#pots my beloathed.

[aefensteorrra]

Going to Turkey soon and am quite (very) nervous because I have heat intolerance and every day it’s going to be at least 29 degrees with a uv index of 9 (which I have never experienced?? that can’t happen at this latitude). Everything I wear in summer is either linen or cotton so I know I’m okay on that front, I wear spf 50 every day in summer here anyway cause I’m ginger so will be very on top of that, got a hat, just have to buy a tonne of chewable electrolyte tablets… 🫡

[aulerean]

gem's angler fish? pretty cool.

[alveolion-alt]

sometime soon i really need to get a new smart watch. im using my current one to track my heart rate, but it stops measuring when my hr spikes too quick which defeats the entire point :/

a couple minutes ago i started getting woozy but my watch only said 100, so i double checked with my pulse rate oximeter and it was literally 160. like why the hell wont it just tell me that

[onceuponaroast]

Guess who made it through an entire day without fainting (surprise nap)

[unfortunately-rogi]

Autoimmune flare up

[asairayn]

fun fact: I, apparently, was diagnosed with ehlers danlos syndrome almost a year ago. My mother was diagnosed with ehlers danlos syndrome just over a year ago. Neither of us were told. Neither of us knew until two days ago, when I requested all my medical records because my health care company or whatever it's called would not show me my diagnoses (i will elaborate.). I discovered that, when I was referred to physical therapy (may of 2022), I was referred and given an eds diagnosis.

I was talking about this with my mother, along with the fact that their website would not show me my diagnoses, she went to their website (which would show her her diagnoses) and discovered that, guess fucking what, listed right there was "ehlers danlos syndrome," which she was diagnosed with in march of 2022 after she had a bad reaction to a local anesthetic during surgery, which she told her doctor she would likely have (they refused to use a different anesthetic).

For clarification, we both were 99% sure we had eds. I was diagnosed with pots in 2020, she was diagnosed with joint hypermobility syndrome years ago, she's done tons of research into eds, we have both mentioned to our doctors many times that we probably have it.

We were never actually tested before our diagnoses. My mother might have been, but if she was it was before the diagnostic criteria changed. I never was. They saw her negative reaction to an anesthetic that she told her doctor she might have because it was common with eds, and immediately diagnosed her. My doctor saw me using a cane (which I don't even use for joint pain primarily, but okay) and diagnosed me with eds (probably because I suddenly had family history, which we already knew).

Now, I'm not even entirely sure if I am diagnosed with eds. Sure, my medical records said I am, but those are incredibly confusing. My mother was able to find out immediately, because our health care provider has a website, and on her version, there's an obvious section labelled "Ongoing Health Conditions" which shows all of your diagnoses and issues. I assume. I cannot see that.

Other fun fact: I am a minor. Up until recently, their website would show me the website, but all it would show is a warning saying "You are seeing this message for one of the following reasons: -You don't have permission to use this service on behalf of your teen. -Your family member has access to this service, but you don't." Guess what. It would show the same thing to my mother. Me being a minor, her being my parent, she has access to my medical information (this isn't a bad thing in my situation, she's fine and also rarely looks at it). I would expect it to show her my 'ongoing health conditions', or for it to show me and not her, but it shows neither of us.

Highly recommend requesting your medical records (especially if it's a thing that you can do fully online, like I could). It might not be helpful, but it also might be very helpful. You also might find out fucked up things that nobody ever told you. And diagnoses you have that nobody ever told you (this also happened to my friend's parent. apparently it's common.), or that your doctor doesn't take you seriously (the wonderful things you learn from their notes). You also might learn good things? Maybe?

Long list of other bizarre and fucked up things about this health care provider under the cut :)

Even more fun things! (unrelated to eds, generally): - Going through their website, only clicking things that sent me to different parts of their website, it sent me through four entirely different versions with entirely different home pages. Why.

- One page of their website had the color block that was supposed to be on the bottom covering some of the information.

- I could only request my medical records for up to ten years ago. I haven't been seeing this health care provider for longer than about six years, so it didn't show longer than that anyways, but I feel like it is bad that it doesn't have the option. There were two options that I could choose: "Order an electronic copy of my general medical records from the past 2 years." and "Order an electronic copy of specific record types (such as hospital stays or lab results) from a certain period of time." I chose the second option, and requested the "specific record types" of everything it gave me the option of. Which was: medical office records, hospital records, laboratory/pathology results, diagnostic imaging results, mental health treatment records, addiction medicine treatment records.

- My medical records showed nothing relating to mental health, despite me asking for that ("mental health treatment records") and my therapist approving it. (I do actually know my mental health diagnoses, because my therapist told me when I was talking about this, so that's good). It did show that I was suspected of depression and referred to a therapist in may of 2018, which I thought wasn't established until august of 2018 (which was when we actually scheduled a therapy appointment, because apparently someone thought it was better to wait. not the best plan).

- There are actually four things that my mother's website shows her that mine doesn't show me. Past Visit Information, Download My Health Summary, Ongoing Health Conditions, and Life Care Planning. Fun! I could actually find Past Visit Information on a separate part of their website, but it just said that I haven't had any visits. Which is a lie, but okay. There was also a separate thing that I had titled "Health Summary" (without the download part) (my mother had both), which had me choose a time frame that it would show my information from, but any time I chose a time frame it would tell me that I didn't have any past visits, which still isn't true. Helpful!

- My doctor spelled my nickname (which I don't use, but my mother does) three different ways at different times, only one of which was correct. This one's just funny.

