#sp season 15

[methinmycoffee]

Okay, I’m back with more thoughts on season 15. This episode has some of my all time favorites, namely The Poor Kid (ep. 14). I also like Crack Baby Athletic Association (ep. 5) and Bass to Mouth (ep. 10) a little more than I should. But it also has the worst start of any season ever, with four absolute flop episodes in a row. There’s also City Sushi (ep. 6) which is really bad. And also You’re Getting Old and Assburgers (Eps. 7 and 8). Which I don’t actually care for, because I think that it does Kyle dirty and isn’t good at what it’s trying to be. It’s not the worst, but it’s just not my favorite of the more emotional episodes. So Season 15 is really hard to judge because there’s so much that I like, and so so so much that I don’t.

[fennecfiree]

this episode hurt me

[spookymultimedia]

The only time these two were in an episode together lmao

[basilsnotemo]

Yuppp

[throughtheglasswalls]

CRIES IN THE POOR KID EPISODE

[candysims4]

CC DROP | MARIA HAIR (+TWO RECOLOR ACCS) + EDUARDA DRESS + CECILIA TIGHTS + 2 RECOLORS

A set with three new items and two recolors. Adorable and colorful, these items have been inspired by spring, my favorite season of the year, and it's a good theme for clothes and hair for toddlers. 

Also, it is my first set for toddlers, and if I see that it receives good feedback, I'll do some more.

TODDLER ONLY

DISALLOWED FOR RANDOM

THUMBNAILS + HAIR’S 360º GIF (HOSTED IN IMGUR)

MARIA HAIR

7.985 POLYGONS

110 SWATCH COLORS - 15 plain colors from EA Color Palette - 95 plain colors from my Candy Color Palette

YOU WILL FIND IN LONG HAIR OR/AND UPDO 

FLOWER CROWN RECOLOR ACC

30 SWATCH COLORS - 5 color combinations - 5 duo color combinations - 20 single colors

YOU WILL FIND IN HAT

HEADBAND RECOLOR ACC

55 SWATCH COLORS - All plain colors

YOU WILL FIND IN ACCESSORIES/BROW RING (LEFT)

EDUARDA DRESS

5.422 POLYGONS

110 SWATCH COLORS - 15 plain colors from EA Color Palette - 95 plain colors from my Candy Color Palette

YOU WILL FIND IN LONG HAIR OR/AND UPDO

CECÍLIA TIGHTS

55 SWATCH COLORS - All plain colors

YOU WILL FIND IN ACCESSORIES/LEGGINGS

RECOLORS

BASE GAME MARYJANES RECOLOR

NO MESH NEEDED

55 SWATCH COLORS - All plain colors

YOU WILL FIND IN SHOES/FLATS

TODDLER SP MARYJANES RECOLOR

TODDLER STUFF PACK NEEDED

55 SWATCH COLORS - All plain colors

YOU WILL FIND IN SHOES/FLATS

A small explain how the early access will work for these items. 

As usual, I do only one week of early access with small projects, so I decided to do one week for the recolors.  "Maria Hair" and its recolor accs, "Eduarda Dress" and "Cecília Tights" will be released as a new item so that it will be the usual three weeks of early access.

I hope it's ok for everyone and you'll enjoy all the items on this set.

MY SITE (NO AD.FLY): 

MARIA HAIR (+ RECOLOR ACCS) | EDUARDA DRESS | CECÍLIA TIGHTS - Free release on 13th February 2023

BG MARY JANES RECOLOR | TODDLER SP MARY JANES RECOLOR  - Free release on 30th January 2023

PATREON EARLY ACCESS (+ MERGED OPTION):  ALL ITEMS | ONLY RECOLORS

TERMS OF USE | SEND YOUR FEEDBACK | REPORT AN ISSUE

Thanks to all the cc creators that I used in the pic. And thanks to @maxismatchccworld, @love4sims4, @s4library​, @wewantmods​, and everybody who reblogs this post!

If you’re a cc finds and want to be tagged when I post, please, let me know. You can send me an ask or DM.

With your help, more people can know about my work! 💖 Love you all, XOXO <3

[locke-n-k3y]

15 Questions for 15 People

Thank u @sp-ace-twinkk for the tag :] I love questionss

1. Are you named after anyone?

Locke is not anyones name as far as I knoooww but! My other name Connor I got from my own oc, someone asked me for my name one time and I thought they wanted my oc's name so I told them that, NEVER corrected them and it stuck (It's been seven yrs since then, I don't even talk to that person anymore)

2. When was the last time you cried?

Yesterday! I relistened to episode 61 of season 1 of dungeons and daddies

3. Do you have kids?

Nope, I have baby cousins but I don't really want my own

4. What sports do you play/have you played?

I used to love hockey and netball but my teachers never let me on any teams bc I suck at sports

5. Do you use sarcasm?

Very frequently but I'm also autistic so will almost always indicate if it is or not!

6. What's the first thing you notice about people?

Their most prominent colour, everyone is a colour to me, as in like hair colour, clothes colour ect

7. What's you're eye color?

Blue/grey, get told I have the blue eyed stare by friendsand family

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

I always prefer a happy ending bc movies give me adrenaline and if it ends poorly I crash, but I do love analogue horror

9. Any talents?

Perfect dolphin impression.

