#we've been doing this with cookie for like a year now though and this only just now started????

[korattata]

.....i may have accidentally trained Stella to not eat her food unless i say its okay

Even if i'm not home

Oops.

[aakeysmash]

maybes and sunscreen

college!sukuna masterlist

after almost a year of living together, you and college!sukuna are so accustomed to one another that you naturally slip up in the other’s conversations. maybe it's because you're both homebodies, or maybe it's because you've reached the silent agreement to keep the activities you do with yuuji hidden to preserve his innocent childhood (you learned that rumors run a long way inside your campus), or maybe it's because you started to ask sukuna less private questions, since he now seems to want to answer them even before you formulate them.

either way, the two of you always mention the other in conversations, and you don't even seem to notice, but your friends do.

"how about your house, man?" suguru asks sukuna from across the table, sipping his soda. they're sitting outside with satoru for lunch break, slouching on white plastic chairs, waiting for practice to start in less than ten minutes. days are getting longer the more summer break gets nearer, and the breeze flowing through the newly green leaves of the trees is a nice change from the humid stench of the locker rooms.

"dunno. the woman of the house is gonna bake cookies today," he shrugs, scrolling through his phone. he finds himself on a blurry zoomed in photo of a kitten covered in milk, and he smirks, hitting send after having selected your contact. you're going to love it.

"and?" geto asks, confused.

"and i don't know if she wants me to help her or not," sukuna continues, not bothering to look up from his screen, acting like he's not going to pester you until you let him help. and steal some of your cookie batter, too.

"it's the finale, bro, we've been talking about it since december. are you really not going to watch it for some cookies?" his raven haired friend exclaims, baffled. satoru only lowers his glasses on his nose, crossing his arms on his chest.

"oh, i'm going to watch it. got her hooked up on it too," the pink haired man says, a certain tilt to his voice matching the tilt of his head, as if he's saying are you crazy? i'm not missing it. "i don't know if she'd want you there, though."

geto rolls his eyes and satoru snickers, shaking his head. "we just want to watch the game on your tv. are you afraid she's going to feel uncomfortable with us there, my lord captain?" he mocks, sighing. lazily, sukuna glances his way.

"it's not her i'm worried about," he says, raising one of his eyebrows, maroon eyes squinting on a spot behind his friend's back.

"what does that even mean?" mutters geto, even more confused. it’s not like they’ve never seen you or have never been inside your house when you were there, so what’s different this time?

suddenly, sukuna grins like a madman, uncrossing his legs from on top of the table and standing up with his helmet under his arm.

“where are you goi-“ his dark haired friend starts, but satoru puts one of his hands on the other’s shoulder, effectively stopping him, whispering just wait.

sukuna takes a couple of steps, getting out of the gentle shadows of the trees above the table, still grinning.

“hi, baby. did you miss me so much you had to come to see me at practice?” he asks your nearing figure. you’re wearing a dress, the breeze soothingly flowing through your hair, and he takes a second to admire how graceful you look in the middle of the green garden. are the flowers you picked with yuuji the other day still fresh? maybe he should get more. maybe you’d like that. maybe you’d smile. maybe you'd thank him.

“i’m here because i knew you were never going to bring sunscreen with you, dickhead,” you huff, blowing your hair out of your vision, frowning. his grin only grows before he forces it away. typical.

“i don’t need that shit,” he rolls his eyes, turning on his heels and going towards the stadium. he knows you’re going to follow him. and you do.

“put it on! i’m not joking, sukuna,” you whine, trying to fall in step with him. “it’s going to be so good for your skin, come on.”

“it’s sticky and i don’t like feeling like a pussy,” he growls, going faster toward the benches inside the stadium and plopping down on them.

“you like pussy, though,” you shrug, forcing yourself between his parted legs, rummaging through your bag.

“i like you too, baby, but that doesn’t mean you’ll let me stick it in your pussy, does it,” he asks you smugly. you punch him on the shoulder, bewildered.

“you’re so disgusting,” you scoff, opening the little spf tube you brought in your purse just for him. "and don't tell me you like me when you never listen to me in the first place," you playfully add, caressing his face to smooth it out, and he lets you get his unruly hair off of his forehead. maybe he likes how you don't take the things he says to heart. maybe he just says them because he knows he's getting a snarky comment back.

“you didn’t say no, though,” he chuckles, closing his eyes and letting himself bask in your presence. your touch on his features is relaxing. he honestly thinks he could fall asleep if you were in any other setting.

“i’m letting you talk just because i’m in a male dominated field and even if i don’t agree i don’t want to die,” you deadpan. you smear the white cream on his nose, on top of the horizontal tattoo, and massage it into his skin. then you do the same thing with his other markings, making sure they’re protected enough to shimmer in the blazing hot sun.

“i wouldn’t let you die on me anyway,” he mutters. he gets both of his hands on your exposed thighs, keeping you closer, softly rubbing his thumbs in your muscles. "are you fucking finished? i hate this," he bites, frowning. you hum, lazily smiling down at him, rubbing his frown away with your fingertips.

"you're going to be the prettiest girl on the field," you coo. you can feel his mean glare from beneath his eyelids, and you almost shiver. "you're so going to thank me in a couple of years," you add, resting your palms on his cheeks and turning his head up. he opens his eyes slowly, staring into yours intently. his thumb catches on the fluttering hem of you dress while he draws little circles on your legs. he hears his coach screaming for his team to start running, but in this moment, he doesn't care that much. maybe the heat is getting to his head. maybe the soft smile you're looking at him with is making him a little bit weak in the knees.

"wanna make cookies today? we can watch the match together, perhaps ask the brat if he wants to join too," he says, rough voice kept low, almost as if this was a you and him kind of thing. maybe he already planned to ask you to do something with him when he was talking to his friends just a couple of minutes ago. maybe he lied, telling them you were the one who chose to do something, when it's not true. maybe the way satoru is patting suguru on the back with an "i told you so" look on his face isn't casual. maybe the one he was worried about all along was himself.

"wouldn't you prefer to watch it with your friends?" you ask him, tilting your head, positioning your thumbs on the fake tattoos on his cheekbones. almost as if you could cover their pupils and make him see less.

"wouldn't you prefer to watch it with me?" he genuinely responds, a somber look on his features. you think it's the first time he doesn't have a mocking grin on his lips. you ruffle the pink hair just above his left ear.

"maybe."

[mookymilksims]

ULTIMATE Realistic Family Gameplay Guide

Hello, everyone. I ran a poll on my channel for you all to decide on which realism guide you'd like to see next and Family Gameplay won. While I'm aware there are hundreds of family gameplay guides out there, and you'll probably have most of these mods already installed, what I think I can offer different are fixes to the EA code, and expansions on gameplay mechanics already included in the game, as well as a masterlist that has been extensively playtested for the last 6-7 years (still testing the newer mods though!). These mods have been run through Delphy's Dashboard, and have even caught conflicts and corrected that Delphy's couldn't catch.

We will break this guide down in simpler sections.

Children can series.

XML's, Tweaks, Tunings (Non-scripts). Special section for fixes.

Scripts and scripted objects.

This guide is also aimed at overall family play. I do not just think of new interactions for babies, toddlers, children, and teens. I also consider the parents. I've included mods for parents in different roleplay scenarios, as well as, single adults looking to create a family, so we will focus on some mods that can promote the family before the family is made.

I will also included a personal recommended list of lots you'd want to include in any world you play in for an ultimate family play experience.

Now that that's out of the way:

This can be followed alongside the youtube guide, we've got a lot of mods to get through so let's jump straight into it.

Children Can Series:

We will start with the most intricate install process. There are many children can mods. And many mods that conflict with each other. I caught all of them through Delphy's Dashboard, so you will only install the mods highlighted in this guide for the most optimal and conflict free experience. These mods are self explanatory but I'm going to explain why you want them at the end of this section.

CamKitty - Children can werewolf hunt.

kls77 - children can repair, tinker, and upgrade.

kls77 - children can time travel.

Bluegentsu - Children can use fortune cookie maker

Jonha - Children can use urinals.

Kap Children can series:

ONLY DOWNLOAD THESE MODS FOR COMPATIBILITY

can call services can check skills can cut and trans gems and ingots can do laundry can get mail can make nectar can read skillbook music can use sketchbook

OEM Children can series:

ONLY DOWNLOAD THESE MODS FOR COMPATIBILITY

can air guitar can chess can conjure apple no auto can feed cowplant (only if you have store cow plant) can hack can magic mirror can mermaid eat can microwave can neat trait clean house can photos-phonesmart can post forum can practice speech mirror can practice speech vanity dresser can solve hard problems

All of these mods enable features already in the game that children were unable to do. Each of these small mods brings back playability with children in very big ways. This also makes children much more independent so you won't always need an adult or teen around to take care of them. For example, children can now order pizza on the phone, or microwave food, instead of needing adults to always cook for them. You can roleplay more chores with children by allowing them to do laundry, this can also be roleplayed in a scenario where a parent isn't very consistent and the child has to be. This could create amazing stories for your gameplay. Without these mods, playing with children feels so much more restrictive. They feel like cute dolls you just send to school and forget about for a couple of hours. Allowing them more agency and free will for my gameplay allowed me to immerse myself more in their child years.

We are now going to focus on XML's, tweaks, and Tunings. These are all non scripts. This is also where I will include fixes. These are very lightweight mods that change what is already in the game and do not create gameplay lag.

Adoption Costs 5 k - I made adoption more expansive because I wanted to be able to feel this decision in game. Adoption isn't neccassarily free in real life. Between the paperwork, meetings, travel, and transitioning the children into your life this can obviously be very expensive. So this mod helps me roleplay this aspect of real life.

Arcade claw machine tweaks - Family fun center version. Arcades are extremely important for my family playthrough's, as it's one of the lots where I can put plenty of interactive objects for all ages. Including a little playpen for toddlers, that won't be out of place. This can also double as a traditional birthday party lot, with closed off rooms. From time to time I like to bring my families to these lots when I want them all to get out of the house together. So with this mod, it tweaks the prizes you can win from the claw machines, increasing your chances of winning a ton more stuff.

BlueGentsu

5% chance of teen mood swings - Makes the mood swings feel a lot more impactful when they happen instead of every other day. This is especially helpful for those who play on longer lifespans.

Skates - all enabled for pregnancy - does just as it says, pregnant sims should be allowed to have a little more fun.

No blowhorns noisemakers at Age ups - It's just annoying and buggy, so removing it altogether optimizes age transitions. This also makes the event seem a bit more realistic, while everyone just cheers and laughs instead.

Toddler's can turn off stereo - Combined with my NRAAS GoHere settings, which allows for inactive daycares to be possible, sometimes when a daycare staff puts your sims down to sleep, they won't turn off the stereo so you as the toddler will have to autonomously do it so they can peacefully take their nap.

Boarding school is expensive - Again, this is so the decision feels a lot more impactful in game. This can also be roleplayed as sending your child to private school when in a wealthy family, so the prices also make more sense for this.

Maid Costs 200 - As the title says maids will be slightly more expensive, this adds up everyday, and is for the purpose of this decision feeling more impactful. It didn't make sense for my poorer families to be able to afford a maid so this is a mod catered more towards upper middle class to wealthy families. I also combine maids with a butler as well, to give a more regal feel to the wealth your sims have obtained.

No Graduation - This is optional, if you use UC mod. This eliminates the graduation ceremony altogether, for those like myself who like to roleplay this event in game instead. By simply throwing a party on a fancy lot with formal attire.

Not just teens can prank call - Just made more sense to have this option available for everyone.

Student Services Booth mod unlocked - This can be used on High school lots as well. Especially when you turn on Summer Vacations, and send kids back to school the first day of Fall. Also, for roleplay Uni scouting events, so sim families can have a more immersive experience of browsing possible universities sims can be sent to.

More Festival Ticket Rewards - BG, SN, UNI version. Just like the claw machine this adds more rewards to win on festival lots. Makes working for the tickets more impactful.

