#I CANNOT HANDLE YOU GO LOG OFF YOUR PHONE

[mitskiluvr]

replaying mystic messenger is so crazy because why am i gentle parenting these grown men and teaching them how to handle their feelings

[breelandwalker]

Grouchy Coworker Update:

We had a vacancy elsewhere in the department, so Grouchy Coworker (who has complained at least once a week since the move that she deserves her own office space - and she's correct, she has the seniority, they should have given her one) moved to the open spot. She now has her own office but she left a bunch of her stuff in our shared space and has been going back and forth for the past week, getting things as needed. When I asked, she said she'd move things over when she had time. Shrug.

So TODAY....

Me: Okay, there's a LOT of noise today and there are building tours this week (for some reason), so I'm going to close my office door to minimize the disruption to my workflow.

Grouchy Coworker: Well, Boss Lady won't like that.

Me. I have the Please Knock sign up and I already emailed to let her know. Besides, other people in our suite close their doors all the time, and for the same reasons.

Grouchy: Well, it needs to be open.

Me: ........Why? (Unspoken: Why are you so obsessed with whether the door is open to an office YOU NO LONGER OCCUPY? And it's not like it's locked, it's just CLOSED.)

Grouchy: Well, I need to come in and get my stuff today.

Me: Okay, when would you like to come by? Do you want help moving things?

Grouchy: I don't know, I'll come by when I have time. And I don't need your help.

-Cut to Mid-Morning-

Other Coworker: Okay, I gotta do systems work for a couple hours, so I'll be off the phones.

Me: Gotcha. I've got an urgent request I have to get done and the tours are starting, so I'm gonna close my door so I can focus and I may be slow to pick up. GC, can you cover?

Grouchy: BUT I HAVE TO PICK UP MY STUFF!

Me: ....Right now?

Grouchy: YES, RIGHT NOW. -barges into my office, wedges the door open, and proceeds to remove the remainder of her stuff, banging cabinet handles and doors loudly in a way that feels deliberate, while I try to handle incoming calls and complete the work request-

Grouchy: Okay, that's everything. But the door should stay open, just in case there's something else I need.

Me: If you need something, get it now, because I have to get this done in the next thirty minutes and I cannot have any more interruptions.

Grouchy: -rolls her eyes and goes back to her new space, leaving my door open-

Me: -goes and closes it-

-The phones proceed to ring off the hook for the next hour and Grouchy isn't picking up, forcing me to continually interrupt my workflow to get the calls.-

Me: GC, are you logged in? The system is showing that you're not on the line.

Grouchy: I'm logged in, my phone isn't ringing. (This is the standard excuse she gives when she doesn't feel like answering the phones and Boss Lady isn't around to make her.)

Me: Make sure your ringer is turned up and check for calls if you hear them ring at Other Coworker's desk. We need the coverage, we're both swamped.

Grouchy: Well I'm going to lunch soon anyway....

Me: .........It's 11 o'clock. And we are understaffed. And there are time-sensitive projects that need finishing which are now late because of all the interruptions. Please. Answer. The Phone.

Grouchy: -doesn't answer my email, but I'm sure she's at her desk grumbling about how unprofessional I am-

[horce-divorce]

I keep flirting w the idea of resin and going back to "I wanna make dice" but no. just. no no no. I do want to make dice but It's not happening. Every time I start to think about it again I see some humbling shit about microplastics and suddenly desperately want to repent my sins and never touch plastic again.

I will use the rest of the resin jugs I have now and then I Might sometimes use UV resin as an accent on other artwork, or occasionally cast specific pieces. but I'm retiring the whole idea of Being A Resin Artist. It's cool and fun and I can't fucking keep doing it.

anytime I have to throw away something that didn't turn out, any time I have to use the Dremel or sand down the edges of a new piece, it makes me absolutely sick to my soul what I'm doing. Like I actually honest to god cannot live with myself as a fucking plastics manufacturer. I can't do it. I live on the shores of Lake Michigan and every time I rinse off a sanded down piece of resin im literally dumping plastic directly into that lake. That's disgusting. That goes against everything I've ever fucking believed since I was a tiny little child.

I still can't bring myself to call art resin "evil" on par with industrial plastics manufacturers, but every day I look at how many things around me are already made of plastic and aren't broken down yet- packaging. the handles on brushes. the handles on drawers. phone cases. shoes, tires, clothing- and I think about how much microplastic is already in our fucking bodies, and in the bodies of newborn babies, and in the bodies of fish in the sea, and in the rain. and then I think about how much more is out there waiting to break down, and I wonder, is the plastic in the ecosystem now just the tip of the iceberg? Even if we stopped using plastic globally tomorrow, how much more is still out there, in storage, unused in the basements and closets of our homes-- or currently in use!!-- patiently waiting to turn into microplastics hundreds of years down the line?

and then I look at the shit I'm making with resin and sure it's cool. it's very nice stuff. but absolutely none of it was fucking worth contributing to that. None of it. Not for a moment.

Yes, there are certain types of art you can only make with resin. It has a really cool effect on anything you put into it. It's super useful as a sealant. And for some things, plastic is the ONLY substance we can use for that item. Some things NEED that kind of packaging- notably medical supplies- but there's plenty of certain artwork you couldn't make without plastic, too. I hate the idea of a world without sopopomo's resin sculptures. Like, this is some of the coolest shit known to man, LOOK AT IT??? Im also a fan of those big log-resin tables, and like, those surf boards like rusted indigo does. I wouldn't dream of asking artists like this to stop using this medium, especially when they've clearly mastered it.

But your choice of material does end up saying something in the end. Thinking about the source of your materials and inspiration is part of the artistic process, but I really don't see any other resin artists talking about this... (Probably bc they stopped being resin artists if they felt this way, ig?) I mean I've seen some talk about the health hazards for YOU, because resin is also a freaky scary substance to fuck up with and it can burn your skin and give you lung issues and shit, in addition to being THE most harshly unforgiving art medium I've ever encountered.

But it kinda makes me feel insane? To be the only one wondering about this? Like the art you can make with resin is so beautiful, but it comes at SUCH a steep and ugly cost- and not just to your own health but to the environment and people and animals directly around you (you really need to have proper ventilation and full PPE to work with resin. and even cured resin, though nontoxic, can hurt you. Ever gotten a paper cut from freshly-cast plastic? It fucking SUCKS).

And it's so contradictory to me?? bc so many resin artists market themselves as like these witchy, down to earth, inspired-by-nature type of people, who are selling art to the same crowd. Myself included! There is enormous irony in saying "I love nature :)" and then encasing it in a vacuum sealed toxic plastic tomb. This was not lost on me personally, but I seem to be the only one who wants to like. Talk about it. Or address it as part of my artists statement, even. I feel crazy for it!!!! :/ I'm literally not even saying we should stop using resin as an art medium. I am licherally about to go pour some lmfao. I'm just asking like. What does it say about you as an artist-- what statement are you making with your art-- if that contradiction itself is the very approach? I don't know. I don't have an answer to that question and personally that makes me wanna back off, that's all I'm saying.

Like it's not really a moral judgement on other resin artists. I'm not saying all resin artists should want to quit. I know that EVEN COMBINED, all the individual resin artists in the world couldnt produce more trash than Nestle if we tried. this is about me, not about you.

It's just, after my friends supported me SO much in opening my Etsy shop, there's understandably a lot of questions about why I stopped posting/listing shit. it was admittedly going very well.

I just dont feel good about helping Nestle produce more trash lmfao! I don't think they need my help!

Cus again, who's paying the true cost at the end of the day? It's not just the monetary cost of the resin. If we're paying for Nestles & cos pollution, who's paying for mine? My lungs? My family's lungs? My cats, if they were to ever be exposed or get hurt on resin scraps? The wild animals and plants of this place I claim to love so much, who are just swallowing my garbage whole??

Like nobody else has to consider that if they don't want to. But that stuff matters to me. And it's worth so much more to me than a bunch of plastic keychains and shit that won't even sell for enough to buy me a week's worth of groceries.

Cus I see all the trash *I* manage to produce, as just one guy. then I think about, what about all the unused, unsecured resin in the world from people who didn't research proper disposal? From corporate manufactures who didn't care about regulations? What about all the uncured liquid components that never got disposed of properly! What about when wildlife inevitably gets into all that shit someday?

I walk along the beach and I pick up discarded scraps of plastic and broken beach toys in my spare time. and these days I think, "in 50 to 100 years this is exactly where all my lovingly crafted hard work will end up. with someone just like me picking up the pieces of trash on the beach." that's actually why I called my Etsy shop Rats Trash Stash. It was cheeky, and more about my skill level with resin than anything else, but the more I thought about it, the more it was eerily on the nose.

so anyway. y'all aren't my Instagram followers so you don't even know what I'm talking about and this means nothing to you lmfao... but it kinda sucks that resin as an art form kind of only became so widely available in the same breath as "we need to drastically reduce our plastics consumption."

Maybe in a world where every single thing isn't manufactured in the cheapest most toxic possible way, maybe in a world where corporations were forced to take responsibility for their garbage- maybe in that world, plastic has a small enough impact overall that it wouldn't tear me up like this to do resin art. but we don't live there. and I can't keep doing this shit, I'm literally losing sleep over it.

Anyway I'm writing all this bc in order to finish using said resin I have to go pour some. And it's just turned into this whole Thing now every time I get an idea I wanna pour, I have a whole ethical dilemma to work thru first before I can bring myself to mix a batch. So this is me attempting psyching myself up to go do that lmfao. 💀 I have a journal to finish.

But on that note, Ive actually super enjoyed making the journals and it's inspired me to get back into papermaking and bookbinding, so I think maybe I'll keep doing journals even after I put away the resin for good. We'll see. I dislike the idea of giving up resin tbh but the alternative seems much much worse.

[lauvra]

I'm submitting to the reality that I can't again uncover the better parts of my personality alone. My open, and frankly silly social nature cannot thrive in periods of prolonged isolation and I didn't necessarily believe it could, I just didn't care anymore and couldn't handle being drained the way I'd allowed myself to be before. A few days ago my mother asked if she could perform her training video on wound assessment to me over zoom, and I considered giving myself a horrific make-over so she'd laugh because I knew she would but thought it too childish until she said she was going to put some lippy on before we logged in and I said 'me too' and proceeded to paste dark rouge over and far outside the borders of my small mouth. When she asked why my camera wasn't on I peeled the tape off it, smiling idiotically. Watching my mother laugh until she most likely peed was so fucking worth the immaturity of the gag and I can't emphasise enough how much I've missed being playful in general. Making my mother laugh like that is worth anything. In seriousness, people asking me to do the most normal things like spontaneously get coffee, go on picnics, to bbqs, play games and chat over the phone is making a massive difference. Another major healing factor is that I'm blessed to be living in an actual house for the first time since moving to Melbourne, a house with a garden that I've been working on; ripping out weeds, getting welts from brushing against stinging nettles, identifying plants and planning which flowers to place where to draw wasps to pollinate the fig tree and which herbs to promote the taste of the tomatoes and which plants to detract this or that insect. It is all so normal and so needed. There's also a thriving lemon tree and I've been throwing lemons at everyone I can. Today my housemates partners friend gave me a bicycle for free so I gave her six lemons: I don't know how many lemons a bike is worth but it's obvious I got a good deal. I haven't ridden a bicycle since I was a teenager and I am scared as fuck so if you see me around, no you fucking didn't; I am going to stack it. My friend who just returned from travelling bought us some Thyme and when I said they'd just given me the most valuable thing you can give someone they very astutely responded that if there's anything we currently have too much of on our hands, it's time. Well sometimes you have to have a complete meltdown, move in with a friend and ask for help and quit your job and realise that was stupid 'cause now you have no money in the world but a lot of lemons and make your mother laugh and be up at 1:43am writing about nothing because sometimes Laura just gives you lemons what are ya gonna do idk im tired now bye sorry and im really gonna try this time (in the voice of Andy Hull)

[sarkarijindagi]

A Guide to Understanding com.qualcomm.atfwd on Your Android Phone

Everything You Need to Know About com.qualcomm.atfwd on Your Android Phone

If you're an Android phone user, you might have come across the com.qualcomm.atfwd process running on your phone. This process is a system application that provides communication between the Qualcomm chipset and the Android operating system. In this blog post, we will explore what com.qualcomm.atfwd is, its purpose, and how it affects your phone's performance.

What is com.qualcomm.atfwd?

Com.qualcomm.atfwd is a system application that runs on Android devices with a Qualcomm chipset. It is responsible for handling various telephony related functions such as call handling and network communication. The acronym "atfwd" stands for "AT Framework Daemon".

What is the purpose of com.qualcomm.atfwd?

com.qualcomm.atfwd's main purpose is to communicate between the Qualcomm chipset and Android. It is a bridge between the two, allowing low-level interaction between the Android operating system and the hardware. Various telephony functions such as call handling and network communication are also handled by this process.

How does com.qualcomm.atfwd affect your phone's performance?

Com.qualcomm.atfwd is an essential system process and turning it off may not cause problems with the performance of your phone. But in some cases, it can become overactive and drain your battery or slow down your phone. You can use Task Manager to monitor the process and see if it's causing problems.

Can I uninstall com.qualcomm.atfwd from my Android device?

No, com.qualcomm.atfwd is a system application that cannot be uninstalled from your device. However, you may be able to disable it if needed.

How do I know if com.qualcomm.atfwd is causing errors on my Android device?

If you are experiencing errors or issues with your Android device, you can check the system logs to see if com.qualcomm.atfwd is mentioned as a potential cause. You can also try clearing the app's cache or data to see if that resolves the issue.

Is com.qualcomm.atfwd service considered as bloatware?

It depends on the context. com.qualcomm.atfwd is a system service provided by Qualcomm that enables various features on Android devices, such as call forwarding and Wi-Fi hotspot. While some users may not use these features and consider it bloatware, others may find it useful. However, if you suspect that the service is causing performance issues or draining battery, you can disable it through the settings or by using a third-party app.

How can I update the com.qualcomm.atfwd process on my Android device?

The com.qualcomm.atfwd process is typically updated automatically through the Android system updates. To check for updates on your device, go to Settings > System > System updates. If an update is available, you can download and install it from there.

Can I disable com.qualcomm.atfwd?

Although it's not recommended to disable com.qualcomm.atfwd, you can do it if you're experiencing problems with it. However, please note that disabling this process may cause problems with your phone's telephony functions and you may not be able to make calls or use data services. It's recommended that you seek professional help before attempting to disable this process.

How to monitor com.qualcomm.atfwd on your Android phone?

If you want to monitor it on your Android phone, you can use a task manager application. The app will show you all the running processes on your phone, including com.qualcomm.atfwd. You can see how much memory and CPU the process is using and decide if it's causing any problems.

How To Fix Com.qualcomm.atfwd Errors on Android?

To fix com.qualcomm.atfwd errors on Android, try clearing the cache and data of the affected app or performing a factory reset. If the issue persists, contact the app developer or your device manufacturer for further assistance. In conclusion, it is a system process that plays a vital role in the communication between the Qualcomm chipset and the Android operating system. It handles various telephony functions, such as call handling and network communication. While it's not recommended to disable this process, you can monitor it using a task manager and seek professional help if you're experiencing any issues. By understanding com.qualcomm.atfwd and its purpose, you can have better control over your Android phone's performance. Read the full article

[maxismatchccworld]

Patch Notes

Update 07/20/2021

PC: 1.77.131.1030 / Mac: 1.77.131.1230

Console: Version 1.44

Hello Simmers!

Hope you are well wherever you are in the world and that you are all having a fantastic Summer of Sims! We are excited to share today’s update with you. There is a lot of info, so make sure you have your tea/coffee/beverage of choice ready to read on. You all know I have my coffee ready for this!

As we continue to get ready to explore the countryside charm of Henford-on-Bagley and cannot absolutely wait to play with the adorable animals in Cottage Living, we also have updates and fixes that should improve and complement your Sims’ everyday life. We have something for everyone and we hope that you all enjoy them. Thank you for all your feedback and support.

Cheers!

-SimGuruRusskii ft. SimGuruRomeo and SimGuruJoAnna

What’s New?

Let’s start with some items that we shared in our last Sims 411! For this update, we partnered with two talented artists from the LGBTQ+ community, Ashley Lukashepsky, and Mohammed Iman Fayaz, and they have brought their inspiring and beautiful artwork into the game. We have also included the modernized version of the large afro hairstyle that we showed you. But more than tell you about it in text, let me actually attach a screenshot of everything put together:

I love everything about this scene, not only it shows you how the artwork looks in a real game setting, but the whole scene with the two Sims and their surroundings is quite magical. Also, look at that hair! The way the light highlights it, perfection! You may also notice the hair of the Sim on the right, which was also added with this update for everyone. I want to personally thank all Simmers for their feedback and recommendations, as we are continuously working on adding more diverse hairstyles and textures to not only packs, but also to our base game.

Now that we are talking about artwork, the last patch notes I forgot to add the artwork made by the wonderful Jupiter Stevens-Hill. I apologize for that, I totally blanked out. However, I’m happy to see that a lot of you are enjoying it and placing it in your Lots! That makes a very happy Russkii =)

To find Jupiter, Ashley, and Mohammed’s paintings in Build Mode, make sure you take a look at the Paintings and Posters sort and filter by Base Game items. These artists are amazing and we hope you enjoy their creations.

Now, without further ado, let’s get to some new features and improvements that are part of this update!

A little bit of Gallery

When you download a lot made with the bb.moveobjects cheat, the game now notifies you about this so you know to activate the cheat before placing the lot. Builders, this means you won't need to mention it in the lot’s description anymore!

A little for Sims

Trying to find the Sims in the current neighborhood? Select their portraits in the Relationship Panel.

"Focus the Camera" moves the camera to the Sim.

"Lock the Camera" moves the camera to the Sim and keeps following them.

Where did the Notebook go?

Found it! The Notebook has moved out of the Phone and into its own button for quicker access.

The "Center on Current Lot" button that used to be there has moved to the top right, adjacent to the Camera Controls.

Water Tool

You now can make natural, organic bodies of water! Just head into Build Mode, make a hole with the Terrain Manipulation tool, and fill it with water. It is that easy! The Terrain Manipulation and Paint Tools also have more brush sizes to enable finer detail.

In adding the Water Tool, we also took the chance to overhaul the related tools and object categories. Why not? Enjoy!

Pond Effects

All sorts of critters are available to complete the look of your pond ranging from ducks and swans to pesky mosquitoes. There is even an alligator!

New Pond Objects

Outdoor Water Décor now has an assortment of new Pond Objects to decorate the perfect pond. Some of these objects such as the Bog Log and Colorful Lily Pads have interactions on them in Live Mode to activate Turtle and Frog effects. The new Fishing Allowed Sign enables you to stock your pond with any fish your Sims have previously caught. Try it out!

New Water Styles

Go beyond the original crystal blue and dreamy magenta water. Additional options range from “Mossy Water” to “Pond Scum” to complete that au natural look.

The Shrubs category includes new plants to complement the water styles: "Green Fern", "Leaning Not-Grass Grass", "Not-Grass Grass Sans Inflorescence."

Gardening with Children

Children now can help out in the garden by planting, watering, and weeding. They build their Mental skill as they garden. The process of purchasing and planting seeds is streamlined as well to make gardening more enjoyable for everyone.