10. Where were you born?

Dorchester!

11. What are your hobbies?

Drawing, reading, playing dnd, cycling and feeding pigeons r the big ones, working on crochet and origami tho as well and started learning how to juggle recently!!

12. Do you have any pets?

Three cats, Zeus, Indie (Short for Indiana Jones) and Oscar Boscar, my sweet, sweet stupid boys

13. How tall are you?

5'7 I think?? I don't check

14. Favorite subject in school?

English and Psychology I looovvedd my psychology teacher in college

15. What is your dream job?

Currently about to go to art uni but eventually want to be a clown, therapist or farmer

Tag 15 people (No pressure! I offer thee): @itsbrucey @flowercrowns-n-punks @iersei @alexaatla @basicallyrj @maxwellamus @marbletheunworthy @paedenstigereye @raemeh @ike-mcswains-mortician @piss-wizard-ao3 @babacontainsmultitudes @guess-how-i-stole-this-body @chemicaleater @thedndgoblinwholivesinyourwalls

[mantequillamcwhoremick]

Hi! I ended up reading through Choas Plan in pretty much two days (your writing is actually phenomenal) but I was actually curious on your inspirations to write it? Did it come from any other particular works or maybe episodes from sp?

WHAT NO WAY😭😭😭😭😭😭WHAT THE HELL THAT'S SO NICE HOLY SHIT THANK YOU SO MUCH <33333

You can't just ask me shit like that dude I will respond with a huge fucking essay I LOVE questions like that!!!!

I honestly have several inspirations, many come from the show itself and some I've drawn from cyber crime documentaries and books I like (namely the Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo, you might recognize the scene with Mysterion and Harris in chapter 3 is very VERY similar to the one between Kaz and Jan Van Eck at the beginning of the book), but if you've read the notes in the fic you might have seen that the story idea was initially born when I was playing TFBW.

The Idea

The U-Stor-It scene where Butters/Chaos locks the C**n and Friends in the facility and talks to them through a screen was just so fascinating to me, it reminded me a lot of Jinx from Arcane and the Joker in The Dark Knight (especially because of the flashy decorations and graffiti). Mainly the story evolved from the question I posed to myself in that moment, which was: "What needs to happen for Butters to become someone like Jinx?" and that's how I started brainstorming the backstory.

The Backstory

Obviously that was inspired mainly by Linda's behavior in Butters' Very Own Episode, but it features elements from stuff all over the series and the games that prove just how fucked up Butters' parents are and treat him.

(Remember when in TFBW he mentioned that they bought an electronic lock system to keep him in his room because he left the bathroom once while grounded? yeah, that convinced me Butters' home life probably would only get worse with the years, especially with him entering his teens & puberty, and Post Covid honestly just confirmed that.)

The Villain/Hero Concept

I hadn't yet watched much more of South Park than up until seasons 15/16 so I didn't know about Post Covid's Vic Chaos yet, I mostly just wanted to do something with Mysterion and Chaos that had a darker and serious tone without either of them having any Marvel-esque powers or tech-organizations aiding them, something closer to the South Park lore at hand and realistic enough to feel like it could happen in our world.

Chaos' Methods

With Butters having a knack for Internet-related shit and him being able to hack into a baseball stadium screen to broadcast his evil plans in the Professor Chaos episode, and ofc his whole thing in TFBW and the episode of him becoming a pimp, I figured he has the stuff to be a hacker and entrepreneur.

I started getting spoilered a lot on the whole Vic Chaos and NFT scammer thing so even though I hadn't watched Post Covid I drew a lot of inspiration from that as well. I've been watching a lot of documentaries on Cryptocurrency scams and other cyber crime related stuff, so yeah all that shit also gets my brain generating a bunch of ideas as well.

Mysterion

As for Kenny/Mysterion's side of the story- I'm a huge fan of the "criminal who gets paid by a shitty pig/capitalist who would normally never hire them to take on a job" concept in Six of Crows, so that's how I got Harris involved, later further fueled by his Thin White Line arc in TFBW.

The way Kenny used his death powers in the C**n & Friends episodes I found very intriguing, and I absolutely LOVE playing around with them, so I included my own interpretation & spin of it as an active "superpower" he uses in order to be successful enough as a vigilante to be taken seriously. His canon powers separate him from your average humanbeing. It's a way to show the audience "hey look, Kenny really is just some guy, but also no one else could take on this role, ever. He may not have super strength or speed or money for equipment backing him, but he can get into places and out like no other person ever."

Coming up with a kryptonite-type weakness was also super fun, because I didn't want things to just be too easy. Mainly it's his need to remain anonymous, but the biggest reason for that need is because he needs to keep up his ability to financially support Karen. That, I obviously got from the show-, namely episodes like Mysterion Rises, The Poor Kid and City Part of Town, but his dynamic with Karen got increasingly more interesting and influenced in the fic after I played the TFBW DLC From Dusk Til Casa Bonita. The fact that he's so obsessed with keeping her safe the best way he knows how but completely overlooks to consider letting her have a say in it, is absolutely delicious. Like fuck yes, let's go complicate these character relationships (rubs hands evilly)

TL;DR

Inspirations come from all over, but of course the main ones do come from the show and games. Kenny and Butters have always been increasingly fascinating characters to me the more I watched the show, so the fact that Kenny canonically is the only kid Butters respects (source: s16, Ep "Going Native"), to an extent that in the future Butters funded his entire career, I thought had a shit ton of potential. Hence their friendship in the fic before "the incident", and the way Butters goes about Kenny now that he's taking over the town >:)))

Thank you SO SO MUCH for the ask!!!! I hope I didn't ramble too much for what you actually wanted to know, but I just absolutely love sharing my inspirations for this fic. Really gets my brain go brrrrr heheheh I'm so so grateful that this interests you <33333

[whimsylueur]

SPOILERS FOR SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT (EVERY BOOK)

Since I have caught up with the entire series thus far I would like to provide some commentary in the form of incorrect quotes.

