#but when you make a new save file you start from scratch
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So I’ve seen some posts going around about a ‘Bruce adopts Danny and everyone thinks they’ll finally have a normal family member—Danny is very not normal’ and here’s my late night take on it.
Or
Danny batfam au where they batfam tries really hard to keep their vigilante ass-kicking nightlife a secret from danny because he is ‘the only normal one in the family’ this becomes a problem however when danny gets kidnapped.
——-
The batfam all work together in a deeply serious family meeting to save their boy. After hours of combining their brains together they come up with a plan that will effectively save danny from joker, kick joker’s ass, and also make them look really cool while doing it.
So they bust in that warehouse, guns blazing, explosions fading in the background, a gust of dramatic dust covers the air
Batman steps infront of the rest of the team and demands to the blurry figure somewhere in the distance, “Where is Danny!”
The dust clears–they expect bad guys pointing weapons meancingly at them, they expect a cackle of a wicked clown amused at whatever plot he had planned coming to life, they expected a terrified boy perhaps tied somewhere likely siting in a chair that joker could present to the bats as a way of taunting them.
The dust settles–they observed their surroundings looking around and realize that, there are few new facts to be added into this ‘defeat the villain, get the bro, happy ending equation’
There is decidedly no weapons being pointed at them: In fact, all of the henchmen are already knocked out and tied up.
There is decidedly no evil laughs being echoed their way: In fact, the only noise that isnt coming from them is a light scritch scratch of a pencil
And there is decidedly no terrified little boy, there is a Danny however and he seems to be doing alright–actually scratch that.
Danny is doing wonders for the situation he’s in right now: In fact–
–Danny is sitting criss cross applesauce on-top a knocked out tied up Joker doing his algebra homework
The small blue eyed boy looks up at Batman's voice and visibly brightens, “Oh hey guys, I was wondering when you’d show up.”
Jason says with the utmost of comprehension, “...what.”
“So hi, I’m kinda new to gotham so sorry about beating these guys up, I think they’re villains? I dunno, anyways if you could take care of these guys while I call an uber home that’d be great.”
Danny sends them a blinding smile which would've been adorable if there weren’t a massive pile of bodies he were casually walking away from.
As Danny nears the exit he looks over his shoulder to the baffled group of vigilantes and blinks
“Oh yeah one last thing,” Danny rubs the back of his neck nervously, “Could you guys not tell the Waynes about this.”
Damian speaks up for the rest of his frozen family, albeit hesitantly, “I do think they have already been alerted of your kidnapping.”
“Oh no that's fine.” Danny starts nervously, “It's more about me being the… fighter… in this situation. I was just adopted by them and they seem really nice, I don’t want to scare them away being all grrrr im a scary monster boy and i love to hurt people argh.”
“I don’t think they’d think you're a monster.” Tim adds quietly
“Eh, tell that to my birth parents–they went psycho on me. Like evil scientist psycho, it was not as awesome as the movies make it sound, having scientists for parents.” Danny says bittersweet as he admits with a shrug
There is a moment of silence as the batfamily reevaluate the adoption file that states Danny’s family before they passed were very good people–albeit a bit excentric.
Dick blurts out, “Where did you learn to fight?”
Danny sends him an anxious chuckle, “I actually started when I was fourteen–my town always ran into some trouble so I had to step up. It’s part of the reason I moved here actually. I really don’t want anything to do with that hero vigilante life anymore…” The boy puts his hands together in a pleading motion, “So please don’t tell The Waynes!”
Bewildered at the situation as a whole they nod in a daze
The boys eyes widen at their easy agreement and he grins, “Thank you so so much! I’ve got to go now, it’s way past my curfew. but you’ll probably see me again next time I get kidnapped–I’ll make sure to put in a good word for you guys with my family bye!”
And just like that Danny slips off into the night leaving behind a family who were so sure they finally found a normal addition to their pack.
Jason sighs looking forlornly at the spot Danny had previously been standing, “You could just never pick the just semi-mentally healthy normal kids could you?”
Bruce groans pinching his the bridge of his nose
#dc x dp#dp x dc#fanfiction#danny phantom#batfam#danny fenton#dp x dc crossover#maybes a fic#this was fun to write so probs part 2 later#Batfam: hello normal son#Danny with practicing the knot he learned in home ed on 37 criminals: hey guys#batfam: fuck#danny is a little shit#it’s up to your interpretation whether or not he’s genuinely clueless about the Waynes being the Bats#or if he’s fucking with them#ohkay going to sleep bye bye#mwah#also we do not see the bad grammar haha gn#veerliwrites
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An adversarial iMessage client for Android
Adversarial interoperability is one of the most reliable ways to protect tech users from predatory corporations: that's when a technologist reverse-engineers an existing product to reconfigure or mod it (interoperability) in ways its users like, but which its manufacturer objects to (adversarial):
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/10/adversarial-interoperability
"Adversarial interop" is a mouthful, so at EFF, we coined the term "competitive compatibility," or comcom, which is a lot easier to say and to spell.
Scratch any tech success and you'll find a comcom story. After all, when a company turns its screws on its users, it's good business to offer an aftermarket mod that loosens them again. HP's $10,000/gallon inkjet ink is like a bat-signal for third-party ink companies. When Mercedes announces that it's going to sell you access to your car's accelerator pedal as a subscription service, that's like an engraved invitation to clever independent mechanics who'll charge you a single fee to permanently unlock that "feature":
https://www.techdirt.com/2023/12/05/carmakers-push-forward-with-plans-to-make-basic-features-subscription-services-despite-widespread-backlash/
Comcom saved giant tech companies like Apple. Microsoft tried to kill the Mac by rolling out a truly cursèd version of MS Office for MacOS. Mac users (5% of the market) who tried to send Word, Excel or Powerpoint files to Windows users (95% of the market) were stymied: their files wouldn't open, or they'd go corrupt. Tech managers like me started throwing the graphic designer's Mac and replacing it with a Windows box with a big graphics card and Windows versions of Adobe's tools.
Comcom saved Apple's bacon. Apple reverse-engineered MS's flagship software suite and made a comcom version, iWork, whose Pages, Numbers and Keynote could flawlessly read and write MS's Word, Excel and Powerpoint files:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/06/adversarial-interoperability-reviving-elegant-weapon-more-civilized-age-slay
It's tempting to think of iWork as benefiting Apple users, and certainly the people who installed and used it benefited from it. But Windows users also benefited from iWork. The existence of iWork meant that Windows users could seamlessly collaborate on and share files with their Mac colleagues. IWork didn't just add a new feature to the Mac ("read and write files that originated with Windows users") – it also added a feature to Windows: "collaborate with Mac users."
Every pirate wants to be an admiral. Though comcom rescued Apple from a monopolist's sneaky attempt to drive it out of business, Apple – now a three trillion dollar company – has repeatedly attacked comcom when it was applied to Apple's products. When Apple did comcom, that was progress. When someone does comcom to Apple, that's piracy.
Apple has many tools at its disposal that Microsoft lacked in the early 2000s. Radical new interpretations of existing copyright, contract, patent and trademark law allows Apple – and other tech giants – to threaten rivals who engage in comcom with both criminal and civil penalties. That's right, you can go to prison for comcom these days. No wonder Jay Freeman calls this "felony contempt of business model":
https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/09/lead-me-not-into-temptation/#chamberlain
Take iMessage, Apple's end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) instant messaging tool. Apple customers can use iMessage to send each other private messages that can't be read or altered by third parties – not cops, not crooks, not even Apple. That's important, because when private messaging systems get hacked, bad things happen:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_celebrity_nude_photo_leak
But Apple has steadfastly refused to offer an iMessage app for non-Apple systems. If you're an Apple customer holding a sensitive discussion with an Android user, Apple refuses to offer you a tool to maintain your privacy. Those messages are sent "in the clear," over the 38-year-old SMS protocol, which is trivial to spy on and disrupt.
Apple sacrifices its users' security and integrity in the hopes that they will put pressure on their friends to move into Apple's walled garden. As CEO Tim Cook told a reporter: if you want to have secure communications with your mother, buy her an iPhone:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tim-cook-says-buy-mom-210347694.html
Last September, a 16-year old high school student calling himself JJTech published a technical teardown of iMessage, showing how any device could send and receive encrypted messages with iMessage users, even without an Apple ID:
https://jjtech.dev/reverse-engineering/imessage-explained/
JJTech even published code to do this, in an open source library called Pypush:
https://github.com/JJTech0130/pypush
In the weeks since, Beeper has been working to productize JJTech's code, and this week, they announced Beeper Mini, an Android-based iMessage client that is end-to-end encrypted:
https://beeper.notion.site/How-Beeper-Mini-Works-966cb11019f8444f90baa314d2f43a54
Beeper is known for a multiprotocol chat client built on Matrix, allowing you to manage several kinds of chat from a single app. These multiprotocol chats have been around forever. Indeed, iMessage started out as one – when it was called "iChat," it supported Google Talk and Jabber, another multiprotocol tool. Other tools like Pidgin have kept the flame alive for decades, and have millions of devoted users:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/07/tower-babel-how-public-interest-internet-trying-save-messaging-and-banish-big
But iMessage support has remained elusive. Last month, Nothing launched Sunchoice, a disastrous attempt to bring iMessage to Android, which used Macs in a data-center to intercept and forward messages to Android users, breaking E2EE and introducing massive surveillance risks:
https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/21/23970740/sunbird-imessage-app-shut-down-privacy-nothing-chats-phone-2
Beeper Mini does not have these defects. The system encrypts and decrypts messages on the Android device itself, and directly communicates with Apple's servers. It gathers some telemetry for debugging, and this can be turned off in preferences. It sends a single SMS to Apple's servers during setup, which changes your device's bubble from green to blue, so that Apple users now correctly see your device as a secure endpoint for iMessage communications.
Beeper Mini is now available in Google Play:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.beeper.ima&hl=en_US
Now, this is a high-stakes business. Apple has a long history of threatening companies like Beeper over conduct like this. And Google has a long history deferring to those threats – as it did with OG App, a superior third-party Instagram app that it summarily yanked after Meta complained:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/05/battery-vampire/#drained
But while iMessage for Android is good for Android users, it's also very good for Apple customers, who can now get the privacy and security guarantees of iMessage for all their contacts, not just the ones who bought the same kind of phone as they did. The stakes for communications breaches have never been higher, and antitrust scrutiny on Big Tech companies has never been so intense.