Group Cooking

Cooking no longer is a solo affair. Sims now can cook in groups of up to five Sims including children. Start cooking together by selecting a fridge, stove, or any empty countertop.

Zoomers Food Delivery Service

Are your Sims getting tired of the same old pizza delivery every night? Well, gone are the days of redundant pizza nights. Maybe you are in the mood for pasta primavera or even a fancy steak dinner. All this and more are available courtesy of Zoomer Food Delivery. Order delivery through the phone or the refrigerator and the food will arrive in a jif.

Calendar

The calendar, previously available only with Seasons, now is available with Base Game to see upcoming events such as birthdays, school and work schedules, festivals, and fairs. You even can use it to book events, so it’s time to get to party planning!

Bug Fixes

Consoles

In Snowy Escape, skiing, sledding, and snowboarding on Bunny Slopes now contribute to the Extreme Sports Enthusiast Aspiration.

Also in Snowy Escape, Sims with high enough Skiing and Snowboarding skills now can enjoy the more advanced slopes. Sims also use the Lift to go to the top of the slopes and not go “the hard way.”

Simmers can now rotate Sims downloaded from the Gallery in Create a Sim. Spin them ‘round, ‘round, Simmers ‘round, ‘round -  like a record ‘round, ‘round, ‘round, ‘round.

The Sims 4

We made some improvements that should help our Simulation lag, particularly on the usage of some computer interactions like playing BlicBlock, along with fishing interactions, which should make the game perform a bit better. Note that this doesn’t entirely fix simulation lag but it should help and it is a step in a good direction.

Fixed an issue in which placing Mirrors directly opposite Doors would create a visual glitch in which walls and borders would disappear around them and well it was quite spooky to be honest, glad we solved that one!

Ever wish your food didn’t expire? I know I do, especially when it comes to traveling and coming back to see a fridge in pristine condition, that is a dream… but alas, it is not meant to be in life or in Sims. Fixed an issue in which traveling didn’t let food expire.

Sims stuck sleeping and couldn’t cancel that interaction? Not a product of a sci-fi film as I thought, but I can say that we have fixed this issue, well I hope.

You want to know how to not make my day, have my coffee brew endlessly but without giving me the coffee! Luckily the issue in-game about the Brew Coffee interaction being stuck has been fixed. Wasn’t it odd? Wait… Sleep and Brew Coffee were stuck in a mysterious loop? SUS.

If your Child Sims suddenly interrupted their computer sessions to draw on the activity table when Inspired, worry not, this should not happen after this update.

Fixed an issue that caused the “Items Removed” pop-up to appear when no items were removed from the game.

Fixed an issue in which setting Lots on Slipshod Mesquite would sometimes generate a crash of the game for some Simmers. The Lot couldn’t handle that much flavor.

Some blush and lipstick opacity sliders are back as they were greyed out.

Step-Parent/Child relationships are no longer missing in the Genealogy Panel. Similarly, other cases of broken families in the Genealogy Panel have been fixed as well. It is all about reconnecting or connecting with what is important.

Platforms will no longer raise in height automatically when creating new walls to intersect part of them.

We also fixed an issue in which if you placed platforms in basement levels and a staircase from the floor to the platforms, it would create this gap or hole in front of the stairs and Sims were not able to route correctly. You know, I have played many platformers in my lifetime, but do you imagine Sims trying to jump those gaps? I mean, I am called JumpFail for a reason… glad we fixed this one!

World view Lots that had some off-centered border have been adjusted.

Toddlers will no longer gain negative Sentiments against their parents randomly, especially the Festering Grudge Sentiment. I should not be laughing at this issue as I type it, I should not…<giggles>

We got word that the camera was malfunctioning and bouncing uncontrollably in some Lots across multiple Worlds. We fixed an issue that caused this, but let us know if there are new instances.

Sometimes Ghosts can be part of our Households if we choose to, however, it is really hard to live with Ghosts that constantly break things, it makes it a bit… unlivable. So our expert team of Simghostologists has communicated with these Ghosts in the non-physical realm and they have agreed to not break everything all the time.

Fixed an issue related to flooring glitches while placing the dance floor or crystal clear flooring.

Went through all the trouble in hiring a Nanny only to have your Toddler get sent to Daycare? More than a schedule conflict I imagine having the Nanny show up and there is no Toddler so what does the Nanny do in this case? Do they leave? Do they stay and wait? I must know… However, This should no longer be an issue.

Fixed an issue where using ‘{}’ (curly brackets)  in renaming objects would make these invisible in lists or UI in general.

Fixed an issue in the Likes and Dislikes section in Create a Sim that had some categories displayed incorrectly (either cut off, or words broken apart in new lines incorrectly) for some languages.

There was a clipping issue with the eye preset ymAsian13_Eyes that occurred when Sims were in extreme emotion, like Angry, and blinked. We adjusted this preset so this should not occur.

Toddlers can be picky eaters, but Toddlers not eating any fish recipe? That is suspicious, so we had a chat with the little angels and we have found a way to help them enjoy the complex flavors of our fish recipes.

Our UI team has fixed an issue in which a scrollbar appeared in the Sentiment section in the Relationship Panel when there were no sentiments. The mysterious scrollbar was mysterious. Similarly, they have also fixed an issue in which if multiple Sims gained sentiments together their thought bubbles look quite not right with the incorrect colors, so now they should look proper.

The Likes and Dislikes icon in Create a Sim will no longer overlap its text. It looked weird, honestly.

Droids (if you own Journey to Batuu) and Drones (if you own Get Famous) clipping into all kinds of objects in Build Mode? We saw that too, so there should be a fix for that in this game update. I mean this went beyond just crashing into things…

The option “Join After School Activity” will no longer be available if Simmers don’t have Seasons or Get Famous packs installed.

Sims in deviant paths now can properly reach the Level 4 of the Criminal Career.

Now, this is one that made my day, Cowplants are now able to dance again when Sims play music in front of them. Dance Cowplant, Dance!

Fixed an issue in which relationship points gained by friendly introductions were more than usual if Simmers didn’t have Snowy Escape installed.

We adjusted the color swatches for the S. Cargeaux Counter Island so that when it gets dirty, the counter doesn’t completely change colors. Dirty Counter - who dis?

Fixed an issue where the Scared Emotion UI was displaying a broken pose for Toddlers. The pose was kinda more scary than what the Toddler had been scared of, so glad that is done.

Outfits worn while Purchased and Worn in Festivals/Kiosks/Stalls should no longer remove accessories that were in place for the Sim.

Error code 134:571e5862 that occurred to some Simmers should be fixed now.

We fixed a few hairstyles (yfHair_EP05WavyBob, yfHair_EP01PartedFlat, yfHair_EP05UnderCutDreads, yfHair_EP01ShortSwept, and yfHair_DreamyCrew) that when used with the recently added color options would create splotches in the eyes, change the color of teeth, and/or change the eyelashes color.

As always the Localization team and this author have fixed and improved text across all packs and updates.

Get to Work

Aliens can now enjoy their custom Blush options in Create a Sim. Lewks out of this world!

Retail employees will now appropriately change into their assigned outfits. Listen, I grew up wearing uniforms for school, I get it, sometimes they are not the prettiest… but you have to wear them if you have to go to that establishment. I know the pain too well… but my sense of style grew from that… I think.

We made a fix to some of the swatches from the Barely Better Digital Camera that were missing a description for the item, so now all the swatches will display the text in all its glory.

Get Together

Some of these Sims are not like the others, some of these Sims just don’t belong. Can you tell which are not like the others by the time I finish writing these notes?

Fixed an issue in which some of the rooftops in Winderburg were not displaying Snow (if you own Seasons) correctly.

Fixed an issue where Sims didn’t sometimes change into their Club outfits when a Club Gathering was being held.

City Living

The Scattered Panes window in Build Mode now displays appropriate shadows in all options.

Sims enrolled in the Social Media career will now gain influence at the end of their stream instead of every few Sim-minutes.

Two hairstyles (ymHair_EP03BunHighPins and ymHair_EP03BraidedFlateBun) have been updated to reflect the correct look when choosing the Neutral Black color option.

Your Sims want to shoot some Basketball Close Shots, but they are trying to eat first? Well, now your Sims can finish eating before trying those hoops. Nutrition is important!

Cats and Dogs

We fixed an issue in which whiskers were not being seen applied to Cats. A Cat without whiskers is like Peanut butter without Jelly… or something like that! Just wrong!

Robot Vacuums should all now return to their docks accordingly. I hope this issue was not a sign that they were becoming sentient.

Sims will no longer get a Moodlet referring to the death of their Pet when witnessing the death of another Sim. The loss of a Sim is heartbreaking, but also getting a Moodlet for the death of their Pet when the Pet has not died, that is cold Grimmy, very cold.

Speaking of Robot Vacuums becoming sentient a few lines above, we fixed an issue that made the game crash when Cats would sit on the Robot Vacuum. CatonRobot.exe is now working.

We fixed an issue in which some Simmers experienced a crash with their last played Household loading into Brindleton Bay.

Seasons

Sims were changing into their cold-weather gear… while not in cold weather? We had some conversations with Sims and even though they love their winter outfits, dressing up in full winter gear in the summer was probably not the wisest choice. So the issue in which Sims randomly would change into their winter outfits while not in winter is solved.

Egg Hunts are adorable and fun! But not being able to have the furniture reset after looking for Eggs in them, can be quite the rain on Sims’ parade. But this should no longer occur.

Island Living

Mermaids will no longer keep the “Dried Scales” Moodlet when they are hydrated. Mermaids’ skincare regimen pays off! Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize!

Fixed an issue in which Lots that are placed in the sand looked quite odd displaying all edges of the Lot when it rained.

Sims that have the Collector Aspiration Trait are now able to catch Frogs in Sulani as part of their adventures exploring the island waterfall. Good Luck!

We fixed an issue in which some Simmers experienced game crashes when loading into certain lots in Mua Pe’lam. Happy Exploring!

Discover University

Sims having a hard time in Uni? No matter what they do they keep failing classes? Worry not, Sims will no longer fail classes when meeting all the criteria for course completion. Work hard, pass your classes hard!

Having Roommates can be hard. Have your Sims had Roommates complain constantly and leave even when their needs are met? Yeah, we made it so that Roommates don’t do this any longer.

Fixed an issue in which beds were counted incorrectly when placing an ad for Roommates. I mean, as much as Pets and even Toddlers can live with Roommates, the ad should be truthful to how many beds there are actually in the Lot, not count Toddlers and Pets as needing adult-sized beds.

We fixed Servo animations so that they don’t look like they are walking on one leg when hovering to their destination. Now they will hover properly.

We fixed an issue in which in some instances Professors could not go to work when a Professor NPC is added into that same Household.

Fixed an issue in which removing and adding back Household members as Roommates would create some… inappropriate moments, ahem.

Eco Lifestyle

Evergreen Harbor’s peace has been restored: roads and parts of neighborhoods no longer disappear or turn blue when businesses open in Port Promise while the Modern Development N.A.P is active.

yfBody_EP09DressShirt no longer has a weird texture in some of the footwear from various packs, especially platform shoes and chunky sneakers.

Had you moved to Cypress Terrace in Willow Creek and found you couldn’t really do anything there? We fixed the routing failures and interaction failures on the Mitey-Mitey Home - Insect Farm.

Snowy Escape

Mountain Climbing can be challenging, even for those experienced. But having indecisive moments before a climbing route like getting off and on your bike constantly seems that a lot of doubt is passing your mind… However, we did speak to these Sims that were experiencing this behavior and calmed their fears and doubts, so this should no longer be an issue.

The hairstyle yfHair_EP10BobBluntOmbre now covers all of the Sim’s ears.

For Simmers who own Seasons together with Snowy Escape, rain options no longer affect snow.

Sims no longer have the option to give a respectful or military introduction during activities such as Dancing or Bike Riding. I mean, I’m not sure about you, but I can’t dance and respectfully introduce myself at the same time. So many falls… so many falls.

We made some corrections to the Slippers that came with this pack and they should no longer display a greenish texture on Sims’ toes when selected in Create a Sim. Yikes.

Fixed an issue in which for some Simmers playing with the Yoshida Hall Household would generate a game crash when loading into Mt. Komorebi.

We took a look at our Ramen menu and have updated our cooking menu to label Miso and Egg Ramen as Vegetarian safe options. Buen Provecho!

Want to run a Restaurant in Yukimatsu but also want to enjoy the slopes? Now your Sims can enjoy the slopes and dine in style. However, this action is only directed, and will not be autonomous. In the same vein, Restaurant employees will not be tempted to leave work to enjoy the slopes.

Journey to Batuu

Batuu is an awesome destination for those who want to enjoy something fun and different, but if you bought a Droid from the Droid Depot and never saw it in your inventory, I know how frustrating it can be. Never fear, the Droids you were looking for will appear now in Inventories when purchased.

In Journey to Batuu, the First Order ID no longer disappears from inventory so Sims now can Access First Order Plans for the Top Notch Trickery Mission.

Fixed an issue with the Leveling the Playing Field Mission in which the Scoundrel Informant would not appear on the scene after Sims stole the Prototype Blaster and went to Oga’s Cantina to wait for the informant.

Dine Out

Eggs and Toast sound super basic and easy right? They will continue to be that way for our unassuming Chefs on the Chef Station since we fixed an issue that made them… challenging. Sims can also use the second burner for other recipes without fail or routing out.

StrangerVille

The Decorations and Kid's categories in Build Mode should no longer have a "New" highlight when there's nothing actually new.

Dream Home Decorator

Lighting can change the ambiance of a room, and your mood in a flash. Luckily we have fixed an issue that lighting was not even on sectional sofas to continue to set the right mood for our Sims.

Our stylists fixed the Sleep ‘N’ Study Styled Room to remove the P.R.I.M.A Computer from it as this is not an item that is accessible for everyone, pardon our dust.

Laundry Day

Fixed an issue where an animation clipped when Sims were loading their laundry machines. Because having your clothes go through you is awkward, are Sims made of fabric? I don’t think so.

Bust the Dust

Don’t need Simoleons, don’t need Fame. Don’t need dinner to have this date. It’s strong and it’s sudden and it’s cruel sometimes but it might just end your night… the power of Dust, that’s the power of Dust.

Our cleaning agents have determined that Sims won’t get romantic negative Moodlets related to filthy levels of dust in public places like parks.

[shirophantomvox]

Random date night with Illumi, Hisoka, and Chrollo

Hello, anon! Ask and you shall receive! This prompt is very interesting and I will try to keep it in character as much as possible. To sum this up, Hisoka would take you to an ice cream shop, a carnival, or apple orchard while Illumi would rather go to an art or historical museum. Chrollo would persuade you to attend a book reading/author signing or go hiking. Depending on who you are and what your ideal date is, I’m sure you’d find them all fun. Going to a carnival or apple orchard is my go-to since I’ve barely been because they’re all in the suburbs. These headcanons are explained much more than the others. That is why Chrollo and Illumi seem to be short, but they’re not. Also, I can’t wait for Halloween because these headcanons are going to be amazing. I am extremely sorry if there are grammar errors! Taking classes on Zoom is frustrating and now my brain has to relearn everything that I lost in 3 months! Before we get started, I have a few announcements.

This post is more laid back than my other headcanons because I tried to keep it as canon as possible.

I want to thank you all for 65 followers! It means a lot! I’m happy to see that a lot of you enjoy my writing and like it enough to follow me! I have a challenge for you! When I reach 100 followers, I will host some type of writing event here...but I need ideas. I’ve seen some pages do specials where you can send an ask and pretend like you're talking to a character and I respond with what they’d say. SEND ME IDEAS! I WILL CREDIT YOU!

I will be stepping back a little more than before. I’ll still be logged in and re-blogging but as far as writing posts like this...it may only be once or twice a week. You see, I’m in college and I’m struggling financially and I have to work on scholarships. If you all send me an ask, be patient.

Voltron posts will only be created based on asks. I will not be writing posts about VLD if no one requests them. I do not receive any feedback from it anymore and no one seems to like them.

Now, let’s get into the post.

Let's start with Illumi first.

Headcanon 1: Illumi has a secret admiration for different types of art but he specifically enjoys pop art and surrealism. He has commented on how surrealism makes his brain twist and his feelings swirl as he tries to figure out the piece and what inspires it.

He prefers not to participate in tours as he likes to digest the art at his own pace.

Headcanon 2: In his spare time, he paints on a canvas. His art style consists of both surrealism and abstract art. For a person with a dark personality, his compositions always contain bright colors and abstract techniques that leave you wondering about his TRUE personality. He is truly a good man with a bright personality but after being abused for so long, those behaviors/personalities have been shoved so far down his throat that they may not come back up.

He has a bad habit of asking you what you thought about every single piece of art you passed. The conversations were great but this is a date after all. The playful conversation slowly turns into a lecture about art. Although you loved your bf’s dictionary-like brain it also drained your energy.

One of his favorite artists is Vincent Van Gough. Although he favors surrealism, Van Gogh’s art style was mind-blowing to him. So amazed that he buys several Van Gogh t-shirts from the gift shop.

His favorite piece created by Van Gough is “Starry Night”.

He notices that you are becoming bored and decides that it is time for MORE excitement, one that you are certain to enjoy.

“Where are we going,” you ask, pretending to be interested.

“Down to the basement. We are going to have a bite to eat.”

Since Illumi rarely smiled, when he did smile it drove you wild. The anticipation of what his next move was going to be is what drove that wildness. Being a bounty hunter was thrilling already but dating a smart, badass assassin was totally out of your league but it worked out.

Headcanon 3: Illumi’s idea of being romantic is dramatically different from yours. He believes just spending time with you on the couch was enough. He is correct; but if you have the time and funds, your time together should be a little spontaneous. You insisted on dates outside of the house because his family will not stay out of your business.

“Illumi, I am too hungry for more trivia.”

He chuckles. “Don’t worry. So am I. That is why I’ve decided to take you to a wine and cheese party.”

Huh? Wine and Cheese at 3PM? That’s ok. When was there a time limit on when you can drink alcohol?

Illumi has indirectly attended parties as such when he was 15 years old. He never drank, but he watched as his mother’s friends (surprisingly) talked about business and their children. This time, you weren’t going to talk about business for once. Instead, you two were going to actually talk about what couples discuss.

Headcanon 4: When introduced to alcohol for the first time, Illumi immediately stated how he hated brown liquor. That includes Hennessy, Jack Daniels, etc. It makes him sick to his stomach. He prefers to drink Smirnoff mixed with fruity drinks like strawberry or pineapple.

He loves it when you make these drinks for him on a summer day.

Hence the title wine and cheese, you both go to a stand-up table, place your brochures down, and actually have a wonderful conversation not involving work or hunting.

Illumi smiled a few times, more than usual. Whenever he appears to be softer even around you, that is because he has mellowed out and doesn't have the overbearing weight of his family on his shoulders. You set him free.

Hisoka

According to a one-shot that another manga artist created, they expressed that Hisoka was found on the side of the road, was taken in by someone that worked at a local circus, and learned Nen in a matter of days. Hisoka’s clown look and having the skills of a magician proves that this has to be canon in some way.

Headcanon 1: Given this potential backstory, going to a carnival is his go-to every summer. He wants to take you to a circus but saves that for you as an engagement gift.

Everyone with a heart knows that whether or not you’re in a relationship or not the carnival is fun as hell! Expensive fried food, elephant ears, funnel cake, ICEE’s, rides, and stuffed animals are to die for!

