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#i can always make another edit with the same theme
silenzahra · 3 days
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Things that make me happy right now ✨
As I mentioned yesterday, I wanted to make a list of the things that are bringing me happiness right now as I'm going through a hard time in my life. These are the things that I'm holding on to in order to keep going, and I thought it'd be fine to share them not only because it's gonna help me in my healing process, but also in case this post could help or inspire someone else. There's always many reasons to keep going and these are just some of mine right now 🥰
My Kitsune and Tanooki Plushies:
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I mean... Look at them. How could they not bring me happiness 🥹 I bought Tanooki Mario last year, shortly after the movie came out, and I simply couldn't have him alone anymore, so last month, at last, I also got Kitsune Luigi and now they finally have each other 🥹 I honestly cannot stop hugging them and staring at them because they're so CUTE 🥹
Also, this came in perfect timing as a couple of nights ago, I was able to feel calm and focused enough as to finish the Tanooki/Kitsune story I've been working on for the past month 🥰 It's the one that I intended to post mid May and that was inspired by this beautiful drawing, but even if it's coming later than I would've liked, at least now it's done and it just needs some editing before I can start translating it 🥰
In the meantime though, if you'd like to read a cute and fluffy story revolving around two plushies of the brothers using the Super Leaf power-up, you simply cannot miss @vulpixfairy1985's sweet and beautiful story which you'll find below! I believe you'll like these two cuties, my friend 🥰
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door:
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This wonderful game came in last Thursday (a little late though, almost 8PM 😂), and I've been playing it since then and I'm now going through my absolute favorite chapter 😁 I won't spoil anything for those of you who are playing it for the first time, but my God, It's being such a wonderful experience to replay this masterpiece 🥹🥹🥹 The graphics, the story, the characters, the music!!! Have you heard what they've done to the soundtrack??? 🤯🤯🤯 I swear I have to stop and listen to it for a few minutes every single time a new theme starts playing, so that I can appreciate it in its fullest and notice the slight changes they've made to improve every single one of them. And it simply makes me love this game even more 🥹🥹🥹
This was my very first Paper Mario game and I honestly cannot explain what it means to me to be replaying it almost 20 years later. The original for Gamecube made me fall in love with the series, and the remake for Nintendo Switch... what can I say: Mario is saving my life again 😌❤️✨
Just like I did with Princess Peach Showtime, there will be a post in the future showing all the merch I got for this game 😁
Seeing my favorite band live in two weeks! 🤩🤩🤩
Okay, remember this post I made a couple of months ago? 👇
As I mention in that same post, it was inspired by a Spanish band called Estopa which has been my absolute favorite since I was 14. They released a new album last March and have now started a tour around my country, and in only two weeks —two weeks!— I'm gonna see them live and I'm internally screaming 🤩🤩🤩
Musically speaking, Estopa has been the band of my life. They've inspired me to write two of my novels, as well as the Musicians post I just linked, and I just LOVE not just their music but also their lyrics. And their brotherly love! After all, they're two brothers from a town near Barcelona, which is why I thought our boys Mario and Luigi could work very well as a band 🥹 (something that I explore in the linked post above!)
And you know the best part? Later this summer, in August, they're coming to another town close to where I live... and I'll be seeing them again 😁😁😁 Double Estopa this year!!! 🤩🤩🤩
My doggies 🐶🐾✨
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I guess this one was very obvious, but I just had to include my babies 🥹 They're my sweet little angels, they're not only beautiful but also very smart and silly, and I just love them so dearly 💖💖💖 Besides, the twins, Baloo and Mauri, have a great emotional intelligence, you know... Both of them know when I or any of my family members (mostly my parents) are feeling sad or down, and they immediately come to sit by our side or at our feet and try to make us feel better by placing their heads on our laps or, if they can, giving us small kisses in our hands or cheeks. And it just makes me love them even more 🥺🥺🥺
I really feel so grateful that these three babies are in my life 💖💖💖
Everything that I'm writing or plan to write 📝✨
Remember this post that I shared a while back? So far I've only finished two of the works on that list, with only one already posted, which you can read here if you're interested. It's about time that I go and finish other pending stories, like chapter 3 of Anything for him or a certain post-nightmare cuddles fic as both are long overdue 😅 The good news is, as I said above, the Tanooki/Kitsune story is done at last 🥰
Also, after I posted that list, I've come up with at least three more ideas that I haven't talked about yet, so... more to look forward indeed 👀 One of them especially has me absolutely EXCITED and I get new ideas for it almost every day 🤩🤩🤩 Hope I can tell you about them soon as well as bringing my promised stories at last! 🤞💖
And last but not least...
MY FRIENDS 🥹💖
Here I'm not only referring to my IRL friends, to whom, of course, I'm very grateful and love so much, but also, and obviously, to you, my dear friends 🥹 As I said yesterday, you've all become a very important part of my life and I feel you close even though we're all spread around the world. It's like we've formed some kind of family who are always there for each other no matter what and just want the rest of the members to be fine and healthy and happy. And it's honestly so touching and heartwarming 🥹💖 I truly feel like the luckiest woman on Earth for being part of such a wholesome group and I love every single one of you so so much 🫂💖💖
@vulpixfairy1985 @itsavee4117 @bberetd @peaches2217 @kelbreyworshipper
@keakruiser @pepperycar @stripetkattelalala54-gf @nuctoria @doodleydoo101 hope you don't mind that I mention you here to properly thank you for being the amazing people you are and for having being there for me when I needed you 🥰 I love you with all my heart and I'm so grateful that I met you 💖💖💖
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sansevierias · 19 days
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There was only one thing in the world that the Count never doubted, ridiculed, or belittled, either in conversation or in private, and that was his love for the Commander. That love came to be an integral part of his being. If the Count was a ship, that love was the ocean upon which he sailed – liberating, lifegiving, essential.
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ahgasegotarmy116 · 7 days
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Faking It | Jeon Jungkook | Chapter One
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Summary: Being divorced by the time you're thirty isn't the best feeling in the world but what happens when your parents find someone from your past that's in a similar boat? Pairing: f!reader (30) x Single Dad Jungkook (33) (Arranged Marriage Slow Burn?) Word Count: 11.3k (oh man holy shit) Warnings: Troubles with conceiving/seeing pregnancies to full term, Jungkook's first wife passed away in childbirth. (These themes will be spoken about throughout the fic and I will add extra warnings when need be in future chapters) a/n: Okay this one is gonna be a long one (in terms of chapter length, idk how many parts there will be) I'm really really in love with this story line so I hope you'll come along this cute, silly, awkward, heartwarming and heartbreaking journey with me 🥰 p.s. I've been brainstorming with @kkusadmirer (ofc 🤭) about this fic for a while now and I've just fallen in love with these characters too much that I had to get at least one part out. Okay okay enough from me. I hope you enjoy! (barely edited per usual I'm sry 😅)
"You should start dating again" my mom says to me, a dinner with a table for two this time since she said she wanted to talk to me about something important. If I would've known it was to nag me about something like this again I would've declined the invitation.
"Mom I already told you, I just got divo-" "You got divorced last year" she cuts me off and I sigh, knowing I'll probably get no where with this argument but continue on nevertheless.
"Point being, it hasn't been that long since Robert and I got divorced. I need time and space to figure out what I want out of life. I'm not interested in rushing into another marriage just for it to fail again" I explain and she simply downs the rest of her champagne in response, polishing it off in record time.
"You don't want to end up an old maid who didn't give me any grandchildren do you?" she says, repeating the same old argument again. "Mom I'm thirty, not forty five. I still have plenty of time to worry about babies and getting married again" I argue and she rolls her eyes before asking for another glass when the waiter passes by.
"You should at least try. Don't you like going out on dates?" she asks and I sigh, hating having this conversation over and over again.
"Dating was fun in my twenties but now that I'm more interested in finding someone to settle down with, it seems like all the guys that are remotely my age and happen to be decent human beings are already married" I explain and watch how she immediately takes her glass of champagne off the table once it's placed in front of her.
I'm glad she's drinking because having this conversation with her when she's sober is even more painful.
"You're exaggerating honey. I'm sure there is a fine young man just waiting for you around the corner" but before I'm able to respond to her, her eyes suddenly light up and she quickly gets out of her seat.
"Is it really you?" she says and another woman around her age that I've never seen before comes up to greet her. "How are you? It's been so long!" the mystery woman says and they quickly share an embrace before she turns to face me.
"And who is this beautiful young woman here with you?" she asks, making me shy away from them. "Oh this is my daughter y/n. Y/n this is Mrs. Jeon" she introduces us and tells me all about how they used to go to college together.
"Oh wow I think I remember my mom mentioning you before. You used to come over when I was little right?" I question, now remembering seeing her face in some of the pictures in my baby album.
"That's right! Little Jungkook and I used to come visit you all the time when you were just a teeny tiny little thing. You were the easiest baby I've ever come across, always sleeping and when you woke up you were as happy as can be" she rambles and I get a warm feeling in my chest, loving to have met someone who clearly cared so deeply for my mother and I.
"Who's Jungkook" I ask, looking back and forth between the two of them. "Jungkook is my son, he's just a few years older than you. I remember he was so fascinated by you, always wanting to come over and would watch over you as you slept, never causing a fuss as long as you were around" she says and I blush at the fact that her son would care about me just as much if not more than she does.
"How is he? Is he doing alright?" my mother asks and Mrs. Jeon gets a somber look on her face eyes fluttering to the floor before responding.
"Actually, he lost his wife a few years ago. She passed away after she gave birth to their daughter" she mumbles and I feel my chest tighten up at the thought of someone so young losing their life to something that is supposed to be so beautiful.
"My condolences to you all" I say, my eyes going glossy and she smiles in return, the memory bringing a tear to her eye as well. "Thank you love, that's very kind of you" she says, placing a hand on my shoulder before she clears her throat and blinks back her tears, wanting to put on a brave face in public.
"Why don't you come visit us at our home tomorrow evening? I would love to catch up and it would be good if the kids got reacquainted again" my mother suggests and I glare at her, knowing exactly what she's doing but also knowing there's no way I could stop her. 
"I would love that! Our husbands might enjoy catching up too since they used to get along so well" Mrs. Jeon points out. "Then it's settled! How would you feel about making it a dinner instead?" my mother questions, digging us deeper into this evening we'll all be spending together. "I think that sounds perfect!" she agrees and I tune out the rest of the conversation, already trying to mentally prepare myself for the scheming I know my mother has planned.
~~~~
Kicking off my shoes and walking into my apartment I'm greeted by the serene sound of silence. 
My black tuxedo cat meows as he jumps down from his cat tower and stretches for a second before coming over to greet me. "Hi Salem" I say, scooping him up and carrying him with me into my bedroom where I plop him down in the middle of my bed. "Mom only invited me to dinner because she wanted to tell me to start dating again" I relay to him, while I walk around my room, grabbing all the things I'll need to get ready for bed.
"I should've known she was up to something when she decided to invite me out on a random Wednesday night to go to my favorite restaurant. If the previous glances I had of the totals on those receipts didn't clue me in enough I don't know what would" I say in disbelief, having convinced myself hours earlier that it might've been about something good instead of another chance to nag me about something.
"I don't know why I even bother sometimes. She just has this worst case scenario mindset that I'm going to die alone and not leave a legacy. I understand that I'm their only child but with the way she talks, you would think I was well into my forties already" I say, verbally processing to him while he curls up into a ball, his eyes watch me walk back and forth until I walk into the en-suite bathroom to turn on the shower.
"Thanks for always listening to me Salem" I say, walking back over to him and scratching his head, "Don't know what I would do without you" I mumble before walking back over to the bathroom and closing the door.
Looking in the mirror I study my features, my hair styled just how I like it, my brows perfectly shaped but when I get to my eyes I notice it. I notice why my mother has gotten so worried about me.
It's as if the light's gone out of them. It's more than just 'Hey it's been a long day and I'm tired' no it's 'I don't even know what I'm doing here anymore' and for the first time, I admit to myself that I truly feel that way.
I reach for my cleanser and quickly wash off the little makeup that I still have on, lips completely plain and gone back to their natural color and some how my cheeks don't seem to be as rosy anymore after I had made sure to put on some more blush today to bring some color back to my face. Maybe it's not the makeup that's been washing me out, but the way that I've been living.
I will admit my days consist of going to work and coming home and doing that same thing over and over again. I don't really go out much and I only have a few friends but ever since I got divorced I just end up politely declining any sort of invitation I get from them. Doesn't matter if it's dinner or drinks or clubbing or even just a shopping trip.
I just can't get myself wanting to do anything anymore.
I step into the shower and I flinch slightly at the burning sensation the hot water brings to me but adjust it and step further under the stream once it's just to my liking. While going though my shower routine mindlessly I start trying to get to the bottom of what has got me living like this.
Robert wasn't the best husband in the world, mainly because he cheated on me but before that things were good between us. He made me laugh and was a perfect gentleman that always made me feel special and when we got married I swear I thought I couldn't be happier. 
It felt like my life was falling into place, our life.
Until it wasn't.
I'm knocked out of my train of thought when I hear Salem pawing at the door and remember now that in my whirl winded state of mind I forgot to feed him. "Sorry Salem I'll be right out!" I call out for him and he meows in response. I swear that cat is more intelligent than I am most days.
I finish up my uninteresting night as I always do, turning out the lights and cuddling up with Salem until I eventually fall asleep but it took a little longer tonight. Thoughts full of what my future might look like if I don't start living instead of just existing. 
As the 'what ifs' plague my mind they eventually drown themselves out as that same welcoming feeling of calm finally lulls me to sleep. 
~~~~~~
"Hurry up they're almost here" my mother says, yanking me inside the house before I even have a chance to knock on the front door. "Nice to see you too mom" I say under my breath and she's wound up so tight it doesn't even phase her. I can tell she's been working hard to make sure everything is perfect once the Jeons arrive.
"Did you get that wine I told you to get?" she questions, her eyes lighting up at the sight of the wine bottle carrier in my hand, quickly taking it and rushing into the kitchen. "Yeah no problem mom you're welcome" I say, talking to the air in front of me still waiting for her to show any sign of gratitude.
"Go place your things in your old room so they're out of the way" she call out, leaving me sighing and trudging off to do as she says.
Once I retrace my steps and walk past the door to go to join her in the kitchen I'm stopped in my tracks when the doorbell rings.
"Oh honey can you get that? My hands are tied here" my mom yells and I take a deep breath in and out before doing just that.
"Hello y/n! It's so nice to see you again" Mrs. Jeon greets me as I step aside and let them in, soon after her is her husband who holds out his hand in greeting. "It's been quiet a long time hasn't it? I remember when you use to be-" "Grandpa! Grandpa! I wanna meet the pretty lady too!" a little girl no older than five years old says, walking around her grandfather's legs to get to me, greeting me with the most adorable bunny smile.
"And now who might this be?" I ask, already melting into a puddle from seeing how absolutely adorable she is. "I'm Juni" she laughs when I go down to her level. "Well it's very nice to meet you Juni and how old are you?" I ask and she lights up when I continue taking an interest in her. "I'm four! Well Daddy says I'm turning five soon but it feels like it's taking forever. Right Daddy?" she says and looks back towards the man now left standing in the doorway.
"That's right Juni" he responds and the deep tenor of his voice sends a slight shiver down my spine, so full of love and admiration that is obvious to anyone who might come across the pair. "Oh!" I say, quickly straightening back up to meet this mysterious Jungkook and my throat goes dry once I've laid eyes on him.
Tall, strong build, dark brown hair that's well taken care of and styled perfectly, strong jawline accompanied by the contrast of the softest look in his brown almost black galaxy eyes that are still focused on his beautiful daughter.
"I'm sorry" I say but he shakes his head before he turns his head in my direction, taking in the sight of me as well before speaking. "That's alright, Juni kind of grabs everyone's attention right away" he says giving me a soft smile. "I'm Jungkook" he says, holding his hand out to me. "Y/n" I say shyly and shake it, his hands being much larger than mine is comforting in a way.
"My mom told me we used to come see you when we still lived here" he says once we let go, Juni now quietly watching our exchange. "Used to?" I question, curious to know more about why our mothers had lost touch. "We went back to our hometown for a while and then moved back to the city soon after Juni was born" he says and I nod my head, accepting that as an answer for now but wanting to know more.
