#sometimes the selections are...interesting

[booksandteaandtears]

That's your wife? sunshine version

Dr. Jack Abott x f!attending!wife!reader

summary: You started working as a pediatric surgeon at the PTMC about a year ago and people have not yet figured out that you and Jack are married because your personalities are very different

obviously a little inspired by dr. Doug Ross fighting with parents (does anyone else think dr. Robby is kinda like Mark Green?)

slightly angsty, but mostly fluff

mentions child abuse

reader gets hurt but not too badly

masterlist | thunder version

You'd always loved working with kids, working as a nanny during college and volunteering at different foster facilities. You had gone to med-school with the goal of becoming a pediatrician and after many years of internships and residency you had landed a job at UPMC Presbyterian. You'd had loved it there for years, but about a year and a half ago a position had opened at PTMC, with the chance to become Chief of pediatrics in a few years.

Initially you had wanted to turn it down. You had worked in the same hospital as Jack years ago as a resident, but had left when you kept being referred to as "Abbot's wife", instead of people seeing you as a doctor in your own right. Even though you'd kept your maiden name they seemed to link your medical abilities to your husband, and you hated it, so you'd always worked in a different hospital since then. You'd worked too hard on your career to be okay with being treated like that. Jack had been sad that you couldn't drive into work together anymore, but he respected your decision and fully supported your career.

Jack had convinced you to take the job at PTMC in the end, agreeing to keep your marriage secret except for a select few. None of the staff had questioned it so far and working at PTMC had been great. You loved the pediatrics team and the chances you had been given by performing new and exciting surgeries.

You especially loved being the on-call pedes surgeon every couple of shifts, consulting down in the Pitt. With PTMc being a level 1 trauna centre a lot of interesting cases were brought in every shift.

You knew everyone's name in the ER. They thought it was because you put in a lot of effort to get to know them, but you secretly knew because Jack would gossip about his staff with you. So not only did you know their names, but you knew that Javadi had a crush on Mateo, and Trinity had her eyes on Garcia. Sometimes you were the one delivering gossip to Jack, because you brought his nurses coffee and pastries which meant they told you everything.

Besides the treats, they liked you because you were always bright, happy and just incredibly good with children. You could calm down even the kids that McKay had trouble with. You had bright patches with dino's on your coat and had stickers for a ton of specific interests, ranging from cars to animals to TV-shows. You'd given Whitaker a sticker to soothe his feelings on more than one occasion and carried a special pack with some of Mel's favourites.

No one in the Pitt had even entertained the thought that you, with your bubbly personality and ever present smile, could be married to their very own anxious, demoralised and borderline suicidal attending.

You had spent that morning in surgery, fixing up a kid's lungs from a major pneumothorax after a consult in the Pitt. You'd been alerted that the child's father had arrived in the pedes' waiting room and that he had been asking for you.

You took a deep breath and turned the corner with Kiara right behind you. "Mr. Morgan?" You called out. A man raised his head at you and you nodded for him to follow you out of the waiting room.

"Your son's nursery brought him in this morning, he had a fever and was complaining of pain in his chest and back. We operated on a collapsed lung this morning. It was collapsed because of trauma, and it was so severe we could not treat it without surgery. We suspect someone kicked the boy in his ribs. I was called in for a consult by the doctors in the ER, and we found several old injuries during our assessment. Bruises and sprained ribs. Burns on his leg. It appears to us that the child has been hurt over a longer period of time."

You tried to control the anger in your voice. Your place was not to judge the man, but to help his son, but you were having trouble keeping yourself in line.

"This is Kiara, she is the social worker that is tied to the Emergency Department. She's been with your son since he was brought in. We want to have a conversation with you, and then child protection services and the police will be here to investigate further. There might be a reasonable explanation for all of this, but we are legally obligated to make a report and involve the police. Could you follow me into my office please?"

Mr. Morgan stood still in the hall. "You're saying you got the police involved?" His face grew red with anger. You raised an eyebrow, apparently the man was more worried about getting caught than trying to deny the accusation.

Kiara stepped in. "Yes, as the doctor explained, we have to report suspected cases of child abuse. I can talk with you about the next steps, so we can ensure this all goes smoothly for your son."

Mr. Morgan took a step towards you, his breath touching your cheek. He smelled of stale coffee. "You reported this to the police?" He asked again. You nodded, trying to step backwards to create distance. He grabbed your wrist to stop you. His voice grew louder. "I'll raise my boy however the hell I want to raise him. A nosy bitch like you has no say in it. Fucking whore of a doctor who thinks she's all that. Bet you've never raised kids of your own. Where is my son! I'm taking him home!" A bit of spit reached your face from the intensity of his outburst. Several people had poked their heads out of doors in the hallway, alarmed by the raised voice. You felt nervous by the way this was enfolding so you tried to deescalate the conversation once more. "Sir, the law in Pennsylvania states that I have to report you. If you've hurt your child, these are the consequences. There's nothing I can do about that. Your son is what we are worried about here, he's just had surgery because of his injuries. Let's try to talk and see what we ca-."

You felt the punch before you could have seen his fist flying at you. He was a big man and the force of it knocked you to the ground. Your hands flew up to your face, holding your nose. "Fuck." You groaned. You tried to inspect your nose, which, in hindsight, was a mistake, because you missed the foot that came flying into your ribs. A second kick landed soon after.

Kiara cried out next to you, calling for help. A group of nurses came flying in, grabbing mr. Morgan and pulling him off of you. You groaned and turned on your side, trying to breathe. Panic was taking over.

The chief attending came running up, assessing your nose and ribs with soft fingers. The touch grounded you and you tried to steady your breathing. You didn't say much, the pain in you body and the anger that was circling your mind keeping your throat closed.

"I need you to talk to me dear," she whispered. "Does this hurt?" You groaned. "Right, you need an x-ray so we can see what's going on. Let's get you down to the ER. Let's call 'em to let them know we're coming. Somebody get a gurney!"

You felt your heartbeat pick up as she mentioned the ER. Your fingers brushed her arm as she shouted orders. "No ER, please." You groaned at her. "I- I'm fine. Doesn't hurt that bad, I promise." You winced as you tried to put a smile on you face. "Try to convince someone else on that. I'm not keeping you out of the ER just so you can keep your husband in the dark." You groaned, again. "Don't call him. He'll worry. I'm fine." Your attending smiled at you. "Don't worry, I'll leave that to dr. Robinavitch. I would rather not be the one to tell you husband we let you get hurt while working."

