#but just getting a ton of new items for build/buy i need it in my life rn

[simgraze]

ugh i neeeed to get my hands on some of the new lovestruck build/buy items. specifically the bar items and gym items since i've been building so many community lots for my save.

[simsi45]

The Sims 4 Amber House Pack - PUBLIC RELEASE!

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE PATREON PAGE!

Oh...my...GOD!!! I can't believe this is actually happening....

After 3 years of hard work, I am here to welcome everyone to:

The Sims 4 Amber House Pack!

It's time to create your own mission style dream house, with this collection of 345 brand new and hella cool build/buy mode items, inspired by Dontnod's "Life is Strange: Before the Storm" game.

EARLY ACCESS: You can get the pack right now, on my PATREON on the 3-5$ tiers, or wait for the 12th of May for the public release!

Please read EVERYTHING included in the post as it contains useful information about the pack!

DISCLAIMER: Simsi45 or The Sims 4 Amber House Pack is NOT affiliated or associated with Electronic Arts, Square Enix, Deck Nine or Dontnod in ANY way. This is a purely fanmade pack made by me, a fan of both games that wanted to get the best of both worlds.

FEATURES:

 345 new items (including sofas, tables, decor, windows, doors and much much more!)

 Search for "amberhouse", "lis", "simsi45" to find most of the items in the build/buy catalog.

 Custom original names and descriptions. (the best I could come up with :P)

 Tons of custom recolors (based on original textures) to mix and match items more easily.

 Heavy modification on original meshes and textures, including english text turned into simlish.

 Everything has been playtested thoroughly.

 Included are a couple of easter egg items from The Sims 2 that I thought fit the theme well.

New lot I made showcased in the trailer and pics (found in the gallery under my tag @simsi45_mods) a recreation of Rachel Amber's house.

LOT INSTALLATION:

Included in the pack is the lot recreation of the Amber House that's featured in the pictures and videos.

You can get the lot by:

Using the gallery. Make a search under my EA id: @simsi45_mods and download the lot as usual. I've included customized pictures to identify my own lot more easily. Make sure you have the "enable custom content" tag ENABLED for the lot to show up in the results.

If you have difficulties using the gallery you can download the lot tray files from the bottom of the post, and move them inside your own tray folder. This can be found in your documents/electronic arts/the sims 4/ tray folder. This way you can install the lot without the need of the gallery.

NOTES:

~ The pack is in an EARLY-ACCESS STATE! I have dedicated a lot of time to test everything but I'm a team of just a single person. If you find any issues please let me know so I can take a look.

~ Because of the amount of items the size of the pack is quite big. I tried my best to make everything as compact as possible with the final size being 1.5 GB of required free space. 

~ The majority of the meshes and textures of these items are ripped straight from the LIS: Before the Storm game, and then each individual item (both mesh and textures) has been heavily modified and edited to fit and function properly within the Sims 4 game's engine. That's why some items will look identical to the original game, some look somewhat different, and some are brand new meshes I made using the original items.

~ Some of the original ripped meshes' poly counts were WAY too high so I had to lower the polygons so The Sims 4 wouldn't explode when filling a lot with them. I lowered the polygons and edited most of the items as much as possible without compromising their original look too much. In other words I tried to find the best balance between looks and performance and after lots of testing on my moderate PC system, I can confirm the game runs super smoothly on my end. 

BACKSTORY ABOUT THE PACK (no spoilers):

This pack started with an idea I got back in 2017 when I first played Life Is Strange Before The Storm. When visiting the Amber house, I immediately fell in love with it as I am huge fan of the craftsman architectural style, it's literally all I'd want my dream house to be. The art team has done an incredible job on it, and as I personally find the art style of the Life is Strange series and The Sims 4 to fit very well with each other, I wanted to make these assets available for The Sims 4. Of course back then this all seemed impossible, however a few years later in 2020 during quarantine I revisited the idea as it had been stuck on my wishlist ever since.

To make a long story short, this project has been in the works for about 3 years now, and after a lot of hard work, head scratching and quite a few sleepless nights I managed to overcome all the obstacles I came across (which were a lot mind you) and I'm honestly hoping you'll be as pleased with the results as I am. Seriously this exceeded my expectations as it started as a small little pack for my personal use, to what I'd consider an expansion pack's (or even more) worth of build/buy content.

INSTALLATION:

Due to the size of the pack I had to split it up into multiple parts. You will need a .RAR extractor unpack it. More specifically:

1 -> Download ALL 6 parts of the pack and put them ALL in the same folder. 2 -> Right click the 1st part .RAR file named "Simsi45 - The Sims 4 Amber House Pack.part1" and click "Extract Here"   3 -> Once that's finished a package file will appear, this is the entire pack and you can now move that into The Sims 4/Mods. Simple as that!

CREDITS & THANKS:

~Dontnod, Square Enix, Deck Nine for the original meshes & textures ripped from Life is Strange: Before the Storm that were used to create most of the items.

~EA for some meshes & textures used to convert some items from The Sims 2.

Special thank you to all the patreon members that stuck with me throughout me developing the pack. Although not many I really appreciate every single one of you for the support you've given me and for sticking around!

[milfzatannaz]

Goth wardrobe advice

hiiiii baby bats!!!! I just wanted to write a lil post on how to start building a goth wardrobe! I started around 6 months ago and I’ve been very happy with the looks I’ve been able to create, and I thought to just write down how I was able to rlly curate my aesthetic! (though I will tack onto this post that goth is a music based subculture so you can be goth without fancy elaborate looks)

when it comes to shopping for clothes, my personal advice is buy individual pieces, not outfits. meaning you buy clothes with the intention of mixing and matching which will save money and help you from over-buying. plus flexibility in your wardrobe allows for more fun and creativity!

the look

The first step to creating your style is to envision what kind of look you want to go for. goth style pulls from so many different sources! Trad goths from the 80s evolved from punk, and subsequent iterations of the style have Victorian, glam, etc sentiments. you can lean more romantic or more edgy, it’s up to you! the first step is to create a vision board. I love Pinterest personally. from there I typed “trad goth” “casual goth” “90s goth” and streamlined what I want to emulate. Don’t forget to watch goth rock music videos for style inspo- siouxsie is my personal icon and wore such interesting things, as well as Patricia Morrison! there’s also a level of gender nonconformity in goth that you can lean into. for instance, I’m femme but with a shaved head that really compliments my style and makes me feel really confident. It’s all so variable and individual. one of the original tenets of goth was the DIY aspect, which I think is super important. don’t be afraid to rip, cut, add safety pins, or paint on clothes you buy.

shopping

shopping for goth clothes has a lot of misconceptions. you really don’t need to ever buy from a fast fashion site like killstar or dollskill to get the looks you want. In fact most goths would prefer that you look elsewhere at first, bc a lot of us aren’t comfortable with the way our subculture has been commodified and commercialized. thrift stores have given me tons of luck. I typically prefer red white and blue, but goodwill can have good stuff too! (now, thrifting is more environmentally friendly, but that doesn’t mean that the company is ethical, like Salvation Army and goodwill. it’s a matter of choosing what’s right for your personal values.)

you can buy black clothes at pretty much any store which makes creating outfits somewhat easy. shop where you can afford it and what has good options for your body type and comfort level. I buy most of my stuff secondhand but I own a few things from H&M and Pacsun. pacsun has amazing corset tops that are affordable during their sales, and H&M has foundational pieces for okay quality. Try Depop too because I LOVE vintage clothes and you can find amazing things on the app, like dresses from the 90s and 70s blouses!

General wardrobe items

here’s what I bought when building my wardrobe:

- black trousers

- black skirts (midi AND mini. I prefer long skirts but I like to have choices)

- band tees for my fav goth bands

- a white button down blouse

- bustiers/corsets. I have incredible luck thrifting them but some I’ve gotten new. They’re sexy and fun on their own but even cooler layered over something!

- tights! fishnets are a must as well as solid sheer black and other fun patterns

- dresses in plaid or solid colors. you don’t have to JUST wear black, in fact siouxsie wore tons of color back in the day. black is just what we’re known for but maroon, purple and white are great too.

- long sleeve sheer tops. I have one black mesh and one black lace top. These can be worn over bras for an edgier look or under band tees to add texture and complexity.

- SHOES! I don’t buy secondhand shoes only bc I have wonky feet. My two main pairs are my doc martens Jadon platforms and Mary janes. Shoes are an entirely personal decision so do your research! A lot of ppl like Demonias but I haven’t swung for those yet.

- accessories, accessories, accessories. Perhaps what makes someone recognizably goth is our funky accessories. I have multiple belts, ranging from the standard black with grommets to a triple belt and a corset waist cincher. I buy my jewelry off Etsy or I buy them from flea markets, and I lean towards ankhs bc I’m a sandman nerd lmfao. (I own 3 ankh necklaces, a bracelet, and two pairs of earrings oops). I also have a few silver crucifixes and a spiked collar.

- outerwear. I’m a leather jacket aficionado and I hand painted a trad goth jacket, but other options are black long coats and blazers. vests are pretty great too.

final notes

I’m a baby bat myself so I, too am learning the ropes and exploring my style. remember that it’s about self expression and making yourself stand out, not uniformity. there are so many unique alternative subcultures and no one is stopping you from pulling from all sorts of inspo! Remember to have fun when shopping or getting dressed above all else!!!!

other great resources can be found on r/gothfashion and from goth YouTubers!

[a-hazbin-reader]

IGHT BET-

His Hell name is Sci,as he is an overlord who shares his territory with his twin brother,who’s hell name is Ninja. They’re both called the Bloody Twins and imma explain why but individually,starting with Ninja who’s the oldest.

Now I hope you don’t mind the fact that I made these in gacha but I rlly like their designs- they’re actually redesigned bc I originally made them differently in a more cringy way like in 2021- idk if you wanna see those but I doubt it- anyways

This is Ninja,his full over lord name is The Bloody Ninja as seen in the screenshot.

His human name when alive is Liam Marie-Jeanette- I’ll explain their parents later

When alive,he was the golden child out of him and his brother,his parents favored him more while leaving his brother to basically fend for himself. Liam stayed around his brother the most,absolutely adoring him and helping him grow up with a decent childhood. At the age of 14 he killed his father (I’ll explain in a bit) and both him and Sci were orphaned. Out of the two twins,he started working at an early age as an assassin. Around the age of 20,he found a woman,married her and had a kid with her. The reason he’s called the Bloody Ninja is because he leaves his murder scenes EXTREMELY bloody and the fact that he used every Japanese weapon because they looked cool asf and it just felt right. About almost 10 years later,its December 31st,1929. He’s running from the person he’s supposed to kill,he fell off a taller building and landed on a smaller one on top of a fuck ton of firework rockets,his left eye getting stabbed by one of them. The fireworks exploded and he got severe injuries and third degree burns,he died from his injuries.

In death,he started gaining a bit of power. New technologies from the different demons that were there from different parts of the world,upgrading his weapons at a constant,the thing is….he died on new years,the day when the extermination happens. Bro grabbed angelic weapons and forged Japanese weapons,Nina stars,katanas,etc,out of the metal.

Now let’s move onto his brother and my main oc lol.

That is Sci,The Bloody Scientist,seen in his screenshot.

His human name was Lucas Marie-Jeanette.

He was the forgotten twin mainly,his parents hated him because they only wanted one kid,they didn’t expect two. Lucas spent most of his time reading,anything that his parents taught Liam,Liam would teach it to Lucas. That’s where he learned how to read and write and talk and walk. As he grew older,he found science related books,physics,chemistry,botany,biology- everything! When he was 14,he was just using a chemistry kit he bought himself with his own money that he found and managed to earn in his earlier kid age (10 thru 13). His mother walked in and because she just hated her second crotch goblin,she grabbed his science books and his chemistry kit and threw them away. Lucas got mad,so he grabbed a nearby glass shard and slit her throat with it. His father just so happened to walk past and he grabbed him and started trying to drag him out of the house to throw him out and leave him in the streets,this is where Liam comes in and kills him. Liam didn’t want his shitty father to throw away his only pride and joy of that time.

