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#and building up a bunch of different art of them
popfizzles · 1 year
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What started as a joke with @kittyacelia about making FNAF animatronics ACTUALLY kid-friendly, ended up snowballing into an exercise in character design and world-building.
We call them Nanny Animatronics (since "Toy" and "Plush" have already been taken). They're far softer with pastel palettes, rubber teeth with plush exteriors to avoid accidentally hurting children! They're all housed under a pizzaplex type building that functions Entirely as a daycare.
I'll add extra notes about them individually under a readmore!
Nanny Freddy is the one kids go to for advice and generic help. He's super comforting, makes his rounds across the daycare saying hello to everyone. He gives GREAT bearhugs and specializes in calming down tantrums or panic attacks.
Nanny Chica loves playing house with children! She teaches general safety, like how to properly interact with stoves or electrical outlets. She's also equipped with a database of every kid's food allergies, and makes sure nobody eats anything they're not supposed to! Her cupcake (unpictured) is named Sugar and is basically just a fully sentient stress ball toy that loves to be thrown and fidgeted with.
Nanny Bonnie is the music teacher, and loves to help kids stay in touch with their louder and excitable sides. He loves to listen to kids talk about whatever they may be interested in, and has a learning database equipped with trivia to hold conversations with kids about any topic. He's the one children infodump to!
Nanny Foxy is the smallest of the bunch, and he loves to run around with the kids! He will play pretend with children, and is even equipped with the ability to detect injury and proper First Aid knowledge to help if a kid trips and hurts themselves while playing.
Nanny Monty is the art teacher, and teaches kids to use their hands for good (like creating art!) instead of bad (hitting, pulling, or smacking). He's very good at breaking up fights and helping kids deal with anger in a reasonable way.
Nanny Roxy loves to play dress-up with kids, but her main objective is to be there for kids, and recognize self-esteem issues. She's ready to pep-talk children at a moment's notice. Everyone is a winner in Roxanne's eyes, after all!
The Mediocre Melody animatronics are all localized on a stage in the daycare, and take turns putting on different types of shows for the kids. Nanny Mr. Hippo loves telling stories for kids, even stepping in to tell naptime stories for the younger kids. Whereas Nanny Orville does small magic shows, along with his assistants Bonbon and Bonnet! The other Mediocre Melodies (Happy Frog, Nedbear, and Pigpatch) are present, but undesigned. When they aren't doing their shows, they act as an extra set of hands for the others.
Nanny Springtrap (modeled ONLY in design after a horror show attraction) is activated during October for Halloween events, and teaches kids that there's no reason to be afraid of monsters. He also advocates for safety around strangers, and that it's okay to always tell an adult if you see something scary. He (along with a currently undesigned Nanny Dreadbear) come every Halloween to give goodie bags to the kids.
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brofisting · 2 years
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MY FRIEND, I ABSOLUTELY CAN!!!! 🥰 Starting from the beginning...
PART ONE: ORIGINAL FILMANIA PRODUCTION & FATE
It’s 2019-20, you’re Mile Phakphum Romsaithong, a very rich socialite who plays guitar. You’re bored and you’ve been thinking about getting into acting, and have been offered misc. BL casting opportunities before (1), but never really felt like any of them were For You, so you turned them down. 
Then, one day, you find out that there is a BL currently casting from the studio Filmania, where the male lead is based on you (2), at least your public persona/physically/whatever. Being a puppy of a man, you are delighted, and go read the script, and then the books, and decide you’ll go to the casting call for it.
At casting call, you re-meet Apo Nattawin Wattanagitiphat (3), who you went to college with and had a giant crush on (4). You guys hit it off IMMEDIATELY, chemistry unhinged, and get cast as Kinn and Porsche. Apo takes it, even though he has historically had a bad experience with the Thai acting industry (5). You are delighted by this incidence of FATE!!!!!!
PART TWO: IF YOU DON’T HAVE FATE ON YOUR SIDE STORE-BOUGHT IS FINE
The show gets dropped (6) Something something the authors, something something the company, whatever. I assume, if you are Mile, you are very sad! And if you’re Apo you’re also pretty sad, because it seemed like for once even with all the industry BS you had a cool dude on your side who you hit it off with, and it was gonna be a cool show. On the heels of that, if you are Mile, and have stacks of money, and see your college crush who is an unbelievable actor about to re-give up on acting and call it a wash, you are like, “wait, I have stacks of money and know everyone”.
So you, Mile, call up the head of the small talent agency you’re signed with, Be On Cloud, which is really just your buddy Pond Krisda Witthayakhajorndet in a fake mustache and a trench coat, and go, hey! So! Have you ever wanted to make television? I have a man here I CANNOT allow to be sad under any circumstances, and also, we’re really good at this and there’s an audience here.
PART THREE: BE ON CLOUD, KINNPORSCHE TAKE TWO!!!!
Pond, being just as unhinged as Mile, thinks about it for a second, and is like. Well. How different can making television be from running an event planning company, which is my real job (7). It’s just calling up a bunch of different guys who are good at their jobs and putting them in one place. And I know so many different guys! Let’s do it!
They get the rights (handwaves this I don’t know anything about it) and jump into production. They get their shit together UNREALISTICALLY quickly (6), and on top of that, since they’re starting from scratch and they’re just A Bunch Of Guys led by Pond and Mile, they decide that their priorities are #1 making art and #2 making Apo happy. With regards to #1, they rework the script (8), hire the best acting coaches money can afford, and put the cast through character-building and intimacy workshops. With regards to #2, they toss out all the industry bullshit that has sucked for him in the past -- no more crew/cast hierarchy (9), no more homophobia on-set (10), no more fake fanservice (11).
FINALE: MIRACLES IF U BELIEVE ETC.
Magically, it turns out, when you create a great working environment, you get really, really good TV!!!!! Which means that their unhinged plan succeeded beyond their wildest dreams, and now Mile & Apo are internationally famous superstars who hang out 24/7 with their squad of 16 close friends, and we get to watch them do it. And it has been, genuinely, a fucking privilege. 
To end this tale with a personal note, one of the reasons I allowed myself to get so invested in KinnPorsche so fast is because it was evident from every aspect of it -- the show itself, the BTS, the actors interviews -- that the people working on this show both really cared about the show and were genuinely having a great time. There is nothing like seeing art made by people who are passionate about making it! 
Their enthusiasm, their hard work, and their obvious enjoyment of the process & each other’s company are what made me feel like I could trust what they were making, because you could tell no matter what else it was, it was from the heart. And that’s really something special! Especially in this day and age!! 
And even though they could pull it off this time because of the circumstances (financial and social), I hope that it shows BL television CAN be made in a way that keeps the actors comfortable and safe and happy, and encourages change for the better across the industry as a whole. KinnPorsche shouldn’t be the last wild BL passion project; it should be the first one of a new wave. (bangs gavel) Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
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thepringlesofblood · 4 months
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the vibe im getting from FHJY is that this is the season where they really lean into the high school aspect. that probably sounds bonkers since its called Fantasy High, but like. hear me out.
Freshman year, they come at high school from the "John Hughes" "80s teen movie trope" vibe, which is to say different from the real-world experience of high school.
it works great! operating in that frame of reference makes everything flow really well, and hits all the high-school-related-media notes in a very satisfying way while putting its own spin on it and not getting bogged down by the actual slog that is high school in reality.
there's still a lot of more modern inspo, but it stays in the kinda expectation-suspension-tropey area of how 80s movie high school works.
Sophomore year is spring break! I believe in you! They're not at school! They're on an adventure!
They lean into being a teenager and coming-of-age themes a lot (obvs), but the only big reference point to the institution of high school is that it'll be worth 60% of their grade.
A huge point, to be sure, and the exact kind of objectively unfair but somehow not against the rules shit that happens in high school, but not the main driving force of the season.
arthur aguefort also does a bunch of wack shit but it's more fantasy than it is high school although its a lot of both.
they lean into adventuring as a set career path much more, with the school giving money for hirelings and offering a basic incentive for other students to go, so that's a loose connection to the real-world career counseling high schools have, but again, not the main thing.
VERY Important though: we are now very much in the present. The viral shrimp party, livestreaming Kalina, online banking, the epic of Gorgug building a cell tower? this isn't john hughes 80s town anymore, this is now. (at least in Solace).
Junior year
almost everything in the trailer is about academia
we've got the cool doodles-in-the-margins style art and intro
in the interviews and BTS (so far), the cast have talked a lot about what they were like in high school (not the 80s)
and the precedent that The Seven set where the MacGuffin was getting their GED? It's time.
we're getting into what is actually hell about high school - the institution itself. the arbitrary standards that academia in the US holds, and how it leaves behind, punishes, and fails its students in its extremely important role of preparing them for life as an adult.
i could talk about this all day, but personally for me the quote from the trailer that shot me back to my junior year of high school was "You have perfect grades, and it still might not be enough for you to graduate"
riz's arc this season is shaping up to punch me in the academia trauma and personally i can't wait for the catharsis
Brennan has shown time and time again that he Gets and wants to tell stories about the ways in which the US education system affects, hurts, shapes, traumatizes, changes people, and how they survive and recover from it and make their own lives. I for one am so so ready to see that reflected with the bad kids.
