#ruff-tree

[luckyshinyhunter]

💖🥰💖More comfort characters that clouded my braincells!💖🥰💖

[twilighttrekkie]

orange

was messing around with some highlighters + pens last night and got these

[ruffsims4]

The house at the end of gen. 2.

[sohannabarberaesque]

Postcards from Snagglepuss

Trying not to get paralysed on Hoosier Hospitality

BESIDE THE DECATUR COUNTY COURTHOUSE, GREENSBURG, IN: As in the celebrated tree growing in the clock tower thereof, which has positively been identified a few years back as being of the mulberry species, and long something of a landmark for travellers between Indianapolis and Cincinnati along I-74 (Indiana Exits 132 and 134) and US 321.

And still something of a mystery as to how such a tree could grow from such a height.

The which surprised even Ruff and Reddy, more or less the "pioneers" of our Funtastic community, who, like a few other friends of ours, are heading to Gatlinburg, Tennessee for an Easter Sunday to outdo Easter Sundays.

"So what exactly is it all about, Snagglepuss?" Ruff, an energetic little kitteh, asked at a downtown Greensburg cafe where our party, which had already included Crazy Claws, The King and Sheena--not to mention much in the way of cheese, sausage and crackers.

"You see, Ruff and Reddy," Huckleberry Hound explained, "our friends out in Gatlinburg, by name of the Cattanooga Cats--"

"I believe we've heard of them," Reddy remarked.

Huck continued: "Anyway, this feline quartet have a coffee house and artisan roastery in Gatlinburg, Tennessee ..."

Moi: "...and they are working on an Easter Parade of sorts for us fellow characters along The Parkway--that's Gatlinburg's main street, more or less--on Easter Sunday. An impromptu, almost casual sort of schtick, even, guaranteed to impress what tourists may be in the Great Smoky Mountains over Easter!"

"Which, you may like to know," Crazy Claws added, "is rather early in the ordained cycle for Easter. It'll be on March 31st this year!"

You could hear our little company gasping at the revelation.

"But," The King remarked with some swagger, "let it not be hoped that the parade will be rained upon!"

The whole accompanied over rather generous helpings of what would pass for the Blue Plate Sepcial down Indiana way, served rather generously and the waitresses trying not to be jerks. Or, worse yet, on a par with Hooters Girls. But still, it's just Indiana. Next stop, Cincinnati and a bowl of Cincinnati Chili galore!

*************

@warnerbrosentertainment @artistic-octopus @iheartgod175 @theweekenddigest @funtasticworld @archive-archives @thylordshipofbutts @themineralyoucrave @thebigdingle @screamingtoosoftly @warnerbros-blog1 @groovybribri @jellystone-enjoyer @indigo-corvus @ultrakeencollectionbreadfan @warnerbrosent-blog

[gallusrostromegalus]

This morning I came downstairs to discover that the dogs have invented a New Crime.

My husband get up very early for his Real Adult Job, and feeds Charleston (Black-and-cream Sighthound mix, mostly leg) and Herschel (40lb cardigan welsh crime tube), then lets them out into the fenced yard before he leaves.

I get up at the same time but take longer to boot up, so the dogs frolick about and discourage the local tree rats from lingering about the property while I get dressed/brush my teeth/try to not be psychologically crushed by The Horrors (TM)

Now it's pretty normal for me to find Herschel doing a high-speed yet startlingly efficient MC Hammer Shuffle on his stubby little legs around the base of the large honey Locust tree we have in the middle of the yard so he could keep his face pointed directly up the trunk at something in the canopy, because this his how he tries to herd squirrels.

...but Charlie is usually nearby, cheerfully play-bowing and encouraging the squirrel to come down, nothing bad will happen-!

This time Charleston is nowhere in sight.

I go outside to investigate and Herschel pauses to tackle me about the kneecaps as a greeting before returning to the tree.

Charleston is not behind the garden bins, nor in the side yard.

I am growing concerned, when I hear a telltale guilty scrape of claws above me.

Charleston is on the roof.

I shuffle out to the middle of the yard, until I can make eye contact with him.

He looks down at me, cheerfully wagging his tail, clearly anticipating praise for being such a clever boy.

I at least know how he got up there.

My house has a deck built off the second floor with a set of stairs leading up to it, and a large honey locust tree grows next to it. Part of the roof is easily accessible with a small hop from the deck.

The deck has only a minimal amount of railing ad the roof has none, so I blocked off the stairs with a board that was too high for Herschel, an inveterate explorer and criminal, to jump, but not Charlie.

I didn't worry about this at the time because Charleston is, in fact, The Best Dog In The Universe, and understands that even though he *could* easily jump various barriers, it would be *impolite* of him to do so.

Charleston is Extremely Polite and thus almost never commits any crimes.

...Almost Never.

Charlie has exactly two vices, which aren't even vices because his ancestors were bred for millennia to do these two exact things.

The first is that he is HIGHLY leash aggressive when I'm present (We were both attacked by a St. Bernard the first day I had him and Charlie has decided Strange Dogs Are Not Allowed To Approach Me)

The Second is that he has the Prey Drive From Hell.

He has chased bears and bulls with full murderous intent.

He almost got me arrested because he cut his leash to chase a pronghorn antelope in front of a park ranger.

It is only for the sake of my saftey and pursuit of prey that he will break the rules.

Today, he has his nemesis cornered

Charleston isn't clever the way Herschel is. He's never really explored using his toys as tools, whereas Herschel speedran the early stages of hominid tool use as a puppy. Arwen was a logistical sort of genius who managed to terraform my parent's yard into Rabbit Thunderdome.

Charleston's genius is... psychological.

If the Squirrels see both dogs, they run for the fence, but if they only see Herschel, they run for the tree.

Charlie is much better at tracking and guessing the route his prey might go, so Charlie runs for their preferred escape route of the tree instead of chasing them.

The squirrels compensate by running for the fence, which is farther away in general, but they have a head start on the dogs.

At Some Point, charlie managed to work out that if he stays in the shadows under the deck, the squirrels won't see his mostly-black body, especially when Herschel charges into the sunlight and catches it on his white ruff.

Charleston realized, long before I did, that there is only the ONE branch that overhangs the roof, and therefore if a squirrel runs up the tree, it only has ONE way out of the yard.

The real genius was combining all of the above into the realization that he could let Herschel charge the squirrels, run through the under-deck shadows and up to the deck and roof while the squirrels are distracted, and plant himself on the roof where the squirrels HAVE to land without them seeing him until it was too late.

-And so we stand this morning.

Herschel at the foot of the tree, preventing the squirrel from running back down and heading for the fence

Charleston square in the landing zone on the roof, at the ready

The squirrel paralyzed on the branch between them

...and me, only sort of awake and realizing that I'm probably the dumbest mammal here.

