#mod though: I will have a house full of people and I dread it but I don’t have to cook an entire feast alone for the first time in years

[allusivealyssa]

I kind of want to hear about everyone that celebrates it, Christmas plans, if you want to share 👉👈

[simtrospective]

CC free! I know!

So, this is Rachael. Her aspiration is to become a Bestselling Author, and her traits are Dog Lover; Ambitious; and Loner, as those qualities seemed the best way to fulfill the backstory provided (you can read that under the cut).

I am too reliant on CC to ever go full vanilla though I admire the vanilla players so much and enjoy the several I follow here. Still, I like the challenge of pulling my mods and seeing what can happen. I’m pleased with Rachael’s face and am especially fond of her nose.

Soooo, I hope you like her, Anon! As you’re on console, this lil sim is on the Gallery; I’ve also uploaded her tray files for those who might be interested.

Outfit pics, download info, and more under the cut.......

Rachael has two everyday outfits, one for work and one for running casual errands...? I pulled her hot/cold weather outfits from her work outfit because barristers do work year round lol

Available on the Gallery as Barrister for Anon. EA ID : simtrospective  -OR-  DL HERE

Don’t claim as yours. Tag me if you use her.

Here is the rest of the ask below for those who love rich sim backstories as much as I do:

[...]

A little back story: (I say little it turned out to be a novel. Brace yourself.)

She is a hard working barrister, who although very intelligent is a bit of a procrastinator and leaves everything to the last minute. (in her line of work you wouldn't think this could happen, but alas it does and she seems to thrive under that pressure and somehow pull it off) she is very charasmatic, seems to be one of those people that just fly through everything in life while others struggle at the bottom. She does put her all into her work, once she starts getting on with it, she just finds certain aspects easier to grasp than her peers.

There are rumours that's she's sleeping her way to the top, but that seems to follow any capable, intelligent woman in any line of work and usually comes along with jealousy and bitterness. She isn't by the way, sleeping with anyone from her law firm. And she pays no mind to it. (She doesn't feel like sex should be taboo, and has had many lovers.) Although, yes, she's been out for a drink or two with a few colleagues, nothing ever would, or has, become physical, or even remotely close to emotional attachment. Actually, she feels like she is extremely hard to love, (her words not mine because it's not true), and even when she tries, she can't seem to maintain a relationship. She isn't overly affectionate, likes her own space and company, won't be controlled and is extremely independent. Although she is a romantic. Shocker. Sometimes, her need to be free causes obstacles as she mistakes even the slightest suggestion as someones needing to control her. There's no compromise with her, her way or the highway.

She wouldn't say she follows any strict rules in her own life and likes to go out whenever possible, especially dancing, although she doesn't drink often and would never touch any sort of drug and doesn't smoke. There is some serious trust issues within this woman, you have to constantly earn and show her you're worthy and this is for everyone in her life, including herself: her capabilities, her strength and her power, she doesn't trust that she has what it takes and this leads into a cycle of self sabotaging. Once, however, you mean something to her, she become something of a doormat, an enabler and has a hard time cutting people off.

She is extremely capable of anything she puts her mind to, especially the arts. She is a fabulous artist and writer. Her house if full with her paintings and she wants to publish a book someday.

She has expensive taste but doesn't necessarily need to buy expensive things. She is also very self aware and wise. Absolutely cannot take an ounce of criticism. I can see her having a very short temper, very strict but fair and very open minded. Goes above and beyond for her friends and family, to the point she gets taken advantage of and puts her own health and wellbeing second to everyone else's.

Her trust issues aren't a jealousy thing, I don't see her being a person to become easily jealous.

She likes swimming, running and yoga. She has a very small circle of friends and her favourite colour is burnt orange. She is into herbal tea, peach and cherry is her favourite and she likes to eat on the healthier side although her caramel frappes and chocolate addiction is getting out of hand. When she does drink, it is vodka, or cheap red wine, she finds the expensive stuff to taste dreadful, the only contradiction to her usually expensive taste. Eventually, she wants to move from her flat, she's been there too long, and into a nice victorian house, where she can raise some dogs. The bigger the better. She'd never buy from a breeder, only rescues.

If you've made it to this line, we'll that is some dedication and thank you. I do waffle on. If you do decide to make someone from this descript, I look forward to seeing your spin on things. Thank you again, your sims are exquisite.

[spoons4spoonies]

Story Time

My secondary school holds a leaving ball for Year 13 students every June after exams are finished. It is a lavish affair with free champagne and a private bar and is run jointly with the boy’s school. The tickets are expensive even if you choose to be sober (like me) or are underage (like a few of my friends), but it’s the last time you will see many of your peers and teachers. Unless of course you are the type to find endless excuses to come back to visit, and are also the type of student that the school wants to visit. It will not surprise you to know that I am both.

Anyway, though there is not technically a dress code (evidenced by the fact that one boy turned up in a long vest as some kind of joke that showed off an unseemly proportion of his chest hair and was skin tight in a very unflattering manner) most girls wear ball gowns and high heels. I myself chose to wear scarlet high heels – the kind that you only wear if you plan to be sitting down most of the evening – and a beautiful dress I’d bought in a sale from my favourite shop. It was black velvet (or velvet style, real velvet no doubt costs more than thirty pounds) with a wide skirt patterned with flowers and birds in gold and red and green thread. My sister was even convinced to wear makeup and do her hair for her ball, probably one of three times I have ever seen her wear eyeshadow.

For many years, it had been tradition for the leaving ball to be held on a river boat on the Thames. No doubt this was the decision of the boy’s school as they had control over all these things. (Just a little casual sexism, but that’s for another day). I had heard many stories about this notorious boat; people getting travel sick from the turbulence, people breaking ankles and other bones falling over getting into the boat (I.e. before they were even drunk! That’s high heels for you I suppose) and of it generally being a bit of a hazard. My sister was certainly fairly unimpressed by it.

As someone who could get motion sick on a bicycle, it is something of an understatement to say I was relieved when they decided to host it in the Museum of London for my year. Though I have to say I didn’t trust my peers to act sensibly around the exhibits once drunk.

I got my hair done that afternoon and my aunt arrived to look after me (I may have been eighteen but even at twenty I am still not entirely trusted on my own) as my parents and sister were attending her graduation ceremony in Cambridge. She received a double first, another in a long line of academic achievements that I will never fail to be proud of her for. I am sad that I couldn’t be there too, but with my energy levels it wouldn’t have been manageable.

I travelled to the ball in style in a black cab with my friend and neighbour who we shall call Corporal for their time spent in the Army cadets. They were wearing a tailored suit bought for them by their godmother that had a Praedae Causa embroidered under the collar – a Latin phrase that we translated to mean “For the sake of the booty”. A very private school joke.

For the first hour we gathered in an upstairs hall where the free champagne was delivered and tap water was surprisingly hard to come by. It was here that our teachers joined us (some for the free alcohol I suspect) and mingling was encouraged. My main concern was the lack of chairs, given my shoes and the weakness of my legs (though I had not yet been diagnosed with POTS at this point, I knew far too well how little I liked standing up for long periods of time). But I remember getting lots of praise for my outfit, something I bask in, and trying to get as many photos as possible with my friends.

A, one of my Kpop friends, was wearing a beautiful traditional sarong in red and gold and had huge false eyelashes on that greatly suited her. I believe this was before she shaved her head for charity so she would have had her long curly hair. N was wearing a lovely red dress – unusual for her – that she had some trouble ordering as the company got the measurements wrong and sent a damaged version. But she looked stunning regardless and she had the luck to be going with her girlfriend – they are still together, and are definitely what one might call couple goals.

