#some of these I don't like but maybe there will be more options in gen 9

[andrevasims]

MP3 Player Default: RECOLORABLE iPod Nano

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Credits:

Graverobber's default files

@annachibi's mesh edit

@franzillasims's Nootrasim simlish font

REQUIRED TO USE RECOLORS: CEP (Color Enable Package)

ADDITIONAL RECOLOR OPTIONS

DOWNLOAD: SFS | MF

[artsekey]

I'd been seeing videos on Tiktok and Youtube about how younger Gen Z & Gen Alpha were demonstrating low computer literacy & below benchmark reading & writing skills, but-- like with many things on the internet-- I assumed most of what I read and watched was exaggerated. Hell, even if things were as bad as people were saying, it would be at least ~5 years before I started seeing the problem in higher education.

I was very wrong.

Of the many applications I've read this application season, only %6 percent demonstrated would I would consider a college-level mastery of language & grammar. The students writing these applications have been enrolled in university for at least two years, and have taken all fundamental courses. This means they've had classes dedicated to reading, writing, and literature analysis, and yet!

There are sentences I have to read over and over again to discern intent. Circular arguments that offer no actual substance. Errors in spelling and capitalization that spellcheck should've flagged.

At a glance, it's easy to trace this issue back to two things:

The state of education in the United States is abhorrent. Instructors are not paid enough, so schools-- particularly public schools-- take whatever instructors they can find.

COVID. The two year long gap in education, especially in high school, left many students struggling to keep up.

But I think there's a third culprit-- something I mentioned earlier in this post. A lack of computer literacy.

This subject has been covered extensively by multiple news outlets like the Washington Post and Raconteur, but as someone seeing it firsthand I wanted to add my voice to the rising chorus of concerned educators begging you to pay attention.

As the interface we use to engage with technology becomes more user friendly, the knowledge we need to access our files, photos, programs, & data becomes less and less important. Why do I need to know about directories if I can search my files in Windows (are you searching in Windows? Are you sure? Do you know what that bar you're typing into is part of? Where it's looking)? Maybe you don't have any files on your computer at all-- maybe they're on the cloud through OneDrive, or backed up through Google. Some of you reading this may know exactly where and how your files are stored. Many of you probably don't, and that's okay. For most people, being able to access a file in as short a time as possible is what they prioritize.

The problem is, when you as a consumer are only using a tool, you are intrinsically limited by the functions that tool is advertised to have. Worse yet, when the tool fails or is insufficient for what you need, you have no way of working outside of that tool. You'll need to consult an expert, which is usually expensive.

When you as a consumer understand a tool, your options are limitless. You can break it apart and put it back together in just the way you like, or you can identify what parts of the tool you need and search for more accessible or affordable options that focus more on your specific use-case.

The problem-- and to be clear, I do not blame Gen Z & Gen Alpha for what I'm about to outline-- is that this user-friendly interface has fostered a culture that no longer troubleshoots. If something on the computer doesn't work well, it's the computer's fault. It's UI should be more intuitive, and it it's not operating as expected, it's broken. What I'm seeing more and more of is that if something's broken, students stop there. They believe there's nothing they can do. They don't actively seek out solutions, they don't take to Google, they don't hop on Reddit to ask around; they just... stop. The gap in knowledge between where they stand and where they need to be to begin troubleshooting seems to wide and inaccessible (because the fundamental structure of files/directories is unknown to many) that they don't begin.

This isn't demonstrative of a lack of critical thinking, but without the drive to troubleshoot the number of opportunities to develop those critical thinking skills are greatly diminished. How do you communicate an issue to someone online? How do look for specific information? How do you determine whether that information is specifically helpful to you? If it isn't, what part of it is? This process fosters so many skills that I believe are at least partially linked to the ability to read and write effectively, and for so many of my students it feels like a complete non-starter.

We need basic computer classes back in schools. We need typing classes, we need digital media classes, we need classes that talk about computers outside of learning to code. Students need every opportunity to develop critical thinking skills and the ability to self-reflect & self correct, and in an age of misinformation & portable technology, it's more important now than ever.

[mondaymelon]

choose . post options (and random ass q&a) utc !!

-> temporarily pinning this . old pinned !!

"ohhh melon why did you close asks ohhhh melon why arent u taking req" - you, maybe

i closed asks bc i got burnt out answering them !! sorry sorry i suck at interaction even online , they piled up so much i lost a lot of motivation in answering them but hopefully ill get through most of em .. at some point

if you really really need to talk to me like for some reason you genuinely will explode if u don't i do have a sideblog so. just scamper over to there idk

as for reqs... oh man they havent been open for a good half year.. the day will come if i either run out of ideas (which is. uhm probably not possible) , reach record heights of delusional , or simply feel like it . though keep in mind i do selective reqs!! ill only write the ones im interested in qq

"what about the events and series you never finished melon what of them are you abandoning your children" - you, perhaps

hahahahh uhm. im really bad w commitment. so yes, most likely. that one forgotten coffee shop au with kavetham that never even got its first chapter is never coming back.

names once whispered on the breeze (smau) hasn't been posted since like last year june .. i lost interest in the formatting since i gen like writing long posts more and also i did have a plan for the plot but it was shit and i lost interest. sorry for all the people who supported and loved the series but i couldn't reciprocate that same love. i am not paying child support either

500+ and halloween events... in the former didnt expect to get so many requests, and writing 3-ish took every ounce of soul in me. as for halloween, it was fun to write but since im a stupid little 瓜 i couldn't figure out how to end the series. 4 chpaters and a cliffhanger is all yall are getting :P

"melon how could you do this you big fat meanie i am going to boohoo and shit all over u" - you, to the slightest possibility

ok now why would you do that

thanks please vote mwah ilyall

[schrodinger-swriter]

Howdy there! Maybe some headcanons for Alastor with a sinner reader who's sort of taken the form of like a plush after they died? I've noticed that it's usually the shorter people that Alastor seems less annoyed by physical touch with(mimzy,niffty)- but that's just my theory!

Bonus points if reader also knew him before they died, but that's completely optional of course xD /gen

-🃏🐱

Alastor x Short!Plushie!Reader

Perhaps I fibbed when I said that the previous post would be the last of this batch... The Smiths certainly came in clutch in making my head feel a little less loud.

I hope you enjoy, Anon!

Personally I like to think that it's not so much of the characters being short, as it is how close he is to them. We know he's good friends with Mimzy, and though I don't recall if Rosie and him touched... I do enjoy the thought that him and Niffty are close!

