I wanted to attempt to complete one challenge each month this year. We'll see how that goes. I missed January and got sick during Valentine's week which is when I wanted to start this challenge. Oh well. So, this month of love, I'm doing the challenge of "love??", The Bachelor. I've never played this challenge before.
I have all Eps, Gps, Sps, and got the Grouchy trait plus some CC traits. I will not use any of my CC traits. Every Sim must have one of the three Romance type traits: Romantic, Lovebug, Romantically Reserved. The Bachelor will have Romantic and Lovebug traits. I will decide the Bachelorettes romance trait by spinning a wheel online. (I have a mod that gives me 5 trait slots in CAS. My Bachelorettes will have 3 traits plus a Romance one, but my Bachelor will have 4 +1).
While creating the Bachelorettes, I changed my mind about using Unflirty as I don’t want to put anyone at a disadvantage right off the bat.
Also, I'll probably put more screenshots on my site's version than on here because I'm not sure what the max storage is here (and I've noticed sometimes the images hosted off-site don't show up). I'll try to keep it as essential as possible without taking away the fun. So, if you crave more screenies they'll be over there.
And I'll have links to previous and next episodes at the end of each post plus an episode list below. The longer threads get the harder it is to navigate (at least it is for me) and want to make this as easy as possible.
Valentina comes up with a plan to get everyone to join together to convince Eric that he should eliminate Leah. She reasons that if Leah is on the chopping block, the rest of them won't have to worry this week. Now she has to guarantee this outcome. Don't want Eric to have a change of heart.
She talks to Jasmine and Kaley. She even goes to Zuri who is conflicted: she thinks Leah's actions were wrong, but believes she should be given a chance to talk it out with Eric without anyone else's influence.
The next morning, Val hosts a mini dance party in the basement where she invites Morgan, Kaley, and, of course, Eric. They start off dancing and having fun. Then Kaley and Morgan "casually" talk about Leah and how wrong and crazy she is. Val is in the back bouncing with a victorious smirk on her face.
Meanwhile, Leah and Zuri corner Jasmine while she is grilling. Leah knows that Val is going around bad-mouthing her and creating a coalition against her. She feels the need to gather allies of her own.
Zuri pulls out a notebook where Leah wrote out a script for her to recite. She reads the words; but isn't convincing in her acting. She's not an actress like Leah.
Jasmine doesn't want to take sides. She's heard both Val and Leah out. She decides to stay out of the drama. Ultimately, she says, Eric's opinion is the only one that matters. Zuri thinks that's a good idea, but Leah is miffed that Jasmine didn't choose her. At least she's not actively campaigning against her.
Another impromptu mini-dance party breaks out a few hours before elimination time. These sims love to boogie.
Leah enters the room.
Leah: Let's get this party started!
Everyone stops dancing and the atmosphere is awkward.
It's not until everyone is finishing up preparing for tonight's elimination that Leah ~finally~ gets the courage to sit down and talk to Eric. Kaley is already sitting at the table and doesn't take Leah's *ahems* as a hint to leave (we know she isn't about to miss this juicy mess. That would be me, too. I was already here, say what you gotta say).
Leah does her best to smooth things over with Eric, but he gets up without a word and walks away 💀. He even has a smirk on his face. Brutal. Even Kaley feels bad for her. I guess it's too little too late. Waiting this long makes it look like she doesn't care about repairing the relationship; and only cares about not getting eliminated. (Literally, in-game she waited two whole days before talking to Eric and he ignored her.)
Welp. It's time for the second elimination round. I wonder who's going to get kicked off... hehehe... Such a huge mystery.
The bachelorettes are all lined up waiting with baited breath to see who receives a rose.
Eric chooses Kaley first as they have the highest relationship both in friendship and romance.
Leah is the only one with her romantic relationship with Eric in the negative (red). She is eliminated from The Bachelor.
Let’s face facts people. Leah slapped him like a 1940s cartoon. There's no coming back from that.
Leah: I’m devastated. I never got a real chance to explain myself to Eric. I’m not a violent person. I just got swept up in the moment and know I’m being punished for an impulsive decision. It’s not who I am.
