#I may have one more pack for this set of icons

[k9catastrophe]

A BIG list of entirely free games therians and alterhumans can get !!! This isn't like an ad for them or anything, but when i was younger i never really had games that fit my theriotypes :( so why not start now!! this is in no real order.

These are all games where you play AS the animal, most of them being semirealistic? They're all free, so they aren't super realistic sorry!!! These are all also games i find on my tablet, so im not sure if they're available on pc!!

Wildcraft: As of today, Wildcraft updates every once and awhile, usually for the Wildpass thing they do almost weekly[? i took a large break from this game, forgive me if im misremembering.] Wildcraft was made by Turbo Rocket Games in early 2018. The multiplayer servers arent as active as they used to be, but it's still fun to play with friends sometimes!! I usually play in singleplayer though!! (Also, there is a settings option to make it first person, and one to hide the buttons!)

Playable Animals: Right now there are 12 land animals: Wolf [Default], Fox [Common], Lynx, Bear, Lion [Rares], Cheetah, Horse, Eagle, Crocodile, Tiger, Gorilla, and Kangaroo! [Ledgendaries], all of which are obtainable through the chests!! There are also 9 transformations [which are more difficult to get !!]: Raccoon, Deer, Hippo, Giraffe, Gazelle, Hyena, Rhino, Parrot, and Snake! There are also 5 Sea creatures: Dolphin [default], Stingray [Rare], Shark, Seal, and Sea turtle! You can have up to eight family members for every animal, who are also customizable! [not including transformations]

Customizability: There are TONS of skins and accessories for every animal, and you can adjust the size of their body parts, making your character entirely customizable! There are also LOTS of pets!

I give it a solid 10/10!! I've loved this game since it came out!! Me and my brother @whisperrdrrop [hii] played it like the year it came out!! I highly recommend playing this one ! >w< The community also has tons of fun creepypastas, and though the only real one is 'Niddhogg,' it's super fun to just learn about them!

Wolf Tales (Home & Heart (IT MIGHT BE 'WILD ANIMAL SIM' NOW IDK)): (The icon may have changed, my ipad doesn't update icons very much!!!) As of Today, Wolf Tales has basically stopped updating from what i can see. However this doesn't take away from the fun of it!! The game was created around 2020 by Foxie Ventures. Servers are multiplayer by default, but there is a singleplayer option!

Playable Animals: There are currently only 5 animals: Wolf, Fox, Bear, Wild/Big cat, and Dragon! All are unlocked by playing through the quests, though you can use moonstones (ingame 'rare' currency) to auto-buy most of them! Your families/packs are grown through opening chests and breeding!

Customizability: There are quite a few skins for every animal, ranging in rarity. you can obtain skins through buying the 'summoning' of the animal you'd like with moonstones and getting a random skin, or buying one directly. Skins are also not changeable! Let's say you're a grey wolf, and you get the sand wolf skin. You would have to enter your den and find that skin, and switch into that one, meaning it could have a different level! There are also LOTS of pets, though i do not remember how to get them. The only way to change your character is through changing limb sizes, there are no accessories!!

I give it a nice little 9/10, as much as i love this game i don't play it too often, but it really is fun! I think i got this game when it came out, and it was really fun watching the game and the community grow and change!! When i joined, not every player had a jump button, and there was this cool feature called 'Clans' (replaced by the player clans, sadly :() where there were 5 packs that you had to either defeat the alpha of or become besties with, and you'd get a packmate of any rarity from them daily!! My bestie pack was called 'the moonrise pack' and the #1 public enemy was 'The tooth pack' or something. I definitely recommend it :3!!

Ultimate Wolf/Fox/Forest/Savanna/Dinosaur/Cat/Shark/Bird/Jungle Simulator: they made a LOT of these games. These are only the ones that are free on my tablet, but im also seeing 'ocean,' 'dog,' 'arctic,' and 'lion' simulators for a dollar, you'd have to check and see if those are free. I'm mostly focusing on the WOLF simulator here, because i do NOT want to download all of those games. There is no multiplayer option for any of them. All made by gluten free games, no idea the release dates.

Playable Animals: The animals depend on which game you get. I know forest has bears, Savanna has cheetahs, Dinosaur has T-rex, triceratops, and ankylosaurus, bird has parrots and eagles, and jungle has tigers, but these are definitely not every animal !!

Customizability: you unlock a skin for every few levels, and you can tint them, but that's about it. For every game. There's like... 8-15 for most?

I give it a 7/10. As much as i do really, really love this game and all the memories playing it, it's really not the most entertaining game out there. If you're really bored and have nothing to do, sure, go wild with it!!

Dog Sim: I just got this game and it's so silly !! Made by Turbo Rocket Games in 2016, the multiplayer servers are surprisingly still decently active! Obviously it doesn't update anymore.

Playable Animals: The only animals in these are: (you guessed it) dogs. There's a single skin that... might? be a wolf, and there's two robo dog skins. There's a total of 38 skins!

Customizability: The only thing you can customize is your breed, sorry!

Other than that, theres a LOT to play with! With 5 bosses, 25 enemy/prey creatures, 1 map, 1 den, a max level of 200, a maximum family size of 4, 20 achievements, and 30 quests, there's plenty to do!

I give it a nice 8/10, the only points taken being because the game itself isnt the highest quality, and the models arent all 10/10, but it's still a really silly game! I do recommend it :)

Cat simulator - animal life: created in 2019 by Pocket Games entertainment, i think this one is pretty cute! With active multiplayer servers!!

Playable Animals: Just kitties! silly little kitties on big adventures!!

Customizability: Lots of cute skins and accessories!!!

There are tons of quests, camp upgrades, and more included in this!!

I didn't play this one for too long, but there are some pvp servers aswell. Overall really cute game, not too buggy/laggy! 10/10 :3

Wild Cougar Sim (3D): Another game made by Turbo Rocket games before their big success that was Wildcraft, Cougar Sim was created in 2015 (I think? I'm only finding the youtube trailer, dont be afraid to correct me.) I'm not seeing an option for multiplayer unfortunately :(!

Playable Animals: Yeah, It's just Cougars! What did you expect?

Customizability: With eight skins (Must be purchased with ingame currency), 9 coat marking options (Almost like tattoos!) including a Shark, Wolf, Lizard, Scorpion, Butterfly and Bird (Phoenix?), and options to change body/limb sizes, there's actually really good customization here!

With 3 unlockable family members, 30 quests, 20 achievements, 18 enemy/prey creatures, 4 biomes, and 8 dens, there is plenty to keep yourself busy with here! That accompanied by the fact that this isn't even a bad looking game, i honestly give it a nice 10/10! Very cute game, not much lag, pretty good in terms of realism, it's pretty cool!! :)

Dragon Sim Online: Yet another game made by Turbo Rocket in 2016, i quite like this one! With semi-active multiplayer servers!!

Playable Animals: Quite a few different types of Dragons, varying in element, colour, and breeds!

Customizability: With 4 elements, 46 (VERY pretty) skins, and limb/body adjustment sliders, you can customize your dragon pretty well!

Similar to both Cougar Sim and Dog Sim, Dragon Sim has plenty to offer: 30 quests, 20 achievements, 27 enemy/prey creatures, 3 bosses, 6 islands and 4[?] dens, there's plenty there to keep you busy! another 10/10 from me :)

this list is incomplete !! I'm still working on this, im just having trouble finding games !! If you find any free games like these, send me an ask with some info on it!!

[anotherplumbob]

Uberhood 2024 Update By AnotherPlumbob (CC free)

The Uberhood is an ongoing PROJECT where I’m creating a Cc-free savefile, with all the worlds and lore from The Sims 2 ported to The Sims 4. 

NOTE: In this update I've revamped PLEASANTVIEW only - if you were interested in the other worlds or premades, please note they remain exactly as they were in the previous versions.

It currently includes

1.- Remade Worlds

Pleasantview (Newcrest+Willow Creek)

Strangetown (Strangerville+Oasis Springs)

Veronaville (Windenburg)

Bluewater Promenade (Magnolia Promenade)

Three Lakes (Granite Falls)

Bluewater Bay [only partially built] (Brindleton Bay)

All the career lots (detective, hospital and science lab).

BEWARE: the rest of the worlds are either empty, half built or a mess in general.

2.- Families

The save includes all the premade families as well as the iconic townies that lived in those worlds in The Sims 2 times. They all have jobs, relationships, sentiments, lifestyles, reputations, etc. For Pleasantview sims only I've also included more lore in the form of milestones, added traits, midlife crisis, etc.

3. Required packs and How to Install (PLEASE READ)

THE SAVE IS CC-FREE BUT ALL EXPANSION, GAME PACKS,STUFF PACKS AND KITS RELEASED UP UNTIL MARCH 2024. 

If you don’t have all packs, sims may be half naked, and/or bald and stuff may be missing. Install at your own risk. 

In order to install:

BACK UP YOUR SAVES.

Download the the SAVE file.

Put the save in your SAVES folder.  Documents > Electronic Arts > Sims 4 > Saves. I changed the name of the file so that it will hopefully not overwrite any of your saves (including the previous v1). If your system prompts you to overwrite a save, do not click yes. Just change the name of the save (keep it 8 numbers but change the numbers) and try again.

Optional: Put the .package file (StrangetownTexts.package) in your mods folder. This file is used to change the Strangerville mystery a bit, and turn it into the Strangetown mystery (with custom texts, references to the Bella mystery, etc.). Please install it if you want to have some clues on what happened to Bella!! 

4. Play Order

There’s really no set play order but note that:

1.- Brandi Broke is pregnant and will give birth in 3 days regardless of who you play and regardless of whether aging is on or off, so play with her first if you want to be there for the birth.

2.- Same thing applies to Pascal Curious, who’s also pregnant at the start of the save.

5. Disclaimer and TOU

I’m just one person and there may be some bugs here or there, or naked sims or whatever. Feel free to report any bugs you find but I will only fix them if I consider them super relevant or game breaking, otherwise the save is provided as is and you install it at your own risk.

Also please don't waste your breath asking me to do X world, or add lore to Veronaville or Strangetown or whatever, because I will only do it if and when I'm inspired to do it - and the requests quite honestly stress me out.

THE TERMS OF USE ARE: Be nice and don’s steal others creations! 

Download: Sim File Share - Filehosting for Simmers

[taasgirl]

say something pt 3.

summary: although playing for the same club, pedri and y/n cannot stand the thought of being around each other. enemies to lovers for all my slow burn girlies out there - i got u

a/n: not proofread and all in english + more installments coming soon!!

"Sir, can I get an extension on this? I've got a game the same day." The room was small enough for me to get my voice across. We had finished learning all the content and were just revising and studying for our exams.

"Talk to me after class and I'll see what we can do." I hated asking for extensions and grants on assessments, and I could almost hear everyone in the room roll their eyes every time I asked for one. I was also avoiding Alex. I last saw him at my match where I blew him off. I was planning on talking to him about everything. I really felt bad about how I was treating him.

As the professor wrapped up class, I began packing my things into my duffel. I had training later today, but I was absolutely dying for some food.

I followed everyone down to the exit and stopped at the desk. "Listen Y/N, we're all quite aware of your commitments to football." The Professor, Mr Lanigan, was filing papers into a binder. "But we've awarded you too many grants. I'm sorry, but for this paper the day you are sitting the exam is set in stone."

To say I was shocked would be an understatement. They generally were totally fine with my footballing schedule. "I can't make it then sir. You know how strict they are." He looked at me sympathetically.

"You're a bright girl. you'll figure something out." I walked out after thanking him, but I was pissed. There was no way I could sit that test. Barca were strict. Missing a game for university was a big no no, they were already being flexible with me, allowing me to attend lectures during the day.

After a quick pitstop to the closest cafe on campus, I decided to walk back to the apartment. I needed to collect my thoughts and find out a way for me to attend my assessment while also getting to my game on time and prepared.

While walking through the streets of Barcelona, I was stopped numerous times by fans asking for my photo. Now it wasn't uncommon for me to be stopped, but I took at least 30 photos today which was way more than usual.

As I got back to the apartment, I was greeted by a sleepy Salma. "Morning girly." She was still in her pyjamas, obviously looking for something to eat. "Sal it's 2pm." She shrugged, making me laugh.

"Hey I need to get to football a bit earlier, I've gotta talk with Jonatan." Salma opened the fridge, "Yeah that's fine, I'll drive."

"So do you know what time your exam is?" I was sitting in Jonatan's office, begging him to help me figure something out. "It's from four until five." He shook his head at my response.

"I'm sorry Y/N but you won't be able to make the game." I wanted to throw my head back in anger but I didn't. "Please, is there anything you or the president can do? I can't miss this exam and I can't miss the game." I had found out that the game that I was set to miss because of my exam was an El Classico. I wasn't going to miss that.

"That's not in my power. You must speak to your university and make a decision." I could feel my eyes swelling. It may just seem like a game, but I had been dreaming of an El Classico at the Camp Nou my entire life. This was the first year that they had decided to play the derby at the iconic stadium, and I wasn't going to miss it for the world. "I hope you can figure it out. I'll see you on the field." He stood up and helped me out of the room.