Now orphaned,the boys do what they have to do in order to survive,they taught themselves to cook and do the chores,Lucas already know how to do most of them because of his mother making him do it. While Liam bounced from job to job,earning money,Lucas took care of the house,buying the groceries when they had enough and also helping his brother when he needed the help. At the age of 16,Lucas was already about to graduate from university,thanks to Liam saving up since they started earning money. Already at the age of 20,Lucas had just graduated from his doctorate in science and he was Liam’s best man in his wedding. Out in town just on a walk,grabbing different items from shops he ran into a rather odd fellow. A famous radio host from that very same town in Louisiana! (Sound familiar? Yeah cause its the smiling deer man himself when alive lmao I wrote it in Sci’s bio I still find it funny when I read it)

They end up starting a conversation due to Alastor asking why he was undressed,which confused our young scientist.

-“Whatever do you mean? As far as you and I are both concerned,I have all the required garments.under and over,that would show that I am not undressed in any sense.”

-“What I mean,my dear,is that you’re not smiling! You’re never fully dressed without a smile,my masculine fellow!”

They walk down the streets while discussing back and forth on why this is even a topic. They end up knowing more about each other and well,they become acquaintances. Lucas returns home,he’s still living with Liam until he can get his own place,and Liam asks him what took him so long while holding his sweet baby girl in his arms,letting his wife rest.

-“What in gods green earth took you so long? You had me worried sick. God Lu. You need a better grasp on time management.”

-“I apologize,Liam. I seemed to have bumped into the famous radio host New Orleans has to offer and well…he asked me a rather conflicting question that had no logic to it.”

Lucas proceeds to fucking explain everything in precise detail of what happened between him and Alastor.- Liam keeps it stored for now in his mind and just tells him to go wash up because and it seemed that Lucas didn’t notice that he was all sweaty- of which he then goes to shower.

Time passed and Lucas seemed rather fond of the radio host,though,having a stern,unchanging poker face,he never seemed to show it. Alastor would try to make him smile in every way,shape or form. Which then leads him to realize….he’s growing fond of the scientist- but not in a friendly manner,oh no….its more than that.

One faithful day,in fact,it was Lucas’s turn to celebrate his birthday,becoming 21 years old was a big deal for Liam,not so much for Lucas,Alastor wanted to make Lucas smile finally. He proceeded to go to an antique store and he found a very lovely gold pocket watch (the watch Sci has in his hand). He buys it,puts the box in wrapping paper and puts a lovely bow on it. He took Lucas on a picnic in a very lovely area. The scientist proceeded to just thank him for doing something nice like this,despite not needing to.

-“Oh but I wanted to,my dear! …Here. I got you a little gift for this festive day.”

He gave Lucas the box,who opened it,confused. He grew up not knowing what love and affection and happiness was…but he learned what they were thanks to his brother and now,Alastor. He saw the gold pocket watch and he froze,proceeding to pull the watch out and looking at it as it said on the front of it “New Orleans,Louisiana 1890”. Oh but that wasn’t it. He proceeded to tear up as he turned it around and saw a small A+L on it. His face grew red and he looked at Alastor with tears in his eyes before he gave him a small,but happily loving smile. He thanked him and hugged him tightly. That was also the day they confessed and the day they became….”roommates” ;) (and they were roommates)

It was the Great Depression. And it’s also the year that Lucas became a cannibal alongside Alastor. Imma quickly say…the reason he’s the Bloody Scientist is that he used random (non innocent) people as guinea pigs for his experiments and they would mainly explode suddenly and leave the room all bloody. Anyways. Lucas and Alastor were now cannibals but they were also switches (ahEm. Their favorite place to do it was the office on the desk,taking turns, also sub!Alastor supremacy like cmon man. AHeM) :).

But not everything good lasts forever. The year was 1931. Lucas was walking with Alastor into the dark woods in the middle of the night. He lead him to a delightful scenery,Lucas was besides Alastor when all of a sudden he stepped on a branch and it alerted a nearby hunter who shot him twice,in his neck and in his chest. Lucas died in Alastor’s arms but not before smiling widely and cupping his face.

-“You…were the best thing….that ever….happened to me…..I love you…thank you for being here for me…never forget me..”

Once he arrived in hell,he immediately remet with his brother,they hugged each other tightly before proceeding to wreak havoc and chaos on Hell. They quickly rose the ranks.

The king of hell himself was surprised when Lucas suddenly appeared in his mansion/palace. He formally introduced himself and he quickly became a favorite of the sweet princess of hell,she started calling him uncle. Which made Lucas,now Sci,very emotional,reminding him of his sweet niece of whom he attended the wedding of. He knelt down to Charlie’s height,which made Lucifer be on edge before being surprised that he hugged Charlie as tears rolled down his face. It made him curious of the sinner so he allowed him to be Charlie’s adoptive uncle.

The way Sci kills sinners is mainly with his needle tail that’s filled with a lovely serum that makes them combust into blood and never recover because he added angelic weapon metal flakes to it and it makes it very lethal.

The twins met a very interesting fellow one day who offered them power beyond their imaginations before they became overlords…..they’re both on a leash.

More than 80 years later,a knock stumbled upon the hotel’s doors. Charlie was the one originally expecting the person that knocked,so she happily opened the door and let them in,much to the confusion of the others,including deer man himself. The figure walked in and Charlie gave him a small tour of the lobby before starting to introduce him to the people in the hotel. Pentious knew who he was so he immediately geeked out as he is a fan of this specific demon. Nifty of course is her usual self. Husk,kinda knowing who he is,offers him a drink to which he agreed to. Angel,trying his usual seduction tricks,got denied in the most….polite way that made him apologize which was unusual. Vaggie,knowing who he was,was skeptical but trusted Charlie and was surprised when she said he’s her adoptive uncle. She went to introduce him to Alastor but Alastor was silent which was unusual for him and he examined the fellow before being his old chipper self. Though after introductions,Sci pulled out a gold pocket watch to check the time,much to Alastor’s surprise who froze right then and there and surprised everyone else from how he’s acting.

-“I’m sorry,my dear….but where did you get that beautiful watch?”

-“This old thing? My partner gave it to me on a very special day. Why?”

-“May I see it?”

Sci quietly closes the watch and hands it to him. Alastor proceeds to examine the watch before turning it around and freezing before looking at him,smile almost gone before quietly going.

-“Lucas..?”

His voice without a radio filter sounded just like him when alive. Lucas quietly examined him before freezing,grabbing the pocket watch,putting it away and hugging him tightly. Charlie awws at the scene. Everyone is confused before Alastor explains.

-“wait..radio pimp did get laid?? Oh that’s fuckin’ rich!”

When the war against heaven happened,he was killing angels effortlessly and with glee as Ninja watched alongside the V’s,mainly ignoring Vox.

He was worried when Alastor suddenly disappeared but enjoyed watching Lucifer beat the shit out of Adam.-

He very much enjoyed helping Charlie rebuild the hotel and he was even more happy when Alastor returned,smiling at the scene and hugging him tighter than everyone.

Months later,he finally reveals in front of everyone,why he wanted to lead Alastor out before he died. He pulls out a box from his pocket,gets on one knee and fucking proposes to him right then and there,making him CRY IN FRONT OF EVERYONE. Alastor says yes and about 4 weeks later,they get married.- now onto kids.

Sci knows that guys can’t have kids- but who said that’s stopping him from making ways on how to get kids.- bro literally makes a serum that he injects himself with before him and Alastor…get it on- and he manages to get himself…pregnant- I know- what a sudden twist- but but but. When he does have their little creation,they have twins- oh what a coincidence because he himself IS a twin- he names the twins Juniper and Berry- because he loved picking juniper berries to make poison with. Nicknames his baby girl June and absolutely loves Berry as well- June is the exact copy of Alastor with Sci’s eyes and Berry is a perfect mix of both-. Sci pulls the serum stunt again and they have another baby- a baby girl who’s basically the exact copy of Sci with hints of Alastor’s palette and she’s a fucking dorable.

Now let’s move onto the shit parents. Their parents aren’t really American- their dad is French,their mom is British,(I can imagine Al going nuts for a French British s/o 👀),both of them were pedos. Because every fucking friend they brought over,they would sexually harass and sometimes manage to non consensually no-no them. So they made them be loners.- they meet their boys again in hell- only to get absolutely slaughtered by ninja and sci’s new powers- alongside Al and him and sci’s kids- so in the end its a happy ending for everyone except the shit parents :D!

That’s all! If you wanna ask anything,go ahead

THE ROMANCE 👏 THE POCKET WATCH 👏 THE DRAMA 👏

[open-hearth-rpg]

#RPGaDay2024

Amazing Adventure

One of the most challenging things for game designers is offering a solid, easy to get into, slowly building, and comprehensive starter adventure. Back of the core book ones have the additional pressure of being there forever. I’ve seen some that have become classics– which many people can bond over. Isle of Dread for Expert D&D back in the day was one of these. I’ve also seen ones that aren’t great– with broken rules references, dropping in too many systems, railroading, or focusing too narrowly. 

The original Coriolis quickstart adventure which came out before the game had some of these problems. It listed several things on the character sheets which weren’t in the rules presented. But more importantly it offered a sci-fi bug hunt scenario which a) was boring and b) did absolutely nothing to sell the actual setting. The earliest Modiphius Conan 2d20 qs adventure, despite being based on a Howard story, was insanely boring: basically a series of linear fights, no social interactions, little other skill use, and almost no choices on the players’ part. 

But there’s one intro adventure which I love. I’m recycling from an #RPGaDay prompt from back in 2015, but my answer still holds: Auspicious Beginnings. 

What is it? A tutorial adventure for Weapons of the Gods, the wild wuxia system. WotG is, IMHO, a hot mess but I love the vibe of it. There are legendary stories, tales of factions, explanations of philosophies, discussions of gender, and descriptions of nations throughout the book. They contain a mix of fiction and description.

But more importantly players can buy connections to those ideas and stories. You can purchase a link and become part of these fables- creating a destiny, showing the GM what you want, and encouraging you to play within those archetypal elements. It’s cool and something worth stealing for other games.

But I had a hard time following the system beyond that. It uses the kind of dice tricks I’m not fond of- pattern matching and the ability to flow dice out of your pool to the side and then back again later. Fireborn and some other games have done that and "it's not my bag." (tm) And the combat’s super involved, though I suspect it does simulate the feel of a legendary encounter. 

But forget all that. Ignore what I just said, because Auspicious Beginnings is wonderful.

The PCs heroes arrive at Only Two Devils, a frontier city with a reputation for the exotic. The city has several striking key NPCs and factions associated with them (like Ironhand Nan and the Sheathed-Blade Empty-Hand Prosperity Society). The Governor has elaborate rituals for city entry and stiff requirements to access the more interesting spots. One or more members of the group need to get to the secret markets to secure a special lost item. To do so, they need a sponsor. Therefore they have to participate in a grand contest- not of fighting, but tests of skill. Like leaping from spear point to spear point carrying a flag while avoiding arrow fire. If the group can succeed, they’re adopted by one of the factions- which leads to a fight and a jump off for further adventures.

The contest’s brilliant and colorful. It’s intended to showcase and ramp up the use of the game mechanics. That holds true for other systems besides WotG. You can use this as a model to show how to do cool stuff. The characters are awesome- the Pre-Gen PCs, the rival contestants, the leaders of the faction. The setting’s vivid and full of amazing hooks. It has twists, ways to buy into the setting, and great advice for running any Wuxia game.

I’ve used this set up straight or in modified form about a half dozen times. I’ve come up with all kinds of crazy new contests. My favorite is racing hungry monkeys to gather fruit from a private garden. There’s a ton of inspiration here and it’s fun to come up with new ones tuned to the players’ builds. Use Auspicious Beginnings for any fantasy game with stunting concepts and athletic tricks for the players (like Exalted or Hearts of Wulin).

[ggchamo]

The 29 Games I beat in 2023

This was a year of a ton of new amazing games, and even though I tried dozens, I missed many new awesome games this year, which will always be part of the fun of gaming.

I tried IGN's Playlist app, which buckets your list of games into different categories that sound helpful - Playing, Beat, Quit, Paused, Wishlist, Backlog.

