#flatstan answers

[flatbstanley]

🎮 for gia since it’s clearly not embroidery!

🎮 VIDEO GAME CONTROLLER — what are three of your oc's favorite hobbies?

So if you asked Gia this question on Quotidianum, she’d say her hobbies are embroidery, violin, and cooking...none of which she really enjoys. Her actual hobbies include:

1) Movies. I’m sure Justin has the sims equivalent of PureFlix installed so that his family only sees ~godly~ content, but within that parameter, she’s quite a movie buff.

2) Board games. This is something she and Justin like to do together. They’re especially fond of the kind where the rules are so convoluted that you have to hold new players captive for half an hour to explain them.

3) Working out. Max is labeled as “the athletic one” in the family, but Gia actually inherited quite a bit of Taylor’s talent. She would never actually become a cheerleader — the uniforms are so immodest! — but the skill and strength that the sport requires appeal to her more than she’ll consciously admit.

[flatbstanley]

🎂 for justin (i have a hunch about his zodiac sign and i need to confirm bc he reminds me of someone ik irl lmao)

and 🤍💔for taylor !

🎂 BIRTHDAY CAKE — when is your oc's birthday? how old are they? what are their sun, moon, & rising signs (if known)? what about their tarot card, ruling planet, & ruling number (if known)? do they fit the typical traits of these sun, moon, & rising signs?

I don’t know much about astrology or tarot beyond the basic star signs (and Justin most definitely doesn’t put any stock in those things). So I’m going to stick with the very basics here.

Justin’s birthday is May 14, making him a Taurus. He’s a few months shy of his 39th birthday at our current point in the story. When I looked up his birthdate and found out he was a Taurus, my first thought was “bullheaded…yep, that fits.” A little further reading tells me that they can be argumentative, stubborn, and possessive. So yeah…definitely a Taurus.

🤍 WHITE HEART — what are three of your oc's neutral/questionable traits?

1) Taylor is very loyal. Not a bad thing, but she needs to take a hard look at exactly what she’s loyal to.

2) She trusts easily and shares things quickly in new relationships. This has worked out in her friendships with Ayla and Kelly. In her relationship with Justin…not so much.

3) She has a lot of confidence in her own abilities. Again, not a bad thing, but it’s a large part of why she’s in over her head with Justin—she spent way too long believing she could handle him.

💔 BROKEN HEART — what are three of your oc's negative traits?

1) Taylor has a very narrow worldview. We’ll see more of this in the arc I’m working on, but she’s always lived an upper middle class life and doesn’t really understand what things are like outside that bubble.

2) She has a judgmental streak. She’s far more subtle about it than Justin is, but it’s definitely there.

3) She’s got some toxic positivity going on. I think this was always a small part of her personality, but having to curate her image as an influencer has really magnified it.

[flatbstanley]

This was a great question and I wanted to make a separate post about it!

For context, there’s a spectrum when it comes to priests who celebrate the Latin Mass and Catholics who attend it. Any priest can celebrate Mass in Latin with the permission of the local bishop, and there are also a few groups dedicated to the Latin Mass that were created by the Vatican in a sort of compromise. These people may vehemently disagree with the Pope on certain matters, but they are still in full communion with the Church. This is the position Justin, Gia, and Fr. Crane all fall into— they believe that the Church is too modern and liberal, but if you don’t submit to the Pope, you’re ultimately no better than a Protestant.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have the sedevacantists, who believe that there hasn’t been a valid Pope since 1958. And in the middle, we have the SSPX, the group that was recently excommunicated. The SSPX’s relationship with the various popes has been a long and contentious one—I recommend this video for anyone who’s interested in an in-depth look.

Basically, Justin and Gia do sympathize with the people who were excommunicated, and admire their commitment to the Latin Mass. But directly disobeying the Pope is taking things a step too far for them. But that’s not to say that everyone in the Santoro family will always feel the same way…👀

[flatbstanley]

(from under-the-eye for the ask game) B12, D6, E1, F4

B12. When you're not playing fundie sims, what kind of sims do you play?

Family gameplay and legacies are my favorite even without the fundies! I have a magic legacy that I've played on and off for years and posted a few things from.

D6. Have you ever been inspired by another Simblr's writing? How did it go?

The first fundie simblr I followed was @thefundiesims. Their humor mirrors the game perfectly — it’s so very fundie while being so very Sims. I generally take a more serious tone in my story, but that brand of wackiness is what I aim for in some of the lighter moments.

E1. When did you first get into fundie snarking, and how?

Sometime pre-Covid, Paul and Morgan popped up on my YouTube feed. To this day I have no idea what I did to make the algorithm lead me in that direction. After a couple of their videos, I googled them to see if other people found them as odd as I did, and that led me to the various fundie snarking communities.

F4. Have you told in-person friends and family about your fundie sims?

My husband knows! And it's probably for the best that he does, because otherwise he might get concerned when he sees me searching for "how to get an annulment."

[flatbstanley]

A9, B6, B1, B9, C1 (one of the Santoro kids), D4

also how are you doing?

A9. Share some advice for those running a Fundie Simblr blog!

I previously answered this here! I’ll also add that it’s important to do your best to understand the beliefs your characters hold, and how those beliefs affect their worldview and behavior. Yes, the things fundies do can come across as bizarre to a mainstream audience, but don’t just seek to poke fun at them.

B1. What packs do you use the most often?

Growing Together and Parenthood are the big ones, since fundie gameplay is so family-based. Also Cats and Dogs—I love the style and colors of the build/buy items, as well as making cute doggos for my families. 🐶🐾

B6. How do you pick names for your sims?

