#if you actually want this mod give me a while cause i need to bug test it still

[crystallinekitties]

I figured out how to mod last weekend and I want to apologize to Elliott for being experimented on, but you make a great G'raha sir (with a couple dialogue changes)

[arsene-ee]

Can we talk about how both Preston Garvey and Wyll Ravengard are pretty much the characters that get treated the worst by their respective fandom? (Also Ik I'm being incredibly Biased here because I love both of them dearly)

Cuz like both tend to be called incredibly bland and are often times just overlooked. While both of them are incredibly complex character (as complex as a bethesda character can get in Preston's case)

Preston is consitently the butt of the same boring ass Joke. "hAhA aNoThEr SeTtLeMeNt NeEdS yOuR hElP, hAhA sO FuNnY" and yes I get it the line is incredibly repetitive, but every characters' dialouge gets repetitive with time as well. The reason this line is so repetitive is that Preston is pretty much the only Questgiver for the Minutemen for a huge part of the game, while other factions like the Railroad (and I assume the BoS) have multiple characters that give you quests. Lorewise Preston being the only quest giver for the minutemen makes sense due to him being like one of the few survivors and all (and the other characters wouldn't really make sense as quest givers, well maybe sturges but he's busy hammering the walls).

Preston has so much interesting lore if you take the time to listen to him, He feels so much survivor's guilt about what happened in Quincy. HE BELIVES HE DESERVES DEATH FOR GODS SAKE.

And I'm still so upset about how he's treated by the fandom, although I do mainly blame bethesda's lazy ass writing. (Also let's not forget that X6-88 is often completely ignored)

Now to Wyll, the love of my life, my babygirl. Wyll was extremly neglected by Larian's writing with him only having about 8.5h of content according to this reddit post. which probably has a lot to do with the fact that he was rewritten very close to release. Wyll is not boring, Wyll is not bland, Larian just didn't want to do him justice compared to other characters (Cough Cough Astarion Cough Cough 12.75h of Content Cough Cough) due to the response to him in EA being low. And let's not forget that up until Patch 7 his dialouge was bugged (apparently), it shouldn't have taken this long to fix it, but Larian was probably busy Animating the 1000000th Astarion cutscene (And don't even get me started on the racist white guy). Wyll didn't even get his own outfit like the rest of the Party (well Lae'zel is wearing Typical gith armor but you rarely encounter them, I recall like 3 or 4 times you actually wearing that armor) Wyll got the basic ass Warlock outfit, and yes it might make sense if you put it as "Well Wyll doesn't have anything anymore, he probably bought or got what was quickly available" well yes but then Astarion should wear some rags or something or at least more plain clothes cuz Cazador most likely would not pay for his clothes to get fixed or get fancy clothes for him, it was just Larian neglecting Wyll again.

And just like Preston Wyll is an incredibly complex character if you take your time to get to know him. His pact causes him pain (mostly mentally n all that) it got him disowned yet he doesn't regret taking it. Wyll was a menace of a Child, almost accidentally robbing a bank, reading smut when he was too young to read such content and then during the game reciting that shit in public. He is incredibly corny and he is proud of that and he fucking fangirls over Minsc. Wyll doesn't even hate his father for disowning him (I'm not saying Wyll should hate or forgive his father, I believe their relationship is incredibly complex), he only speaks rather fondly of him. (also if I see one more person stating Wyll is a Tiefling/Modding Wyll to look like a tiefling I wyll throw hands, he is not a tiefling he is touched by the hells. Same goes for the damn bloodstone eye mod, it's not supposed to be a bloodstone bbg lies about it). Wyll has been under Mizora's close watch for 7 years of course he wants to take romance slow.

Unfortunatley in both offical art and fanwork Wyll tends to be replaced by Halsin or straight up forgotten and in the offical art he does appear in he is often just glued to Mizora (yes I get that a Warlock pact is Binding blah blah) like in the offical art book where every character's alternate design is shown, just not Wyll instead it's Mizora. And I hate it, yes someone may percieve him as bland/boring when they just put him in camp and just don't interact with him, hell if that was a reason to call a character boring I could call Astarion boring but I'm not.

I understand that "good" characters might not be everyone's cup of tea but holy fuck it sucks so much that all the characters I like are just ignored.

The main difference between Preston Garvey and Wyll is that Prestion is the butt of a lame joke and at least is somewhat acknowledged within the fandom, while Wyll just tends to fall behind (Just like X6-88). Both of them are overshadowed by other characters in the game. Preston, Wyll and X6-88 are all pocs and all of them are overshadowed by/less popular than white/white read characters. it's honestly exhausting to see, especially for Baldur's Gate 3, when I see that Larian does indeed respond to fan complains in their content ("Fixing" Tav's expressions for Abuser Astarion kisses...dark romance has ruined fandom).

There is nothing much there can be done about Preston's lazy writing since fallout 4 is pretty much ancient by now (it's like 8 years old so almost a decade). But Baldur's Gate 3 has only turned one (1) year old recently and modern games get consistently updated, it would not be hard for Larian to just add more content for the characters that have less content and make the amount of content each character has kind of equal, hell I would write them the Wyll content for fucking free.

This casual racsim in fandom spaces, whether it's intended or not, is scary to see especially with the curent rise of right wing extremism in western countries (I'm mainly talking about germany here since that's what I can talk about, actually being from such a right wing extremist state).

[mookymilksims]

I asked Aurora about her Bloodsucker UI update because it was originally a direct copy of my Black Girl Magic UI Overhaul. Since she later claimed her UI mod had "various issues," I wanted to know what she meant by that, given that my original mod worked fine with Search and UI Tweaks unless there was an installation issue or another conflicting UI mod.

I chose to block Aurora due to multiple shady incidents:

When she first released her UI mod, she minimized my contributions. In reality, I gave her all my files because her originals caused crashed, walked her through the recoloring batch build process, provided my hex codes, and even fixed a LAYO bug she couldn't resolve because the files were mine and she just copied them. Despite this, her crediting was minimal.

She linked my mod with a full copy URL while using inline links for all the other creators on the post. At the time, I was becoming aware that people do this to let blocked users bypass restrictions (similar to what happened with Sisilou and around the same exact time). When I asked her about it, she didn’t respond to the question—just changed the link.

I never planned to "expose" her—I privately asked questions and made a private decision. She didn't need to make a public statement unless she thought I would call her out, which I never did.

As for LazyCapricorn and Gitte (Toadifylackoffantasy):

Lazy was blocked for starting a fight in my server based on a false assumption that we were talking about her in the drama chat, when she could have just asked for access to see that wasn’t the case. Gitte is the one who planted the idea in her mind.

Gitte was spoken to multiple times (not even by me) about nitpicking and micromanaging my projects. Instead of considering what I said, she went to badmouth me in other Sim spaces to people she knew disliked me—people she talked badly about to me and would tell me what negative things they said about me. Funny enough, another friend blocked her a week later for the exact same reason.

I find it interesting that three months later, they jump at the first chance to retell the story, leaving out their own actions. I don’t talk about them—I just move on and work on my projects.

If blocking Lazy over a dress compliment is "crazy," why didn’t she mention the server fight she caused or the fact that she left the moment she had to face real opinions? I gave her the option to speak her peace, she didn't want to be in the server anymore.

If blocking Gitte was unfair, why was she blocked by another close friend for the same reason just days later?

I set boundaries and y'all say I am being too strict.

I create my own space and curate my own feed and y'all call me a cult leader.

I'll let y'all lurk on my page for years and keep posting and I'm just being desperate cuz no one likes me or cares about me and I should leave the community.

I stopped letting y'all lurk on me and now I am excommunicating everyone who would have liked my stuff if I just let them be.

I speak up when I am mentioned and I am just being an unreasonable drama queen.

I don't speak up when I am mentioned and I think I am too good to respond to people who were hurt by my actions (the block).

I'm accused of being a highly toxic person with rejection issues when I have never publicly expressed being upset because I was blocked by someone I don't even know.

I should never have to explain my decision for blocking someone

my mental health should never come into question, none of you are doctors or even my doctor

when I do explain my decision and it is actually reasonable to everyone else

I should not then have to be emotionally manipulated into giving that person another chance.

A block is a block.

Leave it be.

I'm not the only person in simblr, you will live.

And I am not this cartoon villain some of you keep trying to make me out to seem, I am a normal regular person with a whole life outside of simblr who knows how to move tf on.

[hamsterbellbelle]

Hi Hamster hope you well!

I wanted to ask if you also have the issue where some of your older builds don't seem to load anymore? Some of your builds like Waterfront Nightclub and Abandon Subway Strip Club are my absolute favorites but they always seem to give me endless loading screen nowadays...

Hello🐹there was someone messaging with a similar issue🔗 with builds earlier but I haven't been experiencing the bugs myself...The error seem to involve For Rent and/or causing save game corruption [EA Forum Bug Report].

I tested the Waterfront Nightclub and Abandon Subway Strip Club on my save but the builds seem fine. I tried entering through the map to the build mode, and also traveling to the builds in live mode with my sims. They loaded and functions as usual. The Waterfront Nightclub lot type is "nightclub" in my save, and the Abandon Subway Strip Club lot type is "generic".

Endless loading screen could also be caused by some outdated mods. Wicked Whims has recently updated their mods and it is only compatible with the latest update. Another mod that simmers tend to overlook is the XML injector mod because it didn't need any update for a long while, but it actually received one in Dec. 3rd, 2024. Sometimes unexpected CCs like build/buy objects and CAS parts/outfits could also be an issue, and mods like TwistedMexi's Better Exceptions helps highlight the problem. But the best (and tedious...) way is to clear out the mod folder, test the game without mods, then move the mods back bit by bit...

I'm sorry I couldn't be of much help..._(:з)∠)_ hope the issues will be resolved soon🐹

[thesimscurator]

For Rent Update to Career World is Live!

The For Rent update to Career World is here! Before I link it, though, a quick:

CAUTION: There is a serious bug in the game right now that causes irreversible save file corruption. The causes of it are unclear, but it seems to have something to do with residential rentals. I actually GOT this bug while doing this update, and had to scrap two weeks’ worth of work on the update and start over completely from scratch by downloading the previous version of Career World from my own Tumblr—because once it’s in, it can’t be fixed. Luckily, I did not get it on the second attempt (I checked obsessively as I was going), but I don’t know: A) why I got it the first time, B) why I didn’t get it the second time, or C) how to prevent it from happening again in the future.

Because of this, I have not opted to overwrite the previous version of the save file with the new version as I usually do. Until this bug is fixed (please go click “Me Too” on the bug report, it’ll encourage the devs to give this more attention), I want people to have the option to play with or without rental residential lots, knowing that there may be more risk of save file corruption by playing the version with rental residentials. To be clear: neither of these two versions of Career World is currently corrupted. I have uploaded clean saves for you to download. But since I don’t know what triggers the bug, the save may become corrupted as you play, and it looks like this is marginally more likely to occur in the version that has been updated to incorporate For Rent. You will know you have triggered the corruption if you begin to see exclamation points over lots instead of the usual lot identification symbols.

If you get this bug as you play, do not save your game! And perhaps even more importantly, do not close the save you were just playing and click into another; exit the game entirely. There is some evidence that this can spread from one save file to another if you play several save files in the same session. There is, I repeat, no fix for this. The only thing you can do with a corrupted save is restore old versions until you find one that doesn’t have the corruption yet. In the case of Career World, you can always come back to this page and re-download a clean copy from this website.

That was the important info for everybody, but for a few players, I must also give the usual . . .

IMPORTANT MOD NOTE: If you use Frankk’s Language Barriers mod, you must download and install the latest version of that mod before opening the save file in order to retain language data for Tomaru, the newest language.

OK, now that we’ve covered the important need-to-knows, here are links to:

Career World updated for For Rent

Career World only updated as far as Horse Ranch—i.e. without any content from For Rent

Both are also now linked in the main post.

Phew! Alright, now we can get to the details of:

What’s New?

Rental residentials, of course! The thing to know about them first off: there is another, far more minor bug in the game right now that hard-codes the names of all rental residential lot types as whatever EA originally called the lot rather than any new names the player might have given that lot. So, many of the existing apartment buildings—which used to have names that told you what they were, like “Sunny Retirement Village” or “FutureSim Employee Housing”—have reverted to having unchangeable informationless names, or worse: misleading and defunct names, like the house with a basement rental in Britechester that has gone back to being called “Pepper’s Pub” even though I moved Pepper’s Pub and it already has that exact name on a totally separate lot (ditto for the now-duplicated “Thebe Estate”). This is a mess. I will fix it if they ever change this bug/feature/whatever it is, but at the moment, please know that rental residentials have weird names that I can’t change, and the real identity of the building is probably buried several clicks deep in the unit descriptions.

In order to combat this somewhat for players who are willing to read these Tumblr updates, here’s a list of rental residentials with specific gameplay identities that I think should be more obvious than they are with the locked lot names:

Special Rental Residentials:

1) The apartment building on the FutureSim campus (Mirage Canyon) in Oasis Springs is employee housing for employees of FutureSim Labs (the scientist career employer), or its subsidiaries Obscure Logistics (the engineering employer) and Rainy Day Entertainment (the tech guru employer), and their families. If you do not have a scientist, engineer, or tech guru in the family, you are not eligible to move into these apartments.

2) The trailer park in Bedrock Strait in Oasis Springs is a retirement community. We don’t want any young whipper-snappers here, nor any of these go-getter old folks who still work and will just remind us of the daily grind we’re trying to forget. Don’t even dream of moving here unless you are 1) an elder, and 2) retired. And no live-in children or grandchildren, either! If you can’t remember the golden age of landlines, find somewhere else to live!

3) I did a little playtesting of the solar farm in Oasis Springs for this version of the save file, and discovered that A) you couldn’t even get to any of the solar panels to maintain them the way this was originally set up, and B) it wasn’t actually possible to make money from selling electricity—the lot value was too high relative to the payback from the solar panels. But, I discovered, it is possible to have the electric payback exceed your bills if the lot is changed to a rental residential with the living quarters set as the one and only unit and the solar farm itself as common area. So that’s what I did: I fixed the solar panels so you can access them, and set the place as a rental with only one unit. You can now functionally play as a solar plant operator. And of course, the Landgraabs are your landlords. They do own the whole electric utility, after all. (This is also now true for the power plant in Evergreen Harbor and the hill house/micro wind farm in the Windslar neighborhood of Windenburg.)

4) The cluster of huts at the top of the hill in Sulani’s Ohan’ali Town is an eco-living commune that blends traditional Sulani ways of life with new green technologies. Residents live in separate off-the-grid huts with little more than bedrooms and kitchens, powered by the commune’s on-site solar panels, windmills, solar hot water heaters, and dew collectors. In the collective space, however, you’ll find a thriving taro patch, a communal art studio, game tables, a full bar, a small basketball court, chickens and insects to raise, a roadside stand for selling the commune’s produce and crafts, and lots of opportunities to interact with fellow members of this intentional community. One of the huts is generally reserved for students on study abroad who have come to learn about Sulani culture through this communal living experience—see the List of Study Abroad Opportunities (now updated for Tomarang!) for details.

5) The defunct motel in StrangerVille was bought for an almost-literal song by an eclectic throuple of artists who are very flexible about making changes proposed by tenants. Currently, all the former hotel rooms are just in the state they were when the place was a hotel, but if you move in here and want to—say—combine two units into a larger, single unit like they have done with their own, they’d be open to that. If you want to add a rooftop space to your top-floor unit, or even create some kind of wonky townhouse by linking two units that are directly above one another with a rooftop space, they’re open to that, too. If you want to install blackout curtains over all the windows, paper the walls with conspiracy-theory notes, and run secret experiments in your former hotel room, go nuts! They’ll really let you do just about anything. All you need to do is play as the owners for a minute to change these things before moving your sim in.

