#sometimes I’m just in the mood to draw something spooky

[doctorsiren]

thinking about the moth psycho 100 AU and remembered that we have Mogami taking full control of Reigen’s body when Reigen sleeps (Jekyll and Hyde moment for them) so he can go and like, consume spirits to get stronger and thought that I should draw that :)

Also thinking about what if Mogami doesn’t leave fully after that part in the World Domination Arc and since Reigen can see him now after Mob kicked Mogami out of Reigen’s head, Reigen calls on him to help him when he’s about to go confront Suzuki (i just don’t want Mogami to leave 🥺 /silly)

[the-wild-ego]

Could I have an ego ship please if they’re still open?

My name is Natasha, she/her. I am a pretty spooky bitch and therefore have a preference for Dark and the Ipliers in general AHA, but I also sometimes have a full pink bimbo aesthetic, I really depends on my mood.

I like painting, usually forest themed artwork, and playing relaxing video games. I’m pretty unsociable and have trouble connecting with others, I tend to isolate myself a lot even though people want to interact with me. I’m short, 5”2, and have medium length dark brown hair and glasses. I LOVE stuffed animals, a have a sizeable collection and adore them ALL.

I like walks in the woods, I have some bad anxieties and insecurity and walking makes me feel a whole lot better.

That seemed Like a random handful of info, I hope it’s enough! Cheers in advance! Xo

I have never wanted to pair someone with Wilford so fast. Someone who has Dark's aesthetic, but also dress just like him??? Not only would Wilford be obsessed with Dark, but he would be obsessed with you as well! Except, Wilford learns the hard that you need your space;

Despite your contrasting personalities, you and Wilford found a, somewhat warped, connection that brought you closer together. He brought out the playful and adventurous side of you, while you brought out his sensitive and caring side. You shared a love that was unconventional and unique, but it was real and true.

However, today was one of those days. You didn't want to talk to anyone, per usual, but today it was worse. Anyone that crossed your path was automatically on your shitlist. So, you did the thing you usually do, and locked yourself away so you could paint. The painting was monochrome, a forest painted in different shades of blacks and greys. This was it, this was the mood you were in.

Wilford, on the other hand always seemed to be in a happy mood. Wilford, who has stunning brown eyes that sparkle in the light, a muscular body, and a big pink mustache to match his vibrant pink hair. He's wild and unpredictable, with a love for guns and knives that matches his 'good' boy persona. Despite his eccentricities, he never fails to make you laugh and feel happy in his presence. Exuberant as ever, he couldn't help the fact that he wanted to share his energy with yours.

"Oh, sugarplum~" Wilford called through the door. The door that lead to your art studio. Which was currently unoccupied.

Hearing no response, Wilford decided to enter, unwelcomed. You art studio was something out of a movie. A gift from Wilford himself. Large windows and skylights allow natural light to flood the space, illuminating every corner of the studio. Shelves, cabinets, and drawers line the walls, neatly organized to store paints, brushes, pencils, and other supplies. Canvases, frames, and unfinished pieces of art stacked against walls, awaiting completion or inspiration. The piece you were working on now happened to be standing front and center, catching Wilford's attention.

He, however, didn't like the monochrome look. This forest made him feel sad and slightly nostalgic for some reason. He frowned at it and stepped towards the painting, and with each step his intentions grew clearer. He was going to 'fix' your painting.

Pinking up the paint brush, he made slow strokes on the canvas, trying not to mess up the pink flowers he was drawing on the trees. Only for the paintbrush to slip out of his hand as soon as you walked in.

"You've got to be kidding me!" you yelled out, startling the poor man. The paintbrush scattered pink paint across the floor, "I wanted to paint ONE thing! One thing, Wilford! Why'd you ruin it?"

"Gumdrop! Why're you so angry with me?" Wilford asked with a frown on his face, his mustache seeming to droop with his mood, "This painting was so dark and dreary that I just had to add some color to it." "That's not for you to decide." you stated harshly, picking up the paintbrush from the floor. You hated to admit that the pink brought vibrancy to the blacks on the canvas. He had made your trees pretty. The had switched from humble oaks to cherry blossom trees. Complimenting the vibrancy of the moon in your painting.

"Fine." Wilford said back, just as harshly, startling you. You had no intentions of upsetting him, you just couldn't help it. Today had been... rough.

"Wait." you said to his retreating form, he paused but didn't turn around to look at you, This made you feel worse. Walking up behind him, you let your head thud against his back, arms still hanging at your sides, "I am still mad that you messed with my painting, but can we go for a walk... Please?"

And it was like a light switch with him, immediately back to his old self. He turned and gave you a big squeeze. You groaned into his chest as he kissed the top of your head.

"Yes, my sweet, sweet sugary gumdrop button." he cooed at you before setting you back down. You were quick to realize that his dangerous hobbies, and the way he flipped-flopped was just part of who he is and that he would never harm you. He was always careful to make sure you felt safe and protected. "Please quit calling me that." you begged, and he just smiled softly before leaning to kiss your nose.

"Never, my little gumdrop."

[venus-haze]

omg could you do vampire or werewolf elvis headcanons? im in the spooky mood and i think you’d write that so well, especially like a darker theme!!

I went overboard with this one😅 Both scenarios are AU-ish and take place in the 80s. I took from the line “I’ve been playing this mausoleum for 1,000 years” for a vampire Vegas-era Elvis but also I love the idea of Graceland being this like creepy old mansion no one goes in because it’s supposedly haunted so...enjoy🧛🏻‍♂️

Vampire!Austin!Elvis x Reader

Warning: Dark themes such as emotional blackmail, death, blood, and obsessive and manipulative behavior, which some people may find disturbing or triggering. Mild sexual content that involves coercion. Do not interact if you are under 18 or post thinspo/ED content.

Graceland (’50s Elvis)

Growing up, you heard stories of Graceland—people going in never to be seen again, soft music coming from the supposedly abandoned house late at night

It stopped being so scary after you got to high school, but even so, it was an unspoken rule to stay the hell away from there

You go out drinking with coworkers one night, a new coworker of yours unfamiliar with the old place and the stories behind it, which leads to the group of you stumbling through Memphis to get there

Perhaps wanting to prove something to yourself and your peers, you volunteer to go inside, insisting the stories are bullshit and it’s just another eyesore building that the city won’t do anything about

You go in with a little keychain flashlight one of your coworkers hands you and scale the fence surrounding the dilapidated old mansion 

The doors are boarded up, most of the windows too, and you can hear your coworkers calling you back, that you made your point, but some inexplicable feeling draws you in, you enter the dark house and go up the flight of dusty stairs

A faint glow comes from beneath one of the doors along with the soft sound of a guitar, and against your better judgment, you open it. Both you and the unbelievably handsome yet familiar looking man you encounter stare at each other in equal shock. As soon as you see his eyes glow red and impossibly sharp fangs, you run

You know it’s probably pointless and he’ll find you sooner or later, but you hide in one of the many rooms in the mansion and are in disbelief to find it’s filled with posters, buttons, even pillows with his face and name adorned on all of them—Elvis

You barely have time to think before the door swings open. He crosses the room and grabs you by the shoulders. Despite your begging to not hurt you, that you swear you won’t tell anyone, he sinks his fangs into your neck and between the pain and the sound of your skin breaking you pass out

You wake up in the room you found him in, god knows how long ago, because your head is pounding and you’re starving and thirsty. Your now captor stares at you like a deer in the headlights, as if he wasn’t the monster

“I’m glad you’re okay. I didn’t want to kill you, but I can’t help it sometimes,” he says. You balk at his statement, hardly calling the situation you were in okay

Elvis is lonely and reclusive, a sadness in his unnervingly red eyes that makes you almost feel sorry for him whenever he slinks into the room to check on you and bring you an odd offering of food because he isn’t sure what humans eat

He refuses to allow you out of the room, he thinks you’re not well enough yet. He entertains you by singing and tell you stories

His voice is soft and low as he tells you that he was at the height of his popularity as a musician when he was turned (he refused to go into the details on that), but afterward he couldn’t control his hunger and killed his family and management team

Too horrified and ashamed of himself, he only leaves Graceland to feed when absolutely necessary, otherwise keeping himself in his self-imposed purgatory because he doesn’t want to hurt people

You believe him, because besides that first night, he hasn’t done anything violent or dangerous, until some of your coworkers return to the house, looking for you

Elvis had always been frustratingly avoidant and vague when you asked how long you’d been there or when you could leave, but when they call out your name saying the police didn’t believe their story but they had to come back for you, desperately searching every nook and cranny in the place to bring you home, he snaps

You follow him as he storms out of the room, almost as if he’s floating on air as he descends on each of your coworkers, brutalizing them as you watch in horror, screaming for him to stop—he does, only after killing the last one, wiping the fresh blood from his mouth and meeting your terrified expression with one of wild desperation

“You can’t leave, Y/N. I can’t be alone again,” he pleads, as if you have a choice. He turns you, holding you as you go through the painful transformation to become one of the undead, to be with him forever

Vegas (’70s Elvis)

After an almost frustratingly long interview process, you get a job as a cigarette girl at the International Hotel in Las Vegas. You’d never had a job make you sign an NDA before, but you figure it came with the territory–it’s your dream job, but you’d heard they made good tips, even if it meant looking the other way when wealthy patrons got ahead of themselves

Your first few weeks of work are uneventful, and you make more in tips in a night than you did in a week at your old job. Plus, you’d become friends with most of the girls you worked with, but you couldn’t help but notice how often they seemed to quit, how long it’d take to replace them, and how none of them seemed to be working there for very long

While getting ready to go out to the showroom before whatever act was slated to perform for the next few weeks, your boss power-walked into the breakroom. “The penthouse wants a personal delivery,” he says, pointing to you. “Don’t keep him waiting”

You nod, grabbing your tray and rushing out of the breakroom. One of your coworkers stops you, jokingly asking what the rush is for. You feel a pit in your stomach at the way her expression shifts when you tell her

Whoever’s up there is probably just an asshole, you assure yourself. Nothing you haven’t dealt with before, you hope as you push the elevator button to bring you to the top floor of the hotel

You walk up to the door of the penthouse suite apprehensively, feeling like an idiot when you knock and say “Cigarette delivery”

The door opens a crack, and suddenly your apprehension seems to disappear as you let yourself into the room. The lights are dim, and most of the illumination comes from the glow of the Vegas Strip through the window. You don’t see anyone, until the door slams shut behind you, and you jump, dropping half the cigarette boxes in your tray on the floor

“Sorry,” you stammer to the man who’s just made his presence known to you. “I didn’t see you there. Sorry.”

He studies your trembling form for a few moments, before kicking the dropped boxes out of his way and stalking over to you. Even in the darkness of the room you can tell he’s handsome, but you can’t make out the specific features of his face. He looks so familiar, and you find yourself staring at his full lips until they pull back into more of a snarl than a smile to reveal abnormally sharp canines

“What d’you got, baby?” the man asks, his voice thick like honey as it rumbled from deep in his chest. You list off the cigarettes you have on hand, including the ones on the floor, and he grabs a box of Luckies and hands you a hundred dollar bill after watching you bend down to pick up the boxes you’d dropped

You aren’t sure how much time has passed by the time you get back downstairs, but your coworker looks genuinely shocked to see you. You pull her aside and ask her what the fuck is going on

“Honestly, Y/N, I don’t know. The girls who go up there–you’re the first one who’s ever come back down,” she whispers, her paranoid gaze traveling throughout the room

When you tell your boss you quit, he pulls out the NDA you signed but didn’t read over, which states in one of the clauses that you had to work there at least a year or forfeit all of your earnings since you started. You didn’t have that kind of money on hand, not after spending so much of it already

You can hardly sleep the next week, especially when another cigarette girl goes up to the penthouse suite, and when you inquire her whereabouts the following night, your boss tells you that she quit–which makes no sense because she’d been working there less than you had and he wouldn’t let you quit. You don’t question it to his face, though, but you spend your sleepless hours trying to figure a way out

It’s only a matter of time before you’re called up to the penthouse again, you know as much, but it doesn’t terrify you any less when your boss tells you that the occupant asked for you specifically. You take deep breaths as the elevator ascends, hoping by some miracle it gets stuck

The door to the suite is already open halfway when you get there, and you stand in the doorway, looking around for the man. “What’re you so afraid of, baby? Think I bite?” he teases from the other side of the room, though you swear he hadn’t been standing there a moment ago

Just as you’re a foot or so away from him, he flicks on the lights, and you gasp upon recognizing Elvis Presley. The resemblance was way too uncanny to be one of the dozen or so impersonators you saw on your first day in Vegas–but it wasn’t possible, it couldn’t be him. He was dead, and even if he were alive he’d look much older

He beckons you closer with a curl of his pointer finger, and you find yourself pressed against his chest, the tray of cigarette boxes thrown to the floor as he kissed you deeply, pulling away only to pierce your lower lip with his fangs, lapping up the blood that pooled from it despite your resistance

His crimson eyes raked over your figure as you held your bloodied lip, tears streaming down your face. “I knew there was a reason I couldn’t stop thinkin’ about you, baby”

“Please don’t kill me,” you choke out

The grin that spreads across his face is nothing short of evil, “No, I’m not gonna kill you. In fact, I think I’ll keep you around a while” 

He tears off your skimpy uniform like it’s made of paper, sinking his fangs into one of your exposed breasts. As he sucks and licks the blood coming from it, you collapse in his arms, feeling yourself being carried over to his bed

Taglist: @eliseinmemphis @kittenlittle24  @crash-and-cure @im-lame-irl @loudwombatmugkid @rxsesss @roseymary04 @queendelrey @jovialladyaurora @positivitylane112 @moonknightswif3 @holy-minseok @datsavageavenger @21bruhs @luckyevansstan (sorry if y’all only want to be tagged in fics and not headcanons! Please let me know if this is the case)

[maxismatchccworld]

Patch Notes

Update 07/20/2021

PC: 1.77.131.1030 / Mac: 1.77.131.1230

Console: Version 1.44

Hello Simmers!

Hope you are well wherever you are in the world and that you are all having a fantastic Summer of Sims! We are excited to share today’s update with you. There is a lot of info, so make sure you have your tea/coffee/beverage of choice ready to read on. You all know I have my coffee ready for this!

As we continue to get ready to explore the countryside charm of Henford-on-Bagley and cannot absolutely wait to play with the adorable animals in Cottage Living, we also have updates and fixes that should improve and complement your Sims’ everyday life. We have something for everyone and we hope that you all enjoy them. Thank you for all your feedback and support.

Cheers!

-SimGuruRusskii ft. SimGuruRomeo and SimGuruJoAnna

What’s New?

Let’s start with some items that we shared in our last Sims 411! For this update, we partnered with two talented artists from the LGBTQ+ community, Ashley Lukashepsky, and Mohammed Iman Fayaz, and they have brought their inspiring and beautiful artwork into the game. We have also included the modernized version of the large afro hairstyle that we showed you. But more than tell you about it in text, let me actually attach a screenshot of everything put together:

I love everything about this scene, not only it shows you how the artwork looks in a real game setting, but the whole scene with the two Sims and their surroundings is quite magical. Also, look at that hair! The way the light highlights it, perfection! You may also notice the hair of the Sim on the right, which was also added with this update for everyone. I want to personally thank all Simmers for their feedback and recommendations, as we are continuously working on adding more diverse hairstyles and textures to not only packs, but also to our base game.

Now that we are talking about artwork, the last patch notes I forgot to add the artwork made by the wonderful Jupiter Stevens-Hill. I apologize for that, I totally blanked out. However, I’m happy to see that a lot of you are enjoying it and placing it in your Lots! That makes a very happy Russkii =)

To find Jupiter, Ashley, and Mohammed’s paintings in Build Mode, make sure you take a look at the Paintings and Posters sort and filter by Base Game items. These artists are amazing and we hope you enjoy their creations.

Now, without further ado, let’s get to some new features and improvements that are part of this update!

A little bit of Gallery

When you download a lot made with the bb.moveobjects cheat, the game now notifies you about this so you know to activate the cheat before placing the lot. Builders, this means you won't need to mention it in the lot’s description anymore!

A little for Sims

Trying to find the Sims in the current neighborhood? Select their portraits in the Relationship Panel.

"Focus the Camera" moves the camera to the Sim.

"Lock the Camera" moves the camera to the Sim and keeps following them.

Where did the Notebook go?

Found it! The Notebook has moved out of the Phone and into its own button for quicker access.

The "Center on Current Lot" button that used to be there has moved to the top right, adjacent to the Camera Controls.

Water Tool

You now can make natural, organic bodies of water! Just head into Build Mode, make a hole with the Terrain Manipulation tool, and fill it with water. It is that easy! The Terrain Manipulation and Paint Tools also have more brush sizes to enable finer detail.

In adding the Water Tool, we also took the chance to overhaul the related tools and object categories. Why not? Enjoy!

Pond Effects

All sorts of critters are available to complete the look of your pond ranging from ducks and swans to pesky mosquitoes. There is even an alligator!

New Pond Objects

Outdoor Water Décor now has an assortment of new Pond Objects to decorate the perfect pond. Some of these objects such as the Bog Log and Colorful Lily Pads have interactions on them in Live Mode to activate Turtle and Frog effects. The new Fishing Allowed Sign enables you to stock your pond with any fish your Sims have previously caught. Try it out!

New Water Styles

Go beyond the original crystal blue and dreamy magenta water. Additional options range from “Mossy Water” to “Pond Scum” to complete that au natural look.

The Shrubs category includes new plants to complement the water styles: "Green Fern", "Leaning Not-Grass Grass", "Not-Grass Grass Sans Inflorescence."

Gardening with Children

Children now can help out in the garden by planting, watering, and weeding. They build their Mental skill as they garden. The process of purchasing and planting seeds is streamlined as well to make gardening more enjoyable for everyone.

Group Cooking

Cooking no longer is a solo affair. Sims now can cook in groups of up to five Sims including children. Start cooking together by selecting a fridge, stove, or any empty countertop.