I couldn't look at him as I felt the tears come on. I walked down the hallway with my head down, trying as fast as I could to get back to Salma's car. She had given me keys and trusted me to drive it even thought I still didn't have my license. And right now, it seemed like the perfect place to cry.

I continued walking and picked up my pace. That was until I walked straight into someone. The apology came out of me before I could even look up.

It was Pedri.

He was holding my arms, and was concerned when I looked up. "Y/N are you ok?" I was so angry. I needed to just get all my thoughts out.

"No I'm not Pedri. Everything is so fucked." My voice turned croaky but I kept speaking.

With his hands still on my arms, he pulled me into a random office with him, he told me to keep talking.

"I just can't do school at the same time as this. Why did I think it was a good idea to play football. Or go to university." I had begun crying. "And now I have to either miss out on one of the most important exams I will ever take, or miss out on the most important game of my life." I wiped the tears from my cheek and continued as Pedri stepped closer.

"And I'm sorry if this is gonna come off as rude but I have to go to uni. My job is not as permanent as yours." He pulled me in and held my tight, lightly running his fingers through my ponytail. "If I fuck this up then I need a backup. And there's just so much pressure to do both. I can't handle it anymore Pedri."

"It's ok baby, let it out." I couldn't stop crying. I had bottled these emotions up for too long, and they needed to come out. I just wish it wasn't Pedri who would have to see me like this.

We stayed like that, me in him arms for at least another minute while he reassured me. When I pulled away, he picked up my chin and wiped away a tear. "You're a pretty crier." I lightly smacked him, sniffling. "We should probably get to training Pepi." He agreed, and walked out with me.

We walked down to the changerooms together where he then spoke up. "You can talk to me if you need. I may not be able to relate to you or your situation, but I can understand you." I hugged him. It was all I could do, no words were coming out.

I stepped into the women's changeroom and was met by Salma's eyes. "So what did he say?" I shook my head at her. "He can't do anything."

She got up from her seat to hug me. "You smell like cologne." I blushed into her shoulder, I wasn't gonna tell her about what happened.

"And girls, please make sure you're on time tonight." Lucy spoke to us all as we finished up training. Tonight was the some type of ceremony for our sponsors. These fancy dinner happened almost fortnightly, however it wasn't often that we all had to attend.

Lucy was definitely targeting us. Salma had made us late so many times, walking in awkwardly when someone was mid-speech.

"Oh and the boys'll be there too." The whole changeroom groaned. As much as we were 'one club', we couldn't stand the guys. It was something about their cockiness that really pissed everyone off.

"Girl you look fire. Surely your trying to impress someone tonight." Salma nudged my shoulder while I was putting on my make up. "Watch it Paralleulo, one wrong move and my lipstick becomes foundation."

I chose a gorgeous blue and white dress. It wasn't too formal, but also not to casual - the perfect pick.

"Oh and I'm not driving. Pedri is picking us up." My eyes widened in the mirror. Pedri. Driving us. Pedri? "Don't give me that look girl, I know you wanna jump in his pants."

"That's gross Salma. When will he be here?" Salma peeked out the window. "Now. Him and Gavi are outside." I ran to the window, finding Pedri and Gavi dawdling on the sidewalk. "Come on Sal, let's go down."

Once we approached the two boys, Salma ran to Gavi, giving him a big hug. Pedri and I locked eyes. He smiled awkwardly before coming closer to me. He wrapped his arms around me and I did the same. "You look great." We peeled off each other as Pedri went to Salma, and I to Gavi.

"Alright guys come one we don't want to be late." Gavi ushered to us as we packed into the car. He offered the front seat to me, basically forcing me to sit in with Pedri.

"Y/N chuck on some music, let's see what you've got." Pedri helped me connect the bluetooth to my phone, and soon enough, I had the car pumping to some 2000s pop.

The trip didn't take too long. We were on the road for about 30 mins and it was truly enjoyable. Salma led most of the conversation, but soon enough Pedri and I warmed up.

"Oh guys, does anyone wanna go out after this thing? I'm happy to drive around?" Pedri called out to us, he turned he head to mostly face me. I smiled at him, "Yeah actually that would be great." Salma spoke after me, "Surely we go and pick up some McDonalds."

"Do you know what this is actually for?" Pedri leaned into my ear. We were seated at a table together with some sponsors. Literally just us. "Boy don't ask me, I'm still half asleep." He chuckled at my response.

We spent a decent amount of time talking to the people at our table, most of them were major sponsors of the club. "So Y/N, you think you'll be able to fight for Champions League this year?" The short man opposite me asked. "Of course, I've always got space for silverware on my shelf." Everyone around me laughed, the found my cockiness funny. "Atta girl." Pedri rubbed my back gracefully.

"This is boring." He was playing around with the food on his plate. It was some type of concoction of left-over steak with a dark red sauce. "Shut up and eat your food Pedro." He rolled his eyes before sticking his fork into one of the roast potatoes on my plate. While looking straight at me, he ate it. "Hey don't eat my stuff." I smacked him on the shoulder.

"So how long have you two been dating for?" Pedri practically choked on his food. "Huh?" I looked at one of the women sitting a few seats down from me. "How long have you two been together? I mean with that much chemistry, it's gotta be a few years." My cheeks turned rosy.

"Umm." I cut him off "Oh we're not together." Despite how loud the venue was, I could hear the silence radiating from our table. "Oh woah, I'm sorry. I really thought you were- never mind." I smiled at her almost apologetically.

I leaned over to Pedri. "I'm just gonna head to the bathroom." He nodded.

I walked straight to the bathroom to touch up my makeup. I was feeling flushed from what that woman had said. I didn't think we were too affectionate, or even flirting. Well at least not a lot.

I fixed up my hair before pushing open the door. As I walked through the narrow hallway, I felt a hand from behind pull me in.

I spun around and was immediately pulled into a kiss. Pedri had one hand on my cheek and the other on my waist, kissing me relentlessly.

As I pulled away, I smiled at him. There were faint lipstick smudges on his lips. "You need to stop making out with me outside bathrooms." I punched his shoulder playfully.

"Come here." He pulled me back into him, this time his hands were exploring my back. "You're so gorgeous." I kissed him harder to shut him up.

When we had finally stopped kissing I laughed. "Go to the restroom and clean that lipstick off your face." Concerned, Pedri tried to wipe it off. All I could do was smile. "I'll catch you back out there."

"You good?" Salma had caught me as I entered back into the show room. "Your hair's a mess." I rolled my eyes as we made our way towards the table. "Where's Pedri?" I raised my shoulders.

"Holy shit. You just fully fucked him huh?" I smacked her. "Shut up Sal." She was in awe. "I was wondering where you two went holy shit." I turned her around to face her away from everyone, and from the hallway out walked Pedri.

"You slut." Her smile was from cheek to cheek. "We kissed now please don't say anything." She couldn't stop looking at me.

I found Pedri again and sat back down next to him. “And to think that only a few days ago you smacked the shit out of me.” I laughed at what he said. I stood by my decision to smack him up - he deserved it.

Halfway through the dinner I got a message from Alex, I immediately began responding to him. I needed to tell him how I really felt.

He was asking me for some notes from class. Something about interview techniques. I told him that I was happy to send them through but only when I had gotten home.

“Who you messaging?” Pedri was staring at my phone. “One of the boys in my class - you’ve seen him.” He nodded his head, still reading the incoming messages. Alex was asking me when we could meet up next. I instinctively told him tomorrow. I wanted to right some wrongs with him. He was a genuinely sweet guy, just not the guy.

Swing by mine tomorrow - I need to talk to you

The car ride home was pretty silent, we didn’t end up going to McDonalds and instead Pedri drove us straight home. He hadn’t really said much since we kissed. I put my hand on his thigh, only for him to move his leg away.

When we had reached the apartment Pedri didn’t bother leaving the car. “Come on ladies, I’ve got you.” Gavi walked us to our rooms, and explained how he was gonna go clubbing now with Pedro.

“Don’t get too drunk yeah?” I patted him on the shoulder. “Yeah and don’t let her boyfriend get too drunk either.” I gave Salma a death stare. “Who Pepi?” She smiled at him. “Did you two…” he didn’t finish he sentence. “No we didn’t sleep together god.” He laughed and ushered us inside.

As soon as I had taken off my dress and removed my makeup, I landed straight into my bed. “What’s up with you girl?” Salma opened my door.

“If this is about Pedro… just trust me, he’s literally in love with you okay? Yeah he’s an angry dickhead, but he does really care for you.” I rolled over in my bed “He’s so confusing Sal.”

After what seemed like the longest sleep in of my life, I was woken up by the sound of my phone buzzing. Alex was messaging me about when he should come over - I told him in an hours time before taking my phone out of the charger and checking instagram.

Well if that wasn’t a huge fucking mistake.

Each photo and video in my feed was of Pedri making out with some girl. And that girl wasn’t me. I tried not to immediately jump to the fact that it was last night, but his coat jacket and blue button up were far too recognisable.

I went looking for more and felt my heart shatter when I saw the girl sitting on his lap. His arms were wrapped around her, holding her tight to his body.

I found even more videos until I couldn’t bare seeing what I saw. Salma cautiously walked into my room. “Hey babes.” She sat down on the end of my bed. “Have you seen the fucking videos?” She looked at me sadly. “Aw come here.” She wriggled her way up to me, holding me as I felt the tears begin to fall.

“I thought he liked me Sal.” She brushed her fingers through my hair. “He does Y/N, he’s just really fucking stupid.”

To me, this feeling was worse than a breakup. We weren’t together but that’s what made it worse. He wasn’t even cheating on me. God he was just out clubbing and making out with a hot girl.

The tears fell effortlessly down my face. “I never want to see his stupid fucking face again.”

“So, has the club figured anything out?” My professor asked. I knew that he was trying his hardest with the university, but they wouldn’t budge. “Nothing sir. I’m just gonna have to bite the bullet and hope they don’t kill me for missing an El Classico.”

He looked at me sympathetically. “Listen, I’m gonna try for one last push. I’ll see what I can do.” I thanked him once more and left the building. Alex was outside waiting for me - I told him that I was too unwell to meet up yesterday.

“Hello beautiful.” He kissed me on the cheek and took the tote hanging off my shoulder. “Are you still okay for lunch?” I nodded at him, and soon enough we were in his car.

He was driving us to a local Thai restaurant - apparently it was his favourite. When we entered, I realised it wasn’t just a Thai restaurant. It was undoubtedly one of the fanciest restaurants I had ever been in. “Oh wow Alex, you really didn’t need to do all this.”

“It’s honestly nothing if it means I get to spend time with you.” I blushed and picked up my glass of water.

“So what’d you need to tell me?” His eyes were on the menu but still directed his voice at me.

“Umm.” I had no idea what to say. If Pedri wasn’t a complete and utter dickhead - making out with randos right after me, I would’ve told Alex that I wanted to end things.

But if Pedri really didn’t feel the way I thought he did, then I wasn’t going to waste my time or energy on him. “You know what, it’s nothing.” He smiled at me.

We were sat for at least two hours, letting ourselves completely loose; talking about anything and everything. As we finished up, he insisted that he paid. “Please, seriously it’s my treat.”

After lunch, we took a leisurely stroll close in the Botanic Gardens. Alex couldn’t stop taking photos of the flowers, and after a few accidental brushes, our hands were interlinked.

“Y/N you know I really like you right?” We walked past a grand oak tree, I smiled assuringly at him. “Like I genuinely see you as someone I want in my life for a long time.”

I froze. I liked Alex sure, but I wasn’t ready for that type of commitment. “Alex, I genuinely do enjoy spending time with you but I can’t commit to anything right now.”

His head dropped. “I’m sorry.” He rubbed my hand. “I understand.”

“Omg Y/N! Please can we get a photo?” I immediately dropped his hand. “Sure girls.”

Pedri’s POV

“The fuck is this shit?” I threw my phone across the room. “Calm down Pepi what is it?” Gavi called out to me.

“Is it Y/N?” He walked into my room and picked up the phone one the floor. “Oh shit.” He muttered to himself.

“So did that kiss mean nothing to her?” I practically shouted at Gavi.

“Oh, so she can’t go out to lunch with some random guy, but you’re allowed to make out with the first girl that jumps on you?” He chucked the phone at me.

“Salma called me and Y/N is pissed Pepi. That girl is absolutely head over heels for you, but you can’t control your dick enough to see how good she is to you.” I rolled my eyes.

“Yeah well what the fuck do you expect me to do when I see her messaging a guy, telling him to come over right after I fucking confessed my feelings to her?”

“I always knew she was whore, I just didn’t expect her to fucking use me.” Gavi slapped me. Right across the face. “Don’t call her that.” I stared at him. “Get the fuck out.”

“You need to talk to her Pedro. She’s really hurt.”

you know the drill! lmk if you like this series and want to be tagged in the next!! some accts wouldnt let me tag so sorry if that was u.

if you have any reqs pls submit them, i'm working on a few rn!!

@poppyflower-22 @girlidekanymore @heli991113 @xxenia14

[canonkiller]

Hi, I'm trying to do art commissions, but no one has commissioned me yet. Do you have any advice for attracting customers?

