#mari reads tot

[alrighttevans]

KHSWKHWKAHAKAJ I love it when they get jealous of the other male leads

[nonsensical-pixels]

1000 followers gift, part 4: morning dove reshade and teeny tots collection part 2! [download - sfs | mf folder]

it's finally here: the final gift for my 1000 followers weekend! and it's a two in one deal!

over the last year i have come to realise that i really like making two things: reshades, and toddler stuff. it's so satisfying watching the environment my sims are in, and the whole mood of the game, change with the click and drag of a few buttons. also, toddlers are really cute and there isn't nearly enough stuff out there for them.

part 4 has two things: my second reshade preset ever, morning dove, as well as my first every clothing conversions--and for toddlers too! i have received many, many questions about what reshade preset i use, so this is it!

update 10-4-23: fixed issue with weird squares/rectangles on ep05 dress holiday and ep05 vest bowtie, please redownload and replace the original meshes!

credits

@kindlespice for the dove 2.0 preset i used as a base for morning dove!

ea/maxis for the original meshes & textures of the toddler formalwear

@skittlessims for helping me with all of the errors and confusion i encountered while converting the clothing, and also for just being an amazing friend and mentor in general. love ya anna 💕

for more info, on both the downloads and the future of this blog, please keep reading 😊

part 4a: morning dove

previews feature all effects except fog, artistic vignette, & chromatic abberation. these effects however are present in most of my cc posts, so if you look at my previews i believe you can see them 😅

if you've been following my builds/gameplay for awhile, then you probably recognise this preset. i use it in almost every screenshot of mine, and many people have asked for it, so here it finally is! it is based on @kindlespice's dove 2.0 preset but with a lot of tweaking to make it more versatile in ts2. this preset comes with a number of different shortcuts to enable/disable certain effects: Alt + 4 -> mxao Alt + 6 -> adaptive fog + canvas fog Shift + 2 -> ring dof and gdof Alt + 5 -> artistic vignette Alt + 7 -> marty mcfly dof Alt + 8 -> chromatic abberration Alt + 9 -> directional anti-aliasing the basic goal of morning dove is a preset that looks good in any style--maxis match, realistic, or clay!

part 4b: teeny tots part 2

this particular download just makes me very happy. i love ts2 toddlers, they'll always be the best in the franchise in my eyes, and just look at those happy lil faces! also, milo stylo is being milo stylo and looking so damn cute. there never seems to be enough toddler formalwear (imo) so it just makes me really happy that i was able to make my own.

these are my first ever clothing conversions, i did my best but they're not perfect, so there may be clipping and gaps especially around the shoulders of gp11 dress flower. i apologise for this, i really tried but didn't manage to fix it 😔

EP05 Dress Holiday - PU only, 14 colors, casual & formal, 3.7k polys [swatch] - paired with @skittlessims' base game mary-jane shoes from their lunar dress💕 GP11 Bowtie Shirt - PU only, 10 colors, casual & formal, 3.8k polys [swatch] - paired with base game sneakers taken from @lucilla-sims' ep11 suspenders 💞 GP11 Dress Flower - PU only, 10 colors, casual & formal, 5.3k polys [swatch] - paired with @skittlessims' base game mary-jane shoes from their lunar dress💕 EP05 Vest Bowtie - PU only, 9 colors, casual & formal, 4.0k polys [swatch] - paired with base game sneakers taken from @lucilla-sims' ep11 suspenders 💞

final words

well, i guess that's it then! it's the end of a long gift-filled weekend. and also, the start of a very long break.

my final exams will be starting in about two weeks and ending around november; they are the most important ones i have ever faced and i cannot afford to lose focus. after that will be exam after exam, as i enter tertiary education.

if you still wanna chat with me/hear how i'm doing you could probably join the simscord by @skittlessims, i'm a junior moderator on there now so i will still be semi-active on my break. also, if i do find the time to post cc anymore, it will probably be on there lol.

the sims has always been a sort of escapism for me, a way to pretend that the trials of real life don't exist. but in the last few months i've felt myself drifting farther and farther from it. i need to focus on my studies and stay focused on my life goals.

the future of this blog is still uncertain. i have cc queued up until june--leftovers from my original break, stuff i finished up, requests i got during my holidays--but after that, there probably won't be any more until i come back... which could be anywhere from 9 months to 9 years, tbh, with my current mood. until then, consider this blog on semi-permanent hiatus.

there are so many of you who have supported this blog from day one, who have always stuck with me even when i'm not at my best or when misunderstandings occur. i cannot thank you enough for your continued support and love. the last year has been a difficult time for me: losing pets, friends, and in general, my mental health. this extra-long gift weekend is for you--a thank you for the over 365 days of kindness you have shown me.

i am sorry for this, but for now, i am going to have to leave you again. thank you for the love, and i hope you enjoy the cc while it lasts. until next time,

~ Ky, nonsensical-pixels

[clownowo]

Persona games be like “here you go random unremarkable choice that if you answer wrong locks you out of an event for the entire rest of the game :)”

i'm so mad. i was planning on romancing akihiko and i even had his wiki page open to get the most amount of points on his social links and i fucking. missed the first romance flag. and didn't realize. because the option i chose gave more points. and then saved over my previous save. i'm locked out of romancing him. agony.

[house-on-sand]

!!!

any comic you read recently that has been on your mind and you'd like to talk about?