- My doctor put in my notes that one of my mentioned symptoms was, and I quote, "Gets "brain fog": by which she means that when she talks about things she trips over words." "I think it may be either be about anxiety/pressure or getting ahead of herself. She doesn't feel these are accurate," I am fucking pissed about this. Sure, I know I struggle with describing my symptoms (largely due to not remembering them), but I know for a fact that that is not what I meant, and almost certainly not what I said. What I meant was that at times (especially after doing any exercise), I can't properly think or string sentences together because I can't properly think, and I'm very unfocused and can't do much of anything that involves any focus. I meant brain fog. I know what I'm talking about. I still can't describe it properly. I don't have the words.

- Their current meds page shows that I am still taking a medication that I stopped taking in early January. Why. I only took it for like two weeks.

- (tw eating disorder mention, just for this bullet point) In mid 2020, in one of the questionnaires, it listed a concern from my mother as "Eating Disorder". This is absolutely not what she actually put down. Starting in early 2021 it would have made a bit of sense (fucking arfid), but I am 99% sure that my mother put down eds and some medical assistant read that as 'EDs', assumed it was eating disorder, and logged it as that in my medical records. for fucks sake.

- With this provider, you can only schedule mental health appointments by phone, and only video calls. The phone number on their website is always incorrect because it sends you to the wrong location so that person redirects you and then it sends you to the wrong department so that person redirects you and, honestly, unless you're really willing to go through that, it tends to discourage you from actually getting that mental health treatment.

- In 2021, I saw three different therapists cause they all kept leaving this company. In 2022, I saw one therapist who spent six months telling me to stop seeing her regularly and switch to as-needed because I "didn't need to see her regularly", which I only agreed to as I was switching schools and stopped seeing my friends regularly and was becoming depressed, but in the end a large part of why I stopped seeing her was because she also left that company, and I didn't start seeing someone else because she didn't want me to. Wonderful! Later that year, because I was really depressed, I tried to call and set up an appointment, but the person who answered told me that I needed the approval of my previous therapist to start seeing a new therapist (which.. is kinda fucking awful, but okay.), so I completely gave up on scheduling an appointment. (Had a mental health crisis two months later. I'm fine now don't worry.)

- I'm supposed to take salt tabs for the pots, but they make me nauseous so I don't. My doctor has told me multiple times "just take them anyways". Helpful. I drink soy sauce packets instead. They can't get me 12 grams of salt, but they can get me 600mg, so good enough.

- My doctor said that it is "Difficult to get ---- to share more of her subjective experience", which is true, but it's mostly because a) I don't have the words, b) I don't remember my "subjective experience" (seriously. I have some pretty bad memory issues, possibly related to dissociation, possibly not actually existing, unfortunately my doctor doesn't really take them seriously (or I forget to mention them during appointments, because irony) so get fucked me, I guess).

- "Appears well, alert, but becomes tearful because she wants to know "what this is"". Wow, thanks.

[tuituipupu]

i’m starting to pack tomorrow.... oh my god....

[zorosdimples]

KEEP YOUR COOL ꒰ ajax tartaglia childe x reader ꒱

minors do not interact—i will block you. cw: mild violence and blood. suggestive content. cursing. reader is gn and called “sweetheart” once. wc: 616. notes: just a quick little something for my beloathed’s birthday!

The honed edge of the dagger is flush against the pulse point beneath his jaw.

Lightning cracks through your veins and sets your nerves ablaze, a storm brewing in your mind as you stare down the Harbinger you’ve pinned against the wall. One hand grips your weapon, the other splays across his throat in firm warning. He’s hot to the touch—almost burning—tiny clusters of stars and constellations floating across the milky expanse of his skin. 

Nonplussed, Tartaglia beams. His freckled cheeks are flushed and dimple boyishly. “To what do I owe this pleasure? It’s not often that I’m greeted so intimately.” 

You can almost feel the saccharine lilt of his voice vibrate through your starsilver blade; your fingertips prickle. His flippant tone stokes your temper, his words burrowing beneath your flesh—it’s all a game to him. Keep your cool, you think to yourself. You inhale deeply to steady your breath. 

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing here?” you ask with more venom than intended. 

In spite of his compromised position, the Fatui agent grins, knife-sharp teeth gleaming—a beast on the hunt. His azure irises glow in the gloom, fathomless as the cloudless horizon. 

“I was in the neighborhood.” 

If looks could kill, he’d be nothing more than an oozing heap of meat on the floor. You apply more pressure to the dagger, the delicate skin of his neck stretching, blood swelling just below the surface. “Don’t play coy with me. How did you break into my home?” 

Breezy laughter peals in the air and rings in your ears, his Adam’s apple bobbing against your open palm. “That’s a steep accusation, sweetheart. Don’t work yourself up so much—this is an innocent misunderstanding.” 

“Don’t fucking call me that,” you spit. “There’s nothing ‘innocent’ about a stranger lurking in my kitchen while I’m asleep.” 

His face contorts in mock-hurt. “Stranger? You wound me.”

“I’ll do worse than wound you if you keep being a smartass. Now tell me how you got in here and I’ll—”

Before you can finish, Tartaglia surges forward and grabs your wrists, forcing you to drop your blade in a clatter. He takes advantage of your shock to flip you around and shove you against the wall, restraining your hands above your head. A lithe leg slips between your thighs to hold you in place. You can’t so much as take a breath once his lips crash into yours. 