I need to figure out how to disentangle these beasts without anyone getting maimed. Charleston has the blood of his ancestors baying for the flesh of his nemesis in his ears. Herschel is dangerously close to figuring out how to get on the roof himself. The squirrel is contemplating some truly dire Maneuvers, including dropping out of the tree and assaulting me to buy time.

I haven't even had my coffee yet.

"Charleston." I say with a very aggravated sigh. "That's not where dogs go."

Charleston whimpers.

He has Disappointed (TM) me.

A fate worse than death.

He starts to walk back to the deck, but as he takes a step to leave, so does the squirrel, and he is pulled back by millennia of instinct.

This will require. Delicacy.

or delicacies.

"Stay. I'll be right back." I tell the dogs.

I go back into the house, and retrieve The Best Treat.

The Cat's Wet Food.

Both dogs crave this Most Forbidden snack with an irrational passion, and it is usually both out of reach in the cat tree AND defended by Mochi, who rules the dogs with an Iron Paw.

I return to the yard, and open the can in full view of both dogs.

"Charlie?" I call. "Do you want Wet Food?"

He is halfway down the stairs before I can finish the question.

Herschel switches his orbit from the tree to my person, and I have to shuffle to avoid tripping over them as we go back inside and the squirrel flees.

None of this is the new crime.

I go out with them later to pull Yet More Thistles, and a few minutes in, I hear a little 'huff' from Charlie.

I look up, and he's standing on the stairs, paw up to indicate he's going to jump over the barrier board and go right back up there.

You know.

...Unless there is wet food to be had.

The children have figured out how to commit extortion. I text my husband.

They're so smart! Do you think we can set them on the jackasses across the street? My husband asks, ever the practical man.

I'm going back to bed.

---

I'm a disabled writier who makes my living tellng stories. if you liked this, please consider giving me a Ko-fi tip, or pre-ordering the Family Lore book of stories on my Patreon. Thank you!

[littlemissspiraleyes]

An unfamiliar voice wakes me up. “Awwww, what a cute little pet!” it says.

I open my eyes and see two Affini crouching beside me. One of them reaches over and gently scratches the top of my head. I moan and lean into it. Miss Stami’s Class A are still in my system, it seems.

“How could anyone tie such a cutie to a tree like this?” The same voice says, coming from the Affini that’s now scrambling my brain with scritches. “Do you want me to untie you? Do you need to go for a walk?”

The other Affini gasps. “What if she’s been abandoned?” she says. She looks behind me at the pet bed and the empty feeding bowls. “I should call the local Floret Wellness Committee and have her owner domesticated over this!” She sounded really upset.

I give a soft ruff and bat at my collar with my biomodded paws, now useless for everything except looking as cute as possible. The upset Affini’s vines wrap around it, then around my name tag. The two lean in closer to read and I can almost feel their biorhythms pulsing in unison. It’s making me wanna lay down and let them handle it.

They let out a simultaneous “Awwww!” after a few seconds. The now not-upset Affini unclips my leash and picks me up. Excitement fills me. Being picked up by an Affini can only mean good things.

“Aren’t you just the most spoiled puppy?” She says, petting my belly. I bark. “So many Affini wanting to take care of you while your owner’s away, so you decide to let all of them? How greedy~” She smiles, showing her sharp thorn teeth. I look up at her with my biggest, roundest, saddest eyes. I don’t want any funishments. I’m still waking up.

“Well don’t worry, little cutie. We’ll help as well.” she says. I feel the needle slip painlessly in. Then another one. Then another. I’m sure there’s more after that but it’s getting so hard to focus when they both so pretty and their vines are soooo soft.

Dozens of vines from the two of them wrap around me and I realize that I’m not going to get any more sleep tonight.

[charliemwrites]

Good morning! This is just a warm up, not canon to the series.

Anyway — bark, woof, awoo

It’s a cool fall day when you nearly die.

Johnny’s run off into the woods barking - not his scary bark but his excited bark. You’re worried that he’s gonna get his teeth in some poor local wildlife and go hurrying after him, boots unlaced.

Of course it’s hopeless to go chasing after a wolf-dog even running at half speed, but you can’t stand the thought of him coming home with a dead bunny or something. So off you go, clomping through the trees, calling for your big dumb fluffy butt to come home.

But it’s not your Johnny that comes trotting out of the trees. No, it’s an even bigger, wolfier looking dog. Creamy white fur, honey gold eyes, and odd black markings around the face like a skull. You instantly know he’s not like your goofball, a little less human-friendly, perhaps more feral. Looks at you like he’s trying to decide if you’d make a decent meal.

Is someone breeding them and just.., letting them out?? Some weird poorly thought out attempt to reintroduce wolves to the UK? The thought makes you frown, praying that you won’t come out here one day to find some poor pups struggling in the wilderness.

For now though, you’ve got yet another gorgeous animal in front of you.

“Well, hello,” you coo, softening and smoothing your voice. His ears tick forward. “Look at you, handsome thing. Have you seen my Johnny boy?”

The dog tilts his head - your first indication that he is familiar with humans, recognizes the tone of a question. You hum.

“Alright big guy, would you like to come with me to find him or are you doing your own thing?”

He doesn’t respond (of course) except to make a little “ruff” noise. You consider him for another moment, then decide he’s not being aggressive and it’s safe to continue your search.

You turn and continue on the path, calling for Johnny. Don’t get far before your new friend sweeps in front of you, blocking the way forward. You make a noise as you stop quick, nearly losing your balance to avoid stepping on his paws.

“Oh you big jerk,” you huff. He instantly starts pushing at you, big shoulders pressing against your stomach as he shoves a big, wet nose into your neck and face, focusing on your mouth. You roll your eyes and gently push his nose away.

“Knock it off,” you grumble, trying not to laugh. “You wolves are so rude. You don’t need to do that to smell me.”

He moves on to your clothes, all the way down to your crotch. You’re ready this time though, taking a big step back and guiding his face up by the chin.

“No.”

He snorts and shakes off, looking almost annoyed.

“Oh, yeah, how dare I not let you sniff my junk?” you scoff, rolling your eyes. “Grow up, you big baby.”

A deep, raspy grumble starts up in his chest. You ignore him, patting at the thick muscle of his shoulder.

“Yeah yeah, you’re a big scary boy,” you joke. “Ya gonna bite me? Show me your big pretty teeth?”

When you reach for his face he takes a step back, ears flicking. Looks almost shellshocked. You finally break, giggling as you croon baby noises at him.

“Oh, poor boy, did I spook you? I’m sorry, baby. No, no you’re very scary. Very intimidating.” You start scooting around him, amused how curves around you almost like he’s afraid you’re going to touch him. “It’s okay, buddy, I just need to find my boy. I’m not out to get you.”

As if on cue, Johnny comes bursting from the trees. He barks when he sees you, then almost comes up short when he realizes the other dog is there.

You become acutely aware that you’re not all too sure how Johnny will respond to another dog - especially one so close to you given his protectiveness. You instantly move between them, calling his attention.