YES ACTUALLY A FEW!

are you scared of darkseid? (2021)

its a halloween one-shot ft. damian n the titans! it's a silly little collection of "spooky" stories they're telling each other while they're out camping (presumably damian's idea) and its genuinely so cute? + the way the titans all vibe together is great & the stories are all pretty great! the first one feature harley quinn and darkseid akshsksv hunting down bloody mary & then the last one is rlly spooky, it's about clark n lois helping locate missing twins who are the kids of one of clark’s childhood friends & they find them at this weird house where a guy is like. finding people / kids to bring to his "wife" so it can drain them of their lives and the "wife" almost drains superman its so wild

my favourite story from it tho was kid flash's! it was rlly intriguing and i wish it was a full story somewhere. basically there was this set of stairs and a man who would come down them to bring people (usually anomalies) home as he told them. he leads a whole town of people away bc they've been exposed to magic and they're changing n stuff so it's not necessarily safe for them to be around and idk it's such a good story it had me gripped man

the question (1986) issues 9-11

idk man i can't think of what i want to say about these ones or the series as a whole other than it drives me fucking insane /pos

these ones were really good bc it kinda shows a different side of vic almost? like he's really self aware about how his friendship w tot was up until that point kind of one sided? in the sense that he knew hardly anything abt tot whereas like tot did know quite a bit about him! + yknow kind of aided in him becoming the question (provided the artifical skin stuff that makes him look faceless among other things!) so it was just really cool to see an arc where he went after him after tot had been kidnapped

+ the bad guy for it was? wild? he was trying to witness a miracle of like alchemy or whatever bc he thought it would change his soul essentially so he wasn't such an awful person anymore. and its kind of vaguely implied at the end that it did work

can't remember the issues exactly but booster gold (2007)!!!

the lengths he was willing to go to so he could bring ted back was so :(

even when rip tried to teach him that sometimes time really is set in stone and you can't change things, he still ended up going back to save ted (granted it was part of a whole Evil Plan and he didn't know that at the time but still)

like rip sent him back to the day that babs was shot, claiming it was never supposed to happen and it was one of the anomalies they were supposed to fix together, bc they both knew that ted cared about babs a lot! (granted pretty sure they only met after she became oracle but whatever) and booster tries so hard again and again, pretty much getting tortured by the joker just bc he's trying to keep this person who his person cares about so much from being hurt. even when it's so clear he can't change it! bc it's cemented in time and they world needs oracle! he still tries. to the point that rip finally has to stop him bc booster is hurt so badly and the booster is so fucking angry and hurt and he doesn't totally get why things have to be this way and he's angry with rip for lying to him and telling him if he helps fix time then they can go save ted and booster would have his best friend back its UGH

people don't understand how much booster gold cares! even in universe sometimes! no one can see past his outward persona n stuff to see that he cares so big and he was willing to fuck up TIME bc he wanted to save his best friend bc he didn't think he should've died! nd yes sometimes how big he cares n loves goes badly (once again fucking up time) and it hurts! ted knew what had to he done and knew he needed to die in order for things to be okay again and booster was so desperate to find some way around it. all signs pointed to that being the only answer but he didn't want to see it.

i also wanna talk about how rip hunter seems put out and annoyed by booster n their relationship is pretty difficult but he cares! bc that's his fucking dad! even though booster doesn't know that and can't know that (at least not yet), he's rip's dad!!

after everything with ted is resolved and he knows how badly booster is taking that n how shit he's gotta be feeling, rip surprises him with someone booster thought was gone forever!! rip was able to save michelle, booster's twin sister!! and they were both so happy to see each other (she was dead for booster, he thought she was dead forever) & one of their first adventures together involves them stealing babs' batgirl costume aksgakvsjs with michelle posing as batgirl (originally when i saw the preview image in the issue before it i thought it was BOOST dressed up as batgirl and i LOVED that, that's what we deserved)

^^ the aforementioned image. genuinely had my hopes up i thought it'd be fun tbh i loved the idea of him trying and failing to convince people he is in fact batgirl

OH AND!

alfred straight up tries to shoot him and michelle ajakbsksb that's the context for this panel if you've eever seen it before. boost n michelle break into the batcave bc their plan a was for them to steal the batsuit n boost was gonna pose as batman (terrible plan) but things go terribly terribly wrong. they do end up stealing the batmobile! which leads to a very confused dick coming down into the cave wondering if bruce left without him.... at day time.

still not over how down alfred was with potentially maiming these people who found and broke into the batcave like i get it i do but on god if it isn't a little funny. like my boss might not kill people but i sure will lmao

booster does end up posing as killer moth. and dressing like elvis bc somehow that was a good disguise to him

[alexitheslayer02]

Fandoms

Fandoms is a stretch maybe, but these are media I like soooo yeah. Now, these are the media I am a fan of. So, uh....yeah.  Strap in this is gonna be a long one. (This thingie [*] indicates a favorite of mine)

----------------------

Anime, Manga, and Light Novels

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (anime) ***

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (anime and manga) *

Fushigi Yugi (anime and manga)

Overlord (anime, manga, and light novels) *

Rising of the Shield Hero (anime and light novels)

Rurouni Kenshin (manga)

Naruto (anime and manga) **

Soul Eater

Boruto (manga) [pls don't kill me]

Psycho-Pass (anime)

Danganronpa (anime and games)

Bleach (anime)

Kill la Kill (anime)

Demon Slayer (anime and manga) *

Toilet Bound Hanako-kun (anime and manga)

Komi Can't Communicate (anime)

Why Raeliana Ended Up At the Duke's Mansion (anime) *

Fruits Basket (old and new anime and manga)

7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! (anime) [Is it just me, or are these anime names only getting longer?]

