#Create a test plan to test functions

[th3-c0ll3ct3r]

I was given an assignment 6 weeks ago and I've been doing the allocated time plan for the last 6 weeks.

Turns out you actually need 2 whole months to do the assignment as stated by the exam board and my college just decided that, "Fuck it they can do it"

It's now 12:42am and I've typing for last 5 hours.

It's due tomorrow. AND WHAT EVEN WORSE IS THAT 5 HOURS AGO WHEN I WAS GOOGLE THIS INFORMATION I FOUND OUT IT'S ONLY WORTH 17% OF THE FRICKING GRADE!

What is this? Some sadistic educational torture? This is my first 5 min break in an hour and 30 minutes. And I've still gotta write the evaluation and test plan. I'm so I've this.

UPDATE: 2am and done.

[felixandresims]

Hello Everyone :),

The time has come for Estate Part 8. As you know, an estate holds many rooms, and I’m continuously dreaming up new purposes to fill them with. While the game offers a range of functional items, I often find myself avoiding those that don’t quite suit my aesthetic.

So, for this month’s release, I set out to reimagine a few of those underused gems—and thus, the Games Room & Bar was born. 🍸🎲

Aesthetically, I drew inspiration from the Art Deco inlays of Eltham Palace and, once again, from the timeless elegance of Estelle Manor. Somehow, this style feels like the perfect match for a space dedicated to leisure and play. :)

The items:

Gametable

Gameable, Dining Table version

Chess Table

Foosball Table ( Get Together required)

Ping Pong Table ( University required)

2 Tile Bar

Bar Sideboard ( functional as a bar)

3 Tile Bar Cabinet ( functional as a bar)

Bottle Arrangements

Metal Bar Clutter

Chrystal Glasses

I really enjoyed creating these pieces—testing them out while building was such a vibe! The whole room came together, and I loved weaving in those 1920s–1930s touches. I didn’t have a strict plan going in, just a loose idea and a feeling, so watching it all take shape was a fun surprise.

This Set is on Early Access, and you can find it here

As always, thank you so much for your continued support—it means the world. I’m already starting to dream up what Estate Part 9 might become :)

Thank you, and Lots of Luv,

Felix xxx

[just-ornstein]

[JK]  My first job was as an Assistant Producer for a video game company called Interplay in Irvine, CA. I had recently graduated from Boston University's School of Fine Arts with an MFA in Directing (I started out as a theatre nerd), but also had some limited coding experience and a passion for computers. It didn't look like I'd be able to make a living directing plays, so I decided to combine entertainment and technology (before it was cool!) and pitched myself to Brian Fargo, Interplay's CEO. He gave me my first break. I packed up and moved out west, and I've been producing games ever since.

[JK] I loved my time at EA. I was there for almost a full decade, and learned a tremendous amount about game-making, and met the most talented and driven people, who I remain in touch with today. EA gave me many opportunities, and never stopped betting on me. I worked on The Sims for nearly 5 years, and then afterwards, I worked on console action games as part of the Visceral studio. I was the Creative Director for the 2007 game "The Simpsons", and was the Executive Producer and Creative Director for the 2009 game "Dante's Inferno".

[JK] I haven't played in a long while, but I do recall that after the game shipped, my wife and I played the retail version for some time -- we created ourselves, and experimented with having a baby ahead of the actual birth of our son (in 2007). Even though I'd been part of the development team, and understood deeply how the simulation worked, I was still continually surprised at how "real" our Sims felt, and how accurate their responses were to having a baby in the house. It really felt like "us"!

Now for some of the development and lore related questions:

[JK] So I ended up in the incredibly fortunate position of creating the shipping neighborhoods for The Sims 2, and recruiting a few teammates to help me as we went along. 

Around the same time, we started using the Buy/Build tools to make houses we could save, and also bring them into each new build of the game (correcting for any bugs and incompatibilities). With the import tool, we could load Sims into these houses. In time, this "vanguard QA" process turned into a creative endeavor to define the "saved state" of the neighborhoods we would actually end up shipping with the game.

On playtesting & the leftover sims data on various lots:

Basically, we were in the late stages of development, and the Save Game functionality wasn't quite working. In order to test the game properly, you really needed to have a lot of assets, and a lot of Sims with histories (as if you'd been playing them for weeks) to test out everything the game had to offer. So I started defining a set of characters in a spreadsheet, with all their tuning variables, and worked with engineering to create an importer, so that with each new build, I could essentially "load" a kind of massive saved game, and quickly start playing and testing. 

It was fairly organic, and as the game's functionality improved, so did our starter houses and families. 

The thought process behind the creation of the iconic three neighborhoods:

I would not say it was particularly planned out ahead of time. We knew we needed a few saved houses to ship with the game; Sims 1, after all, had the Goth house, and Bob Newbie's house. But there wasn't necessarily a clear direction for what the neighborhood would be for Sims 2. We needed the game to be far enough along, so that the neighborhood could be a proper showcase for all the features in the game. With each new feature that turned alpha, I had a new tool in my toolbox, and I could expand the houses and families I was working on. Once we had the multi-neighborhood functionality, I decided we would not just have 1 starter neighborhood, but 3. With the Aging feature, Memories, a few wacky objects, plus a huge catalog of architectural and decorative content, I felt we had enough material for 3 truly distinct neighborhoods. And we added a couple of people to what became the "Neighborhood Team" around that time.

Later, when we created Strangetown, and eventually Veronaville, I believe we went back and changed Pleasantville to Pleasantview... because I liked the alliteration of "Verona-Ville", and there was no sense in having two "villes". (To this day, by the way, I still don't know whether to capitalize the "V" -- this was hotly debated at the time!)

Pleasantview:

Anyway, to answer your question, we of course started with Pleasantview. As I recall, we were not quite committed to multiple neighborhoods at first, and I think it was called Pleasantville initially, which was kind of a nod to Simsville... but without calling it Simsville, which was a little too on the nose. (There had also been an ill-fated game in development at Maxis at the time, called SimsVille, which was cancelled.) It's been suggested that Pleasantville referred to the movie, but I don't think I ever saw that movie, and we just felt that Pleasantville kind of captured the feeling of the game, and the relaxing, simple, idyllic world of the Sims.

Pleasantview started as a place to capture the aging feature, which was all new to The Sims 2. We knew we had toddlers, teens, and elders to play with, so we started making families that reflected the various stages of family life: the single mom with 3 young kids, the parents with two teens, the old rich guy with two young gold-diggers, etc. We also had a much greater variety of ethnicity to play with than Sims 1, and we had all new variables like sexual orientation and memories. All these things made for rich fodder for a great diversity of families. Then, once we had family trees, and tombstones that carried the actual data for the dead Sims, the doors really blew open. We started asking ourselves, "What if Bella and Mortimer Goth could be characters in Sims 2, but aged 25 years? And what if Cassandra is grown up? And what if Bella is actually missing, and that could be a fun mystery hanging over the whole game?" And then finally the "Big Life Moments" went into the game -- like weddings and birthdays -- and we could sort of tee these up in the Save Game, so that they would happen within the first few minutes of playing the families. This served both as a tutorial for the features, but also a great story-telling device.

