#this took me 2 seasons of Daria to finish

[hithisiszooz]

Cowgirl Ember and her adopted brother cowboy Plas-y

based off of this heheh

[wannabecatwriter]

Simmer Get to Know Tag

Thanks for the tag, @treason-and-plot​. I know I took a while with it.

Tagging @sunset-melody​ @shhhushhh​ and @simcatcher​.

Your name: Diana

Languages you speak: Russian, English, a little Spanish and French.

Are you a mermaid: bruh, I can’t even swim.

Your play style : Whatever flies onto my head tends to end up in my sims game. So, whatever goes, really.

Your Selfsim picture: Don’t have any new ones at this time.

Stories or gameplay, builds, lookbooks, edits or cc: Stories, builds, some cc.

Your favorite age state: I like young adults, but really, anyone who fits story purposes works for me.

Your favorite season: In game, probably winter for how it looks. In real life? Don’t know. I live in California, so we don’t really get real seasons, at least not in SoCal. I kind of miss leaves changing color. Don’t miss the injuries and the cold that tend to happen in winter, though.

Your favorite holiday: To be honest, it’s been a while since I’ve truly played through the in-game holidays. I like the gift exchange one, though.

How was your day: Crummy, because I have an assignment that’s unfinished and that I’m not likely to finish. Not because I’m lazy and procrastinating, but because the prof my Mom and I “fondly” nicknamed “vampire” is pretty unclear with his assignments and even the simplest ones of them give me a mini-breakdown. Yeah, fun... But I did vote, so that’s a plus. Gotta do your civic duty, folks. And I am enjoying a nice brandy now, so that’s an improvement to the day.

Your favorite career: I kind of like the ghost-hunter one. Yes, I was a big fan of the Ghosbusters. I love it that they included it. Also, the PI one, obviously!

Your favorite aspiration: I like the Writer one. Because you get to name the books ;) When I was playing around with Daria, it was fun imagining the names of the books she’d write.

Your favorite EP, Sp or GP : I refuse to play without Supernatural and Late Night.

How old is your Simblr: About 6 years now?

Have you woohooed: No. I wish I had more of a wish to do it, since Mom keeps hinting she wants grandkids. Sorry, dear, you’ll have to wait.

Your favorite skill: All the music ones. 

The size of your Mods folder: 31 GB. I might need to clean stuff out sooner or later.

Your 3 favorite mods: All those NRAAS Ones, Pose Player, The Children Can one.

Your interests (other than sims): Writing, reading, cooking, going for really long walks. Seriously, sometimes tiring oneself out is a good idea.

Your favorite Sim/s (picture if possible): I really liked this one, lately. I really want to write a story for those two, but I’m still working out all the kinks in it.

Which Sims games you have played (including mobile games) : Sims 3, Sims Freeplay and Sims Mobile.

Propose a crazy scheme:  What if that crazy p-bot infestation we were experiencing at the end of 2017 was actually an inside job by Tumblr staff/owners to make their adult content ban justifiable? I mean, come on, I can’t be the only one who thought so?

Best part of simblr:

1.Meeting people from all over the world who share your interests. Seriously priceless.

2. Being able to see out characters become fleshed out on screen and to see the public’s reactions to them.

3. Creativity. So much of it.

Worst part of simblr:

1. It can start being addictive. I would know. Even if it’s only a hobby, it can create a dependency.

2. Also, sometimes it starts feeling like a job. Or like, if you haven’t done this plotline or photoshoot, the inspo might disappear, so you have to do it fast. I think many of you will recognize this feeling.

3. The Tumblr ban. I mean, I don’t know about you guys, but I still get p-bots. So, what exactly did they accomplish?

What other games you play: Only mobile ones. Pocket Camp, Lily’s Garden (I love anything with a story!), Helix Waltz. Yeah, it’s a dress-up game, in essence, but the story is pretty great. Also, I’m kind of liking the character’s growth, even though she’s developing some conniving traits. My girl straight up pulled a gun on someone in one of the latest chapters! 

