#sf next gen

[grown-up-sally-face]

A nice ref of Baby. Started this ages ago, finished it now while I took a break from school.

[yourpalsalamander]

VOTE FOR ASHA!!!!!!!!! PLEASE THIS TOOK AN ENTIRE DAY!!

@kingprinceleo the MOUSE

SHOUT OUT TO THE VOICE ACTOR I DID NOT PAY 🔥🔥💥💥🦅🦅💪💪

@sonic-fankid-showdown

[scorbuslove]

JON AND BEN

BEN AND JON

pov: albus takes scorpius on a date on muggle london and they take pictures in a photo booth :)

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.

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[andrevasims]

MP3 Player Default: RECOLORABLE iPod Nano

Back in the 2000s, I had an iPod Nano, and although there have been iPod defaults before, they were only the original model. Plus it wasn't recolorable. But now there's both things, together!

I'm not that great at file/mesh stuff, so I used Graverobber's default as a base since it was already recolorable. Then @annachibi helped by editing the mesh so that the screen fit the texture I wanted to use.

There's 2 recolorable parts: The iPod itself, and the screen.

(The swatches inside the .zip folder are labeled with filenames)

I guess I felt like being thorough with this, so I made every single color that was released for iPod Nano generations 2 through 5.

Generation 1 was skipped because it didn't come in any colors lol.

I skipped generations 6 & 7 because the last time I owned an iPod was before those existed :P

Some of the colors are very very similar to each other, especially the reds & pinks, but they were just different enough that I kept both.

Plus idk, maybe you prefer Gen 2 pink over Gen 3 pink (or vice versa), now you can choose either one :)

I've also included PSDs of both the iPod and the screen so you can easily create more colors. One thing to note however, is that the screen part is... Weird.

This seems to just be how the MP3 player functions as an object, but there's both a "lit" and "unlit" image for the screen. The thing is, it flips between these 2 images every few seconds, regardless of whether a sim is using it or it's just sitting on the floor.

Graverobber's default combined these 2 images into one texture file, so the "lit" and "unlit" images are next to each other, but that means they've both been squished. The screen is so tiny however that I don't think it makes that much of a difference.

For my screen recolors, I put an exact duplicate of the image on both the "lit" and "unlit" parts of the texture. It flips back & forth between the 2 so frequently I couldn't think of anything better to do with it.

If you use my PSD to recolor the screen, after you make your image, you'll have to shrink & squish it to fit on the actual screen texture. I thought it would be easier to make recolors if it hadn't been squished yet.

Credits:

Graverobber's default files

@annachibi's mesh edit

@franzillasims's Nootrasim simlish font

REQUIRED TO USE RECOLORS: CEP (Color Enable Package)

ADDITIONAL RECOLOR OPTIONS

DOWNLOAD: SFS | MF

[anachronisims]

Catch You on the Flippity Flop!

a TS2 traits expansion

by @anachronisims (sufficeittosay) and @cityof2morrow

Part 1: New Traits!

What you get: 16 new trait object files for your personality diversity pleasure. Most of them are opposites of existing 3t2 traits that didn't already have them. One is just because :)

Big Spender (opposite of Frugal)

Black Thumb (opposite of Green Thumb)

Can't Carry a Tune (opposite of Virtuoso)

Climate Denier (opposite of Eco-Friendly)

Difficulty Reading (opposite of Bookworm)

Dislikes Animals (opposite of Animal Lover)

Dislikes Cats (opposite of Cat Person)

Dislikes Dogs (opposite of Dog Person)

Dreamer* (the intersection of Ambitious and Absent-Minded)

Generous (opposite of Mooch)

Homebody (opposite of Adventurous)

Minimalist (opposite of Gatherer)

Nudist (opposite of Never Nude)

Slow Learner (opposite of Genius)

Sweet Tooth (just because)

Terrible Cook (Natural Cook)

(*) I know @lilbabydilljr released a Dreamer trait already as part of the hidden/scrapped TS3 traits collection, but I wanted to change the flavor text and concept of it. My spouseman is a real dreamer-content-to-dream and I felt the TS3 scrapped version was too close to Ambitious. So @cityof2morrow made a different icon for it, and changed the GUID as well because Dill's conflicts with HB's simlife goggles. However, the file name is the same as Dill's and will overwrite it.

ETA: These are traits objects that WILL appear in your catalog in Gen/Misc. They are NOT added to the traits collection file as I don't use it. Feel free to do so yourself, of course.

What's coming next: Updates to existing traits mods that are plausibly affected by these traits (plus some personal preference tuning). Check out the to-do list here. Suggestions welcome and encouraged! Anyone who would like early access as a beta tester, please let us know!

Credits: @hexagonal-bipyramid for the original 3t2 Traits Project, @moocha-muses whose Dylan's Black Thumb got me thinking about this becoming realer than flavor text, and the whole inspiring TS2 simblr community whose appetite for traits mods keeps me going!

Download at SFS

Updated Feb 18 2024 at 245 EST (US) to fix an issue with thumbnails/catalog appearance.

[nightmarerodent]

I want some version of the Kombat Kids in the next game. I want them to be so unapologetically gen Z it gives everyone else in the room whiplash. Cass has nicknames for everyone and stealing snacks from Takeda. Jacqui doing the boys nails while they talk battle tactics and talk shit about the champions crew. Jin being both amused and grossed out by all the sex jokes. Give us a new and improved SF squad!