No Auto tell ghost stories - This interaction has always annoyed me as it happens anywhere at any time. I like to plan activities almost like an itinerary when sending my sims to do longer events like vacations or simple camping trips in their homeworld. So specifically for camping, telling a ghost story with the family is a very fun activity to do at night before everyone goes to sleep around a campfire. It is where this interaction makes the most sense for me to use and leaves me excited to actually use it.

Studying is easier - I always thought the study rates of performance were super unbalanced. As I don't have sims study often when in Unni unless it makes sense for their character. And so this leaves an incentive to actually study during their free time outside of class as it brings more of a reward when it is done. However, the default rates of studying was too slow and easily took up all of my sims days. So I wanted to be able to study and be rewarded for that, while also having more time in my sims days to do things. So now I can study less often, throughout the week without the stress. I am including this in the family gameplay guide because your teens can actually study together in your homeworld which doesn't do anything for their school performance but does a lot of roleplaying study groups, since I have a homework mod that only takes 15 minutes to complete.

TwoFT Mama -

Auto Potty Training - does just as it says, this mostly helps townies, but for active households to do this on their own leaves you as the player feeling more immersed.

Better grades - Lowers the grade requirements making school a little easier. This is so while playing with UC it leaves teens and children more time to interact with each other outside of working on interactive objects.

Faster homework minutes - Reduces homework times to 15 minutes, saves up much more time in my child and teen sims days.

Fixes:

This is a smaller section for the non scripts, where I consider these mods to be complete fixes to existing EA gameplay that all the patch updates missed.

Auto Romance YA-Elder Propose going steady - This is a lightweight alternative to the NPC Romance script mod by YolkSims. While the mod was completely rebuilt from the ground up to be much more optimized, I went on a journey to find replacements to my current scripts folder that delivered what I was looking for. I found this mod. While this can go all the way up into Getting divorced. I stopped at going steady because with the Supreme AI mod sims can autonomously break up if they aren't on the best terms. This may also include divorcing, but so far it hasn't been too intrusive. Combined with the simler90 mod which includes attraction fixes, this makes romance a lot more fluid, performance friendly, autonomous, chaotic, but also predictable, aids in roleplaying, and is overall a great fix for townies and creating families with active households.

Read to sleep fix - A patch broke this interaction, so Danjaley fixes it. Without realizing it, you have another immersive gameplay mechanic for toddlers in the game. This interaction is very cute and I wouldn't believe it wasn't a mod, so I'm very happy this interaction was fixed.

Midlife Crisis Always - Adult life stages can be quite boring and monotonous. I play lifespans so long that when this event happens it's like a milestone for me. I think of it as a mini game, and try to fix everything that happens afterwards once my sim comes to their senses.

MissPat Better Playdates - Just as you may have saw in my Supreme AI playtest video, Townies will autonomously call and ask for playdates if both families have children and younger in their household. This was an EA feature, but it also got broken. This makes interacting with other families more immersive, and making children and toddlers friends much more realistic and natural in the game. For those who like to roleplay life long best friends in the game, especially.

TwoFtMama

Birthday Cakes don't catch fire - These fires are annoying and I use other mods that can cause chaotic fires randomly but REASONABLY in game.

No Curfew period - This is the only curfew remover mod that doesn't break changing clothes and dresser interactions in my game. I always thought the curfew mechanic in the game was a bit too much. Police officers wouldn't know where every single child or teen was at in the world. And sometimes, I like to take my teen and child sims out late for family events, teens on late dates, etc. With curfews enabled, police would still arrest them and bring them home, even though the parents were with them, then would have to wait for the parent to get all the way back home just to yell at them for being out late. This obviously made no sense. Combined with a punishment scripts mod, I can user direct punishments for things like this instead for a much more roleplaying and immersive experience.

Teens can take unpaid days off - This mod also made more sense and should've been included in EA features. Teens call off from work, and quite often might I add. So it helps me roleplay a more realistic teen lifestyle in game.

Now for the Final section we are going to focus on Scripts. Scripts typically do not conflict with each other but for this list some of them did. The compatibility patches and versions have been included so you don't have to worry. This is where most of you will probably already have these mods, but hopefully I introduce you to some bangers you never heard of before.

We are going to go by creator and then from A-Z for the misc scripts.

Arsil

Do Homework With - Adds the ability to do your homework with other sims the same age as your children and teens. This can make study groups more immersive, as getting homework done together will actually improve school performance the next day, but can be doubled with the UNI study together interaction the roleplay a longer study session period. These can be done in the home or the Library, which allows me to get more usage out of my Library lots and make a Kid/Teen section which is always fun.

Toddler Extra Activities - Adds a bunch of cute new interactions that toddlers can do like playing in puddles, mud, sand, eating snow, dancing, and even drawing on the walls if they have crayons in their inventory.

Arsil Futons - This is for more eastern themed family plays, but you can alternatively use these if you have a poor sim in the big city who can't even afford a bed. I typically transmogrify deco beds on the floor into this script object in game, you get a lot of creative and really fun gameplay out of this. But I wanted to toss this in here for my eastern simmers, if you don't already know about this, or you'd like to play an Asian household and make your gameplay a little more realistic. I'm definitely excited to rebuild my Korean themed Uni world I had before with these beds!

Arsil Napping Mats - These work exactly like the futons except for toddlers. It's honestly so cute. Outside of the crib and Olomaya's toddler beds, this is just another super cute way for Toddler's to fall asleep. The crib always seemed way too overbearing, and for those who roleplay toddlers aging but not yet into children, these other various options would serve you a lot better. Now for these mats specifically, I typically like using them in my inactive Daycare lots, but from time to time I'll use them in my active household's living rooms or play room, just in case I don't always feel like bringing the Toddler to another floor to fall asleep.

Arsil Low Dinner Table - Another really awesome mod for those who want to be able to roleplay better with eastern households. I always have so much fun with these tables and chairs, I've even converted some myself. One of my favorite general things to do is set the chair up in front of a TV and direct my sims to play video games. So they will be sitting on the floor and playing video games and it always looks super cute, so much nostalgia!

Arsil Limbo Mod - For the same reason I removed the autonomous ghost telling interaction, is why I use this limbo mod. Another activity for sims to do at various different parties. It's one of my favorite little events to host during a birthday party. It's seriously so cute!

FloTheory

Pay For This - Adds a mechanic where every time you change your baby and toddler diapers and give them a bottle of milk you will be charged 5 simoleons. It's such an awesome addition because when you think about it, diapers and milk should add up in real life. However, combined with the other mods in this guide, if you change their diapers and give them a bath using the store object, or give them a bath using The Sweet Simmer's mod, you won't pay for anything then. Which makes sense, sometimes you can roleplay already having diapers in supply. As well as Olomaya's toddler snacks and meals, you would shop for groceries and make the toddler whatever you have available in your fridge, but actually feeding the child those meals won't cost 5 simoleans because you already paid for the ingredients. So this interaction fixes the lack of realism with EA's diaper and bottle interaction. I find myself using all 3 mods at random, and it's always so fun.

Wedding Inactives - Adds the ability to have two sims in a relationship that your sims are friends with, to get engaged, and you can set their wedding party as well. This can give romantic stories with townies more user control. Since we are using tuning mods to make romance more autonomous, and stopped at going steady, eventually SP will push those sims to get married, but you can not only speed things up whenever you'd like, but you can also attend their wedding in the same way they attended yours! This gives the user another way to experience going to a party instead of hosting one like LN introduced. Idk about you guys but I love also feeling like a townie/NPC sometimes, it immerses me much further into my gameplay!

Weight Gain - Adds a random percentage of weight gain for pregnant sims during and after they give birth. Women's bodies are absolutley beautiful especially after giving birth, I always hear about those mommy curves that finally come in for so many women, while you can choose to go to the gym and work this mommy weight off, I imagine myself keeping it probably for most of my playthrough's. It's just always made sense that this should happen, our bodies can change forever after giving birth and so I'd like to roleplay that kind of wholesome realism in game, too.

GameFreak

Advice interaction - Adds a new social interaction with custom moodlets when you can ask for and give advice. There are several different kinds of advice you can give, with many random prompts, and a reasonably timed moodlet that you'll get after the interaction. While this can be applied to general gameplay mods, I'm including this in the family gameplay because there are just way too many roleplay oppurtunities you can have with this one. Siblings or parents giving romantic, career, etc advice. Friends, lovers, maybe a lover asking for romantic advice on how to sweep your sim off their feet? It adds a lot more roleplaying elements that can really help you the player put a story together. I've always had a gameplay style where I generally know what I'd like to happen but I go with the gameplay and can change the plot at will, so the gameplay has to reflect many more possibilities.

Smartphone Dating - Is a smaller mod that just adds the dating app from the computer onto your phone. I personally love to roleplay like this is Tinder for my sims. I always felt the dating app should also be available on sims phones like in real life, and it gives us some things to do when out and about or bored at home!

JunJay

Everyone Clip coupons - This, again, should've been available in the game already, it can be quite fun to shop smarter, even if you aren't poor per say but money is getting kind of tight. I know large families that do pretty well still love using coupons so I've included this mod.

Online Center - Adds a brand new scripting interaction to the PC which makes so much more sense. You can shop online for groceries, books, pets, relics, bots, consignment, potions, etc. You can check weekly events, which means you can disable the newspaper and still get those benefits. Read E-sim news. And probably my favorite, there is a new Simbook (Facebook) feature! Your sim will basically scan their timeline and comment on other townies simbook's, and you'll actually get slight relationship increases with random sims you already know, and you can even meet sims you haven't met already through this feature as well.

Study Skills Online - Adds another interaction to the online center where you can study any and all skills. Instead of having to go out and buy the things you can study them for free right from your pc at home. I typically use this interaction for my teen sims to improve their basic school skills as an extra layer of work for them to do for school. Outside of studying, creating books titled their class projects and etc.

Lizcandor

Potty Training - Adds a new interaction for toddlers to play in the toilet and use it instead of always using their potty training potty.

Independence GoHere Compatible - Adds the ability for toddler's to use stairs! Always exciting! But you'll have to keep an eye on those little rascals a bit more, which is always more realistic!

Mintbeehry

Mint Makeup - Adds a new interaction for children and toddler's to play with makeup. And some very silly makeup masks that will go over the kid's face when done. I used to play with my mom's makeup all the time so it brings back memories for me, I think it's a super cute interaction for you to experience with your sims families!

Fidget Spinner - Adds an interactive fidget spinner object that can go into your sims inventory and taken out and be played with for a couple seconds. I think these are super cute for kids to win at festivals and arcade lots so I included it as it can be combined with savvier seller mod to actually shop for it on these lots.

MonocoDoll

Remove Shoes - Another really great eastern culture gameplay mechanic or just for your more cleanly families with a mud room. Either way, you'll have plenty of fun with this mod installed for realism.

Government assistance - Adds just what it states for your sims. EBT, health insurance, Child support. It's super realistic and adds so much more depth and mechanic to your gameplay. You'll actually be able to roleplay your poor families without having to get creative. Make a side chick a baby mama to a wealthy sim who cheated on his wife, etc. Tell some crazy stories, this mod will certainly help you with all of those scenarios.

Olomaya

Hang out, Children and teens - Adds an interaction where children and teens sims will sit down on the ground and talk, laugh, etc. It increases their relationships, and can be quite a large group. I used to have the all ages version, but I think seeing teens and kids sit on the floor faired out much better in my gameplay than seeing adults. Pick which ever version you'd like, though.

Toddler Bed - Adds a functional single bed for toddlers to the game! I've planned to convert many sims 4 toddlers beds using this scripted object so we have some more variety, but for now the options available for it are so adorable. It's got one bug, where you can only enter the bed from the left side I believe, but other than that it's a much needed mod for more realism, especially for those toddlers that just turn 3 and 4 in your game.

Activity Table - Adds a crafting option, and serve snack option to the activity table. The crafting increases the painting skills but uses glitter as a prop instead. For toddler's and children, so they can both play and eat snacks at the table!

Coloring Book - Adds functional coloring books that are portable!

