#cheap log cabins

[venux777]

percy hazel and leo looking at each other after the rest of the crew agreed to spend over $500 on fuel for the argo ll

[bleaksimmer]

Abode de lamour - CC FREE

Abode de lamour → Download

I think EA was trying to experiment with landscaping with this build but...they fell flat on their face. I decided to transform this build into a cabin. & maybe this isn't even a transformation but a whole different build - but enjoy it.

◦ Price: 20,850 simoleons ◦ 2 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms ◦ CC Free ◦ Unfurnished ◦ Size: 3w x2h

Floor Plans:

Landscaping:

How to Download: Personally, I would recommend download using the Sims2Pack Clean Installer. Click here for a youtube tutorial by the wonderful PleasantSims.

TOU: You can do anything with the build, just PLEASE!!! credit me. Link or even a shoutout is fine.

More: Also I might furnish the build sometime in the future...but currently not.

& remember, DONT! BE! BLEAK!

P.S. Check out my ModTheSims!

[sashaisready]

The ‘You’ Problem - One Shot

Beefy!Bucky x Female!SHIELD!Reader

*bangs clipboard* ONE BED! ONE BED! ONE BED!

Guys…I threw this together today on a whim. Apologies in advance for the utterly self indulgent fluff with a bit of smut thrown in for good measure. You’ve got all my fave tropes here - one bed, forced proximity, misunderstandings and bad communication, grumpy and sunshine..

In my mind this is Beefy!Bucky (CW era Bucky) but you are of course invited to envisage your favourite Bucky. There is a slightly silly plot point about him being thicc (lmao). Reader is female, not physically described.

I hope you enjoy!! ❤️

warnings: bit’o’smut

Wordcount: around 4.4k (lol)

🛏️

You could see his face fall as he opened the door. Your eyes followed his past the safe house entrance and inside through to the open plan cabin. 

All on one floor. A small kitchenette, basic but seemingly clean at least. A cheap, plastic dining table with a few dingy chairs tucked into the far corner. A crumpled leather sofa that had seen better days. A battered old door at the rear that you assumed lead to the bathroom (you hoped, anyway). A large fireplace with a basket of logs next to it - merciful after a long trek out in the cold air. And- Oh. 

Oh. 

A double bed in the middle of the space. 

A bed. As in…singular. One. 

It didn’t take a Mathematician to work out the equation of two people plus one bed and what that equalled.

Especially when one of those people seemed particularly prickly towards the other, for reasons the other didn’t fully understand.

Tonight would be the most awkward night’s sleep of your life. 

“Great…” growled Bucky sarcastically as he reluctantly crossed the threshold, dropping the duffle bags of equipment by the fireplace.

“Hmm, homely” you chirped, hoping a joke might ease the tension. Of course he didn’t respond. 

You dropped your gaze as he began stripping his tactical gear off, piling it onto the arm of the couch. He tugged off his boots and wordlessly headed to the bathroom, the door slamming behind him.

You sighed heavily. He must’ve said ten words to you in total on this mission. The mission itself had gone well, at least. You had got the intel you needed and neither of you had been compromised in the process. You had got in and out. As a SHIELD agent you didn’t normally work with the Avengers directly in the field, but Stark and Steve had put you on this one with Bucky because of his stealth skills and your knowledge of tech and a particular comms device that was difficult to master - even for the best heroes in the biz. 

You knew them all. Well. Ish. You saw them around the tower. Helped them with surveillance and intel. Most of them were sweet and chatty, nothing like the mythical, two-dimensional hero figures the media portrayed them to be. Sure, they were brilliant at what they did but they were also warm. Flawed. Human. Steve was a sweetie, Tony was an egomaniac but he could hold a conversation at least. Nat was a great ally to have but an even better friend. Sam made you laugh like nobody else. They were your friends. 

Well. Almost all of them. 

Bucky had never really…well…warmed to you. You remember the first day Steve had introduced you both, you had eagerly outstretched your hand to shake his and you watched as his nervous eyes flitted between your hand and Steve. He finally took it reluctantly, muttering a hello as he quickly dropped your hold and stormed off. 

And that was that. You had tried to get to know him but he simply wasn’t interested. He’d only speak to you if he absolutely had to for work, grunted if you asked him something and seemed to do everything in his power to keep a wide berth between the two of you. At first you assumed it was because of what he’d been through, brainwashed assassins carrying the weight of their trauma are hardly known for their perky attitude and charismatic social skills. Maybe he just had a problem with people... 

But you soon noticed he wasn’t really like that with anyone else. Sure, he was prickly and a bit sarcastic, but he engaged. He talked. He laughed. God, you loved his laugh. Sweet. Unencumbered. Slightly dorky. It made you smile on the rare occasions you were lucky enough to hear it. 

He would squabble with Sam. Bond with Steve. Train with Nat. You thought maybe it was because you were just an agent, but he was better with the others. Always reserved, sure, but he’d chat to your SHIELD colleagues. He’d ask them for help with the tech. You were pretty sure he flirted with Emily, another agent on your team, and you couldn’t ignore the quiet thrum of jealousy in your stomach when you heard them chatting animatedly about pizza toppings or that time you caught her sliding her hand over his vibranium arm..

…no. He didn’t seem to have a people problem. Just a ‘you’ problem. 

You weren’t sure what you’d done to upset him, and you were too embarrassed to ask Steve in case you looked whiny and desperate. It wasn’t really a good look for a SHIELD agent to pathetically ask an Avenger why his friend didn’t like her. This wasn’t high school. 

You had a reputation for being a bit sunshine-y. You were always quite cheery at work, doing your best to put a brave face on and inject optimism where you could. It was just how you’d always been. It kept you going. Service with a smile. The world was a dark place, and you figured a little extra light was no bad thing. Maybe Bucky took offence to it, writing you off as a perky airhead. Maybe he’d seen too much death and destruction to see the world the way you did, and you simply annoyed him because of it. 

Only the man himself knew the real reason. You’d accepted you may never be sure. So you did your best to work with him, pretending not to notice his snarky comments and unimpressed looks. Smiling through your pain like always. Generally it was easy, you didn’t spend much time with him anyway.

…Until you were stuck on a mission with him. Waiting for the quinjet in the middle of nowhere, stuck in a tiny cabin in the dead of winter, with one bed and only the man who hated you for company. 

The man you also had a teensy bit of a crush on, too. Yes, it wasn’t ideal to crush on the one person who seemed to loathe you, but clearly you were a dumbass. 

You were rudely pulled from your thoughts by a loud spluttering and spitting noise. It took you a second to realise it must be the cabin’s creaky pipes warming up, so Bucky was showering. You did your best not to think about him all naked and soaped up and wet and-

You flung your laptop open and got to work uploading the files from the mission, sending your report over to head office and sending a quick summary to Stark. At least there was signal out here. Working is good. Only productive thoughts. No room for shower thoughts. 

You were so engrossed in your emails that you didn’t hear the bathroom door swing open behind you. 

“Bathroom’s free” said a gruff voice that made you jump in surprise.

You whipped around to face him and did your best to keep your eyes from falling out of your head when you were faced with Bucky fresh from the shower. Small water droplets ran down his chiselled chest, his long hair damp and falling in soft tendrils, a perfectly prominent ‘V’ pointing down to you-know-where, all topped off with the tiniest towel known to man clinging to his hips. The hardest working piece of fabric you’d ever seen.

You felt your face flush and nodded overly enthusiastically. 

“G-great, thanks” you mumbled.

He seemed to oblivious to your discomfort so you took that moment to dash to the bathroom yourself, leaning against the door after you’d closed it and doing your best to keep it together. You just needed to get through the night. The quinjet was coming to get you in the morning. You could do this. You could survive tiny towels and fresh soaped abs until then. 

You took your sweet time showering, ignoring the mildewy tiles and inconsistent water temperature to spend as much time hidden in the bathroom as possible. You finally admitted defeat and emerged, drying yourself with one of the threadbare towels and changing into some sweats.

“Was about to contact HQ and tell them you’d drowned in the bathroom” Bucky deadpanned as you re-entered the main cabin. He didn’t look up, his eyes locked on his phone as he laid on the bed. Bucky in bed. He was dressed in dark sweats, the fresh smell emanating from him almost intoxicating.

“I just…like to be clean after a mission” you replied, your voice slightly wobbly. 

He nodded, his eyes flickering up to yours. “Yeah, I get that” he mumbled.