[thatonetwig]

Vocaloid/Vocal Synth songs for some of my favorite robots from movies.

Ron (Ron's Gone Wrong):

• Telecaster B-Boy - すりぃ (feat. Kagamine Len)

• Calc. - JimmyThumb-P (feat. Hatsune Miku)

• Nonsense and Me - RIProducer (feat. Kasane Teto)

• Relayouter - 稲葉曇 (feat. Kaai Yuki)

• Nonsense Bungaku - Eve (feat. Hatsune Miku)

7723 (Next Gen)

• Afterglow - JimmyThumb-P (feat. Megurine Luka)

• Hello/How are you? - Nanou (feat. Hatsune Miku)

• Our 16bit Wars - sasakure.UK (feat. GUMI)

• Fixer - ぬゆり (feat. flower)

• YY - 23.exe (feat. Hatsune Miku)

Giant (The Iron Giant):

• Tell Your World - livetune (feat. Hatsune Miku)

• Rainy Snowdrop - Re:nG (feat. KAITO)

• Alien Alien - Nayutalien (feat. Hatsune Miku)

• Superhero - Guiano (feat. IA)

• Marshall Maximizer - Hiiragi Magnetite (feat. KAFU)

Baymax (Big Hero 6):

• Decode - Niki (feat. ARSLOID)

• Lost Umbrella - 稲葉曇 (feat. Kaai Yuki)

• HIBANA - DECO*27 (feat. Hatsune Miku)

• Dopamine Machine - Ferry (feat. Big AL)

• Magical Doctor - MARETU (feat. Hatsune Miku)

Robot (Robot Dreams):

• Rain and Petra - バルーン (feat. flower)

• Sentimental LoveHeart - なつめ千秋 (feat. GUMI)

• MUG SHOT - Tonbo (feat. SF-A2 Miki)

• Though the Cherry Blossoms Bloom Again - LamazeP (feat. Tohoku Zunko)

• Because You're Here - PinocchioP (feat. Hatsune Miku)

Now... some songs revolving around the ships I have for all of them!

Giant x 7723

• Flyway - halyosy (feat. Kagamine Len and KAITO)

• Happy Hour - OSTER project (feat. MEIKO, KAITO, and Megurine Luka

• Last Score - せきこみごはん (feat. Hatsune Miku)

Ron x Baymax:

• Future EVE - sasakure.UK (feat. Hatsune Miku)

• Happy Synthesizer - EasyPop (feat. GUMI and Megurine Luka)

• sweety glitch - gaburyu and nyankobrq (feat. Hatsune Miku)

Dog x Robot:

• Metronome - CircusP (feat. SF-A2 Miki)

• Daybreak Frontline - Orangestar (feat. IA)

• Do not go - Sōta (feat. Kaai Yuki)

And that's it for now! I hope these songs were fitting for these characters and the ships! Happy listening!

[rigbeesknees]

Edition changes are mostly difficult because of the way attention and hype cycles work in later ttrpg communities. As Starfinder prepares for it's second edition, I'm both excited and a bit... Annoyed. There are still Starfinder 1E releases remaining, including Mechageddon (which I worked on!). I also know I have a deep backlist of SF1E adventures I haven't touched, including a home campaign I want to run via Discord that focuses on an influencer marketing firm that sends influencers on various PR tours. SF1E has a year of wrap up content based on the announced schedule. The playtest isn't scheduled to start until next August.

However, I'm already getting the feeling that people are ready to leave the system behind solely due to the announcement. Now, I think SF's 3.5-based system has some issues due to the age of its base mechanics. However, until Gen Con, the play community was trucking along. If the announcement hasn't happened, I feel like I would see continued interest around the upcoming releases.... Instead of the feeling of them being suddenly deflated.

I think there's a real tangle of relationships between the community around play, the companies that make games, and people who end up in-between these spaces (often the people making the games, since I know I'm in that gap of fan and professional!).

[laf-outloud]

So Jared isn’t going to SF next year. It is right around his birthday, If he never says he’ll go he won’t be accused of canceling.

I just think it’s telling who he doesn’t want to spend his birthday around.

(I don’t think it’s filming because of the strikes, so he wouldn’t know if he’s filming)

https://www.creationent.com/cal/ce_sf/index.htm

I saw that Jared wasn't listed. I don't know that I'd attribute his current absence as a way to avoid people around his birthday (though it would be a decent side-effect).

For all we know, he may already have other plans. I know he and Gen typically take a vacation together around July. Or maybe his plans are tentative and he doesn't want to commit quite yet, or maybe he's pulling back on doing all of Creation's SPN conventions and wants to continue to branch out to regional conventions. There are a number of possible reasons for his absence from the listing, but unless/until we learn more, I don't see a need to read into it beyond he's not on the announcement and may not be going.

[claire-starsword]

Shining Force Pre Release Coverage Part 2

"Claire didn't you just say you didn't have time to look at this now" didn't I also say recently I have no self control? Exactly. Also there's not much new so I might as well just get it out of the way.

Part 1 here

This time we'll be looking at recently scanned volumes of another magazine, Mega Drive Fan. Scans are here and here. Also despite the obvious enthusiasm I sure am busy lately so I won't be pointing out everything, I'm here more for translations as you can see the pictures yourself.

November 1991

okay I lied I need to start with the most important pictures

Meow

They owe me this so bad.

