🍑  :    how meticulously does my muse look after their physical appearance?  do they spend a lot of time on their hair,  makeup,  grooming,  and clothing?  is there a particular reason why they do or don’t? 

When Mel was a teenager he actually cared a lot, probably too much, about his appearance.

Serena would make jokes about the fact that he needed twice as long in the bathroom as her just to do his hair alone. That was slightly exaggerated on her end though.

To Mel focusing on his appearance was mainly an attempt to get his insecurities and dislike for himself under control. He had certain (sometimes rather conflicting) images in his head of how he wanted or was supposed to look but despite his best efforts he could never quite get it right.

These days Mel isn't really in a position to focus or at the very least do anything about his appearance, given his living situation. It's still on his mind from time to time though...it's a complicated subject all around for him.

The only time he sees himself is in the crusty bathroom mirrors of public toilets or when he passes a storefront window, and while he doesn't go out of his way to avoid it he's still not overly keen on perceiving himself.

Nowadays he switches between being completely disconnected from his appearance to  feeling immense shame and self hatred to getting a grim kind of gratification from that.

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Lyall

🥝  :    does my muse have any  ‘  unusual  ’  habits,  interests,  and  /  or talents?  do they hide it,  or are they proud of it? 

Lyall almost has a sixth sense for people. He can observe a person and assess how they feel, what they fear, what they want, what they need. And 9 our of 10 times he's correct with his assumption.

Although he perceives it as a gift (as well as a curse) to some degree he's still not proud of it for two reasons

1) it has a pretty grim background. It mostly stems from the fact that he had to assess his surroundings almost constantly as a child. Being able to read the room was necessary for survival to him.

2) He feels that being proud of it would cloud his judgement and hinder him more than anything.

He's also got a knack for solving riddles, puzzles, brain teasers of any kind. (Something he used to annoy Alev with on occasion when she was still a kid)

Again, not something he's particularly proud of. Although he thinks it speaks for his ability to think outside the box and not take everything at face value, which he definitely is proud of although he probably wourdn't admit it.

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Roland

🥭  :    how important to my muse is their hometown,  or where they’re from?  are they proud of it,  or considered a hometown hero?  did they move away,  or do they wish to?

Roland has always been a bit of an involuntary drifter at heart. He finds it difficult to build connections to places.

The city he was born in, Omsk he has absolutely no connection towards anymore. He moved away from there when he was very young and he's only been there once since, because he wanted to know what it's like. But it just didn't feel like home to him.

Dublin, where he grew up, also doesn't have much meaning too him anymore.

His parents cast him out after his discharge from the military which basically eradicated any feeling of home he had for this place.

Roland

Regardless of whether or not they wield any, what kind of weapon do you associate them with?

It's a draw between a gun (handgun or rifle) and a knife for him. Both have relevance in Roland's life.

The gun being more of a reminder of destructive elements in Roland's life, hunting trips with his dad as a child, his time in the army, and his time he spent in the US afterwards...which were all not very great experiences to him.

And the knife being something Roland connects with more pleasant and creational experiences, carving wood for example.

Mel

Which of the seven deadly sins are they associated with? Is it a negative trait of theirs or something they actively struggle with?

Sloth

Pretty self explanatory. Mel most of the time lacks the energy and drive to do...pretty much anything, apart from maybe the bare necessities, but even that is a gamble in his case. He tends to let things slide until either somebody else takes care of them for him or they become a huge problem.

Which of the seven heavenly virtues are they associated with? Do they embody that virtue or are they trying to learn it?

Humility

In Mel's case humility is not really a virtue, since it's rather extreme to a point of self loathing sometimes, but still.

He's the last person to view himself as superior to others in any way.

Mabon

Which of the seven deadly sins are they associated with? Is it a negative trait of theirs or something they actively struggle with?

Wrath (what a surprise)

Anger is a strong emotion for Mabon that is almost always present in some way. To Mabon his anger is both, a result of trauma as well as, in a strange way, a subconscious way to emotionally detach or distance himself from it.

Its also a very strong driving force to him.

Which of the seven heavenly virtues are they associated with? Do they embody that virtue or are they trying to learn it?