He doesn't bend down when he speaks to you. He's respectful, you know! If he has to, he will angle his head downwards so he can make eye contact with you while speaking.

If you're a bit of a trouble maker he might find you amusing. As long as you're not causing trouble for him or his plans, of course. I like to think that he enjoys the subtle chaos Niffty brings, so if you're in the same ballpark as her then congratulations! You're just interesting enough for him to keep you around.

I doubt Alastor would have much thoughts on your stuffed animal like appearance, he doesn't seem to judge anyone much on what physical traits they inherit when they make their way into hell. No, he's more so interested in what sort of power you might have. Perhaps that's another reason he keeps you close by, you can help him with his plans... whatever that might be.

If you have any stitches on you he may make light hearted jokes, perhaps if you make him laugh rather hard he might joke about one of you popping a stitch.

[howlingmoonrise]

Guide to backing up AO3 fics on the Wayback Machine

okay so on the interest of being able to link back to this instead of having to type it all over again the next time a friend asks:

yes, you CAN back up fic (and other websites in general) to the wayback machine, you don't have to be a specific profession or a member of the internet archive or anything

you can do this without an account, but you have extra options when you're saving a website using an internet archive account (saving ALL outlinks from that page, which is a huge time-saver; saving it to your web archive, which is useful when you want to look up the stuff you saved; etc). making an account is free.

specific things need to be taken into consideration when saving, such as whether a webpage requires login in order to enter. the wayback machine only saves a page exactly as it would show up to you if you were to open it on an anonymous tab right now with no extras installed (logged out, no saved cookies, stuff unclicked, etc) so you need to take this into consideration when saving stuff

why does this matter? because when it comes to ao3 fic, specifically, this poses some issues. at the risk of this post being nearly exclusively lists and bullet-points:

login-locked fics can't be saved to the web archive like this (please download them through ao3 itself if you'd like to save them as they are)

fics rated as explicit, mature, or not rated don't get saved properly if you use the normal fic link. they only get saved as the page where you confirm that you're willing to proceed unless you add this confirmation to the link you're saving (more on this below)

fics with more than one chapter don't get saved properly if you use the normal fic link. i see this happen a LOT with people who think they saved stuff but then only the first chapter was actually backed up. you also need to add a parameter to consider this to the link you're saving (more on this below). no, using the save all outlinks option won't help you here as the links to the next chapters aren't all indexed.

saving outlinks won't work if the fics listed in the page are explicit or multichapter, because you'll run into the same issues as in points 2 and 3. using the "save outlinks" option works when you're dealing with the page for a series where all the works are gen/teen oneshots. maybe twoshots, since ao3 now links to the latest chapter on the chapter count, but i haven't tested this yet.

--

step-by-step guide to how to back up fic and deal with the pesky multichapter/rating issues below the cut:

1. get the fic link

you want the one that is formatted like below, with only the work ID listed in the link

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17007075

you can get this straight-up on oneshots, or right-click+"copy link" on the fic name when the fic is listed on an ao3 page (such as in the pages for bookmarks, series, or just in the plain fandom/ship tag). alternatively, if the link you have has anything else on it, such as:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17007075/chapters/49717460

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17007075/bookmarks?page=7

you can just remove everything after the work ID so that the format is the same as in the first example.

2. edit the link

if the fic is a gen/teen oneshot, you can just leave the link as it is

if the fic is explicit/mature/not rated, add ?view_adult=true to the end of the link

if the fic is a multichapter, add ?view_full_work=true to the end of the link

if the fic is explicit/mature/not rated and a multichapter, add ?view_adult=true&view_full_work=true to the end of the link

you can just use the last one for any fics and it'll work! it's just more difficult to find on the wayback machine if you only have the original link to work with, so i try to keep it to the simplest version possible.

as an example, you'll end up with something like this for the last case:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17007075?view_adult=true&view_full_work=true

the edited link you end up with is the one you'll use from now on in this tutorial!

3. check whether the link has already been saved on the web archive (optional)

if the fic was saved, say, yesterday, or the writer has vanished from the interwebz since like 2003, and everything looks to be in order, there's little point in saving it again unless there were major changes since (and PLEASE check if the only save wasn't just an error page instead of the page itself, sometimes this happens and it's heartbreaking when you only notice after the page is gone.)

you can check this by going to the main page of the web archive, entering the link, and then checking on the timeline for how many lines there are in it (if there are no saves at all, they will ask you if you want to save the page). for the fic we're using as an example, someone appears to have saved it in 2021. click on that line, and then on the calendar below (where there'll presumably be either a blue or a green bubble around the date in which someone tried to back it up. other colours are no bueno):

green bubbles/links indicate a redirect. this is not particularly worrying by itself: it happens, for example, when the link is being redirected from the work ID-only format to the ID/chapters/chapter-ID format. but it can also be a redirect to a warning, for example. click on one of those timestamps and check whether the fic shows up as you expect it to. (once you have the page for a snapshot, you can just paste your next links in there to check if they exist instead of doing this all over again.)

for example, in the case of this particular fic, only the third chapter appears to have been saved. weird! you definitely don't want the only back-up of it to be this one, so it's time to move on to the next step.

4. save the fic!!!!

go to the wayback machine save page. paste the link. if you have an account and want to keep the saved website at hand, check the "save in my web archive" option.

whether you want to save error pages (for example, in case ao3 is having server issues, or for archival/historical reasons) or not is up to you, but i prefer to uncheck the box because it's usually more visible if there was an issue. below is the page of a 404 page i tried to save with the box unchecked:

and here is an attempt for another 404 page with the box checked:

the second example saved the error page only, and can mislead you into thinking that the fic was properly archived when it was, in fact, not.

DO NOT CLOSE THE PAGE UNTIL THE ARCHIVING IS DONE OR UNLESS THEY TELL YOU YOU CAN! this latter case usually happens when there's a lot of strain in the archive and the back-ups are happening with some delay, but in general you want to keep the page open so you can see the status of your save.

YES, it's slow as fuck, you're just gonna have to deal with it. i usually have 3-4 pages open when i'm working on saving several fics at a time. be patient. do other stuff meanwhile. i usually do this at the same time i'm updating my bookmarks with the fic title/author/summary/link in case the fic gets deleted and i have no clue which one it was anymore, so i have a pretty steady "copy link->edit link->save fic->update bookmark for that fic->repeat" workflow going on.

