#so i liked max's general struggle to feel like a real adult

[libraryleopard]

Adult romance novel

Max feels stuck–in her job as an assistant at a Hollywood talent agency, in her crush for sexy but certainly unavailable bartender Sadie–so when her influencer roommate suggests she join a sponsored self-actualization social media app, Max agrees, hoping the algorithm might guide her better than her own decisions

As Max gains new confidence in her love life and her career, she also begins to tire of the sponcon life and realizes she'll have to make her own way in the world

Butch lesbian main character; butch lesbian love interest; F/F

[so-i-did-this-thing]

Hello! I just wanted to say I stumbled across one of your posts and ended up looking through the trans tag in your blog for a while and idk it felt so so nice to see a middle aged trans guy just living life and being there for others who are at earlier points of their own trans related journeys, and I hope I can look as awesome as you and be as comfortable in my own skin and style and everything when I'm older.

I guess I also wanted to ask if you had any insight or advice about a couple things, if you're willing to share.. First thing is, did you ever struggle with passing but looking much younger than your age and that somewhat affecting your perception of yourself? I'm 28 and I started T 11 months ago (though at a pretty low dose because I wanted slow changes) and my face just recently started visibly shifting to a more masculine contour and I love it, but I still don't really look like a 28 year old guy.

I've always passed easily even before T but people think I'm like 18-21 max. Things were fine while I was in college (I came out at 19 so for a while my face just felt fitting enough and didn't make me feel either dysphoric or in a weird age limbo) but every year it feels more frustrating and makes me feel sort of alienated from myself including in mental ways, like I'm just a little kid who can't grow up. Like I'll never look like a "real guy" even though I can be stealth because I look like a weird teen and not like a grown up man. It's especially bad when I look at my amab younger siblings who are now also adults and see how I "should have looked" in some other life if I was cis. I guess maybe that's just another manifestation of dysphoria that I didn't have to deal with before? Did you ever experience something like that? And if yes did it get better after some years on T or how did you deal with it?

The other thing is just.. internalized transphobia. It's one thing to know things in a logical or intellectual sense but it's so hard to really feel and believe it sometimes and let go of all the awful transphobic stuff my family said to me during the first years of me being out. I just kept going anyway because I needed to be true to myself and my family basically bullying me wasn't gonna just magically change how I felt about my gender, but what it did do is put my already low confidence and self esteem (in this context regarding my gender) down on the floor. And sometimes I still just think and worry "what if they were right and I was wrong and I'll never be real and valid because of x y z", "what if I'm just delusional", "what if I'm a ridiculous freak". I know, in a way, that no I'm not. I'm just a trans person and they're just transphobes. But feelings like that just get to me sometimes and I don't really know what to do about them even nearly 10 years after coming out. Does that get better at some point? Just like you kinda stop giving a shit what people think about you in general as you get older? But how can you change those internalized views affecting what you think of yourself?

Bit nervous about asking this stuff tbh, so sorry it was so long also sorry if I worded any of it in a not so great way.

I will say though, that seeing older trans people like you does help a little bit. Just makes it feel like "hell yeah I wanna be like him when I grow up". So thank you for showing me that today ;u; (and also for inspiring me to put a little more thought and effort into my styling and fashion choices haha)

Heya, Anon! Let's see what I can cover here:

Looking young.

Oh my god, yes. I was getting carded to buy superglue and spray paint well into my late 30s (I started T at 33). When my partner first asked me out for a date, they were worried I wasn't old enough to drink yet (I was 36).

This is me 1 year on T, age 34.

Years 6 & 7 (ages 39 and 40), is when I feel I started looking older.

I feel like it's only been recently, 14 years in at 47, that I look in my 40s, and a "mature" adult. My beard finally getting full helped, as did my receding hairline. And I feel like my skin texture has toughened up enough, to where wrinkles show more.

That said, yes, it is tough and annoying to deal with. Even when people tell me I look like a particular cis man (where I actually see the resemblance, lol), when I look at us side-by-side, I feel like I'm just a pale shadow of him. I feel jealous and dysphoric, even while I'm flattered by the comparison. I wonder what I "should" look like, and it feels like something has been stolen from me. Its a roller coaster of emotions.

That feeling never really goes away, but you need to afford yourself some grace. You're going to be your own worst critic, and I guarantee you that, of many cis men you grew up with, you can probably still see the kid in them. So of course, you're going to see the kid in yourself.

But, you also just need to let time run its course. HRT is a marathon, and a lot of changes don't really settle for about 5 or 6 years.

I hate to say "enjoy it while you can" because I sure as hell bristled at being mistaken for a teenager or barely 20 when I was in my 30s. But do enjoy what you can of it. Because once you hit middle age, you're going to start dealing with a strange intersection of dysphoria and aging that I myself am still trying to navigate.

One other way I help myself get over negative feelings is to think of how differently my life would have been if I were cis. I honestly worry I would have been a worse person; even though being trans creates a lot of obstacles in my life, I feel like it's been a net gain: being able to know myself so well and help others learn about themselves.

Internalized transphobia

This got better for me with age. My epiphany was that, even over a decade into my transition, I was still softening myself for the benefit of friends and family. I was still using my gender-neutral birthname (I only recently changed it). I would call myself a "person", "guy", or "dude", instead of a "man". I dressed on the young and casual side, eschewing full-on masculine outfits like proper suits with ties.

I only recently pulled myself out of this. It still is a habit-in-progress to refer to myself as a man, even though I have always felt like one. And I've started to dress more vintage, not just because of hyper fixations, but because it's a way to lean into a presentation that is unequivocally, "this is a middle-aged man". And it's done a lot of good for my mental health.

What I'd suggest is to see if you are holding yourself back in any way wrt your gender presentation or how you talk/think about yourself. Give yourself full permission to acknowledge that you are a man, full stop. You're a young man, sure. But still a man, and a full-ass adult at that.

I hope some of this helps. Transition gives us a unique toolset for examining who we are and how we want to move through the world, and that work certainly doesn't end after finally getting on HRT. <3

[rubytrait]

🌦️Gloom & Bloom Legacy Challenge🌦️

Last Updated: 1 January.

Google DOC

here’s an occult-free challenge for all realistic gameplay (and rags to riches) lovers!

I've only written 7 gens so far; I will update this post when I write more!

(please mention me when you post your gameplay if you decide to play this challenge!)

General rules:

you don’t have to strictly follow the rules because this challenge is made so that everyone can have fun.

you can skip any generation that you don’t feel like playing or don’t have the necessary packs for it!

Money cheats are not allowed! Unless it’s stated otherwise in the rules of the generation.

feel free to add siblings/aunts/uncles to your founder so you make your storyline more interesting.

English isn't my first language so please bear with me!

Here are some amazing builders gallery IDs to add cool buildings to you save file:

loveheartish

Skywalkr21

Gryphi

thatonegreenleaf

kellyhartx

CillasYT

Pugowned

aceroladagamer

BrunaSouzaG

Gen One: A lonely pregnancy

Backstory

You found out that you were pregnant but you’re still in your last year of high school, your boyfriend was not happy with that and decided to breakup with you and you were so scared to tell your parents about it but you knew that eventually you’ll have to.

A week after your 18th birthday and right after your graduation, you decided to finally tell your parents about your pregnancy. But as you’ve predicted before, they didn’t receive the news very well, so you got kicked out but you managed to steal 5000 similions.

you promise your child to always love them and to give them the best life ever.

Aspiration: crystal crafter

Traits: ambitious, family oriented, roll/pick the rest.

Career: Barista/any part job (OPTIONAL).

Child count: at least one.

Goals:

Start as a young adult with only 5000 similions and move to an abandoned place and make it your new home (you can cheat so you can move to that place).

Craft jewelry and sell them either with the sales table or open a small jewelry store in your house (live in business mod) to earn money to support your child.

Make necklaces to each of your children and give the necklaces to them when they’re teenagers.

You may find love again and have more children.

Achieve level 10 of your aspiration.

Will you try to contact your parents and/or ex-boyfriend again?

OPTIONAL: complete the crystal collection!

Gen Two: similions for everyone

Backstory

You grew up in a low income household, you witnessed your mom’s struggle since you were a baby and when you grew up you learnt about your mom’s past, you’re so angry for you mother and every sim that’s going through what she went through. You decided that you’re gonna be their voice and help them out.

However, one day you get drunk at a party and go sleep with someone from the opponent political party (you can pretend). But this isn’t the worst part, the worst part is that you’re already in a relationship with someone else.

Aspiration: any.

Traits: hot headed, loyal, roll/pick the rest.

Career: Politician (Charity Organizer branch).

Child count: at least 3.

Goals:

- Move out of your house when you become a young adult.

Protest every weekend.

Go out to a party, you get drunk and sleep with someone from the opponent political party and get pregnant.

Keep visiting your mother every now and then.

Will you tell your partner about the real parent of the child, or will you lie to them and tell them it’s theirs? Bear in mind that this might ruin your career.

Invite over your mother and siblings to your house every holiday and have dinner together.

Max the skills required for your career.

If you tell your partner the truth and they don’t accept to raise the child as their own, you lose your job and start working as a policeperson.

Would you tell the truth to the real parent someday? Will you fall in love with them?

Gen three: Where do I belong to?

Backstory

As you grew up you’ve always felt like you were a mistake, although your parent(s) tried their best to give you all what you needed but it was never enough to fill that hole in your heart. You were a threat to your parent’s career, your other parent wasn’t really close to you as they knew you were not their child (if they chose to stay and keep it a secret). So as a teen you runaway and drop out of school because you couldn’t live as a burden anymore, you take some other teen friends that want to runaway with you as well as your household pet.

Aspiration: as a teen, Live fast. As an adult, Super parent.

Traits: kleptomaniac, unflirty, roll/pick the rest.

Career: none.

Child count: at least 2.

Goals:

As a teen leave your house and live in an abandoned house with a bunch of other teens and your house pet (if you have any).

You start with 500 similions.

As a teen, you earn money mostly by stealing stuff from other people and dumpster diving.

Dye your hair, get at least one piercing and a tattoo(s).

As a young adult you refuse to fall in love and have children because you don’t want to repeat the cycle, but that’s until you meet the nerdy, very academically oriented person and fall in love with them.

Get married to that person and settle down and have kids!

Always help your kids with their homework and make sure that they do well in school.

Gen Four: The messy scientist

Backstory

You grew up with a very academically oriented parent, getting high grades in school was very important to your parents. You can’t maintain any kind of relationships, so whenever you get a partner it always ends up terribly, it doesn’t bother you that much anyways. However, you’re always surrounded by a lot of friends from high school and university, you go out clubbing and partying with friends and have fun almost every weekend. One day you get a call from your family telling you that one of your siblings has died in an accident, so you decide to adopt their only child.

Aspiration: serial romantic.

Traits: dance machine, non-committal, roll/pick the rest.

Career: scientist.

Child count: only the adopted child.

Goals:

Move out of your parents’ house when you become a young adult.

Go to university.

Have an affair with your roommate’s partner.

Adopt your sibling’s child after their death.

You can get into relationships but don’t marry, you can be in multiple relationships at once.

Always have at least two dogs in your house.

Max your career.

Have an affair with your boss (even if they were married).

if you get that offer (that comes with lovestruck pack) to go out on 7 perfect dates and be recorded the whole time, say yes!

you can date people but never get married.

Gen five: Cozy seaside lifestyle

Backstory

You lost your parents early in life and were adopted by your aunt/uncle/Auncle that had a very chaotic lifestyle. They brought a lot of lovers around and used to go out partying every weekend, you didn’t get enough attention and felt neglected. However, you had a fish as a pet and you were mesmerized by marine life. You’ve always loved playing in water and pools, so you decide to live by the sea when you’re older. Although you have poor communication skills due to you not being raised properly, but you still manage to get through all your struggles.

Aspiration: any.

Traits: genius, roll/pick the rest.

Career: conservationist (Marine Biologist branch)

Child count: more than 2.

Goals:

As a kid and a teenager always go to water parks and/or pools.

must live somewhere near the water (doesn’t have to be a beach lot, you can live in any world that has a sea like sulani, tartosa, brindleton bey, etc).

Max your career.

Always have a fish as a pet.

Befriend a dolphin.

Maintain a strong relationship with your grandparents.

Befriend your neighbor and eventually fall in love with them.

Have many children! You were lonely as a child, so you want to be surrounded with many family members.

OPTIONAL: make sweaters and clothes for your kids in your spare time.

Gen six: The crazy ex

Backstory

Although you grew up in a lovely home surrounded by your loving family members, you still managed to turn out to be a little evil. As a kid you’d always prank your siblings and parents and as a teenager you broke so many hearts. But you take it into a whole different level when you become an adult.

Aspiration: villainous valentine. Traits: child of the ocean, evil, roll/pick the rest. Career: business. Child count: 4.

Goals:

Wear any alternative fashion style (but should be a dark aesthetic).

Have many relationships (you can have multiple at once), maintain them for a while then ditch them.

Breakup with at least one of your partners through a phone text.

As a teen, join the drama club.

Decorate your house in a dark aesthetic.

Kill a sim when you’re an adult.

Use the voodoo doll on a sim at least once.

All of your children must be from different partners.

Breakup a couple.

Max your career and aspiration.

Never get married, and give a lot of love and attention to your children.

Go all out whenever it’s Halloween.

Gen seven: The moody painter

Backstory

You’ve always been into the idea of having a soulmate since you were a child, especially after you witnessed your parent’s messy “love” life. You didn’t like that part of them and wished to have a more stable life, so you searched for love your entire life until you meet someone in high school that’d make you want to stay single forever.

Aspiration: soulmate. Traits: gloomy, roll/pick the rest. Career: painter. Child count: 2-3.

