#vps-scope

[iizzeee]

Guys, I am begging you. Please please please please please PLEASE do NOT vote 3rd party, or not vote at all.

I get it. I really do. Biden’s handling of Israel has been, not gonna mince words, dogshit. Abominable. Unspeakably bad.

But we cannot afford to protest like this.

We don’t need Biden as president. We do need to keep Trump out of office. And to those who respond “well, I don’t want just the lesser of two evils,” please, for the love of god, grow the fuck up.

For one, why wouldn’t you want the lesser of two evils. It is, by definition, LESS EVIL.

“Why can’t we just have no evil, why isn’t that an option.” I really wish it was. Just as much as you. But it’s not. These are our cards, and we have to play our hand to the best of our ability.

Which brings us to two.

Trump is more evil. Like, so much more evil. We’re comparing apples and oranges here guys.

I understand that a lot of you might doubt that. The largest demographic of people advocating for third party or non-votes are in the 18-26 range. New voters, with one or no elections under their belt.

So they don’t remember.

Most of us (I myself fall under this age range) don’t remember 2016. The election, that is. They don’t remember how so many people protested Hillary vs Trump by going 3rd party or writing in joke votes, because they saw the two as equally bad. And Trump won.

Half of us don’t remember the Trump presidency. We’ve heard he was a weird, bad, bigoted president, but don’t fully grasp the scope of how bad.

So off the top of my head, here are some highlights of real things Donald Trump did while he held office.

- threw toilet paper at hurricane victims like he was trying to shoot a 3-pointer

- fired the man investigating him for election fraud

- called African countries “shitholes”

- appointed members of the Supreme Court who would go on to overturn roe v wade

- stole classified documents from the white house to hide at his resort

- tried to instate a Muslim Ban

- incited a insurrection to try and keep himself in office, and maybe hang his VP if there was time

- looked directly at an eclipse. Like no glasses, full on.

- fueled covid conspiracies. Also told people to “drink bleach” to fight the virus

- withdrew us from the Paris Climate Accord

- cofefe. Remember that? What a fun, normal thing for the president to tweet at 2am.

- employed literal white supremacists

- called Nazi’s “very fine people”

- got endorsed by the KKK, and refused to condemn David Duke

And that’s just what I can remember right now.

So if you’re angry at Biden about Palestine, please please please do not think for a fucking second Trump would be better. He would almost certainly actively be worse. He would give Netanyahu the green light. If you think Biden has used a loose leash, at least it’s some kind of leash. Trump would be all in. Full chips, flying to the Middle East to send in the bombs himself.

If you’re still hesitant, consider this last plea.

Things are bad. These shouldn’t be the only two choice we have, but they are. You can’t look at the menu, which is offering either bland soup someone spit in or actual rat poison and go “could I have some steak”.

You can order the soup and live to write a one-star review on Yelp, maybe call health inspections on the restaurant or contact the owners and say “you guys know your menu has only two options and they’re both dogshit. If you don’t add more, you’ll be unemployed soon.”

Or you can order rat poison and die.

If we elect Donald Trump in the fall, we will be eating rat poison. He has repeatedly said himself to be in favor of a dictatorship. He quotes Hitler. If he is put in office, the change we all want and so critically need will not be fucking POSSIBLE. Because with Biden, it’ll be hard, and tedious, and long, and exhausting, but at least it will be goddamn possible.

So, come November, please don’t order the rat poison.

Please just eat your shitty ass soup so we can live to get really angry about it.

Please.

[leveloneandup]

For Christen Press, the Joy is in the Journey

Progress isn’t perfect.

That’s been Christen Press’s motto over the 781 days since she last played in a soccer match—and not just when it comes to her recovery from the ACL tear she sustained in June, 2022, but also when thinking about life as a whole.

“You have to accept that things won’t go the way you think they will, but maybe they’ll go better,” she explains. “Progress isn’t linear. It’s up and down and back and forth. But in that movement there’s more than what you ever imagined. So the imperfection—the struggle, the setbacks—those are actually the greatest gifts as you get to learn about yourself and you have the chance to grow.”

Press has had more than her share of setbacks over the last two years, as an initial surgery turned into two, then three, and finally four.

“I think every single time that I was told I’d have to have surgery, from the first ACL reconstruction and the three scopes that I had, I always thought I would be on the quickest timeline possible,” said Press when she returned to Angel City training in June. “I think that's part of who I am. I'm just relentlessly optimistic. I'm naively positive, and just thinking that everything's going to work out for me—and I never want that to change, you know? And I got off course of all of those timelines so many times that I finally had to actually relinquish that expectation of myself.”

In her two years off the field, Press says she’s grown and healed in more ways than just physically, but the goal was always to return, even if that possibility felt far off at times.

“I never thought about giving up,” says Press, “but there were moments that I thought I’d have to accept that I wouldn’t make it—or that ‘making it’ might not look how I expected.”

One of the hardest things about this process has been accepting that the outcome was not fully under her control. “I’m able to do a lot of suffering for success, and I’ve been that way since I was a child,” she says. “The question I had to answer was how to accept and be open to things I cannot control.”

Press had access to the best medical and rehabilitation care in the business—first at the Meyer Institute of Sports, an El Segundo rehab and performance facility specializing in elite athletes, and then with Angel City’s training staff, including VP of Medical and Performance Sarah Smith, Head Athletic Trainer Manny De Alba, Head of Sports Science Dan Jones, Director of Rehabilitation Sarah Neal, Performance Coach Michael Roman, Assistant Athletic Trainer April Seymon, and Senior Physical Therapist Joscelyn Shumate Bourne.

Ultimately, bodies don’t always heal the way we hope they will. All she could do was show up every day and try her best.

“I had to make decisions that centered my well being and full personhood,” she says. “To start to find my inherent value outside of excellence in the pitch.”

In part, that meant finding joy in other areas of life. She worked on her business, re–Inc, including starting a podcast with (business and life) partner Tobin Heath, initially focusing on the 2023 World Cup, then branching out to cover women’s soccer more generally. She went to the beach. She spent time with family.

In some ways, this time away from the game Press loves has been freeing. “The last two years have been the first of my career that I wasn’t evaluated on my performance,” she says. “I showed up for PT every day with a smile on my face and gave max effort. That’s all I had to do.”

Press’s return comes at a perfect time for the club: they’ve begun to build momentum with two convincing Summer Cup wins, against Club América and Bay FC, as they look ahead to the back half of the regular season. Playoffs are still well within reach heading into this stretch, a fact that Press’s return can only make more tangible.

“Her quality is inevitable,” says First Assistant Coach Eleri Earnshaw. “Last week in training, she scored a couple of goals that we haven't seen anyone else do yet this season in training.”

Returning to play after such a long hiatus isn’t easy for anyone, but Earnshaw says there’s a point the coaching staff have emphasized both to Press and to other injured players eyeing a return to the field: “your ability doesn't change overnight,” she says. “There are some things that just stay with you. Her chance creation, her separation from defenders—you’ve got to be in the right physical and mental place to be able to perform those things, to be confident to do it, but she is building those things up every day.”

“If we can get that quality onto the pitch for any number of minutes, great,” she concludes.

As Press anticipates her return to what she calls “the real world of professional sports”—one “filled with stress and pressure and often angst,” as she puts it—she’s going in with a fresh perspective.

“I’m determined to enjoy it,” she says. “I know who I am as a player and person, and I see this opportunity as a chance to do what I love. I told my teammates today: football is a miracle. It’s a miracle we get to do the thing we love.”

[im-just-a-mississippi-girl]

Your Biker in Worn Leather Part 2

Pairing: EZ Reyes x female!reader

Category: Angst

Word count: 396

Summary: You finally tell EZ who’s responsible for your current appearance.

Warnings: None

Disclaimer: I have no idea if the Burning Souls are a real MC, it’s just a made up name for this fic. If they are real, this is in no way, shape, or form related to them and for entertainment purposes only.

Part 1

Masterlist

Taglist

Gif is not mine. Credit to the owner

EZ’s voice rang in your ears. Who did this to you? You knew the man Ezekiel would become once you told him the name. That version of EZ was terrifying to you despite his lividness never being aimed at you but others instead.

“Baby, who was it?” The biker asked once again in a softer tone, concerned filled eyes never leaving your face.

You swallowed hard. “Burning Souls.” You couldn’t bring yourself to look into EZ’s eyes. The fire that resided there was frightening and anyone in their right mind would run for the hills when met with the intense anger that bubbled up in the Mayan.

The Burning Souls were relatively new to the scene, being made up by men discharged from various branches of the armed forces and former police officers. They used all their skills, experience, and resources to their advantage to strike fear into anyone and everyone who crossed their path. What was their motivation? Their goal? Easy. To destroy all MCs in the state of California. To cause chaos, destruction, havoc and if people died in the process, that made it even better.

The Burning Souls had been scoping out the Mayans for a few weeks now. They had watched each Mayan through town and ultimately followed them to the clubhouse’s run down walled gate.

When the Burning Souls first saw you they didn’t think much of you, thinking you were just a club hang around and only there for fun and sex. That opinion of you was proven wrong when they kept seeing you with the Mayans’ Vice President, Ezekiel Reyes. The hugs and kisses exchanged between you and EZ told the story of love. Now the Burning Souls had what they needed — a weakness. A weakness to the VP. It was as close to the top as they were going to get since Obispo Losa showed no interest in love or affection but rather just sex. With no ammo to use on the Mayans’ President, the VP was next in line.

As soon as the MC’s name left your lips, EZ’s jaw tightened, fists clenched, his anger rose and rose with each passing second.

No one harms, much less touches his girl. Most importantly, no one lives to tell the tale.

Ezekiel Reyes was about to start a war ten times worse than the entire world has ever seen.

General Taglist: @kmc1989

EZ Reyes Taglist: @zaenight

[fereldanwench]

One of Wako’s quests, Tyger and Vulture, sends V into a dank, underground casino run by the Tyger Claws. The gig is pretty straightforward–Just retrieve a credchip with a shitload of cryptocurrency on it and deposit it in a dropbox–But I’m always looking for angles so I can work Goro (and some extra indulgent pining/sexual tension) into the equation. 

