#i'll share a preview in a bit

[izloveshorses]

bruh it's been so long since i've gotten this lost in the sauce of an illustration 😭💖 nature is healing

[deoidesign]

when your main characters start dating after years of writing so they finally get to be like this

[arabaka-archived]

ʚ｡ﾟ☁︎｡ɞ｡ HEY GAMERS we staying up late tonight what's everybody up to

[neonln4]

What a Coincidence | lando norris smau

lando norris x reader | best friend!oscar

summary: fans start to put the pieces together when y/n and lando start to get a bit obvious about their relationship

fc: sabrina carpenter

my first post ever!! i hope you enjoy it, apologies in advance for any mistakes, errors, or typos!

part 2

yourusername

liked by yourbff, oscarpiastri, and 1,083,920 others

yourusername so proud of this one, can't wait to share my baby with all of you lovely people

short n' sweet out tonight 💋

View all 4,183 comments

ynfan1 finally!!! been waiting so long for this one!

ynfan2 TAKE MY MONEY QUEEN

yourbff absolutely beautiful album, love you!!

yourusername love you more!!!

oscarpiastri will be tuning in even though best friend privileges got me a sneak peek

yourusername don't forget to promote my album at the paddock 😇

ynfan2 oscar piastri i will pay you an absurd amount of money to slide me the best friend sneak preview

♡

landonorris

liked by oscarpiastri, carlossainz55, and 992,837 others

landonorris fast times and fast nights 🏆

View all 2,610 comments

user1 INCREDIBLE WIN

ynfan2 the y/n lyrics?? or is this a coincidence??

user2 PAPAYAAAAAA!!!! CONGRATS!!!!

oscarpiastri hey that's my song

ynfan2 THE Y/N LYRICS I AM SO DELUSIONAL ABOUT THIS

oscarpiastri oh yeah, congrats mate

user3 THAT'S MY GOAT!!!

ynfan3 not lando trying to get y/n's attention when she has a new man 💀

♡

yourusername

liked by oscarpiastri, landonorris, and 1,028,183 others

yourusername couldn't have asked for a better opening night, can't wait to see what else the uk has to offer!!

thank you, london 💋

View all 4,982 comments

ynfan1 waiting patiently for my show

ynfan2 lando in the likes ... y'all i am SO delusional about this

ynfan3 SO PROUD OF YOU Y/N!!!

oscarpiastri the whole crew had a great time tonight!

yourusername who had the best time? 🤭

ynfan2 what does this mean?? WHAT DOES THIS MEAN????

ynfan4 was lando in attendance tonight i have to know

ynfan5 i fear y/n fans don't know what "don't analyze too much" means

ynfan6 poor girl probably just wants to test the waters with her new man and everyone keeps speculating

user1 y/n fans want her with lando sooooo bad, i don't even think he's interested in her at all 😂

♡

♡

landonorris

liked by carlossainz55, oscarpiastri, and 843,928 others

landonorris behind the scenes

View all 3,382 comments

oscarpiastri "thank you oscar, i love using your best friend privileges"

landonorris i can't even fight back here

landonorris check your texts for my response

user1 musician lando coming soon?

user2 a man of many talents

user3 someone put him back in the car

ynfan2 oscar best friend privileges ... y'all HEAR ME OUT

ynfan3 here she goes again

user4 ready for race week!!!

carlossainz55 photo creds??

landonorris no thanks

♡

yourusername

liked by oscarpiastri, yourbff, and 948,382 others

yourusername best friend privileges loading ...

had the best weekend! everyone say congrats to my best friend!!

View all 4,382 comments

ynfan1 CONGRATS OSCAR!!!!

ynfan2 CONGRATULATIONS OSCAR!!! GREAT RACE!!!

ynfan2 yes i'm still delusional and screaming over lando being in the last pic

oscarpiastri thank you for coming y/n, you might be my good luck charm!!

landonorris can i borrow her sometime liked by yourusername

ynfan3 that race was incredible!!! great job osc!!

yourbff i had too much fun, i might have a new favorite sport

yourusername i'll take you to more races, don't you worry!!

ynfan4 i'm guessing ynfan2 didn't see the above interaction

user3 oscar and y/n have the cutest friendship 🥺

♡

♡

lando.jpg

liked by yourusername and 298,038 others

lando.jpg on a night like tonight

View all 1,182 comments

user2 in new york?

user3 pretty!

ynfan2 y/n spotted in the likes

user4 best photographer!

♡

♡

yourusername

liked by yourbff, oscarpiastri, and 1,382,409 others

yourusername thank you, new york!!

always love, love, love performing here. hope you enjoyed the new music 💋

View all 5,382 comments

oscarpiastri performing new music when i can't attend has to go against best friend privileges

yourbff beautiful girl!! loving your lover girl era, you are GLOWING!!

ynfan1 BEST NIGHT EVER!! THANK YOU FOR THE NEW MUSIC, WE'RE SO SPOILED!

ynfan2 THE MCLAREN COLOR OUTFIT??? i might be reaching but ...

ynfan3 considering he was just in new york ... you might be onto something

ynfan4 LOVE YOU! YOU DESERVE EVERYTHING AND MORE

♡

♡

landonorris

liked by yourusername, yourbff, and 892,384 others

landonorris ready for you vegas, i've got a good luck charm this week

View all 3,828 comments

oscarpiastri i think you mean i've *stolen a good luck charm from my teammate this week

landonorris tough luck mate

user1 GOOD LUCK!!

user4 LFG!!!!

user2 COME ON PAPAYA

ynfan2 Y/N BEING THE GOOD LUCK CHARM HE BETTER WIN THIS WEEKEND

ynfan3 is this y/n's new man?? good luck lando norris

ynfan1 suddenly i love formula 1

yourbff good luck!!