Other websites or accounts (origin, twitter etc..) : Wordpress, Google for pics, I have a Blogger account for commenting, but that’s it. I still have a Facebook, but don’t really use it these days.

Are you single: Yes.

[armyvetswife]

My 2 cents worth on Kdramas

So, earlier this year (2018) my 12-year-old granddaughter turned me on to Kdramas.

Started out with 'Boys over Flowers' in January and we're still arguing about which one of the guys Jan-Di should have ended up with....Gu Jun-Pyo or Yoon Ji-Hoo. Since I'm a sucker for the whole Soul Mate thing (been married to my own soul mate for over 30 years) and Ji-Hoo became my favorite right from the start, I actually wasn't too happy with the way things turned out in the end.

But that's all beside the point and the only thing that matters is that it only took this one series to get me completely and absolutely "hooked" on Kdramas.

Since Kim Hyun Joong became my first favorite as Ji-Hoo, I started looking up other parts he starred in and came across 'Inspiring Generation'. Wow! What a difference! The character of Shin Jung-Tae is just about as opposite of Ji-Hoo as it can possibly get. But I guess that's what makes a truly great actor, and Kim Hyun Joong was simply amazing playing the part....even though it bothered me to see that handsome face getting beat up way too much.

But then it was also 'Inspiring Generation' where I found what would become my next favorite...Song Jae Rim, in the character of Mo Il-Hwa.

I can't quite pinpoint what it was that endeared me to that part, but of course I had to once again look for other Kdramas, featuring Song Jae Rim. And that's when I came across 'Moon embracing the Sun' with Song Jae Rim as the King's swordsman, Woon.

Absolutely loved Jae Rim in that part and still do, even after having watched the entire series about a dozen times by now. I also liked Song Jae Rim in 'Goodbye Mr. Black', even though his wasn't a main character role, but didn't care much for the part of a hitman/killer Mr. Kim he played in 'Two Weeks' since I really don't like my favs playing "bad guys". Of course, watching 'Two Weeks' made me find another new favorite...Lee Joon Gi

Okay, so I just said I don't like my favs playing "bad guys", but the main character, Jang Tae-San, isn't really a bad "bad guy" and if that story doesn't tear up your heart, then you better check if you still have one.

I actually had to do something I usually NEVER do...about half-way through the series I had to watch the final episode to see how it turns out, just so my old nerves could take watching the rest of the story. Yeah, I know...terrible, isn't it? Don't worry, I got more than an earful about it from my granddaughter, and I promise to never do it again! ;)

But while I thought that it could not possibly get any better than Lee Joon Gi's performance in 'Two Weeks', I quickly found out that I was wrong when I watched 'Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo' next. OH, MY...!!! Not only is Joon Gi with long hair pure eye-candy (to me at least), but he absolutely nailed the part of Prince Wang So. 

Ladies, how many of you were ready to strangle Wang So's mother with your bare hands. I definitely was! And what's the big deal about that scar? I guess it's because Princes had to be "perfect", but come on...  Scars are just proof that you were stronger than whatever or whoever it was that tried to kill you. And apparently back then the phrase "chicks dig scars" was unheard of. And also apparently I'm not the only one who wasn't happy at all with the way the story ended, considering there are numerous fan videos on YouTube with different, happier endings. I got more than just a little upset with Hae Soo for leaving Wang So. How could she not see that he was trying his best to NOT become some blood-thirsty tyrant??

Anyway, after only about 3 days of some serious editing work, the final episode in my own DVD collection of 'Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo' has a much happier ending now...many thanks to Daria Zyuzina who created the wonderful fan video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj0r9zE5Le8) where Wang So finds Hae Soo in the future. And like so many other fans, I'm also still hoping for a Season 2 with this kind of scenario.

