#this is essentially the last building I need to get finished before starting to play

[ramblinsims]

Extremely Late Halloween treats are still happening, I'm just about done collecting pictures I think, and I'm just needing to update the readme for the TO replacement now.

But as a way to apologize for my procrastination, have a screen of what I've been procrastinating with :> Townhouse/apartment block I'm really really digging. Took us awhile to get there, but I'm actually pretty happy with it now. Slowly filling in the units and I'll definitely need to do testing, but seeing the end finally.

**also stupid happy with how the city-scape is coming together too**

[soonyoungs]

OH MY GOD HI!!! PLEASE THINK ABOUT THIS WITH ME BECAUSE I'M GOING CRAZY: https://x.com/kinulta/status/1758079004891119867?t=gqoiVpFsS-sWDhu2m910jw&s=19

this is SO woozi... he hasn't touched you properly for exactly 2 weeks and you are so so needy... so on a normal day at the studio you go to check it out if he is eating, he simply decides to take a break. he sits with you on the couch, talks a little, until kisses automatically appear. at first, small kisses with smiles on both sides, but everything goes wrong when he puts you on his lap. the pink mouth attacking yours and you can't hold back, letting out a soft moan between the contact. you want him SO MUCH, but you don't force him to do anything or demand anything from him, because you know how busy he is. HOWEVER, he surprises you when he takes out his own cell phone and starts recording a video. you find it strange, but then you understand the real function. he asks you to sit on the floor, so that the camera captures his pretty face well ☝🏻 and his only demand is that you stay quiet. nothing else. like a good girl you obey. you're still so turned on and you only realize how much when he has his fingers in you and his hand over your mouth, working to really keep you still. the little body that hasn't felt this for so many days is overloaded and that's why you cum faster than normal, letting a squeaky, sly noise leave your lips when the orgasm comes... and you think he'll probably finish and go back to work, but once again he surprises you by continuing to play with your sensitive clit and your intimacy, It's SO MUCH, your legs are shaking nonstop and you you can hear the wet noises throughout the studio. you know it’s too much but you still leave him there because you know he probably needed it more than you did and only after the fourth orgasm does he stop, you're exhausted and he hasn't used anything other than his fingers. your mind is blank and you desperately need a hug... he kisses your forehead and fixes your hair, saying that you are a good girl and obeyed him just as he asked. so he stops the recording and whether he'll fuck you afterwards or not... it's up to you, love

please please please please PLEASE

ఇ woozi and gn!reader (mentions of a clit and vagninal insertion!)

ఇ warnings: smut! not proofread! implied squirting maybe? as usual i do not know how to end things so abrupt ending :(

ఇ wc: 2,052

ఇ notes: baby you basically wrote this yourself!! i hope this is okay and im so sorry it’s taken me forever to get it out! ♡︎

weeks. it had been weeks since you last properly saw him, let alone touched him. it was becoming a problem, a very difficult and needy problem. however you had come to the conclusion that you can’t be too upset with him, as your job has kept you away from home just as much as his.

it wasn’t until you had a day off that you had reached your breaking point. you had to see him, today. sitting on your couch all day just waiting for the hours to tick by so you could catch a glimpse of your lover. it was around 7:00 pm when you had given in to your curiosities and decided to go see him yourself. 

throwing on a hoodie you grab your essentials and order a taxi. anxiety and anticipation rumble in your tummy, almost bubbling over, along the way. questions bouncing all over your brain. has he been eating? does he rest properly? as you continue thinking the worst your taxi pulls up beside an all too familiar building. you jump out, tip the driver and make your way upstairs, muscle memory taking over.

once you get to where you need to be you hesitantly knock on the door before opening it, briefly exposing his studio to the outside world. “hello,” you call out, softly, only to make your presence known “is anyone here?”

you can hear the sound of keys clacking as you move farther into the room. once you’ve made it far enough in you shyly clear your throat, trying to get his attention, again. this time he reacts to you, jumping slightly before turning his neck to see how has interrupted his brainstorming. “oh,” he exclaims “babe, what are you doing here?” he’s not able to hide his excitement as his smile grows wide on his face.

he moves over to you and embraces you tightly. “is this mine,” he asks tugging at the hem of the hoodie you’re wearing. you laugh and nod, mumbling something about how it smells like him and whatnot. the sound of your laugh gets his heart racing and has the tips of his ears burning red at record speed. he’s missed you, that much you can clearly tell.

you lean in to his touch, nuzzling your head into his neck, leaving small pecks. “missed you. missed you a lot, ji” you sigh, finally letting your body relax against his. he hums as he rubs your back. after standing in the middle of his studio for a solid five minutes, muttering “missed you”’s and “i love you”’s to one another, woozi takes your hand and leads you to the couch he has, off to the side, for late nights. 

once he’s sat on the cushions he pulls you down, onto his lap, wrapping his arms around your waist to keep you in place. he’s rocking you back and forth as you both catch up on the activities and work that’s kept you from each other. “it sucks,” you pout “hate that you’re so good at what you do. it keeps you away from home too much”. he knows you only mildly mean it, knows you’re just being needy and pouty so he lets it go.

you sigh and lean back in to him as he begins to rub soothing circles on your hips, before tapping his fingers to create a beat in his mind. you turn your head into his neck and leave small kisses there, trying to divert his attention away from work and back to you. “ji,” you voice comes out breathy, needy “missed you,” you say it again, batting your eyelashes at him, hoping he catches on this time. he laughs at your failed attempt at nonchalance before adjusting the both of you, so he can plant kisses on your face, your nose, your eyes, your ears, your neck, anywhere he’s able to reach.

woozi lifts your chin and leans in to give you a soft kiss on your lips. you sigh into the kiss, reaching up to run your fingers through the hair on the back of his neck, gently massaging his scalp. after a few minutes of soft kisses and taking small breathers, woozi leans in to give you a deep, longing, kiss. catching you off guard, you let out a small moan and let your hips lift off of his lap a little, signaling that your neediness is almost to the point of uncontrollable. woozi smiles into the kiss and deepens it even further. “be good for me,” he nips at your bottom lip “okay, baby?”

you nod frantically, waiting for instruction. woozi moves you to his side, placing you on the couch directly. you begin to pout before realizing woozi has gotten up and placed his phone on the counter in front of you, making sure it’s able to capture the couch and anything that might happen there. he looks at you, raising an eyebrow in a silent question. you nod before opening your mouth “yes, it’s okay, want it”. you weren’t quite sure what it was, but you’re hoping to find out soon.

woozi makes his way back to the couch, and you. sitting himself back in the spot he had vacated earlier, he motions for you to place yourself back on his lap. you quickly do as instructed. as you take your seat, you can feel the beginning of his excitement starting to grow. once nestled back in his lap you begin to move your hips slowly, looking back to see his reaction. woozi has his head tilted back, neck pressed against the head rest of the couch. he slowly lifts his head, bringing his hands to your hips to halt your movements. “said you’d be good, remember,” he questions, cocking an eyebrow. you let out a small “yes” before facing forward. “good baby,” he mutters, leaning forward to kiss your neck “now, i need you to be so quiet, okay”.  he’s bringing his hands down to the hem of the hoodie you’re wearing and dragging his fingers up the length of your thigh, all the way to your panties. your breath catches in your throat, it’s been weeks without his touch and the gentle way he’s handling you now is driving you insane. the slow pace that he’s going causes your frustrated hips to push up, wanting to force him into applying pressure, but he’s not ready for that yet.

removing his hand from your panties, woozi moves to remove your hoodie, leaving you only in your undies. the cool air in the studio creates chills all over your skin and you arch your back at the feeling. woozi puts his hand back where it had originally been, against your core. he can feel the heat through the thin fabric of you panties. “needy, huh” he asks, knowing damn well he was just as needy as you. “yes, ji” you confirm “i’m so needy for you. i’ve missed you so much, it’s been hell without you there to take care of me.”

woozi nods in agreement, it’s been hell for him without you too, but now’s not the time to discuss that. he pushes the center of your panties to the side, sliding his fingers through your warm slick. you sigh and throw your head back against his shoulder, reaching down to steady yourself against his wrist. “feel good,” he questions, lips pressed against the side of your head in a small kiss. you nod, letting out a whiny “uh-huh”. he continues to softly get his finger wet, teasing you along the way.

once he’s deemed his fingers wet enough he inserts two at once, scissoring them in order to give you a good stretch. you bite your lip, remembering your vow of silence. your breaths come out in heavy puffs as you try not to moan. he continues to stretch you for just a bit longer before he’s inserting another finger and moving at a slightly faster pace. his fingers hit deep inside you and do wonders to fill you to the brim. your chest is heaving at your nearing climax. woozi knows you’re close by the small squeaking noises you’re making. he moves his fingers faster, adjusting his wrist so his fingers hit the deepest part inside of you, knowing it drives you mad. your back is arching off of his chest as he catapults you into your orgasm. “so good baby,” he’s whispering “so hot, want you to cum just like this. cum all over my fingers baby,” and at his command you do such. your eyes roll back and your mouth is open in a silent scream as woozi continues to move his fingers inside of you, helping you to ride out your high. 

your body is so exhausted the it slumps against woozi, sliding down on to the ground in front of the couch. realizing he isn’t finished with you, woozi leans forward spreading your knees baring them to his phone, who’s camera is still recording. you bend your neck to look up at him. he leans down, giving you a kiss before reaching down to slide your panties off of you completely. once he’s removed the garment he places a finger against your core, teasing your clit. you groan and toss your head back, resting against his knee. “quiet baby,” he warns, placing his free hand over your mouth. the fingers on his other hand begin rubbing harsher circles against you. he continues alternating between gentle and harsh touches before he inserts them again. it doesn’t take much for you to be launched into your second and third consecutive orgasms. 

he removes his hand from your core and places his fingers in his mouth, tasting you. his other hand has moved from you mouth to your head, petting you softly as you pant. woozi removes his fingers from his mouth and holds your chin so he can make eye contact with you. “one more baby, okay,” he asks gently, knowing it’s been a while since you’ve been intimate with one another. you lazily nod your head and lean your cheek against his thigh, turning every once and a while to leave a kiss or love bite.

woozi reaches down again, this time without restraint. he knows that if it’s going to be the last time you cum tonight he will make it the best. he’s moving his fingers at lightning speed, eliciting loud groans and whines from you. as he previously did before, he reaches his other hand up to your mouth, only this time pushing his two middle fingers in your mouth and down your throat. the fingers on your clit continue moving faster and harder throwing you to the brink of orgasm in seconds. your back is arched to a point that worries woozi, but he doesn’t dare stop. the wet, squelching sounds that are coming from you would normally embarrass you, but you feel like you’re experiencing everything out of body at the moment. tears and drool are running down your face as your pleasure reaches an almost fever pitch. woozi finally feels he needs to show you some mercy and pinches your clit in between his rubs.

your eyes cross one last time, as you are thrashing against woozi’s body. your thighs are shaking so violently you are certain you won’t be able to use them for days. a heat forms in your gut as you approach your climax and when it hits you see white, tossing your head back, the fingers in your mouth do little to muffle your screams and cries. woozi’s fingers continue to work at your core, gently swiping your clit every so often, making sure to rub the clear slick, pouring out of you, everywhere he can. 

once you’ve gotten through your high, woozi kisses your head, pets your sides and rocks you back and forth “you did so good,” he whispers in your ear. “i’m so proud of you, what a good baby,” he kisses your eyes and your nose before giving you a sweet kiss on the lips. you moan into the kiss and look up at him, a mischievous glint in your eye. “ji,” you whimper, letting him know you’re not finished. “i know baby,” he smiles “i’m not done either,”

[titanrpg]

Hey, Lex, got a question. At some point in the last two decades, somebody in the indie space mentioned that it was all well and good to develop a system, but that what a lot of games lack is support, and that supplemental material like monster- or magic-folios or adventure modules or what have you. The argument was something to the effect that we have sort of a lot of one off, single page or even whole simulation systems, but once you have the base thing, there's not really much suggested to do with it, and while plenty of GMs and tables don't need help getting started, plenty do.

