#even though they say they work for reshade

[impossible-rat-babies]

.

[softpine]

can i just word vomit for a min...

there was a point in late 2023 where i felt like i overstayed my welcome on simblr and i planned on just wrapping frozen pines up as quickly as possible and moving on. continuing to write when it's clear that the audience for it is dwindling felt so embarrassing that i almost didn't even want to put effort into it anymore, because i was afraid it just looked pathetic (obligatory disclaimer: no one made me feel this way, you're all so lovely, it's just the nature of seeing a community change over 7 years). writing already feels very personal to me and it's becoming increasingly harder for me to put my work out there (again, for reasons unrelated to simblr and entirely related to mental illness 🤙🏻). i know my story is so long that it deters new readers, and so sporadic that it makes old readers drop off with time. this has really been bothering me lately because i don't know what i can do to fix it. i don't think there IS anything i can do.

but. okay. don't make fun of me for saying this. dan and phil returning to youtube kinda changed my mindset? they may be pulling a fraction of the views they got in their peak, but they're happier than they've ever been and they're working on things they actually want to do, not things they think will be particularly popular. seeing that has made me realize that it is possible to keep finding joy in a community that has largely moved on without you. obviously my little blog is nowhere near the same scale, so this feels kind of silly, but i've been thinking about all the things i used to do on simblr that were never fun for me, i mainly did them because i knew they would get notes or because i felt like i had to do it. making cc, lookbooks, sim requests, reshade help (oh my god the reshade help), lot downloads, etc. they DID get notes, but i can't imagine spending my time doing any of that stuff ever again tbh.

on top of that, it makes me sad to scroll through my dash and realize that i don't recognize most of the people i see anymore. i still talk to some wonderful people here who i consider friends and that's invaluable to me (💖), but the broader community aspect is something i no longer feel a part of. and believe me, i know i'm at fault here because it's not like i'm going out of my way to talk to new people or participate in trends like i used to. i don't blame anyone except the passage of time!!

frozen pines, and simblr by extension, played such a gigantic part in my life when i needed it the most. and that's not to say that i don't still care about it, because i absolutely do, but it's a different kind of feeling. i've always promised that i would give frozen pines a satisfying conclusion rather than silently abandoning it someday, and though i do intend to keep that promise, i know it's possible that i might never get there. but i don't want to let my own insecurities get in the way of something i really enjoy doing. writing is an intrinsic piece of me that i'll never quit doing, but sharing my writing on tumblr is something that can't (and shouldn't) last forever. i know that. but i'm going to enjoy it to the fullest while we're all still here together 💞

to anyone who's still reading my silly story after all these years (especially those of you who still check in on my blog even though you're not on simblr anymore): thank you thank you thank you THANK YOUUU. you don't have to change a single thing about what you're doing. this is not me fishing for compliments or putting down an ultimatum, this is just me trying to make sense of my feelings.

but with all this being said, i've decided to quit simblr and start my own exclusive streaming service for $60 a year, i hope you'll all support me as i increase my production value 😌

(just kidding. ily. okay that's all)

[pudding-parade]

I guess we can consider this something of a mini world overview, which is something I want to get back into doing one of these days.

This is Qornenthus, an alien world by @risastorm. So far as I can tell, it's only available on their Exchange account, not on their Tumblr blog, for whatever reason. It's a world that I've had on my radar for a long time, wanting to create an alien society on it. So, I've decided to have a stab at it, to create a homeworld for these guys, whom I'm considering to be sort of mostly-post-technology. Not in a disastrous/apocalyptic way but rather as a society that mutually agreed to screw it all and "return to monke" -- Or in their case, "return to archosaur-ish" -- while still retaining some technology and such.

Anyway, I haven't really done any kind of "technical" building in Sims games since my early, pre-sharing-on-the-internet days of playing TS2 back in the mid-aughts, mostly because I generally don't enjoy playing the resulting kind of lots. They tend to be more complex and multi-level than I like to play. But for some reason, I've been itching to do some more "technical" building, and want to build something here. It will involve large lots spanning peaks, valleys, and bodies of water, with some elevated architecture, maybe some treehouses, so it's going to involve some terraforming, both temporary and permanent, if I can get it to work like I want at all. So before I tear things up, I thought I'd try out some lighting mods and take some "before" pics, with no Reshade or any image editing.

The lighting I landed on is Brntwaffles's Dystopian lighting, which is what's shown in the pictures on this post, though I edited the mod to make the moon unnecessarily enormous. It has the "feel" I want for these aliens and, as a bonus, it makes the water look suitably swampy, though I'll be adding fog emitters and more plants to make it more so. Then I'll need a suitable rainy/stormy alien Tempest preset. Oh! I should also mention that I have defaults for the game's "fantasy" trees, to make them a bit less fantasy-looking. For some reason, it lops off the heads of the mushroom trees; I can't remember if that's what it's supposed to do. LOL

Anyway, here are some more pictures because I took a lot of them at various times of day and in various conditions…

I'm calling this an "overview," but really there's not a lot to say about the world. It's extremely cool-looking, if you like alien-swamp sorts of environments, as you can see in the pics. But, it has no roads, no lots, and no flat building areas at all, anywhere, so if you want to use it, you have to place lots in Edit Town. Lots will place just about anywhere and, as far I saw, sims can route pretty much everywhere, too. Once you get lots placed, you'll need to do some more technical building for yourself because downloaded pre-built lots aren't going to fly here.

