#ccs adventures in procrastination

[remylong]

vincentcore

[shiningdesignersreflections]

Chapter 1: Deadline Crisis

Narrated by Peppermint.

Narrator: The Nexus Space Station’s top-secret archive...

Narrator: Dimension CC year%s H.B., Peppermint XIX is trapped in the dark cosmic swamp while traveling between galaxies.

Narrator: The great voyage is interrupted. My vision is blurred because of the chaos.

Narrator: The fuel gauge is flashing red because I have overstayed my welcome.

Narrator: “Caution! Caution! Peppermint XIX is low on fuel and will shut down soon!”

Peppermint: ...

Narrator: Have I... failed again?

Narrator: I’ve lost count of the number of times I failed. I can’t get out of this cursed cosmic swamp no matter how hard I try.

Narrator: This is the biggest crisis Peppermint XIX has ever faced in its exploration of the universe.

Narrator: There are less than five days left.

Narrator: There are less than five days left before the comics are due this month!

Narrator: And I still haven’t figured out the plot.

You: Ah... I see.

Narrator: An evil spell from the cosmic swap has confined me in the hell that is writer’s block.

Narrator: This is my fate as the Guardian of Nexus and there is no escape from the chains of fate.

Narrator: Beep! Beep!

Narrator: My phone starts to beep.

Narrator: Without having to look, I know this must be...

Comic Book Editor: Peppermint, will you be able to turn in your work on time this month?

Narrator: ...A message from the editor asking about my progress!

Choose either “What are you gonna do now?” or “You got caught.”

If “gonna do,” ...

You: What are you gonna do now since you haven’t thought about the plot?

Narrator: Ahhhhh!!! I need to calm down! I can deal with this!

If “caught,” ...

You: You were just saying you didn’t know what to do, and got caught by the editor.

Narrator: I shall not give up! Never!

--

Narrator: “Don’t worry! I got this.”

Narrator: Staring at the empty folder, I, as a Dimensional Guardian, type into the message bar and hit “Send” courageously.

Comic Book Editor: That’s good!

Narrator: The editor replies faster than I expected.

Narrator: Ah, of course, she is the ruthless, final boss “Procrastinator Terminator” of Peppermint XIX’s adventure.

Narrator: Facing such an opponent, I can’t imagine what would’ve happened if I said I couldn’t turn in my work on time...

Narrator: I might be subjected to 24 hours of ruthless reminder attacks. That’s horrible!

Narrator: It can be a real, brutal trial for even an experienced dimensional guardian.

Narrator: Beep! The phone beeps again, and there’s a new message.

Narrator: As if hearing the bell for the end of the world, I take a deep breath.

Narrator: “@SealEscapePod You have received a new message on Moments.”

Peppermint: Huh?

Peppermint: Ok, I got it.

Narrator: Relieved, I tap the notification and the page jumps directly to my Moments profile.

Narrator: The profile name shows “SealEscapePod” instead of “Peppermint.”

Narrator: As you can see, this is my emergency escape pod for a dimensional crisis.

Narrator: The overall structure is very similar to the main spaceship, but with additional privacy features.

Choose “Another account?”

You: Hmm... This is just your other account.

Narrator: That’s the case for ordinary people.

Narrator: Anyways! I can use this escape pod to escape temporarily when Peppermint XIX is trapped in the cosmic swamp.

Narrator: I can also use it to send and receive SOS signals from the outside world.

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

[allisas]

Whimsical Tree House - CC Free

Another box challenge build from last year that I’ve procrastinated uploading on tumblr but here it is at last! This was made for Saurusims’ 5th Box Challenge in October last year and I believe it’s the only build where I have truly utilized the terrain tools. 😄

A real treasure of a home built around  the oldest tree in Newcrest. This house is ready for a plethora of outdoor activities and has a warm and whimsical personality. It's definitely not a "one size fits all" kind of place but maybe it's the perfect fit for you? There's just one way to find out so come visit! (psst, don't mind the mouse in the kitchen, it's just seeking company!)

Info: Price: §100 167 (furnished) §50 726 (unfurnished) Lot Size: 40x20 Location: Sandy Run, Newcrest

Used Packs:

EP’s: Get Together, City Living, Cats & Dogs, Seasons, Island Living, Discover University, Eco Lifestyle GP’s: Outdoor Retreat, Spa Day, Dine Out, Vampires, Parenthood, Jungle Adventure, Realm of Magic, Journey to Batuu SP’s: Cool Kitchen, Spooky, Movie Hangout, Romantic Garden, Backyard, Laundry Day, My First Pet, Tiny Living, Nifty Knitting

Download at the Gallery: Origin ID - Allisasims or #Allisas Download Tray-files: Simfileshare

PS. Extra thanks to TwistedMexi for the wonderful T.O.O.L and Better BuildBuy mods which makes building a much more pleasant and fun experience! You can find these awesome mods here!

[murfeelee]

Simblr Asks - TS3

I saw these questions here, and I’m in a procrastinating mood.

1. are you going to buy the new pack (cottage living) when it comes out? Thoughts on Cottage Living:

Should’ve been a Game Pack. Another display of EA cramming TS4 with crap that’s as big as the ocean, but with the depth of a frikkin puddle. How TF an EXPANSION PACK came without any new skills or careers is beyond me, but Cottage Living did it, so hey. Speaking of hay, at least the cows & chickens are better. They’d better be, for $40. Thank god for the Llamas though, otherwise I would’ve never been interested in this dang pack.

2. do you p*rate your dlc or buy it legitimately?

Fortunately for me, half the TS3 content I have I won in contests & giveaways, or it was Gifted to me. The rest I bought on DEEP sales, cuz eff buying anything from EA at full price. And I got TS4 when EA gave it away for free, cuz patience is a freaking virtue. But there's definitely some garbage out there (*cough* Kits) I legitimately think you’re morally obligated to Yo Ho Ho.

3. what’s your favorite world?

EA: Shang Simla (World Adventures). CC: Boroughsburg (Potato-Ballad-Sims). My wish is to have a world/save that incorporates BOTH--an Asian Boroughsburg, or a futuristic/modern Shang Simla, but Japanese.

