To Say The Last Few Weeks Of Culinary School Under The Tutilage Of Robert "Bob" Pancakes Has Been Stressful

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Transcript below the cut:

Ezra: Thanks for coming over. I know I’m probably the last person you wanted to see. Atlas: Not the last. Definitely the bottom of the list, but not last. Ezra: [awkward laugh] Atlas: …

Ezra: Um, so, how are you and your sister? Atlas: Are you kidding me? Ezra: What? Atlas: Can we cut the bullshit? We are not old friends catching up. Just tell me why you’re here.

Ezra: I moved to the Bay a few years ago. I swear, I had no idea you were out here, let alone that I was dating your sister-in-law. Atlas: I don’t understand. You left? Turned your back on all of it? Ezra: Yes. The town, the church, everything. Same as you. Atlas: Why? What changed your mind?

Ezra: I wouldn’t even know where to begin. But Henry was a big part of why I started questioning things, and then— Atlas: Henry? Ezra: [nods] He had a really hard time after you left. I realize now that talking him into staying was the worst thing I could’ve done. He was so unhappy. Atlas: Was? Is he…?

Ezra: No. No no no, sorry, he’s okay. He’s good now. Atlas: [sigh of relief] Ezra: About a year before I left, after a particularly awful night, I gave him what I could of my savings and helped him leave.

Atlas: So, how do you know he’s good now? Ezra: [pointing] Behind you.

Ezra: He traveled all over and sent me postcards along the way. Atlas: … Ezra: He found you, in San Myshuno. Atlas: Really? He never contacted me. Ezra: He said he saw you with someone, and that you looked happy. He didn’t want to disrupt your life, so he stayed away.

Ezra: Eventually, he settled down in Henford of all places. He has a small cottage where he raises chickens. Prize-winning eggs apparently. Atlas: [chuckles] That’s perfect. He always dreamed of a quiet life in the country. Sprawling green hills and blue skies and a bunch of smelly animals. For a while, he was obsessed with the idea of raising llamas.

Ezra: Really? He never told me that. Atlas: Not surprising. You always had a way of shitting on his dreams, tearing them down. Ezra: [incredulous] I did not. Atlas: Oh please, you did so. He thought the world of you, and you used him.

Ezra: I— Atlas: You are a self-righteous asshole who told yourself that you were looking out for him, “guiding him”, but the truth is, you made him feel small. In fact, I think you liked that he was gay because it made you feel superior. And now, what, you want a goddamn medal for getting him out of there when you were the reason he was stuck there in the first place?! You never cared about him. You just needed to ease your own conscience because you could no longer deny the damage you caused.

Ezra: You have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m the one that’s been by his side all these years. You’re the one who left! Atlas: I had no choice! And I tried to take him with me. But you stopped him. You made him feel like there was something wrong with him. You didn’t stay by his side because you cared about him. You kept him around to feed your fucking ego.

Atlas: How bad did things have to get, huh? How bad before you realized you couldn’t “fix” him? Before you realized you’re the one who fucking broke him?!

Ezra: Get out of my house. Atlas: Gladly.

Atlas: Stay the fuck away from me and my family. That includes Iris and Spencer.

band room 🌟

Bollhusgränd* - a family home in the Old Town, Nordhaven *taken directly from the street names in Gamla Stan, Stockholm

The sound of kids playing and fishermen laughter by day, the sound of trains and dinner chatter by night; the sound of car doors closing and distant conversations; dogs barking; a worn out basketball hitting pavement; disgruntled construction workers swearing…

…in Stillwater, Foundry Cove.

I’m still working on adding some life to the neighborhood part of the North Hollow save. Some features have definitely changed since the last WIP. The trees, for one. (I’ve been super picky about trees). I also decided to embrace the small town vibe, and have since then combined my inspirations (a dash of northeast, a sprinkle of PNW, and anything that inspired my Pinterest board lol.) I’ve been practicing my building too. (I’m not a builder at heart. Oh and ignore the roofs. I hate roofing omg.)

I wish I could show you more of yourself. I wish I could make you somebody else. But I left it way too late. Are you stuck in your own ways?

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Death Type: Ocean Drowning

💼 Supervising Entity: Netherworld Department of Death

💧 Subdepartment: Oops & Accidents Agency » Because some Sims just have the worst luck «

💀 Reaper: Sirayne

⤷ Role: Mishap Master ⤷ Alignment: Benevolent ⤷ Territory: Sulani

⏳ Decedent: Oliana Ngata

☠️ Death Trigger: 「 🎬 」 Swim in the Ocean until your energy need hits zero to drown ➥ Pack required: Island Living 👻 Ghost Quirks: ✦ Leaves puddles of water on the ground ✦ Gets scared when submerged in water

Death by Ocean Drowning ➥ [ x ] ❯❯❯ Island Living & Lot51's Core Library required! ⊱ Unique ghost with its own CAS-selectable trait & custom VFX!

