#the barn scene™

[moonlightdistractions]

I could not resist doing a cosmic starry edit of this Barn Scene™ recreation pose by Jensen and Jared because c'mon Romeo & Juliet could never. (original @ Magdalena5880)

#i do these edits every time there's a Barn Scene photo op #j2 #barn scene adjacent #torcon 2022 #jensen and jared #bw edit #my edit #the barn scene™ #forehead touch

[doyoueverstopandthink]

no art form will ever be as moving as donald glover as troy barnes screaming in a hospital room about meeting levar burton

#as someone that's at an arts conservatory... this scene was Art™ at it's finest #nothing will ever quite be like it #nothing will ever be like it in history #donald glover #troy barnes #community #community tv #levar burton #reading rainbow #also him having a breakdown while singing the reading rainbow theme song #shit was it's own original art form

[florida3exclamationpoints]

Part 1 of The Simple Life: The Talk

{ Steve has a crazy idea. Bucky doesn't think it's all that crazy. }

2 chapters / complete / 3,070 words

I haven't heavily promoted any of my fics so far but gotta be honest. Kinda really like this one. Kinda proud. It kinda slaps. Steve and Bucky's discussion about Steve leaving, in two parts. Steve has anxiety. Bucky is a pro shipper.

#SKFHSKD pro shipper thing is a joke but its funny #i was worried the banner was gonna look bad and cringey but i think it works?? #i really wanted to use it bc. look at his face #you're gonna look at his face and tell me he felt no joy during this scene?? #he looks so happy for him im actually gonna cry #is the banner cringey or does it look Official™?? #is it a booktok book cover or a good book cover? #ok anyway. #i always cringe at any art i make but i actually feel like. i would enjoy this if someone else made it #so </3 drawing attention to it skdhsjsk (AAAAH) #scary bc this topic can and does draw so much discourse that gets so mean and i dont wanna get into that 😭 #i love bucky 😭 i just dont ship stucky im sorry 😭 #steggy #steggy fanfic #bucky barnes #steve rogers #endgame #marvel

[simpingforstardew]

lone star

pairing: sdv shane x reader

synopsis: stargazing w/ shane. this fic takes place ‘post-game’ (i.e., after the farmer receives the ‘key to the town’, and after shane begins therapy’). friends to lovers enjoyers rise up !!

warnings: angst, with comfort and fluff; descriptions of poor mental health, depression etc. stay safe. ♡

(this is crossposted from ao3).

word count: 1.9k

In the calm of the valley, the night sky stretches out in a breathtaking display: the stars shine proudly, their brilliance undimmed by city lights. Despite moving to Pelican Town four years ago, you're still awestruck by the vastness of the cosmos visible to the naked eye— a sight that would have been obscured by the city smog in Zuzu. Back there, spotting a single star was a rare blessing; seeing one that was not, in fact, just the mistaken dim glow of a passing helicopter was an even greater rarity.

Nestling your head into the sturdy hay bale beneath you, you inhale the earthy scent of dried grass mingling with the crisp night air. Above, the canopy of stars twinkles in a mesmerising dance, each constellation a story waiting to be told. Your gaze flits between the shimmering points of light, tracing the familiar patterns of the night sky.

Beside you, your loyal companion snores softly, a comforting rhythm that grounds you in the present moment. Absentmindedly, you stroke the sleeping dog's fur, feeling the warmth of their body against your fingertips. The bottles of pumpkin juice you had meticulously prepared lay forgotten on the ground, their contents untouched. Your large blanket, meant to shield you from the nocturnal chill, sits idle at your feet.

Despite the breathtaking beauty of the scene before you, a pang of guilt tugs at your heart. It feels almost selfish, you think, to bask in such a gorgeous view alone.

Without hesitation, you rise from your spot beside the barn, stretching your tight shoulders with a huff before swiftly leaping over the hardwood fence. Only one other person in town would be awake at this late hour, and you knew exactly where you would find him. You took a deep breath of the crisp air before making your way down the dirt road towards Cindersap Forest.

“Oh, sure– just let yourself in, I guess,” Shane’s gruff voice murmurs from the kitchen, “I can’t believe Lewis lets you keep that ‘Key to the Town’, fuckin’ bullshit.”

You lean against the door frame, a smirk tugging on your lips as Shane pulls out a steaming bowl of ‘JojaBrand™ Meal for One®: Pepper Poppers’ from the microwave. "Shh, you know you secretly enjoy my surprise visits, Shane," you tease, "Besides, I came over to ask you something."

“Well, are you gonna spit it out, toots, or do you plan on waking up the whole house for this announcement?” Shane grumbles, searching for a clean fork. Years ago, you found his standoffish demeanour frustrating– unfortunately for him, however, it only fuelled your desire to develop a relationship with him; to break down those walls he built up.

“I was gonna ask if you wanted to stargaze with me,” you smile, a genuine toothy grin. “It’s a nice night for it.”

Shane’s eyebrows shoot up momentarily as he hesitates, glancing towards you, “You seriously came over just to ask me that?”

“You don’t have to join me if you don’t want to,” you reply, chuckling softly as you push off the door frame and turn to leave, “Just figured we hadn’t caught up in a while.”

You hear a groan coming from behind you, followed by the clattering of a bowl being discarded on the kitchen counter. He had always had a soft spot for you.

“Yeah, yeah,” Shane sighs, “Lemme grab my jacket.”

The night air is crisp as you and Shane traverse the farm. The distant sound of crickets chirping provides a soothing backdrop to the quiet countryside, interrupted only by the occasional rustle of leaves in the gentle breeze. Shane walks behind you, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his well-worn jacket; his posture stiff and guarded as always.

As you reach your spot by the barn, you unfurl the blanket and settle against the hay, gazing up at the expanse of stars above.

"So, how've you been, buddy?" you offer Shane a bottle of pumpkin juice, noting the tension in his shoulders. "Feels like I haven't seen much of you lately."

Despite Shane's usual standoffish demeanour, there is a subtle shift in his presence as he lowers himself onto the blanket beside you and grabs the juice. His shoulders relax ever so slightly, and for the first time in a long while, there is a hint of vulnerability in his gaze as he turns his attention skyward.

“I’ve been… I don’t know. Good.” Shane's voice trails off as shifts his gaze to the bottle in his hand, his shoulders slouched while his words hang heavy in the air. He drops his head against the rough surface of the hay bale behind him.

Glancing towards him, you note the furrow in his brow and the tension in his shoulders; his strong features illuminated by the moonlight. You resist the urge to press him further, allowing a comfortable silence to settle between you.

Lost in contemplation, you find solace in the vastness above.

After what felt like an eternity, Shane spoke up once more: his voice barely above a whisper.

"Any time I go shopping, like at Pierre’s or when I used to restock the shit they sold at JojaMart, I’d always feel like I’m in the way, y’know?” Shane confesses, his gaze fixed on the black velvet of the night sky. “As if someone is gonna be blocked off by me. And I know it’s not just 'cause I'm a big guy, doll, because then I leave the shop and realise that I still feel like I’m in the way.”