6) The big house where Pepper’s Pub originally was in Britechester is just that—a big house. They rent out their converted basement to university students, but this isn’t really an apartment building. The understanding with this one is that whoever lives in the above-ground house portion will always be the property owner and not just a renter—and in order to make this true, I have had to add an owning family to that section of the property, which means the college administrator Jade Rosa has been house-sitting for all this time has returned! You now have the option to dive right in to professoring or college administration with the new family that now lives there (thanks to Ivelle_creates for making the couple).

7) Both the large piazza in Tartosa where the Thebe Estate used to be, AND the apartment building at Ro Kaya Rockside in Tomarang, are mixed-use areas with commercial establishments on the ground floor (and sometimes into the upper floors) with apartments above. This is not exactly possible yet in The Sims 4, but several of the businesses are still usable—you can buy wedding dresses off the mannequins in the Tartosan bridal shop, for example, because that gameplay is tied to the mannequin object and not the lot type. Mostly, however, these commercial areas are designed with gameplay as their associated workers in mind, allowing you to live in an apartment but do work tasks in one of the on-site businesses (EX: be a cosmotologist who works in the on-lot salon).

(And a quick sidenote on the piazza in Tartosa: there is the potential for A TREMENDOUS NUMBER of apartment units on this lot. I have only designated the three that are occupied as actual units for now, because I was already running up against the per-save-file unit limit, but if you want to move your own sim in, just pick whichever of the many empty spaces suits your fancy, create the perfect apartment for your sim, and designate it as a new unit. Or, if you are really into furnishing/interior decoration and you want to turn this into basically an entire town, you can just bulldoze the existing rental residentials in other worlds, use the bb.increaserentalunitcap on cheat to allow yourself all the space you need, and go to literal town.)

8) Tam Nang Sands in Tomarang is a resort hotel. The place is set up for short-term rentals only, and is really meant to be played from the property owner perspective, to create a faux active career as a hotel manager. While it is possible to play from the tenant perspective and “stay here” on “vacation,” the game does not register it as a vacation and will make you sell your current residence in order to move here. I don’t really recommend doing that unless you live with someone else and are planning on going on vacation without them; then you can use the “split household” feature to send part of your household for a temporary stay while the other part of the household holds down the fort. If the Sims team ever release an honest-to-goodness hotel system, I will update this, but in the meantime this is better played as the manager.

9) Isda Riverfront in Tomarang is the site of the Linh family compound. While most Tomarani people have abandoned this traditional mode of housing the entire extended family in a walled compound with central courtyard and a special family spirit house, the Linh family is determined to stick to it, no matter how many foreigners marry in. And that, of course, means that unless you’re marrying in, you may not move here. Marry in or be born in, that’s the deal.

10) The colonial mansion on the former site of The Screaming Gecko in Tomarang has been set “for rent” so it can be used as a private second home by a wealthy sim. One of the new and unique things the rental system now allows us to do is have sims own multiple homes and just swap between them at will; all you have to do is set all the homes you want to own as residential rental lots, assign all the rooms to a single unit in each, and then buy all the homes as a property owner. Since property owners pay no rent to live in a property they own, voila! You can live that snowbird life and just move to Tomarang when you get tired of winter, then move back to your original house (or any other vacation homes you own) when you need a change of scenery. I seriously considered having Judith Ward buy this house, since there is text in the tiger sanctuary about her having a particular connection to it, but ultimately decided I wanted you, the player, to have the opportunity to buy this with whatever sim you’re playing—whether Judith Ward herself or any other. And bonus, you can actually use this method to play out tax-evasion-by-the-wealthy storylines, because the property taxes on a big, expensive mansion that you own outright are astronomical, but taxes on “rental” properties you “manage” is just a flat $50 per unit per day, which is often far less than what you would have been paying on an owned house. This pack introduced lots of new paths to crime, for rich and poor alike!

All in all, there are 22 rental residentials in the save file now, with a total of 90 units (so you have 10 to play around with still!), the overwhelming majority of which are just empty and waiting for you to select and move your own sims in. If you choose to live in one of these buildings and want to have more neighbors, just move a few in from the gallery or elsewhere in the save.

And a quick note about a choice I didn’t make: I have not split any of the boarding houses in Copperdale into separate units for different students, because having a whole bunch of high school students with common interests in the same household is what allows you to control them as a group at the school and have them engage in active club activities together. This was half the point of creating the boarding-house system for Copperdale in the first place, so they are always going to be giant, unwieldy households full of sims. Embrace the challenge! You can play single high school students in any old save file. The same goes for the three movie set households added in the last update: all those sims need to be in the same household and simultaneously controllable for the gameplay to function correctly, so they have not been subdivided.

Tomarang Makeover:

As with some previous worlds, I’ve tried to lean in to the differing neighborhood identities by making Morensong bustling, crowded-together, modern, and rundown, while Koh Sahpa has a much more chill, spread-out, traditional, and upscale vibe. Morensong is overrun with street cats (i.e. it has “cat hangout” as a neighborhood trait), while Koh Sahpa has “peace and quiet” as its neighborhood trait. Both neighborhoods of Tomarang, however, have “mold” as a world challenge, because the air is just so heavy with moisture—the only exceptions to this are lots with absolutely no indoor space whatsoever, and therefore sufficient airflow to prevent mold growth. But if there’s an interior, there’s going to be mold.

The limited number of lots presented a challenge for filling Morensong with businesses and activities, but I think I did pretty well, considering. Its four lots are split half-and-half between residential and community, but one of the residentials is a mixed-use building with businesses on the ground floor, including a functional street market where you can play as a vendor if you’re living in the building. And I managed to pack quite a lot into the two community lots, as well! The one currently set as a thrift and bubble tea shop can have its lot type changed to karaoke bar, bar, lounge, or nightclub at will, depending on which spaces you want to focus on, what events you’d like thrown there, etc. And for the other lot, simmers made so many wonderful and creative alternatives to the bland national park that I couldn’t pick just one, so I picked four. I have turned this into one of the Eco Lifestyle four-in-one community space lots, with each of its states a completely different venue by a different simmer. If you want to keep it as a botanical garden, just leave it on the “community garden” state and you will have a fuller version with actual plants for your sims to tend (all flowers and tropical plants), spirit houses, and a picnic area—great if you’re playing as a botanist or a florist. If you’re some kind of vendor who doesn’t live at Ro Kaya Rockside and you want a more playable version of the night market, just set it to “marketplace” and now you’ll have easily editable stands at which to sell your wares. If you want a community center with tons to do, set it to “makerspace,” and if you’re looking for a non-rabbit-hole temple / Tomarani wedding venue, set it to “community space.”

In Koh Sahpa, I played around a bit with the new career and lifestyle possibilities unlocked by the new rental residential venue type. Three of the five lots out here are rental residentials, but none of the three are classic apartment buildings or townhouses like you’ll find in Morensong. One is a luxury hotel, where playing as the property owner means keeping the guests happy and the place in tip-top shape with very short leases and lots of rules. Another is a traditional family compound, where your “tenants” (or your “landlord,” depending on which household you’re playing) are actually your family members, and the point is to do lots of gathering and socializing in the common space, throw potlucks every night to represent big family dinners, and all pitch in to help when a maintenance or emergency event hits. In this “rental,” there are no rules and the leases are basically forever. The final “rental” is only marked as a rental residential to enable you to buy it as a second home—once you’ve purchased it, all you have to do is turn your own home into a rental residential and you can move between your two houses at will. In addition to these rental residentials, a straight-up vacation rental and a spa round out the primarily vacation-oriented neighborhood of Koh Sahpa.

Of course, this is a career-focused save, so a lot of the choices I made with Tomarang’s lots—like the ones described above—were career driven. But identifying careers for Tomarang was a bit tricky. For Rent certainly came with new ways to make money, a new part-time career, and several interesting gameplay features that fold particularly well into existing careers . . . but interestingly, none of these new features were particularly location-specific. You can be a landlord or a handyperson anywhere, and the same goes for blackmail or break-ins. So while I made many additions to the Career Chart as a result of this pack, none of these new career options are limited to Tomarang. Instead, Tomarang has joined the lists of especially good places to pursue several other pre-existing careers, like fisherman (I mean, those waters!).

That said, I did make Tomarang an especially great spot to pursue anything that jives well with vending your wares at the Night Market (and the many extensions to it I added), so being a freelance crafter, artist, food stall owner, fisherman, gardener, florist, jeweler, or anything else that consists primarily of making or collecting small items to sell will be particularly rewarding when playing in Tomarang. I had also listed a new ministry of labor career as a masseur back when the Spa Day refresh came out, but never had much of a dedicated space for it. Now, with Tomarang, I decided to lean into the well-regarded tradition of Thai massage by including three different venues of varying quality where your masseur sim can give commercial massage in this world: a seedy downmarket massage parlor on the Ro Kaya Rockside lot, a mid-tier venue at the historical spa in downtown Koh Sahpa, and an upscale open-air massage area at the four-star Tam Nang Sands Resort Hotel. Plus, there’s a private massage room in the colonial mansion, so if you’re playing as a massage therapist and someone moves in there, feel free to invite yourself over and charge them for private massage services.

On the subject of things at Ro Kaya Rockside being seedy, I chose the building I did for that lot because the builder, eenitmartini (Matinee on YouTube—go check her out!) made this absolutely fantastic criminal lair/hideout/underground nightclub as part of her building, so all credit to her for the fact that there is now an “Illegal Gambling Ring” club in this save file, hosted at Ro Kaya Rockside and open only to criminals, secret agents, and undercover cops. This means that, while not exclusive, Tomarang is also now an especially good place to be a criminal—which is great, because the For Rent pack enabled me to create a plethora of new specialties within the criminal career, including things like “B&E specialist” and “blackmailer” (see the Career Chart for details).

As usual, I have also used the T.O.O.L. mod to add extra activities to the open parts of the world—most notably, I added several extra stalls to the night market, so you can play there as a vendor. You’ll note that most of them do not have sales tables/food stalls at the front of the tent; this is because, as I was testing, I discovered that you can’t actually sell anything using these objects unless the game knows you own them, so you’ll have to bring your own and place it from your sim’s inventory for these spaces to be functional. There are two that are already complete: Alon Sadya’s food stall in the main part of the market, and Chánh Linh’s fish stall on the other side of the buildings, over near the public toilets. These stalls are completely functional for these individuals, but will not be for anyone else unless you have the owners remove those key objects so you can replace them with others that belong to your active household.

Townie Updates:

Vanesha Cahyaputri, poster child for the pack and model landlord, is now running a four-star hotel in Koh Sahpa! She has quite the job trying to keep her little sister from breaking into people’s hotel rooms to snoop, in addition to keeping the buffet table stocked with local delicacies, making drinks for guests and offering them massages when they emerge from their rooms, and of course keeping up with maintenance and bookings.

The extended members of the Linh-Sadya clan now live in a traditional Tomerani family compound that has allowed me to split them into three households instead of two. They routinely throw big potluck-style family dinners in their shared courtyard. The elder patriarchs have both retired from their more demanding careers and are now in relaxing part-time jobs that cater to their interests—namely, fisherman for Chánh (complete with functional night market food stall!) and handyperson for Arturo. Their elder daughter Liên and her husband Alon both work in Morensong, where Liên makes over sims at the salon at Ro Kaya Rockside and Alon runs a night market street grill. Auntie Thi is still a secret agent, but as part of her work she has now infiltrated an illegal gambling ring in Morensong and is trying to uncover secrets at their weekly poker night. She also adopted a new cat, Bub II, a toyger who is a smaller, more approachable version of the tigers that are Tomarang’s special animal. All members of the extended Linh family now know learnable recipes for Vietnamese and Selvadoradian dishes, reflecting their mixed heritage.

The Bun Ma family have established themselves as fixtures at Ro Kaya Rockside, Morensong’s shadier district. Bua runs a hole-in-the-wall noodle soup place, Nin gives massage at various locations around Tomarang, and Kasem runs the illegal gambling ring under the building that Thi has infiltrated—in between break-ins and expert hacking of various trust funds. Yes, you wouldn’t expect it from the sweet-faced young father of an adorable toddler, but that’s part of what makes him such an effective criminal.

But wait, there’s more! A few sims outside of Tomarang have also been updated:

Eliza Pancakes has become much more investigative since becoming a cop. Some people might even call her nosy. Kasem had better hope she never uncovers any of his secrets.

Katrina Caliente took the scads of money she has gotten from selling expensive Selvadoradian artifacts to museums, bought the other three condos in her building, knocked the whole building down, and built a modern desert villa for herself, her two daughters, her dog, and whatever boy toy she’s currently entertaining (still Don, at the moment). She was tired of sharing space, and there are more than enough apartments in Oasis Springs, anyway.

Geoffrey Landgraab got tired of playing secret agent and has returned to what he really always has been: an electric company mogul who owns and operates power plants around the worlds. It’s up to him to fill job vacancies in these plants by “hiring” onsite managers, keeping them happy, and handling maintenance on the plants. What is more, at the same time that he realized he was only fooling himself about the secret agent thing, he also realized he was only fooling himself about being family-oriented, because let’s face it: he disowned one of his sons, the other one is evil, and his wife is a criminal. Instead, he has decided to focus his love and attention outward to the world by re-branding himself as a generous philanthropist. He now regularly attends charity benefit parties, gives to online charities, says yes to anyone who calls him asking for a donation, volunteers his time, and will even go on sprees where he goes around just handing money to random sims on the street. Good thing he has so much that he could live off just investments for the rest of his life.

SimTube star Dustin Broke is running out of material. His jokes, memes, and dances have gotten a little dated. Over time, he has become—well—cringe.

Judith Ward has adopted a tiger (and given a boatload more money to the tiger sanctuary, besides!), as per her lore in the new pack. Her in-house handyman is also now in the actual handyperson career. It’s good to be the queen!

The university administrator who had Jade Rosa house-sitting for so long has returned from the family vacation she took to Tartosa to show her kids their father’s homeland. The family is now happily reinstalled in their big fancy Britechester home, back to work as Dean of Admissions and adjunct art professor, respectively, at the University of Britechester, and back to charging Jade rent for her basement apartment underneath their house. If you’re looking to play either of the advanced branches of the Education career, they are now an option.

The group of salarypersons I downloaded originally as unhoused NPCs in order to give Kado Akiyama some co-workers to do karaoke with have now moved into houses on his own street! While I left most units empty in the places I converted to rental residentials, I did feel kinda weird about leaving an entire street’s worth of stand-alone houses empty except for the Akiyama family—it was just a little too post-apocalyptic for my taste. So since I already had this Mt.Komorebi-based club, I figured I’d turn its other members into neighbors and integrate them into the community a little more.

For users of Frankk’s Language Barriers mod, which is a supported mod in this save file, I have updated the native languages of some previously-existing townies for the new inclusion of Tomaru. Before this pack came out, I used Komorebigo as the stand-in for all languages originating from Eastern Asia writ large—now, I have separated it out into Komorebigo for East Asian languages (not only Japanese but also Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Mongolian, etc.) and Tomaru for Southeast Asian languages (Vietnamese, Thai, Tagalog, Malay, etc.). So now, for example, the Filipino sim Jules Rico, who shipped with the Eco Lifestyle expansion, is natively bilingual in Simlish and Tomaru (previously, I’d had him set as natively bilingual in Simlish and Komorebigo). So there have been a few alterations to townies like that. I hope to get to do more updates like this in the future as the Sims team diversifies the worlds on offer and Frankk—who absolutely makes my game with this beautiful mod—continues to expand the language offerings of the Sims universe.