ynfan2 omg queen what are you doing here

♡

yourusername

liked by landonorris, oscarpiastri, and 1,483,472 others

yourusername what happens in vegas ... you know the rest 💋

happy birthday, congratulations, i love you ��

View all 6,372 comments

yourbff MOM AND DAD!!! SO HAPPY FOR YOUUUUUUU

ynfan2 I KNEW IT!!!!!! I KNEW I WASN'T DELUSIONAL I WAITED SO LONG FOR THIS

oscarpiastri i think it's safe to assume that you're no longer my good luck charm

landonorris everybody point and laugh

landonorris i love you, I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU

user3 just down horrendous

ynfan1 SHE'S HAPPY!!!! I USED TO PRAY FOR TIMES LIKE THIS

ynfan4 lando better treat her right

carlossainz55 any chance i can borrow your luck before the season is over

landonorris NO????

user3 LMAOOOOOOOOOO

♡

landonorris

liked by yourusername, oscarpiastri, and 1,382,094 others

landonorris lucky to call you mine. beautiful show by the most beautiful girl.

if anyone is still wondering: yes, we have really good bed chem

View all 5,382 comments

user2 they are actually so cute

user4 THEY ARE EACH OTHER'S BIGGEST FANS I LOVE THEM

user1 MY PARENTS!!!

ynfan2 this is what dreams are made of

ynfan4 OHHHHH HE MATCHES HER FREAK OKAY Y/N 😏

user3 THE LAST PART OF THE CAPTION???

yourusername horny on main is crazyyyyyy

landonorris horny on album before we were even public is crazyyyyyyyy

user5 OH I'M OBSESSED WITH THEM

oscarpiastri lando acting like he wasn't kicking his feet and blushing the first time he heard bed chem liked by yourusername

ynfan3 we will be cheering for lando for the rest of the season

[nuria-schnee]

Hi, everyone! ❤️

When I said I might write this, I didn't think I'd be going so insane over it, but here we are. The brainrot is strong, and I'm determined to create as much as I can. I love the series with all my heart, and I love this beautiful fandom, and what happened won't stop us, dammit.

I was so angry and sad yesterday that ideas didn't stop coming, and before I knew I had most of the fic outlined and was already working on the screencaps for it.

Anyway, this is my attempt to write the season we deserved. I wanted to bring a bit of content in this hard time for all of us. I hope it works, even if only for a bit. This is just a preview, but I wanted to share even so.

A bit of information

Publication date of the 1st chapter: September 14th

I'll update every two weeks (hopefully)

Every chapter will be an "episode"

Every Wednesday I'll be sharing a "sneak peek" of the next chapter here on Tumblr, so you don't have to wait so long

Every chapter will have a playlist.

I'll be sharing the screencaps of the chapters as the story goes. No spoilers in them, don't worry.

The work on AO3 is already posted, in case someone wants to subscribe already and get the notification when I post the first chapter. Now, there's only an index with what I'm sharing on Tumblr, and I'll update it regularly.

Don't forget to take care of yourselves ❤️ See you very soon!

Transcriptions of the summary and chapters below the cut!

Summary

Ghosts are going missing all around London. The disappearances lead Edwin and Charles directly to a mysterious entity, known as The Summoner, that is about to make their afterlives very complicated.

Chapters

The Case of the Flashing Light: Months after returning from Port Townsend, the Dead Boy Detectives find themselves overloaded with cases of ghosts disappearing all around London. As they investigate this mystery, someone seems to be trying to catch Edwin's attention through the agency's mirror.

The Case of the White Realm:

The Case of the Explosive Garden: Things are tense in the agency after the last case, but none of them wants to address it. They are too busy for that. The cases of missing ghosts are piling up on their desk and the Summoner is still out there, hidden in the shadows of the city, causing trouble. The boys manage to track him down and end up in an enchanted mansion, where nothing is what it seems.

 The Case of the Ghostly Masquerade

 The Case of the Blurred Painting

 The Case of the 80s Deathday Party

 The Case of the Star-Crossed Lovers

 The Case of the Dark Void

[simmerianne93]

[Simmerianne93]Portrait_poses_18

 ---------

Hello everyone! How are you today? Are you enjoying the sims and the sims 2 or are you still playing the sims 4 above all? haha unfortunatelly I can't afford any of them haha so it'll have to wait, but I hope you are having a pretty good time!!

Here you have another "Memories" posepack!! Or that's what I would have called it if I were naming my packs with proper names xD but as I'm basic, this is a new "Portrait" posepack for you and your pixel families to create memories for the wall.

I was going to bring this pack on the 30th, to end January, but I decided to wait a couple of days because of the rerelease thing and all the hype. And actually, this was a pack that i was planning for december as part of the family collab but I was short of time and I couldn't do them.

Anyway, my idea now on is to bring one family portrait pack each month (or each two months), 'cause I received more ideas than expected when asking for them for the collab... I want to make all the suggestions (and my own ideas as well) 'cause I feel like there are a lot of "basic" poses with 1 or 2 children... sometimes 3... but variations are kind of missing.... so lets see how it goes and if I can make all the poses you suggested...

The poses that I made this time I made them for my own use... If you follow me on bsky (and even if you don't) you may know by now that I'm playing the events with my simself, and she already have a fam... I was looking poses for 2 toddlers and 1 infant / 2 children and 1 toddler to make some memories befor the little ones grow up... and I couldn't find ANY... so... it was time to work on them... and this is what i got.... now you have a family posepack for those cases when you have twins and then an unexpected (or not XD) infant... haha

Althought... now my simself is having a 4th child xD so maybe I'll need to make another pack with 2 children, 1 toddler and 1 infant.... it never ends.... hahahaha maybe that's the pack I''ll bring at the end of this month....

