#and if they want to make merch they need people to play the server to make people want to buy the merch

[phatcatphergus]

damn are people on twt really gonna get mad at people for playing on the server rn?

is that where we're putting our energy?

like aypierre was one of the french ccs that spoke up, and he's playing today, and said that changes are being made, isn't that enough to trust?

like when was a boycott agreed on among ccs? never? okay yeah so whats the issue

People like to be angry about anything if it’s Twitter. Nothing will ever be enough and they would rather virtue signal then appreciate the changes made already. Such is the culture that is Twitter

[valictini]

(Anon from previous ask)

What doesn’t sit right with me is that Quackity said during a stream that there was no volunteer positions within his studios. Wouldn’t that mean that he or his team would have budgeted in order to account for admins payements even before the last merch drop ?

Even if you assume he wasn’t much involved in the behind the scenes workings of his company, didn’t know how many people exactly were working under it, it’s impossible to ignore the eggs admins, he literally played with them for months (putting aside Chunsik who joined much later, that makes 10 eggs who have been around for 6 months/an entire year).

Then if volunteers were never supposed to exist, wouldn’t they have budgeted in order to have enough money to pay AT LEAST these ten people every month ? Even if there was indeed a bad apple higher up who was misusing the funds before, this shouldn’t be an issue now.

I’m sorry for the rant, it’s just that the financial issues argument has felt very inconsistent for me since it was first brought up and I need to air my frustration.

Yeah I feel you anon, I really feel you.

First of all, I believe Quackity said he knew that there were volunteers, but he thought people were eventually hired after a trial. Also, I think the egg actors role was explicitly a volunteer role. Since it was supposed to last for like, 2 weeks, I can understand the reasoning. It should have probably been reevaluated after it was made clear that the eggs would stay longer though.

What still baffles me is that no official structure was implemented for when a new language would be included. I feel like one paid manager per language would have been the BARE minimum, but instead, we got Lumi (with later Lea) carrying the entire french side of the server alone, for months, for free, while also playing an egg.

Honestly, the ONLY way I can see Quackity being fully ignorant of the real state of things is that the administration lied about everything, especially the payment (as in, they showed fake receipts, declared that they paid people when they didn't, and pocketed the difference) AND, critically, that Quackity never checked himself.

This is in the realm of possibilities, and I wouldn't be surprised if it were what actually happened. Doesn't change the fact that it would mean that Quackity was sorely incompetent and naive, and doesn't excuse the real harm that this caused to the volunteers. But hey, at least he had no ill intents.

The fact that in this scenario, he never talked to the admins privately is, again, baffling to me, but seeing how limited the communication seemed to be between admins and ccs, it unfortunately is in the realm of possibilities too.

So here, this is the most generous scenario I can think of for Quackity. Unrealistic ambitions combined with absolute incompetence of how to manage such a big project and blind trust in people that ultimately exploited his ignorance.

Still, the fact that he never hired any HR and never personally checked why, for example, there were languages that were consistently left out of official announcements are a big red flag to me, and a reminder that we just don't know wtf happened. I want to believe he never intended for the abuse, but there are ways he has facilitated it when, as a law student, he should have known better, and people have every right to not trust his intentions.

[arson-09]

I dont talk much about minecraft youtuber drama here but god quackity is pissing me off with his shenanigans.

In case you missed it admins for quackitys minecraft server (specifically an admin named lea) came forth claiming that the admins were underpaid if paid, were working horrible hours, and generally treated like shit. This is of course paraphrasing but this is worker exploitation and disgusting.

Quackity then did a little stream saying he was “unaware” of anything wrong happening behind the scenes. Which is interesting considering this is his “passion project” and the studio is under his name and hes the one who hired everyone.

Then recently Lea (i apologize if im spelling her name wrong she is french if i recall) did an interview saying that quackity was basically lying, the ndas he had the admins signed were fake, and reiterated the horrible working conditions and the fact he knew everything.

Then today he streamed again saying he was stepping back because of the hate and threats we was receiving which of course is never okay but this is the first time he’s ever spoken on that subject (which is interesting as his twt fandom is known for being incredibly hateful and threatening people) and he was stepping back from the server. Again this is a simplified version, just hitting the major points of everything.

this is not accountability, this is him making someone else fix what hes done. He wont even openly admit to everything but his silence shows everything. What he has done to his workers is horrible and incredibly wrong but the majority of his fans dont care and are upset at dream stans of all people for “making him step back” (dream stans havent even been the main group doing this shit btw. they are just the group pointing out the hypocrisy the most as dream fans have received copious amounts of hate from qsmpers for the fact they like dream. Let it be clear that the allegations against dream have been proven false and as of me writing this post he has not done anything genuinely bad. like exploiting his workers)

Regardless of who you stan or hate, you have to realize that what quackity has done with his server and the admins is wrong and he should take accountability and discuss what hes done wrong. hes was/is a law student for heavens sake. This is only the tip of the iceberg of questionable things quackity has done (for example his merch company is extremely shady. there is very little information available about it online, people have trouble with shipping and receiving their orders, merch quality, and much more) and it saddens me that while the mcyt community preaches accountability and recognizing when a cc has done wrong, they fail to do it 99% of the time. I dont hate quackity, and i dont want him to get doxxed and receive death threats, but i need him to be transparent. To admit to his mistakes and be honest and actually change shit. Because right now him stepping back isnt fixing anything, its not helping the people who have been hurt by his actions. Im also really sad that the qsmp has been riddled with these mistakes as theres so much potential with it. It was the first bilingual minecraft server then multilingual. it united so many different parts of the minecraft community but it is not stable, its not going to last at this rate and thats so sad. Qsmp seems to just be a money maker for its creators, every part of it meticulous planned to see what will bring in the most views (as well as its the first server i have personally seen have a merch store? i wonder if the admins that play the characters are getting any of that money…)

Anyway, i just wanted to say my piece on it after ive been apart of the minecraft youtuber fan community for a long time and have seen a lot of shit :/ just a psa if your first reaction to this post is to get all upset in my comments i will block you. I do however appreciate genuine comments on the situation, as a fan or not of quackity. Worker exploitation is never okay but most of everything else is just how i see the situation.

