#shes like the bella goth of my own universe like shes so mysterious to me and also like. the pamela anderson of the apocalypse as me and al

[bulletproofbandits]

FULL NAME: Robin ???

AGE: ???

HEIGHT: 187 cm

HAIR: dusty pink

EYES: gray

the “Baroness of Death” or the “Black Window”

the most infamous gang leader of Rhinestone City

she saw the bombing happen in front of her eyes

her gang members are the remains of her family (three brothers and one son)

all her rich husbands got killed under “mysterious circumstances”

[seraphicsimmer]

[Pictured: The Landgraab-Goths... or is it the Goth-Landgraabs?

Not pictured: Johnny ”Zest” and family, Alexander Goth and family. Grab some popcorn, the lore is wild.] ____________________________________________

Geoffrey Landgraab – The ever-so-charming Southern gentleman who plays the real estate game like Monopoly. Geoffrey’s docile demeanor hides a cutthroat landshark mentality. He’ll snatch up your property before you’ve even had a chance to flip through the latest Vogue. How a genteel man like Geoffrey ended up with his platinum[card] blonde is anyone’s guess.

౨ৎ

Nancy Landgraab – The powerhouse (pun intended) behind Landgraab Power. Whether she’s in the spotlight or not, Nancy’s gaze is omnipresent, especially when it comes to the Goths. Her distaste for Bella Goth is no secret, but the reasons remain as shadowy as her business dealings. Nancy managed to bend Cassandra to her will—who do you think persuaded her to drop her maiden name? Now, her sharp jade eyes are set on her granddaughter, who seems to be her very clone. Is she on the inside too?

౨ৎ

Malcolm Landgraab – A man torn between his mother’s ruthless ambitions and his father’s honest work ethic. Malcolm’s life has been a tug-of-war between power and virtue, shaped by summers at Osteer Ranch and lessons in cutting-edge business. His romance with Cassandra brought a brief respite from the shadows, but their daughter Priscilla’s arrival changed everything. Malcolm’s recent career move puts him right under Nancy’s thumb—now, which empire is he really preparing to inherit?

౨ৎ

Priscilla Landgraab – Welcome to Sim City, little Landgraab. I’ve had my eye on you for quite some time. Overprotective Cassandra vowed not to let her daughter grow up as isolated as she did, so she’s been hovering over every detail of Priscilla’s life. But here’s the million-simoleon question: what’s worse—being tossed to the wolves or raised under a microscope? Something tells me Cassandra and Priscilla might not see eye to eye on this one. Priscilla may have been raised in the shadows of Sim City's elite, but she’s wrapped in more mystery than her designer wardrobe. And believe me, the intrigue is only beginning. There’s nothing quite like watching a sheltered socialite take center stage. Will she crack under the pressure or rise to the occasion? My guess? This little Landgraab is facing a choice, much like her dear daddy, Malcolm, once did.

౨ৎ

Cassandra Landgraab – Oh, Cassandra. There’s no tale quite as tragic as that of our resident gloomy girl. Raised by a father who indulged her artistic soul and a mother who loved her... from a safe distance, Cassandra had all the solitude and inspiration to become the musician she always dreamed of being. But music doesn’t pay the bills. Isn’t that right, Nancy? After graduating from Britechester University, Cassandra was swept up in the Landgraab empire. Now she plays the role of their financial advisor... or so they let her think. On weekends, you might catch a glimpse of her sulking in the back row of a symphony orchestra, drowning her sorrows in violins. That is if Geoffrey decides to let her out. Poor Cass, always playing second fiddle in more ways than one.

౨ৎ

Mortimer Goth – Famous gallerist, better known for marrying up. Some say Mortimer Goth has it all: a high-paying job that lets him curate his passion, two picture-perfect children, and a smoking hot wife with a past as mysterious as her present. Maybe the Landgraabs and Goths have more in common than we think—like the fact that both families’ matriarchs run the show. Even Bella, who disappears more often than a limited-edition Fabergé egg. But is Mortimer truly happy, or has he learned to keep his questions to himself? After all, ignorance is bliss, right? Something tells me dear Cassandra didn’t quite get that life lesson from daddy dearest.