The Apothecary Diaries*

The Dangers in my Heart

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners *

Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z

Black Butler

Saga of Tanya the Evil

-------------------

Book Series

Demonata by Darren Shan **

Crique du Freak by Darren Shan (also a manga series I read, but it was originally a book series) **

The Shining by Stephen King

The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson *

Mistborn Triology by Brandon Sanderson *

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin ***

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde *

Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Conan stories by Robert E. Howard

Percy Jackson and the Olympians (plus Heroes of Olympus) by Rick Rioden

Michael Vey by Richard Paul Evans

Dragon Age books by various authors

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

Dexter by Jeff Lindsay *

Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice (Interview with a Vampire and The Vampire Lestat are the two books I've read) *

Journey to the West, by "who-fucking-knows" (seriously though, the og author is a big mystery ToT) **

-----------------------

Games

Lies of P **

Elden Ring **

Fnaf (Five Nights at Freddy's) *

Undertale

Bloodborne **

Resident Evil (remakes)

Final Fantasy Seven (remaster)

Conan Exiles: Age of War

Dead by Daylight

Baldur's Gate Three **

Dragon Age: Origins *

Dragon Age Two **

Dragon Age: Inquisition *

Danganronpa

Genshin Impact

Mortal Kombat

Persona 4-5

Persona 3: Reload

Batim (Bendy and the Ink Machine) *

Cyberpunk 2077**

Dragon's Dogma (1 and 2)

Fire Emblem: Fates ***

Black Myth: Wukong **

Nine Sols

Slay the Princess **

-------------------------

TV Shows and Movies

House of the Dragon **

Addams Family (og show, and the og movies)

Friday the 13th

Halloween (original series)

Rob Zombie's Halloween

The Terminator (original series)

Ip Man

Train to Busan *

Nightmare on Elm St. (original series)

Dune part one and two

Stranger Things (season one only DON'T SPOIL DAMMIT)

Harry Potter movies

Over the Garden Wall *

Avatar the Last Airbender **

Friends

How I Met Your Mother

Psych

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia

Gravity Falls

Doctor Who *

Interview with a Vampire (the movie with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt that nobody knows about -_-)*

Rise of the Guardians

How to Train Your Dragon

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney film)

The Prince of Egypt

Lego Monkey Kid*

Coraline*

Sweeny Todd

Phantom of the Opera **

[yamatonikado]

i will say however that after reading the manga i need to start putting more respect on bon's name because he's like so ??? i dont even know how to describe him he's so !!!! ok i will start with smart even though i don't think smart does him justice (under a readmore bc i start getting rambly)

like bon has an incredible amount of discipline and talent? like my boy memorizes arias in no time flat? like during the kyoto arc his dad is on death's door, he's resolving some internal trauma himself, and yet he's able to memorize a (idk what its called right now the words escape me so im putting a loanword here) sutra that he's not aware of? like multi-tasking king here. during that game with lewin he had memorized other world language verses to summon certain demons? lewin didn't even expect him to know those summon chants and yes he ended up flubbing a bit towards the end but that's just a character flaw he has (known to not always see the full picture during situations). he's a history freak. he has such a clear grasp on topics that he's able to teach them to his classmates (good teacher). he wrote that report for lighting on the train while some sort of catastrophe was going on in japan. this boy is so efficient. OH YEAH I FORGOT BUT HE WAS GOING TO DRAGOON CLASSES TO MEISTER IN THAT even though it's mentioned to be difficult to be an aria and dragoon.

ANYWAYS IM JUST SAYING that ryuji is like....it's like he's a master at focusing. not only does he have this insane amount of brain power, but he is also able to stay calm during it. like his brain is able to move and maintain focus stressful situations.

also the biggest thing i want to say is that, ryuji is driven to be this disciplined because he wants to help others. a lot of his character ambitions are externally focused, due to this heavy sense of responsibility he feels for everyone around him (since his social network is very large and he is the inheritor of the myodha and also he is the bon LOL). bon maintains this level of discipline because he's doing what he thinks is right or admirable for the sake of others.

and i know yukio is here in universe achieving more (being an exorcist with two declared meisiters [and probably a third or fourth], also like the school valedictorian, a teacher, and school commitee) BUT THE KEY DIFFERENCE is that yukio is doing this all out of a spite due to his self-inflicted superiority complex. like yukio's only doing this because he HAS to prove to himself that he's the best/a winner so he takes on any sort of responsibility to appear like a normal high functioning person in society despite being a mental trainwreck.

i fully believe that if yukio saw a therapist he would not be anywhere near this level ToT and im saying this outta love <3 yes yukio is chasing after father fujimoto and rin, but i feel like it's because he fundamentally dislikes his personality and temperament (something he can't change) and wishes it was more like theirs because he really really admires that.

i think Bon is the sort of prodigy he wants to be (when it comes to outside successes) and you could insert a narrative here between the two of them. like if yukio was just a student in class, he would be competing with bon for the spot of top dog, or he would see bon as competition and as someone to beat (yukio would be looking at the top scores and be number one but then see bon at number idk 2 or 3 and ball his hand in a fist and go "suguro..." like timmy turner's dad saying dinkleburg qwkdsakljkj). meanwhile bon would be like "yeah im nothing compared to yukio tho that guy's a beast. i admire him tho"

tdlr:

bon is just as capable as yukio (and could be a second yukio if yukio didn't have trauma and such a large inferiority complex). bon is able to achieve all this success because he's very altruistic, while yukio is able to achieve all this because he's extremely self-absorbed and egocentric. also i love bon and think he's a very special boy. a very mary sue-esque character (joking but also not).

[acrossthewavesoftime]

On This Day in 1695: Local Teen Makes King Laugh in Church, Uncle Reports

I happened across this anecdote lately, which I had previously not heard of before:

Robb, Nesca Adeline: William of Orange, A Personal Portrait (vol. II), London 1962, p. 369.

Constantijn Huygens Jr., the man mentioned in this excerpt, was William III's secretary and companion, who luckily kept a pretty extensive journal, which I consulted to get the original.

The entry for Friday, 8 April 1695 reads:

[...] Savonts was tot n. Becker, bij haer en̅ haer suster. Seyde, dat sij verleden sondagh in̅ kerck gegaen was expres om de Con. te sien; dat sij hem van 't begin tot het eynde van̅ predicatie aengekeken had, en̅ hij op 't eynde sijn aensicht wat tot lachen trock.