Diligence

He likes it a little bit rougher, but to a very minor degree. And he can also be surprisingly gentle, although he might be a bit clumsy in that case. It's like his efforts to...sort of hold back his rough exterior for his partner take up a huge part of his focus.

Whether he's dominant or more submissive also really depends on his partner for him.

Just like in other areas of life, he's not a big talker...he might crack a self deprecating joke to ease the tension a bit every now and then. So if you don't take yourself, or him, or sex too seriously that's definitely a plus.

He's not good at romance though...he really won't be acting much different than he does in non-sexual situations. Apart from the obvious sexual aspects of the situation and the fact that he will be a bit more mild and (perhaps) vulnerable.

11. Who’s the most important person in their life?

Although he would never want to admit it...Mel. Dude doesn't have many close people in his life. And he does care for him although he'd rather stab himself with a fork than let him know.

17. What’s the most ridiculous thing they’ve ever spent money on?

This book.

He hasn't even read it yet but ...everything about it made him feel obligated to buy it.

26. What’s one topic they could never get tired of researching or learning about?

Languages, as previously mentioned. That's pretty much it. He really isn't the type to actively research its more a "picking up things on the side by accident" sorta thing for him.

30. What’s their political stance?

He tries to stay out of that shit. He's very much anti government still, or at least thinks that most politicians are pretentious wankers who suck at their job...but what can ya do.

Roland:

40. What do other people find annoying about them, if anything?

Roland doesn't really show much enthusiasm in conversations...even with topics that actually interest him. He's really not good at keeping conversations going so unless you like the sound of your own voice shit can get frustrating really quickly if all you get as a reply is a bunch of Uh-huh." " Mhm..." "Yes." and "...I see."

41. What do other people love most about them?

That is especially appreciated by people who visit his bar. He doesn't judge. He stays out of your hair. If you're nice to him he's nice to you, that's all that really matters to him.

54. What’s their body count, if they have one?

Zero. From what he knows.

His time in the army was very short lived. He joined when he was 18 and left after roughly 1 year under a medical discharge. (he basically broke down)

Although he was stationed in an active war zone for a while he is fairly certain he is not directly responsible for any deaths. Then again the whole situation was absolute hell for him and the details are blurry at this point.

(Keeping this one a bit vague cuz I am basing it on a real event to some degree without enough knowledge and/ or experience to do it justice and I don't wanna be disrespectful)

58. If they could change one thing about their life, what would it be?

Being born.

10. What lie do they most frequently remember telling? Does it haunt them?

Mel doesn't really lie if he can avoid it, apart from the occasional white lie. He's more prone to just withhold things.

Most frequently that was the case shortly before he ran away from the residental home he lived in with Serena and Roy, he didn't tell anyone about how he was struggling mentally at the time, mainly because he was confused about it and feared judgement, until he couldn't conceal the severity of his mental state anymore which caused pretty strong tensions between him and Roy (sorry for keeping it so vague, but that'll have to do for now)

That does haunt him quite a bit, in fact he knows had he been more open and seeked proper help during that time a lot of things in his life would have turned for the better.

31. Who are they the most glad to have met?

Serena, definitely. A few years ago he would have said her and Roy but at this point he deeply regrets meeting him, also for Roy's sake.

Mabon

11. How do they cope with confusion (seek clarification, pretend they understand, etc)?

If the confusion directly affects him, he will seek clarification first and foremost. However he would do so while basically belittling who or whatever confused him.

This incorrect quote is a pretty good example :

33. Could they be considered lazy?

Oooff, I don't think so. He's more...how do I put this...incredibly uncooperative when it comes to doing tasks he himself deems unnecessary or doesn't want to do.

He's the kinda guy that would clean the entire fucking flat if he's bored enough, and he doesn't mind getting his hands dirty to achieve his goals...in contrast however if somebody *coughs*Serena*coughs* would ask him to get up and get the remote from a meter away he probably couldn't be arsed....you get the picture...

Simon

18. What embarrasses them?

Simon is not the type to embarass easily, quite the contrary. Even Uli can't get him to embarass and god knows he tried. I like to think so at least xD

I think the one thing that can embarass him or make him uncomfortable is starting drama or conflict over him, which has happened in the past.