Then we were carefully directed downstairs to another room with big, round tables and a section for dancing at the far end. The music they were playing wasn’t the best, as for licensing reasons they could only play covers of pop songs. Mostly I wish they wouldn’t play music at all during dinner as one can’t hear the conversation at all.

First course couldn’t come soon enough – by this point I was starving! – it was gravlax and grapefruit in not exactly generous portions. Luckily, my friends didn’t like raw fish, so I had several helpings! The main course was beef and potato dauphinoise, and again I had several helpings as N had just stopped eating dairy. Then came pudding, the best part of any meal, which was a chocolate brownie, ice cream and some coffee flavoured mousse that I immediately passed off to someone else. I ended up eating more than one brownie, so all in all I certainly got my money’s worth.

Then it was time to dance, and you can bet I was one of the first up on the dancefloor! I had decided that since this was a onetime occasion and I had nowhere to be for the next few days, I might as well go full out and enjoy myself. I naively assumed that I could ignore my energy limits.

After three years, you’d have thought I would have learnt by now…

But I was not to be stopped and I dropped it low on the dancefloor – much easier with high heels as the leg muscles have less work to do – to some classic 2012 hits and spun and jumped and shimmied my way into an asthma attack.

I should clarify at this point that I do not actually have asthma (though I shouldn’t tempt the devil by saying such things) but I had clearly pissed off my body sufficiently that it resorted to drastic measures. It had tried to warn me gently a few times that enough is enough – aching feet, stitch, out of breath, slight back pain, heartbeat out of control, dizziness… I could go on – but since I had ignored all the warning signs it had started banging pots and pans together to get my attention.

Now that I was quite short of breath and it had reached ten thirty, I decided that I had had my fun and that it would be a sensible time to catch a taxi home. Then my breath decided to get a little shorter despite drinking water and sitting down and I began to panic ever so slightly. I went upstairs to get a little cool air, having said my goodbyes to many and various, and was lucky enough to come across E – another Kpop friend and my spoonie buddy – who immediately proffered her inhaler.

This helped with the breathing situation, but it was becoming alarmingly clear that my body was not even halfway done with its little tantrum. For at that moment, I started to come out in hives. Now, this was not the first time I had experienced that dreadful, full body itch of despair and past mistakes – many a nut reaction had induced the same effect. However, I could not for the life of me figure out why I was being cursed with it today.

I had specifically requested a nut free meal, and double checked every course. Hell, I had even eaten two and a half brownies! (Not that that is much of an indication as I have been known to have terrible self-restraint at times). I had no other symptoms (which I suppose I must be thankful for) so it couldn’t have been a nut reaction.

I hastily took some piriteze (I carry them with me everywhere in anticipation of future stupidity) and geared myself up for going home. I was faced with a walk through the dark to the nearest busy road to find a taxi, or waiting long enough for my parents to come pick me up (by this time they had returned from Cambridge). Neither seemed appealing due to the heel situation and my desperation to crawl out of my own skin respectively. I did not feel I could wait any longer before getting in a hot shower and dousing myself in Aloe Vera, but I also suddenly had no energy.

Thankfully help arrived in the form of E’s father as she had also decided to call it a night, and in her naturally mother hen way had taken it upon herself to get me home safe. He drove us back to my house to drop me off and I was hastily bundled into the shower by a loving mother. Soon enough I was back in a cool bed and significantly less itchy.

It was only later, when I mentioned the whole debacle to my specialist, that she revealed the source of my suffering: mould and dust. That’s right ladies, gentlemen and non-binary babes, I had an allergic reaction to a museum.

Not my finest moment.

-Mod H

[serrj215]

Marriage

"Do you want to get married?"

Raven always judged herself as someone that was hard to shock but when that question hit hear ear she almost choked on her breakfast. They had just ended a long patrol that that took them well past sunrise. They both decided that breakfast had to happen before heading back to the tower.  Witch brought them to a little 24 hour diner just south of downtown.

"Rae, you good?" Beast Boy was half out of his seat before she waved him off.

After she coughed and regained her composure. "I am fine!" She took a sip of tea to wet her throat" Where did THAT come from?"  

"The family over in the corner" Beast Boy pointed with his chin. Raven turned her head to glance at the corner booth. A Young man and woman were having breakfast taking turns entertaining a little boy with brown hair sitting in a high chair.

"That must be nice" Beast Boy said to himself.

"You, have thought about this?" Raven questioned her friend.  

Beast Boy had no idea why this stray idea came out of his mouth. He was going to try to cover it up with a joke or but when his eyes met hers the truth just escaped. "Don't most people?" He took a sip of his orange juice though a straw "Marriage, Family, Kids, home, hearth, bundled cellphone plans, that jazz." he continued.  "Don't you ever think about that?"

"No" Raven said simply returning to her meal. Beast Boy smiled weakly and she could almost feel him retreat inside of himself. A small wave of embarrassment hit her.  A stiff silence filled the rest of the meal. Raven knew that Beast Boy had shared something personal with her, something genuine. His usual defenses of jokes and puns were left out of the topic.

The server came and Beast Boy gave him his card. He started to get up from the table when Raven reached out and grabbed his wrist. Unsure what to do he sat back down giving Raven a confused look.  

"I didn't mean to be rude" Raven started pulling her hand away. "Beast Boy I spent most of my life thinking I was going to be the gateway to the end of the world." She said examining her fingers. "There were many ideas that I did not think about."

Raven could feel the shame in Beast Boy felt start to subside and blend into concern.  

"Raven, you got your whole life in front of you. You can do anything you want, have a relationship, get married, go to college, have career, kids, travel, open an ice cream shop. " He said with a smile.  

"An ice cream shop?" Her eyebrow raised

"Water slide test pilot?" He smiled "If you want, You can do any of those things, or none of them, or something completely different."  

"Can you really see me as the 'Happy little homemaker?"

"If that’s what you want Rae.  I am not talking about little house on the prairie, no one says you got to be the one staying home with the kids, or that you couldn’t have a career"

"Are you saying that you, would be okay at home all day cleaning, cooking and taking care of babies?"

"If that’s what works for my family, and if you ever tried my Tofu loaf you would know I am a great cook"

"Pass. You have thought about this often?"

"Sometimes" Beast Boy looking into his OJ.

"I can’t see it." she stated after an awkward pause. "It's hard for me to look forward too far, like if I did the universe would punish me for wanting something more.  I am alive, my friends are alive, asking for more somehow feels greedy."

"Want to know what I see?" his eyes came up to meet hers again.

Beast Boy grabbed one of the discarded straw wrappers. Quickly twisting and tying it into a loop.  Before Raven could react he scooped up her left hand slid the hastily assembled ring onto her finger.

"There your married."

"Beast B-"

"Rae I got enough imagination for this whole diner, I can spare some for you now go with it!" 

Before Raven could protest any further Beast Boy had already weaving his story for her. 

"You didn’t go for a traditional wedding, you decided for something small, like that Shinto wedding we saw when we went to Tokyo. You looked stunning in dark blue kimono. Your new husband couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have you."

Beast Boys eyes lifted from her hand to her eyes as he continued the story. "You and your husband get an apartment it’s a shoe box but it's close to your school. He works from home while you get a degree. He will stay up late with you to help you study and makes sure that you remember to eat. Takes you places like the park or the beach so you can see the sun now and again between lectures and term papers."

Raven just sat there dear in the headlights stunned as he continued to paint this picture for her. She had opened a floodgate of emotions from him, when he stated he had enough imagination to share she believed him.