On another note to 'Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo'... aside from the despicable character of Queen Yoo (Prince Wang So's mother, who treats him like s**t), my other least-favorite character is Prince Wang Yo (Wang So's biological brother, and also a son of Queen Yoo). However, while I hated the character, actor Hong Jong Hyun did an excellent job portraying the mean, spiteful, conniving 3rd Prince. But if you're like me, you would much more enjoy seeing Hong Jong Hyun in the role of Wang Rin in 'The King in Love'

or, even better, as Seo Chan Hwi, the vice-commander of the Royal Guard in 'Jeon Woo Chi'

(that is, if you can get into things like wizards and magic and tolerate some occasionally slightly over-done special effects of people flying through the air and such...BUT at least in 'Jeon Woo Chi' ONLY the wizards have that ability, unlike in some of the Chinese dramas where seemingly anybody can have such super-human abilities...if you ever watched 'General and I', you might understand what I'm talking about... I couldn't make it past a trailer that had a fight scene between Chu Beijie and He Xia, but that's just me, I guess).

As far as wizards and magic are concerned, however, I did very much enjoy the ones in 'Mirror of the Witch' aka 'Secret Healer' and my favorite character there ended up being the Taoist Yo Gwang, played by Lee Yi Kyung.

Don't ask me why, I just found him adorable (maybe because he was so awkward, dealing with the girl  Soon Deuk who clearly has a crush on him). SPOILER ALERT -- 'Mirror of the Witch' has a rather bitter-sweet ending!

I want to get back to Lee Joon Gi for a moment since I just finished the 'Lawless Lawyer' series....which is an excellent nail-biter and I had to seriously restrain myself NOT TO watch the final episode first again. If you've seen it, tell me is it just me or did you think too that Joon Gi looked too skinny in that series? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying at all that he looked "bad" in any way and his performance was awesome as usual...I just felt that he looked like he'd lost a whole bunch of weight and "celebrity life" was taking its toll on him. Kind of worries me, because I would definitely like to see him in many more future performances.

I still have some Lee Joon Gi binge-watching left over for now, since the only other movies and series I made it through so far were 'Iljimae', 'Arang and the Magistrate', 'Gunman in Joseon' and of course 'The King and the Clown' (which was way too sad for my taste). But most likely 'Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo' will always be my absolute favorite and I'll keep hoping for a 2nd season...even though that will probably just remain wishful thinking for myself and many others, but we can always hope, right?

Some of my other favs I’d like to mention would be Kwak Dong Yeon as swordsman Kim Byung-Yeon in 'Moonlight drawn by Clouds' aka 'Love in the Moonlight'

and he also played an excellent part as young Shin Jung-Tae in 'Inspiring Generation'.

Then there is Seo In Guk for his outstanding performances as Prince Gwang-Hae in 'The King's Face'

and also as Lee Hyun / David Lee in 'I Remember You' aka 'Hello Monster'.

An excellent yet unfortunately somewhat overlooked performance of Kim Jae Young as Moo-Yeon in ‘100 Days my Prince’

And last (for now) but certainly not least is Jung Il Woo whose sad role as Prince Yang-Myung in 'Moon embracing the Sun' cost me plenty of tissues,

but required even more of them in 'The Return of Iljimae' (even though it has a happier ending for Jung Il Woo’s character)

I'll probably get "yelled at" for saying this, but I honestly have a hard time deciding whom I liked better...Lee Joon Gi as Iljimae in 'Iljimae: The Phantom Thief', or Jung Il Woo as Iljimae in 'The Return of Iljimae'. (Sorry, Joon Gi, but be assured that you'll still always be my #1 fav).

So, thanks to my granddaughter, back to some more binge-watching...hey, I got to blame someone else for things not getting done around the house, right? ;)

[zankokunowisdom]

100 days of Productivity Challenge

I’ve had another good week! Definetly feeling better and more like myself minute by minute. Feeling good, feeling powerful~ Getting my emotional, mental, intellectual, spiritual, artistic and physical powers back. Don’t try to stop me now, do not fuck with me, enemies, you’ll regret it.

There’s definetly a formula to feeling good about yourself and life: it is hard work. Good mood doesn’t just happen for me, I understand it very clearly now, I must be in control of myself. There is power in awareness, there is strength in growth, there’s energy in love. It’s not always easy to resist the mental programming that comes from society, media and other people but a witch must always follow his/her own guidelines, I must follow my own path and be unconcerned by any fears. I am strong enough to overcome any fears, I’m strong enough to overcome anything.

