#will I ever release her hair mod

[chipped-chimera]

Night City's Finest - VENATRIX 2/?

Cyberpunk 2077 (2020) — CD Projekt Red

[glisten-the0neand0nly]

”i am simply the most glistening mirror ever! “

drawing is made by me

QUICK REMINDER

the owner of this blog is A MINOR THAT MEANS ; no nsfw asks you nasty people.

ALSO

I do NOT support Rox, the co-creator of Dandy's World, nor am I affiliated with BlushCrunch Studio in any way, shape, or form. I am just a fan of the game. Also, since this character has NOT been released yet and has only been seen in posters and his introduction card, anything I say may possibly be inaccurate. Wooo glisten is out yaayy

Fun fact , this user is a multi shipper chat. so they ship oc x cannon and cannon x cannon

so thy have many ships ; eg: glassbox (boxten x glisten) , shroob (shrimpos goob) , moonflower, insitefulhate, shellyvision, eyedetails(? rodger x glisten) ,

I DO DO NOT SHIP OR SUPORT

Scraps x goob because that’s a fucking proship dni, toodles x anyone (because toodles is a child) , no vore gtfo you nasty mf

ALSO (2x)

These are MY glisten hc’s . so thumbs up

GLISTEN HC’S

He is a GAYBO (bisexual, genderqueer, trans )

him and vee are somewhat friends

he gets along with almost all the toons

he constantly admires himself in the mirror

he listens to ayesha erotica sometimes

he is, surprisingly taller than rodger

glisten is TRYING to learn french, he doesn’t know much but he knows small bits of it

his “hair” is really soft (his ponytail and his tuft on the top of his head is soft)i

he has a collection of makeup ( all fancy kinds <3 )

he and teagan are related (possibly cousins )

MOD INTRO

heya there i’m Moons, or Acrab

i go by any pronouns but she/her works (please use neos on me i beg/silly/nf)

i have manny interests

i’m in some supper fun fandoms

its not me it’s my basement

damdys world

mlp

solar balls

inanimate insanity

psjk (need to get more into it)

fnf

dhmis

tadc

scratchin melody

pinkmin

omori

Steven universe

corryxkenshin

splatoon

murder drones

and more but i have shitty memory

HEADS UP

whenever i’m ooc i will use

🌙 - [text]

or

⭐️ - [text]

will update if needed <3

DNI LIST

basic shit

pr0sh2ters/ c0mzh1ters

z00pod1l3s

n2fw

any canceled creatoll lolsies! especially child diddlers

anything bad in gen

[littlest-w01f]

Heated

Eris x Rheana (See Rheana here)

For @acotar-omegaverse-week

Omegaverse week 2024 Masterlist

Day 2: Turning Up The Heat

Summary: Eris had kept this side of him a secret for so long that he didn't think he'd get so desperate for his mate when his heat hit

Cw: Heat, pegging, Alpha!Rheana, Omega!Eris, FxM, mentions of B*ron's abuse of Eris at the end, Smut 18+ MDNI

A/n: I would like to really thank the week mods for giving me an excuse for writing Rheana pegging Eris cause I've been dreaming about this moment since day one

Rheana walked the halls of the Autumn palace, looking for Eris, she could sense his distress through their bond, and should've known something was wrong with him when he excused himself from a very important meeting, something he normally wouldn't do, she found him in their shared chambers.

Eris lay on the bed, gasping for breath, as Rheana entered the chamber, her keen senses immediately picked up on the change in Eris's scent. The normal aroma was now laced with a heady sweetness, unmistakable evidence of his heat. His body glistened with sweat, each muscle taut and quivering as he struggled to catch his breath.

She reached out a hand, gently brushing back a strand of damp hair from his forehead. "Eris," she whispered softly, her voice a soothing balm to his frayed nerves. "It's okay, my love. I'm here for you."

"Rhea..." Eris whined, chest rising as her skilled hands worked his tunic off, "I... I don't... I don't know what's wrong with me."

Rheana's eyes softened, "Oh baby, nothing is wrong with you... You've just gone into heat."

Eris groaned at Rheana's words, his body writhing under her touch. He tried to speak but all that came out were guttural sounds of need and desire. His eyes fluttered open, revealing dark eyes clouded with lust, reflecting the burning fire within him.

Rheana's fingers deftly removed his tunic, exposing his chiselled torso. Every inch of him seemed to burn hotter than usual, every nerve ending screaming for relief. His cock twitched against his pants, straining.

"Rhea," he moaned again, reaching out for her. "Please… help me."

Rheana nodded, her fingers deftly working at Eris's pants, freeing his hard cock. His clothes fell away, and he lay bare, body burning with arousal, the scent of his slick thick in the air.

"I know it must seem overwhelming," Rheana continued, her voice low and comforting. "But we'll get through this. Just remember how good it feels once we're through, alright?"

Eris nodded weakly, unable to form coherent thoughts anymore. All he could focus on was the throbbing ache between his legs, begging for release. His cock sprang free, standing proud and eager, dripping precum wherever it could reach.

Rheana's hands were gentle yet firm as they caressed his thighs, spreading them wide to give her better access. Her touch sent sparks shooting through his veins, making him buck his hips upwards instinctively as she gave his cock a few strokes before leaning in to lick at the head, sucking softly.

"Oh-" he breathed out, watching as Rheana leaned down to take him into her mouth.

Eris's back arched off the bed as Rheana's warm, wet mouth enveloped his throbbing cock. Her tongue swirled around the sensitive head, teasing and coaxing out more precum. She took him deeper, her mouth massaging his cock as she bobbed up and down.

"E-ahh! Rhea!" Eris cried out, his hands tangling in her hair to have some semblance of hold. His hips rocked in time with her strokes, trying to fuck her face with desperate abandon, but she moved at her own pace. The sensation was intense, bordering on pain, but he couldn't stop, didn't want to stop. Not until he exploded down her throat and from the scent of his pheromones, Rheana knew he wouldn't last long at all.

The pleasure coursing through Eris's body was unlike anything he'd ever experienced. Each stroke of Rheana's talented tongue sent waves of ecstasy crashing over him. He pulled her closer, his cock hitting the back of her throat with every thrust.

His breathing grew ragged, his moans turning into pleas for release. "Rhea… I'm close," he panted out, feeling the coil inside him tightening rapidly.

Rheana hummed around his cock, her hand moving to the curve of his ass, fingers trailing till they found his hole wet with slick, watching his reaction she plunged a single finger in.

The unexpected intrusion made Eris cry out loudly, his entire body tensing up. But the shock quickly turned into pleasure as Rheana's finger began to move inside him, stretching and preparing him for what was to come and he exploded down her throat. He bucked wildly against her mouth as Rheana drank his release, licking him clean, the dual sensations of her lips working his cock and her finger probing his ass nearly too much to bear in his aftershock, twitching slightly. "Fuck! Rheana… please…"

She pulled off his cock, giving the underside a few long licks, "Please what, my sweet omega?" She teased, her finger still moving in his ass.

Eris's mind was foggy with lust, his thoughts fragmented and incoherent. All he knew was that he needed more, needed Rheana to fill him completely. "Please… fuck me," he begged, his voice strained and desperate. "I need you inside me, now."

"Aww, look at you, you've leaned to beg so sweet," Rheana cooed, using her free hand to stroke his cock as she added another finger in his ass, stretching him

The addition of a second finger sent Eris spiralling even further into madness. He screamed out loud, his body shaking violently under Rheana's relentless assault. His cock throbbed in her hand, slowly growing hard again.

"Cauldron… yes!" he roared, feeling her fingers curl inside him, stroking that sweet spot that drove him insane. "I'm…!"

The second orgasm hit Eris like a sudden tidal wave, sweeping him off his feet and carrying him away on its crest. His cock pulsed violently in Rheana's hand, his seed spurting forth in thick ropes that landed on his own chest and stomach. His cries echoed throughout the room, raw and primal, as he rode out the waves of pleasure that racked his body.

As the spasms finally subsided, leaving him panting heavily, Eris managed to open his eyes. He looked down at himself, covered in his own cum, and then at Rheana who was still there between his spread legs. A lazy smile crept onto his lips, satisfaction painting his features.

"Feeling better, my darling?" Rheana cooed, asking softly, still stroking him in his after-shock, "Do you want more?"

Eris let out a content sigh, feeling utterly spent but also incredibly sated. His muscles relaxed, the tension seeping out of him slowly. "Yes," he admitted breathlessly, looking into Rheana's eyes. "I always want more when it comes to you."

Rheana stood up to her full height, pulling her fingers out of his ass, he didn't know when, but she had removed her clothes, his eyes wide as he sees her wearing her strap, deep purple in colour and fit her taste perfectly, "Well then, hope you're prepared." She smiled sweetly.

Eris watched, captivated, as Rheana stood up. His gaze drifted lower, taking in the sight of her naked body, curves highlighted in the dim lighting of their bedroom. His eyes widened further when he saw the strap hanging from her hips. He swallowed hard, anticipation coursing through his veins.

"I'm ready," he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. "For whatever you want to do to me."

She smiled, getting on top of him to position herself on him, Eris gasped as he felt the tip of the strap against his ass, she pushed in fully, stretching his ass completely he groaned sharply as Rheana impaled him on her strap-on, the thick shaft stretching his ass to its limits. He felt every inch of her penetrate him, filling him completely. The pressure was intense, almost painful, but it was a good kind of pain, one that only served to heighten his arousal.

His hands flew to her hips, gripping tightly as he tried to adjust to the sudden invasion. Rheana started to move, her hips rolling in a slow, deliberate rhythm that had Eris moaning in ecstasy. With each thrust, he felt himself being driven deeper into the mattress, his body submitting completely to hers.

The sound of flesh slapping against flesh filled the room as Rheana pumped her hips, driving the glass strap in and out of Eris's stretched asshole. The slickness of his own fluids provided the perfect lubrication, allowing her to move with ease.

Eris's moans grew louder, more desperate, as he surrendered to the pleasure. His hands gripped her hips harder, urging her on, pleading silently for more. The sensation of being filled so completely, of having his ass pounded by Rheana's strap, hitting the sweet spot inside him with every stroke, was intoxicating, driving him closer and closer to the brink of another orgasm.

Eris loved every moment of being pegged by Rheana, relishing in the way her hips ground against his ass, the way her strap filled him completely. He could feel every ridge and bump of the glass toy, each movement sending sparks of pleasure shooting through his body.

His moans were constant, his body writhing beneath hers as he gave himself over to the pleasure entirely. His cock throbbed with need, precum leaking steadily from the tip. He was so close, teetering on the edge of another powerful orgasm, pain and pleasure twisting in his belly.

Eris' eyes filled with tears as Rheana leaned forward to kiss his eyes, kissing all over his face, his eyes rolled back in pleasure as Rheana leaned forward to claim his lips in a hard kiss, his legs locked around her as she claimed him with every thrust, "Shhh... Baby, just feel me."

The kiss was hard and passionate, matching the intensity of their lovemaking. As Rheana continued to pound into him, her movements became more erratic, less controlled. Her grip on his hips tightened, her nails digging into his skin slightly.

Eris tried to meet her every thrust, his legs locking around her waist to pull her even closer. The sensation of her strap plunging into him, coupled with the taste of her lips on his, the taste of his cum on her lips and tongue, was enough to send him spiralling towards climax once again.

After several more minutes of relentless pounding, Eris's body finally succumbed to the overwhelming pleasure. He cried out loudly, his orgasm hitting him like a freight train. His cock twitched and spasmed, releasing yet another load of cum onto his stomach.

He went limp underneath Rheana, completely spent and satisfied. His body was covered in a layer of his own sticky fluid, making him look like a work of art. But despite his exhaustion, he couldn't help but reach out for her, wanting to hold onto her as he both came down from his high.

Rheana gently touched his cheeks bringing a small smile to Eris's lips, despite the exhaustion clouding his mind. As she slowly pulled out of him, he let out a low groan, feeling the stretch of his ass as she withdrew.

She took care not to hurt him, her movements slow and measured. She slid off to the side, waving her strap away the way she had done with her clothes, cleaning him fully with the same motion, laying beside him and pulling him into a tender embrace. Her arms wrapped around him, holding him close as they both caught their breath.

Eris clung to Rheana's muscular arms, his fingers digging into her flesh as he held onto her tightly. Soft tears left his eyes, trickling down over the bridge of his nose, his temples and onto the pillow beneath him. He wasn't sure why he was crying, maybe it was just relief from the intense session they'd just had.

Regardless of the reason, he buried his face into the crook of her neck, inhaling deeply. The scent of her, mixed with the lingering smell of sweat and sex, was comforting.