4. if you use a queue, how many posts per day do you set it as?

1 post on my main blog, 2 on my personal/inspo blogs, and anywhere from 1-5 on my CC finds blogs (depending on how much CC there is to catch up on).

5. do you watch sims on youtube?

Plenty. I miss Lazy Game Reviews--I think he’s effing done with EA & TS4, which is equally hilarious and sad at the same time. The Red Plumbob is probably my fave right now. I watch Pleasantsims for nostalgic TS2 content. And I watch A LOT of TS4 simmers, out of morbid curiosity to see just how bad the Kits and packs are.

6. what are your thoughts on the most recent pack? (dream home decorator)

Strong contender for Y’all Hear Sum’n? on Kenya’s scale. 🙄

7. how many packs/kits do you own?

I will never buy or even bother pirating those dumba$$ Kits, EA can eff right off. Anyone can do clothes & clutter for free; what 👏  is 👏  the 👏  point 👏 , other than a total effing cash grab.

8. what’s your origin id? is it the same as your url?

I only ever sim offline.

9. is your simblr your sideblog or main blog?

Main blog. Then I realized how expansive Tumblr is, and created 1001 sideblogs for stuff I do outside of simming.

10. do you have a cc finds blog?

Plenty, plus extras I don’t even advertise the way I probably should. U_U

11. are you wcif friendly?

Yes. I understand that some people are shy though, which is why I try to add CC Credits to my gameplay posts, with links to the CC I use. But I’m so effing lazy that sometimes I don’t. 

12. what’s your favorite sized household to play with? (ex. 1 sim, 4 sims)

Because my gameplay is often tv or video game inspired, my households are often massive (a dozen+ sims). Sometimes I break off the nuclear unit from the auxiliary characters (often my top 4-6 characters), and have them in my active household to control them directly, while I let the other sims roam free in another house(hold) or something.

13. if you have c&d, do you play with pets?

I love the Pets EP. I can't decide which I like more: cats, dogs, or horses. The horses are 100% essential for my historical gameplay, I can’t even. And I like that we can directly control the animals--I actually wish we could do more with the small pets, too (reptiles, birds, fish, etc). IMO, TS4′s C&D is a crying shame, and MFPS can go straight to hell. TS3′s unicorns would like a word with MFPS.

14. what lifespan do you use?

Young Adult, though I use Kids a lot more now, thanks to PuddingFace’s Enhanced Witches Mod letting kids use magic.

15. if you own a lot of packs, how many of them have you actually played through?

Everything in TS3, though I’ve never been able to play through all the content. Even in Supernatural there are things I haven’t done yet. I have no intention of owning even 1/3 of TS4′s packs.

16. what do you do as you play sims? (ex. listen to music)

Listen to music--I have specific playlists for specific gameplay.

17. which sims challenges have you tried?

I don’t do challenges, I cheat too much.

18. do you like the new(ish) hair swatches?

Eff swatches; they don’t hold a candle to CASt. Hair in TS4 is 100% garbage. That clayfied crap makes my blood boil. The only time I even marginally like it is when people do those rainbow recolors; those are super cute.

19. post the latest screenshot you took 📸

That’s top secret information; I have CC sets I’m preparing for upload.

20. what is the cc/ingame hair that looks the most like your own?

That’s never been made.

21. who is your favorite sim of yours and what is their story?

Sakura Rain is my Japanese cherry tree fairy from the future.

Nasir ibn Hema is my smol hissing Syrian from the past.

22. if you use cc, are there any cc creators that you have like ALL of their items?

Luna & Silfantasy.

23. what’s one pack you think is underrated?

TS3: Into the Future Expansion Pack. TS4: Vintage Glamour Stuff Pack.

ITF is hands down the most unique pack EA ever made. If you like sci-fi, there’s no way you can pass up on it, ITF adds waaaaaay too much good content & gameplay. But there are so many simmers that hate fantasy in general, as a rule, and they crap all over Supernatural, too. So ITF got a lot of heat mostly cuz it was the very last EP, and the very last chance simmers could get something they wanted. But considering the lack of futuristic gameplay we tend to have, it was high time EA did a pack like ITF for once.

As for VG, that was when I first started realizing that EA was doing something drastically different with the SPs in TS4. It’s a sad state of affairs that the SPs in TS4 are becoming some of its most interesting content, particularly since they’ve started adding in new lifestates, gameplay, and premium content. That was never the case in TS3, and very very rarely in TS2. Even though people scoff at the Butlers & Bar Globes, I love that kind of content, particularly for historical gameplay.

24. what are your favorite sims stories/legacies?

I really like the holiday stories @danjaley​ does; over at 3 Hazelnuts.

25. if you could change certain small thing(s) about ts4, what would it be?

Where do I even effing begin, EA.

______________________________________________

Thanks for reading!

[babolat85]

Indigo Hills

I built originally built another mansion for my 5 star celebrity couple, but I wasn’t happy with it. After a lot of procrastination I finally finished Indigo Hills. Perfect for celebrity sims who want to escape from their busy lives.

**use bb.moveobjects on**

Price §377,689 (50x40 lot) in Del Sol Valley (Bailey Moon lot)

Packs Used:

Expansions: Get To Work | Get Together | City Living | Cats & Dogs | Seasons | Get Famous | Discover University | Eco Lifestyle | Snowy Escape

Game Packs:  Outdoor Retreat | Parenthood | Spa Day | Dine Out | Jungle Adventure | Strangerville

Stuff Packs:  Luxury Party | Perfect Patio | Cool Kitchen | Backyard | Vintage Glamor | Fitness | Laundry Day | Moschino |  Paranormal 

CC Used: None

Download @ Simsfileshare

or

Babolat85 on the Gallery.

