#but if you're going to take money from people for mods then you are expected to release & update them.

[vampireoccult]

controversial opinion but if you're making six figures a year minimum for sims custom content then it actually is your obligation to. y'know. give the people who pay your bills month to month the thing they are contractually owed. the fact that it's been a month for a certain mod and people have been billed for that month without getting what they paid for is fucking ridiculous.

[spitblaze]

Hello, Mr. Lev, sir! They added Octopath Traveler to GamePass, and I've been itching to play it after seeing how much it has enraptured you. Any advice or anything I should know going in?

Oh absolutely, lemme lay out some stuff:

Gameplay-wise, this game is very strategy-based and often grind-heavy. If you wanna slap some mods onto it to make the gameplay less tedious in terms of exp/jp gain, I would not blame you At All. If you're into that kinda stuff (like me) it's a LOT of fun utilizing strategy to take down beasts, but if you're not, I say there's no shame in watching a playthrough instead.

You will see people talking a lot of shit on this game. These are typically people who got their opinions from people who already do not like RPGs and went into a game mis-marketed by Square Enix, who is already well known for botching the marketing on everything they produce except Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. The game is a pretty consistent 7-8 out of 10, it's not the best thing they've ever made but it is not even CLOSE to the worst thing theyve put out and people get wayyy too mad about it for some reason.

Don't, like...go in expecting super deep inter-party interactions. You get plenty of them, like 3-4 per chapter after everyone's chapter 1 (in order to get them you need to have the specific character they wanna talk to in your party. After a major plot beat the move is usually to go to the tavern and swap people out until you see the party banter icon in the corner, but if you don't wanna do that they're all available on the octopath wiki). It's annoying that there's not more of them but for me what really makes my brain like to gnaw on it is that the characters are all strongly written but there's a *lot* of space left in the air to be filled in, and if you mesh with the characters and the storytelling you'll find that it's so easy to fill in the blanks yourself.

If you don't vibe with one, that's fine. Two is generally considered the better of the two for the technical improvements and more inter-party interaction, but there's no right answer in terms of which one is narratively better. It's alllllll subjective

btw invest in Therion early. hes good as a dodge tank and a magic user but the OT1 Thief movelist is actually kinda nuts. He doesn't have to be the one you start with but if you do I apologize in advance for the funny purple thief brainrot

Same with Tressa, parts of the Merchant movelist may seem underwhelming at first but once you get to the point where money is easy to come by and you have A Certain Secret Job, it's VERY hard to justify leaving her at home for tough fights.

also you should play Live A Live. its not quite right to call it OT a spiritual successor but it takes some strong cues from it. also the remake on switch is really good

That's all I can think of in this moment. I'm sure other people have their own stuff to add, and I don't think I can add anything else myself without getting overly biased so. ye, don't be discouraged by individuals saying it sucks, play octopath, if you like strategy-oriented turn-based games then there is a good chance you will like it i think!

[objuct]

I appreciate all your kind replies. I am definitely going to stick with this decision, the amount of stress and dread I've been getting from like just opening my patreon page daily is just not tenable.

I've unpublished the tiers, and at the end of the EA for this set, i'm gonna delete the tiers, so, no more subs. Feel free to unsub if you want, like, i'll be fine, I know I talk about it helping and it has but I'm not at risk of homelessness or literally starving to death, just life is very tight. The amount i made in that time was a huge boon to make up for the 26 days I did nothing but make free mods, and it was really appreciated. But I can't keep taking money for sims mods, the expectations being put on me by, while admittedly few voices compared to positive ones, is just very mentally taxing when you're someone in my position with my kinds of disabilities. There are people cut out for patreon and weathering those kinds of comments, but I am not one (and if you're seeing now why I'm basically unemployable, this is why. I am not mentally well, i don't do well with this kind of stress that would affect abled people not nearly as much)

I'll still be making content for the sims, but from here on out it's going to be treated like how I treat all of my other unmonetized modding ventures -- I am going to make stuff for MYSELF, and release it to you guys as an afterthought. That is the only way I can mod games in a healthy way. So it'll be likely more weird stuff like object heads, and less horse stuff since i'll just be using a lot of what you guys are making.

To everyone who has been really kind and really encouraging -- I really appreciate y'all. Keep making cute horses and CC, feel free to @objhorseccfinds with your work because I've been doing a CCfinds roundup every sunday on my patreon and I might keep doing that here on tumblr depending on how I feel.

[intimidating-fettuccine]

It's been awhile but happy pride month Intimiccini! Now for some good flork of cows from your favorite snack

Gummy Worm Anon

Slender: Eat your vegetables or the dinner shark will get you

Younger Toby: Stop trying to scare me I know that's not real! *Flips plate*

Slender:....

*Dinner shark bursts through the table grabbing Toby*

Slender: OH FUCK-

Ben: This is my desktop I have spent thousands on it

Ben: I tell people I spent thousands of dollars on it so I feel better about spending so much in the first place

Ben: If I could still die I'd expect you to hollow it out stuff me inside it and bury me that way

Ben: So that I may rot as the Pharaohs did

Ben: The druid wins the strength contest

Ben: You take 3d10 damage

Jeff holding cards:...

Jeff: go fish

Tim going through old photos: Hey Slender whose this picture of? *Holds up antique painting of Teen Slender in victorian gothic clothing*

Slender holding the photo: Oh that's me when I was younger!

Tim: Wow you must have been going through a rough phase

Slender holding the photo closer: *scoff*

Slender: It wasn't "just a phase"

Younger Slender: Oh thank god you're here Dad! There's a famine and we need to find the cause!

Slender's Father: I don't understand the poor

Slender's Father: Why don't they just give money to their butlers and have them fetch food? Why are they so helpless?

Younger Sender visibly shocked and appalled:....

Slender's Father: Hello no-homer I am Slender's Father

Slender's Father: Here's a mortgage go buy a car or a house or whatever your kind does with these

Ghost s/o: ....

Ghost s/o: The interest rate is 40%

Slender's Father visibly disgusted: When did the poor learn to read?

Y/N wrapping their legs around Toby: Okay baby you paid me that sweet 6$ we can do whatever you want

Toby: you ever play Minecraft?

Y/N: What?

Toby: Yea man I got all these sweet mods on my server. I even built a T-Rex, you wanna see?

Y/N: Shit yeah I wanna see

Happy pride month to you too!!! Also I love that you referred to yourself as my favorite snack, that made me chuckle.

Thank you again for all the quotes, I loved them as always, especially the ones with Slender’s father. Always a great way to start my morning :))))

[merrock]

HAPPY SEPTEMBER !

Can you believe that we've made it to the 'ber months already?! September is coming in strong, with a ton of little mini events, our Grill-Off, and Creek Fest! Under the cut, you will find a list of everything going on in town (feel free to interact with any of the events any way that you see fit!), plus some rule reminders and a few mod notes that are important to read. xx

ON THE CALENDAR !