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sanctus-ingenium · 6 months
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Just wanted to ask, please forgive me if you've already answred this, what program do you use? Your art fucks HARD and like. I was looking at your art of the two moths over the city they die in and I was hit with the wave of "oh that looks really fucking fun actually." Like i know my art program can't do some of those effects and like, I'd love to try fucking about with them.
hi there, thank you! all my art is done in procreate and paint tool sai
because you mentioned that drawing in particular i thought it would be fun to break it down and show ppl what exactly went into each part of it so check this out
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sketch & lineart - the brushes come from georgbrush.club and the urban sketcher is my most commonly used lineart brush, it has a nice irregular shape. the square brush is nice for big blocky sketches.
the cityscape was REALLY hard but basically I got a photo of the skyline of florence, traced some basic building shapes, then bullshitted the rest using the vertical symmetry/mirror tool to cut down on the amount of work (so i only had to sketch one half of the city). then for lineart I turned off vertical symmetry, turned on the two-point perspective tool, and got this:
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the rose windows were made using the radial symmetry tool.
I didn't like it being so flat, so I used the liquify tool to make a kind of fish-eye effect (limited success tbh). I liked how it looked but the buildings in front needed something to cover them up to make the liquification less obvious...
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first pass colours. I felt they were very washed out, aside from the sun which i loved. I use the spectra brush (default procreate) for skyscapes a lot, I love the texture. Although the clouds were filled in using the lasso selection tool, I softened the edges using the square pencil again and added texture using true grit sampler grainy brushes. The translucency effect comes from my setting the brush as an eraser. The sun rays come from the radial symmetry tool.
Blocking in the moths' colours was done with the urban sketcher again.
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Something people may not have noticed is the labyrinth hidden in the sky! yeah I had a bunch of versions where it was more obvious but I found that it clashed a bit and was too busy, so I made it subtle. But yes. I searched for "royalty free labyrinth" and picked one.
The toner grit brush is one you've seen before if you've looked at any art on tumblr lately (this is such a popular brush) and it's from the true grit fast grit set. The pointillism brush is from the true grit free sampler pack, like my grain brushes.
I added shadows to the moths, increased saturation overall, and changed the clouds to a translucent blue (you can even see in the sun where I forgot to block in the sun itself because the clouds over it used to be opaque lol). Moon rays were drawn using the radial symmetry tool but this time with rotational symmetry off. I also moved the moon down closer to the moths because I felt that it was a bit far away, and this served to visually divide the drawing into three equal parts, so I chose to lean into that and divide the sky colours too, to show passing time, or an endless moment - morning, evening, night, etc.
And then the oroborous, I tried a few different effects on it because I wanted it to be very clearly separate from the main scene - I settled on a dot matrix newsprint texture, using procreate's onboard tool, and some heavy chromatic aberration. This is because the oroborous isn't real, it's purely symbolic and the moths' demise started when they became photographers so I liked the print media aspect there as well. The story itself is about grief without closure, cyclical violence, and sunk cost fallacy, while everyone explores an endless labyrinth, so an oroborous fits I think
what makes art fun to me is thinking up ways I can tell a story using just a single image. and sure a lot of it will be lost to an audience who isn't familiar with the characters or backstory but i want to leave enough in there that even complete strangers to my work will be able to construct a narrative about what's happening here, rather than it just being a cool image. that's my goal.
Finally I exported it to sai on my pc to give it a once-over. this is really important because the retina display on an ipad is oversaturated on purpose, to make everything look amazing and vibrant. but what this means is that on other screens, your work might look washed out. it's especially bad at displaying yellows! so i look at it in sai on my pc and i make minor adjustments, in this case I actually added another multiply layer on the moths and an overlay on their non-shadowed parts to increase the contrast there.
finally if you've read this far, I played a little trick with the caption of the drawing. yeah, THEY die... but only one of those moths is a theythem pronoun haver... the other has to survive. he isn't given a choice in the matter.
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linkspooky · 2 months
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Kusakabe the Last Man Standing
Is Kusakabe going to defeat Sukuna all by himself?
Probably not. I fully expect Maki and Yuji to get back up and join the fight. However, Kusakabe is a character that has been slept on for awhile and with him being reluctantly shoved into the spotlight I think it's time to write a meta analyzing him. Especially since the revelation that Kusakabe is the strongest first grade fighter didn't come out of nowhere, in fact Gege has been building up Kusakabe in the background for quite some time which I'll explore under the cut.
So Okay, He's Average
I want to begin this analysis by saying that Kusakabe represents a type of character that Jujutsu Kaisen is desperately in need of. He's just a normal guy. He's our only example of an everyman character. Usually in manga the protagonist serves as the everyman character, especially ones like Yuji who come from a normal life and are being introduced to a fantastical world for the first time, but Yuji ain't normal. Someone who willingly eats a finger that may kill him just so he can be useful and save a stranger isn't normal. Gojo has Yuji pegged as one of the crazy ones within the first few chapters.
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Gojo says that sorcerers have to be crazy, that the best Jujutsu Sorcerers need to be broken in the head otherwise they can't get over their fear of curses and risk their lives fighting them on a daily basis. The cast is full of eccentrics, Gojo the strongest of all isn't even able to relate to other human beings, Sukuna is termed a calamity, Yuta kisses cockroaches without hesitation there's not a normal one in the whole bunch.
The ones that are normal, like Miwa who acts like an average high school girl, has no technique, and Mai who desperately craves to be a normal girl and doesn't want to be a jujutsu sorcerer, either are minor characters or they die.
You could say Ijichi provides the point of view as a normal character, but he's a minor character at best and uninvolved in the plot. Then there's Nanami, who represents the typical japanese salaryman. However, Nanami is extraordinary in that he is far more moral than all of his coworkers, such as returning to be a sorcerer because the work helps people instead of keeping his cushy job, and prioritizing the lives of children over himself.
Us mediocre and average people are in desperate need for representation. Cue, Kusakabe.
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His introduction clearly demonstrates his attitude is different from most sorcerers, rather than running straight into danger, Kusakabe is trying to search for an excuse to stay out of danger where it's safe. While it's cowardly, it's also what a normal person would do in this situation. We are so used to sorcerers who either risk life and limb without a thought for the sake of other people like Nanami or Yuji, or sorcerers who enjoy the fight like Gojo that Kusakabe stands out.
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Miwa who is basically the example of the normal girl among the teenagers shares several parallels with Kusakabe, they're both simple domain masters without cursed techniques, they're both self serving, and also Kusakabe is her teacher and probably the one who recruited her considering he shows up to save her at the end of Shibuya.
Kusakabe is meant to represent what a normal person with common sense would do in the world of Jujutsu, but that doesn't mean he's weak. As I stated above Gege has actually been building up Kusakabe's strength in the background for quite awhile.
When training with Yuji, Gojo first brings up that some sorcerers rely on their techniques too much and that Yuji doesn't necessarily need a fancy technique to win, he can overcome them by learning to control his cursed energy and then using it to strengthen his already amazing martial arts skills and physical prowess.
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The Big Three clans like tend to overvalue inherited techniques too, the downfall of the Zen'in is that they didn't recognize the strength of people like Maki and Toji with no cursed energy because they believed their cursed techniques to be inherently superior.
In Mechamaru's fight against Mahito, Gege makes a big deal spending an entire page explaining the history and mechanics of simple domains. There's obviously no need to put this much attention into detail to explain simple domains unless they're going to come into play later, and while Miwa uses them as stated above she's a minor character.
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A technique called the "Domain for the Weak" what better technique for a normal guy like Kusabe, who is stuck in a cast of super-human characters. When fighting with Yuji, Mei Mei compares Yuji to Kuskabe.
"You're on par with a grade-1 sorcerer at this point. To be this good without a cursed technique... I think you're the only one since Kusakabe."
To further compare him to Mei Mei, Mei Mei monologues about how because her cursed technique of controlling birds is weak she tried to strengthen her body. However, eventually she hit a brick wall and couldn't get any stronger and reach Grade-1 on her efforts alone. Which is when she decided to start using Ui Ui as a tool to make herself stronger by making binding vows between him and herself to strengthen her, in addition to inventing her suicide crow technique.
However, Kusakabe is even stronger than Mei Mei and he managed to reach that level by himself without needing to groom and manipulate a child.
Kusakabe also spends all of Shibuya avoiding getting in a fight with a special grade cursed spirit, and yet at the end of Shibuya he ends up tanking an Uzumaki Maximum from Kenjaku at point blank. Kenjaku even praises him.
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This is the same Kenjaku who can use Suguru Geto's cursed technique even better than Geto can, and who wiped the floor with Choso while bragging that a cursed spirit that's ranked Grade-1 like Choso could never go one on one with a special grade. We never saw Kusakabe directly fight Kenjaku (he would probably run in the opposite direction if given the chance) but the fact that he can use a simple domain to cancel out one of Geto's strongest techniques point blank is really telling.
