#just wish for more hairstyles and customization to be added in general

[puhpandas]

I dont get why so many people want another species in splatoon 4 like the entire point of the story of splatoon is the war and divide between inklings and octolings and them coming back together after they're reconnected by the human spirit like. another species would throw off that yin and yang balance. yeah inklings and octolings were at war and used to live in harmony but while octolings were forced underground after losing the turf war against inklings the issue of less land for all the species had no effect on the 3rd species the sharkling. they were all just chilling.

like I know theyd add lore for another species and connect them into other preexisting storylines but it would always feel shoved in no matter what. it needs to just stay inklings and octolings so the parallel yin and yang two sides of the same coin theme of the entire story stays. not even mentioning the fact that if they did try and connect lore with inklings octolings and a 3rd species itd be too similar to the story of inklings and octolings we already just saw play out bc itd just be explaining how that species fit into everything

[jesncin]

Thinking about Disney and how we talk about Cultural Representation

(concept art by Scott Watanabe)

Old essay originally written on Cohost in November 2023. With additions.

With all the promo stuff about Disney's upcoming animated film Wish, I can't help but think about Raya and the Last Dragon again. I spent a year intensively researching things about that movie and the discourse surrounding it for a series of videos on Xiran Jay Zhao's channel, and oh boy did that reveal a lot about the current way we talk about cultural representation in casual media criticism.

Lately we've grown a habit of looking at signifiers to culture, things like a cultural dish, a nod to a martial arts style, a piece of clothing, maybe a hairstyle, a weapon and so on, and then projecting a bunch of intentions onto the work regardless of authorial intent. I witnessed this a bunch of times in discussions surrounding Raya and the Last Dragon.

You basically get a bunch of 4d chess-style justifications for the lazy implementation of culture in Raya.

random examples cuz there's too many to name:

The movie will do something like make the leaders of the villain nation women, and people immediately assumed it was some kind of bespoke reference to Minangkabau matriarchical society.

the art book of Raya specifically stated that they purposely misplaced things as a stylistic fantasy choice "we could take something that is known and place it in an unexpected location, like coral in the desert and cacti in the snow". But when people saw a water buffalo placed in the desert they assumed it was some super clever environmental story decision.

The movie will tell you it includes things like Borobudur, Angkor wat, Keris, and most people will take their word for it without hesitation. Never mind that Southeast Asians could barely recognize these nods to our culture through how amalgamated the designs are.

(early concept art by Scott Watanabe)

Moving forward, I think we need to talk less about "what" parts of a culture are being represented in these movies, and more about HOW they're being included, we need to ask:

What is this piece of media's relationship with the cultures it represents?

Because Raya and the Last Dragon is not a cultural movie, it's a monolith film pitched and written by white people and a Mexican director with 2 SEA writers added later in production to avoid backlash. Culture serves the purpose of aesthetic set dressing in the film, as opposed to something that informs its themes and characters.

it wasn't even initially pitched as a Southeast Asian movie. The white writers who pitched it were going for a vague East Asian sci fi fantasy story under the working title "Dragon Empire". Southeast Asian culture was an aesthetic change added much later.

This is what happens when a corporation tries to put representational value on a shallow aesthetic. Because of the way Disney constantly marketed Raya as this big authentic cultural film, it primes its audience to read cultural intention in the most benign details. And when we get lost in the details, we lose sight of the bigger picture.

Contextualizing Cultural media criticism

(visual development art by April Liu)

We need to start demanding more context in our analysis. The next time we see a reference to culture in media we consume, take a step back and ask what purpose it serves in the narrative. And most importantly!! What Is Its Relationship With The Culture It Represents? We shouldn't just accept things at face value.

start asking yourself,

through what lens is this cultural dish and its spicy flavors being presented to us? Are the customs surrounding the food being respected?

If martial arts or dance is represented, how is it translated in the adaptation? Are you getting generic hollywood-fu or are you seeing specific movements with purpose and motivation? Are the philosophies or spiritual contexts of these traditions present in the text?

Are the clothing, hairstyles, and presentation of the characters being de-yassified through a colonial filter? Is the non-conformity of the cultures' different framework for gender presentation being adjusted to fit a more recognizable binary?

If language is present, what role does it serve? Is it presented as other through being exclusively used by villainous beings? Is it being made a monolith as one "non-English" language?

is this temple actually a place of worship or is it just a set piece for a goddang Indiana jones booby trap action fight sequence

This way, instead of unquestionably defending a piece of media because a character wore a traditional outfit one time, or because some characters took their shoes off at a temple, or because there were Arnis sticks in that one fight scene, we can approach the text with a more nuanced and holistic understanding of how culture informs narrative.

To quote Haunani K. Trask (author of From A Native Daughter):

“Cultural people have to become political… Our culture can’t just be ornamental and recreational. That’s what Waikiki is. Our culture has to be the core of our resistance. The core of our anger. The core of our mana. That’s what culture is for.”

[hollowsart]

I remembered Star Fairies again and like.. man. I think it was a VHS tape we had cuz I did NOT see it when it was televised cuz I wasn't even born yet, but I definitely watched that movie when I was a kid and it stuck with me. it may not have been much but I really enjoyed that movie. I found it entertaining and I really enjoyed the designs of some of the fairies. also the elves were pretty funny. Frump being just a head with arms and legs in his design was my favorite.

I think it could work as a proper little show if rebooted and given some genuine love and care. made into a little cartoon show about the fairies solving wishes and maybe even struggling to solve them? add some hi-jinks from the elves, too, and I think it could work. heck, I bet they could even do a lot better with making the dolls look more accurate to the character designs. I don't think the characters really need much of any changes. Jazz is fine, I love her outfit in the movie. but I think adding a few different hairstyles and maybe customizing the skintones and body types could be a little extra oomph needed.

I just wouldn't wanna see a childhood memory of mine be stripped of its character and flavor and be made generic and soulless and unrecognizable from what it was. I don't want it to be rebooted into what I would assume is a bootleg. I've already seen what they did to Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Brite, and Noddy.. I think it's both sad and a blessing that Star Fairies fell to obscurity and never really reached a cult following and never got popular. it's avoided the fate of being rebooted in the modern day.

[simlicious]

OMG I thought I was just really crazy because I was in such a bad mood in general yesterday and thought my mood was clouding my inZOI experience. I felt really let down by how little you can actually edit. You are really dependent on the preset you choose. We know how much photoskinned skins can alter the look of a Sim and the same is true for the ZOIs. They use very different skins and it absolutely influences the look, but you can only change the skin type by choosing a different preset, there is no way to select or edit skins otherwise, only the tone and shine are editable. There is blush that adds freckles and moles but it's blush with added moles or blush with added freckles, they do not have standalone moles and freckles. I wish they would have their own category. Also missed birthmarks, blemishes, and scars, but maybe I overlooked something. I was frustrated with eyebrows being way too dark for blondes or redheads even at lightest settings, how the eyebrows are all very long horizontally on the face and very bushy/thick and there is no thick/thin slider. The curly hairstyles department is a serious letdown (where are medium-tight curly styles?). Hopefully they will add more.

A thing that drove me insane is that every time you select another hairstyle the color reverts back to the default color of that new hairstyle. Having to recreate the color every time got old really fast.

You can upload your own patterns for some clothes (it basically lets you open the file editor and pick any pattern from your drive), but there is no way to adjust the color in the game. I found that the UV mapping does look kinda distorted in the elbow bend which was very obvious and unsightly for me (maybe it's just the one sweatshirt though, I have not tested more).

I was hoping for a pattern system with vector-style graphics that lets you recolor certain elements in it, or at the very least some contrast, hue, and saturation sliders to adjust your custom texture, but no such luck. There are no premade patterns at all. The AI pattern designer is the worst crap ever, it does not resemble any patterns at all. I tried to make a floral allover pattern and it gave me weird-looking blob shapes. Oh, and the output does not tile properly, even if you add "seamlessly tiling" to the prompt. On the body, I wasn't able to create truly small boobs (the smallest size seems at least a B-Cup to me). I'm flat as a pancake so I want that representation.

In terms of clothing, there are some very intricate and detailed styles, and this might be ZOI's greatest asset. But most are very trend-oriented and "street style on the runway"-like. It's hard to find truly basic outfits. I worry that the styles may age really badly because of that though. But then, I'm sure there will be tons of CC later on to fix that.

The body and detail of the meshes and textures are really stunning, and wrinkles and age look very convincing. The smiles seem pretty fake/plastered on, but maybe that would be better in the animations themselves, than in the static poses. The eyelash styles really look like they have mascara on (slightly clumped styles available), but I wish there was more variety with stuff like eyebrow styles and lashes which does not offer a lot of variety even for a base game (though it is still in development so this could change). I do like how you can customize things like eyeliner, lipstick and eyeshadow, but I wish that level of detail was not just for selective features like that but that the level of customizability in general would be higher, especially the ability to sculpt the face more dramatically, have presets for eyes, noses, etc. which I have not seen. It seems there are only presets for the entire face.

And if you do not mind working off face presets this might work, but the sliders and ways you can adjust the Zois do need a lot more to be truly great and useful.

Seeing there are limited presets, I think you could really easily hit the limit on what kind of ZOIs you could make. I suspect that after a while, they will all look alike. Remembering all the slider options that Life by You had makes me sad that we are not even getting close to that degree of customization here.