"You get a job and you need to travel all over. It's okay cause his work all he needs is a laptop and wi-fi. He is up for the adventure with you. You both live out of suitcases for a while. Not sure what hotel or city you are both in half the time, but it’s okay the most important thing is that your together. " Beast Boys voice got a little dreamy, his mouth was narrating the flight of fancy his head had gone on.

"Maybe a few years later you buy an old fixer upper. It's someplace out of the way, two stories, lots of room for your books, and a big kitchen. It takes you and your husband a while to get it the way you want it. The people at the local hardware store know you both by name." He only paused to get a lung full of air "It's important to him that you have a place where you feel safe, away from too many people so you don’t have to keep your guard up 24/7 and that you have places where you can be alone to put your head together and when he gets on your nerves"  

Raven was completely lost in this shared daydream. Eager to hear where it would lead next like the next chapter of a novel.

"It might be a little unexpected but you both have a kid. The tyke is a little ball of energy you both can barely keep up with, running all over the yard, and climbing up trees. You tell him bedtime stories about when you and your friends took down Cinderblock or Mad Mod."

"Here you go!" The waiter came back with Beast Boys Credit card and put a cardboard to-go container on the table. "From the management. Congratulations I hope your both very happy together" He said smiling opening the container to show two cupcakes with white icing.  

Before either of them could yammer out anything to correct him the waiter had rushed off to another table.

"Well dear, we should get home the kids are waiting."  Beast Boy's grin took up his whole face, obviously amused by the waiters mistake.  Raven was not, and was dreading the possibility that this might hit the internet before they made it back to the tower.  

Raven put up her hood and walked away briskly out of the dinner.  But later the ideas that Beast Boy put in her head kept surfacing.  He was right she could have any life she wanted.  The things that she had read about, the things that she never dared dream about were now all possible.  The image of the family stuck with her.  For some reason though every time she pictured her and her husband and a child. The young girl had these wonderful bright green eyes. Just like her father.

This is another one that was a false start from @bbraeweek17 I never did make that prompt for May the 5th, so this could be a really late submission. I am finding that comming back to some of my older stuff with fresh eyes has been helping. Also I did barrow a few things. @xaphrin did a wonderful fanfic about Beast Boy finding Raven in a Kimono http://xaphrin.tumblr.com/post/90965914456/kimono and @shock777 did amazing picture of them both in traditional Japanese garments.http://shock777.tumblr.com/post/148571610963/massive-bbrae-sketchdump  (11th from the top)  So I liked the idea of different kind of wedding. (Remember kids cite your sources) 

[murfeelee]

Sims Question Meme (TS3)

I saw @lyrea's questions and I’m just sitting here killing time, so....

What’s your favorite sims death? Good ole Fire, cuz it’s a classic, and it’s always hysterical watching the way sims freak out.

Big props to LGR for the Katy Perry House of Pain, lol! XD

Alpha CC or Maxis Match? Whatever looks nice. I’ve seen the good the bad and the ugly on both sides, EA and 3rd party alike.

Do you cheat when your sims gain weight? YES, it’s so annoying. That Stuffed moodlet really gets on my g-d nerves.

Do you use Moveobjects On? MOO!!!! <3

Favorite mod? NRAAS’ mods (MC and DE and Hybrid and--!), and a ton of essential mods from MTS and Naughty Sims Asylum

First expansion/game/stuff pack you got? TS1: Makin Magic, TS2: Nightlife & Apartment Life, TS3: Ambitions. The only Stuff Packs I’ve ever wasted money on are TS3′s Fast Lane and Movie Stuff Pack, both times cuz I wanted the new vehicles -- the motorcycles, specifically. (EA gave away Town Life for free.)

Do you pronounce “live mode” like aLIVE or LIVing? aLIVE

Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made? Sakura, my avatar sim.

Have you made a simself? Yes, the day I got TS3 I sat down with my whole family and we all made each other; it was a blast.

What sim traits do you give yourself? Artistic, Bookworm, Childish, Computer Whiz, Loner

Which is your favorite EA hair color? Black, White, or Pink

Favorite EA hair? I actually hate most EA hair, tbh. It’s always the same boring styles or cuts, with little variation, even less creativity in the men’s department, and the EPs/SPs have practically zero decent representation for ethnic hair. IMO a lot of EA’s best CAS CC came from the Store, especially the cultural sets like India and Africa. and fun fanciful themes like Midnight Hollow.

For the ladies I really like these X X. (We need way more braids & dreads, EA.)

For men I like these X X. (Most of EA’s male hair is horrendous by default.) 

Favorite life stage? Young Adult, of course. (I’ll always be bitter about kids and elders having such limited interactions.)

Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay? I’m a Builder. I love making lots! (Just visit my TSR or Exchange pages and it’s just...yeah. :P) Nothing is more fun to me than creating the space; taking something that’s in my head -- or even better: from my favorite shows/games.etc -- and reproducing it in The Sims. I always wanted to be an interior decorator, and my friends knew this and introduced me to The Sims 1 when it came out. I’ve been hooked ever since -- curse them.

Are you a CC creator? Yes, unfortunately. I only got into converting when I got desperate for particularly niche content (fanciful/cultural/period CC) that just wasn’t. being. made. I was sick of waiting, and sick of all the contemporary stuff. I don’t remember how I got into first learning though. It was a lot of trial and error, and my very first conversions were total garbage (some of them are still up at TSR if y'all want to point and laugh). But I just kept practicing. I’m still practicing. I wish more people would get into making TS3 CC though.  

Do you have any simblr friends/a sim squad? I’m open to talking with anybody. I love chatting with simmers and leaving/getting comments and messages. I get particularly excited when I find simmers who share similar interests & fandoms we can gab away over. I’m a total fangirl.

What’s your favorite game? (1, 2, 3, or 4) The Sims 3, full stop. <3 I miss TS1 and TS2 sometimes, but then I think about CASt and Open Worlds and I get over it. XD TS2 had all the best CC & mods though (I’m still jelly). I haven’t played TS4, and as things stand I don’t think I ever will. Not one of TS4′s EPs thus far have interested me.

Do you have any sims merch? Other than the games themselves, nope. They cost enough; I’m not tryna give EA any more of my effing money if I can help it.

Do you have a YouTube for sims? Ew, no. Starting a Simblr was pushing the social media limit for me. Anything else would be too much of a hassle.

How has your “sim style” changed throughout your years of playing? My lots are more cluttered (I’m a CC addict, DON’T JUDGE ME!). With screenshots I learned more about the in-game camera (my fave mods for camera angles/zooming/fade), and EA’s invisible lights in BuyDebug. I was introduced to Topaz, which I’m still struggling with. My sims still look like pudding though.

Who’s your favorite CC creator? I have favorite sites and sets, but thinking of just one creator is impossible. 

How long have you had a simblr? Since 2013

How do you edit your pictures? In Photoshop I almost always adjust the brightness & contrast by 10 - 30, depending on how crap my in-game lighting was. Then I use the default settings for Topaz (Clean & Sharpen), since I have no idea what I’m doing.

What expansion/game/stuff pack do you want next? I hope TS4 makes a fanciful EP. Preferably something with magic, medieval, or steampunk gameplay, in a brand new world we've never had before. Or Japan, I’m always cool with Asian content. ;)

What expansion/game/stuff pack is your favorite so far? TS1: Makin Magic, TS2: Nightlife, TS3: Supernatural.

As usual I tag whoever!

[violetsogsimblr-blog]

Week 2 - The Mashuga Family

If you’ve been playing The Sims for as long as I have, you might be familiar with the Mashuga Family. Back in the day, Sylvia Marie and Frankie Mashuga were the only family living in Neighborhood 2 of the original Sims game. They are perhaps most recognizable for their tacky, octagonal house.