SEPTEMBER 1 -- WORLD LETTER WRITING DAY: a fun day to write a letter to anyone you'd like... except we're letting you do it all month long, as a part of this recycled task.

SEPTEMBER 2 -- LABOR DAY: with schools and some businesses closed, it's the perfect opportunity to get out and enjoy a picnic with your family, or a fun day with your friends.

SEPTEMBER 3 -- FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL: the kids in elementary, junior and high school head back to school, as well as the professors and students at Merrock Community College!

SEPTEMBER 4 -- WILDLIFE DAY: come to the state park and jump in on a flora and fauna walk to get to know all of the wonderful wildlife around Merrock.

SEPTEMBER 6 -- FOOTBALL GAME: home!

SEPTEMBER 7 -- THE GREAT MERROCK GRILL-OFF: info here!

SEPTEMBER 12 -- VIDEO GAMES DAY: the Community Center has arranged for a fun day where everyone is invited to come out and play video games! Bring your own consoles & games.

SEPTEMBER 13 -- FOOTBALL GAME: away!

SEPTEMBER 17 -- COUNTRY MUSIC DAY: starting at 5PM at Tumbleweed, live country music will be taking the stage, perfect for you to bring your honey out for some boot, scoot 'n boogie.

SEPTEMBER 20 -- FOOTBALL GAME: away!

SEPTEMBER 21-28 -- CREEK FEST: info here!

SEPTEMBER 22 -- FIRST DAY OF FALL: get out and enjoy the fall air! or at least, hopefully, we're not still dealing with summer's heat, and can relish in the best season.

SEPTEMBER 25 -- LOBSTER DAY: head on down to Sandcastles to enjoy some delicious lobster dishes at a discount, or make your way over to the fish market to pick some up to cook at home!

SEPTEMBER 26 -- BINGO NIGHT: stop by the fire hall to play a couple of rounds of bingo, with all money raised going directly to the volunteer fire department.

SEPTEMBER 27 -- FOOTBALL GAME: home!

SEPTEMBER 29 -- COFFEE DAY: buy one, get one free on any and all coffee drinks that you could possibly one at Cobblestone! one day only, so don't miss out!

IMPORTANT STUFF !

I have updated our rules for the season! Please take a little time to read them over when you have the chance. Most everything has stayed the same, but there are a few little things that I wanted to talk about, to make sure we clarify expectations:

the waiting period between muses has been moved to two weeks. 99% of pick-ups were waiting this long anyway, and we think it makes sense as far as settling in first!

every other FC you pick up must be diverse. however, once you reach 3, you are no longer allowed to play more cis white muses than diverse muses. that means that if you play 2 white and 2 diverse, to pick up a 5th, they must be diverse. the goal is that half or more of your characters must be diverse.

for activity checks, I will be looking for bubbling every week instead of every other -- however, you are only interacting with one writer that week, we will give you a warning, instead of an automatic strike. this way, you have a chance to fix it for a whole week before you will be given a strike!

AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT !

Genuinely, from the bottom of our hearts: we love this group. But of course, there is always room for improvement, things that we can all do to keep dash a more fun, productive space for everyone. This month, we're asking everyone to be mindful about maintaining interactions / threads with everyone in the group. Avoid dropping threads that people might be relying on for activity -- for example, if you want to let something from the carnival go, hey, no one's going to mind that, it's older! But if you're dropping beach bash threads on day four of the beach bash, that's not so great. Be sure that you're keeping up with all of the threads you have. It's okay if you have heavy muse for something, as long as you are still working on other threads and not letting them fall behind. With the start of a new month, it's always a good time to get into new practices! Maybe make yourself a thread tracker, so you can keep track of what you owe, and things aren't left by the wayside, or just get into the habit of double, triple checking that you're replying to everything, and not just the most recent things that come up (older stuff gets buried). Whatever works for you. And it's also a good time to start new things! To reach out to writers that you haven't gotten the chance to write with yet, or maybe to reach out to those you are writing with and say hey, let's start something fresh! xx

A WORD FROM THE MOD !

for the time being, I will be leaving anonymous off. but our ask box is always open, and we hope that you trust us enough to speak to us off of anon if there are any issues or questions!

we have decided to move forward with the week of fun Halloween related things to do (Hallo-week, if you will), thanks to your feedback! it's going to be easier for us and also provide more things for you guys to do, but Vibrations will be open for partying, too. the Benefactor will be asking for ideas soon!

please don't forget about our interest check! you must like it before September 6th to keep your role(s) in the group!

aaand, we have new, shiny things! graphics! a new task! an old task! creek fest's announcement went up. enjoy it!

HAVE A GREAT SEPTEMBER !

[dezzytheantonioguy]

About Myself

Hey. My name is Dezzy Antonio. You can call me Dez or Des, whichever one you prefer. My pronouns are He/They. I'm into (somewhat) multiple fandoms that are listed further down below. I'm also an Autistic Pansexual dude.

Friend Codes:

Now, keep in mind that I'm not going to accept your friend code right away. It's either because my friend list is full, I'm busy af, or I'm just not interested in adding you.

- (Nintendo Switch Friend Code: 3639-7678-5864)

- (Mario Kart Tour ID: ||Although, I rarely play that game, so don't be surprise if I don't add you in the next decade or two.|| 1813 5622 5824)

- (Wii U Nintendo Network ID: JustDanceDezzy16 ||Well, since the online service on the Wii U is shut down and replaced by Pretendo, why even bother adding this ID 🙃. Unless you don't have a modded Wii U.||)

- (Pretendo Network ID: DezzytheAntonio ||Unless you have Pretendo installed on your modded Wii U, add this one instead of the NNID one. You have to create a separate account to use Pretendo.||)

- (Ubisoft Username: DesmondMyle2018 ||This is for people who want to play Multi-player with me on JD 2023/2024 Edition.||)

Games/Fandoms that I (usually) play:

- Mii Games (Wii Sports, Tomodachi Life, Wii Party, Wii Party U, Wii Play, etc.)

- Mario Games (Mario Kart, Mario Party, Super Smash Bros., etc.)

- Just Dance (All Games)

- Sonic Games (Sonic Unleashed, Sonic Forces, Sonic Generations, etc.)

- Animal Crossing (Though, I mostly play New Horizon because it was a huge hit around the time. I think we all know why.)

- Splatoon (I only played the first Splatoon, though. Mainly because of my modded Wii U. I want to play 2 and 3, but I don't have enough money to get them. I'm broke AF.)

- FNAF (Although I'm not in the fandom, I still play the games.)

- FNF (Specically towards the Sonic.EXE mods.)

My other social medias:

- YouTube Channel: DezzytheMaker

- Instagram: justadanceboy

- Deviantart: DezzyAntonio (I've abandoned that hellsite recently.)

