Our Beds Are Burning

She/her. ASD. Asian-Indian/European. Radfems DNI (seriously, stop messaging me!). I am 21+. Minors tread carefully. Posts will be tagged with warnings if need be. 18+ only posts and fic @Airazorafterdark.

[silvervinespiderwebs]

About Me

Pronouns: She/Her

Age: 21+

I’m autistic and chronically ill. I’m mixed race-- Asian-Indian and white European (American). I’m against all double standards involving race, gender identity, sex, orientation, etc. I’m an advocate of preventive medicine and better health care. Radical feminism/trans-exclusionary radical feminism and the likes is not welcome here.

[spacefoxy-irl]

Visit Original Link

I think I’ll be posting some of the gems he has said. Cause LOL.

[kaioty-summer]

Hey, did y'all see this?

I saw this when running newpipe. But wait, it gets deeper. I clicked on the details buttons and it said as of today, we have 83 days left until Google rolls out this new requirement for apps inside and outside of the google play store. If any developer disagrees with their new terms and fees, they will be blocked!

I'll share some of the info below:

Looks like they're trying to nuke the remaining privacy and freedoms we have left on the internet.

What to do?

-Get your developer friends to not comply to their new guides

- Sign the open letter on the site and take action by checking out the full resources list on their website as well!

To summarize, this is all daunting especially when you feel all alone with unfair and inhumane regulations comming out faster than improvements but we got this working together!

Share the link with your friends, family and anyone who will listen!

Your phone is about to stop being yours. In September 2026, Google will block every Android app whose developer hasn't registered with them.

[yellowmagicalgirl]

If you're in the US, I created a petition to make it easier to contact senators and congressmen.

Google Wants To Control Our Phones

Join 1 people. Google is trying to make people hand over government id in order to make an Android app. If they don't, then that app can't b

If you're not in the US, see if your country is listed here for whom to contact.

[okgatorhereicome]

It's my birthday once again! ✧｡◝(ᵔᗜᵔ)◜✧*｡ I miraculously survived another year 😳 Gonna celebrate by posting this portrait I made of my Kiss oc, Rabbit!! 🐇🩷✨ It was fun to draw this, I haven't highlighted hair in this way since my days in the total drama fandom :0

Also a meme bc why not:

Anyway love you all byyyee ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

[alixxthayer]

Collabs I did with @c3l3st31973 🫶 Also my last drawings of KISS cus I haven't drawn them in a while, oops-

[okgatorhereicome]

Omg that first one 😭 fankhx in a nutshell

[spockthewok]

TS2 Water Mod Update

Hello again!

Sorry for disappearing - my phone decided to go to silicon heaven a few weeks ago and because I have 2FA set up, I couldn't log in to my accounts until I got a new phone :/

Anyway, I just wanted to give an update on that water mod I showcased a while back, as it's basically all I've been working on.

This is going to be a long one, so I'm going to make use of that post cut feature for once. I don't mean to be a tease, but there will be a download link provided below :)

Firstly, the good news is that I managed to fix mirror reflections!

I did have to switch back to using the vanilla OceanReflection effect to do this, instead of the ScreenReflection one used in Castaway (for reasons I'll explain later), but fear not - the water is still visually identical and is just as reflective as Castaway.

In fact, I managed to get everything to reflect in the water - check out those roads and clouds!

And yes, even Sims are visible in the water!

It's kind of hard to see because of the ripples, but Chloe Curious is indeed present in that reflection.

Another benefit of using the vanilla OceanReflection effect is that Castaway's shaders aren't required for the reflections to work. This means the plugin will work with the vanilla water shaders, or a different water mod like Voeille's, if you prefer the look of those.

Something else I've tried to do is reduce the visibility of that annoying gap that can be seen between the lot skirt and the ocean's surface. It's not perfect by any means, but it's certainly an improvement over vanilla imo:

Unrelated to the ocean, but I was made aware of the fact that pools don't reflect the terrain. This has also been fixed:

I'm happy with what I've produced so far, so I've published the mod on my GitHub if you're interested in giving it a try:

https://github.com/spockthewok/TS2ReflectiveWater

There are two files available to download. One is the plugin itself, which patches the game to allow for the extra reflections and reduces the lot skirt gap, and the other is a modified version of Castaway's ocean shaders. I've provided a version of the shaders that incorporate the edits from dreadpirate's shader fixes mod too. Again, these shaders are completely optional - if you only want the extra reflections, you only need to download the plugin!

What about pond reflections???

Okay, this is where I have to give the bad news. Pond reflections are not currently included, because they're an absolute nightmare to figure out.

