Vibez Sim Magazine | Issue Two by Vibez Sim Magazine

Editor's Letter Hello to all of our lovely readers! Issue Two is here and we're so excited to have the chance to showcase another one for you. This month Vibez is celebrating Women's History Month and as a team of women, we decided to introduce ourselves as well. There are many people who don't understand who we are or why this magazine started. All of that will be discussed more within this read. Issue One was our baby, we're just getting better within time as the melanin in our skin allows ;) All of the support we've gathered from the community over the past weeks has really warmed our hearts and we're forever thankful. You guys, even the haters, are apart of the main reason for this. Thank you.

-Mickey; Founding EIC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 29 37 45 51 57 63 73 81 89

THE WOMEN BEHIND VIBEZ meet the women behind it all BLACK QUEENS WHO DESERVE MORE GLORY remember their names, they've done great things COLORISM CODED all blackness matter BLACK SIMMER MAGIC an interview with XMiraMira CREATING A PATH an interview with QwertySims BLACK GIRL NUDE an interview with HBCU-Black-Girl WE SPEAK EBONIX an interview with EbonixSimblr THE "ZADDY" PACK an interview with AprilBaby321 LUXXE an interview with UniqueleeMade87 LOOKBOOKS by Allesia

TABLE OF CONTENTS

91 103 109 117 119 125 127 130 135 140

WRITER'Z BLOCK a section for literature AT THE MOVIES Ki and Kristin reviews The Black Panther KARLEY UNCOVERED an interview with AppleKissSims TRIGGER WARNING please read before proceeding! RAISING AWARENESS THROUGH GAMING an interview with skillfulsimmer340 HOROSCOPES learn about your monthly Sim shambles VIBEZ MUSIC PLAYLIST a music playlist full of Vibez's current faves BISH BETTER HAVE MY MONEY Ki and Kyrie's review on Monique wanting more coins AT THE MOVIES Ki and Kristin reviews The Black Panther ITS A JUNGLE OUT THERE jungle adventure review by Kristin

VIBE

THE

E WOMEN BEHIND

"I’ve always been into The Sims. When I discovered the community on Tumblr, better known as the Simblr Community, it drew me in more. Seeing realistic Sims of multiple ethnicities attracted me and made me want to become active out of hiding behind my personal custom content finds blog. Roleplaying, storytelling, creators… I have never known of a place where these things happened. I was so new to it all, honestly. After my first few months of trying out storytelling and role playing I developed a few friendships and finally felt welcome. Roleplaying on Tumblr was where it was at. It seemed like the most fun at the moment. Creating characters, living through their flaws, strengths, and traits, developing friendships with other characters whose owners were doing the same… it was becoming a hobby that I loved most. They had magazines, modeling agencies, and other group opportunities for people to join. With me being as shy as I was I just stayed in what I felt like was my lane of a beginner and watched the festivities go down. I didn’t think I was ready to be apart of a mass group of multiple personalities just yet, not one on one anyway. I was still figuring people out with a guard up so high. There were a few magazines that were looking for members and models to join. While underestimating my talents still, an old friend told me to shoot my shot. “The worst they can say is no” she said. I gained some courage and contacted these different agencies and magazines finally. I badly wanted to be apart of these groups because I’ve always noticed the lack of “shades” within their medias. I didn’t see many people who looked like me; black and plus sized. I wanted to ad diversity and give ideas that would include everyone. I was holding on to hope that they’ll give me a chance to be apart of what I thought would be a great chance to bring things together where no one would feel left out. This was my opportunity to reach out and go in. Days turned into weeks while I watched as these people ignore me. You know when someone is ignoring you when they have time to post all of their replies to other people lol. It was a “feeling”. I was now rejected and left to watch as more Sims who I couldn’t relate to be showcased and praised. I wanted to see more plus sized Sims… I wanted to see more black Sims (that actually looked black!) I said fuck it… It's time to make my own shit." - PixelHeaux 4

IBEZ SIM MAGAZINE was made to set a tone. I… MATTER… TOO! I watched EbonixSims post hairs to better represent ethnic hairstyles since many of the main hair meshers said “our hair was too hard to make” and “if we want these hairs we needed to make them ourselves”... I watched XMiraMira created over 30 skin shades that better represented black skin tones since EA ignored us constantly and other tones were ashy as fuck from creators I will not name… I was inspired to make a change, some difference, something! It struck me one day, “Hey! Let's make a magazine for POC” It hasn’t been done within Simblr, not to my knowledge, so it was a go for me. I made it my goal to create my own foundation of shining light on US since we were often left in the dark. It took a while to get it all moving, two years actually lol, but we’re here and we’re live baby!

were just as inspired and we got to work. Issue One of VSM was our baby. So many errors, dear god haha, but we made it through. Every week we grow smarter and better at this. None of us, a group 8, ever created a magazine. It was important that we stayed honest and considerate, but mainly true. We’re only human so mistakes will be made but within each one we learn to avoid and come back even stronger. I’m so happy to be around such amazing women and watch our team turn into a family.

The work and time each one of us put into perfecting our sources is quite outstanding. We have our jobs, personal relationships, school work, etc, and still make time to come together and work on new things to speak on and new ways to show our love towards our community. From interviews to doing research as if we’re writing additional Vibez Sim Magazine is dedicated to POC Simmers, papers for that annoying college professor, we the content within the community and real life truly put in our work. situations that we go through offline. It was important to me to make sure our people could You guys know what I’m about and who I am, stay educated and seek help if needed. I wanted to and now why Vibez is what it is. I want you to include beauty, entertainment, lifestlye, etc. What meet my team and get to know about them too. we go through should always be incorporated with Meet the women who helped created it all. Our answers on how to fix things and/or avoid them. bond is greater now than it was a month ago and I wanted to inspire people to stay tuned, learn I could have never been more proud. Ladies and something new, help support, and feel important. gentlemen, meet The Vibez Team. With these thoughts in mind I made a team who 5

Founding Editor in Chief MICKEY Clutter addict, Ambitious WIP hoarder, and Vibez inspirer. Whats my Vibe? I love trap soul, neo soul, and contemporary r&b music. 6LACK, Kehlani, and Jhene Aiko are #TeamBaes. Minimalist with a pop of color is my fave aesthetic. I love peach flavored drinks and lemon just makes it better. SautĂŠed veggies on Basmati brown rice is my favorite meal and there is no such thing as "too much cheese". Thai chicken curry is good too! OMG! I love surfing the internet and learning new things about beauty care and natural DIYs. My tarot cards and crystlas speak to me more than my friends do and I love plants and animals. When I'm not playing Sims I'm on my PS4 making males upset because I'm a constant reminder that you don't need to be a male in order to whoop ass. My favorite things to wear are Converse (I'd rather be barefoot tbh), some distressed jeans (or joggers), and a graphic tee of something you can't wear to church. My team would describe me as a goof with passion. I love to joke around but when its time to be serious, I'm on my shit.

Catch My Vibe: Just be chill and stay true to you. I hate people that follow crowds. You love makeup and furry animals? We can be friends!

Art Director SHEVA Artist, Black Simmer for Life, Lover Whats my Vibe? Don’t get me talking about food. Like, if I could safely breathe mac n cheese into my lungs to live, I probably would. I’m just big on dairy in general, but ya girl has more complicated tastes, too. I love Mediterranean and Greek food. It’s just the best stuff ever. I don’t wanna see anyone talking smack about it, either! As far as music…let’s just say if I was an elite government spy and the enemy wanted to torture me for information, they wouldn’t need to pull out my fingernails or electrocute me. All they have to do is play classic country and bluegrass albums back to back for an hour. I’m good with just about everything else, excluding screamo, and the Top 40. Hobbies? Well I love making art. I used to do commissions but stopped because I felt my art wasn’t representing me. I got back into it to some extent because I can really vibe with what this magazine stands for and the team that helps make it happen. My style kinda ties into that as well. I love things that pop, and stand out. Bold colors, are great, but sometimes I like to make things simple. My team would describe me as hype, real and honest, helpful, and funny. Hopefully in the future we can all consider each other the best of friends.

Catch My Vibe: I can get along with anyone that I can create, laugh, play, discuss deep stuff with. I’m also very no-nonsense, but I can get with the shits if you feel like trying me. Zon’t Zo it. 9

Social Media Manager KYRIE Lover of August Alsina, Life’s Overthinker, Bleeds Ambition Whats my Vibe? I love all types of music except metal, heavy metal, and rock. Although I mostly listen to R&B, Hip-Hop, Rap. My favorite food is tacos. My favorite movies are ATL and Kingdom Come. My favorite book authors are mimi_thewriter, LadyK30, intellectual212, QueenGoldChainz. Go check their stories out on wattpad Mostly august alsina fan fiction lol but they have good stories! My favorite upcoming rapper is Young Lyric. She a beast. I have no sense of fashion so whatever is comfortable and chill that’s what I throw on. My team would describe me as the Gif Queen, Heavy Usage of Emojis, Hypewoman, the Reminder, and Caring. You can always catch me walking into the groupchat with a grand Gif entrance. Emojis are life so I usually use those a lot. I’m always encouraging people to be the best version of themselves. I just love encouraging people to be great and I love seeing people being great. I feel like my team would agree.

Catch My Vibe: Being real! In a world full of “yes” people, know that its okay to be a “no” person. Being real entails not being afraid to say, “Girl NO. Don’t do that” I don’t need somebody who will always tell me yes when I’m about to do something stupid. Let’s educate each other, grow with each other and be great together! 11

Copy Editor / Journalist KRISTIN Avid Simmer, Extroverted Introvert, Wakandan Native Whats my Vibe? My favorite things are Eric Jerome Dicky Novels, Marvel Movies, and of course, Simming. Another random hobby I have is making body butter and lip balm. I love all music, but mostly Beyoncé, Prince, and recently Kendrick Lamar. I tend to immerse myself completely in whatever thing I’m into at the time, which can be any number of things at any given moment. Usually its fun, but also exhausting. My team would describe me as silly, sometimes quiet. Amusing? Awkward maybe… but in an endearing way, not an annoying way (I hope, lol)

Catch My Vibe: Have a good sense of humor… I love to laugh. I like all different kinds of people, but I’m mostly quiet and observant unless I get really comfortable. I like being around people with huge personalities, I get to be social, but don’t have to be the center of attention.

Journalist KI The Music Heaux, The Writer, and The Media Wig Snatcher Whats my Vibe? A cross between chill and hype. I’m very versatile. One moment I’ll be out on an adventure, next minute I’m shopping or having dinner with friends, and then on another occasion, I’ll be home with my books, my Xbox, some snacks, and Netflix. I’m a music enthusiast. If we can’t go on a road trip and listen to 80’s hip hop, old school R&B, Disney music, gangsta rap, rock music, and trap beats on the same playlist, we cannot be friends. Anime is life and that’s point blank. Comics are the greatest. Oh and it’s still #WakandaForever. I indulge in sports and will debate with anybody about them all day. I’m a foodie to my heart so I don’t really have a certain favorite food, but I do have a soft spot for turkey club sandwiches with a sweet tea. I’m heavily into writing and I’m into astrology. My iPod is my companion. I also draw. When I think of my overall style, I’m either dressed to attend a red carpet event or I look like a homeless person. There is no in-between. My team would describe me as the goofy one and brutally honest. I’ll say whatever is on my mind.

Catch My Vibe: Easy! Shoot your shot! I like people like me. Chill most days but aren’t afraid to get hype. I tend to vibe heavily with intelligent, fun-loving people who know how to laugh, joke around, and don’t have the personality of a damp gym sock. 15

Journalist MILLAH Mother, Mediator, Go With The Flow-er What’s my Vibe? A lot of things. Favorite food is seafood. I love bright colors. I love novelty socks but hate wearing socks. Weird, right? I love all types of music, but I think Neo-Soul tops it (think Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, etc.) I love the bohemian style and I’ve been told i’m mellow. I LOVE horror flicks (and you HAVE to watch them in the dark). My team would describe me as intelligent, funny, and someone you could get along with. I’ve also been told I’m blunt and pragmatic.

Catch My Vibe: You can catch my vibe by having a sense of humor with a splash of sarcasm, and not being afraid to be yourself. By being understanding even if you don’t agree, and honest. Food doesnt hurt. LOL.

Designer MO Magic Lover, Gamer, Shy Whats my Vibe? Soul food, neo soul, AND creating things. My style is "unique". My team would describe me as shy and sweet.

Catch My Vibe: Im big on vibes and meditation. Anyone who loves music, and can eat is my type of person.

Beauty/Fashion Editor ALLESIA Artistic, Fun, and Observant. What’s my Vibe? I’m a very laid back, jeans and calm T-shirt kinda girl. I can sit in my room vibin’ to early 90s R&B while I sketch all day long. My team would describe me as a goofy and fun loving type of person. Because all I do is joke and laugh most of the time.

Catch My Vibe: The type of people I vibe with are always most like me. We just be chillin. We can watch cartoon, play Sims, talk shit about whatever and just feed off each other’s energy.

They hold strengths that I am weak in, suggest ideas that I miss during discussions, provide material I can not. It's like, we all complete each other into making Vibez a better magazine.We knew weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d get hate and bashings for it but didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t give any care at all. It's about making a point to us, making a movement. We were going to get our points across and no one was going to do anything about it. We shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to be afraid of what others think while making it priority to provide a voice and love for the ones we relate to in our community.

We have each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s back. When one needs uplifting, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re all there trying to make their day(s) better. Sisterhood if you want to call it that, it's real. I never worked with such loving, caring, and patient people. It's like we get each other in a sense and always show respect no matter what differences we have.

My girls are my EVERYTHING. Over the last couple of months we have grown into more than just a team. We are a complete family, I love them. Bringing together a team was hard for me to do. I didn’t know most of these talented souls at first and was skeptical, I never was good with “new people”. It all worked in the end and I can say with no hesitation that I have made the perfect choice. I love them so much and I can not wait to see what's in store for us in the near future. We’re only getting better at this every time we login, every time we get on Photoshop, every time we open Google Docs… Are you ready?

