One Month One World One Year Challenge (Selena Lilly)
So, I started this off in the hopes that I could keep up with it, and immediately couldn't. I've decided to instead do it in this thread, but please check out the main thread with all its wonderful stories here if you're interested!
I'll be picking up from where I left off in the thread, which is here if you want to catch up.
Selena Lilly
Our protagonist! She's struggling to make her way through life after being kicked out of her house.
Sofia had been at Selena's workplace today, and had been laughing and talking loudly. Selena knew she wasn’t here for the food, and her fears were confirmed when Sofia only ordered a small milkshake and sat in a booth with her friends. Of course, her manager had asked her to carry their orders over to them, and Sofia had smiled like a cat when she’d seen her.
“Aw, thanks!” she’d said, brightly. “You know, that shade of orange really suits you, Selena. You should wear it all the time.”
Her friends had snickered, looking down at the table, and Selena had to resist the urge to pour Sofia’s milkshake all over her bratty head. Instead, she’d placed it gently on the table, along with the rest of their order, and hurried back to the kitchen. She couldn’t get the image of Sofia’s smile out of her head, and once she was home, she’d screamed in frustration.
Luckily, Selena wasn’t on shift today, but her coworker had texted to let her know that Sofia and her friends had been back in, though they’d left soon after finishing their drinks. So, now Sofia had a new after school hobby, it seemed.
She slumped, just texting back briefly that she was sorry, but her coworker told her not to worry. Still, it stung to be picked on, and during school it hadn’t been any better. The girls had whispered and laughed when she passed by, and she’d eaten lunch alone as usual. It wasn’t as if she minded being alone when she chose it, but it was very clear that this wasn’t getting better any time soon.
It didn’t help that Sofia reminded her too much of her cousin, either. Both of them had that horrible habit of picking on somebody else to make themselves feel better.
We started out the morning by taking care of the garden! It's Selena's primary source of income, as her job doesn't exactly pay out much. Just like Stardew, you've also got to take note of the seasons, so it's worth keeping an eye on it as often as possible.
Today, she’d been back at work, and Sofia hadn’t been there, but her manager had been angry about the situation.
“All they do is come in, order drinks, and refuse to leave. If you know them, you talk to them about it, Selena. The blonde girl said she was your friend.”
“She’s not my friend!” Selena had said, quickly. “They don’t like me!”
The manager had shaken his head impatiently. “Look, either you sort it out or I’ll have to talk to them the next time they’re in store. We have a fair use policy, and I have to stick to it.”
Could things get any more embarrassing? She could imagine what Sofia would say if the manager did talk to her, and the rumours that would fly around the school. She just wanted this to stop, even if it wasn’t like they were technically doing anything wrong.
Selena got up early, and honestly seems to be doing much better with keeping on top of her needs! However, it was right back into keeping on top of her homework, because falling behind when you start off this challenge is just the worst.
Because we finally upgraded! Look at this! A separate bedroom! I was going to make it a kitchen, but for now it's a bedroom, and I plan to keep updating it as the money from the garden comes in.
Quite by chance, she'd run into Sofia, who had been wandering around as if she owned the place. It was the weekend, and one of Selena's days off, so she'd walked up to her, keeping her shoulders back and steeling herself for the confrontation. Better to talk to her when she had the chance, rather than have the manager scold Sofia.
"My manager asked me to talk to you," she said, head held high. "You shouldn't be harassing me at my workplace, and you're going against my workplace's policy. If you don't like me, I can't do anything about that, but at least think of how you're affecting my coworkers."
"What sort of garbage is that?" Sofia scoffed. "Are you trying to tell me I can't come in?"
"No. You just can't order one drink and sit there for my whole shift. You're taking up a table that other customers could use, and we have a fair use policy in place. You're violating it. Don't you think this whole thing should stay in school?"
Sofia rolled her eyes. "God, Selena. Aren't you harassing me, by your logic? You're coming up to me outside of school--"
"I'm making a polite request, nothing more, and explaining things you seem to be ignoring. You don't like me, I understand that. I also understand that you think this is funny, but at this point, you're affecting my workplace, and I am simply asking you to stop. That, as far as I am aware, is all above board."
Sofia didn't reply, and Selena inclined her head.
"However, I feel it is unnecessary for us to talk further than this. I can't make you do anything, after all, but please think on it."
With that, she walked away, feeling triumphant for having kept her temper, and even more triumphant that her phone had been in her pocket, recording the whole conversation. She didn't want any trouble, after all, and she knew Sofia was the sort to make it.
Hurrah, it's the weekend! Poor Selena always works so hard during the week, and usually not for much return other than good grades and a pittance of cash. Also, I'm aware I haven't posted for a while, but turns out I felt down because I was coming down with a cold, which is...not great, but hey, at least I've now got time to catch up on things?
