#there are so many more pieces i wanted to include

[kirlicues]

Cooke Corner | Sims 2 Residential Lot Download

This sprawling single-story ranch style home built on a 4x3 lot is the perfect abode for the sim who loves to cook. There are 2 separate kitchen spaces to create confectionary delights of all kinds!

This lightly furnished home will set your sim back §180,507. Let's take a tour and see what's included (aside from the kitchens)!

On one end of the backyard there is a pool...

...And on the other end, a small gazebo.

Want a better look at the front yard now? Oh good, 'cause that's where we're headed! 🤣

...And a view from the opposite side of the lot.

There are so many places to relax after a long day spent on your feet cooking and baking!

I've mentioned how I'm more of a builder, not so much of a game player, but at one point I built lots for most of the pre-made "lot bin" families that came with the game. This particular lot was especially for the Cooke family. I never did play long enough to find him a wife and start a family, so there's only 1 bedroom on the main level, but there is some extra space in the basement (thankfully there are no rules in the game about having to have egress windows) so a larger family can live here.

Speaking of which, let's take a look at the floor plan.

1st Floor: Clockwise from left: Dining room, kitchen, half-bath, back entryway and patio, laundry room, bathroom, bedroom, garage, living room, and front entryway.

Basement: Clockwise from bottom left: Chef's kitchen (with double stoves and double fridges!), guest bedroom/2nd bedroom, closet storage space, bathroom, and office.

Ok, so maybe you love the look of the house but don't have a family that lives to create Baked Alaska and Lobster Thermidor--no problem! Tear out the kitchen and turn it into a bedroom or maybe a craft room. It's up to you!

Cooke Corner: MF | SFS

All EPs and SPs are required.

*I highly recommend that you have the PerfectPlants mod from TwoJeffs*

I’ve run this home through the Lot Compressor so any random references to sims that aren’t there should be removed. I have also run this lot through the Lot Cleaner to remove any bits of buggy code. This lot comes with a shiny custom thumbnail so it has even more curb appeal in your Lots and Houses bin! 😄

This home has 4 pieces of CC, 2 of which are Maxis "Lost & Found" items that you may already have in your game (used in the downstairs bedroom). These can easily be replaced or omitted if you don’t want them though.

CC List (Included): -Maxis Match Wall Cabinets by CTNutmegger at ModtheSims -LG Dryer & Washer Machine by Fresh-Prince at ModtheSims

CC List (Not Included): -Maxis "Lost & Found" BILLY Wallshelf at Mod the Sims -Maxis "Lost & Found" BENNO Coffee Table at Mod the Sims

Default Replacements Shown: -White Wall Top Texture Replacement by Maranatah at Mod the Sims

I ALWAYS recommend using the Sims 2 Pack Clean installer to install lot files.

Want to improve the look of your game, or grab some “Lost & Found” Maxis objects? Check out this post.

[alphajocklover]

what do you think about nerd jock hybrids where a nerd is forced to join the football team where his nerd body is turn into a jocks body but remain fairly nerdy in manner, an intellectual at heart but have the body &  confidence  of a jock

No offense man, but I think you maaaay have read just a few to many of these stories. While many of the people who get transformed into jocks end up like the stereotype, dumb, cocky and toxic, but in reality there are plenty of people who have both brains and brawn. Not to mention, I have actually transformed someone into a jock and let them keep their mind before. Actually I didn’t transform them, but I did report on their transformation. They were one of the rare people to find the revert mind setting in instaJock, something I think the Master put there specifically to mess with people. From what I know now he’s doing pretty good now. Their new body left them with some startling new urges and a manly musk he can’t quite cover up, but they’ve been able to overcome that and put both their body and mind to good use. He and I became pretty good friends, and last I heard he was talking about becoming an astronaut. But I should probably stop with the update and get down to brass tacks. What you’re really asking is if it’s possible for you to become a smart jock, and I’m happy to tell you that it is! While making someone into a stereotype is easier, it's not that hard to change a few things, and I’m certain at least someone in the tf community could give you the body and the confidence without the intelligence loss. The only thing we really need to do is decide how. Normally I’d go over the options, but I’ll admit I’m not sure if any of the tf methods I’ve mentioned so far would really work. Lucky for you, I have a couple new tf methods that I haven’t even used yet that I’ll let you choose from! Your first option is, well, steroids. I know, steroids will make your muscles grow, what a shock! But these are special steroids, ones from the future. I had to take another trip there recently, and picked these up. It turns out steroids get a lot stronger in the next 30 years or so. They don’t have as many negative side effects as regular steroids, and work much faster, but there is a bit of a downside. Mainly anger. Yes, while the balding and acne is no longer an issue, roid rage still is. The difference is its less of sudden burst of rage, and more of a permanent alteration to your personality. You’ll become more aggressive and competitive, more manly and possibly a little toxic. You won’t get any dumber, but you will change. So if you're not one for anger and competition, you might need to pick another one.

