#what's up?

[brozoneex]

Smoking Bros

What's up?

[catfindr]

[thesimquarter]

ok... now time to address some SIMNEWS. regarding the recent trailer.

what. i mean what. i mean. what. ok. the first sims handheld acknowledgement by the main franchise… like ever? ok. there was Tycho Curious mentioned in a description a while back, but.......

anyhow. i’ve always held the position that i didn’t want to see them bring back any of the handheld characters. (I do not trust them to bring them back "correctly." While also really, really wanting to see what they would do with them.) Given, this makes me VERY happy and thank goodness I didn’t find out about this at 10pm or else I wouldn't have been able to sleep until 4!

i do like the direction they took her design. The robe is a great interpretation of her original outfit. All the jewelry is great too! although i do feel as if they should’ve integrated the flowers into her headscarf. the silloutte definitely gives the illusion of it, so it's more of a nitpick. Oh, and no cane. RIP Gramma Hattie your disabilities are being erased.

and… running a bakery makes some sense. gramma hattie liking cooking is an established part of her character. cooking is her favorite topic to talk about (a +4), and she gives the player a cookbook after you ward off Daddy Bigbucks and Lily/Darius from her meeting. It’s weird to think of her character as a ‘Small Business Owner,’ but it’s not out-of-character either. She supports the local market (one of her favorite topics!) and views it as a way to connect with her community.

I’m going to be curious on how they characterize her in the final product. I’m hoping they don’t reduce her to just liking baking… because she’s a political activist at her core and everything else about her character works to supplement that.

I'm not sure why they would do Gramma Hattie over like, Phoebe Twiddle, who does actually own a small business. I'm guessing that it's because Gramma is easier to implement. But I'm glad she's here anyways!

Oh. and according to someone on the wiki (I have no idea what the source for this is), apparently they gave her a last name. (EDIT: ok i see where is comes from.) "Hattie Loden." I'm not a fan of that name right now, plus we refer to Gramma as "Mrs. Hattie" during the Urbz, so I assumed that her last name was Hattie due to that... Anyways. Just a nitpick.

And there’s also ummm

They don't call him "Cannonball Coleman" in the trailer, but that looks. way too much like Cannonball Coleman for me NOT to say anything. Green hat, green suit, goatee, and a hint of gold… could be a guy pulling from the same character archetype as Coleman but that would be weird to include in the same pack as Gramma Hattie.

And the fact that I can’t tell that it’s Coleman or not does speak to the design here. I’m not the biggest fan of the suit. It just doesn't seem right to me. But I like everything else! He looks much older than he did in his previous iterations, and honestly that's great. He was always meant to be an older cast member, but the Urbz (Handheld) has a disease where all characters in it have to look either 20, 35, or 70. So, it’s nice that they redesigned him to look older! The problem is that he doesn’t quite look like the character anymore (given, of course, that that IS him)

I can’t really say anything about him running a club because he just. Literally does that in The Sims 2 for DS, so great character choice!

I do have a question about both of them being in a world called "Nordhaven." Both Coleman & Hattie are very much characters made to live in Sims New Orleans, so that also reads to me as odd to add them to such a European world.

oh and one more thing

That’s… probably Crispin Black? From the Urbz (Console). Odd to have him and not any of Central Station or other tattoo artists in your Pottery and Tattoos pack, but I’m only complaining a little because. Dear lord. He’s like if you put him through a cheese grater and then tried to squeeze all the pieces together. A bit odd of a choice of character to take from The Urbz (Console), given that it's the Random Unrelated Hobbies Of Tattoos, Pottery, and Candy pack and there are characters who actually run a tattoo parlor in that game (Central Station. well. peircing parlor. but tattoos are something they do too.), but I'm guessing they probably didn't want to deviate from their Designated Pack Style to fit punks in it.

anyways! that is all. thank you for listening. my extremely low yet highly specific expectations from the 25th Sims Birthday bash ('mention the Sims handhelds') have been met.

[stabbyfoxandrew]

Okay so I just spent 2000 hours making the monsters in the Sims...

And as soon as I plopped these bitches into reality, Neil was Fine. And his two whims we're 'go for a jog' and 'become friends with Kevin'.

Incredible...

[designatedadult]

*poke poke poke poke poke*

@idreamofdango

... Yes, Anko?