First order of business was homework, of course, because those grades need to stay up!
Next, heading over to the Simmi machine to test our luck. This is probably the number one way in Mt. Komorebi to raise your money, and I really enjoy the gacha element.
We ended up getting a good amount of money from it, which was great, and as a treat I let Selena get some sushi from the stand nearby. She's been working hard, she deserves some takeout! It definitely brings back memories of last year, too, when it was Jenny getting sushi from the same stand.
Selena certainly seems to like it! Hopefully with tomorrow's post, we'll be able to garner some more funds, although I probably need to start saving a little bit now that we have the basics (not pictured, the bins I also bought so her inventory isn't full of spoiled food.)
The next day, Selena headed out early, making her way up the mountain to the hot springs. She was definitely in need of some relaxation, and given that this was the quietest, possibly cheapest option, she checked in and went to get changed.
It had been a while since she'd really had a day to herself, and she felt herself relaxing just from stepping through the doors. The chatter of other customers wasn't even a distraction as she stepped into the shower area, and for the first time in quite a while, she just let herself be. She didn't think about Sofia, about all the hard things she was dealing with, or any of her worries. Instead, she listened to the sound of the people and the birds, and the sound of traditional music as it played over the radio.
I decided that this was a perfect day to work on the Onsen part of Selena's aspiration, as we're already halfway through the month and she hasn't been able to sort that out. First, it was time to scrub up...
The it was time to soak! It actually took a while to fulfill the achievement, but as evening fell, she was fully relaxed. Now, she just needs to go sledding at some point to move onto the next part of the aspiration!
Thanks to having been there a while, she ended up taking a little nap on one of the sofas. I wonder what the other customers thought? Ah well, she's still doing well.
Of course, after that, I sent her back to her own bed, and she got a well-deserved good night's sleep. I think this challenge is definitely going well, and I look forward to the next day!
It had been cold when she woke up, and so she'd tried her best to dress warmly. She was very grateful for the beanie as she went outside to the garden to check up on how the flowers were doing, and gathered some of the mushrooms to cook later. A vegetable garden was always a good idea, but pretty flowers sold well at the weekend market, so she'd ended up with a bit of both. Fried mushrooms were surprisingly delicious, either way.
She waved to a neighbour passing by, and the woman waved back. Selena knew the neighbourhood a little better by now, and all of the adults were pretty friendly towards her if they met her. She'd been told to stop by if she needed anything, but she'd found her pride hadn't allowed her to before now. Maybe she could stop by and say hello, soon.
We now have a collectables shelf! I'm going to start gathering Simmis that aren't worth selling and collectables like this that you can't actually sell, so hopefully it'll go well. I think it looks pretty cute.
Sofia and her friends had been quiet this last couple of days, and Selena was at least thankful for that, though she still didn't trust the girl. She had been taught by her grandmother from a young age about people who acted this way, and she had always been grateful for the lessons, but interacting with Sofia exhausted Selena.
She had been able to explain the situation more to her boss, as well, and things had settled down at work, thankfully. Her grades were keeping steady, and so, in a way, things were as good as they could be. Sometimes, she wished that she could talk to her family about everything, or her old friends, but that wasn't possible anymore.
Besides, they would hate how she lived. Even if she was doing her best, they would look down upon her these days.
It's been a while, so I'm reconstructing the screenshots I took. Fairly obviously, the power was briefly cut, but this is more of an overview of what the house looked like. It's actually bigger now, which is a relief.
Then, it was back to the gacha machine to mine for gold Simmis! I actually had really good luck, and got some that weren't for selling in the end. The Simmi machines are definitely a gamble, and I know I talk about them a lot, but they're really worth it.
Today had been horrible at school. Someone had tripped her in the cafeteria, and she'd been shoved a couple of times in the hallways. The worst part was it didn't even seem personal. More like another day in the high school crab bucket. She didn't want to become cynical, but it was slowly happening, whether she wanted it to or not. It was hard to keep your head held high when it just earned you a slap in the face.
Still, wasn't she used to that?
A girl with dark hair had been gossiping next to her locker, nearly blocking it.
"I wish I was Mia Michaels, you know? Arthur Feng is just..." The girl had pretended to swoon. "Did you see the picture of the two of them having drinks together on her Simsta?"
Her friend, a diminutive redhead, had sighed with a similar jealousy. "Oh, I know. Some people just live such a charmed life, it's disgusting. Why are there no boys in our school like Arthur Feng?"
"Ugh, I know. Where's my hot millionaire boyfriend, huh?" The first girl had laughed, before the two of them had walked away. Selena had sighed once they were gone, shoving her books back into her locker with irritaton.
Another update/upgrade for the house! I'm slowly getting the hang of this, and I think this is a really good upgrade, honestly. Now Selena can do her homework at an actual desk, which we can afford! Yay, us!