Because I wanted a lot of games marked as "Beat" - I felt encouraged to play some of those shorter, faster plays - many of the games this year were on How Long To Beat dotcom under 10 hours and came highly recommended

One attitude for me this year was "well, I'm not having fun playing this game in the moment, but let's power through since i'm almost done." - This attitude really helped with the motivation to finish to be honest - getting it done meant it's off the backlog and I can move on to the next set of games in my very curated backlog.

Another theme in the games this year was nostalgia and exploring my childhood, so we had good representation of Pokemon and first-party Nintendo

Besides these games, I tried quite a number of games on Switch, PS5, Xbox Series S, and PC for at least a little session - if I don't hit credits it didn't make it on the list, although don't hold me to that

For ongoing games, I played many hours of Gran Turismo 7, some hours of Valorant (140 hours less than 2022 which was definitely lower than 2021...), and the occasional Overwatch/Fortnite/whatever session with people getting together. 2023 was not the same as 2020's peak of playing with friends on a daily basis, but this year I embraced curating things to my taste

I loved the three games I played with my fiance - Paper Mario, Hi-Fi Rush, and Sackboy. Anytime we share an experience it makes the payoff multiple times better.

God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla -

Fuck - I really wanted to beat this one, so it was satisfying to get this one ticked off my list. They wanted to design something hard and worth the challenge and time investment, and I think they did it. I consistently was making progress until the last thing was to beat the final boss, and once I watched a youtube video and tried a different strategy, it opened up. Experience was cool - God of War has a great set of combat features, one of the very best combat systems outside of the god-tier Dark Souls team.

Pokemon Black 2 -

Buying an Analogue Pocket triggered this exploration into my childhood, and part of that was getting into collecting the Pokemon games I missed and revisiting them. I found a copy of this game slightly discounted from it's $160 avg price on eBay and was worried about getting a fake but was relieved it was authentic. So how was this game, not just as a hype item but as an experience?

It was worth the effort. It had a ton of cool pokemon (although needed more water pokemon in my opinion) and it actually was tough to beat - I ended up losing once or twice and had some dicey gym battles earlier on, but I thought the game was an interesting chapter in the pokemon games. It was very story focused and wanted to build some lore and some characters, not just create a million new cool pokemon. Gen V was a big blin spot for me so it was cool to spend some time back in these games after beating Pokemon Black for the second time in the past few years in the pandemic era.

Rollerdrome -

I found the game very tough near the last three levels (it was just overtuned for a casual guy like me and got crazy) but I found it very unique and aesthetically very iconic. These devs took some of the muscle memory from Tony Hawk games and added that famous "bullet time" mechanic as another way to pace everything. It's a great combo - I can even imagine a game where the shooting has to go with the beat. I am happy they had assists so I could avoid hitting my head against the wall for 20 hours.

Super Mario Wonder -

Another GOTY quality game, in a year where we had a new Mario and Zelda come out in a sea of sequels and really well-done indies. I'm not done with this game yet. I hit credits, but there is more to play here in the future. This game is exactly my vibe - and we got to see the demo in person in Seattle which was fun!

Jusant -

Short and sweet with very fun unique climbing gameplay that I enjoyed playing through. It was straightforward and interesting, and I enjoyed that quality many Indies have where it had a huge imagination that transcends their budget and tech restrictions. I felt like that team did a great job and I kept thinking I want to see more games like Jusant, taking the concepts further.

Pokemon Crystal Version -

I was in the mood for classic pokemon with tons of moments of nostalgia and feeling memories from back during childhood - and Pokemon always delivers, I need Pokemon games in my life. I was proud to finish the game after transferring the file to a new 2DS XL and regretting my choice of Totodile as my starter 30 hours in. I had fun and this game is timeless - I will play it again and it will feel like the first time I played it again because that's what these games do. They always feel new because in the world of Pokemon, there is always more to learn.

Spider-Man 2 -

Consistently fun and with very rewarding platinum trophy that wasn't that hard to finish - I found the experience of playing this game rewarding, familiar and very polished, and the game did not overstay it's welcome with bad gameplay. Not too different from the first games besides some very cool new features and types of scenarios with the same core gameplay as Miles Morales and Spider-Man 1.

Forza Motorsport -

In a head-to-head comparison between this and GT7, GT7 has greater replay-ability and tricks the mind into feeling like you're in a simulation. But Motorsport is maybe the better designed game - since it took some driver activities and made them gaming features. But in execution, they don't make a material impact on the experience and don't add much immersion since the driver levels have no impact on gameplay. I enjoyed the larger assortment of cars and the tons of races to play - but I didn't see the same love in the courses, which are really the core gameplay "levels." So I feel like I'm saying that this very expensive and detailed gameplay was lacking levels, which seems like a weird place to be for a game. So lots of complex feelings after playing for over 40-50 hours - I definitely will play this again.

Super Mario World (GBA) -

Someone set me up with GBA online and this was the first game I played - very cool experience playing through my first game in one or two sittings on a big screen with my adult brain and skills without my child limitations.

The Last of Us Part 1 -

In the first few weeks of October, I was having a great time revisiting a game that I played a few years before the pandemic (may have just been 2018/2019....) and also was watching the HBO show at the same time. It still is an awesome experience and still touches those same great heights because the game has that iconic aggression and unique feeling that you feel from what it asks you to do and what it puts you through. No other game feels Last of Us games, and they're on a different league of their own.

Cocoon -

Weird game. The sound design and the visual aesthetic stuck out as iconic to this game, with the gameplay being just multi-faceted enough to encourage me to try to learn new things - I think there was almost one point where I had to look something up but I sat down and tried my best and was able to move forward. I felt very smart and impressed myself.

Venba -

Awesome game and only one or two sessions long - it told a story and it made me think. I liked how the recipes felt like puzzles which is what cooking feels like!

Lego 2K Drive -

In late September, needed something quick and fun to play before Super Mario Wonder/Forza Motorsport/Spiderman 2 slapped me in the face - this was very rewarding and was very satisfying to look at and play - deep enough that it was fun but still very easy to pick up and play with all the different type of cars. One or two kind of down moments definitely didn't weigh down my opinion of the experience as a whole, although it's nice that it's free for PS Plus people 2 months after I bought it for $70.

Paper Mario: The Origami King -

My fiance beat this before and agreed to watch me play and Sherpa me through the experience. It was pretty awesome, although the base gameplay is a bit of an acquired taste...not too long but still took some time investment to finish all of the worlds and once or twice lose a multi-turn boss fight due to some unfortunate misclicks.

Osu! 2 on DS -

Beating this was a spur of the moment and only took a few sessions, but I wanted to play through the "new" Osu game (although now the series over a decade old) for a long time and finally grabbed it off my brother. Iconic songs and I had a lot of fun - and I think I've gotten better mentally at rhythm games after more experience gaming and playing music in general. I was able to power through and beat it on normal without too much.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits -

Has been on my list for a while. I have no clue how. LOL like it may have been one of those rare PS4 games that got a nice PS5 upgrade in 2021 or maybe there was a good review that I saw. I think the game felt... unfair near the end. I ended up turning the difficulty down near the end and finalizing some of the later levels on my iPhone through remote play. Like I changed it to the story mode difficulty and just played through - not a great sign. It had amazing animation and just absolutely killer graphics, but maybe it was too much like God of War or Horizon Zero Dawn? I didn't come away like I gotta recommend this one to everyone, and looking back I liked that the game was short so I thought let's power through, which was a theme this year. I think I turned the difficulty down when I played on my phone just to give myself a better chance of pounding through the levels. Very beautiful though

Pikmin 4 -

dawg - my first Pikmin game. Absolutely fire, I enjoyed trying something new and I didn't find it frustrating or limiting at all, and I think I would play more of the post-game with the new planets and fill everything out in the future.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom -

Iconic and honestly this is the type of game that is on a different plane. Worth the 80-100 hours I put in to my first playthrough - an experience for the type of person that plays video games in the action adventure category, but it's good enough that it transcends genre and expectations. The game was as big as my imagination and I had some iconic moments in the game, like sequence skipping and also enjoying and exploring areas slowly and intentionally. It's worth playing again now that I think about it - just to do the depths again now with the experience of doing it the first time.

Pokemon X -

Set in a Pokemonized France and I played most of this game during breaks in my awesome French vacation this summer. Playing this game has connected me to my childhood, so I had a great time in my 30 hours. This would be worth multiple playthroughs - this was really the first game that I missed in the Pokemon series.

Playing this has been part of my recent 3DS exploration, where I am now trying to play the games I missed during high school and college times, because I was so busy to really play any games, especially not Pokemon. Finishing this game and seeing some of the subtle new changes they did after the Gen V era didn't fully register as these games were refined over decades, but I'm starting to make the connection between the recent games and the games from my childhood.

Pizza Tower -

this game was pure adrenaline. Holy crap. The polygon review got me onto this and I love 2D platformers, but the very unique and original presentation is what got me stuck to it. It was tough at times and also that fun type of creepy with the badly drawn kinda weird characters. I had fun, and I felt that was the game with

Sackboy: A Big Adventure -

Awesome game to finish with the fiance. It was a bit generic, not grounded on a specific character or point of view or set of values besides friendship and light vs. dark. but the multiplayer gameplay was what I was there for, and it delivered. It was a very fun experience playing the game with my partner and I always appreciate games that bring everyone in, not just a specific persona designed by capitalist-fueled marketing machines.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War -

Speaking of capitalist-fueled... I can't remember that many memorable moments but that is the point. the graphics looked amazing and I was happy to play game that didn't take a million hours to roll credits at. Another one that probably was padding for the list. LOL.

Tinykin -

this was another short one, and another one like Gears on Xbox. It was the first Pikim-type game I've played. Very original and once it got going it was fun to go through it. every now and then confusing but it was easy to knock out. I enjoyed the platforming and found it forgiving but not so easy it was boring. It felt tight.

Gears 5: Hivebusters -

Never found the Gears games rewarding enough to finish. Sometimes they felt too convoluted and I didn't feel comfortable. The reason we finished this one - it was short. LOL. it was enough though - felt like a proper experience and I actually enjoyed it. It's just not smooth enough for me to want to play another 60 hours, maybe one ady.

Stray -

a bit buggy, a bit sparse, but I was happy because it was short and sweet. Very creative and had great characters - but I couldn't tell you what their names were. I think it brought a unique experience with the cat features to very well trodden ground and the 3D platforming/exploration gameplay was refined but not as rock solid as the Nintendo types.

Hi-Fi Rush -

playing this game in January 2023 was a cool experience shared with my fiance and the game was incredibly unique and so so so cool. It was pure ecstasy when my girl beat the final boss after losing like 60 times. Hours of pain. When she finally beat it, it felt historic. What an icon!

Pokemon Violet -

yeah performance was ass but playing the new games, they are the best Pokemon games ever by definition. They always raise the bar and it's hard to appreciate until years later.

Metroid Prime Remastered -

I finally beat it like 10-13 years later, this was so action packed and familiar, guides really helped in moments.

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury -

Short extra mode was a good time - so it was cool to start with a mario game this year. I remember it being not incredibly difficult but have forgotten some details since January it seems.

[yirggzmb]

Flower Fest

You know what they say - April showers bring May flowers. That's right, I'm back with another invented holiday! From May 1st through 14th (November 1st - 14th in the southern hemisphere!) we will be celebrating flowers of all kinds! That's right, two whole weeks dedicated to flowers.

How to Celebrate

The Flower Fest is meant as a light-hearted recognition of the flowers on our islands. We can dress up in themed clothing and craft flower crowns. We can decorate our islands when any number of flower themed items, plant new flowers, and maybe even spring clean the old ones.

Dressing Up

Luckily enough the game has plenty of built in flower options. Shirts, dresses, even cute flower skirts! You can even straight up wear flowers in your hair or craft things to wear.

The most fun way to dress up is by creating flower crowns. There's a ton of different designs for them that you can unlock as DIYs and all of them are super cute. While we're at it, there's also flower themed wands you can carry around.