5. save the link you used!

bestie. i'm pleading with you. save the fic link somewhere. any! fic link! for that fic! even the original will do! any link that you can reverse-engineer into the one you want! because good fucking luck finding the save you did when you no longer know how to get there, even if you save it on your own web archive (i have a couple thousand websites saved on mine so it's like finding a needle in a haystack).

the web archive does not neatly save the page name so that you can search it easily, so you ABSOLUTELY need the link for the fic or you're likely done for💀

you have a couple options here! place the link in your ao3 bookmark directly, if you have the fic saved on there. if you're the kind of person who bookmarks directly on their browser, go for it, i guess? (but keep a backup of your bookmarks somewhere). create an excel with the fic data in a column or two and their corresponding links on the following one. it's up to you! just save it somewhere.

preferably, save a downloaded copy of the fics you love, too, instead of solely relying on the web archive, but that's a lecture for another day.

6. bonus round: saving series!

also adaptable for saving works by a specific author - the essence of it is that you want every page you'd need to navigate to in order to reach the rest of the works. for an author, this would likely be their main page -> their works page (or their [works in specific fandom] page) -> every page within that -> the works within each page.

this is where the outlinks are your best friend.

get the series link (the format is something like https://archiveofourown.org/series/2930166).

open the save page on the web archive.

if the works are all mature/explicit/not rated and/or contain more than two chapter each, don't bother checking "save outlinks". if the series has a large amount of gen/teen works and they're only oneshots and twoshots, check "save outlinks". you'll save time doing this instead of backing each of them up individually, but please verify that the second chapters of the twoshots have indeed been saved.

save the series page. save also the link to the series page: from this one you can then navigate to the works you save within it.

now individually save each of the works within that series that you want to keep (and that you haven't covered in point 6.3) by using points 1-4 of the larger fic-centric tutorial.

i hope this helps!

[pumpkinmetaphor]

im pretty sure its a running joke in the kyokao fandom that they actively make each other worse which i think is absolutely hilarious (because like, yeah annoying capitalist x annoying capitalist) but what are some of the ways you think they improve each other? :D /gen

Great question!

I think Kyoya makes Kaoru more ambitious. Kaoru is smart enough to skirt by most of the time without much effort or forethought. I would not hesistate to believe that he and Hikaru are only doing like half their subjects and then taking tests for each other. I also think Kaoru is immature and nebulous about the future and what he wants from it.

Someone like Kyoya, who is very goal oriented and future focused would be somewhat of a motivating factor. Hikaru and Kaoru's decision to go to Tokyo University is more triggered by Haruhi and Nanako than Kyoya's still pending decision to stay in Boston, but I think Kyoya seeing what he wants and going for it is impressive. I think Kaoru would take his work more seriously, maybe take more of an interest in the business side of things if Kyoya made it more fun.

Meanwhile, I think Kaoru would motivate Kyoya to reevaluate what he thinks freedom means. Freedom is Kaoru's family motto and something Kyoya strives for and thinks he has- but has he? I think in the same way Tamaki makes him reevaluate the box his father has put him in, Kaoru would help recontextualise that a bit more. Yes, you don't have to be trapped in the expectations of your birthright, but maybe you don't need to be beholden to anyone's expectations of you- Kyoya himself said it doesn't matter as long as the people he cares about knows who he is, so maybe he should live by that instead.

The host club in general convinces Kyoya to have a bit more fun, but I think even Kaoru's specific situation- overshadowed by his elder brother, possibly disinherited due to reasons unrelated to merit- and the fact that Kaoru would be entirely unbothered by it would allow Kyoya to maybe reevaluate his options and pick ones that allow him that freedom. After all, those who live freely are the winners, right? And Kyoya wants to win.

I think this "Kaoru makes Kyoya a freer spirit" stops slightly short of Kaoru getting him on a motorbike at any point.

Basically, I think they mellow each other out. Kaoru works harder, Kyoya becomes less of a workaholic. Kaoru becomes a little more self-possessed, Kyoya becomes a little bit freer.

I also think, as me and @pilindiel were only discussing earlier, they mesh pretty well with each other's anxieties. They're two people who believe that they can only be love for the mask they put on, and two people who quite easily see through each other's masks. As long as the people you care about know who you are, nothing else matters- is as much about Kaoru as it is about Kyoya. It's an inadvertant, egotistical admission by Kyoya that he does know who Kaoru is and Kaoru does care about him, and vice a versa. Platonically, and bewildering to Kaoru at this point, but important nonetheless. Kyoya proves his point by even saying it and articulating it as a viewpoint that Kaoru would share- because he does know who Kaoru is, and nothing else about it matters.

But yeah, Kyoya believes that it is more important for the people he cares about to know him than it is for them to love him. And Kaoru is kind of into the whole evil scheming ambition thing so that negates that concern. And Kaoru meanwhile is terrified of being made obsolete and being left behind. Which is negated somewhat by Kyoya being the kind of guy with the dedication to stick to his convictions, one of which he has decided is the perpetuity of the host club. And one would be Kaoru too, of course.

Also just tacking on at the end because I'm rambling too much. I think Kyoya would make Kaoru more independent-- something Kaoru already strives for a bit more of, but there's nothing like giving someone a reason not to share a bedroom with their sibling anymore as that final push. And I think Kaoru would encourage Kyoya to be less self-isolating, less of a lone wolf. Mainly because he likes getting into other people's business. Kaoru loves teamwork <- freak.

[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Generation 2 Pt. 54 (The Game Tried to Take MY SON!)

cw: toddler peril. I learned a lesson about playing with unpatched mods but I played up a bit of drama despite not accepting what happened as canon. Only shot of Ash is above because more felt gratuitous for something that technically never happened because I reversed it.

The quiet house unnerved him. Conrad knew something wasn't right. He texted Heather, and in less than a minute his phone rang. "I'm sorry I didn't text," she sobbed through the phone. "Ash's daycare called and I...I...I'm at the hospital with him now. Doctors have him sedated."

"What happened?!"

"It was daycare," she repeated. "They said he was on the slide but then they looked away and...and they thought..." She broke down, and Conrad felt her pain through the line. Her fear shook the phone in his grasp.

"It'll be okay. I'm on my way there."

He embraced her when he walked through the door to St. Sims Hospital, and she fell into his arms. "He'll be okay," he assured her, but he didn't know any better.

"How did this happen?" she cried. "What kind of mother lets her son-"

"Stop. This isn't on you."

