#this template is available for anyone who wants it

[thebibliosphere]

This is more of a problem on Facebook and Twitter, but there are some fellow authors who get a tad... upset when you talk about money and royalty earnings.

Needless to say, my frankness about how royalties work and just how little many of us are earning from our labor has drawn the ire of a few people, even here on Tumblr.hell.

I'm not particularly bothered by this. In my view, they're the same people who won't discuss wages in the workplace because they don't want anyone else to earn what they do. They know the system is unfairly rigged, but they like it that way because they're scared if more people are educated about how things work, they'll lose whatever competitive edge they think they have, thus enforcing the status quo.

Needless to say, I don't care for this view.

I'm very much a "holy shit, two cakes" kind of creator. I also very firmly believe in pulling people up behind me and spreading the wealth of information that was shared freely with me by other like-minded individuals who also believe that the mysteries around publishing are gatekeeping bullshit and everyone deserves the chance to earn money from their creative endeavors, not just the people who can afford to.

Anyway, David Gaughran's 'Let's Get Digital: How To Self-Publish And Why You Should' is an invaluable resource for indie authors and provides great insight into how publishing and distribution work. It is available for free through the retailers listed on his website.

If you don't want to publish exclusively through Amazon, draft2digital.com does global ebook and also paperback distribution. (I've only used it for ebooks, but I'll be trying out their paperback options for my next book.) You can pair it up with a books2read account to create easy-to-post buy links. Draft2Digital also allows for distribution through library lending services like Overdrive. So that's neat. (NB: if you use d2d, you can't use Kindle Unlimited, so be aware of what links you have active and where if you decide to enroll in KU. You can always opt for wide distribution again once your KU time expires.)

D2D also recently partnered with FindawayVoices.com for audiobook distribution. You can find voice actors there, or you can upload your own files if you already have them. You can submit to Audible through them, too, but you'll earn a pittance more if you upload directly through Audible. Findaway also allows for library lending distribution through Libby and several other global equivalents.

If you need ISBNs, you can buy them cheaper in bulk from Bowker at myidentifiers.com

Individual storefront options like Payhip.com and Gumroad.com are also great ways to allow people to buy directly from you, though I soured on Gumroad after the whole NFT thing and their CEO harassing people on Twitter over it. Payhip is now my preferred storefront, and as an added bonus, they calculate VAT in European countries as well, so that's one less thing for me as an indie author to work out. As an added bonus, Payhip can be directly integrated into your author website if you have one. It's a feature I'll be implementing soon.

itch.io also allows for the sale and distribution of ebook files, though I haven't used it yet.

If you don't have the means to hire a cover designer or the means to do it yourself in photoshop, Canva.com has some decent-ish ebook templates. Just make sure the images and fonts you're using have the right licenses for commercial use.

Editing and formatting are also extremely important, though I know not everyone can afford them. If you can, I highly suggest doing so and shelling out extra to have them format your work across mediums. Ebook formatting is different from paperback formatting, and it can look very strange if you just try to format an ebook into a pdf. It is a skill you can teach yourself (plenty of youtube videos) if you really want to, but I prefer to throw money at my editors, who provide formatting as an additional service. Whatever you can afford to do to streamline the process is money well spent.

Also, do not be shy about using affiliate links to sell your work. Authors lose a solid chunk of money to places like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, etc., in distribution fees. Whatever pennies you can scrape back through affiliate links for directing traffic to those sites is hard-earned--and it is literal pennies sometimes. You can also integrate any affiliate links you do have into draft2digital, so they auto-generate, which is handy.

When it comes to paperbacks, BookShop.org offers the best affiliate earnings, and a percentage of the sale goes toward supporting indie bookstores. They do not take that percentage from your earnings, they pay it themselves. Libro.FM is the audiobook equivalent of BookShop.org, and they also give a percentage of sales to supporting indie book stores.

Anyway, I hope that helps someone. Good luck out there.

Also, if you're the person who sent me the irate email about "giving away trade secrets," feel free to die mad about it. 😘

#long post #indie publishing #indie author #author resources #I've posted all this before #but I figure it never hurts to post it again #also lol at that email #what a sad and bitter view

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Dirty Work 7

Warnings: this fic will include dark content such as bullying, familial discord/abuse, and possible untagged elements. My warnings are not exhaustive, enter at your own risk.

This is a dark!fic and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: You start a new gig and find one of your clients to be hard to please.

Characters: Loki

Note: This week is killing me.

As per usual, I humbly request your thoughts! Reblogs are always appreciated and welcomed, not only do I see them easier but it lets other people see my work. I will do my best to answer all I can. I’m trying to get better at keeping up so thanks everyone for staying with me.

Your feedback will help in this and future works (and WiPs, I haven’t forgotten those!)

I love you all immensely. Take care. 💖

Sunday sees your second day in your new position. As you send off your letter of resignation to the agency, you can't help the coil that winds tight in your stomach. There's no going back now.

You close out of the several templates you Googled in your efforts. It's the one thing you know how to do. Willa, the friendly librarian who checked out the PC for you, always said, if you can Google, you can figure it out. Still, you feel like there's so much you don't know that you're not sure a search engine can answer.

You close the laptop and take both your phones with you into the hallway. You have to go check out that gazebo and figure out if you need to make a call about it. Oh, and the fridge was beeping when you filled your bottle, you have to call the maintenance number that flashed up too.

That makes you even more anxious. You've never really been the sort for phone calls. You never had anyone to talk to and everything else was easier done in person. Well, you'll have to muddle through. Work isn't supposed to be fun or easy.

As you near the staircase, your flip chimes. You juggle to answer the right phone. The slim touchscreen is set only to buzz, an option not available on the clumsy burner. You answer the call as you stop on the top stair.

The woman on the other end asks for you by name. You confirm your identity as you hear familiar noises in the background. She's a nurse from the downtown hospital.

“I'm calling to confirm your father's discharge tomorrow at noon,” she says over the rustle of paper and clack of keys, “we'll need the bed so if there is any delay, another day would be added to the invoice.”

“I understand, I'll be there, erm… noon. Tomorrow,” you don't have your notebook so you key a reminder into the other phone. “Thank you for letting me know.”

“Of course, miss, we would recommend you arrive earlier. We have some resources and counseling available on what you can expect getting the patient settled at home,” she continues, “nine would be ideal. I'll be able to add a note for the doctor to check in as well.”

“Oh, yes, I can do that,” you squeak, “thank you.”

“Alright then, I have all that logged. You have a good day.”

“You too,” you utter before the line dies.

Phone calls weren't too bad. You think you did okay with that one. Then again, you didn't think! You're supposed to work tomorrow. Mr. Laufeyson said you could take Wednesday off, and tomorrow is only Monday.

You close the flip phone and stare at it. Oh boy. You really don't want to spoil this. Just the mention of the coming invoice underlines your desperation. You need the money. Your dad needs it.

“Are you finished?” Mr. Laufeyson's timbre drawls from down the hall. You glance over as he stands just in the doorway of his study. You gulp.

“Sorry, Mr. Laufeyson. I didn't mean to disturb–”

“Yet you did,” he insists.

“I was only going to check–”

“Not my concern so long as it's done,” he waves you off, “an important call, I assume, to make such a racket.”

“Mr. Laufeyson, um,” you shove the phones away, one in each of your pockets. “I… could I have the day tomorrow? Instead of Wednesday. My father is getting out of the hospital and–”

“The day? What time?” He snips as he approaches with decisive steps.

“Well, I'm supposed to go at nine,” you explain, “I'll come in Wednesday still.”

“You will come in tomorrow, after all that,” he says. “You can work later then.”

“Yes, Mr. Laufeyson, but my father will need help getting settled–”

“Figure it out. You agreed to this schedule–”

“I did but–” you stop yourself as his eyes flare, “I will be here in the afternoon, Mr. Laufeyson.”