Whilst things might be tough in school, Selena found herself enjoying the scenery outside of it. Mt. Komorebi was a truly beautiful place, and more than anywhere she'd ever been, she found that this place was peaceful enough that spending time outside helped to set her at ease. Occasionally, she still thought of her family, and how they had treated her, and of course, she thought of Donny.
Perhaps it hadn't been fair to ask him to keep their relationship secret, after all. She could admit fault for that, but then, he'd been the one to suggest it in the first place. He'd been the one to ask her out, and then he'd been the one to stab her in the back, too. But maybe she could have stuck to her guns a little more, and...well, she could have stood up for her relationship, if she held it so dear. She had known all along that her family would react badly.
But she hadn't quite known how badly, not really. It had never crossed her mind that this could be a possibility, and yet, she had also never imagined she would deal with it as well as she had. Her money was pretty nonexistent, but she'd still struggled through, and while it wasn't the best at times, and she still felt panic when she got her bills, she would never have imagined she could do something like this. She hoped that her grandmother would at least have been proud of her, and she more and more could believe that she would have been.
Well, today's story portion is a pretty big hint on what happened with Selena. I'm still figuring out where I'm going with that story-wise, and building up slowly to writing more. Once I get to a certain point, I'll try writing chapters under a spoiler, but I think I'm going to slightly go with the flow. I'm not sure about my original plan, as it doesn't so much follow Selena's path as it does her past, so maybe things will change for her in the future.
Selena started off the day nicely by trying to appeal 'roughhousing encouraged', which is currently in our neighbourhood. We've only got twelve days left here, but might as well do some good with them!
I'm thinking of moving Selena to Moonwood Mill, because the new pack recently released, and as always, I'll give her something of a makeover when I do. I'm really looking forward to the move, whether it ends up being MM or Windenberg. I'll probably make my mind up at the time.
But today, it was time to work on the Sightseer Aspiration! It's definitely been a hot minute since I actually did, so off to the golden statue of Yamachan we go!
I was expecting Selena to fall off on the slopes at least once, but she went down the bunny slopes all three times without falling over once! She actually had a blast.
As she was finishing up, she ended up being asked to join the Renegades, and for story purposes, I accepted. All the old crew are still there, including Morgan, who I definitely missed. Max is a teen as well now, and still the leader, because this is the same save as last year. Selena looks so sad because it's cold and this meet up requires being in your swimsuit.
Happily, I also saw Iris, who is now a child! Aw, she looks so much like Jenny. She was busy falling out with Agatha for some reason, though. Not sure exactly why this is her swimsuit, either. But still, Iris! For those not in the know, Jenny was my Sim for this challenge last year, and Iris is her daughter.
Then, it was off to the Snow Festival, and to see Yamachan, again! I think this is probably why Yamachan ends up at our house so much. Still, Selena did the Mountain Move.
I had Selena change into her festival outfit, and she just looks so cute in it. Pale blue really is her colour! She spent quite a lot of the festival trying to get Simmis, of course.
However, I also had her try the festival food, and chat with other residents of the town. It'll help once she's trying to get more signatures back home, plus she seemed pretty chilled out the whole time.
SoulGal7's Sim from last year, Sakura, was also at the festival, and we got to chat with her. I always like it when other people's Sims cameo! Sakura was definitely one of my favourites from last year, too.
On Saturday, Selena found herself at a flea market. She’d always liked the idea of this sort of thing, and she’d been to a couple before when it was a novelty, but now it was somehow better. Now, she genuinely did need some of the things that were being sold. She’d been invited to go with one of her neighbours, who seemed like a nice woman, so she’d accepted.
There was one big downside, though: it was in San Myshuno.
She’d thought about rejecting the offer, but San Myshuno was a big city, and her neighbour was a nice woman, so she’d still come along. She felt jumpy, however, and kept checking discreetly to see if she recognised someone. So far, nothing, but she didn’t feel any less out of place.
Would they even recognise her, though? She’d changed a lot in the time she’d been gone, after all.
She also managed to complete the Sightseer aspiration, with the help of meditation! Not completely sure we'll get through the Extreme Sports Enthusiast Aspiration on time, but I didn't quite complete the Sightseer one last time, so this is definitely some improvement!
Sakura invited her to the Flea Market, and she went along to see if she could find any bargains. There, Sofia was actually performing, though we had no chance to stop and say hi to her.
She tried and failed to haggle for a bargain, quite sadly, using her new perk from the Sightseer Aspiration. Oh, well! Guess it's not 100% every time...
Finally, the item she ended up buying was this gorgeous lamp, and in addition to that, we have this plaque to commemorate collecting all the Simmis! I'm pretty happy to have found them all, but I'll probably still keep buying them. It's one of the best ways to make money, after all! But it definitely looks nice in her room.
