#Yes a great many of our current problems could have been avoided if we had not made massive changes to ecosystem processes on the assumptio

[screambirdscreaming]

At the bus stop one time there was a gaggle of preschoolers waiting to catch the bus for a field trip day, and someone walked past with a couple of friendly little dogs, to great general delight.

But after a little bit, the dogs were getting overwhelmed, and the preschoolers were gently coaxed to back off so the person with the dogs could continue on. Specifically, one of the preschool teachers said, "Sometimes, when you're small, being surrounded by big people can be a bit scary and overwhelming. Even if they are friendly."

This was recieved as great wisdom: after all, the preschoolers were also small, and understood how scary and overwhelming big people could be! And the dogs were indeed even smaller than the preschoolers, so it made sense.

What was funny and charming was that, upon absorbing and reflecting on this wisdom, they all felt the need to tell it to one another. In tones of great insight, they turned to one another and said, "Did you know? Sometimes when you are small, being surrounded by big people can be scary and overwhelming! Even if they are friendly!" Back and forth, without any particular concern that they were all saying the same thing. Have reached comprehension of an insight, it must be shared!

I must say that this behavior is less charming in tumblr users than in preschoolers. Not least because tumblr users, having gained a little analytical skill to misuse, insist on Summarizing and Generalizing and Unifying the insights they repeat, quickly turning any interesting new information into formulaic dogmatic mush.

[simslegacy5083]

Today's (4/21/2025) Episode: An Adoption Evaluation

As soon as the couple stepped off the teleporter for their adoption interview, Hunter called out “Skye, Elyse! Over here. So nice to see you again!”

“Thank you for taking the time to speak with us” Skye stepped into xir uncle’s outstretched arms.

“It looks like you’re… expecting?” xe continued, fighting down a surge of envy as they made their way inside.

“Well yes” Hunter grinned, placing a hand possessively on his protruding belly. “There’s really no hiding it these days! This here is my little miracle. I miscarried quite a few times in my youth when my ex-wife and I were trying to start a family, but I agreed to give it one more shot after my Courtney had so much trouble during her pregnancy with our son. So far, everything is going great!”

“Looking good Marvin!” he called out to their clearly pregnant host before striking up a conversation with one of the waiters. What in Grim’s name!? Skye thought, squeezing Elyse’s hand gently before turning to get them checked in. Is everyone in this place having a baby!?

“So” Hunter began once they were seated “Obviously you’re interested in adopting. That’s great! I read through your application, and it seems like you both have quite a lot going on. How about you start by telling me a little bit more about your current day to day?”

“Well, we both work full time and pick up jobs from freelance agencies as well.” Elyse began as Skye placed their order, eager to impress Hunter with the couple’s work ethic. “Skye’s ancestorial family home is pretty expensive to maintain, so I paint to make a few extra simoleons and Skye is usually working on some sponsorship or other. He also writes reviews anytime we go out to eat. I bet you’re going to write up this place, aren’t you honey?”

“Not necessarily…” Skye laughed nervously when their waiter started in surprise.

“Wow, you two sure are busy!” Hunter grew serious “What is your plan for fitting a new little sim into your jam-packed schedule? Every child needs lots of love and attention, and so many of our kids need even more than usual. They’ve often been orphaned or abandoned and can be pretty fragile.”

Elyse waved away his concern. “We’ll figure it out, and we have our parents and Candor to help. Anyway, I thought we’d be adopting a newborn” she continued “or maybe an infant would be OK. Either way, we’re looking for a baby, so those issues you mentioned shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

Before Hunter could respond Skye’s phone erupted loudly “One second, I have to take this” xe said “Grayson… calm down��� we’ll be right over.”

Hunter accompanied the couple to Britechester, where they found their tenants standing outside, staring at the suspiciously floating ping pong table.

“I had just gotten home when I heard this scaredy cat start screaming like a baby!” Betty laughed, poking her boyfriend lightly in the ribs “I came running just as she floated out here.”

“You try tripping over a ghost who comes bursting out of the sink on your way to the bathroom and see how you like it!” Greyson fired back at her, grimacing as he awkwardly hopped backwards to grab the fence for balance, clearly trying to avoid putting weight on his right leg. “I almost peed myself and I think I might have actually broken my ankle this time! I’m beginning to believe this place is cursed.”