“You will be. In the appropriate attire, I expect,” he snarls and spins to strut back to his office, swinging the door shut sharply.

You waver at the hard slam. You didn't mean to anger him. You can't help that your father needs you. You thought Mr. Laufeyson would be more understanding, after all, he's the one who pointed out how much you needed the money.

🧹

Your father shoos you away as you try to help him sit. He lets go of the walker and flops back with a grunt, his oxygen tank clinking against the aid’s metal leg. He coughs and snatches around blindly on the cushion for the remote. You retrieve it from the folding table beside him and put it in his hand.

That agitates him further as he growls and jams down the button to turn on the television. You yawn and back away. You still have a full day left ahead of you, and what feels like one behind you. You spent the night doing some last minute tidying to make sure everything is read for your father.

“Smokes,” he snaps his fingers and hacks.

“Er,” you hesitate. You go to find the half-crushed pack you found with him on the floor. You knew better than to throw it out. You return to him, clutching the package nervously, “Dr. Shearer said–”

“Give it to me,” he demands.

You relent and obey. He’s been doubly miserable than before. You feel like an annoying gnat buzzing around his head as he tries to swat you away.

“I made you meals for the weak. They’re all labeled in the fridge–”

“I’m not a goddamn kid,” he scowls and takes the lighter from the folding table.

“I know, but–”

“But I’m home. You probably hate that,” he sneers, “you’d be happy if I died in that hospital.”

You’re taken aback by the accusation. You gasp and shake your head, “of course not, I’m happy you’re here. That you’re alive–”

“Painfully,” he snorts darkly, “the fuck you keep me here for?”

You take a breath and frown. Your eyes tinge and your cheeks pinch, “because you're my dad… and I love you,” you croak.

He doesn’t reply as he pulls out a cigarette and moves the tube from below his nose. You watch him, waiting. He lights the smoke and sucks on it eagerly. You drop your head and give a shrug.

“I gotta go to work,” you say, “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Don’t be slamming around when you come in,” he dusts ash over the freshly vacuumed carpet, “doctor said I needa sleep.”

“I won’t,” you promise and back away.

As you leave the room, your chest plummets in dread. You think of coming home, of finding him like you did before, laying on the floor, lifeless. You sniff and swipe away the speckling of tears. More than you want him to love you, you want him to love himself. You don’t just want him to want you around, you want him to be around.

🧹

You hurry up to Mr. Laufeyson’s gate with your kit and water bottle jostling. You fumble around until you find the smartphone and bring up the digits to punch into the code box. You buzz through and shuffle inside. You set off on your usual path around the back.

You stop at the rear door and try to untangle the strap of the water bottle from your kit. Your hand lingers on the front of the ballooning shirt. You still haven’t gone to look for clothes so you did your best with what you had. One of your father’s forgotten button-ups and a pair of pants that could pass in an office. It’s ill-fitting and scratch but better than jeans.

You get inside and leave your kit in the closet. Today’s a cleaning day but you have a few things to check off the schedule first. With your water bottle bouncing on your hip, you go upstairs and scurry down to the library.

As you enter, you’re surprised to discover the space less than empty. You apologise aloud and choke on the word, ‘mister’. It isn’t the house’s single resident as you expect, no, this figure could not be more different than Mr. Laufeyson. You recognise them, from the dinner.

The blond man faces you as he stands by the window, the drapes open to add the peculiarity of the situation. Like the man, the space is golden with sunlight. You lean back on your heel as you clutch the door handle.

“Hello,” he grins as he greets you in a playful demeanour. You can’t answer. You don’t know if you should. 

Is it rule one; don’t speak unless permitted; or the other rule, do not disturb my guests. You can’t figure out the riddle so you languish in perplexity.

“Aren’t you a sweet little lamb,” he muses as he steps away from the window, placing his hands on the back of the dimpled leather chair. His large hands. If you thought Mr. Laufeyson was tall, this man is even taller and twice as wide. “I remember you. The sweet maid.”

You blink. Where is Mr. Laufeyson? You can’t speak. You’re too terrified; not just of the strange man but of the one you know by name. Your employer would be unhappy to know you spoke out of turn.

“Have you seen my brother at all?” He prompts disregarding your stagnant silence. “Has he spoken of me? His brother? I'm Thor.”

You look down at your hand on the door handle.

“And what is your name?” He asks.

You don’t answer. You know it’s not right but you have no other choice. You pull the door shut and close the man in. You retreat in a half-sprint and barrel back down the stairs. You trip at the bottom and barely save yourself from stumbling to your knees.

You latch onto the banister post to keep your balance and catch your breath. You hear the door above. Oh no, would he follow you? Another door clicks and you look up to find a shadow on the other side of the frosted glass framed in the front entrance.

Mr. Laufeyson steps inside coolly, unbothered as swings the door shut and tugs on the lapel of his suit jacket. His eyes fall on you and he scuffs on his sole, tilting his head in curiosity. You didn’t realise he hadn’t even been there. You look at the ceiling with wide eyes; so how was the other man inside?

“Well, there you are,” he says matter-of-factly, “this place is sore in need of a dusting–”

Laufeyson is interrupted by a clamour of footsteps above. You let go of the banister and sidle away as his green eyes flick to the top to the staircase. You shy away and listen as the man descends in a series of thunder thumps. You turn to peek down the hall, wanting to hide in your chores.

“Stay,” Laufeyson commands. You turn back to him as he points at your feet. You stop in place and sway. He faces his visitor as he comes to the bottom stair, “brother, what is the meaning of this intrusion?”

“Can I not come see my baby brother?” The other man; the stranger; his brother, called Thor, booms.

“You may, when you warn me of it,” Laufeyson rebuffs.

“Ah, don’t be so grim,” Thor claps his shoulders and is swiftly shrugged off, “this place is always so dark. I hope you don’t mind, I opened a few windows.”

“I do mind,” Laufeyson says, “you do always presume.”

“And you are always offer such a warm welcome,” he tries to tap Laufeyson’s cheek but is batted away. The dark of the brothers backs up with a scoff. “Ah, and there she is. I was only just coming to find the little maid. She rushed off so suddenly–”

“You don’t need to bother with her,” Laufeyson dismissed with a slice of his hand through the air, “maid,” he points at you again, “back to work.”

You lean back on your heel, ready to disappear.

“Ah, don’t be so rude, brother. She is sweet. You get more bees with honey–”

“Do not tell me how to run my house,” Laufeyson growls, an edge in his voice you’ve never heard before. Dangerous and dark.

“Is she not doing you a service? A please would be appropriate–”

“You are not mother. I don’t need you to mind my manners,” Laufeyson girds and nears his brother, unflinching even as he comes up a few inches short of chest to chest, “nor do you need to worry for my staff. She does not take orders from you.”

“And I suppose that’s all she gets from you,” Thor chuckles.

You furrow your brow, stunned by their spat. You’re not quite sure what that last bit meant. You work for Mr. Laufeyson so of course he would tell you what to do. And why are they so volatile? They’re brothers. You don’t have any siblings but you always wanted one. So that you had a friend. So you weren’t alone. 

“Maid, go,” Laufeyson repeats, “now.”

Your eyes widen and you nod. You quickly turn and rush down the hall to the closet. You’re shaking as you try to sort out one phone from the other and find the old list of tasks. You can hardly steady your hands to get a pair of gloves on.

You take your time in the back of the house as you hear the men’s footfalls climb the staircase. You let your nerves settle just a little. You’re alone, for now, and your mission is simple. Clean and stay unseen.

#loki #dark loki #dark!loki #loki x reader #fic #dark fic #dark!fic #dirty work #maid au #au #series #avengers #thor #mcu #marvel

[grison-in-space]

worker uprisings are not an upside.

I see this rhetoric here all the time, and it drives me up the wall. So you're all getting a good rant here: a worker uprising is not good.

