#if you make it it'll be such a milestone you can put it on a resume and get hired instantly

[restless-soulz]

HOW THE HOUSEWARDENS ACT W/ A BABY (not their own, they're all still underage)

RIDDLE:

-man this guy is so bad with babies, but damn it if he isn't efficient

-he'll make sure that the physical needs are taken care of, but that's not entirely what a baby needs.

-but a baby can't tell you what exactly it needs so it'll just be stressful for both of them until he figures it out

-it might be a while

-doesn't do super well with physical affection (giving)

-he probably won't burn down the house to make a bottle for the baby but he will stress about the temperature and it'll go cold before he's satisfied and it'll repeat the process ad infinitum

LEONA:

-pls the baby he knew was cheka, and he was easy he's got this (NOT)

-lion man just wants to sleep and does not appreciate being woken up for feedings or changings or anything else

-doesn't care about bottle temp, milk is milk

-won't show but is a little stressed about having claws vs incredibly fragile baby skin

-genuinely confused to as why not all babies are not like Cheka

-after a while he'll get down the baby language and be so fast at it, just to maximize his sleep

-hey if it works it works

AZUL:

-another one not really fit for children

-would try to foist off the child to the leeches, and then realize that unfortunately he is the much better option (because morays eat their young)

-he will do his best tho and he will do an almost perfect job

-he just...overestimates human baby milestones

-it's ok, it can go one of two ways. either the parent is delighted by fast progress or Azul feels embarrassed

-like riddle, doesn't super love the whole physical contact thing

-also secretly i'd think he'd be great to talk to for anything involved in being recognized outside of your children or a body dysmorphia kind of depression cause same

KALIM:

-mans has 40 siblings or something

-i trust him, but he can be a little...cloud heavy

-he will make sure that baby is cuddled, and fed, and played, but sleeping is not his thing. adorable, but babies are AWAKE around him

-plus he's had servants that take care of the gross parts so he's clueless about how messy babies usually are

-jamil would lose his mind having two people to take care of, one infinitely more dependent than the other

-as much as i love him, don't give him a baby

VIL:

-he wouldn't try very hard

-babies are hard and he's not planning to babysit very long, he has more important things to do, but in the meantime

-this baby will be TAKEN CARE OF

-he bought a lot of...well...everything and all the excess goes to the parents.

-the cutest outfits you've ever seen

-detests changing and other gross parts but will do it

-does not like the not sleeping part, but he will admit they are very cute

IDIA:

-you're playing with fire here

-the only baby he's ever been around was Ortho, and that...ended terribly

-panicking every single second, and rapidly googling every time the baby breathes a little weird

-builds an automated bottle warmer and baby rockers so he has minimal contact with the baby as possible

-until Ortho says that skin to skin or physical contact is best for optimal health

-he'll whine and cry but do it, for a super short amount of time

-made an automatic changing station so he never does the gross parts

MALLEUS:

-adores children. they do not adore him.

-he can scare them a bit being all dark colors and rbf

-but he does theoretically know how to take care of a human baby

-i don't think silver should count since he's more of a changling

-will not put the baby down unless absolutely necessary (my kind of guy)

-the baby lives in a singular too big shirt or the most regal ensemble you've ever seen. no in between

-doesn't bother with changing since he can just magic it away

-also buys everything for the baby and keeps half for when he hopes to be asked to babysit again

[pseudowho]

Thinking about Takuma Ino, who becomes a father so young when you fall unexpectedly pregnant. Thinking about the fear in your eyes, the shaking hands going to hold each other's, the positive test clasped between them. The way Takuma reassures you; "it's okay, it's okay, I always wanted to be a dad...sure, not this soon-- but we'll be fine. Better than fine, we'll be great."

The way Takuma goes for a walk that night, after you've cried yourself to sleep, crouching down in an alleyway with his beanie'd head in his hands, wondering how he could possibly ever be a good father. Wanting to marry you, to do things 'right', but afraid you'd think he only wanted to marry you because of the pregnancy.

The way Takuma arrives on his mother's doorstep (the mother who raised him alone, young, single) in the dead of night, pale-faced. The way his mother holds him as he cries and apologises at the dining room table, his face in her robed chest. The way she cups his face, and stares into his eyes; "we can do this, together, the right way. You're a good boy. Now be a good man."

The way Takuma learns to be a father, from his mother, who was his whole world. The way Takuma works himself to the bone, squirrelling money away, booking in with estate agents to go and view your first home together in a way that makes your hormonal heart clench.

The way Takuma's head hits the pillow, weary after working all night, then comes straight up again as he hears you vomiting in the bathroom, kneeling behind you to stroke your hair back, holding you gently round the waist on the tiled floor; "attagirl...it'll be better soon, right? Toughest girl I know. Doin' such a great job."

The way Takuma takes up embroidery, buying cheap plain clothes for the baby, because he can't afford much, but adding small artistic touches of beauty; a frog with a toadstool hat, a little trailing succulent vine, a shooting star.

The way Takuma is bright and excited; there for every scan, every class, every milestone. The way Takuma puts on a brave face. The way Takuma hides in the staffroom at work, his head in his hands, creaking under the weight of responsibility. The way he feels a strong hand clasp his shoulder, a beige suit, a blue shirt, a leopard print tie at the corner of his eye; "I know you're going to say no...but I'd like to buy a gift. For both of you. For the baby."

The way Takuma feels so ashamed for accepting help; the way a crib, a beautiful buggy, a snug and safe car seat, all gradually arrive at your new home. The way he tries to insist on paying Nanami Kento back. Nanami naturally refuses, pretends to be inordinately interested in his newspaper.

The way Takuma can't help but buy the baby a few beanies. The way you retaliate by buying an outfit that looks just like Ino's. He is thrilled.

The way Takuma's embroidery has advanced so well, he makes four little Auspicious Beasts to hang from a mobile above the crib.

The way Takuma paints beautiful, geometric, zany black and white shapes on the wall in the baby's bedroom; "They only see black, white and red at first babe. Neat, right?"

The way Takuma is pale throughout your labour, his eyes feverish, your pain so much harder than any battle he's ever been to. The way his tears hit him in a huge whooshing breath, a head-holding groan of relief when his baby son is placed on your chest, wet and crying, a little angry clenched face. The way Takuma rests his cheek on his arm at the top of your bed, gazing down and sniffling as his son holds his finger.

The way Takuma takes you both home, proud, woefully in love, still wondering how he's ever going to grow up and be a man, without realising he's already so much more of a man than so many others in this world.

Thinking about young dad Takuma Ino.

[seventeenytiny]

♡ Stray Kids as Dads ♡

Word Count: 637 Author's Note: As always this is just for funsies, feel free to add on your own ideas ♡

Bang Chan

He's such a girl dad and I don't think anyone will disagree with this. His daughter is the apple of his eye, the most precious thing he has ever seen. Everything he does in life is for his daughter and family. He will always do his best to take time off work to not miss big milestones and events. I can imagine him smiling ear to ear watching his child's first choir concert, even if it sounds bad he is still so proud of his baby girl.

Lee Know

I can't quite explain why I view him as a father of twins but I just do, it'll be one boy and one girl. When the two of you found out you were having twins his immediate excitement for it took away all your anxiety. If you choose to breast feed he will do everything he can to help you such as cleaning your pumps and changing diapers so you can rest. When the kids get older he will take great pride in making them healthy and yummy homecooked meals.

Changbin

Girl dad 100%, you can't convince me otherwise. He became very protective of his baby girl the second he saw the ultrasound. He does as much as he can while the baby is a newborn to help develop a bond. This includes things like skin-to-skin cuddles, diaper changes, and baths. When his daughter gets older he will always be picking out the cutest outfits for her.

Hyunjin

Honestly, I could see him as both a girl and boy dad but I think his first might be a girl. I can see him as the dad who plays dress-up with his daughter. He'd let his girl paint his nails, do his hair, and put makeup on him and he'd do the same to her. They'd also do crafts together, once his daughter develops better motor skills he will definitely teach her how to paint.

Han

Baby girl is the father of a baby girl. He loves spending one-on-one time with his daughter. He will take her to the park to play while also allowing his partner to have some quiet time to themselves. When his daughter is a little bit older he will take her on "dates" so she can learn how a man should treat her. By dates, I mean things like daddy-daughter dances where he will bring her flowers, open car doors for her, and treat her to dinner.