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All the while having relatable thoughts like this one. In a lot of ways, Kusakabe reminds me of Todo, someone who Gojo mentioned as being one of the next up and coming star students alongside Hakari, and Yuta. Todo has a cursed technique that's simple but effective, but he also fights similiar to Yuji by his expert control of cursed energy. Todo fights mainly with his fists and martial arts and his impressive knowledge of how cursed energy moves though the body, his cursed technique gives him an added bonus.
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Up until this point in the manga though Todo is the most knowledgable about cursed energy, he teaches it Yuji very easily and explains it in ways Yuji can understand. Fighting alongside Todo also brings out Yuji's full potential as a sorcerer. Todo is all muscle, but he fights with his head and is the smartest student in Kyoto.
All of this to say, Kusakabe's strength without a cursed technique can be explained by relating him to Todo. In the Gojo vs. Sukuna fights who is the main voice explaining to both the other students at Jujutsu High and the audience just how the battle is going down.
Kusakabe is not in there in the field, he's watching it on TV, and yet somehow he can disect and explain to the others how both Sukuna and Gojo are using high level Jujutsu Techniques. This is Sukuna and Gojo we're talking about, two geniuses who are the height of jujutsu and can often improvise and make up new techniques on the fly and yet Kusakabe is able to keep up with what's going on.
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Kusakabe gives the play by play, he somehow knows what falling blossom emotion is even though he's not from one of the three big families. He explains to Hakari and Higuruma who are natural geniuses who don't quite understand how their powers work, how Gojo can change the conditions of his barrier and how exactly he made the barrier smaller.
Remember Kusakabe is also a teacher at Jujutsu High. Unlike Gojo who doesn't try to explain basic concepts to Yuji because he's such a genius, Kusakabe is also educating all of the students here and phrasing these high level techniques in ways they can understand. You can't really do that unless you yourself have an intimate understanding of the subject matter.
What I mean to say is by putting Kusakabe in charge of the discussion, Gege is demonstrating that Kusakabe is a character who understands the mechanics of cursed energy and domains on practically the same level as Todo who as we said is considered a prodigy. This is also some clever foreshadowing, because Kusakabe here seems like he's still a background character because all he's doing is essentially expositing to the audience and yet... how impressive must he be if he understands all of these advanced domain techniques when he's just a guy with a sword and no cursed techniques that uses simple domains.
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Kusakabe also understands Higuruma's legal talk in about ten seconds, and can explain the mechanics of Higuruma's domain and why their plan to put Sukuna on trial might not work. He is much smarter than he seems at first glance, Miwa even makes a joke about it. He even analyzes Sukuna's techniques after facing them head on once - and he's the only one who notices how odd it is that Sukuna's not using his fire technique like in Shibuya.
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Sukuna mentions that Kusakabe along with everyone else's cursed energy reinforcement techniques must be on another level if they're able to stand up to his slashes (even if they're in a weakened state right now). After all, Ishigori who was not only one of the strongest fighters of his era but was also hyped up for his massive pool of cursed energy that rivaled Yuta's was torn to pieces by Sukuna's slashes.
Kusakabe also seems to be the one in charge of the strategy for the fight (though it was Angel's idea to let Takaba handle Kenjaku, maybe they're both coordinating but Kusakabe is definitely leading them in the field).
My point being, as much as he's accused of handling his large cast Gege is often able to give a lot of characterization in a limited screentime. Kusakabe is more than he appears to be, and it's clever how Gege built up his importance without anybody noticing, because Higuruma himself likes to avoid conflict, hide in the background and is constantly downplaying his own talents. Ino even made another joke about it last chapter.
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The commonly held view is that the sorcerers who reject their humanity and only care about refining their technique are the ones who become the strongest sorcerers. However, Kusakabe was able to climb to the top of the Grade One sorcerers despite lacking that attitude.
In my opinion, Jujutsu Kaisen is fundamentally about balance, so while there's a definite trend of Sorcerers who resemble Sukuna are the ones who become stronger - it's not presented as the only way to be strong. Yuji only defeated Mahito by cooperating with Todo. On top of that, Sukuna while finding Yuji boring admits that Yuji a mostly selfless person still demonstrates an indomitable will that Sukuna can't break no matter how hard he tries.
If Sukuna represents the thesis that the only way to become strong is to throw away all your humanity and become wildly selfish, then Kusakabe represents the antithesis as a mostly normal person (if a bit cowardly and self interest) who somehow climbed the ranks over people like Mei Mei who represent the kind of selfish monster Sukuna is.
This is actually the pattern for most of the Sukuna fights this arc too. Gojo and Hajime both represent the desire to be understood, and Sukuna rejects both love and says he doesn't need people to understand him because he understands himself.
Yuji is a human who is mostly selfless, and has inherited the curse of his fellow comrades as sorcerers, specifically carrying on the torch for Nanami who is also content to be a cog in the machine if it means he can help his fellow sorcerers out. Sukuna is a selfish monster, who is an individualist and sees other people as toys to amuse himself with.
Higuruma is a genius on the level of Gojo Satoru, but when challenged by Sukuna he ends up sacrificing himself instead in a direct parallel to Nanami in order to pass the torch onto Yuji.
Yuta's domain is literally called "authentic and mutual love" and Sukuna said to Hajime that he understands exactly what love is and he still rejects it. Sukuna's entire philosophy revolves around rejecting the love and friendship, while Yuta only fights for the sake of his friends, and can't believe that his life is worth living without people in his life who love him.
Sukuna gives a whole speech on how by rejecting cursed energy, and using a heavenly restriction to push her body to the peak of physical strength a human can achieve, she's forcing a role on Sukuna to compete with her as the peak of sorcery to determine which one is better.
Now it's Kusakabe turn to have a role in this fight too. While Maki has no cursed energy, she doesn't really represent humans because she's you know, a she-hulk. Kusakabe might be the most human character present that's willing to face down Sukuna. Kusakabe is the most human character someone who climbed this high without being born with any technique, Sukuna is the most inhuman monster in the series, a calamity that Yuji refers to as a true curse.
Gege even threw in these callbacks to Gojo panels.
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That in itself might be foreshadowing that maybe Kusakabe stands a better chance against Sukuna then anyone in the audience thinks. As the number #1 Kusakabe stan, I'm definitely willing to bet on those odds!
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lucybellwood · 10 months
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I’ve been meaning to repost this mini-essay I wrote for Global Maritime History back in 2015 for AGES and since today's dash is full of people lamenting the burden of Boat Knowledge this seems like the right time.
ONWARD FOR TALL SHIP ART TIPS!
I often get questions from people who are concerned that their illustrated boats aren’t going to be up to snuff, and the short answer is generally: don’t sweat it. If you’ve drawn a thing that has a hull in the water and sails in the air, you’re off to a great start, and if you consult a few handy reference images, you’re bound to end up with something that looks mostly ship-like.
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HOWEVER. There are a couple things that often get lost in translation which—if you pay attention to them—can make the difference between a passable tall ship and a vessel that definitely looks like you know your baggywrinkle from your bunghole. Here’s two tips to get you started.
Flags in the Wind
Generally when we think of a thing that’s going fast, we imagine a flag streaming out in the wind behind it, right? Well, when it comes to square rig sailing, things aren’t always so simple. If the wind is coming up from behind a ship—or from the side—to push it forward, the flag may be flying in a direction you wouldn’t expect! How are the yards angled to catch the wind in the sails? What’s driving the vessel forward? Sailors often look to flags for a quick indicator of wind direction—use that thought process when drawing your ships.
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Keep Your Shrouds Tight!
Those rope ladder-looking things sailors are always clambering up? They’re called shrouds, and they also form a large part of the tensioning system that keeps a ship’s masts stable and upright. Stays (lines that don’t move i.e. stay put) are arranged throughout the rig to maintain even aft-to-fore pull on the masts and prevent them from keeling over. Shrouds form the lateral component of that system, so here’s an important fact: they will not be saggy. No saggy shrouds. No saggy stays. In addition to making the mast unstable, it’d be a devil to climb in heavy weather.
Note: the ratlines (the “ladder rungs” of the shroud) can have slack in them—it’s the vertical lines that should be tight.
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When the crew is “tuning the rig,” they’re putting slack in all the stays and then re-tensioning them to ensure that the whole operation is as stable as possible, so unless you’ve got a bunch of idiots running your fictional vessel, keep ’em tight.
And another thing…
I see a lot of people running their shrouds down to the deck, rather than alongside the vessel. Don’t do that! I mean, okay, sometimes shrouds do attach to chain plates on-deck, but most of your classic Golden Age of Sail vessels will have them running alongside to the channels. Also: they end in deadeyes to help with the tensioning of the line and to keep things stable, so don’t forget your deadeyes!
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Honestly, these are the biggest things that I see artists flub when drawing tall ships, so if you can keep them in mind, you’ll be head and shoulders above the rest!
If you’re looking to go more in-depth with your research, I would recommend…
Seeing if you can find a modern replica of the type of ship you’re after and then centering your reference search around the name of that ship. I get far more extensive results when I’m searching for “Privateer Lynx” rather than “1700s topsail schooner.” Don’t discount the many photos tourists will have taken while visiting these ships!
