#some of these sims you've met some you haven't

[minamill]

Soft Spot bodies

[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Generation 2 Pt. 114 (A Winterfest to Remember?)

The events of this post occurred leading up to and during Winterfest (Generation 2 parts 99 to 102)

As Winterfest approached, Nicola and her brother Dominic allowed themselves to reminisce about holidays with their father. The spirit of the season had begun to infect them, and their gloomy hearts were beginning to open up to the spirit of the season.

Hazel woke late and came downstairs - she'd been at the Gnome's Arms until the early hours of the morning, and Nicola wondered how she could be so chipper. "Morning!" Hazel said, but the number of good mornings between them had dwindled. "Are we all ready for Wicked Winterfest Movie Night at the pub?"

"You've been home for five hours and you already want to go back?"

Hazel shot an annoyed glance at her wife. "We've been going to Wicked Winterfest every year since high school."

"Midnight Massacre 3 is barely even a Winterfest movie."

"It takes place on Winterfest Eve!"

Nicola sighed. "I just don't feel up to it this year. Don't you want to stay in and watch something less gory? My mom said she'd bake her chocolate chip cookies."

"River, Cass, even my Dad said they'd be there tonight. It's a tradition. I have to go."

"You don't have to go."

"Well, you don't have to stay home."

Hazel left for work in a foul mood. While she and the mayor canvassed in Finchwick that afternoon, he stopped to talk with her near the village green.

"Is something wrong, Hazel? You haven't been applying yourself to the job as much lately as you did when you started."

"I like my job, Mayor Varner, but I'm not sure this is what I want to be doing. It's a lot of administration and I don't know if I'm making a difference."

The mayor smiled warmly. Taking the reins of a town like Henford was rarely a stressful job, but Mayor Varner was kind and unflappable. "Enjoy your time off over the holidays, and give your future some thought. We can talk more about it in the new year."

Hazel met her family in the upstairs den of the Gnome's Arms, where every Winterfest they played slasher flicks for those who appreciated a little subversion from the usual cozy celebrations. Her sister-in-law, Cassandra, was delightful and charming but also a little gloomy from time to time, and she loved this tradition as much as Hazel.

"Midnight Massacre 3 never gets old. It's a Winterfest classic!" she gushed, too excited to sit down.

Hazel stayed out late for another night, chatting into the early hours with fellow local horror fan, Elsa Bjerg-Watson. She lived in Old New Henford with her parents, Bjorn and Clara, her wife Maira, and their daughter Jada, but she said the family had just made room for her niece, who had moved to Henford from San Myshuno.

"Suri broke up with her girlfriend a few months ago and she needed a change of scene. My mother's the best professional baker this side of Simlandia - even she knows she'll never match Noemi Alegria in Tartosa - but Suri wants to be as good as her grandmother someday."

"If Suri's cakes are as good as Clara Bjergsen's, I'll be her best customer," said Hazel.

The next morning was Winterfest Eve, and Nicola's mom, Kim, made chocolate chip cookies. She probably missed Eddie's presence at their holiday celebrations even more than her kids, leaving the cookies on the kitchen table before heading upstairs to cry it out in her room.

Hazel joined her wife in the kitchen and made a beeline for the cookie platter. "Did you want to head over to my parents tomorrow in the morning to open presents, or did you want to open presents together here?"

"We want to open our presents on Winterfest Eve this year because Dad always liked opening them before bed."

Hazel shrugged. "Okay, great. Then tomorrow we can go over in the morning for presents with my family, too."

"We want to go for a walk to see the wildlife on Winterfest morning. Dad loved living out here for the wild foxes and bunny rabbits."

Hazel didn't mind Henford's picturesque forests, bunnies, and birds, but they could walk through Isle of Volpe Park any day of the year. "I'd really like to go over to see my family in the morning."

"You're with them all the time," she said. "Why not make time for me?"

"Nic, I'm sorry you lost your dad, but he wouldn't want you to mourn him this long. He loved you too much to see you so sad. But when I'm home you're grading papers."

"You don't know what my Dad would have wanted, Haze. And seriously, when are you home?"

"I'm home right now and we're fighting again!"

Nicola and Hazel finally heard themselves and grew quiet, but a bitterness had long ago started to fester.

Hazel spent Winterfest Eve and most of Winterfest Day with her family, not her wife. She gushed over Heather's new engagement ring, and wouldn't let her own relationship troubles dampen her excitement for her big sister.

Hazel lingered outside a while before sunset. She hoped to delay going home just a little longer, in favour of a cozy celebration with her family. Like old times. She finally turned to leave when her phone buzzed with a text from Nicola.

Come meet me by the rink. Please.

Henford's local ice rink was just across the laneway from her childhood home on Cobblebottom Street, and she met her wife next to the ice with a kiss.

"I'm sorry I've been so hard to live with lately," said Nicola with a sheepish smile. "I don't let myself get sad about my dad, but holding it in makes me angry. I know I need to talk to someone for me as much as we need to talk to someone for us. But I love you, and I want to make us work."

"I want that, too."

With the sunset providing a picture-perfect backdrop to a tense Winterfest season, Hazel and Nicola found a way to end Winterfest with a cozy celebration at the ice rink, after all.

Could their blissful moment last, and would they make time for counseling as intended? ->

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

Gen 1 Start | Gen 1 Summary

In case you're wondering why this is such a sad arc already, Nicola's grief moodlets say it is:

[hwabang]

When the First Love Returns - Sim Jaeyun

Summary: After Jake starts giving all of his attention to his first love from high school, you start to pull away leaving the boy absolutely miserable.

Genre: angst + fluff ending

Warnings: fem!reader, established relationship, jealous reader, mentions of breaking up, mentions of insecurity, jake is kinda clueless in the beginning, ig you could say this is set a couple years in the future? in the sense that jake is close to proposing to y/n

Author’s Note: jake is not one of my three biases so tell me why i have two works for him before ANYTHING about heejay😭 (jungwon stans are eating well tho yw)

Word Count: ~ 4.2k

NOTICE: (the names used for side characters are fake names, with the exception of the enhypen members. the fake names don't represent any real life characters.)

(gif not mine!)

You were in the kitchen finishing up the dishwashing when you heard lots of rustling by the front door. Drying your hands you walked out to the main area to see Jake walking into your shared apartment with shopping bags in his hand and the biggest smile you'd seen in a while.

Jake quickly yet gently put the bags down and beckoned you over. Smiling, you walked over and wrapped your arms around his neck. "What's got you in such a good mood?"

He wrapped his arms around your waist and pecked your lips. "Guess what? My high school friend group is coming to Korea for a vacation!"

You widened your eyes in excitement. "Really? Jake that's great!"

He eagerly nodded, picking up the shopping bags again and walking to the table with you following behind. "I know right! I'm so happy 'cuz I haven't seen them in a while yeah, but we really haven't spoken in forever too. For some of them it's their first time coming to Korea so I can't wait to show them around. I worked around my schedule today so I'll be able to give them enough time."

You nodded along as you took out the takeout from the bags he brought, setting the table for the two of you. "How long will they be here?"

"Two weeks. It feels short for me honestly but it's fine, I'm gonna make the most of it."

"Yeah you definitely should. Invite them for dinner as soon as they get here. I know you probably want to take them out for dinner, but I haven't met them yet and I cook well."

Jake's smile got bigger if it was even possible. He was so happy to hear you suggesting to cook dinner for his friends. If Jake loved anything more than you, it was showing you off. And what better way to do that than bringing his friends into your shared home to see how well you keep it?

He walked up behind you and kissed behind your earlobe. "Thank you baby. I can't wait for you to meet them... Uh, one thing I wanted to talk to you about though."

You turned around to face him, seeing him biting his lip nervously. "What's wrong honey?"

"Well, uh.. they're gonna be here for two weeks so I might not be able to give you all the time that I want to.. so I just wanted to apologize in advance," Jake admitted blushing.

You cooed at the sweet gesture and kissed his cheek. "It's okay honey, I'm fine with that."

– – –

You were definitely not fine with that. Well, not a couple days in.

As soon as Jake's friends landed, they took a taxi to their hotels and after they washed up, they all came straight to yours and Jake's apartment for dinner.

As they walked into the apartment Jake introduced all of them to you; Alex, Cynthia, Taesu, Ben, Leo, and Minji. The 6 of them were so happy to meet you, saying they felt as if they knew you so well just because Jake constantly talked about you.

The dinner went well; you tried to get closer to the girls and the boys went with Jake to have "guy talk" (whatever that is). They were both really nice and genuinely seemed interested in you.

"Hey Y/N, where's the restroom?" Cynthia asked?

"Ah down the hall to the left," you replied. Cynthia quickly excused herself as you turned back to Minji. "So Minji, you said it's been a while since you've been back in Korea right?"

She hummed. "Yeah, I think last time was about 6 years ago? I remember nothing," she laughed.

You responded with a slight laugh as well. "Yeah, a lot has changed in the past couple years I've been living here too."

"Yeah.. you know I'm so happy Jake found you."

You gave her a genuine eye smile, feeling warm from the compliment. "Thank you Minji! That means a lot, really."

The warm feeling was gone as soon as it came when Minji said a sentence that made you halt.

"I mean, from the way he cried when we broke up, I was sure he'd never get over his first love."

You didn't know much from Jake's pre-debut life, having met him well after ENHYPEN debuted. You two also weren't the type to be jealous of previous relationships since you're both really loyal, so you never asked him to tell you all the details about his past relationships.

But the girl who was his first love being in your shared apartment right now? Left a bitter taste in your mouth.

"Did you not know?" Minji asked when you were quiet. "He didn't tell you?"

"No I–"

"I'm back!" Cynthia said. You were relieved, thinking Minji wouldn't bring up the topic in front of Cynthia but boy were you wrong.

"Cyn!" Minji called out. "Y/N didn't know Jake and I were a couple!"

Cynthia eyed her friend as she sat in her chair. "I mean.. that was so long ago and she's been dating Jake for the last 3 years so.. I don't think it matters anyways."