- Twitch: dezzyantonio

Interesting stuff about myself:

- I draw art from time to time. If you want to use my art, then fine, I don't care. But PLEASE GIVE ME CREDIT AND DON'T STEAL IT! I DON'T TOLORATE ART THEFT SHIT! Also, I do take requests, but if I do request, be patient with me, alright?

- Now, yes, most of the art I post on here is from other inspirations. However, I would never plagiarize or steal some else's work for my benefit.

- I'm a busy man outside of social media. So, I'd I don't respond to you right away, I'm either inactive, busy as hell, or am not in the mood to talk. So, don't spam the same crappy bullshit and flooding my DMs with nonsense.

- I am a lore fanatic. Hence, the majority of the Miis have inspirational headcanons from other video game lore (mainly from Just Dance, though).

- I am a Linkin Park fan boy. Yeah, I'm not ashamed to admit that.

- If you're that nosey/snoopy about what I posted in the past, keep in mind that I was very immature and a little cringe. What did you expect? I was a teenager who didn't know any better.

- I'll admit that I am a bit sensitive at times, especially when it comes to having dark topics that are traumatic to me. So, if I do or say something that upsets or makes you uncomfortable in any way, just let me know, and I extremely apologize for that.

- The first Nintendo console that I played was the Nintendo DSi. After that, I played the Nintendo Wii, and the first game I played on there was Wii Sports (Yeah, I know, a shocker, huh?)

- I got a Nintendo Switch on Christmas Eve in 2017.

- I got my first (personal) Wii U console on Christmas in 2019.

- As of today, I got a Wii/Wii U and a Nintendo Switch.

- As it was obvious enough, I do have a modded Wii U, and I use Aroma Environment. You can thank my Wii U not wanting to read my Wii Party U disc for some reason. It still can't read it to this day, and I'm still trying to figure out why. Whatever, I have a modded Wii U now. Yay!

- If you've been in the Mii community long enough, I'm sure most of you heard about "Mii Olympics." Let me just say that I'm the one that came up with the fanmade title. Key word: FANMADE. Meaning that it's fanon and not real. I do have a Wiki dedicated to them. Just search up "Mii Olympics Wiki," and it should be the first result you'll see. All characters relevant to that game belong to me.

- Speaking of the Mii Olympics Miis, I don't have a problem with you hating on my custom CPUs or whatever, but DON'T do any horrific shit towards them. That means doing anything sexual, gross, or any illegal content towards them.

Alright. And that's pretty much it. Hope you guys have a good rest of your day and... Here's my Mii, lol. (DON'T YOU FRICKING DARE SAY MY MII LOOKS LIKE BO-JIA!)

[silicon-tmblr]

My poll's leaning towards finishing the CGs before I showcase Chapter 1, which kinda surprised me... I do want to deliver on that, but the practicality of it is pretty low to be honest. Don't get me wrong, I'm not upset or dropping the project or anything; it's just disheartening me a tiny tiny bit to think of how long it takes to. well. get things done haha. I'd say it's actually the opposite of losing interest and dropping the project; I'm so into it that I want things to go faster!

I'm the primary illustrator working on the CGs (my sibling Sebec started helping me with lineart recently, though I still do the sketches + colouring), but I'm also the writer and the one modding the game, which takes up my time as well. Lately in particular I've been distracted by my animation and fumbling with the game to get background references for the new CGs (I'm still not successful unfortunately).

So with that said... I'd like to try and open up development a little. If you're an artist confident enough in your skills and willing to join us in our Danganronpa-style shenaniganry, let me know! In particular, I could use more lineartists, but if you could imitate the CG colouring style that'd be a huge help! In the future I'd like to look into compensating people monetarily for their work, but... I'm not earning anything making this mod, and I don't plan to earn money directly from the mod either. If money comes up at some point, we can discuss our options then (most likely a flat commission?), but for now please don't expect anything!

...I'm not too sure I'll get any responses to this though haha but it was worth a shot

...And being something of a lone wolf I'm not sure I'll even end up accepting anyone into the team but. please don't let that discourage you if you wanna help out development! Although it probably will ahaha...

[a-student-out-of-time]

Honestly kinda disagree with you on a few points. The first is that just because you don't think the quality of work was acceptable doesn't mean it's a true blanket statement, because that stuff is subjective. The second is that even if the work is publicly available, it doesn't mean the creator has to do jack shit for the audience considering the work itself is completely free. This isn't a case of a genuine level of quality being expected for a product because nobody's spending money on SDRA2.

//If you're focusing very strictly on the money aspect, you're kinda missing my point. This isn't about money, this is about disrespecting your audience and derailing your own story.

//First of all, I've talked at length about why Chapter 3 is bad not just because it derails the twins' characters, but because it's objectively badly-written. It doesn't do anything to service the narrative, it doesn't advance the characters, it doesn't do anything but point and go "Hey, isn't Kanade wacko?"

//Say what you will about the quality on its own, but you can't seriously tell me that wasting 1/6th of your own plot on a completely irrelevant and self-indulgent side-story is a good idea. Especially when that side-story is the longest out of the entire game.

//Almost nothing in Chapter 3 is relevant to the ongoing plot about the Voids, and the bits that are can be learned later on. There was no real reason for things like Iroha being revealed as a Void to happen beyond dramatic irony, but when she doesn't even really do anything in service of the plot or grow as a character, I must ask what the point is.

//The only thing of note that happens is, as I said, Hibiki and Kanade's characters being derailed. Hibiki had a great arc in Chapter 2 and was one of the highlights of that chapter, but then she basically becomes a background extra in Chapter 3 who does nothing but cry and then die for a crime she had no conscious role in. Her death isn't tragic or poignant, it's cheap and emotionally manipulative.

//Kanade goes from a shy girl with a dark streak to a serial killer with a ridiculous body count not because it serves the story or has any bearing on the greater plot, but because LINUJ thought Korekiyo was cool and wanted to do his own spin on V3 Chapter 3. That's it. She turns out to be this manipulative murderer with a body count of over 60 people- which would make her one of the most prolific of all time- and none of it has any meaning.

//There were absolutely ways one could integrate the existing elements of Chapter 3 into the story, where maybe Kanade exposes Nikei as a Void like my friend Mod Poi has suggested. As it stands, however, it doesn't service the plot in any way. The characters barely even seen phased by it come Chapter 4.

//And thanks to wasting a chapter on the irrelevant, that means much of the room for exposition had to be shoved further and further down the line. This is why I think Chapter 6 became a mess of one infodump after another, because there was no room to put it anywhere else.

//The real kick in the teeth for me, however, is that in a character Q&A, LINUJ straight up confirmed that Hibiki- had she survived and gotten away from Kanade- would've eventually recovered from the trauma. If we want to take the creator at his word, this demolishes any notion that Hibiki wouldn't have been a good survivor.

