutes, I went back to my house, grabbed a smaller amount of cash rather than my entire wallet, and went back to reading and listening. 

I did this four times. 

The fourth time, I made it to the end of the street just as the ice cream truck exited the next cul-de-sac over, I reached for my money... and he drove the other way. 

I assumed he would make his way back down the street again because he hadn’t visited any of the neighborhoods on the eastern side of the main road, but he never came back. 

I was crushed. I relayed this information to a friend via text, and they advised that I should go to the store and get better ice cream for less money.

I responded: “I don’t want ice cream... I want nostalgic whimsy.”

And I think that sums up summer as an adult. 

I don’t want to go to a public community pool for open swim, I want that breathless excitement of your mom telling you that you’re going to pick up a friend and head to the pool for the day which means mermaids and make believe and midday hamburger breaks before reapplying the sticky sunscreen that smells like banana candy. 

I don’t want to go camping, I want that sense of adventure and knowing that during the day the world is yours to explore and discover and at night the fire will keep you warm as you watch the stars.

I don’t want to wake up and go to work and wait for the three pre-planned summer events I manage to attend, I want the freedom of waking up knowing it’s summer and anything is possible. 

And I don’t know if it’s achievable, and I’m sad. 

So I make due with what I have. 

I sit on my blankets, and I read my books, and I try not to think about how the grass is making my legs itch and how I have to wake up early tomorrow. I try not to think about how my bills are due and I just missed two weeks of work. I try not to think about all of the chores on my to-do list, or the shortcomings in my life, and I try instead to cling to these last vestiges of memory of what it was like to enjoy life effortlessly.  

[garbagefarm]

Garbage Farm #41

2023-03-05, Garbage Farm session #[41]?, Spring 21–Summer 4, year 4 (someday I’ll go back and reconstruct the session numbers, but I will not be attempting to reconstruct exact in-game dates for every session)

Cast:

Me (@mothmute​)

E.B. (@salamand3rin​)

Kimi (@2kimi2furious​)

Highlights include, but are not limited to:

Lewis calls to check up on us, but Kimi knows his secrets......

Kimi is worried about Alex leaving her

After missing the chance to build a coop the previous day, we start a duck coop by the pond in the lower-left quadrant!

supposedly, ducks can swim?? and we wanna see this for ourselves

I go for an adventure to the skull mines (in search of Prismatic Shards) and make it to level 50 or thereabouts

My next trip only makes it to level 32

Alex figured out Kimi was thinking about pre-emptively divorcing him, and started helping with laundry and dishes.

Flower dance!!

I wish I could bring Frucko, I bet he’d have a great time

All the kids are at the dance!!

Marnie continues lamenting the unofficial status of her relationship with Lewis

(Vincent wants to be the flower queen. Someday, Vincent!)

Oh hey, Mutant Carp!

Kimi got a magical makeover!

Green hair that makes her look kinda like Caroline, so she got another magical makeover!

darker green, in braids

Rainy day in Spring, I attempt to fish at the Log of Legend — alas, no luck.

Heart event with Haley, wherein I open a jar for her

Crystal ceremony with Emily, I don’t even know how long ago we finished that special order

New shirt! Skeleton shirt, made with fresh skeletons

“were they ethically-sourced?”

I mean ... they were wild-caught?

Kent continues sending mail-bombs.

Last strawberries of the year!

(Somewhere in here, Kimi develops a cheese backlog, like the United States cheese crypts)

I venture into the Skull Cavern and escaped with exactly 1hp.

hoot hoot, it’s owl time!!

Summer!! I bought so many seeds and we didn’t even use all of them

Purchased a community upgrade to build Pam and Penny a house

(Somewhere in all this, I bought another pond to grow sea urchins. More on that another time.)