[frosty-sneasel]

Lumiiiiiiiiiii -(@tinkatinktrain)

Jylahhhhhhhh

[eirenical]

Lightning in a Bottle (1558 words) by eirenical

Chapters: 2/2 Fandom: 莲花楼 | Mysterious Lotus Casebook (TV) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Di Feisheng/Li Lianhua Characters: Di Feisheng, Li Lianhua | Li Xiangyi, Li Lianhua Additional Tags: pre-10 years, POV Second Person, Fight Sex, Not Really Character Death, Rivals With Benefits, Enemies to Lovers, Canon Compliant, (...mostly), Pre-Canon, The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known

Summary:

You're 15 years old and you hear his name for the first time. He defeated the demon of the Blood Realm, they say. A prodigy. The fastest sword in the jianghu. The promise of your generation fulfilled. A hero. You have no use for heroes.

August 24, 2023: Well. I distinctly had other plans for my first fic in this fandom, but sometimes the heart wants what it wants. XD

Enjoy? ^_^

Note: if you prefer a bittersweet, angsty ending, you can stop reading at the end chapter 1 with the East Sea battle. But I can never leave my sad endings sad, so there's a tiny epilogue for you in chapter 2 if you prefer a happier/more hopeful ending. ^_^

[fidjiefidjie]

Bon Soir ❤️ 🎸🤩 ❤️

Dolly Parton & Linda Perry 🎶 What's Up?

(Rockstar)

[thesimquarter]

TS4Urbz SimNews Update: theories confirmed & we learn more!

(These are from LilSimsie’s video; it was the first one I found with a dedicated Neighborhood & Townies section)

[Transcription: A Sims 4 family named "Urbane Housesharers" with three Sims. The description reads: "When Cannonball moved to Nordhaven, he first made his coin performing at the Rouge Note. Locals loved his music, and it wasn't long before he set his sights on buying the venue and fulfilling the old dream of running his own jazz lounge—alas, he was still a few coins short. A new opportunity came around when Cannonball met Crispin, who in his own youth had spent a little too much on post-modern art sculptures, but was now looking to save some Simoleons for his adoptive kid Ollie. Before long, they all moved in together and have been splitting the bills since. Now yes, Crispin can sometimes be too pompous, and sure, Cannonball can't afford the lounge quite just yet, but our dreamer has never really found his groove in this new city. And as a man who's never had a chance to be a father, he's grown quite fond of having Ollie in his life."]

First of all, that’s a super cute backstory. Second of all, I can’t believe they canonized Coleman’s first name as “Cannonball.” (… I mean, he introduces himself as "Cannonball" Coleman, not Cannonball Coleman!) Third of all, it’s just a roommates situation, and they’re in different life-stages. but you know what? I’ll ship it. Why the heck not?

It’s still absolutely surreal to me that they put Sims based off of the Urbz in their modern TS4. I can know it consciously… but when will it ever penetrate my soul?

I’ll still stand by that the ~new Crispin Black design~ is a downgrade from the original design. There is NOTHING to break up his pants, turtleneck, and shoes and it looks so much less interesting than his original design.

I do want to point out about Crispin's kid. The old Urbzville cityguide describes the Foundry as being "surprisingly close to the kids down at Kicktail Park," and Crispin Black specifically is the only Foundry member with any pre-set relationship with any member of Kicktail Park (a 40 with Rolanda Skye). So, Crispin is hinted to have... strong fatherly instincts. Anyways, I think this was a great development for his character. I like that!

Anyways, I did look at TheEnglishSimmer’s townie overview and caught a peek at Crispin’s personality (Coleman’s was skipped… probably on accident). Apparently, he’s a perfectionist (perfectly fine & kinda has some interesting implications on his original character), shady (new trait; huh?), and hot-headed (WHAT?).

Shady & Hot-headed just seem like strange choices for this character. Crispin’s original character… I mean, the Foundry took inspiration from Emo, right? And Crispin himself is shown to be very reserved. Gloomy would’ve fit a LOT better than hot-headed.

I’d have to learn what ‘shady’ means to have a concrete opinion on if that fits him or not. There are definitely shadier characters than Crispin across both versions of The Urbz, though. The Foundry had no crime associations, but Crispin does consider himself ‘cruel,’ and he runs a factory. So, meh?

Edit: I did find someone showing off Coleman’s traits. Outgoing, Good, Music Lover. Which are alll… completely fine.

I’m not going to comment on their skills (which I did see all of their skills) and other elements because they seem fine (+ are much more up-to-interpretation than traits are).