Also it has its tail up like in the final unused version, I don't know what's the deal with that footage I showed at the end of the previous post.

We get a better scan of Max's beta portrait. He has no Egress, which I think I have already pointed out in the previous post, I don't know it was a big post okay. He has a short sword with a weird icon, and two iconless items (the placeholders seem to be showing the item's index): the Hex Whip from Shining in the Darkness, and, uh,

"Ring of Infidelity".

Care to explain, Max???

According to my searching this isn't any carry over from SiTD, but I haven't played that in japanese yet so, grain of salt here. I was gonna say, why is a likely joke item so early in the game, and then I remembered the bunny girl in SFII so yeah, this is regular SF dev behavior.

[Edit: I'm reviewing this now and I might have misread the ring's name, it seems like the うわき (infidelity) is directly applied as an adjective so Infidel/Cheater/Fickle Ring would be better translations, which matches the japanese name for the Hex Whip, which is something like Fickle/Whimsical/Moody Whip, but with a different word that has no "cheating on your partner" connotations as far as I know. So maaaybe it's just implying the ring is cursed and does effects of its own, but by all my searching うわき is still far, far more associated with these cheating connotations at least nowadays, so either the word's usage changed a lot in the past decades or it's still a cheeky joke name]

Also, in the previous post I was clearly too taken by Mae's smile to do my job and didn't talk about the items there, so let's talk about them, or rather it, now. Max and Mae in those screenshots have the inventory full of item index 9, "Old Medical Herb". Perhaps there was some sort of expiring mechanic for the herbs. Max also has the same Short Sword and Mae has a Bronze Lance with a sword icon.

In the final version, the indexes 7, 8, and 9 became the Legs of Haste, Turbo Pepper, and Bread of Life respectively.

The item shop has a different sign. Also it seems to be just an item shop, while in final Guardiana the item and weapon shops are combined, with two sellers.

The other magazine showed yet another item shop and sign, either these are actually different towns, or different builds, which actually they sure are given the next picture.

I have been long looking for you... I have heard of the situation. Please, you must let me join you.

While both magazine issues are from the same month, here we have Arthur portrait for this character instead of Varios, and more than that, he is joining the team, there's even another screenshot in the magazine with the "has joined the force" message. Given that this is Arthur's map sprite, and Mae has been described since the start as having a dead father, I feel this is the intended version. Perhaps Varios' portrait was done first and used as placeholder?

Also I need to correct something from the previous post. This isn't a generic NPC sprite, it's just Arthur's knight sprite. The generic centaur NPC sprites are... Arthur's paladin sprite. Like, the exact same sprite. I never looked too close so I assumed there had to be some small difference, but no, they can reuse whatever sprites they want.

Arthur is not given a profile in any of these magazines so it does feel he started as a very generic recruit. Very funny considering he's now the specialest most magical centaur in the block.

Character profiles this month don't have much so I won't translate them in full. Max is referred to as capable of using magic. Lowe is again referred to as a dwarf even though the magazine points out how similar he is to Milo, and wonders if he's an ancestor of him. No mention of Mae's personality, Gort mentioned as an old servant of hers again. Hans' bio states many elves who live in forests choose bows as their weapon because they have excellent vision. This a regular fantasy thing but I don't remember seeing it in Shining content before.

There's one battle screenshot where Max has less HP and is named Hans so I feel his battle sprite wasn't done at this point. Also I didn't bring attention to it in the previous post but a lot of these battle scenes have misnamed enemies as well, it seems this skeleton was a placeholder for a lot.

December 1991

Again Max has his final portrait at this point. He has 99MP and Blaze and Heal 4, Heal having a placeholder icon. He carries the Sword of Darkness, which has a different icon, the Power Ring, and the Forbidden Box, a well documented debug item.

Nothing new in character profiles, Guntz is again referred to as a beastman, Tao is again referred to as a forest elf unlike the others. I will again bring up that the term is used for Nigel in Landstalker, and Tao and Princess Lara there have basically the same art. Does this mean something? Likely no.

Also something I failed to notice in the previous post: at this point, Tao's shoulder gems are miscolored in her portrait. Her art is already done so I assume it's a small mistake.

Enemy descriptions are mostly the same, and again the Mimic shows up.

Again there's a section dedicated to Yogurt, which is mostly the same. It specifies he eats bugs besides berries, and says he "understand human speech, but can't (won't) talk". In the JP version he does say only a single sentence, "I don't get it", so perhaps this was dropped, or he is learning.

It is also said that he's kinda popular with the force members, especially the girls, but again no one could make him a pet. We then get doodles of his secret events, and yes different doodles than last time.

January 1992

This issue gives a good look into the beta menu icons. I won't show them all here, but the icon for putting characters on the active team shows a centaur which, really gets what the game's about i guess.

There's a screenshot with Earnest's portrait but the name is actually Vankar, perhaps his portrait wasn't done yet. Or these guys changed names during production.

On the screens showing off battle graphics, Hans has Diane's palette. That is to say, the exact same palette but pink hair.

Also not to get distracted but I took a quick look at the editor and yes, despite being one of the first characters, the archer sprites are index 9 in the data, preceded by Gong and Khris, and more curiously, Guntz and Domingo, who are at index 3 and 5 respectively.

February 1992

This one was already scanned in Sega Retro and is actually how I started looking into these things. The new scans are likely better quality though, they're really good.

March 1992

The game's released, but unlike the other magazine, early build material still slipped into this one.