౨ৎ

Bella Goth – The ever-enigmatic Bella Goth, Sim City’s very own Mona Lisa with secrets behind that famous smile. Once a model and forever a mystery, Bella Bachelo traded in the runway for a life of high society as Bella Goth. And let’s just say, the intrigue hasn’t stopped since. But while Mortimer lives in his art-filled bliss, Bella’s not just playing house—she’s playing a much bigger game. Always jetting off on one "business trip" after another, you have to wonder what’s really keeping her away. Of course, it’s all very hush-hush. But with her sharp mind and sultry charm, it’s clear Bella isn’t just a pretty face at fancy galas. Whatever she’s up to, one thing’s for sure: she’s definitely not on Nancy Landgraab’s guest list. Nancy may control half of Sim City’s power grid, but Bella? She’s always two steps ahead. The real question is, how long can she keep everyone guessing?

You know you love me! XOXO, Sim Snitch.

[hellodahliah]

top 5 townies from ts4, go !

thank you so much for the ask @aggieprendreghast

this was hard. especially the two last ones. i have so many townies that just have a soft spot in my heart. i hope you don’t mind me ranting about why i like them so much... as for my top favorite townies from ts4:

1.cassandra goth. a bit obvious, since my profile pic is my own remake of her. even if the ts4 is supposed to be an alternative universe where bella never disappeared. i just have a soft spot for cassie, especially after don left  her at the altar in ts2. even if that timeline is different from ts4 the feelings still remain the same for her in ts4. i like her dark and gloomy aura. i tend to play with the idea that she is into witchy and occult stuff like tarot, sometimes i make her become a spellcaster. also i used to play violin and piano like cassie, so that is probably also a reason why i like her as well.

2. lilith vatore. she is such a strong and interesting character. i always let her in when she comes to visit my sims at night. lilith dated one of my sims and she just automatically started to help his daughter with homework. it melted my heart seeing her already starting to take a motherly role to the kid upon meeting her. i like her style and that she is so well fit. i also like it that she is depicted to be more morally grey than her brother caleb, like she is still struggling with avoiding human plasma. i like the nod towards the show vampire diaries, and that she is maybe more like damon. 

3.darling walsh. this townie didn’t interest me that much at first. my favorite townie from the household was miko ojo at first, but the more i played with the karaoke legends, the more i started to like them, (i think they are supposed to be nonbinary) they always end up being good friends with cassandra in every save, so that might be why they grew on me. i like the mix of sporty and geeky vibes, and the fact that they can sing. maybe that’s why darling and cassandra end up being friends in my saves? both have an interest in music. i also find it interesting how their aspiration is chief of mischief i usually end up giving them some skillpoints in mischief because of that.

4. max villareal. he is an interesting character. i mean he is a kid and still the leader of windenburg’s most infamous group: the renegades. i think he must have some sort of charisma, leadership skills despite being so young. and there is just something interesting with their whole family. we know their mother disappeared under mysterious circumstances, but what happened to her? i haven’t sadly played that much with the villareal family as much as i’d like to. 

5. paka uha. i don’t know why, but whenever i see this sim wander around the neighborhood i just become so happy. paka befriended one of my sims in one of my saves, maybe that’s why i have a soft spot for them. a lot of my sims are active sims, so they meet them at the gym usually. i find those mermaid habits like squeaking to be funny and adorable. haven’t sadly played around with mermaid very much, because they feel a bit boring. but they are beautiful, and i really want to play around with them more.

[sometownie]

I, S & U? : )

Thank youuu! 

I: Your Bella Goth Theories!

Ha! I think I’ve actually talked about this before, but here we go! Okay. First of all, I don’t play premades, but I really like Bella, so...