A small thing that I was surprised to be annoyed about is that you have to enter the full name of the ZOI before you make it. It sucks, I choose the name based on the look of my Sim, not the other way around. There is not even a name randomizer?!

The character creator feels like an AAA RPG creator, not fleshed out enough for a life sim.

I really hope this is a very early look into the character creator and it will hopefully change drastically (but my hopes are not very high at this point).

Well... Character Creation in InZOI isn't as pleasant as in Sims (especially Sims 3 hehe). It may be a fun addition in Steam library but it won't replace Sims in any way. I don't feel any connection with the characters at all and editing them (because you use already existing presets) is somehow a tiring task. Also, too few long hairstyles!

[slade-neko]

Against my better judgement, I played the new Pokémon game! ~ My Initial Thoughts

I wasn't feeling Pokémon Scarlet & Violet before release. The games just looked off to me. The art style, the gameplay, the characters, the world design, all of it really. Now that I some hands on time with it well... ehhh, I kinda feel the same way haha. I'm typically a pretty easy going dude that can have fun in about any game I play, but I dunno, this game just doesn't do much for me. It doesn't feel like a true Pokémon game. I've been playing since Gen 1 and yeah sure Sword & Shield wasn't perfect, but I still had an enjoyable time with them. Here's the key points I noticed in my time with the game.

Character Customization:

Character customization is a HUGE driving factor for me in video games. Pokémon SwSh had amazing trainer customization aside from the gym battle uniforms. Now imagine being forced to wear the gym uniform through the entire game! That's Scarlet and Violet. In SwSh I could dress my character up in so many cool outfits and that was probably my favorite aspect of that game. In Scarlet & Violet, you can only change accessories and shoes, no changing your outfit... you're stuck with that ugly school uniform the ENTIRE game! All you get is 4 seasonal styles of the same school crap. I just want my leather biker jacket and ripped jeans, darn it!

Character Designs & Art Style:

Pokémon games always had hit or miss characters for me. Typically there's more characters that I like than dislike in a game, but not really the case for Scarlet & Violet's characters. Nemona's pretty cool though, I do like her, but lotta of them feel boring and fall kinda flat for me. And to be completely honest some of them give me nightmares...

Then there's the actual art style. I don't really think Pokémon needed alpha transparency hairstyles. The solid meshed style fits better in my opinion. Feels like they tried adding some realism to the graphics with alpha hairs and more detailed skins & eye textures, but its still kinda toony looking, so its like this off putting in between style.

The World:

From what I saw, the world didn't really feel very believable or all too well designed. Just tons of huge mountains and steep cliffs. Not necessarily the prettiest scenery in a 2022 video game. None of the towns or anything really stuck out to me neither. Again, the whole thing feels kinda bland.

The Pokémon:

Not much to say on the Pokémon as every generation has had some weird designs after all. Heck even 1st Gen had some weird Pokémon that I still question today. For the most part, I did like majority of the new ones. Wish the cat starter didn't stand on TWO LEGS though! Lets please try to keep them animalistic and less humanoid GameFreak. Oh, also I played Scarlet. I wanted to play Violet with the Tron bike Pokémon, but instead I had the Flintstones one... still don't understand why does it have wheels if it just runs with it's legs instead?

Terastallization?/ The Gimmick:

Every Pokémon game since 6th gen has to have a gimmick these days. 6th Gen had Mega Evolutions, 7th Gen had Z-Moves, 8th Gen had Dynamax/ Gigantamax, and now 9th Gen's got Terastallizing? Basically your Pokémon goes into a crystalized form... boring! My personal favorite is still Mega Evolution. Having your Pokémon transform into a powerful 4th evolution temporarily was awesome. It was basically Pokémon's version of Super Saiyan 4 and I loved it.

Rushed development?!

The game was rushed and the internet's been tearing it to shreds because of that. Bugs, glitches, a complete mess. Not much I can add to that. I don't put all the blame GameFreak for that, since I'm sure there's factors out of their control for pushing the game out within the given deadlines, but seriously I feel like Pokémon games are coming out too frequently. As Miyamoto once said, "A delayed game is eventually a good game, but a bad game is bad forever."

The Good/ Open World & Multiplayer:

Lotta negatives, but hey, some positive things too! The open world, I loved it. I love being able to immediately pick where I want to go right after I start my journey. Which Gym do I challenge first or if I even want to do Gym battles or pursue a different goal entirely like hunt down the Titans or wipe out Team Star. Now that I like! Also the Multiplayer! While I didn't get to check it out myself, I know how it works. Being able to form a group with friends and explore the world together. That's a huge step in the right direction and how I wished it was in Sword & Shield.

Final Thoughts

All-in-all, I wanted to give the game a chance and I'm glad I did, but it just doesn't hook me personally. I'm not trying to sound negative with the game, but I do feel like Pokémon is losing itself as a series. A trend I've been noticing more and more with each passing year. Not just Pokémon in specific, but tons of series that go on too long begin to weaken and water down with time. Ideas run stale, monotonous, and begin to lose their luster. Too many IPs are being milked these days until there's nothing left. That's why there's been so many remasters, remakes, and even reboots happening now. They need more spacing/ time between releases.

TL;DR Game's a bit of a mess, but knowing that it's still worth trying for yourself. Maybe you will enjoy it. I have friends who are and I'm glad they're having fun. For me though, I'll be passing on this one.

[appledew]

Sugar is all set!

Made for  Orange_Parade on Instagram!

Sugar is made with minky, custom dyed minky, mochi minky and a small bit of cotton fabric. The plush stands at 19 inches from the bottoms of the feet to the top of the horns. The eyes and details on the body are machine embroidered and appliqued. There is ball-joint armature in the base body and wire armature in the tail, making them poseable! The bow is also removeable, attached using some hook-and-loop.

Such a unique character! I never expected to make a little cow teddy!

Sugar was an interesting project to work on; and is definitely in between being a simple project, with a few difficult details.

Starting with patterning, Sugar’s muzzle is an edited version of Glamrock Freddy’s muzzle.  I tried so hard to avoid making the muzzle look canine like-- at midpoint of making them, it had some regrets making the muzzle not... rounded and teddy-like? But in the end, I did really like how it came out!

The hands and feet have to be my pride and joys-- no fiddly hand sewing, my favorite kind of pattern! I took maybe an extra hour trying to figure out how to integrate the hooves on the base pattern and it was totally worth it (my fingers also appreciate not having to handsew everything!)

Moving onto the colors-- if I could vent for just on second. I WISH there was more availability of browns (and purples, flesh tones... etc...) in bigger brands of minky, especially with colors that seem to be pretty standard. :( Color matching this sweetheart was difficult to commit to. The base body was settled with taupe (some sort of non-shannon brand minky for the belly and accent color-- I didn’t even have it labeled ^^; ), Caramel for the hooves and horns and a “brown-er” dyed ginger. The hair was a slight nightmare to color match since I have quite a bit of difficulty getting nice brown dyed fabric. The test dye for instant, gave the ginger a very... purple hue (and splotchy, no matter how much I stirred or dye added or time spent in the dye bath?) if I left it in there any longer than I did. ^^; But I think the most frustrating part had to be the final color-- in some lights it looks PERFECT, in others not so much x. x 

To be honest, I think the biggest struggle was the hair, in general. Simple hairstyles are almost always the hardest to get right, or at least close to the reference-- only because there doesn’t seem to be much wiggle room for error. So much editing was done AFTER most of the hair was sewn into the head especially on Sugar’s left side. Sugar’s hair was one of those “it won’t look right until everything is attached and tidied up” situations. Maybe I was a little hard on myself when making the hair, but there were definitely some pieces and parts the need edited. ^^;

Aside from the hair, Sugar was a breeze! I wasn’t expecting to make the bow removable either, but I said heck with it, and went for it. :)

I hope I can reuse the cow muzzle pattern again, but who knows, maybe I can squeeze in a personal project to use it sometime soon! ^u ^

[thesims4blogger]

The Sims 4: New Game Patch (July 20th, 2021)

There’s a new Sims 4 update available for PC/Mac and Consoles. If you have auto updates enabled in Origin’s “Application Settings”, the game will auto-update once you open Origin. If you have auto-updates disabled, you will need to manually update by clicking the game in your library.

Your game should now read: PC: 1.77.131.1030 / Mac: 1.77.131.1230 / Console: Version 1.44

Remove all MODS and Custom Content before updating your game

Hello Simmers!

Hope you are well wherever you are in the world and that you are all having a fantastic Summer of Sims! We are excited to share today’s update with you. There is a lot of info, so make sure you have your tea/coffee/beverage of choice ready to read on. You all know I have my coffee ready for this!

As we continue to get ready to explore the countryside charm of Henford-on-Bagley and cannot absolutely wait to play with the adorable animals in Cottage Living, we also have updates and fixes that should improve and complement your Sims’ everyday life. We have something for everyone and we hope that you all enjoy them. Thank you for all your feedback and support.

Cheers!

-SimGuruRusskii ft. SimGuruRomeo and SimGuruJoAnna

What’s New?

Let’s start with some items that we shared in our last Sims 411!

