Sharpe Stories: The life and legacy of Monica Sharpe
Hey everyone. I've been wanting to do two things recently: play with aging on, and start a gameplay story thread. I figured, why not do both at the same time?
One of my favorite sims to play is my celebrity sim, Monica Sharpe.
Monica and her dog Nugget started out as the test sims for Cats & Dogs, which I bought in 2020 a few days after I got the base game. I really enjoyed playing them, and so I kept them. Monica was struggling to pay her bills as a freelance digital artist, so I looked up the highest paying career in the Sims 4, and ever since then, Monica has been a style influencer. Her and Nugget are the only sims that I've never used cheats with. (Actually, I did cheat with them once but that was because they were living in a terrible apartment and Nugget couldn't seem to go down the elevator to...fill his needs. And I use mods that increase Monica's income from her books and videos, so that might be cheating.) Anyways, Monica is now a successful fashion influencer, having designed outfits for top celebrities like Octavia Moon. She's an expert veterinarian, she owns a retail store called SharpeStyles Fashion where she sells clothing, makes videos using the video station, and she is the author of not one, but two books! One of which earned her a starlight accolade.
Posting gameplay updates about Monica is something I've been considering for a while, but the truth is, Monica is kind of running out of things to do. She's a millionaire, she owns three houses (through a mod), a car (through another mod) and she makes at least 30,000 a day between her job and her books and videos (again, thanks to a mod that increases it.) She really has it all. And I don't really know what else for her to do. (Starting a family isn't really an option in my main save where I play with aging off and want everyone's ages to make sense compared to one another)
So, I thought to myself: why not start her story from the beginning? The first time, I started her as a young adult (and since I play with aging off, she's never aged.) This time, I wanted to start her as a teen. As I said, I've been wanting to play with aging on for a while, so what better sim to start with than Monica! I plan to play her from teen to elder, and have her start a family, and do everything that I can't/won't do in my main save.
I found the original version of her in my library, and aged her down to teen. Then, I made her mom and moved them to Copperdale. (Because, what better place to start your teen life, eh?"
Her dog Nugget isn't in the story right now, since I want her to adopt him when she becomes a young adult.
I edited the Water Tower Way lot to have a really cool basement designed for teens, and gave Monica an awesome (if I do say so myself) teen bedroom.
Water Tower Way https://i.imgur.com/imYAVKG.png The Basement https://i.imgur.com/t7prSXP.png Monica's room https://i.imgur.com/aetqajI.png
Sorry for the extremely long post, but I wanted everyone to kind of have an Idea of how this thread came about and why I'm doing this playthrough with Monica.
As soon as I do some last minute edits, I'll post the story of Monica's first day of school at Copperdale high.
I got the first story posted! You can read it below. I divided it up into sections to make it easier for me to keep up with, and hopefully easier for you all to read.
Also, not sure how often I'll be able to post new story updates, but I'll update it as often as I can.
I thought I commented on Chapter 7 already, but apparently, I didn’t – sorry.
It’s too bad High School Year mods stopped working properly for you, but I’m glad Monica was able to graduate early. Congrats!
Jeb and Monica are cute together, but the more they hang out, the more I wonder about there being a more suitable Sim out there for her because Jeb either invites her somewhere weird, abandons her, or makes her look bored. But Monica’s mother really had horrible timing interrupting them like that in her towel. :D Still, it seems that Monica may have better chemistry with Don. I’m just not sure Don can be trusted at all. I’m also not sure if I can picture Monica as a farmer or alternatively Jeb as something other than a farmer, but she seems to not have any problems with mud and she autonomously did the farm work so what do I know? :D But Monica's can also just be single and focus on other things. <3
I love the detail of the picture of Monica and her mother in the living room, by the way.
It’s good that Monica’s found some hobbies with Scouts and drama. And it’s always interesting to hear how people play, especially when it’s different from my style, so I enjoy all of your Author’s Notes. Because I always play with autonomy on and maxed out for all Sims, I hadn’t realized you’d had it off for Monica before. I enjoyed the dream sequence/bonus chapter too.
The contrast between Summer’s fancy house and Jeb’s cozy, homey farmhouse is stark. :o
The cameo by Jacques Villarreal as a banker on Career Day is hilarious. :D
$12,627 in taxes when Lori only makes $274 a day is a ton. Hopefully, she’ll get a big promotion before things are due and they won’t need to sell much but it’s nice to hear that they have $7,000 now.
I actually had trouble getting her grades to go up while attending active school, but there were a few days I sent her to school on her own, and that's actually when her grades went up.
I think this was a bug. Little Ms Sam made a fix. https://www.curseforge.com/sims4/mods/rbf-highschool-promote-fix
@haneul That's okay :) I don't trust Don either lol. Monica had a dog the last time I played her, but I never thought she'd like farming, or mud lol.
The picture in their living room is actually a mod: https://ravasheen.com/download/modern-family-portrait/
As for Jeb...I think I know what I'd like to happen next, but I won't say just yet.
I rarely play with autonomy on for the selected sim, but I'll probably keep in on for the story, as it really does make things more interesting. Glad you enjoy the Author's Notes! That's actually one of my favorite parts about writing the story. I enjoy sharing a sort of "behind the scenes" view of my story.