Anyway, it all just flowed from there, as we started creating connections between families, relationships, histories, family trees, and stories that we could weave into the game, using only the simulation features that were available to us. It was a really fun and creative time, and we wrote all of the lore of Sims 2 within a couple of months, and then just brought it to life in the game.

Strangetown:

Strangetown was kind of a no-brainer. We needed an alternate neighborhood for all the paranormal stuff the Sims was known for: alien abduction, male pregnancy, science experiments, ghosts, etc. We had the desert terrain, which created a nice contrast to the lush Pleasantville, and gave it an obvious Area 51 vibe.

The fact that Veronaville is the oldest file probably reflects the fact that it was finished first, not that it was started first. That's my guess anyway. It was the simplest neighborhood, in many ways, and didn't have as much complexity in terms of features like staged big life moments, getting the abduction timing right, the alien DNA thing (which I think was somewhat buggy up until the end), etc.  So it's possible that we simply had Veronaville "in the can", while we put the last polish on Pleasantville (which was the first and most important neighborhood, in terms of making a good impression) and Strangeville (which was tricky technically).

Veronaville:

But my personal favorite was Veronaville. We had this cool Tudor style collection in the Build mode catalog, and I wanted to ship some houses that showed off those assets. We also had the teen thing going on in the aging game, plus a lot of romance features, as well as enemies. I have always been a Shakespeare buff since graduate school, so putting all that together, I got the idea that our third neighborhood should be a modern-day telling of the Romeo and Juliet story. It was Montys and Capps (instead of Montagues and Capulets), and it just kind of wrote itself. We had fun creating the past family trees, where everyone had died young because they kept killing each other off in the ongoing vendetta.

[JK] You know, I have never seen The Lone Gunmen, and I don't remember making any kind of direct references with the Strangetown Sims, other than the general Area 51 theme, as you point out. Charles London helped out a lot with naming Sims, and I'm pretty sure we owe "Vidcund" and "Lazlo" to him ... though many team members pitched in creatively. He may have had something in mind, but for me, I largely went off of very generic and stereotypical ideas when crafting these neighborhoods. I kind of wanted them to be almost "groaners" ... they were meant to be tropes in every sense of the word. And then we snuck in some easter eggs. But largely, we were trying to create a completely original lore.

[JK] Well, I think we kind of pushed it with The Sims 2, to be honest, and I remember getting a little blow-back about Bunny Broke, for example. Bunny Broke was the original name for Brandi Broke. Not everyone found that funny, as I recall, and I can understand that. It must have been changed before we shipped.

We also almost shipped the first outwardly gay Sims in those neighborhoods, which was bold for EA back in 2004. My recollection was that we had set up the Dreamers to be gay (Dirk and Darren), but I'm looking back now and see that's not the case. So I'm either remembering incorrectly (probably) or something changed during development.

In general we just did things that we found funny and clever, and we just pulled from all the tropes of American life.

[JK] The alien abduction started in Sims 1, with a telescope object that was introduced in the "Livin' Large" expansion pack. That's when some of the wackier ideas got introduced into the Sims lore. That pack shipped just before I joined Maxis in 2001; when I got there, the team had shipped "House Party" and was underway on "Hot Date". So I couldn't tell you how the original idea came about, but The Sims had this 50's Americana vibe from the beginning, and UFOs kind of played right into that. So the alien abduction telescope was a no-brainer to bring back in Sims 2. The male pregnancy was a new twist on the Sims 1 telescope thing. It must have been that the new version (Sims 2) gave us the tech and flexibility to have male Sims become pregnant, so while this was turned "off" for the core game, we decided to take advantage of this and make a storyline out of it. I think this really grew out of the fact that we had aliens, and alien DNA, and so it was not complicated to pre-bake a baby that would come out as an alien when born. The idea of a bunch of guys living together, and then one gets abducted, impregnated, and then gives birth to an alien baby ... I mean, I think we just all thought that was hilarious, in a sit-com kind of way. Not sure there was much more to it than that. Everything usually came from the designers discovering ways to tweak and play with the tech, to get to funny outcomes.

[JK] Possibly we were just testing the functionality of the Wants/Fears and Memories systems throughout development, and some stuff got left over.

[JK] I can't remember, but that sounds like something we would have done! I'm pretty sure we laid the groundwork for more stories that we ended up delivering :) But The Sims 2 was a great foundation for a lot of continued lore that followed.

--

I once again want to thank Jonathan Knight for granting me this opportunity and taking the time from his busy schedule to answer my questions.

[sims3alexsa]

Beckford World- Beta

Beckford is a secluded English town situated on a picturesque little island that radiates warmth and cosiness. The central square with its fountain is surrounded by cosy cafes and shops, where locals and tourists alike can enjoy a cup of fragrant tea or coffee from the comfort of the sunny terraces. The old harbour, with its moored boats and quiet streets, invites for leisurely strolls and romantic evenings by the water. The promenade, lined with flowering shrubs and benches, offers beautiful views of the ocean and sunsets, creating an atmosphere of privacy and tranquillity. The majestic cathedral with its tall towers and the cosy old castle become the real gems of Beckford, awe-inspiring not only for their historical significance but also for the atmosphere of warmth that surrounds them. Beckford is the perfect place for those who want to escape from the hustle and bustle and enjoy the simple pleasures of life surrounded by nature and friendly people.

This world-Edit Hylewood by the amazing @nilxis,credit for the terrain and plant placement goes to them.Then the world was redone by one of my favourite creators @Gruesim so the replacement texture roads are to her credit. The world has 27 public lots and 16 residential lots. Stor sets are present in the world! They are included in the download in package format,also in the build there are fixes for these sets.Please read the document inside on how to properly install the Stor fixes in PACKAGE format!!!!

Also in the world there are some mods that you can download from these links: 1.Mod functional printer 2.Tennis court mod 3.Mod purchase from inventory 4.Mod More vending machine fods 5.Mod system of petrol use by cars 6.post mod 7.Shop for clothing display pedestal mod 8.Social clubs mod

9.Private Clinic Psychiatry

10.Get Pumped

11.Yoga mod

12.Spin Class by Twinsimming

Recommendations for optimising the world. I advise and even insist that you use with this world mods Nraas:Master controller,nraas Overwatch,nraas Register,nraas Traffic.(Links to them do not give, I think they have you and so all installed):)Optimise the world with these mods: remove unnecessary transport, generated by the game stray animals, paparazzi and tourists. The world is released in betta version as it was little tested (and I will not have such an opportunity in the near future, so I put it out to you earlier than planned).

Download World

Download (mirror)

Download(mirror 2)

Download CC

(Download mirror сс)

Download (mirror cc 2)

If you have any questions, please write to us and we will solve them together. Gratitude I would like to thank all the wonderful creators I used for this world! Without you I would have nothing and this world would not exist. Thank you so much for your hard work! @Phoebejaysims,@Grandelama,@Martassimsbook,@aelisinsims,@Analogica 40,@Gruesim,@aroundthesims3,@bioniczombie,@Noir and dark sims,@simaddix,@wanberlust-pixel,@zivas-blog,@mequestrianequipment,@syninplays,@olomaya,@omedievalpixel,@kerrigan house designs,@Mspoodle. Sorry who I forgot )

If you want to thank me, buy me a coffee.