"If I didn't work so much, I could have been home with him. Maybe I could have..."

He pulled her close, feeling every tense muscle in her rigid body. "This isn't on you," he repeated. "And we're not gonna lose him. We'll all get through this together. We're a team, remember? That means Ash, too."

She was quiet. "Conrad... Do you believe in curses?"

"Like witches?"

She frowned as her thoughts pounded against her skull. "I don't know. Maybe. Maybe mermaids? But Mortimer Goth told me a story once about cursed Landgraabs, and I know how it sounds. But when Ash came along I thought about it a lot more than I should, and then I had to give him their last name. After tonight, I feel sick to my stomach. What if I cursed my son by giving him Malcolm Landgraab for a father?"

"There's no way Ash is cursed," he said quickly. "I know you're scared for him, but curses aren't real and Ash is one of the luckiest kids in the world. He'll get a Landgraab trust fund and he's got you for a mom."

She managed a smile, but when the doctor emerged from the pediatric care unit, she raced over to hear word of her son. "How is he? Oh, Watcher, please let him be okay..."

Dr. Serra smiled. "He hit his head pretty hard, but other than a headache for a few days, we think he's going to be fine. We want to keep him overnight for observation, but he's awake and he's asking for you."

Heather's whole body breathed with relief as she embraced her son's doctor. "Thank you!" she sobbed. "Thank you so much!"

Behind her, Conrad felt his muscles loosen. He'd been so focused on Heather, he didn't even notice his own fear at the thought of Ash in peril. "Thank you, Doctor. We're so grateful."

Dr. Serra smiled. "You must be Conrad. Ash asked for you, too."

Ash would recover quickly, but Heather wasn't so sure about herself. Even with Conrad's unflinching support, she felt torn apart by guilt over her son's near-fatal accident while she'd been working.

She was always working, trying so hard to earn enough to buy out her clinic from Ash's other family. ->

<- Previous Chapter | Gen 2 Start | Gen 1 Summary | Gen 1 Start

WCIF St. Sims Hospital? Sims 4 Gallery build by @pihe89/pihe89. Stunning build, simply put, and very popular (so many copycats). And it comes with a science lab and alien wormhole nbd. Two floors, so many varieties for rooms. Why would I build when people are this talented? It's in a second save and I'll use it again for babies, but hopefully we're not back here for any tragedies anytime soon.

How did this happen?!? Needless to say, Heather's guilt is also mine. I had too many mods and tested fate playing before updating them all! I played some Ultimate Decades Challenge generations and still have the Children and Toddlers Can Die mod installed (I like having options, I guess?), which only kills toddlers with hunger if I'm not mistaken. I was also having some mod issues after the Lovestruck update and didn't realize it until this happened, but the toddler needs bars stayed in the green while their needs deteriorated and I didn't know. Only the toddlers!

So I followed Conrad to work and when he came home Ash was gone and Heather had the 'lost a child' grief moodlet. Cue my internal scream! I revived him instantly with MCCC because this is not UDC and I have plans for this kid! I was so shocked I didn't take any screenshots of the whole disastrous event, but I couldn't pretend it absolutely didn't happen. And honestly the accident ties in with Heather's nagging fears the curse could be real, which is the one unintended benefit of this whole thing.

[hoshiseon-digiarc]

desire ; preview

♰ pairings :: ot8 vampire!ateez x fem!witch!reader

♰ genre :: dark fantasy, smut, strangers to ?? to lovers, fluff, maybe slight angst?, soulmates/fated lovers

♰ content :: polyamory, references to religious themes, all of them are kinda down bad... some more than others, reader is enamored with them (i'll add more by chapter, they're not written yet)

♰ word count :: 580

♰ note :: all of the descriptions are general as this is the preview, please read the warnings for each chapter!! this is my first time not writing in third person :,) each chapter will probably focus of different sets of members. the chapters aren't planned, i'm writing this as i go so pls be patient. i'm not sure how many chapters there'll be. feedback is greatly appreciated and i should have the first chapter up very soon!! ♡

♰ gen. warnings :: blood, violence, predator/prey dynamics (non sexual & possibly sexual in later chapters), fear, anxiety, sight obsession, stalking, general dark themes, manipulation (non sexual)

☽ smut warnings by chapter, MDNI!!

as i look around confusedly, i forget that there was a small chance i was being followed by something. instead astonishment replaces the fear as i look around. but not for long. i start to hear the distinct sound of crunching leaves coming from my right. this time my entire body freezes for a fraction of a second and i do not turn to see whatever it is coming for me. instead i turn left and start to run. as i sprint through the tree line, i make it long enough that the clearing behind me starts to morph back into endless trees.

but turning back to look proves to be a mistake as i trip once again and fall, unable to catch myself as i collide with the ground. sharp pain shoots through my knee again and i know this time i would not just have a bruise. i wince and cry as i push into the dirt to roll onto my back. through my fear, i could only hear my boots making contact with the earth beneath me but now that i am still i can definitely hear the pursuit of something coming towards me. it doesn't sound like running but then again i may not be able to hear over the sound of my own pounding heart and heaving breaths. i attempt to scramble to my feet and push through the pain in my leg but i can only manage a weak limping jog. i feel tears pool in my eyes as i stop to lean my side against a tree. there's just no way i'll make it to my cabin like this. and there's no way i'd beat whatever it is that's following me. as the pain in my knee starts to throb, i sink lower until i'm sitting with my back against the tree.

through my wallowing i failed to realize that the sound from before had stopped. as i turn my head to look around, i spot a silhouette to my left. back from where i originally started running. it looks like.... a person? who in their right mind would be out this far? it seems like the seconds drag on as i stare wordlessly at the unmoving figure. i have no options to weigh so i wait. for impending doom most certainly. but there's nothing i can really do. trying to get up again really isn't practical and would just alert them to my location, if they don't see me already. i blink and suddenly the figure looks a lot closer than they were a second ago. no... my mind is playing tricks on me no one moves that fast. my heart rate kicks into high gear as the figure starts to become larger. they're definitely getting closer. my reflexes kick in and i scramble with no success to get onto my feet. i hear my breath stutter and a cry threatens to leave my lips as the figure finally really comes into view and then stops. though it's still very dark, they're close enough now that i can see the person is a man. he's human looking... enough. but that doesn't really quell my fear. he's still not close enough that he could hear me if i spoke in a normal tone but i shouldn't get my hopes up. i watch as his head tilts to the side for a second before he starts to walk, much slower now, towards me.