//Kanade, meanwhile, has no qualities or interests beyond her obsession with her sister and just being smart. Without Hibiki, she would've offed herself.

//So essentially, one of them could've had an interesting arc had she survived and the other has no character beyond just being an evil obsessive freak. He deliberately chose to write them like this. And yes, the Q&A has some contradictions, like how he said Emma would've forgiven Kokoro in the afterlife, even though he said she wouldn't have in Emma's character sheet, but this just adds to my point.

//I'm not saying you can never be self-indulgent as a small creator or that you need a flowchart for your entire story. I'm just saying, if you've got a fangan or any story in mind, there are some things you really need to plan out and have nailed down ahead of time, otherwise it's going to end up cluttered, disorganized and full of plot threads that don't matter. Discovery writing doesn't really work when you have a story that needs a definitive outline and conclusion to work.

//Hell, I'm a small creator and my work is free, and I never want people to feel like I should never be criticized because of that. I admit I've made some bad writing choices in the past, but I'm trying to build off of that and make something better. It's a lot of discovery writing, sure, but there's just as much planning behind the scenes for the arcs I have in mind. The relevant points have been decided on ahead of time.

//As a creator, regardless of whether or not you're making money off of a project, if you make it publicly available, that doesn't make you immune to criticism. It also doesn't mean you're free to disrespect your audience and basically tell them they were stupid for ever wanting to get invested in the characters. Even if that's not the language used, it's what's implied with statements like "Oh yeah, she would've grown as a person if she survived."

//Yes, there is such a thing as fan entitlement, but that entitlement and basic criticism are not the same thing. Creators can be just as entitled and self-absorbed, and saying that any creator doesn't have to "do jack shit for the audience" just because it's free? No, you really do. You have to show them basic respect.

//I'm simply speaking as a creator myself and a fan, and on both levels, Chapter 3 fails hard for me. You can explain to me why it ended up the way it did, but that's not going to magically make anything about it better.

[murfeelee]

Jim Stephanie Sterling, "the Cassandra of video gaming" has long foretold that this was exactly the nosedive that gaming was going to take. This is in no small part thanks to Bethesda's infamous horse armor DLC, and EA's horrid live-service model. But it's also the fault of gamers--in this case simmers--themselves.

As much as y'all love to scream and holler about TS4 sucking and TS5 looking like a smellier and smellier heap of trash, you still give EA your money for half-a$$ed packs and 🤢 Kits 🤮, and worst of all: you've started charging each other for UGC/CC, paywalling what was supposed to have been free CC shared for the community, and cuing EA into a brand new way to rip us ALL off through Patreon's marketplace of "early access" exploits.

Due to this, TS5 will not be free to PLAY, but rather free to ENTER, as everything but the inevitably unfinished half-baked half-a$$ed basegame will be free, so that EA can MACROtransaction every bloody feature not required for the engine to actually work in the base world. Basically, EA's going with #8 on my Sims Poll #1, which ironically got the most votes out of the three possibilities for TS5 that I foresaw happening:

PC Gamer's recent article pointed directly to the most disheartening part of EA's job posting, as the very first bullet wasn't about developing the TS5 as a GAME, but as a MARKETPLACE--specifically one for paywalled UGC/CC--SIMMERS making paywalled content FOR THEM in an ominously monitored "player purchase journey" and "player spending patterns."

Two of the role's primary responsibilities were listed as "Own Project Rene's in-game marketplace of content and UGC (free and paid)" and also "Own pricing of all content in this free-to-enter game." EA is expecting some "ugc" (user-generated content) to be paid for, meaning they are likely planning to let modders and CC creators sell creations to others and take a cut of profit.

EA saw how much money TS4 simmers are making on Patreon with "early" access CC and Patreon exclusives (BOTH of which y'all are STILL flouting the rules of, as I could point to HUNDREDS of Patreons that have YET to release CC that's been stuck in "early" access for YEARS without being published, but hey, if y'all like being scammed that's on y'all). Simmers sold the soul of The Sims for decorative clutter and generic hairs and jeans, and now the Devil's come to collect--EA 👏 WANTS 👏 THEIR 👏 CUT 👏. They're gonna make SIMMERS their factory workers; no unionization, NOTHING. So while you're churning out custom content, EA will happily make money off of YOU as you make money off of US.

It made me sick to my stomach seeing how many "simmers" were having conniptions when EA (finally) came after (perma)paywalled Patreons, threatening to stop "playing" TS4 just cuz they couldn't monetize CC/UGC. Like...their priorities were clear. It's one thing to be a strictly CC-creator who doesn't play the game (*cough* half of the SimGurus *cough*), and just makes content--mods, CAS, lots, clutter, patterns (I would say worlds, but it's 2023 and EA still hasn't given TS4 a CAW tool 🤡). It's another thing when shysters come into the community for the SOLE reason to MAKE MONEY off of simmers, then gaslight people into thinking they're the victims that "SHOULD" be monetarily compensated for VOLUNTARILY making CC; when they're the ones who ruined the community by holding CC hostage in the first place!

The deleted job listing's reference to an in-game marketplace that includes free and paid content created by other players is an expected leap too. The Sims series has a long history of custom content and a dicey relationship between modders seeking compensation and the game's Terms of Service. That grey area of paid modding lives largely on Patreon right now where EA doesn't have reliable oversight and doesn't get a cut. I can't imagine EA cracking down on modding at large, but there's no doubt [EA] sees the appeal in enticing creators onto an in-game platform where it can impose moderation and fees for the convenience.

When it comes to the release schedules and pricing of UGC/CC, I have hated Patreon's lack of moderation and EA's lack of regulation since Day One. There is no uniformity to the quality or quantity of CC that simmers charge for, or set pricing for the monthly subscription tiers people can set on Patreon--some charge $1, $3, $5 per month (That's $60 per year--what full-fledged AAA game are ANY of y'all out here developing to charge that much money?!), but some of y'all jokers have monthly $10, $20, $50, $100 tiers and I'm like for WHAT?! That's ADOBE prices! And half of y'all pirate Photoshop! I wouldn't pay $1200 per year for REAL furniture and clothes, let alone PIXELS. 🤦 So EA actually does NEED to create an actual moderated and regulated landscape for paywalled UGC/CC, cuz this snowball has LONG since gotten out of hand. But of course it'll probably be a hot mess like everything else EA touches, so they'll probably screw it up and let a djinn out of the bottle they can't put back in.

And WTF is THIS???

MOBILE. 💀

Pack it up, folks!

"player purchase journey"

"OPTIMIZING PLAYER SPENDING PATTERNS"

oh girls, it's worse than we thought. the bar could not GET lower.