Minji was clearly taken aback but quickly shook her head. "No no no, it's weird isn't it? How could he not tell his girlfriend about his first love?"

"Maybe because he's over it?" Cynthia said matter of factly. "And you should be too." She gave a stern look to her friend and turned back to you giving you a sweet smile. "Sorry.. anyways, back to the Hello Kitty Cafe!"

After his friends had left for the night, you were contemplating asking Jake about it. It didn't really matter because again, you were in a 3 year long relationship with Jake and you guys were really committed to each other. You don't have to ask him right? Right, let's just not ruin his mood.

But Jake noticed. Jake notices everything when it comes to you; he blatantly admits his life revolves around you and that that's a 100% his choice. So after you guys got ready for bed and laid down to cuddle, Jake decided to ask you.

"I'm fine, what are you talking about?"

He squinted his eyes in disbelief. "Nah baby, you know better than to lie to me. I can see right through you," he said booping your nose. "Now tell me, what's going on in that pretty head of yours?"

"No it's just.. I didn't know your first love would be coming here."

Jake looked at you confused for a bit for a light bulb lit up in his head. "Oh! Minji?" You pouted, making Jake laugh. "Baby, she's just part of the friend group. I don't really talk to the girls in a private setting. Well, sometimes I talk to Cynthia privately, like rarely, but I haven't talked to Minji privately since I moved to Korea."

You nodded. "No I know.. I'm not upset she's your friend necessarily but it would've been nice to know your first love was coming to our apartment."

"I understand... I'm sorry. I should've mentioned it but to be honest I'm pretty much forgetting our previous relationship, which is why I didn't really think about it. But don't worry, that relationship from high school will never effect our current relationship."

You believed Jake; of course you did. Jake had shown you nothing but pure raw love the last 3 years of your relationship. You two were also talking about marriage a lot recently, so you had no reason to doubt Jake's love and loyalty towards you.

But that doesn't stop the gut wrenching feeling you started getting real soon.

Jake had already told you he'd be spending time with his friends a lot these next two weeks. You were completely fine with this but it started irking you when he was going to hang out with just Minji.

"Babe, Minji lost her luggage and needs a ride to the airport, I'll be back soon."

"Hey love Minji asked me to drop her off at her grandmother's. It's kind of far so I'll be like 2-3 hours."

"Minji is really sick so I'm gonna drop her off at the hospital."

"Minji asked me to pick up meds for her."

"Minji wants to go to a cafe."

"Minji is visiting a friend but asked me to pick her up since it'll be really late by the time she's done."

Minji this, Minji that, almost everything coming out of Jake's mouth recently was about Minji.

You were already annoyed but even more so when you found out Minji changed her hotel room to a solo room from sharing one with Cynthia.

"She's my friend," Cynthia said on the phone. "and I love her to death. But girl has a hard time letting things go. She talks about Jake a lot to our college friends which is weird because they don't even talk?? I don't know Y/N, I don't wanna rat my friend out but I do care about yours and Jake's relationship and I would hate if my friend ruined that. Jake's a little clueless as you know so just mention to him that it's bothering you yeah? He'll stop I'm sure."

But you couldn't. It was so embarrassing for you to even think about admitting to Jake you didn't like him being with Minji so much. You weren't usually jealous, you weren't ever controlling, so this whole feeling was so new to you and you hated it. You knew Cynthia was right; if you mentioned that him being with Minji bothered you even the slightest, Jake would stop right away. But it's just two weeks, you can handle it right?

Wrong.

The two weeks passed by in a breeze. Most of the times Jake saw Minji was in a group setting when everyone hung out together and you were always invited. The group hang outs were always a blast with no drama. Jake was always sitting next to you and one of his male friends. Cynthia would make sure every time Minji was next to her and not near Jake at all. But even if she was, you don't think it would matter much; as mentioned before, Jake was obsessed with you, absolutely infatuated with you. He constantly had a hand around your shoulder when sitting or waist and continuously would kiss cheek forehead or lips. He'd feed you, move your hair from your face, call you pretty in the middle of conversation. This man had absolutely zero shame showing PDA in front of his friends which silently consulted you.

But the hardest part was when you two would get back to your apartment, and not even an hour later Minji would hit Jake up for a favor or just because she was feeling down and needed a friend. Even though she had 5 other friends in the same hotel floor as her...

So the two weeks passed and you were feeling a bittersweet feeling. You actually really enjoyed the company of Jake's friends, especially Cynthia's, so you were sad since you'd miss them. But you were also reassured knowing Minji would be leaving.

But she wasn't. The day they were leaving she abruptly announced she extended her ticket another MONTH, something about not wanting to waste her summer break in Australia when she was enjoying Korea so much.

Annoying, yes. But you know what was even MORE annoying? Infuriating, even?

"Hey baby.. uh, Minji is asking if she can stay with us for the rest of her trip."

You momentarily halted but quickly caught yourself and continued typing on your computer. "Oh, yeah that's fine."

How could you say no? What was your reason? Your first love is flirting with you clearly and you're fucking clueless so no?? You didn't wanna be that girlfriend.

Jake came up behind you and wrapped his arms around your sitting form. "Are you sure baby? I don't want you to be uncomfortable.. I can tell that you've been a little bothered ever since you found out I dated her."

You felt guilty. You tried so hard to hide it but turns out you weren't that good at it. You turned in your seat and smiled up at him. "Jake, it's okay. I would feel bad having your friend stay at a hotel for a month when we have a perfect place to accommodate guests."

jake kissed you passionately, loving how kind and caring you were. "Thank you angel, you're truly the best thing to ever happen to me."

No matter how many sweet words or loving touches he gave you, you were still letting the voices in your head get to you. Minji was now staying with you, but you were noticing things that irked you.

You know, the things that a girl does that another girl would notice and know her motive but guys would be absolutely clueless about?

It started with what she did the last two weeks; constantly needing Jake to take her somewhere or do something for her which coincidentally (not, the bitch knew what she was doing) aligned with your work schedule so you couldn't ever join them. But then it got weird for both you and Jake.

One night before bed Minji asked you if she could make breakfast for the three of you the next morning and you happily agreed, happy you could sleep in the next morning. So you did, waking up with Jake wrapped around you as usual. You quickly got dressed in his t-shirt and some shorts and headed down to see if Minji needed help but were shocked when you walked into the kitchen.

There she was cooking in a cropped tank top and really revealing sleep shorts. You poked the inside of your cheek with your tongue, slightly annoyed that she was walking around your place like this but like the mature person you are, let it go and helped her by setting the table.

Jake was calling for you as he woke up and you yelled out saying you're in the kitchen. He walked in and halted as his eyes landed on Minji. "Baby I thought we were gonna sleep in– oh, uh, h-hey Minji."

You glared hard at Jake, hating how he blushed as he immediately looked to the floor.

His eyes quickly landed on you and his eyes widened, realizing how that looked to you. "No wait babe I–"

"Grab the orange juice from the fridge please. Minji's done cooking."

He reached out to you but you moved out of his way and took the dishes that were done to the dining table. Jake felt dejected but he followed your orders and sat down after getting the juice and glasses.

You started conversing more with Minji during the breakfast, basically ignoring Jake who had a permanent pout on his face. You were being petty, yes, but you needed to get a little revenge.

But Minji wasn't making it easy for you.

"How's the food Jake?" she asked. "What do you like the most?"

"Huh? O-oh uh, yeah it's good. The banana bread is really good."

She squealed and clapped. "I knew it! Do you not remember? This is the banana bread I used to make for you when we were dating!"

Both you and Jake paused. He was clearly flustered and looked to you for a reaction but you were looking at your food and enjoying it. "Uh I-I don't remember sorry."

"Really Jake? I made it for you all the time! When you first told me you loved me, when we celebrated our one year, when we first slept togeth–"

Jake started violently coughing and you just pushed the water jug towards him, not bothering to pour him some. He looked at you shocked as he continued hacking. Immediately Minji got up and gave him water, rubbing his back while subtly pushing her breasts in his face. He noticed and backed up but she continued getting closer.

Having had enough, you stood up with force from your chair and gave them a petty smile. "I'm done. Thanks for the food Minji it was great! I'm gonna go now, I have plans."

"Wait where are you going?" Jake asked. "I thought we could hang out today since you're off."

"I have plans with Jay."

"Wait what wait why?? Alone? You don't hang out with Jay alone??"

You shrugged as you grabbed your plate and glass to go wash. "Well there's a first for everything."

Jake shook his head. "We'll come with you guys. Jay will get along with Minji I'm sure."

She tugged at his hoodie sleeve, fucking bitch. "Jakey! We have plans to go to Lotte today remember?"

You scoffed at the nickname. "You two go to Lotte. I wanna hang out with Jay alone anyways."

You missed the dejected look on Jake's face. "O-okay.. Take my card."

"It's good Jay actually offered to take me out for the day, but I have my card just incase."

Now that you knew would irk Jake to the max. Jake NEVER let you spend your own money let alone let another man spend money on you so he always always gave you his card. You denying to take his card definitely sparked some anger in him.

You quickly left after that, not wanting to stay there with them any longer. This was the first time you left the two alone in your apartment but you had utmost trust in Jake so you knew nothing would happen.

That night you came home later than expected; not too late but 9pm. Honestly you have no idea how the day passed. You were closest with Jay in ENHYPEN after Jake so anytime you two talked it was for hours and hours.

As you walked into the house it was quiet. You thought maybe they weren't back yet but then you heard muffled voices in the basement.

After putting your things away you walked down to see Jake sitting on the couch with his head in his hands and Minji sitting next to him rubbing his back. You stayed behind the door, wanting to hear the conversation.

"I just don't.. get it.." Jake said sadly. "Anytime we go out without each other.. we always text and call the other letting them know we're okay."

Ah fuck, you thought. By any means you didn't mean to not text or call Jake, knowing fully well this is a rule between you two. You completely forgot to charge your phone last night, and by the time you had met up with Jay your phone was dead.

Minji hummed. "Maybe she's just having a lot of fun? I'm sure it's nothing."

"But still.. h-how can she not answer my calls? I know, I know I haven't been the best boyfriend recently but.."