For this update, we partnered with two talented artists from the LGBTQ+ community, Ashley Lukashepsky, and Mohammed Iman Fayaz, and they have brought their inspiring and beautiful artwork into the game. We have also included the modernized version of the large afro hairstyle that we showed you. But more than tell you about it in text, let me actually attach a screenshot of everything put together:

I love everything about this scene, not only it shows you how the artwork looks in a real game setting, but the whole scene with the two Sims and their surroundings is quite magical. Also, look at that hair! The way the light highlights it, perfection! You may also notice the hair of the Sim on the right, which was also added with this update for everyone. I want to personally thank all Simmers for their feedback and recommendations, as we are continuously working on adding more diverse hairstyles and textures to not only packs, but also to our base game.

Now that we are talking about artwork, the last patch notes I forgot to add the artwork made by the wonderful Jupiter Stevens-Hill. I apologize for that, I totally blanked out. However, I’m happy to see that a lot of you are enjoying it and placing it in your Lots! That makes a very happy Russkii =)

To find Jupiter, Ashley, and Mohammed’s paintings in Build Mode, make sure you take a look at the Paintings and Posters sort and filter by Base Game items. These artists are amazing and we hope you enjoy their creations.

Now, without further ado, let’s get to some new features and improvements that are part of this update!

A little bit of Gallery

When you download a lot made with the bb.moveobjects cheat, the game now notifies you about this so you know to activate the cheat before placing the lot. Builders, this means you won’t need to mention it in the lot’s description anymore!

A little for Sims

Trying to find the Sims in the current neighborhood? Select their portraits in the Relationship Panel.

“Focus the Camera” moves the camera to the Sim.

“Lock the Camera” moves the camera to the Sim and keeps following them.

Where did the Notebook go?

Found it! The Notebook has moved out of the Phone and into its own button for quicker access.

The “Center on Current Lot” button that used to be there has moved to the top right, adjacent to the Camera Controls.

Water Tool

You now can make natural, organic bodies of water! Just head into Build Mode, make a hole with the Terrain Manipulation tool, and fill it with water. It is that easy! The Terrain Manipulation and Paint Tools also have more brush sizes to enable finer detail.

In adding the Water Tool, we also took the chance to overhaul the related tools and object categories. Why not? Enjoy!

Pond Effects

All sorts of critters are available to complete the look of your pond ranging from ducks and swans to pesky mosquitoes. There is even an alligator!

New Pond Objects

Outdoor Water Décor now has an assortment of new Pond Objects to decorate the perfect pond. Some of these objects such as the Bog Log and Colorful Lily Pads have interactions on them in Live Mode to activate Turtle and Frog effects. The new Fishing Allowed Sign enables you to stock your pond with any fish your Sims have previously caught. Try it out!

New Water Styles

Go beyond the original crystal blue and dreamy magenta water. Additional options range from “Mossy Water” to “Pond Scum” to complete that au natural look.

The Shrubs category includes new plants to complement the water styles: “Green Fern”, “Leaning Not-Grass Grass”, “Not-Grass Grass Sans Inflorescence.”

Gardening with Children

Children now can help out in the garden by planting, watering, and weeding. They build their Mental skill as they garden. The process of purchasing and planting seeds is streamlined as well to make gardening more enjoyable for everyone.

Group Cooking

Cooking no longer is a solo affair. Sims now can cook in groups of up to five Sims including children. Start cooking together by selecting a fridge, stove, or any empty countertop.

Zoomers Food Delivery Service

Are your Sims getting tired of the same old pizza delivery every night? Well, gone are the days of redundant pizza nights. Maybe you are in the mood for pasta primavera or even a fancy steak dinner. All this and more are available courtesy of Zoomer Food Delivery. Order delivery through the phone or the refrigerator and the food will arrive in a jif.

Calendar

The calendar, previously available only with Seasons, now is available with Base Game to see upcoming events such as birthdays, school and work schedules, festivals, and fairs. You even can use it to book events, so it’s time to get to party planning!

Bug FixesConsoles

In Snowy Escape, skiing, sledding, and snowboarding on Bunny Slopes now contribute to the Extreme Sports Enthusiast Aspiration.

Also in Snowy Escape, Sims with high enough Skiing and Snowboarding skills now can enjoy the more advanced slopes. Sims also use the Lift to go to the top of the slopes and not go “the hard way.”

Simmers can now rotate Sims downloaded from the Gallery in Create a Sim. Spin them ‘round, ‘round, Simmers ‘round, ‘round –  like a record ‘round, ‘round, ‘round, ‘round.

The Sims 4

We made some improvements that should help our Simulation lag, particularly on the usage of some computer interactions like playing BlicBlock, along with fishing interactions, which should make the game perform a bit better. Note that this doesn’t entirely fix simulation lag but it should help and it is a step in a good direction.

Fixed an issue in which placing Mirrors directly opposite Doors would create a visual glitch in which walls and borders would disappear around them and well it was quite spooky to be honest, glad we solved that one!

Ever wish your food didn’t expire? I know I do, especially when it comes to traveling and coming back to see a fridge in pristine condition, that is a dream… but alas, it is not meant to be in life or in Sims. Fixed an issue in which traveling didn’t let food expire.

Sims stuck sleeping and couldn’t cancel that interaction? Not a product of a sci-fi film as I thought, but I can say that we have fixed this issue, well I hope.

You want to know how to not make my day, have my coffee brew endlessly but without giving me the coffee! Luckily the issue in-game about the Brew Coffee interaction being stuck has been fixed. Wasn’t it odd? Wait… Sleep and Brew Coffee were stuck in a mysterious loop? SUS.

If your Child Sims suddenly interrupted their computer sessions to draw on the activity table when Inspired, worry not, this should not happen after this update.

Fixed an issue that caused the “Items Removed” pop-up to appear when no items were removed from the game.

Fixed an issue in which setting Lots on Slipshod Mesquite would sometimes generate a crash of the game for some Simmers. The Lot couldn’t handle that much flavor.

Some blush and lipstick opacity sliders are back as they were greyed out.

Step-Parent/Child relationships are no longer missing in the Genealogy Panel. Similarly, other cases of broken families in the Genealogy Panel have been fixed as well. It is all about reconnecting or connecting with what is important.

Platforms will no longer raise in height automatically when creating new walls to intersect part of them.

We also fixed an issue in which if you placed platforms in basement levels and a staircase from the floor to the platforms, it would create this gap or hole in front of the stairs and Sims were not able to route correctly. You know, I have played many platformers in my lifetime, but do you imagine Sims trying to jump those gaps? I mean, I am called JumpFail for a reason… glad we fixed this one!

World view Lots that had some off-centered border have been adjusted.

Toddlers will no longer gain negative Sentiments against their parents randomly, especially the Festering Grudge Sentiment. I should not be laughing at this issue as I type it, I should not…<giggles>

We got word that the camera was malfunctioning and bouncing uncontrollably in some Lots across multiple Worlds. We fixed an issue that caused this, but let us know if there are new instances.

Sometimes Ghosts can be part of our Households if we choose to, however, it is really hard to live with Ghosts that constantly break things, it makes it a bit… unlivable. So our expert team of Simghostologists has communicated with these Ghosts in the non-physical realm and they have agreed to not break everything all the time.

Fixed an issue related to flooring glitches while placing the dance floor or crystal clear flooring.

Went through all the trouble in hiring a Nanny only to have your Toddler get sent to Daycare? More than a schedule conflict I imagine having the Nanny show up and there is no Toddler so what does the Nanny do in this case? Do they leave? Do they stay and wait? I must know… However, This should no longer be an issue.

Fixed an issue where using ‘{}’ (curly brackets)  in renaming objects would make these invisible in lists or UI in general.

Fixed an issue in the Likes and Dislikes section in Create a Sim that had some categories displayed incorrectly (either cut off, or words broken apart in new lines incorrectly) for some languages.

There was a clipping issue with the eye preset ymAsian13_Eyes that occurred when Sims were in extreme emotion, like Angry, and blinked. We adjusted this preset so this should not occur.

Toddlers can be picky eaters, but Toddlers not eating any fish recipe? That is suspicious, so we had a chat with the little angels and we have found a way to help them enjoy the complex flavors of our fish recipes.

Our UI team has fixed an issue in which a scrollbar appeared in the Sentiment section in the Relationship Panel when there were no sentiments. The mysterious scrollbar was mysterious. Similarly, they have also fixed an issue in which if multiple Sims gained sentiments together their thought bubbles look quite not right with the incorrect colors, so now they should look proper.

The Likes and Dislikes icon in Create a Sim will no longer overlap its text. It looked weird, honestly.

Droids (if you own Journey to Batuu) and Drones (if you own Get Famous) clipping into all kinds of objects in Build Mode? We saw that too, so there should be a fix for that in this game update. I mean this went beyond just crashing into things…

The option “Join After School Activity” will no longer be available if Simmers don’t have Seasons or Get Famous packs installed.

Sims in deviant paths now can properly reach the Level 4 of the Criminal Career.

Now, this is one that made my day, Cowplants are now able to dance again when Sims play music in front of them. Dance Cowplant, Dance!

Fixed an issue in which relationship points gained by friendly introductions were more than usual if Simmers didn’t have Snowy Escape installed.

We adjusted the color swatches for the S. Cargeaux Counter Island so that when it gets dirty, the counter doesn’t completely change colors. Dirty Counter – who dis?

Fixed an issue where the Scared Emotion UI was displaying a broken pose for Toddlers. The pose was kinda more scary than what the Toddler had been scared of, so glad that is done.