The kiss isn’t an embrace so much as it is a spar, a violent clash of fervor and frustration. It’s impossible to tell where one mouth begins and the other ends; you blur into one another, saliva and ichor mixed and mingled, pushed back and forth between teeth and tongue. Ugly and raw, you duel out of both pride and pleasure. You only part when both of your lips are swollen and bruised—an embarrassing badge that you’ll deal with later, after the thrill subsides.   

“How was that?” you murmur.

Instead of answering your question, he licks at the mess of fluids that smear your chin. “Mmmm.”

You roll your eyes. “I can’t believe this is what you wanted for your birthday, Ajax. You’re a sick freak.” 

Your lover cups your face, examining you too closely. You squeeze your eyes shut.

“Well, you agreed to this, so: pot meet kettle,” he coos. “Archons was it sexy. You’re lucky I have excellent self-control—I nearly ended it mid-scene to fuck you.” 

“Shocking,” you scoff, gesturing to the tent in his pants.

“Are you going to help me take care of it?”

Pretending to think for a moment, you hum. “Convince me.” 

“Oh?” He leans in wearing a smirk that spells trouble. “Don’t mind if I do.” 

[hisuianhellion]

Past to Present

The knock on the door caught Rose's attention. Her head shifted up from the papers she had set upon the large card table she had bought for herself in Unova, grunting gently before grabbing her crutches. Hand-made, proper things made from wood and cured properly like her cane. The kind that would actually fit in around Hisui rather than the, ah... modernized ones more commonly found within the time frame her help had been received. "Gimme a sec! Gotta. Get up and out."

"Ah, take your time, I'm in no rush! Hearing your response tells me my fears were overblown!" Rose's head perked faintly, and she sighed out with a chuckle as she stepped up. One crutch under an arm, a second under the other, and she gently stepped herself along towards the entrance with a nod to Lucien. The Luxray stood himself up, gripping a cloth with his teeth, and with a gentle tug? A shrouding sheet had been gradually tugged across the middle of the room, separating her personal space from the hearth where warmth and food were typically brought up. A few extra steps, and she was at the door, sliding it open.

It was Volo. Exactly as she figured, having recognized his voice. His calm, pleasant expression immediately shifted to one of very abundant concern, eyes widening as he saw her state of affairs. "Oh! Gods, they mentioned you had taken a hit, but I wasn't aware--"

"Volo, I'm fine. Healing up just well enough that I think the worst I'll get is soreness on rainy days. And some stiffness over the years." She waved a hand dismissively. "If even a damn merchant starts doting on me, I think I'm gonna hurl."

There was a beat of silence as Volo leaned back, hand on his hip quietly, only to wave the free hand upwards. "Ooooh, woe is meeeee! My faaaavorite customer, bedridden and beloathed to return to her wooooork!" Rose put on a mock pout in response, only to get a rather smug grin from the Ginkgo Guildmember, the both of them letting a soft chuckle follow the exchange.

"Ya keep callin' me that, but I still haven't bought anything from ya." Rose motioned inside, stepping off to allow Volo a smooth entrance, and Lucien abided as well. "C'mon in, I can get some sitrus tea going."

"Ah, and impose upon someone who hasn't even bought from me, as she says?" Despite the minor protest, he slipped within, gradually setting his pack down upon the ground and slipping out of his boots. No need to be a rude guest if you're invited inside, taking a seat on an open cushion. "Well, if you must know, my real commodity is information. And you've been given quite a bit in exchange for the services you've provided me. The battles, the assistance of the one who reminds me of a certain legend I know... You've given me more than you realize."

Rose let an eyebrow raise in response before gradually taking a slow seat upon one of the cushions by the hearth, grunting softly in response as the crutches were set to the side. "Ah... well, far be it from me to complain." She stretched out her arms, gave them a soft shake to follow up, and she flicked open a small box on the wooden floor by the fire pit. A few ingredients gathered into the pot... and the fresh wood down below it was struck with some flint as Lucien let out a stretch and flumphed down behind Rose, setting his head upon his fore paws lazily. Her big ol' guardian Luxray, letting her lean back against him as the water began heating up. "Still, I doubt you came just to check up on me."

"Ah. My heart. A dagger straight through, aimed quite true. I admit, I did have an ulterior motive." The man lightly pulled his legs up into a cross, settling his arms upon his knees as he watched the fire with that same, calm expression he normally held. That one, visible gray eye seemed to be searching for something within the flames, and he let out a hum of thought as he let it trail up towards Rose. "Considering how much you've done... it'd be remiss of me not to ask something. Have you come across what could be described as... a 'plate'? Colored, etched with some old so-and-so about the past?"

Rose's eyes widened a bit, and she gave a soft nod towards the other as the water began to simmer. Light boil, we don't want a roll. Lift the lid, raise the pot a bit. "Shockingly, yes. A good four of 'em. All given by the nobles I've come across after I gave 'em some assistance." The moment the word 'four' had crossed her lips, Volo had leaned forward, his eyes wide. She could even see his other eye, the man brushing his bangs slightly out of the way in shock. Out came a finger, and he bounced it in her direction.

"Do let me see them! I happen to be quite well versed in translating the text upon them! It's a passion of mine, after all!" Rose smirked before handing a spoon to him in response. He gave an awkward blink, looking down at the wooden utensil for just a few seconds before he noticed her getting up. It allowed him to actually note what he was being wordlessly asked to do. And with a scoot forward, he began to gently stir and steep the bags. These strange bags caught his attention, but naturally, he didn't see fit to make mention. She was always a forward thinker.

