#I try to keep mod stuff off here

[ghostoffuturespast]

Honestly, getting real tired carrying and supporting other folks around here when most of them aren't returning the favor...

[rtgame-fun-facts]

RTGame Fun Fact #15

RT is 100% a licensed doctor & surgeon. you can 100% trust him to operate on you.

[anotherplumbob]

Uberhood 2024 Update By AnotherPlumbob (CC free)

The Uberhood is an ongoing PROJECT where I’m creating a Cc-free savefile, with all the worlds and lore from The Sims 2 ported to The Sims 4. 

NOTE: In this update I've revamped PLEASANTVIEW only - if you were interested in the other worlds or premades, please note they remain exactly as they were in the previous versions.

It currently includes

1.- Remade Worlds

Pleasantview (Newcrest+Willow Creek)

Strangetown (Strangerville+Oasis Springs)

Veronaville (Windenburg)

Bluewater Promenade (Magnolia Promenade)

Three Lakes (Granite Falls)

Bluewater Bay [only partially built] (Brindleton Bay)

All the career lots (detective, hospital and science lab).

BEWARE: the rest of the worlds are either empty, half built or a mess in general.

2.- Families

The save includes all the premade families as well as the iconic townies that lived in those worlds in The Sims 2 times. They all have jobs, relationships, sentiments, lifestyles, reputations, etc. For Pleasantview sims only I've also included more lore in the form of milestones, added traits, midlife crisis, etc.

3. Required packs and How to Install (PLEASE READ)

THE SAVE IS CC-FREE BUT ALL EXPANSION, GAME PACKS,STUFF PACKS AND KITS RELEASED UP UNTIL MARCH 2024. 

If you don’t have all packs, sims may be half naked, and/or bald and stuff may be missing. Install at your own risk. 

In order to install:

BACK UP YOUR SAVES.

Download the the SAVE file.

Put the save in your SAVES folder.  Documents > Electronic Arts > Sims 4 > Saves. I changed the name of the file so that it will hopefully not overwrite any of your saves (including the previous v1). If your system prompts you to overwrite a save, do not click yes. Just change the name of the save (keep it 8 numbers but change the numbers) and try again.

Optional: Put the .package file (StrangetownTexts.package) in your mods folder. This file is used to change the Strangerville mystery a bit, and turn it into the Strangetown mystery (with custom texts, references to the Bella mystery, etc.). Please install it if you want to have some clues on what happened to Bella!! 

4. Play Order

There’s really no set play order but note that:

1.- Brandi Broke is pregnant and will give birth in 3 days regardless of who you play and regardless of whether aging is on or off, so play with her first if you want to be there for the birth.

2.- Same thing applies to Pascal Curious, who’s also pregnant at the start of the save.

5. Disclaimer and TOU

I’m just one person and there may be some bugs here or there, or naked sims or whatever. Feel free to report any bugs you find but I will only fix them if I consider them super relevant or game breaking, otherwise the save is provided as is and you install it at your own risk.

Also please don't waste your breath asking me to do X world, or add lore to Veronaville or Strangetown or whatever, because I will only do it if and when I'm inspired to do it - and the requests quite honestly stress me out.

THE TERMS OF USE ARE: Be nice and don’s steal others creations! 

Download: Sim File Share - Filehosting for Simmers

[jonquilyst]

Total Drama Sims: Season 3

After 2 successful seasons of Total Drama Sims, I'm thrilled to announce that we're coming back once again to bring you another thrilling season of teenagers humiliating themselves!

But that's just the good news. Want the REALLY good news??

Our budget has expanded, meaning that this season, we are increasing our cast size from 14 to 18!!

SO! If your teen sim is bored, wants a brush of notoriety, or simply wants something fun to do, you've come to the right place! TDS is looking for 18 brave, competitive teenagers to compete in crazy, wacky challenges (safety/lack of danger not guaranteed, as always) in pursuit of the grand prize!

WHAT’S NEW THIS SEASON?

Aside from increasing our cast size, TDS3 will once again be incorporating new (and returning) gameplay mechanics to keep everything jazzed-up and fresh!

For starters, from Mt. Komorebi to Chestnut Ridge, we will be traveling all over the Sims world! This season, each challenge will be taking place in a different city/world. So, to get around, TDS has rented a (totally-not-rundown) plane to serve as our cast's place of lodging, food, and of course, the elimination ceremonies!

Along with double eliminations returning this season (two people are eliminated instead of one), TDS3 will consist of 3 teams instead of 2 to accommodate for the increased cast size! TDS3 will also be introducing an immunity idol! If a contestant finds the immunity idol, they will be safe from elimination should they get the most votes in an elimination ceremony. Instead of them, the person with the second most votes gets eliminated!

To sign up for TDS3, you must reserve a spot with me! You can do this by DMing me, sending an ask, or commenting on this post. Reservations are first-come-first serve. I will write your username down and from there, you can make and submit your sim!

Read on for a refresher on what this competition is all about and UPDATED (again) submission rules (so if you had a sim compete in previous seasons, make sure to read them again!)

THE GIST:

This competition is, obviously, based off of the Total Drama series (a show that’s near and dear to me), but you do not need any background knowledge of this show to participate! The show (and this competition) functions similarly to a Bachelor Challenge, where contestants will be routinely eliminated until there is a sole winner.

This competition will also focus on the contestants building relationships with each other (hence the drama part, which is bound to happen when you put 18 teenagers together!)

SUBMISSION RULES:

If for any reason you’d like to give up your reservation, contact me ASAP so I can give that reservation to someone else!

If you competed in previous seasons, you MAY compete again (even if your sim won the competition!), but please don't resubmit the same sim(s) you used in previous seasons. New sims only, please!

Your sim must be a teen

No occults; contestants must be human only (to prevent unfair advantages)

Contestants must not have any high-level skills (they can have some level of skill but nothing above lvl 5; also to prevent unfair advantages)

Only one outfit per category please

Any amount and type of CC is fine, just make sure to include it when you send your sim over to me

To keep your sim looking as intended, please keep your sim pack-friendly! I own most packs, but here's a list of packs that I do NOT own (EPs are in bold): - Carnaval Streetwear Kit - Crystal Creations Stuff Pack - Fashion Street Kit - Incheon Arrivals Kit - Life & Death Expansion Pack - Lovestruck Expansion Pack - Modern Menswear Kit - Poolside Splash Kit - Simtimates Collection Kit - Sweet Slumber Party Kit

Must be okay with slight changes in sims�� appearances (as I may use different mods/presets than you do)

Must be okay with me writing dialogue for your sims (for confessionals (example from season 1 here). I read all entries down to the word and will try my very best to keep everyone in their intended character)

As there is a possibility of sims entering romantic relationships with others, PLEASE SPECIFY YOUR SIM'S SEXUALITY/ROMANTIC ORIENTATION! (Sims with unspecified sexualities/orientations will be assumed to be pan). Nothing NSFW will be shown or mentioned, as of course I’ll be portraying minors. PLEASE let me know if you don’t want your sim to enter any romantic relationships!

Please give your sim a backstory. The more detailed the better. Describe what they’re like, why they’re competing on Total Drama Sims, etc.

Your sim can have any traits/aspirations

HERE IS HOW THE COMPETITION WILL WORK:

The 18 contestants will be split into 3 teams of 6

The 3 teams will compete in challenges in attempt to win invincibility (safety from being voted off). The losing team will have to vote someone off (the other teams will not be part of voting). If one of the teams is reduced to less than 3 contestants, that team is dissolved and the remaining 2 contestants each join the two surviving teams.