"Jakey.. what if she just doesn't love you anymore?"

No. There was no way she just put that into Jake's head.

He snapped his head towards her. "What are you saying Minji.. I–I'm not in the mood for jokes right now."

"I'm not joking! You know I've been noticing she's been kinda distant from you recently. I thought you two fought but if you're also confused then it might just be her."

"Minji, you don't know anything about Y/N and I. We have a love that's hard to find anywhere else.. respectfully you don't know what you're talking about."

"But I do! Girls notice these things. Trust me, something's off."

"Thanks Minji, but I'm done with this conversation." He tried standing up but she pulled him back down even closer to her.

"Jake why can't you see clearly?! Why can't you take a hint?! I've been here for over a month just because of you! I came back to Korea for you! I never got over you, how could you easily forget me! I still love you, and if she can't give you that, be with me!"

Jake snatched his hand away from her and stood up. "Minji you're crossing the limit. You came here to win me back knowing I'm proposing to Y/N soon? That's really low. She loves me and I love her. Don't get involved." He turned to walk away and saw you standing by the doorframe and his eyes widened. "Y-Y/N.."

You gave him a sad smile. "I was coming in to ask if you guys had fun.. seems like you did."

Jake shook his head as he walked towards you. "How much did you hear?

"Everything I needed to. I didn't talk to Jay today about how distant we've been, didn't think you'd run to your friend about it either."

"Baby I–"

"I'm going to bed. Goodnight Minji."

Being tired from today's emotional events you passed out as soon as you got to bed, not giving Jake a reason to apologize. He knew it was wrong of him to go to his ex about his relationship problems, knowing you were already insecure about her being here. He decided tomorrow would be the day you guys finally talked about it.

Tomorrow came and Jake had dropped Minji off at her grandma's for the day. On the way home he picked up breakfast for you two and a bouquet of your favorite flowers. When he got inside he called you down to eat and as you two started eating the tension was thick.

Jake offered to clean up after the silent breakfast and you hummed, letting him do it on his own. You headed back to your shared room and started putting away clean laundry. Soon Jake came up and sat on the bed as you walked around. "Hey baby.. we should talk."

"I'm listening, go ahead."

Jake sighed. "Baby please," he pleaded. "Just come sit with me for a sec."

Reluctantly you went and sat a good couple inches away from Jake much to his dismay. "Okay, now go ahead."

He sighed before starting to apologize. "Look I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have gone to her with our private problems. I should've kept it to myself and talked about it when you came home."

You shook your head. "That's not even the biggest thing Jake. The past month and a half you've been spending the most time with Minji. Tell me, when was the last time you and I went to bed at the same time?"

Jake was quiet as he thought back to the last time and he couldn't remember. "I.. I don't.. remember."

"Exactly. I've barely seen my own boyfriend since Minji got here. And I wish I wasn't jealous but I am. And honestly Jake.. after the conversation you had with her yesterday.. I don't know where we stand."

Jake widened his eyes. "Wait, babe hold up. Don't say that, what are you talking about? We're fine, we're good. We talked it out. I'm gonna make my friendship with Minji very clear and we'll get over this."

"Jake it's not as simple as that. I've felt so distant from my boyfriend for the past 6 weeks! The guy who has to constantly be around me all of a sudden wasn't because his first love came back!"

Jake looked hurt. "I don't love her anymore... y-you don't think I do, right? Right Y/N? Say something please."

You ran a hand through your hair. "Jake, listen to me." You looked him right in the eyes hoping your message would be clear. "I love you. I know you love me too. I want to be with you forever, but right now we need to take a step back."

"W-what do you.."

"Jake, I want to take a break."

Jake's eyes widened and he grabbed your hands tightly. "Wait, what? What are you talking about?"

"Just for a little bit, we need to be separate. So we can gather our feelings–"

"I know my feelings!" he wailed. Jake had tears in his eyes as he tried to not let them fall. "I love you and only you! We don't need a break, I can't be without you."

You patted his hands. "Just for a little bit.. I'll stay with a friend for about two weeks and we'll come back and try to fix this."

Jake shook his head. "W-we can fix this now. We're talking about it, we'll fix this now." Jake let the tears fall and he engulfed you in a hug. "Please Y/N, please.. d-don't go.. d-don't leave.."

You let him sob as you silently cried, holding him tight as a way to calm him down. "Okay.. okay.. calm down... we won't take a break okay? Hmm? We won't."

He let go of the hug and looked at you with wide glossy eyes and a pout. "P-promise me.. when I come back from picking Minji up, promise me I won't see your things gone."

You shook your head. "No no, I'll come with you to pick her up. And we'll go out and enjoy a nice dinner with her.. and when she leaves tomorrow, you and I will sit and talk every single thing through okay?"

Jake nodded and sniffled. "I'm so sorry. I really should've taken your feelings into consideration.. I guess I just felt a sense of responsibility to do things for her since I'm the only person who can do anything for her here since I've got the car and stuff.. not a good excuse I know. But still, it's the truth. And I'm really fucking sorry."

You accepted his apology with a kiss on his lips. "It's okay Jake.. I forgive you. I love you so much."

"I love you too wifey."

– – – –

honestly this isn't good but i'm posting it anyways :')

[ykiwrite]

one day

description: wednesday caught you planning out your entire future in sims 4

warnings: just fluff, sims 4

words: ~1.1k

Homework? Done.

Dorm? Spotless.

On top of that, it was Friday night. Your roommate left an hour ago to god knows where. More precisely, they sneaked out in full trust you won't tell a soul.

To be honest, who would even rely on you in case something happened if they saw you like this? You're most likely last resort when it comes to a witness, especially on dark nights such as this one.

In case Nevermore happens to have an accident on Friday, you're off the list.

Way too smitten with your laptop and a horrendous posture on the chair, you took a sip of the freshly made black tea. The one that will hopefully do justice in keeping you awake for the next hours into this session.

Sims session.

Given that you don't have the most ideal conditions to have a complete gaming setup or multiple games to pick from, you had to survive on a laptop for now.

Waiting for the screen to load left you in silence. One dark entity paid a visit in your mind as per usual. You haven't seen Wednesday since this morning's class. Ever since Yoko dragged her away the second class finished, she was off the radar.

It crossed your mind how Enid mentioned her Friday plans with Ajax. Relationship and lovey-dovey plans your girlfriend would, without a doubt, gladly steer clear of.

You almost reached for your phone but retraced your steps. Most likely scenario is the one where Enid and Ajax are both shamelessly kicked out of the dorm while Wednesday works on the novel.

The only scenario sadly.

As much as you'd like to spend some quality time alone together, away from everyone, you let her be. Not wanting to bother the peace she finds in the process of writing.

An hour into the precise and thoughtful decorating of the house, you stretched your legs on your way to find a potential candidate for a midnight snack.

A few strictly followed one by another knocks on the door and you already recognized the pattern.

"Come in!" You whisper yelled for the other side.

Wednesdays presence that was oddly soothing to be around was hardly visible if it weren't for the full moon nested behind you. Others would be petrified to death by the sight but not you.

Not expecting to see her this late awake, you scoffed, "It's past your bedtime Addams. What are you doing this late?"

Unimpressed by the joke, she crossed her hands together. Rather than making a snappy comment back at you, she watched you rummage through the drawer. Ever so adamant about finding something to bite on.

What really drew her attention was the radiant screen on the other side of the room. She was familiar with your passion for technology and as much as she claims it's brainwashing, it piqued her curiosity.

"I hope you don't mind me asking what are you doing this late awake?" she said walking towards the table.

"Oh you know me, i was-" you stood up so quickly and whipped your head towards her fast enough to break your neck.

You were definitely not ready to have this conversation with her.

With a fast pace you ran over to block her view of the screen. Best move you could come up with was to close it and make filmsy excuse.

It won't fly past by Wednesday but it's better than her coming across your fictional Sims life and future house you've been dedicated to. That would scar her for life. Forbid looking that far into the future.

Your plan, however, was foreseen by Wednesday when she stopped your hand from doing so.

Intrigued expression of hers was met with your caught-red-handed one. She had no intentions of letting you walk away.

Her raised brow acted as a question, making you sigh.

"I was just playing a game. You know that's nothing new for me," you gulped nervously.

She kept reading your expression up and down before opening the half-closed screen.

Her eyes scrunched in confusion the second she saw two people resembling the two of you. One was an uncanny copy of the black-haired girl with dark aura while the other was strikingly you.

Not able to take any more of this silence, you broke it "So..."

"Is this me?" sounded unintentionally comic.

"I think it's pretty giving, yes. It's..." you let the breath you were holding out and rubbed your temples, "it's us actually."

Glancing over at you with unchanged bafflement, you continued to smooth it out.

"It's a game where you build a life and do whatever. Build a house, find a job, control relationships, make a story."

She slowly nodded, you were torn between if it was out of horror or just confusion.

"And what are we doing in here exactly?" Wednesday questioned so she could understand it more.

Follow up questions of course, went through your head. "Oh you know, it's just us living our best."

Seeing the decorated surroundings which were dark tones and a little Addamsy much to her liking, she cracked a smile. One that escaped your eye this time.

"And we are together in this i suppose? Just as in real life?" she asked and you nodded.

You thought this was getting too humiliating and attempted to close it once more. Without a win because Wednesday still persisted with her quick reflexes.

You groaned and left with a plan of throwing yourself on the near bed and hopes of sleeping until Wednesday forgets about it.

Her hand reaching for you prevented you from leaving her side. "It's like writing a story, as far as i understood?" She asked pointing at the chair telling you to sit down.

Watching her grab another chair to share a space next to you, you answered, "Best way to describe it so yeah."

Making herself comfortable, she looked over to you candidly. "Why are you doing this?"

"I can always delete it if you wish so. It's a dumb game anyways-"

"No. I meant why are you building our fabricated lives in this?" she asked you unprepared.

Scratching your neck, you tried to avoid her gaze. "Thinking about our future, i guess? I often think about how it will be. If it will ever be."