I wrote a lot of words for you in hopes that at least some of it will be helpful, so I'm putting the bulk of this answer below a read more to save people the scrolling. The quick and easy two tips that I find people forget to do the most are:

Is your art easy to find? Having a pinned post with a tag for your art, a link in your bio, or an art-focused / reblog-light blog (like this one!) make it so that people know you draw, and knowing you've been posting art for a while makes you less likely to be a scammer.

Is your commission info easy to find? People can't buy things that they don't know you're selling; clear and accessible links to your prices and terms are important.

Now for the real bulky meat of advice giving, where I say a lot of words that may or may not be relevant:

I have a lot of advice, but I do want to say before getting into it:

A lot of selling art (especially in a non-industry setting, like with social media commissions) is luck.

There is no one size fits all method for selling art, and it's best to go with what feels right to you (I'll go more into this later)

Tips for selling are not necessarily tips for creating, and there will be advice in here that I don't apply to myself. Determining what you do and do not implement is something you should decide for yourself and your work flow.

Your art not selling doesn't mean nobody cares about it.

Personally I think the idea of intentionally curating a single subject demographic of Customer and Consumer for your work is limiting and doomed to burnout in a non-industry space. I will also touch more on this later.

Now for the rest of it in varying orders:

✨ Attracting Customers

This one is going first because you mentioned it specifically. It is kind of vague though, by nature of the term, so what I advise doing is specifying.

When you are thinking of a customer, are you trying to appeal to:

People who will buy pre-made art products? (Pins, stickers, prints, etc)

People who will buy custom work? (Commissions for specific subject matter)

People who will buy art resources you've created? (Fonts, bases, texture packs, 3d models etc)

There's also frequency: a repeat customer of custom art will usually be appealed to more by a wide range of options (like illustrations), while you might get more single-purchase customers if you only offer a limited range of options (like only icons).

Demographics also, of course, play a substantial role in just custom art commissions; furries get lauded as high spenders, but they're also a huge community that is focused around OCs, so by statistics alone they will have more people with spending money and will be frequent customers of people drawing OCs. A narrower audience means fewer people, but often the spread of the people within that audience is the same - and at the end of the day, selling an art piece only requires one other person, it's just a matter of happening to find them.

The follow up question is of course the finding: the average artist in fandom spaces selling commissions does not have the platform or budget for an ad campaign. This, however, is also its own category:

✨ Posting Online

Right out the gate: anyone who has told you that just drawing x thing is the way to get easy money is wrong.

"If you draw more fan art, you'll -" wrong.

"Nobody cares about that, you should be drawing this instead -" wrong.

"if you need to sell fast, just sell porn -" wrong. And also re-evaluate your perceived lack of quality or value about the subject.

The things you will be able to create easily and consistently will be the things YOU, SPECIFICALLY, like to create. It is also entirely impossible that you are the only person on earth to have ever liked those things, which means that if you create them, there are people out there who will enjoy them.

It feels itchy to be like "and those people are Potential Customers", but it is true; your work will resonate with people. They will want you to create it. It is vitally important to your own well being that the things you create, that you want others to enjoy, are things you enjoy as well.

(This is also why the "just draw porn" joking advice that gets tossed around is particularly fucked up. You as the artist should not feel forced into drawing things you aren't comfortable with, and the vast majority of customers for explicit content also don't want the people making it to feel forced into doing so. It's basic consent. I have strong feelings about this.)

If you are creating things and putting them out into the world, they will find an audience. That audience may be one singular person! The number does not matter, because that's still a person who - again, sucks to frame ig this way - has the potential to buy things from you.

If you're constantly chasing a bigger follower count, more interactions, etc etc for the future, it can genuinely be pretty taxing on the people who want to support you in the present. When you enjoy someone's work, and want to support them, being told constantly that that support is not good enough is frustrating. Trying to follow your work should not lead to seeing more "likes are WORTHLESS and NOBODY reblogs my things" posts than it does art. You are a person making things to share with other people, and you have to remember it or you will burn yourself out into a desiccated husk.

TL:DR consistency is key and the easiest way to be consistent is to just draw whatever the fuck you live drawing in whatever ways you want to draw it, and then slap it on the internet somewhere and Keep Doing That

✨ The Actual Commission Information

this one is just factual really. A lot of artists have really shitty commission sheet layouts, because advertising graphic design and illustrative art are different skill sets. That's fine. You don't have to remake the wheel. A good commission sheet should include:

More images than text (if you can't see what the examples are when zoomed out, you have to rearrange or cut down on words)

Examples organized by price / type, and clearly labeled

Your personal favourites for examples - one really strong example piece is better than twenty tiny images of work you think is just "okay"

Contact information - having a method that works WITHOUT a social media account (email.) Is important and way easier to keep organized, imo

A SIMPLE list of strengths (the things you draw the best) and things you won't draw (common example: mechs). You do not need to list every fandom or subject matter. Limit yourself to a top five.

A clear and easy to type link for your terms of service. Carrd, and sites like it, is good for this. This will go into details about your process, what you will and won't do, permissions granted to the commissioner (like "no, you can't make an NFT with this"), your privacy policy (saying you won't sell commissioner details to third parties), and other stuff. You do not want to have all of this on your original post, because it should be thorough and you want your main post to be showcasing your work and not your legalese. Here's mine as a reference; if you have trouble writing your own, feel free to copy from it and make the necessary alterations for your work.

✨ There Was More I Was Going To Write But I Forgot

I have a different document of commission related talk here, which is also incomplete but in a different way. It's in my nature. Hopefully some combination of this and that can be useful to you. Sorry if they're not. I love you have a nice day

[petalruesimblr]

Hello everyone! As I have gained a lot more followers since my last #Followers Gift, I'm now back again with another one. This time I'm sharing two part-time careers: Stadium Operations Staff and Plumbob Pictures Studio Tour Guide.

To ensure we're all on the same page, please take a moment to read my #psa regarding these careers, click here.

If you are interested, click on ’Keep Reading’ below for more information and pictures of the Stadium Operations Staff and Plumbob Pictures Studio Tour Guide Part-Time Careers.

Stadium Operations Staff

Download Link: Sim File Share |

Career Details:

Available for: Young Adults and Adults Available Languages: English Rabbit Hole: Stadium Uniforms: Paper boy uniform from the journalism career Packs Needed: The Sims 3 File Type: Package 📣All descriptions for the levels, tones and metrics as well as skills required, salary, uniforms and other details are provided on the pictures above.

Plumbob Pictures Studio Tour Guide

Download Link: Sim File Share |

Career Details:

Available Languages: English Uniforms: Report processor uniform from the business career Packs Needed: The Sims 3, Late Night (Movie Set RH) File Type: Package 📣All descriptions for the levels, tones and metrics as well as skills required, salary, uniforms and other details are provided on the pictures above.

Required: NRAAS Careers Mod

Known issue: The Career_Pic_s (the image that will show beside the level name in the game) will always appear dark. I have already checked the Job Centre Discord and it seems to be a common issue. There was advice to make the image white, which I did try, but it didn't look great due to my limited editing skills. So, I resorted to using two different pictures for the icons instead and have included them in the picture above for reference.

Final Notes:

I tried something different this time and placed the details of each career on the pictures above instead of using game screenshots, making it look cleaner and more organized. I had fun doing it during boring work hours but let me know still if you all prefer the game screenshots instead.

I limited both part-time careers to young adults and adults only as I don't think elders would fit them in terms of the required strength needed to be standing all day realistically in those settings.

For their uniforms, I debated whether to stick to the game uniforms, use the bouncer uniforms that came with Late Night for the stadium part-time or make custom ones for both. I decided to use the game uniforms instead for now and may come back to update these careers for the uniforms, though I don't have a set date yet for when that might be.

As stated above, you will need NRAAS Careers Mod for these careers to show up in the game and as long as you have the latest version of it, it should work for higher patches.

I’m not fluent in any other languages to translate so if anyone is interested in translating this career, please don’t hesitate to send me a message here or comment on this post and will let you know the details.

I have tested this career in my game, so far it is working and all scripts are showing up. All feedback is very welcome to help me learn and improve my skills so please let me know if you experience any problems on your end and I’ll do my best to sort it as soon as possible.

Credits:

Image by pikisuperstar, brgfx and macrovector on Freepik MissyHissy step-by-step tutorial Job Centre Discord

[sabertoothwalrus]

Hi, I’m completely obsessed with your art style, especially your sketches, so I was wondering what brush you use for them? I also use csp so I thought I’d ask :]

oh my god I have so many... a lot of them I've made, which you can download here! The ones I use most often are "tilt pen chisel", "sharp pen", "sharp pen bubbles", and "shading brush pen"

I have a lot downloaded from assets or imported from photoshop. some of my favorites include:

Graffiti A - I just got this one and haven't posted anything using it yet but I really like it. it does cost 20 clippy but the past couple years CSP has done a daily login bonus thing where they give you clippy points for free. I have 1,720 left that are about to expire soon OOP

Freehand Style Brush Set - I LOVE THESE. There's one from this set I slightly modified and have been using a lot lately. I used it for my icon, my business cards, and the splash drawing on my website.

@meruz 's brush set - these have some really nice texture to em

the true grit texture supply free sampler pack - just downloaded these and used it in my icon drawing, I can tell I'll be using it a LOT

I have a lottttt more that I download from assets, but I don't use a lot of them.

And for reference, my go-to canvas size is 3000x3000px 300dpi. My brushes are made to be used at this size range and they may not look the same if you work much larger/smaller. I also like my brushes to not have any anti-aliasing. it helps because 1) tumblr compresses everything anyway, and I like my lines CRISPY CRUNCHY 2) when I lasso + transform something, I can set the interpolation method to "hard edges" and it doesn't make it blurry:

[stardestroyer81]

My first post of 2024 may have been cited to be the first look at Star Tower, my arcade-centric Pizza Tower AU, though consider this post to be your first real look at both the AU! This is a post I've been wanting to make for quite some time, and I am simply overjoyed to finally reveal the first set of characters for Star Tower!!! ⭐👾✨

This is a long post packed to the brim with art— some of which aren't featured in the above image— so if you're interested, I highly suggest you read on underneath the cut! 💙✨

As an AU, Star Tower dates back to March 3rd of 2023, which is when I first drew the logo for it. A sprite of myself drawn in the Pizza Tower artstyle predates Star Tower as an AU by about a month, so I think it goes without question that the stand-in for Peppino is Star Tower is a representation of myself!

It's just another day for Star Splitscreen at the local arcade, when all of a sudden, the multicade cabinet bugs out and sucks her inside! It's within the cabinet's confines where she meets the omnipotent Sinistar, who claims it'll set her free if she can best its '20-in-1 Supercade Challenge'.

What follows is an arduous adventure that sees Star venturing through arcade games familiar and obscure, and learning Sinistar's secret identity as well as escaping back into the real world all depends on her success... it's a good thing a seasoned arcade expert like her has what it takes!

I knew going into designing for Star Tower that I wanted each floor boss (I.E. Pepperman, The Noise, etc.) to be represented with an actual character from an established arcade game (With one exception...) and trust me when I say that I spent a fair amount of time carefully going through every arcade game I knew of and selecting a character appropriate for each boss's role.

Ultimately, I'm quite proud of the selection of characters I settled with, so let's jump right in and discuss Pepperman's stand-in...

Goro from 1983's Mappy! I find that, in terms of appearance, Goro was a perfect fit to replace Pepperman. Both are predominantly large red characters who are often depicted with wide, toothy grins— it was the perfect match!

Unlike both his canon personality and his personality in the animated ShiftyLook series, Goro in Star Tower is a lot more nefarious and self-centered, and sends out the Meowkies to do his dirty work when his own efforts don't cut it. I wanted to include sprites of the three Meowkies for this post originally, but I decided to save them for a future post (That's tech talk for 'I'm still trying to figure out how to stylize them').

I think of the four main bosses, Goro was the hardest to sprite in the Pizza Tower artstyle solely for the way his head is drawn. There's something about his face that was extremely difficult to draw at such a small scale, but after drawing pretty much every other sprite featured in this post, he was the final character in this lineup that I drew a sprite for, and I'm quite happy with it!

While Goro is certainly an iconic character, the same can't be said for The Vigilante's stand-in who, in spite of starring in one of the earliest known arcade games, is all the more obscure. Enter...

Mr. Jack from 1979's Sheriff! The Vigilante is the only boss of the main four who originally was going to be represented by an entirely different character, that being Kinzo from 1996's Pac-Man Arrangement.

It was when I remembered about Sheriff that I realized that Mr. Jack was the perfect candidate to replace The Vigilante. I mean, both are represented as mostly yellow cowboys armed with guns and a fashionable cowboy hat. How much closer could you get than that?

The real challenge was finding a good image of Mr. Jack to base his appearance in Star Tower off of. For those who don't know, Mr. Jack only has three known images of him that exist despite the fact that the game he hails from is over forty years old, so it wasn't exactly the easiest task.

I decided to base his appearance off of how he looks on Sheriff's bezel as that's the only full-body look we've ever gotten of him. The guy already looks like a Pizza Tower character as it is (A long lost cousin of Burton, perhaps?), and I find that his sprite looks the most like something you would actually see in Pizza Tower!

