#Smiler loves color and I think it's rubbed off on me

[victorluvsalice]

We have reached the second Building Interlude this week -- and this time, it’s actually relevant to what’s been happening in the main Chill Valicer save, as it’s a small makeover of the Valicer farmhouse! A makeover that was inspired by the following things:

1. My desire to clean out the household inventory so I didn’t have to go scrolling through all their various holiday decorations and whatnot whenever I wanted them to recycle a trash pile

2. My desire to also clean out their PERSONAL inventories -- particularly Victor’s, as he’s always carrying around loads of fruit and flowers and whatnot from the greenhouse to have on-hand for juicing and whatnot

3. “My Sims have over $100K in the bank? Time to jazz the place up a little!”

So yes, with all that in mind, I went ahead and, well, jazzed the place up a little. XD Here’s a list of all the most major changes:

Kitchen: I decided it was a little too brown in there and changed out the counters to ones with at least slightly more colorful tops (the Realm of Magic counters, if I recall correctly!), darkening up the wood-tones of the cabinets to match. I also replaced the fridge and the stove with Schmapple-brand ones to match their coffee maker and microwave (like I said, they have money now!), recoloring them all to the red swatch as I liked that best. After that, I got a longer side table to store both the VIP bucket and the picnic basket --

And then moved the entire dining table in slightly, because ta-da, we have an archway into the kitchen now! Yeah, I took another look at that wall and realized that the door kind of looked weird next to the arches into the front foyer and the study, so I put another archway to match. Now the downstairs feels more cohesive!

Study: Just one quick change in here -- I changed the wallpaper color to the blue with green trim swatch, as I decided I wanted a little more color in the room. I think it looks nice, and fits well with the rugs!

Front Foyer: A little rearranging FINALLY allowed me to put the coat-and-hat pegs that I had on a side wall beside the door, where they could actually be SEEN. Naturally, the shoe rack went underneath them, and the umbrella stand got moved to the far corner. Looks good! (I -- am reasonably certain the clock was there before, as part of an earlier upgrade, but if not, look, colorful clock.)

Living Room: As you can see, I went heavy on the Movie Hangout Stuff furniture in here -- replacing the downstairs couch with this nice wooden seat that has a nice colorful cushion AND matches the bookcases, and the side tables with these brightly painted variations. :) The coffee table also got a more colorful upgrade (pretty sure that’s the Paranormal Stuff one) -- but, of course, the biggest upgrade was to the TV, with me selling off the old Fallout 4 CC one to get a proper big screen for them to enjoy, along with a cute yellow trunk TV table for it to sit on. They may not watch TV often, but they might as well enjoy a proper-sized screen. The bizarre idol Smiler got recently watches over it all in her own little house shelf above said TV. :)

Crafting/Party Barn: The whole thing is ever so slightly bigger now, and that is to accommodate something new in Smiler’s party space -- namely, I have traded out the bubble blower (which none of Smiler’s guests seemed to like the one time I had them give it a spin) for their ping-pong table! Technically it fit in the smaller version of the barn, but I felt like it blocked the radio a bit too much, so I expanded things out to keep the “dance floor.” I also took the opportunity to rearrange the downstairs a bit -- adding some extra columns to “support” the party level, then moving the more technical crafting stuff (Smiler’s robotics bench and the Fabricator) to the front while the more low-tech crafty stuff (the woodworking bench and the candle maker) went in the back, with Victor’s alchemy cauldron in the middle. :) I even got to put the cool magical stone circle in there -- sized down slightly, of course. :p

(Oh, and outside, you may notice that the chicken coop pen is now flush with the corner of the barn, and that I’ve gotten rid of the large livestock barn. The gang seems to have enough to do with just remembering to take care of the chickens -- I don’t think they’re gonna get a cow or llama anytime soon!)