Robby, Langdon and Whitaker were waiting in front of the elevator. They took over the gurney when the doors opened and rolled you into one of the rooms. Langdon tried very hard not to hurt you further and assessed your face carefully. You still winced when he brushed your left eye. "Sorry." He whispered at you. Robby was poking your ribs in the meantime. You turned you head towards him.

"Robby," You started, "You didn't call yet, did you?" He nodded and poked a particularly sore spot. "Let's asses first, I'll call him after." You whined at him. "Don't, Robby. He'll just be mad, I'll tell him when I get home." Robby looked at you sternly. "We'll talk about this later." You pouted at him and let Langdon inspect your face again. "Yes dad." You murmured. Langdon couldn't help a laugh escaping him.

Half an hour later you were working on convincing Robby not to call Jack. Your ribs were bruised and you had a massive black eye, but the CT's showed no breaks in you face or your ribs. It did hurt like hell though.

"I am a patient now, Robby, I do not give consent to cal my emergency contact and I am perfectly capable of making that decision right now." Robby nodded fiercely at you. "Yes, those are very pretty words, and very true, but the matter of the fact is that Jack will kill me when he finds out you are in his ER and I did not call him. My life's on the line here, not yours. It's bad enough that Gloria's coming down to investigate, I can not handle an angry Jack on top of that." You almost felt sorry for him.

"I just don't want him freaking out. I'll tell him when he comes in, then he can immediately see that I'm fine." Robby sighed at you. "That won't stop him from killing me and Dana." You grimaced back at him, pain pulsing through your bruises because of the movement. "He won't kill Dana, he'll hold you responsible."

Robby threw his hands in the air in surrender and was called away by an incoming trauma, leaving you alone.

You had planned to stay in the ER bed for another hour to make sure you had no concussion, but five minutes before you wanted to leave the curtain around your bed was ripped open.

"I was going to bring you a coffee upstairs and when I arrive one of the nurses tells me you've been knocked down by a parent and you're in the ER. And when I asked when it'd happened, they told me it was over two hours ago." Jack's face was angry. You opened your mouth to argue but where interrupted.

"So, let's see how you're doing" Langdon stepped in through the curtain and was shocked to see Jack standing there. "Dr. Abbot," Langdon called out, "What are you doing here so early? You shift doesn't start for an hour and a half. Is there a big trauma coming in?" Jack turned, still angry. "Where's Robby?" He demanded. "He's in curtain four, I think. He's been screaming to Gloria about hospital security for the past thirty minutes. But what are you doing here, do you need to discuss something with dr. Robby?" Jack grunted. "Bring him here." You winced at his tone. "Jack, come o-" Jack turned towards you. "Don't. Langdon go get Robby." Frank was confused. "He's in four with a patient. Why can't you just go to him? I've gotta check up on this patient." Jack turned fully towards him and Langdon could see the fury in Abbot's eyes. "Because my wife was brought into the ER this afternoon, and dr. Robinavitch did not contact me. That's why."

Langdon looked around the Pitt. "Your wife was brought in? When? I don't see an Abbot on the board? Where is she."

Jack pointed to you and you grew red.

Langdon opened his mouth but no sound came out. Whitaker kept looking from you to Jack.

"That is your wife?" Langdon gasped after a moment. "She's here all the time! How did you never tell us?" Jack shrugged and gently pushedsome hair out of your face. "Not like you ever asked." You leaned in to his touch. "You can hover around, but let Frank take a look at my face please." Jack's finger brushed your eyebrow. "I can do that. I don't want a resident working on my wife."

You took his fingers and pulled them down, kissing them softly. "Langdon can take care of it. Just sit tight and hold my hand. I'm fine Jack, I promise." You could see some of the worry leave your husband's face. "Sit down. We'll ask someone to cover your shift so you can take me home after. You can make me dinner and we'll hang out on the couch all evening, all right?" Jack resigned and took a seat next to you on the gurney, stroking your thigh with his free hand.

Langdon discharged you a couple minutes later and you managed to get Jack out of the Pitt without bumping into Robby. Jack was still mad that he had been blindsided, but he knew your injuries weren't bad. He'd promised you he'd be screaming at Robby tomorrow, but you were pretty sure you could get him to forgive his friend before then.

Tomorrow was going to be confronting enough, by then the entire hospital would know that the bubbly pediatrician and the grumpy ER physician were married.

Jack helped you into his car and leaned over you to fasten your seatbelt. "Jack," you told him when he was satisfied it was on tightly, "I'm not a kid, I can fasten my own seatbelt." Jack looked up into your eyes. "I know you're not. But you're my wife and I want to take care of you. You scared me darling. I was just going to take you a cup of coffee and I find you in my ER. That's something out of a nightmare. That elevator ride down was the longest of my life. I know you're going to be okay, but I was really terrified for a second there. So just bear with me while I treat you like you're made of glass, all right? It'll make me feel better about it." He walked around the car to get into the driver's seat.

You smiled at your husband. "So, did you abandon the cup of coffee in the pediatric ward or did you have the foresight that I would still want it." Jack fastened his own seatbelt and turned to you. "I did abandon your coffee. So I'm guessing our first stop on the way home is to get a new one?" You nodded at Jack. "You bet. Let's go, husband of mine!" He started the car and took another peek at you, glossing over your face to make sure you were all right. "I love you, my wife."

[simspaghetti]

i aspire to edit like you - please give me some advice so i can be as good as you = where do you get all those cute phone things / emails / icons / boxes etc. ps. love you <3

Hiya lovely!! Thank you so much that's really kind of you to say <3<3

You asking this made me realise I haven't done a full resource list for editing yet :O

Before I start, I'm gonna give a BIG shoutout and recommendation to Honeywine sims' Sims 3 Resources for Storytelling & Screenshots list - if you're looking to improve your screenshots then the tutorials linked on there are a very very good place to start :)

Anyway, here is just the stuff I personally use:

My Simblr Editing Resource List:

TS3 Ultimate Icon Collection from MTS

Trait Images from TheSimsWiki OR Here by Hexagonal Bypyramid

TS2 High-Quality Icon Pack by EddySims

Sims 4 Icon Collection

Sebastian Hyde's Sims Icon Portfolio (requires a bit more editing as you need to erase the background & isolate the icon - but the TS3 ones tend to be much higher quality, so for certain stuff it's worth the effort)

Created by me:

Blackout UI Gameplay PSD Collection (includes moodlet, wish & career templates) - CleanUI Versions here: Moodlet & Wish / Career

Photography / Camera Template

Interaction Box Templates

Notification Templates

Location Templates

Any more PSDs I create in the future can always be found linked here

Created by others:

AwkwardWhims PSD Collection (I have made a personal edit of these to make them dark-mode)

Windslars PSD Collections (both versions - again I've edited these for personal use)

Simblr trading card - I have borrowed the Skill Template from these

LoeySims PSD

Sterina-Sims' PS Action

The full tutorial on how I made my editing bases is here (aka making the curved outline and combining the PSD & action templates)

BePixeled Gradient Backgrounds - I use these for photoshoots etc.