Apple recently announced that it would add RCS support to iOS devices (RCS is a secure successor to SMS):
https://9to5mac.com/2023/11/16/apple-rcs-coming-to-iphone/
Early word from developers suggests that this support will have all kinds of boobytraps. That's par for the course with Apple, who love to announce splashy reversals of their worst policies – like their opposition to right to repair – while finding sneaky ways to go on abusing its customers:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/22/vin-locking/#thought-differently
The ball is in Apple's court, and, to a lesser extent, in Google's. As part of the mobile duopoly, Google has joined with Apple in facilitating the removal of comcom tools from its app store. But Google has also spent millions on an ad campaign shaming Apple for exposing its users to privacy risks when talking to Android users:
https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/21/23883609/google-rcs-message-apple-iphone-ipager-ad
While we all wait for the other shoe to drop, Android users can get set up on Beeper Mini, and technologists can kick the tires on its code libraries and privacy guarantees.
If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/07/blue-bubbles-for-all/#never-underestimate-the-determination-of-a-kid-who-is-time-rich-and-cash-poor
#pluralistic#multiprotocol#interoperability#adversarial interop#beeper#reverse engineering#blue bubbles#green bubbles#e2ee#end to end encrypted#messaging#jjtech#pypushbeeper mini#matrix#competitive compatibility#comcom
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youtube
I have a small part in the 1987 television movie (failed pilot) version of The Man Who Fell To Earth. Lewis Smith played the titular character. Beverly D'Angelo played my mom, his love interest. (Fun Star Trek connection: Bob Picardo is also in it).
My character was a Troubled Youth, which I gotta tell you was not a stretch for me at all. I was deeply, deeply hurting at the time we made it. I was struggling not to suffocate on all the emotional and financial burdens my mom put on my shoulders, and fully aware of just how much my dad hated and resented me. You need a kid who doesn't want to be an actor, whose eyes can't hide the pain? I'm your guy.
Anyway, one of the scenes I was in took place in a record store, where Troubled Youth steals some albums, before he is chased by the cops and saved by the Man Who Fell To Earth, who uses a glowing crystal to save his life from ... some scratches on his face.
We filmed the interior of the record store at Sunset and La Brea, in what I think was a Warehouse, and at the end of the day, I was allowed to buy some records at a modest discount.
I was deep into my metal years, on my way from my punk years to my New Wave years, so I only bought metal albums. I know I bought more than I needed or could carry (I was making a point that I was allowed to spend my own money, mom), but the only ones I can clearly remember are:
Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind
Judas Priest - Turbo and Defenders of the Faith
W.A.S.P - The Last Command
(I know this was in March of 1987, because Turbo had just come out.)
Of those, Piece of Mind is the only one I never really stopped listening to, even through all the different it's-not-a-phase phases. I still listen to it, today.
Ever since I became an Adult with a Fancy Adult Record Player And All That Bullshit, I have kept my records in two places: stuff I want right now, and stuff I keep in the library because of Reasons.
Generally, records move in one direction toward the library, even if it takes years to happen. I just don't accumulate albums like I once did, because I'm Old and set in my ways.
Earlier today, I decided that I wanted to listen to an album while I cleaned up the kitchen, and because I wanted to make my life more interesting, I opened the library cabinet for the first time in at least five years.
There was the very same W.A.S.P album from that day in March, 1987. I don't have any of the others -- I looked -- but The Last Command was right there.
Before I really knew what I was doing, I put it on the Fancy Adult Record Player and dropped the needle.
I watched four decades of dust build up with a satisfying crackle, and there was something magical and beautiful about hearing all the skips and the scratches, realizing I remembered them from before.
The title track was just as great as I remembered it. It struck all the same chords in me that it did in the late nineteen hundreds. The rest of the first side was ... um. It just didn't connect with me, and for the few moments I spent trying to find a connection, I don't think it ever really did. I would remember.
But I did remember how much I loved making those mix tapes, and what a big part of them that song was. I did remember how empowering it felt to not just spend my own money that I earned doing work I didn't want to do, but to spend it on music my parents hated, right under their noses. I did remember how impressed Robby Lee was, when I showed him my extensive heavy metal album collection.
Remembering all of that, in one of those cinematic flashes of rapid cut visuals and sped up sounds, told me why I kept this record, while I gradually sold or replaced the other records I bought that day with CDs, then mp3s, then lossless digital files, before finally coming all the way back to records, where I started.
I didn't listen to the second side. I didn't need to. I took it off the Fancy Adult Record Player, and put it back into the library, next to the George Carlin records.
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The Nursery/Kid Collection
Hello everyone 🤗
I'm wishing you all a Happy New Year 😍🥳🥳 I hope you're all doing great at the beginning of 2023!
I'm so, so happy today to share with you the biggest collection I ever made and to show you my progress in Blender 😱
About my progress this month:
One of the biggest new skills I have now is that the bed blanket is animated!!!!
I learned how to make a cloth simulation on a mesh, which means I created from scratch for the first time in my life the pillow, the blanket (bed cover?), and the bed canopy
As I already said, I learn how to animate the blanket, which means the bed is fully functional exactly as it should be. No more strange animation when a toddler will going to sleep in it 👌
I also learned how to create a curve, which was needed for the garland
Most of the rugs in this collection has now a thickness even if the shape is not a basic shape such as a square, rectangle, or round. I learned how to add texture details to them which gives a realistic and mellow appearance which can be great if you have a Simstagram and share cute toddler poses for example
I started learning several new other skills but the end result is too bad to be shared right now 😂
Thank you all so so much for all your support without which I simply wouldn't be able to spend as much time learning new 3d skills 🙏❤
About the collection:
The collection is composed of 25 new CC with a total of ... 291 swatches! 😱
I wanted to cover as many styles as possible with plain colors and matching patterns for you to be sure to be able to create a lot of different toddler bedrooms even if you're using the same mesh. I'm personally always frustrated when the CC is exactly the one I want to use but can't find the swatch that is matching with the other items made by another CC creator.
Of course, I couldn't create all the textures ever possible, but for sure when an item has 38 different swatches, you'll find at least 1 of them matching your interior 😍
The color palettes I used to create this collection are mostly white, pink, orange, green, and blue with matching patterns and for some items, I created different kinds and tones of wood from light to dark.
Everything is base game and HQ compatible
Everything is functional and playtested
All items have from 1 swatch up to 38
When possible, all items have all their LODs
Except for the bed canopy (sorry), everything is low poly
They all have their custom thumbnails and are correctly tagged
Most of them can be found under "kid's furniture" or "kid's decoration"
All of them can also be found with those keywords: sims4luxury; nursery; toddler; kid
Here are all the thumbnails of the collection:
How to make the bed functional:
The bed is coming in 3 separated pieces:
Bed frame
mattress
blanket
and ONLY THE BLANKET is actually functional. Bed frames and mattresses are only decor items with 0 interactions or animations linking to them. So you'll need to place the blanket if you want your toddler sim to be able to sleep in the bed from this collection.
You can use the blanket with any other bed frame you have, it will work the same.
I separated the bed into 3 pieces for you to choose between all the swatches and mix and match all of them the way you prefer.
About the bed canopy:
The bed canopy is a high poly mesh. I did my best and created several versions of it but the only one which didn't look too weird to be shared is the version that has 25k poly. So please be cautious!
I created the mesh to be placed as close as possible to the walls in a corner so that the bed frame can be placed below it, not next to or in front of it and it does not create a collision with any sim.
Tips:
Because of the number of swatches a lot of the CC in this collection has, the files are large.
If you need to save space on your computer but still want to keep this collection installed, I suggest you delete the swatches you like the least with Sims4Studio.
---------------------
Et voilà 🤗
I wish you all to enjoy this new CC collection and all the best for 2023 😍🥳
Full love to everyone of you and thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your support 🙏
Mélissa
* FREE DOWNLOAD *
#thesims4#the sims interior#the sims cc#the sims 4#the sims#ts4 cc#ts4 house#ts4 custom content#ts4 download#ts4cc#sims 4#sims 4 download#sims4 cc#my cc#cc finds#cc creator#sims cc#the sims 4 toddler custom content#ts4 toddlers#the sims 4 toddlers#ts4 furniture#sims 4 furniture#the sims 4 furniture#sims 4 buy mode#build mode#ts4 rugs#sims 4 rugs#sims 4 walls#ts4 wallpaper#sims 4 wallpaper
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How Does That Make You Feel?
Robin needs therapy after the dock events. Dr. Harper is happy to help.
tw: noncon, terrible therapy advice, description of abuse/violence, Sorry Robin
I'm gonna consider this my final bit of robin whump to cap off the sorry robin save file before starting a new one lol. happy halloween!
The office is...cozy. Clinical, with its white walls and sterile smell, but softened by the yellow glow of a standing lamp and the giant couch that sinks under Robin's weight. It's different from the office that you described when you attended counseling sessions, but you also paid your rent on time and didn't need such comforts like this. You didn't feel the need to keep your back to a wall with your eyes on the door at all times.
"Are you sure you don't want a snack?"
Robin flinches, spine snapping to attention. "I-N-No, I'm fine. Thank you, though."
Across the room, sitting back in his own overstuffed chair, is Dr. Harper. He gives Robin a pleasant smile as a pen twirls between his fingers. "Of course. Remember, it's free. All you need to do is ask."
Robin tries to smile at that. It's a kind gesture, but taking food from strangers still doesn't sit well with him. "I'll...remember."
"Good. Now then!" Dr. Harper shifts, just enough to allow his left ankle to rest on his right knee. "Why don't we get started? How have you been since our last session?"
"I've..." Robin stalls, nails biting into his knees. "It's been...bad."
Dr. Harper's brows lift. "How so?"
"I-Well..." Again, he stalls, more out of guilt than actual hesitancy. He's gotten better at this, collecting his hazy thoughts and molding them into proper words. When he'd first had his solo sessions with Dr. Harper, it took him an hour just to stop sobbing. But those had been about the...the memories at the docks. This time..."I-I had a really bad dream. It's been...bothering me ever since."
"Oh?" Dr. Harper twirls his pen. "Describe it to me, if you can."