Goals:

have a very colorful and unique fashion style.

Dye your hair a bright color.

Max your creativity skill as a child

As a teen, join the scout club

OPTIONAL: complete the insects collection.

As a teen, get into a toxic relationship with someone and breakup with them later (or have them breakup with you).

Have the “Coffee fanatic” lifestyle.

As an adult, move to the city (doesn’t have to be san myshuno)

Live in an apartment, and DON’T move out.

Max your career.

Get into a love triangle, choose who you want to be with in the end.

Date for a short while then elope with them immediately.

[nellasbookplanet]

Book recs: sapphic romance for people who like Hannibal and Interwiev with the Vampire, aka fucked up and toxic

Enemies to lovers, lovers to enemies, fucked up power imbalances, manipulations, plain bad people doing bad things - if you like your sapphics a little bit dark check out these books!

Some of these end happily, some tragically, some are more will-they-won’t-they than full on romance, some focus on healing while others focus on Getting Worse, but they’re all very juicy.

For details on the books, continue under the readmore

Feel free to recommend more books in tags and comments!

Othe book rec posts:

Really cool fantasy worldbuilding

Really cool sci-fi worldbuilding

Mermaid books

Vampire books

The Abyss Surrounds Us by Emily Skrutskie

Young Adult. tumblr classic back in the day! A trainer of sea monsters genetically engineered to protect ships from pirates is kidnapped by, you guessed it, pirates, one of whom happens to be very hot.

Escaping Exodus by Nicky Drayden

While my feelings on Escaping Exodus were mixed, it cannot be denied that the dynamic between the two leads and the way they go from childhood best friends to enemies on different sides of a class and power struggle is very delicious. It also features some really cool worldbuilding of living, alien generation spaceships and the human culture that has developed inside them.

The Stars are Legion by Kameron Hurley

This book fucked me up when I read it. It’s weird, it's gross, there’s So Much Viscera, there are literally no men, it has living spaceships and biotech but in the most horrific way imaginable. Had I to categorize it I would call it grimdark military sf. It’s an experience but not necessarily a pleasant one.

The Lumionus Dead by Caitlin Starling

Possibly one of the most unsettling books I've ever read, and definitely the most claustrophobic. Gyre, a caver on an alien planet, ventures into the dark and dangerous underground, guided only by a woman who has no compunctions on using and manipulating Gyre as she sees fit to obtain her secretive goals down in the caves.

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

On the less toxic and fucked up side of the spectrum, but still pretty juicy. A princess held captive by her own brother, who wants to see her dead, tries to trick a servant into helping her escape, but with undeniable attraction growing between them and the servant having her own goals things quickly get complicated.

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Listen, if you're on tumblr I probably don't need to explain this book to you. Trust me when I say it's exactly as good as people claim. There are indeed lesbian necromancers in space (quite a few of them, actually), but also incredible worldbuilding that keeps growing with every new installment, interesting political commentary, morally complex characters with fucked up dynamics, and well-thought out plot that keeps you guessing until the last.

They Never Learn by Layne Fargo

Listen, sometimes you just want to read about a vicious bisexual lady professor who murders predatory men and falls for the woman trying to solve her crimes and that's okay.

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

The source of not one but two movie adaptations, Fingersmith is a story of trickery and manipulation as a young conwoman works to gain the trust of a heiress. I don’t want to say much more because the twists are some of the best parts, but trust that it doesn’t take long for things to get real complicated between them.

The Unbroken by C.L. Clark

Tourraine, who was stolen as a child and trained as a soldier for the empire that conquered her home, is recruited by Luka, the future leader of the conquering country to route out a rebellion. A game of twisted loyalties and attraction is soon to develop.

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Again, if you're on tumblr (or twitter, apparently) you have in all likelihood already heard of this one, too. Just like GtN it lives up to all expectations. It features two women on different sides of the titular time war, who starts leaving letters for the other to find as they chase each other through time. A quick read, slightly surreal, and absolutely beautiful, I cannot recommend this enough. Pretty mild on the fucked-up-scale.

House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson

In a world where the rich drink blood to preserve their health, Marion applies to a position as bloodmaid in a notorious noble house far from home. Suddenly showered with luxuries and debauchery, Marion soon gains the interest and favor of Lisavet, countess of the house. A fresh take on the idea of vampires.

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon

A young pregnant woman flees a cult that left her body strange and changing in terrifying ways. Hidden from the world, she does her best to raise her children while trying to find out the truth of the cult and being pursued by a hunter in a dangerous game of cat and mouse. In no way a romance, but certainly has some fucked up sapphic shit going on.

The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson

After her home was conquered by another land, Baru is determined to join their forces and climb the ladder until she’s in a position to free her people. To prove her loyalty, she’s sent to bring order and quell rebellion in another conqured region. Baru is set to succeed, but also has to struggle with her feelings for Tain Hu, a duchess of this region.

Ice Massacre (Mermaids of Eriana Kwai trilogy) by Tiana Warner

Young Adult. A small island is forced to defend itself against intruding forces of vicious mermaids. As all men trying to fight them get lured in by their siren song, a ship filled with warrior girls is sent instead. However one of them, Meela, had a complicated past with one of the mermaids, which is brought back to life when the two reunite on the battlefield. This one is also available as an ongoing webcomic!

Borderline (The Arcadia Project trilogy) by Mishell Baker

Urban fantasy mystery. Very much of the will-they-won’t-they variety, with a bisexual lead who has a male love interest as well as a female without falling into the typical pitfalls of a love triangle. Plays around with various fucked up power dynamics. A year after a failed suicide attempt that cost her both her legs, Millie is recruited by a secretive organisation that works to control traffic to and from Arcadia, the land of faries. Bear in mind that while the sapphic-ness is present throughout, it has a much smaller presence in book 1 than books 2 and 3.

Bonus AKA I haven't read these yet but they seem really cool

The Hunger by Whitley Strieber

Ancient vampire is on the hunt for a new partner, none of which tend to last long.

Codename Villanelle by Luke Jennings

Precursor of the famous Killing Eve tv series. While I don’t know much of the books, I did enough research to know this: their endings differ.

[lestappenforever]

I don't know how your knowledge of One Direction in, but I've seen a lot of posts going around about some people in the Lestappen fandom comparing them to Larry and I just wanted to ask if you agree?

Hello, anon!

I've honestly been staying away from any and all posts about it, but since you asked me directly, I'm going to give you an answer.

I have never been a part of the One Direction fandom, but when I was on Tumblr the first time around on my old account, they were at the very height of their popularity, and the Larry ship was everywhere, to the point where it was actually impossible to avoid. And honestly, if people compare Lestappen to Larry, I'm kind of struggling to see how Lestappen appeals to them because those ships are nothing alike.

Look, one of the things that has always been the most appealing thing to me about Lestappen is their lore. The growing up together in karting, the almost life-long rivalry, the drama. The way they’ve shared a profound connection that started with a childhood rivalry, to practically hating each other, to adult rivalry in F1, to mutual respect, to the genuine respect and enjoyment of each other's company, and the friendship that we now see between them. But most importantly, the way they've both still managed to hold onto their undying desire to beat each other, and how much they both enjoy fighting each other on the track every chance they get, even to this day. It’s beautiful.

"He wants to beat me as much as I want to beat him." "These two will fight forever. They will fight even in F1′. A prophecy." I mean, there’s just so much lore behind Lestappen that if you were to read a book or watch a series/movie about two characters with the same backstory, the same enemies to rivals to friends storyline, you'd roll your eyes and say it was too much, too exaggerated. But it’s not — it’s real. We're blessed to witness it all in real time, and it’s a rivalry that will go down in history, because when people talk about Max Verstappen years from now, they'll also talk about Charles Leclerc. And vice versa.

And now I'm going to very briefly explain why I've stayed away from all those posts comparing Lestappen to Larry: One of my closest friends back then was a huge fan of both One Direction and Larry, and she asked me to write a fic about them once for her birthday. I did, she loved it, she asked me to post it on Tumblr and AO3, and it was the biggest mistake of my life.

I've mentioned it before, but before I made this Tumblr account in June of this year and started writing Devils Roll The Dice (Angels Roll Their Eyes), I hadn’t written anything in 7 years. Why? Because I posted that one Larry fic on Tumblr and started taking requests to keep writing fics about a ship I didn't really ship for a fandom I wasn’t even a part of, all because I was so desperate to please and make people happy.

It got to a point where I had hundreds of requests in my inbox and no chance to fill them all, and people were anything but happy. If I didn't fill a request within a few days, I would get complaints and borderline abuse. Eventually, every time I got a new ask or a new message, my anxiety kicked up about ten notches to the point where I was feeling physically ill every time I opened my inbox. And it was so exhausting, draining and depressing that I abandoned that blog and writing in general, and it put me off writing for seven whole years.

I was young and a pathological people pleaser seven years ago, and I've thankfully grown up a lot and grown a solid backbone since then. But to see certain people trying to Larrify the Lestappen fandom? I have no idea what the Larry fandom is like now, but I remember very well what it was like back then, and I'd hate to see that happen to the Lestappen fandom, or any part of the F1 fandom in general. Because that was not the same type of kind, inclusive, and lovely fandom that the Lestappen fandom is to me now (at least the parts of it that I'm exposed to, as there are obviously always exceptions to the rule in every single fandom and ship).

I've been a member of the F1 fandom for almost 20 years now, and I'd absolutely hate to see it turn into something that will remind me of a fandom that drove me to the point of exhaustion seven years ago, and I wasn’t even actually in said fandom myself.

So to give you a very long answer to a simple question: No, I don’t agree with that comparison at all.

[the-vims-3]

Prologue

Two months ago I entered Bia's server lookin' for trouble. As I sat outside in an alleyway in my shitty, graffitied-up car clinking three bottles together, I outlined my demands:

To give everyone time to meet my demands, I'll give some background.

I never really get invested in any Sims that I create. The first file that I really got into was when I was 15 I had Stalin which I made as an edgy joke but then I really got invested in his family's plight. I think he married Erin Kennedy and he had a kid I named Sylvester Stalin (har dee har har) and he was a world-renowned surgeon. (I killed off Joe because the politics career sucks asshole and I hate having to deal with it.) That's the only one that I remember, but overall, there was this fun pattern where I would take the time to make a really shitposty character, and the end result was that I got invested in their plight for at least three generations.

Anyways, I'm not sure why I kinda got less into it as I got older. It's not that I don't like The Sims 3 anymore, but I certainly don't stick to a story or have them feel "real" anymore. As a kid, when I raised Chao in Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, I'd make all kinds of lore and rival dynasties and bastard kin and rivals but as an adult I just look at the stats and go about things more clinically. While Sims 3 resists that clinicality a little more, I think the deluge of DLC, venues, and premium content made the game a little easy if you knew what you were doing. For example, it was inconvenient as fuck to level up your Logic by sitting at a computer all day to plug away at Chess.com and somehow become good at surgery. But with DLC, there were podcasts, potions, dragons, and whatever else to make the affair easy. Now leveling up became this internal game of chicken you played with yourself, where you asked yourself if you wanted to subject yourself to the jRPG grind of artificially waiting for good things to come or get to the good stuff faster. The struggle of finding time to level up in between managing getting up in the morning, taking a piss, and eating was significantly lessened, but now the player has too much control. Honestly it's like Creative Mode Minecraft.

It's not being "too good" at the game, it's just that it became pay-to-win. (Unheard of in an EA game.) So playing characters for myself never felt as satisfying. And I was never the kind of player that killed Sims for fun or made torture scenarios, so I'd just reach an impasse of maxing out a character, getting bored, and leaving before they ever had kids. For perspective, immortality used to be hard. Now there's at least three different ways to go about it off the top of my head.

Something I grew to enjoy, though, was going onto the Sims 3 Exchange--still active to this day--and "adopting" recently created Sims to give them kind lives. This was a crapshoot though; whatever shitty mods someone would tack onto their sim were always downloaded with the Sim, and you could never be safe unless you learned to spot it. The worst offenders are the makeup mods that don't so much add realistic makeup as much as add yassify filters that make Sims hilarious to look at, like this is imvu and characters are about to start an ERP. The second-worst offenders are just remakes of Family Guy and Simpsons families that get an inordinate amount of downloads just because they're recognizable.

But sometimes you'll get an unflinchingly honest OC, which is wonderful. Those were and are my favorites to pick up and play, and in my opinion it's how online features were meant to be implemented. Spore had something in that spirit where worlds were supposed to be populated based on what was missing in your current playthrough's food chain. You could also adopt and evolve other creatures in a way, and part of me liked this idea of pollination. Honestly I wouldn't mind the Family Guy or Simpsons-type families if somewhere down the line, the players would really get into the game and start making those weird dynasties and stupidly complex stories.

But the Internet is not a solipsistic act, and yet we have to maintain it is. Adopting and raising a random person's Sim and then sending it back like "here, and here's all the weird lore I've attached to them now" is creepy. I mean, there's nothing stopping you, and honestly, the more generations go on, the less they represent or even resemble its initial form if you upload it and claim it as yours. But I really want to go "Hey, so I've planted that one seed, now check out this orchard that came out of it." Maybe even send the final result back, and have them get adopted and go through another ten generations on someone else's computer. And just build and foster a spirit of communal storytelling. I love seeing Dwarf Fortress stories that have that kind of vibe, where people share a file back and forth with disastrous, but entertaining results.

Anyways, we got our Sim we so wanted.

On December 6th, 2024, Mellie Sorgum was born and the Mojave Wasteland was forever changed.