Is this anything, y'think? Do you have thoughts on the subject of supplemental material? Do you think it "helps" your ttrpgs, for whatever metric that... is measuring, lmao.

Hey! I've heard this here and there, and I'll share my thoughts as a relative newcomer (I'm around the 2.5 year mark of seriously making my own games).

I don't think it's a problem to have one-off games and barebones systems. In fact, make it as barebones as possible, and you have yourself an SRD essentially. We all know I love me an SRD.

That being said, the whole deal with Caltrop Core (my first SRD) was lowering the barrier to entry for people to start making games. If you can sufficiently lower a barrier, it'll be much easier for people to start. It goes for full TTRPGs as well. An ecosystem of support is the dream for any system, but the step I take before that is including materials in my game to help people get started.

Even though I don't consider myself the type of player who needs the extra help/content, I still like seeing a starter adventure or a table of ideas, as it helps me find where to start. Examples of play are also a big part of this. Wanderhome does a really nice job of this (is there anything this game doesn't do a really nice job of?).

Identifying the action you want someone to take and doing everything in your power to minimize the friction/number of steps between that person and the action -- that's digital marketing in a nutshell.

People mostly apply this thought process to sales, but it works for everything. When I'm finishing up a game, I'm concerned with one action in particular: someone actually playing my game.

As indie devs, it can often feel like no one actually plays our games. (Side note: I think it's worth making peace with this aspect of indie publishing. I make games because I like making games. If people play my stuff, great. If they don't, okay. I would have made this thing anyway.) If this is something you're worried about with a project, I believe the best thing to do is identify the type of supplemental material that will bridge the gap from reading the game to running/playing it. To me, that's what "helping" my TTRPG means. I often see quickstart one-pagers for medium sized games, and I think that's a really strong option.

You also do not have to have this supplemental materials ready when you first hit "Publish" on itch.io or wherever. For one of my own game jams, I wrote a minimum playable version (MPV, is that a thing?) of HEXFALL. Then later I went back and added a bunch of materials (new hex types, new maps, new examples, new story hooks) to help people get started as easily as possible. I pitched it as an expansion, and even came up with a cool dramatic subtitle which I always love doing.

It's really up to the designer and where they're at. If you're out here trying to build a publishing business, then I think this type of material should be included in your base game. Hobbyists should do whatever is most fun for them.

Thanks for the fun question! I hope I answered sufficiently!

[streetkid-named-desire]

Post-canon AU: What happened to Vincent Guerra and Bea's video game meta

It was about time to make an actual post to reference as I play the game through with Bea more. If you have other questions about their lore feel free to ask!

Bea is not a V

Bea is playing through a video game BD that Judy helped V create to deal with the trauma of All Of That. She uses a custom BD rig so V can jack in sometimes and see what she does, add commentary, etc. it also allows him to occasionally pipe in Johnny live so Bea can yell at him.

Military doll chip

These are different than the ones Judy makes in that they completely overwrite the individual's personality. This was based on Dr. Kenji Yamamoto's (OC) early research of the Relic. It doesn't just give them combat prowess, it turns them into mindless soldiers at the flip of a switch. This has implications for the Fifth Corpo War because Militech and Arasaka could build a paramilitary fighting force of civilians and trained soldiers alike.

Relic fix-it

The chip became dormant for two years.

PL happened but none of the canon endings happened. At some point before he was supposed to meet Hanako at Embers he just woke up and Johnny was...gone. He woke up feeling a strange emptiness with a very quiet head. He went to Viktor who found that the Relic overwriting process had just...stopped.

This lasted for two years until 2079 when the fic starts.

Johnny is reactivated the first time V jacks into Bea's brain to save her from the initial effects of the corpo monitoring soft Arasaka installed in her. He saves V's life by forcing V out of his interface.

At the end of the fic (spoilers? I'll put it under a cut in case you want to read the fic lol)

Dr. Kenji Yamamoto was an Arasaka researcher Frederick kidnapped to help him with his own attempt at finishing Militech's version to earn his spot back as head of R&D at Militech.

Dr. Yamamoto worked on the military doll chips for Arasaka and was one of the early researchers developing the Relic. His research set the groundwork for the military doll chips.

Bea and V rescue Dr. Yamamoto and free him from Frederick's basement. Bea is near death and they go to Dr. Yamamoto's private research hospital. While Bea is in surgery, he does an experiment with V and Johnny in a special interface.

While he's inside the interface he asks V to raise his right hand which he does in realspace and the interface. Then he asks Johnny to raise his right hand, which V does in realspace but only Johnny does in the interface.

He explains that the Relic has stopped overwriting because their neural maps have merged/overlapped. Because all of the basic body functions are covered, the Relic only needed to overwrite/add new neurons and shit for Johnny. And all the omega blockers helped, similar to how taking certain psychiatric medications take a while to build up to work.

Now their neural maps and synaptic connections and shit overlap. Johnny could control various limbs whenever the fuck he wanted and even take full control if he wanted to. Dr. Yamamoto gives V an option of tweaking the Relic and adding a modification to control the omega blocking effect (omega blockers are a real thing used to treat schizophrenia). He doesn't have the meds but it tweaked the natural imbalance.

What that means is V is primarily in control most often, but it is less effective in times of heightened emotion or if he's under the influence of something. He can talk to Johnny and he can still make commentary and pop up from time to time, but it is less often.

Their dreams can also intersect because their brains and subconscious overlap. V essentially has one and a half brains.

But it's not killing him anymore! Johnny has made peace with it and he and V are very close and very close friends so he's happy to be along for the ride. It does get frustrating sometimes and he will state his displeasure and make fun of V for shit, but that's just Johnny being Johnny.

[scarycranegame]

hi guys, i know i just posted my analysis of how fish is made but i just finished my thoughts on the last one and then another so i hope you're still hungry!!! :D

tl;dr: the last one and then another is about how corporations prey on vulnerable people, and the consequences of that predation.

analysis under the cut!!

This game seems to take place after the "up" ending, as the fish you play as here is trapped in a mass of... well, something (it looks to be foam and, in retrospect, may very well be, since this DLC is a teaser for Mouthwashing). The symbolism here seems to be that you're "breaking out" of the mass that is a corporate job, but you still take some of it with you (hence why you're stuck in the foam), as you're still trying to "make it big" after being unsuccessful the first time; this time trying to "build something from the ground up".

The gameplay element of absorbing things around you reference the "up" ending in that you're accumulating things that are "useless" to generate a larger mass attached to yourself. You've branched off from the main corporate body and are now attempting to create your own.

The fish in the doorway may be a version of the Up-Fish from the base game: it insists that chasing corporate success has made it "bigger" and that things can "only get better", before offering itself to become part of you on the basis of mutual benefit (theoretically, you both get bigger). It brings to mind young idealists just starting out and wanting to be "part of something bigger" and "climb the ladder to success" via personal connections.

Curly's first monologue seems to be about getting stuck in an unfulfilling job that you only took on as a stepping stone, which indicates that this is the fate of the fish you just absorbed.

The cake fish seems to either be self employed, or unemployed: either finding joy in working for itself, or finding joy without needing to work. Its forceful assimilation into your mass seems to indicate the latter: no matter how fulfilled you are while out of work, you're essentially forced to work anyways.

The fish with the string and the little fish represents the struggle of being a working parent; specifically, a working single parent. You're made to work to support yourself and your child, but in order to do so, you sacrifice the time you have to care for your child, and thus your work "eats" your child, or forces itself into higher priority than childcare.

Curly's joke further emphasizes how many people prioritize work over their own wellbeing, simply due to the "work to live" rule; i.e., if someone lost their legs or hands, chances are their immediate concern would be about work rather than themselves.

The railings you use to get to the mouthwash room represent the fact that you're essentially "railroaded" into working by society. The fact that you fall off of it when returning displays the notion that being "successful" by society's standards is an unattainable ideal for many, and that the "road to success" is easy to fall off of due to how demanding it is.

The drunk fish is essentially a reiteration of the scared fish from the base game: it's experiencing its fear of making the "wrong choice". This could be someone who's struggling with work, wanting to go back to when anything seemed possible and "do it right" this time around. Its confusion also brings to mind someone who's young and financially struggling.

Curly's last monologue is about regret, fittingly: regretting having allowed yourself to get stuck, regretting having been convinced that this was the right choice & convincing others of it too, regretting never doing anything about it and making empty promises to yourself that you'll change things; and the regret making you spiteful and resentful of yourself and those around you. In a way, it parallels the fish on the catwalk near the end of the base game, telling you that the choice between "up or down" isn't really a choice at all.

The last "CONSUME" option isn't about assimilating Curly, it's about allowing your spitefulness at your situation to consume you, like how Jimmy did when he crashed the Tulpar, hence the segue into the teaser for Mouthwashing.

[changingplumbob]

hii!! 11-14 for the story questions

Hooray a chance to talk!!! And I actually really wanted to do these 4! Thank you Lori 😁 I'm throwing in a cut just because I write long answers, don't want to be cluttering dashboards.

11) Why have you decided to tell this story? Are there any messages or meanings within it?

It was about 6 months of me playing my rotations before I had the thought to record what was happening in story format. I was actually sticking with households and wanted to be able to look back and see how far they'd come, so I decided to start writing and taking screenshots. I've always liked creative writing throughout my life, but have been reluctant to share it, there's so much talent out there. I enjoyed writing about my sims so wanted to share it, mainly so I could talk to people about my sims because I have such fun playing.

Messages or meanings... I try to write most of my sims as being accepting. There's a lot of hate and bigotry in our world, and I like writing a world where there is minimal prejudice. Samir will never have to face sims distrusting him simply because he is of Arab descent. Devin will never face discrimination in casting simply because she is married to a woman. Joey will never have his job performance questioned simply because he has hearing loss.

I do write a few mean and narrow minded sims but they are few and far between. They are mainly there to add some realism but I want my sims to feel safe being who they are. So messages... judge someone for their character, not something that they have no control over (ethnicity, sexuality, gender, disability).

12) Do you actually play the game or do you just use it as a storytelling medium?

I LOVE playing! I preordered Sims 4! However, patience is not my strong suit. The longest I've played one household lasted from the teens in a household growing to YA and having a baby... I was the master of making a household, playing for a few in game weeks, then getting bored. Rotational play is great for me as it helps me stay invested, plus I love to micro manage.

I do consider that I'm playing my game and just recording what happens for the most part, Reece and Samir are the only ones I think of as me crafting a story. Apart from them I play pretty unplanned.