And, really, Robin should have been prepared for this. Dr. Harper likes to hear things in vivid detail. He says it helps ground a person to reality, keeps them from dissociating or avoiding the truth. It does help, but just thinking of what Robin is about to say makes his stomach churn. "I-It...It was about my friend." His gnawed nails scratch his palms as he pulls his feet onto the couch, tucking them under his thighs. "The one who recommended you?"
"Ah, I remember them," Dr. Harper says with a fond smile. You were an excellent patient, apparently. It doesn't make the knot in Robin's stomach any looser. "What happened in your dream that involved them?"
Robin hugs his stomach, slowly hunching over in some attempt at shielding himself. Phantom aches begin to throb under his skin, fists and rods and whatever toys they could find beating into his torso until he could barely breath. Details, he tells himself. Details.
Click!
"I-I hurt them," Robin forces out. "I would...We were in a room, a-and I was ch-choking them. I don't remember why, but-" But he was squeezing hard and tight, sinking his fingers deep into the back of your throat. Even now, he remembers the way your muscles convusled under his palms.
"Focus," Dr. Harper calls, followed by another click! of his pen. "What else happened?"
Robin's stomach only sinks. No matter what he did, you wouldn't stop thrashing. He remembers that. He tried to punch you, but pulling a hand away gave you to opening to get away, and when Robin tried to chase you, he-
Click!
"I-I was stuck." Robin's voice catches in his throat. "There was this-this chain and when I tried to follow them I couldn't run and they..." You didn't wait for him. You ran and ran and left him behind. Robin doesn't realize he's crying until the tears hit his pants. He grabs the tissue from its box and dabs at his cheek, struggling to breathe through his clogged nose. "I...think I woke up after that."
Dr. Harper hums, twirling his pen as Robin grabs another tissue. "It sounds like you have some budding resentment towards your friend."
"What? No," flies out of Robin instinctually. "T-They're my best friend. I-We've been together ever since I can remember."
"And yet you dreamt of hurting them. Why do you think that is?"
"I-I don't know."
Dr. Harper's smile thins. "May I posit a theory, then?" At the orphan's nod, the doctor sets his foot down and points at him with his pen. "You're upset at them because they're the reason why you were sent to the docks."
Click!
"W-What?" Robin recoils as Dr. Harper nods, apparently satisfied with his assumption. "I-That-it wasn't their fault. It was my own-"
"But they're responsible for you, aren't they?" Dr. Harper asks. "I recall you mentioning that they help pay your rent at the loft."
Ah, right. That little lie. Robin almost forgets that you and he had agreed to not tell the doctor about Bailey's payments to avoid even more threats on their life. Still, Robin nods slowly, massaging his legs. "Right. Why would I-I hate them for helping me?"
"I don't think they're really helping you." Dr. Harper frowns, now, apparently serious enough to open his eyes fully instead of remaining half-lidded, like he's finally awake instead of operating in a dream. "Let us change subjects for a moment: Why do you think you've been targeted more often?"
Because I'm weak, Robin thinks. His mouth falters, but from the way the doctor's frown deepens, he doubts he'll need to say it aloud.
"Perhaps," Dr. Harper says, "but in comparison to who?"
"To...my friend?" Robin guesses.
"Precisesly. Now, if you don't mind, could you stand?" Dr. Harper rises from his own seat in time with Robin. The doctor is quite small compared to him, but that is to be expected; Robin is one of the tallest orphans-actually, he's one of the tallest students in the school, beaten out only by Whitney and some upperclassmen. The only thing stopping him from really filling out his frame is his restricted diet courtesy of Bailey. "You make for quite the intimidating figure at first glance. Your friend, on the other hand..."
You're shorter than Robin. You're smaller than Robin. In fact, Robin knows he can pick you up easily and has done it plenty of times before. Outside of physicality, though, you...you trump him. You've put people in the hospital before. The police haven't been able to put you away simply because you had enough connections to get rid of evidence, and if the evidence can't disappear, then you just use your fists.
Click!
"They only target you because your friend is too dangerous to hurt." Dr. Harper lifts his pen and presses into Robin's sternum. All it takes is a single tap - with a click! of his pen, he pushes the orphan back into the couch. "You're kind, Robin. Too kind."
Robin's protests escape him when he lands. The doctor stares down with a frown.
"Your friend is supposed to protect you."
Click!
"And yet all of this has only come about because of them."
Click!
"Does that not annoy you?"
"I..." Robin wants to say no, it doesn't, but that smoldering heat he'd buried in his gut is starting to spread, eating away at the guilt until his fingers curl. "Y-Yes."
Dr. Harper steps back, twirling his pen as his brow lifts. "Yes, what?"
"It annoys me."
Click!
"Then why not tell them?"
"Because I can't," Robin says. The heat claws up his chest, circling the point where Dr. Harper had hit him with the pen and bleeding into his lungs. "T-They're just trying to protect me-"
The doctor frowns at that answer. "And they didn't do a very good job of that, did they?" He leans down this time to stare Robin right in the face, pen clicking behind his back. "How long were you at the docks, Robin?"
Robin's blood freezes. Five days. The sun rose and set five different times.
Click!
"What did they do to you, Robin?"
Hurt him. Beat him-no. Details. They started with treating him like bellboy on a cruise, made him walk around naked and serve the people while their hands scratched and slapped and punched. And when he dropped a bottle of wine worth £20,000, they forced him to kneel in the shards and clean it with his tongue. And after that, they used whips and rods and laughed when he couldn't keep count. Someone slathered him in some pink cream and taunted him when his cock felt like it was going to explode from how hard it pulsed. Before that, though, they used clothespins to pinch his foreskin back and after that they'd used ropes to strangle him and see how close they could get him to pass out before loosening up just enough to breath before trying again.
Click!
"And why did they do all of that, Robin?"
Because of you.
Ding!
Robin blinks as Dr. Harper's waist chimes. He reaches for his pager, grimacing at whatever notification flashes on his screen. "Seems we're having an emergency," he says and pockets the device. "I'm afraid we'll have to cut this session a little short."
"That's okay," Robin says slowly, thoughts still a mess of his own anger. He rises and clears his throat, massaging the ache out of his hands. "I-Um...what should I do next time? Or..."
Dr. Harper hums, tapping his pen against his lip. It stretches into a chipper smile that shuts his eyes and sends shivers down the boy's back. "Why don't you invite your friend to the next session? Sometimes it's easier to tell someone how they feel when there's a third party to intervene if something goes wrong."
-
Robin is a XX-year old male student with a prior history of social instability. He is an orphan with no known relatives. His legal guardian is the orphanage's caretaker. He lives in a flat with a roommate, who also lived in the same orphanage. Robin attends classes regularly at the local school and works part-time at a café. Recently, Robin reports feelings of insecurity and self-doubt, with the source of these feelings stemming from his roommate. Robin
Dr. Harper huffs, glaring at the report before him. He never was one for writing case summaries. Much of his work required direct, hands-on approaches and left very little time for him to accurately write down notes. He could have an assistant do it for him, of course, but...Robin is a special case.
"Rob-Ghck!"
Dr. Harper looks up just in time. Robin's right hand crushes your mouth while the other frantically claws at his shorts. Your knees are hiked, legs kicking, but whatever hits you land only spurs the orphan on. The curve of your waist bucks and twists, muscles taut under your exposed skin. Huh. Seems you really do have the better physique.
A muffled hiccup draws his gaze to your face. There are tears already spilling down your cheeks, hands clawing at Robin's wrist. His mad fervor begins to slow. The hand crushing your face begins to relax.
Click!
Robin's nails bite into your cheek, and the struggle renews in earnest.
Dr. Harper shifts in his seat, sitting up to ease the strain of his trousers against his erection. Where you have your strength, Robin outweighs you in his rage. He frees his erection in a few frantic tears of his shorts. He doesn't even bother looking for a condom when he sinks into you. It's not like those dockworkers would have used a condom on the poor orphan.
The pained wail that escapes you makes his blood sing.
Dr. Harper readjusts his clipboard to shield himself, then quietly unbuckles his belt. He doubts he needs to be careful, really, but Robin is a bit...tetchy. Best not to draw his attention right now.
Click!
He palms his erection just as Robin begins to thrust, each snap of his hip jolting your entire frame. The orphan's body nearly covers yours as he curls into you. Your legs have frozen around his sides - out of pain or fear or resignation, Dr. Harper can't tell. Your hips, though, jerk with each thrust, up and into Robin's own. You must be more into this than he thought. Perhaps you'd expected it earlier, when the orphan had yelled and yelled about his memories at the docks. After all, you are Robin's closest friend. It would only be the right thing to do after everything you put him through.
Click!
Robin finally releases your face in favor of caging you in his arms, burying his face against your throat and swearing with rage. You let out a pained whimper and scratch at his shoulders. It only leaves thin, red lines that, really, probably feels incredible.
"I-Hah-Fuck-" Robin practically crushes you beneath him, hips a blur. A pulse runs through Dr. Harper's cock at the sight, stomach knotting as he jerks his hand faster and faster. He pants between clenched teeth, a beautiful harmony to the melody of gasps and groans before him, and when your desperate, tearful eyes meet his, the doctor twitches and sends his cum splattering against his clipboard.
From the way Robin buries himself into you not a second later and moans, Dr. Harper can't help but chuckle. He tucks his cock away and slips an extra sheet of paper over the report. The cum begins to smear the fresh ink, but he sets it aside in order to lean forward with his pen.
Click!
Robin slowly unravels in your arms, muscles going lax as he pulls his hips back. His cock slips out of your stretched hole with a soft shlick, sending a jolt through the doctor's spine. Anger still simmers in his gaze when you start to sit up, pulling your shirt up to shield your bare chest. Dr. Harper's smile only grows at the sight.
"I think," he announces, "that should be good for today. You've made some excellent progress, Robin."
Robin's slow blink does little to clear the fog in his eyes while he smiles. "Yeah...that's good."
"As for you." Dr. Harper points his pen at you and smiles when you shrink back in fear. "Thank you so much. Robin really needs your support, and this was a huge help."
Click!
"You're such a good friend."
Your puffy lips part, waver, then seal shut, head bobbing in a tiny nod before turning to Robin. The boy is already dressed and ready to leave the office, a dreamy smile on his face as he offers a hand to you. It takes you two seconds too long to take it.