“Do you feel like that now?” you probe, allowing your gaze to drift towards him.

“Kinda, yeah. I always feel like that, I guess,” Shane admits, his voice tinged with resignation. He takes a swig of his juice. “Like I’m some kind of… rock stuck in a stream, with everybody else on planet Earth barging ahead around me—or some other flowery metaphor Elliot’d come up with, I don’t fucking know.”

“Is therapy helping with that feeling? Seems to me like you’re really making progress, if that means anything.” you reply, too enamoured with the contours of his side profile to notice the way his pinky finger locks with yours on the plush blanket. A promise of vulnerability.

“Sorta, but there's a pressure there as well, y’know? Gotta be happy all the time now, otherwise what was it all for? I don't even have a job anymore, I just... I’m just worried that…” Shane pauses, his fingers absentmindedly plucking at the hay behind him, “…Ah, forget it.”

“Worried that what?” You turn to face him, the spectacle of the cosmos long-forgotten.

“It's just that… what if my addiction; shitty personality; tendency to lie about the most basic crap to see people’s reaction; awful sense of humour; impulse to fall in love with someone if they’re nice to me; horrid fashion sense; inability to take a photo of myself smiling: all that crap… are all irrefutable? What if I was doomed to—”

“Shane, don’t—”

“I’ve tried… I’ve tried so hard every day of my life, (Y/n).” Shane's voice cracks, “I just… don’t wanna be a screw-up anymore.”

"Shane, you are not a screw-up," you demur, reaching out a hand to stroke his soft bicep, "You're just… human. You've already taken huge steps by just acknowledging your screw-up-ness and reaching out for help. And yeah, you have been trying, every single day. That's bravery, Shane. That's strength! I'm tired of you being the only one who doesn't see that."

The following silence is only interrupted by the distant chirping of crickets. Shane's eyes wearily scan your face for some kind of tell, as if your response was an inauthentic prank meant to lull him into a false sense of security. The bags under his eyes are shadowed and heavy. Your heart swells. “Repeat after me—”

“(Y/n), please—” pleads Shane.

“Mister Shane Andrew Miller, repeat after me!”

“Yes, Ma'am,” He chuckles, wiping away a stray tear.

“I, Shane, am a strong, brave, and amazing person; and I am going to be okay.”

“I’m a strong, brave, amazing person… and I'm gonna be okay.”

“Louder!”

“I'm gonna be okay!” He shouts— hands cupped around his mouth to bellow into the sleeping farm. After a nervous chuckle, Shane resigns to a slouch as he looks towards you with a blush warming his cheeks.

“Feel a little better?”

“I feel like a jack-ass,” Shane mumbles,“But yeah, a little.”

“Good,” you reach your hand out to caress his cheek, your thumb tracing patterns in his stubble when he leans into the touch, “and you only looked a little like a jack-ass.”

“Fuck off,” Shane laughs, the banter bringing a familiar light to his eyes, as he shoves your hand away playfully.

You both stay like that for a moment after the laughter dies down, embraced by the warmth of each other's silent company— one of you occasionally turning to retell the latest town gossip, or reference an inside joke neither of you can remember the origins of.

“I should, uh, be heading back now,” Shane moves to stand up, groaning as he stretches his legs, “Penny's taking the kiddo to the community centre tomorrow for some arts and crafts, and I gotta be up early to pack her lunch.”

You look up at his looming form, only now realising how long you had both been out here for.

“Of course, no worries,” you clumsily rise to your feet as your lips quiver with a tentative grin, a delicate curve that hovers on the precipice of expression. “Um, tell Jas I say ‘Hi’, okay?”

“Sure thing,” Shane replies, the awkwardness palpable, “Night, (Y/n),”

“Goodnight,” you raise your hand in a half-hearted wave as you watch his slouching figure turn to leave.

He makes it a couple steps, barely out of reach, before a surge of courage propels you forward. Reaching out to grasp the sleeve of Shane’s frayed hoodie before doubt can inhibit your impulsion, you pull him towards you.

Your lips crash on his in a rush of fervent emotion. One of Shane’s calloused hands instinctively rises to the nape of your neck; the other wraps around your waist as he pulls you closer, desperately. Bodies flush against each other as his fingers tangle in your hair.

A tingling sensation runs through your body. You reach up to gently cup his face as he deepened the kiss, his trembling lips continue moving against yours with a gentle urgency. In this moment, nothing else matters - no worries or fears, no past or future, no moon or stars.

Your heart races as you both pull away.

“To be clear, if this is, like, a pity thing or whatever,” Shane mumbles, his lips tickling your own as he attempts to catch his breath. “That’s um– that’s fine by me, I don’t… I wasn’t expecting this.”

“No that wasn’t… um,” You rest your forehead on his, closing your eyes as you attempt to calm your frantically beating heart, “I just… wanted to kiss you.”

Shane laughs as he brings both hands to your face, cupping your cheeks as he kisses you once more. This was different, however: gentle, soft, yet just as vulnerable. You look up at him, eye’s shining with the light from the stars, as you admire the softness of his usually stern features.

“You were right, this was a nice night to stargaze.”

#sdv fanfic #sdv shane #sdv x reader #stardew valley fanfic #stardew valley #sdv shane x reader #sdv shane x farmer #stardew valley x reader #stardew valley shane #stardew valley shane x reader #sdv angst #sdv fluff #angst #hurt/comfort #friends to lovers #sdv fanfiction #fanfic #ao3 writer #shane stardew valley

[thesims4blogger]

COMMUNITY BLOG: Saddle Up With the Sims 4 Horse Ranch Expansion Pack

EA has shared a community blog for the announcement of the next The Sims 4 expansion Pack, Horse Ranch.

Saddle Up With the Sims 4 Horse Ranch Expansion Pack

Invite your neigh-bor Ranchers over as we welcome Horses

There is no better feeling than coming home to your very own stretch of land inspired by the great American West. Players can explore the rustic locale and curate their ideal ranch life – whether that be a barn full of animal friends or a relaxing cabin on the prairie, each moment is sure to feel authentic and meaningful.

In The Sims™ 4Horse Ranch Expansion Pack, players will have the opportunity to raise, train and form special bonds with majestic Horses, and fall in love with adorable Mini Goats and Mini Sheep. You can saddle up and meander into town to learn all about country living from the locals.

Now, mosey on over to your rocking chair and get ready for a story that’s about to be the talk of the ranch!

LIFE ON A WORKING RANCH

Suly Suly, partner. Welcome to Chestnut Ridge, a rustic world inspired by the wide open skies of the iconic American West. This picturesque world is perfect for waking up in the morning to look out at the big open countryside from the ranch of your dreams, whether that be a traditional cabin or a modern farmhouse.

Get the whole family involved! And by the whole family, we mean Horses, too! Sims will now welcome Horses into their families and care for every aspect of their lives. Each animal will provide a unique contribution to the ranch (even if it’s just to be adorable).