The world does have lots of spawners, especially insect and rock ones, except that it has no fish spawners at all, which is kind of funny given the amount of water. It doesn't have spawners from Island Paradise or Into the Future, either, but everything else is there. I'm not really sure what EPs it's going to need, and anything it's going to need is going to be vegetation-related because there's literally nothing else here. I do know that those bamboo trees come with World Adventures, and I'm pretty sure the rainbow eucalyptus trees come with Pets and the banana trees and alocasia come with Island Paradise. So there's that.

And that's about all there is to say, really. The rest, as they say, is silence pictures.

Oh! The one and only thing that I'm not fond of in the world is that it has a lot of rainbow spawners. And by "a lot" I mean a riotously excessive amount.

That's not even all of them. Thankfully, they aren't there all the time.

So yeah! Cool world. I'm looking forward to doing some work on it. If I'm at all successful at doing what I want to do with it, I will, of course, share pics.

[ophernelia]

Hello! I'm interested in becoming a sims 4 storyteller on youtube, but I'm in need of someone to talk to about the process that comes with using that platform. You're the only simmer I know that utilizes youtube, so I was wondering if you were okay with receiving questions like how long did it take to build your followers on there? do you use a mixture of gameplay animation and machinima animations? do you have any other useful tips for getting started and 'putting yourself' out there?

heyyyyyyyy! i don't mind answering questions at all! i love talking lol. there's loads of other simmers who use youtube for storytelling! i was inspired to start my channel after watching simlivncolor & trapgoddessshawty for years. there's so many other new people who have started creating more recently that i really enjoy too! (you should check out the showcase tab on my channel. i need to update it again too.)

i'll answer the animation question real quick because the building and tips kinda go together. i don't use many in-game animations these days. i don't really like them for the most part. the sims' movements are always very big because they're meant to be cartoony. it's something i tend to stray from just as a preference though. there's nothing wrong with using them though. especially if that's the vibe you're going for.

i've been doing youtube since about february of 2023. i hadn't started running lykaia on there until late feb/early march. it was a slow journey, but an exciting one. i still have the screenshot from when i reached my first ten subscribers, first ten views on a video, everything. a lot of my traffic came from tik tok because i started on there. though it definitely wasn't much. only a small percentage really transfers over from platform to platform. trick of the trade, i guess. i did a giveaway once, i believe but quickly came to realize i didn't like it. things like giveaways are quick gimmicks to get people to follow you, but most times most of them don't stay. not to mention- a lot of them aren't invested in the content. they're just there for the prize, so it's not the best method to try to boost your following. i will say i've been pretty consistent with posting and that's helped a lot. you really wanna just take your time with things and develop an audience that's invested in your story organically. you can and should utilize other platforms if you want to grow. youtube's algorithm isn't necessarily built for discovery, so it is a lot harder to grow there and gain traction. tik tok, twitter, bluesky, tumblr, and suprisingly- pinterest, are all good options to choose from. i will say to not get fixated on numbers or doing things just to gain traction. numbers don't validate your work, your work is already valid from the jump. a lot of this shit is just straight up luck. your viewership numbers, be it big or small, are not a testament to how good your story is. make what you wanna make because you like it. there's no right way to do anything, really.

with that said though- having high quality content helps A LOT for a platform like youtube. by that i mean having footage that's good quality. all of my footage is recorded and uploaded at 4k resolution. using reshade in game will help the game look better. color grading your footage when you edit it. enticing thumbnails help get clicks. (which has been so hard for me. the thumbnails always stump me lol) even having a game that is aesthetically pleasing. i don't mean utilizing a trendy aesthetic, but whatever your vibe is- make sure it looks nice. make sure the textures are good quality. having builds that look nice help and interesting. having good fps. (which is tough since ts4 LOVES to lag but I digress.) however you want it to look, just make sure it's the best quality of that. um i don't really know what else to say. any other questions you have- feel free to ask!

[channel4sims-cc]

Hello, I'm having an issue with my mods, I've flowed your directions for your "If you can't enable cc" post. But I can't get into CAS without being stuck on the loading screen for longer than normal, this didn't happen before the update I've checked all my mods and even deleted my whole mods folder but still nothing works unless, I delete all the mods.

Hello ^^

Is it just when you go to CAS? The CC works, right?

If the issue is the CAS taking longer to load than normal, it can be one of these bugs that always happen when there's a new expansion/update 😅 When I tried using CAS it took a little longer than normal too, but not too much.

Do you use a custom CAS background, custom IU, custom icons, reshade, things like that?

If so, it's probably a mod that needs an update. Then you have to keep an eye on the cc creators' pages to see if there's something that needs an update.

A tip I would give: all mods that actually modify something in the game: overrides, new gameplay, etc. Always put them in a different folder, or name them in a way that as soon as there's a update you'll know where they are, so you can remove them and wait for the cc creator to update.

For example: if you download a new CAS background. Inside "Mods" create a folder called "MOD - CAS background" and put the package inside that folder. So when there's a new update you'd just remove it from "Mods" until you checked with the cc creator if it's safe/updated to put back on Mods again. This way you don't have to delete everything.