Noticing there's no point in doing so because of the darkness in the room, you turned to her. "It's just like your novels. You write about things. Except this is far away from it."

Wednesday kept looking at you as if she's lost. As if her mind wandered off for a moment. You felt exposed. You couldn't read her mind that was now unknowingly running with the thoughts of your future. She never wanted to give it much attention but here she is. A future with you? Probably the one she's most hopeful about besides death.

"Don't compare a video game to a novel."

Feeling slightly dispirited, you laughed to conceal it.

Wednesday shuffled and put her legs on the chair. Folded in half, she gave you words of encouragement.

"Do i have privileged pass to see the house?"

"To see what?"

She made a motion with her head facing the game. "Show me. I hope you have torture chambers added."

Wednesday just might search for a place once this university ends. A place resembling the one in the game. Happy wife, happy life, no?

notes: happy wife happy life sarcastically meaning, i know wednesday would never

[askmerriauthor]

regarding pokemon sleep, it looks like you’re just looking for things to complain about. it’s designed to be this chill thing you check on during the day and leave running at night. to play it, all you have to do is sleep and feed your pokemon. no one’s telling you you to have to be the very best at it or pressuring you into paying for stuff, let alone the game itself.

If I was just looking for things to complain about, I'd still be out here whinging over Pokemon Cafe's delightfully charming art style being absolutely wasted on a junk puzzle game instead of a full RPG or cozy slice-of-life Sim.

Regarding this post here.

Hi, I'm MerriAuthor. Apparently we haven't met because anyone who follows my blog would know that I've worked in game development well on 20 years now. I've worked across the industry from little nobody indie houses, to overseas gacha-fodder, to big ol' AAA major studios. Video games and their design are a big part of my life and, boy howdy, do I have some FEELINGS about the direction the industry as a whole has gone in as the years go by. Especially in regards to the predatory monetization of gaming and how it actively preys on children, uninformed parents, people with addictive behaviors, people with hyper-competitive personalities, and similar behavioral traits solely for the purpose of making money at their expense.

it’s designed to be this chill thing you check on during the day and leave running at night. to play it, all you have to do is sleep and feed your pokemon.

As with the previous person I spoke with on this topic, that is the base function of the game. But it's by no means the design of the game. Pokemon Sleep's entire game play rotation and marketplace are designed around encouraging the Player to interact with it as much as possible within an intentionally limited time frame. Meanwhile, the game's own time scale is such that it expects Players to log hundreds if not thousands of hours of interaction with it. Its own base gameplay loop is a weekly schedule and its shop schedule is monthly. Some Pokemon require a bare minimum of 150 hours of logged sleep to even access. Pokemon Sleep wants you to be in it for the long haul.

It's also based on collection; nearly every facet of the game is listed numerically and with a percentage value or progress bar, which are functions designed to produce urgency to complete them in the Player. Human brains don't like seeing an unfinished goal, especially one represented so overtly as an unfilled progress bar or a percentage value with a decimal. Want to have your favorite Pokemon as your napping buddy but don't want to put in a ton of effort playing the game to boost up your Snorlax's power score? Better hope it's one of the low-tier Pokemon assigned into the lower brackets of the gameplay progression, because otherwise you're never going to see it. Though you could always just fork over some cash. Nearing the end of your week with Snorlax and you're just shy of a milestone you've been aiming the entire week for? Good luck! You can pay money for that extra little boost, and once you've done it you'll resent its absence enough to want to buy it again! Do you want to level up that cutie first Charmander the game gave you at the very beginning specifically to ingrain itself with faux emotional value into your favorite Charizard? Want your Eevee to evolve into one of its most popular Eeveelutions? Want a Lucario, period? You'll need to put in hundreds of hours of consistent sleep to save up enough Sleep Points exclusively toward that goal... or you can just buy access to it immediately, through first purchasing access to the Premium Subscription! A Premium Subscription which, again, doesn't auto-cancel if you delete the app and can't be canceled through the app itself, for all you distracted parents who don't pay attention to fine print and wonder why your kid's game is running up a bill on your credit card each month after the 14-day free period - just long enough for you to have forgotten all about it in the first place. Snorlax wants a specific kind of Berry this week, but none of the helper Pokemon you recruited gather that berry, or they do and are just too low on Energy to manage it? Aren't you lucky! The shop will just sell you solutions to these problems the game itself created specifically to get you to shell out money!

no one’s telling you you to have to be the very best at it or pressuring you into paying for stuff, let alone the game itself.

Here's some screen shots from the game's own app page. Buttons to make purchases and drive interaction - the app store, sleep pass, how many dream shards you have, a prompt to buy more inventory space, your missions, your current goal, the progress meter and rarity values of your Pokemon's sleep styles, your collection and their levels, etc - are all constantly and prominently displayed. The entire first day of actual gameplay in the app is a tutorial explaining how it wants you to do more than just sleep and passively collect to the point that it literally sets a daily schedule of activity for you. The mechanics explanations are so egregiously long that the Professor character literally apologizes to the Player for being so long-winded about it. Oh, an adorable moment of self-depreciation and understanding! How humanizing and encouraging of empathy from the user, done with a cheeky wink and nod. Now that we've softened your emotional state ever so slightly, here's some more microtransaction-driven gameplay elements!

If this was really just a cute little game to idle around with for its own fun, there wouldn't be a cash shop, nor would the game require a consistent internet connection to its servers. The big thing with games like these is that they're not made for the Player's benefit or entertainment. They're made to make the parent company profits. That's it. If the Pokemon Company didn't think they'd make substantial returns on the investment of development, support, marketing, and online distribution costs to put this game out into the world, they never would have made it. That is a core reality of any product put out these days. I just spent this last week helping my studio's marketing and sales team make sales projections for one of our upcoming titles, figuring out how much we could reasonably charge our potential customers literally down to the penny. And the game we're selling isn't even a service with any kind of microtransactions or DLCs. Profits are fundamental in any studio production and, where microtransaction apps are concerned, are the core focus of why the app exists.

If you're perfectly happy with playing Pokemon Sleep as an idle "pop on every once in a while, poke for a few minutes, then forget about and never pay a cent" kind of game? Totally fine, you do you. But understand that Pokemon Sleep doesn't want you as its player and will not cater to your experience. The core gameplay of Pokemon Sleep is already designed to actively degrade into a subpar experience for those who don't pay to play and that rift will only become more pronounced as time goes by. Everything around the cash shop exists for no other reason than to encourage you to use the cash shop. Over time, the gameplay will further contort itself to drive more interaction with and reliance upon the cash shop as the app sheds its non-paying users who just tire of it and move on, instead doubling-down on the lingering, paying users who have already proven themselves a reliable stream of revenue. That is how these things always go and have always historically gone.

There's also the consistently apt adage of "if you're not paying for the product, you are the product". Pokemon Sleep requires an internet connection any time you want to interact with the app - there is no offline mode. Further, the actual fine print in the terms of service (not the bubbly, legally-meaningless assurances put into the game text itself) addresses that it will collect and may share your device information, user ID, and app activity (ie, the schedules, timing habits, and spending habits the game itself has ingrained into its interaction with the Player) for analytics and advertising purposes, and that they're okay with sharing (ie, selling) that information to third parties without naming who those third parties are. And boy, does the game really want you to link your Google, Apple, and Facebook accounts to it as part of its core functionality! Worth keeping in mind as well is that the app requires constant access to your microphone and can pick up sounds as minor as a sheet rustling when you turn over in bed. The game's bubbly, meaningless text assures you that it doesn't save or transfer the snippets of sleep recordings it makes of you each night, but it makes absolutely no assurances whatsoever in the fine print that it's not using your microphone for other purposes. It does, however, point out that it will be making use of your phone's functions even when you're not using the app.

So, yeah, I'll just still be over here not playing Pokemon Sleep and encouraging others to do the same, as well as pay closer attention to the nature of so-called "free to play" games.

[bunbeeplays]

The Lemon Legacy: Generation 1, Chapter 141 - Makin' Music

Ophelia has a very important business meeting today, with none other than Thorne Bailey! Her agent didn't give her too many details, but they gave Thorne Ophelia's number, so they arranged to meet at the Orchid A Go Go lounge in Del Sol Valley to talk business.

As Ophelia turns the corner on the sidewalk outside the lounge, she almost bumps right into Thorne.

Thorne: Fashionably late, I like it.

Ophelia: Sorry, my toddler didn't want me to leave so she clung to my leg.

Thorne: Ha, my little guy Kale's clingy, I get the struggle.

Thorne: As much as I love the paparazzi, let's head inside. We don't need an audience while we talk.

There's a celebrity-exclusive room upstairs, so Thorne leads the way.

Well, he would, if he didn't insist on doing that slow-ass celebrity walk.

The guard at the door to the celebrity-exclusive area drops the stern look when she sees Ophelia and Thorne.

Kaori: Mr. Bailey, Mrs. Lemon. Come on in.

Thorne: Thanks a million, K.

Thorne and Ophelia settle down on the couch, and after some small talk, Ophelia's curiosity gets the best of her.

Ophelia: So tell me, why did you ask my agent specifically for me?

Thorne: Orange told me your band broke up, I thought you might be interested in a new project.

Thorne: Haven't heard much about you in the gossip rags lately. You doing alright?

Ophelia: Yeah, I've had a lot on my plate. Xander and I just had a baby, and we were getting our adopted son settled so I put music on the back burner.

Thorne: Understandable. Family comes first.

Thorne: But you are hoping to get back out there?

Ophelia: Oh, absolutely. What did you have in mind?

Thorne: Well, I've mostly recovered from my song-writing scandal, but my reputation could use a healthy dose of PR. Winterfest is coming up, great time to give back.

Thorne: Octavia wrote a new Winterfest song, but it's a duet. My wife is a star, but she's better with her pen than her voice, and she isn't that keen on singing with me. We tried to think of who would do the female vocals the most justice, and your name kept coming up.

Thorne: Now, all the proceeds would go to charity, so this isn't the most lucrative opportunity, but it's a good chance to get your name back out there. I know Winterfest is in a few days, so we'd need to get recording soon. Is this something you'd be interested in?