Zoomers Food Delivery Service

Are your Sims getting tired of the same old pizza delivery every night? Well, gone are the days of redundant pizza nights. Maybe you are in the mood for pasta primavera or even a fancy steak dinner. All this and more are available courtesy of Zoomer Food Delivery. Order delivery through the phone or the refrigerator and the food will arrive in a jif.

Calendar

The calendar, previously available only with Seasons, now is available with Base Game to see upcoming events such as birthdays, school and work schedules, festivals, and fairs. You even can use it to book events, so it’s time to get to party planning!

Bug Fixes

Consoles

In Snowy Escape, skiing, sledding, and snowboarding on Bunny Slopes now contribute to the Extreme Sports Enthusiast Aspiration.

Also in Snowy Escape, Sims with high enough Skiing and Snowboarding skills now can enjoy the more advanced slopes. Sims also use the Lift to go to the top of the slopes and not go “the hard way.”

Simmers can now rotate Sims downloaded from the Gallery in Create a Sim. Spin them ‘round, ‘round, Simmers ‘round, ‘round -  like a record ‘round, ‘round, ‘round, ‘round.

The Sims 4

We made some improvements that should help our Simulation lag, particularly on the usage of some computer interactions like playing BlicBlock, along with fishing interactions, which should make the game perform a bit better. Note that this doesn’t entirely fix simulation lag but it should help and it is a step in a good direction.

Fixed an issue in which placing Mirrors directly opposite Doors would create a visual glitch in which walls and borders would disappear around them and well it was quite spooky to be honest, glad we solved that one!

Ever wish your food didn’t expire? I know I do, especially when it comes to traveling and coming back to see a fridge in pristine condition, that is a dream… but alas, it is not meant to be in life or in Sims. Fixed an issue in which traveling didn’t let food expire.

Sims stuck sleeping and couldn’t cancel that interaction? Not a product of a sci-fi film as I thought, but I can say that we have fixed this issue, well I hope.

You want to know how to not make my day, have my coffee brew endlessly but without giving me the coffee! Luckily the issue in-game about the Brew Coffee interaction being stuck has been fixed. Wasn’t it odd? Wait… Sleep and Brew Coffee were stuck in a mysterious loop? SUS.

If your Child Sims suddenly interrupted their computer sessions to draw on the activity table when Inspired, worry not, this should not happen after this update.

Fixed an issue that caused the “Items Removed” pop-up to appear when no items were removed from the game.

Fixed an issue in which setting Lots on Slipshod Mesquite would sometimes generate a crash of the game for some Simmers. The Lot couldn’t handle that much flavor.

Some blush and lipstick opacity sliders are back as they were greyed out.

Step-Parent/Child relationships are no longer missing in the Genealogy Panel. Similarly, other cases of broken families in the Genealogy Panel have been fixed as well. It is all about reconnecting or connecting with what is important.

Platforms will no longer raise in height automatically when creating new walls to intersect part of them.

We also fixed an issue in which if you placed platforms in basement levels and a staircase from the floor to the platforms, it would create this gap or hole in front of the stairs and Sims were not able to route correctly. You know, I have played many platformers in my lifetime, but do you imagine Sims trying to jump those gaps? I mean, I am called JumpFail for a reason… glad we fixed this one!

World view Lots that had some off-centered border have been adjusted.

Toddlers will no longer gain negative Sentiments against their parents randomly, especially the Festering Grudge Sentiment. I should not be laughing at this issue as I type it, I should not…<giggles>

We got word that the camera was malfunctioning and bouncing uncontrollably in some Lots across multiple Worlds. We fixed an issue that caused this, but let us know if there are new instances.

Sometimes Ghosts can be part of our Households if we choose to, however, it is really hard to live with Ghosts that constantly break things, it makes it a bit… unlivable. So our expert team of Simghostologists has communicated with these Ghosts in the non-physical realm and they have agreed to not break everything all the time.

Fixed an issue related to flooring glitches while placing the dance floor or crystal clear flooring.

Went through all the trouble in hiring a Nanny only to have your Toddler get sent to Daycare? More than a schedule conflict I imagine having the Nanny show up and there is no Toddler so what does the Nanny do in this case? Do they leave? Do they stay and wait? I must know… However, This should no longer be an issue.

Fixed an issue where using ‘{}’ (curly brackets)  in renaming objects would make these invisible in lists or UI in general.

Fixed an issue in the Likes and Dislikes section in Create a Sim that had some categories displayed incorrectly (either cut off, or words broken apart in new lines incorrectly) for some languages.

There was a clipping issue with the eye preset ymAsian13_Eyes that occurred when Sims were in extreme emotion, like Angry, and blinked. We adjusted this preset so this should not occur.

Toddlers can be picky eaters, but Toddlers not eating any fish recipe? That is suspicious, so we had a chat with the little angels and we have found a way to help them enjoy the complex flavors of our fish recipes.

Our UI team has fixed an issue in which a scrollbar appeared in the Sentiment section in the Relationship Panel when there were no sentiments. The mysterious scrollbar was mysterious. Similarly, they have also fixed an issue in which if multiple Sims gained sentiments together their thought bubbles look quite not right with the incorrect colors, so now they should look proper.

The Likes and Dislikes icon in Create a Sim will no longer overlap its text. It looked weird, honestly.

Droids (if you own Journey to Batuu) and Drones (if you own Get Famous) clipping into all kinds of objects in Build Mode? We saw that too, so there should be a fix for that in this game update. I mean this went beyond just crashing into things…

The option “Join After School Activity” will no longer be available if Simmers don’t have Seasons or Get Famous packs installed.

Sims in deviant paths now can properly reach the Level 4 of the Criminal Career.

Now, this is one that made my day, Cowplants are now able to dance again when Sims play music in front of them. Dance Cowplant, Dance!

Fixed an issue in which relationship points gained by friendly introductions were more than usual if Simmers didn’t have Snowy Escape installed.

We adjusted the color swatches for the S. Cargeaux Counter Island so that when it gets dirty, the counter doesn’t completely change colors. Dirty Counter - who dis?

Fixed an issue where the Scared Emotion UI was displaying a broken pose for Toddlers. The pose was kinda more scary than what the Toddler had been scared of, so glad that is done.

Outfits worn while Purchased and Worn in Festivals/Kiosks/Stalls should no longer remove accessories that were in place for the Sim.

Error code 134:571e5862 that occurred to some Simmers should be fixed now.

We fixed a few hairstyles (yfHair_EP05WavyBob, yfHair_EP01PartedFlat, yfHair_EP05UnderCutDreads, yfHair_EP01ShortSwept, and yfHair_DreamyCrew) that when used with the recently added color options would create splotches in the eyes, change the color of teeth, and/or change the eyelashes color.

As always the Localization team and this author have fixed and improved text across all packs and updates.

Get to Work

Aliens can now enjoy their custom Blush options in Create a Sim. Lewks out of this world!

Retail employees will now appropriately change into their assigned outfits. Listen, I grew up wearing uniforms for school, I get it, sometimes they are not the prettiest… but you have to wear them if you have to go to that establishment. I know the pain too well… but my sense of style grew from that… I think.

We made a fix to some of the swatches from the Barely Better Digital Camera that were missing a description for the item, so now all the swatches will display the text in all its glory.

Get Together

Some of these Sims are not like the others, some of these Sims just don’t belong. Can you tell which are not like the others by the time I finish writing these notes?

Fixed an issue in which some of the rooftops in Winderburg were not displaying Snow (if you own Seasons) correctly.

Fixed an issue where Sims didn’t sometimes change into their Club outfits when a Club Gathering was being held.

City Living

The Scattered Panes window in Build Mode now displays appropriate shadows in all options.

Sims enrolled in the Social Media career will now gain influence at the end of their stream instead of every few Sim-minutes.

Two hairstyles (ymHair_EP03BunHighPins and ymHair_EP03BraidedFlateBun) have been updated to reflect the correct look when choosing the Neutral Black color option.

Your Sims want to shoot some Basketball Close Shots, but they are trying to eat first? Well, now your Sims can finish eating before trying those hoops. Nutrition is important!

Cats and Dogs

We fixed an issue in which whiskers were not being seen applied to Cats. A Cat without whiskers is like Peanut butter without Jelly… or something like that! Just wrong!

Robot Vacuums should all now return to their docks accordingly. I hope this issue was not a sign that they were becoming sentient.

Sims will no longer get a Moodlet referring to the death of their Pet when witnessing the death of another Sim. The loss of a Sim is heartbreaking, but also getting a Moodlet for the death of their Pet when the Pet has not died, that is cold Grimmy, very cold.

Speaking of Robot Vacuums becoming sentient a few lines above, we fixed an issue that made the game crash when Cats would sit on the Robot Vacuum. CatonRobot.exe is now working.

We fixed an issue in which some Simmers experienced a crash with their last played Household loading into Brindleton Bay.

Seasons

Sims were changing into their cold-weather gear… while not in cold weather? We had some conversations with Sims and even though they love their winter outfits, dressing up in full winter gear in the summer was probably not the wisest choice. So the issue in which Sims randomly would change into their winter outfits while not in winter is solved.

Egg Hunts are adorable and fun! But not being able to have the furniture reset after looking for Eggs in them, can be quite the rain on Sims’ parade. But this should no longer occur.

Island Living

Mermaids will no longer keep the “Dried Scales” Moodlet when they are hydrated. Mermaids’ skincare regimen pays off! Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize!

Fixed an issue in which Lots that are placed in the sand looked quite odd displaying all edges of the Lot when it rained.

Sims that have the Collector Aspiration Trait are now able to catch Frogs in Sulani as part of their adventures exploring the island waterfall. Good Luck!

We fixed an issue in which some Simmers experienced game crashes when loading into certain lots in Mua Pe’lam. Happy Exploring!

Discover University

Sims having a hard time in Uni? No matter what they do they keep failing classes? Worry not, Sims will no longer fail classes when meeting all the criteria for course completion. Work hard, pass your classes hard!

Having Roommates can be hard. Have your Sims had Roommates complain constantly and leave even when their needs are met? Yeah, we made it so that Roommates don’t do this any longer.

Fixed an issue in which beds were counted incorrectly when placing an ad for Roommates. I mean, as much as Pets and even Toddlers can live with Roommates, the ad should be truthful to how many beds there are actually in the Lot, not count Toddlers and Pets as needing adult-sized beds.

We fixed Servo animations so that they don’t look like they are walking on one leg when hovering to their destination. Now they will hover properly.

We fixed an issue in which in some instances Professors could not go to work when a Professor NPC is added into that same Household.

Fixed an issue in which removing and adding back Household members as Roommates would create some… inappropriate moments, ahem.

Eco Lifestyle

Evergreen Harbor’s peace has been restored: roads and parts of neighborhoods no longer disappear or turn blue when businesses open in Port Promise while the Modern Development N.A.P is active.

yfBody_EP09DressShirt no longer has a weird texture in some of the footwear from various packs, especially platform shoes and chunky sneakers.

Had you moved to Cypress Terrace in Willow Creek and found you couldn’t really do anything there? We fixed the routing failures and interaction failures on the Mitey-Mitey Home - Insect Farm.

Snowy Escape

Mountain Climbing can be challenging, even for those experienced. But having indecisive moments before a climbing route like getting off and on your bike constantly seems that a lot of doubt is passing your mind… However, we did speak to these Sims that were experiencing this behavior and calmed their fears and doubts, so this should no longer be an issue.

The hairstyle yfHair_EP10BobBluntOmbre now covers all of the Sim’s ears.

For Simmers who own Seasons together with Snowy Escape, rain options no longer affect snow.

Sims no longer have the option to give a respectful or military introduction during activities such as Dancing or Bike Riding. I mean, I’m not sure about you, but I can’t dance and respectfully introduce myself at the same time. So many falls… so many falls.

We made some corrections to the Slippers that came with this pack and they should no longer display a greenish texture on Sims’ toes when selected in Create a Sim. Yikes.

Fixed an issue in which for some Simmers playing with the Yoshida Hall Household would generate a game crash when loading into Mt. Komorebi.

We took a look at our Ramen menu and have updated our cooking menu to label Miso and Egg Ramen as Vegetarian safe options. Buen Provecho!

Want to run a Restaurant in Yukimatsu but also want to enjoy the slopes? Now your Sims can enjoy the slopes and dine in style. However, this action is only directed, and will not be autonomous. In the same vein, Restaurant employees will not be tempted to leave work to enjoy the slopes.

Journey to Batuu

Batuu is an awesome destination for those who want to enjoy something fun and different, but if you bought a Droid from the Droid Depot and never saw it in your inventory, I know how frustrating it can be. Never fear, the Droids you were looking for will appear now in Inventories when purchased.

In Journey to Batuu, the First Order ID no longer disappears from inventory so Sims now can Access First Order Plans for the Top Notch Trickery Mission.

Fixed an issue with the Leveling the Playing Field Mission in which the Scoundrel Informant would not appear on the scene after Sims stole the Prototype Blaster and went to Oga’s Cantina to wait for the informant.

Dine Out

Eggs and Toast sound super basic and easy right? They will continue to be that way for our unassuming Chefs on the Chef Station since we fixed an issue that made them… challenging. Sims can also use the second burner for other recipes without fail or routing out.

StrangerVille

The Decorations and Kid's categories in Build Mode should no longer have a "New" highlight when there's nothing actually new.

Dream Home Decorator

Lighting can change the ambiance of a room, and your mood in a flash. Luckily we have fixed an issue that lighting was not even on sectional sofas to continue to set the right mood for our Sims.

Our stylists fixed the Sleep ‘N’ Study Styled Room to remove the P.R.I.M.A Computer from it as this is not an item that is accessible for everyone, pardon our dust.

Laundry Day

Fixed an issue where an animation clipped when Sims were loading their laundry machines. Because having your clothes go through you is awkward, are Sims made of fabric? I don’t think so.

Bust the Dust

Don’t need Simoleons, don’t need Fame. Don’t need dinner to have this date. It’s strong and it’s sudden and it’s cruel sometimes but it might just end your night… the power of Dust, that’s the power of Dust.

Our cleaning agents have determined that Sims won’t get romantic negative Moodlets related to filthy levels of dust in public places like parks.

[thesims4blogger]

The Sims 4: New Game Patch (July 20th, 2021)

There’s a new Sims 4 update available for PC/Mac and Consoles. If you have auto updates enabled in Origin’s “Application Settings”, the game will auto-update once you open Origin. If you have auto-updates disabled, you will need to manually update by clicking the game in your library.

Your game should now read: PC: 1.77.131.1030 / Mac: 1.77.131.1230 / Console: Version 1.44

Remove all MODS and Custom Content before updating your game

Hello Simmers!

Hope you are well wherever you are in the world and that you are all having a fantastic Summer of Sims! We are excited to share today’s update with you. There is a lot of info, so make sure you have your tea/coffee/beverage of choice ready to read on. You all know I have my coffee ready for this!

As we continue to get ready to explore the countryside charm of Henford-on-Bagley and cannot absolutely wait to play with the adorable animals in Cottage Living, we also have updates and fixes that should improve and complement your Sims’ everyday life. We have something for everyone and we hope that you all enjoy them. Thank you for all your feedback and support.

Cheers!

-SimGuruRusskii ft. SimGuruRomeo and SimGuruJoAnna

What’s New?

Let’s start with some items that we shared in our last Sims 411!

For this update, we partnered with two talented artists from the LGBTQ+ community, Ashley Lukashepsky, and Mohammed Iman Fayaz, and they have brought their inspiring and beautiful artwork into the game. We have also included the modernized version of the large afro hairstyle that we showed you. But more than tell you about it in text, let me actually attach a screenshot of everything put together:

I love everything about this scene, not only it shows you how the artwork looks in a real game setting, but the whole scene with the two Sims and their surroundings is quite magical. Also, look at that hair! The way the light highlights it, perfection! You may also notice the hair of the Sim on the right, which was also added with this update for everyone. I want to personally thank all Simmers for their feedback and recommendations, as we are continuously working on adding more diverse hairstyles and textures to not only packs, but also to our base game.

Now that we are talking about artwork, the last patch notes I forgot to add the artwork made by the wonderful Jupiter Stevens-Hill. I apologize for that, I totally blanked out. However, I’m happy to see that a lot of you are enjoying it and placing it in your Lots! That makes a very happy Russkii =)

To find Jupiter, Ashley, and Mohammed’s paintings in Build Mode, make sure you take a look at the Paintings and Posters sort and filter by Base Game items. These artists are amazing and we hope you enjoy their creations.

Now, without further ado, let’s get to some new features and improvements that are part of this update!

A little bit of Gallery

When you download a lot made with the bb.moveobjects cheat, the game now notifies you about this so you know to activate the cheat before placing the lot. Builders, this means you won’t need to mention it in the lot’s description anymore!

A little for Sims

Trying to find the Sims in the current neighborhood? Select their portraits in the Relationship Panel.

“Focus the Camera” moves the camera to the Sim.

“Lock the Camera” moves the camera to the Sim and keeps following them.

Where did the Notebook go?

Found it! The Notebook has moved out of the Phone and into its own button for quicker access.

The “Center on Current Lot” button that used to be there has moved to the top right, adjacent to the Camera Controls.

Water Tool

You now can make natural, organic bodies of water! Just head into Build Mode, make a hole with the Terrain Manipulation tool, and fill it with water. It is that easy! The Terrain Manipulation and Paint Tools also have more brush sizes to enable finer detail.

In adding the Water Tool, we also took the chance to overhaul the related tools and object categories. Why not? Enjoy!

Pond Effects

All sorts of critters are available to complete the look of your pond ranging from ducks and swans to pesky mosquitoes. There is even an alligator!

New Pond Objects

Outdoor Water Décor now has an assortment of new Pond Objects to decorate the perfect pond. Some of these objects such as the Bog Log and Colorful Lily Pads have interactions on them in Live Mode to activate Turtle and Frog effects. The new Fishing Allowed Sign enables you to stock your pond with any fish your Sims have previously caught. Try it out!

