#(*inventory of the things that actually sell lol)

[desperatepleasures]

well have had a good first month of 2024 financially where my et//sy shop is concerned at least!!

[zwei-rhunen]

hmm, maybe there's yet a use for my tomestones after all

[desiree-uk]

Just a little appreciation post on Draylson's Second Hand Goods Register! It's such a simple concept but I really like it and I can see the potential for gameplay. I think it's a good alternative to dumpster diving for stuff or consigning your sim's creations and unwanted items.🙂

Once I realised it does actually work for me (I thought it didn't because it freezes a bit when I try to add it from Buy Mode due to me having A LOT of cc 🤭) I can try and see how I can utilise it in my game.

Actually @MrDjGri on MTS summed it up perfectly by saying '...This is what consignment register is supposed to be!..' and that is a good description!

The register works pretty much like the consignment register in that the 'shop' and 'sell' tabs show up so you can buy and sell stuff at the same time. You can sell whatever is in your personal and family inventory. The above screenshot shows 2 armchairs, a floor lamp, a picture, a bike rack, even the sim's car! She won't be selling that. 🤭 I know NRaas Consigner allows some items in the family inventory to be sold but it's nice to have a choice between the two. For immediate sales, I'll use this register. Also, this register doesn't have any restrictions at all, of things that can be sold compared to Consigner, so anything that can be added to personal/family inventory can be sold, even things that were added to the family inventory via Debug Enabler that probably shouldn't be there! Be careful of that option though lol.

The buying of items is perhaps my favourite part :D I like the element of surprise in that the 20-odd items listed available to buy from changes every so often (I think it changes every day and each time you restart the game), and they randomize ALL content you have installed from expansion packs, stuff packs, store content and custom content! So your sim can kit out their new/empty house with some nice affordable, mismatched furniture and decor if they want to. Or buy another sim a present from a wide selection of goods! But make sure you buy what you want today because it will be gone tomorrow! 🤑 All brought items will be in the sim's personal or family inventory.

It's fun sending my sim to the shop everyday to see what is for sell, and they can come away with a surprise bargain. Also, it's a good reminder what content you actually have installed, if like me you have a lot and have forgotten most of them. 😄

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

How do the m6 react to MC drawing them? Whether theyve stumbled over their open sketchbook with a bunch of random everyday sketches or MC actually shows them a finished piece they're proud of.

The Arcana HCs: M6 with a doodling MC

~ for every confident artist out there, there is probably another person like me who loves putting pencil to paper and hates what results each time lol. Here are your headcanons anon, with a little bonus of the M6's attempts to respond in kind - brainrot ~

Julian

He's not the most private person himself, so when he sees your sketchbook on the table he doesn't think twice before flipping through it

Regardless of your skill level, he will be very impressed. It's canon that his drawing skills are even worse than his handwriting, which is abonimable

Completely absorbed, takes a seat so he can flip through and study every page

If you catch him while he's looking at it he'll get the most adoring grin on his face

"Why haven't I seen this before MC? I'm dazzled!"

It will not occur to him that you might not want him looking at it unless you react negatively, in which case he will be extremely apologetic. He never meant to cross your boundaries

Will be the most obliging model if you ask him to. Desperate to please, just let him relish the way he can feel all your attention on him

He'll try once or twice to leave you a little drawing in return, but you're never able to decipher them so he sticks to complimenting your work instead

Asra

They tend to respect your privacy to a fault. The first glimpse they get of your work is when you sit down next to them and openly invite them to look at it

So deeply honored and generally in love with everything you do that he will genuinely adore every piece you've made

Which will definitely make you a little insecure at first. Considering they were talented enough to sell their masks and trinkets by the time they were a young teen, you might think your work is a little shabby next to theirs

His approach to art is, "if it came from your soul, it's as it should be" and if you tend to be overcritical towards your own art he will drill that into your head

If you ask them to model they absolutely will, but they'll get shy about you showing those pieces to anyone else

Will give you "come hither" looks the whole time though. No matter how you pose him he'll find a way to make it seductive

They like leaving doodles for you around the shop now, on little notes (or in the margins of your inventory ledger)

Will happily collab with you on a piece

Nadia

She notices the ink and pencil stains on your fingers long before she sees you sketching for the first time

Understands the importance of privacy but isn't the type to hesitate when she wants something

She'll approach you the second or third time she sees you sketching and ask if she can see what you're working on

Considering her background, you're ready for her to be unimpressed. She's a highly accomplished and educated lady after all

That's what ends up fascinating her. The only art she's seen has been hung up in galleries, or her sister's attempts which she never paid much attention to

Seeing something as raw and open ended as an unfinished sketch fascinates her

She has so many questions. Do you observe something or does it come out of your head? What are all the extra little lines for?

Will happily model for you if you request it. Even better, she can hire a professional model and provide some of her own input. With your permission, of course

She can't draw very well, but she can embroider. You are going to have very pretty handkerchiefs from now on

Muriel

One of the things that first drew him to you was your doodling. At the end of a long, hard day, you'd put down your bow and pick up a pencil instead

It was the first thing he felt connected to you by. But he's way too shy to ask to see, so if it's lying open he'll gaze at it with his hands respectfully clasped behind his back

You were a little shy with him too at first - you've seen the carvings he can make, he's quite the artist himself

But then he'll point out the little details and quirks of your style, and comment on how he likes them, and somehow he talks you into putting some on display in the hut

If you ask him to model, he'll be reluctant but he'll do it. Especially if there's nobody else available

No matter how you pose him he'll end up with his face partially obscured. He's just not used to sitting and letting someone study him like that

Buckets of sweat. By the time you're done he'll be bright red and dashing for the bath

Will take some of your studies of the animals and try carving them

Portia

Like her brother, boundaries aren't naturally assumed, they are only present in her mind if someone communicates them to her

