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glowyjellyfish · 2 years

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When I started playing with a modern Ubermegahood using the new additional LTWs mod, I intended to give fairly regular updates on how it was going. Not detailed posts or anything, just some pictures illustrating a little summary. Alas, I did not. Now, I’ve got a little frustration with trying to figure out a couple of mods that aren’t working right--hey, at least it’s not heavy GUID crashing like the Megakingdom! ...but I want to make my little post anyway, for the sake of momentum.

Last time, I talked about the Goodies and the Newsons. Today, I’ll start with the Gavigan family

Last time I played a standard Ubermegahood, I moved the Gavigans into a small house in Belladonna Cove with a mansard roof, and then struggled with both finances and space the entire time. This time, I thought I’d be clever and move them into a modest apartment while they save up a bit for a good house with room to grow. (...the houses that come with more recent EPs are utter garbage at being good for a growing family. They’re often garbage at other key features like being nice to look at, being physically usable, and looking like a house a real human person would ever live in, but that’s beside the point.)

So of course, Nathan Gavigan rolled the LTW of Harvest 2000 Best Quality Garden Crops.

Sigh

It’s fine. I gave them a round in the apartment, and they might take another. Nathan’s only 23, he has a long time to grow crops.

Mary’s new LTW was Create 200 Robots, so she’s got a little workstation and eventually bought a small shop (in Bluewater Village because I didn’t want to build a fresh one) to sell her robots. Basically, I think I’m only going to let sims sell to the catalogue if they can’t start a home or community lot business, for whatever reason. I am considering the possibility of killing two birds with one stone and building a new house for them on a fresh lot with a little robot-and-veggies home business downstairs, but haven’t really decided yet. I don’t think their net worth is higher than they started with yet, so either way they will have to start small.

It took Mary a few tries to get pregnant like she wanted, and with hours to spare she gave birth to a daughter, Ruth, the firstborn sim of the ubermegahood from a player perspective, but likely to be one of the last born in this round from a sim perspective. Sim time is weird like that. She was born about 1:30 AM on Fall 5, 2001, and I am considering whether it would be fun to keep full track of the time of birth like that. She is going to register as a full day younger than sims born before 6 PM, but that’s just par for the course.

Not much else happened. Isaiah learned to study and made friends with a couple townies, Nathan took a low-level business job to support his family until they can move someplace with a yard.

Oh, and full traits:

Nathan: Loves to Swim, Lucky, Brooding, Star Quality, Clumsy; hobby is Nature

Mary: Bookworm, Hydrophobic, Charismatic, Ambitious, Excitable; hobby is Tinkering

Isaiah: Excitable, Clumsy, Hydrophobic; hobby is Games.

Next, the Cleveland family:

The Clevelands started out a little boring to me, but got more interesting as I went on. Both Jason and Marissa wound up with the same LTW to own 5 top-level businesses. First of all, that is a LTW I am NOT good at fulfilling; second I have to do it twice! And come up with enough damn businesses for these chuckleheads to make! So, I left Jason in his Law Enforcement job to support them as they get started, and Marissa bought a little shop in Bluewater Village. I couldn’t decide what to do with it and ended up settling on Home Decor. Other ideas for future businesses include a salon, a coffee shop, a music venue, and a park. I think I am going to insist on a preference for local business, though. Next business either of them buys has to be in BDC, even if I have to build it myself. It’ll be a little while, though. Marissa wanted to have a baby, and ended up having twin girls, Mary Anne and Monet. Monet has freckles! Their apartment isn’t terribly small, but they do need to move to a bigger place before the girls age up to children. That gives them a couple rounds to earn the cash.

I... didn’t do a great job taking pictures while I played them.

Traits:

Marissa: Excitable, Eccentric, Dramatic, Loser, Hydrophobic

Jason: Star Quality, Unlucky, Clumsy, Flirty, Adventurous

Justin: Eccentric, Clumsy, Night Owl, Over-Emotional

Finally for this post, there’s Carlos Contender.

Okay, here we go. Sometimes I find Carlos a bit boring to play, but in this game he rolled a LTW to earn $10,000 being a personal trainer, which sounds amazing and perfect for him. I’m trying to figure out whether it is possible for him to offer private lessons in his home without opening a home business—probably not, but it would be cool. He also made out with Jessica Peterson while at the gym, and I might make that happen.

I’ve been sending him to the gym to act as personal trainer usually twice a day–morning and evening. Realistically, I should use some sort of “sim returns home at the time they left the community lot” mod I’m pretty sure exists, but so far he’s in luck, pulling double or triple shifts without loss of job or sleep. It’s kind of necessary–he’s using the premade gym in Belladonna Cove, and sims there gravitate towards the pool and the vending machines long before they touch the exercise machines. He usually needs to hang around for hours before he gets an opportunity to train anybody. Still, he managed to make around $1100 at it this round, training such sims as Mary Gavigan, Patrizio Monty, and Gabe O’Mackey. There was also some highly amusing background drama from loitering sims. A heavily pregnant Pascal stops by the gym virtually every day, and never does any exercise of any kind. He’s been seen laughing at the gym’s bowling trophy display and socializing. Similarly, Ana Patel sometimes shows up. If I was writing a full story of some kind, I’d make up a mini plot about the two of them attending some kind of prenatal yoga class. You get lots of random premade sims from any and all subhoods, but most amusingly one time Connor Weir tried to make out with Titania Summerdream and was rejected; a couple days later (nsert sim) tried it and succeeded! (I’ll only break up existing couples if the chemistry for a new partner is 3 bolts, or if the sims involved have lots of wants about it.)

Back to Carlos, although he was working hard at fulfilling his LTW, his lesser wants were unrelated and needed attention. I had him invite Jessica over one time, and his other interest Chastity Gere another time. Later in the round, he invited each of them over separately for a whirl in the jacuzzi. He’s more into Chastity, but since he’s a Romance sim I’m not sure how much it matters. (Plus, that’s what I did in my last Megahood…) I’m definitely going to be playing each of those ladies for a round, and we’ll see what they want. I know Jessica’s Fortune, so it seems to me like she might enjoy marrying Carlos for his money and then letting him have fun with Chastity, but we’ll see.

Carlos’ traits: Socially Awkward, Ambitious, Daredevil, Clumsy, Loser

I’ve also played through the Cordials, the Patels, and started on Jessica Peterson, all pretty interesting so far, but Kimberly Cordial gave me trouble with the Grumpy trait not working and getting her fired, and Jessica is the sim who could not propose engagement to Carlos despite wanting to, and despite Samantha Cordial having no trouble proposing to Armand DeBateau a short while ago. But this post feels quite long already, so... perhaps next time.

#the sims 2 #sims 2 #simblr #ubermegahood

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annegirl13 · 5 years

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Justin’s face sums up the round, pretty much. He’s still the only one with his act together.

No Thoughts on Bluewater this time. Next up is Melody Tinker at college. I have a new challenge in mind for her. She’s not gonna like it...

