The Freezer Bunny Club - A Reading Circle

I like Luna and Sofia’s relationship the most, partly because Sofia, Hugo, and Luna has been featured so much more compared to the others. So I feel as if I were closer to them and understand their hardships and needs compared to the rest so I’m more invested in their successes. Luna and Sofia doesn’t have much of a relationship yet per se. But I find their Sofia’s longing for Luna believable while Luna’s focus on her daughter’s wellbeing refreshing. I would be more invested in Hugo and Nelson, but so far I do not know much about Nelson so I have them under ‘pending.

I understand. Other relationships will be featured more in the future. Their storylines are just the ones most important right now.

Honestly I don’t have one at the moment. I think its because the ones that are given a lot of screen time are done very well. So even if it’s unhealthy or not a good relationship per se, it’s realistic and I trust that it will get better. I’m quite the optimist you see. I suppose if I have to, I’d choose Max and his relationship with his family. There’s barely any contact between them after he made a stand. I also would’ve liked more Max chapters that showed his terrorising the family or being an absolute nightmare to deal with by Lucy because for the longest time, I didn’t know why Max was mad at his family because it was mentioned only once. As the story progresses and I started becoming more invested in the other characters, I forgot this tidbit about him and couldn’t remember his reasons for being mad at his family. Only when I backtracked and reread did I remember. So I think a chapter fully dedicated to Max and his passive aggressive, snarky comments at Lucy would cement the reason for his broken familial relationship.

I think it's because I kind of assumed people would know about the Villareals. Max is very well-known for his unlikability, so I went with that and pushed that through to adulthood. You're not going to get a flashback to Max being snarky to his family. That doesn't mean there won't be future encounters between the family. Also, the point of it all is exactly that Max has no reason to be mad at his family. They raised him (or at least tried to) and he is angry at the world because of what happened to him before I even started playing him (his mom dying). It's all an indirect result of that. Lucy didn't do anything wrong. Neither did any of his other family members. It's all in Max's head. He doesn't think about them much because he believes he was justified in leaving and actively blocks them out.

Sorry I’m drawing a blank here. I don’t play premades nor do I look at their traits. I’m not sure of the significance of Villareal except that lots of simmers on the forums have some beef with them so I assume they’ve got some bad traits or are generally unlikeable like Vlad. I like your portrayal of the family, not necessarily tied as a Villareal. :\

That's okay! That does explain the last answer partly.

My first impression of Max is that he’s got issues but it’s not too bad. He seems like a reasonable character because anyone would be frustrated if their mom surprised them with a wedding on the day itself. And not only did he shift his plans around for her and attended the wedding, he didn’t make a huge show nor destroy anything. He even outlined his expectations so Lucy wouldn’t be disappointed that he left halfway. It was only in the second feature that his underlying feelings of injustice and resentment bubbled to the surface that I realised he was going to pop, and pop he did.

Then, I thought he went by his feelings too much. Walking out on his family without thinking things through, fistfighting with Nancy when Nancy supposedly had a lot to offer his gang. But after he got kicked out of his own gang, it seems like Max is developing a more level-headed side and becoming craftier. I think its a good thing for people in that side of life. I don’t necessarily agree with it, but I understand why he’d need a trait like that. I enjoy his character development. I do wonder why he cut off contact with his family so completely. He's understandably mad at Lucy, but he must have at least one person he feels close to.

He did beat someone up at the wedding. I don't know if I mentioned that or not. ? I didn't want it to overshadow the nice wedding day, so I might have left it out.

Right now, Max isn't close to anyone. He's a lonely guy, alienating everyone in his life. He hates everyone in his family. Veronica sees some good in him and tries to take him out to do fun things (l just posted a chapter of that, haha), but Max is a grumpy cat about it.

If Max continued to let his emotions rule him I would say he’s my least favourite, but I like that he’s becoming cunning. He is in his own way improving even if its in the wrong direction. My least favourite character now would be Sofia, not because she’s a bad person, but because I haven’t seen her make improvements to herself. She has made a display (looking presentable and being a good date) but I’ll need to see more. I worry she will become a baggage for others because she has stagnate in growth for too long and desperately needs to find her zest for life. I don’t think she should date Luna until she figures herself out. But even as I say she’s my least favourite, I really want her to succeed. She’s got that bit of self-realisation, but I as a reader hasn’t seen it yet.

You're right. Sofia does have a lot more growing to do before she should jump into a new relationship. She's trying to come across healthy and bouncing, but is she really? If she isn't, she can only keep up appearances for so long.

Jacqueline and Neal please. :)

Coming up!

Jacqueline lol. There’s not much of a storyline there but I can identify and relate to her insecurities. (I think most women can) If I were to pick from the main storylines I’ll have to say Max. Even if he is in a controversial profession, he is doing his best to get to the top. I like people with ambition, so that side of him is speaking to me. It’s also pretty fun reading his and his gang’s shenanigans. I really enjoy watching Hugo’s life coming together and becoming more and more stable up to the point where he’s moving up. I enjoy watching him achieve too.

I'd say there is a storyline going on for Jacqueline. We're clearly seeing her struggle (and she will struggle some more). She has some growing to do and we're going to see that. I'm slowly building towards something here.