[daisiesflower]

So some thoughts, hopes, theories for stranger things five. Not gonna tag this spoilers cause like it’s all coming from my own brain none of this is leaks or anything

I know the actor has claimed he isn’t but I wish Argyle would be coming back. And for more than like a guest character the way Suzy is, he was literally a main character of season 4 and if Robin could join the team permanently why not him

On that note I want him and Steve to be besties. I want Steve to have healthy male friendships of his own age but also it would be soooo funny cause Jonathan clearly still has petty beef with Steve after all this time but Steve’s totally moved on and considers Jonathan a friend and he would get along so well with Argyle, I think it would be hilarious because Jonathan would be fuming like he’s bitched to Argyle so much about this guy and Argyle is his best friend and now him and Steve are hitting it off. But he knows he doesn’t have any actual valid reason to be mad so he’s just really bitchy about it

Literally anything about Steve and Robin’s home lives. Literally anything. I am begging for scraps here.

I mean we all know Holly Wheeler’s going to go missing and play some important role in the plot. Is that even a question anymore. This one has always been a matter of when not if

I think there’ll be an episode of the Upside Down invading Hawkins using Vecna’s victims. Like I think it’ll be an episode dedicated to zombie flicks as characters come face to face with corpses of people who had major impacts on them and have to kill them all over again to protect Hawkins. I don’t think that’ll be part of the climax though I think it’ll be like mid-season to ramp up the stakes. Think that’s where we’ll get an Eddie cameo, think we’ll see Barb, we’ll see Billy, we’ll see Chrissy, Fred, Patrick, maaaybe Jason. The real question mark is Bob - he didn’t die in the Upside Down, his body was either completely eaten or it was moved by humans and buried so question mark whether Vecna has any control over him

As far as stancy vs jancy goes I want Nancy to end up single, with acknowledgments that none of them are in a place in their lives to be able to have relationships with each other for various reasons and an emphasis on stoncy moving on and coming together as friends. Most likely though I think jancy will end up together

Duffer bros are for sure going to kill someone off. Ideally for me it would be Jonathan (and I do have well thought out reasons if anyone wants them) but I don’t trust them to do that. Think it’s more likely to be Steve so that Nancy can be with Jonathan without guilt or whatever (would hate that)

I think the Duffer bros are invested in the romances they set up at the beginning of the show. The show started with mileven, jopper, and jancy so I think that’s how they’ll end it. Jancy I think is the most at risk due to them being very aware that Steve is more well-liked than Jonathan (by both general audience and themselves)

I so think Robin will be Will’s gay mentor. Cannot emphasize enough how much I Do Not Want This

I want Kali back. I know it’s not gonna happen. In my rewrite of Season 4 she joins the team permanently so she’s be there in Season 5. But unfortunately the Season 4 rewrite only exists in my head

I would love to see a Joyce-Robin team up. They struggle with so many of the same issues that I would love to see them find strength in each other. Plus Robin could use an adult figure in her life since she apparently doesn’t have parents (sarcasm). I feel like maybe I saw a pic of Maya and Winona filming so this could become a reality but it could also be my hopeful subconscious making shit up

I want Murray and Erica in the same grouping for an extended period of time. With Lucas there because I don’t want Murray alone with her (yikes) and also for the good good Sinclair sibling interactions. Max and Robin can pop in occasionally. I just want like sixteen straight hours of this man being bullied by teen and preteen girls. Would love to see a moment of Sinclair bickering and then Murray steps in and it becomes “oh hell no, no one gets to bully my sibling except me”

I want the season to start with a grouping of Max, Steve, and El. I love the Steve-Max relationship (he’s so older brother coded to her) and I feel like we’ve gotten little hints that Steve and El are close, that he considers her one of his little nuggets but we’ve never actually seen that

On that note I think it’d be funny if we make it through five straight seasons without Will and Steve interacting once

I want Nancy and Mike to find out about their mom nearly hooking up with Billy. It feels so weird and random to include as a plot point if nothing ever comes of it and neither of her kids ever find out. I think it could work for Nancy to find out in order to help her maybe make a decision about her future and her relationships, to really cement what she’s known all along which is that she doesn’t want to end up like her parents. I think for Mike it would affect his friendship with Max, I think he wouldn’t know how to behave about it and it would make thinks difficult between them for a bit

On a similar note I want Mike to have some time away from Will and El. Spend some time with Lucas and Max. He has other relationships that also impact his life besides just those two (even if they are arguably the most important)

I don’t think it really matters what grouping Dustin ends up in since he’ll be awesome no matter what. But since they’re obviously going to make the Wheelers more important, I want sixteen straight hours of him bullying Ted Wheeler

Actually since I also want Dustin and Erica being besties, let’s make that the foursome of the season. Dustin, Erica, Murray, and Ted Wheeler. Just Dustin and Erica bullying these middle aged men who also hate each other - Ted regularly calls Murray a communist and a kook (despite literal proof of other dimensions being right in front of him) and Murray hates him for voting for Reagan

I think that there will be like no reference to Russians. Firstly because this season is gonna be very centralized in Hawkins, I don’t see any plot points that aren’t about Hawkins’ direct focus happening. But also because the Duffers are quite good at listening to audience critiques and adjusting in ways that give the audience what they want without sacrificing their story. And last season they know damn well that the Russia plotline was the least favorite of anyone and that in Season 3 the only reason it was a favorite was due to the grouping of characters

I think Dustin’s plot and character specifically will be inspired by Eddie’s death in the way Nancy’s was by Barb. I wish with all of my being that this would be Mike’s story since he makes the most sense to idolize and emulate Eddie but alas I doubt that will happen. One day I’ll write a post about this. That day is not today

On the one hand I don’t trust them not to kill Steve. On the other hand, killing Steve means he can’t be used in any kind of spin-off…much to consider

I highly doubt byler will happen. I think it’s more likely the season ends for Will the same way Season 4 ended for Robin. I think he’ll spend the season learning to move on from Mike, then in like the second to last scene of the show will meet and bond with some random guy also implied to be gay with the clear subtext that this is Will’s future boyfriend

I want Tommy H and Carol back. I miss them

[mirrorballdazai]

Hey! Can you explain a bit more your comparison between it and st kids? I don't really understand. Have a nice day <3

gladly !!

there are LOTS of parallels between the st and it kids on so many levels, but what i was focusing on in that post was the difference between the two in relation to sex (and other “adult stuff” like cigarettes, but mainly sex) and how that shows different ways to cope with trauma and what the kids symbolize as a whole in the show/movie/book

first off let’s remember that the losers are all 11 years old, if i remember correctly only stanley is 10 in the book. the members of the party are 12 in the first season and obviously they grow up, so at what is right now the end of the show they’re all 14/15.

both groups face struggles like bullying (which is often rooted in racism, homophobia, ableism and other things), abusive or neglectful parents (or in max’s case, siblings), personal fears and obviously there are the supernatural plots, so monsters and whatever pennywise is (i didn’t finish the book yet but i think he’s an alien or a semigod but anyway).

the interesting thing is that even if the it kids are younger they show a knowledge of some, idk how to word it, “adult things”. for example some of them smoke — in the movies i’m pretty sure beverly is the only one who does it both in the og and in the remake. the thing that really stuck with me though is that they all know what sex is or even just have a vague idea of it (for example eddie in the book doesn’t really know what exactly is, but shows that he knows that it’s a thing). they make jokes about it and say/think sexual things in general. it’s also connected to eddie’s visions since in the book he sees a man with syphilis who offers to do yk sexual stuff which is connected to his fear of being ill and stuff.

on the other hand the st kids never show to know what sex is, except for max that talks about “happy screams” in s3, which makes sense because max is supposed to be the one who knows more stuff in the group, the one who lived in a city and all that. el then mentions again these “happy screams”, and when someone (i dont remeber who exactly i’m sorry) asks what happy screams are max interrupts el who was about to answer and says that it doesn’t matter — which could be for many reasons. maybe she is embarrassed or something, but when i first watched it i thought “ah she probably doesn’t want to kind of ruin everyone’s innocence” since she showed stress only after that-person asked what happy screams are, which shows that they don’t know what sex is at least in max’s mind.

the question now is why. there’s this difference between these groups, but why? for mainly two reasons.

1. show different ways to cope with trauma

my theory is that stephen king wanted to show how less innocent kids can be after trauma and abuse. he wanted to show the cruel reality, the one where kids are not that innocent even when they’re very young, especially after bad experiences. those experiences make them want to act like grown ups, talking about sex, joking about it and stuff like they think adults do.

stranger things does the complete opposite: the kids are an ideal. if you think about it even after their traumatic experiences they stay sweet and innocent — because let’s be real, they never act really bad. maybe they’re a bit bitchy or something, maybe they distance themselves from the others, but they never do REALLY bad stuff. i mean they acted like mike was a criminal in s2 because he cheated on a test/essay, or because of the graffiti thing. mike also says “everyone graffitis the bathroom stall”, which is true! they act like he’s a really bad kid for doing something normal kids do on a daily basis! another example that i love is that when will is feeling bad he clings to his childhood even more, whether that be playing d&d or going trick or treating or drawing. those are normal things kids do. when max faces depression and anxiety she stops talking to basically everyone — which kids often do, it can even be selective mutism in some cases. and there are many MANY other examples !! like el and mike’s relationship — whenever they’re stressed they scream about how much they love each other, they cling to each other and their relationship, because it was their first crush, their first love (even if you think they never really loved/had a crush on each other it was their first relationship you know?). being each other’s partner is a part of their childhood they cling onto when they’re scared.

2. because they symbolize different things

the losers are an example of how reality is: even things that are supposed to be pure and innocent can be cruel, “dirty”. they’re the symbol of a society that puts each person to their limit, sometimes making them the worst version themselves.

the party members are an ideal. they represent innocence, the “good” in a world full of bad people, bad ideals, bad decisions. they’re a symbol of hope, because a world that is as ugly as theirs needs hope.

+ i also want to point out that it as a whole has a grey type of morality — the kids do bad and good things and at one point you don’t even know what to think about them. richie is a kid that deals with this feeling of alienation from his friends (canon in book and in the movies, but for different reasons), he’s overall a sweet guy, but also makes offensive comments — sometimes these comments are even racist, or fatphobic, or ableist. henry is a character you’re supposed to hate from the first to the last moment, but you’re sometimes even supposed to emphasize with him because at the end of the day he’s been abused his whole live. while in stranger things the characters are inherently good or bad. a black and white kind of morality.

[sg-marshall]

sims 4 trait legacy challenge

Overview:

This is a ten generation legacy challenge based on some characteristics people can possess. Each generation will be based upon a new trait. The style and gender of the generation is completely up to you (I usually play as women but gender does not matter in this challenge)! Complete all goals before focusing on the next generation. Some may play onto each other, so be sure to look ahead before moving forward! I created an adapted version for people who do not have the packs I used listed below the challenge. I wanted to make sure everyone could play and not feel left out!

Rules:

No cheats or mods!

Start off with $20,000 and a build a house wherever you want one.

Complete all six goals for every generation before moving onto the next one.

Complete the full aspiration and reach level 10 in the set career.

There is no rules when it comes to aging up but I suggest waiting until it is their set birthday.

Play on normal life span.

Packs Used: Base Game, Discovery University, Seasons, City Living, Get to Work, Cats and Dogs, Parenthood, Spa Day, and Knifty Knitting

Generation One: Responsibility

You are a very old fashioned person who believes things have a certain way of being done. Every object in your house has a set place, the person you marry you are supposed to stay with forever, and the world should be a clean place to live in. Never once have you strayed away from your beliefs and you’ve always lived your life by the book. Even once your partner dies and you are left with a child who cannot handle their passing, you stay true to your morals. (EDIT: I have been playing this challenge myself and found that the final level of the aspiration said “have a child master a career”. I do not know if you have to be in the household for that, but if you do, just add this generation to the household of the next one before they master it. It is also okay if you want to ignore/cheat this part.)

Traits: Neat, Good, Green Fiend

Aspiration: Successful Lineage

Career: Education (Administrator Branch)

Goals:

Max charisma skill.

Max research and debate skill.

Be married as a young adult, but have your partner die (do not tell your child how) once they reach adult hood. Never remarry.

Have only one child with your partner.

Complete the snowglobes collection and have them set up in a specific room in your house.

Make your neighborhood green and keep it that way.

Generation Two: Determined

You’ve always struggled to cope with the death of your father/mother ever. Maybe that's because you never really knew why they died in the first place. Left with too many questions to handle, you destroy your relationship with your friends and family and run away to find some answers. This entails a trip to Sixam, where you can finally wrap ahead around the passing of you mom/dad. You decide to come home just in time to see your mom/dad just before they too pass away. After a heart-breaking conversation, you realize that all the secrecy was for the best.

Traits: Gloomy, Ambitious, Loner

Aspiration: Nerd Brain

Career: Astronaut (Interstellar Smuggler Branch)

Goals:

Max rocket science skill.

Max mischief skill.

Build a rocket ship and fly to Sixam.

Run away and live on your own as a teenager. 

Have a horrible relationship with your mom/dad as a young adult, but become best friends with them before they pass away.

Complete the microscope prints collection.

Generation Three: Loving

Your mother/father was extremely distant growing up, which caused you to rely on friends as your family. Your childhood best friend has been with you every step of the way, and you ended up fell in love with them. All you wanted to do was be a mother/father, but found out you could never have children. You adopt a child as a baby and raise them as your own, teaching them everything you wish your parents did for you.

Traits: Romantic, Family - Oriented, Foodie

Aspiration: Soulmate

Career: Babysitter (Teenager), None (Young Adult and older)

Goals:

Max parenting skill.

Max wellness skill.

Marry your childhood best friend.

Adopt a baby after you get married.

Teach your toddler to max all skills.

Have a side passion of knitting.

