#i couldn't get the camera mod to work

[paintedscales]

Thing that I spent entirely too much time on.

Song -> Snowflakes by Shihoko Hirata (NARASAKI remix) from Persona 4: Dancing All Night

[princesssmars]

unexpected

an ellabs x black!streamer!reader

some times your viewers expect you're in a relationship, and one time you spell it out clearly for them.

wc : 1.860

contains : reader is feminine ! the picture is more lightskin but all shades can read <333 ltlvc reference

a/n : coming up with chat usernames is so hard what the fawk??? but yeah while i ignore trolls the ones under these tags were pissing me off so i wrote this for my fellow black girlies <333 i hope u enjoy :)

lets get one thing out of the way, you loved being a streamer. now that you had a good following of a few thousand regular watchers, you were more than financially stable, got to do something you enjoyed as a job, and even made a few new streaming friends.

but when it came to those friends, every content creator knew simple friendships could stir up drama. you had heard of many cases of friendships being strained or ruined because of this job. more specifically because of the fans.

which is why you took an oath to leave finer details like relationships out of your work. if you did tell a story about that time you and your friends nearly got kicked out of a local mall's journey's, you would keep descriptions of friends brief and blank, even resorting to calling people "friend number one, friend number two..."

luckily most of your fans were more than understanding that you wanted to keep some of your life private.

most of them.

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case one : the first p.o. box

it was another po box opening stream you decided to start early in the day, wanting to show and appreciate chat with the things they got for you.

lululemonsz : babe i hope its a new keyboard urs is on a iv drip !

wariolover96 : open it open the box OPEN IT

shelovedantee : damn is there a bomb in it hurry up

you laughed looking at all the people in chat begging you to open the current package in your hand.

"everybody chill out. look, im gonna open the first one now."

you quickly got a pair of scissors to cut off the packing tape on both ends, hurrying to pull the cardboard from its place.

the chat started speeding up when your mouth fell open in shock, slowly reaching in and pulling out the keyboard. it was sleek, mechanical, and your favorite color.

biiiigpoo : omg isnt that thing like $250?

lululemonsz : this as the first gift is CRAZY

ilovestardewmc1237 : one of your viewers is in love with you

you couldn't even respond, turning the keyboard over and back again to admire the details of it. out of the corner of your eye you spot a little yellow sticky note at the bottom, bringing it up to read it without letting the camera see. once you got to the end, your eyes widened and you quickly moved on to the next gifts.

but the light reflecting from your window and monitor was enough for chat to see a few letters on the note. after that, your fandom quickly began talking of a person named "A" who had not only the money to get you crazy expensive keyboards, but was also able to fluster you with a small note.

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case two : the search history.

every so often, your mods would host little events on your stream. these could include giveaways, shitty chat therapy, and little games for everyone to play. today it was a challenege : the more bits people donated, the crazier stuff you had to do for them. it was all pretty tame, and the end goal was one you didnt think you'd manage to hit.

never doubt the power of charisma and a pretty face, because after only three hours you manged to reach that two thousand dollar mark, and chat was raving at what you'd have to reveal next : your search history.

ariagatorr : damn this lowkey invasive 💀

devonchcgo22 : and we dont give a fuck

plantsnparsnip : right open that shit up

"i hate yall, do you know that? like genuinely." you groaned, slowly movied your mouse to open your chrome history.

there wasn't much for chat to bully you about thankfully, just some light teasing about how much you use pinterest and asking what it was you bought on etsy. and just when you thought you were done, someone had to open their big damn mouth.

pian0picass0 : wait a minute why did you open ellies stream THREE times ????

chat started moving faster as they read the comment, everyone asking you to open the stream and show them what was going on. sucking your teeth and denying them as you had shown them what they wanted!

after quickly wrapping up the stream and giving your thanks and goodbyes, a portion of viewers went on a manhunt for any ellie who was streaming at the moment.

once clicking on the stream, they found it was just a casual stream with ellie. she was obviously pretty, but was super laid-back in her jeans and converse as she strummed some songs on her guitar.

"oh hey, welcome to the stream i guess. any requests? i was gonna practice some radiohead because my friend asked for it."

pian0picass0 : hey ellie! do you know who (y/u) is by any chance?

"'sup casso. uhhhh no i dont think i do. did she send yall over here? maybe ill check her channel out."

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case three : the enhanced dm's

"everybody shut the fuck up and lets start this stupid thing."

this was it, one of your biggest streams of the year. and also the most fun. and most aggravating.

the gist was simple. you and 5 other streamers were thrown into a discord call and whoever lasted the longest through the sleep deprivation and challenges won a heap of cash.

what the hell was it with you getting screwed over by challenges?

it didn't seem that bad. the host, a close friend of yours, told you to share your screen so everyone could decide something to tweet from your twitter.

now, your friends in the call didn't notice what was on your screen when you shared it, and if they did they didn't say anything. but never doubt the perseverance of your crazy ass viewers, because one took the liberty to see exactly what you were saying in that split second they could see your dm's, because they swore they knew that profile picture...

abby : don't worry you'll do fine

abby : you're not gonna get embarrassed by any of the challenges

abby : i hope

y/n : seriously

abby : come onn you know i'm rooting for you &lt;3

y/n : aww thanks bee

abby : yup. for the whole event i'm gonna be your personal cheerleader ^3^

y/n : oooo you gonna put on a uniform for me?

abby : don't push it.

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case four : the voice chat slip up

at this point, there was no point in acting like you didn't know the two streamers.

the first was abby. mostly posted fitness, health, and lifestyle videos on youtube, but would occasionally go live on twitch to talk with her fans or stream herself working out at the gym.

(you may or may not have admitted live that you found her by watching a few of her workout streams. whoops.)

and then there was ellie, a gaming streamer who was known for being chill and quiet when playing music but as loud as a plane engine when playing cs:go. don't even get her started on cod.

but luckily you'd manage to convince her to play some games with you on your latest stream! some stardew, maybe some overcooked. even if she kept burning all of the damn food.

leave it to ellie williams to always surprise you, though.

when you hear the du-dum of the discord join noise, your face lights up and your mouth opens to greet ellie before she beats you to it.

"ok, babe, which game we playin first?"

to make a long story shot, your chat went ballistic and you gave a stern talking to the red head after the stream ended.

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case five : the instagram post

most of the time you leave most of your notifications off to avoid your phone sounding like a constant alarm. but you're guessing your recent endeavor of babysitting your cute but horrifically grabby nephew screwed you over, because before you know it the sound of dozens on instagram notifications are waking you up and pushing your bonnet from where it slipped down your eyes before unlocking your phone.

at first it seems like a normal picture abby posted, standing in front of a mirror in her living room , flexing her arm and covered in a thin sheen of sweat after an apparent workout session. ever the show off.

but when you zoomed into a blip of color in the background, your eyes almost pop out of your head when you see it.

its you and ellie, you sitting in her lap while she showed you some stupid meme on her phone she said reminded her of you.

the post was only thirty minutes old but already had a few thousand comments, the previes of 'OMG?????' and "no fucking way" giving you a hint to what people were thinking.

you turned off your phone, tossed it back on the nightstand and went back to sleep.

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case six : the joint stream

y/nsstan69 : not an unscheduled stream ??? is it judgement day ???

onlycuntz : "ft surprise guest" girl we aren't stupid

you had to hide the smile from appearing on your face as you read through the comments of your chat. you knew some of them were probably smart enough to know what was going on. the three of you hadn't really been discrete in the days following abby's slip up post, and viewers jumped at the chance to point you out in the background of some of her workout videos. and to point out how you were staring at her.

assholes.

so, here you sat in the comfort of your cute gaming chair ready to tell chat the big news with your special guest.

"so, i bet some of you are wondering why im streaming off schedule, but i had something big in my personal life that i wanted to tell you guys! in a few minutes my gest should be here..."

your voice trailed off as you kept your eye on chat, seeing a bunch of comments that you werent expecting from this big announcement.

motionpickers : lmaooooo are they serious

lululemonsz : she's gonna be so pissed

you begin to turn around in your chair when two pairs of lips press a kiss to each of your cheeks.

"you guys are so unserious."

"and you are so bad at hiding things." ellie pulls up and extra chair and rolls it up to yours so her knees touch yours. she tugs your hand into hers to sit on her lap, ignoring when you pinch her with your nails.

"ignore her. we could tell what you were doing and figured we should all do it together," abby is on your other side, resting her hip on the arm of your chair. "so, go ahead. it's pretty obvious already."

"wow, thanks for the support you guys."

"anytime, hun."

uhuhstasia : i literally cant tell whos luckier

niatargaryen : IS ANYBODY ELSE FREAKNG OUT

ilovestardewmc1237 : is it appropiate to say i called this

[wonderlandsakura]

I have a Zosan fic inspired by a post I think I saw on Tumblr, but it being Tumblr, I can't find it to reblog it, but I'm gonna post it anyway (just a heads up, it's kinda long)

Sanji Accidentally Reveals Who His Partner Is During A Livestream! (NOT CLICKBAIT)

“Welcome back to Cooking with Sanji, this time we’re Live! Thank you my mellorines for being such sweet, loyal and gorgeous fans and taking time out of your busy schedules to attend my livestream today!” Sanji crowed, making finger hearts at the camera.