[sushibuild]

Cloud Nine Residence

A stylish modern penthouse in the city center, featuring an open-plan layout with a double-volume ceiling and a sleek curved staircase. Seamlessly integrating the kitchen, living, and dining areas, it offers elegance, functionality, and top-tier amenities for urban living.

Penthouse Tour HERE

More info and Download link HERE

3 Bedrooms (The master bedroom features curved glass walls all around, with a double-volume design - master bathroom also highlights elegant curved glass elements - Walk in Closet) & 4.5 Bathrooms

Property Features : 3 Living Area , Home office , Home Gym , Sauna & Massage room , Balcony , Bar Area Indoor and Outdoor , Laundry room ,Pantry , Outdoor Pool , Outdoor Cooking, Outdoor Living spaces and Butler’s room

✅Play tested with game update 1/14/2025✅

Explore my collection to see all the builds I've released HERE

♡A huge thanks to the talented creators whose amazing CC transformed this house into a stunning space!♡

*Do not re-upload my builds and claim them as your own. Do not use my builds as a base to create another and upload them*

Socials : Patreon | Tiktok | Instagram

[internetskiff]

The most powerful ability exclusive to humanity in the Half Life/Portal shared universe is our ability to just throw bullshit at the wall and see what sticks. Aperture "OSHA are the devil" Science have managed to create completely safe interconnected points in space. The same company that turns people's blood into gasoline and shoves lions and humans into the same enclosed space for the vague concept of "Science". Meanwhile Black Mesa still has to use Xen as a crossing and their teleportation device requires an entire reactor with a village's worth of staff constantly maintaining it, just to end up having most of said staff abducted by onion-headed aliens. Even the resistance hasn't managed to create completely stable teleporters with a compressed Xen relay, meanwhile Aperture just went "oh dude let's shove a black hole into a non-waterproof gun" and have just created a teleportation method that just removes Xen from the equation entirely. Doesn't change the fact they bullshat so bad they basically got themselves gassed to death, but still.

The Resistance are a good example of this too. The Combine seem to have a complete set-in-stone thought process and understanding of science which meant they didn't even begin to explore local teleportation via Xen, meanwhile a group of random human mechanics and scientists have managed to cobble together at least two semi-functional local teleporters out of scrap metal and stolen Combine tech, to the point the All-Consuming Interdimensional Empire had to straight up copy their homework. And that isn't even the only time they seem to be taking human shit to just copy the blueprints.

They 100% just yoinked the entire damn car out of that garage just to take a crack at reverse-engineering the Tau Cannon attached to it. Even Resistance weaponry somehow manages to rival or at least stand equal to Combine tech - and we're talking improvised crossbows that shoot superheated rods of rebar at the target compared to high-tech rifles that can discharge orbs of pure dark energy. The collapse of the entire Citadel is basically set into motion as a result of a cobbled together Rebel device placed into extremely capable hands.

The events of the Portal games are a case of extremely elaborate machinelike planning versus pure human improvisation, with Chell's entire escape in the first game involving her simply weaseling her way through small cracks that GLaDOS missed while setting up her ambushes, eventually turning her own rocket turret against her to destroy her.

I suppose you could argue this falls flat in Portal 2 with Wheatley, but it's important to remember he's designed to be an utter idiot, so it's safe to say he wouldn't obsess over the larger picture like GLaDOS to the point where he fails to see the cracks. Yes, he's the one that breaks Chell out of the test chambers again, and yes, he's the one that came up with the sabotage plot - but it's important to note while he knows what to target in the sabotage, when we actually get there he doesn't quite know how to sabotage it, leaving Chell to figure it out on her own. She botches the Turret Quality Control Line with some minor guidance, but it's basically completely up to her to figure out how to cut off the Neurotoxin Supply. It's through her improvisation that Wheatley even manages to get into GLaDOS' chamber, tumbling through her neurotoxin vent and shattering the glass cage she trapped Chell inside of. It's through Chell's improvisation that the Core Transfer even occurs in the first place.

The script is flipped specifically when Wheatley takes charge, because oops - turns out a mind capable of focusing on the bigger picture might be pretty important when it comes to running an entire facility powered by it's own Reactor. Wheatley just completely zeroes in on his own personal pleasure, hacking up test chambers and the objects within them to try and figure out the easiest way to get his solution euphoria as quick as possible.

Still, something that's pretty interesting is that only Wheatley has ever managed to create a trap that's impossible to foresee and avoid, something GLaDOS has repeatedly failed to do to the point she ends up commending him. I believe this is because his way of thinking is a lot closer to Chell's compared to GLaDOS'. He puts up way more of a fight as the two run through the facility trying to get to him, seemingly improvising on the spot just like Chell has been over the course of the two games. Even his lair would be impossible to survive if it weren't for a single Conversion Gel pipe he somehow failed to notice and remove.

Whether in a laboratory deep beneath the soil or an alien tower tall enough to split the clouds, the ingenuity of even a single person is enough to topple a tower or destroy a supercomputer 3 times over.

Marc Laidlaw put what I'm trying to say into a single sentence when writing for the BreenGrub twitter account:

"The superstructure is riddled with cracks."

[laughhardrunfastbekindsblog]

I cannot get over how much this one scene informs us of Tech's priorities, personality, and how much he cares about his squad.

THE SCENE: "Replacements," season 1 episode 3; the Marauder is in dire need of repairs

This scene is often played for laughs (and let's be real, it IS hilarious). There's Tech, completely ignoring Echo's not-so-subtle hints to help fix the ship, instead prioritizing tinkering with his gadgets because his definition of "critical systems" is apparently vastly different than others'. Result? The ship crashes.

But... Tech is RIGHT to be concerned about the chips.

He has been warning his brothers about the chips since Order 66, multiple times throughout "Aftermath" and "Cut and Run."

2. He suspected Crosshair was susceptible to the effects of the chip early on.

3. He saw firsthand the friction caused between Crosshair and the rest of the squad due to the chip, with the ultimate result that Crosshair attacked the squad and shot Wrecker.

OF COURSE he is going to prioritize creating a device that will test the functionality of their own chips - and I think he has two reasons for this.

First: Prevent further catastrophe by making sure no one else on the squad is at imminent risk of acting out like Crosshair did.

Can you imagine what could happen if anyone else became susceptible to the chip's effects? (Oh yeah, we can: we see exactly what happens with Wrecker on Bracca.) Tech's not losing another family member the way he just lost Crosshair.

Second: Support his theory that Crosshair's actions ARE a result of the chip. (Omega talked to Crosshair about this (in a roundabout way) in the brig, but it's Tech who mentions this possibility to the squad.)

And if they can find a reason, a solid explanation, for why Crosshair has turned on them, maybe they can find a way to help him.

Tech is logical and rational. He understands people by analyzing them, finding reasons to explain their motives and actions; and by understanding them, he can come up with a plan to fix the situation. And that's exactly what he's doing here: by proving his theories about the inhibitor chips, he can better help his family.