Your other option is a piece of candy. As I’ve mentioned before there are a lot of transformation companies out there, and one of my personal favorites has to be Conversion Candy. It's a pretty small shop, one that sells a variety of magical and delicious products, including Himbo Cotton Candy, Muscle bear gummy bears, and Beefy Bull Choco-bites. Personally I’d recommend their version of M&Ms, Muscles and Mind, since those let you get buff and confident while keeping your mind. The only caveat is that they, like every treat from Conversion Candy, are temporary, so you’d have to buy some every week. If you want it to be a one and done type of deal, we need the other option.

So, steroids or sweets? The choice is yours. Either way, I hope you enjoy a life of both beef and brains. Not a lot of people get that, and to be honest not a lot can handle it. Good luck.

[kawoala]

𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐲𝐚 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐢

The piece “Number One” includes the following; an alternate universe, wherein Touya Todoroki is on the path to becoming a pro-hero and also has dyscalculia. There is also strong profanity. It is set during his time in high school, where he is a third year. The reader is a tutor.

“you know my dads paying you to tutor me, right? not just sit there and look pretty.”

with an exasperated sigh, you shut your phone off and set it to the side, meeting touya’s eyes. you tilt your head and give him a smug smile. “aww, touya. you think i’m pretty?” you jut your lip out, almost mocking him. “you can be such a sweetie sometimes.”

he just rolls his eyes, sending you the middle finger as he looks back down at his paper. “you’re annoying.”

“yeah.” you shrug and push off the counter, taking steps towards him. “but you love it. and you think i’m pretty.” you peer down at the paper over his shoulder. “number four is wrong. you added twelve instead of subtracting it.”

his hand pauses, presumably looking over his answer, before he groans and furiously erases his answer. “this is so fucking stupid. i don’t understand why i need to learn this—i’m never gonna use it as a pro-hero.”

you hesitate, drowning slightly, then click your tongue and sit down beside him, crossing your legs and staring at the side of his face.

he’s very pretty, you think, not for the first time tonight. he has faint freckles covering his cheeks, thanks to the sun starting to come out once again. his hair is falling against his forehead messily, thanks to frustrated hands running through it over and over again. you bite the inside of your cheek and swallow quietly—swallow the words you want to say, but will never do so.

“it’s stupid, yeah,” you say. “but you can’t become a pro-hero if you fail algebra, now can you?” he doesn’t look at you, and you roll your eyes. “come on, touya. it’s not that hard.”

“yes, it is,” he argues. “the stupid ass numbers keep, like, melting together and swapping places. i can’t fucking focus.” he runs a hand through his hair again and slams his pencil down on the table, leaning back against the couch and closing his eyes.

when touya was seven, he was diagnosed with dyscalculia. he was proficient in all other subjects, but lacked in the mathematical area. his mother requested he be tested for learning disabilities, and then he was diagnosed.

“have you tried highlighting the numbers?”

with his eyes still closed, he gestures to the paper. you sigh upon seeing the green marker on almost all of the numbers. “of fucking course i did. you think this is my first rodeo?”

you lean back against the couch with him and sigh once more. “you’re making my job really hard,” you joke, nudging his arm.

he opens one eye and peaks down at you, making you laugh. you don’t know why, but he laughs too. “this stupid learning disability is making my job hard too,” he mumbles. “when i own an agency, i’m hiring as many assistants as it takes to not deal with numbers.”

“what about when you need to make a phone call?”

“assistant.”

“and when you need to pay bills?”

“definitely an assistant for that.”

“and when you’re looking at hero rankings?”

he lifts his head and looks at you, eyes narrowed playfully. “you’ve got every situation in that big brain of yours, huh?” he pokes your forehead and you swat his hand, laughing. “whatever. i’ll just make you tell me what my ranking is. probably won’t need that though. seeing as i’ll always be number one.”

you smile softly and nod. “yeah,” you whisper. “you’ll be number one, touya. i know it.”