#TS2 #Sims 2 #Bluewater Challenge 2016 #BWC2016 #BWC2016 Round 3 #Bluewater Fall 1 #Wacky Kim OWBC #Cynthia Kim #Robert Kim #Justin Kim #Barbara Kim #Kim Round 3

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fashionassassin11 · 5 years

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#the sims 2 #ts2 #ramirez family #lisa ramirez #checo ramirez #bluewater village #pleasantview #fall year 1

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vanderlindemangofarm · 4 years

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This or That? RDR2 Edition

Seeing as it’s a bank holiday here in the UK, I thought I’d create one of those This or That quizzes that all the cool kids are talking about these days. It was fun! I hope everyone has a lovely day and enjoys the last of their summer 💕

Reblog, tag your chums, ect. I don’t know. I’m old.

1. Caliga Hall or Braithwaite Manor?

2. Rob a train or Rob a stagecoach?

3. Annesburg or Van Horn?

4. Beach holiday in Guarma or Mountain cabin retreat in the Grizzlies?

5. Hunting or Fishing?

6. Fence or Trapper?

7. Read with Molly or Write with Mary-Beth?

8. Go dancing with Dutch or Go fishing with Hosea?

9. Ride with Arthur or Ride with Charles?

10. Cain or Rufus?

11. Take photographs with Albert Mason or Paint with Charles Chatenay?

12. Guard duty with Sean or Lenny?

13. Settle down with John or Travel the world with Javier?

14. Pearson’s stew or Abigail’s cooking?

15. Fast travel or Long Ride?

16. Mount Hagen or Mount Shann?

17. Bounty hunt with Sadie or Help build Beecher’s Hope?

18. Visit Tilly and her family in Saint Denis or Visit Swanson in New York City?

19. Arthur’s horse lines or John’s horse lines?

20. Go to a magic lantern show with Javier or Go to the theatre with Trelawny?

21. Play a prank on Bill or Strauss?

22. Walk through Bluewater Marsh or Roanoke Ridge alone at night?

23. Help Pearson cook dinner or Help Kieran with the horses?

24. Horseshoe Overlook or Clemen’s Point?

25. Colter or Lakay?

26. Blackwater or Strawberry?

27. Give Arthur a deluxe bath or Get a deluxe bath from Arthur?

28. Fight a bear or Fight a cougar?

29. Go on a shopping spree with Karen or Go to the opera with Susan?

30. Live with Hamish Sinclair or Charlotte Balfour?

31. Surrender or Reach for your weapon?

32. Watch the sunrise with Rains Fall or Watch the sunset with Eagle Flies?

33. Spend a night in Pleasance or Devil’s Cave?

34. Teach Jack to read or Teach John to swim?

35. Eat a gourmet dinner with Angelo Bronte or Have afternoon tea with Mary Linton?

36. Punch Micah in the face or Kick Micah in the crotch?

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howlingday · 3 years

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REAPING OF ATLAS 3/3

RWBY Characters Are Created And Owned By Rooster Teeth And Monty Oum.

Team REAPS And All Original Characters In It's Universe Are Created And Owned By @dark-chocolate-fudge-sweetracer

"Are we there yet?" Sandy whined as she and her team were led down the mantle sidewalk. She shivered as another of Solitas' famous tundra winds blew down the street. Sure, the streets were Dust-heated, but that provided little comfort to the girl. "We've been walking for hours!"

"Not yet, just a few more blocks!" Prism cheerily answered. "And we've only been walking for twenty minutes."

"Well, it feels like hours!" Sandy complained again.

"Sandy, do us all a favor and stop whining." Acacia groused. "You think you're cold? I'm part snake! So unless you're secretly a frog faunus, I suggest you stuff it!"

"Acacia, stop yelling at Sandy!" Echidna scolded, to which Sandy responded by sticking her tongue out at the chastised girl. "And Sandy, stop acting like a child. We're Huntresses in training. Show that you deserve that title." Sandy shrunk back at her chiding.

Reizo chuckled at his team's antics. "I'm glad to see everyone else is excited about today. Prism is finally showing off her upgrades."

"Not just mine, but ours! I also took the liberty of bringing your weapons in already."

"You took our weapons?!" Sandy shrieked. "When?! How?! Why?!"

"To answer in order," Prism began, holding up her index finger, "1, a few weeks ago; 2, I used the teleporter in our bathroom; and 3, to make some much needed improvements."

"Improvements like what?!" Sandy barked. "My weapon is-"

"An outdated piece of tech that was only improved by a forge, not a lab." Prism finished. "I can't make improvements to our gear with fire and stone by itself."

"You could have asked." Reizo commented, stopping to wait for the street barrier to come up.

"I did ask!" Prism defended.

"Who?"

"Acacia! She said she was cool with it!"

"I did." Acacia admitted. "She asked if she could make improvements to my gear, and I said yes."

"See?!" Prism stated as the street barrier came up. She walked backwards to defend herself face-to-face. "I asked!"

"Did you ask all of us?"

"Erk!" Prism almost fell over the curb, but Reizo caught her. "Phew! Thanks, I-" prism stopped as she noticed how close to him she was. She blushed as her heart beat a thousand miles a minute. She jumped back once she was steady. "Sorry, I-"

"Try to be more careful next time." Reizo said, walking past her. "And ask all of us next time." Echidna gave a quick glare as she passed, while Acacia and Sandy giggled between each other.

"Oh, shut up."

Ten minutes later, Team REAPS arrived in front of Doctor Polendina's front door. Prism knocked on the door three times, then stepped back. A few minutes later, a screen above the door came to life. On it, the wrinkled face of gray-bearded man appeared. "Hello?"

"Hi, Pietro! It's me!" Prism waved at the screen. "I brought my team, like I said. Are the weapons ready?"

"Oh, yes," he replied with a smile, "they just got done going through the polisher."

"They are combat ready!" A voice off-screen shouted.

"Uh, who was that?" Reizo asked.

"Uh, nobody! Don't worry about it!" Prism shouted defensively "Uh, we're coming in, Doc!"

"Alright, I'll meet you inside!" The screen turned off, and there was a click at the door. It slid up, reaveling a dark corridor into the unknown.

"Right this way!" Prism bravely stepped forward, into the darkness.

Reizo let out a sigh. "No way through it, but to do it." He stepped forward, followed closely by Acacia, then Echidna, ending with Prism bringing up the rear, shivering from the cold. And nothing else.

The building smelled sterile, like a hospital, but strangely with less life in it. Prism rounded one corner, then another, and then down one final corridor with bright light at the end of it. As they neared it, they finally saw a room bathed in white, fluorescent light, with shelves of dozens of technical manuals and mathematical textbooks. In the center "stood" a large, elderly man in a seat with six legs.

The legs walked forward, surprising everyone but Prism, who continued forward to stand beside the man. "Everyone, meet Doctor Pietro Polendina, my personal hero, lab partner, and robotics expert!"

"Oh, I wouldn't say expert, but it is a pleasure to finally meet all of you." He reached his hand forward. "Please, call me Pietro."

