#I'm always happy to post it on the WordPress!!

[fobnsfwdoodlesbackup]

Heyyy thank you @bshpkntrck for coloring in these commissions!! I love seeing my drawings colored in always!!

[evermore-fashion]

Did I make a mistake?

As you're all well aware of I said goodbye to my blogs and Tumblr thinking my decision was final. However after reading all your wonderful messages I started to have doubts about my decision. So for the last few weeks I've been trying to pinpoint why I thought I had fallen out of love with high end fashion as well as Tumblr itself and the answer has been in front of my face for the best part of four years. A broken down friendship that has been plaguing my mental health… until recently and I'm going to finally explain why. I had a best friend for the best part of 15 years that went downhill both slowly and unexpectedly. We met on a forum back in 2005 and hit it off instantly. We then met up and went on various holidays, attended concerts together, did mini weekend breaks away and got to know each other's families really well. More importantly they were the only person in my life who knew about this blog and shared my love for high end fashion. Like most friendships though it had its ups and downs but no matter what we always gravitated back towards one another, until March 2020. A week or so before COVID and lockdown took hold of our lives they told me they had met someone. I was genuinely happy for them, except for the fact they had let slip that I was the last person to know. This broke my heart and their trust as they continued to let slip more details that indicated that I was being pushed out in favour of a new crowd (aka university friends who they had told me they disliked a few months beforehand) alongside their new partner. They stayed with their partner on and off throughout COVID and I was either pushed out the door or let back in depending on their relationship status. The relationship came to an end for good towards the end of 2022 and as always I was let back into their life with plans for 2023 being made. However I held back knowing the hurt it would cause me if things suddenly changed again. This was also my breaking point with them as I wanted to protect my heart from anymore hurt, and I believe this is where my love for creativity began to faulter. Whilst I found my love for gaming I felt this mental block around Evermore-Fashion and Evermore-Grimoire which I thought was down to my passions changing. I was clearly wrong. The friendship was up and down for another six months, until last summer. They had got back in contact with me despite the fact they had started acting cold towards me which manifested in a crap Christmas and Birthday. Yet I was still willing to hear their side of the story, but it never came as they ghosted me and I haven't spoken to them since which hasn't been fun to deal with both mentally and emotionally. Although I now fully believe this is what was killing my spirit and everything I had loved for so long. Anyway fast forward to January 2024, I've said goodbye to my blogs and Tumblr when lo and behold I come across a social media post that changed everything. The ex friend had written something personal that contradicted everything they had told me (over their relationship break up) which not only angered me but it lit a fire under my butt to stop stewing in the "what ifs?" as well as holding on to a small bit of hope that they'd finally apologise for treating me like a piece of shit on the back of their shoe for so long. Not only that but I started to miss why I enjoyed being online in the first place. I checked out Vogue to see what was occurring during Paris Fashion Week and I yearned to share the Spring 2024 Couture collections on Tumblr (even though I still think it's still a toxic cesspit). Yes I could easily start this up on Wordpress or Instagram but let's face it, Tumblr is still the easiest place to start blogging creatively. So here I am. The fog surrounding my love for fashion has lifted alongside the mental and emotional baggage I've been holding on to for far too long. There's just one thing I'm still wondering though… do you guys forgive me (as I feel like I've messed you all around ) and is it okay to come back? 🥹

[pmdwildfire]

Been awhile so I should probably update on the status of things.

The comic is still alive! Just had a lot going on, so progress on chapter 6 hasn't moved much. That progress being:

Backgrounds are 94% done

After that is shading/any other finalization that needs doing

Overall, chapter 6 is 73% done

Hopefully, my last remaining blocker to getting that progress moving again is overhauling the backend of my personal site. It currently uses WordPress and I'm looking to update it to a custom solution.

WP was originally fine for getting started, but since then the minor annoyances have piled up and finally boiled over as I can no longer schedule posts (they just refuse to post??).

Timeline/progress on that? IDK. I should make a spreadsheet to track that tbh. Ideally I'd have this done before the end of this year, but I always forget how busy I get around this time so we'll see!

Thank you for your patience and Happy Halloween/Diwali!

[kimmiessimmies]

Simblr's New Year Resolutions of 2024

I was tagged by lovely Lana, @eljeebee. Thank you, my dear. ❤️

Now, I already did a post on plans yesterday, but that was only for the coming few months or so, plus way too long for anyone to properly read, so let's give this one a go (which will probably also be long, because let's face it, I'm simply not a woman of few words).

What's your resolution for your simblr?

I'm not actually sure? Sometimes, I envy the people who are able to keep their Simblr clean and organised by just posting actual relevant things. I often write rambles (I don't always think anyone truly reads), so the story might get a bit lost. But do I really want to change that? I don't know. Maybe my resolution for my Simblr could be to make things easier to find? But then again, if you want easy reading of my story and everything involved, one click takes you to my WordPress, which actually is a lot more organised.