And... talking about the month... its february.... and you know what it means, isn't it?.... VALENTINE POSES!! I have a few ideas in mind... and I hope I can make them all... keep in touch to have all the next packs!! I don't know if I'll be able to share the "coming soon post" but I'm telling you already that there's a few interesting packs coming this month!!

Thank you for always being there!!

Enjoy these poses!!!

Dag, dag!!

----------

What is on it?

2 Trio poses (one with 2 toddlers and 1 infant/ one with 2 children and 1 toddler)

5 Groupal poses for 5 sims (2 adults, 2 toddlers and 1 infant)

5 Groupal poses for 5 sims (2 adults, 2children and 1 toddler)

--- What do you need?

Andrew poses player.

Teleport any sim by Scumbumbo or Mccc by deaderpool.

Invisible infant mat replacement  by mcrudd  (OPTIONAL FOR INFANTS WHO HAVEN'T LEARN HOW TO SIT YET)

"The hipster hugger" sofa from Basegame (or any 3sits-sofa or 2sits-sofa, tho it can glitch a little bit depending on wich sofa you choose and depending on the pose)

a double bed (I used a bed from Seasons EP but the poses may work with others)

a dinning chair (I used one from Cat and dogs EP but the pose may work with others)

———

Instructions in the original post.

——

TOU

Do not claim my creations as your own.

Do not re-upload or modify my creations.

Do not make money of my creations.

Do not include my creations in Mods folders to download.

Please follow my Term Of Use.

——

Download it now here — [FREE FOR EVERYONE]

——————

If you want to support me:  Patreon | Ko-fi

All my poses overview: Pinterest |  Wix | Tumblr

More in-game preview pics of all my poses: Instagram

My socials: Twitter | BlueSky | Instagram | Tumblr

Lives and videos: Youtube

——————

I really hope you like them and I will say in advance: Thank you so much for using them.

@ts4-poses

--

[jinxxsims]

Just one question... How are you? (Because it feels kinda wrong just ask because a want something... But if you like...Nah I am joking)

I mean... if it works, it works.

For the record, I'm doing okay, anon! I woke up with a bit of a fever today and maybe a touch of something, but overall, I feel just fine.

And now to why you're really here...

In your honor, anon, a conversion of some/most of bostyny's Fusion set. I saw the Le Creuset pieces and wanted them for my game immediately, and now, I will share them with you.

These meshes use the repository technique to save space. The oval dutch oven and the stack of plates are master meshes, with the oval dutch oven providing recolors for all the other dutch ovens and odds and ends, and the stack of plates providing the recolors for the plates and bowls. There are dozens of recolors of each (you get a small sample in the preview image) and in my opinion all of them are worth keeping, but there are preview images of the recolors in the folder so you can pick and choose what you want to keep. Remember, you must hang on to the master meshes for the slaves to show up.

Everything can be found in Deco > Sculpture. Files are compressorized. The link is mediafire since SFS is just not having it today. I'll update with additional SFS links in the future.

Download the Le Creuset Set @ Mediafire

Simfileshare Mirror

[pascaloverx]

RAGE

Author's note: if you like this little sample of the fanfic idea, kraven x reader. Interact with the story, so I can see if I continue or not. this chapter includes mature content. minors do not interact!!!

Summary: You are secretly Dmitri Smerdyakov's bodyguard, though over time, you've developed a friendship with him. However, you share a complicated past with his brother, Sergei Kravinoff. Now that Sergei is back in town, who knows where this will lead you?

PREVIEW TWO

ONE (+18)

Sergei removes his shirt as you begin cleaning his wounds, ensuring they don’t get infected. His pained groans are like a beautiful melody to your ears.

"What brought you here? Aside from your undeniable talent for dragging your brother into trouble," you ask, noticing several bullet fragments lodged in his back.

Reaching for a specialized medical tweezer, you start extracting the shards. Sergei tenses, his body twitching under the sharp pain.

"Believe it or not, I came because I missed Dmitri," he mutters through gritted teeth, his voice strained yet oddly sincere. You can't see Sergei's face, but you can feel that he's hiding something. You know him too well to believe otherwise.

"No lies, Kravinoff. Tell me the real reason you're here, or I'll make you regret it," you say while pulling another bullet fragment from his back. He suddenly turns, catching your wrist in his grip. His touch is firm but not forceful.

"I missed the old times," Sergei murmurs, his hand sliding down your thigh before traveling up to your waist, pulling you closer.

"You’re trying to distract me so I’ll forget what I really want to know. That doesn’t work anymore," you reply, even as you find yourself leaning into his touch.

Sergei watches you with a smirk, clearly enjoying your attempt to resist. "Doesn’t seem like it’s not working," he whispers, his lips grazing your neck as his fingers toy with the fabric of your clothe near your neckline.

Your eyes meet his and is like fire meeting gasoline. His hands press against your chest with deliberate firmness, drawing a sharp gasp from you. You squeeze your eyes shut, trying to regain control, but his touch burns through the fabric of your clothes, unraveling whatever resolve you had left.

His lips press against your neck, deep and deliberate, his teeth nearly grazing your skin. You grip his back tightly, your nails digging into his flesh, drawing a low groan from him. You can feel the warmth of his blood on your fingertips—your nails must have broken skin—but if Sergei is still the same, you know he’s reveling in the pain. His body has always been too resilient, turning him into someone who finds pleasure in just a little bit of suffering.

"Sergei, why are you here?" you murmur, pulling him closer, an insatiable urge building inside you—a craving to taste his lips.

"If I tell you," he breathes, trailing kisses upward, his mouth dangerously close to yours, "you’ll want to kill me."

You grip his face, your nails digging into his skin as you force him to look at you. "Does this have anything to do with your brother?" you growl, your teeth nearly grazing his cheek.