Outfits worn while Purchased and Worn in Festivals/Kiosks/Stalls should no longer remove accessories that were in place for the Sim.

Error code 134:571e5862 that occurred to some Simmers should be fixed now.

We fixed a few hairstyles (yfHair_EP05WavyBob, yfHair_EP01PartedFlat, yfHair_EP05UnderCutDreads, yfHair_EP01ShortSwept, and yfHair_DreamyCrew) that when used with the recently added color options would create splotches in the eyes, change the color of teeth, and/or change the eyelashes color.

As always the Localization team and this author have fixed and improved text across all packs and updates.

Get to Work

Aliens can now enjoy their custom Blush options in Create a Sim. Lewks out of this world!

Retail employees will now appropriately change into their assigned outfits. Listen, I grew up wearing uniforms for school, I get it, sometimes they are not the prettiest… but you have to wear them if you have to go to that establishment. I know the pain too well… but my sense of style grew from that… I think.

We made a fix to some of the swatches from the Barely Better Digital Camera that were missing a description for the item, so now all the swatches will display the text in all its glory.

Get Together

Some of these Sims are not like the others, some of these Sims just don’t belong. Can you tell which are not like the others by the time I finish writing these notes?

Fixed an issue in which some of the rooftops in Winderburg were not displaying Snow (if you own Seasons) correctly.

Fixed an issue where Sims didn’t sometimes change into their Club outfits when a Club Gathering was being held.

City Living

The Scattered Panes window in Build Mode now displays appropriate shadows in all options.

Sims enrolled in the Social Media career will now gain influence at the end of their stream instead of every few Sim-minutes.

Two hairstyles (ymHair_EP03BunHighPins and ymHair_EP03BraidedFlateBun) have been updated to reflect the correct look when choosing the Neutral Black color option.

Your Sims want to shoot some Basketball Close Shots, but they are trying to eat first? Well, now your Sims can finish eating before trying those hoops. Nutrition is important!

Cats and Dogs

We fixed an issue in which whiskers were not being seen applied to Cats. A Cat without whiskers is like Peanut butter without Jelly… or something like that! Just wrong!

Robot Vacuums should all now return to their docks accordingly. I hope this issue was not a sign that they were becoming sentient.

Sims will no longer get a Moodlet referring to the death of their Pet when witnessing the death of another Sim. The loss of a Sim is heartbreaking, but also getting a Moodlet for the death of their Pet when the Pet has not died, that is cold Grimmy, very cold.

Speaking of Robot Vacuums becoming sentient a few lines above, we fixed an issue that made the game crash when Cats would sit on the Robot Vacuum. CatonRobot.exe is now working.

We fixed an issue in which some Simmers experienced a crash with their last played Household loading into Brindleton Bay.

Seasons

Sims were changing into their cold-weather gear… while not in cold weather? We had some conversations with Sims and even though they love their winter outfits, dressing up in full winter gear in the summer was probably not the wisest choice. So the issue in which Sims randomly would change into their winter outfits while not in winter is solved.

Egg Hunts are adorable and fun! But not being able to have the furniture reset after looking for Eggs in them, can be quite the rain on Sims’ parade. But this should no longer occur.

Island Living

Mermaids will no longer keep the “Dried Scales” Moodlet when they are hydrated. Mermaids’ skincare regimen pays off! Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize!

Fixed an issue in which Lots that are placed in the sand looked quite odd displaying all edges of the Lot when it rained.

Sims that have the Collector Aspiration Trait are now able to catch Frogs in Sulani as part of their adventures exploring the island waterfall. Good Luck!

We fixed an issue in which some Simmers experienced game crashes when loading into certain lots in Mua Pe’lam. Happy Exploring!

Discover University

Sims having a hard time in Uni? No matter what they do they keep failing classes? Worry not, Sims will no longer fail classes when meeting all the criteria for course completion. Work hard, pass your classes hard!

Having Roommates can be hard. Have your Sims had Roommates complain constantly and leave even when their needs are met? Yeah, we made it so that Roommates don’t do this any longer.

Fixed an issue in which beds were counted incorrectly when placing an ad for Roommates. I mean, as much as Pets and even Toddlers can live with Roommates, the ad should be truthful to how many beds there are actually in the Lot, not count Toddlers and Pets as needing adult-sized beds.

We fixed Servo animations so that they don’t look like they are walking on one leg when hovering to their destination. Now they will hover properly.

We fixed an issue in which in some instances Professors could not go to work when a Professor NPC is added into that same Household.

Fixed an issue in which removing and adding back Household members as Roommates would create some… inappropriate moments, ahem.

Eco Lifestyle

Evergreen Harbor’s peace has been restored: roads and parts of neighborhoods no longer disappear or turn blue when businesses open in Port Promise while the Modern Development N.A.P is active.

yfBody_EP09DressShirt no longer has a weird texture in some of the footwear from various packs, especially platform shoes and chunky sneakers.

Had you moved to Cypress Terrace in Willow Creek and found you couldn’t really do anything there? We fixed the routing failures and interaction failures on the Mitey-Mitey Home – Insect Farm.

Snowy Escape

Mountain Climbing can be challenging, even for those experienced. But having indecisive moments before a climbing route like getting off and on your bike constantly seems that a lot of doubt is passing your mind… However, we did speak to these Sims that were experiencing this behavior and calmed their fears and doubts, so this should no longer be an issue.

The hairstyle yfHair_EP10BobBluntOmbre now covers all of the Sim’s ears.

For Simmers who own Seasons together with Snowy Escape, rain options no longer affect snow.

Sims no longer have the option to give a respectful or military introduction during activities such as Dancing or Bike Riding. I mean, I’m not sure about you, but I can’t dance and respectfully introduce myself at the same time. So many falls… so many falls.

We made some corrections to the Slippers that came with this pack and they should no longer display a greenish texture on Sims’ toes when selected in Create a Sim. Yikes.

Fixed an issue in which for some Simmers playing with the Yoshida Hall Household would generate a game crash when loading into Mt. Komorebi.

We took a look at our Ramen menu and have updated our cooking menu to label Miso and Egg Ramen as Vegetarian safe options. Buen Provecho!

Want to run a Restaurant in Yukimatsu but also want to enjoy the slopes? Now your Sims can enjoy the slopes and dine in style. However, this action is only directed, and will not be autonomous. In the same vein, Restaurant employees will not be tempted to leave work to enjoy the slopes.

Journey to Batuu

Batuu is an awesome destination for those who want to enjoy something fun and different, but if you bought a Droid from the Droid Depot and never saw it in your inventory, I know how frustrating it can be. Never fear, the Droids you were looking for will appear now in Inventories when purchased.

In Journey to Batuu, the First Order ID no longer disappears from inventory so Sims now can Access First Order Plans for the Top Notch Trickery Mission.

Fixed an issue with the Leveling the Playing Field Mission in which the Scoundrel Informant would not appear on the scene after Sims stole the Prototype Blaster and went to Oga’s Cantina to wait for the informant.

Dine Out

Eggs and Toast sound super basic and easy right? They will continue to be that way for our unassuming Chefs on the Chef Station since we fixed an issue that made them… challenging. Sims can also use the second burner for other recipes without fail or routing out.

StrangerVille

The Decorations and Kid’s categories in Build Mode should no longer have a “New” highlight when there’s nothing actually new.

Dream Home Decorator

Lighting can change the ambiance of a room, and your mood in a flash. Luckily we have fixed an issue that lighting was not even on sectional sofas to continue to set the right mood for our Sims.

Our stylists fixed the Sleep ‘N’ Study Styled Room to remove the P.R.I.M.A Computer from it as this is not an item that is accessible for everyone, pardon our dust.

Laundry Day

Fixed an issue where an animation clipped when Sims were loading their laundry machines. Because having your clothes go through you is awkward, are Sims made of fabric? I don’t think so.

Bust the Dust

Don’t need Simoleons, don’t need Fame. Don’t need dinner to have this date. It’s strong and it’s sudden and it’s cruel sometimes but it might just end your night… the power of Dust, that’s the power of Dust.

Our cleaning agents have determined that Sims won’t get romantic negative Moodlets related to filthy levels of dust in public places like parks.

[mikumoduleoftheday]

I also have... thoughts on the new Mirai game. Don’t get me wrong — I played it for 6 hrs straight w/o realizing bc it was so fun and I’ve been waiting for it to come out in English we since they made the announcement for the Japanese version. 💖 But Project Mirai DX’ on 3DS controls are waaaay more comfortable for me and seem more in sync With the right and left hand?? I don’t really know how to explain... What are your thoughts on it??

I will NEVER stop my promoing for Project Mirai DX. I want Project Diva to be MORE like Project Mirai. I genuinely wanted a new, amazing installment of Project Mirai on the Switch as opposed this Diva game. This is my unpopular take and I will not repent for it. Also, I hope you realize what a wall of text you unleashed by asking for my thoughts.

About Mirai vs Diva in general:

The use of the track that notes were placed on in Project Mirai was so good and I really miss it going into Diva. The random placement of upcoming notes in Diva, especially with busy background pvs or fast notes, leaves me scrambling sometimes. Not to mention the way the track would be incorporated as almost another level to the PV in some songs, like it tracing rabbit shapes in Lots of Laugh or making liberal use of the rainbow colored hold bonuses in Reverse Rainbow. It really felt like an extra level of care from the creators.

