#remade the other set! and added one ^^

[anotherplumbob]

Uberhood 2024 Update By AnotherPlumbob (CC free)

The Uberhood is an ongoing PROJECT where I’m creating a Cc-free savefile, with all the worlds and lore from The Sims 2 ported to The Sims 4. 

NOTE: In this update I've revamped PLEASANTVIEW only - if you were interested in the other worlds or premades, please note they remain exactly as they were in the previous versions.

It currently includes

1.- Remade Worlds

Pleasantview (Newcrest+Willow Creek)

Strangetown (Strangerville+Oasis Springs)

Veronaville (Windenburg)

Bluewater Promenade (Magnolia Promenade)

Three Lakes (Granite Falls)

Bluewater Bay [only partially built] (Brindleton Bay)

All the career lots (detective, hospital and science lab).

BEWARE: the rest of the worlds are either empty, half built or a mess in general.

2.- Families

The save includes all the premade families as well as the iconic townies that lived in those worlds in The Sims 2 times. They all have jobs, relationships, sentiments, lifestyles, reputations, etc. For Pleasantview sims only I've also included more lore in the form of milestones, added traits, midlife crisis, etc.

3. Required packs and How to Install (PLEASE READ)

THE SAVE IS CC-FREE BUT ALL EXPANSION, GAME PACKS,STUFF PACKS AND KITS RELEASED UP UNTIL MARCH 2024. 

If you don’t have all packs, sims may be half naked, and/or bald and stuff may be missing. Install at your own risk. 

In order to install:

BACK UP YOUR SAVES.

Download the the SAVE file.

Put the save in your SAVES folder.  Documents > Electronic Arts > Sims 4 > Saves. I changed the name of the file so that it will hopefully not overwrite any of your saves (including the previous v1). If your system prompts you to overwrite a save, do not click yes. Just change the name of the save (keep it 8 numbers but change the numbers) and try again.

Optional: Put the .package file (StrangetownTexts.package) in your mods folder. This file is used to change the Strangerville mystery a bit, and turn it into the Strangetown mystery (with custom texts, references to the Bella mystery, etc.). Please install it if you want to have some clues on what happened to Bella!! 

4. Play Order

There’s really no set play order but note that:

1.- Brandi Broke is pregnant and will give birth in 3 days regardless of who you play and regardless of whether aging is on or off, so play with her first if you want to be there for the birth.

2.- Same thing applies to Pascal Curious, who’s also pregnant at the start of the save.

5. Disclaimer and TOU

I’m just one person and there may be some bugs here or there, or naked sims or whatever. Feel free to report any bugs you find but I will only fix them if I consider them super relevant or game breaking, otherwise the save is provided as is and you install it at your own risk.

Also please don't waste your breath asking me to do X world, or add lore to Veronaville or Strangetown or whatever, because I will only do it if and when I'm inspired to do it - and the requests quite honestly stress me out.

THE TERMS OF USE ARE: Be nice and don’s steal others creations! 

Download: Sim File Share - Filehosting for Simmers

#anotherplumbob #TS2toTS4 #S2tS4 #Pleasantview #Veronaville #Strangetown #TS4 Pleasantview

[desertdollranch]

Kirsten's bedroom renovation

It's a sunny spring day in Minnesota Territory, and Kirsten is stuck indoors, helping with the spring cleaning. Her first task is to sweep the upstairs bedrooms--she shares one with her three siblings, and so it gets messy very quickly. But Kirsten doesn't complain--she remembers her previous home, a one-room log cabin on her aunt and uncle's farm. That was easier to clean, but it was hard sharing such a small place with six people. After a fire burned that cabin down, the Larsons bought a much larger house, the beautiful home they dreamed they'd have when they left Sweden two years ago.

As for my part in this, I created a bedroom for my Kirsten doll a few years ago, but I recently renovated it to make it look more like the illustrations in Kirsten's sixth book, Changes for Kirsten.

The walls in this illustration look like they've been finished with plaster, which was common in houses at the time. The light color would have come from local sources of limestone.

So most of the changes I made were to the walls and windows. I used printed photographs for the windows, and added the twelve-pane window frames over the images before printing. For the walls, I took down the boring white wood paneling. I imitated that plastered look using tissue paper stuck to the first layer of pale yellow paint, and then I painted another layer over the tissue paper.

The furnishings are basically the same, except for the trunk on the right side of this photo. She used to store her clothes in the top half of Felicity's clothes press, which I mentioned in my recent post about moving the clothes press into the parlor for Caroline to use. After I did that, I knew Kirsten would need a place to store her clothes, and what better piece than a smaller version of her trunk?

Most of the things in the above picture are not from Kirsten's collection. The bed was made by my grandpa when I was eight and first got my Kirsten doll. My mom made the quilt on the bed and the one on the rocking chair, the pillow and mattress on the bed, and the two darker gray cats. The foot stove next to the bed is Pleasant Company, and so are the shoes (including snow shoes) lined up next to the trunk. The rocking chair came from an antique store. I made everything else: both rugs, the cradle, the nightstand, the candle and book and stuffed cat on the nightstand, the cross stitch hanging on the wall, the shelves and everything on them, the painted round boxes at the foot of the bed, baby Britta's dress, and Kirsten's quilt square in the embroidery hoop.

This is a little wooden trunk I found at a craft store. I painted it blue and then painted on the decorative designs using stencils.

That's Kirsten's straw hat hanging on the wall, from her collection. My mom made the two sunbonnets.

I gave it a weathered look by lightly brushing on white and red paint.

The trunk can hold all of Kirsten's clothes. It has room for a few more dresses too. I have almost all of Kirsten's clothes; I'm only missing her baking outfit, skating coat, and promise dress.

I also made the gingham curtains for the windows. There's a lot of blue and white going on in here, so I wanted them to match the color themes.

Next to Britta's cradle are the round boxes I made to hold Kirsten's socks and ribbons, which are all Pleasant Company things. Her lunch box and bucket are from craft stores.

I remade her honey crate and the jars of honey. They now contain clear glue dyed with food coloring. I made her little gnomes too.

The rocking chair was an antique store find. It's perfect for her to sit with her baby sister Britta.

I also painted a little flourish on the end of her bed.

This definitely isn't all of Kirsten's collection--I have a few pieces hidden away underneath her room that won't fit here. That includes her actual big trunk that my grandpa made, her Saint Lucia wreath and tray that I made, her dishes set from her official collection, and some other small things that she doesn't need in her room.

#kirsten larson #changes for kirsten #kirsten's room #kirsten's bedroom #kirsten's cabin

[cityof2morrow]

Fusion Build Repo

Published: 2-11-2024 | Updated: N/A SUMMARY The original Fusion build set from Simgedoehns (Tolli, 2010) has been remade and simplified for easier use in your game by Kiri (2016). In this version, I’ve added 20-ish frame recolors (CuriousB, 2010), made items visible in neighborhood view, and reposited the glass to my Plain Glass Repository mesh (Simmons, 2023) to give you more color options and less files to manage.

DETAILS Requires all EPs/SPs. You need the Glass TXTR Repository from the Repository Pack (Simmons, 2023). Frame recolors come from the garage door, door, and window – these files have “MESH” in their names and are REQUIRED. You can only have one version of this set in your game at a time. Manually replace other versions if you use this one. DOWNLOAD (choose one) from SFS | from MEGA

CREDITS Thanks: Simming Community, Kit Kat Crew. Sources: Any Color you Like (CuriousB, 2010), Beyno (Korn via BBFonts), EA/Maxis, Fusion Build Set (Tolli, 2010), Kiri’s Repo of the original Fusion Build (2016), Offuturistic Infographic (Freepik).

#ts2downloads #ts2cc #sims2cc #ts2recolors #co2repo #ts2repo #co2recolors

[lets-try-some-writing]

Getting more information on what the femmes do was very exciting (idk if that's the right word) but if it's not a spoiler I would love to hear more about the process when a femme finishes the preparations

(And it makes sense, find someone insignificant and reuse them to make someone new, someone potentially more useful)

The Grim Dark Archives: Statement #007 Cold Forged

[Statement taken from [Redacted] on [Redacted: Sensitive data] regarding femmes and what they do to their chosen subjects. Concerns have been rising after [Redacted] made it clear that Arcee can latch onto humans just as easily as she can another Cybertronian. Personnel working at the Autobot base have begun attempting to go on strike in an effort to escape.

I can't say I blame them, but [Redacted] was called to explain the process that femmes put their targets through to hopefully give us some answers. I suspect the higher ups just want enough information to weave a half baked like for the staff, but the information is vital nonetheless. The more we know, the better a chance we have of fighting back if need be.

Statement begins.]

══════════════════

Femmes... yeah, I've known a few over the course of my life. Elita was one real piece of work. She wanted Orion when she was still Ariel, and she threw a fit when the Archives got him before she could. She wanted Optimus as well once she found out he had been Orion at some point. She nearly got him too. I think the only reason Optimus managed to get out of her clutches was because of his rather murderous tendencies. I don't know if he meant to or not, but he allowed Elita to try and claim him and then watched on as her abilities backfired.

There is a reason femmes only target the weak. If their will cannot overcome the will of the target, their abilities will kill them instead... and in a rather brutal fashion.