Other stuff that has changed:

I took that excellent new object that looks like a “for sale” sign and stuck it outside every unoccupied house in this save file. I just thought it was a nice touch.

While I was working on this update, I saw a YouTube video that reminded me what a great object the photo booth from High School Years was, and realized I was under-utilizing it. I have now gone back and scattered several more of these around, ensuring that each world has at least one photo booth somewhere. Thanks, lilsimsie!

Pressure cookers and kettles have been strategically added in places where I thought they were needed.

A few of the more run-down houses have the new “maintenance” lot challenge—and some have mold, as well!

I realized there was nowhere to get nectar in Tartosa (a serious oversight), so I scattered a bunch of bottles around the public areas of the large piazza that is the local rental residential in Porto Luminoso. They are just debug bottles and nothing special—for that, you’re going to have to help Hugo Villareal restart Tartosa’s defunct nectar-making business. I’m sure his bottles will be better than the debug ones.

All this updating took me into spring, so seasonal lots (including prom!) have been updated.

That’s it for this update! When you don’t randomly get the corruption bug, it’s actually quite enjoyable. I had a ton of fun doing all the building conversions and playtesting, and I hope you’ll have fun playing, too!

Download now: Career World For Rent update

[fizzingwizard]

SIMS 4 RANT

Watched simmer_erin's video about the For Rent bugs and reeeeeally wondering if this is what hit my game... I really have no way to know, I have had some of the issues in the past, like lots having a ! over them and being unplayable, but that was years ago. Now it's just those constant crashes that suddenly began after one of the January updates.

So maybe my game is broken for a diff reason BUT I do have For Rent, and it definitely gave me lots of issues when I first installed it. Look at these suggestions though!

The one about keeping houses to a minimum (probably my greatest sin): IT'S A BUILD GAME. Every game pack they give you tons of new stuff to build with - what are we meant to do, just look at all the pretty things but not use them?

The photos thing drives me wild!! Photos appear as stacks in a sim's inventory so unless you're looking for them on purpose it's easy to think you only have one photo etc. Not to mention inventories are super cluttered. You can filter them - but if you don't know it's so important to delete stuff that the game lets you have and does not warn you can cause issues, you won't! If photos are this hard on the game, then the game should prompt you that you're running low on photo storage and should delete some. That's not something you can just expect average users to know. The game gives us a function, we use it! (And fwiw I expect large inventories have an impact too - this list doesn't say so and obvs things like tomatoes and rock climbing gear don't need to store photo data elsewhere, which is the main issue. But since cluttered homes/big saves/lots of sims are on blast here I really won't be surprised if large inventories cause problems as well. Which is really troublesome because inventories get large fast and easily. And it restricts your gameplay. Like, if you have lots of plants in your inventory, I guess EA could say you're suppose to sell them and not keep them there. But at the same time, you can EAT all those plants. And if they're high quality, it's a great boost to your needs AND your mood. Obviously the game intends for you to keep some of your plants. But there's no hard limit to how much and expecting us to just figure it out is nonsensical. Either tell us the actual limit, fix it, or don't add these features at all!)

I loooove how the troubleshooting tips acknowledges that the game just "makes" sims all the time so you, the player, should be conservative with your own. Don't make use of CAS, don't have fun playing many different careers, don't make exteneded families and storylines and different families for different worlds... Because the game won't stop vomiting ugly townies wearing fifteen piercings, sneakers with formal gowns, and eyeball rings. GET RID OF THE GODDAMN TOWNIES i hate them so much. Also idk about anyone else but personally I've had a really tough time deleting sims??? Even my own. I deleted a bunch of families a while back only to find they were still counted in my total and had only been removed from the world. Yes I knew I had to delete them from the world, I swear I did it but still had to do it again. Thankfully the second time it stuck. AND I want to mention that I play on the 80 sim limit, which is the max sims allowed "for good quality game play" or whatever. But you can, without mods, extend that limit. TWICE. The game LETS YOU EXTEND IT TWICE. Without mods!!!!! That means the problem at least isn't MEANT to be about the number of sims. Hitting the higher limits can "affect" your game play, but you're still allowed to play them and decide for yourself how much you're bothered by that hit. I seriously doubt the developers did that thinking "it's a good idea for people to be able to play with the third and highest max of sims and make their games completely unplayable."

Like this is the sims. We make sims. We build houses. That's why we play. That's why gamers laugh at us, because we make sims and build houses instead of shooting zombies or doing anything goal-oriented. If we can't do those things there is NO POINT to the sims. If there is a reasonable limit (bc I always stuck to the 80 sim max!!!) to various things, like number of photos, that should have been made clear to us from the start. And if there's a limit to essential activities, like building, then there should not be such an emphasis on building and decorating at all!! They make a new pack and advertise all the cool stuff it comes with - and then they tell us not to use it? Really? REALLY???

I feel like I'm listening to a slow dirge for the Sims franchise. It's really sad.

I'm going to uninstall For Rent in my game and I may have to start over anyway, and I won't reinstall it unless the bugs are totally fixed. It sounds like they never will be though - in which case EA OWES ME MONEY. Refund me that pack. If we can't play it, and if it's causing us to not be able to play Sims at all, then we should get refunds. It's like we just made donations to EA lol. This is the Wedding Stories debacle x1000.

[changingplumbob]

Knightstone Household: Chapter 6, Part 2

Adam struggles with his feelings over a possible second child, Suzanna and Silas have a park trip.

Adam also finds time to play with Silas

Adam: Remember our old friend the ring. Is it my hat or your hat?

Silas: *giggles*

He then gives Silas another bottle for dinner. Luckily Silas only burps up gas bubbles. Then he places him in his crib and turns on a lullaby

Suzanna: How was work today

Adam: You know work, there's always stuff to critique

Suzanna: I still don't get how you are comfortable putting your opinions out there like that

Adam: It took time to be comfy with it for sure

Suzanna: And now you're respected

Adam: Exactly

Suzanna: Are you sure you're okay with trying for another kid?

Adam: I have to be honest. Through the pregnancy I am going to be nervous and tense and scared

Suzanna: You don't like change

Adam: I don't, especially when I think we are part of a great trio

Suzanna: So we can't try?

Adam: Let me finish starlight. I will be a wreck but I want to have another child with you

Suzanna: Truly?

Adam: I love you, I love Silas, I'll love whatever kid we have, no matter if they're blue or pink

Suzanna: Wait, blue or pink?

Adam: Right, didn't hear the bird story

Suzanna: I did not

Adam: So basically this bird family had a baby chick. When it hatched it was pink, without any of their lovely blue feathers

Suzanna: Many birds hatch without feathers

Adam: The parents initially panicked because how could they look after this pink thing

Suzanna: Right

Adam: But they realised they loved the chick so much that even without feathers they would do what they could to raise it

Suzanna: Did the bird survive

Adam: It was an infant book, you bet it survived. Point is it'll take me some time to adjust but I will

Suzanna: I don't remember books being so metaphoric when we were young

Adam: Right! Maybe they were and we just missed it?

Suzanna: Probably. But you needn't worry about pregnancy, the watcher hasn't installed any mods that could cause death

Adam: How can you be sure?

Suzanna: I told you, all paranoid sims know what the watcher does

Adam: If he even exists

Suzanna: SHE does and she has our back, don't worry, I won't die from pregnancy

Adam: Promise?

Suzanna: Cross my heart and hope to die

Adam: Not funny

Suzanna: Hope to live then

The next morning Silas wakes up before anyone else so has some solo tummy time. It's still emotional for him, despite having met several key movement milestones. When Adam gets up he has to use a dirty sink, and in doing so discovers he is actually squeamish!

Suzanna gets Silas up and ready while Adam makes some food. I'm amused by the things sims pull out of the dirty diapers. Cars confirmed??? I jest, the routing in Sims 4 clearly doesn't allow for driving places and lots don't line up with roads, I don't think it'll happen. Happy to be proved wrong though sims team...

Suzanna takes Silas to the table and gets him settled down. They try some Oaty O's and Silas does not approve. Suzanna gets them cleared away while Adam gives Silas his favourite finger food, peanut butter puffs

Adam: Any plans for today?

Silas: *pats*

Suzanna: Technically it's Spring Cleaning day so I'll check what needs tidying

Adam: I would help, but I don't want to

Suzanna: *laughs* Save your strength for diaper duty?

Adam: More like build up my strength for diaper duty

Suzanna: Try keep an eye out for the flower bunny

Adam: That's today?

Suzanna: Should be but things can always get bugged

Silas: *giggles*

Suzanna: What will you do?

Adam: I need to publish my next column and work on writing before work today

Suzanna: I was thinking...

Suzanna: Fossils hardly ever spawn at work so I might take Silas to the park with me

Adam: Will he be getting a tiny hammer?

Suzanna: No, but that would be adorable

Adam: Back carrier?

Suzanna: He should be able to nap in there while I walk around

Adam: In disguise though right? We don't want him having the wrong kind of attention.

Suzanna: Of course. I'll make sure he's disguised before we even leave the lot

Silas: Mummy plants? Fun me

Suzanna: No starshine, you stay there and finish your breakfast

Silas: Pop pop

Adam: I'm here my dude, come on, two more mouthfuls then you can play

Silas blew a raspberry! Alas I was too slow to capture the moment but it was cute. He plays with his toys in the lounge while Adam works away at his writing. Suzanna uses the time Adam is home to fit in her workout so she doesn't need to leave Silas alone, the AI care is glitchy...

When Suzanna gets back from her run she has some tummy time with Silas, he seems to be trying to regularly balance on all fours at the moment. Before heading to the park Suzanna makes sure Silas is full and as content as he can be, tiredness not included obviously.

Silas: *spits out milk*

Suzanna: Oh dear starshine, is your tummy bad today

Silas: Bad

Suzanna: Okay let's check your disguise, can you disguise for mummy

Silas: Dis side

Suzanna: Dis-gu-ise

Silas: *giggles*

Suzanna: We are look human, we'll work on the word later

The pair arrive at the park and Suzanna sorts Silas into his back carrier for a nap. He tries to nap and eventually falls asleep while Suzanna digs up every rock pile and searches the pond for frogs. No new frogs unfortunately but we get new fossils!

Back home Suzanna tries to use her simray on a duplicate fossil in the hopes of finding a new one. The ray powers up, the light beam strikes, the object glows and... not a fossil. But it's incredibly cute so we're gonna keep it for when Silas has his own kids room.

Adam arrives home and immediately springs into pops mode, comforting Silas who is not happy at being awake so soon. Sorry buddy but you need a diaper change and feeding before you properly fall asleep. Adam helps him try some mashed carrots and they're a hit!

Suzanna got a scam call so takes her frustration out on the dust bunnies upstairs.

Adam: Okay my dude, night night time

Silas: nit nit time

Adam: That's right buddy, let's put on a lullaby for you

Silas: Star! Star!

Adam: Twinkle twinkle little star it is

Silas: nit pops

Silas is asleep early so Adam and Suzanna try for a baby before dinner.

Suzanna: Thanks for cooking

Adam: Just catering for your insatiable appetite. Thanks for... you know

Suzanna: *giggles* We do have fun

Adam: You're amazing, you know that right?

Suzanna: You have mentioned it

Silas: *cries*

Suzanna: What time is it?

Adam: 1am, go back to sleep

Suzanna: You sure?

Adam: I have tomorrow, I mean today, off work so I'll go check him. You just sleep starlight, you got him the last time

Suzanna: Thank you, tell him I love him, and I love you

Really not sure why Silas woke up when he's been sleeping through the night but the answer is probably "Infants will infant". Adam makes sure to get him as clean as possible, and as full as possible, and as comforted as possible before giving him a bed time story.

Previous Part ... Next Part

[oddballwriter]

HABIT w/ a Partner who’s a Vampire

Summary: What I think HABIT would be like with a partner who’s a vampire

Warnings: HABIT, mentions of blood, drinking blood, disregard for human life, disregard for Evan, killing, and torture

Relationship: romantic 💕

Author’s Snip: I got this idea from remembering another blog, @rabbits-of-habit, here on tumblr who made a scenario about HABIT and a reader who was a vampire but never made an actual post for what it would be like to be a vampire in a relationship with HABIT and I really liked the idea of it. I also feel like there isn’t enough writing where the reader is the vampire in the relationship and I feel like there should be more. Also, also, I just really like vampires. So yeah this is basically the product of both those things. Kudos to, I believe the mod Dirk, for giving me this idea.

Notes: I wrote this with the idea that your one of those vampires who doesn’t care about people so yeah

I’ll shut up now. Enjoy!

꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦

He enjoys this! For a few reasons

You’re not human which makes it feels like you guys are at a semi-even level

Even through he’s a multi dimensional demon thing and you’re an undead/night dwell creature (depends who you ask) and those aren’t the same thing

But you not being human allows him the ease of knowing that he doesn’t have to worry about being more “cautious” around you. Which just means that he can be a monster and do a whole bunch of stuff without you getting scared or killed because you’re also a monster and do a whole bunch of things too

Another thing he likes is that you guys can kind of have a bit of a symbolic relationship going on in which he kills people and you get your feed on blood out of it

It’s a bit one sided since you’re actually the one mostly getting something out of it but he guesses it gives him a reason to snatch and torture more people so that you get your supply of blood

If you ever need to feed then you can just go up in the attic and get it from whoever HABIT felt crossed him this time

However, if you like to work for your “meals” and get them yourself, he’ll respect that

“It feels better when it’s your own kill”

He also likes you being a vampire because as a vampire, you have to kill or at least harm people, and that means you don’t have much care for humans either, like him!

So he’s glad that you’re not some sap who “doesn’t wanna hurt people”

He’ll gladly let you have a little drink from “him” if you want he actually thinks it would be hot as fucking hell even though it’s technically not his blood but rather it’s Evan’s

He doesn’t care though we all know that he doesn’t give a fuck about Evan and what he thinks or feels so go right ahead and drink

HABIT heals fast anyways so you can drink a shit load of blood and he’ll just have a seat for like ten minutes or something and then he’s fine

I’m gonna take library to say that you two live together and also take liberty and say that you as a vampire sleep in the day and wake in the night since, you know, night dwelling creature, so it’s a no-brainer that you only dwell in the night

Anyways. When you’re asleep, he leaves you alone to rest in a room. He won’t bug you at all since there’s no point since vampires sleep like the dead. And also, what could he possibly need from you that he can’t simply wait till night for you to wake up? If he needs to go somewhere while it’s day then he’ll just write a note and put it somewhere he knows you’ll find it

If someone bugs you while you’re resting though, let’s say Vinny cause he likes to mess with him and drag him around, and also Vinny doesn’t know what’s good for him or leave things the fuck alone, then he’ll make sure they don’t do it again. Or he’ll let you handle it yourself. He’s sure Vinny will learn to never wake you up ever again

I like to think that vampires have a inhuman stealth ability and don’t make a sound when they move and sometimes you’ll accidentally sneak up on him and spook him a bit

He’s kinda used to it and learned to have that be a thing for his senses to look out for but he swears that sometimes you really do just show up out of nowhere

He has nicknames for you like “sucker” or something like that cause lets face it. He’s smug and cheeky like that

[genshingarbage]

hoii, is it okay if I request something with Diluc and Kaeya ? like, gn!reader feels very alone and unloved, because they can't make/keep friends and their family doesn't pay much attention to them ?

and if it's not too much, can the men be like big brother or father figures to the reader ?

it's okie if you don't want to write it!

have a good day/night ♡

This is too cute. Bless. Both I and Mod Kaeya worked together on this one, take a guess who wrote for who lmao hope this is okay sweetie! - Mod Diluc

I'll Always Care.

|| One - Shot ||

Kaeya / Diluc

Diluc

The sun was beating down like normal, the heat was unbearable and it was making you itch and sweat like nobodies business. You felt stuffy and so uncomfortable, but maybe you could give the sun a break from your insults; because deep down it wasn't the sun making you feel like utter nothingness right now. It was the fact you yet again were reminded of the harsh fact that no one cares for you, not even your own mother can pretend to wear a smile around you.