@maxismatchccworld

More Pictures:

[kazroze]

enough teasing and sneak peeking, it’s time to finally post the download i’ve been procrastinating on for a few weeks!

hindquarter hideway used to belong to a grandma, but was repurposed to fit a new family of five. some of her old furniture, cracks in the walls and charming vintage wallpaper are still there, but now the house hosts 3 bedrooms and a garden filled with everything one needs for some secluded country living.

the lot’s been fully playtested - just remember to use the bb.moveobjects cheat before placing!

hindquarter hideaway in brindleton bay CC FREE residential 94,777 § 30x20 3 bed 1 bath

DOWNLOAD tray files: simfileshare | google drive gallery id: catwort

find more pictures here & some more info under the cut!

for his build you will need the following:

EPs - get to work, get together, city living, cats & dogs, seasons, get famous, island living, discover university;

GPs - outdoor retreat, spa day, dine out, vampires, parenthood, jungle adventure, strangerville;

SPs - perfect patio, romantic garden, kids room, backyard, vintage glamour, bowling night, toddler, laundry day, tiny living.

[momoception]

Simmer - Get to Know

Tagged: by @sereinsims​​ thank you, beautiful! 💜

Your name: Momo 

Languages you speak: Spanish and English

Are you a mermaid: I WISH!

Your play style: I really enjoy playing (like actually playing) I’d like to say I’m very constant but, I’m not, and I usually get bored pretty easily so I change between households.

Your simself picture:

Stories or gameplay, builds, lookbooks, edits or cc: I have an active (HA! active) story called Strange Story, the main plot is the mystery of StrangerVille but I also love to show all my characters and their problems. I also post gameplay sometimes, I’m currently doing the Disney Princess Challenge, I have like 29834 legacies that got stuck lol but recently I played again with my Vatore Wydham legacy and I’m really happy 

Your favorite age state: Young Adult (and recently loving tots)

Your favorite season: fall

Your favorite holiday: Halloween, even if we don’t really celebrate it in Mexico. And ofc Día de Muertos.

How was your day: It was exhausting!!! My entire body hurts since today’s morning and I didn’t get to finish my exposition so I have to wait ‘till next week. Also I hit myself several times in the bus on my way home because the drivers here drive like beasts

Your favorite career: I don’t actually play with jobs, I usually give my sims lots of money lol but the police career seems interesting

Your favorite aspiration(s): Musical Genius, StrangerVille Mystery, World-Famous Celebrity, City Native, Spellcraft & Sorcery and Academic

Your favorite EP, Sp or GP:

EP: Cats & Dogs, Seasons and Discover University

GP: Vampires, Realm of Magic, Parenthood and Jungle Adventure

SP: Toddler Stuff and Romantic Garden

How old is your simblr: A year old or so. I started posting by this time ig

Have you woohooed: lol yes

Your favorite skill: Singing

The size of your Mods folder: 48.6 GB (I just added 32 new hairs before checking it lol)

Your 3 favorite mods:

MCCC

UI Cheats

More CAS Columns (5)

Your interests (other than sims): I... NEXT QUESTION!! (jk I love music, watching series on Netflix, videos on YT, going out with my friends and bf, chatting with my friends in simblr)

Your favorite sim (picture if possible): Ahem...

(my baby angels, Irena and Avalon 🖤💜)

Which Sims games you have played (including mobile games): The Sims 2, The Sims 4 and The Sims Mobile.

Propose a crazy scheme: Me actually posting Strange Story on time and stop procrastinating and thinking about other future projects

Best part of simblr: All the talented people being able to post their work and being appreciate by other, we don’t deserrve you guys. Also all the amazing friends I’ve made here.

Worst part of simblr: Toxicity. Those envious ppl that seems to have nothing better to do with their lifes than annoying ppl with their stupid complaints and non constructive criticism that NOBODY asked for.

What other games you play: I recently started to play Alice Madness Returns again :D

Other websites or accounts (origin, twitter etc..): My Simstagram 💗

Are you single?: No u//w//u

I tag @mimirue​ @kinha402​ @thesimsters-stories​ @lazysunjade​ @kimhanji99​ @northernlightz​ @izayoichan​ @desysimmer​ @pink-chevalier​ @yourreilanet​ @sani-sims4​ @rplusu​ @pixelchalk​ @volcano-pasta​ @thealienships​ 

[als-dump-wow]

April Hetalia CC (Bodyguard AU!)

@hetaliacc | @als-dump-wow

April 2019 | Theme: Alternate Universes | Prompt: Bodyguard AU

((its still the 15th shhh im just a master procrastinator here have a fanfic that i dont have time to proofread))

Not again, oh please no!

The tall, strong figure strode calmly through the long hallways. Despite his collected demeanor, he was panicking on the inside.

Ivan was hired by famous business owner Arthur Kirkland to protect his oldest son and heir to his whole estate, Alfred Jones. At first, the job seemed simple. All he had to do was await the father and son’s arrival at the business’ headquarters and accompany the young blond until they went home again. Nothing difficult.

He was quickly proven wrong. It gradually became more challenging to keep an eye on the heir. After a week of this new job, Alfred wanted to go places. Ivan was dragged along to restaurants and shops, wherever the other insisted he wanted to visit. The pair always looked out of place, dressed to maintain a professional image, despite the casual atmospheres that Alfred seemed so fond of. From there, it only became more onerous. The other would wait until Ivan’s violet eyes were averted, scanning the area for any possible threats, and would dash away and out of sight.

Now it was a near daily occurrence. Alfred would run away, Ivan would search, and when he found him, he would sit him down and scold him like a child.

“Stop hiding,” he would huff, a scowl on his thin pale lips. “How am I supposed to protect you if you keep running away?”

Yet still the blond would hide away. It worried the bodyguard--if something happened while Alfred was running, not only would he lose his job, but he would never forgive himself. He rarely felt anything for anyone, claiming that doing so would only wound him, but it was difficult not to worry for someone when your life was devoted to protecting them.

“Do you know where Alfred has run off to this time?” Ivan asked a passing employee, the same one that he asked every time that his childish protectee decided to scamper off. They had a pact that they would never breathe a word of each other’s mistakes in the workplace, since the helpful man tended to be quite forgetful.

The brunet shook his head with a furrowed brow. Ivan huffed and continued his search before eventually concluding, with a striking sense of terror, that Alfred must not be in the building anymore. If anything happened while he was out “adventuring”...

Faster than he had moved ever before, his confident and elegant facade slipping, Ivan practically flew down the stairs to the bottom floor, hoping with all his heart that he didn’t run into anybody who would ask any questions and get him into trouble. Of course, with his luck, that just didn’t happen. On his way out the door, he bumped directly into Mr. Kirkland, likely returning from lunch, causing his panic to worsen as he profusely apologized.