On the topic of arcade characters that are perfect fits for stand-ins of certain Pizza Tower characters...

Charley Chuck from 1983's Food Fight was, without question, the ideal choice to replace The Noise. One look at this flyer for Food Fight should perfectly encapsulate as to why. He's a little brat who's primary objective is to make the lives of the local chefs miserable. Sound familiar? It should!

Charley has had numerous different designs drawn for him around the time his game debuted, and it was pretty difficult settling on just the right one. I decided to give him a white and red striped shirt which he wears on the Food Fight arcade cabinet, and draw him as similar to the Noise as I could— I even sized him so that he stands smaller than Star, which took a lot more time than I'm willing to admit.

What's particularly interesting is that, fairly recently, Atari announced a Splatoon-like game for their VCS console, and you'll never believe who's the poster boy and what the game is a sequel to. I'm fairly certain that just before the announcement of Food Fight: Culinary Combat, I was the only person who was doing anything with Charley Chuck, and here he is starring in a brand new game some forty years after his initial debut. Not bad, kid!

One must wonder if I was the one who manifested Charley's return into existence...

With Charley Chuck properly introduced, I can move onto who may just be my favorite of this post's lineup...

Crazy Star.

With the success of 1981's Donkey Kong, an officially licensed clone was created for use in Japan only, though found its way outside of the country without the license to do so from Nintendo. This clone's name is Crazy Kong, and to say it's uncanny wouldn't be doing it justice.

Originally, I was a bit hesitant on just designing a 'fake Star' and calling it a day. I wanted there to be some arcade theming to it, and when the idea of a 'bootleg Star' came to mind, I quickly turned to Crazy Kong as a point of reference and Crazy Star is what came out of it (I should also mention that Crazy Kong released in 1981... now that's what I call meant to be)!

Out of everyone featured in this post, I've definitely drawn Crazy Star the absolute most because, as I mentioned before, it's just about my favorite of the Star Tower bunch! My favorite detail about it is that its color palette is made up of colors hand-picked from Crazy Kong itself!

Originally, I had screen-picked its colors from a YouTube video of the clone, resulting in a slightly different color scheme, but once I found a sprite sheet for Crazy Kong, it resulted in the Crazy Star you see in this post! Crazy Star may look unsettling, but in reality it's just as welcoming as Star, and all it wants is to be just like her.

Just like her... just like her... just like her...

Beware... Sinistar from the 1983 arcade game of the same name lives! Yet another instance of the perfect replacement, both Pizzaface and Sinistar are giant evil floating circles, and it was clear to me from the get-go that Sinistar would make a perfect stand-in for the former, especially since half of its name is 'Star'!

Drawing a sprite for Sinistar was both a cakewalk and a challenge. For one, seeing as its sprite is on the larger side, that meant I had a lot more detail to work with. On the other hand, however, I struggled for a while to get a good design drawn for Sinistar. Eventually, my good friend @panurei-derogatory suggested that it would be funny if Sinistar was hyper-realistically detailed compared to the other sprites, and that was something I had a lot of fun with when drawing its sprite!

Anyone who's played Pizza Tower knows that Pizzaface himself is merely a facade, as the true mastermind behind Peppino's misery has been hidden in plain sight since the very start— the comically villainous Pizzahead! I think out of every 'arcade stand-in' I chose for Star Tower, coming up with one for Pizzahead was the absolute hardest, because none of my ideas really seemed to stick the landing.

But then, I thought "What if it was a completely original character?"

And that's where Richard Benito Townsend (More commonly known by his alias 'Richie T.'), the self-proclaimed 'king of video games', enters the scene!

Richie T., who is absolutely not based off of any notorious cheaters in the arcade world record scene, is a washed-up video game master has-been, once highly regarded in his heyday for being an icon in the world of video games before his supposed 'unbeatable world records' were discovered to be fraudulent.

Shunned to a life of seclusion, the ever boisterous Richie T. now pilots Sinistar within a multicade cabinet where he's free to call the shots, daring to go toe-to-toe with Star once she proves herself worthy of being a Supercade Superstar. After all, she's just some girl— she can't possibly trounce the Richie T., can she?

Spoilers: He has no idea.

And with that out of the way, that's just about everything I wanted to touch base on in pertains to this first set of Star Tower characters! As I said before, this post has been a long time coming, and it's ever so wonderful to finally get this out onto tumblr!

You can expect a part two of sorts to this post sometime in the coming months, as there are still more stand-ins I've yet to post... this time, replacements of the supporting characters, such as Gustavo, Mr. Stick, and a couple of others! For now, I hope that you've enjoyed your first real look at the world of Star Tower! 💙✨

[softshrimpy]

How To Woo A Hot Principal

Step 10: Accusations and Heartache

Summary: Working at the Weathervane was exactly what you needed. The routine, the people, your co-workers. It certainly helped that a certain tall, blonde, fucking gorgeous woman happened to frequent the cafe. Now some may call hopelessly flirting with your customers inappropriate behavior.

But truly, when it came to Larissa Weems, who could blame you?

Two chapters in one day? A treat...a hurt-filled treat... BUT A TREAT. Also the icon @misssmephisto really just about wrote this chapter so pls give her all the love and thanks. She has the sexiest brain🦐✨

Tags: @variant-2402 @the-bagel24 @eveymay @kimiinou @muffintopxs @h-doodles @bbykens @lilfartbox1 @bigolgay @winterfireblond

(pls let me know if you want to be tagged/ I missed you!)

Chapter 9

Cross Posted on AO3 here

HTWAHP Masterlist

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

Larissa had been working nonstop since the night of the Rave’n. Eugene had been admitted to the hospital shortly after Yoko had burst through the office doors. He was barely alive when they found him and had been stuck in a coma since. The doctors were able to stitch his wounds but whether he’d pull through was still unknown. You could tell she was stressed out, you honestly would’ve been way worse if you were in her situation.

You hadn’t seen her much in the last two days, she was almost always holed up in her office either on the phone, stuck in meetings or answering emails. You still brought her her morning coffee, but where before she would chat with you and give you a sweet little kiss, now she at best acknowledges you with an apologetic smile and more often was so busy she would barely notice you were there.

Her actions hurt more than you were willing to admit to yourself. You knew you weren’t the reason for her late nights and cold shoulder but a large nagging part of your brain couldn’t help but carry some guilt with your inability to help her.

But tonight would be different. After stewing in your emotions all morning, you decided on one way you could help. You left straight after your shift at the Weathervane to pick up ingredients and then rushed home to start cooking. You thought making her a nice, home-cooked dinner could help, she definitely needed a break and she probably hadn’t eaten very well in the last few days.

You managed to get everything ready in record time, packed it into a container and set off to Larissa’s. You knew she was stuck in a meeting until late tonight so you had plenty of time to get to her quarters and set everything up.

Everything was looking great. You had set up a cute little candle-lit dinner, complete with Larissa’s favourite wine and a fancy store-bought dessert. You somehow timed it so well that just as you were finishing up you heard Larissa enter her office. You check everything over once again and then peek your head through the door to her office.

She’s sitting at her desk, frowning at something on her laptop. She looks exhausted, more exhausted than you’ve ever seen her. Her shoulders are so tense they look like they may snap and the bags under her eyes darker than you’ve ever seen them. She definitely needs a break.

“Hey, fancy seeing you here.” You smile, stepping into the room.

“Hm? Oh hello, darling.” She says, barely glancing away from the screen.

“So uh, I know you’re busy and all but I thought maybe we could have a quick dinner? I’ve got everything ready and-“

“I can’t darling. This work really is urgent.” She interrupts.

“I-I know. It’s just, well we haven’t spent any time together recently and I’m sure you could use something to eat-“ you try.

She sighs, and you flinch at the sound.

“I-I just think you could use a break-“

“I don’t have time for that! These monster attacks are getting worse and the sheriff is breathing down my neck because he’s convinced it’s one of my students! So, no, I cannot waste my time on a silly little dinner.” She yells.

“I-I just…” you mumble, “I just wanted to help.”

“Well, you’re not helping! You can’t fix everything and your presence sure as hell hasn’t been making anything easier around here,” she continued, rubbing her eyes.

You took a step backwards, holding your breath for a moment and counting backwards in an effort to calm yourself. A trick you’d learned growing up after your parents had expressed their distaste for your anger one too many times.

“Larissa, I don’t understand. I thought-I’ve just been trying to make things easier for you. I never meant-“ You explained, trying t figure out what it was you had done.

Slamming her laptop shut, Larissa stood. She was deathly quiet before uttering the words “First, you distract me from my duties as Headmistress leading to not one but two separate attacks on my students whilst they were under my watch-“

“Larissa what-“ you stutter, retreating back towards the main office doors as her daunting figure draws closer.

“Secondly, you play this stupid game with my emotions blinding me to the truth of your actions. And then-“ she laughs “you try and distract me from the evidence with a silly dinner! I bet you’re just looking for an opportunity to see the evidence of your involvement and destroy this school from the inside out.”

You still at her words, your heart stopping in your chest. You don’t know where this is coming from and can feel yourself getting angrier. You glared up at her, clenching your shaking fists and promptly losing your shit.

“What the fuck Larissa?! You’re not making any fucking sense. I mean- What- why would I try to ‘destroy evidence’? And in what fucking universe am I involved in the attacks? I care about the kids here, I care about you! So, I don’t understand where you get off on taking everything I’ve done for you and turning it into some fucked up, cruel joke- but this is- Why the fuck would you think that??” you yell.

A beat passed, the two of you staring intently at each other.

“Why?” She questions, her voice neutral and calm. “Because you’re the Hyde. And it’s all part of your sick little game. I don’t know who your master is or if you’re the one in control but I don’t care. The nightmares of blood and destruction, the exhaustion, your funny little ‘medication’” her voice began to rise. “All clear signs, all of them. And you thought planting them as some innocent little suggestion would make me look past them but not anymore. I will never, ever allow you back into this school, on these grounds ever again, you vile beast.” Spitting the final word with disgust, Larissa turned, her heels clicking on the wooden floor as she returned to her desk.

“I’ll take your silence as an omission. Now get out, run back to your master Hyde, the sheriff will be here any moment.” She sneers, leaning back on her desk to glare at you.

Without realising it tears were running down your face, your whole body visibly shaking as you tried and begged yourself to hold it together.

“I didn’t-“ you sniffle, trying and failing miserably at holding in your tears. “I love you.”

Her face twitches at that, you can barely see through the pools in your eyes. She lifts her head, staring directly into your eyes, nothing but hatred and a deep sadness being held in her blue orbs.

“Get out.” She murmurs.

“But Larissa please I-“

“Just go!” She yells, slamming her hand on her desk.

You flinch at the noise before running from her office. Any tiny pieces of your heart that hadn’t shattered at the beginning of her rant are now very much in tiny shards. Your chest feels tight and you honestly have no idea where you’re going. You just know she doesn’t want you there, she thinks you’re some killer monster thing. She hates you.

You’re running as fast as you can, not even vaguely aware of your surroundings. You can feel branches scratch your face and the crunch of dying leaves beneath your feet, the smell of dirt and a storm yet to come surround you. Eventually you trip, falling to your knees in the middle of the woods outside Nevermore. Your entire body shakes as you sob, burying your face in your hands as you cry and cry and cry. Everything hurts. And nothing makes sense.

You just wanted to help, you wanted to make her happy.

Everything felt numb. The forest around you seemed to have stilled in your honour, exhausted and worn out from the winds that had been battering its leaves. It was dark and cold but you couldn’t bring yourself to move, simply stuck as time moved around you and the atmosphere of the woods consumed you.

You didn’t know how long it had been, not that you cared either. You’d left your phone on Larissa’s table ready to play some smooth, warming jazz by an artist you’d found called Miss D. She had the perfect voice, deep and romantic, exactly the tone you’d wanted to set for dinner. Your eyes burn at the thought, with no tears left to cry all that was created was a stinging pain.

As your brain accepted the soreness around your eyes, you slowly become aware of the way your hands and body ache after your run through the woods. It was too dark to see the true damage but you knew you’d be feeling the result for the next few days. The weight of everything sat on your chest, grief buried in your bones making your whole body feel heavy and immobile.

How could she think that of you?

Consumed in your thoughts, knees buried in the earth below you, you failed to hear your name being called. The voice grew more desperate, louder as you slowly turned your head in the direction of the disturbance.

Marylin? What’s she doing here? She shouldn’t be out here…didn’t all of the attacks happen in the woods? You really should warn her or something…

Your body didn’t seem to give a damn, aching inside and out, as you attempted to stand and make your way over to the fuzzy image of Marylin before you. If it weren’t for her boots and hair, you don’t think your brain would have seen her in the dark of the night.

You dug your fingernails into the trunk of a nearby tree, trying to use it as leverage to pull yourself up. The moon began to emerge from the clouds above casting an eerie shadow across the clearing around you.

Wait a second…why is Marylin moving so weirdly? She seems panicked, terrified even… Why is she waving at you like that?

Her fuzzy outline becomes clearer as the moonlight strikes her frame.

She looks like she’s shouting. What is she-?

Oh.

You felt it before you saw it. If you had been a bit more aware you’d have heard the loud snapping of twigs from behind you followed by a low growl. If only you’d been more aware you would have heard the ear-piercing cry of no leave her lips.

