Dec 23, 2018

Winter Blues

Greetings! It has, once again, been quite some time since I posted here, or at least since I posted a formal rambling about my life circumstances. As you may know I have been quite busy competing in Fashion Plate Cycle 1 over the last three-and-a-half months. The competition is now over and we are awaiting the results from the final round. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting back into modelling and look forward to whichever comp I enter next, though that may not be until after my school year is over since the comp demanded much more time than I expected it to.

Yes, this September I resumed my degree. My university was mostly back running again after the longest strike on record, aside from the fact that some poor fucks were still doing exams for their winter term classes in September. I had four classes this term, but they are not the ones I listed before. Oh no, they had to fucking cancel Intermediate Metal Fabrication, the one studio course I'd been looking forward to for months. Imagine my absolute glee at finding that email in my inbox the day before camp counsellor training week was supposed to start!!!!!!! My courses got jigged around a bit so this past term I had Figurative Sculpture, Comics and Social Justice, Health Psychology and Developmental Psychology. I enjoyed Comics and Social Justice a lot, and my two psychology classes were pretty interesting! Holy shit, babies, man. There is so fucking much happening in that tiny little head, and so quickly.

My Figurative Sculpture course was a bit of a dud, which really fucking sucks because that's the last sculpture course I'll be taking for my degree. I learned some interesting techniques for body casting and I really love one of my pieces, but the other one...... :/ I had an idea I was interested in but I had to change it a week before the due date because a lupus flare made my hands too sore and swollen to work with the material I chose (chicken wire fencing, very sturdy). I was able to use a piece of the previous project in the next one, but I didn't connect with the concept as much and it just felt like a huge waste of time and money. The circumstances as well as the subject matter I chose for it make it so that I can't even think about the project without getting anxious, so I know I'll never use it again.

The project was about how people grow apart. The inspiring subject was, of-fucking-course, none other than Rose and I's ended relationship and growth as people. The prompt for this was that a couple weeks before I had to change my idea, Rose and I met up for coffee to get some closure on the rather abrupt ending of our relationship in May. We had not spoken to each other since.

The conversation went as I should have expected it to, the same as they always do. Part of why we stayed together so long after shit started hitting the fan was because on a surface level, we still got along wonderfully, able to converse for hours without stop on a variety of subjects, laughing and joking all the way. After a brief discussion of the fallout in both of our lives after the break up (and many apologies from me for the shitty way I ended things), we got onto catching up about life and discussing our interests same as always. After a couple hours though, things turned sour.

Dec 16, 2018

Fashion Plate: Final

It's been a long run and a good time but Fashion Plate is finished!! Here is my final assignment. The theme was "colour pop" (basically we needed to use this specific editing style, with a black and white back and a focal pop of colour).


This is my first time cutting my sim onto a photograph and I'm super excited and happy with how it turned out!!

CC CREDITS

Sim: hair, blush, lipstick, nails, skirt, pose

Defaults: eye shadow, skin, face

Background: Pexels

Dec 1, 2018

Fashion Plate: Semi-Final

Fashion Plate is almost done!! The semi-final challenge was to use two models.


I'm so happy I got to use these outfits!! I've wanted to do something with this lolita CC ever since I found out it existed. These two are twinning, which is when two or more people wear the same print and coordinate their outfits together.

CC CREDITS



Defaults: eyes, face, skin, hat slider

Nov 19, 2018

Fashion Plate: Assignment 7

Assignment 7 was Glam Rock Editorial so I decided to do something in the vein of Bowie, with sequins, bold makeup, and androgyny!


CC CREDITS

Sim: hair, highlight, lip gloss, earrings, suit, patternpose

Defaults: eyes, skin, face, eye shadow

Nov 6, 2018

Fashion Plate: Assignment 6

Assignment 6 was rockabilly fashion. I had fun with this one, playing with rockabilly's bold colours!!

CC CREDITS

Sim: hair, eye shadow, blush, lipstick, outfit, top patterntattoo sets, shoes, pose

Background: car

Defaults: eyes, face, skin

Oct 29, 2018

Fashion Plate: Assignment 5

Assignment 5 was high fashion makeup.