Rose stood herself and, with a bit of a hop, scooted to one side of the sheet separating her more private affairs from her guest. Tugging them out of her bag, she gradually managed to maneuver her way back into place, taking a rather rough slump down to hit the cushion. And over went all four. Mind, Insect, Earth and Meadow. "Somethin' about the words feels a bit familiar, like I should know 'em. But I've never been good at catching onto other languages or older texts."

"Then aren't you pleased to know it's payment enough to see these in person for me to translate them." Volo's grin turned up to her, a bit devilishly smug, but he soon turned his attention towards the plates themselves. A set of one to the side moments later, and he was visibly tearing through them in mere seconds. 'Fluent' was an understatement, and his arms quietly crossed as he conveyed what he had read aloud. "The Original One breathed alone before the universe came. Where all creation was born, that is the being's place of origin. When the universe was created, its shards became this Plate. The powers of Plates are shared among Pokémon..."

His eyes glanced up towards Rose, notably more sharp. Honed. Not quite pointed, but his next point was drilling the passion he felt over this into the owner of the plates. "This explains more than you could ever know. It confirms even more still."

"Do tell, Merchant of the Ruins." Volo smirked a bit.

"Have you ever heard of the Celestica Tribe?" Rose shook her head slowly, raising an eyebrow curiously. "Well, I don't say this in a way to indict. But they were the original people of this land. Little and less is known of them, but... they were the first to worship Almighty Sinnoh." Rose couldn't hide the surprise. Nor the wariness that such a statement could cause. "Ah, don't you worry. I see that expression, and it's a thought I myself even harbored years prior. But after speaking with someone who has a much firmer grasp of the more personal history of that tribe, I've most assuredly come to the conclusion the two clans here now had nothing to do with their departure."

The relief was just as writ on Rose's face as her previous apprehension, and she leaned back onto Lucien's side, the large lynx gently shifting a leg in to give her a bit more comfort and support. "Okay. Cool. I didn't have it in my heart to hate Irida or Adaman. Those two have their hearts in the right place, I tell you what." A faint, silly accent to lighten the mood came about, though Volo simply pushed past it.

"Now, don't get me wrong. That doesn't entirely exonerate them. If you'd note that it's common knowledge the Diamond and Pearl clans have both been... at each other's throats in the past. Good people though they all may be in their own towns and to those that don't openly disparage their beliefs, war wasn't all that uncommon in decades and even centuries past. The state of the ruins can tell you that the Celestica tribe was quite a ways off from our own modern time frame!" Hah. Rose had to grin at that word. 'Modern'. That was cute. "But therein lies the crux of the issue. The Celestica tribe was gone before they had even arrived. And yet they use the same name for their duo of gods: Sinnoh. They even, if I may point out..." His finger came up and bounced once more, pointing at Rose's own hip, where a certain instrument had been strapped. She didn't like being without it, and Volo had caught that detail directly.

"... call those Celestica flutes, a clear sign that their own ancestors simply used what they found here as their own."

Rose's eyes quietly widened. Silence reigned, and it took the pot almost boiling over to snap her out of her stupor, a sizzle heard almost on cue as water dripped into the fire. Shit! Shit, the tea! Hopefully it wasn't too scalded...! She took the pot off the heat and set it down with a pant, stirring and glancing over the teabags quietly... okay... hot, but not burnt. It was going to taste a bit strong and sharp to boot, but... what could you do?

A ladle went in, and she began pouring it out into two larger clay cups, offering one to Volo with a small jar of honey. He declined the additional sweetness, but quietly continued his statements. "I have the blood of the Celestica tribe within my veins, but... I could not say I claim to hold their heritage yet. I'm a researcher, not a chronicler. I want to learn all I can about the Original One these plates speak of. The same ones the Sinjoh Ruins depicted. The one born from nothing to create everything." His eyes peered up towards Rose. They were sharp once more. But there was an eagerness behind them. A desire. A seeking of kinship. "And something tells me you're the one who'll settle the debate once and for all for everyone's sake. Who they are. Who the real Sinnoh is."

Rose, having gently dabbled a bit of honey off of the dipper she placed in the jar, sipped at her sitrus tea quietly. Strong, but sweet. The honey pulled the spices a bit more into a state of behaving in the drink, thankfully. "You think that because I keep getting these plates, right?"

"I know that. Because it reminds me of one story of the Celestica people. The most prominent one told before they vanished of the hero who faced Sinnoh directly. Ten Pokémon by his side, he saved the land from devastation. Who knows why they had to do that, but... you strike me as one to follow, Rose." He sipped at his tea, his eye contact never being broken. "Though I loathe to place any more pressure on you. At least not with Kamado breathing down your neck. And Ginter breathing down mine." As if he had rehearsed this pitch, there was that playful smirk again. "Alas. Two wayward souls. Destined to unlock the secrets of creation... doomed to be the errand-runners of their 'neutral leaders'."

Rose snorted gently in response to that, coughing a bit as Volo chuckled. A bit of tea went right up her nose in the process of that, and with a lean of her head back and a shake of it to follow, she sighed out with a wet rasp, clearing her throat as she grinned. "Alright, wise guy. I'll bite. I'll keep doin' what I'm doin'. And in return, we share with each other what we find. Deal?"

"A perfect one." Out came his hand. "Business is what I do best, and I very much approve of this deal."