[fernwehreader]

I want to spend a minute pushing back on the idea that nothing supports Gwynriel in ACOSF or that certain online accounts influence the idea of it. I mean, I specifically can recall how significant it felt the first time I read when Gwyn and Azriel first see each other after the horrors at Sangravah. Through Cassian’s POV in ACOSF, it’s noted that “Gwyn had been distracted today – one eye on the other side of the ring. Cassian could only assume she was watching his brother, who had given Gwyn a small smile of greeting upon arrival. Gwyn hadn’t returned it.”

Basically, I instantly took notice of this first interaction and I think about it quite often. The specificity and perspective in which it's written is intentional. SJM didn’t have to include it or write it this way, so why is it there?

And further, by the time I reached the last page of ACOSF upon my first reading, I was certain that Gwyn was being set up as Azriel’s love interest and mate. The real kicker though is that I didn’t even know about an Azriel bonus chapter for almost two years after I first read ACOSF. I wasn’t online much then -- my mom was ill and passed away during that time, and I had stepped back from being online. So, I missed those early ACOSF conversations among the fandom until almost 2023. I definitely wasn’t influenced by any online opinions or accounts, and the bonus chapters just weren't on my radar until almost two years after ACOSF was released.

So the point is, the setup of Azriel and Gwyn was clear to me just within the context of the primary ACOSF text. When I eventually read Azriel's bonus chapter, the only thing I felt was validated in my initial opinion of what SJM was setting up with him and Gwyn. It was beyond clear. The language, symbolism, and structure of the bonus chapter were all so intentional and consistent with what we should already identify within SJM’s writing.

I’ve been reading SJM since 2012 when Throne of Glass was first published. I was a high school librarian then, and the students and myself were obsessed with her books in those early days of a fun, new fantasy series. I now teach junior/senior level high school literature courses, and I approach my critical reading of SJM the same way I do in the classroom. I teach patterns we encounter when it comes to an author’s voice, prose, rhetoric, and literary device use. So just like how I’d point out to students that Jane Austen utilizes social commentary and wit along with her free indirect discourse narration, and we can find those patterns throughout all of her novels – I can also identify how SJM utilizes specific language, characterization, symbolism, and plot devices when it comes to romantic pairings and the notion of mates in her novels. Thirteen years of reading SJM (and many more years of studying and teaching literature) makes those patterns shine like Gwyn when she sings with the priestesses.

This is getting too long and I’ll leave it here for now . . . but trust that I have MUCH more to elaborate on here with specifics and will consider posting more analysis in case anyone wants to read it (if anything, it just makes me feel better to get my thoughts out). But, yes, it should be clear from that first interaction in ACOSF that something specific was being introduced, and that the rest of the novel continues to arrange chess pieces for a pairing between Azriel and Gwyn. 🙂

[gaycodedvillainy]

This is true! And also probably a lot less of a learning curve before seeing nice looking result than you might be expecting, and also some of the projects you see might take shorter than you expect

I started crochet from the “ok so how does a basic stitch work?” about a month ago, and I’m already making clothes I’m comfortable wearing to work — my hat today was made by me, for me, and looks like something you could buy, and took me maybe 3 hours to make collectively, including finding materials and a pattern to work from

(For the record I make a lot of my own clothes, via sewing (I started sewing like 2 years ago) and now crochet, and the following is all coming from that experience)

A few things I think people could do to avoid that “DIY look”:

1. Finding Good Patterns. With the rise of fast fashion, a lot of cheaper patterns have been less targeted towards, essentially, people who want to learn sewing as an arts and crafts hobby, and less targeted towards people who want to wear the clothes. They often lag stylistically, they don’t readily account for how pattern alterations are no longer a household skill, these are the ones that will “look DIY”, or sometimes a bit too much like that one Christian homeschool family tm. when you get outside of that bracket, to patterns which look good or are more easily adjustable, they tend to more often assume you already know how to do things (leading to very chaotic or incomplete instructions).

YouTube and other clickbait crafting sources can also set you up on the pattern or instruction front — if you are a beginner who is feeling discouraged by your sewing projects looking kinda bad in comparison to an EQ store bought garment, I would recommend against going to something marketed too much as a beginner project (many of these are not actually for people who want to wear the clothes and are more for the “here is something to teach the child how to sew” market — they will look like it), and go to like a medium level project, and plan to fuck it up a few times before you make a nice one. Additionally, Look at the photo shown with the garment and consider whether it will look as good in the fabric you plan to use, how much of any photography is working there lighting, and be ok with dropping a few which are just being packaged prettily.