13) From basic planning to a finished post, how long does that take you?

I like to play, take screenshots, then write for those before returning to the game for another round of playing. Let me check some dates... The next households first part screenshots were taken on Jan 28th and I finished playing the household on Feb 3rd. Looks like I created the word document on Jan 28th and it was last edited on Feb 4th.

So 8 days to play and write the chapter. I'd guess another day to finish queuing the posts (I also do these as I go). But that is probably one of the faster ones. This latest one I've done has taken me over 2 weeks, yes I was away for a portion of that, and I've still not finished the writing. I'm currently unemployed so I have the time to spend on it. When I find a new job I imagine average creation time will double or triple.

Drafts from the past take about 3 minutes as it's just me getting a screenshot of whatever weirdness is happening and putting it in a post. Lookbooks can take several hours to string together, or less than 1 if I'm not providing new outfits. Build or Reno posts take maybe half an hour to put together, providing I took the screenshots I need. This post took me an hour to write because I'm having an IBS flare up and thinking deeply.

14) Do you have any regrets about your story so far? if you could go back in time, how would you fix these?

I am not a big one for regret in real life. I was for a long time but now I try to see the past as "things happened, I did the best I could in the circumstances with my resources and what I knew".

I do somewhat regret putting my earlier writing straight on Twitter with no copy to my hard drive because all that story is essentially lost to the black hole of the internet. BUT that's taught me to keep records of what I'm doing.

Story regrets... nope. I've sat here for 5 minutes and cannot think of one. I do feel sad about making all of Marta's family dead but I don't regret that choice. What I have done with my sims are things that made sense for the characters.

[l-1-z-a]

The Sims 2 Nightlife Q&A - Exploring and Living Downtown

Senior producer Tim LeTourneau is back once again to fill us in on the latest details of the expansion pack.

By Gamespot Staff on September 1, 2005 at 5:43PM PDT

EA announced earlier this week that The Sims 2 Nightlife, the second expansion pack for last year's hit game, has gone gold. This means that development on Nightlife has finished, and it's now on its way through manufacturing before arriving at a store near you later this month. Nightlife promises to be a huge expansion for The Sims 2, because it adds a gigantic new downtown area to explore, not to mention lots of new content, ranging from objects, fashions, character interactions, and more. There are even cars and vampires added to the core game. So in our final Nightlife Q&A, we once again turned to Tim LeTourneau, the longtime producer of The Sims and The Sims 2.

It's not really a party unless it's a karaoke party.

GameSpot: How are the downtown areas delineated in Nightlife? Are they integrated into the existing neighborhoods, or are they all set on a separate screen, much like the college campuses in The Sims 2 University?

Tim LeTourneau: Downtown is a whole new neighborhood (just like the campuses in The Sims 2 University). What's really cool is we have added the ability to set neighborhoods to nighttime, which kind of goes with the whole theme of the pack. So when you see our downtown you see searchlights combing the sky in a dramatic cityscape. I think players are really going to be surprised when they see it.

GS: Will the current neighborhoods in The Sims 2 (Strangetown, Veronaville, and so on) have their own custom downtown areas? Will you be able to "share" a downtown area with different cities?

TL: Each neighborhood has its own downtown. Now the players can either create a downtown using the template we provide, or if they prefer, they can build one from scratch. Sims can also move to the downtown as well, so if you prefer to tell the story of your sims living a more metropolitan life, you can.

GS: How many different "plots" are there in a typical downtown that you can develop? Is there enough room to create a diverse downtown, with clubs, bars, restaurants, bowling alleys, and more?

TL: Well the downtown that we provide has over 20 different lots that sims can visit, with all the variety you can think of--restaurants, bars, bowling alleys, diners, poker clubs, etc. Players will definitely find their favorite hangouts, or make their own and add them to the list.

Deep down, every sim is a party animal.

GS: Speaking of bars, restaurants, and bowling alleys, what other sorts of downtown locales are possible?

TL: There are karaoke lounges, nightclubs, card rooms, and, my personal favorite, there is even a cemetery--a great place for dates with vampires. And as I said, you can combine any of the different locales, so the possibilities are only limited by the player's imagination.

Dating Dracula

GS: How much will a car cost? Does owning a car actually save a lot of time, or is it more a prestige thing for your sim?

You must be one with the bowling ball.

TL: They range in price from the introductory hatchback all the way to the sports car. Having played a lot now, I can honestly say that a car has become an essential purchase with my starting funds. They save so much time in a career, because they give you an extra hour to get to work. But they are also so convenient for going out, as there's no need to waste time waiting for the cab. The prestige part is just a bonus.

GS: How many different car models do you expect in Nightlife? And will mod makers be able to create custom car designs, like they create custom objects?

TL: There are five cars that are shipping with the pack (with a great variety of design modes). We also have another one available for download if you preorder. I'm sure the modders will figure out how to expand that number greatly.

GS: Let's go back in time a bit. When did the development of Nightlife begin? Were the first initial expansion packs plotted out before The Sims 2 shipped?

TL: We have talked about a lot of different expansion pack ideas. Probably any pack we would ever do has crossed our mind at some point by now. About halfway through The Sims 2 University, we thought about what we'd like to see The Sims do next. The community experience wasn't everything we thought it should be in the base game and we wanted to add more of a reason for sims to get out of the house. That's really how The Sims 2 Nightlife took shape. Of course, our memories of The Sims Hot Date also had some influence on this decision, too.

GS: Is there a list of potential expansion ideas floating around somewhere at Maxis, and how does an idea move to the top of the list?

TL: There's definitely a list, but that doesn't mean that any of the things on there will gel into an actual pack. As I said, a lot of ideas are floating around in our heads. We really rely on what the community of players is asking to be able to do as well--they are our greatest influence. We couple their requests with our own creative juices and ultimately settle on a pack concept that we think will be the right thing to do next. You'd think after all these years it would be more scientific, but the reality is that The Sims is a game that is made from the heart. We can feel it when we've made the right choice when the whole team embraces the concept and makes it their own.

They aren't kidding when they say poker is everywhere nowadays.

GS: And finally, any hints as to what's next for The Sims 2? There are the console and handheld versions coming out, but what about future expansions for the PC version?

TL: Players will know what the next expansion pack is soon enough. For now, you'll just have to wait!

GS: Thanks, Tim.

TL: You're welcome. I'm always happy to tell people what's up with The Sims.

[mamamittens]

Well, here I am, a fool. Hoping to simulate a Regular Work Day on my last day of vacay.

Was fun while it lasted, so relieving to have fuck all to worry about for several days on end. I didn't do... Quite as much as I daydreamed (meant to finish cleaning up my closet but oh well).

So! Here's what I DID DO!

Ran the Spooktober Event Opening! One day left to slip in before I close my ask box until they're all taken care of!

Cleaned and reorganized my room, it's SO refreshing and shocking how one bookcase moved makes my room feel so much more open and nice.

Completed two Spooktober fics and scheduled them for posting! With unique artwork! (Results may vary across the event)

I have one surprise ask to essentially translate into a small blurb for my ease of reference and put up a title/summary for and they're all prepped (still one day left but that's still 5 already done so that I could, in theory, sit down and smash them out whenever).

Slept A LOT!

Gave Nikia a neat little spooky design for the holiday and put her up as my avatar! Love how it came out!

Played most of Echoes of Memories (tried not to just blaze through it, I still wanted to make progress for the event lol)

Had a long, invigorating think about world building for Nikia's story and it was wonderfully spooky! Could bust out another one but considering how long the smut is y'all will hear a LOT more about her soon enough lol

Speaking of which, I'm FINALLY posting a smut for Nikia! With Izou and Thatch at that!

And most importantly I did SO MUCH RELAXING

I'm tired, sure, but it's not nearly as bone tired as before. Very refreshing, which is great because shits going to suck ass at work soon enough.

Hopefully things work out a little better in terms of finances (got a lot of big purchases I need to make for my computer, Christmas, and eventually replacing appliances, as well as my credit card RIP), and remain fairly positive.

Ah, less awesome things I need to sort out.

Getting a GP (general practitioner, basically a doctor) and start testing for possible inherited illness. Mainly Hashimotos and Sjogerns. Not world ending but definitely not something I wanna have sneak up on me later. Very strongly possible I have either one, unfortunately. Will probably have my brother help cause he's a case worker and there's genuinely So FUCKING MANY HOSPITALS UP HERE I wouldn't know where tf to start with that.

Also need to schedule an optometrist appointment finally. Keep putting it off. Will probably do it after I post for this Saturday after I'm paid just in case insurance is a bitch lol

And I unfortunately didn't blaze through all the asks, but given the first one is over 5K and Nikia's was... Over 8K (oof, I tried to trim but having it between three people needed a bit of set up and... Yeah lol, it just ended up that long) I doubt I'd have been able to even if I had everything set up from the first day of vacation. In terms of where y'all should expect word count, I tend to do about 5K for smuts in events. Which with Maximum Focus can be achieved in about 6 hours... Maybe more. I get distracted not even going to lie. So don't expect them to be super long, but I have yet to write an event piece drastically shorter than the others so there's that.

Ah... I guess that's about it for all that. I hope you all like your pieces and that I manage to get them done quickly 😅

[zebee-nyx]

CalmWriMo Day 18

[11/18/2023]

Update!

Cozy day at home. Feels like it's been forever since I've had a light day like this to just chill out. Honestly spent more time than I prob should've just listening to youtube and playing minecraft for the first time in awhile. ('0.0) But also worked on writing stuff! So the day wasn't entirely lost to my gaming addiction lol. Did some more character interview things, cause at this point it's fun and helps me figure out the characters! Also did some work on the prologue, but agh, def not getting it done this weekend. It is mostly drafted aside from one weird gap in the middle that I need to plug with a paragraph. (-.-) Going to do that tmr then take a break from that for a week to freshen the mind a touch before going back and doing editing and what not. In the mean time gonna start the drafting for the first part of the story! Which is a mix of exciting and harrowing. [got no idea what I'm doing aside from a vaguely outlined plan lol, way more adjusted to worldbuilding and characters than I am on plot stuff…. Something I need to work on but know the most common way of learning is to completely flub it and I really don’t want to flub it lol… rambling, sorry!]

Progress:

2 Hour Writing Goal: ✅

Blurb: [see below]

Self Care:

Food: ✅

Hydration: ✅

Sleep: ❌[somehow managed to fall asleep while reading a webtoon... half woke up about an hour later to finish reading before actually getting to sleep lol]

Reading: ✅

Blurb: The Undercity

The "Undercity" is the term used to describe the more densely populated and neglected sectors of Neocago City. These regions are mostly located around the southern and outer western parts of the city. Aside from a few scattered and walled off corporate run neighborhoods surrounding factories and other corporate properties the undercity is a lawless place. Buildings are fused as they were haphazardly built atop one another in a completely unplanned way to accommodate rapid unfettered urbanization over the last few decades. Many of these buildings have prefabricated rooms at their core that have been buried by whatever construction materials were available.