This process continues until 8 contestants remain. Afterwards the teams dissolve and everyone competes individually (this is known as merge). This means that only 1 contestant can win invincibility; everyone else will be at risk for elimination

When merge occurs, all eliminated contestants at that point will be eligible to rejoin the game through a special challenge. The winner of that challenge will rejoin the game (bringing the number of contestants back to 9)

This process again continues until 2 contestants remain. In the finale, all eliminated contestants will vote for a winner

Challenges will occur half the time. The other half of the competition will be socialization days, where contestants are free to socialize with each other as they please

The competition will start with a socialization day first to establish relationships before the first challenge

Voting will be determined by relationship dynamics and how everyone did in the challenge. Contestants who do poorly are more likely to get voted. Contestants who have a negative relationship with each other are also more likely to get voted. Conversely contestants who have a positive relationship with each other are less likely to get voted. The contestant with the most votes at the end is eliminated. All of this will be determined by a spinner (in case of a tie I will use a random number generator to determine who’s out). This will also determine who wins at the end of the competition.

REWARD FOR THE WINNER:

This competition is mostly for the funsies, but whoever wins this competition will personally receive an actual reward from me! You have a choice between the following options:

Discord Nitro for 1 month

A tumblr badge

NO DEADLINE! Submissions will close when all 18 spots are filled/reserved. Please provide your sim’s tray files as soon as convenient! (Let me know if you need help with this. I will teach you if you don’t know how!)

I will be updating the number of spots reserved periodically and will announce when all 18 spots are taken, but if you’re ever unsure, don’t be afraid to DM me/send an ask!

I am hoping to start TDS3 in January, so if you're busy because of school/work/life and the holidays, you will have plenty of time to reserve spots and make your sims!

That should be it! Please comment, DM me, or send an ask if you have any questions, and feel free to reblog or share this with anyone who might be interested in participating!

[cinnamonest]

ah to be a girl that was dating modern!scara for some time bc she thought he was a mysterious uwu discord mod type, only to find out he’s just an incel who acts like he hates you even tho still fucking you and everything.. he doesn’t do much aside it, though. so after some time, you break up with him. or, well, tried to! it’s not like you have a right to break up with him after willingly deciding to date him, right?

happy new year, by the way! 🎉

Oh and he’s so awful as it is, literally the peak of trashy, toxic boyfriends.

Always dumping labor off on you because he knows you'll take care of whatever task it is eventually anyway, subtly guilt-tripping you all the time, always saying little things to make you insecure about this or that (just to be sure you don't get any ideas, or think anyone else would ever want you).

The sort of boyfriend that is careful about the steps he takes — God forbid he come across as insecure or desperate — but is manipulative and wears your psyche down nonetheless.

There’s a constant, but well-pulled-off effort to always ensure you feel that you’re the one that cares more, that you’re the one that’s more invested, that he’s the one who could easily pull away from you and be just fine, that you need him more than he needs you.

But this situation is particularly bad because he's just so deluded about it.

It's one of those relationships where, one day out of the blue, you halt mid-task and suddenly find yourself asking — why am I doing this to myself?

You realize you became so accustomed to it all so easily, it was just gradual enough that you never really noticed how miserable you are, until one day you just do.

So you do it. You summon up the courage to look him in the eye and say you're done.

And what you get in return is essentially a non-reaction. Rolled eyes and a long sigh of exasperation, some muttered comment about how you're being overdramatic.

He was prepared for this kind of thing, see. Females are known to do this. They don't actually mean they're breaking up with you. It's a test. They just do that sort of thing. A test designed to scare the guy and make him apologize for some mistake and get attention and doting and stuff. Very manipulative of them (but what's new).

But he's not the sort of weak loser that falls for that stuff, he knows what you're doing. So he shrugs it off, doesn't even turn around, says something about how you've threatened to leave several times now.

Then you say you mean it.

You get a sigh and a ‘yeah, sure,’ and you bite your tongue to stop yourself from lashing out about how that uncaring attitude is part of why you’re doing this to begin with.

And you storm out the door, not bothering to even glance back.

Which is surprising — didn't think you'd actually do it, but your petulance knows no bounds, apparently. Still, this is also predictable, a common form of aforementioned testing, a humiliation ritual of sorts intended to make him suck up to you.

So he gives you a few hours, but you don't send the expected text saying you're sorry and that you overreacted and please please just forget it and move on and all the other stuff you're supposed to say.

And the sun sets, and you're not back.

Oh, so you're being spiteful. Trying to make him think you “mean it” by going silent, and thereby trying to out-wait him. You think if you keep this up, he'll be the first one to break, to give in and try to get you back. This whole thing is designed for you to feel some kind of power at his expense. Well, you're wrong.

And then another day passes.

God. Unbelievable.

You're actually doing this out of pure spite, just stubbornly waiting for him to come get you.

…And here he is, now doing exactly that, like an idiot, so he mutters to himself as he finally leaves to go get you. Not that he's giving in to what you want, it's just that this is getting ridiculous and his patience for your antics has run out.

Still, he tells himself this isn't so bad, because you were probably looking forward to some sick satisfaction from getting him to beg to know where you are. Little do you know he prepared for this sort of situation, that's why there's a tracker in your purse and on your phone and in your car and such. You're not going to get any groveling out of him.

You're so manipulative. You're really lucky he puts up with you and tolerates such toxic behavior.

Likewise, he's not about to beg for you either — he knows the game you're playing, that all your pleading and fighting back and ��I meant it!’-s are part of the schtick. Just accept that you're not going to get the entirety of what you want. You'll get the part where he takes you back like you wanted, but he has too much self-respect to plead with you. You'll just skip to the part where you come home — you're so stubborn, not getting what you want will undoubtedly make you dig your heels in and squeal and all that, but it's really no big deal. Being so childish about it is a choice that just reflects badly on you.

[bonesandthebees]

Hey, sorry to keep making you answer stuff about this situation, but in hindsight, I feel like the vlog gun stream was really concerning. Like, I haven't watched it in a while so I could be wrong. And I'd understand anger on Wilbur's part, Tommy stole his keys, locked him out of his office, and dragged thousands of his viewers out for a joke, but I feel like Wilbur reacted quite harshly for an innocent prank done by a minor? Again, don't remember it well.

I've seen this take a few times and while I understand the desire to look back at old vods and videos with this new context surrounding wilbur to try and go "gasp! look guys he was terrible all along!" is 1) taking focus away from the matter at hand which is supporting the people who have spoken out directly as being victims of wilbur (shelby of course, but also sophietexas, rhianna, niki, rue, etc.)

and, more importantly 2) the whole breaking into wilbur's office thing was staged. like, I get it's sometimes hard to tell what's a bit and what's not but we've known this. I'm pretty sure wilbur even talked about it on stream once. and since people are talking about this stream again, wilbur's former mods have also come forward on twitter to tell people they were told in advance about the whole tommy breaking into the office and going live from wilbur's computer thing in advance. wilbur's 'angry' reaction wasn't genuine. it was all part of a bit he and tommy had planned.

also, 3) hyperanalyzing wilbur's behavior on old videos and streams is leading people to forget the most important takeaway they should have from this entire situation. we don't know these streamers. we don't know what goes on when the camera goes off. you can't look at someone's behavior on a stream or video and know what they're actually like in real life. there's no 'secret tells' you can pinpoint. that's what we need to remember here.

[plumbobpaparazzi]

Peek into my Mods folder...

This is dedicated to @alltimefail-sims or anyone who needs a little help with lag!

I have several mods I refer to as "efficiency mods" that are little quality-of-life tweaks that make the game smoother for me, either by reducing lag or reducing immersion-breaking hiccups. As always, your mileage may vary, but hopefully this is helpful to someone. :) List of mods under cut to keep your dash clean.

No Intro - Whether you are trying to 50/50 your mods, testing new CC, or just need to shave time off your game loading... get rid of the cinematic intro.

Free Will Delay - Do your sims curbstomp their queue and proceed to fuck off to something unrelated? Yeah, me too, until I got this mod. From the mod description: "[E]very time you tell your sim to do something, they will be forced to listen! …For 5 minutes. Then they get free will back again. This is probably why controlling Sims in Sims 4 feels so bad! Because you lose control the second they start doing what they're told. Even if you queue up actions, the total time is STILL five minutes- because it goes from the last direction you give your sim. So you can tell them to do 3 hours worth of stuff while paused…and they'll get control back after 5 minutes. This mod changes this timeframe to an option of your choosing, to make controlling your sims feel more rigid."

