The Freezer Bunny Club - A Reading Circle

Yes, she feels like a real addict. Spaced out, disconnected from the world, fell into it in a lackadaisical way, and is incredibly self-centered without realizing its impact on those who love and care about her.

I also relate to Hugo - wanting to be their for his girlfriend and support her, recognizing she needs help, but having no clue where to start or how things grew to be so bad. I can understand how scary it is to change status quo and move on from someone like Sofia, even if he no longer have feelings, or never had feelings for her. It can be hard to leave someone like that behind. The dependency is almost a bit addicting too. Hugo strikes me as someone who gives his all in a relationship, and he wants to take care of her. I wonder if losing his mom at an early age and/or his father's remarriage impacted that as well - his need to care for and protect others even at the expense of his own happiness.

I also think she is jumping from one relationship to the next to numb the pain she might be feeling. Like fixating on Luna keeps her from focusing on her real issues - her addiction. And I feel like she probably cared deeply about Hugo at one point, enough to ask him to move in. Perhaps instead of grieving the loss of a relationship, even if she's fallen out of love or never really loved Hugo in a romantic sort of way, she's jumping to Luna as a band-aid.

Very poignant! Sofia did care deeply for Hugo, she still does. It might have even been romantic in the beginning. I wouldn't describe Sofia as a lesbian. I think her sexuality is more fluid than that. I'm not sure myself if it's just Luna she's attracted to or women in general.

Luna and her daughter, Allyson's seems the healthiest relationship right now. Even if Allyson is a difficult child at times. Also Paolo and Lucy had the sweetest wedding at the beginning. I hope to see more of them and that post-wedding life is treating them well (despite Max putting a damper on things).

No Hugo/Nelson this time! There will be more Luna/Allyson in the future. They love each other very much, but relationships can be hard to navigate especially if Luna doesn't start setting boundaries with her daughter.

I don't think Paolo will be in the picture very much. He'll be in the background sometimes, but I wasn't planning on focusing on Lucy and Paolo. Paolo will be a minor side character. Although, rest assured, he does make Lucy happy and they're sickeningly sweet together. Very drama-free right now.

I want Luna to find happiness. I really do. But I don't think it's with Sofia. That's dangerous territory given Sofia's addiction and her behavior. She seems to either be in a funk and apathetic toward everything and everyone, hurting people as she disconnects, or she's flitting right into another relationship at the expense of really working on herself and without thinking clearly about the impact to Luna and Luna's daughter.

Absolutely. Luna deserves to be happy after all she's been through. I hope Sofia can work through her issues and make Luna happy or let her go and let her be happy on her own.

I've read a few other stories with the Villareals. I also had my own lore around them (without ever publishing it... yet). It's an interesting take on the family. I do think there's a good bit of subtle drama happening, but in a way that doesn't feel over-the-top or forced, and feels genuine. Reading the chapters is like ambling through their everyday lives. No crazy explosive fights or catching spouse with other people kind of drama (at least not yet), but a family that genuinely struggles with a wide variety of issues that a lot of families face.

Subtle drama is the right term for it. It's a family saga, but also very much a slice of life. Maybe even soap opera, but in quieter times.

Max is a self-centered individual. He only seems to care about what's his and making things his, without giving thought to other people's input, thoughts, or feelings. He also seems like a bit of a mooch, up until he moves out. He doesn't seem to work very hard at his job, but I could be wrong. However, I do think he's intelligent or at least clever as he schemes to gain back his "club"/gang.

The gang is mostly his job. Leading it, committing crimes together. I haven't shown much of the committing crimes part, because they're all in the criminal career and go off to their rabbithole jobs. They're will be more of the crime part in the future, but for now it's implicit.

<3<3<3 Hugo! <3<3<3 What's not to love? He seems the sweetest most genuine person in the story. I do like Luna as well, and probably Lucy next.

It's good to see Lucy being mentioned somewhere. How sweet! She hasn't been on-screen much, but I'm glad she does get some love.

Sofia. But not because you haven't written her well. Because of her selfish, self-destructive behavior and choices.