Black Queens

WHO DESERVE MORE GLORY BY: MICKEY

In the light of National Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Month we focus on the wonderful human beings who have made change and tried or successfully accomplished bettering life for all. We should want to continuously acknowledge those that should have more identification than theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve received. These women are very powerful in their own way and all have pitched in towards a brighter tomorrow. Lets learn their names and remember their strengths.

Audre Lorde Lorde was a Caribbean-American writer and activist. She empowered her readers with her poems that tackled the injustices of racism, sexism, and homophobia. She selfdescribes herself as â&#x20AC;&#x153;black, lesbian, mother, warrior and poetâ&#x20AC;?.

Marsha P. Johnson Marsha P. Johnson was a black transgender activist who helped mentor and help provide housing for homeless LGBT youth. She co-founded the Gay Liberation Front; an organization advocated for the sexual liberation of all people. Johnson also co-founded STAR and STAR House that helped provided shelter to homeless queer youth and other similar organizations and homes like it.

Dominique Dawes Dawes was the first African American to win an individual Olympic medal in womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gymnastics for her floor performance at the 1996 games in Atlanta, Georgia.

Daisy Bates Along with her husband, Bates ran a weekly black newspaper and became the president of the Arkansas chapter of NAACP.

Kathleen Clever Kathleen Cleaver was one of the figures in Black Panther history. She was a communications secretary for the organization and helped found the Human Rights Research Fund.

Fannie Lou Hamer Hammer was a civil rights activist who helped blacks register to vote. She also co-founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.

Phillis Wheatley Phillis Wheatley was a slave who was kidnapped and brought to America then later was sold to a family in Boston. She learned how to read eventually and became one of the first women to publish a book of poetry in 1773.

Let's give a special thanks to these women for making changes and standing against the odds.

COLORISM CODED By Sheva

and

We, at Vibez Sim Magazine, are a predominantly POC publication that welcomes all readers to enjoy our content. We understand that the discussion of sensitive subjects may trigger negative responses, but we ask that our readers remain respectful of the opinions held within this article. As a staff of black women, subjects revolving around Black culture weigh heavily on our hearts and minds, and we will continue to use our platform to open a dialogue with the community about POC and NBPOC issues both in and out of game

et’s address colorism. Colorism has been a staple of division in the black community for hundreds of years. This face-off is as old as the apocryphal tale of Willie Lynch, the early 18th-century slave owner who, as black folklore goes, advised that the best way to control slaves was to pit them against each other on the basis of skin color. Colorism is the principle that those with lighter, fairer skin are treated with a higher regard than those with darker skin, and it happens both between racial communities and within them. Media outlets have long been accused of using Photoshop to lighten darker-skinned folks in order to make them more appealing to the masses. During Obama's first run for president, sources audaciously pointed out that our first black president was a light-skinned man, suggesting that he may not have been elected or had the same opportunities to be elected if he were darkerskinned. This discrimination has historical roots — during slavery, lighter-skinned black people often worked in the house, while darker-skinned black people were relegated to work in the fields. (Source: Kristin Collins Jackson. 5 Truths About Colorism That I've Learned As a Black Woman In NYC. Nov 18 2014) Studies have shown that darker-skinned black Americans continue to fare worse than lighter-skinned ones in the essential components shaping society, from pay and jail time to selfconfidence and rates of marriage. Let’s go over the real facts though. Colorism doesn’t affect just women or darker skinned people. It also doesn’t just exist in the black community. But for now, we are going to discuss the racial hierarchy within our people and how it affects us, from stereotypes, hair, how it affects men and women alike, to how it’s portrayed in the media. So let’s talk. In all ‘Fairness’ As previously stated, colorism is an internationally practiced, baseless ideology that is deeply rooted in hatred and continues to prey on the self-esteem of billions of melanated souls all over the globe. Colorism, which is a direct result of institutionalized racism, places a disproportionately high value on having a lighter complexion, while simultaneously undervaluing the beauty of

darker skinned individuals. Have you ever heard of the “brown paper bag test?” The brown paper bag test was racial discrimination that was practiced within the African-American community by comparing an individual's skin tone to the color of a brown paper bag. This test was to determine that people with skin lighter than the brown paper bag could be deemed privileges that their darker skinned counterparts would have no access to. This has carried over subtly in modern day society, where lighter skinned people are able to blend in with elite societies, being allowed social and economic advantages over darker skinned people. Even historically black colleges, like Howard University for example, participated in colorist practices in the past, when skin color determined one’s admission. Despite its antiquity, the implementation of coloristic ideals remains prevalent in the modern world. Even Hollywood actress Lupita Nyong’o who starred in groundbreaking 2018 film Black Panther shared her insecurities about her own complexion in her upcoming book Sulwe, which is about a young African girl of dark complexion who finds peace and acceptance of her appearance in her journey to reverse the very God-given thing that makes her so beautiful. Lupita expressed that some part of her would always feel unattractive cue to having dark skin, and her own book is a testimony of her personal struggle with the evils of colorism (Source: Glamour Magazine, November 3, 2014). This is the power of the racist and insensitive core of colorism in modern society. Someone as beautiful and successful as Lupita has had her psyche so thoroughly penetrated that she could never be 100% happy in her own skin, and the saddest fact of all is that she isn’t the only one.

GOOD HAIR

Skin color isn’t the only unnecessary evil that black people of the world deal with today. In recent years, the natural hair movement (the rejection of permanent, chemical hair straighteners by black women in favor of their naturally textured hair) has taken off and continues to ride a wave into a remodeled society where truly loving oneself is becoming the trend. However, this doesn’t mean that problematic ideals aren’t still lurking in darkened corners awaiting the opportunity to pounce on hapless victims without the tools to shield themselves from non-inclusive beauty standards. One of those problematic ideals is the standard “good hair” which is a term predominantly used in in African American communities to denote the presence of looser, wavier curl pattern inspired by the presence of white ancestry in one’s DNA. Just like with colorism, the whiter presenting your hair texture was, the more acceptable you would be deemed in black society. This is in part what makes the term so hurtful. The Bible of Good Hair-ology dictates that the girl with 4C (kinky-curly) hair has something less desirable than the girl with 3C (curly-wavy) hair. If you still don’t believe it, the descriptions tell all. Kinky-coily curls that are more afro textured are often described as difficult to manage and “nappy”, while looser curls and waves are given more favorable terms such as silky and shiny. The obvious bias between the two opens the door for discrimination in the workplace, as demonstrated by employees being told to change their hair because it is too “urban” , and even the U.S military banning braided and loc styles for its soldiers which has been lifted. In short, the term “good hair” is a harmful concept that serves to further divide and classify a particular subset of human being based upon naturally occurring genetic, and prevents self-acceptance in many men and women in today’s society. Let’s not bring that any further into 2018.

US VS. THEM

Colorism has a funny way of accepting men and women in different aspects. Fairer skinned women have always represented as both idealized beauty and femininity, with the belief that they are smarter, more successful, harder working , better with relationships, healthier and more lady-like than dark-skinned women. The lighter you are, the more European you appear, and the better you will be accepted. That’s how the Western standard of beauty works. However, being fair skinned has its disadvantages. It’s not all smooth sailing. There are always rapid fire questions from others asking if they are mixed race, the assumption that they are stuck-up and snobby simply for being lighter skinned, a false sense of self-worth because of society’s standards, and sometimes, alienation. A great number of light skinned girls and women sometimes feel like they don’t belong to any racial group of people. Racial identity in societies is significant all around the world, and feeling like you can’t identify with any group ends up affecting them. Darker skinned women are constantly devalued and dehumanized, often perceived as loud, ratchet, ghetto, masculine, uglier, and “undateable." And ya’ll can get mad at me if ya’ll want to for saying it, but I’m going to say it anyway. Darker skinned men are often the main perpetrators of colorism against dark skinned women (**ahem** Kodak Black…EW…but still). You know the phrase I really hate? “You’re pretty for a dark skinned girl.” So what are you trying to say? Dark skinned women can’t be beautiful? It’s discouraging honestly. Let’s look at Lil Kim for example. She was a beautiful woman. Dark skinned. Successful rapper. She explained her struggle to accept herself in this June 2000 Newsweek interview: “All my life men have told me I wasn’t pretty enough—even the men I was dating…It’s always been men putting me down just like my dad. To this day when someone says I’m cute, I can’t see it. I don’t see it no matter what anybody says. I have low self-esteem and I always have. Guys always cheated on me with women who were Europeanlooking. You know, the long-hair type. Really beautiful women that left me thinking, ‘How I can I compete with that?’ Being a regular black girl wasn’t good enough.’” Low self- esteem and a poisoned mindset drove Lil Kim to plastic surgery, whitening her skin and altering her facial features. What happened with Lil Kim was a result of intersectional racism, classism, and sexism. Why would anyone be shocked when there are toxic societal expectations placed on women of color? Society, however, is more comfortable with dark skinned men than dark skinned women. 41

Dark skinned men can be seen as macho, rugged, rough; all things affirming to his masculinity, and therefore appealing in the eyes of Black men and women. For example, your Morris Chestnuts and your Idris Elbas can peacefully co-exist with your Michael Ealys and your Boris Kodjoes. Even though they have darker skin, they are humanized more than the dark skinned woman. J. Cole has recently said that his lighter skin may have contributed to his success, there’s no doubt that the music industry is also more comfortable with dark skinned men than dark skinned women. The masculine, rugged, and macho associations with dark skin are extremely helpful in the careers of dark skinned male Hip-Hop artists like Tyrese, Rick Ross, Lil’ Wayne, Akon, and 2 Chainz, just to give a tiny sampling of the many successful dark skinned men in music throughout the years. When you look at a lighter skinned rapper like Drake, who lives on the receiving end of colorist jokes, it becomes clearer. He’s constantly seen as soft and more feminine, with his face on memes with captions such as, “Drake the type of dude to set his alarm to 11:11 to make a wish.” Let me be frank. We are out here messing up ya’ll. You gotta think about it. Light skinned, dark skinned, hell, even medium-brown skinned (who I know are probably looking at both sides shaking their heads because they are never involved), it doesn’t matter. We’re all black to society!!!! I think Jay Z covered that to a point in The Story of OJ on his 4:44 album. We gotta rise above this institutionalized racism and deep rooted white supremacy and be proud of our blackness no matter what color we are. Black is beautiful and it comes in all shades. Why must we accept one and not the other? Skin color should not be a factor in how one is perceived in life and this is the poison that runs through our minds today. We gotta stop this inner oppression. We are magical. We got melanin, the shit that a lot of people out here would kill to have and ya’ll want to sit up here and dog people out just because they have more than you do? It’s sad. We gotta be together in this cold world. But what do I know? We are just black women with a pen, a heart, feelings, and love for every damn body, I guess.

STAY BLACK. STAY MELANATED. STAY MAGICAL. PEACE. 42

Black Simmer Magic BY: MILLAHSIRHEA

One random day while scrolling through my Facebook timeline I came across a video by AJ+. It featured a simmer by the name of Xmiramira, the creator of The Black Simmer, a forum that was created for people of color who play The Sims. I was excited. After years of playing, I finally found a community of people just like me who play The Sims and it opened a whole new world for me. I can only imagine the number of people who felt like I did. This was the first time I interacted with other players and didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t feel like I was too old to play. I finally felt like I belonged. I can only imagine how many simmers out there felt the same way I did. Xmiramira was gracious enough to take some time out of her busy schedule to talk to me about The Black Simmer, her role in the simming community, and what she hopes for the future.

When did you start playing The Sims? I started playing The Sims between 10-11 years old. I started off on console. Sims Bustin’ Out. I discovered later, The Sims 2, and it went on from there.

should “be CC” (custom content), or that they should play IMVU if they wanted certain content. Me looking for suitable skin tones for my sims after not being able to make an accurate sim-self with dark skin. I went through 50+ pages on a CC website and still couldn’t What was your initial reaction to playing the find what I needed. Me noticing the blatant racism game? these CC download websites exhibit by blatantly I loved it. I didn’t want to play anything else. I played it ignoring creations made by black people in the simming non-stop, and even got friends hooked on it. community forcing people to have to dig through Tumblr to find content they want or thinking that the content Overall, what’s one thing that you love about The doesn’t exist. Sims? The creativity aspect: creating characters, the So, what was your thought process behind customization, creating, and controlling their little creating the forum? What were your hopes for it? worlds or leaving them to their own devices. It’s fun. A space where people from different backgrounds can create content, share, and teach one another how As The Sims franchise continued to grow, did your to create content. A space where we can talk about feelings towards the game change? If so, in what everything from our favorite TV shows to how to create way? meshes in Blender. I feel like the game is beginning to lack detail. I feel like the small details are what made so many of us love the Do you feel TBS has helped with representation? game. There were so many different things to do in If so, how? previous iterations of the game. I’m trying to remain I definitely feel that TBS has helped with representation. optimistic that the team will take note of how the public It has allowed people of different races, cultures, and feels about The Sims 4 and implement more details. backgrounds to ask themselves why they play the game the way they currently do, as well as opening them up If you could have EA focus on one of these small to the possibilities that come with a more diverse set of details, which would it be and why? content. If I have to focus on one, I would say giving the sims more personality. Who do you know [gets] punched in the face What does representation mean to you? and then proceeds to laugh and talk about life with the Representation to me means that marginalized person who attacked them? They need personality. The people of all different shapes, sizes, colors, and cultural little quirky things that made them, them. Zodiac signs, backgrounds are given spaces to exist, grow, and thrive favorite foods, traits that really affected gameplay. free of microaggressions and hate. It also means to me That when they gossip it actually holds weight and that these marginalized groups are being shown and affects relationships in game. Reworking personalities, represented in TV, movies, music, and gaming, and it interactions, and traits is a big one. I know you said one, becoming the norm and eventually not newsworthy. but it’s a lot. (laughs) How do you feel about your role in allowing POCs That’s true. I do forget the little things that made to be represented? previous Sims games great. It makes me happy! Really happy, when people tell me, These are the things that keep people as addicts. (laughs) “Hey because of what you created, my game experience You never know what’s gonna happen. has been enhanced.” It makes me feel like I am doing something to help others and something that’s worth I’d like to talk about The Black Simmer (TBS) it. I am helping people come out of their shells and create I came across an AJ+ interview that spoke about and engage. It’s a really good feeling. Knowing that in representation in The Sims 4 and what it meant itself is one big factor that keeps me going. to POC (people of color) simmers, specifically black POCs, featuring you. Most people in the What made you expand the forum into the black community know that what you created Facebook page, discord, etc.? changed the game for a lot of us. Can you tell me I wanted to reach a broader audience. I know everyone is what made you come up with TBS? not familiar with forums and how they operate. I know It was a variety of things: Me looking for people just how broad the demographic is for people who love to relate to and discus our love for sims while still The Sims, so I wanted to have social media channels and relating on a cultural level. Not really seeing a space apps to reach as many people as I could. that welcomed POC, or more specifically black people. Seeing simmers who requested more inclusive content I for one am so glad you expanded. I am a part of from the dev[elopers] on the official forums be told form the Facebook group and forum, and even though non-black simmers that the content that they want I have been checking the forum out more often I 47

still don’t know how to navigate it completely. I definitely need to check out your tutorial on that. (laughs) Forums used to aggravate the hell out of me and they still do to a degree, so I get it. (laughs)

I remember you saying that in a stream. Don’t feed the trolls! (laughs) Yeah, trolls need attention. I flame them from time to time but don’t let them consume you or phase you. That’s their goal, to aggravate and/or discourage you.

