I am about to start posting chapters from a simlit story I have been working on for quite some time. This will be my thread for announcements about new chapters, which will be posted on my website (link coming in next post).
Thank you to all for your comments! They always really make my day. Sorry I'm a bit slow in responding. It's been an exhausting week in my (not nearly as interesting as the pretend world) real life.
I like that you described the chapter as funny but also making you think. This is definitely what I intended, so it makes me happy that you said that.
The ripple effects of this chapter (and all the stuff that happens on "Friday" actually) will spread out through the story for quite some time.
What you point out about Annie and Reuben's difference of opinion is insightful. I agree with Annie as well. Conspiracies and misinformation have been a huge problem where I live. When I created Tre, I knew I wanted to avoid the common trope of "the one guy who knows the truth". He is definitely not that. He's wrong a lot. When he's right, it's mainly by accident, and often only part of the truth. The trick is, as mightysprite says, "figuring out how much is right".
With regards to Reuben and Tre's nonsense... did you notice that Reuben only cares what conspiracies Tre is spreading once he starts talking about vampires?
I'm glad you liked the "decorative carbon crystal" joke so much. I'm a geologist, and apart from the cool fact that diamonds come from some pretty deep mantle material, I really don't get the human obsession with them either. :wink:
I love that you still love Ion so much. :smiley: Reuben really is being pretty callus in this scene. Poor Ion is taking it all literally and to heart. Probably won't help them become more harmonious roommates.
Finally, I've been trying to decide how much "behind the scenes" thoughts I want to share with you all. SnowBnuuy and HermioneSims often do with their stories, and I enjoy it a lot. With mine, I've kind of held off at first so I could figure out how to talk about the story without giving away spoilers, or influencing readers' interpretations too much. But I feel like at this chapter, I really do have some things I want to share. There is a little bit of a shift the story takes at this point, so this feels like a good moment for it. I promise, no actual plot spoilers here, just some (hopefully) insight into the author's mind.
When I first started writing Seventeen & Maldusk (in 2018?), I had no idea what kind of story it would be. In fact, when I first created the characters of Ion and Reuben, I didn't even know it would be a story at all. They were originally tester sims for the "Get to Work" and "Vampires" packs, both of which which I got quite a while after they were released. I thought "A vampire detective with an alien roommate! That would be cool!" and that's literally all the brain-effort I gave the concept initially.
But once I started playing with them, there was just something about them that grabbed me. I loved the contrast between them and I started having all sorts of ideas about who they were. I created a set of quirky neighbors, tossed in a few nefarious but (extremely) slow-cooker plotlines, and the rest is, well... Seventeen & Maldusk.
The Movie Night chapter is kind of a pivotal point. First, it's the point where I realized I wanted to do the story's dialogue in a comic book style, causing me to start over and take a ton of extra screenshots in order to make that happen. And second, it's the point where I realized I wanted it to be a soap opera.
I was genuinely surprised, when I started posting the story, at how much readers seemed to enjoy the humor in the initial chapters. My test readers mostly didn't have such a favorable reaction to that part. I'm glad now, that I didn't really listen them or change it much. It was fun to see readers here react to it. Your comments made me feel like a way better comedy writer than I probably actually am. I thank you.
I've been a bit worried though, because after the Movie Night, things start to take a more drama focused turn, and I'm not sure what readers have been expecting. Humor will still be a part of the story (because that's just part of how I think), but from this point in the journey onward, it takes a more backseat role (making snarky comments and faces in the mirror) while Drama tries to actually do the steering. The story still has its funny moments, and a certain "GlacierSnow" brand of nonsense worldbuilding, but it wasn't ever really intended to be completely a comedy.
The story has been deceptively innocent for the most part so far, but it's meant to be a soap opera. In coming chapters some of the background things I set up in the earlier chapters will come to the front, while new traps are getting set up for later. Tension between the main characters will ramp up. Side characters with various agendas will begin to come into play. And by the end of Season One and into Season Two, we'll start to learn about Reuben's backstory... and that's not totally a pretty sight.