So unless you've explicitly told her that your sketch book is private, she'll be flipping through it like a curious cat at the earliest opportunity

She's never been the type to sit still for very long unless there's something exciting to do (like read a really good novel) so she doesn't do much art beyond her exceptional hair styling skills

If she sees anything you've drawn of a part of town or object she recognizes, she'll point it out with so much excitement

Frames every sketch you've done of Pepi. You have to talk her into giving back the unfinished ones

Will happily model for you, but struggles with sitting still with nothing to do

The best piece you ever drew of her will be a candid portrait of her reading by candlelight, one hand on Pepi in her lap, the other holding her novel

When she sees how beautiful she is through your eyes she'll be too flustered and giggly to make eye contact for a bit

Starts adding small doodles of facial expressions to each note she leaves you

Lucio

He doesn't hesitate. The very first time he sees you sketching he's sitting halfway in your lap in his eagerness to see what you're working on

Goes through your sketchbook constantly, commenting on anything new

"Ooh, you added a plant to that one. This one is new! When did you do this one?"

If you really hate it he'll stop, but unless you put your foot down, what's yours is his and what's his is yours and that includes your art

There's no doubt in his mind that you're the best at what you do. If you don't measure up to the art he's used to seeing, he'll chalk it up to you using a different style and leave it at that

Will suggest posing for you before you can request it

It's a bit of a struggle. He'll hold a pose for five minutes and then think of a better one and switch to that immediately

Will start to pout if you tell him you don't like his poses, but when he keeps one long enough to feel the attention you give when you're drawing him he gets addicted

Will sometimes sit across from you with his own pen and paper and try to sketch you

[logarithmicpanda]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard - a full review

This is going to have extensive spoilers! the TL;DR is that I had a lot of fun with the game, a very good 8.5/10 overall, also be aware this is highly subjective to my experience as a DA fan

And I lied previously, I am actually doing a second run immediately as an Antivan Crow Rogue hehe

Gameplay

The Good

Actually functional map (I hated the Inquisition map that wouldn't actually let me know where I could walk)

Fun and dynamic combat, the animations are really pretty, the style is fluid

Combos are nice and a good alternative (at least to me) to the stilted strategy stuff. I liked not having to keep track of the companion's healthbar, only their attacks cooldowm

Not overwhelming with useless quests, everything feels tied up either to the companions storylines or to the main issues

Exploration feels nice, probably my favorite part

I realized fairly late in the game that I could boost the broken faction by selling valuables through the Crossroads ship! I think it's fun, and it makes sense, like you're giving supplies to the city that needs it! I wish the shop were in the city itself, but it was fun so I'll allow it

A bit of an occupational bias on my part but I enjoyed how easy the UI made things? Comparing new equipment as soon as you get it, ease in reassigning points in the skill trees...

It's not specific to this game but I really like that there isn't that many weapons/armors but that you gain levels on them. Also huzzah for getting rid of inventory limitation and allowing me to pick every single thing on the map like the gremlin I am. Also also, bonus points for the appearance override on stuff, love being able to be vain rather than wear whatever is stronger even when it's ugly haha

The Bad

The way some zones are blocked with no explanation or hint of when they will unlock is frustrating. I love backtracking when I get a new item/ability and that I can remember several places where to use it, not so much having to go back to random spots and just hope for the best.

Gift giving feels useless, there's barely one line of dialogue and no visible effect on approval. I really wish there had been more gifts and that you'd be able to help each companion make themselves at home throughout the game

I cannot understand the reasoning between making an early choice like the Treviso/Minrathous one lock the romance entirely. I wanted so badly for it to simply make things angsty, to make me work for the romance, only to be rewarded by Lucanis and Neve suddenly being a thing, even as I had been trying to get with either lmao (let me have polyamory if you want to play it this way??)

Aside from unlocking the shops and I'm assuming changing the result of the end battle, the factions were a bit useless. I expected to be able to really send out armies like in Origins maybe...

Dragon battles get repetitive I swear there was like ten of them or something

The final battle dragged a bit for me, it was long but not that hard, just wave after wave of fodder until getting to the main baddie, which. Could have been faster! (I would actually have loved if, for example, the factions allowed me to skip those boring battles lol)

World

The Good

The environments are amazing, Treviso is an incredible city, I liked the designs of the story cards and of the enemies

Some parts (mostly explorations of buildings) felt super reminiscent of DA2 in the best way

The Solas lore is driving me absolutely insane!!!

I really enjoyed the way some things were recontextualized

The choices in the ending feels weighted, like I had to really think through my actions

I really enjoyed the variety there was in terms of side characters and their dynamics

It felt very rewarding to go after the world's hidden secrets, both in terms of story and gameplay

The Bad

There is maybe too much magic. Like put some back.

Where are the consequences of the choices of the previous games? It doesn't even feel like it matters all that much whether the Inquisition disbanded or not

What happened with the Mage/Templar conflict?

Minrathous in the intro is all cool and futuristic why don't we see that for the rest of the game? Dock town is both poor and somehow super sanitized.

Speaking of sanitation... Like I disagree when people say the game is not dark, it has plenty of twisted shit, but there are ways in which the game feels retconed to avoid callouts. You put us in a city built on slavery, but we never really see that. You put us with the Crows, but the horrible, mafia aspect of it is reduced to nothing, smoothed until they're vigilante rather than people who buy kids out of brothels to train them to become assassin (notably through torture!) Also for a game with that much blight - where are the brood mothers? The horrifying concepts that existed in previous games feel like they're being either hidden away or forgotten entirely, to be replaced with only smaller chunks of darkness, if that makes sense.

It feels like the good guys are all good, and the bad guys are bad but really they had reasons to, rather than how it was in previous games: even the good guys are unbelievably morally fucked.