For me, Bella is a legend. A myth. And icon. Someone who lived before and whose mysterious disappearance has become a subject to countless conspiracy theories. And on top of the conspiracy theories, countless biographies and other books have been written about her. Think of the assassination of Kennedy level of conspiracy theory! Did she die? Did she disappear? Was she kidnapped? Was she captured by aliens? There are hundreds of theories of what happened to her, and there seems to be no consensus between them. In any case, her disappearance raised her into an iconic status - she became the Marilyn Monroe of the sim world, the mysterious woman who everyone wants to know but cannot. Young girls look up to her and copy her style, adults seek inspiration from her, fans everywhere celebrate her birthday and remember her on the anniversary of her disappearance. She had already gained some popularity when alive, but her popularity then was nothing compared to her posthumous fame. 

I like to think that Pleasantview and Strangetown do exist in the same universe as all the neighborhoods I have created. Their stories are stories that my sims tell each other, the tv-shows and movies they watch and the books they read are often tales and theories not only about the Goths, but also about the Beakers and the Specters. 

S: Pit a TS2 EP vs a TS3 EP

The Sims 2: Bon Voyage vs. The Sims 3: World Adventures. FIGHT!

In general, I’m not a fan of ts3. I’m just not. But I love the World Adventures expansion! I love the sort of tomb raider aspect it takes, how your sim can become an expeditionist or a treasure hunter, and you can build a trophy room for your sim where they can display all the stuff they’ve collected. 

And when it comes to ts2′s Bon Voyage... It’s just bad. Out of the three vacation expansions I’ve played (the third one being the ts1 Vacation expansion), Bon Voyage is the worst one. I love ts1′s, but there’s also the nostalgia aspect there, but I remember loving all the things you could do on holidays. World Adventures is a little different from a traditional vacation expansions, but I prefer it over Bon Voyage. 

I am often dreaming about building my own vacation hoods in ts2, so that I could create places where an adventurer sim could travel and find treasure. It’s just that the project would be a very big one only for a vacation subhood, and since I rarely play the Bon Voyage expansion anyway, it’d feel like a waste of time. And when it comes to World Adventures, it’s one of the only reasons I pick up ts3 every now and then (others being the kleptomaniac thing which I love, and also the celebrity aspect ts2 does not have at all). But then again, it’s The Sims 3, which I am not a fan of, and after playing it for a while I always find myself back home with The Sims 2.

U: Best Sims Experience

Now this is a very hard one! I always remember old hoods and old families with warmth and nostalgia, and I almost always enjoy playing. It’s really hard to pick just one.

I’m gonna say that when it comes to the The Sims 2, my best experience is learning to do the simblr thing out of love for playing. It took me some time to understand. I had to step back from my first simblr blog I used to have and I had to take some time to understand that the only reason I should ever update my blog with my gameplay is if I liked playing it. Everything else is secondary. The quality and amount of screenshots, the frequency of how often I post, the consistency of my posts, the stuff I want to share, all of that is secondary to enjoying the game itself. And through that, I learned to love my blog as well! I am the most inconsistent simblogger ever, I update gameplay rarely and post  challenges like this more often than I post pictures. But I still love my blog, I like the content I produce, I love my sims and my families and my hood and my story plans. The Sims 2 is a hobby of mine, and I do this because I want to. 

[moocha-muses]

House 5 of Achilles Alley - Weird Science

Morty Roth - Yeah, I’ll have another beer, thanks. Okay, so it took about three days of trekking through the undergrowth but we finally made it. The temple. It was huge, but all the trees and vines had practically swallowed it. I figured we’d camp outside for a bit, right? Get some tools and make delicate work off all the greenery? You could just make out that the even the exterior stone was covered in enough markings for me to write a whole thesis on. But no. Professor Roth (who, by the way, spent the whole trip hitting on me, despite the fact that he’s introduced me to his wife himself) finds the doorway and when it doesn’t just push open, he gets the local guides and a couple of the bulkier undergrads to cut down a battering ram and bash the thing in. The door crumbled. I didn’t even get to check it for curses. You know how much I love recording ancient curses. You remember that book I lent you with all the stuff scribbled on walls in Al Simhara 5000 years ago? That’s how you really get to know the past.

There could have been anything written on that door.