I did a lot of experimental editing with this one, but that seems to be the trend with all these because I am pretty new to editing. That hair was originally super pointy and it took me forever to fix it using some ungodly combination of the liquidizer and the clone stamp tool but I did it!!

CC CREDITS

Sim: hair, earrings, eye shadow, lashes, face paint, blush, lipstick, pose

Setting: wallpaper

Defaults: eyes, face, skin

Oct 20, 2018

Fashion Plate: Assignment 4

Goth fashion, right up my alley!!


I took heavy inspiration from trad goth and goth music for this look!! I kinda wish the lighting was better but otherwise I think this turned out pretty cool :)

CC CREDITS

Sim: hair, eye shadow, lipstick, plugs + ear slider, choker, t-shirt, fishnet shirt, bracelet, ring, tights, shoes, pose

Setting: Bridgeport

Defaults: eyes (unicolour), face (Silk), skin

Sep 22, 2018

Fashion Plate: Assignment 2

The second assignment was Sexy Fashion and here's my entry!


I worked really hard in Photoshop to get this one up to snuff. I used the liquify tool for the first time to fix some jagged edges and get the shirt straps working properly. I used the smudge tool to soften the edges and the dodge tool to add highlights. Then I used a brightening filter layer to up the lighting since the original photo was a little dark.

All in all I'm pretty proud of my work!! This is my very first time doing any photoshopping of quite this scale and intensity and I think it came out pretty well! There are a couple spots where I think I was a little heavy on the dodge tool but I think it's still pretty dang good for my first time doing highlights like that.

CC LIST
hair, eye liner, lipstick, earrings, necklace, shirt, shorts, socks, shoes, pose

Setting: Anne Arbor

Defaults: face, body, eyes, eye shadows

Sep 16, 2018

Adventures in CC Hunting

The new Fashion Plate assignment was posted on Saturday so I started hunting down the right clothing and came across some interesting glitches, to say the least.


That's a shame! Those were originally very cute dresses too. Oh well.

Sep 5, 2018

Fashion Plate: Mock Assignment

The mock assignment for Fashion Plate is sporty casual and here is my submission!!



Default Replacements: eyes, face, skin

Sep 3, 2018

Fashion Plate: Model Application

I finally hopped back into the modeling comp scene and I am so pumped!!!! I joined a comp on the official forums called Fashion Plate, which is basically going to cover a new style ever round. Here is my model application picture with my lovely model Rosaline Serrano!


The mock is due Sept. 8 so I'll be working on that over the next few days and have it up here soon!

Sep 1, 2018

Home From Camp: A Series of Revelations

I am back home from summer camp, and oh what an experience it was! This year was another fabulous one, albeit with a few bumps in the road, but that is to be expected. To start, I ended up flying out earlier than August 1st. I flew up on July 26th because their second summer intern had to leave early due to mental health concerns. They called me up the evening of the 24th asking if I was able to come early and take over his duties before and after camp, to which I said fuck yes!!!!! I felt awful and couldn't wait to get the fuck out of my house and kick it into high gear for camp. I had essentially been vegetating in my room for two months and I could feel myself slipping further and further into my weird little depressive hole. I may go into more detail about the events of camp itself another time, but this post is less about the events of camp and more about how it gave me time to reflect that I couldn't get at home.

Being ripped out of my home environment and shitty routine was just what I needed to smash the reset button on my whole frame of mind. Transferring to the camp environment - where my thoughts and opinions and presence were valued, and there was always someone around to chat with or something to do - did wonders to scrub the fuzz out of my head (I still deal with brain fog of course but that's from the lupus and it'll always be around). It also gave me time to reflect on a few pieces of my life from a distance, and I had some realizations that have shifted my frame of mind and will hopefully give me some clarity in processing past events as well as my present and future.

1. I was much more upset about the break up than I thought I was.
That whole weird depressive episode? Set off by the break up. That's kind of it. I'm a little surprised I didn't realize it before, but I guess that's because some of that depressive energy was kind of already hanging around my head (for a number of reasons, including but not limited to the strike, my unemployed-ness, and my general lack of friends/regular conversation) and the break up just made it worse (a LOT worse). After that happened, I was simultaneously trying to hold myself above my feelings and intensely wallowing in them. It was a really weird limbo. I'm pretty sure I'm out of that now, though, with much thanks again to not only being completely removed from my home but also surrounded by people who care to give a listening ear. After talking it over with some of my wonderful friends/coworkers, I think I've processed the whole ordeal a lot better now and I can think through the events with a great deal more clarity.