Being at a carnival relaxes him so his bloodlust isn’t activated unless someone bumps into him and causes a scene.

Headcanon 2: PDA is something that Hisoka does well; he doesn’t overdo it but does it enough where people get the impression that you are a couple and aren’t “best friends”.

While completing a mission depending on how rough it may be, he insists that you tag along to see how he handles the situation. You’ve already seen his ruthlessness from Hunter’s exam but he insists.

His sense of pride gets the best of him sometimes. Sometimes his head is so big that it reminds you of a large birthday balloon.

Headcanon 3: ANYWAY, given his nature, he is very adventurous, dangerous, and courageous. If he wants to go on the Demon Drop, he’ll do it and you DO not have a choice in the matter. He’ll tease or guilt trip you into doing something that you would not like to do.

“Well, you wouldn’t want me to cling on to someone else, would you?”

“No. Of course not,” you reply.

“Let’s go then, scaredy-cat.”

As a hunter, you’ve seen worse. Why are you so afraid to go on a ride?

Headcanon 4: At apple orchards, cornfield mazes are one of his favorites. You cannot for the life of you figure out how to get out but he can. He grabs a scarecrow and scares you from behind. That annoys you but is nothing compared to later on that night.

Oh. My. God. It’s haunted house time!

“Hisoka, I’m not going in!”

“Why not? I’ll protect you.”

“Because they’re monsters and I already have to deal with one.”

It took him a second to catch on that you were talking about him.

“That’s going to bite you in the butt, kitten.”

Headcanon 5: Like Killua, Hisoka has a sweet tooth. Don’t allow his buff appearance to fool you!

He LOVES caramel apples, elephant ears, funnel cake, freshly squeezed lemonade, fudge, and cotton candy. How can this man manage to stay in shape? The world may never know.

Headcanon 6: He isn’t one to play by other people’s rules but he sets his own rules with your relationship that you both must obey. One of those rules says that neither of you can be on your phones while together.

Headcanon 7: Hisoka insists that you both wear either matching pants or matching shirts to avoid unnecessary flirtation.

He isn’t jealous but on “us time”, he doesn’t want to lose a single second.

Headcanon 8: Hisoka only jumps in when necessary. Given that you’ve passed the hunter’s exam and work as a bodyguard, he knows you can handle your business. If the person can’t take a hint, then he steps in. They almost back up immediately considering Hisoka is towering over them.

When the moon shines, you both go to the car and off to sleep in your comfy king-sized bed.

Chrollo

We all know that Chrollo loves to read! What does he specifically like to read? What Genre? Does he like to read alone or with other people?

Although Chrollo is a thief and must be hidden in the shadows, the authorities have called off the search for him for at least 3 years. Slowly but surely, he begins to find himself in the outside world again.

Chrollo once discussed a book with the Phantom Troupe when they were being transported to another place for a mission. He read “Tears of a Tiger” by Sharon M. Draper.

The reading sessions are opened with an affirmation and a reason to be thankful to be alive. He says he is thankful for the troupe, glances at you, and smiles. No one catches on to that sly face except for Phinks.

Headcanon 1: Chrollo is very silent and shy to an extent. He only associates with people he knows and trusts. You are the social butterfly at this moment.

Chrollo tags along behind you like a shy child, holding your hand while you stick out your free hand to greet everyone.

Today, the book club was going to read “Divergent”.

Headcanon 2: Although he loves to read, he hates it when others read out loud. Most people are drably read and it annoys him. After a while, he takes over. Chrollo was tense the first 30 minutes of the meeting because two cops were there but neither of them noticed it was him.

Headcanon 3: Chrollo often acts the part of the character that he is reading in the book. His tone, attitude, and emphasis on certain words keep the group engaged. He is complimented on his acting!

“Good Job, honey,” you whisper.

He responds by tightly squeezing your hand.

His tone was so impressive that the host insisted that he read for the entire night. He was ok with that because in between reads he was often distracted by a lovely pair of jeans and shoes you had on. You were into writing, so hearing others read and act out the characters helped.

Headcanon 4: In some settings, Chrollo is very braggadocious. He insisted that the group read one of your stories so you could be provided with feedback.

“We’d be delighted to view your story, y/n!”

“It will be fun!”

The book club wasn’t a stereotypical club that only consisted of soccer moms but instead consisted of men and women who were involved with a business, law enforcement, health, etc. This was an open space for everyone to relax and forget about their demanding jobs.

After the meeting, the group went to dinner at a nearby pizzeria. You all enjoyed large pizzas, beer, salads, and dessert. How could your stomach (or anyone’s stomach) hold that much?

Chrollo laughed so much that it made you question if he was your actual boyfriend or not. He even engaged in conversations with the two off-duty cops! For once, you helped Chrollo experience the greater things in life; true love, friendship, and happiness.

“Thank you,” he whispered and slyly placed a kiss on your hand. “For everything.”

[thesims4blogger]

The Sims 4: New Game Patch (July 20th, 2021)

There’s a new Sims 4 update available for PC/Mac and Consoles. If you have auto updates enabled in Origin’s “Application Settings”, the game will auto-update once you open Origin. If you have auto-updates disabled, you will need to manually update by clicking the game in your library.

Your game should now read: PC: 1.77.131.1030 / Mac: 1.77.131.1230 / Console: Version 1.44

Remove all MODS and Custom Content before updating your game

Hello Simmers!

Hope you are well wherever you are in the world and that you are all having a fantastic Summer of Sims! We are excited to share today’s update with you. There is a lot of info, so make sure you have your tea/coffee/beverage of choice ready to read on. You all know I have my coffee ready for this!

As we continue to get ready to explore the countryside charm of Henford-on-Bagley and cannot absolutely wait to play with the adorable animals in Cottage Living, we also have updates and fixes that should improve and complement your Sims’ everyday life. We have something for everyone and we hope that you all enjoy them. Thank you for all your feedback and support.

Cheers!

-SimGuruRusskii ft. SimGuruRomeo and SimGuruJoAnna

What’s New?

Let’s start with some items that we shared in our last Sims 411!

For this update, we partnered with two talented artists from the LGBTQ+ community, Ashley Lukashepsky, and Mohammed Iman Fayaz, and they have brought their inspiring and beautiful artwork into the game. We have also included the modernized version of the large afro hairstyle that we showed you. But more than tell you about it in text, let me actually attach a screenshot of everything put together:

I love everything about this scene, not only it shows you how the artwork looks in a real game setting, but the whole scene with the two Sims and their surroundings is quite magical. Also, look at that hair! The way the light highlights it, perfection! You may also notice the hair of the Sim on the right, which was also added with this update for everyone. I want to personally thank all Simmers for their feedback and recommendations, as we are continuously working on adding more diverse hairstyles and textures to not only packs, but also to our base game.

Now that we are talking about artwork, the last patch notes I forgot to add the artwork made by the wonderful Jupiter Stevens-Hill. I apologize for that, I totally blanked out. However, I’m happy to see that a lot of you are enjoying it and placing it in your Lots! That makes a very happy Russkii =)

To find Jupiter, Ashley, and Mohammed’s paintings in Build Mode, make sure you take a look at the Paintings and Posters sort and filter by Base Game items. These artists are amazing and we hope you enjoy their creations.

Now, without further ado, let’s get to some new features and improvements that are part of this update!

A little bit of Gallery

When you download a lot made with the bb.moveobjects cheat, the game now notifies you about this so you know to activate the cheat before placing the lot. Builders, this means you won’t need to mention it in the lot’s description anymore!

A little for Sims

Trying to find the Sims in the current neighborhood? Select their portraits in the Relationship Panel.

“Focus the Camera” moves the camera to the Sim.

“Lock the Camera” moves the camera to the Sim and keeps following them.

Where did the Notebook go?

Found it! The Notebook has moved out of the Phone and into its own button for quicker access.

The “Center on Current Lot” button that used to be there has moved to the top right, adjacent to the Camera Controls.

Water Tool

You now can make natural, organic bodies of water! Just head into Build Mode, make a hole with the Terrain Manipulation tool, and fill it with water. It is that easy! The Terrain Manipulation and Paint Tools also have more brush sizes to enable finer detail.

In adding the Water Tool, we also took the chance to overhaul the related tools and object categories. Why not? Enjoy!

Pond Effects

All sorts of critters are available to complete the look of your pond ranging from ducks and swans to pesky mosquitoes. There is even an alligator!

New Pond Objects

Outdoor Water Décor now has an assortment of new Pond Objects to decorate the perfect pond. Some of these objects such as the Bog Log and Colorful Lily Pads have interactions on them in Live Mode to activate Turtle and Frog effects. The new Fishing Allowed Sign enables you to stock your pond with any fish your Sims have previously caught. Try it out!

New Water Styles

Go beyond the original crystal blue and dreamy magenta water. Additional options range from “Mossy Water” to “Pond Scum” to complete that au natural look.

The Shrubs category includes new plants to complement the water styles: “Green Fern”, “Leaning Not-Grass Grass”, “Not-Grass Grass Sans Inflorescence.”

Gardening with Children

Children now can help out in the garden by planting, watering, and weeding. They build their Mental skill as they garden. The process of purchasing and planting seeds is streamlined as well to make gardening more enjoyable for everyone.

Group Cooking

Cooking no longer is a solo affair. Sims now can cook in groups of up to five Sims including children. Start cooking together by selecting a fridge, stove, or any empty countertop.

Zoomers Food Delivery Service

Are your Sims getting tired of the same old pizza delivery every night? Well, gone are the days of redundant pizza nights. Maybe you are in the mood for pasta primavera or even a fancy steak dinner. All this and more are available courtesy of Zoomer Food Delivery. Order delivery through the phone or the refrigerator and the food will arrive in a jif.

Calendar

The calendar, previously available only with Seasons, now is available with Base Game to see upcoming events such as birthdays, school and work schedules, festivals, and fairs. You even can use it to book events, so it’s time to get to party planning!

Bug FixesConsoles

In Snowy Escape, skiing, sledding, and snowboarding on Bunny Slopes now contribute to the Extreme Sports Enthusiast Aspiration.

Also in Snowy Escape, Sims with high enough Skiing and Snowboarding skills now can enjoy the more advanced slopes. Sims also use the Lift to go to the top of the slopes and not go “the hard way.”

Simmers can now rotate Sims downloaded from the Gallery in Create a Sim. Spin them ‘round, ‘round, Simmers ‘round, ‘round –  like a record ‘round, ‘round, ‘round, ‘round.

The Sims 4

We made some improvements that should help our Simulation lag, particularly on the usage of some computer interactions like playing BlicBlock, along with fishing interactions, which should make the game perform a bit better. Note that this doesn’t entirely fix simulation lag but it should help and it is a step in a good direction.

Fixed an issue in which placing Mirrors directly opposite Doors would create a visual glitch in which walls and borders would disappear around them and well it was quite spooky to be honest, glad we solved that one!

Ever wish your food didn’t expire? I know I do, especially when it comes to traveling and coming back to see a fridge in pristine condition, that is a dream… but alas, it is not meant to be in life or in Sims. Fixed an issue in which traveling didn’t let food expire.

Sims stuck sleeping and couldn’t cancel that interaction? Not a product of a sci-fi film as I thought, but I can say that we have fixed this issue, well I hope.

You want to know how to not make my day, have my coffee brew endlessly but without giving me the coffee! Luckily the issue in-game about the Brew Coffee interaction being stuck has been fixed. Wasn’t it odd? Wait… Sleep and Brew Coffee were stuck in a mysterious loop? SUS.

If your Child Sims suddenly interrupted their computer sessions to draw on the activity table when Inspired, worry not, this should not happen after this update.

Fixed an issue that caused the “Items Removed” pop-up to appear when no items were removed from the game.

Fixed an issue in which setting Lots on Slipshod Mesquite would sometimes generate a crash of the game for some Simmers. The Lot couldn’t handle that much flavor.

Some blush and lipstick opacity sliders are back as they were greyed out.

Step-Parent/Child relationships are no longer missing in the Genealogy Panel. Similarly, other cases of broken families in the Genealogy Panel have been fixed as well. It is all about reconnecting or connecting with what is important.

Platforms will no longer raise in height automatically when creating new walls to intersect part of them.

We also fixed an issue in which if you placed platforms in basement levels and a staircase from the floor to the platforms, it would create this gap or hole in front of the stairs and Sims were not able to route correctly. You know, I have played many platformers in my lifetime, but do you imagine Sims trying to jump those gaps? I mean, I am called JumpFail for a reason… glad we fixed this one!

World view Lots that had some off-centered border have been adjusted.

Toddlers will no longer gain negative Sentiments against their parents randomly, especially the Festering Grudge Sentiment. I should not be laughing at this issue as I type it, I should not…<giggles>

We got word that the camera was malfunctioning and bouncing uncontrollably in some Lots across multiple Worlds. We fixed an issue that caused this, but let us know if there are new instances.

Sometimes Ghosts can be part of our Households if we choose to, however, it is really hard to live with Ghosts that constantly break things, it makes it a bit… unlivable. So our expert team of Simghostologists has communicated with these Ghosts in the non-physical realm and they have agreed to not break everything all the time.

Fixed an issue related to flooring glitches while placing the dance floor or crystal clear flooring.

Went through all the trouble in hiring a Nanny only to have your Toddler get sent to Daycare? More than a schedule conflict I imagine having the Nanny show up and there is no Toddler so what does the Nanny do in this case? Do they leave? Do they stay and wait? I must know… However, This should no longer be an issue.

Fixed an issue where using ‘{}’ (curly brackets)  in renaming objects would make these invisible in lists or UI in general.

Fixed an issue in the Likes and Dislikes section in Create a Sim that had some categories displayed incorrectly (either cut off, or words broken apart in new lines incorrectly) for some languages.

There was a clipping issue with the eye preset ymAsian13_Eyes that occurred when Sims were in extreme emotion, like Angry, and blinked. We adjusted this preset so this should not occur.

Toddlers can be picky eaters, but Toddlers not eating any fish recipe? That is suspicious, so we had a chat with the little angels and we have found a way to help them enjoy the complex flavors of our fish recipes.

Our UI team has fixed an issue in which a scrollbar appeared in the Sentiment section in the Relationship Panel when there were no sentiments. The mysterious scrollbar was mysterious. Similarly, they have also fixed an issue in which if multiple Sims gained sentiments together their thought bubbles look quite not right with the incorrect colors, so now they should look proper.

The Likes and Dislikes icon in Create a Sim will no longer overlap its text. It looked weird, honestly.

Droids (if you own Journey to Batuu) and Drones (if you own Get Famous) clipping into all kinds of objects in Build Mode? We saw that too, so there should be a fix for that in this game update. I mean this went beyond just crashing into things…

The option “Join After School Activity” will no longer be available if Simmers don’t have Seasons or Get Famous packs installed.

Sims in deviant paths now can properly reach the Level 4 of the Criminal Career.

Now, this is one that made my day, Cowplants are now able to dance again when Sims play music in front of them. Dance Cowplant, Dance!

Fixed an issue in which relationship points gained by friendly introductions were more than usual if Simmers didn’t have Snowy Escape installed.

We adjusted the color swatches for the S. Cargeaux Counter Island so that when it gets dirty, the counter doesn’t completely change colors. Dirty Counter – who dis?

Fixed an issue where the Scared Emotion UI was displaying a broken pose for Toddlers. The pose was kinda more scary than what the Toddler had been scared of, so glad that is done.

Outfits worn while Purchased and Worn in Festivals/Kiosks/Stalls should no longer remove accessories that were in place for the Sim.

Error code 134:571e5862 that occurred to some Simmers should be fixed now.

We fixed a few hairstyles (yfHair_EP05WavyBob, yfHair_EP01PartedFlat, yfHair_EP05UnderCutDreads, yfHair_EP01ShortSwept, and yfHair_DreamyCrew) that when used with the recently added color options would create splotches in the eyes, change the color of teeth, and/or change the eyelashes color.

As always the Localization team and this author have fixed and improved text across all packs and updates.

Get to Work

Aliens can now enjoy their custom Blush options in Create a Sim. Lewks out of this world!

Retail employees will now appropriately change into their assigned outfits. Listen, I grew up wearing uniforms for school, I get it, sometimes they are not the prettiest… but you have to wear them if you have to go to that establishment. I know the pain too well… but my sense of style grew from that… I think.

We made a fix to some of the swatches from the Barely Better Digital Camera that were missing a description for the item, so now all the swatches will display the text in all its glory.

Get Together

Some of these Sims are not like the others, some of these Sims just don’t belong. Can you tell which are not like the others by the time I finish writing these notes?

Fixed an issue in which some of the rooftops in Winderburg were not displaying Snow (if you own Seasons) correctly.

Fixed an issue where Sims didn’t sometimes change into their Club outfits when a Club Gathering was being held.

City Living

The Scattered Panes window in Build Mode now displays appropriate shadows in all options.

Sims enrolled in the Social Media career will now gain influence at the end of their stream instead of every few Sim-minutes.

Two hairstyles (ymHair_EP03BunHighPins and ymHair_EP03BraidedFlateBun) have been updated to reflect the correct look when choosing the Neutral Black color option.

Your Sims want to shoot some Basketball Close Shots, but they are trying to eat first? Well, now your Sims can finish eating before trying those hoops. Nutrition is important!

Cats and Dogs

We fixed an issue in which whiskers were not being seen applied to Cats. A Cat without whiskers is like Peanut butter without Jelly… or something like that! Just wrong!

Robot Vacuums should all now return to their docks accordingly. I hope this issue was not a sign that they were becoming sentient.

Sims will no longer get a Moodlet referring to the death of their Pet when witnessing the death of another Sim. The loss of a Sim is heartbreaking, but also getting a Moodlet for the death of their Pet when the Pet has not died, that is cold Grimmy, very cold.

Speaking of Robot Vacuums becoming sentient a few lines above, we fixed an issue that made the game crash when Cats would sit on the Robot Vacuum. CatonRobot.exe is now working.

We fixed an issue in which some Simmers experienced a crash with their last played Household loading into Brindleton Bay.

Seasons

Sims were changing into their cold-weather gear… while not in cold weather? We had some conversations with Sims and even though they love their winter outfits, dressing up in full winter gear in the summer was probably not the wisest choice. So the issue in which Sims randomly would change into their winter outfits while not in winter is solved.

Egg Hunts are adorable and fun! But not being able to have the furniture reset after looking for Eggs in them, can be quite the rain on Sims’ parade. But this should no longer occur.

Island Living

Mermaids will no longer keep the “Dried Scales” Moodlet when they are hydrated. Mermaids’ skincare regimen pays off! Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize!

Fixed an issue in which Lots that are placed in the sand looked quite odd displaying all edges of the Lot when it rained.

Sims that have the Collector Aspiration Trait are now able to catch Frogs in Sulani as part of their adventures exploring the island waterfall. Good Luck!

We fixed an issue in which some Simmers experienced game crashes when loading into certain lots in Mua Pe’lam. Happy Exploring!

Discover University

Sims having a hard time in Uni? No matter what they do they keep failing classes? Worry not, Sims will no longer fail classes when meeting all the criteria for course completion. Work hard, pass your classes hard!

Having Roommates can be hard. Have your Sims had Roommates complain constantly and leave even when their needs are met? Yeah, we made it so that Roommates don’t do this any longer.