I use Photopea to edit everything - It's a free, online alternative to adobe photoshop

I have a folder on my desktop with alllll the PSDs & resources I need in it

Then inside that I have a sub-folder containing my main editing bases & any of the UI PSDs I use super regularly

When I go to start an editing session, I open up the sub-folder (called 'quick editing access' - I have it pinned to my file explorer as well) and just select all the PSDs to open altogether in Photopea

Then I go from there just going with vibes & screnshot framing to judge what size template to put my screenshots in

I know some of ya'll will just want the links to resources, so I've kept my editing advice behind the cut for those who are curious ⬇️

My (kind of embarrassing) Credentials:

Here is a comparison of what my edited content used to look like back when I first started Simblr 5 years ago VS. what it looks like today - I'm gonna now dissect what made the biggest difference for me in improving my editing game

Obviously adding visual interest to your screenshots with icons, UI elements etc. does help them look more interesting - but for me the biggest difference between these two pictures actually comes down to colour grading, lighting, camera angles and overall staging

To break down the differences more visually:

So, how did I make my screenshots better?

1: Work out what visual style you want your simblr to be, and start emulating that style in your game

A lot of this actually comes down to the aesthetic things you do in-game before even taking the screenshots (eg: what skin you use, the kind of outfits and colour-scheme you dress your sims with and how you furnish their homes)

I'm sure you know a few simblrs off the top of your head that you like the content of, look through their posts and figure out what stands out about the ones you particularly like Is it the colour scheme? How are they staging their camera angles? How are their sims styled & dressed? Most simblrs have resource pages you can scroll through which will tell you exactly what aesthetic mods they are using to make their game look the way it does & sometimes they also have CC finds blogs where you can find similar clothing & cc to the stuff they use

To break this down in practice: I realised that I really like a maxis-match style when it comes to how my sims & their homes look, I want it to look simple, kind of cartoony and visually quite colourful So, when I went on a CC shopping spree to do a visual overhaul in my game a few years ago, and I only downloaded stuff that fit into that style I was looking for skins and hairs which had flat, less detailed textures, and objects / clothing that had been converted from other sims games to TS3 - if you like alpha style instead then you can only shop for stuff that fits in with that, or if you like a specific vibe (such as cottagecore) then only look for themed cc etc. etc.

2: Use Reshade, seriously!

I put off using reshade for the longest time because I thought that it was complicated to install & use - and while (like with everything) there is a learning curve, I got my head round it really quickly and now I use it without thinking

Again my advice for finding presets would be to look at simblrs you admire and find what presets they're using - or search up 'Reshade Preset' on tumblr and just pick one you like the look of - this will really come down to personal preference & what kind of vibe you're going for in your game

3: Colour-Grading & aesthetic design

I'm not the greatest decorator or home builder when it comes to creating something entirely off the top of my head with no reference, so when I'm building homes or decorating a room I always like to look on websites like Pinterest for inspiration

For example, here is a bedroom I recently designed based off a pinterest room - I added in some decor objects which are more specific to my sim's personality, but you can see the basic colour scheme & vibe is very similar to the other photo

In terms of picking a colour scheme for sims & their homes, I always use their favourite colour & traits as a guiding tool - this makes all of my sims look more unique and have a clear & defined sense of personal style that really helps me when coming up with ideas for decorating

Can you guess my sim Betty's favourite colour? lol - but having red as a starting point seriously helped me when deciding what vibe to go with for her bedroom, I just looked up 'cosy red bedroom' and that picture popped up - she's also a Snob and a Virtuoso, so I decided she'd probably be a classical music buff & a fan of old Hollywood - and I incorporated those aesthetics by using vintage posters and some music decor objects such as the CDs on the floor

I know this probably seems like it’s not relevant to photo editing but it 100% is - you need to have well-designed rooms and sims in order to take good photos!

4: Experiment with camera angles

This one is really difficult to describe but I'm gonna give a recent example of a screenshot I took:

You can see the second one (from a higher angle) is much more visually interesting and IMO just looks a lot better With the first one, I'd probably be inclined to put a moodlet or something over the empty space - whereas the second picture is full enough on its own not to need anything else

5: Useful mods & game cheats for you to know...

Game Cheats: -> hideheadlineeffects ON hides most of the headline effects like speech bubbles, plumbobs etc. -> moviemakercheatsenabled TRUE You need to do testingcheatsenabled true first but this cheat basically allows you to direct your sims to do any animation you want, which is useful for posing or storytelling purposes -> moveobjects ON I assume you already know about this cheat, but I use it all the time for moving my sims to a better location for screenshots - you do have to reset the sim afterwards though otherwise they will get stuck in the floor lol

Mods: -> no drift / lower level camera mod Allows you to get to those more interesting angles I was talking about earlier! -> Create your own visual effects mod Follow the instructions and create your own custom mod to remove the effects that you don't like the look of (eg: I got rid of the university life social boost things cos they annoy me) -> No camera fade Allows you to get way more up close & personal with your sims! -> Sethour cheat Suuuuper useful for scenery pictures or photoshoots

I hope that's useful, honestly, just keep at it! Keep experimenting, keep posting and make mental notes of what performs well vs. not well - the only way to get better is with lots and lots of practice in my experience

Like 5 years ago I had no idea how to use anything on photoshop - and now I'm really familiar with most of the tools - It took me a long time to get to this point, so don't beat yourself up if you're just starting out and stuff isn't looking how you want it to - just use it as motivation to try and get better!