Generation Four: Intelligence

You grew up incredibly smart with no knowledge of who your real parents were. However, that never mattered to you. Your adoptive parents have made it their life goal to advance your gifts in every way they know how. Late nights of helping you with homework, early mornings of finishing projects, and spending their fortunes to enroll you into the college of your dreams. All you wanted to do was repay them by becoming a world renowned journalist. You dedicate your best-sellers to them because, after all, they’ll always be your biggest fan.

Traits: Genius, Bookworm, Unflirty

Aspiration: Academic

Career: Writer (Journalist Branch)

Goals:

Max logic skill.

Max writing skill. 

Reach level eight in five other skills of your choice.

Go to the University of  Britechester and study Language and Literature (distinguished).

Join the Debate Guild and reach the highest rank.

Write five novels.

Generation Five: Hard - Working

Fashion has been your passion since you were a little girl/boy. You even asked your parents to stop dressing you as a toddler because the clothes they picked were “not stylish enough.” As a self-proclaimed style icon, you knew you had to make your biggest dream come true: to create your own fashion line. So, as soon as you graduated high school, you packed your bags and moved to the big city - San-Myshuno. There you created your social media platform and blew up! A normal life was never your style, and you made sure to put in as many hours as it would take to achieve all you ever wanted.

Traits: Perfectionist, Self - Assured, Materialistic

Aspiration: City Native

Career: Style Influencer (Stylist Branch)

Goals:

Max photography skill.

Max painting skill.

Must live in San-Myshuno.

Complete the crystals collection.

Hire a nanny for your child and do not spend much time with them.

Gain 10,000 followers on Simstagram.

Generation Six: Resilience

After being known as “the child of the most famous fashion designer” all your life, the city became a toxic place for you. You hated the loud noises, constant stream of people, and just wanted to live a quiet life. You loved visiting your grandmother/father’s house and hearing one of her/his famous stories. You decided to pull inspiration from one of their novels and live off by the coast in the adorable Brindleton Bay. Your passion for crafting and living off the land inspired you to start a small business selling your candles and juice - all locally grown of course. 

Traits: Loves Outdoors, Maker, Creative

Aspiration: Master Maker

Career: Freelancer (Simply Crafted)

Goals:

Max fabrication skill.

Reach level eight in both candle making and juice fizzing.

Move to Brindleton Bay as a young adult.

Have four or more kids.

Complete the frog collection.

Never go to an event in the city or visit the city once you are a young adult.

Generation Seven: Carefree

Being in a big family is can be hectic at times. So, you decided to be the happy jokester in the middle just trying to get people to crack a smile. And you got really good at it. As a major people person, you made sure to get to know everyone you meet. You even started a tradition of taking a picture with them so you could never forget that moment. Your friends will always invite you to go out because you are known for being the life of the party. However, the parties you host, are even better. You decide to live life as if it was one big stage, and you’re the star performer.

Traits: Goofball, Clumsy, Outgoing

Aspiration: Party Animal

Career: Entertainer (Comedian Branch)

Goals:

Max comedy skill.

Max singing skill.

Host a party every week.

Take a photo of every person who visits you.

Marry someone you met just two days before.

Attend every festival or event you are asked to attend.

Generation Eight: Kind

Expected to be just like your mother/father, no one ever assumed you would be the quiet kid who preferred reading over partied. However, that is exactly who you were. When it was that time of the week for a new social event, you either left for the library or locked yourself in your room, praying it ended soon. Your parents noticed you struggled talking to people, so they allowed you to adopt a puppy once you became a teenager. You and your dog instantly became best friends and you took them everywhere. Even though you may not be great with people, being compassionate was a skill you ranked high in. You always looked out for the less fortunate and wanted to provide in anyway you could.

Traits: Vegetarian, Loner, Good

Aspiration: Friend of the Animals

Career: Gardner (Floral Designer Branch)

Goals:

Max gardening skill.

Max flower arranging skill.

Keep up a garden of just flowers.

Adopt strays: one dog, and two cats.

Marry an ambitious sim.

Donate $100 to charity weekly.

Generation Nine: Impulsive

You grew up hearing stories of your grandmother/father’s so called “wild days” and fell in love with the energy it brought. However, your mom/dad raised you better than to go out spending life as if there was no consequences. Finding a balance started off to be very challenging for you. You could never hold down relationships and even got pregnant/got someone pregnant twice. It wasn't until you became a secret agent and learned how to live two lifestyles: one full of fun and adventure; the other more stable and structured.

Traits: Active, Non-Committal, Bro

Aspiration: Bodybuilder

Career: Secret Agent (Diamond Agent Branch)

Goals:

Max fitness skill.

Max handiness skill.

Go to either college for Psychology and play soccer.

Have four failed relationships and never get married.

Have two children from two different relationships.

Move three times once you become a young adult.

Generation 10: Passionate

Because your mother/father’s job required you to move around so much, making real life friends was a lot harder than it seemed. So, you built your relationships within the online community. Every day, you and your closest friends would hop online and compete in tournaments or even play for fun. As the years went on, you became really good at coding and even started working on your own apps. You looked up to the players from ESports Gaming - only the best gamers in the world - and longed to be sitting in one of their spots. And sure enough, after years of perfecting your strategies and game plays, your dreams came true!

Traits: Geek, Hot-Headed, Outgoing

Aspiration: Computer Whiz

Career: Tech Guru (ESport Gamer Branch)

Goals:

Max programming skill.

Max video gaming skill.

Complete the MySims Trophies collection.

Attend and compete in every Geek Con convention.

Make five video games or apps.

Mentor your child/ren for five hours each.

Adaptations:

Gen 1:

If you do not have Discover University, go into the Business career (Management Branch).

Max cooking skill if you do not have Discover University.

If you do not have City Living, complete the postcards collection.

Gen 2:

Unlock the secret world in Oasis Springs if you do not have Get to Work.

Gen 3:

If you do not have Parenthood but do have Get to Work, max the baking skill.

If you do not have both Parenthood and Get to Work, max the gourmet cooking skill.

If you do not have Spa Day but do have Knifty Knitting, max the knitting skill.

If you do not have both Spa Day or Knifty Knitting, max the photography skill.

If you do not have Knifty Knitting, have a side passion of photography.

Gen 4:

If you do not have Discover University, read a new skill book every week instead of attending university.

Gen 5:

If you do not have City Living, have the  Fabulously Wealthy aspiration.

If you do not have City Living, live in Oasis Springs.

Gen 6:

Do not have a career if you do not have Eco-Lifestyle. Instead, craft item on the woodworking for money.

If you do not have Eco-Lifestyle, max the fishing skill instead of reaching level eight in candle making and juice fizzing.

If you do not have Cats and Dogs, move to Evergreen Harbor.

If you do not have both Cats and Dogs or Eco-Lifestyle, live in Willow Creek

If you do not have Eco-Lifestyle, have the self-assured trait instead.

If you do not have Eco-Lifestyle, have the Angling Ace aspiration.

Gen 7:

If you do not have City Living but do have Get Together, max the dancing skill.

If you do not have both City Living or Get Together, max the mixology skill.

Gen 8:

If you do not have Dogs and Cats, have the Freelance Botanist aspiration.

Do not have a career if you do not have Seasons. Instead, sell your plants for money.

If you do not have Seasons but have Get to Work, max the baking skill.

If you do not have both Seasons or Get to Work, max the violin skill.

If you do not have Dogs and Cats, but have Seasons, own three bees nests and two insect nests instead of owning pets.

If you do not have both Dogs and Cats or Seasons, have three children instead of having three pets.

If you do not have City Living, have the cheerful trait.

Gen 9:

If you do have Strangerville, go into the Military Career (I do not have it, so I played as a Secret Agent)

If you do have Snowy Escape, have the adventurous trait instead of the active trait (I do not have it but believe they would be adventurous).

If you do not have Discover University, read five skill books over different topics, instead of going to college.

Gen 10:

If you do not have City Living, compete in an online tournament weekly instead of going to Geek Con.

[puckmetwice]

CALLING ALL OFF CAMPUS LOVERS 🚨📢

Y’all… I am a huge reader and I have read every single hockey series (like…. So many) so you don’t have to ✨ here are my recs and rankings of the series:

1. Maya Hughes/Kings of Rittenhouse Series: YALL. If you have not read Kings you need to exit this app right now and download it. I am not kidding when I say that I’ve reread this series like 7 times. The general plot line is that this group of guys went to high school together and now two of them are in college, three went straight to the NHL. By the end of the series they’re all graduated and in the NHL and it is simply just such a well developed series of books. Each boy is so different and I really appreciate that. One of the things I struggled with in Off Campus is that every boy is the same person in a different font. Ugh I simply just adore this series <3

1. FAVE BOY: Ford makes me feel some typa way… but I also love Colm and Emmett. BUT I LOVE ALL OF THEM ASDFJKJS.

2. Odette Stone/Vancouver Wolves Series: YALL this one is NEXT LEVEL. Puck Me Secretly is the first book and it’s ICONIC. The mc is the GM’s daughter and she essentially has to step into his role and has an enemies to lovers ish with one of the players. I love having a strong feminist mc. The next three books still work in the universe but explore really different tropes. They’re my comfort books when I want drama and romance.

1. FAVE BOY: Max <3 but Ryan is such a close second

3. Kendall Ryan/Hot Jocks Series: these books are SO FUN. They explore a group of guys that play for Seattle and I personally really resonate with them being out of college and dealing with real-world-grown-adult problems. She really covers all the tropes in this series (starts with brothers best friend, then friends to lovers, fake dating, etc.)

1. FAVE BOY: GRANT OMG <3 But I also love Owen

4. Sawyer Bennett/Cold Fury Hockey Series: okay I only read the first 3ish in this series but I really did love it. The first and second book were very good; the second explores an mc that has cancer, which was a really unique plot line. It was heavy but so well done. I cried a lot but the author did a wonderful job.

1. FAVE BOY: Alex was just…sigh. perfect.

5. Elle Kennedy/Off Campus/Briar U: first hockey series that I ever read. Obviously is the blueprint but as I’ve explored other series I don’t regard off campus as the best. A lot of this is because the books deal with simply resolved/trivial plot line conflict. That is perfect when you’re in the mood for something light and goofy.

1. FAVE BOY: ugh this changes on the daily but after my first read through Logan was who I was drawn to. But Jake has a spot in my heart alskdfhlaskdjf.

6. E. Cleveland/Westbury Warriors Series: I read these so long ago and remember generally liking them but not enough that I remember the details of each books very clearly. I liked them, they were entertaining, but not the best series I have read. That being said, these books are written by a man which was interesting because I rarely read romance written by a man simply because I usually don’t love the way they characterize women. But he did a great job!

1. FAVE BOY: Reed for sure! (His nickname is Gucci LOL)

7. Helena Hunting/Pucked Series: I wanted to like these but I simply just could not get into them. Definitely more quirky and humorous as a series but I tend to gravitate towards the ones with a big controversy or drama, so it already wasn’t my thing.

Okay I believe that these are all of the series that I’ve read, although it is hard to keep track because I read so quickly. I’ve read a couple of one-offs and they were solid but series are just so much more developed. I still need to check out the following series: Nashville Assasins by Toni Aleo, Off Sides by Sawyer Bennett, Chinooks Hockey Team by Rachel Gibson, New York Blades by Deidre Martin, Bellevue Bullies by Toni Aleo, and Boston Terriers Hockey by Jacob Chance.

If you have any recs or thoughts about these books PLS DROP THEM BELOW!!! I LOVE TO TALK ABOUT BOOKS <3

[cienie-isengardu]

Lin Kuei: Cryomancers

RELIGION <> ORIGINS / ARCHITECTURE <> FOOD <> FOR THE LIN KUEI <> ART <> CRYOMANCERS <> LIN KUEI SOCIETY <> MONEY & MATERIAL GOODS

The continuation of the morgianesffs-blog’s list of questions about Lin Kuei. I initially divided them into smaller categories and the cryomancers will be the subject of this essay.

For the formalities, the original questions:

Question about the Cryomancers. I know the game lore says that they are supposed to be rare, but I also know that the Lin Kuei have had at least 5 (grandpa, papa, older, and younger Sub Zero,  and Frost). 4 of which are part of 3 generations that inherited it even with mixed blood (I'm assuming Mama Sub Zero wasn't Cryomancer since they left her alone).

That's a lot of generations in a row for a rare trait... So do you think the Cryomancers as a group have figured out they're being hunted and have chosen to live in hiding?

Looking at the sources, my personal theory is that the true problem is not that cryomancers are rare per se but that not every of their descendents:

is capable of using ice powers. 

will survive long enough to develop and control the freezing abilities 

Johnny and Cassie Cage are the best analogy for point A - both are the descendants “of an ancient Mediterranean cult who bred warriors for the gods”[MK9!Johnny’s bio] and thus possess special - and at least in theory rare - genes. Johnny is one of the top Earthrealm Champions yet he, canonically, managed to use his inner power only once, in a fight against Shinnok to protect Sonya. When Cassie was born, she had a very high chance to inherit Johnny's rare genes and because of that was the potentially future champion. Coming from Briggs-Blade-Cage family gaves Cassie a lot of opportunities to develop her fighting abilities, first because of strong ties to military and later also to other meritorious Earthrealm defenders. Yet like father before, the inner power was activated only under strong pressure, while protecting her family from Shinnok. And despite all the access to additional powerful mentors (Raiden, Sub-Zero, Bo' Rai Cho, Fujin and maybe even Scorpion), she still struggles with mastering the power - and with using it at will. And let’s be real here, Cassie is a superb warrior in her prime of life - if someone like her struggles with mastering ancient power, most who happen to be also descendants of these warriors may never use it even once during their lifetime.