But you didn’t.

Your head lolled down, your eyes finally focusing. Five massive claws were buried through your stomach as a burning, blinding pain consumed your senses.

Well that certainly wasn’t good

You feel your body get lifted before being thrown across the clearing you had been in, slamming against a tree. You fall into a crumpled heap at the base of it, your body twisted at an unnatural angle. Someone was screaming, it almost shocks you when you realize it’s you. You can vaguely hear angry, panicked yelling somewhere around you, but things are blurring together quite rapidly.

You’re going to die.

You realize this as you lay there. Finally, your brain is shutting down. You chuckle morbidly at the thought, the sound more akin to a gurgle as warm blood spills out of your mouth like some fucked up comedic skit. Your fingers that once clung to the cold, living dirt now gently lay upon the warm wound that was going to end you.

As the darkness of the forest consumed your vision, you thought you’d started to hear Larissa, her delicate voice whispering words you couldn’t make out. Your fingers twitch as you remembered the soft fur of your family cat, her small paws making the dough on your stomach. People of your past swept across your vision as the buzz of Larissa’s voice permeated your brain.

And then there was silence. There was just you and the night sky.

Until a muddied red thing enters your vision.

Marylin is still here, she needs to run, she’s in danger, you should warn her…

Your eyes roll towards her, her face entering your vision as she leans over you. Her features are somehow both fuzzy and clear, making you want to close your eyes and rest for a bit. Her lips were moving, but you can’t make out a single word she could be saying. Her face leaves your vision, her red boots re-entering it. The colour reminds you of Larissa’s lipstick.

You hope she knows you love her.

[yogs21134]

kind stranger on the internet, if u have the time and it is no inconvenience, a tutorial on how to make the yog world work would be amazing and immensely appreciated T^T

absolutely no problem! i'm here to serve :) i'm gonna explain this with the assumption you have no idea what you're doing, just so it's thorough.

so, first thing's first, go to the ATLauncher downloads page choose one of the options that's under your operating system (windows, mac, linux) then run the program it gives you. (if it's a setup version, you'll have some stuff to click through but that's pretty easy)

once you've got ATLauncher up and running, you'll want to log in with your minecraft/microsoft account (unsure if it makes you do that at first startup anymore but if it doesn't, it'll be in the Accounts tab) then head over to the Packs tab on the right

go to the search bar and look for Yogscast Complete Pack, it'll be the one with the blue and orange icon, then hit New Instance and Install. it'll come up with a bunch of optional mods, but i personally just select everything except the minimaps and morph

once that's done installing (it might take a while) go over to the Instances tab, and it'll be there. you'll want to mess with it a little bit before opening it, though. there's be a bunch of buttons under the description and that's we're gonna be

you'll definitely want to give it more memory/ram by going to Settings > Java/Minecraft and messing with the very first option. the number you'll want to set it to depends on how beefy your computer is, so make sure you know how much ram it has

after that you'll want to hit Edit Mods and disable Flatsigns, Obsidiplates, and Switches, as the launcher doesn't like to allow them to run anymore

if everything goes right, you'll be ready to import the world save. go to the download link in my (currently) pinned post, save that wherever, and since it's a rar file you may need to have 7zip or winrar to open it but i'm unsure. i personally use 7zip

go back to the ATLauncher and hit Open Folder, that'll open your instance in your file explorer. open the saves folder (or make one if you don't have one yet, 'saves' all lowercase) and extract your world(1).rar into there. you should be left with a folder simply called "world"

go ahead and run the pack and see if everything works! i have noticed a few other errors that come up, so:

if it's giving you an error along the lines of "two dimensions have the same id," try heading to the config folder (same directory as the saves) and find TwilightForest, open that and scroll down until you see # dimension, then change the number from 7 to 250 (or whatever else works)

if it's giving you an error along the lines of "can't connect to [whatever ip/url]" try editing the config of OpenBlocks and removing all radio stations

if it's something else entirely, try re-running/brute forcing it a couple times then come back and i'll see if i can figure it out i hope this helps you and anyone else that happens to need it!! don't hesitate to ask for clarification on anything :)

[misslollypopsims]

Information 📃

Here is a page linking to all of my mods I'm currently using in my game, I'm going to try my hardest to keep this page updated so you can follow along with any changes/new mods I'm using! I hope this is helpful!

BEFORE YOU DOWNLOAD 🛑

All of these mods work together (IN MY GAME) as of the date of publishing (08/06/2022). These MAY NOT work in the future after updates so make sure to check each mod for updates for conflicts.

Check each mod that you download, there may be extra requirements per mod. e.g Pack requirements or extra required mods. They won't work if you don't have everything required!

If you receive any errors/LE’S take these to the MCC Discord support area, they can give you support on broken mods but don’t rely on them for all the legwork, try to do your best to not download anything that is very outdated or you KNOW it conflicts with an existing mod you have.

Mod List 📝

CORE Mods (AKA MY MUST HAVES):

MC Command Center - My Settings

Wonderful Whims - My Settings (must be added into your Wonderful Whims folder then into another folder called "WonderfulWhimsSettings".

Relationship and Pregnancy Overhaul

Simspawn Overhaul - I use the Merged version w/ Pets.

Tidy Details Mod - I use all the options

UI Cheats Extension

Carl's Gameplay Overhaul - My Settings

Carl's Dineout Reloaded

Interactions:

Interactions Pack - Merged

Romance Interactions - Merged

Contextual Social Interactions

Gameplay:

Education Overhaul - Removed the Education career overhaul module

Healthcare Redux

Summer Camps

Venue Fees And Memberships

Family Therapy

Basemental Drugs

Carl's Collectibles

Give Sims Some Talent - All the addons

Afterschool Activities

Career Overhaul

Language Barriers

Grannies Cookbook - Bulk Recipe

Food Delivery Services

Choose Your Roommates - Addon cap 20

Ultrasound Scan

First Impressions - No time decay version

Open Love Life

Road To Romance

Rex's Club Activities

Complete Cooking Overhaul

SNB Bank

SNB-Bills

SNB-Financial Centre

Door Knock Notification

Cuddle In Bed

Character Values Overhaul

University Harder Acceptance

University Costs More - Main Classes & Electives. w/Repo fix

University Higher Scholarships

Go For A Jog Together

Config Mods:

Followers For Fame

Faster Term Papers & Presentations

21 Days Season Instead of 28

Faster Homework - Grade/Highschool & Uni

Release All The Ghosts and Get Urns - Search for mod name

Famous Sims Gain Followers Automatically - Search for mod name

Shorter University Degrees - I use the 8 credits version

Vegetarian Overhaul

Lactose Intolerance Overhaul

Lifestyle Tweaks

Less Neglect Lifestyle Buffs

Socialization Adds Sentiment Tweak

Trait Overhaul - Only install the packs you own

Whims Overhaul - Only install the packs you own

Working Hard Earns Fame - Version 1

More Traits in CAS

Better Build Buy

Better Eco Power - 3x Version

Better Eco Water - 3x Version

Longer Parties & Invite Any Guests

More Selectable Icons

Littledica Iphone 11 Default Replacement - Black Version

Bug Fix Mods:

"Should Stop" Mod Fixes

Toddler Stranger Fix

Wash Laundry Fix

Traits:

Traits by KiaraSims4Mods - All on this page

Emotional Traits

Hobby Traits

Spa Day Traits

Socially Anxious Trait

Holiday Traditions:

Valentines Holiday Tradition

Traditions - All from this page

Random Holiday Traditions

School Holiday Tradition

Wellness Traditions

Events/Parties:

Events by KiaraSims4Mods - I have most of these

Loading Screen:

Cloudy - I use Day City version

Map Replacements:

Map Replacements For All Worlds - I have every one and use the LS version since I use reshade!

[coopigeoncoo]

{Name: Pigeon} {Pronouns: she/her} {Ao3: CooPigeonCoo} {Original Icon Art by Felicia Chiao}

Masterlist of published works, organized by series and pairing.

Hazbin Hotel

Multi-Chapter, Works in Progress

[Alastor x Reader]

Meat Cute: Chapter 1, 2, 3 In which Alastor decides to entangle himself with a butcher, but he may have bitten off more than he can chew. (Female Reader Insert, Dark Romantic Comedy)

My Hero Academia

One Shots

[Hawks x Reader]

The Cardinal Rule: A story where Hawks learns that while humans might be awed by his flying skill, the bird population is decidedly less impressed. (Gender Neutral Reader Insert, Romantic Comedy)

[Shouto x Reader]

The Whole Dang Zoo: In which Shouto learns that all animal-based nicknames are not created equal. (Female Reader Insert, Romantic Comedy, Fluff)

Bottle Episode: A late night meal delivery to Pro Hero Shouto goes terribly wrong, leaving you trapped in a room together with no obvious means of escape. (Gender Neutral Reader Insert, Comedic Drama with a Happy Ending)

[Twice x Reader]

The Space Between Stars: Accidentally interrupting a burglary in process sets off a series of questionable decisions you probably should have thought Twice about. (Gender Neutral Reader Insert, Comedic Meet-Ugly turned Domestic Fluff)

Multi-Chapter, Completed Works

[Shigaraki x Reader]

Hot Dish: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3 Down on his luck and scrambling for survival, Shigaraki Tomura was just looking for a place to score a hot meal. Instead, he ended up scoring a hot date. (Female Reader Insert, 18+ Romance)

[Kirishima x Reader]

An Itch to Scratch: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3 Kirishima Eijiro is everything you never thought you'd find when you packed up your car and moved to a dilapidated fishing town.  He was handsome, funny, and kind; the sort of man who took your breath away.   And that might actually be a bit of a problem. (Female Reader Insert, 18+ Romance, MerMay)

[Shouto x Reader]

A Persistent Lack of Follow Through: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3 Shouto had learned a lot from his Father; how to take a hit, how to pull himself back up, and how to hold a grudge. But one thing Endeavor could never teach his children was how to be a good partner. Shouto had to learn that particular skill the hard way. (Female Reader Insert, 18+, Romance, Angst with a Happy Ending)

Multi-Chapter, Works in Progress

[Eventual Bakugou x Reader]

The 3-Cs of 3-A: Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, Mineta Minoru is a perverted misogynist whose antics should have had him expelled from UA long ago. But he wasn’t. And now it’s your job to fix him. May God have mercy on your soul. (Female Reader Insert, 18+, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Mineta Redemption)

I do not give approval for my stories to be posted anywhere than my personal pages on Ao3 and Tumblr. Do not create any translations, videos, or recordings (podfics) of my stories without permission.

And PLEASE, do not feed my work into any AI or computer learning programs.

[laylakeating]

CREATIONS FROM EVERY MONTH OF 2023! (except october but we're not going to talk abt that !!)

Post your favourite and most popular post from each month this year (it’s okay to skip months).

i was tagged by two of the Most talented girlies in the world !! @saw-x and @taiturner ILYYYYY ty for sharing what your brilliant minds came up with this year !!!

JANUARY

MOST POPULAR: britt + karma !! i had so much fun with this set and it was honestly such a good way to start off the year !! FAVOURITE: probably that same set !! also the glee icons pack i made :D

FEBRUARY

MOST POPULAR: from my blog, britt + mike in 207 shsjhs. from teen dramas, brooke in 207 (one of my fave looks of hers) (this was clearly a month for the seventh episodes in second seasons ??) FAVOURITE: barchie + high infidelity for barchiesource !! something a bit different for me creatively but ugh i love it. also glee 514 for gleesource !! again something a lil different !!

MARCH

MOST POPULAR: riverdale returning to television and proving it takes the cake as the funniest show in the world (another rvd is iconic and beyond reproach set for 701) FAVOURITE: a banger month for creative sets !! basically everything i made for barchie week, this unholy trinity MASTERPIECE i made for gleesource, and this djats set + destiny, choice, chance

APRIL

MOST POPULAR: my favourite scene from djats for djats week in green bc apparently i like to make things hard for myself ?? who knew FAVOURITE: again. SO MANY. another month another appreciation week shsjhs. anyway all the sets i made for djats week, more sets for gleesource including santana + valerie and mercedes and santana + river deep mountain high, my santana lesbian visibility set, hsmtmts + tarot cards which took me wayyyy too long to finish, rvd ladies + barbie posters (50s edition), and barchie in 701 for barchiesource in RED (very proud of how it turned out considering i hate giffing in red)

MAY

MOST POPULAR: quinn + tropes for glee appreciation week !! FAVOURITE: everything i made for glee week (there were quite a few bangers), my 2 9-1-1 sets shjshsj - maddie + you first (a banger) and madney + paper rings (another banger), also the first (and only rip) set in my layla episodes series (layla + 101), and this jordayla + proposal foreshadowing i did over on jordayla gifs !!

JUNE

MOST POPULAR: this halle bailey set <33 FAVOURITE: once again. everything i made for all american appreciation week !!! special shout outs to layla + the eras tour and the layla set i made for day 1 !!