Kimi talks about giving the island boy a mango, which he says he’ll put in his “nest”

E.B. speculates on the boy hatching it, thinks he’d fit in with all the other feral children living on Garbage Farm

(Elliott had a question for me......)

at some point, Kimi concluded that Elliott was also a himbo, but a more refined kind of himbo than Alex

perhaps, an art-is-anal himbo

I’m tired of risking life and limb for Prismatic Shards, so I start breaking into my stash of Omni Geodes

oh hey a Dwarf Gadget, I need that so I can build a whole-ass computer

(no luck on the prismatic shards)

I need a bunch of coal for future plans, and we’re perpetually short, so I buy something like 275,000g worth of coal from Clint

oh hey it’s summer, I should get some Sturgeons for the Luau! I mean at this point we have other options, but, it’s a tradition!

"you can get them from the pond"

They gotta be gold-star and the farm-raised ones are just normal

"oh the sturgeon we have at home isn't good enough"

not for The Governor, no.

(E.B. has been making tree fertilizer and cutting down trees, we always need more wood)

TO-DO:

more Tools for Kimi

more Ponds for Fish

more Geodes for Clint

more Big for Melon

more Sturgeons for Luau

more Skulls for Me.........?

Gallery:

Wild Possum, blocking the storage shed

[the-cat-chat]

February 25, 2023

White Noise (2022)

College professor Jack Gladney and his family's comfortable suburban life is upended when a nearby chemical leak causes "The Airborne Toxic Event," releasing a noxious black cloud over the region that forces the Gladney family to evacuate.

JayBell: I was under the assumption that this movie was a comedy drama about a family facing an apocalyptic event. And it was. But I didn’t know that it was also an absurdist comedy drama. In the history of The Cat Chat, we’ve weirdly covered more than a handful of absurdist movies, mostly on accident. And we’ve learned our lesson. Absurdist movies are not for us. 

I’m never mentally prepared for absurdist movies. Usually there are so many layers, irony, symbolism, and underlying meanings. Sometimes I’m just too stupid to understand deeper implications. This movie is especially dialogue heavy. In fact, there are often multiple streams of dialogue going on at once. You’ve got to be really on your toes to catch everything.

Also, Adam Driver looked so different in this role that 30% of my brain at all times was reserved for this thought. A further 20% was focused on how many times his hands are in frame (thanks Anzie). So I was already working on 50% brain power, so my ability to understand the implications of this movie were already pretty abysmal.

But I did like the more complicated family dynamics. Also, there is one scene in this movie that was more terrifying than anything we watched for Halloween last year. Which is weird to say for family comedy-drama movie. And despite not understanding everything that was going on, as I get older, I do relate to feeling the existential fear of death. So in a way I understood, but I also didn’t.

Yes, it was an absurdist comedy, but thank god it wasn’t so absurd that I wanted to remove my eyes cough cough The Lobster.

Rating: 4/10 cats 🐈

Anzie: I really have no idea what to say. I feel betrayed. Netflix really misrepresented what this was. Let me ask YOU Netflix??? Do you think when I see ADAM DRIVER as a DAD in the 80s and there’s an apocalyptic event and that might bring on a road trip that I would STOP to think- with my two brain cells that just wanna have fun on a Saturday night- that just mayyyybe it’s actually based on a CRaZY novel?? No I wouldn’t and for that I will have even more trust issues than I started with.

Do not get me wrong- sometimes there’s funny bits. Other times I feel like I’m in a fever dream or an actual nightmare and my brains going to explode. Like the kids being hectic and having five conversations going ONLY works if it’s your family and you’re tuned into the station- otherwise it made my head swim. And all the comparisons to Hitler and Elvis??? Like I saiddddd SATURDAY NIGHT!!! Pllllsss.

Overall my biggest peeve is that the whole Airborne Toxic Event and road trip wasn’t the real plot - rather it’s the mom being depressed and taking random drugs from a rando Mr. Gray and every one avoiding the concept of death through escapism. So yeah I just don’t feel like being called out like that thanks.

Rating: 2/10 Cats 🐈

[speedbooster]

Journey Through Archie Sonic - Part 2

The Rest of the Original Mini-Series

Making this a bit later than I intended, but life gets in the way sometimes-

Anyways, like I said a few days ago, I'm going to try to make this a weekly thing. If you wanna read the previous part just click the 2nd tag and you'll find it pretty easily.