I headcanon that he doesn’t have the means to get the infected shard so he helps Valerie on a few jobs to raise the funds, and I think this gig would be a prime contender for one such gig. They go undercover to scope the place out, and Goro acts as Valerie’s backup while she snoops around the joint. It could hit all my faves: Undercover as lovers? Check. Fake relationship; real feelings? Check. Sexy wardrobe change? Check. 

These were just “vibe” shots to play with the lighting and outfits, but I did start drafting out a full photostory for the idea. (It was like 100 frames long so it’d definitely need to be further revised/split up, but it might be a doable end-of-the-year project.)

vp faq | mod list | pillowfort | twitter | instagram | ao3 ⚠️ do not reupload or edit my shots without my permission⚠️ ️ ️ 

[wonderboygenius]

Lucy in the Sky (in Charming)

here is part 2 of this small 2 parter fic! Link to Part 1

Fandom: Sons of Anarchy Pairing: Jax Teller/Happy's Sister Rating: M Part 2 of 2 Light smut, comedy

Smut right at the start! MDNI; 18+ to read. Minors Do Not Interact

Synopsis: Lucia, Happy's baby sister is coming to scope out Charming. Once Happy gave the all clear, bets are taken on which Son will bag a Killer's sister.

---

Lucia woke up, seeing the light streaming in from the tall and thin windows in her bedroom. She moaned slightly from the slight pang from the sun rays coloring her closed vision in red. She grunted as she felt the strong arm around her waist tighten. She felt the man behind her roll his hips into hers. She could feel his hard dick in the large curved crevice of her ass, causing her core to tremble with want. She moaned louder. “Again?” Her voice cracked. 

"Mmm," the man groaned affirmatively. He ran his calloused and rough hands over her supple soft skin. "You wore me out last night, but you won't be able to wear me out this morning, Lucy," he grazed his teeth across her earlobe. He smirked in her neck as he heard her sweet gasp as he licked and sucked at her neck.

Lucia softly started rolling her hips to meet the Son she spent the night with. Her body felt sore in all the right places, but her skin still buzzed as the man touched her. She still wanted him. How? She thought she would've fucked him out of her system by now, but instead it only made her desire him more. Her breath hitched as she felt his hand grasp her breast and play with her nipple softly. She whimpered. "Please?" His gruff voice sent pulses straight to her clit and throbbing lips.

“Can you even handle it?” The man pried the thin sheet from her hands, before lifting his heavy hand and slapping Lucia’s ass. 

“Jax! Fuck!” Lucia shrieked, surprised by how immediately wet she felt herself. She knew she liked it rough, but she didn’t know she would like this type of confident rough possession that the blond man put on her. 

Jax rubbed at the heated and puffed skin that he just slapped. “Oh, I’m sorry,” he cooed in her ear. He smirked, biting his lip as he watched Lucia’s ass rub up against his hard dick. He groaned as she shook her ass cheeks, trying and successfully, placing his dick in between her ass cheeks. 

Lucia bit her lip deeply as she felt his hard but smooth dick lazily thrusted up and down through her wetness and lips. The more he thrusted, the more her thick honey spread, causing her to wind her hips against his in an effort to get him as close to her entrance as they both could. “Please, Jax,” she turned her head, her wide eyes staring at this Roman god of a man. She could feel her heart beating in her chest, neck, temples, clit as she felt the intensity of the blue eyes staring her down. She felt his intense gaze devouring her face and body with the rich sexual tension building, the noises of their pants, groans, wood rocking, the bed and sheets rustling all combining to cloud everything around her. She very slowly grinded her hips into his, taking control of the speed. “Slow this morning please,” she asked sweetly, a smile on her lips. “I can’t take too much screaming or talking anymore, Jax,” she admitted. 

Jax threw his head back and chuckled, his hips adapting to her painfully slow speed. He wasn’t too used to fucking slow, he much preferred fast, rough, and hard. He liked it once in a while. But after multiple rounds with Lucia since he first got the greenlight from Tig, he could admit, she wore him out.

The VP beat Juice and Chibs to the punch, almost immediately approaching her after Tig's corny ass joke.

Lucia made the VP of SAMCRO work for it, not letting any of the men know who she chose until she covertly snuck up on Jax and whispered in his ear to meet her at her place in exactly 17 minutes if he wanted one night with her. He’ll give it to her. She knew how to make something so public so private. They both knew that those in the clubhouse knew by now that Lucia and Jax slipped away one after another. But it wasn’t a dramatic scene like Jax, and the club, was used to having. 

“I got ya, darlin’. I’ll get you there, you know I will,” Jax reached in between them to grab his throbbing hard dick. With gentle purpose, he navigated his head between her thick lips and into the warm velvet. He felt electricity once he slipped part of his tip in. “Baby, you gotta help me; you’re so fucking wet,” he bit at her ear, kissing down to her neck as he kissed and sucked, knowing from last night how much she liked it. 

Lucia nodded furiously as she moaned her approval. She shifted and angled her body, spreading her legs further. She felt Jax’s arm grab her thigh and throw it over his hip, opening her up. She reached down to her wet pussy and opened herself up feeling Jax slide his tip in. She reached behind her to grab at Jax’s long blond hair and pulled him towards her. “Fuck me good and hard, Jax. But go easy on me,” she demanded, a whine at the end of her lip. 

Jax smirked, thrusting powerfully once into her warm and wet pussy. He kissed down her cheek, smiling slightly as his lips connected with hers. God, this girl could read his mind. He continued his slow and powerful thrusts, his hand that was underneath her, going around her neck and slightly squeezing. He gave a particularly good slow deep thrust.  

“Papi, fuck!” Lucia rapsed out surprisingly. “Mmm,” she rolled her hips painfully slowly, but circling her hips. She smiled as she heard Jax curse at her ministrations. "You're so fucking good, Jax, dios mio," she whimpered.

Jax thrusted harder hearing the beginning of Spanish fall from her lips. He knew from last night that if he got her to a certain zone, she would spill the sexiest sounding words out of her mouth. "Yeah? You want more?" He adjusted himself slightly to insert himself deeper into the woman. "Fuuuuuck," he groaned in her ear. Baby girl had a praise kink that went both ways. She loved to be heard and to hear her partner. Jax was more than willing to oblige, especially since they had the privacy of her house. He gripped her hip tighter as he slowly, but firmly, thrusted into her.

Lucia let out a high pitched whine as Jax fucked her slow and deep. She felt his strong hand at her hip, his pants and groans in her ear in between his licks on her neck. "Fuck, Papi, por favor. Yo nunca sabia que algiuen me puede sentir asi. Coño, Jax," her accent hissed the last letter of his neck.

"Fucking shit, sugar. Roll over," Jax pushed on her shoulder, guiding her to her stomach. He lifted himself up by his arms as his hips deeply and in staccato met Lucia's firm and plump ass. "Jesus Christ, this fucking ass, sugar. I've never seen any girl take my dick like you can," he growled out, grinding his hips at the end.

Lucia wailed out a low moan. "Papi, please, please, please," she chanted. She reached behind her. "I need to feel you," she whimpered.

"Baby, I don't wanna suffocate you," Jax hitched out as he continued his lazy thrusts.

Lucia groaned. "Fuck that shit, Jax," her normally masked accent was gone. "I'm not a fucking twig. I need to fucking feel you," she scratched and pulled at his arm until she felt most of his body weight. She guided his hands to her ass. "Like this, Papi."

Jax leaned his forehead in her shoulder and (he would deny this until his grave) whimpered as he felt the deepest he'd ever been in someone. "Lucy--" he strained. He attempted a short thrust and his balls tingled. "Shit, I'm gonna bust."

"Deep and hard, Papi. You'll get me there," Lucia panted, her furrowed brows covered in sweat. She could feel him everywhere; in her, on her, around her. She could hear him, smell him. She was right there.

"Damn right," Jax told her, shifting their bodies to prepare the bed for the onslaught about to begin.

—-

Lucia giggled as Jax kissed all over her neck after he placed her necklace on for her. “Stop! I told you no visible marks.” She bit her lip shyly as she felt him pull her hips into his. She smiled as his hands wrapped around her waist. 

“How am I supposed to walk around knowing you’re a fucking sex goddess and you have my marks underneath all of this,” Jax lifted his hands and cupped her covered breasts. He nipped at her neck lightly. “You’re so beautiful, Lucy,” he looked at her through her mirror. 

Lucia gave him a smile. “You can lay off, Prince Charming, you got in my panties already.” She leaned her head back, relaxing in his grip. She knew she could trust him. She could always trust a Son. 

“Yeah, but I want some more,” Jax squeezed her gently. “Plus I do wanna get to know you. I heard you and my mom are conspiring to get Happy to Charming.” 

Lucia grinned largely. “Yeah. I wanna settle down and be around Happy. Gemma’s gonna endear me to Charming and if I like it enough; I’m staying here. I told her she’s got the entirety of my vacation to convince me.” 

“So I got two weeks to fuck you and get you to stay too?” Jax grinned pervertedly. 

Lucia turned in his arms. “You got two weeks to play with me. After that, we’ll see how much more time you get. Deal?” 

Jax was a bit taken aback. She was essentially offering to just be no strings attached fuck buddies. She wouldn’t ask about Wendy or anything else. 

“But while we’re fucking, I’m the only one you’re fucking okay?” Lucia grabbed his chin tightly. “I’m greedy; I don’t share, unless I wanna have a really fun night and…” she trailed off, biting her lip teasingly, her doe bedroom eyes melting the Charming native’s sensualness. 

“And…?” Jax asked. 

“I like women, a lot. But I also love this a lot,” Lucia grasped at his clothed covered groin. “You just so happened to hook me first in Charming. If you be a good boy and gain my trust, I’ll pick a nice Cara Cara girl that we both like to take home for the night,” she blinked, suddenly feeling a vibration of anxiousness flowing from her spine. She didn’t know how he would take that information. Most men in her life took that information and used it as an excuse to blame their cheating on. That was why she prefered dating women before men. But she picked what Charming had to offer her. 