(just wanted to add a quick edit cause i got a good anon but accidentally deleted it🧍🏻)

I am not making fun or trying to make the fact quackity is getting harassed less important. Doxxing and threats are never okay, and even if i dislike him i dont wish that on him. I am only disappointed that it took to this point for him to say something. Of course he couldve been planning something but he never explicitly said so so lots of people, me included, weren’t sure if he was going to ignore it as he does have a track record of not saying anything unless forced. As well as hes never condemned his fans for the fandoms habit of doxxing and harassment. Ofc Q cant control his fandom, but openly saying “hey stop doing that. i dont want yall to do that” would be nice. I thankfully have never experienced it but i had twt moots who got doxxed by qsmp fans and thats why i said i wish he had said something earlier. But i am not trying to take away how severe the fact hes getting doxxed is. Just wanted to make that clear👍🏻 Dont fucking dox or harass people, be critical but dont be horrible people.

[voltagefandomproject]

Voltage Fandom Content Creation Challenge

Welcome to the very first Voltage Fandom Content Creation Challenge!

The purpose of this challenge is to help bring the active fans together, while helping bring back some activity to the Voltage fandoms. ANY creation/content will be welcomed! Fanfics, fanarts, edits, merch shrines, fanmade creations, moodboards, gifs, character cakes, and anything else you can think of will be accepted! 

The rules for this challenge are very simple as there aren’t many guidelines or specific prompts to follow other than please tag nsfw/dark content accordingly, and please have everything you would like included in this challenge posted by March 4th. I’ll post a Masterlist on March 5th that includes everyone’s submissions. 

@neerons has graciously agreed to help facilitate this event as well! Be sure to consider joining our discord server, where you can meet other fans that are active in the fandoms HERE. Also, please feel free to like the fandom posts on this blog that say please like/comment on this post so others can find your blog! This will help others find your blog, and we plan on making a directory at the end to help promote everyone!

Below the cut are some prompts that are there for suggestions in case you need some inspiration, but please feel free to showcase and use your own prompts, ideas, and thoughts in your creations! Be sure to tag @voltagefandomproject so we can reblog everything that all you talented people want to share! If your work has been reblogged, then we’ve seen it and it will be included in the Masterlist! 

Please don’t hesitate to reach out should you have any questions! Happy creating! ����

Fluff & Angst Prompts

-First impressions upon seeing the other for the first time

-First date

-First kiss

-First dance

-Comforting the other when sick

-Surprising them by preparing a homemade dinner

-Playing with their hair

-Going grocery shopping together

-Adopting a new pet

-Getting caught in the rain without an umbrella

-Playing hide-and-seek

-Refusing to go do to bed without a goodnight kiss

-Having a thumb war to settle a disagreement

-Holding hands “just because”

-Forcing the other to help with spring cleaning

-Playing hooky from work to spend the day together

-Asking them to officially move in

-Proposing marriage

-Thoughts on seeing them standing on the other side of the aisle before their wedding

-Building a blanket fort

-Sharing a kiss “Lady and the Tramp” style

-Watching a scary movie together

-Playfully arguing over a name of their unborn child

-Making a pinky promise

-First fight

-Breaking up

-Catching them in the act of cheating 

-Breaking a promise

-Losing their beloved for good

-Begging for forgiveness

-Choosing a job/responsibility over their partner 

-Seeing them going on a date with someone else

-Playing an intense game of Mario Kart

-Throwing them a surprise birthday party

-Stealing food from your partner, only for them to kiss and steal it back

-Surprising them in the middle of the day by bringing a lunch to their work

-Discovering them secretly playing a gacha/otome game behind your back

-Switching bodies 

Otome Specific Suggestions

-First character you ever read

-First title you ever read

-Crossover between titles

-AU between eras (characters from KBTBB in PIL for example)

-NPC content

-PoV from the pet’s perspective (Sydney, Little Yamada, ect)

-Throwback title (write something from one of the older titles)

-Holiday fics (Valentine’s Day, White Day, ect)

-AU on what would have happened had the MC NOT met the LI

-Completing the ending of the title 

Smut Prompts (18+)

Seeing them naked for the first time

Their first time together

Making them orgasm in public

Having a threesome with another character

Getting them off only using their mouth

Foreplay with toys

Foodplay

Shower sex

Bondage

Voyeurism

Sex with only the heels on

Cockwarming

Impact play

Gagging

Role play

Getting off by smelling their clothing

Phone sex

Masturbating in front of each other

Temperature play

Skinny dipping

[mugenloopdalove]

I would like to hear more about Aiko Gahana please.

Sure!! I'm actually using her in a college/town rp server that's also abo but shhh. She's an alpha she's a "townie" meaning she's not enrolled in the school but instead works within the town! I'll get to that later tho (also her art and kin wheel are under the read more as well :3)

As a fox, she found a small temple. The family running the temple instantly recognized her as not an ordinary fox but a powerful spirit, and gave her home there. She found a particular fondness for a shrine maiden that would practice music at the temple, and would frequently lay nearby while she played. Sadly, with time the maiden left the temple to get married. Aiko knew though, that once she took on her more human form, she wanted to be a musician.