So, as much as I still laugh over Tech's nonchalant "We're fine" as they're LITERALLY CRASHING, I also find it so dang heartwarming and sweet that Tech was SO focused on saving his team in other, equally crucial ways ❤️

[gojinka]

Hehe may I ask about evil Callie?

(The evil/brainwashed) Callie here functions a bit differently… as I also use her to explore what exactly mud mouths are… and the octarian’s relationship with their ally, Salmonids…

Explanation under the cut. 🚧

Due to constrained relations between them and the other main dominating species— (salmonid/octarian vs inklings)— most Inklings, namely younger generations, are more desperate to fix and mend the relationship.

(There is plenty more to this! But I don’t want to make this come across as far more convoluted than it needs to be, so here have this for now:📒)

Octavio contacted Callie directly, albeit in secret, telling her that he has plans that would be a step forward in ending the tension between the Inklings and Octarian-Salmonid groups. What he had introduced was a new type of “ink” that would make their species “salmonid friendly”, and he wanted Callie to be the one to be the first public appearance with this new Ink in hopes to reach a wider audience…

Most of that isn’t true— but to Callie— who is a direct descendant of a war leader, was raised as an agent, and lives in a fairly dangerous city zone that floods, that sounded like a better step towards a better life, and she went for it.

This ink is known as MUD— and this “ink” isn’t technically ink at all, as mentioned in a previous post, most inks are a synthetic toxic poison, designed for warfare, but this ink on the contrary, wasn't designed by Inkfish, it was designed by Salmonids.

MUD is a slimy corrosive ink designed to rival Inkfish’s ink, namely in salmon runs and Ink Wasted territories, one that blends into the grounds and spreads out quickly and efficiently much like Inkfish ink, but one that corrodes Inklings by absorbing into them, and leaves salmonids completely safe from any burning effects.

The Octarian were the ones tasked with creating this new bio-weapon, as an added benefit being it would not affect their species, (they would be safe from it regardless, considering Salmon-Runs are an Inkling exclusive event, and Octolings were surprised when they learned about them.)

They tried different methods of testing it, and ultimately, the project failed— Mud uses both Salmonid and Inkling DNA in its creation, and when Mud was being developed, it melted Salmonids like Ink typically does due to its hyper-corrosive nature, but because it carried Inkling + Salmonid DNA, the salmonid’s skin would attempt to mimic the properties of inklings and constantly try to reconstruct itself into the “swim” form, which made Salmonids a walking (or rather, squirming) sludge, these monsters became known as MUDMOUTHS, and are not truly considered alive, since they run exclusively on the Running Instinct that exists in Salmonid DNA.

And in turn, when the ink was absorbed into Inklings— the previously noted “running instinct” would have an almost Kraken-Esque affect on inklings before corroding and splatting them.

The running instinct would work as intended, everything they eat immediately converts to growth in preparation for an arduous journey, they’re extremely aggressive, and they have a desire to return to the salmonid birthplace.

Mud would splat inklings upon prolonged contact, but Inklings who were test subjects for mud were slowly injected with Mud over a course of time. These subjects were disoriented and had a sort of “positive” aggressive attitude that didn’t falter even in the face of family or friends.

They are easy to persuade and it’s unclear if this is due to the pain of getting the ink-content in their bodies replaced by this synthetic fake-ink, or if the running instinct muddles their thoughts. It’s probably a healthy mix of both.

Dj Octavio, kept Callie by his side, since in her current state her mind would be too fogged up to dispute or make sense of what he’s making her do.

He planned on using Callie to stir up trouble in Inkopolis solely for the sake of rising tension. Octavio is constantly searching for reasons to make Inkling’s an enemy in the eyes of everyone who sees them, and painting Callie— a well known public figure; a known descendant of Captain Cuttlefish— as vicious would do wonders for allowing most people to view the Octarian as a force that would more desirably be backed up, it would reinforce their armies. And make them overall stronger if people felt they had reason to target Inklings.

He didn’t get this far due to Agent Four’s interference.

But, he got to accomplish many theft missions using Callie— which included robbing Inkopolis of some of the Zapfish Generators, which are giant machines that are powered thanks to the Zapfish, and thanks to the Zap-Ink— ⤵️

(Above image is from here) — Octavio was able to use said generators to restore power to many of the war-affected bio-domes that have been obsolete for decades, WITHOUT the need for a Zapfish.

But his reasoning can still be dumbed down to a petty move on Octavio’s part— who despite having a safer ground in the domes due to a good trade relationship with Salmonids and a vast space away from water— he still feels bitter about losing the remaining lands. And because of this the Octarian are plenty more war driven, and they are more likely to easily fall to the fervor of these schemes and battles.

[sspookayy]

"𝚄𝚗𝚠𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚗" || Cecil Stedman x Reader

Description:

Where extraordinary beings wield incredible powers, the GDA embarks on a groundbreaking project to synthesize DNA in pursuit of creating the ultimate weapon. But when things don't go as planned the project everyone was worked so hard for is put on hold, suspended in time.

"I don't understand.. If you loved me then why did you do this?!"

"Love makes us make tough decisions sometimes."

I LOVE THIS MAN.

I haven't really seen anyone write much fanfic about Cecil, and well hes my favorite character so i have to do the Cecil simps justice. Updates may be slow because i have an actual irl job and bills to pay but I'm gonna try my best and et chapters out in a timely manner.

*crossposted on Tumblr, Wattpad, and Ao3*

________________________

Introduction-

The wall clock ticked relentlessly on, each second whispering in counterpoint to the clang of metal and grunts. You paused briefly in your exercise, beads of sweat trickling down your forehead as you gazed about at the stark, unyielding walls of the government compound that was home. The fluorescent lights overhead buzzed, their cold light casting an unforgiving glare on the rows of weights and machines that were now familiar companions in your endless pursuit of power.

Today, like every day preceding it, you were in the training room, pushing against the limits of your flesh. The weight of expectation had borne down on you since the day that they concluded you were an "experiment"—a component of a program to mold human potential into something greater, yet an offspring of circumstance gone awry.

You were different—not another test subject, but a pioneer of hybrid experimentation. Your creators had attempted to create a weapon, but you had become something more: a being imbued with unbelievable strength, agility, flight and reflexes, approaching the scale that was the Immortal in ability. You were a creation of their ambition, and while the world around you buzzed with the murmurs of heroism and glory, you had been kept under the veil of uncertainty.

You took a deep breath and seized the heavy dumbbells to begin another set of reps, muscles contorting and flexing as you pushed yourself to your limits. Your prison—your estranged home within these walls that held your secrets and torturers alike. You were coming to the end of your set when the door creaked open, the intrusion jolting you out of your focus.

"Impressive as always."

The voice was deep and resonant, heavy like the weights you were using, and it sent a thrill of recognition down your spine. You dropped the dumbbells and turned and faced Director Radcliffe—a tall, older man with sharp features, dark brown eyes, and an intelligence that radiated even in this austere environment. He was the Director of the Global Defense Agency, one of whose main functions was running the experiments.

"Sir," you breathed, attempting to conceal your surprise at his abrupt arrival. "What brings you here?"

He strode towards you with a swagger that belied the seriousness of the facility and delivered a smirk that played at the corners of his mouth. "Just stopping by to visit our most promising subject. I've been hearing whispers about your advancements, and I can tell that they're not merely rumors."