"I'm hunting someone—someone who had the nerve to use Dmitri to provoke me. I came to make sure he stays safe," Sergei admits, his tone carrying that infuriating certainty, as if he knew this would enrage you.

Your hand slides down to his throat, squeezing tightly. "You son of a bitch," you snarl. Sergei tilts his head back, his breath hitching—but not in fear. If anything, he seems to enjoy the pressure of your fingers around his neck. His hands grip your waist, yanking you onto his lap, pressing your bodies together. You could kill him. You should kill him. But instead, you release his throat, letting him gasp for air.

"I would never put my little brother in danger," Sergei rasps as soon as he can speak. Your hand flies toward his face, ready to slap him, but he catches your wrist mid-swing. Before you can react, he tugs you forward, his grip firm on the back of your neck. His lips crash against yours in a heated, desperate kiss—as if he’s trying to silence your fury, or maybe just redirect it.

As you are consuming each other in a fiery kiss, you take Sergei's hand and puts it over your panties. You press his fingers against your panties making it clear how wet you are. "I want you to feel how this night could have ended if you were a better man, but you're still the same pathetic guy who only thinks about himself," you say looking into Sergei's eyes as you abruptly move away from him. He seems immersed in your scent and your touch as he tries to understand what mistakes he keeps making.

You storm out of Dmitri’s apartment, leaving Sergei behind. You almost lost yourself again, entangled in his grasp, but you refuse to make the same mistake twice. Gritting your teeth, you get into your car and speed toward the venue where Dmitri should be finishing his performance.

There are security guards stationed at the entrance, but you’re too focused to acknowledge them. Your priority is making sure Dmitri is safe. As soon as you step inside, your eyes find him on stage, his presence radiant, as if the entire room brightens around him. He’s singing Fly Me to the Moon—the same song that was playing when you first met him.

"And now, this special song is for my favorite person," he announces, his voice filled with warmth as he plays the piano. He looks happy, at peace.

But then, you notice a disturbance near the stage. Something feels off. And of course, your weapon is still at Dmitri’s apartment. You’ll have to make do.

Your eyes scan the room quickly, and you spot a couple dining nearby. Without hesitation, you snatch the knife from the man’s hand and bolt toward the first suspect, driving the blade into his throat. Chaos erupts. Smoke fills the venue as screams echo around you.

People panic, scattering in all directions, but you keep your focus on Dmitri. He’s searching for you with wide, worried eyes, pushing through the confusion.

“Y/N!” Dmitri shouts, trying to reach you. But you don’t have time for distractions. Two more attackers rush toward you, and you brace yourself.

“Dmitri, get down!” you yell, dodging the first strike and countering with a swift move that takes out one of the assailants.

The smoke obscures your vision, making it harder to predict the next attack. When you finally reach Dmitri, he suddenly calls out— “Behind you!”

You react instantly, spinning around and using a defensive maneuver to block and counter. The force of the impact sends you crashing onto one of the tables. Your attacker lunges at you, but you wrap your legs around his torso, using the leverage to land a series of sharp, precise blows to his face. His movements grow sluggish under the assault.

As soon as he falters, you release your grip, shifting your weight to land a powerful kick to his legs, forcing him to his knees. Without hesitation, you grab hold of his head and snap his neck with a sharp, decisive motion.

The body drops. The room is silent. You turn to Dmitri—only to find him staring at you, frozen in shock. His face is pale, his expression unreadable. But his eyes, once filled with warmth, now hold something else entirely.

"Who are you?" Dmitri breathes, his voice barely above a whisper, as he looks at you like a stranger.

[destinationtoast]

Hello! I keep hearing that fandom culture has changed, and there are less comments now than there were years ago. Have you noticed this in your analysis? Is the percentage of comments being left today lower than before?

Hey! Thanks for the question -- it prompted me to start collecting data about comments (after procrastinating on it for a while, because I had to write new code to gather comment data). I've also seen other discussions from folks also thinking about how to do this kind of analysis (like in the fandom data projects community) -- hopefully we'll end up with multiple people attacking this from different angles and getting a variety of data about comments!

I'll give a sneak preview that partially addresses your question and contains some good news. If we look at the fraction of AO3 works that get at least one comment (focusing just on one-shots for now), I think things have gotten better over the past decade on AO3*:

In other words, it tentatively looks like more works were getting at least one comment in 2024 than in 2014 (for a variety of time periods). One caveat, though -- if a bunch of works with no comments got deleted in the interim, there will be survivor bias here. I'll try to look into that possibility later. Another caveat: this is based on only like ~100 randomly selected works from each year -- this may all change with more data!

Another interesting tidbit: I still see some of the 2014 works getting comments. In fact, ~30% of works have gotten new comments over 5 years after they were posted, and it looks like ~10% of one-shots posted back in Mar 2014 got a new comment in 10 years later, in 2024.

I'm still doing other analyses; there may be other factors that better match with the discourse around how comment culture has changed. It could be that comment activity peters out faster now than it did back then, for instance. Or the total number of comments left on the popular works is less now than it was back then (though my current methods may not be able to capture that). Edit thanks to quick eagle-eyed readers: it's likely that some of what people are thinking about is ratio of comments to hits -- that is hard to compare in 2014 to 2024, because we don't know which hits came from which years. But I am working on some analyses along those lines. :)

If you have other hypotheses about what's changed in commenting culture, feel free to share! I'll look into what I can.

Some methodology notes:

*I've been tackling this by comparing AO3 one-shots posted in early 2014 to one-shots posted in 2024, and comparing activity in the days/weeks/months immediately after the works were posted. (To start with, I'm only scraping the first page of comments for each work -- meaning the first 20 comment threads -- so there are lots of comments I'm potentially missing for the really popular works. But for many works, this captures all the comments, and I think it may be sufficient for a lot of the analyses I am interested in.)