Anyway, so then we were actually in the temple but does Roth slow down? Maybe have a look around this space no Sim’s entered for possibly thousands of years. Check to make sure the unexpected rush of oxygen isn’t causing any sudden degradation? No way. There’s gold in them thar’ hills, so he just rushes in, and along the way he sets off about 50 traps that I would have given my eyeteeth to study in a pristine state. I mean, they still worked! It was incredible. And now they were all lying sprung on the floor. He didn’t even solve most of the puzzles. He just brute forced it and broke at least half of them. I was this close to grabbing a broken statue arm and clubbing him with. D’you know, later I found a piece of a mechanism that had a rude message some bored worker had scrawled on it? And the line was gone. Smashed to splinters. I don’t mind telling you I nearly cried.

Okay, so then we get to the inner temple and he sees this little gold statue on a pedestal, which, yeah, I’d like to get a look at, but is not even a fifth as interesting as all those elaborate traps, and Professor Roth goes up to just grab it with his grubby little paws without missing a beat and he sets off the big final trap, which is, just so you know, a giant rolling boulder that crushes most of the remaining temple and gets one undergrad a broken leg. I probably could have written a dozen papers on all the stuff he ruined. I probably could have published a book!

But Roth’s family practically owns the university and he’s got relatives on every board in the state, so I guess he can do whatever he wants. They’re building a whole exhibit around that statue. I bet it’s not gonna be a bunch of broken statues and rubble, either. Should be, though.

Mortimer Goth - There have always been stories about the Goths. Pale specters in black clothing skulking through graveyards, painting their dark, unfathomable dreams, tinkering with strange inventions in high towers and dank underground laboratories. Artists. Scientists. Alchemists. A family of vampires faking their own deaths and pretending to live on as a series of increasingly eccentric descendants.

There is something captivating, almost hypnotic, about them, with their dark eyes and long, pale faces. They carry the same compulsion as a ghost about them. They have always had a certain charm, even when rumors swam about the  . . . creatures that Samuel created before a jellybean brought his merciful end. About the men and women driven mad when they stared too long at the canvases painted by Cornelia Goth.

An ocean of morbid curiosities funneled into one man. Mortimer Goth.

There is something behind the suave, playful demeanor, the absurdly charming mustache, the exaggerated aspect of the fuddled, eccentric scientist. He seems so very . . . alive  . . . for a Goth. Almost swollen with life (  . . . a great, black spider crouches behind stone walls, battening itself . . .) Dozen of generations of Goths have woven a web too large to even see.

There must be a  hundred secrets behind those high garden walls that even sunlight barely seems to penetrate, the miles of tombstones, all those attempts to marry science and magic before Bella’s mysterious . . . disappearance.

Do any of those secrets concern Mortimer’s vibrant young heirs, who are, despite an affection for black clothing, seemingly untouched by the family’ true madness? Two children who look nothing like their parents. Who grow like weeds. It seems like just yesterday that Cassandra was a child. And Alexander, why can none of the neighbors remember him as anything but a child? Why was social lioness Bella Goth completely confined during both pregnancies? Why did he invent the ReNuYSenso Orb a machine to alter the very wants and desires and nature of a Sim? And did it have anything to with the rumors of his wife’s flirtations? What is the secret behind Mortimer’s amazing restorative elixir, and does it have anything to do with the sounds from the back garden? The disappearances of local postal workers? The intoxicating smell of  . . . frosting on the air?

Brilliant, beautiful heiress Cassandra seems innocent of the specters that surround her, but she rarely leaves the house. She assists her father. He is training a protege. He is sheltering a daughter. He is cultivating an heir. She’ll marry a doctor, just as he planned. Soon he’ll have secrets for them both.

The Rise and Fall of the House of Goth, coming this fall.

Vidcund Curious - Spurned by the aliens he spends every night searching the skies for, watching his brother swell up with child, jealously wormed its way into Vidcund’s heart. And as it festered there, it moved him to act. To take his spiteful revenge. To . . . to . . . to deliberately smash Pascal’s favorite set of beakers!