New Water Styles

Go beyond the original crystal blue and dreamy magenta water. Additional options range from “Mossy Water” to “Pond Scum” to complete that au natural look.

The Shrubs category includes new plants to complement the water styles: “Green Fern”, “Leaning Not-Grass Grass”, “Not-Grass Grass Sans Inflorescence.”

Gardening with Children

Children now can help out in the garden by planting, watering, and weeding. They build their Mental skill as they garden. The process of purchasing and planting seeds is streamlined as well to make gardening more enjoyable for everyone.

Group Cooking

Cooking no longer is a solo affair. Sims now can cook in groups of up to five Sims including children. Start cooking together by selecting a fridge, stove, or any empty countertop.

Zoomers Food Delivery Service

Are your Sims getting tired of the same old pizza delivery every night? Well, gone are the days of redundant pizza nights. Maybe you are in the mood for pasta primavera or even a fancy steak dinner. All this and more are available courtesy of Zoomer Food Delivery. Order delivery through the phone or the refrigerator and the food will arrive in a jif.

Calendar

The calendar, previously available only with Seasons, now is available with Base Game to see upcoming events such as birthdays, school and work schedules, festivals, and fairs. You even can use it to book events, so it’s time to get to party planning!

Bug FixesConsoles

In Snowy Escape, skiing, sledding, and snowboarding on Bunny Slopes now contribute to the Extreme Sports Enthusiast Aspiration.

Also in Snowy Escape, Sims with high enough Skiing and Snowboarding skills now can enjoy the more advanced slopes. Sims also use the Lift to go to the top of the slopes and not go “the hard way.”

Simmers can now rotate Sims downloaded from the Gallery in Create a Sim. Spin them ‘round, ‘round, Simmers ‘round, ‘round –  like a record ‘round, ‘round, ‘round, ‘round.

The Sims 4

We made some improvements that should help our Simulation lag, particularly on the usage of some computer interactions like playing BlicBlock, along with fishing interactions, which should make the game perform a bit better. Note that this doesn’t entirely fix simulation lag but it should help and it is a step in a good direction.

Fixed an issue in which placing Mirrors directly opposite Doors would create a visual glitch in which walls and borders would disappear around them and well it was quite spooky to be honest, glad we solved that one!

Ever wish your food didn’t expire? I know I do, especially when it comes to traveling and coming back to see a fridge in pristine condition, that is a dream… but alas, it is not meant to be in life or in Sims. Fixed an issue in which traveling didn’t let food expire.

Sims stuck sleeping and couldn’t cancel that interaction? Not a product of a sci-fi film as I thought, but I can say that we have fixed this issue, well I hope.

You want to know how to not make my day, have my coffee brew endlessly but without giving me the coffee! Luckily the issue in-game about the Brew Coffee interaction being stuck has been fixed. Wasn’t it odd? Wait… Sleep and Brew Coffee were stuck in a mysterious loop? SUS.

If your Child Sims suddenly interrupted their computer sessions to draw on the activity table when Inspired, worry not, this should not happen after this update.

Fixed an issue that caused the “Items Removed” pop-up to appear when no items were removed from the game.

Fixed an issue in which setting Lots on Slipshod Mesquite would sometimes generate a crash of the game for some Simmers. The Lot couldn’t handle that much flavor.

Some blush and lipstick opacity sliders are back as they were greyed out.

Step-Parent/Child relationships are no longer missing in the Genealogy Panel. Similarly, other cases of broken families in the Genealogy Panel have been fixed as well. It is all about reconnecting or connecting with what is important.

Platforms will no longer raise in height automatically when creating new walls to intersect part of them.

We also fixed an issue in which if you placed platforms in basement levels and a staircase from the floor to the platforms, it would create this gap or hole in front of the stairs and Sims were not able to route correctly. You know, I have played many platformers in my lifetime, but do you imagine Sims trying to jump those gaps? I mean, I am called JumpFail for a reason… glad we fixed this one!

World view Lots that had some off-centered border have been adjusted.

Toddlers will no longer gain negative Sentiments against their parents randomly, especially the Festering Grudge Sentiment. I should not be laughing at this issue as I type it, I should not…<giggles>

We got word that the camera was malfunctioning and bouncing uncontrollably in some Lots across multiple Worlds. We fixed an issue that caused this, but let us know if there are new instances.

Sometimes Ghosts can be part of our Households if we choose to, however, it is really hard to live with Ghosts that constantly break things, it makes it a bit… unlivable. So our expert team of Simghostologists has communicated with these Ghosts in the non-physical realm and they have agreed to not break everything all the time.

Fixed an issue related to flooring glitches while placing the dance floor or crystal clear flooring.

Went through all the trouble in hiring a Nanny only to have your Toddler get sent to Daycare? More than a schedule conflict I imagine having the Nanny show up and there is no Toddler so what does the Nanny do in this case? Do they leave? Do they stay and wait? I must know… However, This should no longer be an issue.

Fixed an issue where using ‘{}’ (curly brackets)  in renaming objects would make these invisible in lists or UI in general.

Fixed an issue in the Likes and Dislikes section in Create a Sim that had some categories displayed incorrectly (either cut off, or words broken apart in new lines incorrectly) for some languages.

There was a clipping issue with the eye preset ymAsian13_Eyes that occurred when Sims were in extreme emotion, like Angry, and blinked. We adjusted this preset so this should not occur.

Toddlers can be picky eaters, but Toddlers not eating any fish recipe? That is suspicious, so we had a chat with the little angels and we have found a way to help them enjoy the complex flavors of our fish recipes.

Our UI team has fixed an issue in which a scrollbar appeared in the Sentiment section in the Relationship Panel when there were no sentiments. The mysterious scrollbar was mysterious. Similarly, they have also fixed an issue in which if multiple Sims gained sentiments together their thought bubbles look quite not right with the incorrect colors, so now they should look proper.

The Likes and Dislikes icon in Create a Sim will no longer overlap its text. It looked weird, honestly.

Droids (if you own Journey to Batuu) and Drones (if you own Get Famous) clipping into all kinds of objects in Build Mode? We saw that too, so there should be a fix for that in this game update. I mean this went beyond just crashing into things…

The option “Join After School Activity” will no longer be available if Simmers don’t have Seasons or Get Famous packs installed.

Sims in deviant paths now can properly reach the Level 4 of the Criminal Career.

Now, this is one that made my day, Cowplants are now able to dance again when Sims play music in front of them. Dance Cowplant, Dance!

Fixed an issue in which relationship points gained by friendly introductions were more than usual if Simmers didn’t have Snowy Escape installed.

We adjusted the color swatches for the S. Cargeaux Counter Island so that when it gets dirty, the counter doesn’t completely change colors. Dirty Counter – who dis?

Fixed an issue where the Scared Emotion UI was displaying a broken pose for Toddlers. The pose was kinda more scary than what the Toddler had been scared of, so glad that is done.

Outfits worn while Purchased and Worn in Festivals/Kiosks/Stalls should no longer remove accessories that were in place for the Sim.

Error code 134:571e5862 that occurred to some Simmers should be fixed now.

We fixed a few hairstyles (yfHair_EP05WavyBob, yfHair_EP01PartedFlat, yfHair_EP05UnderCutDreads, yfHair_EP01ShortSwept, and yfHair_DreamyCrew) that when used with the recently added color options would create splotches in the eyes, change the color of teeth, and/or change the eyelashes color.

As always the Localization team and this author have fixed and improved text across all packs and updates.

Get to Work

Aliens can now enjoy their custom Blush options in Create a Sim. Lewks out of this world!

Retail employees will now appropriately change into their assigned outfits. Listen, I grew up wearing uniforms for school, I get it, sometimes they are not the prettiest… but you have to wear them if you have to go to that establishment. I know the pain too well… but my sense of style grew from that… I think.

We made a fix to some of the swatches from the Barely Better Digital Camera that were missing a description for the item, so now all the swatches will display the text in all its glory.

Get Together

Some of these Sims are not like the others, some of these Sims just don’t belong. Can you tell which are not like the others by the time I finish writing these notes?

Fixed an issue in which some of the rooftops in Winderburg were not displaying Snow (if you own Seasons) correctly.

Fixed an issue where Sims didn’t sometimes change into their Club outfits when a Club Gathering was being held.

City Living

The Scattered Panes window in Build Mode now displays appropriate shadows in all options.

Sims enrolled in the Social Media career will now gain influence at the end of their stream instead of every few Sim-minutes.

Two hairstyles (ymHair_EP03BunHighPins and ymHair_EP03BraidedFlateBun) have been updated to reflect the correct look when choosing the Neutral Black color option.

Your Sims want to shoot some Basketball Close Shots, but they are trying to eat first? Well, now your Sims can finish eating before trying those hoops. Nutrition is important!

Cats and Dogs

We fixed an issue in which whiskers were not being seen applied to Cats. A Cat without whiskers is like Peanut butter without Jelly… or something like that! Just wrong!

Robot Vacuums should all now return to their docks accordingly. I hope this issue was not a sign that they were becoming sentient.

Sims will no longer get a Moodlet referring to the death of their Pet when witnessing the death of another Sim. The loss of a Sim is heartbreaking, but also getting a Moodlet for the death of their Pet when the Pet has not died, that is cold Grimmy, very cold.

Speaking of Robot Vacuums becoming sentient a few lines above, we fixed an issue that made the game crash when Cats would sit on the Robot Vacuum. CatonRobot.exe is now working.

We fixed an issue in which some Simmers experienced a crash with their last played Household loading into Brindleton Bay.

Seasons

Sims were changing into their cold-weather gear… while not in cold weather? We had some conversations with Sims and even though they love their winter outfits, dressing up in full winter gear in the summer was probably not the wisest choice. So the issue in which Sims randomly would change into their winter outfits while not in winter is solved.

Egg Hunts are adorable and fun! But not being able to have the furniture reset after looking for Eggs in them, can be quite the rain on Sims’ parade. But this should no longer occur.

Island Living

Mermaids will no longer keep the “Dried Scales” Moodlet when they are hydrated. Mermaids’ skincare regimen pays off! Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize!

Fixed an issue in which Lots that are placed in the sand looked quite odd displaying all edges of the Lot when it rained.

Sims that have the Collector Aspiration Trait are now able to catch Frogs in Sulani as part of their adventures exploring the island waterfall. Good Luck!

We fixed an issue in which some Simmers experienced game crashes when loading into certain lots in Mua Pe’lam. Happy Exploring!

Discover University

Sims having a hard time in Uni? No matter what they do they keep failing classes? Worry not, Sims will no longer fail classes when meeting all the criteria for course completion. Work hard, pass your classes hard!

Having Roommates can be hard. Have your Sims had Roommates complain constantly and leave even when their needs are met? Yeah, we made it so that Roommates don’t do this any longer.

Fixed an issue in which beds were counted incorrectly when placing an ad for Roommates. I mean, as much as Pets and even Toddlers can live with Roommates, the ad should be truthful to how many beds there are actually in the Lot, not count Toddlers and Pets as needing adult-sized beds.

We fixed Servo animations so that they don’t look like they are walking on one leg when hovering to their destination. Now they will hover properly.

We fixed an issue in which in some instances Professors could not go to work when a Professor NPC is added into that same Household.

Fixed an issue in which removing and adding back Household members as Roommates would create some… inappropriate moments, ahem.

Eco Lifestyle

Evergreen Harbor’s peace has been restored: roads and parts of neighborhoods no longer disappear or turn blue when businesses open in Port Promise while the Modern Development N.A.P is active.

yfBody_EP09DressShirt no longer has a weird texture in some of the footwear from various packs, especially platform shoes and chunky sneakers.

Had you moved to Cypress Terrace in Willow Creek and found you couldn’t really do anything there? We fixed the routing failures and interaction failures on the Mitey-Mitey Home – Insect Farm.

Snowy Escape

Mountain Climbing can be challenging, even for those experienced. But having indecisive moments before a climbing route like getting off and on your bike constantly seems that a lot of doubt is passing your mind… However, we did speak to these Sims that were experiencing this behavior and calmed their fears and doubts, so this should no longer be an issue.

The hairstyle yfHair_EP10BobBluntOmbre now covers all of the Sim’s ears.

For Simmers who own Seasons together with Snowy Escape, rain options no longer affect snow.

Sims no longer have the option to give a respectful or military introduction during activities such as Dancing or Bike Riding. I mean, I’m not sure about you, but I can’t dance and respectfully introduce myself at the same time. So many falls… so many falls.

We made some corrections to the Slippers that came with this pack and they should no longer display a greenish texture on Sims’ toes when selected in Create a Sim. Yikes.

Fixed an issue in which for some Simmers playing with the Yoshida Hall Household would generate a game crash when loading into Mt. Komorebi.

We took a look at our Ramen menu and have updated our cooking menu to label Miso and Egg Ramen as Vegetarian safe options. Buen Provecho!

Want to run a Restaurant in Yukimatsu but also want to enjoy the slopes? Now your Sims can enjoy the slopes and dine in style. However, this action is only directed, and will not be autonomous. In the same vein, Restaurant employees will not be tempted to leave work to enjoy the slopes.

Journey to Batuu

Batuu is an awesome destination for those who want to enjoy something fun and different, but if you bought a Droid from the Droid Depot and never saw it in your inventory, I know how frustrating it can be. Never fear, the Droids you were looking for will appear now in Inventories when purchased.

In Journey to Batuu, the First Order ID no longer disappears from inventory so Sims now can Access First Order Plans for the Top Notch Trickery Mission.

Fixed an issue with the Leveling the Playing Field Mission in which the Scoundrel Informant would not appear on the scene after Sims stole the Prototype Blaster and went to Oga’s Cantina to wait for the informant.

Dine Out

Eggs and Toast sound super basic and easy right? They will continue to be that way for our unassuming Chefs on the Chef Station since we fixed an issue that made them… challenging. Sims can also use the second burner for other recipes without fail or routing out.

StrangerVille

The Decorations and Kid’s categories in Build Mode should no longer have a “New” highlight when there’s nothing actually new.

Dream Home Decorator

Lighting can change the ambiance of a room, and your mood in a flash. Luckily we have fixed an issue that lighting was not even on sectional sofas to continue to set the right mood for our Sims.

Our stylists fixed the Sleep ‘N’ Study Styled Room to remove the P.R.I.M.A Computer from it as this is not an item that is accessible for everyone, pardon our dust.

Laundry Day

Fixed an issue where an animation clipped when Sims were loading their laundry machines. Because having your clothes go through you is awkward, are Sims made of fabric? I don’t think so.

Bust the Dust

Don’t need Simoleons, don’t need Fame. Don’t need dinner to have this date. It’s strong and it’s sudden and it’s cruel sometimes but it might just end your night… the power of Dust, that’s the power of Dust.

Our cleaning agents have determined that Sims won’t get romantic negative Moodlets related to filthy levels of dust in public places like parks.

[dehliman]

Hi! Are you still doing requests for the character pose thing and also who are canon couples/crushes/tension/whatever in your thing so I don’t send something that’s completely bizarre for the characters that you ^^; -overthinkingtaleblr

Hello hello! Yes I am!

Here’s a list of relationships- romantic or otherwise that I very quickly got carried away with… some of these might not even be helpful to the prompts, but I sure had fun with it

Ghost and Johnny Toast are, goes without saying, best bros. Real besties. Best friends till the ends of time and space. Brothers in arms. Men with arms. For holding other men. Tenderly. (They’ve got a whole series-length story arc about their feelings on one another)

Gavin Toast has has a crush on Ghost since they were kids, which dipped until high school, which he supposed had gone away until he actually talks to Ghost for the first time since high school, in their 20s… depending on my mood, Ghost reciprocates this (in his own way, of course) but always sees Gavin as a good friend (though they have their moments)

Maddie has a crush on Billy, but she’s not as overbearing about it. It’s very explicit, and Billy knows, doesn’t reciprocate the same way, and Maddie respects this. They’re best friends in an unlabeled QPR. They hug and they kiss each other’s foreheads <3

Papa and Gertrude are married and in love

In addition to that, Gertrude is the ex-wife of Mr. Rose, Collin’s dad- they’re still friends

Audrey (Toast’s younger sister) is engaged to her fiancé… who does not have a design, and is not a character derived from anything of VT

Aimee is a general Romantic, but has a particular unhealthy- and one sided- ‘crush’ on Jimmy, and subsequently, Ghost. Jimmy does not reciprocate and uses her feelings to his advantage; Ghost does not reciprocate period

Mary is, sadly, still the late-wife of Johnny Toast. They loved each other, and Toast still loves her- feeling guilt when he catches feelings for other people after her death

Katrina and Ghost were never romantic, but they were extremely close in high school. She would basically be Ghost’s saving comfort through his high school years as a trans dude. Their friendship very quickly… tumbled. after high school, but they reunite years after PIE is established and Katrina is hired as an investigator. Very tense at first, Katrina and Ghost eventually become close again

I know for sure Fred and Collin are certified best friends

… that’s all, I think!

Other than that, I’ll do pretty much any pairing that’s within a reasonable age bracket- excluding anything weird, which goes without saying- or any pose that isn’t romantic with friends or family

And just because I’ve seen them before, im going to specify that Salome, or Sally, is a child, usually around 10 years old when I draw her, though I’ll sometimes draw her when she’s a teenager

Spencer is around a tween and a teen

Fred is in his early twenties and used to idolize Ghost, so I’m not personally comfortable putting them in a relationship

So no Ghost-Spence, Spooky Ghost, and no Sally-Slender

[burning-clutch]

If A Ghost Howls In A Forest…

cross posted to a03: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30503925 Danny was hoping his time at a summer camp would be ghost-free, and well, of course not. When would things in his life ever NOT involve ghosts? At least he can hope to get some decent rest tonight, right? RIGHT? Warning: mild descriptions of death 

-.-.-.-.-

Prompt by: KC Summer Camps is not complete without a courage test of walking to the haunted woods at midnight. Amity Park campers are weirdly prepared for this. Other campers are not sure how to deal with that

-.-.-.-.-.-

“Why are we doing this?”

“It’s a sort of initiation type of thing.”

