Small Simblr Saturday Appreciation Post 💜
Hey y'all! Since @tau1tvec came up with the idea for this event, I thought I'd shout out some of my personal favorite always free creators :)
To start it off though, you know I gotta recommend @alwaysfreecc, the finds blog currently managed by myself, @superflare, @nicatnite88, and @toastie-sim! We only reblog cc creators that are always free (no exclusive or early access) and use the tag #alwaysfreecc to find your posts! If you're an always free cc creator, please use the tag and/or mention the finds blog so we can get your catalog reblogged there 😌 now, onto the list~!
@xiuminuwu - a creator I've really been loving lately! they have a variety of cute cc, including poses and unique, fashionable clothing~
@hexcodesims - a very underrated creator with tons of clothing edits for masc frame sims, I also love their big bud press palette~
@herecirmsims - makes amaaaazing unique poses for a variety of situations
@adelarsims - has awesome ideas that you wouldn't think of, amazing variety of cc like hello
@janjumjam - adorable cc for kids, gives me happy feels and nostalgia
@ceeproductions - some of my fav cc on this site, great variety for both masc and fem frame
@powluna - super cute items for kiddos... a staple in the mods folder
@ssspringroll - occult cc for daysss, cool sliders and presets, they got it all
@nicatnite88 - yes I'm biased, but the variety and hustle cannot be denied, just look at the amount of cc!
@bobnewbie - hairs, facial hairs, accessories, gorgeous sims... what else could you want?
@darlyssims - UNIQUE. really cool ideas for hairs, accessories, and more
@cliffirem - clothes and hairs with an alt twist i really enjoy
@sammi-xox - beautiful skinblends and super useful skin details
@warwickroyals - gorgeous formalwear, especially good for all you royal simblrs!
@marsosims - cute cute cute all over... hairs, clothes, even build/buy cc!! we stan
@whyhellosims - lots of stuff for kids, build buy cc, and a slant of humor!
@creamlattedream - masc cc staple in this house, lots of cute recolors and casual wear
@pluto-sims - the cutest patterns EVER, adorable kids clothing, posters and walls~
@deathpoke1qa - unique is my word for the day bc my lord... it's popping off! alt staples you can't miss
@icchixxxxxx1 - hairs hairs hairs... and more cute hairs! if you like the cutesy anime look but still mm, go here
@mellosakicc - so. many. t-shirts. but also other clothing, tats, and hairs! another alt cc maker with work ethic for days
@whirliko - cute bright recolors... we have no choice but to stan the pop of color
@shandir - conversions, historical, occult, variety... hello??? get going
@mangosimoothie - the ideas are popping... once again things that would never pop into my brain but are brilliant... just go look and see what I mean
@igorstory - facial hair... a totally unrepresented niche of sims cc.. I have all their stuff... download it
@madameriasims4 - CLASSICS. STAPLES. I use their clothes all the time and they also got build/buy stuff.
@aniraklova - alt & punk vibes to the tippy top, fallout, chains, mohawks, whats not to love??
@pixelunivairse - ONE OF MY FAVS. use their cc constantly for my fem frame sims. uses tons of cute patterns that I love
@demondare-sims - cas cc i love, I use it pretty much every time I play, mm and practical
@fiftymilehighclub - talking about work ethic, it's here... so many recolors in bomb palettes that you'll never download them all... or can you??? try
@sforzcc - retired from cc making, but I gotta recommend, bc I use their wardrobe sooo much... brilliant
@casteru/@woosteru - also retired, but same as #16, I use their cc every day!
@xldkx-cc - am I just listing staples of my mods folder now? yes!! I am not biased!! go and get all that cas cc and poses and deco sims NOW!!
@a-luckyday - if you don't know ms a luckyday poses u have not lived in life!! they have a huge amount of them, solo, couple, group, accessories, and more
@gothoffspring - really cute and vibey recolors, I use them a lot, also some build buy items too!!
@jellymoo - we love the clothing... mm aesthetic to the core and cute af
@gladlypants - lotsa adorable items I adore, variety of patterns too
@birksche - tons, I mean TONS of hairs bro, years worth, always free... a treasure trove
@teekalu - supreme maxis match, vanilla vibes that are so lovely... ideal for low cc players
@honeyssims4 - poses, honey!!! the variety will shock you. and they ALL look good
@sewerwolfx - really cool stuff with alt style, some recolors and some from SCRATCH, we love to see it
@historysims4 - historical cc from many different eras!! iconic
@hamsterbellbelle - some of the most unique scifi cc i ever seen... idk how they even make some of that stuff! must see
@surely-sims - beautiful legendary amazing gorgeous never been done before... their fallout inspired cc made me weep and almost solely furnished one of my households, work
...annnndddd I hit my limit!!! I guess thats it for now but maybe a part two... 😉
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what's your opinion on fanfics about dnp? (more in a way of do you think that it's crossing boundaries and/or being parasocial)
i'm of the same mind of dnp in that phanfic is fucking incredible. it's an important and valid way to express yourself, as well as a building block of our community. i don't think it's crossing boundaries, as it's fiction. i don't see it as parasocial either--you're writing for you and others like you. most people don't want dnp reading their fics, it's not for them in a sense, it's for us.