He was in the location of all his videos and livestreams, his kitchen, which straddled the line between cluttered and cosy and straight out of a magazine, with its industrial grade appliances and overfull cabinets and refrigerator covered in random memorabilia, such as postcards, polaroids and for some reason, an absurd amount of fish related pictures, magnets and posters.

“Today we’ll be cooking my partner’s favorite, Onigiri!” Sanji continued, going on to list the ingredients while chatting with the stream and answering any questions that pop up and highlighted by his mods.

Sanji’s partner was an elusive mystery his fanbase (and that of the Straw Hat Pirates, the group of content creators he was part of) had long wondered about.

It was no secret the man was married, the man in question having made comments mentioning his partner more than once and flaunted his wedding ring on occasion when it was brought up, though he didn’t often wear it on his hand when he was cooking, choosing to wear it on a chain around his neck.

They knew the man lived with his partner, as he often made mention of them while filming and streaming through snarky comments that would nevertheless dissolve into lovestruck looks and loud confirmations of his love whenever one of the audience (usually a newer fan) wondered why Sanji stayed despite his complaints.

Many of his fan base assumed that the person in question was female, what with Sanji’s womanizing tendencies, believing it to be one of the female straw hats or their associates, though this was quickly disproven as they came out or started dating other people.

However, some fans still held onto this conviction, many of them shipping Sanji with his female friends, or with Pudding, a baker that Sanji had collabed with before, who had then insisted she was Sanji’s partner, despite not having a ring or being mentioned by the Straw Hats, who had confirmed they had long met Sanji's partner, before that moment.

Sanji had long since spoken out to disprove these rumors about their relationship, but still, some of his crazier fans insisted on shipping the two, along with many of Pudding's hardcore fans.

Most of Sanji's fan base however, couldn't care less about when or if he would ever reveal who the person was, or even their gender, respecting his right to his privacy.

They were more than fed on the scraps they were given, after all, as the look Sanji would have on his face and the way he gushed over his partner spoke volumes about his love for them.

At some point, Sanji’s dad, Red_Leg_Zeff, pops up on the stream’s chat and starts scolding Sanji through his comments, urged on and enabled by his mods and audience, who cheer him on and highlight his comments for Sanji to read, much to his chagrin. He complains loudly about how his old man needs to stop worrying and get off his stream and isn’t he supposed to be getting ready to open up his restaurant, the Baratie?

The stream adores the interaction, though some of the newer viewers need to be reassured that this is just the way the father-son cooking duo interact, and that they truly adore each other.

It was just the way Sanji showed love, whether to his adoptive father, his friends, or when he spoke about his partner.

Eventually the stream settles down and Zeff leaves to work, as Sanji continues to deftly shape onigiri balls as he chats with his audience.

The stream runs longer than usual, thanks to Zeff’s appearance, but it is just about to end when they hear a door opening off screen.

Sanji however doesn’t seem to notice, wrapped up in excitedly explaining what the All Blue he mentions in his bio on all his social media is to a new fan. This distraction would be his undoing.

From out of frame, a very familiar man to those who were fans of the Straw Hat Pirates as a whole appeared, sending those that noticed him into a tizzy.

It was the half naked, sweaty form of one Roronoa Zoro, the group’s resident sports addict, or as he was better known in the words of Sanji himself, ‘Directionally Challenged Mossbrain’, who often got lost and ended up being dragged back to the group by Sanji. He was also known to most as Sanji's rival.

The two were known for their spats, spitting insults and jabs at each other at the slightest slight or provocation, the arguments often devolving into brawls with kicks and hits thrown by Sanji and Zoro respectively. So it was a surprise to see the man so casually ambling about the house that was known to be shared by Sanji and his partner.

This surprise and interest continued as the man, who seemed to have just finished one of his morning workouts, walked up to Sanji as he used the towel around his neck to wipe away the sweat on his forehead.

The chat waited with bated breath for something to happen, for Sanji to snap and shout at him or something to break the tension created by the man's appearance.

And break it did, as the man bent his head down towards Sanji and tilted his face towards him, kissing him right on the lips, cutting off the man's words with the action.

The chat started screaming, filling with comments that rushed by quicker than the eye could catch. More viewers started appearing as people called their fellow fans in to see the shocking moment, the mods struggling to tame the hoards.

All this went unnoticed by the two lovers as Sanji melted into the kiss, seeming to forget where he was for a moment.

Finally they broke apart, a look of lovestruck bliss on Sanji's flushed face as he stared into his lover's eyes.

Only for him to redden furiously and start to bluster, flustered as he realized what just happened.

He started screaming, as a fans had foreseen, hitting Zoro as he shooed him away, the man calmly avoiding the hits as he scooped up an onigiri and moved away. Only to double back, calling Sanji's name, making him shout.

“What do you want, Marimo!”

At which his head was cradled and another kiss was bestowed on to his forehead, causing his squawking to redouble in its intensity and resulting in Zoro leaving his haloed kitchen chased by whatever objects were in reach that Sanji could throw.

Sanji finally calmed down at his disappearance, breathing heavily as he stared after the other man.

Finally he turned back to the screen.

A bright, furious blush creeped slowly across his face as he realized who exactly, had just seen the chaotic interaction.

He lunged forward, over the countertop and the stream ended abruptly, sending the viewers back into the waiting room, where they tittered to each other about what they had seen.

It was a moment that would not soon be forgotten, against Sanji's best wishes, and it was the most talked about, dramatic and chaotic coming out of any content creator.

Though despite its suddenness, all Zoro and Sanji's fans would agree that it was utterly, irrevocably, them.

-

We've come to the end, thank you for reading :) you might want to take a moment to rest your eyes before moving on

[thebramblewood]

Apologies if you've answered this before, but I was looking through your asks and couldn't find anything.

Do you have any advice on how you take such good screenshots of your game? You have such a knack for lighting, having variety of shots, and making them immersive.

This is so sweet. Thank you! 🥰

If I'm being honest, it's 90% vibes and gut feelings for me. I don’t have any formal background in filmmaking or photography, and everything I know is by sheer osmosis. There’s a lot of fancy terminology to describe why certain image compositions look better than others. I admire and respect anyone who purposefully keeps that in mind. But I am definitely not that person. I think I’ve watched enough film and TV, though, to subconsciously be doing the "right thing" - or at least what looks right to me.

That being said, I think the best way to improve is practice. If you spend enough time doing something you'll obviously get better at it, even if you don't realize it at first. So the most important thing is to give yourself the patience to grow and the freedom to experiment! At any rate, here are some things I've learned that will maybe be helpful to others.

Camera Tricks: We all know the camera in TS4 can be a little wonky at times. I use Buckley's camera mod. It hasn't been updated in eons but still works as far as I can tell. It gives you more freedom with movement, and I've found it especially helpful for getting shots that are lower to the ground.

Now that I've realized how sneakily useful first person camera can be, I also take advantage of that all the time. There's the trick of making your Sim look in a specific direction. (This works with poses and gameplay actions, by the way! For example, I used it to turn Caleb's head toward Lilith while he was trimming the bonsai tree.) There's the Dutch angle trick explained in this video. This is great for moments of disorientation and unease. I also just straight-up used first person camera to convey Helena's confusion upon waking after being turned.

Also, saved camera positions are your best friends. You can save up to five positions using CTRL+5-9. Then you just click the corresponding number to return to that position. I've used these for so many reasons. By taking two shots in the same position and Photoshopping them together, I've been able to edit Sims in (like Vlad below), fix accessory clashes (the book was in the hat category, so Lilith couldn't actually wear it at the same time as the towel on her head), and to pose Sims in open doorways (Helena had to walk through the door to open it for the Vatores, so I shot both halves separately).

Zoom: I love smashing that zoom button, whether it's zooming way in or way out. Zoomed out shots are perfect for establishing setting or as interstitial shots during a long conversation when you don't want to always focus on Sims' faces. They're also great for the draaama. Extreme close-ups are great for emphasizing emotion or a tiny but significant detail. Playing around with the extremes of zoom is one of the best ways to achieve shot variety!

Focus: I don't think Reshade is a necessity for good visual storytelling, but it does make certain things easier. I rely a lot on depth of field shaders to pull focus in shots. I like using cinematic depth of field especially in conversations to blur some characters while emphasizing others. I feel like this helps ground conversations because it reminds us there are multiple participants instead of always zeroing in on the speaker alone. Another way to play with focus is to allow the angle to mirror the emotions of the conversation. It's an older shot, but I always liked how Caleb seems to cower beneath Lilith's bat form here even though she's technically smaller. And in the recent conversation between Lilith and Helena, I kept the camera to Lilith's back to emphasize her vulnerability and discomfort and put the focus on Helena's reaction to it.