"Am I being of service to you? Since I'm fighting to the ends of my MP..."

Tao had this goofy, less immersive line at HQ (remember to compare it to the final JP one, the english version is its own beast). Curiously, the GBA version changed her first line back to a question. Note also that she still has the wrong portrait here.

Veeeery small detail but there's a screenshot of the Rune Knight at the first battle talking only to goblins as opposed to goblins and dwarves. Coupled with all the screenshots we see from this battle it's safe to say the dwarves were a late addition.

Finally, minister Ward had his own portrait.

[takeariskao3]

I’m manifesting a chapter update this week…

🔮

What’s closer to being completed:

1) AG

2) TPFY

3) SF

4) tpfy next gen

I was going to give you another option (none of the above) but I need you to think positively!

already gone has a chapter outline and some scenes drafted…

the path from you is all sorted out in my head now i just need to make the edits in the doc…

spring fever has a vagueish vibe but that one i need to be in a certain ……. mindset for (horny.)

next gen isnt happening in 2023 or if it is it’ll just be more of the random epilogues…

at this point… your best bet is to root for the path from you 👀

[grown-up-sally-face]

Tried to redesign Jessica/give her colors.

Can't tell if my computer is messing with my eyes, or what lol. Had to change her hair to a darker shade bc the dye made her hair look washed out lol.

[yourpalsalamander]

VOTE TEAM ASHA!!!!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLE

@sonic-fankid-showdown

[theknightlywolfe]

Everything I read about it now that the run is done just makes Secret Invasion feel like a rushed ego project.

If the whole point of the last slate of movies was to introduce the next gen of heroes (Shang Chi, Kate Bishop, Yelena, etc) then it would have made sense to intro the "new Nick Fury". As in, Maria Hill. Who, in the comics, takes over SHIELD and becomes director. Also, in the comics, does a fair amount of stuff in the Secret Invasion storylines.

Really, why not? Is Sharon as The Power Broker and Val too many powerful women for the MCU? Is it not a proper MCU project if a woman doesn't die (did killing Soren off screen not meet that quota?)?

This very easily could have been the "Fury, you're too hurt to do this now, it's time to let someone else handle it" show that Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Quantumania were.

We also never got payoff on what, exactly, Nick and Maria were doing when they got dusted. Because clearly at some point after Ultron Maria left SI to work directly for Nick again and right before being dusted they talk about getting in contact with "control". And she's still working with (quietly former) CIA agent Ross outside of the US at the beginning of Secret Invasion, with the gadgets of organization, and is still on duty enough to go AWOL but not publicly enough that Talos and Soren can't casually impersonate them without issue.

Speaking of, how the hell does Maria Hill move around the world without being recognized. From the released SHIELD files, as an exec at Stark Industries, as the office face of the Avengers. To say nothing of all the congressional hearings she had to be at because she didn't have the cover of faking her death like Fury did.

Seriously, this could have been the set up for the new, improved SHIELD with Maria at the head, smaller but openly in existence, still the boots on the ground to SWORD's super specialized focus.

Because there is no Avengers organization anymore, Damage Control can't handle it and is too locally focused, and do they honestly think we're going to accept the Thunderbolts as the new guardians of Earth? (And does that read as just a pandering to fans project to anyone else?). What's the point of a new generation of heroes to team up when there is no mechanism to get them teamed up? Do they really think we're going to believe Fury wandering around recruiting new Avengers after how insensitive and incompetent they made him seem in Secret Invasion? Is there really going to be some big bad that draws Baby Ant and Shang Chi from SF and Bishop from NY and Yelena from anywhere in the world to wherever while conveniently not having to deal with their respective travel times? Or is that why Wong is still around? Magic portal travel.

It all feels like the sacrifice of trailing plot points and future coherence (much like the post credits of WandaVision was tossed out the window for Multiverse) for masturbatory indulgence and an over full release schedule.

[algoworks]

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[chibigo-ma]

CHAPTER ONE of Freak [Stranger Things]

Notes: This has been in the drafts for a LONG TIME as I was an OG ST fan. There were a lot of changes and the last I wrote (a chapter of the entire S1 EP 1) has Eddie from Season 4. Pls don't hate me. There's a reason why this is still in the drafts (*ahem* I'm scared of the fandom) and I'm sharing it now bc why not. This OC, Rima, is the FIRST version of her until I changed them a bit for my SF FF. She's still the same but without the trauma. I never thought I would share this so I just reuse OCs :0

Filipino characters. 🇵🇭 This starts as a Gen FF with one established OCxCanon ship (I want to experiment with the MxM genre) and maybe or not there will be a love interest for the MC in this book. Depends on me. Although, it will take forever for that love to happen. Also depends on whether or not I give my character a love life, so far, staying single.

Also, pls be nice with the DND part. I'm so unknowledgeable with it and idk if what I wrote is fine in the DND sense.

TW. Bullying, Racist Remarks, Missing Child (Will Byers)

𝙽𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟼𝚝𝚑, 𝟷𝟿𝟾𝟹 𝙷𝚊𝚠𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚜, 𝙸𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚊 𝙳𝚎𝚕𝚊 𝙲𝚛𝚞𝚣 𝙰𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚎

Late at night, a couple of teens played in the basement as a DnD campaign was going on. The aura was so thick and intense, that the members of the party were quiet as the dungeon master continued the campaign. "After your party settled for the night, one of you wasn't feeling too good at all," a younger Eddie Munson spoke as the others waited for him to continue. 