Tone-wise, I don't think it ever really gets "dark" (at least not for long), but bad stuff will start to happen to some of the characters, and they don't always respond like mature, well-balanced, stable adults (Looking at you, Reuben. And also ).
I appreciate the comments that readers have posted so much. I love hearing what you think, what you notice, and how you're reacting. It really makes it all feel worthwhile. I know that some of you are communicating through a language that isn't your most familiar one, both to read the story and to comment, and I am honored that you take the time to do that. It means a lot to me.
And I want to thank everyone (commenting or not) who has been reading the story. I'm thrilled that people have been enjoying it. I hope that as this ship of fools pulls out of the harbor and into the choppier water ahead, you'll all still stay with me.
To me, the story up to now really felt like a built-up part to present the main characters, with many hints about more crucial events coming up later (I have the feeling that this is the kind of story I could want to check again from the beginning once the consequences of the details from these first chapters start to have consequences).
For me as a reader having a funnier introduction was a good way to keep me reading carefully the story and bonding with the characters, so now I'm curious to see what you've in store for them (whatever new direction or tone you have in mind). In other words, I'm curious to see what happens to Ion, Reuben (and also Annie) even if the chapters got way more serious from now on. The Reuben backstory hint sounds particularly appealing to me.
Also, geology! I had the impression you worked/studied in some scientific field, but I couldn't visualise which branch. Sounds cool!
It’s too bad movie night was a bust. There’s something uncanny valley about Tre that doesn’t sit well with me, maybe that’s why I’m always unfairly negative to him. He reads conspiracy theories all day on the Internet and argues with Annie (someone with official credentials) about them. It’s egregious mansplaining, except in this case, he may have a point…
If there is something nefarious going on with aliens, I hope that Ion is able to figure it out and stop it. Ion’s focus is on aliens. Reuben’s focus is on vampires. Everyone is self-centered and not generally concerned about experiments being conducted on sentient beings, but that’s natural to an extent.
I always like it when people share behind the scenes information. I definitely enjoyed the humor of these early chapters, but I shouldn’t mind a tonal shift either. I think readers could clearly see some of this coming, though, because there’s been tension building in the background for a while now.
Thank you so much for your support and enthusiasm! :smiley:
@HermioneSims
You're right. The early chapters are mostly just setting stuff up. The pace of this story is slow but detailed, because that's just the way I like to write. I'm glad people have enjoyed it so far.
In fact, the way I think of the story is in sets of chapters (about 5 to 7 chapters each) that go together as an "Episode". But the episodes are too long to post all in one post, so I release the chapters one by one instead. But I might alter my index page to reflect the episode groupings. I think it might make my pacing intent more obvious.
Episode One (chapters 1 through 6) is focused on getting to know Ion and Reuben, with a hint of some other stuff via Mystery Girl's appearance.
Episode Two (chapters 7 through 13) broadens the character set, lets us get to know the neighbors, and shows Ion and Reuben's interactions with other local people.
Episode Three (chapters 14 through 19) is... "Friday". The reverberations of which will be felt for some time.
And so on. Things pretty consistently group by some type of theme into these 5 to 7 chapter blocks. Some big plot arcs go on for longer though.
I also had meant to respond to your comment on Annie and Reuben's argument with a little more focus on them, but somehow Tre hijacked my train of thought. He really does take over conversations, doesn't he? :lol: Anyway, if you are interested in a slightly deeper set of thoughts on what is going on with Annie and Reuben see the spoiler. It's not really something I was intending to "reveal", so I don't consider it much of a spoiler, it's just part of how I think about those two as characters.
There is an enormous generational gap between Reuben and pretty much any of the other main characters, but I think it's especially noticable between Reuben and Annie. Anne is one of the younger characters, a college grad student who I'd place in her late twenties (Ion is actually younger, but Tristan and Tre are older). She's lived almost her entire life with the internet being a normal everyday thing. She's smart, well educated, concerned about how society regards science, and she's keenly aware of how quickly rumors can get passed around in such a tighly connected world.