Dr. Harper clicks his pen, smiling when two different pairs of eyes land on him. "Same time next week?"
"That works," Robin answers with a happy nod.
Beside him, your knuckles tighten. The smile you show him doesn't quite reach your eye. "I-I think I'll be busy-"
"Nonsense." Dr. Harper waves his hand and scoffs, thumbing the top of his pen until it clicks. "What could be more important than supporting your best friend?"
Under Robin's expectant gaze, you shrink back and whisper, "Nothing."
"Exactly." With that, Dr. Harper rises from his seat and presses a hidden button on his pager, the ding! resounding through the cramped office. He makes a show of grimacing at the blank screen, then offers the same apologetic smile as before. "Well, I'll see you two next week then. Take care."
Once the door is locked, Dr. Harper picks up the report and grimaces. For Robin's file...eh, he can have an intern pen it out for him. You, on the other hand...Dr. Harper smiles and fishes out a blank report sheet, mind abuzz with treatment plans. Your hesitancy, non-compliance, neglecting the needs of your friends? All the signs of a troubled patient in the making. Hopefully he'll be able to intervene before you end up like Robin.
#degrees of lewdity#banned writing#if this was enough to piss off robin imagine what would happen after the UB!#...actually wait robin in the asylum would be interesting#anyways i actually based harper's report on a case study i have in a textbook#medical malpractice is hard to write apparently#also him jacking off and finishing first was so pathetic i just had to add it#sorry robin
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Whumptober 2023 Day 14 - Water Inhalation
AND WE'VE MADE IT TO SEABOUND ANGST MY FAVORITE MEAL! I am in LOVE with this one I think it turned out so good and I'm so proud of it. Might be my favorite one!
@splinnters second to last one but I think you'll LOVE this one!
Words: 2.2k
Nya winced as he started coughing again, the sound echoing off of the thin gray walls and reverberating. She rubbed his chest soothingly, shushing him, doing her best to help the coughs taper off. Looking up to his mouth, she was hoping that even a little of the water in his lungs would be expelled, but she was only disappointed to see yet another thin string of saliva clinging to his chin instead.
She wiped at it with a napkin, disposing of it in the trash can they had placed next to the couch. It was almost full of napkins that had been used for the same purpose, and Nya’s foot nudged it as she leaned forward to press a light kiss to her Yin’s exposed collarbone. He let out a high whine, struggling against the grip she had on his wrists until she rubbed the thin skin with her thumbs.
“There we go,” she murmured against his skin once Jay finally quieted down, “there we go. You’re okay, honey, I’m right here. You just need to keep resting.”
With a strangled wheeze, Jay tried to say her name. “Nya?”
“I’m here, love,” she pulled the one blanket they had farther up his chest, tucking it around his sides and under the cushions. “Just try and go back to sleep, okay?”
First Master, there had to be something else she could do. Anything.
Jay leaned into her touch when she went to cup his cheek, thumb stroking the eyebags sunked into his skin. It had been so long since he had gotten some good sleep.
The others filed back into the room with gloomy expressions, and Nya already knew that they were bearing bad news from the way they avoided looking at her. Cole made his way to the couch, plopping himself down at Jay’s head and replacing the blue ninja’s pillow with his leg. Nya’s heart squeezed as she watched the earth ninja card his fingers through Jay’s hair to get him to sleep, Cole’s face pinching in worry. Jay relaxed into his brother’s touch, short hums getting caught in his throat as Cole scratched over his scalp. It would be such a peaceful scene if it weren’t so horrid outside.
Looking out of the room’s windows only to stare into a fabricated ocean made Nya’s head swim with anxiety, and she quickly looked away.
“We cannot make it out through the sewers,” Pixal reported, coming to stand next to Nya and lay a gentle hand on her shoulder. Her tone was professional, but Nya knew the samurai well enough to recognize the worry in her undertones. “They are completely flooded, and the combat craft are not small enough to fit in the tunnels. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, Pix,” Nya said, even though she could feel the tears stinging at her eyes. “We’ll just have to think of something else. It’s not the end of the world.”
But it might signal the end of hers.
Kai ran a hand through his hair, messy and unkempt. “We’ve searched this building from top to bottom, Nya. If there was anything we would’ve found it by now. There’s no medicine, there’s no exit, there’s nothing.”
“Can we use the oxygen tanks from the crafts?” Lloyd asked. “Maybe if we get one and try to make a mask-”
“That wouldn’t help him,” Zane said heavily, the words settling over the rest of the room like lead, “oxygen can only do so much. We need to get the water out of his lungs.”
And Nya felt the guilt and the shame crash into her like a tidal wave; she was the master of water, and she couldn’t even save the ones that she loved from drowning in their sleep.
Suddenly, Jay was trying to push himself up on his elbows, back to hacking his lungs out. The sound was harsh and grating against Nya’s ears, and it was one that she had heard entirely too much in the past few hours. Cole quickly pushed him up, thumping the palm of his hand against the blue ninja’s back as Nya held Jay up by the shoulders. Normally they only lasted a minute or two, and then Jay would slump over onto whoever was holding him, exhausted.
Except it wasn’t stopping.
They kept getting louder and louder, and Nya hugged him close to rub his back and try to help however she could. But something was wrong. She could feel his lungs spasming rapidly, and hear him choking as he tried to take in air, gasping.
He couldn’t breathe.
Jay couldn’t breathe.
“Shit!” she exclaimed, starting to whack against the back of his ribs to try and help him. Jay was still coughing, the sound loud and wet next to her ear as his hands clutched at her gi in teror, and Nya could feel him start to tremble. “He needs help!”
“We will get the oxygen tank,” Pixel said, grabbing Zane’s arm and pulling him out of the room. Cole scrambled to grab the bucket they had left on the other side of the room, settling behind Nya. She flinched when she heard Jay start to gag; Cole must’ve stuck his fingers in his mouth and triggered his gag reflex. It wasn’t long before her Yin was vomiting into the bucket, expelling anything that he could except for the water in his lungs. Even a glob of thick blood made a splat in the bottom of the bucket, and Nya started kissing as much of his skin as she could reach as tears soaked into the fabric of her gi.
He sobbed, shaking, and she held him fast. “I know, dear, I know. I know it hurts, and I know you’re hurting, but It’s going to be okay, I promise. It’s going to be okay, Jay. You’re okay, you’re okay, you’re okay-”
And she repeated it like a mantra, through some of the water finally being coughed up and through Jay’s thick sobs as his chest heaved for air. He was whispering, begging for it to stop, and Nya’s heart broke in two. Kai had sat behind his back, pressing his warm hands to Jay’s shoulder blades in an effort to stop his shaking and reassure the blue ninja, but Nya could tell that it wasn’t working. Lloyd was next to her, pressing a kiss to her temple and putting his hands on top of hers. He was using his power, doing his best to push the energy through to Jay.
Finally, Wu gently pushed Kai away, replacing the fire ninja’s hands with his own. “Son,” he said quietly, and they all watched in awe as their master used his powers, his hands glowing with golden power, “you have to breathe for me, for us. I know it’s hard, but I believe in you, and I know you’re strong enough. In and then out, can you do that for me?”
Jay nodded, and Nya’s hand went to cup the back of his head, tangling her fingers in his hair and tugging gently to soothe him.
“Good,” Wu said firmly, moving his hands up and down. Gold swirls followed his hands, and to her amazement Jay actually did start to breathe more easily. He pressed a knuckle to Jay’s spine, running over each of the ridges. “You’re doing amazing, Jay. Keep going, we are here with you.”
Minutes passed, and the experience was absolutely agonizing. Nya held him the entire time, whispering reassurances and sweet nothings into his ear as he hacked up anything he could manage, eventually starting to breathe in large harsh wheezes that had her heart aching. Cole took away the bucket and put it back on the floor, instead cupping her Yin’s face and speaking to him softly the same way Nya was doing. Wu removed his hands after seeing that his power had done all that it could, stepping back and letting Kai rub Jay’s shoulders.
Zane and Pixal were back with the repurposed oxygen tank, a hastily made mask in her hands, but that solution was very quickly shot down when Jay shoved it away. He was barely conscious, but he was still aware enough to tell that someone was trying to put something on his face; Nya hated that his first instinct was that he was being gagged. Zane did his best to coax his brother to wear the mask, telling him that it would help, but Jay was having none of it.
“He doesn’t like things over his mouth,” Nya explained softly after glancing at Zane's hurt expression, “it’s nothing personal, I promise. Maybe try making it a cannula instead?”
Pixal started work on it right away. Nya didn’t let herself relax until the wheezes finally tapered off, and even though Jay still couldn’t take a full breath it was deeper than anything she had heard for the past fifteen minutes. The relief in the room was palpable, and she had vague thoughts about how she needed to make the atmosphere at least a little happier. She traced a finger around the shell of his ear, hoping to see him shy away and giggle from the touch, and to her relief he scrunched up his shoulder in response.
“That’s all it takes, huh?” she teased, reaching up and doing the same thing to his other ear. Jay was quick to block her access again, but she just kept alternating until he let out a few raspy giggles. “You make it too easy.”
“Nya,” he whined in protest, and the sound of his wrecked and ruined voice was music to her ears. She relented, instead bringing her hands down to start working at undoing his belt. Jay needed to get out of his wet gi if they didn’t want him to get sick.
Kai caught on and helped to get the gi off, balling it up and throwing it in the corner of the room. He hugged the both of them, his arms coming to rest around Nya’s waist with Jay sandwiched in the middle, using his powers to raise his body temperature and soothe both of them. Cole had gotten up to push one of the other couches to the edge of the first one to make more seating, and he snatched Lloyd up in a bear hug that the green ninja only protested once while throwing his legs into Jay’s lap. Zane looked unsure of where to place himself, but eventually settled for sitting behind Nya, his naturally cold temperature working to balance out Kai’s body heat.
Taking one look at the mangled mask and at the cuddle pile, Pixal left it on the ground, instead stripping off her armor and plopping down next to Nya. She laid her head on the water ninja’s other shoulder, feeling Zane’s arm wrap itself around her waist and hold her close.
“What’s going on?” Jay murmured into Nya’s shoulder. “Are we having a cuddle party?”
“Yup, and it’s all for you, Sparky.” Kai said, kissing the top of his brother’s head.