“It’s alright,” the blond assured, before glancing behind the man he hired and looking baffled when he noticed that his son was not standing behind the bodyguard. “Where is Alfred?”

Almost immediately, Ivan dodged around his boss. Oh, he knew he was in trouble, but he was going to ensure Alfred’s safety before he was fired. “I am going to check on him now!” He shouted as he sprinted out the front door, stumbling over his own feet.

The first order of business was to check in all of Alfred’s favorite spots to visit when the two went into the city together. Every restaurant, every little trinket shop that they would stop by together. When those locations turned out to be of no use, he sighed and nearly broke down in tears. He continued to search around, though he had lost almost all hope already. Eventually, in a desperate attempt to find the man, he turned down an alleyway and found himself lucky to be just in time.

A hooded figure had a shaken, quivering Alfred pushed against the wall, his cheek forces onto the ragged brick, likely leaving scrapes and cuts all over it. The cold silver of a gun was pressed against the pale greyish-blue of his suit, the same one that he always whined about wearing. The same one that had probably gotten him into this mess. Ivan assumed that the outfit displayed his wealth, and that got him into such trouble. Thinking fast, or maybe not even thinking at all, the black-suited bodyguard firmly grabbed the assailant’s hood, getting a strong hold of his hair through it, and practically threw him back. He grabbed Alfred by the arm and brought the blond behind him, guiding him back into the main road, hoping that someone would see what was happening and call the authorities.

In a fit of rage and an attempt to cover his tracks, the hooded criminal shot in Alfred’s direction, not realizing that Ivan had stepped in front of his protectee. The bullet went straight into the man’s shoulder, causing him to stagger back, keeping Alfred under his close guard. Noticing what his mischief had caused, Alfred panicked and looked around.

“Call an ambulance! The police!” He cried out, a witness quickly doing just that.

Unfortunately, the attempted mugger dashed out of the alley and away. Ivan was preoccupied with attempting to stop the bleeding in his arm and didn’t make an attempt to chase after him. Alfred was still too shaken to do so himself, and now found himself unwilling to leave his guard’s side out of guilt. He managed to coax him to sit on the sidewalk, despite the taller man insisting that he would be just fine.

The two sat there, Alfred fretting over him, until the police arrived, along with an ambulance. Ivan argued that his injury was not so severe as to need an emergency vehicle and that he could drive himself to the hospital just fine, but Alfred refused and told him he had to. The two were far too stubborn for their own good. Ivan caved and gave his statement while being driven to the hospital, Alfred doing the same, though barely getting through it. When they were done, the blond turned to his bodyguard with a genuinely regretful look, one he never gave when being scolded.

“I am sorry,” he grumbled, the words burning his throat. Alfred never apologized. He never needed to. Now, though, he would live with the guilt if he didn’t apologize and explain himself. “I--I just… I wanted to stay young, y’know? I’m being forced to grow up so fast, and I guess I… I just wanted you to play along with me. Hunt me down. It was fun.” The heir gave a sigh. “It wasn’t fair to you.”

Ivan only chuckled and rolled his lavender eyes. He knew how that was. He was forced to grow up fast as well, and he wished he maintained the youthful energy that Alfred still had.

“Just stay inside next time you hide,” he huffed, but he wasn’t really angry.

The Russian knew he would lose his job. He knew he wouldn’t be the one in charge of Alfred from now on, and likely never see him after he got out of the hospital. Those were worries for a later date, though. Now, he had the satisfaction of knowing he had managed some good in his life, and he had saved one of the only people who got him to care.

[jcmorgenstern]

Ok bc I’m procrastinating for studying for the exam I have (tomorrow) and have thoughts:

I’ve been seeing a lot of really interesting discussion around the jonathan/jace bond in the books vs the jonathan/clary bond (namely a really interesting point from @grayacejace about clary’s agency) and despite my obvious bias it got me thinking. I feel like as a fandom we sometimes rag on CC making Clary an obvious self-insert, I think there’s something exceedingly genre-appropriate about it, and it’s a deliberate choice that works in a way where shadow hunters’ choice to treat Clary as the hero and determinant of her narrative also works in its own context.

What I often forget is that TSC are for kids, specifically, I would argue, young girls. When I was 14 and reading Harry Potter I wasn’t analyzing every frame for social meaning, I was imagining myself along for the ride with Harry and his friends and how amazing it would be to be part of their adventure. I’m not sure if this is a universal experience, but I’d be willing to wager it’s not uncommon. TMI is a liberalization of that child fantasy, as well as a reflection of fan fiction genre conventions of the time. CC didn’t write Clary as a badass feminist who takes charge of her own storyline and beats up men and constantly is bowed down by the weight of the world …you know.

She wrote Clary as a pair of eyes through which little girls could experience the wonder and excitement of being part of the fantasy narrative they’re so often excluded from. Clary fits the bill for every Mary Sue self-insert because she is one, and that’s intentional—and not necessarily something to make fun of. She’s the daughter of the main villain and has special powers and has this instant and intensely romantic connection with a boy pretty much tailor-made for 2003 pre-teen girls. Clary in the books is CC drawing on the conventions of literary tradition of fan fiction from that time—she is not as much the main character but the avatar through which young girls can experience being special and going on amazing adventures.

Which isn’t to say there’s no feminist or critical message and all fan fiction and self-insert fic is just stupid mental cotton candy. There’s a strong sense of wistfulness and struggle with femininity that I think is one of the most subtle but powerful parts of the books—Clary describing her femininity as “a housewarming gift she doesn’t know what to do with.” CC’s depiction and subversion of femininity is actually quite fascinating even in her missteps (the rivalry with Izzy, for example), though honestly lbr we probably were all like that at 16, for better or worse. Clary’s relationship with Jace is, I think, telling girls what they should hold out for in a partner, that they can deserve someone who makes them feel special. Jonathan is an inversion of Jace who is deceptively attractive but treats Clary like shit and is, lets be honest, sexist as fuck, among other things. He’s dressed as the fairytale ending she’s promised with Jace but is actually something toxic and evil. Dru’s storyline in TDA reads as intensely personal and emotional—a girl constantly excluded and sidelined, because of her age and her weight and her general introversion, but someone who is strong and capable and compelling—and the right people see that in her and honor her for it.