JULY

MOST POPULAR: nancy + the wizard of oz horror (that makes sense i swear) FAVOURITE: the aforementioned nancy set, also stancy + persuasion, the little mermaid live action and the quote that made me insane for a few weeks, layla + the lip pout she does (she's adorable), AND last but certainly not least, this pride and prejudice edit which was just nothing like i have ever done before that i LOVEDDDD

AUGUST

MOST POPULAR: ashlyn + giving maddox mouth to mouth (her delivery of AS A FRIEND still sends me into orbit) FAVOURITE: HSMTMTS MONTH BABEYYYYY !! fave sets include (but are not limited to there are too many) gina for hsmtmts week, fave songs (also for hsmtmts week), rina + maybe this time + motion blur (THIS TOOK ME WAY TOO LONG BTW), this antoine set bc he is an icon, madlyn + daylight (still a serve), rina + invisible string (to this day the most insane thing i have ever made), hsmtmts + a meme summary (just your regularly unhinged content honestly), and this jet/maddox set <33

SEPTEMBER

MOST POPULAR: this cinderella 1950 set in pink/blue <3 FAVOURITE: okay so we have ej playing cupid/being a love prophet HSJHSJ, TWO icon packs, one for olivia rodrigo and one for lexie grey, and also the britt + her love for my headband set bc it was the only other thing i made in september and i was worried it'd get lonely

OCTOBER

MOST POPULAR: apparently you have to post something for it to be popular FAVOURITE: i made many sets in my mind dw

NOVEMBER

MOST POPULAR: blair looking excellent (as always) for teendramas !! FAVOURITE: finn + bigger than the whole sky (part of my glee midnights series) (a true labour of love) (still obsessed with it btw)

DECEMBER

MOST POPULAR: percy !!!! for pjosource FAVOURITE: everything i made for 12 days of rina (there are only 5 days rip), and OF COURSE, to round the year off with a bang, the extraordinarily belated 2k celebration set for justine, AKA dair + midnights !!!!!!!!!

tagging some beloveds <3 @alinaastarkov, @jordanlayla, @katherines, @kayascodelorio, @perccyjackson, @yenvengerberg !!

[fereldanwench]

WIP Wednesday

I was tagged by @wanderingaldecaldo to share some stuff I'm working on so AU rambling it is!

(Also I just realized that I am once again so behind on keeping up with my mentions and asks. I need more hours in the day. 😭)

So as some of y'all know, I am a long-time Tomb Raider super fan, and facets of OG Lara Croft almost always influence my OCs because she is just goals. Valerie was no exception here--Her canon street style and effortlessly cool and tough yet elegant vibes were very much inspired by the one and only Lady Croft.

When I realized that across these three mods (one, two, three) I could make a Tomb Raider Underworld-inspired outfit for Valerie, that just became my sole reason for living for like six hours.

Initially, I wasn't planning on delving into a story or anything with the shots--I just wanted to play with some Tomb Raider-esque settings to get a little break from the high-tech/low-life urban setting to refresh the muse--But then I realized this could actually be the perfect setting to explore another idea I had been sitting on for a while.

I had wanted to play with a Yakuza!Goro AU for some time now (turning to a life of organized crime if Arasaka hadn't picked him up has always seemed like something that could have been in the realm of possibility based on the little bit he shares about his childhood), and Lara does get tangled up with some Yakuza shenanigans in some storylines so 💡💡💡 Treasure Hunter/Yakuza AU: I Only Play for Sport (based on Lara's iconic one-liner in the intro of the 1996 game) was officially born!

Work has been nuts the past few weeks, and I didn't really feel like trying to figure out how to mod tats on Goro myself, so I asked the wonderful @86maylin if she was up for a private commission. Luckily, she was. 🙏🙏🙏 (Thank you again, May!)

This has also been another journey into building with AMM--I have a few very specific scenes in mind, and I wanted them to be in totally original settings created specifically for this AU instead of defaulting to my usual locations (like Hanako's estate).

To kick that off, I decided I wanted to make a little living space for Goro. I got a lot of good practice building a stage, essentially, when I did the little villainess shoot a little while ago, so I felt pretty confident that I could put together something loosely inspired by the Tokyo penthouse Lara visits in Tomb Raider Legend.

That game is almost 20 years old now, though, so the assets there were obviously very limited, and I wanted to make something a little more complete and cozy for Goro's home base, as it were. I'm still not finished with it (maybe like 75% of the way there), but I'm pretty happy with the progress:

And another huge thank you to @bnbc and @arasakas-ronin for y'all's prop packs because they have done a lot to add some of that cool-artifact-treasure-hunting goodness to the scene. (I've used a lot but I think this toy set and this decor set were most prominently used.)

And as for the story itself?

Well, no one's here for the plot, right? 😅

I am slowly working on a couple of photostories inspired by some scenes in the Tomb Raider movies and games, and I have a general gist of the premise: Valerie is a wealthy heiress with a fondness for adventure and recovering lost artifacts with presumed supernatural abilities, and Goro is the right-hand man of a Yakuza boss who has a similar interest in such artifacts. They end up having their sights set on the same artifact (currently unknown to me, lmao, although I am very aware of the issues with the genre when it comes to, yanno, glorifying white Westerners stealing shit from other cultures so I want to be mindful that I don't fall into that same pitfall) and sexy rival treasure hunter shenanigans ensue.

So this is what I've been working on! It's a total pet project, I'm so excited about it, and I figured the time between now and Phantom Liberty coming out would be the best time to just go ham with photomode and mods and create a totally self-indulgent crossover that combines my great video game loves.

And one last thing before I shut up, because I wanna share how Tomb Raider has always been a part of Valerie's background: her surname, Powell, was inspired by Manfred Powell, the antagonist in the 2001 Tomb Raider movie. Bonus fact: I used the name "Nishimura" in this photo story, which is also the name of two characters in the Tomb Raider universe (Lara's friend Toru Nishimura in Legend and her girlfriend Sam Nishimura in the 2013 reboot.)

Okay, if you read all of this, you're now legally obligated to share something you've been working on, too. 💙

[thesimscurator]

Growing Together Update is Now Live!

The Growing Together update for my Career World save file is now live! Go to the original post to download it. I have updated all links in previous posts to redirect to the main save file post, so for future updates I only have to change the links in one place.

I'm sure you're interested to hear what's new, but first:

IMPORTANT: This iteration of the save file uses the updated version of Zerbu’s “More Icons” mod found on CurseForge, the new official hosting platform for sims mods. If you have the old version of the mod downloaded from Zerbu’s website, you will need to update to the one from Curseforge in order to avoid some icons appearing as placeholder llamacorns.

Now, on to what’s new:

Firstly, dang! That was a mammoth update! Not much of it will be immediately visible when you load up the save, because the features that came with Growing Together (and consequently, the content of this update) was mostly focused on the sims themselves rather than obvious things like architecture. But so much has changed for the sims! Here’s a rundown of all the stuff I did with every single household and sim in the save file:

Skin Details, Tooth Variety, and Medical Wearables: It didn’t seem fair to me that the only sims who get to look detailed and realistic should be the ones who shipped with Growing Together, so I went back and added freckles, moles, birthmarks, body scars, and stretch marks to all the previously-existing sims in patterns that I thought looked good and made sense (for example, the Ocean Lovers household has a number of body scars and bite marks from encounters with coral, sharks, and other sea life). Plus, I took the opportunity to add some tooth variety into the game. We have so many awesome, unique smiles available (especially with all the new child-specific ones introduced in this pack), that I thought it was a little silly to leave everyone who was made before tooth variety was introduced with the same perfectly-straight, perfectly-uniform teeth. And, with the new introduction of things like medical wearables and gender affirming wear, I have scattered a few of these new features around in ways that I thought made sense.

Deepened Personality: I have given every sim the new preferences about what kinds of sims and interactions they like or dislike, so now the compatability system will genuinely apply to everyone! By default, all the new pack did was randomize one preference per pre-existing sim, but with this update, all townies and existing playables have extensive preferences that will affect their compatability with others. Also, Growing Together’s new dynamic personality system inspired me to utilize several other in-game methods for deepening sims’ personalities that I had previously ignored. Alongside lifestyles, all pre-made sims now also have carefully selected bonus traits from the reward store (so you may hear some great stories or get some great kisses if you interact with the right sims!) and appropriate fears (loner sims tend to be afraid of crowded places, jealous sims are afraid of being cheated on, paranoid sims are afraid of nearly everything, etc.).

Family Dynamics and Family Photos: I have set family dynamics for all sims who are related to one another, including those who live in different households—plus I added a few family ties to the game (more on that below). I was also inspired by the new photo frames to take and display family photos for most households, some of which were helpfully supplied for me by the new Basement Treasures Kit. In many cases, this involved reverse engineering wedding photos for married couples, so enjoy the visual parade of all the different wedding venues available in this save file! The only married couples I did not do this for were those whose storylines had them getting married at much younger ages I didn’t feel like I could fudge—Blossom and Mary Greenberg, for example, are elders with an adult son, so I felt like they would have looked too different in their long-ago wedding photo for me to manage. In other cases, though, a simple one-outfit change in haircut and makeup did wonders to make the sims seem younger—the mohawk-and-mullet punk ironic anti-wedding of the younger Cletus and Faye Harris is a particular standout.

Career Outfits: In between the last update and this one, I was made aware that there is a cheat to modify career outfits! As this is a career-focused save file and I had to modify every single sim for this update anyway, I have fixed the randomly spawned career outfits that are an unfortunate side effect of choosing to go to rabbithole work in some work-from-home careers, and also made some sims’ career outfits more personal and specific. For example: now, instead of every single athlete going to work in a soccer/football uniform even if they are—say—a swimmer, they will be dressed in the appropriate gear for the specific sport they play. Sadly, the modify career outfit feature does not stick in the case of part-time careers for some reason, even though it does in the case of full-time careers. So despite my best efforts to get my elderly daycare workers to have a little dignity, they still go to work in a youth-culture hoodie and a backwards baseball cap. Sigh.

Population Characteristics: I had previously put plenty of thought into making the worlds different by doing world traits/challenges and careful N.A.P. selections, but other than giving everyone in Sulani a tan, I hadn’t really given unifying characteristics to their populations. Growing Together inspired me to do more of that by including “gossip” as one of the conversation topics a sim can like, which I thought paired excellently with Henford-on-Bagley’s reputation as a place with especially gossipy sims. So nearly all the residents of Henford-on-Bagley (including the special NPCs) now like gossip, the only exception being recent transplant Cecelia Kang, who hasn’t really learned the culture yet. Then, it occurred to me that I could do things like that for other populations, as well—some using the new features, and others using features already in the game that I hadn’t previously utilized fully. So without further ado, here are some of the new population characteristics:

Longtime residents of especially hot climates (Oasis Springs, Sulani, and StrangerVille) all have the “Heat Acclimation” rewards store trait. The only people in these areas who don’t are recent immigrants (the numerous recent college grads and retirees who flock to Oasis Springs, for example). Similarly, longtime residents of colder climates (Windenburg/Forgotten Hollow, Henford-on-Bagley, and Mt. Komorebi/Glimmerbrook) all have “Cold Acclimation.” The more serious forms of these traits I have reserved for occults—vampires are iceproof while mermaids are heatproof.

Tans for StrangerVille! Previously, only inhabitants of Sulani had tans. Now the sun has also kissed the desert-dwelling people of the rocks; though in a different way. While islanders pretty much all have tan lines corresponding to their swimwear, StrangerVillians mostly got incidental tans while working outside or in hot weather wear. Residents of StrangerVille also fall into one of two categories: the infected and the not infected. The not infected have developed an understandable fear of plants.

Brindleton Bay locals tend to like Pet Enthusiasts.

Del Sol Valley culture is known to reward Egotistical Sims with fame, so they must, on some level, like them.

Sulani already has a close-knit community feel with a drop-in culture (your neighbors will sometimes bring you extra food, etc.), so I decided to lean into this by making every sim in Ohan’ali Town a keyholder for every other household (except that the Fishy Roommates household don’t participate in this tradition—it’s part of what makes them fishy). So now, if you’re playing one of the pre-made Sulani families, your neighbors will pop by for impromptu game nights and other unplanned get-togethers. Plus, since Sulani is somewhat plagued by pirate ghosts from old shipwrecks, quite a few of the island locals are afraid of ghosts.

Evergreen Harbor/Moonwood Mill loves a Nature Enthusiast. They’ve seen first-hand the consequences of trashing nature, and they suck. Anyone whose life’s project is to restore and enjoy nature will be welcomed with open arms.

Mt. Komorebi/Glimmerbrook culture is unique, beautiful, rich, deep, and—as much as we might hate to admit it—judgy. Just about everyone in the mountain community, unless they have the “Self-Assured” trait or aren’t from the area originally, has a fear of being judged. Standards are high here, and the sims of this population expect themselves to live up to them. Since Mt. Komorebi is also a major sports tourism hub, the locals tend to like High Energy Sims—except for Shigeru Nishidake, who thinks all these damn tourists are ruining the place.

The residents of Henford-on-Bagley love to gossip.

Tartosa is understandably invested in making Romance Enthusiasts feel welcome, and most of the locals agree that love in all its forms (affection, flirtation, and physical intimacy) is a beautiful thing.