Roofed alleyways are covered in trash that will never be collected. The pathways between buildings are almost always wet from a mix of rainwater and water from leaky pipes draining through the various layers of buildings above. Random cables feeding down from rooftop solar panels hang above the streets, following along the paths in thick bundles. People often simply splice into the cables to syphon off power for their businesses or homes as they need forming webs of wires chaotically stretching around over streets and alleys. Many narrow ground level streets are lined with neon signs advertising small local businesses. Some streets have become de facto "retrofitted" into public markets that have street vendor carts. While not necessarily on every surface possible, graffiti isn't uncommon.

Most places around the undercity fall with in the territories of one gang or another who for their credit often try to maintain some level of order and basic essential public services. Services such as shifting garbage away from the local area, "protection", and extinguishing the occasional fire. For the most part security firms [basically privately owned cops for hire, more on this some other time] are absent so nearly everyone in the undercity is armed in some way in the likely event they need to defend themselves. Although typically if one just keeps there head down and doesn't start anything they are relatively safe.

As one travels nearer toward the edge of Neocago the undercity becomes less developed, less populated, and less livable overall with some sections being more or less abandoned. In these places the borders between what is the undercity and the junkyards surrounding the city begin to blur. Sparsely hidden away in the more abandoned areas are indoor gardens that grow food kept away from prying eyes that may attempt to steal meals as well as valuable plants. Some places in these border areas have become mysterious dead zones where few who enter are ever seen nor heard from again.

The population of the undercity is mostly laborers, service industry workers, "service" workers, or unemployed with some small local shop owners sprinkled around. Near universally however, everyone has their vice. This part of the city has also become somewhat attractive to lower level runners, who often thrive in the absence of security firms and high need for people to do odd jobs.

In more developed regions of the undercity buildings are even built over roads which causes an intresting little phenomenon. These areas don't get sunlight and as a result have become immune to the fact that the sun is indeed a deadly laser. Following this little quirk these portions of the undercity usually never sleep and are always a bustling place of foot traffic and commerce.

In essence the undercity is nearly around sixteen million minds all working in their own interests, often intersecting and conflicting with others as there is little overall organized coordination. The aesthetics of this region are heavily governed by that as millions of little self serving adjustments are made to the environment each day.

[WOOOO!!! Love me some worldbuilding! lol (>v<) For the next week the blurbs will be about different areas in and around Neocago and honestly I'm going to have an absolute blast writing about it all! (^.^) Anyways and always, hope you are having a lovely day, peace (^V^)v]

[marinamakes]

Game Dev Blog October 8th 2023

October 8th 2023-

I have awoken once more. The days go by as blurs of house-chores, dreams, and work. I'm concerned that doing such similar work from day to day is bad for motivation, it reminds me of my latest unfinished project, "Frogs vs. Ghosts". I will no longer speak its name. It cannot be good for me, or development.

This is the GIF I last posted on Twitter on the 5th.

Moving on from all that, recently I've found myself worried about the future. How will this work out? I've understood for some time I'd have to work a day job in the future, but I'm still for some reason worried. No matter what, I need to ensure that I don't stop development, on this game or in general.

Maybe I should start posting this blog to Reddit or Lexaloffle, and update it instead of using this text file? I'll look for a blog site for a little bit before beginning work. I'll ask Twitter. But maybe I should make art so people actually see it?

Finished in 5 minutes! Well, outlining took about 30 seconds too, but yeah, this is sufficient.

Alright, slow day only about an hour of work, but I spent the last hour finding a good blog spot. I've settled on Tumblr. I want this blog to be relatively on the down-low, so this is good. I want my blog to be easy to make, so this is good. And I'm familiar with social-media platforms, so this is great. I guess this will be my first post??

Should I introduce myself?? Idk...' I'm Marina makes and I make games using Pico-8. I founded the "Pico-View" zine, and have released several games. This is to be my secret blog space. If you recognize me from anywhere be sure to shoot me a text! This month I plan to finish a Halloween release and an article or two. Enjoy!

That seems good. Time to get back to work!

While making the bullets, I giggled with excitement as I was having fun. I notice in the process of creating my games I worry a lot over whether they are fun or not. I think I should cast aside such worries, except when using them to enhance game-play.

My last game, "Robuilder" was severely lacking in several aspects, the most apparent to me was the rushed home-menu and meta-game. I'll explain what the game was... It was a falling-block puzzle game where the goal was to connect arrows on blocks, but the falling of the blocks was completely in your control. Essentially it's a building game where you connect arrows. On top this there were four packs of blocks available... As I was saying the most lacking aspect was the home-menu and meta-game. Each 'game' consists of three rounds. This has no rhyme or reason. On top of this the way you change packs of blocks was unintuitive. Here's a gif...

Overall I want to avoid this with this game by implementing a home menu as soon as the first level is being tested. I'm about to head to bed. Here's progress...

Need to add a muzzle flash on the player and ghost. So sleepy... Hope you guys enjoy this blog! If u do then reassure me in dms or replies or something??

[stitchthesewords]

So I don't currently have the mental capacity to properly write anything for that apocalypse idea but I do have more thoughts for it so just. Uh. Here.

They all live inside a walled or fenced in area together collectively - Their homes start out simple and their space starts out small. It's not that they can't get creative with it but that they don't have the resources. With the mobs laying siege to them and half of them being injured, shelter in more important than aesthetic. But, you know, an apocalypse doesn't only last for a few months and eventually with all their new skills and friends they outgrow what are essentially little huts - and they know so much more. They have a library of information and people who were actually architects and engineers and - well- people have built really nice houses WITHOUT fancy architecture degrees for millennia. So they start expanding, pushing out into the forest and clearing they call home, making paddocks for their animals and big warm houses for all the couples that were together before or are together now. And, well, this kind of is their job now so they take their time. Little intricate details that dont provide anything but happiness. Handpainted murals. Designing rooms to justify 'finally making that quilt' or 'well, you know, I've always wanted a really big window for reading...' Little signs of who lives where, design elements that are only there for the happiness of the residents.

And I'm trying to thinking based on like, s9 right, who would do what. Beef would definitely be involved with the animals - he's incredibly good at wrestling the sheep for shearing and the cows don't frighten him and he finds he likes the chickens - Bdubs and Scar take on building design and building and its an interesting learning experience for both of them because Scar goes from cane user to wheelchair user and everything in between but he insists on helping build. Its a little challenge to figure out what he can help with on bads days and also convincing him to take a break because 'well today is a good day and if i don't finish it NOW I might not be able to do it tomorrow' and his friends having to learn the difference between being pushy and babying him versus like, knowing HE'S pushing himself and needs to take a break. Ren resource gathers - he learns to cultivate trees and plant them because, well they can't just infinitely cut down the forest. Cleo and Joe learn to process their animal products and make things with them - wool into felt and thread, leather into bags, rescuing things from what people elft behind and tailoring them.

And like in that time, they discover you actually have a lot of downtime when you don't have capitalism staring down your back. They start making games, building and making things just for the love of it - experimenting with redstone, learning each other's skills, picking up hobbies they wouldn't have tried before.

Also i'm thinking like - Cleo, Doc, Tango - all the monster hybrids. I think Tango maybe isnt a hybrid to start out with but in their downtime, in their learning semi-lost knowledge, they discover how to open portals to the nether and - well, something happens to Tango in the nether. I don't know...how yet and I don't really have the brainpower to think on it, but. He becomes a blaze hybrid. I don't think its like a blaze bites him, I think its more like. Some low lying barely there magic thing. Whereas Cleo - Cleo maybe starts out human but they get bit by a Zombie when they're trying to defend their home because no matter how much Etho plays up how scary they are, they never got good with a weapon and well. And they fall sick, and their skin starts to mottle, but they never...die. They pull through. But something has inherently changed. They lived wrong - and its a heavy moment to realize they lived but they're...different. Rotting. Needs raw meat or else they start feeling sick. And there's never a moment where any of them even consider killing them or putting them out of their 'misery' - it was only ever about 'how do we adapt to this, what can we do to help'. Doc is the only one I truly have no idea on but I do want my creeper hybrid man somehow. Hm.

Anyway - yeah. Just. Learning new skills and utilizing old ones in order to make a safe haven for themselves and others in the middle of an apocalypse. I don't think they all knew each other beforehand but I think they come together as the apocalypse is happening because like the more people in an area, the more mobs - so large cities would clear out but larger groups would honestly be okay but being alone would be worse than being together and just. dlfkshfdg

[procrastinatorproject]

I posted 1,878 times in 2022

48 posts created (3%)

1,830 posts reblogged (97%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@tehriz

@regionalpancake

@thelaithlyworm

@jazzfic

@stra-tek

I tagged 1,875 of my posts in 2022

#star trek picard - 443 posts

#funny stuff - 442 posts

#cristobal rios - 152 posts

#star trek picard season 2 - 115 posts

#star trek - 110 posts

#picardpositivity - 98 posts

#i have such talented friends! - 90 posts

#picard season 2 spoilers - 85 posts

#cats - 76 posts

#tumblr - 75 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#and how else are you going to share bits of stories that you won't post for months or years if ever because finishing things is hard 🙈😅

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I spent quite some time yesterday yelling about Star Trek with the wonderful @regionalpancake and @curator-on-ao3, and I need to share their comedic genius with the world!

We were talking about how, if the Zhat Vash are so extremely opposed to synthetic life and any form of AI, could they possibly manage to hack the androids on Mars and to cause them to go rogue? To which Curator commented:

“I’m an iPhone user and I couldn’t hack an android!”

This was followed some time later by a discussion about how in recent Trek, there has been an increasing distinction between People Who Matter and Those Who Don’t. And how its encumbent upon the people who are less significant for the fate of the world to sacrifice themselves for the Important People.

With regards to this, Pancakes observed of Rose (from Dr Who), a character who thinks she is unimportant and whom the Doctor tells that There Are No Unimportant People:

“If she were a Star Trek character, Rose would have been cannon fodder.”

Curator: “You mean... canon fodder? :D”

I don’t know if these are funny to anyone but me, but I laughed so hard I had to go find my asthma spray. So I needed to share XD

59 notes - Posted July 30, 2022

#4

Holo-Tech Database

Over the last seven or so months, I have watched through every episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. It’s the first time I’ve seen the entire series, there were quite a few episodes in the later seasons I’d never seen before. Quite an enjoyable experience on the whole.

But because I’m me, of course I didn’t just watch TNG. Instead, I took notes every single time the holodeck or any other piece of holo-technology played a part in the plot, were the setting for even the briefest of scenes, or so much as got mentioned. Essentially, I’m building towards a database of every little scrap of canonical information about holo-technology that I can get my hand on. And this was a start.

I haven’t had the time or energy to look through all of my notes in detail. There is a lot of information in there already. Of course, I’ll only be able to draw any real conclusions once I add in all the data from DS9, Voyager, and PIC, (since I’m interested in the state of technology at the time La Sirena is in operation, because of course that’s what this is about), but it’ll be quite a while before I get there.

So, in lieu of any detailed analysis, here are some quick impressions of my first foray into holo-episode-tracking!

[Image ID: a table showing the number of total holo-episodes for TNG is 58, and breaking that number down for each season. Season 1 has 10 episodes, season 2 has 8, season 3 has 6, season 4 has 9, season 5 and 6 both have 8, and season 7 has 9 episodes. /end ID]

See the full post

65 notes - Posted January 27, 2022

#3

30 Days of Picard Postivity

With just over 30 days to go, the premiere of Star Trek: Picard season 2 (3rd March in the US, 4th March internationally) is fast approaching, and I for one cannot wait to get back into the world I fell in love with two years ago. Thirty days is quite some time, however, and even though new trailers and promo pics seem to be dropping daily, I felt like we could use something to tide us over until March.