Owh I don’t like to do predictions. I prefer immersing myself. Let’s see.. I forsee Nelson bringing Hugo baggage because Hugo might be the type to attract that sort of character and I don’t see him saying no if anyone like that reaches out to him. Also because of the in-fighting in Nelson's home. I think with Max’s recent development he’ll be doing quite well. Whether it’s with Christin by his side, I think its VERY Plausible. He may have set her up, but its easy to pass off as a victim of that scenario too. Also they have good chemistry. Why not right? Depends how loyal she is to Brodie, though I doubt Brodie will treat her well so there’s another reason for Christin to seek understanding and comfort from Max. I am hoping that Sofia wises up. There's no hint given as to her finding her mojo. So I'm not drawing any predictions on her - only hopes!

I'll probably keep asking this question, so if you don't want to do predictions you can skip over it next time. You do have some interesting ones. A lot of people seem to like Nelson, but I think it's cool that you have a different feeling about him, causing trouble for Hugo.

Christin and Max? Maybe! Brodie certainly won't like that one.

Oh man.. I got so much to say to all of them. But one character hrm.. Probably Sofia. Girl you need to focus on yourself. Stay friends with Luna, find out what you want in life pursue it then go out with her. With your brain wired for addiction now, it’s easy for you to get addicted to another high. Romance is just that. Stay away. Do you.

Some advice for Sofia instead of Jacqueline. I think those two are the ones that need it the most right now, yes. Besides Max. But Max won't listen anyway. ?

What inspired or where do you draw inspiration for your story?

The family inspires me. Their traits, their bio, the way they act and their appearances. I don't draw inspiration from outside the game. Inspiration also comes from my own experiences and thoughts, but I think that's pretty much inevitable.

Who are you as the author most invested in? (You’re probably invested in them all, but you need to pick :smile: )

Oof, most invested is different from favourite character. A hard question. I think I'm most invested in Max. I have great ideas for where I want him to go, so that makes me more excited to play him which might be reflected in the many updates on his storyline.

Which character do you connect the most with?

I think I connect the most with Jacqueline. She's very relatable in her body insecurity, although I'm not as obsessive over it as she is.

Do you have a set ending for them? Or are you developing their story as you go?

I have a vague idea of where I want them all to end up together, but I'm developing it for them separately (the details) as I go.

How do you balance gameplay and storytelling?

It's a hard balance. Right now I'm mostly storytelling and there is less gameplay. The only household I do still play without taking pictures sometimes is Max because I want him to gain the money to buy his own house and I can't always make that interesting. It's a slow process.

I actually love your cast equally and only chose Hugo as my favourite because the question needs an answer. The analysis I do is a side effect of my experiences, a conditioning of life's journey, but certainly not harsh judgement! If anything I’m a strong proponent for growth and development. What a person does in a singular moment does not condemn him for the rest of his life. So don’t worry about my stern-ess towards Sofia or deduction of Nelson. I fully expect Sofia to find her mojo and become a force to be reckoned with and steal all our hearts in the end. And about Nelson, I like him. My thinking that he has baggage is simply me being realistic. (Who doesn’t come with baggage? Even the most privileged people have problems.) :smile: If you every find me being too harsh again let me know, you’ll find I’m actually quite aloof and blindly optimistic about the world and people. (The giddy screaming side of me reigns supreme 99% of the time :lol: .)

He did beat someone up at the wedding. I don't know if I mentioned that or not.

Ohh I must’ve missed that! My bad then! I’ll need to formulate my thoughts of him differently!

Sofia does have a lot more growing to do before she should jump into a new relationship. She's trying to come across healthy and bouncing, but is she really? If she isn't, she can only keep up appearances for so long.

In the last chapter she was featured in, you hinted at her achieving self-actualisation so I’m waiting for when her growth catches up to her appearances. :> Hopefully quickly haha.

I'd say there is a storyline going on for Jacqueline.

Yes!! *fist pumps*

 if you don't want to do predictions you can skip over it next time.

It’s okay. There’s fun in predicting. And I do like Nelson :lol:

It's a hard balance. Right now I'm mostly storytelling and there is less gameplay. The only household I do still play without taking pictures sometimes is Max because I want him to gain the money to buy his own house and I can't always make that interesting. It's a slow process.

Ah. I get you. I’m trying to find that balance. Making Max work for his own money is good actually. I think I’ll try that in my own saves so I can actually play the game.

I was really into Sofia and Hugo when it all started, and although they're not together anymore, I'm still curious how the two of them will go further as a duo. Will they see each other again? Will they still talk to each other sometimes? Will they have a fight? I don't know why, but those two really had me good and I'd love to see them once again - even when they're going to be enemies :P

I can tell you, they've seen each other since then in my game. And oh man, the drama!

I didn't even knew that the Villareal was a premade family in the Sims until.... I started to write these questions xD I never played with them, I never bumped into them, I'll also won't recognize them if I DID bump into them, I think. For me this was just a family, like... One you made by yourself, like when I started with Liz and then Brent came in and then Alison and Ella and so on.... Yeah. I do like how you made the family look.

I understand! They're a premade family that came with Windenburg in the Get Together pack. I don't know if you have that one, but if you don't, it's not weird that you didn't bump into them.

After Hugo, I actually like Max the second most. He's like the ugly duckling to me. Always having bad luck, always in problems, but I think that in the end, he's the most beautiful. I just know that somewhere deep inside, he's a good person and he'll become a beautiful goose. Well, at least I hope so hehe. :pensive:

Some high hopes to live up to. I hope Max won't disappoint you.

Yeah, because of previous question I would say Neal and Jacqueline, just to see if I'd like them more after knowing more about them. Besides that, Hugo and Max will always be my favorites :disappointed:

Sounds like your faves are firmly cemented. Maybe they will still surprise you. I certainly hope so.