Jax’s cocky smirk turned into a genuine smile as he saw how nervous the normally confident woman got. It was a nice sight to see and he liked that he was one of the few to see this side of her. Jax never really liked sharing shiny new things in his life. “Babe, if you’re saying that if I keep my dick to loyal to you and only you, when the mood strikes you, I get to either see you with another hot chick or get to be involved with you and another hot chick sometime in the next two weeks? I can fucking manage that,” he told her honestly. At the brown skinned woman’s sigh, and her downturned head, Jax gently squeezed at her waist, causing her to look up at him. “Look…I’m not looking for anything serious right now. You know I got a lot going on.” There, he finally alluded to his personal life. “You just wanna have some fun for two weeks. I don’t really wanna chase a croweater every night. I know that I want you and I’ll do what it takes to not fuck up. I’ll make you a deal,” he started. “We do this shit with your rules, then when you make your decision on whether or not you’re staying, we’ll see if we can take this shit seriously. But not now; we both don’t wanna think about that now, right?” He tucked his chin to his chest, lowering his head to make eye contact with Lucia. 

The woman pursed her lips, hiding her grin but failing. Lucia nodded demurely, smiling up at Jax. 

“Now can I kiss you?” Jax sounded exasperated but merry, his lips upturned in a teasing smirk. 

Lucia tapped her lips with her index finger’s nail extension. She smiled into the kiss Jax landed on her lips. “Alright, alright, I’m sure you got shit to do. Gemma’s taking me to look at houses here and nearby. If I don’t stay in Charming, I want to be under an hour away just in case. I can still take care of my mom that way, but also pull Happy closer to Charming.” 

Jax nodded. “Gemma’s really good at helping out with that shit. You mind coming back for a lunchtime date?” he lightly thrusted his hips against her body. 

Lucia giggled. “Text me what time and I’ll meet you back here. I’ll tell Gemma that I feel sick or something. Or that I got called in for an emergency at work.” 

Jax’s chuckles filled the natural sunlit room. “Gemma’s not gonna fall for that shit.” 

“Yes, she is,” Lucia raised an eyebrow. “I’m the Vice President of my company. It’s plausible that I’d get called for an emergency especially right at the start of my vacation. Just don’t make it too often, amànte. Use that card when you want.” 

“You trying to make me fall in love with you?” Jax quipped. 

“Do you know how many men I’ve heard that from after one night with me?” Lucia shot back. She laughed innocently. “I’m not being cocky, but I know not only am I amazing in bed, but I’m a pretty amazing woman too. That doesn’t mean I’m not a complicated person.” 

“Lucy, you’re talking to the goddamn King of complicated here,” Jax gave a goofy smile. “We’ll cross that redwood when we get there.” 

Silence. 

“You’re so fucking corny, Jax!”

Lucia’s musical giggles and Jax’s deep chuckles filled the room. 

—

“Okay I can’t fucking take it, I’ve been silent for the past five houses, and now we’re back at the shop. You fucked Jax didn’t you?” Gemma turned to Lucia from her seat behind the wheel of her iconic black cadillac. They just parked in the car side of the lot. She had a giant grin on her face. She knew she saw Lucia flirting with Chibs, Juice, and Jax last night at the clubhouse. As the Old Lady to the President, she stayed at parties until her husband left or told her to leave; it was a symbolic show of his power, and by extension hers. Normally she and Clay had just left Jax to deal with that responsibility as Vice President considering he spent most of his nights at his clubhouse dorm anyways. But she kept an eye on Jax and noticed he wasn’t at the clubhouse anymore. A quick time later, she realized Lucia was missing too. Slowly throughout the night, the word about Lucia and Jax got around, but no one knew for sure if they’d hooked up (but everyone was pretty damn sure). 

Lucia had a satisfied grin on her face. “I’m surprised you lasted this long, Gemma.” 

“Fuck off, spill,” Gemma rolled her eyes, a small smile on her face. She heard a tap from the window behind her and saw Clay at her door. She smiled as her husband opened the door for her. “Why’d you order us lunch?” 

Clay embraced his wife in his arms as he turned her slightly towards the motorcycle side of the parking lot. “Wait…” he whispered in her ear. “And look around,” he pointed out. 

Juice was tinkering away lightly on an engine in the car area. Chibs was out having a smoke. The mechanics lingered a bit. Lucia made her way to the other side of the car, standing besides the President and Queen of SAMCRO. Some of the croweaters that hung around on their days off or just because also tittered nearby. Pigeons and crows hung and twittered on telephone wires and poles. As far as everyone knew, they weren’t expecting to see Gemma and Lucia pull in. It filled the air with baited excitement. They were waiting. 

The normal light classic rock echoed from the shop’s outside speakers towards the concrete and metal lot. The occasional chatter, cars driving by, clanking of metal and tools adlibbed to the score. The sudden nervous excitement increasing as the door to the clubhouse opened, Jax walking out of it with a cigarette hanging from his lips. He walked with a confident aura that didn’t feel fake, just natural. The motorcycle world’s James Dean. 

The cigarette in between Jax’s lips shook as he laughed, taking in the dramatic confrontation. Sometimes his life felt like a show. He lazily walked up to his mother, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Gemma,” he greeted. He looked down at Lucia, a smirk on his lips. “Lucy,” he nodded his chin at her, his eyes devouring her. 

“Jax,” Lucia bit her lip, raising her eyebrow at him. 

Jax grabbed the back of her neck and placed a bruising kiss on her lips. He pulled away slightly, keeping their lips connected. “I got a weekend off and I’m skipping the run. I missed you too much and I need all the time I can get with you.” He kissed her again. He felt the brief tension of the garage as he knew they saw Happy walk behind Jax. But Jax wasn’t an idiot. He’d talked to Happy once he saw him at the garage this morning. He didn’t want the killer to be blindsided. 

Lucia nodded. “Okay. Just tell me when,” she smiled. 

“How’d house hunting go?” Jax stepped to the side, but kept an arm around her waist. 

“She liked a few houses, but she’s really looking for one like Happy’s,” Gemma’s voice almost broke in happiness. She was able to contain herself for her own reputation’s sake. 

“That’s gonna be hard to find around here, Cici,” Happy’s raspy voice joined the four. “My house is the only one that looks like that.” He knew what Lucia wanted in a house. She loved the Spanish style that he had. But she wasn’t gonna find that in Charming. “If you like it here so much, just build yourself a house. I’ll help out and you can live with me until it’s done. You can work anywhere right?” 

Stunned to her core, Lucia nodded slowly, her face fixed in a masked expression. “You would be fine if I lived here?” 

“Yeah, I can either commute or easily transfer to SAMCRO if I really need to. I just want you in the same state as Ma,” Happy admitted. 

“You willing to stop being Nomad then?” Lucia jutted her chin at her brother. “I’ll move in with you while I’m building, if you ask to run SAMCRO.”

"Yeah. Now figure the shit out, I got a jeep to fix," Happy, a man of few words, stamped his approval. It was done.

Jax looked down at Lucia and gave her a lecherous grin.

It was something the club was used to seeing on his face.

But they were shocked as Lucia returned his lustful gaze with one of pure seduction, bedroom eyes and bitten bottom lip included. They all laughed as Jax's face dropped in pure shock, awe, and raunchy desire.

Happy tried to bite back his grin at his sister's laughs harmonizing with everyone else's as Jax unceremoniously threw the woman over his shoulder and marched straight into the clubhouse glaring at anyone that dared get in his way. This is why he wanted to delay moving to Charming. He knew Lucia and Jax were the same exact person. He wanted to avoid complications but after seeing his sister so joyously happy, he couldn't remember why waited so long.

[katsigian]

The Cyberpunk Fandom on Tumblr

After being away for a while and being able to step back and watch from afar, I can easily say that the fandom/community here on Tumblr is dying. Not surprising when you consider how competitive it's become. Not surprising when you consider how toxic and clique-y it's become.

If you're not in a clique, good luck getting notes.

If you're new, good luck getting notes. This place is horrendous for welcoming newcomers.

If you don't have an elaborately modded character and don't have the VP skills of a god, good luck getting your work seen.

Better watch your step or else you'll start an argument. Whether that's about mods or an NPC or headcanon. Better yet, don't share mods or headcanons at all. You will draw the wrath of somebody out there.

But make sure that you're posting new content every three days or else people will forget about you.

And don't make it too creative and different or else people won't like it. Just remix the same old picture in a new way over and over again.

And don't even think about sharing things other than VP of a hot person because nobody cares. All everyone wants to see is a hot person for 5.5 seconds. Put months and months of effort into developing a character? Too bad. Put a lot of love and time into developing lore and writing for your character? Better save it for yourself. No one on this app cares. Your character will be whittled down to how hot they are or not. That's a toxic community.

You have people who've been in this community for months that are hurting. There are people who are losing something they love when their work that they put effort into isn't being noticed. It stings when they're overlooked because they don't meet the ridiculous criteria in this community on this app. You have people that are scared to share their work. You have people that are struggling with their mental health because of this community. Because it's a toxic community. How do I know this? Because I've seen it happen, I've heard them say it aloud.

You have some people here who managed to make it to the top and the rest struggling to keep up. Do you really think it's healthy to have that kind of structure? Do you really think it's healthy that people are buying entire PC set ups just so they can take modded pictures and feel like they belong? That's a toxic community.

Do you really think it's a good thing that those who don't have elaborately modded V's and high end PC set ups aren't getting seen? 30 notes is hardly enough for some of the talent that I see around here. But they're overlooked because they aren't in the right clique or don't create the content that the fandom is demanding or don't use every mod in existence. That's a toxic community.

So what can you do to make it better? Share work that doesn't belong to only your friends. Leave nice notes on shares even if they aren't in your clique. Take a moment to appreciate it when people share something other than VP. Take a moment to appreciate those Vs that aren't elaborately modded. Take a moment to appreciate the talent of people here. Everyone here, not only the same 20-ish people.