New Flowers

This is an excellent time to plant new flowers. Build a new flower garden and fill it with all your favorites. Add benches and fountains. Make it a pleasant place to hang out. Bug statues from Flick are always a welcome addition. You don't have to stick specifically to flower plants either - the game has several planters and similar items you can add to keep things interesting.

This is also the perfect time to start a new flower breeding project. Are there any hybrids on your list still? Pick one and get to it! Some like the blue rose can be a bit time consuming to achieve, but plenty are quicker. There's loads of guides out there if you need a bit of advice.

Spring Cleaning

This is also a time of Spring Cleaning. Many of us have areas on our islands that are perhaps a bit overgrown. Flowers gone a bit wild. It may sound strange to celebrate flowers by getting rid of them, but the point here is being deliberate about our flowers and recognizing that they don't have to just be overgrown weeds taking over. It can be a daunting task, so here's some tips:

You don't have to do it all at once. Choose a small area, maybe dig out the flowers around the edge to give yourself a boundary, and only clean up that area to start. Don't overwhelm yourself.

Go visit Katrina before you start if you have her unlocked. Get your fortune told. If she gives you the "good luck with belongings" fortune, your tools will not break that day. Great situation for when you're going to be using your shovel a lot.

Warp Pipes! The Mario warp pipes aren't just funny decorations. They actually work. When you only have two on your island, they will always connect to each other. So plop one down by the shop and the other near where you're working. Tada, fast travel in case you need to buy shovels or sell stuff.

Trash cans! Likewise, trash cans in this game actually work. Interact with one and you'll get the option to throw things away. Unless you're desperate for cash, throwing away the plants when your inventory is full is often a lot more time efficient than selling them. Stick a can near where you're working and go to town.

Make it a party. Got some trusted friends? Invite them over for a flower cleanup party. Reward them for their help maybe by letting them keep any extra hybrids you don't want.

Conclusion

As always, I appreciate everyone who gives a moment to check out my silly little holidays. Making up stuff to do is why I'm still on the same island three years later. Spring is a great time to go full petal power and I hope you'll join me!

[the-firebird69]

We do have other news and thank you very much both of you we have news about and yes it's Hera

We have news about today's events and I'd like to follow up a little we had a pre-signing for all of the companies that we mentioned and they are all every one of them did a preliminary agreement with us for purchase of the percentage that we stated it is a very large weekend in other companies are coming forwards one right after the other it is a large number of companies and people this is very serious and very large it's going to be an interesting week because this kind of thing is going to carry through for a larger part of the week for the final agreements there's nothing to be taking lightly we are not going to tolerate this kind of treatment. There's a lot of talk going around and a lot of it is bologna we're going to be fine we do have other things going on other than just buying things and making stuff a lot of the employees of your people and you're crazy but that's fine people need money to live. Several other huge events are attorney this week

-as we said they are freeze out will occur in Friday it will be gigantic and most people are going to allow it to happen. The loss of life will be catastrophic there's going to be a mass Exodus to the South and they will try to breach Florida with it as it is they're getting ready to evacuate the temperatures are falling in Georgia and South Carolina and North Carolina and once they fall they're going to keep falling right now it's below freezing from about the Georgia line North Tennessee is very cold too on their evacuating

-to gigantic night we have a lot of things that happen today they happen today that's very important and very large and it will be impacting us this week

-one of the major items is a presale will Harley-Davidson's engine division to us and we thought they never would they're leaving to go build items in the bunkers mostly for ships and of their own and it will be a big Exodus a lot of pressure will be relieved and people will be up to do things the noticing it too they're leaving these companies that John remember Lord is selling and they are evacuating areas we're going to be taking those as the empire expected

-there's a few more things to note the police in town are getting fairly antsy the pseudo empire has been telling them to get out or they'll be arrested and the pseudo empire has not taken huge hits like the Morlok have and they are currently. It's an ongoing thing but they are starting to get irritated easily and they're turning on each other and they are getting arrested and there are new people moving in mostly pseudo empire.

-your other things happening are very important. And it's on the list of things to do is to help my husband have complete meals and I need help with it he says he's snacking because he can't stuff himself anymore. I do agree whu, you'll see what I mean though

-there's a few other things we are at war and the max seem to have declared war on the entire planet. When Saturn goes around the intend on trying to take over the planet and they're going to be a nightmare we're going to experience the max evacuating MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT THE MAX ARE EVACUATING TO RETRIEVE AND RETURN SHORTLY AFTER WITH THEIR HARDWARE FROM THE CAVERNS LEGAL IN $230% OF WHAT TOMMY F HAD 100% OF IT IS STOLEN FROM HIM 100% OF IT THEY BUILT AND THE REST THEY HAVE TAKEN RECENTLY THESE PEOPLE MEAN BUSINESS THEY'RE EVACUATING IN LARGE NUMBERS AND THEY'RE GOING TO RETURN IN WITH ABSOLUTE FORCE THEIR FLEET IS GIGANTIC THEIR GROUND BASES ARE VERY POWERFUL THEY HAVE HUGE BUNKER SYSTEMS AND TONS OF WEAPON IN THEM AS WELL AND WE HAVE THEM UP ON TWO PLANETOIDS THEY ARE FORMIDABLE FOE WE'RE CALLING ON ALL OUR PEOPLE TO SIGN ON NOW THE MAX ARE DECLARING WAR ON US MORE SHORTLY

Hera Zues

We had the emergency summit and we have another one tomorrow well later today and we know that they are declaring war on the entire human race what you're saying is to raise all keju and to sign on our people as required to activate all robots and to activate all battle groups liven up all weaponry systems in the solar system and resupply them fortify and build up every single weapon we have and from now until February 15th we're going to assume no we are going to code Red

Zues Hera

I am taking this as an order and I'm putting it in now I do see what you're saying we're going to take every weapon we can every stash every cash we're going to start infiltrating their ranks and we're going to start attacking with anything we can we're moving out now and we're going to start doing this and the foreigners will take our lead and then we'll lock and we have to work fast we're all in trouble and these people are terrifyingly abused our son is in trouble they know it and can't help it sometimes they sometimes have half a brain or less because they are critically injured by these Max we are taking them to account we do try and not harm people only if we really extremely have to and we are asking that you relocate John remillard to a house preferably in Port Charlotte this is an emergency we are declaring an emergency up to and including February 15th all of our citizens are to pay attention for notices we are sending notices on Earth and to our areas and we are going to war and we are declaring it internally today and tonight

Thor Freya

Olympus

[aludrakijurorin]

Giant list of helpful references and resources for artists and OCs!

A giant list of references that I use often, or have found useful, and would like to share with others. If any of the links are broken or unsafe, please let me know so I can remove them.

--Free images--

Vecteezy - A site to download vector art and stock photos.

Pixabay, Unsplash, Pexels, and Public Domain Pictures - Lots of public domain and royalty free stock photos.

Smithsonian Open Access - “Where you can download, share, and reuse millions of the Smithsonian’s images—right now, without asking. With new platforms and tools, you have easier access to more than 4.4 million 2D and 3D digital items from our collections.”

--Names--

Nameberry, Magic Baby Names,Think Baby Names, Meaning of Names, 20,000 Names - All great for finding character names.

Fantasy Name Generators - Great for naming characters, locations, streets, buildings, towns and so on.

My Dog’s Name - Actually has some decent sounding dog names that aren’t just ‘Fluffy’ or ‘Spike’.

Dance Names - A random site I found with an abundance of nice names.

--Words--

Words to Use - A handy theasaurus-like site.

More Words and Word Finder - Nice when you need to find words, for example ones that ‘start with ROU’ or ‘end in INE’.

OneLook - Find words related to what you type, that aren’t limited to a theasaurus.

Word Mixer -  Enter in 2-5 words and the site randomly mixes them together. Great for names and creating a species.

Latin Dictionary - A list of words in the latin language and their meanings.

Random Word Generator - Great for coming up with prompts to draw. Good for monthly art challenges.

RomajiDesu - For japanese words and meanings.

Tip of My Tongue - Find words that you can’t seem to remember.

--Poses and Anatomy-- Sensitivity warning for some of these sites showing full human anatomy.

PoseManiacs - A site with premade poses that you can rotate. Hand viewer is coming back soon!

Magic Poser - The web version of the Magic Poser App. Create your own poses and models at any angle.

DesignDoll - A posing program that is free, unless you want to save a pose or model. Can add multiple models to a scene, import Blender models, and use Doll Atelier to easily upload premade models. Also comes with a hand library, with fully poseable fingers, and a ton of other features.

Japanese Macho Stock - A free stock site of macho Japanese men doing silly or everyday actions. Nice for muscle studies.

Anatomy 360 - A program to view 3D scanned real models for references. You have to buy the program, but they do provide some free references on their site.

Poses for Drawing - A pinterest board with a handful of pins of poses and references. 

Adorkastock - Tons and tons of free pose references with varying body types that have anime and videogames in mind rather than just random poses. Posts often on Deviantart and Twitter.

Jookpubstock- Similar to Adorkastock, posts free references on Twitter frequently. Lots more available through their Patreon, including hand packs and item packs.

CharacterDesigns - A site with convention and event photos you are free to use.

Pose Tool - A site with an expansive search function to find the pose you’re looking for. You can browse the thumbnails but the packs have to be purchased.

Quickposes - A tool to find poses or use as warmups. Comes with a section to sort which poses you want to see.

Body Builder - A great way to visualize a humanoid character’s body shape based on variables such as height, weight, and how much exercise they get. I doubt it’s fully accurate, but it’s still useful.

漫画素材工房 ‘s Pixiv - So so so so many helpful images on nearly any kind of anatomy possible. It’s all in japanese, but the images are clear enough to understand without text. Also has done lots and lots of hand references.

----And now, a pose tip!--- Having trouble looking for a pose, or model, or you just don’t draw people? Try looking for YouTube videos! Dog agility events are great for dog anatomy, music videos are useful for more unique poses. Street/Town walking videos are great for environment references. Use your resources! Most 3D printing sites have 3D model viewers on the site, so you can view any modeled object in nearly any angle without downloading or buying anything. Thingiverse and Sketchfab are nice places to start.

--OC Ideas--

Character Personality Quiz - Uses sliders to determine a character’s personality, and compares them with already existing characters in media.

123 Ideas for Character Flaws - A list of well, 123 character flaws.

Flaws and Weaknesses Generator - As the title says! Also has other helpful links for character designs.

16 Personalities - The popular personality test to determine what personality people fall under. But also useful to answer in character too.

Thought-Provoking Questions - A list of questions you can use to flesh out a character (or yourself).

--Colors--

ColorSnap - Make your own color palette by uploading any image.

Paletton - Select color schemes for websites or images. Drag the dots to create complimentary and tri-color schemes.

Coolors - Press your spacebar to create new color schemes. Lock or unlock colors you like, and rearrange them to your liking.

--Sounds--

MyNoise - Set ambient tones for drawing or writing. Make it feel like it’s raining outside, or you’re sitting in a café, or outside on a summer night but minus the cicadas.

Ambient Mixer - Has plenty of premade ambience, but you can still craft and edit your own.

--Other--

Waifu2x - A site that enlarges an image without losing the quality (most of the time). I mostly use it for Switch screenshots but I’m sure it can have other artistic uses.

Save as PNG - A useful Chrome extension that adds a ‘Save as PNG’ section to your right click. Nice for when images keep saving as .webp files. (you’ll have to search for this extension yourself, it doesn’t like me linking to it.)

Timer Tab - Turn your browser’s tab into a countdown clock. Useful for keeping focused.

Timer for Productivity - A small downloadable program to help keep you focused. Uses a timer in green when you’re working in an art program (or other authorized program), but stops and turns red if you click off and get distracted.

PostyBirb - A downloadable program that lets you upload an image to multiple websites at once. Includes many art sites such as Deviantart, Tumblr, Furaffinity, and many more. Will adjust your tags, titles, descriptions, and ratings to fit every website, and even allows minor changes for each individual site. I questioned it’s authenticity at first since it requires your login information, but after asking some tech-savvy friends, it’s been deemed safe. However, please use your own judgment and research unknown programs before downloading them!

--YouTube Artists--

Akihito Yoshitomi - A manga artist that shows their entire process, from sketching thumbnails to inking and finalizing tones. Often posts sketchbook drawings.