I do have resolutions for the story itself and my writing, though! In 2024, I hope to expand my writing skills. Even though I write easily in English, the fact that it's not my native language still feels limiting at times. I often feel I could make a narrative or a dialogue richer if this was my mothertongue. I've been contemplating focussing solely on dialogue and image (like I did with the AU), but I find I sometimes want and need the narrative. I really do feel the need to sometimes give words to what a character is feeling or experiencing without them actually voicing it to another character. And precisely in that type of narrative, I see room for improvement.

As for ATOH, I hope to be able to do some other characters justice, too, aside from the ones I've been so focused on recently. Although, maybe it'll only get confusing if I bring too many characters in. So, balance will be the challenge, I guess. And, I hope to be able to bring everything together properly and in a way that makes sense. Especially now that I've changed my timeline for a third time...

What do you want from the Sims franchise?

I just hope TS3 remains playable at this point. My worst fear is my gaming laptop breaking down (I do everything on that thing, as there's no place in my house for an actual pc) and any new one being unsuitable to run TS3 with its very specific demands...

Other than that, I think it would be highly unrealistic to expect EA to develop or do anything specifically for TS3 at this point, and I have absolutely zero interest in straining my laptop even more by putting TS4 on it, which I know I won't play.

Any other new year's resolutions?

Oof... Umm... Well, I already wrote about how I'm struggling a lot at the moment (I'm at a very, very low point right now...) and as much as what I want for 2024 is to find my happy again, that seems like a huge ask at the moment. So I shall stick to the quote the Pinterest game brought up: "Never give up on the things that make you smile" and try to focus on the few things they do bring me joy. Which takes me back to the story, and now we've come full circle.

Tagging a few people who maybe haven't done this yet and might like to, @simsaralove , @sircesimblr, @sushiikinsss. Feel free to pass.

[mysimsloveaffair]

Here's a little background insight on Dub's love life. What he told Maia is fact - he's never had an "official" girlfriend. But that doesn't mean he hasn't been in love. In my head, Perla will always hold a little piece of his heart.** If you've been reading the story for a while, you know he's not with her because of circumstance, not a lack of love. Inata made him a man** back in Batuu...so she'll also hold a special place for him. (And just as background information, he still flirts with them on the Social Bunny app. Let's hope that doesn't get him into trouble later.)

Then there was Bongani in high school,** but that was just a crush that never went anywhere.

But now, he's turned his attention to Maia. If you read my Frog Scenario side story** - you know more about Maia than any other lady from Dub's life. And it may have occurred to you that Dub and Maia don't seem very compatible in many ways. But to my surprise - they quickly developed a "love" meter from just a few of the more innocent flirting interactions while out to eat for the first time. I'm excited to see where this goes.

I'm leaving this poll up for a week because I will not post any story updates until next week. Please keep in mind that this poll is just for fun. It will not change the story outcome in any way.

But I will respond to asks and tags. I will also continue reblogging cc finds, tutorials, and posts I love on Sims Love Affair Reblogs.

Have a happy Thanksgiving if you celebrate. If not, enjoy your weekend!

** Note: Links take you to my WordPress website.

[castlebyersafterdark]

you are never too sappy! (congrats btw! + big love to the mike to your will... i see that blue heart and height difference mention 😉) the balance works so well so far. like a little glimmer of you. especially as its always relevant through a byler prism, so youre not making it all about you at all. i cant believe how cosy it is here. i genuinely await your writing like i would a new published novel hahaa. i also was going through my likes and saw an anon post on spicybylerpolls from february. it mentioned the sears catalogue and byler's fantasies and i had adored it at the time. rereading now, i'm like... VINNY?!?!? hahaha maybe it's not you but it's textbook and the style of writing and openminded humbleness felt very you. love.

especially love the self-acceptance journey you seem to be on here, allowing yourself nerdery, allowing yourself spice in byler forums, keeping a healthy eye on your online habits! + growing to love yourself more through will perhaps, keeping up with your writing, learning you kind of love cringe roleplay sex in fic?!?!? hehehehehe and also realisations that you may or may not want to share! its all gold dust - and honestly, this feels like blogs as i knew them growing up, like wordpress, blogspot, etc. proper old blogs where it's just right mix of artistic and personal.

x

Thanks, I feel so happy being here, everyone is so sweet 😘 Saving the dash from my personal rambles:

I didn't want to ruin it by changing things up too much. But, I do kinda want to talk about whatever here and post the occasional non-Byler stuff, still mostly the normal fandoming and spicy posting like I've been doing. Keeping the chill vibes. This does feel very much like a different type of blogging than I'm used to. It's cool. Even if people get sick of me or lose interest, I'll pretend that's not the case hahaha. Corny as hell, but it feels safe here.

Incredibly flattered that you look forward to my writing! I've always wrote fic and original pieces and scripts and loved it but had zero confidence. Did it anyway. I still have a lot of growth to work through with my writing when I decide to post polished fics, but that's fun now, feels different. I have so much in the wheelhouse. It'll fuel me to season 5 and beyond, I'm pretty sure.