I loved playing with the Mashugas when I was younger, because they already owned that hideous vibrating heart bed that made baby making easier, and I’ve always been a family focused gamer. This was almost 20 years ago, so I can’t say for sure what else I did with them, but I know that baby making was always a big part of their lives in my old games. How much of an impact 10 year old Violet’s in-game decisions from back then will effect the newest incarnation of the Mashugas remains to be seen.

So, anyway, for those who are not familiar with the Mashuga Family, they consist of a husband and wife named Frankie and Sylvia Marie. Mashuga is a Yiddish surname, implying that they are a Jewish couple in culture if not in practice, although the content from Seasons makes me want to make them practicing Jews. At the start of the game, they are childless and living in a bright pink octagonal house consisting of a bedroom, bathroom, living room, and kitchen. Their front yard is a mess of mismatched shrubberies, a water fountain, and a dozen pink flamingos. From the outside their house is, well, an eye sore and the inside is hardly better.

For the sake of my own amusement, I placed the Mashugas home right next door to the Goths. The idea of a bright pink monstrosity next door to a beautiful Gothic mansion on an affluent area tickled my funny bone. Ignoring the Goth entourage that showed up for the welcome wagon put their relationship slightly lower than friendly, which goes along with the idea that they would be less than thrilled to have such a gaudy eye sore as their neighbor. What will it do to the property values!?

In the original Sims game, Sylvia Marie worked as a Psychic Phone Friend and Frankie was a Bungee Jump Instructor. Thanks to the wonder of the Sims fan base, I was able to download a Paranormal and Xtreme career path to set them up with similar careers in this incarnation. Armed with a downloaded version of them from the gallery, a replica of their house also downloaded, and two new careers, I was ready to play.

One thing that must be said about Sylvia Marie and Frankie is that they are by far the friskiest couple I’ve played in a while. Every time I looked up it seemed as though one of them had rolled a whim to Woohoo. Truth be told, this is very in line with the Sylvia Marie and Frankie of old. I sort of see them as that weirdly sexual couple from high school/college who always made other people uncomfortable with their open talks of BDSM and masturbation. In redesigning their home, I kept that in mind; choosing not to put curtains on their living room full length windows despite their penchant for nudity, and putting mirrors on every available surface in their bedroom. The Wicked Whims mod lets their freak flags fly a bit, and Sylvia Marie and Frankie certainly were not shy.

I always intended for them to have a baby, but their penchant for unprotected Woohoo meant that they got pregnant on their own. I didn’t particularly mind considering it fell in line with my plans for them anyway, and for the duration of the pregnancy they lived a pretty relaxed life. Frankie worked out, went swimming, and Woohooed with his wife. Sylvia Marie lounged around, autonomously drank cocktails, and Woohooed with her husband. In her second trimester she visited a gynecologist and got an ultrasound (thanks to a mod) that showed a single boy baby. From that point on, both Frankie and Sylvia Marie were ecstatic about their baby, and really dropped some major cash building up a subterranean baby nursery for him.

Finally, after what felt like forever, little Frankie Mashuga Jr. was born. Back in the Sims 1 days, Frankie Jr was always the name of the Mashugas first son, so it felt appropriate this time around as well, despite now knowing that the Mashugas are Jewish and it is not customary to name a baby after the living in Jewish culture. I reconciled this by reasoning that Frankie is probably not a devout Jew, and Sylvia Marie is more New Age superstitious than religiously superstitious.

Frankie and Sylvia Marie are very good parents, and worked much better as a team than Arun and Jesminder Bheeda. Frankie, in particular, far outshined Arun with his proactive and intuitive parenting. Every time the baby cried, he was the first on the scene and always autonomously performed whatever action his son needed from him (as opposed to Arun’s pointless cooing at his feces covered child). Perhaps because of her superior partner, Sylvia Marie did much better at keeping her own needs in check alongside her son’s. Jesminder Bheeda’s energy level was constantly in the red, whereas Sylvia Marie was hardly ever below yellow.

Faced with the easiest baby in the world, as far as the Mashugas were concerned, it was a reasonable time for the Mashugas to consider having another child. Although they would never be the baby machine Mashugas of old, I figured that they as a couple would like to have more than one child, and would prefer for their children to be close in age. A day or so after Frankie Jr was born, the Mashugas conceived their second child.

Before long, the dreaded transition from stationary baby to Terrible Toddler came to pass. Toddlers are always a big pain to raise, true to reality, and I was sure that the carefully oiled machine that was the Mashugas parenting would likely be thrown into chaos with the introduction of a toddler. My fears were made all the worse with the randomized toddler trait of Wild.

Frankie Jr. turned into a cute toddler. I gave him wild curly hair, which made him look so much cuter. I imagined Sylvia Marie struggling to get a brush in his luscious locks, and then giving up because he was just a toddler and it didn’t really bother her either way.

Sylvia Marie and Frankie continued to be hands on parents as Frankie Jr. grew. During the days, while Frankie was at work, Sylvia Marie would play with blocks or set Frankie Jr into the kiddie pool for a dip. One day, when Frankie came back from work, little Frankie Jr. ran across their front yard and gave him a big hug. It was so cute to see him being attached to his daddy that way.

All too soon, the end of the Mashuga rotation came to pass; but not before an ultrasound confirmed that Sylvia Marie was carrying a daughter. For their last day, a Saturday, the Mashugas celebrated the Jewish spring holiday of Passover and spent a large amount of cash decorating a beautiful subterranean nursery for their daughter. Obviously, there is always room for a change of plans, but finding out that they were expecting a girl seemed like the perfect stopping point for the Mashugas as far as having kids. I thought that Sylvia Marie and Frankie would want to continue to give their son Frankie Jr. and their unborn daughter the best life possible, and with a limited income and amount of space, bringing more children into the world would probably take away from the two they already had.

Still in her second trimester, Sylvia Marie Mashuga cooked a lovely fish dinner for Passover, Frankie read stories to their son, and then the two of them took turns lounging in a bubble bath. The ending of the Mashuga rotation was nice. I was tempted to continue playing them a few more days so I could be there for the birth of their daughter, but on my Sims calendar Easter is the Sunday after Passover, and I want to celebrate it with a family with kids old enough to do the egg hunt. My MCCC settings will alert me when Sylvia Marie goes into labor, though, so I can come back and name the baby. An update on Baby Girl Mashuga will be forthcoming in the next Sim week.

[ceslawrites]

If Ever I Would Leave You

Here it is, @fiddleford-appreciation-month, one canon-divergent fiddauthor story! I want to thank all of the mods for helping me come up with the concept for the ending, I’m actually quite proud of this one. Read below the cut!

Old Man McGucket had the slightest inkling that what he was about to do was a terrible, stupid, even dotty idea. Regardless, he was going to do it anyway.

It all started about a week ago. Against his better judgment, McGucket had emerged from the bunker one afternoon to check on any survivors after the catastrophe the mysterious laptop had ominously counted down to had driven McGucket into the depths of the secret bunker he only vaguely remembered. After the first wave of fear had passed, McGucket knew that he had to at least try to get as many survivors to safety as possible.

When Gravity Falls meets earth and sky, beware the Beast with just one eye. The phrase had popped into his mind unwarranted when he was trying to sleep one night. Where had he heard it before? It filled him with dread, certainly. He would have to protect his few friends in the town, it was only right!

Besides, he thought, as he reluctantly emerged to the surface, he could use the company.