Answered here!

B9. Do you cheat needs often? (No judgment either way!)

I do fill everybody’s needs when I switch households. It’s like starting the new household with a clean slate. I don’t do it much otherwise though, because the chaos is part of the fun for me! (Pretty sure Taylor has peed her pants at least once per pregnancy.)

C1. Would [Gia] say they were happy, if asked? Are they happy?

Of course Gia’s happy! All she wants is to lead everyone she can to salvation in the One True Church, and she’s getting closer to that reality every day!

(Gia is deeply unhappy, although those feelings are very, very repressed. If she took a good look at herself, she would realize that what she truly wants doesn’t line up at all with what traditional Catholicism expects of her.)

D4. What's something you'd love to see from the Fundie Simblr community?

I’m all for more diversity in the type of fundamentalism that’s represented here! The IBLP/Duggar types are the most familiar because of their prominence in mainstream media, but it’s not an issue that’s exclusive to evangelical Christianity. (Or Christianity in general for that matter.)

And thank you for asking how I’m doing! I’m okay! My day job, for those who don’t know, is in immigration law. As you can imagine that has been a very chaotic environment as of late, and it doesn’t give me a ton of time to write.

[flatbstanley]

A3, B6 and C13 for anyone of your choice

A3. If you could go back and change anything you've written, what would it be?

Probably the scenes where Taylor is first explaining the divorce to her kids. That's a situation that will have reverberations for them all the way into adulthood, and I'm not sure it got the screentime it deserves.

B6. How do you pick names for your sims?

First I decide how the sim in question would go about naming their kid. Does it have to be a saint name? Do they prefer classic names or something more contemporary/trendy? Are there family members whose names they'd want to incorporate? From there I browse websites like Nameberry. I also like SanctaNomina.net for traditionalist Catholic naming ideas.

C13. What's the most scandalous/sinful thing [Sim] has done? Would they admit to it, if asked?

Alan dated several girls before he met Kelly, and he went all the way with two of them. Kelly knows she wasn’t his first, but she doesn’t know that one of those encounters happened after they had already started dating. Alan would never willingly admit this to her or anyone else. A few of his close friends have guessed the truth, including Will Dalton, but they won’t be opening that can of worms either.

[flatbstanley]

A1, B7, C4 Santoros, F6

A1 - already answered here!

B7. If you have multiple households, which is the easiest/most enjoyable to play? How about the easiest/least enjoyable?

The Morenos are fun but a challenge to play. We haven’t seen this in the story, but they have a cat and a dog. That + 4 kids of different ages + two working and very underpaid parents = complete chaos.

Claire as a single gal is delightfully chill. Just a girl vibing with her horse.

C4. What would the Santoros be like if they weren't fundie?

I'm actually planning a couple of posts that show what this would look like for some specific family members! The most obvious change is that Taylor never would have married Justin.

If Taylor and Justin were not fundie but still married, they would be the type of couple that’s constantly bickering, but refuses to get a divorce because they want to keep up appearances. Even without religion as a sticking point, they’re not very compatible. Taylor wanted a big family before she took a turn towards fundie, so they would still have more kids than average.

F6. If you had to choose a Sims pack that represents your personality, which one would it be?

Probably Cats and Dogs! I am a massive dog person and really can't imagine my life not covered in fur!

[flatbstanley]

A1, A9, C6 for any one of Taylor's kids and C11 for Justin (and Claire too, since I suppose she's part of the whole circus now)!

A1: Who is your favorite sim to write for? Your least favorite?

I really like writing both Kelly Moreno and Katie Dalton, because they're both people who have left the super conservative fringes of Catholicism and are wrestling with that in different ways. Taylor's hard for me, especially her public facing work, because there's a certain peppy influencer vibe that I'm not as comfortable replicating.

A9: Share some advice for those running a Fundie Simblr blog!

Work on developing your characters, and then let them take over! Take inspiration from things you read on other fundie simblr blogs and from the real world, but don't try to randomly shoehorn things into your story if they don't feel right for the characters.

C6: What does [Sim] love and hate about their family?

Let's go with Ambrose, because I have such a soft spot for him. He loves that Taylor is always planning fun activities for the family to do -- cooking or baking new recipes, community events, that kind of thing. He does wish that she would take him more seriously. He knows something's up with his dad, and when Taylor tries to pretend everything is normal, it really frustrates him.

Justin's never been Mr. Sunshine, but Ambrose does remember a time when he was a little more normal, and would do things like play a boardgame or kick a soccer ball with the kids. He misses that version of his dad a lot. Now it feels like all he does is say weird things that don't line up at all with what the teachers say in religion class.

C11: Are Justin and Claire well-regarded at their church? Where do they fall in the community hierarchy?

Justin was not well-regarded at all at St. Petronella when Fr. Jim was the pastor. His obnoxious behavior got him banned from parish bingo night (the horror!). One driving force behind this was Alan - as school principal and deacon, he's been high up in the hierarchy, and he makes no secret of his dislike for Justin. But with Fr. Crane now in charge, things have changed. People still dislike Justin, but since he's the pastor's right hand, they are more afraid of him and more inclined to give him what he wants.

Claire goes to church in Chestnut Ridge. She's popular in the young adult group because she's sociable and down for just about any activity. Parishioners outside the group would probably describe her as "a nice young girl." She makes a point of never being seen with Justin at church because that would imply they are Living in Sin, which is totally not happening even though he basically lives at her place. We shall see what happens when they are officially a couple, though!