For a body of water to be reflective in TS2, it needs either a reflection plane (which is what the ocean has), or a reflection camera (which is what pools have). Lot terrain has no such functionality to support this in TS2 (ponds are classed as terrain tiles), so Castaway added a load of extra functionality to make ponds reflective.

It's not feasible to backport all of Castaway's new code to give ponds their own reflection method, and even if it was, it introduces another problem with the game's engine - it really does not like two separate reflection contexts using the same render type.

If you ever happen to look at Sims 2's various reflection functions, you'll see several magic numbers being thrown around. These are the game's render types, and the number that corresponds to each type is defined in the same shader code as the pink soup (I'm never going to be able to escape it). Here are a few examples to feast your eyes on:

seti kRenderTypeNormal 0 seti kRenderTypeShadow 1 seti kRenderTypeReflection 2 seti kRenderTypeMirror 3 seti kRenderTypePoolReflection 7 seti kRenderTypeOceanReflection 9

Remember the issue with the mirrors? That was related to this. Basically, if the ocean and mirrors are using the same render type for their reflections, the game can't figure out which reflection belongs to who and the reflections start fighting each other to be displayed.

How did Castaway solve this? It didn't, mirrors are broken in Castaway too, because everything is using render type 2 (ScreenReflection).

They mostly work if they're placed indoors, but place them outdoors and, oh boy...

Likewise, if you patch the ocean to use the pool reflection render type, the pool reflections start fighting with the ocean reflections for dominance.

So, if we can't create a separate reflection context for ponds because there aren't enough unique render types to use, we're stuck trying to get ponds to use an existing reflection method.

Let's start with the simplest one - the ocean's reflection plane. If you recall the issue with ponds from my previous post, that was caused by this same plane. As discussed, ponds don't have a way to render reflections, so the reflection visible in the pond was actually created by the ocean and therefore being displayed at the ocean's height, which is why the reflections appeared super far down.

Unfortunately, the game only allows one ocean plane at a time, so if you try to create a second one at the pond's height, it just replaces the ocean's plane. This does give accurate pond reflections, but at the cost of cutting off the ocean reflections:

I did try and hijack the reflection plane used by the neighbourhood water as it shouldn't technically be in use in lot view, however all this did was give me a one-way ticket to crash city :(

Evidently, we need a method that supports rendering multiple reflections at varying heights at once, which leaves us with two options (to my knowledge):

The reflection camera for pools.

The reflection camera for reflective floors.

I don't think floor reflections are a thing in Sims 2, despite there being code for a reflection camera in the game's binary, so who knows if it even works. The floor shader code contains this quote:

"reflective floors are currently dead. might ressurect them in an expansion pack"

Great, now we're down to pools as our last hope.

As you probably know, if ponds use PoolReflection, they appear black without a pool present on the lot. Maybe if we lift this restriction, things will start working? Think again:

I have no idea why there is a chess table(?) baked in to the reflection texture.

I guess that makes sense - the game also isn't creating the pool reflection camera, as it only does so if a pool exists. What if we allow the camera to be created regardless of the presence of a pool?

While doing this allows ponds to now 'reflect', the reflections are still broken, being displayed at the wrong height and sliding around with the movement of the camera. It expects to be given several bits of information to work properly, such as a node for it to be attached to, the bounds of the pool, and the depth of the water - all things ponds are not giving it.

Compounding this is the fact that ponds have very little functionality to work with to provide this information. You can get the elevation of the water (which I suppose could be used as the depth), but other than that, all there really is is a way to check if a specific terrain tile is a pond tile.

This creates all sorts of headaches, like how to differentiate between multiple ponds on a lot, getting the width and height of them, what the camera should be attached to, yada yada yada...

It was at this point that I started to wonder - is this really even worth it? Sure, placing a pool tile on a lot to get pond reflections working is a bit janky, but would whatever Frankenstein's monster of a pond reflection system I might be able to create be any less janky?

For this reason, I have decided to take a short break from pond reflections, as I was starting to get a metaphorical concussion from banging my head against the keyboard to try and figure something out. I know it's disappointing to hear, but hopefully the fancy new ocean reflections will soften the blow somewhat.

If anyone has any suggestions for pond reflections, I'm more than happy to hear them :) I'll return to the trenches soon...

Will

[moveslikekeithrichards]

huge fan of when cats reach out and touch each other with disrespectful intent

[capturedbythemoment]

As you probably know, Gregg Rolie left Journey in 1980, citing exhaustion from the band's relentless touring schedule and a desire to start a family. But there's something about his departure that feels a little off, like there might be a more personal and emotional backstory 👀.

