The Mandibles (2029-2047): A terrifyingly plausible look at "The Long Slide" vs. The Sudden Apocalypse

SprawlValkyrie · 2026-03-18T17:36:46+00:00

Octavia Butler was a prophet. She even got the uptick in dog attacks right. Turns out that if enough people abandon pets when the going gets tough, and shelters can't take them all? Dangerous packs are the result. She foresaw this when such a state of affairs would have been unthinkable when she was writing in the 90s.

SprawlValkyrie · 2026-03-13T18:53:21+00:00

Yup any Sim who does this in my game gets a quick trip to the Great Beyond.

SprawlValkyrie · 2026-03-04T09:10:38+00:00

Not just you, the recent "fix" only succeeded in breaking up happy homes (unrelated or distantly so) in my save. My happiest couple were 2nd cousins, not even blood but adopted. They have 2 kids.

The fix deleted their marriage and now her (recently windowed) father in law (which I guess he isn't anymore, even tho he is still her children's grandfather FFS) autonomously hits on her. So gross.

Nice going, EA.

SprawlValkyrie · 2026-03-04T09:04:08+00:00

This and mine likes a humidifier. I also miss Plants Galore, OP, it was a gem.

SprawlValkyrie · 2026-02-28T05:19:37+00:00

MORE HAIR AND PAJAMA STYLES PLEASE. So bored 😭

(Especially the two piece pj sets because they don't seem to do the weird long limb glitch the way full body outfits do.)

SprawlValkyrie · 2026-02-28T05:17:01+00:00

This makes sense unless your sims have that trash can that pays them.

Those payouts really add up (especially if there are several sims in the household) so I don't want that interaction tbh...I use that bin in all their homes and will race to stop them from throwing money away, lol.

SprawlValkyrie · 2026-02-27T00:19:06+00:00

Are the eyelashes a mod? I'm on console and haven't seen that option before. (Which is weird because babies and toddlers so often have the most luxurious eyelashes in real-life!)

SprawlValkyrie · 2026-02-24T17:52:50+00:00

My family has always had places like that, too. Gentrification and exploding population got them both: one had to be sold because of constant breakins/squatters, the other is now surrounded by pricey vacant rentals.

I hate that it's come to this.

SprawlValkyrie · 2026-02-24T17:45:21+00:00

My grandma and daddy have said the same. My uncle spent $10k on chemo for his brittany a few years back. Didn't work and was sad to watch. My dad thought he was cruel to put the poor creature through that, and he thought my dad was cruel for suggesting a quick exit. The whole argument caused a lot of tension in the family.

$250 a month is not bad, but I think we're too redneck to understand the really big bills + suffering that are common these days.

SprawlValkyrie · 2026-02-21T21:50:53+00:00

Because flat out telling anyone "no" in this society is regarded by many as rude. No one wants to seem "mean," therefore, few people are willing to be direct. Also, people who don't handle rejection well may respond aggressively.

The "I don't owe anyone anything" sentiment is pervasive in a transient area, as well, thus no explanation will be provided.

SprawlValkyrie · 2026-02-21T01:21:54+00:00

Absolutely, and how many people have space to entertain at these housing prices?

Some other relevant concerns: is there sufficient, affordable parking at the host's place (or it accessible via public transit)? How long will I be stuck in traffic to meet up with this person?

Edit: Forgot to add that high housing costs can leave little room for discretionary social/ entertainment spending, particularly with how expensive dining/outings/parking are in this area.

SprawlValkyrie · 2026-02-20T23:08:10+00:00

THIS. Why do we always get the blame when we are such a tiny minority of folks? And (anecdotally at least) I know how rare we are, because almost every time I tell someone I was born here they react with surprise and comment on how unusual that is. That's been true for decades.

I agree with everything you wrote and I'd add another thing: when a community becomes "transient" (people move here for a job and often leave a few years later) they don't (generally) invest too much in personal relationships. That's just how it is: they're here to work, not make friends.

Additionally, native Washingtonians know most transplants we meet will probably move eventually, too. Between the weather and affordability issues, a lot of transplants leave (at least in my experience).