It was a shame. Elita, when she wasn't enthralled with her targets, was a good femme. She treated her cold forged well and was a brilliant tactician. She actually kept Optimus in line for a long time. She ensured he couldn't do anything nearly as extreme as what he does now. That's the good thing about femmes. They are good and kind to their targets. They fill the void in the bot's life that no other could have ever hoped to fill. It is a peaceful end for a mech that would otherwise be cast away by society. Elita was the companion Optimus needed, a level helmed and gentle being who served as his equalizer when his plans demanded more pain than required. I appreciated her for that, especially when I served as as a special agent-

Ignore that remark. No. Ignore it.

Do you understand me Witwicky? You will ignore that remark.

[Note: [Redacted] expressed a severe violent reaction the moment I made it clear that I had no intention of adhering to his wishes. He only calmed when he watched me scratch it from the records. Of course I added back the redacted information following the conversation, but [Redacted] has things he wants to hide it seems.]

Good.

As I was saying, Elita was a fantastic person. Femmes are more than capable of being normal members of society when they are tended to. In fact, they are even worshipped in some circles and given the lowly members of society so that they may be remade. But Elita aimed too high, she went beyond the bounds set by the rules of femmes. She tried to go after a mech who was too strong, and for that reason, she fell.

Femmes are of the line of Solus Prime, the first femme created by Primus. At least that's what the Primacy will tell you. I'm not all that sure on the theological stuff, but there are records pointing to the fact that Solus existed. Because of that, I am willing to pin the femmes existence back to her. I don't know all the details about the first femme. That's the kind of thing you'd need to ask Orion about. He always loved talking about the theological details of history. He always got so passionate about it...

Sometimes... I forget Orion isn't here to answer anymore. I mean, he is, but he also isn't. But that's beside the point. This isn't my forte. Sorry, its just seeing Optimus so often after so many millennia, it can bring back old memories yanno? I will get back on topic.

No one knows what makes a newspark become a femme. In fact, there are no signs at all until the newspark sheds their second armor set. They behave just like every other Cybertronian, and then sometime in their early adolescence, they start following a specific individual around. Usually their first target is someone very old or very young, the weak of society or those without enough knowledge to fight back. Once the femme has picked, that's when the Council steps in and slaps a sticker on them to denote what they are. The poor target is cut off from everyone and left to the femme. Why? Because the first target is always the one who suffers the most.

Femmes are highly territorial. They will never aid one another unless both their targets are in danger and cooperating is in their best interest. So every young femme is on her own, left to figure things out as she ages. For young femmes, they will pick their victims apart. There is no peace to be found as they sink their connectors into their target to try and tear apart their CNA and remake it. The process kills the target without fail. A more experienced femme knows that she must follow a ritual, a process of sorts. She must know her target, she must care for her target, and only once her target is open to her... only then can she dig her claws in and remake them.

Yes, yes I am getting to the actual process now. Calm down. I swear you fleshies are just as impatient as Cyberfelines sometimes.

First she will get to know her target and release a chemical, a pheromone as your kind call it. This chemical causes the target to become calm, more trusting, and it also weakens their immune system. It has some benefits, such as increased processor function and heightened senses, but all this comes at the cost of increasing weakness. Not to mention the increase in processor activity is largely so that the femme may attract her target's attention and push them into seeing her in a light that best fits what role she is aiming to fulfill until the time for harvest arrives.

Around a vorn into her work, the femme will start to introduce her coils, her touches if you will. She will start to touch her target as often as she can, and it is through this that small injectors in her digits will begin to input a specially made protomatter into her target. The target will feel no pain since the injections are so small. But over months, years, vorns... slowly her target will start to think less, feel less, until at last they start to collapse.

Femmes are not needlessly cruel in their efforts. She will be very gentle with her target in their dying cycles. When they begin to forget, she will remind them of the things they lost. She will help them fuel, she will take them places they enjoy, and she will allow them ample time to deal with their lingering affairs. Any living relatives will not be compensated, but that is because she sees her work as the greatest compensation any being could possibly receive. She is remolding the worthless into something greater, and for that reason she is both compelled to her work just as much as she heralds it as something sacred. It is her nature to be gentle in this stage, for by that point, her target will be carrying the beginnings of her cold forged, her perfect creation.

There is no set time for it, but at some point in this final stage, the femme will continue her injections of protomatter and her quiet indoctrination until finally, her target shatters. This can take various forms, usually some type of explosion or contortion of the frame, but the end result is always the same. The target dies, and from their corpse, a new being emerges. Much like a newspark, it emerges without armor, but unlike the newsparks from the Well, it will come forth with memory and a mission.

We call these things the Cold Forged. They are beings that completely lack emotion. Or perhaps the ability to empathize. It is hard to tell with them. They all seem to take sick glee in watching others squirm. But anyway, the Cold Forged have a purpose that their femme gave them, and most often, they do not care to reveal it. Those that have felt like giving up data have often been given a mission that amounts to a concept, a thought or ideal. The most common mission these beings receive is by far the most terrifying.

Perfection.

They are given one concept, and they live out their entire lives embodying and striving to reach it. The Cold Forged are Cybertronian by every single stretch of the word, but they are not... like us. Does that make sense? My kind do not really do the empathy thing. But they have SOMETHING. The Cold Forged don't even have that. They are true machines.

You know what's so funny about this whole thing?

The femmes don't even care about their Cold Forged. They make them, and then they move along to the next target. The Cold Forged are the closest any Cybertronian has to actually having a biological creation, and the femmes don't care!

[Note: [Redacted] laughed for a rather long time following this statement. He seemed to be... unstable while speaking on this matter.]

Sorry about that.

It's just, it feels so clinical to me even millennia after learning about the process. These femmes go through so much effort just to make a creature that they then throw away. Elita was a rare exception in this regard. She liked to keep tabs on her Cold Forged, and I think one of hers even ended up with the Elite Guard. Her missions to her Cold Forged were always super specialized too.

Yeah. Femmes. Cold Forged. It's a hot mess I tell you.

Jack will be fine. Arcee will care for him as best she knows how until his dying day. That much you can be sure of.

══════════════════

[Statement end.

I am unsure how to feel about all this. Every detail I gather about these aliens tells me that there is something deeply wrong with them. I have my theories, but considering [Redacted]'s disposition and what info we have on everyone else, I think I can say that this race has been altered somehow. If [Redacted] is able to comprehend empathy, there must be others.

They are capable of feeling and being reasonable, but there is some factor that changes things for them. I shouldn't get involved...

But I want to know. I want to figure this mess out. I am just one man, but if I can put some pieces together, then perhaps there is something we can do to fix this. If nothing else, I want to understand these aliens. I want to know why.

Why start a war? Why do all this? And why in God's name would they shatter in such a way culturally? There must be an answer, and I have a sinking feeling that the only ones who can give me answers are going to be very dangerous.

Agent Witwicky signing off.

Recording ends.]

#transformers #maccadam #transformers prime #optimus prime #alternate universe #the grim dark archives au #elita one #ariel #orion pax #pre war cybertron #[redacted] #agent witwicky #statement recording #cybertronian culture #cybertronian biology #cybertronian worldbuilding

[scummy-writes]

2024 Simp Calendars

Folks enjoyed this last year, so this year I have remade my simp calendars for the 2024 year! There are a few different versions where each month displays the official emblems on suitor’s birthdays for Ikevamp, Ikepri, and then a combination calendar with both Ikevamp and Ikepri suitors. I've also added a set of blank ones without these emblems, in case you'd just want a plain one for whatever reason.

Each set has a blank spot where you can place any photo you’d like for each month, and a small section for notes.

They were made with my wallet in mind to be wary of when cyb*rd may drop birthday sale sets.

Here’s an example for how the Jan 2024 Ikevamp/Ikepri calendar download looks, as well as how it looks printed out:

user error (me) caused the side to be cut off when printing, please ignore that

Download Links: Ikevamp/Ikepri Calendar || Ikevamp Calendar || Ikepri Calendar || Blanks

Notes:

This time, I've included a 2025 version of January!! Please do not get it confused with the 2024 January!!

This was made for fun, and I am not an artist at all, so there may be small imperfections and boring design choices. I am sharing since friends and followers were interested.

The size of the calendars overall are made to print on a full sheet of regular printer paper (8.5x11). (I highly recommend using cardstock if you have the option!) You should be able to use your computer’s default printing option to print these off fine.

The size for the customized photo window is 1129x1241 pixels. You should be able to edit this in any program designed for editing photos, I even tested it and made sure you could put in a photo using MS Paint!

Keep in mind that when printing, some printers may skew the colors a bit and make them either lighter or darker.

Ikevamp also has no July birthdays, so there is just a blank calendar in the Ikevamp Only set. In the other sets, it will only show the Ikepri bday for that month.

For the jp spoiler characters in ikevamp and ikepri, their bdays are not listed. I don't have their emblems/crests so I could not add them.

If there is an issue like a misspelling or a suitor’s birthday being listed wrong, please let me know 🙏

If you enjoy this or end up using it, please consider reblogging or commenting! That way I can consider revisiting this in 2025 and trying to make improvements based on the interest.

Ikevamp Masterlist || Ikepri Masterlist || Ikevamp/Ikepri server (18+)

#ikevamp #ikemen vampire #ikemen prince #ikepri

[snowe-zolynn-rogers]

Pairings: None

Word Count: 1,133 Words

Summary: Eclipse makes a groupchat with the other Eclipses to chaotic outcomes.