The bitter tone Gregg sometimes uses when talking about Steve Perry in later interviews, the inconsistencies in his stories about their relationship, and the fact that they lived together for several years under the same roof have led some people (a part of the fandom here lol) to speculate that there might’ve been a romantic relationship between them that was never made public 🤫.

There are photos from the time where they appear very close, gestures that go beyond regular friendship 🤨, and Gregg’s lingering resentment toward Steve (he almost seems to blame him for leaving Journey) could actually reflect the pain of an unresolved romantic breakup.

If you look at the lyrics of five songs from his 1987 solo album Gringo "You Make It Hard On Me," "I Will Get To You," "Too Late, Too Late," "Talk Talk," and "The Hands Of Time", through this lens, they seem to tell the story of someone dealing with heartbreak, nostalgia, and emotional frustration. It's possible Gregg was expressing the pain of a romantic relationship with Steve that ended badly 💔.

👉 Let’s break down the first song, "You Make It Hard On Me":

"Heartbreak, I've had it rough In and out of love I think I'm losing touch Heartache, you make it tough (who, Steve made it tough for you Gregg? that's why you left Journey?) Everything I try to do is not enough"

"I'll ask you a question, don't tell me a lie (Gregg sometimes implies that Steve was not “honest” with him) How could you treat me this way? It's not gonna haunt me the rest of my life Someday you'll hear what I say"

These lines drip with emotional pain, like Gregg is struggling with the aftermath of a relationship that left him disoriented and hurt. The line “In and out of love” might hint at the ups and downs of a secret relationship, possibly one they couldn’t go public with due to the social stigma of the 70s and 80s. That secrecy could’ve contributed to a painful breakup and emotional void.

👉 Second song: "I Will Get To You" This one feels deeply romantic and nostalgic, almost like Gregg is sending a message to a lost lover (possibly Steve):

"Half a world away I hope you hear me say Each word of this message of love That I'm sending Open your eyes and see The love light burn Oh, open your arms to me And I'll return"

“Open your arms” could that be a subtle nod to Journey's Open Arms? Intriguing. And when he says “I'll return”, is he talking about wanting to return to Steve… or maybe even to the band?

👉 Third song. "Too Late, Too Late", this one seems full of regret and loss:

"I've got to leave I've got your name And I’ve got your number Who would believe That I’m walkin' away from your eyes?"

"If something goes between the two of us (😏) Don't you know it could be dangerous? 'Cause once we get started The sparks start to fly"

"I keep forgettin' I should get away I should be runnin' You know I can't stay" (and he didn't stay, in fact he left Journey)

Again, the implication is that things got too intense between them, so intense Gregg had to walk away, just like he walked away from Journey.

👉 Fourth song: "Talk, Talk" Here Gregg sounds frustrated with someone who talks a lot but says little of "substance". In one interview, Steve said Gregg “let him in emotionally and in other ways”, which could hint at a deeper connection. But Gregg has implied that Steve wasn’t entirely open with him. Could these lyrics be a jab? 🎯.

"Even if half of what you've got to say is true It's hard to take it serious When it comes from you"

"Talk, talk You're never gonna change No one is impressed by you (Steve has said many times that he was trying to impress the band members when he joined them in the beginning, could this be another reference?) Talk, talk It never stops"

"You're no secret agent You ain't that mysterious Do I look that naive?"

Is Gregg throwing shade at Steve’s well-known “mysterious” personality? Suggesting he knows the real Steve that the public doesn’t?

👉 Finally, "The Hands Of Time" This track is full of melancholy and reflection, like Gregg is reminiscing about the intimate moments they once shared.

"It's not a mystery that I feel this way With everything we've done and all we've said We can count all the hours from day to day We can look at the past and laugh in its face"

"There's no turnin' back I'll come runnin' back Give me a sign (here again Gregg is talking about coming back, he wants someone to give him a sign so he can come back) We can do anything that we wanna do But we can't look back There's no turnin' back the hands of time"

Then these lines hit especially hard when thinking about queer love in a past era:

"Another night alone doesn't make it right There's an empty place in my heart tonight We can stand in the light or we'll stand in the dark If we tear down the walls, we can make a new start"

What walls? Could this be a metaphor for the social stigmas that prevented them from being open about their relationship, the expectations of the music industry that forced them to maintain a heterosexual facade, or even the emotional barriers that might arise between them due to the pressure to keep their love a secret…? Or the emotional walls they built to protect themselves? Either way, it paints a picture of something that was real, painful, and ultimately hidden.

In short, I’d love to hear your thoughts do you think some of these songs might be about Steve and a possible hidden relationship with him? OR AM I GOING CRAZY?