This is going to be a bit disjointed until I can figure out a better way to do this, but that's enough stalling I think. So without further ado, let's jump right back in!

Sonic the Hedgehog Mini-Series #1 - Mar. 1993

This is honestly a pretty sick cover. I've never really been a fan of the western designs they used back then, especially with the stupid mohawk they gave Sonic which just looks wrong to me, but the way Robotnik is drawn here is... kinda awesome. He's very imposing, his hands reaching out to grab him while Sonic speeds off with Sally in his arms, not looking the least bit worried while the Princess is clearly not as certain they'll be making it out.

Solid cover. 8/10

Similar to the last issue, this is broken into a four issues in two parts. The first dealing with Sally trying to get herself roboticized so they can figure out how it works, and the second dealing with... fish.

Not going to summarize too much, but I do wanna go over a few things;

1: Apparently Robotnik is... actually a robot here??

Obviously, that doesn't stay the case since... well, that becomes an entirely separate character, but it's still really confusing to me because... he doesn't look like one?

Maybe they just mean he's a cyborg? Cause that would actually make sense given his design.

Idk, it's weird

2: Sonic, what the hell does that mean??

I mean, it's probably a reference to "Sonic Twosday," the promotional event they did in America for the release of Sonic 2, but it feels kinda forced-

3: WELL MAYBE IF YOU HAD EXPLAINED YOUR PLAN TO YOUR ENTIRE TEAM INSTEAD OF WORDING YOUR PROCLAMATION LIKE YOU WERE A COMPLETE IDIOT THINGS WOULD'VE WORKED OUT DIFFERENTLY

Like unless I missed something, there is literally no reason she couldn't have told them. They weren't being watched by Robotnik, and she left a note telling them she was planning to meet with him to discuss Robotnik returning the kingdom to her, so she could've just told them her plan, and asked them to retrieve her boots afterwards so they could've figured out how to undo it, but NOOOOOO

I get that this is during the gag era days and I shouldn't take this that seriously, but this genuinely irks me... so much.

#4: Sonic can not only swim but breathe underwater

Not going to give them too much flack for this, since this was still very early days... but it still feels wrong.

He also later on starts running out of air during a fight, and continues to talk which hurts my brain, but he does get it back by swallowing an air bubble, which is neat.

5: If this actually comes up in the main series, I will be very impressed

This could earn them at least 10 brownie points.

But that's it for Issue #1. Still a decent read despite my frustrations with the first story, though I think #0 was way funnier. Like no Swat Bots dancing in the fire this time, not as many dumb sign gags. You can really tell they were still trying to figure this out.

Anyways, time to move on to-

Sonic the Hedgehog Mini-Series #2 - Apr. 1993

This cover's alright. Doesn't really tie into anything going on in the story (At least the last issue had Sonic saving Sally, even if she didn't want to be saved), and the background is a little bland. But it's eye-catching and definitely has some charm to it.

I'll give it a C-

The story here is probably my favorite out of the whole mini, as this time we've got a story that spans all four parts of the issue, and has some nice attention to continuity which I did NOT expect.

The premise here is that Sally is about to be crowned Queen (kinda), hoping to use the magic of the emeralds atop her father's crown to keep them safe and maybe help defeat Robotnik.

Interesting that we're introducing yet another set of powerful gems here. I'm really curious to see if these come back later on.

Anyways, this is probably the only major issue I have with this story-

Whomst the shock are all these guys??? Since when does Antoine have anyone under his command?? Isn't like... the entire joke about him at this point that he's really full of himself but can't do anything right??? And literally every other issue in this mini has it be JUST Sonic's group in Knothole, so where did they even come from???

Anyways, the pig turns out to be a spy from Robotnik, who stole the Freedom Emeralds to scatter them around so they can't use them.

Also... apparently revealing you're a robot turns you purple??

(Insert William Afton joke here)

After this, the pig tries to blow them all up, but Sonic saves them with that bit of continuity I mentioned before.

They're actually referencing one of those joke pages from Issue #0, and they continue to do so throughout the rest of the mini. I really like this! It turns a one-off gag into actual lore, making it serve the purpose it was meant to by showing off his different levels of speed.