Once she took on her human form, she quickly got to learning to sing and play different instruments, actually learning pretty fast and doing well for herself! She stuck to the shrine until non-humand were more widely accepted (in the lore of this rp server it took some time, despite their constant existence, for humans to be accepting of those who aren't such). Once they were, she took to a more wide variety of stages. Her traditional style mixed with more modern music almost seamlessly, and in 2008 she was scouted to be a part of a three person idol unit consisting of all animal-human hybrid idols: TailTale with the stage name Kiinee

However, the unit faced a lot of abuse from their company, and as the leader, Aiko got the worst of said abuse. Exhausting rehearsal schedules, cruel "critique," and overall deplorable treatment took a toll on the group within a year.

To make matters worse, the other idols not just in TailTale all because jealous of Aiko's popularity and took it out on them constantly. The other talents of TailTale, a cat yokai with the stage name "Masu" and a rabbit girl with the stage name "U-chan" both began spreading rumors within the production company, and no one bothered to question them. Aiko was isolated with no true friends in the company, and this on top of everything else would prove horrible for their mental health.

Her outbursts and meltdowns were at first just limited to in private or at most during a practice, where she would cry if scolded to much. But since no one within her company cared to help and only watched her break judgementally, things only got worse. Her once cheerful social media posts turned bitter, depressing, or even cryptic, and they'd lash out at fans or security during public events or just start crying. Gossip articles were pretty fast at picking up on this. Once again this extra weight only made things harder for Aiko and she broke even more.

Finally, at the start of a concert, a group of rowdy "fans" of TailTale began hurling insults just as the group walked on stage. This left Aiko stunned, and she finally crumpled in stage in a meltdown. The concert was ended and "Kiinee" was never heard from again. TailTale continued as a duo and now, most people wouldn't be able to recognize the name Kiinee and even if they did, talking about her was seen as taboo in fan circles. Her company was also great at erasing any evidence of her, and within 3 years Kiinee was completely gone.

Aiko spent some time hidden away, only going out heavily disguised when needed, living off savings until she began to run low on funds and realized that she needed to. Not be so isolated.

She fully changed her appearance and moved into the fictional city in Japan that the RP takes place in, where she's opened a music shop that sells all kinds of music, as well as instruments and merch. Her hope is for her shop to become a place for music lovers everywhere.

(art by my bestie @/probablydinosaurs :3)

[deathpoke1qa]

Sims Tag

Thank you @alice-in-strangetown for tagging me!

1. What’s your favourite sims death?

I always thought Death by Flies was particularly brutal and acted as a good incentive to not let your slobs get too... slobby. I am glad they brought it back for Sims 4.

2. Alpha CC or Maxis Match?

I consider myself to be pretty strictly maxis match. It just makes the game feel like its own world, instead of ours. Though, I do like to use makeup and eye from alpha creators. Plus my game barely runs on my poor laptop, so alpha cc is kind of like a forbidden fruit for my game.

3. Do you cheat when your sims gain weight?

I have a mod that makes it so sims don't gain muscle or weight at all. Though, the majority of my sims have their weight set to like 75% ish and I still think they look too skinny...

4. Do you use move objects?

Unplayable otherwise.

5. Favorite mod?

I swear by roBurky's Meaningful Stories Mod and weerbesu's UI Cheats Extension. If I had to play with only the bare minimum of mods, these would be the two that I pick.

6. First expansion/game/stuff pack you got?

When I was a kid, I played the MySims games, MySims Agents, specifically. When I went to go look up more Sims games, I found Sims 2 and had my mom buy Sims 2 Seasons. I did not realize it required the basegame until it was too late.

7. Do you pronounce “live mode” like aLIVE or LIVing?

I say it like aLIVE. I guess in my mind it's like LIVE television or LIVE streaming a game. It makes sense in my brain at least.

8. Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made?

It is illegal to make me choose. Though, I might make a post soon that just a bunch of random sims I have made in CAS and a brief description of their stories I never played out. Stay tuned.

9. Have you made a simself?

Ever since I started playing Sims, I have always made a simself. Though, when I was younger, the sim was like a projection of what I wanted to look like and now my simself is what I look like. For the most part. He needs some updating.

10. What sim traits do you give yourself?

Probably Creative, Art Lover and Perfectionist for Sims 4 traits. In Sims 3, probably Artistic, Couch Potato, Cat Person, Perfectionist and Supernatural Fan. That about sums me up.

11. Which is your favorite EA hair color?

This would be easier to ask my LEAST favorite color would be the true black swatch because half of the hairs just look gray. Favorite? Not really any, depends on the sim but most of my sims have the blue-black hair color.

12. Favorite EA hair?

Sims 2 peaked with this hairstyle. I tried to recreate it here in Sims 4 by combining cc, but it's not the same...

13. Favorite life stage?

Purely from a gameplay standpoint, it is Young Adult, but that is such a vanilla answer. Toddlers are up there. It would be Infants but I have yet to actually play with that life stage...

14. Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay?

It's about equal tbh. Depends on my mood.

15. Are you a CC creator?

Perhaps.

16. Do you have any simblr friends/a sim squad?

Yeah, I force them to join my discord server.

17. What’s your favorite game? (1, 2, 3, or 4)

Each game has things that I like and don't like. Gameplay wise, Sims 2 100%. Building and CAS, Sims 4. I have not touched Sims 3 in a hot second but I would love to revisit it again. Sims 1 is at the bottom of the list, I only play that game for the novelty, tbh.

18. Do you have any sims merch?

No, but I do own a plumbob headband for when me and my girlfriend dressed up as Bella and Mortimer a few years ago.

19. Do you have a YouTube for sims?

Unfortunately.

20. How has your “sim style” changed throughout your years of playing?

Not really. The only noticeable change is that I used to religiously make irl people that I knew as sims, including my crushes of course. Now, I don't ever do that besides my simself.

