Yeah, same. Your friends offended me, not you. XD

We're not offended, we're just concerned. Or at least offended on your behalf.

and then there is me using Discord rich presence to let people know I am playing Sims 2 and I want to left alone for the time being

Some of my best friends are my Sims. (Especially Andrew of course!) They certainly don't complain about me playing The Sims! I can hardly hide my Simming from them!

I was very close to my late mother, but I never let her know that I was playing The Sims. But then I never let her know that I was gay either. In fact I'm gay but celibate. Very, very few of my Sims are celibate! I think, if she saw what my Sims were up to, it would have been absolutely obvious that I was gay. Plus I didn't want her to see how scantily clad my Sims usually are. (Of course Veronaville has a much warmer climate than Scotland, and I don't have Seasons, so it's never winter there.)

I probably should have told my mother that I'm gay. But I don't know if I could ever have brought myself to let her see me playing The Sims. There is a lot of gay kissing, cuddling, making out and woohoo in my game, much of it done in a state of near nudity. I don't think I could ever have shown that to my mother. I'm not joking when I say I live my sex life vicariously through my Sims!

Interesting.

In my game I don't particularly try to make sims follow a particular sexuality. To clarify, I make straight sims, gay sims, bi-sims, lesbian sims, etc. But I don't make a 'big deal' out of it - they just 'are', if it fits their story and the sim then that's what they are. It's that simple.

I wasn't aware playing Sims was considered gay by some men. My older (female) cousin introduced all of us younger cousins (gender neutral) to it during family gatherings in the early 2000s, and I remember us all being huddled together and watching the chaos on that tiny CRT screen. Later I played with my male cousin on his PC who also lend the base game to me when I got Open for Business for my birthday, so I could install the game on my own one. To me, Sims always screamed gender neutral since it's a life simulator and you can do what you want with it. The sims world is your oyster. Well anyway, they are missing out on the fun. Wouldn't be me. I play whatever speaks to me, whether that be brutal or cosy, it just depends on the mood.

I think your sims might complain if you didn't play Sims 2!

It is sad that you didn't feel comfortable enough to share them with your mother though.

In my case, my sims complain while I play, usually because I forgot about one of their needs.

It can be worse, like just yesterday I sent a toddler off to the (modded) play group and totally forgot about them. I didn't notice until toddler sim auto-returned the next day and it was "Oh yeah, the kids!".

In retrospect, it's probably a good job I've never had real children.

To be perfectly honest, I'm rather sure she guessed it after a while. Parents often know these things without being told. It's sad when they know and reject their children, which often happens.

Which is why the game is so refreshing-there is no moral 'you can't do/be that!' to restrict one from expressing yourself in the game.
Which is also why EA has always been lauded for their openness in this area. They were one of the first and few game companies to recognize the LGBTQ community and still does to this day.

FFS, the toilet is right there! How is crying at me going to achieve anything! XD

In my game:
*Waves arms frantically in air at me with an angry tone* I need the toilet.

Me:
Oh, right. I forgot to add a bathroom to your new home.

It makes me laugh, most videos of sims you see a sim casually wave in the air like "um, you hoo!" to get your attention.

Mine just do a freak out animation shaking their hands in an almost angry tone like they're saying "You forgot again!?"

I have forgotten bathrooms so many times that I started building them first

I use houses that already have fixtures lol.

I used to make big squares of houses and my gardens were bleak.

So, I start with the exterior now and then build the home

For rooms I usually build in order:
Garage
Living room
Fun room
Bedroom

If I remember, I add:
Kitchen
Bathroom


That only works while you have made enough empty houses, once you run out you've got to build.

I used to make big squares of houses with bleak gardens too, but I - eh, uhm - am still making them.

Oh, I have enough empty houses, but when a family grows, I still like to build them a new house, taking into account their personalities and hobbies.

Oh, I've forgotten to put in this or that in a house-most likely the phone or smoke detector, but now I've learned that just using a reliable "stock" house I built in several forms will work, and it has all the goodies.

I'm tired of being at the mercy of my rotten memory..

As for gardens, I've always had a 1x1 "Garden Shop" community lot owned by a playable and people can pick their own garden flowers to put on their lots.

I don't build. XD