Reuben, on the other hand, is over 400 years old (I think I've only mentioned it as "centuries", but 400-ish is my intent). When he was born, mass-printed newspapers hadn't even really gotten started. He's lived through a massive amount of social, political, and technological change. For him the rise of the internet and things like social media are just a tiny blip on his overall lived experience. It's possible that he still hasn't completely grasped what a change it has made to the way information spreads in the world.
And of course, he was also in a horrible mood and had a headache. So there's that too. :lol:
@haneul
I love your "uncanny valley" description of Tre! :joy: It's true. There really is something a little off about his constant smiles and friendliness. Over on the blog comments for chapter 15, @MonaSolstraale speculated that he might be a robot (because of the in-story "restoring cheerful attitude" progress bar joke). Sadly this is not the case, but it sure would explain a lot. :lol:
Tre is kind of an oddball. He is extremely extroverted, to the point where he almost can't handle being alone at all. He needs people around him, and when there are people, he needs to be interacting with them. But at the same time, he's actually not that good at detecting people's emotional state. In Chapter 15, it's shown he really does care how his friends and boyfriend feel, and once it's made clear he'll try to take care of them, but he not good at all with identifying emotions on the fly. I think we often expect really outgoing people to also be really skilled at dealing with people, but I've known a few who were not, and Tre is sort of inspired by some of them.
To the much more introverted other main characters, he's very overwhelming. The only one who probably stands a chance of really keeping up with his level of social energy is Ion. And Ion is still dealing with the transition from a world where communication is augmented by telepathy, and hasn't quite gotten used to how to talk with humans yet.
The movie party falling apart is actually pretty much Tre's fault, since he can't read the room and he just won't stop talking. Considering that he was the person who was most excited about getting everyone together for the evening in the first place, he really shoots himself in the foot.
Since you like behind the scenes thoughts, I'll leave you with a few notes about the character-building (and writer mistakes) that went into creating Tre and Tristan.
It might help to know Tristan and Tre's in-game traits (which I really do use in shaping their characters):
Tre: Outgoing, Cheerful, Clumsy
Tristan: Romantic, Jealous, Family Oriented
With Tre, I use "clumsy" both for physical clumsiness and social clumsiness. And with Tristan... well, those traits mean that whenever Tre isn't around for a while Tristan takes a triple moodlet hit. Two "sad" moodlets for the romantic and family oriented traits, and one "tense" moodlet for the jealous trait.
I didn't originally intend Tre to come across as quite so manipulative. It was always there (he is a salesman and he thinks haggling is a fun game) but it was supposed to be more subtle. However, in the earlier draft of this story, Tristan's main character flaw (jealousy) was a lot more emphasized in the early chapters. One of my test readers had a reaction to Tristan that was so negative (much more than I wanted) that I decided to make some adjustments. The adjustments were a little hastily done though, because the point at which she mentioned her thoughts was after I had already decided to start posting. Toning Tristan's flaws down a bit caused Tre's flaws to stand out more, which was mostly an unintended side-effect.
But that's fine. I actually like that you call him out on the stuff he does. The fact that he makes a pain of himself trying to be super friendly, is genuinely part of what I intended for him all along.
Thanks for reading and for your comments. I always enjoy seeing what you're thinking. You look deep into the characters and analyze their behaviors, and I think that is really cool.
For me the humour is the best part and also the defining part of this story. Like I love how every single chapter always makes me laugh and cheers me up, but at the same time you still just want to hug Ion and there's still the possible drama that could occur with Reuben along the line. I love that they were just tester characters as well. I would be glad to see some more drama, since I think it's inevitable what with Ion being out of place and Reuben's vampirism. Will be interesting to see where it goes! I love your story so much < 3
I love that you have been such an enthusiastic fan of Ion right from the very start. One of my early test readers thought Ion was annoying, so I was a bit concerned that no one would actually like my main character. I was so happy when you talked about how much you liked that cute little alien after the first chapter.