I like seeing the different reasons for everyone's favourite and least favourite characters. Sofia is @ajamkeevin's favourite character because of the relatability, but for you, Sofia's behaviour makes her your least favourite. I think it was a good question on my part to ask, because I get to see what makes for an interesting character for all of you.

I think I already made this clear - Lucy and by default, Paolo. I'd like to see more of Luna. It would be nice to see more of Jacqueline also. All three ladies are really pretty Sims, and seem like good people. Obviously, I'd also like to see more of Hugo. <3:blush: And Nelson is pretty cute!

I'll see if I can get a Lucy/Paolo update in there somewhere. I might already have an idea on what to do with them for that. Luna will be focused on in multiple aspects. With Sofia, with Allyson but also in terms of her job as a teacher. Hugo will stick around for a while, but he is going to disappear to the background at one point. I'm not sure how soon yet.

I'm really invested in Hugo and Sofia, but now that they are splitsville, I'd still like to follow their characters. Their stories seem to be what ties together the Villareal family and the story overall.

We'll follow their characters for a while, but over time they're going to become less important to make way for other Villareals, although they'll still be there.

Okay, predictions... fun times!
Sofia attempts a relationship with Luna and Luna indulges her, only to be hurt in the end when Sofia returns to her addiction or changes her mind for some reason. Maybe she really realizes she needs help and checks into rehab and breaks things off with Sofia. Or crazy thought? She wants Hugo back but he's already with Nelson. :open_mouth: Sofia needs an intervention from her family, probably her mom and sister.

Hugo and Nelson go on a few more awkward dates and realize they are meant to be! <3 Hashtag #TeamHuson or #TeamNelgo! :lol:

There will be a growing rift between Hugo and Luna if 1) Luna doesn't talk to him about what's going on and 2) her relationship with Sofia continues. I think that would be really sad, but realistic. I hope the twins can make up.

I'd love to see Jacqueline grow to love and embrace her body. She's a beautiful Sim! And triumph over the bullies by refusing to listen to the naysayers and becoming a strong and confident woman.

I'd love to see Lucy and Paolo stay happily married. Someone needs to in this family. If they expect a little nooboo of their own, that would be cute. Or I could see incredibly juicy drama with that situation. Lucy didn't want more kids but is suddenly expecting. Paolo is thrilled. It could cause some awkwardness. Or Lucy wants another child, a child of their own together, but Paolo doesn't. Hmm... okay, no I still like my happily married idea best.

Max's plans backfire on him. Maybe he spirals and realizes he needs some help or counseling too. I doubt it though. It would be really wild if Christin left her husband, Brody, and she and Max became an evil power couple! Mwahaha! Or Veronica, Brodie's sister.

So many predictions! I love your ideas for Sofia's storyline in the future. It could really go all ways. I do think it's funny how in your predictions, there's no way Luna and Sofia's relationship would survive. ?

Hahaha! I'm voting for Nelgo.

The situation between Hugo and Luna can't go on like this and will explode at some point. Luna needs to defuse the situation if she wants to avoid awkward family parties.

Jacqueline is one of the prettiest sims I've had born in-game. She looks just like her dad, but I think those features look incredible on her. Jacques' feature are super strong which makes the kids he already had pretty unrealistic. They look nothing like him.

I'm not sure if you realised, but Paolo and Lucy already have Juliana together. They had her before they ever got married, so they do have a child already. But baby drama could be interesting. Also for the rest of the family since the age gap between the kids would only be getting bigger. I do love having new kids around though. The genetic mixes are so cool to see. But Lucy has had a pretty eventful life, so a quiet, happy marriage might be what she'll go for. But who knows? Anything could happen. Max is still out there somewhere and he can't avoid his family forever.

I'd be up for a romance for Max. I wonder if he could be nice for long enough to actually romance someone though. Another evil sim, like Christin, might be his best possible match. But we all know most people don't end up with a 'perfect' match.