How does the growth of the forum make you feel? It makes me excited that all these sims lovers from all over the world are just joining, interacting, sharing, and downloading content. It’s really cool. I wonder what it can develop into.

Where do you see The Black Simmer in the future? What are your hopes? I hope that it keeps growing and people continue to build relationships, and meet people who share the same interests, even outside of the Sims. Even if they end up elsewhere (different games, communities, hobbies etc). Did you ever think TBS would turn into what it is I'm hoping the creation of this community can open up today? more conversations about diversity in tech, gaming & No, not even a little bit. (laughs) I’m still kind of surprised. gaming development. You may have been asked this or come across this before, but how would you respond to people who ask why such a space for POCs is needed? I would compile situations where people have approached me and others online to show love for creating this space. Posts where people tell me their little children now have interest in this game because they see they can create characters that look like them.

So, what’s one thing that you would like to leave our readers with? Don’t let anyone or anything stop you from doing what you want or pursuing what you love. Keep pushing and block out the negativity and the hate. Thank you so much , Xmiramira! Those are definitely positive words to live by and I hope our readers continue to pursue their goals.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but TBS was IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE created to be a safe place for POCs to interact, find and learn how to create CC, and socialize INFORMATION ABOUT THE with one another, yet it is inclusive. Why? BLACK SIMMER,PLEASE CHECK A multitude of reasons. With the amount of attention this group has attracted I think it would attract tons of OUT THE LINKS BELOW: trolls and would end up doing more harm than good. Facebook for example. Imagine the amount of nonTwitch: black people who would create fake profiles just to get https://www.twitch.tv/theblacksimmer in. With the forum there is really no way to tell who you h t t p s : / / w w w. t w i t c h . t v / c o m m u n i t i e s / are. In the year TBS has been in existence we’ve had very theblacksimmer minimal racist trolls and issues internally. I feel like if I did that, the trolling would increase. The Black Simmer Forum h t t p : / / w w w.t h e b l a c k s i m m e r.c o m / i n d e x . I never thought of it from that standpoint, but it php?wwwRedirect makes sense. Yeah because everybody is like “why,” but when that The Black Simmer Blog interview [with AJ+] went viral the racists came http://theblacksimmer.blogspot.com running. They spend hella time in OTHER spaces talking shit, but I can still count on one hand how many times You Tube someone has infiltrated the forum, discord, or Facebook h t t p s : / / w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m / c h a n n e l / with racist BS. I get more racists trolls as an individual UCLtk2qqy6AgIATIUfXrz4Yw playing video games head on versus the group as a whole. Twitter https://twitter.com/theblacksimmer Why do you think that is? Probably because people always want access to Tumblr something they can’t have access to, so if I put an http://theblacksimmer.tumblr.com/ emphasis on black/POC only, that would fuel more trolls because now they feel they need to do f*ckery. Racist trolls only troll to seek attention and spread hate. If they see no one is paying them any mind they don’t bother. 49

An interview with Qwertysims By MillahSirhea

wertysims is new to the simblr community, but not new to The Sims. I’ve very recently come across their page and I can already tell they are creating their own path to travel in the simming community and are inviting us along for the journey. Together, with friends @simcor and @luxurypartystuff, they created a Discord server dedicated specifically to black simmers who play with and create maxis match custom content. I was able to take some time with them to get to know them a little bit more and find out what we can expect from their Discord server. When did you start playing The Sims? I actually had to log into my old Sims 3 page to find out! According to it, I joined on June 6, 2009. So, The Sims 3 was your first sims game? What was your initial reaction to the game? It was the first one I played by myself, definitely. I had a friend in middle school who played The Sims 2, but all I really did was watch, so I don’t count that. My initial reaction was positive because I like casual stressfree gaming and The Sims is about as casual as you can get. What’s one thing you loved about the game specifically? About The Sims 3? Probably the open world or the sliders. For The Sims 4 I would say the whole emoticon system makes it really cool. Have any of your feelings towards the game changed? I think now more than ever it’s important to listen to the concerns of consumers and it’s becoming more and more apparent that EA isn’t 100% open to that, so the opinion of EA as a corporation has sort of shaped my feelings about the game itself. I don't hate the game with a burning fiery passion, but I do wish there was at least another competitor out there that people could migrate to if they are continually displeased. I’ve recently come across your tumblr page within the past few weeks. I was told you are fairly new to the simming community. When did you

start being active in the community and why did you start? I am! I started just about a month ago, really, and the community has been welcoming as hell. I decided to join the simblr community because I had spent the last six or so years of my time online in the tumblr roleplaying community and over the years I’d just become so exhausted by the elitism, the cliques, and the extreme levels of ignorance that are encouraged over on that side of tumblr. Of course, every single online community has the exact same kinds of pitfalls (-isms and phobias are gonna follow you wherever you go) but I really just needed a fresh start where I wasn't going into something with my rose-colored glasses on. When you say “that side” of Tumblr, do you mean roleplaying specifically? Yep! I’m talking about the RPC (role playing community) in general the same way one would say “the simblr community.” I am glad to hear the simblr community has been welcoming of you. So am I. I see the sims you post are maxis match. Why MM as opposed to alpha? I started out with alpha because I was used to it from The Sims 3, but I switched over to MM because I realized it looked a lot cleaner on my computer. I have Mac, so I can’t use the HQ (high quality) mod, reshade and all that jazz. I had to go with what looked the best for me, and that was MM. Is there anything you feel is lacking or could be changed in The Sims 4? It’s probably a big old cliché to say but I really miss [the] open world, sliders, and color wheel that came with The Sims 3. I’d also love more occult elements for The Sims 4. So, you created a Discord server for maxis match CC creators. How did this come about? I was already in a group chat with a couple of black friends who all played The Sims and we sort of just shared our rants and raves with

each other. We had mentioned having a space for maxis match black simmers in passing before, but one day we all just decided to turn those ideas into action. So, is the server just for creators to join or MM players as well? The server is for any and all maxis match black simmers. You don’t have to be a content creator or anything. As long as you’re black and love MM simming, you’re welcome to join! When I saw your post originally, I wanted to join, but wasn’t sure since I’m not a creator and I mix alpha and MM. Yeah, some people were confused about that, but we have plenty of people who don't make CC and use both alpha and MM! What can a member of the Discord server expect? A member of the discord should really just expect a cool place to hang out and talk about sims. We’ve got a bunch of different channels and categories, so if you want to talk about your gameplay or story, we have a channel for that. If you’re looking for makeup that looks good on dark skin, there's a WCIF (where can I find) channel for that. Even if you just want to talk about your day completely #NonSims, you can do that here too. Sounds cool, and that description definitely feels warm and inviting. As a POC, why do you feel this space is needed? Anti-blackness is a big issue, especially in today’s political climate. It becomes a serious problem when black people can't even use video games as an escape because their dashes are filled with post after post that let them know just how “othered” they really are. This Discord is meant to be a place where we don’t have to feel alone in this, even if it is “just pixels.” What is something you would like to say to the POC simming community?

I’d say don’t be afraid to make sims that go against the status quo. Thank you so much QwertySims. I can’t wait to see what more you have in store for the simming community and am excited to see what your Discord server grows into. If you are a black simmer who enjoys maxis match content and are interested in joining the Discord, you can do so here: https://qwertysims.tumblr.com/post/171702959304/qwertysimsintroducing-in-simming

HBCU BLACK GIRL 57

"I aint gotta do nothing bu

uring the school year is when we often see lots of our creators disappear and create less due to life calling for most of their attention. Kenya, known as HBCUBlack-Girl, is a Black Simmer and creator within the Sims 4 Community who has dropped some fire ass content while attending school. She creates quality recolors and recently release a trait that represents a true HBCU student. Today I'm here to interview her and get the inside sources on this talented woman and how she manages to make cc while going for that degree. Before we get deep into this interview I just wanted to thank you for agreeing to be apart of the magazine. Your content is straight fire so we had to get the 1-on-1. Thank you for having me, I loved the first issue and I'm honored to be apart of the second. I'm happy to hear you enjoy my content as well! Girl yes! That HBCU Student Trait?! I downloaded it so fast and I'm not even much of a custom trait person. Lol. How long have you been into Simming and how did you get into creating cc? Aw, thank you. I was so excited to see my first trait get so much positive attention. I've been simming on and off since elementary school. I played on PS2 for years until buying The Sims 4 for PC in April of 2017. I've always been impressed with the talent this community offers and, one day, I decided I wanted to be apart of that and help bring creativity that other fellow simmers could enjoy. I believe I started with recoloring others' meshes and moved on to converting between ages. I've even successfully converted from a non-Sims game, in the past, with the help of a friend who is also a creator. However, I haven't quite gotten meshing down yet. Our community IS pretty talented! I just love seeing new creators getting into it and showcasing their unique creativity. Have you thought about getting into more than recoloring and trait making? What else would you like to learn as far as creating custom content for Sims? I've definitely thought about doing more. Learning how to mesh is something I'd really like to be able to do. And possibly even create script mods someday. I actually have a career that's currently a work in progress and will hopefully be completed sometime this month. Ooo a career? Yasss! Script mods seem so tedious. How do you make time to create your cc while dealing with school? Do you make a schedule for creating cc?

First of all, I'm horrible at time management. Lol! Sims is a stress reliever for me so when college life is stressing me out, that when the creations start rolling out. I don't necessarily have a strict schedule but I do like to utiltize my free time on the weekend to do Sims related activities, such as creating. It's even better when I'm on a break whether that be a 3-day weekend because of a holiday or something like Spring Break. Time management is not my best friend so I definitely get it haha. I agree that Sims helps relieve stress. Did school influence you to make your HBCU Student Trait? If not, what did? It definitely was the influence for my trait. It was even the influence for my creator name, HBCUBlackGirl. I've attended the #1 public HBCU in the U.S. for 4 years now and am so grateful to have been accepted into the university and for having the opportunity to experience HBCU culture. The culture is a big part of my life and I know not everyone has the opportunity to experience it so the HBCU Student Trait was my way of trying to share the experiences of being a student at an historically black college or university with others. Thats dope! It is so important that people are educated continuously from the correct sources in my opinion and I'm sure a lot of people can agree. Lets speak about this Nude Collection though! How did it become and where did you grab your inspiration? My Sims are popping in these sets. Nude has always been trendy, from nude lipsticks to nude shoes. However, when we usually see nude, it is a shade of beige. Nude is supposed to match your skin tone but Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m no beige and my Sims usually arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t either. I took it upon myself to create a nude collection that matched the skin tones of Black Sims and included swatches for darker Sims. I got permission from Xmiramira to use her Melanin Pack as a color palette and went from there. My inspiration for what meshes I chose actually stemmed from searching for images of real life celebrities in nude outfits.

ut stay black & play Sims"

Would you say the first collection is different than the second? If so in which ways? They are similar but have their slight differences as well. As I stated previously, my inspiration for the first collection was inspired by random images of celebrities in nude outfits. The second collection was inspired by Kanye West's Yeezy Seasons. Also, in Black Girl Nude Collection SZN 2, I included toddler recolors. I usually only include adult female meshes.

This is all so exciting! I really can't wait to see more collections from you. I like your vibe and style so I'll definitely be hitting the download button. Where is the best place for people to find your cc if they want to download your things? Thank you for your support! I upload my creations to tumblr.com and theblacksimmer.com. My actual blog is hbcu-black-girl.tumblr.com and I have a downloads tab where all of my creations can be found. On The Black Now the toddlers can be stylin' Simmer forum, my creations can on them too! Will we possibly be found in the Sims 4 Downloads see a "SZN 3" in the future? part of the forum or by searching Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s possible. Maybe next time there HBCUBlackGirl. will be outfits for the whole family to enjoy! And thats all she wrote everyone! Check out Kenya's HBCU Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s never too much nude Student Trait, Nude Collection color in my opinion! If you ever SZN 2, and other downloads at do more clothing recolors will the sources provided. you stick to nude or did you ever think of doing a different color scheme? As far as collections go, I'll probably stick to nude but I'll continue to do other recolors as well that are unrelated to the BGNC.