[gabessquishytum]

So I just had a cursed dream (stress (?) Nightmare) that will probably haunt me for days to come and though it would make an excellent Dreamling prompt. (And no, I don't even have a crush on this coworker that featured in my dream. It was wild.)

Dream and Hob work on the same team. They've been slowly growing closer, chatting outside of work, ect. Dream mentions something off-hand in their messages during the work day, like telling Hob some facts about a piece of music or whatever (for me in my dream it had been a workout routine).

Hob types up some long message, confessing his feelings for Dream but doesn't plan on sending it. He scrolls up through the chat and in the process, accidentally hits send.

He's mortified. But then Dream starts typing. And then his message comes through, and it's Dream saying he would be lying if he said he didn't share the sentiment. And they talk in the chat, exchanging some more messages when suddenly there are people replying to the messages that aren't just Dream and Hob.

Well, whoopsies! Turns out what they thought was their normal DM chat with each other was actually a team group chat! So everyone's seen it. Everyone. Including their boss.

Dream's a ball of anxiety about it, worrying about being fired over the non-professionalism of it all. Meanwhile, Hob is just ecstatic that Dream likes him back.

(As some optional Angst/drama, the coworker I apparently confessed to in my dream was married, so maybe in the Dreamling version of this, Dream's married/dating someone (Thessaly? Just because I'd feel bad for Cali) and in his own confession mentions how he is married, he shouldn't feel this way, and yet the prospect of being with Hob has brought him more joy than his current relationship has, possibly ever.)

This is absolutely hilarious omg. If it happened to me in real life I would simply pass away though.

Dream is actively DYING of embarrassment. I like to imagine in this au that both he and Hob are a little older and they are now immediately being bullied by their gen-z colleagues for not realising they were in the group chat. Ha ha, very funny, Dream is totally not having a meltdown and considering quitting his job, changing his name and leaving the country forever. Meanwhile Hob is having a montage from a romcom in which he skips around the house in his pyjamas and flowers bloom wherever he steps.

For the angst factor either Dream IS in a relationship OR he goes into damage control mode and starts saying that it was all a prank and he doesn't like Hob at all, he assumed it would be obvious that someone like him would never lower his standards so far. Cue utter devastation for Hob as all his dreams collapse. He calls in sick to work, locks himself in his house and refuses to take any calls. Dream starts to think that he may have made a terrible mistake as he is shunned in the office and Hob won't even talk to him so he can't explain himself.

FINALLY Death drags Dream’s sorry ass over to Hob’s place and makes him stay there banging on the door until Hob finally answers, bleary eyed, bottom lip quivering. Dream’s carefully curated apology flies out of his brain and he's just clinging to Hob’s sweaty old t-shirt and begging for forgiveness. He's practically sobbing that he does like Hob, he's just stupid and scared and he's not used to things being good. He doesn't expect to get a second chance but he can't bear the idea of Hob being sad.

Fortunately, Hob is a great believer in the healing power of kisses. So he invites Dream inside. And a few hours later, the office groupchat gets a single picture of Hob being cuddled and snuggled by Dream as he deserves. All is right with the world <3

[fraudulent-cheese]

For the ramble prompts, 1. And 7

You're very lucky as i actually have access to my computer currently!!!

I'll pick 7, as i've already seen some people point out the differences between the twins but NO Staci analysis posts!

So. Staci. What the fuck is up with her. Why did she think lying about her family on a consistent basis and not helping in challenges would work? How exactly did that make her think it was the best she could do, to the point she thought she "was doing so well" (quoting her at her own elimination) after that first day?

I think Staci's goal while on the show was to win via social game - or at least, make friends on the show. Her lying could be due to either 1. wanting attention from them, so she started making shit up to make herself look more important or 2. she actually believes what she says and just wants to impress people with her family history. I don't think i can conclusively say which one canon's leaning into? Realistically, her exaggerating her family's achievements is the more likely option, but her actually believing them would be more tragic.

HOWEVER. Just looking at her one episode of content + her audition tape isn't enough. We need to look at her contestant biography.

YEAH IM GOING THERE! If you weren't aware, for the first 5 (6?) seasons of TD as well as TDRR, there were official biographies for every contestant depending on the season, all of which were available on the official (now defunct) Total Drama Website. I'd consider the information featured in all but two of these biographies canon, as they either came from the official website (ROTI + WT), the Teletoon site (TDAS + TDPI) or from Total Drama: Totally Interactive! Im unsure about the canonicity of the Action bios and the TDRR blurbs (because yeah. they're just blurbs. sad.) as they were released only on Cartoon Network's site and the Action bios have... inconsistencies with other sources, let's say.

Thankfully, Staci was lucky enough to be a gen 2 contestant, so she gets the most detailed contestant answers biography model, so i can get alooot more info out of them.

I'll get the smaller observations out first:

In her last answer, she mentions her great-great-aunt Mildred and how she "told the first lie." I could look into how this could be Staci's least favorite relative (as she does seem to value truth/honesty), but also what if that's Blaineley? Her legal name's Mildred after all! It would be really funny! We need more "Staci and her great aunt Mildred" content STAT

She seems to really like pop music

The only answer not related to lying or to her family is the First Job question, instead it's foreshadowing to her elimination

Now, for a larger one: She barely talks about herself in these answers. Sure, she answers the questions, but she spends the vast majority of her time talking about her family instead. She manages to link the fucking Favorite Color and Food question to them! Her love of her family is made very clear here. Knowing about them is literally what she picks out as her Best Quality!

...but only her distant relatives. No mention of closer grandparents, sisters, nephews/nieces, aunts/uncles, and only a single indirect mention of a mother. Only distant, mostly older family members and cousins. And she had to have met some of them! Her Craziest Dream answer describes a dream where her great-great-uncle Charlie was telling her lies, implying they've met and talked before! So where's the mention of her closer family members?

I'd say it's because if those family members are further away, or if they're dead, it's harder to fact-check what she's saying so her peers wouldn't find out it's at best an exaggeration and at worst an outright lie.

I think the answers that show this the most well are the Best Memory and Most Embarrassing School Moment, her presentation on an older family member and realizing the topic was a lie.