Jenna Drawing - A lovely artist that shows their progression over the years. Beautiful style.

Kaiteki ART - A wonderful watercolor artist who works with all kinds of interesting water based ink.

おてだま/ Otedama Art - Uses all kinds of mediums with beautiful results on every one. 

The Art of Aaron Blaise - An animator that has worked for Disney in the past, who makes animation tutorials and often live streams his animation process. Has lots of amazing tips to give.

Proko - Has TONS of art tutorials, and brings on many different kinds of artists that give their own tips and classes. Can be anything from figure drawing, to environmental rendering. Has tutorials on the barebones basics of art and how to get started too. If you can draw a triangle, square, and a circle, then you’re on the road to success.

A standalone video that shows how to draw from a reference, and how to see where your flaws are.

A huge tutorial on Low Poly Modeling in Blender. Very long video but great for beginners.

50 Quick Tips and How to draw FAST - both have lots of tips for using Clip Studio Paint. 

--Useful Tips--

Blender and ZBrushCoreMini are free 3D modeling programs.  Krita is a free paint and animation program. Clip Studio Paint often has sales at half their regular price (I got mine for $25USD). Also has a free trial option. Worth every penny in my opinion.

Can’t figure out how to draw a background, or need a quick background sketch? Open up a photo in Clip Studio Paint if you have it, go to Filter > Effect > Artistic, and play with the sliders to your hearts content. Ta da, quick background.

Take photos of yourself in a pose, or use a mirror if you have to. Sometimes you don’t realize a pose is impossible or unnatural until you try it yourself.

When you go out, take photos of scenery! You have free references then. Just don’t take or use photos of other people unless you ask for their permission first.

I have many more useful images on My Pinterest that I try to keep updated, including color schemes, writing tips, clothing, tutorials, and a little bit of humor. 

And remember, it is okay to use references.

[wandaromanova]

Geek

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Fem!Reader

Warnings: cussing, sexual suggestion, that’s all!

A/N: hello! hope you guys like this! happy reading <3

anon requested: Hi Kass! Could I request a super fluffy clingy Nat that’s trying to take her girlfriend shopping for video games and completely geeks out about like collectibles, games and other stuff? If you’re okay with it of course.

Summary: Y/N supports Natasha’s gaming addiction, despite not being a gamer herself.

Word Count: 1.5K

| masterlist | request rules/guidelines | wips |

please do not repost or try and take ownership of my work. reblogs, likes, and comments are always welcome. <3

“Come on, babe!”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

You rolled your eyes as your girlfriend, Natasha, pulled you by your hand and towards a store, GameStop, to be exact. 

The redhead has always had a love for video games, which surprised you, in all honesty. It wasn’t exactly the fact that she was a gamer that shocked you, it was more like her favorite game was an unexpected one; Minecraft. 

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

Yeah. Natasha Romanoff, the world’s deadliest assassin, absolutely loved to play Minecraft.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

She had a thing for creating various buildings in survival mode. There was something soothing about going out and finding supplies to use that got your girlfriend all excited. 

Natasha played the game on the computer you had in the living room of your shared apartment, not having a game station of her own. So, you took the liberty of buying a brand new PS5 for her just because. Now, the redhead was on the hunt for a PlayStation Store gift card to purchase the BedRock version of Minecraft. 

Truthfully, you didn’t know the difference, regardless of how many times Natasha had tried to explain it to you. Although you tried to understand it, considering how much your girlfriend adored the game. 

“So… what’s the difference between the one on your computer and the one you’re trying to buy from the online store?” 

You questioned your girlfriend as she dragged you towards the gift card section, her eyes scanning the plethora of cards for the one she needed. 

“The Java Edition is the original version of the game that was created for PC users, which is the one I’ve been using. You can do multiplayer with other PC users.

You nodded your head as she spun around the gift card stand, her other hand still firmly holding your own. 

“The BedRock Edition is for gaming consoles. This version allows cross-platform multiplayer mode, which means I can play Minecraft with anyone, regardless of their console.”

Her eyes lit up when she caught sight of what she had been looking for. 

“Considering there hasn’t been a release of Minecraft for the PS5, I have to purchase it online, with this gift card.” 

Natasha smiled triumphantly when her eyes landed on what she was looking for. She selected the card and proudly presented it to you, a wide smile spread across her face.

“Ta-daaa, my ticket into the realms.” Natasha scrunched her nose up while lowering her voice into an ominous tone. You couldn’t help but let out a small giggle at her antics. 

“Is there anything else you want, nerd?” You looked around the busy store. God, there were so many weird people here, nerds.

“Okay, first of all… I’m a geek, not a nerd. If you’re gonna do something, do it right.” Natasha sassed and you raised your eyebrow at her as she began to pull you towards the collectibles section, not before shoving the gift card into your free hand. 

“Potato, patato.” Natasha flipped you off, lifting her middle finger up behind her back as she guided you through the busy store. 

You let out a chuckle, then suddenly, Natasha let go of your hand and practically ran towards your destination. 

“Babe! Look!! It’s a baby panda plushie!!” Natasha snatched the stuffed animal off of one of the shelves and quickly whipped around as you caught up with her. 

“Wow… very cool…” Your voice lacked enthusiasm and the redhead sent you a glare, landing a soft punch on your shoulder. 

“Uh, don’t even try and act like this isn’t cool. The panda is my favorite animal mod! They do cute little tricks when you feed them bamboo.”

Natasha hugged the plushie close to her chest. She gave you the best puppy dog eyes she could muster, paired with pouty lips. 

“Can I please get the baby panda? I’ll give you head later if you get it for me.” You let out a genuine laugh at your girlfriend’s words. 

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

She was really bribing you with sex in order to get a stuffed panda; adorable. 

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“I mean I was going to get it for you anyway, but I’m definitely not declining that offer.” 

Natasha let out a small squeal before pulling you into a bone-crushing hug. You winced, not being able to breathe. 

“Babe, I- I kinda need to be alive to buy it for you…” You croaked out and the redhead loosened her hold on you, pulling back to peck your lips repeatedly. 

Natasha let go of you and turned around to face the section once more. Her eyes lit up when she caught sight of another piece of Minecraft merch. 

“Baby, look. It’s a torch-shaped water bottle! It looks exactly like the ones in the game.” Natasha tucked the panda under her arm, reaching out to grab the item that was on a higher shelf. 

The Russian let out a huff when she failed to reach the water bottle. Shaking your head, you made your way over to her, placing a hand on her waist as you grabbed the bottle with ease. 

Natasha rolled her eyes at you as you handed the object to her, a cocky smirk on your face.

“Show off…” Natasha muttered as she turned around to face you, staring at the water bottle in awe. She was freaking out over how detailed the design was and you’d be lying if you said it wasn’t the cutest shit you’ve ever seen. 

“I’ll get it for you if I can get head, twice.” Natasha looked up at you with a smirk on her face, her eyes focusing on your face. 

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“Deal.” 

•❅──────────────── ‎⧗ ────────────────❅•

A few hours later 

“Natty, dinner is ready.” You called out from the kitchen, your eyes lifting up to eye your girlfriend. 

She was sat on the couch in the living room, playing the version of Minecraft she had just downloaded. 

Natasha completely ignored you, too entranced by the video game.

With a sigh, you made your way out of the kitchen and sat beside the redhead, finally gaining her attention. 

“Baby, the graphics are so much better on this version than the other one.” You focused on the screen and watched as she opened the door of a home she built while you cooked dinner. 

“Look at all my dogs! I killed a ton of skeletons and got their bones so I could tame a shit ton of dogs.” Natasha smiled while your eyes widened. 

In a room of the house, there was nothing but dogs. The barks could be heard through the surround sound. 

“Jesus, Nat. How many do you have?” You couldn’t believe that she managed to find that many dogs. You’d watched her play a few times and you knew that it took a ton of time to come across dogs in the wild. 

“I have thirty. Aren’t they the cutest?” You turned your head to face Natasha’s side profile, a smirk making its way to your face. 

“Can I try?” You asked sweetly and Natasha immediately handed you the controller, showing you which buttons did what, before letting you play. 

You let out a small laugh as you began to hit the dogs with your hands, spamming the strike button as much as you could. 

Natasha let out a scream as the dogs yelped, your hits injuring them. You’d known this was possible because the redhead cried when she accidentally killed her dog on the PC a few months ago.

Seriously, she was devastated. This woman could kill men without flinching, but she cried for weeks after killing her virtual dog.

“Y/N! What the fuck are you doing? Stop!” Natasha exclaimed, yanking the controller out of your hand while you laughed uncontrollably. 

“I’m sorry, I had to. They’re not real and there are way too many! You can’t possibly take care of them all. It’s a small price to pay for salvation.” 

Natasha sent you a harsh glare, creases forming on her forehead. You let out a small sigh, wrapping your arms around her waist.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“You’re heartless. I’m dating a puppy murderer.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

The redhead grumbled out as she tried to get out of your grip, but you wouldn’t let her. 

“I’m sorry. I love you.” You shoved your face into her neck, your words coming out muffled against her skin. 

“No. Go fuck yourself. You killed two of my puppies.” The seriousness of Natasha’s tone sent you into another laughing fit. 

You pulled your face away from her neck, and sneaked a few kisses on her lips before placing one on her nose. 

Natasha tried her best to keep a straight face, but that didn’t last long. Her lips curled upward and she shook her head, cupping your cheek with one hand, and kissing you deeply. 

You disconnected your lips and stared into her emerald eyes. Her forehead was pressed up against yours as her eyes scanned your face.

“God, you’re such a nerd.” You breathed out when Natasha pulled her face back from yours slightly, a faux look of annoyance and offense across her features.ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“For the last time, I’m a geek, not a nerd!” Natasha huffed out and your eyes softened, a playful smirk on your face. You absolutely adored her and loved to piss her off whenever you could.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“They’re interchangeable terms for loser.” 

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“Fuck you.” 

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“I mean… I was promised head.” 

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“I revoke that promise.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“Hey! That’s not how promises work!”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

───────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ──────────

taglist: @ledollarbean-em @q-hearts @perfectromanoff @aliancvnas @ultimateskyscraper @marvelwomenslut @chaekhan @rvselie @brieswife @imasimpfornatashamaximoff @natashaswifey @prentisshoe @mcubreakdown101 @yeetus-thyself @multiyfandomgirl40 @kindofasimp @007giu @weelight @scotts-orange-slices @puppy-danvers2016 @acertainredhead @jdougl-love @bi-rdofprey-writes @mindofwesley @shatteredlovesick @lostandsearching @tquick99 @rachel146 @illloveyou @thewidowsghost @uraveragelonelygay @useless-wlw-fangirl @pattypavo @wandasgirlfriend @sapphic-stress @olicity-boo @summergeezburr @ycfwmalise14 @suki-is-a-queen @xxromanoffxx @b-5by5 @romanovaslut @hagridsmomma @ooobviouslyyyy @chasethemoon @blurryylines @spxncervibes @yeeterthekeeper @maximoff-jp @onceattwice

[absolutepokemontrash]

The Brothers and Side Characters Play the Sims

I don’t know what possessed me to make this but WHATEVER. I’ve been playing the Sims since I was a wee little girl, and I’ve seen my fair share of weird Sims stuff that I feel would fit these bozos perfectly.

My Sims have a Functional Family Life Because I Don’t (Lucifer)

God dammit Levi’s obsessed with another game... ugh.

Spends 5 minutes in Create-a-Sim and hops into a starter home.

Lucifer’s the type to start with all the average stuff and then build their stuff up as his sim gets promotions.

It’s just... so peaceful...

...he’s adopting a dog.

Look at his new little virtual family... his sim-kids are self sufficient and getting A’s in school, his Sim spouse MC or Diavolo take your pick loves his Sim-self, his sim-dog-

WAIT NO- THE DOG’S AN ELDER?!

AAAAAAAAAAAAA-

...

He’s fine. It was just a virtual dog. *sniffle*

He’s now spending his free time drinking Demonus and playing the Sims.

What’s a mod? Levi why does your sim have gun?