Anyway, here is my productivity week:

Monday (15.10.18) - Day 15. I’ve watched a documentary about dinosaurs (yaaas, points for mantaining childhood interests), have read 5 second rule book (a great book that’s about doing more actions instead of just thinking about doing something.), watched a new Charmed reboot (it was suprisingly pretty good, I don’t care what anyone else thinks! I’ve done some meditation, made an appoitment to see a doctor, researched some info for my finances and prepared an episode of my rolegame. Also I’ve drawn a table on my whiteboard for the week.

Tuesday (16.10.18)  - Day 16. Had a walk, bought some groceries for the week, work, more or less finished dealing with skills for my Shadowrun character, had a chat about potential future job, did an arm work-out, spoke with Era on the phone, met with Akira- we had a session of my rolegame -Gardarika, practiced some drawing,

Wednesday: (17.10.18) - Day 17. That day was slow because I kinda had an emotional/mental breakdown. I was looking through old photos and everything kinda hit me. I talked it out with an acquaintance, that helped. Had a walk with Akira, checked some pre-planned things, work.

Thursday: (18.10.18) - Day 18 - Listened to an audiobook about human history, worked on getting better (I got sick), work, walked a lot, started a new show! Harlots, it’s great. (I’ve seen some spoilers now when I looked for gifs, such a stupid mistake!) It’s about women in England, about sex-work and the hardships women had to face.

Friday: (19.10.18) - Day 19. Listened to human history audiobook, done some self-therapy, meditated, read The Raven King, watched Harlots (like amost the whole season, it’s so good, actors are so great), talked to a friend (Taeva) on the phone, met with Akira again (we’ve seen each other so often this week о.о, it’s great, always happy to see her!). Worked on getting healthy, walked a lot, worked.

Saturday: (20.10.18) - Day 20. I’ve met with a friend - Daria, I haven’t seen her in almost a year! We caught up, walked in the forest, took a lot of pictures and then ate some Japanese food at the Murakame cafe. It was refreshing to see her. I’ve read a chapter of a new (for me) book that deals with thinking about finances. I wrote down some things in my mini-journal and just took time to think and unplug from everything. I’ve also drawn a picture for Inctober (I am so behind... I don’t thing I’ll finish it up this month, but I will finish it!). Also I’ve asked my friends to name my flaws (after watching an Anna Akana video), it was interesting, I don’t agree with some of them though, ahah. Also I’ve watched Station 19 - a show about firefighters. The core idea of episode is that we keep a lot of things - in our house, in our minds and it’s dangerous, and that we need to declutter and free ourselfs from the uselless and harmful baggage. I had a great idea.

Sunday: (21.10.18) - Day 21. Did some stretching, sang a bit, met with Akira to watch the Voice, eeh, I went to the shop to buy water, also I fell asleep (I found a new creative way to sit near the window and it was too comfy, ahaha), I’ve read Raven King some more and watched an episode of Harlots (season 2). Wrote this post. Listed to Meaning Of Life for the first time in a while, such a great album!

Also I don’t remember the precise day, but I fixed my armchair, it bothered me for a while. Here’s to another great week!

[mrfirefoxgym]

Another glimpse of hell - mean (and some not-so-mean) nicknames on the Chinese gymternet TAKE 2.

DISCLAIMER:

1. Do not read this if you are easily offended by mean names, satirical jokes or dark humour.

2. The Chinese gymternet culture, and its internet culture as a whole, is very different from the ones on tumblr. Partly due to its insularity, certain terms used in the Chinese gymternet could come across to you as too rude or brass or unacceptable. However, please also take into account the difference in the cultural aspect as well. As a common dweller in the Chinese gymternet community, I can promise that 95% of the satirical teasings or mean names created by the Chinese has no derogatory intention. The truly degrading, racist or sexist nicknames have also been filtered out by me, so rest assured.