More Death Types  [ x ]

💀 Sirayne » She plays the brat so well, you almost miss the blade behind the smile. Almost. « — Mr. Mortis ✦ Genetics ⊱ Hair+ Bang + Strand • 💀 1 + 2 ✦ Mermaid ⊱ Top • Tail • 👁️ • Fins 1 + 2 • Gills • Scales 1 + 2 • Stripes • 🦷 ✦ Accessories ⊱ Net • Glowing Hands • Tears • Lips

⏳ Oliana ⊱ Hair • Top • Shorts • Bandages ✦ Paka'a ⊱ Hair • Top • Tail* • Scales 1 + 2 + 3 • Ears ✦ Nalani ⊱ Hair • Flower • Jewelry 1 Earrings* + 2 + 3 • Top • Tail*

* Island Living

C R E A T O R S

Ocean Drowning Mod: @baniduhaine 

Sirayne @simandy @strangegrapefruit @jarisimcc @taty86 @pyxiidis @ssspringroll @remussirion @katrina-y @dissiasims

Oliana @sims4satan @simswithdisability @serenity-cc

Paka'a @148dazed @lady-moriel @tekri @badsithnocookie @dissiasims

Nalani @oakiyo @aladdin-the-simmer @pyxalicious @cazhan @kumikya

And so it begins... 🏡📦

the broke family.

𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬   |   EPISODE NO. 2 "Carry Our Dead"

❧  𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟐 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬  /  𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯  /  𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭.

this is the depressing one, being the funeral and all … things get much more fun and sexy hereafter, if i may say so myself (after grandma reminds leonor to wash her ratty hair, that is). anyway, i had the notion that this first act was a grief diary for me, which is so weird as a self-proclaimed Person Who Hates Writing What I Know. however, the intensity of that as a creative process seriously helped me connect with the whole worldbuilding premise of this episode: in uspana, funerals are public, disruptive, and unvarnished, with the expectation that you forcefully expel the grief in a ritualized process that cleanses or exorcises in some vital way. leonor’s issue, of course, is that she believes she has failed step one … anyway, as before: if you're new, go catch up !

𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭 ↓

02.01 - a news broadcast recaps safya’s life : This post was the hardest to narrow down yet! There wasn’t fierce competition; I feel somewhat “meh” about it all now, which is wild since it was quite the heavy lift. Lots of different characters, settings, eras ... Runner-up is the first shot of Beatriz addressing the media about the funeral soon to begin. After the glut of color and activity preceding it, the simplicity of her plain white dress and shaved head against the gilded palace doors is even more stark. But, I like this one better. Maybe because it does look like we’re in this everyday classroom with Safya. Maybe because, again, we’re seeing her without her face, this time knowing it’s likely the last live clip of her most Uspanians would see. And these kids? What a memory!

02.02 - the family leads a procession : The procession remains a scene I’m proud of. It took so much learning! It’s hard to find good ~indigenous~ content—damn near impossible beyond American Girl fans and Manifest Destiny roleplaying. And anything more southern than the U.S. border? Forget about it! The yellow is marigold, a nod to the inspiration I’ve taken from Indigenous Mexico, blending Nahua, Maya, sometimes Huichol elements, or at least my best reading of contemporary art and so-called “pre-Columbian” records. I’ve always aimed to upend royal simblr’s pillars and called my story an “anticolonial fantasy,” and this was, to me, as far as you can get from the iconic Diana funeral replica. This one shot is a redo of a tester. You can tell in the post that it’s meant to be from Mateo’s vantage. Altho a teenager, he’s culturally an adult, but I imagine he didn’t feel it until he was asked to join his uncles and grandfathers in carrying his mother.

02.03 - beatriz gives leonor a warning : Rereading this scene for this ... Damn! It’s brutal. So, while I think this is a lovely and angelic close-up of Beatriz, I also feel like it conveys something deeper. Leonor catches her midway through her own preparations for this final ceremony with Safya’s body, desiring some kind of consolation or commiseration. The fact that she even attempts this interaction is naked, pitiful desperation. So, this? It’s Beatriz preparing herself. She is cruel, but it’s not without self-awareness. How must it feel, knowing she has to injure her dead daughter’s daughter, on this day, just moments before this ceremony? She suggested to the reporters that she was “empty,” but perhaps this pause suggests otherwise.