"Eris, you never have to be embarrassed about your needs ever again." Rheana sighed, holding her omega close to her, still sensing his heat, stroking his back gently, "I know you were never allowed to feel your urges fully, but now you can..." She knew, his father had forced him on supplements after whipping him through his heats to try to force him to control his pheromones, but he had failed, because no omega could hold their urges during their heat forever, it wasn't natural to.

He snuggled closer to her, enjoying the warmth of her body and the steady beat of her heart. Despite everything, he felt safe and loved in her arms, something he hadn't experienced in a long time. "You didn't get to cum..." He whispered, his eyes heavy.

"We can worry about me late," Rheana kissed his temple, sending him off to sleep. "Rest well, my love,"

{General Taglist - @nox-ceur @lilah-asteria @paleidiot @dee-writes-smut @adalia-jaycee @anarchiii @alwayshave-faith}

{Eris Taglist - @fxckmiup @slut4acotar @secret-third-thing @shadowsingers-mate @fieldofdaisiies}

{Flames and Darkness Taglist - @anuttellaa @tuggboatfishin @inloveallthetime}

[spiribia]

I do think the “mod of a game that adds DLC size content or even totally overhauls into a separate new fan game” made by a team of volunteers out of passion is one of the most valorous endeavors out there when tackled with the appropriate devotion and patience to see it through to completion even if the product is often not as passable as an official franchise release as it claims it is. however sorrowfully you sometimes end up with fallout mod where one of the companions is an Asian girl born with red hair who has a “happy 18th birthday” note addressed to her in her inventory and you can tell her no one will ever love her to make her agree to be your “little slave girl” and wear a collar and call you master. Would that I was making any of that up

[fountainpenguin]

"I was climbing, now I'm falling- I've been pushed off by a man who has made it to the top and now defends it 'cuz he can…" (x)

---

New Dog's Life chapter today! ~ 3rd Life series fan-season

Chapter 38 - “Tuesday: Tango's Long Night”

❤️ Read on AO3

💛 Start from Chapter 1

💚 More Pixels Imperfect fics

---

Tango layers more anti-viruses in Scott's player file. This goes against everything he knows about corrupted code... Should he keep going? ... Or, without consent, do what he knows will actually save this man?

Meanwhile, Pearl balances Rhetoric, Scott, and Grian visiting her unit at the same time. Yeah, this is gonna go well.

# 1 of 7 of our monthly intermission chapters

(First 1,000 words under the cut)

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Tango

🌕

Location: His studio, West Bailey Wall, Bottom Floor

🖤  🖤  🖤

Tango does not often regret choosing a path of codework. He loves modding. He loves adding pretty details; he loves giving people what they want and polishing the rough edges off blocky faces and backs and butts. His species is classed as avian, though he last respawned under a waxing crescent and lacks the wings and feathers to show for it. He's got tiny talons, blaze rods, and hair that shifts into flames, and that's it. Coding the fluff-tipped tail he wears now was a challenge that captivated his brain since the start. How do add twitchy muscles to lower back? Apply tail to butt, haha. Meld it in. Let the mind control it. Do it beautifully so it's elegant and won't drop frames.

His tail isn't dexterous, but he wears it like a trophy- Adding a mammal tail to a species that’s meant to have feathers there, and not only making it twitch and curl instead of hang, but look natural, is one of the most difficult things you can ever do with aesthetic mods. He's thinking of forcing out the wings he would have under a stronger moon, but never really got around to it. The conversion time takes a kabillion years. You gotta be careful with wings anyway- they release a lot of body heat. Between's a lot cooler than the Nether, so you might fall over and croak. You ever seen strider wings? Yeah, guess how much heat they put out, even if they are tough and resilient around lava. Anyway.

Let's just say it's a good thing his office doesn't have a window. He works with a lot of film in here, so darkness is peak necessity. He's got two copper bulb lights up tonight. The glow's hazy, but at least it keeps his attention on his work, eyes all goggled up and tongue pinned beneath his teeth. Working with player files isn't like working with redstone wiring, with all its tangled tubes of dust and tiny caps that easily get lost and spill all over the stupid floor. Nah.

Code work uses the coding table, and it's a whole lot less messy. You don't need to be super accurate. It's a lot easier to tap a delete key and remove a string of words than it is to rip out a chunk of wires and get all huffy when your machine stops working. They should sell more partly assembled redstone machines in the market- more than, like, comparators. Except all the serious redstoners still won't buy 'em in case corners were cut in the process and because they have to take 'em apart anyway to modify 'em, so there you go. Fiddling and tweaking can really suck you in. It's kind of like making banners you're printing on your soul.

Tango does not often regret choosing a path of codework. But it's a good thing he doesn't have a window. He glances up only on occasion, staring at the chipped, gunpowder-streaked blocks that separate him from the rest of the world.

I should be with the pack right now.

Hey. Little recap for you: Most people aren't going to bed tonight. The hub flower got skadoodley-yoinked. Without its roots hooked in, everyone's comm is black; they're all off the system. There's no way on a server right now. There's no way out of one either. The phantoms are under contract; they can't just log people out right now. Hope they got fed, then.

Eh, they'll be fine. They've got souls in storage. Tango keeps working, checking details on his screen and typing on the table keyboard. What time is it? The sun's officially gone-zo at 14k. That was a while ago.

Do you remember our biology fritter-fratter from before Dog's Life began? 'course not- That was a long time ago. Well, no worries! we'll cover it again. See, the Nether doesn't have a day-night cycle. The heat waves shift. Sometimes the dimension cools. There's never a schedule to it, but when the heat's down, it's down (whether it's been hours, days, or weeks since the last lull). Nether creatures group together for sleepy times. If Tango played on some of those raw servers where traits are turned up to max, he wouldn't even survive the Overworld- Not without a lot of prep from his friends on the other side. Thank goodness for vanilla servers that even out the playing field.

Blaze don't really hang out alone in Between. When they do, they have to keep their internal fires up, and that can really drain the metabolism. The pack is warm. The pack is safety. And Tango's fingers tremble as he blinks his lashes, pushing through the dimension's fading warmth. Nightfall is here. Capture the Flag will be winding down. It's time to go to sleep.

He does his work. He chose this path. Scott's crystal floats on the crying obsidian block beside him, casting a white glow over his workspace. The goggles tune it out a bit. Tango yawns wide (like one of those lions in the emerald savanna biome), then realizes what he did and shakes his head back and forth. "Brrrr! Whatchu doing?" He smacks himself in the cheek. Hard. "Come on, man- He needs you."

He keeps typing. Scott's code is layered in anti-virus protections. Lots of stuff to dig through. Tango's got a book on the edge of his desk, open to a page about data conflicts, and he's still checking and closing loops. Scott didn't want to amputate. He didn't want a graft. "More anti-virus protections," he said, and he was serious.

"Are you sure? That- That probably won't work. If you wait too long, there's no chance a graft will take. That kinda sets you up for like, either being an allay with a prosthetic or just a vex."

"No grafts, please. Just tell me where to sign."

"Okay, buddy… but that's against medical advice. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"He prob'ly would've listened to Etho," he mutters, typing more. "I swear, everybody thinks I just do visuals: slap a little colored fire on this guy, slap some wings on her… Hey, just because I work in the aesthetics department, it doesn't make my license any less legit. I've been doing this almost as long as he has." Who scrubbed in to save Impy? Who helped him and Skizz with the soul-sharing? Who once patched BigB up when he got shot in the neck? That was a Tango original. Just me. Why is he even doing this? All evidence in book and mind is screaming that this isn't going to work.

Fingertips stall. Blank stare. Soft breathing.

Scott would've listened to my medical advice if I was Etho. Should he have tried harder? Should he have done more? He got the signature, Scott confirming exactly what he wanted. He really shouldn't go against that. It'd be medical malpractice at this point.

… Even though the anti-viruses aren't going to stop him from becoming a vex.

Which he's trying to avoid by using stupid anti-viruses.

[Full chapter on AO3 - Link at top]

[jrob64]

Ghosted

Chapter 3 - Plans

So, it appears this story will wind up being 4 chapters long. The final chapter is in the midst of being written.

Fair warning - this chapter also has some rather intense scenes, so if the previous chapter threatened to give you nightmares, as some of you commented (and of which I'm secretly proud), don't read it just before going to sleep!

A huge thank you to my beta @hookedmom, who looked this over despite having just gone through emergency eye surgery for a torn retina. Please send her your thoughts and prayers for a quick and complete recovery. I can't thank @kmomof4 & @motherkatereloyshipper enough for the wonderful pic set. And of course, the mods of @cssns for having this great event.

Please continue to forgive me for any errors pertaining to ghost hunting and being a YouTuber.

Story Summary: When Emma Swan’s ex-boyfriend dies, she’s haunted by his ghost. Her neighbor, Killian Jones, a ghost hunter who has a YouTube channel, realizes what’s happening and offers to help. However, there’s more at stake than simply helping the apparition move on. There’s also the matter of Killian telling Emma he’s in love with her. 

Rating: T (subject to change)

Words (Chapter 3): 8542

Previous chapters on Tumblr: Ch. 1 Ch. 2

Also posted to Ao3 and ffn

*********

Belle put her hand over her mouth, eyes wide, while a grim-faced Killian rubbed his hands up and down Emma’s biceps in an attempt to soothe her. Will said bluntly what they were all thinking. “The bloody bastard thinks you’re his and wants to drag you to hell with him?”

Emma looked up at Killian, tears shining in her eyes. “Can he do that? Is it possible?”

“No, Love,” he assured her. “Those movies where you see people being pulled kicking and screaming to the Underworld aren’t factual. He may keep haunting you, but he can’t physically take you somewhere against your will.” He looked at Belle and Will. “I think we’ve all had enough for today. I’m going to walk Emma back to her apartment.”

“We’ll clear things away here while you do that, won’t we, Belle?” Will stated.

She nodded her agreement and rose from her chair, moving to where Emma was slowly standing up, too. Taking her hands, Belle said, “Try not to worry about anything, Emma. These guys are good at what they do and I have no doubt that, in time, they’ll be able to get Neal to move on.” Then she wrapped her arms around the other woman in a warm hug.

“Thanks,” Emma murmured, blinking back the tears threatening to fall. When Belle released her, she turned to Will and said, “And thank you, Will.”

“Yer welcome,” he replied, giving her a quick hug, too. “Like Belle said, don’t you worry ‘bout that git. Me and Kil, we’ll take care of him once and for all. Ain’t that right, Kil?”

“Aye,” Killian said softly, intertwining his fingers with Emma’s. “All you have to do is trust us and give us some time.”

Emma sighed. “I hope it doesn’t take too long. I’m ready to get back to my boring, ghost-free life.”

Killian kept hold of her hand to lead her out of the room. Once they left his apartment, they meandered to her door, neither in a hurry to get there. Coming to a halt, he turned and faced her. “Are you going to be alright?”

She shrugged ever so slightly. “Until he’s gone, I’m always going to be looking over my shoulder and thinking I hear something. This whole ordeal has made me paranoid and I hate it.”

Nodding in understanding, he said, “I know, and I wish there was more I could do to help you.”

“You’re doing all you can and I truly appreciate it. I guess it pays to have a ghost hunter as a friend, huh?” she said, managing to give him a small smile.

He took a step closer, reaching up to brush some hair over her shoulder. “As I said before, I’m here for you, Emma - day or night. Please don’t hesitate to call if you need me, okay?”

“You might regret that offer.”

“Never. I wouldn’t say it if I wasn’t ready to follow up on it.”

Her lips ticked up in another hint of a smile, then she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you, Killian.”

Holding her tightly, he rested his cheek against her silky hair. Having Emma Swan in his arms was something he had longed to do, so he decided to take advantage of the opportunity, despite how much he hated the circumstances.

After several long, comforting moments, Emma pulled away, looking up to give him one more grateful smile, before turning and going into her apartment. Killian stood staring at the closed door for a while, breathing a prayer that she would have a long period of respite from the imbecile who had made her life miserable for far too long.

*********

Belle and Will were ready to walk out the door when he returned to his apartment. He bid them goodbye, taking note of how Will slung his arm across Belle’s shoulders as they walked down the hallway.

He knew from experience that going straight to bed following a lengthy review of everything they collected during an all-nighter, wouldn’t result in him being able to fall asleep. Instead, he went through his regular routine of getting something to eat, taking a long, hot shower, and making himself comfortable in loose sleep pants and a well-worn T-shirt. Then he settled into bed on his side, flipping through the pages of a magazine he kept on his nightstand.

His eyelids were just starting to droop, when he felt a familiar sensation. “Liam? Are you there?” he called out.

Sure enough, the apparition of his brother appeared in front of him. “Aye, little brother. I’m here.”

Killian opted to ignore the moniker that irritated him so much. “I was just about to go to sleep. We had an all-nighter at Emma’s apartment last night. Her ex-boyfriend provided us with a lot of stuff to analyze. He’s definitely haunting her, and get this - from what we deciphered, he’s determined to take her with him into the afterlife.”