After the long hiatus, I think this is the perfect time to revisit all the things we enjoyed about season 1. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has forgotten a lot of the details of those episodes, and who would love to see some of the wonderful characters, locations, and stories back on my dash. So, without further ado:

ProcrastinatorProject Proudly Presents:

30 Days of Picard Positivity

See the full post

70 notes - Posted February 1, 2022

#2

Massive Picard Season 2 Spoilers Ahead

So the latest episode of The Ready Room, the Star Trek recap show hosted by Wil Wheaton, had a preview of Season 2 of Star Trek: Picard. It's interviews with all of the main actors and they explain in some detail where they're characters are at at the beginning of season 2.

It puts a lot of shots from the trailers in perspective and I have a lot of thoughts that I want to share, but because this is a very, very explicit spoilery preview, I'm putting both the video and my initial reaction under the cut.

Anyone in the US (or with a decent VPN): You can find the full Ready Room episode on the Paramount+ youtube page, but I'm not going to link it here, because, youk know, tumblr 😋

See the full post

73 notes - Posted February 24, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I just had a realization about why Agnes Jurati’s story in Star Trek: Picard season 2 feels so wrong to me, and I am going to inflict it on all of you!

Spoilers for the entirety of season 2 ahead! CW: Mention of depression, PTSD, anxiety, and emotional manipulation

Also: CW long post

(NB: I’m going to completely disregard the discrepancy in Agnes’s character between seasons 1 and 2. I think when you take Agnes’s story and development from the first season into account, her “arc” in season 2 falls apart completely. But for the sake of this argument, I’m going to meet the season 2 writers on their terms. I’m going to ignore the character of season 1 Agnes, and instead will simply look at season 2′s Jurati to explain why I think the story the writers gave her falls flat.)

I was taking notes for a way-too-long essay about my problems with PIC season 2 (which I may or may not write eventually), and I was trying to put into words why it always irks me when people say merging with the Borg Queen was a satisfying end to Jurati’s arc.

What I was never able to put my finger on until now is that when the Borg Queen and Jurati merge at the end of episode 9, that’s not actually the culmination of Jurati’s arc. It’s the Queen’s.

See the full post

74 notes - Posted May 20, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[toushindai]

What's your playstyle for Hades and Hades 2? Preferred weapons, heat/fear level? Are you working to max out the minor prophecies?

I'm really intrigued honestly by how different my playstyle is between the two games? I'm not enough of a Gamer™ to put a finger on exactly how or why, but even thoughts like "I can afford to spend a lot at this Well of Charon because it's going to be a while before I see a shop" are ones I'm having more frequently. And another interesting thing is that when I'm playing a difficult run, in Hades I, the beginning will not be so much more difficult than normal and then things start ramping up in Elysium or thereabouts; in Hades II, though, I feel like I am suffering and hating life until I'm about halfway through the third biome and then my build clicks and everything comes up daisies. Well, at least this has happened a few times.

My Hades preferences are so very firmly established: if I wanted to have as fun a run as possible for me personally, it's the Chaos-aspect shield with Doom on the special and something to inflict another status curse on the attack to get easy access to Privileged Status active as much as possible. At my best I was trying to make it so that all four levels of Extreme Measures + Middle Management + a level or two of Tight Deadline felt like a baseline, "normal" run to me. Having not played for a while I can't promise that I could still do that with consistency (EM4 was never quite a given for me) but it was feeling pretty comfortable for a while.

As for Hades II--

I can't decide what my favorite weapon is. It might be? Charon Axe? Drop a plain cast, fire off a special, deal AOE damage, it's a good deal. Especially if you can get like Super Nova and the double-omega-special hammer in there. Before the recent patch, which improved the skulls, I feel like I'd gotten into a groove with Persephone skulls, and now after that patch I am worse at them. The staff feels like a nice safe weapon and the new Momus aspect rocks. The blades... I'm not terribly compelled by their playstyle (and I'll trade their omega attack for the ability to hold to attack continuously at the first opportunity) but a dagger and a sickle is literally the hottest weapon combination I can imagine. And the torches are weird. I'm used to them! I can do them! They even feel good to me know. But they're weird. Maybe the sixth weapon will steal my heart. I have a secret hope for the sixth weapon but it's a secret.

Thus far my actual Preferred level of Fear is "none," although I did spend a little time practicing on one level of the Vow of Fury (enemies go fast) so that that speed essentially feels normal/default to me now. Thus turning that into three free Fear. Vow of Arrogance is my second go-to vow because it's just another element to keep in mind and build around. I am, however, up to about 20~24 with the bounties so what I actually prefer is not so much what's driving my choices. At this point I just have to broadly suffer. I'm also slow as hell, my Underworld runs are still averaging about 40-45 minutes which means I can't put on even one level of the timer. I've got to work on that. (I should start ignoring resources. I have so many resources. I don't really need more.) I'm somewhat confident in my ability to finish up those bounties soon and then my focuses will be a) attempting 32 Fear until I hate myself and b) trying to wrest Defiance out of Chaos, as that's the last achievable prophecy I still need to work on. I have no confidence that I'll be able to do this quickly. During the Hades early access period, I was chasing Defiance for several months' worth of repeated patch notes that SGG was making Chaos offer Defiance more often. They finally coughed it up on my first run of the Nighty Night update. I look forward to Chaos once again withholding this from me until some kind of significant plot update involving them is implemented.

[eliza-scstudyabroad]

Hi everyone! Welcome back. I am super excited to share what I have been up to these past two weeks. We had both weeks off for Easter vacation, which was amazing. I hope you are all welcoming spring and enjoying the month so far!

The first week of spring break, I headed to London to meet a friend to start our vacation. Despite some delays, I made it and we went to bed, to get ready for our first day. The first day, we did a walking tour which ended up being about four hours long… crazy but so fun. We saw all the main sites, and even got the most DELICIOUS sandwiches for lunch.

Afterwards, we headed to Trafalgar theater to see the play, Jersey Boys. It was amazing!! We then met up with another friend of mine who is abroad in London for some food and just to hang out.

 The next day, we headed to Portobello Market and Notting Hill, where we saw the colorful buildings and the cutest market.

We went to Covent Garden to get lunch, which had to be fish and chips, and then we followed it up with the Tower Bridge and some afternoon tea. We had to catch an overnight bus so we headed back to the hostel to get our bags and we went to the bus station.

Spending the night on the bus was definitely interesting, but in no time we were in Scotland! We got to Edinburgh around 9am, where we got settled and did another tour. We saw such beautiful buildings, and the castle on the hill was absolutely incredible.

We finished this off with more fish and chips… which were even better than London!

After a quick nap, we went to Calton Hill to see the sunset and we ended up seeing the best views. So many people were out sitting on the hill and it was so beautiful.

We got a late “dinner” which was actually just desserts and they were amazing. Our favorite had to be the Lotus milk cake, which was essentially cake soaked in sweetened milk and cookie butter… it was the best.

The next day, we got some brunch, I got buffalo chicken loaded fries (my first buffalo flavored dish since I’ve been in Europe) and an iced latte. I will say the UK makes some mean iced lattes! They’re a bit hard to come by outside the US I have noticed.

We walked around some more, before grabbing more coffee once it began to rain. Once it cleared up, we took a bus to the coast where we explored more and walked around looking at the water. When we got back, we sat down to eat dinner at an Indian restaurant, which was so so good. I had chicken tikka masala and my friend got the butter chicken.

I had to wake up early the next day to head to Dublin (we had separate flights because my friend needed to bring some extra luggage). When I got there, I grabbed some food at a café, before I explored the Temple Bar District, and got a burrito for dinner.

I headed back to our hotel to nap, which was much needed after the early morning. By the time my friend got there, it was late so we went to bed and woke up the next day ready for our next tour. We learned a lot about Irish history and the city itself, as well as where to get a classic chicken filet sandwich. We headed to a deli to get these, and as simple as they sound they were pretty good! After walking around some more and getting coffee, we met up with some mutual friends for dinner to get tapas.

Our last day, we took a train to Howth where we hiked and explored the incredible views.

It was a cute seaside village and there were so many people out and about. The cliffs were some of the coolest things I have ever seen and of course… we finished off our trip with fish and chips. There was a little stand in Howth which was very traditional (we learned fish and chips were meant to be eaten as take out) and super popular. They might’ve been my favorite of the whole trip!

I headed back to Brussels that next morning and stayed for a few days before I left for another few days. I would say that overall, London was my favorite city on the trip, it just had the best vibe and so much to do. I also loved how beautiful Edinburgh was and Dublin had great energy! It was an incredible trip that I am so lucky to have done and I am so happy to have seen so much. I will talk about the rest of break so soon but I will leave you with this! Thanks for coming on and I can’t wait to share more! This has been the best experience ever. Have a great week 😊

[ay4kshalatus]

a faithful encounter (genshin au [spy x family])

the story follows a spy who has to "build a family" to execute a mission, not realizing that the girl he adopts as his daughter is a telepath, and the woman he agrees to be in a marriage with is a skilled assassin.

note: the loid forger in this au will be aether, albedo and xiao! anya forger as klee, qiqi and paimon and yor forger is you!

the reader will be pronounced as she/her for the plot.

edited - important notice 📢

operation strix: “we all have a side of ourselves that we don’t show anyone. Whether it’s with friends, lovers, or even family, we hide our true feelings and true nature with fake smiles and deception. and that’s how the world maintains its temporary peace.”

aether [codename: viator]

• our aether here is undoubtfully very skilled!

• not just by camouflaging, he is talented with weaponry and physical combat.

• this man can be aloof as he wants but he’s goofy af.

• being a spy takes risky decisions. he doesn’t like playing with people’s heart just to get the information he needs but he’s a type of man to say “it is what it is.”

• finished with his other mission earlier, his superiors assigned him with another one. his next assignment is he have to get close with a member from a party and to look out for their ulterior motives.

• “to do this, you must first get married and have a child--”

• his inner dialogue of him reading the news paper cut off, spitting the coffee he drank on the paper in surprise.

• “excuse me-”

• before he could react further, he continue to read the news paper. he must enroll his child in his target’s school and infiltrate the social gatherings that they organize. he have a week to look for a wife and a child.

• “how to bore a child in seven days!??” idiot really mistook it.

• man have the crowds looking at him weirdly. his face went fuse.

• settling up for his mission, buying an ordinary house and looking for the candidates to act as his family.

• under his real name “aether” with occupation psychiatrist is his new identity.

• as he begin searching for a child, he choose paimon!

• to his surprise, paimon’s maturity surpasses her age.

• ‘child-bearing mission complete. should i look for a mother? having a family is the last thing a spy wanted..’

• AND yes how could we forget? paimon can read minds.

• ‘he’s a spy?! well.. this is concerning..’

• and yes. paimon is already aware from the start that she’s just using her for his mission to her dismay. she wanted to get out from here. but for now, she have to take her time slowly convincing aether to not send her off again.

• when aether was about to get some essentials, paimon dashed to him and clings on his leg.