Simulation Unclogger - This is an oldie-but-goodie mod from Turbodriver that helps interrupt when Sims get stuck in an endless action loop.

Evolve/Fertilize All Plants - Kind of weird how we can Harvest All but you can't Evolve or Fertilize All, right?

No Empty Venues When Arriving - Helps with the issue of going to a community lot and waiting around for Sims to show up. May cause increased lag if you are bottlenecked by RAM.

Food Autonomy Overhaul - Stops your stupid Sims from eating ingredients, AND allows Sims who hate cooking to autonomously grab quick meals. Didn't know they wouldn't do that? Yeah. That's a thing.

Don't Do That! Version 1 and Version 2 - Removes autonomy on annoying actions that can't be affected by MCCC tuner, like reactions and some trait idle animations.

Less Obsession - Lowers autonomy for certain things without disabling entirely. I still want my Sims to paint, but I don't want them to start a new figure painting any time they are left unsupervised.

Smarter Self-Care - Makes Sims prioritize their needs better before they are uncomfortable. I only use the packages for NPCs and Pets.

NPC Relationship Autonomy Fix - Stops random Sims from breaking into your house to ask to be your BFF (and tunes the requirements so they actually have to be your friend first.)

Buy More Upgrade Parts - Allows you to buy a package of 50 upgrade parts for when you are grinding out handiness or robotics.

The following mods are all by Bienchen and don't have a direct page for each package. You can search by name pretty easily on their website. I recommend flipping through and grabbing anything you find useful - I have a total of 368 of their mods installed. Here are some highlights:

novisibleecoeffects - The aurora will nuke your framerate. I know it's pretty, but oh my god.

noautonomousbakewhitecake - Does what it says on the tin, keeps your house from being overrun by cakes.

harvestnogroupinteraction - Stops club members from autonomously harvesting plants. Those are MY death flowers!

lessemotionidles - Reduces unnecessary idle animations from emotions, great for preventing your Sims from looking flirty at inappropriate times...

lesspreferenceidles - Stops your sims from thinking about how much they like fishing/fitness/etc. when they should be doing things.

happytoddleridledisabled - Stops the idling from the Happy Toddler trait. SUPER useful for family gameplay.

laundry_buffsandsoloidlesfix - Stops or reduces idles related to laundry. It's just clothes, bro

eldertweak - Reduces elder animation idles.

hastopeewalkstyleforchildonly - Helps get your Sims to the toilet in a reasonable amount of time.

tinyhousebuffhider - I know I'm in a Tiny Home, I don't need a moodlet.

lottraiteffectshider - Hides the little floating lightbulbs around Sims heads from lot traits.

notraitnotifications - I know my geek likes video games, I don't need the pop-up every time I play.

noholidayoutcomenotification - Please don't rub my nose in the fact I forgot to celebrate.

nofestivalnotifications and nofestivalnotificationsound - Helpful when a pack is new, but years later... no thanks.

noenrollmentandscholarshipinfo - No more info screen about the two universities. I think most of us know it all by now.

nouprootplant - Never cry because of a misclick again

simschangeoutfitwhenhotorcold - Should have already been autonomous, but alas.

novisualpoliteintroeffects - I don't know if I am the only one, but the glowing really bothers me.

restaurantsittweak - Sit down and eat your dang food! No more wandering Sims.

longerprom - Takes 6 hours instead of 4 so you can actually do something.

I probably have other QoL mods that could be helpful, but these are my recommendations to start with. Love to all the modders that keep this game playable <3

[moody-alcoholic]

These Violent Delights

Chapter 11 - Bonus

Summary: poly 141 x fem!reader, a/b/o AU. WC: 1.7k

CW: mentions of heat and knotting, angst, mild medical stuff.

TVD masterlist - next bonus

Dr. Montgomery is the first to move as John walks into the lab. His head is still swimming his body sore. He hasn’t had time to wash your scent off him properly. He needed to be here, get an update, a proper update. Kyle wouldn’t tell him anything.

He waited as long as he could. He waited until his knot had deflated and you weren’t jumping on him begging him for more before he left the room for the first time. He took a quick shower before coming back to find you passed out dribbling all over his pillow. You didn’t smell of honey anymore. That’s when he knew you were done.

“Soap go switch with Gaz.” He says hobbling over to the first chair he sees.

“You should be resting.” She says pressing the back of her hand against his forehead, he waves her away and she tuts.

“When was the last time you slept?” He asks staring down Simon who looks up from over his laptop.

“I got a few hours earlier.” John can tell its a lie almost immediately.

“You need to rest.”

“I will, later.” John sighs pinching the bridge of his nose.

“What about you? You solid?” Simon asks

“As well I can be. Catch me up on what I’ve missed.” He says looking up at Dr. Montgomery, she looks concerned.

“Let me get you some pain relief. Then I’ll tell you.” He sighs nodding, he’s not in the mod to fight with her.

“And an ice-pack.” He calls as she heads up the stairs.

Kyle comes in the lab.

“You’re looking rough” He says as he comes over to them, John leans back in the chair his body is throbbing. Everything is stiff, or sore. It had only been 3 days but it felt like 12. Dr. Montgomery was right, this was rougher then a regular heat.

“Thanks” John says as they both turn to see Dr. Montgomery coming down the steps. She hands him an ice-pack and a glass with some pills.

“We’ve figured out which staff members have gone off base. Spoken to most of them. Then sent them home until further notice.” Ghost says.

“What about Shepherd?”

“He’s been keeping his distance surprisingly, Graves too.”

“Must have other things on their plate.” Kyle says. John looks up at him.

“Go get Kate.” He says, Kyle nods and passes him leaving the lab.

“What about any leads, anyone you suspect?”

“So far everyone’s checked out, I’ve been going through people’s work seeing if there’s anything I can find there but nothing.” Dr. Montgomery says, crossing her arms.

“Anything from Hale?” She shakes her head.

“And the cameras?” He asks looking over at the table.

“Nothing, normal day to day things from what we’ve seen so far. Some of them we couldn’t recover anything from. Laswell’s been on it.” Ghost says. John lets out a sigh as the door opens behind him and Kyle and Kate walk in, that didn’t take long.

“Good to see you again.” She says walking around the table to sit next to Ghost.

“At this point might be best to wait and see if the omega know’s anything. If she can remember who forced her heat.” Dr. Montgomery says. “How is she?”

“She was sleeping when I left her.

“She might sleep for a whole day but we can try waking her up in a few hours.”

“Whats the likelihood she’ll know who did this?” Kyle asks.

“We won’t know until she wakes but there’s a good chance.”

“Okay, lets focus on what we do know.”

“Which is not a lot.” Ghost says. John rubs his forehead, maybe he should try and get a few hours rest. His head is still pounding, it feels like he’s hardly slept.

“Lets make a plan, we need to figure out what we’re going to say to Shepherd. Have you spoken with Graves?”

“No.” Ghost replies.

“Okay well we need to. Maybe he’s seen or heard something from his shadows.” John says picking up the glass of water and taking a drink.

“Kyle help Kate with the rest of the cameras. Doctor keep going through people’s work. Maybe we can make a timeline of what happened.” John says as he tries to think back to before your forced heat. He doesn't want to stop until they have some type of answer, something they can work with.

…

“I have a list of when people clocked out yesterday. And what they were working on.” Dr. Montgomery says a few hours later handing John a sheet of paper.

“Daniels?”

“A beta.” She says, John looks over at Ghost who shakes his head.

“This is after her heat started though. I remember the time you all left it was around 7.” John says.

“So he came back and we missed him?” Kyle asks raising an eyebrow.

“The clock out time says oh-nine-hundred.” John says shrugging.

“Maybe he came back to destroy evidence and you missed him while you were searching the dorms, or upstairs.” Laswell says.

“He did a bad job then, we found the needle he injected her with.” Ghost says.

“Maybe he got spooked didn’t have time to do what he needed to do.” John looks back down at the list. The only name he recognises is Dr. Montgomery and Dr. Miller. He should have been keeping a closer eye on this, he should have done his job better.