First your mother sighed and brushed you off this morning like a pestering bug, and to rub insult to injury your small group of friends (if you could even call them that.) Had conveniently forgotten to secure a place for you to go with them all on their expedition today. So here you were alone, curled up with your knees pressed against your chest and your eyes closed as to try prevent the threat of tears: despite you trying to convince yourself it's just to block the sunlight, even though you're under a tree that's already blocking the sun indefinitely.

You felt the pain sinking further inside you now and it just stung worse and worse. Why? Why do you always get forgotten about... why do they never care how you're feeling? No one seems to understand you ever. Was this world even meant for someone like you? You debated it sometimes, but all it ever did was work you up more into a crying mess because even if you'd conclude you're better off dead- you'd never have the guts to kill yourself; and you'd be way too terrified to let someone or something else do it for you.

Your head sunk further into your arms that coiled round your frail frame as you began to sniffle and sob softly. Your ears were ringing and your head was hurting so much from how much you'd been on and off crying the past two hours by yourself, nothing but the breeze and butterflies to keep you company in your own misery. Life was cruel, and you were starting to resent it in a whole. But all you could so was curl up and cry like you always do, why can you never fix yourself? Stupid.

You practically leaped out your skin however, shooting your head up fast, almost giving yourself whiplash from the force you done it at. The squeeze on your shoulder was most unexpected and most definitely an understatement to how shaken up you were. You felt the scream aching in your throat about to fly out your lips when you saw who it was, Diluc. His crimson eyes staring down at you, the matching hair tied neatly into a ponytail behind him. His claymore resting on his shoulder effortlessly.

"Why are you crying Y/N?" He spoke sternly, but under that tone you could hear the concern in his voice; as poorly as he was at showing his emotions on a day to day basis. You sniffed hard, an involuntarily rub of your eyes and nose following behind as you blinked away the tears quickly. "I- I'm not. Just resting is all." You wanted to cringe at your poor excuse there yourself, your voice was wavering in tone and cracking so badly, why did you even bother to lie?

He let out a deep sigh before slipping his claymore off his shoulder and swinging it in a circle before letting it peirce into the dirt, securing its position he let it go and stepped next to you, bending down and taking a seat beside you now. Inviting himself into your private affairs had become common ground for you now, then it hit you. He is always around when you feel at your lowest. You looked at him with a bewildered expression, eyebrow raised. The look of utter confusion evident on your face.

Finally he turned his head to you and then looked forward again, one of his knees lifting up for him to rest his arm on, the other sliding round the back of your neck and gently pulling you into his chest. You were confused at first, but then it hit you, he was hugging you and comforting you, in his best efforts at least. You laid there against him, cuddled up to him, your head pounding, your throat sore from crying, your eyes stinging. Face flushed red from your inner rage. You really looked like a mess right now.

"Rest. You need it. When someone's cried at lot it helps to get rest after." He spoke matter of fact like to you. You lifted your head ever so slightly about to attempt another pitiful protest, but his hand came up to your head and softly stroked through your hair. "Rest." He added. That silenced you and simply closed your eyes, feeling not so alone anymore and at actually at ease. He always helps you feel better, no matter how small of an action it was.

He always makes you feel loved and cared for, if you could describe Diluc in one word, it would be big brother. He really was like a big brother to you, always there to cheer you up and make you feel better, always there to remind you that you're not as alone as you always think you are. He's always kept you safe and always put you first before himself even sometimes. A smile crept onto your face ever so slightly when all of this was resurfaced in your mind.

You truly were grateful to have a friend like Diluc, even if you have no one else that's by your side, he is, and he always will be. "Thank you." You muttered the words ever so softly and breath like, as you'd mutter them out in your sleep, while your head rested against his chest. His eyes slowly trailed to the side, looking down at your peaceful sleeping state. His hand still stroking through your hair as it kept you huddled up to him. Not that you'd ever see it or know of it, a small smile made its way onto his lips too.

"Sweet dreams, Y/N".

Kaeya

The lanky man found you in his guest bedroom, knees tucked under you chin with a cloak of thick duvets framing your clearly exhausted face. He sighed softly before beginning to  pat over to you, chocolate milk in hand and heart on his sleeve.

Once you’d noticed him making his way over you shifted under the blankets to let him crawl into the little cave you’d constructed yourself. He placed the glass onto the night stand, interrupting the somber silence of the room with a gentle clink of glass against hardwood, then turned to you in order to pull you into his broad chest. He gently rubbed your back as his icy eyes observed the room with it’s askew drawers and new adornments of thrown pillows and tossed weapons or tools. The gentle moonlight pouring in from the still open curtain, tarnishing the peachy walls a soft periwinkle blue only telling him of the sadness you were feeling.

“You can stay here as long as you need.”

“I know Sir Kaeya.”

Your sniffles broke his heart a little, the way you buried your head into his nightshirt even more so. You were some sort of enigma to him. Like a puzzle he couldn’t solve yet was made of pieces of a mirror he had shattered.

You reminded him so much of how he was after Diluc had…well…

The blue haired man pulled you closer to him to bury his nose in your hair, beginning to frown, “Will you tell me what happened?”

“It is not really what has happened and more what keeps happening honestly.” Your voice was muffled slightly but he could still hear it clearly through your tight words forcing their way out of your throat. You didn’t really have the heart to tell him that since you became an adventurer your parents had all but kicked you out because they didn’t want to deal with the likely chance you wouldn’t be making any sort of money with your dream job. Your friends had began to leave one by one with teasing remarks about joining your adventure team or horrific monsters, leaving to study in far off corners of the world.

You were completely and utterly alone, with only Kaeya at your side. It didn’t take the feeling of his arms tightening around you to tell you he could already sense what you were thinking about.

“They weren’t your family or friends if they simply tossed you aside y’know? You should not spare them another thought.” He muttered this softly into your hair, hoping you could somehow find comfort in his backwards way of thinking. As much as he wanted to toughen you up…he didn’t want you to become him.

He’s well aware of your plights, has been since you were a kid and he was a fresh young face in the knights even if he doesn’t necessarily know what happened today to cause you to spiral into such a state. Maybe that’s why he took you in. He’d ponder over it as he tucked you in, brushing your hair out of your face afore lightly stepping out of the room to leave you to sleep finally.

[thesims4blogger]

The Sims 4: New Game Patch (July 20th, 2021)

There’s a new Sims 4 update available for PC/Mac and Consoles. If you have auto updates enabled in Origin’s “Application Settings”, the game will auto-update once you open Origin. If you have auto-updates disabled, you will need to manually update by clicking the game in your library.

Your game should now read: PC: 1.77.131.1030 / Mac: 1.77.131.1230 / Console: Version 1.44

Remove all MODS and Custom Content before updating your game

Hello Simmers!

Hope you are well wherever you are in the world and that you are all having a fantastic Summer of Sims! We are excited to share today’s update with you. There is a lot of info, so make sure you have your tea/coffee/beverage of choice ready to read on. You all know I have my coffee ready for this!

As we continue to get ready to explore the countryside charm of Henford-on-Bagley and cannot absolutely wait to play with the adorable animals in Cottage Living, we also have updates and fixes that should improve and complement your Sims’ everyday life. We have something for everyone and we hope that you all enjoy them. Thank you for all your feedback and support.

Cheers!

-SimGuruRusskii ft. SimGuruRomeo and SimGuruJoAnna

What’s New?

Let’s start with some items that we shared in our last Sims 411!

For this update, we partnered with two talented artists from the LGBTQ+ community, Ashley Lukashepsky, and Mohammed Iman Fayaz, and they have brought their inspiring and beautiful artwork into the game. We have also included the modernized version of the large afro hairstyle that we showed you. But more than tell you about it in text, let me actually attach a screenshot of everything put together:

I love everything about this scene, not only it shows you how the artwork looks in a real game setting, but the whole scene with the two Sims and their surroundings is quite magical. Also, look at that hair! The way the light highlights it, perfection! You may also notice the hair of the Sim on the right, which was also added with this update for everyone. I want to personally thank all Simmers for their feedback and recommendations, as we are continuously working on adding more diverse hairstyles and textures to not only packs, but also to our base game.

Now that we are talking about artwork, the last patch notes I forgot to add the artwork made by the wonderful Jupiter Stevens-Hill. I apologize for that, I totally blanked out. However, I’m happy to see that a lot of you are enjoying it and placing it in your Lots! That makes a very happy Russkii =)

To find Jupiter, Ashley, and Mohammed’s paintings in Build Mode, make sure you take a look at the Paintings and Posters sort and filter by Base Game items. These artists are amazing and we hope you enjoy their creations.

Now, without further ado, let’s get to some new features and improvements that are part of this update!

A little bit of Gallery

When you download a lot made with the bb.moveobjects cheat, the game now notifies you about this so you know to activate the cheat before placing the lot. Builders, this means you won’t need to mention it in the lot’s description anymore!

A little for Sims

Trying to find the Sims in the current neighborhood? Select their portraits in the Relationship Panel.

“Focus the Camera” moves the camera to the Sim.

“Lock the Camera” moves the camera to the Sim and keeps following them.

Where did the Notebook go?

Found it! The Notebook has moved out of the Phone and into its own button for quicker access.

The “Center on Current Lot” button that used to be there has moved to the top right, adjacent to the Camera Controls.

Water Tool

You now can make natural, organic bodies of water! Just head into Build Mode, make a hole with the Terrain Manipulation tool, and fill it with water. It is that easy! The Terrain Manipulation and Paint Tools also have more brush sizes to enable finer detail.

In adding the Water Tool, we also took the chance to overhaul the related tools and object categories. Why not? Enjoy!

Pond Effects

All sorts of critters are available to complete the look of your pond ranging from ducks and swans to pesky mosquitoes. There is even an alligator!

New Pond Objects

Outdoor Water Décor now has an assortment of new Pond Objects to decorate the perfect pond. Some of these objects such as the Bog Log and Colorful Lily Pads have interactions on them in Live Mode to activate Turtle and Frog effects. The new Fishing Allowed Sign enables you to stock your pond with any fish your Sims have previously caught. Try it out!

New Water Styles

Go beyond the original crystal blue and dreamy magenta water. Additional options range from “Mossy Water” to “Pond Scum” to complete that au natural look.

The Shrubs category includes new plants to complement the water styles: “Green Fern”, “Leaning Not-Grass Grass”, “Not-Grass Grass Sans Inflorescence.”

Gardening with Children

Children now can help out in the garden by planting, watering, and weeding. They build their Mental skill as they garden. The process of purchasing and planting seeds is streamlined as well to make gardening more enjoyable for everyone.

Group Cooking

Cooking no longer is a solo affair. Sims now can cook in groups of up to five Sims including children. Start cooking together by selecting a fridge, stove, or any empty countertop.

Zoomers Food Delivery Service

Are your Sims getting tired of the same old pizza delivery every night? Well, gone are the days of redundant pizza nights. Maybe you are in the mood for pasta primavera or even a fancy steak dinner. All this and more are available courtesy of Zoomer Food Delivery. Order delivery through the phone or the refrigerator and the food will arrive in a jif.

Calendar

The calendar, previously available only with Seasons, now is available with Base Game to see upcoming events such as birthdays, school and work schedules, festivals, and fairs. You even can use it to book events, so it’s time to get to party planning!

Bug FixesConsoles

In Snowy Escape, skiing, sledding, and snowboarding on Bunny Slopes now contribute to the Extreme Sports Enthusiast Aspiration.

Also in Snowy Escape, Sims with high enough Skiing and Snowboarding skills now can enjoy the more advanced slopes. Sims also use the Lift to go to the top of the slopes and not go “the hard way.”

Simmers can now rotate Sims downloaded from the Gallery in Create a Sim. Spin them ‘round, ‘round, Simmers ‘round, ‘round –  like a record ‘round, ‘round, ‘round, ‘round.

The Sims 4

We made some improvements that should help our Simulation lag, particularly on the usage of some computer interactions like playing BlicBlock, along with fishing interactions, which should make the game perform a bit better. Note that this doesn’t entirely fix simulation lag but it should help and it is a step in a good direction.

Fixed an issue in which placing Mirrors directly opposite Doors would create a visual glitch in which walls and borders would disappear around them and well it was quite spooky to be honest, glad we solved that one!

Ever wish your food didn’t expire? I know I do, especially when it comes to traveling and coming back to see a fridge in pristine condition, that is a dream… but alas, it is not meant to be in life or in Sims. Fixed an issue in which traveling didn’t let food expire.

Sims stuck sleeping and couldn’t cancel that interaction? Not a product of a sci-fi film as I thought, but I can say that we have fixed this issue, well I hope.

You want to know how to not make my day, have my coffee brew endlessly but without giving me the coffee! Luckily the issue in-game about the Brew Coffee interaction being stuck has been fixed. Wasn’t it odd? Wait… Sleep and Brew Coffee were stuck in a mysterious loop? SUS.

If your Child Sims suddenly interrupted their computer sessions to draw on the activity table when Inspired, worry not, this should not happen after this update.

Fixed an issue that caused the “Items Removed” pop-up to appear when no items were removed from the game.

Fixed an issue in which setting Lots on Slipshod Mesquite would sometimes generate a crash of the game for some Simmers. The Lot couldn’t handle that much flavor.

Some blush and lipstick opacity sliders are back as they were greyed out.

Step-Parent/Child relationships are no longer missing in the Genealogy Panel. Similarly, other cases of broken families in the Genealogy Panel have been fixed as well. It is all about reconnecting or connecting with what is important.

Platforms will no longer raise in height automatically when creating new walls to intersect part of them.

We also fixed an issue in which if you placed platforms in basement levels and a staircase from the floor to the platforms, it would create this gap or hole in front of the stairs and Sims were not able to route correctly. You know, I have played many platformers in my lifetime, but do you imagine Sims trying to jump those gaps? I mean, I am called JumpFail for a reason… glad we fixed this one!

World view Lots that had some off-centered border have been adjusted.

Toddlers will no longer gain negative Sentiments against their parents randomly, especially the Festering Grudge Sentiment. I should not be laughing at this issue as I type it, I should not…<giggles>

We got word that the camera was malfunctioning and bouncing uncontrollably in some Lots across multiple Worlds. We fixed an issue that caused this, but let us know if there are new instances.

Sometimes Ghosts can be part of our Households if we choose to, however, it is really hard to live with Ghosts that constantly break things, it makes it a bit… unlivable. So our expert team of Simghostologists has communicated with these Ghosts in the non-physical realm and they have agreed to not break everything all the time.

Fixed an issue related to flooring glitches while placing the dance floor or crystal clear flooring.

Went through all the trouble in hiring a Nanny only to have your Toddler get sent to Daycare? More than a schedule conflict I imagine having the Nanny show up and there is no Toddler so what does the Nanny do in this case? Do they leave? Do they stay and wait? I must know… However, This should no longer be an issue.