"That someone was none other than our Cleric herself," he pointed over to the only female and the youngest in the group, Rima Dela Cruz. 

"What the necromancer said to her before they died was bothering her a lot. 'A robot is amongst you.' What did that necromancer mean? But suddenly, she heard robot statics and looked over to the now awoken Tom to see that he had sharp teeth and a robotic body!" Eddie announced and the party groaned. 

"See! I told you we shouldn't let him come with us!" Sean exclaimed in anger. "Yeah, but he was THE perfect male wife as Eddie mentioned," Gareth had his hands up. "Let's not forget, he's rich," Jeff commented. "And he can make gourmet food," Rima pointed out and another one of their friends agreed with her. Sean groans in frustration as Eddie continues. 

"The others woke up and stood beside Rima as Tom stood up from his bed and went to attack Rima. Sean, what will you do?" Eddie asked. "Fireball!" Jeff exclaimed. "No, it's too risky, what if he hurts somebody that isn't Tom?" Gareth commented. "I'm about to throw this fireball at you two and shove it up your ass," Sean threatened the two. 

"What is the dexterity saving throw of the animatronic?" Rima asked Eddie, ignoring the bickering. "We're replacing them as Zombies so -2 Dex saves and remember DC is at thirteen," Eddie verifies. "Okay," she snaps at the bickering guys with her.

"We should use teleportation considering that it's Sean's turn, who knows, it could also be a distraction, and then we'll try to do Sacred Flame as it's my turn next. We simply have to hope our throw isn't lower than thirteen so we can deal damage and my spell damage is higher," Rima negotiated and everyone seemed to agree. 

Sean rolled a D100 and it rolled to 70. "To the field! To the field!" Everyone chanted and Eddie allowed it. "It would seem that the teleport distracted him," Eddie mentioned. "I cast Sacred Flame!" Rima exclaimed and was given a D20. "Please!" Sean exclaimed and everyone else pleaded as they watched Rima roll in anticipation. 

She let go of the die and it rolled to eighteen. "Yes!" Everyone exclaimed. "Minus 2 damage—leading to sixteen damage, it succeeds and Tom dealt so much damage!" Eddie shouts. "Aba! (Oh!)" Rima smirked as she felt satisfied. "Rima, Sean!" Everyone looked up the stairs to see Mrs. Dela Cruz standing by the door. 

"Ilang beses ko na kayong tinatawag! (I've been calling you two so many times!) It's a school night," Mrs. Dela Cruz, also known as Anna, scolds the siblings. 

"Opo, opo, ma! Mag-aayos na kami! (Okay, okay, ma! We'll fix up now!)," Sean stood up from his chair and the others sighed as they were getting to the good stuff. Rima stood up from her chair as the other guys grabbed trash and empty pizza boxes to throw out later. "Awesome that you made Fredbear's Family Diner inspire this campaign," Rima mentioned to Eddie as he helped Sean fix the D&D set. 

"Hey, you're the one who mentioned it. The poor kid though," Eddie sadly remembers that detail she told him. "Yeah, I hope the family is doing alright," Rima comments, and she grabs a wet rag to clean up the table. "We're gonna go ahead," Gareth points up the stairs. 

"See you in school!" Their other friend waved goodbye as the three left the basement, leaving Sean, Rima, and Eddie. 

"Finally," Eddie exclaims as he kisses Sean on the lips. Sean smiles in the kiss and kisses his boyfriend back as Rima looks at them in disgust. "You do know I'm still here, right? At least do it in Sean's room," Rima sassed them as she grabbed her walkie-talkie. 

"No bitches?" Sean teases as Eddie kisses his cheek. "I get bitches, but I don't want them," she countered back with a smirk. 

"You're lucky I'm not a snitch," she waved them off as she left the basement. Rima turns on her walkie-talkie and starts to change the frequencies. "Jonathan, do you copy? This is Rima speaking, come in, Jonathan," she calls out, and static comes on her end. "This is Jonathan speaking, how was your DnD session? Over," Jonathan Byers spoke on his walkie-talkie. 

"It was great. I dealt so much damage to our last boss before we got interrupted by my mom," she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and took a drink. "Good night, anak (child)," Anna greets her goodnight. "G'night ma, night pa," she kissed her parents on the cheek and proceeded to go upstairs. 

"Besides that, I think I'm scarred for life. Just saw Sean kissing my best friend again for the tenth time today," she gagged as she got to her room. "You should get used to that by now. They've been together since, what? They were fifteen?" Jonathan chuckled. 

"True, but like ever since they came out to mom and dad, and they told the two that they were ok with it—as long as they do it in private, 'cuz you know, lots of close-minded people," she mentioned as she lay down on her bed. 

"They've been at it with one another for a year now! Probably some pent-up sexual feelings they have for one another. I still don't get it. At this point, I should tell them to use protection," she joked. "Your lack of sexual desire is showing," Jonathan chuckled. 

"And how was your day? You got home safely, right?" she asked and he went quiet. "Well, I'm at... work," Jonathan replied and Rima's eyes widened. "Dude, you know Joyce doesn't like you taking shifts when she's working. You also got to know if Will came home safely," she quietly exclaimed as she lay on her side. 

"Yes, yes. I know, but Eric asked if I could cover and I agreed. I thought we could use the extra cash," he told her and she sat on her bed. 