Skulduggery Pleasant Books 1-16, basically:

SP 1- Sceptre of the Ancients

Skulduggery:

Stephanie: You son of a bitch, I’m in

SP 2- Playing with Fire

Skulduggery to Derek: I’ve seen enough, give her Billy-Ray Sanguine.

SP 3- The Faceless Ones

Solomon to Valkyrie: I may have an idea to help you get Skulduggery back, all I want-

Valkyrie, already shaking his hand: Anything.

SP 4- Dark Days

Valkyrie, holding Skulduggery’s skull towards him: Need head?

(🚨🚨THIS IS A JOKE🚨🚨)

SP 5- Mortal Coil

Skulduggery, after Valkyrie spills the beans about Darquesse: (Quietly) Look at us, just two murderous peas in a pod.

Valkyrie: What was that?

Skulduggery: Huh?

SP 6- Death Bringer

Skulduggery to Lord Vile about Darquesse: Oh deuce, the silly goose is loose

SP 7- Kingdom of the Wicked

Kitana to Valkyrie: 6 feet of dirt would look good on you <3

SP 8- Last stand of Dead Men

Billy-Ray to Ghastly about Tanith: If she’s your girlfriend, why is she playing with my mullet?

SP 9- The Dying of the Light

Valkyrie to Skulduggery: I literally love you, you’re everything to me. Don’t do this

Skulduggery, after the most devious prank of the decade: Oh cheer up

SP 10- Resurrection

Valkyrie: It’s so over bros

SP 11- Midnight

Valkyrie: The dog in me has been euthanised

SP 12- Bedlam

Valkyrie: My favourite thing about me is my girlfriend

SP 13- Seasons of War

Valkyrie: WE ARE SO FUCKING BACK

SP 14- Dead or Alive

Valkyrie: Uh

Cadaver, hugging her tightly: Shhhh, I need this

SP 15- Until the End

Darquesse: Today, I’m a serious goose. (Revamps the entire fucking universe)

SP 16- A Mind Full of Murder

Skulduggery to Valkyrie: You mean the world to me. I love you, you make me strong.

Valkyrie: Cornyyyyy

[lesmotsdemoi]

Christine’s Nail Art Therapy 💅🏻💅🏻💅🏻

My A2Z Untried Challenge, I am up to mani # 122 in my personal untried challenge. I’ve strayed from the A-to-Z theme of this personal challenge, but still going strong on using untried polishes - I’ve used 144 untried polishes since April 15, 2024.

I love this beautiful, deep green, reminiscent of a pine Christmas tree, adorned with beautiful and fun ornaments.

This nail art is my contribution to a #matchingmani with the wonderful and creative @m4g0rtz. Keep your eye out for hers!!

Painted Polish Gilded Garland, part of the Gilded Holiday Trio featuring three NEW festive shades in the maker’s signature crushed gold flakie jelly finish.

✨ Stamping Plates

Uber Chic Tis the Season, It’s a Season of Joy

✨ Stamping Polishes

Twinkled T So Extra, Cabernet, Lowkey

Messy Mansion Chalk

Powder Perfect Fire Engine Red

Moyra SP 18

[sona-verse01]

Timing PAC

In this pac, you will get some dates, months, seasons, zodiac seasons & no. of years.

Means, you can get answers to your "when" type questions here.

How to get answers:

Think about your question, choose your pile, check your answers.

For entertainment purpose only.

Take it as a guidance, or leave it.

Images are not mine, only moodboard is made by me.

Like and reblog for support.

Follow for more.

Feedback is appreciated.

Pile 1:

Dates: 5, 7, 12, 15, 19, 20, 30

Months: March, April, June

Seasons: Autumn

Zodiac seasons: Gemini ♊, Virgo ♍, Scorpio ♏

No. of years: 3 yrs (imp.), 8yrs

Pile 2:

Dates: 2, 21, 26, 27, 29

Months: January, July, November

Seasons: Winter

Zodiac seasons: Aries ♈, Taurus ��, Pisces ♓

No. of years: 2 yrs, 8 yrs, 10 yrs

Pile 3:

Dates: 3, 5, 7, 10, 23, 30

Months: January, October, December

Seasons: Summer

Zodiac seasons: Virgo ♍ (imp.), Capricorn ♑

No. of years: 2 yrs (imp.), 6 yrs

Pile 4:

Dates: 9, 12, 13, 21, 28

Months: April, June, October

Seasons: Spring

Zodiac seasons: Aries ♈, Gemini ♊, Capricorn ♑

No. of years: 3 yrs, 9 yrs, 10 yrs

~SP 💐

[batsplat]

hi batsplat! i would like to say that you are an absolute pillar of the motogp community on here, like you are truly so so appreciated. both for your knowledge and also for the way you write about things (i think you could write 3000 words on a grocery store trip valentino took in 2003 and still make it super interesting reading)

i was reading your post about your favourite rivalries that didnt include one of the aliens, who would you personally include as part of that list? (versus who is really good but not quite alien status) id also really like to know if (and who) youd count as aliens from the pre-motogp era, and if theres been a difference over time about how often we are seeing aliens or if theyre easier/harder to spot as technical developments have sped up

hope you have a great day!

that's so sweet... thank you that's such an incredible compliment dsdkhfkhfd

about the aliens, the way I use the term is entirely as a historical descriptor, not as a qualitative assessment of any riders. it's a useful shorthand for a specific riders in a specific era, but to me it has limited relevance outside of that era. so to be clear we're talking valentino, casey, dani, jorge and marc - and according to common wisdom this usage originated from colin edwards' 2009 comment:

“But as I’ve said before, I’ve got to be pleased to be finishing next best behind those four guys, or should I say aliens. “They are riding out of this world and to be right behind them means I’m doing the best job I can and that’s about as good as I can hope for at the moment.”

(jorge discusses valentino as an alien in 2007, see here. which might be complete coincidence, but has always made me kind of curious whether the word was floating around in the paddock in some capacity before edwards 'coined' the term)

the thing is, right, it made sense to treat those four (and later -casey +marc) as distinct from the field, because they were winning almost everything. one reason for this was that they were very good, very skilled riders. another was that from 2007-15, only four to six bikes were capable of regularly challenging for wins at any one time. it was a massive field disparity that quite frankly was partly enforced through machinery. that's why it makes sense to include marc in that term: it's not just the fact that he was very good, it's the fact that he was riding a repsol honda that was the best or second best bike by a long way for his first three years in the premier class. in 2016, motogp returned to michelins and introduced new technical regulations - and for all intents and purposes, the alien era ended. it ended when eight different riders won in eight races that season. yes, marc, valentino and jorge were still the top three in the championship... but it's the difference of whether you go into a weekend convinced you know the winner will come from a list of four riders, or if you very much do not know that. between 2008 to 2015, apart from the aliens, a grand total of two riders claimed wins - dovi on a repsol honda in 2009 and ben spies on a factory yamaha in 2011. both of those were wet races (which of course are generally more open than dry ones). so just to reiterate: a greater number of riders won in 2016 alone (9) than in 2008-15 combined (7). (in 2007, a further two different riders won races - capirossi on the championship-winning factory ducati and vermeulen on the suzuki.) yes, obviously the aliens were very good riders, nobody is going to argue with you over that... but those numbers? they're only possible in a specific version of motogp - one that only existed for a few years

honestly, I don't even really use the term 'alien' to describe valentino pre-2006 or marc post-2016. it's just not that useful to me... aliens to me is a 'pack hunter' thing, where even if some of them are injured or are having a bad day or whatever, at least one of them will basically always be there to pick up the pieces. marc and valentino might have dominated the sport as a whole - but not all of their championship seasons were completely dominant, and there's only so much any one athlete can dominate in the sport... you're not going into every single weekend thinking 'oh yeah they're definitely going to win' (yes, yes, there were two times per year where you did very much do that with marc). which is different when you compare it to the aliens as a pack, where you could be confident that ONE of them would end the weekend on the top step of the podium

which is why I just don't apply the alien term to anyone pre-valentino - it's not because I think they were less good or less talented or less anything, it's because for me it's a term that's more about an era than it is about individual riders. you have to treat each era on its own, and I'm not really a big fan of inter-era comparisons. it's just kind of impossible to say whether a rider in the 1970s is more talented than one in the 2020s, whether ago's numbers are more or less impressive than marc's and so on... the sport has just changed in so many ways over the years. of course, in sports you do generally have this upward momentum where each generation is 'better' than the last. sports has gotten more professionalised, there's been massive advances in terms of pedagogy and sports medicine and exercise science and all of those things - all of which already affects how athletes train from childhood onwards. the young aren't more 'talented' in the sense that they were born with an innate superior ability to compete at the sport, but they are more 'talented' in that their ultimate ceiling will be higher as a result of all these gradual changes over time. these things can change quite quickly even (and if other sports is anything to go by, I wouldn't be surprised if the nineties/early noughties brought some big changes in that regard) - so already between, for instance, valentino and marc there'd probably been a real shift in how young talent is being nurtured

(the most blunt illustration of this is that young valentino's lifestyle was completely different from that of young riders today, in terms of how much time he spent training in the gym, sleeping habits, nutrition etc etc. athletes now can't get away with that much deviation any more, and indeed valentino had to massively change his approach in the 2010s to remain competitive - but of course it's different if you haven't been doing this stuff since you were a kid. I think we can safely assume valentino's 2003 supermarket trips looked rather different from marc's 2017 ones)