Felix

I have a feeling if he decides to have kids he would like to settle back down in Australia. He would love to take his son to all of the places he has fond memories of in his hometown. I'm sure he would be thrilled if his child showed interest in doing taekwondo as well. Everyone will be wondering if his son will have that same signature deep voice he has.

Seungmin

I think he would really like having a child he can play sports with and roughhouse with. Obviously, he can do that with either a girl or a boy but I think he ultimately would like a mini him to play with. He'd love playing catch with his boy and taking him out to sports games. They'd probably play outside all day, rain or sunshine, and always come back in covered in mud and ravenously hungry.

I.N

Like Seungmin, he also can't wait to have a mini him. He and his child will be so mischievous together, they will always be doing stuff like playing pranks on each other. Jeongin also has two brothers so I could see him and his bros taking his son on a classic boy's trip. He will also teach his son how to be the perfect gentleman, the two of them will always come back with flowers for mom.

[jovial-thunder]

Downtimes, module editor, water temple

Happy summer! There's smoke in Portland but it's not too bad. Bless firefighters. Work on Lancer Tactics continues apace.

This month has been mostly focused on the largest heretofore-untouched section of the game: downtimes and the module editor for designing the sequences between combats. We're not planning on doing anything particularly innovative or new in its design — if you've played Banner Saga, Fire Emblem (gameboy versions), or Rogue Squadron you'll recognize what's going on here.

Repair, level up, have visual-novel-style conversations with companions, do some light choose-your-own-adventuring, and pick & launch the next combat. All pretty standard downtime fare — games have pretty thoroughly explored these patterns as vehicles for narrative at this point.

The unique thing that Lancer Tactics is offering on this front is an editor to make your own entire campaigns. Classic games like Warcraft or Age of Empires had incredible scenario editors, but making anything more than a one-mission map was solely the domain of modders. Over the last few weeks, we've gotten a full basically-visual-novel-editor working ingame where you can orchestrate NPC story arcs, clocks ticking, branching paths, and triggered events for all the stuff that happens between combats.

All of the campaigns we ship with the game are going to be made with these same editors, which'll force us to really make sure that they're solid tools. I think it'd be very funny to someday see someone like completely ignore all the mech stuff and just make a visual novel in this engine.

There's no new preview game build this month because adding this big section of the game means too many things are under construction. I'm happy with how fast we've been able to get this going, but making ingame editors is a lot of unglamorous UI piping and data refactoring work. Fingers crossed that it'll come together enough that we'll be able to get the first version of this editor in your hands in time for the next update

Other Changelogs

Carpenter has started re-making the tutorial level from the demo in this new engine, which is pushing us to add a bunch of stuff to the combat editor. I added triggers for playing arbitrary effects on the map, moving the camera, storing arbitrary data to the battle/module states, enabling/disabling/triggering other triggers, AND/OR conditions, and putting execution limits on triggers.

Triggers can highlight UI or actions (so it can be like "use the boost to get through!" and the boost button becomes all shiny)

New "camera start" zone type

Added a "hotspot" zone type that has a little floating title, and plastered the names of other zones on the map (visual style stolen from some Foundry VTT modules)

Added water, whose level can be set via the editor or triggers.

Added unmounted pilots who can mount up into Shut Down mechs. We continue to plan to not have pilot combat be a part of the core game, but it'll be useful for scenario or scripted sequences.

Added activation pips and template icons to the mini healthbar on units.

A bunch more portrait editor assets from Martina, including facial hair. Here's a check Carpenter did where he tried to recreate some official Lancer art ingame. ✨

Schedule update

Taking a look at our original date for the "bones" of the game ("finishing the battle engine, basic character creation, 2 mechs per manufacturer, and an a 'instant action' mode"), we estimated being able to get it done by the end of November. The emotional milestone for me on this front is getting the game to a complete enough state that I feel OK about swapping it in on the itch.io page.

I've been saying that the 3D cataclysm has pushed us back back about 3 months, and I think that's still holding true. Carpenter and I haven't officially made the call yet, but I think it's likely we'll need that time to port more mech content; here's a graph they made that shows about where we're sitting on the PC and NPC mechs for the "bones" target in terms of mechanics and action icon/sprite. 

(This data is pulled from a big table they made that includes ALL talents/gear/traits where we've been marking things off as we've implemented them. Very handy for tracking where we are.)

That's all for now. Tata!

[violentdelightsandviolentends]

congratulations on your new milestone! you said you’d love more javi so here i am lol how about javier + best friend’s brother/brother’s best friend (whichever inspires you more) + "you look so pretty like this." 🫶🏾

2 Murphy's and a Peña.

y. Brothers best friend + 18. "You look so pretty like this."

Author's Note - this is a drabble written as part of my 500 Followers Celebration!! find that post here. anon - i know you sent me another request that said to discard the brother's best friend bit because i've already done it, but i had to do it again for javi!! i'll admit, i did bump this request to the top of the pile. what can i say, i was feeling inspired by mr peña , as per usual. thanks for being the sweetest!!

Pairing - Javier Peña x Female Reader

Age Rating - 18+

Warnings - smut!! + cursing

Word Count - 1081

Masterlist. 500 Follower Celebration Masterlist.

Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.

Javier swings open his front door, eager to find out who's attempting to punch their way into his neighbours apartment.

"Cariño, if he hasn't answered by now, I'm guessing he isn't home."

You spin on your heel, relieved to be met with the sight of Javier Peña leaning against his doorframe, whiskey in hand.

"Him and Connie rarely go out. I assumed they'd be in," you shrug.

Javi takes a moment to look you up and down. You're wearing a tight dress that hugs your curves just right, and doesn't leave much to the imagination. The colour compliments your skin tone beautifully, and Javi has to remind himself that you are his partners sister. Strictly off limits. It doesn't stop him from staring, though.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," you wink.

"I'll hang it in my apartment if you like, right above the fireplace," he teases.

You both laugh, the sound echoing down the hallway.

"What do you need, hermosa? Where are you going dressed like that?"

"Dressed like what?"

"All pretty."

You try not to blush at his compliment. He's so smooth, so easy with it, you understand why all of his informants are so willing to sleep with him.

"I'm not going out, I'm coming back. I had a date, and now I've locked myself out of my apartment. I was hoping to crash at Steve's, but I guess that option has gone out the window," you sigh, leaning back against the door.

"Well, come in while you wait for him to get back. You can tell me more about this date of yours."

He steps aside, gesturing at you to enter his apartment. It's not the first time you've been inside, but usually you're with Steve. It feels different now it's just the two of you.

"You don't wanna hear about the date, I promise you. It was fuckin' awful. God, guys suck. It's my own fault, really."

He pours you a drink as he listens, moving to sit next to you on the couch.

"What's your fault, huh?"

"I just needed to get laid, so I put too much faith in him. He did not deliver."

It's now that Javier realises you've probably had a drink or two. You're never usually this open, this brazen with him. He'd be lying if he said it didn't turn him on a little.

"That bad?" he asks, voice an octave deeper than before.

"Worse than you can imagine. I was dry as the goddamn desert. What's the complete opposite of turned on?"

He laughs, the sound rumbling through his chest. It makes you smile, the corners of your mouth turning up.

"It was like he was a teenager," you continue. "He kept grabbing at me. And not in a sexy way. In a clumsy, I-don't-know-what-I'm-doing kind of way."

Javi keeps chuckling, whiskey loosening him up more than usual.

"What the fuck are you laughing at, Javier?" you giggle.

"I just - " he takes a breath to try and stifle his amusement. "You need a real man, cariño. Not one of these stupid little boys. You need a guy who knows what he's doing."

"Yeah?" you tease. "And where am I supposed to find someone like that?"

"He's probably closer than you think," he murmurs.

Javier has, in fact, gotten closer. He's slowly shuffled along the couch so your legs are pressed together. You can feel his breath tickle your cheek everytime he exhales.

"You need a man who puts you first," he mutters, his nose brushing yours. "You gonna let me put you first, honey?"

His tone is low and slow, like golden honey. The timbre of it is shooting straight to your core, lust clouding your judgment.

"We can't," you whisper. "What if my brother finds out?"

"I won't tell if you won't."

Decision made. You lean in, closing the tiny space between you and pressing your lips to his. Javier kisses you greedily, trying to consume you, swallow you whole.

You hitch a leg over so you're straddling him, sitting comfortably in his lap. His hands go straight to your hips, grabbing so hard you know he'll leave fingerprints. You're moaning into his mouth, tangling your fingers through his hair to pull him closer.