The entire album with lyrics and videos: https://www.letras.com/gregg-rolie/discografia/gringo-1987/

[stalkersnotallowed]

You make an excellent argument!

[avatarmerida]

Happy pride month to the tiny cowboy and tiny Trojan man from Night at the Museum

[futurakid]

[leg-stealing-bee]

[closetedguyy]

[knitordeath]

This hands down the best comment in the notes, I will not be taking criticism.

[song-of-sea-and-sky]

happy pride month 2021 I ain’t quittin’ you…

[msue0027]

[maxstarfall]

[gengaritez]

[pumpkin--rabbit]

[minyicho]

[vampirebeverage]

psa

no one fucking tells you this so here it is:

when signing out forms to apply for disability / filling out a form for diagnosis

you’re supposed to fill it out as you on your worst days

like, I filled out forms that said I could do most things usually

like, my doctor added in the conditions like “yeah, they can feed themselves when not stressed” “they can do this when not stressed”

but how I should have filled it out was more like

“some days I can’t feed myself” “some days I can’t leave the house”

My doctor didn’t even know this, but I talked to someone who had worked with people with both developmental and intellectual disabilities for a number of years, and she told me to write down how it is for your bad days

this should be a thing they tell you, but it isn’t

part of the reason I didn’t get my autism diagnosis as soon as I should have is because I filled out forms wrong!

[reservoircat]

This also goes for filling out forms for disabled parking rights. I’ve been rejected multiple times for a pass cause I didn’t find this out till recently.

[deducecanoe-deactivated20161213]

Wow

[myceliorum]

Also you’re generally supposed to fill it out as you are without help.

That throws me too.  Because the more help I get, the more capable I get.  It’s easy to forget what happens when the help falls away even partially let alone completely.

[fox-bright]

Swarovski can continue to fuck off.

In 2021, Swarovski (the company that makes the very sparkly crystals you see in certain jewelry, on figure-skaters' twinkliest outfits, on red carpet dresses), decided they didn't want the grubby fingers of small-time jewelers, clothing designers and costumers and crafters on their shiny beads and rhinestones anymore. They decided to limit their sales to "luxury" and couture creators, not girls who sell stuff on Etsy. The tenor of their press release on the subject was snide and insulting. Resellers (like your favorite bead shop) would no longer be allowed to carry their product; the average Jane on the street would not be able to purchase them. You could only get them if you had an authorized business agreement that bound you to very strict brand behavior. And those of us who still had good stock of the crystals would no longer be "permitted" to use the brand's name in our listings for sale.

Every bead shop and craft supply place and many, many small clothing makers--wedding shops, prom and dancing dress suppliers, the sort of salt of the Earth mom and pop time machines of shops that are the backbone of the field--scrambled to find something that could replace them. The last of the stock dwindled quickly, all of us grabbing what we could get while there was any chance of it, and then it was gone and we no longer had any access.

I was Big Pissed about it at the time. It was just so goddamn stuck-up, when wholesalers and indie jewelers had made them so much money, when some people I knew--when *I!*--had been brand-loyal for decades. But with no recourse, everyone pivoted fairly quickly, most of us to Preciosa Crystals. Those are Czech, quite sparkly, and considerably less expensive than Swarovski. The faceting method they use is different, but not worse; any differences are hardly noticeable when you're seeing them as a hundred pinpoints of light.

Well, out of nowhere, Swarovski just dropped this: https://www.harmanbeads.com/swarovski-brand-policy-update

"Effective June 1, 2026, Swarovski updated the distribution and brand usage policies introduced in 2021. Businesses may now purchase Swarovski Crystals without signing a Brand Control Agreement, and Authorized Distribution Partners may once again sell Swarovski Crystals to resellers, including bead stores and online retailers. Businesses may also use the Swarovski brand name when following Swarovski’s Proper Use Guidelines. Designers, manufacturers, artists, brands, retailers, and resellers are now eligible to purchase Swarovski Crystals through authorized distribution channels."

They want us back. A lot of the companies who could have kept a brand relationship with them also have swapped to Preciosa, over the last half-decade, in solidarity with indie creators and out of a sour awareness that it could be them, next. And it doesn't hurt that Preciosa was able to expand their line quite a bit now that everyone who wanted sparkle had no choice but to go to them.

And I'm not seeing nearly anyone who intends to return. The feeling is, "Y'all told us to fuck off! Off we fucked! And now, that's what you can do, too!" I'm seeing a lot of "How many of us did you stab in the back?" comments from the people whose money they're hoping to attract.

And personally I'm sitting over here all rubby hands, mean snickering, because they really thought they were going to be able to outclimb the people who actually provided all their profits, and now here they are, hat in hand.