Thorne Bailey is the biggest musician out there! Most Sims can only DREAM of interacting with him, let alone working with him!

Ophelia: That's an amazing idea! I'd be honored to work with you, Thorne.

Thorne: That's what I like to hear.

They hash out the details of where she'll go to record her vocals, but this collaboration calls for a toast!

Thorne: May our star power combined get fans to stream this song all Winterfest long and help poor Sims afford packs so they don't have to use base-game clothes!

Ophelia can toast to that!

Ophelia: Uh, what charity exactly is the streaming profits going to?

Thorne: I was just gonna give some checks to townies wearing ugly outfits.

Ophelia: You'll run out of checks. I'll send you a link to the Simoleons for Everyone donation page.

Ophelia: Thank you so much for thinking of me, Thorne. It's an honor.

Thorne: Hey, just because we're doing this for charity doesn't mean you're a charity case, love. You've got talent, I know Tavi's song is in good hands with both of us.

The two stay a little longer than planned, ironing out some details, but also just start talking about their music careers. It's nice to talk to someone about stuff like this. Drew and Moses love music too, but fame never really appealed to either of them. Thorne just gets it.

Luckily, Thorne uses his connections to get them a session in the recording studio the next morning. He's got a special guest with him.

Thorne: There you are! Octavia, darling, you haven't met Ophelia yet, right?

Octavia: No, it's a pleasure. Our Orange is a big fan.

Thorne: I hope you don't mind, Tavi just wanted to hear how the song sounded with your vocals.

Ophelia: Not at all! She wrote the lyrics, least I can do is give her a sneak peek.

A celebrity that's easy to work with. These fellow celebs are bamboozled!

It's a little intimidating singing in front of a huge rockstar and a best selling author/songwriter, but Ophelia's level 10 singing skill can't be shaken!

They're looking so intensely at her, but they seem impressed. Thank goodness, she didn't have much time to rehearse.

Octavia Moon is apparently as hands on with her actual hands as she is with her work. After Ophelia's done, she pulls her in for a big hug.

Octavia: That was astounding! You knocked it out of the park!

Ophelia wasn't expecting the hug, but she quickly returns it.

Octavia: No wonder Orange loves you so much. He cried for days when The Main Squeeze broke up.

Ophelia: Aww.

Octavia: Ooh, don't tell him I told you that.

Octavia: Now, your husband owns that bar your band would perform at in Tartosa, right?

Ophelia: How'd you know that?

Octavia: I'm a writer, I do my research. Any chance he'd want to host an event promoting the song?

Free publicity? Hell yeah! They can hash it out later.

Thorne's vocals and the instrumentals are all recorded, they just need the female vocalist's portion before the song can be fully produced. Thorne and Octavia oversee Ophelia from the other side of the recording booth.

While Ophelia does her thing, Octavia can't get over how well everything has come together.

Octavia: Thank you for making this song a reality, baby. I might sing like a goat but you better be thinking of me when you sing it!

Thorne: Always. You're my number one, turtle dove.

Octavia: I dunno, she's pretty. If you don't go after her, I might!

Thorne laughs. The fact that she's still with him after he took credit for her lyrics shows how amazing she is. Even though she won't be the one singing the song, he'll assure the world knows they're her words.

[mosneakers]

Tycho: So you spent the whole evening babysitting for Sage and Alice, and now you're tending their garden without even being asked. [Teasing] …Such a good little family-sim!

Coraleye: You better watch your mouth, Curious, or else I'll turn you into a family-sim by the end of the night!

Tycho: Is that so? Just like how I was unflirty when you met me, and now I'm a romance sim?

Coraleye: Hey! Don't blame me for that one. I think you've always been a little romantic underneath that exterior of yours... You could just never bring yourself to admit it. [Perceptive grin]

Tycho: [Laughs] No idea what you're talking about, Darling.

Coraleye: Sure, Curious. Sure. I've got you all figured out. [Winks] Tycho smiles, captivated by her charm, but partially reassured by the fact that she's not entirely correct. As he feels the warmth of the magenta glow that signifies his passionate emotions building beneath his skin, he can't help but wonder, how the hell can this possibly be a useful feature to alienkind?

Tycho: But really though… You have such a pure heart, it's sweet.

Coraleye pauses and locks her gaze with Tycho, her eyes piercing into his soul. In that moment, the reassurance he felt just seconds ago shatters, replaced by a profound insecurity fueled by his lie, leaving him uncomfortably vulnerable in her presence.

Coraleye doesn't know where it comes from, but she's observant of Tycho's tension, and quickly softens her gaze.

Coraleye: Well... They have three little ones to take care of, and clearly haven't been able to make time for gardening. But these plants... they're Sage's friends, really. I couldn't just leave it like this. I imagine they'd do the same for me when I have a garden and some babies of my own. Also… with a little magic, it's not so bad!

Coraleye giggles and whirls her fingers, conjuring a glimmering display of magic. With a graceful little wave of her hand, the pile of pulled-up weeds vanishes, leaving the garden pristine and free of any signs of neglect.

Tycho breathes a deep sigh of relief when his brewing glow is washed away along with the weeds. He narrowly escapes being found out this time, but can feel the glow from within, threatening to return, and inevitably rip everything from him.

[simmancy]

Happy Spooky Season, pumpkaboos! 

Here’s what’s happening this month / going forward on simmancy-dot-tumblr-dot-com.

𝙷𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚘 𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚜! 👋

Hi there if you’re new! My name is Kit, I am 32 now, this is my simblr, I am active on and off. If any of that bothers you, unfollow, it's okay! If you're here because I posted a mod list or a random piece of CC you like, then I have good news - I do those things occasionally! When I am actively posting, I usually dabble in gameplay. I don't do much storytelling anymore because... well, I don't have the time!

𝚂𝚒𝚖𝚋𝚕𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚂𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍𝚞𝚕𝚎 🍬

I have SOME stuff I've been poking at in my ~spare time~. I love Simblreen, it's the best time of the year imo and it's just... a tradition. It's a tradition. So I'm going to try 🤞

I have been writing out a mod list centered around occults/spooky gameplay at least. So that's seasonally appropriate????? If you have a mod list request hit my inbox because I still fucking LOVE WCIFs and that's a sort of WCIF.

𝙾𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝 🎃

This year (and likely going forward), I'm going to try to use my blog to showcase the community. There's SO many cool things in the ts4 tag!! So I've been scouring it at the dead of night to refill my queue 👻 That's what you can mainly expect this month. No CAS challenges, no CC challenges, just some creepies and kookies from others around simblr.

𝚁𝚎𝚐𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚛 𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝 🌕

Hi regular followers!! I’m so sorry if you've been here a long time, because I don't have much updates on my ~classic~ gameplays and saves and they just...... won't be. For a while.

Not So Perry... I have a bit of Gen 4 but I haven't played in a whiiiiile so. I might revisit that/redo/we'll see.

Star x Crossed is indefinitely on hold - I will probably revise how that was posting because the full episodes just aren't possible right now. I might do it more as like... an edit type thing, where the edits tell the stories or whatever. It SUCKS because I had really big hopes and dreams for that save and instead I... had a child.

The Nobel ABCs will return because I have 10 generations done in game. I just need to queue.

Maggie's Wonderful Life WILL eventually be done LMAO. I'm hoping to get back into that save soonish. I LOVE farming gameplay! So I want to play/finish it. I had about half of the introductions shot before I got distracted with other things and then... well. yeah.

New saves? When I manage to play, I play a lot of newer saves LMAO. Mostly because when I have time right now I need... something easy.

𝙻𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚄𝚙𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎 🔮

I decided I like doing this once a year Simmancy Newsletter during my favorite time of the year. Halloween remains the BEST season, and there's also no guarantee I won't drop off the face of the planet again.

Obv the main thing is that, as previously stated, I had a baby. A whole ass baby. She's now 3 months old, and she is so much in the best way. We're currently teething and if you're like "Kit that seems a bit early," you're absolutely right but this is the lot I've drawn in life. She likes to be sat up, and stood up, and to talk to the Baby in the Mirror. She also is obsessed with trees and the cat. I know new moms are annoying and I'm absolutely that annoying new mom, I literally cannot shut up about her and therefore make my sims blog also about her.

I go back to work next month and I'm absolutely dreading it. Can I just be a sim and have someone press motherlode for me? Please?

Otherwise, there's very little in Kit World. The past 6 simblr years remain wonderful, and I've met some of my best friends on here. I go between BG3 and Sims when I have game time (which isn't a lot because Baby Simmancy is increasingly awake and mobile). I WISH I had more time to hang around here but maybe in a year or so.

Anyway, that’s my update of the year. Happy spooky season everybody! I hope it’s a good one!

Stay safe & spooky out there!

