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[elyssesk]

[elyssesk]

⚠️ ADVISORY: Malicious Mods, Identity Theft, Malware, and You ⚠️

Hey, all! Not sure how many people will see this, but if you do, please reblog. This is a 'little' post regarding a potentially big problem affecting the Sims 4 community. If you download mods/CC at all (and yes I know CC is a type of mod), this applies to you.

TL;DR: For the sake of your personal info, identity, bank account, et cetera, please STOP downloading any mods/CC for the time being. Especially from the following sites: CurseForge, ModTheSims, The Sims Resource. It doesn't matter if you know the creator or not. Give it at least a week while we all figure out what's going on. If you must, I would recommend only downloading directly from a creator's Patreon (assuming they have one).

Other people have written at length about the mods in question, so I'll just share their posts below.

What's going on?

From the Sims 4 After Dark Discord server (a server you should join if you're not in it already):

⚠️If you downloaded any mod listed in the above post and played the game with them installed, this is the cleaner program Kuttoe (creator of the Home Regions and Townie Demographics mods) mentioned in their post: GitHub - overwolf/sims4-social-events-cleaner: Source files and exe release for a tool to clean up your machine if you have downloaded the "Social Events - Unlimited Time" Sims 4 mod ⚠️

Got confirmation from Kuttoe that as long as you didn't boot up the game with the malicious mods installed (or deleted them completely from your computer before playing the game), you *should* be fine. Still, I recommend that anyone who thinks they might have downloaded any of them run the cleaner program.

Here's an explanation from @anadius2 (reposted by Kuttoe) in the Sims 4 After Dark server (not providing a link to prevent brigading or spam, but you can DM me and I'll give you the link) about what the malware will do to your computer:

And a little dive into the back-end coding stuff for the more tech-savvy Simmers out there:

So, to recap:

Fake mods were uploaded to Curseforge, ModTheSims, and The Sims Resource

@msqsimsofficial had their account compromised on 2 of those sites (they are a victim of hacking, so do not send them hate!)

If downloaded, these malicious mods have the ability to steal very sensitive info (your passwords, credit card info if saved somewhere in your browser, data)

As of right now, antivirus software may not be able to detect the malware

Mac and Linux users seem to be safe; Windows users are the ones that could be affected

Why is this happening?

Unsure. Lots of theories are being made by people far more knowledgeable than me, but from the looks of things, could be crypto bullshit and/or an attempt to steal your data and sell it. This is very, very serious, and could wreck your life if said data/personal info falls into the wrong hands.

Identity Theft: What It Is, How to Prevent It, Warning Signs and Tips - NerdWallet

It's always a good idea to change passwords every couple of months or so, but if you think you've been affected, you also need to change your passwords for things like online banking, email and social media accounts, healthcare sites AFTER running the cleaner.

What now?

I want to talk about how we approach modding our games and downloading files in general.

Please STOP downloading mod file folders from people who did not create the specific mods. Period. This includes Sim dumps, building/lots with CC, mod folders promoted on YouTube, etc. This does not mean that anyone sharing them is doing so maliciously. In fact, I appreciate the amount of effort people put into compiling these resources! But unless you're super careful (and super knowledgeable), you run the risk of downloading malware like this on your computer. Make no mistake, the malicious files in question look like run-of-the-mill, everyday mods. Two of them were even posted from a trustworthy creator's actual account! The only way to know what they actually do is to peek into the code, and idk about you, but I don't know Python. So even after this issue is resolved, you really should only download files from the creators themselves.

But what about CC shopping?

Here's how I like to approach it: I stick to lookbooks and combing through the Patreons/accounts of creators who make items I like. If I see a Sim dump with CC that I'm interested, I try to reach out to the poster and ask where they got specific CC. If I can't do that, I see if it was shared via Drive, look at the individual files themselves, then head to the original CC creator's official download page and get it from the source.

That's all I have for you! Stay safe, and happy Simming! 🫶🏾

[elyssesk]

Writing Character Arcs

                Here’s an easy secret about character arcs—they fit the same structure as plots (that’s because your main character’s arc is the main plot, but I’ve already talked about that here).