• “oh! oh! adventure! can paimon go with you??”, “no paimon! it’s not an adventure! i’m going shopping.”

• ended up tagging her along anyway. their relationship really improved in small amount of time. they sometimes bicker.

• aether have to buy some manuals for parenting. they acted much like siblings than father and daughter..

• and just like anya, paimon doesn’t like studying.

• “paimon hates studying! why do I have to study??”

• “paimon. i need to know your academic abilities for the exam! you need to go to school.”

• “what?? you taking paimon to school? why do paimon need that!?”

• “because children like you need to go to school so that you can assist us once we’re old.”

• “but-..”

• “no but’s!” aether being a strict parent, paimon finally studied.

• but she’s not that smart as he thinks. luckily, aether help her with it and manage to nail the exam!!

• as the eden college required both parents to be present at the interview, he began to look for a wife!

• and that’s you! you’re fit for his requirement!

• he met you just like loid met yor ofc at boutique. he got startled at your sudden appearance.

• “um… mister. you’ve been staring at me. did you need something?” manz gone red and apologizing you non-stop. he can imagine his sister teasing him.

• both of you are about to ask about partner issues but once paimon showed up, she immediately understand the situation.

• “father.. are you going to ask her out?”, “paimon! why so blunt??”, “come on this is your chance! you wont die single anymore!”

• thanks to paimon, you both become a couple! in disguise of course.. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

• alas, there’s another mission he have to take. stopping a group of smugglers on saturday, the same day of your friend's party that both of you need to attend.

• on that very day, aether is busy for his mission and trying to finish them quickly so that he can make it to the party. you on the other hand, dead ass waiting for almost 1 hour. the streets are cold also so you have to go inside first before you catch cold.

• while at the party, your friends are talking to your back that you might lying about you having a boyfriend. trying your utmost best to calm dawn from thinking of murdering all of people here, aether finally showed up with his bleeding forehead.

• “i’m sorry that i’m late for the party! i’m aether, y/n’s husband.”

• then he later realized his mistake. his cheeks went red in embarrassment. damn aether, you have a lot to learn.

• as he takes you home to avoid any drama and questions, the smugglers tracked him down.

• being an idiot he is, he told you that kicking his patients (which is the smugglers) is a new medical treatment. yes, you believe him ofc. you don’t know much about doctor stuffs so you just shrug it off.

• “i’m sorry! i’m an amateur, yet i just treated a patient!”

• yep. you both equally dumb to each other.

• and aether is in awe. aether stans for woman and respectable af. everything you do makes him kneel before you. “that’s amazing! you sent him flying!”

• then when you requested to make their marriage as official, he uses a grenade pin as a wedding ring while the smugglers behind the generator they’re hiding blown up.

• the only thing you could thought is ‘damn, we look so cool.’

albedo kreideprinz [codename: calx]

• our mysterious boy albedo is a variant of loid forger!

• but the difference is he’s a prodigy and not really expressive.

• so when he was assigned to have a family, he just continue on reading like nothing happened.

• he use his real name with occupation: doctor.

• finding a kid who can write and read is the real issue for albedo. the orphanage he went is full of uneducated children. well aside for that certain kid named klee.

• klee acts like her age. she have the standards that albedo needs but her character is too bright for his introverted self. and clearly she needs a lot to learn.

•he needs someone who's tolerable too, but as if he have a choice anyway. he adopts klee.

• klee sometimes call albedo “big brother” or “mister albedo” in accident. looks like he needs to work with his father figure.

• but she manage to call him father at the end after the incident where she was hold as a hostage.

• oh! and their relationship getting along so well!

• albedo have soft spots for children! a husband material fr.

• luckily for albedo, klee doesn’t mind studying for her entrance exam. the downside is the entrance exam is coming near and klee doesn’t have enough time to familiarize what she studied. he have to get a copy of the questionnaire with the help of his informant, timaeus.

• klee nail the exam too! albedo grown tired from teaching klee but it was all worth it (big thanks to her telepathic abilities).

• now time to look for a wife.

• when he’s on the boutique with klee, he found a decent woman with in his age. he thought that she would be the one to become his wife but then when you walk in, his eyes fall on to your figure.

• albedo is a man interested with the unusual so when he looks at you, he finds you captivating and intriguing. the way he failed to sense your presence when you entered the shop and the way you behave. and your appearance too!

• albedo doesn’t really care about people’s appearance but yours contain a lot of possibilities. you’re quite built in his opinion.

• “uhh.. sir? do you need something?”

• “pardon me but what i’m looking for is found.”

• and just like that, he excused himself from the woman he talked earlier and made it to your side.. so as klee.

• “father! klee is done measuring with her uniform!”

• your attention finally lay on the lovely father and daughter.. and damn you never seen someone so handsome before.

• ‘he’s illegally handsome… sad to say that he have a spouse. i was about to ask him if he could pretend as my boyfriend for the party..’

• and klee easily reads the situation.

• “oh! does father looking for a mother for klee? klee was so sad about it! klee misses the presence of a mother..”

• albedo was caught off guard that klee understood the circumstance. he seem not flustered about it but a shade of pink is present on his ears.

• “klee…”, “huh? you’re looking for a wife?”, “oh- uhm.. yes.”

• mission success!! albedo have a wife for his mission! give a thanks to our matchmaker klee!

• both of you made a proposal first, attending on the party that you’re in him as your boyfriend and later you’ll be the wife.

• the party will start at saturday night but so as his incoming mission.

• he’s trying to finish it early so he can make it to the party with timaeus' assistance.

• “i apologize for being so late! i’m albedo kreideprinz, y/n’s fiancé.”

• geez… he almost mistook you as his wife. fiancé is much convincing.

• when your friend tried to embarrass you in front of the guests especially to your fiancé, albedo is pissed of their behavior towards you. are they really your friend?

•and the way you catch the tray make him speechless. he’s right about his observations about you being different.

• as he takes you home, the smugglers followed both of your tracks. they try to trip albedo’s car.

• and you who almost got off from your seat. “wtf- who are they?”, “probably one of my patients who wants a piece of me.”

• you’re confused af. what did he do that turned his patients to this?

• idk if he did that purposely...

• mischievous af. (favorite word for today: af)

• then gurl when you show some moves, he’s much convinced that you’re no ordinary. he’s very interested with you now!

• oh! when you requested to make their marriage official, your reasoning is valid and he doesn't mind so he take it. plus it makes it easier for his mission.

• as albedo want to admit, he look forward to get to know you.

alatus [codename: xiao]

• very aloof. he’s fit for the role as a spy. you can say that he’s another variant of loid.

• plus he’s very skilled with combat and flexible as a cat. you can find him jumping on walls or jumping on the air.

• is also known with his vigilance. his superiors rely on his ungodly abilities.

• despite having a cold exterior, he’s easy to fluster.

• just like when he was tasked to have a family. his face is redder as a tomato.

• “you must first get married and have a child--”

• he chokes on his coffee. “i’m sorry?—“

• “since the deadline for enrollment is approaching, you’ll be given one week.”

• manz so red maybe in both anger and embarrassment and rip off his newspaper. “he wants me to have a child within this week??”

• the passengers look at him, concerned. xiao really questioning his life decisions and wanted to bury himself.

• he use his real name with occupation: physical therapist as his identity!

• he also have problems with finding a kid for his mission. luckily that he found qiqi.

• like paimon, qiqi is aware that he’s using her for his mission. she'll do her best too to change xiao’s mind.

• qiqi is so well behaved. too behaved and reserved. xiao finds it concerning the more he observe her.

• he doesn’t have any problems with her too. she obeyed him.

• still, he have to work with her memorization. she have a bad memory.

• but with her telepathy powers, she passed the entrance exam.

• ahh the moment we’re waiting for. searching for a wife time!

• xiao also doesn’t like the idea of entering someone’s life just to get an information or two.

• but for the sake of peace and unity between countries, he have to do it.

• he got startled with your sudden appearance and blushed. aiyaya, he never seen someone catches his attention. he’s seriously observing you from head to toe, checking if there’s any red flags but nothing. still, there’s something about you that he can’t fully decipher.

• then xiao’s eyes landed on yours. he looks fascinated by it and the way it shines. man.. he didn’t realized that he fell for you at first sight.

• and your reaction mirrored his. you have a fine man staring at you!

• you’re even scared to say anything. his beauty and being under to his cat-like gaze makes you feel shy. “sir… do you need something?”

• xiao realized his position he’s in. his cheeks went red again and trying to mutter up some words.

• “i-..uhh .. just..”, ‘thinking if I could make you my wife…’, “i apologize for my behavior..”

• qiqi who is finished with measuring for her uniform, just watch how their interaction goes. later, she approach xiao and straightly asked him to ask you as his wife.

• “qiqi want’s this mother… qiqi wants father xiao ask her to be qiqi’s mother.”

• damn help this poor man. he’s malfunctioned.

• you’re flustered to have someone wants you to be their mother.. to be THIS handsome man's wife.

• feeling like eternity, you finally spoked. “you,, don’t have a wife..?”

• “uh.. no. my wife died years ago,,”

• and then there we go! both of you become a couple in disguise! little did you know that part of him wants to make it official. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

• you keep it on mind to give some treats for qiqi later as a thank you for being their little matchmaker.

• and! he have a mission on the same day and time of your friend’s party. you really need to have xiao to pretend as your boyfriend on the party to keep an image but he seems pretty late. you go inside first before you get a fever from waiting.

• minutes later, xiao made it to the party at last!

• like aether, he introduced you to the guests as his wife.

• both of you became red but mostly xiao, from telling the different information.

• our boy xiao is also pissed when your friend is trying to embarrass you! he was about to defend you but you girlboss it, catching the tray with your foot.

• is very impressed. can tell that you’re not trained with defense. but convinced himself anyway that you trained defense.

• he takes you home before your friends bad mouthing you in front of him. he really can't stand them.

• while sending you home, there's a car following you guys and it turns out that it was the smugglers who he took care off during his mission.

•he just told you that he doesn't know who they are when you asked.

•realizing that there's no use to get out from this predicament, both of you got out of the car to lure them in the alleyway.

•damn you're simping when he show some move.

•"that was hot.", "huh-"

•let's just say that he did the same when you saved him from the ambush.

•staring at you for a while and drags you again out from the smugglers sight.

•when you requested him to make their marriage as official for mutual benefits, he didn't hesitate to accept it.

•grabbing a grenade and using the pin as the ring (because the ring he got fall off from his pocket-) while the smugglers got blown up behind you both.

•very iconic af.

•and you're so inlove.

•for xiao, he needs time to understand his feelings.

yikes. didn't know that i make it this far. but hey! i got some quite of content! the spy x family got me thinking about genshin boys and us doing mr. and mrs. smith vibes. yes i have fun writing aether's partkdksisksizk

as usual, don't be afraid pointing out my mistakes so that i can fix it!

[soulmate-game]

Harley's Plea for Help ch. 6

Ch1 Ch2 Ch3 Ch4 Ch5 Ch6-- you are here

Yet another night of barely any sleep, but this time Marinette didn’t have the coffee-angel Red Robin at her rescue. No, instead she had to go completely uncaffeinated until she and her class got to Wayne Enterprises. Madame Mendelieve could only sigh as she watched Marinette scamper off to the café as soon as they made it past the initial security of the building. A couple of her classmates chuckled or snorted at her familiar behavior.