i think dnp are extremely aware of fanfic and its value and place in community. they've always encouraged it, appreciated the support, and given us space about it. they're not ones to make videos about it and mock fans for it (which happened to some of our lovely fic writers here writing for other yt fandoms, and i'm so sorry about it). dnp are fandom culture people. they've written fic themselves! and published it in their book!
the word parasocial has been twisted lately to imply any fan support is unnatural and should be shamed, which is complete fucking bullshit. making art is always important and valued. and it is necessary for your existence as a human, but also for the thing you're a fan of to thrive.
the parasocial side comes in once you start believing you know this person. and that you're their real friend. when in reality, they do not know you specifically, and you are not their friend, you are an audience member.
so a parasocial relationship only occurs when people start crossing boundaries (digging for not publicly available information, contacting people in their personal life, showing up to their house, etc). which, is absolutely nowhere close to real fan behaviour.
tl;dr: phanfic is great, i love you fic writers, parasociality is a problem but not one that we have
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A thing on Uran and Helena in Pluto
Okay a short little thing on Pluto. Uran and Helena are my absolute favourite characters in Pluto. Urasawa has always had amazing side characters, from Mr. Rosso in Monster to Lee Harvey Oswald and Jackie in Billy Bat to God in 20th Century Boys, but very few have tied off the emotional ends of the story like Uran and Helena.
Maybe I'm projecting here but much like myself I feel like Urasawa is absolutely obsessed with Frankenstein. And he recognizes the influence Frankenstein has on Dr. Umataro Tenma. Or at the very least, the similarities between the two. And so when he made the protagonist of one of his most popular works Monster, Dr Kenzo Tenma, he solidified that connection. Kenzo Tenma calls back to Victor Frankenstein needing to end his creation while also calling back to Japan's other famous Tenma, thus making the connection explicit. Another throughline between the three of them is that all three are father figures to their creations and have obligations to their children, though all three have varying levels of success with them.
I've only read what I like to call Urasawa's "Core Four", conspiracy minded thrillers that are essentially road trips featuring usually two main protagonists that we see the world through, Monster, 20th Century Boys, Pluto and Billy Bat. Though I still haven't caught up to Asadora and that could still possibly fit this mold, Urasawa's Core Four share a lot of themes and ideas. One of the most important being the responsibility for one's creations, whether it was Kenji Endo and the Book of Prophecy or Kevin Yamagata and Billy Bat or Dr. Kenzo Tenma and Johan, all of his protagonists could arguably be seen as someone with the need to take up the responsibility of their creations. So where do the protagonists of Pluto fit in there? That's where Uran and Helena come in.
But first, we should take a look at Pluto's themes. While I could be wrong, at a cursory glance, I feel like the general consensus towards it's themes is that it's about hatred. I don't really think that's what it is as I feel like Urasawa is more trying to show us what it is to be human and what it is to be alive. And in that, he has a hidden protagonist in Pluto. Someone who's influence snakes through the plot and isn't seen much, but without who the story's themes would remain incomplete. Pluto tackles what it is to be alive through many things, such as memory, sadness, grief, hatred, love and parenthood. But none of that works without the realization by Tenma of his own mistakes. And Uran and Helena bookend these revelations and are absolutley key to understanding that.
In my favourite chapter of the series, Chapter 37, Uran goes from person to person as she finds a way to deal with her grief and eventually comes across Tobio's grave, Tenma having left recently. It's an absolutely beautiful chapter that shows Uran's humanity and Urasawa's love for sharing these kind and soft moments. But it also sheds a light on Tenma as Uran realizes someone who was grieving has just left. Without saying much at all we realize that Tenma has finally realized his mistakes. In the process of grieving one son, he lost the other. While remembering Tobio, he let Atom go. His grief towards Tobio is clear in the following chapter, Chapter 38. All of the things he wanted Atom to be; Tobio come back to life, Tobio's ghost punishing him, Atom rejected. And Tenma could only see that rejection, and not what he had, another son.
Uran shows us very clearly what Pluto, the story, is. It's a chapter in their lives. And we've come into a story nearing the end for Tenma. And it's through the humanity of two absolutely amazing characters in their own right, Uran and Helena, that we are able to so fully understand Tenma. Despite being robots, these two characters are the most alive of everyone. They love fully and freely and are catalysts of change. Uran's vibrant and full of life in a way that really sticks out. And Helena has such depth that it's evident in every scene she's in. She's not pointed out to be made by any famous scientist so all the life she has is her own. These two represent the life of robot's more than any other characters in the series.
So it's that much more poignant when Helena finally breaks down after putting on such a strong front of everybody. Grief intersects and she brings out Tenma's sadness as well. They've both been putting up such strong fronts that it's heartbreaking to see them collapse. It completes Tenma's growth and strikes a heartbreaking contrast between the two. Tenma became the way he is through the loss of his son whereas Helena doesn't even get to remember her own loss. It makes you wonder if the grief for her and Geischt's child compounds her sorrow too.
Without these two and their grief, a large part of Pluto becomes inaccessible. Pluto is largely about death so when two characters come in who've never had a hand in the grim work of taking life, you see the world through a lens that's absolutely crucial in order to fully connect with all of the character's and their situations. Death and Grief has scarred the characters in Pluto. Time and time again they've chosen the worst path. They've chosen revenge and hatred. But Uran and Helena are different. Without them, the story is incomplete. They provide an alternative. They provide the path towards healing.
im sorry for this one:
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