Their hands clasped together. They shook. And the fire in both of their eyes flared with determination.

[toxics-sims-adventures]

Decided to categorize what I think are the most invasive packs (that I own) in ts4

Explanations under the cut:

INCREDIBLY INVASIVE:

The Base Game is needed to play TS4 at all so I just threw it into incredibly invasive for a giggle.

Eco Lifestyle causes the most annoying effect of turning my neighborhoods into industrial hellscapes just because most of Oasis Springs uses plaster and stucco and Willow Creek uses plastic siding. If I turn it off in settings though, I can’t remove the industrial cloud over Evergreen Harbor. NAPs make people litter my neighborhoods in junk items that I can’t just pick up and delete because it’s not part of my lot, or I end up with the most active kleptomaniacs in any game since my days in the Sims 1 where I’d literally build a treasure vault maze to punish the burglars. I have to turn off NPC voting just to make them all stop. I still get constant popups from each voting cycle saying something won even though absolutely no votes went through and there’s no actual NAP put into place but still. High key annoying.

Parenthood. You cannot escape the character values. They effect every toddler, child and teen, like it or not. You constantly receive school projects in the offspring’s inventory. If there was an option to turn it off at the expense of getting the bonus traits, this would drop straight into only invasive with interaction.

My Wedding Stories literally changes the wedding party. Gone is the simple day of decorating Willow Creek’s cherry blossom park with an arch, a piano and a bar to get an easy progression through your soulmate aspiration. Without mods anyway.

A lot of that Werewolves invasiveness happens because either Greg decides to suddenly visit Oasis Springs for ZERO reason and scares everyone on my street, or because Jake Volkov keeps coming to Copperdale High in full fury furry mode and makes everyone run screaming from the classroom. Like, dude, just stay home, call in sick, take the mental health day. Cripes.

Moderately Invasive:

Seasons adds weather to all worlds. You can turn most of it off though, the only weather you can’t avoid is sunny and cloudy days. It also adds temperature effects to Sims, but you can turn that off completely in the menu if you’re tired of sims overheating or freezing to death. Other than the seasonal life cycle of plants from gardening, which can only be subverted with indoor greenhouses or a pot in your sims living room to shelter the plant, the other thing Seasons does that would be considered annoyingly invasive would be the holidays. Even if you turn off all the major holidays preset in the pack, Love Day, Harvestfest, etc.  by deleting them from the calendar, you’ll still get random holidays popping up that keep coming back (without a mod to disable it) like the lottery or fight a sim day, which if you refuse to participate in can give your sim a sad buff depending on their traits.

Get Famous adds the fame system. Everything you do can effect your sims fame level making their lives easier or harder. You can however step out of the spotlight so your painter monkey doesn’t get famous in the basement. (I have never made a painter monkey in the basement but some of you do and I’m as intrigued as I am terrified of you all.) BUT Get Famous also has a reputation system that you CAN’T turn off. Every friendly action/new friend you make will change your reputation positively and every mean interaction/enemy you make will change your reputation negatively. You can end up with a beloved or beloathed sim who when meeting new people will have their reputation precede them and effect their future relationships. Celebrities will show up anywhere, grinding pretty much everything to a halt so NPCs and even your own sims can swoon over them. (Plus Judith Ward and every other celebrity will always walk through your neighborhood no matter where you live, breaking the immersion. Yes even if you live in bumfuck nowhere, Strangerville.)

High School Years WILL NOT STOP MAKING MY TEEN SIMS MISERABLE. Acne all the time! Hair in weird places ALL THE TIME. To stop hair growth I have to go into cas and turn off the option for every body part FOR EVERY DIFFERENT SIM. Acne is in the actual pack settings to turn off. You have to turn off the check in the career tab in-game to stop the popup that asks if you want to follow your teen sims to school, for every teen sim. AND THE RANDOMIZED TOWNIE OUTFITS HAVE GOTTEN WORSE. I hate Trendi with a passion.

Dream Home Decorator. ITS JUST A COFFEE TABLE STOP TRYING TO PUKE ABOUT IT BEING MISSION STYLE! Sims will constantly go around critiquing my shit, even in bedrooms they weren’t invited to! because they like or hate it and it’s getting annoying. It’s not worth the little happy moodlet when they like living in a midcentury modern decorated home.

Only Invasive with Interaction:

Get to Work gave us our first occult sim, not counting ghosts. However, if you engage in the scientist career, you better prepare for absolutely every night to be filled with alien abductions. I never, ever see alien abductions or get pregnant male sims unless someone in the household is a scientist. The illnesses that come with the pack also can’t be disabled which is a little annoying when your previously healthy sim suddenly turns dazed because of a hidden buff of having a cold, or your screenshots are suddenly ruined because someone sprouted orange tiger stripe rashes. The only cure for these illnesses are the medicine bought off the computer, or the shopping for gifts menu from the phone. AND SOMETIMES THEY DONT EVEN WORK COMPLETELY! sometimes you have to wait and take another medicine to completely cure the illness! However it’s largely easy to ignore and easy to fix so I won’t count it as totally invasive when faced with absolutely everything else this game can do to give your sims a billion moodlets.

Cats & Dogs won’t really affect your gameplay unless you adopt one for your household. Yeah, you’ll still see the occasional stray in your neighborhood but that’s it really.