[Transcription: A Sims 4 family named "Loden" with five Sims. The description reads: "Since Gammelvik's founding, there's always been a Koffiebook cafe, and it's always been the Lodens behind it. When it was her turn to run the business, Nora stepped in happily, but who will step in after her? Nora's daughter, Freya, never had much interest in inheriting the cafe, much preferring her deep love for dancing. Meanwhile, the younger son, Erik, shows a lot more aptitude for crafting with clays and paints than he does business. Now, Nora's feeling pressured to not disappoint the legacy of her late father and the many Lodens before him, even despite reassurances from her mama, Hattie. Thankfully, she has her wife Dahlia there to support her—and provide an escape or two through her critically acclaimed, titillating romance novels."]

My weird comment on this is that. I just had a feeling that Hattie was, 1. going to have a daughter and 2. that daughter would be gay married. So, that’s not just AN option to do for her, but, to me, THE option to do for her. So, kudos to the Sims team for matching my brain-cell on this.

The Lodens also apparently have an unmentioned-in-this-description feud with another family (can't be asked to look up their names; they run the candy-making business). I'm curious to learn what that's about. And if I should care.

I do hope that we'll get a "Nordhaven Secrets"-kinda thing like we've gotten for a lot of previous recent worlds, and we'll get to learn more about why the characters came here and stuff.

I’m probably going to take the ‘Lodens’ as part of Sims 2 Miniopolis when I add the Sims. I was already thinking it would be awfully weird for Gramma Hattie to just be there, alone. It just doesn't make much sense for her character. If I take the Lodens as her relatives… I won’t have to make up one myself!! Yay! :) Although… I have a feeling I might change them beyond recognizability lmao. This very much seems like a family that Hattie was added onto rather than one that is ABOUT her (which, I mean, she did marry in). The overall vibe of the rest of the Lodens don't really match Hattie's nor the city of Miniopolis either.

Unlike my last post, I’m not confused about why Gramma Hattie is in this pack. I mean, I kinda still am, but the pack as a huge focus on learning from your elders and, I mean, her name is Gramma Hattie for a reason. I get it. She wasn't a bad choice for this pack.

For her traits… she has Foodie (ok), Family-Oriented (…ok), and Idealist (new trait; sure!). Foodie does make sense, given the aforementioned +4 relationship gain from talking about cooking and the fact she talks about cooking with Dandelions, which implies that she's also very experimental with her cooking. Family-Oriented makes sense. I just think that there would be more... befitting? traits to give her. And Idealist seems fine. Obviously, I can't judge a trait if I don't know what it does

I also want to point out that Hattie only has a charisma skill of three... which seems awfully low for a political activist. I'm only complaining a little.

Anyways! My conclusion: I'm glad they're here (over not being here). I am probably sticking with the original texts for most of their characterizations (even within TS4), but I'll acknowledge the character developments. I hope some TS4 players get interested in learning about these old spin-offs from their inclusion. And finally, these are probably going to make these characters' tags... harder to navigate. Given, I don't think any of these characters are going to become popular TS4 premades, but I guess I'll see!

[maryjaneszombies-blog]

25 years and my life is still..

Trying to get up that great big hill .. of hope

For a destination

[caddy-whump-us]

A Visit to Ruslan

This is woefully incomplete but tl;dr: Viktor finally goes to visit his (wilder, less formal) brother, Ruslan, during one of Ruslan's huge gatherings. Of course he bring Etienne with him.

A handful of frail-looking figures, men and women both, were gathered on high-backed couches drawn up near the fireplace and all of them wearing red ribbons tied loosely around their necks; one of the young women wore a white bandage under her red ribbon.

As Etienne crutched towards them, they turned to look at him and, as he drew closer, Nikolai rose up slowly and came to meet him.

Nikolai’s black eyes flicked down at the brace around Etienne’s leg and the crutch under his arm. He drew in closer and whispered with some fear in his voice,“Etienne, what did you do?” And then, without waiting for an answer, he hissed, “You are an absolute fool.” But he still took Etienne’s free arm and led him over to the couches.

Etienne half sat and half collapsed into a seat with his braced leg stretched out in front of him. There was laughter in the room beyond them but here it was warmer and quieter.

“This is Etienne,” Nikolai said softly. “His master is Viktor [Surname], my master’s brother.” And there were nods and demure looks among them all.

Etienne nodded to them and then silence fell among them. What was there to say? They all knew what their red ribbons signified, and that kept them separate from the gathering beyond them. Etienne cast a glance at Nikolai’s bandaged hands and Nikolai tucked them closer to him and turned away. There was loud laughter somewhere behind them. One of the young men looked out over the high back of the couch. Another young woman’s hands were trembling.