It can also be solved (maybe) by deleting "localthumbcache".

You can also try to move all you cc to somewhere else. Them put some CC back on "Mods" and keep testing by lauching the game to see if it still happens.

I don't know much when it comes to CAS though. Maybe we just need to wait a little bit to see if EA is going to say something or if the CC creators you download from will update their mods.

It's always messy when there's a new expansion. CC creators go crazy having to check everything 😅

Anyway I hope one of the options work for you ^^

[mosneakers]

Do you have any tips and tricks for someone (me) starting a sims story to post on Tumblr? Asking for a friend (it's me. I'm the friend)

omggg you're askin me? 🥺

I'm not sure I'm the best simblr to ask because I'm not in it for the trends or popularity; I'm all about the interaction and finding others to talk to at length about my delusional fictional universe that's been going on for over a decade now lol. But let me try:

*puts on my mother glasses* There are two ways to go about it; depending on your goals. There are plenty of exceptions, but simblr sorta has a formula you can follow. Get ready for some contradictions haha

if you aim to appease the simblr community:

reshade/gshade mixed with photo-editing is generally a must. Simblr users will gravitate to pretty pictures, so even if you're an excellent writer, people usually won't give it a second look unless something attracts them to it. The sims is pretty ugly without filters and such, and it will enhance the experience as well. Bonus if you crank up the mxao and depth of field but I prefer to take it a little easy on those lol

CC. Not necessarily a must, but simblr in particular usually hates vanilla sims. same explanation as above, slather those suckers in skin details!!

poses poses poses. readers love reading stories with poses and they spit on screenshots with only game animations! (tbh those game animations do get pretty repetitive after a while so I kinda get it)

Read stories. I'm not much of a reader personally, but there's a huge imbalance in the reader-writer ratio on simblr, and lots of simblrs will return the favor if you read theirs too. Be careful, though; getting stuck in a transactional mutualship can lead to tricky dynamics. Only reach out to other stories if you're genuinely interested in following more stories, not just to gain readers.

BUT, with all that being said, as an "elder" of the simblr community, please consider this as permission to say screw any and all of those above tips if they don't align with your goals.

If your goal is to just have fun and relax:

reshade/gshade. Because let's be real the game's graphics are very depressing. It's not actually a must if you're just enjoying yourself, but if you find the right settings and just play, so you can spend minimal or even no time editing your photos. There are lots of tutorials that explain how to set it up. If you can't figure it out or don't feel like it, that's also not a big deal.

I can be a controlling sim god when it comes to my stories, and I have most things planned out. HOWEVER sometimes it's a little fun to let the sims drive their own storylines. If something is just not working, I consider that a sign to let the story flow in a slightly different direction. IF you're planning on writing gameplay stories/writing as you go, as I do. (which has its own challenges lol)

Sometimes it can be tempting to let readers sway the way the story is going. Sometimes that is a strategy that works. But if you have a storyline that you're confident in, own it and let it play out. Even if the whole community (and your spouse) wants that alien character to go die, you have him there for a reason, trust in the power of your storytelling 😜

Despite being a pose creator, I find using poses kinda tedious and sucks the life and immersion out of the story and gameplay personally, if used too much. Trust me, I do use my fair share of them, but I do try to use the game animations whenever possible. When I do use poses, I personally prefer to keep the expressions very maxis-y.

Don't try to be like any one particular simblr. With a community where we all pull from the same CC and game pack pools, there's bound to be overlap in aesthetics, storylines, and concepts. Definitely find inspiration in all your faves but do what works best for you but don't feel some sort of way if your screenshots don't look exactly like PastelPlumbobPixelLlama's game, despite you downloading all the content and presets from their resource page! You have your own style babe and it's way more unique ♥

Post a "New Story/New simblr" post to get the word out about your story.

PLEASE don't ever get discouraged by notes because you are perfect and creative and if others don't understand your genius that's them problem ok <3

sorry it's so long ;-; there's probably more but that's what came to my mind off the bat.

[pictureamoebae]

hi there! ive been meaning to see how certain shaders alter this specific preset im using, but since there are so many, i have a hard time knowing how the order should go. i found an answer from u abt load order from two years ago, but i wonder if that has changed with recent reshade updates. any help is appreciated! thank u<3

Hi there!

Load order is such a big topic! There are some golden rules you should always try to abide by, and then everything else is just personal preference.

MXAO should go at the top. Then other depth effects like SSR, Adaptive Fog, Depth Haze, RadiantGI etc.

Next comes SMAA/FXAA, followed by any sharpening. I usually keep DoF below SMAA even though it's a depth effect, because it seems to perform better with jaggies that way, but you can experiment a bit with that. I also put the Flashlight shader above DoF because otherwise it can cause a bit of weirdness in the blurred areas.

DoF is a big one to get right. Some shaders can look really messed up in blurred areas if DoF is in the wrong place. The above placement seems to work best in my experience. But there are always other shaders I've never used that you might stumble upon that you have to just test and see how they work. Just try and remember, if something looks weird in blurred areas, try moving it in relation to the DoF shader and see what happens.

At the very bottom should come any film grain shaders, and just above that the Deband/Debanding shaders. Don't put Deband below film grain shaders or it'll ruin the grain pattern.