2. The reason I am always so antsy and uncomfortable talking with new people and settling into new environments is because I am wary that I won't be respected as a non-binary person (or worse, that I would be risking my own safety by coming out).
I am a far more confidant person at camp than at home. I hold myself higher, I'm surer in my decisions, and most of all, I'm so much more comfortable talking and interacting with people. I have always been a shy person, yes, but it shows itself differently at camp, in a more approachable way, not skittish and anxious so much as reserved and thoughtful. I was thinking about this and it frustrated me to no end that I had so much trouble bringing this confidence home. I know that I am capable of all these amazing things at camp, why can't I bring that home with me?

I realized the crucial difference is that at camp, I don't have to worry that I won't be respected as a non-binary person. I don't have to be on high alert looking out for signs that maybe I shouldn't mention it to this person, or feeling like it's not worth the fight to ask for such basic respect as using my pronouns. That respect is a given at camp; as it should be in all places, but that is definitely not the case.

I hadn't realized until now how much brain space all that worrying takes up. I'm hoping that now that I know what it is, this elephant in the room holding me back, I can make a more pointed effort to quell those anxieties and put my best face forward in all situations.

3. I might be ready to move out of my parents' house.
Another thought that I'd been ruminating on was the things I would miss about the camp environment after I went home versus the things I missed about my home environment while I was at camp, and how to bring more of those camp things home with me. The biggest thing I would miss about camp was always the independence. At camp, I have a particular freedom I'm having trouble describing. I'm in the center of a community, always interacting with friends, in charge of my own laundry and cleaning my own space and controlling my own schedule. I guess when I'm home I feel like I always have to double-check things with my parents. It's nice being away from that and only answering to myself. I also wish I could be in that community physically all the time. I love where I live, but it can be isolating, especially since the majority of my friends moved far away after high school. Getting into a physical space with people takes a lot of effort, and at camp it's so effortless because we're all so close and easy to access.

The more I thought about it the more I realized that a lot of the things I would miss are things I could achieve if I moved out. Then I had the startling realization that I am finally at a point where moving out doesn't seem like a big scary monster any more! It was always something far over the horizon before, something I knew I was going to do and wanted to do someday, but not someday soon. I think I'm finally starting to feel confident enough and sure enough of myself that I'm ready for that challenge. I'm feeling more and more like I don't want to settle for my current circumstances. I'm not even terrified of moving away for school any more! Most of the viable grad school options for art therapy certification would involve me moving out of province, and that fucking terrified me before, but now it sounds kinda cool and exciting.

I know that because of money things and health things, I still won't be moving out any time soon. At the very earliest, I'll move out after I graduate from undergrad, which should be in spring 2020 if all goes according to plan. I'm glad I'm feeling good about it now though, since this year I need to be putting in the research for where I'll apply next September. I definitely would not put much effort into out of province schools if I was still scared shitless of actually going to one of them lol

That's where I stand at the moment. Camp this year has armed me with a shitload of personal growth and food for though to take into the next year! I start classes next week on the 6th. Here's hoping I can take this knowledge into practice.

Jul 10, 2018

Lovely Lucy + Life Load

I played for only an hour today, so I didn't make a lot of progress, but what progress was made mostly surrounded Lucy, so here are some photos!

Lucy signed up for scouting after school, so here she is going to her badge ceremony.

Aging up! Forgot to buy a cake again, whoops.

Both parents wandered upstairs pretty slowly.

Tada!! There she is. I didn't feel very inspired for outfit creation tonight so I'm leaving that for next time. I also want to download some more teen clothing before I dive in, because that selection is sorely lacking. Updating the elder clothing needs to happen soon too, because Caitlin and Suzy are both half way there, and like hell are they not going to have some very snazzy duds in their old age!