being good in pro sports may in some ways be harder now than it was in, say, the eighties, and the level of competition you're facing might be higher now - but of course, it would also by extension be unfair to judge those athletes by the standards of today. also, different eras are going to lend themselves to different profiles of rider depending on competitive trends, type of machinery and so on - even very basic stuff like how tall you are might have helped you in a certain era and hindered you in another... so what does that mean for talent? if we're discussing 'talent' at all, how can we possibly treat it as anything other than relative to the era we're discussing? to me, it just makes these comparisons between different generations pretty pointless... or well, I like talking about some of this stuff in a more holistic 'isn't this interesting' kind of way, not a 'this is why xyz is better than xyz' approach... this kind of thing is also why I finds goat debate such a uniquely boring way to spend your time, incidentally

this is a very long way of saying, I don't have a metric by which I judge athletes pre-2000 as 'alien' or 'not alien'! I think you have similarly dominant athletes, though again it is so tough to decide how much of that is down to talent and how much of it is down to bike advantage. if you take doohan's title winning seasons for instance:

yeah, look, sure, you can call him an alien as far as I'm concerned - if I'm watching these races live I will be expecting doohan to win in any given weekend. I'm still kind of missing the pack hunter feel in some of these seasons, so I won't know for certain the winner is going to come from a very short list. like take 1998:

not really one group vs the field, is it? and yeah, even if I consider doohan an 'alien' in some of those seasons, I'm still not going to call him that - because the term was essentially coined in 2009 for a specific group of guys that one other guy was later added onto. the competitive landscape and demands of doohan's era were so different that it feels off to try and go back and label him or any other past riders aliens... they were phenomenally talented, yes, they were great champions, yes, they can be called as good as the aliens, sure - but why wrench the term out of its historical context? is it still an analytically useful concept if you do so, except as a way to generically refer to a rider as 'very talented'?

which is also why I personally don't describe anyone since then as an alien. this doesn't mean I don't think fabio or now pedro aren't as good as those guys were, I just don't think they've been given the opportunity to have that kind of hold over the sport. fabio won five out of eighteen races in 2021 - and he did so on a yamaha that basically only he was able to consistently get a high level of performance out of. which is deeply impressive - but unlike say casey in 2007, he didn't have those other riders to dominate all the other races. eight riders won a race that season! it's just a fundamentally different competitive landscape. personally, I'd be perfectly content if we don't get another alien era. of course 2007-15 isn't all bad, but for good reason most fans' most fondly remembered eras are either 2001-06 or 2017-19... yes, at times one rider was too dominant, but it still felt like more riders had a shot at victory - and most importantly the quality of the racing was generally very high. this kind of domination by a few mega talents on the best machinery can get drab pretty quickly (though of course a lot of the blame for decreased race quality needs to be assigned to the 800cc era 2007-11, not to any of the aliens themselves)

I'd be quite happy to retire the term alien going forwards... except as a useful shorthand for a specific group of guys who have mostly retired. it shouldn't be used as a way to bash the young stars, as if they just can't measure up to the legends of the past. which would be dumb! again, plenty of ways in which motogp is harder now than it ever has been, though the most important thing is that it's just... different. not better, not worse, just different. sure, maybe we'll get another equivalent to the alien era, even though I personally think it's quite unlikely. if it happens, yeah, let's discuss cranking the term out again (and, yes, if you look at the current season and ignore sprints... if this current trend continues then we can have the debate at the end of the season. pecco and jorge despite all their apparent inconsistencies are currently building a pretty solid case for themselves) (now I've said that they're both gonna crash out of assen huh)

that being said! I don't exactly neatly follow this principle myself, because sometimes I do use something like the term 'alien-like talent' to refer to fabio or pedro... obviously, you can argue this is basically the same as calling them aliens in everything but semantics. so what's the criteria there? when do I use this term? I think to me it's just... instant, 'in your face' talent. they arrive to the premier class and they shine basically immediately. valentino got a relatively sedate start to the premier class by alien standards - which is fitting, because he's not really about that blistering raw pace. still, he wasn't far from being a rookie champion, got ten podiums, two wins... not too bad. casey was on a satellite team, but he got pole in his second ever race and came painfully close to winning his third. dani got a podium on debut and fought for the championship for almost the entire season. jorge got pole in his first three races and won his third. marc won the second time out and of course secured the title in his rookie season. compare that to fabio - pole in his fourth ever race on satellite machinery, fighting for wins in his first season. pedro got a podium in his second ever race and is handily outperforming everyone else on that bike

so it's about how quickly these guys pick this stuff up, how quickly they make that step from one level to another - though again, it's important to stress you can't just neatly compare these achievements! valentino's first two seasons were on 500cc bikes, which were notorious for being kind of evil. some of these riders started on satellite bikes (we're not counting valentino here), and there's also plenty of talk about how the bikes have become more complicated to ride now, making pedro's rapid adjustment even more impressive. but in every case, there is just this ability to 'be fast immediately', whatever the circumstances... and it's worth pointing out that even though pecco had a mediocre rookie season, he was incredibly quick in 2019 pre-season testing. jorge martin secured his first pole position and podium at his second race in motogp