So now, Sonic has to team up with the other Freedom Fighters in each part to get the emeralds back. He technically worked with Sally in the first part, and now he's forced to work with Antoine here, Tails in part three, and technically Rotor in part four (though really he just repairs the crown after Sonic gets all the gems back). Still, it's a great set up, and it leads to two jokes that got small a chuckle out of me.

The first one being-

... like I wanna hate it, but I just can't. Especially with how Antoine is completely unaware of it for the rest of this issue. He genuinely was so lost in his own head that he never thinks twice about it.

And the second is during a revisit to that underwater cave from last issue (Meaning that either this is a different Chopper or they're never going to follow up on his report... which is sad)

Like I'd normally be questioning how they drew all that with only a green marker (when there's not even green on Sonic yet), but the "I should've noticed they only had four fingers" line just gets me.

... yeah, if you can't tell I'm not the target audience for this. I think way too hard about this stuff, so books that are just trying to have fun rarely work for me. But this is what won the poll-

Still I am enjoying these more than I thought I would. Even when the jokes don't land, they're usually so charming in the way they're told that I don't care.

There are a few more bits from part IV I wanna bring up that I liked.

Namely, RETURN OF THE STUPID SIGN GAGS

I missed you so much

Also, very cursed Sonic on the right there. Somehow they only miscolored one of his arms, and I hate it. But that's old comics for you-

AND THEY SOMEHOW DO IT AGAIN

And yet, I don't care because the swag on this Swat Bot as he deploys the trap is so funny to me. He even rhymes with Sonic's quip as he turns around to mock him! I love this guy!

I'm going to headcanon this is the same guy who was dancing in the fires of Uncle Chuck's chili dog stand in Issue #0. I shall dub him... Steve. Swat Bot Steve. My new favorite character.

Finally to end the issue we have this page which is just-

I mean do I even have to say anything? It's perfect.

He even popped in from underneath the usual THE END! thing on the last page so he could go on this rant. I love it

Finally, the last issue of the mini-

Sonic the Hedgehog Mini-Series #3 - May. 1993

This cover is... charming, I guess. Very Looney Tunes-esk, but still kinda... eh-

It gets ⭐⭐

This issue is also just kinda weird. The first two parts are extremely confusing-

Sonic gets cornered by Robotnik, falls off a cliff, and then has what I can only assume is a bizarre dream caused by a concussion because... I mean-

We start off with this, Robotnik curses him and his Uncle which then causes-

... I am so shocking lost rn. This doesn't even make any sense with the context from the rest of the issue

Chuck adopts Ivo after he loses his parents, and we get... this cursed thing.

I hate him. I hate looking at him. Please make him go away-

He steals some parts from Chuck's tractor, which causes him to nearly get run over by it, which he decides to blame Chuck for, even after his robots rat him out.

... I feel like Robotnik just invented a new form of cursing.

So he decides to make a mech out of every appliance in the house, Sonic beats him, and makes me even more confused as to how Chuck was responsible for any of this when the only thing he did was adopt him.

... I'm just gonna blame it on the concussion and move on.

The second story features Sonic pretending to be roboticized by wearing a bear trap on his face so he can trick Robotnik to do... something. I actually don't know what the plan was-

Something made even worse by the fact that both Sonic and Sally decide to trick Tails into thinking it's real, which he then decides to spread the word by making his own newspaper.

This feels completely unnecessary, and as it turns out-

IT ABSOLUTELY WAS

I can appreciate that Robotnik gave Sonic the job the Buzz Bomber wanted, and Sonic's little line here but like... WHY TRICK TAILS INTO SPREADING THE WORD IF YOU WERE JUST GONNA WALK RIGHT UP TO HIS FRONT DOOR SONIC!?!?

Like... poor little buddy did nothing wrong, and he gets to believe his hero turned on them for literally no reason.

Robotnik decides to test Sonic's loyalty by having him check out an alert at one of his factories, where we see a "Robot Chuck" being forced to make Crabmeats.