Sims will work hard and play harder, experiencing all aspects of a working ranch. Sims can experience mucking a Horse Bed, lending a hand on the ranch and more. From keeping all of your animals happy and clean to harvesting Prairie Grass for the Animal Feeder, Sims can delight in knowing that all of their hard work is worth it. When the work builds up, Sims can hire a Ranch Hand to help!

For your Sims that like to DIY, they can craft their own Nectar by stomping a variety of fruit… or potatoes… or even trash! The bottled Nectar can be consumed in multiple servings and it will have different effects. Sims can age it in Nectar Racks for more Simoleons.

BOND WITH ANIMALS

Sims can fill their ranch with animal friends to carve out a life together. Their Horses – including adorable Foals – are part of a Sim’s household and have lots of special interactions with both Sims and other Horses. Sims can shear the Mini Sheep and milk the Mini Goats for Simoleons, eventually inviting locals to come and see how adorable they are!

JOIN A THRIVING COMMUNITY

While living on a ranch has its moments of peace and solitude, Sims can saddle up and ride their Horse into town to check out the lively social scene. Your Sims can meet friends at the bar, blow off steam at the dance hall, or train at the equestrian park. Sims can even host or attend a Ranch Gathering with a cookout and dancing, or a Ranch Animal Day, where they can interact with the animals.

CREATE, BREED AND RAISE HORSES

We’ve heard and seen all of your requests for Horses, and we are elated to announce that players can now customize hoofed friends in Create a Sim, or get new Horses by rescuing, breeding or purchasing them. You can choose from real-world breeds, change the horse’s head shape, mane, tail, feathers, body mass, coat length and more!

The very best part – Foals can be born on your ranch! That’s right, players can have their Horses nuzzle under the stars to make the perfect little Foal, a combination of both of its parents…and they may even unlock a unique Trait. The joy of breeding and raising Foals on your Sim’s ranch is one you won’t want to miss. Each Horse has its own personality, and the Foal will learn both from the family and trainer!

Sims can explore by trotting their way down a long and winding trail or by going downtown to New Appaloosa, ride around Riders’ Glen, the Ranches’ Neighborhood. Be sure to check out Galloping Gulch, the National Park Neighborhood, which features plenty of scenic trails through the large rock formations as well as campfire spots and picnic areas. Your Sim may come across Dreadhorse Caverns where the adventurous can enter and try their luck at exploring!

Horses have four Skills: Temperament, Agility, Jumping, and Endurance.  Horses develop Jumping Skill by practicing on Horse Jumps.  They develop Agility by practicing on Horse Barrels.  All of these skills apply to the competitions that take place at the Equestrian Center. Winning competitions results in Simoleons, rewards such as plaques for your walls and metal signs you can display on your big Ranch Sign.  They culminate in the Ultimate Horse Championship!

SACRED HEALING CIRCLE

“Indigenous people have always had a deep, spiritual relationship with horses,” says Stacey Parshall Jensen, The Sims’ friend and sensitivity reader who collaborated on The Sims 4 Horse Ranch. “They’re a symbol of power. They provide healing and represent freedom and bravery to our Indigenous culture.”

Together with The Sims team, Stacey worked to co-create food, home items, and clothing that are represented in Horse Ranch, reflecting elements of Native American culture. To celebrate the launch of this pack, The Sims team is making a donation to Sacred Healing Circle, a 100% Indigenous founded and led organization working to support Indigenous communities through preserving traditional methodologies and practices, including the Native American Horse Preservation and Research Program. This program helps to preserve the Native American Horse, as well as protects the traditional and historical knowledge surrounding the horse and Indigenous People in the Americas.

Preorder The Sims 4Horse Ranch Expansion Pack now to start playing immediately when it launches on July 20, 2023 on PlayStation®4, PlayStation®5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC via EA app for Windows, Origin™, Steam® and Epic Games Store. The Sims 4 has officially launched on the Epic Games Store as well, another download destination for this Expansion Pack.

#news #the sims 4 #ts4 #sims 4 #sims 4 horse ranch #expansion pack

[castielstwigandberries]

if the supernatural movie doesnt include a reference to

nevada and georgia turning blue, stop the count, destiel making putin resign, sherlock season 5 rumors, destiel news meme, which political person had to be briefed on what destiel is now?, jensen looks like he was holding back homophobic slurs, weird cuts in the confession scene, which way was dean thrown now?, bury your gays speedrun, gay angels get send to superhell/eeby-deeby/cas plinko, recognizing the confession scene only by the first letters of each word, 'homosexual declaration of love', The Tapes™ (Release them now jensen!!!), meta analysis after 15x18, 'i gripped you tight and raised you from perdition' callback as dean saves cas from the empty, why lamp?, onion field, pizza man montage, parallels be paralleling, dean screaming cas name so loud in one take that people heard it blocks away, dean offering to kill sam if it means chuck brings cas back, the 4 year old son of lucifer becoming god, chuck won theory, 'we explore the nature of destiel in act two', excitement for a long finale which could only be about dean saving cas, right?, the insanity inducing quotes of the day for episodes, 'the night we met' and 'angel with a shotgun' songs of the day on set, filming in a barn, worst finale ever (even worse than game of thrones), weirly short with 11 scenes cut, two thirds montages, carry on wayward son playinf twice, back to back, one a weird cover version, vampmimes, no cas in the finale but instead some random vampire from season one no one remembers, dean finally gets nailed from behind, dean dies from tetanus, party city wig, good cars go to heaven, Car/Cas and Biden/Bi!Dean/Bye!Dean, 'cas helped', blurry wife, misha and jensen are not in the thank you video, everyone was supposed to be at the roadhouse originally but no one was informed of those plans, walker backdoor pilot, covid/capitalism destroyed everything, misha was in vancouver for filming the last episodes and was in less episodes than he was contracted for, misha denies ever having been in vancouver, misha says originally he was supposed to be in the finale as jimmy, misha says cas was supposed to be in the finale and 'sidle up to dean in the roadhouse', heterosexual destiel whose kisses would have created entire universes, destiel reciprocated in spanish, rogue translator, #TheySilencedYou, Jensen Ackles sexy silence, jensen ackles longcon, deanbenny breakup in season 8 script leak, Heller Obama, fake italian dub, misha collins x bill clinton sex scandal, misha addressing the "scandal" and tagging bill clinton and monica lewinski, 'still beautiful, still dean winchester', mishapocalypse 2.0 and 3.0, 'eyes like the sky' beer from jensens brewery rumored to be misha description, cockles anniversay photo, chaos machine jensen ackles' production company, 'rainbow road' beer close to deans birthday, blue green ('destiel') shotglasses from jensen brewery, ash and ellen's actors roleplaying roadhouse reopening in twitter, people think they are planning destiel wedding, disappointment when thats not the case, fans celebrate Destiel Wedding anyway on Valentine's Day 2021, fallout with both actors after one said a 'queer interpretation would damage the integrity of the show',