This is something that is happening even on Discord servers. I've watched it happen, watched the interaction fade away. But it can be fixed if enough people put an effort into it. That means a real effort, a genuine wish for this community to continue on. If not, then we'll just have a handful of people sharing their VP into a void and nothing more. That isn't a community.

Put an effort in. Look beyond the scope of only what is in arms' reach. Appreciate what people create. Appreciate the effort that is put into their characters. Share things. Reach outwards and see the good in what people create even if they aren't what you've been brainwashed into thinking is good. Because we have been brainwashed. We've been brainwashed into thinking that we can't interact with anyone outside of our clique. We've been slowly made to think that only one set of criteria for VP and OCs are "good" and that is hurting so many people. Simply announcing that you 'think all work is good!' or 'I just do it for myself!' won't mend the hole that's being ripped into people when they aren't acknowledged.

Who is going to share your work when everyone is gone? Who's going to like your work when there's nobody to like it anymore?

And I don't mean that you need to spend hours on Tumblr sharing everything you see. That will only lead to more burn out, so please don't think that's what I mean. I mean that the toxic community practices have to end. I mean leaving the brainwashing behind and acknowledging the talent and skill of all people. I mean acknowledging all people who are here.

—------------------

Edit as of 09/10/23:

I love how this post has been bastardized into something it's not by people who have zero reading comprehension and by people who want to keep the toxic little cliques in place because that's the only way they have any support. This post was never targeted at any one person, regardless of what anyone thinks or wants to believe. It was never targeted, it wasn't a vague post, it wasn't meant to start drama. Notice how I didn't mention any specific people. Although, if you felt targeted by it, maybe that's a little telling. Feeling guilty? If you or a loved one felt targeted by this non-targeted general community rambling post that many people agreed with, you may be entitled to pulling your head out of your own ass and going outside to touch grass. Being chronically online is terrible, I've heard. My sympathies.

Of course the people who want to keep the hostile, clique-y, narrow-minded toxic environment would be mad at this post. Because that kind of environment benefits them and is the only way they can garner support. It's just too bad that you outed and exposed yourselves with your behavior and actions taken after reading all of this.

And no, I did not say that I don't get enough notes anywhere on this post. I encourage you to actually read it again, this time with your thinking hat on, and tell me where I said that I want more notes on my posts. If you can find where I stated that (either in this post or anywhere on my blog) then I think we may have the next Criss Angel on our hands with the way you made something appear out of thin air like that. Plus you're just as cringy and delusional as he is, so I think I may be onto something here.

It really is hilarious how badly this has been misconstrued. But people will see whatever they want to see and if they want to look at the world through shit-coloured glasses, who am I to stop them? You can't reason with people who are chronically online and don't have lives or friends beyond a computer screen. I'd recommend that you go find help, or maybe even find Jesus, but I think the people who purposely misconstrue this post are beyond saving.

So, if you've got any problems or beef with me in regard to this post or in regard to my actions in fandom, well, I'm afraid that is between you and God, my good man. You're gonna have to sort all that out inside your own head because I do not give a fuck. Any persons "conflict" with me is their own fantasy and fabrication because I take no part in it. For these peoples' sakes, I hope they find a way out of their basement and into a therapist's office

[myeyesarebrighter]

My employment situation just keeps getting weirder.

I was offered a job by my client. The team is awful. Inexperienced and over titled, sneaky, lying, do anything to get ahead. The job is a fraction of my current responsibilities, and the direct reports are problems that specifically need a lot of management with HR. One is hostile and needs to be fired. It pays a lot. A lot a lot. Lifestyle changing A Lot.

I declined. There isn’t enough money in the world above my sufficient salary to make me work with shitty assholes.

Now my boss is leaving.

She wants me to take her job. Her VP supports it. I’m being asked to apply and interview. I would have a huge step up, a broader scope but probably smaller team than today, but I would also be leading a department in the #2 sized company doing what we do in the world. So the resume power… not insignificant.

But I sort of hate this company. They act like a big #2, penny pinching and slow and bureaucratic.

So two jobs that I find annoying but should be happy. Sigh. I’m still also applying so what are the odds I end up interviewing for 3 at once??

[askagamedev]

Why do some companies keep studios working on in-development games that are almost eight or nine years in instead of just cancelling them?

The only times I have ever seen this happen has been under one of three sets of special circumstances:

The game is an executive's pet project

Somebody with a lot of influence at the studio or publisher really really believes in the game and so is able to find some space in the studio budget and headcount to keep the project alive. As long as that executive is there, the project is safe. Conversely, as soon as the executive leaves for whatever reason (resignation, finds another job elsewhere, etc.) the project is likely doomed.

The game has already been cancelled and we just don't know about it

The game has been cancelled internally and there is no active development happening on it, but we just haven't told the public about it for whatever reason. I was working at a AAA studio that was building a smaller-scope lower-budget title when the publisher had an executive leadership shuffle. The former VP in charge of our division was replaced and the overall mandate was changed to focus on projects with larger scope. The team tried to pivot to increase the game but the new executives gave the new direction the thumbs down, so the project was cancelled. Even though the title had already been announced, the marching orders were to change the subject if ever asked about it in public and we were told that they would quietly announce its cancellation a year or so later. I never did follow up on whether they actually announced the cancellation, but such things do happen.

The game is being yanked around between publishers/executives and is probably going to be cancelled

Before the previous game I was talking about was actually cancelled, it was in this weird purgatory-like situation where the goals had shifted and they were trying to change the project's overall direction to get executive approval and continue development. In this kind of situation, the project is on life support but not quite dead yet. You may remember how Anthem went on life support just before it was cancelled - this situation is a lot like that, except the game is still in development, rather than trying a post-launch change. Usually the attempt to pivot to something different is just too difficult with the resources and time available, so most projects in this state often turn into quietly cancelled games.

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[ripplestitchskein]

The replies were off on the Stolitz post but I HAD to tell you that you are a mega genius with an incredible talent for writing, analyzing and explaining things. I don’t know if that’s a thing you do but I’m a professional journalist so that’s what I do. That doesn’t really mean anything here but oh my god it was so well written I wish all my reviews sounded like that. You are truly big brain. Please never stop analyzing shows like that. Sorry if this was a lot lol. I just haven’t read something so beautifully written in a while 😁 also totally agree, they are so perfect for each other ❤️

This made me cry. Like I screen grabbed and sent this to several people like “LOOKIT WHAT THIS BEAUTIFUL HUMAN SAID”. It kind of prompted a whole reflection spiral, but in a good way. In the BEST way.

By profession I am a software engineer, I build middleware business applications for a largish regional corporation, but because of my writing background I also handle a lot of the documentation: trainings, system requirements, scope etc. Technical writing isn’t as fun as fiction or media analysis but I do think it helped me hone skills in structure, word economy and expository essay style writing. It is a lot of explaining highly technical things to non-technical leadership like VPs and Directors who come with a lot of uninformed opinions which I think translates well to media analysis, lol.

I also can’t stop myself from writing a million words. I think it’s an autism thing? It’s a long running joke with my co-workers that if Stephanie sends you an email it will have everything you need to know and be so well organized and structured it looks like it came from a textbook but you have to set aside 30 minutes to read it. Long post should be a default tag for me 😅.

I’ve written professionally in the past, like received laughable pay for it, but it was freelance copywriting and blogging and I kinda hated it. Writing about vacuums and solar panels and having to squeeze search engine optimized keywords into a certain word count is the kind of soulless drudgery that kills any creative spark you have.

Writing fiction, be it fan fiction or my own personal novels (which tend to be queer romances), is something I do for fun, but because of killer imposter syndrome and that sweet AuADHD brain combo I have a hard time finishing things. I have, no joke, FIVE unfinished novels with more than 40k words each.

Fan fiction is easier because of the dopamine hits from comments and kudos, but personal fiction is hard because it’s just me and the void of my intrusive thoughts.

Media analysis though, I can just sit down and brain dump my thoughts about a thing I love and send it out to the world within an hour and see the lovely or interesting things people say. There is no pressure, if someone doesn’t agree with me they are usually nice about it, sometimes you make good friends or they reply with their amazing perspectives and it’s great. And then you get messages like this.

Messages that kind of blow up your brain and light that fire of “I SHOULD focus on writing more, it’s what I love to do, I’ve done it since I could write, and people who don’t know me or have any investment in my feelings tell me I’m good at it”.

You didn’t know when sending this message but I’ve been restructuring my life a bit lately. I tend to bounce from activity to activity, I’ve done game development, digital and traditional art, violin, comic books, roller derby, 3d modeling, and so many crafts I bought a house specifically because it has a detached workshop to put all my craft shit. But I don’t finish most things, or I get stuck and it’s so frustrating I give up. So I’ve been thinking, that rather than bounce between all these things that I should focus on three areas: fiber arts (which encompass enough things I wouldn’t get bored and could still bounce), roller derby for fitness and my friends, and writing.

This message just hit at the right time, it affirmed some plans I was making, some dreams I have, and hopefully will lead to good things in the future. I know you didn’t ask for all this, no one does with me, but I wanted to give a little background on how simple messages like this can be part of a larger personal introspection and come at just the right time to encourage people to do things they want to do but were too scared to do.

So thank you. It really means so so much.

[uboat53]

Well, here we go again. A few months ago I had to explain why Clinton's e-mails weren't equivalent to what Trump did with classified documents, now I have to do Biden. And, to be clear, the reason I have to do this again is because Republicans fundamentally refuse to understand what it was that was bad about what Trump did.

This isn't a hypothetical either; it's only been a day since we found out about Biden's classified documents and ALREADY Republicans as diverse as former-VP Mike Pence, Rep. James Comer (R-KY), and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) have gone on record making this abysmally poor comparison.

So here's the thing. This week it was revealed that some classified documents were discovered at the Biden Center at Penn University. Biden's staff immediately alerted the FBI, the National Archives, and the Justice Department and, so far, both the Biden Center and White House staff as well as the President himself seem to have fully cooperated with the investigation.