To his immense relief and slight embarrassment, the world above him was fine—practically unscathed! A few buildings appeared to have been damaged, sure, but otherwise everything remained the same. His son, who chased him away from the lake when he went to check on him, was still the same, scowling man he had always been. The townsfolk were still the same when he passed them on the street, their eyes averting when he waved cheerfully at them as he went by; even the Mystery Shack appeared the same, though the fella who ran it was now currently running into the forest with an armload of treasure.

Shortly after that, the mysterious man showed up.

McGucket’s head tilted at the sight of the man; he could have been Stan’s double, though he was a bit leaner and his hair was a little bit darker. The man was scowling at the retreating form of Stan Pines; he rolled his eyes in irritation before finally catching sight of McGucket standing a few feet away. The old hillbilly felt his face heat up like a boiling kettle at this sudden attention. The word handsome bubbled through his mind, and McGucket’s ears turned pink as the mysterious man squinted at him, as if trying to place a vaguely familiar face. There was something a little familiar about this strange man himself, but McGucket couldn’t quite figure it out. Like a puzzle with too many pieces missing, he only had a small part of the picture and it told him nothing.

Not sure what else to do, McGucket waved amicably while flashing his snaggletooth smile at the other man. The man blinked, but slowly began to smile, and raised his six-fingered hand to wave back at McGucket.

Six fingers.

McGucket took one look at the sight of the man’s hand and bolted. He wasn’t even sure why, but a sudden panic took over him, and he ran on all fours back into the woods.

                                                             *  *  *

After this first encounter, McGucket couldn’t quite stop thinking about the mysterious man. Why did he look so familiar? Why did the sight of his hands send him running?

… Was he single, by any chance?

The last question never failed to make the hillbilly blush. He could not remember having a serious crush on anyone before (then again, he couldn’t remember much of anything these days), mostly preferring the company of his machines. Besides that, McGucket was painfully aware that he wasn’t exactly anyone’s ideal suitor; with his skin-and-bones frame, wild, unruly beard and his loud, piercing voice, he looked like a scarecrow that had been brought to life by a sadistic genie. This didn’t even account for all of McGucket’s anxieties, or the fact he still had trouble remembering who he was. The idea that he would end up scaring off this alluring newcomer was a distinct and probable possibility.

But, nonetheless, McGucket kept valiantly trying and inevitably failing to work up the nerve to talk to the stranger. McGucket figured it would be easier if he at least brought a gift with him, in case he got too tongue tied to say anything.

On Wednesday, he had slipped into one of the tour groups for the Mystery Shack; once he had caught sight of the stranger, he made a beeline for him, squawked out a quick “hello,” shoved a jug full of home-brewed bourbon into his arms and ran away like a spooked horse.

Thursday, he had picked a bouquet of sunflowers from a nearby field. He marched right up to the door, ready to hand his gift to the mysterious man, but when Stan answered instead, he completely panicked and ended up walloping Stan across the face with the bouquet. He ran away to the sound of Stan Pines cursing at the top of his lungs.

Friday, he had scrounged up enough money to go to Greasy’s Diner and asked Lazy Susan to bake a pie in the shape of a heart, a task she giddily went about doing, humming and singing off-key like a tone-deaf princess in a fairy tale as she baked. (The other diners did not appreciate this).  An hour later, she handed McGucket a large, heart shaped strawberry pie with a latticed crust, still warm from the oven. It took every little bit of willpower McGucket had not to stuff the whole thing into his mouth as he rushed towards the Shack to deliver his gift.

This time, rather than try to talk to anybody, McGucket simply knocked on the door and left the pie on the welcome mat before he ran off into the woods again. From behind a tree he watched nervously as the door creaked open; there stood the mysterious man again, who looked down, picked up the pie, and smiled to himself before calling “Thank you,” into the general direction of the woods. McGucket buried his face in his beard and didn’t move from out under the tree for quite some time.

This brings us to Saturday Night.

It was a last ditch effort, and definitely not one he thought would work, but late into the moonlit evening, McGucket brought his banjo and a bottle labeled “Baritone” along with him to the Mystery Shack once more. Carefully, he opened the bottle, took a swig of the honey-flavored elixir, and began to play a few chords on the banjo to warm up. There was a song he had heard during a play that had performed at the local theater, a pretty little tune a knight sang to his love, and McGucket figured it was as nice as any song.

Nervously, he sang out in his potion-altered voice, and it rang melodiously through the night.

It is the most curious thing, listening to a song. Two people could listen to the same lyrics, the same melody, and each would still have different feelings towards that piece of music. A person having a fine, happy day where they were going to a party with all their friends would probably dislike hearing a sad, slow song, and would want to hear something cheerful instead, but someone having a terrible day where they lost their job and were dumped by their boyfriend over the phone would love hearing something just as morose as they felt, and would hate to hear something falsely cheerful.

At that moment, two different people were listening to McGucket’s pretty song, and both had vastly different opinions on it. The mysterious man, who you and I both know was actually Ford Pines, heard the sweet lyrics describing hair streaked with sunlight and a face with a luster that put gold to shame, and found it odd, but strangely charming, as he had found all the gifts from his mysterious admirer.

Stan, however, had extremely little patience for the sounds of Lerner and Loewe played on the banjo at one in the freaking morning. With his shotgun firmly in hand, Stan walked out onto the porch, took one look at the serenading hillbilly outside, and fired three warning shots into the air, a loud curse escaping his lips with each pump of the gun.

McGucket shrieked in the artificial timbre of his borrowed voice as he scrambled raccoon-like away from the still screaming Stan. In the frenzy of trying to escape, F barreled head-first into the pile of trashcans waiting at the side of the house. A violent clang of tin-on-tin blared like cymbals, the trashy percussion was ringing through McGucket’s ears as he fell face first onto the ground.

Over the echo of the trash cans, McGucket heard two people arguing.

“What in the hell did you do that for?”

“It’s just the town loon being a nuisance, brainiac, I was just trying to drive him off.”

“You could have killed somebody!”

“What, I didn’t aim for him… yet.”

“Oh, just go back in the house, you knucklehead!”

“Suit yourself, dork.”

Wearily, McGucket got back up despite the trembling protest of his own knobby legs. Stan was right, he was just being a pain. What was he thinking, trying to sing a love song to a man he didn’t know in the middle of the night? It was dopey even by his standards.

McGucket had just resolved to move back into the dark depths of the bunker for good when he heard a small cough directly behind him. He turned around and made a rabbit-like leap into the air when he found the mysterious man standing right behind him!

“Hello,” said the man in a friendly tone, “I heard you singing.”

Silence. Utter, mortified silence was all McGucket could manage.

“It sounded nice,” the man continued, “I never was one to care too much for show tunes, but that was honestly a great performance.”

Was he being serious? He couldn’t be serious.

“Y’mean I didn’t wake your or nothin’?” There was an apologetic tone to McGucket’s voice; every passing second made him more aware of how bad this plan had been.

“Not at all,” the man assured him, “I was up writing regardless.”

“Oh! Well, that—that’s good,” said McGucket, slightly relieved he hadn’t disturbed the man’s slumber at the very least. “I didn’t wanna bother you or your family, I just wanted—well, I ain’t sure what I wanted to be honest.”

He took his hat off his head and began to nervously crumple it in his hands.

“Where did you learn to sing like that,” the man asked with a kindly smile.

“I made a voice-altering potion that can make you sound however you want, and I picked the batch labeled ‘baritone,’” said McGucket quickly, lifting the empty potion bottle from his pocket as he spoke. This made the other man laugh, a lovely sound, thought McGucket, who was feeling quite warm and giddy once again.