Greenhouse: Victor’s greenhouse actually got moved back slightly on the lot -- a somewhat fiddly process that involved enlarging the roof before adjusting the walls so that the plants stayed under cover the whole time. I also added a new shelf from Cottage Living beside the door to go with his other tools, and put his selfie with his first oversized pumpkin on it. :)  The biggest change, though, was to the crafting side of the greenhouse -- namely, there’s now STORAGE! The flower-arranging bench can already have flowers stored in it, so that wasn’t a big deal, but now there is an Eco Lifestyle cardboard storage box next to the cauldron grill for Victor’s herbalism plants, and a Discover University mini-fridge so he can store and access his fruits and veggies for juicing next to the juice fizzer! Which makes life so much easier -- his inventory isn’t PERFECT yet, but it’s looking a hell of a lot better, let me tell you!

#sims 4 #the lazy save #builds #yeah Victor Alice and Smiler have got The Dosh #to be fair Alice has a very well-paying job #has published a few good books #and regularly sells excellent and masterpiece-quality paintings #while Smiler makes decent cash at their part-time job #and has started making more serious dough from their SimsTube videos #Victor is the only one in the family who isn't an active money maker #and even he can get a good payout from his greenhouse when he wants #so yeah funding some house upgrades #big focus on adding even more color to the house here #Smiler loves color and I think it's rubbed off on me #it really does make the house nicer when everything is cheery and bright :) #and I think Victor and Alice feel the same way :) #queued

[ashintheairlikesnow]

🎵for Wrex

I’m sorry, Dex decided to be angsty instead of comforted and this is... this is just what Dex does...

Dex sits on a bench in the park, staring blankly over the bright green grass. Across the way, at the other end, there are laughing children playing on a playground made of brightly colored molded plastic fit perfectly together. Slides and climbing walls, monkey bars and jungle gyms. 

He thinks he used to play in playgrounds, once upon a time. He doesn’t really know. There had to be playgrounds, right?

Peter refused to let him walk here alone, but he’s at least nice enough to let Dex sit on the bench without interruption. Peter’s off sitting with his back against a tree, reading one of the novels Karen hates, the ones he’s not allowed to read.

Peter knows Dex’s secrets, or nearly.

Dex knows his.

That’s how it always was, even when the others thought Dex didn’t know, or was telling them all to Karen as soon as their backs were turned. They hadn’t known, then. They hadn’t known what Dex would do anything to keep to himself, just one thing, just one love, just one life he lived without Karen’s voice in his head.

Where are we? What the hell is going on? The dust has only just begun to fall, crop circles in the carpet, sinking feeling...

Henry’s mp3 player - Dex had asked to borrow it, and Henry had given it over with a smile, a rare one. Henry smiled as little as Dex did these days, and he hadn’t been much of a smiler before, either.

Peter came with him because Dex was getting weaker. 

None of them talked about it or admitted to it, but it was true. His body was older than it used to be, and recovering from Karen’s discipline was more difficult, took more time. Time she never gave him, before the next time he did something to earn her displeasure.

He didn’t do anything - he knew that - but the training was so deeply ingrained in him, that he fought to find some way he deserved the pain even now.

He had betrayed her.

He wasn’t perfect.

He wanted something better.

That was sin enough to earn the wrath of an angry, auburn-haired god.

Spin me around again - and rub my eyes - this can’t be happening. When busy streets a mess with people would stop to hold their heads heavy...

The low deep voice sings, layered over itself without music to back it, the voices making up the entirety of the song. Dex put this song on here - and Henry will probably notice, and listen, and maybe stare at him a little longer over dinner.

He won’t say anything, though.

They talk more, now, he and his brothers, but there are still things they do not say. Dex eats what they give him when Karen isn’t home, and eats what she gives him when she is. 

He hurts.

She’s getting worse.

Hide and seek... trains and sewing machines... All those years, they were here first... Oily marks appear on walls where pleasure moments hung before, the takeover - the sweeping insensitivity of this still life...

Dex marks the days in his mind, trying to track them from the last visit. Soon, soon, soon, he tells himself. He knows his voice isn’t as strong as it was, that Wright could tell when he spoke to him on the phone the last time. He’s getting quieter, starting to whisper again even to the one person who would love to hear him shout.

