I agree, I think a thread where we share creative insights sounds like a great idea! And I really like your outlook of finding machinima making satisfying whether it's successful or not. Your story sounds pretty interesting! And I have to admit, soap-ish TV shows are kind of a guilty pleasure of mine, so it sounds like I'd like it lol
In my stories, I do use a lot of poses/talking animations, but I do mix it up a bit and use the in game animations as well! I've only been making Sims stories since January, so I am pretty new to it and still learning. But I have always loved writing, so I have plans to use a lot of unfinished stories I've made throughout the years for Sims 4 machinimas.