The door to the lab slams open. The smell of omega fills the air it makes John’s head spin. He looks up at you in your pyjamas, you don’t even have anything on your feet your hair is wet as you pant trying to catch your breath.

“What the-” Dr. Montgomery rushes over to you as Johnny comes through the door. “You should be in bed, you should be resting.” John straightens up in the chair.

“Dr. Miller.” You says between breaths. John’s not sure he hears you right the first time. He puts the list down. His eyes digging into Johnny as he holds your shoulders. Something sinks in his stomach.

“He was the one. He was—I don’t know, but he was the one who injected me,” you say between breaths. John can smell your panic in the air it makes the hairs stand up on the back of his neck.

“He was the one who forced your heat?” She asks as Kate and Kyle step towards you.

“The alpha specialist?” Kyle asks as Piper turns around, her eyes meet John who switches his attention back to you. You look scared. John hears Ghost getting up to leave the building he’ll be heading to Dr. Millers room.

“Gaz, go with him.” John orders. As Piper asks you what happened.

“I was coming to confront him, and he grabbed me. I don't remember what happened, but then he injected me and forced my heat,” you say looking down at the floor. He can smell guilt now. He gets up leaving the ice pack in the chair. They have a name, they have a target all they need to do now is find him.

There’s no need for you to get more wound up about everything. He’s almost blocking out what Dr. Montgomery is saying as she asks you questions. She moves to the side as she hears him step behind her.

You look devastated, tears running down your cheeks. He brings his hand pulling your chin up to look at him. He needs to keep you calm and out the way while they deal with this. This is his fault, he got to comfortable and dropped the ball.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” He asks keeping his voice level.

“I thought it was just bad dreams, I thought it was all in my head. Dr. Miller was so nice. I didn’t think he was lying to me. I didn’t want to worry anyone,” it comes out in a sob, he can tell you feel guilty. He has to control his emotions, anger is bubbling inside him but he can’t upset you.

“What else did he do? What else do you remember?”

“I don’t remember much, I just remember waking up in the medical room.” He lets out a sigh brushing another tear away. He looks over you at Johnny, he looks worried his hands gripping your shoulders.

John can see the exhaustion in your face. You need to rest, you’re no good like this it’s barely been a few hours since your heat finished.

“How many times did this happen?” Now he’s really struggling to keep his voice level.

“Twice.” Your voice is barely audible. He can see you shake the goosebumps rising on your skin. Johnny’s hands rub your arms. He steps forward leaning down and pressing his forehead on yours letting out a long breath. He stands back up looking at Johnny as you brush your tears away.

“Take her back.” He says taking a step back and turning. Simon and Kyle are not back yet and Kate has moved back over to the table with the laptops.

“I’m sorry.” You say. It breaks his heart, the choked sob that lingers in your voice. It makes the hairs stand up on the back of his neck, he desperately wants to rub it. Instead he braces himself on the desk.

“It’s alright, get some rest. We’ll talk later.” He can feel anger burning in him. It feels like his body is vibrating. This has been going on for weeks and no one spotted it. Not him or Piper. He should have never let his guard down and now you’re hurt. He hurt you, his omega. The sound of the door closing snaps him out of his head.

“It’s not your fault.” He hears Dr. Montgomery say. He lets out a long breath but it doesn’t help. He sweeps his hands over the table throwing everything on the floor. That makes him feel better

He regrets it almost imminently running his hand through his hair as the adrenaline fades.

“How long till you have something?” he asks looking over at Laswell.

“I have something now.” She says, looking back at him. He nods, good, they have a place to start.

Chapter 11 - next bonus

Dividers by plum98

[swamp-chicken]

distant worlds, ethubs, 2042 words

“You know, I really should have established a timeline for how long I would be your employee,” Bdubs sighs, stocking boxes with enderpearls. “Because I’m sure not doing this forever.”

Etho is sitting at his desk, idly doodling in the corner of his accounting book. “Aw, you’re not?”

Bdubs stretches, cracking his neck. “No! I need to go and build stuff! Make things! I have my own life, you know.”

Bdubs’ pink shorts are riding up a little. Etho tries not to look. “Mmhmm.” he says instead, his go-to when he loses track of a conversation. The doodle on his accounting book is starting to look suspiciously like a series of little hearts. Etho hastily scribbles them out. 

‘You know, you don’t have to sit here and supervise me. I’m not going to wreck your shop or anything.”

“Yeah, but��” But it’s been years since Etho has had Bdubs like this, working at his side. 

Bdubs sighs dramatically. “You don’t trust me?!”

Etho spirals the pen around the page. “You’re a trainee, I gotta keep you on the straight and narrow.” In this case, lying is less pathetic than telling the truth.

Bdubs huffs, but doesn’t argue. They subside back into silence, Etho stifling a smile at the muffled expletive Bdubs lets out when a shulker box closes on his hand. 

The pen travels across the page.

Years ago, a day like this wouldn’t have been so rare. 

 ———

Bdubs was humming and hawing over Etho’s newly-constructed bridge.

“It’s bad,” Etho sighed.  “You can say it’s bad.”

“No, no, no,” Bdubs chided. “No one’s saying that. It just needs a little… umm…“ he rummaged through his inventory, then brightened. “Leaves! Dude, just add some leaves.” He scattered some across the bridge railing with a flourish. “See? Fixes everything.”

Etho hummed, unconvinced. “And then maybe some… trap doors under those?”

Bdubs clapped his hands. “Oh yes, that’ll do it.”

Etho placed the trap doors and stepped back to take in the full picture alongside Bdubs. “I dunno…”

Bdubs’ hand dropped to his shoulder and squeezed. His touch was distractingly warm. “It looks great! Very rustic.” 

Etho tilted his head. It did look a little better than before. 

Satisfied that today’s job was mostly done, he went to go empty his inventory. Bdubs decided to stick around as he worked. He had been doing that a lot more lately. 

Etho put away the final stack of cobblestone and cleared his throat. “There’s actually, uh, something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

“Oh, yeah?” Bdubs was tooling around on Beyonc, showing off her elegant lines and five-block jump.

Etho watched them circle the area and tried to breathe through his sudden spike of anxiety.“Remember the game we worked on? In the modded server?”

Bdubs kicked Beyonc into a flying leap that landed her on top of Etho’s chest stack. “How could I forget? All those hours wasted!”

“Well, yeah.” Etho chewed his lip. “I was actually thinking of building something like that here. In vanilla.”

“You can do that? With redstone?”

Etho shrugged. “I can try.”

Bdubs snorted. “Friggin’ genius.”

“The thing is, though…”

Bdubs nudged Beyonc forward and she landed gracefully before Etho.

“The thing is though…” Etho continued. “I actually may need help—” 

“I’ll do it,” Bdubs interrupted, before Etho had even finished his sentence. 

“You sure?” Etho hesitated. “I don’t want you to put you on the spot or anything…”

“Of course!” Beyonc reared and Bdubs sat comfortably astride her. “We’ll do it together. As a team.”

It was Etho’s first time leading a big project, so he wanted it to do things right. He chose the location and dug out the area himself. He even decided to build a worker’s shack where he and Bdubs could sleep and store all of their materials. 

In retrospect, Etho thought as he mapped out the floorplan, marking two separate bedrooms for him and Bdubs, he shouldn’t have been nervous about inviting Bdubs to join. Bdubs was a kind person and they had already tackled several projects together.

Etho paused. So kind that he probably felt like he couldn’t turn Etho down. So kind that he unflinchingly put up with all of Etho’s various idiosyncrasies and insistences. So kind that, any time they had a disagreement, he would capitulate with a laugh, easy and unbothered.

“You don’t have to help,” Etho blurted the first time Bdubs came to visit the worker’s shack. 

Bdubs was standing in the doorway of the bedroom Etho had built for him, but still a glimmer of uncertainty crossed his face. “What, you don’t want me here?”

There was a lump in Etho’s throat. “No, I just…I don’t want to force you into anything.”

Bdubs placed his bed down in the room like a declaration. “There’s no forcing.” He met Etho’s gaze and smiled, so warmly that Etho felt it in his chest. “I’m gonna decorate this place so good.”