Framing/Angles: I do this by pure instinct, honestly, and have gotten better at getting it right on the first shot over time. I used to take half a dozen shots of the same pose from different angles and choose the best one. Nowadays, I'm quicker to commit and often take only one shot. I've learned that if something immediately tickles my brain, it's usually the way to go. I usually angle shots so that the characters aren't looking directly at camera, as it seems more natural that way. On the other hand, sometimes the direct to camera look can actually work in more confrontational or unsettling moments.

Environment: If I can help it, I don't do my own builds. In some ways, this is a disadvantage because I have to set up the scene within a space that wasn't specifically catered to it. On the other hand, it makes for fun little surprises, like the ability to peek in through a skylight or frame two characters within perfectly placed archways. I like using objects and structures to create interest when I can. I often don't discover things like this until I'm pulling the camera around and randomly happen upon them. I definitely recommend navigating all around to see what you've got to work with before committing to any specific angle. You might find one you didn't even think of!

Lighting: I do what I can with the game's lighting. I avoid placing ceiling lamps or at least turn the brightness down much lower, and I don't usually turn all the lights on in a room at once. I tend to change the color to one of the warmer golden hues to avoid a stark white that washes everything out. I always like when I can get some sources of light into frame because it adds a lot to the ambience. But I've also been using Relight on all of my posts lately. It's an addiction, and it truly makes all the difference. I'll use it to give light sources a stronger glow so they stand out more and also to create shadows on Sims' faces. It's also very good for flashlights and computer screen glow!

After having self-indulgently written all this, I'm not sure how much is usable advice versus rambling musings. I find it hard to give storytelling "tips" because so much of it feels innate and personal and hard to put into generalized terms. I also don't want to imply that every one of my shots is perfect or that there aren't a million other ways to go about achieving good results. But thank you to anyone who's made it this far, and I hope you found it worthwhile. 💕

[sonqgmi-sims]

SIMS 2: My Essential Mods/CC

Hi everyone! I figured since I have been playing Sims 2 a lot lately, I'd provide my current essentials! Will update as I try more things, but this is valid as of February 1, 2024! ♥

Links for everything are under the cut! Found throughout MTS, Tumblr and other Sims Youtubers!

If any links don't work please let me know so I can try to find replacements!

View my video here!

AFTER INSTALLING SIMS 2 (Windows 10) Sim Shadow Fix: Fixes that weird shadow box glitch! Increase Resolution Fix: Have to go into the data files and alter some things to make it compatible for Windows 10!

NEIGHBORHOOD MODS Seasons Icons In Color: Colors the Season Icons in gameplay and in neighborhood view! Easy To Decorate Camera Mod: See more of the neighborhood map that you couldn't see before! CAS MODS Widescreen CAS Fix: Fixes the UI so your sim isn't covered! There's options for every resolution! (I use 1920x1080) More CAS Columns: Adds more Columns in CAS! Just like in TS4! Evie's Equal Genetics: Equal chance for offspring to receive dominant and recessive genes! 5 Custom Genetics Haircolors: Custom recolors for the Maxis hairs! Chocolate (Brown+Black), Sandy (Brown+Blonde), Icy (White Blonde), Auburn (Brown+Red) and Caramel (Brown+Red+Blonde)!

BUILD & BUY MODS Sim Blender: The holy grail of Sims 2 Mods. Can do anything with this! ACR: Sims autonomously Woohoo, Try for Baby, Get into Relationships, etc! Great for drama & storytelling! OFB Shelf Recolors: Beautiful wood recolors for the OFB Shelves! (The OG's were kinda ugly lmfao) Stay Things Shrub: Choose which items stay after a sim moves out! Monique's Hacked Computer: Pay bills, Order clothing, etc! Object Rotator: Rotate objects on an angle! Small, Large and End Tables! Lifetime Want Chooser: Pick your sims LTW!

LIFESPAN MODS 1 Day = 1 Year (Sims): As the title says! More realistic as I consider 1 sim day a year! 1 Day = 1 Year (Pets): Same as the Sim version, but for pets!

UNIVERSITY MODS Uni After Birthday Party: Teens can throw a birthday party and before blowing out candles, the game asks if you'd like to go to college first! Semester Changes: College is now 8 days instead of 24! Faster Uni Education: 24-48 Hour semesters! There Can Only Be One Professor: 2 per major seemed much, so I like this one! Generates less NPC's for me :D Doctors Need Degrees: Depending on your sims education/grades, they can either be stuck at career level 1 or 10!

GAMEPLAY MODS No 20K Handouts: As it says :) Now my sims aren't wealthy! Extended Family Treated As Family: Always hated it when second cousins could marry. This prevents it :) Community Time Project: Time spent on community lot matches with time at the home! Memory Manipulator: Hide/adjust Sims memories without using SimPE Break Up Via Phone: End a relationship over the phone! (Going Steady, Marriage, Engagement) 50 New Lifetime Wants: Adds new LTW's to the game! OFB Adopt Teen&Townie: Adopt Babies-Teens!

PREGNANCY MODS Shorter Pet Pregnancy: Pets give birth within 1 sim day! The default seemed way too long, so this is a must :) PregRel NL+: Can't find original post so I can't remember what it does, but I found a secondary version below! PregRel Compatibility Patch: Negative reactions to baby bumps if your significant other suspects cheating! Alternate Pregnancy Controller Lite: Possibility of your sims getting a miscarriage (Only had it happen once so far!) Triplets & Quads: Allows up to 4 babies to be born at once!

DEATH MODS Death By Childbirth: Morbid, but I like this for storytelling! Select Your Cemetery: When your sim lives alone and dies, a prompt shows up to move the tombstone to any lot! Now you don't have to cram the younger generations in your home ♥

MISC MODS/HACKS Last Name Copier: Edit/Change a Sims last name without using SimPE! Baby Pet Creator: Create a puppy/kitten with stray genetics! CJ Smart EP Checker: Does nothing, but it is required if you use any of Cyjon's mods! TS1 Prank Calls: Get the same funny and scary prank calls from Sims 1!

BONUS & EXTRAS The Christian Collection: On a MTS forum post, (look for Liv Lukas's post) but ChristianLov's mods are no longer able to be found separately. This is also linked where I put the Baby Pet Creator! Sims 2 Store Content: I only use the extra cars in my game, but there's loads of new stuff!

TOOLS SimPE: Edit ages, relationships, memories, family trees, etc! Sims2Pack Clean Installer: Used to install new lots and sims into your game! Mootilda's Hood Checker: Check any custom neighborhoods for corruption! Bat Box (FFS Lot Debugger): Similar to the Sim Blender. Here's the Vase version!

[mysticmellowlove]

yan chat being delusional as well

note - a little adjacent part to the yan streamer, much shorter

warnings - yandere stream chat, mod reader, simps, gn reader

word count - 527

Getting back on and modding for Streamer wasn't as mortifying as you expected. It was like everything was the same as always. He logged on, set up his latest game and played away as you scanned the chat for any assholes.

However, you did have to admit that there was something different about the chat on this particular day. As soon as you took a closer look the reason was pretty clear.

Aside from streamer, who seemed to always gush over you playfully when he had a spare moment, there were a few select chatters that always seemed to fill in the gaps for him. By that you mean they spent almost all of their time redeeming rewards and talking directly to you.

Some days it was nice, especially when you were really feeling down, but today it was becoming more and more annoying. Almost every second message came from one of your 'adoring' fans. When you first started to mod for Streamer you'd notice the same three or four chatters talking to him the most. His loyal fans. The second that Streamer had started to get closer to you they started to get closer to you.

It also didn't help that they ran Streamer's discord group.

You could already see them in the chat saying hello to Streamer, after they found that he was busy trying to pass the level they switched their attention to you.

"Hello Sugar!"

"Sugarrrr you haven't answered my dm yet"

"hey im unbanned sugar step on me"

You pursed your lips, these three were the main perpetrators and once they got started they usually dragged the whole chat into their antics. True to nature the chat filled with greetings and emojis, including the ones that Streamer had customised for you.

"Oh yeah, guess what everyone. I found out a little secret about our favourite mod." Streamer trilled as he cheekily grinned into his webcam. You flinched, you knew he wouldn't leak your location but it was still nerve-racking. You were kinda friends with him but he owed you nothing. Instantly the chat burst into action as it whizzed by faster and faster.

After deleting some of the more... disgusting messages (seriously how do people know your sexual orientation from a simple username...) you noticed that the three usual perpetrators were being uncharacteristically quiet.

Streamer seemed to look towards another one of his screens and smiled before swapping back to looking at chat. A worried huff left your mouth but you continued to scan the sentences pouring into the chatbox.

"That's right everyone, I know what Sugar looks like." He winked and for a moment he wasn't someone you worked with but rather someone who looked boyishly attractive. You shook yourself out of it as the chat exploded in teasing remarks and bitter sentiments. You had no idea they felt that strongly about you.