Characters

Just to start, I really enjoyed the variety of options in the character creator. I was able to do the same noses that elves had in DA2, which I really enjoyed as a design choice. I'm also super glad the game had options to be trans and non binary, with no restriction to what that looks like! I was already delighted in BG3, but I am not over having game characters use they/them for me <3

I wish the romances were better (longer, less formulaic, more involved) and that the characters didn't start up morally upright. They're all a bit too wholesome, they don't really have conflict, which I missed from previous games, though I have to say, I love the companions overall a lot more than in Inquisition!

Companions

It was nice to see Harding again, I flirted with her in Inquisition haha. Her questline with the dwarves and the titans ties up nicely with the overall theme of the game

From the trailers I expected to adore Neve and to have a lot of romantic tension with her, but uh the romance was rather underwhelming. I do like her a lot, and her calling Rook Trouble as a cute nickname made me giggle, but tbh I shipped her more with Rana. I already said it but I was not a fan of her and Lucanis, it feels unfair that she and my Rook were both shadow dragons but Lucanis only got mad at me lol. I don't really understand that design choice

Bellara is my surprise fave. She looked kinda interesting to begin with but ended up being sooooo relatable. She's brilliant and awkward and writes books? She got blighted in my run and it was so satisfying to get her back, and to see her exploit the blight for her own ends. I was afraid she was going to remind me too much of Merrill, but the similarities are only surface level.

Lucanis broke my heart and is the main reason I'm doing a second playthrough straight away. I did watch his romance and I think it is a tad underwhelming compared to how the writers were hyping it up, but as a demi, I actually really love the slow burn lmao. I wish his storyline had more conflict with Spite, and touched more on the darker aspects of the crows, but I really liked that they went countercurrent and made him a bit awkward and shy, and obsessed with food and coffee. He's a nerdy (affectionate)

Davrin gave me so many fuckboy vibes at the beginning hahaha he grew on me, his relationship with Assan is lovely and the evolution he has might actually be my favorite of the lot (then again, when have I not enjoyed a character that's just a little bit suicidal). He died in my first run and I cried, definitely changing that for my second run, RIP Harding

Emmrich was really interesting for the lore, but also tragically reminds me of my ex xD so he was off the table as a romance for me but I looked around and it seems he actually has the better romance of the lot! I loved his questline, I'm a sucker for spirits and skulls and green fire hehe. I wish the lich thing was a bit more problematic like. Yeah no I do not actually think turning into an immortal undead that watches over mortals makes any sense, especially when an overall theme of the game seems to be that immortals keeps fucking people over?? Such a weird take to make liches into good people imo

I know Taash is controversial, and I'm not gonna lie they weren't my fave to start with. I do find their storyline a bit too simplistic on the gender side, and plain weird on the cultural side. Why would they have to pick one culture or the other? It's bullshit and it feels tone deaf after the whole argument that they don't have to choose between being a woman and a man. Also (and that's more a general gripe I have with games that touch on dom/sub dynamics) why are the beefy tall people always the doms. Why can't my tiny Rook be the dom, uh?

Returning Characters

The Inquisitor felt like they really were there just to placate fans of Inquisition tbh. I did lookup the solasmancer scene and it is pretty sweet, but for me seeing my Inquisitor again did very little, especially since I had romanced Dorian but that barely seemed to matter.

Speaking of Dorian I was so hyped to see him again, and then felt kinda underwhelmed. His little fight with Maeveris made me feel like I was supposed to pick her over him but tbh I think he's right lol

It was nice to see Isabella again but my Hawke had romanced her so not really seeing her mentioned felt weird as hell. It also felt like Isabella was more a caricature of herself than a character tbh

I was sure Varric was dead from super early in the game because everyone was weird in his scenes hahahaha *sobs* I was sad but I also really liked the way they handled it

Solas is so much more of a dickhead hahaha I was tempted to do the bait and switch even though I had everything ready to reason with him one last time. I liked that I was able to change his mind, but I feel like I should have been allowed to kick him. Just because. His dreadwolf transformation was fire though, 10/10 no notes

Morrigan my beloved I kinda wish they hadn't brought you back. I guessed very early the meaning of her wearing Flemmeth's headpiece thingie, but I think it was underexploited! Their relationship was frought with angst from Origins on, and it feels like it's been retconned, and Morrigan made into someone overall way too nice??? Where is the sense of danger?

Characters that should have returned >:( (or be mentioned a couple times)

The Warden. How do we still not know what happened to their quest of ending the Calling?? In many ways, the game feels like a sequel to Inquisition specifically, and kinda ignores the first two games. (Yeah yeah they need to let new players come in, but still)

Zevran??? I have no words for how disappointed I am to have a game set in Antiva, and the only hints to Zevran are subtle and missable ( I did not get the banter about Crows no longer taking contracts in Ferelden). It would have been so interesting to have him, who comes from the worst, most violent houses of Crows, as a contrast to Lucanis, who was born into it (and whose worst times are glossed over in the game)

I would have liked a mention of Leliana, but I guess since they don't ask if she became the Divine, it was not going to happen. She already came back once so I guess it's fine but still.

A mention of Sven could have been cool (maybe I missed it)

I am so devastated that a game set in Mirathous makes no mention of Fenris, especially after the whole blue wraith thing????? And the design of the spirits like the Caretaker are so reminescent of his lyrium markings, come on, it's not like the devs forgot he existed??? I low key headcanon that a romanced Fenris with a Hawke left into the Fade created the Shadow Dragons, with the name being a wink to Hawke's love of dragons.

Speaking of Hawke. We spend so much time in the Fade in this game it would have been really easy to add their journal or something even if you don't want to have the character physically there??

I need Merrill and Solas to be in the same room. Come on. The blood mage ready to do anything to learn of the past, and the god of lies who despises the current Dalish culture? I need them to have a conversation. Also I always feel mad that she worked so hard on her Eluvian, and now they're mentioned and shown everywhere but she is seemingly entirely forgotten????