I'm choosing to focus on 2014 vs. 2024 because 2024 is close to now (but it's been long enough for comments to have settled down a bit), and 2014 was well after AO3 was established (thus it was already a pretty lively time on AO3). I don't want to collect data about every single year because it's too time intensive/too hard on AO3's servers. But if people think that I should be looking at different years, I'm interested in feedback.

Because it's only been ~10 months since March 2024, I am limiting a lot of my analyses to only look at commenting activity the first ~10 months after works were posted in both cases.

[mortish-writes]

Small preview of the new interface we'll have in the Week One update.

This template by Becky gives me Choicescript vibes. I love how the menu is accessible right at the top bar. I've added a background with a subtle twinkle effect. Light mode has a gradient background. Honestly I think a lot of people will want to play light mode now, it looks so pretty. Also, as I mentioned in a previous post, fantasy terms will be toggle-able, like so:

Dark mode is also twinkly:

I'm going to focus on writing for the next couple days and stop playing with the code. This weekend I'll make a post with the official changes coming to the rework. I approached it with a focus on cutting out a lot of the religious angst (in a manner that doesn't do a disservice to the MC's character growth) and instead focusing on the MC adapting to her new life/body and having more quality time/relationship building with Serax & Valdricht. We'll also have new tendencies and a new system for tracking them, a dedicated MF story line with a unique plot for Nightborn players, a feature to amp up the dark thematic elements, and some light tweaks to Serax--you'll have to needle him a bit harder to bring out his immature side.

Looking forward to sharing the changes with you!

[tamberella]

Congratulations on your author debut, I'm so excited for your book!! 😇💕

Would you consider talking about the whole process of becoming a book illustrator /children's book author?

Thank you so much, I really appreciate it!! And I'd be happy to share the process!

It all started for me with my 3dTotal artbook. 3dTotal is a small publisher in the UK, and they mainly focus on collections of artists' work. They use Kickstarter to fund each book, and my agent (the amazing Seth Fishman at Gernert) discovered me through the Kickstarter for my artbook Windows to Worlds!

He asked if I had any interest in working on graphic novels or picture books, and I had already been thinking about picture books! He found me my first picture book project with Penguin Workshop, Mother of Sharks, written by the awesome Melissa Cristina Márquez, which came out last year!

While I was working on Mother of Sharks, I was also talking with him about developing The Bakery Dragon, based of course on this painting, which was (and is) one of my proudest artistic moments.

For a little background on the painting, I painted it right after a really challenging couple of months medically - I was dealing with medical complications from my chronic illness for about 6 months, and I wasn't able to finish a single painting the whole time, I was just too exhausted from hospital visits and being in pain. That painting was the first piece I was able to actually complete (both emotionally and literally) in about half a year. So it always held a really special place in my heart, and I really wanted to keep living in that little world. I think there's something in it that is very special to me, about being outside in the cold, seeing warmth and love through a glass barrier, and wanting desperately to reach it.

With Seth's guidance, over a couple months, I developed a pitch for it. The script developed slowly alongside the designs for characters, locations, etc.

(Early version of Ember above! He has changed a bit!)

I thought I had already read a lot of picture books, I've always loved them, but I read hundreds and hundreds during this process. There is something uniquely fun and challenging about telling a complete narrative in 48 pages (which is already a long picture book, many are 32!) My book also pulls some elements from comics, such as speech bubbles, which I found to be incredible assets for humor and character development.

My pitch included designs, some early example spreads, and a rough script with story beats and jokes! My agent took it out into the world, and the publisher we ended up going forward with was Knopf, an imprint of Penguin Random House! I absolutely love the Knopf team and the beautiful books they put out! My editor, Katherine Harrison, really understood what I wanted to accomplish and has been so incredibly helpful in her guidance!

And from there... through rewrites, dialog adjustments, and lots and lots of drawings, it became a book! I'm happy to answer questions about the process! I'll leave you guys with a little preview from the interior of the book! (And of course you can pre-order it here, gotta learn the author skill of always including that link haha!)

[ataleofcrowns]

Chapter Progress [NOV/06]

Hey all, it's been a while since I've written one of these 🍂

I've been posting regular previews on my Patreon, but a proper update was long overdue! As a refresher, my last update was this one, and I've got lots more to update you on now that I'm further along!

I've struggled a lot with this chapter and have been trying to wrangle it into shape as best I can, and I'm happy (and relieved) to say that I can finally give you an estimated release date: you can expect CH12 to be uploaded in December this year.

I won't be putting a specific date on it yet, since it could be anywhere from early December to late December depending on how much progress I make in November, but I'll let you know! Now, onto specifics.

The Main Plot

I'm currently balancing out LI specific content in the main plot! Regardless of what you chose in regards to Kham and the peri trader, players will be spending some time with D and X to make up for their absence in CH10 at the beginning of this chapter, and I've really missed writing their dynamic with each other as well as the Crown.

I genuinely can't decide which branch is my favorite. Meeting with Kham directly gives so much juicy verbal sparring and tension between not only her and the Crown but her and D and X as well. But meeting directly with the peri trader let me dig more into the worldbuilding, explore the city a bit, and have some more lighthearted shenanigans with D and X too.