“But WHY?!”

“For the spooks?”

“I’ll get the lipstick…”

“Wait what?”

Danny sighed as he watched Tucker neander off back to their cabin to fetch the Fenton lipstick ray, ignoring the looks of confusion that was shot his way from the other campers that he didn’t know from school. Dash and Kwan had thankfully been, well, not assholes the WHOLE time they had been in the camp. Though to be fair, it had only been a day in this week long fun filled… whatever this was.

Apparently, while things seemed to start out well they were told around the evening campfire and cookout, (which was mostly just them poking hotdogs on sticks and trying not to burn themselves when they ate them,) they were told about a tradition about the new campers being lead up to spend a few hours on their first night on a midnight hike through the ‘haunted’ woods.

Danny was the first to groan hearing this followed by Tucker. Even Dash and Kwan looked unamused as well as the random soccer player that Danny vaguely recognized from school.

To say the councillors were confused by the amity park kids’ reactions would be selling the gambit of expression the councillors had. Teenagers being put in charge of slightly younger teenagers, yeah, nothing could go wrong here, nothing at all…

Tucker came back and tossed Danny a wrist ray while tucking the lipstick he had retrieved into his shirt pocket. A boy from some small farming town an hour’s drive from the camp shuddered. “Haunted Woods? How are you not worried about dark haunted woods? Ghosts are in there!” he exclaimed.

“Cuz it’s just ghosts right?” The Amity soccer player shrugged.

“Yeah, I mean the story they told us said that right? Those hikers that got hurt and died in the woods still haunt it to this day” Kwan supplied with a roll of his eyes. The jock wiggled his fingers doing a decent impression of the box ghost with an even more intimidating “OoooOOOoooOO”

“Yeah, unless they’re gonna be sporting some cool gore this will be lame,” Dash added with a yawn. “Pass.” Dash waved the councillor off before trying to turn and head off.

“Well, you don’t HAVE to go on the hike. But those who skip out will have to endure the punishment tomorrow. If you wanna peel hundreds of potatoes tomorrow morning at the ass crack of dawn you’re welcome to head back…. We’re also going to label you as a coward too so there’s that.”  One of the councillors says with a smug smile on their face.

“Has anyone ever seen anything like that?” A nervous looking twig of a boy asked, wringing his hands nervously.

“Oh I won’t say anything on that matter” The second councillor, Jeff says. At least Danny thinks he remembers the name as Jeff. He should probably learn that given this guy was in charge of the cabin he was staying in, “It’ll be better to leave it as a surprise.”

The first councillor, a jock looking guy, built like a brick house with thick shoulders and neck but a tiny waist and legs looking very much like he needed a few more rounds on leg day, eyed the Amity group with a look as though he were going to try to take scaring them as a challenge. Danny looked the guy over, raising a brow when their eyes locked.

Great, he and Tucker looked like an easy target. He knew that look all too well having spent plenty of time being bullied as well as with angry ghosts who underestimated him. More fun tonight will be had by all he was sure.

“Don’t worry We’ll make sure you’ll get some proper spooks.” the brick house says with what Danny assumed the other thought was an intimidating grin.

Dash snorted. “Fenton’s probably the only one who’ll get scared of the ghosts out there. He runs away from all of them back home.”

“Have you seen my parents? Get too close to a ghost and it picks up some contamination you know exactly what they’ll do!” Danny spat back with a glare of his own only barely managing to stop his eyes from glowing in his rapidly souring mood.

The other kids at the camp blink in confusion. “Wait… You guys are from that tourist town that goes way too far with the ghost theme right?” asked a pale kid with brown hair.

“Oh please, that’s just a gimmick” Answered another kid who crossed his arms in a huff.

“It’s not a gimmick dude, we even have our own superhero!” Kwan answered.

“Uh-huh. Well you’re superhero ain’t gonna save you from the ghosts out here”  Jeff shot back, crossing his arms. “Right, Tom?”

The brick house, Tom apparently nodded knowingly. “Yep, these ghosts are very dangerous and angry ya know..”

“So? It IS Monday,” Tucker offered flatly, earning a snort from the soccer player.

“Can we just… not do this?” A darker skinned nervous boy whined holding onto the arm of the brown haired kid reminding Danny of him and Tucker from two years ago before they got jaded from ghost attacks.

Kinda made him wonder what could have been…

“Nope we're going, so move,” Tom ordered taking up the place at the back of the line while Jeff took the place at the front.

Danny groaned. “Wonder if there will be any ghosts in there?” He wonders to tucker as they were all forced into a line for their ‘spooky’ hike.

“Maybe it’ll be one of Vlad’s abominations?” Tucker suggested.

“Honestly I wouldn't be surprised.” Danny sighed back with a frown. At least if it was a real ghost his ghost sense would alert him to the danger before they got too close.

They entered the treeline and started heading up a hill and towards the supposed site where the hikers had fallen and gotten trapped by a rock or something falling on them. Their legs were broken and crushed and stuck in place, they apparently died unable to get food or drink and unable to free themselves alone, and not able to scream loud enough for help. They still haunt this area… apparently.

Danny had to admit while the tragedy would be able to spawn a ghost but he also doubted there was one sentient around here if there was a ghost at all. He couldn’t sense very high ectoplasmic concentrations around here. Any ghosts that weren’t purely animalistic in nature wouldn’t last long out here without a boost of ecto-energy.

Which means if there was an animal ghost, that boost of energy could come from attacking humans or eating things as animals tend to do... Again attacking humans but instead of feasting on their emotions, well it’s just getting mauled.

More than anything it meant that if there was a malevolent ghost out there that they would have to be on their toes, and Tucker would have to run interference to make sure no one sees Phantom this far from Amity Park.

Well, at least none of the Amity park residents see Phantom this far from Amity.

As they walked up towards the crescent of the hill they noticed it was significantly colder, though it wasn’t a ghostly cold, at least those from Amity knew it wasn’t. The other kids though?

“Oh, man… Why is it so chilly?!” “You think that means the ghosts are close?” “No way man stop saying stupid stuff.”

“It’s probably the river,” Tucker said simply, pointing to the side where there was a winding stream just below the side of the hill. “The way the winds are blowing it’s cooling this area more.”

Danny smirked at his friend's explanation. It was a neat trick sure, but it wasn’t enough to scare the Amity kids. Frowning but not discouraged, the councillors led their troupe up and around towards a cave that was making a moaning noise every time the wind blew.

“They say this is where the hikers were killed, just at the mouth of this tunnel looking for shelter,” Tom says smirking, enjoying the shudders some of the younger teens were giving at the howls of the tunnel. “If you listen you can hear them screaming still.”

“The wind in the tunnel opening?” Kwan asked helpfully.

“No, it’s the howls of the damned.” Jeff encouraged

“And if you look close enough you can sometimes make out the glowing soul of their spirits,” Tom added ignoring the Amity jock.

“Oh neat! I didn’t know they had Panellus stipticus in this area!” The soccer jock said overly happily.

“Dude, when did you become a nerd.” Dash huffed out teasingly.

“I’m studying Bio to get into Uni for Mycology. Dude mushrooms are totally awesome.” Came the smug reply.

“You would know Kevin” Dash snapped back

“Moving on!” Tom called out before shooing the kids away. This was not going according to plan at all… Why are these Amity kids so prepared for this?! Well, hopefully, the next bit will get them…

As they round the cave towards a small rocky outcropping the councillors do their best to draw the younger teen’s attention towards the crevasse where there was supposedly still a shoe from one of the deceased hikers. “If y’all look hard enough you’ll find it I’m sure~,” Jeff told them.

Frowning the kids shined flashlights down into the ditch looking about before one kid called out, “I found a shoe!”

As they did several things happen at once. There was a roaring sound of pain before someone came bolting out of the woods with yellow and green glowing spots all over them. Tucker raised a brow but side-eyed Danny who shrugged.

The Amity kids watched in more confusion than fear as the ‘ghost’ ran out of the woods towards them and took a swipe at one of the youngest teens in their group. “So that’s your ghost? Lame.” Dash huffed out arms crossed. “It’s not even the right colours.” he added with a wave of his hand ignoring the screeching of some of the other kids who were clearly more startled by the ‘ghost’ than he was.

“So, can we go now?” Danny asked with a yawn as the ghost, or really one of the councillors with broken glow stick goo all over them came close to him with an ‘oooooOOOOoooo’

“You guys really didn’t even flinch?!” the ‘ghost complained.

“Oh hey, there you go now THAT looks more convincing.” Someone says just as Danny’s breath fogged a bit before his face.

The halfa looked to where his ghost sense had pointed him to see a big giant green drooling monster beast glaring at the humans towering over the majority of even the tallest in the group. “Yeah, that looks more like a ghost! How’d you do that?” The soccer player said, (Danny really needed to learn his name)

Tom and Jeff and the ‘ghost’ that was harassing Danny all yelp and take a few steps back while the non-Amity kids scrabble and scatter back the way they came.

“No he’s real,” Danny offers with a sigh of exasperation. “Here Cujo down!”

The beast barked and wagged its tail before shrinking down and giving a yip of delight before rushing over to Danny, legs never fully touching the ground as he flew over to the boy.

“Heel! Sit!” Danny calls out stopping the dog in its tracks before the beast could cover him in glowing green slobber.

Cujo did just that sitting practically on Danny’s feet and wiggling his tail so fast it made his butt jiggle back and forth in the effort. The teen sighed and scooped the wiggling beast up into his arms with little effort, mostly due to the fact that ghost dogs only weigh half of what their flesh and bone counterparts would.

“Figures Fent-freak would have a freaky ghost dog” Dash taunted crossing his arms though when Cujo growled, Dash’s smug smile fell.  

“Tha-That’s?” Jeff stammered out, pointing a shaking finger at the wiggling green bean in Danny’s hands.

“A typical Amity park ghost yeah,” Danny replied with a grin.  “So it's cool if we call this hike a night I’m kinda hoping to get some sleep, that’s kinda why I wanted to come here to catch up on that more than anything…” Danny admitted the last part a little quieter as he put Cujo back down.

The councillor nodded dumbly, moving back away from the teen and the ghost dog, looking as though he wanted nothing more than to bolt when Danny picked up a stick and threw it for Cujo to fetch.

“Awe man I think I stepped in Fen-turd’s dog’s invisible crap!” Dash complained as they all started moving back, Cujo yipping as he came back with the stick giving a snort at Dash before loyally following alongside Danny and phasing through trees as they walked.

Seeing this, Tom decided that it would be best if he hurried back to the cabins to get them ready for the new campers. Yes, That’s exactly what he’s doing…

“Dude you can’t seriously be thinking of keeping Cujo around here he’ll destroy the camp,” Tucker muttered to Danny watching the little pup chase its tail as he followed them.

“Eh, It’s not really fair to keep him in the thermos for the week. Besides I’m sure I can use this guy to get you that extra helping of bacon you wanted.” Danny bribed his friend.

Tucker’s eyes light up and he grins brightly “Cujo here boy! Come see the T-man!”

Danny rolled his eyes, but so long as that was the only ghost they encountered out here, he might actually have a decent week of sleep ahead of him.

He can only hope.

Besides, using Cujo as a threat to Dash sounded like as good a plan as any, and if the councillors were too scared to go near the ghost dog that they would let him sleep in, all the better for him.

Danny smirked, perhaps camp wouldn’t be so bad after all~

-.-.-.-.-.-

Complete Total:  2363

[sugarmaplewings-fics]

Midnight Ball

Pairing: Todoroki x reader

Warnings: None

Author’s Note:

Day two of Sugar’s Spooky Days/Fall Special

Hehehe I have managed to finish something! Can’t say as much for the Kirishima one, so that might have to be late :(. I should have that one done sometime over the weekend though, so fingers crossed!

I also may or may not have been thinking about Heartless by Marissa Meyer while I wrote that first bit 👀👀 (read it, it’s good, especially if you want to sob your eyeballs out like I did)

I hope you like this one! It was fun for me to write!

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.

You had insisted on not coming to this party.

You, of course, had said this as if you had a choice. Really, as someone with your status, you should have the power to make decisions for yourself. But nooo, as the only daughter of the Marquess and Marchioness, it was your duty to attend the king’s bi-annual masquerade ball. Bother.

So, here you were, all dressed up with little intention to dance or even have fun. You clung to the sides of the spacious dancefloor, hoping to keep to yourself enough that no one would try to talk to you. It was truly dreadful what some of your fellow nobility could come up with for small talk. Exchanging formalities and remarking on politics, only then to run off into a tangent on whatever subject may have recently captured their trivial attention.

You longed to be elsewhere—in a library perhaps, or in your garden, working on sketches in your notebook. Gracious, come to think of it, maybe sleeping would even be the better option. It was dreadfully late.

The king always insisted on throwing such parties as these so late at night, stretching all the way to early hours of the morning. You’d gotten plenty of rest prior in preparation for this autumn Midnight Ball, but between the lack of meaningful interaction and your desire to be elsewhere, you found yourself capturing yawns in your gloved hand.

Your childhood best friend didn’t seem to have this problem. You could see her now, indigo skirts swishing around her ankles as she danced with some green haired man. You couldn’t quite tell if you had ever seen him before, but he was probably from some foreign kingdom. You’d certainly hear all about him tomorrow.

You began to grow antsy at your position on the west wall. Your heels were beginning to make your ankles ache, and your mask was growing progressively warmer with each breath. A glance towards the banquet table told you that the coast was clear for you to browse the selection of food laid out, but your corset made you think twice. Your handmaiden had done it so dreadfully tight.

Curses. Not to her, she had done nothing wrong. Maybe at your mother, who insisted on lacing it up in this way.

You chewed at your tongue. Maybe a walk in the courtyard would clear your head. It would definitely be cooler and not so bright. If you were lucky, you may even be alone.

Gathering your (F/C) skirts in your fists, you strode to the door to the outside, ducking through small gatherings of people and curtseying to the guards positioned at the exit. You knew you had made the right decision as soon as the night air hit your face, a cool October breeze seeping behind your mask and ruffling the feathers that adorned it. A full moon lit your path as you walked further into the manicured gardens. You’d been around here before, yet you still allowed yourself time to admire the hedges and trees closing off spaces of land. Flowerbeds were artfully placed wherever they could fit, although you could tell that most of their plentiful blooming yield had already gone back within themselves for the frosty winter. What you were truly interested in was a small pond located in the back, hidden behind a few bushes at its side.

The clear pool laid stagnant before you as you knelt down to look into it. The light of the moon bounced off your bejeweled costume mask, causing the water to sparkle even brighter beneath you. A large koi fish took notice of your signal, lazily sliding its stout, tri-colored body towards the surface in hopes that you may have brought it some food.

“I’m sorry, little friend,” you whispered to its expectant gaping mouth, “I don’t have anything for you.”

You watched him for another moment, little splashes made by the fish’s fins breaking the stillness of both the silent night air and the pool’s surface.

“You’ve upset him.”

The sound of an unfamiliar voice made you start. You straightened, brushing off the front of your skirt. Turning, you saw the figure of a man standing a few paces away from you. His build was lean and strong, and a mask of his own glittered in the all-encompassing moonlight. It was difficult to make out any identifying features, but a part of you just knew that he was intangibly handsome.

“Sorry?” you said, trying to compose yourself.

Perfect. This was just what you had been trying to avoid: interaction. Maybe he’d go easy on you and let you leave soon, or maybe he could have something genuinely worthwhile to say.

“That fish,” he clarified. “He’s hungry.”

You pursed your lips together in thought as you stole a glance back at the pond. Your koi friend had retreated back to the depths of his home as soon as you had turned your back. The air hummed with silence once more.

“Is he, though?” you asked. “He probably gets fed just as well as any other creature living on the grounds.”

The mysterious man shrugged. “True, but perhaps that’s the most joy he gets out of life.”

“Oh.” You stood there awkwardly for a second in silence, trying to think of a response. “That’s a little . . . grim.”

“Sorry.” He shifted. “I’ve always felt bad for fish.”

“How so?”

He took a step closer to the pond, bending a bit at the waist in order for him to see into it better. “They have less freedom. Little to do, nowhere to go . . . sometimes they remind me of myself a bit.”

“Oh?”

“I’m not terribly fond of my father.”

You blinked, wondering if he was going anywhere with this.

His eyes finally snapped up to yours. The moon caught their shades perfectly, drawing out hints of color that would normally be lost to their own depths. It struck you suddenly that you had seen these eyes before; one a steely silver while the other was a lovely cerulean that nearly seemed to glow. Where had you previously seen these eyes?

“Sorry,” he apologized again. “I didn’t mean to overstep.” He straightened up to properly face you, his posture rigid and practiced, just as you had seen all the other noblemen do your whole life. “My name is Shouto Todoroki, son of Duke Enji Todoroki,” he said, piercing eyes growing a little glassy at the voicing of his own name. He bowed to you, and around the top of his mask, you took notice of his perfectly split bi-colored hair. “My lady,” he said.

“Shouto?” Yes, that was right. You’d met him a few times as children, playing together while your families held council meetings. It had to have been nearly ten years since you’d seen him last, and to be honest, he’d grown into quite the man.

“Yes?” he answered, uncertain.

“It’s me,” you said, lifting your mask a bit to better show off your eyes and features in the dim light. “(F/N) (L/N).”

You watched as he did a double take; eyes scanning you from top to bottom as he put a name to your person. “(Y/N) . . . wow, it’s been a long time.”

You chuckled, fiddling with the material of your skirt between your fingers. “You’re not saying I’m old, now, are you?”

He snorted, his posture relaxing. “Of course not, my lady.”

You began to chat, settling in beside him as you wandered around the gardens together. It was only now that you realized how much you had missed your old friend, finding it shockingly easy to talk with him. He spoke of his father and how he intended for Shouto to take his place in power when his time came. You noted the bitterness he carried in his voice, vaguely remembering the emergence of the issue from the last time you’d conversed. He listened to your own life updates, interested in your hobbies and what you had to say about life and time. In fact, it nearly felt as if no time had passed at all, and you’d remained close throughout the years.