Youtube / blog tutorials and other simblrs resource lists are your best friends when it comes to learning how to improve your game style & when learning how to use photo-editing tools :)

Also, an important final note is that I really really enjoy photo editing, it's part of the fun of playing the game for me! - If you don't, that's totally fine! Don't force yourself to do something you don't enjoy, you can just post your screenshots no matter how they look, this is simblr after all, we're all posting about games which are decades old atp, it's really not that serious :P

[santaeofficial]

cj your behavior is completely and totally unacceptable and you genuinely need to quit santae and get some help

Well I hate to break it to you Santae is the game I created. I’ve also loved every session with my therapist. I just refuse to allow a select few make me think differently about my creation, 15 years of work. I’m sorry you think opposite but we aren’t a corporation I’m a real person. You respond in a way that is beyond hurtful and expect no response and silence. I’m not going to be run off from my game. Please don’t forget I created Santae for myself to play away from every other site that had not so nice folks on there. I’ve allowed yall to take away my ability to just hang out with the community I built, randomly gift members, help during events playing the game when I’ve done it since day one and was never an issue till the ones with constant accusations or something we didn’t do right. Now, I’m to the point of you can do it better and faster I challenge you to do just that. I can also say 3 staff members have seen everything I’ve had planned out for years for Santae before AI and it’s more than you could ever imagine.

How could you say quit the game I built, my childhood dream, I busted my ass to earn as much money as I could and I funneled every single bit into Santae. Long before I could find the first person interested in helping with backend or frontend let alone content. You all see Santae how it has been since alpha. You weren’t there for over a year working on Santae uploading, configuring, developing features for Santae. I worked 12 - 24 hour shifts while doing Santae at the same time.

Who could run Santae, who knows the story, assets, plots, future pets and colors, NPCs, rpg aspect, Birthsigns? Sure I have it all written down. But it’s easier to say that and have no genuine reason other then some hate blog you picked some negative energy up on at, to be rude or disrespectful. I sincerely hope nobody ever wishes you quit your dreams.

But I refuse to allow anyone to bully me anymore, member, non-member, irl, This is my game and I deserve to enjoy it too. I promise you, you’d feel the same.

I’ve proved I wasn’t lying, I was called unprofessional but before that I was a liar about that something I knew I wasn’t and nobody believed me when I never gave anyone a reason not to and people quit playing hurting the game even more! I came forward with AB utilizing ai software to make a mash up board like she did when finding images on google. You can see this in a screenshot. I’ve asked them to respond publicly they refuse, their only statement was the one I shared how it’s not their fault if nobody believes me they are 100% drawn.

Again, please know I’m a real person, with emotions and work on something for 15 years and you do your absolute best and it always feels like you’ve falling short sometime or another.

There is so much negativity or this needs redone or you did this wrong. Or like today the complete incorrect item being blasted by multiple people so I showed screenshots from The last 3 variations, it’s overwhelming. We only have one programmer, and I’m not going to speak ill of them or any staff

[junplusone]

don't lie! a svt interactive series | ROUND 1

chapter warnings: language, main character death chapter word count: 1.6k

series masterlist | next

TAGS: @ppyopulii @callis-corner @kkooongie @nerdycheol @helloiliketits @asyre @taesungx @imhereonlytoread @starshuas @avyskai @mochacoda (fill out this form to be tagged!)

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA. TIME UNKNOWN.

[The sky is dark, well into the night. There is no sign of movement anywhere. The city is eerily empty, save for two men walking along the abandoned street.]

JIHOON: Am I dreaming? Literally everyone was out ten minutes ago.

SOONYOUNG: No, I don’t think so. I pinched myself a couple times and nothing changed.

JIHOON: Why would you do that?

SOONYOUNG: Dunno. Thought it might help.

[JIHOON sighs and kicks another loose rock on the road. In the distance, a sign flickers to life.]

SOONYOUNG: Light! Look, over there!

JIHOON, reading it aloud: ‘Game.’ There’s an arrow too. What’s that supposed to mean?

SOONYOUNG, sarcastically: Oh, I don’t know, maybe we follow it?

JIHOON, impressed: Right. Good idea. Let’s do that.

[The sign takes them to an old, abandoned bar. The front door is slightly ajar. To their surprise, they are not the only ones there.]

SOONYOUNG: Oh. Sorry. Are we interrupting? We heard there was a game going on here.

UNKNOWN, holding up a device: There is. We didn’t start yet, though.

JIHOON: Are those phones? Ours stopped working when everything went empty. Did you get service back?

UNKNOWN: Kind of. Not really. Ours aren’t working either. But these phones are different. They’re kind of like, only for the game? There’s no way to exit this screen, for some reason.

SOONYOUNG, to JIHOON: Should we join?

UNKNOWN: Well, the game says it maxes out at thirteen players. So we could start right away, with both of you.

[JIHOON sighs, realizing there is not much else he can do but pass the time with a simple game. He picks up one of the last two phones remaining on the table. The screen lights up with a greeting.]

“WELCOME, PLAYER 007.”

SOONYOUNG, wincing: Damn, that’s loud!

“WELCOME, PLAYER 005.”

005 | SOONYOUNG: Shouldn’t the numbers go in order of who joins the game?

012: Apparently not. It went all over the place before too. I think it depends on which phone you pick up.

[SOONYOUNG flips the phone over, checking the side. Sure enough, the three digits are etched into the side with what looks like permanent marker.]

005 | SOONYOUNG: Oh, you’re right!

012: Only sometimes. Normally, I’m Seungkwan.

013: That was disastrous. Please never tell a joke again.

012 | SEUNGKWAN: And that’s Chan. You’ll do well to ignore him.

013 | CHAN, under his breath: Some friend you are, really.

012 | SEUNGKWAN: He doesn’t act like it, but I promise he likes me.

007 | JIHOON, quietly: These are some interesting people we’ve found.

[Everyone moves to the middle area, where there is a table with exactly thirteen chairs. They all take a seat, and a loud beep sounds throughout the bar. CHAN gets a bit startled.]

“DIFFICULTY LEVEL: TEN OF HEARTS. GAME: MAFIA.”

005 | SOONYOUNG: This game! We’ve all played this before, right?

012 | SEUNGKWAN, with much excitement: Oh, Mafia! If you get too emotional, you automatically lose!

008, softly: Hmm. A Hearts game.