The worker uprisings that bought the NLRB paid for it in blood and lives, and another uprising means that we will have to find the price to buy it again. And there will be families, people, and lives blighted in the meantime. Worker uprisings are not upsides for anyone and they are not fucking consolation prizes. They happen when things go bad, horribly bad, and they generally only result in positive change insofar as they create so much chaos, bloodshed, and disruption that the overall situation has to change. In the mean time, people are still left dead, destitute, and maimed. If we can avert a worker uprising by using nonviolent means of pressure to force accountability, we should do that, because it results in vastly more stable outcomes for everyone. If this pissant, damn-fool shortsighted Supreme Court decision goes through and violence is the only remaining option to enforce change that anyone sees, that is a bad thing.That is not a flood gift. People will die fixing that bullshit. People did die fixing that bullshit!

You know how we got the NLRB the first time, back in 1935?

It took almost fifty years of labor unrest in the United States before we got the NLRB. Let's start with the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 (which was majorly disruptive but happened before labor unionizing was widespread). That's a great template for your fucking worker's uprising: there's no union leadership to coordinate fury and direct it properly, so when workers lose their shit after the third goddamn time wages get cut (not "fail to keep the pace of inflation," actually "you get less money now"), they all kind of do things on impulse without thinking much about long term strategy. The fury just erupts. In the case of the Great Railroad Strike, angry workers burned factories and facilities, seized rail facilities, paralyzed commerce networks, and existing power structures panicked and called out militias, National Guard units, and federal troops to forcibly suppress the workers. About a hundred people died.

Let me pop a cut down while I talk about what happened next. Spoiler: there's a lot of violence under the hood coming up, and like all violence, it absolutely sloshes around and hits people who aren't necessarily directly involved in conflicts.

You have continuing incidences of violence over strikes throughout the next several decades as nonviolent strikes are met with violence from pro-employer forces and workers resist with violence back. I can't even list all the violent incidents here that ended in deaths, because they were frequent. The 1892 Coeur d'Alune labor strike broke out into an actual shooting war and resulted in a number of deaths, not to mention months of detainment for six hundred protesting miners; the same year, you have another shooting war kicked off between hundreds of massed paid private Pinkerton security and striking workers in Pittsburgh through the Homestead Strike. Imagine how that's going to go down today.

And the thing about violence like this, and tolerance for violence, is that eventually you just get used to using it to get your way. You actually also do see quite a bit of violence conducted by striking labor workers, sometimes without recent provocation from management. For example, the national International Association of Bridge Structural Iron Workers embarked on a campaign of bombings from 1906-1911 that eventually culminated in a bombing of the office of the LA Times that killed 20 people. Do you want to live in a world where the only way to resolve conflicts like this is to risk someone bombing your office because your boss mouthed off at his cause? Even if he's right, do you want to risk losing your life, your arms, your friend, your sibs, to someone who thinks that the only option available to him to address systematic inequality is violence?

And you think about who really suffers when violence erupts, too. Look at the East St Louis massacre in 1917, when management tries undercutting the local white-run unions by hiring black folks who are systematically excluded by the unions. (If you think labor solidarity is free from the same intersectional forces that hit every other attempt to organize in solidarity for humans, you really need to go back and revisit your history books. We can do better and we should, but when we set up our systems and hope for the future, we have to be clear-eyed about the failures of the past.) Anyway, when labor tensions between white union workers and management's preferred use of cheaper, poorer, less "uppity" black people erupted, the white union workers attacked not management, but the black parts of town. They cut the hoses to the fucking fire department, burned huge swathes of East St Louis belonging to black homeowners, and shot black folks fleeing in the streets.

Money might not trickle down, but violence sure fucking does. The wealthy insulate themselves from violence by employing intermediaries to do all the dirty work for them, or even to venture into any areas that might be dangerous. When we resort to violence as the only way to solve our problems, inevitably the people and communities who pay the highest blood prices are the ones who have the least to provide. You think any of those robber barons are going to wind up on the ground bleeding out? They have their Pinkerton troops for that shit. The worst they lose is money; the rest of us have to stake our bodies and our homes.

No one should look forward to a worker uprising. If the Supreme Court is stupid and short-sighted enough to reduce avenues of worker redress to extra-legal means, the worker uprisings will come back around again, sure enough, and we'll all write our demands in blood once again. But the whole fucking POINT of the NLRB is that the federal government objects to having to sort these things out when they dissolve into open violence, so it sets rules about what the stupid short-sighted greediguts fat cats up top can do to reduce violence erupting again.

Anyway. Best thing I can think of right now is to get a Congressional supermajority in with the eye of imposing limits and curbs on the Court. Because look, I'll march if I need to, but I ain't going to pretend the thought puts a smile in my mouth and a spring in my step. Fuck.

[intersectionalpraxis]

Charlie Puth has liked MANY pro-zionist media and has shown his support for Isnotreal's genocide multiple times (he is also a rape apologist and is Islamophobic). Someone compiled a list about this and I wish I was able to share this with you here but something happened.

Someone made a post encouraging Stays (Stray Kids' fandom name) to mass report a post someone made detailing every problematic thing that piece of shit has done (Puth has a new song with SKZ, which is why OP wanted to talk about it), but since it's not available for anyone to see, I want to remind folks that Puth is awful. And why bring this up? Because a SKZ global page made a template for fans to show their lack of support for SKZ working with Puth.

Any Stay or kpop fan for that matter saying that you should remain neutral and just show your support for any 'big artist collab,' ya'll need to go touch some grass. This is coming from someone who was active in the fandom for YEARS before I had to take a step back and detach (and if anyone doesn't believe me I can show them my old photo-card and album collection).

You can report it here:

#feminist #social justice #free palestine #palestine #free gaza #current events #current news #stray kids #skz #charlie puth #charlie puth supports zionism #zionism is terrorism #zionist occupation #celebrity culture

[the-night-that-feeds-if]

You feel a chill down your spine, the hairs at the back of your neck prickle. You don't dare look behind you... The shadow smiles.

The Night That Feeds is a dark fantasy, interactive story.  It will have heavy themes of familial abuse, sexually suggestive themes (perhaps more explicit stuff too, eventually), and other dark themes. A comprehensive content warning will be made available as the story develops.

"This is a story of love, loss, and of trying to find a home".

*** Please keep your mental health in mind when playing games with dark themes. This game won't be as dark as some others, but I want everyone to be safe and healthy when consuming dark content.

Demo currently sitting at 21k words.

✧ Features/Will feature ✧

A customizable protagonist, name, gender, appearance. 

Multiple romance options (barely implemented at this time).

Demons!  Not in the way you may think.

An interesting fantasy land that you get to explore.

!!BARELY IMPLEMENTED--MOST CHARACTERS NOT MET!!

・❥・ Romance Options ・❥・

✧.*

Captain E. Ward: Fame, fortune, infamy... All these and more follow Captain Ward. Their job is a demanding one, an important one, a dangerous one. They seem to be a commanding, playful person, but how deep do their scars run?

Age: 30

["Isn't it beautiful?" They say as they stare out into the void. Nebulous clouds drift behind, trailing the ship. "So Void-damned beautiful, and so fucked up." They look you in the eyes, and lick the edge of their bottom lip. "You sure you want this, with me?"]

They are a lonely person, they crave, and despise attention. They're afraid of intimacy, of love. What kind of life is a life in the Void? Who would willingly share that with them?

TW: Attempted murder (on them), clinginess.

✧.*

Maddock: A surly mercenary, he watches out for you, all due to a 'favor' of a nature you can't discern. The way he looks at you is reminiscent of a deep longing.

Age: Late 30's, early 40's 

["I never thought that I'd be one ta' have somethin' like this at my age. I let my dreams go in my youth." He pats the cushion next to him. "You don' expect things ta' turn out, I've been a merc for so long, felt like all I knew how ta' do."]