Fixed an issue in which beds were counted incorrectly when placing an ad for Roommates. I mean, as much as Pets and even Toddlers can live with Roommates, the ad should be truthful to how many beds there are actually in the Lot, not count Toddlers and Pets as needing adult-sized beds.

We fixed Servo animations so that they don’t look like they are walking on one leg when hovering to their destination. Now they will hover properly.

We fixed an issue in which in some instances Professors could not go to work when a Professor NPC is added into that same Household.

Fixed an issue in which removing and adding back Household members as Roommates would create some… inappropriate moments, ahem.

Eco Lifestyle

Evergreen Harbor’s peace has been restored: roads and parts of neighborhoods no longer disappear or turn blue when businesses open in Port Promise while the Modern Development N.A.P is active.

yfBody_EP09DressShirt no longer has a weird texture in some of the footwear from various packs, especially platform shoes and chunky sneakers.

Had you moved to Cypress Terrace in Willow Creek and found you couldn’t really do anything there? We fixed the routing failures and interaction failures on the Mitey-Mitey Home – Insect Farm.

Snowy Escape

Mountain Climbing can be challenging, even for those experienced. But having indecisive moments before a climbing route like getting off and on your bike constantly seems that a lot of doubt is passing your mind… However, we did speak to these Sims that were experiencing this behavior and calmed their fears and doubts, so this should no longer be an issue.

The hairstyle yfHair_EP10BobBluntOmbre now covers all of the Sim’s ears.

For Simmers who own Seasons together with Snowy Escape, rain options no longer affect snow.

Sims no longer have the option to give a respectful or military introduction during activities such as Dancing or Bike Riding. I mean, I’m not sure about you, but I can’t dance and respectfully introduce myself at the same time. So many falls… so many falls.

We made some corrections to the Slippers that came with this pack and they should no longer display a greenish texture on Sims’ toes when selected in Create a Sim. Yikes.

Fixed an issue in which for some Simmers playing with the Yoshida Hall Household would generate a game crash when loading into Mt. Komorebi.

We took a look at our Ramen menu and have updated our cooking menu to label Miso and Egg Ramen as Vegetarian safe options. Buen Provecho!

Want to run a Restaurant in Yukimatsu but also want to enjoy the slopes? Now your Sims can enjoy the slopes and dine in style. However, this action is only directed, and will not be autonomous. In the same vein, Restaurant employees will not be tempted to leave work to enjoy the slopes.

Journey to Batuu

Batuu is an awesome destination for those who want to enjoy something fun and different, but if you bought a Droid from the Droid Depot and never saw it in your inventory, I know how frustrating it can be. Never fear, the Droids you were looking for will appear now in Inventories when purchased.

In Journey to Batuu, the First Order ID no longer disappears from inventory so Sims now can Access First Order Plans for the Top Notch Trickery Mission.

Fixed an issue with the Leveling the Playing Field Mission in which the Scoundrel Informant would not appear on the scene after Sims stole the Prototype Blaster and went to Oga’s Cantina to wait for the informant.

Dine Out

Eggs and Toast sound super basic and easy right? They will continue to be that way for our unassuming Chefs on the Chef Station since we fixed an issue that made them… challenging. Sims can also use the second burner for other recipes without fail or routing out.

StrangerVille

The Decorations and Kid’s categories in Build Mode should no longer have a “New” highlight when there’s nothing actually new.

Dream Home Decorator

Lighting can change the ambiance of a room, and your mood in a flash. Luckily we have fixed an issue that lighting was not even on sectional sofas to continue to set the right mood for our Sims.

Our stylists fixed the Sleep ‘N’ Study Styled Room to remove the P.R.I.M.A Computer from it as this is not an item that is accessible for everyone, pardon our dust.

Laundry Day

Fixed an issue where an animation clipped when Sims were loading their laundry machines. Because having your clothes go through you is awkward, are Sims made of fabric? I don’t think so.

Bust the Dust

Don’t need Simoleons, don’t need Fame. Don’t need dinner to have this date. It’s strong and it’s sudden and it’s cruel sometimes but it might just end your night… the power of Dust, that’s the power of Dust.

Our cleaning agents have determined that Sims won’t get romantic negative Moodlets related to filthy levels of dust in public places like parks.

[nataliedanovelist]

GF & MvsM - Wanna Talk About Dinos?

This crossover was inevitable. It just works too well. Maybe one day i’ll write a fic about how the folks at Gravity Falls handled the robot-apocalypse. Probably shrugged it off. “Eh. We’ve had worse.” Haha! What if Stan and Ford, cuz they were out sailing, had no clue what happened and when they came back they were like, “Wait, what?”

For now, please enjoy this fic of Aaron making a new friend...

(credit goes to @stephreynaart for her OC Jacob) ~~~~~~~~~~ “Hi, would you like to talk to me about dinosaurs?”

Aaron asked this question more times than he could keep track of, but that wasn’t going to stop him from asking it. It started as a dare from his big sister two years ago, but now it’s a fun hobby. When fifth grade isn’t overwhelming him, scaring him with mountains of homework and horror stories about how hard middle school is going to be, and when he’s run out of YouTube videos to catch up on, he is on the hunt for fellow giant-lizard-lovers like a hungry Ceratosaurus.

“No, okay bye.” But it did get a little tiring to always cross out names and phone-numbers on the phone book with red ink. Hey, a dinosaur of a way to find phone-numbers was appropriate. He read the next number, dialed it, and after a ring or two he asked, “How would you like to talk with me about dinosaurs? No, okay thank you.”

Aaron crossed out another name and sighed, taking a break since he reached the end of a line of numbers. Maybe he should just be grateful for Abbey and accept that no one else wants to talk about the Jurassic Period. Or the Cretaceous Period. Or the Triassic Period. But then a big, old, gray-tinted ad distracted him. He grinned, thinking it would at least be fun to give them a call, and he dialed the number.

Private home phone-numbers were fun, but businesses were also fun! Poor, bored workers would gladly talk to him rather than crabby Karens, and they got paid for it! So Aaron smiled as the phone rang, and he grinned when someone picked up.

“Thanks for calling the Mystery Shack, you’re talking to Mr. Mystery himself! How may I befuddle or bewilder you?”

“Hi! How would you like to talk with me about dinosaurs?”

“Oh, dude! I’d love to, but I’m scheduled for a tour of the Oddity Museum in three minutes.” The man said, and Aaron grinned continuously, because it sounded like Mr. Mystery really wanted to talk with him about dinosaurs. “But hey! Can you hold on for one minute, I think I know a guy!”

“Yeah, sure mister!” And Aaron was greeted by the sound of a catchy jingle about buying t-shirts and mugs and snowglobes. He smiled and wiggled his feet along to the music as he looked outside at the beautiful late-fall afternoon, entertained while he waited.

~~~~~~~~~~

Soos was on the hunt. He planned out the house in his head. Abuelita was taking a nap upstairs, Melody was organizing the upcoming tour, and Stan took Jacob out for ice cream, so he might be…

The owner of the Shack grinned when he stopped at the doorway and saw the man he was looking for, sitting in Stan’s chair, reading a book.

“Uncle Ford!”

The old sailor smiled up at the young man. “Yes, wh-...”

“Do you think you could answer the phone for me? I have a tour and I think this customer’s request is right up your alley.”

“Uh… sure, but w-...”

“Thanks, you’re the best!” And Soos was gone before he could address Ford’s confusion.

Ford was a bit lost, having little to no business with business, but he had learned at this point to trust Soos, so he picked up the phone beside him and was immediately greeted with a sweet, “How would you like to talk with me about dinosaurs?”

Ford grinned and closed his book. “I would love to! All three periods are equally as fascinating to study, but the Triassic contains some of my favorite dinosaurs!”

A young voice gasped on the other line. “Mine, too! Everyone thinks the Jurassic period is so great, and it’s pretty cool, but the Triassic gave us Plateosaurus and the Brachiosaurus!”

“That’s very true! You know, it’s very interesting, maybe depictions don’t include feathers at all, which is a bit frustrating, but perhaps after the news has spread they will incorporate more feathers on merchandise and textbooks.”

“YES! That’s what I wanna do when I grow up, help draw better-accurate dinosaurs!”

~~~~~~~~~~

The phone rang on Sunday. The Shack was closed today, so Stan lazily answered it and was greeted with, “Wanna talk about dinosaurs?”

“Sixer, phone for you!”

Ford ran into the living room, elbowed his twin out of the chair, and took the phone. “Hello again, Aaron! Now, where were we? Right, so Australopithecus. … No, I don’t think… Oh! No, homo habilis was erect, Australopithecus was never fully erect.”

“Maybe he was nervous.” Stan groaned, getting to his feet.