“You’ve quite the wit,” said the man, who might have thought McGucket was joking.

“T-thank you!”

“That pie was delicious, by the way—did you bake it,” said the man, who began to move closer towards McGucket as he spoke.

“Nah, I cain’t cook worth a darn,” admitted McGucket, “I got the diner lady to make it.”

“Well, regardless it was wonderful,” said the man, placing one of his hands on McGucket’s shoulder gently. The very touch made the tips of McGucket’s ears shine beet-red.

“I try not to eat too much sugar these days now that I’m older,” the man continued, “but then again, I don’t think I’ve ever had an admirer who’d bake heart-shaped anything for me before, much less a pie, so I made an exception.”

“Oh, horsewallop,” said McGucket, who now resembled a radish from how much he was flushing, “I bet you’ve had plenty of admirers, you’re—”

Charming? Handsome? Interesting? McGucket couldn’t get the right word out, so he said nothing instead.

“Ha,” the man chuckled, “I assure you, I haven’t. I don’t think I’ve ever had an admirer period! Not unless you count the Hand Witch, or this one pompous, twenty-something bore who’s way too invested in my personal life for my taste.”

“You… you mean you don’t mind that I’m all rickety and gross,” said McGucket, looking down to his bandaged feet momentarily. “I know I ain’t exactly Lancelot. I ain’t even the guy carrying Lancelot’s piss-pot, to be honest.”

“Hey, we’re old, being gross comes with the territory,” said the man reassuringly. “Besides, you seem kind, and honestly rather charming in your own unique way. You… you sort of remind me of a friend I once had.”

McGucket felt like singing all over again. He couldn’t believe it! The mysterious man called him charming!

Taking in a deep, calming breath, McGucket hurriedly asked, “Would you like to go out sometime?”

The man took McGucket’s face into his large hands, cupping his cheeks gently as he tilted McGucket’s head upwards to look him in the eyes. He’s so close I could kiss him, thought McGucket, his heart in rapid staccato as the man gazed intensely into his eyes. The man carefully scrutinized McGucket’s face, as if looking for something that wasn’t supposed to be there, but soon, the man relaxed, smiling at McGucket as warmly as a summer sunbeam.

“I think I’d like that,” said the man softly. “Pardon me if this sounds too forward… but you have the most beautiful blue eyes.”

McGucket beamed up at the man, hardly believing what he’d just heard. As far as he could remember, no one had ever called anything about him beautiful!

What a wonderful night.

“You have got to be kidding me!”

Stan’s voice sliced the mood like a sword, cleaving it in two. The mysterious man scowled, then snapped around to Stan, who was jeering at the couple from the porch.

“I thought you were going back to bed, Stanley,” snapped Ford, spitting out his brother’s name like an insult.

“I was, Stanford,” said Stan, with about as much biting contempt, “ but it’s not every day you see your snooty, pretentious brother putting the moves on Old Man McGucket. What, are you going to move into his little hut in the dump and be weirdos together or something?”

“Wait, what did you just say,” said Stanford, his tone suddenly changing into one of surprise and concern. “Did… did you just call him McGucket?”

“Did he just call you Stanford,” said McGucket quietly. The name kept repeating itself over and over in his brain, and soon, memories began to flood as if a dam had broken in his mind. Stanford, who was his roommate and friend in college, Stanford, the best man at his wedding with his first wife, Stanford, who had rescued him from some terrible beast, Stanford, who he countlessly argued with about the memory gun and the portal, to no avail because he was just so damned stubborn, Stanford, who pulled him out of the portal but still refused to shut it down. Stanford, the man he missed, the man he feared, the man he resented, the man he mourned, the man he may have even started to love.

           He had found a friend he had thought long lost.

           “Fiddleford!”

           The name blinked McGucket back into the present, he must have dazed off, because Stanford looked as if he was on the verge of tears as he spoke to him.

           “Fiddleford, oh my god, you must hate me, I don’t blame you in the slightest if you do,” said Stanford, taking both of McGucket’s hands into his, “I’m so sorry—so endlessly sorry. I should have listened to you, should have been listening to you the whole time, I can’t imagine that you would ever forgive—”

           Without warning, McGucket wrapped his arms around Ford Pines face and kissed him softly on the lips for the first time in decades. There was a faint hint of sweet strawberry pie clinging to Stanford’s lips, mingled with the taste of salt from their own tears.

           He was home. At long last, he was home again.

[chiarathekiwi]

Somebody once tagged me

I was tagged by @butwewereanempire  , whom I dont actually know but who seems a chill italian who knows her way around cool classical memes, so props for that lmao. Thanks for tagging me, finger guns right back @u!

   Nicknames: some people call me Chia,Chiari,  some Mari, my sister calls me Piru.. Then a bunch of variations of my name..  Just go with Chiara.

Star Sign: i’m a proud, if somewhat atypical, Capricorn! (my bday is coming up and i’m Full Of Dread)

Height: uh, 169-170 cm? it has been forever since ive measured myself

Time right now: 19:33 

Last thing i googled: twitter probably?

Fav music artist(s) : REGINA SPEKTOR OWNS ME. also florence+the machine. Sleeping at last are also cool! Recently I’ve taken more and more of a liking to musicals, too. I like most genres though, and generally dont care much about the artists themselves. Sorry, music nerds.

Last movie i watched: uhhhh man i watch movies so rarelyy. It must have been toy story 2 on tv last week

Last Tv show i watched: i dont...really watch tv shows...im thinking probably stanger things, this summer!

What im wearing right now: I’d make the 90s proud: im wearing a colorful jumper my mother bought in 1992, and a pair of jeans from 1999 gifted to me by my aunt because she didnt fit inside them anymore

When i created this blog:July 2013.... rip in pieces

The kind of stuff i post: dank memes, fandom stuff, and my drawings!

Do i have any other blogs: I... I do actually,  i amone of the  mods of  badlydrawngriffith give it a looksee folks its kwality. Submit your own gross pigeons.

Do I get asks regularly: Nope! Hardly ever get any, even for art memes or requests. I should be more consistent with my art, i guess! Please send me art asks i have free time and a tablet and a heart full of love

Why did I choose my url: I used to have a really close friend who nicknamed me Kiwi, and i liked the assonance with my name, so chiarathekiwi it was.

Hogwarts House: idk man idk i’d probably be a failed ravenclaw

Pokemon team: my phone died before i could advance to elvel 5 in pokemon go, but i was super gay for candela ever since the leaders were announced, so in my heart of hearts im a valor binch

Fav color: Red!!! i like bright, glossy red, like cherry red or fifties red just. give me the red, man.

Average hours of sleep: i need at least 8 hours  of sleep per night to function, but i usually sleep like four hours for three days in a  row and then twelve for five days in a row my sleep schedule is fucked man

Lucky number: 2, 3 and 5! I dont know if theyre lucky, i just like them

Favorite character: from what??? you cant just do this to me man i have so many childrennnn.. But listen you  know who is a precious, beloved baby? Mob from mob psycho 100. Protecc.

Number of Blankets: screw blankets i got a duvet, get on my level fuckers

Dream Job: trophy wife. Like, grade school participation prize trophy wife.

Following: 1,175. dang thats a lot of people, i just love cool artists so i follow all of them! and some of them have personal and art blogs, so i follow both, and the numbers pile up...