23. How does envy manifest itself in them (they take what they want, they become resentful, etc)?

Nothing like that. He used to be quite envious and bitter when he was younger, which mainly stemmed from a deep dissatisfaction with himself. Every now and then it still shines through. But he's found a good way to deal with it is just trying his best to be happy for the person, and expressing that. It somehow makes the feeling of envy almost nonexistent for him.

Roy

6. Do they consider laws flexible, or immovable?

Roy thinks laws are made for a good reason, and he doesn't really doubt the justice system. I dare to say if you chose a career path with the police that's probably a given, at least to some.

However I think one reason for that is that he's had the privilege so far of being spared from experiencing what it's like if the justice system fails you.

12. How do they deal with an itch found in a place they can’t quite reach?

He'd probably try to ignore it at first and if push comes to shove (and if no ones looking) use a pen or ruler or something similar to help him out

Dolores

36. Do they actively seek romance, or do they wait for it to fall into their lap?

Dolores is very passive when it comes to romantic interactions of any kind . Part of her is still caught up in this delusion that her Prince Charming will show up to woo her one day. The other part thinks she isn't good enough for anyone anyway so she wouldn't even dare to make advances with anyone. So yeah, she's kinda waiting for it to fall into her lap, but even if that were to happen chances are she wouldn't realize.

Roland

(poor guy still doesn't have an a proper Avatar but I've been spamming his face for the last six months so I guess that evens it out)

B What inspired you to create them?

Honestly...I'm not entirely sure. Roland is one of these characters that sorta created himself and I just kinda rolled with it...get it? Rolled...?

I'll show myself out.

The initial reason for his creation was that I felt like Mel was lacking a "parental figure" of sorts. And to be quite honest I felt like I was lacking a parental figure in the story as well to express certain things I wanted to express.

20. If they were asked to explain the difference between romantic and platonic or familial love, how would they do so?

He'd probably need a lot of of time to think of a good answer. In fact I doubt that he would really come up with something apart from "You're asking the wrong person mate" and a shrug.

The way he sees it...I doubt he would say it like that though.. is that familial love is unconditional or at least should be whereas platonic love is not...and romantic love is just platonic love + attraction and sex.

Serena

G What trait of theirs bothers you the most?

She can be very dominating at times. To a degree where its almost overwhelming to other people, without her really being aware of it. Especially with Mel, although it's not always noticeable since he's not very vocal about his needs but Serena has the tendency to just decide for him or put him in situations that she thinks are good for him (she tried to hook him up with multiple people from their school without him really giving his okay for example) while he himself is either lowkey uncomfortable with it or just goes along with it because it's the path of least resistance.

I dare to say Serena has improved a lot in that regard since she was a teenager and especially right now, after meeting Mel again for the first time in ages, she wouldn't pull those stunts but it's still an unhealthy tendency on her end, even if she means well.

13. What color do they think they look best in? Do they actually look best in that color?

Serena doesn't really have a colour that suits her the most in her book, however she thinks she looks horrible in yellow...and red (although she really likes red)

I personally think she looks good in any colour, I particularly like her in white though.

38. What memory do they revisit the most often?

1. Do they put the milk or the cereal first in the bowl?

Cereal first, anything else would be mayhem to her.

2. What do they wear to bed?

Depends on the weather. She tends to sleep naked or at least topless in summer, and usually opts for a random tshirt and sweatpants when it's cold.

3. Do they sing in the shower? What’s their go-to song (or karaoke song)?

Yes, much to her brother's dismay, cuz quite frankly she sounds like a dying cat. She just sings along to whatever comes up in her playlist. But her current favourite shower song is probably Miracle by Caravan Palace.

4. Right-handed or left-handed?

Right handed.

5. What is their preferred caffeine source and how do they take it?

There isn't anything with caffeine she dislikes.

She mainly goes for coffee of any kind (usually standard milk coffee, or Starbucks if she's feeling fancy) and Rockstar Energy Drinks.

6. What are their sleep habits like?

She's a pretty heavy sleeper. She sometimes has trouble going to bed on time though and tends to stay up till late in the night, but that's mainly because the night is like her only source of free time on a work day.

7. What song is likely to be in their Most Played list?

Elbow - Grounds For Divorce

It's her all time favourite song.