This was probably the most you’d spoken to each other all afternoon. You suppressed your surprise.

“You tired?” He asked, his tone almost interrogating. He seemed wide awake. You supposed super soldiers didn’t really need as much sleep as mere mortals did. 

“Mm. A little” you responded, trying to appear nonchalant and not show how desperate you were to curl up and pass out. Not that you thought you could in such close proximity to him.

In an attempt to appear relaxed you stretched your arms and inadvertently knocked a little wooden pinecone ornament off the small side table next to you. It flew almost comically across the room, bouncing on the floor and smashing against the kitchen cabinet (thankfully remaining intact).

The silence was heavy. Bucky raised an eyebrow as you quickly scuttled and retrieved it, hastily putting it back in place. You could’ve sworn his face betrayed a sliver of amusement but it quickly moulded back to his standard-issue stoicism.

“They confirmed that the jet will be here at 0730 tomorrow” he murmured, looking back at his phone. 

The fact he hadn’t acknowledged your faux pas made it even more embarrassing. You nodded quickly and tried to ignore the sudden heat in your cheeks. 

Fortunately the evening progressed with no other embarrassments. You both had a dinner of instant noodles in silence, then spent some time separately tying up the loose ends on your respective mission duties - sending emails, debriefing Steve on the phone. You don’t think Bucky smiled even once.

Your heart thumped in your chest as it got later and darker, until you could no longer avoid the elephant in the room.

However it was Bucky who raised it, nipping it in the bud with his trademark pragmatism.

“I’ll take the couch” he said sternly. “You can have the bed”.

“Oh…thanks. But it’s okay, if you want the bed-” you started to protest but he cut you off. 

“It’s fine” he barked. 

You couldn’t deny that avoiding the awkwardness of having to share a bed was a relief, although a small part of you felt a tiny bit disappointed. 

“There’s only one blanket…” you said warily as your eyes scanned the cabin for something you may have missed…a blanket basket..a linen closet, anything…

“Don’t need one” he quickly dismissed as he laid down on his back atop the couch, wriggling his body against the cushions to get comfortable. He closed his eyes and clasped his hands over his chest. You couldn’t resist stealing a peek. He looked so angelic with his eyes closed. So much softer and sweeter than he normally did. You swallowed a gasp and quickly turned away before he caught you.

You took that as your cue to climb into the bed, shivering slightly as you pulled the shabby blanket tightly against you. The fire Bucky had lit in the fireplace earlier had finally burnt out, and you were suddenly very aware of how cold it was between these four wooden walls.

“Night” you said gently as you switched off the beside lamp, plunging the cabin into darkness.

Bucky merely grunted and you heard him roll over onto his side, the couch creaking painfully under his weight. Well, he was a big guy. 

You squeezed your eyes shut and did your best to fall asleep quickly, not wanting to think too hard about how the most handsome man you’d ever met was sleeping mere feet away from you. A braver version of you would be honest about how you really felt, using this close proximity to ask him directly what his issue with you was. An even braver version would use this opportunity to move over to the sofa and stroke his hair from his eyes and lean over and-

But you were a coward. 

You would likely never be alone with him like this ever again, and here you were wimping out and cowering in bed. Typical. 

You realised you could still hear the couch creaking. It seemed to be getting louder. That was odd. Bucky wasn’t even moving. What even was that? It sounded like…something cracking?

Your thoughts were interrupted by a loud snapping sound, then a huge crash and then eventually Bucky yelling. You’re suddenly frantic, in panic mode as you immediately assumed the safe house has been compromised and the two of you had somehow been tracked. You fling yourself out of bed, grabbing the pistol you stashed by the nightstand and practically smashing the lamp switch, ready to take down whoever has broken in.

As the cabin is illuminated you’re stunned by sight in front of you. 

Bucky is laying on the floor, his face like thunder as he scowls and curses. The couch is…somehow…cut perfectly in two, sliced down the middle.

“What the…?” You stammer as you lower your gun and take in the scene. 

Bucky suddenly sits up and leans over, assessing the wreckage. 

“It’s goddam termites!!” He spits.

“Huh??” You utter, struggling to make sense of what’s going on.

“Termites!!” He yells again, angrily gesturing at where the couch has split. 

You lean in and can now see the jagged edges of the exposed wooden frame, huge holes dotted along the structure. Yep, he was right - termites. 

“They’ve clearly been eating away at this old-ass couch for some time, it must’ve finally given up” he says furiously. His vibranium fingers squeeze into a fist and he angrily punches through some of the remaining chewed-up frame.

You did your best. Truly you did. But nothing could stop the wave of laughter that bubbled out of you in that moment. The image of Bucky in a heap on the floor…the deafening crash…the ridiculous debris of the couch…the fear of intruders…it was simply all too much. You threw your head back and laughed. Your laughter was a runaway train, impossible to stop. It wasn’t just the absurdity of the tableau in front of you…it was all of the tension and awkwardness that had been brewing between you and Bucky. All of your stress. The laugh was a cathartic release of all of it. 

Bucky scowled as he got to his feet. “It’s not that funny…” he muttered.

“I’m sorry..I’m sorry…” you managed to yelp as you caught your breath. “I thought…I thought we were under attack, I drew…drew my gun and everything. But it was just…just…” you inhaled sharply. “It was just…your big super soldier ass smashing up the couch”.

Bucky’s eyes widened at that. You watched the anger darken his features before the corner of his mouth rolled up into a smirk. The smirk became a smile. The smile became a grin. The grin became a laugh. He was laughing!! Bucky was actually laughing!! 

“Who you callin’ big ass?” He sneered, although the playfulness was clear as day. 

That only made you laugh harder. 

You both stood there and laughed until your eyes watered and your sides hurt, eventually running out of steam. Bucky sighed, rolling his eyes and shaking his head with disdain.

“You think they could spring for a Holiday Inn or something” he scoffed. “I know it’s slim pickings out in the middle of nowhere, but surely they could find something better than this shitbox”.

You chuckled. “Tony cheaping out I guess. But it’s kinda cosy at least…”

Bucky scoffed again. “Why do you always do that?” He said accusingly.

You frowned. “Do what?”

“Try to…put a positive spin on everything. Sometimes things just suck and that’s okay”.

You blanched, surprised. He’d never asked you anything like that before. “Well…uh…it’s just who I am I guess. Keeps me going”.

He studied you carefully. “Well…okay. But as long as you know it’s okay to just let something be shitty. You don’t always have to put on a brave face”.

Your eyes widened, surprised at the tenderness in his tone. “I’m not…putting it on. It’s just…me”.

He nodded. You realised this was your one chance. You had to take it.

“Is that why…you’re always so cold to me? You think I’m some phoney pretending the world is all sunshine and rainbows” you asked hesitantly. 

He blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting that. 

“Huh?”

“C’mon, don’t insult my intelligence, Bucky. We both know you’re not exactly my best friend” you prodded. 

He sighed. “I’m sorry. I know I’ve been kinda a jerk. I guess I’m not really used to people like you…and I don’t know how to be”.

“People like me…?”

He smirked. “Optimists”.

“Oh…”

“It’s nothing personal” he continued. “I guess with my background…I just…don’t really come across too many peppy people in our line of work. I find it hard to get my head around. But it’s my problem…not yours”.

You nodded, taken aback by his candour. “Alright…I get that. But…I haven’t ever done anything to you. And I’d like it if we could maybe say more than five words to each other over an eight hour mission…”

He grimaced. “Yeah. Look…I’m sorry. It wasn’t fair to take my issues out on you. Can we start over? Try again?” 

His voice was hopeful. He sounded genuine. You couldn’t help but feel the excitement of this new progress swirl in your tummy. 

You smiled. “Yeah. That would be good. Thanks”.

He nodded, smiling back at you. “Okay. Let’s talk more about it tomorrow…But for now we probably should get some sleep. It’s late”.

He sighed wearily and sat back on the floor, stretching out and laying on his back.

You watched this, baffled. “What…are you doing?”

He looked up at you in annoyance. “What does it look like?” He said sarcastically.

“It…looks like you’re sleeping on the hard floor with no blankets or pillows”.

“Well I can’t sleep on the broken couch can I…”

“Just get into the bed” you sighed

He sat up, eyeing you with suspicion. “What?”

“The bed. We can share. We’re both adults aren’t we? Serum or not, you’re not getting any sleep on that wooden floor. Plus, it’s freezing in here”.