Fixed an issue where using ‘{}’ (curly brackets)  in renaming objects would make these invisible in lists or UI in general.

Fixed an issue in the Likes and Dislikes section in Create a Sim that had some categories displayed incorrectly (either cut off, or words broken apart in new lines incorrectly) for some languages.

There was a clipping issue with the eye preset ymAsian13_Eyes that occurred when Sims were in extreme emotion, like Angry, and blinked. We adjusted this preset so this should not occur.

Toddlers can be picky eaters, but Toddlers not eating any fish recipe? That is suspicious, so we had a chat with the little angels and we have found a way to help them enjoy the complex flavors of our fish recipes.

Our UI team has fixed an issue in which a scrollbar appeared in the Sentiment section in the Relationship Panel when there were no sentiments. The mysterious scrollbar was mysterious. Similarly, they have also fixed an issue in which if multiple Sims gained sentiments together their thought bubbles look quite not right with the incorrect colors, so now they should look proper.

The Likes and Dislikes icon in Create a Sim will no longer overlap its text. It looked weird, honestly.

Droids (if you own Journey to Batuu) and Drones (if you own Get Famous) clipping into all kinds of objects in Build Mode? We saw that too, so there should be a fix for that in this game update. I mean this went beyond just crashing into things…

The option “Join After School Activity” will no longer be available if Simmers don’t have Seasons or Get Famous packs installed.

Sims in deviant paths now can properly reach the Level 4 of the Criminal Career.

Now, this is one that made my day, Cowplants are now able to dance again when Sims play music in front of them. Dance Cowplant, Dance!

Fixed an issue in which relationship points gained by friendly introductions were more than usual if Simmers didn’t have Snowy Escape installed.

We adjusted the color swatches for the S. Cargeaux Counter Island so that when it gets dirty, the counter doesn’t completely change colors. Dirty Counter – who dis?

Fixed an issue where the Scared Emotion UI was displaying a broken pose for Toddlers. The pose was kinda more scary than what the Toddler had been scared of, so glad that is done.

Outfits worn while Purchased and Worn in Festivals/Kiosks/Stalls should no longer remove accessories that were in place for the Sim.

Error code 134:571e5862 that occurred to some Simmers should be fixed now.

We fixed a few hairstyles (yfHair_EP05WavyBob, yfHair_EP01PartedFlat, yfHair_EP05UnderCutDreads, yfHair_EP01ShortSwept, and yfHair_DreamyCrew) that when used with the recently added color options would create splotches in the eyes, change the color of teeth, and/or change the eyelashes color.

As always the Localization team and this author have fixed and improved text across all packs and updates.

Get to Work

Aliens can now enjoy their custom Blush options in Create a Sim. Lewks out of this world!

Retail employees will now appropriately change into their assigned outfits. Listen, I grew up wearing uniforms for school, I get it, sometimes they are not the prettiest… but you have to wear them if you have to go to that establishment. I know the pain too well… but my sense of style grew from that… I think.

We made a fix to some of the swatches from the Barely Better Digital Camera that were missing a description for the item, so now all the swatches will display the text in all its glory.

Get Together

Some of these Sims are not like the others, some of these Sims just don’t belong. Can you tell which are not like the others by the time I finish writing these notes?

Fixed an issue in which some of the rooftops in Winderburg were not displaying Snow (if you own Seasons) correctly.

Fixed an issue where Sims didn’t sometimes change into their Club outfits when a Club Gathering was being held.

City Living

The Scattered Panes window in Build Mode now displays appropriate shadows in all options.

Sims enrolled in the Social Media career will now gain influence at the end of their stream instead of every few Sim-minutes.

Two hairstyles (ymHair_EP03BunHighPins and ymHair_EP03BraidedFlateBun) have been updated to reflect the correct look when choosing the Neutral Black color option.

Your Sims want to shoot some Basketball Close Shots, but they are trying to eat first? Well, now your Sims can finish eating before trying those hoops. Nutrition is important!

Cats and Dogs

We fixed an issue in which whiskers were not being seen applied to Cats. A Cat without whiskers is like Peanut butter without Jelly… or something like that! Just wrong!

Robot Vacuums should all now return to their docks accordingly. I hope this issue was not a sign that they were becoming sentient.

Sims will no longer get a Moodlet referring to the death of their Pet when witnessing the death of another Sim. The loss of a Sim is heartbreaking, but also getting a Moodlet for the death of their Pet when the Pet has not died, that is cold Grimmy, very cold.

Speaking of Robot Vacuums becoming sentient a few lines above, we fixed an issue that made the game crash when Cats would sit on the Robot Vacuum. CatonRobot.exe is now working.

We fixed an issue in which some Simmers experienced a crash with their last played Household loading into Brindleton Bay.

Seasons

Sims were changing into their cold-weather gear… while not in cold weather? We had some conversations with Sims and even though they love their winter outfits, dressing up in full winter gear in the summer was probably not the wisest choice. So the issue in which Sims randomly would change into their winter outfits while not in winter is solved.

Egg Hunts are adorable and fun! But not being able to have the furniture reset after looking for Eggs in them, can be quite the rain on Sims’ parade. But this should no longer occur.

Island Living

Mermaids will no longer keep the “Dried Scales” Moodlet when they are hydrated. Mermaids’ skincare regimen pays off! Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize!

Fixed an issue in which Lots that are placed in the sand looked quite odd displaying all edges of the Lot when it rained.

Sims that have the Collector Aspiration Trait are now able to catch Frogs in Sulani as part of their adventures exploring the island waterfall. Good Luck!

We fixed an issue in which some Simmers experienced game crashes when loading into certain lots in Mua Pe’lam. Happy Exploring!

Discover University

Sims having a hard time in Uni? No matter what they do they keep failing classes? Worry not, Sims will no longer fail classes when meeting all the criteria for course completion. Work hard, pass your classes hard!

Having Roommates can be hard. Have your Sims had Roommates complain constantly and leave even when their needs are met? Yeah, we made it so that Roommates don’t do this any longer.

Fixed an issue in which beds were counted incorrectly when placing an ad for Roommates. I mean, as much as Pets and even Toddlers can live with Roommates, the ad should be truthful to how many beds there are actually in the Lot, not count Toddlers and Pets as needing adult-sized beds.

We fixed Servo animations so that they don’t look like they are walking on one leg when hovering to their destination. Now they will hover properly.

We fixed an issue in which in some instances Professors could not go to work when a Professor NPC is added into that same Household.

Fixed an issue in which removing and adding back Household members as Roommates would create some… inappropriate moments, ahem.

Eco Lifestyle

Evergreen Harbor’s peace has been restored: roads and parts of neighborhoods no longer disappear or turn blue when businesses open in Port Promise while the Modern Development N.A.P is active.

yfBody_EP09DressShirt no longer has a weird texture in some of the footwear from various packs, especially platform shoes and chunky sneakers.

Had you moved to Cypress Terrace in Willow Creek and found you couldn’t really do anything there? We fixed the routing failures and interaction failures on the Mitey-Mitey Home – Insect Farm.

Snowy Escape

Mountain Climbing can be challenging, even for those experienced. But having indecisive moments before a climbing route like getting off and on your bike constantly seems that a lot of doubt is passing your mind… However, we did speak to these Sims that were experiencing this behavior and calmed their fears and doubts, so this should no longer be an issue.

The hairstyle yfHair_EP10BobBluntOmbre now covers all of the Sim’s ears.

For Simmers who own Seasons together with Snowy Escape, rain options no longer affect snow.

Sims no longer have the option to give a respectful or military introduction during activities such as Dancing or Bike Riding. I mean, I’m not sure about you, but I can’t dance and respectfully introduce myself at the same time. So many falls… so many falls.

We made some corrections to the Slippers that came with this pack and they should no longer display a greenish texture on Sims’ toes when selected in Create a Sim. Yikes.

Fixed an issue in which for some Simmers playing with the Yoshida Hall Household would generate a game crash when loading into Mt. Komorebi.

We took a look at our Ramen menu and have updated our cooking menu to label Miso and Egg Ramen as Vegetarian safe options. Buen Provecho!

Want to run a Restaurant in Yukimatsu but also want to enjoy the slopes? Now your Sims can enjoy the slopes and dine in style. However, this action is only directed, and will not be autonomous. In the same vein, Restaurant employees will not be tempted to leave work to enjoy the slopes.

Journey to Batuu

Batuu is an awesome destination for those who want to enjoy something fun and different, but if you bought a Droid from the Droid Depot and never saw it in your inventory, I know how frustrating it can be. Never fear, the Droids you were looking for will appear now in Inventories when purchased.

In Journey to Batuu, the First Order ID no longer disappears from inventory so Sims now can Access First Order Plans for the Top Notch Trickery Mission.

Fixed an issue with the Leveling the Playing Field Mission in which the Scoundrel Informant would not appear on the scene after Sims stole the Prototype Blaster and went to Oga’s Cantina to wait for the informant.

Dine Out

Eggs and Toast sound super basic and easy right? They will continue to be that way for our unassuming Chefs on the Chef Station since we fixed an issue that made them… challenging. Sims can also use the second burner for other recipes without fail or routing out.

StrangerVille

The Decorations and Kid’s categories in Build Mode should no longer have a “New” highlight when there’s nothing actually new.

Dream Home Decorator

Lighting can change the ambiance of a room, and your mood in a flash. Luckily we have fixed an issue that lighting was not even on sectional sofas to continue to set the right mood for our Sims.

Our stylists fixed the Sleep ‘N’ Study Styled Room to remove the P.R.I.M.A Computer from it as this is not an item that is accessible for everyone, pardon our dust.

Laundry Day

Fixed an issue where an animation clipped when Sims were loading their laundry machines. Because having your clothes go through you is awkward, are Sims made of fabric? I don’t think so.

Bust the Dust

Don’t need Simoleons, don’t need Fame. Don’t need dinner to have this date. It’s strong and it’s sudden and it’s cruel sometimes but it might just end your night… the power of Dust, that’s the power of Dust.

Our cleaning agents have determined that Sims won’t get romantic negative Moodlets related to filthy levels of dust in public places like parks.

[niles-rainbow-room]

Freemod Context! (Long!!)

This is Gordon Freemod! He’s my own little AU Gordon, and I love him!

I made him based around the way I play Garry’s Mod

Cause, in Gmod, my player model is Gordon, and I literally cannot change it because whenever I go to change my model he just

He looks at me. He judges me. He’s just refusing to let me change it.

Here’s just. A bunch of things about Freemod that aren’t related.

Btw, this whole thing is me going-

*projects rapidly*

These were all taken from various moments of me info dumping to my discord friends about him, so, that’s why there’s so many that are barely related.

-

So

To get some characterization down, Freemod can go from Excited Sweet Voice at Everything to This Man is in God Mode and He is Staring You Down as You Attack Him

They’re also

very scared of Gman

It’s not even funny

-

ANYWAYS something else about Freemod, he likes starting all out fights between people, but he’s very polite too so like

Someone says hi to him and he gives this big ol smile, next thing you know, he’s spawning headcrabs that could wipe out an army

-

He also has no idea what to do with bodies like sometimes he just Sweet Voice cocoons them, and other times he just beats them rapidly if it was a combine or something

-

Another thing! He doesn’t like making eye contact 100% of the time! If he gets too excited as well, he’ll despawn whatever was making him excited until he calms down.

-

He’s also really fast when it comes to no-clipping.

He’ll shoot up into the air and fling himself from place to place, just absolutely soaring and loving that feeling of flying through the air

-

He definitely makes Catboy Calhoun jokes but like

He’s also really nervous around Calhoun sometimes like he’s constantly checking in on them after making them fight a ton of headcrabs.

-

He doesn’t really like using the majority of the guns. He just typically uses the quieter/less frantic weapons like the magnum or the crossbow.

-

He’s like

Magnetically drawn to mirrors. He likes watching himself do the Sweet Voice and will do it for hours when he’s in the right mood if someone doesn’t stop him

-

He’s very giggly and smiley when it comes to hearing other characters talk. But he also can be very mean and cutting to the people he doesn’t like. Especially combine.

-

Freemod really likes Houndeyes.

*Really* likes them.

He spawned in a group of 8 and just watched them for a while, and then he spawns a MP Combine. It proceeds to stun stick every one of them. And they all die in one hit. They don’t even fight back.

What Freemod does next is basically the equivalent of “die a very painful death” and just beats the shit out of them while alive and dead.

They have to erase everything because they can’t stand the sight of the bodies of Houndeyes.

-

Hi! Sorry to take you out of the immersion of reading my brain goo, or the annoyed scrolling of “Oh my god will she just shut up already” but!

Another thing I decided to do with him, I gave him a little plot. A hint of his own character rather than just being me but an AU Gordon.

So here that is!

-

I feel like the only true way to contain Freemod and keep him from destroying the world is by keeping him in gm_construct

He likes it there sure, but like

If someone let him into Black Mesa let’s just say that the Resonance Cascade would’ve been way sooner and way more intense.

All he really does is fly around in there. Just. That’s it.

It’s his own personal Bug Bucket.

I don’t even think he realizes he’s trapped to be fair?

-

Another thing with Freemod, I’m not exactly sure how he’d react to... say, the HLVRAI characters showing up in gm_construct one day, idk Benrey takes the gang on a trip to there out of nowhere and they find Freemod just vibing by himself, flying through the air on a capture point from TF2. I don’t know if he’d:

A: Summon a bunch of things to attack the HLVRAI crew for the fun of it

B: Immediately try to befriend all of them desperately

C: Possess a creature and disregard them

D: All of the above

Cause with all this “He’s trapped/alone” sorta thing, I don’t know if I’m making him into a villain or am I just making him very touch starved and sad?

Cause like, earlier I did say that if he was let out of gm_construct, the resonance cascade would’ve been sooner and more intense

Basically what I was thinking is that he doesn’t really limit how crazy his thoughts experiments can be that often, so like, he spawns a bunch of things all at once to see what would happen.

But he’s not like that all the time, like I said, he’s also very polite, he’s just got a thin coating of God Mode on and he’s very lonely.

-

I was trying to figure out the thing with Freemod’s voice actually. I’m trying to think what they’d be like on the Gordon Scale.™️

I’d say he’s able to speak, but he doesn’t do it often. Because typically he’s only around NPCs and they can’t respond to him the way he wants, so why actually talk to them?

But he definitely talks to enemies as sort of a “I am the last thing you’ll ever hear” kind of thing.

But if he were to meet a different Gordon or someone with sentience he can talk to, he’d speak. Totally.

He talks to some of the alien/animal NPCs, cause like!!! Come on!!! That Houndeye over there needs to know that he’s a good boy!!!

-

So, maybe when Freemod is upset or something, he spawns the biggest thing he can possibly think of and posses it, and goes on an absolute rampage until he’s better

So I can just imagine.

Freemod, not feeling great and tense:

Feetman: Mod, hey. Don’t do it...

Freemod: *spawns and possesses a Gene Worm, and roars*

Feetman: FREEMOD NO GET OUT OF THE GIANT MONSTER-

Or like. He just possesses something and just. Flies away.

He just has moments where he’s too out of his head and he needs to just escape.

Something he’s been doing recently is possessing a Stukabat and flying up on top of a roof of a really high building and just. Viewing everything.

This man is SAD please hug him :((

-

Ooh, another thing,

He doesn’t like that dark room at all. In gm_construct? He will not go in there for more than a minute. That place scares him so much. Not even the fact that it’s dark, he just hates that he can’t see anything and while he knows he’s alone in the world he’s in, and he controls what can exist there or not, but, he just refuses to go there, even with a flashlight.