“Can I go to sleep?”
“It would be most beneficial if you did go back to sleep,” Zane said, “because you need your rest. We will figure out what to do.”
Jay coughed again, and Nya clenched her fists, afraid that it would break out into a full coughing fit again. Thankfully, it was just the one. “Can I lay down?”
“After you stay up for a bit,” Cole said sympathetically. “We can’t let the water sit in one place for too long if we want to keep you from getting pneumonia.”
“Stupid pneumonia,” Jay muttered, and it was so Jay that Nya had to chuckle in response. Leave it to her Yin to insult a potentially debilitating illness that they currently had no way of treating and saving him from.
“Pnuemonia is actually quite a serious condition, Jay. If left untreated it could very well-”
Nya felt her heart stutter much like Jay’s normally did, and of course Jay was quick to notice. “I know what it is, Pixal, now stop talking about it. You’re stressing Nya out.”
“I think I’m less stressed about pneumonia and more about the fact that you can’t breathe properly,” Nya snipped, but she immediately wilted. That wasn’t what a good Yang would say.
Yet, Jay didn’t seem to take it personally, instead tracing the skin of her lower back through a cut in her gi. He didn’t say anything, letting the silence settle over the room and pressing a kiss to the crook of Nya’s neck. Nya rucked up his white undershirt, taking off her gloves and placing her bare hands on his skin. She felt his element react instantly, the small electric current flowing through her and making her nerve-endings tingle. There were so many scars across his back, too many to count, but she made sure to trace all of them as meticulously as she could.
It wasn’t long before soft snores filled the air; Jay had finally fallen back asleep against her shoulder, his full weight leaning on top of her and both of them being supported by Zane.. And that was when Nya finally allowed herself to break down and cry.
#whumptober 2023#finn's writing#ninjago jay#ninjago fanfiction#lego ninjago#ninjago nya#ninjago whumptober#whumptober day 14#ninjago cole#ninjago lloyd#ninjago kai#ninjago pixal#ninjago zane
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I feel like you had some posts about coworkers saving stuff in weird file formats a while ago. I couldn't find them to reference, but. My job is a lot of working in SQL. The company hired a new guy a year ago who isn't that comfortable with SQL. For a YEAR, I've been trying to get him to save the SQL code he uses so he can learn from it and build on it. On Friday, I asked him to open up a query I told him to save and he pulled up an Excel file. (1/2)
I asked what he was doing, and he showed me how he started saving SQL code. Instead of just saving the file as a SQL file, which would be really easy and just involve using the File menu in SQL, he copies the query into a sheet in an Excel workbook. 🤦🏻♀️ On the one hand, I should be happy because it took me a year to finally get him to save stuff. But why would anyone do that??? He's already in SQL! Just save it! 😂 (2/2)
LOL yeah I had posted about my HR officer sending the law firm a PDF of our handbook to "proof" and them saving it as word, proofing, then saving back to PDF to send it back to us, meaning I had to basically reformat the entire document from scratch. :D And then there was the no-fly list being saved as a CSV.
I have to admit I don't work in code at all, so what you're saying sounds very much like something I'd do -- take something I'd been told to archive but wasn't comfortable with and put it into a structure I found more familiar. Like, did he know he could save it in SQL? Did he feel confident that having saved it he could find it again? I don't know how things are saved in SQL, after all, or how I'd go about finding them. I've worked in databases where there's only one "save" slot, so when you save something, anything you'd previously saved is wiped out. Whereas in Excel, I know exactly how to keep notes and access them.
The problem tends to be less that people know how to do something but do it differently for no visible reason, and more that we're asking people who aren't familiar with certain file types to do things with them but not training them in the how or why. Like, my HR officer didn't know you can't easily proof in PDF format, but that's because we haven't trained her in it (I've offered but she's very nervous about it, and I can't MAKE her learn her way around a PDF). So while I'm mad-amused about having to redo the entire handbook, it's less because she made the job tough on me and more because a combination of her lack of training and pettiness on the part of the law firm meant more work for me. Not securing a no-fly list properly on a server is a big deal -- but that means the person we ask to do it should be thoroughly trained and understand both how and why they're doing what they're doing. And given the state of American air travel I'm guessing they just picked someone who looked like they didn't have enough work to do.
Anyway -- it is funny that he had code saved in Excel, a notoriously difficult program for saving things in the format you want them to be saved in :D But I can't help feeling for the guy, I wouldn't want to have to learn-by-doing my way through SQL code either :D
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First Impressions - Tales with the 104th
Anyone curious about Doc's first introduction to the Wolf pack? My little rant with @actuallybarb and @altered-delta is to blame for this tangent, but I'll get back to Hunter now that I've scratched this itch.
While this chronologically takes place well before Doc joins CF99, I wouldn't recommend reading it until after reading up to Found Footage.
If you're new, this all starts with Touch Starved!
Warnings: TW: vague bugs
WC: 1,810
This was stupid… Kriff, this was the most idiotic thing I’d ever done… Coruscant… Why the kark was I on Coruscant? That jedi… he had a way of speaking that just seemed to make everything… make sense. Of course, I couldn’t stay on Agamar, it wasn’t safe for me there. Of course, the only way for me to continue helping the Republic was to join the GAR, I was a medic, after all… and what other battalion could I possible be assigned to but the one led by the very man who’d shot me down? The risk for being found out was too great if I ended up with anyone else…
Nothing about it had been wrong… I think that was the most frustrating part. Yes: his recommendations and gentle acceptance had likely been my best chance for any kind of meaningful existence outside the CIS, but listening to his calm voice walk me through it was very different from being here, garbed in the crisp white armor my neighbors once held synonymous with fear and oppression, treading toward the barracks of elite warriors trained to kill from the moment they could hold a gun with the expectation of them simply accepting a stranger to join their ranks… Confined to the medbay during the flight into Republic space, I’d barely seen anyone other than the Jedi General himself. But now...
My heart pounded as I tread down that final hall, straining not to show the slightly unnatural gait from the odd senselessness of my ankle. It wasn’t numb… but… it wasn’t right, either, and my body didn’t seem to know if it could trust the joint not to crumble at every step. Mind torn between focusing on steadying my strides and stilling the panic from chilling my veins, I didn’t notice the rhythmic sounds of quickly approaching footsteps racing after me until the thuds boomed mere yards behind me.
Shoulders snapping back, I darted around and froze. I hadn’t expected such a gleeful smile to pull at lips torn by such violent scars; hadn’t expected anyone here to smile at me like that at all…
“Oh good! I’ve been looking for you! Come here – I need your help!” I didn’t have time to react before he turned on his heel and began trotting brusquely back the way he’d come. My brows pulled together for just a moment, confusion robbing me of thought, but my body hesitantly moved forward to follow him.
The clone before me wore his hair shaved save for twin, crimson mohawks that matched the slight red tinting light brown eyes. The quiet giggle that caught in his throat as he led me back around a few turns told me everything I needed to know.
“Alright, listen: all I need you to do is wait right here.” He handed me a slim communicator, lips pulled into a grin so earnest, even the thick lines of scar tissue stretching up just shy of his eye couldn’t deter from the image of joyous ill-intent he portrayed. “When the others come – they’ll all have this color on their armor – just click this button. Okay? Maybe buy me some time if you can!” He didn’t wait for me to respond before sprinting back the way we’d come.
I looked dumbly at the com for a beat longer, some part of my mind still unable to grapple what I’d just been roped into, but, mere minutes later, I heard the distant echo of several sets of armored bootsteps. There was no time left for thought.
Three soldiers approached in a loose formation, helmets held thoughtlessly under an arm as they conversed between each other. I’d read their files. Even without the leader’s unique silver hair, I would have pegged him as Sinker, the Sergeant of the 104th purely from the rigid posture and impatient glare. The soldier with the red mohawks I was sure was Boost, meaning the two others before me had to be Comet and Warthog as Commander Wolffe was sure to still be with the General.
I should have spared more thought to the decision I’d found myself facing, but the very stiffness of Sinker’s movements made the choice for me. I clicked the comm. Fingers tapping rapidly across my datapad, I started intently toward them.
“You’re Sergeant Sinker, right?” I asked, body locking to a professional halt mere feet before them. The silent sigh that subtly shifted his shoulders freed me of any lingering traces of uncertainty as those nearly golden eyes turned to me with a look of pure reluctance.
“And you must be the nat-born medic we’ve been… assigned.” He nearly sneered, voice raspier than I’d expected, “I thought you looked too short to be a clone.” I knew he couldn’t see the hint of a glare through my visor, but his brothers chuckled slightly at the way my helm tilted forward in some semblance of an eyeroll.
“I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time to exchange pleasantries later,” I replied in a tone mimicking his false platitudes, “I just need your clearance for now – this thing locked me out.” Without waiting for him to reply, I held my freshly locked datapad toward him. He let out a short scoff.
“Civi can’t even handle a lock screen…” he grumbled, rubbing his hand wearily over his eyes. “Look, I don’t have time to hold your hand, right now. I’m sure you can find a service droid around here somewhere to help you.” With that he started to step forward to go around me, but I purposefully turned to block his path with my shoulder, freehand clasping the bottom lip of my helmet to remove it, narrowed eyes turning up to his with an air of bored annoyance.
“I wasn’t asking.” I stated, voice crisp. The man to his right, Warthog, let out a choked laugh before biting it back, while Comet glanced between his Sergeant and me with a whisper of concern.
“Fresh into a shiny set of plastoid, and the nat-born already thinks she can boss us around.” The disdain in Sinker’s voice filled me with something that wanted to be anger, but there was deeper emotion in those words that I was sure to find myself focusing on later.
“Medic.” I corrected, gaze never wavering from his. “The medic wants to finish running inventory so I’m not wasting time hunting things down while one of you are bleeding out on the battlefield. And, yeah, there’s going to be a bit of a learning curve with the new tech. Would you rather I work through that here or in the middle of a gunfight?” The unmistakable challenge quickening my retort left the others biting back smirks while Sinker’s pulse thudded against the skintight black fabric about his neck.
Without a word, he took the datapad from me, fingertips tapping against the screen with far more force than was strictly necessary as he rapidly overrode the lock before holding it back out to me.
“Thank you.” I’d only managed to delay them a few minutes, but anything more would raise suspicions. Just as I was reaching out to take back the device, Boost came jogging down the hall. I barely managed to school my expression at the realization that he must have raced all the way around the building.