Liam chuckled. “He hasn’t figured out it isn’t possible, huh?”

“He’s still an idiot,” Killian sighed. “And I hate the effect he’s having on her. Hated it while he was alive and hate it now that he’s…”

“Dead,” Liam finished for him. “You can say the word, you know. It’s not going to bother me. I’m well aware of my state of being.”

“I know, but I’d rather not think of you like that.”

“Killian,” Liam began, and Killian knew what his brother was about to say was serious. He rarely addressed him by his given name. It was almost always ‘Killy’ or ‘little brother’. “You know the day is going to come when I’m no longer with you. I’m going to have to…”

“We don’t need to talk about that,” Killian interrupted.

“Well, it’s going to happen, whether you want to face it or not. May I ask you a question?”

“Go ahead.”

“Why are you afraid of me moving on?”

“I’m not afraid,” Killian said indignantly. “I just…I don’t want to be left all alone.”

“You wouldn’t be alone. You have Will and that lovely lass, Belle…”

“Friends aren’t the same as family.”

“What about Emma?”

“What about her?” Killian hedged.

“If you were to marry her, she would be your family.”

Killian flopped back onto his pillow, hands over his face. “Not this again,” he said, voice muffled. “Why are you so insistent I ask her out?”

“Because I want to know you’re happy before I move on.”

“I’m not unhappy with my life,” Killian defended.

“I never thought my brother would grow up to be a coward,” Liam said.

Killian whipped his hands away from his face and sat up. “I’m not a coward! I have good reasons for not asking her out.”

“Excuses, you mean. You forget that I saw how upset you were every time she went out with someone, and how it tore you apart when she started seriously dating that guy, Neal. She’s a beautiful, fetching woman. Do you think she’s going to remain available until you finally get up the nerve to ask her out yourself?”

Killian didn’t answer, his head bowed and jaw ticking.

“Listen, little brother, I didn’t mean to upset you. You know I love you and only want the best for you. I don’t want to move on without knowing you’re going to be okay.”

“Then don’t move on.”

“Is that one of your excuses for not asking Emma out? You’re afraid I’ll move on?”

Killian looked up at his brother’s translucent form. “That’s your unfinished business, isn’t it? Making sure I have someone here to love so I won’t be alone. That’s why you‘ve pushed me so hard to ask Emma out.”

“Took you long enough to figure it out,” Liam said, his voice fading as it always did before he disappeared. “You might not want me to go, but you need to live your life among the living, not hanging on to me. Think about that. I’ll see you soon, Killy. Love you.”

“Love you, too, Liam.”

Despite having gone through his established routine, it still took Killian a couple of hours to fall asleep after Liam left, his words ringing in Killian’s ears.

********

For the next three days and nights, there was no paranormal activity, allowing Emma to have restful sleep. Ruby informed her that the crime lords’ house of cards came tumbling down, and included a prominent judge, who was discovered to have planted a guard in the prison to take Neal out. There were several arrests and it appeared that Neal’s death helped put numerous dangerous people behind bars.

Emma began to hope that Neal’s unfinished business was to see justice done to those who were responsible for his death, and then he moved on. She informed Killian about everything that had happened, enabling him to join her in hoping her encounters with Neal were over.

Everything was beginning to feel almost back to normal, when the nightmares began again. Two nights of feeling as if she was being suffocated left her anxious and exhausted. After the second night, she texted Killian.

E: I thought the nightmares were over, but they came back. I had them for the last two nights.

His response was almost instantaneous.

K: We can do another all-nighter and try to talk to him again, if that’s alright with you.

E: I’ll do anything to get him to leave me alone.

Killian and Will set up the equipment again and were able to capture more light anomalies, evidence of an apparition in Emma’s bedroom and more words on the spirit box which sounded like he kept repeating ‘you’re…mine.’ Killian tried for over an hour to get the spirit to answer questions on the flux, to no avail.

When Emma sent another text stating that nothing changed, Killian and Will set up and ran the equipment for a third time a few nights later. When they arrived at Emma’s apartment to prepare everything, Killian was taken aback at her appearance. Her complexion was sallow, her hair limp and lifeless. Her usually sparkling eyes were sunken and dull, and she told Killian and Will she had taken sick days the last two evenings because she didn’t have the energy to work.

In the midst of them setting up, Emma left to use the bathroom. “I hate to say it, boss, but she looks bad,” Will whispered.

“Aye, she does. We’ve got to get Neal to move on before he completely wears her down.”

“D’ya think that’s what he’s tryin’ to do? Keep comin’ to her in her nightmares to drain her life force, like ghosts sometimes drain batteries?”

Killian’s eyes shot up to meet his assistant’s. “Bloody hell! I think you could be right, Will. I think his intention might be trying to make her so sick she dies, so he can take her with him!”

“Just like he said he’s gonna do,” Will spat disgustedly. “Are ya gonna tell her?”

Killian pondered the question, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. “I don’t think so. She’s almost ready to break as it is. Knowing our theory about what he’s trying to do might just send her over the edge. We’ve got to give it our best shot tonight to get him to move on. If we’re not successful…”

“We have to be,” Will said decisively.

That night, it was nearly two AM before Emma finally fell into a fitful sleep. Killian was ready with the flux response device as soon as signs of Neal’s appearance were seen and heard through their monitors.

He entered her bedroom, his heart nearly shattering when he saw how she was thrashing about in her sleep, a look of desperate fright on her face. Setting the device on the nightstand with hands that were trembling with rage, he once again knelt beside the bed and began asking questions.

“Are you Neal Cassidy?”

There was a long pause. Just when he thought he wasn’t going to get an answer, the green light glowed.

“Do you know you are dead?” Green light.

“Do you know how you died?” Green light.

“Do you still have unfinished business?” Green light.

“Once you’ve completed your unfinished business, will you move on to your eternal home?”

He waited several minutes before asking the question again. As soon as he did, the green light flicked on.

“Is your unfinished business getting justice for your death?” Red light.

“Is it saying goodbye to your loved ones?” Red light.

Killian drew in a deep breath and blew it out slowly, unwilling to ask the next question for fear of the answer he thought he might get.

“Is it…causing Emma to die?” After several tense moments, the green light lit up.

He cursed under his breath. How was he supposed to talk a spirit out of such an insane idea?

Tasting bile in his mouth, he swallowed hard, then asked, “Do you love Emma?” The response was immediate - a green light.

“Don’t you want her to have a long, happy life?” No response.

He decided to rephrase the question. “Would you rather have her die and be with you than go on living?” Green light.

Sick, selfish bastard.

Killian was done asking questions. He needed to somehow persuade Neal to move on.

“I’m sorry for what happened to you, and Emma told me she is, too. I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but the men who caused your death have been arrested and are going to be held accountable. The whole crime ring is toppling and they won’t be able to kill anyone else like they killed you.”

“It’s time for you to move on, Neal. Your plan to take Emma with you won’t work. Look at her.” He gestured to where she lay wrestling on the bed. “All you’re doing is causing her to be exhausted and miserable. She doesn’t want to die…”

His breath was stolen away, as what felt like a cold blast of air passed through him. The room went completely still and he realized Emma was no longer struggling or whimpering. He stood and looked down at her, then sat beside her on the bed, smoothing her tangled hair away from her face. “Sleep now, Swan,” he whispered.

He was tucking the sheets around her, when Will cracked open the door and stuck his head in. “I think he’s gone, boss,” he said softly. “All the instrument readings are normal again. Should I pack up, or continue to monitor?”

“Let’s keep monitoring for another hour or so, just to see if he comes back. I’ll be out in a minute.”

Will nodded and closed the door with a soft click. Killian looked down at Emma again, surprised to see her eyes open. Her hand snuck out from under the sheet and gripped his wrist. “Please don’t leave me,” she rasped.

“We think Neal may have moved on.”

“I heard, but I still don’t want to be alone.”

“We’ll stay the rest of the night,” he assured her. “We’ll be out in the living…”

“No,” she interrupted, beginning to sit up. “Stay here with me. Please, Killian.”

Her pleading nearly undid him. He cupped her cheek, lightly stroking it with his thumb. “Alright, Love, relax. I’ll stay right here, I promise.”

She laid back down, but didn’t let go of his wrist or close her eyes. “Killian?” she said, her voice smaller than he had ever heard it.

“Aye?”

“Will…will you hold me?”

He blinked, absorbing what she was asking of him. Then he quickly toed off his shoes and laid down beside her on top of the covers. Without hesitation, she moved into his open arms, tucking herself tightly against his chest.

He slid one arm underneath her and wrapped both around her rigid form, murmuring reassuring words into her hair. It took several minutes, but he finally felt the tension begin to recede and heard her breathing deepen and even out.

Will peeked in again. “Do ya want me to turn off the video camera, Kil?”

Killian didn’t turn to look at him. “You can leave it on,” he whispered.

“Okay. I’ll stay awake and keep an eye on things. You can sleep if you want.”

“Thanks, Will.”

Then, holding the woman who held his heart, he took Will up on his offer.

*********

Emma awoke slowly the next morning, her foggy brain trying to figure out what felt different. When she tried to move and wasn’t immediately able to, she began to panic, pushing at the solid body in front of her.

“It’s okay, Swan. It’s okay,” a deep voice soothed. At the same time she felt the arms around her loosen.

As soon as it registered that it was Killian, she exhaled his name in relief, then said, “You stayed.”

“Aye, Love. Will packed up the equipment and left a couple of hours ago. I didn’t want you to wake up alone.”

She pulled away to look at him. “Thank you. I haven’t slept that well since Neal...”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Killian interrupted, making no move to let go of her and get out of bed.

She rested her cheek against his chest again. “Do you…do you think he’s really gone?”

“I told him to move on and that’s when I thought I felt him leave, which the equipment verified. Whether he’s gone for good, though - only time will tell.”

Emma sighed deeply and sat up, running her hands through her unruly hair. “Were you able to communicate with him at all? With that spirit box or flux capacitor thing?”

Killian swung around to sit on the side of the bed, chuckling. “I think you have my show mixed up with ‘Back to the Future’, Swan.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

It was his turn to sigh. “He did respond to quite a few questions I asked using the flux response device.”

When he didn’t continue, she said, “Are you going to tell me now, or will we watch it on the video later?”

“Um…” Killian stalled, trying to decide which option would cause Emma less pain. He felt her hand on his back and turned to look at her over his shoulder.

“Killian, what aren’t you telling me?”

Shifting on the bed to face her, he forced himself to meet her eyes. “I found out his unfinished business.”

“Which is…?”

His gaze shifted to where her hand rested on the bed. Taking it in his own, he concentrated on their linked fingers. “He’s…he’s, uh, planning to somehow cause you to die, so he can take you with him into the afterlife.”

“What the actual FUCK?” Emma exploded, gripping his hand so hard, he winced in pain. “He…he can’t…can he really do that?”

“It’s unlikely…”

“But not impossible?”

“Look how exhausted you are because of the nightmares. You haven’t even been able to work the last couple of days. Exhaustion can lead to serious illness, so while it’s improbable, it’s not entirely impossible.”

He watched her carefully as she digested what he said. Then she looked at him with glassy eyes and said flatly, “He’s not gone.”

“Emma…”

“No, Killian. I know he’s not gone. He wouldn’t give up that easily. You witnessed firsthand how persistent he was after I broke up with him. He’s obsessed with me, and being dead obviously hasn’t changed that. How am I gonna get away from him? Telling him to move on hasn’t worked…”

“Me telling him may not have worked, but you telling him you don’t want to die might,” Killian said thoughtfully.

“How am I supposed to do that when he only comes to me while I’m sleeping?”

Killian ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “I wish I had an answer for that. I’ll talk to Belle and Will about it today. Maybe together, we’ll come up with an idea.” Slowly, he stood to his feet. “I should probably go home. Will was going to crash at my place for a few hours, then we were going to review what we collected. Do you want to be there when we do?”

Emma chewed on her thumbnail, pondering. “No,” she decided. “You already told me about his plan. Hearing it once was enough.”

“I understand completely.” He studied her for several moments. “Are you going to be okay?”

She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, resting her chin on her knees. “I think so, at least for today. Now that I got some sleep, I should be able to go back to work this afternoon.”

“Alright, then.” He picked up his shoes and moved to the doorway, turning to give her a smile. After he opened the door and stepped through, he heard her call his name. Poking his head back in the room, he asked, “Aye?”

“Thank you for staying with me last night. I just really didn’t want to be alone.”

“It was no hardship at all, believe me. I’ll talk to you later, yeah?”

“Yeah. Let me know if you figure out anything. Thanks again, Killian. For everything.”

“My pleasure, Love.”