Which is a complete diversion from the point that got me here but simply put: COLS works because the message and intent and even the very narrative form fits it. I could cite a whole slew of scholarly work about about fan fiction, the female gaze, and the fan mediation of male homosociality through self-insert female characters (thanks cultural studies for making me say ‘homosociality’), but basically: it’s fitting with the fan fiction literary tradition CC is from and helped build that the female character is the avatar for the audience to observe what, okay maybe this is personal bias, is a pretty charged dynamic between Jonathan and Jace (morally or sexually, take ur pick). Clary mediates that bond and ultimately, because the books are about validating the reader (while again subverting certain expectations), Jonathan’s obsession turns to her and is ultimately revealed to be exactly what it is: toxic and evil, Jace’s association with him completely fake.

The show is operating on a different narrative paradigm, where Clary is the traditional “protagonist as hero” approach, complete with Clary’s own hero’s journey. As Dyl (@greyacejace) pointed out, in the books Clary’s storyline is often focused around others—she’s the avatar for the reader more than a character of her own. I hope I’ve convinced you that isn’t necessarily a bad or shallow thing, but the show definitely has aged up the narrative. Clary is an adult, with adult problems and challenges, and the show tackles them with varying levels of success. Now, in season 3, she is no longer the audience avatar in any way, not even for the sake of exposition—often she is telling other people expositional elements or discovering things along with us. She is not an observer but a character,  and as such the bond with Jonathan (along with pretty much every other plot element they can think of…not 100% a fan of all of that, if spoilers rumors are to be believed) has been shifted to her.

I’m not really sure “incestuous sexual obsession” is really the honor we want to be bestowing on our Strong Badass Female Characters(TM), but that’s the honor Clary gets. Personally given how the show has handled rape themes in the past I’m not exactly bursting with joy to see how they’ll tackle Clary being mind-controlled by her brother who wants to do….well, exactly that, but I guess that’s the brave new world we live in. I honestly didn’t intend to bitch THAT much about things but basically: the Clary of the books is a girl who’s biggest threat is that her father and later brother want to take her Hot Boyfriend away from her (and maybe kidnap her in hell but REALLY the big problem here is taking away her Hot Boyfriend, the rest is kind of hand-waved away). Clary of the show is an adult woman who has adult woman problems, like men who want to rape her and think of her as a particularly personable piece of furniture that will solve all his problems.

(He’s thinking of a therapist, but too dumb to know that).

Obviously there are a lot of gross simplifications here, especially of Jonathan’s character (in another universe I could and probably would write an angry meta screed slamming my own meta’s portrayal of my ‘’sweet baby boy’’ but ill leave that for another day. Was that a self-deprecating joke lamp-shading my own obnoxious stanning? Yes it was). Point is, I don’t think the two narratives are entirely comparable as they follow different narrative structures and paradigms and follow different goals with different results. Jace vs Jonathan is about how two boys react differently to abuse and nature vs nurture; Clary vs Jonathan is about the definition of heroism vs villainy and how good motives can be betrayed by bad actions and how that compares to bad motives and bad actions—whether the end can ever justify the means.

Anyway tldr leave me and my idiotic sebjace ass alone but this shit slaps too

[ciathyzareposts]

Game 110: Inca (1992) – Introduction

By Ilmari

Every family has its weird uncle, and mine was no exception.

I’d really like to know, if anyone can guess the relevance of this beginning with the game I am supposed to be playing

I was probably ten or eleven, when my parents were forced to visit the said weird uncle and I was taken along. While they were busy trying to engage in some polite conversation, I explored my uncle’s enormous library, filled with, among other things, Peanuts books, just like the one in the picture above. Suddenly, my uncle entered the room, noticed what I was reading and said “Wouldn’t you like something less childish” and placed a bluish book on my hand.

Even if you can’t read Finnish, the name of the author might suggest where I am heading

I thanked my uncle and followed my parents who were happy to stop this visitation short. I wasn’t that enthused about the book, which looked dead boring, but I did skim it through at the backseat of our car. Suddenly my eyes were glued on a picture of an ancient Mesopotamian image of a person wearing – as my uncle had circled out – what looked like a modern wristwatch.

If you see it, you gotta believe it!

My interest was instantly piqued, and I started to actually read the book, and with that finished, I had to visit our local library to find more of its kind. The author with the impressive name Erich Von Däniken presented what to a school kid seemed like incontrovertible evidence of extraterrestrials visiting Earth in distant past and influencing early human cultures. Who wouldn’t be convinced by an interpretation of visions of Old Testament prophet Ezechiel as describing a landing spaceship?

I mean, you can find pictures of the whole thing on Internet!

Sadly, as I learned later, although von Däniken influenced his generation a lot, he was more a teller of tall tales than a respectable scientist, and despite all Stargåte fans wishing otherwise, there’s still no proof of aliens ever landing on our planet.

Von Däniken was especially keen on finding supposed evidence of alien visitations from South American cultures. Take, for example, the Nazca lines – enormous drawings on the soil of Nazca Desert in Southern Peru, which can be clearly seen only from a very high altitude. Von Däniken’s suggestion was that the earliest lines were a simple airstrip used by visitors from space. When the travellers left to their starry home, the locals missed them and copied the airstrip, eventually turning simple lines into gigantic pictures, meant to entice the travelers to return.

It does look spacey (By Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://ift.tt/2JVZ5yG)

And another “proof” – an inscription of a person who is clearly flying a rocket

Von Däniken’ s theories did not pass the gates of proper science (although who cares of proper science in this day and age, when anyone can just pop their crazy ideas in Youtube and people will take it seriously), but they did become a staple of B-class scifi. I am pretty sure, although the manual does not say it loud and clear, that they are also behind Inca.

European game box has the air of respectable history…

…while the American goes straight pulp!