02.04 - the ceremonies take place : I never make passable statues but thought, “You know, with this wood texture, it’s fine!” Putting this all together, I noticed I adore profiles, and I noticed just now that this one mirrors the prologue image that I tagged as a favorite. No eyes, a contemplative expression ... I wrote this scene with raw memories of holding my grandmother’s hand while she died, feeling haunted by extra moments I lost when they took her body away too quickly but also intrigued by the feeling itself. I was always going to use an effigy, but the prose elevated it. There’s visual worldbuilding here around death and dying. Effigy Safya presides over a farewell for the flesh; whatever the effigy is imbued with, it burns with it. It must be something they don’t want or are unable to keep and tend alongside the bones, whose eventual unearthing signals becoming an ancestor.

02.05 - arnaut and blanca argue : Truth be told, this scene exists only because I love Arnaut and Blanca each and wanted to give her more screen time. It’s also a scene I redid! Notice a pattern there, lmao? Anyway, I like this shot for the angle. It’s a bit skewed but shows off the location. I think their orientation—him looking away, at a loss for words, while she mocks him—is fitting for bickering siblings, too.

02.06 - rodrigo explains to mateo and leonor : Don’t you love when you shoehorn a filler shot into a post and it turns out great? What I needed was space for dialogue that was, to abuse the phrase again, “visually interesting.” I chose this one the usual way: based on a vague gut feeling of whether it looked “right” or not. What I like is the sidelong angle as well as how the light hits. I’m not sure what the symbolism is, if there is any. It’s supposed to be a “shedding light” moment given Mateo’s questions? Rodrigo’s “illuminating” that dark night? I wanna say “Sometimes a picture is just pretty!” but that’s not my style as a certified nerd who Interprets™ for a living. It’s probably not wholly true either.

02.07 - beatriz prepares to move forward : I forgot about this scene! A treat to rediscover. True fans recognize Rowena and recall this troubled mother-daughter relationship. This scene is a reunion of Birdy and her parents, who appear elderly and in white. It’s a direct callback to two things: 1) the glimpse in the main story of Alfonso and Rowena on that bench prior to their wedding, and 2) the Father’s Day special where Alfonso, in poor health, consoles Beatriz on her wedding day and makes explicit what that glimpse showed, saying, “For me, this spot is where you came into being. This is the place where I first loved you.” Here, only Ro is visible while Beatriz departs (or approaches?) on a parallel track of sorts. I love that my story is, at least to me, so loud with intergenerational echoes. I said it best when I originally posted this scene:

idk idk idk i just love this setting !!!!! it's THE spot of circularity in This Story Where Time Is A Circle™ …

02.08 - the family departs to begin mourning : The finale! Leonor and Arnaut are central, showing that she intends to isolate herself by rebuffing, not only Arturo, but also her uncle’s attempt to fulfill undying obligations to his sister. However! I have a soft spot for the olds, and this shot is so ... evocative, to me, generally and of their dynamic. We surmise from the earlier scene that Beatriz is allowing Sal to be close while Matias is on the periphery. I won’t detour into that other than to say what I see here is Matias wandering in his own mind. He’s lost his daughter and firstborn, too, and arguably the child who favored him most in personality and temperament. He doesn’t begrudge Sal and Beatriz their relationship at this moment; he’s too selfless for that. He knows Beatriz won’t permit him to comfort her this way—not for lack of love but, maybe, because that’s how she loves. Sal and Bea know that he won’t rest and care for himself until he’s exhausted and alone. What I learned is how abruptly quiet and still life becomes when the business of death is done and its distractions end.

functional pacifier 2.0

download on patreon (early access) (public release - 02/11/25)

here i’m sharing the new features of the mod. for the main information, check out this post: https://www.patreon.com/posts/functional-108383322 requires the xml injector

new features in new version:

three new pacifiers are now available in three different colors. you can check out all new pacifiers in the video thumbnail of this post.

all pacifiers work for both infants and toddlers. i used the texture slot for glasses, so unfortunately, it’s not possible to use glasses and a pacifier at the same time. however, you can now wear the pacifier together with onesies, which wasn’t possible in the first version.

pacifiers will automatically disappear during meals and baths. 

adult sims can now give pacifiers to children. after this interaction, the child will immediately start wearing the pacifier. for this, i used the in-game "check infant/toddler" animation, so there’s no custom animation. please note that the "give pacifier" action won’t show up if the sim is carrying the baby.

you can get pacifiers by purchasing them through the computer.

you can remove the pacifier by clicking either on the pacifier itself or directly on the sim.

please let me know if you encounter any issues. your feedback is incredibly valuable for improving and fine-tuning mods ❤️