Josephine also feels like she could have been hanging around Treviso but I'm not that mad about it, I was never as insane about the Inquisition characters compared to the other games lol

Conclusion

Is the game perfect? No. Did I expect it to be? Absolutely not haha come on I love this franchise but there has been valid criticism of absolutely every single one of them, and retconned things all around. Plot lines dropped and abandoned.

Honestly I think my biggest disappointment has been the romance (I wanted the angst so bad lol) but I loved the story, loved the gameplay, and do not regret any of the 70 hours I spent on my first run. It never happens, for a game this long, that I want to replay it right after finishing.

8.5/10

[goodberrygay]

I finished the underdark! I kind of speed ran the underdark but its done. The Grymforge fight frustrates the hell out of me, and I'm glad its done. Moved my way to the creche because theres some good loot there. I'm really trying to play a drow thats kind of tired of taking orders from everyone. She'll attempt to get along with (or at least not be outright rude to) people, until they're awful to her. So Crèche Y'llek was... not the best place to be lol.

Lots of unhappy conversations with gith. A lot of "if I don't leave this room I'm going to throw hands with the next person that speaks to me like that."

I initiated the conversation with Ghustil Stornugoss with Ziv'ra, usually letting Lae'zel take over I didn't this time. Refused to tell Stornugoss about the tadpole due to her attitude with Ziv'ra. Then I made Lae'zel start the conversation, and eventually had her climb into the Zaith'isk. Things didn't go well after that lol. We saved the egg (I'm not selling it, its just in Lae'zel's inventory forever now), we saved the kid that tells you about Orpheus. Did some trading (came here specifically for the Knife of the Undermountain King) then decided it was time to go fight the Inquisitor. All of that went well, pretty easy fight. But meeting Vlaakith was another thing lol

I really want to throw hands with this lady. From day one I've never liked Vlaakith, and I'm honestly upset that theres no option to tell her "I'm only doing this because you've forced my hand" Instead I save my game, tell her off (let her kill the entire party) and then reload only to agree to accept her terms and continue on lol. (side note this scene has always loaded weirdly for me. One reload and Vlaakith was just a bunch of bright colors, these screenshots are from when she loaded in properly one time out of many)

Then we met with the Guardian, and I've decided that my Guardian was actually going to be someone this time. From day one Ziv'ra hasn't trusted the Guardian due to the face they're wearing. Which is their dead mom's face lol (yay trauma!)

I cannot explain the amount of control she needed to use to not plunge that sword into the Guardian's heart. Ziv'ra's mother was not a kind lady (typical drow upbringing). But I'm trying to play with a "I want this person to think I'm trusting them when I'm not" kind of mindset. Shes only going along to see what will happen, and shes also not going to ever live her life based on what a god demands (she is a former Lolth follower)

We ended the crèche run by contemplating blowing up the entire temple (Gale's talk of exploding everything appealed to Ziv'ra greatly at that moment). And once I equipped the Blood of Lathander to Shadowheart the party fought their way out of the Crèche. We took down every room, leaving the hatchery untouched though because Varsh Ko'kuu was actually a pretty decent dude.

[desiree873]

Exhibitions and Book signings in sims 3. Dream or reality? please repost!

I have zero experience in modding and coding, but I really enjoy mod and I'm fascinated by the complexity of it. I have this extremely specific and long to explain (sorry!) idea for a mod and I just can't stop thinking about it. I know there's a lot of skilled modders her on tumblr, could someone at least tell me if this achievable, or if I'm just crazy? lol. I know it's never gonna happen but I need to know if it's doable.

I would like to enrich the experience of writing and painting so that sims that sell paintings and novels could do something that's not simply writing and painting at home. The idea would be to create a temporary exhibition event for painters and a book signing event for writers. The two events would work similarly. After a certain level of painting/writing there would be a new interaction on a specific rabbit hole lot (museum?), something along the lines of "hold temporary exhibition/book signing". In my mind, this would work similarly to when you invited the headmaster to get admitted to private school in sims 2: the success of the exhibition/book sign will depend on a series of specific interactions that the sim will be able to do during the time of the event. For painters: they would simply hang their paintings in a room in the lot from their inventory, and then, for the time of the event, they should get a new interactions with sims present in the room such as "explain artistic vision". Something similar should happen for writers, with interactions such as "discuss literary influences".

I would also like for something alcohol related to give points that will determine the success of the event, something like toasting, but I don't think that's possible in sims 3. Maybe a bar should always be present in the exhibition/book signing lot so that the artist can get points for getting drinks for everybody. Both painters and writers should get points from giving a speech on the podium which should have a custom interaction such as "introduce exhibition", animation would stay the same. Since it's a book signing, I would love if writers could sign books, maybe it can be done starting from the autograph animation. If it's too complicated, introducing plain autograph signing for the time of the event would be good as well. Success of the event will be determined by: how many of these activities the sim was able to carry out during the event, the sim level of writing/painting skill and level of charisma. The artist sim will get paid at the end of the event based on his/her performance, and they would get one of the usual sims message such as "oh no the event sucked, Mark didn't sell any book" or "The event was a big success, Lucy sold multiple paintings and earned xxxx simoleons" . Would be cool if sim with low writing/painting/charisma skill that also do not successful carry on the interactions could lose money from organizing an unsuccessful exhibition or book signing.

I think it would be a fun little challenge (private school admission was one of my favorite things in sims 2 because it was one of the few things that was actually hard!) that would add a sort of active career feel for writers and painters. I think it could also be the base for very similar events for other careers (film screening and Q&A for movie directors?)