He tilted his head. “And you’re sure you’re okay with that? Because I can sleep here just fine…I’ve had worse”

You shrugged, ignoring the butterflies in your stomach. You walked back over to the bed and pulled the covers back as you hopped back in. 

“Sure. Just try not to break this too, okay big ass?” You replied playfully. “Tony will end up sending us a bill if you keep wrecking the joint.”

He rolled his eyes as he relented, strolling over and flopping onto the other side of the bed. “Whatever. But if you snore I will wake you up”.

You grinned, delighted at the shift in atmosphere. Maybe Bucky would never like you the way you liked him, but if you had a chance at being his friend you would take that. You would grasp it with both hands and never let go.

Once you both settled down and you switched off the lamp for the second time that night, your head hit the pillow and you did your best to fall asleep. You tried to ignore the sheer heat radiating from the heavy body next to you. You didn’t really get up close and personal with Bucky so had no idea he ran this hot. Serum thing, you guessed. The mattress sagged under the weight of his bulk and you were painfully aware of how close you were to him, his back to you. You could’ve barely reached out and easily brushed his fingers. His thick shoulders were right there. His strong thighs were just by you. His beautiful blue eyes were resting beneath his eyelids. You felt your mouth go dry and squeezed your eyes shut, willing yourself to fall asleep and rescue your mind from this psychic torment.

Unfortunately the cabin’s poor insulation quickly made itself known and soon all you could think about was how cold you were. How did this place only have one blanket?? You couldn’t even wrap yourself up in it properly because Bucky had half. You fantasised about endless duvets and comforters, fluffy pillows and hot water bottles. Electric blankets and knitted quilts.

You were debating getting up and going to try find another layer of clothing in your pack when Bucky’s grumpy voice interrupted. 

“Can you keep still? Jeez”.

You realised then that you were shivering. The trembling of your limbs was causing you to shake, gently rocking the bed.

“I’m sorry…it’s cold okay?” You hissed in the dark.

“Oh c‘mon…” he sneered.

“We aren’t all super soldiers!!” You spat, clenching your teeth together to stop them chattering. “I’m not a human bonfire like you”. 

“Ugh. So dramatic. Come’ere” he groaned.

Before you could fully compute he rolled over and pulled you into his arms, nestling you in his grasp. 

You had become the little spoon. 

“Uh…” you eked out in surprise.

“Shut up and go to sleep” he scolded lightly. “You can’t still be cold now…”

You shook your head, your brain short circuiting. It was as if every possible thought had left you all at once. You felt the dual sensation of metal and flesh hug your torso, the warmth of his breath by your ear. And oh god the heat. The heat.

You laid perfectly still as if any sudden movements would startle him and shake him out of this. You heard his breathing deepen suddenly and at first you thought he was falling asleep…but then you felt it.

It indeed.

There was something hard pressing into your bottom. 

You felt your face flush. Your mouth fell agape. He knew exactly what he was doing. This wasn’t an accident. A flash of boldness hit you like a lightning bolt, his audaciousness igniting something within you. You couldn’t process what this meant right now, you just had to ride the wave, so to speak. He rocked into you a little harder. You had to make it clear that you knew what this was. So you experimentally pushed your hips back against his. You were cautious, a slow manoeuvre at first to test the water. He grunted, then slowly moved himself forward once more, pressing himself harder against you. You pushed back again, uttering a small moan which he reciprocated with his own. You did this for a little while, pressing against each other and finding a rhythm. The only sounds were your clothes swishing against the sheets and a quiet chorus of whimpers and groans. No words were spoken. 

He carefully snaked his vibranium arm around you and you shuddered as he raised your shirt, walking his fingers down across your bare stomach to your hips, daringly pulling back the waistband of your sweats. He took his time, his breath dense against your ear as you closed your eyes and felt the cool metal trace your scorching skin beneath.

His digits toyed with the side of your underwear with painful slowness, his breathing quickening as he continued to rock his bulge into your backside. You could only whine as his fingers finally breached the fabric and made their way inside. He groaned heavily into your neck as he found the readiness of your essence, viscous and dripping from his fingers as he traced further and further in. You whimpered as he finally put you out of your misery and found your clit, expertly toying with it but applying enough pressure to build and build and build…

You rocked eagerly against his hand as he slipped one metal finger inside of you. Then two. All in rhythm with the thrust of your hips in time with his. His circling increased suddenly, his fingers continued to pump and you gasped as you reached your peak, finally reaching the top and plummeting off the edge, your voice hoarse and laboured as you cried out into the dark cabin, the stars of your climax both dizzying and intoxicating.

He held you close as you fell back down to earth, still not a word spoken by either of you. Nothing had needed to be said. He gently removed his hand from your panties and cupped your chin, wrenching your face to his and gifting you the sweetest, softest kiss you’d ever experienced. His lips brushing yours with tenderness and care. A stark contrast to the salacious way he’d touched you. 

“I haven’t been entirely honest…” he spoke into the dark, his voice hoarse and strained with lust.

You stroked his cheek fondly. “Mm?”

“It wasn’t just your…optimism” he told you as he kissed you again. “I…I couldn’t handle the way I felt about you. I always liked you…always wanted you. From that very first moment Steve introduced us. I was a goner. I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I didn’t know how to talk to you. So I purposefully put space between us. It was immature, I know” he sighed. 

You smiled into the dark, your head reeling from all the ways the world had changed in the last hour. Your heart exploding after finally hearing the words you’d longed for. The words you’d never expected to actually hear.

“You’re so soft…and sweet. I like the way you try and see the good in everything. It makes me wanna be less of a grumpy asshole. And you make me laugh. The way you sent that pinecone flying earlier…” he chuckled. “You’re utterly ridiculous. You know that?”

You grinned. “You didn’t laugh!! It made it so much worse that you didn’t laugh…”

He sniggered. “I’m sorry. Look. I wanted to. I just didn’t want you to think I was making fun of you”.

You giggled, touched by the strange but well meaning logic. 

“Will you give me a chance to make it up to you?” He asked softly, his hand lazily running up your thigh. 

“Bucky…”

“Yeah, doll?”

“The quinjet will be here in a few hours. So you better get started on that apology…”

You felt his smile in the dark as his lips touched yours again, one arm pulling you into him as the other began to tug down your sweats. 

“You’re on doll, you’re on”.

[mothmansbanker]

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap- Prologue

Mammon x Human! Reader

It was a wild night for you. It was only Wednesday and you were dead tired, having to work the next morning for the broadcasting station you recently applied for. Why did you feel so drained? So so tired and ready to drop, yet your roommate didn't care! Instead she dragged you out and about to her coffee shop friend's house 30 ish or so miles out of town and towards the more foresty areas of your small town. So…here you were.

With your head against the hot window that had your skin drenched with humid sweat and a gross icky feeling that made your skin itch adn want to crawl out of. "Hey uh,Gwen. Where exactly are you taking me? This seems..a bit far." You gulped down the gathering spit in your mouth, a feeling of uneasiness washing over you as you sat up a bit more in the passenger seat. The blonde woman glanced over before looking back at the road, a somewhat dorky grin tugging at her lips. "Oh come on, are you really that worried about it? Trust me! I'm not an axe murderer or something." Gwen rolled her eyes as she came to an intersection and singaled right…which lead into an even darker part of the forested area. There did seem to be some light, a small dull glow seemed to coat some of the lower branches of the trees.

The car crept closer to this decently well kept cabin that seemed spacious. Two other cars were parked in the front, the quiet noise filling your head with dred as the leaves crunched under the tires before Gwen parked terribly beside the two other vehicles. "Alright," she clapped her hands together before removing her seat belt and kicking open the car door, "Cmon! Out out. We're just going to head inside that front door kay?" She gave you her usually dorky grin before shutting the car door, heaving out a sigh you unbuckle yourself and take a deep breath in…to mentally prepare. Opening the card door you grab your bag and hurry out, slinging your bag over your shoulder and slamming the door shut. This felt like a bad idea.. Your stomach was rolling in its grave. Clenching and twisting in ways to make you wince. Was this a good idea? Going to a complete strangers house with your roommate to do who knows what! Remember your breathing exercises..