Reizo shook his hand. "Reizo Yamato."

Echidna followed suit. "Echidna Bluewaters."

Acacia just stayed back, half-saluting him. "Acacia Evergreen."

"Sixy Mythleg-" Sandy gasped. "I mean, Sandy Mythril!" Pietro laughed. "I'm so sorry!"

He waved it off. "No need to worry. This was just the result of an unfortunate circumstance, much like your slip-up. But, if you don't mind, I'd like you all to meet my daughter."

"S-So soon?!" Prism yelped. "B-But she's not-"

"She is. I trust her, but more importantly, I trust your team." He pressed a button on his seat, talking into a speaker. "You can come out now, dear."

The team turned around at the sound of footsteps approaching from the dark, and saw piercing green eyes. As they got closer, Reizo squinted past the light and saw the figure's silhouette form. The figure became clearer as they approached, taking the shape of a teenage girl with long hair, a large skirt (or wide hips), and a bow atop their head. The team gasped as they saw her.

"No way..." Echidna muttered.

"It can't be..." Acacia gawked.

"It's you..." Sandy said.

"But I thought you-"

"Sal-u-tations, friends!" Penny cheered. Everyone in the room was silent. Pietro had a simple smile, Prism a nervous one, Reizo and Echidna gawked with mouths agape while Echidna covered her mouth. Sandy, however, made the first contact, leaping into Penny. "Greetings, Sandy!"

"Penny!" Sandy wailed through her tears. "I missed you!"

"I have missed your presence as well, Sandy!" Sandy wrapped her arms around Penny's waist, to which Penny reciprocated by wrapping her arms around her. The others approached and joined in hugging their resurrected friend. Penny shut her eyes with a soft smile. "I have missed you."

After countless questions answered and stories swapped, Prism stepped forward and cleared her throat. "All right, everybody! Listen up!" She barked. "I'm just as glad Penny is back as much as everyone else, but she's not why we're here." She recieved a few angry glares from her teammates, and a dejected look from Penny. Prism coughed into her fist and corrected herself. "Though she is an added bonus." Penny looked up with a wide smile. "We're here because our weapons weren't going to cut it anymore. Beacon was a colossal failure on all fronts. Especially our skills. We've had our victories because of luck, and nothing else. That's why we were long overdue for an upgrade, one that requires more than just a forge."

A screen descended from the ceiling as a table rose from the center of the room. On the screen was an image of the real deal on the table: Reizo's katana. It's grip looked cleaner, the old and worn leather and fabric replaced with newer material. The blade remained unchanged, but there were holes added into the hilt. Reizo walked forward and picked it up, giving a few practice swings. He noticed the grip was extended as well.

"Your katana was a tricky task to overcome, since you value the blade so much." Prism explained. "So I removed the blade while I worked on the hilt and grip. The leather and fabric have been replaced with a hide that is seven percent more resilient, and a wool more durable than any linen made in Mistral. The added holes in the hilt allow you to load dust coins into your blade more easily, and if you flip the switch on the bottom," Reizo did so, allowing an empty cartridge to fall out, "you have twenty-five percent more storage space than before!" Prism beamed with pride. "So, what do you think?"

"Well, the grips a bit too long for me."

Prism frowned. "So?"

"I'm not used to long grips. It makes it more difficult to handle with one hand."

"Well, look at it this way," Pietro stepped in, "you're still growing, and this give you more room to improve as your body grows. By the time you're a Huntsman, that long grip will fit nicely into your one hand, and you'll be more adept in the event you need a longer grip."

"Like so!" Prism pressed a button near the hilt, and the grip doubled in length, sliding out an additional length hidden within. Reizo almost fell over. As he fought for balance, Prism walked over to the next screen and table that appeared, showing off Echidna's staff. Her staff's half-moon blade shape now had a smaller blade, shaped like a diamond, between the two originals. Strangely, however, there were five bottles set in a row around the staff. "And here, we have Echidna's staff, equipped with an extra blade, a longer chain, and a few other things I'm sure you'll want to try out!"

Echidna picked up the bottle, though jar was probably more fitting, since it more resembled a soda can, with her small, delicate hands struggling to grip half the jar. It had two metal rings forming borders. "What are these?"

"Put it on your hand, like this!" Prism demonstrated with her palm open and facing up. Echidna took the bottle-can and placed it in Prism's palm she winced and exhaled as the device began filling with a strange, yellow liquid. Prism hissed as she held up the bottle, visibly tired. "Ta da."

"What did you do?!" Sandy asked, worry clear on her face.

"W-Weaponized aura." Prism blinked hard, shaked her head, and began to slowly recover. "After your fight with Bree, I figured you'd want to be able to trick her again without using up so much of your aura." She looked at the bottle. "Of course, mine is just heat, so tossing it would just make a small explosion. Great for a distraction, but unfortunately, my aura reserves aren't the highest."

"Thank you, Prism." Echidna grabbed another bottle. "Are these easy to make?"

Prism carefully walked to the next weapon set. "Yup, but don't go throwing them away after a fight. I might be able to remake them, but they won't be cheap!" On the table, with diagrams flashing on the screen overhead, sat Acacia's tonfas.

"They look the same." Acacia tilted her head as she lifted one of her tonfas, examining it for anything significantly different.

"Yeah, there wasn't much to improve," Prism admitted, "not externally, anyways."

Acacia gave her a look. "What do you mean?"

"Well, the only thing I improved was it's firepower. Shooting this thing redefines the term "handcannon" now!"

Acacia chuckled. "Nice!"

"Of course it's most vital function is still hidden." Prism whispered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" Prism scurried to the final table, which held the dual-blade boomerang of Sandy's weapon. "Now this was my toughest challenge yet! Mostly because I had to make a lot of upgrades."

"What? My weapon is perfect!" Sandy defended.

"Maybe for a beginner, but we're third years now. We need stronger weapons, and I'm the smith to get it done!"

"What could you have possibly improved on?" Sandy crossed her arms indignantly.

Prism gave a haughty laugh. "You really think you weapon was the best, huh? Well, let me show you better than that!" Prism unloaded upgrade details on rapid-fire at Sandy. "The blade is now sharp enough to cut through steel; the bow string now has a tensile strength of over a thousand pounds per square inch; the hilt is made of a finer fabric that not only resists moisture, but is soft to the touch; the boomerang operates on an anti-gravity matrix-"

"Wait!" Sandy shoved a hand into Prism's face. "What was that last part?"

Prism removed Sandy's hand. "The anti-gravity matrix?"

"Yeah, what do you mean by that?!"

"This." Prism tapped a button on the boomerang. It clicked as a light humming was heard from it. Sandy stared with wide eyes as Prism lifted her hand, and the boomerang followed. "I've been doing research on Atlas' anti-gravity formulas. I couldn't find anything for the city itself, but what I could find led me to the invention of my own anti-grav dust crystal!" She showcased her creation by having the boomerang turn to on it's side, giving everyone a peek into the thin slots where the dust crystals were stored. "They last longer and give off more power than anything the SDC makes!"