-

Aaaaaand that’s all the content I’ve made for them so far! Now that y’all know the context for him, I’ll post the comic of him meeting the HLVRAI characters, as well as some other drawings!

[velvetcoves]

some V3 relationship HCs :) (boys)

(f/n)= first name <3

-mod velv

K1-B0 (KIIBO)

★ I LOVE HIM-

★ anyway

★ Kiibo has a basic understanding of human nature, but there are things that he just.. doesn’t get

★ like.. why do you have so many cups?? don’t you need only a couple?

★ and yes, he supposes that rock shines, but why do you need it?

★ you’ll have to explain to him some of your nature, and most humans as well. he’s very interested in learning as much as he can :)

★ after he gets some of it, (which took a while), he’ll start collecting little things that remind him of you. like a crow

★ your reactions mean everything to him

★ if you have any games that require timing, i have one word for you.

★ Kiibo.

★ he can literally pass any levels you’re stuck on

★ did i mention he heats up?

★ even though he’s.. made of metal, he’s surprisingly very comfortable! however, there are times where some parts of him dig into you uncomfortably, but there are solutions :)

★ like sweaters!! and blankets

★ speaking of, i feel like Kiibo would have a love-hate relationship with winter

★ on one hand, he gets to see you in the snow, help you make a snowman, and keep you warm during the cold nights

★ but.. his body gets stuck more often.

★ and the metal gets cold quickly, and he doesn’t want you cold :(

★ but you just remind him of the sweaters and you’ve got a happy robot :)

KOREKIYO SHINGUJI

★ whenever you two go out, he always has to be touching you in someway

★ it’s never something big, and most times you don’t even notice him until later

★ more often than not, his hand finds its way to your back

★ it’s now a habit of his, to kind of lead you with that

★ if his hand isn’t at your back, i feel like it would be somewhere on your arm. like a linked arm, or he’s holding your hand so he doesn’t lose you in a crowd.

★ ok but his h a i r?

★ can i be a simp for hair

★ he definitely would let you, and only you play with his hair. like braiding it, brushing, etc.

★ i feel like he would rarely call you by your actual name, because he uses so. many. pet names.

★ “angel, could you grab that for me?”

★ “dearest, come here for a second.”

★ stuff like that smh oh to be called dearest by Kiyo

★ he’d tease you sometimes as well

★ if you’re shorter than him, he’d definitely hold things above his head so you couldn’t grab them. and if you’re taller than him, then oh boy. he’d hide stuff from you. not important things, but stuff you’d need only in that specific moment.

★ he also really likes to play with your fingers lol it helps him concentrate

★ ok but just imagine.. Kiyo in the middle of a conversation, you’re not really paying attention as you’re screwing around on your phone. suddenly, Kiyo’s soft fingers interlace between yours, giving your hand a squeeze before he begins to play with your index finger as he continues to talk. tracing the shape of it into his mind. almost like he wanted to make a copy of you.

★ he could never try to replicate you, though. you’re so perfect to him.

RANTARO AMAMI

★ TEASE KING. STEP ASIDE KOKICHI

★ Rantaro is definitely that dude that if you’re wearing a hat, he’ll pull it down over your eyes or he’ll just straight up steal it.

★ play with his hair plEASE-

★ his hair is soft, threads through your fingers rather easily, and smells like lime

★ y’all are that couple that has one’s head in their lap as they read or somethin, playing with the other’s hair.

★ he is also that dude that comes up behind you, covering your eyes with his hands as he whispers, “guess who?~”

★ Rantaro actually has pretty small hands, and they’re actually cold most of the time.

★ beware of him and his goddamn hands smh

★ he will definitely stick his hands under your shirt for “warmth” as he so says. you know that he just wants to see your reactions

★ he’s actually god at eyeliner, so if you need to wear some, he’s your guy. hey, the dude has sisters.

★ speaking of, his sisters absolutely ADORE you. usually when you go over to his house they just.. immediately snatch you for 99% of the time and Rantaro is just “😀”

★ he leaves you little doodles everywhere. like he’ll bring you a book you asked for, and like on the 120th page there’s a crow with heels and it's the funniest thing you’ve seen all day

★ he starts laughing when you bring it up, and eventually you both are just laughing so hard at it you can't breathe

★ he has so much fun when he’s with you. he can never repay you

SHUICHI SAIHARA

★ steal his hat steal his hat steal his-

★ Shuichi is flustered rather easily when it comes to you, so use that information to your advantage hehe

★ expect lots of cuddles from him, especially those back hugs. like the ones where he’ll come up behind you and wrap his arms around you, leaning his head on top of yours if you're shorter, or against your back if you’re taller.

★ he’ll let out a small sigh of content as he nuzzles into your form, trying to keep his face hidden.

★ he finds your voice so soothing, especially when you read to him? like watch this:

★ you two are working on one of his cases together. your job is reading out his notes from the scene, your voice a low murmur as he works away. you haven’t noticed that he’s just.. stopped writing, staring at his pen as he begins to play with it. scratchy handwriting is what his eyes rake over, an adoring smile plastered to his face as he just listens. eventually you notice he’s stopped. “..Shuichi?” your soft voice asks, and he jolts a bit, grasped from his daydream. “a-ah.. sorry (f/n).. continue?”

★ more often than not it's your murmurs that causes the sleep deprivation to slap him in the face and just be knocked tf out.

★ helping him with cases is one of your favorite things?? like Shuichi you’re so smart give yourself some credit?????

★ every morning he greets you with a small smile. even though he’s still really tired, he makes an effort for you :)

★ i love funky detective man smh

GONTA GOKUHARA

★ b,, baby man,,

★ if you’re terrified of bugs, he’ll try to keep his little friends away from you, he doesn’t want to scare you at all :(

★ if you don’t mind bugs/you like them, he’ll be overjoyed!!

★ he probably has a bug named after you

★ more often than not, you’ll find them in your room or on your things. usually they’re really gorgeous, he says they remind you of him that day :)

★ he tries to switch up the bugs you find each day, so it’s always a little surprise when you enter your own room

★ ask him to carry you

★ he wants to carry you.

★ pl e a se

★ Gonta is also really warm, and his hands are HUGE

★ expect so many head pats from him. he loves how small you are compared to him

★ boops from Gonta? boops from Gonta.

★ this man straight up craves your cuddles.

★ because of his body temperature and scent of pine, it’s not hard at all to fall asleep in his embrace

★ i feel like he wakes up rather early, so he gets the pleasure of watching you sleep

★ not in a creepy way! he thinks you look so.. peaceful. angelic, is more of the word.

★ he absolutely LOVES seeing you in his clothes. just the way the cloth envelopes your tiny frame, you with your adorable smile and sweater paws?

★ god he loves you sm

RYOMA HOSHI

★ when you two first got into a relationship, he rarely touched you.

★ he literally had no idea what to do

★ he lived all of his life on eggshells, scared of every coming day

★ and then you, his ray of sunshine, just came to him?

★ he’s just so lost

★ however, you knew what to do.

★ you basically taught him that no, you’re not going to disappear from his life at any given moment. you promise.

★ it took some convincing, but you got there.

★ anyway, he doesn’t show too much PDA, but he’s taken up the habit of grasping your sleeve when you two walk together

★ given the fact that you’re likely taller than him, this boy l o v e s your hugs.

★ the way you just envelope him in your loving embrace.. he feels like he doesn’t deserve it.

★ he might tell you so, but you quickly shut him up with a kiss or something :)

★ spooning spooning spooning-

★ he’s usually little spoon, but he’ll be big spoon if you want :)

★ Ryoma really likes being held by you. he feels like time stops, like all that matters is you in that moment.

★ he just feels so safe when he’s around you. he’s gotta get used to it

★ one time when you both went on a date, you accidentally found the main base of the stray cats in your town

★ they LOVED him and now you go there frequently to visit the cats

★ ya’ll definitely have a cat from there too smh you’re so cute

KOKICHI OUMA

★ at the earliest stages of your relationship, i have two words for you.

★ good luck.

★ you are not safe from Kokichi.

★ you are targeted by him.

★ anyway, i definitely feel like he would be so clingy with you.

★ he doesn’t care that you’re in public, he will latch onto you and be a nuisance.

★ holding onto your sleeve, holding your hand, latching onto your leg so you have to drag him around, full on trying to tackle you, etc.

★ p i g g y b a c k r i d e s

★ if you don’t want him to completely annoy you, just hoist him up onto your back for a ride

★ he LOVES it

★ i also feel like he wouldn’t really know what he’s doing at first.. you make him feel so many things, emotions that he thought were buried a long time ago. it’s a bit too much for him

★ patience is key with Kokichi. please just wait for him. he’ll catch up when he’s ready.

★ but when he does? and when you’ve convinced him you’re not leaving anytime soon?

★ you have the most caring and lovable man right at your side.

★ he’s.. so soft with you.

★ Kokichi absolutely adores being held by you. probably the most out of the V3 crew. he feels so secure, so sure of your relationship in those moments. he sleeps best when you’re around, which he desperately needs due the insomnia that plagues him most nights.

★ quiet cuddles are such a treasure to you. he’s usually silent during your cuddle sessions, his head either in the crook of your neck or buried in your chest, inhaling your scent so he can imprint it to his mind. it makes you more in love with him.

★ also DICE adores you-

KAITO MOMOTA

★ he is,, the biggest simp for you,,,

★ literally every single day, Kaito looks at you with the biggest grin on his face because every time he looks at you, he notices a new thing that makes him love you even more.

★ stargazing da te s✨

★ ^ these dates often end up with him going on a rant about the constellations and their movements, star types, etc. and you love him for it

★ his coat is so warm?? you wonder how he wears it 24/7

★ he absolutely LOVES it when you tackle hug him. he doesn’t even care if he was in the middle of a conversation, just feeling the sudden embrace of his s/o makes him melt.

★ those tackle hugs usually end up in him turning around and scooping you up, spinning you around before planting you back down and giving you a sweet kiss

★ PDA? he loves it

★ he NEVER would do anything that makes you uncomfortable though.

★ your PDA mostly consists of hand holding, hugs, all that soft stuff :)

★ he would definitely have to do a double take if you ever wore his jacket.

★ “hey (f/n)? where-“ and he’d just s t a r e at you, his face going ablaze in red

★ he’s like that Tamaki gif

★ yeah that one ^

★ more often than not, you get piggyback rides from him

★ the gentle rock of his body as he walks, his overall warmth, his scent of lavender.. it’s perfect to lull you asleep.

★ he wouldn’t have it any other way :)

[good-rwbyaus]

AU where instead of Jaune having a semblance that turns him into a harem protagonist, his semblance let’s him turn OTHER people into harem protagonists.

// Yes. Good. Time to suffer Blake. 8D - mod lilac

Title: JAUNE IM GOING TO KILL YOU

“You! You did this!”

Oh crap. The last person he wanted to see was here, and here he was still stuck in a hospital bed from the Battle of Beacon, unable to escape or run away. He couldn’t help sweating as the dark-haired faunus approached, hand pressed against her abdomen, and then leaned forward without doing anything.

For a moment, he hoped. And then the hands around his neck proved that hope was nothing more than a four letter word for lie. Immediately, the other girl started tightening her grip and shaking him against his bed, head banging against his pillow.  

“When I said it might be interesting to become a Ninjas of Love protagonist, I didn’t mean you using your Semblance on me in real life,” Blake screamed angrily, “Do you know what sort of month I’ve had because of you?”

“Acck. Blake. I need to breath. Blake,” he said as he patted the other girls’ arms to mark his submission. He wasn’t actually getting hurt, but as he knew from living with seven older sisters, sometimes the feeling of getting revenge justice was enough.

Otherwise, if they don’t think you’ve suffered enough, that’s when your life gets miserable.

“I thought everyone around me was going crazy! Everyone proposing to me out of the blue,” Blake screamed, “And they were!” She loosened her grip on Jaune’s neck as she took deep breathes, “Then Pyrrha came to visit me, and since she still seemed sane, I told her what’s been happening to me. Guess what I found out. Apparently Jaune Arc has a semblance that turns people into harem protagonists!”

“What did I do to you to deserve this?!” Her hands twitched again as if ready to go for another round of strangle the blond.

His hands immediately went up to prevent such a thing from happening.

“Blake. If you choke me to death, this is going to keep happening.”

“Jaune. If you don’t stop it now, I will throttle you and then run home to Kuo Kuana.”

“It can’t be that bad. What, you got proposed to by three or four peopl-”

Blake’s eyebrow and ears began twitching.

“...I take it that’s not what happened.”

“Three or four?!”

“...Maybe you want to tell me what’s going on before you extend my hospital stay,” Jaune asked carefully. The girl glared at him before taking a deep breath.

"It all started with Sun...” 

=================

Sun:

“Hey Blake. I was thinking about you, and I got you this,” Sun smiled, rubbing his head sheepishly. An amethyst necklace, beautifully displaced inside a red package, laid in his other hand, shining brilliantly.

The sparkle - the shine - they caught her eye immediately. It glittered and caught her attention in a way that really tickled her, but she couldn’t help but glance at the package the necklace was in. And that dropped cold water onto her appreciation. She frowned. 

She lifted her gaze to meet Sun’s. 

“Sun?”

“Yes?” Sun asked excitedly. 

“Did you steal this?”

Sun averted his eyes as he continued speaking confidently. 

“Why I’d nev-” 

“The security tag is still on it.”

“-er think about giving you something I haven’t stolen myself.”

Blake just glared at the boy who quickly excused himself. 

=================

“I didn’t think much of it at first,” Blake said, “But random people started - out of the blue might I add - propositioning me while the Vytal Festival was going on - especially Shade Academy. I just thought they were an overly forward bunch cause they were part of the whole “live hard, live free” crew. ”

Blake stared darkly at Jaune, who just slid lower into his hospital bed.

“But then my team got involved.”

=================

Ruby and Yang

“Blake~”

“Blake!”

“Ruby? Yang?” she turned around for just a moment, only to be immediately accosted by the two sisters. Ruby hung to her right arm, and Yang hung onto her left arm. They spoke at nearly the same time. 

“You’re looking incredibly dashing today, Blake, “ Yang said with a wink. 

“You’re so pretty today,” Ruby said in awe, “That is not to say you’re not prett-” The awkward girl trailed off before finding a way to quickly change the subject.

“Stop copying me, Yang,” Ruby said with a pout.

“I said it first,” the other girl grinned.

Uhhh. What was going on? First Sun, then the random people, and now Ruby and Yang.

“So what about going on a ride with me and Bumblebee through the town?”

“No, Blake’s going to go with me to Vytal’s Weapons Exhibit, not on a boring ride with you.”

“What’s so great about looking at a bunch of old weapons?”

“You take that back! Can’t be any worse than just driving around boring Vale.”

“Wel-”

Maybe she should stop this before things get worse. 

“I already have plans - uh - to stay in Beacon and curl up near the fireplace and read an interesting book that I recently purchased,” Blake said carefully as she lightly twisted out of the sisters’ grips.

Ruby glanced over at Yang, and Yang at Ruby.

“Why does that sound really similar to the words you said to us on the first day we met?” Ruby said.

“Well, she was probably just saying that just to get rid of you.”

“No, she was telling you to go away. She liked me when we first met, “ Ruby said smugly as she pointed her thumb at herself. 

“Let’s ask then. Hey, who were you telling to g- No. I thought of a better question. Who do you like more, Ruby or me?”  