Jeb and Summer's houses are very different. I can't decide which I like best, but I'll say that I would definitely feel more at home in Jeb's house than Summer's.
Yes, Jaques is always at career day in my game. With him being in the criminal career, I didn't think he'd go around telling everyone what he does for a living, so I thought he'd probably answer with "banking" lol. I mean, he does work in banks sometimes lol.
Mortimer: "Do you think my money will be safe in here?" https://i.imgur.com/uC49E6H.png Jaques (later that night): "Nope." https://i.imgur.com/hAN8zGs.png
As for their taxes, now that Monica has some painting skill, I think she'll be able to sell enough paintings to help pay for them.
I believe I may use that mod already. I think the problem for me wasn't that the grades weren't going up at all, but rather, that it was taking longer to raise them than if you send a sim to school alone. I'll check my mods folder later though. Thanks for the link!
Well, at least grades aren't a problem for Monica any more since she graduated. :)
By the way, to everyone reading this, I've been very busy lately, and have played very little since the last post. Seems I'll have a bit of time this weekend though, so expect a Winterfest update soon! (Possibly today :) )
Finally got the update finished! It’s a long one! (Or at least, it seemed that way writing it)
By the way, do I put too many pictures in my chapters? Is it too many for anyone with slower internet? Would it help if I used more spoilers? I can reduce the amount of pictures as well if it’s too many.
Monica had been working hard to earn all of her scouting badges. She earned her arts and crafts badge... https://i.imgur.com/zzw1PQf.png ...her outdoor activities badge... https://i.imgur.com/rUe1kyu.png ...and her good deeds badge, which she earned by taking out the trash 6 times. What Monica failed to mention to the scout leader, was that, while she did take out the trash 6 times, she also took it back in every time and then back out again. Technically, she didn't lie, she just...kept that part to herself. :# https://i.imgur.com/of98R2s.png
Part 2: The Winterfest Winter Festival
Later that afternoon, Monica and her friends were going to the Winterfest Winter Festival! Monica thought they should just call it the Winter Festival, or just Winterfest. 'Who decides the names for these festivals anyways?,' Monica thought. After choosing an outfit to wear... https://i.imgur.com/uE8E9NO.png ...Monica and her mom drove to the Winterfest Winter Festival. https://i.imgur.com/bVRfnJn.png Monica found out she was quite good at ice skating! https://i.imgur.com/MiRLV8w.png https://i.imgur.com/hDXadcW.png https://i.imgur.com/eBY3E4T.png Everyone gathered around for the Winterfest Winter Festival Festive Winter Concert (Again, who names these things? ;) ) https://i.imgur.com/VSvGKjQ.png One of Monica's favorite singers, Bea Young, was performing! https://i.imgur.com/Gtdlhpv.png Monica had just bought Bea's latest album, Moodlets, the other day.
Bea Young's album, Moodlets https://i.imgur.com/2CcZ5Aim.png The back of the CD case, showing the list of songs. https://i.imgur.com/berNctUm.png
After the concert, Monica and her friends ice skated some more https://i.imgur.com/je3hoZt.png Monica also bought some hot cocoa at the stall. https://i.imgur.com/IkkcK3x.png And got to see Father Winter! (Monica was pretty sure this guy wasn't the real Father Winter, since she was almost certain that he wore a blue coat. She figured he was just filling in, as good ol' Clement Frost was probably busy getting ready for the big day. https://i.imgur.com/Pk9nldc.png
Monica's high school graduation was supposed to be this Sunday. She hadn't received an email or anything regarding what time, but her friends all said that graduation happened around 6pm. Monica arrived at Copperdale auditorium right on time, but there was no one there. https://i.imgur.com/eUeDK9s.png Monica wasn't about to let that stop her from enjoying the fact that she'd finished high school, so she danced around the auditorium by herself... https://i.imgur.com/jKlGRt9.png ...and practiced her acting in the bathroom mirror. https://i.imgur.com/wn8Ib4h.png
The next few days were pretty normal. Monica did some more painting... https://i.imgur.com/d6w8SCE.png ...went for a jog... https://i.imgur.com/lPeaHse.png ...made a salad... https://i.imgur.com/ZXl7oNh.png ...did some cloud gazing while listing to Bea Young's album on her earbuds... https://i.imgur.com/nZ3cbXd.png ...and visited ThrifTea. https://i.imgur.com/p0m5AtR.png Monica found out from Eloise that she could create outfits and list them on a website called Trendi. Monica thought she'd try it, so she designed several outfits and listed them. https://i.imgur.com/rC1YsUX.png https://i.imgur.com/hBbkKdm.png https://i.imgur.com/lMoEnaM.png Monica knew her outfits weren't exactly perfect, but she was glad to at least be dressed a little better than Bjorn Bjergsen. https://i.imgur.com/5nEz8nA.png "Hey Summer!" "Hey Monica!" "Are we still having that Winterfest party at your house this weekend?" asked Monica. "Yep! Winston is really looking forward to showing off his cooking skills, and Mom and Dad are going big with the decorations this year too!" said Summer. https://i.imgur.com/rETe0tD.png Monica liked this outfit, but she felt it needed some finishing touches... https://i.imgur.com/ecWFZ09.png "Perfect!" said Monica, admiring her work in the mirror. https://i.imgur.com/wHAM7zz.png
Summer wasn't kidding when she said her parents went all out with the decorations! The house was covered in lights, garland, and wreaths all over. https://i.imgur.com/LbmmTct.png
Now, for some random party pictures I took! (These are probably out of order, but nonetheless, I wanted to share them.