Now I was going to complain about this, especially since we later see Muttski who is DEFINITELY a robot-

But again, this is another way of showing continuity between issues. This is how Chuck looked in Issue #0, so this is how he looks here. And since I know this does get fixed in the actual series itself, I can give it a pass. It's at least staying consistent with its... inconsistency.

Anyways, Sonic runs back to Robotnik and tricks him into blowing up a Buzz Bomber Factory by telling him it was the coords for Knothole village, we get this little one liner as Buzz Bomber morns the loss of his entire family and Sonic leaves a bear trap on Egghead's rear, and that's the end of the mini series.

[FINIS]

Overall, this was a fun read even if it was kind of a mixed bag. Issue #1 kinda sucked, this issue was all over the place, but Issues $0 and #2 were a really good time, and gives me hope that this might not be as much of a slog as I was expecting

Next week, I start on the actual series. Hoping to tackle at least four issues, but we'll see how that goes. Thanks for sticking with me through this very long post.

Catch you on the flip side!

[foundinfantasy]

the survey

Can't keep myself from wishcasting. With many more years of Sims 4 ahead, I want every pack they suggested and more (and refreshes!). Here are my expectations, wants, and ramblings for each idea.

Rank: 6, 1, 8, 4, 7, 5, 9, 3, 2

[Also: so weird and surprising that they didn't bring up hotels, fairies, bands, or specific hobbies which might be my last big asks. My most generous assumption is that these are already in the works and my most delusional is that they'll be game packs (if we ever see those again)]

I picked this one as one of my favs.

Surfing (third chance's the charm?) for toddler+

Swimming update - teach infants and toddlers

Fish bowl/home aquarium update

Volleyball (hobby & sport for HSY and DU)

Turtle pets

Sailing (and being lost at sea)

Yachting (for the rich)

Pirating (because I love pirates)

Underwater lot (for mermaids) and gameplay ( I imagine once you dive [and you're not a mermaid] it'll start a timed event where you have to leave and get air before the end or die? OR have extra scuba tanks in inventory to extend the timer)

Fix the bug preventing waterfront apartments

Crosspack update to mermaids (at this point bring it to base game if need be to update them, mermaids are not the selling feature of IL. Give them the skill tree they deserve!)

Aquarium lot interactions and gameplay for all ages

It's coming off as Jungle Adventure and Strangerville but instead of tombs, sims will "discover" towns/islands and trading goods might help with attracting animals to your aquarium (as PG as possible)

Sea monsters (and integration with Loch Ness from Get Together)

Idk about the submarine, it'd probably end up being a rabbithole and a moodlet (maybe even a chance of death:)

I'm skeptical.

Is this how they give us cars? Please no. This is honestly the weakest of all the ideas imo (on the principle that I feel like it's baiting car fans) and not just because I like my idea better.

Would the "van" be like the "fixer-upper car"? (that you buy in various conditions [broke, working, pristine] to act like a tent and you'd customize it by adding a bathroom, a kitchenette, etc using the mechanic skill in this case or buying the upgrade outright if already in better condition) - I fear this could be the whole pack, no other "car" included. It won't move but it'll be draggable.

How does "life on the road" play out? The most literal, a road neighborhood with lots on it? Instead of 3 neighborhoods, it's 6 streets?

Would the heft of the pack come in with the road destinations stops and events?

What would make this pack different from being "off the grid" - the build/buy? That's not an EP, barely a SP.

What would make it van life? Possibility of bears? Bigfoot or other cryptids? Journaling sights/experiencing? Filming?

How would the mechanics career tie in? Traveling mechanic and his elder townies? Traveling elder mechanic? Mechanic retiring?

If not already a future pack, hotels/motels would fluff this pack out if you really lean into the land travel idea and less van life and/or cruises, if you really just want to add Elder gameplay and the boat could be its own map.

Side: does this mean we're not getting anything elder related with Life and Death? Or maybe the upcoming content is for pre-death elders and this would be for post-retirement elders?

Would be a great chance to add canes (if not already in L&D), dentures, bingo, crossword/sudoku books, water aerobics?