"Will you sell it to them?" Echidna asked.

"Pfft! As if!" Prism rolled her eyes. "As if any of those Schnees could appreciate such fine craftsmanship. They'd just cut corners and blame their failures on me, like they always do with geniuses." Prism crossed her arms. "It's like my grandma always said, "Never trust businessmen like the Schnees."

"Oh, and what of soldiers?" Winter Schnee asked, casting a cold glare over Prism's shoulder. Prism slowly turned her head with a shiver, then turned back forward when she met her icy gaze. "Well? I'm waiting."

Uh, I, you see, that is, um..." Prism shrank as she failed to articulate her argument. "I'm sorry?"

"Don't be." Winter said. "Businessmen like Jacques Schnee can never be trusted. However, not all Schnees are terrible. I can think of three in my family who excelled in their fields." Winter stepped forward toward the rising center table, which had nothing on it but a keypad. "For now, however, let us return to business. You said you had something to show me?"

"Uh, yeah," Prism immediately straightened herself to appear more professional. "I mean, yes, ma'am!" Prism stepped up to the keypad and pressed five numbers in a specific order. The table flipped, revealing three rolled-up blueprints, and Prism unrolled the center page. On it was the design of some sort of cannon. "As you can see here, I'm designing a super-weapon of sorts, capable of taking out a Goliath in one shot, and still be used to take out multiple Grimm surrounding it."

"Interesting," Winter rubbed her chin with her index finger, "but what are the components of this "super-weapon," as you call it?"

"W-Well, it's, uh, us." Prism gestured to herself and her team. Winter raised an eyebrow, and Prism nervously cleared her throat. "So, uh, as you can see here, the weapon will use Acacia's tonfas as the stand, with Sandy's bow acting in tandem with Reizo's katana as both a guide and a containment field, and Echidna's staff will act as the sights and an additional containment field component. Meanwhile, my chakrams will act as the guide, or more like a barrel in this case."

"And what type of weapon is this "super-weapon," Miss Asagiri?"

"Um, it's a rail gun, ma'am."

A cold, evening wind blew over Arishna Dawn as she stood on the rooftop of Atlas Academy. She shuddered, wishing, for the hundredth time, she hadn't agreed to teach in an academy miles above the frozen tundra. She liked to be alone while she looked through her scroll image gallery, smiling as she gazed on pictures of her lover. She felt a warmth in her heart grow with each smile she found.

Before her memories of warmer nights could settle in, they were interrupted by the buzzing of her scroll. The default silhouette of the caller drew a sigh from her lips. She answered the call on the second buzz. "Professor Arishna Dawn of Atlas Academy. How may I help you?"

"Good evening, Professor," the dignified voice that invaded her ears brought a scowl to her lips, "I hope I wasn't interrupting your evening."

"What do you want, Arthur?" Her voice wasn't angry, but it was definitely not happy, either.

"Straight to business then. I am in need of information on our mutual acquaintance, James." Arishna sneered at his request. Well, not really a request, since she knew Arthur Watts was not a man of requests.

"There's nothing new to report. The schedule remains the same, just like last week, and the week before that, and the month before that."

He chuckled. "Really? So you are unaware of a stolen Atlas air-ship enroute to Mantle?"

"What?!" Arishna eyes widened as she turned away and ducked her head from any prying eyes, though she was alone on the roof. "When?!"

"Oh, my! Could it be the great Atlas military is unaware of it's incoming intruders? How interesting, if it weren't woefully predictable."

"Shut up, and tell me everything!" Arishna growled.

Watts harrumphed. "I see you still don't understand how this relationship of ours works. I suppose I could send my friend to visit yours. See if they could become better friends than we are."

"No!" Arishna shouted, this time not caring who heard. "Don't hurt her! Remember our deal!"

"I remember our deal, Miss Dawn, but it is not my memory that is the issue here." Arishna swallowed an empty mouth, shaking with anticipation, anxiety, over what her current benefactor will say next. "I'll take your silence as an understanding." Arishna let out a sigh of relief. "I don't believe you need to worry about the air-ship. It's piloted by an elderly woman, and it's cargo are only passengers: an adult male and eight teenagers, ages ranging from twelve to nineteen."

"Talk about a big family." Arishna joked.

"Indeed. If there is nothing to report, I shall conclude our conversation until next week."

"Wait!" Arishna called out, extending her arm as though she could stop time. Not hearing a click, she continued. "Remember: nobody dies."

There was a minute of silence until Watts spoke. "I promise I will not harm anyone."

He hung up with a click, and Arishna let out a heavy sigh. "How do I get myself out of this, Glyn?"

Reizo fell out of his bed as the alarm blared screamed in his room. He hissed in pain, groaning as he slowly stood up. He looked around. The room had a flashing red siren above them, a red bulb with a revolving reflector spinning around the light. The wail of the siren rose and fall intermittently.

"What's going on?!" Echidna shouted from her bed, covering her ears with her pillow. Her bedhead apparent as her hair was disheveled and unkempt, static causing a few strands to hover vertically.

Reizo looked to the rest of his team was on the floor, having jumped like her leader, with the exception that her fall was from the bottom bunk, not the top. However, Acacia fell onto her from the top bunk, and now both were on their stomachs on the floor, groaning in pain.

He looked at the time from the clock on the wall. It was only a few minutes into midnight. Was Atlas under attack?

The door opened, drawing their attention as Professor Yamato hurriedly stepped inside and opened a keypad by the door, pushing buttons into it, and the siren died with the light. Sighing, she turned to her son's team. "Is everyone all right?"

Sandy and Acacia gave a weary thumbs up and groaned.

"What's going on, Professor?" Echidna asked from her bed.

"I don't mean to alarm you, but," Professor Yamato had a nervous look, "some intruders flew into Atlas air-space and Grimm broke through the Mantle defenses. After the Fall, Atlas won't take any chances that could harm their students."

"Great." Acacia groused as she stood up, pulling Sandy up with her. "About time something went wrong."

Professor Yamato looked around. "Where is Prism?"

The team shared a look between each other before looking back to her, Reizo answering for them. "She's probably at Doctor Polendina."

"What?!" Professor Yamato became very worried.

"It's okay, Mom, Prism can just teleport back in." A flash of light from the bathroom startled the professor. "See, there she is now."

The bathroom door opened, and Prism stepped out, her eyes glued to her scroll. She walked over to the desk nearby and set her scroll down, taking a seat without removing her eyes.

"Pri-"

"Shh!" Prism hissed, holding up a finger. "Not now, our test run is almost complete! There's only one more district left, and I need to make sure no data is left undocumented."

"See? She's fine."

"Well, if you say so." Professor Yamato opened the door and stepped out. "Please, for the remainder of the night, stay in your dorms."

"We will, Mom. I love you."

