clarkes-and-god

[clarkes-and-god]

"Mandy, sweetheart, what are you doing up? It's late, you need to go to bed."

"I was thirsty, Mommy, I was gonna get some water. But are you ok? You look sad. Is it about Daddy?"

"Sweetheart, don't worry about it, this is for grown-ups. I'm ok, you just get your water and go back to bed."

"I want to know about it, though. Look, the letter says "Tobias", that's Daddy's name! Is it from the jail?"

"Mandy, it's my letter, you shouldn't be reading it. Go get your water and-"

"Stop covering it! It says "an extension of four months has been added to Clarke’s sentence". He's not gonna be home for ages! Why didn't you want to tell me that?"

"I was going to tell you and your brother tomorrow. I just wanted to read the letter by myself first."

"This isn't fair! You said he was gonna be home before Christmas, and now he isn't! They can't just change it like that!"

"Sweetheart, I know you're upset, but Daddy made a silly decision, and this is what happens when you make silly decisions in jail."

"But I wanted Daddy to be here at Christmas! I don't want them to change it! This is stupid! The people who made the letter are stupid, and they need to change it back! I want Daddy back!"

"I know you're upset, Mandy, but we can't really do anything about it. And I think Daddy would want you to stop yelling, because you're gonna wake up everyone. You're a good girl, remember?"

"Fine. But they're not gonna do this again, right? They're not gonna keep Daddy in jail for ever and ever?"

"Of course not, sweetheart."

"And when he's done, he's still gonna come and live with us again?"

"Mhm. Don't worry about that, sweetie."

[clarkes-and-god]

"Hey doll, you know about Michael, my friend? He was the best man at our wedding."

"Yes honey, you've told me about him before."

"I haven't seen him in ages so I've invited him and his wife to Thanksgiving at our place, so it's gonna be 6 people coming over."

"What? We're having Thanksgiving here? I thought we were going to your parents' house?"

"Oh, well, we were, but Michael and Eliska and their daughter need somewhere to stay, and I couldn't really just offer them my parents' house like that. And we've got a nice dining room, so I thought we may as well just do it here."

"Farris, it's Saturday. Thanksgiving is next Thursday. I really don't think that's enough time to organize this."

"What? That's almost a whole week, and the stores are all still open! You do not need that much time to plan one dinner."

"But everyone else in the country is also having a Thanksgiving dinner this week, so everything is gonna be sold out. And I've been really tired recently, with the baby."

"Oh my God, that's not an excuse. Most women have to work when they're pregnant, you know? You've been sat at home doing nothing the entire time, and now you're being difficult when I ask you to do one thing."

"Honey, I wouldn't have minded if you told me a little earlier, but I don't even know where I can get a turkey this late. Are you sure that we can't do Thanksgiving at your parents' house and Michael and his family can sleep over here or something?"

"Look, I've already told my parents what's happening, and this really isn't that difficult. You're just lazy if you can't figure out how to cook one nice meal with a week's notice, and you need to get your act together and stop complaining that I want you to get off your ass and do something productive instead of making stupid Instagram videos."

"I'll do it, I'm just worried I won't be able to do everything I need to in time."

"Stop complaining about it then if you're going to do it. I'm not sure if you realise but when you have the baby, you'll have to look after it and that takes work too. I have no idea how you'll be a good mom if you can't even do something little like this."

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry. I'll do it."

[clarkes-and-god]

how i feel when i get 4 notes on a post

[clarkes-and-god]

"When will Mommy be back? Is she ok?"

"She's ok, Nevie, she's gonna be back in ten minutes. She's just getting milk and stuff for breakfast, remember?"

"But it's all dark and rainy now! There might be lightning! Then Mommy gets zapped. Or she gets lost and it's dark."

"There's not gonna be any lightning, I don't think it's a thunderstorm. And Mom's got a flashlight on her phone, and she's wearing her jacket, so she's gonna be ok."

"But I want Mommy here! I don't like rain! And what if a bad guy comes and Mommy's not here?"

"Then I'll protect you guys, and you'll be ok! I'd protect Mom too, if a bad guy came in. Like, I'd punch him in the face, and he'd probably fall over and then I could punch him more. And I'm the second fastest boy in my grade, so he won't be able to outrun me and get to you guys!"

"I don't want the bad guy! Is a bad guy coming now?"

"No, you don't need to cry like that! Mom's coming back and there's no bad guy coming now. I'm just saying that if a bad guy did come, I'd punch him, and then you and Mandy and Mom would be all safe. And Travis would be safe too, but if it happens when he's older like me, then he can help me fight the bad guy.