Behold, My Gorgeous Home... It’s a Box (Mammon)

Mammon, like the rest of the HOL, is mooching off of Levi’s Origin account.

“AW SHIT! This house looks awesome! I’m gonna build it for Sim-me to live in!”

Mammon proceeds to build a box with rooms. Yay...

He just picks the funnest sounding job if he picks any job at all for his Sim. That’s how he ended up making 9 dollars an hour in the criminal career.

Didn’t stop Mammon from buying that solid gold bathroom set from Get Famous... a box with solid gold bathrooms.

His Sim is broke send help-

“Leviiiiiii my sim needs money... the people my sim kidnapped and is forcing to paint aren’t making enough money...” “Ugh... press control shift C and type ‘motherlode’.”

...Levi made a mistake.

“FUCK YEAH! MOTHERLODE!”

His sim’s life is so chaotic, he has a piranha pool that his sim has almost died in twice, the sim is carrying on several torrid love affairs, his sim got struck by lightning, his sim has nearly died in a grilled cheese making accident twice... in the same day.

At least once Sim-Mammon and Sim-MC get married things calm down a little.

Mammon finds out what custom content is and proceeds to download EVERYTHING HE CAN FIND.

And now he’s asking Levi why his computer is running so slow.

Expansion Pack King (Leviathan)

He got into it back when the Sims 2 was new, he’s a veteran fan.

“Bro remember when Agnes Crumplebottom would show up and whack the shit out of your sims if they were flirting?”

“Remember when that witch would show up randomly on the lot you were on if you had Makin’ Magic?”

“Remember when Bella Goth was abducted by aliens and we just... didn’t question it?”

He whines about the Sims4 and how crappy it is but still buys every expansion pack, game pack, and stuff pack.

This boy watches like 40 hours of built tutorials and ends up sobbing over his weird roofs.

“WHY DOESN’T IT LOOK AS NICE AS THE ONE I’M LOOKING AT?! THIS ISN’T FAIR!”

The mod folder is so full istg-

Levi gets custom content for the sole purpose of making his favourite fictional characters.

This is why Henry and the Lord of Shadows are married and Ruri-chan and Sim-Levi are roommates.

Oh my god they were roommates-

Levi also added his brothers to the world and uh... Sim-Mammon died in a tragic pool accident F.

Levi then proceeded to befriend the Grim Reaper.

He’s anxiously awaiting the release of Paralives.

Wait Gameplay? In This Build Simulator? (Satan)

Satan’s here to build and leave. Gameplay who?

Our favourite bundle of rage is a master architect and the amount of followers on the Gallery he has shows it.

He takes up those build shell challenges and always ends up making them look positively perfect.

Asmo’s always using his houses, and Satan often takes requests when he gets bored.

No Mammon, he reserves the right to refuse to build a golden castle for you- YOUR SIM HAS 40 SIMOLEONS-

No mods, no CC, he’s building with what EA gave him.

...and EA gave him debug objects, and he’s not going to explain how to get them.

The one time he did actually play with a family... it was one sim and seven cats.

He tries to play without cheats... and ends up getting frustrated and turns on cheats.

All hail the Pets Expansion Pack.

Custom Content Soap Opera (Asmodeus)

Asmo spends 5 hours in Create a Sim then just... clicks out of the game.

That’s how it goes most of the time, buuuuuut when he gets super invested in a family he’s made, boy howdy is he INVESTED.

Sim A is carrying on an affair with Sim C who’s in love with Sim B who’s married to Sim A but Sim D wants to kill Sim A and C even though they’re the illegitimate child of Sim C-

When Asmo realizes that in the Sims 4 he needs to manufacture all the drama himself and he can’t just sit back with a glass of wine and watch the fireworks, he switches to the Sims 2 and 3.

“...why is this old lady beating up my Sim..?”

He immediately recoils in horror upon seeing how ugly the Sims are pre Sims4.

HE NEEDS TO FIX THIS-

Ah, there we go, perfect. Custom Content to the rescue!

He ends up remaking the entire world just so he doesn’t have to look at weird looking Sims.

Asmo is the only one to have finished a proper Legacy Challenge, but it gets crazy chaotic after gen 3.

“My sim just got abducted by aliens and now he’s pregnant- WHAT?!”

He has about 40 saves and only two he actually plays.

Just a Big Ol’ Happy Family (Beelzebub)

Beel found the game, proceeded to make everyone in create-a-sim to the best of his abilities, and made everyone get along.

That’s why Sim-Lucifer and Sim-Belphie are on a swing set together, they’re friends :D

“Hey Luke do you think you can make this?” “I-is that a cake shaped like a hamburger?” “Yes. Please make.”

He took one look at the cooking options and decided to max out his Sim’s cooking skill to unlock all the options.

Beel proceeded to drool all over his keyboard. Gross...

Boy howdy did he have some crazy dinner suggestions!

Overall, very wholesome Sim-life, except for the time Sim-Levi died because the toilet caught fire, don’t worry, Sim-Beel knows how to make ambrosia.

All is good in the Sim save...

...until Sim-Beel ate pufferfish nigiri and fuckin died-

Wait Did I Not Pause- (Belphie)

Huh, this game looks fine... I’ll play for a little- *SNORE*

Belphie makes some sims, plops them into a starter home, plays for an hour, then falls asleep.

He wakes up five hours later to absolute carnage.

Three sims have died because someone decided to make Mac and Cheese and the oven caught fire, the kids were taken away by social services, and the dog ran away.

“...heheh, holy shit everyone look.”

He doesn’t play often, but when he does, death occurs. He has found out every death method for every game from Sims 2 to 4.

And that INCLUDES the Sims Medieval! You guys remember that game?

Sometimes it’s not intentional, but Belphie got bored with the totally normal life his sims were living and decided to spice it up.

“Why are the ghosts breaking my showers..?”

Help There’s a Bug- (Diavolo)

The Crown Prince started playing when he noticed Lucifer was playing it.

He was immediately obsessed.

Dia mostly plays the Sims Medieval because he likes the feeling of achievement after completing a quest!

“Barbatos... why isn’t my Sim completing their task? The icon won’t show up.” “My lord it appears the game is bugged.” “:(“

No one thought to tell Diavolo that EA doesn’t plan on offering bug support to a game made in like... 2009

This doesn’t matter! Look at how great his kingdom is doing- oh no his hero has the plague-

He plays through the Pirates and Nobles expansion and manages to get the peaceful ending, he’s so proud of himself.

“MC! Look! My Monarch’s sword is permanently on fire and I’m fighting an evil wizard!”

When he does play the other Sims games he’s pretty basic, though, he does a great job at furnishing!

Dia gets crazy sad when his Sims die... he turns off aging.

Builder no. 2 (Barbatos)

Barbie doesn’t have time for this... but when he does, he builds.

No create a sim.

No playing the game as intended.

Just builds.

It’s relaxing, okay? A nice little suburban house he’s never going to play in, maybe a treehouse, maybe a big Hollywood Mansion...

The only time he actually plays the game outside of build mode is when someone needs his help to fix something in-game.

He does download custom content build items if he feels bored by the current selection.

Oh Crap What Am I Doing?! (Simeon)

Help him. Please.

He’s so confused.

“Luke, why is my sim upset?” “He’s hungry, Simeon.” “Oh, how do I fix that?” “...Simeon-”

There’s a toilet in the middle of the living room.

The fridge is facing the wall.

There’s no bathtub or shower.

The house is on fire- there is no god- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-

Okay, once he gets the hang of it he’s sitting pretty. His sims have good jobs, the kids are getting good grades, everything’s fine.

...

But Simeon won’t forget the nightmares.

What Even is This Save? (Solomon)

Solomon’s save is the definition of chaos.

One sim’s a vampire, the other is a spellcaster that really wants to fight the Callientes for some reason, there’s one normal sim that’s always sick for some reason,

It gets weird, confusing, and horrible.

Just how Solomon likes it.

His house makes no sense, like, what even is architecture?

Money cheats are needed because Solomon‘a goal of chaos and confusion is proving to be kind of expensive.

Square up Mortimer Goth, Solomon’s sims are here to steal your weird knight statue that’s worth a shit ton of simoleons for NO REASON.

He joined the scientist career for the sole purpose of getting to the alien planet and kidnapping adding an alien to the household via cheats.

The vampire ended up dying on their wedding day because Solomon forgot that he gave them the sun weakness.

Oh well, the ghost got added to the household! VAMPIRE GHOST!

The Child (Luke)

Before you say Luke’s too young to play the Sims, you should know that I was nine when I first started playing, and I turned out fiiiiiiiiiine.

He’s just happy to be playing.

Look, his sims are gardening :D

Look, two of them are getting married :D

Look, they had a baby :D

Look, his sims are building a rocket ship :D

Look, his sims’s rocket just crashed-

The concept of death hit the little angel right in the face that day.

“*sniffle*... my sims...”

Don’t worry, with tears in his eyes, Luke quit without saving and everything was fine!

Speaking of My Sims, Luke played MySims Sky Heroes and that was when Luke had his first bout of gamer rage.

MC came over to hang out with Solomon and Simeon, and in the distance they could just hear:

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN MY TIME WASN’T FAST ENOUGH TO CONTINUE THE STORY!? I’LL SHOW YOU FAST ENOUGH TIME!”

Okay, maybe Simeon should take the game away... just for a bit... he should take heed not to be bitten by the incredibly angry chihuahua.

Bonus:

MC: Why are our Sims married?

*Insert Boy Here*: Uh... that’s weird... I have no clue why they’re doing that...

[bomberqueen17]

ass’td updates

idk what i’ve discussed onhere and not, so apologies if i meander repetitively.

have been at the farm for like five or six days. have the cabin basically move-in ready, if you accept that this does not include the metal roof or the like, eaves. (Soffits, to be technical.) or the interior insulation for the roof. ok the roof is just some boards with rubber roof underlayment nailed over-top, so it needs layers inside and out. but like, it does keep out the rain, so it’s a start.

I’m leaving scaffolding set up inside, mostly to remind myself not to move too much shit in. I need to figure out a proper floor too, it’s only the plywood under-floor. I don’t want to move much furniture in.

I also still need a ladder to the loft; I’ve got a six-foot stepladder and the floor is eight feet up so you have to stand on top of the stepladder right on the NO STEPPY HERE label to get up there. Not ideal, but. The plans don’t include building a ladder; BIL wants to make a staircasey-like-thingy, which is a good idea but will take a bit.

But I’ve actually spent more hours cleaning Middle-Little Sister’s apartment than housebuilding this week. Like, we got all the windows in, and the second door on, and that’s great, the windows are even weatherstripped and I washed them with actual Windex to finish the installation, very fun. But M-L is in the midst of buying a house and thus will need to move, so I’d offered to come over and help her start slowly sorting before she began packing. Figured if I started now, by the time they pass their closing date and can move in, we’d have managed to winnow out a lot of her excess junk so we could spare ourselves moving boxes of garbage to a new place where we’d then have to throw them out.

But no; her landlord needed to come in today, which means I spent about twenty hours spread out over three days, including a marathon on Sunday, cleaning her apartment. Her plan was to just cram shit into boxes and fill her bedroom with them (she sleeps in the living room because the downstairs neighbor has shouted conversations in the bedroom at night, apparently) but I managed to instead remove a number of items and sort them before packing things randomly into boxes stacked in the bedroom. We had takeout two days and finally I got tired and brought vegetables from the farm and last night made a lovely frittata. But her apartment-- it’s like cooking in a ship’s galley, you literally can’t turn around, to open the oven door you have to stand in the bedroom doorway. It’s ridiculous. I can’t believe she’s lived here for nine years. I can’t wait for her to get out.

Anyway. Landlord’s due in a couple of hours; when I left her last night, she’d cleared out the entryway and made a ton of progress, and condensed shit down into surprisingly compact boxes, which I’d stacked very skillfully in the bedroom, with lighter things on top to the ceiling, so it’s very dense. We got a ton of shit put out to the curb on Monday night, and have since filled a number more of garbage and recycling bags and boxes, which is exciting (might bring some over to Mom’s, since her garbage pickup is later in the week and ML has to go up that direction anyway). I clearly labeled the garbage so it doesn’t wind up accidentally getting moved, that was my genius brainwave.