The light of the castle began to creep upon the path ahead of you, and you noticed that you’d circled the entire perimeter of the gardens. Music from the ballroom floated to your ears, and you recognized the tune. Influenced by your improved mood, you began to hum along to a few of the notes, nodding your head to the light, peppy rhythm.

Shouto took notice of this, eyeing you with a small smile gracing his usually stoic face. He sped up just enough to come up in front of you, causing you to halt in your tracks. He bowed before you again, one hand behind his back with the other outstretched for your own. “If I may, could I have this dance? This is your king’s ball, and I believe that my lady deserves at least one before the night’s end.”

An unexpected heat climbed to your cheeks. Why were you suddenly feeling this way? Your childhood friend had certainly grown into quite the handsome young man, but you couldn’t ever remember thinking of him in this manner. He’d only ever shown kindness and respect towards you, and it was only now beginning to weigh on you how much you liked him. But this weight wasn’t in any way unpleasant, in fact, it made you feel giddier, almost light and intrepid. What could one dance together hurt?

You rested your hand in his, the fabrics of your gloves sliding together as your fingers met. His head turned up so he could once again make eye contact, drawing your offered appendage to his lips. They brushed over your knuckles, feather light, and you found yourself wishing that the silken material could have been removed. How soft were his lips truly?

Shouto walked you a few paces away onto an open area in the grass, the fragrance of greenery and crisp evening air wafting through the space. Every surface was bathed in a fine layer of moonlight, giving the world a dark, silvery glow. Shouto’s skin gleamed pale and resembled porcelain, eyes shining behind the contrasting shadows of his mask.

With your palm in his, he guided you closer to him, his other hand alighting on the small of your back.

“The moon highlights your beauty remarkably so. I’ve never felt this . . . enamored by someone.”

You shivered at his words, the gentle intensity of his gaze boring into you. You began to fall into step with the music wavering in the background. The cheerful rhythm made your heart soar as you glided over the grass with your partner. He led you through some practiced steps, others entirely new. Your skirts swirled around your ankles, adding an extra flare to each of your movements. The sound of the hidden orchestra was distant and thin, and yet there was such a feeling that instilled through you, almost as if the music had seeped all the way to your marrow.

You watched as Shouto’s face began to relax into a little smile, twirling you this way, dipping you over his strong arm, pulling you back into his chest. The whole ordeal took your breath away, and even in the cool night air, your cheeks began to ignite in a palpable warmth of their own. Time slowed, and it was as though you’d been his dance partner for centuries, finding a rhythm and flowing together as one.

That is, until a shooting pain fired through your ankle, causing you to gasp and stumble. Shouto caught and steadied you in his arms before you could fall very far, worry clouding over his face.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

You grimaced, shifting your weight on your feet. “It’s my heels,” you explained. “Sorry. They’re not the most . . . practical.”

“Here,” Shouto said, offering you his arm. “Take them off. You don’t need them out here.”

Your face heated once again as you leaned on his outstretched appendage, fishing around in your skirts until you found your foot. Within moments, you were free, feet bare in their thin tights, discarded shoes unbuckled and placed neatly aside on the grass. The both of you found a stone bench nearby, and you sat side by side to help ease the strain on your feet. While you took this bit of a breather, you remarked to yourself how much taller Shouto was compared to you. The sight of how much he’d grown over the years, mixed with this newfound urge to rest your head against his broad chest . . . .

“Are you feeling better now, my lady?”

(Y/N). Your name was (Y/N). He could have just as easily called you as such, and yet, the formality set your heart aflutter.

“Yes, I believe I am. Actually, I’m feeling much better. This party was so dull until you happened upon me.”

Shouto’s smile returned, the slightest shine appearing on his upturned lips. “I haven’t enjoyed myself this much in a long time either. Thank you for accepting my offer to dance.”

You hummed and flashed him a genuine grin of your own.

He averted his eyes suddenly, a new tension gripping his shoulders. “I know we haven’t talked in years,” he began, “but if you didn’t mind, I would like to get to know you again, (Y/N). Our kingdoms aren’t too distant, and I would like to write to you sometime when I return home.”

Your smile widened. “That sounds lovely. I’d love to keep in touch with you.” You let your hand wander over to his, taking it up in your fingers.

Shouto smiled again at your touch, raising your joined palms to press another kiss to your knuckles. “I look forward to your response,” he said, lips brushing against your gloved fingers as he spoke, eyes locked on yours.

You could still hear the band playing in the ballroom. To the king, the night was still young, and the party would continue for some time longer. Within moments, you were on your feet again with him, twirling your body to the tempo of the strings and winds. With stars serving as your only audience, you danced with your newfound partner until the early hours of the morning under the light of a full hanging moon.

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.

Taglist: @aahilovetheatre​ @heartpaw12​ @todoroki-waifu​ @basicaegyo​ @iiminibattlehero​ @katsugay​ @nabo39​ @pyrofanatic​ @sendhelpimstupid​ @sokkasangel​ @xoxopam4​

[syrups-edit-corner]

Welcome to my edit blog!

Welcome! I’m mod Kokichi! And I’m the only mod on this blog! So I’ll be handling all the requests for now, let’s hope I don’t get overwhelmed like last time

You Might know me from my previous edit blog, Proship-Kokichi-Edits, well that blogs in the void now, sooo thanks tumblr. But my new profic blog can be found over at @catboy-syrup, and any writing requests can be sent to @syrups-fanfic-cafe​, I’m Also Mod Stare over at @spookyscaryships​. My icons for questions are made by @/proshipping-edits and Myself

But anyways, please read under the cut before requesting!

About Mod Kokichi

Just call me Kokichi or Ko

I am adult, freshly turned one Nov. 9th

Any pronouns (except she/her), ??? Gender is a fuck rn so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Profiction, anti’s harassment. I don’t care if your proship or anything like that, if you harass someone, you are an asshole and I will block you on sight.

Severely neurodivergent, system of 100+.

I Like to do edits and stuff for fun, this is simply a hobby that I do in my spare time when I want to.

Kokichi is my main comfort character, which is why I went with him as my muse

I will do things not on the whitelist, but whitelist is basically priority/special interests. Meaning you are 100% allowed to request things that are not on the whitelist!

Please don’t put uwu in your asks unless it’s a pun of a characters name, it makes me uncomfy

And please, if you are gonna request multiple ships at once, put them in separate ask. I’m fine with you requesting multiple things in one ask if it’s for one ship, but if you wanna request separate ships, put them in different asks. It helps me keep track of what requests I have and haven’t done.

Any NSFW requests will be tagged with “Minors dni” cause I don’t want people whining at me in my inbox

Claimed Anons

Crossover Ships Anon

Fandom Anon

Fox Anon

Honeybee Anon

Phone Anon

Run Away Anon

Terastal Phenom Anon

🍓 Anon

🦊 Anon

💙 Anon

💀🎀 Anon

🍭 Anon

What I do

Mood boards/aesthetics

Wallpapers/lockscreens (please give specific dimensions)

Pfp’s/icons (dimensions optional) (sets of 3)

Reaction icons (dimensions optional) (sets of 6)

Matching icons (Dimensions optional) (9 icons, 3 for each character, and then 3 including both characters)

Playlists (usually 12 songs, will make a YouTube playlist unless specified otherwise)

Kin assignments and romance matchups (please specify fandom) (each assignment/matchup comes with one icon edit)

Sprite edits

DNI Banners

Will also do pride themed requests (including mogai/xenogenders!)

Pride flag color picks (Basically you request a flag and a character and i’ll edit the flag to have colors picked from that character)

Putting this hear sense people won’t stop asking the same question: I WILL LITERALLY DO ANY REQUEST SO LONG AS IT DOESN’T VIOLATE THE BLACKLIST, YOU DON’T HAVE TO ASK ME “do you do requests for [blank]” I WILL LITERALLY JUST SAY THE SAME EXCATE THING EVERY SINGLE TIME. If I don’t want to do a request, I will let you know then, but for now, if it’s not on the blacklist, just assume I’ll do it. Only exception is if you’re not sure something fits the blacklist or not.

What I Won’t do

Stimboards (idk how tbh, though I want to try them out sometimes)

Drawings/doodles (stressed me out a bit last time)

Headcanons/imagines (go see my other blog for those)

Whitelist (includes fandoms, characters, etc) (aka what requests I’ll prioritize/get excited for)

Obey Me! Shall we date?

Cookie run

Danganronpa (all games + udg)

Sonic Series

New grounds/old flash games (Mainly Pico’s school)

Madness Combat

Fnaf + Fangames

Friday night Funkin (+Mod characters)

Sr Pelo’s spooky month

Creepypasta

Any sort of object show (especially bfdi/bfb, II, or object terror)

Huniepop

Boyfriend to Death

Welcome Home

Kokichi Ouma from DRV3

Nagito Komeada from sDR2

Woody from BFDI/BFB

Four from BFB

Cherries from II

Yin-Yang from II

Trowel from Object Terror

Au’s (soulmate, apocalypse, and experiment aus are my faves)

Yanderecore

Emocore

Lolita

Gore/gorey themes

Any dark or problematic themes

Age gap ships

Crossover ships in general

Any ships found on this list!

Blacklist (most of these are solely cause they’re triggers)

707, V, Rika, or Rika’s cult from Mystic messanger

Any of Yoosungs bad endings

Parasites

Paranoia themes

Guys named Alex

Spiders

Brain injuries or anything related

Heavy religious themes

Any themes that could be considered generally unsanitary

Radiodust (Alastor x Angel Dust)

Whitrol/Wharol (Carol x Whitty)

Romantic Selfships involving Garcello (Fnf Smoke ‘Em Out Struggle mod), Tabi (Fnf vs Ex Mod), Agoti (fnf Vs Agoti mod), or Tankman/Captain (Fnf/Tankmen series) (they’re too much of comfort characters for me, platonic/familial selfships and romantic canon x canon is still ok though)

Romantic Sarv x Ruv, Mint Choco Cookie x Cocoa Cookie, or Whipped Cream Cookie x Dark Choco Cookie (platonic ships of these pairings is 100% a-ok!)

Any romantic ships involving Ryuji Sakamoto (Persona 5), or Raspberry Mousse Cookie (Cookie run). (Platonic is ok!)

AloeCy/Aloe Cookie x Cyborg Cookie (Cookie run)

RPF or any content of irl people (just a personal discomfort)

Live action characters played by minors (specifically live action tv shows and movies) (Minors played by adults are ok, animated minors voiced by minors are on thin ice but I'll allow it)

Anything made by J.K. Rowling

Do not Interact

Anti’s/fanpol/you harass people in general

Support/participate in cringe culture

Anti-furry

P-doph-le/MAP/NOMAP or support any of them for any reason

Support harassment or cancel culture

Support irl inc-st/abuse for any reason.

you are an ‘irl yandere’ who participates in harmful/toxic behavior. I believe being an irl yandere is fine, but never do anything thats actually harmful to yourself or other people.

That’s about it! Welcome to my blog, and feel free to request anything that’s not on the blacklist! Also very sorry if I deny your request, I sometimes forget to put certain things on the blacklist, so that’s my fault mostly kdhdjjfjdjfk

[qiankunfics]

KunTen Masterlist Part 5

AO3

1. love-shaped by andnowforyaya

Summary: “You didn’t answer me, kitty cat,” Kun teases. “And you let the air conditioning out.” Rating: Explicit Status: One-Shot

2. your majesty by farthendur

Summary: *KunTen features most prominently amongst other mentions of Kun-pairings. Rating: Explicit Status: One-Shot

3. down into the mountain sound by rowenabane

Summary: Sometime after sunset, a man walks through the village walls. Rating: Teen Status: One-Shot

4.  Another Addition by rowx3yourships

Summary: Ten gave a small laugh. “Well - we may have adopted a kitten.” Rating: General Status: One-Shot

5. big news by 10vesick

Summary: The doorbell rings almost as soon as it’s settled, startling them both. The time has come. They’re about to share the big news. Rating: General Status: One-Shot

6. after midnight by trembleseos

Summary: kun and ten getting into the mood until... Rating: General Status: One-Shot

7. the godlike kind by rowenabane

Summary: Kun smiles sadly, the expression one that Ten remembers better than his own name. “You did.” Rating: Teen Status: On-Going

8. Billet-doux by lumively for seupeuu

Summary: A story about love, magic and mischievous kittens. Rating: Teen Status: One-Shot

9. home is not always a place by merryofsoul

Summary: I'm happy you're here, Kun thinks. I'm happy you're home. Rating: General Status: One-Shot

10. Tsunami by jenojaemin

Summary:  He’s making mountains out of molehills. Rating: Explicit Status: One-Shot

11. Art. by Dream_Run

Summary:  "See the cane I bought? The one you laughed at?" Kun nods. "I'd like to paint your ass cheeks red with that cane, and take a few pictures." Rating: Explicit Status: One-Shot

12. match made by merryofsoul

Summary: If it wasn't for Ten's meddling dongsaengs, he wouldn't have found the love of his life. Rating: General Status: One-Shot

13. make me feel special by princealliance (anaksemuabangsa)

Summary: Love is supposed to make you feel special, right? That's not how Kun makes him feel, though. Rating: Explicit Status: Completed

14. Tremors by Intricate6

Summary: Ten is having a bad day with his tremors and Kun helps him cope Rating: Teen Status: One-Shot

15. everything is blank until you draw me by xiaojunrights

Summary: Ten was such an intricate person. His mind worked in ways that Kun couldn’t fully understand. It was like he saw the world in such a different light from everyone else. He saw something no one else could see. Rating: General Status: One-Shot

16. The Tone by drawing_board, funkeymonkey

Summary: In which Ten gains a new found respect for the leader of the group, after learning that he has a whole side of him that Ten didn't know about. Rating: General Status: One-Shot

17.  Child's play. by Dream_Run

Summary: Ten meets his son's new teacher. Qian Kun. His childhood best friend turned friend-with-benefits at university. Rating: General Status: One-Shot

18. labyrinth by madhoney

Summary: He was blinded by its beauty, too easily enchanted into playing whatever silly game Ten wanted. Rating: Teen Status: One-Shot

19. inconveniently in love with you by erika_leana

Summary:  un is an oblivious idiot and Ten has been in love with him since the day he met him. Rating: Teen Status: On-going

20.  Waves (and everything that was left unsaid). by devinemoon

Summary: It took some time to realize that the small waves coming at me were actually warning me from the tidal wave that was to come. Rating: Teen Status: One-Shot

21. wrap you (in me, my love) by miramiro

Summary: “I love you, Kun. I want you to trust me the way I trust you,” Ten says. “Believe me, if I could spend every second of the day telling you how beautiful you are and how happy you make me, I would.” Rating: Explicit Status: One-Shot

22. Heart made of glass, my mind of stone by chaerinsthighs

Summary: In which Ten, disappointed with people's obsession to seek the wrong kind of love in the wrong places, finds his match in Kun, the lovely bartender of his favourite bar, ever a romantic in the most fascinating way in Ten's eyes. Rating: Teen Status: One-Shot

23. two of us in this world by TheRPL

Summary: Maybe it was a series of before and afters, a chain reaction, leading to the inevitable. Rating: General Status: One-Shot

24.  from front to back, sometimes up and down by Markmeinyourheart

Summary: Four Times people couldn't tell if Kun and Ten were in love and the one time they gave a straight answer. Rating: Teen Status: One-Shot

25.  merlot at noon by nuoyiwriter

Summary: a kun/ten soft smut oneshot Rating: Mature Status: One-Shot

26. ambrosia by petitfleur (moonfleur)

Summary: Ten arrives on Olympus for one of the greatest celebrations of the year. Rating: General Status: One-Shot

27.  be the light by MVforVictory for EbbaTriesToWrite

Summary: Ten has a headache. Kun is a good boyfriend. Rating: Teen Status: One-Shot

28. From Home by softyjseo

Summary: October seventeenth is the worst day of Ten’s life. Rating: Teen Status: Completed 

29.  We Shine Bright (I’m Alive) by blandbanana

Summary:  You’re stretched thin. Being a leader is really hard, and we can all see the effect it has on you. This isn’t supposed to be an attack, just a slight intervention from the hyungs to set you back on track. Rating: General Status: One-Shot

30.  rosy cheeks and sweet smiles by laehys

Summary: kunten with the princesses dresses on. they fuck. Rating: Explicit Status: One-Shot

31.  the unseeing eye by rowenabane

Summary: Ghosts do not exist until they do, and then suddenly they don’t. Rating: Mature Status: One-Shot

32.  la la lost by misseverdeen

Summary: Ten sends an inappropriate copypasta to producer!Kun. Rating: Teen Status: On-going

33. 96linerzz legendzz by dojaefairy

Summary: *main couple is not KunTen but they feature really cutely Rating: Teen Status: One-Shot

34. renegade blue by idlesong

Summary: By the shore of a purple sea, Kun seeks refuge from the persistent reminders of his misery. Ten offers him a way out. Rating: Teen Status: One-Shot

35.  Rosehip by Mntsnflrs

Summary:  Days like this were worse than the days of feeling nothing at all. Rating: Teen Status: One-Shot

36.  think i wanna feel love by tetrahedra

Summary: TenAlice, and Kun's reaction. Rating: Explicit Status: One-Shot

37. mistletoe: tree of reincarnation by chanshine

Summary: the kingdoms of blue and red have been at war for longer than anyone could remember. their rulers seek peace. Rating: Teen Status: One-Shot

38.  Never Have I Ever by EbbaTriesToWrite

Summary: A game of never have I ever leads to a lot of revelations about WayV's leader Rating: Explicit Status: On-Going

39. A very Muggle Halloween by writesinfontuwu

Summary: Ten knows about the spooky festival muggles enjoyed. It was a day that the magical folks were able to drop their disguise and blend in with the muggles. Rating: Teen Status: One-Shot

40. alright, sir! by kuntenjohnil

Summary: Professor Qian and Professor Li are (obviously) crushing on each other, but none of them seems to be willing to make the first move. Rating: Teen Status: One-Shot

41. of their own by andnowforyaya

Summary: Ten surprises Kun on their favorite night of the year (outside of their birthdays and their wedding anniversary): Halloween. Rating: General Status: One-Shot

42. mirror, mirror... by goldhorn (englishsummerrain)

Summary: It really isn't Ten's fault Kun is so fucking hot in the dress. It might be his fault for pushing his buttons, though. Rating: Explicit Status: One-Shot

43. I think I'm Love With -- by Con10nt (acaesura)

Summary:  Ten likes to blame the mercurial retrograde for all of the sudden intense requests at the studio, the ache that still digs deep into his knee at the end of a series of hard days, and the very few hours of sleep he’s managed between showcases. Rating: Teen Status: One-Shot

44.  Met you at Ten by jcc_seo, moon_apple

Summary: Then, Ten started visiting the cafe and showed Kun the fun of life outside his comfort zone. Rating: General Status: One-Shot *Also a pod-fic

45. If You'd Only Come With Me by childofmalin

Summary: After moving to a small town, Kun finds himself longing for someone he barely knows. His secret is a dark one. Rating: Mature Status: One-Shot Trigger: Rape, Murder

46.  close range, closer still by rowenabane

Summary: Ten blinks open a single eye. “I killed someone to protect you. It evens out, doesn’t it?” Rating: Teen Status: One-Shot Trigger: Death, Murder

47. universe's error by fructoseintolerant

Summary: *Mention of JohnTen but end-game is KunTen.   Rating: General Status: One-Shot

48.  Child's play 2. by Dream_Run

Summary: "Thank you for being a part of my life. Thank you for being you, and for being mine." he whispers, resting his forehead against Ten's, a smile on his face. Rating: General Status: One-Shot

49. Fruits, Fights and Family by Drea_is_Dreaming

Summary: Kun, for the life of him cannot figure out what he did wrong. Rating: Teen Status: One-Shot

50.  hold me closer tiny dancer by TheRPL

Summary: Ten is the star. He has a talent for being loved. He also has a talent for getting under Kun’s skin. Rating: General Status: One-Shot

[underatedcharactersunite]

Trick or Treat

Summary; You and Negan go on your first run since his prisonment, you find a Halloween store, choas ensures.  Pairing: Negan x Female Reader WordCount; 2,488 Warnings. NSFW Themes, no actual Smut, Strong Language, 

Written for @thewalkingdead-imagines​ Spooky Writing Challenge

It was difficult to think of a time without Negan. Although achieving where the two of you stood now hadn’t been easy. You had been with Rick from the very beginning, from the moment he reunited with Lori and Carl, throughout the prison and travelling weeks and months on the road to attempt to locate a safe place to stay. You were in the line-up when Negan made his first official appearance. 