Nose around on model ship-building forums. There is no greater boon to the modern nautical artist than these obsessive craftspeople, who will spend hundreds of hours replicating classic ships in minute detail—often photographing the whole process so you can actually see how the rig of a vessel is put together! God bless ’em.
And that’s all I’ve got! I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief foray into accurate tall ship representation. Fair winds and following seas!
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jennamoran · 3 months
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The Far Roofs: Systems
Hi!
Today I’m going to talk a little bit more about my forthcoming RPG, the Far Roofs. More specifically, I want to give a general overview of its game mechanics!
So the idea that first started the Far Roofs on the road to being its own game came out of me thinking a lot about what large projects feel like.
I was in one of those moods where I felt like the important thing in an RPG system was the parallel between that system and real-world experience. Where I felt like the key to art was always thinking about the end goal, or at least a local goal, as one did the work; and, the key to design was symmetry between the goals and methods, the means and ends.
I don't always feel that way, but it's how I work when I'm feeling both ambitious and technical.
So what I wanted to do was come up with an RPG mechanic that was really like the thing it was simulating:
Finding answers. Solving problems. Doing big things.
And it struck me that what that felt like, really, was a bit like ...
You get pieces over time. You wiggle them around. You try to fit them together. Sometimes, they fit together into larger pieces and then eventually a whole. Sometimes you just collect them and wiggle them around until suddenly there's an insight, an oh!, and you now know everything works.
The ideal thing to do here would probably be having a bag of widgets that can fit together in different ways---not as universally as Legos or whatever, but, like, gears and connectors and springs and motors and whatever. If I were going to be building a computer game I would probably think along those lines, anyway. You'd go to your screen of bits and bobs and move them around with your mouse until it hooked together into something that you liked.
... that's not really feasible for a tabletop RPG, though, at least, not with my typical financial resources. I could probably swing making that kind of thing, finding a 3d printing or woodworking partner or something to make the pieces, for the final kickstarter, but I don't have the resources to make a bunch of different physical object sets over time while I'm playtesting.
So the way I decided that I could implement this was by drawing letter tiles.
That I could do a system where you'd draw letter tiles ... not constantly, not specifically when you were working, but over time; in the moments, most of all, that could give you insight or progress.
Then, at some point, you'd have enough of them.
You'd see a word.
That word'd be your answer.
... not necessarily the word itself, but, like, what the word means to you and what the answer means to you, those would be the same.
The word would be a symbol for the answer that you've found, as a player and a character.
(The leftover letters would then stick around in your hand, bits of thought and experience that didn't directly lead to a solution there, but might help with something else later on.)
Anyway, I figured that this basic idea was feasible because, like, lots of people own Scrabble sets. Even if you don't, they're easier to find than sets of dice!
For a short indie game focused on just that this would probably have been enough of a mechanic all on its own. For a large release, though, the game needed more.
After thinking about it I decided that what it wanted was two more core resolution systems:
One, for stuff like, say ... kickstarter results ... where you're more interested in "how well did this do?" or "how good of an answer is this?" than in whether those results better fit AXLOTL or TEXTUAL. For this, I added cards, which you draw like letter tiles and combine into poker hands. A face card is probably enough for a baseline success, a pair of Kings would make the results rather exciting, and a royal flush result would smash records.
The other core system was for like ... everyday stuff. For starting a campfire or jumping a gap. That, by established RPG tradition, would use dice.
...
I guess technically it didn't have to; I mean, like, most of my games have been diceless, and in fact we've gotten to a point in the hobby where that's just "sort of unusual" instead of actually rare.
But, like, I like dice. I do. If I don't use them often, it's because I don't like the empty page of where to start in the first place building a bespoke diced system when I have so many good diceless systems right there.
... this time, though, I decided to just go for it.
--
The Dice System
So a long, long time ago I was working on a game called the Weapons of the Gods RPG. Eos Press had brought me in to do the setting, and somewhere in the middle of that endeavor, the game lost its system.
I only ever heard Eos' side of this, and these days I tend to take Eos' claims with a grain of salt ... but, my best guess is that all this stuff did happen, just, with a little more context that I don't and might not ever know?
Anyway, as best as I remember, the first writer they had doing their system quit midway through development. So they brought in a newer team to do the system, and halfway through that the team decided they'd have more fun using the system for their own game, and instead wrote up a quick alternate system for Weapons of the Gods to use.
This would have been fine if the alternate system were any good, but it was ... pretty obviously a quick kludge. It was ...
I think the best word for it would be "bad."
I don't even like the system they took away to be their own game, but at least I could believe that it was constructed with love. It was janky but like in a heartfelt way.
The replacement system was more the kind of thing where if you stepped in it you'd need a new pair of shoes.
It upset me.
It upset me, and so, full wroth, I decided to write a system to use for the game.
Now, I'd never done a diced system before at that point. My only solo game had been Nobilis. So I took a bunch of dice and started rolling them, to see ... like ... what the most fun way of reading them was.
Where I landed, ultimately, was looking for matches.
The core system for Weapons of the Gods was basically, roll some number of d10s, and if you got 3 4s, that was a 34. If you got 2 9s, that was a 29. If your best die was a 7 and you had no pairs at all, you got 1 7. 17.
It didn't have any really amazing statistical properties, but the act of rolling was fun. It was rhythmic, you know, you'd see 3 4s and putting them together into 34 was a tiny tiny dopamine shot at the cost of basically zero brain effort. It was pattern recognition, which the brain tends to enjoy.
I mean, obviously, it would pall in a few minutes if you just sat there rolling the dice for no reason ... but, as far as dice rolling goes, it was fun.
So when I went to do an optional diced system for the Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine RPG, years later, to post here on tumblr ... I already knew what would make that roll fun. That is, rolling a handful of dice and looking for matches.
What about making it even more fun?
... well, critical results are fun, so what about adding them and aiming to have a lot of them, though still like rare enough to surprise?
It made sense to me to call no matches at all a critical failure, and a triple a critical success. So I started fiddling with dice pool size to get the numbers where I wanted them.
I'm reconstructing a bit at this point, but I imagine that I hit 6d10 and was like: "these are roughly the right odds, but this is one too many dice to look at quickly on the table, and I don't like that critical failure would be a bit more common than crit success."
So after some wrestling with things I wound up with a dice pool of 5d6, which is the dice pool I'm still using today.
If you roll 5d6, you'll probably get a pair. But now and then, you'll get a triple (or more!) My combinatorics is rusty, so I might have missed a case, but, like ... 17% of the time, triples, quadruples, or quintuples? And around 9% chance, for no matches at all?
I think I was probably looking for 15% and 10%, that those were likely my optimum, but ... well, 5d6 comes pretty close. Roughly 25% total was about as far as I thought I could push critical results while still having them feel kind or rare. Like ...
If I'm rolling a d20 in a D&D-like system, and if I'm going to succeed on an 18+, that's around when success is exciting, right? Maybe 17+, though that's pushing it? So we want to fall in the 15-20% range for a "special good roll." And people have been playing for a very long time now with the 5% chance of a "1" as a "special bad roll," and that seemed fine, so, like, 20-25% chance total is good.
And like ...
People talk a lot about Rolemaster crit fail tables in my vicinity, and complain about the whiff fests you see in some games where you keep rolling and rolling and nothing good or bad actually happens, and so I was naturally drawn to pushing crit failure odds a bit higher than you see in a d20-type game.
Now, one way people in indie circles tend to address "whiff fests" is by rethinking the whole dice-rolling ... paradigm ... so you never whiff; setting things up, in short, so that every roll means something, and every success and failure mean something too.
It's a leaner, richer way of doing things than you see in, say, D&D.
... I just didn't feel like it, here, because the whole point of things was to make dice rolling fun. I wanted people coming out of traditional games to be able to just pick up the dice and say "I'm rolling for this!" because the roll would be fun. Because consulting the dice oracle here, would be fun.
So in the end, that was the heart of it:
A 5d6 roll, focusing on the ease of counting matches and the high but not exorbitant frequency of special results.
But at the same time ...
I'm indie enough that I do really like rolls where, you know, every outcome is meaningful. Where you roll, and there's never a "whiff," just a set of possible meaningful outcomes.
A lot of the time, where I'm leaning into "rolls are fun, go ahead and roll," what it means to succeed, to fail, to crit, all that's up to the group, and sometimes it'll be unsatisfying. Other times, you'll crit succeed or crit fail and the GM will give you basically the exact same result as you'd have gotten on a regular success or failure, just, you know, jazzing up the description a bit with more narrative weight.
But I did manage to pull out about a third of the rolls you'll wind up actually making and assign strong mechanical and narrative weight to each outcome. Where what you were doing was well enough defined in the system that I could add some real meat to those crits, and even regular success and regular failure.
... though that's a story, I think, to be told some other time. ^_^
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max1461 · 1 year
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only tangentially related but sometimes I wonder if survivorship bias makes us view modern art as less than older art, that time and cultural memory acts as a natural bullshit filter, that actually people were just as vapid and pretentious back then, but none of the vapid and pretentious work had enough cultural value stick around to be examined now
I think it's partly this, but it's partly something else.