[saltminerising]

so, you want to get rich quick?

to get rich quick anon, here’s some hypothetical strategies (I DO NOT ENDORSE WHAT I SAY BELOW). I’ll assume for the sake of this that you aren’t an artist or skinmaker, most of your FR friends are in the same class of “wealth” in dragon capitalism, and you likely have a couple thousand gems in your vault. (Also assuming normal non conquest push non NOTN profiteering hours). You unfortunately need to be rich first to get richer and also have very thick skin when it comes to haggling and various unethical things.

mildly unethical but not illegal: 1) scout out the sales/auctions threads, and underbid for dragons (low digits are a good place to start. see 7 digit dragons. better than g1s for ROI, but buyer’s market is kinda scuffed, this is a patience game) or find liquidating threads and pick up as many high value easy to liquidate things for as low as possible. buy them in bulk and people will be more likely to knock the price down.

2) sell sell sell. anything in your hoard or pair that isn’t being used and is easy to sell, get rid of it. hibden items are a hassle but some of the low tier unlock items can fetch quite the price. do your research and don’t waste time trying to sell every little thing, but have as much different stuff listed on the AH as possible. don’t overlist items, do corner the market on single piece apparel items that are a little fancy (find them on the MP during discount price)

illegal, try at your own risk: with multis: 1) get an earth multi for dom discount, convert your gems to treasure @1:1000, then buy a ton of gene scrolls to sell on the AH. DO RESEARCH FIRST ON WHAT THE BEST MARGINS ARE FOR FLIPPING. this is probably the single easiest way to make money on fr period.

2) use your dailies to gather for specific hibden items, don’t sell all at once because you’ll inflate the market and the price goes down, but trickle in a couple listings at a time.

3) buy multiple spare inventory crates and sell them later.

scams and frauds (please don’t do any of these i would be very sad):

1) get involved in dominance, trickle funds from battles or other organizations into your own coffers, or run events and hold onto a portion of the proceeds. fudge spreadsheets. it helps to be integrated into in flight events.

2) run scam raffles with middle-high ticket items, nothing super expensive, but decently interesting. (nothing over a couple kg for your grand prize as anything higher than that attracts more interest than you’d like.). make it legit, and you can have smaller prizes that you actually hand out, but the big ticket prize is never distributed. (multis will help increase legitimacy, just use common sense.)

3) literally just RMT if you have spare dollars to throw into the void. it helps to have “connections.”

4) reconsider your decisions. this is a game, and what you have will never be enough if you compare it to others.

FR is not a job, it is not an obligation, and “getting rich quick” will always come at the expense of others. you’re just as likely to be banned or found obnoxious for this kind of stuff.

tldr: crime pays but at what cost lol

[duchessofostergotlands]

(wasn't sure whether to send this to you, grace, or the on heir blog, but since yours was the last addition on that post you get it lol)

if you use a site like redbubble or something you just need the design and they'll only actually make the stuff that someone has already bought, so you don't need to have an inventory or anything (also, i have in fact had stuffed shipped to brazil and the cost wasn't that high lol). i also know some youtubers/podcasters commission art related to them/their content and sell it as their own merch, but idk if it's a one-off payment or the artist gets a cut of each sale.

as for a patreon kind of thing, ik time is an issue, so it could be a monthly/bimonthly extra episode, or maybe just a stream - which you don't have to edit, and people can interact real time. and the content there doesn't even have to be related to the main podcast for people to be interested enough to pay for, 'tis the age of parasocial relationships, i know of true crime podcasters that have paid content that's just them talking about relationship woes and current events. but you could do stuff on topics that are tangentially related but not royal enough to make it to the podcast. maybe a "this month in deposed royal families", or drama that went nowhere but was big/funny at the time, or random deep dives into historical stuff (and if it ever become relevant to the main podcast you can just release the content publicly, because the patrons are paying for the certainty, not the exclusivity).

and if you want to start small and see how many people would be willing/able to just pay for what we already get you can have a early release on the patreon that's just one/two days before it goes public. it's great that you two don't want to deprive people who can't pay of content, but you also already put so much effort into making the podcast, i'm sure there's plenty of listeners who would love to give something in return already!

Hello :) It's totally fine to message here on this one!

Yes! Redbubble is the kind of site I looked at before. A lot of them take commission at point of sale so you don't have any upfront costs which is good. And your experience of getting things to Brazil is very helpful haha. I think as long as you have a clear agreement with the artist up front then it's fine but Grace is also very nifty at the creative stuff. And I know how to download a free font for a basic slogan t-shirt even with my lack of creative skills lol.

I think the idea of having something go out early is interesting. I'd have to speak to Grace as it might limit our time to listen back (I always send the episode to Grace so she can listen before it goes out in case she regrets something she said etc) but I'm much faster now and usually the episode is finished Tuesday night so I could release it 24 hours early. We could also do voting on topics as someone else suggested, or voting on the episode name. So that's got potential. I guess for me it's just understanding appetite because I'm never going to pay anyone for early access to anything but I also didn't want episodes to be over an hour and it was the most requested thing so I don't really know what people like!!

That's very kind of you :) I'm very British and so the idea of expecting money in return for something that isn't a traditional, salaried job is just very bizarre and uncomfortable for me. The concept of "hustling" isn't in our DNA haha. At the same time I know people get paid tons of money to do podcasts even though they don't research, produce, edit or promote it themselves - which we do. And I don't want to be one of those people who gets greedy and drives away listeners who were engaged and supportive from the earliest episodes just because of their finances. So if we can find a way to do it that isn't too time intensive and doesn't push listeners away unfairly, that's great. I just don't know what people would be willing to pay for so it's helpful to hear from you all :)

[iamnotawomanimagod]

Ngl I've been a halsey fan since before badlands and I really never cared much about fan interaction online, but halseys manager of both their makeup brands posted a link to a fundraiser for Isreal, which has since been deleted since halseys Instagram statement. I understand they got a brand to run now but it truly felt gross watching about faces insta go silent for a few days after her statement just to then post a 25 dollar zine and more about face stuff, while never acknowledging their manager. I get that they got swatted and all that but like.... normies get swatted and have illnesses and small children and they can't just hire more security or move into a new mansion. Like I get rich people have problems too but they also have money, and that's something not a lot of us get the privilege of having.