"no fair"

"come on then share the deets"

"bet you're lying lol"

"i would literally pay millions to see sugar"

"lol, he's lying."

"You can believe what you want, it makes no difference to me. I'm fine keeping Sugar's identity to myself." He grinned at the camera, acting as if he was talking to you specifically.

Still, you couldn't get the feeling out of your mind that something was happening in the background. Where did the three main chatters go...

[hannahssimblr]

How did you improve so much in a year at building and taking screenshots?! Forever in awe

hahah thank you so much! I'm so happy with my improvement - the answer is ~magic~

nah, really, it's just that when I started Lucky Girl back at the end of 2022, I knew absolutely none of the screenshot tricks - I only ever got ts4 as a way to tell the story, and hadn't played it at all in the years prior. I ended up trying to take screenshots in a game where I didn't even know how to work the teleport function - and you can tell, I fear.

I was also using another platform to share my story at the time, and a lot of the content there kinda looked the same - vanilla, screenshots taken with plumbobs on and the walls down etc. I wasn't using Tumblr so I didn't have any inspiration. Coming here really pushed me to be better and taught me a lot of tricks and new things to add to my game to make it look better - the short of it, is that I just really didn't know better, and I just wanted to write the story. The screenshots felt secondary. I look back and cringe tbh, but I distinctly remember not really bothering that much with them, and thinking that 'just okay' was good enough.

Since then I've learned so much!

The first was how to teleport, and use MCCC to get sims to do couple poses off the lot

I got TOOL and figured all of that stuff out - including to create the illusion of varying heights etc.

I added in more details to the sims, changed any hair and skin issues, and added in skin details galore

I use WW for posing whenever I need something a bit more complex

I got over my fear of having too much CC in my game and just got so much build/buy cc - this made it possible to create the kinds of houses and rooms I imagined in my head - also, experience building helped a lot. In the beginning I was so intimidated, and frankly, unable to make things looked good that I relied on builds from the gallery 90% of the time.

Weirdly, even though I studied film in college, I never applied my knowledge of composition to the screenshots - I just started doing that, and generally trying to think more cinematically.

I got more use to using photoshop to fix screenshots, mix them together and crop them to be more compositionally pleasing. I also did that tutorial about changing the BG of a scene - I do that as a last resort, but it really works.

RESHADE - this was the biggest one. That DOF really changed my screenshot game - there's a point in lucky girl where I started using it, and you can see the instant difference.

Lighting mods - I use sunblind, and I also use the ghibli replacement clouds. I have a few others also to fix the shadows and lighting in general

Being more intentional with poses. I got a bunch of new ones with more subtle expressions that I felt suited the tone of my story better. I think the exaggerated ones are super cute, but they always seemed too much for my story. I also got animations for even more natural movement in scenes. Sometimes I'll make my own, too, if I can't find exactly what I am looking for

The eye trick was a huge gamechanger - I use it almost every single shot, and truly couldn't live without it.

Relight is a recent addition to my game - I only figured out how to use it around the end of part 2 of Lucky Boy. I don't use it a lot, but it was great more some of the dramatically lit festival scenes, and whenever I want some lamplight on a character (Or to just balance out a dark part of the shot)

camera mods have helped me gain more control of my scenes, along with the CTRL 5/6/7/8/9 camera saving trick. I use this a lot too, especially when I need to characters to look at each other with the eye trick and they won't do it at the same time (recent example below)

All of that is basically how I did it! It was a whole process but I'm so pleased because I look at the old screenshots and just think, damn, I've come so far!

More examples of the same scenes redone, because it's fun

[changingplumbob]

Coming this rotation, a new High School!

In my mod frustration I took a break from gameplay and rebuilt my old very square high school. I changed the time of day for taking photos and cheated the weather to sunny about 5 times but it kept raining so we're just going to roll with it. I mean at least it shows off the covered walkways?

As you walk on to the grounds the building on the right is the first stop. It is the reception area of the school and features the first aid room and principals office. We may or may not see the principals office depending on how evil a certain sim will be once they age up to a teen.

If you exited the office and went past the picnic tables to a side walkway you would find the basketball court (yes this is 100% here because @matchalovertrait character Dulce played basketball which made me remember most high schools have a court). The end of the walkway has a group cheer mat which Onyx may or may not use, obviously not in this weather, they like their hair too much. Opposite this is a proper sized pool inspired by the wonderful high school build done by @stargazer-sims (seriously wanting a pool even close to yours was a main drive of redoing the place).

What? We can walk from the pool to the main building without getting rained on? How convenient in this deluge! As we turn to look back at the pool notice how the watcher solved the empty space problem by chucking down a whole skating rink. Back into the main building and we're greeted by a pride flag because this is an inclusive school even if the principal is an arse gosh darn it!

I thought I couldn't get a more colourful cafeteria then I went and built it! Please notice the pride flag wall (please let me know if I forgot any key ones and I'll add them), colourful menus and a security camera to keep track of who really starts those food fights.

Double doors lead to an outside eating area, once again covered and- who put a waterslide back there? Seriously questionable building taste (it's me, I have questionable building taste). There's also a couple of swing sets because you're never too old for swings.

The other set of internal double doors lead to the library which is kindly being modeled by the default principal. Space for group study and comfy reading. I liked the idea of taller tables and normal height tables coexisting in the space. Room to work on projects together or study alone.

What's that you say? I've never looked into voidcritter lore despite owning kids room stuff? Me neither my friend. Didn't stop me from decorating the locker section with them though. If we continue clockwise- oh look, a full length mirror! How convenient for image obsessed teens without them clogging the bathrooms. You can also see the space on the opposite side of the cafeteria where there is a mural outline in case sims want to fill it in (I'm looking at you art lover Carson who still managed to get a low boost to his exam despite not having art knowledge). Anyway back to clockwise, this is my math class. Math diagrams because math.

And then we come out of the side hallway where the entrance to math was and face back towards the front entrance. Let me just take a minute to highlight that all bathrooms here are unisex individual spaces. Gender is a social construct and honestly making a group of young people who are already self conscious get changed in the same space is... not a great plan. The bathrooms in the pool also look like this. Down our second side corridor and I wonder what could be here. Oh look at that art, it kind of looks like something @eljeebee reblogged yesterday... silver and yellow... (I swear I forgot about seeing it until after I finished the build and I rechecked tumblr and saw it again. It's not my fault Lana is being an influencer)

Through the door you will find the graphics studio/art class. Hopefully it can inspire the students a bit. Alas not much room for easels but in graphics in high school all we needed was blank paper and a good desk.

Then we have business class right by the front entrance. Why is it so feminine I hear you say? Because business is for women to! Eliza is proving that. And I fell in love with the colour scheme and ran with it... And I wanted to try different style individual desks in different classes. Have you noticed this is the third room with different style desk? Probably not as this is the first time I'm mentioning it.

To the other side of the entrance we have two more classes (these are bordering the cafeteria). First up, computer science! Not a single computer in sight! Because when I tried to put computers at desks the students just sat in a huddle by the door and all got yelled at by the principal didn't they (I am sorry about that detention Onyx and Carson, my bad). Next we have social studies, one of my school favourites! Broke out the dino wallpaper and some maps to go with historic pieces. Fun fact, I'm useless at geography, couldn't find anywhere on a map really.

Now upstairs may seem a bit of a jumble... But that's just because it is. The main landing connects with a small workout area. Here we have a punching bad, some yoga mats, and the traditional exercise machine and treadmill for those before class tasks. Of course we have a sneaky bit of unicorn art as tribute to the queen of unicorns @azuhrasims herself.

In one of the upstairs corners we have our Language Studies room. And look, there's the big blank spot on the wall I couldn't decide decor for, oops. I have a film poster in here because my English teacher had film posters up and I loved them! Then we have a chill hang out space with a variety of comfy seats to choose from. These wall murals really set the vibe I wanted. A place to relax indoors that wasn't the cafeteria.

Next corner we have the science class where I definitely did not go overboard with green, nope not me. I wanted to chuck some chem labs in here but I also wanted each class to be able to sit 10. When I play the Pancakes next both teens will need to be in the same class so I'm going to run that week with a larger mixed class, they'll each have 4 friends of their own age in their class for company. Then we have what I assume was the builder's attempt at a Foreign Language classroom? Between quilted floor tiles and gingham walls I'd guess they were out of ideas by the time they got to this room (yeah I kind of was, plus I just don't know what to put in a foreign language class when all simlish is foreign to me)

And finally we have Olive Grim! Wife of the reaper who is kindly testing my build out for me in the photography save. I should have had her test a shower in the bathrooms but hindsight is 20/20 or whatever the saying is. She's chilling in the most bland boring room I could make for my sims to have to sit exams in. No inspiration and no cheating off classroom posters!

Thank you for coming on my tour. Once again I am sorry about the rain! I even skipped forward a whole other day and it was still there... at least we're putting the covered walkways to use I guess?

[modmad]

Hi Mod! I hope you don't mind a little anecdote.