21. What’s your Origin ID?

DeathPoke1qa!

22. Who’s your favorite CC creator?

This is insanely difficult to answer. There are popular creators that I have a lot of cc from and there are small creators that scratch an extremely specific itch for me. So basically @pralinesims and @omgcoffinfit respectively.

23. How long have you had a simblr?

Since early 2019, I made it exclusively to post my custom content.

24. How do you edit your pictures?

Pirated photoshop.

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack do you want next?

Bands! Though, them releasing a grunge kit and a potential goth kit makes that feel more and more unlikely.

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack is your favorite so far?

Sims 3: Supernatural holds a special place in my heart that has yet to be replicated. I just love occults and vampires and any sim packs that revolve around it. Every time I go to make a family I'm like. "These guys are cute... but what if they were vampires, too?" Every. Time.

I’m tagging @pralinesims @omgcoffinfit @crazy-lazy-elder-sims @glammoose @eggysimblr @ethelgodehel and anyone else who wants to give this tag a try!

[getitfrenchship]

Hello, friends! Hope you're all doing well. In fact, I'd like to know what you're all up to so I can reconnect with friends again. What things are you watching/playing/doing now? Any new things in life you'd like to discuss?

Below the cut I'll say what I've been up to!

Just got back from my local con today and while I did spend a lot on game collecting + VA stuff, I'm glad I went. Thankfully I got paid Friday (though that means I'll have to wait to get paid again in 2 weeks) and my financial situation isn't dire. It's kinda like when you go to Disneyland and get caught up in the spectacle of things. Oh yeah, an IRL friend from high school helped me with a lot of the VA stuff since she had a VIP pass & could skip long lines. (On that note FUCK F//UNKO SCALPERS FOR HOGGING LINES AND MAKING ME WAIT 2 HOURS FOR ONE VA AAAAAAAAAA)

Thankfully, no insurance adjuster lady to drive me up the wall this past month at work. A few eh client encounters but overall it's been way more pleasant than it was a few months ago. ...Might still need to figure out vacation time just so I can take a longer break (and maybe find a government job if I'm able to find something so I have guaranteed holidays).

That being said, S//aimon's series is starting to see a spike of discourse and one of the servers I'm in keeps talking about it. It's making me feel bad as a result. Thankfully, none of the people in it are starting the discourse, but they tend to go "getaloadofthisguy" a lot. Along with usual self ship discourse that I see on my dash (that again thankfully neither friends nor I directly participate in), it kinda just drains me.

Seasonal anime I'm watching are Detergent (hopefully one of Shitsui's big scenes will happen next week; they took a break this week), Und//ead Mur//der Far//ce, Hel//ck (though I'm admittedly not really paying attention to this one), Happy Marriage, J J K season 2 (i am not ready for this arc AAAAAAAAA), and Z//om 100. When there isn't a seasonal anime for me to watch at work, there's Sai//ki K (I think watching Bla//ck Lag//oon kinda helped make me more bitter at work, but I'm feeling better now that I'm watching Sai//ki). Oh, I might check out OPLA since I hear it's an actual good adaptation. Aaaand F//ionna and C//ake too! God, I went "kindred spriits" with Simon's episode

Currently I'm playing Se//a of St//ars and I really like how it looks & plays so far! (Of course, I loved Chr//ono Trig//ger, so the gameplay feels right at home). I wooould continue Gh//ost Tri//ck, but I'm at a stealth section and like I expected, I'm looking up a lot of the puzzle solutions online instead of figuring it out for myself. Curse you, time limits!!! (And for Bom//b R//ush, I feel like I need to play with music, but I keep forgetting to bring my wired headphones. Bluetooth is for my phone mainly due to personal preference). I also watched the endings for OT2 and AUGH I LOVE THIS GAME SO MUCH!!!

Oh, a new manga I found called "Inv//isible Man & his soon to be bride" is cute so far.

someday i will find balam merch. somedaaaay

I might do a separate post showing my current ideas for S/I's/OCs, but hhhh I'm hesitant. Right now I just know for a P3 OC he takes inspiration from "The Stranger"

boy howdy i sure hope bluesky finally makes my account or i can get an invite because i really want tweetor to die. ...though i'd miss posting switch screenshots directly

[loreweaver-universe]

And that’s the episode.

Sympathetic Amity?  Amity/Luz friendship?  A fanbase that definitely went nuts with shipping because of this episode?  This one has it all!  I really liked that.  I already thought Amity was a good character, and having this additional nuance added to her was very welcome.  And the things it reveals about her character are such good details!  My favorite is the implication that she dyes her hair to fit in with the rest of her family.

I wonder how the twins will come into play in the future.  They’re definitely coming back--Amity fighting back against them is the obvious next step, and I’d be shocked if they hired Erica Lindbeck to say fifteen lines and then vanish--but how I don’t know.

That’ll be it for today--and this is the start of a VERY successful new step for me livebloggingwise!  Four days in a row is more consecutive liveblogging than I’ve managed in YEARS, and being able to approach this is bite-sized chunks is WONDERFUL for my anxiety.  I think I’m going to be quite successful going forward, and you can expect me to liveblog at noon EST every day for the foreseeable future.  (Except tomorrow, tomorrow’s a day off for deep-cleaning my room.)

Up next is going to be me working on my backlog of Patron Picks--I’m WAY behind, and I have some stuff from all the way back in October that I need to do.  The next liveblog we’re doing is the first half of Fooly Cooly’s final episode, so tune in for that tomorrow!  I’m also going to be starting today’s Final Fantasy XIV stream today in about twenty minutes, so tune in there if you want to watch me make my way through Heavensward!

As always, thank you for tuning in, and thank you to the 48 patrons on my Patreon who make it so I can pay my rent and bills!  I’ll see you next time!