He can’t keep this up forever, and Karen won’t let it happen.

One day, soon.

He tells himself, soon.

His fingers twitch, wanting to sign the words rather than think them. He signs instead of speaks. He speaks only for one man, and that man will be gone for a while longer, yet.

Every day, Dex feels a little less certain that time won’t run out before he gets to speak again.

Hide and seek, trains and sewing machines - (You won't catch me around here) - Blood and tears, they were here first...

He lets his eyes run over Peter, curled against the tree. He could be anyone, anywhere, except for the circle of leather around his neck. Peter never had a chance - abducted before he even graduated high school. 

Dex has the paperwork to prove it, hidden in the back of his closet, in places Karen will never think to look. Peter’s paperwork and Henry’s, the proof that both of them aren’t supposed to be kept like this, that what happened to them was a crime Karen committed.

But who could he show the papers to?

Who would listen?

Dex closes his eyes, letting the voice wash over him, the soft sad a capella song that runs right down his veins. 

Mm, what'd you say? That you only meant well - Well of course you did. Mm, what'd you say? - That it's all for the best, of course it is. Mm, what'd you say?Mm, that it's just what we need - you decided this - Mm, what'd you say?

Mm, what did she say?

He won’t last forever.

His cheekbones are carved from stone, now, and he sees the way people look at him differently. He knows they see the darkness in his eyes as much as they pretend they can’t see the bruises that are rarely allowed to fully heal before they are layered over again.

He’s going to make it.

He’s going to last, as long as it takes. He has a reason, something to hold onto. And when Wright comes to take him home, he’ll get the papers out of the closet, and Wright will know who to show them to-

But no.

Then Sebastian would be left alone.

Dex presses his lips together, keeps his eyes closed. He would never let that happen. Peter and Henry can’t leave Sebastian alone with Karen, she’d... she’d kill him.

Like she’s killing Dex, piece by piece, day by day, while he waits.

Like she’ll kill him if Wright asks for him again. He has no way to warn him, no way to communicate now. No way to tell him when he comes, he has to lie. 

Dex can lie for them both, until then. He always has.

Ransom notes keep falling out your mouth - mid-sweet talk, newspaper word cutouts. Speak no feeling, no, I don't believe you - You don't care a bit, you don't care a bit.

He looks at the children playing across the way, again, his eyes unfocused, a little distant. He’ll feel bad, leaving his brothers behind, but... but he wants to go home, and home hasn’t been Karen’s house in a very long time.

Funny, it took him so long to say it, but as soon as the words were out of his mouth it had felt so natural...

Dex pushes himself to his feet, with difficulty, his legs aching from last night’s discipline. He shuffle-walks over to where Peter is reading, and watches the dark eyes raise to meet his. 

Peter looks a lot like him, Dex thinks sometimes, and wonders if that’s why Karen brought him home to be the whipping boy in the first place.

Now Dex is the one to take the blows, because he is the one to defy her in a way that she cannot forgive.

He smiles down at Peter, and signs, let’s go.

Peter hops back up to his feet, giving him a nod and signing back, since Dex still has the headphones in his ears.

Back home?

Dex watches his fingers move, and thinks, no, not home.

Not yet.

Ransom notes keep falling out your mouth, mid-sweet talk, newspaper word cutouts - Speak no feeling, no, I don't believe you - You don't care a bit, you don't care a bit

Soon, though. If he can live that long.

You don't care a bit - You don't care a bit - You don’t care a bit...

Dex turns the music off and takes the earbuds out, shoving the whole thing into his pocket. The last lines of the song are the biggest lies he’s ever told, that either of them has told her.

Someone cares about him.

Someone is coming to take him home.

He just has to hold on long enough.

#wrex #shipwrex #dex: serenity #imogen heap #Hide and Seek is the song he is listening to #whump #broken whumpee #older whumpee #captivity #pet whump #box boy universe #box boy