“Have you been to visit Lord Ruslan before?” the young woman asked at last–a soft voice; a sweet, rose-scented voice.

Etienne stammered a moment. “No, I–I have not.”

One young man was lounging back in his seat, swinging one foot idly. He had been eyeing Etienne’s brace for a while but now looked him full in the face. ”No wonder.”

Nikolai gave an irritated sigh and closed his eyes. “Phillip…”

Etienne, though, turned to Phillip and, smiling politely: “I do beg your pardon, but what do you mean?”

Phillip leaned forward, languid. “Yes, please excuse me. Perhaps I misspoke. I mean your leg. He was smiling now. “Lord Ruslan lives so far afield from anywhere. It’s quite a long journey. And, well, most of them like to keep us as perfect as possible.” His voice dropped low now: “Your lord and master wouldn’t hobble you like that unless you were inclined to run. And he wouldn’t risk you running on your journey here. He might never find you again.”

“And you haven’t tried to run?”

“Of course I have,” Phillip answered. “But only once. Unlike you, it seems I can learn my lesson the first time.”

“How disgraceful,” Etienne said; Phillip rolled his eyes. “You try once and then give up entirely. It’s pathetic, really.”

Phillip was lounging in his seat again. “I wonder if he thinks your leg will mend itself when he takes you.”

“He won’t–take me, I mean.”

“Are you so sure? What are you going to do–run away again?”

“Yes. As many times as I have to,” Etienne said, his voice rising. “I was taken against my will and I refuse to bend to his expectations of me.”

“Etienne, please,” Nikolai whispered, looking at him sidelong and through his eyelashes.

“Imagine a crippled vampire,” Phillip said, still staring at Etienne. “Imagine you hobbling along after your prey.”

Etienne jumped up unsteadily, balanced on his better leg. “I will never–”

“Etienne.”

The voice came from out in the room beyond the couches. Nikolai closed his eyes. The chatter in the room quieted. Etienne turned his head slowly to see Viktor in the crowd. He straightened up just as slowly; both wore faces like blank masks. Viktor held out one hand and crooked a finger to beckon Etienne over.

Etienne grabbed for his crutch and seemed fit to stab it through the floor as he made his way over. When he was within reach, Viktor caught him by the scruff of his neck and held him there, half hunched. The chatter in the room began again.

Phillip turned his attention to Nikolai. “He’s going to end up a wanderer. He’ll be half-mad and eating goats.”

“He’s a childish idiot,” the girl next to Phillip said. “To be given something so precious only to throw it back in his master’s face.”

“Please,” Nikolai said again. He was clenching his hands tighter now; he’d not been given his usual dose yet and the wanting was beginning to gnaw at him. And since he’d not been given it yet, then it would be later, which would mean that he was to be shared, which–and he realized The girl’s gray eyes were on him. He looked at her, then looked away.

She, though, tipped herself onto the couch so she was half-sitting, half-lying, and close enough to whisper with Phillip. Phillip dropped down with her and they lay there, propped on their elbows, face-to-face.

“Can you imagine,” she said, not whispering, “if Nikolai is taken and then that Etienne turns out to be his black swan?”

“Is it possible?” Phillip asked, beginning now to grin. “I’ve never heard of a black swan shared between two.”

“It must be! Only if they never meet, then they’ll never know.”

“But why our Nikolai?”

“Did you see how he was with our new friend Etienne?” And they both giggled.

“Lily–how badly do you think Nikolai wants him?” Phillip asked, his eyes sly and narrow.

“Terribly,” Lily answered, just as sly. “So many hours spent pining and weeping, perhaps even–” The girl beside Lily, with the white bandage under her ribbon, touched Lily’s shoulder gently, a warning. Lily paused for a moment. Then: “Nikolai, how badly do you want him?”

Nikolai was gazing into the coals at the bottom of the fire. “Not at all,” he said. And suddenly his hand felt emptier of the ring that should have been there.

[ker619]

Solo I didn't dislike you, BUT BECAUSE OF THAT BITCH JEY LOST HER TITLE I'M GOING TO GO CRAZY

although i'm happy that R Truth was able to get revenge, my boy looked so sad the other time ;(

[hostiae]

sometimes i think about how much i love jack krauser and it's a problem.

[betterlovers]

[babacontainsmultitudes]

hai

Hi Cookies! 👋