Javi tugs your dress up around your waist, kneading your ass with his strong hands. You start to rock your hips slowly, reveling in the way his zipper catches your clit occasionally.

"Come here," he whispers, moving you to sit on one of his thighs. The rough denim of his jeans is a welcome contrast to the soaking material of your underwear, pleasure coursing through you instantly.

You fist your hands into the front of his shirt, using him as leverage. Javi starts to bump his leg up and down as you rock your hips back and forth, both sensations making you whine.

"You look so pretty like this," he groans. "Prettiest girl I've ever seen."

It's like his verbal filter is gone, filth spewing from his mouth in a constant stream.

"That's right baby, use me. Take what you need."

"Told you you needed a real man. I'm not even touching you and look how close you are already."

"You like that, hermosa? You like riding me like this? Fuck, I can't wait to show you what you've been missing all this time, messing around with those stupid boys."

"You're almost there, honey, I can feel it. Just a little more. That's it, atta girl. Just a little more."

His dulcet voice is driving you closer and closer to the edge, your hips moving faster on their own accord.

"Javi," you whine. "So good. So so good."

"Come for me, hermosa. Show me how pretty you look when you come. Good girl. Give it to me."

Your climax hits you like an ocean wave, crashing over your entire body. It's white hot and blinding, muscles tensing and hips stuttering.

You're spent, head falling forward to lean on Javi's shoulder. He wraps his arms around you, tracing patterns on your back soothingly.

"You did good, sweetheart."

"So did you," you chuckle sleepily.

"How about you have a nap, and then I'll show you what else I'm good at?" he asks, teasing lacing his tone.

"Sounds perfect," you whisper, settling down into his lap, face nuzzling into his chest.

Javi doesn't tell you when he hears Steve get home. You look pretty comfortable where you are.

[ssspringroll]

ssspringroll's [number redacted] follower milestone preset requests!

(aka harvesting your cc ideas)

To celebrate [redacted] followers, I've decided to put together a little gift, with YOUR HELP! Collab with me on a random assorted preset pack? 🥺

Some rules/info:

you don't have to be following me to request a preset, I don't care

you can request as many presets as you want

I can not guarantee that every request will be made. I will do my best

presets can NOT add anything to the sim, we can only change what already exists. This is why I can 'remove' eyes (by shrinking them), but I can't add any more.

presets can NOT remove anything. all of my 'removal' presets actually just shrink things down to be microscopic. This also means holes cannot be added anywhere on the body by presets.

also, presets can't re-weight anything. it's okay if you don't know what that means. Basically, if i tried to put the eyeballs on the hands, for example, they wouldn't move correctly because they still 'think' they're still attached to the head.

presets can't add color overlays, but I am willing to make a separate piece of cc that adds a color overlay to complete the look if necessary

presets can be for any ages, any genders, any occults

no cheek presets. I haven't figured out how to make those work correctly yet. (I can edit the cheeks, but it'll have to be a jaw or chin preset or something)

a reference image is required. it can be anything though, a photograph, a screenshot from a game, a bad drawing you made in mspaint, a screenshot of the sims that you drew on to demonstrate what you want, etc. I will not be publishing these reference images.

leave requests in my ask box. they can be anonymous, but if I choose to tag contributors in the cc post, anons obviously cannot be tagged.

I won't have time to work on presets until at least the 2nd week of august, so you have plenty of time to get those requests in! There's no end date yet, but I will be sure to make another post announcing when submissions are closed.

this post subject to change if i think of other important info to add

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

Hey lil bro, hope you had a joyful birthday 🎂 and as always, thank you for what you do.

I'm not sure which format would be best, but it's for those M6 who knew MC before. How would they react or behave if MC comes back with cognitive loss compared to how they were before? Like it wouldn't be really noticeable if you hadn't known them before, but it's not insignificant for those who did?

Totally understandable if this isn't something you want to tackle. (This prompt is unfortunately personal for me so pls feel free to seek clarification if you do decide to go with it)

The Arcana HCs: When MC suffers from cognitive loss

~ for headcanon purposes, MC is dealing with short-term cognitive loss post upright ending due to a head injury/new meds/unforeseen but remedial issue. this manifests as poor short term memory, slowed thinking processes, difficulty putting together words, etc ~

Julian

He hates that you just can't seem to catch a break but he's so, so, so very happy that this is a situation that lets him use his strengths for you. Few things make him happier than knowing he's helping

You do quickly realize that much of the reason he's able to cope with your sudden change in functioning is years of "doctor mode"

That said, he'll turn any situation into a bonding moment

Can't remember the word you're looking for? He'll turn into a walking thesaurus and rattle off any and all related vocabulary he can remember (which is quite a bit, with all that reading)

Difficulty processing information? No worries, he can share his own thought process out loud so you have something to follow. You'll get there in your own time

There are moments when he worries that the care he gives you won't be enough to fix it, but he also knows that nothing about your situation changes who you are, or how much he loves you

Overjoyed when he sees you start to recover and makes a point of commemorating every milestone. He knew you could do it!

Asra

It's a mess and they know it's a mess and the main thing they feel is grief that you have to experience loss like this all over again

Being someone who doesn't process grief or sadness easily, he's going to work towards making life beautiful for you again instead. He is nothing if not resilient, adaptable, and hopeful

Even if you stay this way for the rest of your life, they'll still love you unconditionally and savor every day they get to spend with you

And it's that mindset riddled with hope and triggers that puts him on eggshells. He's not pressuring you, he's not afraid of you, but he's terrified of making things worse or making you feel lesser

So very gentle and accommodating about any new needs. You can't piece your sentence together? Take a deep breath, join your hands with theirs, and they'll work it out through your bond

Struggling to remember what you were going to do today? He'll remind you if he knows, and if he doesn't, it'll work itself out

Watching you work your way back to your usual state tells them all over again that holding out hope for your healing is always good

Nadia

Deeply upset about what you're losing and even more angry with herself for why she's bothered about it - your thoughts and words were what drew her in and made her fall for you

But now, both of those things have been compromised, and under the concern that you're missing something core to who you are is the fear that her love won't be strong enough to weather it

And she hates that about herself

Which is why she's not going to burden you with this set of insecurities. Rather, she's determined to see you get better, and she's going to put all her faith in who she knows you to be

In the process she ends up realizing that slower thoughts and cumbered speaking don't change anything about who you are. You're still you, and she loves you unfalteringly

She also gets terrifyingly good at saying what you're thinking before you even realize you're thinking it in conversations

So, so proud of you every step of your recovery. She's still permanently losing her habit of springing trick questions on you

Muriel

Is it still you? Yes. Are you alive? Yes. So what if you need to take extra time to collect your thoughts? His personal record for deciding what to have for dinner spans days

(A/N: this is called procrastination, and going without eating for that long was not good for him and something he needed to stop)

So what if you don't have words for what you're thinking? He doesn't have words either most of the time. It's all good

He's still bothered by it, though, because you're bothered by it. He can tell how frustrated you are with yourself and he hates seeing the way it affects your self-esteem. He'll help however he can

Don't worry about finishing your thought, life in the woods moves at glacial paces. Take as much time as you need to keep going

It's okay if you can't say the words you want to. Gestures work just as well - in fact, it's never too late to learn a little sign

If anything, it's refreshing to see you slow down to his pace

So happy for you as you recover. It makes no difference to his love for you, but you're happier for it and that's what matters

Portia

Oh, she's upset to the point of coming across as angry

Not at you - of course not at you, she knows this is in no way your fault, but between her empathic heart absorbing all of your frustration and grief and her own concern for you, it's ... a lot

The extent to which she's projecting her own feelings of being held back by her situation onto you doesn't help either

Which is why she's not giving up on you. If you reach a point where you'd rather find a way to make life good as is, then she'll make her peace with it. Until then, it's full steam ahead to your recovery

It's still a struggle with her own impatience, though. She finishes half the sentences you start with uncanny accuracy, and then beats herself up for not keeping your space to work through it

She misses being able to toss ideas back and forth and hearing your feedback right away, but she's learning to value it more

Bakes celebratory cakes and sweets every single time you hit a milestone or seem to have clearly improved, and never stops reminding you what a loved and delightful person you are

Lucio

His only personally negative feeling about this is that your communications lag-time gets frustrating when he's got the attention span of a squirrel in autumn. He's trying, okay?