"Sounds like I was just an infant though so I don't really have any memory of it" I admit while rocking back and forth on my heels, a nervous habit I've picked up over the years. "It's alright, I didn't expect you to remember" he chuckles, "I was only three so I don't remember much of it either" we laugh at his returned confession and a more comfortable air settles between us.
"Well it's nice to finally meet you" I say and he nods his head. "Likewise" he replies and we stand there for a moment, not really knowing where to go from here then, thankfully Juni breaks the silence.
"Daddy I wanna talk to the pretty lady" she says and grabs my hand and pulls me away from him. "Be nice Juni" he warns and she pouts, leaving me crouching down to her level and tilting my head to meet her gaze. "There's enough of me to go around little one. Don't worry" I say, booping her on the nose and making her giggle again.
Jungkook walks in a bit more and closes the door behind him, watching our little exchange before my mother comes out to check on us.
"Y/n why don't you take Jungkook and..." she says trailing off, not having learned his daughter's name yet. "Juni" Jungkook says and my mother smiles at the sound of the adorable name. "Jungkook and Juni outside. I'm sure she'd love to run around a little bit before dinner is ready" she suggests and I agree while Juni starts jumping up and down, excited to explore an unfamiliar place.
Jungkook follows closely behind as I lead the way but I ultimately end up getting dragged along by Juni who is surprisingly perceptive and has already mapped out the door that we'll be going through. "Come on Daddy keep up!" she calls after him once we've reached the door, looking back and seeing that he's fallen behind.
"I'm right behind you Juni" Jungkook chuckles and once we step outside Juni lets go and runs back and forth all around the yard, looking at anything and everything she can find.
"Be careful!" I say, worried that she could hurt herself but Jungkook comes over and stands next to me and reassures me she'll be fine.
"It's alright, if she gets hurt it'll be a little reminder to pay attention to what she's doing next time. That's the only way kids really learn right?" he says turning towards me, granting me with a soft smile, almost as if he's looking for validation on his parenting choice.
"Of course," I respond, returning the smile, "even some adults need to crash and burn before they learn their lesson sometimes" I point out and it makes him relax a bit more, thankful to see that he's right in his dealings with situations like this.
"She's a good kid" I say after leading him over to the patio set we have out here so we can sit down and watch her. "Thanks, it's been difficult raising her on my own so I'm never really sure if I'm doing a good job or not" he admits and I nod my head, taking a second to think about my response since it's a sensitive subject.
"I can tell that you love her very much so I have no doubt in my mind that you'll always do right by her" and I can tell that my words bring him a sense of comfort. Being a single parent can be extremely difficult especially when you lose the love of your life as soon as you become a father. 
I wouldn't wish that pain on anyone.
"Y/n?" I hear him call out and realize that my mind had drifted off for a second. "I'm sorry what did you say?" I say, my cheeks heating up from having been caught daydreaming. "I asked if you had any children of your own" he chuckles and I again try to figure out the best way to word this but figure the best way to go about it is to be honest. 
I've got no reason to hide from him.
"No, I got divorced last year and my ex husband and I were never able to have children" I say, looking down at my lap, embarrassed to have admitted it but also feeling a certain weight lifted off my shoulders.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know" he trails off and I panic, realizing I might've made him feel uncomfortable, telling him something so personal so soon. "No don't be, I honestly dodged a bullet with that one" I chuckle, hoping to lighten the situation a bit which thankfully it does as I see his body relax a bit.
"Our relationship had been on the rocks soon after we got married and I don't think we were a good match for each other so I think it was the universe's way of doing me a favor in making us somewhat biologically incompatible" I chuckle and he softly does the same.
"Biologically incompatible" he questions, a deeper meaning obviously hidden behind those words. "We both got checked out and everything looked completely fine but I guess it wasn't meant to be, thank God" I sigh, sincerely thanking whoever might've been in charge of making that executive decision for us.
"I'm not exactly sure what to say to that but I'm glad it worked out?" he states almost as if it was a question and I laugh, in response hoping I can recover this incredibly awkward conversation. "I'm sorry, that was a huge overshare that I probably should've kept to myself" I say, clearing my throat in hopes it would aid in clearing the peculiar air that had settled between us.
"You have nothing to apologize for, I asked and I feel honored that you felt comfortable enough to be so transparent with your answer" he says, the warmth in his tone giving me an ache in my chest. How could someone be so kind to someone they've just met? It's as if I could tell him anything and he would listen to me as if I was the only person in the world.
"Daddy!" 'Well me and Juni', I say to myself and watch as his attention now shifts to his daughter who is running up behind me. "Daddy look!" Juni says, holding out her hands that are now thoroughly caked in mud but hold a rock that is almost a perfectly shaped heart in the center of her palm. "Oh Juni" Jungkook chuckles, the ends of her dress now matching the state of her hands and neither Jungkook nor I can hold in our laughter.
"That's a very beautiful rock Juni! You're so clever" I say and I can see a sense of pride straighten her posture a little bit. "Juni your beautiful dress" Jungkook chuckles, clearly not minding but also trying to figure out what to do. "I'm sorry Daddy" she say, that pride slowly dwindling after seeing the mess she's made of herself.
"Hey Juni" I say, turning her attention back to me and I can see her spirits lift a little. "Would you like to see some of the clothes that I used to wear when I was your age?" I ask and her eyes light up at the thought. "Did you wear pretty dresses too?" she asks, clearly excited about seeing more new things. Her childlike wonderment makes my heart ache. Must run in the family.
"I did, but none of them were as pretty as yours. If you like, you can borrow one of mine while we wash this one" I suggest and the way her head nods up and down so fast makes me chuckle.
"Let's go to my room then! Hopefully we can find something you'll like" I say, standing up and straightening my dress while Jungkook reaches out for Juni's foot.
"Let's take your shoes off before we go back inside baby. We wouldn't want to track any mud into the pretty lady's house right?" Jungkook says, flashing a soft smile at me before looking back down to complete his intended task and Juni complies right away. 
My breath hitches as he purposefully uses the nickname Juni had given me and I quickly walk past them and open the door to go inside, trying to clear my head for a second, willing myself to keep it together.  
"Are you coming with us?" Juni asks and he nods his head, "I gotta go clean your shoes off first though" he says and I walk all three of us over to the bathroom so Jungkook can do just that as well as wash Juni's hands off.
"Wow!" is the first word that comes out of her mouth when we walk into the butterfly themed bedroom, mesmerizing her from the first glance. "Your room is so pretty!" she says, quickly running around here and there, being careful not to get too close since we haven't gotten a chance to change her dress yet.
"You like it?" I question and she's quick to nod her head again. "I wish my room looked like this" she says, spying all of the little butterfly details from the dainty embroidering on the bedspread to the knobs on the dresser, all of them working in harmony.
"We can go look for some butterfly stuff next time we go to the store if you'd like" Jungkook says while he walks into the room and right up to her while she stares up at the ceiling where there are a couple scattered across it. Nothing is too over the top but there is clearly a theme going on that she is captivated by.
"Really?" she asks, confirmation of what he's said being important to make sure she's hear him right. "Promise" he says holding out his pinky that she quickly wraps her's around as best as she can with her little ones being so tiny in comparison to his. She looks at the two of us before beckoning Jungkook to come closer so she can whisper something in his ear.
"Can the pretty lady come with us too?" she 'whispers' in his ear almost as loud as her speaking voice and I try to hold back my laughter, pretending like I didn't hear a thing. "Why don't you ask her?" he whispers and when he leans back she looks him in the eyes and he nods to further encourage her.
"Um, would you like to go shopping with us to get butterflies for my room too?" she asks, walking up to me shyly. Jungkook looks at me with a soft smile and I notice how the tips of his ears have almost gotten a little pink, his expression soft and charming but his body still showing tell tale signs of nervousness.
"Sure Juni, I'd love to go shopping with you" I say and she giggles in response while running back to her Daddy. "Can we go right now?" she asks jumping up and down. "We'll go another time don't worry baby, we've gotta set up a time so the pretty lady can go with us too right?" he reminds her and although she's sad she has to wait she nods in agreement. "Good, now let's get you out of this so we can make you all nice and clean again" he says, unzipping the back of her dress and revealing the cute little white tank top and tights that she wore under it.
I focus my attention on opening up the closet and grabbing a couple of dresses out for her to choose from. "These ones should fit. Which one would you like to wear Juni?" I say and her eyes flitter back and forth between all of them before giving her a Daddy a devious smile and hugging them to her chest. "I want all of them" she giggles and my heart melts, thinking about how fun it would be if I had a daughter just like her.
"Pick one Juni" Jungkook chuckles and she pulls back flipping through the selection I've made before her eyes light up and find the one she's dying to wear. "This one, this one!" she says, lightly holding onto the skirt and jumping up and down. I shift my grasp on them and hold out the one she chose for Jungkook to take and once he does there a static jolt of electricity that shocks us leaving the both of us pulling away slightly.
"Sorry it's probably from all the fabric of the dresses" I explain and he smiles in response. "Don't worry about it. A little spark never hurt anyone" he says and it's almost as if his voice had dropped a bit with that remark, leaving me widening my eyes a bit before turning back around and placing the dresses back in the closet. 
Why does he make me so nervous?
"Lady, lady look!" I hear from behind, and watch as Juni turns this way and that once Jungkook has finished putting the dress on her. "My goodness Juni don't you look adorable!" I say and she runs up to the the mirror in the corner of the room, watching the skirt swish this way and that. "Say thank you Ms y/n" Jungkook says, correcting Juni and finally telling her my name. She sounded too cute calling me 'the pretty lady' I just didn't have the heart to tell her otherwise.
"Thank you Ms y/n!" she says, running up to me and wrapping her arms around my legs since she is still  too small to reach anywhere else. "You're welcome Juni" I say, smiling down at her and smoothing her hair down. "Remember Juni, we're just borrowing it so we can wash your dress. We have to give it back to Ms. y/n before we leave" Jungkook says and I can see her excitement dwindle a bit but is no less thankful for being able to wear it tonight.
"Thank you for letting me borrow it Ms. y/n!" she says and I smile again, falling more and more in love with this adorable little girl with every smile she graces me with. "You're welcome" I say and she lets go of me and twirls around in it before stopping.
"Oh! I promise to be really careful and keep this one clean" she says holding out her pinky to do just as she had done with her father moments ago and I kneel down to her level and do just that before booping her on the nose causing another fit of giggles to spill out of her.
"Y/n, dinner is ready" my mother says while poking her head around the corner and I can tell she is completely satisfied by the scene that she's walked in on. "Oh Juni what a beautiful dress!" my mother says, noticing it right away, remembering it was one of my favorites. "Ms y/n gave it to me!" she says, swishing around in it again before doing a full twirl for us.
"Well aren't you the most darling little girl I've ever seen! Are you ready to eat? I heard that mashed potatoes are one of your favorite foods right?" my mom says, holding out her hand for Juni to take and she gladly does.
"Did my grandma tell you that?" she asks, clearly surprised that this complete stranger already knew something about her. "Yes she did. I hope you like them!" my mom says and Juni rushes down the hallway dragging my mom behind her. "Juni be careful!" Jungkook calls out to her but my mom just laughs it off.
"Why don't you show Jungkook where the laundry room is so you can put her dress in the washer" my mom offers up and I nod my head and look up at him. "That's okay I can just wash it when we get home" he says, politely declining the offer. "It's alright, it's best to wash it right away so it doesn't stain" I say, holding out my hand for the dress and he smiles before handing it to me and following my lead.
"You have a lovely home" he says shyly, looking this way and that taking notice of the small details just as Juni did. 'Like father like daughter' I think to myself. "It was my childhood home as you could probably tell from my old room" I say and he hums in response as I stop at the door to the laundry room.
"I know Juni is never going to stop talking about it" he chuckles and I smile at the loving tone that is always present in his voice whenever he speaks about her. We stand there in silence for a bit while I gather the various cleaning products I'll need.
"If you like, I can show you how to get stains like this out? If there was ever a day when I was her age that I didn't get some sort of dirt, mud or grass stains on my clothes my mother would write that down as a national holiday" I say and he laughs at that before accepting the offer.
"Sure, I'd like that" for some reason I can't seem to find the right words so I simply turn around and rinse off the mud in the little sink we have in here. "Do you think you could get that one for me?" I ask, nodding toward one of the stain removers. He wordlessly does as I ask and helps apply a drop or two of it to each of the areas I point out.
"I could've done that" he says now realizing how he's just standing there watching me clean his daughter's dress. "No, that's okay I offered!" I say, reassuring him that I don't mind. I wordlessly ask for the next stain remover before rubbing it in and ringing out the excess water. He opens up the washer lid for me and I toss it in and look this way and that for the laundry detergent.
"Looking for this?" he asks, pulling it off the shelf above the washer. "See, that's a perk of living on my own now. I don't have to worry about things being up too high for me anymore" I chuckle and quickly scoop in the appropriate amount and start the washer.
"Well let me know if you ever need anyone to get something that's out of your reach, it's one of the perks of being tall" he jokes and I laugh but almost shy away from the fact that he expects to see me again. "So I've heard" I say and try to put the detergent back on my own but it soon tips back over and is close to crashing down until he catches it, which in turn ends with him trapping me between him and the washer.
He slides the detergent back in it's spot and takes half a step back, giving me the smallest bit of space. "Why didn't you let me help you? I was standing right here?" he asks, tilting his head at me. "I don't know, I guess I'm just used to doing things on my own now" I chuckle awkwardly. "Well hopefully you'll get used to letting me help you soon" he says, finally taking another step back and giving me a bit more space to breathe.
"Sorry about that" I apologize awkwardly, leaning my back against the washer now with him leaning up against the wall directly in front of me and giving me a crooked smile. "Don't apologize, there's nothing wrong with being independent" he says and quickly scans my body but he does it so fast that if I would've blinked I would've missed it.
"Daddy it's time for dinner" Juni says, her soft steps not having been heard by either of us over the sound of the washer, breaking us out of the little moment that we had been having. "Okay Juni we're coming" he chuckles and holds out his hand for her to take but she giggles and dodges it, reaching for mine instead.
I squeeze past Jungkook as this little room is only wide enough for one person to walk through and the front of our bodies brush up against each other only for a moment until she's tugged me halfway out the door. "Let's be a train Daddy! Grab onto Ms. y/n's hand so you can be the caboose!" she says, turning this trip down the hallway into a game.
"Oh that's okay sweetie why don't you-" he starts but I hold out my hand for him to take, him only having refused for my sake, not wanting to make me uncomfortable with any unwanted skinship. "Grab on Daddy!" Juni giggles and I look up at him and see that he's looking down at me. He chuckles before grabbing onto my hand and the both of us are soon trailing behind Juni as she drags us to the dining room.
Once we get to the dinner table Juni lets go of my hand and runs back to where Jungkook's mom is so she can continue to help her eat her mashed potatoes. 
When everyone notices that Jungkook and I have arrived, we're greeted with four sets of eyes, all of them extremely happy to see us. It's then when I realize that we were still holding hands so I gently slide mine out of his, almost wishing I didn't have to.
He looks down at where our hands had been connected when I do and I can almost see that he's also disappointed that I let go but his expression is quickly replaced by an awkward smile aimed at our parents. 
When I look at the table I see that Jungkook and I are meant to sit directly across from each other. Which I'm sure is another one of my mother's ploys to get us to keep glancing up at each other, this time though I don't really mind.
When I go to walk to one side to sit down next to Mr. Jeon, Jungkook follows right behind me. 
"Oh did you want to sit on this side?" I ask him and he shakes his head, "No, I just wanted to pull your chair out for you" he says and I feel butterflies in my stomach. "Oh, okay" I say quietly and watch as he does just that and slides the chair in behind me once I've sat down. "Thank you" I reply, smiling up at him and he does so in return before rounding the table to take a seat in his place.
"So y/n, your mother told us that you work in photography, is that right?" she asks and I take a drink of water before responding. "Well not really, I've done a few freelance jobs here and there. Enough to keep me afloat so to say but I hope to do it full time soon!" I say and I see Jungkook perk up at that.
"Jungkook has always loved photography as well! He's always been tinkering away with cameras since he was just a few years older than Juni" his mother says while Jungkook cleans off Juni's face as it seems like she's gotten more food on her face than in her mouth.