The framing story tells about Huayna Capac (a real ruler of Incan empire), who hid the true treasure of Incas, before Spanish conquistadors could find it – it was not gold, but knowledge. 500 years after his death, a mystical figure, El Dorado, was supposed to renew the Inca civilization and reclaim its ancient knowledge. Judging by the fact that the game has been described as a cross between adventure game and a space simulator, I predict that the hidden knowledge is the secret of space flight and that in the game the Incas were visited by aliens.

The company behind Inca is none other than the gem of French adventure gaming scene, Coktel Vision, and we see some familiar names on the credits – it was created by Pierre Gilhodes, the designer of Gobliiins, while the game project was managed by Muriel Tramis, the driving force behind lot of what was released by Coktel Vision.

I am rather apprehensive about the space simulator part of the game. I really sympathised with CRPG Addict, when he admitted that he is no good in anything calling for quick reactions. I have the exact same issue with action games, and as I’ve mentioned before, simulators are my pet peeve – my brains just can’t connect the cockpit view with where the plane is heading, what’s happening outside etc. If there are lot of these simulator parts, chances are this is going to be a very quick “Lost”.

Oh well, enough procrastinating. Make your guesses and possible bets and I’ll start to warm the engines of my Inca spaceship!

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/game-110-inca-1992-introduction/

[accuhunt]

What I Learnt Volunteering on a Remote Island in Cuba.

Cuban reggae music played on repeat as I rode on a bright yellow truck from the 1940s, along a bumpy, heavily forested road. While the driver – an engineer by education – and I chatted in Spanish, he casually pointed out iguana lizards chilling by the road, vultures flying low in search of food, deer at the edge of the forest, huge crabs running helter-skelter and an enormous snake that brought us to a screeching halt.

A world away from the photogenic streets and tourist traps of Havana, we were heading to Cocodrilo, a remote, forgotten fishing village on Isla de la Juventud (Isle of the Youth), a remote, forgotten island in Cuba. My plan was to volunteer at a coral reef restoration project set up by IOI Adventures in collaboration with the island community.

My yellow vintage ride to Cocodrilo!

I had no idea then, that living in a time warp on Cocodrilo, home to only 320 inhabitants, cut off from the outside world by a dense forest and the Caribbean Sea, was going to change everything. Everything I thought I knew about travelling, our consumption patterns, our dietary choices and how climate change is impacting the world.

Here’s what I learnt along the way:

Now is the best and worst time to travel

Sunset, serenity and solitude in Cocodrilo.

During my recent travel meetup in Hyderabad, I met someone who had explored Ladakh and Kashmir in the late 80s – and said he would never go back because he treasured his vivid memories of their unspoilt beauty. Looking back on my own travels, I often feel the same way about places like Spiti, Georgia, Kumaon and Guatemala.

Unfortunately we can’t turn back time, but we can travel meaningfully and choose to explore places that aren’t yet plagued by mass tourism. Places that are yet to become Instagram hotspots.

Cocodrilo was one of those places in Cuba. Every evening at sunset, as the sky turned many shades of orange, locals poured out on the only street, drinking rum and playing music, heartily sharing both. Mama Yeni, the island’s second oldest resident, reminisced how she had journeyed across the Atlantic on a fishing boat, from Cayman Islands to Cocodrilo in search of a better life – and hers became one of the earliest families to settle here. She remembered the days when there were no roads, no cars, no doctor, no pharmacy, not even a grocery shop on the island. Her family would make a long list of things they needed, and do their grocery run to the nearest big town by boat, leaving early morning to reach the grocery store by evening!

Mama Yeni, the second oldest resident of Cocodrilo.

Getting into island mode on Cocodrilo assured me that these might not be the best years to travel, but they aren’t the worst either.

Also read: How Croatia Compelled Me to Rethink Travel Blogging

No matter how far we live from the ocean, the plastic we consume ultimately lands up there

Collecting cans from the sea bed off Cocodrilo. Photo: Anna Berestova

If you can close your eyes and picture yourself on a tiny idyllic island village, with nothing but dense forest, deep blue sea and clear blue skies stretching out around you, perhaps you can picture yourself on Cocodrilo. At a small sparse island shop, the only things one can buy are local rum in a glass bottle, shampoo sachets, basic groceries and the Cuban version of coca cola.

Yet when I snorkelled – with my host on the island and a long-term volunteer – into the deep blue sea that surrounds the island, I discovered a different story. The seabed was littered with plastic bags, beer cans of international brands, shampoo bottles, cigarette buts, plastic straws and menstrual pads. Diving freestyle, we retrieved this plastic trash – only to see more of it appear a couple of days later. You probably know that our planet is 70% water, and most of what we consume these days comes in plastic. Turns out, only 9% of all plastic is recycled. Where does the rest go? Unfortunately, into our oceans.

Aesthetics aside, the plastic trash often gets lodged in corals, spreading harmful bacteria and damaging coral tissue. Worse still, swallowing this plastic has caused the death of many dolphins, whales and other marine creatures; a sea turtle even choked to death when a plastic straw got stuck in its nostril.

Swimming in the deep blue sea off Cocodrilo was evidence that no matter where in the world we live, no matter how from the sea, the plastic we choose to consume in our everyday lives is directly responsible for destroying our oceans.

Also read: Cuba Tourist Visa for Indians: Requirements and Tips

Conversation-focused deep sea diving can help save corals

The underwater world. Photo: NOAA’s National Ocean Service (CC)

Here’s a confession: The first time I went scuba diving was in the Philippines – and the experience left me disappointed. Sure, the underwater life was incredibly beautiful, but to carry an oxygen cylinder and deep dive while my ears protested, felt like the most unnatural way to experience the ocean. It made me think of humans as an invasive species, who for their own entertainment, will go to depths (literally) that we obviously aren’t meant to.

But speaking to a long-term volunteer in Cocodrilo, who was doing a field report on the correlation between deep sea diving and island communities, changed some of my perspective. I learnt from her that there are two ways of diving. The first, regular scuba diving, is what I experienced in the Philippines; this is diving purely for entertainment, and depending on who you do it with, could end up spoiling the corals and threatening fish (remember: touching the corals or feeding any marine creatures is a BIG no-no). The second, conservation-focused scuba diving, is where you dive for a purpose.