He has become a monster.

[plumbobpost]

Fanfic Friday: Spotlight on Skell’s Fortune & Romance

Sul sul!

Today Week of Woohoo continues with a very special twist. I have had the opportunity to ask Skell a few questions as part of a new series of posts about storytelling in The Sims community.

Skell’s Fortune & Romance serves as a prequel to the Pleasantview and Strangetown storylines in The Sims 2 from the perspectives of the Caliente sisters, hence the title which references their aspirations. Her story takes place in the time period between the first and second games and fills in the gaps between the contradicting timelines of The Sims, The Sims 2, and The Sims 3. Although the story is largely from Dina’s perspective, it features most of the iconic The Sims 2 characters ranging from Olive Specter to the Tricous to Bella and Mortimer Goth, establishing its own vivid mythology in the process.

In addition to writing, Skell has also created beautiful Maxis-Match content for The Sims 2 and is a frequent contributor to the Totally Maxis Tumblr and the fansite Garden of Shadows.

Without further ado, I’ll let Skell speak for herself.

You’ve said in the past that Fortune & Romance started out as your attempt to make sense of Maxis canon for the premade characters of Neighborhood 1, Pleasantview, and Sunset Valley. How did this evolve from your personal headcanons into a full-fledged story?

“I had played TS2 off and on for years before I was part of the fandom, mostly just goofing around but I had a lot of fun taking pictures and experimenting with posing. One day I discovered Strangetomato’s “Strangetown Here We Come” on TVtropes and was amazed at the way she fleshed out the premade stories from the game. Through her comment section, I discovered the whole fandom and started paying better attention to the premades. Eventually I came up with a backstory for Dina that I really wanted to write and share.”

Why did you choose Nina and Dina Caliente to be your protagonists? Did you ever consider different lead characters?

“It was always gonna be Dina because I was intrigued her backstory with the mysteriously inconsistent Michael Bachelor and the fact that she’s part alien. I wasn’t as interested in Nina until I noticed that she was shy (like me in RL) and also autonomously beating people up all the time. That’s when I realized she was gonna be a co-star and balance to Dina’s antics.”

Instead of ignoring Maxis’ characterization of Dina as a gold digger, you embraced it and made it a focal point of her character. Similarly, you fully acknowledge Nina’s romance aspiration while not making her a heartbreaker. How did you find a balance between their implied “villainy” in The Sims 2 and making them more sympathetic characters?

“I enjoy classic movies where Marilyn Monroe or Thoroughly Modern Millie is like “teehee I’m gonna marry a millionaire,” and it’s quirky rather than villainous. In those stories, she usually falls for a poor guy and chooses love over money (and often he turns out to be secretly rich.) Since Michael didn’t give her a “married a rich sim” memory, I wanted to write Dina the gold-digger as a modern version of that kind of story.”

“Maxis kind of setup Romance sims for “villainy” by not allowing for casual or open relationships, but of course that can be fixed with mods. With Nina, it’s interesting that she doesn’t really fit the “outgoing party girl” type. I think of her as a quiet person with a very intense energy. She needs lots of exercise and woohoo so that she doesn’t explode.”

There are a lot of unconventional relationships in your story. Nina and Servo. Olive and Ichabod. The Tricous. Even Dina and Michael. That being said, there is very definitely a theme of “love conquers all.” What motivated your approach to these relationships? How does that relate back to your attempts at reconciling Maxis canon throughout different games?

“I have a thing for mixed supernatural relationships. Dina and Mike bonding over their hidden supernatural heritages was always key once I figured Michael had a magic side. I knew I wanted to have Nina be intimate with a servo because that’s HAWT, but I didn’t foresee how intimate things would get until I figured out Servo’s character. The Tricous’ happy polyamory was my explanation for all the weirdness going on with their relationships and family tree. And I wanted Olive, Ichabod, and DJ make up this very loving and weirdly “normal” Unholy Family.”