Everything in the middle of those top and bottom sections is pretty much personal preference. I see a lot of people say bloom shaders (including Ambient Light) should go above any kind of colour correction or colour grading shaders so that the colour grading applies to the bloom. Personally I don't think it matters a huge amount, I've done both before, although that is the way I'm favouring at the moment.

If you use more than one bloom shader you'll notice a difference when you move them up or down the load order amongst themselves as they react with one another. Again, that's entirely down to personal preference and what looks best with your preset.

Then we come to the various colour grading shaders and light/contrast shaders. This is where it's really, really all about trial and error. There's no correct answer, it's all about what looks best with the settings you've chosen. You don't have to stick with a specific load order for them. I often swap things around a bit if it looks better in particular lighting/weather conditions.

If you have Prod80's shader pack installed you'll see the shaders come prefixed in the shader list with numbers. That's the general order he suggests they go in. If you take a look at that it can give you an idea of which shaders often work best in what order. But again, especially for colour grading and light/contrast shaders it really is whatever works best for you!

It is really overwhelming, especially now there are hundreds of shaders. When I started with SweetFX (which came before ReShade), and then early ReShade, there were far fewer shaders. You could still get stunning results. For someone starting out who wants to learn all about how ReShade works and how to tweak shaders and get them working well together it would probably be a good idea to only have the standard and SweetFX shaders installed, and maybe the Legacy shaders too. You'll have less choice, but you also won't be as overwhelmed. Early SweetFX and ReShade presets were pretty much exclusively made with the backbone of Levels, Curves, LiftGammaGain, and Tonemap, with the odd bit of DPX, HDR and BloomandLensFlares thrown in. They're really simple and basic shaders but you can achieve a lot with them.

[platinumaspiration]

well, @brandinotbroke just gave my ego the hugest boost with this tag game! I really shouldn't play this while in a bad mood tho :p

What’s your favourite sims death? I would have to say...probably flies. Never had it happen in my game (naturally), tho

2. Alpha CC or Maxis Match? 4t2 maxis match conversions, because it's gross and ugly :p No, but for real, I like all cc. People put a lot of time and love into what they create/convert/retexture/recolor. I think that should be recognized.

3. Do you cheat when your sims gain weight? No...who does that?

4. Do you use move objects? Yes, kind of have to sometimes!

5. Favorite mod? I had to go into my main save for this one haha. I'd say...all the anti-corruption mods. And to piggy back off of brandinotbroke, ACR! The rest I could probably live without if I could ever sort my folder. Oh, also, one mod I'd really like to give a try is Story Progression by LazyDuchess.

6. First expansion/game/stuff pack you got? First purchased was Christmas 2005. My parents gifted me Sims 2 and then my birthday a month later I got University, I believe. I should show you all the video of me opening it and running off to play haha. First played was, I wanna say Urbz! and Bustin' Out. We would rent those from the video store.

7. Do you pronounce “live mode” like aLIVE or LIVing? Alive. I recently found out my IRL BFF pronounces it as Living. I've known her almost 20 years and feel like I don't know her anymore 😅

8. Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made? Rhiannon, one of my model sims, but all 4 of my models are my favorite. I really should put Rhiannon as a townie in my uberhood. She deserves a life outside of posing.

9. Have you made a simself? Yes, like 18 years ago lol. Ended up corrupting the hood trying to move me with my 10 same face kids to a new neighborhood. I've really enjoyed the premade sims ever since.

10. What sim traits do you give yourself? of sims 3 traits: absent-minded, light sleeper, brooding, over-emotional, nurturing, workaholic, frugal

11. Which is your favorite EA hair color? TS4's #13 - Honey Blond

12. Favorite EA hair? probably aflongsimple or affuzzylongep

13. Favorite life stage? oh gosh... probably adult in any game lol

14. Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay? gameplay, I'll let @plumbtales and @kestrelteens do the building and inspo!

15. Are you a CC creator? I don't think I've created anything myself. I've converted a ton of stuff tho! I'd love to create something, but textures are so difficult for my brain to understand. I commend those who retexture!

16. Do you have any simblr friends/a sim squad? Yeah! Baby Gang! lol, not like we do anything other than play online pvp games and share cc wips

17. What’s your favorite game? (1, 2, 3, or 4) 2 is my ultimate, though I'd love to dive back into Sims 3

18. Do you have any sims merch? Maybe someday @microscotch and I can make something palpable

19. Do you have a YouTube for sims? Not gameplay (yet).

20. How has your “sim style” changed throughout your years of playing? Well, I had dial up internet until about 2010 so... figure that one out haha. But yeah, I was a semi-realistic kind of girl up until about... 2020? 2021? when i made the switch to 4t2. Still working on becoming completely 4t2.

21. What’s your Origin ID? n/a lmao

22. Who’s your favorite CC creator? Oh gosh, there's too many. All my mutuals, I love ya and your cc! Even some people who are not mutuals with me are my absolute favorite. I could never choose haha.

23. How long have you had a simblr? I think I just had my 2 year anniversary.

24. How do you edit your pictures? I recently commissioned the Queen of Renders ™ @microscotch to take preview pics for me while i was out of town lol. She also made me a photoshop template as well. (Go get a commission, she's having a sale right now 😉) For gameplay, I let reshade do the work for me and crop/size it to 700x934

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack do you want next? Brandinotbroke gave the best answer haha. I honestly don't know what kit EA can come up with next

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack is your favorite so far? For Sims 2, probably Nightlife. The first 3 EPs, honestly. Sims 3 has to be Ambitions and Generations. Idk about Sims 4 as most I've played is about 2 hours in Strangerville as the Beakers.