My mom and I live far from eachother, so we don't get to see eachother often.

I introduced her to Sky so that we could do something that would let us interact semi-regularly. It hit the right notes so she'd be able to enjoy it aesthetically and all that.

It's funny though, because she's really bad at moving around in 3D environments and using a camera. I think it's really camera work that trips her up because she moved around fine in Animal Crossing.

So I constantly hold her hand the entire time, dragging her around. I've been trying to keep in mind where more stuff like Winged Light and Spirits are because I need to guide her to all of them. XD

She likes it when I fly her around.

I saw one of your posts mentioning your friends helping you get around in game while your hands/wrists recovered, and I thought it was a sweet thing and reminded me of this. Hope you don't mind me sharing this.

Thank you for your time if you've read this far, and I do hope you have a splendid time whenever you are.

tell your mom that I understand the camera issue- before Sky I used to play with fully inverted camera, but in Sky you can only have it half and half! (why?!???) my first week of playing sky was a nightmare I was crashing into everything and couldn't navigate the clouds at all XD eventually my brain reprogrammed itself and now I can use the camera fine. I hope this gives her hope for the future!

I love that people can help me in the game if my hands are bad, and I love helping them in return when I can! What a wholesome experience it is! My favourite thing is being able to hang out with and hug my friends from so far away, it's a whole other level being able to express my love for them with the avatar while we're chatting ;v; I've only been playing since January but I adore it and the love in this game is so very real.

[ghostoffuturespast]

CP2077 Vanilla Photomode: Clipping Through NPCs

Okay, finally managed to snag footage of me actually doing the thing where you clip through NPCs. So for those of you who are wondering how I take all my kissy pics and weird group photos in vanilla photomode on ps5, this is it. And feel free to do this, it's why I'm sharing in the first place! Even if you don't have a full-rig gaming pc setup and aren't running mods, you can take cool pics too! It's possible!

The Corpo Plaza apartment has a pretty ideal setup. Only place this works is on the couch, but with the sitting area being depressed and there being a railing placed conveniently a little above head height, I couldn't have asked for more. It's a little tricky trying to get the full catalog of poses to populate since it's not a flat surface, so you'll have to mess around with the exact positioning and probably hop in and out of photomode a bunch, but if you haven't tried this before, much easier then the Glen apartment...

And in theory, this works in other locations and with other NPCs too! You just need to make sure there's 1) objects that are roughly head height in proximity to your NPC 2) you have enough ceiling clearance to adjust the up/down slider on poses and 3) you get all the action poses to populate in photomode.

Figure out what pose works best for the kind of shot you're trying to take, rotate the camera, exposure and contrast adjustments, frame the shot so you can't see the gun Grandpa is holding, or the weird thing she's doing with her other hand, and voila. Bob's your uncle.

[godisshook]

Distraction

Marco started up his live stream just like any other day. He streamed a variety of things, but most ended up with him showing his body, to which he had built a huge following. His boyfriend, Cade, loved to occasionally pop into the stream, usually just giving a wave, and sometimes, if he felt spicy, giving him a kiss on camera. Today, he gave his usual wave to the camera, and Marco's chat commented as usual.

@Dr1pDr0p_: Why don't you put him on stream more?

@ziggytwiiggy: He's such a hottie! You two should do something on camera ;)

Most of the time, Cade did his own thing while Marco streamed. He was playing Pokémon as Marco was streaming, but as Marco began flexing on camera, a mischievous thought crossed Cade's mind. Marco didn't know it, but tonight was going to be different. As the stream progressed, Cade began giving Marco bedroom eyes, which immediately caught his attention. He walked over from the bed to Marco, and kneeled down, rubbing the outline of his cock.

Unable to resist his charm, and with his cock now throbbing, clearly desiring release, Marco tried to end the stream early, but Cade nodded no, as he snuck under Marco's desk. "What do y'all wanna see me play?" Marco would ask his chat, not knowing what Cade had in store. Trying to distract himself, and hoping to keep the stream on track, Marco would start to play Call of Duty. He would feel his shorts get pulled down, as his cock bounced up. Cade would then start fondling him, licking around the tip of his cock, as precum dribbled out. He would continue, and Marco wouldn't be able to keep his composure, clearly having his attention pulled. His gameplay started to suffer, as he simply couldn't focus on anything else but Cade sucking him off.

His chat would begin to notice, as he stopped talking completely, with Cade still working his magic below.

@xvii-livvie: Is he getting head? It literally looks like his eyes have rolled back in his head.

@ziggytwiiggy: This is his sixth death in four minutes, I fear he's done playing...

@ryeprodigy: Idk what's going on, but this is his hottest stream!

@Dr1pDr0p_: Oh wow, it looks like that boyfriend of his didn't want to wait 😋

Stream mods would limit the chat, but everyone was talking about it. "Guys uh, I think I might need to...fuckkkk, end the...goddddd, stream early," He rushed to click the "End Stream" button as Cade continued working on his dick, now swirling around his shaft, slurping all over his hard cock. He worked his way to Marco's balls, not only licking them but kissing them as well, as they bounced on his face. Going back to his cock, he would lick Marco's slit, "Fuckkkkk," Marco would grunt as Cade continued to tease his cock.

Taking control, Marco gripped Cade's head and began thrusting him into his cock, speeding up as Cade began to choke. Marco couldn't help but cum, and as ropes of jizz came over Cade, he looked up at Marco from under the desk, smiling as he licked up the cum from around his mouth. "You really know how to make my cock feel good," Marco said to Cade as he bent down to kiss him. After being released from Marco's deep kiss, Cade said, "Well since you decided to end the stream, how about we keep going?"

Cade started to rise from under the desk, lifting Marco's shirt to reveal his toned body underneath. Marco would lift Cade's legs and would hoist him up on his waist, lowering him onto his rock-hard dick. Cade caressed Marco's face, "You're so handsome when you're horny," With this, he kissed Marco, and Marco would reply "You're so hot when I'm in you." With this, he would start raising and lowering him on his cock, to which Cade would throw his head back. "I guess it's your turn to roll your eyes back." Marco would say, as he continued penetrating Cade.

The two started to come into a familiar pattern, with thrusts and kisses mingling with each other, as the air between them became hot. Marco would hoist up Cade, and move them to the bed. Cade wrapped his thighs around Marco's waist, securing himself to him. With them finally on the bed, Cade would bounce up and down on Marco's cock. He had dealt with Marco's size many times before, and even though he could never be fully used to it, his hole was stretched enough to fit. Cum surged from Marco's dick as it filled Cade, and started to leak from within him. Cade wrapped his arms around Marco as the two lay down. "I hope I didn't ruin your stream," Cade said, looking at Marco guiltily. Marco took a hand to Cade's face, and replied, "I would take this over a fucking stream any day."

[jinx-on-mars-19xx]

Why Aren't You Here

🩸Previous Parts Here🩸

Dom x Colson (Yungblud x Machine Gun Kelly)

Warnings: ABO dynamics (knots, slick, heats, mpreg), alpha serial killer/hitman Dom, omega mob boss Kells, cursing, weapons (guns, knives, bombs), murder, bloody, lots and lots of death, scared boys, kidnapping, past abuse, past SA, fighting, cops, news crews, attempted SA, Megan being the absolute worst, a little madness, Dom's darkness, Blain and Kells being badass omegas, denial, lies, the plot is plotting, momma bear Kells, threats, even more death, enemies to lovers 💣 Rating: mature AF

All ideas helped by @iamnotanearthlingmotherfucker 🖤

Dom arrived to a hellscape of surreal proportions. There was a helicopter overhead, SWAT, cops, and emergency response members of all kinds. There were news vans and people gathered all over, it made him sick to his stomach. LA was always too bright but it looked like daytime with all the bloody lights. He hadn't been able to get anywhere close with the car so he'd left it blocks away and run. He pulled his hood up and kept his head down, looking around the crowd for his people. When he finally spotted them he tried to appear like any other lurker as he wandered up but the moment he reached Tom and Mod the omega squeezed him in a hug. He took a deep breath and tried to let the scent of family settle his nerves but it wasn't the smell he needed. He was realizing that extra sweet scent on his lover that morning had been his whelp and he craved that more than anything.

“Wha's ‘appening?” He asked, down to business as fast as possible. He kept an arm around his brother but he gave the beta and his computer his attention.

“I still have access to the cameras for now but if they cut the power I'm not sure what will happen. There's a guy on the roof, three in the medical flat with our people, another four walking the floors, one in front of the safe, and Megan has Colson in the lobby. It's like she wants the fucking attention.” The beta huffed and Dom nodded. She might want it but his mate must be pissed. On top of everything else he hated being in the media unless he had control over it. “I don't know for sure how many are in our home.”

“And Blain?” His voice almost broke but he held it together. He wasn't sure how the kid had become so important to him already but the thought of losing him was too much.