Smoking - Fixes Cmoney's smoking mod, optimizes the scripts, fixes the animations, adds a sitting animation, moodlets work much better, adds new custom moodlets. Also adds a vape. But most excited, this adds the ability for teens to buy fake ID's for tobacco products. I also use the fake ID's to roleplay my teen sims getting into bars and clubs. As they can actually order from the bar, I like to imagine they were able to slip passed security.

Student council - Adds a really fun almost mini-game interaction to a new student council option for teens in high school. And a new interactive board. It may not be everyone's flavor but it makes highschools a little more interactive outside of UC. See also PheobeJay's cheerleading mod for another interactive mechanic for teens and YA in UNI!

The Sweet Simmer

This is where most of you probably have these mods, so let's just do a basic checklist of all the mods you do or don't have.

Animation World

Children Can care for their little siblings

Family Kiss

Biggest Little Mod for Toddlers

Children and Toddlers can follow

Toys Are More Fun

Peek-A-Boo and Hug Toddlers

Toddlers can ride rocking rider

Replaced child hug

Toddlers can pick up easter eggs

Toddlers can sit on couches and chairs

Toddler can ask for things

Toddlers can catch butterflies and pick flowers

Outdoor activities for Toddlers

Toddlers can sit on sims laps

Toddlers can learn to walk alone

More Baby Interactions

More Toddler Interactions

Functional Baby Carrier

Pick Up Toddler Fixes

More Pregnancy Interactions

So obviously all of these mods MASSIVELY Overhaul family gameplay with babies, toddlers, and children in the game. Not only does it fix EA mechanics, but it also compliments and expands existing mechanics, and then adds even more. You'll probably never go back to regular family gameplay again after these mods. You might only have a couple so consider getting all of these mods listed above!

Twinsimming

Acne Mod - Adds acne to the game, and can randomly have break outs. This suits this theme mods list as puberty can be quite strange. This also effects adults though, and adults still get acne. I mean not me really but y'all be easy.

Dirty Laundry - Again, I think cleaning and have a family just goes hand in hand. This mod adds more custom moodlets the longer you go without washing your clothes. It's how it should've been in the game, to really incentivize you to get that laundry done.

Growing Pains - Is a great addition to family play. Whenever anything significant sad or angry happens to children and teens they will go through a time in their life that will deeply affect them (almost traumatize them in a way). Divorce and breakups, etc. It makes what story you tell with those sims more impactful on their lives.

New Scholarships - Adds new scholarships to the game, I also consider UNI to be an integrated part of Family life in the Sims 3. I love going off to Uni with my sims I watched grow up since birth. This mod just adds more ways they could get in to those Universities.

Tooth Fairy - Is a cute little mod that adds a tooth losing mechanic, it feels like it always should've been there. With custom moodlets that will make you know your kid sim is growing up.

Now we are going to move onto misc Family gameplay mods, these are from various creators where I don't have more than one of their mods installed!

All Adults carry - This is a mod that allows all adults to carry children. It was originally a feature in the sims 3 with the firefighter career, but Puddingface made it possible for all adults to pick up and carry kids. This adds another roleplay element, as sometimes I like to direct my parents to carry their rowdy kids to bed if they aren't listening and staying asleep.

Clean House for Everyone - This mod just makes the ability to clean the house for everyone. Originally this mechanic was only avilable for neat sims, but I find I have neat sims without the trait, and slobby sims who eventually wake up and want to get their house together. So it's a pretty convenient mod. The sims will autonomously be directed to every dirty object in the lot and clean it all up. This is pretty useful for those larger family homes who can't afford a maid or a butler or can, and you don't want to sacrifice a trait slot just to be able to clean your house.

Cherry Toddler interactions - This is another script mod that adds some pretty fun interactions into the game that combined with all the other scripted toddler interactions makes the game an abundance of choices you can do more with toddlers. Things like talking with another toddler, exploring around, having a bottle to themselves, and even eating pet food from their bowl.

Ferris Wheel - This adds a new scripted object ferris wheel, you can actually ride it. Combined with all the other store content geared towards festival lots (roller coaster, carousel) this is another really fun object for your family's to go crazy on in game. It adds a custom moodlet once you've finished and it's super cute.

Icarus Scolding - This adds a new scripted mechanic where you can user direct punishments to your child and teen sims now. This is what I meant earlier with the removal of the curfew mod. If you still want to catch your teens sneaking out it can actually make more sense. Now you can do all sorts of things for your stories and gameplay. Kid didn't clean up their room like you asked? Send them to the wall. Not doing their homework? Ground them from all electronics. You get it.

Lyralei Journal - Not quite like the other journal mod, your sims won't actually write anything to publish like with buzz's notebook mod. But they will get custom moodlets after writing a passage. I like to roleplay this as a diary for my sims and also sometimes extra homework for other classes they take. You'll get random whimsical prompts after they finish writing and you can only imagine what triggered that response from your sims (it's random so get creative). You can also hide the journal, and a new interaction where a sim can ask what you wrote. It's very cute and certainly worth the install.

Fairy Tale Books - adds more fairytale books to the game. Classic ones from real life. They are classified as children's books so you can read them to your kids at night. Makes a more relatable childhood experience for us simmers out there!

Mingos Option b - This adds basically an abortion pill to the game. You take it after suspecting your sim of being pregnant. While you can get an abortion for the enhanced hospitals mod this mod adds a CVS like experience where you can buy the pills from the grocery stores yourself or pretending you got a prescription to terminate a pregnancy. So it makes 2 ways you can get an abortion in game. I'm aware that some more mods that will eventually do this are currently being developed for the game, so this one might not stay in my mods folder after extensively reading through those future mods if or when it includes them. But for now, I think it's a great realistic addition for your gameplay.

Nona Breastfeed Baby - Adds the ability to breastfeed the baby. That's all. It's really cute and realistic, it's an older mod so you might not have heard of it.

I know I've already included a Lyralei mod but the Randomizer mod is a big game changer that shouldn't be ignored. It adds way too much random EA prompt mechanics that actually impact your gameplay and story. I've got all the modules. Things like combatting rumors. Giving Advice. Getting Sick. Power and water outages. Work and School related triggers and many many more.

Zoeoe Buzzler Scribbling Pad Fixed - This is an essential fix and script optimization to this older and most adored scribbling pad mod. This works like typing/writing on the pc except you'll write in the journal and it's portable so you can do it from anywhere. I love having my working and school sims get the most use out of this. You can also use this to replace the writing pc interaction if you're playing in an older time period that didn't have computers.

Ok! Awesome! So we got through all the family gameplay mods! Now when you stick around to the end of the video I can showcase to you what all of these mods combined are going to look like in your game! We won't get through everything because there are simply WAY too many scenarios to show and we would be here all day. So I'm just going to show you how a general gameplay session would go instead!

And just as promised I'm going to recommend you a list of lots you're going to want to have in any world to get the most out of your family gameplay!

The EP's we can combine in this Theme are Seasons, UNI (although this will be in another world entirely so don't worry about this one too much), Generations, Pets, Island Paradise, and Late Night. This is the ultimate pack arsenal combined that gives you so many more features and interaction for your Family gameplay. You do not have to disable all of the other packs, you're simply going to focus on the content and lots given by these EP's in the world you chose to play your family in. Also consider adding all of the premium store content you don't need the full sets, just the functional objects.

Arcade lot - For family events and date nights. Friends meetups.

1 Dive bar - for singles to meet and date nights. Friends meetups.

1 Sports bar - for guys nights or date nights. Bachelor parties. Friends meetups.

1 Dance club - for singles and date nights and girls nights. Bachelorette parties. Friends meetups.

1 Gym - Consider adding a playpen to a toddler/child care section for those busy parents. Friends meetups.

1 Library - Consider adding a toddler playpen section, a child and teen section for homework, and a computer lab. Friends meetups.

1 church - This can double as your opened Masoleum RH, and a pretty place to get married. Friends meetups.

1 functional Movie Theater - Does not need the Theater RH rug. Use the premium store content. For family events and date nights. Friends meetups.

1 Consignment store - With savvier seller objects to buy cc deco and furniture. I use this to roleplay changing around my bedrooms for when my sims age up. I don't put everything I have in the store obviously, but I do buy some things to include in the build.

1 Bistro - Open up the RH and use Ani's Business as Unusual set. For singles, family events, and date nights. Friends meetups.

1 Diner - Same as above, more afforable and relaxed eaterie. You don't have to open up every RH, but you should focus on the ones your active family will be working in and going to school. So for schools, that would be 1 elementary and 1 high school.

1 outdoor picnic/camping lot - For in home vacations, family events, and date nights. Friends meetups.

1-4 festival lot - Could be broken up into several throughout your town, one for each season. This makes these lots more optimized and you can decorate more cc into these seasonal themed lots without worrying about overloading the lot and crashing during season transitions. For family events, singles, date nights. Friends meetups.

1 Pool lot - For everyone, and parties.

1 Fancy banquet lot - Can double as an exclusive lounge, for wealthy family events and fancy parties, can also add casino objects.

1 big park - with a playground.

1 small park - with another playground and cat and dog park.

1 pet store - using store content.

1 pet clinic - Using ATS3 pet clinic set, Pet Vet career, and a second hospital RH combined with Pet diseases mod to make the lot functional, and also adding UC.

1 art gallery - consider adding an easel room for art class, a mini winery (for paint and sip date nights), and a savvier seller gift shop, to gift to your date or friends or for yourself.

1 Fishing spot, with rentable IP boats - For those fishing trips you'll take with your kids and make memories. You can also add this lot to your vacation worlds instead.

1 CoffeeHouse or Java Hut - For singles, Friends, dates during the day. Teens and parents.

1 Laundromat - For families without the laundry objects in their home.

1 Opened up Spa - With store and script objects combined for a more luxorious experience and extra custom moodlets.

[sweet-and-sour-bites]

Hello, hope you’re doing well!

Is it ok if you do romance with an NPC? Basically the Scovillia Headmaster with a Reader who used to go to school with him. The Reader used to be a pretty wild student but as they grew up, they became decently calmer read: sorta..

And then they meet each other again when the reader goes to work at Scovillia!

Headcannons or a story is fine, whichever you prefer, thanks you very much in advance!

☁️Scovillia Headmaster x Professor Gn!Reader

*So before we begin, since the Scovillia Headmaster doesn't have a canon name, I don't think he does, though correct me if I'm wrong, I'm gonna call him Spicey Buffalo Cookie.*

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

The academy halls of the ever hot Scovillia leave you feeling nostalgic. You used to walk these halls as a student, right alongside your best friends, but now you walk them as a teacher. Not much has changed about them either; still adorned with hues of red, orange, and black.

You make your way to the courtyard and sit down on a bench. You breathe in, and the smell of burning wood fills your senses. It's a nice scent. Calming and familiar. "Welcome back, (Y/n) Cookie."

You jump a little, startled by the gruff voice. Looking behind you, you see the headmaster himself walking over to you. He takes a seat beside you, and the two of you sit in silence for a little. "It's been a while since we've seen one another, no?"

"It certainly has. Three, no, four years?"

"Six years, actually." You pause, hardly believing it's been that long since you've seen your dear old friend.

"I'm so sorry."

"What ever for?" The headmaster looks over at you in surprise. You have your head hanging low as you look at the cobbled path below.

"We were so close during our time here as students. We laughed and cried together, fought, and made up; it seemed like nothing could pull us apart. After graduating, though, we hardly spoke to each other until we just stopped altogether. I feel, have felt, guilty about it." You feel a few tears fall from your eyes. Reminiscing about your time together really makes you sappy.

A warm hand is placed on your cheek, tilting your head to the side. The headmaster and yourself have gotten closer, you note, as he wipes away your tears. "Don't fret over the past, as the blame is not entirely on you. We both were so wrapped up in our own lives that we let the bond that held us together fade. I regret such a thing dearly."

"As do I." The two of you sit in silence, basking in the others presence.

"(Y/n) Cookie, there is something I must confess." Your focus is now only on him. "I have regretted not telling you sooner, but I....I am in love with you." Your eyes widen, and your jaw drops. "Back then, you were a wild spitfire. Always running around, causing chaos wherever you went. You stole my heart the first time I saw you deck another student who was bullying a junior." He chuckles as he remembers that moment.