speaking of, those two were already a touch older when they joined the premier class. there does generally seem to be something to the idea that in motorcycle racing, if you are not already very fast at a certain age, you will have a quite definitive ceiling... and from valentino onwards, the age by which you need to already have reached that standard of 'very good' seems to have gone down. when we're talking about talent and throwing around the term alien, this feels like another important change to mention - doohan was not winning his titles as a 22 year old! neither was rainey! or schwantz! or lawson! or... actually spencer was very young, yeah. but I think you get the point. I cannot tell you definitively why this changed, but it clearly has changed. in the 21st century, only two riders have won titles when they were older than 26: valentino (29-30) and jorge (28). valentino and marc were both 27 when their dominance over the sport ended (even if valentino secured titles after that point and marc will very probably do so as well). casey was 27 when he retired. (fun fact: pecco bagnaia is currently 27 years old.) so overall it's pretty rare in grand prix motorcycle racing to operate at the top of the premier class for more than a certain number of years - but the precise age window in which you are likely to be at your best does seem to have shifted pretty radically this century. which should demonstrate how hard these things are to compare... like I said, talent is often assessed by how quickly you are good at something - but if we called mick doohan a late bloomer, it would be wildly ahistorical

and yeah, look, this idea of 'you have to be good young or you will have a certain ceiling' is hardly unique to motogp, lots of sports are like that... another measure of this precocity that's perhaps more useful than just 'age' is looking how long it took them to win a title from when they joined the premier class (if they did so at all, of course). it's generally very fast! marc year one, valentino, casey and joan year two, jorge and fabio year three... and, well, pecco and hayden year four. of course, there's exceptions to this 'be fast immediately' rule - athletes who ended up being very good and title contenders who had slightly different paths getting there. the sete's and dovi's of this world - and to a lesser extent hayden too, who unlike those two was only even really a title contender in a single season... but generally speaking, those riders seem more heavily reliant on circumstances playing out just right to have a shot at a title

or perhaps! perhaps it's going to change! especially if you look at repeat champions, pecco does become a bit of an outlier in how he got there this century, doesn't he? compare the numbers he was posting in his rookie season vs valentino, casey, jorge and marc. and in some ways, you can extend this even further and say he's a massive historical outlier in terms of any premier class champions. there was an article about this in late 2022:

and some more about how historically unusual he is:

isn't that great? you don't become premier class champion with that kind of a rookie season, but pecco did! hey, aleix was a serious title threat in that season, which is a far more remarkable story still! and the thing is, right, if you're studying the current era and are labelling some riders aliens but leaving out pecco... then no offence but what's the point? look, who knows, maybe marc and pedro and david alonso are going to dominate the next twenty titles and pecco will have been a weird blip. but isn't there something fun about believing that a bunch of different riders could eventually develop into title threats? wouldn't it be kind of cool if you don't have to just write someone off age 22 any more? I don't know, I think it's a neat development! I hope it sticks around! there'll be plenty of alien-level talents in the future, but personally I wouldn't mind at all if there were no more aliens

[austerlitzborodinoleipzig]

Ranking Shoma's programs

I've never been a big Shoma fan. Not that I don't recognise his talent but i've no particular emotional attachment to him.

I have a lot of respect for his body of work. I think he's probably the most musical skater out there, and since he moved to Lambiel i've started to really enjoy his programs. They don't always move me, I don't rewatch them often (besides one or two exception), but everytime I've watched him skate during competitions they usually leave me thinking "Damn... This is good..." Objectively great but not my skater.

That said, and since I love doing that, here are all Shoma's competitive programs, from his senior career, ranked from least to best, according to my tastes.

16 - Moonlight Sonata, choreo by Mihoko Higuchi (2018/2019 FS)

Yeah, this was a big miss and tbh it's not wonder Shoma's season went middlingly well and that he missed the podium at home Worlds. This program is just not good. The music is overplayed, the choreo is a cut and paste from Shoma and Mihoko's then well established style. Lots of jumps-crossover-jumps-some choreo that consists in looking intense while moving the arms. A miss.

15 - Turandot version 2, choreo by Mihoko Higuchi (2017/2018 FS)

I rewatched it recently and the music cut is just bad. Why you would cut the "vincero" part I have no idea but here it is. Shoma does a good job with it, but it's nowhere close to the first version of this program.

14 - Winter, choreo by Mihoko Higuchi (2017/2018 SP)

I just really really dislike Shoma's packaging from late 2017 to early 2019. It's just a lot of warhorse with really mid choreo. Shoma's musicality saves it but that's about it.

13 - Ladies in Lavender, choreo by Mihoko Higuchi (2016/2017 SP)

It's still intensely Shoma, and by that I mean skate on two feet and move your arms choreo but the music choice is better. At least it's not a warhorse.

12 - Turandot version 1, choreo by Mihoko Higuchi (2015/2016 FS)

Gets bonus points for including Gira La Cote in the music cut.

11 - Stairway to Heaven, choreo by Mihoko Higuchi (2018/2019 SP)

The step sequence is very nice and Shoma's musicaly makes this program.

10 - Great Spirit, choreo by Shae-Lynn Bourne (2019/2020/2021 SP)

Gets deduction points because of some truly bad costumes. Honestly a bit of a let down. The choreo feels far too safe for the music.

9 - Legends, choreo by Mihoko Higuchi (2015/2016 SP)

Much better than any other SP Mihoko choreographed for Shoma. The step sequence alone is more interesting than anything Shoma skated to for the following three seasons. Unexpected like.

8 - Timelapse, choreo by Kenji Miyamoto (2023/2024 FS)

In retrospect, Shoma's farewell FS. Not that great. I love Spiegel im Spiegel but the other piece of music left me cold. The choreo wasn't anything special too, but the performances, especially the NHK one, were absolutely magical.