IN OTHER NEWS:

I have an ongoing first playthrough of Final Fantasy XIV that I’ve been streaming on Twitch! If you’d like to tune in when I’m live, I stream it every Saturday at 1 PM EST, and I upload my stream VODs to my Youtube channel!  If you’d like to see that playlist, click here!

I recently completed my first playthrough of Hi-Fi Rush!  You can see the full playlist of those streams by clicking here!

I recently completed my first playthrough of the Dead Space remake!  You can see the full playlist of those streams by clicking here!

If you’d like to help me pay my rent, buy me some food, or help with my bills and medicine, please use my direct donation link!  If you’d like to support me per liveblog completed every month, please pledge to my Patreon!  If you’d like to support my streams or pick a game for me to stream, you can pledge to my stream Patreon too!

You should also go pledge to Gio’s Patreon, or his Sponsus–our Discord server maintenance tech and creator of Rubybot deserves far more than I can afford to pledge to him by myself.

If you’d like more of me and my content:

My Episode Lists master page, where you can find every show and liveblog I’ve done!

My Discord server, where you can come hang out with me and other fans, check out member liveblogs, and join community gaming guilds!

My Twitch channel, where I stream variety games every so often!

My Youtube channel, where you can check out past streams!

My ask blog, where you can send me questions and comments!

My Twitter, where I make announcements about liveblogs and streams!

My merch store, where you can get shirts, mugs, stickers, and more!

It’s your kindness and support that lets me do this stuff, and I wouldn’t be where I am without all of you to do it for.  Thank you all so much for your support, and for tuning in every episode!

OTHER PEOPLE YOU MAY ENJOY:

I may have been one of the earlier Steven Universe liveblogs, but a whole community of livebloggers has sprung up over the last six years!   I linked to a bunch individually for a few wrap-ups, but honestly, this end-slate is already eight billion miles long, so I’m just gonna link to my links page.  Click here if you want recommendations of other livebloggers, or other neat people, or webcomics and podcasts that I recommend.

[itsbebebrainrotting]

Fuck it, blocking the qadmin situation tag for my own mental health.

I feel really bad for all the admins who got mistreated and the fact that it happened in the first place does piss me the fuck off.

But I want things to get better. I hope they will get better. I trust that they will get better.

Quackity doesnt seem like a malicious guy, nor a dumb guy and hasnt throughout this whole thing so I have faith in him to be working on improvents the best he can (plus everything pierre said sounded really promising). The lack of communication sucks but i want to live in my potentially naive world where hes not communicating everything to every relevant party for good reason.

Hearing the dissenting opinion and seeing some people so sure quackity is handling this poorly is just stressing me out when i really just want to wait and see if the qsmp as a server lives or dies and use that to judge quackitys actions (and the server will not live if quackity never makes good changes cuz the union will sue him or some creators will probably be mad at him and stop playing (eg the french if pommes admin gets fired), as a reminder).

And yes, i will buy the egg merch because whether we know the money goes to paying the admins or not, quackity has implied very clearly that the qsmp needs money to keep functioning (especially since they need to pay their admins) and if it isnt clear i want the server to keep going because i like it and all the silly ccs and admins on it. Also, babies.

[deniisu-sims]

Get to Know Me - Sims Edition

Tagged by @puffkins2000 and several others!

What’s your favorite Sims death? Never thought very well about the death types but I'll go for Time Anomaly because the ghost actually looks kinda creepy!

Alpha CC or Maxis Match? MM clothing, semi-realistic Asian-made skins, ALPHA HAIR ONLY. Furniture is a mix, really, but I can't stand MM hair in TS3 AT ALL.

Do you cheat your sims weight? Not at all - if I want to change their weight, they'll go to the gym! Now, for other physical features (read: getting rid off EAxis cartoonishness) Edit in CAS is my best friend :P

Do you move objects? But of course?????? XD

Favorite Mod? The NRaas suite in general + Lazy Duchess ones, but if I need to choose JUST ONE I'll go with DebugEnabler just for the item spawn function and the shifting up/down walls without Decorator's Best Friend (which I like a lot too)

First Expansion/Game Pack/Stuff Pack? I... found this game in the seven seas so I got them all at the same time...

Do you pronounce live mode like aLIVE or LIVing? The former - never figured out people considered the "live" from "live mode" as a verb until NOW.

Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made? Melody Hills, the cute Black girl with natural hair I often put on my previews (she's the youthful one often with protective hairstyles). Minato Hawthorne (half-Japanese guy with glasses and blue eyes that often goes for my more... twinky stuff) and Lise Béranger (the one with the really pretty long curly hair) are close runner-ups.

Have you made a simself? Yeah, but I ended up not liking it (not a case of self-consciousness) and deleted her x_x

Which is your favorite EA hair color? Eeeeh the dark brown is useable I guess...

Favorite EA hair? NONE, I HATE THEM ALL

Favorite life stage? I readily admit that I'm part of the Millennial Party Simulator school of playing and 90% of my Sims are Young Adults.

Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay? I don't BUILD per se, all my lots are downloaded, some build tools are still a bit intimidating, but I rotate between (re-)decorating and playing.

Are you a CC creator? A converter, actually XD Quite balanced between objects and CAS.

Do you have any Simblr friends or a Sim Squad? I'm closer-ish with the Brazilian TS3 Simblr guys and EAxis 4t3 converters but to call it a squad is a tad too much! But I'm on friendly terms with the folks from the Creator's Cave server, yes.

Do you have any sims merch? / A Youtube for sims? Nope and I don't intend to.

How has your “Sims style” changed throughout your years of playing? I actually find very difficult to let go of my powerplaying and shift to a more roleplayer style :P THAT SAID, in my decorating I finally found a balance between bare and overcluttered!