It was the same barista at the register as before, but this time Marinette felt too tired to properly order or be adventurous in looking for new flavors.

“I feel like death. I don’t care if it tastes like pure bean oil today. Flavors will take away from the amount of coffee you can shove in one cup, right?”

The poor barista blinked, eyeing the deep bags forming under the poor girl’s eyes. She sighed. “I had hope yesterday that you were just a normal caffeine addict. Now I see we actually have a second Mister Drake,” she said it as if she was mourning at Marinette’s grave before poking a few buttons on her touchscreen order station and turning her head. “One Insomniac CEO, but not for the boss!” She called out. The barista making the drinks paused for a second with wide eyes.

“We have another one?!” He asked, shocked. “Piece of advice?” He turned to Marinette. “Get some sleep.”

“Sleep is for the dead,” Marinette deadpanned back. “I got stuff I need to do today.”

The guy just shook his head and sighed, making the drink as Marinette paid and left a good tip. The drink came out fairly quickly, and everyone behind the counter stopped for a moment to stare as she gulped down the hot drink with no concern for her tongue or throat. A satisfied sound left her as she finally pulled away from the cup.

“This is really good!” She complimented, turning to the Baristas with a still-tired smile. It would take a minute or two for the coffee to have full effect, but she already felt better. “A little too bitter for my usual tastes, but perfect for days like today. Thanks!” She waved at them before turning around and seeing that her class was already gone again. Before she could fully process that though, a hand slapped down onto her head and ruffled her hair.

Surprised (really, not a lot of people could sneak up on her anymore. Just how tired was she?) she let out a high pitched squeal.

“You’re a good kid,” the soft, slightly scratchy voice that said that made Marinette’s shoulders drop and eyes widen. Tilting her head back she was greeted with the widely-grinning face of Jason Todd. He was once again in the uniform of a security guard.

“Wha— Uh,” Marinette couldn’t quite find the right words right away. She was too stunned. Jason just chuckled, jerking his head to indicate the same door her class had gone through the day before and leading the way over there. Marinette scrambled to catch up.

Once they were far away enough from prying eyes and ears, Marinette cleared her throat.

“Um,” she started. “Did… I mean, do you..?”

“Yeah, our mutual friends had a chat with me last night,” he confirmed casually. He sent her a meaningful look even though his grin never left his face. “Like I said; you’re a good kid. And I’m not goin’ anywhere. You’re not responsible for the things your parents have done, you know.”

The girl at his side hummed noncommittally, not fully convinced but also not wanting to argue.

“You’re not,” he repeated firmly, stopping in the middle of the side-hallway. They could see her class at the other end getting checked in, but didn’t make a move to join them yet. “I mean it. The stuff that happened to me, none of that was you. Hell, you were a little kid back then. And there’s nothing you could have done to stop it, either. I’m not gonna hold anything against you just because you’re his child. You didn’t ask to be,” he shrugged. “Besides, I get it. Biological relation doesn’t equal family. Trust me,” his grin was gone and a tired one replaced it. “I know that better than most people.”

The pigtailed girl could only gulp, taking a deep breath as she forced down the tears that wanted to bubble up. She had had this conversation with Adrien a few times, but even then she had been convinced that he just didn’t understand. He was just being nice. But this— Jason’s words were more valuable than gold to her. He had no reason to be nice, so it had to be at least partially sincere.

“Thanks,” she whispered once she was positive she wasn’t going to break. She lifted her cup up and took a long sip of her coffee. The slight burn against her tongue helped ground her. “That means more than you know.”

Jason chuckled. “Nah. The fact that you stood up for me to the Bat,” his grin returned to his face full blast, making dimples appear on his cheeks. “Now that, you have no idea how much that means to me. You must have some serious guts to lecture that guy, too. Is it too late to adopt you for myself?”

That tore a quick laugh out of her, making her classmate’s head whip over to the opposite end of the hallway where she and Jason were. She quickly quieted herself, but her eyes danced with amusement as she looked up at Jason. “You’re too young to be my parent anyway, but I wouldn’t say no to a brother,” she joked. Jason’s eyes sparkled.

“Good, exactly what I was aiming for!” He slipped a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to her. “That’s my number. Call me if you ever need anything, got it?” He turned to resume leading her back to her class and she quickly slipped the paper into her pocket before anyone saw and got the wrong idea. “And I mean anything.”

Marinette just smiled and nodded. By then, they were close enough for Alya to smirk and ask; “What took ya so long, girl?”

“Oh,” Marinette shuffled a little on her feet before an observation gave her a last minute idea and she straightened up with a wide smile. “We just got distracted talking about motorcycles!”

Jason’s eyebrows raised for a quick second before he settled his expression again and played along. He had figured that not many people knew about her biological family. That part made sense. But she had been a total mess just the day before when she had tried to lie about Paris’ little villain problem in front of Bruce. How was she able to actually come up with a good lie this time around, when she had been just as much put on the spot? He wondered to himself about what was different about this situation to allow her to lie more easily. Maybe Bruce not being there was part of it— she seemed easily flustered by famous people.

Think of the devil, because no sooner had that thought finished developing in Jason’s mind before Bruce Wayne walked into the hallway with a paparazzi-ready smile. Jason rolled his eyes and sunk to the back of the group silently, sinking back into his job and keeping an eye on their surroundings. He listened as Alya laughed softly and elbowed Marinette even as the group turned their attention to Bruce.

“You and your bikes,” Alya teased. “If someone knew enough about motorcycles, I bet you’d marry them on the spot.”

“Nah,” Marinette whispered back. “If they gave me a really nice one though? That’s marriage potential for sure.”

The two girls laughed for a second before focusing back on the tour. Adrien wasted no time making his way to Marinette’s side, silent questions in his eyes. Jason watched with interest as the two seemed to silently communicate with one another. It was obvious that Adrien was calling her lie, and Marinette was essentially silently telling him that she would explain later. It was so seamless and subtle that if Jason hadn’t been extremely familiar with that kind of communication already, he wouldn’t have noticed it. Once again his eyebrows rose a tick on his forehead, and he made a mental note of the interaction. That kind of silent conversation wasn’t an easy thing to do with people. It was most commonly seen in married or otherwise long-term couples, childhood friends, family, or hero partners. The childhood friends and family sections were already ruled out from their background check on her and Harley herself had mentioned that even though Marinette had once crushed on Adrien, she had unofficially adopted the boy as her brother since then. Though, their time as close friends was only documented as having lasted about a year. That wasn’t quite enough time for that sort of effortless silent communication to be possible.

Of course, Jason had his suspicions already. But there was no rush, either. The Clown was on the move and more important to focus on for now. He could focus on the puzzle that was Marinette and Adrien later.

Bruce took over the tour as he had the day before, and the class was instantly riveted once again. If the fact that they were being led through the building by the very man who owned it wasn’t awesome enough to get everyone’s full attention, the man’s personality was. He came off a little carefree and very kind, but there was an obvious undercurrent of just how much he loved his company that showed that he did take it and his job seriously. Just, not too seriously either. And he interjected everywhere he could with personal stories and anecdotes and little bits of his family history that the normal tour guides might not have known. It was not long after he announced that he was going to take them to a lower lab set aside specifically for their class’ tour, so that they could do their first interactive activity, that jason found the opportunity to sidle up next to Marinette on the opposite side from where Adrien walked alongside her.

“So,” he said casually. “How’d you know I ride a motorcycle?” he smirked to show he wasn’t upset as he looked down at her curiously. Marinette blinked, taking her attention away from Bruce to look over at Jason. Once his words registered, she smiled widely and pointed to one of his pockets. The corners of his bike gloves flopped over the edge.

“I noticed those. I figured you’d have a negative reaction that might give us away if my lie was too off the mark, and I do have a habit of saying stupid things if I don’t have a clue or something to play off of. I also had to make it believable for the class, and they all know that my Nonna has played a huge part in my love for motorcycles. I plan on getting a license to drive one when I turn sixteen later this year,” she told him softly. “I tend to gush whenever I see a cool bike, so I knew they wouldn’t question it.”

Jason huffed a little bit of laughter under his breath. It was like the trope of a character looking at random items in the room to come up with a fake name, but somehow it had actually worked for her. She was quick-witted and clever, he had to admit. And observant.

“I was running late, so I must have left them in my pocket when I was changing,” he admitted, unbothered. “Ah, here we are,” he nodded to return the two teen’s (he had noticed Adrien paying close attention as he and Marinette had their conversation) attention back to the tour. Bruce opened the door for the class with a flourish, gesturing for everyone to go in.

“Since these first few days are going to be tours and lessons about working in general, your first activity of your trip is to solve various problems we’ve given you based on real situations that WE employees have been in before. Split up into groups, and choose a table. Each table has a different problem covering a different industry. Reporting, Science— specifically research and development, business management, and entertainment…”

—*—*—*—*—*

“It’s straight,” Adrien assured her, trying to keep himself from laughing as Marinette straightened his tie for the millionth time. “I promise. And you look fantastic.”

Marinette stepped back, nodding at Adrien’s appearance in approval. “I know. We both look great, but…” she fidgeted and then stepped forward to go right back to over-straightening his tie. Adrien snorted, grabbing her hands before she could touch the poor thing again and lowering her arms to her sides.

“Calm down. Like you said, we both look great. You don’t have a single hair out of place, the outfits you made us look amazing, and my tie is at a perfect ninety degree angle to my collar. Take the model’s word for it,” he teased with a lopsided grin. “We look ready for the front cover of a magazine. So just take a deep breath, because we should get down to the lobby soon to wait for the ride he’s sending for us.”

“Right,” Marinette nodded. She followed his advice and took a deep breath. Once she was suitably calmed, she opened her eyes and nodded at him. Adrien smiled and held out his arm, making Marinette snort as she took hold of it gently and let him lead her to the elevator.

Bruce had not specified whether the dinner was going to be casual or formal, but with the fact that his kids were going to be present and it was at his own house, Marinette had a feeling it was going to be more of a casual thing than if they had went out to a fancy restaurant with a black tie dress code. At the same time, this was the Wayne manor they were talking about. She didn’t want to be underdressed, either. Not to mention that it was her design skills that had played a huge part in her winning the contest in the first place, so she felt like she had to show her work again to prove that they had chosen the right person.

A playful wolf whistle greeted the two of them when they got down to the lobby. Alya was, to no one’s surprise, the perpetrator. She stood in the lobby with Alix, Nino, and Max, who all had known about the dinner and agreed to be there to see the two of them off and put Marinette’s worries to rest. The four of them jogged over, Alix smiling and adding her own soft whistle of appreciation.

“You guys look great,” the short skater assured them, taking the time to skate slow circles around them to make sure that nothing was wrong with their outfits. “I think you’ve outdone yourself, Mari! Very cool.”

Alya nodded eagerly, bouncing in place with a wide, beaming smile on her face. “Ah! The both of you look ready to kick ass and woo rich people!” she added. Max pushed his glasses up on his nose with a small grin.

“There is a ninety-five percent chance of your work impressing all of the Waynes,” he said in his own version of encouragement.

“You guys got this!” Nino shot them a thumbs up. “They beat me to all the stuff I wanted to say.”