Outfits that offer this responsible form of deep sea diving don’t just teach you how to dive, but also talk about coral cleaning, fish count, invasive species, coral restoration and other conservation activities. You then scuba dive, not just to admire the underwater world, but to help conserve it by participating in a cleaning or counting drive. In Cocodrilo for instance, the broken coral reef is being restored through a tedious process: broken bits of coral are picked up from the sea floor, hung on an underwater stand and cleaned of excess algae and plastic every few days. When over a year old and strong enough, they are replanted between existing corals. And diving to support efforts like that can not only help save corals but also compel us to change our everyday choices.

Also read: Offbeat, Incredible and Sustainable: These Travel Companies are Changing the Way You Experience India

We need to say no to single-use plastic on our travels and in daily life

Saying no to single-use plastic straws.

As I took off my snorkeling mask after a hot afternoon spent collecting plastic trash from a small section of the Caribbean seabed, I pledged to do more to cut down my single-use plastic consumption. I’ve long said no to plastic bottled water – choosing to carry and refill a steel bottle or use a Lifestraw filter – and already replaced plastic bags, toothbrush and straws with eco-friendly alternatives. And yet, when I got home to take a shower, I felt immense guilt at most of my toiletries – shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, hair serum, face wash, deodorant, toothpaste, sunscreen, razor, menstrual pads – which were still plastic. It was time to make some inconvenient choices.

After I left Cuba, I switched to:

Soap and shampoo bars: There are plenty of choices, but I prefer Lush, Hast Krafts, Veganology and other handmade vegan bars at local markets which don’t come wrapped in plastic. The idea of using a bar to wash my hair was strange at first, but I’ve totally grown into it.

Hair conditioner: Lush is the only brand I’ve found yet that does an amazing conditioner bar but it’s not available in India. Body Shop in India is soon switching to using recycled plastic bottles.

Menstrual cup: After months of procrastination, I’ve finally mastered the art of using a menstrual cup (coupled with cloth pads) – and it’s a life changer!

Bamboo razor: The Eco Trunk now stocks bamboo razors.

Body mist in a glass bottle: I love Body Shop’s body mist – and luckily it comes in a glass bottle which I hope to be able to recycle.

I’m still looking for eco-friendly alternatives to my toothpaste, face wash, hair serum and sunscreen.

In all honesty, choosing some of these alternatives requires extra work. I can’t walk into any supermarket and expect to replace a shampoo / conditioner bar when I run out, for instance. But each time I feel inconvenienced, I think of the majestic corals littered with plastic, dying a slow death. I think of the fish, turtles and dolphins choking to death because of our consumption. And I know that it’s worth going that extra mile to make more sustainable choices.

Also read: How I Fit All My Life Possessions in Two Bags as I Travel the World

What we choose to eat impacts the underwater world

“Here [in the seas], life is collapsing even faster than on land. The main cause, the UN biodiversity report makes clear, is not plastic. It is not pollution, not climate breakdown, not even the acidification of the ocean. It is fishing.” ~ The Guardian, May 2019

A vegan feast in Cuba.

On a warm evening, we drove in a vintage car to a deserted beach along the Caribbean Sea, to join a night ranger to monitor turtle hatchings. Much to my surprise, the pristine beach was covered in mounds of brown algae, and the ranger lamented that each year, the algae has been growing and turtles declining. Though it was the peak of the egg-laying season, we spotted no turtles as we patrolled the beach under the moonlit sky.

It took me a long time to understand how this algae maybe the direct consequence of our choice to eat seafood. Turns out, the world’s oceans are plagued by overfishing. For every 1 pound of fish caught for food, nearly 5 pounds of marine life is killed accidentally. This imbalance in the marine food chain causes unchecked growth of algae, which tend to crowd out corals and spread disease-causing bacteria.

Algae mounds on a deserted beach near Cocodrilo.

Although I turned vegan because I couldn’t bear to support animal abuse, I learnt early on that the incredibly high carbon footprint of meat and dairy is raising water temperatures and increasing CO2 in the air, which in turn causes the bleaching of corals. But patrolling the beach that night, surrounded by mounds of algae, made the link between our dietary choices and life in the ocean much stronger.

Also read: How to Travel as a Vegan and Find Delicious Food Anywhere in the World

Individual actions matter

Nene, the islander heading the coral restoration project with IOI Adventures.

I’ve met plenty of naysayers who think that one person’s choices don’t matter. They’ll tell you that we need government action, policy change, media attention, dedicated organisations or something bigger. And while we do need each of those, we’ll never demand or create them until we start caring on a deep personal level. We’ll never make environmental degradation an election issue and we’ll never raise our voice (or pen) against our consumption or food choices – until we take individual action.

In Cocodrilo for instance, the coral reef restoration and sea clean-up project came about because Nene, a Cuban islander, wanted to conserve the seas in his backyard. He’s been mesmerized by the underwater world since his first dive in 1988 (which he did with a friend but without any training), and many years later, started this one-of-a-kind project in Cuba with IOI Adventures.

Closer home in India, lawyer Afroz Shah’s disciplined efforts to work with the local community and clean up Versova beach in Mumbai every Sunday, brought back Olive Ridley turtles to the beach after just two years! I’ve met and heard of people who now live in climate resilient homes that don’t need air conditioning even in the hot Indian summer, who’ve embraced zero-waste living, and who choose to be vegan – not just for the animals and their own health but for the environment.

Ultimately, the choice is ours. We can wait around for the government or media to do something to save our oceans. Or we can take responsibility for the choices we make everyday.

Living in a time warp on Cocodrilo changed everything.

Have you learnt any interesting lessons on your travels lately? Have you chosen to make any inconvenient choices?

*Note: I’m really grateful to IOI Adventures for hosting me in Cocodrilo. Opinions on this blog, as you know, are always mine.