And here comes my feeling that Lin Kuei could have even dozen descendents of cryomancers at the same time yet only few will truly be able to discover their potential and even less to master it (and only one, the best, will use the title of Sub-Zero). It is outright said, that freezing powers are hard to control and are usually mastered at the latest stages of life, as we were told by Mythologies: Sub-Zero in-tie material: 

Sub-Zero learned of his ability as a young adult. It was passed on to him by his father, a fourth generation Lin Kuei warrior himself. The ability to harness the element of cold is one that takes years of practice. It's full potential realized only by those who've mastered it at the latest stages of life. Sub-Zero's skills have the ability to develop much faster than those of the other Lin Kuei. [source]

By logic, if naturally cryomancers need years to get a grip of their power but Bi-Han’s skills developed much faster than the rest and it happened when he was already a young adult (a person in their teens or early twenties, max thirty?), then most cryomancer learn how to use their ability as an adult (25-30+ years old?). Now, considering the mortality of warriors in this brutal profession and harsh system of punishment, not many cryomancers will live enough to truly develop ice powers. They do, however, can pass the genes to the new generation and it seems as something happening from ancient times. Except not every baby with their special genes will be taken by Lin Kuei and though limited sources, it seems like female cryomancer are not the main target. 

My personal theory for this is based around pregnancy and how difficult it must be to carry a child with special powers that may or may not manifest itself in the least expected moment. The conscious use of power of course requires experience and control but in the unborn child it could result from independent stimuli that affect both the child and mother. So a mother with cryomancer genes probably has a better chance to give birth to a healthy offspring and not to die in the process (thus producing another child(s)) than a full-blood human one. Also, the two known examples of the not taken by Lin Kuei female descendants of cryomancers were the youngest children (and in the case of MK Conquest TV series, one was born after her brother's kidnapping). So there is a possibility that Lin Kuei intentionally does not take every available child, in order to not "break the genealogical line" and in result, cut their source of new warriors. 

(The other reasons I can think of why female cryomancers may not be the main target for Lin Kuei are: 

A) some biological complications that makes female cryomancer with active ability much rarer, thus the uneven ratio of known Lin Kuei male to female ice warriors. This could fuel Frost’s ego (the rare example of female cryomancer with powerful freezing abilities) but also her anger for not recognizing her skills and/or right to the title of Sub-Zero by Kuai Liang.

B) cryomancer’s strong sense of family ties thus natural instinct to protect their own. So if a female ice warrior gets pregnant, taking the child from her could be a pretty hazardous thing, especially if blood-related cryomancers are somehow emotionally/psychologically bonded with each other. In the past, the one Grandmaster who wanted to punish (male) Sub-Zero for helping Great Kung Lao (who saved Sub-Zero's biological family) got killed in the process. And this Sub-Zero was kidnapped years ago so he knew his family only from some distant memories yet despite the lack of real interaction with biological parents and sister (born after his disappearance), he allied with the enemy to pay the debt and killed his superior without a second thought. Then we have MK9!Kuai Liang who against Grandmaster’s orders ran away from Lin Kuei to avenge brother’s death because the clan did not tell him what happened to Bi-Han. So it seems that once a biological family is threatened, the (male) ice warriors get pretty agressive and openly disobedient. Now imagine how far would a female cryomancer go if her child was put in danger by the clan. I mean, keeping cryomancers in check is a pretty hard thing on normal days and in times of family critical matters even worse.)

Another useful information comes from Grandmaster [MK Conquest TV series, episode 3 - Cold Reality] who said about then currently in-training Sub-Zero:

So rare. Centuries have passed since one such as this has been among us.

Which could be interpreted as either Lin Kuei did not have a cryomancer for centuries or did not have a cryomancer who developed strong freezing abilities so fast(?). I personally think it is the latter because cryomancer power is described as “ancient” and if there wouldn’t be any cryomancer for centuries, the knowledge about the ice-wielder could be lost and forgotten. Of course, as the Grandmaster, the man could be simply familiar with clan history and lore but dunno, it seemed like he knew what to expect and how to force still-in-training Sub-Zero to develop his powers. Which, in all honesty, was pretty brutal and from what was shown on screen, involved throwing hot coals on the warrior’s bare back. What is painful for a normal person, even more for someone whose body is built to withstand freezing temperatures, not the heat. So, either there was a book with all the bad tips on how to train cryomancer in case you get one or the grandmaster actually had some experiences to compare Sub-Zero abilities with other candidates and/or ice warriors.

Frankly, I have this really old theory of mine, that fleeing from Outworld cryomancers had a deal with Lin Kuei - in exchange for the help and shelter, the cryomancer agreed to give some of their children to the clan. Thus from ancient times, warriors with ice-powers served Lin Kuei and passed the duty from one generation to another. However, with the passing time and mixing with native people, their natural abilities regressed to the point some branches of the cryomancer family could be declared as extinct, as in, not possessing the right combination of genes. In result forgetting their own legacy only for the power unexpectedly activating generations later. In Mortal Kombat Conquest TV series, the family of a kidnapped years ago cryomancer boy did not have any(?) clue why Lin Kuei targeted them. Something similar could happen to Bi-Han and Kuai Liang in an alternative timeline, thus the unusual abduction mentioned in Kuai Liang’s MK9!BIO:

"An assassin of the Lin Kuei clan, Kuai Liang commands the power of ice and cold. Unlike other members of his clan, he and his older brother, Bi-Han, were abducted as children by the Lin Kuei and trained in the techniques of assassination throughout their lives [...]”

If that would be true, the Lin Kuei could keep eye on every known descendent of cryomancer species (run away or simply living in ignorance) and kidnap only a few selected children. Of course, some family members tried to hide their children from Lin Kuei, which was seen in the original timeline. In this case, the mother of Bi-Han and Kuai Liang tried to save them from their father, a faithful Lin Kuei warrior. 

I will be honest here, I always thought that mom of ice bros was simply a normal but unlucky woman who somehow got involved in assassin clan matters. Yet Mythologies: Sub-Zero tie-in materials gave an interestingly input about the family situation:

Their mother wanted a normal life for her sons, who had already been chosen by the Lin Kuei to become warriors for the clan. She tried in vein to hide them from their father whose own life in America was only a cover for his true identity and purpose. Eventually they were found and their father returned with them to his homeland. Their mother and sister were never seen or heard from again. 

The most standing out informations (hints):

→  the children weren’t randomly kidnapped but chosen by the clan. In the case of Bi-Han and Kuai Liang, the choice makes sense since they came from a family serving Lin Kuei for at least the last four generations (while their father alone was Sub-Zero himself). Yet their sister, most likely the youngest child, was not included. So she was still too young or wasn’t meant to become a warrior at all. Either due to lack of potential or because of some unknown to us clan politics forbidding taking all children. The most intriguing is how the clan determined who should be chosen or who left in peace. Like, was the clan so versed in genetic science to predict things like that or did they have other (magic?) ways to predict (check) whether it was worth taking the indicated child? Were the children prematurely tested before the decision was made?

Additionally, in MK Conquest TV series, the Grandmaster sounds pretty sure about Sub-Zero’s freezing abilities before the warrior himself started consciously use them:

“He has trained his whole life. His fighting skills are unmatched among us… yet it is only now that he truly begins… for it is his destiny to carry to battle ancient powers. The time has come to unleash them.” [Episode 3, “Cold Reality”].

What could explain why Lin Kuei took only the boy yet did not come for his younger sister born to the same parents (thus having in theory the same chances to inherit the wanted genes).  

→ the mother seemed to be aware about Lin Kuei and the clan's interest in her children, so for all we know she actually could be one of them or be more involved in her partner (husband?)’s criminal activity. This is an interesting idea in context of her desire to give her sons a normal life. The mother tried but failed to hide the boys from Lin Kuei. She and the daughter weren’t seen nor heard of again what may imply both died… or, if mother was truly full trained Lin Kuei herself, she actually managed to run away with the daughter and hide so well. Anyway, if Kuai Liang and Bi-Han’s mother or sister survived long enough to give birth to another child, the Sub-Zero brothers could still have a biological family living somewhere, maybe even ignorant about the whole cryomancer legacy. 

In summary, and this is really just my personal take on the matter, there are many more descendants of cryomancer species around the world than we know about. The problem lies in genetic variation that gives a freezing ability only to a handful of people. Some cryomancers were part of Lin Kuei for generations (and maybe get paired with genetically specific group of people for better breeding thus the continuity of ice warriors generations), some never learned about their true legacy and some knew and either seek out the clan (Frost) or tried shield their children from the cruel life of assassin. Sadly, it seems like Lin Kuei warriors were really good at tracking the right families to get children with certain abilities so even if at some point cryomancers decided to hide it did not save them in the long run. On other hand, cryomancer adepts are very stubborn and unwilling to let themselves forget about their biological family, so Lin Kuei balanced on thin ice with hunting down and training the descendants of cryomancers. 

[memes-saved-me]

TW for abuse and homophobia below the cut

The sound of the front door slamming shut ran through Billy like a shot of adrenaline, his body telling him to get out of there. Fight or flight kicking in as the loud footsteps approached his room and his door swung open, hitting the wall and sending a tapped up poster sliding down to the floor to reveal a half drunk but very pissed Neil. His entire demeanor becoming even angrier once he set eyes on his son. He stormed towards him, grabbing him by the collar with such force he stumbled back into the shelves.

Billy had only ever seen his eyes like that once, the time he thought he might actually kill him. That’s when he knew what had caused this, why he was being held against the hard wooden planks with his father’s hands keeping him there.

“Who is this Steve Harrington? Huh?” He asked and Billy froze. Froze at the fact he knew his name, he wasn’t just some boy anymore. No, he was a person to Neil. A person he could hurt and ruin. “I thought we…talked about this.”

“He’s a guy at my school-.”

“Don’t lie to me! You know what happens when you lie,” That was when Susan appeared in the doorway to watch as she always did. To try and do something only to fall under his anger herself. “You’ve been seen…touching this boy all over town.”

For a moment he bargained with if he should argue, mainly to protect Steve from being outed or targeted. Except, he had done this before. Tried to cover the fact he was seen under the peer back in San Diego, hand down a surfers shorts and his lips running along his neck. Said it wasn’t him, that whoever told him must have mistaken him for someone else. That was until he realised it was Max who saw them, Max who let it slip not knowing any better.

So, he stood there silently as his secret began to pour out from his eyes alone. “So, it’s true. You don’t learn do you boy?”

“No, sir,” Billy subdued.

“Not even after teaching you a lesson last time?” He sighed and looked away, shaking his head only to tighten his grip and push Billy harder against the shelves. “No running off to that other faggot’s house. You will not climb out of that God damn window after this. You hear me?”

“Yes, sir.”

Billy was too tired of fighting back only to lose everytime. His mind freezing his body the second he felt even the slightest pain, a shock response that resulted in nothing more than a scared boy curled in a ball until he knew it was safe to move. To crawl into bed and cry himself into the morning.

He watched as his father smiled, nodded his head and then…sent his fist into his stomach. Which would have sent him to his knees but he was still being held up by much stronger hands. “I said I won’t!” Billy couldn’t help it.

“I don’t believe a thing that comes out of that nancy mouth of yours”, Another hit and then another. It was then that he felt his body fall, his knees hit the ground and his arms finally wrap around his waist as the pain set in.

Except, he wasn’t given a chance to feel it because then a boot was swinging straight towards his chest, sending him backwards against the bookcase again. His head smacking against one of the shelves, causing the room to blur momentarily as he instinctively tried to block the next kick with his hands. Only to feel it hit his thigh.

It all blurred together after that, just as it always did but this time it never seemed to stop. His body was aching, bruising and most definitely fractured but his face was left untouched. No evidence to be seen, no questions to be asked but his body told another story.

When the nausea kicked in he heard his bedroom door slam and the lights go out. Not that he could move, even stand to get into bed or take off his jacket. His chest hurt to breathe, ached as the sobs began and the tears rolled over his nose and onto the floor. There was still light coming from outside as he lay there curled in on himself until the pain took over and he blacked out.

The morning sun woke him, his eyes rejecting the light as his body rejected movement. Yet, he knew he needed to get up and drop Max off at school. Even if he would be skipping to nap in his car. He knew he needed to tell Steve that people might know, that they might be in more trouble than they had ever imagined.

His door creeked open and he looked to see Max standing with her backpack on and her skateboard under her arm. “I’ll walk.”

“No. Just give me a second,” Billy groaned and finally sat up, his head spinning. “Go wait in the car.”

She stood there, clearly wanting to protest but she didn’t. The door closed quietly and Billy used an empty box to get to his feet, an action that only intensified the ache of his muscles. Muscles that had spent the night in the same possible on a drafty floor after taking hit after hit for…Billy didn’t know how long he had lay there being beaten and he didn’t want to know.

He looked at his watch, still enough time to get to school and tell Steve before class. Warn him at least. Just enough time if he didn’t get changed or clean himself up, so he grabbed his sunglasses to hide his puffy under eyes from the crying, buttoned up his shirt to hide the bruising and made his way to the front door. Thankfully Neil had already left for work so he wouldn’t tell him to stop with the limp.

Billy struggled to the car and dropped into the drivers seat, forcing his legs to do what they were trained to do and pulled out of the driveway. Making sure to concentrate on the road as he took his time towards the school. Max didn’t speak, didn’t ask because she knew the answer. The bell was ringing when they pulled up, she jumped out with a quiet thanks and ran for the entrance.

The Beamer was there but Steve wasn’t around so he didn’t bother to get out of the car, he instead turned off the engine and sunk down into his seat to finally relax. Let his body release the tension from hours of being on edge, fully aware of his surroundings. Just as he felt his breathing steady someone knocked on his window and startled him right back to where he started.

“Let me in,” Steve said just loud enough for him to hear so he did. Within seconds the brunette was sitting beside him smiling like he made his day better just by existing. “Where were you?”