This is probably gonna piss a lot of people off, but I think in a particular sense, contemporary art is just... straightforwardly more advanced than older art. I know, I know, but hear me out: I don't mean that as a value judgement. What I mean is like...
Ok, take math as an example. Math started out talking about things that everybody's heard of: triangles, circles, whole numbers. But as those concepts were better understood, they got abstracted more and more. Symmetries of shapes where abstracted to symmetry groups, numbers abstracted to rings and fields, eventually it was all abstracted to category theory, and so on. And now if you look at major research topics in modern math, things like e.g. the Langlands program, as a non-expert, it often looks like a bunch of fucking nonsense about bullshit objects that don't have anything to do with the real world! But even though I don't understand the Langlands program itself, I know enough math to understand why all the levels of abstraction that I have understood are meaningful and valuable, and I can see why going even further would be too. And math is useful enough that the results often speak for themselves.
So I think contemporary art is much like this. If you read contemporary art theory, you will immediately see that it is all very meta. Art used to be made about very concrete things—people and nice looking vistas and so on—that anyone could understand. And then theorists came along and built up frameworks for thinking about art, because they wanted to understand why that art worked, why it was powerful and emotive. And then new, avant-garde artist came along and made art about the frameworks, pushing at their edge-cases or exploring their unintuitive implications. And then new frameworks were built up to understand that art, rinse and repeat. This account is, as I understand it, a little bit ahistorical—the building and the pushing of frameworks was often simultaneous and often not clearly articulated. Although, frankly, the same could be said for the history of math. But in retrospect I think a pretty undeniable picture emerges.
So, to put it bluntly, I think one of the reasons so much contemporary art looks vapid is that it isn't for you. It's about things you've never heard of, in the same way that category theory is about spaces and morphisms, and explaining that to someone who's never heard of groups or topological spaces is basically impossible. And I think there are some differences—art is obviously, you know, totally vibes based in a way that math isn't. If a big wire sculpture with styrofoam cups on it or whatever doesn't speak to you then it doesn't speak to you, no one can defend it on "objective" grounds. And art isn't useful in the way that math is, so it doesn't demonstrate its validity to people who don't get it in any way. But what I wish people understood is that there are people, who know a bunch of art theory and art history, who that wire sculpture with styrofoam cups on it does speak to. It makes them go "oh, I love how it plays off of X and contrasts with Y" etc. etc. And that isn't going to happen for you because, like, you don't know what X or Y even are! But that doesn't make it valueless, it just makes it insular. Which, you know, contemporary art really is! I think there are a lot of contemporary artists who claim to not be doing what I just described, who claim to be making art "for everybody", but I think if you read their artist statements and stuff it often becomes pretty clear that this is not the case. And this is a valid criticism of contemporary art! But "vapid" is mostly not.
Pretentious, definitely. It's pretentious as fuck.
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aclickbaittitle · 4 months
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What do Fiction Podcasts have to say about the future?
Whenever you write a story set years from now, how you construct the world around it creates a new way to see the future, a fictional image to a reality we could be headed towards.
Fiction podcasts love to play within the sci-fi genre, and the thousands of audio dramas they have given us new pictures of what our world could look like in the next century (or a few years closer).
In this article I want to analyze the settings in the following shows: Hello from the Hallowoods, Desperado and The Strange Case of Starship Iris.
Hello From the Hallowoods
Hello From the Hallowoods welcomes us to a world ravaged by black rains and capitalism’s greed. After a natural (but man-made) disaster involving acid rain and flooding the world’s successions gave birth to two different types of beings: those who prefer to dream in a company’s “Prime Dream” and those who stay awake to continue living.
Even though the world is post-apocalyptic on paper, it never feels like it. Rather it is enchanted, there are woods where gods, revenants, devils, giants and zombies fall in love with themselves and with each other, places where community is found.
This, I attribute this to the fact that most characters don’t lament a nebulous “end of the world”, since this is the world they have always been living in and they are going to make the best of it: find family, friends, lovers, build homes and destroy bigots.
You leave the world of Hello From the Hallowoods knowing that even a doomed world is worthy of being awake for.
Desperado Podcast
Desperado Podcast also takes us to a world that was looted, but this time mainly by religious colonialism. 
Neo-colionalism has made itself tangible through genocides and direct targeting to believers that worship other than the “Old man in the Sky”.  In its first episode a community in México which revere La Catrina (a goddess in the show inspired by a popular figure in mexican art) is wiped out by the crusaders. 
From there our protagonist Elio is the sole survivor of his people, however all is not lost as he teams up with Talia (the chosen of Baron Samedi) and Shinji (whom I believe is a death kami?).
Elio now literally carries the memories of his community as the vessel for her goddess. Likewise in Desperado, the magic of the characters is the legacy their ancestors gave them, and it is what keeps them alive in the violent world. 
Though if we are ever to worry that our protagonist could fall into its clutches, the structure of the world soothes our preoccupations. You see, it is the characters within the story that are narrating their own experiences to the audience so we know that after all the pain, they ended up safe.
What Desperado tells us about the future is that, even with the ongoing genocides, white-washing of our culture, and neo-colonialism in general we will end up victorious in the end, and that our history will be forever within our memory.
The Strange Case of Starship Iris
The Strange Case of Starship Iris, is the most sci-fi audio drama out of the bunch. It follows the crew of the Rumour, a smuggler's ship, as they try to uncover the dark secrets of the Federation and evade persecution.
As with the other two properties, the future is not an easy world, but our characters are making the most of it.
In a post-war galaxy, the crew of the Rumour is smuggling space-ship parts, medicine, and erotic magazines until they find a help alarm coming from the Starship Iris and rescue biologist Violet Liu. From there they are involved in a mystery which, if the truth comes to life, they could be charged with treason against the Intergalactic Republic. 
Throughout the two seasons of the podcast, Violet Liu and company heal together the scars that the war and its result: the Intergalactic Republic left them. They fight against the government not only through robberies, infiltration, and coordinated efforts with rebel groups but also by eating latkes, drinking, singing shanties, and getting gay jewish married.
To conclude
if queer podcasts are telling us something about the future, it is that it may be equally messed up as the present but that queer, disabled people of color will exist beyond the end of the world and that even in the bleakest of futures we will continue to love and thrive.
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blackopals-world · 9 months
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What Nurseries would the fem!AU(Yuus) build
(Look I have baby fever and I'm tired of fighting it)
Vet!FemYuu
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Stuffed animals everywhere
Doesn't care if it's a boy or girl they aren't changing it.
Every book will be animal fables
Is praying for the baby to be a beastman but just wants a healthy baby.
Got a bunch of teething toys just in case the kid has their milk teeth come early.
Rainforest noise machine
Once the baby is a few months they are going everywhere in a sling.
The baby will meet all of Yuu's patients and will be constantly covered in fur and feathers.
If the baby becomes interested in fish like their aunt Yuu will cry. She won't let her win!
Marine Biologist!FemYuu
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A bit chaotic in decoration
Let's Azul decorate it the first time and cried because it was beige like those weird rich people who only care about aesthetic but have no real sense of style. Like, no color? Babies need color!
Yuu cries while explaining (it's the hormones)
She hates beige
Azul wouldn't argue with a pregnant woman
She wants sushi but doesn't know if she can have it if the baby is half mer.
They installed a tank in the room just encase the baby is a mer
The tweels are banned from holding the baby until the kid can sit up on their own.
Took the baby to swim classes to awaken their natural instincts to swim like all babies even especially fishy babies.
Chef!femYuu
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Red and gold for good luck and prosperity.
Pandas for peace and protection.
She wanted everything to be traditional but knows how demanding it will be.
No hot foods, no crab, no lamb, mutton, no sushi, no soft cheese, no soft serve ice cream.
She's dying.
After the baby is born a feast of pig trotters, eggs, cakes, chicken and gelatinous rice is served. She will dye the eggs red.
The baby will get an anti-usog bracelet at birth
She is superstitious so no one will see the baby's clothes before birth.
Noble!FemYuu
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Too much? Yeah.
Unfortunately, she insisted due to family tradition. Every child must use this crib first.
The baby has a different crib in every room so it doesn't matter.
Everyone needs to know how precious this baby is. The need to see this crib from space.
More silk! More pillows! More toys! More!More! More!
This baby will have like five names.
This baby will be lorded over the masses as the perfect example of a baby.
Portraits will be painted of this baby that will one day be hung in great halls and later art galleries.
Yuu is way too excited and honestly, even the baby is fed up.
She trying her best.
Special Forces!femYuu
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We all know who the father is.
Yep, Rook designed this room
Doesn't matter if it's a boy or girl either.
Yuu was way too tired to stop him and she didn't even try to stop him.
Rook really wants a girl and will try again if it doesn't happen. (he was going to try again anyways)
You'd think he was giving birth with the effort he put in.
Yuu would make him do it if she could. But alas.
The couple was using their pet bunnies as pseudo babies while prepping for the pregnancy. They bunnies weren't happy except for one.
Pistolet the weirdo. Rook's favorite and the dumb one. He was also the future baby's best friend.