Alternatively, take a piece of clothing you know fits you well and trace out a pattern from it — my first shirts done 2 years ago were done this way, and held together with staples. I wouldn’t recommend actually wearing the stapled version much, but otherwise? It worked fine

2. Plan to have a fuck up round when you start a new pattern. Tbh this is true in almost any art, but with sewing in particular (because once it’s cut it’s cut) just have some of the cheapest fabric that won’t affect the way it sits too much, and make a first pass to see: a. what the process is like, get the ducking up out of your system. b. How does the pattern actually fit on you? Make your adjustments on the cheap one and transfer that to the end garment—you can then use that pattern for as many clothes as you get the fabric for. Also a good idea to do test swatches.

3. Material selection, know when it matters and how. The hat I’m wearing now partially looks this good because I went ahead and bought the 7$ ball of yarn rather than the $3 red heart value saver. There’s a time and place for the $3 red heart value saver yarn, but if you want to look like something from a store, they aren’t using value saver yarn for most things. This is not to say that you need to spend a fortune on materials, unless you’re wanting to work with fur or to be on a level with formal wear or higher fashion, but if the store made it out of denim and you make it out of felt, it will not look or feel the same. You can still do it! And look amazing! But like, do so consciously rather than by accident.

Overstock suppliers are a good source for more traditional apparel fabrics, and you can look up guides on a lot of patterns to see what fabrics are recommended.

Go ahead and just use thread marked for machine quilting, upholstery, or other heavier use options. That stuff they sell in the emergency stitch kits in the grocery stores or wherever is awful to work with and breaks.

4. Machine crafting will look different. If you’re hand sewing, unless you have ungodly tiny and even stitches, the seams will look different—some machines are needed for some types of stitches, but are expensive (look at the hem of a t shirt at the sort of loopy seam along the hem as an example — that’s from a flatlock sewing machine, which tend to use 8 spools of thread at a time, and which is decidedly outside of my budget — I use a zigzag stitch instead and while it is functional, it looks different) There are certain kinds of fasteners which are affixed via heavy machinery or fastener specific machines you are unlikely to have.

Ultimately, all of this still ends up looking good with the DIY or affordable option

5. Even if you don’t wanna make your own things wholecloth, there are a lot of little useful skills which can save you trouble in the long run, and honestly take almost no time to learn. Sewing buttons on is a wonderfully simple but useful skill — zippers are also a deceptively simple replaceable feature which can rescue a jacket you’d otherwise have to toss. Magnetic snap clasps (like purses use) tend to be sold solo, as are purse handles and their hook ups, and are one of the most often broken parts of a purse. Clothing snaps are stupid easy to apply, and only require you to already have a hammer (no needle, no thread, they come with the guide)

Let go of the idea that diy will inherently look shit. All your clothes are handmade you just don't see the people doing it.

[wheeloffortune-design]

Was there any part of the history you found particularly hard to nail down/find out more on when writing "Mrs. Victoria Buys a Brothel"? :o

I've sat with this ask in my inbox for a couple of days because I wanted to think about it before answering. Writing historical settings is always hard because it comes with a lot of research and often, things that don't make sense to us. I surely skipped over some drastic realities such as STDs or hygiene practices to keep the tone lighter and, let's say, sexier.

I have people of many backgrounds interacting in the story, so it's always a challenge to research the story of US immigration when there are characters who are Black, Chinese, Mexican, and Irish.

It's also a challenge to portrait correctly Native Americans. The love interest, Natane, comes from the Eastern Shoshone tribe. As a writer, it takes a lot of effort to unlearn the colonialist tropes that usually come with a Western, and you need to question everything before writing. Also, in research, I found it harder to find sources coming from the actual tribe, because often the sources are about them, and not from them. I hope I portrayed it with respect.

Another part that was really challenging was religion. I'm atheist myself, raised catholic. Since religion is such a great part of society at that time, I couldn't really write characters with my own point of view about faith and god. I had to understand what religion brought that could be good to them: community, tradition, solace.

It was hard to talk about the horrors, too. The Church is a great contributor in the genocide of Native Americans, I couldn't just skip over that.

So, I had to tiptoe the line. Natane was kidnapped by catholic nuns and raised far from her tribe. But Siobhan, as an Irish person, was persecuted for practising the same catholicism. It's also a great part of Consuelo's Mexican heritage.

That's not even counting other characters and their own faith. Mrs. Jackson is a devout protestant, Mrs. Zhao goes with the flow but misses Confucius, and Mrs. Horowitz still attends Mass because, my dear, there's absolutely nothing else to do in this dreadful town.

(I'm not even getting into Mormonism, even though a part of the story is set in Salt Lake City.)