                That means, your character arc will somewhat follow this structure:

Normal world

Inciting Incident

Big thing happens 1

Fun and Games

Midpoint

Things get worse

Big thing happens #2

Crisis

Climax

Resolution

It begins with your character in their ‘normal state’—who they are from their backstory. They have some sort of problem that they aren’t addressing, because why would they? Change is hard.

Then, inciting incident. Something happens that sends them into a “change spiral”. They’re forced to face something they’ve been ignoring or avoiding. This incident can be just about anything that turns their world upside down—a new person comes into their life, an old person they left behind reappears, a close one dies, or a friend moves on. Etc. Etc.

Big thing #1 is the first action they take to “right” what happened in the inciting incident. An old flame reappears in their life, maybe they decide to meet up with them. A close friend dies—maybe they decide to take a trip away for a little while. It is an action taken by your character because of what happened in the inciting incident.

Fun and Games is the part where things seem to be going okay for them. Or things can be going terribly for them—it’s up to you. Either way, it accumulates to…

The midpoint. Something happens and it’s terrible and probably their fault. The old flame reinforces why they stopped going out by breaking your character’s heart again. The funeral for the friend is happening and MC missed it. Etc.

Things get worse is just hammering home this point. From their actions, things are going downhill.

Big thing happens #2 is the second action they take to right things again. This time they’re changing strategies from the first thing they tried. Maybe if they tried avoiding their problem first, they’re going to confront it (for better or for worse).

The crisis is the recognition of their initial problem or flaw. Leading to:

The climax, in which the character either chooses to change or to stay the same. Grow and do the right thing knowing what we now know, or stay stagnant and do the thing they would have done in the beginning. What you choose here depends on if your story is a tragedy or a comedy—tragic characters don’t recognize their flaw and grow from them.

Resolution is the consequences of their actions. For tragic characters, things are probably bad and remain that way—we need to show the readers their choice was the one wrong. For characters who do grow, we see them begin to thrive for the first time in the story. They’ve achieved what they wanted, though maybe not in the way they thought they wanted it.

(Pair this post with Character is Plot to flesh out your characters.)

[elyssesk]

I HAVEN'T BEEN THIS EXCITED IN FOREVER!!! My favorite TS2 EP is coming to TS4! Please let it be as good 🙏

[elyssesk]

Keep up the good fight!

"Oooooooo how would YOU feel if you put some cc in early access or perma paywal and someone reposted it for FREE" I have no idea because the day I paywall cc is the day the sniper I pay to watch me constantly (to make sure I resist the thrall of capitalism) will take the shot.

[elyssesk]

25 posts!

[elyssesk]

Today, I woke up to the news about massive missile attacks on Israel. The war started. Another war. It felt like flesh back to February 24, 2022. I slept poorly that day, woke up at five o'clock, and heard how the neighbor called my mom to tell that russia is bombing our cities. My city as well. That's how the war started for me. I had the same feeling when reading the news about Israel. I saw videos of people hiding in big trash containers from the intruders. Saw Hamas people killing and kidnapping civilians right from the streets. Not always I understood Israel politics. They played it's own game and not necessarily a fair one. But this... No one should experience such violence. No one should wake up to 2200 missiles ready to wipe your city from the face of Earth. I felt like I needed to tell it. If you're from Israel and you're reading my blog, I know it's a lame comfort, but I feel for you. I feel for you very much. Please 🙏 keep yourself safe. If you hear air alarms - follow to the nearest shelter. Do not hesitate. Things will get better.

[elyssesk]

Was not aware of this. Glad you said something because I have TLE.

Please stop trigger tagging with #epilepsy tw/cw/warning/etc.

I need every single person to understand how horrible tumblr’s tagging system is

I go into the tag for epilepsy and its all flashing lights. We can’t use our own tag because people without epilepsy fill it up with improper warnings.