Tom made a soft noise like a sniffle that he hid against Dom’s chest which almost made the Alpha's heart stop. Mod just shrugged and bit his lip, looking up at the windows they knew were theirs. “Colson disabled ours when you moved in for some reason.” The beta blushed because they all knew exactly why. They had a habit of fucking wherever they felt like and of course his mate didn't want the wrong person seeing. With his green hair Dom couldn't help but think Mod looked like an upside down easter basket and he let out a strained laugh. He might truly be going insane. “Kids a badass.”

“He's a bloody kid. Show me Cols.” Dom demanded and the other pulled up that camera in full screen. Megan was too fucking close to his family. The omega's face was bloody and his teeth were grit, he was leaning over with his hands on the counter but he was still glaring at the bitch. At least he hadn't lost his fight yet.

“There's bombs in the stairwell and I think she has the detonator. That's why SWAT won't go in.” Tom explained and the boy felt wild with grief and fear. He was so focused on the image of his love he growled when someone touched his shoulder but when he looked it was just Tim.

“I hate to be the one to tell you but I think he's in labor. Something was up at work so I sent his ass home to The Doc. I'm sorry Dom.” The older man looked gutted but it obviously wasn't his fault.

“You did the right fing. I should ‘ave been ‘ere. She'd ‘ave been dead before she even looked at ‘im if so.” The blame game didn't matter, he could hate himself later, but he didn't want anyone taking guilt they didn't deserve.

“Where were you?” The man asked and Dom rolled his lip between his teeth. He couldn't get into it right now.

“Collette needed me. She'll be ‘ere soon. Keep an eye out. And Tim, keep ya ‘ead about yas aye?” He wouldn't ruin the fucked up surprise because he didn't have time, he had to rescue his family.

He gave Tom one last hug which both betas got in on, he didn't like being touched but he understood their need. With one last look at his mate on screen he took a deep breath and melted into the shadows with a practiced ease. He was both thankful for his past and hating it, being a serial killer gave him special skills but being the most prolific one the world had seen in years made him not exactly friendly with the coppers. He avoided them and the cameras as best he could until he reached the hidden way he got inside for the first few months of their relationship. Before they met he made friends with a smoke happy janitor who knew all the secret spots to toke up. Dom had acted like that's all he was looking for and shared a joint with the guy on the roof. The poor idiot, he should really have him fired now but he was still thankful for the help.

Climbing the ladder was more difficult than it ever had been before. Every few rungs he had to twist himself to one side and hide against the edge of the building. The way it was designed he had a little coverage but barely and it wasn't long before he had the helicopter flood light timed. Before he reached the top he took his inhaler, he'd been wheezing since he ran for the building. He couldn't help but think what a silly picture of a hero he made but he wasn't that and he never would be. Not like his mate.

He stopped at the top and risked a quick glance over to pinpoint where the guard was. The bastard was near the door to the stairwell because no one really knew about his secret one. It was some remnant of when the place was built, left over for window washers and the like. It only took the Alpha a moment to pull out two of his blades but he waited for the light to pass over one more time.

He exhaled a shaking breath and threw a knife, hopping onto the roof at the same time. He ran as fast as he could and caught the man before he fell and dragged him to the other side of the building. He pushed him over the edge and jumped onto his balcony as the dying bloke thudded onto it. He didn't stop moving until he had the glass door open and he was sliding the fucker inside. He had the door shut before the light ran over the building again. He was damn glad he'd taken his inhaler on second thought.

He kept pulling until he had the intruder on the tile floor of the bathroom and finally he ripped the blade free. The first spurt of crimson had him smiling and his shoulders relaxed as he slipped into his much needed other headspace. He started to kneel out of habit, ready to slice into the jerk more but of course he couldn't. He didn't have the time. This wasn't for fun for fucks sake. “Almost distracted me. Fuck you! First ya tried to mess me carpet and get me in trouble. ‘Ow bloody dare yas.” He gave the man a swift kick to his neck and the sound of bones breaking underfoot soothed his rage.

His next move was out into the bedroom to look inside the closet. A fight had obviously broken out but he didn't see blood or bodies. He rushed to his drawer of knives and slipped them wherever he could on his body but as he left through the bedroom he paused at the bedside table. “Fuck. Ya knew you'd get me ‘ere eventually didn't yas? You know I bloody ‘ate ‘em. Ya went into labor on purpose didn't yas? Wanted to stress me out. Make me mental.” He pulled his hoodie off and tossed it on the bed as he spoke out loud to his lover who obviously couldn't hear him. He yanked open the drawer and pulled out his mate's gun, they'd been keeping it there since it basically became a sex toy. A loaded one. “Bloody ‘ell.”

Exploring the flat was easy in his darker state of mind. He wasn't thinking of what he might find, he was focused on what he got to kill when he did. It was a cat and mouse game, a hunt for him, a predator searching out his prey. He found the first body in Blain's room, his carpet soaked in blood. There was a dead beta cut to ribbons and he couldn't help but smirk. In the kitchen was another, bleeding out on the tile. At least he'd be easier to clean up. “Where's the boy?” He growled.

“Fuck you and your little slut.” The bastard spluttered blood on his floor and he rolled his surely crimson eyes before he crushed the fucker's windpipe under his creeper.

“Grandpa shoes me arse.” He muttered as he stopped at the safe and found a silencer to screw into his weapon. He barely knew what he was doing but it was a day of firsts he supposed. Of course his lover would drag him out of his comfort zone.

The stairwell was a mess when he entered it, red everywhere as if someone had exploded. Between their floor and the next was another dying beta which he put out of his own misery with a bullet to the forehead. Normally he loved death rattles but gasping for air through a ripped open throat bothered his misophonia. He only liked wet noises when it was coming from his omega's cunt or mouth. He was distracted from his thoughts and annoyance by the first bomb which he took a picture of with his phone and sent it to his brother. He wasn't sure if there was something he could do from here or if he needed the detonator. He was so wrapped up in his wondering he didn't notice the form coming for him until something jumped on his back from a floor down.

“The fuck?” He huffed.

“Dom?” A small voice sounded right next to his ear before the boy dropped and he turned to face his tiny attacker.

“You alive?” They whispered at the same time and hugged each other tight. When the Alpha finally got a good look at the kid he couldn't be prouder. He was an absolute mess.

“Did ya see? Ain't let a one of ‘em touch me. They keep trying but I'm better. I was trying to get to The Doc when tha’ fucker grabbed me from behind-” His voice broke and Dom held him closer.

“You did so good. I'm proud of you. I'm so bloody sorry I weren't ‘ere. I should ‘ave taken ya wiv me to confront Collette. I'm sorry.” The words were rushing out before he could think better of it. It wasn't exactly the time for apologies but he couldn't seem to stop himself.

“It's alright. I protected the ‘ome. Did ya see? Didn't let ‘em get me.” Blain repeated himself and his voice sounded wet. Dom knew everything was starting to hit him now that he felt safe. He didn't want to be an arse but it wasn't time for that yet. They had to save everyone. He was genuinely worried the kid might be lying to himself but he couldn't ask yet. He swore mentally he'd be a good father as soon as they were done but he had to protect both his children first.

“You did. I'm so proud of yas and Cols will be too. We ‘ave to get ‘im, Megan's got ‘im downstairs.”

Blain went stiff against him and took a deep breath, wiping his face on Dom's chest before he took a step back and held his blade at the ready. “Let's kill ‘er. Bitch messed wiv the wrong family.”

“Damn straight.” Dom knew he picked up the saying from his mate but he didn't care. It was appropriate for the moment and it made them both grin.

They entered the next level to find only two bastards with guns, it seemed the third that should have been watching their omegas had gone for Blain in the stairwell. The Alpha took them both out quick and quiet, slitting their throats from behind. It only worked because one was at the door and the other was leering at their people. Disgusting fuck. The Doctor and Dorothy were happy to see them but he couldn't linger long. He took the weapons off the bodies and passed them to the girls and they followed him back out and down the stairs.

With his hair dripping sweat and his gun held out in front of him he scanned every floor and took out intruders as he found them. His pulse picked up the closer they got to the ground floor and he had a passing thought of wondering if he looked like a mother duck leading her ducklings which made him laugh again. Yeah, he was definitely going mental. He picked off the bastards one by one but when they reached the first floor Blain stopped him.

“Go get him, we can handle anyone else. They need ya.” The boy gave him a quick hug and The Doctor though still teary gave him the Star Trek signal again. He nodded at them all and slipped into the shadows, he knew he'd have to be careful with another Alpha.

🖤💣🖤

“You realize there's fucking cameras everywhere right? Even if you make it out of this alive you're going to be arrested. How the hell do you plan to get out of this?” Colson finally asked, he'd been mostly silent for too long. He'd been listening to her rant for what felt like hours. She'd gone off about his parents, his mate, the family, and she'd been explaining to him in detail how easy it was to steal the other group. Who wouldn't follow a sexy female Alpha? He'd barely kept his snark in check for that one.

