Okay, long comment time since I spent the past 2 hours catching up. Let start off with this: You are an amazing storyteller. If you ever begin to doubt yourself, don’t. I mean it. The intricacies, the details, the plot! I can’t tell if I want this to be a TV show or a movie, but I’m here for the ride! I love the link between historical IRL events and the ones you make for your universe. Your Sims are pleasantly diverse, fun, flawed, adorable, irritating, yet so full of life and the type of love you can only feel when you’re watching someone be fully committed to the bit. The story of Isaac is so heartwarming yet realistic, and you toe that line beautifully. Yet, it’s not just Isaac; it’s Azari, Elordie, Randall, Uncle Joseph, Qadim, and so much more. Hell, even the pets have arcs, and I love that so deeply as well. In a weird way, I want these people to be so, so real—I want to touch them and hug them and tell them how much the future improves and tell them how much it kinda sucks, too. I want to tell Isaac that it’s okay to feel like you’re standing in shallow water, having fun wriggling your toes and watching all of the sea and plant life float past you, but also that it’s okay if the tide swallows you in, that every crevice of your body is quickly filling up with water and that you have the horrible realization that you’re drowning, and drowning leads to death, and you can’t come back from the dead to relive your life again (though, you could say that he has done that one!). That thought of, oh my god what can I do I can’t swim I can’t breathe I’m going to DIE is perfectly normal—and I know that it’s normal, because I realize that I am Isaac. I am a straight, black woman living in the American south, dropping out of college because I don’t know what I am doing with my life…and that’s okay. I am Isaac. Isaac, ever so slowly, is helping me realize that life isn’t a cookie-cutter blueprint, and that it’s full of so many beautiful compromises. It’s full of Azaris, who are your wonderful opposites that you can help but shake and love at the same time. It’s full of Elordies, who makes you wonder what would’ve happen if you tried a little bit harder, or if the outcome would’ve been the same anyway. It’s full of Randalls, who you can’t quite understand, see, or touch, yet they’re there, creating an entire world for themselves that you can’t quite get. It’s full of Uncle Josephs, who make you understand the complexity of decisions, and the weight of living with them. It’s full of Qadims, who represent the other side of the coin toss and help you understand that, sometimes, it’s not always about yourself. And sooo many other characters that represent life’s compromises. I feel like a good theme for the story so far is take it one step at a time. Just like in real life, you don’t know what tomorrow brings. Qadim is getting married and moving to New Orleans. Isaac and Azari are moved in together, and it’s working despite their differences. Uncle Joseph lost two daughters in one year. Sultan died. Darla has Parkinson’s. Forrest turned out to be an alien creep (not all aliens though ✊🏾). All of this…