Other than that, you're not that much different to him. You still love him. You're still here, despite the "oopsies". You're still very kissable

What truly bothers him is the dip in your own self-worth. He'd have to be blind to miss the way you deflate or panic a little every time you struggle or fail to do what used to be so easy for you

To him, you're the best. You're his best. That's how you deserve to feel about yourself. And if you aren't, he wants to help you out of it

His encouragement doesn't come from telling you you'll recover or from putting together a meticulous care plan. It comes in the form of jokes and hugs and "don't worry about it, you're still awesome"s

Which, granted, isn't necessarily the best emotional support for when you want to vent or process, but he's not going anywhere

You saved him, so you're stuck with him for life. He's dedicated to you whatever the outcome, and immeasurably proud of you always

[t00thpasteface]

I never considered hawkahey before but I love it! Father is so calm and sweet except when worked up, whereas Hawkeye is always so acerbic and snarky except with the ones that he loves. The very definition of dog and cat boyfriends. :3 Thank you for opening my eyes!!

YAY!!!! welcome to the club!!!

the big thing i like about hawkahy, besides the ten metric tons of narrative symbolism they can carry together, is the way i think they resist a lot of your typical shippy/romcom templates. i've spent a LOT of time in fandom spaces over the years and i've gotten mostly pretty tired of the same formulas, especially when half the time it requires chopping off canon aspects of either/both characters just to make them fit. at least, i try to be conscious of a few different red/blue, this/that dichotomies when i write/draw them, and play around with the sorts of expectations one might have for them both as individuals and as a pair.

i actually have A Lot Of Thoughts about this so i'm gonna put my yapping under a readmore:

i think the show itself does a lot to twist expectations, by virtue of having begun as a satirical comedy (which is still what i think it does best), a genre which relies very heavily on ironic inversions of common character/social archetypes that the audience would be coming in with preestablished tastes/expectations for. hawkeye seems like a self-centered hedonist, but he's also highly introspective and articulate, so he's often quite capable of waxing poetic about why and how he does what he does, instead of just acting on raw instinct with no higher thought. meanwhile, mulcahy's entire thesis as a character is just lampshading or inverting every expected feature of a priest character; if he's the "father", then the other personnel are latchkey kids. the last thing i want to do is flatten any of that!

here's some specific tropes i try to keep in mind and intentionally upset, whether explicitly or implicitly, in my hawkahy art/fic:

hawkeye as the aggressive boundary-violator, mulcahy as the helpless victim having his lines crossed— hawkeye can be pretty pushy and insistent, but he's not one to commit actual assault, especially not to someone who wouldn't hurt a fly. even in an early-seasons scenario, i don't think he would move much faster than what mulcahy's comfortable with, at least not with anything more serious than jokes and come-ons; i think he prefers to awaken things in people and encourage them to loosen up, rather than pull them along by himself.

also, mulcahy is not a pushover; he just knows when to pick his battles and prefers to bite his tongue. he's certainly blown up on hawkeye before. it would also be fairly easy for mulcahy to throw hawkeye over his shoulder or snap the guy in half like a twig if he wanted to. when mulcahy does get pressured into doing something he doesn't want to do, it's the focus of an entire episode, i.e. the exception that proves the rule. if hawkeye's going to tempt him into something, it'll be because he really wanted to deep down and thus made that conscious choice, not because he got drunk at a party and hawkeye decided to try and cop a feel.

hawkeye as someone who needs a tumultous relationship and thus won't be satisfied by stability— i talked more about this in a previous post, but i think hawkeye does want to settle down eventually. like i said, he comes off as a hopeless romantic. we know he watched a lot of movies; he almost certainly grew up on those "screwball comedies" that were so big in the 30s and featured neurotic nutjobs pratfalling their way into a genuine happily-ever-after. i don't think he'd want to settle down with just anybody, nor do i think he really places a lot of value in fulfilling those milestones of "get married by X age, buy a house with Y rooms, and pump out Z kids" just for the sake of fulfilling them and keeping up with the joneses, but i think he'd love to marry for love. again, he was certainly planning on it before the war, and he admitted that he's still carrying a lot of hurt from having that domestic future taken away from him so abruptly.

mulcahy as the innocent ingenue— this one is complex, and of course i'll preface this by saying i'm predisposed to not being all that intrigued or entertained by genuinely innocent characters. i find them to be something of a nonstarter, narratively speaking. beyond that, they tend to be unrealistic in certain settings and demographics. yes, there will always be people living in a bubble for every possible background and age group, but i find it implausible that a man could be 30 or 40 years old and enlisted in the military and still somehow be as naive as a sea sponge in a pineapple.

mulcahy is definitely not all that worldly, and starts off with a somewhat myopic view of his role in the grand scheme of things, particularly as it pertains to the motivations and effects of missionary work. he did join the military of his own volition, but i also think the mulcahy we see at the end of the war (and even at several points in the middle of it) is not the same mulcahy that volunteered to be here in the first place. what's more, we see from lines like "i know all about motels" or his hesitance to say hello to his family on camera that he probably picked up a lot of the hard lessons and ugly experiences that are typical growing up working-class in a big city. i think it's a disservice, both to the character and to the broader themes of the show, to assume that mulcahy's optimism and cheeriness must come from a place of inexperience. yes, he has plenty of room to grow, but he wasn't born yesterday, and i think his optimism is far more the result of a conscious choice to do good than an innocence to the evil in the world.

as for sexual stuff in particular, he mostly reacts to hawkeye's promiscuity with knowing winks and smiles, and even jokes with him about it, which i think is pretty clearly enabling him. sure, he bolts out of those VD talks, but with henry's public speaking skills, can you really blame him for eagerly excusing himself? plus, he has a strong incentive to act more innocent than he really is, because if he plays dumb, it means he won't be preemptively excluded from the conversation by people who think he's easily offended by bawdier talk. he may not be up to date on all the slang, nor is he always observant of certain subtle cues, but he's not a pearl-clutcher; that role is fulfilled by frank, margaret, and charles, so it would be redundant to make mulcahy also gasp and scold people like hawkeye for having premarital sex. mulcahy largely serves to validate hawkeye as being in the right in these disputes. which brings me to:

hawkeye as the amoral maniac, mulcahy as the moral compass— this one especially flies in the face of the spirit of the show, i think. hawkeye is doing his absolute fucking best! he would do anything to save a life, and it doesn't matter whose. he's willing to run into active artillery fire to rescue enemy soldiers, to stay behind and monitor a patient while the camp moves out, and to potentially get himself killed just to stand by his principle of never carrying a gun. he sleeps around as a coping mechanism, but more than that, i think he also does it out of a genuine desire to share some happiness with others in an otherwise miserable and dehumanizing place.

even mulcahy doesn't care that hawkeye does all that other stuff on the side. he wouldn't do a lot of it himself, but that's not an issue to him. again, his entire schtick as a character is being "unpriestly" to comedic/dramatic effect, like winning at poker, getting drunk before a sermon, etc.; he's far more accommodating than he is preachy. he has a profound respect for hawkeye that can be seen even in season one, because hawkeye always looks out for the frightened and vulnerable, and that's what matters to him above all else. mulcahy loathes lip service and values action over feel-good talk, which means he cares more about hawkeye doing the right thing than the superficially squeaky-clean thing.

pairing hawkeye with mulcahy invites some incredibly rich commentary on what "morality" even means, but i think getting hung up on the fact that hawkeye drinks, gambles, and has a LOT of premarital sex is completely missing the point and only reinforcing the puritan ideals that mash itself is trying so hard to upset and dissect.

the cute, sweet, blushy, short one is the sub and/or bottom— nah son. hawkeye is always talking about getting pregnant. mulcahy works out and likes to roughhouse. you do the math here.

ALL THIS TO SAY... i really encourage people to look beyond the stereotypes of horndog and cinnamon roll, or frat boy and nerd, or whatever other thought-terminating cliche one may be tempted to apply to these guys. hawkeye is a sleaze, but he's also sensitive and articulate. mulcahy is a sweetheart, but he's stubborn and resilient. they both go so much deeper than the superficial tropes, and what makes them work so well as a couple IS their ability to bring out those interesting, lesser-known facets in each other, both as characters interacting with each other and as symbols placed in juxtaposition to serve the themes of the show.

[solarisfortuneia]

hello! mika here.

i've wanted to make a sort of gift exchange event for a while now, simply because i thought it'd be fun. and i thought what better time than when this blog's reached a milestone? (thank you for two hundred!! i'm glad you find my stuff worth sticking around for <3)

more details utc!

— welcome to the summer santa event!