"As we grew, I tried to keep an eye on you, worried how your fighting spirit would guide you. I am glad to know that, while still wild at times, you've become calmer. It is a different side of you that has made me fall in love with you all over again." Removing his hand from you, he reaches up to his helmet and pulls it off. Underneath the headgear is a cookie whose hair seems to be made of flames and eyes of amber. His red horns shine brightly underneath the sun.

He looks back over at you with baited breath, hoping he hears you return his affection.

And you do.

Grabbing his hands, you gently squeeze them. "Oh, Buffalo Cookie, I'm so happy you feel the same." Your words send a wave of relief and love all throughout him. "I admit, I've also been in love with you since we fist met. You radiated such a fiery passion, how could I not fall for you. You've always had my back and were always the one I needed to calm down. I've loved you since then and still do."

His heart feels as if though it's doing back flips. He laughs and picks you up with his strong arms, spinning you around. You join in on his contagious laughter. Setting you down, he looks at you with love in his eyes. The two of you share a single look before meeting the other for a sweet kiss. For a moment, it feels as if though the two of you are the only ones I'm the world, though that's proven incorrect by the sound of cheering.

Pulling apart the two of you, see a bunch of Scovillia students cheering at the doors to the courtyard and above in the open corridors. Front and center is Capsaicin Cookie cheering loudly. "Alright! Way to go, Headmaster and Professor!" The two for you look at each other before bursting out laughing. He picks his helmet up and puts it back on before taking your hand and walking back to he school.

"Seems like the others were just waiting for us to confess. Do you think they had a bet going?"

"I wouldn't be surprised, hun, not at all."

"Haha, you might be right, my dear."

[moa-broke-me]

Most people's first drag show was at a bar. Percy's was a dinner theatre performance of Swan Lake.

He figured he'd go to support his old university's arts program, after all, he couldn't afford to donate as much as his colleagues did every year, and he figured this'd make up for that. Plus, it was his custody weekend, and he always wanted to do something special for his daughter to make these measly two days a month count.

So, he decided he'd kill two birds with one stone, his daughter swinging her feet on the stool she was sat in, eating her macaroni and cheese. "You like it?" He asked.

She nodded. "It's a lot better than the box stuff you make, daddy. Mama Piper makes hers with adacvo, and I'on like adacvo."

He laughed a bit. "Yeah, it's fun eating away from home, isn't it?" He asked, before taking a bite of his ravioli. It was miles ahead of the canned stuff, no offense to Chef Boyardee.

"Mhm! Uncle Jason, can we go get dessert after?"

Ok, so really it was three birds with one stone. Spend time with his daughter, support the art program, and catch up with Jason.

Jason laughed lightly, jostling the baby carrier he had on his chest and causing Leo's baby to stir. "Zora, they're serving dessert here. I'm sure it'll be much better than anything you could get at a fast food place."

"Really? Even subway cookies?"

"Yes, even subway cookies." He turned back to the baby he was sitting, checking that he was ok. The cherubic little boy was almost two, and could walk, so he didn't really need the carrier, but he liked being strapped in tight. "Raph, you good buddy?"

Raphael cooed up at Jason, reaching up to squish his face. "Coo-kie."

Jason laughed. "Aww, man. This kid is adorable." He reached around the carrier to eat his steak. "Thanks for taking us out here. I know it was like, 50 bucks a person. I can wire you back if you want."

"No, no, it's fine. Just enjoy the ballet." Percy looked over, and Odette had just been captured by the wizard, and the transformation sequence was about to begin. He'd watched both the barbie version and the one from 1994 with Zora before, so he knew the plot, but it was so different seeing it on stage. She had been in a simple loose-fitting blue dress, period-appropriately modest but still short enough to move around in. Now though, once the swirling ribbons fell and the colored smoke and glitter dissipated into the air, Odette was in nothing but a white leotard and black ballet shoes, the leotard strapless and embroidered with pearls and feathers and lace and thin black boning. They were all seated in the front, so he could see every detail, every individual feather draped on the underside of her arm, the otherworldly white lashes and pearl in the middle of the forehead, the thin black swirls of eyeliner on her face and sad, swoopy brows and bold black lipstick forming a pout, like an infinitely more attractive version of an old french mime. The white-dyed tips in ink black hair and rich, dark brown eyes and the gentle outward curve of her nose. The freckles on her shoulders and cheeks, dotting her hauntingly beautiful olive-creme skin. the flat chest and narrow, boyish hips...

He looked at the playbill again, to find the name of this incredible being.

There were two names on the bill, one for uncursed Odette, and one for cursed Odette. He skimmed past the first to get to the second.

Nico diAngelo.

He smiled. "Hey, Jason, you took intro to dance right?" I asked, pointing at the name on the bill. "Do you know her?"

"Him. And yeah, we've been friends for years."

"Wait... Him?" He looked back at the stage. "... So that's a guy up there?"

"Yeah."

"... Wow... He's very pretty."

Zora giggled. "Silly daddy, you're s'posed to say handsome for boys! You only say pretty about girls!"

"He's not, though." I told her, lost in thought. "He's... Pretty. The way girls are pretty."

"Huh... So boys can be pretty too?"

"Yes, dear. They absolutely can."

"So... Does that mean girls can be handsome?"

"Oh yeah." Jason answered. "If you want an example, I can pull up a picture of my sister."

"Jason!" Percy scolded.

Jason snorted. "She'd take that as a compliment and you know it."

[jackboxconfess]

sorry, not sorry but YDKJ: Full Stream has to be the worst YDKJ game and one of the worst Jackbox games.

1. Jackbox is not good at writing psychological horror. you are comedy writers, this is a comedy game for parties and it shows. It's okay to experiment or try a storyline like what was done with YDKJ 4: The Ride, but the "writing" is just hints of Binjpipe being malicious until Escape the Simulation, where we get an admittedly interesting but vague episode of Cookie realizing he's in a simulation, but it just fell flat, it made me feel nothing. the game would've been much better suited as an epsiode format like The Ride or 2011/2015, but this game is catered to streamers, and we can't have streamer audiences jumping in halfway and getting confused.

2. Cookie's at his worst, he is unfunny, boring, and his dialogue is aged poorly. he is much toned down from his movies to 2015 days to cater to streamers. I know the excuse "Binjpipe controlling/censoring him," but it's taking away what made people such as me, fall in love with his character writing. Also a problem is if that's a person's only exposure to his character. Cookie's more passive personality in FS has led to some people infantilizing him which as a Cookie expert bugs me because no he is NOT silly and innocent please pick up YDKJ 2011. It's crazy how it took Jackbox making an "18+ adult party pack" for Cookie to return to his regular-self again.

3. FS was CATERED for streamers, but the thing is streamers do not care about FS. if a streamer is opening pack 5, they're playing patently stupid or mad verse city, games that are more fun and cater to a less niche player audience. Yes, streamers are what boosted the party packs' popularity, but Jackbox doesn't understand that some games are better serving the player audience first and streaming capabilities second, because filling your pockets should not be more important than making such a quality product for YDKJ fans, but ironically Jackbox has become more bland and corporate

4. Jackbox doesn't expand on Binjpipe, no putting easter eggs of it in pack 9 and naughty pack DOES NOT count as lore or storytelling, you set up this story now actually tell it, it's been 6 years and the most we've gotten is a fibbage episode

that's not to say, I do like the conept of Binjpipe and expanding on it myself, though the way Jackbox treats it and the quality of FS is a real let down

YDKJ FS tried to shoe-hammer in an ill-fitting plot on a watered down version on the game that started it all and it's borderline offensive.

Zeeple Dome > FS

mic drop

.

[grounded-gryphon]

Mad Mentors And Fractured Families draft

Hey, so, Rai and I FINALLY finished the draft for MMFF that we've been working on since September and expected to start posting in October.

It's just been that kind of year.

Anyway, this is the third in a series of DC x DP that we've been posting over on AO3. I was REALLY bad about sharing the first two here. Because life and brain and shit.

But I though to celebrate finally finishing I'd share the draft of the first chapter here, and if folks like I can share the rest?

Let me know what you think

Chapter 1

Danny Fenton

Danny asked Lady Gotham politely to show him where to meet Batman for this chat

Lady Gotham leads him to the Clocktower. Batman shows up before too long.

Danny nods to him. "Batman."

"Your majesty."

"You asked me to convince Hood to talk with you. I've...done what I can concerning your request. There's a...complication." Danny frowns. "What do you know about ghostly obsessions?"

Batman narrows his eyes, "I am learning. I do not trust all my sources."

"Fair enough. In the plainest English that makes sense, an obsession is like a ghost's favorite...passion but also food. Fulfilling the obsession generates energy for the ghost."

Batman nods.

"I won't give you specifics, but just know that Hood's might...go a little haywire at seeing you. I don't actually know how, though. We believe any reunion needs to be handled… gradually."

"I see."

"Nightwing had extended and invitation to your 'family brunch', but right now we think that would be a very bad idea. His obsession would not handle seeing so many people at once and I don't know what it would do to him.

Batman frowns.

"I promise, we are going to help him everyway we can. He wants you back in his life. Not only that, he needs you. But we need to find a way to do it safely."

Batman nods, deeply enough it is almost a bow. "Thank you."

Danny nods. "You're welcome."

"One other thing," Danny said. "Jason… is concerned abuot how you feel about him now. About if you'll even want him in your life. You're no-kill rule…"

Batman hesitates and sighs. "I am... not comfortable with many things Hood has done since returning to Gotham. But he will always be my son."

"Good."

---

Dick Grayson (needs rewrite)

Bruce was surprised to get home to find Dick already de-suiting in the batcave.

Nightwing had mostly been staying in bludhaven the last week, and Dick had said nothing about returning to the manor tonight.

Neither said anything while they showered, checked for injuries, and changed, but on the way up to the manor Bruce asked, "You're staying the night?"

Dick nodded. “Yeah.”

Bruce nodded. "I spoke with the High King earlier. You were right, something is wrong, probably something related to why he stayed away this long." Bruce is bewildered and a bit hurt that Jason would need support. Surely his son knew how much he was loved, welcomed, missed.... but Bruce had never been a good parent, and it was one of his screwups that had sent Jason to his death, so maybe Jason didn't, maybe Bruce was just going to muck things up again, maybe--

"Bruce," Dick shook his shoulder, and Bruce realized that he had stopped halfway up the stairs. "Snap out of it."

"Sorry."

Dick grabbed his arm and started hauling him up the stairs. "Come on, if we don't both get some sleep tonight Alfred will not be happy. And take a break on the beating yourself up, okay?"

"I'll try." Bruce let Dick lead him upstairs to Alfred's waiting presence.

Alfred hands each of them a plate of cookies -- reward or bribe for finishing the night without injuries, Bruce is never sure which. "I have the menu prepared for tomorrow" he says. "Master Tim is in bed and is restricted to one cup of caffinated beverage a day until further notice."

"Thank you Alfred."

"You are welcome, I'm sure. Now. Eat your cookies and get ready for bed yourselves."

Dick gripped Bruce's shoulder before turning away, but n o so fast that Bruce couldn't see the conflicted emotions in Dick's eyes.

Bruce hesitated. H e was so bad at being a parent. "Dick," he finally said.

"Yeah?"

Bruce thought of Danny's words. Of the things he'd noticed Dick carefully /not/ saying the past few weeks. Jason might not be the only one who needed to know he was accepted. "I'm not blind you know. And it's... okay. What your feeling. It's okay."

Dick looked at Bruce and frowned. "Bruce... I..."

"You never had a chance to /be/ his brother, Dick, and that was my fault. If I'd been better, listened more, you would have been around and things might have been different. But they weren't. So it's okay to start fresh with him. Whatever that means to you. Okay?"

Dick blushed. "You've been talking with Wonder Woman haven't you?"

"Ma Kent," Bruce mumbled.

Dick laughed and went up to bed.