Warnings: Crack, Cursing, Caps, Death (mentioned only), Abuse (mentioned only), Minor Injury (mentioned), let me know if I should add anything else.

The Eclipses Chat: Chapter 1

8:42am

Eclipse has created a chatroom

Eclipse has named the chat to ‘Whomst The Fuck?’

Eclipse has added 9 people to ‘Whomst The Fuck?’

Eclipse: Okay, I need help? Fist of all where am I? And second how did I get here? Third, how get all your numbers at the same time?

Eclipse: …Ah fuck what the hell?

Eclipse: Hold on what?

Eclipse: Okay, I might be too high then.

Eclipse: ARE WE ALL ECLIPSE!?

Eclipse: Seems like it, buddy.

Eclipse: Okay, some of us have to change our screen names.

Eclipse: Already on it for mine.

Eclipse has changed their name to Solar

Solar: So much better.

Eclipse: How did you do that!?

Solar: Depends who I’m giving advice to.

Eclipse: Swapped dimension, Moon is the evil one.

Solar: Ah. Gotcha. So you hit the icon in the top right and it’ll say settings, click that then go to change name and change it.

Eclipse had changed their name to Orbit

Orbit: Thank god. I’m too high for this. I’m going to sleep now. Thanks Solar.

Eclipse has changed their name to God

Solar: No.

Solar has changed God’s name to Venus

Solar: None of that shit.

Venus: I hate you and your little boyfriend too.

Solar: NOT MY BOYFRIEND SHUT UP HE’S AROACE

Venus: I have better things to do than bother with you.

Venus is offline

Eclipse: Can I get help?

Solar: Who be thee?

Eclipse: … I’ll be honest I don’t know.

Eclipse: Well, are you good?

Eclipse: idk

Eclipse has changed their name to Rigel

Rigel: Hi Solar!!!!! 🥰💞💘

Solar: Hi Ruin.

Rigel: Look, I picked a name too!

Solar: I can see that, Rigel. Good job.

Eclipse: Y’all in love or something?

Solar: Listen, he just found out emojis exist. Let him have fun with them.

Eclipse has changed their name to Helix

Helix: Excuse me wtf? How did the Eclipse that started this shit get my number? I literally live in space! I didn’t even know I had a number! What!?

Solar: Ooooh, you’re the one with Lord Lunar.

Helix: Yes, I’m the one with Selene.

Solar: Interesting.

Eclipse: Can I please be helped already?

Eclipse: We don’t even know who you are!

Eclipse: I’m apparently named Eclipse!? idfk!? I’m confused too!

Helix: Start with this, pick a damn name, kid!

Eclipse has changed their name to Comet

Eclipse had changed their name to Umbra

Helix: Wait, which is which?

Comet: Someone please get me down? I feel like a cat in a tree rn. Why am I here?

Solar: That’s how we all feel, buddy. What’s wrong?

Comet: I’m currently trapped in the dark in I think a ceiling? I can’t get down and it’s dark. I don’t know where I am but I hear the daycare song.

Solar: That does not narrow it down.

Helix: Okay, so are you in a dimension where Sun and Moon are alive?

Comet: Debatably yes.

Solar: Okay so a ‘dead Moon’ universe. Alright. Getting somewhere. Is Lunar alive in this universe?

Comet: Yes.

Orbit: Are you in a universe Kill Code became good and is now dead in?

Comet: I believe so yes.

Solar: Alright that’s only three dimensions. Are Earth and Sun dead?

Comet: No.

Solar: Are one of the Blood Moon AIs and the Creator dead?

Comet: No.

Solar: Hold on a minute.

Solar: Make a loud noise rn, Comet.

Solar: Motherfucker, I HEAR YOU UPSTAIRS! Hold on!

Comet: OW

Solar: Not my fault you fell out of the ceiling head-first!

Comet: I was just made and I’m already being abused.

Solar: Oh please. Abused my ass.

Helix: Well, we are all twinks so… you do have an ass.

Solar: Shut up, Helix.

Helix: I will not be silenced and you can’t make me!

Solar: Don’t tempt me.

Orbit: Question, how did he even get there?

Solar: Fuck if I know.

Comet: I have no fucking clue.

Rigel: Scan him then. 🥰👻🫣

Solar: You know what? I didn’t think of that. Thanks Rigel.

Comet: Thanks Rigel.

9:57am

Whomst The Fuck?

Solar: Apparently remade original universe Eclipse and Comet is the result.

Comet: He gave me cotton candy. I like cotton candy. I like Solar, he’s nice.

Umbra: Wait, they what? Who did it?

Solar: Someone named Void? No other traces but it’s someone I don’t know at least.

Helix: Selene says that’s one of the six Lord Kill Codes. The asshole one specifically. Apparently he’s been recreating Eclipses from other worlds and sending them out.

Solar: What a son of a bitch.

Comet: So what do I do?

Solar: Well, you’re basically blank so welcome to the family. I’ll send you somewhere safe before someone tries to kill you.

Comet: Excuse me, what?

Solar: Yeah, Moon has a grudge so you’re gonna get poofed somewhere he won’t immediately kill you.

Umbra: Send him to me, I’m in the Toronto bunker.

Solar: Wait what?

Umbra: Hi, I’m the original Eclipse of the world I assume you’re in too. Send me my twin.

Solar: Alright, guess you’re going to Toronto, Comet.

Umbra: I have a spare bedroom I’m already setting up for you. What colors do you like?

Comet: Um

Comet: Purple

Umbra: Alright. I’ll have it set up by the time he sends you to me.

Comet: I’m so confused.

Helix: You and everyone else, Comet.

Comet: What is my life?

Orbit: Adopted at birth.

Comet: I hate everything.

Umbra: Shut up, at least you get your favorite color and a place to be safe in.

Comet: I hate everything a bit less now.

Umbra: What foods do you like, kid? Cough it up.

Comet: Cotton candy, coffee. Solar is giving me coffee and Chinese right now.

Umbra: How dare yo. That was gonna be my first thing to do with him.

Solar: You lack the already-here points on feeding the new child.

Helix: It feels like I’m on the sidelines of a custody agreement.

Umbra: You are.

Solar: You are, Helix.

Comet: Do I get a say in this or do I just get two dads?

Solar: You just get two dads.

Umbra: 50/50 custody agreement.

Umbra: Kid, what foods are you allergic to? It should be listed in your Health Information Settings in your arm computer.

Comet: It says dairy and red meat.

Umbra: Doable. Thank you. Do you have a favorite food yet?

Comet: Sweet things and Chinese food.

Umbra: Alright, kid. You’ll have sweet things and Chinese food fully stocked when you get here.

Comet: I kind of like having two dads actually.

Solar: I sure hope so, you’re forever going to be stuck in a loop of ‘go ask your father’.

Comet: I’m fine with that. As long as I keep getting candy.

Solar: Yes, you’ll keep getting candy.

#sun and moon show #sams #five nights at freddy's #fnaf #the eclipses chatroom au #fnaf solar #fnaf swap eclipse #fnaf orbit #lord eclipse #fnaf venus #fnaf ruin eclipse #fnaf rigel #fnaf servant eclipse #fnaf helix #fnaf comet #fnaf eclipse #fnaf umbra #snoweywrites #tw cursing #tw caps #tw death mention #tw abuse mention #tw injury mention

[biolizardboils]

so heads up! im popping a LOT of Prime Season 3 posts into the queue--they'll start coming out one week from now, on January 22nd! if you can see this post and haven't watched it yet, here's some tags to block: #prime spoilers, #sonic prime spoilers, #sonic prime s3 spoilers, #sonic prime season 3 spoilers.

got all that? great! here's my final unorganized little rambles about the show:

shoutout to Rusty Rose's Birdie, who only appears in the very first and very last eps for some reason 😭 her speech about it not being her power source came outta nowhere too, but i loved the message behind it

when everyone arrives at the Grim, just before the ep ends, Nine starts breathing heavily and it. instantly reminded me of Movie!Tails when the bar was calling them freaks. fuck. its a nice reminder of where Nine's coming from

speaking of Nine his poses getting more unhinged over time!! hell yeah

i love that the final fight(s) felt like a kid smashing 3 different Lego sets together, real Robot Pirate Island shit

i laughed a little too hard when the Grim's dome started closing in cus Nine's citadel-thing already reminded me of a thing that happened in Fortnite once, but hell naw they had to add The Storm too sdfghj

METAL BIG DESTROYED ME LJKHGFDV im SO glad i wasnt spoiled about it!!! a while in i started finding it creepy instead of funny, which is an added bonus

i was spoiled about the Advance flashback and its clashing sprites though. the utter whiplash of seeing that without warning mightve made me choke on my hot cheeto puffs. someone's already remade it btw, check it out

i fistpumped at the small reprise of "me beauty" gfhjk ill miss you so much Dread

we're four years into the 2020's and Sonic has nearly died an agonizingly slow death 3 times in 3 different continuities! and dare i say it was delicious every time >:)

unless Word of God says otherwise I'm gonna assume that the giant shadow at the end was The Return Of Metal Big lpoihgfds

So... Twitter, huh? My spoiler filters there had some leaks, and I saw some discussion out of context that... actually made me kinda scared to finish the show. But then I did, and had fun with it just like the other two seasons, and I remembered that Twitter gets high-strung about things that don't matter so much, and that giving it sway over how much I enjoy things is silly lol.