Eric: As much as I enjoyed my date with Leah, I couldn’t get past the fact that she hit me. I understand emotions run high and it’s hard to maintain your composure, but getting violent is a line that shouldn’t be crossed no matter who you are. If she’s willing to slap me this early on who knows what she’ll do later. She could be dangerous not just to me, but to any of the other women in the house.
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Bonus post-elimination my fave screenshot of the loser:
I really liked Leah; she's so cute. I thought she'd at least make it to the finals. I was not prepared for her to pop off like that.
It’s New Year’s Eve and a free day! Everyone can relax, celebrate, and get to know each other better.
In the basement, Valentina and Eric are having a conversation. They are interrupted by Kaley who lets her devious side fly free.
With a sketchy glance at Val, she grins. Then she leans in and kisses Eric on the cheek. Apparently it’s so good his eyes roll back. Kaley glances back and smirks.
Well, this sets something off in Val. She’s steaming mad, seeing red, ready to fight, and she raises her hand and smacks Kal– Eric? Seriously?
Again with the hitting. If it were me, I’d go after Kaley since she obviously kissed Eric in order to provoke Val. And, also, didn’t Val just do a whole campaign to get Leah booted from the competition after she slapped Eric for being flirty with Val?
After being (acting?) surprised by Val’s response to her mischief-making, Kaley scampers off. Her work here is done. Val knows she done messed up when Eric says, “you hit me. Are you crazy?”
Val: No. She kissed you on the cheek. [She points to her own cheek.] And you let her.
Eric: What was I supposed to do? Push her away?
Val: Yeah. We were having a moment. You allowed another person into our moment.
Eric: And that makes it ok for you to hit me?
Val: I didn’t hit you. I was wiping the kiss off.
Gaslighting… that’ll work… yeah…
Val: You need to apologize to me.
Eric: Me? Apologize to you?
Val: You ruined the moment and accused me of hurting you when it’s you who hurt me.
Eric stares at her for a long moment. He whips out two cocktails from somewhere. Reaching out he slides his fingers in her red hair and caresses her cheek.
Eric: I’m sorry, Val.
Val: I accept your apology. You're not going to eliminate me over nothing, are you? Let's make a pact that you promise to keep me on.
Valentina smiles as Eric silently takes a sip of his cocktail. She puts out her hand. Eric shakes it and gets the shock of his life. Val zaps him with a hand buzzer.
Valentina smiles as Eric takes a sip of his cocktail.
Val: Let’s get back to our moment, shall we? What were we talking about? Oh, yes–”
A trumpet blares, interrupting them again. For Eric this is a welcome intrusion. It’s Zuri blowing a party horn.
Zuri: Happy New Year!
Val and Eric don’t say anything. They continue to silently stare at each other.
Zuri: Hey, guys! How’s it going?
Sensing the awkward tension in the air, she looks from one to the other.
Zuri: Are you two ok?
Eric: Never been better. We were just discussing ways to celebrate tonight.
Zuri: We should party. Turn up the music, open up the bar–
Eric: I don’t know. Wouldn’t want anyone to lose control of themselves with access to an open bar.
Zuri: (confused) Okay, but we gotta lose control to the music. (She does a little funky dance.)
Eric: I’d rather we all stay in control of ourselves.
Zuri: Oh… so bowling? Or board games? Or a quilting circle?
Eric walks off with Val close behind before Zuri can finish her suggestions. This hurts her feelings as from her perspective, Eric is being mean towards her for no reason.
Val goes to the kitchen with Eric where Morgan is already sitting at the counter nursing a cocktail. Eric pours himself another drink and Val grabs a plate of breakfast. He stands close to her watching her eat. Val hopes this is a sign that Eric believes she simply lost control of herself and it isn’t her fault.
But she doesn’t notice the weird look on Eric’s face.
Eric spends most of the night either working out in the gym to clear his head; or thinking in his bedroom. The bachelorettes celebrate the New Year dancing to blaring music, helping themselves to the bar, and grilling up lots of grub. It's when one of them (I won't say who... it starts with a 'J') is grilling while drunk that the grill catches fire.