"I love you, too, Reizo." The door shut. Reizo sighed as he looked back to his team. Echidna had already laid back down to sleep, covering her entire head with her blanket. Acacia climbed back up to her bed, rolling herself into a burrito style to guard against the cold. Sandy crawled into hers, double-checking her glasses case, ensuring it still nestled safely between the mattress and the rack holding it in place. Prism continued to watch her screen. Reizo yawned and placed a foot into the foothold to climb to his bed. He hung precariously over the ground, ready to swing up into his bed.

"IS THAT TEAM RWBY?!" Prism cried, causing her other team members to immediately awake, and her team leader to fall on his back.

The next morning, on their way to class, Reizo yawned as Prism played and replayed her footage. He glanced over, seeing through Penny's eyes and watching as Grimm are decimated by her new skillset. Once gone, Penny landed, then turned and crouched, before literally launching herself at Ruby Rose of Team RWBY.

He smiled to himself. He hadn't seen them since the Fall, which caused his smile to fade. After the Fall, Team RWBY scattered. Last he heard, Ruby Rose had left on a journey to Haven Academy with the remains of Team JNPR, while her sister, Yang Xiao Long recovered from her near-fatal encounter with the White Fang. Weiss Schnee came back to Atlas with her father, although he heard rumors of her running away. Blake Belladonna was a mystery, as she fled during the Fall.

The video ended when Penny flew away to tend to another district. Or at least, it ended for him. After the surprise encounter with Team RWBY, he lost interest in anything else from the video. Team RWBY was in the city, but where? It wasn't like they were going to show up around the corner.

"It'll be just like Beacon again!" Reizo stopped to see where Penny was shouting from, and found her, the Ace-Ops, and Team RWBY show up around the corner. "Oh! Greetings, again, Reizo Yamato!" The group turned and stared in each other's directions.

"Aah! Such a great meal!" Raizo Yamato sighed as he patted his toned belly, pretending it was fat. "You really outdid yourself, babe!"

"Actually, that was me, Dad." Reizo corrected. "I made dinner tonight."

"Oh, uh, right." Raizo scratched his cheek. Reizo and his team visited his family once every other weekend. It had been a few months since he first arrived, but this house never stopped feeling like home to him. Prism and Sandy were washing the dishes, though the latter would rather keep reading the manga her leader let her borrow. Echidna and Acacia were sitting on the couch with Evangeline, watching the news. The two teens were excited to see the results of tonight's campaign.

He saw Ruby Rose, Nora Valkyrie, and Lie Ren standing watch over the Robyn Hill celebration with Marrow Amin, Penny, and the Happy Huntresses. He was surprised to hear Team RWBY and JNPR were now all licensed. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't a little envious.

"So, who do you think's gonna win?" Reizo asked.

Raizo got a sour look on his face. "If this election were perfect, I'd say Robyn Hill would win, no contest."

"But Jacques Schnee's embargo." Reizo countered.

"It really pi-," Raizo cleared his throat as Evangeline shot an icy glare towards him, "I mean, it really, really, really, really makes me angry that the snake would do something like this just to get a few more votes."

"Not surprising," Echidna said, "considering Jacques Schnee's responsible for more suffering than any man, woman, or child in Atlas."

"Try all of Remnant." Acacia corrected. "Seriously, the White Fang wouldn't be a thing if this guy just stopped being so greedy."

"Well, even if he does embargo all of Mantle's, I'm still voting for Hill. She seems like she's got a good head on her shoulders!" Raizo announced proudly.

"Even though her organization isn't exactly clean?" Evangeline asked.

"Better than Schnee." Evangeline hummed in agreement. Reizo watched the polls climb. He couldn't believe someone so horrible was related to a close friend of his. The polls neared their apex, both parties in full swing.

Then the lights died.

"Argh! A blackout, too?!" Raizo shouted. "Damn you, Schnee!"

"Raizo!" Evangeline chided. "Language!" She let out a sigh as she lit a candle in the living room. "Everyone, come to the living room! We'll stay close until the lights come on!"

Acacia sat closer to Echidna, making room for the other four to come to them. Sandy seated herself next to Acacia, and Prism next to her. Reizo laid back next to Echidna. Maybe he catch a few Zs during the blackout.

The lights came on shortly after, and he heard a mixture of emotions. He heard his mother and Sandy gasped, his father and Acacia curse, and Echidna whisper "Oh no."

Reizo opened his eyes, and saw the carnage on TV, with Penny in the center of it all.

"Ruby!" Sandy called out to her eye color duplicate as she spotted her with her team in the hall. The events of last night's disaster left everyone shaken up. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ruby said with a yawn and a weary smile. Sandy doubted Ruby's claim. The red-hooded girl had bags under her eyes, no doubt from a long night of answering questions from the police and tending to the wounded. "I'm just a little tired, that's all."

"Are you sure? We watched the incident last night." Ruby seemed to tense at the mention of the event. "Do you know what happened?"

Ruby shook her head. "No, I didn't. The only one who saw everything was Penny."

"Where is Penny, anyways?"

"She's staying close to my sister." Weiss answered. "Everyone is pointing fingers at her, since she was the only one who drastically moved around the most during the election party blackout."

"I see. But it doesn't make sense." Sandy crossed her arms. "IF Penny killed those people, why would she do it?"

"Because she didn't." Prism answered, walking up to her friends with the rest of her team. "I still have the night vision recordings from the blackout. Someone was moving around, dodging her and killing people." She then looked to Ruby. "And you know about it."

"W-What?!" Ruby stammered. She waved her hands in front of her to ward off the accusation. "N-No, I don't know anything about the attack!"

"Funny you mention that." Prism said, as she tapped on her screen and held it up. "This is the footage from Penny's Point of View camera. She looks to you, and you have a worried look on your face, and you mouth something. Something like, 'Here we in,' but that doesn't make sense. Here, the lights go out, and Penny shifts to night vision, but she's getting static during this time, too. Luckily, I can still see everything through the static. In the first second, nothing, then there's a man crouched low to the ground, and then he's gone again until Penny finds him again, but misses after every attempt to catch him." She pauses after the third attempt on Penny's part, then glares at Ruby. "What aren't you telling us?"

Yang stepped in front of Ruby. "She told you everything she knows, so back off."

"Don't get testy with me, Xiao Long." Prism growled at the taller blonde. "I'm not in the mood to play these games that you seem to be involved in a lot, recently."

"Excuse me?" Yang's eyes flashed red for a moment, but reverted back to violet, but kept the same glare on Prism. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You tell me, Ms. Break His Legs. Why is your team always at the center of attention of every scandal?"

"Prism-" Reizo started, but was cut off by Blake, who stepped up next to Yang. Her glare on Prism felt dangerous, like a wild animal protecting it's territory.

"Oh, don't you start, Miss White Fang." Blake narrowed her eyes at her. "Yeah, I know all about your little reunion back at Beacon."