“He knows,” He blurted out before he could overthink it. But he couldn’t look at Steve, couldn’t face his reaction. “My dad. He knows about us.”

“And what did he do when he found out?” Steve asked, his voice firm and controlled but there was definitely anger beneath it.

“Nothing.”

“Billy, did he…” Steve went quiet.

“Look, I don’t wanna talk about it,” Billy replied to the silence.

“I’m gonna kill that bastard son of a bitch!” He smacked the dashboard and stared straight ahead. His entire body screaming that he might actually do it, that in that moment he was ready to drive straight to wherever he was and stab him until he had no hope of recovery.

And for a moment Billy believed it. The anger in his eyes as they finally met was enough to convince him that much. “I just don’t want you getting hurt.”

“Me? I know who he is and what he does to you,” Steve reached out to touch Billy’s forearm and he winced at the pressure. “Let me see.”

“Steve-.”

“Let me see!” He didn’t wait for a reply, instead he reached for his jacket and pulled open his shirt to see the dark blues and purple covering his chest and ribs. “Holy shit…”

Billy didn’t have a reply to that because his reaction was warranted. He knew that more than anyone as he looked down at his own body, damaged and trying its best to heal. “Do you think Joyce will have a look because I think it’s real bad?”

“Yeah, of course,” Steve snapped back and looked at Billy with such care and worry for a moment the pain faded, but only for a second. “Get in my car so people will think you’re here.”

He let Steve help him out the Camaro and into his car. Let him take his hand as they headed for the General store where the only adult they could trust would be able to help. Do something because anything would be better than going to Hopper or the hospital and explaining why he could barely breathe without wanting to cry.

Why he thought his own father was going to kill him and that in all honesty he still might, even if it did finally send him to prison. Billy knew he would rather rot in a cell than have his only son seen holding hands with another man, a fact that made his fingers grip to Steve’s for any chance at life. Even if it was slowly dimming with every day. Steve was there to help brighten it again.

[thosewickedlovelies]

we could be Dreamers - Prologue

Pairing: Marcus Moreno x GN!Reader

Rating: T

Summary: How this world came to be

Word count: 1,671

A/N: Hiii friends 🤗 soo there’s not really a lot of plot or Marcus Moreno :( here, but consider this a prologue/worldbuilding for a Marcus Moreno x reader fic I may eventually write lol. I’m really interested in how this universe got from The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl to We Can Be Heroes, because like. Sharkboy and Lavagirl were literally just some kid’s imaginary friends that somehow magically became real, so what does that mean for the other Heroics? Where did they come from?? So I kinda wanted to write something that would make you Think :) and explore the ramifications of such a transformed universe.

Consider my previous Marcus Moreno fic a prelude to this prologue 💗

--

It was a little unnerving sometimes, being in a room with so much power. No matter that this particular training arena at Heroics Headquarters was at least the size of an American football field- when all of the Heroics are gathered in the same confined space, focused on a single purpose, you can feel it. Like their power prances tauntingly in the corner of your eye, slipping away when you try to look directly at it. Like it winds through the air, worming its way into your veins, so your very blood breathes at you to run, run, run.

Not all of the individual Heroics gave off such uncanny vibes; some were simply ordinary people with extraordinary abilities. Techo-No, for instance, and his gift for creating fantastical gadgets. The implications of his works relevant to the world at large could be worrying, but he had limits. He was just a man. Determined, and creative (even more so with his son throwing ideas at him), but ultimately human.

Not like those with powers who’d been Dreamed.

Take Sharkboy. The temper for which he’d been infamous in his youth had cooled, but when he snapped, he did so literally- blade-sharp teeth an audible clash when he bared them in a ringing snarl. Any water in the room would roil and froth- but the most hair-raising sight was his eyes, tinged with the unreadable, abyssal blackness of his namesake. Focused with a predator’s calculation on the object of his fury. (It made you think that, ironically, his temper had cooled too much- concentrated into something as icy and merciless as the depths of the sea. Just as well his wife was a lava goddess).

It was well-documented that Sharkboy could influence his oceanic kin, seeing as he was half-shark himself. Some marine biologists postulated- in low voices- that fluctuation in his emotions could unknowingly influence shark activity no matter how far from the sea he was. But nobody at Heroics Headquarters had ever dared suggest attempting a study.

That you knew of, anyway. You wouldn’t be surprised if there was a classified government branch somewhere which dealt solely with more insidious studies of the Heroics. Their weaknesses. Ways to defeat them.

Just in case.

Sharkboy and his emotions had stabilized as his Dreamer matured, but not all Dreamers were so invested in the well-being of their creations, or of the world they inhabited and could inadvertently affect. It was suspected that not all Dreamers knew that they had Dreamed at all, that they unintentionally brought Dreams into being far from where they were located and simply never became aware. This resulted in some Dreamed individuals being...unstable. Incomplete, really. Brought forth from a child’s mind, a young person who didn’t yet fully grasp the complexities of existing in this world, or indeed, the intricacies of what made one human at all.

Dreamers were children, more often than not. Their imaginative abilities generally far outstripped those of adults, worn down as they were with the grind of building a real life. The younger the person, the more time and creativity they maintained. The fewer methods they possessed to process their struggles which were grounded in reality, and not their imaginations.

--

Despite the years that have passed, nobody quite knows what happened to lead up to the Incident. How a single young boy had imagined so powerfully that it had warped reality; how his imaginings had given him the ability to design the universe at will.

The Daydreamer.

Max, as he later insisted on being called. An almost disturbingly innocuous name for a boy who had changed the world. Who had all but envisioned himself into having terrific powers- and enabled others to do the same.

In the years following the Incident, Sharkboy and Lavagirl continued to visit him in secret (Later, scientists realized that this why they recorded occasional, inexplicable disturbances in seismic and marine activity). But it wasn’t long before a larger threat to the entire Earth appeared- and so did they. To defend the place which they declared to be their new home. Though they had been willed into existence to protect Planet Drool, as Max determined to relinquish his daydreaming abilities and by extension, his dreamworld, so did the planet and its life diminish. Their presence there was no longer required, they’d explained. But earth could still benefit from their protection- especially after the reality of the threat came to light.

Someone else had Dreamed.

It wasn’t clear who, or how, or what their intentions had been. But once it had been said, everyone was forced to acknowledge the truth of it- or at least, admit that there was no other explanation. The villain’s origins were not terrestrial in any previously established sense.

Anyone who had ever met a child could have a predicted it. Too many young people ended up feeling outcast, overlooked, by both their peers and adults in their lives. It should have been obvious from the way they whispered his name. Not Max- a moniker far too average and relatable- but what they reverently regarded as his true title. The Daydreamer. A near-holy figure who had changed the game for youths everywhere. Now they had a way to combat those who plagued them. A way to create or become the superheroes who previously only existed in comic books and TV shows.

Or some did, anyway. Individuals with the strength of will and heart to Dream weren’t rare, but they weren’t quite common, either.

The only truly neutral positive of the Dreamer evolution was that governments everywhere suddenly accepted the need for increased mental health resources. Designed to increase healthy socialization for all ages and give young people ways to process and communicate their emotional needs, such programs were approved seemingly overnight in schools from elementary to university aged. “Small town life” flourished, and many city quarters and apartment buildings took to implementing “community builders” or, less charmingly, “social facilitators”- positions designed to create cohesive areas of living and minimize the kind of isolation and negative feelings that could leave someone to Dream of improving their life.

--

Nowadays, not all super-powered individuals were Dreamed. The second generation of Heroics was a testament to that. As if the universe itself had reckoned with the self-inception of the Dreamers, and seen fit to provide reality-warping countermeasures of its own.

Less than a year after the Incident, babies with...unique qualities began to be born. Few and far between, it seemed at first. Whispered reports swept from far corners of the globe, a phone tree branching from frantic parents to anyone who could provide even the slightest bit of reassurance. It seemed like doctors everywhere were swapping glances, no one willing to admit what was happening- until a second Villain appeared.

Every incident report said the same thing: a baby started crying, and then the hostages were saved by a power outage. A wash of sparks that darkened half the city.

Webbed with red lightning.

You sneak a look at the fully grown Heroic now, the long braids of her ponytail slipping over the shoulder of her characteristic red training outfit. Red Lightning Fury flexes her fingers as she listens to the head trainer explain today’s exercise- the usual sort of ‘heroes versus villains’ battles, with you and your fellow specialists assisting as villains- but judging by the lack of the smell of ozone, she isn’t yet using her powers. Blinding Fast, on the other hand, appears to fritz in place every few seconds, and you guess he’s running invisible laps to pass the time. It’s hard to tell if that’s what’s causing Lavagirl’s hair to tendril like neon pink smoke even though she’s standing still; usually the hypnotic heat shimmer of her lava flow causes the effect naturally.

You stretch in place while team arrangements are announced. As the majority of the Heroics filter into the stands to wait for their match, the buzzing, writhing presence of their power fades, and you can breathe more easily.

A figure flickers into being beside you, and you jump. “Jeez, Visi! How many times have I told you not to do that?”

Having anticipated your reaction from the countless previous times she’s snuck up on you anyway, Invisigirl laughs. “You think you’d be used to it by now.” Your closest Heroic friend grins at you, all pearly teeth against smooth brown skin.

And she’s right, which is why you were so disgruntled. Having been caught unawares too many times by the invisible hero’s silent movements, you had once asked her to give you lessons. Her instruction had improved your own stealth immensely, and now that you knew what kind of signs to listen for, her attempts at startling you didn’t work nearly as often as they had. But- “It’s hard to focus on anything with all of your powers clogging up the air,” you grumble. The birthed heroes understood what you meant- they felt it too, the nagging hiss of something other in the Dreamed heroes’ energy.

Across the arena, it looks like Miracle Guy and Marcus Moreno are waiting to be your opponents. Interesting. Miracle Guy, with his Dreamed up Superman-like abilities, was the only one who had a way of seeing Invisigirl. What it was precisely, you couldn’t recall. You make a mental note to ask Visi later.

Marcus, however, telekinesis aside, is clearly meant to be the counter to your strengths. The two men are discussing intently, but as if feeling your assessing stare, Marcus glances over. He lifts his eyebrows at you in playful challenge, a hint of a smile quirking his shapely lips before he’s pursing them at his duel-mate again.

Suppressing the pleased flutter down your spine, you turn your attention to the task ahead as Invisigirl dips her head toward you. Planning something clever, you realize, intrigued by the glint in her eye. “Let’s talk strategy.”

When the starting bell rings, your partner vanishes, and your smile curves as sharp and gleaming as the blade in your hand.

[ilikekidsshows]

Another explanation for Chloe fans: as the-grey-tribe recently wrote, since the feminist movement was primarily formed to combat male abusers, a lot of feminism is adamant on "never giving people who oppose us a valid reason" (since that reason could then become an excuse for abuse). But if being a mean girl/female abuser is wrong, that gives others a valid reason to punish women, which might become abuse. So Chloe fans can't let anyone, creator or fan, have good reason to punish a teenage girl.

Yeah, it probably is some over-the-top feminism to some, I still see some people use "boss babe" unironically, after all (look up some info on “multilevel marketing” to discover how this term is used to manipulate and take advantage of women). However, the Miraculous Saltdom just generally cries "misogyny" like the little kid who cried "wolf" in that one fairytale, so I take all of their sexism-based arguments as using hype words to shield themselves from criticism. "You can't get mad at me for being unreasonable, because I'm fighting for feminism!"

As such, I still don't think that most Chloé apologists are in it for some actual social justice clout. If there's an actual motive other than just wanting to manipulate media and using any rhetoric to do so, it would probably be an age thing. A lot of Chloé apologists can't shut up about how Chloé is "fourteen years old". In fact, just a few days ago I, once again, saw someone screeching how that was all the reason needed to give Chloé a redemption. Because the younger you are, the more your sense of self is in flux. That's how it works for a real person (if you ignore the fact that most serial criminals started as nasty kids).

But Chloé isn't a real person.

Miraculous characters are fictional characters. They're not real people. Chloé being 14 doesn't matter, because Marinette is 14 too. It's a kids' show, so the characters are kids. They have some #relatable #kidproblems, but the rest of the time their age isn't a factor. Why on earth would Fu give the Miraculous to 14-year-olds? Even if he was purposefully not picking adults who are more powerful with a Miraculous and therefore more difficult to stop if they went rogue, he could have chosen anything in the 14-17 bracket (or even higher depending how “adult” is determined here). You guys know I waste no chance to dunk on Fu and what a crap mentor he is, but I have never brought up him choosing 14-year-olds to protect Paris, because I don't think it matters.

Master Fu chose 14-year-olds because kid protagonists are relatable to the target audience. In Naruto you can be a ninja when you turn 12 not because the world is a crapsack world with child soldiers and every single ninja is a child soldier instead of just the very specific kids traumatized by their experiences, but because kids wanna see kids as the protagonists in their shows. The reason Marinette and Adrien's romance is being depicted as a Miracle Romance ala Sailor Moon, where they'll totally stay together forever once they get there, is because Miraculous is fiction. In real life, you're very much not likely to stick with your middle-school sweetheart, in fiction, the universe itself revolves around that relationship.

Even when someone analysing the show is talking about how realistically Miraculous often portrays the teenage struggle of figuring yourself out, I feel like it's missing a very important point. This point is that Miraculous is a fictional, fantastical, story. Some parts of it are purposefully designed to be relatable, but others are pure wish fulfilment or exist solely to move the story into a certain direction. Arguing that something is 100% acceptable because it's realistic for kids, and then simultaneously turning a blind eye to everything in the show that spits in the face of age-based realism is a biased way of looking at the show. Max programmed a fully sentient A.I. at fourteen, Adrien is the most popular celebrity in Paris, despite just being a barely-teen heartthrob. You can't just decide the line suddenly goes here, where a show about kid characters has a kid villain. If some of these things are okay because it's just fiction, then all the things about the characters should be okay because it's just fiction. Media analysis is specifically discussing a piece of media based on it being a piece of media, not a biography of the teen experience.