So now, if you are ready, please read on:

——————————————–The line to hell——————————————-

A. Foundation Course Chapter 2

1. 美x~; Pretty x~; adj. 

Right. So you call someone a pretty something. But it also could mean “pretty” aka fugly something. No one knows if you are genuine about it, and so after awhile the expression took on a warped connotation. Both fans and haters use it. Decipher its true meaning before replying anyone on the forum!

E.g. Pretty ___ fell two times on beam today, made my day!

2. 水x~；Watery x~; adj. 

In Chinese terms, if you “inject water” into something, you will make it less substantial, less genuine, less real and less deserving. So if someone are “watery”, people are inferring that she or he is overscored and undeserving of his credentials. Some fans nonetheless use it on their beloved ones as friendly teasing or a show of humility. 

3. xoP - noun. 

So the official rules of artistic gymnastics are written in the Code of Point (CoP). Some fans, however, like to invent their own rules (or twisting the meaning of existing rules) on judging a routine. As such, people would say that so-and-so have invented their own xOP to judge routines. One particular notorious member in the Chinese gymternet community has the ID lldtt06, and hence whatever he says, people will reply:

“Oh wow Mdm6 is judging routines based on his 6oP again!”. 

(some famous rules of 6oP include - there should be deduction whenever one does shap to pak because its so “trite”, and many others lmao)

4. 烟花 - fireworks - noun.

Used to describe gymnasts who just can’t finish a routine without falling. The Chinese gymternet sometimes use the term “explode” to describe routines with falls (e.g. Seda’s beam exploded again!). So for those who routinely fall in their routine, they are called fireworks. Also used to describe routines that fail spectacularly. 

e.g. “The beam routines of Seda are one hell of a firework performance, simply stellar - I’m in awe!”

———————————————————————————————————–

B. Country related mean terms: (used only to describe radical fans)

HOW DO PEOPLE CALL TEAM AMERICA?

池塘 - pond - noun.

Many think that certain American gymnasts are overscored. A pond has lots of water. Now look at the second bullet point in the foundation chapter - Do you get it now?

HOW DO PEOPLE CALL THE (RADICAL) FANS OF TEAM AMERICA?

蝌蚪 - tadpole - noun.

Originally used to mock Liukin’s fans because Liukin’s nickname is froggy (if you remember from my last post!), the term has been expanded to embody all die-hard/radical American fans.

莲子 - lotus seed - noun.

You know, lotus grows from pond and produces lotus seed. Yep.

HOW DO PEOPLE CALL THE (RADICAL) FANS OF TEAM RUSSIA?

鹅粪 - Goose poo - noun.

A pun of 俄粉, or Rus Fans. This term though has been picked up by Russian fans themselves as self-teasing, so its no longer a mean nickname…kind of.

Ruslut - noun.

Only the meanest Russian haters use this. Most people who use this are radical American fans so Russian fans often retaliate by calling them Uslut back.

HOW DO PEOPLE CALL THE (RADICAL) FANS OF TEAM ROMANIA?

火葬粉/火苗 - Cremnator/Little flames (Though I think kindling is a better translation, meaning wise)

So in my last episode I talked about this Bulimar set a cremation spell on Team Romania thing, so I guess it isn’t surprising that its die-hard fans are being called “flames/kindlings”?

HOW DO PEOPLE CALL THE (RADICAL) FANS OF TEAM CHINA?

好粉丝/宙国粉 - “Great” fans, Fans of team universe

I’ve talked about this last time so just revision here lol.

———————————————————————————————————–

C. Gymnasts related nicknames (some are not mean at all because I run out of mean nicknames lmao)

1. Daria Spiridonova - 累女士 - Mdm Tiresome

Back in 2014 when Spi first proved her worth Chinese fans had been calling her “the new love”, which is a proof of her popularity back then. Then in 2016 the sentiment took a turn for the worse as people realized that while she can only do bars (and that her bars isn’t even the best in the team), she kept getting selected over others (like Kapitonova and Skrypnik, at least in 2016) even in team competitions. So people started saying things like “Isn’t that super tiring for her teammate coz she can only do one event and will explode on all others”. Eventually people started to call her Mdm Tiresome - someone who drains the shit out of her teammate. 