Number of posts: 5,661 Again, rip in piss

I tag my precious homegirl @trieizieme , Hailey @i-am-the-cactus , and my beloved broafs @ofpaintedflowers , @shitan, @theflowoftears Okay listen i’d tag the rest of  yall but i dont remember your urls, aslo this way xenia, sab and laicha will b able to tag u i’m being sensible here

tagging also @ohhumbleoddity and @dai-li-sergeant! youre both sweethearts

[theos-rp]

ACCEPTED

Congratulations Stella Song, you have been granted admittance to the Island. Please add our moderator account within three days or your face claim will be reopened.

OOC Name / Alias: Arin Are you 18+? Yes Time Zone: GMT -5 Do you understand that this roleplay is an 18+ environment, and that you may be exposed to explicit material, mature content, or triggering themes? Yes Is this a second character? Yes, approved by the mods IC Face claim / Group/occupation: Son Hwamin / Ulzzang Chosen Name: Stella Song Son/Daughter of: Asteria House: Corinthians

◦ February 20th ◦

Evangeline had only been home for roughly two days when the arguments began. They had been happening more and more often now, triggered months ago by the choice she made to return back to the island filled with other demigods. Her people, as her parents like to call them. Though they had no issues with demigods themselves, clearly as they continued to raise Evangeline even after they discovered her heritage, they weren’t fond of any claims that they came from any god with the exception of the one her parents believed in. It was such a common point of tension within the household whenever Eva returned, that she never spoke of the island when she was home and her parents never questioned her either. Arguments still happened however, and this new one was spurred on by Evangeline making the mistake of using her abilities around the family. It had happened during dinner, more extravagant than it typically was due to the celebration of the birthday of Seraphina, the sister that was closest in age to Evangeline. A glass of water had been knocked over, and of course she had reacted on instinct. Eva didn’t want the set up of the table to be ruined, or for anyone to scramble just to clean it up. She didn’t think it would have been a big idea, but it had been. Why? Because the conversation that should have been about her sister quickly turned towards Evangeline, beginning with her twin sisters who were endlessly curious about the powers they rarely got to witness.

Despite Evangeline’s attempt to divert the attention away from herself, they pushed on. They asked about the island, the different demigods there. They asked about her work and how that was going, how in depth she could get into a conversation with the marine life there. It all came to an abrupt end when Seraphina had suddenly and loudly excused herself from the table. Of course it had been Evangeline who had tried to go after her, but her mother had told her to stay, that she would take care of it. Two hours later, it was only arguing that could be heard. Evangeline had moved back up to her old room, and the twins into theirs. The argument had only involved Seraphina and their parents. Even though it was happening on the first floor of their home, Evangeline could hear it all clear as day. She tuned it out, until she heard her sister start yelling about her. That was the only moment Evangeline had any interest in the argument, because she heard it all before but not from her own sisters mouth. She and her sisters had always gotten along amazingly, Eva had always tried her best to be the type of sister that they could look up at. And even though she knew that her sisters sometimes were envious of her abilities, as they had stated it themselves, she was never aware of Seraphina’s hatred over having a sibling who was so different. It had never been expressed before where Evangeline could hear it.

“Why does everything always end up being about her?!” Seraphina had shouted, to which came the typical answer of, “We’re sorry, we didn’t mean for it to end up like that.”

“Why do you let her just use her powers so freely?!” “Because she can’t help herself and you know that.”

“How can you just let her keep living here knowing what she’s capable of? She’s a freak, she’s dangerous!” Silence was followed by her mother speaking in a low tone. “She’s your sister, Seraphina.” There was a bark of a laugh, and the harshness of it had Evangeline flinching. “No, she’s not.The twins are my siblings, Eva isn’t even completely human! You see how she parades her powers around us, and then there’s that stupid island she always goes to. She thinks she’s better than us!” The words stung more than she could explain. She had never tried to make herself seem more important than the rest of her family.

“You guys should have just left her in the hospital where her crackwhore mother abandoned her.” Evangeline only made her way quickly downstairs after that due to the loud smack that had been heard. Seraphina could spew all the vile things that she wanted, but striking her was the last thing she had ever expected their parents to do. Her mother clearly wasn’t proud of herself for doing so either, and had quickly tried to grab Seraphina to keep her from leaving only to get shoved away. The same had happened to Evangeline when she tried stopping her as well, except seeing her did make Seraphina pause. Eva had never seen her sister look at her with such hatred before. “This is all your fault, why did you even come back here?! I didn’t want you here, my birthday would have been perfect if you had just stayed on your stupid island! You ruin everything!” Was the last thing that Evangeline had been told by her sister before she had rushed up the stairs, her bedroom door slamming behind her.

Her parents had stepped forward, but the hand that was on her shoulder was brushed off. Eva couldn’t figure out what to say, she could only mumble a quick little goodbye to them before leaving herself. Maybe Seraphina was right, maybe she really should have stayed on the island. Or maybe she was just being too emotional. Evangeline decided to give it a few days before contacting her to try and make amends. Arguing with her sisters was what she hated most.

◦ March 2nd ◦

When they had all returned to the island after being stranded in Italy, the very first thing Evangeline did was crash the moment she was able to make it back to her bed. Her phone had been dead for days, and even if it hadn’t been she had no service out of the country anyway. Evangeline had barely managed to plug it into the charger before crashing. When she woke up hours later, she was greeted with hundreds of phone calls and text messages, her voicemail completely full. A sense of dread quickly settled into her stomach, and with each message that was read it only got worse and worse. It had started with a text from her mother saying that she needed to get home as soon as possible. There was a family emergency. Someone was hurt. It escalated quickly after that. Texts from the twins, from her father, but nothing from Seraphina. Calls and voicemails from all of them. Except for Seraphina. Evangeline felt sick and shot out of bed, ignoring that sense of vertigo that came from standing too quickly.

She made the decision to call her mother as she got ready to leave, haphazardly stuffing her things into a bag to take with her. It was the sound of her mother’s voice that confirmed Evangeline’s fears. She wasn’t even able to full ask what was happening nor explain why she hadn’t responded to a single thing, her mother wasted no time in telling her, didn’t give Evangeline the chance to sit down.

“You’re too late, she’s gone.” Was all Evangeline heard before her knees buckled beneath her, but she wanted to be hopeful. She couldn’t be gone gone, right?

“What do you mean? She-” “The funeral was just the other day. I’m sorry, Evangeline, but your father and I think it might be best now for you to stay away for a bit. The note your sister left, she blamed you and the twins are still angry. They’re blaming you as well.” “You can be serious? I didn’t do anything to her, I didn’t-” “I know, sweetheart, I know, but the twins aren’t thinking straight at the moment. I’ll call you and let you know when a good time is to come back.” “Wait, mom-”

The call ended, and Evangeline was left stunned, one hand still holding her phone as the other held tightly onto the blankets on her bed. How could her sisters think that this was her fault? Evangeline had always treated her younger sisters fairly, she had done her best to be the kind of older sister that they could look up to and admire. Why was this happening then? Her sister was dead, and it was apparently her fault. Did her parents blame her too? For the death of their first biological child, the one that they were told they would never be able to have? Would she ever be able to go back home?

That feeling of being sick was getting worse, everything was getting worse and she wasn’t sure how to handle it. Her mind wasn’t comprehending it the way that it should be. There was no way this was actually happening.

When she finally found the strength to get back to her feet, Evangeline left her cabin, not caring if she looked a mess. She needed to keep moving, if she didn’t then she would end up breaking down, and that was one thing she didn’t want. So, she walked and she walked, hoping with each passing minute that Seraphina would call her and tell her that this was all some sick joke.

Evangeline was hoping for a call that would never come.