[cleverri]

Hello hello!!! I'm happy to know that you're accepting requests for The Bad Guys now!! I hope you enjoyed watching the movie, mods! ^^

May I please have some HCs about how Mr. Snake and Mr. Piranha would be as S/Os? 👉👈

Mr. Snake and Mr. Piranha S/O Headcanons

Characters; Mr. Snake and Mr. Piranha

Warnings; A few cuss words 

-MOD Clever-

—

Mr. Snake

- Very distrusting towards many people. He has trust issues, this is to be expected. So, all in all, there definitely needs to be some patience with him, time to just get used to the presence of his future S/O, as well as time to get used to even being in a relationship.

- Snarky. Absolute smartass. He's going to be mean to his future S/O, which could be why it takes a while for the relationship to actually start. Could it be his trust issues acting up? Maybe- But still, like I said, patience.

- Insecure. His S/O will have to remind him every now and then that he is lived, and cared for. Do that, and eventually, he'll do the same back to them. He knows he's a bad guy, and how that can utterly just mess up someone's reputation. Yet again, just let it be known that he's loved, and that it doesn't matter.

- His love language is Quality Time. He doesn't like affection that much, he's not good with his words- Especially in a romantic sense, he doesn't know how to make gifts, nor has the money for it- I will say Acts of Service may be his second love language. But Quality Time is the main one.

- He tries to be a good, "house-husband," HE'S TRYING. But let me just admit it, he's just not used to doing anything romantic at all. Cooking? Nah. Setting up dates? Nope. He is trying, and sure, you can give him credit for that, but at some point his S/O will have to step in and just help him.

- 👏CELEBRATE 👏 THIS👏 MAN'S 👏BIRTHDAY.👏

He may seem like he hates it, but it's due to his past, like- Him actually gets presents and gets attention from someone important to him on his birthday- He'll look grumpy, but you'll be able to see how happy he really is.

- He doesn't like remembering his age, but whenever he sits down with his S/O and listens to music that he used to hear out on the street when he was younger just… does something to him, you know? He just had a little happy aura around him when being able to relax.