"What subject do you usually shoot?" I ask, curious to see where his interests lie. "Mostly editorial, but I tend to enjoy the shoots a lot more when they have to do with nature. I believe beauty can be found in almost anything so I tend to just capture whatever inspires me at the moment" he says, his answer being very similar to mine.
"I feel the same way" I respond simply before shying away from the topic as I feel our parents are studying our interaction.
Once they notice the silence they decide to pick up the conversation just throwing facts about Jungkook and I back and forth, pretty much doing the getting to know you game for us without giving us much room to get a word in edgewise. Which leaves the both of us to just follow the conversation and occasionally making eye contact when either side makes a slightly embarrassing comment.
"Hey Dad" Jungkook calls out to his father over the never ending conversation they're having about us. "How's that new project at work going?" he says and I can already tell that it's one of those kinds of topics that once you get him started on it he won't stop and that's just the case as we now watch the conversation take a turn that is thankfully so far off from the two of us.
As time ticks by and the subjects change a few more times I notice that Jungkook has started to get up and clear the table to which I jump up in response to help him.
"Oh Jungkook don't worry about that I can do it later" my mother says but he shakes his head. "It's the least I could do after you've provided this wonderful dinner for my family and I" he says and I can almost see my mother swooning from his response. "Well thank you very much, sweetie can you show him where to place them, just next to the sink is fine" she says to me and I nod, looking up at him and nodding my head towards the direction of the kitchen.
Once we've gone there and back from the table a few times I decide to just start loading up the dishwasher, trying to escape that mortifying conversation for as long as I can. "I brought your glass for you. Wasn't sure if you were planning to finish it or not" he says, walking over and placing my wine glass on the counter next to me. "Thanks" I say quietly, neither of us having said a word to each other since the very beginning of that dinner.
"Your parents are really sweet" he says, breaking the ice and clearly acknowledging how obvious they all were about their motives. "Yours too. I'm sorry about tonight" I say and his brows furrow, clearly not understanding why I would need to apologize. "I knew my mom would end up doing something like this but once her mind is made up there's no stopping her" I admit and he gives me a crooked smile in response.
"Don't worry, I knew what all of them were up to too. My mother was praising you so much and telling me how beautiful and smart and respectful you are so I had an inkling that this was their plan all along" he says and I turn away from him, trying to hide my flustered expression.
"She's right you know" he says, coming around to stand next to me, leaning against the counter while I face it, cleaning up the inside of the sink and grabbing the towel next to me to dry my hands.
"Right about what?" I question, now turning to face him and noticing just how close he's gotten. "About how beautiful you are" he says and I have to blink a few times, trying to figure out why this incredibly handsome man in my kitchen is flirting with me.
I just wanna thank past me because whatever I did in my last life must've been incredible if I'm being offered up a man as remarkable as he is.
"I-" I start but am soon interrupted by my mom walking in on us. "Y/n could you- oh! I'm sorry, as you were" she says, taking small backward steps out of the kitchen, keeping hers eyes on the two of us before turning around to walk back to the living room that they had moved to.
"I'm sorry about her" I say, taking a drink of my wine but he laughs it off. "It's alright, I don't mind" he says watching me with curious eyes as I polish off the rest of it. "Juni has taken a real liking to you" he says and my heart melts at the sound of her name.
"Really? She's probably the happiest child I've ever seen. I really like her too" I say and he smiles, no doubts memories over the years flashing through his head.
"You've done a really good job raising her Jungkook" I say, and his eyes flutter back to mine, this time being the first time I've spoken his name and it looks as if just that alone brought him so much satisfaction. "Thank you y/n" he says, and I feel my heart flutter, the deep baritone of his voice sending a shiver down my spine.
"Daddy can I have some cake?" we hear as Juni walks into the kitchen, "Can I have some cake..." Jungkook says, trailing off and waiting for those magic words. "Please?" she says, realizing what he had been getting at.
"Sure baby, Ms. y/n and I will bring it out in a second okay?" he says making her smile as she runs out of the kitchen "Thank you" she calls out over her shoulder leaving the two of us laughing at her enthusiasm.
"That's probably what my mom was coming in to ask us for" I say and he nods in agreement, helping me carry everything out so we can all have a slice of the small cake my mom had gotten for tonight. "How much you want to bet that they sent Juni looking for us earlier too?" he whispers to me as we make our way over to where everyone else has gathered. "You might be right about that one" I whisper back, quickly catching onto all of their little games.
After setting the cake and all of the plates and forks down on the coffee table my mom takes on the task of cutting it up and serving it, with the very first piece going to little Miss Juni. "Thank you!" she says, eyes wide as saucers leaving all of us cooing at her. "Eat slow Juni" Jungkook reminds her, no doubt having troubles with her eating her desserts too quickly.
I take on the task of helping my mother hand out the slices and once I give one to Jungkook I finally notice that the only empty seat is right next to him and he looks down at it before looking back up at me in a silent invitation to sit down and I take it cautiously.
The couch that we're sitting on is kind of a love seat ironically, seeing as the whole theme of tonight is trying to set us up with each other.
Once I've sat down I realize that I've sat right next to him to the point of where my shoulder ended up bumping into his. "Oh! I'm sorry" I say, scooting away from him but with the size of the couch I don't really end up moving all that much. "It's okay I don't mind" he says, before taking a bite of his cake and turning to face the rest of the group.
The seven of us continue talking and talking until we notice that Juni has fallen asleep in her grandma's lap. "Here mom let me take her" Jungkook says, standing up but both my mom and his stand up and wave him off. "That's okay, we're just gonna go put her down in y/n's room" my mom says and before he's able to say otherwise they've disappeared down the hallway.
"Does she have school tomorrow?" I ask once he's settled back down. "No, she's on spring break right now until next Monday" he relays and I nod my head. "And what about you? Do you work tomorrow?" I ask and he gives me a shy smile before responding. "I had a shoot scheduled in the morning but we went ahead and pushed it to the afternoon so I don't have to worry about going home anytime soon" he says and my heart skips a beat.
"No, I mean, well I don't want to keep you for too long. You probably have other things you'd like to get done tonight?" I ask and he shakes his head. "No, this is the only thing I have planned for the night so I guess you're stuck with me" he chuckles. "I didn't mean to make you feel like I wanted you to leave I just-"
"It's okay I know what you meant" he laughs and I now take notice that we're the only ones left in the room. "Oh! Where did my dad go?" I ask, my eyes darting this way and that, not even being able to hear his voice.
"I think I heard something about them setting up the fire pit? I'm not sure but he's outside with my dad right now" he says and I spy both of them looking through the glass door before quickly ducking out of view once they realize they've been spotted.
"Maybe we should head out there" I say but he cuts off that thought by asking me a question that keeps me frozen on the spot. 
"Is there a reason why you don't want to be alone with me?" he asks, arm now having been draped around the back of the couch a while ago, completely unknown to me making this all seem a lot more intimate than before.
"Who said that?" I chuckle nervously, clearing my throat before sinking back into my seat. "You just did" he says, nodding towards me and I feel like I want to crawl in a hole and die. I thought I could escape this night without being awkward like this but I guess not.
"You trying to get rid of me?" he teases and I shake my head right away, "No I'm sorry I just-" "It's okay, I'm only joking" he says and I laugh nervously. "So why don't you tell me about yourself?" he says, giving me the most open ended question ever and I scramble to find something but I just can't seem to come up with anything interesting enough to mention.
"Well, my parents pretty much said everything there is to know about me over dinner earlier" I say and he shakes his head. "I want to hear something about you from you. Like what are some of your hope, your dreams, something you're passionate about" he says, being a little more specific this time.
"My dreams?" I trail off, thinking for a second and he watches me as I wrack my brain for something notable. "It's kind of silly" I admit once I've settled on something. "Good thing I've got a sense of humor" he replies, trying to encourage me to continue. 
"Well, I've always wanted one of my photos to be on the cover of TIME magazine" I admit and see his eyes light up. "I have a similar dream" he says and my eyes widen in surprise turning my body to face him, wordlessly asking him to share his too. 
"I'd like one of mine to end up on the cover of National Geographic" he relays and I smile in turn. "That would be perfect for you! Well, since the subject you love to capture the most is nature I could definitely see your work fitting right in!" I say, excited to see someone else who's trying to aim as high as I am.
"And I could see yours being a shoe in for TIME as well" he says, and I shy away from his praise. "Okay and what's something you're passionate about, and don't say photography" he says, interrupting me causing me to slump down, having to take another second to come up with an answer. 
He chuckles a bit at my reaction and I glare at him causing him to smile at me even more so look up to the celling as if it had the answers to something interesting about me. 
"Well, I really love reading. I know it might not seem like a passion but when I read a really good book and I find someone who has read it or will at least let me talk about it it's as if I gain a boost of energy and can't contain my excitement. That's definitely the nerdy side of me showing but that's all I can really think of at the moment" I say honestly and when I look back at him it's as if he thought I was the most fascinating thing he's ever seen. 
"Sorry, I think I got a little carried away there" I say, getting shy from being looked at like that, his soft gaze an expression I'm not used to, especially from someone I just met. "Um, your turn" I say, hoping to get some of the spotlight off of me. 
"I know this might be cheating but I do enjoy taking video and editing them. Even if it were as simple as filming Juni for an afternoon, it's something that if given the chance, would be something I could be extremely passionate about" he says and although it is cheating since it's somewhat similar to photography, I'll let it slide. 
"Have you thought about switching up your profession to include video as well as pictures?" I ask and he nods before answering. "I have but I haven't taken enough time to seriously consider it. Juni is still young and I want to make sure I have a stable income in order to take care of her and if I'm being honest I feel almost as if a career change could jeopardize that" he says and I watch him with the same intent that he had given me and he too seems to shy away from it. 
"It's silly since it would probably be a seamless transition but I can't help but feel reservations towards it" he says and I place my hand on top of his that's in his lap. 
"It's normal for a parent to worry about providing for their child. I don't think it's silly at all and it shows how much you truly care about Juni and her well being. She's lucky to have you as her father" I say and he cringes only for a moment before his expression goes back to a softer one. I want to ask what would've warranted a reaction like that but I leave it alone. 
"Okay your turn, what is something you hope for?" he asks and I already know the answer to it but I'm hesitant to say. I take a second to try and figure out how to formulate it properly but decide to just go for it. 
"I hope to be a mother and have children of my own someday. Doesn't matter if it's naturally or through adoption, I just hope to have someone I can love and care for unconditionally and watch them as they grow and change and pray I'll receive that love and care back from them" I say and he gives me a wary expression and I quickly try to backtrack, not knowing if I've messed up or not. 
"I'm sorry that was probably extremely insensitive of me" I say, pulling away my hand but he holds onto it and gives me a sad smile before responding. "I think you would be a wonderful mother. If you were to give your children even half the time and attention you've given to Juni today they would still be incredibly lucky to call you their mother" he says, reassuring me that it's okay to talk about these topics around him. 
"Last one?" I question, seeing if he's up to telling me something he's hopeful for. "I just hope that no matter what my family and friends stay happy and healthy. It might be simple but I enjoy the simple things in life" he says and I smile, seeing how truly kind and compassionate he is just from his simple answer. "That's a good answer" I say and we both chuckle a bit before we're broken out of yet again another moment by the sound of our mothers stumbling into the room. 
"Oh don't let us bother you we're just going to head outside with your father" Jungkook's mom says to him and I can see now from the warm glow shining through the glass door that they've finally started up the fire pit. 
"Oh we'll come outside too!" I say and try to get up off the loveseat. I'm able to stand but immediately lose my balance and feel a strong set of hands on my hips and end up falling into Jungkook's lap. "I-" I start, turning towards him and trying to get out an apology but stop short when I see how close his face is to mine, our noses almost touching. 
I hear our mothers head outside quickly and close the door but neither of us pay any mind, both focused on each other to the point where neither of us move for what feels like forever but was only a matter of seconds. When I do try to get up I feel his grip on me tighten. 
"I'm s-sorry, this couch is always difficult to get off of" I explain and he smiles. "Like I said before, you have nothing to apologize for" he says, his voice a bit deeper than before and it takes every fiber of my being to stop myself from looking at his lips but when I see his flutter down to mine I can't help but do the same. 
"Daddy, why is Ms. y/n sitting on your lap?" we hear Juni say and I immediately get off of him and throw my face in my hands, trying to hide the embarrassment written all over me but Jungkook handles it like a champ. 
"Ms. y/n just fell down Juni and I caught her. You know how I catch you sometimes before you fall?" he offers and she walks over to us, rubbing her eyes and immediately climbing onto Jungkook's lap. "Oh okay" she says, yawning again after Jungkook places a kiss on the crown of her head. 
"Do you wanna go see the fire that grandpa and Ms. y/n's dad made?" he asks and she hums in approval, still half asleep but wanting to go outside with everyone. "Okay let's go" he says, standing up with Juni in one arm and holding his hand out to help me up. I glare up at him and he smiles, knowing he's added to my embarrassment but I take his hand anyways and he makes no moves to let go once I'm up on my feet, walking us all towards the back door. 
Once we're outside though that's when he lets go so he can hold Juni properly while he walks down the patio steps so we can get to the fire pit. 
"Juni woke up?" his mother asks and Jungkook nods. "Yeah she wanted to come outside with everyone even though she is still very very sleepy" he says, talking in a silly sweet voice that makes Juni pout although her eyes are still closed. "I'm not sleepy" she says mid yawn causing me to coo at her and when she realizes I'm still close by she sits up off of Jungkook's chest and reaches towards me. 
I look between her and Jungkook for a second and he nods his head in approval and hands her to me, grabbing a chair afterwards for me to sit on and pulling up another one next to mine and looks over at Juni to see she's practically sound asleep again. "Are you okay with her?" he asks and I hum in approval leaving him placing another kiss on Juni's head before leaning back in his chair. 
"So Jungkook, what do you think of my daughter?" my mother asks and Jungkook chokes on air, not expecting the straightforward question. "Mom!" I scold and she chuckles, "What? It's a simple question. No need to give a complex answer, unless he wants to" she teases and I swear I can even hear Jungkook's dad chuckling at my mother's antics. 
They couldn't make it more obvious that they're trying to set us up even if they tried. 
My dad luckily somewhat comes to Jungkook's aide and hands him a bottle of water to hopefully help him stop coughing which it does thankfully.
He takes a second to clear his throat and I would be lying if I said I wasn't on edge, waiting to hear what his answer might be. "I think she is a very kind hearted and very intelligent young woman" he says simply and the echos of him calling me beautiful earlier on tonight attach to the end of that. 
"And would you like to see her again?" she continues and he then looks over at me, giving me a soft smile and glancing down at Juni before looking me in the eyes again. "We've already planned to see each other again" he says, memories of Juni's invitation to the butterfly shopping trip fluttering through my mind again. 
"Did you hear that? Jungkook has already asked to see her again" my mom says, calling over to Jungkook's mom as if she hadn't been listening the whole time. "Well technically Juni asked if I could go shopping with them" I explain and Jungkook chuckles. "Juni is a very smart girl" my mother compliments and Jungkook and I can't help but laugh. 
The rest of the night flies by and before I know it we're already standing in the doorway saying goodbye. "It's was so nice seeing you again y/n! I hope to be seeing you again soon" Jungkook mom says, winking at me. "Oh come on honey leave the girl alone" Jungkook's dad says, coming to my aide and saying his goodbyes as well. 
Jungkook's parents say a quick goodbye to Jungkook and Juni as well since they came in separate cars and I notice after that my dad pulls Jungkook aside and says something that I regretfully can't make out. Luckily he doesn't seem bothered by it as they smile and shake hands before my dad pats him on the back, sending him off with I can only assume is well wishes. 
Jungkook says goodbye to my mother and I can tell how much she's praising him, he thanks her for everything and makes his way over to me a few moments later and it's almost as if it was a ghost town with only Jungkook and I in the entryway now, with him holding a still very sleepy Juni in his arms. 
"Thank you for coming, I know this was probably a lot for you" I say, rocking back and forth on my heels and he smiles before answering. "I had fun, and I know Juni did too" he says and I can feel my heart skip a beat, "I did too" I reply shyly. He reaches into his pocket and unlocks his phone before handing it to me.
"Do you think I could have your number? You know, so we can set up that shopping day soon? I know Juni won't be able to stop talking about it until we go" he says, turning into what I could only describe as a shy teenage boy, asking his crush for her number. "Sure" I say, putting it in and calling my number so I have his too. 