Speaking of reconciling Maxis canon, you created your own version of Michael Bachelor in order to match his appearance in The Sims better and to create a resemblance between him and his famous sister, Bella Goth. Why do you think Michael was depicted so differently throughout the first three games? What did you draw inspiration from in creating “The Ultimate Michael Bachelor?”

“I think it mostly comes down to them wanting to use a familiar name for Bella’s brother/Dina’s husband in TS2, and carrying that forward. In TS3, I saw a boy who had his life all planned out for him by his father. In my headcanon, he screwed that all up and became the graduate of TS1 who had no idea what he wanted to do with his life. His relationship to Bella is the reason why he’s still single by the time he reconnects with Dina, who helps him find direction.”

There is an abundance of strong female characters in F&R, some of which were not originally portrayed that way. Why did you feel that it was important to write them as such?

“Well, because I’m a proud “SJW,” of course! But seriously, it’s less about being strong and more about seeing them as people?”

^Best answer that I could have asked for.

A large portion of Fortune & Romance is dedicated to the mythology of The Sims universe(s) and to supernatural sims. How did you go about the process of world building? Did you draw inspiration from different games in the series and/or from outside sources?

“My biggest worldbuilding is the explanation of where the supernaturals came from. The fairies are sort of fallen angel types who each have an animal form, and their magic rubbed off on human sims to create the supernatural life states.”

“I try to base the worldbuilding off things in game or aspects of game play. The fairy backstory was heavily inspired by fairy tales, in the way they morally test humans for punishment or guidance.”

Aside from premade supernatural sims such as the Smiths, Calientes, and Summerdreams, how did you go about deciding which premade sims were supernatural and which weren’t? How did you decide what life state they were?

“Bella has that awesome bio about being descended from “occultists, decadents, and mystics,” but then in TS3 the Bachelor family is uber-normal, so it eventually became that Jocasta is a squirellier version of Samantha from Betwitched.”

How has Fortune & Romance evolved since you started? Are there things you would do differently if you were to restart it?

“I was such a younger, different person when I started it, and yes there are many things I would do differently. (Michael’s skintone, for example. I tried to split difference between games with a custom skintone in between S2 and S3, but everyone assumes he was whitewashed to S2.)”

“When recreating families for TS4 I came up with a backstory for Dulcinea and Nestor’s relationship as well as a backstory for Don that explains how he got to be the way he is. I still can incorporate these things, but it would have been nice to bring them in earlier.”

With your story having reached a climax, many readers are wondering whether or not F&R will come to an end sooner rather than later. Not to spoil anything, but will the story continue after the party and if so, do you intend for it to last until the events of The Sims 2?

“I never intended for it to last until the events of TS2 because then it would be really depressing. There is more stuff planned for after the party though!”

Aside from writing Fortune & Romance, you have also created a variety of Maxis-match custom content. Why do you prefer working in this aesthetic? How do you feel it complements your writing?

“The game is cartoony, and I like to use that style to tell the story. I prefer to keep things heightened and silly rather than realistic, which very much fits into The Sims aesthetic.”

Speaking of Maxis-match, you have been working on a project for The Sims 2 that involves adapting Maxis-based custom content to blend in better with the game files. Would you mind elaborating a bit on The Maxis Match Repository Project?

“The TS2 repository project is made up of conversions/separates/or otherwise adapted Maxis which pull their textures from the ones that are already in your game, rather than creating new ones. This makes the files much much tinier. I also wanted to create a catalog where you can easily find it all in one place rather than hunt all over the internet. Check it out and don’t miss out on the gems in the back of your catalog!”

You’ve played every main game in The Sims franchise, and you’ve even made some very popular 2t4 recreations of the Calientes and Michael Bachelor. Do you have a favorite game for playing? Creating sims? Making Content? Building?

“I enjoy a lot of things about TS4. The game looks great and CAS and Build Mode are the best of any game. My favorite aspect is making sims, especially that you can share sims with traits/careers/skills so they have their own little story packaged with them. However, it is much more difficult for storytelling since there’s not even a way to pick up sims and move them around.”