I’m quite tired and headachey today. It’s rainy, so we can’t work on the cabin. Instead I’m clearing out the slaughterhouse, which has had the normal winter silting-in process take place, with added construction debris-- BIL is putting in a commercial kitchen in what used to be our storage bay, and that’s thrown things into chaos besides just being a mess. No slaughter days until mid-May but if I start now, it’ll be easier later.

Anyhow. Well, gonna queue this, so by the time it posts I’ll have heard all about the landlord visit probably. but it looks like the house purchase will actually go through?? after a weekend of miscommunications and chaos?? so we’ll see.

M-L is moving in with a friend, but yesterday we were like... y’all should just get a wedding registry anyway, jeez, neither are the marrying type so this is their big chance. Can you do a Housewarming Registry? You should be able to. They need a proper Kitchenaid mixer and like. A roof. Can you put a roof on a housewarming registry? How about like 30 windows? Maybe that’s more reasonable. Yeah.

Anyway. Back to scrubbing things.

[aurorajay]

I'm curious about what sort of mock-ups this quote is referring to. Like who's making these models of 40's kitchens without any older appliances?

I would have expected anything within the field of history/archeology to take the existence of hand-me-downs and inheritance into consideration. But maybe there's areas in which it doesn't get discussed much?

If we're talking theatre or film, that's also a bit odd, because it's one of the basic guidelines for good story telling. Geographic location, financial situation, class status, character age, etc. all inform what a character wears or fills their house with. A young, image-conscious teen with money might have all the latest fashions, but their Grandma is more likely to be dressed in something several decades out of date.

Granted, there's plenty of bad design out there. Lots of cheaply produced TV and film doesn't get that level of consideration put into it because of tight budgets and timelines. But I feel like in those cases the result is usually something modern with tacked on historical flair, rather than perfect reproductions from a single point in time.

The point about how we understand history is interesting though. Personally, I suspect our views of history are being influenced by the current state of consumerism and planned obsolescence, more than the other way around.

Clothing, appliances, furniture, even the structure of a house itself are increasingly designed and built in the cheapest way possible. I think nowadays we expect most new purchases to break or wear out within a few years. The idea that someone might have the same fridge they got 30 years ago is becoming foreign to us. And I bet that the younger you are, the less it even occurs to you.

And to get back to the original complaint about fashion content: Influencer culture as a whole is very youth focused and status obsessed. Also brand-conscious. And like. The idea that a person should be a brand is at best kinda silly, and at worst harmful to mental and physical health. But that's the stew these people are marinating in. "Cohesive aesthetics" is something you do to build a brand, not a person. Only the fashion influencer mindset doesn't draw a distinction between those two things, at least not publicly.

Now I'm sure lots of them are pushing a "buy more" message simply because it gets them advertising revenue and kickbacks from purchases directed through their blogs/instagrams/whatever. Most of these people either have money or are desperately chasing it, and fast fashion is incredibly profitable. The entire industry is built on micro trends selling cheap disposable garments, and I think a lot fashion content is a deliberate, cynical way to grab a piece of that.

But I also think there's a lot of influencers, especially younger ones, that have just kinda bought into the "buy more, build your brand aesthetic" mentality without realizing or questioning it. Even those who are making an effort to be conscious of sustainability and focus on thrifting. There's an unspoken assumption not just that you will be buying clothes regularly, but that you need to. And the worst part is, that's starting be true.

It's getting harder and harder to find clothes that will last more than a couple years. Most of the pieces I own that have stood the test of time were made a decade ago or more. Quite a few of those were pretty standard fast fashion, really nothing special at the time. But the quality is still miles ahead of similar items being produced by the exact same brands today. At a certain point though, those garments will give out. And when they do, I may have to replace them with something that has a fraction of that lifespan.

My eventual goal is to make more of my own clothes, and buy from smaller companies doing good quality work, but it hasn't been easy to find the time or money for it. And because my job includes tons of thrifting, I end up buying most of my stuff second-hand instead. Which used to be a reliable way to find lasting wardrobe staples. But the hidden gems are getting rarer, and they're buried under growing mountains of Shein garbage.

I wish I had a better way to end this whole ramble, because that feels a bit depressing. I guess what I wanna say is. You don't need a "cohesive aesthetic". You're a person not a brand. Everyone has their preferences, colours, cuts, materials, all that. But you don't need to draw a box around them and say "this is what I'm limiting myself to". I feel like style should be descriptive, not prescriptive. If you wanna name whatever you already got going on in your wardrobe, or try new looks that interest you, sure, sounds fun! But imho, anyone who tells you personal style should stick to a single theme doesn't actually enjoy fashion. They enjoy marketing.

There is something I absolutely loathe about fashion content on the whole.

"What is your color season? Buy a whole new wardrobe." - I assure you that I am not throwing out perfectly good things I already have.

"Find your aesthetic and build a whole wardrobe around it" - again, this involves getting rid of things and buying new ones.

"Instead of buying this sweater, buy one that is pure wool." - I have news for you about how affordable pure wool is.

"Just go thrifting!" - Thrifting is not the gold mine that people seem to think it is. A lot of influencers are getting lucky because they live in cities where there is a relatively high turnover of stock at the thrift store. My average thrift store visit ends with me buying one or two things that 1. I like. 2. Are reasonably priced for the condition they're in. 3. Are actually my size.

If I had to sum up my irritation with this, it's that a lot of fashion content (and interior design from what I've seen) is that it is built on the idea that your life should have a unified aesthetic. But I would wager that most people have pieces and parts of different aesthetics cobbled together across different periods of their life. And there's nothing wrong with that. You don't have to start over every time your "aesthetic" shifts a bit.

[melsie-sims]

Hi again 😅 i checked your pinned post and couldn't find it but is there a specific set of rules you're following for your ts2 bacc? I wanted to give it a try myself but the rules I found seemed confusing but you seem like you're having a lot of fun so I'm not sure if it's just the rules I was looking at

No, I don't follow any set of rules. I didn't want to restrict myself in case I got bored, I wanted the flexibility to just do whatever I wanted at the time.

This is how I started though:

Build a starter house for 6 sims, use the simoleons needed, cheat if you have to. Only add the essentials: kitchen, living room, SINGLE beds for everyone, a bathroom, then if you WANT TO you can add a bookcase, ONE item to build skills with, etc. I gave them a TV because I was feeling generous but I know some BACCs don't even start with electricity.

After that, make your first six founders. I decided to go with 2 knowledge sims, 2 fortune sims and 2 family sims. I thought they'd be the most likely to get my town going as quickly as possible. No shame on romance/pleasure/popularity but I was afraid all they'd wanna do was party all the time (I wasn't wrong).

After that you can add new playable sims whenever you find things getting a bit boring, or you can add them when you run out of romantic partners, or you just feel like it. That's how I'm doing it with mine.

Also, important bit about simoleons: I set my sims' household to zero after building the starter house (or maybe 100, I don't remember) and haven't given anyone simoleons since. So no 20k when moving sims in. So all of the money has been earned by sims.

I don’t have specific rules for community lots. I made a beach and a forest/park for my sims when I felt the need for it. I think generally speaking I’ll add a free community lot every time I open up a sim-owned business. But again, I just add stuff as I feel like it, no real method to the madness. I might also add taxes into my gameplay once I have a mayor/town hall and use taxes to “purchase” community lots... but that’s not something I wanna think about too much yet. 

No using buy mode on residential lots. This is one that's specific to my game rules. I haven't seen anyone else do it (they aren't THAT crazy). Sims can only use items they've purchased on community lots / from sim-owned businesses.

When they have computers then I will be allowing them to purchase buy mode items, but only if there's a store in town that actually sells the item type.

I have no rules on careers or anything like that.

Other than that, I think that's it? I just wanted my Sims 2 game to be super easy-going. I wanted to let my sims go wild and just enjoy the chaos, not worry as much about rules the way I do with my Sims 4 BACC.

Hope that helps you and I'm very excited to see your gameplay!!

Oh and if you do want some rules to follow, I suggest checking out PleasantSims' site. She has a ton of stuff you can read up on. I use her method of assigning aspirations/secondary aspirations, as well as a few other things too. She also has a very thorough list of mods and cc.

Thanks for your Q! 💚💚💚

[dimeeasy]

10 Legit Ways to Build Passive Income Online

Whether you are a student looking to make some extra cash, a working professional wanting to build a side hustle, or a corporate escapee and whosoever who is starting to build an online business need to have some cash inflow for the further smooth flow of your business.

There are many sites out there saying make money like $100 a day with surveys, with google sites, etc. Of course, they may make you money for a certain period of time but are not long-term and passive.

You always need to look out for ways to make money that are passive. You need to earn money every month and double it. Here are my top creative ideas to make money online. These real methods have worked in past and will work now and then too.

Freelancing

You would have heard a lot of this from others. But yes, this is the first best way to earn some cash before starting out your business. It will help to get some extra money into your pocket as well as fund a little for your software if you are starting out. You can start freelancing with no investment upfront. It's FREE. You can make money online freelancing.

Don’t worry if you think you don’t have any skills. You can learn small skills by taking a free trial in skillshare. There are tons of gigs people are looking for to get their work done and with the right process, you can make money as a freelancer.

By the year 2027, freelancers are projected to make up the majority of the workforce in the United States, with 50.9% of the working population. In fact, at the current growth rate, it’s estimated that 67.6 million Americans will be freelancing by the end of 2021. That’s 42% of the American workforce! (Website planet).

What are you waiting for? Search in-demand gigs on google keywords and search trends. And yes, patience is the key. You need to wait a few weeks while you get your first gig. Start promoting your services on social media and find your spot.

Starting a Blog

As of 2021, there are more than 570 million blogs on the internet, based on activities reported by WordPress, Tumblr, Blogger, Wix, Squarespace, and Medium (and this number is constantly growing) (firstsiteguide).

Now do not get overwhelmed, the one thing is though blogs are growing rapidly, and so are people reading blogs. Of course, blogs are saturated, but when you niche down and find your audience then you can achieve your space in this sea of bloggers.

Starting a blog, yesterday, today, tomorrow, is possible as long as you are using proper rules, like optimizing your SEO, giving unique content to your readers, and more. But, the best day to start blogging for your profit is today and now.

Let us look at some stats on why you should start your blog today

61% of online shoppers in the US say they made a purchase after getting a recommendation from a blog post

Companies that blog actively have 126% better lead growth

80% of bloggers say that they see positive business results from their blogging efforts

Blogs affect customers’ buying decisions as 47% of them go through 3 to 5 blog posts before the buying process (Firstsiteguide)

Give me a better reason why you should not start a blog after these mind-blowing facts.

You can start a niche blog, review blog, cooking blog, gaming blog, parenting blog, and more. Just write what you know or keep an eye on your competitors and outperform them. And blogging is the best for your long-term passive income.

Starting a YouTube channel

Now as we’ve known how YouTube has evolved to be like a video search engine, the platform has grown considerably and is been growing millions of YouTubers.

Again, let’s talk about some statistics about YouTube. YouTube has 2.3 billion users worldwide.

79 percent of Internet users have their own YouTube account.

YouTube viewers watch over a billion hours of video on the platform every day and generate billions of views. (YouTube, 2021)

YouTube is localized in more than 100 countries and is available in 80 languages. (YouTube, 2021)

Every day people watch one billion hours of video on YouTube (source-Oberlo)

Now, the real question is how to make money out of YouTube? Well, there is enough space for you to sink in. Are you a coach, fitness enthusiastic, a person with good communication, or even just an individual with no skills at all? You can make videos, monetize your YouTube account, and earn from AdSense and affiliate marketing.

Umm! Some people may say that YouTube is not for me. I don’t know how to make and produce videos. I don’t have any skills. Well, I have a solution for that. You can make money from YouTube absolutely by not showing your face at all.

Here are some of the niches you can make videos y not showing your face.

If u do not want to record videos, you can head up to free stock videos or images and give a voice-over and start making content.