[the-rockheads]

I guess I should show you the redesigns then!

And now the girls!

There are some other Characters that will make an appearance later…

In the mean time, here are all the re-designs!

Message in the Ask Box if you want to know more about their new designs and characteristics!

Full bio’s will be done soon!

[jellymeduza]

Edit of EarlyPleasantview's magic duel

This is an edit of @earlypleasantview's Magic Duel.

To my knowledge EPV's mod has never left testing stage, but I've been using it for years with only some minor issues. Thus, I decided to polish it's rough edges a bit. :) I also changed filenames to make them more distinguishable.

From EPV's description of the mod:

Dueling – how it works – Available for Witches/Warlocks. Non-autonomous. Needs at least one selectable witch/warlock. Builds Magic Skill, but does not affect alignment. Non fatal. Scoring is based on Magic skill level, Plus number of successful hits. The Sim with the highest magic skill and the most successful hits win and a random magic reagent is placed in their inventory. Successful Hits – Every Body point gives a Sim a 7% chance of dodging out of spell’s way. Every Logic point gives a Sim a 7% chance of predicting that the other Sim is going to dodge and hitting them anyway. Round ends when one Sim casts five spells or when both Sims cast three spells each.

I made changes to the dodging mechanic. Now Sims will jump forth and back, instead of only jumping back, which looked like teleporting. Moreover, I added a chance of parrying an attack instead of jumping away - chance of dodging/parrying still depends on the body skill, but now witches/wizards with high magic skill have a chance of parrying. I converted two parry animations from TS3 magic duel. :)

Additionally, I added projectiles - if a Sim dodges or parries an attack, you'll be able to see a jet of light flying in their direction. For this mechanic you need my file called "Meduza_AccObjectBending", included in the upload. However, there are no projectiles if a hit is successful, because I also like an idea of spells working remotely and it felt like a good compromise.

The duel will work without the projectiles object, but you won't get cool effects.

Credits: @earlypleasantview

Download at SFS | alt

Wandless magic

This is an edit of @midgethetree's Pick Your Wand.

I edited @gryning's version, so it includes their TS4 wands.

Replace original files with my edit.

With this edit, your witches and wizards can cast spells without a wand. You need to buy "Magic Hands" trait, found in General/Misc for $0. This trait is different from other traits - placing it in Sim's inventory won't do anything.

You NEED to click on it as select "Set As Wand" option. After that you can place the trait in Sim's inventory, but that's not necessary.

Alternatively, buy one of wand stands and choose "Change Wand…/Magic Hands".

Credits: @midgethetree, @gryning

Download at SFS | alt

As I edited "Meduza_AccObjectBending", I also had to update part 1 of bending mod, bending duel and witches can practise magic. Unfortunately, in the process SFS links to part 1 of bending mod and witches can practise magic were broken, so I had to replace them with new SFS links, fyi. :(

[spacefoxy]

Just lounging around at the Crazy Nights video shoot.

[dailycatsblog]

[nerpaas]

I know everyone talks about the seals in Japan, like Niko, Yo-chan, Yuki, ect. but here's some cuties from the US!!

Seattle Aquarium:

Casey! He's a harbour seal born in Seaside, Oregon, specifically he came from the Seaside Aquarium! He's a cutie you definitely don't want to miss :)

Hogan! He came from the Point Defiance Zoo in Washington and came to Seattle in 2015! Look at those beautiful eyes!

Flounder! He's the newest addition to the Seattle Aquarium and came from Miami's now-closed Seaquarium in 2026! Seaquarium closed due to animal welfare concerns, including unclean tanks, just a reminder to support ethical aquariums and rehab centers so they could keep doing great work! I just know Flounder is in a better place :)

Gulfarium:

Zoey!! Mother of Zara the seal and a beloved face to see :)

She recently reunited with her daughter after being transferred from another facility back in 2019!! She was rescued from Massachusetts and can't be released back into the wild due to recurring infections.

Lineup of the Gulfarium fellas!

(Not in order) Zoey, Zara, Ollie, Milo, and August

[thankyouace]

Shout out to my hometown seals! Just visited them a couple weeks ago and they looked like a blissed out little trio.

[the-metal-pixie-deactivated2024]

IT’S FINALLY DONE

(part 1)

I made this in nearly two months, I think it’s garbage, but oh well, sometimes you just need to do bad art, enjoy (?)

[the-metal-pixie-deactivated2024]

PART 2

*Fun fact: A star’s lifetime can range from a few million years to trillions, how much time they get to spend together is up to you (the reader)

Ok it’s done, if y’all excuse me I’m gonna sleep for a week straight

[thankyouace]

Cutest story ever