8. How do they relax after a stressful day?

Get takeout and do a movie marathon (preferably with Mel and/or Simon)

9. What do they do first thing in the morning?

She has coffee in the living room and listens to music, if she is not in a hurry. Otherwise she just brushes her teeth, showers and does her hair, sometimes everything more or less at once because she has no time management.

10. What’s the last thing they do before they go to bed?

Probably put on a playthrough on YouTube to watch/listen to until she dozes off.

11. Do they have any addictions (or former addictions)?

She's been a smoker since she was 13 and she has a teesy tiny energy drink addiction.

13. What are their bad habits?

Being late, being messy af, putting the needs of the people close to her above her own.

14. What’s something they have to do everyday (besides eating/taking medications/basic self-care)?

Nothing comes to mind.

15. Are there any phrases or gestures they overuse?

"Ya know? " she uses that phrase way too often.

She also had a phase where she would put "hella" in front of every word.

16. What do they keep in their pockets/bag/glove compartment?

A random assortment of half smoked cigarettes, keys, cellphone, hand lotion, a stress ball, a can of Rockstar, 2 lighters, her wallet...thats about it.

Philosophy for Simon:

1. Do they believe in soulmates or fate?

He doesn't believe in soulmates. Although he very much likes the idea.

As for Fate...Sort of. He likes to believe things happen for a reason, but that also comes from him having learnt to accept past things as they are. He likes to think everyone is capable of shaping their own destiny, however he doesn't deny the fact there are certain things that are simply out of our control.

2. Do they believe they have a destiny? What is it?

Kinda answered above already I guess

3. What are five things that always make them happy?

Sex

Nature

Ecstasy (preferably in combination with sex)

Singing

Spending time with friends

4. What is the quickest way to their heart?

Honestly...just be yourself, be authentic, be weird. He has a soft spot for people who don't fit the norm.

5. What’s one thing they would change about themselves?

Nothing much...he wouldn't mind some alterations in the downstairs department. But as of now he's unsure about bottom surgery. He's heard too many bad things about it.

6. If they had three wishes (standard genie rules apply) what would they wish for?

Uff now that is a tough one. Honestly, I think Simon would be quite overwhelmed with the possibilities there.

In the end he'd probably only wish for one thing. Because...too much responsibility.

He'd wish for his wish to not come true. Just to see what would happen.

7. What are their views on death?

The thought of death tends to unsettle him more than he likes to admit. It's not that he's scared of death but it's a subject he's pondered about endlessly and that kind of makes him border on an existential crisis and makes him question the sense in life. 'People die, he will die, there's nothing he can do about it so better not dwell on it' is the conclusion he came to.

8. What do they value above all else?

Curiosity, people who question and want to explore the world around them, openness, empathy, love...to name a few things.

I don't think he could settle for just one thing if he tried.

9. Are they superstitious?

He's a fairly logical person all in all, so no. Although his beliefs might make people think otherwise sometimes.

If anything he likes to defy superstitions for the sole purpose of disliking how much power they have over some people. (if he were to get a cat for example he would go with a black one out of spite. )

10. Do they have a creed or code that they live by?

Yes and no. I'd say the only thing he strictly lives by is is to avoid violence whenever he can. And to step away from anger and conflict for his own well being.

There are a few things that helped shape his general outlook on life and life philosophy...but not nearly enough to be considered a code or guide line.

Other for Roland:

[I don't have a proper picture for Roland yet, sorry Dx]

1. Can they ride a bike? A skateboard? A horse?

He can ride a bike. (What a surprise)

2. How would their best friend describe them?

He's a pretty private person and keeps most people at arms length. He doesn't really have any friends left at this point.

Most people would describe him as intimidating as fuck at first glance, looks like he eats small children for breakfast, incredibly hard to figure out (due to a constant poker face) all in all a good guy though, actually kind of awkward, but can probably still fuck you up if you give him a reason to.

3. What’s something they do to indulge or treat themselves?

Cigarettes and Whiskey (although both is more of a necessity than an indulgence at this point).

4. Would they rather be a pirate, a cowboy, a ninja, or an astronaut?

Probably a cowboy, he kinda fits that aesthetic already. But he'd be more of a lone rider type. And he'd have a Donkey instead of a horse. Mel is the donkey.