Gonna tag baby gang, feel free to ignore! @microscotch @tvickiesims @lordcrumps @simsisit

thank you again to brandinotbroke for making my day, my week, my month and maybe even my year.

[alltimefail-sims]

Do you have any tips for getting into/making sims stories? (Idk what to call them lol, but like your strangersville story), and tips for taking posed screenshots because I’m struggling-

Hello, friend! 🤗

I am so genuinely flattered that you would ask me for advice. I'll admit, I've only been officially on simblr for a little over a year and I'm just getting a groove in posting, so I'm still learning about the storytelling format and posing aspect, too. Here are some really great posts that helped me:

@seaslugsims: Storytelling Resources Part 1

and Storytelling Resources Part 2

Storytelling Tips and Tricks thread started by @citylighten (Check the reblogs on this one - so many amazing, experienced creators have weighed in on their personal tips and tricks)

I hate posing sims, but I've found that it just takes practice and patience. @ts4-poses is a great resource blog for finding poses because it is organized into categories, making finding a specific pose less overwhelming. Put all the sims you need for a story post in the same household so you have full control of them all. Ravasheen's ISO Camera for in-game photos is what dreams are made of because the photos always come out perfect and no one has to be behind the camera to take the picture. When taking photos using the tab key, take them from multiple angles so you have a lot of options when editing your posts.

I also would say don't be afraid to just keep asking for advice! If you see a post you like, don't be afraid to ask someone how they did it! I've learned so much just by going to creators like "Hey, this post you made was so great... what editing do you use? Do you use a reshade/gshade shader? Do you resize photos?" You can learn a lot from others, and over time with practice (and a lot of trial and error) you will gain your footing and develop a style of your own!

Now, onto where I have personal experience: getting into stories and making stories! For me personally, a good story is all about characters and world building. Because simblr stories give you an opportunity to show varying perspectives and focus on more than one character's viewpoint (kind of like a comic or TV show), you can best take advantage of that by writing in-depth characters you love (or love to hate, lol). Knowing the setting and how the characters fit into that setting is really the backbone of any good story, and if you care about the details and you care about those characters, your audience will feel that! Also knowing what you like to write helps, too! I like sci-fi, fantasy, and coming of age; I like mysteries and love stories are my lifeblood (I'm a hopeless romantic); and I am a sucker for a good found family trope... so that's what I write! You'll never catch me writing horror stories full of loss, or adult romance stories, nor am I gonna pop out a teen drama (yk like Degrassi-esque or Disney Channel) or something cutting-edge/dark/with a strong visual aesthetic (like Euphoria) because I know that's not my thing (and editing is not my strength - I would HATE spending hours editing posts where some others might love that part of the process. I don't write or create something because I think it will be popular or on-trend or garner viewership (even though wanting validation is not a bad thing imo) I just create to create. I create using my strengths first, and I would recommend you write to your strengths and don't feel like you have to rush the process.

My biggest piece of advice is that if you have a story to tell, tell it! Trust me, someone (or a lot of someones) will love it. You may only get a few views at first, or it may take off right from the jump, but regardless your story is worth telling. Start by just opening a google doc and jotting down ideas as they come to you until one sticks. Don't be afraid to shelf what doesn't work or what you're not feeling any more. My Strangerville story was not my first venture on simblr, but it is the only one I have loved enough to keep up with.

Lastly, please let me know when you do put your story out there. You've already got one fan!!! 📣💕

[ecosystem-administrator]

Mayhem Moondrop

WoL/OC tag meme! thanks @anneapocalypse for the tag!

Tagging in turn: @elizabethrobertajones, @tinygamertris, @gachabastard, @thesingingscorpio, @vitaecryptid, and @grahatiasravetower just in case you see this in a few months when you remember to log in again

(Choose whichever WoL/OC you want, do it more than once, ignore me entirely. what am I, a cop?)

B A S I C S

Name: Mayhem Moondrop

Nicknames: Mayhem is already a stage name and doesn't really need abbreviating. They will respond readily to whatever non-obscene epithets you choose to bestow, though.

Age: mid to late 20s at this point? 23 at the start of ARR

Nameday: 18th sun of the 4th astral moon

Race: Keeper of the Moon Miqo'te

Gender: No (agender)

Sexuality: Yes (pansexual and polyamorous)

Profession: Bard (actor, folklorist, and historian all in one word, what more do you need?)

P H Y S I C A L     A S P E C T S

Hair: Black, currently worn short but growing it back out - they had to cut most of it off after nearly losing an ear at the edge of the universe.

Eyes: Silver - Moon Keeper eyes are slightly reflective

Skin: Grey

Tattoos/scars: I don't mod aside from reshade so until they give us a fashion accessory, you'll just have to imagine an Archon mark on their right cheek post-Endwalker. They have relatively few scars - the most prominent is along their scalp, mostly covered by the hair that's still growing back in from when it was left.