“Where the hell’ve you been?” Warthog asked, turning to face his brother.
“Wolffe had a, uh, a few more things to say about the… the akk pup.” The freshly chastised cringe in his voice was delivered perfectly. “What’s going on here?”
“The na… new medic,” Sinker belatedly corrected, sparing a fleeting sideways glance toward me, “was having some technical issues.” If the self-important man had been facing at his brother instead of looking down his nose at me, he’d have seen the flash of intrigue cross Boost’s face, but it was gone by the time he turned away.
“Oh! Hey! I’ve heard absolutely nothing about you! Let me show you to our room.” He greeted cheerfully, much to Sinker’s chagrin, but the silver-haired soldier merely let out a tense breath as he led the way forward once more. I fell in beside the smiling man wordlessly, gaze shifting between the group of warriors around me.
“Don’t worry – he’s just testy today… Turns out six month old akk pups can be pretty… munchy…” He pointed to Sinker and wiggled the fingers of his left hand. I had to lean to the side a bit, but was able to note several tears in the black glove, and had to grind my teeth to keep from giggling.
Several meters from the barracks door, Boost notably slowed his pace, lips tensing to fight back the grin, and I found myself lingering beside him as the others tread through the door.
“…Boost!” The deep growl of Sinker’s voice drew out the first broken breath of silent laughter from the soldier beside me. “What the kriff is this?!” Driven forward by curiosity, I just managed to glimpse an impossible number of upside-down cups covering nearly every flat surface of the barracks – the floor, the beds, the desk, even the windowsill; before a hand lightly grasped my arm. Without turning away from the doorway, he gave a tiny shake of his head. Curses grumbled from the Sergeant as he continued forward, kicking the cups aside in rushed, furious strides.
I didn’t see exactly what scurried out from beneath one of the upturned cups, but the sound that tore from Sinker’s throat ruined me. I could barely control my own laughter enough to witness how violently he shied from the rush of movement, throwing himself back into even more cups, at least one of which also released some dark, scurrying form to the Sergeant’s absolute horror. Warthog and Comet were howling just inside the door in the perfect position to witness the entirety of Sinker’s panicked dance as the man lashed out around him, heels stomping every shadow and flutter of dust.
“How many are there?!” He shrieked, finally scrambling toward the exit. I didn’t even realize Boost as I had fallen to the ground in our hysterics until his nearly red eyes found mine and he pointed frantically down the hall.
“R…run… Run!” He gasped, legs churning listlessly beneath him for the several seconds it took to regain control of his limbs enough to push himself up, feet scraping atop the floor. His hand locked around my arm without a moment’s hesitation, dragging me along with him as his pace quickened into a full sprint. The whisper of doubt that should have left my stride faltering meant nothing beneath the warmth of our laughter and the firm grip of his touch steadying me. This was absolutely the most idiotic thing I’d ever done, but, finally, I felt some wisp of hope that I wouldn’t regret it.
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The last man drops with a thud, and Natasha steps over the body, heels clicking on the tile floor.
“It’s always too easy,” she mumbles, holstering her gun. Clint follows her into a room with a large desk. She opens the top drawer and starts pulling out files.
“It was the dress.”
“You think? Not sure it’s my color.”
“If the cut was any lower your boobs would fall out,” he points out, frowning. She smirks.
“You jealous or what?”
“Whatever.”
“Maybe when we get home we can-“ A noise interrupts her and she snaps her mouth closed. Intel showed four goons. They killed exactly four. So who else is here? His shoulders tense as he steps in front of her, pulling out a knife. Silently, he pads down the hall.
He looks back at her in question. The noise is more of a scratching, which is unusual. She shrugs. Slowly, he opens the door. A giant dog bounds out towards him and tackles him to the floor. He bursts out laughing as he’s covered in slobbery kisses.
“No, no, no!” She steps behind the desk, pushing the dog away as he turns to her.
“Aw come on, Nat, he wants to be friends.”
“We have work to do,” she snaps, turning back to the files. Clint helps her sort them with one hand, the other scratching behind the mutt’s fluffy ears. “Got it. Let’s go.”
“But we can’t just-“
“Clint, we are not bringing a dog with us.”
“But he’s all alone and he’s going to starve if we don’t take him.”
“He’s not going to starve.”
“Tasha..”
XXXXX
Which is how she finds herself shoved against the drivers seat window, the dog squished between them on the console. A steady stream of drool is leaking onto her knee. She groans.
“I hate you. Both of you.”
“He appreciates this. You’re saving him from a horrible fate.”
“I’m sure he would have been fine.”
She pulls the car in front of the shelter and kills the engine. Clint seems reluctant to get out of the car, but he does, coaxing the dog to go with him. He uses his belt to secure him to a light post and tucks a note under his collar. Finally, he lays down a blanket and a well chewed toy he found in the house. He crouches down in front of him.
“Take care, buddy. I’m sure you’ll find a new family really soon that’s not in a criminal drug ring.”
“That was really heartfelt,” she says as he gets back in the car. He wipes his eyes and watches as the dog disappears in the side view mirror. “Are you crying?”
“No,” he mumbles stubbornly. She reaches over to lace her fingers with his. Sometimes she forgets what a big heart he has, how he wears his emotions so openly on his sleeve.
“He’s a good boy, Clint. He’s going to make someone really happy.”
“I know.”
XXXXX
Two weeks later, she drops a photo next to his coffee cup. He picks it up and immediately looks at her with a smile.
“Is this our boy?”
“Yep.”
“Aw man he looks so happy.” The dog in the photo is playing tug of war with a small child. She’s laughing, pulling on the stick he holds firm in his teeth. Clint tacks it up on the empty bulletin board next to his desk.
“You did a good thing, Clint.”
“No big deal,” he says with an embarrassed smile. She reaches out and takes his hand.
“Come on. Let’s go get some breakfast.”
“Best day ever.”
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Say Goodbye to Bad Townie Fashion With MCCC/MC Dresser!
One of the biggest game changers for me playing Sims 4 was learning how to use MC Command Center Dresser to auto generate pre-selected outfits on the townie sims.
There are a bunch of sites out there that go over the process, but I wanted to try and make a basic “one stop shop” of all the things I have learned and do to make my game the best it’s ever been!
First some notes so you aren’t disappointed:
Pre-Seasons Townies and the Seasons Expansion Pack: MC Command Center fixes outfits when an NPC is generated or ages up. In a new save that means the fix will NOT be applied to the hot and cold weather outfits of NPCs like Don Lothario or The Pancakes, who are already in the new world when it loads.
To fix this you can create a template save of your own and fix it permanently yourself (highly recommended) or run the dresser cleaner cheat in Step 3 of this article every time you start a new save.
Career, Situation, and Create-A-Sim Outfits: This process will not alter the outfits generated for careers, situations, or when generating a band new sim in CAS.
Turning off situation outfits will be covered.
I haven’t found a permanent way to alter career or create-a-sim outfits but career outfits in my experience are mostly OK and when creating a sim, I think most of us are taking the time to change all their clothes anyway.
Be mindful when you download sims off the gallery, if the user didn’t have Seasons you might end up with some funky hot and cold weather looks! I always recommend a quick check.
OK – now onto the good stuff!
Step 1: Watch This Video
I learned about this magic from this 7-minute video. It’s still the best one I have found to cover the basics of what we’re trying to accomplish.
Don’t worry too much right now about adding your own saved outfits. That’s a nice extra but its not the main way you’ll want to begin this process. More on that below.
This video also covers getting rid of the situation outfits I mentioned above.
Step 2: Create/Download Your MC_Dresser.cfg File
In order for MC Dresser to work it needs saved outfits to pull from. These comes from your mc_dresser.cfg file. You don’t have to try and create your own from scratch, other wonderful simmers have already done that for you!
Below are links to 4 sites that have shared their dresser files. To make it easy I have combined all the basegame items into 1 file for you (all credit to the original creators!). My all in file includes outfits for all life stages, including infants.
HardTurtlePirate NPC Fashion
Lover’s Lab Fashion Police
Just Eva Bad Townie Outfit Fix
EG Warhammer MCCC Dresser Tips (1) Basics
My All in One file
You can add onto your existing dresser file at any time (that’s were the save new outfit option from the video comes in handy). You can also easily delete a saved outfit you no longer want.
Put the .cfg file in your mods folder, wherever you keep your MC Command Center files.
Step 3: Run the Dresser Cleaner!
This is covered at the end of the video in Step 1. If you don’t do this, you will not see your new outfits. You can do this at any time, as often as you’d like.
Step 4: Don’t Lose Your .cfg File!
MC Command Center needs updated on a regular basis and the last thing you want to do is accidently toss your precious dresser .cfg file out when updating. The mc_dresser.cfg file should be copied and added back to your mods folder each time you update the mod.
That’s it! It may sound like a lot but its actually really easy to do and if you’re like me you��ll thank yourself a thousand times over for taking the time to do it.
Happy Simming!
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THE LINDASIMS2 RESEARCH AND EXPERIMENTATION: PART THREE
So, as mentioned in this minor update, the hidden Sim in the accessory files was apparently a rudely-named pollination technician. Me and my Simscord besties struggled to understand just what sim was thrown in there... but we finally worked it out. Thanks to Google, I guess.
I honestly feel like this is way too dramatic for a discovery post but y'know what, I'm nonsensical-pixels. Time to do the nonsensical.
DISCLAIMER: This is not really a callout post. This is a warning to anyone who intends to download Lindasim's stuff. And a genuine one. I have nothing personal against Linda, this is only what I've found from my own deep dive into Linda's files. I have no proof that what I've found is stuff that Linda herself did, but the stuff does exist. And it's terrible.
WARNING: Some of these images contain racial slurs that may make you uncomfortable.
You can find the nails file I use for my 'research' post here. It's part of the reuploaded March 2021 set and from what I can see that entire set is a giant mess.
Credits go to Zeta_Reticuli and Yolkema for helping to dig deeper into this issue!
THE START: PT19
Yolkema was able to load a spare save with the bad CC and check what Sim Blender did when you tried to summon them.
The result: this sim. Pollination Technician 19.
Now, we were all scratching our heads, because who the fuck is PT 19? There's no such sim in the game. So we just figured that Linda had created a sim called PT 19 and threw him in for shits and giggles.