Yes, I think the last season could've been paced differently so it wasn't 5 episodes of the same Final Boss Fight. Yes, I think the writing switches jarringly between gearing for a young new audience and for a seasoned old one. Yes, I think the 2D flashbacks look and move worse than what fans constantly make for free. Yes, I think the final episode doesn't do nearly as much housekeeping as it should (does the Shatterverse still exist or not??). Yes, I think declaring the show is canon to the games or whatever they said probably wasn't the best idea. And yes, I think Black Rose should've had a shoulder-parrot!Birdie to match the other Amys. All valid critiques! All sensible things to think when you've been around the Sonic bush!

But I swear to god, people on Twitter act like these things spoil the whole package. Where's the nuance? Why does every opinion there become an absolute worth tearing others down for? Is it the character limit? I bet it's the character limit.

There's so much I love about this show that were infeasible for the Sonic brand just 3-4 years ago. Externalizing the characters' facets to explore them in-depth. Said exploration spanning multiple episodes instead of being one-and-done. The sheer amount of genuine Sonadow food (and I don't actively do shipping, so me adding it here should hold a lot of weight). The snappy, playful, yet blistering fight scenes that, dare I say, feel like a successful TV-budget Spider-Verse. It was all so much fun!

But I guess stuff like Green Hill being the gang's "home" is a big deal-breaker?? Like?? I thought that was silly too, but not worth ratio'ing people with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse over? Get well soon, I guess??

Rambling over, shout-out to the entire country of Canada for giving me the most fun I've had with a Sonic show since X! I'm gonna go figure out how to address all this as The End lol

#sonic prime #sonic the hedgehog #sonic prime season 3 #sonic prime s3 #prime spoilers #sonic prime spoilers #sonic prime s3 spoilers #sonic prime season 3 spoilers #sth #prime #me talking #boils watches #long

[bcacstuff]

Meet the neighbours

Belgian director Dries Vos pulls back the curtain on the making of The Couple Next Door, Channel 4’s dark psychological thriller in which two couples living in the same suburban street become drawn to each other, with dramatic consequences.

Of the three European dramas so far remade for UK television by Eagle Eye Drama – the production company set up by the team behind streaming service Walter Presents – Belgian director Dries Vos has worked on two.

The first was Professor T, with Vos directing 12 episodes over its first two seasons. Debuting in 2021, the ITV series is based on the Belgian show of the same name and stars Ben Miller as a university criminologist with obsessive-compulsive disorder who assists the police in solving crimes.

Last year then saw the release of Channel 4 drama Suspect, an adaptation of Danish series Forhøret. It stars James Nesbitt as a detective retracing the final days of his murdered daughter to find out what happened.

Vos directed all eight episodes of Suspect, which has been recommissioned for a second season, and he has now directed all six parts of The Couple Next Door, the latest Eagle Eye adaptation, again for Channel 4.

A dark, psychological and emotionally charged thriller written by David Allison (Bedlam, Marcella), the series is based on Dutch drama New Neighbours and aims to explore the claustrophobia of living in suburbia, where you never quite know what goes on behind closed doors.

Director Dries Vos on set for Channel 4’s The Couple Next Door

Eleanor Tomlinson and Alfred Enoch star as Evie and Pete, who move into a new house in an upscale neighbourhood and quickly befriend their neighbours, traffic cop Danny (Sam Heughan) and his yoga instructor wife Becka (Jessica De Gouw). The two couples then becoming increasingly close until events on one fateful night change all their lives forever.

In Belgium, Vos is known for comedy series and crime dramas such as Women of the Night and De Dag (The Day), which dramatised the events surrounding a bank robbery from the point of view of both the police and the robbers.

“But I’ve always wanted to do some kind of sexy thriller,” the director tells DQ. “I’ve always done these more heist stories like De Dag, for instance, but this was completely different. Eagle Eye talked about it in September 2022, when they had two scripts, and I started reading it and immediately felt it could be something. We then started working on it first at a script level, of course, and then we started shooting at the end of March this year.”

Having worked on remakes in the past, Vos adopted the same approach for The Couple Next Door that he used when working on Professor T and Suspect, which is to ignore the fact it is based on another series and to treat it as if it has been created from scratch.

“I never watch the original series. I never read anything about it,” he says. “For me, it’s just the same as if it’s a new script. Otherwise, you’re in danger of stealing stuff.

“If all this influence comes my way, I might maybe try to change my vision and I just want to be clear, so I always start by trying to search for some pictures, some stuff from other movies, some references. I had some pictures that I showed the writer – there were some stills from a movie I love with some koi carp, and we ended up writing some scenes with koi. We influenced each other the whole time. But if you watch the original series then you’re too attached to what you see. That’s not always helpful.”

The series centres on two couples, including Eleanor Tomlinson and Alfred Enoch as Evie and Pete…

With international dramas more accessible to viewers than ever – and Walter Presents doing as much as any other streamer to take local-language dramas around the world – remakes may seem unnecessary. But Vos still sees value in adaptations, believing the same story can evolve through the work of new storytellers in front of and behind the camera.

“It’s easily said, ‘Oh, it’s a remake,’ but you always try to invent it from scratch,” he says. “It’s the way you approach it visually [as a director] but also the way you’re directing those actors. They bring some other stuff with them as well. A writer brings some other stuff, so it’s good if you get the freedom to make it your own.

“If you don’t have that freedom and people just want to see the same as the original,  there’s no point making a remake. It’s always got to be filtered through the eyes of a director or through the eyes of a writer so it’s got another perspective than the original.”

The Couple Next Door doesn’t just stand apart from the series it is inspired by, but from anything else Vos has directed in the past. “You evolve as a director, and you’re influenced by things you see and things you think are cool,” he says. “But what I always try to do is ask, ‘What is this show?’ What does this show need?’

“For instance, I like to play with genres, so this could be a romantic movie but also a fairytale or have some thriller elements, and I put them all in a box and shake it a little bit. Then I put my personality in it and there’s something new or a new visual language, or just the way you’re blocking actors or their language is different or whatever. There are so many parameters you can play with. You can still just remake something on a shot-by-shot basis, but what’s the point of it all?”

…and Sam Heughan and Jessica De Gouw as Danny and Becka

Taking a cue from De Dag, a key visual trick Vos uses for The Couple Next Door is the multiple perspectives at play as characters constantly watch each other. And it’s not just Evie, Pete, Danny and Becka, but also another neighbour, Alan (Hugh Dennis), who seems to have a particular interest in Becka.

“It’s a story about lots of people. My first instinct was like, ‘Ah, this is a story about Evie.’ But if you dig into it, it evolves a little bit more towards a story about Danny and Becka as well because they have problems in their relationship,” the director explains. “There is also some stuff happening with Pete and Evie at the same time, and so it evolves by having those two couples. In the first episode, we focus more on Evie but then some episodes shift a little bit more towards Alan. I always like to have more perspectives on the same story.

“Those perspective changes are really interesting to play with narratively, but also visually. It’s about the ensemble. When you finish episode six, you will have a complete storyline for everybody.”

The filming locations also added to the claustrophobic atmosphere. Location scouts discovered a cul-de-sac in the Netherlands with homes that create a suitably heightened atmosphere owing to the fact they look like they belong in American suburbia. Filming also took place in Leeds and in Belgium.

Vos says he avoided watching New Neighbours, the Dutch drama on which the show is based

“It’s also a bit soapy – it’s got some soapy elements in there. But the series evolves to something completely different and completely dark by the end.”

Throughout the course of the series, it’s safe to say not everything goes to plan for the two couples, as Evie and Danny become drawn to each other over the course of the first episode. Vos used the camera to demonstrate the distances between characters, sometimes starting off distant and drawing closer, and on other occasions becoming more separated.

Of course, the actors are key to getting the right chemistry for the series, particularly Tomlinson and Heughan. Vos jokes that he just says “action… and then stuff happens,” but he also spent time with the actors to break down their characters and explain what he wanted from them.

“They went out for dinner, and there’s got to be a minimum level of trust,” he says of Tomlinson and Heughan. “It’s very interesting to see, but what I was doing was always on a gut level. You don’t have a lot of time because there are a lot of stress factors during shooting, so sometimes you have to decide on the spot.”

The challenges on the show didn’t just come down to finding the right locations to create the drama’s pristine appearance – further exemplifying the show’s theme that not everything is as it appears. In particular, “just finding the right tone was the biggest one for this series,” the director reveals, “I think it works and hopefully an audience will think the same.”

Outnumbered’s Hugh Dennis also has a prominent role in the series

The right tone, one that blends psychological thrills with charged emotion, was still being sought on the last day of filming, and continued into the editing process.

“On the last day we were still like, ‘But what is it?’ Visually we found it while we were shooting but, still, story-wise, it’s only when it’s coming together in the edit that you get that feeling,” he says. “I also spent a year searching for the right music, because music on this series makes a difference. Music can change so much.

“Then when we were at a screening, Hugh Dennis said to me, ‘You found it.’”

Audiences can judge for themselves when The Couple Next Door launches on Channel 4 on Monday. It will also air on Starz in the US and Canada in 2024, with Beta Film distributing the drama internationally.