Spa Day only affects gameplay due to the refresh, which gave the new trait High Maintenance. Which is very likely to make the sim with that trait freak out over any little thing under the sun. Including the sun. Sitting makes them uncomfortable. They get weird dreams that make them tense. They need constant spa days and wellness activities or they get angry and tense. if they don’t have the High Maintenance trait though? You will never need the Spa Day stuff close at hand.

Strangerville only really affects the residents of Strangerville. The possession mood only affect the sims that eat the bizarre fruit to get the Infected trait. On occasion you’ll see certain Strangerville townies go possessed but only if you have them invited out from before 1am ingame.

Realm of Magic introduced spellcasters and they really don’t do magic outside of the realm. They’ll ride brooms outside of the realm but they tend to stay grounded if they’re going to walk through your neighborhoods.

Laundry Day is only invasive and adds gameplay IF you put a washing machine/tub and/or a dryer or clothesline on your lot. If you just want the cas and build objects aside from that, you will never see a stinky pile of laundry.

Tiny Living only affects your lot’s number of room tiles when selecting to live in a tiny home residential. If you exceed the maximum number of tiles, 100, you just won’t get the hidden lot traits that benefit your sims from living on a tiny home residential.

Paranormal Stuff only becomes invasive on haunted house residential lots. You will not see a specter, Guidry, or Temperance without going into the paranormal investigator freelance career otherwise.

Not All That Invasive:

Get Together will occasionally give you a notification about clubs or have townies invite your sims to the discotheque.

City Living will give you a notification about whatever festival’s going on and NPCs will invite your sims out to them.

Discover University will give out a popup to remind you that your sims can enroll and get a degree once for every new teen or older sim.

Cottage Living will give a notice every weekend for whatever fair is happening in Henford on Bagley

Dine Out won’t give an effect to your game until you place a restaurant, and even then it’ll just be another location NPCs will invite your sims to.

Wait I have that pack?:

Holiday Stuff (the free pack) adds no gameplay

Island Living is pretty much self contained. Other than occasionally seeing mermaid sims around town, the gameplay is self contained to Sulani.

Snowy Escape gives a residential world with a few vacation lots so your sim can vacation in the mountains. This pack is self contained.

Outdoor Retreat gives a vacation world centered around camping. The herbalism skill doesn’t need to be interacted with and you don’t have to capture bugs. This pack is self contained.

Jungle Adventures gives you a new vacation world and is easily the fastest way to get a ton of simoleons to end your rags to riches nightmares. Just make sure your sim is skilled enough to avoid getting poisoned/cursed to death. Otherwise this pack is self contained.

Journey to Batuu gives you a call and notification that you can visit at any time but you’ll never see a star wars character outside of Batuu unless you make friends with them. This pack is self contained.

Spooky stuff adds a party type and that’s it.

Movie Hangout will give your sims the option to watch movies and you wont’ see any other gameplay unless you toss the popcorn maker into your kitchen, which I consistently forget about.

Backyard Stuff just gives you the option of having a waterslide in your backyard.

Vintage Glamour adds no gameplay except for the butler and the tiny bit that is the makeup table but does nothing else

Fitness Stuff adds no gameplay except for the climbing wall which can help build fitness or climbing skill if you own Snowy Escape

Moschino Stuff fixes the limited photography skill but doesn’t do much else.

Knifty Knitting you can knit and unlock some things in CAS and that’s it.

Carnaval Streetwear adds no gameplay

Moonlight Chic adds no gameplay

Desert Luxe adds no gameplay

Everyday Clutter adds no gameplay

Invasive Until Patched:

Vampires used to visit your sims at night pretty much all the time to bite and suck their blood sorry, plasma and give them a day long uncomfortable moodlet that you had no way to avoid without locking your doors to outsiders or engaging in the Vampire knowledge skill to make garlic braids and prevent feedings from garlic allergic vampires. Now you can turn off their nightly visits by clicking on the front door and disallowing vampire visitors.

Do Not Own:

I don't own a majority of the kits and a good few of the stuff packs, so I can't say what is or is not invasive from the listed:

Bathroom clutter, Simtimates, Pastel Pop, First fits, Little campers, Deocr to the max, Blooming rooms, Modern Menswear, Incheon Arrivals, Industrial Loft, Fashion street, Courtyard Oasis, Country kitchen, Throwback fit, My first pet stuff, Toddler stuff, Bowling night, Kids room, Romantic garden, Cool kitchen, Perfect Patio, Luxury Party

However, since most of these are CAS or build kits, and stuff packs with maybe ONE gameplay object in each, They probably all fit under the Wait I have that pack? category

STAY OUT OF MY GAME FILES:

YOU KNOW WHY BUST THE DUST IS HERE. (If you really don’t know why the Bust the Dust kit is here, unlike Laundry Day, this kit can’t be turned off. You have to buy the stupid vacuums to make your sims clean up the dust overlay on your floors and remove the dust bunnies. It’s annoying and I don’t want this kit even looking at my game files.)

[kittttycakes]

Writer Q&A

What is your absolute all-time favorite idea you’ve ever had?

Honestly? It’s the WIP I’m working on right now, as heart for heart for loving me. I have never been as jazzed about a piece of writing as I am about this one, and I’ve never been as consistent about writing as I have been with this.

In terms of original work, someday I will write the sapphic monster(?) romance of my dreams. I’m still working out the exact plot, but there’s some characters rattling around up there!

Is there a question you’ve been asked in the past that really stands out to you, and you still think about sometimes?