When Yolkema tried to summon the sim, however, we discovered it was impossible. The game would lag a few seconds, but the sim wouldn't appear. So Zeta_Reticuli decided to see if deleting the package file's BHAVs, which contained sim-deleting functions, would work.
THE SLURS
WARNING: This section contains racial slurs!
After Zeta loaded the game and tried to summon the sims, we were all in for quite the shock. Instead of PT19, we had... this guy! Five of him!
We all assumed that this must be due to the BHAVs being removed, since that was the only difference we saw between Yolkema's and Zeta's games. But, well, we were wrong, of course.
THE LANGUAGE DISCOVERY
Zeta went into SimPE and made a pretty interesting discovery:
The person who changed the PT's name must be using American English, because in UK English, PT 19 makes his appearance.
So, since we're all inquisitive simmers, we decided to track down just who PT19 was.
THE FACE
My original impression was that the extra GMDC with a sim's face only used Face 2, but Zeta went back and discovered that it is, in fact, a pretty alien-looking face.
The new question: why the heck would someone go through all that trouble just to inject a monster into their downloaders' CC? I mean, I'm already terrified of the non-textured image. It's a real nightmare.
THE TRUE MONSTER
Zeta thought the sim might be a downloadable alien technician, and she was right! The hidden sim in Lindasims2's nail accessory files isn't some monster cooked up in a frying pan. It's none other than PT19 from this Pollination Technician Replacement set.
Here she is in all of her alien glory.
SUMMARY
Well, it's out now folks. After hours of agonising over who TF the sim was hidden in those files, she's here. Pollination Technician 19, stolen right from pinkdynamite on MTS's replacement set.
Now, the real question: why is she there?
This seems like the most random sim to merge with accessory files, like, ever. Is this some sort of 'fuck you' to the people who download Linda's content? From what I can guess, these accessories are the same ones Linda sends to her subscribers. They're in no way different. That means that whoever downloaded Linda's March 2021 set, probably has this sim duplicated in their game.
If you're not sure if you have her and are concerned, use the Sim Blender's Teleport option and go to the Default household. Scroll through the list of names and if you see PT 19 or the slurs in the picture, yep, you've got the Nail It Virus. Or whatever you want to call it.
If you do have the Nail It Virus, do not attempt to remove the nail/character files belonging to this sim. Doing so is akin to deleting a sim from your game. I can't promise that your game is safe if you don't, but you should definitely run Hoodchecker as often as possible!
Overall, this post was made to dig deeper into the mysterious sim found in those files. I and many others were mystified by what it was. And, well, now we know.
New Sims 2 history?
#lindasims2#s2cc#sims 2 cc#ts2 cc#important info#the lindasims research and experimentation#how do u tag these sorts of posts#sims 2 research#sims 2 alert#pt 19#tw slurs
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thank you for your response about the gif stuff. i do want to tell you that no way was i trying to cause drama or that anything like that, i was genuinely wondering what you had to say about it because i’m actually new to tumblr and i didn’t know how the gif stuff worked. i wasn’t trying to cause drama so i apologize but thank you for explaining it to me and hopefully others too
You're very welcome! I didn't think you were trying to, but a lot of years spent on this hellsite have made me a little wary from time to time. 😂 No need to apologize for asking, I appreciate that you did!
I'm actually cracking up now because if you'd just asked me "how does the gif stuff work" I would've probably said something like the following:
I get my hands on the video files
I use a video player's nifty buttons to help me extract a couple of thousand screencaps from the video files
I go to my screencap folder and cry a little at the sight of that many screencaps
I sort through the screencaps by moving them into little separate folders (this is time-consuming and makes me wanna tear my hair out)
I load the screencaps from one of those little folders into Photoshop
I make the screencaps move and then delete a good portion of them because if I keep too many Tumblr will tell me they've done an oopise and my gif is too big to publish
I resize the gif because the original screencap size is not functional for giffing, then I sharpen the gif because these men look better in HD
I try to lighten the gif without making anyone's skin go green or orange, which might easily take me 20 minutes of furious button-clicking and undoing whatever the previous buttonclick did before I am somewhat satisfied (sometimes I sing the Oompa Loompa song when everything goes orange tbh)
I color the gif. If the original scene color is orange or sepia/brown, this is the point where I take a break before I continue. If the original scene color is cyan/green/blue or so dark you need night vision goggles, this is the point where I start to curse the original makers of the show and take a break.
I add vibrance to the colors sometimes, unless adding it makes the gif go pixel-y. Again, it's a process.
I color-correct the hell out of it again to bring out more shadows and even out the colors/skintone some more
We're several layers into the gif at this moment. If I haven't lost my marbles at that point yet, I might go for something fancy and add a border or an effect or a text to the gif. The lack of me doing that in this fandom is a testament to how grueling the coloring process is.
I save the gifs both as a gif format and as a psd, so if anyone ever wants a before-and-after comparison or if I need to gif that scene again I will not need to start totally from scratch
I upload my gifs to Tumblr, say a prayer, and publish the gifs with proper tags
I watch people go !!!!!!! about the gifs, which is honestly the best, and if anyone compliments me on how I've colored them that person is my new best friend forever
#sweet asks#this actually explains even more why the fuck I'm so salty about people reposting gifs 😂#they have not cried while making their post but I sure as hell cried while making that gif hahahaha
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My Adata HD330 2TB External Hard Disk Drive Review (with my Paper Dolls) - Part 2 [May 11, 2022]
Hello! This is Part 2 of my new item review, the Adata HD330 External Hard Disk Drive (with my paper dolls).😁
In this part, I'm going to show ya my comparison between my recent external hard drive (on the left) & my old broken one (on the right) is my Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB.
But before that: I would like to apologize for the long delay. My parents are busying extending our house to make more space 🏠🔨, plus the voting election in my country 🇵🇭🗳️, and of course... Umm... I felt emotional & depressed. The latter was the concern of my 160GB (3.5 inch) hard disk drive's life that was on the line 😟 because I made a dumb decision when I disassemble it & see what's the problem via following instructions without my knowledge about the hard disk drive. That 160GB HDD contains my artworks 🎨🖌️, photos 🖼️ & other files 📁 that are my precious memories from 2016 & beyond, and I can't retrieve them anymore. So, I REALLY NEED to find a good professional disk recovery store to save my files, but it'll be very expensive to pay & I don't have enough money. I guess, I DO REALLY NEED a job to earn my profits. *sigh* Without my precious files, there will be no... ME. And my life will be a downward spiral of depression.😔
Anyway, back to my topic... If you haven't seen my previous part, then please [CLICK ME!].
So, without further ado, let's get started:
1st & 2nd Image(s) ↑:
• [1st Image] As I said in my intro, you're looking at my two external hard disk drives. Despite the design & look, my Adata HD330 is taller than my old WD (short for Western Digital).
• [2nd Image] Another thing was the HD330 had shock & drop proof with built-in silicon case around the plastic shell case & also the interior 2.5 inch HDD, though I still need to buy a rugged hard case for extra protection. Whereas my old WD My Password Essential has nothing but four rubber pads on the back.
Little story 📖: My former BF actually purchased this Western Digital external HDD at the local tech store for me as a token of our friendship, and I was very surprised back then when I was in my high school days. *Sigh* 😌 Memories, I would never forget that moment.
3rd to 6th Image(s) ↑:
• Here are their side to side comparison, sandwich style.
• [5th Image (left)] On my old WD external hard drive, you may notice that there's a tiny hole on the left side. That's the light indicator when plugging the Micro-B USB port through the computer via cable.
• [6th Image (right)] And speaking of ports, both Adata HD330 & (old) WD My Passport Essential are sporting USB Micro-B 3.0 port. Well, actually 3.2 gen 1 port for the Adata HD330, meaning it's far superior port than the old 3.0 variant. (Well, I think) It'll be awesome if the HD330 will be sporting the USB type C cable for a modern look & less hassle plugging than the irreversible USB Micro-B. (Just suggesting)
7th & 8th Image(s) ↑:
• [7th Image] Finally, their USB Micro-B 3.0 cables. On the left is from Adata HD330 & on the right is from WD My Passport Essential, which shows up aging from rust on the USB type-A male, but the male Micro-B was surprisingly quite intact & shine.
• [8th Image] On top of that, the old USB Micro-B cable 3.0 is longer than Adata's short-length cable. Also, that cable strap remains wrapped around, to this day.
9th & 10th Image(s) ↑ [without flash for no. 10th]:
• My paper dolls said that these two external HDs are both blue! 💙Well yeah, of course not because I love blue, duh.😊 One is brand new & the other was very old, due to the signing age of fading WD logo on the front, scratch surface, etc. Not to mention not very functional, and hoping it will revive my old one (hoping my old files remain intact without a single corrupt), anytime soon. As soon as I want the 160GB hard drive will be an attempt to save it first (if possible).🤞😟
Overall:
• Well, nothing new. But, I would say it was a pretty good short comparison between my two existing portable/external HD (not High Definition) or HDD. 🙂👍
• Right now, I have nothing to transfer my files for my next & final part. 😟 So, I'm not sure if I could finish this topic this month (May) or not. But, here's hoping that I will find the way while my 160GB HD is putting in rest mode.
Well, that’s all for now. If you want to see my previous topic from March, as well as my current topic from April, then I’ll provide some links down below.↓😉
My Oria 120 in 1 Screwdriver Set Review:
• Part 1 [Mar 15, 2022]
• Part 2 (Final) [Mar 19, 2022]
My Adata HD330 (2TB) External HDD Review:
• Part 1 [Apr 12, 2022]
Tagged: @bryan360, @lordromulus90, @carmenramcat, @gibsonfreak49, @leapant, @alexander1301
#My Photos#My Photo#MyPhotos#MyPhoto#Photos#Photo#Chowder#Panini#Chowder Panini#Paper Dolls#Adata#Adata HD330#Western Digital#Western Digital My Passport Essential#Memory#Device#Hard Disk#Hard Disk Drive#HDD#External#External Hard Disk#External Hard Disk Drive#External HDD#Photography
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hi k. i really wanna have fun w my sims again. i can spend literal hours in CAS but after that…nothing. any advice for developing OCs in game and starting a legacy? starting is always hardest for me, pls help 😭
hi anon bby! this is a great question, although idk if i can offer tht much help bc tbh, i be struggling w this all the time. however, here’s a couple tips tht always help me when i get bored/in a rut and want to play the game again:
1. Using In Game features
Is there an aspiration you’ve never played through? have you played through strangeville or completed the haunted house challenge with paranormal stuff (if you own those packs)? sometimes the easiest way to start for me is trying something in the game that i’ve never done before. a little while ago, i realized i never completely the Komerobi Sight-Seer aspiration, so i made a new sim and started to play through it. it was fun to do new things, and a reminder that theres lowkey so many little features that i be sleepin on. the more packs you have ofc theres more things to try, so keep tht in mind.