He's a gruff man, doesn't got a heart of gold, but if you end up falling for each other, there isn't anything that would come between you.

TW: Possessive, sexual.

✧.*

The Hunger: It's been watching you for a long time... 

Age: ???

["Oh, if it isn't my little bird, what is it? Is your wing broken? You don't seem eager to fly away this time..." It slinks closer, grinning wide. ]

An entity, not... malevolent, at least not to you.  However, it holds a sick fascination for you. 

TW: Yandereish. Stalker. Obsession. 

✧.*

Fellis: A woman who seems to be around your age, she's an eager adventurer, she took a liking to you immediately, and seems keen to stoke the flames hotter. 

Age: 22, 23

["Oh, lovey. There you are." She takes your hand in hers, placing a gentle kiss along your knuckle. "I've brought something for you."]

She thinks you're the most beautiful person she's seen. She may even take up poetry to describe her budding love for you.

NO TW. MEGA FLUFF ALERT.

✧.*

Xep: A strange person, wearing bright crimson robes, with gorgeous star decaling in gold. They wear copious amounts of jewelry, and enjoy the finer things. They were immediately drawn to you, they were forced to this back water of a town, they never expected anyone like you to cross their path.

Age: 27

["I want to hold you, please stay?" Their mouth creeps upwards, the wine has given them a positively radiant complexion, the heat blatant on their cheeks.]

They're a sad soul, after experiencing a heart break that left them devastated, they never expected to find love again.

SLIGHT TW: Mentions of suicide, heart break, mentions of being cheated on.

Credit to:  nyehilism for the sugarcube template, you've made things easier on me as an aspiring IF writer, thank you.

#interactive fiction #dark fantasy #romance #my ocs #original world #interactive novel #tntf #the night that feeds

[riftdancing]

How similar are our Characters?

Does anyone else remember these? These were huge a few years back. I have no idea if they've made the rounds again since, but they were SO much fun back in the day. I kinda wanted to see about reviving this trend sooooo.... To start us off I made a template on Canva since the old template hyperlink doesn't seem to be functioning. You can access it here and it is pictured as below! This should give you a very basic template and place to start. You can add as many aesthetics to this as you want, or simply just change the text. It's up to you!

The idea is to fill in the blanks with a bunch of your character's tropes/aesthetics!

Now the fun part comes when we post these and fill these out for one another by tossing them in a photo editor and slapping some symbols down for whatever applies to our characters in an attempt to get bingo on your sheet! I've also made this challenge available on Bluesky for any of you who would rather do it there!

I sincerely hope you guys have fun with this! I'll be reblogging my Characters below!

#FFXIV Character Bingo #original character #ffxiv #bingo #ff14 #finalfantasyxiv #finalfantasy14 #final fantasy xiv #final fantasy 14 #meme #character questions #OC #warrior of light #wol #ffxiv oc #ffxiv wol

[astudyincontrasts]

Hey Arcane Fandom!

It’s been an amazing year on Tumblr celebrating our love of this incredible show with each other through art, writing, and general unhinged simping insanity. It has been a joy and a privilege to spend this past year surrounded by so many wonderful and gifted people; drooling over art, crying or laughing or dying of thirst at each new fic, and celebrating together as we watched this masterpiece of a show deservedly win award after award.

As we remember the past months fondly and look ahead to simping our way into the future, we would like to offer everyone the chance to celebrate each month of the new year alongside our very favorite ratman. Thirteen of the most talented artists and twelve of the most incredible writers the Silco fandom has the privilege to call its own have all joined together to create a 2023 SILCO CALENDAR.

This was a labor of love and friendship made by and dedicated to the people who make this fandom the joyful home of unhinged fun we have built together. This Monday it will be available for FREE digital download for anyone who wants it! You can use the template to print a physical copy or just enjoy it as is, with twelve months of The Eye of Zaun keeping watch over your every sinful misdeed and encouraging each one.

Edit: HERE IT IS!!

#ok teasing is over #or edging as Vas insists we’ve been doing #silco #arcane #Silco 2023 calendar #fandom gift #you’ll have to wait till Monday to see the whole thing though #details and artist credits then

[boujeeceo]

Corporate Barbie Files- Begin

When I was kid I didn't know what an executive was but I wanted to be one so bad. Now that I know I've decided to aim a bit higher- Chief Financial Officer day job and small business tycoon. ✨🧿

Please do your own research, I'm no expert and I don't want to lead anyone down a weird path

Planning (business plans)

You can get an LLC for less than 200$, 500$ MAX. What makes LLC's expensive are the licenses, fees you pay when registered, and the state you register.

Sole priorerships (depending on your state) don't need to be registered but you forgo the protections that come from having a government recognized business.

Any small business template online is a great resource.

Plan it out for 3 years minimum but think of this business plan as a living document. As you operate your business it will have to change.

Business research!

You need to do your own research on each business you want to start if you want to succeed.

Topics/questions to research

Researching competitors (Strengths & Weaknesses/marketing strategy/Pricing/products and product features)

Market share

Strengths and weaknesses

Your window of opportunity to enter the market

The importance of your target market to your competitors

Any barriers that may hinder you as you enter the market

Indirect or secondary competitors who may impact your success

Customers

Who are your customers and why are they interested in buying your product or service?

What characteristics, interests, desires, pain points and needs do they share?

Where do they live?

How old are they?

What is their education level?

What is their income range?

Which types of websites do they frequently visit?

Where do they currently buy similar products?

Which languages do they speak?

What industry do they work in?

License needed

Growth projection 

Assessing the legal aspects of your industry

Can you reach your target audience? If you're selling inline skates, are you opening in an area with a population of the right age and disposable income?

Is the market saturated?

Your Brand 

Questions you wanna ask

Here are a few methods you can use to do direct research:

Surveys

Questionnaires

Focus groups

In-depth interviews

Ask potential customers 

Questions you wanna ask and answers

Demand: Is there a desire for your product or service?

Market size: How many people would be interested in your offering?

Economic indicators: What is the income range and employment rate?

Location: Where do your customers live and where can your business reach?

Market saturation: How many similar options are already available to consumers?

Pricing: What do potential customers pay for these alternatives?

Best ways to reach customers 

Suppliers, quotes and budget

Sources of funding, uses of funding

Prep

Finding funding, type in your demographic 'black woman/LGBT black woman, ect' and your state + small business funding. Apply for everything. Find space for inventory. Think up promotional material- Vistaprint is amazing for just cheapy slapping your brand on something that others want (candy, notebooks, pens, cute tote bags).

Skills you may need: Negotiation, Manipulation, Marketing, Social media handling, Emotional intelligence, Personal emotional control, Leadership and delegation, Networking, Memorization (names, position and places you met this people), Self discipline, Conversation, Communication.

Just do it

If I wanted until I felt 100% ready I wouldn't have two functional businesses at the moment.

Low risk low reward business ideas

These may not make you rich unless you market to high heaven or get lucky. But they are a great passive income opportunity/place to start.

Vending machine

ATM

Selling books on Amazon/Audible/Printing on demand services

Selling on a ready made sale site- Shopify/Amazon/Esty

Direct sales

High traffic blog for ads

Affiliate marketing blog/social media

Mid-Tier business ideas

Can be scaled up to make 7 figures but after taxes and fees will probably make a steady 6 figures yearly. (Please note that 6 figures can be any where from 100k to 999k. I've noticed a tendency to see 6 figures as only 100k.)

Cafes

Small bar

Small restaurant

Ice-cream truck

Food truck

Website with subscriptions

A clothing line

Makeup or skincare (especially if it has mostly black women in mind- think Black Girl Sunscreen or Fenty Beauty)

Natural hair wigs (as in 3b-4c pattern, its not super common and the ones that are aren't very good nor last very long)

Small hair and nails salon

Haircare product line

Do your own research please, these are just the most common and least expensive I've found entrepreneurs start. They may not work with your skills/personal brand/time constraints/experience ect.