Copperdale prides itself on being a welcoming place for teens, and teens are notoriously out-of-control emotionally. The many teachers and staff who live here and serve as house monitors for Copperdale Boarding Academy understand, and are happy to relate closely to Pessimistic Sims and Emotional Decision-Makers.

Whew! That was a lot! The one thing I didn’t do for all sims (even though I wanted to) was adjust milestones. There was a bug in the game for the majority of time I was working on this update which reset milestones every time you switched households—which I obviously had to do a lot in order to do this update. The bug is fixed now, but wasn’t fixed in time for me to make that part of this go-around. Next time a pack adds features that require me to update every single household, I might make milestones a part of that update.

Now, other new stuff that doesn’t apply across the board:

San Sequoia Makeover: Growing Together did not come with any new careers, and the area (being primarily a suburb) screams residential, not industry. So, instead of wracking my brain for what careers could be particular to San Sequoia, I have decided to treat the new world as the suburb right at the doorstep of San Myshuno—or in other words, make it part of San Myshuno for the purposes of my design choices, plus the Career Challenge and its residency rules. However, I did manage to sneak a few active work spaces into my revamp of the world:

If you make it high enough in the Babysitting part-time career and become a Daycare Worker, there is now an active version of The Munchkin Menagerie’s Holding Hands Daycare Center (“The Munchkin Menagerie” for short)! Doing an active workday there is slightly tricky, but can be done. Since infants and toddlers can’t be added to clubs, the associated club is for the daycare workers only, and mostly exists so that you can lock and unlock doors to keep your charges in specific areas at different times throughout the day. There is also no “take care of kids” club activity, so while the other members of the club will cook, clean, and repair things, the actual childcare part is completely up to your active sim. In order to get the kids to the lot, you will have to take the time to go around and introduce yourself to all the infants and toddlers you want to watch during your active workday (Elinor Sullivan starts as a daycare worker who already knows a bunch, if you want to just dive right in with her). Then you just head to the daycare center with those sims (or choose “invite to hangout at current lot” from the relationship panel once you’re there) and viola! You can have an active workday caring for infants and toddlers. There is, unfortunately, no way to send them home from a community lot, so just leave when you’re done for the day—the other daycare workers will see them safely home. The lot type for the daycare center is set to Community Space, mainly because this lot type spawns the least randos while still allowing club gatherings. I don’t recommend changing it to any of the other built-in venue types unless you want it overrun with community members who really have no business being there.

Yoga instructors have great spaces to teach both indoors at the rec center and outdoors in Gilbert Gardens. Just throw the portable instructor’s mat in your inventory, pick a beautiful spot, and you’re off!

Professional Athletes who specialize in basketball now have an indoor court at the rec center (in addition to the various outdoor courts they already had in San Myshuno proper).

Painters and Freelance Artists who have the ability to mentor may enjoy going to the rec center to “teach an art class” by mentoring the sims who show up to do art. Musicians and Personal Trainers can also do this (though it won’t help with the “mentor sims at a gym” work task, since the rec center does not count as a gym).

Street artists can hawk their paintings at the art sales wall I have added by the standing piano in Anchorpoint Wharf.

Buskers now have a busking station on the formerly-useless dock area in Hopewell Hills. Plus I added a kids’ lemonade stand (functional for drinking lemonade, though not for selling), some counters with an ice cream maker, a table you can actually sit at, a meditation stool, a yoga mat, and an art easel, so there’s actually, you know, a reason to go there.

A credits map for San Sequoia will be going up within the next few days.

New Clubs: I added a bunch of new clubs, mostly community classes at the Rec Center, but also some that were simply inspired by Growing Together and the infant update, particularly the New Parents’ Support Group. Go check them out!

New Connections: Since family reunions are a new thing with Growing Together, and they’re frankly more fun to play if your sims have big extended families spread across several households, I have linked some of the pre-existing Maxis families with new family relationships for this version of the save file. I finally put something together: Spencer is the last name of Dennis Kim’s ex-wife (Alice Spencer-Kim’s mother) and also of Francine Spencer, matriarch of the Harris family—plus Francine Spencer and Alice Spencer-Kim have very similar body types and facial structures. So I decided to make Francine Spencer into the missing ex-wife/mother, meaning that the “Multigenerational Family” household in Newcrest and the “Food Salvagers” household in Evergreen Harbor are now estranged branches of the same family. And then I thought: why stop there? Francine Spencer also looks a great deal like Jaques Villareal, and their sons (Cletus Harris and Hugo Villareal, respectively) are the spitting image of one another. So I also made Francine Spencer and Jaques Villareal siblings (I presume half, since their surnames and native languages are different), so now the “Retired Mob Boss & Kids” household in Tartosa is also in the mix. Will all these disparate branches of Francine Spencer’s broken family reunite at a family reunion one day, allowing long-lost siblings and cousins to finally meet? Up to you!

A New Sim: Sunny Retirement Village in Oasis Springs has a new resident! Sebastian Michaelson, father of Celeste Michaelson, has moved into one of the nice trailers alongside Blossom and Mary Greenburg, who have connected over their families’ respective adoption stories.

A New Occult: I realized there was one playable occult type I forgot to include in previous versions of the save file: servo! So I had Cameron Fletcher make one for the FutureSim Employees household. Mr. Roboto is now the official service bot for the whole employee housing complex.

Updates to Public Areas: A few places have been updated with new features and gameplay items that came with Growing Together:

SimCinema City in downtown Del Sol Valley has some new competition! A new, modern movie theater has sprung up at the end of Starlight Boulevard for the sims who would rather be transported to an alternate dimension by new releases than enjoy classic movies in a quaint golden age relic. They have to participate in a scavenger hunt to get in, though (the place has hipster speakeasy pretensions), so you may see them wandering off in random directions before the movie starts.

The Mesa National Park Museum of Natural History in StrangerVille finally clued in that the only people coming to see its cheesy dinosaur displays were families with children who were obsessed with dinosaurs, so it decided to embrace its key clientele by re-branding as a children’s museum! There are now kid-specific activities on every floor, including a stunning interactive fake tree display with treehouse that is now the centerpiece of the museum. Younger siblings are welcome, as well, with new high chairs in the cafe, changing tables and toddler potties in the bathroom, a special nap and play space in what used to be the children’s corner, and of course a toddler jungle gym outside on which to play space explorer. This place might have been boring before, but it’s now the primo family destination in StrangerVille!

Conifer Station, Evergreen Harbor’s steampunk downtown area, had—against all the soundest advice—tried to turn an old water treatment plant into a library, insisting that books and water could exist side-by-side. Not so. A serious mold epidemic destroyed the entire collection. So, the residents of Conifer Station have decided to admit defeat and leave the book business to the much better equipped library just up the mountain in Moonwood Mill. For the next incarnation of the waterworks, they decided to embrace the water instead of fighting it and turned the place into an indoor water park celebrating the Sound’s beloved and iconic orca population. Of course, that comes with its own drawbacks, and the number of people who have become ill after playing there has created serious community demand for someone to come up with a plan to address contamination in the water supply…

The massive children’s space in the Uptown Branch Library has been updated to be more infant-friendly. Play mats, new changing tables in the bathrooms, and “Reading is fun!” decals abound!

A New Season: All this updating took me straight into the middle of winter, so since the save file now starts in the middle of winter I have updated some of the variable lots to their winter variants accordingly. If you go to a variable lot (or prom) and find yourself overwhelmed with paper snowflakes, that’s why. All are easy to change back once the season changes; just vote the variable lots into the state you prefer and download your preferred prom off the gallery using the hashtag #careerworld.

Have fun with the new update! I think it adds a lot of depth, and I hope you’ll enjoy!

[softguarnere]

Like A Girl (Like A Man)

Shifty Powers x OFC

Chapter Seven: Nvwatohiyadv & Saoirse

Summary: If this is what Hell feels like, at least it’s not as lonely as all those days back home in her room.

A/N: An update? After all this time? I'm just as shocked. I'm trying my hardest to keep up, but I have so many papers and projects due this semester that updates may be a little infrequent for the next few weeks.

Also a massive thank you to the wonderful @latibvles for supplying the name of Zenie's first kiss 🫶🏼You are so beloved And for those of you who like chapter titles, nvwatohiyadv is the Cherokee word for liberty, while saoirse is Irish for freedom - just trying to combine both parts of Zenie's heritage

Warnings: alcohol, smoking, religious trauma, period typical attitudes and terms in regards to race, homophobia, improper binding techniques, language, brief mention of vomit

Taglist: @liebgotts-lovergirl @latibvles @mrs-murder-daddy @lieutenant-speirs

August 1943, New York

Most of them are spilling their alcohol soaked guts onto the docks with retches that hurt to listen to. The few of them that didn’t partake in the guzzling of whiskey the night before are strong stomached until they step onto the SS Samaria, and then they too are sick to their stomachs.

Hardly any of them have ever been on a ship before, and it’s taking them a while to get their sea legs. Funny, how they can fling themselves out of perfectly good airplanes, hurling themselves toward a cold and unforgiving ground, but a ship against the rocking of the waves is what makes most of them feel ill.

But something else is getting to Zenie. Not the usual nerves that send a chill down her spine whenever she spares the occasional moment to be anxious about the possibility of being found out. This is something else. It’s almost like homesickness, or tender feelings for the place she’s about to leave behind.

Life jackets on, they all pack together on the deck as the Samaria leaves New York. She’s short enough that she manages to claim a place by the rail without anyone complaining that they can’t see. After all, just like her, everyone is vying for a peek of Lady Liberty herself.

She’s beautiful. Tall. Elegant. Set against the hazy backdrop of orange sky and mist rising from the waters around her, she’s more of a figure, looming larger than life as they sail by.

Zenie has only met her paternal grandparents a handful of times, but now a memory of her grandfather’s voice whispers to her in his thick accent. “. . . I looked out across the water, and there she was. Her torch guided the ship like a lighthouse, pullin’ us in. All my doubts about leavin’ Ireland left me then. How could I be nervous, with such a lass watchin’ over me?”

Guilt turns into a rock in her stomach. Her father’s parents worked hard to get out of Ireland, to get themselves and their descendants to America. And here she is, willingly going back to the place that they fled.

And now the fine lady watches Zenie as she goes in the opposite direction – leaving America for Europe. If the statue were real, she might recognize something of her Irish grandparents in Zenie and offer her the same strength that she did them so long ago.

What about her other grandparents? The ones who are one hundred percent all-American, whose parents and their parents and the ones before them had been in America since time immemorial. Lady Liberty never welcomed them – they were already here.

It’s silly, really, to wonder whether or not a statue could afford some fondness or sense of protection on a person, but Zenie can’t help but wonder if the figure protects her and her liberties, too, when the world seems so keen on keeping those rights away from her and other Indians.

No. A statue can’t protect anyone, or their liberties. Not really. It’s Zenie and these men and all the other people fighting this war that are protecting those freedoms. The statue is just a reminder of what is often overlooked; it gives an icon to an ideal. If anything, the statue doesn’t represent some omnipresent force that welcomed her grandparents when they immigrated, but rather regular people and their beliefs. The statue only exists because someone believed in something enough to give the world a giant reminder of it.

Well then, what does Zenie believe in?

The lady looming over the water must have some sort of answer. Just as she welcomed Granda into America so long ago, she now watches Zenie leave it – both McGlamery’s traveling towards something that they believe in, though their journeys go in opposite directions.

Go, the godlike figure on the island seems to tell her. Go forth and protect and defend what I represent. For people like your Irish grandfather, who believed in liberty. And people like your Cherokee Granny, who hardly got to see it.

Lady Liberty is stuck in place. Zenie knows what that feels like. But she’s not immobile now. She unstuck herself because of feelings of suffocating in one place. Now she keeps going because she believes in what she’s doing. She believes that she’s a part of something that’s good.

How could she feel guilty with such a lass watching over her?

The longer that they’re on the ship, the more grateful Zenie becomes that she’s not in the Navy, or the Marines, or the Coast Guard. Or any sort of sailor, actually, carrying her secret or not. It’s hot and crowded and miserable. The men stink and personal space is quickly becoming a foreign concept. Her large feet trip her up on the ladders several times, and the only thing that keeps her from tumbling down and crashing onto the decks are the quick hands of her friends that fly out to catch her by the arm.

Toye claps her on the back once after helping her stay upright. She hopes that he mistakes her wince as one of relief and not her dread that he might feel her bandages.

If anything, her secret is only making her experience aboard the Samaria more miserable than everyone else’s. The farther down into the ship they go, the hotter and more crowded it becomes. The binding around her chest makes it harder to breathe, and even though the men all have a few beads of sweat along their hairlines, she feels like she’s glistening with it. All she can do is hope that by some miracle, the ship will reach her destination faster than anticipated, because the second that Zenie sees the hammocks packed together to provide them with a place to sleep, she has a feeling that she won’t be doing much of that – not when the mercury is so high and the oxygen so scarce.

If her feet don’t floor her in this crowded place, the realization that hits her does: where will she change? Clean up? Relieve herself? They’ll toss her out to sea before the ship even sets sail.

“You look like shit, Tommy Boy,” Bill deadpans.

“Gee, thanks.”

“No, I’m bein’ serious. Have a cigarette or somethin’.”