Etho had worked with Bdubs before, but he had never lived with him. It was different, not having to say their goodbyes at the end of the day.  Instead, they walked back to the worker’s shack side by side, chattering about everything and nothing. It was different, waking up in the morning and finding Bdubs already in the kitchen, sleep-mussed and cooking, asking Etho how he liked his eggs. 

It was different— Bdubs’ toothbrush in the bathroom, the wet puddle after he showered. The flowers that appeared in the windowsill and the laughter that echoed through the halls. Prepared meals, easy company, warm nights of doing nothing much but enjoying each other’s presence.

It was a different kind of torture, Etho learned, having Bdubs so near and liking him so much. He was too kind, making eggs just the way Etho liked, telling stories that made him laugh, helping unflinchingly with the enormous task of building this arena. He was so kind that Etho couldn’t help falling in love with him. 

Nights were the worst, were the time when Etho felt furthest from any semblance of rationality or self-control. Lying in bed, staring through the darkness, he felt hyperaware that Bdubs lay just a short distance across the hall. So kind that he just might let Etho climb into bed with him. 

Etho rolled over and willed himself to sleep. 

Days passed, and then weeks. Spring was pushing into summer and the days were getting hotter. One particular day the heat was so oppressive that it even invaded the underground bunker where Etho had been doing most of the redstone wiring. 

When the sweat started dripping into Etho’s eyes, he had no choice but to take a break. He stood, wiping sweat from his face with his shirt bottom, and took a deep draught from his water bucket.

Bdubs, he knew, was probably even worse off. He was building outside in the blazing sun. Etho decided to check on him. He felt bad that Bdubs was working so hard on a project that Etho himself wasn’t certain they could finish. 

The end of the season had been announced a week ago and since then they had been scrambling to complete the arena before they had to leave this world and go to the next. There was a pit in Etho’s stomach every time he thought about it. This had happened to them last time, and now it was happening on the project that he was leading— the project that he had roped Bdubs into, that they had spent so much time on.

The worst part, though, was leaving their home. Etho didn’t know when he had started calling the worker’s shack home, but he had. It certainly felt more like home than any other place he had built on the server. He couldn’t deny that was in a large part due to Bdubs’ presence. 

He didn’t know what the next world would hold. He didn’t know if he would find an excuse to live with Bdubs again. He didn’t even know if Bdubs would want to work with him again, especially after this project had turned out to be such a thankless grind.

Etho found Bdubs building on the outskirts of the arena. He was shirtless, sweat beading along his shoulderblades. The sight was so overwhelming that Etho almost turned to leave.

Bdubs was grunting with the effort of building a wall, dropping blocks into place. “You don’t have to push yourself so hard,” Etho ventured once he felt more in-control. “I’m not even paying you.”

Bdubs put his blocks down with a heavy sigh. “You think at this point my ego’s not all tied up in this too?”

Etho snorted and drew near. “Good point.” This close, he could see the smile lines crinkling at the corner of Bdubs’ eyes. “Want a break?” He held out his water bucket and a snack. 

“Golden carrots!” Bdubs exclaimed. “You spoil me.”

He took the water bucket first, though, and drank from it deeply. Etho’s eyes were drawn to his throat as he swallowed, to the sweat droplets that chased each other down his torso. 

“Ahh,” Bdubs sighed, refreshed, and Etho snapped his gaze upwards. “Do you mind?” Bdubs asked, gesturing to the water.

Etho shook his head, confused, but before he had much time to ponder, Bdubs was tipping the bucket over his own head, sending water crashing down around him. 

Etho squawked and hopped backwards out of the splash zone.

“Oh,” Bdubs groaned, “Oh, that feels so good.” His hair was dripping, plastered to his head. Water was still sheeting down his body and soaking into his jeans. His eyes fluttered open and he caught Etho’s shocked gaze. He blinked. “You said you didn’t mind!” 

There was a note of petulance in Bdubs’ voice that wouldn’t have been there a few months ago, before they had started living in each other’s pockets. Before Bdubs—before he was comfortable—

Something inside Etho snapped. 

Bdubs lifted the bucket uncertainly, “I can get more water, I didn’t think it would be a big deal.”

Etho carefully took the bucket out of Bdubs’ hands. 

“…Etho?” Bdubs was stepping back awkwardly, falling back on those sloppy forms that had gotten him killed by Etho more than once.

Etho grabbed Bdubs’ hand and Bdubs froze, blinking up at him from under his soaked fringe, eyes soft and worried. 

“You—“ Etho tried. “I—“ His ears burned with embarrassment.

He gave up on speaking and pulled the mask underneath his chin, pressed his lips to Bdubs’ hand.

“Oh,” Bdubs said. So kind that he didn’t pull away.

Etho turned Bdubs’ hand and pressed a lingering kiss to his palm.

“Oh,” Bdubs said again, voice hushed. “You don’t— do you?”

———

Etho wants to reach out, wants to take Bdubs hand, but he can’t. He’s too afraid Bdubs will run through his fingers like water, melt away like he has so many times before.

Bdubs is squirmy that way, surprisingly hard to pin down. One minute he’s swearing his eternal devotion, the next he’s mocking Etho, eyes gleaming with mirth. There’s months and years he’s not even there at all, times when he’s nothing but a sore spot in Etho’s memory. 

That day in the unfinished arena, Bdubs had kissed him. His hair had dripped into Etho’s eyes. Etho hadn’t thought anything of kindness that night when they curled together, Etho’s chin propped on his chest. Bdubs was too busy looking at him like he was a puzzle he had found the last piece to. 

Things change, Etho knows. That world ended, a new one began. Bdubs never kissed him again. 

It can never be like what it once was, Etho fears. Here is too distant from there.

“Done!” Bdubs announces. “Your enderpearls are all sorted. Now can I leave?”

Etho sighs, but he doesn’t have any good reason to keep Bdubs longer. “Yeah, that should be it for today.” 

Bdubs is already packing his inventory. He pauses on his way out the door. “You know, you didn’t even comment on my uniform.”

Etho is caught off guard. “I—I didn’t?”

Bdubs gives a spin. His legs are on full display. “I made it just for you!”

Etho swallows. When he meets Bdubs’ gaze, he winks. “I’ll see you tomorrow, boss.”

[imissylou]

Hello, I'm Missy! I've created many challenges in the past, and I'm best known for the Herbs and Spices Legacy, which I co-created with my friend @sunboyish. If you know me, you know how much I love butterflies—I even have multiple tattoos of them! I searched everywhere on Tumblr but couldn't find the original butterfly legacy challenge. If you happen to find it, please tag me so I can give proper credit.

Since I couldn't find the original, I created my own version, and I hope it's refreshingly different for you. I get bored of legacy challenges easily (it's not you, it's me), so I designed each generation to stand out with unique traits and stories. Feel free to skip or modify any parts that don't suit your play style. This challenge includes elements from all the packs (except the Star Wars pack, ew). If it becomes popular, I'll make a base game version or add base game options.

You're welcome to add to this challenge or create graphics for it—just tag me! Without further ado, here are the RULES! [TW: Neglect, Abuse, Substance Use, Murder, Religion, PTSD, Abortion]

Rules and first Generation under the cut!

Click here for the Doc

Butterfly Effect: A Legacy Challenge

Rules

Start out with 0 simoleons or enough to make a starter home then take the money away

Each gen only takes 20% of the funds your last generation accumulated

I love mods, so go ahead and get every mod out there, but just don't make the challenge too easy, trust me it gets boring if its easy

All CC is allowed

You don't have to level up any skills to level 10, they're just there so you have an idea on what you're going to do that generation - mostly from the career you're doing

Must complete each goal before moving on to the next generation, optional goals are optional

You don't have to complete any aspiration, unless it says

Life span can be on any, it's up to you

Make sure you look ahead each gen there may be overlap

You don't have to make this a berry challenge, but i did put a colour pallet if you want to use it

I haven't played through it yet so feel free to comment any suggestions or email me at imissylou1@gmail.com

Please tag me in all posts that are about my legacy - I’m nosey and want to see your lets plays or sim making, if you use insta you can find me @ imissylou5

If you play this challenge please use the #butterflyeffectlegacy or #BEL

Have Fun, this is your game after all!