*takes a deep breath*

jared calling cas junkless and comparing his love for dean to the love he has for his children, misha collins cameo including 'still beautiful, still dean winchester', saileen and midam wedding, spn prequel announcement and subsequent j2 fallout, '@/robbiethompson et tu brute wow. what a trully awful thing you've done #bravo you coward', the prequel being about the least favourite characters of supernatural and a love story disproved by canon, 100000 destiel fics on ao3, misha tweets about that, rumors if mishas secret ao3 account, real italian dub going 'you're kinda okay' instead of i love you, misha tweeting a video of him saying 'te amo' in response to that', jensen saying if there'd been more time he (he meant dean but he used first person pronouns) would have hugged cas and said 'i love you too', first anniversary, misha collins coming out as bisexual on accident and then saying he 'happens to be straight' three days later in a five post apology thread, hot sauce from adam/micheal actor advertised by him playing midam, casbaiting in the winchesters trailer, jarlos shipping by winchester main actors, dean with beard and turtleneck, jensen saying he wanted misha in the winchesters but it didnt work out because of scheduling conflicts but hed be there in a season two shortly before the show was cancelled, death of the rogue translator and destiel getting dragged to the trending page every time there is news

*panting* then i dont want it.

yes this is all i could remember without looking it up

#supernatural #spn #destiel #nov 5th #my post

[butisittho]

rewatching community: highlights

from S3E16

- Troy checking in on Abed while he's on a fucking date with Britta is possibly gayer than a fully explicit anal sex scene

- Real Actual Dialog™:

Jeff: I left my wife for you when she was pregnant!

Annie: who do you think inseminated her?

- the totally straight™ character Troy Barnes: I can see why women find Clive Owen attractive to the point where I might just as well be attracted to him

- also Troy: I'm more turned on by women in pajamas than lingerie, I just wanna know they feel comfortable 😭 ❤

- Fake shirley in Abed's simulation: Abed's been filtered out because nobody NEEDS HIM :(((

- also pointing out that even in the simulation Troy is the only one who knew of Abed bc even Abed knows that Troy DOES need him

- abed according to annie according to abed: control freak with no empathy 🥺🥺

- Abed: we're inside a locker, it's where i spent a lot of time in junior high 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

- also Abed: I've run the simulations; I don't get married, I don't invent a billion-dollar website that helps people have sex, I don't make it into Sundance

perfect summary of how i felt about my life when I realized I was queer tbh

- Annie: Your simulations are nothing more than anxieties; you're afraid you don't fit in, you're afraid you'll be alone. Great news, you share that with all of us, so you'll never be alone and you'll always fit in. (...) I was trying to make life go according to some script, I can't, you can't. We need to get more comfortable winging it.

man sometimes this show gets really heartfelt in a way that i love

- LMAOOO when it cuts to a voice over of abed saying "I don't know a lot of things everyone knows" and there's a clock, shoelaces and taxes papers on screen 😭😭

#community #just make them gay already #abed community #abed nadir #troy and abed #tv show community #troy barnes #annie edison #s3e16 #being abed #mis cosas #my stuff

[dreamsinthewitchouse]

The I in the FBI is for Idiots

Stucky X-Files AU, 0.6k, Teen This little ficlet is a present for my beloved T @otp-holic, 'cause we can't stop talking about these Special Idiots in Love™ 👽💓👽✨🛸

Happy birthday, sweetheart! 💖💖💖 I've said it before and I will keep saying it over and over again; you're amazing, your kindness and talent know no bounds, this fandom is so lucky to have you, and meeting you through our shared love for our boys has made my life so much better. 🥰💕

Special agent James Barnes watches his partner nudge aside a stack of manila folders, nearly knocking over the cold dregs of his coffee. 

(Rogers drinks it black, with three or four sugars. It’s completely disgusting, yet somehow endearing.) 

James closes the file he’s holding, having read the same sentence approximately twenty times in the past five minutes. Across the room Rogers leans over his desk, digging the heels of his hands into his eyes and letting out a soft and quiet fuck.

James takes off his glasses and runs a hand over his face. ”Look, I don’t think we’re getting anywhere here, and you need to sleep. We can go over it tomorrow.” 

Rogers mutters something unintelligible under his breath as he pushes up from his chair and turns to rummage through the disorderly filing cabinet. 

”Anyway, I need to get going, I’ve got…” James trails off, glancing at the I Want to Believe poster on the wall. 

Rogers swivels around to toss a couple of folders onto his already overflowing desk, but doesn’t look at him. 

”…a date,” James finishes, immediately wishing he could swallow the words back down. 

”Yeah? That’s nice. Have fun.” 

James thinks it comes out a bit clipped, that he sees the tiniest change in Roger’s posture, in the set of his shoulders, but he tells himself he’s imagining things. 

Get a grip, and get out of here. He doesn’t care.

James clears his throat. “I’ll see you Monday, then.” 

Rogers doesn’t say anything more, and James walks out of their tiny basement office, his stupid heart in his throat. 

The date isn’t by far the worst James has ever been on, but it’s also the last thing he wants to be doing right now, and he’s growing more restless by the minute, fidgeting with his napkin. 

He’s sipping his second glass of wine when an ice truck rolls past, and something in the back of his mind clicks into place. 

The cold.

The man sitting across the table keeps talking about his sister’s kids, which really is quite of adorable, but James is barely paying attention to what he’s actually saying, already lost in the images flashing in front of his eyes; a crime scene photo showing a white van parked near one of the victim’s houses, the empty ice trays in the kitchens of the crime scenes. 

Whoever is doing this likes the cold, maybe even needs it. 

It can wait, it’s a long shot, he tells himself. You’re just looking for a reason to talk to him. 

James tries, he really does, but by the time they’ve finished the bottle his resolve simply breaks. He excuses himself to the bathroom, only to sneak outside and punch out a text before he can reason himself out of it.  

I think I figured out something about the case. Call me when you can. 

He draws in a deep lungful of the crisp November air and leans his head back against the wall. He’s barely slid the phone into his pocket before it vibrates, sending a jolt through his system. James answers it, his hands suddenly so sweaty he’s in serious danger of dropping the whole thing. 

“Talk to me,” Rogers says, his voice soft and intense in a way James feels down to his bones. 

(That, however, is nothing compared to how he feels later on, leaning over the same desk, their heads bent close together, Roger’s eyes wide and bright with excitement. 

This is it, Barnes. You’re amazing, he says, and James bites into the inside of his lip hard enough to draw blood.)