Marinette beamed, laughing along with her friends as she allowed herself to relax a little. Adrien’s outfit was of her own making, a subtle way for him to rebel since his father had sent him with his own Gabriel brand suit should an appropriate opportunity to wear it come up. Adrien had no plans of ever putting his father’s suit on his body. In an effort to spice up formal men’s wear a bit without making the whole thing white and silver like Gabriel wanted, Marinette had made him a classic silk shirt in black, with short sleeves that fell at that perfect halfway point between his elbow and shoulder. The sleeves had thick cuffs in a dark forest green, with decorative straight stitches on the seams in a bright magenta pink thread. On top of that was a corset-style sleeveless vest with a deep V. The majority of the vest was the same black as the shirt, but with dark green hand-stitched swirls that were just barely bright enough to be contrasted against the black. It created a very subtle pattern that would be hard to see in the wrong lighting, but would make it look that much more expensive and elaborate in the right lighting. The lapel of the vest was in the same dark forest green as the cuffs of his shirt, with a few decorative swirls embroidered on the very corners. The piping of the corset-vest made three curved lines on either side of his waist, curling from mid-rib cage to his waist. It gave him a slightly more feminine twist to his outfit, making his waist look smaller even though it wasn’t actually pulled very tight on him— it was mostly the illusion made by the piping rather than the actual tightness of the garment. The two outside piping lines were done in a magenta pink, while the middle piping line was once again in dark forest green. Unlike most corset-style vests, this one had no buttons or zipper on the front at all. Instead, it was closed only by corset lacing in the back, the laces done in such a dark shade of green that it was almost black, while the eyelets that the laces were threaded through were that same magenta pink as the piping and decorative stitches elsewhere on the outfit. The tie that Marinette had spent so long making sure was straight was almost entirely soft lace, but it was layered in such a way with layers of sheer green and pink lace that it looked like it was a constant swirl of the two colors. If someone got close enough to see the pattern of the lace tie, they would notice that it was a pattern of cats chasing a butterfly.

Underneath the artistic top of the outfit were black dress pants, once again with thick forest-green cuffs on the bottoms. But instead of the decorative stitching, the pant legs flared a bit at the ankles for just a little extra drama. Magenta-pink Oxfords peeked out of the wide cuffs. The green detailing made Adrien’s eyes pop, while the pink accents gave his boyish charm a little more of a feminine touch that almost seemed to highlight his naturally sensitive and charming nature.

In contrast, Marinette wore a sleeveless pink pantsuit. It was the same shade as the pink accents in Adrien’s outfit, and had a built-in corset as well that went only around her natural waist. The corset boning on Marinette was a solid black, while the rest was just the same base pink as the majority of the suit. The black of the boning seemed to flow downwards, changing from boning into thick hand-embroidery in thread of the exact same black. The embroidery flowed down the sides of both legs, in the shape of tree branches and apple blossoms. Pale green accents in the form of swirls at her high neckline and a pale green lace capelet that was the only thing covering her shoulders helped tie her outfit in with Adrien’s. She also wore pale green low kitten heels and her black hair up in a braided bun. With how her pant legs were form-hugging until they flared out slightly at the heel, and the lack of sleeves exposed her toned arms and shoulders and emphasized her strength there without making her look unbalanced or too masculine for the rest of the outfit’s style, she looked ready to rock the business world. Her bright blue eyes clashed with the green details of the outfit just enough to bring attention to them, assuring that people who met her eyes would not be able to easily look away.

The quick snap of a phone’s flash went off, drawing everyone’s attention to Madame Bustier. She was beaming at all of them, and had just taken a picture of her two students all dressed up. She waved her phone happily. “I’m sending this picture to the both of you. I’m so proud of you guys!” she gushed.

Marinette and Adrien both blushed deep red, shifting in their spots. They were confident in their looks, and Adrien was just as proud of his pseudo-sister, but neither of them was very good at handling so much positive attention aimed only at them. Especially not from their extremely sincere friends and teacher.

“Miss Dupain-Cheng?” An older gentleman with a British accent turned everyone’s attention to him. The first thing Marinette thought was that he had kind eyes. He also had soft wisps of white hair on his head, carefully trimmed and slicked back. Of course, Marinette and Adrien also couldn’t miss the high quality and perfect press of his carefully maintained suit. Once he had shown all the proper credentials to Madame Bustier, he introduced himself to the two well-dressed teens with a shallow bow. “I am Alfred Pennyworth, the butler for Wayne Manor. I am to escort the both of you there for supper tonight.”

“Oh! Thank you so much, Monsieur Pennyworth,” Marinette said, walking up and shaking his hand. Adrien was right by her side the whole time, matching her smile watt for watt and shaking Alfred’s hand with just as much enthusiasm.

“Yeah, thank you for having us over. I know it was technically Bruce who invited Marinette, but you’re probably the one that has to do all the work. So, thank you. We really appreciate it,” he told the man sincerely. Alfred’s answering smile was soft, almost fond.

“Yes, I admit I am in charge of most of the work for tonight. But you shouldn’t worry, it’s no different from any other day at the manor,” he said lightheartedly, a little bit of good natured snark shining through his otherwise proper behavior— “Every last one of the Waynes would die in less than a week without me to keep everything in order,” he joked. “Allow me to lead you to the car.”

Marinette and Adrien followed behind Alfred. She didn’t know if it was the calming aura he put off, or if it was the gentle way his eyes sparkled that made her want to look after him. But whatever it was, she found herself wanting to protect this kind old man already. Which is why her eyebrows slightly pinched together. Before climbing inside the luxurious town car he had brought for them, she couldn’t help but turn to Alfred and ask;

“I hope you aren’t overworked. I don’t want to overstep, Monsieur, but isn’t the Wayne family rather large for one person to look after on their own?”

Alfred laughed gently at that, his eyes once again softening. “Do not worry about me, Miss Dupain-Cheng. They are family to me. And though, yes, you are correct in assuming they are a handful, they are also wonderful people. They help me where they can, but taking care of themselves is not their forte. Being able to do that for them is my greatest joy.”

The wrinkles in Marinette’s brow smoothed out and she smiled. “That’s so sweet. You’re making me want to meet them all even more.”

Something about that twinkle in Alfred’s eye made her feel like he was laughing at some joke she didn’t hear. “I’m sure all of you will get along swimmingly.”

—*—*—*—*—*

“I FOUND HER FIRST!”

Alfred had barely opened the manor’s doors to let Marinette and Adrien inside before the chaos started. Or rather, before they were let in on it— it seemed as if the chaos had already been going on for a while.

Jason skidded across the floor in a mad dash, having to grasp the doorframe he was running out of so that he could turn the corner sharply and veer towards them.

“Tell them, Marinette! I found you first, you’re my sister now, don’t fall for any of their Jedi mind tricks!”

Marinette just blinked, a little caught off guard. It hadn’t exactly sunk into her head until right that moment that ‘Wayne Family dinner’ would include Jason. Her mind was still catching up to the fact that she was seeing him out of his security guard uniform for the first time. He wasn’t dressed up at all, in a well-loved brown leather jacket over a white shirt and dark wash jeans. He still had his motorcycle gloves on. Marinette looked down at first herself, then Adrien.

“Are we overdressed?” She asked with a grimace. Jason huffed.

“Of course not, you guys look amazing! But seriously, tell them that I claimed you as my sister first and none of them are half as cool as me.”

Marinette and Adrien traded glances before laughing together.

“If we’re being technical here,” Adrien drawled mischievously as he straightened out his vest. “I met Marinette first, and she adopted me as her brother long before we met any of you,” he pointed out with a sharp grin.

“Ha!” a younger man laughed pointedly, following after Jason. The newcomer was dressed more formally, in a dress shirt under a very luxurious looking burgundy designer sweater. Under that, he wore black perfectly-pressed slacks and nondescript oxfords. His collar showed signs of housing a tie earlier, but he had clearly taken it off sometime earlier. His hair hung slightly long, framing his face with two long locks while the back of his hair slightly stuck up in all directions in natural tufted curls. Like Jason, his hair was jet black and he had bright blue eyes. He was also about half Jason’s size, much shorter and leaner than his adoptive brother. “He’s got you there, idiot,” he snarked smugly at Jason before turning to the two guests. “Miss Dupain-Cheng, Mister Agreste. I’m Tim Drake-Wayne, it’s nice to finally meet both of you,” he introduced himself as he walked over to shake their hands. “And your outfits are amazing! Did you make them, Miss Dupain-Cheng?”

“Marinette,” she corrected with a lopsided grin. “My last name is a mouthful, and I prefer to just go by Marinette anyway. And yes, I made both of these outfits before we left Paris,” she admitted, trying her best to seem professional. She had already ruined her chances of that with Bruce and Jason, but this time she was prepared!

“They are just as impressive as the rest of your work that I’ve seen. And call me Tim, it’s only fair,” and then he smiled.

Damn his boyish grin. He wasn’t someone Marinette had a crush on— he wasn’t her type— but damn he was unfairly charismatic and charming. His smile temporarily short circuited her brain. That was exactly the kind of boyish smile that had started her crush on Adrien, and that she was unfairly weak for. Now she felt a deep-seated urge to protect this boy and his smile or so help her, someone would be sent to the ER if he was hurt and it wasn’t gonna be her. And she didn’t try to dissuade herself from that strong protective urge, her mother had already assured her that all the Waynes were trustworthy and that Tim in particular shared a lot of her bad habits. She could allow this little bit of vulnerability. Hopefully.

“... I’ve only known you for two minutes, but if anything happened to you I would kill everyone in this room and then myself,” she breathed. Adrien elbowed her hard, making her yelp.

“You said that out loud Mari,” he deadpanned. A deep flush immediately came over her face, and she covered her mouth with both hands.

“Oh shit. I’m so sorry— but you— just forget I said anything. Please!”

Tim was visibly shocked, his eyes wide and mouth agape. Jason snorted, overcoming his own brief moment of shock pretty easily.

“Careful there,” Jason chided good-heartedly. His gaze met Marinette’s with a slight weight in it though. “You barely know the guy. He’ll annoy you out of your mind soon enough.”

Marinette caught the hint, wincing and changing the subject. Jason could see that she had done exactly as her mother had warned— she had gotten attached to Tim almost immediately. And while he wanted to believe Marinette when she said that the same wouldn’t happen with Joker, that she was not going to repeat her mother’s mistakes…

He couldn’t help but worry. Joker was a slippery bastard, and good at getting past people’s defenses.

Tim eventually led them all to the dining room, where several people were already sat waiting for them.

“We decided it would be best if we didn’t all swarm you at the door,” Tim explained, grinning at her kindly. “Take a seat wherever you want, Alfred is probably going to be done with dinner soon.”

Marinette and Adrien both nodded, going to sit by each other’s side. Adrien put his hand on her knee when they sat down, and traded a meaningful look with her.

“Calm down,” he whispered. “We’re not in Paris. And if you slip, I’ll catch you. Promise.”

Marinette’s shoulders relaxed a little. Yeah, she could trust Adrien to make sure she didn’t slip up too much. Get too careless. He’d watch her back like she did for him. She’d be okay. They’d both be okay.

“Thanks, Adrien. I needed that.”

—*—*—*—*—*

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