Can Vos envisage returning for a second season? “Let’s see how it evolves, and if people love it, let’s go for a second series,” he says. “But if it’s a flop or people hate it, then it’s over. Let’s just see what happens in the next few weeks.”

[letomills]

Download all: SFS / Mega

Lidiqnata's Steam03 outfit from this awesome set, with an edited AF mesh and converted for:

• Maxis-size TF & EF • Melodie9 fat TF, AF, EF • Momma Lisa AF-EF

Polycount: 2,316. Everyone has a fat morph, teens and adults have preg morphs. Categorized as everyday and outerwear. Custom body shapes are BSOK'd.

Previews and details under the cut.

Lidiqnata's AF recolor is included with the shoe sound fixed, the recolors for the other body shapes can be either "_STANDALONE" or "_REPOD" to AF (don't forget to pick one version).

AF ↓

My edits: I made the jacket bulkier so it would look more like a jacket and less painted-on, added the preg morph, and remade the fat morph to match the standard Maxis AF fat morph.

TF ↓

EF ↓

Melodie9 fat AF (afFat) ↓

Melodie9 fat TF (tfFat) ↓

Melodie9 fat EF (efFat) ↓

Momma Lisa AF-EF (aefML) ↓

#sims 2 #download #body shapes #fat family #momma lisa #clothing:everyday #clothing:outerwear #sims 2 cc #sims 2 download #ts2cc #s2cc #s2cc historical fantasy

[gentleralts]

remaking my hyperspecific poll because these are trending again

i made one of these a while ago and it didn't get much traction so i'm making it again, plus with a couple new things since more poll options got added. the full list here since not all the options fit the character limit of the poll itself:

A - you still have two burger king kid's meal toys released as part of the same set that you keep as decorations in your bedroom

B - an ex-coworker owned clothes with the same pattern as clothes that you used to have, though neither of you ended up wearing them to work on the same day

C - there are only two pictures of you in your high school yearbook, and it's the exact same photo twice

D - you still regularly play animal crossing: new leaf for the 3DS and have never remade your town from the one you first made when you got the game on launch day

E - you went to school with two different and unrelated boys who were in your year and had the exact same first and last name

F - your family befriended an immigrant family who moved into the house one your other relatives was living in before they died

G - as a kid, you've had a wart/mole/skintag removed from a place that made it uncomfortable to wear undergarments

H - your grandmother was your grandfather's second wife, because his first wife and family died in the netherlands during WWII while he was overseas

I - your current residence has a refrigerator in the garage that hasn't been opened in over 15 years

J - you have not owned a smartphone of any kind until 2023

K - a police officer once approached you because they suspected you of spying on your own residence

if multiple apply to you, vote for the one you think will have fewer results and talk about it in the tags if you want

#hyperspecific poll

[asknarashikari]

Hi, I stumbled upon your content while I was binging franzfan23's Toku Group Chats series. You've added so many new ships to my gallery (mostly Magine/Rekai, and I thank you for that)

Anyways, I wanted to request a minific with the prompt of Magine and Reika being mothers (either via magic baby summoning or adopt, maybe just be born from an egg like Ise) I just want those two to be happy, meanwhile Decade and Marvelous are just taking bets on if the kid will end up being a Rider or Super Sentai

Aw, thanks! The gcs actually started off as stuff Mana (@askrikkaiandhyotei /franzfan23) requested from me and it has since took on a life of its own lmao.

I haven't actually done minifics in a while, I kinda got burnt out after all the requests and life keeps happening so I don't really have the time to do them anymore lol. I'm not going to reopen requests again for the meantime, but because you asked nicely I'll try my best to do one this time~

"So, I suppose you've heard the news from through grapevine, huh?"

The pirate captain snorted as the intruder made himself at home, lounging on the couch opposite his seat at the helm of the ship. "Yeah, Gai wouldn't shut up about it." He rolled his eyes heavenward. "That kouhai of yours, what exactly can't he do with that sword of his?"

"Who knows?" Tsukasa shrugged. "Though, that serious sword lady and her robo girlfriend seemed happy enough, and the doc gave her a clean bill of health, so no one's really complaining." He absently tapped at the shutter button of his camera, as though he were itching to snap a photo.

"Her name's Magine," Marvelous said absently, twirling the key representing her team's leader in his hand. "I still don't get how the guy managed to make a half-human, half-Kikainoid baby."

"He's Book Jesus." Tsukasa said as if that explained everything. "He's already remade two worlds, I suppose this is practically child's play to the novelist." He laughed at the unintended pun he made. "Not to mention how his own kid was born." He stretched out, putting his feet up on the coffee table. "I think they're gonna split their time between universes, though I heard the sword lady's brother was trying to get them to stay with them at that base they have in Antartica. Weird place to raise a kid, but whatever."

Marvelous nodded, accepting the rather ridiculous explanation- it's not like he's heard of (or indeed, witnessed) crazier things than these claims. "So, what do you reckon the kid would be like?"

Tsukasa raised a brow at his counterpart. "Already wanting to take her Grand Power for yourself? She's not even two days old."

"You say that as if you aren't curious to see what a Kikainoid- or a half-Kikainoid in this case- would have for a Final Attack Ride," Marvelous rebutted. "So, how much do you put on the kid being a Rider?"

Tsukasa thought for a moment. "Ten thousand dollarks," he said. "And I clean the poop deck of the Galleon and the other mechs for a month," he offered. "How about you, what do you put on the sprog being a Sentai?'

"I'll match your amount," Marvelous countered. "And I'll take the blame for your shenanigans for a week."

"Just a week? My offer was a month!" Tsukasa pointed out in outrage.

"I know what you get up to. I'm not insane, Kadoya." Marvelous replied. "That doctor guy scares me, and I'm not keen on getting arrested by that copper, either."

"Fine. I agree to your terms." Tsukasa relented, but his face was set with a knowing, triumphant grin. "May the best man win, pirate."

#kamen rider #super sentai #shindai reika #kadoya tsukasa #magine #captain marvelous #otp: magic robot and mist swordsman #ask #pokeramen

[02cm]

Free! S1 + CD dramas > Starting Days/High Speed! = The Final Stroke > Take Your Marks.

Both S2 and S3 were remade in movies, and still...

> S2 didn't deliver, at least not what it was obvious they were intending to when they introduced it to us. They made Rin the cause behind Haru and Sousuke's beef but I don't like how he remains oblivious about everything. I love the joke there's between the seiyuus about he being the oblivious heroine... but they didn't need to go that far, lol.

> S3 was like a spin-off about Ikuya; even Haru (you know, the protagonist) was mostly a tool for Ikuya's and his relationship with Hiyori's development 🤌

And yet, Rin IS -once again- the cause behind Haru and -this time- Ikuya's "beef"... and, once again, they didn't have the balls to make the characters talk about it openly (because in this metaphor where Ikuya is ~The Little Mermaid~ and felt abandoned by Haru, ~The Prince~... that can only mean that Rin is ~The Princess~ "the prince" falls for and makes him disregard "the little mermaid" completely, given that Haru forgot about his promise with Ikuya and everything else after what happened with Rin, and he's all Rin Rin Rin when it comes to swimming and not only that 👀). Utsumi never hid this fact.

Instead, they throw hints here and there; flashbacks of Haru's state after everything that happened with Rin are everywhere (and it's in the fact that they made Haru have an "I'm not swimming with Rin anymore??" crisis 3 times + 1 chill version in Take Your Marks) as a reminder of that being the reason behind all this drama, even if it wasn't on purpose... they're there as a reminder of Haru having Rin as his driving force (I never updated this set but there are more scenes like these after S2). So, of course he'd just forget about Ikuya (I mean, ignoring that this plot is an afterthought in itself, it still works like this).

And don't let me start on the whole "hero" thing and how Haru and Rin are each other's -as Zakki said himself- but they also didn't go deep into it because it would keep adding more and more to harurin and harurin only; and, at this point... they did it well enough since S1 anyways.

SO. S3 didn't deliver either.

---

I won't pretend I don't love all those hints, tho... I love Rin being the root of everything what's important to Haru (I'm not saying that even it was thanks to him that he learned to cherish his friends and enjoy having relays with them, but that's exactly what happened; so, if you like Haru's relationship with any other character, you should appreciate the effect that Matsuoka Rin had on him... not for nothing, he changed how he used to see things... that's why there's even a melody called You Changed My Life and the impact of it is BIG when it comes to the way he started treating the others).

... I guess that it's the reason why, as weird as it sounds, I'm ok with both seasons. They mostly bored me, but that's it. The truth is that I'm more than content with Free! as a whole. And, while I was writing this, I felt like putting a lot of links because there's so much material! I had to restrain myself, lmao. But just to add one more:

Since I talked mostly about S3, I was thinking how I'll always find ironic that Ikuya was originally the character that made Haru realize the way he was actually feeling about Rin leaving... In High Speed!, it was Haru the one feeling abandoned by Rin's departure, but he wouldn't realize until he witnessed Ikuya reaproching Satomi she was "leaving him". Not only this scene presents a parallel with Haru's situation with Rin, but he thinks: "This is that rumored ‘lover’s quarrel’ thing. One shouldn’t interfere." ??? loool. It's almost subliminal...