As a connoisseur of horrible romance novels, she knew that question was a horrible trap. She needed to use all her tactical skills to escape this situation.

Step 1. Stall.

“I-I-I like you both,” Blake stuttered out, already seeing the dissatisfaction on both girl’s faces.

“That’s a copou-”

“C’mon, Bla-”

Step 2. RUN.

She then created a clone to distract them as she crashed out of the nearby window. A pair of affronted screams could be heard as she ran for the treeline.

Sorry, clone. 

=================

“I’ve been camping in the Emerald Forest to avoid them,” Blake said frazzled, “Do you know what it’s like to be the subject of sisters trying to compete for affection?”

“Uhhh yeah,” Jaune laughed, “I have seven older sisters, you know.”

“Why would you do this to me then?”

“Ahaha. Sorry, but you were the one who expressed interest in the life of a harem protagonist.”

Blake’s gaze moving between his pillow and his face probably wasn’t a good sign. 

“Uhh. So that’s it?” Jaune said quickly.

“No! It affected my entire team!”

=================

Weiss:

“Uhhh Weiss. You didn’t have to prepare all this,” Blake said, not quite able to stop her drooling. In the middle of the Emerald Forest was a small seafood banquet, and to someone that had been living with her own subpar cooking skills for a week, it was a godsend. 

“It was my pleasure. It’s been a long time since we could just sit together like this,” Weiss said daintily, sipping her tea on the table she prepared, complete with cloth drapings. 

“Yeah, especially since Ruby and Yang seem to have gone insane.”

“How so?”

“The last time I went back to Beacon, Ruby tried feeding me her home cooking, and I nearly died from the taste. Yang taunted her because her own cooking was miles better, and now Ruby’s on a quest to improve her cooking and making me the taste tester.”

Weiss winced sympathetically before smiling. “Well, you’re here now. Just take a seat and just enjoy the food.”

“Thanks,” Blake said as she sat down, grabbing a couple dishes and devouring them as fast she could endure. 

It was then she felt a peculiar feeling against her calf. Thinking it was just a bug, she just swung her leg, and the sensation went away. 

But after a couple more seconds of dining, she felt it reappear - and it was now on her knee now. 

Immediately, she lifted her head from the dishes to stare at Weiss, who had an innocent smile on her face as though butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth.

“Weiss?”

“Yes, Blake?”

“Is thaaaa...”

Warning bells started ringing in her head; that foot now on her thigh was reaching just a tad bit higher inch by inch. And immediately, she stood up, face burning like it’s been out of the sun.

“SorryWeissIrealizeIhavetogocatthefeedBye!” she spilled out in a panic as she ran like a Goliath was after her.

As she entered into the woods, her ears caught Weiss’s parting words.

“Wait Blak-. Does that mean Blake isn’t into this sort of stuff then?”

=================

“As it so happens,” Blake said rubbing the space between her brow, “a couple of my Ninjas of Love books have gone missing from underneath my bed mattress. The one with that dinner scene in particular.”

“Sounds like you read some really raunch-”

Blake slightly reddened and sent Jaune a glare.

“Uhh, sorry. So that’s gotta be it then.”

“No. Because guess who also has a sister?”

“Weiss has a sister?” 

Blake sighed.

=================

Winter:

“I wanted to see the girl who had my sister’s affections,” the white-haired girl who looked a lot like Weiss said calmly. She had cornered her inside a cave, out-maneuvered her to the point where she had to hide - and still found her.

Winter’s hand lifted her chin. “You really....are pretty.”

Her face burned red at the affectionate gesture. 

Shadow.

Run. 

=================

“That doesn’t sound like a confession though, “ Jaune said skeptically.

“With the way my month’s been going,” Blake said dryly, “you really want to bet on that?”

Jaune shook his head laughing nervously.

“No bet. No bet,” Jaune waved his hand. 

“Besides she was part of the cavalry during the Battle of Beacon.”

=================

Adam:

“Adam, I’ve never thought about you that way,” Blake choked out, the pain through her gut making her curl onto the ground.

“What! You can’t deny me. You’re mine. And you always will be. And if I can’t have you....”

Her once mentor’s blade shimmered in the flames, pointing towards her neck as she struggled to ready her Semblance. 

“Hey! Someone’s trying to kill Blake!” someone screamed out. It sounded a lot like Yang. 

A blur of fire and ice practically detonated the spot Adam was standing in, sending him to the wall opposite to her charred worse than Ruby’s cooking. Familiar figures dropped in through the roof, took one look at her, and then charged towards her assailer with unmatched ferocity. 

Adam proceeded to get his ass beat by the rest of Team RWBY, Sun, Winter, and Cinder.

=================

“Wait wait wait. Cinder? How does she enter into the picture?” Jaune said incredulously. 

“Apparently she’s the mastermind behind everything,” Blake shrugged, “According to her confession, she took one look at me and realized all the wrongs she’d done and wanted to work hard to atone.”

Jaune couldn’t help but stare disbelievingly at that.

“Winter’s boss couldn’t believe it either,” Blake pinched the bridge of her nose.

“I guess all’s well that ends well. You got saved, Vale’s still standing. All of us are alive,” Jaune laughed.

“Yeah, except for this little problem of me having a harem!” Blake growled.

“Wait. Where’s Blake?” said a voice outside the room.

“She’s awake?!” said another voice.

“She shouldn’t be walking around like that. Should be resting with the best medical care Vale could offer.” said a third. 

“Crap. They’re here,” Blake said frantically, glancing over at a nearby window. “Fix this, Jaune, or you’re not going to like what happens next.”

Opening the sliding window, the girl dove through and quickly skedaddled towards the treeline of the forest that was becoming her home.

Meanwhile....

Jaune felt a foreboding feeling as his room door slid open, and the stares of three panicking members of team RWBY settled on him. 

“Jaune, have you seen Bla-” Ruby said before her gaze locked onto something at his side.

Jaune glanced over to see what Ruby was looking at - the open window.

“So, Jaune, what do you think you were doing with Blake alll alone?” Yang said with a smile that wasn’t a smile.

“Ehehe. Nothing. I’ve just woken up. I didn’t even see her today.”

“Really? I don’t think you’re telling us the truth,” Weiss said calmly, “Ruby?”

“Yes?”

“Close the door.”

Sweating, Jaune clandestinely started pressing the nurse call button under his sheets, hoping someone would come before these three had their way with him. 

[opalosprey]

Higurashi/Umineko Thoughts Pt. 1: Onikakushi

I read through both Higurashi and Umineko over the past few months, and I wanted to write about my thoughts on both of them; things that I enjoyed, things I didn’t enjoy, and things one did better than the other. Originally I was going to just have everything in one big post, but as I was writing, it became apparent that I’m probably going to need to do separate posts for each chapter (or maybe 2 chapters per post for some?). This is the first time I’ve really done anything like this, so it might be a bit all over the place. Don’t expect anything too insightful, lol. Hopefully I’ll be able to improve and better articulate my thoughts as I go through each chapter.

I used the 07th Expansion mod for both Higurashi and Umineko, so I had the PS3 sprites and voice acting, which I felt definitely enhanced the experience (don’t settle for the awful steam version sprites). Major spoilers for both stories will be included in these posts, so don’t read them if you ever plan on reading/watching either story and haven’t done so yet. I definitely recommend reading the VNs, even if you’ve watched the anime adaptations already.

As a disclaimer, I did watch the anime adaptations of both Higurashi and Umineko about a decade ago, back when I was in early high school (that sucks to type out). As a result, I knew about a decent number of the twists that happen in Higurashi and a couple in the first half of Umineko. The main things I remembered were that the timeline resets after things go badly for everyone, Rika and Hanyuu remember what happened, and Takano is the Big Bad at the end. While this seems like it would kind of ruin the experience, the fact is that I thoroughly enjoyed my read through Higurashi. I knew a lot of the twists, but I forgot nearly all the context surrounding those twists, along with the specific stories that happen within each chapter, and the very important details of what was actually causing all of these tragedies. I knew Takano was the main antagonist, but forgot how and why she did what she did, along with not remembering the existence of Hinamizawa Syndrome. As for Umineko, my remembered knowledge was significantly less, and barely affected how I felt about the story as I read it.

Now that all the disclaimer stuff is out of the way, on to my thoughts for:

-Onikakushi-

Onikakushi is probably my favorite chapter out of both Higurashi and Umineko. Part of this might stem from the nostalgia of having watched the anime back in high school, but I think the biggest reason is that this chapter is the most horror-aligned of the Higurashi chapters. While other chapters have some horrific things happen in them, this one has some scenes that still give me the chills, even on repeat readings. The lighthearted first half of the chapter might seem a bit long to some, but I think it’s an important section of the story that really endeared me to the main cast (again, nostalgia might have helped). Plus, the smattering of hints at the darker side of Hinamizawa that I didn’t remember really hooked me in. 

This is one area I feel Higurashi did a better job than Umineko. Both stories start out with a lighthearted, exposition heavy introduction in their first chapter, but I felt like Higurashi did a much better job of getting me attached to the characters and the setting than Umineko did. Umineko did have the disadvantage of having 18 characters to introduce in the first chapter, but even by then end of Umineko there were still characters I was less attached to than any of the characters in Higurashi after reading Onikakushi alone. The scene at the Watanagashi festival where everyone writes messages on Tomitake’s shirt for his punishment game was so heartwarming to me that I teared up while I was reading it. Hinamizawa as a setting also has the benefit of being a place that can feel both warm and friendly, but also isolated and creepy when things start to go south. It’s the type of place where you really could expect to run into some sort of supernatural entity, and you’d have very limited ways of calling for help if it wanted to harm you (especially since the story takes place in 1983, so people having cell phones wasn’t really a thing yet).

When it comes to the parts I enjoyed the most in Onikakushi, the scene with Rena at the door to Keiichi’s house is definitely iconic, but I think my favorite parts are the “chase” scene where Keiichi is running away from Rena and ends up wandering into the forest, and the phone booth scene at the very end of the chapter. Despite knowing the entire story and how Rena wasn’t actually trying to kill Keiichi, these two scenes still creep me out even now. During the “chase” scene, Rena’s voice actress’ delivery of the line “It’s not about believing or not… Oyashiro-sama ‘exists’, period.”, mixed with the close-up of her face and the background suddenly turning dark red, really hits all the right notes for me. Similarly, Keiichi’s voice actor gurgling and choking out his lines about something following him and that he believes in the curse now during the phone booth scene, combined with being placed in Ooishi’s perspective, also sends a chill up my spine whenever I hear it. Other highlights for me included the aforementioned scene with everyone writing on Tomitake’s shirt and the scene where Takano and Tomitake first tell Keiichi about the Curse of Oyashiro-sama.

Onikakushi isn’t without flaws though, and there are two that stick out most to me. The first is something that pops up a few times throughout the first couple chapters, that being the perverted conversations and situations that sometimes happen. For Onikakushi, it’s mostly limited to Mion’s comments about Keiichi that were censored in the PS3 version, along with the club activity punishment games that happen right before the Watanagashi festival (which I would have disliked much more if Keiichi had been the one to put those punishments in the drawing). It’s nothing too awful, but I don’t like perverted things, so it did bug me a bit. 

The second issue I had with Onikakushi in particular was, ironically, something that happened during one of my favorite scenes. During the “chase” scene, shortly after Rena delivers her line about Oyashiro-sama's existence, Keiichi has a flashback to the conversation he had with Ooishi the previous night on the phone. I wouldn’t mind an abbreviated flashback to highlight a specific important thing Ooishi said, but instead, the flashback plays the entire conversation out, and lasts for nearly 15 minutes. It really sucked the intensity out of the scene, and I feel like that particular section would be greatly improved by cutting out most or all of the flashback. This is probably one of the worst instances of a problem that happens throughout Higurashi, and why I feel that Umineko has a higher quality of writing overall (though I much prefer Higurashi’s story). There are a lot of times in Higurashi where characters will repeat themselves multiple times or talk themselves in circles, usually when someone is trying to think through something. To be fair, I’m guilty of doing that myself when I’m trying to think through something in my head, but it does lead to times where the writing feels a little repetitive, or in this case, breaks the flow of a scene.

All in all, despite it’s flaws, Onikakushi hits the sweet spot for me of being endearing, intriguing, mysterious, and creepy all at the same time. It has the type of horror I enjoy most, that being something that you can’t really tell if the cause it supernatural or not. I’m fine with a human or supernatural explanation to a horror story, but the uncertainty of which one is the truth really helps to pique my interest and keep me hooked. Umineko plays with this idea too in its own way, but I’ll get to that when I talk about Legend of the Golden Witch probably.

[i-found-you-in-a-fanfic]

[ Butterflies ]

Summary: Butterflies are childish. Every person can remember a time in their life- no matter how brief- where they were mesmerized with the beauty of such an insect. The creature is littered through kid’s shows and coloring books- how could anyone expect them to go unnoticed? The colorful patterns; intriguing paths to adulthood; the way that they float through the air, balancing on the breeze all make for a delicate, ethereal form of life. Beautiful is the only word to describe their existence, no matter how juvenile. But, just like every beautiful thing, butterflies hold much darker secrets. And they are not made for children’s ears.

Contains: Iwaoi, poem at the end, figurative language, sad oikawa, su*cidal thoughts, anxious oikawa, hurt/comfort, pining oikawa

A/N: hi, i’ve done another thing. hope u enjoy! - Mod Kunimi

Butterflies are childish. Every person can remember a time in their life- no matter how brief- where they were mesmerized with the beauty of such an insect. The creature is littered through kid’s shows and coloring books- how could anyone expect them to go unnoticed? The colorful patterns; intriguing paths to adulthood; the way that they float through the air, balancing on the breeze all make for a delicate, ethereal form of life. Beautiful is the only word to describe their existence, no matter how juvenile.

But, just like every beautiful thing, butterflies hold much darker secrets. And they are not made for children’s ears.

Oikawa found himself fascinated with the creature. Though he hated insects- ask Iwaizumi; Oikawa was terrified- he never had even the slightest aversion to butterflies. They were too perfectly flawed, too delicately broken, too similar to him to trigger a phobia.

The sight of them did make him a little sad, though.

What most people think of when they see a butterfly is their beauty. People watch every flap of their wings, trace every marking embedded in their body, not even thinking about what darker fate awaits them. People see every dip in their flight as graceful instead of the strain from the weight of life. People see every splash of color on the insect as effortless beauty instead of a mask to make everyone happy. In this way, Oikawa was a butterfly.

Oikawa hoped he wasn’t too similar to the creature, despite its beauty and the love it received. Butterflies may bring joy while they’re alive, but that doesn’t last long. One of the many bittersweet truths about a butterfly is that life takes a toll on them faster than it does most. It becomes a struggle to keep flying, keep posing, keep living very soon in the life of a butterfly. As it does for humans sometimes. Even if mother nature doesn’t erase people as quickly and naturally as it blows away butterflies, that doesn’t mean that humans don’t feel the pressure of simply being. And that doesn’t mean that humans can’t erase themselves before mother nature has a chance to.

Hence, the reason Oikawa was splayed out on a bench in the park at 1am. Pondering the meaning of his life, like any teen would from time to time. Like a butterfly, would his life wink away as quickly as it came into view? Did he want that to happen? Oikawa had been asking himself these questions for the last 30 minutes, and he could assure anyone with 100 percent confidence that he wasn’t getting anywhere. His brain cells had left the chat about 5 minutes into this train-wreck of thought, and they were nowhere to be found.