- This dude has a lot of self-loathing, at some points he's going to be… Dissatisfied from the ones he cares about. I said it before, this relationship is going to acquire patience. But it's worth it in the end. Trust me, he loves his S/O just as much as his S/O loves him.

~~~

Mr. Piranha

- We all know how dangerous, and crazy this dude is, right? He loves danger, he loves adrenaline. If you can’t keep up with his daily life, then you might need to choose another lover.

- Clingy. Very clingy. Does it tend to be a bit of a problem at times? … Okay, maybe, but that’s just how he shows affection. But I wouldn’t say his top love language is Physical Touch, it’s a close second. 

- I think his love language would actually be Gifts. He doesn’t care how much it costs, if he notices his S/O wants something, either it be as simple as a little treat, or as big as a million dollar necklace- He’s going to steal it for them.

- Little bit of anger problems. It’s not like, sudden outbursts and and he’s just suddenly yelling insults towards someone. He has the most anger problems out of the gang, but it’s not horrible to deal with. If his S/O can deal with his hectic, chaotic moments, they should be able to deal with his little bursts of anger.

- Amazing chef. Definitely the best one out of the gang, but that's not to sell him short. He'd probably always will be cooking stuff for his S/O, as well as the gangs- But for some nights, either if his S/O seems to need mood-lifter, or if it's a date night- He'll plan a whole entire dinner with appetizer, meal, drinks, desserts- He's just a good chef okay.

- Tends to forget stuff, which causes him to be nervous. And of course, we all know what happens when he's nervous. Even if he expects his S/O to deal with it like his friends, he still feels gross for doing so.

- Does flirt in Spanish, there is no doubt about that. 

"Podría perderme en tus ojos." This and, "¿Te dolió cuando caíste del cielo?" And also- "Tantas curvas y yo sin frenos." He'd absolutely love teaching his S/O Spanish as well, just so they can understand how much he loves them.

- Will sing lullabies for his S/O. No, I am being serious. We all should know how much he likes to sing- (Hell, he's the only one who does actually get his own song within the movie-) He'd love singing for his S/O, with an absolute gentle voice- He just likes singing.

[celestriakle]

Hi! I found your at from a zine modding advice compilation doc. I am planning to make a zine, but I have no experience modding. I was wondering if I could get your advice on how to make realistic/fulfillable plans as a newbie?

Hi there! I'm in a zine mod advice doc? 0: I had no idea, could you send me a link? I'm curious!

So, I ran my zine solo and it was my first time running any sort of project like this. It was saddlestitched 30-40 pages (I don't remember exactly; this was several years ago) and we did merch: an enamel pin, a sticker sheet, a die-cut sticker, and two holographic prints. In the end, we made enough money to cover our costs and pay out $6 (approximately) to each contributor, but did not raise enough money to offer complimentary copies of the physical zine/merch. I was aiming to have enough for complimentary copies, which is why I'd call the project a semi-success.

This got long! But here's pretty much all the advice I got:

Know your audience. Is it a fandom zine? How big is the fandom? Original content zines will struggle more to gain interest. How big is YOUR platform, specifically? As lead, the onus is on you to get the word out at the start to attract contributors and potential buyers. Try to gauge how many copies you might sell from this. Lean conservative on your estimate and base your plan on that. (This is where interest checks come in!)

Pick your vendors. Familiarize yourself with the terminology they use. Compare and contrast prices and services using the sales estimate you devised in the last step. How long does shipping take? What is the policy if products come out defective? There are always going to be some defective products when producing en masse. Check reviews. Have you bought zines yourself? Contact the creators of zines you like and ask them which vendors they're using for their assorted products. (I had a great experience with mixam.) Don't forget to look into acquiring packaging and shipping costs (domestic and international)!

Decide how you're going to sell the zine. Kickstarter's great if you're using a vendor that has a set MOQ (minimum order quantity) or if you want to guarantee to be able to provide a certain level of compensation for your contributors, but it also takes a fee and means that, if you don't get enough orders, you have to start the campaign all over again. Bigcartel has more flexibility in terms of sales windows and such, but it's difficult to customize like kickstarter. Also, if you're using bigcartel and don't sell enough, you're on the hook for either refunding or fulfilling all the preorders you do get. You'll also need a stripe and paypal business account.

Make a budget. So you have an estimate of how many you think you'll sell. You know how much your vendors cost. You've accounted for your incidentals (kickstarter fee, packaging, gas to get to the post office, etc). Refer to other zines for what typical prices for your products are and set your prices based on that. (Analyzing what other zines are doing is generally a good idea.) What's the absolute minimum number of sales you need to cover costs? (Fewer orders usually increases production cost.) How many sales do you need to make to compensate your contributors? What will you do if there's excess money? What if it's not enough to split it among your contributors evenly? ($40 is a lot for one person, but it's basically nothing split 30 ways.) Are you going to make stretch goals?

Make a timeline. Interest check, contributor apps, concept submissions (you'll want to know what people are doing before they start working), periodic WIP checks to make sure everyone's on task (there will always be a few people who need to drop out), preorder period, manufacture time, shipping timeline. People will want to know what to expect, especially contributors. Ensure the contributors have plenty of time to work, since, chances are, they're effectively donating their time and effort. Keep in mind major holidays and school schedules; people will need more time if those are happening. Give yourself plenty of pillow space for unforseen issues, so you can stick to this timeline as much as possible throughout the process.

Have the full plan written out for your contributors before they arrive. Be clear and concise. Timeline, expectations in terms of content and behavior, instructions, how you're going to fulfill the zine, expected compensation. Not everyone knows how to prepare an image for print, so include that in your instructions. You're gonna want a discord for this. I also used google forms to manage check-ins and other such things.

Be involved, and COMMUNICATE. Talk to your contributors outside of check-ins. You're their hypeman! Hype them up! Make sure your passion's there for all to see! Nothing, and I mean nothing, kills a project faster than a disinterested/aloof leader. You'll also want to communicate any issues to contributors and buyers asap. It's not embarrassing; people will be patient (mostly) as long as they have communication. Silence is upsetting.

Consider marketing. I've written this as if you're going solo, but these next few bullets is why people usually run zines as a team. Once the contributor team is assembled, that's when you need to hit the bricks. There's a lot of waiting time and you need to gain a potential audience and keep them interested. Marketing is a weak point of mine, so I don't have much advice, but it's critical for the success of a zine. Contributors can advertise a little, but the bulk of that's on you. You'll want an account dedicated to the zine, I can say that much.

Is graphic design your passion? Even if a contributor is designing the cover, what will be on the inner page? The back cover? Do you have any writers contributing fic? That will need formatting. (Do you know how many words fit on a page? It's different depending on the size of the book.) You'll need to make some sort of credits page, or will you put credit information on the same page as each contribution? Quality graphic design can make or break marketing attempts.

Double check your contributors' work. There are going to make mistakes. Most people aren't used to preparing things for print. Having room for bleed (edges of an image that may be cut off during the printing process, or hidden when bound into a book) was a particular issue in my zine. Even if all this is written in your instructions, you'll get files with not enough bleed room, or in RBG (files must be in CMYK for print), or in too low a resolution (300 dpi minimum). Any issues need to be caught, corrected, and all the files compiled for submission to the printer.

Don't forget postage. I mentioned this briefly earlier, but don't forget to account for packaging and shipping in your budget and time. Things like pins can make a slim package too thick and change the postage class. You'll need room in your house to hold the product. You'll want to pack things to ensure nothing's dented or bent. I highly recommend against having a shipping mod, unless it's someone you know and trust very much. I've seen too many projects fall apart because a shipping mod ghosted or stole all the materials or similar issues.

Have a backup plan. What will you do if you only get five people wanting to be contributors? What if you don't sell enough to cover your costs? What if you get bad product? What if you don't hit the MOQ of your chosen vendor, or if they announce a spontaneous price change before you get your order in? Have answers!

Be confident. If you're not used to leadership, it can be weird to have everyone looking to you, but if you've prepared, then there's no reason to be nervous. The people you work with will respond to your energy, so put out those good vibes.

I enjoyed making my zine very much, but also, it was still very much work! I discovered I hate marketing and graphic design, and love the technical bits of arranging the vendors and budgeting and handling the materials. I probably wouldn't go solo again, but I'm glad I did it at least once because it taught me the ins and outs of every aspect. A lot of people, for their first zine, do digital only because, needless to say, physical product is complicated!