Winston began cooking the meals... https://i.imgur.com/J4kB4y5.png Everyone really enjoyed their meal! https://i.imgur.com/Xv0vagL.png Mr. and Mrs. Holiday talked for a while... https://i.imgur.com/LgBJAnH.png Mrs. Sharpe dressed in her best Winterfest sweater... https://i.imgur.com/k88JGK9.png Mr. Buttondown (Marlee's dad) seems to want some of his wife's sandwich. https://i.imgur.com/RoWPo7o.png Monica thought Don just had to see the latest SimTube video. Don: "What exactly am I looking at? Is there more to the video than just this?" Monica: "It's a cute cat video, Don! There doesn't need to be anything else!" https://i.imgur.com/wgeBB9X.png Kaori was upset because no one told her that everyone was dressing in green and red. https://i.imgur.com/E4EFHrJ.png She still thought her outfit was worthy of a post to Simstagram, though. https://i.imgur.com/rDHRswJ.png Winston was quite proud of the food he made. https://i.imgur.com/ewmhiSD.png I don't think Eloise was as pleased. https://i.imgur.com/9JD5chC.png https://i.imgur.com/2vM15fw.png https://i.imgur.com/UHMSQsa.png https://i.imgur.com/mLWtgDT.png https://i.imgur.com/J3BjEwg.png https://i.imgur.com/TzOkKdo.png Monica and Jeb went outside, and Monica gave Jeb his Winterfest gift. https://i.imgur.com/qKGfUg0.png "For me? I...I didn't know we were doing presents at the party. I left yours at the farm," Jeb said. "That's okay Jeb," said Monica, "open it! I hope you like it." https://i.imgur.com/ptv6x2y.png Jeb opened the small box. https://i.imgur.com/q5bgt5m.png "Oh man! Thanks Monica!" said Jeb, admiring his gift. Monica had given him the cross-stitch hoop she made. "I love homemade gifts!" he said. "I'm glad you like it!" said Monica. "You know, Monica," said Jeb, "I've been thinking..." "Yes?" said Monica, getting a little nervous. "I wanted to say...um..." said Jeb. "Yes? What is it, Jeb?" said Monica, getting even more nervous. "I...I'm glad that me and you are, you know, together. I know I haven't been coming over much lately, and I know that I haven't been saying very much lately, but I really like you Monica. In fact, I...love you." Monica and Jeb held hands. "I love you too, Jeb," she said. https://i.imgur.com/lUsnbbF.png Just then, Mr. Holiday came outside. "Hmhm," he said, clearing his throat, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything." "Um...no, no," said Monica. https://i.imgur.com/zthOlsm.png "Great!" said Mr. Holiday, "because I wanted to give you the gift I got you, Monica." "Gift?" said Monica. "Well, me and my wife were talking to your mom, and she was saying how you might be going off to university soon, and...well just follow me," he said. Monica followed Mr. Holiday back into the house... https://i.imgur.com/cVjcq49.png ...and through the dining room... https://i.imgur.com/yoEVTbs.png ...and out the side door. https://i.imgur.com/BaHfkqx.png "Surprise!" said Mr. Holiday, "so, what do you think?" https://i.imgur.com/1lbyuec.png "Really? For me? Mr. Holiday...I couldn't!" https://i.imgur.com/qgYdCg3.png "Oh, it's nothing, really. We had a spare one lying around, and thought that you should have it. It's never even been started before." "This is awesome!" said Monica, "Thanks so much Mr. Holiday!" https://i.imgur.com/PBzQ0X3.png "Like I said, it's really not much. Now go on! Try it out! Have fun!" https://i.imgur.com/15DqF1u.png https://i.imgur.com/rezbgX2.png https://i.imgur.com/SBvNl8L.png https://i.imgur.com/x7pOcdW.png https://i.imgur.com/MFKeV1S.png https://i.imgur.com/lOmItMq.png As the party was nearing its end, everyone gathered in the living room to talk and sit by the fireplace. https://i.imgur.com/1pZH5p7.png Soon, it was time to go, and everyone thanked the Holidays for the wonderful party and meal, and left. https://i.imgur.com/Dhe9jM4.png
Part 5: Winterfest Day!