Also the timing is so much harder in Diva oh my god. Project Diva is so demanding. Janitor Mod enjoyed the few songs that had an Extreme Mode chart in Mirai, but is struggling with Hard Mode in Diva. (Edit: I found out recently that her issue is most likely caused by lag from the joy-cons while I had the Switch hooked up to the TV. There’s a way to calibrate your lag, although I wish the game would have told you up front about the option kinda like Taiko no Tatsujin does. It really seems either playing in handheld mode or with a wired procontroller is the most recommended.) As someone who objectively sucks at rhythm games, it’s been kicking my butt.

I loved the level of customization in the outfits. The outfit swaps were not limited by character, only by gender. I think this would be appreciated a lot be people who’s favorite character is less loved in the outfit department too, it really expands the outfit selection when Meiko can wear the other girls’ clothes and whatnot. Not to mention that some outfits have recolorable sections that allowed you to really tie more disparate designs together.

Minor and inconsequential note in the grand scheme of things, Mirai felt like a bigger game with all of the tiny random things you could do, like the mini games and music editor and the buddy system. It probably doesn’t matter to people more invested in core rhythm gameplay, but even when I wasn’t in the headspace for rhythm games (or in a physical space that would prevent uninterrupted timed play), I still had other options to be engaged with. I miss that in Megamix.

About Megamix specifically:

Most of the issues I have are minor. This is my first Project Diva game, and as such, it doesn’t bother me in particular that its basically a simple rehash of Future Tone. I never had any of the previous games to get bummed that this is the same thing. Obviously, your mileage may vary. From what I’ve heard from others: don’t bother if you already have Future Tone really.

I’m also kinda peeved that there’s no physical English release, not even a limited preorder run. I’m a huge proponent of physical media for a few reasons, but come on. Previous English Diva series got physical releases.

I really dislike the art direction of the actual characters. I prefered the look of the models from Diva F and Diva X more than these. I just like the less exaggerated anatomy.

And yeah, the shader sucks. I tried not to hate it, but it does just look like someone was abusing the saturation sliders in a bad photoshop. It’s too bright and washes away already subtle facial features, almost always leaving them noseless. Characters look especially out of place in any stage that isn’t entirely abstract lights or shapes, as the backgrounds seem to use a different shader? If they really wanted to use the toon shader for the whole game, I wish at least they would have used the Diva F models. I think the simpler style of those models would have fit better at least.

Also, why no new modules besides Catch the Wave?? I know that the ones that stick to 2D pvs are by choice of the producer, but what about the 3D pvs? Seriously why couldn’t they have added Magical Mirai 2016 in for 39 Music?? They already have the design for it. No new design for Alien Alien, nothing for Teo or Hibana. And Roki just reuses the modules that are for Kodoku no Hate.

I personally don’t find any of the the DLC packs as enticing enough to actually buy. None of them have more than one or two songs I want. This will obviously vary on your taste.

I can’t wait for touch play mode to be added to the English version, I really preferred tap mode in Mirai so I’m was really pleasantly surprised to hear it would be added to Megamix.

That said, the menus are clean and mostly user-friendly with the exception of a few confusing names. The game play is fun, the load times are quick, and the song choices are safe but fine. Very Miku heavy, but that’s what I like. The shader means Future Tone’s unholy lighting bloom issue is reeled in (even it just looks bad in a new and different way). I’m glad the hairstyles are interchangeable even if I miss Mirai’s outft swaps not being character locked. The important points of it, you know, being a rhythm game are good. I’m just forever, and probably annoyingly, bogged down in aesthetics.

Post Touch Play addition edit: The system for choosing Touch Play vs button mode, quite frankly I’m sorry, fucking sucks. Having it be buried under layers of menus instead of a separate category like Mix Mode is infuriating. Just have the option come up along with the other two in the selection page. If you didn’t know it was an option, you would never find Touch Play. You would never even know about this whole game mode. As for how the mode actually plays, it’s fine. It feels really crowded on the bottom of the screen, but I’m not sure how else I would have done it? I don’t actually know which I prefer, button or touch screen.

I hope that if you’ve never played a Project Diva game before due to not having a Playstation, that you can get Megamix, I certainly don’t regret the purchase.

[ariparri]

HPHM Hairstyle Wishlist

Just some hairstyles I wish were in the game. Because you know, would love to have more options to customize our MCs with. This is pretty much part one of the series. I don’t know how much I’ll make, it just depends on my inspiration and motivation honestly.

To start off with the series, here’s three versions of the same hairstyle. The buns being the original and the other two styles are the horns. Whenever I hear the word witch, I always think of creative looking hairstyles. The ones with the horns are always what comes to mind.

Top row is just the natural color of the character’s hair. Nothing else, just a single solid color.

Second row is simple highlights added to the hairstyle. Natural hair color mixed with a secondary color.

And then the third one can be a multicolor one. The third one can be a good option for those with MCs who love their punk theme.

I kinda got carried away with different color variations that I forgot to make a shorter version of them. But this is basically the general idea of the hairstyle.

[tabithasketches]

Commissions

Commission Status

Status: Waitlist

Ordering & Payment

How to order:

1. Send me an email

2. Fill out the following form and include it in the email:

General Info:

Your name:

Your email:

Type/category of commission (portrait, or bust):

Any specific wishes/details you want included:

Background color:

Canvas size (e.g. 5”x7”, 8”x10”, etc.)

Fictional Character(s):

*fill out this section if you are commissioning artwork of a fictional character*

Character name(s):

Character personality:

Physical description (please be specific):

Non-fictional Individual(s):

*fill out this section if you are commissioning artwork of a non-fictional person*

Name(s):

Physical description (e.g. hair color, eye color, etc.):

By sending this order I confirm that I have read and accept the terms of service for commissioning TABITHA MUMFORD.

3. Send your order to tabithasketches@gmail.com

IMPORTANT COMMISSION INFORMATION:

*You can place multiple orders in one email, just include the above form multiple times.

*If you are commissioning work of a non-fictional person (you or someone else) please include multiple images of that individual. These images should include their outfit, hairstyle, and accessories that you want me to draw. I reserve the right to refuse the commission if these are not included. If there is anything specific you would like me to be inspired by (e.g. stock images for poses), please include them as well.

*If you are commissioning work of a fictional character, please include reference images of your character(s). If there is anything specific you would like me to be inspired by (e.g. stock images for poses) please include them as well. Currently, I will not take the commission of a character if you do not include these.

Payment

Payment will only be accepted through PayPal.

When you send payment, please pay through “goods and services”

DO NOT include an address. If you put your address in the payment order, PayPal will think that physical goods have been ordered that need to be shipped, and I will not send anything through the mail. If you include an address, I will decline/return the sale and you will not receive the artwork until it is fixed.

About Commissioning Me

Before you order, please make sure to have read my Terms of Service. These terms apply to private commissions only. This information is NOT applicable for commercial work, therefore the art can only be used for the client’s personal purposes.

Examples and Prices

*All prices below are base prices.

*Things that might increase the price are:

complex character designs

number of characters

props (e.g. character holding a bouquet of flowers)

Digital, Full Color

Portrait: $25

Full color

Image resolution is typically 300 pixels/inch

Canvas size is typically 8” x 10” but another size can be chosen

Single color background is included

Bust: $35

Full color

Image resolution is typically 300 pixels/inch

Canvas size is typically 8” x 10” but another size can be chosen

Single color background is included

Do’s and Don’ts

Will do:

People (you, your friends, family, etc.)

Original Characters

Will NOT do:

Imitation of other art styles or artists

Celebrities

NSFW

Terms of Service

If you have a problem with any of these statements, they may be changed if discussed with me prior to ordering your commissioned piece.

1. GENERAL TERMS

All drawings will include a subtle signature that you may not remove.

I have the right to reject any order that I do not feel comfortable drawing for any reason.

2. PAYMENT

The only currency I accept is USD, and payment can be sent through PayPal.

For all commissions, I require 50% of the cost in advance. If I am unable to complete the commission the upfront cost will be returned to you. The return of funds is NOT applicable for any other reason (see point 7 below for more information on refunds).

DO NOT send me the funds before I have agreed to the commission and requested that you send me the payment.

3. PROCESS AND DELIVERY

I will notify you when I have started on your commission and you, therefore, lose the rights to a refund (see point 7 further below for more info on refunds).

While I'm working on your commission we will conduct check-ins where we review the progress of your commission. I want to make sure that I create the artwork exactly how you want it!

During the reviews, you will see work-in-progress pictures. The images will include a watermark, be smaller, and have lower resolution than the finished piece.

The time it takes to finish your commission varies from 1 week - 1 month depending on certain factors. These factors may include the complexity of the commissioned piece, other work/commissions, health, and university. I will make you aware of the timeframe we’ll be working with before I accept the commission so you can decide if you are able to wait.

If anything comes up that will slow the progress of the initially estimated delivery time I will let you know asap.

Once the piece is finished you will receive the full-resolution image. Note that there is no physical product.

4. REVISIONS

A fee will be added if you want something changed on the final drawing - unless, of course, a misunderstanding from my side has been made.

If you wish for me to change something in the drawing you have previously been satisfied with, I will charge you a fee to change it. The amount of the extra charge depends on the change you want me to make.

If your reference is unclear to start with then changes will come at an extra charge.