“TS2 is still the best as far as premade sims go, and it’s the only one I make content for. I’m a bit of a control freak with my sims, and TS2 has been mastered by fans at this point where you can have ultimate control.”

Why do you continue to play The Sims? Do you feel that the games provide a creative outlet?

“I always loved playing with Barbies as a kid and The Sims really is the ultimate dollhouse. The first time I ever heard about TS1 I knew I HAD to have it. My aunt bought it for me while I was on vacation, but I couldn’t play it until we got home! During the car ride back home and I read that manual from cover to cover multiple times, so many ideas buzzing in my head.”

Any parting comments, teasers, spoilers, public service announcements, etc.?

“I’ve been on hiatus a long while and am just now getting back into the swing of things. I’m currently working on finishing up the chapter I started posting on Tumblr but never finished. It was FreddyAirmail who got me back in the TS2 spirit by asking me to help out with the Crystal Springs neighborhood project. It’s a community hood with houses based on each of the Stuff Packs, and I made the families for Teen Style and Family Fun!”

Thanks again to Skell for answering my questions. To those of you out there who aren’t familiar with her work, go check out her Tumblr and make sure to catch up on Fortune & Romance.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, feel free to visit my ask box. If you are interested, give Plumbob Post a follow, and reblog for anyone else who you think would enjoy this blog. Stay tuned for upcoming posts!

Dag dag!

 *Photo Credits go to Skell*

[i-know-your-middle-name-blog]

I suppose Bella Goth has always been a hyper-sexualized LatinX character, but...

See, I exclusively play the Sims 3, so I was originally only familiar with Bella as a child.  I learned about the mystery surrounding her and the Sims 2 eventually, and I, like a bunch of players, was drawn to the character.  Every time I’ve played her, I’ve made her a superstar in every way/shape/form.  She mastered nearly every skill, gained Level 3 Visa status in every World Adventures country, earned upwards of 4 degrees in University, and earned boatloads of money either through a formal career or through entrepreneurial endeavors.  She always had at least two kids, was (usually) romantically faithful to Mortimer, and was beloved by everyone in the town.  I made sure Bella left a legacy of sorts by the time the Grim Reaper took her.

I did notice Bella was Hispanic, but I didn’t think much of it.  Personally, I was always taken with her eyes.  And of course she’s a beautiful Sim, but the sex appeal didn't cross my mind.

When I saw the picture from PlumbTales, it hit me: Bella is just one in a long line of hyper-sexualized Hispanic women characters.  She’s a stereotype.  There’s a thread on some Sim forum exclusively discussing how hot Bella Goth is.  And then I read the theories surrounding how she married Mortimer for his money and stuff, and none of it lines up with my own narrative for the character, and goddamnit how could I have been so oblivious?

Also, EA is making Bella whiter.  Ya see that?  The result of white bias in Western beauty standards...

I’m not calling for anyone to change the character or anything, but the righteous  asshole part of me is disappointed.  And yes, there are more important things to discuss right now, but perhaps not objectifying LatinX women [or LatinX people in general] could be somewhere in the backs of our minds.

Photo credit: http://thenintendette.blogspot.com/2014/07/daily-easter-egg-3-bella-goth-sims-2.html

Photo credit: https://plumbtales.tumblr.com

[beyondforks]

Book Review! Starr Fall by Kim Briggs

STARR FALL (Starr Fall #1) by Kim Briggs Genre: Young Adult (Action/Adventure/Romance) Date Published: November 4, 2016 Publisher: Inkspell Publishing

On the run from the Organization, Starr never planned on falling in love. 

Starr Bishop’s the complete package. A perfect smile, brains to match, and a winning attitude. Boys want to date her and girls want to be her. She’s the type of girl you want to hate, if only she wasn’t so damn likable. But don’t worry, she’s not interested in your boyfriend. Boys are one complication she can live without. 

When the Organization decides she’s not only the model student but the ideal assassin, Starr’ll need a lot more than high test scores and extracurricular involvement to get herself out of that commitment. 

