There's this leather jacket on the My Chemical Romance webstore that I've been umming and ahhing over for the longest time. I liked the jacket, but to be honest I'd kind of remembered it differently and preferred my imaginary version to what was actually available, so surely it couldn't be that hard to just thrift a jacket and paint on it myself, right?
Although I've played The Sims for years, it was only ever very casually up until just this year. It was always a game I liked, but I never really realized it's potential until YouTube began recommending me Sims videos out of the blue and I saw just what the game had to offer. Of course I then began collecting the various expansion kits, although I always swore off the more supernatural ones as although I like that stuff I felt like I preferred a more realistic game play. Until last month anyway, when I was in the Halloween spirit and bought the Vampires pack on a whim!
I love vampires, they're my favorite supernatural entity and always have been since I first saw Bela Lugosi swirling his cape as Dracula. Recently I've been revisiting the vampire stories I'd missed, a big one being Interview With The Vampire which I loved and can't wait to start my way through the books as soon as I'm done with my current read! So I've been in more of a vampire mood than usual lately, and combined with the stereotypically gothic furniture and fashion items that also come with this game pack, I guess it was obvious I would cave and get it eventually. I figured it would be worth it even if I only bought it for the build and fashion items and completely ignored the vampires as I wasn't sure how I felt about them potentially harassing my mortal Sims and didn't like to think I'd have to be on high alert every night to scare off Vlad. But honestly it's ended up being my most favorite Sims pack I've ever bought!
Buying the pack gives you the additional world of Forgotten Hollow, which is perfectly spooky and always shrouded in mist and darkness so it's the ideal place for your vampires to live. Literally my only complaint about this world is that it's too small, I want to move all of my Sims here but there's only 5 build lots! It also comes with two pre-made vampire families (they're actually the 3 characters on the game cover) and usually I don't bother with the pre-made Sims but I've loved playing with these guys so much!
Vlad's houseFirst up is Vladislaus Straud, and he gets a bad rep in Simmer circles so he was the first character I checked out when I got the game. And it's his character that absolutely convinces me that this Vampires pack was made by really big vampire fans, or they did a ton of research because the attention to detail is incredible!
The vampires in the game have two forms, their regular day to day look, and their 'dark form' which appears when they bite. Vlad's 'dark form' is based on Nosferatu, the first vampire movie ever made in 1922 (and arguably still the best!) It's basically Dracula, but they didn't have the copyright to make Dracula so they made it anyway but changed the names and a few other details. Because of this, plus the fact it's a German Expressionist movie, it has one of the most unique and distinctive visual identities of any vampire movie ever made, and despite being completely silent it's just as entrancing today as it was 99 years ago. I'm going a bit off topic, but I just really love that they made Vlad into Count Orlok! It's fairly niche and a detail more casual players wouldn't pick up on which makes it even more special, as it's like they were really aiming this pack at Vampire enthusiasts! I also love that despite clearly being an old man Vlad is labeled in the game as a 'young adult' which I'm convinced is a reference to another vampire movie What We Do In The Shadows, specifically this scene with Vladislav:
Vlad's house itself is also incredibly detailed. At first glance it has a really odd layout, but in Bram Stoker's novel Dracula's castle is deliberately supposed to be confusing and disorientating which is how Jonathan Harker gets lost in it. Not to mention that genuine old European castles have weirdly shaped rooms that don't seem to lead anywhere and nonsensical layouts because they've been built on and expanded so much by the various owners over the centuries. A huge castle was a sign of wealth, it didn't matter if you didn't use parts of it, and it's not like they had the kind of designated room styles we have nowadays to fill it. I only explain this because I've just seen a lot of Simmers complain about Vlad's house, and I'm guessing it's because they either don't understand what these old European buildings are like, or are completely unfamiliar with vampire lore so I wanted to take a moment to explain it. Because that's what thrilled me SO MUCH about this game pack - the people that created it either REALLY did their research, or are vampire nerds too!