This is why I'm one of the people not in a hurry to get to the Ladynoir reveal or the Adrinette get together. I can accept that Miraculous, as a fictional story, is drawing out the big changes in its status quo because they haven't yet utilized the status quo in all the stories they want. I can see the clockwork gears and watch them move, I'm not staring at the clock face waiting for a specific time to come.

This is probably also why I'm so fine with Chloé and Lila being villains, and cartoony villains at that. Sure, it's maybe not realistic that they're so vile (as hinted before, serial killers weren't nice kids either so I still argue that even in the name of "realism" it checks out) or get away with stuff so easily, but it sure is consistent with their characterization and the fictional universe they live in. This piece of media is sticking with what has been established earlier in the series and that's good. That's how a piece of media is supposed to work, because it shows that the creators care enough to keep track of their characters and world building.

[camisimming]

Elements Legacy Challenge

Welcome to the Elements Legacy Challenge Rules Sheet! (Wow, what a long introductory phrase!)

This challenge, as you’ll see, is heavily inspired by lilsimsie and alwayssimming’s Not So Berry Challenge (click here to read the rules). It’s evident that the format of the color coded generations & generation’s goals system wasn’t invented by me, but I wanted to make it clear anyway. I hope no one feels offended by the idea behind this challenge. I created this one out of boredom and good intentions! 💛

Basically each generation has its own color(s), material and style. Each one of these characteristics will have to be shown through your Sim’s aesthetic and/or in their house. However, if you don’t want to make a golden dressed Sim, but you’d like to give them a super tacky house, go for it! What matters is that these given characteristics are visible somewhere, even just a room or an object. The colors and materials for each gen are just a starting point, you can add whatever color or texture you like to them! Each generation has a few worlds they can live in, you can only choose among those listed for each gen.

As for money, the first gen is the only one with specified starting funds. In the following ones you can choose if you want to keep the money your family has, or if you want to start with less money to make the gameplay more challenging 😊

Then, each generation has of course some tasks and aspirations to complete, some skills to max and other stuff to do! When you play a generation, be sure to take a look at the following one as well, because sometimes there will be things that need to be taken care of before the start of the following gen!

You can play in whatever lifespan you want. It's a new challenge for me, too, so I don't know what's the best one to use.

To play some of the gens, a couple of packs are kind of necessary, like: Cats and Dogs, Seasons, Discover University, Get Famous, Eco Lifestyle, Spa Day, Realm of Magic and Jungle Adventure. Get Together, Parenthood and others are also somewhat important but you can do it without them. If anyone's interested I can do a basegame compatible version of the challenge!😊

If the challenge becomes "popular", I'll add some more generations🤩

Have fun ✨🥰

Camilla @camisimming

YouTube

I'm everywhere as CamiSimming if you want to tag me when playing the challenge, or to DM me in case of doubts about it💛

Twitter Instagram

Details under the cut 💛

Generations list:

🌄Earth

💎Gem

💧Water

🔥Fire

🌿Grass

👑Gold

❄️Ice

🌬️Air

🛎️Brass

🌈Rainbow

1 Earth generation🌄

You’re new in town and don’t know anyone. The only thing that moves your heart is...art! In fact, you brought only your easel with you from your old place, and you hope to make a living out of the stuff you’ll create on that thing. But staying inside all day is not good for anyone, so sometimes you’ll accept your (new) friends invitations, and follow them wherever they take you. Sometimes, however, friends can really pressure you to do things you don’t want to, and this really annoys you! You get married too young and have a kid, only to divorce shortly after the baby is born. You just weren’t ready. When you finally decide to settle down and start a family again, you’ll marry a spellcaster just for their looks (WHAT?!) and you two will give birth to a lovely little kid!

Starting funds: 18,000 S Traits: Loner, Art Lover, Snob Aspiration: Renaissance Sim

Goals:

Max the Painting, Singing and Piano skills

Complete the Renaissance Sim Aspiration

Reach level 10 in the Painter career – Patron of the Arts branch

Complete the Feathers collection

Earn the Night Owl satisfaction reward trait

Color(s): dark brown, dark green, orange

Material: stucco, wood Style: craftsman World(s): Willow Creek / Brindleton Bay / Windenburg / Britechester 

---

2 Gem generation💎

As a spellcaster’s kid, you’re fascinated by what’s out of the ordinary. You don’t have many friends, and your parents are your best friends, until they pass away together in mysterious circumstances. Therefore, you decide to move in with your closest friend from high school, and of course, as it  happens with anyone you say more than a ‘hello’ to, you fall in love with them! But it looks like this time this is for real! After some ups and downs, you win them over (did you use a love potion? You didn’t?! You sure?) and you turn your roommates’ home in a place ready for a family. With a lot of cats. You also have just one child, who you love more than anybody else. You’re gonna be the best parent EVER!!!

Traits: Romantic, Family Oriented, Cat Lover Aspiration: Spellcraft & Sorcery 

Goals:

Max the Cooking, Gourmet Cooking and Parenting skills

Complete the Spellcraft & Sorcery Aspiration

Complete the Magical Artifacts collection

Complete the Crystals collection

Earn the Beguiling satisfaction reward trait

Color: purple Material: glass, gems Style: boho World(s): Glimmerbrook / Forgotten Hollow / Newcrest

---

3 Water generation💧

You are sick of mountains and rocks, you want to see the SEA. You are also sick of working (although you’ve never had a job, but just the idea of it makes you SICK). So you are determined to make a living out of vlogs, videos, videogames, juice fizzing and song recordings. You get married but your significant other can’t stand this lifestyle, so you get divorced. You adopt a kid to raise on your own in your little beach house. And you’re freaking HAPPY. Oh, another thing: one of the best memories you have is the one of your parents cooking together, so you want to learn how to make that grilled cheese they used to prepare for you. You want to learn it VERY BADLY.

Traits: Self-Absorbed, Vegetarian, Perfectionist Aspiration: Computer Whiz

Goals:

Max the Fishing, Media Production and Juice Fizzing skills

Complete the Computer Whiz Aspiration

Unlock and complete the Grilled Cheese Aspiration

Complete the Fish collection

Earn the Marketable satisfaction reward trait

Color(s): blue & white Material: light woods Style: coastal beach or tropical World(s): Sulani / Windenburg / Brindleton Bay / Evergreen Harbor / Newcrest

---

4 Fire Generation🔥

Your parent was a freak. Seriously, how could they expect to make a successful living out of videogames? No, no, no. You won’t make the same mistake. You’re gonna study hard and get a degree. Oh yeah. And you won’t stay home with that freak, you’re staying on campus. You will get a degree in Language and Literature, so that you can become a best-selling author. Unfortunately, having been so focused on your education, your love life is non-existent. So you think a meaningless fling could help you in that field but--OH NO. You get stuck with an unwanted pregnancy (even though you’ll never get married) and you have to leave campus and study between milk feeding and diaper changing. Anyway, you end up loving that little thing more than you’ve ever loved your parent, who never stops judging you (you end up hating each other)

Traits: Genius, Bookworm and Mean Aspiration: Academic

Goals:

Get a degree in Language and Literature

Max the Research and Debate, Writing and Charisma skills

Complete the Academic Aspiration

Reach level 10 in the Writing career – Author branch

Have at least one enemy

Color(s): red & orange Material: red-toned woods, stucco Style: industrial World(s): Willow Creek / Oasis Springs / San Myshuno / Evergreen Harbor / Britechester

---

5 Grass generation🌿

Having seen your parents struggle with university, you have decided to go by a different path. You want to live your life surrounded by nature and by your big, happy family. A job is important though, so you’ll begin working when you’re still a teenager. You enter the Gardener career once you are a bit older, and you LOVE IT. You marry a co-worker and you have many many kids and animals playing in your backyard. AHH how beautiful life can be! Countryside life really works for you.

Traits: Cheerful, Loves the Outdoors, Family-oriented Aspiration: Freelance Botanist

Goals:

Max the Gardening, Flower Arranging and Handiness skills

Have a full household when you’re an Adult (pets count)

Complete the Freelance Botanist Aspiration 

Complete the Lord/Lady of the Knits Aspiration

Reach level 10 in the Gardener career – Floral Designer branch

Complete the Gardening and the Frogs collections

Color: green Material: wood in all forms and colors Style: homey / craftsman / colonial World(s): Willow Creek / Brindleton Bay / Windenburg 

---

6 Gold generation👑

Country life doesn’t really work for you as much as it did for your parents. You want fame and glory, you want the glam, you want a penthouse or a mansion in which to display your wealth. You still love your family, and one of your siblings is basically your best friend, and always will be. You always organize a Winterfest lunch to reunite with your folks. You also like music and everyone has to know you love it, you know you’ll teach your kids how to play the violin. You climb the social ladder (or marble staircase?) till the TOP. You have many lovers and many pregnancy scares, until one of them brings you an actual kid. Who would’ve thought you could love someone more than you love yourself? Oh you’ll get married, but only as an elder.

Traits: Good, Materialistic, Music Lover Aspiration: Mansion Baron

Goals:

Max the Acting, Violin and Dancing skills

Complete the Musical Genius Aspiration

Complete the Mansion Baron Aspiration

Reach level 10 in the Acting Career

Become a Global Superstar

Earn the Shameless satisfaction reward trait

Color: gold Material: gold, marble Style: glam! (you can choose the amount of tacky-ness of your Sim’s glam style) World(s): Del Sol Valley / Strangerville / Willow Creek / Britechester 

---

7 Ice generation❄️

Your parents are hella famous. You don’t know if that works for you, though. The only thing you know is that you can kind of play the violin. You go live on your own when you’re just a teen, with your beautiful dog, and make sure no one knows who your parents are, you don’t want to be treated differently. Part-time job after part-time job, you have a cute little house that you can call home. Another thing you become good at is photography, so you start working in the Freelance photography field, and you LOVE IT. You fall in love with one of your models and marry them. You have kids together, and the  look in your spouse’s eyes when they look at your children is everything.

Traits: Goofball, Dog Lover, Bro Aspiration: Soulmate

Goals:

Max the Photography, Comedy and Pet Training skills

Complete the Soulmate Aspiration

Complete the Simmies Collection

Go on a vacation at least once in your life

Earn the Independent satisfaction reward trait

Color(s): white and light brown Material:  fake fur, wood Style: Asian-like / Scandinavian / minimalistic World(s): San Myshuno / Mt. Komorebi / Windenburg / Newcrest

---

8 Air generation🌬️

You want to make this world a better place. You want to make yourself a better person. To actively make your world a bit greener, you decide to become a Civil Designer. When you’re not working you like to focus on your mental well-being with some yoga or meditation. You’re married with kids but your inner wellness and the one of the world matter to you more than the one in your house. Your spouse will take care of the kids while you’re cheating on them with your neighbor. Hey! It’s for your inner well-being! At some point you also decide to leave your family and go live on your own. But it’s too hard, so you make peace with your spouse and come back home.

Traits: Geek, Neat, Hates Children Aspiration: Eco Innovator

Goals:

Max the Fabrication, Wellness and Guitar skills

Complete the Eco Innovator aspirations

Reach level 10 of the Civil Designer career – Green Technician branch

Do at least one yard sale

Live in at least three different worlds

Complete the Metals collection

Color: beige Material: glass, Style: mid-century modern World(s): Willow Creek / Mt. Komorebi / Sulani / Evergreen Harbor

---

9 Brass generation🛎️

You are in love with adventure and discovering new things, they can be anything really. You just love knowledge, therefore you become a professor. Someday you find out about this place called Selvadorada, and want to know EVERYTHING about it. You explore it in your many trips there, and you also fall in love with a charming local. Ahhh their accent is so lovely!

Traits: Ambitious, Active, Bookworm Aspiration: Jungle Explorer

Goals:

Max the Selvadoradian Culture, Archaeology and Fitness skills

Complete the Jungle Explorer Aspiration

Reach level 10 in the Education career – Professor branch

Complete the Ancient Omiscan artifacts and the Omniscan Treasures collections

Color(s): grey, bronze and blue Material: metal Style: contemporary or European World(s): Del Sol Valley / Oasis Springs / Mt. Komorebi / Britechester / Windenburg

---

10 Rainbow generation🌈

Woah, your family tree is huge, isn’t it? Anyway. You’re a very outgoing person, you love meeting new people and making friends. You found a club where everyone is welcomed and accepted. You love, LOVE, parties, because you can meet more people there! You don’t care about the gender of your lovers, you love them because of who they are! When you finally find your person, you get married and have a beautiful pair of twins.

Traits: Cheerful, Outgoing, Foodie Aspiration: Friend of the World

Goals:

Max the Comedy, Dancing and Bowling skills

Complete the Friend of the World Aspiration

Complete the Leader of the Pack Aspiration

Complete the Voidcritters collection

Reach Level 10 of the Style Influencer Career – you may choose whatever branch you like

Found at least one club

Color(s): any/every color of the rainbow Material: metal Style: anything from the 50s > 90s designs World(s): San Myshuno / Willow Creek / Windenburg /Evergreen Harbor

---

Thanks for reading up to here!

-Cami

[mosylufanfic]

Holding Out for a Hero

I’m so proud of myself, I finished a 12 Days of Killervibe prompt at the last minute!

Holding Out for a Hero

Caitlin pinched the bridge of her nose, breathing out against the burn in her eyes. No matter how she juggled the numbers, they always came out red in the end.