Ebonix

WE SPEAK BY: KI

There’s not a day that goes by that, as people of color, we often times feel underrepresented. While we sit and discuss it often, there are those that do something about it. Enter Ebonix. If you’re not familiar with Sis, I advise you to get familiar. She has been killing the ethnic hair, for Sims, for quite some time. As one of the biggest cc creators in the black simblr community, her alpha hairs have become a staple in peoples’ games across the world. Anything you can think of, she has made. From curls, to braids, to natural hair puffs for women and children, as well as hair for men and even accessories. She started out doing conversions, but once she learned how to mesh, it was over for all of us!! She has been snatching edges and baby hairs back at least 5 generations and ascending our wigs into orbit ever since. She’s also one of the sweetest, most humble creators I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. So imagine my glee when she agreed to this interview. I wanted her insight on what inspired her to start creating, life behind the popularity, and her views on representation. I feel like everyone should meet the real Ebonix, who we know as Dani. Behind her social media persona, she’s down to Earth and human just like the rest of us. She’s 26, she’s from London, and is still figuring things out while maintaining her resilience and black girl magic. Just like us, she’s a work in progress. 64

It’s great to have you here today sis! First thing’s first. How long have you been making CC for the Sims community? I have been making CC for the community for 2 years and 4 months. I can hardly believe it’s been that long already. I hope to be doing this for a lot longer too.

It’s very obvious that representation important to you. Being native to the UK, is black representation any different there than it is in the United States? There’s no difference at all. To me representation plays a major part in personal growth, whether you are British or American. Despite knowing where I come from and having You’ve been in the game for quite a little while then. a very rich culture and heritage, there were moments in my What inspired you to start creating CC for black growth where I did not love the thickness of my hair or how simmers? tight the curls were, I did not love the skin I was in and I Well, in 2015 there wasn’t much ethnic or urban content wanted to be lighter. I didn’t want to look like me, I wanted available for Sims of colour. Sims4studio wasn’t as developed to look like the little white girls on the adverts and billboards. as it is now in 2018, so the available content in general And to be honest, I blame that on the lack of representation was slim pickings. I’d never in all my years made content in society in general. There were no Black Disney Princesses, for the Sims, despite having played it since The Sims came no Black Superheroes, no Black Presidents or First Ladies. out. I always thought to myself “ugh, that is impossible” or We weren’t represented enough, and that was the problem “I could never be able to do that” when I scrolled through in a nutshell. It was so bad, that I barely made black sims. I forums for what felt like decades trying to find content to made non black sims of colour, mainly latinx, but rarely ever make sims that looked like me during TS2 and TS3 days. black. That was down to there being barely any content for That was until one day, I wanted some Dashikis for my male me to be able to make myself. So now? I make it my mission Sims. I couldn’t find any. So, I looked for some tutorials, and to ensure that in a game as influential as this, we will not go made my first ever piece of custom content. It was the most unrepresented. I want black children as young as I was to be BASIC recoloured top, but I was so proud because I made able to make sims that look like them and their family, and it. I vowed from then that I was going to make nothing but love themselves for who they are because they are beautiful, ethnic and urban content for this game and share it with the they are intelligent and I want them to know and feel like community because I was tired of having spent years looking they matter. for or waiting on content to be made so that I could better represent my sims. I also followed people like Blvck-lifeA positive step in the direction of change. I like that. simz, Glorianasims and SheSpeaksSimlish who were already What can we expect from you in the future? making more afrocentric and urban content and that gave me I want to do so many things. I am learning day-by-day how greater encouragement to keep adding to this type of content to bring better content into the game and community. I so desperately needed in the community. would like to make more clothes though, so that’s definitely one thing you can expect. Collections are things I want to dabble with in the future too. I also would like to do some

collaborations with some other creators also! The more the merrier! But just know it’s going to be a lituation as long as I stay creating. You’ve become quite popular in the black simmer community and your content is held to a high regard. How does that make you feel? Honestly, I’m extremely shy and can be too humble for my own good at times, lol. I am so humbled by the fact that so many people appreciate what I do and will go to all lengths to support me. The community has seen me at my lowest times, and stuck around to uplift me time and time again.

I have nothing but love and gratitude for all of them. I feel like they’re more family than supporters and I’m the auntie with the best potato salad lol. They keep me motivated and empowered. In them, I see a reason to keep pushing forward. The demand isn’t cc, it’s representation. And that makes me feel like I have a purpose. How did you get into playing Sims? Did you notice right off that representation was a little off? I got into playing Sims when the first Sims came out. I was only 9 then, so no. I didn’t really care nor notice how little representation there was. There were only three skin

tones (light, medium dark) and I don’t recall seeing any ethnic hairs. Looking back, it was a game reflective of the times we were in, so I don’t expect much, but as the years went on it became increasingly difficult to understand why representation kept falling short. I didn’t notice then, but as I mentioned before I noticed in my adulthood that I hardly ever made black Sims. And I’m talking before I discovered custom content. Once I did? My Sims had cornrows, braids, curls. It was LIT! I was so happy that I could make Sims that looked like me because I had the means to! There wasn’t much, but it was something, you know? It didn’t click why then, but it sure does now how important representation is in a game like the Sims.

been (1) trying to balance being a simmer and a creator and (2) trusting people and fake friends (3) people forgetting that you’re still you. I feel guilty sometimes when I play the game because I feel like I should be creating something lol. It’s really easy to get burnt out that way, so I’ve started streaming, which allows me to build, play and still interact with my friends and fans. I don’t have as much time as I’d like to make let’s play videos though, which is something I’d definitely like to do more of. In some cases, it’s understandable why some creators just ditch the gameplay aspect altogether and just focus on creating! I can’t though, I’ve been a simmer for so many years, I still enjoy playing from time to time. And making meaningful friendships is… a challenge. When I was coming up, I had time to be more How long did it take for you to get your cc making involved within the community. Dynamics changed as I skills to where they are now? grew and sadly some of the friendships I had were lost for The whole 2 years and 4 months! I learn something new reasons I won’t get into. You don’t know who your friend every single time I make something. So, my skills are is really until you reach a certain point and they still treat consistently growing and I am always learning. I only you like you’re you rather than “The Ebonix”. And finally, started meshing last year April, so this is going to be my I think there’s times that people forget I’m still just Dani. I first year of making my own meshes. And I can see just how don’t think and have never thought myself to be better than much I have improved from my first and most recent meshes. anyone else. I am always going to be your equal. It’s honestly insane what you can do in a year! Is there anything you wish you knew before getting Are you happy with how your work is now or do you started? What advice would you give to two years feel like there’s room for improvement? ago, uninformed Dani? There is always, ALWAYS room for improvement and I Do not. I repeat. Do NOT convert from other games and think I show with each new mesh or idea that I’m getting share them LOL. Despite the Formation Pack probably being better and more confident. I’ve made a promise to myself the cause of a leap in my popularity in the community, it that once I’ve perfected this meshing thing, I want to share also was the cause of my demise. Other than that, I just my knowledge. Currently, it takes me a long time to make wish I could have started this all a lot earlier! I didn’t know something because 1. I have a lot of difficulties sitting in one anything about the Tumblr simming community until place too long and my attention span won’t allow it and 2. November 2015, so that’s definitely something I wish I knew I’m a learning perfectionist so I am always tweaking and about when I used to play TS3 at least. changing things. It takes me a few days to really be happy with a hair mesh for example, and I want to be able to just As you know, cc is very subjective in nature. What make hairs in a day. I’ll get there though. some people like, others do not. I’m sure you’ve received both positive and negative feedback, but Quite recently, some of your Sims pictures were what I want to know is how you handle the negative featured in an Oxford University textbook. Has criticism? creating popular cc had other effects on your life thus To be honest with you, I hardly receive negative criticism. far? I think people are either happy with it, just grateful to have Yes! One of my biggest accomplishments in life alongside it or scared to criticise! On the off-chance that I do receive my degree! Yes, creating popular content and being very criticism, it’s always accepted with open arms as I want to much in the public eye leaves one open to some very horrible opportunities to grow and do better. If anything, it’s ME people. I’d say that I’ve learnt one thing about myself; I am who is the biggest critic! I criticise my own stuff all the time! incredibly resilient. No matter how many times I’ve been let or knocked down, I stay fighting and stronger each time. I’ve What is your creative process like? been able to expand onto different platforms like YouTube Hmm... If I am going to start making anything, it and Twitch so I can make videos and livestream! I’ve recently needs to start very early in the morning. Around 6/7am. been invited to become a Twitch Affiliate, which is a major I’ve found trying to focus or work on something after 2pm accomplishment for me as a content creator and helping me is very difficult for me. I need to sit without artificial lights overcome my shyness. on or any distractions (TV or Music). Once I’ve started, I take frequent breaks to allow myself to keep focused, as I Speaking of that, what’s the most challenging part mentioned I have difficulties with attention. Depending on about being a cc creator in general to you? the complexity of the content, it could take a day or a few There are a couple of things, but the main ones for me have days. I would usually pull up an inspo picture from a folder

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I keep of all the hairs or content I want to try and make and just get started! I’ll make the foundation in blender (i.e the actual mesh) and then make the base texture in photoshop. The texture can sometimes be the thing that that’s the longest because I have started making my own hair bases, partings and edges. Thankfully, I’ve acquired a drawing tablet to help with all of that thanks to support from my patrons! Once I’ve done the texture, I apply it to the mesh in blender. I fix the mesh enough so that I can see how it looks in game. From then, it’s just continuous testing and editing until I’m happy with it. This can also take an extremely long time because I’m meticulous about little things and always spot something last minute before I release! Once I’m happy, I will create other texture colours and accessories (if necessary) and then make thumbnails. Once it’s posted, I take a day or two to recuperate lol. Where do you go to get inspiration for your creations? I have a personal blog on Tumblr that I use for inspo and reblog from natural hair blogs. I also use Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, suggestions from the community. Sometimes even real life! Two of the hairs from the kiddie hair pack that I recently shared were inspired from kids at a school that I work in! How do you set your cc apart from everyone else? I’m not really sure how to answer this lol. Honestly, I think that because my content is Alpha, Melanated and 100% Ebonix Made, it resonates well within the community that my content is intended for. There is a big proportion of the community who enjoy playing their game with more realistic content and who appreciate that I bring content that is realistic to enough to represent them in one way or another. Do you ever experience creative blocks? All the time. Despite having a folder full of inspiration there are days when I don’t feel as creative as others and I know it’s on those days that I shouldn’t attempt to create anything because it’ll come out like trash lol. I sometimes don’t even want to think about Sims and get into other things like GTA or just spend time catching up on shows. It happens. Do you have any advice for aspiring creators out

there who want to get started? Please be patient with yourself. You are not in a race with anyone. There is no competition or race to the finish line. Don’t be put off from long winded tutorials, take your time to understand each step. You’ll be applying knowledge from one thing to the next. Never give up after your first few failed attempts. Be persistent. Be kind to yourself and take breaks. Don’t feel compelled or pressured to share everything you make, it’s your content and it’s okay to keep some stuff just for you to make your own game unique. Be as original as possible, don’t try to imitate others when inspired by them. When it stops being fun, take a break and come back to it. Don’t let trolls get the better of you, they want to feel relevant, ignoring them makes them irrelevant. Don’t let others opinions of you change you, stay true to yourself and keep doing what you need to do. If you get hate, you’re doing amazing sweetie.

Catch Ebonix and all of her creations at https://ebonixsims.wixsite. com/simminginmelanin and http://ebonixsims.tumblr.com/

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created a whole series of male Sims known as "The Zaddy Pack" Series so would could have some handsome eye candy in our game. These packs include everything needed for a fine ass Sim Bae. I, Mickey, decided to have a chat with our lovely Simmer to get the details on these charming Sim pixels.

How long have you been playing The Sims? If you count mobile games, I started playing the Sims Freeplay in 2012 nonstop until I was introduced to The Sims 4 in 2016. Before then, I knew nothing about the Sims.

simmers have an option of getting a sim with albinism, a twin, a father-son duo, and more (on top of having the option of ethnicity and size). One of my goals for the packs was to represent as many demographics as I could so adding new elements allows me to do that.

Which Sims is your favorite? Sims 4 is my favorite by default because I never played any of the other computer games in the franchise.