“There you are, Bonnie Johnny! Where have you been?! Naughty boy, you better not have eaten anything fluffy.” His ears go back, a little whine starting up. He ducks his head to let you grab at his muzzle, inspecting him for anything gross. “I do not feel like wrangling you to brush your teeth.”

Luckily, he seems clean. Whatever had him so excited, he must not have caught.

Movement behind you catches your attention, the other dog loping closer. Your eyes bounce between them, watching body language for any aggression or hostility. To your relief, Johnny seems almost excited by this new friend - the other one… well, he seems a bit more subdued, but lets Johnny lick at his chin and bump into his side.

“Okay, ready to head home, baby boy?” you ask, giving Johnny’s collar a gentle tug. “I have to start making dinner.”

He whines, turning those big blue eyes on you and positioning himself behind the other dog. You groan.

“Johnny, really… I don’t know if I can handle two of you. I don’t even think he likes me very much.”

As if to spite you, the other dog sits and leans in, licking at your hand. And damn it, it’s cute.

“Alright, hold on, let’s just see if…”

This time, the other dog lets you touch, feels around his neck for a collar that unsurprisingly isn’t there. You feel around his shoulders too, hoping for that tiny bump that means he has a microchip, but nope.

“If I have a nickel for every time I found a wolf-dog in the woods…” you sigh, turning back for home. “It would be two nickels but it’s weird that it happened twice.”

When you notice both pups stalling, you whistle sharply.

“Come. It’s getting cold.”

Johnny instantly bounds ahead with excitement while your new companion is slightly slower, staying just a bit behind and to the side of you so that you can see him from the corner of your eye.

Back at home, Johnny leads the way inside. The strange dog looks around curiously, sniffs at a few spots. It’s then that you remember Johnny marking the house his first couple days and notice that Mystery Dog is also unaltered.

“Hey.” Both dogs turn to you. You point at the new one sternly. “If you pee on anything in here - anything - I’m dying you pink. By god I’ll do it, there are dog safe hair dyes.”

You get a sneeze for that and he walks away with disinterest, but at least he keeps his leg down. You’ll take it.

Dinner is interesting, no fussing or fighting over food from either of them. When they’re done, you retire to the couch, Johnny happy to follow up until he sees that his new friend isn’t coming as well.

He starts yipping, bouncing, bowing, trying to get the new one to follow. You’re amused up until Johnny nips and the bigger dog growls, showing teeth. You plant yourself instantly between them.

“Hey.” You look the new dog in the eye, get into his space and back him away from Johnny. “No the hell you’re not.”

The new dog stares, eyes locked on yours, ears swiveling. You don’t back down, watching and looking waiting, still bodily between him and Johnny. Until finally his ears go back and he sneezes, laying down.

“Good.” You soften your voice, sigh. “Good boy.”

You offer your hand. Get a sniff and a resigned lick, then scratch at your new boy’s ears.

“You be nice, big boy. Everyone in this house is mine. I take care of everyone.”

His eyes do a weird thing then. You’re not sure how to describe it, combined with the way his head tilts. But you just chalk it up to Weird Dog Things and finally return to the couch, an oddly subdued Johnny clambering up with you.

“You can join us, honey,” you call to the other dog. “You’re welcome up here if you behave.”

He doesn’t take you up on it for awhile. You and Johnny settle in for your usual nightly shows. And then, about an hour later, movement draws your eye. The Mystery Dog, standing at the edge of the couch with his tail down, ears neutral.

Earlier drama forgotten, you smile at him.

“Hi there,” you chirp, “you want up? C’mon, bud. Up.”

He hops up with surprisingly gentleness, picking his way around your limbs and Johnny’s. He ends up crawling over your dog and settling half on top of him, and half on top of you, his chin settled between Johnny’s stupid perky ears. Johnny seems thrilled so you laugh a bit.

“What good boys,” you coo, giving them each a scratch and receiving a kiss in return. “Alright, this isn’t so bad.”

You fall asleep there, already trying to come up with name for your new pup. Maybe Phantom.

Main Story | Konig pt. 1

Masterlist

[mirx-xko-offical]

giggling and kicking my feet about this Scenario!!

Yuu /reader say "You have beautiful eyes" and the character say "your kid may have the same"

Then a silent quiet....

Frankly, I find Leona/twin /Malleus and Lilia suitable for this scenario.

I’m going to cry- I had all of these already written down but then it never saved 😭 Anyways uhm, this is why you make sure that you save everything and don’t rely on autosave 🫶

as per usual, not proofread and probably won’t be for a while! This contains LEONA and MALLEUS! LILIA and maybe someone else will be in part 2 (open to ideas!) mainly because I can not think of any scenario for him right now!

Part 2 is up!

prompt: ‘Your eyes are beautiful.’ ‘Well, your children could always have them.’ (I love this sm 💕)

The autumn breeze came across the both of you, yet not being bothersome but rather comforting. LEONA couldn’t deny that times like these, when the air was cooler compared to the autumn nights where he had lived, was rather a nice change. He had dragged asked you to join him out here on one of these colder evenings mainly because he knew that you’d both enjoy it. Your back pressed up against the rather uncomfortable tree as he laid his head on your lap, humming almost like a low purr as your hand played with his hair (although my mind imagines it to be really greasy, even if it’s probably not😭✋). Looking upwards at the sky as it faded to a blank and purple. You had expected him to already be sleeping since he had stopped making a sound. Looking down you find him to just be admiring you, your cheeks reddening slightly at the fondness in his usual piercing gaze that always seems to calm when they laid upon you. LEONA’s eyes had never looked as mesmerizing as before, the moonlight almost hitting them perfectly. ‘You know, your eyes are beautiful.’ You said softly, hand still running through his hair. LEONA lets out a low chuckle before giving you a teasing glare. ‘Careful herbivore, your children might just end up having them one day.’ He said that to get a reaction out of you originally but now that he thinks about it, LEONA wouldn’t mind sharing his eye color with your kids.

As you walked out into the cool evening breeze, grabbing your coat from the stands before closing the dormitory’s door behind you. You turn around to see someone you’ve grown ever so close with, MALLEUS. You smiled as you walked down the long and, rather ruff, walkways to the gate which was always left open since people would find ways to enter anyhow. Your eyes landed on him as she stood there patiently for you. Once you made it down to him and greeted him with a soft ‘Hello.’ you started your way around the campus, something you and MALLEUS loved doing. During the walk you decided to intertwine your hands with his, causing him to look down at you with surprise. ‘Your eyes are beautiful.’ you hummed without little shame, looking up at him. ‘Well, Child of man, perhaps our children could have them one day.’ You knew MALLEUS meant it which didn’t help the fact that your face was growing a red hue. ‘I definitely wouldn’t mind it if they did.’ You said softly as you both continued your walk.