F A M I L Y

Parents: Their mother was a poacher-turned-bandit in the Black Shroud; she was killed by Wood Wailers when Mayhem was barely old enough to say their own name, and they don't remember anything about her, or the gang she traveled with. Father unknown, and considering how Keeper culture works, was likely never expected to participate in parenthood beyond the siring of a child anyway.

Siblings: Due to how Moon Keeper naming conventions work, Mayhem is aware based on their original name that they were not their mother's first "son". No siblings have ever come forward to be associated, and they've never been interested enough to go looking.

Grandparents: Under the circumstances, good luck. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Emotionally they sort of consider Jehantel to be their grandfather, although it's not something they've ever discussed outright.

In-laws and other: No in-laws, although Count Edmont would be perfectly willing to consider himself for the role even though they were never married to Haurchefant; Mayhem is polite but keeps their distance a little bit because they don't want to explain to him their opinion on the Fortemps family dramas. Post-Endwalker the adult Scions are involved in a polycule which technically would add Wilfsunn and Bloewyda (as Urianger's adoptive parents) to the potential in-law list (excellent) but might also add Matoya (terrifying), so we're just not going there. As far as other blood relatives, in theory Mayhem could go back to the Shroud and find their mother's clan in hopes of reaching out to find some, but they're not interested in participating in traditional Keeper culture (which is highly gendered), and none of those people came looking for them when they were getting raised in Gridania, so they don't feel like there's much point.

Pets: None; they're not really an animal person

S K I L L S

Abilities: They've always been good with a bow, which was how they got their start as a wagon guard for some traveling performers, and gradually invited to participate in performances as their interest became clear. Over time, they've started to learn a few other fighting styles: red mage for when they want to take center stage rather than play narrator, astrologian for when the path of the story needs a little help to get on the right track, and most recently warrior so that they can pick up where someone else left off. They trained a little with firearms when they were in Ishgard, since Stephanivien had access to the best practice shooting range that would actually welcome outsiders, but ultimately they prefer archery.

Hobbies: Reading, writing, crafting, performing. For all that their formal education was pretty basic and perfunctory, Mayhem is a deeply curious person and loves to learn, and to share the knowledge they've gained in turn. They have a knack for understanding how to connect to an audience and meet them where they're at in order to draw them into a story or an explanation. While they were with the performers they also learned to make and repair costumes, and have kept up the practice enough that they're now a fairly accomplished weaver. Naturally, as a bard, they also sing and dance, and relish the chance to get back up on the stage from time to time to put on a proper show.

T R A I T S

Most positive trait: I would say their curiosity. The drive to learn and keep learning, to never assume they know everything, has kept them humble and compassionate throughout their journey.

Most negative trait: Avoidance and deflection. They love learning about other people but they rarely talk about themself, and especially early in their journey they took a very long time to bond with others in a way that would actually make them want to stick around. It wasn't until near the end of Heavensward that "run away and change your name and try to never look back" stopped being an option in the back of their mind.

L I K E S

Colors: They usually default to green for clothing choices, but they really love vivid colors in general, especially in intricate patterns. Thavnair was a delight.

Smells: Subtle, natural smells, mostly - flowers on the breeze, the forest after a rain

Textures: Soft and fuzzy, squishy and comfortable. They like the subtle roughness of old paper, too.

Drinks: Usually favors cool and sweet and fruity. Still has a melancholy weakness for hot chocolate.

O T H E R    D E T A I L S

Smokes: Nah, too much risk of messing with their voice

Drinks: Enthusiastically at social gatherings. Has been carried to bed more than once.

Drugs: Doesn't seek them out but is willing to partake if offered.

Mount Issuance: Their Grand Company mount has lived a pampered courier's life at the Rising Stones ever since the Scions moved in, and has most recently been transferred into Tataru's possession. Mischief, the black chocobo they consider their primary mount and companion, was a gift from Haurchefant, and is technically a little too big for them because Ishgard breeds chocobos meant for Elezen and Hyuran riders. They love her anyway.

Been Arrested: They've always managed to talk themselves out of trouble, aside from MSQ incidents.

[sasaofastora]

7, 13, & 24 please!

7. whats the biggest risk you’ve taken with your story? did it pay off?

This is tough, since I don't actually take tons of risks with the Finches tbh, but one plot point from way back I was extremely nervous about how people would react to was the disappearance of Vera in this post. Vera was a character I knew a lot of people really liked, and this was also the first time I opted to kill off a character myself rather than following the random whims of dice. Lukily though, I got a lot of great comments around this post even though people were obviously sad. Also it gave me a good chance to push the story forward for the other characters.

13. from basic planning to a finished post, how long does that take you?

Honestly, not very long, because as I've said before on here, the Finch story is extreeeemely planning light. Most of the plot comes through gameplay and dice rolling, and then I fill in other stuff with what I think makes sense for the characters and time period we're currently in. Also, now that I've got reshade I don't really edit the screenshots much anymore, so the time is cut down even more. I would say one post probably takes a half hour at most, but it's hard to say since I'm usally working on multiple posts at once.

24. are there any characters who remind you of yourself?

I think I put a little of myself in all of them tbh, whether intentional or not, but most recently I would say Ruth and Jim for different reasons. For Ruth, I honestly projected a lot of my own neurodivergencies onto her and so I connect to her in that way. Then for Jim, I definitely relate to his awkwardness around relationships, and I also often imagine he uses humour to deflect from deep feelings or uncomfortable situations which is something I also have a strong habit of doing.