I hope you continue to enjoy the story. Like I said, the humor is just part of how I think about life, so it never goes away. But I go where the characters go, and occasionally it won't be funny. It will, however, always be driven by the characters being who they are, making the choices that they make (even when a different choice would sure be better) because they are who they are. And yeah... a lot of the drama is Reuben centered, or at least Reuben fueled. Ion is totally innocent of all blame at all times of course. :wink:
How can anyone find Ion annoying?? Honestly writing is just…Don’t make your character too fun or he’ll be annoying, don’t make them too sad or they’ll be annoying, don’t make them too angry or they’ll be annoying, and then if you avoid all that you’re told your character is ‘too flat’ * eye roll* I will defend Ion with my life! XD
@GlacierSnow Thanks for the insight into Tre and everything else. Tre's such an interesting character. Just for the record, I also want to say that I don't find Ion annoying. I love Ion and think Ion is cute, even though I can understand if Reuben finds Ion annoying... :D
I think we often expect really outgoing people to also be really skilled at dealing with people, but I've known a few who were not, and Tre is sort of inspired by some of them. To the much more introverted other main characters, he's very overwhelming.
You've done a great job of conveying how overwhelming Tre's personality can be. I'm intrigued by him. If I knew him IRL, I would be curious to get to know him better because he’s not a type of person I’ve encountered, but at the same time I would want to keep him at a distance because I think he could talk me to death.
Thanks for sharing behind the scenes information too.
I got slight hints of Tristan's jealousy, but I had been captivated by Tre. Tre made such an impression with the fireworks in the apartment, the mess on the stove, and the skeleton in the bathroom that I brushed off incidents where Tristan acted less than ideal towards Tre. I think both Tristan's and Tre's flaws are well done. I just need to pay more attention to the subtle aspects of Tristan.
The fact that he makes a pain of himself trying to be super friendly, is genuinely part of what I intended for him all along.
At first I could not tell if he was being genuinely friendly or had some other motives, but I get it now. Thanks!
I must say, the readers who found their way to this story are much more my target audience than the friends and relatives I snagged for test reading, so I'm glad I stuck with my instincts. :lol: Thank you all so much for your comments. I love reading them.
I know, right? Ion is adorable! Granted, when looking for a test reader, I probably should not have picked "Reuben".
Honestly writing is just…Don’t make your character too fun or he’ll be annoying, don’t make them too sad or they’ll be annoying, don’t make them too angry or they’ll be annoying, and then if you avoid all that you’re told your character is ‘too flat’ * eye roll*
:joy: Yes! And don't even get me started on the "don't make your female character too smart or she will be annoying". Grrrrr!
My characters tend to be kind of extreme (extremely clueless, extremely grumpy, extremely chaotic... etc.) because that's just part of my own sense of humor. Weirdly, my other sense of humor is often so subtle that most people completely miss it. I don't know how to do middle-ground apparently.
Thanks for your comments. :smiley: Tre comes across as overwhelming in part because I myself find extremely outgoing people overwhelming. And you also see him almost entirely from the point of view of three much more introverted characters. Tristan loves him in spite of and because of his flaws. But Annie and Reuben both don't like him much. I don't let Tre have his own POV chapters often because I want him to mostly be seen through other characters' eyes.
I sometimes use the Meyers-Briggs 16 personality quiz as a tool for thinking about my characters. Usually not until I've developed them a lot on my own first, but later on, to get some more ideas. Once I know the characters well, I take the quiz answering as I think they would to see what comes up. I recently did this with the main characters from Seventeen & Maldusk and, interestingly, Tristan and Tre come out complete opposites. :lol:
Tristan: ISFJ-T Tre: ENTP-A
(Reuben and Ion also came out pretty much opposites as well).
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