Ford shot him a look as thankfully the young boy on the other end didn’t catch that and happily shared some more fun-facts about homo habilis.

~~~~~~~~~~

While most college students were excited for Spring Break so they could get drunk or lose their virginity, Katie was excited because her family had planned a special secret roadtrip. She was careful to keep up with her family and talk to her parents and brother frequently, but Aaron had a hobby he wasn’t talking about that his parents found out and were thrilled about. Aaron had made another friend.

Rick and Katie did some research and the tourist attraction sounded right up their alley! In the middle of the woods, tons of weird stuff, and a fun roadtrip filled with diners and attractions. They decided to surprise Aaron, and they made up a lie that they would spend Spring Break in California with Katie so she could show her family around San Francisco, when in actuality they would be traveling up the state to the Redwood Highway and see the oddity place, and maybe even allow Aaron to meet his new pen-pal. Or, um, phone-pal.

So after bombarding Katie with hugs the Mitchells threw her luggage into the car and drove off. Aaron turned to Katie and excitingly asked, “So where are we going first? Can we go fix the Golden Gate bridge by painting it gold?”

Katie laughed and ruffled his hair. “Maybe later, right now I wanna show you guys this fun store right outside of town. Here, check out the videos I made for my classes!” And she pulled out some airpods and gave one to Aaron.

“Cool!”

Rick and Linda smirked at each other as they drove north. By the time they reached a little diner in Redding, CA, it was very clear to Aaron that they weren’t in San Francisco anymore. “Come on, just tell me where we’re going!” The boy begged as he fed Monchi a fry.

“The best kind of prizes are the surprises.” Linda quoted.

“Eric, Deborahbot5000, where are we going?”

“Sorry, Aaron, we cannot give that information.” Eric said, he and the other robot sitting politely in their seats, happy to be a part of the social interaction.

“Yes, Mother will bury us if we disobey.” Deborahbot said matter-of-factly.

“What?! No I won’t, sweeties.”

“Won’t you ground us?”

The family laughed and Aaron let the topic go; if he was honest, he loved a good surprise. The big family stopped in a motel just at the California-Oregon border, and the next morning after muffins and coffee and orange juice they were on the road again, passing dozens of trees that made Rick feel at home. Katie happily recorded the trip, trusted to be the documenter for another fun roadtrip, with hopefully not as much mortal peril.

Aaron watched as they left the highway for a simple road, and they passed a big sign. The boy gasped and caught what was happening. “No WAY! Really?!”

“You know, I hear this Mystery Shack even has a Sasquatch.” Rick commented while Linda pulled out a pamphlet from the glove box.

“It says here it’s full of odd things you’ll never see anywhere else, even a dinosaur footprint…”

“Wasn’t there a rumor of there being a Bottomless Pit?” Katie asked, pointing her camera at Aaron to get his reaction.

“Thank you thank you THANK YOU!!!” Aaron cheered, hugging his Dad’s neck and kissing his Mom’s cheek.

“Hey, no worries, buddy.” Rick eased, fixing his shewed glasses. “We wanted to see this place, too!”

“Why don’t we eat a quick lunch and then we’ll take the backroad for the attraction? There’s a coupon in here for a diner made from a giant log!”

And so after being served by a pretty blonde teenager at Greasy’s, they drove through town to get to the backroad. Signs made them confident that they were going the correct way, as well as Eric and Deborahbot5000’s GPS. Then as they turned a corner, a big triangle-shaped building came into view. Aaron grinned at the giant sign with a missing letter. People were already leaving, arms full of souvenirs and one or two already wearing their new hats or t-shirts. Once Rick parked in the Free Parking Lot, Aaron spilled out of the car and ran for the shack, but he stopped.

Katie caught up to him and patted his back. “You cool, man?”

Aaron shrugged, holding his hands in front of him and his shoulders up to hide his face a bit. “I-I dunno… What if… What if he doesn’t like me?”

“Hey, I get it.” Katie admitted. “When I first met my friends I was really nervous. I had talked to them online for weeks and I was worried it wasn’t gonna be what it was all cracked up to be, but it was. Your system worked! You found another dino-lover! You earned this moment. Just take in a deep breath and be yourself, cuz you’re a pretty cool dude.”

Aaron smiled up at his big sister. “Thanks.”

Trusting Eric and Deborahbot5000 to watch Monchi and make sure he used the bathroom, the Mitchells went inside the shack. On the porch there was an ice cooler, a sign reading schedule times for tours of the Oddity Museum, a Help Wanted sign, and two rocking chairs with a game of checkers between them.

Inside the store a few customers filled up the gift shop, alongside t-shirts, snowglobes, a vending machine, a door beside ti that read Employees Only, a bookshelf full of comic on one side and old newspapers claiming alien sightings on the other, a fish tank holding a monkey-mermaid, and barrels full of spaceship keychains and dino claws. A new section called Camping Stuff caught Rick’s eye, selling backpacks, lanterns, flashlights, batteries, canteens, and compasses. Katie opened a comic called Lil’Stanley and laughed at the swears, taking a pic and sending it to her friends’ group chat. Linda looked into the barrel full of patches and grinned at all the fun designs, while Aaron stared happily at the mer-monkey.

The Employees Only door opened and closed and Rick watched as a man in a suit, fez, and eyepatch walked up to the lady at the register and kissed her cheek. The woman smiled lovingly and left while the guy who resembled a gopher checked a customer out. Rick waited until the buyer left to approach the register, leaning an arm on the counter.

“Welcome to the Mystery Shack, dude!”

“Thanks! So, this is gonna sound weird, but my son Aaron talks to a guy here about dinosaurs…”

“No way!” The owner interrupted excitedly. “Good to see you, dudes! I’m Mr. Mystery! Wow, you guys came a long way, huh?”

“Nah, only from California. My daughter is attending art school there.”

While the men chit-chatted and Linda joined them, Katie noticed a guy walking up to Aaron and looking at the mer-monkey. She smiled and tried to read the comic without being too nosy, but she kept her senses on her brother.

“Hm, quite fascinating, isn’t it?” The man in the blue hoodie said. “But I think my favorite is the fossilized footprint. Could be Nanuqsaurus hoglundi.”

“The Polar Bear Lizard?” Aaron clarified, touching his chin as he looked at the dino-print, his back to the man he was talking to. “Maybe, but they’re from Alaska. It’s possible plate tectonics did cause some fossils to be relocated here, but it could also be a Nanotyrannosaurus lancensis footprint.”

“The Dwarf Tyrant? Could very well be. Would you like to talk about dinosaurs after your tour?”

Aaron’s eyes widened as the voice was finally familiar to him. He turned and looked up to find an old man smiling up at him. He had fluffy gray hair with a white stripe running around his scalp, wrinkles by his eyes due to smiling, a cleft chin, glasses, and wore a blue hoodie with a maroon sweater underneath. His hands were behind his back and he smiled down at Aaron warmly, while the boy was jittery and overly-excited. He took in a sharp breath and had to fight every muscle to keep from leaping through the screen door. 

“H-H-Hi…” He peeped. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Y-Yeah, sure! I’d love to! I’m Aaron! Er, wait, you already knew that.” And he held out a hand to shake.

His phone-pal, Ford, chuckled and got on one knee to be eye-level. “Greeting, Aaron! It’s nice to formally meet you.”

Aaron shook his hand and noticed something. He had six fingers on his right hand. A quick glance told Aaron he also had six fingers on his left hand. Aaron grinned with sparkling eyes at his new friend, while the old sailor smiled warmly at the boy that reminds him of his niece and nephew when they were young.

[lizzy-frizzle]

I’m going to start this by saying, I have bias. Everyone does. I do not intend for this to come off as “the thing you like is bad”, but moreso “the corporation that controls the thing you like is manipulative”.

My background; I am a 26 year old trans mom, I have a history with addiction, particularly gambling, and spend most of my time playing video games. I have gone to college for about 3 years for my psychology degree, and while I do not have my degree, I have been studying psychology for roughly 12 years. This is to say, my views will reflect this background. Just because I present this information like I do, does not inherently mean I’m right, though it also doesn’t mean I’m wrong. Try to view things with a critical mind, and know that most topics have nuance.

Ok, so lootboxes, booster packs, gacha games, all of these are gambling. This is not really an argument. You are putting money into a service of sorts, and receiving a randomized result. Be that a fancy new gun, that same boring legendary you have 5 of, or that final hero you’ve been trying to collect. You don’t know the outcome before you give your money. As defined by the merriam-webster dictionary: “Gambling; the practice of risking money or other stakes in a game or bet”

You are risking your money in not getting an item you want. There are ways this is handled acceptably, and ways this is handled poorly. Gambling is also illegal to people under 21 in a lot of places, but places online aren’t quick to tell you why. I don’t have any sources because every source requires a paywall to get any information, but pulling from my own personal experience and what I learned in college, it’s because children are very impressionable. I say “I like pokemon” and suddenly my 2-year old can’t go anywhere without her pikachu. I remember distinctly playing poker with my mom and her friends when I was 12. When you normalize gambling, what it does is lower the risk aversion of gambling. You are less likely to see a threat in playing that card game, because when you are that young you have no concept of money. You don’t know what a dollar is, so why not throw it away so you can have fun. This is...I hesitate to call it fine, but it’s mostly harmless. The issue is with children and their lack of knowledge of money. When I grew up and got a job, it’s a lot harder to tell my brain, “hey, don’t spend that money, you won’t get it back and you won’t get what you want.” Because my brain just acknowledges the potential for what I want. I want to buy the booster pack so I can have the potential to get that masterpiece misty rainforest. I want to buy that diamond pack so I have the chance to get the cute hero. I want to buy that lootbox so I can get the battle rifle that does a cool effect. These are harmless concepts, but very dangerous.

Make no mistake, companies know how psychology works, and will use it to their advantage. MatPat from game theory states that companies have even go so far as to have systems in place that change the odds as you’re losing, and monitor your skill level to put you up against harder opponents, to see the better weapons and go, “Oh I want that!” and entice you to buy more lootboxes. As it turns out I found an article covering what he was talking about, Activision had actually acquired a patent to arrange matchmaking to do just that [x], and the article says it’s not in place, but my trust in companies is not high enough to actually believe them.(honestly, matpat made a 2-part video series about lootboxes, and I’d recommend watching them)

So, companies are trying to manipulate you to buy more gambling products. There’s proof of it. It’s also more blatantly obvious in games like Magic the Gathering, where they release fancier versions of cards at rarer probabilities. To better explain it, from a collector’s standpoint, you want the fancy card cause it has value, it has value because it’s rare, rarer than the other versions, so if you’re on the lower end of the income ladder you buy a pack, or two. After all, you could get lucky and get it. On the higher end of the income ladder, you buy the card outright and hoard it. Maybe sell it off later if you notice the price goes down. From a player perspective, you see a card is being used by tournament players, you want to win more games, so you want those cards, which encourages you to buy products and try to get those cards. That’s predatory behavior. It’s predatory from the company’s perspective because that poor person might not be able to afford the card outright, but $5-$10 isn’t much, plus they always entice you with that Chance. They also further this desire for the cards by making it limited runs, such as the secret lair packs, if there’s a low amount purchased and it’s made to order, or worse, if they limit the order capabilities themselves, that drives up the value, and provides further incentive to buy the cards and packs. This not only creates an impossible barrier between the poor and the rich, but also heavily encourages people buy their gambling pack than people would have in other conditions.

For the record, I love magic the gathering, I’m not saying the game itself is bad, this is just a VERY predatory marketing tactic.

Let’s switch gears. Gacha games. I play AFKArena, because like I said, I have a gambling addiction and cannot stop myself. In AFKArena, you collect heroes, and battle with them in various ways. If you collect more of similar heroes you can rank them up. If I’m to believe what I’ve heard, it sounds like this is pretty common for gacha games. So what makes it bad. In AFKArena you use diamonds to summon heroes, now, you can acquire diamonds by beating specific story chapters, logging in every day, random limited time events, or paying for them with real money. AFKArena hero drops don’t seem that bad compared to the free diamond amount they dish out, which has resulted in me not spending all that much money on it, all things considered ($20 over 2 years). I believe that for a mobile game like this, that’s fair. I get way more enjoyment out of the game than I do most $60 games, so it balances out. However, this isn’t the case for every gacha game, and my trust in companies, as previously stated, is very low. The issue lies in them making the rates for good heroes so low that you HAVE to spend money on the game to really get over a roadblock of sorts. I do think that there is this issue in my game and I just didn’t notice it, someone with a lower tolerance or patience might absolutely have the incentive to drop hundreds of dollars on the game over a month. There are people of all different flavours, and it’s important to keep that in mind when discussing these topics, just because a marketing technique doesn’t work on you, does not mean it doesn’t work on anyone. After all, they have those $100 packs for a reason, you might not be that reason but someone is. That’s predatory.

I feel like I’ve gotten off track, let’s get back on the rails. Where was...gambling...predatory…ah, kids. So my biggest issue, is that Magic the Gathering is marketed towards 13 year olds. Not directly, but the packs say 13+. AFKArena and any mobile game for that matter, can be downloaded by anyone with a phone for free, with minimal mention that there’s microtransactions. AAA title games like Destiny 2, Overwatch, Fortnite, etc. are probably the worst offenders. A kid spent $16,000 of his parents money on fortnite in-game purchases, and that’s not the only time this has happened [x] [x] . More often than not, what happens is, the kid wants to play a video game, like halo on xbox, or destiny, or something, they ask their mom for their credit card, and the system saves it. I mentioned before that kids do not have a concept of money or its value, so giving kids unlimited access to the credit card is going to result in this kind of thing happening. I’m not blaming the parents for not being hypervigilant, sometimes you are really busy, or disabled, or whatever the reason, and you don’t notice the system just saved your card. I’m not blaming the kids cause their brains are literally underdeveloped. I blame the corporations, because they make the process as easy as possible to prey on kids and people with gambling addictions. (as a personal anecdote, I found that if I want a magic card in MtG:O, I’m way less likely to try and buy it if I have to get up and get my card, I’d recommend not saving your card if you suffer from gambling/addiction problems)

So after all of this evidence, how can anyone still view these things as anything but predatory? The answer is simple. You’re told they aren’t. Businesses spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on really good marketing, and public relations. I tried to google why gambling is illegal for people under 21, and got nothing, I got a couple forums asking the question, and a couple religious sites saying it’ll make them degenerates. I try looking up sources to prove the psychology behind these concepts, but they are locked behind paywall after paywall after paywall. Businesses and capitalism has made it so incredibly hard to discover the truth and get information you need, and it’s on purpose. They want you to trust that that booster pack is a good idea. They want you to spend money on lootboxes (look at all the youtubers that shill out for raid shadow legends, or other gambling games to their super young fanbase [x]). They want you to lower your guard and go, “well, it’s a video game, how can it be predatory?” “it’s a card game with cute creatures on it, surely it’s not that bad”

But it is. So why did I make this post? I dunno, my brain really latched onto the topic, I see so many people enjoying gacha games, but I’m worried that it’s going to ruin lives...I just want everyone to be informed and critical of what is going on.

[mymoonagedaydream]

Only the Good Die Young (Part 6)

Summary: It seemed like everyone in that godforsaken town was out to test your relationship

Pairing: Biker!Bucky x y/n

Word Count: 2k

Warnings: Language, anti-religious sentiment, harmful relationship with parents, creepy threatening behaviour

Author's Note: Temptation. I feel like I’ve put these two through so much but I just. cannot. stop. Eventually I may need medical intervention.

---

You just stood there for a little while. Eyes closed, head resting against his chest, savouring the contentment and safety you felt in his arms. These moments of peace were few and far between for the two of you, so when they came along you held on to them for as long as you could.

Your serenity faded after a few minutes, as you found yourself struggling to prevent his mother’s words bleeding into the front of your mind.

You wanted to look after him, you wanted to heal and care for him the best you could, but you knew there was nothing you could do to make up for his past. You couldn’t fix it.

But at least now, you were able to realise that everything he’d ever achieved, he’d done completely by himself. 

All his life he’d had no help, no support and no real reason to outgrow the life that people like your mother expected him to lead. At the very least, you were determined to change that.

After a while, he piped up. ‘You hungry? I thought we could order food, there’s a really good-’

You cut him off by throwing your arms around his neck and pressing your lips against his, apparently shocking him a little, because it took him a few seconds to respond. He eventually tightened his hold around you and tilted his head to the side, deepening the kiss while you moved your hands to cradle his face. Eventually, he pulled away.

‘-pizza place nearby.’

You laughed at his stupid grin, nodded and reached over to the drawer with the takeout menus.

The two of you ate in front of the TV, then curled up together on the sofa for the evening. You were still holding onto this moment of peace, savouring every second, knowing how fleeting it could be.  

---

As predicted, you only managed about an hour of relaxation before Bucky’s phone started buzzing. He picked it up and moved over to the kitchen when he saw that it was his mother calling.

You tried not to eavesdrop, but it wasn’t a big flat.

He didn’t say much, he was mainly listening to her, but as the conversation progressed you could tell he was getting more and more agitated. The only thing you could really gauge was that, at one point, she asked him for money. He told her he was pretty broke at the moment, so he didn’t have any to spare, but you had no idea if that was the truth.

It was heart-breaking to see the toxic side of their relationship in practice, especially after seeing all the love that his mother was capable of.  

Finally, he said a short goodbye and trudged back to the couch. You waited for a second to see if he’d share willingly, but he just huffed, heaved his boots up onto the table and necked the rest of his beer. You were going to have to do this the hard way.

‘Is everything alright?’

‘Yeah, fine.’ He gave you a short, tight smile and reached for the remote. You caught his arm.

‘Buck.’

‘It’s nothing, just...’ He gave an aggravated sigh and rubbed his eyes. ‘She’s not pressing charges.’

‘That’s not nothing. That’s a pretty valid reason to be upset.’

You were still very much testing the waters as far as talking Bucky down was concerned. You were sure that he’d calm down himself given enough time, but if you were going to move in here properly you’d prefer not to have walls full of holes.

He took a deep breath. ‘It’s not like I expected anything else, this is what always happens.’

‘Doesn’t mean it sucks any less.’ You shifted closer and interlaced your fingers with his, rubbing his forearm with your other hand, feeling some of the tension in his muscles settle under your touch. You were pretty pleased with that result, even if it was only small. ‘Y’know, for a guy who was so eager to find someone to talk to, you’re really not easy to get information out of.’

He let a reluctant smile spread across his face. ‘Good job you’re a ruthless interrogator then.’

---

The next few days were almost perfect. You were able to spend quality time together and unwind a little, just about managing to ignore the sixty-four missed calls from your parents and the texts begging for money from his. Bucky went out to work whenever repair jobs came up, but you quite enjoyed having free-reign of the flat while he was gone, making subtle changes that he barely noticed when he got back.

The decoration wasn’t bad per se, it just didn’t really… exist. It was your typical bare bones bachelor pad, you were convinced he hadn’t made any real changes since moving in- apart from a pile of magazines and a couple of suspicious stains on the carpet.

When your parents finally gave up, and when enough time had passed since the visit from Bucky’s mother, it felt for the first time like maybe everything could turn out alright. All the problems you’d faced seemed to be receding further and further, it seemed like they couldn’t penetrate the walls of this cosy little life you’d built.

So it was all the more disappointing when that turned out not to be the case.

---

You woke up to the sound of Bucky’s alarm. Stretching a little, you felt his body pressed up against the back of yours and his arms wrapped you. He reached over you to shut the sound off, groaned dramatically and buried his face in the crook of your neck.

‘Another morning I'll have trouble climbing out of bed.’

His words were muffled against your skin. You rolled onto your back and brushed a few strands of hair away from his forehead, smiling at the deep marks left on his cheek by the creases in the sheets. The two of you must’ve slept like logs, barely moving all night.

‘Stay then.’

‘I’ve got places to go.’ He placed a few soft kisses below your ear. ‘There’s a big job today, could be a few hundred bucks.’

You frowned and abruptly grabbed his head, lifting it away from you. ‘Hundreds? Christ, get out then.’

‘Wow, didn’t have you down as a gold digger.’ You laughed and tried to push him out of bed, relenting when he clawed his way back to you.

‘You could use some restraint, Barnes.’

‘I never said I was a saint.’

Ten or fifteen minutes later, Bucky finally got up and ready for work. You had a day of solid lounging around planned. Maybe you’d take a walk into town later, but only during the hours you knew your parents would be working. No way would you risk bumping into them.

---

He’d been gone for a few hours when the doorbell went. You couldn’t figure out who it was from the window, so you tiptoed downstairs and cautiously inched the door open. It was the blonde from the bar, the one who got Bucky thrown in jail.

‘What the hell do you want?’ The severity in your voice shocked you a little.

He gave a smug chuckle. ‘Calm down, suburbs. I wanna talk to Bucky.’

‘About what?’

He narrowed his eyes at you and stepped forward, stretching his arms out and bracing himself against the door frame. You instinctively moved back, tightening your grip on the open door, ready to slam it shut at a moment's notice.

‘I’d rather just speak to him, sweetheart.’

‘Look, he’s not here, but even if he was I’m sure he’d just tell you to fuck off.’

A sinister, calculating look spread over his face. ‘You’re here all on your own?’

The shift in his tone made your entire body tense up. You immediately defaulted into fight or flight mode, pushing the door closed as quickly as you could. Somehow he moved faster, shoving his foot into the gap and letting out an irritated grunt when the door slammed into it. You felt him pushing against the other side of the wood.

‘C’mon.’ You saw his fingers emerge through the gap and curl round the edge of the door. ‘I just wanna talk.’

Summoning strength from god-knows-where, you stomped down on his foot with all your weight. When it jerked out of the gap, you shoved your shoulder hard against the door, hearing the cracking of his fingers followed by loud yelp. He pulled his hand away and you swiftly turned the lock.

He was still shouting and banging on the door as you scrambled upstairs, your shaky knees finally causing you to collapse as you burst back into the flat. You crawled over to the window and peeked out, seeing him limping away down the street, cradling his injured hand against his chest. You breathed out for what felt like the first time in ten minutes, remnants of your adrenaline rush making your head spin.

Despite your overwhelming panic, you couldn’t help but feel a little pleased with yourself, cause damn that was pretty fucking badass.