7 - Bolero, choreo by Stéphane Lambiel (2021/2022 FS)

First of all Bolero gets too much hate from the fandom and y'all lack taste. It's a truly great piece of music and I can think of at least half a dozen warhorses that need to be banned before Bolero. (Romeo and Juliet, Experience, Exogenesis...).

Second of all Sholero goes hard. It is a bit empty at the beginning, but the relentless pace of the music makes for an exciting watch, and in case of a clean program, it's exhilarating. The step sequence at the end is outstanding. Doesn't place higher because the choreo sequence feels almost like an afterthought and honestly Stéphane and Shoma could do better.

6 - Gravity, choreo by Stéphane Lambiel (2022/2023 SP)

Did not enjoy it last season (I thought it wasn't a good fit for Shoma, it felt too much like a Lambiel program). Has grown on me a lot since then. It's the most Lambiel-y Shoma has ever skated and it's good that he did it. Variety! Some diversity in the steps. Makes us of the whole body, not just the arms.

5 - Oboe Concerto, choreo by Kenji Miyamoto (2021/2022 SP)

Quintessential Shoma in that it feels close to a Mihoko program, like Winter, or Ladies in Lavender, but is so so much better. More variety in the choreo. It makes us of the whole body, not just the arms.

Shoma's skating with it's outstanding musicality and uninterrupted flow is a perfect match for Baroque music.

4 - Dancing On My Own, choreo by David Wilson (2019/2020/2021 FS)

My greatest regret, regarding Shoma's career, is that he did not get more programs from Wilson. Imho, given how musical Shoma is, he would have been a perfect fit.

That said DOMO is perhaps the most emotionally loaded program out of them all. Shoma went through hell and high water with it, and when it was performed cleanly, it sang.

3 - Mea Tormenta, choreo by Kenji Miyamoto (2022/2023 FS)

Glorious, iconic, it's a program I don't think anybody but Shoma could have skated. Just stunning work all around, and one of the best men's programs in recent years.

2 - I Love You Kung Fu, choreo by Stéphane Lambiel (2023/2024 SP)

Shoma at his most raw, emotional and soft. Great, great music choice, just magic on the ice.

1 - Loco, choreo by Mihoko Hiiguchi (2016/2017 FS)

I don't know what that says of a skater, when their most successfull program happened during their second senior season, and they've been chasing that high ever since (looking at you Kaori's Piano).

In any case, Loco is as good as the fans say it is, and then some. It highlights all the best aspects of Shoma's skating (the performance, the passion, the musicality) while being absolutely unhinged. Truly one of the highs of the sport.

[armoredisopod]

New Event PV

New Operators

Lutonada, 4* Juggernaut Defender

Stopping strife is a better consolation than mourning.

Odda, 5* Welfare 撼地者 Guard (new branch, translates to "Earthshaker")

Don't get too close. The flames will spatter.

Aroma, 5* Blast Caster

Just in time, i'd also like to test out a new foam formula.

Ascalon, 6* Ambusher Specialist

Fate, i've chased it, faced it, killed it.

And so have you.

Operator Skins Update

4 new additions for the Epoque brand

Pinecone's Season of Travel

Cement's New Business

Corroserum's Leisure

Qiubai's Courtesy

Announced skin reruns

Series XXIV Epoque skins (Horn, Heidi, Harmonie)

Series II Raythean Striker skins (Siege, Indra, Scavenger)

Heavyrain's Tranquil Moss

Skadi's The Next Afternoon Tea

Operator Modules Update

Lutonada, Aroma and Ascalon being part of branches with modules immediately get their modules

UNY-X module base effect makes Lutonada take 15% less damage from enemies she's blocking

BLA-X module base effect increases Aroma's ATK when attacking enemies further away from her position

AMB-X module base effect reduces the movement speed of enemies inside Ascalon's range by 20%

Tactician Vanguard branch gets 2 module types

Module 1 given to Beanstalk

Module 2 given to Muelsyse, Vigil and Blacknight

Ho'olheyak gets her second module

CCR-Y module base effect grants Ho'olheyak 1 SP when attacking Elite or Leader type enemies

Events and Stories

Babel, a side story event

O wandering one, how should i tell you this past event?

People walk together in unity of purpose, but are separated by difference in beliefs.

Go on, remember, remember—

Witness how people love, betray and die.

Remember this, and don't forget it.

Operator Archives update for Penance, Spuria, Lunacub and Verdant

Record Restore update for Stultifera Navis

Misc Stuff

Annihilation #25 - "Eccentricity" Lab, annihilation mission set in Columbia

SSS New Season #5, Clamour Zone Security Service - The Noise Correction Band & Box Inc.