5. COPYRIGHT / USAGE POLICY

I, the artist, claim the rights to the produced artwork, not the buyer. Therefore I am allowed to use the copyrighted artwork to:

Promote myself and my business with the image (e.g. as a commission example)

Display and post the work anywhere I chose

The buyer is allowed to:

Use the commissioned piece for personal use only (you can upload it to your social media or use it as your profile picture/icon). You are not forced to give me credit when you post it, but it is very appreciated.

Print the artwork.

Claim the character(s) as their own, if it is their own original character, but they cannot claim the artwork itself.

The following is considered copyright infringement:

Reproducing/using the copyrighted artwork commercially - this means making money from my artwork in any way.

Claiming the artwork as your own

Removing my signature from the artwork

Altering the artwork without my consent

I reserve the full rights to the image and it's use/distribution unless otherwise agreed upon (rights to the image for your own non-personal/commercial use may be purchased).

6. CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

I will do everything I can to make my customers happy!

If you have a problem with anything in regards to the commissioned piece please tell me right away so we can find a solution together. Teamwork makes the dream work!

7. REFUND / CANCELLATION POLICY

The buyer is not allowed a refund once I start working on the commission.

If, for any reason, I am unable to start your commission you will receive a full refund.

If, for any reason, I am unable to finish your commission, due to problems on my end, you will receive a full refund.

If you cancel your order before I started it, you will be refunded the 50% advanced fee.

If you are getting a refund, do not request a Paypal chargeback. I will transfer the money back to you myself.

If you request a Paypal chargeback at any point when you were not allowed to ask for a refund, you will lose all aforementioned rights to the commissioned piece and I will have the full right to profit further from it in any way I choose. I will also decline the chargeback and give Paypal our conversations where we talk about the commission as evidence that I have completed work for you. Furthermore, you will be blacklisted for commissioning me again.

If the buyer breaks any of the points stated above they will lose all before mentioned rights to the artwork commissioned by me, the artist, and I will have the right to profit further from the commissioned artwork in any way I see fit. If you have a problem with any of these statements, they may be changed if discussed with me prior to ordering your commissioned piece.

[thebookworm0001]

So I saw you replied to my ask yesterday and yes I absolutely am interested in Dragon Age now so if you want to talk about anything else, feel free!

That’s awesome!! I’m glad you’re interested!!

Idk how much you know about Stuff so I’ll keep this as spoiler-free as possible.

If you decided to buy the games then there’s going to be a couple DLCs you can get that accompany the main games. If you can get them all, I would. They all add really interesting plot points, expand the lore, and just generally add more content. If you can only buy one, get Trespasser. It’s the real ending of Inquisition and is definitely necessary for going into the fourth game whenever it comes out. If you’re not in a place where you can/want to play the games, there’s about a billion playthroughs on YouTube. Watching a romance line in Inquisition is actually how I got into the series in the first place. Dragon Age 2 actually has a free demo you can download that lets you play through part of the prologue. It’ll give a you a feel for the combat mechanics(which are pretty different from DA:O) and the character of Hawke.

The other big thing about Dragon Age is that the series is jokingly called a dating simulator, and it’s honestly not wrong. The romances are a great part of the games. If you don’t want to romance anyone you do not have to! Characters may flirt, but you’re always in control of whether a romance in initiated. If you do choose to, though, prepare to get attached. A big part of the fandom is related to the various ships, so an easy way to get involved is to interact with art, writing, and various other posts about them. Your options vary from game-to-game. Origins has four romances, two men and two women. One man and one woman are heterosexual, and the other man and woman are bisexual. In 2, there are four romances. Five if you include a character included by a DLC. They are “player-sexual” - attracted to Hawke, regardless of gender. Most people interpret them as being bi or polysexual because “player-sexual” is a just a term to describe a specific romance mechanic in-game. In Inquisition, there are eight! These characters are a bit more varied, having distinct sexualities and even preferring certain races over others. For example, one man will only romance a female elf. One woman, however, will romance a man or woman of any race. There are no in-game mechanics to be outside the gender binary, but that certainly shouldn’t and doesn’t stop anyone from creating a character that is.

Which is another great thing about the series - character customization. Origins has the most personality options as the character is not voiced. The Warden came be anywhere on the spectrum from pure cinnamon roll who does no wrong to a completely evil edgelord. It is completely up to you and your preferred style of gameplay. The origins also let you further customize backstory and other influencing factors. Hawke has more of a specific character, but with three flavors: peaceful(blue), sarcastic(purple), and aggressive(red). The inquisitor has a middle ground between the two, but you can still tailor their personality to fit your preferences. How you act and your origin have an impact on how your character is perceived by the rest of the world and by your companions. If you treat them poorly enough, they may decide to leave your party. Or you can decide to kick them out, or not recruit them in the first place. Sometimes your actions can get them killed. All companions have loyalty quests that let you get to know them a bit better and, in some cases, heavily influence the person they become. Some companions have more influence in the story overall and all have their own reasons for joining you.

There are also a TON of mods. I recommend doing an initial playthrough without them just to get the full experience and then adding changes later. There are appearance mods for yourself and other characters, mods that make gameplay easier or fix bugs, and mods that may add additional content. If you romance Alistair in Origins, there are mods that introduce new repeatable scenes between him and the warden. There are also mods that change characters’ sexualities. These are… divisive to say the least. Characters like Dorian, whose sexuality is an incredibly important part of his chatacter, have mods that change his sexuality. I hate those mods. It’s incredibly disrespectful to the character and anyone who shares his experiences or sexuality to erase it because they wish to romance him with a woman. He’s not the only one, just the best example considering his story. Mods that change a straight character’s sexuality? Straight people don’t have an issue with their sexuality being erased or any of the history of oppression the queer community has faced. I don’t have an issue with those mods, others do. I know some people who enjoy adding that representation and others who don’t like their sexuality being used to make a romance more accessible. I say use your best judgement there. There’s a similar issue with companion appearance mods. Dragon Age has a big issue with whitewashing and there are a lot of mods that do that. Don’t download them, just don’t. There are also mods that hypersexualize female characters and I find those distasteful, personally. Sometimes they end up playing into racist stereotypes. Isabella in particular is often a victim of those combination of mods. However there are also really great appearance mods that fix whitewashing and sexualization or add more options for diversity in hairstyle and skintone. Plus some really silly ones. Wanna make your character absurdly tall or have green hair? You can. Want to make your dog companion a mechanical hell beast? There’s a mod for that. Recently there’s been an increase in mods for Inquisition and they’re all pretty awesome from what I’ve seen.

Also in Origins and 2 you get a dog. Mabaris are the breed and they’re super intelligent. They’re the best. You do not have a mabari in Inquisition, unfortunately.

[pudding-on-parade]

Rambling about Lylanir

Just contemplating rules and culture and, y’know, world-building stuff. Also to-do lists. It’s mostly meant for me because I find that “writing” helps me to clarify things in my own head, but if you want to read along, feel free. :) I’ll warn you that it’s really long, and I’ll probably edit it over time to make it longer still. Or maybe shorter, if I delete things I’ve gotten done. WHO KNOWS WHAT I’LL DO???!!

Right now, I’m just working in Edit Town mode. I’ve moved in a placeholder Sim (who will be annihilated when I start adding the real population; I love that you can do that in TS3) so that I can let the world run a bit so that it generates service Sims. Currently, I’m deleting some rabbitholes I don’t want and adding some that I do. Also, some lots for some of the Ambitions functions. Like, do not want school but do want stadium, police, and military, so I’ve deleted/put those down. 

Also do want:

A spa. Partly rabbithole, partly playable. I want it to be a hot springs. Gonna use one of the world’s empty 64x64 lots for it, I think. Maybe a little smaller, but still a big lot. The DV spa rabbithole is pretty elvish-looking, so I might use a rug instead...or I might decide elvish-looking is OK for a spa. Mostly, I just want it to be pretty and relaxing.

A junkyard. I wish there were more period-appropriate junk piles, but I’ll make do with the “normal” ones. I also want to look at the “Inventing Overhaul” mod I have. I think I remember that you can replace the inventable objects with other things. I’d like some more slightly-advanced but closer to period-appropriate things than the advanced tech that mod uses. Like, inventing telescopes, for instance. Not sure I’ll be able to do that because I have zero TS3-modding skills, and if I can’t, I’ll settle for them inventing anachronistic stuff, mostly because I just love inventor Sims and the blacksmith’s house in the village is already furnished with an inventing station.

Business, criminal, theater, and science rabbitholes.

An art gallery that’s really more of a studio, with easels and sculpting stations and that Store glass-blowing/jewelry-making thing. maybe the toy-making thing from the Store and stuff like that. I’m going back and forth as to whether this stuff should be part of a residential home for a Da Vinci-like Sim or if it should be a community lot so that everyone of an artistic bent can use the stuff. I’m currently leaning more toward the latter.

A non-rabbithole, playable boarding school for the less-agrarian kids. Not sure what I need to do in TS3 to make that work. Need to do some reading/thinking about it.

Something for vampires, but definitely not a typical “Vampire Lounge.” I’m thinking....Well, the town has a monastery. It has a big, explorable, and very gothy tomb under it. Kinda thinking the “brothers” will all be vampires.