Radcliffe nodded towards the equipment, his gaze remaining on you—a combination of curiosity and admiration. You were naked, exposed; a combination of admiration and caution simmering between you as he gazed at you.

"Getting stronger every day," you replied, keeping your tone deliberately casual. "But I'm still waiting for the day I'm not a set of experiments." deliberately keeping your tone light."They seem to not be too keen on unleashing me on the world yet." You sat down on the bench that sat alongside the huge mirror that stretched along the whole wall and took the towel that was lying across it to wipe your face in an attempt to get rid of the thin layer of sweat that was covering your face.

Director Radcliffe leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, a curious smile spreading across his face. "You see, with the right mindset, even experiments can become pioneers. They just need the right environment to thrive." There was seriousness in his voice that suggested he knew more than he said, as if the very fabric of your life was woven with both potential and restriction.

You glanced up at him in the mirror, the overhead fluorescent lights casting a glare that was so harsh your reflection was almost ghostly. "I suppose so. But what if all they care about is how mindlessly I can follow orders?" You let the towel drop into your lap, the damp cloth a reminder of just how hard you were driving yourself—not just physically, but mentally.

He straightened, his demeanor shifting by degrees, as if he intercepted the undertone of your annoyance. "We understand what you're capable of. Your progress is... " He hesitated, choosing his words carefully. "Impressive. But I am not at liberty to ignore the risks of releasing you prematurely. You are not just a collection of skills—you're a person with a life ahead of you."

"Why do I feel like I'm in a cage, then?" you shot back, startling yourself with the venom in your tone. You could feel the tension building in the air, strained and charged.

Radcliffe's eyes softened as he took in a step closer. "Change is hard. I do know that. Yet every experiment started with a spark—your spark. We're preparing you for something more than you can presently see. You're not a tool. You can be a leader.".

You let his words hang, considering the weight they carried. Progress. Leadership. What would that even look like for someone like you? "I hope you're not just saying that to soften the blow," you said tentatively, the vulnerability in your voice surprising you both.

"Trust me, I'm not," he replied, his tone level and sincere. "But I need you to commit to the process. Training isn't about physical strength alone—it's about building the foundations of what you're capable of becoming."

You took the towel again, this time using it to wipe the sweat from your forearms. Maybe he was right. There could be more to this quest than you realized. "And if I fail?" you asked, your heart racing at the thought.

Radcliffe smiled, a hint of warmth breaching his normally stoic demeanor. "Then we learn. That's the beauty of experimentation—you can always adjust and try again."

You nodded, taking a deep breath. The path ahead of you was still uncertain, yet maybe, just maybe, the light at the end of your metaphorical tunnel was closer than you thought.

—

The day had drained you, each test and trial bearing down on your shoulders like a pile of bricks, a reminder of the burden you bore as you struggled to discover what you could do. Thankfully, the only thing left was to take your end-of-day vitals. Perched atop the unforgiving surface of the chilly, sterile examination table, you were able to sense a chill send a shiver up your exposed thighs, the fabric of your shorts far too brief to shield you from the cold metal below. Wires from a nest of machines coiled around you like sinister vines, and electrode pads affixed to your skin, squirming leads to monitors that displayed your EKG and a maelstrom of bewildering readings—esoteric glyphs that appeared to be a code you were desperately attempting to interpret.

The soft, soothing beeping of the machines almost lulled you into a restful sleep, but the cold, hard lights overhead were pitiless in their glare. Surrounded by an army of physicians and researchers prodding and poking at your body, you knew the largest threat was not in their intrusive methods but what followed: the return to your chambers, the place you disliked most, except for the frigid, unyielding halls of this tyrannical institute. As your gaze shifted to the left, you noticed a couple of operators and managers observing the professionals at work, their glances flicking with a mix of curiosity and indifference.

Far away, beyond the big window, ordinary people went about their everyday lives, becoming part of the rhythm of normalcy. Longing arose within you to be among them; to experience the comfort of a humdrum existence—a good job, a quiet day, a loving family. Such longings lay in the realm of dreams, an illusion which you knew would forever be out of your grasp. Amidst this sea of onlookers, your attention was suddenly drawn to Director Radcliffe, conversing with a passerby.

Squinting your eyes in an attempt to slice through the distance, your super-vision eventually caught up with the young man who had caught your attention. His smooth-slicked hair and authoritative height were equaled only by his sharply chiseled features, which spoke to authority. The gravity of the meeting was sensed, the tension so powerful it sliced through the sterile air. Then, suddenly, the young man shifted slightly, his intense eyes fastening onto yours like a shot of electricity. His eyes, an electric blue, pierced into your very being with an intensity that produced a shiver racing along your spine.

It was as if he could look right through the glass wall of your room, cutting through the layers of your being, stripping away the facade to reveal the vulnerable core within. For a moment, all else in the world outside of you melted away, and you were left with the weight of his scrutiny—a refined blend of curiosity mixed with something darker and more profound. You ached to look away, to recede into the sanitary folds of your hospital robe, but some inexplicable pull kept you riveted. Pity or judgment? Or something worse?

The beeping of equipment faded into the background, drowned out by the mesmerizing hold of his unseeing stare, stirring within you emotions long suppressed in the shadows. It was as though, in the bottom of that stare, he saw your unspoken wishes, your dreams of flight from this antiseptic jail. While the heaviness of his glance nearly strangled you, he tilted his brow infinitesimally, ever so small yet incredibly powerful an action, so it conveyed something unstated in between the two of you that was at once exciting and scary, which passed between the freezing emptiness of the lab and united the two of you into something akin to communion.

And since the moment was trapped halfway between suspended and reality, time itself stumbled, confusing the manner in which it must divide your closed-in reality from his certain truth. The sterile white walls of the room melted away, and for an instant, you were no longer merely a specimen of study, but a contributing participant in an unspoken debate—a bond of trust that poured from mutual helplessness and individual comprehension.

With each gasp of air, you felt the desire well up within you; the urge to flee the shackles of your existence. The world beyond your horizons, with all its mundane indulgences and small victories, beckoned you like a distant siren, promising freedom and a place of belonging. But as the electric blue of his eyes remained unmoved, a glimmer of hope was kindled in your chest. Perhaps, in that fleeting moment of comprehension, you could find the courage to dream once more—not just of a life beyond these bars, but of a world where your own desires were not on the fringes of fantasy.

With that in mind, you understood the weight of his eyes, allowing it to be a silent vow: to battle for freedom, resist the emptiness that wished to engulf you completely, and reclaim the vibrant life you had always imagined, no matter what.