Yuu is an iron woman honestly, she shows no pregnancy symptoms while Rook has sympathy pregnancy symptoms.
They eat shaved ice and watch war movies together. Couple goals.
Gardener!FemYuu
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A little English cottage nursery
Very whimsical
The baby isn't actually going to use a crib until they are whined because Yuu insisted on co-sleeping despite what the doctor said.(don't do this)
Yuu wanted to deliver the same way as her mother and her mother's mother. In field, by themselves, while harvesting the crops. Have that sucker out in an hour, swaddle it, and back to work.
That didn't happen. They went to a hospital and iron woman over here was put on extended bed rest after giving birth to a big ass baby. Beautiful too.
(???)!Fem?Yuu
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They can have kids??
By who?
How?
I mean it's nice but I'm still confused?
Good for them?
You sure that baby isn't a cryptid? That thing has a lot of hair. Looks like that girl from "The Ring". That's alot of hair.
Well, good luck with your hairy baby.
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solar-sunnyside-up · 6 months
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Autumn and winter is a RUBBISH time for my love of solarpunk to be rekindled, because so much of what I can act on is guerrilla gardening. Alas, here I am, getting back to my solarpunk roots.
Do you have any suggestions for solarpunk activities we can work on in the cold months?
God I feel for this!!! Winter always feels like such a festering time to be in love with solarpunk. Not to mention how starved we are for winter content for solarpunk and lunarpunk in general. But yeah!! Here's some ideas to do in winter!!!
Out and about:
There are a lot more social clubs in your city then you'd expect! I know 2 different community associations in my city that have social clubs that go in adult field trips (like to farms and cafes ans boardgame places!!)! And have crafting clubs! And the best part is if their in your community, it's within a decent walk of you but it's almost always walkable!
Using a library!! For anything! Everything! In my provenance we got a saying "Use it or they
Graffiti- leaving kind messages or fun stickers all over the place isn't really a weather restricted activity for the most part. I know someone who made a Playlist filled with union songs and rebellion songs and put a code for it and links to how to unionize on stickers and did that.
Adopt a stop- more cities have these then you might think! But adopt a stop programs basically let you take care of a certain bus stop and this lets you add things (like good benches, shoveling and removing ice, asking the city to add heaters, etc..) you become the advocate for that bus stop. If your city doesn't have a program like it yet you can ask your city or community to start one since it saves a bunch of money on maitance costs!
At home:
Archiving and pirating - highly recommend doing it in a physical sense if you can afford it. Bc then you can give them out as gifts!
Create!! - Sewing, sewing for friends, knitting gloves/scarfs for ppl who might need it, make art to inspire others via writing or drawing or other mediums! Gift economies require gifts after all so make some!
Learn! - learning a new skill, like canning or how to install solarpanels. Researching in general, but also keeping up to date with local politics and what you can do on the ground there. Building up knowledge is such as useful even if it doesn't feel like your doing anything.
Connect! - Shoveling neighbors walkways, or in general connecting with the ppl in your immediate surroundings! They can help you out in ways you couldn't imagine, someone didn't bake often so they gave me 15lbs of flour!! And their extra pair of snow boots, I hadn't had snow boots since I was 12 years old and it meant the world to me. The pizza I taught her daughter to make and a cheap meal for them meant the world for them. These small acts really are what tie each other together.
Plan! - plan for next year, what kind of equipment can you gather? What do you wanna accomplish next growing season? Seed swaps are also a fun thing I know ppl will do in winter as they start preserving food!
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writemekpop · 11 months
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Double Life | Lee Jeno
Summary: You’re thinking of ending things with your boring boyfriend Jeno – when he confesses that he has a surprising secret life. 
Genre: No jam Jeno, he's kinda dumb but he cute, established relationship AU
Word Count: 1.3k
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“Okay, okay, Spongebob or Patrick – who would win in a fight?”  
Jeno was speaking so animatedly that his dark wavy hair flopped up and down.
“I don’t know, Jeno,” you sighed, walking through the supermarket aisle. 
Once again, you wished your boyfriend was… different. Less nerdy. You wished he helped you with the chores, rather than sneaking Froot Loops into the trolley. You kept planning to break up with him… you just never got round to it. 
Just then, you heard a gunshot. Your muscles turned to jelly. It had to be a store robbery! 
Suddenly, Jeno grabbed your hand and pulled you into a nearby janitor’s closet. 
Your bodies were pressed against each other in the dim light. The firm muscle of Jeno’s chest pressed against yours. You’d never noticed how toned he was. You felt heat rush to your face. 
“Listen to me, Y/n,” Jeno’s voice was deep, confident… sexy. You’d never heard him talk in this way before.
“What?” you said, heart racing. 
“I’m – a secret agent.” Jeno said. “US government.” You blinked. “Sorry?” 
“Clandestine operative?” 
You frowned.
“Black ops?” 
You shook your head.  
Jeno huffed impatiently. “Y/n, I’m trying to tell you that I’m a… spy.”
Despite your fear, you laughed. “Jeno! Stop messing around.”
Jeno sighed, running his hand through his hair. “I figured I had to tell you the truth. You’re about to see me use seven different kinds of martial arts.”  
A thrill ran through you. Was Jeno – a guy who couldn’t kill a spider on his own – putting his life at risk for the nation?   
You heard footsteps approaching the door. Jeno began unbuttoning his shirt. “Now, I don’t mean to surprise you, but I have an idea.”  
You nodded, unable to believe your passive boyfriend was finally taking charge. 
Just as the door was flung open, Jeno – now shirtless – pulled you into his arms and kissed you with a passion that took your breath away. 
There was nothing gentle about this kiss – Jeno pushed your back against the cool concrete, bunching your shirt in his fists. You shivered at the feeling of his warm, wet tongue in your mouth.
“Are you hiding in-“ a voice barked, then fell silent, before suddenly shutting the door again. 
You burst out laughing, trying to hush your giggles against Jeno’s neck. He was chuckling, too. “I had a feeling that might surprise him,” Jeno said. 
You looked away, suddenly conscious of Jeno’s nakedness. Even though he was your boyfriend, he felt like a stranger today. 
Jeno’s hand brushed a stray hair out of your face. “It’s okay. You can look.”
You slowly turned your face, taking in the smooth ripples of Jeno’s tanned stomach, the faint trail of dark hair winding down it. You realised you hadn’t seen Jeno naked in over a year, maybe.
Your heart was heavy. Jeno’s career, Jeno’s body, Jeno’s life – you knew nothing about any of them. It felt like he wasn’t your boyfriend at all. 
Jeno’s eyes refused to leave yours. “Everything I do, Y/n – I do it for you. To build a world where we don’t have to be afraid anymore.” 
You clutched Jeno’s hand. “Let’s get out of this place before someone comes looking.”
You both crept out into the supermarket aisle… when you were confronted by a masked man holding a gun. “Hey!” he yelled. “We missed one of ‘em!” 
“I’m sorry, does this supermarket belong to you?” Jeno boomed.
You were so shocked you couldn’t breathe.  
Laughing, the man called two of his friends over. “Check out this punk!” 
The man shoved Jeno’s shoulder. Jeno stared right back at him, towering over him, his face like stone.
The man’s voice darkened. “This guy’s got a death wish.”
Jeno reached for his back pocket. All three of the guys took a step back. “Now, gentlemen” Jeno said, “I don’t want to use this, but if you try anything, I will.” 
Relief trickled down your body. 
Until one of the guys at the back said, “I call your bluff. He ain’t got no gun!” 
The others, realising that this was true, glared at Jeno. 
“Beat him up or something!” you hissed at Jeno, who was still frozen. “Use your – karate or whatever!” 
But Jeno just raised his hands above his head. He was shaking. 
“I… can’t,” he breathed.
“What do you mean? Use your spy training,” you said. “Don’t give up now!”
Jeno turned to you. His face was deathly pale. “No – I literally can’t.”
Fear enclosed you, like barbed wire around your throat. “What do you mean you can’t?”  
A tear slipped down Jeno’s cheek. “I’m not actually a spy, Y/n. I don’t know a single martial art, I’m not trained in anything… heck, I’ve never even left the state!” 
“You… lied to me?” you said. Of course. You couldn’t believe you had fallen for it. The weight of your anger surprised even you.  
“I just - wanted you to see me – as more than your dorky boyfriend from high school.” Jeno said quietly. “And now I’ve put us in danger…”  
“Shut up,” you snapped.
Raising one hand above your head in surrender, you grabbed Jeno’s shirt and started slowly pulling him backwards. “I’m so sorry.” you called. “We didn’t mean it. I promise – we’ll leave you alone.” 
The masked men were not backing off. Sweat dripped down your top lip. 
You pulled off the gold birth chain on your neck. It clattered on the floor. “It’s real,” you called. “We’ll run out of the store and not look back, okay?”
“You run right out…” the man said. 
“Right out,” you whispered. 
Turning, you pulled Jeno by the hand and ran out of the supermarket. True to your promise, you did not look back. 
You kept running till you got to your car, then drove right home. Despite showering and eating a hot meal, you and Jeno were still on a knife edge. 