“Look at me, who would condemn me for finally fighting back against the boss who'd been abusing me for years? It won't be hard to make everyone believe me. Pretty privilege is real. You could have tried it. You always took the hard way but now all your lies are coming to bite you in the ass Daddy. Now you look like all the other asshole Alphas and I look like the poor girl who just wanted to break through the glass ceiling. Of course after years of you assaulting me and making me love you when I found out the truth I snapped! I'm doing the world a favor, taking you out and exposing Yungblud. I'll have to off him too then I'll really be a hero. A fucking icon.”

Colson's stomach rolled but he hadn't stopped being nauseous the whole time. Her lies were disgusting but that was just her. Nothing was real and he was pretty sure it never had been. The scary thing was that she could probably pull it off. As long as she only killed him and his mate and people that obviously worked for him- rest in peace driver, she could probably pout her fake lips and cry crocodile tears enough that everyone would listen. He had a reputation for selling people, though the DA could never prove it. She'd get off scott free wouldn't she? The only way out was to kill her. Even then he might end up in prison if the feds used this to their advantage and said the omegas upstairs were kidnapped and held against their will by him. Was there enough evidence against Dom in their home? Would they be safe if they made it out alive?

Another cramp locked up his hips and belly and his knees went weak. He snuck a look at his watch as he grit his teeth and he knew his pains were too close together. He could tell Punk was close to joining the world and he knew he had to act fast. He had to get to The Doc. “Shit! Okay! Okay. I hear you. I'm sorry for all I've put you through. You're right about me and you were right about Travis.” It broke something inside him to lie through his teeth like that but he had to. He had to do something. He'd never waited to be saved since his adoptive father took him in.

Her eyes looked softer and she lowered her gun and he moved his palm to his lower back as if he were rubbing out the ache. “He was in love with you but my mom wouldn't let him go. She tried to pull me away from you too. I'm so sorry. You've always deserved better. She didn't want me with you so she brought Dom in. I went along with it to make her happy but you always saw the truth didn't you?” She stepped closer and he felt his skin crawl.

“Of course I did. You're my twin flame Cols, you were always supposed to be my omega. I knew you needed me. Why does your mom hate me so much?” She huffed, dropping her arm to her side. When the Alpha got even closer he tried to breathe through his mouth. Her scent was always wrong to him but now it was hell on his senses.

“I don't fucking know.” He shook his head. He very much knew but he had been lying so much of his life it was second nature. Almost easier than telling the truth. “She didn't want us to be happy. She probably knew how much better you would lead the family.”

“I will. I'll make us legends. You'll let me kill her right? She can't be alive to fuck with us anymore.”

“Hell, I'll kill her for you. A mating gift.” He dropped his voice and let pain fill it though to her the growl sounded like need. Her palm laid against his bruised cheek and his arm wrapped around her back. “If you'll have me?”

“Of course Daddy.” She purred, pressing her body far too close. “Just one other thing I need from you…” She trailed off, standing on tiptoe. Three things happened simultaneously, her lips pressed to his as he sunk a blade into her stomach and she cut his own with her claw like fake nails. He gasped at the added pain as she choked on blood and stumbled back a few inches, her hand falling from his cheek to her wound. “I want your brat dead.” She growled and tried to jump for him but something hit her and she fell to her knees.

It took him a second to realize she'd been shot, he'd heard it but it was muffled and he was lost to pain and fear. His fingers searched out the gash in his skin but he hoped it was only a surface wound. He couldn't feel anything bulging out but he stumbled away from her just in case. He watched as she fell and bled out, he thought he would feel relief but he kept expecting her to jump back up and yell surprise. So much was fake about the bitch why not her death too?

Dominic was panting by the time he reached his lover. He'd been terrified to shoot her so close to his mate but when she moved to cut Col's belly open he had to do something. He hadn't realized the older man had already stabbed her with one of the boy's knives. How bloody apt. He stalked over to her and kicked her foot, just making sure she was gone. Part of him wanted to make a show of her but he had other things to focus on.

“Shit Dom? Dom!” Colson's voice was shot from stress and strained from pain, it broke his heart to hear and he turned to race for him.

“I've got yas. I'm ‘ere. You alright?” He asked, his hands reaching out to steady the omega's trembling form.

Distantly the killer noticed The Doctor leading out some of their people and he was glad for it but he wished she'd come to check on Kells soon. “I don't fucking think so.”

“Wha’s wrong luv?” He didn't know why the fuck he asked, obviously the answer was everything.

“I think… I think my water just broke. You have to get me the fuck out of here.” For the first time during the entire mess the omega let himself cry. He felt safer now that his Alpha was there but he was terrified still. His whole world was about to change. He didn't want any of that on the fucking news at eleven. He couldn't be outed like that.

Dom's gaze dropped first to Colson's pants and then to the floor underneath. The man was right, everything around him was soaked in something similar to slick but wasn't. Even the bags of whatever the omega had brought home. “I fink you ruined wha’ever shopping ya did.” He couldn't help but tease.

“Fuck you! Punk did it. Little fucker takes after their dad.” Another roll of intense pain locked up the man's body and had him kneeling in the mess. Dom ran for the door but a gun was trained on him from across the street. He held up his hands and backed up, joining his mate in kneeling on the floor. He placed his forehead against his partner's and let Kells squeeze his hand in his own.

“I don't fink we gonna be able to get out baby. I fink we stuck in ‘ere alone.”

“What? What the fuck? Can't they see the wicked bitch is dead?” Kells sobbed out. He didn't want to be trapped anymore. He needed his doctor and his mom. Where was everyone?

“‘Ey, listen to me. I've got you Colson. I've got ya boff. Do you trust me?” Dom was terrified but he could be strong for his family. He fucking hoped.

“To get a baby out of me? What? Are you gonna use your psycho bitch skills?” He didn't mean it. He was scared shitless. His Alpha understood and just smiled and kissed his forehead. “Yes. Fuck me but yes. I do as long as you tell me where the hell you've been all day!”

Dom swallowed hard and tried not to make a face. Bloody fuck he didn't know how to explain this shite.

Author's Note/Tags: @iamnotanearthlingmotherfucker @hollywoodxwhore @jaxbreaker @fenoy7 @cole-way-iero28 if anyone wants tagged let me know 🖤

Oh boy look at that! Is Megan really dead? What is Dom hiding? Why won't the cops let them out? I love seeing them all bond like they are and I enjoy them all being so badass. We're so close to the end! I can't wait for part two, a lot more family time to come! I hope you're still enjoying it! 🩸💣🖤

[nyssasims]

Hii! I'm absolutely in love of how good your screenshots are, both in game and in cas, I was wondering is it possible you could make a little tutorial on how you do it? Idk why mine always look like blurry or something idk it's very uninspiring

hi @simsinfinitylt. thank you so much 🥺! and please do not feel discouraged. it really is all trial and error, i promise. it definitely took me a minute myself to find what worked best for me. this is my current editing system:

chapter 1: a pc for me the most important thing is to have a good computer that can play the game on max settings. make sure all your settings are maxed out, with laptop mode and edge smoothing off. i also play the game in 4k resolution (3840 x 2160), the max for my monitor (but it might be different for you).

additionally, i use the graphics overhaul overrider by simp4sims, the 'ultimate quality' preset.

graphic overhaul: graphics rules setters

here are my pc specs...

chapter 2: maybe she's born with it. maybe... it's reshade reshade honestly does most of the work as well as the world lighting mods by @softerhaze. i hope to be able to find time to make my own preset one day, but for now, i use the daisies reshade by @breezytrait. here are my lighting and visual mods...

reshade: daisies (i tweaked the preset a bit, mostly increasing the mxao here) world lighting mods: twinkle toes, shadows for days light replacements: no glow v2, out of the dark, inner glow cloud replacement: studio ghibli clouds

chapter 3: say click. take a pic

i take all of my screenshots in tab mode. i find that it's best to go into tab mode further away than you want the picture, then slowly move the camera forward with the arrow keys to frame the screenshot. this is especially great for really up close photos of sims faces.

i capture all my screenshots with the built in reshade capture function and use the no drift camera mod to keep the tab camera steady

tab mode mods: no drift

chapter 4: call me by your lightroom

now that the screenshots are taken, off to lightroom they go. i honestly don't do much editing in lightroom in terms of color grading. i mainly focus on the details and lights sections. here are my settings...

here are examples, before and after, of what the edits look like on top of the reshade

these are the same settings i use for all my photos. with the exception of the 'contrast' slider which I sometimes bring up for sims with darker skin tones. and the 'shadows' slider i sometimes bring down for night photos.

chapter 5: shout out to picsart. gotta be one of my favorite genders

from lightroom, i'll then import the photos into picarts to finish them off with light leaks and dust particles (as needed). i use the 'detail' brush under 'retouch' to color in sims and objects in the foreground (rocks, plants, bottles, etc.) to make them pop even more.

i also use this app to blur things that the reshade dof couldn't get to. here are some finished examples before and after.

chapter 6: the sons of picsart

for overlay graphics and texts, i use photoshop and phonto. for the psds, i'll import them into photoshop first to make edits then send them off to picsart to add them to my image. i'll use phonto to add texts and sometimes doodles

here are links to some of my favorite psds and other useful resources

photoshop psds: moodlets, promotions, holiday, ui mockups other resources: sims 4 icons, text message

chapter 7: she doesn't even go here

for cas photos, since there is no tab mode, i just take screenshots as is, with the reshade dof from my preset on to blur out most of the background.

i use the cas lighting by @breezytrait to brighten the cas room up.

cas lighting: hard side light

then edit them in lightroom with he same edits as in-game photos (see chapter 4).

chapter 8: the bell doesn't dismiss you, i do

and that is how i typically edit my photos. i hope this helps inspire you for your future content... and was extensive enough. but of course if you have anymore questions feel free to leave them down below. my inbox is always open and i'm happy to help 😊.