Since most of them are secondary and tertiary characters, I couldn't spend too much time on them, but I've been writing Tales of Swainsburg, a companion piece or short-stories (available in the kickstarter). I can go deeper and explore the origins, motivations, and yes, faith, of those characters. It's very interesting, even if that means I need to do even more research. Now I'm reading about the Irish famine and the Mexican-American war.

Despite the challenge of it all, it was incredibly interesting to write such a varied cast with their own history and motivations. I think including diversity in a story is not a chore, but an incredible tool to make strong, believable, and unique characters.

----------

Mrs. Victoria buys a brothel is a sapphic romance western, and currently available for pre-order on kickstarter.

[hinamie]

I don't want to regret the way I lived

[kitsunespawz]

Morning on the Polar Tang

Background and canon compliant version:

[kmesons]

Ninth House Miss Holloway doodles based on this post by @thearcanecat. hope you don't mind the tag and my taking inspiration from your AU! I love drawing her in Situations

[akkivee]

the different flavours of kuukou lol

[shiitanki]

Couple caught outside grocery store, Twin Lakes, Alaska (2005)

[britneyshakespeare]

i love bratz as dolls but i fuckin hate mga as a brand. fuckin idiots

[autumnrory]

woooo my niece took 5 of my 13 lego sets, one of which was one of the three larger ones, so that's one huge box out of the way and i'm just glad she wanted them because like they ARE twenty years old and they look fine ofc but sometimes kids aren't gonna want stuff that isn't new and shiny ya know, but she did seem to want everything which would've been fine with me but i knew there was no way they would take all that with them, and at least i still have stuff of my own to sell, plus should get at least a cut of my brother's stuff for doing the inventory and putting together that stuff that wasn't already done

[snekdood]

im not gonna act like its as severe as hindutvas make it out to be but if you deny hinduphobia exists you're just a dumbass i think

[perilegs]

ok so apparently foam clay loses some detail when it dries if you leave it too wet as you can see if you compare the 1st and 2nd pic to the 3rd but!! i think it looks fine? now i just have to let the spray paint dry for 2 days and then i can do a magnet attachement thing and a silver coat

[hachiane]

things that are not talked about enough in Love and Deepspace

i'm surprised i haven't found something like this for LADS, so decided to document some interesting things I found while playing. i limited myself to Main Story, Kindled Memories, Moments posts, texts, interactions, (or stuff you can proc while playing) and did not include limited time events or the chibi comics.

(i've definitely missed out on many so feel free to reblog and add your own encounters!)

read part 2!

Sylus and Xavier are big eaters

Rafayel gets seasick, despite being a fish

Sylus got lost in a train station once

Rafayel can hear fish scream

Nobody comments when Sylus polishes a gun in public at a cafe

Xavier and MC lived in the same building for 6 months before they find out

Sylus’s heart rate can reach up to 150 bpm, and he wants MC to sync to it

Nobody recognises Xavier while he’s wearing the Lumiere mask

Rafayel scolds a cat

Rafayel then made MC choose between him and said cat

This happens twice

Sylus goes ice fishing, often with little success

Xavier also goes fishing, often with more success

Nobody comments when the boys show up to the cafe in nothing but bath towels

MC has said that the dual-prong claw reminds her of a really big fork

Rafayel makes you choose between him and a cat printed on a badge

Sylus has implied that his muscles and abs are not real

Rafayel synced his phone to MC’s steps tracker at one point

Sylus also does this

Xavier names every bird that visits his house

Rafayel used a piece of bread as an eraser, then ate it afterwards

Sylus sleeps sitting up

MC loses a fight against 12 crabs

Zayne believes in mythical creatures (or, at the very least, unicorns)

Sylus’s nickname “Lil S”

Rafayel paints with the blood of his slain people sometimes

Xavier found a bird egg in one of his flower pots one day, and wants to boil and eat it

Sylus guides a scared duck back home

This happens twice

“I’m pretty sure there’s bad juju in that custard bread.” is a line Rafayel once said

MC accidentally grows garlic instead of daffodils

Zayne mistook a plastic bag for a white cat

Sylus gets his motorbike stolen

Sylus and MC were spotted on a joyride because they were wearing glow-in-the-dark glasses

Xavier’s Hunter Uniform is popular with kids

Xavier takes a photo using a public telephone

Sylus recommends tequila as a dinner option

The account named rafayel_ridable_fish_dinner

Zayne’s nickname at the cafe “Large 100% Sugar Latte To Go”

Sylus expressed an interest in baseball

MC is a true crime watcher

MC gifts Zayne a jar of air, and he recommends her to get a MRI scan