[cypressmoons]

𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 (alhaitham)

summary: you were a new haravatat student eager to learn all that the akademiya has to offer. you were also a hopeless romantic hoping to find your true love match one day. but when you receive a phone call that puts your future in jeopardy, you have to make a choice...hurry, you only have seven days. a/n: i'm ngl this was 100% inspired by a scenario i ran into when playing the sims today lmao i had never come across this random event before so i decided to play it but it's giving story material!! hope u enjoy.also consider this my official "back from hiatus" post! i've decided to stop being a clown and embrace my creative tendencies so drop a request if you want :)

word count: 1,231

the doors to the akademiya were heavy and solid in your hands as you pushed them open, for the first time as a student instead of a wandering kid with wide eyes.

ever since you were little, all you dreamed of was one day claiming a seat at the tables where countless have huddled, browsing the tomes in the libraries where countless have spent sleepless nights, and if you're lucky, maybe one day having your name published on a paper.

so you began your journey, eager to learn from the best of the best. even as other students pointed fingers behind your back and called you an ass kisser, teacher's pet, try hard, whatever it is they came up with, you were determined to be nothing less than the top 1% of students. your teachers quickly took a liking to you, contrary to what the other students liked to say, and were always willing to spend a couple extra hours after class to discuss the most recent scholarly journals or new books you've read.

this includes, even to your own surprise, the scribe of the akademiya and haravatat's finest.

there was nothing attached to your purely academic relationship. alhaitham would leave a book or two on your favourite library seat with little slips of paper tucked between the pages, scribbled with his thoughts on why they were a worthy read and your name always printed in neat script at the top. when you were finished with them, you would return the note to the mailbox outside his office, your own interpretations of the book written on the back of the same paper.

it's not how most people conversed about scholarly matters, but it's one that worked best for the two of you.

the scribe has clearly taken a liking to you, and you are not oblivious to the whispers when you tuck yet another note into his mailbox. you hear them speculating what is so special about you, about how they haven't seen the scribe talk nearly as much to anyone else, and it always gave you a brief rush of superiority as you head down the hallway to your next lecture, knowing that a good friendship with the akademiya's brightest mind would surely challenge your understanding of the material, in a good way.

what you did not see coming, was how this "good way" was open to interpretation.

you had just returned to your residence from a frustrating lesson on deciphering king deshret's runes when your phone rang. the voice on the other end was unfamiliar, almost robotic in a way, as they informed you that you were to receive a large, undisclosed sum of money as inheritance from some faraway relative you had never met.

you were suspicious at first, of course, and you had questioned the stranger's identity and how they came to find you, but something told you that this was not just another telemarketing scam, that there was more to it than potential identity theft and murder. you vaguely remember your mother mentioning family living in the rainforests bordering caravan ribat, perhaps it was one of them?

hearing your hesitancy, the voice spoke again, this time with an almost preposterous proposal.

get married within seven days, and the money is yours.

"it's what they mentioned in the will," he added unhelpfully.

you almost started yelling at him. just where were you going to find a partner, let alone a spouse, in seven days? whoever this relative was, they must've been insane - cursed by aranara magic, hit their head on a tree, fallen down four storeys into a rock-

then you started to question if the stranger was a mind reader as he reminded you that you were deeply in debt.

you rolled your eyes but didn't deny it outright. it's true that studying at the akademiya had put a huge dent in your pocket, and if you wanted to further your studies - which you surely did - you would need at least another few years worth of tuition.

you pinched the bridge of your nose for a few moments to gather your thoughts. there's no way your dead relative, or this "lawyer" of theirs, would know if you file for a divorce as soon as you get the inheritance, right? the will only said "marriage", not "staying married". yes - it seems you had found a solution to your worsening financial situation.

"fine. give me seven days."

"you got it, then."

you tried not to think about what sounded like a knowing smile in the man's voice when he hung up. you had seven days, and it was starting now.

it was strange, really, how the first person you thought of was alhaitham.

but, how in the world would you explain your sudden display of affection? it would be the ultimate form of disrespect if you ever disclosed that your liking to him was based out of a desperate attempt to not go broke. alhaitham was not stupid, and neither were you. but the more you think about it, the more he seems like the perfect candidate: smart, kind, caring, with similar academic interests and always catering to your every need.

you rise from your seat, deciding that you would allow yourself one day, not a minute more, to test the waters and see if alhaitham was really the one.

and if he isn't, you still have six days to find a husband. surely there is got to be someone in this vast city ready for marriage no matter the circumstance? you have heard enough parents pressuring their children to get married to know that there are more than one anxious bachelor out there, tired of the constant questions.

there's no time to lose. you check the clock - it's barely past seven - and you know alhaitham is still holed up in his office, working through the mountain of papers that only seem to pile up higher each time you visit him.

the walk to the akademiya feels shorter than normal, frantic, even, as you write three thousand different scripts in your head like the main character of a dating sim game, complete with dialogue options and green (or red) indicators of how much relationship you've gained (or lost) with the male lead. you almost want to laugh at yourself. even in this dire circumstance, you still find a way to make up some scenario of the romance bar instantly shooting to 100 the moment you open your mouth.

reality is often disappointing, and you're about to learn it the hard way.

"just leave them on my- y/n."

you had not given yourself the opportunity to pace in the hallway or debate the practicality of your methods in fear that you would give up altogether. so when you appear in the doorway of his office, still catching your breath from sprinting up the stairs, alhaitham is surprised to say the least.

"alhaitham."

you nod as a greeting and clear your throat, and he pauses his reading to look up at you.

"everything alright? you look rather...flushed."

if you weren't flushed before, his comment is enough to make your skin heat up to an extent where an amurta scholar would be concerned for your health.

you force aside all the noise and doubts in your head, shutting your eyes before blurting out:

"how would you like to get married?"

there's definitely gonna be a part 2 so don't worry hehe i just like leaving you on cliffhangers <3 anyways drop a comment if you'd like me to tag you when i post part 2!

masterlist

[mhmmaybe]

Continuation of this post about a game featuring Lasko as a guide thingy

We continue on the Lasko part but I have other stuff for other characters.

(warning for long, I'm just yapping)

Recap:

I had an idea that in a dating sim Lasko could be the little mascot thingy that gives you the dumbass tutorial, he pops up whenever the game needs to let you know something of when you ask for a hint. All of this is said in the post I made before.

To newer stuff we go!

Like said prior if you are nice to him he will take a liking to you, the player, and in the second playthrough he will start giving you free stuff. If you continue to be nice and accept his gifts he will appear as a new route in the third playthrough, this won't happen if you choose Huxley in the second or first times you play.

After this if you play again the screen will show a small pop-up tell you that a new character has been added and Lasko will appear for you to romance like any other boyo.

He will accidentally break the fourth wall a couple of time but if you don't comment on it he will secretly pass you another gift, kind of like how a grandma passes you money under the table.

Another ending

If you keep disregarding him in the first playthrough and eventually turn off the guide in the settings he will grow bitter. Do this enough times and he will straight up pull a Monika and trap you in the screen scolding you for not listening to the guide and missing out on good things by being mean to him, after all, he does have feelings too.

How do you stop this ending? Close the game and reopen but making amends with the guide won't be posible anymore.

Other details

I thought that having little areas where you can find the characters would be fun, so, there's a map with different areas that the boys will be at. Of course their spots change but you could notice a pattern of their fav places to be (or you could ask Lasko if you are good pals with him), you'll find a chibi version of them chilling in a spot. (If you've met them before, if you haven't they won't appear.)

Some places are the Shaw's den thingy, there are several seven elevens, D.A.M.N. (which you can enter and navigate), two parks, the ruins of WonderWorld and other locations that have a set number of times that you are allowed to enter.

One being CloseKit, this place you can enter only when there's a public meeting or when you've befriended Blake.

[changingplumbob]

My top 23 gameplay moments

Thanks to @anamoon63 for tagging me! You've probably seen my top 23 screenshots but as I was trying to narrow them all down I did feel like my favourite storyline moments were not the same as my favourite pictures. So I'm going to take this tag and tell you the top 23 gameplay events I've had this year. Not all have screenshots as some of them happened before I started writing down and capturing my gameplay.

23. I did actually enjoy writing Bella and Mortimer pulling away from each other as Mortimer began to prioritise his writing over his family.

22. Seeing in thought bubbles that Paris and Samir both had crushes on the sims I wanted them crushing on. Sweet success!

21. Back when my game correctly did university grades and three out of five of my university students earned their degrees with honors! Devin, Luna and Cassandra.

20. Adding in Dina and Nina Caliente. Sadly Mortimer died so they haven't gotten a lot of screentime yet BUT I think they look great and have plans to bring them back in in time, they still control the Goth fortune after all.

19. Getting Bob his dog Dale which allowed Bob to get fit and healthy. He's still heavy set but it's mostly muscle now.

18. When Reece got a pop up about his crush randomly showing up at football practice despite his actual crush Samir being on the football team...

17. When Deanna and Paris completely ruined my story plans by kissing during a shopping trip in a different rotation, and I had to do sneaky screenshots so you couldn't see them in the background. Then when I went back to play Deanna she still had the first kiss option so I could write things my way.

16. When I was able to edit settings so that Devin and Luna could have kids that would be genetically related to them both. I usually like to keep my gameplay semi realistic when it comes to having kids but I knew Devin would not get pregnant being an actress and wanted the chance of a kid that looked like her.

15. My sims commiting home invasion before it became EA official. See Devin walking into the Pancakes house like modern day Goldilocks. Taking a bath, cooking a white cake, and only half eating some food.

14. Joey's glow up from little kid to attractive young adult was a nice surprise. I'm so glad he rolled wanting kids because if I can't get a Devin lookalike, maybe I can get a Joey lookalike down the line. Note to self, put eyelashes on more of my male sims.

13. When this new blonde girl in high school kept looking miserably at Deanna during the lesson. And I had Deanna go cheer her up only to discover when looking through her traits that she was also a lesbian. Cheers Paris for spawning at just the right time.

12. Kelly rolling the evil trait after being a destructive toddler was hilarious. I never would have picked it by myself but now I revel in writing him being a jerk to others.

11. When I got Milton to waddle across the road after Bella went missing. And again when I got him to ditch Dina and Nina and run away to see Alexander.

10. Rahul repeatedly spawning outside the Goth house for no apparent reason. This of course led to a friendship and eventual romance with Cassandra. Stalking may pay off???

9. Just watching Kaori ski has honestly been so fun. I look forward to it when I play her household. For those that don't know Charlie used Mix & Mingle for a blind date and Kaori was the second woman she met from that.

8. INFANTS! Specifically playing with alien infants like Silas and Pollock who are even more adorable and hilarious than human infants.

7. Writing Bob and Eliza as being in love. Taking the opposite nature of their personalities and finding a way where they actually work well together. I always smile when they go to woohoo and Eliza also dumps her clothes on the floor like Bob rather than in the basket.

6. When Reece got a crush on Samir after literally saying one thing to him, guess they'd been bonding off screen. In the York rotation Samir had come over and yelled at Reece, and my brain went he's probably just a closeted gay. Then I checked and he actually was! For storyline purposes though I have him as never being in denial of that.

5. Savannah and Mercedes being mini clones of Rahul. I love it so much. I also have really liked playing this latest storyline where they are not pleased at the idea of a sibling, they can be two little terrors.