[imasallstars]

sSSR【Songs of the Day】Mano Sakuragi

availability: 　SEASON PASS 　until 2024/09/28 23:59 JST Best Room: SHOPPING TRIP (RESTAURANT)

SUPPORT EFFECT (at level 80)

Increase MENTAL when in the same appointment with MANO

Increase chance of SHOPPING TRIP appearing

Decrease chance of Trouble on ALL APPOINTMENTS

Increase STAMINA RECOVERY when in SHOPPING TRIP (RESTAURANT)

Increase VOCAL&DANCE&VISUAL when in SP LESSON

Increase STAMINA RECOVERY when in DAY OFF

Increase chance of MANO appearing in SHOPPING TRIP (RESTAURANT)

Increase chance of SUPPORT CHARACTER appearing

Increase STAMINA RECOVERY when in SHOPPING TRIP (COSMETICS)

Increase VOCAL&DANCE&VISUAL when in the same appointment with MANO

Increase STAMINA RECOVERY when in SHOPPING TRIP (RESTAURANT)

SUPPORT SKILL (at level 80)

Increase INITIAL PLAY POINT in LESSONS by 3

Increase INITIAL PLAY POINT in SP LESSONS by 3

Increase INITIAL PLAY POINT in AUDITIONS by 3

Recovers 20% MENTAL for every CARD/IDOL SKILL activated

Increase INITIAL MENTAL GUARD by 15

[cityof2morrow]

Bella Brand: Bella's Secret Remix

Published: 11-6-2023 | Updated: N/A SUMMARY “Inspired by the wealth of Bella Goth lore from the Sims/SimCity franchises (aka the “simsverse”), the Bella Brand Series includes more than a dozen sets and 230+ new business-themed items. Lore suggests that the wealth/influence of the Gilman, Crumplebottom, Bachelor, and Goth families increases considerably under Mortimer and Bella Goth, especially the latter. So, this series imagines what a prestigious Bella-based brand might look like…” Select items from the original Bella’s Secret set (HChangeri/WR/Retail Sims, 2006 via LiquidSims Archive) re-imagined – now with functional apparel! Sims can purchase hosiery in single, double, and seasonal (pretend this is a themed “multipack” of some sort) packages which can be used to add to their wardrobe or recycled for up to §100.

DETAILS Requires ALL EPs/SPs. You need Mesh Set 001 (Simmons, 2023) and the Display Counter (BellasSecret_Counter_Somedaythesun) from the TS2 Maxis Match Lingerie Store Set (SomedayTheSun, 2023) – these items are required for all textures to display in-game. The counter uses recolors from the Bosenklavier Model B grand piano (Bon Voyage EP). Find recolors for the counter interior in the Bella Brand: Retail Floor Set (Simmons, 2023). Recolors may include swatches for items in other Bella brand sets such as signs, packages, cosmetics, etc. Objects in Sims 2 are limited to two recolorable parts, so not all items are recolorable in the same way. Find additional recolors for Bella Brand sets on this site under #ts2recolors, #co2recolors, and #co2bellabrand.

ITEMS Bella’s Secret Counter (256 poly) Bella’s Secret Counter Desk (244 poly) Bella’s Secret Debug Display (42 poly)—place w/ move objects and grid on/off cheats Bella’s Secret Display Case 001 (138 poly) Bella’s Secret Display Case 002 (94 poly) Bella’s Secret End Table (90 poly) Bella’s Secret Hosiery (Double/Seasonal) (144 poly) Bella’s Secret Hosiery (Single) (~15 poly) Bella’s Secret Hosiery Mannequins 001-003 (262-318 poly) Bella’s Secret Hosiery Rack (360 poly) Bella’s Secret Mini Shelf (92 poly) Bella’s Secret Neon Sign 001 (2802 poly, HIGH) Bella’s Secret Neon Sign 002 (900 poly) Bella’s Secret Sign - Large/Small (3569 poly, HIGH)

DOWNLOAD (choose one) from SFS | from MEGA *A known game bug may disable some shelf slots. If you cannot access more than 2 slots on the hosiery/lingerie racks (the ones with 4 or 6 bars), download ONE these fixes: MORE_Custom-objects-placeable-on-shelves (Numenor, 2006) MORE_Custom-objects-placeable-on-shelves+LOCKEDTILES (Numenor, 2006) Object Freedom 1.02 (Fway, 2023)

Functional Apparel Objects Apparel objects are debug items and show up as “clothing pile” in the catalog (Misc > Dressers). They must be placed on one of the DEBUG displays/shelves or they’ll float. Once purchased, take them out of the sim’s inventory and choose from one of the following: Purchase Clothing. Select an outfit (or several) of any type. Each apparel object is worth §100 towards the TOTAL cost. Sims save more money (and your businesses make more money) if they use one apparel object per new outfit. Sell. Recycle the object for §100 simoleons.  If you exit the Buy Clothing window without adding anything to your shopping cart, §100 will be added to the sim’s household funds instead. Apparel objects are worth §100 regardless of how much sims pay for them on OFB/community lots. Pricing an item below this amount can function like a discount sale (i.e., pay $75 in-store and §100 towards the purchase or a 25% “discount/rebate.” You can decide whether this counts as cheating). Pricing it above this amount is not recommended since sims will end up losing extra money. Debug objects have slots which “catch” fellow clones if you place them too close. To prevent this when trying to clutter them close together, turn “snap objects to grid” OFF and “move objects” OFF.

CREDITS No copyright infringement intended. All trademarks belong to their respective owners. CCA = Creative Commons Attribution. Thanks: @catherinetcjd, @gayars, @gummilutt, @haziewhims, @kashmiresims (Rach’), @somedaythesun, whoward, Easy Shine Removal Kit (PF Forest, 2023), Reducing GUIDs/OBJs Tutorial (HugeLunatic, 2022), Sketchfab and Blender Communities. Sources: SEE CREDITS (ALT).