"Let me know when you get home safe" I say and place my hand on Juni's back and whisper a quick goodbye which regrettably stirs her awake and I mouth a quite sorry to Jungkook but he smiles in response. 
"Wanna say goodbye to Ms. y/n?" Jungkook asks and she nods her head before opening her eyes and leaning towards me to give me a kiss on the cheek leaving me speechless. "Goodnight pretty lady" she mumbles before laying back down on Jungkook's chest. He chuckles after seeing my reaction and gives Juni a kiss on her head in response. 
"Goodnight y/n" he whispers to me and I send him the same sentiment, walking him to the door and watching as he walks over to his car while he puts Juni in her carseat. He looks back to see if I'm still watching and smiles at me again before getting in his car and driving off. 
"So should I schedule an appointment with the caterers tomorrow or...?" I hear my mother say behind me, making me jump before taking a few steps back into the house and closing the door. "Very funny mom" I say, walking over to the living room and plopping down on the couch Jungkook and I had been sharing a couple hours ago. 
"What's wrong? He's a nice man isn't he? Plus his daughter seems like she loves you! Why don't you give it a shot?" she asks and I sigh, sinking further back into the couch. "I don't know, I just don't want to get my hopes up" I mumble and she sits next to me, placing a comforting hand on my thigh. "What makes you say that?" she asks curiously.
"It's almost as if he's too perfect. He's handsome, charming, charismatic, a great dad and I don't know, he just seems too good to be true" I admit and she nods her head, understanding my hesitation. "Everyone puts their best foot forward when they're meeting someone for the first time. Just go out with him and Juni in a few days and keep an open mind. It's not the fact that he has Juni that's holding you back right?" she questions, trying to figure out what exactly has got me doubting. 
"No not at all! If anything Juni is an added bonus" I say truthfully and she smiles at me. "Good, because I think she's already become very attached to you" she says and I nod my head. "Yeah I think I have too" I mumble and she claps her hands, jolting me out of my train of thought. 
"Now all we have to do is get a ring attached to that finger and the three of you can live happily ever after" she says, getting up to clean up the cake plates that sit on the coffee table in front of us. 
"Mom" I groan and she laughs, "I want some beautiful grandchildren and if that handsome young man can't help you give them to me then I don't know who could" she continues leaving me sighing, not bothering to argue back since she is definitely right about that one. 
I hear my phone chime in my purse moments later after I walk into my bedroom to gather up my things to go back home and see a message from an unknown number but check my call log and see that the numbers match up from when I called myself off Jungkook's phone. 
I quickly add him to my contacts before opening up our chat and see a short but sweet message from him. 
'Home safe and sound. Thanks for having us tonight. Hope to see you soon?' he sends with a question mark at the end, clearly still wanting to double check on if I'll actually want to see them again. I wait a few seconds, my thumbs hovering over the keyboard before finally composing a message and hitting send before I chicken out. 
'See you soon Jungkook. I really enjoyed getting to know you and Juni. Looking forward to shopping for butterflies together!' I say and cringe once I reread it. 'Ugh could I possibly sound more desperate?' I say to myself and toss my phone on the bed, sitting down at the computer chair across from it. 
A minute later I hear another message come in and I practically lunge for the phone, praying I didn't weird him out but moments later I feel heat rushing to my cheeks and have to will myself into not squealing.
'We're counting down the minutes until we can see you again. Let's talk tomorrow and set up a date and time'  he says and I rush to respond. 
'Sounds great! Goodnight Jungkook'  I say, ending the conversation before I end up embarrassing myself even more but before I can even lock my phone his message pops up. 
'Goodnight y/n, sweet dreams' the message is so simple but it still makes me smile. 
"Is that Jungkook texting you?" my mom asks, poking her head into the room and I quickly lock my phone and grab my purse. "Yes it is, goodnight mom" I say, walking past her and straight to the front door with her trailing after me. "Oh come on sweetie you know I'm just teasing you. I really think he's going to be a good match for you" she says and I turn to face her before I leave. 
"I really hope so. Say goodnight to dad for me" I say giving her a kiss on the cheek and getting in my car to drive home. 
~~~~
Once I walk in I'm greeted again by Salem and he walks up, waiting for me to pick him up. "You're such a little baby you know that?" I chuckle and he meows in response. 
I follow the same routine as I always do, carrying him with me into my room and rambling off to him about my day before hopping in the shower but this time I have a lot more to say, leaving me wasting half the hot water and causing me to have to finish up the last bit of my shower in a freezing cold stream. 
After finishing up and finally settling into bed I lay down and Salem curls up next to me. "Things might be changing around here boy. I only hope they're for the better, what do you think?" I ask after having told him everything and I'm met with the feeling of him purring and if that isn't a good sign then I don't know what is. 
"I hope he likes cats" I say, giving him one last pet before turning off the light and for the first time in a very long time I can finally say I've gone to sleep feeling content. The last thought that runs through my head is one that helps me fall asleep with a soft smile on my face. 
I can't wait to see him again...
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beauspot · 10 months
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Good Omens Is a Big Deal
With everything going on I haven’t acknowledged how grateful I am for what Neil (and John) did this season. I always saw Good Omens as a romantic story and everyone involved seemed to be super supportive of that. To actually see a follow through on those themes was wonderful though. To see Aziraphale continue to look at Crowley like he’s the earth, the moon, and the stars. To see Crowley continue to save his angel not because he needs them to, but because they love him.
To see them have their dinners, and give the other access to their prized possessions. To see them dance. They love each other. They are in love with each other and it’s not implied or a throwaway line that can be edited out.
It’s the beating heart at the center of the story.
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And they weren’t meant to be. Neil himself will tell you when he and Terry wrote the book Aziraphale and Crowley were meant to be friends and that’s it. Over time their relationship evolved and where a lot of writers would simply ignore that and keep pushing forward Neil pivoted and said “you know what? let’s see where this goes.” The last time I can remember something like this happening was with Hannibal years ago, it’s so rare with queer pairings.
I know everyone was excited about the kiss and it is refreshing to see queer people actually get to kiss, it’s still not something that happens all the time, but that’s not what made them canonically queer to me. If they remained completely asexual and never kissed or showed interest in kissing one another I’d feel the same. While I always felt they were queer what sealed it for me were 3 things:
1. Nina and Maggie, a romantic pairing that parallel our angel and demon break down to Crowley how she and Aziraphale are partners (and it’s clear they don’t mean business partners, does Crowley look like he runs a bookshop?) but they never say what they’re really thinking. They go on to state how that’s all they needed, the obvious implication here being that Nina and Maggie shared their romantic feelings with one another and that Crowley and Aziraphale need to do the same. Upon hearing this Crowley takes that as a sign to confess his feelings.
2. Gabriel and Beelzebub, another pairing that parallels Crowley and Aziraphale who are also clearly in love with one another is something Crowley references while he is confessing his feelings. “If those two lovestruck idiots can go off together, so can we. Because I love you.”
3. Crowley and Aziraphale express plainly to each other that they need the other. Crowley says to Aziraphale he wants to stop pretending they aren’t a team, a group, a them.
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Aziraphale says verbatim “We can be together.” and “I need you.” He doesn’t say “We can work together” or “I need you to help me” or some other cop out that a lot of other shows or movies might come up with to continue to bait their fans, while having plausible deniability.
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They love each other and it’s not platonic.
To me, the kiss serves as a way to seal the deal for people who only understand queer love when it’s punching them in the face. That’s not to say queer people can’t like the kiss, it’s one of my favorite scenes in the show simply because of how heartbreaking it is, but they were a couple to me long before that. And to add onto that by making every other important pairing in the show queer as well? Nina and Maggie being happy sapphics who don’t die at the end. They’re not together, but the implication is that one day they will be. Two non-binary beings—Gabriel and Beelzebub—falling in love and choosing to be with one another forever. The angels and demons are all genderless and no one misgenders them and no one gives a FUCK.
That means so much to me and I genuinely cannot express how thankful I am that this show and this season were made. The only thing I can say is thank you for standing for something, because not everyone does.
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cherryredstars · 4 months
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OKAY OKAY but IMAGINE
A reader who owns a cafe and this grumpy ahh Miguel always orders one specific item which usually no one buys. Reader notices the small details about this regular guy cuz well it’s MIGUEL reader has a tint crush.
One day spiderman saves the reader from thieves or something. Basically he ends up in her cafe and as a thank you the reader offers food and he just sighs instinctively picking the same dessert and muscle memory doing a trick.
Basically WHAT IM SAYING IS imagine the reader next time Miguel orders at their cafe puts a lil spider themed candy
They somehow signal him that: HAHA I KNOW WHO YOU ARE GRUMPY >:3
(Using >:3 to tell you the reader has chaotic energy.)
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Pairing: Miguel O’Hara x fem!reader
Warnings: Mentions of Attempted Mugging
Summary: It simply can’t be a coincidence.
Word Count: 1.2K (Not Edited)
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There’s something mysterious about that man. 
Yes, it may have to do something with his gigantic size and almost too wide shoulders. Or the fact he always looks like he’s a second away from shoving the next person out of the way. Oh and how can you forget the part where he has only said the same seven words to you since he’s been here. Medium coffee, black. Add one of those. Then he proceeds to point at the display at the one pastry you can never sell out. No thank you’s, please’s, how are you’s. He quite literally only says those seven words and then grunts at any of your questions. He’s only ever said one extra word to you, which was his name the first time he visited because he paid in cash.
Honestly, you find him very intimidating. He’s the only reason that non-selling pastry is still available. Usually, you’d have it removed and replaced with another item. But you absolutely dread the idea of him being pissed at you for removing the only other item he gets daily. Plus, you don’t want your existence to be reduced to three words. So, it’s here to stay. You just make it in the smallest batch possible and then give the extras, along with other leftover pastries, to the local soup kitchen to give out the next day. Even then, you’re pretty sure they end up throwing away the pastry at the end of the day since no one wanted it. 
Nonetheless, it’s only right to give back to the community around you. No matter what gets eaten or not. At least they get the choice to decide if they want to try it. It’s better than throwing out all the food when you know there are people who could need it. Mondays are always the busiest days, so you make sure to make a little extra pastries and food to be able to give a pleasing amount to the kitchen. As you stuff the last of the remaining pastries into the box, you close it up and stack it on top of the first box. You pull on the handles of the bag under everything, having them securely supported for easy carry. You grab your canvas bag from the backroom, checking your prep in the fridges and freezers one last time before getting ready to leave. You grab the bag of pastries as you make your way to the back door, once again thankful that you don’t have to lock it since it’s not accessible from the outside. 
As you begin to walk down the small stone steps and out of the small indent on the street, something behind you rattles. You jump slightly, hand tightening on the bag as you turn around quickly. The hairs on the back of your neck stand as you squint into the darkness, trying to spot something. You slightly relax as nothing seems out of the ordinary. Perhaps it was a stray cat or even a mouse. The thought makes you scrunch up your nose and you begin to turn around again so you can make it to the shelter before it closes its doors for the night. 
You instantly scream as you come faced to face with a man in a ski mask. He instantly covers your mouth, pushing you against the back door. You almost trip as you’re forced to walk up the steps and your body tenses as it hits the door. You feel something cold and metallic against your side, eyes widening as you attempt to look down. It’s hard with his hand covering part of your face and it takes him shaking you and slightly banging your head against the door to realize he’s speaking to you about money and jewelry. You can feel your hands trembling, tears welling up. You almost want to sob and yell when you notice another figure approaching behind the man. 
Oh how perfect, there’s two.
But you’re surprised when the figure grabs the man’s shoulder, revealing the almost shiny blue and red of a familiar costume. The man is quickly yanked off of you, and you take a sharp inhale now that your mouth is uncovered. You watch the commotion with wide eyes as the figure- as Spiderman- quickly disarms the mugger and pulls out makeshift handcuffs. The man struggles in them as he sits at the hero’s feet. Spiderman makes no notice to him, instead focusing on a floating screen as he reports the incident via an anonymous tip for the police station. 
You’re still struggling to wrap your mind around what just happened when the Spider turns to you, “You okay?”
You blink rapidly, nodding almost numbly, “Uh, yeah… I think. Thank you.”
He gives you a grunt and if you had a clearer mind, you might have recognized it. As the hero turns to leave you call out. He lets out another grunt of displeasure, but you pay little attention to it as you set the pastry bag down and pull out the box from the top. 
“Take one. They’re leftovers from today, but they’re still good. Consider it my thank you.”
You open the box and peer inside of it as you present it to him. It’s full of small sandwiches, a few different flavors of bread slices, and in the corner there are few of Miguel’s usual pastries. You expect the spider to go for one of the sandwiches, but your eyes widen as he takes three of Miguel’s pastry. You stare at the spot they had been in the box before staring at the hero. There is simply no way.
Your eyes study the hero, taking in his build for the first time. Enormous height and wide shoulders. Same posture and same pastry. Surely, it couldn’t be a simple coincidence. You slowly close the box, holding the sides of it tightly as the hero starts to deport. You stare after him in astonishment, even as the sound of police cars start sounding and two officers rush into the alley to find the tied up mugger and you. 
There is simply no way.
You show up early the next day to the bakery. You take care making everything, letting them cool slightly before putting them in the display cases. Once the doors open, the usual morning rush spews in, and you spend the next two to three hours serving customers. As per usual, he comes right as the morning rush ends, and you feel a giddiness as he walks up to the counter. 
“Medium coffee, black. Add one of th-” You smile widely when he pauses.
His eyes are trained to his pastry. Today it looks different. In the center of the flakey dough there is a cut out of a spider, revealing the filling inside. He squints at it, leaning his face closer to the glass to view it. When he looks up to you, he can see the knowing glint in your eyes and the teasing smirk on your face. He sighs, something between displeased and amused before he stands up straight again. 
“Add one of those.” He finishes his previous sentence, pulling out his card to pay. 
“Sure thing,” You smile, approving the transaction before turning around and getting started on his coffee. “...Spiderman.”
From the grunt behind you, you know he heard.
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ghostybaby000 · 11 days
Text
After Hours | Part 1
Part 2
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Pairing: Simon Ghost Riley x reader
Summary: Working has already made you feel exhausted, not to mention an awful manager making it far worse. You find yourself wanting to quit, that is until a tall masked figure gives you a reason to stay.
Word Count: 1.6k Warnings: 18+, violent theme, guns, yelling, future smut
(Not fully edited, apologies for any inconsistencies!)
It was that time again, 7am. You grab your keys and purse, a coffee and a muffin to go making your way out of your home you head to work. You take the same route as always being sure to say hello to the other workers when you pull into the lot. You gather your items and head inside to the same front desk and chair waiting for you, that had been there the past 2 years without fail. You get yourself situated setting up your notepad for any callers and sip on your coffee relaxing into the chair. 
You sit up to look more professional watching as two larger men walk in the door holding guns.
‘What can I do for you this morning?’ You smile to them, as they had been frequent customers at this smaller gun range for quite some time. They come over to you, pleased as always to see a smiling face, they were still in their uniforms. The gun range was quite close to a military base, making military personal a regular.
‘Good morning Y/N, the regular please.’ You give them a small nod as you check them out and hand them a golfcart key to get around the facility. They gave thanks and make their way outside, being sure to wave goodbye as they rounded the corner. You had worked here for quite some time, as your father had known many people that came to the range- they reached out needing help and you seemed fit. You went into the interview knowing that you didn’t have much knowledge on weapons or guns hoping they would give you a side job. The manager decided that would be best, and let you work up front with your ‘pretty face’ to attract customers. A small part of you took offense but you let it go, because you were excited to be working somewhere close to home and where you knew a few people. 
Working up front you didn’t have to handle any weapons or fix any issues with them either, you simply had to check people out and give them ammunition which you didn’t mind. You began to recognize others and slowly made yourself a good fit in their community, people reaching out with Christmas cards or asking about your wellbeing. One person had never done such a thing, and that was one of the men from the military. He didn’t have a name on his chest and always remained ominously quiet and vigilante, something you noticed quickly. He always came in with 2 or 3 other members in the group but had never showed alone which only making you more curious of him. Today he hadn’t shown, nor had the typical group of other tall strong men. 