#happy birthday t 💛💛💛💛💛💛 #you're the best and i love you 💓💓💓 #stucky #stucky fic #my fics #special idiots in love™

[starryevermore]

Bucky x reader where it’s the scene in TFATWS of madripoor (is that right?). And Bucky is all like “no reader stays here” so Zemo purposely flirts with the reader to make Bucky jealous? Bucky and R have a moment and Zemos like “You’re welcome”

jealous!bucky in madripoor ✧ bucky barnes

angst city™ library | send in a request (consult request faqs first)

request: Bucky x reader where it’s the scene in TFATWS of madripoor (is that right?). And Bucky is all like “no reader stays here” so Zemo purposely flirts with the reader to make Bucky jealous? Bucky and R have a moment and Zemos like “You’re welcome” - anon

pairing: bucky barnes x fem!reader

word count: 654

warnings?: jealous!bucky, not proofread

bucky hated this. he really fucking hated this. 

was it not enough that he had to pretend to be the winter soldier again? that he had to relive his worst nightmare? that he had to play into his very own fear that, perhaps, there was more of the soldier in him than he wanted?

was it not enough that he had to walk into the lion’s den? was it not enough that sam was having to walk into the den with him? was it not enough that he had to worry for not only his safety but for the safety of the closest person he could call a friend? 

why, why, did zemo have to torture him like this? why did he have to bring you along? why couldn’t you have stayed in some sort of safe house? 

though…bucky wasn’t sure such a thing existed in madripoor. perhaps you being with them was the safer option. 

that, of course, didn’t mean bucky had to like it. nor did he have to like how zemo paraded you around, had you wear a skin-tight, low-cut dress that had every person in the room look at you like they were the predator and you were their prey. 

all he wanted to do was to take you in his arms, carry you out of the bar, double-checking that sam was following, and get the hell out of there. that, however, was not the mission. 

but, neither was zemo flirting with you. zemo was not to be pressing kisses to your neck. zemo was not to be twirling you hair around his finger. zemo was not to be saying suggestive things about you.

you were a saint, an angel. you deserved to be treated like a princess. and bucky was going to kill zemo for treating you like an object—even if it was only for the purposes of the mission. 

in some ways, bucky was grateful that the mission so quickly went to shit. at least that meant zemo got his goddamned hands off of you. of course, he wasn’t fond of the way it came about, in a storm of gunfire, but…well, at least he could return to his job of keeping you safe. 

and bucky was particularly grateful when sharon arrived, providing them shelter in her home. which was the two of you were now, bucky dressing a wound you had gotten in your escape. 

“is everything alright?” you asked as bucky disinfected the wound. 

bucky only hummed, not keen on using his words. if he spoke, he might sound upset, and he didn’t want you to think he was upset with you when that couldn’t be further from the truth. 

“thank you,” you said, “for keeping me safe back there. i think i’d be a lot more bloody if you hadn’t jumped in when you had.”

“i’ll always be there to protect you,” he allowed himself to say. “i should kill zemo for putting you in a position where you could get hurt.”

“buck, i’m an avenger. i’ve signed up for this kind of life.”

“doesn’t mean i have to like it. doesn’t mean i have to like when another man has his hands all over you, disrespecting you, treating you like an object to be owned rather than a treasure to be cherished,” he said, the words tumbling out before he could stop them. 

you raised a brow. “is that jealousy i hear?”

“what if it was?”

“if it was…then i would have to show you why i’m the one who deserves your affection.”

and when you leaned in, pressing your lips to his, your arms winding around his neck, your fingers entangled in his hair, for a moment, he considered extending a thank you to zemo. 

(that thought was gone almost as quickly as it came, as zemo chose that moment to walk in, interrupting the moment)

#bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes x female reader #bucky barnes x fem!reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes fan fiction #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes fan fic #bucky barnes fanfiction #starrywrites #starryevermore

[fandom-hoarder]

all your finale posting has got me so brother intensified! it's like I'm back in the kitchen with Sam making breakfast for his brotherwife or Dean happily cuddling a goddamn dog in bed or Sam's tits and how they broke people's brains or yes in the Barn Scene™ with all of the love pouring out of Dean and Sam holding onto every last bit of his brother until finally he meets him again on heaven's bridge. *insert teary eyed puppy dog eyes here*

Sometimes I like to go back to those early reaction posts and really get immersed in that feeling! It was so intense we had like a collective bibro high that I swear carried us through March to the stage it panel. 🥰🥰🥰 Sometimes it's still so surreal

#spn finale posting #asks #spn finale positive #carry on

[oldshrewsburyian]

Even though I continue to be a wimp about horror, I am increasingly into Chapelwaite (and halfway through the series, which turns out to have 10 episodes instead of 6. Still more chances for people to become Less Okay! Help.) It's primarily a gothic horror show, but the characterization is so interesting. For instance:

the hypocritical minister™ is also genuinely trying to be a good man, and to fight for a version of his community where neighbors are more genuinely loving to each other

the dour minister's wife™ is also a grieving mother who is depressed and anxious and who feels estranged from her husband and doesn't know what to do about any of this

Honor, the sweet and solemn eldest of the Boone children, is negotiating her own place on the cusp of adulthood, but still possessed of a childlike innocence, even impulsivity sometimes. Also it turns out that she will fire a rifle at a crowd of racists trying to kill her dad (#goodforher)

I also love her siblings: Loa who is grieving and angry and not quite in her teens yet, and Tane who runs wild in the barn and garden and fights in school but also is still young enough to hold his dad's hand. I'm feeling guilty for preemptively deciding these kids were Unnecessary Additions To The Narrative because now I'm invested. And at the halfway point, Charles is practically trembling with the nervous strain of trying to protect them from isolation, grief, racists, vampires, and his own incipient madness. I am not okay about it.

Also, the acting is strong all around, and when Jennifer Ens gets her breakout role I will say aha because I love her so much as Honor. I was glad to see that Adrien Brody was nominated for an award in this because I can't decide whether watching him in this role counts as therapy (Aristotelian theory of tragedy) or requires an invoice for therapy (Tumblr theory of tragedy) but either way! There was a scene in the latest episode where we see him, in a long shot, confronting... something, we know not what. And we see his breathing change. And I started saying "nonononono" out loud, because whatever was making him look Like That...!

#chapelwaite #this has been out for years so i'm not worrying about spoilers #also i won't give away horror spoilers™ for those who might... uh... want to be scared by surprise vampires? and body horror? #not me!! #i'm presuming that charles won't die in precisely the same way as in the book but. uh. #i am not expecting him to survive #i continue to be irritated by anachronistic dialogue #at one point honor says of her father 'he hasn't grieved' #aside from that being a silly way to frame grief in any period: GIRL #your father is still in a non-minimalist definition of full mourning #he is not sleeping well #he is. um. high-functioning and trying not to burden his children with his emotions (good job charles!) #but grief is the atmosphere through which this man MOVES #it absolutely affects his readiness to threaten to kill a bunch of racists (good... job... charles?) #and beat a racist up before spitting the man's own whisky into his eye (extremely sexy of him. not. um. extremely well-advised.) #this man is gaunt and pale; trembling and hollow-eyed #'he hasn't grieved'??? what else is he DOING in the long lamplit hours of his solitude? #anyway as i was saying: adrien brody. therapy. some relationship to. #my insomniac chapelwaite diaries #loa suspects her dad of having feelings for the governess. i do not #but somewhat to my disappointment (narratively) it turns out she does have feelings (of some sort??) for him #she says 'he's the most interesting story that ever walked into my life' and yeah! sad possibly-cursed possibly-insane widower sea captain! #but that does not mean you are in love with your Solitary Employer miss morgan. even if he does have devastating bone structure.