To Jacqueline, on a subject near and dear to my heart, girl, love yourself! Love all of yourself. Even the parts you think are ugly. You live in a world where beauty is defined so superficially and the world's standard of beauty is so fickle. What's in today is out the next. Be true to yourself. Take care of yourself. Be strong and confident in who you are. You'll radiate even more beautifully.

Beautifully said! I love how most people decided to give Jacqueline a piece of advice. I hope she'll listen to all of it and she'll be doing better next time Too Good at Goodbyes comes around.

You mentioned in a comment somewhere that you might do a little more backstory on the Villareal kids. I'd love to read it. I think it would help fill in the blanks. You write the story in a way that feels like we're already in the middle of it. We jump right into the action and things are revealed slowly over time. But I do find myself wondering about motivations and their earlier years so if you're willing to share, I'd love to read it!

Thank you for telling me! I'm for sure considering doing it. The only thing I'm still on the fence about is if I would make a whole story out of it or if I would make it a one chapter prologue.

How did you pick the Villareals as a family for your story?

I created Lucy (Amador) in CAS and I had downloaded a Golddigger aspiration I was dying to try out. So I started my game and went through the motions until my sim had to marry a wealthy sim. I wasn't sure on how to figure out who was wealthy and what wealthy in-game even meant. Google didn't tell me a whole lot on that either, so I decided to go for the richest household in the game. It turned out to be the Villareals so I let Lucy befriend Luna since they were remotely close in age and that's how Lucy got to Jacques. She broke up his marriage by seducing him and getting pregnant. After that, Lucy moved in, married Jacques and the rest is history. I haven't regretted doing it this way because this family turned out to be so fun to play.

Did you play the family a bit before writing or did you develop backstory in notes and then just jump right in?

I absolutely played the family before writing. I played them for quite a long time actually. I played Lucy on her own as a while, I've already played Luna and Hugo through college. I do think it made for a more interesting story because I had ideas for this family and I knew what I could do with them. I think it would have been a mistake to just start writing from the moment I started playing Lucy. I hadn't been invested in TS4 like this before, so I needed to gather my mods and figure out the game a whole lot more. I think I'm pretty well-versed now, so it was a good time to start writing.

Because of the experience I have now, I do think I'd jump into writing immediately next time. That way my readers won't miss anything I've already played before and we'd explore this story together.

How much of gameplay influences your storytelling? (I know, at least, parts of it does, but I'm curious).

Right now, less than I would want to. In the beginning a whole lot was affected by gameplay, but lately, it's been more of my own ideas than actual autonomy.

Who's your favorite character and why?

I could answer all of the other questions easily, but this is the first one I have to sit with and think about. They're all my babies and I love playing all of them, but if I look at who I have the most fun with and who I take the most screenshots of, it has to be Sofia. She's the most complicated character for me and I love playing with her story. She's closely followed by Max.

Who do you struggle to write the most?

I think Jacqueline. I have to think a lot about how I want to continue her story and how I want to write it as delicately as possible. I notice I don't play her as much as the others either.

Do you have an overarching plot you're trying to achieve or are you just writing as you go?

I have an end point in mind for the story which will tie in with the next question. So there is somewhat of an overarching plot but it's super vague. For some characters, I have planned far ahead and I know where I want to go with them in the future and how the family members will interact with each other, Max being one of them. Jacqueline or Juliana are different stories, Juliana more so than Jacqueline. I have no clue what I want to do with them in the future or where things are exactly going to go. So I guess it's a mix of things.

Will you play future generations/write their stories? Like Allyson as an adult and her kids if she has them? Or Jacqueline and Neal? Or do you plan to end with this generation?

I haven't decided yet. For this story, my end point is with this current generation. That doesn't mean I wouldn't want to write a sequel with the other characters. I wouldn't want to endlessly go in with this story so people might become overwhelmed and wouldn't want to get into it anymore. I think I'd want to start fresh with the preexisting characters and make it easily accessible for new readers to get into. If they want the full backstory on those characters, they'd have to read the prequel. If I do decide to continue on with future generation, I'd do it like this.