"We have to fight the bad guy?"

"Don't worry about it Nevie, you'll be ok. I'm always gonna make sure you and Mom and Mandy are safe, so you don't need to think about bad guys."

[clarkes-and-god]

Cherish's Diary:

I'm so confused after that Bible study. Why would following the Bible not be a good thing? The women at this church seem nice, but I don't understand how they could just say we don't have to follow the commandments of the Bible. Why would they be in the Bible if we weren't meant to follow them? I know my parents would say it's heretical, or they're lukewarm Christians. But I was thinking about what they said, and maybe they have a point?

Sarah said that maybe people who have strict rules in their family or church end up doing stuff because they don't want to be punished, not because they think it's pleasing to God. Surely that's not good, since then they're thinking about what people think of them more than what God wants them to do. But then I don't think you can just ignore parts of the Bible because of that? I don't know, it's a lot to think about. But I'll keep seeing these ladies and going to the Bible study, I think. They've been so sweet to me and I don't think they'd mean it in a bad way, even if they are wrong.

[clarkes-and-god]

"We're all so glad you could join us this week, Cherish! You're the first lady to join while the group has been running, you know? It's just been Sarah, Maria, and me so far."

"Yeah, I hope you enjoy it as much as we all do. And Faith was telling me that two of your kids go to the Sunday School; my eldest, Ella, does too and I think it'll be great to have someone else with school age kids. Faith and Maria's kids are still little, and it's such a different season of life, you know?"

"It is, totally. And thank you all for the invitation to join you. Since we've moved, I've been kinda worried about if there would even be active churches here. So it's really, uh, encouraging, for there to be stuff like this."

"I'm so glad you're finding it encouraging! We should probably move on to Galatians 5, though. While I was reading, I found how it talks about the freedom to be found in Christ to be really powerful. Like, we've already received God's grace, so we don't need to be bound by all these rules. And even though I don't believe our church environment is legalistic, I still think this is such an important message for everyone, really. We can apply it to so many situations in our lives."

"That's such a good point, Faith. I totally agree that it comes up so much in our lives. On social media, I see so many people who seem to be pretty legalistic in their faith, and it really hurts my heart to see them promoting that to other people, as a healthy way to live. I think getting hung up on these arbitrary rules, which are mostly not even in scripture, gets in the way of your relationship with Jesus, and it's so easy to fall into."

"I think I'm a little confused. Are you saying we shouldn't follow the commandments in the Bible? Because like, I don't wanna argue, but I don't think God would have put them in the Bible if we weren't meant to follow them. It even says in Galatians 5 that the flesh goes against the spirit. So surely that means we need to obey the Bible even if we don't want to, or it's difficult."

"Well, I see where you're coming from with that, Cherish, but I think what we're talking about is when following commandments is given too much importance. I think it's pretty clear in this passage that loving our neighbours and the fruits of the spirit are more important than specific rules and customs. If we get stuck in rules, then I think it's easy to forget other stuff, like God's grace and mercy for us. I've heard about these churches where they won't even let women wear pants because of how they interpret verses about not wearing "men's clothing", and it really sounds like they believe people's salvation depends on following rules like that and not their faith in Jesus, which would be going against scripture."

"Uhm, my family doesn't really encourage ladies to wear pants, and the church we went to in Brindleton Bay doesn't either. Deuteronomy 22:5 says it's an abomination to wear men's clothing as a woman. 1 Timothy 2:9 says ladies should dress modestly, and my Dad taught us that dresses are more modest since you can't see your legs, and you act like a lady when you wear them. I guess I get what you're saying about salvation being because you have faith in Jesus, but if we have faith in Him, then we need to love him, and that means following the commandments, even when you don't like them or if you don't understand why you have to."

"Oh, goodness. Well, uh, I'm sorry for speaking like that, I didn't mean to say your family isn't following the Bible or anything, if it came off like that. But I just struggle with really specific rules. Like, if you and the women in your family feel convicted to wear skirts, then I think that's great, because you're doing it to please God. But if churches and families are making it into a rule, or they're making anything else like that into a rule, then I feel like maybe people wouldn't be doing it to please God. They'd just be doing it so they're not punished, or made to feel bad by the church or the community. You get me?"

"I guess. I mean, I don't think that's what's going on at my old church, or in the family, but like, I dunno."

[clarkes-and-god]

"Hi Daddy! How are you and Momma doing? I'm sorry I haven't called yet this week, we've just been so busy."

"We've been fine, thank you. Esther has invited us to have Thanksgiving dinner at her house, it'll be good to see you then. Will Tobias be able to come?"