"Dammit, Daddy," she muttered.

The bell over the door jingled, and she jerked her head up, pasting a bright retail smile on her face. "Welcome to Jack Frost Toys!" she called out, quickly minimizing the accounting software. "Are you looking for anything specific?"

Usually they weren't. Usually, they came in, wandered around a little bit, and left. If she was lucky, they bought something before they left.

But the man standing just inside the door, snow dusting his hat and shoulders, said, "Yeah, please, I'm begging you. You're my only hope."

She cocked her head and guessed, "A . . . Star Wars toy?" There wasn't any particularly hot Star Wars toy this year that she was aware of, and she followed every toy blog and website she could find. 

He laughed, tugging his gloves off and shoving them in his pocket. "No, just a desperate nerd looking for a Puffy Penguin. My niece is three and she watches the show on repeat. I know Leo Lion is like the hot toy this year, but Maya knows what she wants. For her it's Puffy or nothin', and I couldn't tell if you had any from your website so I came down here just in case and please?" He widened his eyes at her. "Please."

Her heart melted. One of the best things about this store was seeing children find their new best friend. Second on that list was adults who cared enough about the children in their life that they moved heaven and earth to find, not just the latest hottest toy, but the toy that was just right.

She slid off her stool. "I've got some ZooFriends toys right over here. We're sold out of Leo, of course -" Everywhere was sold out of Leo. "But I've got Puffy in a variety of styles."

"Oh my god," he breathed, snatching a Puffy Penguin stuffie off the shelf and holding it as if it were the Holy Grail. "You've got them all. Elly and Slowpoke and Skyhigh - " He stared at the elephant, sloth, and giraffe toys lined up next to the penguins.

She smiled brightly. "Now this one says phrases from the show, but this one is a lot huggier if you ask me -"

"I'll take them both," he said, grabbing the talking Puffy. "Holy shit. Nowhere has ZooFriends anymore. How do you?"

She bit her lip. "Lucky, I guess." She stepped away and grabbed one of the plastic hand baskets printed with the store logo. "Would you like a basket?"

He took it. "Really? Because it's three in the afternoon on the first Saturday of December. A toy store should be wall-to-wall. Where is everybody?"

She turned away. "Amazon," she said. "Walmart. Websites, chain stores -" She shrugged and tried to laugh. "The plight of the modern small business owner. Is there anything else I can help you find?"

"I'll keep looking around," he said, studying the shelf. "So you're the owner?"

She nodded. "This store has been in my family for five generations."

He almost dropped the basket. "Five - Did they even have toys that long ago?"

"Oh, toys have been around as long as humans have had childhood! Did you know they've found marbles in Egyptian tombs? And dolls in archaeological digs. Toys are how children learn about the world, and how they start to decide their identities and practice interactions with others! They . . ." She trailed off, blushing. "Sorry, my major was psychology and I did my senior thesis on the role of play in early childhood development."

He held up a hand. "Hey, I'm the last person to shame anybody for nerding out. That's pretty awesome. You're in the right business."

"For right now, anyway," she murmured. 

"What?"

She smiled brightly. "I don't suppose you have any more nieces or nephews that need Christmas presents?"

He studied her for a moment. "Do you have any action figures?"

"Collectible or to play with?"

"Collectible?" he said hopefully.

She led him down the aisle and to the back wall. His eyes went wide. "Oh my god, you've got Max Mercury, black series." He grabbed it off the wall. "And Brainiac? This is a great section!"

She smiled. "My dad invested in these because he was hoping to bring in the collectors."

"Well, he made good choices." He picked the Braniac from its spot and turned it over in his hands, studying it closely. 

She left him to it and went back to the counter. She didn't feel like agonizing over the accounts when he was still here, so she cleaned the counter, dusted the book corner, and rearranged the ZooFriends shelf to fill in the empty spots he'd left when he took the two Puffy toys.

After half an hour, he came up to the counter with an overflowing basket, most of it action figures. With her heart singing the song of small business owners, she scanned them briskly.  His purchases came out to well over two hundred dollars. It was a drop in the bucket of her costs, of course, but it was a bigger drop than most. 

He handed her his credit card without a wince. When she ran it, his name popped up on her screen. She handed it back with the receipt. "Here you go, Mr. Ramon."

"Cisco," he said. "Please. Mr. Ramon is my pop."

"Cisco," she said. "I can wrap these if you want."

"Just the Puffys," he said. "The action figures are for me."

She grinned at him and selected a print of happy reindeer to wrap the stuffed animals. "Naturally."

He laughed self-consciously. "I'm not sure whether to be insulted or not. I promise I'm a grown-up man."

"Of course you are," she said, hands busily folding and taping. A really nicely grown-up man, too. She battled back her blush and hoped he hadn't noticed. "But I'll never look down on any adult who still likes toys."

"Well, sure, that's a good hundred and fifty dollars of my total."

"There's that," she acknowledged, setting aside the first perfectly wrapped box and picking up the second.  "But toys are important to children's imaginations. And children grow into adults, who still need their imaginations." She nodded at the Max Mercury he held. "I don't think any of us ever really outgrow the desire to be someone's hero."

"Well," he said, "you're my hero today."

She met his eyes and felt the blush rise again. "Thank you."

He grinned and accepted the bag with the two wrapped presents inside. "And come Christmas morning, I'll be Maya's hero."

She smiled. "She's lucky to have an uncle doing his best to find her the perfect present. I'm glad you came by today."

"Yeah, well, it was coming out here or spending a hundred and seventy-five dollars on eBay and hoping like hell it made it here in time." He fiddled with his wallet. "I really don't mean to be that guy, but your website is . . ."

Her face went hot and she made a business of putting away the scissors and the tape and rolling up the rest of the wrapping paper. "Archaic?"

"I was going to say behind the times," he said tactfully. "If you had web ordering, you'd be sold out of ZooFriends and a whole bunch of other stuff."

"I know," she said. "But I really haven't had the time to get a good system set up since I took over the store. I need inventory software that integrates with ecommerce and for that I need technical skills, money, and time, and I don't have any of those."

He leaned on the counter. "You don't have to tell me, but how did it get this bad? You clearly love this place and I really don't feel like you would have let it fall behind like this if you had a choice."

She chewed her lip. "My dad died in September."

Sympathy spread over his features. Not the plastic, practiced sympathy she'd seen so often, but real compassion. "I'm sorry. Was he sick?"

"He had MS," she said. "He'd had it since I was ten, and he'd always kept on top of his medication and his therapy and everything. So - " She looked down at the perfectly clean counter and wiped it off again. "So when I was away at school and he told me he was doing fine, I believed him."

"He wasn't doing fine," Cisco guessed.

She shook her head. Tears burned in her eyes again. "It probably started small. Just little things falling through the cracks. Then the cracks got bigger, more things fell through. . . ."

He nodded. "They tend to do that."

"Mhm. Then last spring, he had an assistant manager who embezzled a lot of money - "

"What!"

"They caught him!" Caitlin assured him. "But most of the money was gone, and the stress of that just sent my dad's health into a tailspin. I'd just graduated so I moved back home to take care of him."

"And I'm gonna guess you were so wrapped up in that, you didn't even realize what was going on with the store until you took over."

She sighed. "Got it in one." She mustered up a smile. "I didn’t mean to dump that on you. It's bad now, but things will come around. They always do. The holidays are the best time of year to be a toy seller."

"Yeah," he said. "They sure are." He smiled back and gathered his purchases. "I'll tell people about this place."

"Great," she said. "Here's my card, by the way."

"Caitlin Snow," he read off the little rectangle of cardstock. 

"That's me. Let me know if you have any particular collectibles you'd like me to obtain."

"Hmm?" He was looking at his phone. "Uh, yeah, if I think of any, I'll give you a shout. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," she echoed, watching him leave. The jingle of the bell over the door echoed in the toy store's emptiness.

**

Walking back around the building to his car, Cisco snapped a pic of the business card Caitlin Snow had given him. Then he dialed a number on his phone and wedged it between his shoulder and his ear as he pulled on his gloves. "Hey, Iris? Got a moment?"

"Hi, Cisco. Half a moment. My editor's breathing down my neck again about finding some heartwarming story to fill up Sunday space."

"Yeah, I remember you mentioning that. What would you say to a struggling fifth-generation local toy store owner who just took over the business after her dad's death, carries everything from ZooFriends stuffies to high-end collectibles, and knows toys backwards and forwards?"

Iris paused and he could practically hear the gears clicking. "Tell me more."

**

A week before Christmas, Cisco finally found a good excuse to drop by Jack Frost Toys again. With the name of a rare collectible action figure in his pocket, he turned into the parking lot and found it jam packed. He finally managed to wedge his little car into a space half on the gravel and climb out.

This was a good sign, right?

When he walked in the front door, the girl behind the counter wasn't Caitlin. "Welcome to Jack Frost Toys!" she called out before returning her attention to the grandma-looking lady at her counter. "We absolutely do gift certificates. How much would you like that for?"

The place was transformed. There was no other word for it.

When he'd come in the last time, it had been neat and bright and colorful, but empty and somehow sad. Now there were people in every aisle, voices ringing off the rafters. He cut down the doll aisle and almost stepped on a kid sprawled out on his belly, leafing through a colorful picture book. A little girl was staring at the Barbies as if she were deciding the fate of nations. A couple of moms were talking to each other over the Lego sets.

"It's just such a cute little place! It was getting so run-down there for awhile, but this new owner’s really spruced it up."

"I used to come here when I was Mandy's age and it always seemed like the most magical place to me. I'd forgotten all about it, honestly, but we're coming back."

Cisco smiled to himself and edged around them to the collectibles wall. 

The door to the stock room opened and Caitlin came out, arms loaded down with what seemed to be flat-folded gift boxes. She stopped short when she saw Cisco. "Hi!"

"Hey," he said, smiling at her. She was wearing reindeer antlers and her hair was up in a bouncy ponytail. "You're busy."

"We are! I'm sorry, I've got to -"

"Yeah, go ahead."

She went to the front counter and stashed the gift boxes underneath. "Allegra," she said to the girl who'd greeted Cisco as he came in. "I just got off the phone with our supplier and they'll have more wrap here tomorrow. Can we hold out?"

"It'll be tight, but we should be okay."

"Great. I'll be back to cover your break in a few minutes, okay?"

"Take your time, I'm good."

Caitlin edged back around the counter and paused to check in with the moms. She considered their questions, looked around, and plucked a few sturdy wooden toys from a lower shelf. "I really like this designer for the textures they incorporate," she explained. "Babies enjoy being able to experience different kinds of material as they explore the toy, and it stimulates their brain development. Have a look at these. I'll be right here if you have any questions."

"Thanks so much."

She beamed and moved on. 

Cisco watched her consult with the little Barbie lover and pick out a second book for the reader, as well as four or five other small interactions. It was like watching Michelangelo paint the Sistine Chapel or Einstein doing calculations on a chalkboard. She was in her element.

She came around the end of the aisle and spotted him again. Her face lit up. "I'm so glad you came by again." She threw her arms around him.

"Uh," he said. "Hi again to you too." He gave her a quick hug back.

She pulled away, blushing. "Sorry. I - I just wanted to thank you. I know the article in the paper was your doing." 

"Oh," he said. "No, that was nothing. I just called up a friend. She's the one who did the interview and that great photo - "

 Iris had been savvy enough to pose Caitlin by her display of the coveted ZooFriends toys. Cisco had noticed how bare the shelf looked now. 

" - and you were the one who made this shop so amazing that once people knew it was still here, they came."

"But none of it would have happened if you hadn't put it in motion. You said I was your hero that day for having the Puffys, but you’re my hero now.

“Pshaw,” he said. “Like you said, nobody grows out of that.”

“But not everybody does something. So. Thank you."

"Well, you're welcome." He looked around. "So you're doing pretty good, it looks like."

She nodded, beaming. "People started coming in after that article, and PalmerTech asked me to purchase toys in bulk for the families at their company holiday party. All my part-time workers are doing as many hours as they can, and I'll be able to pay the rent for January and February, and if it keeps going like this, I can hire somebody to revamp the inventory system for ecommerce." 

She ran out of breath and panted for a moment, her eyes bright.

Cisco had to smile back at her. "That's amazing."

She nodded. "I mean, we're still competing with Walmart and Amazon, and we still took a real hit from what Jay did. So we're not out of the woods, but this - " She looked around, eyes still bright. "This is going to give us some breathing room.   

"I'm really glad."

She turned her smile back on him and stole his breath. "Sorry, I'm just chattering away, and - did you come by looking for something else? Another collectible?"

"Ah - well, I was planning to ask about the limited edition Star Wars figures they're talking about for next year."

"I don't think I'm going to be able to order any of those until March, but I can definitely get your contact information."

"Oh. Okay, sure. But actually it was an excuse."

Her brows crinkled. "An excuse?"

"I really wanted to come by and see if you wanted to go get coffee or something. Sometime." He looked around. "I mean, maybe not right now because it's still December and you're slammed, which is great, but - "

"I'd like that."

His stomach filled up with warmth, like drinking an entire mug of hot chocolate. "You would?"

"Very much." 

They smiled shyly at each other until Allegra called out, "Caitlin? A little help?" She had a line that stretched halfway down the doll aisle.

"Oh!" Caitlin said. "Uh, I should - "

"Yeah! Go. I'll hang around until you're free, and then I'll get your phone number."

"Okay." She gave him one last smile before rushing up to the counter and opening up a register. "I can help who's next over here! Oh, sweetheart, that's a great choice. Your best friend is going to love it."

Cisco watched her for a moment, smiling to himself, and then turned to browse the collectibles. She'd been right, he mused. The holidays really were the best time of year to be a toy seller.

FINIS