I haven't been playing as much because my real world responsibilities have been stacking up a little higher than usual. The strike is partially up (contract profs have ratified but not TAs or GAs) so I need to finish my art history course, and now that camp is approaching I need to get a move on with the arts programming. I've got a lot of solid ideas, I just need to flesh them out with a proper lesson plan and supply list for each, and a little more brainstorming couldn't hurt. I also have a few medical appointments to make before I disappear for a month, so I've got to make those calls and actually go to those. I need to remake my packing list since I lost my old one with the rest of my shit in February (it was a damn good thorough packing list too) and of course getting closer to the date I've got to pack my shit and probably buy a few things that are missing. Somewhere in there I need to hop on a bus and get a vulnerable sector check, or I won't be able to set foot on the camp site.

Then there's a few personal projects I'd like to get out of the way before I go, like beating Sans in Undertale for my streaming, polishing off at least one of two incomplete paintings (one of which was supposed to be a Christmas gift for my parents whoops), and finishing a Homestuck cosplay that's been sitting half-finished on the family room couch downstairs for about a month and a half. My high school squad would like to plan a get-together in July as well, so that needs to squeeze in there too. I am also going to a lolita meet-up this Sunday, and I have DND tomorrow and two weeks from tomorrow.

I fly out on August 1st. There is a lot that needs to be crammed into the next 23 days. Wish me luck.

Jun 30, 2018

R.I.P. BookyGirl13 Branding (kind of)

Fuck it, I joined the new official forums.

I'm so fuck glad I got to pick a new username. On one hand I had resigned myself to leaning into the old brand, but on the other hand... I made that username when I was 13. I am not 13 any more, I do not ready as many books (unfortunately), and most importantly, I am not a girl. Strictly speaking, I am genderqueer. I started using that term specifically about three or four years ago but I just never did the formal coming out thing on here before? Eh, here it is I guess. It's been on my Tumblr for as long, so if you follow me over there this is very old news.

My new username is gardenGothic. I'll still be going by Booky as a nickname because I've grown attached to it and it's still something special for me. I have yet to post anything because I need to read about how that fucking point system works before I get started but you may start seeing my face around there soon ;)

R.I.P. BookyGirl[age] formula, you will not be missed but may be fondly regarded as a bygone era.

Renovations: Complete (barely)

The renovations are complete! They will be detailed below. I'm getting much more back into the swing of things now, with all the shortcuts and little cheats coming back to be. I'm getting comfortable enough with the camera that I'm tempted to look for some modelling competitions! I know there are still some running for Sims 3, I've seen them around. I can't get too deep into anything right now because I won't be around for the month of August, but I might start hanging around those corners of the internet again :)


Before I could start into the renos, Caitlin needed to finish their sculpture so I could move the sculpting station into the family inventory, so while she did that, Lucy made a small painting, as one of her first wishes as a child was to learn how to paint.

Renovations!! Here is my remodel of the first floor. I added some new furniture, but not a lot. Pretty empty but I didn't want to overspend on furniture since I tend to go wild with frilly details. The puddle there is because the sink broke right before I started renovating and I just said fuck it and renovated around it. The biggest changes are of course the new wall placement with the bigger kitchen and bathroom, each with new floor and wall patterns because fuck the teeny-tiled monstrosities they were before. I also changed the carpet colour to blue and made the couch pink, bringing some new colours into the general scheme of the house.

Here is the second floor, complete with three bedrooms, a bathroom, and an activity room! Still very very bare bones, but again, I was being cautious with myself on the details. The bathroom I just decided to keep the same on both floors for simplicity, but I do intend to make them nicer and different from each other with further changes. The bedrooms are noticeably very empty, but I will add move furniture and decorations as more funds are built to buy nice things from the get-go instead of wasting money on cheap crap because it's cheap. The foosball table near the stairs was a wedding gift, as are the two pieces of wall art downstairs.

All in all I think I did okay? This was certainly a much more ambitious project than I've ever take on in live mode with an actual household and limited budget, as opposed to building a random lot for the fun of it. I tend to only modify premade houses in terms of furniture placement and decor. Building is not my strong suit. It was a good experience to toy around with the structure of the place as well as the decorating in creating their new home!