You considered calling Bucky, but figured that as long as you didn’t answer the door again, you should be alright until he finishes. It’d be much easier to explain what’d happened after you’d had some time to think about it and to calm down a bit.

You made some tea and collapsed onto the couch, all the while making an effort to maintain deep, controlled breaths. Thankfully, it wasn’t too long before you managed to compose yourself.

When Bucky got back, you sat him down and reeled it all off, reassuring him throughout that you were fine. He seemed to take it surprisingly well, staying silent and still while you were explaining. You thought maybe he’d finally turned a corner with his anger.

That was, until you got to the end of your story.

‘He didn’t come back, right?’ You shook your head. He nodded to himself and clenched his hands together tight, dropping his head and taking a deep, shaky breath. ‘Fuckin asshole, man.’

You could see him ramping up to something, so you tried your best to diffuse. ‘It’s fine, I’m fine. I handled it.’

‘Nah.’ Bucky stood up suddenly and grabbed his jacket, storming towards the door. ‘He could’a hurt you.’

‘He didn’t.’ You followed him, managing to grab his arm before he made it out of the flat.

‘That’s not the point.’

You knew there was no fucking way were you going to stand back and let him do this again. His judgement was being clouded by anger, that much was obvious, so he needed a sharp reality check to ground him again.

‘Do you really think this is worth going back to jail for?’ He stopped tugging against you, turning his head slightly so you were in the corner of his vision. ‘Cause I guarantee I won’t be here when you get out.’

He was still for a second. You let go and took a couple steps back, waiting to see what he would do.

If he left, this was over.

He threw his jacket to the ground in frustration and ran his fingers through his hair, turning back towards you with a regretful grimace. You breathed a pretty big sigh of relief.

‘You’re right.’ He held his arms out in defeat. ‘Y’know, I try to be rational, but it all gets blown to pieces when I look at you.’

What a strange mix of accusation and romance.

‘If you don’t chill the fuck out soon you’ll only be looking at me through bulletproof glass.’

He rubbed his forehead exasperatedly. ‘God, I wish everyone would just leave us alone.’

You didn’t respond for a second, considering whether or not to tell him what you were thinking. It was something you’d been debating for a while, something you were going to bring up with him when it got closer to the end of summer.

Fuck it, now was as good a time as any.

‘We need to get out of this town. There’s nothing here for us Buck.’

He squinted at you in slight confusion. ‘You wanna move?’

‘Look I know it’s not been long, and I know there's a danger in wanting too much too soon, but I really think we could be happy somewhere else. Your parents, my parents, your weird creepy friends. We need to get away.’

He looked away, considering your proposal. You just shifted on the spot awkwardly for what felt like hours. Eventually he smiled, then grinned, and soon enough he was beaming at you.

‘Alright. Let’s get outta here.’

‘Yeah?’ Your head was spinning with possibility and optimism. ‘Where should we go?’

‘Wherever you want darlin.’

---

Part 7

---

@shawnie--jo @brilliantbellesoares @livingoffsavvyillusions @noiralei @bebeyeni @kingkassam @newyorkgoddess @sir-lili @im-squished @dancer3205 @thefallenbibliophilequote @supernaturalwintersoldier

---

[lady-of-disdain]

Operation: Sunset

(Cheesey operation title aside, here’s my Take Action Masterpost)

OK! So @krysmcscience has a fabulous contact list located here, and @yashahimewasamistake​ has some great example messages located here. I wanted to help out and do my part by adding some more Copypaste messages, and other people to contact about this trainwreck of a show once I started sending out my own complaints.

Please note that this post will change as I edit it to add more, so keep checking back. Also please share this because with all the outside links I’m posting I doubt this is going to show up in the anti tag.

Hulu: Now this one is not as easy for everyone because Hulu is a paid service, and it also doesn’t have just a simple email address to send a letter out to, and I am avoiding any form of contact that would require me having to call and talk to someone on the phone.

I DO however have a hulu account, so I used my account to create a Community Help Center topic located here: https://community.hulu.com/s/question/0D53h000018m7FaCAI/can-the-age-rating-for-yashahime-please-be-changed If you have an account please feel free to log in and back me up, maybe it will actually draw the attention of moderators there.

Disney: I emailed both addresses provided on Krysm’s post with the following message, please feel free to use it if you would like to do the same:

Title: In regards to children's programming on Hulu portraying a child-grooming relationship

There is a children's show called Yashahime being aired on Hulu currently that portrays a romantic relationship between an adult man, and a young girl who he's known since she was 8 years old. In the most recent episode it was revealed that this young girl gave birth to the man's children at approximately 14 years of age. Considering that this is the age range for the target demographic many find this to be in very poor taste. We are asking that at the very least the age rating for this show be changed, or that the program be pulled from Hulu's lineup. Thank you very much for your consideration. ~A Concerned Citizen

Crunchyroll: This is an interesting route because on one hand anyone can actually make a free Crunchyroll account to contact them about this show, however on the other hand, I feel like Crunchyroll as a whole would be less concerned about the themes of pedophilia and grooming featured in the show because the app is not really intended for kids to use.

HOWEVER, they cannot afford to turn a blind eye to people who report triggering content. A request for a Content Warning to be put on the show is not asking much.

Yashahime contains clear and distressing themes of pedophilia and grooming. The latest episode featured an approximately 14-year-old girl giving birth to babies fathered by the adult man she's known since she was 8. Now I'm not new to anime, I know that there are many genres with different age demographics and as such different levels of graphic content. However, most of the time the rating, target demographic, and any content warnings that are given in the description can help people navigate what content they are looking to be exposed to. There is absolutely no warning or indication that Yashahime should contain such triggering content. Please put a content warning on this show!

Note: Crunchyroll is also a great place to drag the show in terms of reviews as it’s one of the main review sources Google pulls from when you do a search for the show. Ya’ll have NOT disappointed, and the first almost 3 pages of recent reviews are ALL doing the lords work, it’s hilarious, and if you haven’t seen it yet I recommend it. I’ll get more into review-bombing later in this post.

Sunrise/Funimation/Viz: Krym didn’t link a contact form for Viz Media. I’m not gonna lie, at the end of the day I don’t really know if Viz and Funimation are basically the same entity, but I went ahead and contacted Viz too just to be thorough: https://www.viz.com/company-contact

I sent this same message to all three companies.

This show that has been heavily marketed for children, and has main characters that are 14-years-old, features a pedophilic relationship as romantic? Sesshomaru knew Rin since she was 8-years-old, and she gave birth to his children at approximately 14-years-old, THE SAME AGE AS THE MAIN PROTAGONISTS AND MARKET DEMOGRAPHIC! How is this appropriate content for children? How are we supposed to teach our children that inappropriate attention from adults is wrong if their favorite shows feature it as good? Yashahime needs a new age-rating and a content warning.

~Review Bombing~

When you Google Yashahime there are 3 main sources that Google lists when showing review scores, Crunchyroll, MyAnimeList, and IMBD. Making accounts for these platforms is free, and I encourage anyone who had a few extra minutes on their hands to roll up and help us tank this show’s ratings.

https://www.crunchyroll.com/yashahime-princess-half-demon/reviews/newest/page1

https://myanimelist.net/anime/41911/Hanyou_no_Yashahime__Sengoku_Otogizoushi/reviews

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12287748/reviews?ref_=tt_ql_3

~Brand Advertisers~

This section is still going to be under heavy construction, but the idea is a similar one to what brought about the YouTube Adpocolypse. Now let me just be clear that while I disagree with how YouTube handled this situation (and is still handling it) it did shed light on a lot of terrible content on YouTube that was flying under the radar, so as a plan of action I think it’s entirely valid.

Basically the idea is to contact any brands we see being advertised during Yashahime on Hulu and Crunchyroll. This phase of Operation: Sunset is going to be much easier to pull off on Twitter, so I have not yet started it (getting a Twitter account and blocking the horde of shippers over there so they leave it alone and don't get all my tweets removed is the next phase in my plan).

PLEASE MESSAGE ME, OR POST HERE WITH ANY BRANDS YOU HAVE SEEN RUNNING ADS ON YASHAHIME!

Basic idea of a DM or tweet to a brand being:

Hey @[Insert Brand] do you really want your advertisements running on a children’s show that has heavy themes of child grooming?

-or-

@[Insert Brand] Did you know your ads are being run on Yashahime on @[Insert Platform], a children's show that features a grooming relationship?

Brands seen advertised so far:

Lexus

Progressive

Campbell’s

Eharmony

~

OK! That’s all I’ve got for tonight, stay tuned friends.

[good-rwbyaus]

Au where Whitley has actually been running the bank accounts since he was young and keeping the group financially viable

#Rising Snow AU - mod lilac - [ next ]

1. Beginning

It started when his father, smelling like expensive liquors and overbearing perfume, shoved a packet of folders at him and stated “You deal with it. Your father has a hang- headache” before staggering off back to his bedroom to sleep off yesterday’s social gathering.  

He was ecstatic. His father began to trust him to handle things in the company. Before he was a mere fixture in the company, only present to speak pleasantries and let others know that Jacques Schnee had a well-bred son. But now he had responsibilities and power.  

Whitley Schnee, soon-to-be-heir of the Schnee Dust Company since Weiss didn’t seem to care about it and Willow just left to join Atlas, will show everyone his worth, starting with.... a whole lot of complaints about their customer service.

_______________________________________

2. Complaints

“This motor is covered under warranty. I still have the original receipt. You have to take it back.”

“Sorry, but the warranty only covers usage in automobiles. You said you tried installing it in a motorcycle, so your warranty is void.”

“...A motorcycle is an automobile, sir.”

“Look smartass, you’re getting on my nerves. You’re not going to get a refund from the Schnee Dust Company, got it?”

“Excuse me!? I want to talk to your manager. Now.”

“I am the manager. Now stop wasting my time.”

“Wh-” 

Click.

Whitley’s eyebrows creased sharply as he closed the Scroll. He took slow deep breaths trying to get rid of the anger trembling through his body. A Schnee is like ice. They do not show their rage unless they can leverage it for their purposes. His teeth gritted once more and relaxed.

Those two-faced bastards. He knew the customer service staff were no good when they started fawning over him, telling him that “of course they got complaints when they couldn’t fulfill their requests” or “we got everything under control.” 

In reality, they were all just disgusting liars who couldn’t do their job. If he hadn’t been suspicious of them, they might’ve gotten away with it. Those people had to be removed before they truly caused an incident; he cannot let such unsightly things remain. 

He picked up the phone.

________________________________________

3. Fired.

“You can’t do this to us! This is going against our contract.”

“Just because you’re your father’s son doesn’t mean you have any power here.”

“You’re going to speak to my lawyer about unfair dismissal, kid!”

It’s funny. The half-dozen or so people who were fawning over him just hours earlier were now cursing and shaming him. Of course they were angry. He just told them they were all fired a couple minutes ago and stopped saying anything when they started yelling like a mob. His lips trembled, trying to stop himself from smiling. 

Gods. He was so angry that he’s finding humor in it. Do they really think they have power here?

Bang. 

A bald-headed tall man - the manager he spoke to last - slammed his hands onto his desk, looming over him as if to intimidate him with the threat of physical violence. The noise made him flinch slightly, breaking his facade of calm and causing the other guy to smirk mockingly at him. 

Bastard.

This farce has gone on long enough.

“Okay. You can keep your jobs...”

Immediately, the six people leered triumphantly with the one at the head of the pack messing his desk up proudly stood up. 

“Good kid, see you know when you’re in the wrong.”

“Yeah, smart like your father,” said the man at his desk about to pat him on the head. Immediately, he swatted the man’s hand away.

“...as I gather the audio logs for our lawyers to peruse and determine how much damage you’ve done to the company’s image.”

That silenced the room better than a dead body being found in it. 

“If you didn’t do anything wrong, you’ll have my apologies and a bonus for your troubles. But if you’ve damaged our image... well, a company’s face is priceless - but I can definitely try to get back some recompense.” 

He lifted a finger which everyone else in the room followed.

“That’s your first option. The other option is to resign quietly, and I will not pursue this in the future. You can take the time to think about it. 

“You can-”

“You’re all dismissed. If you linger around a second longer,” he glared at the group, “I’m going to assume you’re taking the first option and want to be escorted out.” 

Immediately, upon realizing who had the actual power in the room, the group of six began to scramble out of the room, but just as the bald-headed manager exited out the door, Whitley spoke up. The words caused the man to stiffen up.

“Except you. You don’t get an option, manager. You're fired. Wait to hear from my lawyers.” 

He steepled his fingers together, a vicious satisfied smile on his lips. 

________________________________________

4. Security Card

...Okay. That was scary. He honestly thought that baldy was going to hit him at the very end. In the future, he was going to have a bodyguard in the room or Klein just in case. He loosened his vest slightly, the cloth sticking to his back from the cold sweat.

It was weird though. Why did something like customer service go all the way up to the level of the President?

Wasn’t that something for managers or department heads to solve?

“Maybe it’s just a test from father,” Whitley spoke out loud. He shook his head.

Yeah, that was probably it. 

----

Little did he know that his carelessly stated statement was caught by a hidden camera in his room.

---- 

The next day he found a folder on his desk and a white card with the label of 00 on it. 

________________________________________

5. Assignment

“Hey, Klein,” Whitley asked cautiously as the loyal man handed him a glass of water, “Did father come into my room yesterday?” 

He didn’t know what to make of the butler at times or how to treat him. Father said never to treat the help too kindly or they’ll take advantage of it, but Klein was someone he knew since he was born. He’s never seen him be anything but loyal and attentive. He wasn’t like the people he just dealt with.

Maybe he would’ve just dismissed him as just the help, but after having seen a very recent example of two-faced people, he couldn’t quite agree with his father’s assessment of Klein.

“Your father has gone on va-,” the man paused upon seeing the contents on the desk, particularly the white card on his desk. “That card?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a card like this before,” Whitley replied, “What does it actually do?”

Klein stared at the card quietly before saying, “Only the Master of the House could’ve given you that card. It will open every lock and file in the Schnee Dust Company. It means the Master has given you authority second to them.”

“Father must really trust me after I got results, right?” he proudly stated as he started shuffling through the documents. In doing so, he missed Klein’s smile, both proud and pained at the same time. 

The cursory review made his self-praising words die in his throat.

“Wait...He wants me to solve all these?!” Whitley yelled. It wasn’t that the entire packet consisted of a single problem. The entire seventy-two page packet was a large list of overdue problems and documents that required his attention. 

“Where’s father?”

“He’s currently on vacation. He won’t be here for a month.”

“Didn’t he just go on vacation two weeks ago? There should be someone to substitute while he’s gone?” 

“...No, sir. This is how it always has been.”

“Haha. You’re joking. Or is this part of the test, Klein?” He laughed but it soon died on his throat, seeing the man’s grim face. 

 “I will not lie to you, young master.” Klein remarked before adding with a nudge of his head, “There’s a note.”

He’s right. There was. The script was in cursive; it would’ve been elegant and soft if it weren’t for the shakiness in it. 

‘You have the right idea. Sometimes problems need to find the right people.’

________________________________________

6. Delegation

This was stupid. The purchasing of toilet paper or whether it had to be 2-ply or 3-ply or setting the price of bubble-gum at the employee store did not need to pass through the president’s desk.

Hell. It’s like anything that involved the tiniest amount of money or required the slightest authority needed to make its way to his desk. 

This was not a functional solution. He’ll die of exhaustion by the end of the week if that continued.

And the answers from the department heads were incredibly unhelpful.

‘It has always been this way.’

But it hasn’t. Looking through the records only he could access, everything changed when his father inherited the company from his grandfather. His father first fired anyone that disagreed with him and then diverted anything that looked like it involved money up to the very top. Maybe it was important back then, but those measures certainly didn’t need to be used now. 

His father ruled with an iron fist when it came to the company. No one dared to challenge his authority now. 

His father was smart. Intelligent. These actions didn’t match that. Was this just another one of his tests? He wanted to believe that, but...

‘The only person you can trust is yourself. Everyone else can betray you. Even family. Only trust others if you have power over them, that is trust.’

...It did match what his father would do. And if there was nothing else he learned from all those official dinners and parties, he knew how to read people, especially his father and his mercurial temper. 

With how many of these documents have been untouched and unread, what exactly is his father doing? 

Come to think of it. When was the last time his father sat in front of a computer instead of going on vacation or to one of his many dinners with his business associates?

He shook his head. Impossible. His father definitely worked hard. How else would this company be standing if he was that neglectful? Maybe these files were just like the 5% of untouched work since he had so much wor-

His screen flickered as he clicked on another file. The pillar of red pointing downwards made him pale. 

[ next ]

[matildaofoz]

Happy Deathday Pt. 1 (Vampire!Michael x Reader)

Morgan Freeman Voice-Over: "...and while she had had every intention of finishing the chapter, she didn't. Inspiration is a fickle thing and our dear author knew that such things could not be rushed."

A/N: You heard the man. To further heighten the suspense, I decided to post the first part of this for now. The second part will be coming, don't worry but I need more time and maybe another rewatch of AHS...

Warnings: Mentions of Smut, Angst, Blood, Mentions of Violence, Alcohol

Word Count: 5.1K

You woke up gingerly, the morning sun peaking through your blinds, tickling your nose as you turned to the other side, in a desperate attempt to continue your slumber. It was your birthday and ever since you had gotten to know Michael Langdon, Vampire extraordinaire, several years ago, birthdays had begun to mark an ever growing sadness. Truth be told, the first two years were spent in a dizzying bliss, unable to quite comprehend how someone as powerful and magnificent as Michael could be enamored with somebody of your...well insignificance. A chance encounter at a gala dinner hosted in the name of some holier-than-thou philanthropist you were sent out by your editor-in-chief to cover, had lead you unwittingly into the arms of the most dangerous being on this planet. That philanthropist turned out to be Michael Langdon.

How he hadn't killed you and drank you dry when he had caught you sneaking into one of the private offices upstairs in the hopes of digging up some dirt, he never revealed. He only said that your brazenness, your fire to find the truth and your unapologetic nature had caught him off guard and so instead of disposing off you as he knew how, he had invited you over for dinner the following weekend. You caught on relatively quickly that there was something otherworldly about the man with hooded icy blue eyes, set in a face so magnificent it was hard to look at him too long. He was irresistible in appearance and character, always a witty remark thrown your way when you tried to pry information from him over a dinner you would never forget. You had needed to satisfy your curiosity and solve the puzzle he presented and Michael needed, no wanted to spend time with someone who didn't eat up his every word out of his plump lips like they were starving for his approval. You did none of that and it made Michael feel almost human to have an adversary of sorts. Your little cat and mouse game culminated in you walking in on him uninvited several weeks later, or so he let you think, while feasting on a recently elected young and energetic politician, straddling her convulsing form on the dining table. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched, teeth sunken into the woman's neck to the bone, as you stood, simply watching with wide eyes. He could see you put the pieces together in that exquisite little brain of yours, lips apart and your heartbeat so deliciously erratic at the scene he had painted just for you. He was rather dramatic, you had to admit.

When you whispered out despite the horror coursing through your veins: “You're a fucking vampire, I knew it!” He groaned, tearing the woman's jugular and coming to sit back on his knees atop the table, the lifeless body of the politician straddled between his thighs, his erection straining painfully against the tight fabric of his black pants. Your gaze on him, indulging the beast he was underneath the angelic appearance, made him harder than he had ever been. Oh he wanted your blood, so sweet, pumping so deliciously beneath your skin but he didn't want to drain you like he had the woman just then who's name he had already forgotten. He wanted you and had for some time now and the urge became overpowering. He grinned at you, blood dripping down his chin, knowing that he had at last found what had been missing from his eternal monotony for so long.

Ever since that night, where Michael had pressed you up against the edge of the dining table after you had solved his little puzzle as he wanted you to - and after very little hesitation on your behalf - had fucked you raw next to the corpse, you had been lost to Michael Langdon in more ways than one. There must have been something very wrong with you to begin with, you often mused in the weeks and months after that fateful encounter but every time Michael's number lit up your phone after a long day in the office and every time he touched your burning skin, made your body sing in a way you never wanted anyone else but him to do, you cared less and less of what the world might think.

Your unholy relationship evolved as the seasons came and went and you came to imagine a life with him, as pathetic as it may sound. You knew that you were painfully mortal and your life was but a brush on the canvas to him. Michael knew, and he did everything to spoil you, taking you on vacations to places you had never dreamed of seeing, showering you in expensive gifts and finery. You always told him that while you appreciated his gifts wholeheartedly, what you ultimately wanted was him, the beast and the man and his unbeating heart constricted as he knew that what you should want, nay deserved was the one thing he could not give you.

The topic of how vampires were created came up last year around your birthday, you remembered, rolling around in your bed, thinking back to the conversation:

“So, if one wanted to create vampires, how exactly would one go about that? Purely journalistic interest,” you questioned feigning innocence, your fingers curling a lock of the blonde vampires hair around your fingers. You were seated across Michael's lap on one of his big plushy velvet red couches in the living room, a silken bed sheet draped across your abdomen, a fire blazing in the firepit on the far side of the room the only illumination. It was rare the two of you got to spend a weekend together and you made the most of it by letting him defile you on every surface in the penthouse at his leisure, not that you complained. You were still aching from round 4 of that evening. His fingers drew lazy patterns over your bare shoulder, a smirk making its way across his kissable lips.

“Purely journalistic, of course” he chuckled reiterating your words, his hand coming to cup your cheek in his large palm, the cool metal of his rings a welcome reprieve against your flushed skin.

“That's nothing you need to concern yourself with,” Michael whispered, lips close to yours, ghosting over the sensitive flesh. The words made your stomach drop. Whenever you vaguely hinted at the process, the possibilty, he tried to steer the attention away from the subject, using your neediness for him against you. Not this time. With a huff, you disentangled yourself from his chiseled form, pulling the sheet up around your bare chest and walking over to the fireplace, watching as the flames licked at the wood logs.