“RULES: DISCUSS WITH EACH OTHER AND IDENTIFY THE THREE MAFIAS AMONG THE TOWNSPEOPLE. IN ADDITION TO THE MAFIA, THERE IS ONE DOCTOR AND ONE DETECTIVE. TOWNSPEOPLE WILL HAVE THIRTY MINUTES TO DISCUSS AND VOTE OUT A MAFIA MEMBER AFTER EACH NIGHT. IF VOTING RESULTS IN A TIE, NO PLAYER WILL BE ELIMINATED.

ROLES: EVERY NIGHT, EACH MAFIA MEMBER WILL SELECT ONE PLAYER TO ELIMINATE. ONE PLAYER FROM THE THREE CHOSEN WILL BE ELIMINATED AT RANDOM. IF THE SAME PLAYER IS CHOSEN BY TWO OR MORE MAFIA MEMBERS, THAT PLAYER WILL BE ELIMINATED.

EVERY NIGHT, THE DOCTOR WILL SELECT ONE PLAYER TO SAVE, INCLUDING THEMSELF. THE DOCTOR CAN ONLY SELECT EACH PLAYER ONE TIME THROUGHOUT THE GAME.

EVERY NIGHT, THE DETECTIVE WILL SELECT ONE PLAYER TO REVEAL THEIR IDENTITY.

THE MAFIA GAME IS ABOUT HOW MUCH YOU CAN TRUST YOUR FELLOW PLAYERS, AND YOURSELF. REMEMBER, THINGS MAY NOT ALWAYS BE AS THEY SEEM.”

006: This is starting to sound a little scary.

013 | CHAN: Ah, don’t worry, Wonwoo. Mafia was always fun. It’ll be exciting, playing with people we don’t know at all.

“PROHIBITED ACTIONS: PLAYERS MAY NOT REVEAL THEIR ROLES TO EACH OTHER DURING THE GAME. INJURING OR KILLING YOUR FELLOW PLAYERS IS NOT ALLOWED AT ANY TIME.”

012 | SEUNGKWAN: Eh? 

“HOW TO WIN: TOWNSPEOPLE WIN ONCE ALL THREE MAFIA MEMBERS HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED. MAFIA WINS ONCE THERE ARE ONLY TWO TOWNSPEOPLE REMAINING.

ROLES HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED TO EACH PLAYER. PLEASE CHECK YOUR DEVICES FOR INFORMATION.”

005 | SOONYOUNG: Wow, this is so cool! How did they coordinate that?

008, with trepidation: Ah, seriously.

“THE GAME WILL BEGIN NOW. NIGHT HAS FALLEN. EVERYONE, LOWER YOUR HEADS.”

009: Wow, this is really intense. I’m getting the chills just from this.

“MAFIA, RAISE YOUR HEADS AND CONFIRM EACH OTHER’S IDENTITY. ON YOUR DEVICE, SELECT ONE PLAYER YOU WOULD LIKE TO ELIMINATE.”

[There is a loud rustling from one corner of the room, and muffled laughter.]

“MAFIA, LOWER YOUR HEADS. DETECTIVE, RAISE YOUR HEAD AND SELECT ONE PLAYER ON YOUR DEVICE WHOSE IDENTITY YOU WOULD LIKE TO REVEAL.”

[The detective selects player 001, and seems quite surprised at the result.]

“DETECTIVE, LOWER YOUR HEAD. DOCTOR, RAISE YOUR HEAD AND SELECT A PLAYER ON YOUR DEVICE YOU WOULD LIKE TO SAVE.”

[The doctor seems to have a hard time selecting. In the end, he presses a number at random, hoping he’s made the right choice.]

“DOCTOR, LOWER YOUR HEAD. MORNING HAS COME. EVERYONE, RAISE YOUR HEADS.”

[Everyone opens their eyes. Some look excited, others anxious.]

010, with laughter: Ah, I’m dead. I’m definitely dead.

005 | SOONYOUNG: Man, I forgot how exciting this game was!

“THE MAFIA HAS ELIMINATED PLAYER 013.”

[WONWOO and SEUNGKWAN dissolve into amused laughter. CHAN looks on in surprise, not expecting to be eliminated in the first round.]

013 | CHAN: Ah, seriously! Why me? I wanted to play this game a little longer!

008, to himself: Oh, dear.

[Quicker than anyone can react, a laser shoots through the ceiling, striking CHAN through the skull. Slowly, he falls to the ground, lifeless. Everyone is stunned, save for three of the players. WONWOO moves first, kneeling beside his friend on the ground.]

006 | WONWOO, shocked: Is he–? Chan? No, it can’t be!

012 | SEUNGKWAN: Wait, it’s real? He’s not just acting?

[Shaking, SOONYOUNG points to the bar’s ceiling. The hole in it is still smoking from the laser.]

005 | SOONYOUNG: Someone’s shooting at us. This has to be a trap.

004: Hold on –

008, alarmed: Hey, sit down.

005 | SOONYOUNG, agitated: It’s not safe here. We need to leave, now!

004: No, stop! You can’t!

[SOONYOUNG immediately bolts towards the exit. Player 004 runs after him, grabbing his wrist and pulling him back roughly.]

005 | SOONYOUNG: Are you mad?! Do you want us all to stay here and die?

008: You need to calm down, or none of us are getting anywhere. Are you crazy? Do you think we have the time to pull stunts like this?

005 | SOONYOUNG: You're crazy if you think I'm staying in here any longer after whatever the fuck just happened!

[Player 004 stares at SOONYOUNG for a moment, before pulling a button off of his shirt and tossing it towards the exit door. The button does not land. A laser decimates it before it gets past the doorway. SOONYOUNG stares at it in total shock.]

004, very seriously: I don't care how or why you got here, but you need to listen to Minghao and think this through. It doesn’t matter what you want anymore. You can’t leave this building, or that button is going to be you next.

[Silence falls as everyone grapples with the weight of his words. 001 nods quietly from his chair, likely from experience. SOONYOUNG seems to calm down a little bit after thinking through 004's reasoning.]

006 | WONWOO, with sudden realization: This isn’t your first game, is it?

[Player 004 shakes his head, heavy with sorrow. Slowly, he coaxes SOONYOUNG back into his seat. SEUNGKWAN still sits beside CHAN’s body, inconsolable.]

006 | WONWOO: Eliminated. That’s what that means. If you lose, you die.

004, sadly: Exactly. There’s no way out but to win.

“EVERYONE, YOUR THIRTY MINUTE DISCUSSION PERIOD BEGINS NOW.”