Jeno sat down beside you on the bed. He touched your arm, but you pulled it away. 
“I’m sorry, darling. I don’t know why I did that,” Jeno said, sniffing. 
You touched your bare neck, staring blankly at the wall. “I’ve had that necklace since I was born.” 
Jeno wrapped his strong arms around you and buried his head in your chest. “Please forgive me!” Jeno begged, his voice muffled against your shirt. 
You pushed him off. “Jeno… I need some time to think.” 
---
One week later… 
You and Jeno were nestled together under a blanket watching Netflix. The shock had worn off, and now you missed your boyfriend.
“I’m so sorry, Y/n,” Jeno said for the thousandth time. “I’m know I’m not some – hero. I’m an idiot.” 
“That was such a dumb thing to do,” you snapped. “I can’t believe you lied to me!”
Jeno flinched. 
“But…” you continued, urging yourself to relax. “You’re not an idiot. And I’m sorry that I treat you that way.” You hugged Jeno as tight as you could, pressing your face into his shoulder. “You’re wonderful, Jeno. You’re creative, and funny, and sweet… I don’t want a spy. I want you.”
Jeno kissed your neck, making you shiver. “I want you, too,” he murmured.
“There is one thing that’s been on my mind, though,” you said, pulling away. 
Jeno’s eyes widened. “What?”
“When did you get abs?” you said, lifting Jeno’s shirt and pressing kisses to his stomach.
Jeno’s face darkened. “Um… I guess… I’ve been working out."
You frowned. “Well, agent, your first mission is to get that shirt off. I need all night to explore this new development.”
He grinned. “Jeno to the rescue…”
MAIN MASTERLIST
Let us know what you thought in the comments or on anon! 💋
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araremonaka · 2 months
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If you don’t mind me asking, have you had any ideas on how the other trolls work in the pirate au? I’m not sure how much music would differ between troll types but I would think they each adjusted to the sea in their own way. The techno trolls wouldn’t be too affected since they already live underwater, but the others would.
The rock trolls might be island hoppers, taking small but fast ships between islands.
I could see classical trolls having very large ships with wide masts they can perch on.
And I think it would be neat if the country trolls became more like kelpies, adapting to live in the sea rather than sail across it.
I don’t know if funk would change much. Their spaceship seems like it would keep them pretty safe.
But I digress. Your au is so fun and I adore your art. Have a lovely day :)
I LOVE YOUR IDEA FOR COUNTRY OMG I hope you dont mind if I steal it lol I couldnt think of how they wouldve adapted honestly
I do have a couple of ideas for how the others adapted though :3
Techno doesnt have much of a change other than being the biggest tribe. Looking into the ocean at night you might see colorful lights flickering in and out.
Rock trolls have the most land, they lived on a volcano once hundreds of years ago now that the volcano is underwater it made a bunch of islands for them to live on. They still sail around on ships (Rock World tour CRUISE..)
Funk spaceship
The Classical trolls lived on hills and mountains before, they have the least amount of land as a result they would start building up into the sky with airships. I really like the idea of them also building a bunch of bird house looking structures in the ocean to live in.
During the flood hundreds of years ago the troll tribes were united. In a time of suddenly having to adapt to living on water where they should all be working together the Pop trolls committed their first and biggest act of thievery, stealing the strings for themselves.
This was the beginning of their reign of terror on the sea, they were the most feared troll tribe in the ocean. The leaders of the other troll tribes having enough each agreed to take a string and sail far away. Although this didn’t end their life style as pirates, this was the last of what was known of the pop trolls.
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sgiandubh · 4 months
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So in other words, you agree, Sam and Cait are not very good actors as exemplified by the scene being them and not Beauchamp and Fraser. On that, agreed. She might be a C actor, he's definitely a D
Dear Beauchamp and Fraser Anon,
I suspect you might be a returning one, by the way, hoping to catch me unprepared with a very cheap sophism. Check this concept on Wikipedia if you wish, but I will give you my definition: manipulated or derailed logic, i.e. formally sustainable, but in reality just a fallacy; or, if you prefer, a bunch of crap, just for the sake of it. Also, it would be wise not to try these cheap tricks on someone trained to work with words and doing so every single day: you might find no satisfaction, ultimately.
Fun fact: I don't agree with any single word you just wrote. Sam and Cait are very good and gifted actors. Both of them. They did wonders with a very inconsistent script and under barbaric public pressure. What dragged you in here, Anon? Mrs. Gabaldon's florid, even luxuriant prose? What kept you in here, Anon? Blood and sperm and rape galore? I should wish you were honest, at least for once in your life, and let your answer be 'not really'.
What I meant by that phrase was something very simple: the actors' life experience deeply informing and sublimating their performance. If you think real and creative lives are strictly separate affairs in any intellectual endeavor, then you are probably completely unfamiliar with anything remotely related to writing, singing, playing (an instrument), acting, composing or painting. All these are akin to magic and all of the above are a summoning of sorts: ask any 'content creator', you will probably get a very similar answer. In Cait and Sam's case, their real life story nurtures and elevates their acting, despite people like you.
I am not an actor myself, but a long time ago it was acting that liberated me and taught me to not be afraid of anything. I did not make a living out of it, but I will always have the tools making me able to access that very special energy, any time I should need it. So, I can only offer you an educated opinion of These Two:
C is a very, very good actress. She is classy, sophisticated and knows instinctively how to occupy a stage or a set. She worked and progressed a LOT since Season 1, when it took me a good while to warm up to her. Add to this what I think is arresting beauty. Not really a C-level, in my book.
S is a wonderfully gifted actor who, unlike C, does not have any idea of this potential and, to be honest, gives the impression to even not care about it. He singlehandedly dominated some of the most difficult moments of the series (that unwatchable Wentworth episode comes to mind). His mastery of the Stanislavski and Lecoq methods and techniques is excellent. He is likeable, personable and has an innate emotional intelligence, helping him navigate and compensate the weaknesses of (yes, I insist!) an often insufficient script. I have already written about it, with arguments, when I found some very interesting parallels between The Fiery Cross episode and Laurence Olivier's performance in Shakespeare's Henry V. I will say it again: this guy has been grossly miscast, spare for JAMMF.
Perhaps you are unfamiliar with the whole preparation and rehearsal process when producing a movie or a series or a theatre show. These people don't just learn their lines by heart and turn up for readings and rehearsals. They also read and watch a lot of things that could help them build better, more credible characters. But what makes the sometimes very subtle difference between a decent performance and a stellar one is the amount of themselves they allow inside their acting. And in this respect, I think Sam and Cait have been very lucky, in what is a very clear case of Art (instinctively) imitating Life.
I doubt this answered your question and to be honest, I don't care.
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watchmegetobsessed · 1 year
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CHILDISH
A/N: this turned out less halloween-y than i planned, but i think its still cute hehe
WORD COUNT: 1.5k
SUMMARY: It was supposed to be a perfect, cozy fall weekend. Right until you doubt whether you're the perfect fit for your older, successful boyfriend.
MASTERLIST | SUPPORT ME!
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There’s a pep in your steps as you walk out of the elevator on the top floor of Harry’s office building, carrying the lunch you made him and you’re dropping off for him now. You’re excited for tonight and this weekend, because it’s gonna be the perfect fall weekend. You’re having a cozy movie night tonight, watching Nightmare Before Christmas and Coco while eating caramel apples and popcorn, drinking hot chocolate and tomorrow you’re going to the pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins that you’ll carve later in the afternoon. It’s literally what every girl dreams of at the end of October and Harry is a partner in all of it even though you would have never guessed he’s the kind of man to do these things when you first met him years ago.
You know your way around the office well by now so when the two assistants sitting behind their desk spot you, none of them question who you are.
“Mr. Styles is in a meeting,” Riley says as you approach them.
“I know. I’m just dropping this off for him. Can you give it to him when he’s done? I made him lunch,” you smile bashfully as you set the bag with the containers in it onto the desk. You even put a cute little sticky note on top.
Can’t wait for tonight, hurry home to me! Bone appetite! Love you! Xx
You love the pun and you know Harry will too.
“Of course,” Riley nods with a smile.
“Alright. Thank you, have a nice day,” you smile back as you turn around and head back towards the elevator. You sink your hands into the deep pockets of your wool coat and wind the candy you showed in there, wanting to give it to Harry too, so you start walking back to the assistant, but before you could turn the corner you hear them talking.
“I know! This is so silly,” Riley laughs.
“Silly? More like ridiculous. Her boyfriend is the CEO and she is bringing him lunch with sticky notes,” the other assistant, Tina snorts.
“I never understood how he could date a woman like her. No, not even woman, she is a girl.”
“Have you seen her in that oversized jumper?”
“The rainbow colored one?”
“Yes! It’s hideous! I wouldn’t even dress my toddler in it. Harry is a billionaire, I don’t know how he puts up with her childishness.”
You chew on your bottom lip so harshly, it almost starts bleeding. Their words hurt and turning around you rush back to the elevator so you can leave as fast as possible.