[neufer]

Things that stuck out to me on my who-knows-what-number-it-is reread of TSS (warning: loooong post)

I’ve decided to do my yearly reread of Lockwood and Co. so here are some parts that stuck out to me during The Screaming Staircase!

1. As mentioned in my last post, the second mention/description of George is “Yes, but George has a nasty, gruesome little mind.” (said by Lockwood)

2. The first of many arguments between Lucy and George: “‘Ooh,’ George said. ‘Feisty.’ ‘That’s right. Step over here, and I’ll show you exactly how feisty I am.’ ‘I might just do that.’ ‘I don’t see you moving.’ ‘Well, it’s a deep sofa. It’s taking me a while to get out of it.’”

3. For some reason this reread really made me love me George even more. A good example is this piece of dialogue between Lockwood and Lucy. “George dislikes hypocrites -you know, people who say nice things to your face and criticize you behind your back. He takes pride in being the reverse. Besides, he’s an excellent agent. He had a job at Fittes once. They value courtesy, secrecy, and discretion there. Know how long he lasted?” “I should think about twenty minutes.” “Six months. That’s how good he is.”

4. When Stroud backtracks and tells us Lucy’s backstory, he ends with a conversation between Lucy and Lockwood a few days after Lucy joined the company. The very last sentence, which is said by Lockwood, is, “There’s no ‘hope’ about it. With our combined talents, what can possibly go wrong?” The next chapter picks up with Lucy and Lockwood after jumping out of a window, having burned down the Hopes’s house. The first sentence of this chapter? “It’s amazing how quickly a fire can spread through an average suburban house,” showing precisely what can go wrong for Lockwood and Co. 

5. Lucy’s descriptions are straight up brutal. Example: her first meeting with Inspector Barnes. “His age was uncertain; perhaps he was a lived-in fifty. To me he seemed inexpressibly old, one short step from becoming a Visitor himself. He had a melancholy, drawn expression, as if all light and joy had been surgically removed from his person under local anesthesia, leaving his skin loose and saggy beneath the eyes. These eyes, however, were shrewd and keen.”

6. Another iconic George Moment™: When Annie Ward’s ghost gets free in Lucy’s room and George is just absolutely decked out with spare equipment from his room. “A few moments later, George returned, wearing a gaucho-style shoulder belt bristling with magnesium flares, salt-bombs, and canisters of iron. An empty silver-glass box hung beneath it on a string. He carried a coil of chain, and a long, ornate-handled rapier, and had a flashlight poking nonchalantly from the waistband of his pajamas. His feet were encased in enormous boots.”

7. I forgot how good the scene where Lucy meets Kipps for the first time is. It’s much too long to type out, so I’ll summarize: They’re in the Archives, Kipps makes a cryptic remark about Lockwood’s dead family (he really is just a big asshole in the beginning, isn’t he?), George steps in and roasts Kipps, and Lockwood causes Kipps’s rapier to shoot from his hand and stick in the ceiling. Amazing. 

8. It’s often mentioned in reviews, but Stroud’s ability to balance teenage humor and the horrors of the Lockwood and Co. universe is superb. In this specific instance, Lucy just saw Hugo Blake and is convinced he’ll come after them. Lockwood’s reply: “. . .so what that he’s got strange eyes? George’s are pretty odd too, and we don’t hold it against him.” “Thanks for that, I thought they were my best feature.” “They are -that’s the tragedy of it.”

9. Lucy’s so fucking cool. I could just leave it at that, but I won’t. Her Talent and the level of her sensitivity is just so unique, and she’s completely nonchalant about it. It’s really cool to go back and reread this first book and see how she sort of knows she’s special, but won’t fully realize it until later in the series. Also, when she just pulls the necklace out of her shirt, revealing that it wasn’t in fact stolen by Fairfax’s henchman? Iconic. When she releases the ghost of Annie Ward, allowing justice to finally be served? Again, iconic.

10. Stroud is such an incredible author. Evidence: Lockwood regaining consciousness after they destroyed the well in Combe Carey Hall. “Awareness returned. I saw bafflement first, then gradual recognition. ‘Oh. . . Lucy. Lucy. For a moment I thought you were. . . It doesn’t matter.’” This. This. A full freaking book before we get the Jessica reveal and Stroud does this? It hurt me to read this.

11. I’ve talked about George and Lucy, now it’s time for some Anthony Lockwood appreciation. However, I do need to acknowledge that there’s no pedestal we as a fandom could put him on, that’s high enough to ignore what a dumb, 15(ish) year-old boy his is. I love Lockwood, but, forgetting the chains for the Hopes’s house and then agreeing to Fairfax’s job without consulting Lucy and George? So not cool. But sneaking flares into Combe Carey Hall? I was impressed years ago when I first read it and still am now. Knowing that Fairfax was up to something and convincing Barnes to essentially come to their rescue? Genius. Also, I would like to point out this quote, which is said when they’re trying to get out of the secret room with the well. “What do I think? I think that’s twice now we’ve nearly died. I think that we’re very lucky to be alive. I think that I’ve been far too slow on the uptake and have severely underestimated our enemy. It’s been an unforgivable lapse in a leader, and I’m sorry for it. However”-his voice grew harsh; he spoke between clenched teeth-“all that ends now.” I know that as the series goes on, it’s generally accepted that Lockwood is reckless and throws himself into danger for others because of his weak connection to life. However, this passage made me think that his disregard for his own safety might stem from this instance as well

12. Barnes has two really good quotes at the end, let me share them with you now. First he refers to Lucy and George as “these two idiots who follow you around” when talking to Lockwood. Second, “[Lockwood] switched on his fullest, most radiant smile. Barnes winced. ‘Put those teeth away. It’s too early in the morning and I haven’t had my breakfast.’”

13. And finally, I know there’s minimum Locklyle in this book, it’s too early. But, I’ll be damed if this part didn’t make me smile. It’s right at the end, when Lucy goes down to the basement to get more donuts. “Halfway up, I heard Lockwood roaring with laughter in the kitchen. . . Lockwood laughed again. Really laughed, I mean. He’d thrown his head back. I could tell.” Not even a year into her employment and she can tell when he is laughing so hard he throws his head back. *sobs because we got the perfect slow-burn romance*

Anyway, those are my thoughts. Perhaps I’ll do this for each book? I hope I can, it’s nice to have this documented. 

#lockwood and co #anthony lockwood #lucy carlyle #george cubbins #the screaming staircase #jonathan stroud #rambles

[realtorjamier]

Home Decor in 2024. What’s Hot & What’s Not?

Pink’s out. Peach is in.

Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2024 is soft and subtle “Peach Fuzz,” replacing last year’s vibrant “Viva Magenta.” Pantone is recognized globally as a leading source of color expertise. 

“In seeking a hue that echoes our innate yearning for closeness and connection, we chose a color radiant with warmth and modern elegance,” says Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute™. 