[A timer flashes on a screen on the far wall, counting down from thirty minutes.]

003: Hey, Player 001, why don’t you look surprised at all?

001, affronted: Should I be? This isn’t my first rodeo. Or my first time watching someone die by sky laser.

012 | SEUNGKWAN: So this is it? Either all the mafia die, or all the townspeople do?

007 | JIHOON: Hey, wouldn’t it be better to have the mafia lose then? That’s only three people.

005 | SOONYOUNG, still shaken: That’s three people dead either way!

007 | JIHOON: Do you want to get out of here alive or not? I’m trying to help us!

008 | MINGHAO, to JIHOON: How do you know that he’s not the mafia?

[All hell breaks loose as the group dissolves into an argument. WONWOO and SEUNGKWAN remain more or less silent, still mourning the sudden loss of their childhood friend. The clock ticks all the way down to ten minutes.]

002: Listen, stop fighting. You’re not accomplishing shit. We have to vote in ten minutes anyway, and we can’t get out of here. Someone has got to die.

006 | WONWOO: Are you sure? There has to be some way to outsmart the rules. Each game has a weakness.

008 | MINGHAO: No, Junhui was right. You lose, you die. You break the rules, you die too. The only way to get out is to win.

012 | SEUNGKWAN: How are we supposed to vote? We have no idea who the mafia is! Did the detective happen to find out anything last night?

[There is total silence from the group. SEUNGKWAN seems to lose all hope, deflating at the lack of response.]

010: Obviously, they won’t reveal themselves. That’s essentially a death sentence.

012 | SEUNGKWAN, scanning the room: Hey, Player 011 has been awfully quiet this whole time, don’t you think?

[Player 011 raises his head suddenly, as if broken out of a trance. His eyes are wide, purely surprised.]

011: Huh? Me?

002: Mm, I don’t know. That sounded way too genuine for it to be a coverup.

007 | JIHOON: Could be. But that seems to be the basis of the game. How do you know when you can really trust someone?

“THE DISCUSSION PERIOD HAS NOW CONCLUDED. PLEASE PLACE YOUR VOTES ON YOUR DEVICES.”

[The bar descends into complete silence. Everyone hides behind the screen of their phone, awaiting the voting results anxiously.]

series masterlist | next

[ryan-sometimes]

What is your favourite science experiment, if you don't mind me asking?

(Either one you've done yourself or read about, I just like hearing the often whacky things scientists can get up to!)

My favorite experiment isn’t one I did, but one I came up with during an exam. As a 3rd year undergrad, I accidentally signed up for a graduate level chemical biology class. I didn’t know until I showed up on the first day of class and saw that pretty much everyone there was a PhD student. I got really scared but decided to stick with it because the class seemed very interesting.

During the first few weeks of class, we talked about something that I found really interesting. And that was the question of screening vs selection. Say that you’re randomly generating mutations in a bacteria and you want to find out if one gave them antibiotic resistance. All the bacteria are mixed together and you don’t know which is which. A screening would be if you sequenced every single bacteria. Screening is just brute forcing it. You could do that, or you could do a selection, such as growing all the bacteria on a plate containing the antibiotic, so only the resistant bacteria would survive and grow colonies. You could then sample these cultures and have pure samples of only the resistant bacteria.

A selection isn’t always possible though. Sometimes a screening is your only option. However, it’s always quite satisfying when you can come up with a clever selection.

When the first midterm of the class came around, there was a screening vs selection question. The premise was that you had generated a library of mutations in E. coli, and you were looking to get only bacteria without a specific mutation. This mutation did not serve any biochemical purpose but its sequence was known. It did not grant the bacteria any specific immunity, produce any protein, etc. But the professor wanted us to come up with a way to kill ONLY those bacteria.

I left that question for last because I couldn’t figure it out for the life of me. The previous selections I’d seen always involved taking advantage of some kind of resistance or enzyme. I’d never seen a selection like this. I thought and I thought and I thought about it. Eventually I remembered CRISPR. The CRISPR-Cas9 system is a mechanism for gene editing. It can recognize specific sequences in DNA, cut it, and make any edits you want into that location. You can alter the recognition sequence of CRISPR by editing the single guide RNA.

And so, the selection I came up with was to make the mutated sequence the guide RNA, so that CRISPR-Cas9 could find it in the bacterial genome. Cas9 (an enzyme that cuts DNA) would then cut the DNA only at our mutated sequence. It could then insert a lethal gene into that spot, which would kill only the bacteria with the mutation we wanted to discard. I used my last few minutes in the exam to write my answer for that question as fast as I could. There were many possible correct answers to that question. My professor said before the exam that if we were asked to come up with a selection, as long as the one we wrote made sense and could fill the purpose, it’d be correct.

I got it right 😌

It’s my favorite experiment because I came up with it on the fly, and it was my first time coming up with a selection on my own. It made me feel like I’d become a better scientist because of it. I got a B+ in that class, but I worked harder for that B+ than any A in my life, and what I learned in that class was extremely valuable for my scientific career. I have no regrets.

[michanvalentine]

I was just thinking—for fun—about how I picture Astarion’s radiant hopeful ending after the six-month celebration following the events of Baldur’s Gate 3. Sometimes you come across such absurd takes that you just go “meh,” honestly. Like, him living in the sewers, lol—why, exactly? Or him setting himself on fire the moment Tav/Durge passes away, because let’s face it, our character is apparently the only valid reason for this poor little vampy-boy’s existence (level 12 adventurer and hero who defeated the Netherbrain, sure).

Naturally, I’m focusing on the single ending—not because I don’t enjoy the romance, but because it sparks my imagination more.

I picture this vampire spawn with his small, well-kept apartment in Baldur’s Gate. A ground floor with a cozy sitting room, a hearth, and lovely wide windows letting in the light of lanterns and the chatter of the city’s nightlife. A staircase leads down to the bedroom and bath in the basement—safety first, of course, since sunlight isn’t ideal during naps. Two kinds of curtains hang from the top of the windows: a lighter, hand-embroidered one made by him, and a heavier, darker one to block out the sun.

Near the hearth is a little sewing corner and a mannequin proudly displaying his latest tailoring projects. At the foot of the small workspace sits a basket filled with spools of thread and fabric samples. On the table: patterns, needles, scissors, thimbles, and everything else he needs to work. There are always flowers on the mantel and the table—some brought straight from Shadowheart’s meadow. He wrinkles his nose, but keeps them anyway; he likes remembering how vibrant their colors are.