From the moment the two of you encountered one another, you refused to back down from him. When the others kept their eyes firmly on the ground preferring to look at Negan’s boots, you were staring right at him. When he spoke to you, you spoke confidently. Negan witnessed how you pushed back the fear. You were not afraid to die for those who mattered. Negan liked you instantly. 

From your first encounter, whenever the Saviours visited Alexandria Negan demanded he was going. While his primary mission was to antagonise Rick as much as possible, there was another reason. You. Negan had become infatuated with seeing you, perhaps interacting with you. Even when you weren’t home, Negan waited for you to return 

“Well shit, there she is. Christmas has come early. Look at the at how confident she walks. Like she already knows she has me wrapped around her finger. Hello beautiful, did you miss me?” Rolling your eyes, you simply wandered past Negan, trying to get home so you could clean up. 

Negan refused to be ignored as he quickly followed you, marching into your house without so much as knocking. 

“Darlin’, while you might be my favourite out of all these shitheads, that doesn’t give you the right to ignore me.” You continued to wash your hands before making your way upstairs, you had been in no mood to deal with Negan. 

“Don’t you walk away from me?” Negan bellowed as he followed you up the stairs. 

“I presumed you were a man of intelligence. An evil, cruel, fucker but at least one who has a brain. When someone ignores you, it typically means they don’t want to interact with you. Don’t you mind, I’m about to take a bath unless you want to watch me take a much-needed shower.” 

“Don’t make an offer like that Darlin’ because that is an offer I certainly won’t refuse. I couldn’t certainly say no to some freaky deeky.” A clashing of skin on skin erupted through the silent home. Had you just slapped Negan? Suddenly fear rose your body. 

Negan’s hand gripped yours tightly as he pulled you onto his chest, wrapping his arms around you tightly. 

“If I wasn’t one hundred per cent into you before. I am now! Well shit. You are a firecracker! I bet you could certainly keep me on my toes. Tell me beautiful, are you as feisty in the sheets as you are standing in front of me.” 

“Go to hell!” You spoke through gritted teeth as Negan leaned in your breaths entwining with one another’s. Once again, you were able to meet Negan’s gaze momentarily looked down at your lips 

“Baby, I know your intelligent which is one of the things I find so sexy bout you, but you are blind. I know you're attracted to me. Maybe you want to tear my clothes off, but please at least make me some Spaghetti first. You’re going to realise that sooner rather than later, and when you do I’ll be waiting” 

The day left you reeling in confusion and anger. How dare Negan presume he knew you? However, it left you rethinking everything and you refused to acknowledge him in every sense of the word. 

Until the day came that you were forced to interact with Negan. Rick and Michonne had decided to go on a run to locate supplies for the Saviours. Negan had gone around seeing what he could take for this weeks pick up, but everything was beginning to become more and vacant. Each trip took longer and was ultimately more dangerous. 

You had been walking towards Rick’s house when you heard yelling, sprinting up the stairs, you quickly barged into the house, marching up the stairs as you pulled open the door to see Carl, trying to shield Judith. 

“What the hell is going on? Where the hell have you been? What are you doing in Rick’s house?” You yelled as both Carl and Negan turned to stare at you. 

“Well shit, there she is. Did you see that Carl, she ran into this house like a woman on a mission ready to protect you and this sweet baby girl?. I’ve missed you Darlin’. Carl over here decided he was going to try to kill all of my men, hid in one of my trucks. Hell, he killed some of my men, so I brought him home. Now you're here, why don’t you join me for dinner, with Carl of course and this angel. But before that, I need to shave. Come on” Negan brought you out of the room and straight into Rick’s bathroom.   

Negan didn’t think twice lifting you into the counter, while you protested by slapping him on the chest, Negan had you pinned between him and the mirror behind you. 

“Tell me Darlin’, have you ever given someone a wet shave?” Shaking your head. Negan instructed Carl to go ahead and fetch him a clean towel. 

“I was wondering when you’d show up as protective as ever. It is such a turn on for me. Now I want you to squirt some of that stuff into your hand and dab it onto my face.” Slowly Negan’s hand rested onto your thigh as your breath hitched. 

“Well, Shit! Your hands are soft! I wonder what the rest of your body feels like Darlin’” Rolling your eyes, you continued to run your hands over Negan’s face, focused on the task at hand. 

“That’s something you’ll never know.” Slowly, your hand began to place the shaving cream down onto Negan’s throat. 

“I think we both know that’s not true. Your heart’s racing Sweetheart and it’s not because your nervous. Perhaps what I said to you the last time hit a fucking nerve. The longer you resist me, the worse it’s going to get.” Negan leaned in, closer than the two of you had ever been. 

Suddenly, your nerves reached an all-time high as you contemplated what to do next. You had never been terrified of Negan like the others, there was always something about him that you could never pinpoint. 

“It’s adorable you believe you can handle me” Negan smirked, as Negan brushed his nose against yours in a rather gentle move. 

“I don’t know if I can try, but believe me I’ll give it my best fucking try.”  Perhaps Negan was right, perhaps you did want him., but what reasonably sane person could want such a thing after watched him bludgeon your friends to death. 

However, your body appeared to take over as your lips clashed together in a fit of passion. You would never be able to understand why you felt about Negan how you did, but you couldn’t force them down any further. 

Being together hadn’t been easy, but the two of you fought through everything, sometimes the two of you were fighting against each other. When Negan got put into his cell, the two of you struggled to work through things, but regardless even after six years the two of you pulled through.

Negan was beginning to ear his way back into the community and while it was stressful, negan was officially allowed to go on his first run. While the two of you drove further out, Negan kept his hand on your thigh drawing small circles. 

“You know baby, it feels good as shit to get out of Alexandria. Six long years of being locked in a dam cell and know we’re on the open road alone. What say we pull over and have some sweet car sex.”

“Mr Negan Sir, I’m still here.” Brandon, Negan’s keeper called out from the back, rolling your eyes you wished that this agreement didn’t come with Brandon having to come with you. 

“Kid I am well aware are, but if you’ve locked up in a cell for the past six years with little to no contact with your lady, you’d have a serious case of blue balls. Do you remember that time behind the shed after we snuck out to see one another? Fucking like a pair of horny teenagers” 

“Negan stop trying to scare the poor kid. He doesn’t need the added trauma, beside’s if I remember correctly, on that occasion you didn’t last long at all.” You're smirked as Negan gripped onto your high tightly. As Negan leant over and placed a kiss directly on your a weak spot on your neck. 

“I also remember, the next time making it up to you five times over. It had been an extremely stressful time we were at war.” Placing your hand on Negan’s knee you continued to drive. The two of you were lucky that by some miracle both of you had made it out. 

Upon arriving at the complex of shops, you parked the truck in the parking lot. Turning off the engine, all three of you jumped out of the truck. Quickly you bent over to retie your shoelace. 

“Damn Kid, I suggest you keep your eyes of my lady’s ass before I start to dislike you. I mean shit, I know it’s tempting, but only I can touch and or fantasise about that great ass that she has.” 

“Can we please start getting this done? If not we could be camping here tonight” As you began to walk away, Negan quickly caught up to you making a point to place his hand in your back pocket giving your ass a hard squeeze. As you entered a local grocery store, you grabbed a hold of the cart and began to push. 

“Do you know if we had met before the world had gone to shit, I could have guaranteed it would have been in a store just like this?” 

“Oh really, and how would that have gone. How would you have swept me off my feet?” You asked as you came across some can’s that you quickly placed into the cart. 

“Funny Meat-ing you here or what can you see in my trousers right now is not a banana, do you still wanna suck on it?” An eruption of giggles erupted from your chest. They were completely terrible. Nothing like Negan’s usual pick up lines. 

“So your pick up lines were terrible before all of this shit happened.”

“Hell no, but there is only so much grocery related humour a man can use that isn’t too corny. Say what bout you, what would you have done.” 

“Honestly I would have probably checked you out and never approached you. That would have been foolish on my part.” 

“ I would have been all over you like a bee on an ice-cream. Well then baby, I am glad that we met in these extremely fucked up times. Now let’s see what else we can find. There’s gotta be something right. ” 

Store after store, the three of you search through, from the pharmacy to the charity store, everything seemed to have already been taken, but you still took anything either of you could be useful. Until the three of you became aware of a store only up the road a little. 

“Any idea what it could be?” You questioned as it hadn’t appeared on the map. 

“No idea Darlin’, let’s go investigate. Who knows perhaps we could hit the jackpot. 

“That was not the plan Michonne set, you’re breaking the rules! If Michonne finds out, Negan is never going to be allowed back out of his cell.” Turning around abruptly, you stopped Brandon in his tracks 

“Do not tell me what Michonne will do. I’ve known Michonne a hell of a lot longer than you have. Michonne would do the same thing, If there is a possibility of more supplies, then we take it. So you either get back to the fucking truck or you come with! While we’re at it, never tell me that if I disobey a plan then Negan will never come out of his cell! You have no idea what we’ve had to endure to get here!”  Walking ahead, Negan smirked. 

“That’s my girl! One day Kid you’re going to find someone who tickles the boat the way she tickles mine.”  Brandon sighed as he caught up with the two of you. Once at boarded-up doors, you knocked four times. Nothing. 

“Everyone ready.” With Negan’s help, the two of you broke away the plyboard. Pulling the door open, you flicked on your torches, to see what you all had wandered into. 

“A Halloween Shop? Hoped for a sex shop but this isn’t too bad either. So many possibilities. Don’t you think Sweetheart?” 

“There is nothing useful here, let’s just go it will be dark soon,” Brandon complained, but this was perfect. Something entirely normal, some of the younger children in the community had never been able to experience Halloween before. 

“Sweetheart, what do you think?” Negan asked as he wrapped his arm around you, leaning down to press a gentle kiss to your forehead. 

“Gather everything we can put it into the truck. Costumes buckets whatever there is !” 

“What use is that going to be for anyone? It would be literal-”

“Stop right there Kid. Now go do as she says and there won’t be any trouble. You might be above me, but I know for shit you are not above someone who’s on the council. Do as she says!” Brandon stormed off in an unknown direction leaving you and Negan alone at least momentarily.

The two of you walked over to the cart section and pulled out two, before slowly walking down the first aisle. 

“I’ve changed my mind Sweetheart, we would have met here. It would have given more way more fucking material to work with.” Smiling you begin to load the trolley with Halloween lights, Eugene would be able to use the wiring.

As you stopped to pick up some tableware, you felt a pair of arms wrap tightly around you, Negan’s chest pressed tightly against your back. 

“What says we make this little expedition of ours more interesting? This place is no sex shop, but that doesn’t mean we can’t find something for later. 

We’re going to separate so no one can cheat or know what the other one is up too. We’re meeting back up was that fucking large ass pumpkin over there. Also, there is no restriction on the number of items you can find ” Negan began to place sweet and precise kisses onto your neck. 

“That sounds like a challenge, but what does the winner get?” You quipped back as you leaned into Negan’s touch. 

“Anything they want?” 

“Anything, now that does sound interesting. Get prepared to lose.” 

“Sweetheart, I never fucking lose” 

The two of you set off taking two completely directions. You had never realised how massive this store was, there were costumes everywhere, as you proceeded to pick up as many in different sizes as possible. After discovering a vacant box, you decided that everything you found for your challenge, it would go in there. Although so far you had only thought of a Sheriff’s costume and that was to antagonise Negan rather than please him. The look on his face if you told him you wanted to dress up in a costume that reminded you of Rick’s old one would be priceless. 

The first pick of yours was a sexy police officer costume with a matching inmate costume. Negan often enjoyed allowing you to take control and this for sure would allow that. 

The second outfit that you choose was a typical nurses outfit, while it might have been outdone in the past, there was no timeframe when you would ever walk into a store like this again.  

The third and fourth outfits you decided to pick up where a lumberjack and a Steampunk costume that you were certain that Negan would love. There were a couple of surprises as well. When you were certain you needed to gather more for the rest of the community. 

“Well shit baby, you have been busy. I feel like a kid on Christmas. and I can’t wait to open my presents.” Negan leaned in close to your ear.

“But your going to have to show me later because we’re being watched by that freaky kid. At least Carl would have allowed us to have some fun, he would have loved this.” 

“Your right, he would have done. So why don’t we get finished up here and spend the night in the cabin before heading off tomorrow. Then when we get home, we can have our own Halloween special.” Negan smirked. It would certainly be a Happy Halloween for him...

[beanenigma]

Tips for people who like to write by hand

So you’re an old timey writer who enjoys the feeling of paper as you breathe life into a story? Or, like me, you can’t use your phone at school and just wants to get some writing done while math class bores the others? 

Well, me too and I’ve come to your aid! I’ve done some pretty stupid things that costed me hours and hours of searching for lost scenes and struggling to find ideas I knew I’d written down so you don’t have to! 

Find the right notebook for you

By experience, notebooks take a long time to be filled. In good nanowrimo times, I take from 6 to 8 months to finish one. So you’ll be stuck with this guy for a long time. Make sure to pick one that you like and is right for your needs. I, for example, prefer spiral notebooks. You can rip out pages if you need to (if you mess it up, if someone asks you for one, if you just need a page to write down a grocery list or something, etc) and you can put a pen on the spiral. I also like having a pocket to put pieces of ideas I have. 

Some spooky stories about having the wrong notebook: 

I got stuck with a brochure old planner for two years. My mom didn’t use it in the year it was meant for, so I thought oh, it’s free real estate. As it turns out, it had really small space between the lines, so the pages would take forever to fill, it had all those day and hour numbers and the paper was really thin. It was terrible and it made writing terrible. It would have been a thousand times better if I just spent a few bucks on a regular notebook. 

More recently, I started using just the kind of notebook I like, a spiral notebook with a pocket. But I bought it a couple of years ago at a fandom event I attended and the cover was a personalized Divergent cover. At the time, I thought if was pretty cool and everyone would know the reference. But now it has aged so very poorly. The cover has blood all over it and it says “Faction Before Blood”. So now I’m scared to pull it out to write at uni and people will think I’m in a gang or something. 

Number your pages

I know, it sounds like a lot of work. But you can get a notebook with pages already numbered, number it yourself or do it like I do and number it every 10 pages (just because it’s easier). If you don’t feel like doing all of this repetitive work,  date your writing. It’s cool to see how much you progressed, how long you have been writing this project, when you had this idea, etc. One thing doesn’t have to exclude the other, but both methods serve the same purpose. 

And this purpose is to help you get an idea of how much you write (and feel good about your progress) and to help you organize yourself on all you’ve been writing. Which takes us to the next tip. 

Make the first page an index

Not only it will take the pressure off the first page, it will also help you so you don’t keep losing the awesome stuff you’re writing and forgetting it exists. Everytime you start a new scene or change projects, go to the index and write down the page or the date you started this new section. Since I number every ten pages, I find the first page with a number on it and start counting forward or back to the new page. But you can do it in any way that suits you. 

Make a random idea page 

It doesn’t have to be the second page (it usually isn’t for me), but it’s good to have one. Sometimes, in the middle of writing, you have that great idea for something you need to change on what you’ve already got, or you got a completely new insight. It’s good to have your idea page somewhere close you can just flip to, write it down and get right back to writing. And don’t go easy on that page! Write it diagonally, vertically, draw on it, anything. It’s just there to take out those ideas so you can take a look at it another time and not mess the flow you’re in right now. 

Keep your enemies close. And your pen even closer!