Use ‘flashing’ in place of ‘epilepsy’ in your tags. You aren’t warning people of epileptics, you’re warning us of flashing lights. Please please tag properly. Epileptics say this endlessly and constantly and it’s ignored. You are risking lives by doing this.

Here’s proof of what I mean:

THIS POST IS 100% OKAY TO REBLOG, I ENCOURAGE PEOPLE WITHOUT EPILEPSY TO ESPECIALLY DO SO!

[elyssesk]

Carl's Bake Shop Express

I was browsing Tumblr the other day and read a post about this cake machine. I can't find the post right now but omg, it really does exist. I'm skeptical about the quality of the cake lol

In case you're wondering why I have a picture of a random airport artifact, it's my annual vacation. Just arrived and I'm exhausted 😩

[elyssesk]

I’m glad someone said it! It’s ridiculous. I guess it’s only a privilege for those paying mad $$$ and screw everyone else.

Tumblr: No NSFW! You know how it is we banned it because of the bots in 2018!

Also tumblr:

[elyssesk]

31 and been simming since I was 10. TS4 is the closest to the awesomeness that was TS2.

calling out all the 30+ yr old simmers..

no shade to the teens and early twenties bloggers but it’s hard finding people within my age group that are active and continue to contribute here in the community. 

also idk if anyone else experiences this but sometimes it can be difficult relating to the younger population due to generational differences, pop culture, etc. 

please reblog or comment if you fall into the 30+ age simblr category.

[elyssesk]

I Swear I'm Being Punished

I have reported like over a dozen pornbots and they keep coming back. It's worse than a rash. I keep thinking they'll go away and then they come back with even raunchier and graphic videos and pictures. At this point, I don't want to see another naked body 😓

The worst part about this is I have no way of knowing they're bots until I go to their page and the porn starts auto-playing. I think I'm going to take the TS4 community's advice and just auto-block anyone without a simming pic in their profile. Just want to say (and I know I'm showing my age here), I never had a problem with Dreamwidth and Livejournal doing this. Yet I get flagged by Tumblr for posting a beach picture with a male sim without a shirt. Just sayin'.

[elyssesk]

Thank you, @shayi-edits In four days, she edited 35 pages of my new story. It flows so well now. Thank you so much!!!

[elyssesk]

HI my name is shayi. I love editing stores for people I have been doing it for Years. It's my passion. I have edited on Wattpad and inkit. I'm trying to move up in the the world of writers and editors. If your a writer and your looking for an editor that is trustworthy then take a chance on me.

My Patreon is above : Shayi's Edits

[elyssesk]

Cyberbullying & TS4

About ten years ago, I was bullied and stalked because of TS2 community. Why do I bring this up? Because I’ve been seeing a lot of it lately again in the TS4 community. People get an uproar and continuously pursue other simmers they believe have “offended” them.

I’ve personally had no problems but I also don’t engage in the community like I used to. And for good reason. I was stalked irl by fellow simmers who believed I insulted them when I credited a simmer with a recolor of a mesh created by another simmer. Because I didn’t credit the creator of the mesh, their friends came after me and said awful things about me and to me. To make matters worse, their friends ran a forum where they received access to my IP address. They stalked me and harassed me irl over nothing.

At the end of the day, please remember TS4 is just a game. And ask yourself if an incident may have been a simple misunderstanding before you blow up and encourage your followers to harass someone. If you think someone not giving you credit is worth hateful words and continuous harassing, you need to rethink your life.

[elyssesk]

The Sims 4 Investigations Mod Pack Announcement

Become a private investigator with The Sims 4 Investigations Mod Pack! Something bad happened, but we don’t know who did it, so it’s up to you to find out. Get on the suspects’ good side and convince them to give you revealing information, or take the mean route and demand it. Find clues by rummaging through the trash, or hack for information on the computer.

Investigations is a brand new Mod Pack for The Sims 4, currently in development. It started off as a Sims 4 version of the Private Investigator career from The Sims 3, but ended up turning into a kind of mini game.

Keep reading

[elyssesk]

Too true!!!

@psydragon​