It sends you down a spiral. Are you really that childish? You always knew Harry and you come from different worlds, but you thought they clash perfectly. He is a CEO, insanely successful, lives in a penthouse and is thirty-six years old while you just turned twenty-six. You were an art teacher until you switched, so now you design book covers, but you still teach a few classes in a private school, because you like the kids so much. You lived in a one bedroom apartment before moving in with Harry, which was the size of the bedroom you now share with him. You don’t wear designer clothes, you love thrift shopping and you tend to DIY anything and everything.
As you arrive back home, walking into the penthouse you take a look around. You still remember how it looked when you moved in two years ago, very clean and modern, like the cover of an architecture magazine. But now you see your own touch everywhere.
Colorful candles spattered on every possible surface, chunky blankets covering the grey couch along with a bunch of pillows, you’ve put up fall decoration here and there, making the place cozier and more like home instead of leaving it so sterile. Harry never said he finds your things childish, not even your extreme amount of funky mugs or your plants, all in different pots or random art you hung at every possible empty spot in the place. They are far from his taste, but these little things make the penthouse homey.
Or at least they did until now.
As you look around you only see how childish and ridiculous all this stuff looks in the expensive penthouse that was once Harry’s modern home. What if he hates all of them? If he finds them hideous, but he just doesn’t want to hurt your feelings.
He is a decade older than you, a serious businessman and you’re making him watch Coco tonight and you have plans to go to a pumpkin patch tomorrow. How could you think these were the things he wanted to do?
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“Your girlfriend dropped this off for you, Sir.” Riley places the bag on Harry’s desk when he returns into his office and he would have known it was from you even if she didn’t tell him. It’s in that bag with the polka dots all over that you love to use so much. It brings a smile to his lips and then he finds the sticky note. His smile grows from ear to ear.
“Thank you. I’ll be leaving early tonight, I have plans. You guys can leave around three too, if you want,” he tells her to which she nods before striding out of the room.
He can’t wait to spend the evening with you, curled up on the couch, watching the movies you chose. There’s nothing he would rather be doing on a Friday evening.
Wanting to get home as soon as possible, he really does leave early, texting you on his way home. You usually text him right back with a bunch of emojis, but this time you just send a simple okay and it concerns him. Something happened. He knows it.
“Babe! I’m home!” he calls out upon walking into the penthouse, looking for you and he notices that something is off right away.
Most of the candles are gone. And there’s only one blanket left on the couch. The pillows? Gone too.
“Y/N?” he calls out again and that’s when you walk out of the bedroom, dressed in a simple black dress. It looks great on you, but he knows you wouldn’t wear it, not at least without a fun jacket or mismatched jewelry.
“Hey!” you attempt to smile at him as you kiss him on the lips shortly.
“You’re so dressed up,” he hums.
“Yeah, um… I thought that maybe we could ditch the movie night and go out for dinner. I reserved a table at that sushi restaurant you like.”
“You want to ditch movie night? But I thought… what about Coco? It’s your favorite!”
“I’ve seen it a million times already,” you shrug. “And for tomorrow, maybe we could go to the spa and—“
“Alright, wait, slow down,” he cuts you off. “Sushi instead of movie night? Spa instead of pumpkin patch? What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” you play innocent, but he can see right through you.
“Don’t lie to me. Something surely happened and I don’t like what it did to you. You’re not… you’re not yourself. And where are the candles and blankets?”
“Y-You noticed them? I was just… I cleaned up a bit…”
“No, you didn’t clean, you put away most of your stuff, it almost looks like it was before.”
“Because…! They didn’t belong here, it’s better this way. Don’t you think?” you sigh, moving away from him to keep yourself together, but he pulls you back and taking your chin between his thumb and index finger, he makes you look at him.
“Baby, talk to me. What happened?” Your lips wobble as you shake your head, but you know he won’t leave you alone until you tell him. “Tell me what happened, I don’t like seeing you sad,” he softly pleads.
“I’m childish,” you say in a whisper.
“What?”
“I’m… ridiculous and childish. You should… You should be dating someone more mature.”
“Where is this all coming from?” he asks in disbelief. You’re hesitant to answer, but you can’t hold it back any longer.
“I dropped your lunch off today and I heard the assistants talk about me. They said that I’m childish and basically we’re not compatible. And… Maybe they are right.”
“No, they are not!” he answers straight away.
“Have you looked around? I moved in and brought all this… random stuff and messed up your modern and expensive home.”
“No, you made it into our home. I loved every little thing you brought with you!”
“You did?”
“Of course! This place didn’t even feel like home until you moved in. You brought so much light and joy, I love the blankets and pillows, all the candles and anything that reminds me of you.”
You open your mouth to say something, but no words come out. You’re in awe and most importantly, in love.
“And they make the place homey, but you make it my home. You’re my home, Y/N.”
“I’m gonna cry,” you announce as the first tears roll down your cheeks. Harry just chuckles and kisses your forehead before pulling your head to his chest.
“Let’s find those blankets and candles, change into some comfortable clothes and get a head start on that movie night, hm?”
“Okay,” you nod after a hiccup. Taking your face in his hands he wipes your cheeks before kissing you softly on the lips.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Thank you for reading, please like and reblog if you enjoyed and buy me a coffee if you want to support me!
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chrissieyt · 1 year
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Chrissie’s Corner Save File V1.0
Welcome to version 1.0 of my new Sims 4 save file that’s been in the works for 4+ years now where I’m rebuilding/renovating every single lot & world in the game, as well as adding hundreds of new Sims & giving makeovers to all of the EA townies as well!
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So why is this Version 1.0?
Basically, this save has been in the works for over 4 years, since before I even had my YouTube channel! Because of that, I’ve decided to split releases up into “versions” because I keep having to go back & update old Sims, homes & lots as we get new packs. I also tend to “hop around” a lot between worlds & as a result of that, there are a couple of lots/households done in each world already - & with each new version, I’ll update it with 1-2 new worlds that are completely done! With Version 1.0 however, I’ve decided to focus on Willow Creek & Oasis Springs!
What does Version 1.0 include exactly?
Other than a bunch of “random” builds/households done in other worlds, Version 1.0 has Willow Creek & Oasis Springs completely done! That means all new community lots, new/renovated houses for EA townies & a bunch of new Sims that I’ve created & built homes for! There are literally hundreds of NEW Sims throughout the whole save file, & you can see a more detailed breakdown of what’s included in Willow Creek & Oasis Springs down below, as well as some more pictures of each world! I’ve also done a OVERVIEW VIDEO you can watch if you’d like!
How to download & install saves:
Once you’ve downloaded the “Corner Save File” from the link below, follow these steps, or check out this great VIDEO (starting at 15:03) that OshinSims made with instructions!
Make a backup of your Electronic Arts/The Sims 4/Saves folder
Download the file, unzip, and place files in Electronic Arts/The Sims 4/Saves.
I’ve tried to make sure the save file slot name is pretty high, but if it says you already have a file of that name, change the slot number. You should probably choose something higher. Just make sure you don’t have that slot number already. (Example: change Slot_00000055.save to Slot_00000099.save)
Open your game and enter the save. It's named “Corner Save 1.0”. You’ll see it pop up with my SimSelf as the preview family.
Once you’ve got the save opened, make sure you “save as” and create a new file for your own gameplay. This way you can use the save again without having to redownload.
Now you can play with the Sims I’ve created, or add your own & have fun!
Disclaimers + Optional Mods:
I built this save with the intention of integrating all of the different packs we have, & since I own all of the packs, I’ve used them all. So if you don’t own all of them, you might find that you’re missing some things & I don’t know how well it would work in that case.
I’ve also used a couple of mods! Now these aren’t “necessary” but I would highly recommend them to add a bit more customization & useful gameplay. They’re really small mods too!
Mods I’ve used:
More Selectable Icons mod by @zerbu​ (To add the custom icons that I’ve used for the clubs I created as well as a couple of the holidays I added. These icons can also be used for SimTuber Avatars & Lifestyle Brand logos too!
Venue Changes mod by @zerbu​ (This mod unlocks a lot of the “specialty lots” that came with packs - like the Chalet, Myshuno Gardens, etc - but I used it to allow students to have club gatherings on the High School lot! So a couple of the teen clubs have the High School as their club hangout.)
Another mod I’d HIGHLY recommend is MC Command Center by deaderpool & I used it a lot to do the setup for my save - but it’s not necessary to have it if you want to play with the save!
Download HERE! 
SimFileShare download, no adfly!
OR
Alternate DOWNLOAD (Google Drive)
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Included in Version 1.0:
Willow Creek - 17 Brand New Lots (residential & commercial) + 4 Renovated Residential Lots
Willow Creek has 5 Community Lots: A park; Lounge; Library & Café; Gym & Spa; Museum/Wedding Venue/Art Center/Café
11 NEW households, as well as a couple of new Sims/pets added to some of the EA households.
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Oasis Springs - 14 Brand New Lots (residential & commercial) + 7 Renovated Residential Lots
Oasis Springs has 5 Community Lots: A park; Retail Bakery & Café; Nightclub & Lounge; Gym & Spa; Restaurant
10 NEW households, as well as a couple of new Sims/pets added to some of the EA households.
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