The bachelorettes freak out again this time with the cluelessness of the inebriated. Zuri grabs a fire extinguisher and once again begins dealing with the flames. Not wanting to be a coward again, Eric rushes out and joins her. Using the power of teamwork, the fire is quickly put out.
Now that the mansion is safe -- I mean the people -- again, Eric returns to his bedroom without a word. Zuri goes to the gym and pounds some punching bags. Are they upset over the same grill catching fire? Or is it something else?
This episode will answer nothing. Tomorrow is Speeding Dating day #3. See ya next time!
I put the bachelorettes’ names in an online Wheel of Names. Giving it a spin, I got the name for each date. First up is Zuri. Every date will take place at Chez Llama which I have given the Romantic lot trait.
Date #1: Zuri
The date starts off with the couple being quiet. Eric is still thinking about the events of yesterday. Zuri can tell that his mind is far away.
Zuri: You don’t have to pretend.
Eric: Hmm? Pretend?
Zuri: I know you’d rather be with one of the other girls, especially Kaley or Val.
Eric: Val?
Zuri: You two were so into each other yesterday, you completely ignored me; and, honestly, your words were harsh towards me for no reason.
Eric vaguely remembers Zuri coming up to him after Val’s slap.
Eric: Oh, right, that.
Zuri: If you have something against me then say so. Don’t pretend to be into me if you’re not. I’m fine with parting ways tomorrow, but it'd be nice if we could at least be friends.
Eric is a little taken aback by Zuri’s bluntness (and not completely sure what she’s talking about). But he is able to deduce that he may have taken his feelings toward Val out on an innocent party. He apologizes and they agree to start the date over with a clean slate.
They spend the rest of the time talking, feeding each other, and joking around.
Date #2: Morgan
Morgan spends half the date trying to convince Eric to give Val another chance. Why?
Earlier, Morgan and Val had breakfast together. Val told her how sick with regret she was about the whole situation. She's literally ill and vows she was only protecting herself.
The two bachelorettes have the closest friendship out of all the women. Of course, Morgan has her back.
When it's time for her date with Eric, instead of focusing on him, herself, or them as a couple--she advocates for Val. Eric is uncomfortable with the topic.
Morgan: You and Val have such a good thing going between you. You'd be crazy to throw it all away.
Eric: Do you want me to choose her over you?
Morgan: I didn't say all that.
She quickly changes the subject and the rest of the date goes well.
Date #3: Kaley
Kaley shares her insecurities. Her Jealous trait was activated when she saw Eric with Val. She wants him to spend more time with her.
Kaley: It’s confusing because I care about you. My heart is in this 100%, but when you’re with the other women, it’s like you don’t feel the same way about me.
Eric: I do care about you, Kaley. When I'm with you, I'm giving my all.
Kaley: But I want you to do that even when we're not together.
Eric: I can't do that. I have to give the other women a chance.
Kaley: Why? You're not sneaking off to kiss them. You're only doing that with me. Doesn't that mean you've made your decision?
Eric: I like spending time with you, but I still haven't decided anything.
Kaley: I don't understand what's holding you back.
Eric: I don't know what you want me to say.
Kaley: Say I'm the one.
Eric: You know I can't do that.
The rest of their date is cordial and quiet.
******************
I ran out of time to do any more dates. Still, I wanted to be sneaky and see how a date between Eric and Val would go down, but unfortunately, their relationship was too low to go on a date.
I was surprised how mid Morgan and Kaley's dates were, especially after how well both dates went last time. I thought Zuri's was going to be the one that wouldn't be interesting based off their last one. I was wrong all around. See ya next episode!
Val has a problem. She needs to guarantee her spot in the competition, but she’s done the exact same thing that got Leah kicked off. She hopes she has done enough to convince Eric.
She goes around to the other bachelorettes to convince them to turn against Ka… Eric? By making them fall in love with her. Once they reject him, he’ll have no choice but to choose Val.
It’s true. After slapping Eric and gaslighting him, Val has been making rounds flirting with Zuri, Jasmine, and Morgan. Not Kaley, though. They never talk. I don’t think they’re ever in the same room together.