…1…and 2…1…and 2… You were okay for now. Until this was over and you can go back home and become your true slug self. Wrapped in blankets and binging some trashy reality tv. An uneasy feeling filled your stomach like lead as you walked into the crickety cabin, the wooden walls looking rustic and ready to blow down if someone even blew on them. Moss and vines kissed the stone path and the wooden logged walls, the door rickety and thumping against the doorframe slightly from the gusts of wind that pulled and pushed the wooden rectangle. You gulped down that residing fear, trailing behind your roommate who hurried up the three crickety steps and knocked obnoxiously. "BeccaaaaAAAaaaAA! Cmonnnn, open up, bitch." It was obvious Gwen and Becca's relationship was like that. Playful with mean comments and names, but honestly it was probably the best friendship anybody could ask for. Or even want! As you waited there on the first step while Gwen was on the first you could hear a quick patter of footsteps and then a thud and a loud meow that sounded like a smug cat...those smug bastards. Opening the door was a tall woman who looked like she had just woken up. Basket ball shorts, some overly baggy and ratted up shirt that had a cat on it, cozy socks with crocs...which was a crime in your opinion, but you decided to ignore that part. She had her hair in space buns atop her head, a bit damp but neatly placed. You stood there now on the second step watching as the two exchanged hugs and smiles, Gwen motioning you inside as she stepped inside, a overly chunky cat making it's way towards you. At least there was a cat! A orange tabby with no thoughts behind its eyes, eager to flick its tail and rub against your leg as if demanding for treats or pets. A tired smile made its way to your lips as you squat down to rub the cat and give it scratches...before it bit you half way through. Scurrying off to who knows where while you stand back up and look at the nibble mark left upon the crook of your hand.

"So....What are we doing? My plans for tonight were just gonna be to chill maybe..and well a new episode of The Girls is on and I was gonna finish that season-" Your rambling was quickly interrupted by the two other girls laughing, Becca wiping a fake tear from her eye.

"Holy shit, Gwen, you didn't tell me your roomie was a riot! God I love you already." Becca had a smile still on her face, but in a cute dorky way. As she wrapped an arm around your shoulder she brought you in close so you were nose to nose now.

"Listen. You're cute, but you seem VERRYYY boring. Have some fun! Ever try those shitty cringe challenges from middleschool?" Before you could even THINK about answering her question she placed both her manicured hands on your cheeks and squished them, "Gwen and I found one and we wanted to try! buuutttt...we needed a third person! Which is youuuu~ Isn't that fun?" The feeling of being overwhelmed washed over you as you just furrowed your eyebrows and looked confused as she was rambling about some 'spooky challenge' and it probably not going to work. What were they even talking abou- your swirling thoughts were quickly and once again interrupted as she started wrapping a piece of deep green fabric around your eyes.

"Wait- hold on!" Your frustration grew as you tried to get away from Becca's touches and grabs, "You haven't even told me what I'M doing!-" You felt a set of hands on the sides of your face, holding your cheeks as the scent of mint and cigarettes wafted over. "Cmonnn, babes! Just trust us! You trust me right? I'm your best friend!" "Gwen, you're my only friend." Was your only reply as you felt the same frustration, but diluted a little bit now. As the blindfold was snugly tightened against your face and blocking your vision, it felt as if your other sense were heightened. You could hear the slight creaking of the house and the small giggles between the two girls. You could smell the minty and menthol scented breath still of Gwen, and the light airy perfume that Becca wore that reminded you of an old woman at a thrift store. Suddenly you were pushed further into the room, the sound of a rug dragging along the wooden floor was loud in the depths of silence that was cascaded down on you. Shivers spiked along your spine as you tried to be calm, hearing the click and flicker of a lighter somewhere to the side of you as one of the girls sat you down on your knees, locking your knees and elbows together.

Trust them right? Trust Gwen? You knew Gwen since freshman year of highschool..So why shouldn't you trust her? But there was that feeling of doubt and uneasiness planting itself in the pit of your stomach, its seed sprouting and its roots planting itself inside of you more permanently. Your breath quickened as you tried to steady it, panic washing over you as a low hum was heard form the two. Then it began. The softly low mumbling of the two girls as a pouring sound was heard to the left of you, a liquid hitting the cusp of metal. A smell lingered, a burning smell. With a hint of rotten eggs and the smell of some burnt meat... An acidic feeling rose within the back of your throat before a weird smoke began spreading through out the room, filling your nose with a acidic putrid smell that was thick. Scrunching your nose the distinct sound of...a cash register was filling the air for a split moment? Then you heard it. The rough whiny sound of some angry Australian.

"Now which one of you fucking cunts summoned THE Prince of GREED to this SHIT HOLE?!"

[tobyislame]

Hi this is awkward s/o person again, you have fueled my toby brain and I'd like to make another request (if you're willing)

What would he be like with his s/o on Halloween? Does he dress up with them, get candy, or maybe stay home and watch scary movies with them? And very important question...if he dresses up, who would he dress up as?

toby rogers x reader: HALLOWEEN EDITION!!!!

welcome back friend!!! i will always be willing i love your requests!! OHOHOHO i am going to get soo silly with this one

- toby goes fucking BALLISTIC over halloween oh my god. it's the only time of the year where he can go into town and just be normal. everyone's got masks on, everyone's donning costumes, so he blends in like butter on bread. being able to exist in a public space without so much as a dirty look is fucking elating, it's one of the only graces of normalcy that he gets and he milks the opportunity for everything its got. what most would treat like any other day, he treats like a paragon. for one night he isn't toby rogers, wanted dead or alive - he's just some guy.

- he's suuuper fucking annoying about it too. he wants to do ALL the halloween stuff and he WILL drag you along with him whether you want it or not. his mansion buds aren't exempt from this treatment either no one is safe

- before night falls and the real fun begins, you guys are staying in and he's making SURE you have a good day. he's got those cheap halloween cookies in the oven (you know the ones they got pumpkins on em), his place is done up with lights and tacky dollar store decorations, and he's got a pot of apple cider simmering on the stove that mixes with the woodsy smell of his cabin just fucking beautifully. he tries really hard.

- he gets really fucking into it, and you can't help but find his admittedly childlike excitement over it a little endearing. if you ever commented on it, about how he hardly gets this excited over anything else, he'd probably just get all weirdly defensive and dismissive over it. he's been this way about it since he was a kid, never really grew out of it. even after everything.

- he's putting out a SPREAD of treats for you guys: candy corn, caramel corn, the works. can't have it any other way if you're marathoning slashers. there's a sort of unmentionable effort he puts into it with the halloween paper plates he goes out of his way to get (steal), one of those little details that puts this subdued warmth in your chest. he wants to make everything nice for you. he wants for you to have good things.

- you two. on his pilled up couch. grandpa sweaters. steaming apple cider in thrifted (stolen) mugs. flannel blanket. crackling embers from the log burner. oh yeah baby

- he makes halloween movie watchlists. oh yeah he's serious about this. he only really likes the kind of stuff you can snag off rental store shelves: sleepaway camp for eye candy (we need more slutty slutty men in horror flicks), hellraiser but only the 1987 one, texas chainsaw massacre but only the 1974 one (he's got a crush on leatherface that he'll never admit to anyone or himself), the thing is his fucking FAVORITE horror movie of all time, throw the final destinations in there just for fun, stuff like that. saw movies are his guilty pleasure. even with you, he tries to be some hard-ass and play it off when he gets all spooked and jumpy, though the way he clings to you just a little tighter says something else.

- yea this man has split skulls and gotten brain matter stuck in his hair and horror movies still scare him

- now the most important question: costumes.

- ok i have two visions for what he'd be and in both events he's forcing you to dress up with him: for one i can totally see him throwing on some ferris bueller getup and dragging you along as either sloane or cameron, or y'all are going as bill and ted and he's calling dibs on bill (so he has an excuse to wear a crop top it's totally only for the costume). if you refuse to dress up he will not shut up about how you're "no fun" until you give in

- he also uses the holiday as an opportunity to terrorize the general public. you guys are hiding out in corn mazes and jumping out at whatever poor soul happens to walk by like some surprise scare actor, pretending to be ghosts to scare off the kids who think hanging out at cemeteries makes them cool. he's the village menace. genuinely the HOA puts up a sign saying look out for this guy

- he takes you "trick or treating" but with the biggest quotations ever. he'll go around to the houses that just have bowls of candy out with a sign that says "please take one" or something and straight up just take the bowl

- when he isn't having (mostly) harmless fun and treating the townspeople like his plaything, he's treating you to some good wholesome traditional halloween activities, and he's a massive sucker for those. like, no fucking question about it he is dragging your ass to the pumpkin patch. if he's lucky he can get a five finger discount on some caramel apples for you two. of COURSE he's hauling some pumpkins home for you guys to carve, even if he'll just inevitably leave them to rot on his porch but he SWEARS he'll throw them out soon he SWEARS

- he insists on going to at least one haunted house even though he's the one that always gets you two kicked out for clocking scare actors. he's banned from most of them

- at some point in the night you'll probably end up crashing some college house party and, even though they scare him shitless, nothing makes him feel more like a guy than standing around with a red solo cup in his hand. he isn't there to make friends anyway (god knows he has no clue how), he's the one that just kinda pets the dog the entire time then leaves

- at the very end of day you guys are falling asleep tangled up in each other on the couch, smoke hanging in the air and the dvd screensaver bouncing around on the tv screen

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

i dont know if this is how you ask someone something but--

15 for your "mc ask?" 🌺

ps. love your content bro <3

@lordedlady thank you so much friend!!