That's funny you mention the spicypolls account, because I HAD to go searching through their archive and I found that post - wow, I see what you mean. The typing style certainly could make you think it's me, and it was an excellent post but full disclosure - I've never sent anything into that blog before! I only started this blog in May (whoa! 2 months?? Feels a lot longer!) and I genuinely only lurked and never interacted anywhere on the spicy corner before I converted this account, even on anon.

And I never thought I'd learn things about myself through something as genuinely kind of silly as what is, at its core, an explicit head-canon and writing blog for a fictional fandom ship. Hahahaha. But here I am. Feeling a little more confident in embracing my vulnerabilities and weirdness. Weirdness isn't bad! It's stuff I've known but it's different when you just live your life, instead of actually talking about it outside of your brain. Helps me feel less embarrassed after posting here sometimes - I look back over what I post and just cringe on occasion but power through a little easier lately!!

And ohhh it always comes back to the cringe roleplay, doesn't it 😏 Which has been a fun exercise in letting myself play around and try new things in general, with writing. With real life. Be a little weirdo. Find your people. Stay authentic.

Thanks for this one, it's a little self-indulgent, rambling about myself, but it made me smile. ❤️ Incredibly corny, but this is the kind of environment I think I've always been searching for online, but looked in all the wrong places. So, ughhhh. Finally.

[mercurytrinemoon]

✨I'VE MADE A WEBSITE✨

MERCURYTRINEMOONASTRO.COM

Because I know not everyone uses or wants to use ko-fi, I've made an easy way to get all the stuffzzzz. You can now easily book an astro reading with me and get the "Studying the stars" e-book (more info on it HERE).

I think I deserve an award for setting an online store in two days using wordpress (I wanted a good election for getting the domain and a good one for announcement, hence a two day window lol, don't judge). Some of you might know I used to build websites but I always did it from scratch, wordpress is sooo messy and unintuitive, I have nearly evaporated into nothingness out of frustration. It still needs polishing, with bookings I want to just have a fill-in form with all birth info but I've tried a few options and none of them are working *panicked laugh* so for now we'll doing it via e-mail 😁

Also, I might expand the website into a blog in the near future, just to have my big astro articles there.

Just in case, the KO-FI links are still available HERE.

"Studying the stars: the basis of understanding and analyzing astrology"

The book contains all new material, except for the chapter on houses that I took from my two blog posts. You get full sections on planets, signs, aspects, houses etc + a chapter on how to put things together - I'm dissecting exemplary planetary placements, aspects between them + more.

example pages

I tried to be as precise in all the descriptions and just cover all the necessary basics - so getting straight to the point. I think it would be a perfect starting point for those, who are just getting into astrology, but I'm hoping those of you, who are already deep into it will find something interesting in this book as well.

price: $6

ASTROLOGY READINGS

personality portrait: perfect for those who are just getting into astrology and want to know basic things about their chart (character analysis, weaknesses and strengths) + a question regarding a certain topic (this can be whatever you want. Have relationships issues? Can't choose a career path? I can adress one of the subjects and try to help as much as I can) price: $20

forecast reading: an overview of upcoming transits for one year. Useful when asking about a specific issue/event(s). price: $12

important note: because the best chart readings are usually done in a conversational manner (which is hard to do doing written reports), if you're asking for a reading, just give me an overview of your situation. It doesn't have to be much but something that can give me a point of reference. Example: wanna ask about relationships? A simple "I just broke up with someone, how does my love life looks from now on?". Wanna ask about a career path? Tell me what are your current options or what would be your dream job, etc.

electional charts: if you're already fluent in the astrology language, I'm always happy to brainstorm ideas and help choose a chart, just hit me up in the ask box and that is free. For those who are not yet on the level of choosing a chart for yourself, I can offer you an electional reading. price: $7

[newsfromthehouseofbourbon]

June 12, 2023: Beta Readers Wanted

Hello. How are you doing? I think I should explain a few things. Let me get this out of the way first: I will be looking for beta readers for the first part of the book XIV.

Yes, XIV is about Louis XIV. How did you know? Anyway, it is a long book and it will be here always: @lesecretdelamaisondubourbon.

Long story short: a famous person DMs me to ask to read my work and I had to make it possible. I write a lot (@tkwrtrilogy @tkwrtrilogy @tkwrtrilogy3 @trenarnolegolaslasgalen and all subsequent side projects), and this trilogy is part of my work. So, naturally, I decided that why should the famous person have all the fun? I decided to make it possible for a few beta readers to read Part I of XIV (which is a trilogy within an actual trilogy now because each part is as long as a book). Good, now that you know that...

Yes, Monsieur has his own book--which brings me to what I should explain (more about this particular trilogy).

This is Part II of Book III--NOT of XIV (which is about Louis XIV). This is a separate book. It is written by @fortunatelyclevercandy (who is also working on @thehouseofdurin). Clearly, this book is entitled Monsieur (because, as everyone knows, Monsieur was the honorific title of the second-born son of a French Monarch).