And, because conservatives will try to spin this the other way, I should be very clear: THIS IS WHAT YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO DO!

It does happen from time to time that classified documents may be misplaced. This isn't great, but it does happen. When it happens, the person or people who discover this as well as the people responsible are supposed to immediately do what they can to let the government know and help them determine the scope of any potential breach. Again, as far as we can tell, it looks like Biden and his team are doing this.

And, again, because conservatives will try to spin this the other way, I should also be very clear: THIS IS THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT TRUMP DID!

Trump, as far as we can tell, (1) deliberately took hundreds of classified documents (not just a few), (2) did not disclose this to the government, (3) deliberately misled the government when asked about it, (4) hid them when the government came to look for them, and (5) has continued to obstruct the ongoing investigation into how the documents were mishandled and the scope of the potential breach.

This, not politics, is why Trump is under criminal investigation for mishandling of classified documents and, so far, Biden is not. Anyone who cannot or will not understand that is playing politics with national security and we should question whether they, themselves, should be trusted.

Here's a good article on the subject if you care to read more about it.

[fallensnowfan]

Started Dungeon Meshi/Delicious in Dungeon earlier this month. The series has a gradual build at the start, yet has evolved into an adventure bigger in scope as its gone on. Most of what I could share would be somewhat spoilery, so I’ll instead share this excerpt from a discussion the characters have about leadership.

This line does well to point out the problems in Kaido’s and Big Mom’s mindsets as leaders in OP, and why the Alliance was able to defeat them, while also feeling especially relevant to the problems Oden’s decision to trust Kaido and Orochi caused. Not to mention why many of the SHs suggesting to Luffy that trusting VP so casually may be a bad idea rings so true.

I’m up to volume 5 currently and plan to continue reading the series for the foreseeable future.

[sirthisisa-wendys]

HII WENDYYY MAY I REQ MORE DAD!BENKEI PLEASE🎉🎉

Jk Jk

What kind of Dad! benkei content you looking for? We got a whole bunch o’ stuff.

Angst. Betrayal. Worn out Baby Daddy. Boy Dad Benkei. Girl Dad Benkei. Benkei standin’ up for his kids at the PTA Meetin’. Big Daddy Benkei who is VP of the PTA. Big Divorced Daddy with two kids. Big Daddy who enjoys scoping out places for single moms. Big Daddy who DOESNT use his kids as a prop for social media but posts videos of him learning how to do his kid’s hair because he’s damn proud of it. Big Daddy Benkei who is a stay at home dad. Big Daddy Benkei who is a hard working dad who treats his kids with ice cream and blockbuster movies. Big Daddy Benkei who loves his wife with all of his heart and keeps her well-fed, well-dressed, and well-sexed. Big Daddy Benkei who loves to take his kids to school and pick them up afterwards. Big Daddy who cried the first time they rode the school bus and the big hugs he gives right at the bus stop when they come home. Big Daddy teaching the ABCs and 123s. Big Daddy reading bedtime stories. Big Daddy who dreamt of having a large family as far back as the inception of the Black Dragons. Big Daddy who will fight to keep him family alive and safe.

What kind of Big Daddy do you want? The options are endless!

[wonderboygenius]

Lucy in the Sky (at Charming)

Fandom: Sons of Anarchy Pairing: Jax Teller/Happy's Sister Rating: M Part 1 of 2 Light smut, comedy

Synopsis: Lucia, Happy's baby sister is coming to scope out Charming. Once Happy gave the all clear, bets are taken on which Son will bag a Killer's sister.

“Wendy’s deciding to keep the fucking kid,” Jax blew out his smoke from his joint. He was at the tail end of a church meeting with the MC. This was the part where they each just updated each other about their lives, if they didn’t already know through the gossip. This was a more official way that the men gave each other serious advice. There was also the fact that Happy was down here from SAMDINO, this was his first church meeting since coming down so he was getting fully caught up on his brothers’ lives. “If she fucking stays sober enough for the kid not to die…we’re keeping it. We’re still fucking getting divorced, but,” the VP of SAMCRO shrugged. “I’m not getting any younger and I dunno. A son sounds pretty cool,” he smirked. 

Clay clapped his stepson on his back. “A son for a Son,” he chuckled. “Taking responsibility, I like it. Anyone else before I close out church?” He grabbed the gavel. 

Happy pounded the table once, turning the table’s attention towards him. “My baby sister is coming down to Charming to see me tomorrow; she’ll be here for two weeks. I already talked to Clay about it; she’s safe and ain’t no snitch. You guys don’t have to welcome her, but Gemma already agreed to show her around Charming.” His raspy voice informed the brothers, “watch out for her at the clubhouse parties when I can’t, and don’t fucking treat her like a croweater,” he slapped the table and pointed to the younger men at the table. “She’s my sister, but she’s an independent woman; if she chooses to fuck one of you, that’s not my business, but if you hurt her or can’t control your croweaters, I’ll meet you in the cages.” He glared at Opie, glared hard at Jax and Juice, and surprisingly stared down Chibs and Tig. 

Tig chuckled as the rest of the club looked at him and Chibs in shock. “I’ve been waiting for baby sister to be of legal age since she hit puberty,” he grinned lasciviously. 

“She’s 24, Tig,” Happy growled, reminding his brother who has known his baby sister since she was a young girl.  

“And it’s only for my love for my brother that I did not tap that shit when baby girl started having sex, because brothers,” Tig created an hourglass movement with both his hands. “Beautiful  bourbon brown skin, and the best T and A you men have ever seen in a dream of a small and flexible body. She was in that cheerleading and gymnastics team, wasn’t she?” He muttered to himself as he lost himself in memories, a twinkle in his eye. 

Clay raised an eyebrow at his ‘Killah’. “You gonna let him talk about your sister like that?” 

Happy grimaced. “He’s not wrong. Lucia’s my sister, but she’s a beautiful woman. I’m also not fucking blind, she’s fucking hot,” he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. “That and she’d kill me if I corrected him. Keep your comments clean around me or I’ll shoot your dick off, Trager.” 

Tig lifted his hands up in defense. “Noted, Killah.” 

“Where’s she staying?” Piney asked.

“At my house; I’ll just continue staying at the clubhouse.” Happy purchased a house as he was loaned to Charming more and more frequently and for longer periods of time. He usually spent his time at the clubhouse, but when he just needed a night to himself, he decided to purchase a small two bedroom Spanish style home. It was bare bones, letting Gemma decorate it within his budget, but it was enough for him, and knowing Lucia, it would be enough for her too. 

“So if we convince baby sister to move here, we could possibly get the Tacoma Killah permanently? I’ll make sure Gemma turns on her most best self and take her in,” Jax grinned. “You know you love coming down to Charming,” he reminded the assassin. 

“Got the best croweaters on the West coast,” Happy smirked. 

“Alright, alright, enough chit chat, I can feel my tampon slipping. We good with anything else, boys?” Clay chuckled, trying to bring the meeting to a close. After no one else chirped up, he banged his gavel and officially ended the meeting. “Happy, give your sister’s information to Gemma. I’m sure you ain’t got shit in that fridge, and they can fill up that house for you and your sister.” 

Happy nodded his gratitude. “Thank you, Prez.” 

—

Happy stood by his rented Harley Davidson Tallboy, smoking his cigarette as he waited for his sister to approach from her luggage pickup. His normal bike didn’t have an extra seat big enough to comfortably sit both him and his sister, plus her luggage. The croweaters he occasionally took on his bike were thin as hell and were only on his bike for 20 minutes at max. He still wore his kutte as he glared down at airport security who nervously shifted near him. 

“Ki-ke!”  Happy turned his head to see his happy sister running towards him. He grunted as she slammed into him, taking the weight of her body and her heavy luggage. “Hey Cici,” he threw his cigarette to the ground as he wrapped an arm around his sister. He hid his face in her curly hair and inhaled, his heart feeling full as he held his sister. He held back his joyous grin in her hair. “I missed you too, beba.” 

Lucia pulled back, her wide and dark brown doe eyes sparkling with delight. “You look good, healthy,” she nodded once, taking her brother in as she pulled away from his embrace. 

“Jesus, you sound so much like Mamá,” Happy’s accent slipping through. He took in his sister, as she did him. Her rosy cheeks were flushed pink, her smile genuine. She was happy. She still had her same figure; she didn’t look underweight, or too unhealthily overweight for her body. He felt relieved. It was all he wanted. His sister; happy, healthy, and safe. And he did that. He felt complete having his mother and sister back in the same state. 

Lucia rolled her eyes. “C’mon, I want to get on the road,” she bounced in excitement. She’d always loved riding with her brother on his motorcycle. She loved the feeling of freedom that surrounded her in the open roads of California. 

“You ain’t tired of sitting on your ass? You flew, what? 5 hours?” Happy questioned. 

“Six, actually, but I’m good!” Lucia grinned as she insisted. “I did some stretches and it's only a one hour ride to your house and with your speed, we’ll be there in less time. Once we get there, I’m taking a nice hour nap before I meet up with Gemma to grocery shop, I’ll be recharged by then,” she smiled. “C’mon! I wanna fly!” She pulled him, grinning as she felt her brother’s protective arm take its place on her shoulder. 

Happy grinned, seeing the happiness come across his sister. She loved riding almost as much as he did. His favorite time riding besides by himself was with his sister. And he knew she felt the same way. He noticed airport security checking his sister out and he growled at them as he took his sister’s bags to tie on both sides of the bike. 

Lucia giggled as she hopped on behind her brother, her arms immediately wrapping around her brother. “Nunca cambias, huh, Ki-Ke?” She strapped on her helmet and handed her brother his. 

Happy chuckled, revving the bike, causing the loud rumble to echo in the pick up area. “Never.” He patted his sister’s hands that were around his torso. 

–

Gemma, Jax, Tig, Chibs, and a few of the non-Son mechanics sat around the picnic tables, on their lunch break as they were ahead of schedule with the cars they had for their day. Gemma, feeling generous, decided to order pizza for the boys; she decided to forgo the pizza, deciding to wait to eat a late lunch with Lucia. She had indeed been communicating with the young Lowman sister, through texts and phone calls. From what she knew of the young girl, so far, she liked her a lot. 