"Oh, well, I was kinda thinking that we'd do Thanksgiving here, and we could go see Tobias too. He doesn't get out until just after."

"Really, Cherish? Esther told me you said you'd be coming to Thanksgiving. I thought we raised you better than to lie like that."

"Uh, I don't really remember saying that. And we would love to come to see you all, but I don't it's possible."

"It's a family holiday! I think it's reasonable for me to expect you to come and see us, even if you need to put a tiny bit of effort in."

"Daddy, I can't drive, and a taxi for all 5 of us costs like $250 to just go one way. We really can't spend $500 on just going to Thanksgiving right now. Tobias will be back by Christmas, and then we'll be able to come up since he can drive us."

"Your priorities have just been all wrong lately. How come you had $250 to go move away from your family, but you don't have it now we just want to see you and the kids?"

"Daddy, I budgeted for that Uber when I was planning to move. I haven't budgeted to spend $500 on two Ubers for Thanksgiving. I would love to see you all but I don't have the money."

"I can't believe your attitude. You'd come and see us all if you cared that much about it."

"I really wish we could Daddy, but I don't think it's gonna happen, I'm sorry. We'll definitely try to come down for Christmas though, Tobias might like that. I've got to go now, I think Travis has woken up from his nap, but I'm really sorry about this and I love you."

"Bye."

[clarkes-and-god]

Thank you to everyone who got me to 5000 likes!

hell yeah! shout out to @vicardi-the-fool who’s spent today liking all my stuff and got me over the milestone lmao.

[clarkes-and-god]

Something I found on Twitter that really puts things in perspective as a creator.

[clarkes-and-god]

"Thank you so much for having us, I know it must have been such a hassle, so it's really very sweet of you guys to have us over."

"You're alright, it's really not that big of a deal, I always make way too much pasta anyway. And it's nice to see you, we haven't really talked properly before. How are you finding Evergreen Harbor?"

"It's really nice! Our new apartment is really good for the kids, and I like how we're so much closer to everything so walking's easier. The school seems good too, Mandy was telling me she's in the same class as June, does she like school?"

"She prefers lunchtime and her friends to the actual educational stuff, but that's just kids for you! And I've gotta say I agree with you about Brindleton Bay, from what I've seen when we visited. Everything's too spread out, it's not practical if you need to go anywhere. But I was brought up in San Myshuno, so maybe I'm biased. Oh, and talking about Brindleton Bay, if you’re not travelling up for Thanksgiving, you’re welcome to join us here. Miriam’s aunts are coming, but we have room for all of you guys if you wanna come. It’d be good to have you.”

"That’s so sweet of you! I’ll think about it, that might be good! Are you sure you don't need me to help with the cooking? I could start on the pasta if you want."

"Nope, you don't have to do that. You're a guest, and you've got Travis with you. I don't want you to have to put him down if it'll upset him."

"He'd be fine, you don't have to worry. I could go get Miriam if you want her to do it instead?"

"Christ, no. Look, I'm a pretty decent cook, and I enjoy cooking. I'm yet to have any complaints on the spaghetti and meatballs that I'm currently making. If Miriam was to cook, we'd have complaints from both Miriam and anyone who had to eat what she made. I love her but she's not a good cook, which is fine. She hates cooking. Besides, she's busy checking on the kids now."

"Uh I'm sorry if I upset you, Bowie. I didn't mean to. I guess I just thought that maybe-"

"You didn't upset me, don't worry about it. I'm sorry that I gave you the idea that I'm upset. I just wanted to explain, I really like cooking. And I don't get upset that easily, so like, you can chill out."

"I see. That's really nice of you, Bowie. I mean, that's like a lot of work that you don't really have to do."

[clarkes-and-god]

updates on summer posting!

hey guys! this post is being written from a christian summer camp in a part of america that looks pretty similar to brindleton bay! i’m working here over the summer and im having the best time (despite similarities previously mentioned these people are much nicer than 90% of the characters in my story). unfortunately not being a minimally employed brit for the next 2.5 months has had an impact on my posting schedule but you can expect a post from my queue every week or maybe every ten days. this will start within a week, as soon as i have time to iron out a couple issues with the writing and i’m not so exhausted that i pass out the minute i get to my bed.

anyways i hope you all have a great summer and semi-normal posting should resume soon!

if it helps i’m already pretty certain this experience is gonna make my american dialogue so much better. and i’m working when i get back but i will actually have days off, unlike during my exams, so posting should be good then!