Even putting this idea out there to flirt with the fans who want cars makes cars even less likely to happen.

Real or not, give toddlers those tiny cars and me, motorcycles!

so Batuu but official? or maybe I'm leaning too much on the 'otherworldly' aspect and this is just apocalypse/dystopia/survivor gameplay (*squint*)

This is actually the weakest idea. Van Life at least had some replay value depending on what they add for Elders but this, not so much. Too vague. The world would be cool though.

Will this still be a vacation world? Will the world change (like Eco Lifestyle) into something solarpunk or ecopunk? Will it also be like Jungle Adventure?

Snakes, as pets.

I like the expanded fishing and exotic pets though it could be included with idea#1. EPs should fit in Sim Nation and expand my entire game; and expanding fish isn't enough. It's just too GP and niche.

What could be added? An update on woodworking and painting (crafting and gathering). More harvestables or flowers? Archery/Marksmanship. Pottery. Blacksmithing. The Watcher and Cults [imagine being a cult leader]. Playable daycare, oddly enough.

I don't think they'd add raid mechanics to TS4 but Zombies as spawn npcs [and a Zombie mini-game where you'd have to escape the zombie chasing you and if you lose you get bitten]

Zombie occult with a skill tree. Plantsims with a skill tree.... though I know they can't do EP Occults right to save their lives. They could go the alien route and give us the desperately needed alien update.

Also what happens if the "resource" is managed poorly? Game over? Mysterious crate shipment? Do I fight for someone's shelter and resources?

So Jungle Adventure but Australia?

I want useful museums and bigger items so I'm not mad at this. This could have gameplay across ages and re-playable regardless of being the visitor or the owner.

With the other idea mentioning aquariums, this could go along the lines of fossils for museums / wildlife for conservation parks (new lot type)

Museums could work on a reputation scale and hire front desk workers, tour guides, janitors, maybe rent out "rooms" (from the Gallery) as exhibits, apply for research grants, hold fundraising events, introduce wealthy donor townies, have that useless national leader swing by. Museums could be so much better.

Conservation Parks work along a similar line but hiring knowledgeable caregivers. I'm not even going to dream of EA giving us animations for seven+ kind of animals to watch/play on the same lot. Lucky if we get one or two, but maybe rabbithole illusions [windows, door, set pieces] to give the idea of it that we have to buy?

Would we get larger lots? Imagine a 100 x 100 Conservation Park.

Taxidermy (just because)

Maybe for the education part: new post-grad school and degree (which yes would be DLC for DLC but if we're stuck with TS4 I'll need more than just 2 colleges: post-grad, community, medical, clown, and more degrees) OR create a base game community college / trade school and add post grad for both that and DU degrees.

^^ side rant: my biggest critique of DU is that it could've done more with frats/sororities [and parties]- treated it just like the secret society and have legacies [to be a legacy player playing a legacy was right there] and charity events and having a "rush" task/event

New jungle gyms for kids. Seesaw. Balance beam. Park items. Getting scuff marks and stains or roughhousing amongst kids should loosen a tooth.

If world is based around Australia I either need items that reference giant spiders or ... giant spiders (and a new fear.)

Again we're getting niche and the only thing saving this is that vibrant futuristic cities already exists alongside uncontacted tribes IRL so this doesn't need to be a world that exists in a vacuum like Batuu...... so I'm excited for the world more than anything. More cities please!

Even so, EPs usually introduce a new system/UI usually and I'm just not seeing it with one. Unless they're going full cyberpunk and we'll get a body map to replace with customizable pieces. [but that's really niche, where would it hide?!]

Tattoo Career? Brainchips? Mad scientist?

How will this pack mix with Discover Uni Servos or Batuu Droids?

Robot fighting? > Betting? > Gambling? > Casinos? Are we back?

Will we see the return of the Food Synthesizer? Intro to Hoverboard? Maybe even as things we have to make ourselves? I'm down for more tech and science.

Prosthetics base game update?

Expanded Hacking.

Cinematography and Glassblowing - random, but I can see it.