-

Word Count:1869

[dreamdolldeveloper]

back to basics

mostly free resources to help you learn the basics that i've gathered for myself so far that i think are cool

everyday

gcfglobal - about the internet, online safety and for kids, life skills like applying for jobs, career planning, resume writing, online learning, today's skills like 3d printing, photoshop, smartphone basics, microsoft office apps, and mac friendly. they have core skills like reading, math, science, language learning - some topics are sparse so hopefully they keep adding things on. great site to start off on learning.

handsonbanking - learn about finances. after highschool, credit, banking, investing, money management, debt, goal setting, loans, cars, small businesses, military, insurance, retirement, etc.

bbc - learning for all ages. primary to adult. arts, history, science, math, reading, english, french, all the way to functional and vocational skills for adults as well, great site!

education.ket - workplace essential skills

general education

mathsgenie - GCSE revision, grade 1-9, math stages 1-14, provides more resources! completely free.

khan academy - pre-k to college, life skills, test prep (sats, mcat, etc), get ready courses, AP, partner courses like NASA, etc. so much more!

aleks - k-12 + higher ed learning program. adapts to each student.

biology4kids - learn biology

cosmos4kids - learn astronomy basics

chem4kids - learn chemistry

physics4kids - learn physics

numbernut - math basics (arithmetic, fractions and decimals, roots and exponents, prealgebra)

education.ket - primary to adult. includes highschool equivalent test prep, the core skills. they have a free resource library and they sell workbooks. they have one on work-life essentials (high demand career sectors + soft skills)

youtube channels

the organic chemistry tutor

khanacademy

crashcourse

tabletclassmath

2minmaths

kevinmathscience

professor leonard

greenemath

mathantics

3blue1brown

literacy

readworks - reading comprehension, build background knowledge, grow your vocabulary, strengthen strategic reading

chompchomp - grammar knowledge

tutors

not the "free resource" part of this post but sometimes we forget we can be tutored especially as an adult. just because we don't have formal education does not mean we can't get 1:1 teaching! please do you research and don't be afraid to try out different tutors. and remember you're not dumb just because someone's teaching style doesn't match up with your learning style.

cambridge coaching - medical school, mba and business, law school, graduate, college academics, high school and college process, middle school and high school admissions

preply - language tutoring. affordable!

revolutionprep - math, science, english, history, computer science (ap, html/css, java, python c++), foreign languages (german, korean, french, italian, spanish, japanese, chinese, esl)

varsity tutors - k-5 subjects, ap, test prep, languages, math, science & engineering, coding, homeschool, college essays, essay editing, etc

chegg - biology, business, engineering/computer science, math, homework help, textbook support, rent and buying books

learn to be - k-12 subjects

for languages

lingq - app. created by steve kaufmann, a polygot (fluent in 20+ languages) an amazing language learning platform that compiles content in 20+ languages like podcasts, graded readers, story times, vlogs, radio, books, the feature to put in your own books! immersion, comprehensible input.

flexiclasses - option to study abroad, resources to learn, mandarin, cantonese, japanese, vietnamese, korean, italian, russian, taiwanese hokkien, shanghainese.

fluentin3months - bootcamp, consultation available, languages: spanish, french, korean, german, chinese, japanese, russian, italian.

fluenz - spanish immersion both online and in person - intensive.

pimsleur - not tutoring** online learning using apps and their method. up to 50 languages, free trial available.

incase time has passed since i last posted this, check on the original post (not the reblogs) to see if i updated link or added new resources. i think i want to add laguage resources at some point too but until then, happy learning!!

[uriahblack]

Revisiting My Vampire: The Masquerade Aspirations for The Sims 4!

A couple of years ago, I created a bundle of custom Aspiration Tracks for The Sims 4, inspired by Vampire: The Masquerade. They’ve been working well and include:

17 unique Aspirations (each with 4 objective sets × 4 goals).

Reward traits per Aspiration.

Bonus traits tied to each Clan/Bloodline.

I planned to release it, but took a break from TS4—until March, when I discovered amazing creators like @losieee, @lapranka, @dari-sims, @misoupsims, @satterlly, and so many others! Their work inspired me to revive this project.

Current Progress & Challenges:

✔️ All Aspirations tested (functional!). ❌ Lost my save file—along with most test characters 😢. (Here’s the only surviving screenshot of the gang:)

Clans/Bloodlines Included

Core Clans: Brujah, Gangrel, Malkavian, Nosferatu, Tremere, Ventrue, Lasombra, Tzimisce, Banu Haqim, Ministry, Ravnos. Special Cases:

Toreador (3 variants: Painting, Acting, Music).

Hecata (3 bloodlines: Giovanni, Pisanob, Nagaraja).

Planned Additions: Salubri, Toreador (Writing), Daughters of Cacophony.

Next Steps

1️⃣ Second Test Phase: Starting with 4 key characters:

Amy (Brujah), Leslie (Ventrue), Rebecca (Toreador), Suzana (Tremere).

2️⃣ Expanding Features: Custom interactions via Sims 4 Studio (after Mod Constructor tests).

3️⃣ Make these aspirations available only to Vampires (I don't know if it's possible)

[folkling]

Welcome to Windbrook! I'm finally ready to release the first version of my Windbrook save file. Thank you everyone for all the love, you kept me going when I felt like throwing in the towel.

I'm going to sleep now. Hugs and Kisses, enjoy!

________________________________________________________________________________________________________ What's included: Gym Convenience Store Laundromat Diner Library Recreation Center Bank (FUNCTIONAL WITH SIMREALIST MODS 1 2) Vet Clinic Public Pool Small Neighborhood Playground Apartment/Townhomes Multi family lots Single family homes Family descriptions and back stories (As far as the convenience store goes, all credit goes to fernandasimoes on the gallery for the store display assets, a creator on the gallery also created the soda display assets, I can't find their name though. If someone knows who they are, PLEASE message me so I can credit them appropriately.)

Download and info below the cut

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Screenshots:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Info: This is the first version of the Windbrook save file, a test run so to speak. I've meticulously combed over everything to make sure everything was functional. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE BANK WILL NOT BE FUNCTIONAL UNLESS YOU HAVE SIMREALIST FINACIAL CENTER AND SNBANK MOD, FIND THEM HERE AND HERE.

Moving on, as of right now Willow Creek is the only world made over. Please note that this save file was built using Srsly's Blank Save. What this means is EVERY WORLD besides Willow Creek (the world I built in) and San Sequoia (Growing Together expansion pack) is empty. Please feel free to use your own lots and sims to fill the other worlds. Ultimately, I plan on building every world with a realistic mid west aesthetic; but that's months in the making. All that being said, this is not a finished save file! ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Please watch this YouTube video by the wonderful EvvieSimmer on how to install save files.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________ If the are any problems, please message me so I can fix them and update the save file. Like I said, I play tested all the lots, but if you find your sim getting caught up side down in a window, shoot me a message.

If you use this save file, please don't claim any of the lots or townies as your own, I'd appreciate it. Please tag me in screenshots, I'd love to see how your sims are living in Windbrook!

________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Sort of required CC: amoebae OMSP Shelf HIGHLY RECCOMENDED CC: Default Skin Tone Optional CC: This save file is 99% custom content free. However, in order for the townies to look like how I intended, you will need to download these presets: Hi-Land Luumia Northern Siberia Winds 1 2 Obscurus SammiXOX 1 2 3 VibrantPixels MagicBot Sliders: MagicBot Default Mouth Slider Default Nose Slider Default Chin Slider Default Eyebrow Slider

There's one piece of CC in the laundromat and convenience store lot, the arcade machines. They are not required, but you can find them here: Simadream

________________________________________________________________________________________________________ IMPORTANT! Packs And Kits: All packs and most kits except My First Pet was used to create the Windbrook save file. I heavily used Everyday Clutter kit, Bathroom Clutter Kit, and Basement Treasures kit. Owning all packs and kits simply isn't a reality for everyone, and I apologize that for those who don't own all the packs and kits, you might not get the full experience of the save. That being said, all packs and kits are not required. The game will notify you that you are missing content, and will will replace them with another item - after that, everything is functional.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________ If the are any problems, please message me so I can fix them and update the save file. Like I said, I play tested all the lots, but if you find your sim getting caught up side down in a window, shoot me a message.