The next morning was Winterfest Day! Monica gave her mom a flower she had in her inventory, as she had forgot to do her Winterfest shopping the other day while she was in town. Monica apologized for not getting her mom a better gift, but her mom loved the gift anyways, as she said that it was the thought that counted, not the gift itself. https://i.imgur.com/db0mjM3.png https://i.imgur.com/Ly4KZNP.png Monica and her mom were singing Winterfest songs near the tree, when they heard someone knocking on the door. https://i.imgur.com/rEPIFBz.png "Hey Summer! Happy Winterfest!" "Hey Monica! Happy Winterfest to you too!" https://i.imgur.com/aXzOhex.png "Check out this new phone!" said Summer, as she pulled a shiny new smartphone out of her coat pocket. https://i.imgur.com/51Ctiih.png "It's the H&B Star5G phone!" said Summer. "It's so cool!" said Monica, "That's the latest model!" https://i.imgur.com/y1Z5RbI.png "And you know what the best part about this phone is?" asked Summer. "What's that?" asked Monica. "The fact that it's yours!" said Summer. https://i.imgur.com/nDFTMCV.png Monica stood there for a moment, "Mine!?!?" https://i.imgur.com/8q0ivHF.png "Yep! Dad got us all Star5G phones for Winterfest, but the deal he got at the phone company came out cheaper if we got seven phones, so we had two extra phones even after giving Winston one," said Summer, "so your mom gets one too!" "I...don't know what to say...thank you all so much!" said Monica. https://i.imgur.com/lhNdvXC.png "Like Dad said, it's really nothing," said Summer. "Well it's definitely something to me!" said Monica. https://i.imgur.com/oymjIFd.png "Hey, I wanted to give you your Winterfest gift too," said Monica. https://i.imgur.com/jyLVsXk.png "Is...is this a first edition copy of Love by the Sea? Where did you find it?" asked Summer. https://i.imgur.com/VSLKCWK.png "Eloise Hiddlestix," said Monica, "she had a copy for sale at ThrifTea." "Thank you so much!" said Summer, "I've been looking for this book forever!"
Later, Monica and her mom decided to open the other presents they'd bought each other. https://i.imgur.com/oWfPrWB.png "It's...a towel holder?" Monica said, a bit confused. https://i.imgur.com/kECJXSE.png https://i.imgur.com/EUX8mpS.png "Well, you've been talking about how when you get a house of your own, you wanted a huge spa style bathroom, so this is the first piece," said Mrs. Sharpe. https://i.imgur.com/f9tJdLp.png "Thanks Mom! You're right, I love it! Now, open yours mom," Monica said excitedly. https://i.imgur.com/ceX2K0o.png "Oh Monica, how did you ever afford this?" said Mrs. Sharpe. https://i.imgur.com/eIe8rPD.png https://i.imgur.com/7F34f1E.png "Well...it is used. I found it at ThrifTea. It's a little worn out, but it's still newer than the computer we have now. I know you've been wanting a new one as much as you like to browse the web," said Monica. https://i.imgur.com/5hAJ0y6.png "Thanks Monica, I love it!" said Mrs. Sharpe, giving Monica a hug. https://i.imgur.com/axvzH2P.png Just then, someone else knocked on the door. https://i.imgur.com/m8KUqpM.png "Happy Winterfest Monica!" said Jeb, handing her a gift. "Oh Jeb! It's wonderful! My own cross-stitch kit! I love it! Thank you so much!" https://i.imgur.com/g9BhzgA.png "We must know each other pretty well, for you to give me that cross-stitch hoop after I'd already decided to get you a cross-stitch kit. It's like you knew," said Jeb, "You didn't know, did you? I told Gideon not to tell you." "No one told me, I guess we just knew," said Monica. "I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see what Father Winter brings us tonight! I've been wishing for a new radio for my room. How about you, Monica? Anything in mind?" https://i.imgur.com/B333l3Z.png "I know it's a bit much, but I'm hoping for a digital drawing tablet so I can paint anywhere I go. At first, painting was just something to earn a scout badge, but I really like it, and I might even study art one day," said Monica. https://i.imgur.com/2zsqPIa.png Monica and Jeb talked for a while before Jeb had to leave. His family was having a Winterfest Dinner at the farm, and he was almost late.
After going for a jog... https://i.imgur.com/yjr2OKy.png ...and riding her new scooter... https://i.imgur.com/nDYwhtU.png ...Monica thought it was a good time to try out the camera on her new phone. https://i.imgur.com/KBwRFZm.png A perfect 0.5 selfie!