If you made it this far, congratulations. xD It felt nice laying out everything I learned; I hope it's just as useful for you to read.

Feel free to ask if you have any further questions!

[yooniesim]

I think people need to remember that two things can be true. A creator can be a student putting themselves through school, a disabled person paying off medical bills, or a single mom putting food on the table. None of that changes the fact that if they're making big bucks off their creations, they run a business, and if they're popular, they have a brand.

Capitalism encourages us to monetize everything we do, covid forced people to choose work-from-home options, and some people aren't in a position to pursue traditional paths of income. None of that changes the fact that ethical waters get muddier when you start making good money off what started as a hobby.

How many YouTubers do we know of who started by making goofy lets play vids for their friends and wound up buying houses and cars with that income years down the road? I'd hazard a guess that many were surprised when, as their fame increased, they became the subject of scrutiny. Sometimes our actions have unintended consequences.

People need to make money to live. Money often corrupts our sense of what's ethical or not. Mods and CC take time and effort and skill. Some put more effort into that work than others. Creators can and often do take advantage of consumers. Creators deserve support for their endeavors. Saying one of these things doesn't make the rest untrue.

Whether people like it or not, modding the Sims is an industry now. If it's your job, then you run a small business (or a big business in some cases), and if you run a business, then you have a brand, and if you have a brand then you're going to face criticism for what you put out. Monetizing hobbies has its benefits - money, stability, recognition - and it's drawbacks - criticism, expectations, pressure. That's just the reality of it (and why I recommend people don't do it unless they're forced by circumstance).

This is perfect, thank you! I completely agree.

I think the youtuber analogy is really fitting, too. A lot of how people act on simblr remind me of fans of creators on YouTube. Some see them as friends, true or not, and some see them as content creators only. Your perspective is going to affect how you react to criticism of them. But when money enters the conversation it always gets more complicated.

Thank you for sharing!

[cryptidhyrst]

Full disclosure: haven't run or created a zine (it is a future project endeavor), but I have seen enough zines either crash or burn or have blunders that made me lose interest in supporting them.

Like olderthannetfic said: put someone competent + trustworthy in charge of your zine's finances. I've seen enough horror stories of zine mods discovering that the person in charge of finances for their zine was giving them doctored bank statements or had stolen all of the zine finances to spend it on gacha pulls. I'm not the biggest fan of having a finance mod (I believe if you're creating or running a zine, then you should know how to handle finances; if not well it's never too late to learn).

PR. So you're creating a zine? Great! Zines have largely transformed from the "doing this in my living room/basement with printer paper and staplers" projects. Don't get me wrong, they're still around, but with zines increasingly becoming high-production projects, with lots of contributors, extra bonus merch, and bundled tiers among other things. Zines (modern ones) have become akin to something like a pop-up business. Quite frankly, if you're running a zine that is, at any point, exchanging money for goods then it is and should be run just like any other business. And with a business (or any fandom-ish project that requires a level of professionalism and marketing) learning PR skills will save you from massive headaches down the road (how to craft a rejection/acceptance email, how to make statements when something major to the zine happens, etc.). Or at least drawing the ire of the internet and ridicule when neither the rejected contributor or other folks can parse your poorly crafted and worded rejection email (if it takes me multiple times to read it and I still can't get it, it's an issue).

Interpersonal conflict. You might run into this, you might not. But working with contributors for a zine is like being thrown back into the days of working on group projects in high school (or college). People, who might not even like each other, have/had beef in the past with one another, are going to work together. Like I've stated, zines at this point are a professional project. I would expect contributors to at least be able to work and coexist in a discord server with one another and just work on their respective pieces. Inform contributors that all personal disagreements with one another should be left at the door (have mods step in where necessary to squash it if it isn't being squashed).

Learn indesign. I can't stress this point enough, but most zines are made in Adobe Indesign (or Affinity Publisher). If you know one you'll know the other. They're not difficult programs to learn and learning how to create a zine in Indesign is a useful skill to learn and gives your project a professional look. It's also a much better alternative than slapping your zine together in a google doc, with a solid pastel background, and very little formatting, and sending it to your contributors in a hyperlink and a self-congratulatory statement of "wow this zine came out amazing, guys!" (seeing that zine with my own eyes still haunts me to this day). Learn how to make Master Pages! I used them for every single project I've ever made in Indesign and quite frankly it cuts down on time and having to fiddle with the design of every single page. If you plan on having more than an A-master, I would highly suggest color-coordinating them!

Rapid fire tips: Have a carrd with all of your zines information (FAQ, zine timeline, that sort of thing). Having a bunch of info in one place is really helpful for potential contributors and buyers.

Here's a google doc that I've had in my bookmarks for forever that gives a very detailed rundown on creating your own zine, potential materials you might need, and far more information than I could ever cover.

Beyond that, my final tip is to have fun! This is, after all, a passion project you're finally getting to see form and come to fruition.

Sneak edit: because I knew I forgot something! But bank accounts (Paypal needs to be connected to one, or stripe or whatever) can have authorized users added to them. I'd highly recommend creating a separate/joint or even a business bank account when it comes to zine finances.

Some friends and I are thinking of making a fandom zine, and donating the proceeds to a charity (like many before us). I was wondering if you or any of your followers have any ideas/suggestions/guides for first-time zine makers?

(We're still in the early brainstorming and planning stages, if that makes a difference)

--

Put someone competent in charge of the money.

[yourlocalshinguji]

hi! can you do nagito and byakuya (separately) with a transmasc reader who is/was being bullied? (like comfort?) :D

Byakuya and Nagito with a bullied transmasc S/O

Even though I'm trans myself, I wasn't quite sure about what transmasc exactly meant at first so I had to look it up. I used male pronouns and words to refer to the reader, I hope that's okay. (I hope I didn't fuck up somehow).

Trigger warning for mentioned (verbal) bullying.

The reader uses he/him pronouns.

—Mod Korekiyo.

—Even though it doesn't seem like it, Byakuya does actually care if something were to happen to a beloved one. He doesn't openly show it, but he does care.

—If you told him you were trans after dating him for a while, he didn't make a big deal about it. He just asked what your name was and never misgendered you again, not a single time.

—"Ah, so that was it. All right then, tell me your name."

—He has more than enough money to buy you all the clothes that make you feel comfortable, a binder and even pay for a surgery if that's what you wish. Sometimes he doesn't even ask, you just see him coming home with a bunch of new clothes and casually says "This? This is all for you."

—Feel grateful because he'd never do such a thing for someone else.

—Usually, it's enough for him to correct anyone who used your wrong pronouns or name: he makes himself sound as serious as posible, warning them not to do it again. Enough to intimidate anyone and always works.

—But when he actually saw other people making fun of you, with no intentions at all to stop and misgendering you on purpose, he felt a sudden rage that took him way too much effort to control. He stepped in, grabbing one of them by the collar of their jacket and asked them to repeat themselves if they had the guts.

—Of course, thu didn't say anything, too scared to open their mouth again. If looks could kill, your boyfriend's eyes would've slaughtered them all right there.

—"I don't want to see any of you getting close to him ever again, you hear me? You're just worthless trash that don't deserve to breathe the same air as us. And as such, now go run away and act like the coward clowns you are before I change I mind."

—"Pathetic human waste, treating my boyfriend like that... I hope they take their last breath soon" he says once they are gone, and then looks at you. "Hey. Don't listen to whatever those brats say, okay? It isn't worth it. You don't deserve to be bothered by such idiots."

—Byakuya decided to spend some time with you in an attempt to make you feel better as much as he could. He asked you if they had physically hurted you and checked you just in case, if they had stolen something from you and if it was the first time. He needed to know everything.

—If that had been happening for a while, he got even more angry than before. How didn't he realize sooner? He felt useless, but instead of focusing on himself, he looked you in the eyes. "I won't allow them to touch you or say a word to you ever again, okay? I promise, no, I swear for the name of my family."

—He wasn't quite sure of where to go to spend time to make you feel better, so he left that choice to you. Wherever you want to go and whatever you want to do, he nods just before firmly taking your hand and go.