I'll add some previews here for both routes that I've also already shared for people on the Patreon. Here's a little excerpt for people meeting with Kham:

“There is one thing I have been wondering, princess,” you say as you stare back into her eyes, watching the way the orange orbs of light flicker like flames. “When you first arrived here, you were accompanied by a retinue of guards. Whatever happened to them?” Kham does not raise her brows at you, exactly, but something similar to the motion as the wood above her eyes arches upwards with a stiff creaking sound. “They are not merely my guards, they are my servants first and foremost. Naturally, they run errands for me.” “What kinds of errands?” “Surely you do not think I would fetch all I require by myself?” She appears amused by the line of questioning rather than offended. “They trade with the peri merchants in your city on my behalf. Although, calling it trade is perhaps not accurate, as I hold the right to lay claim on their supplies whenever I please. They are representatives of my mother, after all.” You consider the explanation, but nothing about it seems notable or inconsistent so far. “So you have never dealt with this peri trader I wish to meet with yourself?” “Of course not.” She smiles, her wooden mouth briefly pressing together. “That would be beneath me.” “A shame,” $xname muses casually from beside you, contrasting the sharp look in their eyes. “We had hoped you might have some insight to share.” “As much insight as you are willing to offer me regarding this flower you seek,” Kham returns, her smile still in place. “The blue siren, yes? A rather strange fixation…” You feel the urge to tense, but withhold yourself from it by taking a slow, relaxed breath. All the rigorous physical training you have underwent over the course of the past month is already showing its benefits: you feel more aware and in control over your body, able to maintain your composure. A necessary skill when dealing with someone like Kham, as conversing with her feels like a dance of sorts. The two of you are watching each other’s steps, waiting for the other to slip.

And here's the excerpt for if you choose to meet with the peri trader:

You manage to make it through the marketplace, finally arriving at a large building with an open front, wrapping around the corner of the street. Tables and shelves are lined with various flowers and plants, perused by a few passing customers. This appears to be the peri trader’s shop, signaled by the sign at the front that reads Eshkar’s Garden. Eshkar being the name of the peri trader in question. Most of the flora on display you recognize, if not by the labeled names then by sight alone, but several look entirely new to you. Pale white flowers whose hanging bulbs pulse with light when a customer brushes against its leaves; bleeding vines wrapped around a miniature roofed trellis atop a tall table, its crimson flowers slowly dripping down pink juice caught by bowls below; a tall flower with only two black petals, large and pointed, that nearly startle you when they snap together several times in sharp, cracking sounds, almost as if the flower were clapping. IF CROWN IS INTELLIGENT Momentarily forgetting about your intended purpose in being here, you approach the clapping flower with curiosity, wondering what set it off. Sure enough, you see dead and decomposing flies of various sorts collected at the center of its bulb as you lean over to peer inside, taking care to avoid leaning in too close lest your nose get caught between the aggressive petals. Does it catch and eat small insects? How fascinating. You glance at the labeling of the flower, its name fittingly given as ‘black ovation’. IF CROWN IS INTUITIVE Eyes drawn by the visual spectacle of the white flowers, you find yourself wandering over to its shelf, glancing at the labeling that reads ‘stardrops’. The bulbs look ordinary at first glance, but sure enough, when you reach out to touch its petals, the flower begins to glow like you saw before. A ring of light travels up its stem, through the petals to the very ends, where it erupts into tiny little golden sparks. Hence the name, you suppose. Unable to stop yourself, you touch the flower again, mesmerized by the light show, until you notice a shop attendee frowning at you from nearby. Feeling scolded, you quickly pull your hand away and offer an apologetic smile.

Lots of fun going on in both routes! I don't envy you for having to make this choice lol.

Aside from this big branch, the main plot will converge for everyone again in the latter half of the chapter, where the Crown gets do to some more typical Crown things: hearing public petitions! They'll contain 2 smaller scenes where your character will hear out some citizen concerns, which will let you rack up reputation points with either the public or the nobility, and 1 major scene that affects a future plot point.

Not gonna spoil these since I've already talked so much about everything else regarding this chapter, so this will have to remain a surprise ✨

The Romances and Friendships

While the start of the chapter is X and D focused, if you have a specific (platonic) LI you want to spend more time with as buddies and perhaps get a little relationship advice, you'll have that opportunity at the start of CH12! I've had to write 12 variations in total for each friendship scene, which was a lot of work, but completely worth it.

Some LI routes also have big additional differences depending on if you have a low or high romance (such as A and R), while it matters a little bit less for the others for the time being (such as D and X). So if you screwed up on D or X's romances and have a low status, you're mostly in the clear from immediate consequences… for now.

Here's a little excerpt, taken from a playthrough of a Crown who has a high romance with A and chooses R's friendship scene:

Something like mischief gleams in $rname’s eyes as $rthey looks at you. “I’ve noticed you and $aname seem especially close nowadays.” You shift a little on the couch, averting your gaze to avoid $rname’s eyes as you strike a casual tone. “Do we?” “Mhm.” When you do glance over at $rname, you find $rthem studying $rtheir nails, and you begin to relax as you think it was just an idle remark. Until $rthey adds, “All the hand-holding underneath the table is endearing, I must admit. Especially since the two of you seem to think you’re being subtle about it.” IF CROWN IS RESERVED Heat flushes up your neck at being seen through so easily, remembering breakfast earlier that morning where $aname’s fingers hooked around yours beneath the table. “We were just… we’re not…” $rname looks up from $rtheir nails to grin at you. “There’s no need to look so embarrassed! I’m happy for you. The two of you seem well-suited for each other.” Trying to move past your flustered state, you clear your throat. “You think so?” “I’ve never seen $aname so at ease as when you’re around,” $rname considers, eyes narrowing with teasing and fondness both. “You look more unburdened with $athem near, as well.” IF CROWN IS FLIRTATIOUS You almost laugh at the remark and give it away completely, only managing to keep it in at the last moment and grinning back at $rname instead. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” $rname looks up from $rtheir nails with a sly smile. “No? What a shame. I was going to say how well-suited the two of you are for each other.” That catches your attention, your playfulness easing into something more sincere. “Really?” “I’ve never seen $aname so at ease as when you’re around,” $rname considers, eyes narrowing with teasing and fondness both. “You look more unburdened with $athem near, as well.”