✦ this is essentially a gift exchange event where you're assigned someone at random to send a gift to (be it a written piece or some art or the like) and you get a gift in return from someone else. (so basically secret santa lol)

— who can particpate?

✦ anyone and everyone! all i ask is that you have fun doing this <3

— how to participate?

✦ just reblog and fill up this form! it'll ask you for a few details like your url, your favorite characters, your favorite tropes and your least favorite tropes etc. (so the person making your gift has something to go off of.)

✦ note: the last date to fill this form in is july 10th. after that, you'll be assigned someone to send a gift to! (and i'll send you the aforementioned details in your inbox a couple of days after!)

— by when should the gift be ready?

✦ by the end of august should be alright!! i'm aiming for the gifts to be handed out by then or by the first week of september. (if you can't make that, it's no problem!! just shoot me an ask and we'll work it out)

— a few additional notes:

✦ all sfw works, obviously! suggestive should be okay methinks, depending on the person sending and the one receiving it.

✦ i'll make a masterlist of all the works too, so that we have a nice little collection to remember this event by.

✦ i'll be tagging everything related to this event with '— summer santa.' if you'd like to keep an eye on updates, reblogs and such.

✦ nothing is 'secret', so if you're curious and want to know who got you, you can always ask!! (but i won't be giving that information directly so those who'd like to be surprised can be surprised <3)

✦ feel free to talk to me if you have any questions or if you run into any issues!

✦ for uniformity's sake, i'm setting a loose lower limit for fics— around 500 words min.— but i'm not sure how to put a limit for other works? (if it makes sense, something equivalent to 500 words? as in, not too big, not too small?)

✦ and lastly, please don't be too stressed while doing this!! this is just meant to be a fun little thing for everyone <3

tagging: @ineshapanda @ilyuu @floraldresvi hello my loves it's finally out!! (i'm excited hehe)

[starlightsearches]

Track 7: Eddie Munson on his wedding day.

I Got You, Babe

Track 7: Kiss on My List by Hall & Oates  - Give me a character and a fluff prompt (or give me free rein) and I'll write a short blurb or headcanons about it.

Eddie x Female! Reader

thanks for the request, my love, I hope you like it! Eddie seems like the kind of guy to throw a wedding together last minute so that's the vibe i tried to capture 💖

📼 ✨ mixtape milestone ✨ 📼

Warnings: not really, just a lot of fluff, and some language

Crying at your own wedding is sappy as hell.

In Eddie's mind, it's the easiest way to kill the vibe. Your wedding is supposed to be a party, for Christ's sake. So, even though he tears up at happy Christmas commercials and gets weepy every year on his birthday even though Wayne always makes him the same funny-looking chocolate cake he's baked since Eddie was a god damn seven year old, he is determined not to cry on the day he gets to marry you.

He's got a buzz all morning, though, and that makes him nervous. Like somebody's gonna jump around a corner and it's gonna startle him into tears—every emotion he's ever had bubbling right up to the surface while he tugs at all the layers, trying to make the suit he borrowed look right.

It's a relief when he finally gets to leave the trailer, walking down the path to the little field nearby. It's filled with all your favorite wildflowers, and everybody's managed to make it look as nice as you deserve. There's a makeshift tent for shade, a mix-match of patterned bed-sheets hanging like a canopy, all the chairs and tables anybody was willing to donate for the afternoon spread out around the dance floor Wayne and some guys from the plant put together out of old pallets and spare wood planks.

Eddie presses his sticky palms together, trying to keep his hands from shaking while he greets everybody, accepting all the congratulations and good lucks from trailer park friends and gentle ribbing from the Hellfire guys and the freshman chirping in his ear.

The wedding part hasn't even started yet, and his throat's already burning. It's not a big crowd by any means, but Eddie never realized there were this many people who cared about him.

Eddie's not gonna cry when the music starts and everybody shuts up, watching for you at the end of the sorta-aisle between all the tables. He might throw up though. Or die, maybe, with the way his heart is pounding. Wayne's standing behind him, a reassuring hand on his shoulder, and that's the only thing keeping him place.

Eddie thought all that might go away once he was sure you were gonna show, but it's actually much, much worse.

Tears are narrowly avoided once you appear. He figures out pretty quick that if he looks directly at you, he'll go off like a fountain, so he clenches his jaw and his hands and his ass cheeks, looking anywhere but your face. At the little bouquet of daises you probably picked yourself this morning, at the billowy sleeves on your dress.

He's not used to seeing you in white, but damn if you don't look stunning.

Eddie doesn't cry through the vows, but that's only because he's not listening. His head is full of static, holding both your hands in his in front of all your friends and family and friends you love like family. He'll make you repeat them again that night, when you're alone and he can bury his face in a pillow if he can't handle all the things it'll make him feel. Then he'll make you say them over and over and over again until it doesn't make him feel like he's drowning.

He kisses you when he's told, in front of everybody, and you cup his face in your hands and kiss him back.

You love him, god damn it. That shouldn't make his eyes sting, but it does. It's how much you love him that Eddie'll never, ever get over.

It gets easier after that, though. As long as Eddie doesn't remember that you agreed to marry him, and then you did marry him, and now you're married to him and he's married to you and you're his wife. If he ignores that, he's fine.

He doesn't cry while you're swaying under the Christmas lights hung around the edge of the tent, Journey's Faithfully playing through the amps he used to lug around for Corroded Coffin shows. Or at least, nobody sees the tear that slips down his cheek when he's got his face tucked into your hair, your cheek pressed tight against his chest, so wrapped up in each other it feels like you've only got one heartbeat.

Eddie almost makes it the whole day. Until Wayne.

He sneaks up on the two of you, sitting in a far off corner for a second of alone time, eating a slice of your wedding cake one of the neighbors baked from a box mix with your bare hands, laughing, and smearing frosting on each other's faces and then licking it off.

Eddie's got a few crumbs dangling from his bangs when he turns to look at Wayne, hands tucked shyly into his pockets.

"I was just wondering if my new daughter-in-law would wanna dance?"

You brush the frosting off your hands before Wayne leads you to the dance floor, swaying with you—old-school, with one hand on your waist and the other in yours—to a song his uncle played so much it's practically the soundtrack to Eddie's childhood. A song Eddie always knew was Wayne's his favorite, without having to ask or be told.

Fuck, if that doesn't already have him close to tears, lips quivering and his hands balled into fists. Eddie digs the toe of his shoe into the soft dirt, trying not to look, not to think about it.

Wayne walks you back when the song ends, hugs you tight a little ways away from where Eddie's staring at the ceiling now, willing the tears back into his head.

But he still hears Wayne say, "you're gonna take good care of my boy." Hears the tears in your own voice when you say yes.

And that's what does him in.

He's never gonna get away from all the love you have for him, all the love out in the universe pointed in his direction, saying you, Eddie Munson, are worth it. He's never gonna escape it.

And why would he ever want to?

[salemssimblr]

Poll time! What would you like to see from me for a followers' gift?

I'll probably end up doing a few of these in the next few months (I'm going out of town soon so it'll have to be after that).

I'll leave this poll up for a week. Feel free to jump in my comments or messages or whatever to tell me what you'd like! I want to hear from you! Yes, YOU!

& please feel free to reblog so this reaches all my moots and followers! & whoever else might appreciate the content that comes out of this!

Love y'all! 😘😘😘

[wildpeachfarm]

See the thing is with streaming its going to die regardless, yes companies handing out less contracts is killing it further but its already dying at a fast rate? I'm not a stream hater either btw I really enjoy them but like. For example. 2020, 2021? When school was remote and I only ever worked mornings because of covid hours? I was clocked into that Philza 8hr stream DAILY. I was scheduling my classes around those streams so I could do homework while listening/watching. Went as far as to use my monthly speaking privilge to ask Phil what date British Daylight Savings began so I could keep my schedule clear. The second everything was no longer remote, and store hours went back to normal, I maybe caught 2, 3, maybe 4 streams in that year before I decided enough was enough about QSMP and I LOVE hardcore content.

From a company standpoint I can see why YT may not be interested in handing out streamer contracts anymore. Like Dreamie and a few others they're recognizing the Covid Number Boom is over- but unlike Dreamie, because theyre a corporation, they can't just "stick it out" and "recelebrate milestones". They have a "bottom line" to protect and they're not getting that same sweet sweet ad revenue from streams because of decreased viewer counts. Esp bc people don't just go back and watch vods unless there's a REAAAALLY good reason to. So no ad viewership there either. They're going to go back to relying on videos (and unfortunately probably shorts as well, I hate the tiktok-ification of every socmed site) to keep their ad revenue up, especially with the battle of ad blockers. I see more ad and monitization deals being handed out.