"Just stay safe and tell Will I said hi in the morning. He's probably on his way home now or is asleep already," she mentioned worriedly. "Alright, sweet dreams, Rim," he said softly. "Sweet dreams to you too, Jon," they turned their walkie-talkie off and turned off the lights.

👾🚲🛹🌗

"Aalis na kami! (We're going now!)" Rima and Sean shout by the front door. "Baon niyo?! (Your packed lunch?!)" Anna called out. "Nandito na! (It's here!)" They shout and Eddie looks over at Anna and smiles at her. "Thanks for the breakfast again, Anna. I'll look after these idiots for you," Eddie said the same thing every day as she laughed. 

"You'll always look after my babies. Have fun and don't get in trouble!" Anna exclaims as Eddie joins the siblings. "Love you, ma!" The siblings exclaimed once more as they closed the door behind them. "See ya!" Rima salutes the boys as she drops her skateboard and rides to school. She checks her watch to see that she has a lot of time left before her first class starts. 

She decides to check up on the Party since she knows that they get bullied a lot as well. As she walks over to the middle school, she spots the boys but rolls her eyes when she sees their bullies in front of them again. "I told you a million times, my teeth are coming in. It's called cleidocranial dysplasia," she heard Dustin say from afar as she got closer. 

"I told you a million times," one of their bullies imitated Dustin. Rima jogged over to them as she heard one of them say "Do it, freak!" "Oi!" Rima placed her hands on their shoulders as Lucas, Mike, and Dustin smiled after seeing their older friend. "What did I tell you about bullying them?" Rima glared at the bullies and they stayed quiet. 

"On the count of three, I want you two to get inside the school, out of my sight. Do I make myself," she pressed her fingers onto their collarbones lightly and they instantly wince despite how lightly she gripped them. "... clear?" She continued. She said that menacingly, the Party could notice their bullies shaking in fear. 

"Yes, ma'am!" They exclaimed as she let go of them. "One," she began to count and they quickly sprinted to the school's entrance. "Two," she stopped counting as they got inside in a panic. Rima sighed as she ruffled her hair but soon gasped as she felt arms wrapping around her. "Thank you, thank you, thank you so much, Rim!" Dustin exclaimed as that alone made Rima chuckle. 

"No problem," she patted his back and turned to the others but noticed someone missing. "Where's Will? He's always with you guys, it's practically weird not to see him with you three," they commented. "His mom said that he went to class early again and I think she's right," Lucas answered and Rima shrugged it off as a valid reason. 

"Alright, you boys take it easy now, alright? I don't want any of my little brothers getting hurt. Because remember," the Party began to smirk, "Freaks stick together," they finished her sentence. Rima ruffled Mike's and Lucas' hair and gave Dustin a huge hug before going back to Hawkins High School. "See you, Rim!" Dustin shouted and she held a hand up to acknowledge him. 

She dropped her skateboard and road down the slope. By the time she got to the entrance doors, she kicked off her skateboard and carried it as she walked the hallways of her school. She got to her locker to see the word ❝freak❞ written on her locker door. She huffs as they unlock her locker, grabs a spray bottle of rubbing alcohol and another old rug, and proceeds to remove it. 

"G'morning, Rima!" They looked behind them to see Barbara waving at her with Nancy to which she smiled. "Morning, girls," she greeted the two as she finished up cleaning. "To continue," Nancy began to speak. "We just," she proceeds to unlock her locker, "made out a couple of times." 

"We just... made out a couple of times," Barbara mimicked her and Rima giggled. "Nance, seriously?" Rima chuckled, but at the time same time felt worried for her friend. "You're gonna be so cool now, it's ridiculous," Barbara commented. "No, I'm not," Nance disagrees with her. 

"You better still hang out with us, that's all we're saying," Rima added to which Barbara nodded. "If you become friends with Tommy H. or Carol—" 

"Oh, that's gross!" "That's disgusting!" Both Nancy and Rima reacted negatively as Nancy opened her locker.  "Okay, I'm telling you, it was a one-time—" Nancy stopped talking as she watched her friends raise an eyebrow at her. "Two-time thing," she adds, and the other two chuckle as Nancy spots a note inside her locker. 

She opens it and it reads, "Meet me. Bathroom -Steve." "You were saying?" Barbara asked and Nancy bites her lips as she looks at her best friends. "Just go," Rima nudged her shoulder to encourage her friend and they watched her smile as she speed-walked to the bathroom. 

"She sure is in love with him," Barbara commented as the two watched Nancy and Steve meet with smiles and walk to the bathroom. "I don't get the whole... whatever they're having. Why is Nancy denying whatever her relationship is with Steve? Everyone can tell that they like each other," Rima mentions as she grabs her books. 

"If I got to be honest," the two looked at each other. "I'm not sure," Barbara continued and Rima shrugs. "Maybe it's because he had so many exes and possibly had sex with them. I think she's worried about it," 

"Well, I have to go to English class," Rima groans as she closes her locker and locks it. The two walked down the hallway as they spoke to one another. "I still don't get why you have to take that class. You're good at English. Better than me and Nancy," Barbara commented. 

"I don't know. It's just the whole system with immigrants needing to learn American English. The good part is I'm bilingual and I'll probably have my head explode if I learn another language," Rima placed both her hands near her forehead. "Pftshhh," she opened her fingers and moved her hands away in a "mind-blown" motion—Barbara giggled as they separated their ways. 