2. Using a challenge created by someone in the sims community
9 times out of 10, if i’m in a rut, i will start playing a rags to riches gameplay. it just has a gameplay that is always a litle chaotic, but entertaining and u can really make it turn out in so many different directions. using challenges that other simmers make can help widen ur horizions on different gameplay and can give you generations of challenges/aspirations/sims to explore. some off the top of my head are not so berry 1 or 2, globetrotter, postcard legacy, i’m a lover challenge, 100 baby, alphabet baby challenge.
fun fact: Zenya was originally a sim I made to play eco lifestyle rags to riches, and she’s become my main oc/story main character so, anything can happen!
3. Creating/Finding your perfect save file
i stall on starting gameplay bc i hate the default lots/townies a lot of the time, and thinking about starting over makes me lose motivation. ive taken time to create a couple save files w new lots, townies and sims of mine that make it a fun setting for any kind of gameplay i end up doing. add your fave lots, create your own lore for the neighborhood and the sims who live there, and make sure everything is playable and suits your personal style. if making your own from scratch is tew much work (bc trust me, it is), i also have used ratsave by @ratboysims and lemonade save by @helloavocadooo many times and enjoy them both! also if anyone has reccs for save files pls lmk!
4. Mods
idk if u use mods but i love gameplay mods!! whenever i get a new mod, i play around for a while and test out each feature of it. combining mods together and finding which ones enhance your gameplay is one way to get you engaged in playing again! mod recc list coming soon <33
I hope these tips help you or anyone else! if u need links for things lmk, im not at home rn but i will try to update as i go. if u need any help pls don’t hesitate to reach out!! and if anyone else has some tips they use, pls reply below! a lot of y’all have amazing gameplay and legacies that i admire sm so i’ll also take any advice!
#i will be making a list of all my fave mods soon#i am still in the process of making a resources page#and other useful info#so pls be patient as i get tht together#replies#sims stuff#resources#simblr help#long post
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How to edit captions with your video track
Why: I like making edits of my favorite series, but I hate redo captioning. But I also know quality captions are vital to some viewers (I also use them). To me adding captions is the bare minimum for release, but also hearing all the words and timing them or even re-timing existing captions is very hard with my disabilities and this has been a barrier to me releasing edits. But no more!
DaVinci Resolve lets you add a SubRip (SRT) subtitle track to any video and then edit it at the same time as the video. It also counts as an edit for the Go To Previous/Next Edit button. Con: You can't use the button to jump to big cuts in the video. Pro: You can now easily jump to the an existing timing for someone starting to talk.
DaVinci Resolve:
DaVinci Resolve is a professional video editor with widespread industry use that also has a no-strings-attached perpetual free version. It's got a ton of features in the free version that will more than cover basic editing. It's relatively easy to use (basic tutorials help). If you need more advanced tools you can upgrade to a full license. They don't pester you about it in the free version unless you try to use the advanced tools. I would already recommend using this program to anyone looking to get into video editing.
SRT Subtitles
The SRT subtitle standard is a type of text file that includes subtitles with timings and no formatting. They can be stored separately from a video file or embedded into certain files like MP4s. This is what you'll get if you download captions from YouTube (some YouTube downloaders embed them in the video, some don't). DVD rippers usually have several options. You want an SRT file. And there are websites that host fan-made or fan ripped subtitles for less officially obtained material. You can also make your own SRT file with timings within DaVinci Resolve or with an SRT editor. You can also use this to improve on official captions while making your edit.
A pro feature of DaVinci is it can do machine captioning and then you clean it up. You can also do this for free using YouTube by privately uploading the video, letting it auto-caption, and then editing the captions. You MUST edit machine captions. They are not accurate enough on their own to be accessible. But they can be a step in helping you get it done.
Extracting Embedded SRTs
DaVinci needs an SRT file to import captions. It doesn't seem to extract embedded SRT files from MP4s. Fortunately, it's very easy to extract them.
Subtitle Edit is an open source subtitle editor. It's a great tool if you're making your subtitles from scratch or editing existing ones.
For our purposes, simply open the video with the embedded subtitle track. Click save. Save the SRT file with a useful name somewhere convenient. I recommend using the same name as video it goes with in the same folder.
Adding a Subtitle Track to DaVinci
Rev Tutorial with text and video
Open your project in DaVinci Resolve. Add your SRT file to the bin.
Under "File" select "Import" then "Subtitle."
Or click the Import Media button and add it as normal.
From the bin, select your video and subtitles. Right-click them and select "Create New Timeline Using Selected Clips".
You should now have a timeline where the video and captions are reunited and can be edited together.
Editing the Subtitles
You can now move around the subtitles like any text overlay, including making them longer or shorter. If you click a subtitle you can edit the text and exact timing using numbers. Or edit the timing visually using the timeline. The Go To Previous/Next Edit button can now help you skip to a timing someone else made for you which is usually good enough for a fan cut, making your job easier. From the Edit view you can see the audio track visualizer along with the captions for a perfect cut.
Putting Your Tracks Together
If you're making a compilations, where's where things start to suck. The subtitles are not brought along when you next your clips. They will play over the video, but they won't export to an SRT video or be embedded. You're going to have to manually copy them. But at least now they're the correct length and you have them synced up. I would highly recommend you start your subtitles right at the beginning of the clip or put a fake one in to delete later.
Add your Timelines to a new timeline as usual.
Go to the timeline of the first clip.
With the clip at the beginning, right click the seeker bar and click the select to right button on the circular menu.
Use CTRL + left click to deselect the video/audio tracks. Copy the subtitle track.
Go to the combined timeline. Go to the start of your clip.
Paste the subtitles. You may have to add a subtitle track.
Copy the subtitles from the next clip.
Go to the combined timeline and move to the start of the that clip. Paste the new set in.
Rename your subtitle tracks with the language they're in or type.
Export
Go to the deliver tab. Choose the file name and location. If you're posting to YouTube, render as a single clip, and export to MP4. Under the Subtitle Settings, select "Export Subtitle", Format "As a separate file", and Export As "SRT Without Formatting". Select the subtitle tracks you want to export with the video.
Add to Render Queue. Then render the clips over on the right.
Uploading to YouTube
Upload the video as normal. At the Video Elements step, add subtitles. Select upload file, then with timings. Your subtitles should show up on the timeline and you can check they're correct and fix anything last minute. Do this for each language you add. Continue uploading as normal.
Conclusion
That's my process for adding existing subtitles to my videos. I've wanted something like this for ages so I was super pleased to learn Davinci Resolve has it. I hope this encourages other clip makers with some access to pre-made captions to use them for their videos. It's easy, free, and can even help speed up the editing process. It makes your videos much more accessible and creates a transcript that's searchable and timestamped for easy navigation and quote copying. I really recommend working this into your process so more fans who need captions can share in your work.
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What are some pieces you're particularly proud of?
This is a really great question and I wanted to give it a thoughtful answer so it took a few days.
I'm most proud of the art I made when I first started learning Blender a little over two years ago so I could do gamejams with friends.
Very early on, I remember thinking that I wanted to save and keep all my progress so I could look back on it one day -- so I saved more or less everything I've ever made, in chronological/numbered order, so it's easy to look back fondly and get a snapshot in time of what I was making and how goofy it was.
This is the first thing I made after fumbling with Blender's sculpting tools, and realizing I could make muscly-men-shaped things and also bird-shaped things.
I would try to keep sculpting things for a while and get super frustrated at my computer not being good enough to handle the files. Eventually this would nearly cause me to quit learning altogether, convinced that my computer was too underpowered -- not that I was working in absurdly high-poly without realizing it.
This attempted gimpsuit Bowser I tried making for a friend, for example:
75 million triangles!!!
400mb!!!!
Not really knowing any better, it took me a long time and a lot of trial and error doing gamejams and working with my smarter, more wizardly gamedev friends to start getting an understanding of poly counts and optimization. Eventually, with a lot of practice and models, I would get better at working in low-poly - a style I really like. By comparison, my last model was 33,116 triangles (7mb)
I can tell from looking at my pile of projects that something clicked after our third gamejam. I started having a better understanding of how Blender worked as software, and how 3D modeling worked conceptually. At some point, I started seeing misc art ideas on tumblr etc. and thinking "i think I know how to do that!", and some of the time I actually could (or at least, a bootleg quality version of it)
But the biggest turning point for me, and the closest I can get to answering the question about projects I am most proud of, were these two models.
I had started playing Dragon Quest 11 some time before I started learning art, got bored/burned out on it, and unknowingly quit right before the big mid-point events of the game. It wasnt until a year or so later that I picked it up again, and immediately saw it with the noobie "cube eyes" I'd been developing over the last few months.
I realized that the art style was beautiful yet simplistic enough that I could try and copy it, and was indeed able to make pretty decent versions myself (though unusably unoptimized it has to be said). It was also my first deep dive into Blender shaders, something which would take me another year or so to even scratch the surface of.
That moment not only empowered me a ton as an artist, but it also opened a whole new way for me to play and appreciate games that I had never experienced in my like 25+y of viddy gaming up to that point.
Honorable mention:
I went through a BOTW phase earlier in the summer when I replayed it looking for art to make. My eye crimes are buried deep in my #my art tag, but tldr I made a rito first, then zora, a goron... building up to the big man himself - whom I was afraid to try making because I was afraid I wouldn't do him justice.
Kass was easily the most complicated model I had ever made until that point - involving handpainting his colors and patterns, a complex rig for animating both the body and the accordion, and just a lot of decor and misc outfit accessories. I cut some corners from the original design, but I was still really happy with both the result, and myself for being able to have achieved it.
Thank you for the ask!!
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