“Maybe you should find Doc Roe,” Luz suggests. He slings his pack over his shoulder and sighs up at the racks above them, resolving himself to climb up to the top where there are still a few that are unoccupied. “If anyone wants to offer a trade, now’s your last chance.”

Toye makes a show of stretching out on his rack, which is close to the ground. “I’m good.”

Bill flips open his lighter and holds it to the end of his cigarette. “Same here.”

Finding Gene is probably her best option. He’ll have some sort of suggestion; he always knows what to do. But right now the boat is hot and she’s exhausted.

A vague memory of a church sermon from her childhood flashes through her mind. The pastor, his booming voice like a canon as it echoed off the walls of the church, lecturing the congregation about the fires of Hell that awaited them if they strayed from the flock. He gave the lecture so many times that she could be remembering any given Sunday of her childhood. As a young girl, the danger of the Underworld seemed to lurk right beneath her feet, the ground threatening to split open and reveal lapping flames that would swallow her up if she so much as fidgeted during the service. The Sunday after she had her first kiss – with that pretty Lucy Jordan from out of town, with the pretty hair and the soft lips – she sweated in her family’s pew as she awaited the inferno to take her. When nothing happened, the fire and brimstone didn’t seem quite so threatening, or even all that real.

The heat generated from the bodies all tightly packed around her does make her wonder, though, if this is what the nether regions of the afterlife feel like. At least she’s surrounded by friends. The thought makes her chuckle to herself as she plops down on a rack. She removes a cigarette from the mostly untouched pack in her pocket, nicks Bill’s lighter, and fills her lungs with the smoke, hoping it will help her nerves.

She glances around, chuckling again as she picks up pieces of scattered conversations from the men. If this is what Hell feels like, at least it’s not as lonely as all those days back home in her room.

Yeah, she thinks. Not too bad. 

“My brother’s in North Africa,” Bill’s voice draws her out of her thoughts. “He says it’s hot.”

“Really?” Malarkey snarks from behind him. “It’s hot in Africa?”

“Shuddup.” Malarkey’s hard expression melts as he laughs. Bill rolls his eyes. “Point is, it don’t matter where we go. Once we get into combat, the only person you can trust is yourself, and the fella next to ya.”

Or woman. Lady. Lass. Dame. Whatever slang term Philadelphians use for girls.

Would they trust her, if they knew her secret and then found themselves next to her on a battlefield? Eugene would; he had said she was brave. If there’s anyone I would trust in combat, it’s someone as fearless as you.

Maybe someone else on the ship is fearless in the same way that she allegedly is. Maybe they share the same secret. That’s a nice thought. She would trust these men – these fellas – if the bullets were flying, but if they knew the truth, they would probably never trust her again.

“Long as he’s a paratrooper,” Toye says.

Zenie might not be a man, but she is a paratrooper. She went through the same training as everyone else here.

“Oh yeah? And what if that paratrooper turns out to be Sobel?” Luz asks as he hauls himself up the racks. Looks like he couldn’t convince anyone to trade spots with him.

Above them, someone else’s voice sounds off with a response that she misses over the din of whoever is above her shifting his weight, making the rack squeak. Another thing that reminds her of Sundays in church: learning to tune things out. She doesn’t need to get her feelings hurt by listening to them talk about who they do or do not trust – because while Tommy falls into one category, Zenie most likely falls pretty firmly into the other.

The next thing that she knows, the rack beside her is shifting as Bill stands, and then the people around her fall quiet as Liebgott’s voice fills the space. “I’m a Jew.”

“Congratulations.” She can’t see him, but Zenie can hear the smug smirk on Bill’s face when he responds, “Now get your nose outta my face.”

He deserves it, friend or not, when Liebgott swings at him. He should know better than to say something like that, and she’s planning on telling him so when she jumps up to help the others hold the two men apart.

A sharp pain blooms in her chest, sending her stumbling back into the racks. A gasp escapes from her lips. No one notices – they’re all too busy trying to keep the first Easy Company casualties from occurring before the ship reaches England.

She’s never been hit in the breast before. And now someone’s elbow has just jabbed her there, managing to hurt even through the bandages.

That’s it. She’s got to solve this problem.

It’s a miracle that she doesn’t get jabbed again as she pushes through the throng of bodies. The miracle balances itself out with the fact that she doesn’t see Gene anywhere among them, and no one seems to know where he is when she throws the question out to them. Instead she finds –

“Tommy!” McClung yells above the rest of the voices that swirl around them. In a second, he’s pushed through the crowd and caught up to her, Popeye and Shifty right behind him. “Where’re you off to?”

“Any of y’all seen Doc Roe?”

“No.” Popeye tilts his head. “Are you as sick as ol’ Shifty Boy here from all that whiskey?”

“Just eat somethin’,” Shifty suggests with a nod. “A couple of those donuts from the Red Cross girls had me right as rain.”

Popeye claps him on the back and flashes her a winning grin. “He learned that from me.”

“No, it’s –“ She offers a vague, sweeping gesture with her arm. The heat. The tight space. The lack of privacy. “I just need some air.”

“We were goin’ up top, anyways. We’ll come with you!”

It’s easier to push through the crowd when she’s got three friends helping her clear people out of the way. Earl pushes through the crowd like it’s nothing. Popeye calls out greetings to people as he goes. Zenie scans everyone’s faces, looking for Gene, reassuring herself with the thought that he’ll know what to do and he’ll come up with a plan for how to handle all this bandage business.

“Fuckin’ ridge runners,” someone scoffs as they force their way through the crowd.

At her sides, her hands immediately ball themselves into fists. She scowls, looking around for whoever might have said it. Cobb is sitting on a rack nearby, and she’s willing to bet the comment was thrown from his direction.

“Hey.” A gentle hand places itself on her shoulder and urges her forward from behind. “Just ignore him. Been enough fights on this boat for one day.”

“But –“ She feels herself deflate under Shifty’s touch. He’s right; they’ve been called worse.

The salt on the breeze is unlike any kind of wind that she felt back at home. During the more pleasant times of year, mountain breezes feel friendly and teasing as they play with her hair and snap flags on their posts. The wind from the sea that greets them abovedeck carries a sense of adventure. It’s powerful – powerful enough to carry them somewhere new.

It fills her lungs and whispers to something in her soul. All those days of sitting in her bedroom feeling suffocated and sorry for herself. Now she’s the farthest away from home that she’s ever been, and (as long as she’s not crammed in the bowls of the ship with the other men) she can breathe.

“Feelin’ better?” Shifty asks. His hand hasn’t left her shoulder. Zenie finds that she doesn’t really want him to remove it.

“Much.”

Earl gestures to all the space around them. “Look at this! This is way better than being trapped belowdecks.”

“Well, it’s a long way to England. We can probably spend as much time up here as we want.” I know I will be, Zenie doesn’t add as she relishes in the cool breeze and the sound of the waves.

“We oughtta sleep out here,” Popeye says. “Better than sweatin’ for hours at a time and listenin’ to everyone snore and complain about the heat.”

Shifty nods in agreement. “We oughtta.”

So they do.

The first night of the voyage, they return to their racks with everyone else. Zenie stays awake all night, listening to people pant in the heat, grimacing every time a rack squeaks as someone shifts their weight. Some people manage to doze, but she spends the next day groggy and vows that she’ll take Popeye’s suggestion. Her friends don’t take much convincing.

“Like camping.” They’re all sprawled out on the deck, hoping that any non-coms or officers that catch them won’t send them back below. The waves slapping against the side of the boat are loud but soothing. In the growing darkness, Zenie can just make out Shifty’s smile. He’s in his element. The others agree, and she doesn’t admit that no one has ever actually taken her camping before.

Instead she’s intent to just be there, the ocean sounds sending that thrum of adventure running through her core as it carries her far, far away from that noble statue back in New York. Far away from the loneliness of her room and straight into the next leg of her adventure. Surrounded by friends.

Not too bad.

[omgkalyppso]

21. Does a partner in the ship have a favorite [something] that their partner(s) had never considered before? Like a constellation, rock formation, or hair ribbon material, for example. Do they start to develop opinions that agree with, or contrast, or compliment, their partner's or do they remain indifferent?

for etoile and their partners!

(´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡ thank you for the ask!

I think that most people have preferences like this even if they're unaware of them (I am unaware of my own), so I tried to come up with something for each partner.

Since I am from the northern hemisphere, for Étoile I am picking a constellation, either in modern au or some fantasy equivalent of Orion and Canis Major. They're only visible in winter, and only at certain times of the night / nightly walks would let one watch how they traverse across the sky. Their legends of hunter and companion are iconic, their patterns are eye-catching, and the brightest star in the sky is contained within. So their partners may realize that they prefer a constellation associated with a legend more familiar to them, or their deity if their deity has a constellation; or with Astarion, I think he would go back and forth between resentment for the night sky and renewed appreciation for the light of the stars, and a preference for the north star, for its consistency and for its purpose.

Halsin, as we know, favors ducks, and while I'm not sure that he'd have a favorite duck, if asked why he preferred ducks to other water birds that he'd mention their waddles, their bills and expressive faces, and that they mate for a season, taking on each year anew against the challenges and blessings that nature sets for them. I've selected the Spectacled Eider as a duck that might have a fantasy equivalent in the Earthfast Mountains, where Étoile is from that Halsin might one day want to see / meet (an interesting concept for druids). Astarion has the strongest (contrary?) opinion, far preferring colorful ducks like the wood duck or the mandarin duck; when ducks all have predators anyway, he feels that they should at least awe with bright plumage, and they are nice to look at, even in the dark. Étoile confesses to having little preference between water birds, liking birds more when they have claws like hawks, eagles and owls.

Astarion being gifted something with a embroidery of inferior stitch — or worse, having his own work mistaken for the same, brings attention to his odd favorite thing, which is split stitch. The threads are neat and clean and lend well to legibility, and they're fun to sew though he'd probably not admit to the last bit in so many words. I think Astarion's preference feeds into his partners', who otherwise might not have noticed a difference or given it much thought.

He Who Was has a favorite fake haunting. Stories told of a mansion with little to no spiritual associations but tales that claim horrific things of nightmares and visions and vanishing horrors. If something untrue is worth a ghost story, his opinion is that it should be exaggerated and magnanimous in its own falsehoods and contradictions; or else it's untrue AND boring. I think Halsin, Komira and Locke are not yet ready for ghost stories after his time with the shadow-curse, but Astarion is easily swayed to this opinion, if someone tells a ghost story of a woman who stalks a hallway that even if He Who Was wasn't present that Astarion would be prompting the storyteller with variants of "And then?" Because what does it matter if there is a ghost, real or otherwise, moving about doing absolutely nothing. If there isn't a curse involved, it's irrelevant. Étoile meanwhile can't bring themself to have any enthusiasm for fake hauntings at all, having been so close to true ones in their youth.

Locke has a favorite type of flooring, wood. I imagine he's lived in places where the floor was nothing but packed earth, and where stone flooring has caused both death and serious injury as a result of a fall, especially with tiefling horns. Wood has an appropriate amount of bounce and give, while still being refined and suitably easy to clean, while stick clacking underfoot to the tune of fine heeled shoes. This doesn't come up a lot, but if someone were moving into a new residence, I think he'd ask after the flooring. I don't know how many partners would agree with him, I think most would dismiss his concerns out of hand, only changing their mind if they had a living senior or babe in their care. In a relevant AU Étoile would be sooo cognizant of this when the vampire settlement in the Underdark is using Stone Shape and drow masonry techniques to cut out their homes in the rock.

Komira has a favorite type of shoes — open-toed footwear. She finds them comfortable and pretty, and she can often tell a lot of her neighbours, tiefling and otherwise, about how they feel about the presence / visibility of clawed tiefling feet. They weren't good for travelling, but for occupying a house or working a shop, or attending a party, having one or two pairs of open shoes or sandals to choose from would suit her. Étoile would joke about wearing sandals in winter if no one would balk (Astarion would be outraged, proving their point). Astarion wouldn't have a preference, too much variety / spoiled for choice. Halsin would agree, closest to being barefoot as is acceptable. He Who Was would prefer a closed boot, to wade through the despicable places of the world in more comfort; Wyll is the same, but with more of a heel and any style one can manage. Locke and Zevlor would each have a preference for more sensible shoes that bring no more attention to themselves than necessary.

Wyll has favorite types of dip pen, with preferences for wide feeds and flexible nibs. I can picture him drawing in the margins and writing his perspective on his own adventures and those of his friends, as well as the practised slog of his paperwork. Astarion definitely prefers thinner feeds. I don't think Étoile or their other partners used dip pens with enough frequency to develop an opinion prior. If it became more common then they and Zevlor would agree with Wyll. They all dislike scroll nibs.

Zevlor has a favorite type of window curtain — patterned with flowers. He finds it uplifting to see the sunlight filter through bright colors and that the curtains might be a little bit more unique than a solid grey or another color. Astarion might've agreed under some circumstances, as it is he requires black out curtains, and at least if they're red they have some class. Halsin, Wyll and Komira agree with Zevlor. Locke would take it a step further and appreciate curtains with even more individuality or sense of home, if they were stitched with specific imagery, like a tale or an interesting creature. Étoile likes curtains with patterns, but not florals.