During school hours, she hasn't seen Jonathan or him going up to her. It was like he wasn't in school. Could something have happened at home? Rima thought about it as the bell rang for lunch. Rima stood up from her desk and grabbed her bag as she left the classroom. 

She was minding her business while walking to the cafeteria until she got pushed into a wall. 

"Hello, Ching-chong," Tommy Hagan smirked as Carole Perkins giggled. "Wrong type of Asian. We talked about this. Get it right next time," Rima sassed, and people who heard laughed. Tommy got pissed and slammed Rima again to the wall. "Don't you think this is getting old? Is this going to be our routine?" Rima asked and it was just making Tommy more frustrated. 

"Stop that!" Tommy demanded. "Hey!" The two looked over to the side to see Steve "the hair" Harrington and upon seeing him made Rima's eyes roll. "Hey, lover boy," this got Steve's attention, "can you tell your idiots to let go of me? At this point, I'm starting to think that these two are in love with me," after she said that, Tommy lets go of her and looks at her in disgust. 

"We are not in love with you," Carol answered. "Then why bother me every day? You can clearly see that I'm uninterested in whatever you guys are saying," Rima kicked Tommy in the crotch and he heaved as he dropped to the floor. She quickly got away from them and ran to the cafeteria. "Rim!" She looked over to see Eddie waving at her with Sean beside him.

She quickly went over to them and sat across from the two. "Were they holding you back again?" Sean asked to which Rima rolled her eyes. "They keep on bothering me when they can see that I'm uninterested in whatever they say about me," she pulled out her packed lunch and smiled to see that lumpia was her lunch for the day.

"They're quite annoying, not going to lie," Eddie answered but raised an eyebrow when he watched Rima looking around. "Who are you looking for?" Eddie asked and Rima looked more confused. "Jonathan didn't come to school today," she pointed out and the two boys raised an eyebrow. "Really?" Sean asked. 

"She's just sad that she isn't with her boyfriend, at the moment," Eddie joked and laughed.

"For the thousandth time, he's not and will not be my boyfriend. We see each other as siblings," she pointed out. "Walkie-talkie him later after school. Maybe something happened at home," Sean pointed out and Rima nodded. "Yeah, I'll do that later. I just hope those nasty lovebirds don't bother me again. It's getting so annoying," Rima mentioned and ate her lunch.

👾🚲🛹🌗

It was finally after school, and Rima quickly got on her skateboard with her walkie-talkie in hand. She turned it on and stopped riding her skateboard when she was far from her school. "Jonathan, do you copy? Jonathan Byers, do you copy?" She called for him and waited for a response. "Hey, Rima," she heard Jonathan sniff. 

"Hey, you doing alright? I was wondering why you weren't in school," she answered as she rode the way to her house. "Will's missing," Jonathan tells her, and she stands still as her skateboard keeps going. "What...?" Rima felt frozen and didn't realize a dip in the curb and fell off her board. She groaned in pain as she held her arm. 

"He... He's missing," Jonathan sobbed softly, "I should've been there for him," his voice broke. "Shit," she rolled slowly and looked to where her walkie was. As she tried to get her walkie, she was hit with her skateboard, and her walkie was taken. "Aww, little ching fell," Carol mocked her, Boo hoo!" Rima groaned more as Tommy was beside Carol and Steve was behind Rima. 

"Can you shut the fuck up? I've just been hit with bad news," Rima said as she stood up slowly, staggering back with Tommy pushing her. "What? Your boyfriend broke up with you?" Tommy smirked. "No, my little brother is missing," she glared and the two were stunned. They looked at one another and wondered what they would do next.

Steve sighed as he grabbed Rima's skateboard and took her walkie out of Carol's hand. "Here," Steve handed her her stuff. Rima looked between her stuff and at Steve as she didn't trust what he would do next. "I'm not going to do anything. Just get home safe," Steve stated and she slowly grabbed her stuff. "Get yourself patched as well," he told her and he watched her nod slowly.

She sped-walked away from them as she quickly turned the corner out of their sight. She inspected her walkie for damages before pushing the button. "Jonny, I can go to your house and help you and Joyce out. Sorry, I didn't reply quicker, I had some trouble kanina (a while ago)," she said on the walkie. "Hey, it's okay," he sniffed, "is it ok if you sleep over?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'll ask my mom. She deeply cares for you two and Joyce. We'll be with you guys every step of the way," she reassured him as she finally got home. "I'll update you soon. Over and out!" She turned off her walkie and got inside. 

"I'm home! Mama, nasan ka po? (Where are you?)" Rima called out to her home. "Nasa kitchen po ako! (I'm in the kitchen!)" Anna shouts and Rima goes over there. "Ma, may emergency tayo (We have an emergency.)," she tells her. "Ano nangyari? (What happened?)," Anna stopped what she was doing. "Will is missing," Rima states, and Anna's eyes widen. 

"Really?!" Anna looked heartbroken. "I contacted Jonny kanina and he told me the news. He also asked if it was ok for me to sleep over," Rima shared. 

"Oh, we will cook them dinner and eat with them. I'll call your father about it and tell Jon about it. Tell him that he'll sleep over with you two as well," Anna told her. "Noted," Rima saluted and went to fix her stuff while using her walkie to contact the two boys.