*********

When he entered his apartment, he could hear voices coming from his office. He tossed his shoes in the living room, went into the kitchen to start the coffee maker, then walked down the hall.

He stopped short just before he went through the doorway, catching Will’s words.

“...was wondering if ya might, uh, might be interested in goin’ out with me.”

Killian took a step backward to be sure he wouldn’t be spotted and ruin the moment. There was a short pause, during which he held his breath, hoping that, no matter what Belle’s answer was, Will’s heart wouldn’t get broken.

“I was beginning to think you were never going to ask,” she said.

“Are ya sayin’ yes?” Will asked, and Killian could hear the nervous hopefulness in his friend’s voice.

“Yes, I’m saying yes,” Belle said with a giggle. “I would love to go out with you, Will.”

“It’s about bloody time,” Killian said, entering the room to see the couple embracing. They turned around to look at him, both with wide smiles on their faces.

“Were you eavesdroppin’ on us, boss?” Will asked. He tried to sound indignant, but was too happy to be successful.

“Technically, it’s my apartment, so I’m entitled to listen to anything going on here.”

“I’m not sure that’s an actual rule,” Will grumbled good-naturedly.

“My home, my rules,” Killian grinned.

“Will tells me you got a lot of responses on the flux overnight,” Belle said, effectively changing the subject.

Killian dropped down into a chair with a heavy sigh. “Aye. Has he told you any of Cassidy’s responses?”

“No, we were just cueing up the video to watch it when you came in.”

“Got sidetracked, huh?” Killian teased.

Belle and Will’s faces both reddened. “Maybe we should talk about how ya spent the night in Emma’s bed,” Will said.

“What?” Belle exclaimed, whipping her head around to look at Killian. “How did that happen?”

Killian scratched behind his ear. “After the apparition left, she asked me to stay because she didn’t want to be alone. She wanted me to hold her and the only way I could do that was to lay in bed with her, but all we did was sleep.”

Belle gave him an understanding look. “Poor Emma. Will told me you think Neal’s spirit may have moved on. What do you think? Is he gone for good?”

“Sadly, Emma doesn’t think so, and neither do I. The guy wouldn’t take no for an answer when she broke it off with him, and now that we’ve learned what his plan is, we’re sure he’s not going to give up easily.”

“What’s his plan?” Belle asked.

“Let’s watch the video and you’ll find out,” Killian said, swiveling in his seat to face the monitor.

She nodded and tapped the space bar to wake the computer up, while Will took his place behind her chair. She clicked the play button and they saw Emma’s bedroom on the screen.

“This is just before her nightmare started,” Will said. “We should see evidence of that asshole’s ghost entering the room pretty soon. Pardon my language, Belle.”

“There’s no need to apologize. In this case, I completely agree with that assessment.”

They focused their attention back on the screen, and within a couple of minutes, saw a streak of light appear in the left side of the room. It seemed to pass through Emma’s sleeping form on the bed and they heard her let out a soft cry.

“You’ll see me come in soon,” Killian said.

Sure enough, Emma’s bedroom door opened and he entered with the flux response device. The three of them watched in silence as the exchange between Killian and the apparition took place.

When it ended, Belle paused the video and turned to look at the men, a look of incredulity on her face. “He has no regard for her life or what she wants? And he claims to love her? I think calling him an asshole is being far too kind!”

“Agreed,” Killian said.

“You truly don’t think he’s gone, boss?” Will asked.

“No,” Killian sighed, folding his arms across his chest. “I probably just pissed him off, so he left. I think Emma is going to have to be the one who tells him to move on, but he’s only there when she’s asleep. She can’t talk to him then because in her nightmares, she feels like she’s tied up and gagged. I told her I would ask the two of you if you have any ideas.”

They contemplated for several moments before Will declared, “That’s a head-scratcher. I’ll have to give it some thought, after I get some sleep.”

“I’ll think about it, too,” Belle said. “I just came over this morning to see the new material from last night. I’ve been editing and putting together what we have so far. This is going to be the longest episode we’ve ever had. We might have to split it in two.”

“I hope we won’t have much more to add to it,” Killian grumbled. “I want this to be over, for Emma’s sake.”

*********

Once Belle and Will left, Killian went through his regular routine, but had trouble falling asleep. He was sure it was because he slept for a few hours at Emma’s, added to the fact that he had so much on his mind.

He didn’t have a clue how to solve the problem of getting Neal to leave. Even if Emma was able to talk to him, that didn’t guarantee he would heed her plea. After all, he didn’t listen while he was alive, when she told him to leave her alone.

Killian finally dozed off on his couch late in the afternoon, waking up just after ten PM. After fixing himself a sandwich, he grabbed a beer and wandered back to his office to review some of the footage they had collected, hoping to find something they missed that might spark an idea.

An hour later, he was in the midst of repeatedly replaying the video from the previous night, when a scream caused him to jump, knocking over the nearly empty beer at his elbow. He quickly righted it before it spilled over his equipment, then got to his feet. “Emma,” he gasped, once his brain registered what he just heard.

He took off running through the apartment and was halfway out the front door, before realizing he needed the key for Emma’s apartment. Spinning around, he skidded into the kitchen, yanked open his junk drawer and began digging through it.

“Fuck!” he cursed, flinging miscellaneous items onto the counter as he searched frantically. Finally locating the key, he dashed out the door and over to Emma’s apartment. As he fumbled with getting the key into the lock, he heard another scream.

Once he got the door open, he ran to her bedroom to find her splayed out on the bed, her head agitatedly rolling from side-to-side, arms and legs thrashing about. She was choking out moans that were heartbreaking to hear.

Killian had purposely kept himself from touching her while they were recording, knowing it could awaken her and ruin chances of getting usable information. This time, however, he ached to bring her out of the nightmare that seemed to be causing her so much pain.

He shouted, “Swan! Emma! Wake up, Love!” then sat on the bed, grabbing both of her shoulders.

As soon as he touched her, a strange sensation that felt like a slight electrical current passed over him and his eyes slammed shut. When he tentatively opened them a few moments later, he was shocked to find himself in an alternate reality. He was able to see things fairly clearly, but it was like looking through a textured glass. Everything looked slightly distorted, as if he was in a Salvador Dali painting.

As the shock began to wane, he looked around and spotted Emma standing mutely in front of him. She was facing away from him, but he could tell by her slumped form, she was debilitated. He called out to her, but she showed no signs of hearing him. He moved until he was facing her. She stared blankly off into space and he realized she was in a trance, unable to respond.

Then he heard someone speaking, chanting something over and over. Concentrating harder, Killian was able to make out the words.

You’re mine, Ems.

You belong to me.

I’m taking you with me.

You’ll be happier with me.

Just let go of your sad, lonely life and come with me.

Neal Cassidy, the selfish son of a bitch, was holding Emma captive in her nightmare, trying to coerce her to end her life and join him.

Killian became enraged. “Emma!” he hollered, snapping his fingers in front of her eyes. “Don’t listen to him! Wake up and come back to me!”

Suddenly, Neal’s apparition appeared over Emma’s shoulder, teeth bared and eyes blazing. “You can’t have her!” he screamed maniacally. “She’s coming with me! She’s MINE!”

“Leave her alone!” Killian replied. Judging by Neal’s reaction, he realized that, unlike Emma, Neal could hear him. “Can’t you see she doesn’t want to come with you? She has a life and wants to keep living it!”

“I don’t give a fuck what she wants! I want her and I’ll have her!”

“Stop torturing her, you sick bastard! You’re dead! Move on!”

With a primal screech, Neal came at Killian, circled around him, then flew off and disappeared, trailing a string of expletives behind him.

Silence descended and Killian blinked, finding himself once again in Emma’s bedroom, still grasping her shoulders. Her body was unmoving, but her eyes remained tightly closed, giving her face a pinched, pained expression.

“Swan,” he said, gently shaking her. “You can open your eyes now. Your nightmare is over.”

Slowly, her face relaxed and, at last, she was looking at him. Then, she was in his arms.

“Shh, shh, it’s alright,” he crooned, as she sobbed into his shoulder. “I’ve got you, Love.”

“Wh- how…oh, how are you here?” she asked, voice breaking with emotion.

He buried his nose in the crook of her neck. “I heard you scream, so I used my key to come in. I hope you don’t mind.”

“I don’t care, I don’t care. I’m just glad you’re here,” she cried.

Killian pulled her into his lap so he could hold her more tightly. Her sobs gradually lessened and her body sagged against him. “I…I can’t take this much longer,” she whispered.

“I know, but you have to stay strong. We’re going to get this figured out, I swear.”

“Why can’t he just leave me alone?”

“Because he’s twisted and demented. I told him you want to keep living your life, but he said he doesn’t care what you want…”

She pulled back to look at him. “He talked to you? You mean through that flux thingy?”

Killian could feel the heat creeping into his face. This wasn’t the way he planned to tell her. He was hoping to have time to prepare her before he told her about his experience.

Reaching up to rub a finger behind his ear, he explained haltingly, “I, um, when I came into your bedroom, you were thrashing about on the bed. I tried to calm you by putting my hands on your shoulders. When I touched you, I was…I was drawn into your nightmare somehow. I could see you and talk to you, but in your dream, you were in some sort of…trance. It was like you were frozen. You couldn’t respond to me.”

He paused and swallowed hard at the look of absolute shock on her face. Her mouth hung open, her breathing labored. When she didn’t speak, he continued. “Neal…he…his spirit…was there. We could see and hear each other. He was…he kept trying to get you to go with him. He was completely unhinged. When I told him to leave you alone and move on, he screamed and vanished, but I…I’m sure he’s not going to give up.”

“You…you were in my nightmare? How the hell were you able to do that?”

“I don’t really know,” he confessed. “I…I’ve always had a…an ability to sense paranormal activity. Sometimes I’m not sure if it’s a gift or a curse, but maybe that has something to do with it. I’ve never been able to be immersed into a dream like that before, though.” What he was thinking, but wasn’t going to say, was that his emotional connection to Emma might have something to do with it.

She heaved a sigh and rested her head against his chest. “Why did I ever get involved with that idiot? I have such terrible taste in men.”

“Perhaps you just haven’t met the right one yet.”

“Well, when I do, I can just imagine how it’s going to go. ‘I’ll marry you, but oh, by the way, I’m being haunted by my jackass ex-boyfriend, so there’s that’.”

He chuckled, running his hand up and down her back. “At least you still have your sense of humor, Swan.”

Suddenly, she sat up straight. “Wait a minute. If you were able to get into my dream, couldn’t you do it again and figure out a way to break me out of that trance? Maybe that’s why he keeps hanging around - because I haven’t been able to respond to him. If I can, I’ll tell him there’s no way I’m going with him.”

Killian pulled his bottom lip between his teeth in contemplation. “I suppose it’s worth a try. I wonder if Cassidy is somehow causing you to fall into a trance to make brainwashing you easier. Perhaps if I’m here with you from the very beginning of your nightmare, I can prevent that from happening.”

“You would be willing to do that?”

“Of course, Emma. I’ll do whatever it takes to help you. I would have to stay here overnight, though. Are you okay with that?”

“Yeah, that’s fine. You stayed last night and were a perfect gentleman.”

“Well, I’m always a gentleman,” he grinned.

She laughed, then sobered a bit. “The thing is, I don’t have a nightmare every night. I’m sure Neal is the source of them and if he doesn’t show up, I might get a good night’s sleep.”

“I understand. With your permission, I’ll plan on being here every night until we have a chance to test our theory.”

“I don’t have a problem with that, as long as you’re okay with it.”

“I am,” he assured her. “The way he took off, I really don’t think he’ll be back any more tonight, though.”

She nodded and climbed off his lap. “I’ll let you go home and get some sleep, and I’ll try to do the same.”

Killian stood up, turning to face her. Unable to help himself, he cupped her chin in his hand and leaned down to kiss her forehead. “I’ll plan to be here tomorrow night. If you need me before then, please don’t hesitate to contact me.”

“Okay. Thanks, Killian,” she said. “You’re such a good friend.”

He fought to keep the smile on his face, deflated that she obviously only thought of him as a friend. “Goodnight, Emma. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Once he got back to his apartment, he went through his nightly routine and went to bed, where he lay wide awake, thinking about all that transpired at Emma’s. He had just decided to take his mind off of it by going into the living room to watch TV, when he heard the familiar sound of Liam’s voice.

“Greetings, little brother.”

“It’s pretty late for a visit from you,” Killian commented, sitting up in bed.

“Sometimes I pop in to see if you’re awake.”

“You mean there are times I miss visits from you because I’m asleep?”

“I always come back the next day. Why are you awake tonight?”

Killian pushed a hand through his hair. “Something really strange happened tonight and I’m trying to make sense of it.”