15. Dream Vacation: updating my self-insert to match me as I go along (hehe) as of today, Drue owns a motorcycle named Bonnie! His ideal vacation would be taking it up into high, forested mountains with lots of smooth windy roads, not too many people, and plenty of walking/climbing trails for some fresh air and movement. Bonus points if he can find a cheap log cabin/loft airbnb to make homemade hot chocolate in after several hours of racing through some typical mountain mists and fall asleep watching anime.

... both Drue and I are wondering if it would be worthwhile to research ways to have a six pound cat ride along ... and yes, this is a stock photo of irl Bonnie's make and model!

(here's the current MC ask game)

[creations-by-chaosfay]

I start handquilting tomorrow, and will make a separate post for it. However, I decided to...tease y'all with what to expect, especially my client. 😉

Four threads will be used, and each stenciled circle with be a singular color. This means there will be a whole lotta color going on.

Each of these colors are in the fabric collection I used. It's School of Magic by Cotton + Steel. Some parts of each print have iridescent bits and they are sooooo pretty.

I only have circles in the strip section. The rest will be straight lines along the sashing on the sides and the stars bordering the quilt. Two corners have strips; when I get to those, they will also have circles outlined.

Anyone else excited? I know I certainly am.

Handquilting will be no more than six hours every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Tuesday and Thursday will be spent making another quilt for a different client. Yes, there will be WIP pics. The fabric is beautiful! That collection is The Sun, The Moon, and The Stars by Jason Yenter for In the Beginning Fabrics. Look it up if you're impatient to see it. Here's the pattern I'll be using:

The pattern is Ripples Quilt from the pattern book called Curvy Log Cabin Quilts by Jean Ann Wright. This will be my first curvy quilt, and I bought the template ruler made specifically for these quilts. It's the larger template, and when I decide to make a quilt with smaller blocks, I'll get that template as well. They aren't cheap nor 100% necessary, but they will make this soooo much easier. Work smarter, not harder.

Now, time for bed. I have an early start seeing as I'm up at around 6AM voluntarily. Why? I'm a morning person and like having necessary tasks done by lunch. The rest of the day can be spent doing as I please.

[follows-the-bees]

Stede's costume color analysis

Ed wore red and purple to symbolize his love for Stede in S1. Stede wears red (love), yellow/cream (light and the beach), and bluegreen (mermaid) to symbolize his love for Ed in S1.

The red starts around his neck in the same style as the black cravat while they are separated. It is reminiscent of Stede's style from last season, while the rest of the clothes are more piratey, and reflect his new position in society and piracy. They are also rumpled and soiled, just like the mindset of this couple while they are apart.

The red then moves to the stitching right before and during their reunion. It is now a part of and cemented into the fabric, and not around his neck, which resembled a noose (like the black cravat symbolism of last season.) His love is stitched into his heart.

Ultimately the red becomes a whole suit and shirt when the couple reunite. Ed no longer needs the small red silk to represent his love for Stede because it is right there in front of him, Stede is literally covered in their shared love.

Shades of tan/cream (sandy beach) and yellow are used to show how they are the light (lighthouse) in each other's lives. Stede wears this light cream color before reuniting with Ed and then once again while they are still a bit rocky during episode 4 and the beginning of 5.

Just like with the lantern shining on Ed's face when he wakes up from purgatory and the candle in the background shining on Ed's face during the "I love everything about you" scene, this light color symbolizes the beacon of light (love) Ed radiates toward Ed.

And last, we have the color blue - like the ocean. While on the Red Flag, their uniforms are blue (I love this because it shows Zheng using and knowing how important indigo is, reinforcing her buying it for cheap from Spanish Jackie.) He wears this the entire time Ed is in Purgatory and then when Stede steps into the water-logged cabin to say goodbye to what he thinks is Ed dead, the symbolism of blue is most prominent. This blue clothing, and stepping into the water, shows that Stede is meeting Ed - the mermaid - in the water and he helps as Ed chooses to live, chooses life, while Stede swims next to him and gives him hope.

And last, we have the blue shirt in the last three episodes of the show. It is the color of the sea, and also the color of the robe Ed wears the morning after. (Also the morning after, Stede is wrapped in blankets that make him look like a mermaid and Ed in a robe the color of the ocean.) This blue shirt is throughout the episodes: the lunch date, the break up, the getting back together on the beach, and in the last scene when they choose to slow down and figure themselves out.

All of these colors Stede wears ties back to Ed and his love for him. It is a visual symbolism of their deeper connection.

See also my analysis on how Stede's lowering neckline shows his descent into piracy.

Bonus: MerStede

He is a shiny goldfish, a bright beacon of hope and love.

[rockethorse]

Foundations for Families Challenge: Rebooted!

Inspired by an ask, this is a reboot of the Foundations for Families contest over at Mod The Sims 2 from 2012. I've reverse-engineered the original floorplans based on the surviving entry images, streamlined/loosened the rules, and hopefully this old contest will interest some players as a new challenge!

You can participate using any Sims game.

The challenge:

Pick one foundation blueprint below and assign it to one of the families below.

Place an empty lot and build a foundation that matches the blueprint exactly. You may use any lot size or type, position the foundation anywhere on the lot, and rotate the foundation however you like (but cannot mirror it).

Build something on the foundation according to the specifications of the family you picked.

You're done! Share with the tag #Foundations For Families Challenge or simply enjoy your handiwork!

The rules:

You can only use each blueprint and each family once; so at the end of the challenge you will have four different families with four different foundations.

You can have as many decorative floors/dormers as you want, but only the first one or two floors may be useable or accessible by Sims (after the foundation).

You can use any combo of the three basegame foundation types to build the blueprint, but stages can only be placed above existing foundations.

You can only build walls above foundation, and you cannot have flooring or roofs extend/"hang" over the edge of the foundation. This includes greenhouses, but excludes pool walls. Fencing, flooring, and awnings are allowed on the ground.

If you want to build a basement, go for it, but it must be contained entirely within the original foundation and cannot be visible from the outside. There may only be one level of basements.

The families (all credit to @w-sims):

The Barkworth Family - Mike and Meadow Barkworth both love the outdoors. They've always dreamed out having a beautiful log cabin home they can come back to after a long day of hiking and insect collecting. They would love for their house to be a traditional pine cabin, with a gorgeous fireplace in the living room. The bathroom(s) should be simple and in-keeping with the style of the house, and Meadow loves the idea of flowers, home-made quilts and decorations all throughout the house.

The Montenegro Family - Rain Montenegro is a struggling artist. Her house is filled with art projects in various states of completion, but she wants a studio in her house so she can escape the world and focus on her art. As for the rest of the house, simple, cheap furniture will do, as long as it's bright and colourful. Rain loves the colour green, but can't stand purple.

The Lewis Family - When Layton and Lucinda found out they were expecting it was the greatest day of their lives. When they found out they were having triplets? Not so much. Now their three daughters (athletic Lara, bookworm Leanne and musician Lorrie) are all teenagers, they are demanding their own rooms. Layton and Lucinda are happy to move, but want a large master bedroom and their own en-suite bathroom.

The Gravel Family - Tyler Gravel is a romantic, fitness fanatic and rising athlete. He wants his house to have a modern feel, and the wow factor that will impress all the ladies. A home-gym is a must, and a swimming pool outside would be his idea of perfection. Tyler also wants a guest bedroom for when his family fly in to town to watch his matches.

The blueprints:

Have fun and feel free to share your finished builds with #Foundations For Families Challenge!