This scene aside, CH12 will also contain another dedicated romance scene with your LI, dealing with some of the fallout from last chapter whether good or bad. If your romance is high, you'll be coasting- except maybe for D romancers, who are in Pining Hell either way haha.

If your romance is low, though, prepare for some delicious angst 🙏🏼

That's all I've got for now! Thank you all so much for your patience and support as always, especially for how long I've been making you all wait. You're the best 💖

[herotome]

Devlog #181

Hi-ho, Wudge here!

I'm pretty excited to write this update. It feels like the past few(?) have been kinda downers that bum me out cuz I felt like I didn't do enough, but this past week I accomplished a lot!!!

A little preview...

ID: art of a phone. the screen displays a youtube apology video. The title of the video is "About the Smokescreen Situation," and the comments are turned off.

When I started out as a developer, I didn't really understand what would be built-in for me in ren'py, and I'd have to code in on my own.

Until this point, my playtesting process was....

play through the game from the very beginning

save the game at certain points

take a break for the day

come back another day and squint at the save files trying to determine where I left off, and what still needs doing

replay the game from the beginning again because the save files didn't contain the exact location/world state that I needed to test

...And as I made progress on writing and coding the story of Herotome, it became more taxing to playtest the game from the beginning.

It didn't hit me until very recently, many years into devving, that I could make my own devtool to jump between scenes.

I even wrote little recaps for myself per scene. :') feelsgoodman.jpeg

It took about a full day to code as test these screens, but they've worked beautifully. I'll likely still playteset Herotome from the beginning again sometime before releasing the next episode -- but I no longer have to playtest from the beginning almost every time I playtest.

For now, these screens are for my private use; but with some modifications and testing, I may make them available in the next edition of Herotome.. or in the release after that. We'll see. No promises, because jumping into the game from Scene Selection is useful for me as the developer, but it's a lotlotlotlot more likely to cause immersion-breaking bugs for a player.

And now that I have these screens, it made it soooooooooo much easier to jump to my newest story segments and to work on them - mainly to code in sprite/art positioning segments. Behold...!

I have art representing MC watching #superhero videos while jogging!

Phone and video stills art courtesy of @qkayoostudio

I worried a lot that this solo scene with MC would be boring, but having visible art has really helped it feel more engaging.

If you notice the video titles, view counts, comment section... that's all manually written and coded in by me. Having it all in code (rather than put together in a .png file) means I can alter the writing in renpy very easily without ever switching to an art program, it's an absolute treat I did for myself and I'm very happy about it.

I also uh... made these.. lol.

I've been feeling particularly unsatisfied with my sprite concept art lately, so my tactic to stop indefinitely fretting/fussing over them was to turn the sprites into shadowy stand-in blobs. I'm much more satisfied with the blobs. I no longer have to worry about their sprites' face shapes, fashion choices, body postures, or how I feel like my art isn't good enough.. because for now they're just blobs!

I'll be replacing the blobs with actual character art later, of course, NPC art is just soooo low priority that fretting over their imperfections felt like wasting time and energy.

I also did a bit of positioning for Katie... nothing new to show off from my success, but I do have a curious failure to share.

Somehow, Katie's cute little kitty sprite went to sit on the cabinet and fits there perfectly (aside from uh.. being a bit too big for a cat lol).

Going back to my Scene Selection screen - basically, I got through most of scenes 11-13! Having all the scenes numbered here in a list and immediately acccessible (in various worldstates of my choosing) is sooooo much better for me than the save file thumbnails... Idk if I've been able to explain it clearly at all, but I hope at least my excitement and relief shone through in this devlog.

Stay safe and keep warm,

Wudge.

[plumvy]

4T2: SYB Catherine Set

I learned how to convert objects! I made a few of these for my last picture set so I finished the majority of the remaining objects and thought I'd share them! I will have a separate cc blog, hence the name attached to the packages, but I'm going to focus on finishing my old hairs before posting on it. I just really wanted to share this now ^^

Information & Previews Under Cut!

Download alt

Original: Syboulette 🖤

Also a big thank you to the Sims 2 Shenanigans discord for answering all my questions and helping me out 🖤 And @bunbunbo for testing it all out for me 🖤

The tables, chairs, and counter are all functional. Everything else is deco. All original colors included. The booths behave as chairs. It's too complicated for me at the moment to make them actual booths. You'll need "boolprop snapobjectstogrid false" to make the conveyor belts and the booth corner decor line up properly. The wall shelves don't have slots but the waiter station does have one. I did try to lower poly counts but they became unsalvageable :( So just pick n choose which objects are best for you. I believe Pets is the only required EP for the logo sign. I totally blanked out on that aspect while cloning. I'll remember in the future to only do non base game items when totally necessary.

I hope someone enjoys these! If there's any problems please let me know.

*Items not included: Skylight, Window, Lights, and the Soy Sauce Bottle. These were a bit too high above my current skill to create correctly.

[igotanidea]

Test ride: Jason Todd x reader preview

Guys! I might be back from the dead! With a bleeding heart and tired mind, but with a few ideas up my sleeve :)

***

One thing about her was sure.

She was unbribeable.

And that was something in Gotham.

And I s'pose a vigilante, even Batman himself, can use a little help from a lawyer sometimes, right?

And clearly, one day, councellor Y/N Y/L/N got so tired of working with her ordinary cases, that she started aimlessly wandering across the Gotham's alleys.

Or maybe it was some sick self-destructive instincts. (pretty similar to someone else's if you ask me...).

The point was, Batman jumped in, saved her ass, yadda, yadda, yadda.

And she got his attention.

A few weeks later, Tim's style, she figured out his real identity. And therefore, joined the team. (subjecting Bruce to merciless teasing from the batkids, mocking him with the all-familiar phrase "do not involve civilians in the bussiness).