[clarkes-and-god]

are you still gonna be posting the Clarks?

yes i am! actually hopefully going to be posting once per week this summer and then more regularly in september. if these plans change i’ll definitely let you guys know.

i love the clarkes and i’ve been working on some stuff but unfortunately i’ve had A-levels and i’m travelling this summer so i’ve been super busy! sorry to have just ghosted u guys!

[clarkes-and-god]

(from under-the-eye for the ask game) B8, C1 for Bethesda, D3, F5

Apologies for the wait! Thank you for asking!

Do you keep your sims on a routine, or is it constant chaos?

I do love a routine! Most of my big families have the mom and older girls waking up at like 4am so I can have everyone have a cooked breakfast at 7am, and potty train all the toddlers and feed infants before that. I get all the kids washed after breakfast, and Mom and Dad before that -- the mom generally gets ready before the dad wakes up (you've gotta stay pretty for your husband blah blah blah) and the dad obviously needs to be ready for work. The actual day is less structured but I try have the kids do something that looks a bit like homeschool (music and reading the Bible) if they're not looking after the little ones and fixing broken items, depending on gender. I try get another cooked meal in for dinner too, but bedtime is often a bit chaotic.

Would Bethesda say they were happy, if asked? Are they happy?

She would definitely say she was happy, because her parents treated any other answer as a sin when she was younger, and that's stuck with her. She also definitely isn't that happy though. Cooper and Zizi's doomsday prepper thing isn't a great combination with her anxious personality, and I'm sure she feels they've got to constantly aim for a higher standard of both physical and spiritual preparation so that her entire family doesn't die horribly. So she's not the most relaxed person ever. But I would say that her and Fabian have a relatively happy relationship for fundies. Maybe they find the threat of imminent disaster to be a unifying force for them?

What's your favorite character, storyline or moment from another Fundie Simblr?

Answered here!

If you had to describe yourself with an aspiration + traits, what would they be?

I have a simself in one of my saves and she is High Maintenance, Outgoing, and Family Orientated. Her aspiration is Super Parent, and I'd say this is pretty accurate but if I had the mod for more traits she'd also be a Goofball and Clumsy. This is her reflecting on her actions after unsuccessfully flirting with Akira Kibo.

[clarkes-and-god]

hiiii how about B12, C8 for Viv + Natan, D3 and E1 :)

Finally getting to these! Exams have been kicking my butt lmao

When you're not playing fundie sims, what kind of sims do you play?

I like big families in general when playing The Sims, so it tends to be pretty similar to fundies, if a bit happier. Currently I'm playing with a vampire family, the Virrellis, who had two under two and are now expecting a third! Alton is a freelance artist and Giselle is a SAHM, and their daughter, Veronica is the eldest, their son is called Silas. I actually thought the vampirism angle would stop me doing quasi-fundies but here we are.

Share a few random facts about Natan and Vivian that may not come up in the story!

This will probably come up in the story at some point, but the amount of out-of-touch that Vivian is cannot be overstated. She doesn't really understand the concept of poverty and so sometimes when she's mad at Natan, she treats issues that are because they're broke as a personal slight against her. Fun.

Vivian also wasn't even that good at conforming to the much more "normal" expectations that she had during her very wealthy WASP upbringing. She's always been a bit of a moody loner and her current situation isn't really helping.

Natan thinks he's doing really well at the entire husband and father thing, and any issues they have are Vivian's fault. This generally stems from his inability to see women and children as entire people and not just accessories to make him look super cool at church.

So basically they're both super great communicators who love and care for each other a lot and have so much in common. This will end well for both of them.

I like to think they both lie awake at night and contemplate if their original hook-up, which was 20 seconds of very unsatisfying sex in a hotel closet, was actually worth it. However, I think at this point it's unfortunately probably only our girl Viv doing that. Natan definitely thinks that was absolutely peak. :(

What's your favorite character, storyline or moment from another Fundie Simblr?

I'm currently obsessed with Mark Graham and his family from @anewnewcrest's story, I think they're super cute and Trying Their best. I also love the amount of nervous energy that radiates off of Sophia Wagner, who belongs to @snapdragonsimming. It's like watching a shaking chihuahua and I'm obsessed.

When did you first get into fundie snarking, and how?

I've always been really into playing with big families in The Sims and with my Barbies when I was younger, so when I was like 8-10 I would watch videos by Mormon and fundie influencers who had like ten kids, to get inspiration for my games. I especially liked videos about their morning routines, homeschooling, or their organisation systems. Thankfully the YouTube algorithm started also recommending me snarking content and didn't alt-right pipeline tween me into becoming a tradwife. Praise the Lord!