Part I of Book III is the book XIV written by @iamjaynaemarie (the person writing this blog post, and author of the abovementioned blogs about The Kingdom of the Woodland Realm Trilogy).

Yes, THIS book is about Louis XIV. This book is the one that will be available in November for a select group of readers.

This is a trilogy. Why is it a trilogy?

This is why*. It's a family affair. Interestingly enough, this family makes all other royal families look like Disney by comparison. The years of movies and television shows didn't even scratch the surface.

⚠️ BY THE WAY: People seem to be having issues with WordPress and reading this book, so I am going to figure out what is going on today and probably until tomorrow. I don't know what happened. It works for me obviously because I'm the one posting things on my website. But for some reason, it is not working for readers, so I'm going to be looking into that today and probably over the next few days to rectify this issue. In the meantime, anyone not on WordPress please try to read Tumblr for a while. I hope it doesn't take too long.

Yeah, the KING is NOT HAPPY about that.

So, that's it for today. I hope you enjoyed all that. Thank you for reading.--JMM.

Every family has a secret. Some have more than others.

Welcome to the House of Bourbon. Enjoy your stay.

*Book I will be the last book completed. It is going through some minor outline changes as the overall tone of the trilogy has shifted to deal with our favorite recurring theme: Brothers.

Note: This book is also written in multiple languages: English, French, Spanish, Italian, and German. This means that the actual text of the book will casually flip between languages (mostly in dialogue). This is done because, interestingly enough, Louis XIV was fluent in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and German. His brother Philippe preferred Spanish to his native French, but he was also multilingual as his best friend was Italian, his first wife was English, and his second wife spoke German. 🙂

[dalesramblingsblog]

A More Personal Sort of Ramble

Hi. Let's talk about 2023.

It has, actually, been a while since I sat down and did one of these types of posts, so forgive me if I'm a little rusty. Or, if we're being honest with ourselves, Twitter threads, since it's actually been so long that it dates back to the time my main online presence outside of the WordPress blog was actually on that godforsaken cesspit of a website.

(Now, of course, we have upgraded to *this* godforsaken cesspit of a website.)

So this year has been... a lot. For once in my life, however, I don't actually mean "a lot" in a negative sense. On the contrary, this year has, to put it bluntly, probably seen me at the happiest I have been since my depression really started to kick in in earnest back in 2015.

There are the obvious indicators we can point to, namely the fucking insane traction that the blog has gained. A little under 2400 views in a year may be peanuts to some, but when you consider that that's very nearly equal to the amount of views my site gained across the entirety of 2017 to 2022, it's a level of growth that I couldn't be happier with.

And part of that growth has been the migration to Tumblr, which went far better than I could have ever hoped for. In all honesty I probably should have come here sooner, given the generally more blogging-supportive ecosphere that exists, but it's better late than never I suppose.

More importantly, though, I wrote a lot, and was actually very happy with much of what I wrote. 2023 has been the first year where I can honestly say that I didn't immediately feel disdain for a post upon hitting Publish, and I can't overstate how huge that feels.

And really, that's what this year has been about. I am not in the habit of airing every part of my personal life these days in the way I did back in 2020 or 2021, for the simple reason that my audience has expanded well beyond the few devoted online acquaintances I had back in those days. Suffice it to say, however, that I am doing very well, and I am happy in my own skin for the first time in a very long while. I have dreams for the future that can actually qualify as, well, dreams, as opposed to general dread-filled nightmares and apocalyptic visions that'd make Frank Black blush.

And through it all, there's been my audience, who I genuinely consider to be one of the best small corners of the Internet. I'd like to take credit for the vibes not being abysmal, but the truth is... the bulk of that credit belongs with you folks, not me. So thank you, genuinely.

As with most of these longposts, there's the self-serving Ko-fi plug to get through; it can be found here, as always. Even if my hope of actually making some money from these scribblings of mine remains a far-flung dream, however, rest assured that I'm not going to stop any time soon. We might have finished the bulk of the Virgin stuff, but we're only just beginning to wade into the BBC Books years, and I hope you'll stick around with me to see what the future holds for Dale's Ramblings in 2024 and beyond.

Thank you all for being simply incredible. You're all damn fine people, and I'm forever glad to have your readership.

[script-a-world]

Submitted via Google Form: Gender Neutral Names

I'm trying to name my characters.

I see there are plenty of baby name charts with gender breakdown popularity charts. But I have no idea why so many names listed as gender netural, one gender does not even appear on the chart or maybe just on the very bottom a year or two. Yet it's gender neutral? What makes it gender neutral if it's so far off. Very lopsided 95%/5% charts, I can kind of get, but to not even show up?

In fact any name can always have exceptions. I know some people both real and fictional with names that do not get listed as gender neutral but are in fact the opposite gender than listed.

How does a name become gender neutral when the occasional rare person just decides to go the opposite (which is inevitable) unless it's actually a trend and starts showing up on charts.