If you use this save file, please don't claim any of the lots or townies as your own, I'd appreciate it. Please tag me in screenshots, I'd love to see how your sims are living in Windbrook! ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Download (Dropbox)

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[glowettee]

˚₊‧꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚maintaining your academic glow-up (forever!) - part 5/5˚₊‧꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

1st post 2nd post 3rd post 4th post 5th post

posted by: glowettee

hey academic angels! ♡

we've made it to the final part of our grade recovery journey! now that you're back on track, i wanna talk about how to keep that academic glow permanent. because we're not just trying to fix one grade - we're creating a whole new you! and we want it to last as long as possible <3

♡ creating your prevention system

catch problems before they happen:

early warning signs:

feeling confused in class more than usual

taking longer to complete assignments

procrastinating more than normal

losing interest in subjects

feeling overwhelmed easily

skipping study sessions

quick intervention steps:

review your notes daily (even if just for 15 mins!)

keep a confusion log for each class

schedule regular check-ins with professors/teachers

maintain your study buddy system

track your understanding weekly

stay ahead of readings

♡ building sustainable study habits

because we're in this for the long haul:

daily non-negotiables:

review today's class notes (make them pretty but useful)

preview tomorrow's material

update your planner

check for upcoming deadlines

organize materials for next day

celebrate small victories

weekly must-dos:

deep review of tough concepts

organize notes and materials

plan next week's study schedule

check assignment progress

connect with study group

reflect on what's working

♡ maintaining your academic aesthetic

looking cute while studying actually helps:

your study space:

keep it clean and organized

update inspiration board regularly

maintain good lighting

rotate study locations when needed

keep supplies stocked and cute

create seasonal study vibes

your materials:

color code consistently

update planners weekly

maintain digital backups

organize notes beautifully

keep supplies aesthetic but functional

create pretty study guides

♡ long-term success strategies

thinking ahead like the queen you are:

grade monitoring:

track all assignments and tests

calculate grade scenarios

maintain grade goals

document improvement patterns

celebrate progress milestones

adjust strategies as needed

knowledge building:

connect concepts across subjects

create master study guides

maintain concept maps

build on previous learning

develop deep understanding

share knowledge with others

♡ emergency preparation

because life loves to throw curveballs:

your emergency kit:

quick review sheets for each subject

backup study materials

digital copies of everything

contact list for help

stress-relief techniques

backup study locations

preventive measures:

stay ahead in readings

maintain good notes

keep organized files

build support networks

practice self-care regularly

maintain work-life balance

♡ mindset maintenance

keeping your academic confidence high:

daily practices:

positive study affirmations

progress appreciation

growth mindset exercises

self-care routines

gratitude journaling

visualization exercises

long-term mindset:

view challenges as opportunities

celebrate all progress

maintain high standards (but be kind to yourself)

focus on growth, not just grades

build academic confidence

stay curious and engaged

maintaining success is like maintaining your favorite aesthetic - it needs constant care and attention, but it's so worth it!

final thoughts:

trust your systems

stay consistent

keep things cute but functional

maintain your support network

celebrate every win

keep growing and glowing

thank you for joining me on this journey! remember, you're capable of amazing things, and one bad grade doesn't define your academic story. keep shining, keep studying, and keep being absolutely amazing!

stay brilliant and beautiful!

xoxo, mindy 🎀

[eugenedebs1920]

Let us not forget what this is truly about. Tax cuts for the rich. A tax structure specifically designed to award over 80% of the tax breaks to the top tax bracket, while slightly raising taxes for those making between $60-$80k. Yet hallelujah those with more money than they could ever spend will increase their disproportionate wealth by tens of millions of dollars a year by not contributing to the wellbeing of the American system. As Republicans have so clearly demonstrated, the only people who deserve wealth, are those who already possess it.

There’s some fun math in this article. Math I guess Republicans either believe we’re too stupid, lazy, or distracted to catch. To pass this “budget” they will raise the debt ceiling by $4 trillion. The tax cuts for the rich that trump and his billionaire cabinet so desperately want to renew will cost $4.5 trillion, once again leaving a MASSIVE deficit to pay.

In trumps first term he added nearly $8 TRILLION to the deficit, exponentially more than any other president in American history, and 25% of the OVERALL, meaning all time total, debt accrued.

“Don’t worry Eugene, doge is on it!”

Well, I wouldn’t get too far ahead of ourselves on that.

As of Friday, February 21st, musk and his dougebags found $7.8 billion in waste/fraud. That may sound like a lot, yet in the full scheme of the budget, it isn’t.

There are roughly 365 million American citizens. Trump is touting this notion that with all the “savings” from musk and the dougebags he will give 20% of the findings back to the American taxpayer.

Let’s do some long division. 7.8 billion divided by 365 million comes out to be 21.73. Now take 20% of that and it’s just over $4 per person. Personally I’d take a functional government over $5. Maybe that’s just me though.

The juice ain’t worth the squeeze with this South African billionaire dismantling and infiltrating all corners of our institutions.

Doge is so incompetent that they boasted finding $8 billion dollars in suspected fraud, only to have that redacted due to a calculation error of THREE DECIMAL POINTS!!!

There’s also claims from the foreigner trying to destroy our democracy of hundreds of thousands of social security beneficiaries receiving checks despite being 150 plus years old. As it turns out, if you did a simple google search this is false. The code for the Social Security Administration is tremendously old but efficient. To ensure non duplicate SS numbers plus the cost and chaos it would create to rewrite the code, the current system was decided to be satisfactory seeing its accuracy and functionality.

Let’s recap. To cut taxes for the rich, there will be the largest cut to Medicare and Medicaid since its inception, estimates are at least $800 billion, hopefully nobody’s grandparents need medical care, funding for the most impoverished people on the planet is eliminated, despite it being less than 1% of the budget, the department of education will be defunded or all together dissolved, nutritional assistance to the struggling American will be DRASTICALLY cut, for some reason the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will be annihilated, grants that fund cancer research and other medical breakthroughs will cease, infrastructure projects will come to a halt leaving our roads and bridges in tatters, and millions of career civil servants tasked with everything from ensuring aviation safety, to securing our nuclear arsenal will find themselves without work.

All this so musk, Trump, Thiel, and the 12 other billionaires in trumps cabinet can avoid contributing their fair share to the country they made their fortunes off of.

Trump recently spouted some dumb sh*t, as he often does, while referencing tariffs saying “we were the richest between 1887 to 1920” which, number one, is false, and two, THATS THE PERIOD KNOWN AS THE GUILDED AGE, AN ERA OF IMMENSE WEALTH DISPARITY THAT LED TO THE GOD DAMN GREAT DEPRESSION!!!!!