[vivaiavidapasta]

Tridental Regicide [Witch Reader Au] Chapter 1 APRIL FOOLS BTW

(Thank you so much for all the support! It’s finally here!! Hope you guys enjoy!)

“ACK”

You awaken, your feeble strong cookie body quaking as you slowly lift yourself up. “Huuuuuhhhh what the fuuuuuck?” You mutter to yourself, looking around. Your eyeballs tingle in confusion.

Looking up you see the tree… the silver tree…. And there’s the man…. The silver man…. He walks up to you and pokes your eyeballs. “Hmm, tingly

Bitch cookie! It is time that you leave and go forth whence and the souls jams.” He declares as you chew on some grass. “You have slept long enough! Get your money up, get your pussy up. You’re gorgeous by the way.”

“Get my money up…. Get my pussy up…” you mutter with green between your cookie teeth. He slaps you with a butterfly on your ass. Congradulatkons, you earned your cutie mark.

It began to fly and Oop, there you go. It flaps its little wings all the way to crispia. Then it fucking dies and you fall.

You break your fall onto some gay ass cookie. The tiny bitch next to her gasps. “White lily cookie!!! Are you oka- oh nevermind, the main protagonist is here heyyyy” he flirts with his giant anime eyeballs. You poke them. “Hmmm, blind.”

You get off of the gay white and look around. There’s about 5 other cookies… well more like 4.7 now. They all stare at you with various levels of shock, anger or whatever emotion the dark one is having.

“Peanut butter.”

They all nod and mutter various degrees of agreement and everything is good.

I’d go into detail of each of their individual personalities but honestly I don’t care for hollyberry.

By the end of the night you have your own harem, you’re gonna suck their flat faces and then you’ll fucking accidentally recreate the same dymanics you had with their predecessors.

Your name is bitch cookie and you’re the fastest man alive.

Have a shadow milf cookie

Ehhh not sexy enough

THERE WE GOOOOOO RUFF RUF AROOOOO

Okay now get out of my house

[unoislazy]

Trapped With You

Hiccup Haddock x Reader

Warnings: if you’re prone to second hand embarrassment this one’s gonna be a doozy

————————————————————

You and your friends were very well known for freeing dragons from traps and greedy humans who saw them as nothing more than pests. But just because you were well known doesn’t mean you were good at it. In fact, maybe one of your hundreds of raids had gone perfectly to plan, many of them were successful, but never stuck to the plan.

`

This time was no different.

In fact, this time might have been your worst attempt yet.

Hiccup had gathered you and your collective friends to go searching for dragon traps to try and disarm them. You didn’t think that would be too hard because they often shined through the grass no matter how hidden they were.

It wasn’t often that dragon traps would be placed on Berk, but you had heard a few complaints from some of the residents and figured it would be best to check it out.

“Okay, you head down first, see how many traps we need to hit. I’ll send down Ruff and Tuff to keep watch if needed. If anything goes wrong, you know how to call me.” Hiccup instructed, his mask muffled his words a bit but he was still very easy to understand. His thought process however, lost you. Why he thought Ruff and Tuff could stay out of each other's way long enough to actually be a useful lookout was beyond you.

You thought it best not to question it but in hindsight… maybe you should have.

You went on with the plan, flying down to the very dense woodland area. There had been a few issues with net trappings along the coast, and someone had to deal with it. The twins followed you, landing their Hideous Zippleback a few meters behind you, staying as quiet as they could.

You were actually impressed that you couldn’t hear them arguing with each other… yet.

Nonetheless, you continued on, hopping off your dragon and began to do your usual sweep. You weren’t entirely sure what kind of traps you were supposed to be dealing with here, but that’s why the twins were there, to keep you safe in case anything went south.

You carefully scanned the area, looking out for anything shiny or out of the ordinary that might give away the presence of a trap. You looked for a fair few minutes but you couldn’t seem to find anything.

“Hey guys, I think we might have gone to the wrong spot. Should I call for hiccup?” You asked before turning around to realize the twins were gone. In a panic you began turning every which way, listening for any sign of them but there was nothing.

“Real funny guys…” You said sarcastically, realizing that they probably just thought it would be funny to leave you on your own. Your dragon walked up behind you, purring a bit as happy dragons often did.

“What happened to them girl?” You asked her as if she could respond to you. You figured this would be as good a time as any to call for Hiccup. You put two fingers in your mouth and gave a loud whistle, signaling for Hiccup to come find you.

It was only a matter of seconds before the large Night Fury landed smoothly very close by. Hiccup hopped off, his trusted fire sword tight within his grip, and his mask down to protect himself.

“What’s wrong, did something happen?” He asked frantically, despite clearly seeing you standing there calmly.

”Well, other than the twins leaving me behind, nothings wrong. Including the fact that there aren’t any traps here.” You answered honestly, shrugging your shoulders as you stepped towards one of the trees you had already checked. Hiccup looked around skeptically, but he too couldn’t notice anything out of the ordinary, so he walked up beside you.

“That’s weird, we’ve gotten a multitude of complaints about this specific area…” He muttered quietly, tapping his finger to his chin, deep in thought. You simply stood there, waiting for him to think of something like usual. As you waited, your attention had been drawn towards Toothless, he was sniffing the tree the two of you had been standing by.

At first you didn’t think much of it, dragons were a lot like dogs in a way, they loved to sniff every single thing within their reach.

However, once you took a closer look you realized he had begun to gnaw at something on the tree. A rope.

Your eyes followed the rope as it went around the tree, and down… around you and Hiccup. Once you had realized what was happening, you looked to Toothless who had already chewed through most of the rope.

“Wait, Toothless don’t!” Before you could get him to stop, or even move out of the way, Toothless had chewed through the rope, thus setting loose the trap and lifting both Hiccup and yourself up into the air and into a very cramped sack.

The sack was extremely small, definitely not the size needed to capture or even remotely harm a dragon. And that’s when it hit you…

“This is a boar trap. No wonder we couldn’t find anything…” You muttered, trying to adjust yourself in a more comfortable position to no avail. You continued to shift before Hiccup had finally said something,

“Hold on, stop moving, just let me-“ He said, trying to move his prosthetic leg which was very uncomfortably digging into your side. You were a lot closer than you had wished you were. You did like the guy, but this was NOT how you wanted to be reminded of that fact.

After a little more awkward moving around and uncomfortable elbow jabs you two eventually gave up, managing to now face each other but in a very uncomfortably close vicinity.

“Well this is just… wonderful.” He sighed, as he looked past the very wide netting of the sack you two sat in, looking down to Toothless who looked confused as he sniffed the trap.

“You just don’t know when to stop, do you bud?” Hiccup asked down to Toothless who looked at him with a very deadpanned look. The dragon then turned away from you two, almost pouting like a child seeming to say ‘this isn’t my fault.’

Hiccup rolled his eyes, turning back to you, sighing yet again.