I hear you. I agree that that's gross.

I didn't hear about this specific incident though, so I need to clarify - was this fundraiser posted on any account associated directly with Halsey? Or was the fundraiser posted to a personal account controlled by an employee of Halsey's?

If the fundraiser was posted to an AF account, then yes, obviously that's not okay and Halsey should make a statement, and should make it very clear that her brands do not support Israel.

But if the fundraiser was posted to a personal account by an employee of Halsey's... look, I don't support Israel on any level, but it's also not appropriate for any employer to try to dictate what their employees can and cannot post about. A thorough inventory into someone's political beliefs when the only thing they're meant to do is sell your makeup brand is not exactly appropriate either, not even for someone as outspoken as Halsey is about politics.

I tried to look this up since I completely missed it, so I'll have to take your word for it. I have to assume that the fundraiser was posted to the About-Face and AF94 accounts, because I don't think there's anything Halsey can or should have done about an employee's personal social media posts (other than cut ties after the fact.)

If that's the case, and the fundraiser was posted to any account directly connected with Halsey, then I agree that it's very disappointing and Halsey should have made a direct statement about it. I can definitely see why that upset people, and it should have.

With all that being said, even taking my disappointment around that into account - Halsey is human. Yes, they do have access to resources and money and options that most of us will never have. Yes, there are people out there with fewer resources, going through worse, that are doing more work. That's always true, for everyone. But I think it's okay to give people grace, and recognize when they're going through a particularly hard time, especially when they've been working pretty much non-stop for ten years.

Everyone can always do more, celebrities especially. But Halsey's relative silence now does not erase or undo any of the impact or work they've done in the past, and will likely do in the future.

And one thing about them having money is that they've likely been able to donate significantly more cash to that cause than you or I have. On a purely utilitarian level, she's done more than we ever will be able to. And she should! But like, let's be real about actual impact versus performative social media posts.

People can't be 100% on it 100% of the time, even with tons of cash and support and staff. I think H does pretty okay. I am not bothered by people keeping her in check, but I think there's a line.

And fwiw, my original post was less so about Halsey's political activity and more so about like, parasocial codependent fans who are sad she doesn't post as much anymore, lol. People saying shit like "Halsey has been different ever since ______" and are including things that predate the most current situation in Palestine. I have much bigger issue with the people just whining about how little content there was this year than I do people with legitimate concerns about her politics.

[phoebejaysims]

Hi there! I literally read through your entire blog all about Tillage - love your gameplay set up, I’m newer(ish) to sims 3 (sims 2 for life lol), but I wanted to give open world a chance so switching things up! So thank you for your posts and mods! 🤍

My question is about clothing stores. I know you have a primark in Tillage. I was wondering what clothing rack mods you use to make the store functional and what i would need to do to get a sim owning a boutique to get profit from the rack?

Thanks! 🥰

Hi! Thank you for your question—I'm so honoured that you went through all my Tillage posts. Although I'm definitely a sims 3 girly, I have to admit, sims 2 is unbeatable in so many areas, especially when it comes to running businesses!

I have to admit, my Primark is in a bit of a sad state at the moment. I have no one to own it! So, it's still a bit bare and basic. However, here's what I currently have going on where that's concerned.

Ani's Shop For Clothes mod: nraas - Shop For Clothes FAQ

When sims buy from this rack, the profit will go to whichever sim owns the lot. Since nobody owns this lot, and likely never will (since I have two separate businesses on this lot), I'd give the funds to the owner through other means.

Ani's Shop For Clothes Pedestal: nraas - Shop For Clothes Pedestal FAQ

This mod is nice because you can actually pre-set the outfit that the sim will buy and it will show up on the pedestal. You can also set the owner and price before purchase.

I don't have this object currently on the lot, but I do have this installed. Douglasveiga's Clothes Rack for Small Businesses: Mod The Sims - Clothes Rack for Small Business

This is good for having NPC's autonomously buy clothes. Unlike the above mods, no actual clothes are bought and sold. The profit goes to the lot owner.

For small trinkets, say if you wanted to sell perfume, deco objects or custom items, I'd recommend using Ani's merchant mod: Ani's Sims | Downloads (tumblr.com)

You can sell items from an inventory, or you can put them on a shelf and sell them there.

Hope that helps!

[alltimefail-sims]

A story in two parts... 🙃

The Apple Nectar actually ended up being okay quality though! Not too shabby for Lea's first attempt.

As promised, my thoughts on nectar making are below the cut ↓

The nectar making skill is built slowly and gained at a much slower rate than horseback riding, for instance. I'm assuming that's because it's a 5-tier skill instead of 10-tier skill, but Lea didn't level up to level 2 until 4 or 5 bottles later. 🥴

That being said: even a poor, unaged bottle of nectar goes for 55 simoleons. That's a good profit, especially if you're growing your own produce, so it's a lucrative skill right off the bat. Considering that Lea can't get a job because a horse and a ranch are basically a full-time job, it's nice to have a skill that can help pay the bills. I also love the "aging" rack because, surprisingly, it's functional! Hallelujah! I'm so tired of getting a plethora of cute, decorative objects that serve no function or even go as far to allude to an actual skill without providing it (I'm looking at you, woven basket decor items - but more on that later). However, I had no idea how long it took to age a bottle of nectar. I'm guessing it is worth the wait and will increase the price, quality, and potency when consumed...but I'd had a bottle of apple nectar put away for a few days and it still hadn't aged. (I just looked it up and Google says 1 week, which feels reasonable in "sim time." I was worried it would be longer.)