In case anyone's never heard of 0.5 selfies, it's a selfie taken with the wide angle lens on the back of the phone. The purpose is to make the picture look stretched, and a bit goofy. Usually arms end up looking longer than they really are. :D
https://i.imgur.com/PuVToKa.png While Mrs. Sharpe made their grand Winterfest meal... https://i.imgur.com/3nasMsT.png ...Monica decided to sneak another gift from under the tree. https://i.imgur.com/vRGlvUw.png https://i.imgur.com/NTeMi7X.png Why on earth anyone would put food in a Winterfest present, Monica had no idea. Despite that, she ate the carrot anyways. https://i.imgur.com/f1auKW0.png Soon, Mrs. Sharpe had the dinner ready, and she and Monica enjoyed their delicious meal. https://i.imgur.com/0NykYtQ.png (I think this is the only pic I have of Monica where she's eating and not looking at the camera lol.) https://i.imgur.com/XfsbLKw.png As it neared nighttime, Monica and her mom waited in the basement for Father Winter to come. "Mom, are you sure Father Winter will come out of the water heater?" asked Monica. "Trust me," said Mrs. Sharpe, "He'll come. We just have to wait." "But why the water heater?" asked Monica, "he usually comes out of fireplaces, and a water heater is not a fireplace." https://i.imgur.com/DRw0Mgi.png "Well, he just..." before Mrs. Sharpe could finish her sentence, the sound of jingle bells filled the room. Father Winter had arrived! https://i.imgur.com/mQ8IQhx.png "I told you!" said Mrs. Sharpe. "Well, I guess he did come after all," said Monica. "Hello, Sharpes!" said Father Winter, "Happy Winterfest!" https://i.imgur.com/0I10L1I.png "Hey Father Winter!" said Monica, "Me and mom were just talking about whether you'd come out of the water heater or not." "I find that it's easier than coming out of the sink," said Father Winter, "I've also tried coming out of the stove before, but these new electric stoves are not so easy to navigate through." Everyone laughed, especially Father Winter. "Oh, Father Winter, I have a present for you!" Monica said, reaching for a gift box beside the sofa. "For me?" said Father Winter, surprised, "No one ever gets me a gift for Winterfest! Thank you! I'll open it when I get back to the Winter Mountains. I hope you understand I'm a bit short on time." https://i.imgur.com/wYIWNCD.png "Of course," said Monica. "Here's a present for you, Monica," said Father Winter, reaching into his coat pocket. (I should note that Father Winter has a bottomless coat pocket, as well as magical gift boxes, which allows him to pull out any gift he needs contained in a tiny gift box. Upon opening the box, the gift appears near the person the gift was given to. The only restriction is that he can't pull out gifts for himself, for if he does, he loses his title as Father Winter, as a father winter cannot use their magic for selfish reasons.) https://i.imgur.com/o44Lhmn.png "Oh wow! A Stove! But..." "I know, I know. You have no place for it yet. Trust me, Monica. You will have need for it soon," said Father Winter. "Does this mean I'm getting my own house soon?" said Monica. "That is for you to find out," said Father Winter. https://i.imgur.com/lVlNnvI.png "And for you, Lori. Happy Winterfest!" he said, handing Mrs. Sharpe her gift. https://i.imgur.com/bbhEYDw.png "Wow! It's...a...um...candelabra?" https://i.imgur.com/aRt50LU.png "Well...yes," said Father Winter, "It was you who wanted the new bathroom, wasn't it?" "um...that was actually Monica, and...I've never heard of putting a candelabra in a bathroom before," said Lori. "Oh dear, I thought it was you, and I was also under the impression that people liked burning candles while they took baths," said Father Winter, "Perhaps I went a little too big with this gift. Oh well, nothing can be done about it now, as once I give someone a gift, it's theirs to keep, and I can't give them another one. Perhaps there will be something under the tree you'll like, Lori. I always leave a few extra presents there, as this isn't the first time I've made a mistake like this. I learned that lesson over 400 years ago." He headed upstairs and left a few more gifts under the tree. Mrs. Sharpe came upstairs and opened one. "Now this is exactly what I asked for! A new flat screen TV" said Mrs. Sharpe. https://i.imgur.com/eqokH3W.png "With surround sound!" said Father Winter." Monica opened a gift as well. "A...fossilized egg?" said Monica. "Not just a fossilized egg!" said Father Winter, "a common fossilized egg!" "Um...Thank you!" said Monica. "You're welcome," said Father Winter, "Now you two get some sleep. I'll finish putting out the presents, and, if you don't mind, I'll help myself to a small portion of leftover Winterfest dinner." After Monica and her mom had went to bed, Father Winter did help himself to dinner. However, it was not a small portion... https://i.imgur.com/jLulITh.png ...and he went back for seconds... https://i.imgur.com/D6WtA84.png ...and thirds... https://i.imgur.com/qAdEjKg.png ...before leaving in a cloud of snow. https://i.imgur.com/gujPpa7.png https://i.imgur.com/COAAQTk.png
It wasn't long after Winterfest was over that Monica's birthday arrived. She woke up very excited, "Yes! I finally get to be an official young adult!" she thought. https://i.imgur.com/CHMIgOA.png The Sharpes invited all of Monica's friends over for her birthday party. Monica blew out her candles and aged up! https://i.imgur.com/NgK8kui.png https://i.imgur.com/t39Qhbv.png After the party was over, Monica went upstairs and applied for Britechester University, as well as several scholarships. The next part of her life was officially beginning! https://i.imgur.com/rKXxDYI.png
Thanks for reading!
Credit to littledica for the H&B 5GStar Phone replacement mod: https://modthesims.info/d/651021/h-amp-b-star5g-smartphone-override-choose-only-one.html
Credit to Zelda024 on the Gallery for the Christmas Park lot
Author's Notes: (There are spoilers, so read these last)
Well, I did say that this update would be a bit long.
I wish graduation would've worked. Funny thing is, it did show up when I was taking screenshots for the chapter where Monica and Jeb went to the prom. If only it had waited until Monica was actually ready to graduate. Oh, well. At least she got to age up on her birthday.