“So… what now?” You asked, trying not to move in fear of making you both uncomfortable. Hiccups eyes wandered, following the intricately woven pieces of rope that held the netting together, he followed the rope up to the branch that you both were being held by, and then back down to the ground.

“Hiccup?” You asked, trying to even begin to follow his train of thought.

“Okay listen, I’m gonna try and reach down and grab my sword, to do that I’m gonna have to move so it’s gonna be a little uncomfortable.” He said awkwardly, before looking back up to you, “okay?” He asked.

You nodded, considering it truly might be the only way you’d get out of this mess now that Toothless was being entirely distracted by your dragon.

“Okay, I’m just gonna, move my legs…” He started, doing exactly as he said, shifting his weight more to the side as his legs surrounded your body. The sudden movement caused the bag to sway the slightest bit, making the rope creak every so slightly. It would’ve been a soothing sort of noise if not for your current situation.

His body moved again, sort of putting himself on your lap as he began to lean over. You couldn’t help but feel even the slightest bit embarrassed by the current predicament. You tried not to pay it any mind but the guy you’ve had a crush on for god knows how long was currently sitting on your lap, of course you were going to get a little flustered.

Hiccup however was clearly far more concerned with the act of retrieving the sword, something you wish you could focus on as well. He leaned over, sticking his arm through one of the holes in the netting and began to stretch his arm, reaching for the weapon. You sat there uncomfortably still, not knowing if you should, or if you even wanted to move.

It took him a few tries to realize that this wasn’t working, meaning a better position would need to be devised. He sighed again, thinking through if he truly wanted to risk trying this, but it was either get embarrassingly close with the chance of freedom or stay in this uncomfortable position until Toothless finally decided to let you both free.

“I have another idea, but it's not going to be entirely comfortable.”

“Can't be any more uncomfortable than this is.” You responded, to which Hiccup averted his gaze for a moment as he began to awkwardly gesture.

“Well… actually it can. But, this is just to get us out of this mess and then we never have to talk about this again.” He looked to you, waiting for some sign of approval to continue. You nodded, giving the go ahead and silently hoping it won't be as bad as he’s making it seem.

Hiccup ever so carefully moved his legs off of you, and instead moved to more of a laying down position. Right on top of you.

Holy gods above, please let them save you from this nightmare disguised as a dream. One would think this would be a great scenario to be in. You, the guy you like, trapped in very close proximity for a long period of time. It could be like seven minutes in heaven on a budget in the woods.

Except it's not like that at all. Yeah sure, you’re both extremely close to each other, uncomfortably so. But you didn’t ask to be put in this situation, in fact you wished you weren’t in this situation to begin with. Mainly because you were currently trying to forget about the fact you liked the scrawny guy that was now not even a foot away from you, and this situation was not helping in the slightest.

“Okay im just gonna… lean over you…” Hiccup said, straining as he leaned over on top of you, reaching his hand through another hole in the netting that was now more towards the bottom of the sack.

You very quickly stopped paying any attention to what he was doing and focused more on trying to get yourself too chill out. You could see Hiccup was saying words but you hadn’t a clue whether they were directed at you or not, you couldn’t hear him over the sound of your rapid heartbeat that filled your ears.

He was trying to prop himself over you as he reached down past you to the ground. His face was very close to yours, so much so that you could even make out some of the details in his eyes. You hadn’t really taken into account just how green his eyes truly were, most of the time you barely made eye contact with him. His hair had grown a fair amount and there were still a few braids that rested unbothered towards the back of it. Hiccup himself had grown a fair amount, much more than you had realized. When you looked at him before you always saw the little weirdo that you remembered from dragon training. The Hiccup you were staring at now, wasn’t that Hiccup. Well realistically he was, and his personality was the same but… he was different now.

Luckily he wasn’t looking at you so you thought he hadn’t noticed you staring at him. He leaned more towards your side, resting his face next to you as he strained to reach the weapon. You simply stared at the sky through the netting because now you could feel his breath on your neck… and again… not what you needed right now. Hiccup paused for a moment before propping himself back up over you, concern was riddled throughout his features.

“Are you okay?” He asked, his entire focus was on you all at once.

“Me? Never better, why?” You tried to play off your nervousness which Hiccup very clearly took note of.

“Your heart is racing. I’ll get us out of here in no time. You don't have to be nervous.” He said in a comforting tone. In all honesty you weren’t used to him speaking in such a way, especially not directed at you. It felt as if you couldn’t speak at that moment, all you could do was nod as you stared at his striking green eyes.

Why now? Why did the feelings have to rush back to you now?

You were doing fine, ignoring all feelings for him and just living your dragon filled life, but now? Not only was he only a few inches away but also, he was taking over a lot of your mind. You could barely even think as he returned to the position he was at before. Somehow it seemed as all of his usual awkwardness had gone out the window, which you guessed was because he was so focused on getting you both out of there.

After a few more minutes of you both struggling in very different ways you finally heard Hiccup joyfully shout,

“I got it!”

As he held his sword. He laughed excitedly, pulling it back up to you both, not without struggling to get it through the netting a bit first.

Through Hiccup’s celebration, you could very faintly hear a noise coming from some of the trees behind you. A very low rumbling noise.

“Uh… Hiccup?” You said, trying to get his attention but he was still very occupied with trying to figure out a way to cut the netting without harming you both. You listened again, now turning to where the noise had come from. Hiccup was no longer laying on you and had very awkwardly moved himself to sit back up again as he continued to plan out your escape.

You looked through the wooded areas, squinting your eyes and trying to adjust them to the low light, attempting to see something. That’s when you saw it, a very, VERY pissed off looking Thunderdrum.

“Hiccup.” You called, your eyes not leaving the dragon. You were afraid that if you weren’t looking it would do something drastic. Hiccup still was deep in thought, entirely unaware of the situation that was about to unfold.

“Hiccup.” You said a little louder, starting to shake him.

“Hold on, I’m just-“ He began, but his voice trailed off as his eyes continued to follow the contraption. You however, watched in fear as the Thunderdrum began to approach and its unhappy demeanor had not changed in the slightest. You would never expect a dragon to attack without reason but it was probably very hungry and you both were basically sitting ducks in a trap that the dragon was probably accustomed to having boars in it. Then without warning, the dragon began to charge in your direction, heading straight for the sack you both sat in.

“Hiccup!” You shrieked, finally getting his attention. Once he looked up, he also screamed and very quickly, and very recklessly you might add, used the fire sword to quickly cut you both down and get you out of the way of the Thunderdrums initial attack.

You both fell straight down to the ground, you landing right on your ass as you didn’t have a lot of time to truly brace yourself for the fall.

“Toothless, a little help here?” Hiccup called out to the Night Fury who was already on his way over. Your dragon followed behind, scooping you onto her back and quickly darting off. You both escaped the situation majorly unscathed, now flying back to the village in mostly silence before Hiccup cleared his throat,

“So… is that why you were so nervous?” He asked, clearly referring to the dragon.