2. Brenna Dowell - 嘟嘟鸡 - Dodo Chicken

Dowell’s nickname is just realllllllly unfortunate lol, because its not her fault at all. So basically a forum member named lldt06 (inventor of 6oP, remember?) is a superrrrrrr radical fan of hers and kept saying things like “she deserve a WC bars gold”, “BEST bar composition in the worlddddddd”, “excellent AAer”, which have some truth in them but are still boosty nonetheless and didn’t sit well with many. So in 2015 when Dowell did badly for bars in Worlds many people were like “WHERES THE WORLD CHAMPION? I ONLY SEE A DODO CHICKEN.” and bamm the nickname stayed. Tbh the term dodo chicken doesn’t mean anything in Chinese. I think its the combination between the first syllable of her last name and Wild Chicken, the term for newbies/noobs as explained in my last post. 

3. Lin Li - 慌姐 - Sister Panic

So Lin Li is a member of China’s National Team in the 2004 squad. She is actually amazing on bars but just doesn’t have the mental tenacity to do well in major competition. She always seems to be rushing through her routines which lead to mistakes after mistakes, so after a while ppl just called Sister Panic for short. 

4. The pines of 4 season 春松，夏松，秋松，冬松

So like Chunsong’s literal translation is Spring Pine, and so 3 other gymnasts were bestowed the nickname of Summer Pine, Autumn Pine and Winter Pine respectively lmao. These are NOT mean nicknames.

So Autumn Pine was first to be invented and she is Flavia Saraiva. People started to call her Autumn Pine ever since 2014′s YOG because of how tiny she was - just like Chunsong. They are also great on beam as well and competed in the same beam finals before. At the same time though she is also different from Chunsong in many way so people called her Autumn Pine to highlight the similarity and contrast. 

Then not long after that people discovered Morgan Hurd and they were like “oh my! isn’t she like a clone of Chunsong?”, so people started to call her Xiasong, or Summer Pine. 

Lastly is the winter pine. People actually couldn’t find a good fit for it for a long time but they also felt it’s incomplete without a winter pine. Then one day someone posted this photo of a young Melnikova (the same photo as below) and people were like “WINTER PINE IS SUPPOSED TO BE FAIR AND LIGHT COZ ITS WINTER, SHE LOOKS ABITTTT LIKE CHUNSONG, MELNIKOVA WILL BE WINTER PINE”. And that’s it LMAO. Personally I don’t find Melnikova to resemble Chunsong, but whatever lol everything is cool as long as we have the four pines. 

5. The Zoo (Russia’s WC team 2010) (Not mean)

Most members of Russia’s 2010 WAG team at the Worlds have animal related nicknames. The nicknames started off as mean nicknames as they are donned by Russian haters that “Russian team is like a zoo”, but eventually even the fans themselves began calling the team #TeamZoo, so they are no longer mean anymore. 

Mustafina - 母狮 - lioness - Phonic translation

Dementyeva - 德猴 - Monkey - Because she’s kinda goofy like a monkey lol

Nabieva - 河马 - Hippo - Because she must have an animal related nickname as Mus has one and people found her to resemble a hippo somehow lmao

Afanasyeva - 鳄鱼 - Crocodile - She was fierce as a crocodile on floor and I think some of her facial features (being fierce and glaring and all) reminds some like a crocodile. 

BUT HERE IS THE MEAN BUT ALSO NOT SO MEAN PART

Semenyeva is STRIPPED of a animal related nickname because Russian haters didn’t hate her enough to don her a nickname LMAO.  She was listed as a RESERVE FOR NICKNAME. Until now she doesn’t have an animal related nickname and its so fortunate and sad at the same time. 

Now I hope that you have enjoyed reading this second episode lmao, I think I’m really running out of nicknames so there shouldn’t be an 3rd episode sadly…. Still, hope it has made you laugh!