Translation (caveat: I am not highly proficient in Dutch): [...] In the evening, I went to my niece Becker's, to her and her sister. She said, that she had gone to church last Sunday [Easter Sunday; 3 April 1695] in order to see the King; that she had looked at him from the beginning to the end of th sermon, and that at the end, he was laughing a little at the sight of her.

Original Dutch via: Constantijn Huygens Jr., Journaal van 21 october 1688 tot 2 september 1696. Tweede deel.

What makes this incident so interesting is that we get to see what teenagers in the late 1600s were like. Miss Becker (I really tried to get at her full name, but sadly failed) and her friend had no interest in going to church for Easter Suday: they wanted to go see a celebrity whom Miss Becker's uncle just so happened to be close to.

Now, from letters between Huygens and his employer, we know William III sometimes asked Huygens about his family and Miss Becker was getting occasional mentions in letters from both men. This might suggest that conversely, she was aware of at least select news about her uncle's employer as well, which may have given her the courage to act the way she did, maybe to show off to her friend, maybe because she genuinely cared, from a distance, about the man who'd offer her uncle his opinon on her marriage plans.

As far as I can tell, Miss Becker never met the King prior to this incident, suggesting he may have been able to tell who she was, if at all, based on a family resemblance to her uncle.

It's intriguing to ponder on the characterisation of his niece that Huygens sketches out between the lines of his entry for April 8th; to me, she emerges from the page as a bold young woman with a sense of humour, clearly somewhat outgoing and excited to tell her uncle about her encounter with the most powerful man in the country.

On William's part, his reaction to Miss Becker trying to get his attention is a surprising one; extremely devout, still grieving the loss of the late Mary II deeply and famously adept at keeping his emotions to himself, a grinning King William III, trying to keep a straight face during the Easter Sunday service is hardly the outcome one could have predicted from Miss Becker's quest.

I wish I had more information about Miss Becker, and her later life; in any case, it is fascinating to have been able to catch a glimpse on what teenagers in the 1690s were up to.

Especially the voices of women (not of any particularly high social status) and children are hard to get at throughout large parts of history; to know that an adolescent was bold enough to try and make the head of state crack a smile during a church service, and then told her uncle about it, who in turn recorded the incident for posterity in his journal, is such a refreshing, and insightful find.

[camellia-salazar]

Ed Edd n Eddy Presents: Kiddy Kankers!!!

The Kanker Sisters as Toddlers. 5 year old Lee, 4 year old Marie and 3 year old may. These girls aren't as hurtful, mean, or felt the need to harass others as their older selves will be.

Oh and I like to think May and Marie's love for tater tots sparkled from when they were babs (yeah I spelled tater wrong and I'm not going back to fix it). Lee ain't too crazy for them tho.

Read more undercut please cause I have ideas:

At first it was a fun way to combine EEnE with Bluey. Mostly two episodes, Muffin Cone and Sleepover.

However the Eds don't recall ever meeting them after that which is why they felt like they only met years later (In Nagged to Ed).

But after drawing what I was imagining them to look like as toddlers I did thought of my own half hour special for these girls where they were on a quest to find their dads and their mom would be worried and would tear apart everything to find them (like the Kankers did when they were looking for their ship in a bottle).

The Kanker Sisters even meet the Eds sometime after the quest which causes them to kinda fall for them. Idk I guess they're just childhood crushes but I think it would explain how the Kankers would be attached to the Eds the moment they moved in on their debut episode. (I'll probably explain how exactly the Eds causes these crushes in another post).

But yeah, Idk if I could animate the entire thing, I just hope I can adopt the style of the show pretty well and this was my first digital attempt at it.

(also debating on whether or not to make Marie's hair blue still or have it black, blue hair may be an actual hair color in the EEnE universe but I'm unsure).

I wanna share more ideas about the Kiddy Kankers in the future, for now though I decided to shorten it this time.

Thanks for reading my ideas! 👍🌟✨

[brunettelolita]

tysm for tagging @anita-vainilla ilyy 🩷🩷

୨୧ last song i listened to: malibu by hole

୨୧ currently watching: baby

୨୧ currently reading: the history of princess Mary Volkonsky ♡

୨୧ favorites: chess, books, coffee, rainy days, that good "sad" feeling, painting my nails, reading, writing, the sea, sofia coppola, baby pink and white, modeling, emma watson and a lot more (kinda basic tot)

tagging (no pressure!!) @izzy444angel @elissbabby @tolstoybitch @lu-luvslestat @girlblogger30 ♡

[alrighttevans]

rosa made him dig a graveKSJWKHSKSHWKAHK

[artificialqueens]

🏳️‍🌈 Galactica, Chapter 108 (Group Fic) - TheDane/Veronica

A/N: Click here if you’re looking for previous chapters (or here if you’d rather read on AO3). 💫

Previously: Bianca fired Raven from a Marie Claire photoshoot for talking shit about Courtney. Aurora was called in as a pinch-hitter when Raja rejected Violet’s Met Gala pitches. The Galactica Fashion Week Show went off beautifully. 

This Chapter: Raven throws a tantrum, and Aurora steps up to the plate.

***

“…So then I stepped into the light, and I swear I could hear a pin drop in the room. It was like…even more than a gasp. Just the entire crown taking this collective breath and holding it until I put my first foot forward,” Raven said, eyes sparkling. 

“Mmhmm.” Juju nodded, sipping her decaf latte and glancing quickly at her phone. Meeting Raven for coffee before work was always risky. She wanted to catch up with her friend, of course, but Raven tended to let time get away from her, not quite realizing that Juju’s schedule was a bit less flexible than her own. Luckily, she was too deep in her own story to notice Juju’s split-second distraction from her recap.

“Then, as I began to walk the runway, they all slowly exhaled, still not making a sound, every single pair of eyes on me. It was just absolutely exhilarating.” 

“Sounds like it!” 

“I wish you were there,” Raven pouted. 

“Me too,” Juju said. “But this week is big money for me. It basically paid Kelly’s tuition this spring.”