While Skye worked on pacifying their frazzled tenants “How about you get that ankle looked at and send me your clinic bill Greyson. Of course, this week’s rent is on us…” Elyse marched over and proceeded to give their unwelcome guest a piece of her mind.

“I don’t know who you are, or what you think you’re doing, but you picked the wrong place to do it missy! If you don’t leave RIGHT NOW I’ll tell the immortal mage who owns this place with us to banish you into the deepest, darkest, reaches of the nether!” At that the ghost hung her head and floated quickly away down the street. “And stay out!” Elyse yelled at her retreating back.

“Thanks guys!” Betty smiled, offering her boy her arm “That was un-boo-lievable! Sorry to run, but we have just enough time to get to the clinic before gimpy’s next class. Toodles!” She let the others go ahead towards the portal back to the diner and their interrupted adoption evaluation.

Hunter’s friends had held their food, which was swiftly delivered to the table once they got resettled. “Baby needs lunch” Hunter patted his belly fondly “Let’s eat; then we’ll wrap this interview up.”

Skye picked at xir lackluster meal while the others cleaned their plates over a few more small questions about their non-existent free time. Finally, Hunter turned to his nephew “Its obvious that the two of you are very busy sims, with a lot on your plates. You’re also still very young. I think you should get a few more days under your belts and lighten some of that load before you try to take on the responsibilities of parenthood.”

“I’m sorry” he went on “but I can’t in good conscience put you on the list of families prepared to adopt our vulnerable charges right now. But please, let us know when your situation settles down and we’ll keep all your paperwork on file to revisit this then.”

Furious, Skye burst out of xir seat “How dare you sit there and tell us that we don’t deserve to be parents!? I came to OUR family's foundation because I thought you’d be willing to help us, but I guess the jokes on me. Come on Elyse, we’re leaving.”

Xir wife, crying openly, followed xem through the teleporter to sunny Sulani. Clinging to each other for support, the couple stumbled to a bench not far from the homes they’d grown up in, where the familiar sound of the ocean waves beating on the shore worked its relaxing magic on the pair.

Skye was first to break the silence. “This is… an unfortunate setback, but I promise you I won’t let it stop us. I know we’ll be great parents.”

Elyse, emotionally drained by her hopes being dashed once more just clung to her teddy bear, willing the warm sun to burn away the negative energy that seemed to be chasing her. “I trust you.” she said softly, “I don’t understand why it has to be so hard, but there is nothing we can’t face, together.”

View The Full Story of My Not So Berry Challenge Here

[leejenowrld]

you don’t have to answer this ask but i enjoy reading ur responses!!!! so thank u if u do 💘 i’m the anon asking for rs advice ^^ i’ll be 🥟 anon so that it’s easier to keep track 🙇🏻‍♀️

dw im not a minor AHAHA i’m barely legal, just that my friends are at most 1 year older than me so actually age does make alot of difference in terms of maturity when it comes to giving advice, at least for relationship advice is what i’ve noticed!!

yeah id say hes sweet and i def don’t want to break his heart but we definitely do have our issues and lately our arguments have been so bad to the point that its almost impossible to resolve bc i’ve started to see his flaws?? in a way that it wasn’t obvious back then but its definitely obvious now and its enough of an issue that yk if i “date to marry” and i do end up marrying him, this would probably impact my life in a huge way

heres abit of my lore 🤣 basically ive always grown up kind of a loner? well maybe not a loner w 0 friends but i never really had as many friends that i was close to compared to people around me, so only when i was in upper sec in secondary school then i started really having friends and enjoying my life as i should! then we had this outdoor camp programme where we got to go on a camping trip with a group of people coming from 2 other secondary schools including our own, and from there i met my boy best friend. which is not uncommon for me since i play videogames but i’ve been in an all-girls school since primary school so the ratio of my female to male friends is probably like 3:1 + all my male friends are from other co-ed secondary schools and likely met through friends. i met him before i dated my current bf, and before my current bf and i started dating i did make it explicitly clear that i had a boy best friend or at least a male friend that i was sort of close to! so here’s the problem, i def respect my boundaries w that male friend bc i don’t want to make my bf feel like im prioritising someone else over him or make him overthink, so ever since we started dating i haven’t seen my friend irl like once which i mean its been a busy year for us all so its not that bad but i honestly don’t think i could go for the rest of my life without hanging out w him irl at least once a year or so bc i really see him like a brother that i don’t have and we’ve always helped each other to get through problems so there’s that and never at any point did i ever have any romantic feelings towards him 🙇🏻‍♀️