It’s not so much a specific question as it is a series of them, because without @just-french-me-up, I wouldn’t have fleshed out Grace as much as I have and I wouldn’t know nearly as much about her as I do! Talking about our OCs together and the plot of our WIPs has made me a better plotter, a better planner, and a better writer.

What is your favorite part of being a writer? What parts could you take or leave?

I love the feeling when the words just flow and you feel like you’re tapped into some kind of creative battery that feels like it could go on forever. It just feels right, like all the pieces in my brain have clicked into place, and nothing can beat that.

Editing, my beloathed. How can I still have tiny mis-typed word errors that I didn’t catch in a chapter that’s been up for months?

What is your greatest motivation to write/create?

I want to read a very specific thing, and to make it happen, I have to write it, which is very fun! But also sometimes frustrating. I think it’s mainly that I have this picture in my head that I want to contextualize with writing, and if I don’t get it out on the page, it’s going to haunt me. I write like I’m performing an exorcism on my own brain.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever read or been given as a writer?

Make shitty pots. There was a post that floats around sometimes about just making something, even if it’s “bad,” even if it’s not what you envisioned in your head. The act of making (writing) is enough, even if it’s not perfect. Gently smothering the perfectionist in my head is a work in progress, but it’s worth it.

What do you wish you knew when you were first starting out writing?

That it’s all right if it’s not perfect. That some words on the page are better than no words on the page. This ties directly to my above answer, but it really is the best thing I’ve ever started to internalize.

What is your favorite story you’ve written to completion? Link it if you’d like and can!

I, shamefully, don’t have a lot of complete work (we’re going to change that)! But for now, the heartbeat fic is my favorite but I did for Promptober 2022.

What is your favorite out-of-the-box quote?

Maybe not too out of the box, but “Life is too short and love is too long.” from Tamsyn Muir’s Nona the Ninth has haunted me since I first read it, both in context and out of it. What else can you say? Life IS too short, and love IS too long.

Which of your characters would you say has the most controversial mindset? Why do you say so, and how do you personally feel about their ideals?

She hasn’t been debuted and probably won’t for awhile, but let me tease Edie here. Edie is a grifter and a bit of a conwoman and her first thought has always, historically, been for herself. She’s a bit vain and somewhat self-centered and she’s my horrible gremlin daughter who I love very much. I think the main problem I have with her mindset is that she feels like she’s very removed from other people, and so she doesn’t care about who she hurts (until she does), which is just such a foreign concept to me. I do, however, agree on her stance on eating the rich (in her case…literally).

If you, when you first started writing, met you now, what would younger you think?

I think younger me would be very surprised that we’ve managed to write 150k without quitting, and also how queer most of our writing tends to be! She was in the closet, and I’m bringing her out and letting her be free with every queer woman I write.

Tagged by @romanceandshenanigans! I am so horribly late with this because my brain is absolute mush, but if you’re a writer and you see this, please consider this your personal, no pressure invitation from me to answer these questions!

[plainlo-inthemorning]

I posted 1,449 times in 2022

That's 556 more posts than 2021!

393 posts created (27%)

1,056 posts reblogged (73%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@everythingbutresolved

@pegplunkett

@agirlinherhead

@aherdofbees

@girlwiththenegantattoo

I tagged 1,314 of my posts in 2022

Only 9% of my posts had no tags

#hamish linklater - 1,057 posts

#midnight mass - 253 posts

#hamishlinklateredit - 225 posts

#john tyler - 223 posts

#father paul - 191 posts

#tell me your secrets - 190 posts

#jeb magruder - 178 posts

#hamfam - 155 posts

#john tyler my beloathed - 129 posts

#gaslit - 127 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#i’m not a fan of hamish with a beard - especially not the longer ones - but gotta admit it helps a lot not to have to wrestle with his jaw😂

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Hamish Linklater in The Future

222 notes - Posted February 12, 2022

#4

See the full post

330 notes - Posted February 27, 2022

#3

Midnight Mass behind the scenes

354 notes - Posted February 16, 2022

#2

658 notes - Posted September 16, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

The Night Father Paul Let You Sit on His Lap

Warning: PRIEST SMUT. Children, avert your eyes. And always use protection IRL.

This is my Secret Santa gift to @see-you-in-a-new-light for the Hamish Linklater holiday event created by the lovely @the-weird-dane

I hope you enjoy! Happy New Year :D

Summary: He laughs again, a little more at ease this time. But his mouth snaps shut so fast it’s almost comical when you adjust yourself and ‘accidentally’ grind down on his lap…

When you come back from the bathroom, your chair at Erin’s long dining table has been taken by the mayor’s wife, Dotty, who, by the sound of her uncharacteristically boisterous retelling of some non-dispute at the convenience store with a pesky tourist last summer, is on her third or fourth glass of wine.

At least.

You’re betting that her rapt audience at the end of the table – her husband, Ed and Maggie Flynn and another elderly couple you don’t know that well – are not far behind.

You smile to yourself, even if you are now standing a little awkwardly in the middle of the room.

It’s good to see the parent generation of Crockett Island letting loose for once.

They deserve it.

When Erin, your old high school friend, had spontaneously gone up to the stage at the Crock Pot earlier today, clapped her hands together to get everyone’s attention and invited people over for drinks and a bite to eat later in the evening, the proposal had initially been met with uncertain side-glances.

It’s been that long since the good people of the island actually socialized with one another outside of church gatherings and said (poorly attended) Crock Pot ‘festivities’.