Night came and Anna finished cooking dinner. Sean Sr. was informed about the plan and is willing to go with the plan. Sean Jr. was also fine with the plan as he took Eddie home. "Are your bags ready? Papa is coming home soon na (now)," Anna informed her children as Rima watched TV with Sean going down the stairs. "Yup," he replied and sat beside Rima.

"I can't believe Will is missing. This feels surreal,"  he mentioned with a frown. "It is. Let's take note to be with someone when it's nighttime," Rima concluded as a car horn was heard. "That must be Papa," Anna quickly grabbed a few of the food as the two opened the door to leave their bags inside the car. "Hey, you two alright?" Sean Sr. asked as he popped the trunk.

"Yup! Mama made a lot of food so we have to try to fit them all in the back," Rima informed him. "I'll go help," he quickly got inside as the siblings fit their bags in the trunk. "Poor Jon," Sean sighed as he leaned on the car. "Let's try our best to help him, yeah?" Rima reassured him. "Let's help with the food for now," he said as they got inside after their parents came out.

After all the food was secured and safe, Sean Sr. backed up and drove to the Byers Abode. As they got there, Joyce quickly got out the front door and ran to her best friend. "Anna!" Joyce pounced on her friend as soon as Anna opened her door. "Will, he's there! It-It—" "It's ok. It's ok," Anna comforted Joyce as the remaining three took out the food.

"We got some goods!" Rima tried to get the mood up as she lifted two servings of food. "Rima Joy Dela Cruz, if you drop those," Anna threatened with a glare as Rima ran inside. "Rim," Jonathan helped her with the food. "Hey," she patted his back as they brought it to the table. 

"It's gonna be okay. I'll be right here. No matter what," she reassured as she still had her hand on his back. Jonathan looked like he wanted to say more, but kept it in. "This is all so very nice. Thank you so much, Anna," Joyce said as the two friends let go.

"I'll be with you throughout this investigation, no worries; I am a retired policewoman," Anna smiled. Anna Dela Cruz worked as a policewoman for years before she retired. It was only recently that she retired due to a case where it got her injured. It was issued to the doctor that exerting more than she usually has would earn her some permanent damages in the long run.

She reluctantly left her job, but it ended on a good note. "What is the update with everything?" Anna asked Joyce as the mothers stayed outside while the rest went inside to prepare the food and leave their bags inside. "He's close. I feel it in my heart," Joyce sniffled. "There was a call and...and it was his breathing," she broke down again as she held onto Anna.

It hurt Anna to see Joyce like this. She was like that when Ronnie was being an ass to her. "Don't worry. I'm here, I'm here," Anna reassured her friend as she felt a drizzle. "Shit, I think it's about to rain," Anna, who still held Joyce in her arms, ushered her inside before they got wet. 

"It's raining hard tonight," Sean Jr. mentions as plates and utensils are placed on the table. "Hey," Rima whispered to Jonathan as she got his attention. "Let's watch a movie later. I've brought tons of CDs," she tells him to try and cheer him up. "Alright," Jonathan smiled and felt his heart skipped a beat for the girl beside him. 

She has always been with him through the ups and downs of his life. He's grateful that she doesn't push him to express himself, which makes him more open to her than with anyone else, sometimes his mother. They've eaten their dinner and Rima went to change as soon as she finished her dinner. 

"Thank you Anna and Sean for letting Jon and Rima stay over," Jonathan thanked the two. "It's no problem. You and Joyce need support right now," Sean Sr. held Jonathan's shoulder. "Thank you, Sean," Jonathan smiled and nodded.

Finally, late at night, the parents decided to stay at the Byers to be there for their friend as the teens stayed in the living room. Sean Jr. had passed out earlier as the remaining two watched their fifth movie. Rima was invested in the movie while Jonathan was half listening and looking at the girl.

They had talked about Will before the movie marathon and Rima smiled at the picture he and his mom picked for the missing person poster. He had been reassured by his mother that it wasn't his fault, but the guilt still sinks in him. He's thankful that Rima doesn't push him to open up, but it makes him weirdly nervous to share on his own without her acknowledging it. 

Was it due to liking the girl for the past few years? Maybe, but he doesn't want to think about it. It still hurts to hear that she sees him as another brother and it makes him feel restricted to share the majority of his feelings with the girl. He sat still as he continued to watch the movie and his thoughts stayed put in his mind. 

:]

Translations & Pronunciations: Aba! (Ah-bah) - Oh! To express surprise, admiration, and proud expression.

Ilang beses ko na kayong tinatawag! School night pati. - I've been calling you two so many times! It's a school night.

Opo, opo, ma! Mag-aayos na kami! - Okay, okay, ma! We'll fix up now! Adding "po" and/or "opo" makes the sentence more polite and respectful. "Po" doesn't have any equivalent word in the English Language, but "Opo" usually means "Yes, Okay, etc." in a more formal and polite term. 

Anak (Ah-nak) -Son/Daughter/Child There are no specifics. "Anak" literally means "child" of any age and gender.  

Aalis na kami! (Ah-ah-lis nah kah-me) -We're going now!

Baon niyo?! (Bah-on knee-yo) -Your packed lunch/pocket money?! Depends on the context if it's either packed lunch or pocket money. In this case, it's a packed lunch.

Nandito na! (Nan-dee-toh) -It's here!

Kanina (Kah-knee-na) - A while ago.

Nasan ka po? (Nah-san kah poh) - Where are you?  "Nasan" is a shortened word from "Nasaan", which still means "Where is/are." Either "Nasan" or "Asan" works.