I do wish there were a few more animations while making nectar just so it could be more interesting to watch, but honestly I don't think it takes that long to produce a bottle in comparison to other skills in the game (like gardening... GOD growing and tending crops in TS4 is excruciatingly tedious). Plus, if you have the "rancher" skill, you can sometimes get additional bottles out of one nectar-making session, so that's really nice. Visually, I'd compare this skill to knitting and cross-stitching due to its repetition, and if you're wondering what it looks like... well, the trailer shows it all lol. I don't think there's much to it: they stomp a little, fall, get up, repeat until the nectar is complete. Then they step out, seal the bottle, and the bottle goes into their inventory. There are some pretty funny expressions you can get though (outtake below).

Because this skill's animation is pretty repetitive and simple, I think they should have thrown one or even two more skills in there. After all, this pack is $40. Basket weaving, as I mentioned above, would even used a similar animation to an already existing in-game skill (cross stitching) so I think this would have been fairly easy to implement. In fact, I'm still shocked it isn't a part of this pack. There are some good decorative objects and CAS items that allude to Native culture, but by and large the pack lacks actual substance to represent actively living in these cultures - I think skills like basket weaving or pottery would have been a great way to add substance to the pack AND create an opportunity to talk more about Native American cultures and pay proper homage to their traditions and skillsets. I would have loved seeing elder native sims mentoring young sims in basket weaving like they can do with knitting, for instance... that would have been so adorable. 🥺❤️ It just feels like a real missed opportunity on their part. One recipe (smh) and a couple decorative objects/cas items are a good start, but more could have definitely been done. If modders can implement these things for free, game devs should have no problem implementing these features. ESPECIALLY when you consider the pack's asking price... and I stand by that!

All that being said, I am pleased with this skill and find the animations cute, but it's certainly not intensive enough that they can justify it being the only skill in the pack separate from horse-related skills. (Which, for the record, I don't really count because that's the whole selling point of the pack. Anything horse related should be a given).

I'm not trying to diminish the amount of work it took to animate and implement horses - I haven't experienced many bugs personally, and I know adding an entirely new living creature with customization and personalization is tedious. Even so, I still don't think the full price is justified. Comparing it to Cats and Dogs, I think this EP missed a lot of good opportunities to implement a new career, skills, and gameplay. I even feel like we could have gotten some new dialogue interactions, or even a spiritual/cultural trait related to Native American ideologies or customs (kind of like the child of the island/child of the ocean traits we got with Island Living) but I've yet to see many notable additions in that regard. If this pack was a $20 game pack I think I would feel totally different. I'm having fun, but I would never be able to justify spending $40.

SO... would I recommend it? Honestly... so far, yeah. I would just snag it when it goes on sale for $20 (or through other means. You do you). $20 is the price it should have been in the first place. But I am shocked at how much fun I've been having. The CAS and Build/Buy is really good, maybe my favorite in a while (but I'm into the rugged, dirty, western style quite a bit... if that's not your thing, this pack won't do anything for you). The horses are cool and in my experience after playing it for a few days, they're animated really well (surprisingly... I thought this pack would be 'My Wedding Stories' all over again). I also love this world. It's right up there with San Myshuno, Brindleton Bay, and Windenburg for me.

Coming up: I'll be taking Lea into town- she's a loner, but it's time to force her out of her comfort zone so she can make some friends. (Plus, I really want to see the new dance floor animation haha.)

Like always, if you read all that, I have big big love for you. I leave you with a little kith upon your head (or a respective big thumbs up if physical affection is not your jam).

[glowyjellyfish]

Narniapocalypse Setup Part 7

The Monty household consists of all the Monty teens and younger, plus the Summerdream kids. Technically, the Summerdreams have more ties to the Capps, but there were only 4 Montys vs 7 Capps, so the household balance just worked out better this way. Even so, this is one of the two smallest households with just 6 sims. If I really wanted to balance things right, I'd pull some kids from the 10 and 11 sim households and move them into the smaller households, but I wanted to base the household composition on the hoods, so here we are.

They definitely have more breathing room than some of the other lots. I went a little simpler, using an in-game roof rather than a fancy scruffy deco roof, and ended up not taking a ton of screenshots because I was eager to finish and start playing! Actually, I tried to do a test run, only to a. accidentally save the game by leaving the lot, not a big deal, and b. after that, Tara was killed by bees in the woods, and I quickly decided to exit without saving. I don't want to be too finicky about protecting them--this is a dangerous new world, after all--but I'm not about to let the sole member of a family die on the first day because I told them to do a task they didn't have the skills for, lol. Lesson learned, no honey without skillpoints.

So anyway, I'm going to edit a few more townies and then try to actually play today. I need to make sure the institution sign does its job, and I think I may need to give each lot a farm stand and then set their funds to zero. That, or I set the funds and require them to sell directly to other sims with the "sell from inventory" mod I have. That would at least make it a little more convenient for the kids to start trading amongst themselves.

I also wanna note that I'm using a 1 Day = 1 Year mod, and the calendar is starting with Year 0, and Season 1 being Spring. I like to play for a season per round, so each round is going to be 5 years lol. We'll see some birthdays pretty quickly, I think. I also have a Plan for when the MCC is complete and the kingdom would like to get out from the Elf King's thumb, which should be fun.

[skunkes]

im interested in starting to sell my own stickers this year and i wanna know how do you manage urs?? feel irrationally scared abut sending things out myself (LMAO) and would love to hear if u have any tips or things u wish ud know when making ur shop..............

i feel yu might be asking the worst person for dis but also maybe the best because I really dont do anything fancy?