Michael watched you, his mind racing behind his stoic facade. He didn't want you to bring up the delicate topic but not for the reason you thought.

“You know, it's cruel what you do to me,” you whispered.

“Cruel? How am I cruel to you, (Y/N)? Do I not satisfy your every need, every desire?” Michael retorted, his demeanor changing from one second to the next at your words, stinging him deeply. You were the cruel one in that moment, using his heightened emotions against him knowingly and you regretted it as soon as the words passed your lips.

In an instant he was behind you, hands grabbing your hips to whip you around to face him. The tension had been building up over the last weeks and you both knew that sooner or later they would come to explode. A little voice in the back of your heard feared he might just end your life right then and there that you had finally pushed him too far with your incessant prying. He was positively feral, icy blue eyes swallowed by darkness, inky black veins marbling his cheeks. His true form still made your heart beat furiously, that primal nature in you screaming to run. You had long stopped listening to that side you of. You were the moth and he was the flame and he could burn you to a crisp.

“Yes and no, of course you give me everything I want, more than I want or even ask of you. You know damn well what I mean, Michael!” you shot back, angry tears you didn't know had been hiding behind your (Y/E/C) eyes shooting into the corners, threatening to spill. You breathed hard against his broad chest, not willing to back down, staring down the monster before you, tempting the beast.

“Why must you ask of me what I cannot give you, Angel?” he said, black eyes staring into yours, his iron grip on your hips becoming painful. It didn't stop the lust begin to pool between your thighs and Michael could smell it, taking a deep breath, his eyes falling shut at the intoxicating aroma and his forehead came to rest against your own.

“I swear you will be the death of me. Why you have the hold you do on me, I do not know but I don't ever want to let you go,” he rumbled, his cock twitching against your belly in response to your arousal.

“Then don't, Michael,” you whispered, lifting your hands to clutch his face and making him open his eyes to look at you.

“You know when I lie. Tell me I'm lying when I say I want to be like you,” you continued, sensing a break in his impenetrable exterior when it came to the matter of him turning you. He chuckled darkly, shaking his head, his golden locks tickling your collarbone.

“I know you mean what you say, Angel. But how can you be so sure when you don't even know what it is you're signing up for?”

“What, the blood, the killing? I think I can handle it,” you countered, thinking back to the many nights you watched him stalk, hunt, eat and sometimes kill his latest victim. It never became easier but you got used to it. It was simply the way things were in Michael's world and it had become a part of yours, for better or worse.

“No, not the killing. I know you'd be a natural,” he smiled, fangs gleaming in the warm glow of the fire.

“It's what gets taken from you. Once I make you like me, you will stay as you are now, frozen in time. You will never feel the joy of having a family, the people you love around you slowly wither away and die,” he explained, pain evident in his voice.

“So you'd let me wither away and die, Michael? It's just not fair!” the tears that you had held back flowed freely down your cheeks now, your hands pushing at his chest. The thought of you growing old and dying, while he stayed as ethereal as he had been for the last 4 odd centuries made your heart constrict. You didn't want to be a blip on his eternal radar, you wanted more. Your feelings had blossomed from a pure animalistic lust and a near certain death wish at the hands of the blonde vampire before you if only it meant he would fuck you like he had that first night, into a deeper admiration for the man. You loved him, in your pathetic human way and it showed. In the way your chest heaved, those glossy tears staining your pretty face.

Michael let go of you, not baring to watch the pain he caused you. He was so close to giving in to your wish. Like he hadn't spent countless nights mulling over the prospect of turning you when you were occupied with your day job at the newspaper or lying next to him asleep after he had driven his tongue and cock into your weeping cunt, utterly spent. He was so close to biting his wrist, forcing it over your pretty little mouth, making you to drink his blood and then draining you dry.  His cock grew exceedingly hard against his stomach at the image of you becoming immortal at his hand. And yet, he couldn't, not yet. Not until he was sure that this was what you wanted, that you knew what eternity at his side entailed. He had to give you the chance to reject his offer. He would let you go, live the life he wanted you to lead, perhaps while staying with him for as long as you wanted him. In his eyes, it was not he who held the power but you.

“If that is what you really want, Angel, I will consider it,” he rumbled, his hand coming to brush through his hair begrudgingly, his back to you. How you manged to make him change his mind, he couldn't fathom. Your head shot up, eyes glinting at his admission and a smile spread over your lips. Your arms slung themselves around his torso, your wet cheeks pressing into his shoulders.

“Thank you, Michael. I'll do whatever it takes to show you that I stand by my choice,” you mumbled, your heart fluttering in your chest.

“There is in fact something you can do right now, the rest we'll talk about tomorrow,” he smirked.

His hands took yours and placed them on his evident erection, hissing at the contact of your slim fingers you wrapped all too willingly around his hard cock. You giggled, one hand coming to glide over the flushed head, already leaking precum.

You were pulled out of your daydream and back into the present when your phone buzzed. Michael.

You smiled. Speak of the Devil.

“Hmm?” you mumbled, the phone pressed to your ear and you rolled onto your back, the sheets around your hips.

“Good morning Angel, happy Birthday,” Michael's deep voice traveled through the phone, making you sigh. You'd never tire of the deep timbre.

“G'morning. You're up early,” you remarked with a small chuckle.

“Actually, it's still dark here. I've been up all night, finalizing the contracts,” he responded. Michael had flown out to Chicago at the beginning of the week to orchestrate some takeover or other. Considering he was over 4 centuries old, he still handled almost all of his business endeavors, appearing only as an enigmatic faceless investor from what you had gathered.

“True, I'm sorry, still a little groggy. Will you make it for tonight?” you asked, rubbing some sleep out of your eye and stretching on the bed, phone between your ear and shoulder as you waited for his reply.

The past year had flown by quicker than you wanted and Michael had made you reconsider at every opportunity he got. You had remained steadfast through his repetitive questions of whether you were sure. He would gauge your reaction when a mother with a small child would pass by the two of you on the street. He insisted you spend time with your family and friends, telling you in no uncertain terms that would he turn you, you could not trust yourself around the people you cared about for a long time, perhaps never for as long as they were alive. Your increase in visits to your family out of state did raise eyebrows and your mother thought you were hiding a terrible secret like a terminal cancer diagnosis from them. When she confided her worries to you, you couldn’t help but laugh, not sure if the flipside of what was really going on was any better. You eventually convinced your family that nothing was wrong and that you were just missing them. And you did. Yet still, you had made up your mind about what you wanted.

“I'm not sure I will. I'm sorry, Angel. I will let you know as soon as I am done here and on the plane. Just have fun today. Your mother is in town after all. You two ladies enjoy yourself, you have my card, don't you?” Michael replied, a tiredness apparent in his voice despite the small smile you could hear. At his words, you looked over at the night table, the sleek black credit card laying on top the latest novel you were currently entertaining yourself with while Michael was away.

“Yeah, I do. I will and I hope those idiots get that deal over the table quickly. I've missed you,” you said, one hand coming to toy with the tie on your silk sleep shorts. He loved the fabric and you didn’t mind indulging in the luxury he offered so freely. Michael's chuckle rang through the speaker as he imagined just how much you had been missing him.

“I've missed you too. Listen, Angel, I've got to go, my team is holding on the other line. Enjoy your Birthday, I'll see you soon,” he said, something unspoken in his tone as he ended the phone call, leaving you with your hands down your shorts. You contemplated on whether you should finish what you started but decided against it when your phone started vibrating again. It was your Mother.

“Good morning, Darling! Happy Birthday! Oh, I'm so excited we get to spend the day together. It was so nice of Michael to fly me out to you first class. I'm in the cab right now, I'll be there in 40,” your mother's cheery voice bubbled out the speaker, making you smile. It was awfully nice of Michael to fly her out, when he had insisted on staying out of your family life for the most part of your relationship.

You guessed your primal urges after having heard Michael's voice first thing in the morning would have to wait.

“Hey mom, I didn't know you'd already landed. I'm just hopping in the shower now. See you in 40!” you swung your legs out of bed and got ready.

°°°

The day all but flew by, the two of you truly indulging yourself against your mother's insistence that Michael had already spent more than enough. As the day past, a heaviness settled in your stomach when the time grew close for her to head back to the airport. In the cab, you leaned your head against her shoulder, her hand coming to stroke over your cheek lovingly.

“Are you alright, honey? You seem different, is everything OK between you and Michael? Are you fighting?” she asked, concern crossing her features.

“No mom, we're not fighting. We're good. I don't know, it's just so nice that you came to spend the day with me,” you laughed, the gesture not quite reaching your eyes.

“Of course, it's my baby's Birthday and when Michael offered, I couldn't refuse. It been so nice to spend more time with you lately and I'm glad that he thinks it's important that my high-flying journalist daughter comes back home now and then and that he wants you to spend time with your family. He seems to be making you very happy and that's all that matters to me, Sweety,” your mother cooed. In the beginning, she had tried to pry information from you about the man that had swept you off your feet and was unsure of his intentions with you at first, fearing that you had managed to attract a sugar daddy of sorts. You tried not to go into the details, for how could you explain your vampiric lover to her? When your relationship progressed from months to years however, she felt that whatever this man was doing to you, you were thriving and happy. You satisfied her need to know more about him with the odd instagram picture of your vacations and day-to-day life.

“He makes me incredibly happy, mom. You have no idea,” you mumbled, leaning into her touch.

“I'm so proud of you, you know. All grown-up, a gorgeous man by your side, I can already see my cherubic little grandchildren running around the backyard,” your mother said, a gleeful expression on her face. At her words, you winched, your thoughts coming back to the situation at hand. You looked up at her, biting your lip. You couldn't tell her that kids were not on the list when it came to Michael or you for that matter.

“Don't start this again, please! Not on my birthday,” you groaned and rolled your eyes, a chuckle in the back of your throat, trying to ease the lump that had formed.

“Fine, fine. I guess I can't have it all, just yet. I'm patient, though,” she chided, waving a finger at your in mock seriousness.

“Yeah, yeah, mom. Look we're here already,” you replied with a smile, hiding your disappointment at the end of her visit, your eyes taking her in. Something told you that you should memorize her features, the face that you had looked up to all your life. Your mother sensed your sadness and took your hands, squeezing them.

“Oh, don't you start blubbering now. It's been such a nice day and I'm sure you can get a weekend off work and come down to spend the day with us, perhaps Michael can finally join?” she reasoned, her own eyes welling up with tears.

“Yeah, I'll see what I can do and I'm sure Michael will come along some time,”  you responded, pulling yourself together. Before the moment between the two of you would end in tears, you got out the car and around your mother's side to open the door. What had gotten into you?

You mother exited the cab and engulfed you in a hug only a mother could give. Your arms came around her back and you clung to her, taking in her perfume and basking in the familiarity of it for a moment before you detached yourself from her and took a deep breath, a shaky laugh escaping your lungs.

“I'll take you to the check-in. Michael hasn't texted yet when he'll be there and I have ti-,”

“Oh, no, no, no darling, please. You take the cab back to the city. Enjoy the evening, maybe draw a bath and read a book before Michael gets there. I can take care of myself,” she countered. Always looking out for others, you mused and you loved her for it. You had to admit, as much fun as it had been, you were dead on your feet, not used to walking across the whole of NYC, sight-seeing with your mother.

“Fine, but you text me when you get to the gate and when you land, ok?” you demanded, kissing her on the cheek.

“I will, I will. No go on and say thank you to Michael from me!” She ushered you back to the cab, throwing a kiss your way as she made her way into the terminal. As the cab pulled away from the curb, you watched as she entered, turning around to wave at you. You waved back forcing a smile, a stray tear slipping down your cheek. You hated goodbyes.

°°°

On the way back into town, you decided you would rather spend the night at Michael's place, who had not texted you yet and you began to suspect that he would not make it back to the city that night. At least you could sink into the sheets and fall asleep enveloped in his scent. He also had a rather elaborate bathroom with a freestanding clawfoot bathtub. Your mother's words rang in your ears: a bath might just be what you needed. You gave the cabdriver the directions to Michael's penthouse.

°°°

*Beep!*

The private elevator doors slid open as you swiped the keycard over the reader. You stepped inside and pressed the only button on the panel. 30 seconds later, the doors opened up into Michael's penthouse entry hallway.

Your phone buzzed.

I see you're making yourself comfortable.

I hope your day was good.

Sorry I couldn't text you any sooner, just heading to the airport now.

Will be there in 2 hours.

Of course his security system would alert him to you swiping your keycard, you smirked.

Always watching, are you?

Stalker.

You replied, giggling as you made your way into the apartment, taking off your jacket and shoes.

I never lose sight of my prey.

Your cheeks began to flush at his reply. The deal must've gone down well. You decided on what reply would rile him up the most as you walked into the bathroom, turning the lights on to the dimmest setting. Deciding the best course of action was to meet him head on, you quickly stripped out of your clothing, separating the matching black lace underwear set from the pile and draping it over the edge of the bathtub before snapping a picture and sending it to him.

Just you wait, Angel. You could practically hear his sultry promise through the text.

You began to fill the bathtub with warm water, adding a bath bomb from the cupboard. You didn't have many of your things at Michael's place but you insisted on having a supply of them stashed in one of the glossy cabinets, seeing as you only had a shower in your apartment and loved to soak in the tub after Michael had finally let you out from under him.

That warm tingle was starting to creep up between your thighs again. It had only been a week without Michael touching you and yet you were positively brimming with excitement at the prospect of him being here soon.

Boarding the jet now.

Don't. You. Move. Angel.

Oh, you didn't intend to move a muscle until he came through those doors.

Maybe I'll start without you ;)

You replied, snickering as you stepped into the tub and groaned at the blissful warmth of the water against your skin.

Angel...

Came his reply almost instantly.

You decided to grace his threat of things to come, and you were positive both of you would be doing a lot of that, with no response. Maybe you were a little mad under the surface that he had not made an exception and came back a day earlier. You knew full well that his team could handle a takeover on their own.

Maybe he has decided against turning you, maybe this is his way of backing off, hoping you get the message, you thought, squeezing your eyes shut at the intrusive thought. No, if he was no longer interested, he would have told you, he owed you that. Yet you couldn’t shake the sense that he had been growing distant these past couple of weeks. Suddenly, 2 hours seemed like an impossibly long time to kill. It was as if an invisible noose was placed around your neck, and him coming back on your birthday would be the day where he had had enough of you, that noose coming to strangle your vision of the future.

Suddenly the warm water was no longer relaxing, instead the steam rising from the surface threatened to choke you. Maybe you had it all wrong and he was right. How could you know what you really wanted? How could be sure? Anger and frustration bubbled up inside you at the impossibility of the situation. Nothing was easy when it came to the vampire. Well, perhaps the sex.

You had only had a mimosa for brunch with your mother, not trusting yourself to to get tipsy and blurt out an unfortunately worded reply to her multiple questions of how Michael was doing and what he was up to.

You looked at the time on your phone on the bathtub side table. You had just over 90 minutes to kill before Michael would be here. Maybe some liquid courage in the form of a glass of wine would help you maneuver the contradicting thoughts in your head.

You got out the bath, dried yourself off and threw on the bathrobe hanging on the wall next to the marble sink, before stalking into the enormous open plan kitchen, where Michael always kept a few bottles of wine for whatever occasion might present itself.

You fingers flitted over the bottles, unsure of what to pick, not that you really had an idea of what was good. Knowing Michael, all of these would be. With a shrug, you grabbed one of the bottle necks at random, stopping yourself before you drove the corkscrew into the bottle. Maybe you should check the price of this. You googled the label, instant regret on your face, your eyebrows shooting up into your hairline. $180. Well, fuck me sideways, you thought, biting your lip. A moment of completion had you regarding the bottle. Screw it. With a satisfying plop, you uncorked the bottle, pouring a generous amount into a wine glass you had grabbed from the cabinet. Not wanting to drink in silence and ruminate further, you took the bottle in one hand, glass in the other and made your way over to the large sofas. Setting down the bottle and glass on the mahogany couch table, you grabbed the remote and began flicking aimlessly through the channels. You settled on a recent remake of Frankenstein, with an actor who's name you couldn't recall. Not that it mattered. Anything to take your mind off running in circles.

Soon, you were engrossed in the movie more than you cared to admit, your glass suddenly empty as you lifted it to your lips. With a shrug, you poured another glass, melting into the push upholstery. You lost track of time and how many glasses you had poured, the bottle nearly empty when the elevator pinged, sleek brushed aluminum doors sliding open to reveal Michael, dressed in a black suit that clung to him in all the right places, the equally black shirt unbuttoned at the top to reveal a slither of his broad chest. You craned your neck over the tall backrest of the couch at the sound, only the top of your head and eyes visible. He met your gaze, a smirk forming in the corners of his mouth.

Tag List: @sexwon131 @leatherduncan @rocketgirl2410

[eleanor-devil]

Boruto: Sacrifices [Remade] | Chap.16 - Saudade

Written by: Eleanor-Devil & @mirage-05​​

Prologue | Chap.1 | Chap.2 | Chap.3 | Chap.4 | Chap.5 | Chap.6 | Chap.7 | Chap.8 | Chap.9 | Chap. 10 | Chap.11 | Chap.12 | Chap.13 | Chap.14 | Chap.15 | Chap.16 - You’re here

... It had been a long day in the lab, and he really, really lacked the energy or will to deal with anything else at the moment - which was saying something, seeing that he was an immortal. Ironic that right now, he felt like he could drop dead with fatigue. And it was just his luck that the Taka and Log were all out on some errands. He turned on the light as he entered his room, and was surprised to hear a small squeak. His eyes searching for the source of the voice, he noticed a fit of tousled blue hair poking out of the comforters and sighed. "Mitsuki?" he said in an exasperated tone. Little by little, the toddler peeked out of the blankets, allowing his eyes and nose out only. "Daddy...?" his childish voice sounded in the room. His big, round golden eyes were shining, showing the sannin that the child had most likely been crying or at least whimpering. The sannin sighed again. He could handle anything - be it a potentially dangerous lab experiment, a threat... He even got used to his son pulling - what was it that Suigetsu said - puppy eyes at him but when the toddler cried, which was not very often, he simply did not know what to do. Log, as a child, never gave him such troubles. "What is it?" Mitsuki frowned, the sad look still there. "I had a nightmare..." he whispered before averting his eyes from his father, it had not been the first time he had a nightmare and each time his father had always told him he had to be tough... But this one had really, really scared him. He wished at least Log was there, he was stronger whenever onii-chan was nearby. "I couldn't go back to sleep..." The look in the older man's eyes hardened slightly. In the years he had spent with the boy, five years to be exact, he was still not sure how he defined his parental role - something Karin always dropped in snarky remarks about, how by this rate, he will only get to learn it when Mitsuki was no longer there. In any case, intimate contact was off limits, and the toddler knew that perfectly. The sannin had never been the one who comforted the child out of a nightmare.