Maybe want:

A hospital rabbithole. I can’t decide if I want the medical careers (including custom ones I have, like nursing) in this world. I know I won’t be sending people there to birth babies -- mostly because of travel time -- so otherwise its only function would be careers, so....I don’t know. The world’s alchemy-heavy, and I have some custom elixirs for curing illness and such, so maybe a hospital is unnecessary.

A salon. Makeovers might be nice. A super-gay medieval stylist would be hilarious. Tattoos...maybe. In the real world, tattooing goes back to at least ancient Egypt, but I’d need to download some more appropriate designs than what the game comes with. I’m not sure this is important enough to me to go to that effort.

Wish I could have: A fire station. But that requires the fire truck and that’s pushing anachronism tolerance waaaaaay beyond my threshold. :)

Then, I need to go into all the prebuilt lots and edit them as needed. Like, I know because I looked that some of them have all modern kitchen appliances. Do not want.

Once all that’s done, all the service Sims ought to have been generated. So the next step will be making them over so they look right. Because they generate like this:

Yeah, that’s not gonna work. *laugh* But, I’ll only need to change hairs and everyday outfits, so it shouldn’t take long. What will take a long time will be making the playables, given the CAS lag I have. Which hopefully won’t be as bad since this Mods folder will be much lighter on the hair than my “normal” folder...

So, some ideas about this place’s environment and culture and all that:

Its climate will be temperate with all four seasons but on the cooler side. Longer autumn/winter/spring, shorter summer. Mostly to make farming a little harder. Lifespans will be longer to match because I like to take my time with things. Horses, of course, will be integral to this world.

Traveling won’t be allowed, so it’ll be an isolated culture with no one immigrating or emigrating once I’ve got the population set. UNLESS I decide to “network” in one or two other historical worlds of a similar era using the Traveler mod. I don’t know that I’m up for setting up more than this world, though. *laugh*

I’ve been putting in some thought about this place’s culture and while I don’t have much figured out yet, I DO know that this place is definitely going to be fantasy with only a medieval-esque veneer. But I also want it to have an unusual culture, not an LOTR-like sort of epic fantasy. This means it’s going to diverge a lot from the real Middle Ages, and I’m not gonna care. Given that, I’ve decided to go all out on some fantasy things.

Like, I’m going to use the dragons that came with Dragon Valley. I’m not quite sure how yet. I might limit them to supernatural Sims having them, maybe only one kind of supernatural having them. Maybe as a sort of witch familiar? Not that I don’t want witches to have cats, of course! *laugh* Maybe dragons can be fairy companions...

That said, obviously supernaturals will be integral here. :) But there won’t be superstition or stigma about them. No witch trials/burnings or anything like that. They’ll just be...people. Well, OK, if I do a feral werewolf colony, they’ll probably be feared, but otherwise? People will be cool with the supernatural, even embracing them and seeking to become one, i.e., those monastic vampires. Even though the vampires are probably gonna kill people. For population control, if nothing else.

For the supernaturals....I’ve downloaded a bunch of skin color ramps, I think they’re called. The things with ranges of unnatural colors on one slider. I’ve never used them. I think I’m going to use them for at least some of the supernaturals, designating a color family for each type of supernatural. I also have a mess of unnatural hair color presets, and I’ll do unnatural eye colors, too. I want to do this partly because I think it’ll be visually interesting and very different from what I’ve done in all my Simming before, but mostly because I’m curious to see how the Advanced Genetics that are part of NRAAS’s Story Progression (as well as a mod I have that blends parental hair colors) will handle such things. I’m hoping for some interesting results, especially with supernatural hybrids. 

Speaking of witch burnings...Religion. If there is one at all in this world, I’m definitely not doing anything from the real-world West. Probably won’t even do anything like the Sims Medieval style of religion. I’m not sure if the “monastery” will be related to religion at all, in fact. Currently, I’m leaning toward it being the vampires themselves who are worshipped by everyone else or at least by all the humans. Like, people could send them sacrifices to be drained in exchange for...something. :) I have no idea what right now. But I’m toying with a “backstory” about vampires that they are perhaps technologically advanced and not even former humans. Maybe they’re aliens, maybe they’re time travelers. Maybe they’re stranded in Lylanir, maybe they came deliberately as observers or something. Mostly, I’m thinking this because I want to be able to use the science station to make forbidden fruit seeds because I want to use Plantsims. *laugh* I can utilize that big-ass tomb under the monastery to hide some more advanced tech. 

But one cultural thing that I am certain of: It’s going to be an egalitarian society. None of this female oppression bullshit. I don’t want it to be female-dominated, either, but just....equal. So, women don’t have to be married and push out a dozen babies if they don’t want to. And they can wear comfortable, practical clothing, including pants. And they don’t have to cover their hair. And they can be badass warriors if they want to be. All that stuff. 

A bit of culture I’ve invented, following on from women not having to cover their hair, is that women above child-age will wear braided hairstyles, and the more elaborate the braiding, the higher the status she has. Because only those with status would have time to sit for hours and braid (or have someone else braid) their hair. I’ve downloaded a bunch of elaborately-braided hairstyles, and I’m looking forward to using them. 

And I want to think of something similar for men, but I’m having a hard time coming up with something. I’d be fine with complex braids for them, too, but alas such hairstyles don’t seem to exist for males. At least, not very many of them. Maybe tattoos, if I make them more expensive than the game charges for them? If that, then I need to move a salon up to the “Do Want” list.

And that’s enough, I think....FOR NOW!

[jensvisualnoveladventures]

After playing all the choices books, did you like the app?? What is your favorite book and least favorite one? I loved reading your posts!

I definitely liked it more than I expected. Its ads did not do it any favors and if it wasn’t for those, I probably would’ve tried it sooner. I would say my two overall issues with the App itself are:

Some of the diamond choices. I’ve mentioned before my big issue with these types of games is that often the diamond choice is the correct choice or best to do and it’s kind of frustrating. And if a story doesn’t play as smoothly without certain diamond options, those options should probably not require diamonds. 

Similarly, because you can’t just replay from a chapter on (IE: If you finish Chapter 16, you need to replay from the start if you want to play it again), it’s not like you can save up and come back unless you literally exit out mid-chapter/before confirming which means no diamonds for “finishing” either. 

I also don’t like that replaying wipes your entire playthrough. I’ve mentioned before with some other games that it’s genuinely a really poor route to go with visual novel-based games because people enjoy seeing other routes, but don’t usually like to lose their first or favorite, especially as new books come along. I also wish it was possible to just… re-read my route without having to replay everything. 

The fact that you no longer earn keys if you buy some. At least have the free keys count separately :/ It’s just super frustrating. 

The only other thing is I wish there was a bit more customization? I would love to be able to pick my eye color at the least as most of the light skinned MC options had blue or green eyes and not dark brown so I often ended up picking the Asian or Hispanic MCs. Similarly, I wish there were more colors for the same hairstyle. A lot of the time, my favorite hairstyle was blonde. 

But outside of those, there’s a lot of different books which is nice. I do wish it was a bit clearer what some diamond choices meant because I am too dense for this world and they’re not necessarily rated super high (and please let me just let them stay clothed while kissing), but that’s a more minor thing. That said, I wish I could replay that one chapter of TRR to fix that one choice. 

As for Favorite and Least Favorite books… It’s actually kind of hard to say flat out (as a note, I’ll leave any diamond issues out as I mentioned my general issues with diamonds above). 

Endless Summer probably hits the closest to “favorite” though. I loved the story, I loved all the characters, the romance felt appropriately paced due to everything going on and the time on the island, and Jake is probably my all-time favorite love interests in the game. 

My only big complaint about ES was with the endings– I hated the lack of a happy ending where the world is saved and we still could’ve reunited it. It felt like the MC could’ve rejoined during that 5 year reunion but nope… Besides that, I wish there were more moments we could’ve picked both options. I tried so hard to keep everyone balanced that I didn’t even have Jake at full hearts >>

I also have enjoyed the High School Story series a lot. I like more slice of life calm books at times with silly antics and it really reminded me of how much more a certain other game could’ve done. I would put the Freshman here too if it didn’t have so much over the top drama and forced romance at times. 

And a big shout out to The Heist: Monaco which I genuinely had a lot of fun with. I just wish I could’ve hired everyone >> Anyway, if they do make a sequel, I’ll probably replay as there was a glitch and despite being the diamond toolkit, the game acted like I didn’t and I’d want to fix that if gear carries over.

As for least favorite, it’d be Across the Void. I loved the scenery itself, but the story was just… a mess. We had no info on the war, no true way to stay neutral, disappointing endings, had to constantly use diamonds to save people, and honestly, while I normally don’t mind character switching much, playing as Sol and Eos was incredibly boring. I feel like I barely got to know my MC. I would’ve liked it more if the war plot line was scrapped entirely, we didn’t see our siblings so often, actually got cute pets ourselves, and the focus was more on building up our ship and meeting passengers.

We also had to pick a romance no matter what and I just… did not get enough time to feel any of them. The one that I felt was the most okayish with MC was Zekei who I felt had the best chemistry with Sol (Speaking of which, Sol seemed to have the most chemistry with most of his LIs while the MC and Eos were kind of just hanging there). 