So what are Republican principles exactly? It’s certainly not law and order, taking into account their almighty leader’s antics and his administrations disdain for the Constitution and the law generally. It’s definitely not family values when you take into consideration all the sexual predators, the infidelity and sexual misconduct. It’s clearly not democracy and freedom with this administration’s stance on Russia removing us from the allies we have been aligned with since WWII, and siding us with Putin and dictatorships around the globe. And as this upcoming “budget” shows us fiscal responsibility is out of the question.

The values the modern Republican Party holds is that of enriching the wealthy by screwing the middle class. They stand for tyranny and oppression. Corruption is a cornerstone to the Republican ideology. Let’s not forget voter suppression. There’s always their tried and “true” platform of blatant lying, their spreading of misinformation and disinformation, so much so that they openly oppose fact checking. Their aversion to the Constitution. Last but not least, their embrace of discrimination.

It sucks that everyone will have to suffer to hopefully enlighten Republican voters on the fact that they care nothing for the working class, that they have zero shame in their hypocrisy and self enrichment. That they only desire power and will engage in any disgraceful tactics to hold on to it. That they hold no reverence to their constituents or to the oath they swear to the Constitution.

May our nation endure this devastating and corrupt period of its existence.

[an-eggs-quest]

Exams are done, treating myself by rambling.

Transcribed:

- Cracked post HOJ

- died from infection (critter got into her pouch and caused internal damage)

- Friends with Doey pre HOJ (Drifted after she met the Prototype)

- Goofy and excitable but gullible

Here’s a little ppt oc (well. I guess two) I have in the works. Kudos Kangaroo! The base design was done by @justabeewithapen (thank you so much again btw). She’s a pillow, a blanket, and a friend all in one! Kudos was a limited edition spinoff of the smiling critters, name of the line still pending, aimed towards the same demographic just a bit more functional. Not shown well but there’s a Velcro strap to hold the blanket part of her inside (acting as stuffing) with a soft flashlight for late night endeavors.

As for the actual character, there were two created: one BBI and one the size of the actual plush. They were created to test the storage capacity of toys.

The Bigger Body variant was kept in the bottom floors for transporting valuable materials. This is where she met Doey. They were fast friends and absolutely insufferable to manage together, being kept apart whenever possible. That didn’t stop them, Kudos often making trips to see him in and out of work hours.

Like stated above that all kinds changed when her life was saved by the Prototype in a mine accident (this may change but she was saved lmao). He would visit her to speak every so often afterwards, eventually leading to her worship of him and planning for the HOJ. She tried to convince Doey a few times to no avail (not that he didn’t agree with parts, he just had a bad feeling about what it was doing to her).

They didn’t speak again after that.

Now, here’s where the little guy comes in. Little Kudos (whose name I need to change-) is very similar to her BBI counterpart, just hardened if you will. She lacks a lot of mobility, even compared to the smiling/nightmare critters of the same size, so she has to make do in other aspects.

She was rescued early in safe haven’s creation. Due to her gratitude and pride she wanted to pay it forward to her fellow members, even if she couldn’t go out and get supplies. She’s good at organizing, so she would make sure everything was stocked, help at bedtime, and pick up messes, alongside acting on her original function (a blanket).

She’s also dead btw, died during the explosion. There’s more to her with Doey and other relationships but this post is long enough as is, and I need to mull it over more.

Blah if you read all this feel free to leave your thoughts! And thank you!

[pxseas]

Custom College Update

hi:) me again! I've been working on my custom college (working title 'Urbania Polytechnic') and I thought I'd share how it's coming along so far !

The last post was pretty bare bones, but it's starting to come along! Naturally it's still in the very early stages, but I've been fleshing out the urban side of the neighbourhood with some new lots; I added 3 new dorms (one of which is a mirror of the first one, but with an extended third floor), 2 rows of stores, a 'grungey' nightclub, a rooftop high-class nightclub, a bar / lounge and a modern restaurant, and then the university quad and the university library.

I'm definitley not a natural builder, nor do I have any experience in creating custom neighborhoods in TS2, but I'm having fun creating this college so far! Attempting to blend in the lots with the props is fun, and I'll probably start looking for some more props in the future once the structure of everything is down. As of right now, I'm trying to avoid neighborhood mods to see what it would look like from an unmodded perspective, but once I'm satisfied with the base of it I'll upgrade my mod selection :)

The fifth generation of my sims 2 save are starting to age up to teenagers, so I'd love to have this ready for them - both so I can play it, but also test it and see if it all works. Here's some photos of the current lots in build mode !

These are the 2 dorms I made (the other dorm was in my previous post - not much has changed about it really lol). The main thing I wanted to include were dorm rooms that weren't 4x4, so I could have more space for my sims stuff whilst also having a double bed !

The quad is very very bare bones right now - it's literally just paths, fences, and a fountain lol - but I'm still kind of stuck as to what I could include, aside from trees. The library is opposite, and is pretty standard, but I wanted it to kind of look like a city hall whilst still having functionality :) Definitley need to improve the roof !

Even though the library building is taller than the included floors, it's acting more so as a shell. I did this method with the rows of stores as well, as I thought it would be a bit much to include 3/4 levels on a community lot that I'd probably visit for a grand total of 5 minutes !

I was kind of stuck for what to include within the stores - aside from a grocery store, which I wanted to add to the suburban side of the neighborhood :) So, I settled on two coffee shops, a clothing store, a comedy club (or jazz bar, I added a piano for fun !), and an internet cafe. I also made some sort of indoor pool, and I was considering turning it into a spa with the Bon Voyage massage tables and saunas, but I wanted to create a gym / spa on the other side of the river :)

The upper-class rooftop 'nightclub' was built like the nightclubs in the sims 3, where it's just a lobby with the top level decorated. I'm not entirely sure about this build yet, but it might grow on me ! I'll probably post it in the future when I change it

This is the grungey nightclub I created, that's designed to look like it's in a repurposed warehouse. I wanted there to be variations in the nightclubs / restuarants / lounges that my sims could visit whilst on the campus, as though it's its own downtown :)

This is the more higher class restaurant I designed - further down the river, I plan to create a less 'posh' restaurant, like a diner or something ! The cafes in the stores don't include the Late Night restaurant moments, instead opting for the University / Apartment Life (i dont know which pack it came in !) coffee shop mechanic. I was worried that, if I added a restaurant hosting stand on the generic community lots, then the sims might behave differently on the lot. Haven't tested anything yet, but I'd like the restaurants / diners to be standalone lots :)

And, finally (sorry it's such a long post!), this is the lounge / bar I created, that features poker, karaoke, pool, and darts. This is probably one of my favourite builds in the world so far, aside from the dorms !

In terms of what's next, I have two more planned lots for the urban side of the neighbourhood - the student union and the aforementioned diner. After that, I'm going to start work on the suburban side of the river, which will have the sorority, fraternity, student houses, and some other amenities. It'll be nice to go back to building suburban houses as opposed to all of these urban buildings, but I'm glad I started with the daunting task :)

if you made it this far, thanks for reading !!