Let's kick off this legacy with the epitome of elegance and grandeur—the Monarch! As the trendsetter of the family, your fashion sense is unparalleled, radiating style and sophistication in every outfit. Your iconic looks make you unforgettable, setting a high bar for all generations to come. Along with your keen fashion sense, you have an insatiable curiosity and just can't resist getting involved in everyone's business. You may be the first, but you’re destined to be remembered as the most glamorous, stylish, and intriguingly nosy generation. Get ready to strut your stuff, gather all the gossip, and set the runway on fire!

Your Colours - Orange and Black

Traits - Self Absorbed, Perfectionist, Nosy

Aspiration - World-Famous Celebrity

Skills - Writing, Charisma, Photography, and Painting

Career -  Style Influencer - Trend Setter Branch

Start as a Young Adult

Date Multiple People - You're Polyamorous!

Become Pregnant as an Adult, but you don't know who the Baby belongs too

Woohoo every partner you have the night you want to be pregnant, so you don't know the other parent

Do this every time you want to be pregnant

All your kids look like you dressed them up (which you do, no kid of yours will be trashy)

Have at least 2 outfits in each category

Go thrifting every weekend to collect all the thrifting clothing items

Get the squeamish trait if it pops up!

Have the Hungry for Love and People Person Lifestyles - Try to keep them throughout your whole life

Everytime you talk to someone, gossip with them

Optional

Travel every time you're stressed - Monarchs travel approximately 4,000 kilometres

@ts4challengehub

[mostlysignssomeportents]

A year in illustration, 2023 edition (part one)

(This is part one; part two is here.)

I am objectively very bad at visual art. I am bad at vision, period – I'm astigmatic, shortsighted, color blind, and often miss visual details others see. I can't even draw a stick-figure. To top things off, I have cataracts in both eyes and my book publishing/touring schedule is so intense that I keep having to reschedule the surgeries. But despite my vast visual deficits, I thoroughly enjoy making collages for this blog.

For many years now – decades – I've been illustrating my blog posts by mixing public domain and Creative Commons art with work that I can make a good fair use case for. As bad as art as I may be, all this practice has paid off. Call it unseemly, but I think I'm turning out some terrific illustrations – not all the time, but often enough.

Last year, I rounded up my best art of the year:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/25/a-year-in-illustration/

And I liked reflecting on the year's art so much, I decided I'd do it again. Be sure to scroll to the bottom for some downloadables – freely usable images that I painstakingly cut up with the lasso tool in The Gimp.

The original AD&D hardcover cover art is seared into my psyche. For several years, there were few images I looked at so closely as these. When Hasbro pulled some world-beatingly sleazy stuff with the Open Gaming License, I knew just how to mod Dave Trampier's 'Eve Of Moloch' from the cover of the Players' Handbook. Thankfully, bigger nerds than me have identified all the fonts in the image, making the remix a doddle.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/12/beg-forgiveness-ask-permission/#whats-a-copyright-exception

Even though I don't keep logs or collect any analytics, I can say with confidence that "Tiktok's Enshittification" was the most popular thing I published on Pluralistic this year. I mixed some public domain Brother's Grimm art, mixed with a classic caricature of Boss Tweed, and some very cheesy royalty-free/open access influencer graphics. One gingerbread cottage social media trap, coming up:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/21/potemkin-ai/#hey-guys

To illustrate the idea of overcoming walking-the-plank fear (as a metaphor for writing when it feels like you suck) I mixed public domain stock of a plank, a high building and legs, along with a procedurally generated Matrix "code waterfall" and a vertiginous spiral ganked from a Heinz Bunse photo of a German office lobby.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/22/walking-the-plank/

Finding a tasteful way to illustrate a story about Johnson & Johnson losing a court case after it spent a generation tricking women into dusting their vulvas with asbestos-tainted talcum was a challenge. The tulip (featured in many public domain images) was a natural starting point. I mixed it with Jesse Wagstaff's image of a Burning Man dust-storm and Mike Mozart's shelf-shot of a J&J talcum bottle.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/01/j-and-j-jk/#risible-gambit

"Google's Chatbot Panic" is about Google's long history of being stampeded into doing stupid things because its competitors are doing them. Once it was Yahoo, now it's Bing. Tenniel's Tweedle Dee and Dum were a good starting point. I mixed in one of several Humpty Dumpty editorial cartoon images from 19th century political coverage that I painstakingly cut out with the lasso tool on a long plane-ride. This is one of my favorite Humpties, I just love the little 19th C businessmen trying to keep him from falling! I finished it off with HAL 9000's glowing red eye, my standard 'this is about AI' image, which I got from Cryteria's CC-licensed SVG.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/16/tweedledumber/#easily-spooked

Though I started writing about Luddites in my January, 2022 Locus column, 2023 was the Year of the Luddite, thanks to Brian Merchant's outstanding Blood In the Machine:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/26/enochs-hammer/#thats-fronkonsteen

When it came time to illustrate "Gig Work Is the Opposite of Steampunk," I found a public domain weaver's loft, and put one of Cryteria's HAL9000 eyes in the window. Magpie Killjoy's Steampunk Magazine poster, 'Love the Machine, Hate the Factory,' completed the look.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/12/gig-work-is-the-opposite-of-steampunk/

For the "small, non-profit school" that got used as an excuse to bail out Silicon Valley Bank, I brought back Humpty Dumpty, mixing him with a Hogwartsian castle, a brick wall texture, and an ornate, gilded frame. I love how this one came out. This Humpty was made for the SVB bailout.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/23/small-nonprofit-school/#north-country-school

The RESTRICT Act would have federally banned Tiktok – a proposal that was both technically unworkable and unconstitutional. I found an early 20th century editorial cartoon depicting Uncle Sam behind a fortress wall that was keeping a downtrodden refugee family out of America. I got rid of most of the family, giving the dad a Tiktok logo head, and I put Cryteria's HAL9000 eyes over each cannonmouth. Three Boss Tweed moneybag-head caricatures, adorned with Big Tech logos, rounded it out.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/30/tik-tok-tow/#good-politics-for-electoral-victories

When Flickr took decisive action to purge the copyleft trolls who'd been abusing its platform, I knew I wanted to illustrate this with Lucifer being cast out of heaven, and the very best one of those comes from John Milton, who is conveniently well in the public domain. The Flickr logo suggested a bicolored streaming-light-of-heaven motif that just made it.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/01/pixsynnussija/#pilkunnussija

Old mainframe ads are a great source of stock for a "Computer Says No" image. And Congress being a public building, there are lots of federal (and hence public domain) images of its facade.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/04/cbo-says-no/#wealth-tax

When I wrote about the Clarence Thomas/Harlan Crow bribery scandal, it was easy to find Mr. Kjetil Ree's great image of the Supreme Court building. Thomas being a federal judge, it was easy to find a government photo of his head, but it's impossible to find an image of him in robes at a decent resolution. Luckily, there are tons of other federal judges who've been photographed in their robes! Boss Tweed with the dollar-sign head was a great stand-in for Harlan Crow (no one knows what he looks like anyway). Gilding Thomas's robes was a simple matter of superimposing a gold texture and twiddling with the layers.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/06/clarence-thomas/#harlan-crow

"Gig apps trap reverse centaurs in wage-stealing Skinner boxes" is one of my best titles. This is the post where I introduce the idea of "twiddling" as part of the theory of enshittification, and explain how it relates to "reverse centaurs" – people who assist machines, rather than the other way around. Finding a CC licensed modular synth was much harder than I thought, but I found Stephen Drake's image and stitched it into a mandala. Cutting out the horse's head for the reverse centaur was a lot of work (manes are a huuuuge pain in the ass), but I love how his head sits on the public domain high-viz-wearing warehouse worker's body I cut up (thanks, OSHA!). Seeing as this is an horrors-of-automation story, Cryteria's HAL9000 eyes make an appearance.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/12/algorithmic-wage-discrimination/#fishers-of-men