Who’s your favorite CC creator? it's a secret to no one that @joojconverts and I have very similar styles and we often suggest and beta test stuff for each other, and @bellakenobi and I are friendly outside Simblr too, but to say I have a Favorite CC creator wouldn't do justice to my 28GB CC folder 8D

How long have you had Simblr? I actually wanted to make a simblr for TS2 first but it never went forward (at the time I only did some mailbox recolors that I never released), so it's older than I believe, but I started getting active in TS3 around 2017-2018 I believe?

How do you edit your pictures? I cut, resize and add text ONLY. I have no patience for extra editing.

What expansion/ gamepack is your favorite? Can't choose between Ambitions and Supernatural XD

I tag everyone!

[simlishpiadina]

sims get to know me tag !!

I got tagged ages ago by @druidberries and forgot to partecipate as the moron I am T___T

1. What’s your favourite sims death? Probably... vending machine? Even though death from being too embarassed is always a mood.

2. Alpha CC or Maxis Match? I’d say a MM leaning Maxis Mix? There’s some details that I like being a little more alpha-ish, like eyelashes.

3. Do you cheat when your sims gain weight? Nope! It never even crossed my mind T___T

4. Do you use move objects? I wouldn’t be able to do shit without it, let’s be real...

5. Favorite mod? I don’t really use a lot of mods tbh, but I’m really thankful for better in game lighting 

6. First expansion/game/stuff pack you got? I bought basegame together with Seasons and Cats & Dogs I think

7. Do you pronounce “live mode” like aLIVE or LIVing? LIVing, never even thought it might be the other option

8. Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made? ...probably Jaqueline, I love that girl so much ; ; 

9. Have you made a simself? Yes! I actually made my whole family, which is like... 6 people, a dog and 2 cats lol

10. What sim traits do you give yourself? I can’t remember which I actually gave my simself, but it’s probably... bookworm, good and cat lover? I’ll check in later though!

11. Which is your favorite EA hair color? Red, just like irl lol

12. Favorite EA hair? I quite like the version without veil of the loose hair from My Wedding Stories? There’s probably others that I like but I can’t think of them right now

13. Favorite life stage? YA because I’m a basic bitch lol 

14. Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay? Mostly builder and CAS, but I’m trying to get better at gameplay with my Mystery Legacy Challenge!

15. Are you a CC creator? No, I don’t have the talent... also the needed software don’t work on Ubuntu lol

16. Do you have any simblr friends/a sim squad? I do have simblr friends, thanks to @angelgnomesimblr who invited me into @cozyacres‘s Discord server!

17. What’s your favorite game? The Sims 2 has a special place in my heart, since it’s the first Sims game I played, but I love 4 as well ~

18. Do you have any sims merch? Nope :C

19. Do you have a YouTube for sims? No, my PC wouldn’t handle the game and screen capture stuff ; ; I’d like to stream though!

20. How has your “sim style” changed throughout your years of playing? I have had the game only for a little more than a year, so... I don’t know how much it has changed tbh ^^” It’s still pretty basic, but I feel like I’ve gotten better!

21. What’s your Origin ID? fransenpai lol I won’t give any explenation

22. Who’s your favorite CC creator? I have so many, and I’m afraid I’ll foget to name someone and I’ll feel bad T___T But if anyone wants suggestions hit me up!

23. How long have you had a simblr? I joined Simblr in January 2022, even though I’ve been lurking with my personal Tumblr for ages before that lol

24. How do you edit your pictures? I’m so so bad at editing, so what I do is I follow THIS tutorial on Photopea and that’s it lol I just lithgtly change or skip some steps, based on what I need.

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack is your favorite so far? Season is a must-have honestly. It’s so so basic, but it changes so much in your game. 

26. What expansion/game/stuff pack do you want next? Honestly I’d like them to make a better system for vacations, like hotels and so on. Also one of my favorite part of new packs is having new worlds, and I’d like for them to for once give us something different? : ) 

I don’t know who of you have done this already, but I’m tagging @angelgnomesimblr @salemssimblr @buttertrait @minimooberry @yoruqueenofnightsims and @deanthepuppy-but-sims

[ttakttakmedead]

Week 10 : Gaming Communities, Social Gaming, and Live Streaming

hi guys! this week we will dive into the vibrant world of gaming communities, the joys of social gaming, and the thrill of live streaming. whether you're a casual gamer, a competitive pro, or just love watching others play, there's something here for everyone. let's get started! 🚀

The Evolution of Games

Before the internet, smartphones, and cell phones became commonplace, and starting in the late 1970s, computer nerds at universities like MIT would sneak into the computer lab and learn how to do programming. Atari (founded by Nolan Bushnell) created the first basic video games, such as Pong, a table-tennis themed video game. (Teicholz, 2020) In addition to producing its own games, Atari founded a whole new industry centered around the "arcade," and soon, arcade games could be found in pubs, bowling alleys, and shopping centers all over the world. (Chikhani, 2024)

Game cartridges eventually replaced Nolan Bushnell and Atari game systems, after Nintendo, including Donkey Kong and Mario, was developed in Japan.

The advent of home consoles in the 1980s and 1990s, like Nintendo and Sega, brought gaming into living rooms worldwide. Suddenly, gaming was no longer confined to public spaces—it was an activity that could be enjoyed at home, alone, or with friends and family. This era saw the rise of iconic franchises such as Mario, Zelda, and Sonic, which have left an indelible mark on popular culture.

Gaming Communities: Where Friendships Level Up!