Liam’s apparition moved closer, but didn’t touch Killian. In the past, if he came in contact with his brother, it caused an uncomfortably cold chill. “You look very shaken. Can you tell me about it?”

“Last night, Will and I were doing another all-nighter at Emma’s…”

“That wanker’s ghost is still giving her trouble, then?”

“Aye, but I was finally able to get some answers from him on the flux response device last night. Basically, he admitted that he wants Emma to die so he can take her with him.”

“That’s nigh impossible, isn’t it?”

“He’s causing her to have nightmares and she’s utterly exhausted. You should see her, Liam. She’s still beautiful, but him haunting her is wearing her out physically, mentally and emotionally. She had to take a couple of days off work because she has no energy. If this keeps up, I’m afraid she’s going to end up becoming very ill.”

“Which could lead to…”

“Please don’t say it,” Killian interrupted. “I don’t even want to think that way. Anyway, I tried to tell him he needs to move on and I felt his spirit leave the room. When Emma woke up, she asked me to stay with her.”

“Don’t tell me you refused, little brother.”

“Of course I didn’t. She needed me, so I stayed the rest of the night. And before you ask, yes, I was in her bed, and no, nothing happened, except that we both got a good night’s sleep.”

“Sometimes I wish I wouldn’t have insisted on you being such a gentleman.”

“Do you wan’t to hear the rest of the story, or not?” Killian asked peevishly. “You’re never here very long and if you keep interrupting, I won’t be able to tell you everything.”

“Sorry,” Liam said, making a circling motion with his finger. “ Continue.”

“I told Emma about Neal’s plan. She was understandably upset, but being the brave lass she is, she carried on with her day and so did I.” He ran both hands through the sides of his hair again, tugging slightly on the ends. “Then around eleven tonight, I was doing some work in my office when I heard a scream coming from Emma’s apartment. I ran over there and let myself in. She was in the midst of a nightmare, and when I grabbed hold of her to try to wake her up, I was pulled into it.”

“Into what?”

“Her nightmare. I could see her, but she couldn’t see or hear me. She appeared to be in a trance-like state. Neal was there and he could see and hear me. The two of us had a bit of a row and he took off in a rage.”

“He moved on?”

“No, I don’t think so. He’s a stubborn S.O.B. and he’s determined not to move on without Emma.”

“That was the strange occurrence you mentioned?”

“That was part of it. I told Emma what happened, which came as a shock to her, of course. Then she had an idea. She wants me to try to get into her dream again, to break her out of the trance somehow. That would give her a chance to convince Neal to move on.”

“Will you be able to do it? Get into her dream again, I mean.”

“I don’t even know how I did it tonight. I guess touching her had something to do with it, combined with my abilities with paranormal phenomena. I’m hoping being with her from the onset of her nightmare will allow me to keep her from being put into a trance.”

“What if it doesn’t?” Liam asked. “Do you have a plan B?”

Killian shrugged. “Not really. Shouting at her and snapping my fingers in front of her face didn’t have any effect on her.”

“Perhaps you could try a true love’s kiss.”

“You’re hilarious, Liam. And also not very helpful.”

“I’m not trying to be funny. True love’s kiss is supposed to be strong enough to break any curse.”

“Yeah, in fairy tales. In case you’ve forgotten, this is real life,” Killian grumbled.

“I guess I’ve been dead too long to remember what real life is like.”

Killian looked stricken. “I’m sorry, Liam. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I know, brother.I was only joking. Think about what I said and tuck it in your pocket for a backup plan.”

Liam’s voice was fading fast and Killian knew his time with his brother was coming to an end. “I’ll try it if I’m desperate enough. Thanks for your help, Liam. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“You don’t need me. You’re smart enough to figure it out by yourself. I have to go, Killy. Love you.”

“Love you, too, Liam.”

Then he was alone in his bedroom again, thoughts swirling even more than before his brother’s appearance. Giving up on trying to go to sleep, he tossed back the covers and went out to the kitchen. After getting a glass of water, he settled on the couch and flipped on the TV.

He had just selected a crime drama show to watch, when his phone buzzed on the coffee table. His brow furrowed, wondering who would be texting him this late. Picking it up, he saw a notification from Emma.

E: You asleep?

Quickly, he typed a reply.

K: No, I can’t turn off my brain.

E: Lol. Me neither.

K: Do you want to talk?

E: Maybe. Do you mind if I come over?

K: Not at all.

He had just gotten the door unlocked, when there was a light tapping on the other side. He pulled it open to reveal Emma, dressed in sleep shorts and an oversized T-shirt.

“Hey,” she greeted quietly. “Are you sure you don’t mind? It is nearly 1:30 in the morning.”

“I’m sure. I was getting ready to watch a show. Do you want to watch it, or would you rather talk?”

She shrugged. “I’m not really in the mood for television.”

He picked up the remote and hit the power button to turn it off. “Can I get you something to drink, or a snack, or both?”

“Water would be great. Do you have any Cheez-its?”

“I always have Cheez-its, because a certain neighbor of mine is obsessed with them.”

As he turned to head into the kitchen, he heard her call after him, “You’re a good man, Killian Jones.”

He returned moments later to find her sitting with her back against the arm of the couch, legs stretched out in front of her. He handed her the water, set the box of snack crackers on the coffee table, then sat down on the opposite end of the sofa.

She moaned as he pulled her bare feet into his lap and began massaging them. On the odd occasion when she worked an afternoon shift at the hotel and later they shared a pizza over a movie, he found that she adored foot massages. As he rubbed and kneaded every part of her delicate feet and ankles, she purred like a contented cat, proclaiming his hands to be magic. He loved giving her those moments of pleasure and longed to use his magic hands on other parts of her enticing body.

She took a drink of water, set the bottle down and picked up the box of Cheez-its. Popping a couple into her mouth, she offered him the box, but he shook his head. “Suit yourself,” she said. “More for me.”

The room was quiet for several minutes, save the crunching sounds Emma was making.

“Can I ask you something?” she finally said.

“You just did.”

“Haha, funny guy. Earlier tonight, you said you’ve always had a gift for sensing paranormal activity. How did you figure out you could do that?”

“When I was a young lad, my mother found me talking to someone she couldn’t see. She thought I had made up an imaginary friend, and didn’t think much of it. Small children do that, you know. But one day I asked her why our neighbor, Mr. Shaw, always looked so sad, didn’t bring us sweets anymore, and entered our flat through the wall. I was shocked when she said he had passed away, because I could clearly see him.”

“Did she figure out that you were seeing a ghost?”

“I’m not sure, but I do know after that, whenever she heard me talking to someone whom she couldn’t see, she would ask who it was. Several times, it was a person who recently died. Sometimes she would see me staring off into space and ask if I could see someone. She never made a big deal of it, just treated it like it was a normal thing. When she passed, I saw her soul leave her body and drift upwards. By that time, I had realized my ability wasn’t normal, and at that moment, I was very glad I had it. That way I could tell my brother Liam she went to Heaven.”

Emma leaned forward to rub his shoulder. “That must have been very special, but also terrifying.”

“That’s a good way to put it.”

“If you can see ghosts, why do you have to use all of that equipment?”

One hand moved from massaging her feet, to scratch behind his ear. “It seems that I can only see them if I have a close connection to them. Mr. Shaw, our babysitter Mrs. Lucas, Mum, Liam…”

“How long ago did Liam die?” she asked solemnly.

“He was killed six years ago.”

“So his spirit appeared to you after he, um, passed away?”

Killian nodded, his eyes not meeting hers.

“Did you get to see his spirit move on to Heaven, too? Like you did your mother’s?”

He began massaging her feet again as he contemplated how to answer. He had never told anyone about being able to see and speak to his brother’s spirit, but now that he’d told Emma this much…well, in for a penny, in for a pound.

“He, uh, he hasn’t moved on yet.”

She sat up a little straighter. “How do you know that?”

“Because,” he began, then looked up to make eye contact with her, “he still comes to see me.”

Her eyes widened. “He does?” She started looking around the room, “Is he here right now?”

“No,” he chuckled, a bit relieved she seemed to take it so well. “He drops in sporadically, but can never stay long.”

“Why not?”

“I think it takes a lot of his paranormal energy to appear and talk to me and…”

“He talks to you, too? Do you have to use your equipment to hear him?”

“No, I did originally buy it to communicate with him, but he was able to figure out a way to actually talk to me. I think he somehow channels his energy to do that, so it gets sapped quickly.”

“The fact he hasn’t moved on means he has unfinished business, doesn’t it?”

“Aye, it does.”

“Do you know what it is?”

Killian dropped his eyes once again, rubbing his thumb along the arch of her foot. “He’s always been my protector. He won’t move on until he knows I’m happy,” he answered, a bit vaguely.

“You seem happy to me.”

He forced a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I have friends and a job I really enjoy, so I’m content.”

“Being content isn’t the same as being happy,” Emma pointed out.

“No, I don’t suppose it is,” he agreed. “But it’s not as if I’m unhappy.”

“Do you think you’ll ever be ready for him to move on?” she asked quietly.

He tried to think of an answer that didn’t make him out to be incredibly selfish. “After Mum died, Liam was my only family. Our father deserted us when I was a baby and we never saw him again. After I lost Liam, I was a mess. I moved to the United States because I thought getting away from where I experienced so much sadness would help. It did, to a certain degree, but when Liam started making appearances, I guess I became somewhat dependent on him again. I just…I don’t want to be by myself.”

“But you have people who care about you, Killian. You have Will, Belle…”

“You?”

She smiled. “Yes, me. I think this whole experience with Neal has made us closer, don’t you?”

“Well, nothing draws people together better than trying to get someone’s ex-boyfriend’s ghost to move on,” he quipped.

They fell quiet for a while as she munched more Cheez-its and he continued lightly rubbing her feet. “Can I ask you something else?” she finally said. “And don’t say I already did.”

He laughed. “Sure.”

“I don’t claim to know everything you do all the time. I try not to be a nosy neighbor, but it seems like you never…go out with anyone. On a date.”

The tips of his ears felt like they were burning. “I, uh, I don’t.”

“Why not?”

He shrugged, his eyes fixed on the chipped red polish on her toe nails.

“I mean, I bet you could have just about any woman you want,” she added.

His heart began hammering so hard, he was sure she could hear it. “Why do you say that?” he blurted out.

“You’re a great listener, very sweet and helpful, easy on the eyes…and you give great foot massages. What’s not to love?”

Her choice of that phrase made him swallow hard. “Perhaps, like you, I just haven’t found the right woman yet. Or… maybe I just haven’t worked up the nerve to ask her out.”

Her brows rose. “Sounds like you already have someone in mind.”

He sucked in a breath, knowing what he said next would inevitably change their relationship. He simply didn’t know if it would be for better or worse. Shifting on the couch so he could fully face her, he looked her in the eyes and said, “Don’t you know, Emma? It’s you.”

*********

Thanks for reading! The CSSNS24 event already has numerous fantastic stories and pieces of artwork. Be sure to check out all of them!

Tagging:

@qualitycoffeethings @grimmswan @cs-rylie @wyntereyez @kmomof4 @hookedmom @ultraluckycatnd @paradiselady19 @xarandomdreamx @motherkatereloyshipper @lfh1226-linda

@pawshapedheart @vampcoffeegyrl23 @tiganasummertree @bluewildcatfanatic @eleveneitherway @elfiola @kday426

@julieenchanted-swans @gingerchangeling @andiirivera @djlbg @jonesfandomfanatic @snowbellewells @anmylica @booksteaandtoomuchtv @cocohook38 @ilovemesomekillianjones

@zaharadessert @lyssapup27 @undercaffinatednightmare @winterbaby89 @jennjenn615 @xsajx @jackieorioncat @teamhook @soniccat @jarienn972 @softkilly @kymbersmith-90 @apiratewhopines

@hollyethecurious @laianely @resident-of-storybrooke @exhaustedpirate @caught-in-the-filter @stahlop @veryverynotgoodwrites @darkshadow7 @fleurdepetite @whimsicallyenchantedrose @earanemith @superchocovian @idristardis @captainswan-kellie @beckettj

[thecrimsonribbon]

My SVE OC lores and stuffs

Ignore my typo and grammar mistakes 🤧

Let’s talk about my sve comic first. I was going to draw series based on Stardew Valley Expanded but since I don’t have much information about Castle Village, I temporarily cancelled it until 2.0 is released.

The SVE comic took place mostly in Stardew Valley, and will be told through Isaac’s POV. (Ridgeside Village is also mentioned)

Summary: Isaac happened met the Pelican Town’s florist, Myra, who looked exactly like his deceased lover, Elaine. After that fateful encounter, strange things started to happen in both the town and Castle Village, and Isaac find himself in a mission where he has to discover the mystery behind Myra’s pressence.