[chronotsr]

No. 1 - G1, The Steading of the Hill Giant Chief (July 1978)

Author(s): Gary Gygax Artist(s): Erol Otus, Dave C. Sutherland III (cover), David A. Trampier Level range: Average of 9, preferably 5+ players Theme: Standard Swords and Sorcery Major re-releases: G1-3 Against the Giants, GDQ1-7 Queen of the Spiders, Against the Giants: The Liberation of Geoff, Dungeon #197, Tales from the Yawning Portal

I'm not sure if G1-G3 are the most remastered adventures of all time, but it's gotta be competitive. I think Tomb of Horrors might have it beat, but I haven't counted. The 4e conversion [the Dungeon #197 one] is really weird in particular because…4e feels like the edition least interested in the legacy of DND? It was boldly doing its own thing. A good quality, actually.

Anyway, it's time to slag off* on a beloved adventure. Note, I am using the earliest copy of G1 I can find, which is from waaaay later when D3 was complete. I apologize.

*And by slag off, I mean "be critical of at all". In practice, this module is actually showing some unusual acumen compared to its contemporaries.

EDIT: I forgot to mention a rather important thing when this was made live -- note the title there! We are officially in ADND land now, so put away your little brown booklets and switch over to the fuck-off awesome player's handbook with the iconic Moloch statue!

Somehow I had gotten my whole life at this point never really…understanding what this structure was supposed to look like? It looks like this.

I honestly think exterior shots of dungeons are critically underrated. Handouts are amazing and being able to flash the back cover art to safely show the party "like this" is actually great, I deeply wish that….any? of the previous modules had done that? I think the only one that did was Tsojconth. Weirdly, the interior drawing is very subtly different. Look at how the logs face:

Not a huge deal but, a kind of weird inconsistency that top one looks like a stockade and the bottom one looks like a log cabin. Side note, we know that the long dimension of this is using 210 feet tall logs, which is to say, the size of an average redwood. These are some big fuck-off trees -- which could be a very interesting detail about the local area.

Now the setup is pretty simple. You were hired to go beat up the giants because they've been raiding the local humans, figure out why they're raiding, and comeback posthaste. The locals have kitted you out with horses, guides, maps, et c -- but no compensation, they have simply omitted a finder's fee (cheap bastards). Also, if you fail, they'll execute you. With friends like these, who needs Giants?

Gary starts with some mild railroading (you accepted the job already, you are already kitted out, you already walked to a nearby cave, you waited til dusk to approach, you notice two guards are missing, and the cave is guaranteed to be moderately hidden. Sure, whatever, I'm going to ignore that if I run this tho. Gary notifies us of a few critical details:

Don't run this stock, that's immoral

Any surviving giants will flee to G2 if they have the opportunity (which, kind of inherently punishes clever play that avoids combat?)

There is a 2% chance per round that the wooden structure will be lit on fire due to chronic rain (why is this a dice roll??)

If you will permit me a tangent, player arson is truly the bane of interesting scenarios everywhere. Whenever a player wonders, "why are all the GM's dungeons underground or in stonework buildings?", it's because doing anything else invites arson as the default and best answer to all problems. Magic items are fireproof and most metal items will not get hot enough to be destroyed, so very often the best solution is to burn the place to the ground and loot it the next day. So, yeah. No wood buildings. Gary's fix is to have all the giants flee into the basement, then waste a week of the PC's time for daring to use arson. Kind of sucks!

Tangent complete.

Here's some random interesting bits:

Gary explicitly states that you can pass yourself off as hill giant kids, which is extremely funny. Minus the implicit child murder.

Naturally there are giant moms doing giant housemaid shit in several rooms. Presumably they have giant curlers too.

The secret door is, literally just a doorway covered by a pelt. I have to hand it to them, that'd trip up most players in 2024 AND make them feel stupid for not figuring it out!

The big reveal that Eclavdra the Drow is secretly behind it all is so lightly teased that it feels downright tasteful.

A giant that uses a ballista as a crossbow (based) and spears for arrows (also based) -- between the prevalence of lightning spears and greatarrows, one starts to think of a certain famous video game. Genuinely I think it'd be a fun exercise one day, for someone who is more knowledgeable than me about Japanese fantasy roleplaying culture, to talk about how anglophone fantasy works made their way into Japan and were interpreted.

One of the cloud giants has hidden a sentient giant slaying sword that speaks all the giant languages, it feels like there's a hell of a story going on there that is only alluded to!

To my knowledge, this is the first official depiction of an orc in DND? Which implies that Gary is team pig-orcs, which is cool. Frankly, I love porcine orcs, or even better just pigfolk in general, they're great.

I think it is actually a rather bold early stance for Gary to hold that, even here in 1978, Chaotic aligned creatures are not automatically friends. Granted, that's how it is in Elric, so it's not THAT bold, but clearly everyone else missed the memo. The orcs are willing to side with you at least in the short-run, and in our previous modules it was very rare to have groups of chaotic-aligned creatures fighting one another. It was always just personal beefs. In fact, the overall theme of G1 so far is that despite the boxy-ass dungeon design, there's already a command of naturalism that even modern dungeons really struggle with. Factionalism truly is the gift that keeps on giving for the GM!

So the big reveal internally to G1 (just think of that -- a reveal internally to G1, and externally to the GDQ supermodule -- we're already getting pacing!) is that the orc slaves have rebelled. And -- hey -- good for them. There's also a kind of…built-in companion refill system going on here? So in oldish DND the way it works is, the expectation is the party is not just 5 guys with swords. You've got companions to help fight, and you've got hirelings to do other stuff (test suspected traps, if you're evil). And you can only hire so many of these guys from town, but attrition is going to happen. So the modules simply provides, automatic replacements should you negotiate worth a quarter of a shit. A dwarf slave here, an orc slave there. Maybe a giant dissenter if you're really clever. One of the potential "rewards" you can get is more dudes to throw at problems.

More interesting bits

There is, what I can only really call an abortive idea going on here where there's a scary temple in the basement? But no one worships there and no information is provided. It is merely a fucked up altar. I think I vaguely recall that it's retconned Tharizdun in one of the remakes? They always retcon things to be Tharizdun. Busy man, Tharzy.

Gary, Gary no. Stop it. Stop this 78 guys bullshit. I thought we had established that giant rooms of giant clumps of guys was bad. I know you have terminal Napoleonics brain but stop.

Wait, Steading is a noun? I always thought it was a verb. Yknow, like "Steading those hill giants", taking 'em down a notch. Apparently, a Steading is a small farm -- same etymology as Homestead. I guess mark that as our first Gygaxism?

Our second Gygaxism is gill, which is "a quarter pint of an alcoholic drink", which is to say a few mouthfuls

Always end your adventures with weird, ominous non-diegetic text. On the flip-side, absolutely do not do what the adventure does, and end on a teleporter that takes you to the next dungeon. That is the worst option.

Anyway, that's the whole Hill Giant situation. Honestly, it's better than I remembered, but in proud module tradition up to this point it gets weirdly filler-y in the basement. There's just something about basements that makes dungeon designers stop giving a shit, I swear. I do need to give the man his due, even though he was a shitass person: Gygax wrote an 11 page module that is of noticeably higher killer-to-filler ratio than any of his contemporaries. G1 is better than any of its predecessors, pound for pound. It is way, way shorter which is I suppose a plus to me and a minus to others, but -- there is a clear internal logic to this place that is tragically missing from (say) The Dwarven Glory. And that internal logic is the beginning of good adventure design. Anyway, we have two fun tidbits to discuss before we end for the day.

First up, we have an of-the-time account of events in Dragon #19! It turns out that in Origins '78 they played G1-G3's prototype. The account is of the winners (mostly West Virginians, a few Michiganders), who used their magic extremely liberally to hide what they were doing as well as to scout. They did opt to light the place on fire, good for them! If you want to check this out, it's on page 3. I will mention G2 and G3 here as relevant later.

Second up, there's a weird interquel hiding in Dungeon #198! Hanging out as an informal G1.5 is "The Warrens of the Stone Giant Thane!" I will not review it in full because my understanding of 4e is, basically just skimming the PHB and reading the DMG, but essentially the Stone Giants are hypothetically aloof and not particularly loyal to their Fire Giant superiors, but someone gave them The Rock That Makes You Crazy and so now they are. Smash the rock!