Gaming communities are the heart and soul of the gaming world. From massive online forums like Reddit, Steam, and Twitter to Discord servers, these spaces are where gamers connect, share tips, and enjoy their favorite games. Communities have an important role in bringing together people of all ages, nationalities, and cultural backgrounds, basically everyone all around the world! Games' virtual worlds erase barriers and offer easier ways for people to connect. (Games, 2023)

Social Gaming: Play Together, Stay Together

Gaming is no longer a solitary activity. Social gaming brings people together, no matter where they are in the world. Team up with friends to take on challenges and quests. It's not just about winning; it's about the journey together.

I think Stardew Valley is the right example for this!

Stardew Valley produced by Eric Barone, is basically a game where you're a young person who quits your boring corporate career to start afresh on your grandfather's run-down farm. As days blend into days and seasons into seasons, Stardew Valley overwhelms the players' stimulus-reward system with an endless stream of short-term quests. The objective is, in a sense, anything you want it to be. (Singal, 2016)

Back to the main point, there's no need to set up a server for multiplayer. Just invite your friends online through whatever platform you're on. When you're on the main menu, pick co-op to decide if you want to start a new farm or join your friend's farm. (Randell, 2021) Easy peasy right?

I co-op a farm with my cousins and since we live in different houses, we use discord to communicate! this is me btw hehe

Live Streaming: The New Frontier of Entertainment

Live streaming has revolutionized the way we consume gaming content. Platforms like Twitch, YouTube Gaming, and Facebook Gaming offer endless entertainment and a chance to interact with your favorite streamers and for streamers to connect with their audience.

This setup lets people connect directly, making everything feel real and personal. Thanks to the internet, anyone can watch or stream live stuff, no matter where they are. It breaks down borders and gives us a huge variety of things to check out. (Carter, 2024)

It also gives content creators a cool new way to make money from their content. They can earn cash through ads, sponsorships, selling merch live, or even virtual tip jars. Here's an example for you!

But hey, let’s talk about something important: gaming isn’t always sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes, they can get pretty messy. You know, all that toxic behavior and bullying? It’s like a dark cloud hanging over things. Competition, controversies, and the whole cloak of anonymity online can stir up some serious drama. We’ve got to make sure our gaming hangouts are safe and respectful places for everyone. That means standing up to toxicity and working together to build a positive vibe. After all, gaming should be about fun and connecting, not tearing each other down.

Gaming communities, social gaming, and live streaming have transformed gaming into a rich, social experience. So, get out there, join a community, play with friends, and maybe even start your own livestream! The world of gaming is more connected than ever, and it might be waiting for you.

that's all from me! as usual, meet you in my next blog? (о´∀`о) meanwhile, drop your favorite gaming communities or streamer recommendations, i would like to hear from you guys! thank you, xie xie, kamsahamida, arigato!

References:

Carter, T 2024, ‘What is live streaming & how does live streaming works?’, What is Live Streaming & How Does Live Streaming Works?, viewed 19 June, 2024, <https://www.zegocloud.com/blog/what-is-live-streaming>.

Chikhani, R 2024, ‘The history of gaming: An evolving community’, TechCrunch, viewed 19 June, 2024, <https://techcrunch.com/2015/10/31/the-history-of-gaming-an-evolving-community/>.

Games, B 2023, ‘Gaming communities: The rise and impact of gaming communities on the world of video games’, Medium, Medium, viewed 19 June, 2024, <https://bggames.medium.com/gaming-communities-the-rise-and-impact-of-gaming-communities-on-the-world-of-video-games-1fec152f649f>.

Laura May Randell, SH 2021, ‘How to play co-op - stardew valley guide’, IGN, viewed 19 June, 2024, <https://www.ign.com/wikis/stardew-valley/How_To_Play_Co-Op>.

Singal, J 2016, ‘How a first-time developer created Stardew Valley, 2016’s best game to date’, Vulture, Vulture, viewed 19 June, 2024, <https://www.vulture.com/2016/03/first-time-developer-made-stardew-valley.html>.

Teicholz, T 2020, ‘Playing with video gaming culture’, Forbes, Forbes Magazine, viewed 19 June, 2024, <https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomteicholz/2020/09/09/playing-with-video-gaming-culture/>.

[valictini]

I can’t help but find weird the way they ended the egg event.

If they had to let the actors go, why go through the trouble of having a lore explanation on why the eggs were asleep, then rescued by their caretakers, only to have every egg leave in a "admin says goodbye" way ?

Not that there’s anything wrong with that obviously, I’m glad admins had the opportunity to share their feelings about say their goodbyes out of character. But then why not have the eggs come back from the start and let everyone have their silly fun or even wrap their storylines with the time they had left ?

It’s all speculation obviously but I wonder if this is a lack of communication between the higher ups and the writers/actors behind the fed streams. Or if something happened last week that ended with all the remaining admins leaving (be it by their own will or a hierarchy decision, that I don’t want to speculate on).

Also didn’t big Q said in his first live about the situation that the QSMP wouldn’t continue if they weren’t able to pay everyone ? I guess you don’t have to worry about salary expenses when you fire everyone/everyone leaves.

Obviously I can't know what happened exactly.

My take would be this : they've been trying to figure out ways to pay the admins (merch etc) and held true to Quackity's statements that if the eggs couldn't be paid, he won't have them in the server anymore. I think their hope was that the merch sales would be promising and allow them to come back in a happy and grand way at some point.

Except they didn't realise that people would be unwilling to pay for merch without guarantee that it would help the admins, something that, in this context, they COULDNT 100% guarantee, because if sales werent good enough, they wouldnt bring back the eggs anyways, and people would feel scammed. (They still could have been transparent and maybe do a kick-starter with a clear goal. If the goal is reached, eggs are back. If not, people get merch and/or are reimbursed, idk, something to make the goal clear. )

So in the end, they really couldn't pay the egg admins. Still, the egg admins wanted to play and at least say good bye, so I think the last week or so was just that, technically volunteer work but it was for the sake of the remaining admins ending their characters' story as they wish.