Advice

Have a vanity business!!! A business that matters because you like it so much. One where the success is not based off just money but personal satisfaction. This will keep you from getting bored, too frustrated or purely money driven. Of course a business is money driven but at some point you look up from your work and get distressed from dissatisfaction from being stuck working for money instead of pleasure.

You should be interested in each business you make/engage with a least a little bit.

Break down how much you need to make per day and per week to get to your goal amount. This has helped me mentally, I no longer freak out about the big picture when I'm focused on the main goal of the day/week.

Have a reading list in these 5 categories: Emotional intelligence, Your field of study (finance, tech, medical, beauty), Manipulation/Negotiation, Beauty/Dating/Self-esteem, and Money.

Don't try to build up more than 2 businesses at a time if you're doing it alone. You will drive yourself insane and burn out quickly.

If you do direct sales on the streets make sure you have an incentive for people to actually stop and look at what you have to offer. Something free pretty with your logo or information and matches your brand image. It can be hand made!

Mistakes I made

I relied on one business too much when my goal isn't to scale it too big

I didn't have a workable marketing campaign. People are tired of ads. I'm tired of ads, I had to get creative or rather make the ads less invasive.

I relied too much on online sales. There is way too much competition- I now make 90% of my money from in person sales, there's a 'rush' factor because the pop up shop won't be there tomorrow, and I can make a human connection before I make a sale.

I put too much money into some businesses and not enough into others. Now I have a budget of 200$-500$ for each new business unless I'm buying large equipment that I will own (vending machines, massive printers, ect).

I didn't have enough different types of products. I need variety but I shouldn't panic and make too much or else I'll lose money and have too much inventory.

My mentor had told me to make decisions quarterly (every 3 months) rather than weekly/monthly. This has helped her build her real estate business.

My journey

My motto when it comes to dealing with my businesses is Slow Progress Is Still Progress.

I’ve always wanted to be a higher up in a company- an “executive woman”- I would eat up all the songs and tv shows made for kids about business (Biz kids, Schoolhouse rock mostly). I started my journey with my vanity business because I tired of waiting to get published by a major publishing house. Why not be a major publishing house? As I've come into my own I've realized I want more- more money, more experience, better titles, more power ECT.

My method is to work smarter and never harder: I create a company, place 100% of my attention on it and create systems that make the work I have to do minimal. 1-2hrs of work per day max. Borderline passive income. Then I move on to creating another business when I’m comfortable leaving the previous ones without my direct attention for a while. Being a CEO is all about creating sustainable systems that are efficient, reliable and profitable.

I have 2 functional businesses at the moment, they have been planned out for 2.5 years (I started them at the beginning of the year). I have two more I’m working on both in the ‘finding a reliable vendor’ stage. Once I’m past this part I’ll be ready to launch. I don’t advertise online, I work with the areas I’m in and the small businesses around me. It’s easier and more effective than to interrupt other people’s days by doing online ads. No one likes them and a lot of people will straight up avoid your brand out of spite. I’m in the middle of a rebrand and expansion so that eventually I can reach my goal of making 5k a day from my small business empire.

My journey is a work in progress.

#corporate barbie files #corporate barbie #corporate baddie #motivation #inspo #start a business #business advice

[merlinbingo]

Round Four!

Don't get too excited, it's not quite sign up time yet (assuming a) I'm still awake and b) I remember to turn the form on, that's set for midnight GMT on 1st January), but there's a few things to talk about before that happens!

Card sizes

For the first three rounds, all cards have been 5x5. However, we recognise that this can be a bit daunting for some people, so in round four we're allowing you to choose what size card you want: 4x4, 5x5 or (for those truly astonishing people who find creating 25 works in less than a year insufficiently challenging) 6x6.

No matter what size card you choose, you'll get the participation badge for filling a single square on your card and the blackout badge for filling all squares on your card, however the bingo badge will vary depending on what size your card is.

5x5 card: fill five squares in a row (horizontal, vertical or diagonal), or all four corner squares and the square in the middle.

4x4 card: fill four squares in a row (horizontal, vertical or diagonal), all four corner squares, or the centre four squares.

6x6 card: fill six squares in a row (yep, you guessed it, horizontal, vertical or diagonal) - unfortunately, I can't think of an easy way for the spreadsheet to track any other configuration of six squares, but if anyone has any ideas I would be happy to hear them!

Card backgrounds

For the first three rounds, we offered a lot of options for backgrounds. If it was your first time signing up, we asked you for your favourite character, and if you were a returning participant we asked for your favourite ship. As a result, we have about 50 card templates in our catalogue, including a few that were created for an individual participant and have never been reused.

Unfortunately (and I do so hate that there's an unfortunately), with the new card sizes on offer, we'd really struggle to keep that up. As such, this round we're only creating two new backgrounds (villains and knights), which will be available for all card sizes.

However, there are all these 5x5 card templates made up from before, and it would be a shame not to use them again. If you're choosing a 5x5 card, you can use the 'other' option on the sign up form to specify a character or ship and we'll rummage in the archives to see if we've got something that fits the bill.

Fill submission form

We know filling out the form is the least fun part of bingo, but when we get upwards of 600 fills per round, it really is the only way for us to keep track of them all. This means the form is here to stay.

That said, the only info our spreadsheet actually needs is 1) your card number, 2) the square number, and 3) the link for your fill. All the rest is to make it easy for us to do tumblr posts and round ups, so we're making all of that completely optional. If you don't want your fill shared on tumblr, or if you just don't want to spend all that time filling out the form (for example, if it's a multi-chapter work that fills half your squares and you just don't have the spoons to do it over and over and over), that's okay with us!

#bbc merlin #merlin bingo #round four #nearly nearly nearly #at time of posting just 25 hours and 13 minutes #not that im counting

[literary-potato]

Hey USAmericans! I don’t normally bring up work-related stuff here because this website is a clown car. But it is a clown car filled with people who disproportionately like privacy and love complaining about stuff that's terrible. So here’s some terrible stuff you can complain about. (Yes the blog post linked is from the company I work for. No, I'm not one of the authors. I would say please don’t dox me but… honestly if you do manage I’d be impressed and want to know how you did it for professional reasons. So like, I guess go for it, but don’t be creepy or violent.) The blog post does a better job summarizing it but here’s the gist:

If you’ve ever lived in the USA as an adult, it is extremely likely that anyone can Google you and find out personal details like where you live for free.

Even if your information is not THAT widely available, then it is still almost certainly true that someone could pay a data broker to obtain that information about you. Not like an insane amount of money, a normal amount of money that could reasonably be in a stalker’s budget.

This is because the USA has basically zero regulation about protecting people’s personal data. Data brokers are gross and take advantage of this.

It is EXTREMELY difficult to opt out of data brokers. It is doable, but it’s A LOT. Trust me, I do this for work, and it’s an enormous pain in the ass. I have worked for major tech companies in Silicon Valley — in other words, I have a lot more technical knowledge than the average consumer. Imagine how people who aren’t super tech savvy feel trying to do this work.

The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau is taking comments RIGHT NOW because they’re thinking about doing something about the current state of affairs. If you have a spare 5 minutes and you are creeped out by the possibility that anybody could find your personal details at any time, please submit a comment! The CFPB wants to hear consumer complaints, so complain!!! The blog includes a link to a template you can personalize, so you don’t even have to think that much about organizing it! This is especially true if you are someone who has real-life, serious reasons why people having access to your address would be dangerous. If you are LGBTQ+, if you are involved in activism, if you are a survivor of abuse, if you’ve been targeted by harassment or stalking or anything like that… PLEASE make a comment and explain specifically why this situation is dangerous for people like you. This is a serious issue that affects people’s mental and physical wellbeing, and the more Consumers (TM) that can write in directly and attest to how harmful it is, the better.

ETA: THE COMMENT PERIOD IS CLOSED. No need to share this further.