4. Adam accepting the birth of both of his kids despite not wanting children. I didn't know if I could do enough to get him there but each time he was able to.

3. Keira getting sick during her Halloween party date and Marta looking after her. Not planned but ended up pretty sweet.

2. James proposing to Alexander when he was a townie, despite autonomous proposals being turned off and the fact that he had a living wife at that point. You rebel against the code James!

1. When Adam ignored autonomous proposals being turned off, and showed up in the middle of Suzanna's shift at the science lab to propose. They were living together by this point and clearly he got sick of me ignoring his wants while I played him at home.

So @azuhrasims @marcishaun @sharona-sims and anyone really if you have some top gameplay events from this year, doesn't have to be a whole 23, want to share? Also @julesbbsea17 I KNOW you must have had some kind of crazy memorable gameplay events in your game this year... *flashes back to that random unknown thing bobbing in the water beside your lot in Sulani that we still don't have the identity of*

[splashink-games]

Welcome to Miau Cafe by Mewo.

Cat Cafe Manager is a management game by Roost Games where you run your own cat cafe! Adopt cats, find recipes, and befriend the locals in this super cute sim!

So fun fact: I'm a dog person. I've owned two dogs and I've rarely interacted with cats, much less owned one. But obviously I'm not against cat themes. Hence my great enjoyment of Cat Cafe Manager.

As a management sim, Cat Cafe Manager's mechanics hits the right notes.

A very simple hold-to-perform-task (or click) along with some movement and boom, you've got solid micromanaging. Later on, you can hire some help to ease the burden, though once you're in post game, it's impossible to keep up without them (unless you've got a tiny cafe).

The skills for both cats and workers are interesting and kinda overpowered at points. And that's not a bad thing! Actually, it's kind of warranted since the customer needs scale kinda vigorously and all those skills that give +2 for just having furniture is great.

I like the different customer types and their connection with each regular - Carla-Lalla for witches, Bonner for Fishermen, and so on. Their needs are also all different and they increase when you progress with each character's story, which is cool. Though a downside to that is that you can't really have a specific theme going until post game, especially because you've gotta kinda take best available until then.

Speaking of themes, the furniture are actually pretty interesting and an integral part of meeting customer needs, especially since those business people require very high comfort as you progress. But also the witches and artists need books, but you only have, like, 6 book points until you unlock the last two sets of furniture?? And like, if your cafe isn't big enough to fit all of it,

It gets incredibly out of hand quickly if you advanced the character arcs without unlocking that furniture. Their needs are much higher than the resources at hand. And the furniture unlocks pretty much act as a bottleneck where you can't call regulars until you do unlock them. It's an interesting way to make sure you're prepared for those increased needs.

So I've spent all that time, but I haven't talked about the cats yet. Apart from being cute, the cats are very funny as they zoom around your cafe, sitting on customers' laps or ask for things. Just like customer needs, they've got needs too. And if their needs aren't met, you've gotta clean up or attend to them like a customer. So just cause you can adopt more cats, doesn't mean you should! (Especially when you don't have enough space for all those litter boxes)

The storytelling is light but good. You get chunks of character development from your regulars as well as overarching story progress from completing a number of cafe upgrades.

There's also special Friendship Furniture that adds even more narratives that feature more than one character. I liked this part a lot because it showcased a lot of the dynamics that we hear about, but never see, in their solo arcs.

I am kind of disappointed about Hoover (the Friendship Furniture guy) not being a regular. First of all, cause we never get to know about him, but he's got all this special furniture? Second of all, he fits into the vagabond category of which we don't have a regular for.

Overall, Cat Cafe Manager is a great management sim where you can spend tons of time with customers and cats and creating a cool cafe! Definitely recommend.

As always,

Enjoy Gaming!

[loorain]

Sims 4 Fontenot Legacy - Break Leads to Connection

In the afternoon, there's a knock on the door from a familiar face.

Sabrina: Marquise! Didn't expect to see you today!

Marquise: Just figured I'd pop by. How's Juno?

Sabrina: Oh he's fine. Doing what babies do best. I was enjoying some time out by the pool while he naps, soaking in the last bits of summer.

Marquise: Sounds nice. You know, I've been thinking... We really haven't had a lot of time to get to know each other. Things sort of got in the way.

Sabrina: I know what you mean. Between college drama, then the pregnancy, it seems like we've never really had a chance to figure out what... this is.

Marquise: Well how about we try changing that a bit? We can go to a bar, have a drink and chat. Doesn't have to be a date. Just... Juno's parents having a night out.

Sabrina: I don't know... I haven't really left Juno...

Marquise: Come on, one evening? Your mom could take care of him for a few hours.

Sabrina: Well... okay. Just let me get dressed and make the arrangements.

So Juno's parents change into something a little cooler for a chill evening out. Sabrina sits and orders drinks for the two of them, and they chat while they wait.

Sabrina: You know, I'm glad you convinced me to come out tonight. It's nice to be around adults. I mean, I didn't really have a lot of time after college to just be by myself. Juno happened so quickly and unexpectedly... I don't regret him, but... you know.

Marquise: Totally. The cards for us have never seemed to align. Time hasn't been on our side. I can only imagine how crazy things have been. You're really strong, Sabrina. I've always seen that in you.

Sabrina: You have?

Marquise: Of course. From the first time I met you. Nursing a hangover from a rager the night before. Giving that guy a piece of your mind. You've never held back. Always full of passion. Spirit. It's what attracted me to you.

Sabrina: Marquise...

Marquise: Look, I know what this is. I know that this is as far as it's going to go. I just want you to know, I care for you. You and Juno. And no matter what, I'm gonna be here. Even if it's not in the way I was hoping.

Sabrina: I mean, but who knows what the future holds, right?

Marquise simply smiles.

Sabrina and Marquise sit and chat for a good amount of time. People come and go, drinks fill and empty, and after a couple Sabrina is feeling the effects.

Just as Marquise steps off to go to the bathroom, Sabrina gets a funny feeling. When they turn, they understand why. A familiar mop of hair. Their body moves on autopilot. They're walking over, drink in hand before they have time to think about it.

Beau: ...Sabrina?

Sabrina: Hi, Beau.

[silverjansims]

Sims 3: Silver Bells Legacy

Generation Two: Business Bells

Week One: Business in Egypt

Scenic view of our new town, Hidden Springs

Hello friends, this is Jessie Bell along with my lovely wife, Abbie welcoming you to our new home in Hidden Springs. Well, the house isn't exactly new since we inherited my parents' (Gussie & Jan) old house where I grew up with my brother, Andrew who will be starting his own story soon. Gussie and Jan gave Andrew and his future wife, Jessica enough money to build their own family home with as he will soon be joining the medical staff in another town.

Here's a cute picture of your little son, Robbie taking a break from playing with is 'special doll' to make some music on the toy xylophone.

In the meantime, please join my family for a summer evening barbecue, a putting challenge on the golf mat in our backyard. The kids can join our son, Robbie in his Sci-Fi treehouse for some imaginary adventures. There's a piano downstairs for someone who likes to play or just dance to the music coming from one of the stereos around the house.

Robbie playing 'peek-a-boo' from inside his toybox on his last day of being a toddler.

Shortly after my parents, Gussie and Jan moved into their 'golden years' home, I was asked to join the 'Report Processing' team at the Hidden Springs since the head of that department had recently resigned and they were falling behind in their business reports. Thankfully through the magic of Sim movers we were able to have our whole house and lot transplanted to a new lot in Hidden Springs near the Chesterfield household.

Robbie is now all ready for school. Yes, his favorite color is pink.

Robbie went home with Star Shue after his first day of school. Here, Robbie is doing his homework with Star who is sitting next to him and her siblings.

Abbie has taken over the care of Jan's old garden and hopes to become as good a gardener as her mother-in-law was. We haven't needed a babysitter for our son, Robbie since Abbie works evenings at the local grocery store and I'm home from work before she leaves for work. Robbie has since aged up into a lovely young boy who loves to play with his imaginary friend when not doing his homework or playing with Granny Shue's adopted children who he met at school. Athough Robbie likes to spend a lot of time by himself due to his 'loner' trait, he is also very excitable and loves cars.

Here's my lovely wife, Abbie working in the garden weeding the plants.

During my first Sim week on the job, my boss Christoff Colby sent me on a trip to find some relics for his office. Since I've always wanted to visit Egypt, I decided to head to the desert town of Simhara to fulfill my mission. While there I helped out in some local business ventures by first finding some special MorcuCorp papers for Abdul Kamel. After retrieving the papers from the Tomb of Discovery, Abdul then sent me to Sanaa Madbouli for a series of business jobs regarding the papers he found like finding some turquoise gems, interviewing locals and then exploring the Pyramid of the Burning Sands for some flame fruit. After delivering the fruit to Sanaa, I returned home with the relics for my boss.

Last but not least, here are a couple of pictures from my trip to Egypt using my muscles to clear a pile of rubble and open a hidden door that was stuck.

That's all of the main news that Abbie and I have to share with you. Hope you've enjoyed your visit and we look forward having you return in the future for more fun and news. Please enjoy the pictures included with this newsletter.

Jessie & Abbie Bell.

[tobioyusssss]

HAIKYUU DATING SIM AU!

So ive gotten this sick idea of wanting to try out a fic that has the flows of like an otome game, where player-chan, (or in this case, reader-chan), gets to choose the choices layed out for them!! Since this is the first fic im gonna post on this new blog, so please be kind to me hehe 👉👈

♡ Prologue ♡

"Be sure to make friends, (Y/n)!" Your mother called out to you as you slipped your feet into your favourite pair of sneakers. You flashed her a warm smile and replied, "I will, mom! Be sure to welcome me warmly when I return!"

With that, you closed your front door and started walking towards your destination. A new year, new school, new people. Soft thumps on the ground made by your feet continuously hitting the pavement gave you a sense of peace as you tried to calm your nervous heart. Starting anew was never something you were comfortable with, meeting with a new environment with all kinds of people is overwhelming.