This feels like something that would happen earlier in life to me? Maybe primary school level, or even earlier. If she made her entire class project on it, she had to believe in it, right? Despite how absurd that notion is! This indicates to me that Staci was/is very naive, and her love for her family started in childhood. She seems very interested in her own family's history, to the point of exaggerating their accomplishments; maybe her great-great-aunt Lois created a plate design patent or her Great-great-uncle Jason simply looked into the history of the letter E, so either Staci exaggerated them to seem more interesting, or her family members would exaggerate these achievements at family reunions as jokes or something and little Staci just believed them.

Im also unsure on her family being good or not... her Dream Date answer is apparently Richard Nixon because she'd want to learn more about his life, specifically citing that he "reminds [her] of [her] third cousin once removed, Andrew." If you know anything about recent US political history, that is not a good thing. This also shows she has some interest in politics/recent history/other people's lives! This girl does have interests!!!

And this is where i bring up the Favorite Movie answer. The movie it's based on, according to the wiki, is "The Invention of Lying", a 2009 movie. skimming the Wikipedia article, it's a romantic comedy film about a guy with the ability to lie in a world where people can only tell the truth. He first abuses this power for selfish gain but in the romantic resolution decides to not lie to benefit himself and lets his love interest actually choose to be with him.

I think the reason why Staci likes this movie so much is the romantic resolution; this is what she'd want to happen if/when she'd reveal how her family's achievements are either fake or exaggerated to her friends, and they would stay. That she'd get people interested in her with those lies, before actually being honest with them when they're closer... But it never happened with anyone on the show.

TLDR, i need this girl to realise she doesn't need to lie so much about her family for others to like her, as hiding behind masks won't get you any real friends. Something that applies to the majority of the roti girls, actually.

[offical-ouroboros]

Unknown x Reader HCs - An Uncomfortable Beginning

CW: Stalker unknown, general weirdo partner stuff, violence, general horror angst, all pronouns Unknown, some light NSFW themes

~♡

※ Being with the... "Nameless Legend" as it liked to be called was certainly a way to get around.

※ He's touchy, he's feely, and he's overall just plain creepy.

"Hey... You."

※ If you find yourself with the Unknown, I can only imagine it happened in a 'love at first sight' sort of way.

※ Maybe you were nice to her- Didn't scream, didn't run, didn't call her names.

※ Maybe you were fun to chase- Clever, able to get away like a cute little rodent. You didn't need to be fast or small to escape. Just smart.

※ Maybe... It just liked you.

※ Regardless of what it was, he'd never kill you. Would never wear your form. Just admire it as it was.

※ You wouldn't be entirely safe from it in the beginning, though. He had a job to do.

※ It did hurt, hearing and seeing you in pain. But it also gave her a rush.

※ Then again, you could always...

※ There's two major ways to gain his favor.

※ Option number one, the shitty teammate route.

※ Just follow other survivors around, and mess them up.

※ What's that? The killer's coming? Stand in front of their vault and make sure they can't get to it, and make the leap yourself at the perfect time so they'll get smacked around and downed.

※ Oh, the generators? Just keep messing up all your skill checks.

※ Someone needs healing? Or they're on hook? Just watch them. Or leave them.

※ It'll make it less likely that the Unknown goes after you entirely, but won't really get you any friends...

※ Option number two, show it affection.

※ The Unknown has an ego- It loves feeling important, powerful, intimidating and big.

※ Stand your ground, touch up on its hallucinations if you decide to dispell them, just admire it's grotesque form as it hobbles around and mutilates your fellow survivors.

"You must... Be lonely... Here."

※ Do your best to stay calm, get close to it, put your hands over hers.

※ Its twitchy form tilts its head, sickening cracks sounding.

※ Get your own hands on the axe. But don't take it. Just keep your eyes on its... Sockets.

※ His freakish face will grin even more, and soon enough you'll feel him touching your waist.

"Why so... Nervous... Tonight?"

※ The axe will slip from her hand if you keep your touch over her skin, eventually dropping entirely so she can grab you.

※ Try not to struggle. He likes your face. Keep your eyes open. Keep looking at it. Why are you looking away? Look at it.

※ Hopefully you keep it's attention long enough- And if you are actually finding yourself interested (which let's be honest, you are. you're here still.), then you probably do.

※ The gens are done, the other survivors are free to leave, and... You aren't.

"Hey... I have to go."

※ Be quiet when you speak, and don't make any sudden movements. It might get too excited if you do.

"I'll come see you again."

※ Its hesitant. It doesn't want you to leave.

※ It'll be a tense race of sorts- Scooping you up under their arm and over their hip like you're a bag.

※ He'll hobble his way to the exit gate... Set you down...

※ It's up to you if you try to find her again. But regardless of what you choose, you'll never escape now.

[sim-berry]

Not So Berry CC & Mods Masterlist!

I'm almost to generation 5 of my Not So Berry challenge, so I thought I'd make a list of my favorite cc and mods that I use!

CC Creators

This is the most important part, as making your sims colorful is part of the fun of the challenge! There are some generations with colors (ex: peach, plum, mint green) that can be difficult since EA swatches don't really have these colors. Some creators have more swatches that add a bigger variety of colors. Look for specific palettes that have the colorful berry swatches, like Sorbets! Here are some great creators that provide these colors:

IMPORTANT: For recolors, remember that you'll often need the mesh of the original or else you'll get the dreaded broken cc with the question marks!

@simandy (amazing adult hairs that also often come in Puppycrow or Sorbets swatches)

@kissalopa (recolors many hairs with more swatches for all ages)

@dcwnandout (recolors many hairs in the Sorbets swatches)

@sweetberryturtle (recolors many hairs in Sorbets and Candy Shoppe swatches)

@i-heart-pudding (recolors of hairs and clothes)

@simysteric (recolors in the Sorbets swatches)

@noodlessorbets (the creator of the Sorbets palette, also reblogs cc using the swatches!)

Mods

Many of these I use for general reasons and not just for the NSB challenge, but I think they can really enhance your gameplay when following some of the challenge rules!

MC Command Center by deaderpool- I think this mod is a necessity overall but for the Not So Berry challenge one of the most important modules is MC Pregnancy. Some generations have a specific number of children to have, and this mod lets you be more in control of your sims' pregnancy. In the "offspring" tab for your pregnant sim, you can change the number of babies your sim is having (change twins to one baby, etc).

Grannie's Cookbook by @littlbowbub- some of the generations require your sim to master the cooking skill. If you're like me and play this game all the time, you might be getting bored of making the same old recipes. This mod provides a ton of adorable and creative recipes for your sims to enjoy. My personal favorites are the desserts- I haven't made a base game cake in a long time!