“Get them coins, Mama.” 

“You know it. And De was there repping the family. Although I’m not sure how much good that did. He said that Fame nearly took off his head for mentioning Bianca in front of the Vogue reporter.” 

“With good reason!” Raven exclaimed, shaking her head. “What possessed him to nearly ruin a lovely evening by bringing up that cunt’s name-”

“Raven.”

“What?! Don’t fucking tell me you’re still staying neutral, Juju.”

“I am, and you know this; I’ve said all along that I’m not taking sides-” Juju could feel her ears heating up, her stomach twisting as Raven’s eyes grew cold. She knew this already, why was she acting like this was new information?

“No! I knew you weren’t taking sides when it was about her and Fame and their petty bullshit. When it was about Bianca fucking some nobody assistant who she’s gonna get bored of in a month, leaving some dumb dinner early, whatever else Fame was salty about. Blah blah, we all know they’ll make up as soon as Bianca ditches the prosti-tot. Hashtag who cares.” 

Juju rolled her eyes. “Your compassion is-”

“Shut up, you know what I mean. This is not about that anymore! I don’t care about that. She fired me, Juju. Fired me, in front of a bunch of fucking people!” 

“I know, Rave, but-” 

“Did you just say ‘but’?” Raven looked like she could murder Juju in cold blood. This was getting extremely out of hand. 

“Look, I know how horrible that was, I’m not denying that or arguing with you. What I’m thinking about is what a fucking bummer it is when a group of friends is fractured. Maybe I’m being selfish. Because I hate this. I hated the last time it happened, with Jinkx. You weren’t around then, but…I just want this to get solved because…” Juju took a deep breath. “Rave, you can’t imagine how quickly weeks turn into months, and months turn into years. You know?” 

Juju bit her lip, hoping that Raven would understand. She wasn’t sure she did, since Raven was still glaring at her. 

“What?” she asked tentatively, aware she might be opening up another whole can of worms. 

“How can you even think to talk to me about ‘solving things’ with that fucking cunt?! Where is your loyalty?” 

Juju sighed, closing her eyes. “Rave-” 

“No, because, I told you what happened,” Raven said, getting ready to launch into the saga once again, which Juju was not looking forward to in the slightest. “She humiliated me for no reason, out of pure spite-”

“Okay-” 

“All I said was some totally benign things about what her dumb sugar baby was wearing, or something, I don’t even remember because they were such like, random throwaway comments-” 

“Rave-” 

Of course, Juju had dragged the story out of Bianca, too, because Raven’s version seemed…incomplete, to say the least. Juju loved her friend, but an innocent victim she was not. And Bianca’s version, as expected, was completely different. At first, she acted like it was no big deal, something that was over and done with. A simple case of Raven being unprofessional and that was that. Holding a grudge? Not the great Bianca Del Rio! But as she told the story, it became pretty clear how hurt and angry she was over the whole incident as well. 

Juju was pretty sure the truth was somewhere in between their two stories, as usual. 

“And she totally lost it, screaming in my face and throwing her weight around like some big shot to show off to her stupid girlfriend! Plus, she totally intimidated the Galactica staff into going along with it since none of them ranked high enough to stand up to her-”

“Rave, please-” This part about intimidating the Galactica staff was new. It seemed that, true to Raven fashion, the story was growing more and more elaborate each time she told it. Some people’s anger faded over time, but Raven’s seemed to grow, strengthened by the myths that she told herself to fuel the rage.

“She literally had security throw me out of the building!” Raven said, her voice shrill now, attracting attention from some of the others, which was the last thing Juju wanted, “Like I probably had bruises on my arm where-”

“Raven! Stop!” 

Raven finally stopped talking, her face a picture of betrayal as she stared at Juju, aghast. 

“I…I’m sorry. I know it was awful for you, and I hate that it happened, but I can’t listen to this story anymore-” 

“Are you fucking serious-”

“Yeah! Yeah, I am, because I love you, I love you so much, but every time you tell it, it gets more and more over the top, and I’m not gonna sit here and pretend to hate one of my oldest friends just because your idea of loyalty is an ass-kisser who smiles and nods at you. That’s not me, it never has been, and-”

Raven stood up, practically knocking her chair over in the process, snatching up her things and tossing her fur wrap over her shoulder. 

“Get fucked, Juju,” she hissed, before turning on her heel and flouncing away. 

Juju sighed, putting her head in her hands. This was absolutely not how she planned to begin her day. Her phone began to buzz, and she answered, the twinge of a migraine beginning behind her left eye. 

“Hey.” 

“Hola!” chirped a sunny voice. Their new receptionist, who’d been pretty good so far. She was recommended for the job by Adore, of all people. Something about a friend of a cousin, or cousin of a friend, or cousin of a cousin. She wasn’t quite sure, but the girl was cheerful, pretty, and so far seemed competent. “Mrs. Drescher wants to know if she can come in at 10:15 instead of 10:45. Since she’s your first, I thought-”

Juju glanced at the clock. It would be tight, but she could make it. She reached into her bag for some Imitrex and said, “Tell her I’m on the way in and I’ll do my best, but it might be 10:20.” 

“Will do! Gracias!” 

Juju popped the pill into her mouth and swallowed it down with her latte. Before she left, she made sure to slip an extra $100 to the baristas. It wouldn’t guarantee their silence about any part of the tiff between her and Raven that they’d potentially overheard, but it might make them feel a bit less inclined to talk to the media. And Juju could be annoyed at Raven without wanting a story about a supermodel meltdown in a coffee shop to start circulating. 

***

Aurora stood next to the rolling rack, a large portfolio folder under her arm, her heart beating so fast and loud, she may as well have been in an off license with a fake ID instead of outside Raja Gemini’s office, waiting to present her Met Gala looks. 

She had nearly shit herself with fear when Trixie told her she’d be presenting alone, since he was out all morning and Raja had limited time in the office before leaving for London. 

