baby hotline

Hey Everyone, It’s Shelly! I have a few things to get of my chest and I felt like this could be a good place to do so.

As many of you know or you may not, I made a petition last month calling for The Sims™ Team to fix the issue with the darker skin-tones in the game. I am making this post just to share my overall frustration with the franchise and as a creator as a whole. 

The Sims 4™ has been out since 2014. In that time we have had many patches and updates to the base game and yet after 6 (going on 7) years we still have YET to fix the skin-tone issue that we have had from the start. It is so hard to find accurate representation in this game. Sad to say this doesn’t just happen in The Sims™. The gaming community as a whole puts black and brown characters on the back burner and when it comes to character creation they will have a plethora of options for paler characters but then they will throw in one token black hair and call it a day. If these gaming companies truly care about inclusivity then they should be taking the steps to SHOW it. It really upsets me that The Sims™, in particular prides itself of creativity and diversity but have yet to live up to their beliefs fully. 

This next part isn’t a callout or me “coming” for anyone, but I have to make this example to show you all what I mean. 

Xmiramira is a prominent figure in the gaming community, she is a wonderful black gamer who has been playing sims for years. Mira called The Sims™ out for their lack of skin-tones several years ago and even went out of her way to make more skin-tones and colors for us black and brown players called the Melanin Pack. She did this in 2016 and here we are in 2020 and the base game colors have still not improved. Recently another YouTuber (who is great in her own right) made the request to have the ability to nickname cowplants. This feature wasn’t necessarily needed but yet in the latest patch to the game we now have the ability to do so.The only reason I am mentioning this is to point out how the The Sims™ Team doesn’t prioritize the things that players are asking for. It is just really sad to see that a game that so many of us love not have the representation that we need. 

As a black creators we have to work twice as hard to get half as far. Even me as a black custom content creator, I don’t get as much recognition as my peers and to be honest, the black and p.o.c creators are some of the best in this community. This isn’t saying that our white peers aren’t great, but all I am saying is that you can see that there is a clear divide.

I hope that one day we can see a change. We shouldn’t have to rely on CC and Petitions to get the game that we deserve. If you all are looking for more skin-tones I made a list in one of my previous post. Here is a LINK for those interested.

So at the start of the year, after sifting through my diet of true crime podcasts, I noticed something: Wow there are a lot of straight white dudes in true crime podcasts! Guess who I don’t wanna hear talk about murder? Straight white dudes. This year I made the commitment to diversify my daily diet of true crime podcasts, and I’m pleased to say I have a pretty nifty little list!

This list focuses on true crime, but dips into conspiracy theory territory, and good old fashioned ghosts, too!

Disclaimer: I’m very aware that this list is still very white– a lot of the diverse voices in this list are queer! I did my best, but unsurprisingly, the podcasting industry is dominated by White Folks. But if 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that maybe Black People don’t wanna spend all of their time talking about murder, police corruption, conspiracy theories, and social justice. Wild.

Anyway, on with the show!

Women in Bradley County Jail are being kept in horrible, unsanitary, and unsafe conditions. Literally signs for help in the window.

The best way to help is to bail them out!!

Please if you have a couple of dollars to spare we are doing our best to get as many women out. Women who can’t, will get money in their commissary for sanitary products.

https://gf.me/u/ycwbzw

Update from Chloe

From Chloes Instagram

the lack of self awareness is BAFFLES me!

but no, no. fuck off. take accountability and reflect on the fucked up things you have said, and stop speaking for a group of people as if any of them want you speaking for us.

“My name is Lauren. I have made this petition on behalf of the family of Elijah (Nicky) Weatherspoon. I am affiliated with his family through Elijah’s Aunt Debbie. On the night of June 25th, 2020 Elijah, a Black/Puerto Rican 18 year old male, went boating in the Cooper River in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina with 7 of his white friends. Elijah did not come home that night. His body was found June 28th, 2020 in the Cooper River.

The events leading up to his death are unclear and are being treated as if he was

just another black man who couldn’t swim and drowned. When, in fact, he can swim. 

The people who were with him have stories that do not match up.He fell off the boat and hit his head on a rock.

He fell off the boat and his friend tried to save him and couldn’t. He jumped off the boat himself and refused to get back in and drowned. Those are just some of the circumstances his family has been told. The police will not investigate further and the local news is no longer reporting on Elijah. Please sign this petition to keep his case open and properly investigated. 

Do not let Elijah’s case gather dust and be ignored. The 7 people on the boat with him can no longer be protected and the police can no longer be silently complicit. We need to know what happened to Elijah Weatherspoon that night.We need justice for Elijah.”

Sign the petition here

Flowers for handcuffs

Pictures taken by frame_of_reference_photography in Philadelphia

Back story:

WHAT KIND OF THREAT DO YOU EVEN MANIFEST THAT SIX YEAR OLD CHILD HAS TO YOU TO EXCUSE THIS???

Highly recommend this book for those concerned about the treatment of Black girls in educational institutions.

Try searching for it on Bookshop.org and help support local bookshops instead of buying from Amazon. Even better if you can find a Black owned bookshop online and buy direct from them.

Day 5, Group (1) Date: Improvised Music Festival

Just random screenies :) Unfortunately I couldn’t get more of Penny, Aniyah and Anika interacting with Addie. They ran off! Ah well.