I send out my stickers sealed in a mini envelope inside the bigger main envelope with handwritten thank yous and a thank you stamped onto it and such...like...no business card no cute little decorations or anything and i dont have the means to get to post office so i drop em off at my mailbox.... what im saying is it's not very difficult esp if youre starting out small! and it gives you the chance to adjust and figure out what you need!

in my case i felt it was important to get a little custom rubber stamp to add more flair without working myself too much or creating more waste (for example)...some ppl get stickers or stamps of their home address to skip that step (and. i might too lol) but otherwise i cant really think of anything bc I don't do Much, but I hope that also like? makes it less scary? ykwim? like if i've gotten by with it just being barebones...

if you have any specific questions i can try to help...idk if i interpreted dis wrong ^_^ if you mean actual shop managing i use bigcartel and it manages inventory for me + you can easily track what you've sent out, and if you mean Physically Managing i got a container with many little drawers from the Container Store i put em all in !

[eiseryn]

Lei's new outfit that she obtained recently. I really like designing new outfits for my OCs and I thought she deserved to go shopping after all the s*** that has been happening to her. (Also her clothes were pretty darn bloodied and tattered like she went through 2 separate bomb/explosions... man....)

She's actually really into fashion! On her off days, she likes to dress up and wear makeup. This is because I didn't have that many points (point-bought her stats) to put into APP (appearance) so she's rocking an 45 on that. I draw her as pretty as possible but in her world she's probably best described as "plain". She has pretty low self-esteem regarding her looks because of this and her (bad) mother probably made this insecurity even worse :')

As for this outfit in particular, the baggy pants are because well, she is doing a lot of fighting (and is about to go on a death mission!!! wonderful!!) so a dress doesn't seem practical. (She does love her dresses though) I kept her med kit strapped to her hip and the thigh belts/buckles are probably where 1 of her 3 current guns are strapped (one's a healing gun, she's a healer, I swear). I wanted to give her combat boots because that's seggsy (to me LOL) and I made the straps green to compliment her black/white/green palette. (I love making my OC outfits black/white/ third accent colour because wow that sort of design doesn't miss T_T)

ANYWAYS, the rainjacket she bought when all the PCs went shopping at the very beginning of the campaign but I'm not sure if I actually lost it? At some point (right before the whole explosion thing) so maybe she got a new one that's equivalent? It has a lot of pockets to put all the miscellaneous things she's been picking up/ her inventory XD The gloves are nitrile (chem lab people know 🤝) but they're in this funky green b/c the usual blue would totally clash XD let's say she stocks a special brand that's green. I wanted to give her a white turtle neck and it had to be white and not black because otherwise that's too much white! I wanted it to be cropped just because ~ aesthetics ~ and showing that flash of belly? I just felt like it had more of techwear-style that way! Not sure if she actually has that necklace but it felt a bit empty without some accesories so I drew it in~ And you can't see it cuz it's covered by her bangs but she's wearing dangly earrings which are silver rings with a dangling diamond shaped gem attached~

Speaking of her face, she's lost her eye-shine :') because all the serious stuff happened (like rescuing a fake Ceres, and Elise sedating her... like oof she's having a bad time for real). Cold and bitter Lei is starting ;w; Also her hair is tied up cuz again it's time to get serious!!!

One more note is that the dangling strap hanging off her belt says "WHISPER" on it. This is the name of the drug that she makes and sells to Vail :D you know, the sedative :D

She signs her name the way I drew it in the bottom left corner, while the top right corner is the character for her name! Although doctors usually have atrocious writing, as someone who spends more of her time in the lab, I imagine she has pretty neat writing so she can label her flasks and test tubes nicely! She is an organized queen 💅

Here's the version with her lab glasses too! Gotta stay safe, you know~ She also picked up a gas mask somewhere along the way but I am not drawing that :D (We'll see)

[practically-an-x-man]

Your OCs have been assigned an infuriating, soul-sucking minimum-wage retail job.

How long does it take for them to quit or be fired? Do any of them manage to stay? What kind of shenanigans do they pull?

Very interesting question!

This one's interesting since like... most of them already have decent jobs, or don't need a job, so I'm not entirely sure how they'd get into this position. But we'll just roll with it lol

Rae: Oh, she'd lose her patience early on. She's got no impulse control, so she probably first gets told-off for snapping back at a Karen-type customer... then outright fired for arguing with the manager that she was in the right. She's self-employed for a reason lol

Robin: Stays in the job for a little longer than she probably should - customers are rude about her disability, her manager is demanding and strict, pay obviously is trash, etc., but she's got the mentality that things will get better once she "settles into it" a little. It's Peter and Charles that finally manage to convince her to leave, probably months after she rightfully should have.

Jasper: Sticks in it for a while - money is money, even if the situation sucks. A few months in, they make the mistake of reporting their manager for transphobic and other generally unpleasant remarks, and are laid off for "downsizing" a few weeks later. They don't go down without a fight, though - they report the issue upwards and the manager is eventually fired, and half the clothing inventory is made unsellable after being mysteriously splashed with bleach.

Ophelia: Makes it through about three whole days of work, then realizes she absolutely does not need to be doing any of this and just doesn't show up the next day. I'd like to think she'd cause some havoc... but honestly, it's not worth the time or energy to put something together. She's just gone.

Quinn: Actually lasts a decent while, maybe a couple months since it's the only job they have (assuming she's not working with the Ghosts at this point). She absolutely nicks some merchandise any time she gets the opportunity and is never caught, but eventually gets fired for changing the storefront sign to say "SUCK A DICK CAPITALIST PIGS" instead of... y'know... whatever it was supposed to say. Who puts the disabled girl with no worker's comp in charge of changing the sign, anyway? She got fed up.

Kestrel: Half a shift. They showed up, realized how miserable of an environment it was, then promptly shifted into a bird and flew out the break room window as soon as lunch rolled around. They have better things to do.

Katherine: Manages to stay a while, and keeps selling her art on the side. She'd probably have the most normal reaction out of all of them, she'd just work until she found a better job and then quit.

Madison: Lasts two weeks, then gets fired (and investigated) for pulling a knife on her manager after he tried to strongarm her into working on her off-day. Well, it's less about the scheduling itself, and more about the fact that he called her a bitch when she refused...