Update boxing to a hobby/sport or introduce a martial arts.

Update on Science - small microscope, science lab for HSY, ways to do science as a teen. Ant farm return? Train set return? Hypothesizing and experimentation process in a journal or on a white/chalk board?

Motorcycles! How do we still not have this?

I wouldn't mind seeing Errands or Side Quests specific to townies, but what's the end game here? How will this change my Sim Nation?

CAS and BB requests - neon vs brutalism, tech wear, insane masks and eyewear.

This was my favorite!

I want all the consequences!

Pool/Billiards and the counterfeit machine.

Being a Mafia Boss, making sims sleep with the fishes in game, shaking down sims, having goons, running multiple operations, evading the law, and keeping it in the "family" this could be so funny.

An update on the spy, criminal, and detective careers where they effect each other.

Make jail mean something!

This would create banks and again add purpose to museums (for possible art, fossil, plant, collectable, heirloom theft) - I want to assemble a crew or risk it solo and for it be semi active for planning, giving orders, and hacking.

Simish illicit materials (similar to Riverdale with its jingle-jangle and fizzle rocks) and shady townies.

Cross-pack play with 4R!

Being a vigilante? So would autonomous crime be a thing? Autonomous pickpocketing during a timed event? Stealing from vendors (a loaf of bread)? And the sim has to find out who did it and different outcomes for right or wrong, fighting and/or peaceful? Would the vig-sim get arrested instead?

Con artist? A side hustle to make phone calls, emails, and grift?

Are they introducing crooked cops to base game? To play both sides?

Would you get like errands or PI cases-odd jobs for the stakeouts (and use the photography skill)?

Graffiti update?

Casino possibility again? Motorcycles! Marksmanship?

Burglar return? Alarm system? Lock boxes in banks?

I'll never say no to more things for the kid, but this is possible in game already? Move kid from household with "counselor" into "camp" lot in Granite Falls and/or do scouting, look for frogs, etc. for a few days. Move Back. Done. This way the game would just prompt you first?

What saves this: different types of (horse, science, space, music, art, spy, correctional, tumbling, etc) camp to introduce and the sheer amount of activities they could jam into this even if they stick with traditional camp: river-rafting, kayaking, canoeing, VOLLEYBALL, marco-polo, ARCHERY, scavenger hunts, tug of war, various new paper crafts and recipes, making tie-dye shirts, sending letters home, talent shows, relays, food fights, etc. and the more kinds of "camps" they do the longer the list gets.

^^ so would this become a create-a-camp pack? With similar UI to restaurants/retail?

Also would this be before or after EP idea#4, is adventure camp a given with this pack?

Update scouts to include a cookie drive.

Diving - hobby/sport

Pottery & wood carving

For Teens + active career? semi-active? Would work similar to daycare?

Slasher townies?

Large forest jungle gym. Bungie jump? Zipline?

Preteens and crushes!

Also could this not just be boarding school? It doesn't specify "summer" so when would you send them away? What happens to their grades while away? And if it's boarding school - return of schmoozing to get my kid in.

Also bringing up Granite Falls, plz free this world from its lonely purgatory when/if we get hotels.

Multi-functional lots, but I fear this will break RRs [more than it's already broken] <- [side rant: sometimes sims enter my apartment to disappear in my basement and even after setting up all the rentals I can still see inside someone other sim's apartment].

Everything about this is perfect. I'm not thinking it'll be a "past" pack but rather the world will feel stuck in time [similar to a futuristic pack] Truly a time where no one minded their own business because they didn't have pocket distractions.

This would fix everyone walking around with phones.

Make buying the phone a thing: New phone skins & new earbud skins and put them in the inventory as they should do.

BB requests: boombox, old box computer, a sega, landlines, coupon books.

Getting letters in mail, writing letters as communication.

A regular arcade machine and new games!

Comic book collecting and writing! So painting update or new sketching skill with a simple sketchbook.

Cinematography skill, videos and, hopefully we'll have bands already, music videos.

Would mall cop be a playable job?

Record shops and vinyl collecting!

All the DND clutter! New action figures. The lava lamp.