My favorite characters are actually the other family included in the game, specifically Caleb who is 100% a mid-00s era Emo and I love him for that. He lives with his sister Lilith who has a bit of a Gothabilly vibe with her Betty bangs. Lilith's life aspiration is to raise a vampire family, and Caleb wants to be a good vampire and find a way to survive without drinking the blood of humans 🥺 I tell you I am weak for Caleb, and he's become one of my most played Sims and befriended my main family. He's just perfect.
Caleb visiting my main Sim family doing his vampire thing, and drinking blood plasma from a fruit because he's trying to go veganI wasn't sure if I wanted to write about my Sims game, but I'm still so excited about this pack I just had to. It's a weird feeling because on the one hand I really want to talk about Sims stuff because I love it so much and it provides me with such great escapism which I've really needed this past year. But on the other hand, with the simulated life and creativity aspects it feels so personal and I get shy about sharing that - these characters are my OCs, I have stories, backgrounds, and lore that I've created for them in my head, and I'm not sure how much of that I want to put out there, you know? But I'd like to be brave and share a little now and then, especially when it's about new-to-me packs and such (although I've managed to collect a lot of them this year with all of the sales EA have 😬) But anyway! I really can't recommend the Vampires pack enough if you're interested in vampire lore, it does it really well! And I also recommend it if, also like me, you just want to live out your best emo life.
One of my favorite things about this time of year are the wild seals that turn up on the beaches to have their pups. It's usually a very busy beach at any other time of year, it's used for some kind of military training, but everything just comes to a complete stop for a few weeks to give the seals their peace. I've been coming to see them every year, and it's sad that they've had to put fences up because some people can't keep their hands to themselves, but it's still a really incredible experience and something I'm so lucky to have on my doorstep.
I went to London Comic Con this weekend, it was a bit of a last minute decision but I obviously haven't been able to go since 2019 and it felt really important to get out and do things I enjoy as this year has felt a bit weird and isolating. And I think I enjoyed it more than last time! I always feel really comfortable at cons, I really love people who are passionate about stuff as I can relate. I'd like to get a table and sell my illustrations there someday, I've never sold at cons before but I'd love to meet the people buying my art instead of the anonymity of online sales. The whole experience was really inspiring and I came home brimming with ideas for future illustrations and things to make!
I obviously had to go in cosplay, and as it was October and a bit chilly I decided to go as Anna from Frozen. I went as Elsa last time so it only felt right!
Because I had to stay in a hotel I made a proper weekend of it and went to see a couple of shows. On the Friday night I saw the new Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Cinderella, which I didn't know a whole lot about before going other than it was an updated retelling, but as I love fairy tales so much I wanted to give it a chance. And oh boy! I really hated it!
I especially like the original story of Cinderella because it's a really important story about abuse, grief, and hope. Cinderella loses both of her parents and is enslaved in her own home by her legal guardian while she's a minor, and her step family attempt to completely erode her feelings of self worth out of sheer spite. Even when she goes to the ball, whether in the Disney version or the original folktale, she never went there to meet the Prince, she didn't even recognize the Prince, she just wanted a night out to go dancing. She never dreamed a Prince would come and save her, she just hoped that one day she might be in a better position to be able to leave her step family behind: "No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true." And I hate this modern "empowered" interpretation that she just waits for a man to save her because she never once does that. And while I knew this musical was a retelling I was hoping it would still have some of that spirit, but unfortunately they just went down the "not like other girls" route instead.
It's set in the town of Belleville, where all of the female characters are 'Valley Girls' and all of the male characters are 'Jocks'. All except for Cinderella who is a tomboy 'Goth' (because an outcast always has to be a goth 😑) and Prince Sebastian who is nerdy and introverted. Naturally they're both hated by the townsfolk for being so different, and they've been friends their whole lives despite coming from entirely separate social backgrounds and are secretly in love with each other. It's just so boring and predictable that I was rolling my eyes the entire time. Some elements of the show are so over the top and ridiculous that it almost feels like pantomime, but it also takes itself far too seriously and straddles this really weird line where it can't decide what sort of story it wants to be. Even the Fairy Godmother is entirely changed; originally she's the literal embodiment of Cinderella's faith in her own abilities, now she's a plastic surgeon who Cinderella goes to and pays so she can look like everyone else. And this is such a horrifying message and not anywhere near as subversive as it thinks it's being!