Rockefeller's greatest contribution to our culture was inspiring many excellent unflattering caricatures. The IWW's many-fists-turning-into-one-fist image made it easy to have the collective might of workers toppling the original robber-baron.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/14/aiming-at-dollars/#not-men

I link to this post explaining how to make good Mastodon threads at least once a week, so it's a good thing the graphic turned out so well. Close-cropping the threads from a public domain yarn tangle worked out great. Eugen Rochko's Mastodon logo was and is the only Affero-licensed image ever to appear on Pluralistic.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/16/how-to-make-the-least-worst-mastodon-threads/

I spent hours on the sofa one night painstakingly cutting up and reassembling the cover art from a science fiction pulp. I have a folder full of color-corrected, high-rez scans from an 18th century anatomy textbook, and the cross-section head-and-brain is the best of the lot.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/04/analytical-democratic-theory/#epistocratic-delusions

Those old French anatomical drawings are an endless source of delight to me. Take one cross-sectioned noggin, mix in an old PC mainboard, and a vector art illo of a virtuous cycle with some of Cryteria's HAL9000 eyes and you've got a great illustration of Google's brain-worms.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/14/googles-ai-hype-circle/

Ireland's privacy regulator is but a plaything in Big Tech's hand, but it's goddamned hard to find an open-access Garda car. I manually dressed some public domain car art in Garda livery, painstakingly tracing it over the panels. The (public domain) baby's knit cap really hides the seams from replacing the baby's head with HAL9000's eye.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/15/finnegans-snooze/#dirty-old-town

Naked-guy-in-a-barrel bankruptcy images feel like something you can find in an old Collier's or Punch, but I came up snake-eyes and ended up frankensteining a naked body into a barrel for the George Washington crest on the Washington State flag. It came out well, but harvesting the body parts from old muscle-beach photos left George with some really big guns. I tried five different pairs of suspenders here before just drawing in black polyhedrons with little grey dots for rivets.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/03/when-the-tide-goes-out/#passive-income

Illustrating Amazon's dominance over the EU coulda been easy – just stick Amazon 'A's in place of the yellow stars that form a ring on the EU flag. So I decided to riff on Plutarch's Alexander, out of lands to conquer. Rama's statue legs were nice and high-rez. I had my choice of public domain ruin images, though it was harder thank expected to find a good Amazon box as a plinth for those broken-off legs.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/14/flywheel-shyster-and-flywheel/#unfulfilled-by-amazon

God help me, I could not stop playing with this image of a demon-haunted IoT car. All those reflections! The knife sticking out of the steering wheel, the multiple Munsch 'Scream'ers, etc etc. The more I patchked with it, the better it got, though. This one's a banger.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/24/rent-to-pwn/#kitt-is-a-demon

To depict a "data-driven dictatorship," I ganked elements of heavily beribboned Russian military dress uniforms, replacing the head with HAL9000's eye. I turned the foreground into the crowds from the Nuremberg rallies and filled the sky with Matrix code waterfall.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/26/dictators-dilemma/#garbage-in-garbage-out-garbage-back-in

The best thing about analogizing DRM to demonic possession is the wealth of medieval artwork to choose from . This one comes from the 11th century 'Compendium rarissimum totius Artis Magicae sistematisatae per celeberrimos Artis hujus Magistros.' I mixed in the shiny red Tesla (working those reflections!), and a Tesla charger to make my point.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/28/edison-not-tesla/#demon-haunted-world

Yet more dividends from those old French anatomical plates: a flayed skull, a detached jaw, a quack electronic gadget, a Wachowski code waterfall and some HAL 9000 eyes and you've got a truly unsettling image of machine-compelled speech.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/02/self-incrimination/#wei-bai-bai

I had no idea this would work out so well, but daaaamn, crossfading between a Wachowski code waterfall and a motherboard behind a roiling thundercloud is dank af.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/03/there-is-no-cloud/#only-other-peoples-computers

Of all the turkeys-voting-for-Christmas self-owns conservative culture warriors fall for, few can rival the "banning junk fees is woke" hustle. Slap a US-flag Punisher logo on and old-time card imprinter, add a GOP logo to a red credit-card blank, and then throw in a rustic barn countertop and you've got a junk-fee extracter fit for the Cracker Barrel.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/04/owning-the-libs/#swiper-no-swiping

Putting the Verizon logo on the Hinderberg was an obvious gambit (even if I did have to mess with the flames a lot), but the cutout of Paul Marcarelli as the 'can you hear me now?' guy, desaturated and contrast-matched, made it sing.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/10/smartest-guys-in-the-room/#can-you-hear-me-now

Note to self: Tux the Penguin is really easy to source in free/open formats! He looks great with HAL9000 eyes.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/18/openwashing/#you-keep-using-that-word-i-do-not-think-it-means-what-you-think-it-means

Rockwell's self-portrait image is a classic; that made it a natural for a HAL9000-style remix about AI art. I put a bunch of time into chopping and remixing Rockwell's signature to give it that AI look, and added as many fingers as would fit on each hand.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/20/everything-made-by-an-ai-is-in-the-public-domain/

(Images: Heinz Bunse, West Midlands Police, Christopher Sessums, CC BY-SA 2.0; Mike Mozart, Jesse Wagstaff, Stephen Drake, Steve Jurvetson, syvwlch, Doc Searls, https://www.flickr.com/photos/mosaic36/14231376315, Chatham House, CC BY 2.0; Cryteria, CC BY 3.0; Mr. Kjetil Ree, Trevor Parscal, Rama, “Soldiers of Russia” Cultural Center, Russian Airborne Troops Press Service, CC BY-SA 3.0; Raimond Spekking, CC BY 4.0; Drahtlos, CC BY-SA 4.0; Eugen Rochko, Affero; modified)

[cripplecharacters]

HI! i was wondering if any of you guys had any tips on writing a character with POTS?

Hi lovely asker!

Hm, I think just showing them and their condition is the basis of it all.

Don't be afraid to write them taking meds! A lot of people with POTS take meds, salt tablets, maybe potassium tablets. Often times a lot of us get the stuff that athletes or runners buy either those little electrolyte tabs, the gel packs, or the powder that you add to your water (I listed the brands I use that worked for me but I know a lot of people stand by Liquid IV, dripdrop, Nuun, or just Gatorade. But that's not important I'm off topic!)

If they're trying to keep their symptoms at bay they're gonna be drinking a water and electrolyte combo and maybe munching down on a salty snack

If everyone is standing, they're gonna be sitting whenever possible even if it's the floor, we're known to sit on the floor in the middle of anywhere

Heat is not our friend, a lot of people with POTS have trouble regulating our body temperature so umbrellas, hand fans, ice packs, ice in general is very nice

Also on that, some people also get hot flashes so that could be something also to include

Exercise can exacerbate POTS symptoms so if your character has to run for something it's gonna wear on them

Give them mobility aids! A lot of us use mobility aids usually like Forearm crutches or a wheelchair are the ones I see most but a lot of people use canes or walkers too

A lot of chronically I'll people carry a bag filled with all our emergency stuff we need and I feel like that's always left out in media depictions so I'm gonna include that here

Depending on how you want to depict it some people deal more with vertigo, dizziness, nausea, fatigue than with syncope (passing out). Some people it's equal, some people have really bad syncope to the point that they can't stand up without a fall risk. It depends on how you want to write your character but not everyone is the same

If your story is set during a historical period, they're not gonna refer to it as POTS, and actually the novel "One For All" by Lillie Lainoff does a good of example of this as the title character in this Gender-Bent retelling of The Musketeers has POTS (yay!) but in the story it's called "The Dizziness"

That is all I can think of for the moment but if you have any other specific questions let us know! This is just a vague kinda thing but more direct questions are usually easier to answer, but if this does help I'm glad! Happy writing!

~ Mod Virus 🌸

[kindred-sims]

Hello all!