"Prism!" Reizo said louder, but it fell on deaf ears as she turned to Weiss next. But Reizo had enough by that point and stepped in front of her. She looked up to argue, but held a glare on her that told her to step back. She did, and Reizo looked to Team RWBY. "I apologize on her behalf." He bowed with his arms straight at his sides, like he was taught to do when he was younger. It's been a long time since he last apologized like this, but he felt this one was needed. "On all of our behalf, I apologize if my team has offended yours." He stood up and looked to Ruby. "But I do agree with Prism that you know more than you're telling us." He extended his hand. "Ruby, please, tell us what's going on."

Ruby looked to her team, who all had a nervous look on their faces, but they all nodded to her. She took a deep breath, then looked Reizo dead in the eye. "Okay. I'll tell you everything." She then looked around. "But not here."

Arthur Watts sat comfortably in his seat at the coffee house he frequented in his youth. He smirked as he drank his coffee and browsed on his scroll, moving from one news article to the next, and delighting at the chaos he orchestrated.

The current article he was reading, "The Mantle Mouthpiece," had an interview from an eyewitness, who claimed she, "saw the soullessness in the doll's eyes." He chuckled to himself a little at that.

"We need to talk." Watts set down his scroll and coffee, seeing Arishna Dawn glowering at him from across the table. He sighed as he released his coffee.

"Do we? I don't believe we do."

"I want to talk."

"I don't. Thus, we have reached an impasse. Compromises must be made, of course."

"I said-" Watts rolled his eyes and stood up. Grabbing his scroll, he stepped away from his seat and began walking down the street. "Hey! I'm not done with you!"

"But I am done with you." Watts continued walking without looking to her. He knew she would chase him. "Unless, of course, you had something I wanted."

"I know you rigged the election!"

"And why would I care about politics in Atlas?" He raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to fumble a response. When none came, he continued. "Robyn Hill and her supposed, "crusade," serves me no purpose."

"Then you would side with Jacques Schnee." Arishna deduced. She only caught that because he led her to it. Half-points for that.

"And we come around to the question I asked earlier; why?"

Arishna tried to think, but the only thing on her mind was how dangerous this man she was arguing with was. If she wasn't careful, Glynda would- "You're blackmailing him."

"Not a bad guess, but still wrong." He turned a corner, and she followed. "I don't reward failures, sorry. Besides, why would I blackmail him? What could he have that I want?"

Arishna tensed her brow as she thought. Jacques Schnee's wealth was legendary, and the means he achieved that wealth even more so. But Watts didn't care about Lien, or Dust. Those were the only two things a CEO could give him. Wait, was Jacques Schnee still the CEO? Becoming councilman would have rendered his reach into those resources of the SDC null and void. "Wait. You needed Jacque Schnee to become councilman, so that he could get you information on Ironwood!"

Watts stopped and chuckled. "I suppose if you lay enough crumbs on the ground, you'll catch a rat eventually. However, there's one detail you missed."

"What's that?"

"Oh, you're a smart girl. I'm sure you'll figure it out." He stepped past her, walking towards the street from the alley. Wait, when did they reach an alley? "Oh, and try not scream. Trust me; it's better that way."

"Oh, you're no fun!" A voice shouted behind her. Before she could turn, she felt a sharp pain in her back. She wanted to scream, but the pain was so intense, she couldn't move. Everything faded to black as she heard a distant laughter.

Then, only silence.

Reizo sat in his room, staring out the window. He tensed more and more like a coiled spring with every breath. The clock on the wall ticked, growing louder in the deafening silence. He scratched at the chair's armrest with every tick.

The discussion he shared with Ruby still gnawed at him, and he knew he wasn't alone. Echidna left for a walk around Mantle with Sandy, the latter of the two taking it especially harsh, thus the former saw it best to clear their heads with open air. Acacia left for the training room, no doubt to punch her anxieties away, or at least try to. Prism used the teleporter and locked it from the other side. She liked to tinker during troubling times, and right now she needed it more than ever; alone.

Reizo watched as the clouds drifted past Atlas, and the Sun slowly rose higher and higher to it's noonday place. With a shaky breath, he looked to the right and saw a Bullhead pull closer and closer to Atlas.

Suddenly, it felt harder to breathe. What if this Salem was secretly hiding on that Bullhead? Or one of her agents, like that Tyrian guy? He shut his eyes and shook his head to clear his thoughts. What if his team ran into one of her agents before, but they didn't know it? Would they survive?

His heart leapt into his throat as he heard the door click. He shot up and took a combative stance before the door fully opened. "Who's there?" Reizo tried to bark with as much confidence as he could.

The door opened, revealing a sweaty Acacia standing there with an unimpressed look. "It's just me; your worst nightmare." She walked in, tossing her gym bag onto her bed, and moved towards the bathroom. "By the way, that squeak of yours? Totally intimidating."

Reizo blushed at the remark, but it faded when he saw Acacia's hands. Her knuckles were raw and bleeding. "Hey, you okay?"

Acacia gave him a sour look. "What do you think?" She then walked into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. Reizo sighed as he looked out the window again.

Just this morning, he only cared about becoming a Huntsman. He'd fight Grimm, save lives, and make his family proud. Now, everything changed. Becoming a Huntsman seemed too small of a goal now. He saw a new monster to fight and ultimately slay, but hearing about her from Team RWBY made everything... unreal. She sounded too mythical, too make-believe to exist. But he also knew Team RWBY wouldn't lie about something like this.

Reizo sighed as he looked at the blue sky; the Bullhead from earlier had long since passed, leaving only clouds to roll by.

Acacia turned the water to cold, letting the icy droplets splash from the showerhead. She dabbed her knuckles with toilet paper, wincing as it stung at her open cuts. She swore, but continued to dab until the square was more blood than paper. She then balled up the sheet, and tossed it into the trash.

She stepped into the shower, exhaling sharply as the cold water hit her skin. She shivered, and made quick work lathering herself, scrubbing, and then rinsing the suds from herself. She hissed as her cuts were invaded by both her body wash and the freezing ice water. Once she was thoroughly rinsed, she shut off the water, but didn't leave the shower. She just stared at the drain as the water poured down.

What happened to her life? She attended Beacon, nearly died when some nutcase hijacked Atlas, and now she's at Atlas, and the same thing is happening all over again!

That was why her knuckles were bloddy. She was punching her anxieties, but every time she punched the bag, she got angrier and angrier, until either the bag broke or, after the second bag, she broke.

It just made her angry. She never felt so angry. She didn't think she'd ever been this angry, or be angrier than she was now.

There was a loud banging at the bathroom door. "Hang on, I just finished!" Acacia grabbed her towel and dried off. The banging continued. "Hold your horses, I'm getting dressed!" The banging didn't cease. She was going to murder someone if they didn't stop. She unlocked the door. "What?!"

"Professor Dawn was attacked earlier today." Reizo had a grim look on his face. "She's in the hospital right now."

#rwby #rwby oc #team reaps #reizo yamato #echidna bluewaters #acacia evergreen #prism asagiri #sandy mithril #arishna dawn #penny polendina #ruby rose #weiss schnee #blake belladonna #yang xiao long #tyrian callows #arthur watts #pietro polendina #evangeline yamato #raizo yamato

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saanst · 4 years

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The Village Chronicle, Summer 1

Tax Season Yields Funds for Housing Upgrades: Too Little, Too Late?