Lucia, for her and Happy’s childhood, was everything good about Happy in a small woman. But she was also respectable and endearing, whereas Happy was fear inducing and scary. She was looking forward to the club’s reaction to her as she knew from Happy that she was apparently curvy and beautiful. But she also knew from speaking to her that Lucia was an extremely confident woman and confident in herself. She couldn't wait to see which Son was bold enough to try to take on Happy’s sister. She was silently rooting for Chibs, or Jax. It would be fun to see either happen. 

The group’s heads perked up as they heard a new grumble from a motor come ripping through the street. They watched as Happy rode in on his rented bike with the expected Lucia riding behind him. 

Gemma smirked in amusement as the men at the table immediately elbowed one another. Fresh meat was a commodity in Charming. 

Happy backed into a parking spot, fighting the urge to cringe at the itchiness in his skin. He could feel all eyes on him. Well, not on him, on Lucia. But they were still observing him. For an assassin, being observed was a stimulation nightmare. He grumbled as he removed his helmet, getting off his bike. He helped his baby sister, her height causing her to need assistance climbing on and off the large bike suited for two. “I fucking hate this,” he covered his sister’s body, and their view. 

“Get over it, you’re making it more of a moment, than it needs to be, Ki-ke,” Lucia patted his shoulder as she walked around him, and towards the table of expecting pairs of eyes. 

Gemma observed the wide eyes of all of the men at the picnic tables as they took in the beautiful woman before them. Shit. They all looked dumbfounded at her beauty. She certainly looked like all of their wet dreams come to life, but in a new and different package that more that outsold their own dreams. Tig was certainly right. Lucia had an hourglass figure; her body more similar to Marilyn Monroe’s, Sofia Loren’s, or Raquel Welch's, but her ass poked further out, matching her plump thighs. She wore a cut off leather jacket, classic tight light wash denim high waisted jeans, and a white halter top which beautifully offset her russet brown skin. Her makeup was done lightly, enhancing her already natural beauty. Her full plump lips were burgundy bruised and carried a mischievous smirk. She walked with confidence, noted in her large three inch platform boots and sharp long red nails. Her long curly dark brown hair perfectly curved around her full breasts. Shit, Gemma thought to herself. Lucia was a siren come to life. Even she was feeling a bit hot at Lucia’s entrance. Jesus, she’s gonna bring trouble. 

Gemma stood up and made her way to the beauty. “Hi Cici,” she engulfed the girl in her arms. She found herself warming to the young woman as Lucia hugged back just as fiercely, rubbing her back. 

“Hey Gemma, thank you so much for welcoming me and being so nice,” Lucia hugged the Queen of SAMCRO, grateful for the woman’s help in feeling comfortable in Charming. She immediately respected the badass woman for being a matriarch in an all boy’s club; literally. 

“You want me to introduce you to everyone?” Gemma asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Ask Mopey over there,” Lucia shot back to her brother. 

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Happy grabbed his sister’s arm and walked to the picnic benches. “This is Lucia, I already fucking warned you all about them. Lucia, this is Jax, my VP; you already know Tig. This is Chibs, Lowell, and some other pieces of shit that I don’t care about. Done, now take her out to Charming,” he turned his sister and pushed her into Gemma. “Let’s get back to work before I shoot one of you. I’m not drunk enough for this.” 

There was silence as the men watched Gemma and Lucia walk away, all of them taking in one or both of the women. 

“So, if we were all at the party tonight at the clubhouse?” A voice that was obviously fake deepened asked. 

“Next fucking car!” Happy barked out.

--

Gemma laughed with the young woman as they had their brunch together. “So you won’t tell me which one you like the best?”

Lucia raised an eyebrow at her, a smirk on her lips. “You think I’d give you the advantage when I’m a bit certain that you bet on this with someone? And I’m not getting a cut?” She playfully scoffed.

“Baby girl, I just wanna make sure I put the right money in the right places; if my highest risk gets the win, I’ll share my winnings with you,” the black and blonde haired woman bargained with Happy’s little sister. 

“Do you really want me to tell you or do you wanna win as an honest woman?” 

“Baby, I put money in a few guys just to make sure I always win,” Gemma revealed. “But I do wanna let you have your pick.”

Lucia smiled, liking Gemma’s answer. “I liked a few,” she admitted. “You’ll win something,” she laughed. “If it was worth enough for a redo, I’ll let you keep what you make.”

“Why didn’t Happy bring you around sooner? I like you,” Gemma happily chewed at her food. 

“Trust me, Gemma, I’ve tried to get Happy to settle down long enough for me to come down, but he’s never really had a place. He’s always been a nomad even when he wasn’t a Nomad,” Lucia bantered. “When he told me he finally bought a house down here, I immediately put in for vacation at work. He’s never bought a house until here, so really I have you and SAMCRO to thank for convincing him to come down here so often. It’s not that other charters never offered, but Happy never felt like he needed to settle.”

“A true nomad,” Gemma observed. It put a chill down her spine. She couldn’t imagine not having Charming as her home. She couldn’t imagine not having a true home, period. 

Lucia nodded. “As long as he stayed in the West coast and close enough to Mamá, he was okay with a bed, roof, kitchen, and bathroom,” she pushed at some of the remnants of her food. “A lot of Happy’s money went to me and our mom, and I was able to go to school. I work for a publishing company in New York; I’m now their Vice President,” she smirked. “I always told him that once he bought a house anywhere, I’d move to the closest branch there. But on his own time; I know he liked being a true nomad,” she shrugged. 

“You missed him,” Gemma discerned easily. When you gained the young woman’s trust, clearly she was an open book with her own feelings, but private with other’s. 

“Yeah, but Happy keeps his emotions to himself and I respect that. I don’t want to make him feel any way. He already gets pulled in so many different ways for the Sons, but I know this life is his passion. I can work in my career from anywhere in the world, I just needed a base. I was just waiting on him. He never made me feel less; we both would take trips to see each other, me more so, and we would stay at our mom’s house,” Lucia’s smile lit up her face and made her eyes twinkle. 

Gemma couldn’t help but smile at the happiness that radiated from her. She could tell the young woman truly loved Happy, and her family. She felt like pure innocent joy. Gemma craved that feeling; and she felt that pouring out of Lucia’s skin towards anything and everything that could touch it. “Well, if you like it here enough, and we like each other well enough; I’ll be sure to make Clay bring Hap down here more often enough for him to ask for a transfer. Charming is a special place and I’d love to share it with you.” She made her decision. She really liked Lucia. Liked her enough that she was glad that she put the most amount of money on Jax. Most of the club put their money on Chibs or Tig, much to Happy’s dismay. She wouldn’t push Lucia on Jax or vice versa, but it wouldn’t hurt any of them if either head was turned to one another’s. And if something came of it, all the better for everyone involved. 

“Thank you, Gem. Really. I want to spend more time with my brother. I want to settle down and have a family and be around family. But I’m a little tired of waiting,” Lucia giggled. “And he seems to like Charming enough to keep volunteering to come down here. I’ll work with you on that.” 

Gemma grinned widely at the young woman, recognizing the girl’s desire for family pouring from her aura. “Let’s use these two weeks to get you hooked up with someone in town; what’s your type, darlin’?” She grabbed her glass of soda to take a sip. 

Lucia smiled wantonly as she blushed slightly. “I’m bisexual, Gemma. And I’m not picky. I like how I’m treated more than how someone looks.” 

Gemma raised an eyebrow. “Okay, then how do you want to be treated then?” She didn’t blink an eye at the woman’s reveal. “What do you want in a partnership or marriage?” She appreciated that the girl was just as blunt as everyone in SAMCRO. 

“I want to be treated with respect. With loyalty,” Lucia listed. “I don’t fuck with cheating. At all,” her face turned stern and serious. She pulled what she called her Happy stare; a stare that invoked fear. She knew she succeeded when Gemma tried to hide her body’s subconscious shiver. “Unless we wanna have a fun night once in a while, I’m fine with that, but I want to find my partner. Not just fuck around.” Lucia said, her face dropping into a thoughtful expression. She bit her lip gently as she thought further. “I want kids, so I pretty much expect one or two. I’d negotiate any child after that depending on how my pregnancies go. I’d be committed to living in Charming forever if I ended up with of the Sons or someone local, but I’d like to visit my family back home, so I would need them to compromise on that. There may come a time that I have to take care of my mom so they’d have to be okay with that,” she revealed. “I want to know their culture, as they learn about mine. I’m all about a legacy,” she admitted bashfully, her hair falling like a curtain on either side of her blushing face. “But a complete one. I want them to be kind, to not put their hands on me. I need them to be good in bed, and often,” she wiggled her eyebrows playfully. 

“Amen to that!” Gemma let out a cackle, throwing her head back. “Anything else on this reasonable list?” 

Lucia shrugged. “That’s it for now. Anything else, I’ll deal with it in time. I’m easy going.” 

“I can work with that,” Gemma nodded, her eyes sparkling as her mind ran through the many names of many people in town. Her son included, but she was biased. And Chibs. Hell, she threw Juice in the mix too. Now to see which man had the balls to approach her first, and which Lucia liked the best. Whether tonight at the party, or in town during her two weeks. 

—-

Gemma and Lucia sat next to Luann, laughing at the blonde woman’s dirty joke when the club came bounding through the clubhouse door, loud and raucous as the croweaters and hangaround cheered at their homecoming. The party can now really start. 

Gemma immediately wrapped herself around her husband, but not before giving her son a quick kiss on the cheek and a playful slap on his ass. She entered Clay’s open embrace watching the club rush to the bar, or to some of the croweaters holding liquor. 

Lucia hopped off from her stool in the kitchen. “Tig, c’mere, I’m never gonna fuck you and I need to pick your brain,” Lucia demanded, grabbing three beers in one hand and holding two shots in another. She held them out to the blue eyed man. “I picked out two girls for you and told them how to play with you later, now drink and hear my confessional. They’ll approach on my orders, and no I won’t tell you who they are.” As instructed, all of the available croweaters, and Luann, gave Tig a flirty and seductive smile. 