On the other side of the hearth is a small bookcase and an armchair full of pillows. There’s a brightly colored fuzzy throw he enjoys for the texture. That’s where he relaxes alone when he has time to read something interesting. Gale makes sure to bring him a new tome every month. There’s a stack of boring books on the floor—those come straight from Waterdeep and he can’t bring himself to throw them away. The good ones are neatly shelved, except for the one he’s currently reading, which rests on the armrest, waiting to be picked up again.

Nearby is a three-legged wooden stool, carved with floral patterns—useful for sitting by the fire or as a footrest. Halsin gifted it to him. The sideboard is well-stocked with plates, glasses, tablecloths, pots, cutlery, and all kinds of utensils. Not just any kind—he likes them refined, even if he doesn’t use them. Gotta impress the guests! And even though he doesn’t eat human food, there’s always bread and cheese on the kitchen counter. Sausages hang from the hooks. One drawer hides rigged cards and dice—only he knows how to make them work.

Next to the sideboard is a small rack for vintage bottles. Only the finest wines (many stolen) in House Ancunin! Guests are few and carefully selected from his inner circle. He values privacy and discretion, especially with those he doesn’t fully trust. He has standards! Lol. That’s why he’s rigged some traps at the entrance. Trust is good, but caution is better—especially when he’s away or asleep downstairs.

The bedroom features a luxurious canopy bed—probably the most expensive item in the house—draped with rich fabric all the way to the floor. Pillows everywhere, in every color and shape. He usually sleeps naked, in black silk sheets. The wardrobe is filled with outfits for every occasion. Many he made himself, some were custom-made by Figaro when he wanted to treat himself, and some he just flat-out stole from rich bastards. Astarion Ancunin is a fashion icon, after all.

Naturally, there are also simpler, comfortable clothes suited to his work. At the foot of the bed is a magically trapped and locked chest (crafted by Gale just for him), where he keeps gold and rare or magical items looted from evil rich folk—who didn’t deserve them anyway. He’ll put them to good use… more or less. One day, that chest will also contain the amulet or cloak that lets him walk in the sun again—he and his old adventuring party are still working on it.

In one corner of the room is a tall mirror with a refined frame. He likes it as a decorative piece—but hey, with the right company in bed, it can always come in handy! Lol. In the other corner is a battered dartboard with at least two daggers stuck in it. Mounted on the wall is a rack of weapons. A pair of curved daggers were gifts from Avernus, courtesy of Karlach and Wyll. A dagger with a Spartan hilt came from another plane, sent by Lae’zel. He doesn’t like it, but he trusts her taste when it comes to efficiency and effectiveness.

The bathroom is, of course, well-equipped: a full tub (not connected to plumbing), with a stack of soft, fragrant towels beside it, and a rug he enjoys stepping on when entering or exiting the bath. There’s a carved floral stool there too—another gift from Halsin. A couple of shelves display his beloved collection of oils and soaps. Also proudly displayed: a set of brushes for every need, because we know how meticulous he is about his hair.

His work as a vigilante (or paid assassin) is slowly paying off, thanks to word of mouth. His clientele includes people from all social classes. Rarely, but when he feels personally involved, he’s accepted jobs in exchange for goods (that he doesn’t eat). Once, a woman abused by her so-called rich lover gave him a chicken as payment. He cursed every god, then accepted, warning her not to tell anyone. He then gave the chicken to the orphan kids who plague his soul begging him to mentor them—just because he once gave them tips on how to properly pickpocket rich fools. Especially foreign merchants with heavy coin purses.

Since then, the brats look up to him and beg for adventurous stories, dreaming of becoming like him. He treats them with disdain, but he secretly loves seeing those little misfits seek his attention and try to apply what he teaches (with hilariously poor results). Not before being begged with: “Pleeeease, Mister Astarion!”

In the colder seasons, when the sun sets early, business picks up—he has more time to be active. He also has more time for the Elfsong when he’s in the mood for fun. Everyone knows him there—he’s the life of the party. Cards, dice, gossip (while gathering intel), flirting just for fun, and sometimes... upstairs shenanigans. All on his terms, of course.

Few people know the real him, and for now, that’s fine. Not everyone can be among the privileged few with access to his home, his life, his intimacy. Alfira, who often performs there, knows and accepts this. Same for his friend Lakrissa.

Once, he saved Chef Roover from a drunk, ill-intentioned outsider by draining him dry. Roover raised an eyebrow and ordered him to help mop up the piss (the guy had wet himself in fear). After that and a few explanations, Alan Alyth tried to hire Astarion as a bouncer. He agreed to “make troublemakers disappear”—nothing more—in exchange for unrestricted access to the tavern’s lower floors for his business.

Now Astarion has taken over the old Emperor’s chambers, giving them a new purpose. Still under renovation, but clients can drop by the bartender, say the code word, and be sent downstairs... Astarion has big plans for himself and his enterprise. Maybe someday he’ll add a small hedonistic lounge to share with friends who enjoy the same bloody pleasures. In moderation, of course. After all, it’s nice to inspire hope in people, not just fear, right?

And then there’s Jaheira, who drops by nearly every day under the pretense of helping with renovations, delivering materials, or suggesting more “reasonable” interior design. Really, she just wants to play mama wolf and make sure he stays out of trouble, while slipping him extra gigs on behalf of the Harpers or the Flaming Fists. At least she doesn’t nag at his house—and tries to keep Minsc out of it—but Astarion knows it’s just a matter of time before the ranger shows up in his kitchen out of nowhere, bloody, half-dressed, and with a dumb story about how he got there.

And of course, there are the Gur, who frequently seek his advice about vampire spawn kids or local monsters. If they can offload more work onto him, all the better! At least they’ve stopped hunting him, and sometimes they even help lighten the weight of vampirism. He’d never admit it, but a lot of them are actually fun—and nearly as good at cheating at dice as he is. Once, they held a kind of tournament where he almost lost. Damn cutthroat vagabonds!

So yeah, just a little headcanon about poor, helpless, useless Spawn Astarion, who supposedly can’t survive a day without Tav/Durge. xP

[untitledgoosegay]

pegasus and the gender thing

It's commonly believed that pegasus only accept female riders. This is a misconception, but a sticky one:

Pegasus are quicker and more agile in the air than wyverns, but they're also lighter and more delicate. Flying with a heavy or uneven load is exhausting, even dangerous. A strain injury that impairs flight can kill a pegasus.