Which “Zaddy” pack is your fave one? Which one is your least fave? My favorite Zaddy pack would have to be the first one. The excitement that I felt making the pack coupled with the overwhelmingly positive response from the Are you better at creating males or females? community is something that can’t be duplicated. I would say that I am better at making males because My least favorite pack would be Zaddy Pack 4 only I’ve gotten more practice with making them over because of the stress I put myself through. At the time, working on the Zaddy Packs. time, I completed an compiled two sim packs and released my first piece of cc all at the same time for Which one takes longer to make? Males or females? the 12 Days of Christmas event on the forum. Females take longer to make by far because I have to get creative with how I create them. Although there I believe a lot of us crush a bit on other creators’ is more cc for them, it is difficult to come up with Sims. Is there a “Zaddy” that you admire in the Sim a final product without going through everything I community from another creator? Which one and have ten times. I can make a male sim in a third of why? the time it takes to make a female. There are so many zaddies in our community that I admire, but if I had to narrow it down I would choose How did your “Zaddy Pack” come about? Red Ramos by YashaYork. I admire Red because he The Zaddy Pack series came about from being in is arguably the most popular sim in the group and the Black Simmer group for a while. Every day I has led so many different lives in the group. I could would notice that people would ask for male sims only hope to make a sim that could have a fraction because they didn’t have enough in their games. of that kind of impact. For a long time, I wanted to be able to contribute to the community and making the Zaddy Pack seemed Do you plan on making a pack full of women in the like a perfect opportunity to do so. future maybe? I actually have made a pack of women before. During What exactly is a “Zaddy” for those that may not the 12 Days of Christmas event on the forums, I know? released The Baddie Pack. It is my most successful A Zaddy is a man that is undeniably good looking. release to date. He is so sexy that he makes you contemplate having a relationship or a child with him. Are you currently working on anything else? Maybe another Zaddy Pack? Its takes me damn near weeks to make one fine I’m actually working on a couple more packs to close male Sim lol. How did you manage to make over 5 out the Zaddy/Baddie pack series. I want to free up full households of them? my time to work on other things like learning cc and/ To maintain my sanity, the sims aren’t all made in or working on a YouTube channel in the future. one sitting. What I’ll do is go into CAS and work on one to three at a time. When I get tired of looking at Where can people check out your Zaddy Packs for them, I’ll leave CAS, go do something else and then download? return to add more sims or edit pre-existing sims. If anyone is interested in the Zaddy packs, they can They generally take four days to a week to complete. find them on The Black Simmer Facebook page if you search my name or by navigating the Share Is there one “Zaddy” pack that differ from another? Your Sims section on the Black Simmer forum. In each Zaddy Pack, I like to add an extra element to separate them. Depending on the pack chosen,

LUXXE AN INTERVIEW WITH:UNIQUELEEMADE87 BY: MICKEY

FIRSTLY I’D LIKE TO SAY… YOUR SIMS ARE FIYA! IT TOOK ME YEARS TO ACTUALLY START LIKING MY SIMS LOL. HOW LONG DID IT TAKE FOR YOU TO GET YOUR SIMS TO LOOK EXACTLY HOW YOU WANT THEM? Thank you so much. I made Liyah 3 years ago and I have been editing her since. Last year I finally got to where I’m in love with her and don’t feel the need to change her. DO YOU ENJOY CREATING FEMALE SIMS MORE THAN MALES? WHY? Yes I do. I feel like female sims are easier to create just because I understand womens features better than I do men. WHAT'S THE LONGEST YOU’VE EVER SPENT ON CREATING ONE SIM? 3 months and counting, lol. It’s hard because in Cas they look amazing but once you get them in game their totally different. So the back and forth is time consuming. WHAT ELSE DO YOU CREATE FOR THE SIMS 3? I can do poses but rarely make them and I can convert decor items.

WHAT IS LUXXE AND HOW DID IT COME ABOUT? Luxxe is Liyah. It’s sexy, sensual and sophisticated, it’s her. I wanted something that embodied her and matched her style.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO LEARN HOW TO MESH CLOTHING? 3 years, lol. It’s been a long road, lol. I would try and give up when it didn’t come out the way I wanted. But thanks to simmers like Simplyimaginarypeople and Santosfashionsims for tutorial and answering question, WHAT TYPE OF AUDIENCE WOULD LUXXE I finally got the hang of it. ATTRACT? Luxxe is for every woman. Every shape and size. It’s for DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR PEOPLE WHO the woman that wants to look and feel sexy, whether is ARE JUST LEARNING HOW TO MESH THEIR in the workplace or a night on the town. OWN CLOTHING? Don’t give up. It might seem hard and you might get WHERE DID YOU GRAB THE INSPIRATION frustrated and want to throw your computer out of a FOR LUXXE? window, lol. DON”T. You can do it. Just give it a day and My inspiration comes from things I see everyday. try again. Whether i'm out and about or a picture I see. I have a folder full of pictures dedicate to things I like that I IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D WISH TO would love to see in the sims. LEARN TO DO AS FAR AS CREATING FOR THE SIMS 3? ARE THERE ANY CELEBRITIES OR OTHER I would love to learn to create shoes and handbags. It’s SIMMERS THAT BRING YOU INSPIRATION something with need more of but I don’t think I’d have BEFORE OR WHILE CREATING? to patience to try. I love London Charles (deelishis) from flavor of love style. So I always check her instagram to see what the latest WHAT CAN WE EXPECT SOON FROM LUXXE? outfit she wearing. I also love Tammy Rivera style. More awesomeness, lol. I have a few things that I’m working on and I always try to post work in progress HOW DOES YOUR STYLE DIFFER FROM OTHER pictures just to show simmers what I’m currently THE SIMS 3 CLOTHING CREATORS? working on and what they can expect. Also, Luxxe is I try to stay unique as possible. I dont stick to one design getting a sister, Savage. I feel like the names play well or one style. off of each other. Savage is going to be more of Urban wear. So be on the lookout for that.

WRITER'Z BLOCK a section for literature

arshan Shire is a British-Somali poet who gained an immediate following when "For Women Who Are Difficult to Love" went viral in 2011. In April 2013, Shire was presented with Brunel University's inaugural African Poetry Prize, an award earmarked for poets who have yet to publish a full-length poetry collection. She was chosen from a shortlist of six candidates out of a total 655 entries. In October 2013, Shire was also selected from a shortlist of six young bards as the first Young Poet Laureate for London. The honour is part of the London Legacy Development Corporation's Spoke programme, which focuses on promoting arts and culture in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the surrounding area. As of 2016, Shire is working on her first fulllength poetry collection, having put out a limitedrelease pamphlet called Her Blue Body in 2015. She serves as the poetry editor at SPOOK magazine and she teaches poetry workshops both globally 93 online for cathartic and aesthetic purposes. and

Shire's poetry featured prominently in Beyoncé's 2016 feature-length film Lemonade. Knowles-Carter's interest in using Shire's work was sparked with Shire's piece "For Women Who Are Difficult To Love". wwThis piece sent out messages to every woman in the world letting them know that they stood something. From those who are damaged, to those who have been in a happy relationship but have been through the ups and downs of love. The remarkable pieces featured on the album captivated everyone’s ears. With lines like “I don’t know when love became elusive / All I know is no one I know has seen it / My father’s arms around my mother neck / fruit to ride to eat” and “I tried to change / Closed my mouth more / Tried to be soft / prettier / Less awake” is what drew Beyonce to make a magical collaboration with her. I have selected two of the poems that I find to be my favorite to share with you all. To all those hard to love women reading my poetry corner and turning in to the power of words know that you are someone worth loving.

DENIAL I tried to change. Closed my mouth more. Tried to be soft, prettier. Less…awake. Fasted for 60 days. Wore white. Abstained from mirrors. Abstained from sex. Slowly did not speak another word. In that time my hair grew past my ankles. I slept on a mat on the floor. I swallowed a sword. I levitated… into the basement, I confessed my sins and was baptized in a river. Got on my knees and said, “Amen.” And said I mean. I whipped my own back and asked for dominion at your feet. I threw myself into a volcano. I drank the blood and drank the wine. I sat alone and begged and bent at the waist for God. I crossed myself and thought… I saw the devil. I grew thickened skin on my feet. I bathed…in bleach and plugged my menses with pages from the Holy Book. But still inside me coiled deep was the need to know. Are you cheating? Are you cheating on me?

lysia Nicole Harris was born in Fremont, California but grew up in Alexandria, VA and considers herself on all accounts a member of the ranks of great southern woman. As a child, she was most fascinated by language and would scribble stories about My Little Ponies and imaginary friends in her free time. At age 10 she wrote her first poem, after hearing about William Shakespeare in English class. That class began her lifelong love of poetry and the literary arts. After she graduated high school, Alysia moved to Philly to begin her undergraduate career at The University of Pennsylvania where she studied linguistics, with a focus on Arabic, Russian, Old English and nonstandard English varieties. It was doing her time in Philly that she became involved with spoken word and joined the Excelano Project, UPENN's spoken word collective. Here she experienced her first success as a writer and a performer as a a member of the winning 2007 CUPSI and Brave New Voices Teams. In 2008 she featured on the HBO documentary: Brave New Voices where she wowed audiences with her piece "That Girl". After spending a semester abroad in Egypt and after extensive amounts of time traveling across the Middle East, through Turkey, Jordan, and Syria in 2010 Alysia graduated UPENN Summa Cum Laude with honors. She was also inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. In 2014 Alysia received her MFA in poetry from NYU and is currently a PhD candidate in linguistics at Yale University where she is a Bouchet Honor Society Graduate Fellow. Although she has experienced scholastic success, poetry has always come first in her heart. Pushcart nominee, Cave Canem fellow, winner of the 2014 Stephen Dunn Poetry Prize, finalist for the 2015 Pocataligo Poetry Prize, 2014 Edwin Markham and Joy Harjo prizes and finalist for the 2013 Indiana Review Prize, her poetry has appeared in Indiana Review, Catch & Release Columbia's Journal of Literature and Art, 95

Solstice Literary Magazine, Squaw Valley Review, Letters Journal, Adanna Literary Journal, Print Oriented Bastards, and Vinyl Magazine among others. Her poem "When I Put My Hands in The Air It's Praise" was chosen for publication in The Break-beat Poets Anthology of New American Poetry during the age of Hip-Hop. Alysia was also a founding member of the internationally known performance poetry collective, The Strivers Row and has garnered over 3 million views on YouTUBE. She has toured nationally for the last 5 years and also performed at the United Nations, as well as in Canada, South Africa, Germany, Slovakia, and the UK. She now lives in New Haven, CT where Alysia is working on her manuscript Heaven Is A Bruise That Wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Turn about the intersections of faith, intimacy, identity and violence. Her first chapbook How Much We Must Have Looked Like Stars to Stars won the 2015 New Women's Voices Chapbook Contest and is forthcoming from Finishing Line Press in July 2016.

DEATH There will come a day when the fear of death Will be the favourite joke passed amongst corpses And they are already laughing My love please don’t be afraid But there will come a day when field mice play In our empty sockets. When our bones Become homes for living creatures Other than our egos And when time jostles our skeletons Out of the composition that is me And you And will write with us love letters that spell… I owe you Eternity If we believe in life after death Then I often wonder why We assume the dead like coffins When people were never meant to live in boxes So I pray that our children have the good sense To leave us a little wiggle room Leave us exposed like stray dogs in a thunderstorm And I will hear the breeze but not know it as the breeze And I will feel the rain but not know it as the rain And I will behold the sky but not know it as the sky Instead I will hear the breeze and think it’s your love Returned into the hearth of my ears And I will feel the rain and think it is the pinprick of your kiss And when the rain is tender I will know that something has softened you And when the rain is violent I will know something has shaken you And in this newfound understanding without eyes or ears…or hands…or lips Our bare bones will make love in the dirt never knowing our nakedness

Imagine! The wind coursing through a calligraphy of weeds. In our disrepair we have grown garden of ourselves Sprouts of curious grass shooting from my eye sockets Our knuckles, hard, smooth skipping stones Meant for childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s play And the devilish sun picking its way through your missing teeth And neither one of us can keep from smiling these days And the days go unnoticed And the nights go unslept And we talk with our souls Through the holes in our ribs Where organs once sat Imagine! Your skull and mine reduced to grins Both washed clean of our skins And our sins Growing young again Forgetting why we ever wrinkled Why we ever furrowed our brows With the plow of anger become Become dust with me Insignificant in every way I will love you Even after your marrow has become a whisper In your bones Nothing but a snickering of gravel Let us soak in these spaces Our shadows left behind Your skeleton laced with mine And I will tie your soles to my ankles And know what itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like to step into a dream 97

And you will try on my backbone And see how bad it hurt The day you said you were calling it quits I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t remember why you left Or why you came back I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know how many years have passed Not really sure years passed at all All I know is the rain falls you kiss me Like a rainfall The sun it bleaches us clear and every day is a romance All this to say All this to say we are already laughing There is a wedding of earthworms and pebbles waiting When our tuxedo skeletons no longer fit There is a place for our faces to lie Planted beside forever smiling There is the place where we can be still And in love There exists a place where we can Still be in love Just two gentle skulls.

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Shiny Broken Pieces by Sona Charaipotra, Dhonielle Clayton June, Bette, and Gigi are competing one final time for a spot at the prestigious American Ballet Company. With the stakes higher than ever, these girls have everything to lose and no one is playing nice. June is starting to finally see herself as a prima ballerina. But being the best could mean sacrificing the love of her life. Legacy dancer Bette is determined to clear her name after she was suspended and accused of hurting her rival, Gigi. And Gigi is not going to let Bette or the other dancers who bullied her go unpunished. It all comes down to this last dance. Who will make the cut? And who will lose her dream forever?

Is You Okay? by GloZell Green A fun, inspiring memoir from the Queen of YouTube about her journey from anonymity in Florida to massive popularity on the Internet, filled with the unlikeliest of stories that are as poignant as they are hilarious Is You Okay? speaks truth about the elements of life we wrestle with every day empowerment, love, body image, school, work, family, relationships, failure, success. GloZell introduces some of her most outlandish, funny, and unforgettable video challenges and uses each to explore a serious yet common hurdle. Sharing formative stories and insights from her own life, she encourages young women to learn to love their body, break free of their shell, and carve out their own identity. Making the connection between hilarious physical challenges and meaningful personal challenges, GloZell shows that we re all in this together. Everything isn t just gonna be okay. It doesn t just have to be good, she reminds us. It can be great (even with a spoonful of pepper in your mouth).

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil's name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr. But what Starr does or does not say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

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AT THE MOVIES WITH KIERRA AND KRISTIN: BLACK PANTHER EDITION

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Black Panther set the tone for black superhero movies and representation and we all know it. It was a momentous defining moment for black America. Hell it was a defining moment for black people worldwide. We all joined together, in out #WakandaForever stances, donned in African-American attire, a kitsch version of an older generation’s pride touchstones — kente cloth du-rags, candy-colored nine-button suits, and King Jaffe Joffer from “Coming to America” costumes with his lion-hide sash, excited to finally see a movie depicting our people in a more positive light. Everything about the movie was a lituation, from the dialogue, to the graphics, to the rich culture shown throughout the whole movie. This movie alone was worth every penny, and very much worth seeing a second or third time. In less than a month’s time, Black Panther crossed $1 billion worldwide and smashed box office records, with the first 24 hours of advance ticket sales exceeding anything MCU has ever released, and making it the highest grossing movie of 2018 thus far. A sequel has already been greenlit, and Black Panther has probably outsold your favorite movie, Sis. The movie was deeply immersed in its blackness, from the phenomenal predominantly black cast down to the black director. The Black characters are seen with agency, being royalty, inventors and creators of advanced technology. While we loved T’Challa, Killmonger (for our own reasons), and especially M’Baku, it was the women who did not come to play! If you ask us, the women set the tone and the standard for the entire movie. Eager to discuss their views and opinions on this movie, two of Vibez journalists, Kristin and Kierra sat down in one of our offices in Willow Creek to have a chat about the expansive Black Girl Magic that was exemplified throughout Black Panther.