---

Jason Todd

Jason woke up and lay in bed staring at the ceiling. The entire mess that was yesterday replaying in his head. Danny surprising him with Batman's... request. Telling the rest of the Fraid his history. Danny identifying his obsession.

/FAMILY/

It beat at his core, which he was starting to recognize. It felt like a solid hunk of granite, but fractured through with fissures that leaked /green/.

The same green that had been poisoning his thoughts and fucking with his perceptions for the past three years.

/FAMILY/ his core pulsed again, stronger even than the /green/ and the /rage/. Fraid was family, or could be. He knew that now, had felt in the way they had all held him yesterday, sending support and understanding -- even Tucker who still didn't entirely trust him.

But he also felt the bleeding ruptures of his lost family. The bonds that he had never fully trusted until they were gone, ripped away when he needed them most. Poisoned by fucking Talia and the /green/. Then ripped out and destroyed by his own actions.

Except that Dick still, somehow, wanted to see him. Except that B -- as Batman of all things -- had sought Danny out and asked for help seeing Jason.

Except that since the night he'd kidnapped Tim and Dick, none of them had crossed into Crime Alley without his permission. They waited. For him.

And maybe that was telling him something.

---

Jazz Fenton

Jazz tossed and turned in bed. Finally, as dawn crept through the smog, she got up, dressed in one of her new outfits from the shopping trip with Lidia, and went downstairs to make coffee. If Jason's obsession was family, and with everything he'd lost already, she knew the Fraid could never replace what was before. And what was she going to do for Danny? He needed a fucking break, and this last week and a half had gone at breakneck speed.

It took everything in her to keep the protective fury bubbling inside at bay. She didn't know what would happen if she lost her temper now, but it felt dangerous. She wanted her baby brother to have a normal life, her new crush to feel some kind of healing, and she couldn't do any of it. She took several deep breaths as she measured out the coffee. Breakfast first. She always felt better in the morning after food.

Jason came down the stairs quietly -- physically, anyway. His ghostspeak was crying /FAMILY-lost-breathe-green/ with only the faintest whispers of /rage/ underneath it all. "Hey Jazz."

"Hey." Her ghost speak answered his with /here for you/ and a whisper of /fury/ and /need to be helpful/. She winced as all of it came through. "Sorry."

She poured the water in the coffee maker and watched it drip through.

He rubbed his chest as his core continued to cry for /FAMILY/ but was calm when he spoke. "Don't be. I don't... Wherever we're going here, Jazz, I don't want any secrets between us." He smiles, and it's the realest smile she's seen from him. "And I think I'm actually doing better."

She smiled a bit at that. "That makes one of us, at least on the doing better part." She leaned against the counter, eyes on him now. "No secrets, huh?"

He shrugs. "As best we can. I think we both know a lot of other people's secrets, but for my stuff, yeah, ask and I'll tell you." His ghostspeak continues to pulse /FAMILY/ and /green/ but also /trust you/ and /mine-fraid-special/

She sighed. "Well, the first thing I'll tell you, Danny didn't try to become High King. He just did what he does. Protected everyone from the last asshole. We had no idea rite of combat was the way a new king would be decided."

/everything's gone sideways/ and /thanks/ and /he needs a break/

"So..." /FAMILY-fraid-mine/ "what can we do to give him one?"

"I think that's why he tried to plan a movie day. Especially since he said he's planning on torturing us all with space documentaries. He wanted to be an astronaut before everything happened." She sighed, scowled, her eyes glowing aqua fire. "I just want my little brother to be okay." /furious at all the trouble/ and /not you/ and /worried about him/

"I think he just needs some time with Sam and Tucker, and he's trying so hard to help you, me, and Dick as well, that he's getting lost again."

Jason nods. "So we need tonight to be as chill as possible." He takes a deep breath. "Which, if I understand how this obsession stuff words, means I should probably pull on my big boy pants and give Dick a call." /FAMILY-lost-green-mine-pain/

"That's a good idea. I can stay while you do." /obsessions are a bitch/

Jason nods. "That'd help, beautiful. You might want to talk with Danny first though." /FAMILY-idea-green-mischief-rage-FAMILY/

She raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" /what are you planning/ and /curious/

"Well, there's no reason Danny has to be dealing with all the JL stuff. For instance, Nightwing could report to /you/ as the High King's representative."

"You are a fucking genius." She hugs him, pulls away blushing. "Except for your plan to shove your whole life into one room."

Jason blushes at the hug, then blinks at her words. "My what?"

"Sam told me you have all of your stuff in that single room upstairs." She crosses her arms and cocks her hip. "You allowed us into your home, not the other way around."

"Yeah, well." He rubbed the back of his neck. "This place was as new to me as it was to you, you know. But I'll probably start spreading out a bit more now." /FAMILY-fraid-welcome-green/ "It'd be good to have a home again."

She smiles. "I'll go talk to Danny, then."

---

Sam Manson

Jazz and Jason head next door. Sam sees them coming in first thing in the morning while the coffee is still hot and groans. "What now?"

Tucker laughs. "Ever the optimist, huh Sam?"

Danny just rolls his eyes and focuses on not freezing his coffee.

Sam grumbles. Jason gives her a light noggie. "Don't worry, we love you too." /FAMILY-mine-green-intruding?/

Danny shakes his head. "Just hoping this isn't some other major catastrophe." /fuck/ as his mug slips through his hand and thuds on the table, somehow managing to stay upright. He goes intangible to avoid the hot coffee that does splash.

Tucker grabs something to clean up the coffee.

Jazz smiles. "No. Just an idea Jason had."

Sam narrows her eyes. /sugar swans/ "What kind of idea?"

Jason chokes. "Hey, those weren't my idea."

Sam, "You practically dared me to!"

Jason, "Me? I told you not to."

Sam, "Exactly!"

Jason rolls his eyes

Jazz giggles, "You told her not to?" /of course she did/ still not fully grasping the sugar swans debacle, and shrugs. "Anyway, he suggested the JL could report to me as the High King's representative."

Tucker finished wiping up the coffee. "Huh. Representative, huh? Kinda like Nightwing is the liaison?"

Danny looked up from his now-abandoned coffee mug. "That's...huh..."

Jason shrugs, "Something like that. Or an ambassador maybe. Kinda like how the president doesn't negotiate directly with the UN."

Danny leans back in his seat, gives Jazz a considering look.

Sam thinks about it a minute, then nods. "It makes sense, Danny. Is there any reason you need to keep taking to Nightwing about everything yourself?"

Danny frowns. /if I don't/ He shakes his head. "I...I don't think so? Jazz...are you sure you want to do this?"

Jazz nods, determined. "I'll keep you updated on everything, but your first priority is to heal right now. That's why we came here. If I can help you do that by taking on JL negotiations, I will."

Tucker snorts. "You're kinda thrilled about this, aren't you, Jazz?"

She shrugs.

"Yeah, thought so." Tucker nods, "I'm down for that. Give us a chance to give you a break, dude." he rests a hand on Danny's shoulder.

Sam, "I wonder if there are like, ghost rules for something like this." She pulls out one of her notebooks. "We should ask Lady Gotham, since she's offered to explain things. The king has to be able to delegate, right?"

Danny shrugs. "Don't see why I wouldn't be able to, but having some more information couldn't hurt."

Sam makes a few notes, nods to herself, and closes the book.

"You're gonna ask her later, Sam?" Danny eyes the notebook.

Tucker chuckles. "That's where she keeps her questions for...well, everyone and everything, so probably."

Sam, "Well I'm not calling her up right now. But it might help."

"Alright. As far as I'm concerned, Jazz, you are now Ambassador of the High King. The Justice League talks to you for everything that I don't need to deal with directly."

Jason nods. "Alright! I need to give dickhead a call anyway, want me to pass on the good news?"

Jazz smiles. "I was gonna leave these three be, but please do."

---

Dick Grayson

Dick was digging into a bowl of Choco-Nut Puffs with peanut butter when his phone rang. He picked it up and saw "unknown number." His eyes widened when the call cut off after two rings, started again, cut off after one ring, started again. He raced to accept the call, not even bothering to finish swallowing.

"Yasyn?" He mumbled through a peanut butter sticky mouth.

There was silence for a moment. "You remembered."

The wonder and surprise in Jason's voice brought tears to his eyes. Dick hurried to swallow and said. "Of course I remembered, Little Wing. You're -- you've always been -- important to me. I remember all of our codes."

"Oh."

Dick took a deep breath and tried to get a handle on his emotion. "So, is everything okay? I figure you didn't call just to chat."

"Kinda? I mean, Danny asked me to pass on a message, but only because I was calling anyway? Just... some personal shit came up and, and I know I don't have the right to ask. Kinda surprised you're still talking to me really, with... with nearly shooting you and everything--"

"Jason!" Dick cuts Jason off before he can talk himself into the spiral Dick can hear building.

"Jason, no matter what, I will always be here for you, okay? We're family. So tell me what you need."

Jason gasped and said, so quietly Dick barely heard him, "Family."

"Yeah, Jay. That's what I said. So tell me what's going on." He was starting to get worried now. Jason sounded so different from the last time they'd talked. Not as angry. Vulnerable. Almost afraid.

Whoever had made his Little Wing afraid was going to learn a new meaning of fear.

"Family," Jason repeated, louder this time. "That's... I need... family."

Dick held his breath, not sure what to say. What Jason meant. Not daring to hope.

"Talia... When first came back, she told me things, showed me things. She lied, Big Bird."

"What did she lie about, Jay?"

"That no one cared. That I'd been forgotten. Replaced. Abandoned."

Dick's breath caught. He wanted to scream a denial, but he sensed that wasn't what Jason needed now. Jason had said Talia lied. He knew it wasn't true, but that didn't tell Dick what Jason needed.

(Dick was going to destroy Talia. He didn't care what she was to Bruce, or how powerful she was. He was going to find the bitch and make her regret ever being born for how she had hurt his Little Wing.)

"She lied, Dick. She aimed me at Robin, specifically. But she lied about all of it. And I was so angry."

"So angry because I needed yous. I needed my family. And I had no one."

Dick filed the comment about Robin away for later. If Talia had sent Jason after Robin there was a reason for it, but now wasn't the time. "You have me. Whatever you want from me, Jaybird. Whatever you need."

"Can you come over early today? So we can talk?"

[marvanne111]

moments I love in "Tempting Fête"

"I can only read what I've got written down, Mr. Funt." "Councilor Funt! -Funn, Councilor Funn."

the fact that it's been 11 years of this Funn/ Funt debate (alternatively, that both the reverend and the mayor have addressed him properly the last three episodes and seemed to have no problem with it)

"Yes, well, I'll see what I'm doing that day" -leading the funeral, one would hope?

underrated bit of the series in general: cell service only being available in the reverend's bathroom

"I think he's quite dishy" (this scratches such an itch in my brain; I quote it once a week)

the mayor and reverend (who will be dating by the end of the episode) agreeing emphatically with the above statement

the reverend wearing eye shadow! (incredible, show stopping, spectacular, never been seen before)

"It was one mouse! and, and I don't know anything about it"

"All opposed?" "... I mean, I'd say opposed is a strong word-" "Done! Carried unanimously!"; "All opposed? "I, uh-" "Overruled! Motion carried!"

"We already have an identity: it's miserable and it works." (i want this on a t-shirt)

"There hasn't been a fête for eleven years." "Astonishing. Who's in charge of local events?" "Rudyard." "Ah."

"Look, it's easy to throw money around and get excited about rustic dancing, but we've got-" "I'LL SAY IT IS!"

"His world had once again become an increasingly scary place. There was only one thing left to do..." "Georgie?" "Yeah?" "We're emigrating."; "It was time for swift and decisive action, and there was only one place to head for: Reverend Wavering's bathroom"; at the funeral I was able to witness Rudyard, bereft of Reverend and with few attendees, deliver a stirring and entirely improvised speech about the circuities of fate, the struggles of discord, and an intractable acceptance of the way the cookie crumbles, a sermon that moved the late Basil Corbett’s niece to say, quite simply:" "We want our money back" (some really fantastic narration moments in this one that make me giggle every time)

Rudyard including Madeleine in the emigration plans is said so sweetly and it honestly makes me a little soft

"One word: Chapman." "I should return his calls-" "Chapman?" "- probably won't, though"

"Rudyard, other people do those things for you!" "Conscription?" "Volunteering!"