Relationship and Pregnancy Overhaul by lumpinou- one of the best mods out there for how much depth it adds to pregnancy, woohoo, and relationships. While playing gen 2 of the NSB challenge, my sim was supposed to have 1 child and "no maternal instincts" (quoted from the challenge rules), so it didn't really make sense for her to be overly happy about her pregnancy. This mod allows you to choose whether or not your sims want children (the game will also pick randomly), and they will react accordingly with moodlets and sentiments. It makes everything feel much more realistic.

Let's Get Fit Workout Equipment by cepzid creation- more options for workout equipment with custom animations. Great for generation 4 aka your athlete sim.

Talents and Weaknesses by lumpinou- allows you to choose your sim's talents and weaknesses in certain skills, which affects the rate of their skill gain. Maybe it's cheating a little, but since many generations require your sims to max certain skills, this can really help.😉Not to mention if you have a sim who is supposed to hate cooking, it doesn't make sense for them to be level 10! You can even block your sim from increasing certain skills.

I'll add more at a later date but I hope this helps some of my fellow NSB players!

[randomreadingtimewithtsuki]

I crawl out my cave once in a blue moon when I see someone opening requests for Dr. Stone. Also hi!! I love your background image i will now proceed to have Sugar Song to Bitter Step stuck in my head for the next couple of days!!

Id like to request a Gen x Reader (from the modern era) where Suika notices that the two have feelings for each other and tries to do something about it!

Thank you! Good luck on your requests!!

Hello!

I love Kekkai sensen and Klaus XD so i am not sorry for the song!

Thank you for requesting!

I hope this is of your liking please let me know what you think!

Tsuki's note: well, i did some background hope you don't mind? Also this is so cute! Detective/cupid Suika on the job! I Feel like this came out a bit weird

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

You joined the kingdom of science soon after Tsukasa's empire crashed down. You weren't exactly on his side, but you also couldn't just leave.

When you joined the kingdom of science, you were soon placed on the negotiators/political team along with Gen. Why? you had a knack for raking information out of people in a sweet and discreet way. You were also great at reading people, catching the little nuances.

Team in itself was just the two of you. Because it was so small you ended up getting close to each other. At first, you would help Senku read the situation and understand what you guys needed. Gen did the negotiation for the goods, you just read the people around.

Soon enough, Gen started to get a bit anxious in letting you talk to menacing people on your own - what if thy hurt you? sure, Kohaku would be with you, but still.

You, on the other hand got very upset thinking he didnt' trust your skills. After all, he was a sweet talker, so even when he said you are great at negotiation you did not buy it.

These situations let to a few arguments between you two, which caused some worried in one of the youngest members - Suika.

As a great detective she is, she took time to talk to you both separately. She gathered some information out of the situation:

Gen did trust your abilities, he was just worried about your safety.

You wanted him to see value at what you did.

For some odd reason either of you didn't want to tell the other something.

She noticed how oddly frustrated you, you are not someone to get easily affected by this kind of thing, but here you were, beyond frustrated.

And Gen for some reason, was very anxious about you taking front in some occasion. He always trusted the fighting team to keep everyone safe. Odd.

She took upon her to watch you both more closely and try to get you to chat more with her. With time she came to realize that, even though there were this tensions, you two were very close.

Gen showed you magic tricks and you absolutely loved it! You helped him organize his next motivational speech aka trickery.

Suika noticed that most the magic tricks performed for you involved some kind of gift like a flower or a flower bracelet. You always got very happy and wore them until they whiltered. A slight blush could be seen in your face while you tied the bracelet.

Thats when it hitted her: what if you both had a crush on each other? It would explain why you'd get so frustrated and why Gen was oddly protective of you! Yes! makes sense!

But how could she approach you two about it? Asking you directly seemed an option but... Would either of you open up? Gen probably wouldn't, you? maybe.

She thought really hard for a few days. How could she trick you both? You could easily see through people...Until she had one plan! Suika figured if she asked both you for help you could bond or perhaps be honest with each other.

Her plan? pretty simple! Suika could recall somethings you absolutely loved in the modern era, she did not quite know what they were, so she decided to ask Gen what it was. Same story with you, she knew somethings he missed and asked you about it.

Why? to feed you both information about things and maybe you guys had a bit more things in common!

At first neither of you thought anything of it, just a kid being curious. But after a while it started getting oddly suspicious. Why she wouldn't ask directly to him?

The first one to confront Suika was Gen. He asked her why she never asked you about those things. She stuttered a bit claiming to be a bit shy to ask. Odd. something is up.

You asked her why she didn't ask Senku instead. She said she rather ask you. Odd.

After a few days when the both of you were together, you realized you knew quite a bit about one another - things about the past. You ended bonding over a few foods you missed, besides cola.

Thats when it hitted you and Gen. You only knew those things because of Suika. What was she trying to do? You didn't immediatly grasped her idea, but Gen did.

His face flared up suddenly and told you an excuse to leave. Minutes after he left you also realized her idea - make you two bond a bit more and talk more. Did she know you had a crush on him? But wait, wait wait. He left suddenly.

The gears on your head were on full spin, ears fuming with the idea that your crush had a crush on you.

The first moments after this event together was a bit awkward. But it didn't take long for Gen to start lowkey flirting with you. He knew you liked him too.

The observer of the whooooooooole thing, Suika, was more than happy to watch you both slowly becoming a lovely couple!

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

Thanks for reading!

I am not going to lie it was hard to come up with the end i had tons of ideas but they all seem.... off.

[ethicaltreatmentofcowplants]

list 5 facts about a favorite sim of yours, and send this to simblrs whose sims you adore ʚ♡ɞ

I will pick Lilac Moon 😊

Lilac has been tweaked over the last year and a bit, but she originally started as one of those random cas gen Sims that Maxis make. (I forget exactly what they're called, but the ones from the gallery that don't look so cursed.) I forget the name of this Sim but I'll look it up if she respawns.

I chose the last name 'Moon' because it seemed to fit an artiste type who dabbles with the occult (she's tried and failed - or rather, I have - three occult family challenges) and also because Lilac is Korean-American coded. I attended school in Seoul for three years and some elements are patchworked from various classmates. 'Lilac' is because I liked the colour and because with the limited cas options, using a white-grey hairshade intended for older Sims gave it a soft pastel look. "Asian babygirl coded" as Aes (@sims4thehoes) put it at the time. (I am not particularly young so 'babygirl' was a new terminology to me, but when I looked it up, it seemed to fit.)