“You’ll be great,” he’d assured her, “And don’t worry. It’s not a formal presentation. Just show her what you have and take note of everything she says. You’re not expected to talk unless she asks you direct questions.” 

‘Not talking’ had never exactly been Aurora’s biggest strength. Great. Fucking great. 

Now, here she was, in the explosion of green and warmth that was Raja’s office suite, surrounded by plants and rich fabrics and vibrant colors, the whole thing screaming that here worked someone who was absolutely crystal clear on what their aesthetic was, and if Aurora failed, then what would her future be at this company? 

She’d been in the same room with Raja a handful of times since she’d begun, but she’d never spoken directly to her, and the idea of having to do that, by herself, when one of the other designer’s ideas had already been ripped to very public and humiliating shreds was making her feel like she might faint. What gave her the fucking audacity to think she could do this when someone more experienced had already failed? 

Raja would take one look at her work and know immediately that hiring her was a mistake, that she didn’t belong, that she was-

“You can go inside now.” 

Aurora jumped slightly, rescued by the spiral of her own self doubt by Ivy’s voice, as Raja’s assistant came out of her office, leaving the door open behind her. 

“And don’t be nervous,” Ivy said, with a warm smile. “She’s got her tea and she’s ready.” 

Aurora nodded gratefully and pushed the rack inside, a bit startled to see that Raja wasn’t at her desk, but instead in the sitting area, on a plush chair covered in intricately embroidered fabric, a velvet pillow under her elbow. 

“Um, good morning. I’m Aurora, and-” 

“Good morning,” Raja said, a slight note of confusion in her voice, one eyebrow raising just slightly. “I thought you were going to show me sketches?” 

“Oh. oh, yes, I do have sketches,” Aurora said. She swallowed, fumbling to open the folder, pulling out the sketches. “I just, um, I thought maybe you would like to see some samples as well, so I made a few…these are-” 

Raja held out a hand to reach for the sketches and Aurora bit her lip, remembering the part about not talking unless you were answering a question. 

She shifted nervously, watching as Raja looked through the sketches, twirling a bit of her long hair around her finger, her beautiful face giving nothing away.

Ever so often, she would lift one of the pages to examine something closer, or make the smallest “hmm” sound. 

Aurora was dying to know what she thought. Love? Hate? Lukewarm indifference? 

Her one ray of hope, in this moment, was that, if everything was truly garbage, Raja would surely have thrown her out already, right? 

“Alright…” Raja stood up, suddenly even more imposing in her fitted jumpsuit, her long limbs and slender frame making it look elegant and severe. “Let’s see those samples.” 

“Right! Certainly…” Aurora gulped and turned around, pulling some items from the rack. “So, this is the jacket. I wasn’t sure whether you were looking for a pant or a dress, so I have two different looks that could potentially go underneath. I thought the black snakeskin could be-”

“Mmhmm…”

Aurora promptly clamped her mouth shut as Raja took the jacket from the rack, examining the sleeve, turning it inside out to look at the seams. 

“I, uh, I know the stitching isn’t perfect, but it’s just a sample, that would obviously be fixed in a real-” 

“How long did you spend making this jacket?” Raja asked, turning towards her. 

“Uh, about, um, six…six hours? That was, um, the actual sewing. But, I, um-” 

“Hmm,” Raja turned back to the rack. 

Aurora took another breath, slowly, as she pawed through the sample pieces, taking a closer look at some of them, even going back to the sketches to compare. Aurora’s head was swimming, and she started to get a bit dizzy. 

Stay calm, you motherfucking idiot. Do not faint in front of Raja Gemini.

“Ready for notes?” 

“What?” Aurora blinked at her like an idiot before her mind fully processed what Raja had said and she quickly shouted, “Yes!”

Raja took a small step back.

Oh my god did you just yell in Raja Gemini’s face? What the fuck is wrong with you?

“I mean, sorry, yes. I’m ready.” She pulled out the notepad and pen from her folder and sat primly at the edge of a royal purple velvet sofa. 

“Wonderful. The jacket has potential, but only as a concept, so we need changes. The sleeves should be shorter, three quarters, and the collar needs drama. For fabrics, give me a richer, deeper red. Something stiff, with structure. Perhaps an upholstery fabric? Obviously lined, even if this is a sample.”

Aurora nodded, scribbling vigorously to keep up. 

“The lining could be an opportunity.” Raja pulled the jacket open, looking at herself in the mirror for a second. “Explore Oriental silks and get back to me with a selection. Galactica’s ignoring the theme this year for the most part, but it never hurts to throw Ms. Wintour a bone.” 

She smiled, and Aurora stifled a laugh, not at all imagining that Raja Gemini would be making jokes. 

“This length is awkward. Re-imagine it as a formal duster with a big sweeping train, and before you spend another work day making samples, sketches do exist, and for a reason.”

“Yes ma’am.” Aurora could barely believe her ears. These notes felt…very minor. Of course she knew from the beginning that the sample fabric was just that - sample fabric. So that was Shortening a sleeve. A more dramatic collar. Adding a train?

“As far as what goes underneath, this pant is the most intriguing to me. And these ankle boots…what made you bring shoes, anyway?”

“M-Maxwell told me you’d expect a fully realized look, so I thought-”

“Ah. Well, yes, good advice. I agree with you about the snakeskin on the pants. It’s cool, the detailing on the sides is great, I like the high waist… But…” she squinted, tilting her head. 

Aurora waited, pen poised while Raja scrutinized the pants. 

“What do you think of a boot cut?”

“Absolutely not,” Aurora stated, before she could stop herself, then looked up with alarm, expecting an angry glare. 

Instead, she was grinning, her dark eyes dancing with laughter. 

“I’m sorry. I…of course I’ll do whatever you want,” Aurora stammered out. 