Consequently, they're very picky about riders, and will reject -- violently, if necessary -- anyone who doesn't meet their standards.

Bottom line, pegasus really care about 1) flight dynamics and 2) confidence.

A pegasus knight should be as light as possible, with a low center of gravity. This selects for short, wide-hipped jockeys; statistically, that describes more women than men.

(Pegasus will also reject taller, heavier, and top-heavy women; this is considered just "not being cut out for it." You'd think somebody would have made the connection, but these things are stubborn.)

Really, most of it's cultural. A quirk of statistics has become a whole self-fulfilling thing.

Pegasus mares are larger than tiercels, and make better mounts. This is offputting to a certain kind of guy, and lends itself to the idea that of course a mare would prefer a woman rider.

"Pegasus attack men" is now a common belief. Men get nervous and uncomfortable around pegasus, which sometimes translates to belligerence. Pegasus react poorly to both, which only reinforces the idea that pegasus hate men.

It's not uncommon that the above produces pegasus which actually do have a grudge against men (by whatever standards a pegasus can tell -- some combination of affect, physical cues, and social cues).

Many men who could physically qualify as pegasus riders aren't interested, because the profession is so associated with women. Even if they were, many pegasus stables refuse to train men, because "men can't ride pegasus" is such a pervasive belief.

A "man" who's committed and dedicated enough to enter a profession generally restricted to women, with women as colleagues, teachers, and peers ... is probably a woman, actually. She's sure as hell not cis.

[snarky-art]

Digitally redid some old sketches I had lying around of an idea for a (kind of I guess???) au where Domino never fell and also there are dragons

Daphne and Politea get together in this version and are very happy together and Bloom and Daphne get to Actually be sisters without the angst and long journey to that it takes in my actual rewrite.

Daphne doesn’t have a dragon also because she Is a dragon essentially. When she enters the crypt the dragons like to stay in none of them stir because to them, Daphne is one of their own. It just feels like another dragon coming home to do whatever to the others.

She can ride just about anyone if she needs to though. Same with Oritel to a lesser extent. He has a few select ones that like him and allow him to ride on them.

What the pictures say and some additional info below if you’re interested:)

Bloom’s Dragon:

- average size

- cats with thumbs core (polydactyl feet)

- long dewclaws

- long tail

- loves water

- playful

Marion’s Dragon:

- biggest and oldest

- listens to no one except Marion (she WILL listen to Daphne in the most technical since though, as in, she’ll hear her and let her know she’s heard her, but whether or not she does anything Daphne asks or if she responds to Daphne or not is entirely up in the air)

- tired ornery beast

- chest EXPANDS (a LOT) when about to emit fire or energy

-long neck

- sharp dorsal fin

- big toe pads

- long tail fin

- 3 sets of wings

- 3 sets of eyes. Doesn’t usually use them and most commonly has second set of eyelids closed over actual eyes. Navigates mainly from feeling the energy around them and sometimes Marion.

Oritel’s Dragon

- little guy

- talon feet (bird coded type of creature)

- spikey

- likes to curl up around Oritel’s neck and shoulders to nap

- very attached to him

- tiny wings and webbing between tail and back leg area (wings don’t work)

[imminent-danger-came]

Whose your favorite character in deltarune? Im guessing ralsei bc he's kind and people pleasing to the point of self sacrificing and was created to be used by others. Real Mk vibes

Post-ch 2, Kris was easily number one (followed by Noelle, then Spamton, and then everyone else). They were what I found most interesting in the game, and their dynamic with the player is still one of my favorite parts of the narrative (I LOVE a character with a puppet motif)

Post-ch 4 however, there are multiple character who have really shot up my ranks. Kris and Ralsei are currently in a quantum state of sharing both 1st and 2nd place for my favorite character, followed by Susie, then Noelle, then Gerson and Spamton, and then everyone else (I am currently eyeing Carol, I know she has the potential to come out one of the strongest characters in Deltarune, just the track record with Toby's antagonists. Bronzing your daughters snowflakes to preserve them is an absolutely insane piece of characterization).

So you were half right!

What really gets me about Ralsei is of course his lightner-complex (in comparison to Kris' monster-complex, lmao), and that he's self-sacrificing due to his belief that his "fake pain" is a better alternative to Kris or Susie's "real pain". Another thing about me is that I love a character who's hollow, and Ralsei fits that bill perfectly (hello barren room). It's even better if they're empty so they can better serve those around them ("I don't really have any hobbies, or interests. Baking, sewing, singing... those are all just...Things I thought to do...for you two."). Ralsei's desire to change the prophecy, along with his selectively-strict adherence to it, fascinates me. Susie's has to be a hero in ch 1, she should wear bows, she should follow Kris' orders and obey the "rules" of the game, but now he appreciates Susie more for those exact reasons. Her hope inspires Ralsei for a different ending, but it's hope also predetermined by the prophecy. Kris shouldn't go to the festival with just Noelle, Susie should be there too ("Love finds it's way to the girl"). He'll choose to dawn a cloak that shrouds his face, just like he does in the prophecy, to introduce himself to the other heroes. But he wants to change the ending. He doesn't want it all to come to pass, but he'll pick and chose what he does want to happen. He'll even encourage it, sometimes. He'll fulfill the role expected of him, knowing where it all leads, wanting to change it, but also knowing it's what gave him friends and his sense of identity and purpose. There's this constant internal juggling, balancing the foretold knowledge forced upon him VS how he wants to be perceived VS what he actually wants. Like I'm obsessed

[ainawgsd]

Got this text from my husband yesterday after the school meal delivery

[ale-arro]

been going a little bit insane about this sentence from Ace by Angela Chen for the past week

[ibblescribbles]

TRASH 🚮 Speedpaint | Alt under cut:

[giratina-and-the-skys-bouquet]

[bacchuschucklefuck]

I really like your space sweeper au? Do you have any ideas about stuff that you want the characters to do?

yeas I do

[altarfates]

haitham knowing and using sign language is v important to me.

[squeak-art]

Yaknow seeing Jacksepticeye being back on tumblr reminds me of that time like waaaaayyyyyy back (like. 2015-2016?) when I drew a Jirachi themed after him and now im wondering if I should redraw that for old times sake