Thank you so much for asking!! Love talking about my little pixels 🥰

[elderberries-and-honey]

Hello! I know your content is aimed at something else, but I'm just at a loss that I can't find a solution to the problem. In my country the Sims community is not as developed as in the West, so I'm trying. to contact you, because I have been watching you for a long time and consider you a very nice person. I've been trying to stop gshade for a long time, but every time my game just breaks! the screen turns black and pixelated. Perhaps you know what is causing this problem or someone in the comments? or can you send a link where you downloaded it from, please?

Good morning! First, I'm so sorry you're having troubles with your PC, it can be really frustrating and I'm sure it's even more frustrating when everything about it is in English. I'm going to try my best to explain what I know below but sort of vaguely so hopefully none of it gets lost in translation / is easier to understand.

To download gshade, you're going to go to this link right here.

Installing gshade can be a little weird because it's not a mod. I would suggest watching this tutorial here. I know English isn't your first language though so I'm not sure how helpful an American voice will be but maybe you could still follow along step by step visually.

I did go ahead and Google this issue and I found someone saying it has to do with your graphics processor. To find out if this is the issue you're having, and if you've installed the program correctly, when you load into the game and pull up gshade when you're in game it will look like this

Hit these two buttons "force load all shaders" and "active to top"

Once you've done that it will then look like this with more options

Start unchecking all of those boxes one by one to see if it's one of the shaders that's giving you the issue.

I also recommend making sure the drivers for your PC are updated too because I had no idea that was a thing until recently!

If none of this works, I would recommend trying Reshade instead to see if maybe that's better for your PC, though I do Gshade is usually a little easier / more PC friendly.

If Reshade or Gshade end up not working at all, I would try messaging this simblr account and see if maybe they have a solution since I've seen them give out advice for it before.

[wolfynsong]

finished ch 1 of the BH story!

ramble about planets/npcs/feelings under the cut

hutta - starting area, so i didn’t expect much, but it was alright. i do kinda feel like i didn’t get enough time working with braden to actually care about his death. i guess they expected you to be motivated through mako’s grief, but i don’t know that it worked that well. they did a good job making tarro blood incredibly unlikable, though, so i at least wanted to get one over on him just for that. 4/10

dromund kaas - surprisingly pretty for the imperial homeworld? though the lighting was kind of dark and hard to see in sometimes. didn’t feel very immersed as a BH, but i think coming here as a sith would be much more intriguing with all the ancient ruins and such. story here was alright, but kinda just wanted to get into actual bounty hunting so i didn’t linger much. absolutely delighted by crysta, though, laughed out loud when i heard her southern ass “bless your heart��� voice, best mandalorian mom friend. 6/10

nar shadda - now THIS planet was incredible. coming through the spaceport and seeing the neon skyline stretching out was stunning, and made me stop and go “oh i need reshade for this game right now.” definitely spent the most time here, running through all the little quests i could find, crawling through the underbelly of the city fighting gangs and droids, very cyberpunk and very very fun. i even bought the stronghold as soon as it was offered. the story definitely picked up with the first actual hunt, and i really started to feel vex bonding with mako through learning about her childhood, avenging her slicer friend, helping her start figuring out where she came from, etc. 10/10

balmorra - honestly, nothing to say about the planet. the terrain was interesting and the skybox was nice but besides that, nothing here felt memorable, especially coming off nar shadda. the story was pretty generic, though i was pleased to have called murghir’s little scheme from the start. kinda a shame i had to kill her, i appreciated her acting. definitely felt good to shoot that imperial creep that was perving over her, he felt more like my bounty than the actual bounty. 2/10

tattooine - obligatory sand joke, but really, i was excited to come here, and it was exactly the dustball i imagined it would be. getting to roam the dune sea was super cool, made me wish i had a bantha mount or something more fitting. i was a little disappointed with how short the story there felt, though. chasing tyresius/gault around was fun, and i was delighted when he ended up as the new companion, but i still feel like i barely spent any time there at all. i guess it doesn’t help that the planetary quests are getting dull, it’s just different flavors of “here’s an incompetent imperial officer that is for some reason in charge, now go run errands/fight junk for them” and so on. 7/10

alderaan - contrary to tattooine, the planetary story was at least very involved in the houses, though i didn’t end up finishing that because i wanted to continue the main story. i brought along gault, and vex immediately started making dark side choices because apparently mako is their only moral compass. (that and who doesn’t want to suckerpunch a snobby noble?) gault’s quips are utterly charming and i am honestly distraught that i can’t romance this devil, but oh well. 6/10 would punch the rich again

i switched back to mako for the final wrap-up, and left tarro to die in the brig of the cruiser as it blew up. vex really did want to shoot him by this point, but i think this stung more. now that i’m through the great hunt, i might take them back and finish up the planetary quests i skipped before i move on to ch 2. overall, as my first story arc though, i’m pretty content and excited for more.

[phoebe-twiddle]

I was tagged by @episims and @mrs-mquve-cc ​, thank you for thinking of me! 😊 This is long, so I’ve hidden most of it behind a cut.