Normally, I stan a bi queen, but I’m not convinced. Is she actually bi or just manipulative? Probably the latter since she hasn’t shown interest in women until after she got mad at Eric.
Val is successful at starting a romantic relationship with all three women.
Maybe it’s because she had to rush into her plan, but Val forgot one big thing: People talk. To each other. Jasmine and Zuri find out what Val said to them. They confront her and Val doesn’t know how to defend herself.
Needless to say, this doesn’t change their minds on Eric. They just hate her now
Speaking of Eric, he shuffles out of bed an hour before elimination. Zuri is playing piano while waiting for the round to begin. Eric watches her play instead of getting dressed.
He finally leaves when the other bachelorettes join. (Kaley is either really nervous about this round or she really has to pee... probably both.)
It's time for the elimination round!
Eric chooses Zuri as the top bachelorette!
Now we're down to the bottom two: Valentina and Jasmine. Who will be sent home?
Eric hands a rose to Jasmine, sending Valentina packing. She is not happy with his decision. She shouts some choice words that are not suitable for children or llamas.
Obviously, a different bachelorette was getting eliminated each week, but I wasn't expecting a different one for top pick (at least so far). It makes this more interesting to play. Val was really cuttin up during this one. I wasn't ready.😲
The day starts off with Eric making out with Morgan... in front of Jasmine.
He leaves and while Morgan is still fantasizing, Jasmine gets pissed. She yells at Morgan and smacks her across the face.
Afterward, Morgan seems to be saying: Totally worth it!
Since nearly day one, Zuri has been the one the girls run to when there's a problem. This time is no different. Jasmine vents to Zuri about Morgan and Eric blatantly making out in front of her with no respect for her feelings.
Zuri agrees to talk to Morgan about the situation. Morgan doesn't care how Jasmine feels about it, but will keep the peace with her.
Morgan and Jasmine talk, but the conversation isn't sincere. They're only doing it to make Zuri happy and she knows it. Zuri is irritated by this fake “make up”.
Zuri gets some of her annoyance out by mixing drinks for Kaley and herself.
Then she flirts with Eric for a while (being certain on one else is around to ensure no further drama).
Before getting ready for the night, the women hang out playing chess and chatting. Surprisingly, Jasmine and Morgan sit down together. They are being cordial in front of Kaley and Zuri.
Then Eric enters just to give Morgan a kiss on the cheek and leave. Zuri may be working to keep the peace in the house, but this dude seems to enjoy stirring the pot.
Oh well. We headin’ to the clurb!
The Evening
They head to the Discothèque Pan Europa nightclub. One of the hotspots of Windenberg.
Eric and Morgan immediately separate from the group at a table together.
Whaaa??? Kaley gets a message to swap her personality from Romantic to Unflirty????
Part of me doesn’t want to change anything, but I’m curious. Plus, I’ve said yes to every pop up/message I’ve gotten. And I think I’m far enough into playing this challenge to handle this.
Let’s do it!!!
I cannot keep up with these Sims. Everyone is in love with everyone. Up is down. Pigeons are swimming in the ocean. The Green-eyed jealousy bug is infecting all.
I have no idea what happened to make Eric mad, but he is. I didn't notice anything between Morgan and anyone else, but who knows with these sims. At this point, they'd get upset that you breathed in the same room as someone.
He refuses to go pee despite having a full bladder (and my repeated attempts to force him to use the toilet before he embarrasses himself). Instead, he throws a pity party while watching everyone else have fun. Finally, he storms off to the bathroom and isn’t seen again for much of the night.
No matter. The women hang out with each other at the bar drinking and conversing. They can have a good time without the bachelor.
At the end of the night, Eric finally graces all with his presence on the dance floor. He shuffles with a pouty face.
Is it crazy if the highlight of the night was Vlad the Bartender? Yeeesss, Vladdy Zaddy showin’ out!
This was a surprisingly Zuri episode. I swear I wasn't purposefully following her around. I didn't notice how many shots she was in until I looked back at the screenshots.
The next episode will be the first real Solo Date, haha. See you there!
Next Episode: Day 12, Solo Date (for real this time)