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KRISTIN - There were so many reasons to love this movie, but probably what resonated with me the most was the women. Being a dark skinned woman, I don't often see women with my complexion and hair texture playing in movies...and when they are, their characters don't stick with me. KIERRA - Right. We are either depicted as loud, ghetto, obnoxious, single moms who can’t keep a man and play second to lighter skinned counterparts. KRISTIN - I love how they picked uniquely beautiful women to play all of these roles. I really feel like each character's features matched the part they played. KIERRA -Yes! Oh my gosh! Beautiful, melanated women! Oh, and the natural hair was a major plus. The future of Wakanda had no time for hair products. **laughs** Seriously, though, I’m glad they were widely represented and depicted as strong and intelligent. What I like most about the representation of the women is that they were visually appealing, but it came second to their skills, personalities, and abilities in contrast to most movies. KRISTIN - Right. They were in charge, and the men actually listened. They were equals and their opinions mattered. I loved that.

KRISTIN - The fact that the king is protected by the Dora Milaje, a group of women warrior, speaks volumes. KIERRA - And he looks to them as equals. They were never put down, undermined, forced to submit... none of that. They were conscious of the vastness of their abilities and knew how to use them. None of the women were damsels in distress who needed rescuing. They DID the rescuing. KRISTIN-I mean, but who else can protect, be loyal, and whoop ass like a black woman? **laughs** KIERRA -No-damn-body! KRISTIN - She had a job to do, which was protect the king and Wakanda and she stood firm in that...even if it meant she had to go against her man. It showed that you don't have to sacrifice yourself to be a ride or die. Know your worth. KIERRA - Right. She was not willing to denounce her responsibilities or loyalties for any man, and when she stepped in front of that rhino and it stopped and licked her, nothing else needed to be said. She was not playing! KRISTIN - Exactly. Even the damn rhino knew who was really in charge, lol

KIERRA – You’re right! There was mutual respect. They were conscious of the vastness of their abilities and knew how to use them and they stood up for the things that they believed in. They didn't move for no man. The women stole the whole show, especially Okoye. She was the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

KIERRA - Her presence was a powerful one. Kristin: So, let’s talk about Shuri.

KRISTIN – Wasn’t she though? Okoye was my favorite character.

KRISTIN - Just beautiful, young, and brilliant. Even though they had a king, I feel like Shuri was the backbone of Wakanda.

KIERRA - Okoye was my favorite as well. When she took that wig off and threw it, my own wig flew into orbit. Kristin-Look... I fell out laughing! I love how she embraced her natural self and didn't understand why a wig was even necessary. I don't know...it hit home for me. I feel like there were so many underlying themes in this movie. KIERRA - It really did. It sent the message to me that yo, why should we have to code-switch to blend in? The movie was black af!

KIERRA – Shuri. Oh my gosh! Intelligent as hell! Tony Stark and Reed Richards combined is nothing compared to Shuri in my opinion.

KIERRA – VERY TRUE! She designed all the tech, the suits, everything. KRISTIN - She even created the new train system they used for mining vibranium. I like how even though she was super intelligent, they still gave her a fun personality. KIERRA - Right. They made her relatable. Normally the intelligent ones in movies are always strange, or hermits 106

of sorts, but Shuri was the one! When she gave her brother the middle finger…that killed me.

fighter, but then again, I think before she became a spy she was part of the Dora Milaje.

KRISTIN - "What are those?" had me cracking up. Oh, and when she told him "when you said you were taking me to California I thought you meant Coachella," I died laughing. She was so funny!

KIERRA – Yes, she was. KRISTIN - I loved Nakia because of how take charge she was. I loved seeing a woman who, though she was in love, she didn't let that hold her back.

KIERRA - Hella funny. Sneakers took me outta there. Whoever wrote the script nailed this! They may have KIERRA - Me too! She wasn't willing to let love or even been an isolated society, but they weren’t behind on any the king move her from what she wanted to do. times by far. KRISTIN - She loves Wakanda, but felt she had a higher KRISTIN - And then there was Queen Ramonda. Was purpose than just being queen. She left to pursue the Angela Bassett not perfect for that role? drive she had of wanting to help others. I lowkey feel like if Killmonger hadn't been a murderous villain, she KIERRA - She was too perfect. They need to give auntie would have agreed with him. her Oscar ASAP. KIERRA - Right. He had valid points, but he was wrong KRISTIN - She didn't say that much in the movie, but af. When T’Challa respected her decision, I felt that. when she did speak, I felt like I needed to listen. KRISTIN - Her loyalty was to T'challa, but I could see KIERRA - She really exuded power. when she was with that group of women she was saving at the beginning of the movie, that her call is to help KRISTIN - The strength she exhibited throughout the others. movie was so amazing. I mean, she had just lost her husband, but she was able to keep it together and move KIERRA - I’m glad he helped her pursue her calling in forward with dignity. the end though. KIERRA - She was the queen mother after all. She had this regal presence about her as well. KRISTIN - I even felt like she showed incredible strength when she thought she had lost her son. I mean, I would have fallen completely apart and probably died of a broken heart, but she was able to keep her wits about her and that is admirable. KIERRA - I agree. She kept it together better than a lot of people would have. She was very level-headed. And her long silver locs? Major yes. KRISTIN - What about Nakia? Nakia was another force to be reckoned with. KIERRA - Nakia thoooo!! Ambitious af. She stood up for what she believed in no matter what, and would run them hands. KRISTIN - Right! I was surprised at her skills as a 107

KRISTIN -Me too. It made me appreciate him more that he didn't just ask her to be his queen and try to trap her in Wakanda. He wanted her to truly be happy.

We could go on and on forever about how Black Panther gracefully side-stepped the sexist tropes we are accustomed to seeing in movies, but frankly we have to end it somewhere. We especially love how these ladies were able to have full expressions of themselves and following their own minds and hearts. They are not to be ignored and they for damn sure weren’t. Nothing in Black Panther happens without the women, and that’s facts. Hollywood should take this groundbreaking film and learn from it. Think about it. Who else you know is going to save a king’s entire ass throughout the whole movie? Ok then. That’s what we thought. The weapon wielding badassery of the Dora Milaje, the intellect of Shuri, the determination of Nakia, and the sophisticated queen that is Ramonda set the standard! They defined the narrative, and they were the difference between victory and defeat, and that’s all there is to it.

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Karley Uncovered

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An interview with Applekisssims by Ki You know what I hate? Stereotypes! You know what I hate even more?

When they are placed excessively on black women. There are problematic misconceptions placed upon women without knowledge of their situations or circumstances that needs to go away completely. As I scroll through social media daily, it is quite clear that society’s impressions of single mothers are severely off the mark and need to be addressed. Statistics paint a very one-sided, numbers-only view of women of raising their children as single parents. The single mother stigma is damaging to those it pretends to encompass. Being unprepared for singlemotherhood does not mean that they are likely to fail in life. Most pregnancies, honestly, are not planned. It does not mean you will leach off the welfare system, raise your children to be criminals, or have low morals and values. A little more than half of the women who make up the nation’s single mothers are under the age of 24, and 15% percent are under the age of 20. One could examine these numbers and make assumptions that fit their shallow agendas, but what isn’t being recognized is that more than half of the single mothers in the U.S. are widowed, divorced, or separated. Not everyone is a single parent by choice. It’s time to put these distorted perceptions to rest. So why not speak on it with someone we all know and love right? I caught up with Karley Maxwell earlier this week for an interview to discuss some of Simblr’s most asked questions about her journey with her pregnancy, her vital support system, her opinions on said stereotypes, and her plans for the future. She breezed into our Newcrest Vibez office on a sunny Wednesday afternoon, practically glowing with her prominent baby bump, dressed in all white, looking every bit of the flawless woman I think she is. With a smile on her face and her realistic outlook, I could tell that this interview would be a substantial one as we settled in the conference room. 111

First off, congratulations. I heard you have a new bundle of joy on the way and it’s a girl. Are you excited? Is it terrifying not knowing what the future holds? Thank you so much. I am. I’m excited and nervous and anxious and some days, yeah, I feel overwhelmed, but I wouldn't go so far as to say terrified. If I sat and tried to figure out the future, I’d probably be stressed for hours on end, so I just try to stay focused on the here and now. That is very true. Dwelling on the “what if’s” aren’t mentally healthy for anyone. Speaking on dwelling on things, everyone won’t stop asking: What happened with you and Arnez? You two were goals! We broke up. That’s it. People do it all the time, so it’s nothing new. Arnez and are will always be friends. He’s an amazing man and I have so much faith in him being an even greater father to Katt. We’re not trying to be anyone’s goals though. That was never our intent. We’re just us. We fell in love. Hard. And then we got pregnant and so much changed so fast and now we’re just focused on being the best parents we can be for our daughter. I’m glad you guys are still on good terms. Being in a good place with each other is essential, especially with the little one on the way. It’s heartwarming to see that y’all still have that love for each other even though you mutually parted ways. You guys will be great. So what are some values you plan to teach your child? Honesty and integrity. We want Katt to be proud and never afraid to be her true self. I want her to be compassionate and respectful and I want to make sure she always stands up for herself. I want her to believe that and stand strong in knowing that mommy will ALWAYS have her back. Valuable lessons indeed. What’s the hardest part of this journey so far? So far? I’d probably say the anemia. I forget to take my iron pills sometimes and those days are the worst because of the dizziness and feeling weak. The tiredness is also bothersome because I have to work, and my job at the hospital (ER Nurse) is so fast-paced, ya know? I have to push myself harder most days just to get through the day and make it home to my bed. 112

Listen, I am not knocking anyone's beliefs. If that's what they want to do, put their careers on hold, then more power to them. Some women are in a better position to do that than others, so if it works, why not go for it? I probably would if I was in their shoes… maybe… but since I’m not, I have to do what I have to do to make sure my daughter is well taken care of. I plan to take maternity leave when its time and get back to work after. Getting pregnant right now was not in my plans, but it happened so, yeah, I had to rearrange some things, but I’m still going to go forth with the things I have set. It just might take a little longer than I thought, but I’ll get it done.

There are people out there that believe that single motherhood means you must put your career on hold from a “traditional” standpoint. As women, we will go the ends of the Earth to take care of our babies and make sure that they have everything they need. Being in the medical field, are you taking some time off to focus on the new baby or is it back to work right after? 113

Amen to that sis. As long as you get there, that’s what matters. The belief of multidimensional failure is a larger problem being blamed on women that needs to be erased ASAP. I can sense this vibrant inner strength about you. What gives you your inner resilience? I wish I knew. I just know I can’t fail. I pull a lot of my strength from my twin sister. Between her and my best friend pushing me when I want to quit and give up…. I’m a work in progress for sure but I try to stay optimistic and positive and open

to change, and when I feel those doubts creeping up on me, I know I can pull strength from Katrina and Adrian and I’ll push through. How do you plan to find that balance between your personal life and professional life? That’s already so hard for me to do. I’m a nurse, so even when I’m not at work, I’m still Nurse Lee. I can’t turn my compassion off, so if you tell me you’re not feeling well, I’m checking vitals and starting my questions to figure out with the problem is and how we can fix it. Yeah, that’s going to be hard for me to do. I’m always checking on other people sometimes I forget about Karley. The heart of a lion. You must be a Leo. **Karley nods** Ah called it. **we both laugh** Ok so I have a controversial question. There are many stereotypes about single black mothers and how they are living off child support and other government assistance. These are the types of social constructs that we hope to transcend. If you could address these stereotypes, what is one thing you’d say to all the Negative Nancy’s? There’s nothing wrong with getting government assistance when you need it. That’s what they’re there for, all those programs that help families and single parents. The problem comes when people abuse these programs and make it so much harder for those that truly need it. I hate that there’s this stigma that follows single black mothers around and has for many years. Being a single black mother living on government assistance should not be an embarrassment or something to feel ashamed about. They’re put in place to help get you on your feet, so that you’re in a better position to take care of your family, your children. It’s to be used as a platform to better yourself and your situation. “Negative Nancy’s” and people that have a problem with it, shut up. That’s it. Just shut the hell up. For one second just try, close your eyes and imagine yourself and that woman’s shoes. Put yourself in her position for a second. You don’t know how hard it is until you’ve been there, lived that, done what she’s done/ doing. Try being a single black mother that is down to her last. She’s up against a brick wall with no other options but to go down to that office and apply for help so that her children can eat, have somewhere safe to rest their heads, clothes and shoes. Try being a single black mother first before

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you go passing judgment. Facts, no printer. That was a well needed read. The world would be a better place if people minded their business. Now I wanna ask and I feel like it’s crucial to know; I think it’s important for women of color to have a strong support system throughout their life journeys because we have to have each other’s backs. Are your friends as excited as you are? I agree. I think it’s extremely important for women of color to support each other in all aspects. Even if it’s just a compliment, sometimes the smallest things can make the biggest impact. My friends are all really excited. They were shocked when I first told them, but now, I think they are more excited than I am sometimes. That’s a beautiful thing. Well Karley, it was great having you today! Before we wrap this up, do you have any closing words you’d like to say to any future moms out there? Advice? Words of encouragement? Being pregnant is like nothing I’ve ever experienced, so I would tell future moms to enjoy it. Cherish it. Yeah, it can be uncomfortable and scary some days, but it’s also magical and the whole experience is a life changer. I’m only 6 months in but I know my life will never be the same again, and I embrace that. I know for every moment of fatigue and dizziness, every tear, leg cramp, backache, and abundance of heartburn, every moment of fear and doubt, exhaustion and discomfort…it’ll pass. It’s okay to not be okay sometimes. It’s okay to not be where you want to be right now. Just don’t give up. Don’t quit. You’ve got this sis and damn anyone that tries to tell you different. Follow Karley during her adventure through life at http://applekissims. tumblr.com/