Man, map design in the 4e era was so fucking bad. It looks fine, but like, this is four circles. And downstairs is, of course, cave as far as the eye can see. Aren't stone giants supposed to be skilled carvers? Anyway, If you feel like G2 would be too big of a jump mechanically compared to G1, this exists. I'm sure you could use it if you liked, and certainly there is a Genre of Grognard who would be kinda tickled at the thought of finding "lost content" for el classico GDQ.

Next week, we cover G2, which was also in July. So was G3! They're triplets!

[longlegs-confess]

The Kobble home invasion scene is so much worse when you realize Lee's house is literally down the hill from her mom's. Why in the world would she buy a house right next to her mom if she's clearly not enthusiastic about visiting her more than once a year? Is she broke and this is the only property available on her meager budget (college debt)? Maybe Kobble did a little trolling and asked the man downstairs to help with getting rid of the prior occupants so the creepy log cabin was on sale for dirt cheap and Lee would be at a convenient location for supervision?

!!

[totemsp2blog]

2023 – Some Game of the Year

It occurs to me that a lot of games I played this year were in early access. Either way…

Sons of the forest (early access)

This is one of those games I wouldn’t have played otherwise, but now I have I don’t regret doing so.

What on the surface seems to be a horror survival game, seem to be more like a camping and off-grid living simulator, log homes, nature trekking, caving, and hiking included, now with wacky characters showing up and being uncomfortable to be around… that aren’t myself. Still, I’m they’re very fun to hit with implements.

The sequel to The Forest, now expanded with the ‘Sons of’ Prefix, my friends and I were playing the game during early access, with many plot details not complete. Not that I was paying much attention to that. Unlike my friends, I didn’t play The Forest, but from watching Mandalore’s video, I… know some things?

The plot of the game is not the point for me. Going camping in the woods, exploring the gorgeous forest, and the creepy caves to find cool new gadgets, like a zipline… or a shotgun, or a slightly better axe, working together to construct a log cabin on the lake, and then to construct a zipline system from said cabin, all the way to the top of the mountain, is absolutely the point for me. The game should be out of early access soon, so I’m looking forward to playing it again when it’s ‘feature complete’.

Pseudoregalia

If there’s one thing I was reminded of this year, is that I like 3D platformers. And there is many separate reasons why.

Enjoying the exploration of the wonderful little worlds these games take place in. Or enjoying the mechanics of scamping around a 3D space as effectively as possible.

Pseudoregalia firmly is in the latter category. It is firmly for the fans of movement and traversal.

The game is laid out in a ‘search action’ type of progression, where the items you find in the game add to your options for movement. Not long after you start the game and get past the ‘opening sequence’, and obtaining your slide, and slide jump, your options open up more than you realise at first, but once you know, you find out that sequence breaking using pure movement tech is a part of the game. You really wanna find out what you can get away with.

When I say that the game fits firmly in the ‘about traversal’ side of 3D platformers, it’s also because the exploration is kinda weak, as each area in the world is fairly simplistic and rather samey, while keeping to their theme. Getting lost is easy as there’s not a lot differentiating between most rooms, short of the odd monument. A map would be a small fix for this (and is in the works), but doesn’t solve the issue of the world design itself. Doesn’t make the world any less of a challenge to traverse, however. It’s ‘era-appropriate’ look is sort of grey-box design in a way.

There is combat, but it is easily the weakest part of the game. With how agile your character is, you’d think she’d be capable of brining the pain, but combat is basic, limited mainly to a 3 hit combo, with your other techniques usually used in solving puzzles in the environment. Not even your downward spike you use to high jump is viable, as you just take damage on impact. As a result, combat is infrequent and there’s only a couple of boss encounters.

What you have to understand is for what you get for about 5 bucks, it is actually impressive how much fun this is. I don’t mind getting lost as it means more time with the game. I would call this my top contender for favourite game this year, if only there was more. And all my criticism is because I care about more than most. I want it to do well, and thanks to the barrier of entry being so cheap, I think it has.

In short, this game’s pretty goat butt- sorry, pretty good, but it’s kind of short. Still, not bad for 5 bucks, for the one complete game on this list! And there is pants if you want, but why would you?

I’m of course not referring to the objectively superior professional outfit… yes, even better than nothing at all. So good it’ll give you Covid, yeag!

Volcanoids (early access)

This game’s premise is pretty ingenious, and technically impressive. It’s an open world survival crafting game, with a mobile base!

That said, you’re not there to live off the land and make your own, you’re there on a mission to retake the island from some robots gone wrong, that have been causing the volcano on the island to do a little trolling pretty regularly. So, its laser focused on getting you geared up to take on this threat, rather than living there.

To give you an idea of what kind of operation you’ll have in the late game, you’ll be automating not just processing of resources, but ammo, guns, health, armour, and repair equipment filling dispensers in your staging room, you’ll have mining drones going out to collect nearby ores, gun drones where you can use any of your weapons and deploy them in the field or anywhere on the map, and a really versatile support drone that has cover, health and armour regen, a tesla coil to shoot down projectiles, and a storage area you can put loot in to send back to the drill ship.

Ah yes, the drill ship. Your mobile base is mobile in the sense that you can set up in various locations. To do this, your mobile base can tunnel underground, and pop up in set locations, even into caves. You must do this to avoid the periodic eruptions of the island’s volcano. (Or if you’re out in the open, go hide in one of the many structures.) You can just sit there buried to do some basic prep, and fixes to the internals of your ship, but the modules you install into the slots of your ship require you to be deployed somewhere to function. So, there’s a difference between being safe and finding somewhere safe to get some work done… or having enough defences to protect yourself while you do.

All this comes together to make a technically, and mechanically impressive and fun game. I love pulling up next to an enemy drill ship, assaulting their position, getting inside, and stealing, and breaking everything. And all the tools given to you make taking on the robotic threat a blast!

But not for long. In its current state there is, I would say… about 12 hours of content total. But development is ongoing, and an embiggening of the island is coming in the future. Still, the 12 hours of content, is still plenty of fun, and I’ve certainly gotten multiple runs out of it. I’d call it, this year’s Signal from Tolva in that regard.

I will mention that playing with overseas friends, with all the lag that entails, makes it very hard to land shots… like, worse than I’ve experienced in most other games. But the recently added Tesla weapons do honestly remedy that. Hopefully that’ll improve over time.

Lethal company (early access)

Chances are you’ve played this one, and/or have seen enough to know what to make of it… or are not interested despite (or in spite of) the saturation.

So, I’ll forego the explanation for this one and get to my opinion.

It’s a funny game, that is very early in its days. As such, I feel after 20 hours I’ve gotten everything out of the game I can currently, and I’m not really interested in playing more until there’s a lot more to it.

Meanwhile, I’ve recently been playing Zeekerrs previous game The Upturned. Been finding it very enjoyable.

Void crew (early access)

Image source: Massively Overpowered, also how did I not take any screenshots??

Y’know, I ended last year playing a ship crewing game in PULSAR: the lost colony. Seems fitting I finish this year playing something similar.

However, this game is not as it seems on the surface. It’s not a game where a group of friends crew a ship and explore space. a game where a group of friends crew a ship, go out, do some missions, and come back and get rewards. It’s much more like Deep Rock Galactic in that sense. Each ‘pilgrimage’ has a set beginning and end.

The loop is lots of fun, crews will be all doing their own thing, and as an engineer, if I’m not helping shoot stuff, or being the only scavenger available, I can take time to wander around the ship (getting lost if we’re using the big ship), tending to the ship systems, moving items out of the scoop and into storage, or the recycler, which involves tossing them down the corridor a lot of the time.

One part of the loop I’m iffy about is at the end of every mission, in order to maximise our alloy bonus, we usually run around the ship, scuttling everything we built and collected, ship modules, ammo, upgrades, and other bits and pieces, sending it to the fabricator to get recycled one by one. I find this part of the loop to be pretty tedious and I feel like it should get a rework at some point, maybe taking account of your assets, and the value you would have if you had recycled everything. It’s not like you keep anything you find between missions. They made it easier recently with their rework of the void jump, allowing a ship to sit in ‘warp’, so that crews have time to prepare the next move, which at that stage is slowly chew through everything, and set the course for home.

Also, the loot in this game… It’s a random cosmetic lootbox system WITH DUPLICATES. At least it’s not monetized at the moment, I’m… weary, but still… just… no. And I cannot tell you how many crappy little visor gifs I’ve gotten… again, in duplicates of. Just let me purchase what I want with a form of in-game currency, and/or add items to progression.

But at any rate, this is still super technically impressive at this stage of development. After some bad habits are ironed out, I’m excited to see where this game goes.