Is there any kind of sexism involved? I don't know but if I apply the same kind of reasoning with hair. People still keep calling long hair for females and short hair for males, instead of all gender neutral hairstyles. Yet there is way more instances of females with short hair and men with long hair than it seems for those names that are so lopsided the other gender doesn't make the chart. Yet the name gets called gender neutral and hair still gets divided.

Tex: Gender is applied to a name on the parent’s or individual’s say-so, and when the name itself is used for another child, the gendered connotations of the original bearer of the name carry over or not as a situation develops.

Sexism is an inherent, though unfortunate, part of gender as a role in society. This is mostly created as a means to make someone feel better about themselves, usually by denigrating someone easily identifiable as Different ™ than them. Sexism is as ideologically easy to adopt as racism, in that it’s usually the first thing someone’s eyes can find when they want to treat someone poorly due to their own perceived deficiencies.

Modern cultural perceptions aside, it seems as if you’re sourcing your worldbuilding and interpretations from a narrow band of sources. On tumblr and WordPress, which our blog is hosted on, there’s quite a few worldbuilding posts related specifically to names that are quickly accessible with a keyword search in your browser of choice. If you have particular cultures already in mind, those are useful additional keywords to help you, and can give you multiple perspectives on how gender may be variably defined.

Licorice: - Oh, names and naming is such an interesting topic! 

Since it’s your own world you are building, you can decide on the naming system they are going to use. Are you trying to create a naming system in which nobody can tell someone’s gender from the name alone? Some of the naming systems in our own world are largely gender neutral. I am told Punjabi is one language in which the majority of the names can be used for any and all genders. 

According to the Linguistics stack exchange, Chinese is a language in which names are not gendered. Bear in mind that I am not a Chinese speaker, and I’m happy to be corrected if this information is wrong, but apparently there is no set of words that are reserved for “proper names” in China. “​​In China you can use any word or words (max. 2 characters) you like as your name provided it sounds good and you find it meaningful.”

Unless I’m much mistaken, the naming systems for many First Nations follow the same principle. You could have a look at these different naming systems for inspiration. Several African countries I lived in gave children names that expressed their wishes for the child’s future - “Talent” or “Success” - or reflected the circumstances surrounding the birth - “No Money” and “Lonely” were two people I knew personally - or even the parents’ wishes for their own future. I knew a guy, the last-born of twelve, whose name was “No More.”

If you want to move away from names that in English are traditionally associated with one or other gender, you could

Invent names, as Tolkien and JRR Martin do. If you choose this route but want to avoid gendering your names, avoid ending sounds that are traditionally associated with the feminine (e.g. -a, -ia) for girls’ names or sounds traditionally associated with the masculine (e.g. -us, -ius) for boys’ names. 

Use ordinary nouns and adjectives as names. In this way you can also express the things your in-world culture values. Are they careful environmental custodians? Then they may give their children names associated with nature: “Summer Rain”, “Green Twig”, “Feathered Nest.” Are they warlike and aggressive? They may give their children names that commemorate weapons or martial qualities. “Fierce Helmet”, “Sturdy Shield” “Steadfast Courage” and so on.

(and that reminds me of the famous Puritan whose parents used names to express their faith: Praisegod Barebones)

The master of the use of names in worldbuilding is Ursula K LeGuin. If you like, take a look at some of her short fiction or novels to see what techniques she uses. 

Mod Miri Note: We also have a Master Post on Names Here. 

[whimsicaldragonette]

Blog Tour & Arc Review: That Summer Feeling by Bridget Morrissey

Order

Add to Goodreads

Publication Date: May 30, 2023

Welcome to the That Summer Feeling book tour with Berkley Publishing Group. (This blog tour post is also posted on my Wordpress book review blog Whimsical Dragonette.)

Synopsis:

Turns out you're never too old for a summer camp romance. Or a change of heart. When a divorced woman attends a sleepaway camp for adults only, she reconnects with a man from her past--only to catch feelings for his sister instead. Garland Moore used to believe in magic, the power of optimism, and signs from the universe. Then her husband surprised her with divorce papers over Valentine's Day dinner. Now Garland isn't sure what to believe anymore, except that she's clearly never meant to love again. When new friends invite her to spend a week at their reopened sleepaway camp, she and her sister decide it's an opportunity to enjoy the kind of summer getaway they never had as kids. If Garland still believed in signs, this would sure seem like one. Summer camp is a chance to let go of her past and start fresh. Nestled into the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains, Camp Carl Cove provides the exact escape Garland always dreamed of, until she runs into Mason--the man she had a premonition about after one brief meeting years ago. No matter how she tries to run, the universe appears determined to bring love back into Garland's life. She even ends up rooming with Mason's sister Stevie, a vibrant former park ranger who is as charming as she is competitive. The more time Garland spends with Stevie, the more the signs confuse her. The stars are aligning in a way Garland never could have predicted. Amid camp tournaments and moonlit dances, Garland continues to be pulled toward the beautiful blonde outdoorswoman who makes her laugh and swoon. Summer camp doesn't last forever, but if Garland can learn to trust her heart, the love she finds there just might.