“Um… yeah.” You answered, clearly lying. This was not really a conversation you’d want to have on the back of your dragon.

“Why didn’t you tell me? I can only do my dragon thing with proper notice.” He joked trying to lighten the awkward tension.

“Well… because-” You tried to think of a reason on the spot before Hiccup cut you off.

“Unless that wasn’t the reason? I don’t want you to lie about this.” He said in a lighthearted manner. You knew Hiccup wouldn’t judge you for anything you wanted to share with him, but this? This was a bit too far in your eyes, you couldn’t risk your friendship with not only him but with Astrid too. You were almost a thousand percent sure that they had feelings for each other and you didn’t want to get in the way of that. But then again, maybe you should just be honest with him, it would definitely lift a large weight off your shoulders.

“Can we just… wait till we get back to the village before we talk about this?” You asked and he respectfully obliged, not wanting to make you uncomfortable.

“Last one back has to clean up after the other one's dragon!” He shouted before flying off quickly with Toothless. You smiled, appreciating his efforts to change the topic as you followed behind him laughing.

“No fair, you got a head start!”

Once back to the village, Hiccup invited you into his has to continue your previous conversation. Thankfully Stoick was not home at the moment so you two could have some time to discuss this privately.

“So, what’s the real reason?” Hiccup asked, leaning forward in his chair. Clearly he was very interested in what you had to say.

“Well,” You started quietly, not wanting to even look in his general direction, “It was just a very… awkward situation and you know… we were very close and…” You continued on but you muffled your words, not wanting to actually say them outloud. Hiccup continued to stare at you, gesturing for you to continue. It seemed like he knew what you were trying to say but he just wanted to hear you say it.

“This is stupid, I shouldn’t even-” You began to get up from the chair that hiccup had offered you only for him to get up as well and make his way over to you.

“Wait, wait, just hold on.” He said, trying to stop you from leaving.

“Hiccup, seriously it's not that important, I'm just going to leave and we don’t have to bring this up ever again just like you said.” You began to ramble, reaching for the handle on the wooden door before Hiccup blurted out,

“I love you.”

You froze. Your hand came off of the door handle as you simply stared, not knowing what to do.

“What?” Was all you could ask before you turned around to look at Hiccup who was standing there, staring right back at you.

“I know I’m not supposed to say it that fast but… I mean it.” He admitted, his serious demeanor very quickly melted back to his usual awkward one as he quickly realized what he just said. “I just figured, maybe the reason you were nervous was because you felt the same, but now that I think about it I probably should not have assumed.” He continued to ramble, He was no longer paying full attention to you and he had not noticed that you had slowly made your way over to him. He sighed heavily before continuing,

“I shouldn’t have said that, it was wrong of me to assume and if you don’t feel the same then we can just both forget this ever happened and-”

“Can I kiss you?” You asked. This time it was his turn to pause, looking up to you quickly, his eyes open wide as he stared at you.

“What?”

“Can I kiss you?” You asked again, a smile very slowly crept onto his face, as he nodded moving closer to you. Without another thought or word between the two of you, he pulled you in close and closed the gap. He smiled, elated that his assumption was not wrong as he continued to kiss you. Neither of you truly wanted to pull away but alas the human body still needs air to live so you had to.

Who knew getting awkwardly stuck in a boar trap could end up being so eventful.

[perryrata]

Out of curiosity, what's your opinion on Treebark?

It’s good trees have skin, I wood appre-tree-ate if they weren’t so ruff though. Do they need lotion? Would they use sap? Is sap the sweat of a tree? Or would it be like a blood? How many trees would you need to kill to lotion one tree? These are the real questions that must be asked, sheeple.

[ruffsims4]

[that-foul-legacy-lover]

MELUSINE CREATOR MEETING PAHSIV

MELUSINE CREATOR MEETING PAHSIV ‼️‼️‼️

PAHSIV PAHSIV PAHSIV YIPPEE!!!!!!! SHE'S SO CUTE

one day, you're taking a rare trip to the upper world with Foul Legacy, needing a bit of sunlight after spending several weeks down in Merusea Village. he sweeps you up into his arms and takes you to a distant forest, all surrounded by trees and mist and moss, where not even the Treasure Hoarders dare step in. but to you, both protected by an Abyssal monster and hidden from a cruel, unforgiving world, it's lovely and fascinating. Legacy's steps are several of yours, so he can easily keep up with you as you explore the foliage and fantastical reed pipes. his lilac ruff of fur bristles when he hears the unmistakable howl of Riftwolves, taking your mitten-like hand and gently tugging you away from the old, rotted willow that looms in the distance, wandering towards a lake dancing with wind and floating globes of water. it calms in your presence, though, and you're dancing among the lakelight lilies when your antennae twitch at the pitter-patter of small, stumpy feet

"Creator! Creator! Pahsiv!"

a Melusine with brilliant fuchsia eyes happily darts through the grass, tapping her feet in a little excited jig as she stands before you and Foul Legacy, whose wings flutter in surprise. she skips in a circle around you in particular, examining you at all angles but never touching as her tail wags. after a moment you stick your hand out to shake, and she stares and tilts her head before extending her own and giving you a light, friendly smack on the palm

she's a Melusine even stranger than you- or perhaps, like you, she's not a Melusine at all. but she's friendly and curious, with a sharp interest in tidalgas, and whatever fear she had of Foul Legacy evaporates when you explain that he's a friend, dancing around and allowing herself to be picked up and placed on Legacy's shoulder opposite of you. he's strong, after all- carrying two not-Melusine is nothing to him! you gift your new friend some tidalga you were carrying, much to her delight, and she pats her mittens over the shimmering patterns across your body with a knowing look in her eyes

she doesn't come with you when you leave Erinnyes, but somehow you know that she'll be there to greet you if you ever come to visit again

[saritapaleo]

Archovember 2024 Day 1 - My Choice: Caihong juji

Continuing my theme of choosing dinosaurs we know the colors of, my choice for day 1 of Archovember this year is Caihong juji!

Caihong was an Anchiornithid from Late Jurassic China. It was relatively small, estimated at 40 cm (16 inches) long, with a wingspan of approximately 44 cm (17 in), and weighing 475 grams (16.8 oz). It could be distinguished from its cousins and contemporaries Eosinopteryx and Anchiornis by the longer pennaceous feathers on its forelimbs, hindlimbs, and tail. Caihong was covered almost entirely in feathers, with only the snout and claws uncovered. Like Anchiornis, Caihong’s feathers were so well-preserved that the melanosomes could be analyzed, and interpreted as iridescent black. The platelet-like melanosomes on its head, chest, and base of the tail were similar to those found in the shimmering feathers of modern trumpeters (genus Psophia). Its feather coat was also very thick, with a silky or shaggy appearance, and a ruff of longer feathers around the neck.