Dark, moody, and dead sexy Christian Evergood is the last person she’d expect—or even want— to come to her rescue. From opposite ends of Webster High’s social hierarchy, their lives collide in one electrifying moment. Christian isn’t the Goth loner he pretends to be, he’s a part Cherokee, All-American boy who wants to be a hero, Starr’s hero. Christian makes Starr forget that the Organization is after her, but nothing will stop the Organization from collecting their top recruit. 

By the way, the spot for junior class president just became available. 

Starr Fall is the first book in the Starr Fall series by Kim Briggs. I loved the premise of this book, and it started off with a lot going on. I'm curious to know more about the Organization though. Who the heck are these people? Why do they want Starr as an assassin? What do they do? I need answers to these things! Christian and Starr had a lot of Edward and Bella moments in the beginning of the book. I felt like even their conversations were very similar. Also, why did Christian go from hot mystery dude to love sick puppy in an instant? I know he gave a reason, but I don't buy it at all. I have to say, I don't trust the dude. I feel like he's in with the Organization somehow. I feel like everyone is hiding something. I don't trust any of them. If I were Starr, I'd learn some survival skills and run. So many questions. I really want to know more about what's going one. We had a lot of romance, which .. don't get me wrong.. I love romance, but, I wanted to know more about what was actually going on too. I'm ready for the plot to thicken. Starr Fall by Kim Briggs was kindly provided to me by the author for review. The opinions are my own.

I glance up just before plowing into a tall, muscular frame. As our bodies collide, time stops for one brief moment. Strong arms pull me into his black Ramones t-shirt. He shifts his body under mine, drawing me in closer to his chest. His heart races against my cheek; it matches the sprint of my own. In a tight embrace, we fall as if someone hit slow motion and we drop frame by frame without ever hitting the bottom. Nothing exists in the entire universe except for our plunging bodies pressed against each other. When we finally hit the hard tile floor, he takes most of the impact because I’m cocooned in his arms. Something tightens just below my belly button—a nervous kind of flip-floppy feeling, and I finally understand what Sami and Jody always talk about. “You,” he murmurs. I gaze into Christian’s black lined eyes with newfound shyness. I never noticed just how blue his eyes are. A blue so deep and pure and clear I’m tempted to swim in them for hours, but the catcalls “Get a room” and rowdy laughter remind me we’re in the middle of the cafeteria with our food deprived classmates, and we’re fresh bait. A burn creeps into my cheeks. He pushes himself up beside me. Whatever emotion was in his eyes a moment ago vanishes as quickly as it appeared. Two sharp, unforgiving vertical lines form between his eyebrows. Without even a grunt of acknowledgement, he stalks away. I stare after his black t-shirt, wondering what just happened and did he feel it too? “Starr, are you okay?” someone asks, but I’m lost in my own world. “Starr, are you okay?” A hand grips my shoulder. If there was any electricity coursing through my veins, it’s gone now. I shake my head to clear it before turning to Frank. “Yeah..., yeah, I’m fine.” I think.

Kim once smashed into a tree while skiing. The accident led to a concussion, a cracked sternum, temporary notoriety as a sixth grader returned from the dead, and the realization that fictionalized accounts are way more interesting than just slipping on the ice. An unhealthy obsession with conspiracy theories combined with a love of travel and happily ever afters led Kim to write her YA novel, Starr Fall, where a secret organization decides 17 year old Starr Bishop is not only the model student, but the ideal assassin. While in hiding, Starr meets dark, moody, and dead sexy Christian Evergood. Cue the swoon worthy music. But it’s not all happily ever afters for Kim. Her NA novel, And Then He, explores the dark and scary corners of the human psyche. Following a night of innocent flirting with a handsome stranger, Tiffani finds herself in the midst of a nightmare she can’t escape. And Then He is available now through Amazon and other major book retailers. Starr Fall will debut November 2016 with Inkspell Publishing, followed by Starr Lost in January 2017. When she’s not doing something writerly, Kim can be found jumping into snow drifts with her three kids, husband, and dog. She’s careful to avoid trees. To learn more about Kim Briggs and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, Google+, and Twitter.