#long post #serious potato post #security #privacy #advocacy #safety

[angelasscribbles]

Insurrection Chapter 3: King in Exile

Series: Insurrection

Fandom: The Royal Romance

Pairings: Liam x Riley

Word Count: 1,125

Rating: MA

Warnings for this chapter: None

My other stuff: Master List.

Map make on inkarnate.com. I really like this but it isn't exactly how I picture it. I wanted it taller, I picture it longer than wide but there is only the square template available on the free version. I might have to spring for the paid version to create what I see in my head. But for a first attempt, I'm really pleased with the result!

The dark-haired man who bore a passing resemblance to the new king had spent weeks passing among the homeless, the sick, and the downtrodden. He had brought what material goods and words of comfort that he could.

Arriving back in Valtoria, he made a beeline for the main gathering place of resistance fighters.

“Hey Theo,” he greeted the bartender as he entered the dingy drinking establishment, giving his eyes a moment to adjust to the dimness within before making his way to the bar. Despite the run-down appearance, it was one of the few places that still had working cable. It was the place to be to catch news from the outside world. Once a high-end nightclub, it now served as a gathering place for the resistance. A small but determined group of people committed to stopping the current government and restoring Cordonia to its previous glory.

Even they didn’t know his true identity. He didn’t know who he could trust, so he trusted no one. Anton had spies everywhere. The former king of Cordonia was living under an alias and building an army from the ground up.

“Hey yourself, Zio, haven’t seen you around in a bit.” The man behind the bar grabbed a glass and a bottle off the shelf. He didn’t bother to ask what customers wanted anymore. There was only one choice: vodka.

Supply lines were inconsistent, and vodka was easy to make from scratch. Bottles that had once held whiskey, rum, and wine now held homemade vodka. Valtoria’s vineyards lay in ruins, burnt and ravaged from months of war.

“I’ve been in the coastal territories,” he offered in the way of explanation.

Portavira, Domvallier, The King Fisher Isles. He had gone to smuggle medical supplies to the people who were displaced by Anton’s forces, determined to hold the ports against any outside interference.

“Recruitment mission?” Theo asked as he slid the glass over.

The man known by most of the resistance as Zio shrugged, “Every mission is a recruiting mission, but the main point of this was humanitarian aid.” His fingers tightened around his drink. The state his country had fallen into since the outbreak of civil war weighed heavily on his heart.

Theo shook his head. “I don’t know what that maniac hopes to accomplish starving out the very people he wants to rule. That’s not earning him any points with anyone.”

“Turn that up, please,” Liam’s dark eyes locked on the TV screen above the bar as footage of troops rolled across the screen.

Theo clicked the volume button a few times.

“…. The Cordonian National Army was repelled once again by the Lythikosian Armed Forces. Lythikos has issued a formal statement of independence from the new Cordonian National State. Olivia Nevrakis, formerly a duchess under the old government has publicly decried the new regime as illegitimate and refuses to enter into any peace talks with King Anton Severus.”

The camera cut to a map of Lythikos as the reporter continued. “Blockades have had no effect as Lythikos shares a border with Drakovia, a country long allied with the Rys dynasty. Drakovia has recognized Lythikos as an independent kingdom. Trade routes between the two remain open. Any attempt by the new Cordonian government to disrupt those supply lines would risk war with Dravokia, something the fledgling monarchy can ill afford as they are still struggling to put down Rys loyalists within their own borders.”

“Yes!” He pumped his fist in the air with a grin. Leave it to Livvie to not only hold out but turn the tide against the usurper.

His attention was drawn back to the screen as an image of his brother flashed across it.

Leo was in Monterisso rallying Cordonia’s allies. He stood at a podium with the grimmest expression Liam had ever witnessed on his face. “Anton Severus has no rightful claim to the Cordonian throne. He has committed treason against the legitimate government and must be held accountable. His unlawful regime has been responsible for numerous war crimes and atrocities, starting with the murder of my father, stepmother, and brother.”

Liam grimaced. He hated letting the world believe he was dead, but it was safer that way. Besides, he had no way to get a message to anyone. Any correspondence addressed to Leo would be intercepted and read by the new authorities.

It was the same reason he hadn’t been able to get into Lythikos. Anton’s men were actively looking for him. The border to Lythikos was heavily patrolled.

The country was divided into factions. Nationalists and Loyalists. Coming forward would rally the loyalists behind him, something he was itching to do. But the timing had to be right because coming forward would also put a target on his back and he was living behind enemy lines.

He had to proceed with caution.

The resistance was struggling. They needed food. They needed weapons. They needed hope.

He had to get to Lythikos. Liv could get a message to Leo. They could combine Lythikos' forces with Liam’s and recruit help from their allies. Drakovia, Monterisso, Rivala.

Auvernall had sided with Anton. That was going to be a problem.

Then there was the issue of Cordonia’s original military. His intelligence told him that roughly a third was left intact, under Anton’s command. The rest had been killed, fled, or were imprisoned.

If he could just locate a few of his key officers, he was sure they could infiltrate what was left of the original forces. When faced with a choice, the men would follow Bastien, he was sure of it.

That’s assuming Bas had survived the assault on the capital.

His forces plus Liv’s plus support from some key allies combined with a skeleton crew of men familiar with the palace defenses and a few inside sources would be more than enough to overwhelm Anton’s forces.

The new military had suffered heavy losses in the initial takeover as well as during repeated failed attempts to secure Lythikos. Anton had double-crossed his co-conspirator and killed or imprisoned many members of the Liberation Core.

Anton ruled through fear and intimidation. He used force to negotiate. Many of his soldiers were mercenaries, men from other countries in it for the money. Historically, people fighting for their homeland, and for their families, fought harder and stayed committed to the cause.

His odds of success were high.

With the decision made, he threw back the rest of his drink. “Is Marco in town?”

“Should be. He was just in here yesterday.”

“Perfect. I’m going to need his help with something.”

He left the bar and headed home. Such as it was.

He had one person he had to see before he embarked on what might be a suicide mission.

#the royal romance #trr #trr au #the royal romance fanfic #trr fanfic #choices trr #trr fandom #liam rys #liam x mc #angelasscribbles #choices stories you play #choices

[widowskins]

An end of an era and some updates

Please indulge me this moment of reminiscing and rambling. It is saddening to see Caution closing its doors. I understand why. The RPC has been shifting towards Discord servers for a while now, and I know that change is both good and inevitable. At the same time, I can't help but feel a twinge of... sorrow? Melancholy? to see the end of an era. I've been with Caution since it was on IF. Caution was where I found my first skins and templates, and through hacking them to bits, learned to code. I fell in love with CSS and HTML on Caution. Resource sites came and went over the years, but for the majority of the height of the resource forum era, every code and skin I made was exclusively available on Caution. I am slowly working on moving all of my templates onto my skin preview site. I'm also joining a handful of RPC resource servers on Discord. Although I am sad to see Caution go, I want my codes to be available to as many people as possible. It's time I get with the times. From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank all the staff, former and present, of Caution, for all the years you kept the forum running. I might not have been an active participant in the community outside of posting resources, but for many years Caution has felt like a home. I appreciate the welcome and wish you all the best wherever you go. And now, for a few updates: I'm tweaking a few codes as I migrate them over to my preview forum. I've also got two skins in progress. I think one will be a free resource, and one will be paid. I am considering lowering my prices on Luxury again. I don't want to insult anyone who has purchased it at the old price point(s), but the more I ruminate on it, the more I think I would prefer to offer greater accessibility to people from all walks of life and financial security. I'm not sure what the protocol is for lowering prices on an existing skin. Does one offer a partial refund to those who purchased at the higher rate? I'm not sure. If you're reading this, please feel free to chime in with your thoughts. Anyway, thanks for following and keep an eye out for the completion of my template migration and the eventual release of new skins!