"I, I, I do like spreadsheets!"

(No Madeleine, I hate raffles!") (these posts are always so Rudyard-centric lol and it's helped me come to the conclusion that he really is the funniest)

"Do you know how many gallons of fluid I'll have to drain from a man that size? Possibly thousands!" "What a ridiculous lie!" (this is another one that I quote often lol)

"I wish I were Mrs. Carnegie!" "You will be, Mrs, Turner. You will be." (WHAT IS THIS RESPONSE?!)

"Fancy a funeral?" "That a threat?"; "Don't forget your funeral." "Was that a threat?"

"Socializing? That'd take up ten minutes and then what would they do? No. Perpetual scheduled activity, that's the way."

"Put some clothes on!" "IT'S MY HOUSE!"

"Antigone?" "What?!" "Helicopters!" "Go back to your side of the table."

"Now get over there and sabotage something!" "*sigh* Fine." "Do you really think that's going to help?" "Oh maybe not, but it'll cheer me up."

"Called up the family, made up a story about... well, re-organizing a fête, that sort of thing." "How did they react?" "Well, they weren't very happy..." "But?" "No, that's it, they weren't very happy."

"You know, I can actually see your future." "Oh yes?" "Mmm hmm. And it involves this crystal ball getting shoved STRAIGHT up your-"

"Alright sir! Mission accomplissshhhhed." "Hello, Georgie." "Hello..." "Get out, Georgie." "Goodbye..."

The Mayor trying to rustic dance for a couple of hours before giving up

Lady Templar's glass eye. (That's it. That's the post.)

"He'd be spinning in the grave you haven't put him in yet!" (best line of the episode honestly)

"What a dreadful little man!" "Yes... mind you, he looks good in a suit"

"Even in a crowd, they all look lonely" (🤌🤌🤌)

"Can't win 'em all" 'Winning anything at all would be a nice change." (also want this on a t-shirt)

"You like to be the hero, don't ya?" (Georgie's the GOAT)

"Rudyard. Do you know what this chap did?" "Yes, he told me" (my man is already so tired of Eric lol)

[pid-widgin]

for personal reasons i try to keep my offscreen and onscreen life separate.

but guys, this is tough. this is scary. im scared, not only for myself as a minority (nonbinary, pansexual, hispanic) but also because i teach. i teach pre-k, and while my state is flipped to blue last night, i know that the bigotry and hatred is here. i live in the South, and even though my state has a large metropolitian area, i live in the rural area. the center im employed by is a non-profit, and 80% of the families we serve are well below the poverty line. i have children in my class who are homeless, or receiving DSS subsidy to attend the center, and im scared that one of the first things that's going to be sacrificed for corporate tax cuts is education, and at that the first thing to go is going to be Head Start/Pre K/ Early Intervention, ie the services for those who are poor and at risk. i may not have a job this time next year, and these children won't have anywhere to go, and their parents won't have any other options because we are the only center in the tricounty area that accepts DSS subsidy for payment.

i am friends with parents of my students on facebook. im already not open about my gender identity and sexuality because it's not anyone's business, but also because i know what kind of backlash the center would receive for employing a non "cookie cutter" person, but now i am having to come to work and face parents who voted for a man who thinks there's no place for people like me in this country.

a man whose first order of business is mass deportation of my people, or people who look like me. a man who openly mocked a disabled reporter. a man who was publicly endorsed by the KKK. the man who is going to run the country for the next 4 years.

these are people ill have to look in the eye and know for the rest of their time here that they would rather people like me not exist in this country.

these are people who post things like "make America great again" or "Let's see how many people are offended by this" or my personal favorite "we can have different opinions and still be friends."

but here's the thing: no, you fucking can't.

you can't vote for someone who wants to deport your kids' teacher and still be friends.

you can't vote for someone who thinks your kids' teacher shouldn't have rights and still be friends.

you can't vote for someone who spouts ignorance and still be friends.

and my own children are friends with some of these parents' older kids. they've been in my home. we've celebrated our children's birthdays and holidays, and ive watched these children in my free time. ive cheered them for their accomplishments, ive grieved with them, ive held them and rocked them to sleep and taught them their abcs, and now these children's parents have voted for someone who doesn't think their "friend" should get the same rights as them, and ill still be expected to keep doing these things as if i don't know where i stand in their eyes.

and im lucky enough to have been born here to parents who were already citizens, and don't have to worry that ill be deported. but i have 3 children in my class who might not be so lucky, and one of them did not come to school today. just didn't come, and her mother's phone is disconnected today and wasn't yesterday, and we don't know if it's because they don't have money for the phone and no ride, or if they have fled because they're scared of what's to come.

my seven year old got off the bus and told me her classmates are talking about "a war" that's coming because of Harris, and what would have happened if she won. seven year olds. that's literally first grade. she can't even do subtraction yet and her classmates are talking about riots and killing and assassination attempts that didn't happen but would have if she won.

my partner woke up, checked the results, and immediately removed all our yard signage. took any stickers off my car that would have pointed to who we voted for or which way we swing, and they did this because they're scared of what people will do now.

and this is just a long winded way of saying that your American friends are probably not okay.

we're scared.

we're facing prejudice and anger and bigotry on unprecedented levels, and our own people did it to us.

we've been betrayed and unsure of what's to come, and we don't know what to do.

[happyk44]

Percy: Alright. I have brought you all together to help me in my ultimate goal: Win Nico's heart and then immediately break his ass in my bed.

Frank: Oh my gods, Percy, this is not what you said when you asked me to come over.

Persephone: I was told there were gonna be cookies.

Menoetes: I cannot believe I'm wasting my lunch break on this.

Percy: Two of you are dating a child of Hades, and one of you is married to the man. I figure between the three of you, I should probably get some really good advice. Frank, let's start with you.

Frank: First of all, Hazel and Nico are not the same person, so I'm not sure what advice I can give you. Second, I don't even really know how Hazel and I got together, so again. Not sure what advice I can give you.

Percy: Frank, I love you, but you're useless to me right now. You, flower princess, let's go.

Persephone:

Persephone: Ignoring that semi-accurate epithet, I would say... Be really pretty and enticing so he'll want to kidnap you. That worked out pretty well for me.

Frank: I think that only works if Nico is the one pursuing though.

Persephone: Oh, yeah, good point.

Percy: Okay, so you're also useless. You, farmer man, go.

Menoetes: Well, I first met Zagreus when he was a baby. He was very cute, and became immediately obsessed with me, although, given his age and stature at the time, I could not say the same. Then when he was sixteen, he did what all the Underworld babies do and went on a year long trip to explore the upper world.

Menoetes: Although, unlike the others, he did immediately join a cult, and ended up coming back home with no penis, but he doesn't really mind that part and he still visits Dionysus regularly.

Percy: I don't need the backstory of your relationship, I need advice.

Menoetes: I am getting there, dumbass. Learn patience. Anyway, when he came home, I thought, yes, this is now a person I can find attractive. So I asked him if he wanted to have sex and he immediately said yes, and Macaria said that if we fucked in her kitchen, she would eviscerate us both, so we just moved to my room.

Menoetes: And now we've been together ever since. So I guess my advice would be just tell him you like him, and want to date. You know, be honest. Be open.

Percy:

Percy: Maybe I should ask Jason for help.

[wannabepapa]

Haiii!!!!! Coming in with an ask to hopefully brighten your day at least a little!

I keep thinking about renting a quiet cabin somewhere where there's lots of snow for the holidays. I'm due in a month or so, so we wanted to spend one last holiday season snuggled up together before our bundle of joy is here. We get snowed in, but there's no cause for worry; we've got plenty of supplies and each other's company. Cozying up next to the fire, donning massive sweaters that look ridiculous yet adorable on us. Mine would be tight around the belly, but that makes for easy belly rub access, so I view that as a plus. I'd get you all situated by the fire with plenty of pillows and blankets before waddling off, coming back a few minutes later with some warm cookies and two mugs of cocoa. After everything's situated and settled, I'd crawl into your cocoon of blankets to snuggle up next to ya, letting my belly, alive with the movements of our little nugget, rest gently on your tummy. A perfect evening for a snowed-in couple of goobers, and as the fire smolders to embers, we'd either sleepily head to bed or decide to stay snuggled up on the couch for the night.

Or something like that sdjbahdahsbfha I am rambling hard. I am very eepy so thoughts are a little jumbly rn. Anyways enjoy this slightly messy Marin Brain Thought™

Marin, light of my life, the sweetest friend to ever exist!!!!!!!!! I am kissing your head because that brain is beautiful and I am so very appreciative of this ask it hits me in the feels for the cozy and domestic stuff!!

We take this moment—it's the holiday season and we deserve a break before baby comes—to disappear into a cozy cabin for the remainder of the holiday season. Our perfect second baby moon (I would have taken you on another holiday while you were around five months pregnant because the woman carrying my baby DESERVES A HOLIDAY) to not only reign in the new year but to celebrate us before bringing in a new being. I have made sure that we've got the coziest place with the perfect views before booking our nearly three week trip.

I have purposefully overpacked so we would have our favorite blankets, pillows, pjs, and even some of the baby's stuffed toys so we would feel comfortable on vacation. I have never been anywhere that has snow that didn't melt the next day so this is exciting for me. I've got new jackets and jumpers for us to cuddle in by the fire so we stay pleasantly bundled while watching the snow fall. I hope the baby is as excited for this trip as we are because this cabin is perfect and I don't really want to leave.

You bury me in our soft things and all the things we found in the cabin to make a nest of the living room floor. We don't have our at home but this will do as a temporary replacement. I keep trying to drag you back in to get warm though you keep escaping my grasp to waddle away. When you come back with snacks and cocoa I can't help but imagine our little nugget toddling right beside you with our newest addition nestled safely in your now noticeable bump. Who knows, maybe I'll be the one wrapped up in blankets with our newest addition while you get snacks for our happy toddler.

As you nestle down beside me my arms bring you in close, a hand spraying over your swell to feel our baby. That jumper is stretched so thin we can see their movements clearly—I love pointing out their little feet and poking them to play. Once we're settled I talk about how this is a perfect tradition to continue with our family, and how I can't wait to have another baby with you.

[silyabeeodess]

FusionFall Fic: Rocket Around the Christmas Tree (Part 1/3)

Tech Square was lit up so merry and bright for the holidays that it was a miracle it hadn't gone on fire. Literally: There were Mandroids and Dexbots on stand-by just in case. The risk wouldn't keep either of the young scientists from their excessive decorating though.

It wasn't exactly like they were big fans of the season either. As Tech Square was one of the safest areas in the war, the Mayor had simply asked the pair if they could participate in that year's city-wide celebrations. They'd resisted at first, but the small, elderly man had insisted that it was best to give people plenty to be cheerful for despite the looming threat of Planet Fusion.

"And of course we can't let any of those goopy, little gremlins scare away Santa!" he'd said over the Nanocomm broadcast when he'd first announced the event.

So, with many of their staff pushing for it as well, Dexter and Mandark begrudgingly agreed to cover their companies in festive affair. However, as with all things between the two, it ultimately turned into a competition. Now, no one could look in any direction without being blinded by giant Christmas bulbs, glistening icicle fixtures, and blazing red Santas and Rudolphs. Whenever either of them set out a new decoration, the other would have to one-up it.

They had called for all hands to be on deck. Not even research participants like Silya, who had only been passing through the City, were exempt. Dressed in a deep navy sweater, she stood midways up a Christmas tree in the Dexlabs lobby, hanging various blue and white geometric ornaments. Like others, she'd called out a few of her nanos to help, who were busily tending to their own tasks. DeeDee was also there on a short visit. Meanwhile, Dexter stood not far away, observing the setup as he looked over a checklist.