Living Room

Dining Room (high chair seat pattern)

Dining Room (other angle)

Kitchen (wall tile)

This room could probably use the most work out of all of them. I didn't CASt the counters or appliances because I was kinda tired of CASt-ing things by this point but they're pretty clashy and definitely need to be changed :/ Maybe next time I play.

Downstairs Bathroom

Second Floor Landing

Activity Room

Lucy's Room (border pattern)

Upstairs bathroom


 Master Bedroom

There's not a heck of a lot to say about most of the upcoming photos. I just took a lot of family moments type pics that I thought were cute and there they are!!




Plates!! I downloaded default replacement plates to spice things up.





Rita's birthday!! She looks just like Caitlin, whereas Lucy looks just like Suzy.

I won't do a run down of her outfits because I wasn't in the mood to CASt something special so Rita just got Lucy's hand-me-downs lol

Her becoming a toddler obviously means the traditional skills montage.




Other than preparing Rita to face the world, the household was pretty calm.


This is a default replacement to make the bottle and formula white instead of green, because if milk is green it is very bad.


And that's all I got for today! The house still looks a bit empty, I know, but they're in super-saving mode right now, aiming to save up for really nice things to replace all the junk and fill all that empty space. I already busted 3600 Simoleons for them to replace both ever-breaking toilets with top of the line models lol, so they're basically back to no cash after that plus purchasing the activity table to satisfy Lucy's wish. They won't have any more kids 'cause I don't think I could possibly make any more space for them, as much as I love playing with large households. Third floor? Basement? Maybe one day, but right now all I'm seeing is dollar signs. More family pictures tomorrow!

Jun 28, 2018

One More Wee One

Good evening/morning! It is ass o'clock in the morning and I should have gone to bed hours ago but here we are. The update for today is small because I spent half of the damn time fussing and fiddling with renovation plans in a separate game file so as not to accidentally fuck up my main file. There are no pictures of the renovations yet and I will explain more about where all that's going later on. For now, there is a new addition to the household to address.

 Caitlin is pregnant again! Their sleep was interrupted to get that baby bump.

While they were sculpting with stone, they got a notification that hot damn, the stone crumbled around some precious ore! I've never had that happen before. I'm kinda pissed though, because that fucking stone cost 500 Simoleons and the ore only sold for 137 :/ (And yes I do now realize I could have sent it to get smelted, but they need that money now, there's no waiting a few days for the mail when Lucy's almost a child and they need reno money fast.)

Later down the line, there was the colliding of two events in a hilarious fashion: Lucy aging up and Caitlin going into labour. As Caitlin stood by their bed puffing and moaning, Suzy calmly removed Lucy from her crib, and would have gone off to watch TV if I hadn't stopped her lol




Again with the glitchy hair. I sent Lucy off to fix that while Caitlin and Suzy headed for the hospital.

I just realized, I never mentioned Lucy's traits! She was born with virtuoso and clumsy, and gained dog lover on aging into a child.

Here are her outfits!

Everyday: shirt, shorts, glasses, earrings

Formal: shoes, glasses, earrings

Sleepwear: n/a

Athletic: shirt + pattern, glasses

Swimwear: swimsuit + pattern

I will admit, it is not my best work. It is really not my best work! In my defence, it was just turning to ass o'clock when I was making these outfits, and my brain was mush (as it continues to be while writing this post). I tried to fit the whole dog lover animal thing into her style and make her breezy, light, kinda masculine but with a good balance of feminine touches. In the end.... eh. She's only gonna be a kid for a week anyway. I'm not too concerned. The hair is really nice though! I like that hair, especially for kids. I have it for teen-elder too but it's just got this playfulness to it that works really well on the lil' fellows.

Welcome home, little Rita. Her traits are perceptive and athletic.

That's all for today. Given Lucy's aging up and the new addition of Rita, I will be completing as much of the renovations as I can right when I get into the game next time. I'm a little worried about their budget but I can do a bare bones job to start with and add from there if need be. Technically the only furniture I absolutely need to buy at this point is a bed for Lucy, so if other details fall to the wayside in favour of structural costs it's not the end of the world. More update to come!