If you’re looking to revamp your space, consider PANTONE 13-1023 and its complementary colors: everything from creamy, brown and tan neutrals to shades of teal, lavender and mint green. Note: gray is not listed. For those who went wild with gray or greige tones during that trend, you might want to roll up your sleeves and buy a new paint roller.

What’s out?

Say goodbye to Barbiecore (think pink). What else is losing favor? Here’s a quick rundown of trends that seem to be going by the wayside in home decor:

Sliding barn doors (Let’s face it – they don’t even do a great job of blocking light, smells, and sounds.)

White-on-white kitchens

Extremes – whether that means bare minimalism or over-the-top Grand Millennial

Heavy industrial style

What’s in?

Back kitchens

AKA butler’s pantry or scullery, this separate space keeps secondary or backup items hidden from site, tidying up the more public area. Here you can house additional refrigeration and freezing, warming drawers, wine storage, lesser-used mechanical devices, formal entertaining dishes and cutlery, etc. Appliance garages have been around for a while, but they seem to be gaining popularity as another way to streamline kitchens.

Bespoke bedrooms and bathrooms

Behind the scenes, highly personalized spaces offer homeowners comfort and creative freedom. Feel free to layer these rooms with your favorite monogrammed fabrics, artwork, family photos, and heirlooms. Make it meaningful.

Casual luxury

It may sound like an oxymoron, but  luxury doesn’t have to mean formal. Rather than opulent and imposing, choose comfortable, lived-in furniture that is still beautiful and lavish.

Bold wall treatments

Add depth and personality to walls by treating them as large canvases. Incorporate wallpaper, paneling, 3D wall coverings, stone or wood features, decorative molding. This is a take on dopamine decor – which continues to be popular – creative touches that make you feel good when you walk into a room. 

Separated spaces

Demolishing interior walls to create all-in-one living/working/playing areas is seeing a bit of a reversal. Delineating spaces by incorporating walls that still have good flow through the use of doorways and openings allows for rooms with purpose and intention.

Mixed metals

This may come as a relief. Chrome, brass, black, copper, bronze – all can be used when harmoniously paired. Trying to keep up with what’s in shouldn’t mean having to change out plumbing fixtures annually!

Mixed materials

Kitchen countertops don’t have to be one solid matchy-matchy mass. Add interest and dimension to this horizontal space. Consider a mix of materials for visual, tactile and utilitarian variety – natural wood with granite, or quartz with sleek stainless steel. 

Outdoors in

Windows seem to be taking center stage – becoming bigger and bigger. The view outside is more of a focal point than an after-thought. Biophilic design is also a way to get the feeling of nature inside your dwelling by adding large indoor plants and natural wood and stone finishes.

Mud-laundry rooms

Combining a laundry with a mudroom is a space-efficient idea. Storage components can serve double-duty: hooks, cabinets, cubbies and drawers.

Sustainability

Cheap, mass-produced furniture is becoming increasingly unpopular. People are gravitating toward quality pieces that are higher end and/or repurposed for a lesser environmental footprint.

A word of caution

Before you revamp your space with all the latest trends, carefully consider which ones truly work for you. If you’re thinking about selling your home soon, reach out to me and let's talk about what changes will give you the biggest bang for your buck.

#jamierichards #realtorjamier #realestatetips #realestateagent #realestate #realtor #home decor #homedesign #interior design #interiordecor #interiors #decor #homeownership #homeowner #homeowners #2024 #2024 trends #trends #trending #design trends

[gloriousmonsters]

next morning pickman’s model (cabinet of curiosities ep) review

good

- ben barnes really seemed to be doing his best i think. of course it’s hard to tell for sure but the weird moments he has seemed more to do with the script and however the fuck he was being directed than personal acting flaws. still don’t think he was the right man for the role but yknow. gold You Tried sticker

- crispin glover was kind of in the same bucket. not the right man for Pickman, not the best performance ever and they barely gave him three scenes altogether, but he seemed to be doing the best he could with what he had, and he was somewhat entertaining to watch

- that one moment where thurber sees one of pickman’s sketches for the first time and does a weird spasmodic hand flex while his hand is still dripping from the sink actually made me hope that the episode was going to be way hornier and weirder than it wound up being

(and bad is under the cut because it’s. Far, far longer :))))

b a d

- the way it was trying to be every recognizable lovecraft story so hard???? the incredibly awkward comment that pickman is a ‘wet fish’ who comes from ‘old new england’ blood and the random sea creatures popping up, the yog-sothoth references and shub-niggurath imagery, the sudden references to what I can only assume is cthulhu at the end (because we aren’t given any other explanation!!!), the switch of the setting to Miskatonic in Arkham for the first bit instead of the whole thing being set in an art club in Boston--Pickman’s Model was one of Lovecraft’s most effective semi-standalone stories! make a couple references if you like but don’t wreck it because you want it to be a Lovecraft™ mishmash instead of a good horror story!

- fuck i feel like we could argue it shouts out Medusa’s Coil, the way it adds an Evil Depraved Witch-Woman when it really didn’t fucking need to 🙃 and speaking of, love that the already ‘we should treat this reeeeeally carefully and think about it hard’ element in the original story of ‘the creature race steals human children sometimes to add to their numbers’ is replaced by ‘the evil beings and evil crazy women associated with them EAT BABIES, let’s show an art of long-nosed ugly witches giving a baby to a monster’ 🙃🙃

- ‘well the original story’s horror derived from how clear and realistic the pictures of horror were (which beautifully led to the reveal that pickman is drawing from life when he draws malevolent inhuman beasties)... let’s throw out that ‘pickman draws from life’ setup by having him draw a normal model with two arms and rotting flesh in scene one, make a lot of the sketches and smaller pieces more spooky and fantastical looking, and whenever we have a big painted piece--well, art can’t scare people on its own! we can’t trust the actors to carry this! quick, shake the art really hard in front of the camera, animate bits, and play really loud child crying and monster growling sound effects over it. perfect.’

- ‘what do you mean it’s about doghuman fairy-ghouls living under boston and eating corpses? that doesn’t sound scary!! it’s about a depraved witch-woman--wait no, it’s about big ol’ monsters that eat babies! both? idk, we don’t have time to really connect the two properly, throw in some witch imagery, we have to get to the bit where pickman’s art survives a fire with no explanation and suddenly starts converting people who look at it to self-mutiliation, fantastical Insanity, and Cthulhu worship. we’re so good at creating coherent horror narratives’

- ‘i see the original story is somewhat homoerotic. well, that won’t do. give thurber a girlfriend, have him be repulsed by pickman 5 minutes into their acquaintanceship, then give him a wife and son and make the horror all about the perfect little hetero family setup being threatened. perfect! none of that nasty ‘horror and tragedy derived from a devastating revelation about someone you were not only a close friend too, but deeply admired the art of and were utterly dazzled by’

- ‘of course this doesn’t mean we’ll have developed female characters! just an Evil Witch-Woman, a Generic Girlfriend, and later a Perfect Little Wife.’