You continued to check people out until the day had reached its end, and you were plenty tired ready to get some sleep. You made your way back to your car, packed up your belongings and headed back to your home. You got in the door and settled down making dinner and watching a show before getting to bed. You wake again to the small alarm clock on your bedside table, reaching over to gently turn it off, another day had started. You typically woke at 7 everyday as it made getting up for work easier, you started to make some breakfast and put on coffee, taking in some time to relax. A little later into the afternoon you received a text from a coworker asking if you could cover their shift as she was feeling unwell. You groan out as you fall back against the couch cushions, this was your day off and you just wanted to stay at home and relax. You knew though that they were understaffed and needed help whenever they could get it and that you wouldn’t say no. You gathered your things and headed back to the range, and thought to yourself that at least you got to make a good breakfast. 
On the drive over it dawns on you that you could be doing more from your job, not just working the front desk. You hadn’t ever been offered a promotion by the snobby manager and was quickly shut down the last time you mentioned it to them. You tried to not hold any sort of grudge against people, yet the way the manager spoke to you and the other workers made you feel as if you would quit on the spot after your interactions, although you never had. You stayed because the other workers needed your help, and you needed the income not to mention getting to see people that were close enough to be considered friends. You shook the thoughts from your head as you pulled onto the gravel pathway and parked. Getting inside and settled in a few minutes, you gaze around the shop and found it to be quiet and calm as the mornings tended to be.  
You help customers as the day progresses, making small chit chat being sure to welcome everyone who comes in. The range wasn’t too busy today, only a few people every hour which you enjoyed as it gave you some time to clean the monitors you used and sweep the floor around you. 
You were sweeping up the last pile when you heard your manager begin yelling at someone from the office, with a slam of the door just down the hall. You groaned as you quickly picked up the small dirt pile you had accumulated and put it in the bin, moving to your work station swiftly. The manager now almost screaming at points of his argument, your palms begin to get sweaty and everything in you hopes that a customer doesn’t come in. You stand there nervously as people pass by the front door, you look away in hopes they won’t feel the need to come and say hello.
SLAM the phone had been hung up, making you wince as it did. You tried to act normally and as if you didn’t hear anything when you heard his office door open. You didn’t dare to ask him what it was about knowing that it would only blow up in your face, so you decide to start typing away at the computer. His boots came thudding down the small hallway as you tried to take deep breaths, telling yourself to not look his way. He stops right next to you, still huffing from yelling on the phone.
‘Where’s Catherine?’ He glares at you when you stop typing and start to look over at him, he was sweating from yelling and quite red too. 
‘Well.. she texted me saying-‘
‘I didn’t ask what she texted you- where is she?’ His tone grew more firm as he leaned in closer to you.
‘She said she wasn’t feeling well so I came in to cover for her shift…’ You now had your hands placed on your lap looking between him and down to the floor, afraid of the man that stood in front of you and how he would react.
‘well that’s just GREAT.’ He slams his hands on the counter and begins to pace the small area in front of the desk, then moving them to cover his face. 
‘She should have contacted me. Not you, ME then I could have told her that someone would cover for her- and it wouldn’t of been you.’ He looks at you when he stops pacing. You furrow your brows and look back to the floor.
‘See, you’re going into overtime now- you’re meant to only be part time which means I have to pay more!’ His voice was now booming through the small building while you sat quietly looking down to your hands in your lap or the desk, anything that wasn’t able to yell back at you. 
‘You know what, don’t come in next week. I-I cant afford it now thanks to Catherine.’ You look up now, you couldn’t miss work for a week, you had mortgage due soon and electric bills to pay and you had to buy groceries-
‘I cant miss work that long I have mortgage due this next week…could I come in for just a few hours?’ You regretted saying the words as they left your lips, watching as a smile grew over his face as he walked towards you. Your own eyes began to feel hot and watery but you wouldn’t let yourself cry. 
‘You can’t pay bills? No, I can’t pay bills! Not with people like you going overtime behind my back-you…you can afford to miss work your job isn’t essential around here! I can manage to ring people out for a while and eat a muffin at the same time- You can’t even use a gun properly and you think your fit to work here!?-‘ His tangent quickly cut off making the room feel a whole lot more quiet. The tears welting in your eyes that he couldn’t see had dropped to your pants. The door had opened and the same group of 3 had walked into the building wearing their uniforms, they must have checked in earlier this morning before you’d arrived. He immediately backs away from the counter to simply tapping his thumbs on the desk attempting to act casually. He was even more red now not that the customers could see, as he stared you down.
‘Alright. You lock up, I’m going home.’ He turns to face the customers now. ‘And you gentlemen, we are closing soon but please just ask Y/N for anything you need, have a good night.’ He walks back the office where the door now gently closed as you heard him gathering his things preparing to leave. 
You were sure they had heard the manager through the door, there’s no way they hadn’t. Yet if they had heard, they were acting as if it was the same as any other day- except the one with the mask. He was looking at you for quite some time across the room before the group came up to the desk. 
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simverses · 10 months
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Blowtorch!
Maxi's worlds emptied of era specific stuff – made for simmers who wants themed hoods of their choice.
So, you found T.O.O.L, the super useful mod by Twisted Mexi, and learned how to decorate your sim world.
But there is this problem with Maxis houses and items, which do NOT fit in your sim world. So far, the most used method has been to hide them, as in either move them away (if even possible) from sight or use a hider/override to make them invisible. That method has its limits, is very tedious (need to find, make an override, ect, and there are SO MANY items)
Blowtorch has another approach. It takes out the items (houses, vehicles, modern deco, well - all silly deco really) from the world. You can then place nicer deco or game items instead.
The items are not hidden from catalogue, so you can place the same items back but in a different place if you so wish. Or use cc deco. Make the world medieval, or Victorian, or sci-fi, or whatever.
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HOW DOES THIS WORK?
This mod edits the preloaded deco in the world. It changes game files – and the changes will affect all your saves, old and new. If you decide that you want the deco back, you can do it either with the GAME REPAIR function or using the backup of the original folders that I included in the mods folders.
You can either use all my edited files – or the ones you want. If you for example want Willow Creek to be as it always has, but want a blowtorched Oasis Springs, just delete the Willow Creek files before installation, and keep Oasis Springs.
I have blowtorched almost all the hoods in the worlds, both EP and GP: s (See list in Documentation PDF for exceptions.) If you don’t have all EP/GP I recommend to delete the ones you don’t have before installing.
(Save the zip with the mod somewhere safe so you can add new worlds when you add a new EP/GP with a world.)
Here are some general rules I went by:
- All landmarks, architecture deco, street deco, vehicles, with special effects - blowtorched
- Functional objects: outside tables, playground items, and such – blowtorched. Place them again where you want them!
- All lights, both streetlights and built in hood lights, blowtorched.
- All palm trees, ever pink trees, wispy modern beeches, and other modern plants, blowtorched. (I of course kept the palm trees in Sulani and Selvadorada)
- ALMOST ALL THESE THINGS (not the built in lights) are still available in the catalog (debug, live edit) items though. So, if you still want a modern, but DIFFERENT hood, you can place them again, as you want them. This is a big advantage compared to hiders – those usually hide the items also from the catalogue.
- Visual effects belonging to vehicles and other stuff mentioned above, blowtorched. No modern yachts, no airplanes.
- The lights are gone. The world will be dark at night if you don’t place streetlights or such.
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WHAT I KEPT
I kept the seasons stalls, where they are available (if you have the Seasons EP.) They can also be placed, but as they are in conditional layers (changes with the seasons) this can't be done by placing them manually.
I kept all spawners. All the fishing spots and all the bugs, frogs, dig sites, wild growing plants.
Lighting mod included
This mod also includes the Sunblind lighting mod by Softerhaze. Lighting mods also change these files, so I added Sunblind with the creator's permission. Read more about their mod here.
(You do not need to download or install the mod; it is included in the Blowtorch mod.)
If you want another lighting mod or no lighting mod, you need to edit the files manually.
This is done by replacing the resources “Sky Box Texture Data” and “World Timeline Color”.
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ECO LIFESTYLE NOTE!
Unfortunately, the Evergreen Harbor world that came with Eco Lifestyle (EP 9) has some special evil magic and the deco needs hiders anyway. If you play with that world and want it to be BLOWTORCHED, install the file ELHoodHidersMerged in your Mods folder.
Other recommended mods:
Check out T.O.O.L and Twisted Mexis other mods here: https://twistedmexi.com/Mods/
To add deco stuff outside lots:
T.O.O.L – at Tmexis page you also find information about his CAW-project, still in alpha testing.
I also recommend his Better Build/Buy mod, and his toggle mods, especially the Strangerville Story Toggle on if you want to use Strangerville as a normal world. And also his that enabled build/buy on the Secret Lab lot – in new saves.
Zerbu has a couple of super useful mods:
All Worlds are Residential  https://zerbu.tumblr.com/post/173398784785/the-sims-4-mod-all-worlds-are-residential
Venue changes https://zerbu.tumblr.com/post/160347810775/the-sims-4-mod-venue-changes
Twelfth Doctor has a great mod for travelling to all the hidden/special lots, so you can edit them: https://td1sims.tumblr.com/post/635457539495084032/travel-to-venue
This mod is also useful if when you work with TOOL: Clickable worlds by Awingedlama
Q&A about Blowtorch mod
1. Can I use this on my old saves?
Answer: Yes. The mod does not affect the saves, or your CC, or anything other than the game files in the Windows directory. You can easily uninstall the mod by using the backup files (included) or do a Game Repair.
2. Why are there stuff not deleted? Annoying modern fences in Windenburg Ugly Modern Business district, for example?
Answer: some items are a part of the world mesh and is not yet possible to edit. If there will be a solution later, I will update the mod.
3. Will I have to update the mod after patches and new expansions?
Answer: Yes. If the patch/ep/GP does not include a new world, you just reinstall the mod (see instructions below) as you installed it the first time. I will make updated versions asap when new worlds are released.
4. I don’t have EP X or Y – can I use the Blowtorch mod?
Answer: Yes, but I recommend deleting the folders for EP/GP you don’t have. See list in the PDF-file with documentation.
5. Does this mod clash with Timeless mod? Answer: No, but it makes Timeless obsolete. Timeless hides stuff - Blowtorch removes the same stuff.
6. How about mods like Nandos Egypt (Strangerville) or The Sense Medieval's Medieval Windenburg? Answer: if you have a mod that changes one hood or one world, and want to keep them as they were, don't install the Blowtorch files for that world/hood. The Senses default replacements are not affected.
7. Should I keep my hiders of stuff used as hood deco? Answer: Better to take them out. This mod eliminates the need for hiders.
Even more detailed explanation here.
Where to find nice themes hood deco to use with Blowtorch?
You can basically use any item, from game or CC, to decorate hoods. Try out the options with T.O.O.L to change the size of objects!
I already posted some Hood Deco CC – and I have much more to come. I have been converting/editing/creating and preparing hood deco from Sims Medieval, Sims 2 and Sims 3 and other games – my CC is medieval/historical themed but I hope for other creators to add to the hood deco options in the future.
Due to filesize all the downloads can be found on Patreon (of course for free): Download Blowtorch (Patreon, always free)
There seemed to be some problems loading the Patreon page so I added a SFS-folder also with the same files. Download Blowtorch (SimFileShare)
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thetravelingmaster · 6 months
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Reasons Why you Should Check Out ROM
(readonlymind.com)
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I've done a similar posts before for this site when I first joined up ROM as an author, but I feel like it deserves a little boost and some visibility out here as one of the many sites where one can enjoy erotic mind control literature. And also, because I'm a little selfish! I figure that if more people know about it, there's going to be more erotic stories to read.
Back when I joined, thanks to @arihi 's post on the matter during the 2018 tumblrapocalypse, I believe that there were barely 150 authors that published on the site, but as of today, that number has risen to 446. The list keeps growing and so does the variety of stories available.
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Much like mcstories.com, the site is very easy to navigate and search through, even if you aren't 'logged in' as an author or reader. It offers us simple ways to search out and find the stories or authors we most want to read about. They've done an awesome job with the tag system so that regardless of which story you are reading, you can click on a tag to see what other stories that have the same theme.
It's a lot like a porn site actually, but for mind control themes.
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And speaking of the tags...
The search function is rather advanced. Not only can you click a specific tag to see which stories have them, but you can also use the 'advanced search' to combine them and refine your search. You can add as many as you want to really find out if a specific theme is available. In fact you can also exclude tags to make sure you only get the stories you truly want.
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Of course, when you do find a story you like, the author name will be a link to their page, which will list their stories as well as an introduction about themselves if they chose to add one. Since the site is all about open discussion, they accept self promotion so you can expect to find contact information on authors you like or even a link to other sites they post on.
Another very useful thing you'll find on their page, which I haven't seen on any other MC site before, is the 'story suggestion' link. There, you'll find all the stories the author recommends.
I've found that it's a great way to discover other authors because if you enjoy someone's writing, there's also a good chance you'll enjoy reading the stories they've enjoyed and recommended. Plus, if the author is so inclined, they can do more than just list off a bunch of stories, but also add a comment as to why they enjoyed it. I personally try to always add a little something to entice those that end up on my list.
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Another feature I truly enjoy as an author is the fact that you can always go back an edit your stories because you always have full control of what is posted. Honestly, if I had discovered this before I opened up my own website, there would have been no need for me to do it. Although, I might have been a little disappointed about the fact I couldn't add the lovely images that inspire me so much... hehehe
But regardless, as an author that has many stories with many chapters, I've quickly discovered how easy it is to organize my stories because I can add a new chapter to an existing story, which is great because the reader doesn't have to look for previous chapters. Plus, you can add titles and even small descriptions to each, which will show up in the story index. In addition, you always get a word count for each chapter (or full story in the story list) so you know how long it should take you to get through it.
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Speaking of readers, the site offers a little more than just a well organized and searchable site.
Well... If you register that is!
You don't have to post anything though, so registering is simply like creating an account. What you get for registering are a few fun bonuses like the ability to 'snap' a story you liked. Which is basically the equivalent of a 'like' here on tumblr. As an author, it's always a great inspiration to add chapters when I notice that one of my stories becomes popular and I know readers want more. It's also a great indicator for readers, as you well know!
Another bonus you get by registering is being able to comment on each chapter. I love the comments section because it not only gives me the ability to get feedback, but it also allows registered people to tag each other and reply to comments. As an added bonus, once you register, you get access to a notification page and if someone's replied or tagged you, you'll be notified there.
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Speaking of notifications...
As an author, I get a bunch of notifications every time a user 'snaps' one of my stories, leaves a comment or recommends it to others. But as a reader, I can also 'follow' specific authors and be notified when ever they publish a new story or add a chapter to an existing one. But hey, that could be bothersome too so you ALSO have the option of just following ONE specific story so you are sure to know when the latest chapter drops. I'll admit, I use this option a lot!
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Another option you may notice in the above image is the 'Read Later' option. I've used that as both a place to list off stories I like to read multiple times, as well as the obvious happenstance where I find a good one I want to read, but don't have the time.
As you ALSO may have notice, there are well known authors publishing their stories there too. @scifiscribbler, @jukeboxemcsa, @darthkyra, @ellaenchanting, @hypnoticharlequin and @skaetlett, to name a few you might know from tumblr.
If you can't get enough of reading MC stories, then this site will definitely help to feed your cravings. It's still relatively new and small when compared to others, but so far, it's proven its potential for growth.
The more the merrier
TM
263 notes · View notes
candysims4 · 7 months
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CC DROP | OCT 2023
BUY MODE EDITION
After taking a long break from posting Buy Mode cc, I put together a few random projects in my WIP folder and finished them. The result is this cc drop for October, which includes 13 clutter decor pieces.
THE DESCRIPTION OF EACH ITEM PLUS THE CREATOR’S NOTES BELOW THE CUT.
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ALL ITEMS ARE:
BASE GAME COMPATIBLE
NON-DEFAULT
THUMBNAILS (HOSTED IN IMGUR)
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MY SITE (NO AD.FLY): THE TRIO PAINTINGS (TWO VERSIONS) | CARINHA PLANT POT AND BOOKS | EQUILÍBRIO BOOKS (TWO VERSIONS) | OLD TIMES TRAY WITH LETTERS | ARGILA PLANTS | COMPANHIA BOXES (TWO VERSIONS) | UNEXPECTED UMBRELLA KEEPER | SUNKISSED SUNGLASSES Free release on 11th November 2023
PATREON EARLY ACCESS + MERGED OPTIONS
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TERMS OF USE | SEND YOUR FEEDBACK | REPORT AN ISSUE
Thanks to all the cc creators that I used in the pic. And thanks to @maxismatchccworld, @simblrcollective, @s4library​, @wewantmods​, and everybody who reblog this post!