—He buys lots of things he knows you'll like and will even take you to eat something in your favorite restaurant or home if you prefer so.

—If you, however, ask to just go home and cuddle, he blushes for a few seconds, surprised. That was the last thing he was expecting.

—It's his boyfriend's wish so he doesn't refuse. He's kind of stiff at first but will relax a bit more as time passes. He might even start playing with your hair if it helps you feel more calm.

—Constantly checks how you're feeling and makes sure you've got everything you need.

—Not pretty good at comforting words, but he does try since it's for you.

—"Hey... I love you, got it? I'll never let something like that happen to you again. You're safe with me."

—Nagito loves and adores everything about you and he will always let you know. Expect a lot of compliments and praises in your relationship.

—He's also very supportive. The moment you come out as trans to him, he's surprised you trusted someone like him enough and thanks you for telling him and being so brave.

—He doesn't forgive himself if he ever misgenders you by accident and it takes him a lot to stop apologizing. After a few times, he does get your pronouns correctly and situations like that never happen again between you two.

—He couldn't believe his ears when he heard some... hurting comments towards you for the first time. He really couldn't process that information: how could anyone treat someone as perfect as you like that?

—"I'm... sorry for you to have to listen to what someone as worthless as me has to say, but for your own sake... I hope you didn't mean those words."

—That didn't scare them enough to back off, and instead they decided to challenge Komaeda. They didn't stop.

—That's where Nagito's limit was. His voice tone suddenly changed, and a look at his eyes was enough to tell he wasn't going to tolerate that anymore.

—"I said stop" he slowly spoke, without any doubt or fear in his voice. "I know I just remarked how worthless I am, but... I never expected to meet someone who doesn't even deserve to be called trash. You're way below that. Now, get going with whatever you waste of pace were doing before I actually lose my nerve. Got it?"

—"Oh, and before that... Don't you think my boyfriend deserves an apology, at least? You weren't certainly being nice to him, weren't you?"

—That was probably the first time he actually looked at someone as if they were worse than him, the first time he was disappointed and mad in a way he couldn't describe.

—"I'm so sorry you had to go through that, my hope..."

—He will praise you even more than usual, making sure to contradict everything they had said to you. He can't stand seeing the only hope he has in his life feeling such despair because of some stupid scum.

—He also feels like it was all his fault, his bad luck, so he apologizes as well for not being there for you before.

—"Let's put a smile on that face of yours, shall we? I won't allow you to believe anything they said."

—Lots and lots of cuddles when you guys are finally alone. He's hesitant as first since he thinks he doesn't deserve to hold or being held by someone as perfect as you, but finally does it as long as it makes you feel better.

—Since that day, he tries to be by your side more often. Not like a stalker or something similar. He just wants to be able to protect your hope at all cost if they decided to bother you again.

—He wasn't going to let that happen no matter what. And it certainly didn't. You never saw them again.

[kaidans-alenko]

🔥 👀

It's ridiculous how Kaidan stans are just kinda supposed to just grin and bare any mistreatment he gets from bioware and the fandom because anything else we're over reacting or dramatic.

Like bioware misspells Kaidan's name wrong at every turn and pretty much alienated every fan of either Kaidan or Ashley and it was funny joke on N7 day. Ya know a day for mass effect fans to get together and celebrate our favorite game and by extension favorite characters. That N7 day.

I'm sorry, Garrus and Liara get even the slightest criticism from anybody and you're getting hate in your inbox from 5 different anons expecting an apology for shit they do on the daily.

Like if you're gonna dish it you gotta be able to take it hunty I'm sorry. Garrus ain't the second coming of christ....Kaidan is skdjdjs(no I'm joking...well actually 🤔)

The vs cannot catch a break 😔

*Kaidan and Ashley accuse you of cheating in me3* fandom response: OH MY GOD HOW UNREASONABLE I WAS DEAD HORIZON WAS A BREAK UP WAHHHH HERE'S A MOD TO FIX IT(which...the mod was Kaidan specific might I add 😒)

*Liara accuses Shepard of the same thing in me2* Fandom response: I'm sorry blue alien wifu I'll dump them I promise 🥺"

Or the ninjamance thing when it's Kaidan its an issue when it's Liara it's sure whatever she's cute.

And like I'm sorry I'm supposed to shell out money for a hoodie with his name spelled wrong on it because otherwise I'm entitled because "at least he gets merch"?

Like any other character it wouldn't even be an issue, like that mistake just wouldn't happen but if it did this supposed "underpaid intern" would be let go because it lost them money people would've spent on a hoodie :/ and it'd be justified on their part because you expect a certain level of quality control :// funny how that works huh? :///

Like I get it, he does seemed to be the more favored human squad mate seeing as how he does get considered for merch and blasy blah but that doesn't matter when the merch and flimsy and cheap and his name is spelled wrong in a million different ways.

[britishsass]

You know I’m a sucker for Lobotdos, can we get a story about her and the rest of the Aperture crew going shopping for new clothes??

Oh, of course, Cecil. I'd be happy to ^_^

Everyone else who's looking: This is Valvonauts post-story, the characters are from Portal and from the mod Portal Stories: Mel, and the ships are platonic or qpps.

Doug looked more uncomfortable by the day, and the clothes he was stuck wearing thanks to no one else having even close to his size didn't help. Where the clothes fit Barney perfectly, they looked terrible on Doug and his lanky, malnourished frame. Lobotdos had been much luckier with Helen's outfits, and Mel had been fine with the tracksuits from Alyx, but Doug and Aegis had barely anywhere they could look for clothing in the Motherlobe, which was only made worse by the lockdown. The instant it was lifted, the quartet already had made plans to find some new clothes-- Anything other than hand-me-downs from those around them.

The cab ride to the mall was, to say the least, peculiar-- not that Doug blamed the driver for looking uncomfortable, with the picture they cut-- After all, he hadn't even gotten a haircut, (he had accepted a shave nevertheless) Aegis's visor was bizarre tech to anyone outside of Aperture, Mel's wheelchair had been folded in the back, and Lobotdos was... Well, she was who she was.

Even though, they made their way there, freezing just outside.

"...This is much bigger than I expected," Doug admitted as he helped Mel get her wheelchair onto the sidewalk.

"Perfect!! It'll be easier to get us the right clothes then, Douglas!" Lobotdos took his hand, and she dragged him ahead of the other two. Aegis and Mel followed just behind them and into the large building.

"...Where do we even start?" Mel asked no one in particular. "Is there a sports store here?"

"Well, you could always ask."

"Eh, I'll find it." She rolled away, waving at them as she went. "I've got money to spend, I'll see you guys in a couple hours."

Aegis nodded, taking the money he had been given out of his pocket. He stared at the signs, taking them in, and nodded. "There is a store for men down this hallway. I will follow Melanie's advice and return to this location with new clothes in two hours." He strode off confidently, narrowly missing a kiosk in the middle of the path. Doug winced at the thought.

"...And then there were two." Lobotdos looked at the map of the mall, then at Doug.

"...I think we should stay together," he said simply. "You can get yours first. I just want something simple--"

"Nonsense! You're more in need. We're going to find you something fantastic." She pulled him along again, guiding him through the hallways and to the shops that carried things he remembered-- Polos, khaki pants, button-ups, simple work boots. Lobotdos let him go just outside of one, grinning as she put her hands on her hips. "Here we are!"

"...You don't have to stay with me if you don't want--"

"It's completely alright, Douglas. It makes you more comfortable. Let's go." She walked through the doorway, and Doug followed after, smiling slightly.

It didn't take very long for him to find a new set of clothes-- or, rather, ten of them and two pairs of work boots, enough to last him a while. Most of them looked mostly identical to the naked eye, but he didn't mind. The routine was comforting. One quick check-out was followed by changing into his new clothes, and they walked out together a new man and a very happy doctor.

"See? I told you it'd be perfect!"

"You sure did," he admitted. "Let's go find you something, then we can see if we have time to do something else."

He led the way this time, nearly dancing around people where she had cut a clear path, and they found another pair of shops-- One with lab equipment, and another with dresses and other women's clothing.

"I'll get you the perfect lab coat and meet you in a minute, okay?" Doug offered. Lobotdos nodded, and she took off into the women's clothing store. Doug entered the second, checking over their selection for the best ones-- both for safety and for comfort. He bought a pair of one of them, then took off down the hall, ducking into yet another store.

There was one thing he needed to find first...

They reunited just a bit later, and he handed her one of the two he had bought, keeping the other for himself. She tossed it over the top of the dress she was trying on, and smoothed it out before nodding. Doug cleared his throat.

"There's one more thing, but you need to sit down and close your eyes." She did as he asked, and he took the latest thing out of his pocket, wrapping it around her neck and tying it in a knot. "There you go. Open your eyes and take a look."

For once, her smile wasn't even slightly tinged with bitterness as she looked in the mirror.

"...I thought it'd help."

"I... thank you, Douglas. It really does help. Thank you."