Author Bio:

Bridget Morrissey lives in Los Angeles, California, but hails from Oak Forest, Illinois. When she’s not writing, she can be found coaching gymnastics or headlining concerts in her living room. Her website can be found here.

Her upcoming adult novel, THAT SUMMER FEELING, releases on May 30, 2023. Her last two adult romances, A THOUSAND MILES and LOVE SCENES, as well as her first two YA novels, WHAT YOU LEFT ME and WHEN THE LIGHT WENT OUT, are all available now.

She is represented by Taylor Haggerty of Root Literary.

image credit: Goodreads

My Rating: ★★★★★

*My Review and Favorite Quotes below the cut.

My Review:

I loved this cute summer romance. The characters were fun and quirky and believable, and who doesn't want to read about thirty-somethings falling in love at their first experience of summer camp?

Garland was a great main character and I really sympathized with her. She had banked on a happy-ever-after only to find out it wasn't and end up living with her sister and driving for a ride-share program and not knowing what to do with her life. Her sister Dara was also great and I would read more about her for sure. They were both grappling with their childhood dreams of love not turning out like they'd expected and learning to embrace their choices.

I loved Stevie and her brothers. They were vibrant and boisterous and they obviously loved each other very much. They swept Garland up into the family dynamic she'd always needed and it was really sweet.

The love story was adorable and a great way to allow Garland to let go of her past expectations and embrace what she truly wanted. I was 100% there for it and I'm so happy with how it turned out. I also love the way the experience of finally getting to go to summer camp helped the sisters embrace their quirks and become more confident in themselves.

Reading this made me want to go to summer camp too. It all felt very real, and the next best thing to going myself.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for providing an early copy for review.

Favorite Quotes:

She wore athletic apparel with conviction. It looked like a carefully considered ensemble on her, not something you tossed on to exercise.

---

“This is even better than I anticipated, and I anticipated a lot.”

---

She could do a great impression of me. It made me feel understood in a different way than I’d ever felt before. Most people picked up on my optimism. Stevie captured my vulnerability. The worries I hid behind the hope I projected.

---

She still smelled like a cherished memory. Like I’d known her all my life, but somehow I’d forgotten her until today.

---

My heart ached harder. As if little construction workers lived in there and they’d started building something new without a permit.

---

I enjoyed being liked, but I wanted a more accurate version of me to be seen, and I wasn’t the person I’d packed into this luggage.

---

She made me afraid to blink, because to miss even a single second was to miss something revelatory.

---

I would dance with her until the music stopped. Even then, if she wanted to keep going, I’d create music for us.

---

“You can be a different you tomorrow. You can also own the person you are today. You don’t have to hide away because you might one day change.”

[sakunataa]

February 1st Status Report Review

I'm getting close to 1 in the morning, and YandereDev just published a fresh blog entry. Let's analyze.

The finish line is in sight! I am very eager to see what the Tutorial build has in store. Kokona being there definitely makes me happy. Of course, she is a fan favorite, and she is also one of my own favorites. It is wonderful that she will be the focus of the tutorial.

I can see why he would want to change a few things in the cutscene. With such a sizable build, we wouldn't want any errors, or changes left to be desired. I adore it when developers always take care to identify every tiny error and address it appropriately. Dev is really skilled at figuring out what needs to be done and which bugs need to be fixed because every small detail matters.-

However, the new feature or overhaul he is referring to really grabs my attention. Is it a  weapon? Elimination method? I'm quite curious.

If you are reading this, Dev? It's ok to occasionally have to push off a new build. It's crucial that you ensure the product is in good condition. What you are doing is trying to make sure that the build comes out in the best state that it can possibly be in, and I'm proud of you. I wouldn't want you to put yourself under pressure! And check out that snazzy preview!  Perhaps Kokona will start to ask Ayano for a favorite of some sort? At least, that's the impression I had after looking at this. (There it is again, sleazy YouTube. Naughty company!)

But that second video is what really grabs my attention. The lovely setting and voice… It took me a few listens, but I'm interested in what will happen just based on that! However, I have a slight suspicion that it could be involving Amai. Hmm…

35 bug fixes and 24 improvements! What a tremendous lot of work! I must admit that YandereDev's efforts on these adjustments and modifications is really outstanding. Although I am aware that most people prefer to scan over or simply ignore the bug sections, I have always enjoyed reading them. Despite the fact that I did not personally experience any bugs, I love knowing what was fixed. It will be so much fun to read that WordPress post!

I eagerly await the build and will be patient, whether it comes tomorrow or over the following few days. I've been following along on the Trello website and seeing as each goal is gradually check-marked. And each time, I've been astounded by what has been accomplished. I'm really pleased of YandereDev since he is giving this Tutorial part everything he has. Even while Osana's segment is already fantastic on its own, it is good to have a Kokona tutorial placed in behind it. 

Until next time!

[anoutletmaybe]

24.10.2024

An update. I accepted to stay for another 6-7 months. This is the 6th month. 10 days to my notice. And then a month's notice period. And I'll have completed my journey here. Cannot wait for this to be over.