Here's the whole excerpt: x

It's a shame it didn't make into Free! but, of course, it's more of the same I mentioned before. This is, after all, an spokon, right? *wink wink*

All these are about sportsmanship and dudes being dudes

#Free! #harurin #rinharu #Nanase Haruka #Haruka Nanase

[nesurii]

answering asks.

answered all anon asks below the read more :-) other ones i'll answer privately tomorrow

UPLOADING SIMS:

hi thank you so much <3 i have some sims uploaded on this page, however i'm planning on sharing more, including townie make overs! i still have a couple of townie makeovers, sim models + sim requests to upload :)

hi! of course, that's completely fine! <3 i'm more honoured than anything :P. the only time i'd be more hesitant if it's a sim i'm actively posting a lot and the remade is like a carbon copy of the entire sim (clothing, hair and face, etc) but otherwise i don't mind at all.

HELP:

hi! i think some things changed after the infant update, so i'm honestly not sure 100% as i haven't checked it out yet, sorry! it's probably still pretty easy. you just need to find the new default files + textures online or see if ts4 skiniator has been updated for the infant update to get the files and textures. then it's just a matter of editing the textures in a photo editing software of choice and importing them through sims 4 studio or skiniator.

@mycclibrary / hi, thank you so much! it's such a hassle to add more categories cause they all have their own custom thumbnail, so i'm unfortunately not planning on adding more, sorry.. it's really easy to duplicate it with sims 4 studio though! they just won't have thumbnails (unless you add them). here's a quick tutorial (in the comments) ^-^

after downloading them just extract the .zip. move the contents from 'mods' into your mods folder and move the contents from 'tray' into your 'tray' folder (that's in your the sims 4 folder, same place as the mods one). after that you'll find them in your in game library same as with other installed gallery sims :D

WCIF:

sorry rusty is from the gallery, i have no idea by which creator though :[

maddy from my short lived horse gameplay's hair > victoria hair

it's a reshade preset i'm still tweaking a bit. it doesn't look good in every setting so i don't wanna share it yet until it's been refined a bit :-)

hair from my citrine highlight preview!

sure! hairs from this post from left to right: marie | kevin | no7 | krista

OTHER.

T-T thank youuu. these sweet messages mean a lot to me, i'm happy you find use in my content <3

#asks #wcif

[storiesbyjes2g]

New look, same story

Hey folks! Did you enjoy the memory lane posts? I know I did! Before we jump back into the story, I want to give you a heads up. For the TL;DR folks, I'm rebranding The Piersons and Friends, so be on the lookout for new banners, colors, etc.

For those who enjoy my thought process, board my train of thought under the cut. (woo wooooo!)

A year or two ago, I gave my blogs one cohesive look. I wanted to brand myself! So I made this banner and have been using the colors and fonts from it for everything.

In the spirit of rebranding, I also remade the banners for PnF to match this new style.

Recently, I realized this was a mistake. I make different banners for my stories to give them their own identities. Changing PnF's assets to match the blogs essentially took away its identity, and that's probably why I've felt a bit unsettled when looking at it lately; it didn't work for me anymore. I needed to change it, but to what?

This story is a rotation, but it's also the story of a family, the Piersons. That's why I used trees in the previous banner. The tree also reinforces the organic feel I want. The story is funny sometimes, but it's not a comedy. It's sometimes dramatic, but it's not a soap opera. It's everything all at once and flows in and out of various emotions seamlessly--organically!--which is why script fonts work well for the title. Looking back at old banners, I had those elements and didn't even realize what they meant and how well they worked.

It was clear I needed to go back to my roots with the tree and script font, so I set out to make something new. I also needed to move away from the black and yellow. Even though I could think hard and come up with some deep, philosophical reason for why I use those colors, frankly, there is no reason. I was new to storytelling on Tumblr at the time, and I just did what I saw other people doing. Also, I didn't have the design knowledge I have now and was just winging it.

Black doesn't convey organic according to color theory, so I ditched it, made white my primary neutral, and introduced green, which just so happens to be Kameron's favorite color! I suppose, theoretically, we can pay homage to him for generations after he's gone, but I'm sure this story won't be around that long. I also wanted to make the banners more modern to match the present-day setting. After trying a LOT of different designs, this is what I came up with!

I know, I know. "But, Jess! Where's the tree???" It's there! I promise lol. It's just very blurred and covered in bokeh. I think it works for the modern style. It still feels very organic to me, so it's working.

I added the characters' names to the banner because I think it will help new people who begin reading in the middle.

So what do you think??? Did I accomplish my goals? Does it work for you?

My design brain tells me I should go ALL the way with this branding thing and change my dialogue typeface to the sans serif one I'm using for the subheading. But, a. it only comes in regular, thin, and bold, and not having italics is problematic for me (see what I did there lol), and b. Myriad Pro is perfect for what we do because it's clean, readable, and has multiple fonts in its family. I experimented with green text, but yellow just works better. Honestly that's how I started using yellow in the first place. But anyway, that's my announcement! I hope you enjoy the new hotness!

#the piersons #piersons and friends #story stuff

[riickgrimes]

Ok, so I didn't save the psd for that, but I remade one very similar to it.

For this tutorial, you just need any photoshop and basic gifmaking skills!

(p.s. sorry if it's a bit wordy... )

To start, pls do not feel in any way compelled to color exactly as I do. If you have your own way of coloring that works for you and you just want to pick and choose what parts of this to add to your technique, that is 1000% fine. This tutorial is kind of personalized to me and the process I use to color and what makes sense to me. Ok, spiel over...

So here's the original gif, sharpened with no psd

STEP 1: Exposure 1

First, I added an Exposure layer to brighten things up. 

GIF:

STEP 2: Curves

With this Ccurves layer I like to do a bit of color correcting by adjusting the individual RGB curves. Because this scene is so blue/cyan, I made sure to bring out the reds in the highlights by pulling the small box in the top right corner of the red curves directly to the left, same with the green curves.

I moved the box on blue curves only a little since the scene is already so blue. I made sure to move the small box in the bottom left corner to the right to add some yellow in the shadows to counteract how blue the scene is.

(I dragged the curve down a little bit because the gif was a little too red for my taste. Dragging it down puts some cyan in the shadows.)

GIF:

STEP 3: Exposure 2

I added another Exposure layer to brighten things up more. This time, I moved the Gamma Correction slider to the right to add more contrast. With this layer, the difference is slight, but it is effective.

*** I don’t normally start with an Exposure layer or even use 2 Exposure layers for that matter (usually just one after my curves layer), I only started doing this while making gifs for these darks scenes in Stranger Things. Idk how well this specific process works for dark scenes in other shows/movies***

GIF:

STEP 4: Selective Color

I used this layer to add some more yellows to the gif and add some contrast. I like to make my gif almost too yellow and then fix it later with Color Balance.

GIF:

STEP 5: Color Balance 1

For the first Color Balance layer, I like to place it beneath all of my other layers. To me, it kinda makes the effect “richer” in a way, idk how exactly to explain it. But I’ve been doing it this way for years and it works for me.

GIF:

STEP 6: Levels

Now this Levels layer goes back to where we left off above the Selective Colors layer.

GIF:

STEP 7: Gradient Map

I used a black and white gradient map and set it to Soft Light with the opacity at 20%. 

A gradient map may seem counterproductive since it deepens the shadows and darkens the gif, but I like the contrast that it gives.

GIF:

STEP 8: Vibrance

Ok, so this one is more or less optional. It makes very little difference, but I like a lil vibrance, as a treat.

GIF:

STEP 9: Color Balance 2

This Color Balance layer is really just used for any additional color correcting that may be necessary.

GIF:

STEP 10: Adjust Curves layer

Now that we have the coloring/color correction mostly done, I can finally decide just how much more I want to brighten my gif. I go back to my Curves layer and add a curve somewhere in the upper right corner, just to where it looks bright enough to my liking. I’ll then pull down the curve in the lower left corner to deepen the darks and add some more contrast.

GIF:

STEP 11: Brightness/Contrast

For the final step, I add a Brightness/Contrast layer because I didn’t think adjusting the Curves layer brightened the gif enough. I added this layer directly above the Curves layer and below the 2nd Exposure layer.

GIF:

Here’s the finished product:

and here’s a quick before and after:

I know there are a lot of tiny adjustments, but as I was explaining to the anon who originally asked the question, I like to build upon the layers. I don’t try to solve every problem in one layer. I don’t try to make the gif bright enough with just one curves or brightness or levels layer. I make a lot of little adjustments that, in the end, make a large difference. 

Also don’t feel as though you have to get the adjustments exactly right when you first add the layer, especially with a dark scene like this where it’s hard to see how much of something you need. I had to go back and add more in the color balance layers or lessen the levels or adjust the RGB in the curves multiple times before I felt that the coloring was to my liking.

I hoped this helped. If you’d like the psd, pls message me bc tumblr won’t let me add links. 

Do not hesitate to ask me any questions!