Tax season has come to a close in Bluewater Village, with the Village Treasury reporting §35,200 collected across 6 households.

A portion of this year’s taxes were appropriated via the Mayor’s Office to the Bluewater Real Estate Office for what it called “residential upgrades.” A total of §10,485 has been put into upgrading two residential properties, 25 Toboggan Way (top right) and 35 Gondola Way (bottom left). Both properties have been converted into apartment buildings: 25 Toboggan Way into two studio units; and 35 Gondola Way into a loft-style unit with two bedrooms and two bathrooms.

As of this fall, 35 Gondola Way has been rented out, while Bluewater Real Estate Office is actively seeking tenants for 25 Tobaggan Way.

Although these upgrades are being considered by the Bluewater Real Estate Office as exactly the type of housing that Villagers have been demanding, some folks have termed this an empty gesture, calling it “too little, too late.”

“The younger generation of Bluewater Village is already in debt,” said Melody Tinker, who will be renting at 25 Toboggan Way, along with her two teenager brothers, come fall. “An education at Academie Le Tour is §40,000, and graduates are expected to move back home to Bluewater Village, only to line the pockets of the Bluewater Real Estate Office. Young people have no hope of home ownership in this economy.”

A representative from Bluewater Real Estate Village declined to comment on Tinker’s remarks.

The Mayor’s Office also declined to comment on how it plans to appropriate the §24,715 that remains in the Village Treasury. Some Villagers have begun to speculate that the position of mayor is currently vacant, and has been for quite some time. The Village Chronicle has been unable to confirm the accuracy of this claim.

#bluewater village #newspaper #the sims 2 #sims 2 #sims #ts2

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simmiesapphire · 10 months

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Start of a Sims 2 Simblr - Pleasantview Round 1

Start of a Sims 2 Simblr

I've discovered Sims 2 and can't believe how rich the gameplay is to that of Sims 4. I'm following a rotational gameplay of Pleasantview and Bluewater Village. On Round 1 and I've played all the houses of Pleasantview except the Oldies, which I will start today. Thought i'd start this Simblr to keep track of my storyline - its easier than creating a video!

I've moved Coral and Herb Oldie into 95 Woodland Drive. Here's what the blurb says about them:

"The Oldies are simply one of the nicest families around. Their years together through good and bad have made them into the wonderful parents, and grandparents, they are today."

Of course, the Oldies are Mary-Sue Pleasant's parents.

I accidently had them adopt a baby - I was trying to see if I could adopt Beau Broke who I had put up for adoption when playing the Broke family (long story, I'll get to it someday), but of course the adoption service just told Coral Oldie that they'd bring the new baby along. I tried quitting the game without saving, but of course I seem to have saved it when I made the adoption call, so surprise! the Oldies are going to have a baby!

Herb is a Romance Sim with a LTW of Woohooing 20 different sims - definitely not a very family man. Retirement seems not to be sitting well with him, he wants to get a job in the Slacker field.

Coral is a Family Sim. Her original LTW was to have 3 children graduate, but since she only has the one child (possibly 2 if that adoption goes through!), that's not happening. I changed her LTW to raising 20 puppies and kittens. I figure she could have them get jobs and make them some money.

While their memories show them meeting each other, falling in love and having a child and 2 granddaughters, neither of them seem to have ever had a job. I'm going to assume they lived off family money - though it seems that they don't have much left at the moment.

A lot happened barely 2 minutes into my starting the round - Hernb and Coral fulfilled a few wants on flirting and kissing, and even woohooing in bed. And then I sent Herb off to look for a job while Coral decided to take a walk in the thunderstorm. Coral got struck by lightning. Unfortunately I wasn't quick enough with the screen capture to get a picture of her, I'm still learning how to set this up. Interestingly, while she now has a memory of woohooing, her recent brush with death does not seem to be captured as a memory...

I'm hoping here on out this post is less wordy and has more pictures...

Here's the welcome wagon - with Darren Dreamer, Jennifer Burb and the Oldies' son-in-law Daniel Pleasant. While Coral entertains the guests, Herb seems to be playing in the puddles. I see the beginnings of a man-child.

Herb finally joins the party. But then the conversation gets inappropriate with Daniel regaling his father-in-law with his sexual escapades. Looks like it's time to send the guests home.

We're kickstarting Coral's LTW with the first kitten adoption. Here's Herb falling absolutely in love with Bobby.

They seem to have morbid dinner-table conversations - likely updating each other on who has kicked the bucket recently.

Adoption day has arrived! And they did get to adopt Beau Broke! (now named Beau Oldie). These two are in for a wild ride.

After some initial misgivings, Herb seems to have warmed up to the idea of parenting a toddler again and is taking it upon himself to teach Beau how to talk. (Beau seems to have retained his skill of walking and also his relationship with his brother Dustin)

The Oldies soon come to realise that adopting a toddler may have been a mistake when their date is cut short by Beau's screaming tantrum.

Coral realizes that bringing up a toddler wasn't her idea of retirement. Plus they're running out of money and Herb doesn't seem to be doing anything to actually earn some money besides a ridiculous attempt to Freestyle for tips outside their home. She finds herself an entry level career just so they can get some money (and she can get away from the kid!)

Here's Herb trying to freestyle for tips on an empty street. Coral can't believe she's spent a lifetime with this man and raised a daughter with him.

Further evidence that Herb is just a big doofus - a grown man playing in his bath like that...

Bobby has grown into an adult cat. Herb decides that Bobby needs to start paying for his keep and gets him a job as a vermin chaser. Bobby is making twice as much as Coral is making...

First day of Coral's job - and she gets fines 50 simoleans for disturbing the peace when her brilliant idea of serenading the voters backfires..

It's also Bobby's first day of work. Finally, we should see some money coming in...except that Bobby gets fined 450 simoleans for failing a challenge with a skunk that left the office very stinky!

Coral returns from work with a promotion(?!) and to find Beau has grown into a child, with the aspiration of Precocious Toddler. Looks like all the sleepless nights and interrupted date paid off. Here's hoping Beau continues on this positive trajectory.

Welcoming Sootie, kitten #2 towards Coral's LTW of raising 20 animals

Beau gets chased by bees while he's out bug hunting...

Coral got a bee in her bonnet to write the next American novel - about aliens. She built up her enthusiasm for film and literature to the point where she was invited to the secret lot.

Despite having a full bowl of food, Bobby seemed to be dying of starvation. The humane society took away both cats. All because of a finicky cat! (Was I supposed to have a separate food bowl for the new cat?)

Quite the eventful week for the Oldies. Next we'll be moving to Bluewater Village to visit some of those residents. Stay tuned...

#sims 2 #sims 2 gameplay #sims 2 pleasantview #sims 2 simblr #sims 2 stories #sims 2 storytelling

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and-then-there-were-n0ne · 4 years

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The livestock sector is one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.