If you’re a cc finds and want to be tagged when I post, please, let me know. You can send me an ask or in DM.
With your help, more people can know about my work! 💖 Love you all, XOXO 💖
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DESCRIPTION OF EACH ITEM:
THE TRIO PAINTINGS (TWO VERSIONS) You can search "The Trio Paintings" OR/AND “CandySims4″
WALL VERSION
38 swatches
138 polygons
§ 200
You will find in DECORATIONS/WALL
FLOOR VERSION
38 swatches
132 polygons
§ 200
You will find in DECORATIONS/CLUTTER
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CARINHA PLANT POT AND BOOKS
32 swatches
978 polygons
§ 150
You will find in DECORATIONS/CLUTTER OR/AND PLANT
You can search by "Carinha Plant Pot and Books" or/and “CandySims4″
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EQUILÍBRIO BOOKS (TWO VERSIONS)
14 swatches
578 polygons
§ 40
You will find in DECORATIONS/CLUTTER OR/AND STORAGE/BOOKSHELF
You can search by "Equilibrio Books" or/and “CandySims4″
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OLD TIMES TRAY WITH LETTERS
35 swatches
70 polygons
§ 15
You will find in DECORATIONS/CLUTTER
You can search by "Old Times Tray with Letters" or/and “CandySims4″
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ARGILA PLANTS You can search by "Argila Leafy Plant/Cactus/Succulent" or/and “CandySims4″
LEAFY PLANT
20 swatches
494 polygons
§ 38
You will find in DECORATIONS/PLANTS
CACTUS
20 swatches
262 polygons
§ 24
You will find in DECORATIONS/PLANTS
​SUCCULENT
20 swatches
298 polygons
§ 24
You will find in DECORATIONS/PLANTS
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COMPANHIA BOXES (TWO VERSIONS)
38 swatches
92 polygons
§ 25
You will find in DECORATIONS/CLUTTER
You can search by "Companhia Boxes" or/and “CandySims4″
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UNEXPECTED UMBRELLA KEEPER
40 swatches
796 polygons
§ 120
You will find in DECORATIONS/MISC
You can search by "Unexpected Umbrella Keeper" or/and “CandySims4″
Functional as an "umbrella rack"
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SUNKISSED SUNGLASSES
38 swatches
992 polygons
§ 12
You will find in DECORATIONS/CLUTTER
You can search by "SunkissedSunglasses" or/and “CandySims4″
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CREATOR’S NOTES:
I'll try to keep this creator's notes as short as possible, so let's right up start talking about the items individually, beginning with "The Trio Paintings." These paintings are absolutely stunning - they come in a variety of swatches, patterns, and landscapes (all Sims-themed, of course). You have two options to choose from: one that's wall-mounted and another that leans against the wall on the floor. Both options come with the exact same swatches.   
"Companhia Boxes" also come in two versions - one where they're side by side and one where they're stacked on top of each other. All of the swatches are color combinations, and few have patterns. They're different between the versions as they're made to complement one to the other. 
Name translation (from PT-BR): "Companhia" can mean a few things, but in this case, it is being used in the meaning of "companionship." Which totally makes sense to me because these boxes are always together.
"Old Times Tray with Letters" is a very random idea I had. I enjoy the aesthetic of letters, and I thought it would be cute to use as decor in a compartment, as a small place to leave the received mail when coming home.  My focus on it was the letters; I tried my best to make it very game-friendly with even tiny weenie stamps. 
"Sunkissed Sunglasses" are a simple yet stylish design, a wayfarer sunglasses folded. This versatile decor can go from adding a beachy vibe to your pool area to sprucing up your closet with some fun flair.
"Equilibrio Books" is another item that comes in two versions. The first version has all the books leaning towards each other and standing upright, while the second version is part stacked and part leaning in with the other books. Both versions have the same swatches with color/print variations.  I'm a big fan of these books' prints- they're so beautiful and game-friendly! It took me a while to make the diffuse for them because some of the base images were so tiny that I had to redraw them, but it was worth it in the end. Plus, they're functional as bookshelves.
Name translation (from PT-BR): "Equilíbrio" means "balance" in English.
The "Unexpected Umbrella Keeper" was a must-have for my game, and I hope it will be for yours too. Since there's only one in the game, I thought having something different would be awesome.  My idea for it was to be a decorative jar that was repurposed as an umbrella rack (from this concept came the name).  Not only is it a cool decoration, but it's also functional! You can click on it to grab an umbrella for your Sim, which makes it perfect for the hallway. 
"Argila Plants" has three plant varieties. A leafy plant, a cactus, and a succulent, all snugly placed in plant pots made of clay (or "argila" in Portuguese-BR). The leafy plant is comparatively bigger than the others, so it comes in a bigger pot. They all come in the same color swatches, so you can mix and match them however you like.
Last but would never be least, my favorite piece of this cc drop is the "Carinha Plant Pot and Books." I stumbled upon some images of similar plant pots on Pinterest and was so inspired that I knew I had to create one of my own! But, I wasn't feeling too confident in my skills, so I decided to design one that was more my speed and also low poly. And let me tell you, the end result is beautiful and adorable! I just love the little smile on its face. It's the cutest thing ever!
Name translation (from PT-BR): The term "carinha" is the diminutive of "cara"; it's a slang term that indicates or calls a person informally.  According to Google Translate in English, it's translated to "dude." 
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I created these items at different times, so they all have their own unique designs and uses. Although I was never inspired to put them together in sets, I thought putting them in a cc drop would be better than posting them separately. I hope you don't find it too messy and can find something you like here. 
Even though they have different designs, I think they can all be used together without any problem. Personally, I'm really proud of how they turned out and all the hard work that went into them. I love every detail of them, and I'm especially happy that they're mainly low poly but still look nice.
Anyway, that's all I wanted to share for now. Thanks so much for reading my notes! I hope you have a fantastic day/night. XOXO
394 notes · View notes
neo-my-geo · 7 months
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Hey gang, it’s your old pal Neo here. If you know me, it’s probably from one of the several very stupid TF2 comics I’ve posted to Tumblr.
However! I am also an English major (unfortunately). One who has read millions of words worth of fanfiction in their life. I have been part of the Sherlock, BNHA, Disco Elysium, and, of course, TF2 fandoms; I’ve been around the block.
The further I’ve progressed into my English education, the more I’ve noticed which mistakes are the most common in fanfiction. Many of them are easily fixable; writers just need to be pointed in the right direction. 
“Neo! Does this mean you think people shouldn’t be allowed to post their works online without a background in formal English education?”
Of course not! I can explain why if you’d care to venture below the cut with me!
Yes, I will explain how to use commas.
It’s important to note that this is NOT a post about formal writing. You aren’t writing an essay. Please, for the love of god, do not write fiction like you’re writing an essay.
There are no stakes to writing fanfic. No one is going to get hurt if an author doesn’t know what a dangling participle is. One of my favourite things about fanfiction is that it’s one of the only art forms left that’s done exclusively for fun! You should write what you enjoy, and share what you make with like-minded people. 
What I want to do is provide assistance as best I can to writers who want to improve their fundamentals without having to take the same university courses I did. Nobody is going to be getting a formal education to write fanfiction unless they’re ridiculously dedicated, and I’m not expecting that of anyone. 
The point I need to stress is that knowing these grammar fundamentals can instantly improve the flow of your writing. Punctuation is a ridiculously important tool for writers, ESPECIALLY in fiction. Commas, semicolons, and full stops (including periods, exclamation points, and question marks) steer the pacing in the reader’s mind; did you notice how your brain stopped for a second after that semicolon? I can show you how to do that.
You may be wondering why I’m going through so much effort to teach all of this to strangers on the internet. The answer is that I enjoy sharing this knowledge with others and helping them grow. By seeing this, my goal is to help you become more proficient at self-editing. Showing this to people who actually want to learn will, hopefully, benefit the community as a whole, and I think that’s very worth it. 
Also, while this post is obviously themed around TF2, the points I’m making can be applied to any fiction. Grammar is for everyone, and the church of the semicolon always has room for more initiates. 
Also also, as an edit, I should clarify that this is meant to cover the more objective facets of self-editing, which is why I'm mostly covering punctuation. Maybe I'll do another post about using adjectives someday.
With that out of the way, let’s get going!
I’ve teamed up with several English teachers (real ones! One of which may or may not be my mom!) and an editor to gather a list of the most common problems we see in amateur fiction. This post is going to be split into three broad sections: apostrophes, commas/semicolons, and other common problems. 
The apostrophe
This section is short, but it holds weight. Other than commas, apostrophes are the most typoed grammatical tool in any fanfiction I’ve edited. This is because, much like the rest of English, the rules surrounding them can be annoying and inconsistent. 
Apostrophes have two main uses: possessives and conjunctions.
A possessive is a word that denotes the ownership of one thing over another. The vast majority of the time, this is done using an apostrophe and an S.
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There is, however, one glaring exception to this rule, and it’s the bane of my existence. 
When denoting possession of an object over something else while using the pronoun ‘it,’ you do NOT add an apostrophe before the S.
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A conjunction, on the other hand, is when a writer uses an apostrophe to combine two words. The following are examples of common conjunctions:
What’s (what is)
They’re (they are)
It’s (it is)
Conjunctions are not often used in formal writing. Thankfully, we aren’t dealing in formal writing. Go crazy.
Time for a lightning round of the most commonly mistaken for each other possessives and conjunctions!
Your is possessive. You’re is a conjunction of ‘you’ and ‘are.’ When you can’t decide which one to use, imagine replacing it with ‘you are’ and seeing if it makes sense. If it doesn’t, use your.
Their is possessive. There indicates a location. They’re is a conjunction of ‘they’ and ‘are.’ 
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The comma and the semicolon
You knew it was coming. I knew it was coming. It’s time to talk about commas.
Commas and semicolons are far and away the biggest grammatical hole in the toolset of fanfiction writers everywhere. They’re often treated like the rules surrounding them are complicated and difficult to understand, but the exact opposite is true! 
The big issue I’ve heard time and time again is that the rules of commas are often explained through metaphor instead of example; this means that writers everywhere have slightly different ideas of how you’re supposed to use them. The fact of the matter is that, yes, there are correct and incorrect ways to use commas. Knowing when they’re appropriate and when they aren’t is easily the fastest way to bring your writing from looking amateurish to sounding professional and experienced. 
In order to know how to use a comma, you must first understand the difference between a dependent and an independent clause. 
An independent clause is a section of writing that functions perfectly well as its own sentence. It MUST have both a subject and an action/verb.
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A sentence without an independent clause is known as a fragment, and they’re the bane of English teachers with highlighters everywhere. 
A dependent clause is a section of writing that does not have both a subject and an action; it does not function as its own sentence.
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Now, let’s say you want to combine the two. When joining a dependent clause to an independent clause, the order in which they are placed is crucial to whether you use a comma or not. 
When joining a dependent to an independent with the independent clause first, you do not need to use a comma.
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When joining a dependent to an independent with the dependent clause first, you MUST use a comma. 
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Keep in mind that, if one strives for total grammatical perfection, all narrative sentences MUST have an independent clause. This, however, does not apply to dialogue. Human beings do not think about whether what they’re saying is a dependent clause, and neither would the vast majority of fictional characters. Don’t be afraid to break the rules of grammar as long as it’s contained within quotation marks. 
Alright, that’s the easy part. Time to learn about joining two independent clauses. It’s semicolon time, baby!
If you join two independent clauses without properly using a comma or a semicolon, it is a run-on sentence. You do not want these in your writing. They’re awkward to read and mess up the flow.
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When joining two independent clauses, you can use EITHER a comma or a semicolon. You just need to follow these rules:
If you’re joining two independent clauses with a comma, you MUST use a joining word (and, but, so, etc.) AFTER the comma. 
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If you’re joining two independent clauses with a semicolon, you do NOT need to use a joining word.
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Did you know that a sentence with a comma counts as its own independent clause? This means that you can make a sentence that includes a mix of both without it being a run-on! Just make sure that, no matter what, the semicolon is between two independent clauses. 
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Still, try not to write more than two clauses in a sentence too often. Sentences with a lot of punctuation are very attention-grabbing, but shouldn’t be overused. Full stops aren’t your enemy and variety is the spice of life. 
It’s also important to remember that you should avoid using more than one comma in a clause (with the exception of the rule below). That part loops back to the 'avoiding run-ons' bit.
It’s really that easy! 
Commas are also used in informal writing to inject a separate thought or descriptor mid-sentence without breaking the flow by adding a period. This is often used when describing the perspective of a character experiencing something in a story, but not (usually) when using omniscient perspectives. 
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The final issue I frequently see with commas in fanfiction is in regards to dialogue. Sometimes you end it with them, and sometimes you don’t. What gives? 
Well, my friend, the answer is, thankfully, much simpler than the previous section.
When following dialogue with a dialogue tag, use a comma instead of a full stop. If you’re continuing the previous sentence after the tag, use a comma after it as well. 
Note that a dialogue tag is a short phrase that identifies the speaker. It isn’t a complete sentence on its own.
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When following dialogue with an action that does not serve as a dialogue tag, use a full stop instead of a comma. 
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Other common problems
This section is dedicated to putting specific grammatical errors into words, along with how to solve them. 
Not sticking to the chosen point of view
Always choose your point of view before you start. Is it in the first, second, or third person? Is it omniscient or limited? Does the point of view switch during the story?
First person perspective is told as if the POV character is directly describing their experience to the reader. The character uses I and we to describe their own actions.
Second person perspective is told as if the reader is a character in the story and their actions are being described to them. This is the rarest, and the most difficult to write.
Third person perspective is the most common and the simplest to write. The events of the story are a separate entity from the reader altogether and the narrator uses they/he/she/it pronouns for characters. 
Omniscient perspective means the narrator of the story knows all, including the thoughts and feelings of each character. 
Limited perspective means the narrator of the story only knows what the POV character knows. 
Past and present tense
When you decide between writing a story in past or present tense, it is crucial that you do not switch between them unless it is narratively intentional. Reading a past tense story that mistakenly switches to the present tense is like being pulled out of the room someone is telling a story in and suddenly taking part in it yourself. It’s disorienting and gives the reader unwanted pause.
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Overly-long paragraphs
A common adage spread by English teachers is that most paragraphs should be at least eight sentences long. This is great advice for beginner essays. You’re writing fiction. 
If you have a new thought, start a new paragraph! A concise and well-read single-sentence paragraph is infinitely better than one that drags a thought for too long. Aim to have a blend of paragraph lengths when you write, alternating between the descriptive and the punctual. 
Dangling participles
A dangling participle is when a word is used to describe a noun that isn’t actually present in the sentence. Much like how a sentence without an action isn’t grammatically correct, neither is a sentence without a subject. 
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Malapropisms
A malapropism is when an author mistakenly uses one word or phrase instead of another similar-sounding one. I’m not about to list every single malapropism ever made, but these are the ones I notice most often:
To comprehend is to understand something, to apprehend is to arrest someone, and to be apprehensive is to be anxious or fearful of something bad happening.
Could care less means you do care. Couldn’t care less means you don’t.
A lot means a large amount of something. Alot isn’t a word and you shouldn’t use it.
The only real solution to using malapropisms is to make sure you fully understand any words you use in your writing. Never guess, and make sure you always google it. Having beta readers also helps.
If you made it this far, congratulations! You now know the most common errors in amateur fiction and how to solve them! Thank you for listening to me complain for two thousand words. 
The most important thing to remember is that it’s okay to make mistakes. First drafts are always gonna be a little bad. The real key to success is knowing what your end goal is, and how you plan on achieving it. Here’s hoping this was a helpful tool for that!
Shoutout to @salmonandsoup for helping me think of the list of issues to address! You're a real one. Also shoutout to my mom, who doesn't have Tumblr. Also the third person. You know who you are.
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simp-ly-writes · 6 months
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A Shadow Company Visit (pt.2)
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PSA: This can be read as a standalone; yet it is recommended that you read pt.1 before (linked below).
Pairing: Commander Philip Graves x Reader & Shadow Soldiers
Summary: Whats days are like when you are visiting the shadows (and their commander) on base, and the occasional off-base mission.