Beverly Keane, the self-righteous bitch, had had the audacity to snicker out loud at the suggestion, as if she personally couldn’t think of anything more ridiculous than spending her free time in the company of an unmarried pregnant woman (the horror!), and a former convict.

Yes, you hadn’t failed to notice how she had made a point of shooting her nose up at poor Riley too, who had been standing to a side, eyes to the ground, hands shoved deep in his pockets.

It was the new, charismatic priest, Father Paul Hill, who had warmly accepted Erin’s offer, effectively shutting Bev up when he’d proclaimed it a great idea, and that he for one would love to cap off the day in good company with his neighbors.

After that, a decent crowd had followed the priest’s lead (doctor Gunning and her date being notable exceptions), and if you hadn’t already found him quite alluring, watching him all but usher the island dwellers after Erin, beaming like a happy, handsome puppy, would have done the trick.

For someone who’s only supposed to be stationed at the island for a few weeks tops while the old Monsignor Pruitt recovers from illness on the mainland, Paul sure seems keen to get on everyone’s good side in church as well as outside.

Perhaps he’s a little lonely, you think. Him being fairly young and living a life in solitude.

Also, you absolutely wouldn’t blame him, if he felt like hiding from Bev for a few hours, knowing that she would never set foot in Erin’s house…

You have a feeling Bev is trying to make herself a permanent fixture at the priest’s small rectory, probably coming and going as she pleases, considering how she had been bossing Monsignor Pruitt around for the past years.

“I bet she’s totally into Paul. Dreams about him at night and draws little hearts around his name in her burn book and shit like that”, Erin had said, hilariously matter of fact the other day, and you had almost spit out your dinner laughing.

You’re inclined to believe her, though.

All in all, it’s been a nice week on the island for you, spending your holiday catching up with Erin and a couple of your other high school friends, Evelyn and Peter, who have also taken time off to come home.

Or: None of your parents actually live here anymore, having all left after that devastating oil spill, but you still like to return every few years to breathe in the ocean air of the place that shaped you growing up.

And now that both Erin and Riley have moved back more or less permanently, you think you may migrate over more frequently.

Of course, it had been Erin’s suggestion that you, Evelyn and Peter stay with her, like a mini reunion of sorts, and you’re so glad you accepted, even if the last-minute travel expenses were a bit steep.

You have a sneaking suspicion Erin may have put the thing together with Riley’s wellbeing in mind too.

His quiet, haunted demeanor is a constant reminder of how much he’s been through since you last saw him several years ago, and your heart breaks for him a little when you think of how spirited – if not downright cocky – he used to be when you were kids.

See the full post

938 notes - Posted January 1, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[rotlog]

Holly rambling at work !!! :3 GO CRAZY AHHH!!!!

I fucking LOVEEE that my car has really wide seats, I can sit criss-cross in my car on my break and give my poor little leggies a break, it's been raining+warm all day so we feel like we're gonna faaaaint over the humidity :(

Blood circulation/POTS my beloathed 😮‍💨✋

I also absolutely SLAMMED my fingiers into the door of the extra stock shed when I was getting a box of cups and cut the fuck outta my hands.. ... literally dayys after we slammed our other hand into the garage gate, and slamming our fingers into the dishwasher at work.. Ow ow ow!!!!!

Can't stop accidentally hurting myself !!! 😭

[mugenloopdalove]

I agree that this community is rough sometimes if you arent a bigger account. I think im probably one of the people you would say has an easy time coming up with daydreams or imagines, even though i dont post "imagine your f/o" type things. So maybe i can offer some help with that? My first suggestion is to engage with the source material and get those good lovey feelings- why you fell in love in the first place! And then literally just write that! Dialogue comes easier for me, so i imagine my f/o's or others in their source material saying things to/about me, and how my f/o would react. Ive been selfshipping for 15+ years and ive NEVER "finished" a fic. I just write what feels good! Sometimes its just quotes, sometimes its bullet points, sometimes its a bunch of notes with one line each that end up getting put together. It might not be easy the first or even the tenth time, but i promise it will make you feel better the more you open yourself up to "im just going to write how i feel" rather than "i need to write a fic" or "i need to world build." Youre awful hard on yourself sometimes i think 🥺

-🪼anon

Thank you for the advice

CURRENTLY engaging w the source material has the cevat of my current main source is to rlly hard stuff that has just caused me more frustration cries so hard. Late act 3 my beLOATHED (I could pot the difficulty down but I'm stubborn. This game is lucky I played on balanced and didn't go straight for tactician LMAO)

I should have kept some of my earlier saves so I could go back to like. Meeting Astarion or the hug scene that breaks me or meeting Karlachs parents or Jaheria talking about her losses, but it is so hard to hold onto saves in bg3 u don't rlly get a lot. I GUEEEESS I could watch things on YouTube but then it would not be w Theil :( I should have saved more clips

That last advice is. Really helpful and good though. I've been writing since uuuhh elementary school and I never really let myself just do something lazy and self indulgent that isn't a true "fic" and just some random stupid points. I rarely even leave wips for one shots unfinished (long form is another story but that's why I don't rlly... Do long form anymore. Bc I've realized one shots or 2-3 chapters are what I do best.) I. Don't think it even ever occured to me to just scribble stupid shit down and leave it at that bc everythings gotta be a grand art piece w me ya know. That's actually. Smart to just scribble whatever down w out it being a fic. Thanks.

[transhomicidal]

pots my utterly fucking beloathed

[aro-oak]

POTS adrenaline nightmares my beloathed.......