Character’s backstory (mostly headcanon and has nothing to do with the canon lore in the game/mod):

- Isaac:

Isaac is a skilled monster hunter at Castle Village, he is skilled in combat and swordsmanship, therefore he had earn the position as a monster hunter in Castle Village, this is where he also met his lover, Elaine.

Isaac had longed for a family with Elaine and planned to marry in the future. Isaac proposed to Elaine in Crimson Badlands, seconds after she took her last breath. Isaac still kept some of Elaine’s keepsakes such as the red ribbon she always used to tied up her hair, and her cloak. He has been mourning for her for 6 years, he shows no interest in finding somebody else to love.

- Lance:

This man kept everything about him a mystery. All we know that he was born from a noble family and he knows magic. Lance’s handsome face always has the smug look on it as if he knows something, a secret perhaps? He will never tells you.

- Elaine:

Elaine was born in Pelican Town with her grandparents, while her parent lived and worked at Suzu city. Elaine soon became a member at the Adventure Guild after she finds joy in keeping the valley safe from monsters.

She then moved to to Castle Village at the age of 23, and met the monster hunter Isaac. Elaine and Isaac soon got closer and started dating, they had been dreaming of having their own house in Ginger Island to start a new life as a farmer, but their dream was shattered not long after.

Elaine passed away at the age of 25, after sacrificed herself to kill Apophis completely, leaving Isaac to mourn for her passing for 6 years. Isaac has build her a headstone and scattered her ashes around Ginger Island.

- Myra:

Myrams origin is still a mystery, nobody knows where she came from, who’s her family and where is her old home. She came to Pelican Town on a stormy night and then begin her life there ever since, even doctor Harvey is unsure who is the mysterious man that brought her to his clinic that night.

Myra is seen as a very friendly, kind and generous young lady, it is impossible for her to make any enemies. Although the villagers feel uneasy whenever they visit her farm, as it’s always filled with void animals and creepy things, they always talk highly of Myra.

Lore heavy stuffs:

Apophis can’t die, when Elaine finally put an end to the monster, its soul morphed with Elaine after she passed away. Therefore, Elaine’s soul was trapped in Crimson Badlands. The Minister of Magic noticed, if Elaine soul fell into the hand of those who have ill intentions, Apophis will be reborn again.

Lance at the time happened to did research on resurrection spell, he then started to experiment on Elaine’s corrupted soul and successfully resurrected her with the help of the witches, wizards and the Ridgeside Mountain deity, Raeriyala.

However, Elaine’s memory was completely wiped out and Apophis’ soul still imprinted on her (explain why Elaine / Myra loves void stuffs) so she was given a new name and was brought back to Pelican Town, under Magnus’ watch in case something bad happened. (They kept this a secret from Isaac because Isaac would try to throw hands with them as he believedthey were using Elaine as a lab rat.)

In my sve comic, there’s a cult where people worship Apophis as their god and would do anything to bring back Apophis. If they had their hands on Elaine and her corrupted soul, she could be a vessel for Apophis’ reborn and cause chaos again.

Secrets and other stuffs:

In this sve universe, the color red holds an important part of the story as it’s held a lot of meaning and metaphors.

- red is the color of love and blood.

- it’s Elaine’s/Myra’s favorite color on clothes and flowers (Roses)

- red is the color of the butterfly that often flies around Isaac’s home the first 2 weeks.

- red is the color of the leaves, the Fall season where Elaine and Isaac met (Isaac met Myra during Fall too)

- red is the color of Apophis’ eyes.

Myra’s current appearance is what Elaine wanted herself to look like if she’s not a Monster Hunter.

Elaine is pregnant with Isaac’s son but neither did she or Isaac knows about it.

Elaine’s bloodline has connection with both Pelican Town and Ridgeside Village, which explains why Raeriyala helped Lance with his resurrection experiment.

[saintalectoshomeforwaywardgirls]

11/13/2023: Everyone, please meet Camilla Hect!

Camilla here was originally Just Like You #62. I was absolutely dead-set on finding this exact doll for Cam because of the following logic: I personally use the actress Ariela Barer as a drawing reference for Cam. Ariela Barer, coincidentally, played Sonali in the American Girl movie Chrissa Stands Strong. While the Sonali mold is used by a variety of dolls, #62 is much closer to Ariela Barer's actual skin tone (and the skin tone a lot of fan art uses for Camilla) than the Sonali doll proper (and Sonali is extremely hard to find for prices I'd pay, especially for a doll I'm modding). #62 also has what are described as "amber-brown" eyes, but look passably grey-brown in person, so I'm not going to have to eye-swap her!

#62, however, came with some beautiful, glossy, very un-Camilla hair.

Lovely, right? But very not her.

(Also, look at her face, she is so cute. All of the dolls are cute, but I am particularly delighted by the Sonali mold dolls, I think because that was one of the molds that wasn't released until after my original childhood dolls phase so it's new to me.)

Luckily, this provided a very convenient solution for another problem here at Saint Alecto's: Abigail's poor coiffure.

As you can see, the hair our dear Lady Pent came to us with has seen better days. To say nothing of the frizziness (which we would gladly treat if that were the only problem!) there's that inconvenient case of back-of-head bangs she had going there.

So!

As I have done several times now, I set about removing the girls' wigs. (I get my advice, as I'm sure many of us do, from @desertdollranch's rewigging post.) This is a significantly more stressful process when you're trying to maintain the integrity of one of the wigs you're working with! (And okay, Gideon's wig actually came on Harrow's doll so I have reused before... but it didn't matter if Gideon's hair got a little messed up in the process. It adds character.)

My beloved wife and fellow... uh, guardian (I guess? God, we're not their moms, that would be so weird!) of the dolls @incomprehensiblelentils was, as often she is, ready with the Magic Eraser for sudden trouble spots; she also provided support (literally: holding the girls as I worked) and company.

And lo and behold!

Abigail Pent now has a beautiful new hairdo! (And I am more convinced than ever that she's going to need some lipstick. Nothing crazy, just a bit of color. That's for another day.)

More importantly, Camilla now has her trademark bob, as seen above. It's the Hoshi in chocolate brown by PurplePlumWigs (and yes, it is kind of gay* that Cam and Dulcie's wigs came from the same shop! This is part of why we can't be their moms: so many of these kids are in lesbians* with each other!) Her overalls are by StarBriteDoll on Etsy; the boots and tank top are harvested from eBay outfits.

(Abigail's outfit is also from eBay: glasses, sweater, skirt, shoes.)

[executables-sims]

Get to know you: Sims Style

Thank you so much for the tag, @goatskickin! :D I am ill rn, so please excuse the rambling. x) Long post ahead!

What’s your favorite Sims death? Maybe fright? I've only ever had it happen once via ghost, the anim is pretty funny. :)

Alpha CC or Maxis Match? My Simblr probably says otherwise, but I don’t have a preference! I’ve had nearly every possible CC style under the sun throughout my years of playing, and I constantly think about reviving my 'semi-realism' folder (living vicariously through you, other simmers!). I didn't play with CC until early 2006 though, so MM is a little bit more nostalgic. :)

Do you cheat your sims weight? Hell no! I'm still in awe of Nysha's townie body diversity mod finally letting townies be fat. :D I wish the game had a better way of managing bodyshapes so I could add more variety that way.

Do you move objects? Of course!

Favorite Mod? Of all time? Impossible! My continued interest in gameplay is always because of new mods. :)

I did gain a new outlook thanks to a mod recently, though! My wild romance sim Blaze Biermann ended up 'mood swinging' to fortune before he went to uni, and instead of reverting, it got stuck.

He had a few flings still (pleasure secondary), but after he returned home and met his daughter (for the first time since her birth), he started cringing whenever I directed him to romance his dates. It felt like he had grown as a person, and I loved it!

TL;DR: Randomly change your sims' original aspiration/s to give them interesting character arcs! First Expansion/Game Pack/Stuff Pack? I mean, not my decision, but our first TS1 EP was Hot Date. I'm pretty sure I got TS2 EPs/SPs in order of release (miss those days of unwrapping a new one every birthday/christmas!).

Do you pronounce live mode like aLIVE or LIVing? We're LIVE, baby! 🎥

Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made? I don't usually get very attached to my first-generation sims, but maybe Evonne Milos, from the gameplay/story hood I accidentally destroyed in four days? Never actually played her, but I had a lot of ideas for a corrupt 'sexpot' politician. x)

Have you made a simself? Lots! 99% of the fun I had playing TS2 as a kid was me and my best friend making ourselves and our respective crushes of the week, and we'd always live in one of those Veronaville lots that was two houses connected by a balcony. I can't even tell you the amount of times she got me pregnant against my wishes whilst I went to the bathroom, lmao.

Which is your favorite EA hair color? For colour consistency, probably brown? But there are a lot of brunettes in Brunwick (must be the name!), so I enjoy the recessives popping up in gameplay. :)

Favorite EA hair? Does an EA download count? Jeanette is lovely.

Favorite life stage? Ohhh dude, that's so difficult to answer. They all bring different challenges and dynamics to the household! I feel like I've started to appreciate the child lifestage more since Brunwick has grown large enough to have multiple friendship groups. It's fun watching them goof around with each other and be actual kids, instead of sitting indoors skilling. I really need to build a park! :)

Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay?

Are you a CC creator? Yes, I really love how this game has led me to so many creative hobbies! Would like to tackle BHAVs one day. :)

Do you have any Simblr friends or a Sim Squad? Yeah! I consider us all friends over our shared enjoyment of the game really, but as a chronic lurker I'm not the best at cultivating connections. x) Does anyone wanna make a secret club? xD

Do you have any sims merch? No, but I do have a bunch of rad sims memories. 👉😎👉

Do you have a YouTube for sims? Nope, but I watched plenty of sim music videos back in the day! Found a lot of songs that way. :) Some formative memories here: One / Two

How has your “Sims style” changed throughout your years of playing? I sadly don't have screenshots of my oldest saves thanks to a combo of no external HD and no screenshot program, but here's one example:

But gameplay-wise, a lot! My early years were probably based around creating stories more than actively playing, but when I did I would just emulate perfect families, attempt legacies, and restart BG hoods over and over. x)

Now I'm all about wants-based gameplay; witnessing and interpreting a story, as opposed to creating one from scratch. But I will add drama if I find my interest waning! x)

Who’s your favorite CC creator? Again, super-duper impossible to answer because everyone's CC makes the game fun, but my most recent CC shopping spree was Honeywell and HugeLunatic! :) 🛒

How long have you had Simblr? Technically 2011, officially 2013, but if we're being pedantic, I finally made a dedicated Simblr (this) in 2016. x)

How do you edit your pictures? These days, just sharpen and shrink! CC previews aren't too complicated either- a blurred out screenshot for the BG and a shadow.

What expansion/gamepack is your favorite? Ooh… maybe Nightlife, by a smidgen? I feel like it gave us a lot of new features and items, and the subhood was nice (as a non-builder at the time!).

Tagging: @daman19942 @aondaneedles @eulaliasims @profesionalpartyguest @tvickiesims @and everyone else, I love reading these! :D

[pooklet]

Get to know you: Sims Style

I was tagged by @pockethamster and @furbyq-sims so here we goooo.

What’s your favorite Sims death?

In general: the satellite, cuz of the piano replacement that I have. It is also one of the most efficient ways to cull townies.

Specific deaths that have happened to my sims: Tiara dying in a toddler potty. No death in my game has ever/will ever be funnier.

Alpha CC Semi-realism or Maxis Match?

Semi-realism. Maybe it's cuz I started playing when that was the common style, but maxis match just looks very ... flat to me? Very papery. I've seen it done in a really fun, cartoon-y style by some creators, but that seems to be the minority and most of it seems to hew very neutral/natural toned and I am not about that lol. Even IRL, I like to surround myself with bright, colorful stuff.

Do you cheat your sims weight?

Like, keep them thin? lmao no. I let their personality determine whether they exercise, but that has nothing to do with them being fat, as far as I'm concerned. I use a lot of fat bodyshapes because I'm fat myself and I like to have a lot of variety in my game. I don't have any system for deciding whether I use the maxis default body or a custom shape, I just go with what looks right to me.

Do you move objects?

Are there people who don't?

Favorite Mod?

Hm, either ACR v2 or Walk Through Blocks. I like my sims to be able to make as many autonomous decisions as possible, and navigate the spaces that I cram full of clutter.

First Expansion/Game Pack/Stuff Pack?

In the Sims 1 the first expansion I got was Hot Date. I played TS2 from release, so my first expansion was University.

Do you pronounce live mode like aLIVE or LIVing?

Alive.

Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made?

I mean, it has to be Mawreen, right? If only for the chaos that she's sown.

Have you made a simself?

Yeah a few throughout the years, and I haven't played them in ages. Mostly I just use them for silly little pics with @skulldilocks's selfsim.