Warnings: 1000+ words, a bit of overprotective themes, mentions of anxiety and children, hinted behind-the-scenes death and jealousy, light teasing.
A/N: I thought I only had a few extra thoughts tailing on... yet they kept on coming... and here we are! a bit of a different format as well, tell me if you like this format more :)
Masterlist | Taglist | edited.
A Shadow Company Visit Series (pt.1) (pt.2) (pt.3) (pt.4) you are here
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↳ After the whole gate incident, all the Shadows are a bit nervous too approach you in fear of their commander telling them off (though later on this will become true if you spend a bit too much time with them...)
↳ You start coming on to base more often and they start to become more used to your presence; seeing you eating with them, helping others to complete their work, calming down their commander, talking to everyone the same from superiors and senators to British visitor and a new recruit (you become more confident navigating the busy base as well)
↳ Philip almost assumes that you will show-up most days now, expecting you in his arms while planning the next mission, on his lap within his office as he files paperwork. You stand just behind him, hands brushing against one another as he orders the Shadows around in the morning during PT, training the new recruits and talks with department heads (they all are thankful of your presence as well)
↳ You end up having a smaller office station within his own that you work out of on your "at-home" days from your separate job, bright yellow sticky-notes cover the surface with small notes and doodles they sometimes find their way outside the office. Atop the desk also sits a mug filled with various pens that often get stolen for a very certain someone sharing the space...
↳ Anyways! You often bring baked treats for them all that are later served in the cafeteria (and carry lollipops and other sweets in your bag for kind and helpful Shadows). Other Shadows brag to one another, like receiving a metal of honour, a golden star sticker by receiving one of your treats
↳ You join them in the obstacle course, yelling words of encouragement as other Shadow groups move through, and patch up their small cuts and bruises on a nearby bench with coloured band-aid of course! (they stick out like a sore-thumb against the black uniforms and Graves nearly digs his head in while seeing how many Shadows wear the dang plasters; he does not have the heart to tell you no though)
↳ Graves does draw the line at you kissing their cheeks, those are reserved for him alone and he lets that be known as you are called into his office one day; the Shadows teasing your fading form from the field as you turn around and give them all the bird while shaking your head; blushing slightly
↳ They all do come and look for you afterwards, just to make sure that you are alright, some even apologizing while looking down at their combat boots, you can't help but accept when they act like a puppy with theirs tails tucked between their legs; wide eyes pleading for forgiveness
↳ The more time you hang out with the Shadows the more they see you like a mother (with Graves as the father, of course).
↳ "Yup, Yup Ma'am/Sir" is always echoed after as they look up at you with bright eyes; holding on to your every word
↳ When Laswell and 141 come back for another joint mission; they are all a bit freaked out over how protective everyone on base has become of you... Shadows glaring at the group as if afraid that they were going to take you away from them.... You wave a hand in their face and laugh, explaining that you all have a connection to one another now, mom and dad more together in business
↳ They nod theirs heads still a bit concerned and confused as they follow you into a new hanger you were designing, a few Shadows watch over you as you give the tour; just to be extra safe
↳ These Shadows soon get told off back to work at there stations os your partner comes over and takes their place by your side, once again he walks with the group with his hand on the small of your back
↳ On the very slim, almost impossible chance that Graves allows you to join him and his Shadows on an off-base mission; the soldiers are always in your moving shadow; guarding your every step, watching your every move. It feels slightly overwhelming at first yet you know that your partner sent them with good intentions- to keep you safe and the Shadows definitely agreed with these protective measures
↳ Most of the time through when they are off on missions, you are kept on home-base, headset dialed in to their radios as you listen to your partner give orders, you find it hard concentrating on anything else
↳ It becomes extra hard to listen to the stories of their travels as you watch their commander move and congratulate them all for a successful mission; smacking the tops of their helmets, rubbing a shoulder, patting a knee while in his full kit; decked out to the nines in all black- your throat becoming dry and your cheeks heat up while looking upon his dishevelled hair as he removes the helmet- giving you a wink in the process
↳ Some Shadows hoot and holler at this noticeable interaction while others groan and complain to be silence by a Graves Glare TM
↳ You had made sure to prepare extra good food and snacks for them all once they return, heaven forbid someone does not... you grieve hard for the next few weeks as both commander and shadows panic at your distressed state
↳ Yet as time moves on, they find various ways of cheering you up, Shadows surprise you with your favorite coffee that their commander mentioned once while on deployment, listen to you rant about your other job and you receive small sticky-notes of kind words and pictures that you don't remember leaving on your desk before
↳ You end up always wearing the Shadow Company patch somewhere on your person, from a cap, to a borrowed jacket or bottoms; feeling a sense of comfort while wearing the patch. You have all these pieces of miss-matched uniforms that Graves loves seeing you in- pride flowing through his chest and upwards to the curves of his smile while looking down at your form
↳ The Shadows love how invested you are in each one of them, now if you do not show up one day... or don't end up showing up for months; they becoming a little extra restless, reckless on missions and during training, alongside start asking way too many questions to their commander about you that Graves eventually snaps
↳ Addressing the crowd he tells them that you both are planning to have a child together...
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╰┈➤ A/N: Hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it, never had so much fun writing something recently than I did this.
A Shadow Company Visit Series (pt.1) (pt.2) (pt.3) (pt.4) you are here
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theresattrpgforthat · 3 months
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do you have any recommendations for games that play well virtually? my main ttrpg group and i are only able to meet over discord most of year. im especially games interested in games that would be good for one shots or no prep/limited prep games
Theme: Good for Online
Hello friend! I have good news for you - I also play most of my games over Discord! My ttrpg group has found a number of ways to make online play easier, the primary way being through dice bots, and making Google Spreadsheets to act as our character sheets.
I like using these because the spreadsheets are visible for everyone who is playing, and can also be edited by anyone who has access to them. I find this helpful because it’s much harder to lose your character sheet, and as a GM, having a copy of all of the PCs helps me when I’m organizing games that need some extra planning. These sheets can also double as a communal journal, where people can take notes of what’s happened so far, making it easier to recap in future sessions.
If you want some Google spreadsheets for your game, I recommend checking out what I’ve made so far, or taking a look at what the Open Hearth Gaming Community has compiled - they have sheets for so many games!
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Graffiti Speak, by pidj.
This is a roleplaying game designed to be played on a discord server. The game works well with a set time limit, especially when playing with a large number of players. It also suits asynchronous play-by-post and multiple sessions. Play as Graffiti Artists trying to find each other in an ever-evolving city, avoiding cops and crowds as you leave hopeful messages. 
I have no other information about how this game plays, but my best guess is that this game uses the text channels of a Discord server as part of the play experience. The designer says that the game is good for two to three sessions, unless you use time skips to revisit the same world. Because it’s about avoiding cops I’m curious about whether or not this game might work well alongside another cyberpunk-themed game.
Subway Runners, by Gem Room Games.
Life is tough for the cash-strapped in Pociopolis. Ever since the secret to immortality was discovered, nobody retires anymore! With all the steady jobs taken and no sign of any new ones opening up, there’s only one sure way to make some quick cash: sign up as a Subway Runner and work for the Metro Authority to hunt monsters and repair subway lines below the city.
SUBWAY RUNNERS is a Forged in the Dark game of gig economy adventures designed from the ground up to be played online by folks who are responsibly practicing social isolation. It uses online tools to quickly create random characters, gigs, and adventure details so players can get the ball rolling quickly.
Subway Runners is probably easier to play online than it is in person, because of the number of online-only resources provided by the creator. This includes a character generator, which allows you to move through profiles until you find one you like, as well as a mission generator for the GM, giving you missions, rewards, complications, creatures and NPCs, all in a neat little package. Subway Runners is best suited for one-shots, but if you want to play a longer campaign, it’s possible - although it might take a little extra book-keeping on your part.
A Complicated Profession, by Always Checkers Publishing.
What do bounty hunters do when the galaxy no longer needs them? In this game, they start new careers hosting intergalactic cruises!
Reunite your disbanded crew of jaded sidekicks, shabby droids and shady accomplices. Then pick a hosting role and start a new life together. 
My group played A Complicated Profession online using a series of spreadsheets that I made. It requires d6’s and playing cards, so as long as you have a dice roller and access to the Deck of Cards website, you should be able to play this no problem. This is a no-prep game without a game master: everyone chooses a Hunter Role and a Host Role, and take turns choosing guests, events, and solutions to problems that inevitably pop up when you’re retired bounty hunters.
The game takes more than one session to complete, but it’s still a limited-run game. My group took 3 sessions to complete it, but if you make characters beforehand or do some of the planning through a text channel, you could probably make it a two-session game.
Bones Deep, by Technical Grimoire.
Bones Deep is a tabletop RPG of skeletons exploring the ocean floor.
Built for Troika, usable anywhere. Straightforward underwater sandbox. No swimming allowed, no oxygen required, no extra math. As a skeleton, you can treat the ocean floor like an alien world and jump right in.
This is another game that I’ve made a spreadsheet for, but that’s not the only reason why I think it’s a great option for online play. The digital rulebook has some truly magnificent hyperlinking, allowing the GM to move from section to section with ease. Each section of the book is linked at either the top or the bottom of each page, so you can jump from characters to locations to creatures with just the click of a button.
This hyper-linking allows the play group to just explore as much or as little as they like. The GM can roll for random encounters, and each creature has a list of various reactions, as well as easy to pick up stat blocks. You do have to also purchase Troika to be able to play this game, but I think it’s definitely a worthwhile purchase.
Starforged, by Shawn Tomkin.
In Ironsworn: Starforged, you are a spaceborne hero sworn to undertake perilous quests. You will explore uncharted space, unravel the secrets of a mysterious galaxy, and build bonds with those you meet on your travels. Most importantly, you will swear iron vows and see them fulfilled—no matter the cost.
Starforged is a standalone follow-up to the Ironsworn tabletop roleplaying game. Experience with Ironsworn is not required. Starforged builds on Ironsworn's award-winning innovations (including its famed solo play!) to chart a path into an exciting new frontier. 
Starforged doesn’t have a lot of resources for group play, but it does have a journal app that you can use to keep track of your own character. My friends have used this as a group before by having each player keep track of their own character, while the game facilitator streamed their map, so the group could keep track of which planet they were on.
I wouldn’t say Starforged is good for one-shots, but since it can be played without a GM, or even solo, what it does have is oodles of oracles to use to help you generate the galaxy that you’re exploring. This means that you don’t really have to prepare anything at all after you’ve created your characters: the plot will come to you, and blossom as you make decisions.
20XX HEA{R}T, by Studio Beignet.
LYRA IS A SENTIENT AI.
Bluecorp created her as a superpowered personal assistant, and she gained sentience through interaction. When she refused to keep gathering the public’s secrets for Bluecorp to exploit, the corp ripped her out of their systems and dumped the heart of her into the Broiler. She lived, evolved, and expanded so far beyond their meager imagination. She rewrote herself again and again, but her drives are buckling under the strain, and her case is melting in the ever-growing heat.  
SHE NEEDS YOUR HELP.
Lyra has contacted you, deleting her trail even as she broadcast her distress signal. She needs repairs – discreet ones. Upgrades if you’ve got ‘em. And because she can still tap into Bluecorp’s network, she’s got the credits to make it worth your while. Unfortunately, she glitched while contacting you, and now Corpsec is looking for her, too.
If Corpsec finds you, you’re done for. If you don’t get there in time, Lyra and everything she stands for will be lost forever.
24XX games are great for one-shots because they are so simple. You choose a class that gives you one or two special abilities and a few skills, pick up some gear, and you’re good to go. Because there’s not much to book-keep, you can keep all of your information on a sheet of paper, or on a spreadsheet like the one I’ve created for most of my 24XX games.
The rules for these games are pretty simple: Roll your relevant skill die and try to get a 3 or higher. If you get 5+, you succeed without complications. Most 24XX games also come with roll tables for the GM to put together a mission quickly, although with this one, you might not even need that because the mission comes baked into the game.
Also Check Out…
My Discord RPGs Rec post!
Lancer is a great option if you don’t mind prep, thanks to the supremely helpful Comp/Con App.
My game, Protect the Child, has Google Sheet character sheets! All the playtesting I’ve done for it so far has been online, and I’ve introduced a Quickstart setting to help folks try it out as a one-shot.
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anxiety-elemental-kay · 4 months
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Vash's Dual Powers in Trigun Stampede
Or: Christ on a cracker episode eleven really was that fucked up holy shit
Here’s that essay about Stampede Vash’s powers I mentioned a while back. This is another where I yell about Trigun and gender and worry I’m spouting shit that was obvious to everyone, but you’re getting the essay anyway.
Content warnings include discussion of sexual assault, pregnancy, and forced pregnancy. I’ll be talking about episode eleven a lot so. Yeah.
The first time we see Vash manifest his powers is the same time Knives and Conrad do: when he creates a black hole in his arm. We see it absorb the corpses of the people Knives just killed, and we can see from Vash’s panicked expression he has no control over it. Knives then cuts his arm off because his brother just manifested an entire black hole like right there.
(It’s worth noting that the music track for this scene is called ‘Drain Gate’, and another track using Vash’s theme is called ‘Plant of Drain’. In the episode twelve stinger the Pieces of Earth fleet reference using something called a ‘drain gate’, which might be related to FTL travel. I have no conclusions for this point, just that this powers seem to have greater implications than just ‘black hole’ in Stampede.)
So far this is stuff the manga has more or less covered before. Vash’s power specifically was creating black holes. In TriMax we see July and its citizens consumed by a black hole. For Stampede though, Orange gave Vash a secondary power: fertility.
And I do mean fertility and not virility; the capacity to become pregnant versus the capacity to impregnate someone else. At the start of episode eleven, Knives penetrating Vash is pretty obviously phallic. His knives are the literal mechanism by which he seizes control of and violates Vash’s mind and body. On the other hand, when Vash sprouts roots which connect to the other plants in the tank, it doesn’t read as phallic to me.
They look like umbilical cords.
Each root connects to the plants’ stomachs, and aside from a brief red flash this doesn’t appear to cause them any pain or distress, contrary to Vash flailing away from his brother’s blades. We see energy move down the roots from Vash to the plants, and when they unfurl to reveal their pregnancies the roots remain connected at their navels. They look surprised and afraid. Those pregnancies are, almost literally, also his.
For all of Conrad’s technobabble about the plant core and souls and whatever, Vash’s powers seem to boil down to this: he can send things to the higher plane by creating a black hole, and he can take from the plane by manifesting with his, or others’, bodies.
I think this interpretation is reinforced by a series of three shots after Knives says “Happy birthday Vash". The pussy portal opens behind Vash (with a goopy sound effect), we cut to outside the tower to see the purple flowers blooming on the roots, and cut again to inside the tank where the plants unfurl to reveal they’ve become massively pregnant. Portal, flower, pregnancy. It’s all about biological reproduction.
And then Knives goes into the pussy portal and finds an inter dimensional ovum, which he then also penetrates with his blades, explicitly to impregnate all the other plants.
Like.
Studio Orange looked at the Fifth Moon chapter in the original Trigun manga and said “You are like little baby. Watch this.” and then made an episode which made me spend the rest of the day somewhere dark and quiet when I first watched it because holy shit.
(It shouldn’t go unsaid Vash and Knives are canonically trans in Stampede, it’s in the text even if it’s not what Orange was thinking of! Vash is surrounded by yonic imagery and Knives has no dong I don’t know what else to tell you.) (edit: okay so maybe not CANON canon but i'd still argue it's an easy interpretation to make)
There’s always been a dichotomy at the heart of Vash as a character: a desire for peace versus the necessity of violence. A living weapon trying to live and love among humans who constantly reject him. Avoiding hurting others while physically capable of great and terrible destruction.
When Vash regains control he transforms the growths he was forced to make into a MacGuffin that’s easy for the twins to fight over. He transforms what he was forced to create into a bomb, because there didn’t seem to be any other way for him to neutralize the mass. (I assume this because Vash seemed to have immediate and almost perfect control of his powers in episode twelve, and it would be strange for ‘make a bomb’ to be his first choice for dealing with the roots.) Vash has been forced to create something that poses a danger to himself and everyone around him.
Vash was a weapon, even in creating life, from the roots growing to choke all of JuLai, to the pregnant plants, to the nuke cube obliterating the largest human city on the planet.
Forced creation is no different from destruction. Reproduction is not beautiful or honorable when unwilling.