Just his luck... "You cannot stay here." He said bluntly, not harshly but enough to get the meaning through. "I am tired, I need to sleep. We can talk about this tomorrow." "But I can't go back to sleep..." the already childish voice sounded even more childish now. It would only be a matter of time before he pulled out the puppy eyes trick. He was even already pushing out his lower lip in a pout. "I promise I'll be quiet, I'll let you sleep..." The man raised an eyebrow, not buying. "No." He said curtly, finding it only very slightly amusing that the child had already begun the usual drill which worked on his subordinates. Such interesting creatures indeed, children. "Come now, I will take you to your bed." Well, at least he could do that much. Without giving the little one a chance to reply, he strode over to the bed and picked him up, striding out of the room. Mitsuki remained quiet the whole way back to his room. He had failed to have his father fall for his typical trick... Orochimaru set him back on his bed and covered him with the warm blankets. Turning off the light, the Sannin closed his son's bedroom door... but as soon as he did it... Mitsuki threw the blankets and sheets away and made his way off his bed. The sannin yawned as he entered the room. He didn't even notice the soft patter of footsteps. When he opened his eyes... The boy was peeking at him from the bed once again, only his eyes visible, watching his father carefully. "A no is a no, child. You cannot stay here." Once again he picked the boy, carrying him over to his room. He thought for a minute whether or not to lock the door, but that would probably be pushing it too far. Even he knew not to lock in a frightened toddler, after all. But... luck certainly hated him that night. As he again made his way back to his room, this time he made sure to look back a few times to make sure Mitsuki was not following him. No sign of him. Good. He hoped he had learned to take a no for an answer. But as he opened the door again... there he was, peeking outside of his bed. The sannin could not believe his eyes. Had his son learned some sort of teleportation technique? At the age of just five? Although he had to be quite the prodigy - scratch that - a miracle to be able to do that. Then he noticed a slight opening on the wall behind the bed, and his eyes narrowed a little. Using his own tricks against him, huh? The kid was intelligent. He looked into the golden eyes, his eyes, as the child just gazed up at him innocently. Maybe too innocently. "You are not going to give up, are you?" Mitsuki uncovered his mouth that had been hiding behind the warm blanket and gave his father a big smile and the cutest look he could do. "Can I stay...?" By this point, he had begun wondering what the point was. It was just one night... The child could just sleep by his side, cuddling, of course, out of the question. "Fine. Just for this once..." He stopped mid-sentence when he saw the toddler had already fallen fast asleep. Was that really all he waited for? Just reassurance? Such interesting creatures, indeed. ... He didn't really expect to wake up to find himself... almost in a peaceful state of mind. Content, relaxed... Feeling a small bundle pressed against him, he looked down... Only to find his son cuddled in his arms, sleeping soundly. His unconscious mind was certain that it was not just the child who cuddled to him. He had been guilty in that part too. After a moment of hesitation, he slowly raised his hand and put it on Mitsuki's hair, rubbing his head gently, careful not to wake him up. He need not see that. This was just enough... ... He had not realized that he had fallen asleep... As he opened his eyes to the darkened room, almost instinctively... The sannin's arms reached forward, as if to once again hold on to the child... But all he managed to grab was thin air. Sighing, Orochimaru brought a hand over his eyes. It would turn out that Karin was not really wrong about her predicament after all... ... Boruto mumbled to himself, trying to protect his eyes from the onslaught of sunlight through the opening in the curtains. For a moment, he blinked in the blinding light, trying to remember... His eyes shot wide open as he did. He tried to straighten up immediately, but his body felt so heavy... he couldn't even move a muscle. He only noticed someone was beside him when the person finally moved. "Boruto...?" Tears started falling from the blond's eyes as he recognized his mother's voice, and the warmth, concern in it... It spoke to the warm side of him, the side that yearned for reassurance... Straightening up slightly, Hinata was quick to take her son in her arms. "It's gonna be okay, baby... It was just a dream..." "M-mom..." his voice came out trembling. "S-something happened... I know it, I can feel it... We need to go to the hospital..." "Boruto..." the woman said gently, her eyes sad. "You just had a nightmare..." "No, mom, it wasn't just a nightmare!" his voice had become panicky. "He thanked me, he was saying goodbye, and I swear, h-he..." "Boruto, we would’ve been informed..." "No, we wouldn't!" the blond's voice had finally risen. "Do you seriously believe they would just announce this over a phone call? Please, let's just go..." "But sweetie, it's just six am..." "I don't care!" "How about we do it like this?" came a voice from the doorway and both the mother and the son turned over to see Naruto, who raised up his cell phone to show it to his son. "I will call your aunt Sakura and check up with her." Boruto gulped, it was apparent that he wanted to say something... But he just nodded, not looking into either of their eyes. With this, Naruto touched the screen of his phone a few times before putting it up to his ear. "Hello? Sakura-chan, good morning." There was a pause. "Yeah, I called to ask if there were any changes with Mitsuki...?" The pauses felt way too long for the child, he was basically trying with all his might to not jump from the bed and walk right over to his dad right now. "I see... yeah... yeah, Boruto had a nightmare too..." he sighed. "Yeah, okay. Thank you very much. See you later." Boruto didn't lose a second as soon as the call ended. "Well?" "He is okay, Boruto." He was looking squarely in his eyes now, so that he could see his sincerity. "He is sleeping. And of course, you can visit him any time after nine am." "But..." "Please, Boruto..." Naruto sounded really tired. "Trust me on this one. You will see him, but not this early..." "You promise...?" the young blond asked, and his voice sounded so tiny, so scared... Naruto closed his eyes for a moment before reopening them and taking big steps into the room, finally sitting down on the bed and placing his hands on his shoulders. "I promise." he said. "Please... try to rest for a while." The boy finally nodded meekly and snuggled closer to his mother, who pulled the blanket over him. The hokage was just about to get out of the room when Boruto's voice stopped him. "Dad...?" He turned to look at his son. "Can you come home early... just for today...? Please...?" He didn't even have to think. He nodded with a soft smile. "I will." ... Himawari was wearing her sandals to get out, her mind still on her older brother and his screams... But she was too scared to ask... too scared of what she might find out... "Himawari?" She turned to look at her mother, her wide, blue eyes curious. "Yeah mama?" Hinata came to stand in front of her, and put her hand on her young daughter's shoulders. "Can you please take your brother out so he gets some fresh air too? It would really do him some good..." The young girl nodded solemnly. "I will, mama. I will take care of onii-chan." she smiled brightly. "I know you will." her mother said with a soft smile. "Listen, Hima... your brother is going through a very hard time... so we have to stick together and show him that we are always here for him, okay?" "Like his guardian angel." Hinata laughed light-heartedly and ruffled her hair. "Like his guardian angel. So it is your task to protect him with all the positivity you have." "I will." the eight-year-old said again, and without further ado, she had taken off her sandals and was rushing back into the house, calling for Boruto. Hinata just kept gazing after her for a while... ... "And you know what was even better? Auntie told me it was okay that I knocked out that stupid little boy!" When her brother didn't give any kind of reaction, Himawari pouted. She had been hoping that if anything, at least they could bond over their furiousness about her ignorant friends. Normally, her brother wouldn't miss that chance and would talk and laugh with her, even if to just humor her... "Onii-chan..." she tried again. "You have training today, don't you? Can I come over and watch too?" Again, he didn't say or do anything. The girl huffed. "I threw away your favorite t-shirt because I splashed ketchup all over it. On purpose." Silence... " And I actually killed that boy and buried him in the backyard. Don't tell mom and dad, okay?" Maybe it was her nonsense blabbering, but Boruto finally managed to utter a barely audible, "What...?" "It's about time!" "Himawari..." "Did you hear about two nights before?" It was then... when they heard the distinct voice that Boruto finally reacted. His head turned to the direction of the voice, causing his sister to follow his gaze. "Yeah, I heard he was pretty beat up." "Not just that, man, I heard he almost died." "Tch... I knew he was a coward but being THAT weak on top of it..." "What are you talking about?!" with that voice, the talking group turned back to look at them. Seeing her brother's blank expression turning into an agitated one, and how his hands, which were now in fists, were shaking, the young girl couldn't keep it under control anymore. Some of the children in the group took a step back. "Okay, let's move it. It's them..." "No." Boruto's voice was harsh and devoid of emotions. "You got something to say? Get over with it." There was a moment of silence. "Our condolences." Seemingly the gang leader, none other than Ichiro, finally said smirking, clearly mocking him. Some of those in the group snickered. That almost... almost did it for the blond... But he couldn’t help but remember that it was his fight with this boy that was the final straw for Mitsuki. That and the presence of his younger sister forced him to gulp down his anger. "Mind your own business..." That seemed to have surprised them. "What is it? Not feeling much up to defend your weak, no-good friend?" "You are not even worth the time I spend here." "Oh yeah? Sorry we keep you from running to your girlfriend. I heard there was no ho-" BAM! A loud, slamming noise cut into their taunting and even the Uzumaki siblings had to turn around to see who the newcomer was. Nara Karura, Shikadai's younger sister, supported her elbow on her fan and leaned on it a bit, dislike highly apparent on her features as she glared at the group. "Are you really sure you want to complete that sentence? Next time I won't be this lenient." Standing next to her was Yamanaka Inochi, Inojin's sister and her best friend. She looked at the Uzumaki siblings. "You guys okay?" "Yes we are." Himawari said, glaring at the group of bullies herself. "Are you telling me that you, the almighty son of Hokage, are hiding behind some girls now?" Ichiro said, his voice dripping of sarcasm. Before any of them said anything else, there was a blur of color and a sudden swishing sound. The boy looked at Inochi with big, surprised eyes while she returned back to his friends. "I would watch out for my pants if I were you." the girl said haughtily. Not sure of what she meant, the boy glanced down for a moment and, blushing furiously, bent down quickly to gather up his pants - and the cut-through belt. With a smirk, Inochi put her short sword back in its sheath. "We might be just girls, but these girls will kick your..." she tilted her head to a side, "smiley-covered ass." If that was possible, the black haired boy blushed even more, while it was clear that those around him were trying their best not to burst out laughing. "C'mon, we are going back." "Aww, are you being intimidated by some girls now?" the Yamanaka cooed, mocking him. "Come back anytime for more, cutie." Karura said, winking. Grumbling, the boy led his friends away. "Some of those Sarutobi jerks... I swear I can't stand them." the Nara declared. "Thank you." Himawari said politely to the older girls. "We... Onii-chan...?" Boruto had started walking away in the opposite direction. At his sister's voice, he stopped for a moment, then slowly turned back. "I'm sorry... She's right, thank you..." "Boruto..." Karura started with a concerned expression. "I heard from Shikadai... I'm so sorry about-" "Karura." Boruto didn't say anything else, but the momentary flickering of his eyes to Himawari told the brown eyed girl what he didn't convey. She sighed. "Yeah... We just wanted you to know that we are all here." "Ditto." Inochi said with a small smile. The blond also gave them the ghost of a smile before he turned and started walking away. After a moment of pause, Himawari started following him. ... "Mama?" Hearing Himawari's voice, Hinata turned around to face her daughter, and did a double take. She knew her daughter was concerned about Boruto, but her expression now was something more than concern, something close to... being frightened... "Yes dear?" "What is wrong... with everyone? Onii-chan wouldn't tell me anything... but we came across some bullies and they told him some mean things..." The woman tensed at her daughter's words. "What kind of things?" Himawari took a deep breath, then looked directly into her eyes. "Who is in the hospital?" The woman felt her heart skip a beat. The look in her eyes saddened. "Sweetie, it's nothing you have to worry about..." "Mom, I'm not a kid anymore!" the young girl said stubbornly, puffing out her cheeks. "Those kids were saying some bad things, so I thought they were talking about some terrible person but that wouldn't explain why onii-chan is so sad all the time! He even skipped training..." "Their sensei called the training off this morning..." the woman said, avoiding her question. But Himawari was a clever child, she had always been... her eyes turned sad too as she looked at her mother. "Mom... is it about Mitsu-nii?" Hinata sighed. "You will know when it's the right time..." "But aunt Hanabi told me that too! When is the right time?" she asked again, and her tone was becoming impatient. "Just tell me..." "Please, baby. Not now." "Was he sick? Is he gonna be alright?" "Himawari." Her tone was not harsh, but it was clear that she was finishing the conversation then and there. Hurt despite herself, Himawari grumbled a "Fine!" and turned her back to go. It didn't matter. She would find out anyway. ... No one gave him a second glance as he walked into the hospital. Boruto was very quiet as he made his way into his friend's room. There were no medics inside, which really suited him more than he could admit... He closed the door without a sound, as if he was afraid to make a noise, afraid to disturb his friend... He almost laughed at the idea. Since when had he been such a considerate person? If he was to be honest with himself, he had always been the brattiest, the one and only trouble maker... Of course Sarada was there to put him in line from time to time, but it was very seldom that he would listen to her. Most of the time, it turned into a competition before they knew it. No, the one person who was always able to curb his sometimes insane tendencies was Mitsuki... He tried not to gulp, trying to force his emotions back down, and after a minute, held his head high. "I know what you would say if you saw me right now." he said defiantly, managing to control the trembling. "What am I doing here, right? I shouldn't be so worried, I shouldn't come and go as I please... I shouldn't let some people get to me so easily..." His hand had unconsciously turned into a fist. "Huh... because you are one to talk... I kept telling you that you shouldn't listen to those morons... l-look how it ended up..." He closed his eyes and turned his head to a side, teeth gritted... No matter how hard he tried... It hurt... It hurt so much... After a minute... he opened his eyes and brushed the back of his hand over them. "I'm not even here for this... I just wanted to tell you..." His gaze drifted back to his friend. "Look... Mitsuki... You can't leave us, okay...? I know that it might not seem like this right now, but... lots of people would miss you..." His voice started failing. "I-I mean... you're my best friend, you can't leave me like this...! Who would I tell about my pranks if you weren't around...? No one else listens to me like you do..." That was when he couldn't hold it any longer... "So... you baka... you better hold on in there and don't give up on me... Because I'll never forgive you if you do..." He started shaking as more tears rolled down. "And I'll kick your soul's ass back into your body if I have to..." He was tired... he was tired to play the big, tough boy who wouldn't be fazed by anything... He just... wanted, needed this breakdown... He didn't hear the slow opening of the door behind him as he walked forward to the bed, hand reaching forward to gently hold on to the blue haired boy's hand. "Just... please wake up already... We all need you so much..." Before he could even finish, he heard a loud gasp behind and turned around abruptly... His world pretty much came to a stop when he saw his younger sister, her eyes widened and a frightened and sad look in them... looking past him towards the bed... The blond felt his pulse quickening and his breath turning into gasps as he just stood there, at a loss of what to do or say... "Wh-wha..." the younger Uzumaki began, then gulped as tears filled into her eyes. "What happened to Mitsu-nii...?" Boruto was surprised that he still somehow managed to find his voice. "Himawari..." he began feebly. "Why is he like this? Who did this to him?!" her voice was becoming hysteric, and the elder felt even more lost as he just didn't know what to say... how to comfort her... "Boruto? Himawari?" At that moment, he was sure he had never been more grateful in his entire life to have heard another voice. Sakura was on the doorway and was looking at them with something akin to... sympathy? pity? The blond felt the need to explain himself. "I-I didn't know she followed me..." Sakura sighed before she started walking inside. "I can see that..." "Aunt Sakura...?" Himawari mumbled in a tiny voice, to which the pink haired medic gave her a soft smile. "It's gonna be alright, Himawari. Mitsuki is just sleeping for now, he just needed rest for a while..." "But why... what happened to him...?" The soft look in her eyes intensified as the woman's eyes drifted towards the unconscious child. "He had been a very, very brave boy... He protected all of us from some really bad people, but unfortunately, they hurt him..." "Didn't anyone help him...?" Boruto gulped at her question, he had to look away... the Uchiha was silent for a moment too. "I'm sorry sweetie... His voice didn't reach us... And so we couldn't reach him in time..." The young girl had started shaking, no matter how Sakura tried to ease her up to this, it was still hard for her... "Is..." she started, and gulped again. "Is it possible... that my voice reach him...?" With her warm smile still in place, the medic walked over to her and placed her hands on her shoulders. "Well... he is not gonna be able to reply to you but... yes, he can hear you." The young Uzumaki grew very quiet as her eyes drifted once again to Mitsuki. Slowly and without a sound, she approached the bed. Standing on tiptoes, her fingers curled on the bed sheets before she looked back to Sakura. "Can I...?" "Of course, dear." Picking her up, the Uchiha put the little girl on the bed, careful about helping her avoid stepping on the boy. Seeing him up close... Himawari indeed started crying. "Mitsu-nii..." she whispered, before reaching out to hold his hand. "Aunt Sakura says you will hear me..." she began, her voice quivering. "So I just want you to know... We all love you so much... And it will be... very lonely without you around..." She started shaking with the sobs. "So please... wake up soon, okay...? I will fight anyone who is bad mouthing you at that time..." She wiped her eyes. "Just please... please come back to us...!" Leaning forward carefully, she placed a gentle kiss on the cheek of him. "Mom told me that kisses have healing powers..." "I'm sure it'll help his healing process," Sakura said with a smile, then looked at Boruto. "Boruto, can you please take your sister back home? It's not healthy for her to be here much longer." The young blond gulped and nodded. "Let's go, Hima." His younger sister nodded and slid back down from the bed. "You heard her, Mitsuki..." he said, looking back at his friend. "We are all waiting for you, so you better hurry up... And you better not make my sister cry again, you jerk." Even Hima had to smile a little when she heard that. She walked over to her brother, and together they walked out, hand in hand. ... It had been a long day in the office. Aside from the daily businesses of the village, Naruto and his advisors had discussed the situation of the two prisoners. Since he was arriving later in the night, Darui was to deal with Hiraku, but what with Oto being an... unofficial village... there were many debates on what Takeru’s fate would be. The hokage had left the office as soon as the trial date was decided. He was not going back on his word to Boruto. Before he noticed, he found himself in front of their home. The house was dark aside from the light in the living room. As he climbed the stairs, the porch light turned on too. Hinata opened the door to him, a genuine but tired smile on her face. "Naruto..." Naruto hugged her with one arm and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "How is everything?" Hinata's gaze drifted downwards as she sighed. This made her husband frown a little. "What is it?" "It's just... Himawari..." The woman heaved another deep sigh before looking up into his eyes. "She followed Boruto into the hospital today..." The man's eyes widened before a sad look settled in them. "Oh no..." "She tries to play it down, mostly for the sake of Boruto..." Hinata couldn't help a small smile at that... sometimes, she couldn't tell which one of her children was the oldest. "But of course, she is shaken..." "Of course..." Naruto sighed himself before pulling himself away. "I will visit her first..." And without further ado, he started walking towards his daughter's room. Trying to be as quiet as possible, he pushed the door open. There was a quick movement under the blanket, and the blond couldn't help but chuckle lightly. He walked over to the bed and sat near the head, next to the bulk in it. "Who is the little rodent here?" The answer was immediate, like it always was when they played this game. "I'm not a rodent!" "But little girls should be sleeping at this hour..." "I am sleeping..." came the voice, and the man couldn't hold back his laughter this time. At that, finally his daughter lowered the blankets to look at him. His smile turned a little sad when he saw her reddened eyes. "Himawari..." The youngest Uzumaki smiled tenderly, genuinely happy to see him. "Welcome home, daddy." She scooted a little over so her dad could come in more, taking her in his arms. "So I heard you caused a little mischief today..." he said lightly, and heard her sniffling. "I couldn't stand seeing onii-chan so sad all the time... I wanted to know why he was..." There was a pause, and Himawari gulped before she asked her next question, a tear rolling down her cheek. "Papa... Is... Is Mitsu-nii gonna die...?" Her father's arms wrapped around her more tightly. "No... No Hima, he is strong, he will be back..." The girl raised a hand to wipe her eyes. "Aunt Sakura and mama said so too... But onii-chan is so sad..." Naruto nodded. "It is not easy to see our loved ones like that... But we have to keep believing in them and pray, with all our might, for them to be okay... Alright?" Hima nodded too and a little smile appeared on her face. "I do. I will always be there for onii-chan and Mitsu-nii." Naruto put his hand over her head and stroked her hair a bit before kissing the top of her head. "I know you will." Then he slowly got up from the bed, putting the covers over his daughter. "But for that, you will need your strength. So you need to go to sleep." "Yep." the young girl smiled warmly at him. "I will. Good night, daddy." "Good night, Himawari." he said, smiling himself. Now was the hardest part... Naruto stood for a while in front of his son's door, gathering his courage. Knowing that he was probably not asleep yet and he wouldn't appreciate it if he didn't, he knocked on the door before opening. Just as he thought, Boruto was lying spread-eagled on his bed, his eyes wide open. His head turned to the door when he heard it open. "Dad...?" Naruto smiled at him. "How are you, oja (1)?" The younger blond stared at him for a moment. "It's been a while since you called me that... Back when..." "...you won your first sparring match in the academy." Boruto smiled a little too. "Mom couldn't come because of Hima... You were there to watch me..." The man took the few steps to the bed. "As I will always be." he pulled the covers over his son. "And you will always be my champion." "You know, I'm not a little kid anymore." the boy said with a bit of a pout, but it was clear that he was also enjoying himself. That made Naruto chuckle a little before ruffling his son's hair. "I know. Now go to sleep." He was about to get out when Boruto's voice stopped him. "Dad...?" He turned back, curiosity in his eyes. "Yeah?" "You should visit Hima too... S-she followed me to the hospital today..." Naruto felt pride filling his chest... thinking of how his children were always so protective to each other... "I already did. She is going to be fine... She is strong, just like you." The young boy's smile was genuine. "Thank you, dad..." With that, Naruto walked out and gently closed the door behind him. ... The evening turned into a chilling night as the train made its way into the station and came to a stop on squeaking wheels. The doors opened and first came out jounin ranked ninjas, eyes alert, positions rigid. Naruto and Shikamaru stepped forward as finally, a dark skinned man descended the steps. "Lord Raikage..." Shikamaru said with a small bow. The man inclined his head towards him in acknowledgement before turning his gaze on Naruto, and both the kages gazed at each other with grim expressions. "Welcome to Konoha, Darui." Naruto said at last.        

[alipeeps]

Oooft.

I want to like The Flaming Heart. I really do. I like Gong Jun and he is very good in it and the concept sounded good... but ooft...

The thing is... if you are making a drama about firefighters and doctors in a modern day setting... then your depiction of how emergency services work... and especially your depiction of how medicine works... needs to be at least vaguely accurate! Otherwise the action is simply not believable and you lose any real tension or drama, because the way things are happening are just laughably wrong.

Like... no... the deputy chief of a fire station, who just happens to be at the emergency services control centre when an emergency call comes in, does NOT get to tell the trained phone operator “I’ll handle this!” and take over the call. Emergency call handlers are specifically trained, both on how to use the phone and computer systems to accurately log and action the call, and on how to deal with the person on the phone and help them remotely. This is not training that a firefighter would have!

And no... in the event that the person on the phone passes out without having given his address... you can’t send out three fire engines in three different directions and get them to sound their sirens so you can see which one you can hear down the phone line and then magically by doing so somehow send the nearest fire engine to the *exact street* in a large city on which the patient lives and tell them to look for a “rectangular ground floor window with a light on” to find the right appartment!! The guy was calling from a landline in his home! They would have a record of the number and would be able to look up the address!!

And as for the medical stuff... oh wow...

No. A heavily pregnant woman (even if “due any day now”) does not go straight from literally ZERO contractions to “OMG my waters have broken and the baby is coming NOWWWW!” and she will absolutely have to push more than three (3) times for the baby to be born. Also... the process of giving birth, and the need for medical staff to be taking care of the person giving birth, doesn’t STOP the moment the baby is out, and the medical staff don’t get to smile in relief and just stand around holding the swaddled baby!

And No. When you (by some miracle) get to the apartment of the unconscious caller and find him on the floor with a head injury - but no fire or other immediate threat to his or your safety - you would not have 4 firemen lift him like a sack of potatoes onto an emergency stretcher and hurriedly carry him out of the building without having done any kind of examination or made any attempt to stabilise his neck or anything. You would wait for the paremedics!!

And No. Briefly holding a stethoscope over the *outside* of the bodice of an unconscious woman’s wedding dress, and doing no further examinations at all, is not sufficient to diagnose the patient as beyond saving (in a trauma situation) and to silently put a black wristband (signifiying that she is beyond saving) on her wrist without even bothering to speak to her distraught husband (who is *watching you do this*) or explain to him in any way that his wife is dead/dying and cannot be helped.

And No. The correct response to realising that someone has a penetrating injury to their lower leg is not to tie a tourniquet around their thigh before you’ve even examined the wound to see how serious it is!

And No. That’s not where you put the pads for an ECG (and please god don’t remove the pads by just grabbing the bundle of wires and pulling to rip them all off!!)

And just... just.... NO! 

*cries*