Maybe he was thinking too hard. Maybe butterflies weren’t worried about what others thought of them. Maybe the beauty wasn’t a mask, maybe it was effortless and simple. Maybe every dip in their flight was just a minor setback caused by the wind. Maybe butterflies were just bugs like everyone said they were.

Maybe he was alone in his feeling alone.

Oikawa’s breath materialized in front of him in the icy air. He had so many friends, so many admirers, yet felt so alone. That was unfair to all of those who had no one to turn to, those who actually were all by themselves. He should feel grateful, because there were so many people who had it worse than he did.

Then why did he feel anything but grateful?

Why were the butterflies still crowding his lungs and stomach, restricting his air and choking out his happiness? Why were the insects growing, duplicating, vibrating in his throat until he felt that the edges of the wings would split through his throat? What was wrong with him?

Usually, butterflies were a symbol of beauty.

Beauty is known to be deadly.

Oikawa wasn’t supposed to feel sad. He had everything. Like a butterfly, he was beautiful and delicate. So many loved him. So many envied him.

So many misunderstood him.

A tear dripped down his cheek, the only sign that he was anything but happy in the darkness. He wondered if everybody would still envy him if they saw him now. Would the girls who squeal over his nonchalant grins still be so delighted if they knew every smile was fake? Would people adore and idolize him if they saw him, sitting alone, crying in the dark? Would he be so popular if everyone knew he was in love with his best friend, a feeling that could destroy their entire relationship? Would people still love butterflies if they knew that the elegant creatures weren’t what they seemed?

Would anybody ever love him if he showed that he wasn’t what he seemed?

The fog grew thick over Oikawa, a tornado of insects hovering over his face and body. It was hard to escape a feeling like this. When he was anxious, sad, or anything in between, he always left a cloud of insects in his wake. When he was anxious, sad, or anything in between, they weren’t butterflies anymore. They were just bugs, clawing at his skin to remind him that nobody is perfect and never could be. Why reach for the stars if so many have settled for the moon? Why follow the crappy Pinterest quotes to ‘be yourself’ when you know that nobody will accept you that way?

Spiraling down, further and further. Oikawa found it hard to snap out of funks that got this bad. By the time he couldn’t breathe or think clearly, when he noticed what was going on, it was usually too late. The layer of insects was skin-tight. This kind of thinking is what drove him to get so mad at Kageyama and Ushijima. This kind of thinking is what drove him to almost hit Kageyama. This kind of thinking destroyed him, telling him the worst things he could hear at the moment. Things that nobody would actually say to another person.

That didn’t matter. He heard those things anyway.

Oikawa was deep in the thought spiral now. All he could do was lay on the bench, crying, as his own thoughts turned against him. He wanted to free himself, to blow away the insects and rejoice with the butterflies, to show himself and take on the world. But he couldn’t do any of that while stuck in the shackles, bolted to the ground with heavy weights. Stuck in the crawling, buzzing, skin-tight suit of bugs.

This is when the thoughts got worse. The thoughts that held a silent taboo over so many people, and scared some into submission. The line that cleared the blur from normal and broken. The thoughts that told him that he wouldn’t regret it if he ended everything. There wouldn’t be a way for him to regret it. It would all be over, all the pain, all the crying. All of it gone.

He hated how much the thoughts made sense.

Oikawa’s phone lit up, snapping enough of him back together so that he could read the text through his blurry eyes.

Iwaizumi: Hey, is that you outside at the park?

The insects began to retreat, whispering their sweet promises to return soon. Oikawa filled his newly-freed lungs with air before texting out a response.

Oikawa: Yeah! I’m just watching the stars. It’s so peaceful out, I couldn’t help myself! Iwaizumi: Mhm. Iwaizumi: Look behind you.

Oikawa clicked off his phone and sighed. How would he explain this? How much had Iwaizumi seen?

“It seems you’re stalking me, Iwa-chan.” Oikawa put the happiness in his voice perfectly, like he wasn’t just crying a second ago. Over the years, he’d gotten scarily good at disguising his face, voice, and emotions. It came naturally now. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

“Oikawa, you were sobbing.” Way to state the obvious. If Iwaizumi was waiting for confirmation, Oikawa didn’t give him any. He didn’t deny what his best friend said either. “What’s wrong?”

Iwaizumi sat down on the bench, right next to Oikawa. His presence blew the remaining insects off of Oikawa’s skin, and replaced them with a few butterflies of his own. One of the many reasons Oikawa was in love with him. He not only helped scare away the bad, terrible thoughts that could twist him into an ever-tightening spiral, but he added butterflies. He didn’t only defend, he gave. He gave even though he had no idea what he was giving to Oikawa, and why Oikawa needed it.

Of course, Iwaizumi had no idea about his thought spirals and panic attacks. Of course, Iwaizumi is going to wonder what he just walked in on. Of course, Oikawa doesn’t want to tell him.

Of course, this is a huge problem.

“Oikawa?” Iwaizumi asked. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

Ah yes. He should probably answer the question.

“Nothing’s wrong, Iwa-chan! I was laughing, not crying.” The darkness blanketed most things at that time of night, but Oikawa could still see Iwaizumi’s eyebrows furrow.

“Don’t lie to me.” Iwaizumi’s soft breathing triggered a ripple of movement through the butterflies in his stomach. Everybody knew about those butterflies, the use of ‘butterflies in the stomach’ was probably one of the most overused analogies in writing. But, naturally, Oikawa had them along with all of his other butterflies.

And their flapping wings pumped blood into Oikawa’s cheeks in a flush that spread over his nose and chin.

“I was just thinking.” It was an answer. No matter how small Oikawa’s voice was when he said it, or the fact that ‘I was just thinking’ could mean literally anything, it was an answer and Oikawa deserved at least a little bit of credit for that.

With every second of silence, his heartbeat triggered a surge of movement from the wings inside his body.

Is it possible to feel the outline of each, individual butterfly in your body even when you know they aren’t physically there?

Iwaizumi pulled Oikawa into his chest, strong against the struggle that the latter put up. The sound of both boys’ heartbeats falling into sync relaxed the tension hovering around the pair. “Do you want to tell me more?”

Yes.

Yes he did.

“Not really.” They both knew this was a lie. It was so blatantly obvious, light against the surrounding darkness. The lie was so clear, you could see through it with no effort or thinking at all. And Oikawa was supposed to be an experienced liar.

“Oikawa?”

His name was all it took to destroy the dam. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back. All of these years of keeping secrets and feelings inside, and his name was all it took to release them. He didn’t know he could reach this level of pathetic. But it was happening. He was spilling everything- secrets, tears, hopes, fears.

The butterflies were set loose.

To Iwaizumi’s credit, he listened. He comforted and heard Oikawa out. He actually wanted to help. He actually did help. This was why Oikawa loved him. Because Iwaizumi may not understand everything, but he tried to. He cared, understood, and helped. He helped set Oikawa free.

Oikawa knew that even though he opened up, he wasn’t free. The insects would come back. But for now, he was free. And for now, that was all that mattered.

As Oikawa’s rant sputtered to a stop, he was painfully aware of the fact that he just spilled everything. Well. Everything except his enormous amount of love for Iwaizumi. But that could say a secret, at least for now.

“Do you hate me?” Oikawa’s voice trembled, outlining every butterfly that was living in his small, choked-up throat.

Iwaizumi stared at Oikawa for a good 5 seconds before answering. “Of course not. Oikawa, everyone has things they need to deal with, things they are ashamed of. I only wish that you told me sooner, so I could have helped you before it got this bad.”

Oikawa was crying again. This boy was getting a massive headache and needed water stat.

“I’m sorry you felt like you had to keep this a secret.” Iwaizumi went on. “If I knew you were depressed, I definitely would have tried to make you feel at least a little bit better. I know it’s hard, feeling like you don’t belong. Feeling like the butterflies could eat you up at any moment, leaving nothing but an empty space of where you used to be. Wondering if anybody would care if you left. I know how it feels. And I would never leave you because of it.”

Oikawa wiped his nose on Iwaizumi’s shirt. He would have asked if Iwaizumi minded, but at this point it was already soggy with snot and tears. Using the shirt as a tissue again couldn’t make the mess any worse. He was just happy. So happy that Iwaizumi understood. Even happier that Iwaizumi didn’t hate him for it.

“God, I love you so much.”

Oikawa did not mean to say that out loud. If Iwaizumi didn’t hate him already, he would now. Who confessed their lies, depression, anxiety, and love to somebody all in one breath? Apparently Oikawa did.

When Oikawa realized what he said, he froze. Every movement of his hands, the falling of a tear, the buzzing of a butterfly stopped. He couldn’t bring himself to look Iwaizumi straight in the eyes.

But Iwaizumi’s warm laugh told Oikawa that he didn’t need to worry.

“I love you too, Oikawa. You can stop worrying. I’m here.”

And he was. He was there, holding Oikawa in his arms. He was there, wiping away the tears and sacrificing his shirt to take the place of a tissue. He was there to ease Oikawa’s pain and prevent him from hurting again. He was there.

The insects faded.

The butterflies were back. Spreading from his stomach to his lungs. Lungs to his throat. But he now knew what they meant. They meant something different to every person, depending on where that person was in life. For Oikawa, at first, they were happiness and beauty. Then they spun themselves into a chrysalis of fear, loneliness, and depression. When they emerged from the cave, they weren’t new. They were old and worn, they had seen so much already in their short lives.

But they were a new emotion. They weren’t innocent- it was too late for that. They weren’t the ‘feeling of being understood’. That’s just a sappy line from a kid’s show. They were hopeful. Hopeful of a future that had once seemed dark and bleak. The butterflies spoke of new, foreign feelings, anticipation and hope, strength and hope.

That may also seem to be a line straight from a children’s show, but butterflies were known to be childish. They were depicted as beautiful, innocent, and juvenile. They were ethereal and intriguing.

But they held secrets that were not meant for children’s ears.

Oikawa was beginning to think that the secrets might not be so dark after all.

How is it that you float through life, so elegant and untroubled Envious of how your story ends Life doesn’t treat me so easily Put me to sleep with a smile and a kiss Underprivileged in the eyes of my heart Show me how to live again Acquaint me with your eyes, smile, stars Loving even through our Last words

[ This story is also on my ao3 here! ]

[sister-ruan]

Dream Royal Chaos

So, I follow Facebook’s Royal Chaos group, and there was recently an announcement of another server merge. My friends @lady-reinian​, @noble-consort-yi​, @yingyuerc​ and I started venting, and I suddenly had some ideas for how I would like it (and my friends seemed to agree with me). So I shall explain what my dream Royal Chaos would look like.

Donation Tier

User Controlled Server Switches

Elimination of payer-only abilities

Consistent Story Progression

Donation Tier

So, anyone who has played Royal Chaos is aware of the VIP rankings in the game. This has caused some... frustration, to put it lightly. Only those who shell out a lot cash regularly are able to be a number 1 VIP. And ultimately, being a VIP doesn’t do anything besides occasionally giving you... like... a new speech bubble style or frame for your picture. It basically just says “I sold part of my soul to enjoy this game a little more”.

I’ll get to that whole “pay to enjoy” thing later, but I still think this is important. Many old online servers, like Gaia Online, would rely on donations to continue to keep things running and pay the people running the site. For that, the people who donated would get one item that was exclusive to donors (in Gaia’s case, a halo). While I understand we are not on Gaia, and not in the early 2000′s, this is still a decent idea.

Many YouTubers and other people who work on the internet use Patreon as a means of asking for a little extra to give a little extra. And often times, people who use Patreon have a Donation Tier list; where your placement on the tier is determined by how much you donate. This is ultimately what Royal Chaos’s VIP list is, only you can’t tell how much you have to donate to get on any particular level until you’ve paid it. But unlike Patreon, being on a VIP list doesn’t provide anything for the people paying money to get Jade, besides actually getting Jade. It’s less of “give a little to get a little” and more “give us your first born child to get two jade”. I believe a donation tier would be... more satisfactory.

User Controlled Server Switches

To try and eliminate “dead” servers, the big cats who run Royal Chaos will periodically merge servers to prevent users from losing their process while also providing a way to up activity; which is rather irritating for those of us who like quiet servers. This also can cause you to lose a lot of progress you’ve made in promotions because people who have money to burn are better at maintaining their status. (Yes, I’m aware of the theme.)

So, what’s my solution? Don’t leave it to the admins and mods to merge servers. You send out an announcement of which servers are going to be closed and warn users that if they don’t move their data to a new server before the deletion date, their data would be deleted. Providing users with a choice of where to go can allow users who prefer chatty servers to go there, and those who like quieter servers to go to the “new” servers. This would also free up the data used by inactive accounts that people have abandoned. And the players wouldn’t be so angry at the admins and mods.

Elimination of Payer-Only Abilities

For as long as I’ve played Royal Chaos, there has always been a great disadvantage to players who want to play for free. Players who can shell out cash have the ability to buy more supplies to get better heroes, pets, weapons, clothes, flowers- anything that is needed for competition (which is ultimately 90% of the game). This makes the game less enjoyable for those who don’t have the money to make it rain. Those of us who spent anywhere from several hours to several months trying to get strong enough to move to the next stage don’t stand a chance compared to those who spend $200 to make ten times the progress in a fraction of the time.

So, in my dream Royal Chaos, that would be eliminated. Completely. Sure, if you paid for stuff, you still get to keep what you bought. But progress is to be made through grinding, like the rest of us. Want to level up your warriors? Better start battling. Want to beef up your pet? Feed it. Don’t have the supplies for that outfit? Gotta start doing some travelling. Making it so everyone’s progress is based on how much time their willing to put into the game will make things more fair and equal. However, you know the admins and mods wouldn’t be happy with a completely free game.

My solution? A once a month special item for a reasonable price. How is that different from now? Well:

It’s at a reasonable price. Not $50

It’s not a gamble. Part of why these “exclusive items” are undesirable is because there’s no promise you’ll get them

What’s a reasonable price? In my opinion, $10. “But [my name], won’t the admins and mods think that’s too cheap?” Initially, yeah. But as they say, “You attract more flies with honey than vinegar.” If you give people a promised item to them for a reasonable price, you’re more likely to get more buyers. And even $10 is a bit pricey, but compared to a $50 gamble it’s nothing.

But how is this different from the Payer Exclusive items? The monthly item released is cosmetic. It’s just a costume or a new hair style. It’d be nothing that would really effect the game play. But costumes wouldn’t just be exclusive to once a month; costume recipes should come back. I’ve got more than enough of... everything... to make tons of costumes. The monthly exclusive is just one item that you don’t have to make.

Consistent Story Progression

Three months = one chapter? Uh, no. That’s silly. I’m sure it has something to do with the voice actors and the technology behind it, but it’s silly. For people like me who are primarily on Royal Chaos for the story, a lot of time is just spent doing dailies for five minutes and then signing out because there’s no update. I would much rather be spoon fed pieces of each chapter consistently than get one chapter, finish it in five minutes, and then be bored again for another three months.

I believe this one is more about time management and less about more workers being involved. Plus, these last couple chapters didn’t have voice overs. In fact, I think there should be regular maintenance done to make sure all of the voice overs still run for the chapters, so there are no bugs, and to give an option of just keeping comments turned off for the story. Chances are, it’d have to be a one or the other situation.

I’m speaking from my point of view as a player and as someone who doesn’t need to be fed ads. I feel like actually accommodating to those who are playing for free rather than excluding them is just being respectful. I know tons of people who have left because they just can’t keep paying for all of these upgrades they need just to keep up. And I think that it’s unfortunate because Royal Chaos has so much potential as a game, and it’s being thrown away for the sake of profit. Games are better when you can enjoy them without buying all the bells and whistles.