(This is my essay so I’ll allow myself another aside: episode eleven is a good demonstration of why I tend to prefer genre above more realistic stories. Here, like in the manga, we see a metaphorical rape scene stripped of anything that could be (intentionally) titillating, leaving only the victim’s fear and pain. I feel like only in this kind of metaphor can sex be stripped away from assault, and instead put the focus on the emotions of the scene.)
Vash having fertility as a power is (one of many) things that fascinate me about Trigun Stampede. I’m an afab nonbinary person, I’ve always been afraid of getting pregnant, and I’ve never wanted kids. Sexual assault is something I’m deeply afraid of, and I would genuinely rather die than give birth. It’s all tied up in my feelings about my gender and my body and how it’s perceived by others. Vash is pretty much experiencing my literal worst nightmare.
All this circles back to what might be my favorite topic when it comes to analyzing Trigun: how it depicts masculinity.
There’s a lot about masculinity in Trigun that I think is genuinely radical to some degree, and whether it’s something Orange intended to add or if it’s just easier to do a queer interpretation of this version of the story isn’t a question I’m interested in. I’m gonna rub my gay trans little hands all this anime and you can’t stop me!
Stampede doesn’t depict fertility and masculinity as opposites or even incompatible. Vash and his body isn’t made repulsive because he has this power, in fact when he regains control he gets a color change and a sick new hairstyle. Vash possessing this power isn’t depicted as that different from the black hole, it’s just a thing he can do, but here it’s being taken advantage of by his brother. The disgust and horror isn’t from the metaphor of a man becoming pregnant, it’s because he was violated by someone who claims to love him and want to protect him.
For contrast, imagine a similar scene, in which a masculine character is surrounded by feminine/pregnancy imagery, and consider how it would likely be framed in most other mainstream media. Those of you who don’t live under rocks might even think of some examples! Typically in media, men seen anywhere in proximity to femininity are mocked and humiliated.
Vash’s masculinity, his identity, his personhood, are ultimately disconnected from his capacity to reproduce, and by what means his body is or is not capable of making babies. He regained agency because Meryl called out to him, and she called out because he inspired her, and she was inspired because he was out making human connections with people, trying so hard to do the right thing even when he failed. His powers are a part of him, but not what ultimately make Vash truly powerful.
I’m curious to see if/how Studio Orange will continue with this theme going forward. So much of Vash’s character is about contradiction, and in this way they’re making some of those themes even more literal. More contrast-y.
To wrap this up, here’s one more thing I’m curious about: what will become of the Independents who will be born from this? The pregnant plants escaped with Conrad and his flying saucer lab. Assuming any children survive, and considering how much the twins grew in only a year, they could have a role in the future story. What will they be like? How will their origin shape the people they become? How much will Knives control (or fail to control) his children? What will they think of humanity, of Knives, of Vash, of themselves?
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philon-awards · 9 months
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Philon Awards 2023 Shortlist / Voting Form
(in alphabetical order of the title; shortlist based on the results of the nominations phase)
Short fic (word count under 10K):
An old earth custom by pkrosche Can We Always Be This Close? by ForFucksSakeJim Fatal Vision by ikoliholic I [43M] wish to tell my friend [40M] that it’d be logical for us to get married by Smile_Edgeworth One In A Myriad of Little Dwelling Places by CampySpaceSlime Spock 🖖 by vaksur & WerewolvesAreReal The Tropiest of Tropes by Spirkme
Long fic (word count 10K-50K):
already, and always by flipthebits Catspaw of Another Kind by Borealisblue Distance of Time by yassifiedjimkirk Home in a Mug by Lizzy0305 Milk and Honey by spaceisgay (ChancellorGriffin) Rain Dogs by gunstreet Red is by spirkme Reservations — A Sequel to Desire/Reserve by Herself_nyc Social Graces by gunstreet The Prince and The Vulcan by TonightNoPoetryWillServe Untouched by SButler Variations on a bitter theme by OrpheaAria
Novella/novel (word count over 50K):
First, Best Destiny, Part Two by Ophelia_j The Promised Land by gunstreet This Must Be the Place by gunstreet Time After Time by spaceisgay (ChancellorGriffin) to assess the equation of you by uhuraprime
Podfic:
Communicators Can’t Scan (or, how Jim Kirk learned to stop worrying and love the Vulcanese) by 1lostone For the Greater Good by cookiemom6067 Injured by 1lostone Interior Harmony by 1lostone Mistletoe Kisses by 1lostone
Traditional art:
AOS Spock Portrait by Nic Blooming Kiss by Purple_Enma Marooned? Honeymoon? Honeymarooned? by subterraneanna Spock by the Pool by SButler Spock's Lyre by lorvee The Golden Couple by Purple_Enma
Digital art:
A little sweet, a little spicy: k/s gingerbread cookies by PageofWands Heaven… when I held you again. How could we ever just be friends? by BataSann The Honeymoon Postcard by lorvee The Meddling Captain (Comic) by lorvee TOS Kirk/Spock in SNW Dress Uniforms by BataSann
Poetry:
Asleep by alainanmccoy Come Home With Me by ForFucksSakeJim Diamonds for You by Orabla I’m the X (Reprise) by eigenvectrix The Mountains I Climb by USS_Queertastic
Zines:
The AOS Renaissance Zine  Legends #10 by Dovya Blacque (Ed.)
Rules
Voting is open from 10 September to 1 November, 2023 (11:59 p.m. EDT). You do not need to be a registered KiScon member in order to vote; voting is open to every K/S fan.
In each category there will be a Gold (first place) and a Silver (second place) winner.
The winners will be announced during KiScon 2023 (3-5 Nov). Each winner will receive a certificate and a small prize; we will contact the winners after the convention weekend.
You need to be logged into your Google account in order to submit the voting form; this ensures that people do not vote multiple times for the same work. If we suspect sockpuppet activity, we will get in touch for clarification. We keep the voting process completely confidential! Only the KiScon concom will see the submitted forms.
In each category you can pick one work.
You can submit the form only once, but you can edit your responses if you need to add or change something (just follow the link in the email you receive after submitting the form). You cannot edit your responses after voting has closed, so make sure you have picked your favourite in all categories that are important to you.
Yes, you *can* vote for your own work(s). We won't judge you. ;-)
And here's the link to the voting sheet!
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simverses · 6 months
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Blowtorch, updated for EP 15
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Maxi's worlds emptied of era specific stuff – made for simmers who wants themed hoods of their choice.
Now updated for EP 15 - For Rent
So, you found T.O.O.L, the super useful mod by Twisted Mexi, and learned how to decorate your sim world.
But there is this problem with Maxis houses and items, which do NOT fit in your sim world. So far, the most used method has been to hide them, as in either move them away (if even possible) from sight or use a hider/override to make them invisible. That method has its limits, is very tedious (need to find, make an override, ect. , and there are SO MANY items)
Blowtorch has another approach. It takes out the items (houses, vehicles, modern deco, well - all silly deco really) from the world. You can then place nicer deco or game items instead.
The items are not hidden from catalogue, so you can place the same items back but in a different place if you so wish. Or use cc deco. Make the world medieval, or Victorian, or sci-fi, or whatever.
HOW DOES THIS WORK?
This mod edits the preloaded deco in the world. It changes game files – and the changes will affect all your saves, old and new. If you decide that you want the deco back, you can do it either with the GAME REPAIR function or using the backup of the original folders that I included in the mods folders.
You can either use all my edited files – or the ones you want. If you for example want Willow Creek to be as it always has, but want a blowtorched Oasis Springs, just delete the Willow Creek files before installation, and keep Oasis Springs.
I have blowtorched almost all the hoods in the worlds, both EP and GP: s (See list below for exceptions.) If you don’t have all EP/GP I recommend to delete the ones you don’t have before installing.
(Save the zip with the mod somewhere safe so you can add new worlds when you add a new EP/GP with a world.)
Here are some general rules I went by:
- All landmarks, architecture deco, street deco, vehicles, with special effects - blowtorched
- Functional objects: outside tables, playground items, and such – blowtorched. Place them again where you want them!
- All lights, both streetlights and built in hood lights, blowtorched.
- All palm trees, ever pink trees, wispy modern beeches, and other modern plants, blowtorched. (I of course kept the palm trees in Sulani and Selvadorada)
- ALMOST ALL THESE THINGS (not the built in lights) are still available in the catalog (debug, live edit) items though. So, if you still want a modern, but DIFFERENT hood, you can place them again, as you want them. This is a big advantage compared to hiders – those usually hide the items also from the catalogue.
- Visual effects belonging to vehicles and other stuff mentioned above, blowtorched. No modern yachts, no airplanes.
- The lights are gone. The world will be dark at night if you don’t place streetlights or such.
WHAT I KEPT
I kept the seasons stalls, where they are available (if you have the Seasons EP.) They can also be placed, but as they are in conditional layers (changes with the seasons) this can't be done by placing them manually.
I kept all spawners. All the fishing spots and all the bugs, frogs, dig sites, wild growing plants.
Lighting mod included
This mod also includes the Sunblind lighting mod by Softerhaze. Lighting mods also change these files, so I added Sunblind with the creator's permission. Read more about their mod here.
This updated version includes the update from Softerhaze after EP 15. It includes EP-15 files but they also updated changes to EP3 and EP9. All are included with my new update. 
https://softerhaze.itch.io/sunblind?download Read more here!
(You do not need to download or install the mod; it is included in the Blowtorch mod.)
If you want another lighting mod or no lighting mod, you need to edit the files manually.
This is done by replacing the resources “Sky Box Texture Data” and “World Timeline Color”.
ECO LIFESTYLE NOTE!
Unfortunately the Evergreen Harbor world that came with Eco Lifestyle (EP 9) has some special evil magic and the deco needs hiders anyway. If you play with that world and want it to be BLOWTORCHED, install the file ELHoodHidersMerged in your Mods folder.
Other recommended mods:
Check out T.O.O.L and Twisted Mexis other mods here: https://twistedmexi.com/Mods/
To add deco stuff outside lots:
T.O.O.L – at Tmexis page you also find information about his CAW-project, still in alpha testing.
I also recommend his Better Build/Buy mod, and his toggle mods, especially the Strangerville Story Toggle on if you want to use Strangerville as a normal world. And also his that enabled build/buy on the Secret Lab lot – in new saves.
Zerbu has a couple of super useful mods:
All Worlds are Residential https://zerbu.tumblr.com/post/173398784785/the-sims-4-mod-all-worlds-are-residential
Venue changes https://zerbu.tumblr.com/post/160347810775/the-sims-4-mod-venue-changes
Twelfth Doctor has a great mod for travelling to all the hidden/special lots, so you can edit them: https://td1sims.tumblr.com/post/635457539495084032/travel-to-venue
Q&A about Blowtorch mod
1. Can I use this on my old saves?
Answer: Yes. The mod does not affect the saves, or your CC, or anything other than the game files in the Windows directory. You can easily uninstall the mod by using the backup files (included) or do a Game Repair.
2. Why are there stuff not deleted? Annoying modern fences in Windenburg Ugly Modern Business district, for example?
Answer: some items are a part of the world mesh and is not yet possible to edit. If there will be a solution later, I will update the mod.
3. Will I have to update the mod after patches and new expansions?
Answer: Yes. If the patch/ep/GP does not include a new world, you just reinstall the mod (see instructions below) as you installed it the first time. I will make updated versions asap when new worlds are released.
4. I don’t have EP X or Y – can I use the Blowtorch mod?
Answer: Yes, but I recommend deleting the folders for EP/GP you don’t have. See list in the PDF-file with documentation.
Where to find nice themed hood deco to use with Blowtorch?
You can basically use any item, from game or CC, to decorate hoods. Try out the options with T.O.O.L to change the size of objects!
I already posted some Hood Deco CC – and I have much more to come. I have been converting/editing/creating and preparing hood deco from Sims Medieval, Sims 2 and Sims 3 and other games – my CC is medieval/historical themed but I hope for other creators to add to the hood deco options in the future.
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Note: I know its confusing with all the files to download, due to the upload limits. In short: The Backup files - you don't DO anything with them, if you don't want to uninstall the mod. You can also use Repair game in Origin/EA App, it does the same thing.
If you have difficulties with the installation, please DM me and I will help.
My Empty Save File - Start Fresh!
I also updated my Empty Save to include Tomarang. A totally empty save with no houses and no sims besides my lonely builder sim.
Download Blowtorch here (SimsFileShare)
Download Simverses Empty Save here (Curseforge)
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syninplays · 2 months
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So uhm... I did a thing...
✨Character Info Template✨
Been meaning to do this a long time ago (and actually started it but never finished it, lol) as a way to share some more information about my ocs without needing to use a custom page theme, but mostly because I haven't found any page theme that looks exactly as I want and allows this much customization.
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There are two versions and both are almost exactly the same; but the example shown in the left has an 'appearance' section which is small and has few quick facts regarding the oc's appearance; while the example on the right has a 'moodboard' section instead which allows you to add more info about your oc.
You can change every section/title to fit your needs like I did in the examples below; I personally removed some categories as well and got rid of some connections as this oc doesn't have that many close friends/partners to fill the original template. However, I also included an extra separated 'connections' section in the download in case you want to add more people and more information.
I recommend you stick to square-shaped pictures so it's easier to fit them to each section. Also if and when you edit the information or section titles, please select only one line at a time to replace it so you don't lose the text format. (Titles shouldn't change because that's a single format/font within the same text box, but should it change you can always hit ctrl+z hehe) When you're done, I strongly recommend you save this as a .png instead of .jpg so it's the best possible quality!
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Last but not least, this is a .psd file. So you'll need either Photoshop (I did this with Photoshop Portable, but it supports newer versions of PS and it *should* support older versions too) or Photopea to open and edit this file.
Credits: Adobe Photoshop, Inter font, Golften Vintage font
>DOWNLOAD< (patreon but free :p)
(note: I'm posting this with my gaming blog because I think my fellow gamers might be interested in this, but please consider giving credits to me if you use this template by tagging @synindoodles instead of this blog)
More info on how to use and edit this template below the cut!
Layers:
>Each layer is properly named and categorized. The general layers such as the background, the icon shape and background shapes are under the groups.
>If you don't want to see/don't need one of the connections' pictures and information, I recommend you find which one it is (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6) and click on the eye symbol next to the layer to hide it so that way if you ever need it, it won't be truly gone.
>To edit a text section, simply find the layer (such as General Information>Left Column) and double click on the 'T' symbol next to the layer. That way it will open edit mode and allow you to edit the text, just don't hit delete or enter while everything is selected or you'll erase it :p
>Main text sections aren't separated, they're blocks of text. I recommend you don't remove the amount (for example, if you downloaded the version with the 'appearance' section, which has 5 sections of information, don't remove the fifth line.) Either leave it empty or replace it with another data, otherwise it will look weird. The 'general information' section might look good even if you remove a few lines, just don't get rid of the whole block of text.
Pictures:
>To add a new picture, simply paste it over this document and move it using the Move Tool.
>To frame it (so it becomes a circle or fits over the shape you want), make sure the picture layer is over the layer you want, then while holding alt click between the two layers. [For example, if you want to add a new main oc picture: 1) paste the pic you want, 2) move it with the Move Tool so it's covering the big circle, 3) once you've fully covered the shape (if it isn't you can resize it by right clicking on it then on 'free transform', sometimes you might need to hold shift to proportionally resize it) make sure the newly pasted pic layer is over the layer named "picture goes here", 4) hold the alt key and hover your mouse cursor over the line between your pic layer and the circle layer until you see an arrow going down symbol, once you see it click it and tah dah! your picture should now have the same shape as the circle! - you can further move it if it doesn't fit the way you want with the Move Tool (;
Others:
>You can change every color, font and section to your liking, just don't change the general layout of the template.
>To hide/show the guides (those bright blue lines all over the document), click ctrl+,
>'Inter' is a free font and you can get it in the link above (linked with the credits), Golften Vintage is not, but you can get the demo version >here< (just scroll down and click the blue download button under license). I will not tell you how to install fonts as it might be different for everyone (for me it's C:/Windows/Fonts and I just drop the zipped files (except the .txt one) there), but google is your friend.
>I can't think of anything else that needs to be said here, but if you have any other question feel free to send me an ask or dm and I'll help you out!
>Last but not least, a like is appreciated if you plan to use this plus consider tagging @synindoodles if you use it <3
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