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Raising Awareness Through Gaming by MillahSirhea

Mental health

. It’s a topic most people are too uncomfortable to speak about unless it directly affects them or their family. Often, it’s hidden from others, and many people don’t know what signs to look for. Specifically, in the black community, these topics can be taboo. According to http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net historical adversity such as slavery and race-based exclusion from things like education and healthcare translates to socioeconomic disparities which are linked to mental health issues. While we may be afraid to share that there may be something wrong, it is far worse

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to ignore the signs and symptoms of mental health. When it comes to The Sims, one of the things that makes gameplay unique and fun are the personalities of the sims you create. Traits play a big role in shaping those personalities by adding a dose of realism and determining how the sims react to certain actions that are performed. One simming community creator, SkillfulSimmer340, is best known for creating different types of traits, including those that touch on mental health issues. Some of these traits are sensitive and can be triggering, so please continue reading with caution

as we will be speaking about one in our house and it was weird not having particular: Suicide. that same reality in game, so I added some photography by my friend [whose When did you first start playing the sims alias is] “Act Like You Know St Croix” as and was your initial reaction to it? well as some of my Mom’s paintings. I started playing The Sims when I was really young. The Sims 2 castaway had first come out. My brother’s wife (was Oh cool. So, what was it that made you his girlfriend at the time) used to ask switch to traits? to borrow our PS2 to play the game I always loved choosing traits all the occasionally. When I watched her play time in game. I spent the majority of the it, I was intrigued. She let me play and I time figuring out which traits matched loved it sooo much! She let us keep the the personality of my Sims. Then game and ever since then, I loved it boom I thought, “I could do this,” and downloaded Zerbu’s Mod Constructor, What intrigued you? which had no tutorial at the time, and How you can control avatars. How [I] just figured out the program. It was a similar it is to real life. lot of trial and error. Were traits the first CC (custom content) you started making? If not, what made you start? No, traits weren’t the first CC I started making. I actually started by recoloring base game frames. I wanted Virgin Islands art in game. My mom is an artist and there are hundreds of paintings in

I see you have some fun traits like Extra, Julius, and Free spirit, realistic traits like Photographer, Activist, Caribbean, and or course the fire Sherise trait, but what made you delve into traits that focus on mental health? Well, mental health was something that I suffered with growing up and I

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noticed that mental health traits were Good question. I created the suicidal something that were not really offered trait on January 19th. in game, so I started making my own at that point. You mentioned earlier that you created it because people don't know I read in a tumblr post that these traits the signs to look for in someone who help you cope. In what way? may be having suicidal thoughts or The love and appreciation make tendencies. Was there a particular a difference when you’re sad. It moment that made you think, "I brightens your day so much. should bring awareness to this?" Well, I have battled with being suicidal I notice you create traits more often for the majority of my life and I was

than other type of CC. What makes you continue to create traits specifically? Well, I always preferred traits in game because traits are the script in which defines the sim’s personality. Traits make a sim the Sim that they are.

feeling very suicidal on January 1517th which was when I started creating the suicidal trait. My university was having an event for a friend of my ex’s who had committed suicide. When she saw her friend commit suicide, she paid close attention to the signs I’d like to talk about the suicidal trait. of suicide. Then, she met me when I I read that it was originally posted on was suicidal. Because she knew the the TBS (The Black Simmer) forum. signs, she was able to save my life When did you create it? many times when I was suicidal. 121

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Why do you think people are grateful for Wow. I appreciate you sharing something creating mental illness traits, specifically so personal, thank you. I'm glad we still the suicidal trait? have you. I think people are grateful because Aww Thanks. they know what a difference someone intervening can make when a person is It was originally released on the forum. suicidal. Why release it on tumblr as well? Well, I release it on all mediums so that What are you hoping people will take everyone has the opportunity to see it. away from the trait? I hope that people are able to see the While Some people are grateful for the signs of suicidal tendencies and are suicidal trait, others reacted negatively able to prevent others from committing to it. Why do you think that is? suicide. Sometimes we all need a helping Because it’s a touchy subject. Whenever hand and hopefully this trait makes you bring up a touchy subject, there are people realize how much of a helping always people who don’t want to talk hand they can be to someone. about it at all. Is there anything that you would like to What would you say to those who feel leave our readers with? the trait was done or posted in poor I would just like to say that I’m so happy taste? seeing we have our own simming I would say perhaps they should read community as a POC. I'm glad to see the description and open their minds. that we are creating content. I’m so happy that we are all coming together Honestly, I can appreciate the bluntness and sharing our content with each other of that statement. and making our game blackity black and Thanks. showcasing our culture and appearance in game. The description of the suicidal trait reads as follows: "In the black community this is something we avoid talking about, but it is very real. Many of our family and closest friends suffer from suicidal tendencies but we are often unable to notice. In this trait you will see some signs that are often overlooked or ignored. If you or a loved one are contemplating suicide, you should contact the suicide hotline at 800.273.8255. I hope that this raises some awareness." 123

Thank you so much SkillfullSimmer340. I appreciate the time you took with me to talk about the subject.

I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO ENCOURAGE OUR READERS TO SPEAK UP IF YOU SEE SOMEONE WHO MAY NEED HELP, EVEN IF THEY SAY THEY ARE “FINE.” WE MAY NOT ALWAYS KNOW THE RIGHT THING TO SAY, BUT OFTEN JUST SHOWING THAT YOU CARE CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE TO SOMEONE. YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT SOMEONE MAY BE GOING THROUGH. IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW MAY BE HAVING SUICIDAL THOUGHTS OR TENDENCIES.

PLEASE CALL THE SUICIDE HOTLINE: 800.273.8255. RESOURCES: HTTPS://SUICIDEPREVENTIONLIFELINE.ORG/ HTTP://IBPF.ORG/RESOURCE/LIST-INTERNATIONAL-SUICIDE-HOTLINES HTTP://WWW.MENTALHEALTHAMERICA.NET/MENTAL-HEALTHINFORMATION

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Sagittarius- Oh extroverted Sagittarius. Your popularity is soaring this month. Now is the time to post that one picture you’ve been saving to Simstagram and watch the likes and followers climb. The Road to Fame will be smooth sailing for you. Watch out for crazed fans and stalkers lurking outside your house. Sims crazy out here. Lucky Color: Sunset Valley Yellow

Leo- Maxis March Madness is upon you, dear Leo. You will find yourself being thrust

into the limelight you crave after getting that sought after promotion in the Entertainment career. Don’t let the arrogant trait get the best of you though. Cross the wrong sim, and you can go from Alpha to Base Game real quick. Lucky Color: Plasma Fruit Purple

Capricorn- The motherlode cheat has been good to you this month. You’re practically rolling in Simoleons! That penthouse in San Myshuno is closer to your possession. However, relationships are not your forte right now. Refrain from using MC Command Center to control your partner’s every whim. Lucky Color: Windenburg White

Aquarius- You’re patiently waiting on your chance to be great and put that intellect to

work. Are they ever going to release a University for you to go to? For now, your success in the Doctor career is rewarding and appeals to your humanitarian qualities. Make some time for your loved ones. You have been quite aloof lately and they’re worried that you’re ignoring them. Lucky Color: Maxis Match Black

Virgo - The Outgoing Trait took over all February but now its times to shut up and listen

in silence for guidance. Take a stroll through Magnolia Blossom Park and let the non verbal signs guide you this month. Don’t try to level up those Charisma skills just yet. It is truly a time for listening. Lucky Color: Selvadorada Silver

Aries - There is no time to be impatient this month, Aries. Something isn’t right and

you can’t figure it out because you’ve created a prison for yourself. Switch out that Hot Headed Trait for the Dance Machine and dance your worries away. Even head on over to Basemental for those new edibles. You deserve it! Don’t overdo it unless you wanna party with The Grim Reaper. Lucky Color: Kleptomaniac Orange

Taurus - Stop being stubborn and take care of those problems you keep sweeping

under the rug! Social Bunny says you need to cool down before things get hotter than Oasis Springs. A few relationship points may be knocked down but don’t dwell upon it. Real friends are about to reveal themselves. Lucky Color: EA Skin Grey

Cancer - Don’t let Eliza and Bob’s relationship shambles distract you from whats

important this week. Take away from being the usual pessimistic ways you’ve adapted to and hang on tight while seeing the clarity from things of which you can’t control. Set the Robot Vacuum on high an clean that cluttered mess from your life. Lucky Color: Vacation Days Violet

Libra- Bless your little sim heart. Your “missing the family” blues led you to the next door

neighbor’s fridge one too many times this holiday season and now you’re dealing with the consequences. It might still be frosty out here in these sim streets, but don’t let the snow mod keep you from getting those gains. Now is the time to take advantage of that health & wellness skill you’ve been cultivating and get that summer body popping! But beware; your newfound energy may be short lived, so get crack-a-lackin’, boo! Lucky Color: Base Game Blue

Gemini - Oh my dear, misunderstood Gemini. March is truly mad this year. Your

emotions are on 10 and everything you do seems to be bass ackwards these days. It’s time to grab destiny by the jugular and take back your control before a cardiac explosion puts your life on pause mode forever. Starting fresh with a new save might sound tempting, but a batch fix or two is all you’ll need to get back on the right track. Lucky Color: Flaming Heart Red

Scorpio – Scorpio, the spring season is on its way to hit you up for that Simflix and chill. Now is the time of your blossoming and your love meter is overflowing! Use that Sweet Talker trait to get out of work today and take a long, leisurely trip to some place tropical. This is the season for hot jungle love, and there’s a fiery Latin lover waiting for you somewhere in Selvadorada. Get it Scorpio! Lucky Color- Wild Sage Green

Pisces- Sul Sul, Pisces! It’s your birthday month and T.I. said you can have whatever

you like. You’ve run 100 mph all the way up to young adulthood and it’s time to live your best life. Take a bold leap of faith into the sea of love and bare your feelings to the special someone you’ve been eyeballing before you lose your confidence buff. If it doesn’t work out, well, there’s plenty more fish where that one came from and you’ve got a pole. Lucky Color - Penny Pixie Gold

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MUSIC

We stay listening to music on our Discord server while we're working on new ideas to imporve the magazine. Music is the best way to focus and get through those frustrating projects that damn near causes a few grey hairs. This month, our team collaborated and created a music playlist for our readers and followers to listen to.

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Bish Betta Have My Money

by Ki and Kyrie

e all know Mo’Nique. Who doesn’t know Mo’Nique? Her stand-ups are confrontational and delivered with a raspy voice, speaking on race, womanhood, food, exercise, sex, being voluptuous, loving herself as she is, and maintain a high energy in her performances. So what is going on in Hollywood and why are people up in arms over what she said recently? Let’s break it down. On January 19th, 2018, Mo’Nique called for a boycott of Netflix for color and gender bias because they offered her a contract of only $500,000 for a stand-up special, completely disregarding her status in the comedy world. Then what did people do? You know what they did. They bashed her. They spoke out against her. They turned on her. We are about to unpack this foolishness. Let’s touch on why Mo’Nique feels the way she feels, and frankly I don’t blame her. First of all, she was exploited by the very people who blackballed her, claiming she was “difficult” to work with. Ahem, Lee Daniels, Tyler Perry, and Oprah. What was she exploited for exactly? The openly shared story about her experience with sexual abuse, but that’s another story for another day. Today, however, we need to discuss how she was only paid a lowly $50,000 for her 2009 Oscar-winning role in Precious, and it was insisted that she promote the movie at Cannes Film Festival on her downtime WITHOUT PAY (which wasn’t even in her contract). Mo’Nique has been in the game for nearly 20 years and is a decorated and established comedian. Mo’Nique started her career during her college days. She took the stage during an open mic at a Comedy Club in Baltimore. . Her performance was so 130

good that the owner offered her a chance to host her own show there, which she did. Her first big break was in 1989 on “It’s Showtime at the Apollo.” She was then invited on Def Comedy Jam, and Comic View on BET. Her first starring role was on The Parkers as Nikki Parker in 1999. Her role as Nikki Parker landed her three NAACP Image Awards. She went on to appear in several different movies and shows like Soul Plane, Hair Show, Shadowboxer, and Phat Girlz. She, along with three other female comedians, made history on the 2001 Queens of Comedy tour, as the ONLY female group to sell out consecutive shows (13 to be exact). She has hosted the BET Awards three times. Fellow comedians Chris Rock, Chris Tucker, and Leslie Jones have only hosted once thus far. She made history as first woman to host NBC's "Showtime at the Apollo", and many of the best seats at her upcoming Mother's Day show, at the historic theater, have already been sold! She has hosted her own talk show, The Mo’Nique Show, wrote best-selling books, and hosted a radio show Mo'Nique in the Afternoon, on contemporary R&B/soul stations from July 2008 to March 2009. Let’s go ahead and add on her amazing Oscar-winning performance for Best Supporting Actress in Precious. She is the 4th African-American woman to win such an award, proceeded by actresses such as Hattie McDaniel, Whoopi Goldberg, and Jennifer Hudson. Peep this; sis even has a Grammy! If I were her, I’d want what I’m worth compared to my male counterparts who haven’t been active in years as well. With a resume like this, Mo’Nique deserves to be paid more! The fact that people are angry and downing her for wanting to be paid what she’s worth is practically sickening. I’ve seen many hateful comments ranging from how “Mo’Nique isn’t even funny” to “she needs to be grateful” and “she needs to sit down and shut up.” Ok but sis, why would she accept half a million, and not be allowed to hone her material anywhere else for two whole years? She defended black workers on the sets of Almost Christmas and Precious, and Will Packer got salty and spoke out against her. She did not demand the same pay that Chris Rock and Dave Chapelle get, but simply inquired why she didn’t get what legends are being paid as well. Netflix basically said “take it or leave it” regarding her contract. No negotiations. They also allegedly responded that they don’t look at resumes, but used Amy Schumer’s sold-out MSG arena and a big blockbuster movie over the summer as justification for her offer. Amy Schumer has only been in the business since 2004, so I’d need an explanation on how she had the better resume, sis. To top it off, she was offered $11 million, mind you. Scratch that…$13 million after negotiating an extra $2 million, but still, it’s forget Mo’Nique and everything she stands for, right? I bet if you’ve been involved in your career for 20 years, and you go to get a job in your field in a different place