The surrounding people in earshot’s jaws stopped, except for Gemma’s. The room laughed as the Sergeant at Arms of SAMCRO kneeled before Lucia and kissed her stomach. 

“Yes, Sister Lucia, thank you, Sister Lucia,” Tig took back the two shots offered back to back, and grabbed the beers from the woman. He stood up quickly, feeling the burn of the spirits run through him, cycling his already high adrenaline. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Can I cop a feel?” 

Lucia sighed. “If you must. Make sure you sneak it when I don’t notice,” she grabbed him back outside towards the benches. “See y’all later!” She waved as she shut the door behind them. 

“What do you need to know, Lucy?” Tig took a swig of his beer, sitting on top of the table. 

“Who’s worth my time in there? Really?” She gave him a look. 

Tig, despite always joking with Happy and Lucia, always respected that she was just as blunt as her brother. She never cut to the chase or wasted time; he appreciated that about her. So he and she had a unique relationship; Tig saw women as mothers or whores. Lucia was the only woman he viewed as both and wouldn’t cross the line to actually fuck her. He couldn’t say that about anyone else. “Jax and Juice. Maybe Chibs if you can get over that age gap.” 

Lucia nodded. “Who’s worth my time in bed?” 

“Jax is known as the best lay in Charming,” Tig admitted. “But he’s a bit of a whore. Got a kid on the way with his junkie ex-wife. Broken hearted over an old relationship and been jaded ever since. Juice is also a whore, but he isn’t attached and doesn’t have any baggage. He’s from New York,” he easily spilled the information. The sooner she hooked up with a brother, the sooner he could press for details of her in bed for his fantasies. “Croweaters say he’s pretty good in bed. More of a romantic.” 

“Can he get rough?” Lucia asked, an eyebrow raised. 

“Shit Lucy, why'd you say that?” Tig whined as he adjusted his half chub that suddenly appeared.

Lucia wrinkled her nose, laughing at his actions. She decided to tease him even further. “Can he pull my hair and ride me like a cowboy should? Can he punish me when I become the true brat that I am?” She teased, batting her eyes and pouting her lip at him.

“Fuck no, he can’t. Jax can. Pick Jax,” Tig swallowed back his first beer, quickly grabbing the second one that Lucia preprepared. “He’s good for a night, a short time, or you can get him to settle if you need. If you guys got shit in common and you can deal with his baggage, then that’s on you and him.” 

“Hmm, and Chibs?” Lucia tilted her head. 

Tig shook his head. “He’s got an estranged wife and daughter back in Ireland. She’s a bit younger than you. Old enough that you’d get compared as sisters. His wife is black, and their daughter is brown like you. He’s good for a night ride only.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled them back to lay down on top of the picnic table. He stared at the stars as he heard Lucia light up something. He took whatever she offered him and discovered it was a nicely rolled joint. “You always did pack the prettiest and fattest joints, Lucy,” he chuckled. “What are you looking for right now?” He asked, suddenly seriously. If he couldn’t have her, but maybe one of his brothers could, he would help both along their way. He took a large hit from the joint. 

“Either a short bit of fun or settling down. I want kids and a family. I want community. I can do that in Charming. Or I can start to build a family here. You think Jax can offer me either?” Lucia asked, grabbing the joint that Tig passed her. 

“Juice and Jax can offer you a short bit of fun. Both men are pretty good men at the end of the day. I don’t know what Juice wants for his future; think he's waiting for a good Old Lady. He's the type where he follows his Old Lady's lead and happily. He'd be good to you," Tig nodded. "I know Jax wants a family, but he hasn’t really loved anyone but his high school ex. I think you can make it work with both if you really like them,” Tig deduced. “Juice is silly, but he’s got a good head on his shoulders when it’s crunchtime. He was Jax’s prospect; his first actually. Jax wouldn’t have asked him to prospect if he thought he was that dumb. Jax or Juice can really offer you though. I’m not sure about anyone else in town, but I could always find out for you.”

“Thanks Tig,” Lucia said after a moment. 

“I’ll always watch out for you like I do for Happy,” Tig squeezed her shoulder. “You’re the closest thing to a step-daughter I got,” he fake cried. 

“Jesus!” Lucia cried as she threw herself off the picnic bench, her laughter being drowned out by the raucous music playing from the clubhouse. “C’mon, drop the intel to both of them and let’s see who’s got the biggest balls tonight?” 

Tig sat up, a wicked grin on his face. He loved pranking his brothers and this was a harmless prank. “Right now?” He raised an eyebrow. He knew if he told Jax or Juice, they would immediately jump on her so he needed to be sure what Lucia wanted.

“Nah, I want to be surprised on the approach,” Lucia told him. “Let’s have some fun, Tig. Don’t forget the girls I arranged for you,” she smiled. “Once I bag my guy, your girls will get to bag you.” 

“Oh you’re the ultimate tease, you sure you don’t want me?” Tig begged. 

Lucia shook her head. “I see you as my horny step-brother who I don’t want to fuck because you act like a dad sometimes,” she admitted. “Your ship sailed a long time ago but that just means I’m gonna try to find your ultimate happiness,” she gave him a quick hug. 

Tig was speechless. He didn’t think that Lucia viewed him as a father figure. He never thought he was a fatherlike man even though he had two daughters already. His heart stopped for a bit, his adrenaline freezing. Could he possibly redeem the damage he inflicted on his daughters with Lucia? Was it wrong to do that? Yes, but Alexander Trager, at his core, always wanted to be a better man. He just always failed. Here was a chance to—

“Tig?”

Lucia’s voice pulled the man from his rush of thoughts. He stared up at her.

Lucia gave him the rest of the joint. “Don’t think about this now. Wait until you’re sober and then think about that shit. Just have a good night tonight. You guys just came back from a run, enjoy your girls and enjoy inciting sexual chaos.” 

Tig suddenly relaxed back into his normal state of adrenaline, feeling the drugs and drunkenness slam right back into him. “God, I love Lucy!” He couldn’t help but quip.

—

Lucia and Tig’s cackles were boisterous and loud, and it captured everyone’s attention. Tig normally was an attention grabber and people gravitated towards him. 

Gemma smirked as she saw Jax and Juice both blatantly check out Lucia even as they both held on to croweaters by the waist. She patted Clay on the chest and nodded her chin towards him when she knew she had his attention. 

“Which one you put the boat on?” Clay chuckled. He knew his wife put money on a whole bunch of odds regarding Lucia’s homecoming. As President, he knew everything that went on in his club, and even in their personal lives, thanks to his meddling wife. Money was put on which Son Lucia would hook up with first; if she hooked up with no one and chose a civilian, if she ended up dating a Son. From there, even more various bets were placed on Jax, Juice, Chibs, Tig; and surprisingly Opie, Piney, Half-Sack, croweaters, hangarounds, even Gemma and Deputy Hale were on that list. Clay knew Bobby was keeping the books in order. Clay didn’t place any bets, but he didn’t discourage his wife when she asked for some extra money for a ‘donation to the school’. 

“Jax, of course,” Gemma said smugly. “I always bet on Teller/Morrow,” she bit her lip as Clay slapped her ass. “But ultimately, whatever makes her happy, and what doesn’t make Happy kill anyone. He’s too important to catch a murder charge,” she laughed. 

Clay was taken aback at Gemma’s approval of her. It was small indications, but Clay knew his wife, knew her tells especially since he and her successfully committed an affair under the club, and JT’s, backs. She liked Lucia. Gemma’s approval was hard to come by, especially when it came to beautiful young women who could be a threat. “You like her?”

“She’s got a good head on her shoulders. Blunt like Happy, but she’s not unapproachable like him,” Gemma told him. “Would I like her and Jax together in love? Of course; but Jax’s got a lot of baggage with Wendy and the kid. Lucia’s too fucking nice to deal with my whore of a son. He loves just like JT, with all of him. But he’s honorable like him too.”

“It’s what makes him a great Vice President. He can overlook his emotions to be logical,” Clay reminded Gemma. “If they choose each other, you already like her and you can meddle your way to solidify their relationship. If they don’t, you can still meddle for her with another Son or anyone else. Please,” he begged, chuckling with the joke on his tongue. “The less you meddle with Jax, the more I get my VP around.” 

Gemma slapped her husband’s chest. 

—-

“Righ’, give us the information, we’ve watched your two gals for th' night swallo' tongues enough,” Chibs, antsy to fuck someone for the night, was growing impatient. Since he knew he was in the running, and took in Lucia’s figure and her openness to bed who she wanted (and Happy’s rule of ‘don’t ask/don’t tell’), he held off from hooking up with a croweater. He was attracted to the Lowman woman and knew a night with her would be worth it. But with Tig coming in after his talk with the beauty with the grin that swallowed the canary, everyone knew that Tig knew her choices, and knew that Tig being the conniving asshole that is was, would keep it shut.

Tig chuckled, having enough of teasing his brothers. “Lucy’s got good taste; after asking her creepy uncle who’s worth her time, I made it clear it was a Son.” He grinned, watching the hangarounds grumble and grasp at some croweaters. “Can’t watch to watch Lucy’s new season,” he jested, snickering at the confused faces. “Heard Lucy’s divorcing Ricky; her new eligible bachelors include a Prince, a shady Irishman, and someone’s who’s fresh out of psychotherapy.” He got up, sleeping both of his croweaters on their asses. He was ready for his private party to begin. He was sure Lucia, Gemma, or Bobby would tell him who popped Lucia’s Charming cherry.

[usertoxicyaoi]

I think its already established that Daemi don't know how to write shit to save their lives. This just further cemented it.

I also think it's funny that one of the authors' favorite character is Vegas, so why the hell they would just make him suffer more and more... I don't know what to tell you. They just suck and I will not accept this as canon. Like there is just no reason to kill off Macau wtf... like, you leave fucking Venice (who provides very little to the plot) and kill off Macau??? Wtf wtf wtf wtf??? Nobody wants that fucking baby ffs, not even Vegas.