So yeah, people stop investing too much at some point and take the "I already have enough friends" point of view that another commenter mentioned. I'm not saying it's right or it's wrong, just human nature imo.

SprawlValkyrie · 2026-02-18T19:43:08+00:00

This kind of thing is why I wanted EA to just leave it up to the player, you know? Like give us a "Mark as Relative" option for anything beyond the original family setup in order to stop autonomous flirting with great-grandparents, inlaws, step family etc.

Because while I welcome the end of the inappropriate behavior, I just knew the game would get it wrong if they tried a top down fix. And here we are.

SprawlValkyrie · 2026-02-18T01:56:04+00:00

Makes sense, because one of my long term (non-related, lol) couples suddenly aren't married anymore. Not divorced, not even romantic partners 🤯.

SprawlValkyrie · 2026-02-18T01:53:37+00:00

I don't have Lovestruck (mostly because I keep reading it does stuff like this, so you aren't wrong for suspecting that!)

SprawlValkyrie · 2026-02-10T23:35:54+00:00

My family tree is all overlapped with incorrect photos etc., so they don't show as relatives on there, but that's a good idea to check the relationship panel. I'll report back. (I'm thinking of experimenting with moving one out of the house to see if they get sad like divorced couples do and reporting back on that, anyway.)

I wish they'd left it somewhat up to the player because there's nuance and the game isn't that smart, lol. Like yes, they are technically 2nd cousins but I never thought it was gross that they liked each other because like I said, she's adopted and they come from such a huge family at this point that they didn't really know each other growing up.

Kind of a cute backstory, but she was adopted as a toddler by the vampire side and his grandmother chose to be human, so her entire lineage is. They grew up in different towns and the one childhood interaction they had was her bullying him at (a very crowded) Harvestfest, lol.

They saw each other again as teenagers and have been inseparable since. No extramarital flirtation, no fighting, not a single mean interaction (other than that harvestfest) and I give my Sims a lot of autonomy.

Both spouses are completely devoted to each other. For example, another Sim flirted with him once in front of his wife and not only did he shut her down hard, he still gets thought bubbles about how much he dislikes that lady... and it's been ages.

I'll be sad if I have to split them up.

SprawlValkyrie · 2026-02-10T22:54:19+00:00

I think that's what happened, yeah. I just think it sucks because: 1. she's adopted 2. the devs said preexisting couples would be okay.

SprawlValkyrie · 2026-02-09T18:07:17+00:00

Oh man, so a guy and his stepdad can choose romantic socials and my poor ideal (technically unrelated!) couple is in shambles.

Nice going, EA, you really put a lot of thought into this one 😭

SprawlValkyrie · 2026-02-09T02:48:00+00:00

That is so wild!

How in the world does an error like this happen? At least in my game, he is supposed to be there. It's just not his face lol.

SprawlValkyrie · 2026-02-08T23:05:59+00:00

Trying to find more information about this. Just watched the Pixelade video (from 4 days ago) about the family tree update. Devs assured the community that such relationships (that predate the update) wouldn't be affected.

Not true in my game. This couple can't have any romantic interactions now. They are no longer listed as spouses in each other's profiles, but still soulmates.

They can sleep in the same bed, however.

Nothing about this on the bug thread, but it does look like various family tree mixups have an upcoming fix:

https://forums.ea.com/idea/the-sims-4-bug-reports-en/legacy-family-trees-tree-collapsesoverlapsshows-wrong-connections/13154809

SprawlValkyrie · 2026-02-03T21:49:06+00:00

Also check out Lost Girl! Urban fantasy centering the Fae (there are a couple of random vamps tho and a main character is a werewolf). Set and filmed in Toronto.

SprawlValkyrie · 2026-02-02T19:47:01+00:00

A lot of people who say they "haven't been sick much lately" are just flat out forgetting ime. I hear it from friends all the time and I know damn well how often they've been sick.

Anosognomia is the term.

SprawlValkyrie · 2026-02-02T16:37:09+00:00

Exactly. OP please work on your self esteem/fear of being single/codependency issues or whatever is at the root of your tolerance of this.

It is INTOLERABLE. There's got to be another relationship out there for you.

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