1. What’s your favourite sims death?

Okay, I've watched a video showing all the ways sims can die in TS2, and I think my favourite is the one that can happen while using the wishing well.

2. Alpha CC or Maxis Match?

For my own game, maxis match. To each their own though, I like seeing everyone's games regardless of aesthetic.

3. Do you cheat when your sims gain weight?

What??? No. Is that a thing? Wait - I have cheated a test sim's weight when I made clothes to make sure that the fit and fat states work? It was more effort than just creating test models in a permanent testhood with different body states so I only did it once or twice.

4. Do you use move objects?

Yes, it's a must.

5. Favorite mod?

Community time, probably. Honorable mentions to Romantic Standards and Shiftable Everything.

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

...I don't remember. My family got TS1 & TS2 pretty much as they came out.

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

aLIVE. Because "...and we're live!" I never really thought about the alternative.

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

Can I just say the whole of Deep Lorewood? I have such fondness for the whole hood, even though it's unfinished and unplayed. *heavy sigh* This blog doesn't even have Deep Lorewood pictures on it.

9. Have you made a simself?

Yep. Many years ago. Looked nothing like me.

10. What sim traits do you give yourself?

Creative, Cat Lover, Squeamish from TS4. Neurotic, Coward, Hopeless Romantic, Friendly, Easily Impressed from TS3. Shy/Nice/Serious/Neat/Active in TS2.

11. Which is your favorite EA hair color?

I kind of like them all?

12. Favorite EA hair?

Updoo and GelledRock.

13. Favorite life stage?

Teenager or adult, probably, since it opens up a lot of possibilities.

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

It's like 70% gameplay, 30% build. I can get really into building sometimes, but it's not a regular thing.

15. Are you a CC creator?

I have created CC before. I have not created CC in quite a while though, and have no plans to in the near future.

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

There are simblrs that I consider myself friendly with, but no "friends" as such.

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

Of those options, it's 2, clearly, but the handheld games were also a ton of fun.

18. Do you have any sims merch?

Nope.

19. Do you have a YouTube for sims?

Nope.

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

When I first started using CC, I used semi-realistic stuff and played in a custom hood. Now, I have veered quite hard into maxis match and play a LEPacy rooted in Strangetown.

21. What’s your Origin ID?

I don't think I have one.

22. Who’s your favorite CC creator?

I like so many though! Which is ironic since I now play with very little cc.

23. How long have you had a simblr?

Many years. I don't know how many, because I accidentally deleted my original tumblr and my memory isn't the best.

24. How do you edit your pictures?

I used to use different actions and PSDs but now I just let reshade do the hard work. Then it's crop, resize, add a border.

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

I can't really think of anything I'd want officially adding to the game. For basically everything else, there's mods.

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

I like freetime a lot. I like trying to support my sims' favourite hobbies.

I will tag @curiousb, @sometownie, @frottana-sims, annnnnd @rena-sims and anyone who would like tagging, consider it done. Obviously, feel free to ignore!

[bunnithechubs]

Sims get to know me Thanks for tagging me @bakersimmer ❤

What’s your favorite sims death? The Rodent Death really do be making me chuckle .

Alpha CC or Maxis Match? I would say 90% Maxis Match and 10% Alpha, even though my pc hates me for it.

Do you cheat when your sims gain weight? So I don't ever make my sims thinner (or thin in general) but I do fluctuate their weight depending on their habits/life events.

Do you use move objects? *Gia Gunn Voice* Absoluuuutely.

Favorite mod? I would say MCCC, UI Cheats, and BetterBuildBuy are my holy trinity. I will not play unless those three mods are working.

First expansion/game/stuff pack you got? I honestly could not tell you... It's been so long.

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

Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made? Kitty is my baby for ever and ever.

Have you made a simself? Yes.

What sim traits do you give yourself? Foodie, Cat Lover, and Geek

Which is your favorite EA hair color? The Ash brown has a chokehold on me,

Favorite EA hair? Controversial...but the Rey Starwars buns are a favorite of mine.

Favorite life stage? Infant/Adult

Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay? I'm a mixture of both!

Are you a CC creator? I have 0 cc making skills. :(

Do you have any simblr friends/a sim squad? I am waaaay too socially awkward and inconsistent to make friends . I do have a few mutals I speak with sometimes but I always try and show support by liking/commenting/sending asks :)

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

Do you have any sims merch? I have a "traits" sticker on my water bottle!

Do you have a YouTube for sims? No, I've always wanted too though. I watch a lot of simtubers!

How has your “sim style” changed throughout your years of playing? I think it has, I definitely spend HOURS in CAS to make my sim exactly how I envision them.

What’s your Origin ID? Bunnithechubs

Who’s your favorite CC creator? All of them, lol. Except the perma paywall baddies.

How long have you had a simblr? This one- 2019, but I've been in Simblr since 2012-ish.

How do you edit your pictures? ReShade + Photoshop - Crop -> topaz -> actions -> post!

What expansion/game/stuff pack do you want next? I think I would like something that was more community lot based... I'm so tired of using the SAME lot types :(

What expansion/game/stuff pack is your favorite so far? Pets, I love having pets in the game <3

I tag: anyone who wants to do this... I'm too shy to actually tag and bother people!

[notjustabooksims]

I feel so bad about posting absolutely nothing for a long time so have these~