[vocatharsis]

Cogs’ TS2 Apocalypse Run (XI)

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Out of intense nostalgia, I started revisiting The Sims 2 early this year. I got the online Ultimate Edition with all DLC via Origin -- after making my case to support -- and had a lot of fun with it! After stumbling across a variety of old challenge runs, I decided that I would try out an apocalypse challenge (specifically Phaenoh’s tiered, mod-enforced version on Mod The Sims, check it out, it’s great). On my first attempt, I failed quite badly. But this time, things are going much better. 

I’ve resolved to see this attempt all the way through, and document it in post form. If you like any games from the Sims series, nostalgic videogame reflections and/or challenge run blogging, feel free to read on!

THE SMITHS’ FREE STATE, PART 11 -- SIMS FALLING OVER

Teenage romcoms are back, baby -- boot camp: fun? -- grow old, stop wearing smart clothes to work -- another tragic fashion victim of the apocalypse.

Welcome! It’s my first one of these in about a month, ‘cos I’ve been on uni holidays and with the advent of the dreaded Steam summer sale this year I’ve been romping my way through a bunch of delicious indie titles (including Frostpunk, A Hat In Time, Subnautica, and now Darkest Dungeon - all great). It occurs to me that I have a bit of an image backlog, so I’ll use this post as an opportunity to refresh my memory as I’ll get back into the Apocalypse once I’ve finished the last little bit of Darkest. 

So, quick recap: Aaron & Forseti, the aspiring law and order twins, have made it to teenhood. Juan, spouse to Panoptica (heir of the household’s second generation), made it to the top of the Architecture career track, which means I’m finally allowed to extend the house beyond its initial 8x8 square and put down John’s military obstacle course. This thing builds Body skill wayyy faster than Yoga, so it’ll be great for Aaron, who needs to work out to top Law Enforcement. 

Oh, and Amanda Carlson -- Forseti’s intended future spouse -- came over to build up the relationship meter, only to get scared by Sake’s ghost and wet herself.

Sake doesn’t seem to ever spook members of the household... perhaps ghost pets don’t harass Sims they were friends with in life? If this is the case, then I’ll have to be very careful with future generations...

Aaron’s hitting it off with Tosha Go, a teen townie who walked down the street at some point. They’ve been flirting for a while, so it’s about time for the first ever teen romance of the apocalypse!

N’awww. 

(Odd observation: Whenever another Sim uses the bathroom, everyone always seems to get a thought bubble over their head with a cross superimposed on that person’s portrait. I mean, it’s not like you need those facilities right now?)

The adults are getting themselves some handy extra aspiration points by grinding Body skill points on the obstacle course (thank you, Knowledge), and I’ve definitely taken way too many pictures of people using it, because it just gives so many good photo opps:

But while they were doing this, I noticed something unexpected. According to the career rewards panel I accessed this object from, the course doesn’t raise Fun. Which I guess would make sense to me; fallin’ on yer arse trying to climb a wall made of wood doesn’t seem like my idea of a good time. Then... why is Juan’s maxed-out fun meter not going down while he spends hours crawling around in the dirt...?

You know what this means? The obstacle course, for whatever reason, is Fun. This means I can start training Aaron up while he’s still a teen. (Showbiz Pet rules - which I can’t lift for a while - prevent children and teens from skilling with any object that doesn’t increase the Fun need at the same time.) And that means more adorable pictures of People Falling Over.

John’s getting on in his old age, and wants to max out all of his skills. I figure I might as well oblige; he can’t sleep in anymore now that he’s an Elder, and he needs something to pass his remaining time.

The two brothers have slightly different attitudes to all the exercise they’re now doing:

Panoptica and Juan are drawing ever closer to Elderhood, so I took a few romantic pictures of the two of them in their top-rank work uniforms. (There’ll be more romantic diversity, definitely, once adoption becomes a valid method for lifting restrictions - I think Law is the thing for that? So -- next generation, basically.)

I love this goddamn power couple, just look at them

Here’s hoping they get decent clothes to die in when their hair turns grey!

Forseti is the first of the two twins to max out the Body skill, no doubt due to his ultra-Active personality...

He’s not even gonna be using those Body skill points for anything, yet look how triumphant he is. (He mastered the skill almost immediately after I took that image.)

Well, Panoptica and Juan’re gonna grey up, so let’s get Juan to go first. 

Whatever clothes he gets as an elder, I don’t really think they’ll be better than what he’s currently got. (If he’s lucky, he’ll get something John-tier. But there are many, many outfits in this game.)

Swoon all you want, girl; this is the last time his thought bubble’s gonna look like that good.

The whole family are here to celebrate. And Jessica Picaso is here, because she followed John home from work

And now: will Juan’s clothes age gracefully?

No! They won’t! :)

Looks like boxer shorts and a polo shirt, more or less. I think this is better than poor Kent’s obnoxious orange suspenders, though? (The suspenders which, coupled with those old world blues, drove the poor man to red aspiration levels?)

Now, much as I love Juan, I took way more pictures of Panoptica’s ghost-clothes presentation aging-up ceremony, for the simple reason that Panoptica is all-round awesome.

(The best picture from this scene is hands-down the one I used as a preview above the cut. She did the little ‘pretend boxing’ animation, and it was just a great last bit of magic.)

I’m thinking, will she at least get better death clothes than her spouse? 

She does.

Not bad, not bad!! Certainly more apropos than what Shelmerdine got stuck with.

Juan’s happy with it too, it seems.

just make your wife’s sixtieth birthday awkward by making raunchy remarks in front of yer two kids, just do it

Buuuut those two are both good now. In fact, since they had their kids pretty early on, we’re actually one day off Aaron & Forseti reaching adulthood. I’m thinking I’ll invite Tosha over, so I can use that ‘select NPCs to age up’ feature. Give them some adulthood sweetheart time while I wait for Forseti to unlock the ability to move Sims out. (That way, I can actually marry off both twins, and have their children count as able to lift restrictions.)

The twins’ll be aging up within the same 24 hours, so I invited Amanda Carlson as well. 

Amanda will (ideally) lift Business restrictions, since she starts off as a President (rank 8). Tosha, meanwhile, I’m thinking Journalism (doesn’t lift much, but I can get it out of the way with a married-in character, yeah?)

Hm! Ok, he was in his athletic outfit when he blew out the candles - I don’t know what his everyday apparel looks like yet.

Everyone’s celebrati-- wait

What. The hell is that. 

I’m terrified. But intrigued at the same time. I’ll get him to have a shower and thus change into his daywear so I can see the full extent of the damage shortly, but first, we need to age up his girlf...

Cute!

Ubercute!

(I mean-- since Townies tend to be at green aspiration by default, I did get a notification in the top right-hand corner of her going wow that part of my life was shit to go along with this dashing smile. But I suppose being a Townie means only half-existing, and becoming playable is like being selected to receive a soul, so, comparatively, her adulthood will be infinity times better.)

While I’m getting Forseti set up to blow out his birthday candles, Aaron goes to take a shower. Let us now take a moment to lament how the apocalyse has claimed another helpless fashion victim. 

A suit made out of what might be fake snakeskin, and a wreath made out of what the remaining restrictions dictate must be some scavenged AstroTurf. Law and order will be returned to the Free State, perhaps, but taste will remain a site of anarchy for some time.

Now for Forseti to make the transition. I have so many awesome shots of everyone posing for this birthday:

A staple of this Apoc Run is getting excited for new outfits! 

Or, in this case, an alternate palette of the exact same outfit. 

Still -- here we are! Both twins have made it to adulthood, and are ready to start bringing Law and Enforcement back to society. 

I’ll need to do one more post to get through my current batch of snapshots, but after that, I’m officially back to doing this. If you’ve been reading these updates, thanks for reading this one; hope it was enjoyable!