#jcink code #cttw #caution to the wind #caution #widowspeak

[prof-peach]

Hello! I love the website for your electus comic it’s so clean and easy to follow! I was wondering if you host it on a website or make it from scratch? A lot of webcomic sites don’t have any information on how they were made and I certainly don’t want to copy anyones design, I would like to start posting a webcomic online one day though. Are there any tips you could give to someone new to website creation. Right direction to start in for example?

Ah im glad its easy to navigate, but I will be honest with you, I date a graphic designer who handled the whole build for me, because I so much as look at a computer wrong and it freezes up on me :')

The good news however is I watched them make it, it seemed very intuative and simple, and they were able to teach even me the back end, so adding pages is super simple. It is hosted on SquareSpace, and it comes with templates, easy to use tools, and because its so widely known and paid for, theres SO many tutorials! It's very easy to do with a small amount of effort to wacth some videos.

You can pay varying ammounts per year (and month I believe) to host, which I do, to make it available to all who want to view it without costs to them. Its not for everyone, and is from what I recall, roughly £160/$200 a year for the domain I use, though there are varying packages and prices. Many creators choose to use comic sites like tapastic or the likes, as its a free version, but due to legalities, artists have been veering away from that to protect their creations.

Honestly, I think theres a lot to be said for youtube tutorials, people have been swearing by squarepsace for yeaaaars now, and the interface is very simple and easy compared to other web building options (wordpress im looking at you, youre terrible)

While we did not use templates or preset fonts (partner made it all custom to make it unique) the site offers SO many good options that can be edited to suit your needs, so no need for complex processes if its an option you choose to go for.

Sorry I couldnt be more help, im a huge technophobe, anything electrical seems to hate me haha

At least you have some names for things and can dig further from here, good luck bud! you got this.

#im so sorry i know so little #back end is not hard though so #theres hope! #youve got this champ! #ooc

[simplyanjuta]

📝Tutorial: Creating Premade Household Replacements

Some of you have been wondering how to make premade household replacements (as the ones shared here or here). So I have written down below what is known to me/what I was able to figure out so far. If anyone would like to share any additional info or tips, please do 😊

Note: If your goal is to do more than tweaking or replacing the premades, a save file is most probably the way to go. I actually ended up messing with the premade files because personally I wasn’t quite happy with EAs remake of the Goth family recently & was looking for a way to bring back the original version or replace them with my own instead.

Update/News: There’s now a tool by denton47 that you can use to replace sims from premade households. The tool came out shortly after I made this tutorial.

https://modthesims.info/d/669907/ts4-premade-household-tool.html

From what I understand the difference is that with the tool you can replace or move the actual sims, while with the manual approach as described below, you replace the premade households (therefore you can, for example, also add or remove sims and change the household completely). So I guess the tutorial still has some limited use and might be interesting to those who would like to understand the process.

The basic process is rather simple:

Save the household that you want to use to your Library.

Create an empty package file and batch import the .householdbinary file of your household from your Tray folder.

Open the original premade household file as reference and replace all relevant household data entries in your file with those from the original file. As an optional step, you can also edit some of the sim related data.

Finally, you can also override the household thumbnails in a similar manner.

Below you will find more info elaborating on the steps.

1. Save the household that you want to use to your Library.

Create/modify the household that you want to use for the replacement and save it to your Library. As an alternative, download the household you want to use from the Gallery to your Library (naturally, make sure it’s ok with the creator in case it’s not your creation and you have intentions to share the mod).

Make sure that the household has all the info set-up before proceeding (like all outfits, genetic relationships, traits, likes & dislikes, jobs, skills).

Note that only household information that is transferred to and from the Library will be available. (This excludes, for example, any relationships to sims in other households as well as non-default relationship scores and sentiments. For the latter, there is an additional note at the end of the tutorial.) You can preview what information will be included by placing the household from your Library in game.

2. Create an empty package file and batch import the .householdbinary file of your household from your Tray folder.

Open Sims 4 Studio and create an empty package file:

Batch import the .householdbinary file from your Tray folder to your package file. If the household was saved last, you can just select the last householdbinary file in the list. (The Tray folder is located one level above your mods folder and contains all households, builds and rooms that you have saved to your Library. Each of those creations is composed of several files.)

When you imported the file, it should show up as a “Household Template” file in your package file.

3. Open the original premade household file as reference and replace all relevant household data entries in your file with those from the original file. As an optional step, you can also edit some of the sim related data.

Open the S4S Game File Cruiser:

Select “Household Template” as file type and look through the families listed to find the one you want to replace. If you know the Instance ID already you can also search by this ID.

Now, you need to replace/match all relevant household data entries with those from the original household files.

As a rule of thumb, you can replace all household specific entries that don’t match.

Some of the entries might not matter or are optional, I haven’t looked into the purpose of each. But you need to make sure that the original family is replaced and that your override is placed on the correct lot, so matching the corresponding IDs is necessary.

You can/should leave the “lastplayed_simid” as it is. The data for the individual sims can actually stay as it is, in general (some more info below).

“Last_modified_time” determines the order in which the household appears unter “Household Management”. Leaving it at zero made the household appear somewhere towards the end/in the middle of that menu, so I also chose to replace it.

Below I marked the entries that I matched. (The entries in your file can also depend on the way you saved the household to your library, e.g. directly from CAS, or from CAS after putting the family into game, or as a download from the Gallery.)

As an optional step, you can then also view and edit the data for each sim that is included in the household:

Click “Edit Items…” next to the field “sim” (towards the bottom of the window).

This will open another window that will list various data about each sim (SimData). There is a very long list of sim related data and I have only looked into some of it.

If you understand what you’re doing, you can edit some of this data if necessary, like skills, careers and basic family relationships. I would avoid that, however, and make sure to include all necessary info in-game beforehand.

Most of the data, including all referenced IDs can be left as they are, based on my testing. In particular, you don’t need to match the sim IDs to make the household replacement work.

Now one thing I noticed while testing was that sometimes the premade household would spawn on the lot across the street, when I entered a new save on that lot. When you save a household from the game to your library, there is actually some additional gameplay data included. Some of it seems to be responsible for location and spawning position of the sims. Interestingly, for the issue I mentioned, resetting the value in the field “serialization_option” to zero seems to solve it. The other data, that sounds related, doesn’t seem to change anything.

4. Finally, you can also override the household thumbnails in a similar manner.

Now there are 2 options to export the thumbnails of your household: You can batch export the thumbnails from the file “localthumbcache.package” or use the Sims 4 Tray Importer, which is usually my preferred method. You can read more about the process in my post here (go to the last part “5. EXTRACTING GALLERY PICTURES FOR EDITING PURPOSES”).

The file localthumbcache will give you all of the 5 generated thumbnail size options. The Sims 4 Tray Importer, which reads the info from the tray files, will give you two sizes – but you will also only need those two sizes, as those two are the ones used to display the family in “Household Management” later in game.

Similar as for the Household Template files you can then use the Game File Cruiser to look up the original household thumbnails. Reset the file type filter (that you set to “Household Template” previously) to include all file types and then use the Instance ID of the original Household to look up the related files (this is, for example, “01BD3F7EDED01430” for the Goth family; btw., due to EAs remake, there are also the old thumbnails that you can ignore - they are actually not functional anymore as they have a different/old group assigned).

Batch export the files from the Game File Cruiser. The exported files should have a composed name as in the example shown below. The marked numbers (0, 1, 2, 3 and 4) represent the thumbnail sizes. You will only need the sizes 2 and 3.

3BD45407!8CC76500!01BD3F7EDED01430.SimHouseholdThumbnail.png

3BD45407!8CC76501!01BD3F7EDED01430.SimHouseholdThumbnail.png

3BD45407!8CC76502!01BD3F7EDED01430.SimHouseholdThumbnail.png

3BD45407!8CC76503!01BD3F7EDED01430.SimHouseholdThumbnail.png

3BD45407!8CC76504!01BD3F7EDED01430.SimHouseholdThumbnail.png

Replace the names of your custom thumbnails with the ones above (make sure to match the size) and batch import your custom thumbnails of the relevant sizes to your package file.