Caihong was likely less common than Anchiornis, as only one specimen has been found so far. Like other anchiornithids, it was probably a carnivore, hunting arthropods and other small animals in the underbrush. Also like Anchiornis, it most likely wasn’t a strong flier, instead using its shimmering plumage for display.

The Tiaojishan Formation was subtropical to temperate, warm and humid, and dominated by gymnosperm trees like ginkgopsids (including Ginkgo), conifers, cycads, and ferns. Caihong would have lived in these Late Jurassic forests with fellow anchiornithids Anchiornis, Aurornis, Serikornis, Xiaotingia, and Eosinopteryx, as well as the bizarrely-winged scansoriopterygids Yi and Scansoriopteryx. Pterosaurs were also common here, including Changchengopterus, Darwinopterus, Wukongopterus, and the small, nocturnal anurognathids Cascocauda, Sinomacrops, and Luopterus. Oddly enough, this formation known for small, flying things also included the earliest known gliding mammal: Volaticotherium antiquum.

(I was unsure what the consensus is on the lacrimal crests and sickle claw, so here is another version 🙃)

This art may be used for educational purposes, with credit, but please contact me first for permission before using my art. I would like to know where and how it is being used. If you don’t have something to add that was not already addressed in this caption, please do not repost this art. Thank you!

[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Generation 2 Pt. 104 (Chasing Ghosts)

The time after Winterfest was quiet in Brindleton Bay. Heather's clinic was slower with families still out of town, and she spent the extra few hours a day at home with her kids. Tonight, Heather tried to get picky Lavender to eat mashed avocado in her high chair.

Ash tried not to look at the mess she was making as he ate his own dinner, explaining in detail why it was better to get food in her tummy than on the floor. She gazed at him with keen interest as usual.

"Ass-ee!" She babbled her attempt to say 'Ashy' with giggles, followed by a short hiccup.

Conrad, on the other hand, was working long, frustrating hours, and Heather encouraged him to take Gord to Deadgrass Isle to run off steam and clear his head.

"Bring the ambrosia treats," she reminded him.

"Am I supposed to be chasing ghosts out there, or clearing my head?"

"You know I won't be upset if you bring home a new stray."

He chuckled as he walked out the door, heading down to Fisherman's Wharf with Gord, where they caught the small ferry to Deadgrass Isle. It was late and the museum was almost empty. Once again, Conrad saw no sign of the old man, and he walked back to the snow-covered path outside.

Gord jumped, in a playful mood, and Conrad set aside his frustration to bask in the simple joy Gord could find in a broken stick. "Go on, Gord. Get it!" he said, but this time Gord's paws stayed planted in the snow.

The Bernese looked beyond him with a curious woof. Conrad followed Gord's line of sight, making out a glowing green and translucent figure in the distance. Too small to be a human, Gord took off running, and the ghostly pup raced on all fours toward him.

"Wait! Gord, stop!" Conrad called, racing after him. His shoes crunched snow underfoot, but Gord wouldn't heed his call.

Gord and the ghost dog met one another along the tree lined path, hind quarters at the ready, but neither let out so much as a growl. Catching his breath, Conrad finally caught up to them and the ghost dog glanced at him warily.

"Hey there, fella. It's alright. We won't hurt you." Conrad showed his palms. Gord looked on cautiously, but made no move to attack.

Conrad let the ghost dog sniff him, and when he didn't run away, he reached into his pocket. He had an ambrosia treat and some Buttercups, but he remembered something Felix Psyded had said about ghosts and unfinished business. Not all ghosts want to be revived, Felix had told them, so he decided against the ambrosia treat and tore open the package of Buttercups, instead.

The ghost dog howled excitedly as he devoured the all-natural treats, jumping playfully toward Conrad in gratitude. He barked. Three long howls followed by three ruffs. Long, short, short, long again. Almost like Morse code. "Are you trying to tell me something, pup? I'm sorry, I don't know what you're saying."

The ghost dog whimpered, but Conrad's attention was pulled away when his phone rang. He checked the call display and laughed. "Felix! I was just thinking about you, believe it or not."

"Of course you were. I thought you might have missed me, so I thought I'd call to find out how you were doing and let you know I've made quite the breakthrough with your old man at the museum."

"Life's real busy, Felix. The kids are good, work is pretty unforgiving these days, and Gord and I were just talking to a ghost dog."

"Oh, is that all? How's Heather?"

"She's great. The best. You don't know how to communicate with dog spirits, do you?"

"Afraid not. Strictly human ghosts for me. I never liked how ghostly pets could sneak up on a person."

"What have you got on the old man, then?"

"I think your ghost is the old lighthouse keeper who died before the light went out. I remember reading about the mysterious shipwreck when I was a young officer in the Navy."

"What's his name?"

"That's the most interesting part. His name was Ben Gordon."

Conrad shrugged. He was tired. Even Gord and the ghost dog were ready to nap at his feet. "Weird coincidence."

"I don't think it is. I still prefer researching from books, but I pulled up one of those helpful new websites with all those family trees and digital census records. Then I verified my findings with Brindleton Bay's local librarian, Gunther Lynx-Munch. I think Ben Gordon was your great-great-great-great grandfather's brother! A lonely type - old newspaper articles I found on library computers said he lived with his dog and otherwise alone. Never socialized with locals who came ashore to his island to view the old lighthouse. Maybe the reason you can see him and no one else knows what you're talking about is because his message is only for you, a living relative."

"If that's true, why hasn't he shown up to give me his message in years since I first met him? Maybe he's...passed on already."

"Maybe. Or maybe he can see that you're busy."

He thought back to the night they met. He'd made it clear he was distracted back then, and it's not like he hadn't been distracted since. "Can he see that I'm starting to get a little bit desperate? I really need a case I can solve right about now."

"If whatever he has to say is important enough he's waited over one hundred fifty years to say it, he can wait as long as he needs until he thinks you're ready. Try sending some signals. He might pick up on something."

"Like what?"

"Try talking to him."

Conrad scoffed. He'd always found it impossible to talk to the dead. A ghost standing in front of him could at least talk back, but he could never really say much to his parents' gravestones. Knowing he'd never hear a response made it too hard to try.

Felix sighed. "Or, stay desperate. Up to you."

Conrad stifled a groan, shaking his head at the smug former spectre on the other end of the line. "Thanks for looking into this, Felix. If he ever decides to show himself again, I'll let you know how it goes. How about you? How's living in Britechester these days?"

"Oh, it's exactly as I remember it. The fashion has changed, but the buildings in town look quite the same as they did when I founded the old university. I've scheduled my bar exam for early in the new year. I'm studying every day and watching a lot of Court TV, to tell you the truth. I've seen plenty of contemporary attorneys in action and I know exactly the kind of lawyer I'd like to be."