December and January will be like winter vacations. I'll join from February only. In Delhi. In a beautiful, open chambers. With sunlight and air. And a great bosses! Who are mentoring me. I have learned more in 6 months than I did in BMC. I feel so happy. It feels amazing. Everyday is different. It's hard work, it always is. But so worth it! I'm earning so much money!! It's awesome!!

I opened my legal blog today - First Principles First. The name resonates with me because I'm all about make it minimal, going to the basics, the roots, understanding the concepts. I love the name. And it's so ironic that as soon as I opened it, all ideas seem to have disappeared.

So I'm thinking I need two things -

One, to post regularly - case notes, concepts, notes, etc.

Second, to post as and when - questions and answers, quizzes, maxims, pop up stuff.

How regularly I want to post will be different.

Something I observed and want to release. So I have bought a plan on WordPress. When I was buying it, it was making me anxious that what if I end up not posting as usual. Committment was not there even before I started. I didn't like that. I'm sure it's based on pst experiences. So that means im going to work harder. Make sure I post regularly.

I'm really happy I'm doing this. At least I've gotten up and I'm putting one feet in front of the other. So, yay, fingers crossed.

[firefromthegodspro]

Final Game Jam Dev Log: It seems we have reached... an end

Greetings, greetings, fair Tumblr. Tis I, local crackpot wizard Fire. It's currently 2:30 in the morning, and as I type this part of the post, Messier Mystes' prototype is uploading to Itch.io for submission into the Jam!

It's admittedly not... great, I did run out of time to get it to a point I wanted. But it is at the very least functional. Lacking cutscenes, balance, and quality. But functional.

Safe to say, this is the farthest I've gotten on a creative project not meant for a class, so I'm both relieved I managed to finish something (I am literally that one Jimmy Neutron villain IRL), and disappointed I couldn't even polish the vertical slice I made.

So before we talk about the bad, let's talk about the good!

I've literally never made a game before, so just the fact I did this is an accomplishment to me. Like genuinely. I was given RPG Maker MV in high school as a gift, and I've never been able to sit down and release something playable, so this was insanely satisfying! Even if I don't win anything or I get bad reviews, I'm just happy to be here.

Additionally, as scuffed as my Timetable system is, the fact I managed to make a semi-functional one abusing If/Else statements, Common Events, and Variables makes me proud. I problem solved, and while it is basic I think it's somewhat creative for my first foray into the engine.

Now onto the "what I'm disappointed about" section.

I am extremely disappointed that I didn't budget my time well at all. I really should've either chosen a smaller scope, or focused hard on a vertical slice, but I didn't manage to. It led to me cutting a lot of corners in the final hour, and I'm unhappy with it. It kinda sucks to me I didn't manage to even implement music or cutscenes properly, but its whatever.

Enjoy this Rouxls Kaard gif as a line break.

SO! What are my plans for the future?

Well, near future, I'm taking a couple days and binging both FGO and Tsukihime. I managed to NP2 Arc on the Anniversary banner, so I feel obligated to consume her route in the VN as quickly as possible. I haven't exactly been only game devving, but I do wanna take a couple days and let my creative juices refill.

I'm bone dry, man!

Secondly, in the slightly less-near future, I need to focus on my novel. I've let Quest for the Sacred Sword fall by the wayside, and I wanna get more progress put into that before I hop back onto Messier.

But never fear! My middling Dev Blogs and game development talents will return.

In terms of what's in store for the future, obviously things like adding cutscenes... adding the Social Link-type mechanic, and all of that is on the docket. But I also need to redesign my dungeons to meet my initial vision for them. Additionally, while I might stick with the ad hoc bootleg Timekeeping system, I definitely want to refine it a bit more if I don't outright replace it.

I also need to seriously overhaul my spell list. I have a perfectly fine basic outline, but as I implemented it I realized I forgot to focus on where the spells would fall in the level tree...

Yeah, again, I've never really done this before.

So revamping that is a must.

I also need to improve my map designs. I have some pretty basic ones, but improvements can always be made, and I want to make them.

That all being said, I'll still be posting here, just not Game Dev stuff. Probably more random thoughts, novel updates, or random garbage essays I come up with about my hyper fixations. The Wordpress (with a total of 1 post) is going to go silent for now, and will return when important updates exist. I'm still going to be working on Messier slowly in the background, but I won't really talk about it until I have something significant to show off.

Whelp, as of this line its just shy of 2:50 and I have to be up at 8 for work. The game's uploaded and submitted by now, so I'm going to go crash.

Walking the path of heaven to rule over everything.

-Fire

[kimmiessimmies]

Just a ramble about aesthetics and things

Like most of us, I also saw that aesthetics question going round and since reading it and the responses to it, I've been thinking about it more than I should, which in turn got me thinking about other things Simblr and community related and I decided to share my two cents about it as well.