"We've got the lobby almost ready, we've covered the roof... At this rate, we won't be finished by tomorrow unless we can recruit some more help," he tapped the screen before calling his employee's name, "Silya, when do you have to rush out of here? If you can stay until morning, there's plenty of room at the on-site quarters."

Without looking away from her work, she shook her head, "Dex, if I'm not on my way back to Farmville by tonight, my mom will come barreling through the front doors and you'll have a lot more to worry about than Krampus this year."

She had already had enough of her mom trying to get her to quit both Dexlabs and the Fusion Fighters, and she didn't want to add to that by missing the holidays when she could help it. It made sense that her family was worried; they were the ones left to grieve when she and the other research participants went missing during the time-travel experiment. However, her mother had always been... a little on the overbearing, overprotective side to begin with. She'd been far from thrilled when Silya signed-onto the war effort. Whatever awaited her at home, Silya could at least show off that she was doing alright.

Meanwhile, this would be her nanos first Christmas. Maybe it was a bit too sentimental, given everything they had to fight for right now, but Silya wanted them to have a good time.

Out of the corner of her eye, Silya noticed her Bubbles nano, Lemon, carrying a paper plate from the direction of a nearby break room. There was a milk jug and cookies balanced on top of it that looked like she'd fetched from the vending machines. The nano carefully pushed it onto a side table closest to the tree.

Dexter soon noticed it. He pointed the tip of his stylus over at the plate, "What is that?"

Lemon folded her hands together and answered him innocently, "Cookies for Santa!"

"It's not Christmas Eve just yet, hon," Silya said as she leaned around the tree, "Santa's not gonna show up this early."

"Santa's not going to show up at all..." Dexter grumbled under his breath in a voice only loud enough for those closest to him to hear. A few confused or hard looks went his way.

"Alright, Scrooge..." Silya rubberboated, "I figured you weren't the biggest believer in Christmas magic, but what'd Santa ever do to you?"

"Santa didn't do anything," DeeDee piped up with a smirk. With a light bounce, she finished hanging a string of tinsel around the lobby's front desk. "Dexter attacked Santa."

The looks the young scientist was getting only grew in number. His mouth drew into a hard line and his shoulders raised, the fierce heat of an embarrassed blush painting his face.

"Like... a mall Santa...?" someone asked.

"The real Santa," DeeDee replied. She fished a handful of tabletop decorations out of a box next, practically dancing as she set them up and told her story, "Dexter didn't believe in him when we were little, so he practically went on a rampage one Christmas trying to prove that Santa didn't exist. He hasn't gotten anything from him since."

"I own a company! I can get whatever I want for Christmas myself!" he barked at her, his face even redder, "Who needs a stupid present from a stupid old guy anyway?"

"I think you scared him off! Just be glad he doesn't give you coal!"

What Dexter had done sounded extreme, but had it really been something so unforgiveable? When he was just a kid making a dumb decision?

No sooner had she thought this though, Silya remembered all of the other kinds of chaos Dexter's antics could cause: The experiments gone wild, the robot fights in the streets, the collateral damage...

Dexter shot her a glare, "What's that look for?!"

Silya grinned at him with a wince. As far as Dexter doubting the existence of Santa went, it was a tale as old as time for any kid. Even when you grew to be an adult, there was plenty of debate about it. There were too many sightings, too many shared experiences of gifts left under the tree that no one remembered buying. However, there were also too many different stories. Some said that Santa only gave gifts to kids and others to everyone; some said he had a deep, full laugh and others said he sounded like a parrot choking on one-too-many crackers. He was a superhuman, an imaginary friend, a vampire—the stories went on and on.

All Silya knew was that her Santa always got her something. When her time of doubt came, she took to heart a bit of advice that her mother had given: If you stop believing in him, then he definitely won't come.

Her only worry right now was for her nanos. Would they be on his list, or was there even time to add them to it? Her team stayed so busy and only grew as the war went on. She couldn't even get them anything decent herself. Even if she could, there wasn't much available for their small size. Her best hope for showing off the holiday was a jolly, old elf doing most of the heavy-lifting for her. Maybe she was getting too old, but they deserved some wonder and fun as hard as they fought by her side.

She looked back at Lemon, "Just share the cookies with the others or put them back in the break room for now."

However, before either of them could make another move, one of the front doors flew open with a loud bang. An armored fusion fighter ran inside, a panicked look in eyes. His hair was disheveled and his cheek singed.

Heaving in exhaustion, he shouted, "We've got Killowatts on the south side—lots of them!"

Part 2

[throes-of-redemption]

"hey you": a submission to a departed blog

You'll never see this. You'll never post this. Unless they have Tumblr in whichever realm you exist in now.

I have regrets. The last time we spoke I was dismissive. I honestly didn't think it would be the last time we'd run into each other after a long absence. Well, it wasn't the first time either. But before then I was convinced I'd never hear or see you again. I was wrong twice. Fuck.

Anyway, since we last spoke I've felt like been an asshole. A selfish pervert with bad habits and boundary issues. It's disgusting.

At first, my decision to leave you alone was to protect my emotions.  We've already talked about it, but it was impossible to settle for just being friends. It was painful. You deserved better-so much better than me tbh. In retrospect, I wonder if you were trying to protect your friends from the heartache of your sudden loss. I suppose I felt justified in letting you go. I finally found someone to fill the void that you were never meant to fill (see, that already sounds dumb as hell cause people aren't responsible for filling each other's vacancies). Besides, reigniting our friendship might have caused unnecessary drama in my current relationship. Nonetheless, it felt right. 

Now that you're not here anymore it feels like I miss you a bit more all the time. I miss your new obsessions every month, and the way your eyes light up whenever you talk about some fictional character in some obscure piece of media only nerds like you know about. Shit, I logged back into Tumblr for the first time in like 6 years, and in less than 3 days I'm here scrolling through your blog checking out the last things you posted. I miss your queer fanfics and head canons. I miss the eloquent way you spoke when you read. I miss you tryna bake, even though I would sit there and eat them burnt cookies. I miss bickering about Star Wars v Harry Potter. I miss you teasing me about my cishet masculine insecurities. I miss the way you stood firmly against injustice and oppression, particularly your arch nemesis the fuckin patriarchy! I miss how you really didn't give a damn how anyone saw you or tried to squeeze you into their little box. I miss how you would drive people nuts just being yourself. I miss how loving you were even when you tried to hide it from the world sometimes. 

Remember that one time you spotted me on the bus all zoned out, and you sat right next to me and forced me to practice our lines for that play we were in? I was annoyed and happy at the same time lol. This year I did 4 plays. First one I did was HAIR up in Harrison, and you would've loved some of my cast mates. At one point we had a recasting...um..."crisis" to find a new Dionne. I couldn't think of anyone else but you. Except you'd already been gone for some eight months by then. That almost broke me. Oh! And one of them was this bizarre musical parody of Hamlet (I was hamlet btw). It made me think about hearing how you were such a talented Lady Macbeth in high school that the production was requested at Purchase Collage. So whenever I prepared to step on that stage, I thought to myself secretly "I hope she's watching and I hope she's proud." Honestly I felt that way for every show, but that's the one I wish you could've seen.

When you left it seemed like all of Mount Vernon came to see you go, probably a lot of people you didn't even like. But as each person got up to talk about their favorite memories of you, I realized as much as we talked and hung out, all I ever experienced of you was just a fragment of who you were. And I always knew you had heart issues, but I didn't realize just how sick you really were because you were so fiercely independent and full of life despite it all. As we left, my friend asked me how I thought I could honor your memory. I told him "By doing everything with as much passion and energy and purpose as she did." 

The problem is that when I had an opportunity to be friends again, I took you for granted. There was only one of you. Anybody similar to you by comparison was a bootleg with missing pieces. You were the genuine article: the Real Deal. I'll be processing the guilt of how things ended for quite a while longer than I should. I don't know if you were upset or indifferent, or if there's any slight that you held against me after we parted ways for the last time. But I hope, if it's okay with you, that I could take part of you with me in my journey through life.

You are missed, and you are loved.

Beloved (11/18/1993-6/21/2023)

[legolasghosty]

For willex? Smooching them all over the face, because that’s the only thing that gets them to wake up 💕

Willie rolls over in an attempt to avoid the sunlight that is beginning to filter through Alex's bedroom window. Usually Alex closed his blinds at night to avoid this situation, but with the distinct lack of sunshine in the winter, he'd started leaving them open. Which means that now Willie is awake, whether he likes it or not.

The clock on Alex's dresser reads 7:43, so it's not too early at least. And neither of them have to be anywhere today, so they'd talked about a lazy day in.

Willie glances over at their boyfriend, still sound asleep beside them. He's had a long week, they should let him sleep in. Alex's face is relaxed in that way it only ever really is when he's sleeping. Like the anxiety that haunts him every day is but a distant memory, the cares of the world and the trauma of the past merely fairy tales he read in a book. He's so beautiful.

It takes a tremendous amount of self-control for Willie to stop himself from running his fingers through the tangled, golden strands of Alex's hair or brushing his lips against his smooth brow. But they don't. He deserves the rest.

Instead, Willie clambers out of bed, closes the blinds, and heads for the bathroom. Alex is not a morning person, but Willie has learned a trick or two in the years they've been together. First trick: food.

He changes into a pair of sweats and one of Alex's hoodies(not the pink one, that's in the wash still from the...ketchup incident a few days ago), before pulling on his shoes and heading out the door. They don't bother doing anything with their hair. With luck, it will only be 20 minutes or so till they're back home anyways.

Willie breaks into a light jog as soon as he exits their apartment building. It's only a few blocks from home to Moon Pies, their favorite bakery. And he likes to think that the staff there like him and Alex as well. They do pop by for treats on a fairly regular basis.

"G'morning, Willie," the person behind the counter greets when they enter.

"Hey Aspen," Willie responds, grinning. "How's the shift going?"

"Same old, same old," Aspen chuckles, already heading for the bakery case. "The boss is trying out some new cookie recipes later though, so that should be tasty!"

"Oooo, any chance I can get a sneak preview?" Willie inquires, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Well he hasn't made them yet, so probably not," Aspen retorts, chuckling.

Willie shakes his head in mock disappointment. "Well then I guess the usual cinnamon rolls and lemon tarts will have to do."

"Treating your man I see," Aspen says as they pull the pastries from the case and slip them into little wax paper bags.

"First time we've both had the day off at the same time in like two months," Willie admits. "A decent breakfast is the least I can do."

Aspen nodded in understanding. "You guys enjoy it," they told him, accepting his card to pay for the treats. "And tell Alex I say hi."

"Will do," Willie answers, taking the bags and their card.

The little bell above the door chimes as he leaves, the December wind pulling at his hair as he steps outside. They shiver and hurry toward home. While it's not really that cold, it's a bit nippy in just his sweats and hoodie.

It takes a bit of fumbling to get the apartment door open without dropping anything, but Willie manages. He spreads out the fresh treats on the kitchen island and flips on the hot water kettle before heading for Alex's bedroom. Their boyfriend is still asleep when they poke their head through the doorway.

"Alex?" Willie calls softly.

The man in question doesn't stir. Willie laughs and heads for the bed. He tries tugging gently on the blankets tucked in around Alex's (very pretty and bare) torso, but that just makes Alex grip them tighter.

"Lexi, I got breakfast," Willie says, even as he climbs onto the bed, on top of his boyfriend.

Alex groans a bit at the weight of Willie's hips on top of his thighs but his eyes don't open. Willie smirks and leans forward, bracing himself up with one arm on the pillow beside Alex's head as he pecks him on the nose.

"Earlyyyy," Alex moans, the word wrapped up in sleepiness.

"I have cinnamon rolls," Willie retorts. They press another little kiss right between Alex's eyebrows. Then another on his temple, and another up by his hairline.

"'y can wait," Alex mumbles, squeezing his eyes shut tighter.

"But they'll get cold," Willie points out.

He brushes his lips against Alex's eyelids, enjoying the little warm feeling in his chest when they relax against his mouth. They continue their mapping of Alex's face, kissing along his cheekbone, then down to his chin and over to the other side of his face.