If you feel shy to start, you will never get ahead. So, the one thing I want to tell to everyone who is shy to make videos and for my younger self, stop doubting yourself. Just do it, don’t care about criticism, success will follow you

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is when a person earns a commission for referring a product to others. For eg: You register yourself as an affiliate to promote certain products, when the person you promote the product click on your unique affiliate link and purchases through your link you earn a commission. A commission can range for each and every product.

And the affiliate marketing model is the best, safe model for beginners. You can drive traffic for free and for paid as well. You can be an affiliate marketer if you need a passive income, you don’t need to have any other customer support, you can work from home at your own comfort.

Now, how to register as an affiliate. First, think of what do you like the most. What products do you love using? Type the name in google and see whether there is an affiliate program or just see other affiliate programs in your niche. Choose the one you love so that you don’t feel tired and exhausted in the long run.

There are many other sites where you can choose your products from. You can take products from Click bank, Digistore24, Share a Sale, Jvzoo, and similar other platforms.

Here are the best affiliate platforms for you to choose from

How do you want to promote is the next question?

Well, you can create landing pages in click funnels, kartra, or builderall and promote them through ads. If you are on your budget, you could start a blog and promote it. You can write blogs for free on medium.com. It is a cost-effective way to sell your products. You can create a YouTube channel, talk about how you love using those products, and promote them, you could even use Pinterest to promote your blogs and landing pages.

We all know that Pinterest is a visual search engine and no doubt you can get quite a good sale from affiliate marketing in Pinterest

Once you get your first sale and testimonials you can start your Instagram page and build trust with others to promote the products and scale your business.

Instagram Influencer

Do you love making TikTok videos, always want to be active on social media? Then here is your chance to start earning being an Instagram influencer.

You can start by creating content about the topic you want to talk about the most. If creating a YouTube channel feels a bit challenging, grow your audience and monetize them through Instagram. Feel free to talk about what you feel.

Collect your follower's email IDs. Once you become consistent with the audience and platform, the content you are generating makes a digital course or something you think to monetize your people. Giveaway a lot of freebies, checklists, and many other things to lead your audience to the product you are offering. Build trust with them and try to use all of Instagram's available channels. Use carousals, reels, IGTV, go live to show behind the scenes of your work, and more!.

Staying consistent is the key to grow your audience on Instagram.

Starting a T-Shirt Business

Whether you’re an artist, writer, designer, or entrepreneur, physical products can be the perfect canvas for monetizing your creativity. Yes, you heard that right. You can start your own merch for free. Starting an online T-shirt business is booming in this era an why don’t you be one of them. You do not need to hold any inventory, just design your t-shirt online and publish it.

Let me make it clear. So what is print on demand? How to start your free t-shirt business

Print on demand is a process where you work with a supplier to customize white-label products (like baseball hats or tote bags) with your own designs to sell them on a per-order basis under your own brand.

That means you don’t pay for the product until after you’ve actually sold it, so there’s no need to buy in bulk or hold any inventory yourself.

Plus, with print-on-demand services, everything after the sale, from printing to shipping, is handled by your supplier. Once you’ve set everything up, it takes only a few clicks to fulfill an order once you’ve made a sale.

You can use print-on-demand services to:

Test a business idea or new product line for an existing business without the risks that come with buying inventory.

Monetize an audience you’ve built. Printing on demand is a great option if you’re a YouTuber, cartoonist, or social media influencer who wants to spend your time creating content instead of fulfilling orders.

Create original products for a niche of customers. For example, apparel for people who are passionate about gaming.

Easily print one-off items—t-shirts, books, shoes, bags, wall art, phone cases, clocks, laptop skins, mugs, and so much more. You can send these as gifts or keep them for yourself and your team (source-Shopify)

You can get started with print on demand for almost free with teespring, redbubble, printful . Or you can start your online store on Shopify and sell them as a custom branding.

Do not worry if you are not a pro in graphic designing. You can design your t-shirt on canva and paste the design on your t-shirt too. This is a legitimate and easy business for beginners online. You can promote your merch by using SEO, keywords, and various social platforms.

Let's take a look at the print on demand statistics:

This statistic depicts the market value of the custom t-shirt printing market worldwide from 2016 to 2025. In 2016, the global custom t-shirt printing market was valued at 1.16 billion U.S. dollars, and was forecast to reach a value of 3.1 billion U.S. dollars by 2025.

This is insane amount the industry is making from print-on-demand only.

COVID-19 impact Fabric face mask accounted for 11.14% of all goods sold through Printify in September 2020. (Printify)

A 2020 survey revealed that about 96% of millennials and Gen Z have concerns about how the ongoing pandemic will impact the economy. (BigCommerce)

With more people staying at home and focusing on home improvement projects, the Home & Living category is on the rise, with the first 6 months of 2020 seeing a 243.77% growth. Both canvas gallery wraps (2.19%) and premium vertical posters (1.35%) are in TOP15 products sold by Printify merchants. (Printify)

According to Merkle’s report in 2020, roughly 79% of consumers plan to be more conservative with how much they will spend shopping online during the pandemic. (Merkle)

In the first 6 months of 2020, Printify monthly active users have grown by 69%, with registrations up 39%. (Printify)

62% of sellers in the United Kingdom changed their marketing plan because of the pandemic. Moreover, only 14 percent of businesses have decided to stick with their original marketing strategy for 2020. (Statista) ( All sources- Printify) Read more at: https://printify.com/ecommerce-statistics/ And these are just stats alone. Don’t wait now. Start your print-on-demand business right away.

Online Tutoring

Again, online tutoring is gaining massive demand in this digital age. During the pandemic the online tutoring business was a boom and it will be more in the coming years. Just teach people what you know. There are many people in this world who want to learn and are ready to pay for it.

Whether you know to speak English, or drawing, graphic designing, marketing, business, or anything that matters, turn your own skill into a business

You can tutor in paid platforms like cambly, Oakary, iTutor, or just start teaching in YouTube and create tour own course and sell it. You can create courses and teach in udemy too. People all over the world are searching to learn skills and may be you can teach them what you know and monetize your skills.

Amazon KDP [ Selling E-books and low content books ]

As I told you print on demand is a big thing and so does amazon KDP is too. What is KDP? Amazon KDP is nothing but kindle direct publishing. KDP allows you to self-publish eBooks and paperbacks for free. Amazon gives you direct access to your book on Amazon and allows you to create a product detail page for your book. It also gives you the option to expand your book’s availability on a global scale, making it more accessible for readers around the world. Publishing with KDP gives you full rights to your book, which is not something a traditional publishing house typically allows.

What types of content can I publish through KDP?

KDP allows you to publish eBooks (Kindle) and paperback books. However, KDP does not allow the creation of magazines, periodicals, or spiral-bound books.

Content types typically published using KDP include but are not limited to the following:

Novels

Book Series

Children’s Books

Comics

Cookbooks

Journals

Poetry

Textbooks (source: amazon.com)

Selling Photography

Are you a photographer? Are you making enough money? If no then this will help you , if yes you are gonna make an extra dime.

You can sell your beautiful photos on Getty Images, Pexels, Shutterstock, Adobe Stock and many more sites and earn money whenever your image is downloaded. If it is a subscription-based site then your earnings will be more. You can post your beautiful images on Instagram and become famous. Ultimately you can collaborate with various brands for their product photography.

If your camera is lying there near you, take it and start clicking pictures and sell your photos online.

Selling on Etsy

Etsy is an online market place that works as an intermediary between customers and artists, crafters of handmade items or collectors of vintage products. The company engages in customer to customer (C2C) or peer to peer (P2P) e-commerce in which both the seller and the buyer are private individuals or micro-businesses. This is in contrast to other forms of internet commerce such as B2C or B2B (source: Statista).

Let's head to our facts about how profitable it is to sell on Etsy

Etsy had over 2.5 million sellers at the end of 2019, and we can only expect that this number has increased.

Etsy sellers live all over the world, in 234 countries

62% of Etsy sellers are based in the US.

California is home to the most Etsy sellers with 14% of US-based Etsy shops. (credits: veeqo)

Etsy is a huge commerce platform, with an especially strong US presence. Plus, the fact that most sellers are multi-channel retailers—and also selling their products on marketplaces like Amazon and Shopify sites—suggests that the platform isn’t just for amateur makers. It’s for eCommerce businesses.

So if you’re already selling handmade or vintage products on another platform, it’s worth it to expand and start selling on Etsy.

If you’re starting a business, it’s important to run the numbers before setting up shop—or at least quitting your day job. Etsy does have associated costs, though it’s worth noting that the listing and transaction fees are lower than other platforms, like Amazon and eBay. (cre: veeqo)

So, if you can start your print on demand you can sell it on Etsy too. If you are good at handicrafts Etsy is the best place to promote.

Conclusion

So here are the top 10 ways where in you can make legitimate money online. You can try all these methods one by one. Well, everyone will look for quick methods to make money online, but those won’t suffice for long run.

If you should build a strong business online you need to stay consistent no matter what. Staying consistent will help audience grow along with you on your journey to make money online. For beginners starting out these methods will help you in starting out to make a dime or two.

One thing I need to make particular is you will not see results instantly. You need to try and try, keep on trying. Whether it is 2 weeks, 1 month or 3 months, you should not stop. Keep up that grind and let’s start the digital lifestyle. Start by making money online fore free with these methods and start investing in ads and make the business run for you in long run.

[pancakeke]

How were you able to get into so many different crafts? Do you have a dedicated craft room? (Ur entire setup is aspirational to me as a college student!)

I have an office that has become my craft room!! My computer is in there and I work from home so I work in there too, but most of the space is dedicated to different tools/workspaces.

MESSY but here's the majority of my office. I have 3 desks in a big C shape. The left desk has all my sewing stuff, middle has my cricut and computer, then right has all my resin casting stuff and little SLA 3D printer. There's a paper drying station above it that I made from vinyl record racks mounted sideways lol

Off to the far left you can see part of an enormous shelf where I store other tools abd materials (keyboard building stuff, rug making stuff, knitting machine, spray paints, bulky sewing materials, dremel kit, serger, regular printer, sewing patterns, unfinished sewing projects, my old sewing machine, packaging for my store, god what else...)

If you want to get into a lot of hobbies it will seem really daunting with how many tools you need to buy, but realistically you shouldn't expect to get everything you want/need all at once. (DON'T get into leathercraft unless you can buy a lot of stuff immediately btw)

I started just with sewing years ago. The sewing machine I had was a tiny little Kenmore my mom got me for Christmas when I was in 5th or 6th grade. I stuck with that for a long time while slowly picking up more stuff.

Second hand is the best way to go for getting new tools when you join a hobby. Ebay is ok but people will try to rip you off sometimes. Shopgoodwill randomly has amazing deals on equipment. I you can get lucky with them for sergers and sewing machines if you're ok waiting around for specific models or buying older models that are available.

Joann Fabrics has great sales every so often on various sewing machines, but I've become partial to Ken's Sewing Center because they carry refurbished items with pretty decent discounts. Costco also has sewing machine deals but I haven't explored that option super well. Heads up though sewing machine and the like prices have gone up a lot the past 2 years :/

My knitting machine I got for an AMAZING deal on eBay because it was from an estate sale (like $100 shipped, which is nuts), and the serger I'm "borrowing" from my sister. Also I got a TON of knitting needles and crochet hooks from goodwill once for next to nothing.

Being buddies with boomers can get you cheap or free tools too. My stepdad gave me a dremel he never used and also a hot knife that I have somewhere. Also keep your ideal purchases in mind and watch out for sales rather than impulse buying. My 3D printer was on sale for $100 from $150 so that guy wasn't too costly.

Um I kind of went off here lol but just keep a list of what interests you and have patience and you can build up a mighty collection of tools. Just be careful because space becomes a premium after a while :')

As for actually getting into different crafts, I like to see what other artists are making and watch tutorial videos for random stuff to see if the craft seems fun. and like 99% of the time whatever the thing is does seem super fun to me. it's especially interesting when a new craft is something I can incorporate with a craft I already know to expand upon a skill I already have.

This is why I love when my friends show off their art and why I set up a discord for sharing your art. It's so inspiring just to be around other artists and bounce ideas around with them!!

I think the only craft that's ever turned me off though was macrame because you have to be ORGANIZED to do that and omg I am not.