I think the authors may have a grudge against the cast/fandom considering all the controversies that have happened concerning them 2 so I think they're like "let's kill someone everyone cares about and actually like as payback! *evil laughter*" and everyone else KP, VP, KC are too important to the plot and the bodyguards aren't that much so they decided on Macau... oof

I think that if we get a S2, they will keep Macau's death, just make it better or have him die a noble death (just like how they changed it for Big- who ended up dying for Porsche- who was the actual traitor in the book instead of Ken) since I do think BOC may be obligated to follow the broad strokes of the novel and I don't think they have bought the rights off Daemi...

hiiii anon!!!

god i am MAD. like. idgaf about venice NO ONE gives a flying fuck about venice and YET!!!!!!!

they absolutely do not know how to write for their characters nor do they care much. so they kill off macau ... can you imagine the PAIN and ANGUISH that vegas would feel? at that point, knowing vegas as We know him, he himself wouldnt wanna live anymore, no matter if he has pete beside him or not. he was gonna blow his brains out just at his DAD dying and pete talked him down. i dont even think pete could talk him down if he saw macau comitting suicide in front of his eyes. like. what?? they wanna play the misery porn card on vegas????

and like. thats just vegas. who's a secondary thought rn. to me its more about macau. like. yes okay he is clinically depressed and on meds in the novel. and you know all this time since kp ended ive gone on and on and onnn about how much of a blank canvas macau was on the show and how if we ever got a s2, i wanna see macau be given depth and be explored more bc theres SO MUCH room and scope with him to do so. and like the novel, i'd wanna see macau go through these bouts of depression bc ... hell ... his entire life has just been one trauma after the next after the next laid upon him. its GOT to get to him. and i could just. so clearly picture what the plotline for macau can be if we got a s2. i could write it myself and do a better job!! and that would include not killing him off just to dump more pain on vegas and to give macau hope in wanting to live bc he has his big brother and his big brother has him!!! and he'd graduate from school and go to uni and make something of his life!!!!

but like. i just dont know. IF. we ever got a s2, would they write macau as being clinically depressed like in the novel. and of course there has to be (a) death involved in the show and WHO BETTER to kill off than macau, who's only attachment is with vegas and then pete and is a well-loved character. like i would Hope they would rewrite it all and Not have him die but then im like ... well someone has to die and whose death would twist the knife in more than macau's for the sake of Great Plot Writing and Advancement. i said it once before that i could so easily see a future scenario where pete and macau are both in some sorta danger and only one makes it out alive or vegas has to choose and that ties in with your idea of the Noble Death trope and macau probably dying that Noble Death. so either that, or they DO write macau as clincally depressed on the show and have him commit suicide, which idk if they will write him as that.

but yeah im just so ... Mad at this all. i wanna say yeah that yeah if we did get a s2, that they could rewrite this all and macau doesnt die but then ...... like. duh. its pretty obvious that macau's death would trigger and offset so much for the plot and facilitate it going forwards.

and fuck that. bc i LOVE macau so much and theres SO MUCH that can be done with him and explored with him that I COULD DO A BETTER JOB AT. like i said, yes, i wanna see macau be written as clinically depressed on the show just like the novel and for that and his headspace and character to be properly explored, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, be given hope of a hopeful ending for him!!!!!!!! ITS REALLY NOT THAT HARD TO DO YOU SICK FUCKS!!!

[ghostcrows]

there's a lot of things about that hell hotel thing, like vp acting like angel dust is the pinnacle of gay rep when he's just a stereotype (sex worker who does drugs and gropes people), or the radio guy alastor being designed based off the anti-native deer wend*go bullshit. also he's supposed to be black (biracial creole specifcially. which is bad because his whole character deal is killing people and having poor hygiene, being a cannbialistic serial killer, voodoo being one of his visual themes, etc). not to mention the all the use of the r-slur and r*pe jokes

like arguably it isn't *uniquely* awful--a lot of it is the same shit you'd see on adult swim or family guy, but like pre-2010. since it's so new, and the crew marketed it as a mildly progressive thing, it almost feels worse somehow, if that makes sense.

Ohhhh ok

See I knew about angel dust. But that was kind of the scope of my knowledge

So just stupidly tone deaf and trying to pretend it's doing stuff it isn't. Got it

[l-1-z-a]

The Sims 2 Designer Diary #5

In the fifth edition of our designer diaries for The Sims 2, the team at Maxis discusses what makes a good neighborhood.

By Gamespot Staff on July 28, 2004 at 3:11PM PDT

The Sims is reportedly the best-selling computer game of all time. The game and its many expansion packs presumably owe this incredible success to a combination of engaging house design and intriguing gameplay, which features autonomous little computer people, or "sims," getting into all sorts of unusual situations. These sims interact with each other, and with their environments, based on their personalities, moods, and personal needs. Now, developer Maxis is hard at work on the sequel--The Sims 2--in which sims will not only live, work, and interact, but they'll also learn, remember, grow old, and even die. In this edition of our designer diaries for this highly anticipated sequel, the Maxis team discusses neighborhoods and their role in the next game.

It's All in the Neighborhood!

By Lucy Bradshaw and Tim LeTourneau

VP PC Development/Senior Producer

The Sims 2 will let you build a neighborhood somewhere over the rainbow.

In The Sims 2, it all begins in the neighborhood. It's the entry point for every house and every story in the game. In the original version of The Sims, the neighborhood was a simplistic place comprised of a mere 10 lots that you could move your families into. Way back then, it seemed like 10 lots were more than enough. But our players quickly told us differently, and through expansion packs, we increased both the size and scope of the neighborhoods. For The Sims 2, we knew we had to not only learn from our previous experience and provide substantial and diverse neighborhoods, but we had to go beyond just giving "more of the same." We knew that the neighborhood in The Sims 2 had to make a bold statement about how the game had grown and evolved. Not only did we make the neighborhood bigger, but we made it more dynamic and let players change it in a variety of ways.

In The Sims 2, when you come into the neighborhood for the first time, you're amazed by the level of realistic details and the magnificence of the landscape. There are sailboats floating on the water, rainbows decorating the sky, birds darting in and out of the clouds, school buses and cars bustling on the streets. The scene feels as if it is teeming with life. It was extremely important to us that The Sims 2 neighborhood be inviting and that it be a place that players would feel compelled to inhabit. We wanted to compel players to create families, build houses, and populate these new, realistic and vibrant 3D settings.

In The Sims 2, the neighborhood evolves as you play through your sims' lifetimes and as you go through various generations of households. You'll experience your families growing up, and [you'll witness] the kids moving out to start households of their own. Since players need to feel that building and maintaining multiple families and homes is both strategic and rewarding, we created a variety of neighborhood features to deliver that.

In fact, the new game lets you build a house pretty much wherever you want.

Let's start with something as simple as placing a lot. In the original game, you had to build your house in a predetermined lot. In The Sims 2, we wanted you to feel like you could build a house wherever you wanted to in the neighborhood. So, as long as there's a road next to your lot, you can build there. You can now select from a variety of preset lot templates and can place them in any configuration you choose. In The Sims 2, if you want to make densely packed tract homes in one part of the neighborhood and sprawling estates in another, you can. When it comes to relationships between sims, proximity matters. Sims who live near each other are more likely to visit one another. A really cool new feature is that after you've built a house, you can pick it up and move it to another lot. If you want to fix up your lonely bachelor with the cute girl (who's a few blocks away) more quickly, well, now you can just pick up his house and make them next-door neighbors.

Building and maintaining your sims' social and family relationships is a huge part of The Sims 2 as well. A family doesn't consist of just one house anymore: Neighbors become in-laws as their children wed; Grandma and Grandpa move to a smaller house when their kids have all moved out and have families of their own; and after the divorce; Dad still wants to stay close to the kids to be part of their lives. Since we want it to be easy for players to track all these important relationships as they spread throughout the neighborhood, we've added a "connections" button that shows the player where the family's closest relatives and friends reside.

The Sims 2 makes it even easier for you to download new additions for your neighborhoods.

In The Sims 2, we've made it easier for players to obtain content created by other players. Now players can click buttons in the interface to quickly download any of the content that's available from the Maxis exchange Web site (on the Internet) without ever leaving their game. We've also really expanded the build-mode tools available for building houses within the game. We know that once our players' creativity is unleashed, they're going to want to share what they've made with others. In fact, we're counting on it. The new lot catalog lets you store all the houses you've downloaded until you want to place them in a neighborhood. It's an example of how we've provided great player-made content management on the ground floor this time around. This is something that we want to keep in the forefront of all our game designs for the future.

Community lots are also a big part of The Sims 2. You can build markets, boutiques, and parks where your sims can congregate and make new friends and shop for new clothes and groceries. We've given you the ability to make as many or as few of these community lots as you like, and you can place them anywhere you desire. Want a downtown business district? Want a little corner store? We know that a neighborhood gets a lot of its authentic feel from elements other than houses, so we want you to be able to set the ambience and tone of the neighborhood so that the stories you create about your sims are rich and compelling.

While we're really excited about the multiple neighborhoods we're making, we know there are cool locales you may want that we could never imagine. You might want to build a European village, a desert community, or your own little suburban utopia. Well, that's what we want you to be able to do. To make that possible, we've created the ability for players to use SimCity 4 to create their own neighborhoods and to customize the look and feel of the landscape. With this new addition, players will now have access to houses and families in the Maxis exchange site and will be able to choose from an enormous variety of neighborhoods with many different terrains.

The game even lets you build your neighborhoods by using SimCity 4.

The neighborhood is really a great metaphor for how broadly we've expanded The Sims 2 gameplay in all areas. We know our players aren't going to be satisfied with less-than-extremely-compelling visuals, unprecedented control over the neighborhood's layout and look, and seamless access to player-made content both for people who like to create and for people who like to download. We know that beyond bigger, there's always better, but we don't want our players to ever feel like we made a choice between the two. You know what? We don't want to feel that way either!

See you around the neighborhood.