#usergif #completeresources #ps help #tutorial #coloring tutorial #dark scenes #stranger things #mine and only mine #i saw some people in the tags asking #how i colored the scenes with steve in the upside down #and i pretty much used the exact same process #but i added a few extra selective colors to bring out the cyan/blues

[deanwinchesterswitch]

The Girlfriend Who Remade Christmas

Part Six: Take the Freeway Down

Square: Road Trip ~ @spnchristmasbingo

Song: Run, Run Rudolph ~ Lynyrd Skynyrd

Pairing: Dean x Nicole {Nico/Nic} OFC

Summary: Nicole is reminded of how annoying Dean can be when he’s stuck riding shotgun. Challenges and frustration threaten to derail the journey before it’s barely begun.

Warnings: Angst, A bit of fluff, Implied sex, Language, Canon divergence

Word Count: 3,727

Beta: @princessmisery666

Credit: The stunning title card and dividers were made by @talesmaniac89.

Author’s Note: I promise good times lay ahead. 

Series Master Post

“Awesome!” She pulls him into another hug, “You can do anything you set your mind to, Dean,” then steps back after a quick peck on his cheek and points toward the table. “Pack your gear. We’re headed out in ten.”

“What? Now?”

“Yep. I packed your duffle while you were in the shower. The car is stocked with our favorite snacks and ready to roll.” 

She smiles broadly, her voice buzzing with excitement, but he stands frozen in place, feeling somewhat ambushed. “What if I had said no?” The smile falters, and the sparkle in her eyes diminishes, making him wish he hadn’t said anything. Biting his lip, he turns his head, not wanting to see the disappointment that he caused.

“Hey.” Her voice is as gentle as her touch, and he leans into the hand on his cheek as she urges him to meet her gaze. “Dean?” 

Nic’s other hand strokes along his upper arm while she waits for him to look at her or say something. He feels a little like a petulant child but knows he’s being ridiculous. Nic never has and never would demean him or his feelings. A quiet moment passes, and he finally turns to face her. Instead of discontentment, he is met with a warm smile and a perceptive stare. 

The moment his eyes meet hers, she declares, “I would have unpacked the car, and we would have devoured the snacks during a movie marathon. You know I would never willingly do anything to hurt you, and I’m not going to force you into anything.” Delicate fingers trace the shell of his ear, smooth palm coming to rest against his neck, as her softly calloused thumb strokes his jawline. “I’m asking you to keep an open mind, but the entire trip is about you …for you. If you don’t want to do something, we won’t do it. If you want to come back home, we will come back home.”

“Simple as that?” he breathes, chest tight with apprehension.

“Simple as that.”

Not for the first time, and most probably not for the last, he marvels at what a lucky son of a bitch he is to have her in his life. “Okay.” the agreement bursts from him in a rush of air, and a tiny ripple of excitement shimmers deep in his chest.

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah.” He squeezes her shoulder, adding with a little more enthusiasm, “Let’s do it!”

“Alright. I’ll grab the things you need from the bathroom while you get all this together.’ With a quick pat on his arm, she heads out of the library. “Meet me in the garage.”

Dean walks into the garage with a minute to spare. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. We’re not taking Baby?”

Closing the hatch on her Jeep, she turns to face him. “No.”

“How can you call it a road trip, then?”

Taking the camera bag from him, she places it on the passenger side backseat and walks around the front of the vehicle. “You know I love Baby, but you rarely let me drive her, and you don’t know where we’re going.” She holds up a hand, “No, I’m not telling you. It’s a surprise.”

“But-”

“You’re working for me, remember? Besides, we’re going to need the 4-wheel drive.”

“Where the hell are you taking me?”

“It’s a surprise.” Pulling a cassette from her back pocket, she tosses it to him to try and forestall further questions. “I made you a mixtape for the trip.”

Lips pursed, his brow furrows as he reads the label. “Christmas rock?”

“Only a few are Christmas songs.” She shrugs. “I think you’ll like them, though, especially the one by Corey Taylor.”

“Who?”

“The guy from Slipknot.” Adding, as he nods, “That one’s right up your alley at the moment.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’ll understand when you listen to it,” she teases. “Come on. I wanna get on the road.”

Dean looks longingly at the Impala as he passes by, running a hand over her hood. “Sorry, Baby, the boss is being a bit of a tyrant.”

Laughing as she rolls her eyes, Nic climbs into the Jeep, quietly elated that Dean agreed to the trip. She knows she blindsided him, especially with the quick departure. However, she didn’t want to give him a chance to overthink it. While she does hope to change his attitude about not celebrating the holiday, her main goal is to help him understand the driving force of his emotional turmoil so he can find a way to process those feelings and move forward in a manner in which he’s comfortable.

“I can’t believe we’re taking a so-called road trip without Baby,” he whines as he slips into the passenger seat.

“Let it go, dude.” Holding her phone out of sight, fingertip hovering, she checks in with him one last time. “Do you choose to accept the mission?”

“You need to let it go.“ Laughing, he leans over to kiss her before settling back and fastening his seatbelt. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

She remains silent, the keys dangling from the ignition, and arches a brow when he looks at her expectantly.

“Alright, alright,” hands waving in the air, “I choose to accept the mission.”

Nic’s finger taps her phone screen, and the theme from Mission Impossible fills the car’s interior. With a howl of laughter from Dean, she starts the engine, and they set off.

They’re only about three hours into the drive when the leg bouncing starts. 

Since it rarely occurred, and the last time it happened, she had slept through most of it while Sam drove, she’d almost forgotten how thoroughly annoying Dean could be as a passenger. First, there had been random bouts of tongue clicking along with other mouth noises, which alternated with finger tapping on the door frame and heavy sighs as he shifted in his seat, now the dull thud of his heel hitting the floorboard with every twitch of his leg.

“STOP!”

“What?” he asks, all innocent-like as if he doesn’t know what he’s doing.

“The leg!” She flicks a hand at him. “Chill, dude. Or I’m going to pop that kneecap.”

“Let me drive for a while,” he huffs in response.

“Nope.” The corner of her lip curls as she stares at the road ahead. “Why don’t you take the time to get to know your equipment better.”

“Phfft. I think I know how to work my equipment just fine.”

Leave it to Dean to turn her innocent comment into a dirty little innuendo with an eye wiggle and a bit of added grit to his voice. Well, two can play that game. “Yeah, you do,” she breathes, doing her best Harley Quinn impersonation, biting into her bottom lip as she slides her palm along his thigh, fingers dragging over denim to play with a belt loop. The muscles of his legs tense, and he swallows hard. “But it doesn’t hurt to learn something new.”

“You never had any complaints before,” he growls.

Nic presses her thighs together. Her whole ploy nearly backfires as she strains to keep her voice even and the car on the road. “Oh, I’m not complaining. I’m protecting my interests.” She makes sure to hit his ticklish spot as her fingers dance over his side, and his body jerks in response. Silently laughing, she continues to tease him. “I want to make sure that you are prepared to hold up your end of the bargain.”

“Pull over, and I’ll show you how prepared I am.”

That voice …hypnotic, throaty, and resonating with the promise of pleasurable torture.

Focus, Nicole!

He shivers as her fingers trace a path up his arm, nails scraping over the nape of his neck. She catches the movement of his hand as he adjusts his growing bulge and can feel his eyes boring into her profile. With a quick glance in his direction, she gives him a wink as she reaches behind his seat. “So… you know all about the F-stop values, shutter speeds, ISO, and metering modes for pictures taken during the blue hour versus the golden hour. Action versus still, midday versus midnight, ” she purrs, pulling the camera bag forward.

Dean grunts, smirk crumbling when she drops the case into his lap and giggles.

“You know you’re gonna pay for that later. Right?”

He tries to sound menacing, but it only makes her laugh harder. “Aww, come on, admit it. I got you.” She pokes him in the ribs, and he bats her hand away.

“Whatever.” He flips the case open and stares at the contents, looking a little like a deer caught in the headlights.

“You didn’t bring the manual, did you,” she chuckles, opening the console between them. She pulls out a small leather-bound journal and a copy of the manual and hands them to him. 

“What’s- Oh,” he exclaims as he opens the journal. “It’s like your hardcover logs.”

“I thought you might prefer a leather one.” Returning his smile with a shrug. “I’ve added some notes on the first few pages. Tips I learned over the years.”

“Oh, yeah, that makes sense,” he bobs his head, reading one of the pages. 

Removing the camera, he sets the case on the floorboard between his feet and lays the book open in his lap. Nic smiles and hums softly along to the radio as Dean becomes engrossed in camera settings.  

When he gets bored of reading and tinkering with his new toy, which doesn’t take long, Nic tries to distract him with discussions of movies and music. As predicted, Dean likes Corey’s little ditty—enthusiastically shouting his agreement with each new line. Their conversation then somehow turns into dirty joke-telling until the banter gets so filthy that she has to pull over onto an overgrown dirt road so they can relieve some tension.

It went downhill quickly after that. A tire blew, and they found themselves stuck in a small village in the middle of nowhere until the local garage opened. Dean refused to go any further on the old spare than the twenty miles it took to get to the sleepy little town’s 24-hour diner across the street from the repair shop.

“I told you, nothing good happens,” he laments as they enter the restaurant. “With our luck, if we try to go further, the spare will blow, and we’ll die in the desert, vultures picking our eyes out.”

“Drama queen,” Nic coughs into her hand.