I'm aware that I've disappeared again and I really don't have any other excuse other than life has just been a real pain in my ass lately and I have not been left with much time to do much of anything with this blog. As it stands I've been dealing with a lot of personal and financial issues, as well as moving between jobs and also trying to work on some projects that I can get published in the next year (fingers crossed!). Even just availing myself to post gameplay pictures is getting to be a task in itself and I'm really just trying not to get any more burnt out than I already am right now, if I'm being honest.

That being said, I thought it might be fun to show off what I've been up to in my game lately! I was missing decades simming a ton and going back to reread some stuff on my blog also made me miss my darling Wakefields (who as you all know were one of my first attempts at this challenge) so I decided to reboot them in a personal gameplay for myself and. It has been a time. I added the healthcare redux mod in for an extra challenge and it has almost killed them multiple times so, I don't know. It keeps me on my toes I guess.

As you can see the order of children is a bit different this time around, but I kept all the names the name because I couldn't bear to change them. I'm still doing storylines and stuff as I go but mainly focusing on gameplay, and gosh I've been having such a good time. Its felt good to just focus playing for myself again and its something I've desperately needed in the chaos that is my life. I hope to eventually return to posting on here soon, maybe, hopefully, but I just thought I'd give a little update on whats what in the meantime.

[ahiwicave]

another discord drama post

Hi, Hiwi here. One of the mods from the Nevermore Discord server. You may recognize my name because I was put on blast and accused of some heinous things in the whole drama. I didn’t want a tumblr and didn’t want to have to do this, but I see some people are never going to let it go. Just to share some thoughts, from someone who was actually involved in everything:

Crimson did stuff in a side server, and the mod team acted swiftly in the moment we learned of it, even though it was not done inside the server we were modding

Months after an appeal was considered. The original evidence was tampered with, and the person who originally shared it with a third party was banned later for harassing and baiting other users with alts. This included being blatantly xenophobic towards me with an alt account.

The mod team (not Red) decided that a probation period could be extended since we had no other witnesses to inquire about it. 

Crimson came back, and this caused a lot of new witnesses to come out publicly. We were shocked when so many people had new information about this, as we had only the aforementioned evidence to go off of beforehand

Crimson was banned again within the hour. No NSFW was ever shared in the Nevermore Discord.

That should’ve been it, really. A lesson learned for the mod team. But it was not enough for some people.

The tumblr call out came long after the situation had been dealt with. The drama was exaggerated, with tons of misinformation and downright savage hate, blaming Red for things she never did or never were about her. Lots of people who had issues before (and unrelated to the Crimson situation) jumped on the chance to continue their beef, adding a lot of noise and ridiculous accusations, muddying the waters for everyone. 

Red was not the person who took the decisions for any of this, and shouldn't have been held accountable for something that happened outside our scope. People should've used the proper Discord channels to report Crimson’s  behavior happening outside the Nevermore server. Discord is the only entity that can truly stop an account in every server, actually keeping everyone safe. Every social media has the option to report accounts, and getting those people completely off the platform is way more effective than just removing them from a single server. 

Still, Red apologized. People that don't think it's a good apology are people that are still blaming Red for things she didn't do.

Red’s apology had a lot of context, because people decided to take everything outside of Discord and paint it in the worst possible light. A lot of people commenting were posing like innocent bystanders adding to the flames, when in reality they were already involved, and it was necessary to point them out.

Sharing the discord nicknames of people involved is not putting anyone in danger, no matter what their age is. It's not any real name or address. The same people claiming this puts them in danger had apparently no fear of confirming "yes that's me” when the information given was not getting tied back to them.

This whole tumblr thing highlighted how Red and Flynn shouldn’t be trying to mod the community, which has grown a lot more than we expected when the server was first created. They wisely decided to step back to focus on just creating Nevermore.

So Red and Flynn decided to step out, leaving the modding to over 10 people. They've not participated in the mod decisions taken since the server reopened with a new mod team, over a month ago.

Many of the people involved in the Tumblr callouts and harassment were allowed back into the server, despite publicly participating in smearing the server, the creators, and me. 

The new mod team is still figuring out the best way to mod a community this big. We want to prioritize safety while still having a chill atmosphere people can enjoy. 

The reopening brought changes to the rules and the security in the server. This included taking on onboarding, as well as required phone verification, and new rules about modding outside issues.

We started with the strict policy of no ban will be appealed. This is because giving people second chances is what caused the Crimson situation. It will probably be revisited as we continue learning and deciding what's the best approach to mod the community.

People that were involved in the tumblr discourse continued breaking the rules inside the server. We want to move on from this and letting it fester inside the server would not allow the community to heal and grow. They were warned, and a lot of them continued trying to bait for more drama, so then we banned them. There is no such thing as “banned without reason”, just “banned for a reason the user doesn’t agree with”. 

Banned people are not owed explanations or second chances. If there is no appeal, there is no reason to discuss it further with them. If you’ve been banned from a space, you’re not a good match for it. I personally would not like to go back to a place that banned me, for whatever reason. Being banned is not the end of the world, the community is far bigger than the discord server and your friends exist outside of it, too. 

It's truly mind blowing to learn tumblr is at it again. We removed Crimson immediately, Red and Flynn are no longer modding, the mod team tripled in size, there is more security in the server, and we’re actively working on making things better and opened everything up for suggestions from the users in the Discord. We’re all doing our best to avoid a situation like Crimson happening ever again.  

People who publicly claimed to leave the fandom and left/were banned from the server continue being hung up on it. Please move on. You've said multiple times how much you don't like it here. You don't want to be here, we don't want you here. Stop spreading your toxicity in a tag where people just want to move on and enjoy fan content.

You are allowed to stop supporting or enjoying anything for whatever reason. No one is forcing you to remain in the Nevermore community. 

You don’t have to ruin it for everyone on the way out. Turning on other people and harassing bystanders just because they don’t join your hate train is wild. 

Stop blaming Red and Flynn for the actions of a mod team. Your personal vendetta against creators that are just trying to write a story you claimed to enjoy is getting out of hand. Please move on, for your own mental health and everyone else’s. 

I will go back to Discord now, I just wanted to clear up some things for anyone getting bombarded by the misinformation. I hope this is the last of irrelevant Discord stuff muddying up this tag, and you all can go back to enjoying art, theories, and memes.

[sue-sue-sims]

Welcome to Strangetown! by EstavaConfuso (The Sims 3)

 Truth-seekers move to Strangetown hoping to discover the secrets the town holds. Do aliens live among us? Do missing Sims mysteriously appear here? In this town nothing is what it seems.

About

 Strangetown is one of the oficial neighborhoods of The Sims 2. It appeared in the base game (PC) but it was also featured in The Sims 2 spin-offs: PSP, GBA, DS and console. My purpose in creating this world was to include all versions of Strangetown from all games it appeared in in a single world. I tried to be as accurate as possible to the different versions, as well as trying to keep the correct layout of the different places. Of course, it's impossible to have an 100% perfect replica, but I hope you can identify them in the game.

World

 Considering that The Sims 2 was released in 2004, this world is supposedly set in the mid 2000s. The world consists of 101 lots in total: 49 residential lots (18 inhabited and 31 unhabited), 44 community lots and 8 empty lots. The world map is a variation of Lucky Palms height map (although you don't need Lucky Palms installed to work).

Size: Large.

 Population: Populated. Features several townies from the different games (PC, PSP, DS, console, GBA). The original Strangetown families have complete family trees.

 CC: Included.

 Required expansions: All (World Adventures, Ambitions, Late Night, Generations, Pets, Showtime, Supernatural, Seasons, University Life, Island Paradise and Into the Future).

 Required stuff packs: None.

Download

 The .rar file has a folder called “Strangetown package objects”, which should be placed in the game's Packages folder (Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3/Mods/Packages), and a .sims3pack file, which is the world itself, and should be placed in the game's Downloads folder (Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3/Downloads) and be downloaded via launcher. You need to put both the .sims3pack file and the packages folder into your game.

--- Download Strangetown! ---

Download link: SIM FILE SHARE

alternative link: MEDIAFIRE

LINK OF THE CREATOR'S WEBSITE: Strangetown for The Sims 3