Inkbound (early access)

I’m not normally a fan of turn based games. Inkbound sets out to take everything I dislike about turn based games, and effectively makes them fair. I suppose this makes the fight one sided in a certain way, but that doesn’t make it any less challenging.

To validate my feelings about turn based games, I have recently been playing through the Hylics series again, and I had my first game of D&D. The takeaway from all that being… preparation is key.

Inkbound allows you to prepare on the fly, as you’re making your move. While you’re doing everything you can, that your energy and availability of your abilities can permit, you know what the enemy is going to do, and you can either dodge, or get ready to take it, perhaps even influence them in some way.

One thing you cannot predict is how your adventure will go. If it plays like rouge, smells like rogue, it must be likewise… like rogue… a roguelike. ehem

The progression of your abilities, and the weird doodads you’ll find are randomised each run. You find yourself having to tend with multiple varieties of your ‘absolutely broken’ build. Oh but once you have one, it’s very funny to, say… do absurd numbers of damage concurrent to how tanky you are, like the harder you are to kill, the easier it is to kill others… which does make sense overall, but in this context… it couldn't be closer to the truth. Or how about the various ways to do DoT, and just watching the enemy die on their own. Or my personal favourite, outright removing the movement cap and literally running circles around the enemy… in a turn based game.

Also, it should be worth mentioning, in the antithesis of what Void Crew is doing, in more ways than one, the game started out having a premium currency to unlock cosmetics with, but they soon done way with that, and now you just earn the currency in game… as it should be. It’s unfortunate that it started that way, but I’m happy it’s where it’s at now. And they’re still offering paid Cosmetic DLC packages. Infinitely better than a random lootbox with dupes!

[kyriathanatos]

have you ever seriously considered moving to live somewhere else? have you ever unseriously considered moving?

Seriously? No, Nebraska is insanely cheap to live in so I couldn’t afford anywhere else, plus I mostly like it here! Unseriously? I dream of moving to a log cabin away from the world and society of living as a nomad out of a small retrofitted can every single day

[igotsnothing]

Lou Howell

Listening to: *Your Rocky Spine-The Great Lake Swimmers* 01:43 ━━━━●───── 03:36 ⇆ㅤ ㅤ◁ㅤ ❚❚ ㅤ▷ ㅤㅤ↻ ılıılıılıılıılıılı ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ : ▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮

I know Moonwood is based on the Pacific Northwest, but I can't help but think of Appalachia* when I look at it. In my head canon, Lou Howell lives in a home he inherited from his grandfather. It's a one-room Appalachian log cabin deep in the woods.

He lives simply: he likes to cook, he tends to a small garden, and he tinkers with building things. He works in construction and supplements his income (and acquires a few cheap or free materials) as a yard worker at a salvage yard.

Whenever he has time, he works on repairing the cabin and making improvements. It is filled with childhood memories: a working Sylvania cabinet TV, a tinny-sounding shortwave radio; it’s just a short walk away from old hiking trails, the creek, and fireflies.

After a night spent roaming the wilderness in wolf form, it sometimes takes Lou a little while to remember what he was up to. But he eventually remembers. He's learning to manage his curse. Until he does learn to control himself fully, he's resigned to being alone.

It is a solitary existence. For now.

Where are my damned car keys?

* A reading recommendation about growing up in Appalachia (and it's not that political guy who-will-not-be-named-and was-all-the-rage-after-the-US's-2016-election's book): The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls. It's been banned by pearl clutchers and turd munchers in some places in the US, so you know it's good.

[barclaysangel]

Have you thought what Andy Barclay’s job was? Like you see in Cult of Chucky he has his big log house and you know that wasn’t cheap! Just something that I thought about.

Glad you asked!

I did hear I believe from Mancini that Andy got that cabin from the money when he sued the Good Guy company (I don’t remember the actual company name lol). I remember someone telling me that before. But I refuse to believe that Andy just doesn’t have a job.

Something I think about at least is Andy being a mechanic. It’s hard thinking of what other job he could have, I feel like he’d just have something to make some money but he probably struggles with holding down a job. Yet, I feel like him being a mechanic seems the most realistic to me and it just feels pretty fitting.

So…mechanic Andy is something that’ll be in plenty of my AUs lol!

[hartxstarr-art]

Half Life

Summary: He has nothing now. Friendships, and lovers, and goals, and dreams—he wonders if he ever had anything at all. The syndicate falls, and so does Spike. Faye feels quite the same.

Content Warnings: Angst and hurt/comfort. Not everything is fine.

Notes: Also on ao3. 700 word count. Post canon. Christmas.

Drinking martinis by myself on a sunday. Drinking martinis again on a monday.

“Half Life” by Trocadero. As a Red vs. Blue fan, I don’t necessarily view this song in a romantic sense. It’s about family, it’s about friendship, it’s about comrades in arms; it’s about losing someone you love, and missing someone you love, and thinking about someone you love—in this case: a sister about her brother.

Faye and Spike, after they find him broken and battered.

---

She knew now, as it came back to her in waves, that she grew up privileged. It never got below freezing in her hometown, so her father had them go someplace where it snowed for the season, during her holiday breaks; a ski resort or a log cabin, across seas, continents, chasing the snow and a cup of cocoa. They would play in the frost, get warm by the fire, and eat heartily; stews, and roasts, and candied fruits.

Spike never celebrated any holidays. He never had any vacations. He told her this on one of the rare days he felt up to talking, laying on the couch, no longer wrapped up as tightly. He stares up into the ceiling, and Faye thinks he isn’t looking at anything at all. Can’t. Not yet.

She got everyone something, a few weeks back—when everyone was still here, that is. A fancy-looking keyboard for Ed, a squeaky toy for Ein, a new toolkit for Jet, cologne for Spike. Not cheap stuff. She didn’t know why she did it at the time, but she knows now. Too bad it’s too late for that.

Jet always got him something, Spike said. Every year. A lighter, a wallet, a utility knife; in that order. Sturdy, practical. Very Jet. He hung up lights, wore funny sweaters, made Spike’s favorite meals. She thought she saw a ghost of a smile, at the recollection of the past three years.

She felt her heart sink.

It’s mid December, now. She doubts Jet will do anything this year. Not after that. Not after the limp still in his step and the constant furrow between Spike’s brows. Not after the quiet and the loss. She knows he knows this, too.

She wishes it didn’t feel so much like a ghost town aboard the ship. No more clicking of keys or barking. No music or whistling. Just the shifting of Bebop, it’s rumbling and rattling, the soft hum of energy. It’s stifling—no talking, no movement; like time has stood still, frozen, the tightness of the throat, near the top. Itchy.

Jet goes into the bonsai room. Spike has used up his word count for the day, laying his head upon his pillow and closes his eyes. He isn’t sleeping. Faye sits still for a moment. Debates. Heads to the storage. She finds the lights, rummages for the tape, gives up, takes the remaining box of adhesive bandages, and gets to work. It’s sloppy, and uneven, but by the end of the evening, she has the sitting room lit up in a colorful array.

She wipes sweat with the back of her hand and notices Spike lift his head, finally. He blinks. “Oh,” he says, which is one more word for the day—and it’s such a simple sound, but she found achievement in it, welling in her chest, her hands at her hips, as she surveys her work with renewed vigor.

She gestures, “Merry Christmas!”

He swallows. Chews the inside of his cheek. Puts his head back down, lifts it again—cranes his neck, looks at the lights. Faye watches them flicker in his eyes.

Finally: “It’s a bit too early, isn’t it?”

She huffs. “It’s the eighteenth.”

“Of November?”

“It’s December.”

“Oh.” He lays his head again. He’s silent for a long time. And then—“It’s been a month.” Simple. A statement. The passing of time.

“Yeah,” it comes out like a croak. She tries to compose herself. Stops, fails, feels the tears start falling. “Yeah.”

She cries, and Spike closes his eyes again. His mouth goes into a thin line before he gets to his feet, unsteady, aching, determined, and when he reaches for her she collapses into him, landing them backwards into the couch. She holds him, and it hurts, but she holds him, and she’s never held Spike before but he lets her now. Lets her finally notice the faintly protruding ribs and skinny limbs; and she searches her memory to see if he’s always been like that, always this small, this broken, and she cries even more when she remembers.

“Merry Christmas,” he says, slowly, thoughtfully. “It looks nice.” A beat, after she sniffles. “Thank you.” And she starts over again.