You know your favorite bic friend? It has a secret weapon just for you to use. That little flap of the cap? Use it to keep your pen always close. I normally put it on the spiral of my notebook. But if you have a brochure, you can put it on the cover. Sometimes it damages it a bit, but it’s a good trade for having it always ready for action. If you use moleskine, I saw that they normally have designated pen places. If they don’t, I have a tip for it just under this one! 

Take your time to find which kind of pen is your weapon of choice. Personally, I think nothing beats a black ballpoint pen. I know some people like fineliners for writing, but they make the other side of the paper all gross looking and I like to keep it clean. Plus, I write really small and fineliners often bleed in my handwriting. I took my time searching for my favorite brand and I settled on Molin ballpoint pens. 

I would recommend buying your favorite pens in bulk. Nothing is worse than pen hunting around when you have an urgent idea. I bought 50 pens for super cheap and I stack them EVERYWHERE. In all my bags, in my sketchbooks, in my bullet journal, in my writing notebook, in my drawers, anywhere I think it will be easy to find one when I need it ( also giving some to my friends who keep stealing my pens).

Crafting the perfect notebook

You don’t have to be a crafter to modify your notebook to better suit you! Find a ribbon anywhere in the house. Cut it to be a little longer than the book. Tape that bad boy to the inside of the back cover and everytime you stop writing, put that ribbon on the page you stopped. This helps you not to get lost in your previous writing and get right back to business when you resume.

Also, if you really like that moleskine vibe but don’t have the cash, just get a regular clothing elastic, make cut it just the size of the notebook and glue both ends to the inner part of the back cover. There you go! Now you can close it (and keep it closed).  

If you like post-its, you can take half of the block (or however many sheets you cant put in there and still close the notebook comfortably) and glue it to the inside part of the cover of your notebook so it will always be conveniently available for you.

If your notebook doesn’t have a place to put your pen on and you really don’t want to mess up the cover, you  take a small elastic (smaller than the pen) and tape (or preferably glue it) it to the back part of the notebook with both ends inside. There! Ready for the trip! Speaking of which...

Always carry your notebook with you

You never know when inspiration is going to strike. In class. At the bank. In a mall. Whenever you have a little time, you can write something. Or just take a look at what you’ve done and feel good about it. 

Not in the mood for writing? Edit. Reread what you’ve done and start finding what you want to change once you type it in.  When doing this, don’t be scared to cross out entire sentences and rewriting them on top. If it starts getting too messy, go to a blank page and rewrite the scene and you think it should have been done the first time. It seems counter-intuitive in a copy+paste kind of age, but I assure you it is worth it.

Typing your work

This is one of the biggest reasons I love writing in pen and paper. When you type, your first round of editing is done! 

Don’t zone out when typing. As I said, typing is your first round of editing. It is important to keep aware of all of the things you might have done wrong when writing. Some people say writing it on paper and then typing it is a waste of time. I say it saves time and lives. 

Keep it loose!

Just because you are writing in an actual physical book, it doesn’t mean you are writing a actual physical book. This is still your notebook and these are still your notes. So don’t be afraid to get messy. Write things out of order (seriously, it’s okay to not go chronological. i know it’s hard). Outline. Sketch. Tip-ex the whole thing. Get post-its on it. Take notes. Make genealogical trees. Draw maps. 

If you’re feeling down or uninspired, try very basic writing exercises: write what you see, what you feel, something to try and make you laugh or something to make someone cry. It’s your place to express yourself. And once you got those creative juices flowing, happy writing :)

I hope you enjoyed my tips and please, feel free to reblog this with your own tips and tricks. I’d love to hear them! And follow me for some more writing content! 

[laetro]

Saloni Sinha: Merging Concept, Visual Styling and Experimentation

Senior Experience Designer at Frog Design, Saloni Sinha unravels the unique step-by-step approach she applies to her designing and illustrating process. Starting out with experimentation, she progresses to conceptualising and ends with visual styling to produce what she considers the effects of her designing roots.

Known for illustration, Saloni Sinha is a designer by day; illustrator by night; bassist on weekends and a full time dreamer. Her approach to design is rooted in experimentation, conceptual thinking and visual styling. Saloni’s illustration style is often inspired by exaggerated reality, nature and outer space. As Senior Experience Designer at Frog Design, her works have included visual direction, design language systems, branding and UX flows amongst others. Meanwhile, being a music lover, she often contributes her designs to the indie music scene.

ORDER A CUSTOM ILLUSTRATION

Q. Could you please elaborate on what your role as Senior Experience Designer at Frog Design involves and related projects you’ve worked on?

Saloni Sinha: My role at Frog Design varies from project to project. I’ve been lucky to find myself involved in different domains like enterprises, B2B or B2C markets. I’ve also had the opportunity to work on visual direction, design language systems, branding, UX flows and involve myself in pursuits of organisation initiatives from time to time.

Q. Which artist’s works do you look up to and what do you adopt from them in your approach?

Saloni: I get inspired by many different artists all the time. Some of my favourites over the last few years are John Jurez, MC Escher and Maria Tuiriana. John’s subjects are always out of this world. His usage of colours and minimal look are some things I try to adopt in my style as well.

Likewise, I’m always in awe of and puzzled by Escher’s genius mind. I am not sure if I’ve adopted any of his approaches but it always mesmerises me. Maria has a dark yet adorable and humorous style, which is always a delight to see. I feel quite inspired by her use of organic and traditional mediums, which is a good reminder for me to turn to transitional media as much as possible.

Q. Having worked on various projects across branding, UI/UX, typeface, posters, etc. how do you adapt to the diversity in their nature and demands?

Saloni: Having gone through the foundations of design and having the opportunity to experiment with different disciplines in my design education has helped me adapt to different domains. Yet I feel that most of the time it’s the willingness and staying curious that helps you adapt.

Q. Could you kindly elaborate on why you choose visual styling, conceptual thinking and experimentation as the roots of your work?

Saloni: l usually start with experimenting, which is sort of an open field to play around and have fun. At this stage, I’m not bothered by the end result. Once you have one or two good concepts, you can start to refine and build something intuitively. Lastly, you decide which sort of visual styling would best suit the concept. Normally, I tend to play around with colours and typography to decide a mood. I don’t believe in a fixed process; I feel you can iterate and keep an open mind.

Q. Which have been the noteworthy clients and projects you’ve worked for and could you highlight some valuable experiences you’ve had in particular?

Saloni: Some of the projects/clients which are special two me are:

Saptan Stories – a 7-week long collaborative arts event hosted by Aardman Animations (UK) in collaboration with British India. I was really happy to be hand-picked among 7 artists from the UK and India. Every artist had to interpret a story written by the masses. It also felt personal in some sense as I had just gone through a break-up and each line coming in felt like what I had experienced, though with a mix of fantasy in it.

Tailor & Circus – I had the opportunity to create a set of design prints for their underwear collection and also to design a sustainable packaging hamper. They’ve been very inclusive about their audience. They are bold in their approach and sustainable, so I feel proud to be associated with their work. I thus got to see my illustration in a different medium, which is always exciting.

Album Cover for Amogh Symphony ‘IV’ – The artwork for their album turned out to have a very different take in terms of the look and feel, unlike conventional metal band covers. The art was conceptualised with the title track ‘Birds’, which emphasised feminine freedom and connection with mother Earth.

l usually start with experimenting… Once you have one or two good concepts, you can start to refine and build something intuitively. Lastly, you decide which sort of visual styling would best suit the concept.

Q. In terms of technicalities like colour scheme, lighting, proportion and the likes how do you describe your style and approach?

Saloni: I usually tend to work towards a minimal style. I spend more time sketching and inking before I start to digitise. In most of my work, I try to keep the use of colors to a minimum of two or three while colouring digitally. In my opinion, two to three colours bring good balance and harmony. I add depth by adding some tints and tones while sometimes playing around with unconventional proportions to bring surprise.

Q. If you could determine one thing about the field of art today, what would it be and why?

Saloni: Art can be more immersive with upcoming technologies. People can experiment and combine different mediums to create enriching experiences.

Q. What particular efforts or ways do you take to understand and achieve what is expected by a client?

Saloni: Understand clients thoroughly, making sure they are involved in each stage of ideation. At the same time, give yourself time to refine your ideas. Ideally, you don’t want to show them the entire process of brainstorming since it may expose them to half-cooked ideas and confuse them. Once you have a few directions for them to choose from, you can funnel your design sooner.

Sometimes it will also depend on what kind of client you get – there might be clients who are particular about something, while some give you more liberty. As an artist, though, you can take that lead in direction while still keeping the brief in mind.

Q. How do you choose subjects and the manner of conceptualising them in your illustrations?

Saloni Sinha: My subjects keep changing from time to time. Earlier, I was heavily inspired by the metal culture and dark fantasy, so I naturally made a lot of punk/spooky drawings. Nowadays, with my growing interest in space and nature, I draw a lot of inspiration from the two and amalgamate them with everyday life and fantasy.

Q. What kind of projects do you dream to do and what draws you to them?

Saloni Sinha: I’d love to work on a project related to sustainability and nature conservation that can make an actual impact on our planet. And, for fun, I’d love to make album covers for some of my favorite bands as I love music.

[fingaudioart]

Hill House, and Audio Horror vs Film Horror

I got to thinking about this when an audio producer on Twitter asked what people thought the scariest parts of Haunting of Hill House, other than the jump scares. What struck me while reading the responses were almost all things that depended on the visuals, and would be very hard to move into the realm of audio.

I feel like many/most people think of horror movies as a template to build off of for horror audio fiction...which is fair, because for many of us, horror audio fiction wasn’t a thing we could find to listen to until recently (myself included). And it’s not uncommon to hear a successful, talent audio producer say something along the lines of “An audio drama is like a movie, without needing a million dollar budget.”

I agree with the thought, generally: audio fiction does have many similarities to film, but if you stretch it too far, it can be a dangerous approach. And it can be especially dangerous for Horror.

Let’s think about how we could move the Bent Neck Lady into audio (spoilers ahead). Except for one scream, she is silent and unmoving. To move it into audio, we’d either need a narrator (or someone to tell us what’s happening), or to make Bent Neck Lady move around. The first option would keep the nature of the ghost intact, but we would be robbed of having it happen in front of us. The second option would change the nature of the ghost entirely. This is before we even talk about the twist, that hinges on Bent Neck Lady largely being a silhouette, which obscures information without feeling like anything.

Horror is a genre that is especially dependent on craftsmanship, regardless of the medium. It’s a genre where--and you’re going to murder me for saying this--you don’t need a good story to be scary. You need a scary situation/scene, told with skill, but even if the scenes/plot/characters around it are terrible, you can still make the audience feel afraid (Looking at you, Argento).

That’s not to say the story doesn’t matter. In fact, a large part of what makes Haunting of Hill House so good is that it’s part horror, but also part family melodrama (and it actually spends more time on the melodrama than the horror), blended together so the ghosts have meaning. Bent Neck Lady is disturbing the first time you see it, but it’s the story behind it that makes her stay with you long after you’ve finished the show.

But if we set aside the story, and focus on the scary moments...they are pure filmmaking. Every aspect is working to create fear: the sets and art direction, the creature design, the pacing, the blocking, the editing, the sound design.

The same way a horror movie uses every weapon of filmmaking, a horror audio drama should use every weapon of audio to create dread/fear/suspense. But the flip side is, just as Haunting of Hill House isn’t using the tools of horror literature, your audio drama shouldn’t try to be a movie.

But I think we also need to own up to something: many of us (most of us?) have more experience watching horror movies than listening to horror audio dramas. So let’s get analytical here. What are films strengths? Audio’s strengths? Weakness? And how do these work in service of horror? Any tips for the audio drama producer?

Filmmaking’s Unique Gifts

Before I get into the list, I want to be very clear: I’m not to saying you can’t do versions of this in an audio drama. In fact, when these are successfully used in audio, they can be outright amazing. But they take a lot more work, either by carefully setting up signature sounds*, or by having narration, or some other creative way no one has done yet. The point of this list is that film does these things easily.

There are some obvious things, like, ya know, visuals. I don't think there's any amount of words or sounds that would allow me to imagine Giger’s Xenomorph. Some things just need to be seen.

One of film's special talents is it gives the audience an understanding of a location without even trying. I don’t mean the layout of a house (that can be confusing), but present an audience with one shot of a bedroom, and they’ll instantly understand where the bed is, the window, the door, the closet, the bedside tables. Films communicate small spaces so easily, they don't even need to stop to do it…a character walks in the room doing whatever, and as long as the space is seen by the camera, the audience gets it.

In horror, this is vital when the fear you're trying to create is that of a physical threat. Where is the killer? Behind the bookcase? Walking towards you from across the lawn?

Related to this idea of a physical space, films also have the ability to makes things appear--and disappear--quickly and unexpectedly. This is moments like Mike Meyers appearing in the closet in Halloween, or later, when Dr. Loomis looks over the edge of the Balcony, and Michael Meyers has vanished.

Perhaps film’s most famous strength is the montage. You can easily cut between different scenes and settings, without the audience ever getting confused.

There is one tool of film that I am very frustrated won’t work in audio: the Title Card. I don’t mean the title of the show, I mean those cards that say things like “Burbank, CA” or “CIA Headquarters” or “3:23pm.” Text on screen is a painless way to give the audience information without tripping up the storytelling.

Finally, let’s talk about one of film’s most powerful tricks...patience.

A film can stretch moments out, sometimes with slomo, but often with editing between close-ups. You can also have moments where nothing happens, you just linger in the mood/ambience/characters reactions. 

A great example is the “Spielberg-Face”, those shots when the characters are reacting to something the audience hasn’t seen yet. In Jurassic Park, we spend a full 30 seconds watching jaws drop before we see the first dinosaur. This is pretty nuts, when you think about it. The true stars of the movie aren’t introduced with a speech, or a title card, or a curtain pulling back, but by the characters just staring in the distance for half a page.

Pausing the action, or even just stretching it out, is one of the fundamental tools of horror movies. It’s a way to create the mood: Show the spooky location, play the spooky ambience. It’s a way to create suspense in a scene, think of the long POV shot scanning the room for that noise. End the moment with something suddenly appearing, and you have the basic recipe for a jump scare. Even if you decide to be an artsy horror story, like Haunting of Hill House, silently drawing out the action is your primary weapon. Done well, the audience will be rapt, knowing that something could be about to happen any moment, even though as far as the plot goes, we haven’t moved much at all.

I’ll be honest, if I could go back in time and tell the younger version of me who hadn’t made an audio drama yet that you can’t draw out a moment the way you do in film, I probably would not have believed me. In my work as a TV Editor, it’s been one of the tricks that has really elevated my pieces...it feels like magic. But I’ll never forget editing my first audio piece, having a character fumble with a doorknob while trying to escape someone who was chasing them. They grunted at the door as the footsteps got closer and closer, and it was lousy. It felt like the manipulation it was.

Audio’s Unique Gifts

The thing that audio does better than any other media--and this is controversial--a narrator feels like they are talking directly to you, the listener (a narrator in a film feels more like they are talking to an auditorium). Now, here are people who find that narration is jarring and takes them out of the story. They aren’t wrong--you can’t argue someone’s experience--but that’s certainly not what happens to me. If you are one of these poor souls, I hope you take some time to listen to some narration and reprogram your brain, because you’re missing out on some magic.

The other great thing about sound is it activates the imagination. Films can also do this, of course, but audio does it be default.

Sound is also very good at evoking a sense of touch. Texture. Clothing. Almost anything you can feel in your hand.

While sounds is great at telling us about what’s very close, it also tells us about the world in the distance, i.e. ambiences. The sound of a forest transports us to a forest that exists in all directions. Distant traffic can tell us if the city is awake or asleep.

Audio also does an amazing plot twist that I’m gonna call the “Pull Back to Reveal” twist (yeah, that’s a film term). This is when, deep into a scene, something is revealed to the audience that the characters understood was there the whole time. While a movie can usually only sustain this for a minute or two, audio dramas can push this for a really long time. The Truth’s classic “The Dark End of the Mall” is a great example, as is the episode “Have You Seen My Mom?” It’s use in horror is more limited though...suspense works the best when the audience knows as much or more about the situation than characters (a.k.a. Audience Superior), and this is a twist that is Audience Inferior.

And, not for nothing: It’s way cheaper than a film. That’s not say the money doesn’t matter, but it doesn’t matter in the same way. 

Film’s Failings

The hardest part of film is the flip side of its strengths: it’s so easily grounded in reality, it’s very hard to step out of it. That’s more of a problem than you think.

Take the sentence, “Andy called his sister-in-law.” While it takes just four words to write in a book, in a movie, you are going to be contorting dialog or some other clever trick, to get the audience to understand “that’s his wife’s sister.” (Non-narrated audio dramas also have this problem with exposition.)

Same goes for backstory. In the middle of a scene, a book can say things like “She’d been working on this for ten hours now, and was ready to scream.” One sentence. A film would have to lay out exposition, or clues for the audience to put it together.

Film also has a hard time conveying senses other than sound or sight. During scenes where a character walks into a place and says “Ugh, what’s that smell!”, I never really imagine the smell, I just see an actor pretending to smell something.

Visuals can be too intense. Gore or nudity are the first things that come to mind in this category, and are often alluded to in a film for exactly that reason. But even if they are merely hinted at, the film audience may spend a scene wondering “Are they going to actually show it?”, which knocks you out the movie a little. 

Films are complicated to make, at every level. Casting is tougher---the actor needs to both sound and look the part. There’s the expense of sets and lighting, the effort of just getting a crew to a location can be monumental. And once it’s all shot, film editing is more complicated and time intensive than audio editing, and not just because it involves audio editing.

Audio's Weakness

The biggest: There's a big Blindspot right in front of the audience. Without some careful context, raw audio recording from real life is disorienting at best, intelligible at worst. Most sounds that come from the blank spot are descriptive, they generally tell us if someone’s shoes are wet, but they won’t tell who is walking around the room in wet shoes.