Which is your favorite EA hair color?

One of the custom ones, I guess! I don't remember, I have all the EA hairs hidden lol.

Favorite EA hair?

I don't have one, really. Maybe some of the natural black hairstyles converted from TS4 but I couldn't name specific meshes.

Favorite life stage?

Adult! I made a custom aging mod so I can go through the other stages relatively quickly. The way my game is set up, they unlock all their traits and wants once they're an adult, and I like to see who they are as a fully realized person, so that's the most fun for me.

Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay?

Gameplay. I have a lot of fun making houses based on real floorplans that I find, but it's mostly just stage dressing for the little freaks that inhabit them.

Are you a CC creator?

Yeh.

Do you have any Simblr friends or a Sim Squad?

I mean, @skulldilocks obvs. People don't approach me much so there's only a few ppl that I talk to regularly like @furbyq-sims and @lilithpleasant. I am not really the "squad" type.

Do you have any sims merch?

This is a real thing?

Do you have a YouTube for sims?

Nope! I would never stream gameplay, the way I play isn't interesting. Lots of pausing and carefully adjusting angles to take pictures, getting distracted by other stuff, random crashes, etc. And editing that footage into something watachable would take ages. My play style lends itself better to picture entries, so I use Dreamwidth.

How has your “Sims style” changed throughout your years of playing?

More colors, more aliens, more [[JAM FACTORY]] lore.

Who’s your favorite CC creator?

@skulldilocks no question! I love watching her create anything for any game or craft. She's so talented. It doesn't matter if she's making sims cc or custom houses for Skyrim or doll clothes or anything else, she's my biggest inspiration.

How long have you had Simblr?

2010, babeyyyy.

How do you edit your pictures?

I have a tutorial here. I need to update it because I use different actions now, but most of the actual information there is still accurate.

What expansion/gamepack is your favorite?

I want to say pets because I love cats so very much, but in terms of actual content, probablyyyy FreeTime? I like anything that makes sims more unique and the hobby system is a lot of fun!

I tag: @skulldilocks, @lilithpleasant, @krabbysims, @monilisasims, @goatskickin and @simmer-until-tender

[taybatwo2]

And another Magic Mixies Pixling review:

Wynter the Bunny Pixling (with really bad eye wonk).

She’s unusual that she is the first in the Magic Mixies Pixling line-up to have no molded on clothing-aside from her under-roos (still hoping for a knee joint, but she’s a great step in the right direction).

A close up of her sweet and wonky face. Again, she is lightly pixelated, but it is MUCH better than Mattel’s pixelation. She also has a very sparkly head gem too (while I believe the others have had no sparkly backing to their gems).

She has only one set of ears (thank you!! I really don’t care for the two pairs of human/animal ears some dolls have *cough, cough* Enchantimals *cough.*). They even sculpted fur on the outside! It’s very cute. Also, you can see the pearly tinsel in her hair here as well (her hair fiber is super soft, like Rainbow High/Shadow High’s kiwi hair).

Here are her accessories: a fur lined, sparkly snowflake cape, a flocked headband, some pink glittery shoes with heart and fur details, and her wand/scepter (my favorite due to the little rabbit ears on top and the little bunny tail on the bottom).

Only part of her dress is hemmed, and there is a ribbon inside to help it from riding up.

Okay Wynter, wave your magic wand to bring up some similar bunny/rabbit themed dolls to compare yourself to!

*POOF*

more under the cut

Turns out there are quite a few bunny themed dolls out there, compared to the few I own.

Of course, they are the very cute Calico Critters/Sylvanian Family Rabbit Families (if I ever give in and buy one I’m doomed). They’re flocked, smaller than Wynter and have less articulation:

Then there are these Chinese BJD’s:

I actually might give in and buy -the whole set- ONE of them from this series….because they are ALL so cute:

Both sets are fully articulated and are strung with elastic. I believe they are a bit taller than Wynter.

Okay, back to some dolls I do have:

Wynter with Angel-Hop the Zelf (both from Moose Toys). In every review, I have said that they really seem to have some similarities in the line (or look like they would be the Pixling’s pet/sidekick). Angel-Hop also has molded on fur.

There were two other bunny Zelfs, the large Snowflake (going with a snow bunny theme like Wynter) and Sugar Bunny.

But, the Zelfs that looked the most similar to Wynter was: Crystal Gemz Angelala! …the light pink one on the left: Float kinda reminded me of her hair blend l, so he also snuck into the picture.

Their heart gems are not the exact mold, but they look VERY SIMILAR TO ONE ANOTHER. Her brother from another species’ mother…..

Okay, onto the Shopkins Wild Style: Melonie Hops and Bunny Bow. Both characters are flocked and waaaay smaller than Wynter. Besides them also being made by Moose Toys, and being bunnies as well, there isn’t much similarity (Wynter finds them adorable).

There was a Shoppie who went along with Bunny Bow, Rainbow Kate. I believe that she is slightly taller than Wynter, but has less articulation, and I don’t know if her clothes are removable.

Okay, now onto some non-Moose Toys. How about Na! Na! Na! Surprise! by MGA? Now they have a lot of bunnies! Including my Aubrey Heart (who seems to have more in common with the Zelf: Sugar Bunny than Wynter). Aubrey is a cloth doll over a plastic vase and has five points of articulation and is a good deal taller than Wynter with her bunny hat on (which is permanent and seen to her hair). Both have really soft hair fibers…

This line also had allll of these bunny themed characters: Bebe Groovy and Melanie Mod (a second bunny doll named Melanie/Melonie). I believe these were released in the same series too.

Alice Hope (second bunny girl with the last name “Hops,” and will be the first of two Alice in Wonderland references in this post) and another snow bunny: Aspen Fluff.

Finally, they had “Black Bunny,” from the Ultimate Series (they’re MUCH bigger dolls with removable hats and rooted hair ….and were stupid expensive…)

Okay, the other behemoth of bunny doll characters are Mattel’s Enchantimals (which I believe are still putting out characters/play sets, just not in the United States). I never cared for them due to their molded on clothing and the human ear/animal ear combo (I DESPISE it SO).

They are the same height as Pixlings, but with smaller proportions, and more limited articulation (and with molded on tops and removable skirts like Pixlings, but not executed as well IMO). I don’t own any bunny Enchantimals, so here are more stock photos for yoooou. Also, their set of bunny ears remind me of the Rankin and Bass’ “Here Comes Peter Cottontail’s” rabbits:

There is another pink bunny girl: Bree Bunny and ANOTHER snow bunny: Bevy Bunny (a skirt and tank top are NOT snow appropriate clothing).

There are Brystal Bunny and Blyss Bunny.

aaaand the smaller (also pink) bunny: Bedelia Bunny (no relation to Amelia Bedelia) and another purple bunny: Becker Bunny (who comes with an fairly cute Farmer’s Market Playset and looks to have the extra knee joints, along with a new cute ear mold). Apparently, they are all related….

And I would be remiss if I did not include Mattel’s Ever After High Bunny Blanc (daughter of Alice in Wonderland’s White Rabbit)…..she looks much cuter in the very enjoyable animated series and this stock photo than she does in real life.

[danjaley]

Get to Know Me - Sims Style

Thanks for the tag @nocturnalazure

Tagging whoever would like to do this - I'm just home from work on a Sunday, so only light tasks for my brain please.

What’s your favorite Sims death?

I've never been the type who enjoyed killing off their Sims, so I haven't been very interested in the various death-types. Years ago I've seen someone reply to this question "the mummy curse, because of the darkening vision effect and the sandy death-animation and ghost". This inspired a generation of my gameplay legacy, but I manipulated it so the Sim turned into a mummy instead of dying.

Alpha CC or MaxisMatch?

Maxis match, especially for clothing. I like the clear silhouettes of MaxisMatch clothing and I think they work best with most animations.

Do you cheat your sims weight?

In gameplay I prefer to achieve weight-changes the natural way. In storytelling of course I make the characters the way I need them.

Do you move objects?

In storytelling always, in gameplay sometimes to decorate.

Favorite Mod?

The technically obvious answer is NRaas because the game is literally unplayble without them. I love how many gameplay mods are being released these days.

First Expansion/Game Pack/Stuff Pack?

For every Sims game I was a bit late to the party and waited until it came with a pets expansion. This and Seasons. The world is not complete without animals and seasons.

Do you pronounce live mode like aLIVE or LIVing?

As @nocturnalazure said, I understand it as "we're live now". It's called "Live-Modus" in German and in a German word that's the only way "live" is pronounced.

Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made?

I still think the cast of Of Chevalry are the best Sims I've ever made. I don't see characters' faces very clearly in my head, but these really turned out the way I hazily imagined them.

Have you made a simself?

It's my icon.

Which is your favorite EA hair color?

Is this a question for the Sims 2 or 4 players?

Favorite EA hair?

I like the braided updo from the basegame. I use a lot of EA hair actually, especially for male Sims.

Favorite life stage?

Depends. For babies, toddlers, and to some extend children, I wish there were more content and gameplay in the actual game. On the other hand, this makes it fun to make mods for them. Teens and elders I wish were more different from adults, and I wish the developers had gone the extra step and made all clothing available teen-to-elder, like in Sims 4. In my stories I try to show my characters' development in whatever age they currently are.

Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay?

I'm not a very good builder. My best own buildings are square and simple.

Are you a CC creator?

I dare say.

Do you have any Simblr friends or a Sim Squad?

I feel really old when I think of all my mutuals who are no longer active. Around 2015 there were so many historical and storytelling Sims 3 simmers! Sometimes I think of their stories and how they might have continued...

Do you have any sims merch?

Until last year there was a cardboard plumbob hanging next to our family-computer. But we finally realized every family member has their own computer now, so we removed that office corner.

Do you have a YouTube for sims?

I do, but it only has a handful of three-second screen-captures from my game. At one point tumblr's video upload didn't work, so I linked them from youtube.

How has your “Sims style” changed throughout your years of playing?

It changed a lot. I always played a historic game, but I was much more eclecticist in the beginning. Of course also new cc came out, and I started using lighting mods and later poses. And I switched from gameplay to storytelling.

What’s your origin id?

danjaley

Who’s your favorite CC creator?

There are many, but the first Sims creator and blogger I discovered was @aroundthesims . Sandy inspired me to start my own Simblr, and what would I do without her custom content?

How long have you had simblr?

Nine years this March.

How do you edit your pictures?

In Photoshop CS2. It used to be Elements but that is no longer working.

What expansion/ gamepack is your favorite?

See above.

[cinamun]

TAGGED by @simmerstellar ! Thanks friend!

Come get to know me y'all!

1. What’s your favorite sims death? I haven't had a sim die from anything other than old age in a HOT minute but I saw a LP and the murphy bed death seems so unecessarily violent lmfao.

2. Alpha CC or Maxis Match? BOTH! I consider my style Maxis Mix. We love a nice combo of both.

3. Do you cheat when your sims gain weight? Not anymore but at one point I had to. Let me explain: I don't know if it was a glitch but like after every meal with grannie's cookbook, Indya would gain weight instantly. Didn't happen with anyone else (although everyone else are athletes of some sort). She's always and forever thick but something was definitely up with the food mods I was using. Anyway, we're good now since I'm not playing her HH exclusively anymore.

4. Do you use move objects? Absolutely. Its too restrictive! Gotta play test when I do though because routing errors make me irrationally angry.

5. Favorite mod? Wickedwhims. I don't care! If I want my sims to get freak-nasty I have a blog for that and WW never fumbles. If I want them to do cute little intimate things, WW is there. If you don't like the smut, I feel bad for you son.

6. First expansion/game/stuff pack you got? I've gotten pretty much ever iteration of this game except for almost all of the kits and the star wars pack.

7. Do you pronounce “live mode” like aLIVE or LIVing? ALIVE. I don't understand the other one honestly lol. We're going LIVE as soon as I press play so....

8. Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made? Obvs Indya Drake!

9. Have you made a simself? Yes! But she needs help lol I'm not good at that at all so there's a resemblance but she doesn't really look like me. When I do gameplay with her I say she's my "sorta-kinda self sim" lol

10. What sim traits do you give yourself? gloomy, neat, loner, romantic

11. Which is your favorite EA hair color? Black but like BLACK Black, not the BLUE Black lol.

12. Favorite EA hair? All of the afro textured ones.

13. Favorite life stage? Young adults.

14. Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay? Gameplay mostly stories but I love to decorate!

15. Are you a CC creator? I will recolor the shit out of something! That's about it lol

16. Do you have any simblr friends/a sim squad? All my mutuals and anyone who reads my story! #Squad

17. What’s your favorite game? The Sims 4 is the only game I play. Don't @ me.

18. Do you have any sims merch? Nope.

19. Do you have a YouTube for sims? Nope, but I have been asked to make a channel and got that far at least. No videos lol.