The plot point with the Federation taking the unconscious eggs in their labs would be a way to "explain" in lore the fact that some of the eggs wouldn't ever wake up, even to say good bye. I think it was clumsy, especially since we know why these eggs couldn't say good bye (unwillingness of the studio to trust people who spoke up in public, admins being iced out etc)

To me, it's a way to explain stuff to the people that might take interest in the QSMP in the future, and need an answer as to where the eggs went without having to dig and discover the whole controversy. It is just another attempt at making themselves look better in the eyes of the less informed.

At least, this is what I speculate. Again, I'm convinced we will never know the full truth. I hope I'm wrong though.

[himedia]

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[mi6014emiliamcgee]

What briefs I am considering

When looking through the variety of different briefs offered on the D&AD New Blood Awards 2023 website (https://www.dandad.org/en/d-ad-new-blood-awards/) I was able to imagine using 3 of them so I noted them down before thinking about what I could potentially do for each of them.

Briefs I have taken interest in:

Duolingo - Demystify math They want to help motivate people to use their app Duolingo math to improve their maths skills. What I could do: - Describe math as a language that can be used universally no matter where you are in the world. - Point out various times in your day where math can be seen around us and how we use it unintentionally, it could also be shown in more humorous scenarios. 

Penguin - In search of merch Penguin wants to create new merchandise to appeal to a Gen Z audience. What I could do: - Create merchandise that would help with peoples online reading experience such as phone cases, headphones, phone stands, other products related to phones. - Relate the process of photo taking to the concept of storytelling e.g. you are the one depicting a story. The merch for this idea would be stuff that would help the process like selfie sticks and ring lights.

Heinz - Gaming - changing food They want to advertise their product as the top choice of food for gamers to use to recharge after gaming or while watching streamers. What I could do: - Make a silly advertising campaign where Heinz products invade your game/server. - Create parodies of existing videogame posters and covers to help draw in a gaming audience to discuss it. By adding humour it would help to reduce any annoyance it could cause. - A series of adverts that encourage gamers to take breaks and refuel so they can go back to gaming feeling more refreshed then before so they can play better. - Depicting various Heinz products as gamers and streamers and using a catchy slogan to help people remember it, this could also be viewed in a humorous light.

What I shall go forward with

Out of the 3 brief I had interest in I believe that there is a single one I would be most willing to go forward with and that is the Heinz one. I would choose this brief as it is the one I can relate more to the work I would want to do in the future and the ideas I managed to come up with were more varied and interesting to me. My next step is to work on my research around the topic and build up a good supply of reference and inspiration that would help improve my work.

Preferred ideas Out of the starting ideas I had I believe that some of them could have been combined together to make some ideas more expansive but my personal favourite is the parodies on existing videogame media. The parodies would help to give the company a more positive and funny image to gamers instead of a more negative one which they could get if they tried to be too preachy and out of touch. The subjects that would need to be chosen to parody would have to be something that most would recognise so looking at trends would be an important part of the research process as you wouldn't want to accidently pick something that no longer has relevancy. 

[literary-potato]

#my understanding is that few if any social media platforms DO turn a profit?#maybe im wrong tho

You’re sort of right Caveat emptor, I’m not an expert and I refuse to understand how finance works. I just grew up in Silicon Valley, eventually became techie scum and worked there, and now I work for a startup. So you know. I might be off on the finer points but I have the gist. Most startups -- whether they’re social media platforms or not -- don’t turn a profit initially. Even if they’re sound business models providing a good product that people use. That takes time. Until they are profitable, they rely mostly on VC investments to cover the cost of running servers, paying engineers, LaCroix, etc. But that is kind of expected to be a temporary state.

So once an app has been around for a while, they have essentially two options.

1) Make a profit. (This is what most of the big names that have survived do eventually. The FAANGs/MANGAs.)

2) Don’t?? And just... keep subsisting on wishful thinking and Silicon Valley dudebros hyping each other up? (see: Uber, Twitter)

Option 2 can actually work for a surprisingly long time if you have a hyped up product, you’re headed by someone who fits the tech founder mold (i.e. an awkward but driven white guy engineer), and The Economy is ripe for that kind of thing, but those are all big ifs. It’s kind of like a cartoon character running off the edge of a cliff and staying airborne: theoretically they do stay up, but it’s a very precarious situation because as soon as they look down (or someone with influence points out loudly enough that they should look down) they’re in trouble. With that in mind, I actually really don’t mind Tumblr being frank about the fact that it needs money. I’d rather it be open about that fact and come up with some kind of income stream that keeps it solvent (if not profitable) than play some kind of weird shell game with investors. Or make the money by mining all our data so companies can manipulate us better with ads, and then collect info about how we interact with the ads so they can learn more about us and continue the cycle ad infinitum. Them wanting to simply sell a good and/or service strikes me as a good thing.

Now that said, selling merch is a weird route to make money. Charging for an Ad Free premium option and showing ads to everyone else has some successful precedent (Spotify). Asking for donations has some successful precedent (AO3). Charging on a subscription basis has successful precedent (lots of apps). Selling merch really isn’t a typical money-making method for apps. For bands and podcasts, sure, but their costs are much smaller scale. Maintaining a platform that people use and upload content to is not cheap. 

TLDR: You’re not completely right that apps as a rule don’t turn a profit, but you are right in thinking they don’t always do so, and that trying to do so by selling merch is a very weird choice.

if tumblr is really truly in a position of relying on funds raised from the userbase to cover operating costs, i wish they would adopt the npr model and do like a pledge drive a couple times a year. i think people would be more tolerant of having the website beg them for money if they confined it to set windows of time