This next bit is a huge spoiler, but the 'twist' at the end is that Prince Sebastian's older brother Prince Charming isn't actually dead like we're told throughout the musical, and naturally he interrupts Prince Sebastian's wedding to announce that he faked his death to avoid an arranged loveless marriage to a woman because he's actually gay and in love with the Duke. Which could of been an incredible social commentary on the whole royal thing, except it's the punchline. Also it's immediately accepted by absolutely everyone in the town, including the Queen who is thrilled with her gay son and accepts the Duke, so why exactly did Prince Charming feel like he had to run away in the first place? The plot line has no substance because there was seemingly never anything to overcome, it's like the writers just thought to themselves "what do young people like right now? Ah, the gays!" and just slapped something in to look woke. Especially when compared to something like the recent Netflix series Young Royals which genuinely dealt with a story line of a young Crown Prince realizing he's queer and dealing with the consequences of that in a very realistic way.
On Saturday night I saw Frozen, which felt appropriate as I was cosplaying Anna that weekend (not at the theater though!) I saw Frozen when I went to New York in 2019, and I didn't think I was going to see it in London although now I don't know why I was avoiding it as I love it so much! It's also changed quite a bit from it's Broadway run. The theater is larger so some of it's been re-staged, they've included references to Frozen II which I was less happy about, and they've included a new song and cut and shortened some others.
Anna's lost her only solo song True Love, which was one of my favorites and one of the moments where Anna has the most growth so I was really sad to see that go. It's always been my complaint even on Broadway that the betrayal scene between Anna and Hans is far too rushed, and unfortunately it's even more so now True Love is gone. I've also always felt like they missed a trick by not giving Hans his own song here - a mocking reprise of Love Is An Open Door would be absolutely perfect detailing how vulnerable and easy to fool Anna was. It's the linchpin of the whole final act so I've never understood why it's so hurried, but they have at last given Hans a couple of lines to sing if not a full song, and it's yet another reprise of his Hans of the Southern Isles track. I don't know why I'm surprised, they always do Hans dirty.
Overall I really loved it though! I loved Oliver Ormson as Hans, and the Duke of Weselton is always a character I don't take much notice of but he was wonderfully slimy here, and Samantha Barks is an absolute powerhouse and it was very exciting getting to see her live! I know it's not important and coincidental but I feel like she even looks the most like Elsa too in her face shape and features. And I always love seeing different interpretations of the character - on Broadway I saw Charissa Hogeland who played Elsa very anxious and timid, whereas Samantha was much more proud and you could feel the weight of her duties on her. The cast performed it with American accents too, which I appreciated. Wicked is performed as British, and it always feels really jarring to me as Oz is an American story and I'm so used to the OBC, and although they could technically get away with British accents for Frozen with it being European I'm glad they stuck with what sounds more familiar to the characters. I definitely need to see it again!
The Phantom of the Opera was the first musical that really got me into theater, and probably the show I've seen the most. I last saw it back in August on a whim as I knew it had been updated and I was curious - I knew it was a long shot, but I was kind of hoping that they might be making it more like the Oslo production from 2019. They didn't, but changes or not I fell in love with the story all over again.
I knew I wanted to see it again, and when I saw TodayTix were having a sale I bought a cheap ticket on a random date. I didn't think much about it, I literally just bought the best ticket at the best price, so I was floored when I arrived and saw they were filming it for the 35th anniversary and it was some huge event! There were roses on every seat with a note from the Phantom, and we were each given complimentary glasses of champagne. I think I enjoyed it all even more because it was all so unexpected!
Here's what I wore. I made the blouse the weekend before, and it ended up being a real headache! I mostly wanted to make the sleeves which I drafted myself, and I bought a pattern for the bodice as I figured it would be quicker and easier but that was a mistake! Apparently thinking the pattern will match the measurements on the outside of the packet is asking too much. But it came together in the end and I'm really happy with it! My dress has a painting of bears on it!
I love finding mushrooms. I don't pick any as I'm still learning to identify them. I was taking a photo of the big mushroom shelf growing from the side of this tree stump, and didn't even notice the tiny little wispy guys on top until I was looking at the photo.