This blind spot can be especially dangerous to a producer, because in real life, our brain attaches sounds to the objects it sees, and when you understand what a sound is, it’s easy to place it. Because a producer knows what sound they are placing in the piece, it’s easy to think your sound design is intelligible. Sounds we don’t understand are also hard to place in the space. I personally find that while stereo and ambisonics can help make the sounds be more distinct from each other, they don’t really locate them precisely.

Another weakness of audio, characters are hard to tell apart. This can especially affect women's voices, who don't tend to have as much variation. This isn’t as true if the audience has seen the face of the actor talking, something about that seems to lock in our understanding of a voice (video though, not just a headshot). But without a face, it’s tough. EDIT: So I wasn’t very clear with that last point. To be clear, it’s not that you CAN’T cast people who sound different, or that you can’t direct people with similar voices to give different performances. It’s that you need to make a point of doing so. And while I have personally found that women’s voices are more likely to sound alike, that’s not the main idea. We remember face’s very easily, and names relatively easily (unless you’re me, I’m terrible at names). Voices without faces are easily confused.

This character confusion especially applies to large casts...I have a hard time imagining an audio only version of OCEAN’S ELEVEN, for example. Put twelve characters in a room for an audio drama, and it’s gets confusing for the listener really quickly.

If you aren't using a narrator, making time pass can be hard. A Rocky montage needs to be carefully setup.  "Cut To: Five Minutes Later" is damn near impossible without narration.

Sound Effects need to be more meticulous. THE AVENGERS can sweeten a superhero punch so it hardly sounds like a punch at all, and the visuals on screen will lock it into place. Without a picture to give a sound context, they need to be much more realistic for them to be understood correctly.

So let’s put this all together.

Lets turn it into an “approach,” and design some scenes that work easily in the medium. 

Ambiences are a strength, so we’ll pick a setting that has an interesting one, and avoid things like quiet rooms. We’ll have a small number of characters, let’s say four or less, and to make it easier for audience to remember who is who, we’ll cast actors with clearly different voices, and we can help on the script level by making sure they all have different motivations/goals/emotional states. To get that intimacy of the voice, we’ll have at least some of the characters close to each other (and the mics), and not shouting across the room.

The physical setup of the room will be straight forward, and our characters’ movements though the space will be clearly motivated and direct (“Does this key unlock this door?”), if a character has busy work that moves them through the space, the details won’t matter (like they are doing dishes). We’ll also want to have some moments that play on that sense of touch. Perhaps most importantly, we’ll want to paint some clear visuals for the listener to imagine.

For a horror scene, you really want to work your ambiences to make them add to the tension, vs just adding realism. We first want the monsters in the distance, say on the other side of a door or outside the house, or somewhere in the woods. Make our scared characters really close to the listener, play the sounds that you only hear when you are right next to them, like their breathing, swallows, adjusting the clothes or their make-shift weapon.

When the monster enters the room, have it spend as little time as possible in the blindspot, so avoid things like fist fights and fast-paced footchases. Instead get the monster right inside our character's personal bubble. If you’re aiming for a startle, instead of having it leap out in front of the hero like in a movie, you’d want to skip the blindspot, and have the monster pounce onto the hero--using those touch sounds that are so intense.

To me, that sounds like a scary scene.

It’s Not a Formula, and All of This is Nonsense

In fact, you probably wouldn’t want every scene in your piece to follow this, because a) it’ll get repetitive, and b) when you go against the medium, you’re more likely to make some magic (if you pull it off). But I do think it’s important to realize when the big moment of your piece is resting on some of the weaknesses. When this happens, you may want to make sure you’re leaning on something really strong to carry the weight. Other times, you may want to toss around some other ideas, make sure that it’s actually working, and to see if it could be improved.

Also, even though I’ve written a lot of words here, I fully expect someone has already proven every one of these rules wrong. But I also think it’s a good exercise to go through this and figure out why I’m wrong.

The medium matters. And I hate writing conclusions, so I’m ending it here.

*Signature Sound: A sound that the audience understands to mean something specific, such as a doorbell or a gunshot.

[retvenkos]

“do you think the actors actually get possessed or...?”

requested

IMAGINE WATCHING A HORROR MOVIE WITH ROMEO, THE SWEETEST NEWSIE WHO OWNS MY HEART...

okay, so here’s the thing about romeo

he wants to be that super macho boyfriend who will pummel anyone if they so much as look at his significant other the wrong way

but, uhh,,, romeo is also kind of not that person

don’t get me wrong - he will fite them, but he will take more punches than he gives.

and he is also kind of a scaredy cat

he puts on a lot of bravado to cover it - i mean, have you seen his friends?

if race knew he was half as scared as he was, things would not end well...

and most of the time, he is able to avoid horror movie nights

he makes up excuses that are actually really good? 

and he misses so many movie nights anyway, no one really draws a pattern between the two

except for mush, who also avoids horror movies like the plague

he watched one with albert once and can’t go anywhere at night without turning the lights on.

he’s 10/10 that person who runs up the stairs after turning off the downstairs light

but when you wanted to watch a horror movie,,, how could he say no?

you have no idea about his aversion to horror films, and you just really want to get into the halloween mood!

yes, it’s september, but you are  r e a d y 

and when you promise him licorice, well, he really can’t say no now, can he?

he begrudgingly agrees

he tried to argue that it wasn’t the season for spooky movies

or that elmer was too scared

which is a complete lie. elmer has far too many siblings that have exposed him to horror films at a young age, and all hours of the night. he is immune.

or that wouldn’t you rather watch something else? jack has an entire bookshelf dedicated to movies, romeo stole jojo’s netflix, and davey’s disney+, and crutchie’s hbo,,, surely there’s something more entertaining?

game of thrones?

the avengers?

star wars?

but you weren’t having any of it - you really wanted to watch this horror film!

and, you argued, race already agreed

and that settled it. romeo had to do it, now. 

he does well for maybe the first 20 minutes

things aren’t too intense, yet, and the whole group during movie night can be pretty rowdy sometimes, so it wasn’t like he was without distractions.

the next half-hour, though, he’s fidgety

does anyone want popcorn? romeo is getting popcorn!

i see you finished off your soda, crutchie, let me go get you another one! it’s totally fine! romeo has to go to the bathroom anyway!

and medda is ordering pizza (the movie night is clearly at jacks place)? romeo will tell her what they want

and offer to bring it down

and if it takes 10 minutes, that’s fine

it’s after the pizza stunt that it’s clear that romeo is trying his hardest to avoid the film, at any cost

any so you, being the good person you are, ask romeo to come get some food with you in the kitchen

and you can see the relief on his face

and you were going to tease him about it, but you can’t bring yourself to do it because he looks really scared

“we didn’t have to watch it, y’know.”

“what do you mean? i’m fine!”

“romeo.”

and for a moment, romeo is quiet

“you wanted to. and i didn’t want to disappoint you.”

“i wouldn’t be - not over a movie.”

“i shouldn’t be afraid of some movie.”

oh, yeah, this boy has his standards of masculinity straight out of magazines. it’s not like he had anyone else to look up to.

“and i shouldn’t be afraid of spiders, but i am! it’s okay to be afraid, and this movie kind of sucks, anyway. i’d much rather watch something else - something you’d enjoy, too.”

“yeah?”

“yeah.”

and so the two of you come up with a plan to leave jacks house and go to yours instead. 

“should we take the pizza?”

“of course.”

and the two of you end up playing video games instead, in a pile of blankets with the lights on

just please give this man some support - he’s trying to hard to be uber masculine but! he’s! already! great!

oh, but that doesn’t stop you from teasing about it after the fact

and race totally knows, now, so pranks are hell

and when romeo screams, it’s just,,, so loud???

like, who gave romeo that loud of a voice?

who thought that would be a good idea?

also, idk why, but i have a feeling that romeo also just doesn’t like tim burton movies

“they’re not horror movies! they’re not even scary!”

“it’s the aesthetic! it’s creepy!”

“i’d only give up the nightmare before christmas for you, romeo.”

“i’m pretty lucky then, huh?”

yeah, you are.”

in conclusion, please give romeo a hug and watch avatar with him instead. he’s obsessed with it.

AND FLUFF ENSUES.

[unboundbnha]

hoooo my god. this is for ME

for me. for godzilla. :’) 

➤ rules; make headcanons of you and a character of your choice, be it sfw or nsfw.

Thank you so much for tagging me @spicyness​! I’m gonna SKAJHDSKJ. HHHHH. This is everything? Fuck I just want a purple boyfriend 😫 this will be about Shinsou because I like him a normal amount :-)

First off, I’m a pain in the ass. My sense of humor is wack (it’s basically just ‘annoy my friends and loved ones’), I’m always fricken TANKING The Mood (because it’s funny and I physically cannot resist making a Funny if the opportunity’s there), everything turns into a game unless you make me stop wink wonk. Shinsou seems like the type to snort in amusement and roll his eyes at my dumb antics, and I appreciate that! If I could make him legit laugh I’d die happy. (I am also emotionally savvy enough to know when to draw the line though, don’t worry. It’s just, man, my idea of fun is ‘LET’S ROAST ‘EM’)

I love cats. I’ll lose my whole mind over them. They NEED head kisses. Shinsou also likes cats. He also needs head kisses. That’s it, that’s the bullet point

Being open and honest and genuine is important to me. I believe most any relationship (friendship or otherwise) can work if you’re willing to communicate and empathize with the other person: I would 100% be willing to hear Shinsou’s shit, and he seems like he’d be a good listener too. I’m also good at logicking things through and he seems like he’d appreciate that. Likewise, he seems like he’d do the same for me, and as long as we stayed humble and weren’t looking to be offended (I don’t Do That -- he’s a Cancer -- love you, Cancers -- so it might take him a minute to get on the same page, but he’s emotionally smort and cares about me so I think he’d be willing to work at it) then we could help each other through emotionally hard stuff with hard truths. Plus, I’m a super honest person: if he was in a relationship with me he’d probably be pretty secure in knowing I wouldn’t hurt him on purpose. If past shit comes up with him, I’ll talk to him. Talking’s the good shit, y’all: utilize patience and empathy and you’ll be so well off!

I also battle, with a big fucking sword, a lot with mental health stuff (LMAOOOO WHO DON’T!!! YEET). I used to struggle with agoraphobia and still deal with anxiety and depression. On top of that, I have something like chronic fatigue -- I’ve been calling it chronic fatigue because I’m fucking tired, all the time. My top energy levels are like a 35% on a fantastic day. I really like the idea of this boye seeing me melting into a puddle, face down on the carpet, and bein like “how’s it going down there? you okay?” and the answer being obviously no, but him just like. Man I dunno. He seems like the kind of person who’s tired, but who can live with it. I can’t! When I’m tired, that’s it babes! I hit a 0% on my battery and I’ll collapse! So I just, hhhh. Don’t laugh, but I like to fantasize about him bundling me up and into bed. Thinkin’ about Birthday Snoot by my good friend @lord-explosion-baku​ and melting, okay?? OKAY???? I’m soft, the truth’s OUT, FUCK! I want to be taken care of like a sad but pampered cat.

(Please read Birthday Snoot I still cry over it)

Also I’m gross and struggle to shower often enough because it’s exhausting so bein given a gentle bath? oh MAN. Hands softly running through my stupid, terrible hair...asking me about my day and if anything happened that triggered me feeling this bad...just....the tenderness....the gentle affection.....being loved even when I’m at my lowest. Being cared for when I can’t do it myself. That’s a legit fantasy y’all. We out here!

I love to SNOOZE. I love being COZY. You bet your sweet bippy I’m gonna sprawl over a couch and take up the whole thing. Shinsou’d better be willing to snuggle the fuck up. I’ve got great squish which I personally feel like’s great for cuddling: I’m like warm taffy. How better to gently seep into every crevasse of your Favorite Person while enjoying a cozy cuddle?

Listen, everyone fucks hard with Shinsou calling his S/O ‘kitten’, and I agree (def have written leetle -- HOO -- leetle scenarios with that nickname because wow) but I get all wibbly with the idea of He calling me ‘Angel’. A joke at first because, like, guys, I’m really nice. (I know it sounds bad when people say they’re nice and LSDFLKJDF I AM, OKAY. I’ve worked on it. Cultivated the skill of kindness! Being kind isn’t easy, and sometimes you just wanna go apeshit, but I’ve worked hard to improve upon myself! Yeet!) But I also just really fucking love being annoying. I simply cannot resist the urge to sneak up behind someone and poke them in the ribs. I rib-poke while in the deep depths of making out too, I’ve tanked the mood a lot so picture my dumb ass Pink Panther’ing behind Shinsou, prepared to be Evil while he’s, idk, making breakfast or something, and before I can commit a Rib Crime he uses his hero training and fast reflexes and honed senses and all that good stuff to snatch my wrist and ask “what’re you up to, angel?” the answer is nothing, because he’s killed me by being sexy and fast and hero-y, and he’s probably actually killed me by startling me into collapsing like a fainting goat

He gets the deep stuff. Unfortunately for everyone and especially myself, I’m a Thinker with a capital T: it never fucking stops. I had an existential crisis for like three years in a row because of course, but I feel like he knows what it’s like to get lost in your head. Working each other out of panic attacks because holy jesus the universe sure is fucking huge huh? We’re not even a blip on the radar in the history of existence and we’re gonna be dead basically tomorrow aaaand that’s why we’d be good for each other, because I feel like we both have coping mechanisms that keep us from spiraling too bad, and we could share them with each other.

I also so fucking admire his drive, but it makes me angry that stupid fucking hero society would discriminate in the first place. 

Oh, yeah, that’s another good point: I’m hella mad about 98% of the time and I work hard to hide it! Because innocent people don’t deserve to get yelled at! I feel like Shinsou’s smart enough to sense when I’m about to pop and he can be like “heyyyyy...you wanna talk this out constructively instead of getting into a public brawl?” and I’ll be like “NO but I’ll do it for you because I love you” and then we get pizza.

Because I’m fine and balanced and stuff, I made a quirk for myself if I was in the BNHA-verse, and basically I can get stronger at the expense of higher thinking skills and will turn into a weapon of mass destruction against whatever I’m pointing at (ugh, that’s so sexy. Fuck I wanna be a big spooky buff as shit monster thing), friend or foe, so Shinsou and I would work well in tandem because if I got too rowdy he could use his quirk and get me to calm down! Keep me from accidentally doing a murder! Nice!

Okay this is nsfw so if you’re under 18 DON’T READ IT. I’LL CALL YOUR PARENTS. GET OFF MY BLOG. 

Relating to the point above, QUIRKPLAY. Mind control me into stuff I want to do but am too awkward to ask for, please and THANK you. Also, Shinsou’s a top. Gotta be, and thank god for it because I’m certainly not. I’m not happy about being a fucking bottom, because my first and most powerful personalty trait is ‘be as annoying as possible to the people you like; don’t let them tell you what to do.’ Can’t make it easy on myself, nope. Anyway, I want the appearance of being a top without the responsibility because damn, gotta be like, suave and shit. Gotta plan stuff. I don’t like that! I do that enough in real life and I don’t like it there, either! But whatever. I’m a brat and I feel betrayed by my coochie for it. But Shinsou’s a top and he’d tease me for being Fucking Terrible, and suddenly I wouldn’t be so mad at my coochie. She has her reasons.

I...like Shinsou for a lot of reasons, but a really big one, for sure, is that I feel like he can communicate about the important stuff. He likes to tease, but he knows when to be serious too. I’m really wack about being close and intimate with people and I have, hhh, special requirements to be able to sleep with them, and I feel like he’d both be able to respect AND honor that. Like, run through the rest of the BNHA boys with me here: would Bakugou be able to be completely cool, calm, and collected while still teasing, but knowing where to draw the line? Todoroki’s closer maybe, but he’s not as people-smart (which is also a big thing for me). Confidence (or at least the appearance of it when it’s important), respect, communication, listening and respecting what I ask for even if it seems wack -- Shinsou has that, and god is it attractive. 

Also, mind control. 

Also, his capture weapon. 

Also you know this motherfucker is kinky as shit. Thank the good lord.

Also, sexy-slow makeouts with his long, nimble hands running up my outer thighs to squeeze my waist -- teeth on neck, stolen gasps of breath -- 

\\\\\\

I feel bad because all of this, fuckin, WALL of text is pretty much ‘this is what purble boy can do for me’ and I don’t say a lot I’d do for him, but if I got someone like him I’d go to the end of the earth for them. I may be a perpetually-sleepy bitch, but one of my best -- and worst -- character traits is my unwavering loyalty. I’ll be 110% down to kick anyone’s ass who insults him: he can fight his own battles, but he shouldn’t have to over some dumbass with a big mouth and a little brain. Making him smile and laugh, oof, be still my beating heart. Words of encouragement when life gets too much. Genuine thanks for his help, whatever it may be. Hugs, because we’re both touch-starved as fuck and he deserves gentleness, dammit. He doesn’t seem like his love language is receiving gifts -- more like quality time and words of affirmation? Maybe physical touch? -- but I’d still get him little things that made me think of him, that could help him in his day to day life or maybe just bring a smile to his face. We could rescue each other at social conventions, have dates to the humane society and play with cats. Support each other through our depression days, prove that even having a brain that’s mean to you sometimes doesn’t make you unlovable. Man, idk. The whole thing’s soft and makes my heart go doki-doki. Hitoshi Shinsou is an extremely good person and god damn I’d want to show him I appreciated him and existing at the same time as him. He deserves love and kindness. He deserves someone to kiss every knuckle of his hand. He deserves hugs in the kitchen and blankets being pulled over his shoulders when he falls asleep at the desk. He deserves only good things, and I’d be honored to give them to him. 

HHHHH.

Okay! If you made it to the end of this, congratulations! You don’t actually get anything, but boy oh boy you have a lot of information about ME now! Aren’t you delighted? Heh. So! You tag people for this stuff, and I’m gonna tag @lord-explosion-baku​, @bnhascribbles​, @perpetual-bed-head​, @russianonion​, @weebsinstash​, and last but certainly not least, @usernamekate94​. Tell me about Monoma, Kate. Tell me.