“Yes, well…perhaps we can forgo a boot cut for now,” she said. “And I’d like to go back to the drawing board in terms of tops. Everything here is too busy, too much going on. We need to streamline.” 

“Got it.” 

“I’d like you to pull some alternate fabrics for the jackets, and then I’d really like to see how these pants look.” Raja pressed a button on her phone’s intercom, “Ivy, can you come in for a moment?”

“Of course!” Seconds later, Ivy sailed through the door. “Yes?” 

“I want to schedule a fitting with Aurora for tomorrow, before I leave. Can we squeeze it in?”

“Um…yes, I think so. Depending on what time that New York Women’s Foundation luncheon ends, we can maybe say 3?”

“The luncheon where Gwenyth is the keynote speaker?” Raja asked. 

“Yes.” 

“Please. I would love an excuse to leave early,” Raja said. “Pencil it in for 2:30.” 

“You got it!” Ivy grinned. 

Raja turned back to Aurora. “I’d like to see some more fabric samples for the jacket, with a few revised sketches, and I want to see the pants on to get an idea of what they look like. I’ll be able to give you much better notes after that.” 

“That sounds perfect!” Aurora said. She still couldn’t believe that any of this was happening. Raja Gemini liked her design. Raja Gemini was going to wear her design to the Met Gala. It was insane, if she actually thought about it. 

“Some concepts for a new top would be appreciated as well,” Raja said, walking back to her desk and sitting down. She opened up a file folder and began to read the contents, her attention now on something else entirely. 

Aurora took that as a cue to mean that she was finished, so nodded and began to put all of the garments back onto hangers as quickly as possible. She couldn’t wait to get back downstairs to report the great news to the others, who had all been teasing her, assuring her that Raja would probably hate everything in the first round and not to feel too bad about it. 

As she was pushing the rack towards the door, Raja looked up from her desk and called out, “Aurora!” 

“Yes?”

“Great work this week. Thanks a lot.” 

“Thank you so much!” Aurora said, a grin spreading across her face that probably made her look like a grade-A twat. Okay, idiot, get out now before you burst into happy tears and snot all over Raja Gemini’s 4 million dollar rug. “Um…see you tomorrow!”

“Mmhm…” Raja smiled and went back to her paperwork. 

Aurora took that as a final goodbye, and bolted triumphantly towards the elevators. She couldn’t wait to report back to the rest of the designers with the news of her incredible success. 

***

Pride Challenge Points: 3081

[fexlyn]

This is a dis-continued version of my TMNT au, this is all I had written down for this. Enjoy I guess?

I’ll be updating this when I have an idea but I won’t make anything big out of it.

Lenna

Oldest (16)

Oldest child syndrome

Hawksbill Sea Turtle

Tics (unconsciously clicking throat)

Lesbian

she/her

Voice actor potential = AJ Michalka or Natasha Lyonne or EJ Johnson

5’6ft - 66 inches - 167.64cm

Stiff / sensible / serious / lil silly

Loves the show Stardust Heros

Admires Janus Seyfert (♀)

Knows a lot about medical action and theory –stuff

————————————

Donatello

Second oldest (“16”)

Mum syndrome

Leatherback Sea Turtle

Related to Raph only

Autism

Keeps everything that's given from his brothers

Panromantic

7’ft - 84 inches - 213.36cm

Voice actor potential = Parvesh Cheena or Freddy Rodríguez or

BPD (Borderline personality disorder)

Favourite flower is the Red spider lily

got aged up to 4yrs - 2 yrs later Raph was mutated and aged properly

Sometimes forget words that are simple

Remembers every word that are considered ‘big words’

Jhanna is Dons gf (did not meet till s4; s5 is the confession)

Will literally make you anything if u just ask

Tries to be a pacifist (trained to kill without second thought)

————————————

Michelangelo

Second youngest (15)

Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles

ADHD (Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder)

Trans masc

when scared he hugs himself / cover himself in blankets

Early bird

5’5ft - 65 inches - 165.09cm

Voice actor potential = Alastair James or Freddy Rodríguez or Zach Barack

Fears of being forgotten

Spray painting is his favourite art form

fidgets with a rubix cube

When needing comfort he goes to his older sister

————————————

Raphael

Youngest (10)

Leatherback Sea Turtle

Related to Donnie only (by species)

Loves attention from his blood brother

Or attention in general

Disappears- somehow- anytime there's a fight

Loves paper mache

Feral (not actually just likes to bite)

Best friends with Casey- dont tell Len…or Don…-

His favourite blackberries

Voice actor potential = Alexander David Linz or francesca marie smith

5’1ft - 61 inches - 154.93cm

Troublemaker

Likes the show stardust heart

————————————

Splinter Hamato

He became a mutant rat at 18 due to a mishap

He meets the turtles at [insert age] hes now [insert age]

He's cripled due to the mutagen not being complete

But don't underestimate him he can whoop yo ass in seconds

Big fan of the renaissance artist and wanted to be a artist himself

————————————

Casey Jones

Middle child (12)

Bestfriends with Raphael

Has not told anyone that he's friends with mutant turtles (yet)

Feels like someone trying to burn a hole in his head every class

Taking hockey training

Taking ice skating as well

————————————

Cassandra Jones

Oldest child (15)

Has a crush on Lenna (knows about Casey's turtle friends)

Lesbian

————————————

Angel Jones

Youngest child (6)

Hangs around Micheal and Donnie

Cheeky little shit

Has some interest in machinery

Has a lot of interest in paint

————————————

April O’Neil

Shes 12

She's was 5 when her parents died and got moved with her aunt

Wishes to be a famous reporter

Believes that one of her classmates [read: Casey Jones] is some evil spy

Will literally hang off of vents, trees, wall cliffs; to get the scoop

She has a lot of bruises… and sticks stuck in her hair…

————————————

Carol O’Neil

————————————

Jhanna

———————————————————————————————

How do they exist?