That said, Passport to Romance, while not my least favorite, it probably the book that broke my heart in the sense of “I have high hopes for it” and then just really let me down. Amazing premise, I loved the loading screen of the passport with the stamps, and then it just got… so filled with drama and the MC shrugging off her responsibilities and I’m still angry about it. I got a better fill of my dreams from Madeline’s European Adventure :(

As a final note, while I do like The Elementalists a good amount, the MC for it is probably one of my least favorites. There are times I like her, but I don’t like how she interacts with a lot of the characters to the point where I almost regret picking a romance (I was planning to pick nobody but then I couldn’t say no after the confession scene). It’s just frustrating to me as I feel it had the chance to have the MC’s vary the most due to the Alt test, but then… they didn’t. The MC is just too sporty and active for me and it’s like what I pick almost doesn’t match the character and I don’t know, I feel like I should be playing someone else entirely.

[myaekingheart]

55. Dorimuchimu

read the scarecrow and the bell on ao3

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I've said it once, I've said it twice, I've said it a thousand fucking times That I'm OK, that I'm fine, that it's all just in my mind But this has got the best of me, and I can't seem to sleep It's not 'cause you're not with me, it's 'cause you never leave -It Never Ends, Bring Me The Horizon

               Four days had passed before Rei had the courage to face Naru again. She awoke far too early with a fire in her belly, an anxiety, that she needed to quench. Without a second of hesitation, she slipped on her shoes and raced toward the cemetery.

               It was ANBU custom that a shinobi destroy their body before death so as to prevent the enemy from getting ahold of valuable information. After all, you can glean just as much from a dead body as you can a living one. Therefore, Naru was never even buried but rather memorialized in some sort of bogus mock grave. Quite frankly, it made Rei sick but she presumed she would rather have a fake grave than nothing at all. It took her some time to actually find it but when she did, she immediately realized how terrible of a decision she had made.

               Despite there not even being a body, she felt as if she had to tread carefully so as to not stand directly over where Naru’s corpse would’ve been. She swore she had heard something somewhere about that being bad, though she wasn’t quite sure why. Maybe it was bad luck. Whatever. It wasn’t important. She knelt down before the gravestone, her fingers tracing over her etched name, and then slapped her hand hard in hopes of waking up from this terrible nightmare. It was too surreal, none of this could possibly be happening. Maybe if she just squeezed her eyes shut tight enough and said a bunch of words backwards, she would reverse time and Naru would come bounding up behind her with that new hairstyle she was contemplating. They would stop for food and laugh and gossip and everything would be as it was once more. But that was stupid. No amount of wishing was ever going to change things back. Death was finite, irrevocable. There was nothing she could do.

               She couldn’t tell whether it had been hours or mere minutes when a voice suddenly spoke to her from behind. “Fancy seeing you here, Carrots” it called, and Rei recognized it immediately. She turned slowly, catching Sekkachi staring down at her. Backlit by a blinding sun, she looked almost demonic.

               “Can I not pay my respects?” Rei said sourly as she turned back around. She caught Sekkachi approach in her periphery and set a small bouquet of flowers down before the grave. They knelt there in silence for a long while, an uneasiness hanging in the air. Without Naru to bind them, Rei and Sekkachi felt out of place and awkward. “It still doesn’t feel real” Rei murmured, breaking the silence. “None of this feels real.”

               “Yeah, well, get used to it” Sekkachi spat. Despite the hostility of her words, there was a fragile undercurrent to her tone. Defeatist, cynical, heartbroken.

               Rei shook her head, an airy laugh breaking past her lips. “To think, we were the strongest kunoichi team of our generation…”

               “The Dream Girls” Sekkachi replied, slightly bitter.

               “Dorimuchimu” Rei said. That word held so much weight to it, so much meaning both positive and negative. She wondered how Chikara-sensei felt about all of this. Losing one of your students, even if they had long ago graduated from your tutelage, no doubt stung. If they could only go back to those old days when they were young and naïve, so full of life and high spirits. The weight of other’s harsh criticism didn’t feel quite so heavy. They were destined to fail, and yet exceeded every expectation.

               An all-girls team can’t possibly get any work done, they would say. They’re so weak. That’s too much estrogen for one team. It was a wonder none of them ever quit, but they all had their reasons to pursue a career like this. And they had Chikara: a powerhouse of a woman, tall and thick and tan. She accepted them as if they were her own children. Whatever their faults in the personal sphere didn’t matter. The only thing that was important now was teamwork, and damn were they a perfect combination. The very things that people argued would destine them for failure only contributed to their success. Tiny Rei was the sly spy, chatty Naru the intelligent deceiver, and aggressive Sekkachi the brute force. Soon their names were known across the five great nations: Chikara’s Dream Girls. Short-lived ecstasy.

               “Feels so anticlimactic” Rei murmured, reminiscing about it all. “Falling apart like this.”

               “No” Sekkachi countered, “No, we fell apart way before any of this.” As much as she respected the good things, Sekkachi was not blind to the reality of their formation. They were little girls with power, but also imperfections. That was the trouble with growing up—it also entailed growing apart and growing against. The very things that strengthened them as comrades only weakened them as friends. They were destined to fail from the very start.

               It was true that their progress, as well, was a point of contention. Where Rei and Naru excelled into the ANBU, Sekkachi was never given the privilege. Lord Third only ever promoted her as far as “specialized jonin,” which for all intents and purposes didn’t mean shit. Just a coat of gold paint on a cheap plastic knock off as if to make it feel shiny and worthwhile. In the end, it didn’t mean anything.

               Rei shook her head. “Don’t say that” she whispered. “Something like that would make Naru mad.”

               “Well, Naru isn’t here anymore, Rei!” Sekkachi suddenly exploded, leaping to her feet. “It’s not like she can hear us!” Taken aback, Rei turned to her slowly, her heart pounding. Sekkachi’s face was growing redder by the second. She was teetering on the verge of madness after having held herself back for far too long.

               “Sekkachi, please….” Rei whispered, slowly standing herself. She really didn’t want to do this. Not right now. “This isn’t the right place to argue—”

               “As if it’s your place to say!” Sekkachi shouted. “If it wasn’t for you, Naru would still be here!”

               Her words were like a kunai to the chest. Rei staggered backwards, suddenly breathless. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. Her entire body went numb. After a few moments of gasping and glitchy recalculating, she finally choked out, “I-I didn’t mean to…”

               Sekkachi balled up her fist and for a moment Rei was certain she was going to strike her. However, a softness slowly filled her eyes and she began to lower her hand. “That doesn’t mean anything” Sekkachi growled. Her voice quaked, and for the first time in a long time she was holding back tears. “You don’t get a free pass by saying sorry. I want you to live with the guilt of what you’ve done every single day for the rest of your miserable life.”

               Now Rei was fighting back tears. She clenched her fists at her sides so hard, her nails dug deep into her palms. A lump rose in her throat and the earth began to swing back and forth beneath her feet. “I know…I know…I wish it had been me instead. It should’ve been me…oh god, it should’ve been me…”

               “Your tears aren’t going to help you win my sympathy, Rei” Sekkachi snapped. “I refuse to sit by and watch you get everything you ever wanted while having stolen this from me.” She gestured to Naru’s grave, and a sickening fear began to well up inside of Rei.

               “W-what do you mean…?” the redhead asked, though she was terrified of the answer. She wasn’t stupid. She could make the inferences. All the pieces of this tragic puzzle began coming together in her head and it only added to the crushing weight.

               Sekkachi sniffled and tried to act tough, unaffected, but was failing. “I had plans, you know” she said. “I had things I wanted, too. A happy life. Good future. Loving relationship. But the one person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, I was too much of a fucking coward to confess to. And now…now it’s too fucking late!”—here, she kicked the small bouquet of flowers she had placed by Naru’s grave. “She’s gone and there’s nothing I can fucking do about it!”

               The sky was spinning. This was so much worse than she expected. Rei gasped for breath, trying to make sense of everything. Her entire world felt like one bizarre dream where nothing made sense and everything was fake. “Y-you mean…the bookshop…and—”

               “Yes, you fucking idiot!” Sekkachi screamed. “It was Naru! It was all for fucking Naru! And now she’s motherfucking gone, and I’ll never be able to tell her how much my stupid ass fucking loved her, and there’s nothing I can do about it!” At this point, there was no holding back now. The dam had broken and tears were spilling down Sekkachi’s face. It was the most raw and gruesome display of emotion Rei had ever seen her express in public, if not in the entire course of their friendship. She gripped her stomach, tugging at the chub on her sides, and shrieked in agony. “This is all your fucking fault!”

               “I’m sorry! I’m sorry…I’m so fucking sorry…” Rei wailed, falling to her knees. She curled up on the ground, pressing a hand to Naru’s gravestone in hopes that perhaps wherever her spirit was, it would flutter down to bring them peace or reassurance or some other poetic bullshit she knew wasn’t actually attainable.

               Sekkachi knelt down and grabbed Rei by her shirt collar, a tearful anger overflowing from inside of her. Through clenched teeth, she growled, “Sorry isn’t going to bring her back to me.” Then she tossed Rei back into the ground and walked off feeling dirty and disgusting and depressed.

               Rei gripped the grass as she watched her leave, feeling the natural little bugs of the terrain crawl through her tangled hair and across her fingers. Something inside of her was dying, rancid and raw, threatening to overtake her entire body. Her forearms itched for something sharp, some way to drain herself of this darkness, but she was too worn down to move. She would just have to suffer through the hunger. She turned to the sky and stared directly at the sun until black spots clouded her vision, then pressed the heels of her hands into her eye sockets and whispered, “It never ends…it never ends…”