i think the whole root of the problem is that my bf thinks i shouldn’t be hanging out with a guy friend 1-to-1 without his supervision, which yes i kinda do agree to some extent bc if i was in his shoes i’d probably also feel slightly uneasy, but then again this is life and i cannot possibly be avoiding irl 1-to-1 male interaction for the rest of my life if i continue to date my bf right 😅 i’ve told my bf time and time again that i don’t feel anything towards my friend and neither does he bc if we both did then we’d be together instead of me with my current bf…yeah but i guess hes still unsure in that aspect bc hes a little controlling abt how my friendship w that male friend is and i often feel super trapped/suffocated bc if i play videogames w him i’m afraid that my bf would find out and get mad at me since we both play the same games but at different skill levels + this has happened before so 😞

if u have any advice how to approach this that would be great too!!! but honestly after all the arguments i’m starting to see that he probably isn’t the right one for me bc we do actually have different values, principles and interests so 😅

i def get that nct should be a casual interest/hobby, but then mayb again due to not having fully matured, my interests have never been anything “casual” to me HAHAHA like yes studying/my future is always my 1st priority to me and will always be, but the moment im done with my student responsibilities i straightaway turn to the dreamies as a form of escape cuz ngl it gets really tough and streasful here and i always feel more alone than not despite having friends if u get what i mean…maybe its just the academic responsibilities 🙂‍↕️ i’m not sure how best to put it to give u a better picture of what im like irl but in my free time i pretty much only yap abt the dreamies (on my socials) but i def agree with whatever u said though!!!! just maybe that i’m not ready to hold my interest to such a “casual” standard but i’ll keep what u said in mind 🙂‍↕️

thank u for listening to me ramble, its def easier to rant to someone who doesn’t know me irl but pls know ur not obligated to reply me!!!! 🙇🏻‍♀️ pls stay safe and healthy 💘

- 🥟

no that’s okay please send me any asks <3 i like receiving them and answering them, i wish i got more 😭 sorry for the late response but i’m here now xx

ahhh okay!! and yeah i have been told i’m mature for my age but i have my moments obviously but i think being in a relationship has helped me mature especially emotionally mature.

oh i get that :( yeah that sounds super tough and tricky. it always hurts being in an argument with someone you love, and when you’re hurting each other. it seems like a super sticky situation as i can defo see where he’s not trusting you and creating problems. the thing is, i definitely see your pov as well as his. it’s not nice to see your s/o be such close friends with someone of their opposite gender, trust me, i’ve had a lot of jealous moments as my boyfriend has a lot of friends and some of them are girls. but jealously aside, being friends with someone the opposite sex isn’t a crime? you’re not doing anything wrong. just make sure you always communicate to him and make him feel like he’s your priority, always saying it doesn’t mean as much as actions. show him. my boyfriend is very very good at that, whenever i have jealous moments he will always show me that he prioritises me and that i’m his girl. and that i’m the only person he sees in his eyes if you get me. but if your bf has such an issue, try and find the actual root reason why he’s so mad and then start from there. it’s also unhealthy for him to get jealous so much, i get jealous but there’s over jealous and controlling. that’s a sign that your relationship isn’t stable :( and that you guys need to communicate and just prioritise each other and each others feelings. i always say this but being honest and communicating is the solution to everything!! im trying to imagine if i was in your situation and what i’d do. i don’t really have many friends (lmao) let alone guy friends, but if i did and i was hanging out with him (but as you described not a lot right?) hm i feel like if i didn’t tell my boyfriend he would get mad at me, or if i kept hanging out with this guy. i feel like if i communicated with him (which you said you tried to do) and was honest he’d be more chill with it. also would it help having your friend and your bf meet? i feel like my bf would feel more at ease if he met my male friend so i’m just thinking maybe that would help your boyfriend not get so weird about it.

if you feel like he isn’t the one for you then that’s what you feel! always go with your gut.

and i get you! you explained that well. i totally understand that things like kpop are a form of escapism. and no worries, always send me your asks <3 i love reading them and i love responding to you. please never stop lol. i love giving advice. hope you stay well mwah and update me if anything happens with ur bf !!