Baxter Stockman, a teen genius, spent 22 years (17-39) creating a serum for perfect super soldiers-a classic I know- creating failures upon failures he finally perfected the chemical mutagen. But with the twist of it not working on humans due to something that humans have that ‘lower-intelligence life forms’ don't.

When used on humans they will [insert super painful symptoms] and a clinical death happens.

Baxter Stockman was promoted and awarded from the higher ups-he's now head of the renewed US bioweapons program.

Len - backstory

Putting the unmutated tot len into a tank of water then releasing the mutagen into the tank mutating them into a humanoid baby.

She was treated carefully, due to her being so-new, they tested her with anything possible without harming her. She was kept in a room, alone, being studied from the outside behind see-through mirrors.

As she got older(5) the experiments and studies started to become more often and a little more risky, they started to do more hands on like extracting blood or muscle reaction (they can't take scutes yet).

She got older, again, because they age…

Experiments got worse-like-painful- worse.

————————————

Donnie - Backstory

4 years after the creation of Lenna…

An agency (clan) in Japan heard (stalked) about the Mutagen that was perfected, they did a little something (killing) something (torture) getting the components of the mutagen to make their own soldiers.

They wanted a weapon that can be both in land and water, and large in size as well- since bigger weapons are more stronger right?- so they took the idea of a turtle as well. Leatherback sea turtle was their pick, soon or later will be known as V-1-L-0-T Donatello.

After the turtle was mutated, he was young- a baby

But being the smart-ego filled Ninjas they thought it would be best to make the ageing process a little bit faster so they're ahead of the enemy or the very least the same pace of making a weapon

————————————

Mikey - Backstory

.

————————————

Raph - Backstory

.

————————————

[all-pacas]

actually i just learned how to read and realised that you're probably *reading* the pompeii book, not writing it so. Name of the book please? ToT im just a lil bit stupid

Pompeii by Mary Beard. SPQR, also by her.

[stardusthalos]

OST Meme - Shania

Main: Flower Maiden - Dzivia

Silly: Read Between the Lines - Tom Cardy

Determination: Crow - Jinsan Kim

Battle: Blood and Stone - Audiomachine

Sad: Reflection - Hollow Knight OST

Relaxed: The Wind Cries Mary - Jimi Hendrix

Contemplative: One Summer's Day - Joe Hisaishi

Happy: Volare - Gipsy Kings

Hard work montage: W.I.T.C.H. - Devon Cole

Love theme: Lovers Mask - Theophany

Breakup / heartbreak: Loin - Maitre Gims

Failure / defeat: The Snake - Lana Lubany (Remix: ft. Roxanne)

Final battle: Tot Musica - Ado

TAGGED BY: Well by all technicalities @dethqveen

TAGGING: Whoever wants to take a stab at it!

[keynewssuriname]

Beslissing dames schaakkampioenschap wordt Kaslan aangelegenheid

De strijd om het dames schaakkampioenschap lijkt een Kaslan aangelegenheid te zullen worden. Titelverdediger Catherine Kaslan is nog steeds goed op weg om haar ereprijs te prolongeren. Indien ze haar doel mocht verwezenlijken betekent het haar vierde opeenvolgende landstitel bij de vrouwen na eerder de hoofdprijs in 2019, 2022 en 2023 te hebben opgeëist. In 2020 en 2021 werd vanwege de Covid-pandemie geen nationaal dameskampioenschap georganiseerd. In tegenstelling tot vorig jaar en 2022 zal de 3-voudige winnares alles uit de kast moeten halen. Ze wordt namelijk flink onder druk gezet door jongste zus Victoria. De oudste van de gezusters Kaslan, Alexandra, maakt theoretisch ook nog een kleine kans bij verliespartijen van haar jongere zusters in de slotronden 8 en 9. “De beslissing komt zeker pas in de laatste ronde (9)”, zegt vader tevens voorzitter van de Surinaamse Schaakbond, Marlon Kaslan. Catherine werd in ronde 7 verrassend op een remise gehouden door Elise Wu. Laatstgenoemde maakte het de kampioen naar verluidt knap moeilijk. Victoria maakte in haar partij tegen Mary-Lou Wongsoredjo geen fout en won. Ze voerde hierdoor de druk op Catherine door haar tot een halve punt te naderen. Ook Alexandra won haar partij tegen Xue-Wen Fung en is nu 2 punten achter op Catherine. Joëlle Wijnhard versloeg verder Janice Orasji. Maandagmiddag werd de inhaalpartij tussen Maylee Tjong Tjin Joe en Shefali Creebsburg afgewerkt. Eerstgenoemde won deze partij. Op donderdag 9 mei wordt ronde 8 gespeeld. Tegenover elkaar staan Fung – Wu, Alexandra – Tjong Tjin Joe, Wongsoredjo – Creebsburg, Victoria Kaslan – Orasji en Catherine – Wijnhard. De nationale titelstrijd voor de vrouwen wordt op zaterdag 11 mei afgesloten met de 9e, tevens laatste speelronde. Volledige standenlijst na 7 speelronden: 1. Catherine Kaslan (6 punten), 2. Victoria Kaslan (5.5), 3. Alexandra Kaslan (4.5), 4. Elise Wu (4), 5. Maylee Tjong Tjin Joe (4), 6. Joëlle Wijnhard (3.5), 7. Shefali Creebsburg (3), 8. Janice Orasji (2.5), 9. Xue-Wen Fung (1.5) en 10. Mary-Lou Wongsoredjo (0.5). Read the full article

[meste]

Călătorie în Japonia – ziua 15 - de ziua mea în Japonia

Azi, de ziua lui Șerban, s-a nimerit să avem un program încărcat. Trebuie să ajungem în Takayama, unde se desfășoară unul dintre cele trei cele mai mari festivaluri din toată Japonia din tot anul. Continue reading Călătorie în Japonia – ziua 15 – de ziua mea în Japonia