"Geez, relax, (Y/n)..." You mumbled to yourself, hands clutched to your chest where your heart was. You were occupied with all the possible scenarios of making a first impression running through your mind that you didn't notice a taller figure blocking your way.

"Umph!" You face planted into who knows what, and your arms automatically raised in surprise. Using the unknown person's broad chest to stabilize yourself, you slowly pushed your body away from them.

Gazing up, your eyes met with dark blue eyes, pretty like the deep sea. His hair was messily framing his face, making his attractive features stand out more. There was one last thing that you noticed though, he was definitely unpleased with the contact that happened between you two a moment prior.

"Wh-What are you staring at? Is there something on my face or something?"

You immediately shook your head no to answer his question. It's embarrassing to say but he's quite charming to the eyes. Not that you were gonna say that to his face directly or anything...Snapping out of your thoughts, you gave him an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry for running into you, I was caught up with my own thoughts that I didn't notice you were coming from the opposite way."

He gave a small shook of his head, a sign that you presumed meant he didn't mind. Before resuming on your way, you noticed that he was wearing a school attire similar to yours.

"Oh, you're a student from Karasuno High, right? I'm heading there for my first day today, the name's (L/n) (Y/n)," you stated to him.

You patiently waited for his response as he avoided eye contact with you.

"Kageyama Tobio."

'Ah, what a nice name, it has a good ring to it.' You thought.

"Okay then, Kageyama-san, it was nice meeting you! Maybe we'll see eachother more often at school, who knows?" You gave him one of your most heartwarming grins and fastened your grip to your bag. "I guess I'll be on my way-"

Before you could walk any further, he held onto your jacket's sleeves which halted your movements. You look at him confused but waited patiently for his answer.

"You're walking the wrong way, idiot..."

Your eyes grew wide at the realization, and at his sassy remark too. 'Did-did he just call me an idiot?'

You couldn't help but feel petty at his rudeness to you. Even though your inner demons were practically screaming at you to lunge at his throat to show this mf some respect, you decided to conceal your emotions. You were not gonna let him screw up your day by beating him up.

"Ah, was I?" You chuckled awkwardly, "I haven't been spending much time on the streets here, so I might have lost my way."

He merely nodded and lifted his finger to point to a direction in front of his line of view. "This is the right way."

You nodded and briefly said your thanks to him. You were about to continue your journey before he mentioned, "We can head there together, that'll prevent you from getting lost."

His offer surprised you, he doesn't seem like a bad guy. Sure, he was kinda rude before but he seems to be a genuine person overall. Though, walking to school with a boy can be kind of awkward...Moreover, you've just met him today and a friendship between you two isn't even blooming yet. On the other hand, maybe this is the right opportunity to start a friendship bond together?

Which choice shall it be?

Accept his offer || Decline his offer

♡ ♡ ♡

Okay, that's basically the intro done! So as you can see I've created two paths for you to choose from, and both will lead to different storylines! It'll be a surprise ride to the end! Anyway, I'll add the links to each choice later on when I've finished writing the continuation. Hope you enjoyed!!

[bunbeeplays]

The Lemon Legacy: Generation 1, Chapter 115 - Every Rose Has Its Thorne

Ophelia's in Del Sol Valley to represent The Main Squeeze at the Starlight Accolades tonight, because their latest single was nominated for Best Song!

I don't think Xander is technically allowed to attend because he's not famous, but the Watcher is gonna teleport him in anyway.

Xander: Good luck, Lemon Cake.

Ophelia: I'm just happy we got nominated. Thank you for being here though.

Host: Let's get a move on, folks, I can't cash that big ol' check if there's no show!

The first Accolade goes to Thorne Bailey for being an all around great Sim! Don't know why that's a category, but okay.

Don't get used to this sitting arrangement. The crowd was apparently playing musical chairs during the entire ceremony.

Thorne: I'd like to thank my beautiful wife Octavia, our son Orange, and our two Neighborhood Stories kids the Watcher doesn't know the names of.

Ophelia can't believe she's in the same room as Thorne Bailey. She wonders if Hector ever did talk trash to him about her…

Host: And the winner of our next Starlight Accolade is… Some random teenager!

The random teen is named Sasha and she wore her finest randomized outfit!

Sasha: This one's for my stans who threatened every member of the Accolade Committee. Literally couldn't have done it without you. Rando Army represent!

Okay, enough "Watcher" commentary, this is me, Kelsey, talking. I have never had a Sim go to the Starlight Accolades but is it ALWAYS this chaotic? Everybody keeps getting up and talking over the host, nobody stays in their seat, or sits in a seat at all! It's a NIGHTMARE

Host: Our last winner is-

Megumi Ito interrupts with her horrendous violin skills.

Host: Thank you for that, Megumi! You're famous for being a skier and have no musical interests so I don't know why you're doing this but why not.

Even this guy's getting annoyed at the chaos.

Host: I'm gonna be honest, gang, the Watcher doesn't remember this girl's name and neither do I. She's also some random famous teenager.

Tea Neighjur: Thank you to my FlipFlop followers, and my manager for bribing the judges to give me this award! …I mean the Watcher. Mwah!

Ophelia: That was… something.

Xander: Sure was. Sorry you guys didn't win.

Ophelia: Eh, brushing elbows with celebrities was kind of fun.

Speaking of… Thorne's getting ready to leave. Ophelia would love to share her side of the story regarding her encounter with Hector.

Ophelia: I'm gonna try to catch Thorne. You want to come with?

Xander: Nah, I don't want to pass out and flop on the ground, this suit is dry clean only. I'll just get a drink for double the usual price at the bar. Good luck!

Ophelia: Mr. Bailey, wait! Can we talk before you leave?

Thorne: Apparently we can, because you're doing something besides asking for a selfie. You're a celebrity too, yeah? Pardon, don't think we've met.

Ophelia: Ophelia Lemon. I'm the lead singer of The Main Squeeze.

Ophelia assumes that's not going to ring any bells for him but-

Thorne: Ah, Orange listens to your music all the time. You've got a good set of pipes. Sorry I didn't recognize you, just haven't had the chance to look you up myself, I suppose.

She's speechless.

Ophelia: Thank you. That's a big honor Mr. Bailey.

Thorne: Thorne's fine.

Ophelia: Right. Listen, Thorne, if Hector Laurent told you anything about me, none of it is true.

Thorne dwells on this much too long for her liking.

Thorne: Who the bloody hell is Hector Laurent?

Ophelia: Uh… he's the owner of the wedding venue you got married at. He said you stayed in touch.

Thorne: The bloke with the fedora?

Ophelia: Yeah.

Thorne: I mean, he kept texting me saying if I ever remarried he'd give me a discount, but I wouldn't say we're close.

Ophelia: Of course that little… Well, thanks for hearing me out, anyway.

Thorne: No problem, dear. Mind if I get an autograph for Orange?

Ophelia: Of course!

She tries to steady her shaking hands as she signs an autograph for the son of the biggest musician out there.

Thorne: Thanks, love. That'll earn me some cool dad points.

Ophelia: Being Thorne Bailey isn't enough?

Thorne: Apparently not. Kids.

Thorne: Pleasure to meet you, Ophelia. Keep your chin up. You'll have your own Accolade someday.

Ophelia: Thanks, Thorne. That means a lot.

Fan: OMW your faves could never!!!

Ophelia: Do you ever get used to the fans?

Thorne: Yeah. Honestly the ego boost is nice. Take care.

Thorne disappears into the night. Ophelia might not be going home with a trophy, but some kind words from a 4-star celebrity are good too.

This fan is definitely going to go home and write Ophelia Lemon/Thorne Bailey fanfic but she's too happy to care.

Ophelia tries to go back in to check in on Xander but someone approaches her.

Fan: Wow, Ophelia Lemon, in the flesh! I gotta say, the Accolades were totally rigged this year. We stan our citrus queen!

Ophelia: Oh! Thank you!

Fan: Can I have your autograph?

Ophelia: Sure!

Ophelia tries to get back in the building several times but fans keep coming up and asking for hugs and selfies. How can she deny the people that have given her the opportunity to keep doing what she loves?

When she finally pulls away from the crowd, she runs into Brytani.

Ophelia: Hey, Brytani, remember me?

Brytani: You're making yourself awfully hard to forget, kid, and I mean that in a good way. You're popular tonight.

Ophelia: I guess so. I've never had this many fan encounters in one night before. Guess it's a coincidence.

Brytani: Honey, come on. Thorne Bailey knows who you are. He barely remembers who I am and we dated for like a year.

Ophelia: I think he just knows me because Orange listens to me.

Brytani: Thorne doesn't strike me as dad of the year. He must be hearing your name elsewhere too.

Brytani: And not just that, he had a CONVERSATION with you. Thorne doesn't speak to anyone that's not a 4-star celebrity besides his own wife and kids.

Ophelia: Well, I'm not a 4-star celebrity and he spoke to me.

Brytani: I'm really gonna have to spell it out for you, huh.

Brytani: Ophelia, you made it. You're a 4-star celeb.

Ophelia: Wh-What? We didn't even win an award tonight!

Brytani: Only like one of those are given fairly. You think anybody's reading Tea Neighjur's legacy thread? Nope! It'll be your turn soon, my fellow Proper Celebrity!

Brytani: Trust me, I can tell. You'd be sparkling if the Watcher hadn't turned that feature off.

Things did feel… different. Maybe Brytani has a point.

Ophelia: Oh my Watcher! I think you're right!

Brytani: Go out there and pose for that crowd. You've earned it.

Ophelia basks in the flashing lights as some of her fans whisper excitedly amongst themselves and others take pictures of her and shower her in praise.

"She's slaying tonight!" "YASSS QUEEN!" "Mommy! Sorry. Mommy! Sorry. Mommy! SORRY! MO-"

Ophelia tries her hardest to stay humble, but just for tonight, she allows herself to be a little self-absorbed. After all, becoming a Proper Celebrity is something to feel good about!

While all of this has been happening, Xander's just been enjoying his drink, unable to talk to anybody else at the bar because they're all celebrities.

Octavia's waiting for her husband, because she's too juiced to realize he already left without her lmao