Join my adventures around the world on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

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What I Learnt Volunteering on a Remote Island in Cuba. published first on https://airriflelab.tumblr.com

[remylong]

new ghost story song... drowning haunted houses water ghosts crumbling relationships i used to pray for times like these

[abpettiford-blog]

Brand Development: Mastery Journal Entry

Personal SWOT Analysis #1

My strengths include good listening skills, experience in working with a team to concept, create and execute a creative project, strong layout and typography skills, and project management skills. My weaknesses include procrastination, being uncomfortable in giving critique’s of colleague’s work, a lack of traditional drawing skills, and a consistent focus on the task at hand. An immediate threat is other graphic and motion designers who have more experience in traditional art and animation than I have. To overcome this threat, an opportunity would be to use Lynda.com and other Full Sail resources to begin a drawing course and commit to finishing it. I would also consider my location and the competitive landscape as a threat. An opportunity to overcome this would be to use resources such as Meetup.com, Facebook, and LinkedIn, and Instagram to connect with other artists and began to survey the Orlando landscape.

Final Brand Vision Boards: The Work

Final Brand Vision Boards: SWOT Analysis

This month was full of growth for me as a Media Designer. A few strengths that I realized was that my design skills continue to grow and evolve. I find it easier to make final design decisions once I have thoroughly researched an idea and its’ details. I also discovered that I like deep research dives into new areas of knowledge I’ve never explored. I found that I really like geography almost as much as I like architecture. Researching for my geography concept for Marrakech, took me to some really interesting websites and videos.

I also discovered a few weaknesses that I’d never came across until this month of assignments. I realized that I can be indecisive which makes me late for deadlines at times. I also realized that when I am not clear on instructions or objectives, I need to ask more questions and become more curious.

One of the threats that presented itself during this month’s work was my location in relation to the brand I am creating. Not being near Marrakech makes it hard to really get a sense of the soul of the city so that my concepts can accurately reflect it from first-hand experience. Also, being siloed and not being able to talk to or work with a team to brainstorm ideas and run creative decisions across was a threat.

An opportunity that can help solve my location threat is to reach out to Marrakech natives and individuals who have traveled to Marrakech via social media platforms. While I would not be there physically, the experiences of other could help fill in my gaps of knowledge and understanding. Another opportunity that could help with the threat of isolation is to engage more with my classmates to get their feedback sooner. Another opportunity that I recognized was the use of Lynda.com and other FSU library resources to help improve my understanding of brand, typography, and advanced layout techniques. I found myself going back to courses I had completed only to retake certain sessions for a more solid understanding before moving forward. References:

All-free-photos.com. Palace of Bahia - Marrakech - Morocco. http://www.all-free-photos.com/show/showphoto.php?idph=IM5959〈=en

All-free-photos.com. Ménara gardens - Marrakech - Morocco. http://www.all-free-photos.com/show/showphoto.php?idph=IM5959〈=en

Axon, A. Koutoubia Mosque. 14 Jan., 2010, https://www.flickr.com/photos/statto7/4282402445/in/photostream/

calflier001. GARE DE MARRAKECH MOROCCO APRIL 2013. 24 April 2013, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GARE_DE_MARRAKECH_MOROCCO_APRIL_2013_(8694650375).jpg

Free-Photos. Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/en/camera-vintage-photography-old-1246655/

Free-Photos. Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/en/binoculars-looking-man-discovery-1209011/

Free-Photos. Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/en/people-girls-women-friends-smile-2596150/

Free-Photos. Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/en/journey-travel-hike-path-ireland-2406354/

Ligero, J., and I. Barrios. Patrón Geométrico Islámico -- 2014 -- Museo De Marrakech, Marruecos. 19 Jan. 2014, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Patrón_geométrico_islámico_--_2014_--_Museo_de_Marrakech,_Marruecos.jpg.

Public Domain. Ardabil Carpet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_art#/media/File:Ardabil_Carpet.jpg snicky2290. Pixabay. 24 March, 2015. https://pixabay.com/en/adventure-friends-young-hipster-842584/

Tulane Public Relations [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Students_in_sculpture_class_(5537568658).jpg

Viault. Le jardin des majorelle 21. 25 April, 2010. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Le_jardin_des_majorelle_21.JPG

[remylong]

hcs for what the px11 characters look like? if you don't mind

is this the same anon as last time?? im not mad im just confused there are like five of us in this fandom (excluding mr and mx gaymurdermusical ofc) if i have to do the teacher thing where i make people stand until their name is called i will.

okay. so. i actually made sims of the px11 characters once upon a time but I can't show them to you until November because I banned myself from the sims until my exams are over lol

SO. i don't really have solid solid headcanons but im going to try and fight the tumblr web mobile on this let's go.

REMY this is like The remy fit in my head literally look at it the collar the tie everything 😭😭 i need to put this woman in qing dynasty clothes expeditiously... also in my head when i was writing the remy fic she was coded like neon blue like squip bmc blue? because i was desperately trying to dragoncode her and didn't know how. when i read that line in superhero debut about [ditch that blue] i was personally attacked. before that i think she was q y2k pink in my head? i remember like the very very first edit i made of her was pink

JAY i will be honest w you i don't actually know that much about alt fashion so im worried im misrepresenting her but for everything on fire i would have looked at maybe 70s early punk aesthetics? like black and red! leather jackets! spikes! truly incredible hair that takes like seven hours and an ozone-destroying amount of hairspray to accomplish!

side note a bunch of americans with suitcases just got on the bus WHY are you here

MARK the canon description says it better than i ever could. i don't have it on me right now but come on. Most Outfit Of All Time. for everything on fire... well... Woe. Hippie Be Upon You. beads and fringes and patchwork jeans made of stolen clothes you name it he has it. i think 70s mark would have an outfit so insane he doesn't even need to kill people the tie dye would do the killing for him. also i think he would have a mullet

DAISY colour! colour! colour!! lots of pastels, lots of crochet, lots of knit vests. i would say that in everything on fire she's super mod like go go boots and flares and short skirts and all... omg you know those 70s cartoon daisy buckles 🥺🥺... in canon i think she's a 2016 kidcore niche meme arthoe who wears like overalls and butterfly hair clips

sorry this is like mostly fashion i dont really have like more detailed headcanons other than the official art X_X

[remylong]

bro wdym i can't go to the library because it's on FIRE 😭😭😭 what is my life

[remylong]

"ya i like to think im fairly normal" <- she SHED REAL TEARS in the middle of the national library because she saw a picture of remington long