Obviously, Y/N was not a front-line fighter, but sidelines worked quite well for her as she focused on lawyering, cracking cases like walnuts and providing intel and insight.

But even with a new purpose, she was still lonely.

And the fate had it, that Jason Todd was bored.

And with his snarking, teasing uptake on things, drive to danger and the pressing urge to keep his shit under control, in which the current state of mind was not helping - he made her a proposition.

"Hey Y/N, you know what?" he called her casually one day after all the batkids, Jason included, miraculously found themselves in the batcave.

"Not a mind reader" she responded mockingly in a singing tone.

"Good for you" Jason immediately matched her tone "you wouldn't last a minute in my head, sunshine."

"Is that an invitation or a challenge Mr Todd?"

"A challenge. But in a different way than you might think."

"Well then, I;m all ears." she turned to face him, purposefully leaning a bit too close, to take this whole thing up a notch.

"We are both screwed..." he started

"Objection!"

"Overruled." he rolled his eyes "my deal is, since we are both fucked up, we might as well share the mental disease."

"huh?" Y/N raised an eyebrow, not understanding a single word, but fairly convinced that the Lazarus water finally ate his brain out completely.

"You're alone-"

"well thanks for pointing that out, since I had like five minutes of break from thinking about it-"

" -and I'm bored, so how about we keep each other entertained and take each other for a test drive?"

Y/N almost choked with her own saliva, her eyes popping out as she started caughing looking a freaking frog, even going a little green on the face.

"The hell Jason!?"

"Shit, I swear it sounded better in my head!"

"It should have never left your head!"

"It's not my fault you keep reading into the words too much!"

"I'm a lawyer! The hell were you thinking!?"

"Oh, I;m sorry for believing that under all that all and mighty professional armour you might be a human!"

"You're a freaking hypocrite, you know that?"

Jason sighed in frustration and run hand through his hair.

"Look all I meant was that we fill the gaps we're missing."

"So you'll act like my arm candy and I'll be your personal clown?"

"You don't even have to try much, do you?" he smirked

"I swear one more word out your mouth and the only entertainment you'll get will be a kick in the ass."

"I guess ending in hospital after such attempt would resolve your loneliness problem as well."

"Jerk."

"I'm serious Y/N. What do you have to loose?"

"Dignity, self-integrity, sound mind..." she started counting

"ok, okay, fine, I get it!" he raised both hands up, stopping her chant "but - it can also be fun. And if you keep refusing I might think you're chickening out."

"Oh! so it's not a challenge. It's a dare of which one of us will go insane first?"

"Something like that. Scared?"

"huh! you wish! you're the walking dead!"

"So, do we have a deal?"

"Yeah, we have a deal." she smirked and reached her hand towards him.

They shooke them, loooking into each other's eyes, getting mentally prepared for quite a lot of fun, even if neither was willing to say it outloud.

[lj-lephemstar]

Progress Checkup! (Nov. 2024) | Scratchin' Melodii Devlog

​​Hey again guys! Sorry if it's been a bit since the last devlog. With how much I've been up to, it sure feels like it!

Let's get right into it. For starters, the 3rd rival battle of Act 2 is complete! I'll likely be showing a gameplay preview of it sometime soon. This is the first song to use the new framework that I'll be using for all the other stages going forward, which also means I've had to spend the past couple weeks getting the previous songs working with this new system too... Did you know that in the demo builds, if I wanted to change something about the gameplay, I'd have to manually go back and change it for EACH individual song one by one? Well now, imagine all the songs had like a peace treaty to just share one good, clean, and organized system that I can easily tweak and add to as I please. So development is gonna be smoother than ever from here! This is how most games are SUPPOSED to work, but I was a liiittle too stupid to figure out how to do this until recently!

While I was moving Cream Cheese Icing over to this new system, I took the opportunity to make the chart a bit more beginner-friendly! For example, the first line went from this...

To just this!

As you can see, it has less notes, therefore it is less scary for new players. Believe it or not, I actually never intended for Cream Cheese Icing to be so difficult for new players in the first place! Naturally, being too good at my own game can make gauging the difficulty curve a bit tricky at times, but I think I'm figuring it out!​

You may have also noticed that the characters have new UI icons too! I felt like the old ones were too flat and boring, so I did a new take on them, aiming for more dynamic shapes and angles, not to mention how my art style's just kinda grown a bit in general since I last drew the icons. I also ended up leaving out the circles behind them. I was a little worried I was gonna run out of unique colors for all of them at some point, plus SOME of these guys can have really big hair and/or hats that pretty much just cover up the whole circle anyway. (hi rensa)

Speaking of artwork, here's a little look at some of the updated animation I've done for Stir & Mix! (Try to imagine it in not highly-compressed-gif-form. I promise it looks better in-game!)

When working on Stir & Mix related stuff, I can't help but feel a bit of a sense of dread knowing how people may react to it... Honestly, sometimes I kinda wish it never got as popular as it did in 2022. But hey, doing my own thing regardless of what's expected of me is the most Scratchin' Melodii thing I could do!

Speaking of which, Mia learned a ton of new stuff while doing the VOCALOID tuning for the last rival battle we worked on, so we might revisit Stir & Mix's vocals again at some point before release to give it even more style! (By the way, Mia and 2cada are the same person! Sorry if I refer to both names interchangeably! She's been the one doing all the VOCALOID tuning and vocal mixing for the game since 2023.)

Well, I think that's all for now! Here's another friendly reminder that there will NOT be anymore demos of the game. Any new content will be saved for the full game's release. I know I've said it before, but I probably won't stop saying it until people stop getting confused about it LOL. Thanks for reading!! I appreciate you. - LJ