[brickcentral]

📖TIPS: Focus stacking

Hello everyone,

I'm @jbarchietto and I'm honored to have been contacted by Brickcentral to offer you the tips for month September.

I'd like to talk about a technical subject that you probably won't use every day, but which can be very useful in certain cases, and which I use regularly in my photography: the focus stacking.

During photo shoots, we're generally looking for good sharpness on the main subject. However, it can happen that the depth of field used is too shallow to fully contain the subject. In such cases, the focus stacking technique can help us to enlarge this area.

In this first example, I wanted to show a caravan of forestmen in the forest. It's quite long, and as it's framed in depth, I can't get both the leading figures and those in the background in focus. I'm going to use the technique described:

I've set the aperture of my lens to its sharpest point, the famous "sweet spot", around f/8. And I'm going to take a series of photos, sweeping the entire focus area from the closest to the furthest point. To do this, you need a tripod, so as not to change the framing between each shot, and set your camera to manual focus. To be sure of scanning the entire subject, I can mark the focus interval on the lens ring. Personally, I use the visual aid of my monitor. Then I photograph my images, which can vary according to the width of the zone. In this case, 10 images.

The rest of the process takes place on the computer, where you process the stack of images. With your photo editing software, or with dedicated software such as Helicon Focus, which you can try out as a demo. The algorithm will isolate the sharp areas of each image to recompose an entirely sharp image.

And then, the Final picture is processed. I’m working with raw files, so I can edit the final picture just as a regular shot to enhance colors or add details. I couldn't have achieved such a depth of field with a single shot, unless I reoriented the subject to bring it more into focus.

@jbarchietto, Guest Tips Mod

[mass-effect-galaxy]

Four Baldur's Gate Tips For Dragon Age Players

I. Get the mods "Native Camera Tweaks" and WASD Character Movement NOW

II. Mages don't need staffs

III. Scrolls are for spell-casters

IV. Don't recruit everyone in every playthrough

I. Get the mods "Native Camera Tweaks" and WASD Character Movement NOW

They change the look and feel of exploration in what you are used to from Dragon Age. You have a proper over-the-shoulder camera and movement as you would expect from a third-person game.

Every time BG3 updates, these mods need to be updated too. And going back to the original camera and controls, even for a short moment, shows what incredible quality of life improvement these mods are. (and how much better Dragon Age is when it comes to controls and cameras).

II. Mages don't need staffs

Different from Dragon Age Origins where certain spells require the usage of a staff or DA2 and DAI where mages couldn't equip anything but staffs, staffs in Baldur's Gate 3 are only for selve-defence. And, of course, any weapon would do the job. So, instead of gluing a giant stick to the back of Gale why not give him a fancy dagger instead?

III. Scrolls are for spell-casters

When going into BG3, I had no real clue about what to do with the scrolls. I took them as some kind of backdoor for combat classes to start using spells and gave them to my warriors and barbarians. However, in the end, I found myself hoarding them without ever using them. The regular attacks of melee classes are as powerful as any spell and proficiency in longbows together with special arrows do the job of an AOR spell quite as well.

Then I realized that these scrolls are supposed to be some kind of backup for mages in case they run out of spell-slots, a concept that doesn't exist in Dragon Age. So, give them to your Gales, Shadowhearts, and Wylls. They need them more than Karlach or Lae'zel do.

IV. Don't recruit everyone in every playthrough

This is probably the most important lesson that millions of abandoned playthroughs in Baldur's Gate 3 have taught me. I always started a new game and after a few hours, I had the impression that I somehow messed up and started a new PT.

The problem always was the companions. While it looks similar to Dragon Age Origins where you travel around with a group that is much larger than your party permits and you have a camp as a central hub to interact, it actually works much differently.

In a game of Dragon Age, it doesn't matter who you bring to which main mission, save for some approval ratings. You evolve the relationship with your companions during your camp/Skyhold talks up to the point where the companion gives you a loyalty mission that you have to do with him to further develop your relationship. All of this does not influence the story missions most of the time.

Not so in Baldur's Gate 3. Here, the characters can only evolve when they are part of your active party because they need to act in, or interact with, the main story. Most notably Shadowheart who is the true protagonist of the story. Act 2 basically is her personal redemption arc - but only when she is present in your party. This applies, to a lesser degree, to all other companions as well: going for the gith without Lae'zel in your party is pointless. Astarion has to be in your party when entering the Temple of Shar and so on.

And that's the point where the "I fucked up"-feeling kicks in. This can be avoided by only recruiting those characters you actually want to have in your party all the time.

If you are planning a "dark side" playthrough stick to Shadowheart, Lae'zel, and Astarion. Since you are planning to side with the Goblins anyway, no point in bothering with Wyll and Karlach. You would also ignore Gale, or chop off his hand for cheers and giggles. Later, let Shadowheart kill Lae'zel and recruit your true love Minthara.

Wyll and Karlach are the most "light side" characters to recruit. So, when that is your path, why bother with the others?

Shadowheart has to be there anyway. So why not just play as her and have one slot free for, say, Gale?

While it might seem odd to seasoned Dragon Age players to leave anyone behind, Baldur's Gate 3 gets much better that way. Just try it out.

[skyboxeye]

Capturing the ambience of LEGO Island 2

This minigame-packed adventure explores many classic LEGO themes.

Running the game

There are two main versions of the game to chose from: the original 2001 release, and an improved 2007 version released as part of a two-pack. There is also apparently an unfinished, unreleased v1.1 with some bug fixes.

Curiously, the version hosted on MyAbandonware seems nearly identical to other 2001 releases I found. There appear to be minimal differences between the two.

All versions use a simple disk check; mounting an ISO with a tool like Daemon Tools suffices. There are also No-CD hex-edits available if you're interested.

Debug menu and Level-select

We can access LI2's debug menu by altering the main menu options. I found some hex-edits for this on RRU. If you're not comfortable with hex-edits you can try using a patcher or patch, or LI2 Mod Manager.

04 00 00 00 02 -> 01 00 00 00 11 43 52 45 44 49 54 53 -> 44 45 42 55 47 00 00

Widescreen

Use the resolution and widescreen hacks offered by LI2 Mod Manager. See this thread for more detail on how it works.

Hiding UI and Player-character

This is possible using Lego Island 2 Game Editor. It's a powerful albeit buggy application for modifying LI2 assets.

If LI2GE doesn't work, for example to edit fonts, you can use Lego Island 2 Extractor and/or Lego Island 2 Explorer. Once installed, be sure to disable automatic updates inside the program's INI to avoid startup crashes.

LI2 will prefer to load files from identically-named folders if they are present in the _data directory. For example, if a Fonts folder exists, its files will be used and Fonts.bob/bod won't be loaded.

We can also pause the game to remove the HUD, screenshot this state, and create a no-HUD overlay for our footage.

(Not) Free camera

A modder devised a way to summon a glider at any time.

Rendering ambience sequences

I recommend using the Fruity LSD effect with FL Studio. First, open the MID file in LEGO Island 2's level files, for example Fishing_Amb.mid. Be sure to select MIDI Out with Fruity LSD in the subsequent dialog.

Afterward, click the folder icon in the top left to specify a DLS file - use one found in your MID file's folder. Once it's loaded, populate each channel by clicking it, and picking the corresponding patch. Don't forget to populate the "percussive" one-shots as well (Channel 10 in the screenshot below).

You are now ready to play your MID with the intended samples attached, or export it to a WAV file.

Appendix: Rendering music sequences

Download DirectMusic Producer. Supposedly this program allows you to export samples and sequence data. You could then render the pair using the MIDI renderer of your choice, such as OpenMPT or FL Studio's Directmusic plugin.

Appendix: Ambience sequence dead-ends

I tried VLC, with the DLS configured under FluidSynth, but this gave no output. I tried Miles Sound Tools with a DLS specified, but again - no output. I tried Winamp but seemingly couldn't get in_midi to use a custom DLS file, despite specifying one in the setting dialogs.

Appendix: Other LI2 developer tools

A soak test can be activated by pressing F8 while in windowed mode. You can also spawn a debugger window by pressing F9.