[clarkes-and-god]

The Big Fundie Simblr Ask Game

I've noticed that our beloved Fundie Simblr community could use a little more action, so I've written up this (insanely long!) ask game. Just pick a letter and a number to play. I encourage you to send asks to your mutuals and non-mutuals alike!

A: Writing/Posting

Who is your favorite sim to write for? Your least favorite?

What has been your favorite storyline to write? Your least favorite?

If you could go back and change anything you've written, what would it be?

What part of your blog are you most proud of?

How long does it take you to draft the average post?

Where do you write?

Where do you get your inspiration?

Do you base characters off people you know personally?

Share some advice for those running a Fundie Simblr blog!

Share a screenshot you took that you love the look of.

Share a hint, spoiler or teaser for an upcoming post.

How far ahead do you plan? Do you have a full queue right now?

B: Gameplay

What packs do you use the most?

What mods do you use the most?

Who is your favorite CC creator for modest clothing?

Do you think you struggle with "same-face syndrome" when creating your sims? 🙃

Do you find yourself falling into trends with regards to the "type" of (fundie) sims you create? (for example: lots of guys in the military, lots of girls with red hair, et cetera)

How do you pick names for your sims?

If you have multiple households, which is the easiest/most enjoyable to play? How about the easiest/least enjoyable?

Do you keep your sims on a routine, or is it constant chaos?

Do you cheat needs often? (No judgment either way!)

What's your advice for keeping large households alive?

In actual gameplay, how fundie are your sims? (for example: do you let them kiss before marriage, even though in-story they don't do that until the wedding? Do your sims actually have the jobs they do in the story? Et cetera.)

When you're not playing fundie sims, what kind of sims do you play?

C: Character Questions

Feel free to answer these as yourself/the narrator, or as the characters themselves! And if you're the one sending the ask, make sure to specify the sims in question, unless you want to be surprised :)

Would [Sim] say they were happy, if asked? Are they happy?

Are [Sim 1] and [Sim 2] happy in their relationship?

What are [Sim]'s personal convictions on modesty/dating/children/whatever?

What would [Sim/Family] be like if they weren't fundie?

Has [Sim] ever doubted their faith? How did they "return to God"? (Or "come to God," if they're a convert!)

What does [Sim] love and hate about their family? (Parents, siblings, children, whatever!)

If [Sim] had another career path, what would they do?

Share a few random facts about [Sim/Family] that may not come up in the story!

How would others describe [Sim]? (Feel free to specify who those "others" are!)

How would [Sim] describe themself?

Is [Sim/Family] well regarded at their church? Where do they fall in the community hierarchy?

How is [Sim/Family] doing, financially speaking? Are they content, or do they desire more?

What's the most scandalous/sinful thing [Sim] has done? Would they admit to it, if asked?

D: Community

Choose one Fundie Simblr blog that you follow, tag them, and say something nice about them or their story!

Choose a post from a Fundie Simblr blog that you enjoy, and reblog it with a comment in the tags!

What's your favorite character, storyline or moment from another Fundie Simblr?

What's something you'd love to see from the Fundie Simblr community?

Are there any non-fundie Simblr blogs that you enjoy? Feel free to recommend some!

Have you ever been inspired by another Simblr's writing? How did it go?

E: Fundie Snark

When did you first get into fundie snarking, and how?

Which is your "favorite" fundie family to keep up with, if you pay attention to real-life fundies?

What's your favorite batshit fundie moment?

Which poor fundie child are you rooting for the most?

Did you ever watch 19KAC/Counting On/Bringing Up Bates/etc?

F: About You

When did you first start playing The Sims? Which game was it?

What's one good thing that's happened to you this week?

Share a fun fact about yourself!

Have you told in-person friends or family about your fundie sims?

If you had to describe yourself with an aspiration + traits, what would they be?

If you had to choose a Sims pack that represents your personality, which one would it be?

[clarkes-and-god]

What we need for (almost) every man in this story.

[clarkes-and-god]

merry christmas/happy holidays!

sorry my posting has been spotty at best this year, i hate sixth form with a passion for that. will try to get a christmas post out for this year later but im not sure. hopefully 2025 will be better for posting! it should be better in september and after but im busyyyyy till then.

Happy Holidays!

I hope everyone is having a lovely December and enjoying any holidays you celebrate! While it's summer in my game, I've made some holiday greeting cards from the fundies. They're about a year in sims time ahead of my last post, so there's been some birthdays/births (the queue should catch up in about 2 weeks). Under the cut are more Christmas cards from the other families!