Additional Note:

When you look through the set-up of the premade households, you might notice that the BG families have a slightly different set-up than the families from packs. The families that were added with packs come with a so called “PremadeSimTemplate” which is referenced in the SimData of the Household Template files. The PremadeSimTemplate again seems to be the linked to another file (”premade_sim_relationships” file) that is used to include advanced relationship information, like sentiments. Therefore, for example, the premade families from Cottage Living, actually, have some sentiments set up in advance. And you can use those set-ups to manipulate this kind of info for Non-BG families. Now, unfortunately, the same thing doesn’t seem to be possible for BG families, based on my testing.

@thefoxburyinstitute​

#tutorial #TS4 mods #overrides #replacements #premade household replacement #tutorials

[airasora]

Disney princess gowns from best to worst IMO

@little-bloodied-angel asked me what my favorite and least favorite Disney gowns were so it inspired me to ALSO make my first tier template ever, which you can try yourself HERE! Do reblog my post with your answer to it or tag me in your post if you want to share, I'm curious :D

Tiana

I LOVE this dress! It's got everything I would love in a princess gown: Big and poofy yet elegant, has flowers and leaves which gives it a forest feel and it sparkles! Only thing I'd change is the color cause I'm not a big fan of green, but for Tiana, it's obviously perfect.

Pocahontas

Yes, it's a sequel dress. Yes, it's not something Pocahontas would choose. Yes,l it represents some icky things, but if I look at JUST the dress and not what it represents, I freaking love it. What really sells it to me is that despite the colors being muted and elegant, there's turquoise elements in it which makes it stand out.

Jasmine

I HATE SHE ONLY WEARS THIS FOR A COUPLE OF MINUTES AND THEN NEVER AGAIN IN ANY OF THE GODDAMN SEQUELS! I love that Jasmine is a pants girl, but this purple dress is so freaking cute. It's less sexy than her normal outfit, but still sexy, I love purple and I honestly prefer these earrings in comparison to her normal ones that are just too chunky for my taste.

Anna

This might be the Scandinavian in me, but I love the patterns on Anna's dress. It's big and poofy at the bottom, but more loose and has room for movements due to the bare arms. It's formal without being stuffy.

Rapunzel

Her ending dress is grossly underrated and if anyone of you knows of a cosplayer who has made this dress irl, let me know cause I'd love to see this dress come to life. I think her normal dress is cute too, but this is utterly adorable.

Merida

I really like Merida's normal dress, but this is about the "gowns" and since this is the more formal attire she has, that's the one that had to be on the list. I do really like this one (as long as it wouldn't be so goddamn tight on her lol) It's simple and elegant, I love the blue and gold, and I love the simplicity of it until the very bottom where we get multi-colored gems and a really cute pattern.

Belle

We're getting to the "meh" tier now and it may come as a surprise to some of you that, despite my love for Belle, I don't care for her ballgown. One reason is that I straight up don't see Belle choosing that type of gown for herself. I know that "logically" she kinda just has to wear whatever is available, so whatever, but I genuinely don't think Belle would choose that dress for herself if she had completely free choice. And the other reason is that I just am not a big fan of yellow... most of the time. Not always. I've seen this dress in multiple different colors at this point (mostly because of my own experimentation) and I like it a lot more in almost every single other color.

Ariel

I don't mind this dress too much. I think it's cute... for Ariel. Pink looks really good on redheads, I like that it's big, but also somewhat muted. I like the long sleeves, but HATE the poofy shoulders. I despise puff sleeves, unless they're very controlled (like on Rapunzel). Her wedding dress is a million times worse though xD

Elsa

The dress that inspired the post to begin with... Elsa's ice gown. It's... fine. Could have had WAY more fun with the ice and snow theme so as it is it's a bit underwhelming. It's kinda cute... and that's it.

Mulan

I was neutral on Mulan's hanfu until I actually looked up hanfu to see more examples of it and then I started hating it. What the FUCK is this, Disney??? Literally the first 50 images that show up when you google "hanfu" are a million times more gorgeous than this. I don't want to step on any toes if I'm accidentally being culturally ignorant here, but judging this purely as a "princess dress"... it could just have been so much better. (Seriously, google "hanfu", holy crap can they be gorgeous!) I'm so mad at this one, I might edit Mulan into a different hanfu xD

Kida

... only thing I like about this one is the random cold shoulders. Or, well, not shoulders, it's more like part of the upper arms, but you know what I mean. It's just... wah.

Aurora

I don't care if it's pink or blue, it's boring. I like the stabbing potential from the shoulders, but that's it. It's too simple. And, again, look up princess gowns from this historic period and you'll see so many gorgeous dresses. Wasted opportunity.

Cinderella

I SWEAR I'm not hating on her dress just cause I don't like her xD Once again, it's just too boring. It's all just one color, there's close to no accessories, accents or just... something. With Belle's dress, there's at least bows and pearls to give it some more oomph. And while those puffy shoulders aren't a travesty like Ariel's are, they just look so fucking weird x'D

Snow White

WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS DRESS?! No, seriously, the one who designed it should have been fired the moment they proposed the color scheme. Baby yellow with dark blue and red... WHAT. This is a dress I've hated since I was a child, and my mom can confirm that. I hate it. There's not a single thing about it I like, I legit hate every single thing about this dress and absolutely nothing and no one can change my mind that this is the worst Disney dress PERIOD. Not just princesses, not just backgrounds characters, ALL DRESSES.

Check out my tier list for Disney princess casual outfits here!

#disney #gowns #disney dresses #disney princess gowns #tier

[papermint-airplane]

PSA for Papermint-Airplane

Please do not ask me for:

WCIFs. I have a hard time sourcing my CC. Unless I volunteer the information, assume that I don't know where I got X item, hair, etc. because I almost definitely do not.

My Sims. You are welcome to download any Sim available on the Base Sim Project but I will not be making my personal Sims available for download.

Save files. Same reason. I just don't want to share things I have made for personal use.

My CC folder. In the past, I have shared CC from defunct sites or difficult to find CC with close friends but it's not something I want to make a habit of, especially concerning CC from creators who have expressed their wishes not to have their CC uploaded as a part of a CC folder. I realize now that I shouldn't be running that risk even for friends. To keep from breaking anyone's TOS, I will no longer share any of my CC folders.

Custom Sims. I have extremely limited time to play my game due to my full time job, health, and other real life commitments. I am lucky if I get as much as an hour to play some days. When time is that limited, I just want to engage in my hobby for myself without pressure.

Updates on certain stories/families/etc. As of right now, due to time and health, consider all of my series on hiatus. I am having a hard time finding the excitement and passion I had to update those stories right now. I'm sure they'll return in the future when things have settled, but I have no way of knowing when that will be. Please respect that and don't pressure me for updates. Hobbies are supposed to be fun and there are parts of my hobby that aren't fun to me right now.

Blog layout changes. I am working on changing a few things around to make them more accessible but I am not planning on making any big template or color changes, etc. I just don't have the time or know how to do that.

I hope this doesn't come off as me whining or being mean. I do love this community and I enjoy being a part of it, but lately I have been getting some requests that I have initially agreed to because I want to make everyone happy but I am not able to fulfill those requests due to my circumstances at the moment. I am simply not able to please everyone and myself. I just want to engage in my hobby in the way that I want without feeling pressured or like I am letting people down. I feel like I've been spreading myself too thin, starting projects I'm unable to finish for whatever reason and I feel like a failure for having so many abandoned things. Please respect my wishes and don't ask for these things unless I say it's ok to do so.

Thank you for your time and understanding.

#just simblr things #sims community