When assessing animal agriculture’s overall contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, estimates range dramatically depending on what is included in the calculation. The 2006 report Livestock’s Long Shadow from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) claimed that animal agriculture caused 18 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. [x]

The livestock sector is a major player, responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions measured in CO2 equivalent. This is a higher share than transport. […] Livestock are responsible for much larger shares of some gases with far higher potential to warm the atmosphere. The sector emits 37 percent of anthropogenic methane (with 23 times the global warming potential (GWP) of CO2) most of that from enteric fermentation by ruminants. It emits 65 percent of anthropogenic nitrous oxide (with 296 times the GWP of CO2), the great majority from manure. Livestock are also responsible for almost two-thirds (64 percent) of anthropogenic ammonia emissions, which contribute significantly to acid rain and acidification of ecosystems.

The FAO calculation includes the CO2 emitted when forests are cleared for animal feed crops and pastures, but it does not take into account the CO2 that those forests can no longer absorb. (Imagine a life insurance policy that covered the cost of the funeral but not future lost wages.) When researchers at the Worldwatch Institute accounted for emissions that the FAO overlooked, they estimated that livestock are responsible for 32,564 million tons of CO2 emissions per year, or 51 percent of annual global emissions.

Between 2010 and 2050, rising demand for animal products means emissions will continue to rise. Even with best efforts to reduce the footprint of livestock production, the sector will consume a growing share of the remaining carbon budget. [x]

To avoid dangerous climate change, global yearly emissions must fall rapidly from today’s levels of 49 GtCO2 e to around 23 GtCO2 e by 2050. If meat and dairy consumption continues to rise at current rates, the agricultural sector alone will soak up 20 of the 23 gtco2 e yearly limit in 2050, leaving just 3 gtco2 e for the rest of the global economy. Even under the most ambitious of decarbonization scenarios, it will be near impossible for emissions from other sectors to drop to such levels by the middle of the century. [x]

The environmental impacts of the food system will exceed the planetary boundaries for food-related GHG emissions by 110%, for cropland use by 70%, for bluewater use by 50%, for nitrogen application by 125%, and for phosphorus application by 75%. This means that, by 2050, the livestock sector alone may either occupy the majority of, or significantly overshoot, recently published estimates of humanity’s “safe operating space” in each of these domains. [x]

Barring unforseen technological breakthroughs, worldwide animal product consumption at current North American per capita rates is incompatible with a 1.5°C warming target.

In addition to its effects on greenhouse gases, animal agriculture affects the environment by the conversion of natural ecosystems to agriculture since growing the crops used for feeding animals, such as soy and maize, eats up land. 26 percent of the earth’s terrestrial surface is used for livestock grazing. 40 percent of our cereal production is not destined for human consumption, but for animal feed. So is 80% of Amazon soy. [x] [x] [x]

Land use and habitat conversion are, in essence, a zero-sum game: land converted to agriculture to meet growing food demand comes from forests, grasslands, and other natural habitats. Consequently, cattle ranching is the largest driver of deforestation, accounting for 80% of current deforestation rates in South America. Seventy percent of Brazil’s deforested land is now used as pasture, with feed crop cultivation occupying much of the remainder. [x]

These numbers are the result of today’s meat consumption levels: If developing countries were to eat as much meat as developed countries per capita, the amount of agricultural land required worldwide would be about two thirds larger than today. [x]

This is concerning, especially in light of the new UN report warning that “We have 12 years to limit climate change catastrophe”: the IPCC maps out four pathways to achieve 1.5C, with different combinations of land use and technological change. Reforestation is essential to all of them as are shifts to electric transport systems and greater adoption of carbon capture technology.

To raise livestock also takes water: nearly one-third of the total water footprint of agriculture in the world is related to the production of animal products. The water footprint of a live animal consists of different components: the indirect water footprint of the feed and the direct water footprint related to the drinking water and service water consumed (service water refers to the water used to clean the farmyard, wash the animal and carry out other services necessary to maintain the environment). For example, 89% of italians’ water footprint relates to consumption of agricultural products and 7% to industrial products. Nearly, half of the water footprint of Italian consumption is related to the consumption of animal products. [x] [x]

An important distinction must be made here between water “use” and “consumption”. Hydroelectric power is one of the largest “users” of water in the USA, but actually consumes very little water. The water is used to power turbines or for cooling and is almost always returned to the source immediately. Agriculture is the largest “consumer” of water because it pulls water from the source and locks it up in products, not returning it to the source immediately, if ever.

Fishing also affects ecological processes at very large scale. The overall impact on aquatic systems has been described as comparable to that of agriculture on land. In fact, with the rise of commercial fishing methods marine animal populations are no longer able to replenish themselves fast enough. Between the 1950’s to 2011 worldwide catches increased 5 fold while the amount of fish in the sea was reduced by half. Some scientists predict that we will see fishless oceans by 2048.

The most obvious reason for the reduction of marine life is overfishing. 90-100 million tonnes of fish are pulled from our oceans each year, with some sources even estimating 150 million tonnes. ¾ of the world’s fisheries are exploited or depleted. But it’s not just the amount of fish being taken from the ocean for food that is the issue. there is also the method of species targeting. Humans tend to go after the biggest fish first until they are no longer available, then they move on down the chain: over the last 50 years, the abundance of large predator fish, such as cod, swordfish and tuna, has dropped 90 percent. Fishing vessels now increasingly pursue the smaller forage fish, such as herrings, sardines, menhaden and anchovies, that are lower on the food chain. The removal of apex predators leads to what’s called “trophic downgrading” where the loss of predators allows other species to grow unimpeded, upsetting the entire ecosystem. One study suggests that the removal of sharks may contribute to climate change by leaving the unchecked numbers of species to feast on the ocean’s vegetation, releasing the ancient carbon found there in massive quantities. Dr. Peter Macreadie, one of the study’s authors, cautioned that “If we just lost 1 percent of the oceans’ blue carbon ecosystems, it would be equivalent to releasing 460 million tonnes of carbon annually, which is about the equivalent of about 97 million cars. It’s about equivalent to Australia’s annual greenhouse gas emissions.” With 73 million sharks killed every year for the shark fin industry and 40-50 million sharks dying every year as bycatch*, this is more than mere speculation.

*bycatch is a fish or other marine species that is caught unintentionally while catching certain target species and target sizes of fish, crabs etc. According to the FAO, for every 1 pound of fish caught, up to 5 pounds of unintended marine species are caught and discarded as bycatch.

Even marine plastic is in large part a fishing issue. It turns out that 46 percent of the Great Pacific garbage patch is composed of discarded nets, and much of the rest consists of other kinds of fishing gear. To put this in perspective, things like plastic straws - which everyone seems so eager to eliminate - make up 0.03% of all marine plastic. [x]

All these sources of global change will rival and significantly interact with climatic change in environmental and societal impacts.

For more information: [x]

#my post #tweaked one of my old posts #vegan #veganism #environment #global warming #climate change

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