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Mo'nique celebrates a win nt The Oscars 2010

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seeking better opportunity, and they start you off at $7.25/hr, you wouldn’t take it, would you? Ok then. Now let me get this straight….non-black women can request equal pay to their male counterparts all day and no one says a word. They are supported for speaking up, but as soon as a black woman does it, we’re telling her to be grateful she’s getting anything and she’s not relevant enough? Girl, please! Run Mo’Nique her coins! It always seems to be a problem in society when black women speak up for themselves. I must add, Mo’Nique made her points and spoke her piece with eloquence. We need to put these stereotypes of black women being ghetto and ratchet, when we stand up for ourselves, to rest permanently. It’s disrespectful, and frankly, dehumanizing. We are all entitled to our opinions on this matter, but at least have some respect. People work hard to get where they are. Let’s all remember how she eloquently dragged Charlemagne on the “The Breakfast Club” after he gave her Donkey of the Day, where he accused her of calling out gender and racial bias for her own individual benefit. She had every right to clap back. Downplaying black women is tired, and a long standing systematic issue. Why is it that in an industry where black women are so often underrepresented, there isn’t more solidarity among black women? With black actors in general? Hollywood has been incredibly silent on the matter, and frankly, the idea of her being “difficult” to work with didn’t start until AFTER the Precious premiere. Why is Mo’Nique’s advocating for the idea that black women’s credentials should be valued as highly as those of white women or men such an issue to everyone, or is that support only to be garnered when it’s beneficial to Hollywood? Honey, Mo better make her theme song BBHMM by Rihanna (ya’ll know the song) and fight to collect those checks. That’s all that needs to be said. #PayBlackWomen

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Don’t Play Me Heaux, I’m Not Your Playstation A RANT BY: KYRIE AND KI

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“Girls can’t play video games.” Says who? I don’t know about you, but I started playing video games pretty young. Some of my very first memories of gaming were made on Playstation 2, Game Boy Color (because of my habitual obsession over Pokémon), and PC. I’d basically play a wide variety of games. Some of my all-time favorites were The Sims, Mortal Kombat, Grand Theft Auto, and Midnight Club. I dabbled in NBA 2K a time or two, but it wasn’t my cup of tea. The video gaming world is male dominated. From the playing down to the designing, it is mostly run by whom? Men! Let’s talk about the subject many male gamers avoid: toxic masculinity in the gaming community. Some may pretend to not notice, some may sweep it under the rug and some may not even know what toxic masculinity is. However, it exists and needs to be discussed, since it seems like guys refuse to acknowledge it themselves.

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When women play “male-dominated” games like COD or Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), most men either act like endlessly half raised, clapping back with comments like “OMG you are girl?” or “Shouldn’t you be playing Sims?” Often, there’s name calling as well as sexual remarks. Women have every right to any game they want. I’ve been faced with it all. Jokes, slurs, harassment, some weird guy finding out you’re a woman, stalk your whole profile and avatar, then bombard you with messages and God forbid you come across a perv. The block button is my best friend. All of the negativity really detracts from the gaming experience, and I’d often only go into servers

pussy can take more pain than a pair of testicles, I tell you that much. If a guy gets kicked in his family jewels right now, don’t tell me he won’t hit that 1992 Mariah Carey “Emotions” G7. If a man gets beat by a woman, he gets called weak or people mock him and say, “You just got beat by a girl.” Excuse me. I’m not a girl. I’m a grown ass woman. What does the gender have to do with someone winning a game that they are good at? I mean if I beat your ass in Mortal Kombat or you’re my final kill on COD, die mad about it! It’s a game, not a dick. Don’t take it so hard. Lots of women play incognito, or simply don’t turn their mics on. I’m not here for the

with trusted friends or other women like me, because the online harassment is never taken seriously as it should be. Nine times out of ten, name calling comes into play when the woman wins and is just outright better, or a man is “wack” at the game and in denial that he lost to a woman. I watch a lot of streams, and time after time, I see the same thing happening. A bunch of men would be playing PUBG, then one starts yelling because their team is losing. He would proceed to say phrases like, “Y’all need to stop acting like a bitch.” or “Quit acting like a pussy.” Why is weakness compared to pussy anyway? Femininity does not equal weakness and a 137

discrimination in gaming. I saw a post on Facebook once where some floppy lipped little bastard (yeah I said it) boldly stated that “Fortnite isn’t for you bitches. Go back to the Sims.” Honey I will smack you sideways all over that game and then go relax and play my heavily modded Sims 4 game. I can do both. Who gone check me? Misogyny runs rampant in the game development, just as much as the online gaming community. Besides the constant slurs and rape jokes, homophobia, or even racist rants on the online servers, some game developers and publishers also incorporate problematic jokes and sayings, that poison the

minds of impressionable young children, on their twitter and gaming channels. Then have the audacity to turn around and complain about the very toxicity that they feed to the gaming community. Have you ever seen how a woman is portrayed in most video games; sex objects, sidekicks, and damsels, with very large breasts and skimpy clothing. Often oversexualized with very outward submissive traits, often needing to be rescued. The man? Cis white male, overly masculine to the tenth degree, insatiable, and rugged; the hero. Granted, not every gamer, streamer, YouTuber, Twitch affiliate, or even developer is this way and there are some great communities out there. Still, I mean, do I really need to go into the highly controversial #Gamergate fiasco from late 2014 that subjected female gamers to harassment, invasion of privacy, sexist statements, and threats? Nah, honey that story is too long to tell and I’ll go over my allotted spread imit. Sorry. Read up on it here: (https:// www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2014/09/04/ gamergate-a-closer-look-at-the-controversysweeping-video-games/#4ddd626634f8)

to treat women horribly just because your ego is threatened. Learn how to treat people. It’s pixels, not real life. To be honest with you, I don’t see that happening anytime soon. It’s not going to stop me from playing my video games though. I’ll just cuss your ass out like I normally do, tell you that your mama looks like a deformed goldfish with titties, since you have so much to say, and continue to dominate your leaderboards. Don’t worry about us ladies and what we have going on. Worry about why your console makes a grinding noise every time you insert a disk. Now, go run and tell that!

SO HOW DO WE GET RID OF TOXIC MASCULINITY IN VIDEO GAMES? 1. GET RID OF THE DAMN GENDER POLITICS IN VIDEO GAMING - Women can play just as good as men can, sometimes better. Stop acting like they can’t. 2. STOP TOXIC THINKING - The moment a man loses a game to a woman and he’s seen as a weaker link. STOP THIS TOXIC THINKING! Everyone is there for one purpose. To play the damn game. Say “Good game” and move the hell on. 3. STOP THE EXCUSES - When it comes to harassing or name calling, using excuses like “Boys will be boys.” “Men are just being stupid.” is unacceptable. You are allowing this toxic behavior to happen. Quite frankly, you are encouraging it. Being a male is not an excuse 138

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Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s A Jungle Out There How EA Quietly Got It Right for a Change By Kristin Edwards

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here seems to be a theme of EA not only putting out mediocre Sims 4 packs with cauliflower afros and ashy skins, but also lackluster gameplay. We are forced to look to modders and creators to add a little spice to the game to keep it interesting. It is disheartening the way we are nickeled and dimed just to get a few things that we want. We had to wait for them to add in pools, genealogy, and even toddlers; things essential to gameplay. Things that a lot of players felt should have come standard with the initial release, because we did have them in the previous generations of the game. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just say the initial release left us empty and wanting at least the base game we were used to. With those complaints came the trickle in of elements that we recognized in the form of expansion packs like Get to Work and City Living, which introduced some fun and new aspects to the game we love, but still felt like something was missing. We finally got a piece of pets with Cats and Dogs, but most are still holding their breath for a seasons expansion or some form of a pack involving weather or coats and rainboots. EA announced a jungle themed pack during their quarterly teaser, and many players had doubts. It seemed The Sims franchise was giving us another pack we hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t asked for, while holding out on what we really wanted. The pack was released, February 27, 2018 and it was called The Sims 4: Jungle Adventure. The new world, called Selvadorada, is a lovely vacation spot where your sims can immerse themselves in Selvadoradian Culture and experience a very Latin adjacent world. Selvadorada comes with 7 lots including a Bar, Museum, Park and 4 villas where you can live during your vacation, as well

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as 4 explorable areas that you can access by travelling through different portals in the world. With the Latin themed Selvadoradian culture skill, there is new music to enjoy, a dance to learn and new cuisine to experience. The game play, to my delight, is similar to The Sims 3: World Adventures. Sims can go out into the jungle, navigating the large landscapes, developing their Archaeology skill, and hacking through vines to find a temple in which they must figure out how to work around traps and skeletons to ultimately reach the magnificent treasure. I was immediately wowed at the beautiful scenery. I felt like they put a lot of energy into the visual effects of the new world. I feel like they finally made a fun, exciting, and beautiful pack that is a treat that we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even realize we wanted. My only criticism is that some of the most gorgeous areas are not accessible to sims; they are just hidden gems in the mysterious Selvadoradian jungle. I spoke with a few other simmers, Kenya Ellison, Milasia Duckworth, Kimiko Vannoy, and Elizzy Hill, from The Black Simmer group on Facebook, to get their opinions about Jungle Adventure. Here is what they had to say about the game pack: Kenya (hbcu black girl): â&#x20AC;&#x153;I love Jungle Adventure, it's probably one of my favorite packs. The Spanish theme was something we've never really seen in TS4 before, so that was exciting to me. The colors and patterns are all so beautiful, and the Salsa dancing and 142

added foods make the pack feel complete. The adventure aspect was new to TS4, making Selvadorada even more intriguing. We got a vacation spot with Granite Falls, but Selvadorada introduced danger. Since we weren't given burglars in TS4, we don’t really have anything to make our hearts race other than house fires. The tables at the market are a really cool feature as well. There are times it has taken me days to build up enough courage to venture into the jungle because the tables outside the Cantina didn’t give me the supplies I needed. The town is beautiful and so is the jungle. I love taking my sim over the rope bridge to see the waterfalls or standing on the cliff and looking over all the trees. Archeology was a nice touch as well. I’m sure nature-loving simmers really enjoyed that. Having the ability to keep artifacts in a display case is cool. It’s a really nice touch on excavating. Since Jungle Adventure has been released, many of my sims have spent time in Selvadorada. This was a very good job on EA’s part and I hope we can continue to receive exciting packs from them.” Milasia: “Jungle Adventure is cool because it’s something new to do. I have found dead a lot of valuable treasures while going through the jungles. I found a gold frog which was worth §9000 simoleons and then a gold plate worth §10,000. That's pretty cool especially if you're a struggling sim, lol. My favorite thing they incorporated in that pack is the Salvadorian skill. The fact that our Sims can learn foods and a new dance for them to take back home is pretty cool! I would change

Photo courtesy of Kenya from "Selina's Adventures"

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"Selvadorada comes with 7 lots including a Bar, Museum, Park and 4 villas..." the fact that clubs or restaurants didn’t come with the new world. It’s sort of boring when you're limited to a jungle, a bar & a villa with not much to do.” Kimiko: “Personally, I was not sure I would like it at first. It is like The Sims 3: World Adventures. When I played the first time, I found that I liked the challenges. I loved my sims learning a new dance and culture as well. I also like that the challenges are different each time go. I didn't particularly like the museum, but I have seen new ones in the gallery, so that isn't really a big deal. I think my favorite part is the Rumbasim dance, because as a Zumba instructor, I can really appreciate the movements.” Elizzy: “I haven't thoroughly explored it yet, but I've enjoyed what I've seen so far. I'm currently on my second trip there, taking my time to explore better this time instead of rushing through it. I definitely recommend going to the market a few times and clearing the tables before heading out, those machetes disappear quite easily, and the other stuff comes in very handy for battling other things you encounter: bats, bees, etc.” While we all had different things we enjoyed about The Sims: Jungle Adventure, we are all in agreement that it is fun and worth the money. If you have not gotten the pack, I 100% recommend it. You may be surprised at how refreshing it is in comparison to what we’ve been given. Happy Simming!

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CREDITS

The Women Behind Vibez, Black Queens Who Deserve More Glory, Luxxe, Zaddy Pack, HBCUBlack-Girl, and Slay Beauty BY: MICKEY Black Simmer Magic, QwertySims Interview BY: MILLAHSIRHEA Interview with EbonixSimblr, Karley Uncovered, Black Panther Review BY: KI Its A Jungle Out There BY:KRISTIN Writer's Block BY: MO Colorism Coded BY: KI AND SHEVA Don't Play Me Heaux BY: KI AND KYRIE Bish Better Have My Money BY: KI AND KYRIE Horoscopes BY: KI, SHEVA, AND MICKEY

Advertisements BY: MICKEY, SHEVA, MONIQUE AND KYRIE Lookbooks BY: ALLESIA Article layouts, design, and magazine closing BY: MICKEY, AND SHEVA special Thanks to skillfulsimmer340, uniqueleemade87, applekissims, xmiramira, ebonixsimblr, aprilbaby321, hbcu-black-girl, and qwertysims for letting us interview them and being apart of this magazine!

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