5. What would they name their children (or pets if they wouldn’t want children)?

The last thing he ever wanted was kids (lol)

And he doesn't give a flying fuck about names. Chances are he's already forgotten your name after your first conversation and will just never adress you with it anymore, simple as that.

(Got him into a lot of trouble with women in his life)

Lyall

2. How long was the process before the character reached its final version? (or a version that would be clearly recognizable as the character?)

Incredibly long. I talked about his process a bit in my "silver children post" and most of it still rings true:

"Lyall's character has been in the making for quite some time and he has given me a fuckin headache throughout most of that process. But it's also been an incredibly interesting experience. He's went through a shit ton of changes. "

I think the biggest challenge for me was that I wanted him to look likeable...but also like someone you don't wanna fuck with.

I wanted to create a character who has the ability to draw people in, make them look up to him, despite being in need of guidance himself deep down, someone who generally has good intentions or ideals but is pushed into straying from those by his environment and lack of proper support and I wanted his looks to match that in a way.

When I initially tweaked all my Sims big time in like 2019 I had real issues finding a fitting look/ face for Lyall that didn't make him look hella unsympathetic. It took until I watched my sister play Detroit Become Human, I found the character Markus portrayed by Jesse Williams to kind of fit the vibe I was going for and sorta went from there.

Details like his eye prosthetic, and face tattoo were more of an accident/ me just working with what I had. I remember the only reason I removed his eye was because I initially fucked up his eye texture, but at this point he looks sorta naked to me without either xD

Truth is i'm still not 100% satisfied with the way he looks in sims, I'm probably gonna tweak him a bit more before he becomes a more essential character. But I'm very content with his general appearance and don't wanna change that. I'm also happy I manage to recreate him in other games fairly well (unlike Mel xD)

9. How big is their role in the story? Do they make a frequent appearance or are they a character with little "screentime" but big influence? Or are they just a favourite background guy?

His role in Volatile is actually rather big, although it might not seem like that at this point. I wouldn't even know what to label his role in the story, I'd say at some point he becomes the main antagonist of sorts. Then again that's subjective in my opinion.

He will make a lot of appearances in the Volatile memory chapters that explain what happened to Mel after he ran away from the children's home, and those chapters will also introduce a major story arc in the present chapters (that I won't dive into just yet) that goes beyond Mel's more introspective storyline.

He will also make more major appearances at the end of Volatile (which I'll doubt I'll ever reach but oh well)

Serena

3.What was the first thing you decided on, the character's name, appearance, personality or their role in the story?

The first thing I decided on Serena was weirdly enough that she would have the pyromaniac trait You know that hidden trait you get in sims 3 if you have a child with a firefighter?

Basically when I created my Death Note knock off orphanage, I wanted all the kids to have unique or special abilities of some sort...and Serena had the ability to start fires from nothing while Roy had the ability to control them (a pattern that is still kind of present with them in other areas of life I'd say.)

Obviously she doesn't have that trait anymore nor does she have any pyromanic tendencies, apart from maybe fiddling excessively with her lighter every now and then but it's what got her character creation rolling.

The second thing was her appearance, which I've upgraded since then but really hasn't changed that much. Especially her teenage version. She even has the same hairstyle Serena had when I first created her xD

4. And reverse, which one of the four things did you struggle with the most?

I remember really struggling getting her skin texture just right. It took a lot of blending and tweaking until I reached a point where I was like yep, this is it.

Roland

7. What is an aspect of their appearance that you like the most?

Hard to say tbh, there's nothing I really dislike about his appearance (apart from my shoddy skin making maybe)

If I had to choose I'd probably say his eyes. I think they're hella expressive.

16. Is there any memes or running jokes associated with the character, both in- and out of universe?

There are a few I'd say xD

For one, his inability to keep swear words out of his vocabulary or censoring himself last minute and generally being a rather unconventional role model in front of smol Mel is a running joke with him I very much enjoy.

Then there's an endless debate between Mel and Serena about what his neck tattoo means. Serena is convinced that it stands for "swift vent kick" aka kicking someone in the crotch. While Mel assumes it's the name of a sniper rifle. Neither of them know for sure though and they have never dared to ask.

As for outside memes...i can't help but think of Roland whenever I see the Ben Affleck smoking meme.

You know this one