20. How has your “sim style” changed throughout your years of playing? If anything, less alpha and more maxis match.

21. What’s your Origin ID? [redacted]

22. Who’s your favorite CC creator? All of the ones that do it for FREE and for the love of the game. I donate too because I understand its not easy, but also not worth a month long paywall or conveniently forgetting to publicly release something.

23. How long have you had a simblr? 2015 are my earliest posts I think.

24. How do you edit your pictures? Gshade and Photoshop Elements 2020

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack is your favorite so far? Cottage Living is the goat IMO even though I don't play it much anymore. I do very much enjoy Island Living and Growing Together will round out a nice top 3.

26. What expansion/game/stuff pack do you want next? I haven't really thought about it. I just figure the sims 4 is nearing the end of its era and we're gonna start hearing about project rene more and more.

oh! tagging @shesthespinstersimmer @bridgeportbritt @iplaysims4 @beebeesiims @thegloomiestwhim @hazelminesims @therichantsim @omgkayplays @softerhaze @crsentfairy

please ignore if you don't do these or already did this!

[meowmeow-hours]

Cat has something for you!

Hrothtober Day 1 - Origin

The first photo I ever took of Cat was of her fishing. This photo set felt only right for the origin prompt!

Info & mods below

You can find the prompts here!!

Sculpt: Cat by Westlaketea

Ears: Ears by Bizu

Tail: R.I.N by Major Praline (Paid)

Body Fur: FemHroth by Karbon

Nails: Griffes by Westlaketea

Hand Beans: Pawpads by Octoprincess

Eyes: Multi (Hellsguard Option), Normal, Catchlight (8-B Option)

Fully custom body scale (Feel free to dm/ask about it! I just havent felt like releasing it publicly)

Hair: Amaha by Miette

Dress: Sweet Sailor by Anno

Shorts: Hair Mod by Bizu (Paid; Hibiscus Tier - Older)

Bracelets: Makeup Mare by Anno

Ankle Cuffs: Peets XS Mishkia Pack (Fluffy and Breedable) by Mishkia/Scarf and Kenzo

Reshade: UFantasy

Pose 1: Bimbo - /ShowFish by Aquaveiled

Location: Outside the fishing guild in Limsa.

[deusexlachina]

Wannabe Warden Part 21: Learn horrifying Grey Warden secrets (like how Janeka stole my sister's body)

In which I once again have to choose between two versions of the same shitty plan.

We venture deeper into the mountain to stop Corypheus and his evil minions. Unfortunately, we're immediately trapped because Corypheus' prison is designed to keep things in but not out, a minor design flaw because any number of living things wander in and get Cask of Darkspawnilladoed. You can wander in from either the Vimmark Mountains or from the Deep Roads, as numerous dwarves found out before dying.

At no point did the Grey Wardens, who have a base in the Free Marches and routinely use the Deep Roads to fight darkspawn, ever think to issue any kind of warning about this inescapable Grey Warden death trap. There's not even a little sign on the entrance. They might have warned Emo Warden Bethany, but, in fairness, the last time anyone came out of here was in the distant past. By distant past, I mean all of 35 years ago, when they hired Bethany's dad to fix the inescapable death trap because it wasn't inescapable enough.

We encounter another Grey Warden who got trapped here, Larius, a former Warden Commander with advanced stages of the taint. He's okay but he died.

Larius reveals that Corypheus is a powerful wizard that can mind control people. On a probably unrelated note, Larius' plan to keep Corypheus from escaping is to completely destroy all the security mechanisms keeping Corypheus inside.

But Larius has an enemy - Warden Janeka, who plans to stop the darkspawn by releasing their leader, Corypheus, and then mind controlling him. I have to choose between these two factions, even though they're both planning to release an ancient evil. I decide to vote blue no matter who, picking the brown-haired one with the blue stripes.

Did you notice that Janeka's heavier than usual? I initially attributed this to her being an older woman before I remembered that there are no fat people of any age in Thedas. (With the sole exception of Lloyd the bartender in Redcliffe). This body type does not exist outside of the mod I'm using for Emo Warden Bethany...which means that Janeka, an older woman, not only has the exact same body as my 26-year-old sister but has an exact copy of her body. I can only assume this is because Janeka and Bethany are the only two female Grey Wardens in DA2, so when they went to all the hard work of making Bethany's torso - which has the clothes stuck on - they just decided to code Janeka's body with "just do Bethany's body again, nobody will notice." I know there's a lot of reused assets, but that's a little unsettling.

Between the brown-haired Grey Wardens who are currently being mind-controlled by Corypheus, I went with Larius. The other Grey Wardens leave with Janeka. If I'd sided with Janeka, the other Grey Wardens would have left with Larius. This does nothing to dampen my suspicion that the Grey Wardens just really don't like me or my family. There is only one substantial difference between Larius and Janeka. It's not the fact that Janeka is piss-evil, because that has no impact besides adding to her milf appeal. It's that they have different dungeons. If you side with Larius, you go with him to Riannon's Floor, where you fight four undead, who are tough. If you side with Janeka, you go to Daneken's Floor, where you fight a trio of rocky bastards, who are so tough I am convinced that nobody ever playtested this fight.

It looks like I'm winning here, doesn't it? I was, but the third one can regenerate both its own health and the health of the other two. Fast. So you'd want to focus fire the healy one, except only two of them are up at any given time, so sometimes the healy one just decides he'd rather not be fought, so then you switch to fighting one of the other two, and you've nearly got that one, but now the healy one's back online, so you switch back to fighting him but then the other two are healed up and now he's gone again. Did I mention that one of them is highly resistant to physical attacks, such as Bianca? And another is completely immune to all elemental attacks, such as most staves and all my best weapons? I don't know if this is the hardest fight in the game, but it is, without doubt, the most breathtakingly unfun.

After beating the boss that cannot decide to suddenly not be targetable whenever I start winning, I reach the top of the prison, only to find that Janeka and her soldiers got there first. I don't know how she did, considering that she went to Daneken's Floor with its ridiculous damage sponge monsters. Janeka reveals that Larius recruited my dad by threatening to murder my mom. Larius excuses himself by saying that he didn't murder my mom because his threat to murder her was successful in coercing my dad to work for him, so he didn't end up having to murder her after all.

I turn on Larius, so Janeka instantly kills him. She...she what? She just instantly kills her main enemy? Why didn't she do that before?

If I had tried to stop Janeka, I'd have had to fight her and her soldiers. Since I'm not doing that, I don't have to kill them, meaning I have maximized the number of Grey Wardens in this world. Having three seasoned Grey Wardens at her side, Janeka uses them by ordering them to uh guard a bridge or something. With nobody left to stop her, Janeka tries to mind control Corypheus. This does not work.

Corypheus rambles on about his personal life...blah blah blah, seeking the god Dumat...blah blah blah, went into heaven but found it corrupted...anyway, he needs to kill me to get out of his prison, so we fight to the death. He attacks by smacking people and, when that doesn't work, he shoots jets of flame in an excruciatingly slow-moving circle. My companions give me numerous pieces of advice in this fight, such as that we should try to stay ahead of the deadly wall of slow-moving fire. I have no idea why this group decided to give me advice here and not in the Ancient Rock Wraith fight back in Act 1, which was far less intuitive and harder than anything else (except possibly the preposterous damage sponges in the other route).

Corypheus talks almost as much as my friends. He says "the maze closes in" on us "little rats," which as you can see is not true, but the allusion to rats in mazes suggests that the dark magical experiments of the ancient Magisters apparently included modern-day animal psychology studies.

Varric begs me not to die, because then he'd have to tell the story of how we got splattered in another boss fight, and if he has to narrate one more TPK Cassandra will gut him like a fish. I oblige Varric by only dying horribly once, when the walls of flame didn't appear so I got killed by invisible fire while I was wondering what happened.

Bugs aside, this is the single easiest boss. You can outrun his physical attacks, you can outrun his fire walls, you can simply walk around his ice or lightning, and when he's using the fire walls you can take as long as you like in these balconies with statues, which are also his weakness. If you have Anders, he can just wait out his cooldowns, revive everyone, heal everyone, and then go back to the rest of the fight at your leisure.

Anders eventually realizes that Corypheus's weakness is the statues around the room, a conclusion based on intuition, Grey Warden senses, and the fact that by that point we have already hit the statues numerous times by now and each time it's worked against him.

I then finally kill Corypheus. Warden Janeka apologizes to me for foolishly thinking she could ever control the powerful and, dare I say it, sexy Corypheus. But now she feels like a whole new person. There's evil music over this scene, which is a subtle reference to the fact that Corypheus is still alive. Or he died but he's okay. Nobody in my party seems to notice something's up, which I can only attribute to some kind of subtle mind control making us miss obvious villainy.

As a reward for slaying the most powerful darkspawn who ever lived, my reward is a piece of armour that's slightly less powerful than my current one. Yet again my reward for doing vital Grey Warden missions is highly suboptimal equipment, and...wait...is that...GREY WARDEN ARMOUR???

FUCK YEEAAAHHHH

[tunglo]

repost of an old blog post for my new Ken era...

Today [March 13th] is Ken Day! Kenneth Sean "Ken" Carson first hit store shelves in 1961 and, in a move that preceded reality TV by a decade or three, we all got to watch as Barbie met the man of her dreams.

Since then Ken has gone through almost as many incarnations as Barbie herself and had over 40 different careers. In celebration of all that fantastic plastic, here are just ten of the top Ken dolls produced over the years...

--

The 'fun' of shaving Ken has been a staple of his repertoire over the years; there are versions from 1996, 1999, 2010, and 2019.

But, as ever, it's the original that's best. Here is 1979's Sport & Shave Ken. Not only did he come with this spiffing tennis outfit, he also had a shaving mug, two 'razors', and a marker pen of your very own to draw on Ken's facial hair...

According to the brochure: "It's Ken with a whole new look for the 1980s. He's athletic. He's all man."

Indeed.

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Cool Times Ken.

Never has a name been quite so misleading.

There's a reason Pixar went with this Ken era for the Toy Story movies, and it certainly wasn't because of Ken's close relationship with the concept of cool.

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Sometimes your problem is not that Ken has too much facial hair. It's that he just doesn't have enough. Luckily 1972's Mod Hair Ken had you covered. The same idea was utilised again in 1975 for The Now Look Ken, except this time around his hair was longer to capture the true essence of mid 70s cool.

--

Ken has been a doctor many times - 1963, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2011, 2018 - but 1987's offering beats the rest hands down. Not only is Ken a doctor, but you can fold the lapels of his shiny nylon medical coat down and he's ready for a night of wining and dining!

What a doll.

--

What more can I say?

--

--

According to Keeping Ken, this shot with Wedding Day Alan was an official Mattel postcard

In 1993 Mattel redesigned Ken to fulfil little girls' requests that Barbie's beau be cooler. Ken was now so cool he was attracting interest from all quarters, including the US gay community who were sure Ken's cock ring necklace came straight - heh - from the club scene. As a result Earring Magic Ken sold out for Christmas '93, and remains the best selling Ken doll of all time in spite of Mattel discontinuing and recalling the doll once they realised Ken's secret was out of the closet...

--

In 2010 Mattel released Sugar Daddy Ken, so named - they say - because he owns a little dog called Sugar.

Hmmm.

--

Back in 2004, just in time for Valentine's Day, Barbie ditched Ken in favour of Australian surfer dude, Blaine. Blaine O'Hare - or at least his face sculpt - began life in 1998 when Totally Yo-Yo Skipper was initially set to gain a new friend called Zach. Though he never actually made it into production, his features were used for 1999's Generation Girl Dance Party Blaine.

The Generation Girl line followed Barbie's time at high school in NYC, introducing a variety of new friend dolls and spawning another Blaine in 2000. When he returned in 2004 Blaine had wisely dropped the 'curtains' hairstyle and traded in New York for California. In this continuity the pair met through Blaine's younger sister, Summer, who was good friends with Barbie.

In fact, voting was held through the Barbie.com website to determine who Cali Girl Barbie ought to go for - Ken, Blaine, long time pal Steven, another newcomer named Diego, or stay single. We all know how that went. Ken went away to lick his wounds for a couple of years, but in 2006 he was back with a new look. It wasn't enough for Barbie to take him back though and the pair remained 'just good friends' until another PR campaign saw them get back together in 2011.

--

The Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse webseries is awesome.

Launched in May 2012, it pokes fun at the entire Barbie mythos and did more to give Ken a personality than any other Mattel project. We learn that Ken loves inventing, is addicted to sherbet, and suffers from Hyper Cuteness Sensitivity Disorder...

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This year Ken is finally taking control of his own destiny. Well. His own laundry, at any rate...