Cindy and Quinny have become very good friends, btw.

a black woman named zoe amira posted a video on youtube. this video is an hour long and filled with art and music from black creators. it has a ton of ads, and in result will rack up a ton of revenue. 100% of the ad revenue from the video will be dispersed between various blm organizations, including bail-out funds for protesters. it will be split between the following, dependent on necessity

brooklyn bail fund

minnesota freedom fund

atlanta action network

columbus freedom fund

louisville community bail fund

chicago bond

black visions collective

richmond community bail fund

the bail project inc

nw com bail fund

philadelphia bail fund

the korchhinski-parquet family gofundme

george floyd’s family gofundme

blacklivesmatter.com

reclaim the block

aclu

turn off your adblocker and put the video on repeat. do not skip ads. let it play on loop whether you’re listening or not. mute the tab if you need to focus elsewhere. but let. it. play.

youtube will donate to blm for you.

Hey Y’all I know that many people have shared and reblogged but I just wanted to continue to bring awareness to these topics and to keep people informed. If you wanna find ways to help the Black Lives Matter Movement here are some helpful links:

Donate to Black Lives Matter: You can find the main donation page here.

Get involved with your local BLM chapter: The full list is here.

Or start your own: More info here.

Donate to a bail fund: Some Twitter users are crowdsourcing lists of local organizations that help bail out protesters who get arrested. Thread here.

Or another bail fund: This crowdsourced Google Doc of bail funds keeps getting bigger.

Support the National Police Accountability Project: This group, a project of the National Lawyers Guild, helps people find legal counsel. More info here.

Support Campaign Zero, a police reform group that has been working on policy solutions “informed by data and human rights principles.” More info here.

Sign a petition: Civil rights group Color of Change launched a petition asking that all the officers involved in Floyd’s death are brought to justice. Find it here.

Or another petition: The “Justice for George Floyd” petition on Change.org already has 8.5 million supporters. That sends a big message. Find it here.

Also, Happy Pride Month! To All of my LGBTQIA+ friends and followers, I hope you have a wonderful month. I know things are difficult right now but I have faith that things will get better. Specifically to my black queer followers please know that you are loved and appreciated.

If you would like to help support your local LGBTQ youth here is what you can do to help out, here are some resources that can help:

Genders & Sexualities Alliance Network

GSA clubs are student-run organizations that unite LGBTQIA+ and allied youth to build community and organize around issues impacting them in their schools and communities.

HealthyChildren.org: Health Concerns for Gay and Lesbian teens

Information for LGBT teens on sexual activity, substance use, mental health, discrimination, and violence.

It Gets Better Project

The It Gets Better Project inspires people across the globe to share their stories and remind the next generation of LGBTQIA+ youth that hope is out there, and it will get better.

Q Card Project

The Q Card is a simple and easy-to-use communication tool designed to empower LGBTQ youth to become actively engaged in their health, and to support the people who provide their care.

Q Chat Space

Day 4: The Ceremony 

Let’s begin!

Day 3, Speed Dates: Ryland

Addie and Ryland headed to a local dance club (infamously known for its Jenga Tuesday tournaments). It started awkward. Yeah. Ryland wasn’t sure how to proceed after their sand dragon incident, then the bartender flirted with him (Neither of them was a fan of it), and Addie was still railing from her date with Rowan.

Things started looking up when they danced, I mean look at Ryland’s grin, he’s so cute ;___; anyway. She also challenged him to a jenga game. She lost, again. Always losing board games, why does she even bother anymore? Rylan was a extremely tired after everything so I called their date off. They had a really nice time overall, resulting with Ryland feeling way more comfortable around her.

@rosecalcite

hi um, so that trailer was something and it not only sparked discussion but also my interest in the Sims 4 again, to a certain degree. yesterday night, i came up with a few loose concepts that could utilize some of the actually decent ideas from the new expansion pack, as EA wants to call it and make it something more enjoyable.

the aspects that personally sort of appealed to me were the community-related features such as voting and improving the neighborhood your sims live in. the execution though seems very linear, forced and it doesn’t appear that it allows for much creative freedom, which i feel like has been lacking with a lot of the recent packs like StrangerVille or even the festivals from City Living for example.

simmers love Animal Crossing, so why not get inspired and ride the hype wave while you can, EA. my idea is a global neighborhood and town-related pack which is all about event management, public spaces, neighborhood relationships, reworked community lots and challenges surrounding those.

join your local assembly and create fun events within your neighborhood! public spaces, such as the one you can see in the image above are now new lot types. each neighborhood has at least one public space like that and it’s regulated via a bulletin board that allows your sim to access the respective buy mode. setting up a public space is much more limited than building on an actual lot. abilities such as terraforming and building walls are gonna be left out. i’ve seen people expand lots via file editing, mods that allow objects to be freely placed off-lot, i’m positive that this might be possible.

chess tournament? nudist hangout? farmers market? propose event ideas to your neighborhood bulletin board and let your neighbors vote on it. geek sims might enjoy a movie hangout, foodie sims might prefer a barbecue. convince your neighbors of your idea and take their wishes into consideration. no time to take care of your herb garden? create a public garden and let your nearby residents help you out. Summer Holiday wants an outdoors yoga session? split the event costs amongst your neighbors and use the Seasons calendar feature to make it an annual tradition. create memorable experiences and earn rewards.

of course districts and cities will now face new challenges that they have to be prepared for. burglars, rats, roaches, ghost possessions, gnome invasions, power outages, etc. this is where assemblies and higher-ups have to decide to install measures to prevent those issues. recycling bins, solar panels, as well as your new, friendly neighborhood burglar-protection robot will aid you in that approach.

the scope will obviously go beyond having tea time with the sims next door. climb the rank and become your town’s mayor and go above and beyond with local changes. turn Oasis Springs into a dystopian desert or StrangerVille into an eco-friendly town. host charity events and collect donations for causes such as “Free the Cowplants”, “Alien Visibility” or “Snow in Oasis Springs” to reshape your world’s identity. organize protests to make a change, hold opening ceremonies for new venues and ask your citizens to help with public works projects, such as installing the wishing well from Romantic Garden at your local park.