With streams (bc vod watching is lowkey practically nonexistant) not being in high demand bc of time constraints (happening while busy, timezones issues) the demands for videos will be higher as videos are ALWAYS readily available. Someone uploads at midnight your timezone? I mean it'll be there when you wake up, you won't have "missed" anything like you would have a livestream. Get a video schedule set out and you're GOLDEN- the first thing I do when I get home from work is check if a handful of youtubers have uploaded to put on to watch. If not, I rewatch some of my fav vids.

Also psychologically I actually think this is for the better of all CCs as a whole. Streaming, esp for some of the hourly requirements some of these ppl either HAVE to hit to get paid or WILLINGLY put themselves through (Tubbo) you have to wear your persona the ENTIRE time. You have to make sure you don't slip up that ENTIRE time. You have to be entertaining the ENTIRE time. You have to filter yourself because it's all live. To me this just sounds like what I do on a daily basis masking my audHD and that shit is so tiring and it's why I could NEVER be a streamer. If you're recording videos you can control what goes out. You don't have to wear whatever persona you decide to put on for 8hrs for a stream, you can record 3 hours of footage and then be done for the day, and that can either be one video or multiple depending on a lot of factors. Accidentally say your mom's name? Cut the clip. Bit isn't funny? Cut the clip. They will still have to actively filter themselves yes but for a much less amount of time. In the end CCs will have a lot more mind power that they're not using up to take care of themselves. I genuinely think it's psychologically better for them all.

It's unfortunate that the streaming industry is going to collapse this way. But also seeing how the communities heavily affected by streaming are more drama filled than communities w/o streaming, I'm lowkey hoping it's for the best. Pulling the plug like this imo is a mercy kill.

And now I'm gonna wash my mouth out for all that corporate speak I just used. Sorry for the manifesto. And if someone wants to put this manifesto on reddit idc just crop/block any usernames IG

I appreciate the essay-andy-ing these are interesting thoughts! I don't think the streaming scene will collapse entirely but I do think that it will become more advantageous to be a youtuber because people have found that to be the most consistent for many years as a CC rather than streams which require a lot of additional things (like you mentioned)

And I feel like we are seeing quite a few people say they're going to prioritize youtube more in the future which seems to be the beginning of that transition

I am curious if twitch will ever try to keep certain big-viewer streamers on the platform with 'kick-style' ($$$$) contracts.

[averageanonymous]

Summary: Crowley faces the consequences of saving Elspeth's life in Edinburgh.

This short fic is a bit of a milestone for me because...

1. It's the longest thing I've written so far, too long for a Tumblr post, so I've included the link to the full thing on AO3. The first chunk is included as an excerpt below!

2. It's decidedly more angsty than anything I've written for Good Omens so far (I like fluff and happiness for the most part) It does have some blood and descriptions of torture-related violence etc. It isn't excessive, but it is present, so just be aware if that isn't your jam.

Words: 4,279

Genre: Angst

Excerpt:

The last thing Crowley remembers is walking through the graveyard with Aziraphale, thinking how nice it felt to have the angel's arm around his waist, while at the same time getting angry with him for voicing the truth: that what he'd done for Elspeth had been kind. That damn laudanum. He'd been counting himself a lucky bastard that no one Downstairs had noticed his very un-demon-like display of charity. That had been right before the ground opened up beneath his feet. With a cry of alarm, he'd felt himself dragged down into the dark. There had been a rushing sensation through his whole corporation and then nothing.

*****

The moment the first whispers of consciousness brush his senses, Crowley knows things have gone horribly wrong. He blinks open yellow snake eyes, trying to take in his surroundings. It’s dark, very dark, with only a few scattered bulbs that flicker, creating unsteady cones of gray light that struggle to penetrate the heavy black. He shifts, then gasps as his muscles spasm painfully, the tremors swiftly working their way up and down his back. He can't move, can't escape. All he can do is wait for it to pass, grinding his teeth to keep from crying out. It'll pass, he tells himself, just breathe.

As the convulsions ease, he tries to assess himself. He's on his feet. Shackles on his ankles have him pinned to the floor, shackles on his arms hold his wrists together, with an attached chain connecting them to the floor as well. His physical body hurts in ways he knows it’s not supposed to, though he can't see any obvious damage. Except… his wings, he realizes. Manifested against his will - and they ache. He tries to twist to see, and immediately wishes he hadn't. They're a ruin. Wound with chains, feathers crushed and torn, fragile bones grinding against cold metal. They're hoisted up and spread wide, drawn so tight that they strain against his scapulae, the muscle and tissue threatening to tear with every movement. He realizes that, while unconscious, he must've been being held upright strictly by his wings, and the pain in his body starts to make more sense.

Crowley looks away from his wings. He tries to be logical about his situation. It's no use though. He feels panic grip his heart like a vise, feels a scream rising in his chest. His breath becomes shallow, quick. His vision starts to narrow, but then he sees the shadow of a demon step between the beams of flickering light. Crowley locks onto that shadowy figure. The distraction is just enough to help him swallow his terror, if only for a moment.

“Ahhhh Crowley, Crowley, Crowley,” an oily voice tuts in the dark, “What have you been up to, hm?”

Put on a show, Crowley thinks. So he tries, attempting a smile, but he can only manage a grimace. “You know me, always up to something.”

The figure chuckles at Crowley's attempt at bravado.

“I've been waiting to get a visit from you, you know, Crowley,” the shadowy demon says conversationally, “I knew it was only a matter of time.”

Finally, the demon reaches the circle of light surrounding Crowley. All-white eyes peer out of a long, hollow face. A scruffy attempt at a beard and a receding hairline give him the look of a mid-life-crisis in full swing. He grins, a broad smile that is all teeth.

“Ah, well, hello, ummm,” Crowley racks his brain, trying to recall the name of the white-eyed demon, or if they've even met. He finally gives up with a pained laugh, “I confess, you have the advantage of me.”

“Oh, I wouldn't expect you to know me, Crowley,” The demon smirks. He turns back into the dark, and returns with a cart behind him, its surface scattered with an array of various pointy tools, sharp blades and curious objects whose functions Crowley can only imagine (and what he imagines isn’t good.) Crowley feels himself tense, the chains on his wings pulling sharply, and looks away from the cart. The demon comes to a stop before him and starts arranging the tools. “I don't get out much, see,” he says idly, picking up a wicked looking blade with a serrated edge to examine it closely, “I stay down here. In the dark. Practicing my craft. Perfecting my art. Waiting for visits from…” He looks up, locking onto Crowley's gaze with his unnerving white eyes, “...wayward demons. Such as yourself.”

Crowley nods, or starts to. His overextended wings make even that small movement pull painfully. He grimaces. “What are you, then, junior torturer first class?” he asks.

“Hmmm hm hmm,” the demon laughs, a guttural sound deep in his throat. He waves a finger, “No, no, Crowley, a distinguished demon such as yourself deserves more than the sloppy ministrations of a tawdry junior torturer. You deserve some artistry.” He steps up to Crowley, too close, his breath hot and reeking of sulfur. “Allow me to introduce myself: Alastair, Grand Inquisitor, Master of Torments.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If this little snippet peaked your interest and you'd like to read the rest, it's up on AO3!

[bunny-heels]

*i'm gripping you lovingly by the hand* hey. hey. hey. hey.

i don't shout out things a lot cause like, who cares. but this time I CARE and I WANT PEOPLE TO CARE.

so this indie game studio that i've started to become a fan of in the last year, Senscape, has a new game in the works that they're hopefully, finally, gonna be releasing soon.

Senscape, previously named Nucleosys, is responsible for two horror first person point-and-click adventure games. Scratches, released in 2006, and Serena, released in 2014. Scratches is now sadly abandonware due to legal complications, but Serena is free to play on Steam.

Scratches has you living in a house that the previous owner seemed to have just gave away freely, Serena has you exploring a cabin while you play as a man trying to remember who his wife was. they're both horrific situations that hit hard and i love them so much. they're incredible story tellers too. Serena was the first of their games that i played back when i was a teen and i never forgot about it. i later heard about Scratches early this year when a friend told me about it and showed me a video on it by civvie11, the boomer shooter lover youtuber, of all fucking people. that's when i found out they were made by the same team and how i found out they're making a new game.

the new game they're making, called ASYLUM, is a spiritual successor to Scratches. they've been developing it for 10 years and what they have so far looks terrifying and wonderful. and i don't doubt that the story is going to be amazing and it'll likely make me replay it a bunch.

my other favorite aspect of their games-they don't use any cheap jumpscares. it's all atmosphere, and the scares that do happen come at the least expected times, like a haunted house. the horror comes from the situation the game puts you in, not from something jumping out in front of your face. no random screamers, no random scary faces popping out at you. it's wonderful. it's so good and refreshing. there's not a single jumpscare in Serena, and the scares that happen in Scratches are anticipated and so well executed.