"Oh yeah, like who?" Conrad wasn't really all that interested in a bunch of lawyers, but Felix loved to talk and he was grateful for a momentary distraction.

"I have so many models to look up to, it's quite a wonderful thing! I've followed the work of prosecutor Aaron York. He's on track to be a fine judge someday and I would consider myself star-struck to ever present in his court, but he worked a recent case defending a young woman from an assault charge. He's a family man and a man of law, right after my own heart. And of course I'm as glued to the Alegria v. Caruso trial as anyone else, even though it's currently in recess! That Antonio Romero, Esquire is simply fantastic! His presence in a courtroom is so powerful. He's like a modern-day Felix Psyded."

"Don't you mean Felix Psyded, Esquire?"

Felix laughed. "I knew I'd get you to say it sooner than later, Sargent."

Conrad rolled his eyes. "Sounds like you're putting in the work, Felix. How are you making money since you won't let Heather and I pay you?"

"Until I take the bar exam I've found steady work as a process server here in town. I have so much to learn from everyone in the building, but one junior lawyer in particular is really something! Unfortunately I embarrassed myself when I overheard her talking about going out to dinner with an Orange. I thought she meant the fruit, but apparently Orange is a name for living sims these days! I'm afraid she thinks I'm a fool. But she's a real spitfire, and she's working the Dulce Alegria trial, too. Antoinette Wolff is her name!"

Conrad perked up at the mention of her. "I think I know her. Or her brother, anyway. Solomon Wolff and I used to be partners back in San Myshuno."

"In that case, maybe you could put in a good word, so she knows I'm not an imbecile. But I should go; I have many more cases to read about before the exam. Let me know when you've seen the old man again, and don't be a stranger."

He hung up with Felix and smiled. Did he actually feel lighter after talking to Felix Psyded? It seemed unbelievable. He glanced back toward the glowing green dog, who had waited patiently with Gord while Conrad took Felix' call.

A thought struck him. The ghost could have been any dog from the pet cemetery beyond the trees, but his bark sounded vaguely familiar, like the dog he swore he heard inside the lighthouse with Heather. "Did you know a man named Ben Gordon, old buddy?"

The dog barked excitedly, feverishly wagging his tail. "Do you know where he is?"

The ghost dog howled, but Conrad couldn't understand. He checked his watch. It was getting late, and he knew he should get back to the mainland. "We've got to head home, but Gord and I will be back. Maybe by then I'll have a better idea what you want."

With a nuzzle against Conrad's hand, the ghost dog seemed to acknowledge his promise. He returned home, greeting Heather in the living room.

"Did you bring home a new stray?" she asked, but her face fell in mock sadness when she saw he'd only brought home one very smelly dog.

"Not tonight. But apparently the old lighthouse keeper was a distant relative of mine, and Felix Psyded said when he thinks I'm ready, he'll find me again to give me his message."

"Maybe he'll think you're ready after you give Gord a bath and have a shower," she teased.

Conrad took care of their needs while Heather finished helping Ash with his homework, and he tried not to think too much about Felix' advice to talk to the dead. ->

<- Previous Chapter | Gen 2 Start | Gen 2.1 Summary

Gen 1 Start | Gen 1 Summary

NOTE: Did I get through the ghost dog arc before the Life & Death pack updated and made this dog a living stray? No. Have I figured out how to turn the dog back into a ghost so I can just give him the ambrosia treats when I have it plotted? Also no. There was no option to simply flip the dog to an occult ghost in CAS like there is for human sims, I looked! The reason I waited is because in the rabbit hole adventures involving the dog, they made several trips to build up their friendship. In addition to everything else they've got going on that makes adopting another dog right now just too much, I was trying to mirror the adventure with storyline.

Any advice for re-ghosting the dog is welcome. I have one idea that involves forcing the dog to unalive with MCCC in a second save to get ghostly shots again, and adopting the living dog Conrad and Gord are now friendly with in the main save when it's time, but not jumping between saves could be better if it's possible! Just a peek behind the magic curtain of 'filming' Sims In Bloom lolol.

[the-nosy-neighbor]

This is going to take me more than one post, I think. There is so much here!

Part 1.

Thanks to @ihavecooties for the image and ask.  I see a lot of really interesting parallels that they have located in different images.  I’d like to discuss a few here, beginning with the bottom left:

·      Bug-A-Bye and Goodnight and the Spring promotional image shared by clown.  We have the same color palette for these two images, with the second being more pink.  The perspectives are a bit different as well, with Bug-A-Bye with trees in the background and the other with a tree up close in the image, but overlooking the tops of trees in the background.  Both images are framed with leaves, like we are looking in on the scene from behind a bush.  The two frames are different enough that they may not be the same one, though they are very similar in make up (maybe moved from landscape to vertical?)

The see you in springtime image is signed by Julie, and the flower is pink, so I had assumed that the flower was a stand-in for Julie.  However, the juxtaposition of these images seem to insinuate that Frank is the flower.  Given that the flower (on the website) is black and Frank is grey, that could track. 

The shadow on the Springtime image is not of the flower.  We do have a spotlight coming from the top (thought the light would have to be from our perspective to cast a shadow in that direction.  And there’d have to be a flat surface to fall on.  But, from the beginning, I have felt like that shadow is either of something stretching after waking.  It is reminiscent of the butterfly in the Bug-A-Bye image though.  That would still make it seem that it was Frank.  If it is a stretching/awakening thing, it would have to be kind of rectangular and stretching arms up while leaning to the left.

Quick comparison to the flower image here:

It is definitely similar, but not exact. 

Buggle and Frank’s bug letter:

I have looked at two of these images in comparison before.  Maybe the full three.  When I saw the legs on buggle, I went back here to see if Frank’s letter is showing Buggle.  They are not the same.  While we can’t see the very back of buggle, there are other indications that these aren’t the same bugs.  The antennae are different on all three, the legs are the same shape on all, but the Hibernation bug and Buggle have solid coored legs and distinct toes, while the letter bug does not.  Letter bug doesn’t have the same nose as the other two (has no nose, I mean).  The other two have noses of different colors. Letter bug is the only one with a heart on the thorax, though we can’t see Hiberation bug’s back.  Buggle has a neck ruff, while the others don’t.  One bug has a tail, and one doesn’t and one can’t be seen.  The coloration on all three bugs are different, with the letter bug being many colors, the hibernation bug being pink and yellow, and buggle being yellow, orange and blue. 

If the top view of buggle shows a small thorax like the one in the letter, then I would definitely consider that the design just evolved over time.

Frank writes of the letter bug that he wanted to share it with him quickly, as he thinks Wally would like the colors.  In a previous post, I wrote about this drawing making me think the original bug drawings (below) are done by Frank.

Our previous group of bugs don’t provide any close matches, but they are of the same style.  But just because they aren’t the exact same bug, it doesn’t mean that there couldn’t be a meaning to the similar builds.

To be continued...