Her traits are always SELF-ASSURED, FREEGAN and LAZY. And maybe it's the confidence thing but even when I've started her out in saves with zero charisma, she seems to have such a pull on other Sims and always able to get what she needs for them (ie. she woohoo'ed Greg in almost zero time). She's also one of my more chill Sims - which she likely needs for what I put her through 😅. Kind of a lowkey main character energy all around.

While she spawned in my cas as a young adult, my headcanon from her is that she's the only child of a bohemian college educated couple. And probably originally from San Myshuno.

I see her as being a more established young adult rather than a 'new' college aged young adult, probably around the mid to late twenties mark.

[zangtangimpersonator]

a quick note to temper expectations regarding https://lumalabs.ai/dream-machine it's very expensive - $30 for 125 generations is wild, and even moreso when you factor in the fact that only about 1 in 10 results were valid. That's not even 2 minutes of adequate results. it's very limited and it can often take 10 minutes to generate a clip, and I didn't notice a difference between the free trial speed and the paid speed. (with Free Trial speed often hitting 7 hours per clip, I guess they have fixed this issue - you DO get significantly faster generations now lol) there are several other AI video generators people are expecting great things from (Sora AI is so hyped that googling it results in absolutely tons of fraudulent sites, and fans of Runway think the upcoming version will be the tits) And don't even think about "saving money" with an annual sub, the best options for AI can (and will) change overnight and the moderation can screw any prompt over at any minute. It remains a silly novelty and if you struggled to get Bing to do what you want, you aren't gonna have an easier time with this silliness as it stands. For $30 you can get at least 3 excellent OF subscriptions going instead, or maybe just buy yourself some good takeout ---- luma just improved slightly, which is good, but... if you paid for it two weeks ago and used up all your generations, sucks to be you! so that's another reminder, the limited generation system is very rude and you should avoid it ----- and now Runway Gen 3 is out, the notes are essentially the same - check out what people are actually saying on Reddit about how unreliable it is - you'll get a couple of impressive clips and so much trash, and you still have to pay for all that trash. Having jumped into Luma I feel like it's still at the novelty stage, and I don't see the point in trying each of them until they've gotten more established. Also people on Reddit say Runway is very heavily moderated, so there's that too. Also Krea.ai exists. It's fast, it's a bit shit, it's sort of early Midjourney quality and it largely doesn't seem to... work? Can be surprising, at least.

[fragilefirstchance]

It's Either Tourist Traps or Drugs

Gen, family-centric, rated T or M depending on installment

Do you like longfics? Gen fics? Reflective, OC-centric examinations of family dynamics? Maybe you'd like my fic!

Look at this fanart!!!! by Tardibabe and by ranchsoda92

Hi! I am not generally speaking active on Tumblr, but I just completed Part 5 of a fanfiction that is almost 150k words and which shows no signs of slowing down soon. I figured I'd show it to class. :)

Fragile First Chance and its follow-ups is a story about a nineteen-year-old boy whose legal name is Joss William [redacted] Pines but if you call him anything except Will you might end up in a fistfight. It's also a story about how the Pineses are basically good people with a lot of baggage.

Major themes are tagged and optional content warnings for individual chapters are included in drop-down tabs in the notes. For the most part, heavier themes are not gratuitous.

Below the cut you'll find a rough outline of each section. If you don't want spoilers, though, just head on over.

This story was well under way before The Book of Bill came out. It isn't perfectly TBoB compliant, but the themes and plot aren't really something that makes that an issue.

Part 1: Fragile First Chance

Dipper and Mabel Pines were sent to Gravity Falls at the beginning of summer for, from their perspective, no reason. In reality, it was because they were being sheltered from some very old family drama.

Will is May's son from her first marriage and Fil's son by adoption. He's nineteen years old, just getting out of his second incarceration, and a recovering addict. They planned to put him up for a few months, and after that Fil's weird black-sheep uncle agreed to give him a shot in Oregon.

Ford, of course, knew nothing about this. He's not happy about it.

Part 2: Learning to Breathe

Will and Ford are slowly acclimating to each other like two feral cats. They don't really have anything in common except insomnia and a mutual desperate quest not to get in too many fights.

Will doesn't like Gravity Falls. It's lonely, there's nothing to do, and it's full of weird bullshit he doesn't want to deal with. He's coping, though - Soos is pretty cool, the local teens are entertaining, and he ends up getting a long really well with the local bait shop guy and his dad.

Part 3: When Family Matters

Will has started to figure out how Ford works and make an effort to be nice to him. He also tentatively almost likes the guy. (cue Stan audibly sighing in relief off-screen.)

Also: Dipper and Mabel have figured out that their long-lost brother has reappeared, and there are certain family traditions about how you deal with long-lost brothers.

Part 4: Lancing the Wound

Ford and Will are both under a phenomenal amount of stress for a wide variety of reasons. By this point in the story, words like "panic attack" and "therapy" are coming up more often. They have more in common than they ever realized, although for two people with severe abuse-related PTSD, that's not necessarily a good thing.

The McGuckets are around to help. The Twins are too, although whether that's a good thing is open to debate.

Part 5: Nature versus Nurture

In the wake of Part 4, Stanford Pines is coming to realize that his mental health is a much more serious problem than he had previously realized. He struggles to come to terms with this and decide what to do next. This segment of the story is primarily about self-reflection and realizing that you need to change. We also get some serious discussions about the mental health industry (and how it tied into the gay scene in the 70s) by people who are personally invested in it.

Part 6: Definition of a Real Pines

This story arc just started and concerns Ford navigating his life as he tries to re-integrate with his family and society while working through a very difficult mental health situation.

We'll get to meet more of the Pines family. Shermie lives in Florida with his sister-in-law. (Note for those curious about the timeline incongruities: Shermie's age is- wait, look over there! *smokebomb, jumps out the window*)

Part 7: Consequences of Inaction

Will has pretty much adjusted to his new life, and the family as a whole had stabilized. However, there were some things left to rot outside the family while everyone was getting their feet under them.

This arc deals with Tate McGucket, straight-faced stoic extraordinaire, who may not be doing as great as he pretends he is.

Bonus: Erastus Kankerson's Toxic Ex

This is a stand-alone one-shot about Erastus Kankerson, an old friend of Fiddleford McGucket who dated him for a while after the divorce.