Senscape is about to release a big announcement related to ASYLUM, and literally the only thing they ask in return is for people to wishlist the game on Steam. not for any particular reason, they just think it would be cool to reach a milestone in time for their announcement. i've fallen in love with the work this team has done and i want their good efforts to be appreciated and loved so. if you like GOOD horror games, made by INDIE devs, who make GOOD COMPLICATED STORIES, and who BARELY use jumpscares, and even when they do they're WELL-EXECUTED SCARES-PLEASE. PLEASE WISHLIST ASYLUM. I WANT THEM TO DO GOOD AND I CAN'T WAIT FOR IT TO COME OUT.

if you want to play Scratches, here's a download for it that includes instructions on how to make it work.

if you want to play Serena, here's the Steam page.

and here you can wishlist ASYLUM on Steam.

and here's two videos reviewing Scratches

[marie-swriting]

New Future - Natasha Trace

Top Gun Maverick Masterlist

Summary : After Natasha's last deployment, you hope your relationship won't go down again.

Warnings : angst, sad ending, maybe some grammatical mistakes as English is not my first language, tell me if you see some or if I missed any warnings.

Word count : 2.3k

French version

Song inspiration : It'll Be Okay by Shawn Mendes

Overexcited, you run and jump into Natasha’s arms, making her drop her bag at the same time. She chuckles before responding to your embrace. You press your lips on your girlfriend’s while keeping your arms wrapped around her neck. You hadn’t felt her lips for a month and two weeks. In other words, you missed them.

Natasha was deployed for a mission whose details are unknown to you. Furthermore, you couldn’t communicate as much as you wanted so you also missed her. Whilst you’re kissing passionately, you hear whistling around you.

“Get a room !” Hangman exclaims with humour.

To answer him, Natasha keeps kissing you and gives him the middle finger. He laughs and keeps walking with Bradley.

As soon as you break the embrace, Natasha takes your hand and picks up her bag and then you go to your car. On the way home, you let Natasha rest despite the fact you want to tell her everything she’s been missing. The smile on your lips can’t seem to go away as you’re so happy to have her back.

Once you arrive, you lightly shake Natasha, she wakes up, groggy, then you walk into your house which you’re still renovating. You bought it a month before she leaves.

You were going through a hard phase - it wasn’t the first one but it was the worst one for now - and you thought buying a property would help you get closer again. When you got the keys, it worked ; the joy of reaching another milestone and creating your own home gave you a little help.

Your relationship was hanging by a thread, not because you didn’t love each other anymore - quite the opposite, it just seemed there were some elements which weren’t working anymore, the main one being Natasha’s time-consuming job. Judging it was only a bad moment, you preferred to create a good one.

Unfortunately, Natasha didn’t have the time to renovate the house a lot. You had started the bedroom together, ripping the wallpaper off and starting the painting until she had to go. Meanwhile, you finished the room. Natasha hasn’t seen it.

So when you get home, you ask her to close her eyes and guide her to your shared bedroom. The second you’re there, you whisper in her ears that she can look. Opening her eyes, a big smile makes its way on her face. At first glance, there aren't any flaws - even if you know every spot you missed - and you built every piece of furniture you had picked together beforehand. You’re proud of your work.

“You nailed it ! It looks so good.” Natasha compliments, stunned.

“I’m happy you like it ! You better love your drawers, it was a real pain in the ass to build it.” you inform, pointing at the furniture in question. “There are also those frames I wanted to put on the walls but I thought it’d be better to wait for your return before making holes.”

While explaining, you walk to the spot between the drawer and the wall to take the four frames of the same size out. You put them on the floor so she can see the pictures. You made several photomontages on a website of your trips and more random moments together, like night outs at the Hard Deck, at the beach or in your old respective apartments. You show her where you thought would be best to hang them whilst she keeps admiring the pictures.

“I love it ! I had even forgotten some pics.” she exclaims, looking at a photo taken for your two years anniversary at a restaurant.

“That’s the reason why I developed them. So, what do you think ? I can make the holes ?” you question, impatient.

“Totally, it’ll be nice. We do it now ?”

“Don’t you want to rest ? We can do it tomorrow. They can wait one more day, it won’t make such a difference to them.” you laugh as you point to the objects and Natasha shakes her head.

“I have enough energy for this. However, after this, I’m taking a shower and we’re cuddling in bed.” she requires putting her hands on your hips.

“I’m gonna get the drill, then.”

You kiss her cheek then go to the guest room that is currently more of a storeroom than a bedroom and get the tools. Before leaving the room, you look at it fondly. When you bought the house, you both decided it would be the guest room until the moment you’d want a kid. You don’t know when, however it’s definitely in your plans. You both have a full idea of the future you want together.

It only takes you about ten minutes to drill the wall and hang the frames. Now, you feel like your bedroom is fully finished.

Natasha goes to take a shower while you empty her bag and do a load of laundry. Shortly after she’s done, you both lay down on the bed, Natasha finally discovering the comfort of this new mattress. Cuddling with each other, you talk ; you’re slowly stroking her hair, lulling her into sleep, thirty minutes later, her even breaths makes you understand she’s sleeping. Softly, you kiss the crown of her head. Unconsciously, Natasha gets closer to you. You wish you could put that moment on hold and stay in your bubble all your life.

Notwithstanding, this moment has to end. After a bit less than two weeks with Natasha next to you, waking up next to her, you feel the cold sheets and not the warmth of her body as you change position in your bed. You open one eye and find an empty spot. When you’re sure there is no one, you fully open your eyes and look at Natasha’s clock on her night stand. Seeing it’s seven o’clock, you know where she is. It’s not rare for her to be called early in the morning for a meeting or another assignment. Your proximity with TopGun is a blessing and a curse. She’s not far away if they need her and therefore, they call her a lot. You can’t help but feel annoyed by it, even if you know it’s not up to her.

When she gets back home during the evening, Natasha finds you in the living room, your nose stuck in the bookshelf’s instruction. Once she’s next to you, you turn your head to peck her lips. You’re about to go back to the building of the furniture when Natasha offers you a bunch of flowers, wishing to make up for her absence. You accept them gladly and you promise her you’re not mad at her. You put the flowers in a vase before going back to the living room.

Natasha takes a look at the almost-finished room. You only have the furniture for the TV left to build, if we forget about the one you’re currently doing. Since Natasha’s return, the renovations have been going faster. You finished the painting you had started before she came back. Quickly, Natasha takes off her shoes before helping you with the bookshelf. You ask her to hold the plank while you screw. Once you’re done, you take another screw when Natasha draws your attention.

“I have the information for my next deployment.”

“Oh ?” you exclaim, stopping in your tracks.

“I… I have to leave in three weeks.”

“You just came back.”

“I know but it’s urgent, it can’t wait.” Natasha explains, pursing her lips.

“And how long will it take ?” you question, playing with the screwdriver.

“Two months.” she informs before adding quickly : “I know it’s not ideal and you’ll have to keep doing the renovations alone but I promise, once I get back, I’ll try to have more days off.”

“It’s okay. It’s your job.” you reassure, taking her hand.

“I know, but we haven’t seen each other a lot recently.”

“We better make the best out of these three weeks then.” you smile.

Natasha kisses you, feeling better to know you’re not mad because of her news. Without waiting any longer, you go back to the building of the bookshelf whilst your mind is lost in your thoughts.

It doesn't matter if you’ve been with Natasha for two years, you still hate when she has to leave. You know your anxiety will be high and you’ll feel lonely. Furthermore, when she gets back, there’s always a moment to adapt before getting back to your old routine. You push all of these thoughts in the back of your mind, you have to enjoy Natasha’s presence whilst she’s here, and you get your focus back on the furniture.