- I ranted about this in my first tags but this episode was just a badly made story. The brief ‘happy normalcy’ scenes (which are always the painfully heterosexual ones :)))))) are awkward as hell and jar against the other scenes, not in a ‘oh no good things but now bad things’ way but in a ‘is the director aware of how a tonal shift properly works?’ way. Things will happen where the payoff kind of matters and then we just don’t see it. The writing is mediocre at best; when it cribs a few lines from the original story, they now don’t really make sense in context, and the writer’s seen fit to only use the first half of some lines and chop of the second, more interesting half. Ben Barnes goes to Lovecraft Madness stage 4 after one encounter with a scawy picture and then I guess. Gets over it??? there’s a timeskip of 17 years with no note on whether anything’s happened during that time. He then nearly stabs himself in the forehead when looking at another scawy picture and is dissuaded by someone saying ‘sup?’ to him. everyone else looking at the pics either doesn’t react except with ‘ew’ or they go completely Fake Fantasy Mad. why is the protagonist different????? who the fuck knows!

- all in all the writer and director clearly didn’t understand the actual horror of Pickman’s Model or like, care about adapting the story, and didn’t have the chops to make something different but good, and elided an ounce of racism to include a bucket of antisemitism and make it more homophobic and sexist, so my overall conclusion is kind of like that Persuasion review. everyone should be in jail for just a little bit to think about what they’ve done

#we need to talk about horror #pickman's model

[xaykwolf]

"Hope that wasn't it" anon for the third & final time, I swear: the way Yang frames her formative experiences as "losses and failures"? Even if its forms of expression aren't *totally* equivalent, detrimental self-loathing is seriously striking me as yet another shared Bee issue.

lol You're fine, anon!

I feel like there's an amount of "approaching the same destination from different directions" we get from the Bees in several different areas. The big one is, of course, trusting close connections to others. Yang has abandonment issues, and Blake has abandoning tendencies, but through their shared experience they're learning to overcome that and heal from the worst example of it (the Fall and Adam cutting off Yang's arm). Blake promises she's done running from Yang and demonstrates it, and Yang begins to believe her and let go of the fear of potential pain of abandonment.

In the same way, they both have similar backgrounds in that they engendered a diminished sense of personal integrity (as in wholeness, not morality/ethics).

Yang learned early on that her purpose was to take care of others, and her very semblance reflects that (though I'm hoping we see a transformation of that, considering Ren got one that means it's possible). She focuses so much on others that she neglects herself, and she considers it a personal failing if she either doesn't succeed in helping someone ("You weren't supposed to be here") or if she ever feels someone else has to help her (The Barn Scene™). There's a very real potential that this self-sacrificial attitude comes from the self-loathing of having needs in the first place. She's going to have to see that not only is it okay (and natural!!!) to have needs, but that also the people in her life are going to WANT to help take care of them.

Blake, for her part, had her development interrupted by Adam, who abused and manipulated her into believing that she was never good enough, a coward who always runs from her problems. He constantly questioned her belief in him and in their cause, and he broke her down into his tool and stepping stone toward becoming the leader of the WF. He taught her that her own instincts and feelings were incorrect (see: the true meaning of "gaslighting"), and he taught her that speaking up would only cause pain. She gradually learned to hate her very self, and even after she left him, she carried that around until she had no choice to confront the "coward" label and see that it was false and imposed on her by someone else.

#RWBY V9 #RWBY V9 Spoiler #Asks #Anonymous #It's Funny (Ironic) That Yang's Self-Loathing Comes From Neglect And Blake's Comes From Abuse #Again...Same Destination Different Directions Except This Time The Gravity Is Only Felt Not Seen :/ #The Abandonment Issues/Abandoning Tendencies Thing Is Easy To See And We're Watching It Resolve In-Real-Time #The Self-Loathing Thing Is Going To Take A While To Resolve...And It'll Be Largely Through Small Consistent Acts Of Love From Others #(Which Is Why The Bees Are So Important For Each Other -- They Are CONSISTENT With Each Other In A Very Good Way) #I Also Feel I Would Be Remiss If I Didn't Mention How Yang's Mentality Is TOTALLY FUCKED #If You Have Trouble Coming To Terms With Having Needs Please Seek Help (Sincere)

[thesims4blogger]

EA has revelead many details about the next expansion pack for The Sims 4: Horse Ranch. Pre-order is already available.

About The Sims 4 Horse Ranch

Work hard and play hard with animal friends and your own stretch of land in The Sims 4 Horse Ranch Expansion Pack. Raise, train, and form special bonds with majestic horses that are customizable members of your family. You can also care for mini sheep and mini goats, or make a living selling homemade Nectar. Carve out your own unique life on the ranch. Purchase through August 31 to get bonus items** for your hard-working Sims to enjoy.

Sims 4 Horse Ranch Key Features

Rockin’ Rancher Digital Content — Treat your Sim to some relaxation after a hard day’s work with a resonator guitar, wagon wheel art, and rustic rocking chair available when you order through August 31**.

Make a Life — Get up early in the morning, look out at the big open countryside, and know that all your work is worth it. Spend your days keeping your animals happy and clean, harvesting Prairie Grass to feed them, collecting Horse Manure to fertilize your plants, and making your own Nectar to sell. Do it all on a ranch you design, whether that means a traditional cabin or a big red barn.

Bond with Animals — Fill your ranch with animal friends and carve out a life together. Your horses — including adorable foals — are part of your household and have lots of special interactions with both Sims and other horses. You can also care for mini goats and mini sheep, and invite neighbors to come see how cute they are.

Join a Thriving Community — Living on a ranch has its moments of peace and solitude, but there’s also a lively social scene. Your Sims can go into town to meet friends at the bar, blow off steam at the dance hall, or train at the equestrian park. They can also host events like cookouts and dances on their own property, and hire a ranch hand to help when the work builds up.

Raise Horses — Horses are part of the family. Customize hoofed friends in Create a Sim, or get new horses by rescuing or purchasing them. Foals can also be born on your ranch. Sims can learn the Riding skill, and horses can train in the Agility and Jumping skills. Skilled horses and riders can even win awards at the equestrian center.

THE SIMS™ 4 ROCKIN’ RANCHER DIGITAL CONTENT

The Pack also follows suit of previous Expansion Pack releases when it comes to digital content. Players who pre-order The Sims 4 Horse Ranch by the end of August will get the Rockin Rancher Digital Content entirely for free:

Purchase The Sims™ 4 Horse Ranch Expansion Pack through August 31 to get bonus items** for your hard-working Sims to enjoy.

KEY FEATURES

Rockin’ Rancher Digital Content — Treat your Sim to some relaxation after a hard day’s work with a resonator guitar, wagon wheel art, and rustic rocking chair, available when you order June 22 through August 31.

When is The Sims 4 Horse Ranch releasing?

The Sims 4 Horse Ranch Expansion Pack is set to release on July 20th, 2023 across PC, Mac, Xbox and Playstation supported consoles. 

#news #the sims 4