The question stated in the poll was "How important do you think 'aesthetic quality' is in the simblr community?" and the answers varied immensely. Doing a quick Tumblr/Simblr scroll, the answer would have to be 'very important', because most images showing up are very gorgeous: beautiful colours, great compositions, perfect lighting. However, when I check the tab that shows which posts I have liked, the pattern changes: it's the storytellers who get most of my Tumblr hearts. And then it doesn't matter whether it's part of an elaborate story that's been going on for years with several plot twists, or just a family having breakfast. I like both equally, because both tell a story. Sure, I like a nice Sim picture as much as the next person, but for me, it will always be about the story it tells much more than the aesthetics of it.

The same is true for my own posts: I just want to tell my stories, share my Sims, my town. Yes, I sometimes post picture posts of lots I've built. At first glance, you could say that's about aesthetics more than storytelling. But it's not. Because of the way I play, everything is connected: the story is Honeycomb Valley and everything from the lots to the Sims to the seemingly random things that happen to them are all part of it. Sure, I love creating beautiful lots, but that's mostly because I like realism in my game. I like to see my sims in places that look true to life. And because this is a self-created world, it can look like the best version of that life. 😉

In taking pictures, I try to get the best angle and before posting I run my pictures through Picmonkey to do a bit of basic editing, which is mostly just an auto adjust of brightness and shadows. Literally two clicks and I'm done. I hadn't even heard of Reshade and all those other -shades until a month or two ago. 😄

I read another reply saying how everyone who has a Simblr does so for the notes, because if you're not in it for the notes, why have a Simblr in the first place? This made me laugh. I get the point, but if I was in it for the notes, I might as well leave today. I averaged around 20 notes per post during my glory days and only around 9 since returning after my hiatus. I can think of many reasons why this is:

My posts can seem very incoherent: I can be posting about James Wyler one day and about Luke Bennett the next. These two have never even crossed paths and their stories have no apparent connection whatsoever. I can imagine how this makes my stories and my Sims hard to follow for most.

I don’t post my full stories on here. Reading them requires a visit to my WordPress blog. I understand how most people just want to do a quick scroll, read, like, and move on.

I am and will forever be TS3 player. And we're simply a smaller crowd in the Simblr universe currently.

I was gone for five years.

Now, I could change all of this (except for that last one) and possibly get more followers and more notes. But I don't want to. Yes, of course, I love getting a notification saying someone liked my post. I appreciate the support and the love and it makes me very happy to see there are people out there who like the stories I write, the lots I build and feel connected to my Sims to some degree. So in that sense, I get why someone would say we're all in it for the notes. But I don't care about the quantity. I love those 9 just as much as I love the 195 I once received on my much-reblogged post of The Greenery.

So, I'm not changing a thing. I'm keeping my WordPress blog as my main Sims home because that's where everything connects. Where it does make sense that I'm posting about James on day 1 and about Luke on day 2. Where the story is Honeycomb Valley. Where you can click from a story to a Sim profile and vice versa. And my Simblr will remain a place to just post bits and pieces (and rambles like this) and to stay connected to the ones who are interested in me, my stories and my Sims. I love my 9 notes and I love the 3 people who click on to visit my WordPress blog and read my full stories a little bit extra. ���❤️

One last thing I would like to add to this already much too-long rant is how much I miss the old Sim community. The days of the forums and the tight-knit online group us Sims veterans were. Discovering and becoming a part of the Sim community back then has meant a lot to me. I miss that. I realise I sound like a grandmother now, reminiscing about the good old days, so maybe it's time to end this post. 😄

Anyway, that's my ramble of thoughts on aesthetics, Simblrs and community. Thanks for reading. 😊

[ununotter]

alright so I was watching Musical Wind Boys! again and I have to post this cause it just gets me everytime:

Ryuuto's curtain call comments

This was my first time - my debut stage performance, my first lead role… First of all, there was a lot of pressure but my senpais were always there for me, helping me--

[crying so hard he can't speak, audience applauds supportively]

…I was really happy everyday that they called me "Ryuuto", rehearsals were fun... And then, the guests- no, sensei [the audience is referred to as "sensei" or "sensei-chan" throughout the musical as the player is similarly titled in the game] - the senseis as well, with all the fans, penlights and applause - thank you for everything. Now, we won't meet anymore so…

[literally the most inconsolable man I have ever seen]

please buy the DVD!

[the entire rest of the cast (who were listening very carefully and varying degrees of concerned, trying not to laugh at his reaction to accidentally saying guests instead of sensei or on the verge of getting emotional themselves) burst into laughter, several of them collapse to their knees]

anyway that was cute and funny and let me also recommend his tiktoks (i try to avoid going anywhere near tiktok as a rule but make an exception for these because they are pretty fun)

including:

this one where Yamamoto Ikkei does not know what the heck is going on

this one

and of course, the source of the best gif i have ever made:

also this is somewhat of a footnote but since i never got round to playing the game and service is due to be terminated uhhh (checks notes) tomorrow, I'm glad to have just come across this translation blog on wordpress so figure I'll link that here as well