However, the next weeks are not gentle with you. Natasha hasn’t even left yet nevertheless it’s close enough. Slowly, you went back to the phase you used to be when you bought your house. You’re close without really being it. She has to go to TopGun a lot and when she comes back, she doesn’t have a lot of energy to do anything. The rhythm of your renovation slowed down as well and you feel the gap between you getting deeper everyday. You should be happy to have Natasha by your side and yet, you’re gloomy. Furthermore, with Natasha, you’re talking less and less, despite your tries from the both of you. It’s as if you were becoming strangers.

You hate this situation. It’s not the first time it happens and you still don’t know what to do. You feel like everytime you find each other again, an external element sends you to the starting point again and the external element is often a deployment. The periods in which Natasha is not there are becoming heavier on you, in spite of yourself and it can be felt in your relationship. You spend your days looking for a solution. You love Natasha. There must be a solution to fix all of this. You don’t know which one ; even if a part of you thinks that, maybe, this time, there isn’t a solution. Just the thought of it makes you sick in your stomach. You try to forget about it.

A few days before she leaves, you tell yourself you can’t keep these thoughts for yourself. You have to talk about it with Natasha. Your relationship is going through a hard time, you need to talk about it in order to fix it. You can’t stay standing there without doing anything. Therefore, one evening, whilst you’re eating, you draw Natasha’s attention. She gives you an interrogative look, waiting for you to speak.

“We have to talk, Nat. And it’s serious.” you start with a soft voice.

“I wanted to talk to you, too.”

“So, you know just like I do we have to do something. We can’t stay like this. And as you’re leaving soon, we have to fix it.”

“I know.” she admits before staying silent. “I… I was thinking, maybe, I could ask to change jobs.”

“What ?”

“Yeah, like this, I wouldn’t have to leave as much.”

“But you love flying.” you exclaim, surprised.

“I love you more.”

“I can’t ask you to do that, Nat. You can’t give up on flying because of me. You will be miserable if you do and I won’t stand it.”

“Y/N, we have to face it, it’s not working anymore between us because I’m always leaving.” Natasha affirms, looking you in your eyes.

“Maybe we just need to find a better balance between our relationship and your deployment. We need a better routine.”

“We both know it’s not the solution. We tried several times and we always end up like this. It’s always temporary. This house is proof of it.” she says, showing the surroundings with her hands. “I really thought by moving in together, everything would be better because we would have our home and it’d be easier to see each other but it’s not the case.”

“I don’t want to break up.” you object, understand what she’s insinuating.

“Me neither but I know that, just like me, you thought about it too. Y/N, it’s okay.” Natasha reassures, putting her hand on top of yours.

“How can you say that ? I love you. I don’t want to lose you.” you whisper with a trembling voice.

“I don’t want to lose you either but if we can’t fix this then we won’t have any other choice. If we keep on trying, it might be worse. It’s okay if our relationship is not working anymore, we don’t have to fix it.”

“And what about the future we imagined together then ?” you ask, tearing up.

“It might not be meant to happen. Y/N, it’ll be okay. We’ll move on.” she states, her voice breaking at her last sentence.

“I don’t want to move on. I want to stay with you.”

Following your sentence, you burst into tears. Natasha’s tears start running down her cheeks as well before she stands up and comes next to you to take you in her arms. You hug each other while letting all of your sadness out. You stay in each other’s arms for quite some time. When you break the embrace, Natasha puts her hands on your cheeks and wipes them whilst yours are on her waist. She gives you a sympathetic smile, you don’t have the strength to give her one.

“I’m sorry.” you sigh.

“You don’t have to apologise.”

“I do.” you insist, “When we got together, I promised you I knew what I was getting myself into. I really thought our love would be stronger than that.”

“Love is not always enough, unfortunately.” she sobs. “Maybe, when we’ll be older,” she starts looking at you, “we’ll find each other and this time, it’ll work. Or maybe our love was only made to work in another universe. I will always love you either way. Never doubt it.”

“I will always love you either way, too.”

You look into each other’s eyes before kissing softly. In this last kiss, you share all the love you have along with your sadness. While you’re losing yourselves in your kiss, you feel everything you’ve been building and everything you’ve been dreaming to build fading to black. You both, now, have to imagine a whole new future without the other.

Top Gun Maverick Masterlist

[jellymeduza]

1250 followers gift - take a peek at my medievalish fantasy game (part 1/?)

I've reached 1250 followers milestone way faster than I expected. Curiously enough, there was influx of new followers after I opened my poll regarding the gift. Has the promise of a showcase of my game lured you in? 😉

The showcase of my game won by the vast majority of votes. Hardly anyone wants me to build a lot. That is probably a right decision. xD

As my medievalish neighbourhood is much older than my modern gameplay, it'll be divided into more parts - there are more Sims, more backstories etc. Translations are going to be inconsistent once again, some names will be probably difficult to translate as some of them are made up to be puns and don't exist in the real world.

I'll start with explaining the rules and lore for this neighbourhood. This is my only neighbourhood that has any rules.

The kingdom is called "Ciemnogród", which can be literally translated into "Dark castle", but has also other meaning: it is used to depict a place or a group of people as superstitious, xenophobic, intolerant and of conservative beliefs. According to the Great Polish Dictionary it's a neologism created by Polish writer Stanisław Kostka Potocki. Wikipedia tells me that the word used in his work has been translated into "Dunceville" and let's stay by this option.

So, backstory for this neighbourhood is that there are two royal houses in the kingdom: Dariuses (red banner) and Claudiuses (blue banner). The houses have fought over the throne, leading the kingdom nearly into a collapse. Economic repercussions of that civil war are felt by every social class: nobility is even scarcer, once prosperous merchants dress not much wealthier than those who used to be middle class merchants. Crime is on the rise.

August the Mad of house Claudius and Konrad the Ginger of house Darius decided to put an end to the madness started by their fathers and agreed to diarchy. Moreover to make the houses more bound, they agreed that their eldest sons would marry their daughters. After the marriage daughters are allowed to keep wearing the colours of the house of their maiden name. Additionally, the third child of each couple, should they have so many children, shall wear the colours of its mother's maiden name house.

The problem is that the kings who signed the pact are dying out and their children can hardly remember the atrocities of the war as it was ended when they were still very young. The royal children, soon to become co-rulers are hungry for power and co-ruling brother-in-law can be an obstacle. Not to mention that the loyalties of their wives are uncertain - will they choose houses of their maiden names or houses of their husbands should a new war start?

Humans and supernatural creatures live in peace, however supernaturals are not allowed to live within city walls. They can own a business and work in the city. The only exception are witches and wizards who can live in the city. Royals respect wizards as they are useful servants and make good advisors. Some people speculate there are more reasons why wizards are treated favourably, especially by the Dariuses - it is said there's a blood curse cast on the house, hence some of its members have red eyes (e.g. Konrad the Ginger and his daughter Fiona). Some say it were the wizards who cast it and Dariuses in fear went lenient on wizards. Other say wizards played a positive role and earnt the privilege by fighting off the curse, red eyes being curse's last remnant.

The kingdom is divided into sections. At the center there is royal district. Between the castle of Claudiuses (on the left) and the castle of Dariuses (on the right) there are gardens of reconciliation, built to commemorate the end of civil war. Opposite the gardens there are public baths.

The main part of the city is filled with merchants' houses and their businesses. It is also inhabited by wizards, monks, knights and beggars. There's the central town square, a church, a library, a pub, training fields, fisher's shop, buthcer's shop, tailor's shop, potter's shop, greengrocer's and a store with magical artefacts.

The third part is only partially a part of the city as it is divided from the rest of the city by inner city walls, but is has its own city walls as well: it is the seashore. The only living family in this part of the city are the fishermen (who when fish don't want to be caught resort to piracy). There's also a public beach with docks.

Now onto parts of kingdom that aren't parts of the city. There are woods outside the gate guarded by a noble family of knights. In the forest lives a family of werewolves and a family of bigfeet. Further towards the borders of realm there's a settlement of fairies and elves - they are uninterested in the affairs of humans and tolerate the short-lived specimen as long as they don't bother them too much. They are also suspicious of elves of other settlements.

In this part of map can be found a cemetery just outside the gate, a lake, fairy park and a forest.

Last but not least, rural area on the other side of the city. It is inhabited by a family of an elf of another settlement than the forest elves and a plantsim. In the furthest part of the are there's a single man who is trying to run away from responsibilities (and the consequences of his actions).

There are some empty settlements busy with farmers before the war. The only public lot in this part is a wooden temple.

There's also university district and vacation destination - far east. I'll show them once I'm done with the main map.

I hope you'll find the journey through my neighbourhood interesting. 😊

part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 | part 6 | part 7 | part 8