I chose the "cheerful" trait for her when she aged up, as this was the trait she had when I played in in my other save.
Monica didn't make much money from selling her Trendi outfits, and all of the money she did make went into their household account, rather than into Monica's personal savings account (through the SNBank mod) The reason being, I want all of the money that Monica earns to be her own. She didn't have enough to buy the outfits for herself, but she needed to list them to complete her aspiration, and I didn't feel right having her borrow the money from her mom, and then pocket what she made from selling the outfits.
As for the random party pics, there were a few that didn't make it into the chapter, which I'll share below in the spoiler.
If your wondering who's hair this is... https://i.imgur.com/2Gabpqg.png
Monica's face when I sent her outside to give Jeb his gift. (Sometimes, I really do wonder if she likes him, or if she's just going along with it for the sake of the story lol. Not that sims can have thoughts like that, since they can't think, but sometimes it seems like they can lol.) https://i.imgur.com/CwQhRdK.png While I was at the Holidays' house getting the decorations up, Preston managed to start a fire while cooking breakfast! https://i.imgur.com/4YNBPBV.png He also thought it was a good idea to juggle his soccer ball the entire time I was trying to move the camera around planning the decorations. https://i.imgur.com/JVuyhu1.png Dad thought he did really well. https://i.imgur.com/CVOWWTo.png Then Winston decided to give it a try. https://i.imgur.com/r3EKMC0.png Then Summer. https://i.imgur.com/9L5C6aI.png When Monica went outside with Jeb, these two were already out there. Some feelings between them, perhaps? https://i.imgur.com/yk1hV7t.png While the dads talked, Mrs. Holiday went around cleaning up the dishes. Why Winston didn't do it, I have no idea. He usually likes to clean, as he has the neat trait. https://i.imgur.com/XVNaZP3.png "Excuse me everyone. Let me just get through here." (I think she took "through here" too literally lol) https://i.imgur.com/oaBewBc.png
The birthday party was really short, as it was hard to get everyone to cooperate. Especially without someone else eating the cake before Monica had a chance to age up. (They almost did!)
I wanted to say as well, that Father Winter didn't really come out of the Sharpes' water heater. He did, in fact, need a fireplace, so I placed one behind the water heater. So, really, Monica was right.
The gifts he gave were a bit...unusual, but Mrs. Sharpe actually did quite well giving Monica that towel holder. The reason being, I added Monica to the Holidays' household the day of the party, so that I could control both Monica and the Holidays at the same time, and so that Monica could earn gold on a party for her aspiration. While I was waiting on the party to start, Monica decided autonomously that she really liked the Holidays' bathroom. She kept going in there and using their jetted tub! I plan to give her a nice bathroom of her own one day when she does get her own house. https://i.imgur.com/ja2kPI6.png
I really enjoyed this one! Your winterfest festival and winterfest day were so...festive lol. Love all the thoughtful gift giving. And how you incorporated the games random gifts into something that made sense. Father Winter coming out of the water heater was funny. :D And him helping himself to thirds lol.
I'm glad you enjoyed it! I really enjoyed decorating the house and designing everyone's holiday outfits. I love Christmas IRL (The one problem with everyone's party outfit being set to a wintefest outfit, is that they also wore them to Monica's birthday party lol.)
I have no idea why Monica got a fossilized egg. That one, I couldn't think of a single use for.
Father Winter has always ate the leftover Winterfest Dinner in my game, but this was the most he'd ever ate.
I think the number of pictures and the way you organize them is absolutely fine. In fact I also like the multiple spoilers since they give a little more sense of the reading progress.
Oh, and the scooter is really cute :) And Monica and Jeb <3
Thank you for the feedback about the pictures. I'm glad you like the format of the story chapters. I was worried that I put too many pictures, and that some people might have trouble getting them all to load, since they load really slowly for me sometimes after I upload them to Imgur. (Sometimes I wonder if that's due to my internet router being a bit tired after uploading ninety-something pictures in one go lol.)
As soon as I saw that scooter cc the other week, I knew I had to download it! The set also included an ATV four wheeler. They function as bikes, so they make bike sounds when you're riding them, but they're so cool!