New side hustle for kids (done two ways: walking and on bike), parttime for teens+. - the newspaper but also maybe even magazines. Active babysitting (possible hauntings happening)

Model career, just because.

That charlatan sim!

Skateboarding.

Strollers.

Break-dancing.

Return of the hacky-sack.

Graffiti update once again.

Despite my ranking, I'm not against this pack. It's going for high society and finer things but even as a modern monarchy I don't see how it fits [within SimNation]

Queen Cordelia lore unlock though.

So do you create Kings/Queens in CAS? Does it start with a quest for the crown? Will the game assign roles if you're not playing with monarchy or will you be able to toggle it in settings? How do heirs work? Will my sim need to get rid of their sibling? Do they fight for the thrown? Are there multiplle ways to claim the throne?

Are there warring kingdoms? Rivalries? Alliances? Militia?

Secrets and scandals in the palace! Palace lot trait? You've given us polyamory so are we getting a harem next?

Can my sim behead someone? Do I go around claiming citizens and collecting taxes or is each world now its own kingdom? Can I, ruler of Oasis Springs take over Tartosa? What about the Leader from the Politician career? Does they just go missing? *wink*

How else does my sim earn money? Or does it just appear?

Will there be class gameplay?

Is this active days of fundraising and philanthropy or rabbit holes?

If ever a pack for the sewing machine to return, this is it.

Model career, just because

Blacksmithing again / Glassblowing .

Would BB just be really expensive items?

Carriage rides (with horses) and wheelbarrow plow (attached to horses for quick harvesting)

Birds in cages, seems fitting.

Will it start with Emperor/ess or King/Queen? Can there be multiple kingdoms in one save? Can I arrange the princess to be the Queen of Willow Creek through marriage?

Would my sim make laws? Would this conflict with NAPs? Can I outlaw magic and be cursed for it?

Can another sim plot to overthrow the ruler? Can I be overthrown by my citizens and beheaded? Will there be a new kind of reputation UI for the kingdom? How will all these systems communicate/work together? Are kings/queens automatically famous?

I just have so many questions and honestly it just feels like another shallow attempt at appeasing players who've been begging for some kind of royalty pack. The cross-pack play would go insane though. Imagine an immortal vampire King.

IDEAS I WISHED THEY WOULD'VE BROUGHT UP:

(outside of actual Cars, Hotels, Hobbies, Fairies, and Bands)

Circus/Clown

Sports/More Fitness equipment

Martial Arts/Dancing

Alien Deep Space

Rollercoasters/Water-rides/Extreme parks

Reality/Competitions

a brand new Occult

[mytroubledart]

hii, ask game :)) - List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who liked or reblogged something from you! 💖

1) My cats. (Also named My daughters/My nightmares/my little monsters/my babies girls)

2) The little bits of human connection, like when I can bother my friends and be sure it's actually not a bother or when I can put a smile on a stranger's face or anything that just lets me make someone's day a little better.

3) Rain; the heavier the better. Especially when there's thunder rumbling low in the distance.

4) Cooking for someone. I'm real big on acts of service for the people I really care for and making something they enjoy and getting to sit down with them and share the moment always means the world to me.

5) Consumption(?) like, reading, gaming, watching a thing. I like experiencing stories to love these characters and events and in a way the people who created them. Reading was a real safe space escape type thing when I was younger and I've always enjoyed games.

My family, probably unwisely, was letting me watch adult swim at 4 years old. But, it let me get my first glimpse of the more mature narratives like Inuyasha and ruroni kenshin that really started opening my tastes up to more things.

I also love to learn about people and the lives they live-the lives they have lived- because everyone is unique and it's such a wonder to just know someone.

Which also ties in to the fact that I love when people tell me about things they do, or figured out, or learned.

I've never really given much thought to this question so I'm sure there's a lot more I could say, but if I spent the time it'd take to organize my thoughts I'd be here another few hours.

Bonus answer: 6) This ask game, honestly.

Though I suppose it ties into the human connection and consumption from other entries.

I just like vibing out with people, tasks, and things, and such.