A dirty look is all she gets as he continues to rant. The only relief she gets from his fidgeting and complaining is during the four-hour nap he decides to take around two in the morning. As he lies in the backseat snoring, she sits on the hood of her car in the diner’s vacant parking lot. The tears staining her face glimmer like crystals in the starlight as she stares blankly into the indigo sky. Frustration burns through her. They’re only a few miles away from the dark sky community where she had wanted to spend the early morning hours watching the stars together. Eventually, she quietly slips into the car and manages to get about an hour’s sleep before he wakes her to get breakfast.

The first hour back on the road after the tire incident is silent and strained. Dean is the first to try to diffuse the stress, reaching over to run his hand over her thigh, “You doing okay?” 

Tired, with disappointment still hovering near the surface, she doesn’t trust herself to keep from crying again and quickly responds, “I’m good.” The half smile plastered on her lips not fooling him.

Turning his hand palm up on her leg, he patiently waits until she entwines her fingers with his, then brings her hand to his lips and gently kisses each knuckle. Though the tension is broken, they each remain quiet, settling into their own thoughts.

Eventually, pen-clicking and complaining about the number of holiday songs on the radio began. At one point, she slaps his hand away from the dial after he zealously flipped through the channels for five minutes, using his words against him that the driver picks the music; shotgun shuts his cakehole before ramming the tape back in. When the leg bouncing starts again, Nic is done. 

It’s still early in the day, but rather than knifehand him in the throat, she asks him to search for a hotel in the area, which again triggers his disapproval about not being allowed to drive. She loves the man dearly, but honestly, there’s only so much one person can take.

“It’s too early to stop.” Kicking the door closed behind him, he whines for the millionth time, “If you’d just let me drive, we could keep going.”

The planned nine-hour drive for their first day became a twenty-one hour, fourteen-minute, and thirty-two-second rollercoaster ride through Hell—yes, she knows precisely how long she’s spent in close proximity with the sexy and charming, but getting on her last nerve hunter. And yes, maybe she is exaggerating a bit, but dealing with Crowley had been less harrowing than having Dean Winchester as a passenger!

“Christ, would you shut up about driving already? I don’t want to keep going, Dean. It’s not a race. We’re not heading to a hunt to try and save someone. Can we just take a breather? Enjoy the time together?” she snaps, exasperated, immediately regretting it.

Turning to find the face of a scolded puppy, she sighs, her heart clenching with sadness. When his pout deepens, a laugh bubbles in her throat. She will probably never understand how he can make her want to go from wringing his neck to cradling him like a wounded animal to wanting to ravage his body in under thirty seconds.

Dean drops the duffles as she sets the laptop and camera bags on the table, “I’m sorry,” they apologize in unison, reaching for one another. He cradles her head against his chest, and she slips her hands beneath his shirt, flattening her palms against his back, trying to connect with as much skin as possible. 

Nic pulls back first, “Dean-”

“No.” Framing her face with his hands, he squats down to her eye level. “I’ve been an ass most of this trip. I know it.”

She chokes on a laugh but shakes her head. “You-”

“Let me …” Tilting his head, he looks at her imploringly. “I need to say this.” When she nods in agreement, he scrubs a hand down his face and stands upright again. “I, uh …it’s strange, you know, it doesn’t feel right being on the road without a plan, not knowing where we’re going, the fact that there’s no monster to fight. It just feels …” Inhaling, he drops his head. Lips pressed together, the dimples make a brief appearance before he says in an explosion of air and uncertainty, “I don’t know …like I’m out of place. I have no clue what to do. I never believed I would have a chance at something like this …something more for us. I-“ he blinks, swallowing hard, “you know what, never mind. I told you all of this already.” Shaking his head, he shifts his gaze to stare despondently over her shoulder.

The slumped shoulders and defeated tone of his voice make her throat tighten with emotion. The whole reason for the trip was to help eliminate those feelings, not make them worse. “Dean …” she reaches for his hand, “I’m so sorry. This …this was a dumb idea.” Dropping his hand, she fishes the keys out of her pocket, holding them out to him. “Here. We can go back home. You can drive.” Jangling the set of keys, she attempts a smile. “I need to sleep anyway.”

“No, Nico, that’s not-” Jaw clenching as he turns and walks away, he runs a hand through his hair. “I- “ Spinning back to face her with watery eyes, he pinches the bridge of his nose, appearing to struggle with finding words but then sets his shoulders, locking eyes with her. “I’m sorry. I know you’re trying to help. I don’t want to go home. I want to relax. To take a breather and enjoy this. I just …I don’t know how. It’s not an excuse for how I’ve acted, though, and I am sorry for that.”

Swiping a tear from the corner of her eye, her lip trembles, “Uh …o- okay.”

“Oh, honey. C’mere.” Opening his arms, he strides toward her, folding her into an embrace as she falls into his chest, arms cinching tight around his waist. “Shit, I’m so sorry, Nico.”

She’s so damn tired that she doesn’t even try to stop the blubbering. “I just …just …wanted…” 

“I know. It’s alright. ” Dean kisses the top of her head, shushing and cooing at her as he moves them toward the bed to sit, situating her in his lap as he gently rocks them. 

They stay that way for several moments, and when the tears finally subside, she mumbles into his chest. “Will it help if I tell you where we’re going?” Dean loosens his hold, and she wipes her face on his dampened t-shirt before tilting her head to look at him. 

Smiling gently at her, he thumbs a final tear from her cheek. “No, I don’t wanna know. Maybe getting out of my comfort zone is what I need to do.”

“Alright,” she sniffs, “but if you change your mind, I’ll tell you.”

Smoothing a hand over her hair, he smiles, “I won’t,” then kisses her forehead, lips lingering until she pats his chest.

“I need to pee.”

As she slides off his lap, Dean chuckles, asking, “Food or sleep.”

Stopping outside the bathroom door, she asks, “Can I take a look at your pictures?”

“Uh,” he rubs a hand over the side of his neck, “sure.”

“Yay. Pictures, food, then sleep.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Seated in front of her laptop a few minutes later, she sees his smirk out of the corner of her eye while he settles on the edge of the bed as she clicks on the folder containing the pictures he’d taken that day. Halfway through the journey, and after everything that happened, she began to wonder if he would take any, but at a particularly scenic rest stop, she’d come out of the restroom to see him snapping a couple of shots. It’s hard to suppress the eye roll and snort of laughter as the thumbnails load. 

All the images are of rocks.

Dean snickers softly, and she knows he’s waiting for her to admonish him or make a sarcastic remark. He thinks he’s so clever. Instead, she clicks open the first photo without a word. After a few moments of silence, he moves to the window and rocks on his heels as she studies the picture. “The composition is good,” she finally says. Reviewing the next image, she compliments him on the focus area. 

After the fourth one, he sits beside her, laying the open journal on the table, asking questions, and taking notes on her suggestions.

A dull thud and the delicious scent of coffee greet her as she rolls to her side, snuggling deeper into the covers. Peeling an eyelid open, she’s assaulted with a blinding smile and glorious eye crinkles as Dean squats next to the bed. “Time to rise and shine, gorgeous,” he chirps.

“What time is it?” she groans. It feels like it’s way too early for so much cheeriness. 

“About six.”

“SIX?” she grouses, covering her head with the blanket, continuing to mumble.

Dean pulls the bedding away from her face and chuckles, “Didn’t quite catch that.”

“I said …screw you,” she grumbles, clearer so he can’t miss it. “It’s too damn early. We don’t need to leave until eight.” 

“Well, if we don’t need to leave until eight, you could screw me,” he teases.

Trying to wrestle the covers back, she huffs in annoyance and slaps at his hand, muttering about annoying, too-cheery morning people, but a tiny part of her is thrilled that he seems eager to carry on with the journey. Giving up when Dean yanks the bedding entirely off her, she whines, “There better be some damn good coffee in that cup.”

~~~~

Today’s stretch had gone a lot smoother than yesterday. They’d taken a detour into Farmington, NM, for lunch and spent a couple of hours walking around the city and taking in the local culture.

Dean was more at ease, a smile gracing his face more often than not. The crossbody leather strap sat on his shoulder, camera at the ready, resting against his hip. She noticed he’d taken more pictures throughout the day, too. He had fallen short of the quota yesterday with only twelve, but she wasn’t about to reprimand him like a kid who didn’t do his homework. She was just happy he’d made an attempt.

Dean whistles low as Nic pulls into the hotel's entrance that evening. “This is a helluva lot nicer than where we normally stay.” He winks, voice coated in exuberance and lush pink lips forming a mischievous grin. “Sammy’s gonna be pissed when he sees the credit card bill. First the camera equipment, now this.” He laughs, tilting his head out the window to look up at the ornate four-story structure.

Delight in his excitement spreads through her veins, and tears press at her eyes. She hadn’t realized how much she missed seeing the joy he found in the simplest things and hopes the rest of the trip will bring more of that out of him. Before the emotions can take complete control, she blinks the tears back and climbs out of the car.

Opening the hatch, she hands the keys to the valet as another staff member places their bags on a luggage rack. Dean’s standing a couple of feet from the car, looking out over the desert scenery. Lifting the camera, he takes a couple of photos as the sun dips beyond the horizon.

“Then I guess it’s a good thing it’s not on the magic credit card,” she states, stepping up next to him. Dean’s confused expression is adorable, and she can’t help but giggle. Gripping his hand, she tugs him toward the revolving door. “Come on, handsome. This is just the beginning.”

Next

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#spnchristmasbingo #road trip #tgwrc: part six #011123