Monica stood at the entrance to JF&S Clothes. The air was cold and the streets were covered in snow. The store hadn't yet taken down their Winterfest decorations. Summer had texted her this morning and asked her to meet her there. Just then Summer came out of the store. https://i.imgur.com/3yDuvzs.png "Summer, what's going on, why are we here?" Monica asked. "You've just became a young adult, right?" said Summer. "Um...right, so...?" Monica said, still confused. "So, you need a glow up!" said Summer, as she started towards the front door. "A...glow up?" said Monica. "Yeah, a glow up, you know, a makeover, a new look!" she said. "Summer," Monica said, "I can't afford anything in this store. I can barely afford the clothes in ThriftTea! I..." "Don't worry about it!" said Summer, "I'll take care of the cost, you just need to have fun picking out your new clothes." "Summer, I can't let you do that! You already gave me that new phone and your dad gave me that scooter, and..." "Like I said before, it's really nothing. Now I'm not taking no for an answer, so go try some stuff on!" Summer said. Since Summer really wasn't going to take no for an answer, Monica began looking around the store. It wasn't long before she had an entirely new wardrobe, and a couple of new selfies to post on Simstagram! https://i.imgur.com/AbnSoTp.png https://i.imgur.com/849zAAw.png She decided to wear one of her new outfits on her way home, since the coat was quite warm and the air quite chilly. https://i.imgur.com/ht8lrnI.png
When she arrived home, Monica was feeling hungry, and attempted to have a snack, but the fridge decided to break before she had a chance. https://i.imgur.com/yelkSuU.png Monica cleaned up the water... https://i.imgur.com/wNg6CV8.png ...and repaired the fridge... https://i.imgur.com/GrfvQV3.png ...before finally finishing her snack. https://i.imgur.com/GBK0vwC.png https://i.imgur.com/YLkmK6T.png The next morning, Monica checked her email. Britechester U had accepted her! https://i.imgur.com/snrx4dm.png https://i.imgur.com/YmLAnyC.png She showered, brushed her teeth, and headed upstairs to make breakfast. https://i.imgur.com/GGxd9kT.png https://i.imgur.com/bEOo3LS.png https://i.imgur.com/VRHGgfr.png The tofu tacos were delicious! https://i.imgur.com/pDtZ6vM.png Random kitchen dance session! She was so happy to be accepted into Britechester! https://i.imgur.com/GOqLBdf.png Yay! https://i.imgur.com/wnKFaCK.png She went for her morning jog... https://i.imgur.com/CZbu74Y.png ...and then called Summer to tell her about Britechester. She also called Jeb and told him. He was very happy, and they agreed to video chat every day while Monica was at Britechester. Visiting in person wouldn't be easy, since Britechester was a long flight away from Willow Creek. https://i.imgur.com/J2aHqCS.png When she went back in the house, her mom was awake and sitting on the sofa, "Mom! I got accepted! I got into Britechester!" "That's wonderful!" said Lori, hugging her daughter. https://i.imgur.com/OqIQKcA.png Monica went downstairs to do some painting. She thought she should paint a picture of the basement to take with her to Britechester, as a reminder of home. https://i.imgur.com/3uZQ8N9.png Monica was quite pleased with how it turned out. https://i.imgur.com/idbHjvR.png
Monica would miss her old room, but the new house she'd found in Britechester was nice too, if it looked like the pictures online. Buying a house online without seeing it worried Monica, but Donnie, her online real-estate agent, said it was, and I quote, "a really good deal!" "Sure," he said, "It might have a few quirks, but the quirks just make it all the more interesting!" https://i.imgur.com/JT7m6mn.png She took one last look at her room, and began packing everything up. https://i.imgur.com/K9t2QSj.png https://i.imgur.com/LGTLqWI.png After a while, everything was packed. All that remained was the box full of items that had been on her desk, which she carried out to the moving truck herself. https://i.imgur.com/WDz5Lbg.png "Be careful with that box," she told the movers, "It's fragile." https://i.imgur.com/0imSBWL.png Later that day, Monica headed to the bank to take out a loan. The loan would cover what remained of her tuition after the scholarships, as well as the purchase of her new house. https://i.imgur.com/YsOZEJG.png The next thing she knew she and her mom were waiting at Oasis Springs International Airport. Jeb had told her that he'd be there to say goodbye, but he hadn't shown up yet. https://i.imgur.com/c9Pzoej.png "Jeb, you did come! I was getting worried!" said Monica. https://i.imgur.com/RFYqA4V.png "I told you I'd be here!" said Jeb, holding her hands, "Now, are we really going to video chat every day like we talked about?" https://i.imgur.com/QDJfXMd.png "I'll try, but I might be busy with class some days," said Monica, "I'm really going to miss you Jeb." "I'll miss you too, Monica," said Jeb. Monica kissed him on the cheek before boarding the plane. https://i.imgur.com/yRSdfrq.png This was the first time Monica had been on a plane, and she was going by herself. Summer was supposed to meet her in Britechester, as she was going to study culinary arts. They were planning to be roommates in the house Monica bought. https://i.imgur.com/byiwAkh.png https://i.imgur.com/PZFERsZ.png https://i.imgur.com/5cS260Q.png https://i.imgur.com/IUlY8O9.png A few hours later, the plane landed in Britechester, where Monica took a taxi to her new house. https://i.imgur.com/lKxdo6U.png The house was nearly empty, and there was no stove in the kitchen! Monica thought about what Father Winter had told her when he gave her that new stove for Winterfest. Thankfully, she had brought it with her, along with all of the furniture from her room.