They finally give in to the urge to bury their fingers in his hair, all smooth and soft from being washed the night before. Alex hums and turns his head a bit to let Willie trail kisses along his jaw. Willie giggles and takes the chance to brush his lips against the sensitive spot just behind Alex's ear. Alex's breath hitches at the contact and he slowly opens his eyes a crack.

"You're pretty," he mumbles. One hand lets go of the blankets to slide under Willie's hoodie, up his bare back.

"Look who's talking," Willie teases, brushing his nose against his lover's.

"Sunshine," Alex grumbles, the nickname not coming out nearly as annoyed as he probably intended as he cups the back of Willie's neck with his free hand and pulls him into a kiss.

Willie smiles against Alex's mouth and lets Alex tug them all the way down on top of him. Screw every person who ever told them that moving in together would ruin their relationship. How could that possibly happen in a world where he got to kiss Alex good morning every single day?

After a minute though, they pull back slightly. "The food is gonna get cold," they point out regretfully.

Alex groans but nods. Willie rolls off of him and offers him a hand up. Alex seems to consider using it to pull Willie back down onto the bed, but gets up.

"You owe me kisses later for waking me up," he warns as he heads for the bathroom.

"Oh no, whatever shall I do?" Willie jokes. "I have to kiss my beautiful boyfriend some more. What a punishment."

"Troublemaker," Alex teases, turning to steal another quick peck.

"Love you," is all Willie can say when he pulls back.

"Love you too," Alex responds immediately. "Now please tell me you have tea going?"

[cryptidsurveys]

Saturday, December 7th, 2024.

Do you ever wonder what other people think of your survey answers? Yeah. I often wonder what people think of me in general.

Are there any survey-takers that you simply do not like because of their answers? No one currently. I basically "like" everyone I follow. It kind of reminds me of a work setting - we might not have anything in common, our personalities might not mesh well, and we might never be friends or interact outside of work hours, but we can still get along and get the job done. The "job" being to churn out surveys until the end of time, apparently.

Has anyone ever said anything in response to a survey question that offended you? Sure.

Which of the following sounds more appealing at the present moment : a bag of chips, a handful of cookies, a slice of pie / cake, or some crackers? Any particular kind? My stomach has been an absolute mess since Tuesday. What's weird is that it hasn't really killed my appetite, but it has gotten to the point where I'm afraid to eat pretty much anything lest it bring on The Sours. I'm eating an oatmeal bowl atm because I know I have to eat something and I am hungry, but…ugh. We'll see how this goes. I know that doesn't answer the question, though, so let's go with a bag of chips. Preferably the baked bbq chips I have in the cupboard.

How many pets have you had in your household at one time? Not even gonna try to count the fish we had when I was a child, but we've had six cats at one time.

Do you know anyone that works for a cable company? I don't.

What was the last thing you heard / read / saw that made you want to face-palm? Probably some political thing my dad was telling me about this morning. Not his opinion of it, but the situation in general.

Have you ever watched the show Raising Hope? If yes, what did you think of it? I've never even heard of it before.

Name one person on Xanga that you would be interested to be friends with. Or, if you are uncomfortable doing so, is there even anyone on Xanga that you find interesting & that you think you could be friends with? Xanga, Myspace, Bzoink... RIP. :'(

Is it cold enough to comfortably wear pants where you are, without getting too warm? I wear pants all year-round regardless of the temperature, but yes, it is cool enough to be comfortable.

What do you / does your family pay for rent? Do you think that your home is worth that amount? The house is paid off. I think we just have to pay property taxes, but I'm not sure how much that is.

Are your walls pretty sound-proof or is it easy to hear other people talking even if they’re several rooms away from you? I can't make out the words, but I can hear my dad when he's all the way downstairs.

Have you ever had family portraits done? Is this something you are fond of doing, or do you dread it? I think so. I was too little to care. It's not something we do anymore.

When was the last time you had oatmeal, if ever? Do you use milk or water in it? Just finished a bowl. I use water.

Do you have anything on your bedroom door? Have you ever? There are some glow-in-the-dark stars. And I covered my childhood bedroom door in random stickers.

Have you ever worked hard on something, only to have someone ruin it [whether literally or figuratively]? Reconnecting with my mom. We're still okay, but my sibling popped up in September and said some shit and now my parents won't even speak to one another. We used to be able to go out to eat or go see a film together and it was starting to feel like a little (albeit somewhat dysfunctional) family again, so it's just a huge bummer.

Does taking medication make you nervous? Is it something you avoid as much as possible? I don't mind taking things like OTC migraine meds and Tums, but anything beyond that I tend to avoid. I've had some bad experiences with mental health meds in the past. I also don't feel as though they helped me very much, if at all.

Do you ever learn new words [or even “remember” old words] that you become addicted to saying & repeat them in almost every sentence? That can happen with certain slang words / expressions.

Who do you know that suffers from bad dandruff, if anyone? I don't think I know anyone. My scalp is somewhat dry, but it's not horrendous.

Do you think that after the age of 90 you should stop caring so much about what you intake & just eat / drink whatever you want because you might as well since you’d be on the verge of death anyhow? I mean…I guess that would depend on my mindset once I reached that age. If I was still in reasonably good health and was enjoying my life, then I would probably do my best to take decent care of myself. If I was ready to die, then…welp.

Are the bottoms of your feet dirty? Not really? I mean, they're feet, so I wouldn't consider them clean even though I just had a shower and am now wearing socks and slippers, but they aren't covered in filth or whatever.

What do you do with your gum after you are done chewing it? Throw it in the trash.

Do you know someone that [unintentionally] types in caps a lot & then afterward apologizes for it? Do you watch what you are typing to ensure that you don’t make mistakes like that, or do you tend to stare down at the keyboard as you type? I don't know anyone like that, nor do I tend to make that kind of mistake. I typically look at the screen and not my keyboard.

Are you at all interested in the lives of celebrities? Why do you think people care so much about the lives of people that they don’t even know? Lol do people like Amberlynn and Eugenia count as celebrities? I honestly can't explain the appeal. At least in Eugenia's case (as with several other sufferers), I can chock it up to a form of morbid curiosity due to my own struggles. But when it comes to Amber…I have no excuse. Tbh, I no longer even recall how I ended up in the Amberverse, but now I don't know how to leave.

What is a site that you go to when you need a good laugh? If I'm looking for laughs, then I'd probably scroll through my Instagram feed.

[akariarda]

The hard side of growing up-1st Part

TFSM is obsessed with healthy eating and training. Garmadon and Wu go through the pros and cons of such a parent.

Thanks @master-jarrus for the request!!-Tell me what you think and I hope the next part will be soon.

"Pstt Wu!" Ten-year-old Garmadon angrily put his finger to his lips.

"I'm scared." Wu softly whined. "What if Father..?"

"Father won't find out." Garmadon smiled slightly and patted Wu on the shoulder. "Trust me."

Wu looked deeply into his eyes for a long moment and then slowly smiled back, deciding to trust his older brother.

"Just a little more…" Garmadon whispered as he climbed onto a chair. He reached out to grab… so close…

"Garmadon, Wu?!" TFSM turned on the lights in the pantry, astonished.

"Aaa!" Wu screamed.

"What are you doing?" TFSM asked, bewildered, as he scooped Wu into his arms.

"I, um…Wu was hungry, so I went to get some milk and a few cookies for both of us…" Garmadon tried to pull off an excuse.

"Then why did Wu get so scared when I walked in?" TFSM raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"Um…" Garmadon swallowed. "Because…"

"Wu, tell me the truth." TFSM looked directly into the eyes of the six-year-old. Garmadon also looked at him, warning him not to say anything.

"I… I…" Wu was sweating from all the attention directed at him. He just wanted to escape the situation.

"Garmadon and I wanted to take a cookie!" Wu finally burst into tears from the pressure.

"It's okay, shhh." TFSM said, though he didn't truly mean it. When Wu calmed down, he set him down and took a deep breath.

"We need to have a talk in the living room."

"But…" Garmadon started, but TFSM interrupted him. "Now."

"Alright…" Wu and Garmadon said glumly as they headed to the living room.

"What did I tell you about eating cookies?"

"Why are they there if we can't eat them?" Garmadon crossed his arms angrily.

"Who said you can't…" TFSM exhaled.

"It's not fair that we get a little cookie once a month if we're good, and you give it to other peole in Ninjago!" Garmadon continued to argue.

"I'm concerned for your health!" TFSM said defensively.

"But cookies aren't that bad…" Wu added quietly. Unlike Garmadon, he didn't like to oppose Father.

"They are…" TFSM sighed. "You have no idea what sweets can do to you."

"They can't kill us." Garmadon said sadly.

"They can, believe me." TFSM insisted.

"Please, Father." Wu said, looking at him with big eyes. "Just a little…"

"Very little." Garmadon added quietly. TFSM took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"Time for bed; we'll talk tomorrow…" he said sadly. He didn't like upsetting the boys, but…

"You don't love us!" Garmadon burst into tears and started heading towards his room.

"I love you, that's why I don't give you…" TFSM said, but Garmadon had already slammed the door.

"Do you understand me, Wu?" he gently asked, kneeling beside him. Wu only frowned and followed Garmadon.

~

"I'm so fed up with these training sessions!" Seventeen-year-old Garmadon panted and sat on a rock.

He grabbed a water bottle to drink, but it was empty.

"You can have some of my water." Thirteen-year-old Wu said, sitting beside him.

"Thanks." Garmadon said and took a sip.

"I'm pretty tired of this too…" Wu said quietly.

"Yeah, and why don't you admit that Father is wrong for once?" Garmadon mumbled.

"You know he cares about us, that's why he does this so much…" Wu replied but paused.

"Abuses." Garmadon offered.

"Yeah…" Wu said softly. "All these strict trainings and rigid diets…"

"I'm so tired of it; it's been too long." Garmadon buried his head in his hands. "I wish I knew what was going on in his head…"

"We're healthy." Wu proposed a solution.

"Yeah, but we wouldn't be much less healthy if he were just a little easier on us…" Garmadon frowned.

"I agree." Wu sighed. "What if we tried talking to him?"

"We've tried a hundred times." Garmadon said angrily. "Always the same…"

"There you are!" TFSM shouted when he saw them. "Enough resting; quickly, run after me."

"I’ll catch up." Garmadon said and continued running after his father, out of breath.

"Me too…" Wu mumbled, trying to keep pace with him.

"What a perfect place to start training!!"

"Start!" Panting, Wu and Garmadon shouted.

"Of course." TFSM smiled. "I'm so glad to be here with you kids…"

"I didn't imagine a trip would be like this." Garmadon frowned.

"I don't want to go on any more trips." Wu said, seizing the opportunity to sit down while TFSM was looking away.

"Come on, boys, where is your youthful strength?" TFSM turned to them. Something grumbled loudly.

"I'm hungry!" Garmadon said nervously, holding his stomach.

"I thought about that too." TFSM said proudly and handed Garmadon an apple.

"This wouldn't be enough to feed a two-year-old, let alone me!" Garmadon shouted angrily.

"Don't worry, I prepared us some stew when we get back, and then I'll tell you those adventures you love; this will be…"

"No!" Garmadon shook his head immediately.

"What?" TFSM looked at him confused.

"What Garmadon means to say is that we wanted to ask you to loosen up your regime a bit…" Wu said, trying to avoid an argument.

"We're fed up!!" Hungry Garmadon said and angrily threw the apple to the ground. He turned to leave, but his father stopped him.

"Garmadon, stop!" TFSM called, and he turned around. "Do you think it would be easier for me if I weren't like this?" He raised an eyebrow.

Both brothers fell silent.

"But I do this for your health… Because I love you."

"Pft." Garmadon scoffed.

"Now let's continue." TFSM said calmly and started training while his sons followed him.

Garmadon wished he had more strength to resist his father, but such things had become a habit. He looked at Wu, who was worried.

He didn't want their time together to be spoiled by arguments. He returned Garmadon's gaze with an expression of "maybe another time…"

Garmadon exhaled in frustration and sighed sadly. Father won't change. He knew that…

"A little more energy, boys!"

PART2