The kitchen/living area. https://i.imgur.com/h48fSk7.png Monica's bedroom (upstairs) https://i.imgur.com/CI44b6V.png The bathroom (upstairs) https://i.imgur.com/KEL0BhL.png The basement/Summer's bedroom. (Downstairs) https://i.imgur.com/FZJZEMb.png Note: Sorry for the terrible lighting. Monica hadn't got the electricity turned on yet. (SNB Bills mod) Just then, the moving truck pulled in the driveway, "Where do you want us to unload all of this stuff?" one of the movers asked. "Just...anywhere," said Monica. She went around the back of the house to check out the yard, and when she returned, all of her furniture was piled up in the living room. 'Maybe I should have been a little more specific with where they should unload it,' she thought. https://i.imgur.com/tv59yvf.png Soon, Summer arrived. They worked together arranging the furniture from Monica's room, as well as a few pieces that Summer had bought while she was in town. https://i.imgur.com/ojdSOvL.png The bedroom. https://i.imgur.com/C6mKcwi.png Summer's Room (a work in progress, by the way.) https://i.imgur.com/2ETpqF1.png The kitchen. (Monica realised she had brought the fossilized egg with her that Father Winter gave her. She considered selling it, but Summer said, "No! You can't sell it! Father Winter gave it to you! It's special!" So Monica just set it on top of the mini-fridge.) https://i.imgur.com/rwARFgi.png Monica and Summer decided to play a video game after everything was done. They would both officially enroll in Britechester University tomorrow. Or maybe the next day. One thing they both had to do, was find a job, as Monica needed to start paying that loan back as soon as she could. https://i.imgur.com/u1bmn2Y.png
Zita1966 on the Gallery for the Oasis Springs INT Airport lot
Simlicy on the Gallery for the Student Starter lot (Monica's new house)
The (not really) patient sims who sat in the airplane for the screenshot. They kind of had to, though. They were locked in. :#
Thoughts, comments, and questions are welcome.
Author's Notes (spoilers, so read these last.)
So Monica moved out!
I started to set Summer as Monica's roommate, but I realised I had never had her apply for university. So I ended up adding her to the household so that I could enroll her as well. The house Monica bought was paid for with a loan (thanks to the SimCity Loans mod by Mizoreyukii) She needs to pay §25,000 back in 24 payments, plus interest. The house cost around §15,000. I haven't done the math on it yet, but I do know that not having a job at all is not going to get them any closer to paying it off. I'm thinking Monica will probably do Freelance Art, and Summer will be either a freelance chef (through a mod) or possibly something else if I can't get the mod to work. It's been a while since I used it, and I'm not sure if it's updated for the new patch.
The airplane "movie set" used to take the screenshot, for anyone who's curious:
Yes, it is way more complicated than it needed to be. https://i.imgur.com/mma8ZPa.png I actually built it last year for another story that I was going to write, but never posted. I went to build a simple set that would be just enough for the screenshot, and got carried away. I added more to it before taking these screenshots because I still wasn't satisfied. https://i.imgur.com/CMMME80.png I'll probably only use it this one time, and there's really no need for all that equipment since all I did was take a screenshot. https://i.imgur.com/u5cDM33.png Nonetheless, it's fun to imagine that I'm making a movie and that a set like this is needed. (Yep, that's a movie camera. I didn't use it to take the screenshot. I really should've, though. https://i.imgur.com/O6sECEJ.png There's even a snack area. (Because there's always that one sim who get hungry right when you're trying to take the screenshot. Thinking back, the only thing this place doesn't have is a bathroom lol. https://i.imgur.com/YaGGKMi.png I even made a movie director. He actually did have a purpose though: to go out and befriend all of the sims used as passengers, and make a club with all of them in it so I could bring them all to the airplane. I didn't use him this time, though. I had these sims in my library already.
Monica also got a selfie with Judith Ward. Her mom catered a celebrity dinner (without her boss' permission, which got her fired) and met Judith there, while also becoming a one star celebrity. (It was one of those career boxes that pop up while a sim's at work. I can't think of the proper name for them.) Lori will have to find a new career now. On the bright side, if Monica ever wants to get into acting, then maybe Judith can help her out. (Honestly I'm not sure if that would be a good thing or not, given Judith's reputation.)
Monica got new outfits! (Jeb also got a new look, but only one outfit, since it will probably be a while before he comes to visit Monica. Summer will also be getting a makeover before the next chapter.) I spent probably a few hours choosing all of Monica's new outfits. I thought having Summer pay for them would explain how outfits don't cost anything in the Sims 4.
I think this one's my favorite. Some of you may know this look all too well, as the inspiration for this outfit came rather swift-ly once I was in CAS ;) https://i.imgur.com/fOK3F5H.png
Below are a few screenshots of some of Monica's new outfits. (Which I may or may not change later on. I tend to change Monica's outfits a lot.)
I'm no fashion expert, so these outfits could probably use some improvements. I tend to stick to one style for my sims, as you'll notice there are quite a few of these that are similar to each other. I'm not sure if they're trendy, or if they're mismatched, or anything. As I said, I'm no fashion expert. (Which is unfortunate for the story, as Monica is supposed to be just that.) https://i.imgur.com/lcLOEE3.png https://i.imgur.com/6d3kJxX.png https://i.imgur.com/AyqfoY2.png https://i.imgur.com/l3hlqa3.png https://i.imgur.com/Xo6fbHj.png https://i.imgur.com/yCWqsUc.png https://i.imgur.com/5H1yNBK.png https://i.imgur.com/dTgstYF.png https://i.imgur.com/w1uX1Ps.png https://i.imgur.com/Uf8CZR7.png https://i.imgur.com/Y24EIqL.png https://i.imgur.com/ZsxGYF5.png
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